In a highchair, John cooed and waved his spoon around in a chubby fist. He'd crumpled up enough crackers to feed an army of hungry birds, then tossed several carrot sticks and a banana after them. John was just feeding himself, no matter the consequences.

Jared was so pleased and proud of his son that he over tipped the waitress scandalously to make up for the mess. Watching father and son, Brenda sighed. She remembered when JJ had been a baby... but he'd been a baby without the adoration of a father. She felt that pang of guilt and regret; one she tried to repress.

"No dessert for me," she said quickly. "I couldn't even finish my steak."

"I'll bring you a doggie bag to take home," the waitress offered. "How about the rest'a you folks?"

Jared chose apple pie, Lois selected cheesecake, and JJ, yawning, decided on chocolate ice cream, his favorite. Which was ironic, considering that was one of his father's favorites; Jax loved anything with chocolate in it.

While they waited, the boy leaned back against his corner of the booth, with drooping eyelids.

Lois smiled at him fondly. "He's been working awfully hard," she confided to Brenda. "He helps with the horses, and when Jared rides out, JJ rides beside him."

JJ nodded sleepily. "Uncle Jared says I've got the makin's of a real top hand. Isn't that right, Uncle Jared?"

Jared's dark face softened when he looked at his nephew. "You bet it is. Your mom can be real proud of you."

She was. While the others ate their desserts, she thought about what she wanted to say and how best to say it. She'd trust her brother with her life... but not with her secret.

JJ finished eating first. Without urging, he slid around on the bench seat to lie down with a sigh, settling his head on his mother's lap. Absently she stroked his face, loving the smooth resilience on his little-boy check.

"Ahhh." Jared savored his last bite of pie and placed the fork on the table. His curious gaze locked in on his sister's face. "Is it safe to assume you're in no great hurry to leave?"

She frowned. "I—why, no, I—"

"It's obvious you have something you want to talk to us about— us… me… Lois…who? Want me to take old John here for a walk?"

"Or I will," Lois put in anxiously, "if this is something between a brother and a sister, I don't mind leaving you two to talk."

Brenda sighed. "You're very sweet, but actually I want to talk to you both together." She took a deep breath. "This is completely confidential – nobody knows what I'm thinking about and I want to keep it that way."

"Now you've got me curious." Jared signaled the waitress, who refilled all the coffee cups, giving Brenda time to compose herself.

When she had, she just blurted out her thoughts. "I want to move away from Port Charles, and I don't have the money to do it. You've offered me financial help so many times, Jared —"

"Which you've refused, also so many times."

Brenda hung her head. "Now I'm ready to accept. I'll pay you back every penny, Jared – I swear. But I just need enough to get me started elsewhere."

Lois gaze was melting with compassion. "Where, Brenda? Where are you going?" She sensed a plea of desperation in her friend's voice, but she was willing to wait until her friend could further explain why she was doing this.

This was the hard part. "I...I'm not sure. Staten Island… Yonkers... or maybe I should try another state entirely. Texas, perhaps —"

"In other words," Jared cut in, "you're not going to something, you're running away from Port Charles."

Her brother knew her so well and there was nothing she could do but admit the truth – at least some of it. "I… I suppose you could say that," she admitted miserably.

"Why?" Good old Jared never tiptoed around a question.

"Lots of things; for one, JJ's getting older, and maybe this isn't the best place for him to grow up after all – with all the gambling and so forth…"

Lois frowned. "But you always said—"

"I know what I said, but now I'm saying something different. Please try to understand, Lois, not only as my sister-in-law, but also as my friend. This was a hard decision for me to make, but I feel that it's all for the best. It just isn't the same anymore. I think I need new challenges, new people..."

"What do you call your new boss, if he's not new people?" Jared demanded. "I noticed you didn't even mention him or all the plans for the hotel. I thought you'd like that."

"How did you know?"

"Newspaper. Sounds like this company's got the deep pockets to pay for it, too. Not like Grover, who was all good intentions and pie-in-the-sky."

"He did his best," Brenda protested.

Lois patted her sister-in-law's hand. "Nobody's saying he didn't, honey. But things should be even better at the Miner's Point soon, unless..."

Brenda waited, hoping for the best but expecting the worst, and she got it… from her brother.

"Unless the new owner's giving you a hard time," he said. "There are laws against that kind of thing, Brenda. It's called sexual harassment. If the guy's trying to hit on you, you don't have to quit and run. I never knew my sister to be a quitter—"

"That's not—" She stopped short, then stiffened her backbone and went on. "I've got no future here. I need to make something out of myself for my son. Don't you see? I need to get out, meet new men, maybe even a father for him." It was true – so why did it taste like a lie? "But I can't do it alone. If you'll help me, Jared—"

He made a scornful sound, but there was worry in his eyes. "You know I'll do anything for you, Bren. Tell me how much you need, and I'll write the check."

