Heaven's Here on Earth

by Denise

Part 10: Tangled Webs

~*~

Brenda closed the diary reverently and glanced up at the stack of papers on thedesk in front of her. The diary belonged to her great-great aunt Tatiana Drubetskaya Cassadine, who had been a child during the Russian Revolution,and Brenda had been lost in its pages for over an hour.

She wasn't so different from me.......she was afraid once, and lonely once, she left her homeland. She lost everything. Brenda shook off her melancholy moodand smiled. But later, just like in a fairytale, she met and married her prince...... "And they lived happily ever after," Brenda said aloud, patting the diary. Tatiana's had lived and died long ago, but the words she wrote struck a chord inBrenda's soul. This woman's story was very like her own. And her husband,Prince Alexei Cassadine, whom Tatiana described so vividly was the very imageof Jax---tall, blond, blue-eyed, and devastatingly charming. Brenda closed hereyes, imagining herself as Tatiana, fleeing over the Russian Steppes to freedom,aided by her prince......

She sighed and put the diary down. Fantasy time. Oh, she had it bad all right. She hadn't seen Jax in three weeks---not since the day after their "almost-anniversary" at her cottage, and despite their nightly phone conversations, shewas ready to climb the walls. He'd flown to Indonesia to meet with Jerry andfurther the plan to wrest ELQ Jakarta away from Stefan, and Brenda was stillstruggling with her conscience a bit over that one. Jax had trusted her enough totell her exactly what he and Ned were up to, and she didn't want to betray histrust---still, Stefan was her brother. She pushed her hair away from her face in aBrenda-gesture of frustration. But, brother or not, Stefan HAD stolen ELQJakarta away from the Quartermaines first....

She sighed. She couldn't think about it now. Time to get back to work. After hisinitial resistance to her working for Lancaster Corey, Stefan had relented, settingup an office for her here at Wyndemere complete with computer, fax, copier, andmultiple phone lines. And, true to his word, he had turned over the family papershe'd promised, allowing Brenda and the professor to begin documenting theCassadine story that led to their flight from Bolshevik Russia to the Greek islethat become their refuge.

Brenda had been busily cataloging papers for over two weeks---just getting themorganized chronologically was a daunting task, and she hadn't even begunwriting the synopses yet. She sighed again; the faster she got things in order,the faster she could start writing, which was what she really wanted to do. Mightas well start on that box over there.....

Leaning across the desk, she picked up the ornately carved wooden box uponwhich fanciful lions and unicorns and griffins danced. It was full of official-lookingdocuments, old and fading and slightly cracking at the edges. As she carefullytilted the box to ease the papers out, her fingers touched one of the carved lions, and she started in surprise as the bottom slid away, revealing a thin, secret drawer. Brenda blinked and reached inside. The drawer contained only one document---a birth certificate---and unlike the other papers, this one was

relatively new.

"Isabella Cassadine," Brenda mused. Stefan had given her a family tree, which listed all the Cassadines, even herself, the illegitimate one, daughter of Mikkos and Veronica. And there was no Isabella. She glanced at the date, puzzled. This woman, whoever she was, was only a few years older than Brenda herself. Impossible that she wouldn't be included in the family tree. Unless......

Brenda's head snapped up alertly as she heard murmuring voices coming down the hall. Damn! She'd left the door open; she'd have to hurry. Swiftly, she slid the birth certificate into the small desktop copier and pressed Start. Hurry, hurry! It seemed to take forever, but even as the copy was slowly emerging, Brenda was putting the document back into the drawer and pushing it shut. Alexis and Stefan walked through the door just as she swept up the copy and slipped it into Tatiana's diary.

"Little sister," Stefan's eyes lit up with genuine affection, and Alexis looked on with barely-disguised displeasure as he took Brenda's hands in his and kissed her on the forehead. "And how is your paper-shuffling going?"

"My paper-shuffling, as you put it, has just STARTED. I never knew there were so many Cassadines that kept diaries and correspondence."

"It WILL take some concentration and persistence to wade through it all," Alexis said, her tone implying that she didn't think Brenda up to the task.

Brenda's chin jutted up defiantly at Alexis's thinly veiled barb. "Oh.....I'm quite tenacious....even STUBBORN, when I want something. Just ask Jax. I think I'll have everything organized sooner than you think."

