The Ties that Bind

Chapter 23

Brenda grinned as she hung up her cell phone and started her car.  She was on her way to see Jax a little over a week after she had decided to go ahead with the divorce from Sonny.  Today, she knew Jax had asked Sonny to meet him so that they would discuss what would be done with the file folder Jax had.  Either it would be destroyed and Sonny would give Brenda a divorce, free and clear, or Jax would turn it over to the police immediately, in which case, Brenda would file for divorce anyway. 

As she drove towards Jax's mansion that Saturday afternoon, she thought about the conversation she'd just had with Lois.  Her friend had a surprise for both of them, Jax included.  She wouldn't say what it was, only that she and Ned would be over at Jax's house later on that night to see them.  She hadn't seen Lois since they had returned from New York weeks before, but she knew Ned had and he had been updating her on what Lois was doing.

The driveway was empty when Brenda pulled up to Jax's house.  The tire tracks in the fresh snow on the driveway had become covered, indicating Jax had been gone for quite sometime.  She used the key she had to his front door and let herself in out of the cold.  His being gone would give her a chance to start working on the surprise she had for him.

Jax returned home at four-thirty from his meeting with Sonny.  He was glad to see Brenda's car already in the driveway, meaning he could share his news immediately.  From the looks of it, he noticed, she had been there for quite some time.  He jogged up the front steps and opened the door.  He was surprised at what he found.

His front foyer had been turned into a Christmas wonderland.  Garland and decorations adorned the staircase.  Dark green and burgundy ribbon was everywhere, accenting the evergreen garlands.  Gold lights sparkled from within the decorations.  In utter amazement, Jax turned to go into his living room, where he heard the sounds of someone moving within.  He leaned against the doorway as he found Brenda, oblivious to the fact that he was there.

She was standing on a stepladder and reaching to put an ornament high up on the eight-foot tree in the great room.  The room, like the foyer, was decorated.  He grinned and watched her for a few minutes longer without her knowing he was behind her.  As he was walking towards the tree, he saw her stand just a little too high on her tiptoes to reach a spot on the tree and she lost her balance.  He rushed to catch her before she fell.

"Jax!" Brenda exclaimed happily from his arms.  He'd caught her perfectly as she fell.  She wriggled from his grasp and stood in front of him.  "I didn't realize you were home!"

"Brenda, you could have hurt yourself," he admonished lightly.

She stood on her toes to kiss his lips.  "Yes, but that's why you're here."

"And you were lucky I was."

"I always am," she teased.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again, this time with more passion than before.  When she pulled back, she asked breathlessly, "So, what do you think?"

"I think I enjoyed that," he murmured as he lowered his lips to hers again.

After a few blissful moments, Brenda pulled away laughing.  "I meant about the house, Jax!  What do you think of the house?"

"It's wonderful, sweetie.  I'm just wondering how you got it all done in one day."

"I work quickly when I'm excited."

"I do know that," he said softly, grinning. 

Brenda swatted his chest lightly and stepped back up onto the ladder to finish hanging the ornament she had been trying to reach when she fell off the ladder.  Jax stopped her, though, taking it from her and hanging it himself.

When they stepped back again to admire all the work she had done, Jax wrapped his arm around her waist and held her from behind as she leaned against him.  Suddenly, Brenda turned in his arms.  "Jax, I can't believe I almost forgot!  How did your meeting with Sonny go?  Will he give me the divorce?"

He smiled at her enthusiasm.  "I think it is safe to say that in six months, you will no longer be Sonny's wife.  He was more than willing to sign the papers I delivered to him once he saw the file folder."

"Oh, Jax!" Brenda exclaimed, kissing him excitedly.  "You're serious, right?!"  She didn't wait for his response before kissing him again.

Her jubilation warmed Jax's heart all over again, but he had to pull back to ask her, "Brenda, are you sure you're okay with not going to the police about it?"

She nodded slowly.  "Yes, I am.  If we went to the police, we would just have to get involved in the whole mess.  My divorce would take longer, and all that stuff about Miranda would come out, too.  We don't need that.  We don't need any of it."  She smiled up at him again.  "All I need is you," she whispered before kissing him again and again, the passion between them mounting with each passing minute.

Just as they were moving toward the couch on the side of the room, Brenda stopped.  She heard the clock in the hallway chiming the time and stopped Jax's advances.  "Honey, wait."

Jax groaned softly.  "Why?"

"Because it's five o'clock."

"So?"

