by: Kira
SCENE: The Jacks' Living Room
Jax is seated on the couch, finishing up a conversation on his
cellular phone when Jane enters. She seats herself beside him
deliberately.
"I feel a lecture coming on." Jax commented, not looking up from the paperwork
in his hand.
"Yes, you do." Jane replied without embellishment.
Sighing, he tossed the papers onto the coffee table & leaned back, crossing
his one leg over his
knee.
"Go ahead, get it out of your system." he urged impatiently.
"Watch your manners, young man. I'm still your mother." Jane snapped.
Jax ran a hand over his jaw,
"Okay, Mum, somethings on your mind. So out with it. I assume this concerns
last nights little
scene?" the exceedingly patronizing tone brought her dander up.
"I'm not making any excuses for your father, or for you, for that matter.
You're both big boys &
you've played in the shark tank so long the fins have become second nature.
You can take care of
yourselves very well. What I am asking you, point blank, is exactly why you
feel the need to drag
an innocent like Victoria into all this?"
Jax leaned his head back & laughed,
"So when did Victoria go from being a gold-digging piranha to taking on all
the saintly qualities
of a nun?"
Jane eyed him firmly,
"Don't avoid the question."
"I'm not avoiding your question, Mother. I'm just asking one of my own.
Innocent?" he laughed
again, "She's a Quartermaine. That should put to rest that notion right away.
And even if it
didn't, Mother. You've been in business long enough to know that there are
always innocent
victims. Maybe you've just managed to turn a blind eye to them after all
these years. But they
exist, Mother. Make no mistake about that."
"I don't usually end up taking them into my home as part of my family."
Jane
argued unflinchingly.
"Maybe not." Jax shrugged. Leaning forward, he rubbed the back of his neck
wearily, "Look, I
agree the circumstances are unusual. But the principle is not. The Quartermaine's
are going to
discover that you can't always walk away from the consequences of your actions
unscathed."
"Your marriage to Brenda did not fail only because of the Quartermaine's,
son." Jane pointed out
solemnly.
"No." Jax agreed, "They were only bit players. Sonny Corinthos pulled the
strings. I know that.
And he'll get his due, Mother. Make no mistake about that."
"Oh, I have no doubt that you can play this game to it's sordid conclusion.
But you're making a
mistake, Jax, if you think this will in any way alter the outcome." she informed
him. With one look
at the stubborn set of his jaw, she bent towards him beseechingly, "Don't
you see? You can't go
back & repair what's already happened. Let it go, Jax. Pick up and go
on with your life. Leave
the past where it belongs."
"You want me to walk away from them? After everything they have done, you
think they should
just be allowed to continue to destroy people's lives....and their
happiness....without retribution?"
the disbelief echoed in his blue/green eyes.
"Believe me, Jax - there's a much higher court they will have to answer to
than yours. I've lived
in this world long enough to realize that none of us escape our sins.....past
or otherwise." she
stroked his hair absently, "Jax, what's at the end of this unholy vengeance
you've sworn to?
Have you even thought that far ahead? The Quartermaine's pay, and Sonny Corinthos
pays....and
then what? What's after that?"
Jax swallowed, looking away.
"I don't know, Mum."
"Then stop it now, while you still can. Let Victoria go and return to her
life. It's not too late."
Jane urged.
Jax closed his eyes, then shook his head.
"I can't." he said harshly, "I can't."
Jane sighed heavily.
"Then you're no better than they are." With that pronouncement, Lady Jane
stood up and walked
from the room. As she reached the door, Victoria walked in - and the two
exchanged a silent
look in passing. Victoria's gaze was immediately pulled to Jax, who was still
turned half away
from her, in question. She could feel the air heavy with some sort of emotion
she could not
identify. But when he turned to her, his face was once more a bland, controlled
mask.
'Victoria." he greeted shortly.
"I was...." she scrambled for a thought, temporarily off balance, "...going
to go for a walk."
She finally seized in inspiration.
She moved to walk past him, and was surprised when he stood and took her
arm to halt her. The
tender skin of her arm caused her to wince. Jax looked down, recognizing
it's source. His hands
dropped immediately.
"I'm sorry." he said quietly..
"It's okay." she tossed her head, striving for unconcern.
"I didn't mean to hurt you." he reached out now, taking her arm, and pushing
back the sleeve to
reveal the darkened bruises. His eyes flew to hers in surprise, "Did I do
that?"
Captured by the unexpected regret there, Victoria only nodded
soundlessly.
His next actions were so totally unexpected that she gasped. Bending his
head, he pressed his
warm mouth gently to the bruise. When he raised his head, his gaze captured
hers meaningfully.
"It won't happen again." he vowed solemnly.
Victoria nodded, too unnerved to find sensible words.
