Okay, so there you have it! Enjoy, and leave a reply.

Victoria L.

Chapter 22

“Wait a minute,” Jax said, putting up a hand. “You can’t be serious,
right? I mean, that’s some sort of professional legal jargon, isn’t it? You can’t
possibly be serious when you say that you want to frame someone for
Martin’s murder.”
“If it means getting Brenda off--”
“No, no, no! You can’t do that, Alexis. That would be playing God, and
I’m not ready to do that!” Jax got to his feet and stared down at Alexis in
disbelief.
“Don’t look at me like that, please,” Alexis said, standing up and leaning
against Dr. Meadows’ desk. “I am a defense lawyer, and my job is to DEFEND,
not find the guy who’s really responsible. And my main goal is to get Brenda
cleared of these charges. And that should be your main goal as well, because I
have to tell you, I know this case inside and out, I know its precedents, and if
there is no new evidence, and Brenda can’t come up with a solid alibi, or a
killer defense, she’s going to pay for this whether she did it or not!” Jax
swallowed and sat back down heavily, his head in his hands.
“What am I supposed to do?” he asked, tears on his voice. “I don’t have
any answers anymore. I mean, she needs me, and I don’t know if I can be
here for her.”
“Of course you can,” Alexis said, putting a hand on Jax’s shoulders. “Just
as you’re being here for her now. You’re taking care of her child, and your
children, you’re seeing to her defense, and you’re even talking about breaking
the law for her. I don’t think there’s much more support a person can get.”
Jax just nodded, and sat back, sighing. “All right then, you’re right. Brenda
needs me, and I absolutely cannot fall apart for her right now. I have some
phone calls to make, and then I’m going to go and see Brenda and tell her my
plans.”
“Just how much of your plans were you considering telling her?” Alexis
asked.
“Well all of them. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because Brenda’s got a full plate right now, she really doesn’t need to
be thinking about you or worrying that you’re going to do something illegal
that would hurt her defense, or worse, hurt you or her children. Now, I
suggest that you just keep it simple, you’re taking the children to Alaska, and
you’ll be back to help her, and we’re doing all we can, and she should just
relax, and try to keep her mind clear, and her story straight. She doesn’t need
anything else to think about.”
“I know that you’re right,” Jax said, “but Brenda has a way of getting
things out of me. If she even suspects--”
“Then don’t let her suspect,” Alexis said succinctly. “Call me when you
get back in town. I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah,” Jax said, as he watched her leave. From behind Dr. Meadows’
desk, Jax took out his cell phone and called Carly at his house.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Carly, it’s me. How are the kids?”
“Well, Jody’s missing his mom. I don’t know what to tell him, I’ve been
telling him she’ll be home soon, is that all right?”
“Yeah,” Jax said, thinking of how much pain and confusion Jody must
be in. “That’s fine, I don’t know what else you could tell him under the
circumstances.”
“How are my girls?”
“They’re both fine,” Carly said. “Jasmine’s asleep, Victoria got a little
cranky when she couldn’t figure out the homework she had from school.
Color by numbers can be a little tricky, you know.”
“Yeah, I know,” Jax said, sinking further in the chair. “Listen, I have
some of her favorite cookies hidden in the cabinet. Don’t show her where
they are, but surprise her with a few. Kiss her for me, and tell her I’ll be
home soon.”
“You got it,” Carly said. “But what are you planning, Jax? For Brenda, I
mean? I know she’s in the hospital, but she’s going to be okay, right? It’s not
serious?”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” Jax insisted. “She may have to stay
overnight.”
“It may be a little hard for Jody to get to sleep without his mama,” Carly
said.
“Well that won’t be a problem, I can assure you. I’m taking the kids to
Alaska.” There was a slight pause before Carly spoke up.
“What? I mean, I thought you said that things were okay.”
“Physically, Brenda’s fine, that’s not the problem. The case the police
are building against her is going to be airtight. If Brenda can’t beat the wrap,
then--well, let’s not go there. The main thing is, I don’t want Victoria, Jody or
Jasmine to be subjected to this. I won’t stand for it. So I’m taking them to
visit my parents in Alaska, and Lois is coming up as well.”
“Okay,” Carly said. “Well what about Java House?”
“Well that’s where you and Denise come in,” Jax said, “if I can ever get a
hold of her. I’m going to need the two of you to run Java House.”
“Well all right, but what about dealing with that woman? That Judy
Stuart?”
“Keep dealing with her. You’re going to have to make some of the
decisions on business for Brenda, but we trust you, she wouldn’t be in
business with you if she didn’t. I’m not going to allow everything in Brenda’s
life to just stop. She has to maintain some sense of normalcy, and she needs
her business to stay afloat. Can you do that for me?”
“You bet I can,” Carly said. “As long as you don’t think Brenda will
mind us hiring someone else.”
“Let’s not jump the gun,” Jax said. “She may beat this thing after all, and
the majority of these preparations may not even be necessary.”
“I hope not.”
“So do I. Listen, I’ve got to go pick up Lois, she’ll be ready and we’ll
come to get the kids. Would you mind having their things ready? Enough for
two, maybe three weeks.”
“Sure,” Carly said.
“And if it’s not too much trouble,” Jax said, “would you kind of psych
them up for the trip? Victoria won’t want to go, and Jasmine will follow her
lead, but Jody’s always ready for an adventure.”
“No problem,” Carly said. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Okay, and Carly, one more thing?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”