Alexis smiled with her lips, not her eyes. "But of course. I---oh!"

Her eyes fell on the wooden box, open on the desk. "How did you get that?"

"It was with the other papers......Reese brought it in this morning with everything else from the island archives."

"Well, you shouldn't have that!" Alexis reached for the box, and Stefan grabbed her wrist.

"No need to sound so.....accusatory, cousin." Stefan's voice was soft, but a threat lay beneath. "My little sister has as much right to see the family archives as either of us."

Brenda remained quiet, her eyes darting back and forth between them, as Stefan and Alexis waged a silent battle of wills. Thank God Stefan was on HER side, he was THE Cassadine, after all. Curious, though, how Alexis seemed to dislike and mistrust her. Why? She and Brenda hardly knew each other......Alexis had

made no particular effort to forge any kind of relationship with her since Brenda had discovered she was a Cassadine nearly six months ago, unlike Stefan who had welcomed her into his life immediately. Almost like he was hungry for affection......well, she could certainly understand that......

"The box is a priceless heirloom, Stefan!" Alexis's sharp retort brought Brenda back into the moment.

"Then take the precious box by all means, dear cousin. Here." Stefan picked it up and thrust it into Alexis's hands. "But the papers within stay with Brenda." He looked over at his sister, and Brenda nodded.

"I have them already, Stefan." She laid one hand on the stack of papers, the other on Tatiana's diary.

"Very well. I.....have to return some conference calls. If you'll excuse me?" Alexis stalked from the room, the box clutched tightly in her arms.

"You must forgive her. Dealing with certain.....business affairs has left her a bit edgy these days." The look Stefan threw at Alexis's retreating back was less than fond, and for a moment Brenda sensed a ferocious anger toward Alexis, barely kept in check. No......Stefan and Alexis were closer than close; she must be imagining things.

"It's okay. I got what I needed out of the box." And then some.......

"You've been immersed in this project all day, Brenda." Stefan folded his hands primly behind his back. "You'll be joining us for dinner, of course. I've already asked Mrs. Lansbury to set another place at table."

"Oh....no, Stefan, I can't. Really I can't." Brenda was truly regretful. She DID enjoy Stefan's company, even if Alexis was a pill. She could listen for hours as he regaled her with stories of the Cassadine history---ancient history, of course. They had never discussed their father's mad attempt to turn the world into one huge ice cube and never would.

"But Brenda, Nikolas arrives from the island tonight. He was looking forward to seeing you."

"I'm sorry. I've missed him, too. But I can't Stefan; I'm having dinner with Jax tonight." After their long separation, she craved the sound and the sight and touch of him, and nothing would stop her from getting her fill tonight......

"Brenda?" Stefan's voice was gentle.

"Oh.....sorry. I was just thinking about---"

"Jax. I understand." Stefan's expression turned melancholy. "The ones we love are never far from our thoughts---no matter how we try to push them away."

"Stefan? You sound----"

"I sound like a sentimental Russian!" His lips quirked in an ironic smile. "I can't afford that.....usually. I'm THE Cassadine until Nikolas gains his majority. I have to remain.....detached." He smiled again, and there was no bitterness in his eyes. "With you, I feel I can let down my guard just a little."

Brenda smiled back, her heart going out to this essentially lonely man. "Yes, you can." On sudden impulse, she wrapped her arms about his waist and hugged him tightly.

Startled at first, Stefan hesitantly returned the gesture, then put a tentative hand up to tenderly pat the back of her head. "All right, then, little sister. Off you go, to meet your Jax. But I expect you to dine with us on Thanksgiving. Curious, your American holidays. This one, for example. First celebrated by your Pilgrims and Indians." Brenda had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Only Stefan could make the Pilgrims and the Indians sound like the name of a stodgy, uppercrust law firm. "Imagine the victors sharing a meal with the vanquished!"

"Uhm.....Stefan, I think you may be missing the point......"

"That may well be. Nevertheless, you will dine with us, here. At Wyndemere."

"I....I'm going to have to let you know, Stefan." She was hoping with all her heart to spend the holiday with Jax, but she wasn't counting on it. If Jax chose to go home to Alaska, she was sure his parents would extend her no welcome. She didn't even know if they knew that she and Jax were seeing each other again.

