A special thank-you to Annie L. for her help and advice on locations in Albany.

"Now, my darling Jaz, you’ll be a very good boy for Miss Angie while we’re gone, won’t you? You know Mommy will miss you VERY much, but we have this special birthday party to attend and the birthday girl will be very disappointed if we can’t make it." He kept sucking on the bottle and his eyes followed Brenda’s every move. She smiled at him and gently moved one finger from the bottle to stroke his cheek. "Soon, my little love, you’ll have your own set of birthday parties to attend. What will mommy ever do when she has to give you up to some other girl?"

A sound from the doorway startled Brenda. Jax was standing there watching her, smiling broadly. He walked over to run his hand over his son’s head. "You tell Mommy that there won’t ever be a girl in this world as wonderful as her, my son." He leaned down and pretended to whisper in the baby’s ear. "Although you can have a lot of fun investigating the possibilities!"

Brenda made a face at her husband, who leaned down to give her a kiss. "Having some separation anxiety, love?" Jax asked quietly as Brenda took the bottle out of Jaz’s mouth and placed it on the table next to her. She sat the baby upright on her lap and began to rub his back, looking for a burp.

"Now, why would you think that?" she answered softly but sarcastically. "Just because we got a death threat from some crazy person and we’re leaving the children to go to a birthday party in Albany for Lea and we won’t be back until tomorrow morning. Just because of that you think that I’m nervous?"

Jax smiled at her non-stop nervous chatter. He sat in a chair opposite her and leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. "We don’t HAVE to go, you know, Brenda. We could always send our regrets. I’m sure that under the circumstances, Lea would understand."

Brenda kept rubbing circles on Jaz’s back and was suddenly rewarded with a loud belch. He smiled at his mommy, proud of his accomplishment. She laughed a little at him, and then looked warmly at Jax. "Thanks for offering, honey, but I know this is important to you. It’s the first time you and Carly will be both attending an official function, and you need to make an appearance." She patted Jaz on the back. "And Lea is an old friend, and after she was so nice to us at our anniversary party, I would hate to disappoint her."

Jax nodded. "I really think that maybe we’re blowing this all out of proportion, sweetie. After all – we haven’t heard anything from this weirdo for over a week now."

Brenda smiled at him. "Jax – we haven’t been in TOWN for almost a week. We all went to Malibu because you had that emergency in L.A. If the stalker had followed us to California, I REALLY would be petrified."

"Yes, but James has been here all that time, Brenda, and he’s been following up every lead that Mac had and he’s come up empty. He even stayed here in the house to make it look occupied, and everything was quiet. And everything’s been quiet at your sister’s and your dad’s and my family’s houses. Maybe it was just an isolated incident and the guy’s given up."

They were interrupted by a noise from the doorway as James appeared, wiping his hands on a rag. He was wearing blue jeans and a pale green turtleneck sweater. Actually, Brenda had to stifle a giggle because to complete the ensemble, he had pulled a baseball cap far down on his head – backwards. He walked into the room talking, not checking first to see what might have been going on. "OK, Jax, I checked out the copter myself and it’s ready to go. You won’t have any security problems in that area and I’ve got a hand-picked WSB crew waiting for…." He finally looked up and saw Brenda, holding the baby.

Jax stood and walked to where James had stopped. "Go on. It’s OK. Brenda was just giving Jaz his afternoon bottle and I was helping on burp patrol."

James looked cynical. "Hmmm…burp patrol, huh? Sounds like hazardous duty." He turned to Jax, effectively excluding Brenda as though she weren’t in the room. "I was saying that I’ve arranged for a WSB crew to service the copter after you land in Albany and to stay with it until you’re ready to take off to return to Port Charles. There shouldn’t be any mechanical problems for you to deal with."

Brenda watched the two men and listened carefully to their conversation. Since she had been out of town, she hadn’t really had much interaction with James since their initial meeting. He still remained an enigma to her – and decidedly cool. But Jax had spoken to him many times and to Brenda’s surprise, actually seemed to be developing a working relationship with the man. She watched him as he continued to clean his hands from motor oil, and shivered slightly when she noticed the shoulder harness and lethal looking weapon he wore constantly.

