The Lila Quartermaine Memorial Auditorium at Port Charles University was filled to overflowing with reporters and spectators. On the stage, Carly Roberts Morgan sat smugly in a folding chair next to her husband, Jason. While they sat off to one side, Kimberly paced nervously in front of an empty folding chair on the other side. Kimberly had on a dark blue business suit with a fitted jacket that flared out to a peplum just below her waist. A pale blue blouse showed since she hadn’t buttoned the front of the jacket. She had her hair pulled back into a French roll, and her blue eye shadow was visible even in the back row of the auditorium.

Carly checked her watch one more time and then strolled over to Kimberly. "So, is your candidate going to show or not? You know, I happen to have a son who’s waiting for his mommy and daddy to come home, so if you man has decided to chicken out….."

Kimberly turned vehemently. "Jasper has NOT decided to "chicken out," as you put it! Brenda said he had a pressing family matter to handle and that he would be here as soon as possible." She smiled sweetly at Carly. "I’m sure that Mr. Jacks will have a perfectly logical explanation for his tardiness as soon as he…."

A sudden hush fell over the auditorium as the loud whine of helicopter motors could be heard. As Carly and Kimberly stood transfixed on the stage, a few of the press ran outside, and after a couple of minutes, returned jubilantly. "It’s them! It’s the J&J Jacks helicopters – two of ‘em!" the reporter shouted, and a crush of humanity made its way towards the doors.

Kimberly tapped on the microphone for order. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press! Please, everyone! Let them have some room! I’m sure that Mr. Jacks will answer all of your questions if you will just let him come to the stage area!" She glanced over at Carly, who didn’t appear to be pleased with the media frenzy surrounding Jax’s arrival.

To Carly’s surprise, the reporters actually did seem to listen to Kimberly’s pleas as they moved to opposite sides of the narrow aisle at the back door of the auditorium. But Kimberly’s face fell when Jax appeared in the doorway, wearing his jeans, turtleneck, and black jacket. He was carrying a small boy, who appeared to be holding onto Jax’s neck for dear life.

As soon as Jax and Jerry had landed at PCU and emerged from their respective choppers, they were besieged by paramedics and families of the campers. Jerry had radioed ahead and the medical personnel were there just for safety’s sake. A few of the parents stopped to hug Jax and Jerry and shake their hands, but Jax just smiled politely and tried to make his way towards the auditorium.

He found himself at the back door still holding Ted, with Neera and a few of the small campers still tagging along. As they entered the lobby, Jax shifted Ted in his arms. "OK, co-pilot, we’re down and safe now. Why don’t you stay with Miss Neera for just a few minutes while I go in and talk to these people?" Neera smiled at Ted and held out her hands, but Ted only wrapped his arms more tightly around Jax’s neck.

"Nooo," he crooned softly, "I wanna stay with you."

"Come on, Ted," Neera said while rubbing his back. "You can stay with me for just a few minutes and then after Jax is done talking to these people, he’s going to fly us to his house to spend the night." She tried to make eye-contact with him. "Won’t that be nice?"

But Ted just held on tighter and Jax shook his head. "He’s OK, beautiful." He gave a long sigh and looked at the inquisitive faces lining the aisle to the stage. "I won’t be that long, anyway. Kimberly will probably kill me in the first 30 seconds," he muttered with a grim set to his face. Holding Ted tightly to his chest, he made his way to the stage, ignoring the questions that reporters where shouting to him from the aisle.

He mounted the stairs to the stage still carrying Ted and with Neera following closely behind. He smiled weakly at Kimberly, who rushed over to him. She pasted a smile on her face, but her words were like sulphuric acid. "Jasper, you had better have a good explanation for this or I personally will let Carly kick your butt from here to Albany and back!" She held her smile the whole time she was talking to him, but Jax only noticed that when Ted heard her voice, he buried his head in his shoulder and held tighter.

"And a pleasant good evening to you too, Kimberly," Jax returned snidely.

