"Care for some more of this motor oil they call coffee?" Jax asked, trying not to wake Katherine.

Brenda pushed herself up to a sitting position and made room for Jax to sit down on the couch behind her. As he nestled into the corner of the couch, Brenda sat up straight next to him, pulling her legs up and curling them under her. "I think I’ve already had enough caffeine to power a small Middle Eastern nation, but I guess I could use a little more."

She sipped at the coffee as Jax gently stroked her hair. "I still can’t believe everything that’s happened tonight." Brenda looked at him with sad eyes. "I’m not sure quite how to say this, sweetie," Jax said delicately, "but.....do you really believe James?"

"Don’t you?" Brenda took a sip of her coffee and then blew into the cup to cool it.

"I don’t know," Jax admitted. "Truthfully, I can’t see how he could keep a secret like that for so long -- especially with the way he had saved your life so many times."

"That’s only because you and Jerry are so close and had a perfect childhood," Brenda returned, not looking at Jax but staring into space. "James and I had a long talk the night you went to Kingston. He’s been through a lot."

"But that still doesn’t explain why he would keep his identity a secret from you all this time," Jax said, shaking his head.

"Maybe because I knew the news would be met with this kind of skepticism," James murmured from the doorway. Jax looked up to meet his gaze with embarrassment. James walked slowly over to the couch, gently massaging the crook of his arm, which bore a large bandage.

"How do you feel?" Brenda asked softly.

"About a quart low, but I’ll live," James answered with a half-smile.

"Did you see Monica?" Brenda asked, swinging her legs down and patting the couch next to her, inviting James to sit there.

James shook his head and remained standing, hooking his hands in his pockets defiantly. "Nope. They just took me into some side room and tapped two units of blood. Gave me some cookies and juice, and then told me not to go too far in case there’s some kind of problem."

Jax put his arm around Brenda protectively. "I think you owe us an explanation, James." James dropped his head and stared at the floor. "Why didn’t you tell us from the start that you were Brenda’s brother?"

"Half-brother," James corrected coldly. "I’m sure Harlan would be quick to make that quite clear."

"Does daddy know about you?" Brenda pushed. "I mean, he’s been around you several times in the past few weeks and he’s never said a word."

James finally took a seat on the couch, folding his hands and propping his elbows on his widespread knees. "Harlan had an affair with my mother shortly before you were conceived, Brenda. My mother’s name was Barbara Wilmington."

Jax felt Brenda’s sharply in-drawn breath. She looked up at Jax with moist eyes. "I remember once I heard Julia mention Miss Wilmington. She didn’t like her. She said Miss Wilmington always made Momma cry."

"According to my mother," James went on, "Harlan really loved her. He was ready to leave Veronica, but then he changed his mind when he found out Veronica was pregnant." He gave Brenda a pointed look. "She was pregnant with you, Brenda."

"Your mother didn’t tell Harlan she was pregnant?" Jax asked.

"Eventually she did," James replied. "They ended the affair but when Harlan found out mom was pregnant, he still insisted on seeing her for coffee or dinner. Then after Brenda was born, that all ended."

"Did daddy know…..that he had a son?" Brenda said softly as Katherine shifted in her sleep on the other couch.

"He knew that I was born, or at least his accountant knew," James said bitterly. "In the beginning, he would send checks. He felt badly that mom was alone with a new baby, although he never felt badly enough to come visit us." James sighed. "Eventually, mom started seeing my step-dad and began sending the checks back, unopened."

Brenda took a deep breath. "Well, he’s going to know now."

Both James and Jax were surprised at her resolution. "Why does it matter now?" James asked bitterly. "I’ve been fine all along without his help. I had a great dad when I was growing up. I don’t *need* or *want* any of his money."

Jax put his hand on Brenda’s arm. "Sweetie, your dad will just be coming out of major surgery. You should at least wait to tell him until he gets his strength back."

Brenda gave both men a stubborn look. "*Our* dad needs to know that his son saved his life. It’s about time a few things came out in the open around here." She smiled at James, but when her gaze drifted down to his hands, she gasped.

"What’s the matter, Bren?" Jax asked as she grabbed James’ left hand.

"Jax – see this mark – this white half-moon on James’ thumb-nail?" Tears began to gather in her eyes again. "Daddy has one just like it."

James just nodded as the three of them sat there silently. Finally Jax broke the silence. "What about Robert – does he know? Was that the reason you were assigned to our case?"

