Jerry cursed under his breath. As Brenda watched in horrified fascination, the woman pushed the veil back off her face and pulled Jax’s face down to hers for a passionate kiss. Brenda heard Jerry mutter, "That’s Miranda – the wife."

"Oh, Jax, my darling," Brenda heard Miranda moan as she ended the kiss. "I was so afraid I lost you! I’ll never let you go again!!"

Brenda had already turned away from the tender reunion, pretending to have something in her eye, when Jax grabbed Miranda by both arms. She was too far away from the supposedly loving couple to hear Jax’s words to his wife. "Miranda! Have you lost your bloody mind? Is this supposed to be some kind of sick joke?"

Jason saw the animosity between his parents and stepped between them. "Come on, mom. Why don’t you step back a little and let dad have some air? I’m sure adjusting to life in the real world will be a little hard for him at first. We don’t want to crowd him like a pack of wolves."

Jane Jacks reached out to pat her grandson’s arm lovingly. "You’re a good boy, Jason. That’s a wonderful idea. Let’s give your father some room." As Jax ran his hand through his hair and turned to see if Brenda had seen the ridiculous charade that Miranda had perpetrated, he heard a loud screeching sound.

They all did. Everyone turned towards the hanger to see what the new source of noise was, and they didn’t have to wait long. A dark-haired woman in an extremely short black micro-mini skirt, light blue crepe blouse tied under her breasts, and clunky black high heels had come running out of the hanger, waving her arms in the air, making fanning motions with her hands. As she got closer, they could make out her words. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God, it’s you, girlfriend! Oh, my GOD!!! BRENDA!!!!"

Jerry leaned closer to Brenda as she began to smile. "Do you know this woman, or did they forget to lock the doors to the asylum again?"

Brenda wiped a tear from her eyes. "Yes, and YES!" She began running towards the woman. "LOIS!!"

The two women met mid-way between the hanger and the seaplane and embraced in a tight hug, threatening to lift each other off the ground. There were loud "Oh, my God"’s and squeals of joy as they met, and Jane Jacks turned to her son. "They’re certainly happy to see each other, aren’t they, dear?"

Jax smirked. {That must be the business partner. She looks as crazy and beautiful as Brenda.} Jax nodded towards Brenda. "The woman in the white dress is my fellow castaway, Mum – Brenda Barrett."

Miranda immediately saw the warm look in his eyes for Brenda and pulled herself up and stuck her chin out in an unattractive pout. "Well, she certainly is LOUD." She turned back to Jax. "I’m sure that her boyfriend, the mob potentate, will be happy to see her. I understand that he’s been maintaining a non-stop search for her."

Meanwhile, Lois pulled back finally to look into Brenda’s eyes. "Stand still, Bren. Let me get a look at you. Are you OK?" Tears were running down her cheeks.

"I am now, Lo," Brenda answered tearfully. "I am SO glad to see you." She looked around timidly but tried to maintain a smile. "Is Sonny here?"

Lois rubbed her hands up and down Brenda’s arms. "He was right behind me comin’ through the lobby of the hotel but then he got a phone call." She looked behind her onto the tarmac. "He should be out here any minute. He’s been SO worried about you, Brenda!" She cocked her head to the side. "Oh, what am I sayin’? We’ve ALL been worried about you! I think Ma had those little pink nuns sayin’ novenas every day for you since your plane went down!" She looked Brenda up and down, raising one eyebrow. "So, you look none the worse for wear! Are you really OK?"

Brenda nodded, but then she felt her insides contract when she saw Sonny swaggering across the tarmac towards them. {You have to keep up the charade, at least for now. You can’t hold out any hopes for Jax – his wife obviously isn’t going to let him go.} Her feminine ego and pride forced her to go across the tarmac to meet Sonny, and his face broke into a big smile when he saw her walking towards him.

"Babe!" he said, stopping where he stood and making her come to him. He held out his arms in an open embrace, and Brenda moved into his arms as he pulled her to him for a kiss. She felt the nausea rising again as his tongue immediately demanded entrance to her mouth.