Carly put the phone down, and sighed. This was a much bigger mess
than anyone was letting on, and she could already see that it was taking its toll
on Jax. She just hoped that he could do what it took to keep his head above
water. Carly wanted to remain in her comfortable position on the couch, but
she jumped to action a few minutes later, knowing that she had to do what
she could to help her friends.
She went upstairs and peeked into Victoria’s room. Jody was lying on
his bed, coloring, and Victoria played with her dolls in the middle of the floor.
Neither of the children noticed Carly at first as she walked into the room and
sat on the bed. When they became used to her presence and began to talk
and move about as if she weren’t there, she got up and began to pack several
bags for the both of them. Carly didn’t notice when Victoria came up to her
and stood as close as possible to her without speaking.
“Oh!” Carly said when she noticed her. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
Carly ran her fingers through Victoria’s hopelessly long and ringlet filled
blonde hair.
“Why are you packing our bags?” Victoria asked. “Are we going
somewhere?”
“Yeah,” Carly said, “you’re going to visit your grandparents in Alaska.”
“Alaska?” Jody’s ears perked up. “Grandma and grandpa?”
“Yeah,” Victoria said, no enthusiasm on her voice at all. “You can go,
but I’m not. I’m staying here until mama and daddy get home.”
“Victoria, your daddy’s the one who’s coming back to take you there.”
“Is mama coming?” Jody asked, beginning to bounce on his bed as he
always did. Carly laughed and went to sit beside him, putting an arm around
him.
“You know what?” Carly asked. “I don’t think your mom’s gonna make
this trip, but I know that either you’ll be home very soon, or she’ll come up to
Alaska to join you.”
“What’s the matter?” Victoria asked. “Is it something bad? I’m 5, you
can tell me.”
“Baby, nothing’s wrong,” Carly lied. “This is just a little family trip that
we’re taking, and it’s going to be so much fun. You know your grandparents
miss you a whole lot, and your aunt Lois is going to be with you. Why
wouldn’t you want to go?”
“Because I like it here!” Victoria said, turning around and pulling her
clothes back out of her suitcase. “I won’t go, I won’t!”
“Okay, okay,” Carly said, picking up the clothes and putting them back
on the bed. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” Victoria was so
geared up for a tantrum, she almost didn’t hear Carly.
“Huh?” she said.
“I said, that if you don’t want to, you don’t have to do.” In her mind,
Carly was pleading with God to let this reverse psychology work on Victoria.
“Okay,” Victoria said, thinking the matter settled.
“But you know what?” Carly said. “Your mommy really has a lot to
think about right now, and she wants to make sure that you and your brother
and sister are fine, and with people who love you, and getting to eat moose
burgers all day, and not having a care in the world. You can play in the snow,
Lady Jane will have so many pretty new things for you, grandpa’s got a million
new stories. I know that you don’t want to go, and you still don’t have to, but
you’ll be helping your mom and dad out oh so much, and I know that you
really want to do that for them, don’t you?”
“No,” Victoria said, quite honestly. Carly was more than taken aback.
“But I will.”
 

“The whispers, in the morning.
Of love, asleep and tired.
Are rolling by like thunder, now.
As I look in your eyes.
I hold on to your body,
And feel each move you make.
Your voice is warm and tender,
A love that I could, not forsake.”
 