"Jax, you know that family ties are something the Bureau discourages. I’ve never listed my natural father on any of my official files since I never thought it was important. Robert doesn’t know." He chuckled a little and sighed. "Although, Robert probably would say that it shouldn’t matter either way. A WSB agent does his job, family and everything else be d*mned."

The three of them sat there quietly for a long time, but then finally James spoke again. "I want you to know that this doesn’t change the fact that I’m still the best agent the WSB has – I can still protect you from the stalker."

Brenda looked warily into Jax’s eyes. She knew she would trust James with her life, but she wanted Jax to be just as sure. After a few seconds, Jax nodded. "I know, James. I believe you."

Brenda rested against Jax again as the waiting room fell silent. About an hour later, Monica Quartermaine came into the room, still wearing her surgical scrubs. "Is it over? Is Daddy going to be alright?" Brenda asked, as Katherine slowly woke and sat up on the other couch.

Monica smiled confidently. "Your father came through with flying colors, Brenda. He’s going to be fine, but he’ll have to change some of his work habits and especially his diet. No more fatty foods for him."

Katherine laughed weakly. "That’s going to be a tough one, but I’ll do the best I can to keep him on the straight and narrow." She gave Brenda a smile. "You know how he is about his bacon and eggs."

Monica shuddered. "Nitrites and cholesterol. Yumm." She turned to James. "I didn’t get a chance to thank you before we went into surgery. We didn’t have to use the blood, but it made me feel a whole lot better to have it there, just the same." She glanced back at Brenda. "Oh, and by the way…..the genetic match on the blood was absolutely perfect. The lab says there was no doubt – the T-cell count was exactly the same."

"No problem, doc," James smiled, trying to break the tension of the moment. "I always did want to have orange juice and institutional cookies for Christmas dinner, anyway."

"Oh, my gosh…..Christmas!" Monica exclaimed. "I totally forgot about it! You’d better get home to those children of yours, Brenda!"

Brenda shook her head and closed her eyes. "I can just imagine Grandma J with that brood – there’s probably wrapping paper festooned from every chandelier by now!"

"That’s only if they’re not *swinging* from the chandeliers, you mean," Jax laughed.

Brenda hesitated but Monica came and patted her on the shoulder. "There’s really nothing more you can do here tonight. Harlan will sleep off the anesthesia for quite a while in recovery. You can see him in the Cardiac ICU first thing tomorrow morning."

Brenda finally nodded and gave Monica a big hug. "Thanks so much for everything, Monica." She let Jax pull her into his arms, but then turned warm eyes on James. "You know, I have a feeling that I got the best gift of all this Christmas." James shuffled his feet awkwardly, but Monica just smiled and wished them all the greetings of the season as she turned and left the waiting room on the hushed soles of her surgical boots.

"Yes, Lea. Yes, I’ll be sure to tell Brenda that you called and asked about her dad," Jax smiled into the phone receiver. "So, what’d the old Scrooge buy *you* for Christmas this year?"

"I couldn’t believe it!" Lea chuckled. "Steve found some mint condition "Barbie and Ken as Guinevere and Arthur" dolls and surprised me with them. You know how fond I am of my collection, and that *is* one of my favorite time periods."

Jax nodded. "I guess that means you must have been a *very* good girl this year, Peaches."

"Nawww, Shorty…..It means I was a very *bad* girl to make Steve *that* happy! Now go give that beautiful wife of yours a kiss for me, OK? Although I suppose she’s busy planning your victory celebration for when you win the election in a few weeks, right?"

"Welllll," Jax drawled, "not that I’m counting my chickens before they hatch or anything, but I was thinking that maybe you could swear me in when the time comes."

"Awwww, that’s very sweet of you," Lea replied, "but just a teensy bit illegal. How about if I call Attorney General Sheehan and see if Kathleen can do it?"

"She’s the new AG for New York, right?" Jax asked.

"Yep. She just moved into the office that Judge Hankins vacated when she got that Supreme Court appointment. So howsa about it?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. Can we have the ceremony here in Port Charles?" Jax smiled and waved Brenda and Jo into the room as they poked their heads around the door.

"You bet. And believe me – I’ll be there with bells on to let Mrs. Morgan know that my taste in drapes is alive and well, thank you very much! I’ll have my secretary cancel any other appointments I might have for that day and make reservations for me in Port Charles."

