Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for taking this long with the chapter. It's been a busy week. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please let me know
what you think. :-)
{{{Hugs}}},
Amy
_______________________________________________________

{Recap: Jerry and Miranda argued about continuing their relationship, as Jerry refused to risk hurting Jax. Jerry then confronted Miranda
with the pregnancy test he'd found in her apartment before she got there, and he asked her if, if she is pregnant if the child is his or Jax's.
Lois and Brenda went to the Outback for dinner and met Robin. In an attempt to get Brenda to stop thinking about Jax for the evening,
Robin and Lois dared Brenda to ask the first man who came in (that was under 40, lol) to dance with her. The man was revealed to be
handsome police officer Jagger Cates. Aleli and LaQuana also ate at the Outback and noticed Jagger and Brenda together. Aleli admitted
that she had dated Jagger for two years in high school. Jagger and Brenda ended up hitting it off and planned to meet for brunch the next
morning...at the Port Charles Hotel. Brenda had doubts about meeting him there because of her continuing feelings for Jax, but agreed to
anyway. However, when they met the next morning Jax spotted them and noticed Jagger kiss Brenda's cheek. Jax then overreacted out of
jealousy and confronted them.}

Chapter 16
"What do you think you're doing?" Jax repeated, his face right in front of Jagger's.
Brenda looked startled for a second, and confused, but then jumped between the two men, pushing Jax back gently. "Whoa, whoa whoa!
What do you think *you're* doing, Jax??" She asked angrily.
Jagger's gaze bounced between the two of them before he placed his hand gently on Brenda's arm. "I was just greeting my date, although I
don't know how that's any of your business," he said calmly.
Jax just glared back at him, it was a side of him Brenda had never seen before. "Jax!" She whispered fiercely. "What do you think you're
doing? I am meeting a friend for breakfast, which just happens to be *none* of your business, and you react like this. *Why* are you acting
like this?" She asked, bewildered by his actions once again.
"Well...I..." Jax sputtered, for once his cool exterior was gone and he was completely flustered. "I was concerned.."
"Why? Did I look like I was in trouble? Like I wasn't having a good time? Do I have to remind you, Jax, that you chose to not be a part of
my life?" Brenda looked upset for a moment, as Jax looked down, not answering. Finally, she remembered Jagger, still standing behind
her. "C'mon. Let's go in," she finally said to him, taking his arm as they went into the restaurant, leaving Jax staring after them.
Jax watched them walk away, and pressed his hands to his temples. {What am I *doing*? I'm trying to convince her that I don't want her
anymore and I've gotten over her...and here I am making a fool out of myself just because she meets some other guy here for breakfast.
Some guy who looks like he just stepped out of one of those magazines she's always in...}
"Jax! I'm glad you're here already," a female voice interrupted Jax's jealous thoughts.
Jax shook his head, trying to clear it, and turned to see Aleli, standing with a pretty auburn-haired woman. "Aleli...hi. It's good to see you,"
Jax answered slowly.
Aleli seemed confused by his distance but decided to introduce him to LaQuana first. "Jax, I'd like you to meet my younger sister,
LaQuana. LaQuana, this is Jax Jacks."
"It's nice to meet you, LaQuana," Jax said politely, if distractedly.
Aleli cleared her throat. "Jax. LaQuana is going to be joining us for brunch."
"Great!" Jax attempted a small smile, and led them into the restaurant part of the hotel. They took a small table across the room from where
Jax could see Brenda and her date sitting.
"Well, Jax, I'd like to begin our meeting with a proposal of sorts," Aleli announced to Jax.
"Hmm?" Jax asked. He had been staring at them across the room. From here he could just tell that they were talking animatedly and
Brenda was laughing and tossing her long dark hair over her shoulder. Just seeing her with someone else made him want to go over there
and beg her to forgive him and take him back...then all at once he remembered again the reason he had to stay away from her. Why was it
so easy to forget? Jax turned back to Aleli and LaQuana with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I'm a little distracted."
"Do you want to postpone this meeting then?" Aleli asked.
"No, no of course not. You have my undivided attention," Jax promised, tearing his gaze away from the woman who still held his heart.
"Okay."
"So, have you found any useful information yet?" Jax asked.
"Nothing conclusive- yet. However, I'm going to have help."
"What do you mean?"
"Jax, LaQuana is going to help me out on this case. She is a good amateur detective and I could really use her help now."
Jax looked surprised as he turned to look again at LaQuana. "I didn't realize you were a detective."
LaQuana nodded eagerly. "Yeah, it's a fun hobby for my spare time. You don't mind, do you? If I help out my sister on the case, I mean."
"No! I'm sure Aleli can use your help and maybe it will go faster this way," Jax answered optimistically.