Stefan refused to concede defeat. "Very well. We shall plan for you to be here." He inclined his head in a patrician gesture of acknowledgment and glided out of the room with his usual grace.

Brenda heaved a sigh of mingled relief and sympathy. She hated to turn Stefan down; somehow, she imagined he wanted to confide in her, but it would have to wait. Everything would have to wait. She barely had two hours before she was due to meet Jax at Cafe Matisse for dinner, and she wanted to look her best for him.....

She slipped the birth certificate out of Tatiana's diary and into her soft leather briefcase. And now she had a mystery to solve as well. Should she ask Jax for help? No......this was her project, besides, Jax was busy enough with his own business dealings and trying to keep track of the errant Jerry. No, she was going to find out about this missing Cassadine, Isabella, all on her own.

Brenda zipped the briefcase shut, and left the room, squaring her shoulders in a stubborn, determined gesture.

~*~

"......and that's all they could tell me. The documents record money transfers into Swiss bank accounts belonging to a George Pappas and Kenneth Soames......he's a low-level bureaucrat with the Department of Immigration and Naturalization. That's all I know right now---"

"Don't sweat it, Australia. The main thing is we know the the money came from Alexis, not Stefan, right?"

"Right."

"So....maybe someone's blackmailing her."

"Doubtful." Jax leaned back in his chair. "Alexis Davis doesn't impress me as a woman easily manipulated......I think it's more likely she's paying someone to do a job for her that she doesn't want her cousin to find out about."

"You think?" Luke's interest was piqued. "You may have something there, Australia."

"Well, we should know for sure in a few days. My man is tracing the transfers back farther. In the meantime, didn't you say you'd left those papers scattered about? Stefan found them, surely. A reaction from him should be forthcoming."

"Yeah." Luke puffed his latest bootleg Havana import and watched the smoke rings accumulating on the ceiling of his office. "Anyway you could get MS. Barrett to gauge his reaction for us?"

"No." The steel in Jax's voice matched his eyes. "She knows about the ELQ- Jakarta imbroglio---I told her before I left for Kuala Lumpur---and she's very aware that Stefan and I don't particularly trust each other, despite the fact that we've done business before."

"Yeah, well I'd be careful WHAT I told her if I were you. You might trust the wire- wearing wench, but I don't."

"Luke."

One word, delivered over the phone line, was enough to make the skin at the back of Luke's neck prickle in fear. It also shut him up.

"All right," Jax resumed coolly, his point made. "I have to go. I'm meeting MS. BARRETT for dinner. We wait to hear from my man in Geneva....and we watch Stefan AND Alexis like hawks. A word of advice.....I'd find another method of gaining ingress to the island....like stowing aboard Stefan's launch for instance. Temperature's dropping. It would be ironic for you to die of hypothermia from swimming the Port Charles River to keep tabs on one Cassadine when, once upon a time, you saved the whole world from being frozen by another."

Jax hit the End button, and Luke was left standing in General Hospital's second floor lounge, staring down at the dead cell phone in his hand. "Damn. I'm slipping. That guy's been getting the last word in way too much."

"That guy being Jax?" Bobbie inquired brightly. She had eased into the lounge behind Luke as he was listening intently to Jax.

"Yeah. My Aussie-in-law, also known as Laura's brother."

"So, what are you two up to? Are you in cahoots about something?"

"Me? And HIM? Nah, Bobbie, no way. I HATE that guy. He's the Australian version of a Rottweiler. He's got Laura snowed, and my two kids gravitate to him like magnets, but I'm on to him."

"Uh-huh. Methinks you do protest too much, dear brother. I actually think you're starting to like him. I know I am. He reminds me more and more of Robert every day."

"Have you lost your mind?" Luke gave her a look of condescending pity. "Look, I gotta go, little sister. Talk to you tonight."

Bobbie snapped the file she'd been holding against her leg and gazed after Luke's retreating back with a sly grin. "Oh yeah....you're beginning to LIKE him, all right."

