Jax smiled at her. "Ahh…your favorite nutritional supplements – nitrites and caffeine. No amount of danger or lack of sleep can deter my wife from her appointed date with dietary disaster." He walked over to the bed, smiling at her, and placed the tray over her lap as she rolled to her back. He traced the curve of her chin gently with his first finger. "You didn’t get much sleep last night, sweetie. Are you sure you don’t want to try to catch a few winks before Mum and Dad bring the kids back?"

Brenda made a grim face. "That’s the supreme irony, my love. I can’t seem to rest until I know my children are safe and sound under my own roof, but once they ARE under this roof, there won’t be any rest possible!" She picked up a crisp piece of bacon and bopped Jax on the nose with it. "But I’ve gone without sleep during the night before, and it hasn’t killed me yet!"

Jax picked up a fresh slice of cantaloupe and returned the bop. "Yes, but those nights were spent in much more pleasurable activities than worrying about somebody sending us threatening notes." He saw Brenda take a breath to speak, and he interrupted her. "And yes…I called Mum and Dad’s this morning. The kids are fine and still sleeping soundly. Everything’s been totally quiet there, and Dad assured me he’s got the security alarm system activated."

Brenda took a sip of coffee, closed her eyes to appreciate the taste, and then turned them on Jax like two sparkling topaz gems. "Did you call my dad?"

Jax nodded. "Yep. And he spoke to Julia as early as decently possible this morning, allowing for the time change to California. She’s had no threats, and neither have he and Katherine. So this one seems to be all ours this time – not like when you were pregnant with Jo and your dad and Julia got matching threats."

Brenda took another piece of bacon. "Tell me again what Mac Scorpio said last night. Everything was such a blur."

Jax sighed. "Well, Mac was his usual self – which wasn’t very helpful. He said that he doubted that they would find any fingerprints on the note. He questioned the people at the Cassidine party, and nobody recalls seeing our bogus cowboy except the people in the room with us when he christened us with the water pistols. And, of course, none of them paid too close of attention to him since they all assumed he was my dad. Mac said he was going to check out some of the costume rental places today, but I’m not holding out much hope."

Brenda looked at him curiously. "But you DO sound like you have a plan."

"Since when have you known me not to have one?" he smiled. Jax shifted slightly to sit next to Brenda, putting his arm around her. "I called Robert Scorpio first thing this morning and pulled a few strings. He’s sending us one of his top operatives."

"He’s an investigator?"

"An investigator, yes, plus I want him to act as a bodyguard for you and the children."

Brenda put down her orange juice with a clatter. "Jax, don’t you think that’s jumping the gun a little? I don’t want to scare Jo – and she’s so bright, she’ll pick up on something like that immediately."

Jax covered her hand that rested on his thigh with his own hand. "Well, maybe we’ll just start out with having him investigating the thing, but I would really feel a lot better if he would keep an eye on you and the little ones. I’m going to have to be gone a lot in the next few weeks with this election thing, and I’ll feel more comfortable if he’s here looking after you."

Brenda’s face paled. "But what if this creep’s not after us? What if he’s after you and the bodyguard is here with us? How could I live with that?"

Jax patted her hand. "Well…if this guy’s as good as Robert says he is, he’ll find out exactly who this creep is after and find him before we have to worry about guarding ANY bodies." Jax leaned over and kissed Brenda. "Now, he’ll be here around 1 o’clock today. I called Angie and told her I won’t be in the office – I want to stay here with you and the little ones until he gets here at least." His eyes twinkled. "So…since you’re already awake and you’re more relaxed that the children are safe…."

Jax leaned in to give Brenda another kiss, this time more passionate. He moved his hand from her throat gently down to slip inside her dressing gown. Rubbing the backs of his knuckles against her breast, he heard her soft moan and opened his hand to caress her breast more firmly. Brenda threaded her hand down to the drawstring on his pajamas, and just as Jax moved to untie the sash of her dressing gown, a door slammed downstairs and they jumped apart as though they had been burned.

"MOMMY! DADDY! WE’RE HOME!" Jo’s exuberant voice echoed through the house.

Jax heaved a long sigh. "Oh, well….it was nice while it lasted." Brenda looked at him and smiled, and at that point, Jo burst through their bedroom doors and barreled into the room, followed by Lady Jane carrying Jaz. He braced himself just in time as his enthusiastic daughter launched herself into his arms for a huge hug. "So, was my munchkin a good girl for grandma and grandpa last night?" Jax asked after he regained his breath.

