"Jax?" Brenda continued to stare at the television screen and reached out a hand blindly towards him. "Jax? Did you hear what I just said?"

"Brenda….." She felt Jax’s arm lift off her shoulders, but her anxiety only intensified and she pointed at the image on the TV.

"Jax! I said that’s HIM!!" Brenda turned excitedly towards Jax. "I remember now, Jax!" she added, clutching for his arm. "Mac Scorpio is the man who took off the ski mask that day in traffic!" Her gaze swiveled back to the set. "Mac’s the Dockside Slasher!"

"He is……" Instead of jumping up from the bed and dashing for the telephone, Jax stared disconsolately at his Big Mac before settling it back into the open box.

Brenda suddenly grabbed for the remote to turn off the TV. "Jax? What is it?"

He grimaced and waited several seconds before answering, as though he was choosing his words very carefully. "Brenda, it’s just that I…… I don’t……well……"

Her eyes widened. "You don’t believe me, do you?" she breathed, backing away from him slightly on the bed.

Jax sighed, folding his hands in his lap. "All along, you’ve been so bloody sure you couldn’t remember a thing about what the Slasher looked like. And now all of a sudden, you’re so d*mn sure….."

"But Dr. Jones *said* that something might spark the memory to come back to me, Jax! Once I was in familiar surroundings and felt safe – like I feel with you right now! Don’t you remember that, either?"

His lips thinned in acquiescence. "That’s true."

She pulled herself up straighter to a kneeling position next to him on the bed. "Look, Jax – think about it this way. What if I had come into the hall the other night when the pizza delivery guy was here? What if I took one look at him and said, "That’s HIM, Jax! HE’S the Dockside Slasher!!"" Brenda tried to make eye contact with Jax, but he continued to stare down at his folded hands. "If that had happened, would you have doubted me?"

"Well, I……."

"Or if I had looked at Brian the grocery boy one morning and said, "That’s HIM!! He’s the Dockside Slasher!!" Would you have questioned my memory then?"

Jax sighed and then shook his head. "No."

Brenda smiled slightly. "As Blue would say, You bet your sweet @ss you wouldn’t. You probably would have had the guy in handcuffs and down on the ground in a New York second." She sank back onto her haunches, looking deeply into Jax’s face. "So it’s *not* that you really don’t trust my instincts. It’s just because it’s *Mac* that you don’t believe me……"

"Brenda, you just don’t understand." Jax tunneled his fingers through his hair and then levered himself off the bed. "I mean, we’re talking here about a man who’s been on the force for years…….whose brother was police commissioner before him….."

"I know, Jax….."

Jax shook his head again and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Don’t get me wrong, Brenda……I know that we’re talking about Mac Scorpio here, and I’m the first one to admit that he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed….."

"Jax……"

"…..but just because he’s an idiot it doesn’t make him a psychopathic serial killer, for God’s sake!"

Brenda sighed deeply and chewed on her lower lip. Then she got off the bed and came over to Jax, taking his hands in hers. "You’re *sure* that Mac can’t be the Slasher?"

Jax’s expression was solemn but grim. "I’d bet my life on it."

"What about MY life?"

Brenda’s question hung in the air between them as raw pain filled Jax’s eyes. He pulled his hands from Brenda’s grasp and covered his face with them, rubbing it briskly. "Brenda, you’re not being fair about this….."

As he strode away from her, swearing beneath his breath, Brenda stared down at the floor. She took a determined breath and then went after him, catching him by the arm to turn him towards her. "OK, let’s think this through logically then – no sneaky emotional blackmail, I promise. OK?"

"OK." Jax nodded, his lips thin.

"OK." Brenda paused, rubbing her hands together as she organized her thoughts. "OK – did Mac know all along that I couldn’t remember what the Slasher looked like?"

Jax’s one eye narrowed as he reviewed the case in his mind. "No. Not really. He came to your hospital room that morning, but you hadn’t regained consciousness. And then every time he asked how things were going, I just said that you hadn’t been able to make a positive identification yet."

"But he was curious about me?"

"That doesn’t prove anything. The mayor’s been on Mac’s back to solve this case for some time. You were going to be his ticket to job success and security."