"So, I didn't get a chance to tell you that Lois and Ned will be here in an hour.  We're having dinner with them tonight.  Something about some big news from Lois, but I think Ned is involved, too."

"Ned didn't mention anything to me when I saw him," Jax mumbled as he began to kiss Brenda's neck, trailing a line toward her jaw.

She leaned her head to the side and smiled with him.  "Jax," she warned him lightly.

"We still have an hour, you said," he whispered, not stopping.

"Yes, but I have to take a shower and get dressed, and so do you, you know."  She placed her hands gently on his chest and pushed him away.  She started to walk towards the steps to go upstairs, but Jax grabbed her hand and held her back.  "Jax," she said exasperated, but laughing.  "Come on!"

"I was just thinking, though," he insisted.  "If you have to take a shower and you say I do, too…" he trailed the sentence off suggestively, raising his eyebrows at her.  He didn't give her a chance to answer his suggestions before he pulled her into his arms, lifted her up, and began to carry her upstairs.  As he walked, he captured her lips with his and kissed her senseless.

Jax only stopped to put Brenda down once they reached the bathroom in his bedroom.  Never once did he relinquish his hold on her lips, though, as he unbuttoned her blouse and slid her clothing from her.  By the time he was done, she had given in to him and was doing the same to him, laughing against him.  He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, carrying her into the shower with him.  The water ran warm against their bodies as he turned it on.

Brenda wrapped her legs around Jax's waist, pressing herself even closer against him.  His knees almost buckled with the force of her passion and he pressed her up against the wall for support.  His hands tangled into her wet hair as she tangled her tongue with his.  She arched against him and began a motion that took them to oblivion and beyond.

Afterwards, Jax had dressed quickly in dark brown pants and a crème colored silk shirt.  Brenda was still getting dressed as he went downstairs to wait for Ned and Lois to show up.  He gazed about the foyer again and was still amazed at the amount Brenda had been able to accomplish.  At almost exactly six o'clock, he saw a pair of headlights swoop into his driveway and went to the front door to wait for Ned and Lois to come up the front walkway.  He had turned on the outside lights when he came down so he could see them clearly as they got out of Ned's Mercedes and started toward the house.

For the second time that day, Jax was given a surprise.  Halfway to the house, Ned and Lois stopped and turned to each other.  Ned took her hands with his and then wrapped his arms around her waist.  Lois stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips.  Jax just watched in amazement from behind the window.  Suddenly, he felt like he was spying on them and he walked away from the window.

Before Ned and Lois reached the front door, Jax felt Brenda come up behind him and sliding her arms around his waist, pressed her cheek close to his back and gave him a hug.  He placed his hands over hers, linking their fingers where they were around him.  He didn't know whether he should tell Brenda about what he'd seen or not.  Maybe it was the surprise or maybe Ned and Lois just didn't want anyone to know yet.  Just then, the doorbell rang and stopped him from telling her either way.  Brenda didn't move as Jax turned and started to walk to the door to open it for them.  She continued to walk behind him, her hands in his.  Jax laughed as he opened the door for their friends.

Ned and Lois were standing close together and laughing at something one of them had said when they saw Jax standing in the doorway.  "Hello, Jax," Lois said, stepping forward and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Brenda stood on her toes and looked over Jax's shoulder, smiling.  "Hi, Lois, Ned," she said.  She finally let go of Jax and walked around him to give Lois a hug.  She kissed Ned on the cheek as well and then they stood back to allow them into the house.  "So what's the big surprise?" Brenda asked almost as soon as they were in the door.

"Brenda!" Lois exclaimed, laughing.  "Give it a chance!"

Jax led the way into the newly decorated living room and offered to pour drinks for everyone.  Ned and Lois admired Brenda's decorating for a few minutes before sitting next to each other the black leather couch.  Jax was noticing how they were never far from each other for very long.  It reminded him of Brenda and himself in New York just a few weeks ago.  He wondered how they could have missed what was going on in front of them.  He shook his head at himself, smiling, and then turned to give Lois and Ned their drinks.  When he sat down in the leather chair next to the couch, Brenda sat next to him on the arm of the chair.  He rested his hand on her thigh as they sat.

"Can't you give me a hint?" Brenda was pleading with Lois.

Lois leaned over and whispered something to Ned, smiling secretively.  He shook his head and Lois turned back to Brenda.  "Okay, I'll give you one right now since there are actually two surprises we want to tell you about.  The first is that I have decided to move back here to Port Charles, instead of basing my company out of New York City and living there."