“Hey,” Jax said, gently nudging Brenda’s nose with his fingertip. Her
eyes fluttered open, and she smiled as soon as she saw him.
“Hey,” she whispered back, struggling to keep her emotions in check,
when the little light that was in the room, managed to catch his eyes just the
right way, revealing that they were sparkling with tears. “Oh,” she said,
smoothing away a tear, “you don’t have to do that.”
“Yeah,” Jax said, nodding. “Yeah, I do.” Just then, as if reading each
other’s minds, Brenda sat up, and Jax leaned forward, and they embraced
wholeheartedly, for the first time since her arrest, letting their emotions flow.
Brenda’s body was wracked with sobs as Jax tried to hold her and calm her.

“Cause I’m your lady.
And you are my man.
Whenever you reach for me,
I’ll do all that I can.
Even though there may be times,
It seems I’m far away.
Never wonder where I am,
Cause I am always by your side.”

“Now, now,” Jax said, kissing her passionately on the mouth, and gently
pushing her back down on the bed, “don’t do that. I don’t want the last
picture I have in my head of you before I go to be one with tears in your
eyes.” Brenda’s heart came up in her throat then.
“You’re leaving?”
“Yeah,” Jax nodded, not realizing that she wasn’t aware of his plan.
Brenda’s heart sank. She supposed somewhere in the back of her mind, she
knew his loyalty could only stretch so far. She understood completely that he
needed to be there for his girls, and couldn’t be saddled with someone who
was about to go down for murder. Still, a part of her just couldn’t believe he
was doing this to her, now of all times. She wasn’t paying very much
attention to Jax.
“Hey?” he said, squeezing her hand. “How does that sound?”
“How--how does what sound?” Brenda asked. “How did you get in
here, anyway?”
“I waited for another shift change with the guards. The PCPD really is
pathetic. Now, come on, don’t I get an answer to my question?”
“What question is that?” Brenda asked.
“Hawaii for a honeymoon location?” Brenda’s eyes bucked out in her
head.
“What did you say?”

“Cause I’m your lady.
And you are my man.
Whenever you reach for me,
I’ll do all that I can.
We’re ready for something.
Somewhere I’ve never been.
Sometimes I am frightened,
But I’m ready to love,
For the power of love.”

“I believe I just asked you to marry me.” Brenda’s face didn’t have the
happy expression on it that he imagined it would. He had known that this
wasn’t the best time to ask, but he wasn’t sure if he could get on this plane
right now, and come back to her knowing that she didn’t want him as much
as he wanted her.
“Don’t do this right now, Jax,” Brenda said, rolling onto her side.
“Why not?” Jax asked. “This seems like a perfect time to me. I love you
so much. I love our kids. Brenda, I feel like I’ve loved you half my life.”
“But you haven’t loved me half your life,” Brenda said. “You loved
Marian half your life, just like I loved Daniel.”
“Oh, don’t start this right now,” Jax said. “This is not about them.” He
paused just then, and held both her hands in his. “Why are you trying to push
me away?”
“Because this hurts too much,” Brenda said, her voice breaking. “And
it’s going to keep on hurting, especially when I lose you, and you walk away
from me and Jody forever.”
“What makes you think that I would ever do that?!” Jax asked, standing
over her. “Brenda, I love YOU. More completely than I have ever loved
another soul in my life, including Marian. I can say that with absolute
certainty.”
“I love you too. Not like I loved Daniel though, and I’m sorry for that--”
“Damn it, Brenda, I don’t want you to love me the way that you loved
that man. I want you to love me more. And I think you do. I know you do.
Sweetheart, there’s just not--there’s just not anyone else for me. I’m not
asking you to do this right now. Or even this year. Just agree to be my wife
when this is all overwith, please.”