Brenda came over to the desk and gave Jax a kiss on the cheek as Jo climbed up into his lap. "Well, Peaches, the other two women in my life are here, so I’d better get going. Oh, and one more thing – don’t have that secretary make any hotel reservations. We’ve got plenty of room here at the house for you."

"Tell Brenda I hope her dad is feeling better soon, Jax, and thanks for the offer of hospitality. I’ll just remember to bring my earplugs this time for when you and Brenda get noisy!"

After a little more good-natured teasing, Jax hung up the phone to give his daughter a hug. "So – how’s my munchkin this morning? Have you played with all the toys Santa brought you yet?"

"Of *course* I did, daddy," Jo answered, her hands on her hips in "Brenda" style. "And mommy says if I’m a good girl, I can go see grandpa tonight in the hossabittal. But only if I’m *real* quiet." Jax nodded seriously and Jo got a somber look on her face. "Mommy says grandpa’s heart is sick."

"That’s right, Jo," Jax said, petting her hair lovingly. "But Dr. Monica helped make Grandpa’s heart much better." He poked his finger into her ribs, eliciting a giggle. "So, are you going to help me and mommy convince Grandpa to stay on his diet?"

Jo nodded enthusiastically. "Mommy was telling Louise that if Grandpa B comes over for dinner, NO MORE FRIED CHICKEN and lots of fruit and vegebles and stuff."

Brenda just smiled as Jax’s mouth dropped open in pretend shock. "Well, then I think you’re the *perfect* one to help us with Grandpa’s diet since you already love your vegebles so much!!!"

"Who loves vegetables?" James voice echoed from the open doorway. He was leaning against the doorjamb, his arms crossed his chest and an engaging smile on his face. Brenda caught her breath at the sight of him -- ever since his announcement at the hospital, she had been noticing little things he did and said that reminded her so much of herself or her father.

"Mr. James!!" Jo squealed, shoving off her father’s lap to run to James’ open arms. He barely had time to prepare himself for her little body hurtling into his knees.

As he bent down and scooped her up into his arms, Brenda leaned down to whisper in Jax’s ear. "Any idea how we’re going to break the news to Jo?"

Jax shook his head as Jo and James admired the overalls she was wearing, another gift from Santa. "I haven’t a clue, sweetie. Maybe it’s James’ place to do that, not ours."

Brenda nodded and looked back again at her animated daughter and new-found uncle. "Mommy, can me and Mr. James go to the kitchen and see if Louise has lunch ready yet?"

"That’s an excellent idea, Jo," Brenda smiled.

To her surprise, Jo let go of James’ hand and rushed back to Jax’s desk, jumping up to lean over it and confide a secret. "Mommy! I just figured out why I like how Mr. James smells! He smells just like Grandpa!"

Brenda took a quick breath and she felt Jax tense ever so slightly as her hand rested on his shoulder. But before either of them could say a word, Jo blew them a kiss and whirled to run back to James, dragging him out of the doorway towards the kitchen. Jax looked up at Brenda in confusion. "I thought James didn’t wear any kind of aftershave. It’s prohibited by the Bureau for agents."

Brenda just got tears in her eyes and looked into the wake of her insightful daughter. "Neither does my father. He’s allergic to it." As she looked down into Jax’s eyes, he reached up to squeeze her hand.

Just then, there was a faint knock on the door and it opened with a whoosh. "Jasper, Brenda, quick -- turn on the TV!"

Brenda heard Jax’s soft swearing as Kimberly stormed into the room. "Kimberly, haven’t you ever heard of checking with someone before entering a room?"

She shifted all of her weight to one high-heel clad foot and tapped the toe in annoyance. "Sorry, Jasper, but this is critical to the campaign. We need to catch Carly before she’s ended her press conference."

Jax waved his hand at the television with a sigh as Brenda pulled a chair to sit next to him. Kimberly, meanwhile, went to the television and began flipping through the channels until she found the one she wanted. "Good," she said as she straightened up, her eyes never leaving the screen. "She hasn’t gotten to the important stuff yet."

"Kimberly, what...." Jax began, but Kimberly waved her hand at him to quiet his questions.

"Just listen. We’ll talk after she’s finished."

Jax grimaced in frustration, but then all three of them focused on the screen and Carly’s serious-looking face. Carly was apparently answering some kind of question about her re-decorating plan for the governor’s mansion when she held her hand up to the reporters.

"Gentlemen, a full copy of my beautification plan is available from my campaign office, but there is something far more important that I have come to announce this morning." There were murmurs among the reporters, and Carly held up a hand again for silence.