Kimberly put her back to the audience and faced Jax so that nobody could see what she was saying. She ran her eyes up and down his tall frame, and Jax had the uncomfortable feeling like he was a piece of prime beef being sized up for the slaughterhouse. "Jasper, I really think we should postpone this evening’s festivities," she said quietly. "You’re certainly not dressed for it, and you can’t seem to get rid of the kid, whoever he is." Jax looked over at Carly, who was still grinning and nodded to him politely. He returned the nod, and then pushed Kimberly aside to step to the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, trying his best to flash a killer smile although he was exhausted and cold. "I sincerely apologize for my tardiness this evening, but I was unavoidably detained by a family emergency…."

"And just what WAS that emergency, Mr. Jacks?" a reporter shouted from the aisle. Jax could see the curiosity on everyone’s faces, but he had already made up his mind in the helicopter not to use the events of the evening to draw any media attention to himself.

"I don’t see that that’s any of your business," Jax returned sharply. Kimberly was consumed with a sudden coughing fit, but Jax ignored her. "My family asked me to do a favor, and I did it. I’ve offered my apologies, and I really see no need to go into it any further."

Carly smelled blood in the water and rose to speak into her microphone. "Mr. Jacks, is this some indication of how you’ll be representing the voters in this district? Going off on a personal tangent when you’ve already made another commitment? Is this the kind of behavior voters can expect from YOU?"

Jax took a deep breath and tried to remember all the reasons his mother had given him never to hit a woman. Just as he was about to step to the microphone to answer Carly, Neera stepped in front of him and pushed him aside. "Ladies and gentlemen, I think I can shed some light on Mr. Jacks’ priorities this evening."

As Carly crossed her arms over her chest and grinned like a Cheshire cat, Kimberly rushed forward to put her hand over the mike. "What do you two clowns think this is? Open-mike-night at the comedy club? Do you have any idea what you’re doing?" she spat.

Neera calmly looked her in the eye. "I know exactly what I’m doing, BABE," she returned in the same tone. "I’m doing your job for you and making your candidate into the hero he deserves to be." She glared at Kimberly, who still had her hand covering the microphone. "NOW, MOVE IT OR LOSE IT, CHESTY!" Neera said through gritted teeth as she grasped Kimberly’s wrist for emphasis.

Kimberly’s face paled and she removed her hand from the microphone. Neera smiled at her and turned to face the crowd. "As I was saying, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Neera Shukla, and I have been the director of the Lucas Jacks Camp for Diabetic Children for the past three years. The philanthropy of the Jacks family funds this camp so that every year, diabetic children can get to do many of the things that healthy children do at summer camp in a controlled environment and also learn to manage their diabetes. Due to the extremely mild fall temperatures, we had one last group of campers there until tonight, when we began to experience severe sleet and icing conditions." She held the crowd spellbound and Kimberly faded back as she listened to Neera’s words.

"The camp lost all power about 5 this afternoon. We had no lights, no heat, and the roads were all too icy for anyone to get in or out of our facility. Before our phone lines went down, we were able to contact Mrs. Josephine Jacks, the camp’s founder and guardian angel." She glanced back at Jax, who was staring at the floor and looking uncomfortable with her praise. "It was HER request that Mr. Jacks honored tonight, and without regard for their own personal safety in treacherous weather conditions, he and his brother, Jerry, flew their helicopters up to the camp and rescued 2 other counselors, all of the campers, and myself." A ripple of murmurs went through the crowd, and Carly began to turn a sick shade of green.

Jax moved forward to put his hand on Neera’s shoulder, but she just shook her head stubbornly. "If Mr. Jacks had honored his commitment to be here tonight for the debate, his brother would have had to make several trips to bring all of us down. Both helicopters were covered with a thick layer of ice in making just one trip. I don’t think I need to elaborate on what might have happened if he had attempted more than one trip." She glanced back at Jax, who was still holding Ted and massaging his back. "Not only that, but Mr. Jacks was personally responsible for bringing back one of our youngest campers, who came dangerously close to falling into a diabetic coma. Thanks to Mr. Jacks’ quick thinking and his ability to communicate with this young gentleman, we were able to give him some insulin and bring him down safely with the rest of the campers." She smiled at the crowd. "Now it appears my only problem is prying him away from Mr. Jacks."