"OK." Brenda folded her hands palm to palm, pressing her first fingers against her lips in thought. "OK, then let’s try this. When I came down to look at the lineup, Mac wasn’t there, was he?"

"No." Jax propped his hands on his hips, his brow wrinkling. "He was supposed to be, but then he got called away to an emergency at home."

Brenda folded her arms. "Very convenient, especially because if I had seen him, I would have known who the Slasher *really* was."

"Yeah, but it really wasn’t that out of character," Jax replied, shaking his head firmly. "Mac’s wife was getting ready to have Thanksgiving dinner and Felicia’s almost a bigger flake than HE is! She had been calling him home to handle kitchen catastrophes for almost two weeks before that."

Brenda twitched her nose with determination. "OK. So then they had that guy in custody, and you left me because you thought I was safe……" Jax nodded. "Would Mac have known that I was alone? That you weren’t guarding me anymore?"

Jax shrugged. "I guess he could have. He could have tapped into the radio scanner if he really was trying to keep tabs on me…..and you." He suddenly pointed a finger at Brenda. "THAT’s the night I told him about your amnesia! Right before I came back to your house……."

"Right after the Slasher had murdered someone who looked EXACTLY like me!!" Brenda pointed a finger back, mirroring Jax. "It makes sense, Jax! He tried to kill me because he didn’t know yet that I couldn’t identify him!" Jax’s face fell with realization, energizing Brenda. "But then you told him the truth, so Mac probably felt like he was safe because I couldn’t remember what he looked like. And then nothing happened for a long time, remember Jax?" She caught at his arm as he tried to walk past her, pacing and muttering beneath his breath. "It was driving us both nuts because nothing had happened and the Slasher hadn’t come after me. So you planted that story with Tiffany Hill……"

"Which would have scared Mac witless if he really thought you got your memory back and could ID him……"

"It DID, Jax! Remember??" Brenda was almost jumping up and down as the pieces fell into place. "Mac came rushing over here like a bat out of……well, out of the warm place," she went on. "I remember you said he was really upset!"

"Because I went out on a limb with that plan and didn’t tell him what I was doing!"

"And because he thought I remembered what he looked like!" Brenda walked to Jax to put her hands on his arms, forcing him to look her in the face. "Don’t you think it was a little strange – if I REALLY was such an important witness – that he never asked to meet me, face to face?"

Jax pulled away, the twisting of his mouth evidencing the way his stomach was twisting as Brenda’s logic spilled out. "Nooowwwww, that’s partly MY fault. *I* kept him away from you at first, because you seemed so nervous and I didn’t want him to scare you."

"But the night of Tiffany’s story – what about then? Why didn’t he come into the house where I could see him?"

Jax shook his head. "Nah – doesn’t prove anything. Mac had to take his son to the airport that night and he was running late for his flight. The kid was in the car."

As Jax strode towards the window, Brenda’s eyes darted rapidly back and forth. She pounded her fist in her open palm, ticking off more points in her argument. "But after Mac found out the truth about your scheme, he knew he was safe again, Jax. He knew it was all a hoax and I still couldn’t remember what the Slasher looked like. So he didn’t come after me." She looked up at his ramrod-stiff back. "This past week….."

"…..eight and a half days….." Jax’s voice was clipped and cool.

"Eight and a half days," she corrected herself, "he must have started getting as antsy as we were." Brenda walked towards Jax, who still refused to face her. "He must have figured that it would come to me soon, and he had to do something before it did. So he drugged the pizza or poisoned it or whatever……"

Jax spun back to face her, holding up a finger to object. "We don’t know that yet……"

Brenda’s shoulders sagged. She went slowly towards him, holding out a hand compassionately. "Jax, you have to admit it makes sense……."

The cleft in Jax’s chin deepened as he thrust it forward stubbornly. His blue eyes sparkled with the fire of anger. It made sense, all right. It was the *only* logical explanation why the Slasher hadn’t come after Brenda when he had planted the story with Tiffany. Any other psycho worth his weight in pistachio nuts would have made her a priority on his hit list. Jax’s plan to dangle Brenda as bait *should* have worked. It *would* have worked – if the Slasher had been anyone *other* than Mac Scorpio.