~*~

Stefan paused in the hallway, glancing back over his shoulder at the study. He wished with all his heart that Brenda had agreed to stay; she was his sister, his blood, and he trusted her implicitly, despite the newness of their relationship. His face darkened. He had trusted another Cassadine woman as much, but no more. Ironic how one bond was being forged as another was being irretrievably broken.

Torn between a deadly rage and a measureless sorrow, Stefan swept into the parlor, where Alexis was carefully placing the treasured box into the curio cabinet.

"Cousin." The tone in Stefan's voice sent a chill feathering down Alexis's spine. "I'm glad to see you relinquishing that family heirloom.....it will be just one of many you won't be taking with you."

"Taking with me?" Alexis's brown eyes widened in confusion---and fear. She had never heard such steel in Stefan's voice before---at least not directed at her-- -and his dark blue eyes were like bottomless pits in his stony face.

"Yes." Stefan stalked toward her, and she took an involuntarily step backward but was checked by the curio cabinet behind her. "When you leave the island."

"Leave? I---why?"

"NATASHA!" The word came out a roar, and Alexis cringed. From his coat pocket, Stefan whipped out the papers Luke had left scattered about the room three weeks before and waved them in front of Alexis. "All here---the payoffs to George, to Kenneth Soames. Why, Alexis? After all these years........the one Cassadine I trusted. The one I confided in, planned with, trusted implicitly. You......YOU were supposed to help me safeguard Nikolas's inheritance! Why, Alexis? Why was it so important to keep me from Katherine Bell?"

She swallowed hard. This was her last stand, and she knew it. "Stefan.....she's a---a golddigger. She tricked Ned Asthenia into marriage for his money. She entered into an unholy alliance with a mobster's son to gain HIS. She's not worthy of you....she's cheap and common and vulgar. She's the daughter of a cook, a servant. She doesn't love you, she only wants the Cassadine fortune and

the Cassadine name!"

Stefan seized her face in his hands and said slowly, enunciating each word with a cold clarity and emphasis, "You are not the ruler of MY life. The decision was NOT yours to make. You LIED to me, you schemed behind my back. You corrupted a faithful family retainer to further your ends. I will tolerate much, Alexis, but disloyalty never. NEVER!" He jerked her toward him, hands still holding her face immobile, and kissed each cheek as her eyes glazed in horror. "You are dead to me, Alexis. You are dead to Nikolas. Forever, do you understand? You are no longer a Cassadine. You are banished from this house and our lives forever!"

He was granite, immune to her pleas, as he dragged her unceremoniously from the room, through the wide entryway, and thrust her forcibly outside. "The launch is waiting for you at the dock. It will be the last time you ever use it. Now go!" "Stefan!"

But the great iron-studded door slammed shut in her face, and a weeping Alexis was left alone.....

~*~

Jax paused at the window to look out into the Port Charles twilight. It had been a wearying three weeks, flitting around various Indonesian ports of call with Jerry, setting traps for The House of Cassadine, keeping Ned apprised of their progress, and missing Brenda...... Especially missing Brenda. Still, it had been good to spend time with Jerry---almost like the old days, when both of them cut a wide swath from the glittering casinos of Monte Carlo to the deserts of Afghanistan. Jax smiled wryly at his attack of nostalgia. It was a lucky thing for Jerry, though. Otherwise, he'd have wrung his erratic brother's neck for stringing him along for going on three weeks and keeping him away from Brenda.....

He ran an impatient hand through his thick, blond hair and heaved a deep sigh. He'd just gotten off the phone with his father, who had called not five minutes after Jax's conversation with Luke. Jerry, never a respecter of holidays and familial bonding, was going to miss Thanksgiving as usual, although Lady Jayne had extracted a semi-promise from him to put in an appearance at the family homestead for Christmas. Yeah, when pigs fly....and Luke and Stefan sign an oath to become blood brothers, Jax thought.

"Sir?" Jax's was jarred from his musings by V's annoyingly chirpy voice. "Did you have a chance to return Mr. Langdale's phone call? And there was a call for you from Ned Ashton. He wouldn't say what he wanted so I just told him you were busy and would return his call later. You know, I'd be careful of him---he's a slick one as my dad used to say. Two-faced. Reminds me of a perp I read about once......ran scams on rich businessmen. He'd---"

"V! Ned is hardly a con artist." Well, that wasn't entirely true, but still, Ned wasn't a con artist in the sense V meant. "He's CEO of a company I have a sizable investment in. I told you to put his calls through to me, regardless." Jax made no effort to keep the aggravated tone from his voice, even though V's mouth was turning down in an incipient pout. Jax tried to curb his growing irritation. Funny how pouting seemed cute when Brenda feigned it, but disastrous when V attempted it.