Kimberly stood with her mouth hanging open in an unattractive fashion. Carly had taken her seat on her folding chair during Neera’s speech and was clutching Jason’s thigh so fiercely he winced. It was finally Jerry who broke the silence from the side of the stage, coming forward and applauding slowly as he walked towards Jax. Neera stepped back and joined Jerry’s applause in the eloquent tribute.

Regaining her composure, Kimberly quickly picked up on the gesture and added to the applause. The gathered crowd suddenly not only joined in on the applause, but rose to its feet. Jerry came to pull Jax forward to the microphone, and Ted finally relinquished his hold on Jax’s neck when Jerry put out his hands to the boy. Jax lowered his head and stared at the floor, blushing. He finally put out his hands, asking the crowd to stop and take their seats.

When he spoke, his voice choked with emotion. "I really never intended my arrival here tonight to end like this. I simply wanted to come here to apologize to all of you and to get these children back together with their families. What I did tonight is not nearly as important as the fact that we managed to get them all out safe and sound." He looked over at Carly, and then his eyes turned back to the crowd and seared them with their intensity. "And maybe what Mrs. Morgan says is true. If you choose to vote for me, this IS what you can expect from me. Because in my book, PEOPLE will always come first. Not ribbon-cutting ceremonies, or speeches at rotary club lunches. If I am elected, I intend to do what’s best for the PEOPLE of this district, and it if means breaking some dates for social engagements, then so be it. That’s just the way I am." He took a deep breath. "Now, if you all will excuse me, I have a few folks I need to take back to my house for a hot meal and a warm bath and bed……myself included! Thank you all very much for coming tonight." Jax left the microphone and walked to Jerry to take Ted back into his arms.

Jax never made it past the first step off the stage before the flash bulbs from the press started exploding. The crowd rose to its feet again in applause, and as Jax tried to make his way to the back of the auditorium, he was frequently stopped by well-wishers and pats on the back. Ted buried his face deeper into Jax’s shoulder, and finally Jax and Jerry made it to the lobby of the auditorium, a pack of reporters at their heels.

Jax turned to look around him. "Neera? You still with us?"

"Right behind you, Flash," she answered, and as he offered his arm to her, she grabbed it so as not to get lost in the throng of people. They slowly made their way back outside to the helicopters, but when they were almost there, Jax heard Kimberly calling his name sternly. He gave a loud sigh, and after making sure Ted and Neera were inside the helicopter, he turned back to face her.

She was livid. "Jasper, if you EVER do something so patently assinine again during this campaign, I swear I’ll resign!" Her entire body was shaking in anger.

Jax was incredulous. "Saving people’s lives is patently assinine?" he growled.

"No," she hissed, "saving people’s lives WITHOUT taking a news crew with you is patently assinine! Just think of the sound bites we could have recorded! We could have shot an entire roll of publicity stills just on the return trip with you and the boy alone!"

Jax took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "Kimberly," he said in a low, deliberate voice, "if that’s all that this campaign and this seat is about to you – sound bites and publicity stills – then you can take this entire campaign and Assembly seat and stick it……"

The door to the copter was open and Neera lunged forward to grab Jax’s arm. "JAX!" she shouted, nodding her head towards the children still inside.

Jax looked at them, and then back at Kimberly with the same malice in his eyes. "Excuse me. As my grandmother would say... you can stick it in a place of non-illumination without the aid of lubrication!" He turned around, got in the chopper, slammed the door in her confused face, and immediately had Ted flip the big red switch, starting the powerful rotors and completely ruining Kimberly’s hairstyle.

"Table for two, please. I have a reservation. The name is Jacks."