"Jax?" Brenda placed a hand on his arm gently. "Are you OK?" Jax looked down at her and then suddenly glanced out the bedroom window towards the back yard. He pulled away abruptly and went to the dresser, yanking open the drawers. "Jax?" Brenda frowned. "What are you doing?"

He turned to face her, clutching a pair of jeans and a turtleneck sweater. "Put these on." Before she could say a word, he strode to her, shoved the clothing into her arms, and began to herd her towards the bathroom door. "Now."

"But Jax….."

"Just get dressed, Brenda. As fast as you can." She was still sputtering when he pushed her inside the bathroom and closed the door behind her, sighing and running his hand through his hair.

"Why do I need to get dressed right now?" Jax was already on his way to the closet when he heard Brenda’s question. He consoled himself with the fact that he also heard the sounds of clothing rustling.

"Just do as I ask, Brenda. OK?" Jax glanced around the inside of the closet for a few moments and then a satisfied look crossed his face. He reached up to the top shelf to pull down a soft-side overnight bag.

"Jax? Are we……." He vaguely heard more rustling noises from inside the bathroom as he carried the suitcase to the bed, opening it and placing it across the comforter. "Are you taking me somewhere?"

A pain stabbed Jax’s heart as he heard the panic in Brenda’s voice. "I have to get you out of here, Brenda."

A few minutes of silence followed. "Then you DO believe me now – that Mac’s the Slasher."

Jax had gone back to the dresser and pulled open more drawers. "I’m not sure, Brenda," he replied, taking out another pair of jeans and a pair of worn-looking sweatpants. He closed that drawer and opened the one beneath, adding several long-sleeve tops and a sweatshirt to the growing stack of clothing in his arms. "But if it IS true, I don’t want Mac to know where you are."

More rustling noises from inside the bathroom covered Jax’s groan when he opened the next drawer. "Bloody h*ll," he groaned, mouthing more obscenities as he ran a hand through Brenda’s silky lingerie. The luxurious assortment of satin bikini panties with matching bras in shades of pale Easter pastels sent his mind reeling with sensual fantasies. "If the Slasher doesn’t kill me, this will……."

Brenda’s mouth dropped open when she exited the bathroom to find Jax cradling a large stack of her clothing to his chest. "Jax? What are you……."

"Which one do you prefer?" He turned to her, looking utterly irresistible and incredibly erotic as he twirled a pair of her luscious lilac panties on his first finger. "Purple or pink?"

She blinked twice, her eyes the size of silver dollars. "What?"

Jax hesitated, then turned back to the drawer. "Awwww, f**k it," he growled, grabbing a handful of assorted brightly colored panties out of the drawer. "We’ll take ‘em all."

"Take?" Brenda’s astonishment grew when she finally saw the open suitcase on the bed. She walked slowly towards it, in contrast to Jax’s fevered movements when he strode over and threw the entire armload of clothing inside and began to re-arrange it more compactly. "Jax, what are you….." She grabbed for his arm to stop his motion. "Why are you packing my suitcase?"

"I TOLD you, Brenda." He never stopped to face her, just kept on pushing down clothing so it would fit inside the suitcase. "I have to get you out of this brownstone – not just for tonight. If it *is* true that Mac is the Slasher, I have to put you someplace safe." He glanced up at the ceiling. "Someplace away from here. Someplace Mac doesn’t know about."

Brenda’s eyes widened. "But Jax – you *know* I can’t….." She watched in horror as he went back to the dresser and began to gather socks and oversized t-shirts from another drawer. "You KNOW I can’t leave here, Jax!" Brenda finally wailed. Her words fell on deaf ears as he stopped on his way back to the bed at the window, pulling back the curtain to peer into the darkness. "You KNOW how I feel about leaving the house….."

If he heard her objection, he didn’t show it. "You go back in the bathroom and get together any toiletries you might need for a few days. Prescriptions, toothbrush……" Jax paused, his face coloring a delicate shade of pink that matched Brenda’s unmentionables. "……feminine hygiene products…….." he finally continued, adding the clothing in his arms to the pile in the suitcase.

"Jax, I CAN’T……."