As Jax and James finished their conversation, Angie poked her head through the door. "Hello! Anybody home?" She smiled and entered the room. "Louise let me in the front door and I told her I would find…." But before she could finish her sentence, James had struck like lightning.

James threw the rag down on the floor and moved to Angie silently and efficiently. Before Brenda could blink an eye, he had drawn his weapon and grabbed Angie around the waist, pulling her away from the Jacks family. He looked at her with deadly calm, holding the weapon to her ribcage, only glancing briefly back at Jax to ask, "Who’s this?"

"Holy sh*t, Jax! What did ‘ya do, hire Rambo?" Angie looked petrified, but James wasn’t convinced. "Call him off! I was just *teasing* about wanting that 50% bonus for Christmas!"

Jax tensed and tried to calm James down before he accidentally did away with the best assistant he ever had. "It’s OK, James. That’s Angie Hsieh. She’s my personal assistant and the babysitter who’s going to be staying with the kids while we’re gone." James looked skeptical, but then when Jax nodded to him again, he released Angie, who re-adjusted the blazer she wore. "Angie, this is James Delvecchio, the WSB agent who’s going to be watching out for us for a while.

She looked angrily at James. "I would say it’s a pleasure, but so far it hasn’t been," she muttered, glancing at him with lowered eyes. She looked back at Jax instead. "Geez, Jax, maybe you oughtta tell Louise to only give him decaffeinated for a while."

To Brenda’s shock, James cracked a devilish smile and tapped Angie on the shoulder, extending a hand in friendship. "I apologize. And I’m sure if I had gotten to check you for a hidden weapon, you would have changed your mind about that pleasure part." Angie blushed and returned his smile, taking his hand and shaking it shyly.

Jax cleared his throat loudly. "Well, I think I’ll just go make sure the guys have our garment bags loaded in the copter." He looked back at Brenda. "Honey, why don’t you let Angie hold Jaz and you can go get a copy of our itinerary for her?"

Brenda nodded and brought the baby to Angie. He gurgled happily as Angie took him, but Brenda still felt a distinct chill as she passed James on the way out of the room. Angie found herself in the room alone with James, so she began making faces at the baby to occupy the time. James, however, didn’t move from the spot. Finally, Angie looked up at him. "Have you met the Jazmanian devil yet?"

James smiled. "I’ve seen his picture on Jax’s desk, but I haven’t had the opportunity." He looked into the baby’s blue eyes, and Angie saw an emotion she couldn’t quite place flicker across James’ face. "He’s got Jax’s eyes and dimples, doesn’t he?"

Angie nodded. "Well, would you expect anything less from Jasper, Junior?"

"I didn’t know he was named after his dad," James said with a little surprise, extending his finger for the baby to grasp.

Angie nodded. "Yeah, well….you know how proud daddies are – can’t wait to have a son to name after them." Again, Angie noticed a funny look on James’ face, but then Jaz distracted them all by lunging towards James’ arms. "I think he wants you to hold him."

James took the baby awkwardly, but Jaz just smiled and gurgled happily. Just as James looked like he was getting comfortable holding the baby, Jaz stuck his finger up James’ nose. James just looked at Angie in bewilderment. "Does he do this with everyone he meets?"

She giggled. "Only the ones he really likes."

Jaz’s finger remained in James’ left nostril. "I would hate to see what he does to people he DOESN’T like."

"Let’s just say that those people become very intimately acquainted with whatever he had for lunch!" Angie laughed. When Brenda returned to the room a few minutes later, she found them sitting on the couch, James bouncing Jaz on his knee and Angie sitting next to him, admiring the charming Mr. Delvecchio.

{Great. My kids think he’s neater than Santa Claus and he can charm the pants off Angie, but he can’t stand to be in the same room with me. What have I ever done to make him hate me so much?}

Brenda and Jax rode down in the glass elevator from the top floor of the Omni Hotel. Brenda looked up at him and said with a sigh, "Have I told you lately just how brilliant you are, Mr. Jacks?"