"Really?" Brenda said excitedly.  She put her drink down and jumped up to give Lois a quick hug.  "I'm so excited, Lois.  But are you sure you can do that?  What about the connections you have from being in New York?"

"I've thought about that and I decided that they'll still be there if I move here."

"So, how did you decide this?" Jax asked.  He shot a plaintive look at Ned and he could have sworn he saw his friend blush slightly.  He had noticed Lois careful use of the word 'we,' but he was sure Brenda hadn't caught it.

"It's just something I've been thinking about a lot lately and I finally decided to do it about a week ago."

"That's what you called me about, isn't it?" Brenda said suddenly.  "I tried to call you back, but I couldn't get a hold of you, I remember."

The two of them started off into a tangent on their own, extolling the virtues of Lois coming back to town.  Ned and Jax sat quietly, occasionally sharing a meaningful glance or two as the two women chattered on.  Jax looked at his watch and noticed the time a little while later while they were still talking.  He cleared his throat to get their attention.  "Ladies, if you don't mind," he said in a teasing voice.  "I think we better get to dinner.  Bren, Lois can tell you her other surprise once we're there, right Lois?"

They agreed and went to get their coats.  They decided to take two cars, Ned's Mercedes and Jax's Jag.  Jax and Brenda followed the other two as they headed for the PC Grille in the hotel.  While in the car, Jax decided not to tell Brenda what he had seen on the front porch.

"Sweetie?" Brenda said after a few minutes.  She put her hand on his knee as he drove.

Jax glanced at her and smiled.  "What?"

"Is something wrong?  You've been a little quiet since Lois and Ned came to the house."

He shook his head in response.  "No, nothing's wrong.  I was just thinking."

"Want to tell me what about?"

"Nothing important, really," he assured her.

She took his answer as satisfactory and began to tell him how excited she was that Lois was moving back to Port Charles.  They pulled into the hotel parking garage behind Ned's car and walked into the lobby.  As they waited for their table to become available, they went into the bar for a drink.  Again, Jax noticed how close Lois and Ned seemed to be, but they also looked like they were holding something back.

When Lois and Brenda were seated at the bar on the stools and Ned and Jax stood behind them, Ned leaned down and whispered to Lois again.  She nodded and grinned, gazing up into his eyes.  Brenda glanced up at Jax and he could tell she was wondering what was going on.  He just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"There was something else we wanted to tell you," Lois began.  "I'm not just moving back here because of my business."

Brenda looked confused.  "Then why?"  Ned placed his hand on Lois's shoulder and she reached up to link their fingers together.  Realization dawned on Brenda's face at the gesture.  "Oh my God!" she exclaimed.  "You guys…you're…"

"Yes, Bren, we are," Lois confirmed for her.

Brenda jumped up to give Lois yet another hug and kissed Ned on the cheek.  "I'm so happy for you two!"

Jax grinned at Ned and reached over to pat him on the back.  He leaned down and gave Lois a kiss on the cheek, as well.  While he was bent down, he whispered, "You know, I wondered when you were going to tell us."

Lois's cheek reddened slightly and she grinned at him.  Their table was ready then and they sat down to dinner.  The conversation was dominated by Lois and Brenda, as always and it focused mainly on how everything had happened.  Lois told Brenda that it had just kind of happened with her and Ned, but Brenda wasn't happy enough with that explanation.  Instead, she wanted all the details, when the first kiss had been, when they'd realized what was happening.  Most of it had apparently come from when they were all in New York together.  Seeing Jax and Brenda get together again had made them realize something was going on with themselves and they had finally decided to act on it.

While the women talked, Ned asked Jax about his meeting with Sonny and what had come of it.  Jax had told him the day before what was happening.  Jax told him what had happened and what Brenda had decided to do as a result.  "And she doesn't have a problem with that?" Ned asked quietly.

"She told me she didn't, which suits me just fine."  He smiled.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"Enjoy being very happy with the woman I love," Jax responded.  Brenda had apparently heard him and she reached over and took his hand in hers.  He laced their fingers together and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

The rest of dinner was filled with plans for the holidays and plans for Lois's move back.  Brenda was promising to help her move so that she could be back before Christmas if she wanted to be.

After making plans for the following week, the two couples parted ways at the hotel.  Jax and Brenda returned to his house.  It was still early as they entered the house and went into the living room.  Brenda put on a CD of instrumental Christmas music to play softly in the background.  She turned off all the lights in the room except those on the magnificent tree.  The white lights sparkled among the green tree branches.