"Would you like some company on your walk?" he asked, shocking her yet
again.
It was too much. Victoria peered at him suspiciously,
"Are you feeling all right?"
He laughed hard, but rather than answer, he guided her firmly towards the
door,
"Come on. I could use some air right now."
*******
SCENE: Alaska, Jax's Bedroom.
While music plays softly in the background, Victoria emerges
from the bathroom, brushing her hair. She is wearing a pink satin nightgown.
When Jax enters,
she is at first unaware of him. He watches her, and the darkening light in
his eyes is clearly desire.
"Hey!" Turning around, she grasps the brush to her chest in alarm, "You scared
me!"
"Sorry." he closed the door behind him with the deft backward kick of his
foot.
"I - thought you and your father were - p-playing cards." she babbled nervously,
licking her dry
lips.
Jax advanced on her,
"We were."
Victoria backed up, until the bed hit the back of her knees, bringing her
up short.
"I was....just going to b-bed." she stammered, angry at her own sense of
anticipation.
"Good." Jax nodded, grinning. "That's exactly what I was going to
do."
Reaching forward, he trailed his fingers deliberately along her collarbone,
stopping when it
reached the silky strap on her shoulder. Hooking one finger beneath the flimsy
material, he slid it
down her arm, allowing it to drop.
She watched in fevered fascination as his mouth drew nearer to hers, hovering
above her lips with
tantalizing promise.
"Undress me." the whispered command brushed against her mouth, and he removed
the hairbrush
from her lifeless hand, flinging it heedlessly across the room.
Her eyes clung to his as her hands slowly began to undo the buttons of his
shirt. He drew himself
up, allowing her free access. As the last button fell away, he finally tugged
the material from the
waistband of his jeans and shrugged out of the shirt. Victoria could not
help but to admire the
stunning expanse of bronzed flesh. He was the most beautiful man she had
ever seen.
"Come here, Victoria." he urged seductively, beckoning her to him. She felt
lost, as though
caught in a spell she could not resist. Her bare feet padded the distance
which separated them.
His hands moved to her shoulders, sliding the straps down her arms until
the material floated to
the floor in a discarded pool. His eyes burned.
"You're beautiful." he told her huskily.
"Jax." the shaky protest was torn from her throat, reflecting the burning
desires which were
flooding her.
With one large hand, he cupped the side of her face, drawing her mouth under
his. The kiss was
devastating. Victoria surrendered, her arms sliding around his bare torso,
and a whimper escaped
her as he swung her into his arms and strode purposefully towards the bed.
******
SCENE: Alaska, Jax's Bedroom.
Jax untangles himself from Victoria's sleeping form carefully.
Tugging on a robe, he walks to the windows, pulling the drapes to stare off
into the night. His
face is brooding. Swinging around, he watches his wife sleeping before striding
out of the room
and closing the door with a decided click behind him.
SCENE: Alaska. The Jacks' Home. Living Room.
Jane Jacks enters the living room where Victoria is reading, she is carrying
fresh
flowers & arranges them on the table, stealing glances at Victoria, who
finally looks up & smiles
at her.
"Good book, is it?" Jane smiled.
Victoria closed the book & shrugged,
"Actually, it's a pale imitation to the drama of my real life at the
moment."
Jane nodded, "I can imagine." She seated herself beside Victoria.
"How is it you find yourself in Alaska married to a man you haven't known
two weeks?"
Victoria burst out laugh,
"That's the 64 thousand dollar question, Jane!"
Bringing her knees up comfortably beneath her, she turned to face the older
woman.
"Tell me about you." Jane encouraged, roaming over the youthful face with
genuine curiosity.
"You mean you are willing to see beyond my last name?" Victoria asked truthfully,
then looked
away after Jane's short nod.
"Well, being a Quartermaine assures you two things in life. Number One -
You are never going
to be like "normal families" and Number Two - you are never going to escape
Number One."
The two women laughed comfortably.
"You've got spirit. I like that." Jane decided, leaning back.
"I'm not sure that your son would agree with that." Victoria pointed out
softly, "But I suppose it
comes from being raised in a family where you either spoke up for yourself
or managed to be
spoken FOR. My grandfather and Edward Quartermaine are brothers. Naturally
the two never
agreed on anything. Especially the fact that my grandfather saw Lila first,
and the two were
sweethearts until Edward came along."
Jane's eyebrows went up, and Victoria nodded,
"Needless to point out, they had even LESS to say to each other after that.
But eventually my
grandfather, Ethan.....met and married my grandmother Elizabeth Whitney.
Then came my father,
Evan, and my brother Daniel & myself. When my grandmother died, she left
me Elizabeth Diane,
the Fashion House and also her shares of ELQ. Which, added to the ones I
inherited when I
turned 21, made me a MUCH better prospect than my brother Daniel."
