Hello to everyone. My name is Isabella, and I'm new to the boards, but not to Jax and Brenda. I've watched them since day one, and read
such wonderful fanfics by many of you. I thought I would try my hand at one, and I hope you like it. Please leave a reply and let me know,
or email me. Thanks a lot. Also, the t*tle is the same as a story by Louisa May Alcott, that was recently found and published. In case any of
you have read it, do take note that nothing about Ms. Alcott's story and mine are similar in any way, other than the t*tle. It was just too
good a t*tle to resist. Thanks again, Isabella.

Chapter One

“I came a long way, from out of nowhere.
I stand before you, all alone.
Like a wolf’s cry, in the distance,
I heard the calling of your soul.
I hear you crying.”

It was dark, she was alone, and there was water dripping somewhere. What was that noise? she asked herself, in the dark. What was
happening, and where was she? Where was her husband? He was supposed to be with her, wasn't he?

She was standing up, afraid to take a step backwards or forwards, or to either side. Movement might alert her captor to her presence, and
she couldn't risk that. But she had to call out, didn't she? How else would he know she was there? Would he ever find her? Would she ever
find him? How, how, how, did this happen? Wait. The dripping has stopped, and there's a light. It was coming from the corner, and
somehow, it didn't feel welcoming. She wasn't afraid of the light, as much as whatever came with it. Impending danger?...death?

“With your love, show me how to love.
Cause you are made of me, and I am made of you.
With your life, show me how to care.
You are made of me, and I am made of you.”

Brenda woke up with a start, automatically wiping the sweat from her brow. She looked around, her mind in a foggy haze, thanks to the
nightmare she had just had.

"Jax?" she said, her voice edgy. "Honey?" Brenda looked to her left, expecting to see her husband, lying there beside her. When she didn't,
she began to get frightened. Things were beginning to look and feel exactly as they had in her dream. She was alone in their bed, and
unable to shake this feeling of dread. Brenda looked to her right, and saw that their bedroom window was open, and that it was letting the
cool night air in. The breeze cooled her skin as she threw off the covers, the material of her nightgown clinging to her skin from
perspiration. Her hair fell in long dark waves, down her back, as she swung her feet over the side of the bed, feeling for her slippers,
without looking down. Not finding them, and lacking the patience to look, Brenda started for the door, without them. The gown flowed
behind her, all the way to her ankles, and she asked herself why she had worn this particular gown to bed, on a hot August night. A small
smile uncontrollably crept to her cheeks. Because it was Jax's favorite, that was why. True, she hadn't worn it for very long at first, but after
a round of passionate love making, she had put it back on to retrieve something from downstairs, and had fallen asleep in it.

Brenda found her way to the bottom of the stairs in her tiny cottage,
and her heart flooded with relief, when her husband’s form came into view.
Jasper Jacks sat hunched over a lap top, at the table that sat in the farthest
corner of the room. He glanced up at the sound of her feet on the stairs, and
then he returned his gaze to the bright screen, in the room otherwise
shrouded in darkness.

“We’ll walk together, through the fire.
Through the darkness, to the sun.
Like two raging rivers, full of passion,
At the ocean, we are one.
Oh, I hear you crying.”
 

"What are you doing?" she asked, picking up the skirt of her gown as she came down the last three steps. She folded her arms expectantly,
giving him a curt stare, that lasted only moments, before Jax gave her a charming grin.

"Just getting some more work done," he said. "I couldn't sleep." She nodded in understanding, and moved to stand behind his chair,
massaging his shoulders.

"Can't it wait until morning?" she asked, rubbing her chest against him, suggestively.

"It can if you've got a better offer," he said, turning around and enveloping her in his arms. She giggled softly as his sensual kisses turned
into nibbles that tickled her neck. Brenda squirmed around until her back was to him, and she was staring at his computer screen. "I caught
you," he said, moving her out of his lap, and giving her a small pat on the bottom.

"What?" she asked incredulously, returning Jax's s*xy smile.

"I told you I was working, and once again, your curiosity got the better of you." She gave him a tiresome look, and then relented.