Jax sat lengthwise on the leather couch and leaned his back against the arm.  Brenda poured them both a glass of white wine and then settled into the space between his legs.  He brought his knees up and she rested her hands lightly on his thighs.  Her head lay directly above his heart as she leaned against him.

For the longest time, they sat quietly in the dark room, each lost in their own thoughts.  Brenda sighed contentedly, reveling in the feel of Jax's arms around her.  Jax was thinking about how much he wanted to be able to do this any day of the week with her.  He didn't want to be without her any longer than he had to be.

"Move in with me," he whispered next to her ear.

Brenda was surprised.  She turned and leaned against his arm to face him.  "Jax," she said softly.  "Are you serious?  You want me to move in with you?"

"Yes."

"Sweetie," she said after a few moments.  "We can't, not yet."

"Why not, Bren?  Think about it.  You're getting a divorce from Sonny, he signed the papers today.  That means you no longer have to live in his house.  And if you think about it, I'm sure you'll realize that you know you don't want to live with him anymore."

"I know that's true.  But, Jax, I can't just move in with you this quickly."

"Why not?  Give me one good reason."

"Well, Robin, for one.  She lives in my house because I told her she could.  If I move out, where does that leave her?"

"She can live here, there's more than enough room," he answered immediately.  "I said a good reason, Bren."

She was silent for a long time.

"Can't think of one, can you?" he teased gently, smiling.

She turned over in his arms after placing her glass of wine down on the table beside the couch.  She lay so that her face was just inches from his.  "When you put it that way, no, I guess I can't."

"Does that mean you'll move in with me?" he asked one last time.

"Tomorrow if you want," she breathed as she closed the distance between their lips and kissed him deeply.  In the midst of the kiss, she reached for his glass of wine to put it next to hers.

Jax wrapped his arms around her tightly and straightened his legs so that she lay completely on top of him.  Before long, their passion had swallowed them so completely that they didn't even try to make it to the bedroom.

Brenda lay in Jax's arms in the dark and now silent room.  Her hand rested on his naked chest, feeling his heart beat begin to return to normal.  His chest rose and fell in even intervals as he slept peacefully beside her on the couch.  She drew a blanket up around them, kissed him lightly on the lips, and lay her head on his chest before drifting to sleep herself.

Brenda began to move into Jax's house the very next day.  Surprisingly, Robin had taken her news of her move pretty well and she didn't have a problem with it.  Sonny wasn't even in the house for her to have to deal with as she packed her belongings.  Robin declined her offer to live in Jax's house, though.  She had decided to get an apartment with one of her other friends and really begin to live on her own.  But they promised to be a part of each other's lives still.

By Monday evening, after Brenda had taken the day off from work to do it, she was completely moved into Jax's house.  He had cleared half of the closet in his bedroom for her and she occupied as much space as he did now.  She was waiting when Jax came home from the office that evening.  He was late and he'd called her to tell her he would be.  One of his business deals had turned sour in the last week and he was there late to get it straightened out.  Ned had stayed with him as they worked together.

Jax threw his keys on the table next to the door and dropped his briefcase on his desk in his downstairs office.  He had no intention of working for the night and he knew if he left his case downstairs, he wouldn't go to get it later on.  The light was on in the kitchen and he went towards it, loosening his tie and turning up his sleeve cuffs on the way.  "Brenda?" he called out, making sure she was in the kitchen.

Brenda came to the doorway, wiping her hands on a dish towel.  She grinned at him as he approached and when he stood before her, she kissed him hello.  "Hi you," she said.  "I was just fixing dinner."

"Should I be worried?" he teased.

She laughed.  "Nope, not a bit.  I didn't cook it, I ordered it.  Your favorite from The Outback."  She finished putting the food on the plates and put the plates on the table in the dining room.  White candles were lit and a vase of flowers was on the table.

Jax sank into his seat as Brenda poured a glass of wine for him.  He sipped it gratefully.  "This looks great.  I could get used to it."

"I wouldn't if I were you," she replied.

"And why not?" he asked, taking a bite of the steak she had gotten.

"Because I work, too, or have you forgotten?" she teased, knowing he hadn't.  "I think it might just be time for you to replace Mrs. Whitter, Jax."

"I was thinking that yesterday, actually."  He continued to eat his meal.  "I'll see what I can do to have a replacement by the end of the week.  Unless you want to do it," he offered.