Jax smiled with self-assurance. "Yeah – but tell me again. I hear it so seldom."

Brenda slapped his arm playfully. "You know what I mean." She looked around at the lobby as the elevator arrived at the main floor and took his arm. "This place is so beautiful – the little white lights outside and all around the lobby, a penthouse suite for us for a little private time later tonight…."

"So….you mean you’re actually having a good time and not worrying about the kids?"

"Well," Brenda drawled, "I’m still worried about the kids, but ever since you called before we left the suite and I got to talk to them, I feel a lot better." She glanced up at him as they strolled toward the private dining room where Lea’s birthday party was already in full swing. "And, of course, the way you look tonight would have nothing to do with my good mood."

"Of course," he returned naughtily and leaned down to give her a kiss. Jax was wearing an eggshell-colored dinner jacket and black formal trousers, with a ruffled shirt and tie to match the pale ivory of his jacket. His choice of colors complimented Brenda’s charmeuse dress of the same shade of ivory. It was a princess-line gown with long sleeves that ended at her wrists where they were trimmed with several rows of Austrian crystal beads. The back of the dress was cut very low – below her waistline – and several strands of the same Austrian crystal beads were strung from one side to the other, creating a latticework of the beads on her back that swung gently as she walked.

They arrived at the door to the ballroom and were stopped by two private security guards who checked their invitation. As they entered the ballroom, Brenda whispered to Jax, "Is everything all set for Lea’s surprise?"

Jax nodded. "Yep. Lea will have a birthday to remember when our guest shows up. Shall we join the receiving line?" He extended his arm to Brenda and after a few minutes, they found themselves being warmly greeted by the governor.

"Brenda! Jax! I’m so glad you could make it tonight – even though I hate to admit to being a year older!" Lea said enthusiastically. The white lace top of her dress had a scoop neckline where a brilliant cut diamond solitaire pendant rivaled the sparkle in her eyes. Below the empire waist and white lace fringe, a black crepe skirt flared out into a graceful "swing" hemline. She gave Jax a naughty look. "So, Shorty……do I get a birthday kiss or a spanking?"

Jax returned the look. "Well….I’d say a kiss for now. But once I ditch the wife later, I’ll meet you in your suite and we’ll discuss that spanking in greater detail. Happy Birthday, beautiful." He leaned down and gave Lea a kiss on the cheek and she returned it. As he straightened again, he took his first finger and wiped the "kiss" from his cheek to his lips, putting his finger in his mouth to suck on it and smack his lips. "Ahh, Peaches…..that was delicious!"

Lea put on a worried look. "Jax, please! Not in front of the h-u-s-b-a-n-d!" She smiled and hugged Brenda. "You two remember Steve from your anniversary party, right? And my folks are down further in the receiving line. They’re anxious to see you – after all, it’s been five years."

"I remember," Brenda said. "We went to Liz and Lou’s restaurant in North Carolina to celebrate the day we were married." Just as Brenda was about to compliment Lea on her dress, she winced as she heard a familiar, breathy voice.

"Jasper!" Kimberly appeared out of nowhere to grasp Jax’s arm in a grip like a vise. Brenda turned and had to stifle her gasp when she saw Kimberly’s dress. It was a dark green satin brocade sarong-style gown, strapless and sleeveless, and her bosom almost overflowed the top of it. From his taller vantage point, Brenda knew that Jax could probably see straight down her dress to her knees. And to her dismay, she knew that Kimberly knew it, too. "Jasper, come with me for a minute. The minority whip of the House is dying to meet you." She looked at Brenda condescendingly. "Nice to see you again, Brenda. Good coordination of colors with Jasper’s ensemble."

"But Kimberly, Brenda and I were just about to go speak with Lea’s parents. We’ve known them since we were first married." They continued to speak in hushed tones as Lea leaned in to speak to Brenda.

"Did you know the dragon lady would be here tonight?"