"As you all know, shortly after we began this campaign, I retained the services of a Public Relations firm, Siebert and Associates. They came to me with extremely high references, and since my esteemed opponent saw fit to hire a media consultant, I didn’t hesitate in hiring them."

"However," she continued, "it has recently come to my attention that my consultants have been threatening Mr. Jacks and his campaign staff with some unflattering and completely untrue accusations." Kimberly looked back at Jax, and he raised an eyebrow at her but she just smiled and pointed back to the television.

"Since that discovery, it has also come to light that these consultants resorted to underhanded and borderline-criminal campaign tactics, all of which was done WITHOUT my knowledge or approval." Carly gripped the sides of the podium, giving every appearance of moral outrage. "Ladies and gentlemen, political campaigning has been sliding in the direction of the gutter for decades. It seems that every political race starts out as a clean fight, and somehow ends up with name-calling and vicious innuendo."

Carly gave the press a superior smile. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, I’m here today to announce that I do NOT intend to sink to that level. As of 10 AM this morning, I have terminated the services of Siebert and Associates. I do NOT want the campaign between Mr. Jacks and myself to become a mud-slinging free-for-all. We have stuck to the issues so far, and I feel that by freeing myself from the slimy tactics of my former consultants, we can guarantee the voters of New York a choice of candidates based strictly on truth and issues."

Kimberly rose from her chair and went to the television to turn it off. When she turned back to Jax and Brenda, she had a wide grin on her face. "Well? How about that?!" she exclaimed, her face alight with happiness.

"Would you care to explain to me just what the h*ll that was all about?" Jax said, his face reflecting something far from happiness.

Kimberly undulated her way back to her chair, her hips leading the way as usual. She carefully seated herself and crossed her legs before she began. "Well, after you gave me that picture on Christmas, I did a little checking. I had a meeting with Carly and Larry Siebert yesterday at Carly’s penthouse."

"Really? Interesting that you chose to have a meeting without me present, Kimberly," Jax said, his voice strained.

"I called the meeting Jax," Kimberly went on. "I showed Carly and Larry the picture that you received in the mails. After a little persuading, he admitted that they had taken the photograph, and they intended to run it in the newspapers unless you withdrew from the campaign. Mrs. Morgan didn’t seem at all surprised by the strategy, so I figured she had been in on it from the start."

"So what happened to change his mind.....and Carly’s?" Brenda said, asking the question she knew Jax was thinking.

Kimberly shifted a little in her chair, her skirt rising higher up her thigh with her movement. "Well, I had done a little digging of my own before our meeting, Jasper. That heckling you suffered through in Newburgh seemed to me to be just a little too organized. It was too perfect to be spontaneous." She leaned forward in glee. "I found out that Siebert’s people HIRED the hecklers to deliberately sabotage your appearance."

"You had proof?" Jax’s face was noncommittal.

Kimberly nodded. "Beyond a doubt. For being an old, established firm, they were monumentally naive about dirty tricks."

"So it was a Mexican stand-off, then," Brenda argued. "Their pictures against your proof of their dirty trick. What made Carly fire them?"

Kimberly smiled, very pleased with herself. "Well, you see, there’s where *my* brilliance came in. Siebert told me he fully intended to go ahead and publish the photos, proof or no proof. He said he could stand the heat if you could, Jasper. So, *I* turned to Mrs. Morgan and pointed out to her that *she* held the trump card in all of this nastiness."

Kimberly rose to her feet dramatically. "I pointed out to her that she could come out of this whole thing the big winner if she just stopped to think about it. If her camp published those photos, sure -- it would hurt your campaign. But then I would have retaliated with the proof of their dirty tricks. And all it would have done ultimately is to turn the voters off, just as dirty tricks and mud-slinging always do. They would have been disgusted with the both of you."

"But by publicly denouncing her consultants like this, firing them, and taking the moral high ground, Carly comes out smelling like a rose. She gets the voters’ admiration for being above petty name-calling, I get the negatives for the nasty Kingston pictures, and Siebert and Associates gets a COPY of my proof of their unethical actions since I retain the original. Everyone wins!"

"All except me!" Jax spat, his face still a mask of confusion. "Whose side you are on, Kimberly?"

"Yours, of course, Jasper," she returned in a quiet voice. "How can you even ask?"

"Well," he said, gesturing grandly with his hand, "from what you just told me, you handed Carly the election on a silver platter!"

