"Mommy, I don’t want to eat that green stuff!"

Jax had to smile to himself. Brenda hated the green yogurt almost as much as Jo did, but she had to eat it to give a good example to her daughter. Jo had inherited Jax’s blue eyes, but in all other ways, she was a miniature Brenda. She would sooner eat donuts than yogurt for breakfast any day of the week.

"Now, Jo," Brenda coaxed, "I’ll bet that if Daddy comes in and finds you eating some of the yogurt on your own, he might even tell you the story about when he got Mommy to eat it."

"Did I hear my name used in vain?" Jax said, coming around the corner with his newspaper. He smiled at the picture before him. Jo sat at the table with her spoon in her yogurt, making a face, dressed in Osh Kosh blue jeans and a white ruffled shirt. Jaz sat on Brenda’s lap, reaching for everything in sight that he could manage to get before she moved it away. And Brenda looked as though she were at the end of her rope. She had on some black stretch pants and a red turtleneck, and her hair was pulled up into a ponytail high on her head, just like Jo’s.

Jax went to Brenda first. "Good morning, my love," he said, giving her as passionate a kiss as they dared in front of the children. His tongue darted to lick at her lips just briefly, and when he pulled back, he saw a flush rise to her cheeks.

"Good morning," she answered in a husky voice, and he knew she was remembering the pleasures of the night before. As he leaned down for another kiss, Jasper, Jr. decided to let his parents know he didn’t appreciate being left out of the picture, and he grabbed for Jax’s hair with gooey hands.

Jax and Brenda pulled out of the kiss as soon as Jax saw the arm coming up in an arc towards his freshly showered hair. "No you don’t, you little bandit, you!" he said, swinging Jaz up off Brenda’s lap. "How’s my boy this morning? I guess you’ve been eating your yogurt with your fingers again, eh?" Jax lowered him into his arms, carefully grabbing a napkin to wipe Jaz’s fingers before he got them near his Italian suit.

"That’s OK, honey," Brenda said, extending her arms, "I’ll take him back. He might get something on your suit, and you look so nice I don’t want you to get messed up."

"No, I’ll take him for a while. You go ahead and eat," Jax responded, taking Jaz with him to his corner of the table. He leaned down and gave Jo a kiss on the top of the head on his way. "How’s my munchkin this morning?"

"Fine, daddy," she answered. "I drank all of my orange juice and I ate my bagel and put the cheese on it all by myself and didn’t spill any."

"That’s great," Jax said, winking at Brenda. "Now all you’ve got to go is your yogurt and you can be excused." He sat down and pushed his glass of juice away just in time to avoid being toppled by the inquisitive Jasper, Jr. "Not this time, sport," Jax said, taking a drink himself. He looked at Brenda. "You’re sure he can’t have a sip?"

She shook her head, eating her bagel in peace and enjoying every minute of it. "Nope. The doctor says not until after he’s a year old. Too much acid for a baby." She looked over at Jo. "Here, honey, would you take your brother’s bottle of apple juice over to daddy so your brother can have a drink?"

Jo was glad for the excuse to leave her yogurt and gladly helped her mother. As soon as she handed Jax the bottle, Jaz let everyone know he was thirsty and Jax shifted him into his left arm and held the bottle while the baby sucked hungrily. Jo leaned down and kissed her brother on his bald head, petting him lovingly.

Jax saw through her. "I’m really glad you love your little brother so much, munchkin, but you need to get back to your chair and finish your yogurt." Her face fell as she went back to sit down and Brenda stifled a giggle.

"But daddy, I don’t like it. It looks funny."

"But it tastes good. See, watch….daddy loves it." He took a large spoonful of it and ate it, making an exaggerated face of ecstasy when he swallowed. He smiled at Brenda. "And mommy loves it too."

Jo almost bolted out of the chair. "Nuh-uh, daddy. Mommy says she wouldn’t eat it at all and you made her eat it when I was growing in her tummy."

"That’s right, Jo," Jax smiled. "I can see that you’ve inherited your mother’s ability to wind me around your finger. If I tell you the story," he said with a sigh, "will you eat all of your yogurt?"

She began to bounce in her chair. "The one where she has to eat it with the bananas!"