Brenda shook her head slightly. "No….but with my luck, she’ll send me to the other side of the table and she’ll want to sit next to him so she can cut his meat and make sure he uses the right fork." They watched as Jax and Kimberly had a lively discussion, but then just as it looked as though Kimberly was going to win, everyone heard a loud voice behind them.

"KIMMY! OH, KIMMY!" Brenda and Lea had to look the other way to hide their smiles. Grandma Josie came barreling through the receiving line to stand with them. "Good evening, children!" she said, planting kisses on both Brenda and Jax’s cheeks. "Evenin’, birthday girl!" she said to Lea, giving her a hug, and then she turned her attention to Kimberly. "Well, don’t you look special tonight, missy." Jax held his breath and Lea moved close to Brenda to cling to her as they waited for the bomb to drop. "You know, you remind me of a house I saw one time."

Kimberly tried to be civil. "A house?"

Josie kept a straight face. "Yeah – one of the ones designed by that guy Frank Lloyd Wright. You know – the ones with the balconies and overhang thingies that stick way out from the rest of the house. You just can’t imagine what’s holding them up and keeping them from cracking right off from the rest of the house. Truly amazing."

Jax stifled a smirk and Brenda and Lea almost broke each others’ arms, squeezing to contain their mirth. As Kimberly stood speechless, Jax grabbed Brenda by the arm. "Well, grandma, Brenda and I were just about to go visit with Lea’s parents, so maybe you can keep Kimberly company while we do." He moved smoothly with Brenda away from them, but turned to throw one parting shot over his shoulder. "Maybe you two can discuss Kimberly’s ……overhang thingies."

#####

Brenda tried to gracefully let out a long sigh. She thought dinner would never end. Although she was grateful for the presence of her in-laws, Jerry and Bobbie, and Grandma at the table, she also had to endure Kimberly. She was determined to sit next to her husband, but somehow Kimberly wangled the seat to his other side. To her disappointment, Kimberly kept steering the conversation all during dinner back to their days at Penn State together. She was brought abruptly back to the present by the sound of Kimberly’s voice.

"So, Brenda, did Jasper ever tell you the story of the infamous mirror picture?"

She smiled wanly. "No, I can’t say that he did."

"Well," Kimberly said with a feline smile, "Jasper was the R.A. in our dorm that year and I was rooming with two other girls on the 3^rd floor. The night before mid-term exams, the sink in our bathroom sprang a terrible leak. So we called Jasper and he rushed down and fixed it for us so quickly that we all had plenty of time to study."

"What a guy!" Jerry said sarcastically, shooting Jax a "Can’t-you-get-rid-of-her?" look. But it didn’t stop Kimberly.

"So, anyway, we were all SO grateful to Jasper that I snuck up to his room later that night when he was gone. I took my darkest red lipstick and wrote on his mirror, "Thanks, Jax, you were wonderful!" and signed it "Kimberly" and drew a big red heart!" She leaned forward and everyone at the table took a deep breath at one time, wondering if she was going to fall out of her dress. "I wrote "Jax" since I knew if I used his real name it would embarrass him, you see," she whispered. She sat up straight and all the women breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, when Jasper got back he was so tickled by it he took a picture of it. He showed that picture to every guy on the campus, pretending it was for something COMPLETELY different than plumbing!"

"Yes, you and Jasper have some wonderful memories, don’t you?" Josie intoned, and Brenda saw a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "But I would think the most outstanding memory in Jasper’s mind would be from when you two were little children." Josie leaned towards Bobbie to explain. "Kimmy’s grandparents lived next door to my Jasper and I when we were in D.C.," she said. "One summer, I bought Jax this little wading pool and every time he and Jerry would come to visit, they would drag out the pool and want to go swimming."

Kimberly’s eyes lit up, and Brenda was tickled to see that Josie had some agenda that Kimberly wasn’t picking up. "That’s right!" She put her open hand dramatically on her chest. "It makes me blush to admit it, but sometimes when I came to visit and the boys happened to be there, my grandma Ginny just plunked me in the wading pool with them without a swimsuit! It was my first experience in skinny-dipping!"

