Brenda impatiently jabbed at the button with her forefinger before resuming her pacing in the center of the elevator. She rubbed the palms of her hands up and down anxiously on her legs, her fingers nearly disappearing in the voluminous folds of soft fleece.

"If you rub much harder, those pants are going to slip right down past your hips," Jax quipped. He stood at the rear of the elevator, resting his back against the wall, his arms folded nonchalantly across his chest. "My sweats ARE a little big on you, you know."

"Yeah, well, beggars can’t be choosers," she retorted testily, her pace never faltering. She paused only long enough to hitch up Jax’s oversize sweat pants. After bunching up large sections of the hem of his Greenpeace T-shirt to tie it in a stylish knot at her hip, she fluttered her hands in the air in an attempt to release her nervous tension. "And even though you offered to stop at Wyndom’s along the way to pick up something for me to wear, I just couldn’t wait ………" She looked up at the lighted panels indicating the elevator’s progress towards her floor of the Harborview Heights apartment building and chewed on her lower lip. "I HAVE to make sure Lois is alright……"

Jax caught her on the next trip past him, anchoring her in place with a firm grip on her forearms as he forced her to face him. "Thomas *told* me that Lois wasn’t badly hurt, Brenda," he whispered. "You HAVE to believe that he wouldn’t lie to me."

"I know, I know……." Her face was still etched with concern for her best friend. "But I just have to see for myself, you know?" She cast her eyes downward, her chin grimly firm. "It’s all my fault that she got hurt."

"What?" When Jax squeezed her arms, Brenda was forced to look up into his limpid blue eyes.

"It’s all my fault, Jax," Brenda repeated. She managed to pull loose of his embrace and resumed her pacing, albeit at a slower rate. "If I hadn’t asked her to go by my apartment and pack up a suitcase for me, Sorel’s men wouldn’t have hurt her."

"You don’t know that, Brenda." The low venom in his voice made her freeze in place to stare at him. "If it’s anyone’s fault that Lois is hurt, it’s mine."

"You?" she repeated quietly in disbelief. "How do you figure that?"

"Because I should have realized that if Sorel couldn’t get to you or any other member of your family, he would go anyone else who’s important in your life." Jax shook his head as the elevator chimed softly and the doors slowly started to slide open. "I should have anticipated this and gotten Lois to a safe place before he could attack her."

"Aha – I thought so."

Jax and Brenda both swiveled towards the open elevator doors at the sound of Thomas’s voice. They had been so busy debating their respective guilt in Lois’s attack that neither one heard the soft "ping" when the doors opened. He barred them from entering the hallway, arms crossed across his chest, with a knowing smirk on his face. "I FIGURED you both would be playin’ the blame game by now," he announced, nodding his head.

Although Brenda managed to bolt past the man/mountain towards the door of her apartment, Jax hung back, staring daggers at Thomas. "If you’re out here in the hall," he glowered, hands on hips, "then who’s taking care of Lois?"

"Whoever he is, I feel sorry for him," Thomas retorted with a wry grimace. "God help the man that ever tries to take care of THAT female!" He stepped aside to let Jax precede him towards Brenda’s apartment. "I swear, Brenda’s friend is about the stubbornest creature that the Good Lord ever put on this earth!" He matched Jax’s brisk stride as the two men followed in the direction Brenda had run. "Besides, boss, you KNOW I would never have left her alone without makin’ sure the premises was secure first."

Jax came to a halt outside Brenda’s door and nodded. "She was inside the apartment when you found her?"

"Yep." He followed when Jax slowly passed through the door. "And if it’s any consolation to ya, I don’t think that Sorel was really out to hurt Brenda’s friend with this little stunt. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, if ya know what I mean."

Jax’s face was grim as he surveyed the damage to Brenda’s living room. His gaze briefly swept the ransacked furnishings in search of the only thing that really mattered in the room – Brenda. His posture eased somewhat when he caught sight of her, crouched beside the couch. She was hugging the dark-haired woman who lay there so tightly that Jax couldn’t see her face.

"My God, Lois…….." The catch in Brenda’s voice drove another arrow of guilt into Jax’s heart. "You nearly scared the LIFE out of me this time!"

"Yeah, well apparently I scared those maternal frickin’ poopooheads who broke into your apartment, too," Lois sighed. The two women finally broke apart. "I barely set foot in the door when one of ‘em clonked me in the back of the head with a tire iron or somethin’."