Jax looked down at Jaz, who was still guzzling apple juice for all he was worth. "OK, but then I’ve really got to get going because I have a meeting at the office today and I don’t want to be late."

Jax proceeded to entertain the women in his life with a story of how he had convinced Brenda to eat green yogurt with bananas when she was pregnant with Jo by hiding all of her clothes until she finished the bowl. It had happened when they were living in their first house, shortly after their impromptu marriage in North Carolina. Someday, Brenda thought, Jo would be told ALL the details of her conception and the way she had almost had Sonny Corinthos for a step-father. Had it not been for her good friend Lois Ashton and Jax’s grandmother, the wedding almost might have gone through.

At the time of the yogurt bribery, Jax and Brenda were married but still not sleeping together, but that had changed soon after. As Brenda listened to Jax telling the story, she remembered back to the night that she and Jax finally admitted how much they loved each other, and the marathon lovemaking that followed. A flush began to creep into her face as she recalled what a tender and gentle lover Jax had been, and he saw it as he finished the story for Jo.

"And you can see," he said loudly, "Mommy STILL loves her green yogurt. See how red her cheeks are and how happy she looks? That’s all because she loves the green yogurt SO much, isn’t it, love?"

Brenda gave Jax a dirty look. "Of course it is, DEAR, what else could I be so happy about?" Fortunately, Jaz picked that moment to finish his bottle. Jax sat him up to burp him, but Brenda stood and went over to get him from his daddy. "Why don’t you let me do that, Jax? You don’t want him spitting up on your suit."

Jax handed his son over reluctantly. "OK, sport. Go to mommy, now. You did really well on your bottle this morning." As Brenda sat down to burp Jaz, Jax began attacking his bagel. "So, Bren, what’s on your agenda today?"

Brenda was slowly massaging Jaz’s back while she finished her coffee. "Well, there are still a few things I need to finish for the anniversary party." She looked at Jax lovingly. "Have I thanked you lately for being such a sweet husband and giving me such a wonderful 5^th wedding anniversary party?"

Jax smiled mischievously. "Not lately. I’ll let you show me how grateful you are later."

Brenda’s hand stopped for a minute on the baby’s back as she got a mental picture of what she might do to show her gratitude, but then she shook her head and continued. "So, Jo and I are going to check out the room at the Port Charles Hotel and make sure the flowers and the decorations are just right, and then we might go shopping for Halloween costumes. It’s not that far away, you know."

Jax nodded. "So, have you decided what you want to be this year, munchkin? A princess? A ballerina? A fairy?"

Jo shook her head excitedly. "No, daddy. I think I want to be either a witch or a Spice Girl!"

Jax dropped his spoon. "A witch or a Spice Girl?" He looked pale. "What happened to my sweet, beautiful daughter?"

"She’s becoming a woman of the new millennium, honey," Brenda answered. At that moment, Jaz cut loose with a resounding burp and everyone at the table gave him a rousing round of applause. Louise came into the dining room to clear the dishes.

"Mommy, can I go into the game room and watch TV until we go to the place for the party?" Jo asked.

"Yes, Jo," Brenda replied. As Louise went to the kitchen and Jo left to watch her favorite cartoons, Brenda moved to sit next to Jax, who was finishing his coffee and one more bagel. "Did you ever think of a reason last night why the governor would want to see you today?"

Jax shook his head, a serious expression on his face. "Nope. Not a one." He grabbed one more drink of coffee. "Say – would you girls like a lift into town in the copter? I’m going to make a few phone calls before I go."

Brenda hadn’t noticed that Jo had re-appeared in the doorway of the dining room. All Jax had to mention was the helicopter and she was in the room like a flash. "Oh, pleeeeeaase, mommy, can we go with daddy in the whirly bird? I want to fly with daddy. Pleeeeeease, mommy?"

Jax chuckled as Brenda looked at her pleading face and large eyes. "Now you see why I never could say no to you, my love."

Brenda sighed. "All right. Let me get Jaz settled with Louise for the morning. You go turn off the TV and we’ll let daddy make his phone calls." She turned to Jax. "How about if we meet you on the roof in 30 minutes?"

"Works for me," Jax replied, and he took one more sip of coffee before heading out of the room for his study.