Nearly as disastrous as the outfit she was wearing. Thank God, she'd never pulled any sartorial faux pas in the office like the horrendous snowcone dress she'd worn to the Nurses Ball last summer, but this red outfit, cut half-way up to her..... Jax shook his head. Completely inappropriate for an office assistant. If Addy saw this get-up, she'd have a stroke. Jax felt a wave of longing for dear, efficient, phlegmatic, SUCCINCT Addy sweep over him. Thank God her visit with her brother in Germany was nearly over. Then Addy could return to her position as his full-time assistant, and V could be relegated to the J&J Jacks office in Borneo for all Jax cared.

"Jax......I pulled all the silk factory files. I thought you'd want to work on that after being gone for two weeks. I'll be glad to stay and help---we can order takeout and just work through the night."

V was fumbling with some files at his desk as she chattered away so she didn't see Jax glance over his shoulder and roll his eyes in impatience. How could this be? He'd already told her he was going out and that she could go home. Had she always been so quick to ignore his instructions? And how was it that he'd never noticed before? Jax shrugged. He supposed he'd just focused on her good qualities: organizational skills, doggedness, meticulous attention to detail. But then he hadn't been around her much---he'd been in flying back and forth to meetings in other cities and much of their contact had been by fax and phone.

"Well, you thought wrong, V. I've returned all the phone calls and done all the work I'm going to do tonight," Jax stated, not unkindly. He made no effort to soften his words, however, as he was quickly learning decisiveness and bluntness were the only ways to dissuade V. He retrieved his coat, which was thrown over the back of the couch, and continued, "I'm meeting Brenda for dinner tonight."

He was searching the pockets for his keys and completely missed the angry look that flashed in V's eyes for just an instant, before being hidden behind a mask of amiability. "All right, sir.....so, where will you be in case I have to reach you?"

Jax shrugged into his coat. "You won't have to reach me. Any J&J Jacks business can wait until tomorrow."

"But Jax, if there's an emergency, I'll need to be able to get in touch with you," V whined.

Jax smiled suddenly, his annoyance vanishing in the anticipation of seeing Brenda again after nearly three weeks. "V, if there are any emergencies, call my Dad in Alaska. And if he and Lady Jayne aren't available, call 911." His dimples flashed as he continued, "For myself, I plan on being incommunicado tonight." He tapped V teasingly on the shoulder and was out the door before she could protest.

With Jax gone, Venus's facade crumbled. She scowled blackly, picked up the desk phone, and dialed a number, all the while fighting an urge to pick up the nearest breakable object and hurl it against a wall.

The other party answered, and V snapped, "He's gone. He's gone to meet Brenda"---her voice was a veritable snarl as she uttered Brenda's name---"and before you ask, I don't know where. He wouldn't tell me."

Angry murmuring from the other end.

V's voice rose in frustration. "You hate it? I HATE it! I HATE her......too bad the little bitch didn't get killed along with Sonny Corinthos in Cartegena. Would have saved us all some time and trouble! Yes, I know, I know....we have to play this calmly and coolly. You want your revenge against Brenda and the Cassadines--- and I want Jax. No reason we both can't get what we want. Yes, I'll be in touch."

Venus put the phone down, a thoughtful look in her odd, slanted eyes. He's meeting her for dinner somewhere. Jax is so recognizable...and so is she. Maybe I can just call around and find out where they went...... But not from here. Don't want the calls traced.

Hastily, she picked up her purse and made her exit.....

........while on the other end of the now-dead phone line, Miranda---nee Isabella--- was wearing a scowl of her own. Then her mood changed, and she began to laugh. It was not a nice laugh. It was reminiscent of the cackle of the witches in the Scottish Play.