Jax watched the scene with rising anger. {How can she kiss him like that? Why is she acting like she’s so glad to see him?} He glanced over at Miranda and saw her self-satisfied smirk, but then felt Jerry’s hand at his elbow. "What did you expect, Jax? After the way Randy launched herself at you?" Jerry whispered to Jax so that noone else could hear.

Jax partially turned towards Jerry, pain etched on his face. "She doesn’t love him, Jerry. Why is she still acting like she does?"

Jerry’s mouth thinned to a grim line. "I’m not sure, but I’ll bet it’s got something to do with Randy’s little performance before." He looked at Jax and saw the fury blazing in his eyes. "Now…..don’t do something stupid. Why don’t we all go back to the suite with the family? I’ll set up some kind of press conference, and then I’ll go visit Brenda’s suite to let her know and see what I can find out."

"Thanks, Jer," Jax whispered. "You’re a lifesaver."

Jerry smiled. "I know it. In more ways than one, little brother."

Brenda had finally extricated herself from Sonny’s sloppy kiss. "Honey," she whispered shakily, "we shouldn’t be doing that! Not here in front of all the reporters and stuff!"

"But I’m just so glad to see you, babe," Sonny drawled, cupping her face in his hands. "I missed you."

Lois could sense that something was wrong the minute Brenda left her. She watched the interchange between Brenda and Sonny for a few minutes, glanced back at the tall blonde man who seemed to be eating Brenda alive with his eyes, and then moved in. "Hey, why don’t we all go back to the suite? I’m sure Brenda would like to get cleaned up and into some of her own clothes, wouldn’t you?"

Brenda’s eyes began to sparkle for the first time since Sonny had appeared. "My OWN clothes? You brought some of my things with you?"

Lois put her arm around Brenda’s shoulder. "Honey, I’ve had that suitcase packed ever since Mr. Jacks said he was goin’ out to find you guys. Like Ma kept sayin’, you just gotta believe!" She began to lead Brenda towards the main hotel building, but not before Brenda cast one more glance over her shoulder towards Jax. Her eyes met his as he was waiting for her to look his way.

The longing that surged across the tarmac was almost tangible. Brenda stumbled once at the intensity of the look Jax gave her, but then forced herself to look ahead again. {You wouldn’t have a future with him, Brenda. Just keep remembering that. All you would ever be would be his mistress.}

*~*~*~*

An hour later, Brenda found herself in a huge sunken bathtub, relaxing in her first bubble bath in six weeks. The very private resort hotel on the island had welcomed the rescued castaways and their families with open arms, particularly since it would bring them a lot of free publicity. Lois brought Brenda to a two bedroom suite that had been given to her and Sonny with a magnificent view of the white sand beach. Brenda said prayers of thanks when Sonny was called away on some important phone calls. He had promised to be as quick as possible and said he definitely keep his evening free for their "private reunion."

Brenda found the bath sponge and slowly squeezed it, drizzling warm water down her arms. She leaned back against the side of the tub, enjoying the warm water and luxury while she could. {What are you going to tell him, Brenda? You know he’s expecting to have some wild orgy with you tonight to celebrate your rescue. How are you going to get out of it?} She shook her head to clear that thought, but it was replaced by another unpleasant one. {I wonder what kind of suite the Jacks family has. I guess Jax is spending time catching up with his son, and……his wife……maybe she’s still kissing him like that……maybe he’s decided he wants to kiss her back…..} She was roused from her thoughts when there was a knock at the bathroom door. "Who is it?"

"It’s just me, girlfriend. Can I come in?"

Brenda heaved a huge sigh of relief that it wasn’t Sonny. "Sure, Lo. Come on in."

Lois breezed into the bathroom, carrying a tray with huge glasses of iced tea and a plate of mint cookies. "Here I come, to save the day!" she sang off-key, and settled down on the floor next to the bathtub with a fit of giggles. "How ‘ya doin’? Are you ready for company yet?"

Brenda smiled. "You know I’m always ready for you, Lois. That looks heavenly." She reached out and took a glass of the iced tea. She relaxed back into the bubbles, sipping on the tea. "Ahh….now I know what I missed the past six weeks."