1:30 PM

Angie came into Jax’s office carrying a large stack of files. "These are the last of the Wightman agreements, Jax. You need to show me the boxes where we’re storing the finished documents until we put them into storage."

Jax nodded his head toward a large stack of boxes in the far corner of his office. "Over there, Ang." He glanced down at the files on his desk before leaning back in his chair and looking at her again. "I never got to tell you this morning what a great job you did on the Wightman deal, Angie. We couldn’t have done it without you."

She walked back over to Jax’s desk. "Thanks. I know they say that compliments don’t buy the groceries, but I think they’re always nice to hear, too." She sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk and looked at him critically. "Have you had any lunch?"

He looked at her with his mouth in a grim line. "What are you now, my mother?"

Angie pretended to be insulted. "Geez, Jax, with comments like that, I guess I’LL never have to worry about sexual harassment! I’m not NEARLY old enough to be your mother!" She looked at him seriously again. "But you’re evading the question. DID you have any lunch?"

Jax sighed. "Nope. Guilty as charged." He grinned at her, showing the dimpled chin that all the women in the office found irresistible. He got up from behind the desk and walked around to the front, perching on the corner to sit right in front of her. "I don’t suppose I could talk you into going down to the cafeteria and bringing me up a sandwich and a salad, could I?"

Angie grinned with devilment. "Depends on the incentive."

He leaned forward so that his face was 6 inches from hers. "For you, slick….anything!"

Angie tapped her finger against her chin. "Hmmmm, let’s see. I wonder what Brenda would say if she ever found out about our little "arrangement"?"

At that moment, a female voice was heard from the back of Jax’s office. "Jasper Jacks, are you two-timing me?"

Jax’s face broke into a grin as he straightened up again. "Peaches! You’re early!" He immediately got off the desk and went to the back of his office to embrace a dignified-looking dark-haired woman.

As they pulled back to look into each other’s faces, the woman broke into a large grin. "Shorty! You’re still as ugly as ever!" Then she lightly stroked her hand down his arm. "It’s good to see you again, my friend."

Jax smiled and put his right arm around her waist, bringing her towards his desk. "And you haven’t changed a bit either, Lea. Come, sit." As they got nearer to the desk, Angie rose from her seat and smiled at the woman.

"So, this is my competition, huh, Jax?" the stranger said, her arm still around his waist. She put her hands on her hips. "Don’t you remember what I told you years ago -- that I was the only woman in the world that would ever make you happy?"

Jax laughed. "Where have I heard that line before?" He bumped his hip against hers and then extended his hand toward Angie. "Lea, may I present my executive assistant and right-hand person, Angie Hsieh. Angie, this is Lea Moyer, governor of the fair state of New York."

The two women shook hands, with Angie looking very impressed. "Ms. Moyer, I’m honored to meet you. I spoke with your secretary yesterday."

Lea nodded. "I know, he mentioned that Jax had already left for the day but a very competent assistant had set up our meeting." She gave Jax a pointed look. "I knew when he said COMPETENT that you must have replaced that alphabet-letter person who used to be your assistant."

Jax pursed his lips and exhaled. "Now, Lea, let’s pull in the claws here for a minute. V did a great job as my assistant. It’s just that we decided Jerry needed more of a full-time keeper so we transferred her over to working for him. Angie was finishing an internship here at J&B International and had done such a fine job that we offered her the position."

Lea smiled and sat down in a chair. "Well, Angie, it takes a special person to put up with his ugly mug every day." She smirked at Jax. "And I speak from personal experience."

"Did you two grow up together?" Angie asked.

"Lea and I met in a political science class at Penn State," Jax explained, settling on the corner of his desk again. "It turned out we were both living in the SCANDALOUS new co-ed dorm on campus." He shot Lea a wide-eyed look. "Seems pretty tame by today’s standards, doesn’t it?"

Lea shot him the same look. "So does that mean that you’ll be allowing your precious daughter to live in a co-ed dorm when SHE goes to college?"

Jax nodded. "Absolutely. Right after I lock the chastity belt on her, she can live wherever she wants."

Lea leaned back to relax in the chair and continue the story. "So, after the first big test in this political science class, this absolute TROLL," she winked at Angie, "..comes over to me and rolls those baby blues and asks if he can see my notes before the next test. Seems he wasn’t too good at taking notes and hadn’t done too well on the test."