"A perfect angel," Jane answered. "Would you expect any less?"

"Yes, daddy," Jo answered seriously, "so then this morning when grandma let me watch TV while I ate my Cocoa Booms…." Jax looked askance at Jane, who chose that moment to bury her head in Jaz’s tummy for a tickle attack. "…..anyway, while I was watching TV I saw JUST what I want from Santa."

Brenda almost choked on her orange juice. "I thought you already knew what you wanted from Santa…a big box like Angie brought the other night!"

"Yeah, mommy, but this is so much better," Jo said, slipping to sit between her parents and grab a piece of bacon. This move prompted Jax to hide his smile behind his hand. "Anyway, there’s this pretty new dolly and grandma said that maybe if I was a REAL good girl, she would call Santa and ask him to bring it to me. It’s called Baby Slurp and Burp."

Brenda’s face fell. "Excuse me….did you say Slurp and BURP?"

"Yeah, mommy, cause she does both of ‘em!"

Jax now was laughing so hard he couldn’t hide it. "But Jo, darling, you don’t need one of those." He got up from the bed and took his namesake in his arms. "We’ve already got a slurper and burper…and a great one, at that!"

Brenda moved to take Jo into her arms. She stroked her dark hair with her hand, and lingered to place a kiss at her temple. Brenda’s eyes began to mist over at the feel of her precious daughter in her arms again, and Jo suddenly looked up at Brenda. "Mommy, what’s wrong? You’re hugging me so tight it almost hurts!"

Brenda smiled at Jo and sniffed back the tears. "Nothing, darling. Mommy is just so happy to see you this morning, that’s all."

Although he wouldn’t have admitted it, Jax found himself holding Jaz a little more tightly this morning than usual, too. He put his cheek against his son’s bald head, inhaling the fragrance of his baby powder. But he didn’t want to frighten Jo, who was alarmingly good at picking up on his and Brenda’s moods.

"You’re happy? You’re crying because you’re happy?" Jo put her hands on her hips. "That’s DUMB, mommy."

Jax laughed. "Someday you’ll understand and do the same thing, munchkin." He sat down on the bed. "Personally, I think mommy’s crying because she wants one of those sloppy-ploppy doll things for herself and she knows Santa won’t bring her one."

Jo’s eyes were the picture of innocence. "You mean mommy hasn’t been good this year?"

Jax smiled naughtily at Brenda. "No, mommy has been VERY, VERY bad this year." Brenda saw his double-meaning and blushed very slightly. "So since Santa won’t be bringing her anything, I think maybe I’ll just have to get her something so she has a present under the tree on Christmas morning."

"It’s SLURPY-BURPY, daddy….and you guys are gonna get mushy again, aren’t ‘ya?" Jo asked in disgust. She jumped off the bed, but not before stealing one more slice of Brenda’s bacon. "Can I go watch Rugrats now, mommy?" At Brenda’s nod, she was out the door in a flash. Brenda held out her arms to Jax and her son was soon being cradled in her arms, receiving similar kisses to the ones Jo had hated.

"You know, I think the only thing you two need is each other under the tree on Christmas," Lady Jane smiled. "Now, what can I do to help you through this stressful time, dears? I feel just awful about what’s happened."

Jax sighed. "Nothing, mum. I’ve got somebody coming round the house this afternoon who hopefully will clear up this entire mess before it has a chance to grow into something truly ugly."

Brenda nodded, and pulled Jaz closer to her, laying her lips against his bald head. Jax moved onto the bed to hold both his wife and son in his arms, and Lady Jane recognizing the moment for what it was, slipped quietly back out the door to leave the family in privacy.

*~*~*~*

Jax was typing away furiously on his keyboard when a knock sounded at the door of his study. "Come in," he called in some distraction.

Louise put her head through the door cautiously. "Mr. Jacks, a Mr. Delvecchio is here to see you. He says he has an appointment at one o’clock."

Jax glanced down at his watch. The man was prompt, if nothing else. "That’s fine, Louise. Please show him in." He closed out the file he was working on and then pulled a photocopy of threatening note out from under some files on his desk.

There was another soft knock at the door, and then it opened. Jax rose from his desk, not exactly knowing what to expect. He wasn’t disappointed.