"You CAN and you HAVE to, Brenda," Jax interrupted. He spun and took her firmly by the shoulders, marching her in the direction of the bathroom. "Now I think you can just share my hair products, but you’d better take your own deodorant and razor, or any of that stuff that women use to take hair off their……their……" He faltered again, letting go of her shoulders. "…..wherever they take hair off of……."

"Jax….." Brenda dug in her heels stubbornly. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. "You KNOW I can’t do this – I told you that when you first came to my house. I CAN’T go somewhere else." She stared down at the floor, shuffling her feet. "I’ll have a massive panic attack, and you’ll have to call 911, which won’t do much to keep me hidden from Mac Scorpio."

Jax chewed on his lower lip, hands on hips, for a minute. "Didn’t you say that your shrink gave you some pills a long time ago? Something to make you less nervous about going places?"

"Yeah, but I *hate* those." Brenda’s lower lip came out slightly. "They make me feel all goofy," she added, gathering steam for her argument against the medication. "And if I’m acting tipsy, it won’t help much when you’re trying to hide me from the world."

"What about something alcoholic?" Jax went back to the bed and closed the suitcase, pressing down to snap the latches in place. "You think a stiff shot of brandy might relax you?"

"I don’t think it would help." Brenda was tossing bottles and jars into a makeup bag as he had ordered but suddenly froze. "And what about my business?" She gestured towards the study with its computer system. "I can’t just leave my business un-attended while you hide me somewhere….."

Jax glanced upwards in thought but then smiled with inspiration. "You’ve got one of those laptop computers, don’t you?" Brenda nodded. "Take that along, too. And whatever you need to hook it up to an outside phone line." He glanced around at the bedroom, silently checking for anything he may have forgotten. "You never know when it might come in handy for something."

Twenty minutes later, Brenda sat rigidly in the passenger side of Jax’s jeep. Her suitcases and computer briefcase were stowed in the back. "I’ll send Blue to your place tomorrow to put some timers on your lights," Jax said grimly, watching traffic around him. "We want to let Mac think for as long as we can that you’re still at the brownstone." He glanced over at Brenda’s white knuckles gripping the car’s arm rest. "You should have had that drink before we left. Maybe it would have calmed you down just until we get there."

"Where’s "there"?" Brenda peered at the darkened intersection as they made their way downtown. "Are you taking me to your place?"

"No." Jax looked up into his rear view mirror, relieved that nobody was following them. "Mac would think of that right away. Too obvious." He smiled grimly. "Besides, the point here is keeping you safe – not scaring you to death." He chuckled softly. "I’m not well-known for my house-cleaning capabilities."

"Your parents’ house?"

"Still too obvious." Jax didn’t let it show, but he saw that as Brenda got involved in trying to figure out where they were going, she forgot a little about her agoraphobic fears. If he could keep her occupied in solving a mystery, he had a real chance of getting her stashed before her panic set in. "Guess again."

"Ummm……." Brenda saw Wyndom’s Department Store and the entrance to the highway leading out of town. "Are we leaving Port Charles?"

"Nope." Jax flipped on the blinker, heading back again towards the trendy part of the waterfront district.

Brenda frowned. "Didn’t we just come this way before?"

"I’m tossing in a few evasive maneuvers here – just in case anybody’s trying to track where I’m going," Jax replied. He glanced up at the traffic light and they turned left.

"A hotel!" Brenda pointed a finger at Jax and smiled slightly, satisfied with herself for solving the riddle. "You’re taking me to a hotel! That’s what you said the first night you came to the brownstone – that you would hide me in a hotel……"

"But that’s ALSO the first place Mac would think to look for you. Which is why we’re not just going to ANY hotel!" Jax slowed the jeep to a crawl as they neared a brightly lit driveway.

"The Port Charles Hotel?" Brenda’s jaw dropped. Jax smoothly brought the jeep to a stop in front of the concierge stand. "But isn’t this kind of like hiding a snake in the reptile house at the zoo?"

Jax placed a finger to his lips, silencing Brenda, as the doorman lifted a hand to assist her out of the jeep. She cast one wary look over her shoulder at Jax but then got out, squinting at the bright lights that lined the canopy of the hotel.