Kimberly grimaced and reached down into her briefcase to pull out a file. She opened it and placed it in front of Jax on his desk. As she leaned over to point at some text on a piece of paper, it gave Jax an excellent view down her ample cleavage. But before she spoke, Kimberly glanced up and caught Brenda’s dirty look and straightened up again.

"These are the latest polls, Jasper. You’re ahead of Carly in all the voting categories by at least 20 percentage points. Even with this stunt this morning, she can’t hope to gain more than an 8 percent advantage in any one category. You’re still the shoe-in winner, at least as long as she continues to pursue this "New Drapes/New Deal" philosophy of hers." Kimberly gloated happily. "Being morally upstanding still can’t win the campaign for her as long as she insists on making interior decorating her primary political focus."

Jax sighed and glanced down at the figures again. "You’re sure this won’t hurt us more than help?"

Kimberly sat back down smugly. "Carly will get the satisfaction of looking like she’s above reproach for once in her miserable campaign, and you’ll still be the one taking the oath of office in a few weeks. Oh, by the way," Kimberly added, reaching down for her date-planner, "I thought you might want to reserve the observatory on top of the Twin Towers in Albany for your inaugural ball." Jax’s eyes widened.

"Kimberly, even if I’m elected, I’ll just be a state representative – not the president. I hardly think an inaugural ball will be necessary."

"Well," she drawled, "I had just assumed that you would be sworn in at the State building in Albany and want to have some kind of celebratory party there."

"I fully intend to be sworn in here in Port Charles, Kimberly, and if I *do* decide to have some kind of celebration, it’ll be held here, too," Jax said emphatically. "My constituents are here."

Kimberly pouted. "Well, I suppose I can check around and see if there’s anything available that’s more elegant than that awful Port Charles Hotel place." She rose from her chair and picked up her briefcase, speaking as she went towards the door. "Well, gotta rush. No rest for the wicked, as they say." She turned back when she had her hand on the door. "Oh, Brenda, I meant to tell you how sorry I was to hear that your father was ill."

Brenda smiled sweetly. "Thanks, Kimberly. He’s feeling much better now, but I’m sure that having Jax’s election celebration here will be better for him, too."

"Of course," Kimberly gushed. "Silly me. Well, off to slay more dragons for you, Jasper. Toodles."

As Jax watched her exit the room, mouth open in shock, Brenda leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Close your mouth, honey. Your knight in shining armor has left the building."

Carly answered the phone in her bedroom on the first ring. "I thought I told you never to call me again," she hissed.

"Now, Mrs. Morgan, you really shouldn’t be so hasty," a man’s voice replied.

"You almost cost me the election," Carly returned, lowering her voice and turning away from the door. "We have nothing more to say to each other."

"Then I suppose you wouldn’t be interested in a file we’ve started on a certain woman one of our investigators found in New Orleans – a Ms. Veronica Wilding."

"Why would I be interested in a woman in New Orleans?"

"Well….maybe because she’s on her way here to visit her daughter…..Brenda Wilding Barrett Jacks."

"Go on." Carly twisted the phone cord around her fingers nervously.

"And because Veronica Wilding just was released after an extensive stay at a sanitarium in New Orleans. Our investigator was able to sneak a peek at some of her file, and it seems poor Mrs. Wilding has a degenerative mental illness. She’s currently in remission, but she has been known to have delusions and severe depression in the past."

"And?" Carly held her breath.

"Well," Larry Siebert continued, "if we were still on your retainer, I would tell you that Mrs. Wilding’s condition is hereditary and poor Mrs. Jacks may be a prime candidate for the disease sometime down the road."

Carly took a deep breath, her eyes narrowed. "This has to be handled very carefully. Brenda and Jax both are media darlings. If we even try to hint at her instability, we have to be absolutely sure our sources are impeccable."

"We?" Larry was deliberately obtuse.

"Don’t ever call me again at this number. I’ll give you my private line. Or better yet," Carly whispered, glancing back at the door to make sure Jason hadn’t come into the room, "I’ll call you from a public phone. Keep digging. Find out why the loony momma is coming to town and whether or not Brenda knows about her illness. And Larry," she growled, "if you mess up again and that silicone queen finds out, you’ll go down alone because I’m not letting you take me with you."

The phone disconnected abruptly. Larry Siebert laughed as he stared into the receiver. "That’s what you think, Mrs. Morgan."

To be continued…..