The man who strode briskly into the room was not tall – Jax guessed him to be no more than 5 feet, 10 inches, tops. He had black hair and very dark eyes, but they were very piercing eyes – Jax could tell that by the first time they met his own blue ones. He was swarthy and thin, almost wiry. He moved with the grace and stealth that Jax recognized as a trait admired and cultivated by WSB training. He was wearing a dark trench coat, but it was open and flapped as he walked over to Jax’s desk.

"Mr. Jacks – James Delvecchio," he said, extending his right hand to Jax. "Robert Scorpio sent me."

Jax nodded. "Mr. Delvecchio, pleased to meet you. Won’t you have a seat?" He motioned to one of the wingback chairs in front of his desk, and then looked up at Louise. "Thank you, Louise. I’ll call you if we need anything further." He started to sit down, but then looked back up just as the woman was closing the door. "Oh, Louise….is Mrs. Jacks in the house?"

"She just took Miss Jo and Master Jaz out for an afternoon walk, sir," she answered. "She told me they wouldn’t be leaving the grounds, and she made sure to take one of the policemen outside with her."

Jax nodded. "Would you tell her that I’d like to see her when she gets back?" Louise nodded and shut the door behind her. Jax noticed that his visitor had shed the trench coat and was wearing an unconstructed, boxy camel blazer with no buttons, an off-white turtle neck sweater, and black trousers. As he sat down and glanced at the operative, Jax was puzzled. Usually he prided himself on being a good judge of people, but this man seemed to be difficult to read. In fact, Jax realized with surprise, the man seemed almost ANNOYED at being here.

"So….I can tell why you and Robert are thick. You’re both from that same piece of real estate that he keeps telling me is the closest thing to heaven on this earth." Jax’s mouth almost dropped open as James began the conversation. {He must be very close to Robert. He certainly wouldn’t let one of the everyday foot soldiers call him by his first name.}

"Not really." {I can play the detached game, too, mister.} "I spent a great deal of time there when I was a boy, but I was born here in the States. Can you say the same, Mr. Delvecchio?"

"Does it make a difference, Mr. Jacks?" James shot back, equally cool. "I fail to see how that would have any bearing on how good of an operative I am." His dark eyes, which Jax now could see clearly, were very dark brown, almost black. "And I AM good – VERY good." He leaned back and crossed his left leg over his right one, resting his left ankle on his right knee. Jax was again somewhat surprised to see that he wore black half-boots instead of dress shoes.

James’ eyes were almost riveting Jax to the chair with their intensity. "I suppose that remains to be seen, doesn’t it?" Jax asked, raising one eyebrow. "Although, you certainly wouldn’t have come this far unless Robert felt that you were up to the job."

Jax folded his fingers and placed his hands in his lap. "A job which he failed to describe, Mr. Jacks." He glanced down into his lap for a moment and then back up into Jax’s ice-blue stare. "A job which I may or may not decide to take….if anybody ever gets around to telling me what it is."

Jax pulled the photocopy out and tossed it across the desk at James, spinning it in the process. "My wife and I received the original of this note last night. It was pushed under our front door in a plain white envelope – no addressee, no return address."

James finally broke his pose to lean forward and take the note. He glanced at it briefly and then looked back up at Jax. "What does this mean – "I got you before"? Have you had contact with this stalker before?"

Jax sat back. "Apparently we did, although we didn’t realize it at the time." He went on briefly to outline the events of the night before, including their baptism by the bogus Roy Rogers. "Commissioner Scorpio questioned the other guests who witnessed our dousing, but none of them could remember anything significant about the man. In the spirit of the evening, he was masked."

James nodded. "I always did hate Halloween." He glanced up at Jax. "Amateur night for undercover wannabes." He flipped the note back at Jax. "Has there been any other contact?"

Jax shook his head. "Not a word. Everything’s been quiet."

James looked at him sharply. "Do you have a lot of enemies, Mr. Jacks?"

Jax returned the glare. "I’m a very successful businessman, Mr. Delvecchio. Sometimes that means I make enemies. I wouldn’t be at the point I am today if I always worried about hurting peoples’ feelings." He looked at James even more narrowly. "I get the impression that you probably operate in the same fashion."

James took a long breath. "Tell me about your enemies." He paused for a split second, and then added, "…and it’s James. I think we can drop the formalities."

Jax relaxed visibly. "Fine. And it’s Jax, with an "X"." Jax started to describe a few of his more audible business adversaries, but after about ten minutes, James held up his hand.