Heads turned in the restaurant at the name. As Jax and Brenda stood quietly waiting for the hostess to confirm their reservation, Jax couldn’t help but notice the attention they were receiving. He leaned down to whisper in Brenda’s ear. "Don’t look now, but I think we’ve been seen." Before Brenda could reply, a polite smattering of applause broke out in the restaurant.

Life had been very hectic since Jax’s triumphant return to Port Charles the night of the debate. Reporters began camping out at the entrance to the driveway, waiting for the "hero" to take off on a mercy mission in his helicopter again. A picture of Jax and Ted appeared on the front page of every newspaper in Port Charles the day afterwards, and Louise finally had to take the telephone off the hook because the ringing was disturbing Jo and Jaz’s naptimes.

The hostess smiled nervously at the couple. "Of course, Mr. Jacks. Won’t you follow me? We have your table ready."

As they made their way through the darkened restaurant, they would have turned heads even if Jax hadn’t been the new media darling of Port Charles. He was dressed in a charcoal gray, double-breasted suit with pleated trousers. The severity of his starched white shirt was offset by his bright red tie. Brenda was stunning in a matching red hostess gown. The top was a bustier of solid red satin, covered with a long-sleeved jacket of red lace. There were sparkling aurora borealis beads sewn throughout the lace. Her skin-tight trousers were made of the same solid red satin, but the crowning glory of the outfit was a full, starched overskirt of the same sparkling red lace as her top. It was floor length, but was split up the front to her waistline, allowing the tight pants to show through. Altogether, the outfit was formal but a concession to comfort, since Brenda far preferred wearing pants to skirts.

As the hostess went to seat them at the table near the window, Jax waved her aside and pulled Brenda’s chair out for her himself. He leaned over as she sat and whispered in her ear, "Every man in this place is jealous of me tonight, my love." She flashed him a blinding smile as he moved to sit across the small table from her.

"And every woman is just as jealous of me," she purred. She reached out to take his hand. "You know, I was skeptical about your idea of having dinner out tonight, but now I’m glad we came."

"You mean you won’t be calling home every ten minutes anymore to make sure the kids are OK?" Jax teased.

Brenda tipped her head from side to side. "Well......now that you mention it, I might wait as long as twenty minutes, just to wipe that smug smile off of your face!" She took her menu. "Although I must admit that I feel much better, knowing that James is there to watch over them. And they’re always at ease with Angie." She lowered her menu to wink at Jax. "And of course, Angie didn’t seem to mind it at all tonight when we mentioned that James would be spending the evening with them."

Jax chuckled. "I know." He lowered his menu. "Did I tell you that James said the new WSB man would be at the house tomorrow to meet us? He seems to think this guy is quite capable, even though he’s relatively new to the Bureau."

"Jax," Brenda began cautiously, "don’t you think James is being a LITTLE overprotective – insisting we have another agent to watch over us? I mean, we haven’t heard anything from that nut now for a long time. Maybe he’s just given up."

"Getting tired of living in a cage, sweetie?" Jax asked. He reached out to squeeze her hand. "I know it’s not easy, with bodyguards dogging our every step. But James is the best and if he thinks we need to have all the bases covered, I support him." He chuckled a little and went back to looking at his menu. "I’m surprised that Neera and Ted decided to stay with us rather than going to one of the J&J Jacks condos. I guess life in the asylum isn’t as bad as we think it is."

"Well, I know one thing – Jo absolutely adores Ted. And I think Ted kind of likes being the big brother for a change and having two younger ones to boss around," Brenda smiled. "Neera says his blood sugars have been much more under control and he’s been sticking more closely to his diet." Brenda sighed. "I just hope that the kids like this new guy as much as they like James."

Jax nodded. "Well, if James says this guy is good, he must be." He glanced over at a burly man near the bar. "And of course, in the meantime, we have our charming bodyguard provided by the PCPD – Bubba."

Brenda covered her mouth to stifle the laughter. James had insisted on Jax and Brenda having some kind of protection that evening, even though Jax had questioned the need for a guard for them in a public restaurant. James argued that the stalker’s first attack had been at a public party, so finally Jax had relented and called Mac Scorpio, requesting private protection. The man who showed up was about as inconspicuous as a 25-ton elephant, a fact that Jax had repeated pointed out in the limousine on the way to the Grille.