"No, that's okay, really," she smiled.  She was sitting next to him and under the table, she put her leg up over his knee just so that she could be touching him in some way.  He reached his left hand under the table to squeeze her leg once and then finished eating.

"So guess what?" Brenda said a few minutes later as they were relaxing at the table.

"What?" he responded automatically.  He had her hand in his, playing abstractly with their fingers.

"I'm officially moved into this house."

Jax grinned.  "That's great!"  He didn't say anything for a few minutes.  "Did Sonny give you any problems moving out today?  I know I wasn't there to help you like I did yesterday."

She shook her head.  "He wasn't even there.  I think Robin said he went out of town over the weekend and won't be back for awhile.  Everything was fine."

"Good.  So, when are you going to go to work on this house?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, I know you have some ideas for decorating it.  I know you don't want to look at Miranda's taste for the rest of your life, so when are you going to do it?"

The rest of her life.  It sounded so right when he said it, she thought.  And so natural, too.  She smiled again at him, loving him more and more each minute.  "I do have some ideas," she said.  "We'll see what happens."

Later in the evening, Brenda sat between Jax's legs in front of a fire in the living room.  She was flipping through the television channels idly while he played with her hair, running it slowly through his fingers.  She settled on a law drama and he stopped his fingers.  He removed his hands and placed them on her knees which were drawn up to her chest.  She put her hands over his and entwined their fingers together, leaning back against his chest.  His thumbs moved slightly across her knees in a slow, steady rhythm. 

Jax shifted them to lay further down on the couch so that he could rest his head against the pillow that was up against the arm.  He wasn't paying attention to the television, lost instead in his own thoughts about work and then about Brenda.  He closed his eyes for a moment and before he realized it, he had dozed off.  Brenda felt his hands stop moving and she turned her head slightly to see his face.  She wasn't surprised to find him asleep behind her, having seen the tired look in his eyes at dinner.  She turned the volume down on the television set.

Looking out the window, she could see that it was starting to snow outside.  The fast flurries seemed to be gathering quickly and the driveway was covered in a light dust in no time.  There were only two weeks until Christmas now.  She knew she would be spending the holiday with Jax, but she didn't know what they would be doing yet.  They hadn't really had the chance to talk about it in the last few days.  She kind of hoped they would be going to visit his family, but she figured they wouldn't be.  Jax hadn't been on the best of terms with his family in years, though they did spend some holidays together.  Besides, she got the feeling he wanted to spend this one just with her.  She didn't disagree.

She'd already decided what she would be getting him for Christmas, but she hadn't actually bought it yet for him.  She'd been waiting to see where they would spend the day so that she would know when she had to give it to him. 

Brenda looked out the window again and was almost shocked to see how quickly the snow really was gathering outside.  It looked like there was ice mixing in with the snow and she wondered how bad of a storm they were getting.  She flipped the channel to the local weather station and saw the winter storm advisory.  They were expecting a total of anywhere from eight to twelve inches of snow with an ice base by the morning.  The ice that was falling now would make the roads slick and then when it all changed to snow in awhile, they would get a tremendous amount of it.  The weatherman was advising everyone to stay inside at all costs.

She snuggled deeper into Jax's embrace and pulled a blanket over their legs.  Jax responded by wrapping his arms more tightly around her, but he kept his hands in hers, his grip loose.  The law show turned into the local news at eleven o'clock.  They had the same things to say about the weather along with some disinteresting things about the national state of affairs.  Brenda made a face and turned off the television.  She watched as the fire began to die down in the fireplace.  She was perfectly content to stay in the arms of the man she loved, in her new home, for as long as she possibly could.

When the fire died out and nothing was left but glowing orange embers, Brenda woke Jax gently to get him up to bed.  He woke as soon as she pulled her hands from his to turn around and face him.

"I fell asleep?" he asked, startled.

She nodded, smiling softly.  "Yeah, for a little while."

He stood up as she went over to put out the fire completely.  He looked out the window, surprised to see the amount of snow on the ground in the light from the house.  "Bren, have you seen this?  It looks pretty serious."  He gestured toward the window as he lifted his arms behind him to stretch his muscles out.

She explained what the weathermen had been saying and told him just how serious it might become.  When the last ember was black, she stood up again and went over to him.  He wrapped his arms around her from behind as they walked upstairs.  As soon as he had shed his clothes and put on his silk pajama bottoms, he lay on the bed, fully intending to wait for her before he went to sleep. 

