Chapter Ten-The Beauty of Nature

Brenda awoke from a montage-like dream of images of her and Jax, that she could not place, to find that the plane was landing. "Jax, where are we? I guess I forgot to ask, but," she chewed her lip thoughtfully. "I had the feeling you wouldn’t tell me if I did." Jax’s smile made her heart backflip in her chest, and Brenda couldn’t help smiling in return. "You," he said, placing his fingers beneath her chin, tilting her face up to his, "are too smart for your own good. But since we are already here, I *will* tell you." Brenda’s heart surged again, with the unexplainable feeling that Jax was doing something very special, very magical, for her, and her alone, and so she shook her head wildly. "No, don’t. I want to guess."

He froze, unsure how to proceed: he didn’t want Brenda to get hurt or discouraged if she didn’t guess correctly, but she was beginning to act more like herself every moment, and so, he found himself giving in. "Fine. But you only get three guesses, and you can’t get frustrated with yourself if you don’t guess right." Brenda stuck her right hand out, and they shook on it, reminding Jax of another deal they made together, which seemed so very long ago, and yet it felt like only yesterday that he had agreed to help her make Sonny jealous.

Brenda saw that Jax was a million miles away, as she noticed his eyes cloud over, and all of the warm blues and greens seep away to leave a very cold, harsh, silver gleam. "Jax? I’m ready to guess." He snapped back to reality, in anticipation of her guesses, as they disembarked the plane, and got into the Range Rover, that Jax drove them to the villa in. "Well," she said as she adjusted her bangs, "we’re obviously someplace beautiful, but I wouldn’t expect anything less. But that doesn’t count as a guess. My first guess is that it is someplace I’ve never been, because I think more than you want me to remember, you want us to make our own, new memories together. Huh? I’m right, aren’t I?" While Jax tried his hardest to keep his poker face, the warm colors dancing in his eyes gave him away. "Yes!!!" Brenda did her little dance as he opened the car door for her, and she gasped, as she finally looked around. "Oh my God. Jax... I don’t want any more guesses....Because nothing in my imagination could ever compare with this."

Even after dusk, the beauty of Kronos was truly something to behold. The black sand glittered in the moonlight, as if it were reflecting the stars in the sky; to Jax, though, its dark, reflective beauty was no match for the way the moonlight shone off of Brenda’s obsidian hair. She looked beyond the beach, however, and was lost in the dark blues and greens of the water, like she had found herself lost in Jax’s eyes.

"Tell me something," they each said, turning to the other, as Jax led Brenda into the villa and to the back patio, where the view of Kronos was even more breathtaking. "I’ve never seen anything," Jax ran his fingers through her dark hair, "as beautiful as the starlight reflected in your hair. How do you do that?" His hands trailed from her hair, to rest on Brenda’s waist, and as he pulled her toward him, she managed to speak before to succumbing to the desire and love she felt for him. "How do *you*...." she was distracted as Jax planted tiny kisses from her earlobe down to her collarbone, "...how is it, that the hues of the moonlit ocean, pale in comparison to the blues and greens and silvers I see in your eyes?" His lips trailed back up the other side of Brenda’s neck, and as they burned a path toward her full lips, Jax and Brenda were interrupted by a pounding at the door of the villa.

"Jax!!! Jax, it’s Jerry! Open up, or I’m breakin’ the bloody door down!" Jax kissed Brenda’s forehead, and told her to stay on the patio, before answering the door. When Bobbie, Gail, and Jerry rushed in, Jax wasn’t sure if his brother was going to hit him or hug him, but noticing how Jax’s breath came out in short breaths, Jerry nodded at Bobbie, who immediately felt his forehead, and took his pulse. "Jax!" she exclaimed, "Jax! Your pulse is racing!" From the patio, Brenda’s quiet laughter was heard, and Jerry, Gail, and Bobbie’s head swiveled in the direction of the French doors.

Jax walked slowly to the door, and opened it. "There’s a reason for that," he said, as he motioned to Brenda. The four pairs of eyes: Jax’s, Jerry’s, Bobbie’s and Gail’s took in the sight of her, from head to toe. Gail’s hand flew to her mouth, Bobbie sunk back in to the couch, and while Jax and Brenda put their arms around each other, Jerry calmly walked to the bar, took two shots of Tequila, before approaching Brenda slowly.

She saw in his brown eyes, glimpses of the dark silver she had seen in Jax’s eyes earlier, but as he got closer, she saw the warmth return, as a smile slowly spread across his face. In one short move, Jerry took her in his arms and spun her around the room, delighting them all with the sound of her sweet laughter. "Brenda," he placed her back on the ground, safely next to Jax. "I’ve missed you, really."

She smiled warmly at Jerry, and he knew that if anyone could fix things between him and Jax, it would be Brenda. "I’d like to say that I missed you, too-" Jerry chuckled, "Don’t say anything you don’t mean, love." "-If I knew who you were." Brenda turned to Jax, oblivious of the shocked looks of Bobbie, Gail, and especially Jerry. "Jax, who are these people?"