When their waiter came, Jax ordered for the both of them and included a bottle of the Grille’s best champagne. When it was served, Brenda smiled at him. "And just what are we celebrating, Mr. Jacks?

He returned the smile. "How about…..me getting the final word in with Kimberly the other night?"

Brenda grabbed her glass dramatically. "I’ll drink to that!" She took a sip of the champagne, but was interrupted when a woman and small child came to their table and stopped awkwardly. Jax smiled at them patiently but reached out to take Brenda’s hand.

"I’m so sorry to interrupt your dinner, Mr. Jacks, but I just wanted to say that I thought it was wonderful what you did the other night." The woman was obviously a fan for life, although the toddler seemed more interested in the champagne bucket and stand.

"Thank you very much," Jax smiled, "but it really was nothing. Have you ever met my lovely wife, Brenda?" He looked over at her and Brenda smiled at the woman.

"How old is your son?" Brenda asked as he nearly tipped over the champagne stand.

"He’s almost three," the woman answered with an edge to her voice. "He’s into EVERYTHING at home. I’m so sorry he almost dumped your wine."

"No problem," Brenda replied. "I think it was almost empty anyway. And I can sympathize with you – our daughter is four and our son is just about ready to walk. Jax is signing me up for the rest home tomorrow." They all shared a laugh and after Jax shook her hand and patted the little boy on the head, they left for their own neighboring table.

The rest of the meal went by with no interruptions, and for that Brenda and Jax were both grateful. "Bubba" had come over and explained to Jax apologetically that his beeper had gone off and since the phone inside the Grille was out of order, he was going to use the one in the lobby to check in. Jax nodded, but after he left, he laughed and shook his head at the man’s obvious ineptitude.

Just after they ordered dessert, the already dim lights in the restaurant went out, leaving the room bathed only in candlelight. There was a murmur of panic among the crowd, but Brenda just reached out and grabbed Jax’s hand. "Did you plan this romantic scenario too, Mr. Jacks?"

But his tone was anything but romantic. "No, Bren, I didn’t," he said tensely. He let go of her hand and was about to rise from the table when the manager’s voice came through the darkness.

"Just a blown fuse, folks. We should have the lights back on any second." As Jax turned back to Brenda, though, he heard the loud noise of breaking glass, then a scuffle, and what sounded like an aborted scream from Brenda. As he murmured her name, the lights came back up, and his heart rose in his throat.

Women in the restaurant screamed and a loud voice echoed above them. "Nobody move – just stay where you are and nobody gets hurt!" A man wearing a black turtleneck and black jeans was holding Brenda in his arms. He had a ski mask pulled down over his face and had pulled Brenda to her feet and had her in a choke hold. Then Jax realized what had caused the sound of the breaking glass. The man had taken the empty champagne bottle and smashed it against the stand, breaking off half of the bottle and leaving a jagged edge. Jax gripped the arms of his chair in fear as Brenda’s attacker held the bottle by the neck, aiming the jagged edge at her cheek. "So," the man sneered slowly, "what are you going to do about this one, hero?"

Jax saw a tear roll down Brenda’s white face and he could have gladly choked the life out of the man right there and then. "Stay calm, Brenda," he said softly. "I’ll get you out of this."

The man laughed, and it chilled Jax’s soul. "Oh, yeah, hero? How you gonna solve this one?" He touched the glass to Brenda’s cheek, causing her to whimper softly. "Ya’ know, I don’t think she’ll look quite as pretty for all of those campaign posters when I get finished with her face, do you?"

Brenda had both hands on the man’s left arm, which was wrapped around her shoulders. "Please," she whispered, "please let me go."

"No, I don’t think so, Mrs. Jacks," he laughed wickedly. "We’re not quite finished with this evening’s festivities. I told you I would get you again." Jax’s eyes widened as he quoted the stalker’s Halloween message.