"I took notes!" Jax said defensively.

"Yeah, notes on all the attractive girls in the class!" Lea shot back. She sighed. "Of course, how was I to refuse a plea from such a homely, pitiful specimen like our Jax? We started to study together and before you knew it, we started taking some of the same classes."

Lea stopped, and Jax started to laugh softly. "I notice how you’re carefully avoiding the subject of how I saved your behind in macro-economics." At Lea’s look of outrage, Jax carefully amended his statement. "….and an ATTRACTIVE behind it is, of course!"

The three of them laughed. "See, Jax, I TOLD you that you should go into politics someday!"

Angie rose from her seat. "Well, although I’m thoroughly enjoying this, I have a feeling that the governor didn’t schedule this emergency meeting just to trip down memory lane." She looked at Lea. "I was on my way down to the cafeteria to bring Jax some lunch. Can I bring anything for you?"

Lea sighed. "Knowing Jax, it’s probably rabbit food and yogurt. I’ll pass on the yogurt, but I’ll take a rabbit food deluxe with Ranch dressing, Ang." Angie nodded, and as she left the room, Lea turned back to Jax, who was still sitting on the edge of the desk closest to her. "She keeps you on your toes, huh?"

Jax nodded and pretended disappointment. "Yep. She won’t let me have any fun at all. Work, work, work. As soon as I get here in the morning, there she is, cracking the whip." Jax smiled lewdly at Lea. "Of course, as I remember, you of all people should know that I always was into that kinky stuff!"

Lea crossed her legs and folded her hands around her knee. "Now, Jax, you know if we start a double-entendre war, I can keep up with you until the wee hours." She gave a long sigh. "And unfortunately, Angie was right. That’s not why I’m here."

Jax got off the edge of the desk. "This sounds serious." He went around and sat down. "Let’s see." He began ticking points off on his fingers. "It’s not an election year, so you’re not here for a campaign contribution. Nobody that we both know died lately." He looked at her in panic. "Oh, God – don’t tell me you’ve got some dread disease – or that I’ve got some dread disease that only politicians know about!"

She shook her head. "Can you be serious – just for ONE minute?"

He folded his hands primly on his desk. "OK. This is me – being serious. Shoot."

Lea took a deep breath. "Does the name Robert Cunningham ring any bells with you?"

Jax frowned. "Isn’t that our state representative?"

"Was, Jax," Lea replied sadly. "He WAS your state representative. He died suddenly last week."

"Oh, yeah, I think I remember seeing something about that now in the papers. They weren’t sure if it was a heart attack or not." Jax stroked his chin. "I’m not real familiar with politics, but if I never heard Dad say anything bad about him, he must have been doing a good job."

"He was doing a d*mn fine job, pardon my French," Lea sighed. "It was a real loss to our state when he died." She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, pulling her chair closer to Jax’s desk. "Some of us in the upper circle in the capitol have been having meetings discussing his replacement."

"That’s not really your job, is it?" Jax asked. "I mean, the replacement IS an ELECTED official, so it’s up to the people who takes his place, isn’t it?"

"In a manner of speaking," Lea answered. "The people will vote on his replacement. But the people don’t get to pick who RUNS for that seat. Not directly, unless there’s a primary. And there don’t seem to be a whole lot of hopefuls coming out of the woodwork right now. That’s why I came to see you." She paused and took a deep breath. "Jax, your name came up several times in the committee meetings as a great candidate."

Jax’s eyes widened. "I’m not sure I like the direction this is taking, Peaches. I’m no politician, and besides, elections are a long time away."

She shook her head. "We want to fill this slot as soon as possible, Jax. This is too important of a district to go without representation until the next election." She leaned forward to lay her hands over his folded ones. "You would be PERFECT, Jax. You’re respected, intelligent, a great speaker, have a lot of charisma with potential voters. You’ve become an established part of the Port Charles community. You’ve put down roots here – why, you’ll even have a child in the school system within a year." She sat back and smiled at him. "Jax, you could charm the most hard-hearted female into voting for you in a New York minute, pardon the pun."

Now it was Jax’s turn to lean forward. "But I’m just NOT a political animal, Lea. I don’t have any particular party affiliation. I vote however I feel in each election. I know absolutely nothing about all the back room goings-on in the capitol."