"I think you can stop. If those are the worst things you ever did to offend a fellow entrepreneur, you should be a candidate for sainthood. Any other reason to believe you’ve made enemies?"

Jax sighed and nodded. "I just agreed to run for political office against a woman who has rather vigorous and questionable connections in this town."

"Define questionable."

"The mob."

James’ eyes widened. "A woman – in La Cosa Nostra? When did they become an equal opportunity employer?"

Jax shook his head. "No, she’s not in the mob. Her husband is. He controls most of the union action in this town."

James nodded. "Now we’re getting somewhere. Anything else?"

Jax took a deep breath. "What concerns me is that we’re not really certain that this threat is specifically about me. It could be just my wife who’s being threatened." Jax cast his eyes down on the desk, and then looked back into James’ glittering ones. "It’s happened before."

As James started to lean forward ever so slightly, Jax began to describe the way he and Brenda had almost never made it to the altar. Discreetly leaving out her unplanned pregnancy, he told him about what he described as their "spat" and break-up, the near-wedding to Sonny, his trip through the tropical storm to reach her in time, the abduction to North Carolina, and their wedding in Myrtle Beach. "After we were married and I began investigating Mr. Corinthos, I discovered he had significant ties to the mob. He lost a lot by not marrying Brenda, including ties to Barrett Industries that would have legitimized his mob dealings. Right before our first child was born, he kidnapped Brenda’s sister for revenge."

"Where is this shining example of humanity now?"

"In a federal penitentiary, doing a long stretch for kidnapping and racketeering. Robert’s men were instrumental in helping us locate Julia and bring Sonny down." Jax became deadly serious. "Although I haven’t said as much to Brenda, I’m privately concerned that he’s trying again to hurt her."

James whistled softly. "Must be a h*ll of a woman."

They both jumped slightly when a voice was heard from the doorway. "My husband seems to think so." James’ head whipped around and his hand went to the inside of his blazer automatically, but Jax’s face softened as he saw Brenda standing there. She walked briskly into the room, and Jax had to smile inwardly. {If you think you’re tough, Mr. Delvecchio, you ain’t seen nothing yet.} She came to Jax’s desk and after kissing him briefly, she turned to James. "I don’t think we’ve been introduced. I’m Brenda Barrett Jacks – the wife."

James stood slightly and nodded, shaking her limp hand. "James Delvecchio – the agent."

Jax looked between them and saw sparks. He took a deep breath. {Well, you might as well tell him everything. If he wasn’t too thrilled about the job before, he’ll just jump for joy when he hears this part.} "Well, James, I think that just about covers it. But there’s one other aspect of the job that I haven’t mentioned yet." James’ eyes narrowed, and Jax cleared his throat. "I have two children – a son and a daughter. I love my family very much. They’re everything to me. All of my successes in business would mean nothing to me were I to lose one of them." He put his left arm around Brenda’s waist. "In addition to having you investigate the source of the threats, I would want you to act as a bodyguard to my family, particularly in the next few weeks while I’ll be out of town campaigning for this seat in the state House."

Jax could see the frostiness return to James’ expression as he spoke. "Mr. Delvecchio," Jax began, "it’s been painfully obvious to me since you walked into this room that you really don’t want this assignment."

James didn’t bat an eye. "You would make a good operative, Mr. Jacks." He looked at Brenda and she almost shivered. "You’re right on the money there."

"Care to explain why?"

James folded his hands in his lap arrogantly. "I’m a trained WSB operative, Mr. Jacks, and a d*mn good one at that. I’ve been assigned to top cases around the world. I’ve uncovered terrorist plots that would make your hair turn white." His gaze shifted to Brenda. "I came here today as a favor to Robert, but I certainly never expected to be asked to play nursemaid to some spoiled, rich, society matron while she trolled the mall looking for shoes in just a certain shade of blue."

Brenda gasped audibly at his rude words. "Jax," she said in a trembling voice, "it’s plain to see that Mr. Delvecchio doesn’t like me. Why don’t we just thank him for his time and ask him to leave."

Jax’s eyes were a frosty blue. But before he could agree with Brenda, James cut him off. "That’s true, Mrs. Jacks." His gaze shifted to Brenda, but didn’t gain any warmth. "But I don’t HAVE to like you. Even if I agree to take this job, all I HAVE to do is keep you alive so that you can make the next sale at Nieman’s."