"Thank you very much!" Before she could say a word, Jax was at her side, pressing a bill into the doorman’s outstretched hand. He took her bags from the back of the jeep and then slipped his other arm around her waist to usher her into the warm lobby of the hotel.

Brenda caught her breath at the sight that greeted them. The holidays had always been on of her favorite times of the year, and the Port Charles Hotel spared no expense when it came to Christmas decorations. Bright red poinsettia plants lined the rich red carpet that led to the main desk. Twinkling white lights festooned the numerous ficus trees and potted plants, while large red velvet bows dotted the main fireplace and every end table in the sitting area. Lush gold garland was looped the length of the check-in desk as well as around the archways leading to small shops and the hotel’s five-star restaurant, The Grille.

"Jax……" Brenda breathed reverently. "It’s just……..well, it’s just like a fairyland!"

Jax’s heart warmed at the faraway look in her eyes. He wished he could put it there every day for the rest of her life – if he kept her safe long enough to LIVE the rest of that life.

Brenda was so absorbed in the admiring the decorations that she didn’t realize he had pulled her with him to the main desk. "I’d like a room for two, please," Jax said, setting down Brenda’s small bags on the floor next to him. "Something close to the elevators, perhaps?"

The clerk smiled condescendingly and lifted her chin a notch. "I’m sorry, sir, but we’re all booked up for the evening."

"I see." Jax could see the skepticism in the clerk’s eyes at Brenda’s scanty luggage and his complete lack thereof. He glanced around suspiciously and then reached into his back pocket, quickly pulling a credit card out of his wallet. "Are you SURE you don’t have anything for us?"

The clerk’s expression melted somewhat when she looked at the gold-trimmed card and she gave Jax a weak smile. "Let me just double-check that for you, Mr. Spencer……"

Brenda had the good sense to wait until the clerk moved down the counter to check her computer before she spoke. "Spencer?"

"Uh-huh." Jax’s smile never cracked as he whispered out of the side of his mouth to Brenda. "Luke Spencer. And you’re my wife, Laura."

Brenda smiled when Jax wound his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. "Is that one of your undercover police personalities?"

"Nope." Jax craned his neck, watching the clerk intently as her fingers flew over the keyboard. "He’s my brother-in-law – Bobbie’s brother." He turned slightly in Brenda’s direction. "You remember Bobbie? The nurse from the hospital?"

"The one who’s married to your brother, Jerry!" Jax shushed Brenda again in her exuberance at putting the pieces together. She glanced around to make sure nobody had overheard her and then looked furtively back up at Jax. "So you use his name when you have to hide a witness here?"

"No, I use my OWN name when I have to hide a witness, because that’s usually at the Motel 6." Jax rolled his eyes sarcastically. "The PCPD would NEVER spring for anything this luxurious. That’s why I know Mac wouldn’t think to look here." He leaned closer to her as the clerk came back in their direction. "But that really IS Luke’s credit card – Bobbie usually smoothes things over with him when I need to use his name for a cover."

"I’m VERY sorry, Mr. Spencer……" The clerk’s sincere tone interrupted Jax and Brenda’s conversation. She was smiling very apologetically. "It seems that we really ARE booked up for the evening……"

"There’s nothing? Nothing at ALL?" Jax fought the urge to spout profanities and pound on the desk. He had gotten Brenda this far but didn’t want to push his luck taking her back out to another hotel.

"Well, *practically* nothing….."

"Practically’s not always bad." Jax leaned forward intently. "What is it?"

"The honeymoon suite." The clerk glanced down at her keyboard and tapped in a few more commands, staring at the screen. "And it’s three hundred and fifty a night."

"We’ll take it." Brenda stifled her strangled exclamation of shock, but Jax just smiled even more broadly and hugged her to his side. "My Laura and I decided last year that we would start a new tradition and take some time just for ourselves before Christmas to celebrate ……." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the clerk. "If you know what I mean……"

The clerk blushed ever so slightly and hurriedly started typing in more data. "I’m sure that I do, Mr. Spencer……"

Jax leaned an elbow on the counter. "Yessss, sirreee…….after Laura here told me that I’d have to put together an entire Barbie theme park this Christmas Eve, I decided that *nothing* was too good for us – right, pookie?"