"Look, just take it easy and tell us what you want," Jax said in a calm tone. "You obviously have some kind of point to all of this. Is it money?"

"Money? That’s a good one! Mr. Deep Pockets here thinks he can solve everything just by waving his checkbook in my face," he said, pulling Brenda even closer and gesturing with the bottle fragments. "It doesn’t matter what the point is. The bottom line, as you fancy executives are fond of saying, is that I have your wife right where I want her."

"Look," Jax said, putting his hands out in a gesture of surrender, "if your argument is with me, why don’t you just let my wife go and we can talk about it. I’m sure we can come to some kind of reasonable settlement without anyone getting hurt."

Brenda felt the prick of the sharp glass against her cheek again and let out a soft whimper. "No, I don’t think so. I think I like the way we’re negotiating right now, don’t you, Mrs. Jacks?"

Brenda was breathing hard with fear, but suddenly something caught her attention from the next table. She got an even sicker feeling in the pit of her stomach as she saw the family who had stopped by their their table earlier. The man had clutched his wife to him when the lights came back up and she had pulled the child into her arms, but as the scene played out, the child got bored. He had remained motionless at first, but then gave a sudden burst of energy and wriggled free from his mother’s embrace. As his mother yelped in horror, he slid off the bench seat of their booth and toddled like greased lightning for the champagne stand that had intrigued him so much before. His mother made a lunge for him but missed, and put her hands to her mouth in terror for his safety.

Brenda realized with a sick feeling that he was heading directly for them. Although she feared for her own safety, her maternal instincts kicked in and she knew she had to protect the child from this insane man at any cost. "Look," she said to him with new resolve, "how about if you and I just go somewhere and talk about this. You obviously have some kind of gripe against me or my husband. We can go talk about it privately." She attempted to pull against his arm to move him away from the toddler, but it was no use.

"I said NO, Mrs. Jacks!" he said viciously. Jax couldn’t imagine why Brenda was trying to get the man to move, but then saw the young boy heading for them and understood. As Brenda pulled again, the man’s hand slipped ever so slightly and the jagged glass dug into her cheek, causing a small cut and trickle of blood. Brenda winced with the pain and Jax’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the table in anger. "Now stand still!" the man ordered as he glanced down at her cheek. "If you keep wiggling like that you’re going to mess up the design I had planned for you." Just then the toddler came into the man’s sight and the mother screamed in fright for her son’s well-being. As Jax’s eyes dropped to look at the little boy, the attacker looked down and saw him for the first time too. "What the h*ll?"

Brenda seized the opportunity of the distraction. His grip on her had relaxed ever so slightly, and she used one of the karate moves that Josie had shown her to break free of his arm. In one deft move, she swept down towards the toddler, swung him up into her arms, and ducked the arm of the attacker again to dodge past him and towards the table where his family sat. Moving low and quickly, she got to their table and dumped him into his tearful mother’s arms.

The woman grabbed her son from Brenda and was trying to thank her when Brenda heard Jax’s voice behind her. "BRENDA, RUN!!!" She smiled briefly into the woman’s grateful eyes and was about to follow Jax’s orders when she heard the voice of the attacker again.

"DON’T DO IT, MRS. JACKS!! I’LL KILL HIM ----- I SWEAR IT!!"

Brenda turned around slowly and let out a scream at the scene before her. The attacker had regained his bearings in the melee, and had moved to where Jax sat. Although he was smaller than Jax, he had the element of surprise and he had wrapped his arm around the seated Jax’s shoulders, still brandishing the broken bottle in his right hand.

"RUN, BRENDA!! DON’T LISTEN TO HIM!" Jax shouted again, but the attacker pulled him tighter against him.

As Brenda moved towards the door of the Grille, she saw the attacker’s arm come up with the broken bottle. "If you take one more step, Mrs. Jacks, I swear I’ll slash his throat!" Brenda put her hands to her mouth to stifle the scream as the man held the broken glass to Jax’s jugular vein.

To be continued……