Lois took a drink of her own tea and set the glass down. She gazed fondly into Brenda’s eyes. "Ya’ know, I think I’m just gonna keep lookin’ at you for the next couple of hours, just to make sure this isn’t the dream I been havin’ ever since you disappeared!" Tears began to form in her eyes again. "I was SO worried about you, Brenda. I mean, no offense, but you ain’t no girlscout! I didn’t know how you would be able to stay alive all that time with no food or water!"

Brenda smiled and stretched in the tub. "Well, you can thank Jax for that one. If he hadn’t been there, I probably would never have lived more than a day." She sipped her tea, and then put it down as an afterthought occurred. "AND if he hadn’t been such a great pilot! I mean, he landed that huge jet on that tiny island smoother than some of the commercial flights I’ve been on! And then he got us out before it blew up!"

Brenda took a bite of cookie as Lois watched her. "Jacks. So, he’s the tall, blonde drink of water? You call him by his last name?"

Brenda nodded, but then shook her head. "Yeah, that’s him….but it’s Jax, with an "x". It’s kind of a nickname cause he hates his real first name so much." She saw Lois’s look, and added, "And it’s Jasper, cause I know that would be your next question." Brenda looked around and then grabbed the side of the tub. "Now, if you don’t mind, I’m turning pruny so I’m gonna get out of this tub." She reached for a fluffy white bath sheet, but as she rose out of the tub, an attack of vertigo made her sway momentarily and she put her hand to her head.

Lois immediately shot to her feet and grabbed Brenda’s arms. "Hey, girlfriend! Are you SURE you’re OK?" She took the bath sheet from Brenda and wrapped it around her.

{D*mn! I guess Jasper, Jr. can’t stand not reminding me of his presence for a minute!} She tried to smile at Lois, who continued to have a look of concern on her face. "I’m fine, Lois --- Really!! I just got a little dizzy, that’s all!" Her laugh had a hollow ring to it. "I’ve just been sitting in that water for so long that I got dizzy when I stood up so fast."

Lois helped Brenda step out of the sunken tub and looked at her quizzically as she wrapped the bath sheet around her. "Yeah, right. Dizzy." She rubbed Brenda’s arms with another towel and then turned her to hold her steady while she looked into her eyes. "Brenda, this is me…..Lois. Your best friend from forever. You can talk to me." She glanced down and then back into Brenda’s eyes. "You were on a tropical island for six weeks in the sun, Brenda. Yet, I couldn’t help but notice that you don’t have ANY tan lines….…not even on your boobs! And you seemed a little funny around Sonny when we landed. Would either of those things have anything to do with your friend, Jax-with-an-x?"

Brenda took a deep, shaky breath. "You always did know me too well, Lo. We do really need to talk. Will you keep me company while I get dressed?" Lois hugged Brenda to her and nodded, but just then, they both heard a knocking at the door of the suite.

Lois felt Brenda’s muscles tense under her hands. {Somethin’s goin’ on. Definitely.} She looked at Brenda and rubbed her arms again. "I’ll see who that is, but I doubt it’s Sonny. He’s got a key so he wouldn’t knock." Brenda nodded and Lois felt the muscles in her arms relax. "I’ve got your things in a tan overnight bag in the other room. Why don’t you go get dressed and I’ll take care of whoever it is."

Brenda nodded silently and went through the bathroom door leading to one of the bedrooms. She couldn’t hear Lois, so she didn’t know if it was some pesky reporter, or room service, or…….{Jax! Maybe it’s Jax! But maybe he’s come to tell me he’s reconciled with Miranda and he’ll give me a call whenever he’s got some time for his latest mistress!} Brenda shook her head, putting her fingers to the bridge of her nose. She didn’t know how she would ever make it through the next nine months without these raging hormones driving her crazy.

Some of her attentions were diverted when she opened the overnight bag and saw her own things. She pulled out a silver charmeuse pair of pants that rode low on her hips and a short, white crocheted top that showed off her tanned abdomen. Giving a quiet squeal like a small child at Christmas, she scampered over to the dresser to find bags from the hotel boutique containing new lace panties, perfume, and small freshwater pearl stud earrings. Having grown accustomed to walking barefoot on the island, she began to get dressed, reveling in the feel of wearing her own bra again and fresh clothing that was her own.