The two burst out laughing.
"Well, my dear, I can assure you - you're stock portfolio is far from your
only assets. You are a
very beautiful young woman."
Victoria blushed,
"Thank you." she mumbled, ducking her head.
"So why hasn't some smart man snapped you up?" Jane asked
lightly.
"Hmm...maybe I've been waiting for Prince Charming to charge across the plains
& rescue me
from my tower, sweep me off my feet and vow undying love ...and we would
live together happily
ever after." She teased, then added wryly, "Instead I got the Australian
version of Attila the Hun
dropping out of the sky to twist my arm behind my back, force me into marriage,
vow undying
revenge and guarantee we would live together until he was happy with the
results."
Jane gave a sad smile,
"I'm afraid that I can't excuse what my son has done, Victoria. But I can
assure you that beneath
the man you see is the son I love and he is a very different person indeed.
What he does now
he does out of pain and anger and unbelievable hurt. He loved his wife very
much."
"Brenda?" Victoria questioned, "Or the other one?"
Jane frowned,
"My, my. You have been doing your homework."
"Know thy enemy." Victoria quipped quickly.
"Well, it's true he loved Miranda. But to my way of thinking, that was a
very youthful love. First
Love. With Brenda it was different. Jax fell in love with her, and he was
determined to win her.
He gave and he gave......with all of his heart and soul." Jane sighed in
recollection, "and in the
end, she loved him as well. But just at the time they were celebrating this
fact ... their world fell
apart. The past caught up with them. I won't go into all the awful details,
but suffice to say that
Jax's first love, Miranda turned up very much alive when he had thought she
was dead. And
Jax learned that those he trusted and love the most - his family, had had
a hand in concealing that
fact from him. It was a terrible time. Jax was dealing with so many things.
Old love, new love....a
family that had betrayed his trust. He was understandably torn. But in the
end, he did choose
Brenda....only they seem destined to never fulfill the promise of happiness.
Outside forces or
fate...call it what you will ... seemed destined to intrude on them yet
again."
"This is where my family comes in, isn't it?"
"Yes. They and Sonny Corinthos ... with whom Brenda had a relationship before
Jax. Maybe
she could never get away from that addiction, love, obsession, call it what
you will. But in the
end, my son lost Brenda forever. This all conspired to spell the end of any
sort of happiness for
Jax and for Brenda. And this last betrayal seemed to take the soul out of
him." Her eyes filling
with unshed tears, Jane suddenly touched Victoria's face, "My son... the
real person beneath all
that hurt & pain, would never have done this.... involved an innocent
such as yourself in such a
scheme. Although ruthless in business he was not so in his personal
life.."
"But this IS business, Jane." Victoria reminded in a whisper.
"There you are!!"John declared boastfully. The two women jumped guiltily
as Jax & John
entered the room. Jax looked from Jane to Victoria suspiciously.
"Oh, yes, my....were you looking for us?" Jane stood in a grand attempt at
hiding her flustered
state.
"We thought a game of poker was called for." John announced without a beat.
"Obviously my
son here is still smarting from the last time I wiped the table with
him."
Jax bestowed a distracted grin towards his father, but his focus remained
on Victoria - who was
intently avoiding meeting his look.
"I thought we'd go for double or nothing, Dad."
"He has an excellent poker face, you know." John continued laughingly, which
finally brought a
response from Victoria,
"Oh, I have no doubt about that whatsoever." she answered meaningfully.
SCENE: Alaska. The Jacks Home. Living Room. Night.
Jax, John, Jane & Victoria are seated around the table, playing cards.
John
finally stands up, stretching and announces his intention to turn in. Jane
quickly seconds his
suggestion, and stops to drop a kiss on both her son - and daughter in law
before retreating.
Victoria fidgets with the stacking the poker chips back into the tray,
concentrating on the task as
though her life depended upon it.
Jax folded his arms and regarded her acutely,
"You seem to have found some common ground with Lady Jane."
"Did I?" Victoria slid a stack of red chips into the molded placeholder.
Sliding the lid on top, she
finally concluded all that she could stretch into putting away the remains
of their game.
"Ready for bed?" Jax inquired softly.
Victoria bit her lip,
"I'm ... not tired." she finally admitted, a hint of desperation in her
tone.
His answering grin was positively wicked,
"Better yet."
Victoria remained seated stubbornly,
"Where is Brenda?"
The teasing light vanished from his face.
"Why would you ask a thing like that?" he bit out.
"Is she in Port Charles?" Victoria persisted.
"No." Jax bent forward, "And that's about the extent to which I am willing
to discuss the
subject. Hear this now, Victoria. Brenda and my marriage is off limits as
a topic for discussion
between us."
Victoria exhaled, deliberately blowing the feathery bangs from her
forehead,
"Maybe you should just write up a list of what I CAN talk about. It appears
it would take less
time."