Brenda gently petted Lois’s hair and then cupped the side of her face. "And you’re SURE you’re OK?"

"Other than havin’ this goose egg on my head, I’m FINE, Bren!" Her weak but musical laughter made the corners of Jax’s mouth tilt upwards despite the grim circumstances.

Discounting Lois’s faint smile, Brenda frowned and shook her head. "Well, I’m not going to be able to relax until I hear the paramedics say that you’re fine."

Lois dropped her gaze guiltily to her folded hands in her lap. When Thomas cleared his voice awkwardly behind her, Brenda swiveled to face him. "You DID call the paramedics, didn’t you, Thomas?"

Just as he opened his mouth to answer, Lois spoke up softly. "I wouldn’t let him."

Brenda’s lips thinned with impatience and she turned back to Lois. "This is no time to be afraid of shots and men in white coats, Lois Marie," she scolded, wagging her finger at her. "You NEED to let a doctor take a look at your head."

"I don’t want all that fuss over a little bump on the noggin, Bren," Lois shot back. She winced and put an ice bag – which Thomas had obviously supplied – to the back of her head. "With the sirens wailin’ and all those paramedics runnin’ around the building, it’ll get on the news and scare my ma half to death."

"Then we’ll take you to the emergency room in the limo," Jax announced, moving towards the couch. He smiled a silent greeting at Lois. "No sirens, no fuss, no paramedics, no nightly news headlines……"

"No dice." Lois settled back against the couch cushions, her arms folded across her chest like a pouting four-year-old. "I ain’t gonna see no doctor."

As Jax took a breath to argue, Thomas stepped up to put his hand on his employer’s arm. "Don’t waste your time, boss." He shook his head, his lips pursed as he spoke in a mock whisper. "I think she was born with one of those birth defect things." He nodded wisely. "The congenital inability to say the word YES."

While Jax bit back a snicker, even Lois managed a smile. "For which my ma was always grateful, especially when I started goin’ out with Louie Franconi!" A sudden impish blue sparkle lit her eyes as she stared at the tall blonde man. "You must be Brenda’s boyfriend ….." Her eyes roamed hungrily up and down his blue t-shirt, black jeans-clad frame. "Mr. Fancy Breakfast and Roses out the Wazoo rich guy……."

"Jax will do ……" His dimples sprang to life as he bowed regally and extended his hand to her. "And I’m very pleased to meet you, Lois, even if the circumstances are less than optimal."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah……you’re thrilled, she’s thrilled……." Brenda straightened to a standing position, propping her fisted hands on her hips. "All of which is Lois’s way to trying to change the subject so we’ll forget about the fact that she NEEDS TO SEE A DOCTOR!"

"A dilemma for which I think I have a solution," Jax quickly added. He glanced back towards Thomas. "Take Lois down to the limo and get her back to Wyndemere," he ordered. "Then call Jeff Weber and have him come by the house to look her over." He pulled a cell phone from his rear jeans pocket. "I’ll call Mac Scorpio and have him send some men over here to take a report." After punching some numbers into the phone, he held it to his ear and nodded again at Thomas. "Send Leo back with the car to pick us up. After Brenda and I talk to the police, he can get us back to the house." His gaze flickered towards Brenda. "Besides, Jeff should probably give you another check up to make sure there are no other ill effects from last night."

"Last night?" Lois’s eyes widened. "What happened last night?"

"It’s a long story." Brenda’s mouth thinned grimly and she waved a hand as Thomas came closer to the couch. "I’ll tell you all about it later."

Lois’s dark eyebrows knit into a concerned frown until Thomas scooped her into his arms off the couch. "Wait a minute…… WAIT A MINUTE!!" Her hands flailed wildly in the air. "I can walk, you know!! Those guys hit me in the head!! They didn’t shoot me in the kneecaps or somethin’!"

"Until Dr. Weber checks you out, Lo, I agree with Jax," Brenda said sternly, patting her friend’s legs as she tried to calm her. "You should stay off your feet and let Thomas carry you to the car."

Lois seethed in silence for a few more moments, then settled back into Thomas’s arms with a pout and a loud sigh. "Sooooo…….." Thomas drawled as he eyed Lois warily, "she’s gonna let me do this now? I mean, she’s not gonna start kickin’ and screamin’ once I get out in the hall and …… and…….." A faint flush crept to his cheeks. "…….and do somethin’ that would be terminal to my future ability to sire offsprings?"