"Okay, fine," she said, moving back into his lap when he closed the lap top. "But I still don't understand why you can't tell me what you're
doing. I don't like being kept out--"

"Whoa, Brenda," Jax said, lacing his fingers with hers, "I told you, I am not keeping secrets from you.You know who all my clients are, you
know every destination of every trip
that I take. You know the names of all my contacts, and every number that I
have, you have emergencies included. But I am a private investigator. I just
cannot give out personal, specific information about my clients.”

"Well I'm your wife," Brenda said, pouting slightly. "Don't I rate higher than the general public?"

"Ok," he said, shifting her in his lap to make them both more comfortable. "You remember when you went searching for Veronica?"

"Yes, but I don't see what that has to do with--"

“Oh but you do, my love,” he said, tapping her nose. “You hired a private
investigator then, didn’t you? A very reputable man, if I well remember.
There was a lot about Veronica, that if revealed, would have spelled bad press
for the both of us, because of the high profile careers we used to have.
‘Jasper Jacks’, corporate raider turned spy’? And what about ‘Brenda
Barrett-Jacks, heiress and former international model turned government
operative’?” Brenda rolled her eyes then.
 

"Jax, come on, first of all, I'm not a secret government agent, and you're not a spy--"

“But that’s what the tabloids would say, you know that. They’d turn my
profession into this big over the top thing, I could lose all my clients, and
you’ve decided not to work while we try and start a family. They are just
waiting to attack that little tidbit, and say you’re up to something secretive,
because you don’t go to a 9 to 5 job everyday.”

"What's your point?" Brenda asked, slouching.

“My POINT,” Jax said, “is that when you hired that man, you expected
discretion from EVERYONE, including his wife. Suppose he had shared
information with her about your case? It could have ruined us both, and still
could, if everyone finds out that Veronica committed suicide, and tried to take
you with her, in that horrible car crash.” Brenda’s face fell momentarily, as
she got out of Jax’s lap. “Oh, baby,” he said, moving to stand behind her, “I
didn’t mean to bring you down, honestly I didn’t. I’m just saying--we’ve had
this conversation before, Brenda. I can’t share what I’m doing with you. It’d
be the same thing if I were a doctor. Doctor/patient confidentiality.
Lawyer/client privilege.”

I know you can’t guarantee full disclosure,” Brenda said, shrugging her arms.
“I’ve known that since you made your career move. Don’t pay any attention
to me,” she said, waving a hand. “I’m sorry, honestly.”
 

"Well what brought this on?" he asked. "Did something happen?"

"You'll think I'm silly," she said, grinning and plopping down on the couch.

"It's not possible," Jax replied, smiling back.

“I had a bad dream,” she said. “In the dream, I woke up from ANOTHER
dream. I looked to my side, and you weren’t there. And all of a sudden this
feeling of such overwhelming dread came over me. I don’t know where it
came from, but I just couldn’t shake it, and I know that I never want to feel
that way again in my entire life. And then I woke up, in the same position as I
had been in my dream. I looked to my side, and you were gone. I came
downstairs to find you sitting there, thank God, but I still couldn’t shake that
feeling. I haven’t been able to shake it at all, in fact, until you put your arms
around me, just now.”

"Is that your way of saying you can't live without me? That I'm all you need?"

"You ARE all I need. I love you so much, Jax. It would kill me if I ever lost you."

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” Jax insisted. “I can promise you that. I’ve
told you I don’t handle dangerous high profile cases. My clients are mothers
looking for long lost children, and siblings searching for one another--”

"Yeah, but you have that one case, where you're trying to solve that woman's husband's murder."

"True," Jax said, "but the police have closed the case, and it's been out of the papers for months. It's perfectly safe."

"Yeah, well I won't feel perfectly safe until you find another line of work. Or at least until this case is over."

“Well,” Jax said, “I’ll never finish it, if you keep distracting me. I’d better get
back to it,” he said, pointing over his shoulder. Brenda gave a little pout, and
dropped her arms from around his waist--he missed the feeling immediately.