"You know, Vicky..... I think we do much better when we don't talk at all."
he rasped.
"Oh, won't that make us popular with our dinner guests!" she shot back
sarcastically.
"I think we'd be vastly entertaining." he arched a brow
suggestively.
Victoria jumped to her feet, no longer able to keep her cool under his provoking
banter.
"I changed my mind. I'm going to bed."
"Good." Jax came to his feet instantly, "I was rather hoping you'd say
that."
"Don't get any ideas." her chin jutted out defiantly, "I intend on
sleeping."
He grinned broadly, shrugging,
"It's okay with me... but I think it's much more fun when you're
conscious."
The laughter could not be contained. It bubbled from within, overtaking
her.
"You're... you're....."
"Handsome and irresistible?" he supplied broadly.
She only laughed harder, "No!"
"Oh." he looked mock-deflated.
"You're " the laughter died in her throat, and now she regarded him seriously,
"You're a very
dangerous man, Jax."
His expression sobered, becoming serious.
"Are you afraid of me, Victoria?"
It was simple and direct, and should be easily answered. Only Victoria found
she truly had no
simple response. So she settled for being perverse instead of honest.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" She finally replied, adopting a belligerent
air.
He crossed the distance which separated them, dwarfing her easily.
"Would I?" he echoed tauntingly.
"It appeals to that neanderthal sense of superiority. You, Tarzan! Me, Jane!"
Thumping her
chest, she gave her best gravel-voiced Cro-Magnon man impression
"Well, Jane -" he said laughingly, " Since you mentioned it --"
Bending with lightening swiftness, he tossed her easily across one shoulder
- upending her in one
lithe movement. Smacking her bottom playfully, he began striding towards
the stairs.
"This way to the cave!" he declared cheerfully.
She was giggling helplessly.
SCENE: Alaska. The Jacks Home. Kitchen. Morning.
Victoria hides a yawn as she walks into the sunny kitchen where
Jane is busily cleaning up breakfast.
"God, I'm sorry. I really overslept." Victoria apologized, ducking her head
a little in
embarrassment.
"No worries, dear. You probably needed a good rest." Jane slid a mug of steaming
coffee before
her on the breakfast bar.
"Thanks." Victoria added sugar to the hot liquid, sipping gratefully.
"Jax flew his father down to Anchorage for the afternoon." Jane explained,
"I don't expect them
back much before nightfall. Jax said you two would be leaving
tomorrow."
Victoria's start of surprise was not missed.
"Oh..."
Jane shook her head,
"I was hoping you would stay longer."
"I imagine Jax is anxious to get to Port Charles." Bitterness seeped into
Victoria's tone.
"Yes." Reaching out to take her hand, Jane added quietly, "You need to be
strong now, Victoria.
Whatever has happened between you and Jax, whatever bonds you may have forged
here
know that he is set upon this course of action, and there is precious little
that will cause him to
deviate from it."
"I have no illusions about that, Jane." Victoria uttered wearily, "I know
exactly where I stand
with Jax."
"Do you?" Jane snorted, "Then perhaps you'd like to share that with the rest
of us?"
Victoria frowned, " I don't know what you -"
"My dear, I realize that you are two attractive, healthy young people and
being married,
there's no reason not share your wedding bed, so to speak -- however
--"
"Oh.." Victoria's gasp of dismay brought her hands up to her cheeks. She
wanted to crawl under
something.
"Oh, no! I've embarrassed you! I am sorry, dear. I only meant to say that,
on some level, you
and my son have connected."
Victoria nearly strangled on her mouthful of coffee. As she coughed, Jane
wiped the tears of
sudden mirth from her eyes.
"I am putting this badly!" she admitted on a chortle.
'I think I know what you mean." Victoria held up a hand to prevent any further
forays into the
subject.
"I hope so, Victoria. I truly do. I don't want you to be hurt and knowing
my son, he will see
this through .. to the bitter end, so to speak. You see, although I don't
think he counted on
what's happened between the two of you, I simply wouldn't want to see you
assuming that it
would change...."
"Jane, please." Victoria interrupted painfully, her voice steady, "I do
understand. Whatever ....
diversion ... Jax has found in this 'marriage'..... it is first and foremost
a means to an end. He will
achieve that end. And when he does, the marriage will no longer be of any
use for him." Her
violet eyes met Jane's, clear and unclouded, "And neither will I."
Jane clasped Victoria's hand tighter, sighing. With one hand, she cupped
her chin firmly,
"Just have a care, dear. I don't believe you are as immune to my son as you
would like to believe
you are."
Victoria nodded, swallowing hard.
"Nor, for that matter, is my son as immune to you as he thinks he is." she
added meaningfully.
~*~