"I’m sure she’ll be gentle with you, Thomas," Jax assured him with a broad smile. "Make sure Lois gets settled in the green room in the east wing." He suddenly paused, stared for a moment into his cell phone, and then ended the call. "The police should be here in a few minutes, so we won’t be long."

Even though Thomas turned and was walking towards the door, Lois’s voice carried back into the room. "Yeah, well I’m STILL gonna be worried that one of those nasty poopooheads will come back to hurt Brenda before the police get here….."

"So then we’ll just have to do something to distract you!" Thomas groaned. "Mr. Jacks has a big collection of videos if you’d like to watch a movie….."

"Ohhhh……" Brenda bit back a smile when Lois settled closer to Thomas’s chest as he stopped in the doorway. "I doubt he’d have any of the kind of movies that I like." She sighed dreamily. "There’s NOTHIN’ better than Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant……"

"I BEG to differ," Thomas retorted with a huff. "That is OBVIOUSLY because you ain’t seen Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, baby!" He hoisted her higher in his arms. "THEY are ‘da bomb!"

Lois’s return argument about Audrey Hepburn’s acting abilities was still echoing in the hallway when Jax strolled towards the door. "You know," he mused, peering in the direction they had gone, "if they don’t kill each other first, those two might just find out they have a lot in common, you know?" He turned back with a sly smile, only to have the color drain from his face when he found himself alone. "Brenda?"

Jax’s heart raced into triple time in less than two seconds. Had he been too confident that the premises, indeed, was safe? Had some of Sorel’s thugs hidden in a closet and taken Brenda right out from under his nose? "BRENDA??!!" He called her name again, this time sprinting towards the bedroom only to come to a screeching halt in the doorway. "Brenda?" he repeated softly.

She stood facing the remnants of what could have optimistically been called her boudoir. Dresses, pants, and blouses were strewn everywhere, slashed and torn to pieces. Drawers had been pulled out of her dresser and armoire, their contents strewn haphazardly on the floor in large piles. To add insult to injury, it appeared that most of her lingerie and soft sweaters had received the same slice-and-dice treatment. Her desk hadn’t been spared from the carnage, either. The drawers hung open, papers spilled randomly around the room to add to the general disarray. Lamps lay on their sides, their shades slashed and cords cut.

"Jax……" He heard the quiet sob in her voice and expected the tears he saw when she revolved slowly to face him. "Ohhhhh, Jax……."

He covered the distance to her side in record time, taking her into his arms just as she lost the gallant battle to keep her chin from quivering. "It’s OK, Brenda," he crooned, wrapping her tightly against his chest. "They’re all just things. They can be replaced."

She hiccupped softly, then finally pulled away from him. "It’s not just that, Jax……." She walked over to a lamp and was about to pick it up when he interrupted her.

"Don’t touch it, Brenda!" Her hand froze in mid-air, the pain on her face driving another knife into his heart. "The police might want to make some tests or something……" When she nodded and straightened, he shrugged his shoulders grimly. "They should at least see things the way we found them."

Twenty seconds of silence followed before he saw her shoulders shaking. "And are they going to FEEL what I felt too, Jax?" At first he thought she was crying again, but then he realized it was the result of pent-up rage. "Will they know how much I just want to punch out every one of Sorel’s shiny white teeth right now?" she growled, forming her hand into a fist.

Jax licked his lips, not quite sure how to handle Brenda’s vengeance when it was directed at someone other than him. "Brenda……"

"Why did he do this to me, Jax?" she asked, slowly starting to pace a circle in the one small clear space in the room. "Did he think that if Spook didn’t scare me enough last night, trashing my apartment and hurting my best friend would make me more afraid of him?"

"No……." Jax picked his way through the wreckage to stand before her. "At least, I don’t think that scaring you was his PRIMARY purpose here."

"Then why?" Brenda spied a shattered framed picture of her niece and nephew, picked it up tenderly, and cradled it to her chest. "Why did Sorel do this?"

"I think they were looking for something." Jax pressed his lips together, looked around, and then nodded as if to confirm the truth of his own theory. "Sorel must think that you’re getting close to some kind of incriminating evidence. He sent his men here to steal it from you before you could use it."

"But I don’t have anything like that, Jax! You know that better than anyone!" Brenda shook her head grimly. "Every time I got even *close* to anything that would have put Sorel away, you locked me out with your super computer."