“Okay,” she said, “but I’m going to go get something to eat. I can’t go back to
sleep. You want anything?”
“A sandwich?” he asked, sitting back down. She came behind him and
wrapped her arms around him once more, kissing his cheek.
“Coming right up,” she said. He glanced at her, smiling, and for a
moment, she was overcome by the love she felt for this man. Such a simple
movement, looking into her eyes, yet she felt more safe, and more loved than
she ever had in her entire life, in that moment. She never wanted it to end,
but when he began to stare at her in bewilderment, she stood back up, and
started into the kitchen.

As Brenda went about making the sandwich, she noticed a dripping that was coming from the faucet of the sink. She went over to it, and
closed her tiny fist around it, squeezing in vain. She heard a beeping, she guessed was the computer, and then felt a small breeze as the
kitchen door came open. "Need some help with that?" he asked, putting one hand on the small of her back, and making short work of the
faucet with the other.

“There you go,” he said, as she nodded wordlessly in thanks. “You know,” he
said, sitting at the kitchen table as she moved around him, “I’m sorry about
before.”
“Sorry?” Brenda asked, as she continued to dig through the refrigerator.
“About what?”
“Well about you, and my not being very attentive, just now. Did you
want to talk about your dream?” Brenda froze when he mentioned it, and felt
her entire body go tight with reservation. She remembered it well, but lied,
and said she didn’t.
“I don’t remember anything, Jax,” Brenda replied dismissively. “It’s no
big deal, anyway.”
“I saw your eyes when you came downstairs,” Jax said. “Tell me. It
bothered you, didn’t it?”
“Yeah,” she relented, “but I’m over it now, seriously I am.” She placed
his sandwich in front of him, and then took up her bowl of banana pudding
ice cream. He crinkled his nose.
“You’re going to eat that at three o’clock in the morning?” he asked
incredulously.
“You bet I am,” she said, smiling wickedly. “You should walk on the
wild side, babe. Besides, those meatballs are going to bother you a whole lot
more than ice cream’s going to get to me.”
“We’ll see,” he said, picking up his sandwich and moving back to his lap
top. “Gotta get back to this,” he said. “I think there may be a break in the case.
I’m going to need to go into town today.”
“Oh?” Brenda asked, following Jax into the living room.
“Yeah, I’m thinking I’m going to work from the penthouse, if that’s
okay.”
“Yeah, it’s fine, I have an errand of my own to run,” Brenda said, “and
I’m helping Robin pick out some baby clothes. Nikolas hasn’t had time to go
shopping with her.”
“I admire her so much,” Jax said, “trying to have a child when there’s so
much against it.”
“She’s determined all right,” Brenda said, “but Nikolas supports her.
They deserve it. So, what time do you think you’ll be home tomorrow?” she
asked. Brenda waited for his reply, but when he didn’t answer, she moved
closer to him, and placed a delicate hand on his bare shoulder. She jumped
slightly at how cold his skin had become. Somewhere in the back of her
mind, she noted the gentle whirring of the air conditioner as it automatically
turned itself on. She attributed that to the coolness of his skin, or perhaps the
coolness of her own hands, from holding the bowl of ice cream, but when he
jumped underneath her touch, Brenda knew something was wrong. “Honey?”
she said, when he still didn’t answer. “Jax,” she said, her voice more intent.
Then he looked up at her.
“What?” he said. “Yeah, that’s fine, whatever.”
“I asked you when you would be home,” she said. “You didn’t answer
me. What’s wrong?” Brenda was staring at his face the whole time, but when
she glanced up at the computer screen, he stood up quickly, to block her
view.
“I don’t--uh, I’m not sure when I’ll be home, by dinner, definitely.”
Brenda nodded, unsure of what to make of his behavior. He turned around as
she went back to curl up on the couch. He moved quickly to turn on the
monitor of his personal computer, and then retrieve the disk from it, and
look around for a place to put it.

“I am made of you, you are made of me.
I came a long way.
Everything you want, is what I’m meant to me.
I’ll stand before you.
Everything I am, is what you’re meant to be.
I hear you crying, through the darkness,
To the light!”