"Riiiiight, snookums," Brenda answered tentatively. She was beginning to feel the first stirrings of panic but tried to keep concentrating on the Christmas decorations and the strong, masculine smell of the man who was keeping her safe.

"Yep. That Barbie extravaganza is for our daughter, little Lulu," Jax went on, "and there’s a dirt bike for our son, Lucky." He chuckled loudly. "We’ve kind of got an "L" thing goin’ on with the kids……." When he started to dig deeper into his wallet, the clerk paled. "I think I’ve got their latest school pictures buried somewhere in here……."

"Oh, that’s REALLY not necessary, Mr. Spencer!" the clerk exclaimed. Just as she did, the printer behind her began spitting out pages of documents. "Besides – I have your paperwork ready!" As Jax smiled at Brenda and gave her a "We-did-it!" wink, the clerk got out two electronic card keys. "Here’s a key for you and Mrs. Spencer," she said, handing them the devices. "I hope you enjoy your stay with us."

"I’m sure we will!" Jax boomed, hugging Brenda from behind. He tucked her under his arm and handed her overnight bag to a bellman as they made their way to the bank of elevators.

Brenda felt like pinching herself to make sure it wasn’t all a dream. Only an hour earlier, she had been settling into her bed at the brownstone, convinced that she and Jax would spend the rest of the evening cuddling and enjoying their privacy. Instead, she found herself on the eighth floor of the Port Charles Hotel, smack in the *middle* of the big, bad world – and she hadn’t passed out yet.

But the evening wasn’t over.

The bellman took the card key from Jax and deftly inserted it in the ornate door leading to the Honeymoon Suite. When the door swung open, before she could even see the inside, Brenda found herself being swept into Jax’s arms.

"Thanks very much, young man!" he grinned, cradling Brenda to his chest. Jax moved past the bellman to carry Brenda across the threshold. "I think me and the missus can handle things from here!"

"But Mr. Spencer……"

"Now, now, now……" Jax chortled. "No buts about it, young man!" He set Brenda down again and took the bellman by the shoulders, turning him towards the door. "I’m sure that my wife and I can figure out how to work all the gadgets in the room, and it wouldn’t get you a bigger tip, anyway!" He pressed another bill into the confused bellman’s hand. "You just go on back downstairs and tell that nice lady at the desk that me and the missus sure do appreciate this!"

Before the bellman could object, Jax had pushed him out the door. He slammed it firmly, throwing the dead bolt with a satisfied smile. "That’s better." But when he turned back to face Brenda, he saw her standing at the entrance to the suite, frozen in place. "Brenda?" When he came up to stand behind her, she still didn’t move. "Brenda?" he asked gently. "Is this……I mean, are you having one of your…….attacks?"

"It’s…….well, it’s panic, but………" She whistled softly, turning slowly from one side of the immense suite to the other. "Jax – have you SEEN this place?"

When Jax finally looked at the décor in the Port Charles Honeymoon Suite, he understood Brenda’s dismay. The "living room" area of the suite was miniscule, and that description was generous. A small settee and coffee table off to the right were the suite’s only concession to "living." Obviously, the suite was geared to hormonally spirited, romantically challenged couples. The large main room was dominated by a gigantic heart-shaped bed, which sported a red fur bedspread and numerous heart-shaped matching throw pillows. Halfway between the bed and the door to the bathroom, a sunken bathtub beckoned to hedonistic honeymooners and promised disaster for sound sleepwalkers. The predominant color in the room’s decorating scheme was red, from the flocked velvet draperies to the satin sheets visible beneath the turned back comforter.

"Oh, my God, Jax…….." Brenda walked slowly into the room, her hands covering her mouth. "I feel like I just fell into something out of Austin’s Powers’ most erotic fantasies……."

He followed her until they came to stand in front of the bed. Both of their heads tilted backwards, looking up at the same thing. Above the bed was suspended a heart-shaped mirror – just as large and gaudy as the resting place it reflected.

"Well…….." Jax finally broke the silence in the room. He clapped his hands together vigorously, the noise barely bouncing back off all the fur and foam in the upholstery. "I guess there’s just one more thing to say, Brenda." He smiled and opened his hands wide. "Until further notice – welcome home!!!"

To be continued……….