The three of them ate and talked briefly about the case before going on their separate ways. "Keep me informed on how the case is going,"
Jax reminded them as they left and Jax then headed to the elevators to go back to his penthouse.

While Jax stared at Brenda from across the room, Brenda sat chatting with Jagger, very much aware of Jax's penetrating gaze on her. {Why
is he acting like this? I wouldn't have guessed that he'd be the jealous type. Is he forgetting that *he* pushed *me* out of his life?} Brenda
asked herself angrily. She refused to look back at him, refused to be pulled back in by his serene blue eyes with the fire glowing within
them...refused to be pulled back in by his intoxicating smile. She couldn't do that again. She couldn't hurt like this again, ever.
"So, where are you from, originally, Brenda?" Jagger asked, trying to pull her back from wherever she had gone.
"I'm from Europe, actually. I just moved to the U.S. a couple of weeks ago."
"I see. What part of Europe?" Jagger asked curiously. She didn't seem to have any particular accent.
"Well first in London with my family, then in boarding schools in Paris and then Italy, then Paris again before coming here."
Jagger nodded. "Paris is a beautiful city."
Brenda nodded her agreement. "It really is! So, where are you from?"
Jagger hesitated for a moment and then answered. "Hawaii. I grew up there and then moved to San Francisco- now here."
Brenda nodded. "And you're working for the Port Charles Police Department?"
"Yeah. I trained to be a cop in San Francisco. What about you? What do you do?" Jagger asked Brenda.
"Well...right now, nothing. I am a model, or at least I was around Europe. I'm not as well-known here, so I haven't gotten any jobs yet."
"Well. I should have guessed you were a model. You're certainly beautiful enough," Jagger told her flirtatiously, in an attempt to get her
attention. Every few seconds it seemed, she was gazing over his shoulder to see the blonde man they'd run into when they first arrived.
Something was definitely going on there.
Brenda forced herself to look away from Jax as he stood up and left the room slowly. Brenda turned back to Jagger, realizing again how
handsome he was.
"Well thank you," Brenda answered his compliment. "I'm afraid I haven't even tried to get a job since I've been in the states, though. Things
have been...well...complicated since I got here," she explained uncomfortably.
"Let me guess. It has something to do with him, right?" Jagger questioned, nodding towards Jax's retreating form.
Brenda sighed. "Kind of. I'm sure you don't want to hear about that mess though."
"Well, don't be so sure. I can be a good listener, if you need one."
Brenda smiled gratefully and reached across the table to squeeze his hand. "Thank you. Actually, I don't need to talk about it. Jax and I are
completely over. Right now, I just want to have fun."
"Sounds good. Are you free for dinner tomorrow night?" Jagger asked bravely. He liked Brenda. He could tell that much already. She
seemed intelligent, and exciting, with a sense of humor too. Plus, she was gorgeous.
Brenda blinked in surprise. She hadn't thought she'd been making a good impression on Jagger, all she had done since they met was think
about Jax. Still, Jagger seemed like a nice guy and fun. His dark, sultry good looks had caught her attention right away, too. "Sure. I'd love
to go to dinner with you tomorrow night," Brenda answered, smiling at him happily.
"Good."
Jagger had been about to say more, when he looked up to see an attractive dark haired woman approaching their table. "Aleli! What are
you doing here?" He asked as Aleli, who had been about to leave when her sister and Jax left, decided to be brave and go talk to Jagger
and Brenda.
Aleli smiled uncomfortably, her gaze shifting from Jagger to Brenda and back to Jagger. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your date...I
just saw you and wanted to say hi."
"I'm glad you did. It's been years. Let's see... before I left Hawaii..so almost 4 years ago, right?" Jagger asked, thrilled to see his old friend.
Aleli nodded, remembering how sweet Jagger always was. Even after they'd broken up, before he left to go to school in San Francisco,
they'd stayed good friends. "Yeah it's been about 4 years now."
Jagger leaned over to hug her briefly. "It's great to see you. Oh, I'm sorry. Aleli, I'd like you to meet a new friend of mine, this is Brenda
Barrett. Brenda, this is Aleli Buchanan. Aleli and I grew up together."
Brenda nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Aleli. Please, join us."
Aleli still looked uncomfortable, but sat down in the empty seat at the table. "It's nice to meet you too, Brenda. I hate to intrude on your
date, though."
"Don't worry about it," Jagger answered. "What have you been up to, Aleli? What brings you to Port Charles?"
Aleli stifled a groan. {Oh, nothing, Jagger...I'm just here investigating your new girlfriend, who my employer just broke up with...} Aleli
thought. "Oh actually, I'm in Port Charles working on a case."
"A case?" Jagger asked, puzzled.
" Yes, I'm a private detective now," Aleli announced.
"That's great! So, what's your case about?"
"Oh...well...uh.... it's kind of a case of mistaken ident-ity, I guess you could say," Aleli struggled, smiling innocently at Brenda.