“What are you doing?” she asked. “What’s wrong?” He continued to
look around the room, until his eyes landed on a beautiful blue and white
vase that Lady Jane had given them on their first wedding anniversary. He got
some tape from a drawer, and then taped the disk to the bottom of the vase.
He replaced it, and then stood calmly, as if deep in contemplative thought.
“Jax,” Brenda said, putting her hands on her hips, “why are you hiding that
disk?”
Jax looked at her, as if realizing that she was in the room for the first
time. “What’d you find on that lap top, anyway?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he said quickly. “It was nothing.”
“Yeah, nothing,” she said, “then why did you hide that disk just now.”
“Brenda, I don’t have time for questions right now, I have to go. Just
trust me when I tell you that you don’t need to know.”
“Where are you going to go at this time of night?” Brenda asked. “Have
you had a major break in the case or something?”
“Yes I have,” Jax said. “I’m going over to Mrs. Ireland’s house now.”
“Jax, I’m sure she won’t appreciate being awoken at this hour, can’t it
wait until morning?”
“No, it really cannot, Brenda,” he said, taking her in his arms suddenly,
and kissing her. Just when she began to go from confusion to actually
responding to his powerful touch, he pulled away, and she was left standing
awkwardly, longing for more.
He took the steps two at a time, as he shrugged into a T-shirt and jeans.
Brenda knew it must be important, or he would have dressed in a suit, as he
always did. “Jax, come on,” Brenda said, “is it life or death?” Jax stopped for a
moment, his back to her, and then he continued, not answering her. Brenda
became alarmed when he went into the closet, and retrieved his gun, a .35,
from a shoe box. “Jax, what in the world--”
“Brenda, there’s no time.”
“If you expect me to let you walk out of this house with that gun, no
explanation at all, then you’re crazy. This is crazy,” Brenda said in
exasperation, running her hands through her chocolate tresses. He tried to
move past her, and her hands went up to his chest. He caught them, rubbing
the backs of them slightly, and giving her a worried, tiresome look. “Tell me,
please,” she whispered, as his hands lost themselves in her hair.
“I think I’ve found it,” Jax said. “I’ve found the answer to who killed
Mrs. Ireland’s husband, and if I don’t go right now--well, something terrible
could happen.”
“Something terrible could happen to you, or to Mrs. Ireland?” Brenda
asked. “Where does she live, anyway?”
“A few miles outside of Port Charles,” Jax said. “That’s why I’m taking
my bike, it’s a lot easier to navigate the roads.”
“It’s loud, though,” Brenda said.
“It’s fast, too,” Jax countered. “It’s going to be all right, Brenda. Don’t
worry.”
“Well Jax,” Brenda said, stepping in front of him once more, “why don’t
you just go to the police? Tell them what’s happened.”
“They’ll never believe me,” he said, moving her gently, but forcefully,
out of the way.
“Tell me,” Brenda pressed, “I’LL believe you.”

“With your life, show me how to care,
Cause you are made of me, and I am made of you.
With your heart, show me what is true.
Cause you are made of me, and I am made of you.
With your soul, walk my spirit through.
You are made of me, and I am made of you.
I hear you crying, through the darkness,
To the light!”

“I promise you I’ll tell you everything once I’ve come back,” Jax said.
“Just remember where that disk is, Brenda, in case something happens.
Otherwise, please don’t look at it if you can help it.”
“What could happen?” Brenda asked frantically. “Jax! Please, wait.”
“Brenda, sweetheart, I’m sorry, but I have to go, and I have to go right
now.”
“No, don’t, please,” she said, holding on to his wrist in vain. “Jax, don’t
go.” He pulled her into his arms then, kissing her passionately. His grip on her
small frame was so tight, he lifted her easily off the ground. Jax placed her
back down and caressed her cheek. She turned her face into his palm, and
then looked back up at him, tears filling her eyes.
“I love you,” he said, meaning it more than he ever had before.
“I love you too,” Brenda said, choking on the words. “More,” she added.
“Always,” he said.
“Be careful,” she urged.
“I will,” he promised. And then he disappeared, into the night.

The song is "I Am Made Of You" By Ricky Martin