"Which is only a GOOD thing, Brenda!" Jax argued, grasping her elbows excitedly. "It proves that even though *I* can tap into your computer system at the office, Sorel can’t!" His chin suddenly firmed as his gaze shifted to the window, his thoughts wandering. "Either that, or we’ve stumbled onto something really damaging and we haven’t realized it yet."

Brenda looked over her shoulder towards the windows when she heard the faint sound of police sirens. "Well, one thing’s for sure." She set the broken picture back down on the dresser, dusting her hands together. "As soon as I can get back to the office, I’m going back through my files to take a second look at EVERYTHING."

"Nothin’ doin’." Her eyes widened when Jax shook his head firmly. "You’re not going ANYWHERE except back to Wyndemere, Brenda."

"Jax, we’ve already been through this!" she groaned, picking her way towards the living room. "I have a job to do, and I’m not going to let Sorel win by forcing me to go into hiding!"

"You can still do your job, Brenda," Jax countered, taking her by the elbow to steady her balance in the shifting morass of diced clothing. "You’ll just be doing it from MY office, not yours!" he added brightly, his dimples winking as he smiled at her broadly.

Before she could come up with any further objection, a noise in the hallway drew both of their attention. "Brenda?" The sound of a man’s voice echoed in the stillness, only to grow more agitated when she didn’t answer. "BRENDA??!!"

She came back into her living room to confront a gap-mouthed Ned standing in her doorway. "BRENDA!" he gasped, his shoulders heaving in relief. He flung his arms wide and stumbled into the room as she made her way towards him. "Thank GOD you’re OK!!"

"I’m fine, Ned," she smiled, melting into his arms as he pulled her into a bear-hug. "Really."

They embraced in silence for a few seconds before Ned pulled away to look around the room. "Good Lord…….what HAPPENED in here? World War III?"

"Kinda looks like it, doesn’t it?" she snorted softly, shaking her head with a grimace. Brenda suddenly turned back to him with a frown. "What are YOU doing here?"

"I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all morning to see if you were OK after your little encounter at the Ball-B-Que last night!" Ned nodded a silent greeting in Jax’s direction when the blonde man emerged from the bedroom. "I didn’t figure you’d be at the office, but when I kept calling and calling your apartment and didn’t get an answer, I had the operator check the line. She told me it was out of order." He looked over her shoulder towards the carnage that had been her furniture. "Now I guess I know why."

"Awwwww, poor baby……." She tipped her head to the side with a sweet smile before giving him another hug. "Thanks for worrying about me."

He pulled back and gave her a lusty wink, nodding in Jax’s direction. "Looks like I’m not the only one, hmmmm?"

She arched one eyebrow with a knowing smile. "He’s OK – if you like the overprotective type."

The sound of thumping and the low rumbling of voices in the hallway preceded the arrival of the police by only minutes. "Miss Barrett?" A harried patrolman poked his head around the corner of the open front door. "Brenda Barrett?"

"That’s me." She pulled away from Ned, waving the officer and his comrades into her apartment. "Come on in, although you should know I’m not usually such a terrible housekeeper."

Ned strolled over to Jax while the policemen streamed into the apartment. "I take it this probably has something to do with the attack on Brenda last night," he murmured, folding his arms across his chest while standing shoulder to shoulder with Jax to keep an eye on the situation.

"Probably." Jax’s eyes never left Brenda’s face. He was still giving silent thanks that she had stayed the night with him and hadn’t been around when Sorel’s men showed up.

"It’s that d*mn Brighton murder case again, isn’t it?" Ned hissed. His eyes grew cold. "Why can’t she just back off like we keep telling her and let someone ELSE handle the case?"

"It’s become a personal thing with her now, Ned. This guy’s come onto her home turf to hit her where she’s most vulnerable." Jax watched Brenda move through the apartment with the police, knowing full well the rage and impotence she was feeling against Sorel and his men. "She won’t rest until she’s got the person responsible behind bars for the rest of his miserable life," he added discreetly. Since he wasn’t sure how much of the case Brenda had shared with her friend, Jax didn’t want to give away any secrets.

Ned shook his head in dismay again, then suddenly shifted his attention to Jax. "Anything I can do here to help?"

"I think I’ve got everything covered, but thanks for the offer, Ned," Jax replied. "Brenda’s going to stay with me at Wyndemere until this mess is over."

A shocked laugh/gasp escaped Ned’s lips. "And she AGREED to that?"