Jagger nodded, intrigued. "Well, please let me know if you need any police help, since I am on the Port Charles police force now."
"Thanks, Jagger. I appreciate it."
"So what were you doing with Jax?" Brenda asked, her curiosity finally getting the better of her.
Aleli smiled, thinking, {geez, these two *must* be in love, they are both so jealous of what they *think* the other is doing!} "Well, Jax is an
old friend of mine," Aleli lied.
"Small world," Brenda muttered doubtfully.
Aleli gazed at Brenda thoughtfully. "Brenda, we haven't met before, have we? You seem very familiar," Aleli told her. This was a great
opportunity to get to know a little bit about Brenda without having to actually spy on her.
"I don't think we've met, no," Brenda answered. She was sure she'd never seen this woman in her life.
"I know! I bet you saw Brenda's picture in some magazine. She's been modeling in Europe for the last few years," Jagger reasoned.
"Oh, that's probably true. You were on the cover of Elle a couple of years ago, weren't you?" Aleli guessed.
"Yeah, that's right. For awhile I did some French covers."
"So, what brings you to the U.S.?" Aleli asked, sensing Brenda's unwillingness to talk but deciding to give it a shot anyway.
"Oh it was time for a change," Brenda answered vaguely. She turned to Jagger then. "Jagger, I really should be going," Brenda took out a
piece of paper and pen from her purse and wrote Lois' number down. "You can reach me here if you want to call me later to finalize those
plans for dinner tomorrow night."
Jagger nodded, looking a little disappointed. "Well, I'll see you out," he said, standing up.
"Oh no, you stay and catch up with your friend," Brenda replied, motioning towards Aleli. "I'll talk to you soon," she went on.
Jagger leaned down and kissed her cheek softly. "I'll call you later, Brenda."
Brenda hurried away, hoping she wouldn't run into Jax this time. Everything was just too confusing.
"Sorry I scared off your friend," Aleli told Jagger worriedly. The last thing she needed now was to make anyone mad at her here and mess
up her investigation.
Jagger shook off her worries easily. "Don't worry about it. I think Brenda's going through a rough time with that Jax guy. You know
anything about them?" He asked interestedly.
"No, not really. Just that they broke up not too long ago," Aleli answered.
"Hmmm. Well, I don't know him too well yet, obviously, but if this Jax person broke Brenda's heart, then he could break yours too. Be
careful, Aleli," Jagger told her, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand.
Aleli blushed, glancing down at their hands. "Gee, Jagger, I didn't know you still cared," she half-joked.
Jagger let go of her hand, sitting back. "Of course I care. You meant a lot to me, Aleli, you always will."
Aleli gazed downward, fighting back tears. It had broken her heart when Jagger had left Hawaii and they'd broken up. She had been so
hopelessly in love with him, and she always thought he felt the same way. Maybe he had at one point...but that was a long time ago now.
Aleli finally looked back up at him, wanting to drown in his big, warm eyes. "Well I should get going. I have some work to do for my
case."
"Don't work too hard, Aleli. You always do that..." he told her worriedly.
Aleli laughed. "I'll be fine! It was nice seeing you again, Jagger. We should have dinner...or something...some time," she said casually.
"I'd like that," Jagger replied. "It was great to see you again."
Aleli smiled at him and then left hurriedly. {Whatever I felt...or still feel...for Jagger, I can't let that interfere with my work}.

Jerry and Miranda continued to stand staring at each other in Miranda's apartment.
"You had no right to be in here going through my things!" Miranda repeated angrily.
"Answer the question, Miranda," Jerry barked.
"Yes. I am pregnant," She answered smugly, leaving out the other piece of information Jerry wanted.
"And?? Listen to me, Miranda. If you are pregnant, you have to tell me if it's mine. There's no way that Jax would end up as the father to
*my* child! It wouldn't be fair to any of us, Miranda!" Jerry exclaimed.
"I don't know what you're so worried about, Jerry," Miranda told him, taking a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and drinking from it
casually.
Jerry walked over and took Miranda's shoulders in his hands. "Tell me the truth," he pleaded.
"The baby is Jax's," Miranda told him coolly, backing out of his arms.
"You're sure of that?" Jerry asked tensely.
"Positive."
"What if I asked you to prove it?" Jerry asked suspiciously.
"Geez, Jerry. Just face it, the baby is *not* yours! This child is mine, and Jax's... and you have no part in our lives."
Jerry clenched his jaw angrily. "Just know this. If you are lying, somehow, some way, I will find out."
With that he grabbed his keys and left, slamming the door behind him.
Miranda blinked back the tears that stung in her eyes as Jerry slammed the door and smiled coldly. {Don't worry, little one... he won't come
between us and our happiness. Never.}