Brenda glanced over at Jerry and noticed his eyes lighting up, too. "Yeah, Jax," he said conspiratorially, "don’t you remember when we used to go swimming with Kim-bah-ly, hmmm?" He was seated to Brenda’s right, and then Jerry leaned over to whisper in Brenda’s ear, "Don’t you just LOVE watching a train wreck?"

Jax’s face was drawing a blank and he was shaking his head, much to Kimberly’s dismay. Then Josie dropped the boom. "Well, Jerry, I guess I can understand why poor Jasper wouldn’t remember."

Jerry looked down at his wrist and whispered to Brenda again. "Yep. Here comes the 8:35 – right on schedule."

But Josie was continuing her story. "After all, every time Kimmy went swimming with the two of you, she would pee in the pool." John Jacks almost spit out the drink he had just taken, and Jane slapped him hard on the back, trying to explain it as a coughing fit. Kimberly blushed an unbecoming shade of red, and Brenda had to stifle her giggle. But Josie went on. "Yep. Poor Ginny. She took that girl to about three different bladder specialists until they finally told her it was just some kind of childhood condition she would outgrow." She looked toward Kimberly. "So, dear, did you ever…."

Just as Grandma was about to inquire about the state of Kimberly’s bladder, the catering manager came over and tapped Jax on the shoulder. He whispered something in Jax’s ear, and Jax rose quickly from the table. "Well…..Although this trip down memory lane certainly has been enlightening, I think it’s just about time for my special surprise for the birthday girl. If you all will excuse me…?" He leaned down to give Brenda a surprisingly passionate kiss on the mouth, and then proceeded to make his way towards the head table.

Kimberly looked worried. "What’s Jasper going to do? What kind of surprise are we talking about?"

"Nothing that will affect his political future, Kimberly," Brenda answered acidly. She scanned the room. "Speaking of which…..I haven’t seen Mrs. Morgan here yet tonight. Wasn’t she invited?"

Kimberly rested her elbows on the table and laced her fingers delicately to stroke her chin. She inclined her head ever so slightly. "Yes, she’s here. Governor Moyer decided not to play any one side of the political fence and so Carly and her husband, the mob king, are sitting over there with another one of the representatives from the Brooklyn area. Probably discussing their respective recipes for making concrete overshoes."

Josie sat up straighter. "So…doesn’t that bother you at all, Kimmy? Being on the side that might get you fitted with some of those?"

Jerry leaned in to Brenda again. "Ahh…it would have to be pretty heavy concrete. Just think how those two would keep her bobbing in the water for hours." Brenda had to cover her face with her napkin and elbowed Jerry, but Kimberly didn’t notice the interchange.

"Nothing scares me, Mrs. Jacks," she said coldly. "When there’s something I want, I go for it and the consequences be damned. In this case, I WANT Jasper to be elected, and he will be."

Somehow, her words made Brenda uncomfortable, particularly when she saw the way Kimberly’s eyes focused on Jax now that he had taken a place behind the speaker’s podium at the head table and was calling for the crowd’s attention.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he said in a polite voice. He tapped a spoon on the side of a water glass and the room finally quieted. He looked down at Lea with a smile. "It’s been my privilege and pleasure to know our fair governor since we were both crazy kids in college back in the Dark Ages. So, since she was so nice to come to Port Charles and help my beautiful wife and I celebrate our wedding anniversary lately, I thought it was only fair that I would help her celebrate her birthday in a special way." He looked to the doorway of the dining room. "Gentlemen?"

The lights in the room dimmed and the doors opened to reveal a huge sheet cake in the shape of the state of New York. The candles glowed as two waiters pushed it into the room to the approval of the guests. Jax drew their attention back to him. "Now, folks, that’s not my surprise. I’d say that cake deserves a rousing rendition of the birthday song for our fair governor, and I couldn’t think of anybody who could do a better job of leading us than Lea’s favorite singer – Mr. Barry Manilow!"

The lights in the room came up a little as the singer appeared in the doorway holding a cordless microphone. As everyone turned to look at him, and Lea squealed in delight, he began to walk towards the head table, his eyes on the birthday girl. He raised the microphone and began to sing "Happy Birthday" to her, a cappella.