"Well, sort of." Jax waggled his eyebrows at Ned suggestively. "But I think with a little more well-placed PERSUASION she’ll see the wisdom of my ways."

The two men were still chuckling conspiratorially when Brenda came over. "What’s going on here?" she asked with a wary frown.

"I was just asking Jax if there was anything that I could do to help," Ned explained, his face the picture of choir-boy innocence. After stepping back to let some policemen go into the bedroom, Ned put his hand on Brenda’s arm to get her attention. "So how exactly DID you find out that this happened? Did someone SEE who did this?"

As Brenda took a breath to answer, Jax slid next to her. "One of her neighbors called Brenda’s cell phone this morning when she heard strange noises in her apartment," he explained, slipping his arm around her waist to telegraph a silent message that she should keep quiet. "By the time we got here, whoever did this was long gone."

At that point, one of the policemen re-emerged from her bedroom. "Although I doubt they’ll find anything, we’re going to bring in our forensics team to go over your place, Miss Barrett." He sighed. "But at first glance, I have to say this looks like it was done by professionals."

Ned suddenly stepped between Brenda and the patrolman. "If the police don’t need you for anything else, why don’t you go on and let me handle things from here, Brenda?" he offered. When she grimaced a protest, he put his arm around her shoulder. "Don’t try to be superwoman, Bren," he whispered. "You nearly got yourself killed at the Ball-B-Que last night." He tipped his head forward, giving her an almost maternal look. "Which probably explains why you look like you didn’t get any sleep at all."

"Geez……. Does it show that much?" Brenda gave her best imitation of exhaustion while Jax smothered a cough as well as he could, considering the fact that Brenda’s elbow had lodged discreetly in his ribs. "But you really don’t have to do this, Ned…."

"I insist." He held his hands up, palms out, brooking no objection. "Besides, it’s the least I can do since Jax seems to have all the other bases covered." He smiled broadly. "And you KNOW that administrative stuff like this is right down my alley – making sure that all the t’s are crossed and the i’s dotted."

"Well…….if you’re sure you don’t mind……." Brenda melted against Jax’s side as he moved her towards the doorway.

"Thanks, man," Jax called, turning when they reached the door to the hall. "If you need anything from Brenda, call my office and they’ll patch you through to my cell phone."

"Understood." Ned nodded firmly, then pointed a finger in Brenda’s direction. "Just keep her safe, OK, mate?"

"That’s the plan," Jax smiled. After one last wave goodbye, they went into the hall and towards the elevator. When Brenda took a breath to speak, he held up a finger in a signal that she should wait. Once they stepped onto the elevator and the doors closed in front of them, she folded her arms and cocked her head to the side.

"OK – time to spill the beans, Jax. Why didn’t you want me to tell Ned about what happened to Lois?"

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "It just seemed like the thing to do, Brenda. Besides, Ned admitted it himself. You know how anal Ashton can be when there’s paperwork involved. If he found out that there was a potential witness to the vandalism at your place, he’d have an entire squad of the PCPD on the way to Wyndemere to interview Lois. And although I don’t know her that well, it seemed to me like that’s the LAST thing she would want right now."

Brenda paused for about fifteen seconds, then smiled and went to lovingly cup the side of Jax’s face with her hand. "You’re sweet, did you know that, Mr. Jacks?"

"I don’t recall that being one of the adjectives you used to describe me when you were losing all that sleep last night, Miss Barrett," he replied with a wicked grin. "But I’ll take the compliment nonetheless." When she sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist to snuggle closer to him, he rested his chin on top of her head. "Now – let’s get you back home."

*~*~*~*

"Geez Louise, Brenda!" Lois’s head swiveled from side to side as she followed Brenda through the winding halls of Wyndemere. "This is like the most GIGUNDA house I’ve ever seen in my LIFE!" Her blue eyes wide as saucers, she grabbed Brenda’s arm just as she was about to open the door to Jax’s bedroom. "I mean, that bathroom back there was bigger than my ma’s whole kitchen back in Bensonhurst!"

By the time Jax and Brenda had arrived back at Spoon Island, Jeff Weber had nearly finished examining Lois. With many hugs and tears of relief, the two women had rejoiced when he announced the fact that she was only suffering from a mild head contusion and would probably suffer no lasting side effects. After promising that he would be called if Lois experienced any nausea or dizziness, Dr. Weber had agreed to accompany Jax back to his study, leaving the two friends free to explore the mansion on their own and catch up on "girl talk."