A blessed sense of relief washed over her. "I don't know yet."

"When are you giving notice at the hotel?"

She bit her lip. "I'm not. I'm just going to go. Maybe when I take my vacation, I'll just leave a letter of resignation."

"Damn it, Brenda! Baby John jumped up in surprise and his spoon sailed out his hand and banged against the wall. Jared handed him another without missing a syllable. "This isn't sounding right to me. I'm worried about you. I need to know—"

"I'll tell you everything you need to know, but you've got to keep quiet about my plans. I don't want anybody to get wind of what I'm up to."

Jared's frustration level was building. "I'm not sure I can go along with this. What—"

"Don't badger your sister. She has her reasons and you'll learn what they are in good time."

"Maybe I shouldn't have confided in you, Jared Barrett. I didn't ask for your advice or your blessing."

"No, just my money." He was hurt that his sister couldn't see what her bombshell was doing to him.

"How could you say such a thing, Jared? You're my brother. I —"

A new voice joined the mix; a voice as silky rich as new cream, effectively cutting off Brenda's retort. "Well, well, well… what have we here?"

Brenda raised horrified eyes to meet those of Jasper Jacks.

***************

There was nothing to do but introduce him, which Brenda did with a sinking heart. Jared rose and the two men stood literally toe-to-toe, each bearing down a tad harder on the handshake than was strictly necessary. Which didn't surprise Brenda, since Jared was always wary where his wife or sister was concerned.

What surprised her was Lois's reaction. As sweet and trusting an individual as anyone was likely to find, Lois stared at Jax with the most peculiar expression on her face.

He, in turn, gave her his most dazzling smile. Then he glanced around, spotted an empty chair, and pulled it up to the end of the booth, beside the baby, where he sat without invitation. John promptly made a lunge for him, sticky baby fingers twisting in fine gauge knit.

Lois gasped. "Jared, don't let that baby—"

Jax waved her off. He was smiling at John, and John smiled back, his tiny bottom tooth gleaming. "I like babies," Jax said softly. He glanced at Brenda. "I take it this one isn't yours, Brenda." Lois laughed. "Hardly! JJ is —"

"Much older, Brenda blurted, terrified Lois had been about to say "five years old." Brenda had told Jax that her son was only... What had she said? Three or four – not that it had mattered. If JJ roused and sat up where Jax could get a good look at him, her goose was cooked. Her son was big even for a five-year-old and could never pass for someone younger.

Jax chucked John beneath the chin, eliciting storms of giggles. "How old's this little guy?"

"Almost ten months," the proud mother informed him. She smiled. "You're really good with babies, Mr. Jacks."

"Call me 'Jax.'" He picked up a clean spoon from the table and offered it to John. "I… I had a son once. I lost him when he was just a toddler."

His pain was evident and Brenda could feel it. Lois must have, too, for she gasped and her expression turned tender. "I'm so sorry." She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew this man from somewhere.

"Thank you." Jax made a great pretense of looking over the edge of the table at the sleeping form curled up beside Brenda. "Is this your son then, Brenda?"

Fighting the terror, all she could do was nod and pray that JJ wouldn't wake up until this man had gone. "You must be in a hurry," she said quickly to Jax. "Don't let us keep you."

He frowned. "What makes you think—?"

"Didn't you just come from Manhattan?"

"Yes, but—"

"So you must want to get back to the hotel – find out how everything went today…"

"So how did everything go today?"

"Uh...fine."

"Then why," he asked, including Lois and Jared in his question, "should I rush back to find out, when you've just told me?" Jax was confused, Brenda wanted him out of this restaurant and the question was...why?

"What do I know? All kinds of things might have happened and I wouldn't necessarily have a clue."

"Hey, if the place burned down, someone would have mentioned it," Jax said with a smile.

Lois grinned; even Jared looked amused.

Brenda wasn't. She found herself fighting the feeling that she was losing ground here. Worse, she felt JJ stir on her lap. She patted his back, uttering soothing, little words, urging him back to sleep. Helplessly, she watched him yawn, stretch, and sit up, rubbing his eyes.

Lois watched all this and the realization finally hit her; she knew she'd seen Jasper Jacks before. "Oh, my God!" she said softly to herself. He couldn't be… Could he?

Jax watched, too, his gaze friendly and interested. He leaned forward until his face was on a level with the boy's. "Hi," he said cheerfully. "I'm a friend of—"

The boy's eyes opened and Jax's words choked off, as clear blue eyes met clear blue eyes.