Brenda stepped into the shower, dropped her head on the wall and sighed. The head of the pulsating water felt so good she could have wept. In the harsh light of the morning all her bruises from the accident the day before were starting to show and her hip was throbbing. She had hit her bed earlier in the morning and slept dreamlessly through the night. No nightmares from memories she barely remembered, no worries about getting to the Cerullo�s early, she glanced down at her watch. It was already 10:00 AM after all.

�You know Brenda, this is nice. Be happy, you have a new apartment, enough money that you wouldn�t have to work�.�

Her conversation with herself trailed off and she started laughing. There was a call she had to make as soon as she got out of the shower. She reached out, flipped on the waterproof radio that was affixed to the wall outside the shower and started signing along.

***
Jax woke up with a headache. Although he didn�t know which hurt worse, his arm or his head, either way he closed his eyes again and wished for the blissful emptiness of sleep. He had stopped dreaming years before, he didn�t know why, couldn�t explain it to anyone, but he was certain that he hadn�t had a dream since Miranda. He shook his head and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the ottoman.

�Great Jax, just what you need, Miranda popping into your head. �

He stood up, gained his balance and took a deep breath.

�I�m sure Brenda won�t mind if you use the bathroom. �

With a groan he headed towards the bedroom hallway where he knew the bathroom was. His hand was on the bathroom door when he registered the sound of running water and, he tilted his head. If he wasn�t mistaken Brenda was belting out the lyrics to�he groaned oh man, she was listening to Duran Duran. He turned to head back down the hallway when she stepped out toweling her hair wearing a pink silk robe that didn�t leave much to the imagination.

�Oh, �

She seemed momentarily startled to see him.

�Morning. �

Brenda was not used to walking out of the bathroom to find a man standing in the hallway, especially not a man as good-looking as Jax. She pulled her flimsy robe closer around herself. He smiled slightly at the gesture.

�Sorry, I didn�t realize you were��

�No, it�s okay I was just finishing up. There are some clean towels in the closet in the bathroom. Your father thought of everything. In fact, the bathroom is bigger than the bedroom in my old apartment. I can�t wait to get into that tub and soak. I bet I could swing a lap in it. �

Jax chuckled at the sheer enthusiasm in her voice. When he groaned Brenda shook her head.

�Your arm must be hurting. Why don�t you go ahead and use the bathroom I�ll get breakfast ready. �

He raised an eyebrow before heading into the bathroom. Brenda Barrett was going to cook for him?

Brenda was humming as she cracked eggs into a mixing bowl. She would love Lois�s mother forever for teaching her how to cool. She was pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator when an idea struck her. She picked up the phone hurriedly and dialed Lois�s number.

�Lo, it�s Brenda. Not too hung over, although I think Jax is feeling it a little bit. Yes he�s here with me, no not in that context. Apparently there�s some big mystery surrounding me and he�s been designated as my watchdog. Well, you do have a point there. He is an interesting breed of watchdog. Anyway Lois, before he gets out of the shower. �

She laughed as she poured the eggs into an omelet pan.

�You are horrible. I just met the man and he�s also our boss, but that can be remedied. What am I doing? Why? Oh, I�m making omelets. Lois, come on give me a break. I have to feed him something. Okay, there�s a reason I�m calling. You, Chloe and I need to have a meeting. I�ve got an idea. How about we sneak away from dinner for a little while tonight and chat. Okay, yes we�ll be there. Bye Lois. �

�Well, that sounded interesting. �

Brenda jumped a mile high and spun around to see Jax towel drying his hair. The egg she was holding fell out of her hand and crashed to the floor. She just stared openly at the man in front of her wearing a towel low over his hips his skin damp from the shower, the first grin she had ever seen on his face.

�Oh my��

***
�So you can bury it right? �

Jake watched his wife and his son playing on the floor under the Christmas tree. They were in the process of putting together the sesame street train set that Jake�s parents had sent for him. He turned away as the irritation grew.

�What do you mean you can�t bury it? I made your career you idiot; if you don�t bury this I�ll bury you. Yes, this is a threat. You take care of those documents or you take care of Ms. Barrett or I�ll see that you wish you were never born. �

He clicked off the cell phone and turned around to find his wife looking at him.

�Is everything okay dear? �

Julia stood up, walked over and wrapped her arms around Jake�s waist. He hugged her against him and laughed while their son played with the train set.

�Everything will be just fine Julia. I�m taking care of all of it. �

He�d be damned if one man�s mistake would ruin his life. Brenda Barrett wouldn�t live to find out about her past if he had to kill her himself.