"Ho-ly mo-ly……" Lois’s jaw hung slack when Brenda ushered her into Jax’s spacious master suite. She turned a complete circle in amazement, then shook her head. "And Jax lives in this gigunda house all by himself?"

"Well, by himself except for Thomas," Brenda replied. She yanked determinedly at the sagging waistband of Jax’s sweat pants. "And apparently for me, too, until this whole Brighton murder case gets straightened out."

Brenda had filled Lois in on the pertinent details of her past adventures with Sorel and Spook, carefully leaving out the parts involving Kismet and Jax’s true identity. "I just………" Lois shook her head again and then walked to a window, peering out to gaze at the lake in the distance. "I can’t imagine how a person could live all by themselves in this place." She glanced back at Brenda over her shoulder. "Doesn’t he ever get lost in all these hallways or somethin’?"

"You don’t know the HALF of it, Lois Marie," Brenda replied, her mouth twisting when Lois wasn’t looking. She couldn’t help but remember her exploration of the secret passageway behind Jax’s mantel not even twenty-four hours earlier. Just as she walked over to the bed and was about to collapse onto it, a sudden racket in the hallway drew both of the women’s attention.

"Hello?" Thomas’s booming voice echoed in the cavernous space. "Yo, Brenda? You around here somewhere?"

She smiled as she bounded off the bed and towards the doorway. "And I guess THAT’S how they communicate around here until Jax puts in an intercom," she chuckled to Lois. Brenda threw the door open to reveal Thomas, his arms overflowing with bags and boxes. "We’re in here, Thomas."

"Good." He huffed and puffed theatrically as he carried the bags into the room. "Cause these things are SURE a lot heavier than they look!"

"What IS all this, Thomas?" Brenda asked. She arched a raven eyebrow when she realized that most of the bags bore the names of Port Charles’ more exclusive women’s boutiques.

"Stuff." He flung the bags onto the enormous bed, repeating the gesture with his other hand until packages completely obliterated the bedspread. "YOUR stuff," he added, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he glanced in Brenda’s direction.

"MY stuff?" Although Brenda was still frowning in confusion, Lois hurried over to the bed, her dimples twinkling with delight. "This CAN’T be my stuff, Thomas," Brenda argued, waving a hand at the array. "MY stuff is all back at my apartment, chopped up into little pieces like hash browns."

"Which is WHY the boss sent me to all those fancy boo-teekies to get you all new stuff," Thomas retorted. He sighed loudly. "You don’t suppose those boxes and bags with the big dresses that are still down in the car would be sproutin’ legs and walkin’ themselves up here anytime soon, do ya?"

"Oh, my God…….there’s MORE?" Lois cried. She clapped her hands together gleefully before ripping into one of the bags.

"Yeah……." Thomas sighed again, then trudged back towards the door. "I’ll bring ‘em up……"

Brenda was still staring open-mouthed at the door when her friend’s shriek of delight made her turn back. "Girlfriend!!" Lois shook out a cobalt blue silk blouse dramatically, draping it against her chest. "These are GORGEOUS!!" She suddenly clutched the blouse in her hands, dropping to her knees on the bed with a sigh. "I swear, if you don’t want this Jax guy, would you pass him along to me?"

"Ohhhhh, I think I’ll keep him, Lo." Brenda sank onto the bed, getting into the spirit as she ripped into another one of the bags. Rich satin shirts and light-weight cashmere sweaters billowed from more packages. When she opened yet another bag, both women’s mouths formed silent "O’s" of shock at the sight of a black lace garter belt and matching bra and panties.

"Ho-ly cow………" Lois settled into a more comfortable position on the bed, her eyes wide with admiration. When Brenda took out yet another set of lingerie – this one a vivid magenta satin push-up bra and matching thong – Lois leaned towards Brenda conspiratorially. "So………" she asked, her voice low and husky. "Is Jax as yummy in bed as he looks?"

"LOIS!!" Brenda clutched the lingerie to her chest, then stuffed it quickly back into the bag. "Just because the man buys me lingerie….."

"……and flowers and catered breakfasts and probably every piece of women’s clothing between here and Timbuktoo……"

Brenda pressed her lips together ruefully. "Just because Jax is generous and sweet to me doesn’t mean we’re sleeping together."