“The sound of your heart beating,
Made it clear, suddenly.
The feeling that I can’t go on,
Is light years away.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this now,” Brenda said.
“My reasons are honest, and they are real, and they are in no way
motivated by your circumstances now.” For a moment, Brenda was sure he
knew about the baby, but one look in his eyes said that he didn’t. There’s no
way he could know and not say something. She opened her mouth to speak,
cupping his cheek in her hand, but he cut her off. “Brenda, I want so
desperately to marry you, and I’m telling you right now, I just don’t think I
could take it if you turned me down. So, please, say yes.”
“I need to think about this,” Brenda said, sitting up. “Can you let me do
that?”
“Nope,” Jax said, half chuckling, and half crying. “Cause I have to have
some incentive to get back here as soon as possible when I get on that plane
in two hours.”
“Where are you going?” Brenda asked.
“I’m taking the girls and Jody to Alaska. I thought it might be better if
they were there, in case some things went down here that you didn’t want
them to see.” Brenda nodded wiping the tears away.
“I have no objections to that.

“Cause I’m your lady,
And you are my man.
Whenever you reach for me,
I’m gonna do all that I can.
We’re ready for something,
Somewhere I’ve never been.
Sometimes I am frightened,
But I’m ready to love,
For the power of love.
The power of love.
As I look into your eyes.
The power of love.”

“Good,” Jax said. “They’re in the hall, I could bring them in really
quickly if you want.”
“Are they awake?” Brenda asked.
“No, they’re sleeping. Victoria was less than thrilled, but she’s okay.”
“I want to see them,” Brenda said. “But I’ll go into the hall. I just want
to look at their faces.” Jax helped Brenda up, and walked with her into the
hall. Lois was holding a sleeping Jody, Jasmine was in her stroller, and
Victoria was lying across some chairs. Brenda’s breath caught in her throat at
the sight of them. “They’re so precious,” Brenda said, kissing each one of
them, and unwittingly clutching at her abdomen. “I’m going to miss them so
much every single day, but this is good for them, right?”
“Right,” Jax said. “Come on, let’s go back in before the other guard gets
here.”

“When somebody loves you,
It’s no good unless he loves you,
All the way.
Happy to be near you,
When you need someone to cheer you,
All the way.”

Once back inside the room, and settled back into her bed, Brenda
sighed and put her arms around Jax as he laid his head in her lap. “I can’t do
this without you, Brenda. Please, say yes.”

“Taller than the tallest tree is,
That’s how it’s got to feel.
Deeper than the deep, blue sea is,
That’s how deep it goes, if it’s real.
When somebody needs you,
It’s no good unless he needs you,
All the way.”

“Yes,” Brenda said, so faintly she wasn’t even sure it actually came out
of her mouth.
“Yes?!” he asked, sitting up, and kissing her before she could even say
yes to him again. When he pulled away, her face was glowing with a newly
acquired peace that was put there by him and only him.

“And through the years,
Through the good or lean years,
And for all those in-between years,
For all those years,
Come what may.
Who knows where the road will lead us,
Only a fool would say.
But if you’ll let me love you,
It’s for sure I’m gonna love you,
All the way.
All the way.”

“I do love you,” Jax. “I love you so much I feel dizzy. I can’ think
straight, I can’t see straight, all I know is that I want to marry you, and I want
to love you forever. If you still want me.”
“Of course I still want you,” Jax said, kissing her again. “God, I love you,
woman. Know that, all right?” Brenda nodded, pulling him to her again.
“I don’t want to let you go,” Brenda said, snuggling against him. “Ever.”
“I’ll be back by noon tomorrow,” Jax said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able
to get in here again, but I’ll try to get a message to you, or I don’t know,
maybe they’ll let me call you. But now, I have to go, because the guard will be
here any moment.” Jax rushed out, kissing Brenda again, just before he left.

“Taller than the tallest tree is,
That’s how it’s got to feel.
Deeper than the deep, blue sea is,
That’s how deep it goes, if it’s real.
And when somebody needs you,
When somebody,
It’s no good unless she needs you,
All the way.
Through the good or lean years,
And for all those in between years,
Come what may.
Who knows where the road will lead us,
Only a fool would say.
But if you let me love you,
It’s for sure, I’m gonna love you,
All the way.
All the way.
I’m gonna love you all the way.”

It didn’t even occur to Brenda that she hadn’t told him about the baby,
until he had left the room. She didn’t want to risk calling after him in case the
guard was on his way. Brenda sat back and relaxed in the bed, savoring the
fact that she was with child, and that for now, it was her secret to keep. She
also had the man of her dreams, the man she loved so much it sometimes
hurt, the man she never could and never would be without.

Song credits : "The Power of Love" and "All the Way" by Celine Dion, from her album "All The Way: A Decade of Song."