Lois, meanwhile, went to the door of the suite and opened it a crack. "Yeah?"

A husky voice with an Australian accent answered her. "Is that any way to talk to Superman?"

Lois frowned and opened the door a little more to reveal a dark-haired man with twinkling eyes. He had on some khaki-colored cotton trousers and a light tan polo shirt with the words "J&J Charters" embroidered on the pocket. Lois looked him up and down. "You don’t look like no Superman to me, buddy. Or Clark Kent, for that matter."

Jerry smiled and extended his arms. "That’s because you’re not looking hard enough. Don’t you recognize me? Leaps tall buildings in a single bound? Runs faster than a locomotive? Finds castaways on island that’s no bigger than spit in the ocean?" He gave her a bone-melting smile and Lois cocked her head to the side, smiling slightly to show her dimples. Jerry felt a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach as he extended his hand. "Jerry Jacks, here. Brother to the blonde one that was stranded with your friend."

Lois immediately put her hand out to grasp his and pull him into the room. "Mr. Jacks! Oh, my God, pardon my manners! My ma would kill me if she knew I almost slammed the door in the face of the man who single-handedly ran a rescue effort for a solid month and finally found my best friend in the whole world!" Once he was inside the suite she closed the door behind him and extended her hand towards the couch hospitably, albeit shyly.

"I don’t believe it!" Jerry said, not moving from where he stood.

Lois drew a blank. "What?"

He smiled again, and Lois’s heart fluttered. "You said all that in a single breath!" He moved towards the couch and sat down, indicating that she should take a place next to him. He looked around anxiously. "Is Brenda around? I wasn’t disturbing her taking a nap or anything, was I?"

Lois waved a hand at him. "Brenda? Napping? Obviously you don’t know our Brenda. That woman can get by on virtually no sleep at all when she needs to." Before Lois could go on, Jerry grabbed her hand and held it in his, inspecting the long fingernails with artistic designs on them.

"You know," he said in a low voice, inclining his head to her confidentially, "I’m told that some animals DO know how to survive in captivity, even if you DO de-claw them!" He leaned back. "I guess you’re not so hard on the upholstery this way though, are you?"

Lois giggled. She had never met a man who could trade one-liners with her like Jerry, and his accent was setting off little rockets inside her brain that she didn’t understand. She pulled her hand away quickly and moved closer to him on the couch, a fact that he thoroughly appreciated. "So, where’s your brother the castaway – you know, Mr. name-that-ends-with-an-X?"

"Jax? He’s downstairs, setting up a press conference so that we can satisfy all of these nasty reporters at one time." He looked around. "Is Brenda’s boyfriend around?"

Lois shook her head. "No." She moved closer again. "Mr. Jacks…."

"Jerry, please."

She nodded, tilting her head to the side in a "OK, but let’s get to the point fast" attitude, "JERRY…..what’s goin’ on between your brother and my best friend?"

"You noticed it too?" Jerry breathed a sigh of relief. It was always better in a covert operation to have a sympathetic contact on the inside.

Lois snorted. "How could I not? Every time Brenda sees Sonny or I mention his name, she practically goes into a panic attack. But every time she says your brother’s name, she gets this warmy-barmy look in her eyes."

Jerry nodded. "Very perceptive, Lois." He leaned in close where he could see her amazing sky-blue eyes. "Now, the question is…..what are you and I going to do about it?"

"Do about what?" Brenda stood in the doorway to the living room area of the suite, smiling. She slowly did a complete revolution as though she was on the runway, and Jerry applauded and gave a wolf whistle.

"Brenda," Lois said slowly with a smile, "this is Jax-with-an-x’s brother, Jerry."

Jerry smiled lewdly. "We’ve already met, Lois, although I have to admit that the outfit she’s wearing now can’t hold a candle to the outfit she was wearing when I first met her!"

Brenda blushed slightly and came over to a chair near the sofa. "So," she said suspiciously, noticing the sparkle in Lois’s eyes, "answer my original question. What do you two need to do something about?"

"Uhhh....we need to do something about getting you downstairs to the press conference," Jerry said, glancing at Lois for confirmation.