Lois cocked her head to the side, rolling her eyes sarcastically. "Honey, when a man buys a woman lingerie that looks like that, you can BE SURE that he’s putting his ladle in her gravy boat all night long."

"LOIS!!"

"Well, that’s what my ma always used to say," she retorted, tossing a silk blouse towards a corner of the bed. When footsteps sounded outside the door and Jax appeared in the open entry, Lois pointed a well-manicured finger at him. "And I’ll be darned if it isn’t Mr. Royal Doulton, even as we speak!"

"Royal Doulton?" Jax’s blonde eyebrows drew together in confusion as a hot blush crawled up Brenda’s neck towards her face. "What’s going on here, ladies? And why am I being compared to fine china?"

"Nothing’s going on, honey!" Brenda bounded off the bed and into Jax’s arms before Lois could explain the reference. "Just girl talk, you know……"

Jax accepted her quick kiss and hug, drawing her into his arms to linger. "Sooo……..do you think I got the right sizes?"

Brenda glanced down at the sweat pants, which were threatening to fall again any minute. "Honey, at this point, I’ll do ANYTHING to get out of these clothes!"

A wicked grin deepened his dimples. "Well, you know I’d be more than happy to help you with that, but I think we’d embarrass your friend," he added, nodding towards Lois.

"Ya see??!!" Lois sat back on the bed, folding her arms, an I-told-you-so expression on her face. "Royal Doulton all the way, baby."

Just then, Thomas staggered into the room bearing more bags and boxes. "Where do you want me to put these, boss?"

Jax frowned for a moment, but then his face lit with understanding. "Those things go down to Lois’s room." As Thomas nodded and left the room, Jax turned back to Lois. "I hope I wasn’t too far off in guessing your sizes."

"MY sizes?" Now it was Lois’s turn to gape in shock. She craned her neck to see the amount of boxes Thomas was carrying, then crawled slowly from the bed. "You bought stuff for ME, too?"

"Mm-hmmm." Jax shrugged his shoulders. "I figured it was the least I could do."

"But I……..my…….." Lois sputtered, pointing towards the hallway, her gaze ping-ponging back and forth between Jax and the mountain of new clothing on the bed. "My stuff is fine!! No wacko Ron Popeil and his merry band of Vegomatic burglars broke into MY place!"

"Yes, I KNOW that," Jax replied, grinning broadly. "But until I can be sure that Brenda’s building is safe, I don’t want you going back there. You’ll be living here at Wyndemere for the foreseeable future."

"But…….but my ma……."

"Will know all about it as soon as you call her on the telephone," Jax interrupted. "And before you try to tell me that you have irreplaceable STUFF back at your place, just make a list and I’ll have someone go by and pick up those items for you."

"You might as well give up, Lois," Brenda sighed, resting her head against Jax’s chest. "He’s pretty d*mn stubborn once he gets an idea in his head.

"Yeah…..I can see that." Lois folded her arms, arching one eyebrow at him before breaking into a smile. "I guess that’s why the two of you get along so well, huh?"

Jax suddenly looked down at Brenda. "Are you up for a little work on the computer?" He cleared his voice awkwardly. "I thought we might be able to go to my office and take a closer look at some of those questionable …….items……..that might lead us to figure out a solution to the Brighton case."

"Your office?" Lois rose from the bed, walking over to where they stood. "You got an office in this place, too?"

"You might say that," Brenda replied cryptically. She gave Jax another quick kiss. "Just let me help Lois get settled into her room and then I’ll be down……." She caught herself before she revealed any more of Jax’s secrets. "I’ll come to your office and join you."

"You two go on," Lois insisted, waving a hand. "I’ll just follow the sound of Thomas’s huffing and puffing and find my way back to my room."

"Are you sure?" Jax led Brenda towards the door, but not before giving Lois a pointed look. "You’re feeling OK?"

"I promise I’ll just give a yell if I feel like hurlin’," Lois laughed. "My ma always did say I could holler louder than any of my brothers."

"OK, then….." Brenda held Jax’s hand but pointed an accusatory finger at Lois. "And we’ll see you for supper, OK?"

"Gotcha. See ‘ya for dinner." Lois waited until they disappeared into the hall, then walked to the doorway and propped a shoulder against it to watch them with a broad smile. "Yeah, right…….You two just go WORK," she murmured, snickering to herself. "Although I’d bet my bottom dollar that SOMEBODY’S gonna be settin’ the table before the day is through!"

To be continued…….