"Which is EXACTLY what the people want right now, Shorty," she argued, gesturing with her hand. "They don’t want a "good old boy" to be their representative. They want somebody fresh and new, somebody they know will be honest and try to look out for them." She let it sink in before she continued. "And as far as party affiliation goes, you’re welcome to run on my party’s ticket. They know you’re not a card-carrying member, but that’s OK with them. They feel you can win the seat, and you do seem to be sympathetic to most of our platforms."

Jax shook his head. "But Lea, you’re asking me to move my family to Albany. I don’t think that would go over real big with Brenda or the kids."

"No, Jax, that’s the beauty of it," Lea shot back. She braced her hands on her chair and sat up straighter. "You would only need to be in Albany when the legislature was in session. You could commute most of the time in that flying contraption I saw parked on the roof. And I’m sure Brenda wouldn’t mind decorating a new condo for you to live in on the few occasions when an extended stay was called for."

Jax still looked shocked and hesitant. "I don’t know, Lea. I’m going to have to think about this one." He smiled at her. "Are you sure you haven’t been smoking some of those funny-looking little cigarettes that were so plentiful when we lived in the dorm?"

Lea crossed her heart. "Now Jax, as a future member of the party, you know we’re dead-set against that."

"There’s still another thing, Lea," Jax said, but his voice was weakening and Lea began to feel energized with hope. "I’m not exactly your "average Joe" off the street. My family is wealthy. How will people who buy groceries at the Sav-A-Lot and drive a 10-year-old car feel about me representing their interests?"

"OK, Jax," Lea sighed. "I was hoping I wouldn’t have to pull out the big guns, but you’ve forced me to it." She took a piece of his note paper and wrote on it briefly. "We’ve been doing some investigating and we’re pretty sure this is the name of the candidate the other party will be running for the seat." She pushed it over to his side of the desk and his eyes widened in shock. He swallowed hard.

"You’re kidding."

"Jax, this is me when I’m not kidding," Lea said in a monotone. "Can you really turn me down and leave the good people of Port Charles to be represented by this person?"

He shook his head as he fingered the piece of paper. "You fight dirty, you know that?" he said with a smile.

"Absolutely, Jax. That way I always get what I want…. Except for you, of course."

Jax took a deep breath. "I’ll have to run this past Brenda first. You understand -–if she says no, I don’t care how many big guns you pull out. The answer is no." Lea nodded, but was still smiling. "Tell you what. Brenda and I are having a party on the 15^th in honor of our 5^th wedding anniversary. Why don’t you come to the party and I’ll let you know my answer then?"

"Sounds like a plan, Jax." She sat back, and then craned her neck to peek at the picture on the credenza behind him. "So, how has Brenda managed to put up with you for 5 years now?"

Jax smiled wickedly. "Oh…I just make sure to provide her a very specific kind of persuasion, and then she doesn’t seem to mind my being around at all!" He leaned back in his chair. "So since all of our serious discussions are finished, does that mean I can drag out the pictures of the kids and bore you to tears?"

Lea laughed. "See, Jax? Just more proof you would make a good politician – boring people to tears!" Just then, there was a soft knock at Jax’s door and Angie stuck her head inside.

"I’ve got your lunches set up in the private dining room, Jax," she said with a smile. "They’re ready whenever you two are."

Jax stood up and extended his hand to Lea. "Shall we?" As he came around to follow Lea to a private dining room in his office suite, he noticed that he still held the scrap of paper she had written on in his hand. He gave a big sigh and then tossed it back onto his desk. On it were written just three words:

CARLY ROBERTS MORGAN

*~*~*~*~*

In another section of Port Charles, a man sat in a dark, dingy apartment in a rooming house. He had various magazines and newspapers spread across a card table in front of him. As he turned the pages, his hand would stop, and then he would take a sharp scissors to cut out selected pictures and articles.

He finished cutting out one more article and threw it on top of a large pile on the table. It was cut from a society page in the paper, and he sneered at the picture before adding it to the pile. The headline on the article read, "Local business executive and wife celebrate anniversary in style," and beneath it was a picture of the very happy, very wealthy, very much in love couple – Jasper and Brenda Jacks.

To be continued….