"Yeah!" Lois quickly picked up on the line of thought. "Jerry here just came up to let us know that they had set up the press conference for downstairs at ......what time did you say, Jerry?"

"I didn’t, Lois," he smiled, "but it’s at 5 o’clock." He looked at his watch. "So by the time Brenda puts on her shoes and makeup and stuff, it should be just about time go to downstairs to face those pesky reporters."

Brenda gave them a disgusted look. "Thanks for the information, Jerry.....but I want you to know that I don’t buy your act for a minute. I know the two of you were up to something, and I’m going to find out what it is sooner or later." She rose from the couch but turned back to them. "And as for the reporters, so far they really haven’t been bothering us that much." She looked towards Lois, who nodded in agreement. "The phone hasn’t rung even once."

Jerry looked down at the floor with a smile. "That’s because Jax left strict orders to have all phone calls transferred to our suite. My mum’s been handling them, and believe me -- they don’t mess with Jane Jacks for long!"

Brenda raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh....I see. I didn’t realize Jax had made so many arrangements since we got here." She shrugged. "Well, I’ll just go finish that makeup and find some shoes I can stand to wear and I’ll be back in a flash."

Brenda left the door to her bedroom open deliberately and Lois stuck out her tongue towards her departing form. Jerry stifled a smile, but then looked at her seriously. "What now?"

Lois craned her neck to see if Brenda was near the door. "I’m not sure. I’m gonna have to think about this one." She looked at Jerry and felt herself sinking into his dark brown eyes. "One thing I DO know is that we have to keep that nasty wifey of Jax-with-an-X away from Brenda."

"Believe me, if it was up to me, I would keep old randy Randy away from this continent! But she IS his wife, even if he can’t stand the sight of her...." Jerry stopped as Brenda came back into the room.

"Go on, Jerry. Don’t let me stop you," Brenda smiled. She had put on some white, low-heeled clogs and applied just a hint of lipstick.

"Nothing, dear lady," Jerry said, rising from the sofa. "You certainly don’t look like a woman who’s been shipwrecked for six weeks." He stood in the middle of the room and put out both arms with his elbows pointing out. "Ladies.........shall we?"

With Lois on one arm and Brenda on the other, Jerry led the way out of the suite and to the waiting reporters.

*~*~*~*

When Jerry, Lois and Brenda entered the conference room, Jax was already there at the head table, conferring with the business manager of the resort. Brenda stared at him for a moment, but then he turned towards her, almost as though he could sense when she came into the room. His eyes blazed a brilliant shade of blue, and Brenda swore she could feel the shock waves coming from them all the way across the room. Her knees felt weak as she took in his newly groomed appearance.

He had changed into a pair of blue jeans that fit him like a glove, snugly outlining parts of his body that Brenda had become intimately acquainted with on the island. Jax wore a light blue "J&J Charters" polo shirt. It was similar to Jerry’s, but it fit him tightly and Brenda guessed that he had probably borrowed it from his older brother. The light blue color of the shirt only made his eyes remind her that much more of the ocean at sunrise -- dancing shades of blue and green with highlights that sparkled in the sun. With the tight fit of the shirt, Brenda had to swallow hard as his muscular chest rippled each time he moved. The muscles in his upper arms stood out like thick cords, threatening to split the seams in the sleeves of the shirt. He had been holding a clipboard and discussing something with the man from the resort, but at the sight of Brenda, he handed the clipboard back to the man without even looking at him. His eyes were locked with Brenda’s.

He ran his fingers through his hair nervously as he made his way to the doorway where the trio stood. He only had eyes for Brenda, and Lois shot a conspiratorial look to Jerry which he returned. When Jax came to stand before them, he seemed to lose the power to speak. He finally put his hands in the back pockets of his jeans, pulling the material even more tightly. Brenda tried not to gasp audibly, but Lois saved her the trouble, inhaling sharply and patting her chest with her free hand. "Hi," Jax finally squeaked.