"Fool." She bent a scornful look at the phone in her hand. "As if JAX would ever look at YOU that way! Never! He'll never belong to you. Just as he'll never be Brenda's again, either. I'm going to see to that." Her dark eyes positively glowed with malice. "I'll have my revenge and Jax, too, and you will be quite useful in accomplishing both objectives. And when your usefulness has ended, dear Venus.....well....." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled slyly, tapping the tip of one lacquered nail gently against her lips.

~*~

"Sorry." Jax caught the dark-haired woman in his arms, his voice and expression one of contrition. In his haste to reach the parking garage elevator, he had been almost literally sprinting through the hotel lobby, and subsequently had nearly mowed down the woman emerging from its depths.

"It's all right," she mumbled. She glanced up as they stepped apart, and the look of shocked recognition on her face was mirrored on his.

"Alexis? What are you doing here?" Genuinely thrown off-guard, Jax blurted out the first, obvious question that came to mind.

"I......I have a room here." Alexis had recovered some of her composure; she was cloaking herself in the usual Cassadine formality and aloofness, but Jax could see the tension in her bearing, and the pain lurking in her eyes. She'd obviously had a falling out with Stefan. Jax's generous heart was moved to sympathy, even as his analytical brain was sizing up the possibilities this might

present for gaining control of ELQ Jakarta again. And more than that, he thought, why not? Alexis could just prove to be my 'disgruntled insider'.....

Right now, though, she was just a woman in distress, and Jax's chivalry was as indelible a part of him as his ruthless streak. "Is there anything I can do to help, Alexis?" he asked, meaning it.

"No. No." She took a deep breath and forced a smile. "I'll be fine. I am rather tired though; I think I'll go straight to my room."

Jax nodded and released his supporting hold on her elbow. "Good idea. Everything looks less bleak after a good night's sleep. I meant what I said, though." His voice softened. "I know what it's like to be......cut off from someone you love. To be left in what is essentially a strange place with no allies."

Her head snapped up, and she said sharply, "I didn't say anything about being....abandoned. I AM a Cassadine...." Her composure began to waver under Jax's steady, but compassionate scrutiny. "I think.....you did mean what you said. But truely, I'll be fine. I don't need your help, Jax."

Jax inclined his head in a graceful gesture of acknowledgment. "Just remember, the offer's always open." He stepped past her, into the elevator, his mind filing the incident away for future reference, his thoughts already turning to Brenda.

~*~

"You look good enough to eat," he whispered, leaning across the table and gazing into her eyes, his own an electric blue.

Brenda did look delectable in Prada: the burgundy velvet pants were cut lean and straight, showing off the curves of her hips, and the sexy, scoop-necked black cashmere sweater hugged and highlighted her other curves as well, a fact not lost on Jax. The matching jacket was slung over the back of her chair.

She smiled seductively and linked her fingers to his. "Then why are we still here?"

"Dessert. You ordered dessert, remember?" Jax arched a blond eyebrow at her.

"Oh, yeah, I did. But we could get it as takeout." Brenda was nothing if not ingenious.

Jax laughed softly. "And what else did you have in mind?"

Brenda grew smoky with desire. "I have a few ideas, starting with---"

The low beeping of the cell phone interrupted her, and Jax's eyes flared with anger. "Damn V! I TOLD her not to call me. Sorry, Brenda." He whipped the phone from his coat pocket and snapped angrily into the receiver, "V! I told you I wasn't to be disturbed!" A sheepish expression crossed his face. "Oh...hi. Sorry, Mum," he finished guiltily, glancing over at Brenda. "Yes, well, I thought you were my temporary assistant, V. You know, I told you about her. She's holding down the fort until Addy gets back from Germany."

Brenda withdrew her hand from his and curled up in her chair, unconsciously hugging herself. She could imagine Lady Jayne's reaction if she found out who Jax's dinner companion was.....

Jax was deep in conversation with his mother, but he was painfully aware of Brenda's withdrawal; he could sense her desire to protect herself against any possibility of rejection by Lady Jayne. He set his jaw; he hadn't yet told either of his parents that he and Brenda were seeing each other again, and he honestly couldn't gauge their reaction, although he knew they would be wary. Best to find out now, before he took Brenda with him to Alaska for Thanksgiving......

"Mum." At the note in his voice, Brenda glanced up alertly. Jax gave her a reassuring smile and reached for her hand again across the table. Her answering smile was tentative as she slipped her small hand into his.

