"Hanging On"

Chapter 12

Brenda awoke earlier than Jax the next morning. She got showered and dressed quickly and then began to pack. She was almost finished when Jax began to stir.

"Good Morning, honey," Brenda said.

Jax groaned at the thought of it being morning already. "You sound chipper this morning. Why are you in such a good mood?"

"I'm not telling."

"Brenda, not this again." He sighed and shifted into a sitting position. He was surprised to realize he barely even hurt anymore when he did it.

"It's a surprise and you'll find out soon enough." She went back to packing, but much more quietly so he wouldn't catch on.

Jax stood up and grabbed his crutches. He went into the bathroom to begin to get ready. Eventually, Brenda heard him call her name. She went to see what was wrong.

"Nothing's wrong. I just want to do something and I think I'll need help doing it."

"And what would that be?" She helped him sit on the edge of the tub.

"More than anything I'd like to take a shower, but since I can't do that, I suppose a bath will suffice."

Somehow she'd known that was what he was going to ask. She knew the most important thing would be for him to keep his cast out of the water and she tried to remember what Joe had told her. Helping him off with his shirt, she had him stand briefly to make the next part easier. He hadn't been able to do it the last time and it had taken her almost fifteen minutes to take his sweatpants off. Once they had that accomplished, she helped him get into the bathtub. He propped his leg up on the edge of the wall and she went to get something to cover his cast.

When they were finally ready, Brenda turned the water on and let it begin to fill the tub. She turned it off before it went higher than the part of Jax's cast that she had tried to waterproof. The entire time he had been lying against the back edge with his eyes closed. Brenda began to bathe his chest and body. She figured the easiest way to wash his hair would be with a removable shower head that they had.

Almost forty-five minutes later, they were done. She drained the water and made sure it was dry before she let Jax put his leg down. She got in front of him and gave him the same leverage as she had when he had fallen and he was soon standing on his feet.

"You know, Brenda, if I have to stay in that position every time for the next five weeks, I may go insane. That has got to be one of the most uncomfortable ways to do that." And one of the most painful, he thought with a sharp breath. What he had thought was going to be a day free of pain from his ribs, had quickly disappeared. Keeping his leg up like that had created a pain he hadn't felt in over two days. But surprisingly enough, it seemed to be only momentary. He was soon breathing normal again.

Brenda helped him get dressed and he went into the bedroom again. He had just settled against the headboard when Brenda came back out. She threw the rest of the things they would need into a bag and zipped it. She hadn't counted on the diversion and now they would be late, but she decided that was okay. It wasn't like they were in a rush.

Jax heard a bag zip and turned in its direction. "What was that?"

"Nothing, Jax." She picked up their two bags and went to put them by the door. When she returned, she went to the bedside. "Okay, time to move."

Jax was surprised. She never told him to move, she was always telling him to stay still. He did as he was told figuring this wasn't going to last. When he made it out into the living room, he moved for the couch to sit down.

"Nope, Jax, come on. We're leaving."

He stopped. "Where are we going?"

"You'll find out when we get there. Now come on." Brenda grabbed her leather coat and took his from the closet, as well. He came to the door and she took one of his crutches from him, handing him his coat instead. He looked genuinely shocked that they were going somewhere that would involve wearing this heavy of a coat. He put it on slowly and she gave him back his crutch. She picked up his dark glasses from the desk and slid them on his face.

Picking up the bags, she opened the door and waited for him to get through. She carefully locked the door and pressed the elevator button.

Ten minutes later, they were in the car and heading to their next stop. Brenda had called for the limousine today, figuring it would be best to stay with Jax. She wanted to keep an eye on him and so far he seemed fine. Confused, but fine.

Eventually, they made it to their stop and Brenda led Jax carefully onto their next vehicle. When she settled him in his seat and buckled his seatbelt, he knew where they were. "Brenda, where are we going? And why do we have to fly there?"

"So, you figured out some of it, huh?" She grinned. She was enjoying her surprise so far. "Just sit back and relax, we'll be there soon enough."

Six hours later, Jax was getting tired of the game. They were still in the air, but he was beginning to feel a descent in the plane's altitude.

"We're about to land, aren't we?"

"Yes, now will you stop asking questions?"

"No." He smiled briefly at her. He had no idea where they were.

Once the plane was on the ground, he reached for his jacket that he knew Brenda had put nearby.

"You won't be needing that, Jax."

"Oh, I won't, huh? Is it that warm where we are?"

Instead of answering, she helped him up and led him off the plane. Immediately upon entering the terminal, he felt that it was warmer here, he could tell by the fact that the air conditioning was on. It was winter, but wherever they were, they needed air conditioning.

They got into another limousine and proceeded to their final destination. Finally pulling up in front of the house, Brenda helped Jax get out of the car before she turned to tip the driver. He took a deep breath and knew immediately where they were.

Brenda recognized that he knew the instant the look came over his face. He smiled and listened to the sound of the ocean crashing behind the house.

"You brought me here to heal, now I'm bringing you." With that, she led him inside the Malibu beach house.

Things really weren't all that different in Malibu than in Port Charles. Jax would sit outside on the deck instead of on a couch. Instead of listening to music, he listened to every ocean sound around him.

Brenda had taken him, two days after they had arrived, to get his stitches removed from above his eye at a local hospital. They checked him out otherwise and proclaimed he was healing well.

She occupied her time with Jax and while he did what he did, she would swim or read. At night, they would sleep in a downstairs room so he didn't have to go up and down the steps all the time.

After only a few days, Brenda could tell Jax was more relaxed and in a better mood. He never complained and he claimed he wasn't even sore anymore.

The only problem was that he still couldn't see and nothing was coming to him. He would sit outside, wearing his dark glasses, just hoping for a small glimpse of something, anything. But nothing ever happened. He never said anything to Brenda, but he was disappointed. He wasn't ready to accept the fact that this would go on any longer, he couldn't accept that. He was going to see the day Brenda walked down the aisle to become his wife, and he did mean see.

Brenda had gone down to the beach for a short walk while Jax napped on the deck. She came back up the steps and saw Jax was beginning to wake up. She didn't make a sound as she walked toward him.

When she was halfway around the pool, he turned his head to look at her. He still had his dark glasses on. "Brenda?" He turned his head the other direction. She took a deep breath. For a moment, she thought he had been seeing her.

"I'm right here, Jax." She went to sit with him and they watched and listened to the ocean together for awhile.

Jax had been listening intently to a bird calling over the water. He would hear it call and then in far off distance, he would hear another call, just like the first. The sun was just beginning to set and it was bright across the sky from them, but he didn't know that. He closed his eyes and sighed. He remained like that for several minutes, and Brenda almost thought he'd gone to sleep.

When he opened his eyes, he still saw darkness. He was getting so frustrated with this. Then, as Brenda was about to get up to get them some dinner, Jax grabbed her hand. His voice was excited as he whispered, "Brenda!"

She sat back down and looked at him. His eyes were round and she wondered what he had heard. "What, Jax?"

"Brenda! Do you see it?"