Brenda nodded, and then Lois pulled her arm out of Jerry’s. She smiled at Jax for a moment and took a deep breath. "Hi, I’m Lois Cerullo, Brenda’s business partner and best friend in the whole world, Mr. Jax-with-an-X. I just want to thank you for taking such good care of her and landing the plane in one piece and getting her off the plane before it blew up.....oh, what the h*ll, just for everything!" With that, she launched herself at him to give him a bear hug.

Jax broke into a big smile, Jerry laughed out loud, and Brenda just stared at the floor smiling. "All that in one breath....what a woman!" Jerry exclaimed, and Lois pulled back and gave him a dirty look.

Jax smiled at Brenda and extended his hand. "I think they’re waiting for us." Brenda walked towards him as though she were in a trance and put her hand in his. They went up to the raised platform at the front of the room and flashbulbs immediately began to explode.

Jax put up his hands. "Gentlemen! I informed you before that there would be a time set aside for pictures at the end of the press conference. If you can’t honor our wishes, we will be forced to terminate the proceedings." Jax’s tone of voice brooked no disobedience, and so the reporters settled into their chairs as Jax held Brenda’s chair out for her.

Once the questions began, Brenda began to suspect that Jax had done a lot of preliminary boundary-setting with the reporters before she got there. They were respectful, and polite, and not a one even hinted at any questions about their living arrangements on the island. Jax fielded most of the questions, allowing Brenda to answer the ones about her reasons for being in Sydney in the first place. The subject of the heroin was never brought up.

As Brenda watched Jax hold the room in the palm of her hand, she realized the power of the man sitting next to her. Brenda looked out into the audience and saw Miranda, gloating at her and deliberately putting her left hand over her right so that her wedding ring was clearly visible. It was then that Brenda also realized how hard it would be to try to forget Jax -- particularly when his hard, muscled thigh kept pressing up against her leg under the table.

"I think that should just about do it, gentlemen," Jax said after the conference had reached the hour mark. "Ms. Barrett and I rose early this morning to meet the seaplane and neither one of us has slept in a real bed for six weeks. We appreciate your understanding." He rose and pulled out Brenda’s chair, effectively ending the press conference.

Brenda quickly made her way away from the platform, trying to find Lois and just get back to the suite. But Lois and Jerry had gone off to the side of the room and looked like they were deep in some kind of discussion. As a reporter tried to corner Brenda to get one more comment, she felt Jax’s arm around her waist and saw his other hand go to the reporter’s arm. "I said, that’s enough! No more for today."

The reporter slinked away and Brenda turned back to Jax. When she lifted her gaze to look into his eyes, she knew she was lost.

Jax reached out to touch her arm. "Brenda, wait. We have unfinished business."

"No we don’t, Jax," she said, trying to stay calm. "After the Australian police find ....." He put his hand up and looked around, pulling her off to the side of the room with him. She glanced around to make sure they were alone and then continued more quietly. "...After the police find out who sabotaged your plane, I’ll go back to the record business and you’ll go back to making busy executives happy with your flight service."

"There’s more to it than that, Brenda, and you know it," Jax said in a persistent tone, pulling her closer to him. "There’s the business of you and me." He looked into her eyes and she almost cried at the passion she saw in his. "You know d*mn well that that if there weren’t other people in this room, I would be kissing you, and touching you in all the places you like to be touched….."

"Jax! Stop it!" Brenda was breathing hard at his words, but she knew in her soul that he was right.

"I don’t think you would want me to stop it, would you, Brenda? You can’t deny that you want me to make love to you, right here and now, don’t you? You still want me, just as much as I want you."

With herculean strength, Brenda pulled her arm out of his grasp. "Look, Jax, there is no "you and me." I’m going back to the States with Sonny, and you’re going back to your wife...."

Both of them turned when they heard Miranda’s voice. "Well, I was wondering when someone would remember me in this touching little scene!" Jax spun around and when he saw Miranda, he swore under his breath. Miranda looked at him and shook her head disapprovingly, clucking her tongue. "Jax, Jax, you naughty boy, you haven’t introduced us." She put her hand out to Brenda. "I’m Miranda Jacks. I’m Jax’s lawfully wedded wife."

To be continued...…..

Music credit – "Before I Gaze at You Again," from the musical "Camelot," lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, music by Frederick Loewe