"Dad already told me Jerry can't make it home for Thanksgiving. Yes, yes, I'm coming. And I'm bringing a guest. What? Yes, it's someone you know. It's Brenda. We're seeing each other again." Brenda stiffened in her chair as the look on Jax's face grew bleak. "Well, say something. That's it? That's in the past"---Jax's voice rose slightly---"it's over. I expect you to trust my judgment. I expect you not to be so narrow-minded." Brenda was alarmed as Jax's eyes began to flash an angry silver-green.

"Jax, honey, stop. Stop it." she whispered, squeezing his fingers. Jax quieted. "Look---Mum, Dad---I've always tried to respect your wishes. I wish you could respect mine. If you can't in this instance.....well, I won't have Brenda feeling uncomfortable or unwelcome. I'll be staying in Port Charles for Thanksgiving." He snapped the cell phone shut and laid it on the table.

"Jax....."

"Brenda, please. They were wrong, they were just wrong."

"No. Not wrong." She uncurled in the chair and leaned toward him, an earnest

expression on her face. "I can't pretend to understand everything a parent feels for a child---I'm not anybody's mother yet." At the "yet", Jax's face softened, his aquamarine eyes showing, for an instant, how much her having their child would mean to him. Brenda pushed her hair back with her free hand and went on, "Still, I think I know where she's coming from---and your Dad, too. Your parents loved me, and I hurt them, but they can forgive me for that. I hurt YOU, honey, and that's what they're having a hard time with."

"Brenda..... Look, I've forgiven you. Hell, you've forgiven ME. We love each other; we've decided to move on. To try and build a future together again. They're going to have to accept that, Brenda."

"It won't be easy for them, Jax." Her face grew thoughtful and a little sad. "I've learned a few things since my drug addiction and rehab." She laughed softly. "I've learned that I am not the center of the universe." She leaned forward and shook a finger at Jax in mock admonishment. "I know, I know. For years, I thought the whole world revolved around ME; I KNEW the world KNEW it, too." She gave him another sad smile. "But now I know better. I've got more emotion to direct toward other people, since it's not all focused on myself. I've learned there are people in my life whose well-being is as important to me as my own. You see, if someone hurt me now, I could forgive them---eventually. I even forgave Sonny; I had to, I couldn't move on otherwise." Her expression hardened almost imperceptibly. "But if someone hurt YOU now, Jax......well, that I'd have a hard time forgiving and forgetting. And even if YOU forgave them, I'd have a hard time trusting them again. So.....I do understand how John and Lady Jayne feel---just a little."

Jax 's eyes were filled with a mixture of tenderness and admiration. "You're not the same woman, Brenda. I mean, you are....but you aren't. You've gotten very wise, you know that?"

Brenda shook her head. "No, I haven't. I'm just finally catching up with the rest of the world, that's all. I was in a period of arrested development there for awhile. I think I got hung up at the thirteen-year-old stage, and it took me about ten years to move past it."

They both laughed.

"You think I should go to Alaska, then."

"Yes. I think it's important, Jax. You have unfinished business with John and Lady Jayne, and it goes way beyond me. You've never really talked to them about Miranda either, have you?"

Jax inhaled sharply. "No." His voice was abrupt; this was a sore subject.

"Don't you think you should?" Brenda said gently.

"Yes." Jax turned her hand over in his, bent his head, and touched his lips lightly to her palm. "But what about you? I'm not about to leave you all alone here in Port Charles for Thanksgiving."

"And what makes you think I'll be alone? Don't worry about me, honey. I can take my pick: the Quartermaines or the Cassadines."

"Egads. What a choice!" Jax became serious again. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes. Just go to Alaska, Jax. Try to talk this out with your parents. For yourself--- and for us."

He reached for her other hand, and she gave it to him. Unspoken communication flowed between them, and with perfect synchronicity, their lips met in a gentle kiss.

Jax and Brenda were the epitome of romance, framed there in Cafe Matisse's huge picture window. At least, most people passing by thought so.

All except one.

Across the street, half-hidden in the doorway of a pharmacy, Venus Ardanowski watched them with a scowl on her face and hatred in her heart.

~*~