Just as Jax feared the two of them were going to come to blows, the door to his office slammed open and Jo breezed in. "DADDY! Guess what we saw today when me and mommy were going for our walk! It looks like Uncle Ned and Aunt Lois got a pony for Brooke…." She stopped short just as she reached the corner of Jax’s desk. He was giving her a stern look, and as she turned around, she saw the reason.

Brenda tried to salvage the moment. "Jo, darling, have you forgotten the rule that when daddy’s door is closed, you’re supposed to knock before you come in?"

Her lower lip quivered a little. "Yes, mommy." She looked back up at her parents and Jax felt his resolve crumbling when he saw the hint of tears in her huge blue eyes. "But I was just going to tell daddy about the pony and ask him when I could get one, too…."

Jax lifted his right hand to crook a bent finger at Jo, beckoning her to come to him. She walked slowly behind his desk and seated herself on his lap. Jax’s right arm went around her waist holding her there as his left arm stayed around Brenda. "I’ll forget about it this time, munchkin. Just remember not to come in again if the door is shut until you knock."

Jo nodded solemnly. Then she turned her attention to her father’s guest. "Hi," she said with a smile. "I’m Josephine Ellen Jacks, but you can call me Jo like everyone else."

To Brenda’s surprise, a half-smile formed on James’ face. He nodded his head gallantly. "I’m pleased to meet you, Miss Josephine Ellen Jacks. I’m James. How old are you?"

She held up four fingers. "I’m that many," she said proudly, as Brenda nodded in approval. "But I don’t have enough fingers to show how old mommy is. Are you gonna ask her, too?"

James coughed discreetly to hide his laugh and Brenda squirmed. "No, Miss Josephine, I don’t think I will. Why don’t you ask me a question instead?"

She thought for a moment. "Do you work with my daddy and my grandpa J in the big building downtown?" she asked in wide-eyed curiosity. Jax let the conversation go on since he wanted to see how James would interact with Jo, on the outside chance that he actually agreed to taking the job.

Brenda spoke before James had a chance. "No, sweetheart, he doesn’t. He…."

To her supreme annoyance, James cut her off. "….works for a man who comes from the same place that your daddy does – where they have kangaroos and koala bears." He leaned forward. "In fact, this man has a statue of a kangaroo on his desk. And around Christmas," his eyes actually began to twinkle, "…we sneak in at night and put a Santa Claus hat on the statue so it’s a Santa-roo!"

Jo giggled uncontrollably, and Brenda had to smile. {Obviously the man can’t be all bad. He’s good with children. So why does he hate me so much?} She turned to her daughter, who had been thoroughly charmed by this snake. "Jo, darling, why don’t you go see if Louise has any more of those good chocolate chip cookies baked? I’ll bet daddy and …." She turned her eyes to him briefly. "…..James would like some."

"OK, mommy." Jo jumped off her Jax’s lap and was out the door in a flash. The three adults watched her leave, with James actually turning around to see her exit the room. After the door was shut, he turned back to Jax and Brenda.

"She’s beautiful. I can see why you want to protect her. And I suppose you won’t want her to know exactly why I’ll be around so much. Any ideas how we’ll disguise that?" He shifted in his chair and pulled out a small spiral notebook and pen.

The shock was evident on Jax’s face. "You’re agreeing to take the case? Including the bodyguard duties?"

James let out a long sigh, nodding his head ever so slightly towards the door where Jo had left. "I’m doing it for HER. I LIKE her." His eyes shifted back to Brenda again, but to her dismay, they were cold and dispassionate again.

"We haven’t discussed your fee yet, Mr. Delvecchio," Jax said, ever the businessman.

"I haven’t solved your case yet, Mr. Jacks," he returned. "But I would think that once I do and your family is safe, any price I would name would be acceptable – and certainly a man in your position is more than capable of affording it." He flipped a page in the notebook and clicked the pen into writing position. "Now – Jax -- why don’t you tell me more about this scum that your wife almost married – the one in the state pen."

Jax looked at him coldly, but then his face warmed with the hint of a smile. He extended his right hand. "Welcome aboard – James."

James smiled that half-smile again and clasped Jax’s hand. Brenda watched the two of them with some trepidation. {I hope you know what you’re doing, Jax. This guy gives me a REAL funny feeling.}

To be continued…..