Lea clasped her hands together and got tears in her eyes, and then Jax moved to her to gently lift her to her feet, holding her by the elbow. He extended his arm to her to escort her to the front of the head table where the cake and Barry were. The crowd had joined in the singing, and just as everyone finished the song, Lea was standing behind the cake in rapture. Jax moved into the shadows so that the moment could belong to her.

After the applause ended and Barry had given her a hug and kiss on the cheek, Lea self-consciously wiped at her eyes. "Well," she said laughing, "this is something you all don’t see often! I think I’m at a loss for words!"

Jax snickered from the background. "Now that IS a first." He gestured to the legislators in the crowded dining room. "I’ll bet you folks never realized that to stop Lea from staging a filibuster, all you would have to do is bring in her teen idol to sing to her!"

"Thank goodness all she has to do now is blow out the candles and make a wish!" Barry smiled at her. "Go ahead, darlin’. The evening belongs to you."

Lea batted her eyes at him. "I think my wish already came true," she smiled, and then proceeded to take a huge breath and blow out all the candles on the cake. After the applause ended and Barry had given her another hug, he motioned for Steve to come down from the head table to join her.

"Now, Jax seemed to think that you all might like to hear me sing something so that our birthday girl and her husband could have a special dance," he said shyly. Steve, who had been "in" on the secret, came to take Lea by the hand and lead her to the center of the dance floor. Barry looked a little embarrassed as he continued. "But I started going through all of my old love songs, and most of them were so sad, I couldn’t find anything appropriate! So, with apologies to my good friend Tony Bennett, I’m going to borrow one from him and I hope Lea enjoys it."

The lights dimmed in the dining room as Lea and Steve began to dance to the ballad that Barry was crooning.

She smiled her response and rose from her chair. Jax led her by one hand onto the dance floor and swept her into his arms as he skillfully joined the other couples that had begun dancing at Lea’s insistence.

Brenda sighed. "I’m dancing with the man I love and I have a whole night in his arms to look forward to. How could I NOT be happy?" Jax smiled at her in return and placed a kiss behind her ear, hinting of other things he would be doing to make her happy later in the evening that made her blush.

As the band and Barry finished the song, everyone applauded politely and Lea made her way over to where Brenda and Jax stood. She gave Jax a hug. "Well, Shorty, I must admit – you never cease to amaze me! Don’t tell me that you remembered that I had a crush on Barry Manilow ever since college!"

Jax hedged a little. "Well…….let’s just say that between Steve and I, we managed to figure it out." The band swung into one of Barry’s hits, "Mandy," and Jax turned back to her. "So…would it be inappropriate for the governor to dance one dance with a candidate for the job of state representative?"

Lea pretended to consider it. "Hmmmm…..probably. But it would DEFINITELY be OK for the birthday girl to dance one dance with an old friend from college!" She extended her arms to him, and they began to dance as Steve walked Brenda back to their table.

Brenda was enjoying the music and watching the dancing so much that she failed to see the blonde woman come up behind her. Jax and Lea were smiling and laughing, and suddenly Brenda heard a snide voice.

"Well…don’t they just make a handsome couple. I’ll bet they looked even better together when they were such GOOD FRIENDS in college." As Brenda turned around to see who the voice belonged to, she inhaled sharply as she saw Carly Morgan standing there. She smiled artificially. "Good evening, Mrs. Jacks. Isn’t it a shame you couldn’t bring the children along with you tonight so that you could keep up that wholesome façade you love to put on!"

Brenda tried to ignore her rudeness. "Good evening, Carly. I hope you’re having a nice time, too."

"Yes, well, I always have a nice time when I see two lovers reunited after so long."

Brenda looked befuddled. "Excuse me?"

Carly homed in on what she saw as Brenda’s ignorance. "Jax and Lea," she nodded towards the dance floor. "Or I guess he never told you that they had a torrid affair when they were in college, did he?"

To be continued….

Song credit: "They Can’t Take That Away From Me," by George and Ira Gershwin, sung by Tony Bennett, MTV Unplugged.