Brenda was in the bathroom getting dressed in her blue silk pajamas.  As she brushed her glossy brown hair, she noticed the glimmer off her wedding ring.  She still wore it even when there had been no love lost between Sonny and herself.  It helped keep up the pretense of a successful marriage whenever she was forced to attend anything with Sonny. 

Now, she lowered her hand and put down the hairbrush.  She held her left hand out in front of her, looking at the way the gold behind her diamond ring sparkled.  Her engagement ring was nothing extraordinary, but it was still large enough to throw sparkles everywhere when she moved her hand.  Slowly, she moved her right hand and covered the rings with her first finger and thumb, easing them off her ring finger.  There was a slightly pale line where the rings had been, since she had never taken them off once she'd been married.  She held the rings up to the light, realizing she held four years of her life in her hands.  Four years that, in the end, had brought her back to where she was before.  In love with Jax.

She smiled softly at the reflection in the mirror and put the rings down.  She opened her jewelry box on the vanity and placed them in under the tray.  She wasn't keeping them for any sentimental reason except to remind herself where she was and where she belonged. 

Brenda came back into the bedroom, not surprised to find Jax already asleep with one hand on her side of the bed.  She climbed into bed beside him, lifting his arm over her.  She threaded her left hand through his, lingering on his own ring finger that hadn't held his wedding band in over two years.  She turned to kiss him softly on the lips and was asleep in his arms in moments.

Brenda was awake early the next morning.  The light hadn't even begun to dawn outside yet when she extracted herself fro Jax's embrace and went to look outside.  The weathermen had been right, more than right, for once.  A fresh covering of what she guessed to be about twelve inches of snow had fallen with more still coming down in quick flurries.  She left the bedroom silently while Jax still slept peacefully.  Downstairs, she turned on the early news to find that schools and businesses had shut down for the day.  The county police department had issued a level three snow emergency and ordered everyone to stay off the roads.  She flicked off the television and went back upstairs.  Before she lay down again, she turned off Jax's alarm clock so that he would sleep in for the first time in a few weeks at least.

She was not asleep two hours later when Jax awoke.  She lay in his arms, enjoying the feel of his embrace and watching him sleep. 

Jax opened his eyes and smiled when he saw her.  Suddenly, his mind seemed to kick into gear and he sat up straight, glancing at the clock in a panic.  "Brenda, why didn't you wake me up?"  He was about to jump out of bed when she stopped him by taking hold of his hand.

"Because you're not going to in to work today, sweetie."

Jax groaned in slight frustration.  "Brenda, I have to go to work, you know that!"

"Not today, you don't." 

She kept a firm grip on his hand, preventing him from going anywhere.  In a controlled voice, he said, "Brenda, I have a deal that is falling apart as we speak.  I have to go to work."

"Jax," she responded in an equal tone, teasing him slightly, "you can't go in to work if the county sheriff's department says you can't."

He was about to argue with her again when her words sunk in.  He shook his head in confusion.  "What are you talking about?"

"Take a look outside, honey.  There is a foot of snow and ice out there and more is adding to it as we speak.  I already checked, there is a snow emergency in effect.  Neither of us is going anywhere for a long time.  Now, I would suggest, since I can still see how tired you look, that you lay back down and go back to sleep."  Her voice was light, but her last words were firm.

Realization finally hit Jax and he smiled for the first time since he'd woken up.  "You knew this and must have turned off my alarm, right?"  She nodded in response.  He did as she had told him then and lay down, taking her with him, and effectively trapping her under his arms.  He smiled tiredly at her and took her hand in his.  He glanced down when he felt something different.  "Your rings," he said in more of a question than a statement.

She nodded.  "I took them off last night."

"Have I told you recently how much I am in love with you?" he asked right before he closed his eyes again, sighing softly as he relaxed to sleep again.

Several hours later, when the snow emergency had been downgraded to a level one, Jax insisted to Brenda that he had somewhere to go.

"Jax, come on," she protested.  "Where could you possibly have to go?  Nowhere is open and if you go into your office, I will kill you."  She was laughing as she threatened him.

He was already pulling on his black leather coat over his jeans and gray sweater.  He didn't want to tell her where he was going.  But he did reassure her, "I'm not going in to my office.  And trust me, the place I am going is open."  He had already called to make sure it would be.

"Well, just be very careful," she warned him once she realized she couldn't stop him.

He kissed her full on the lips before he put his hand on the door and turned it to open it.  "Yes, Mom," he teased.  He got into his dark green Jeep Cherokee and left the house.

All day, Jax and Brenda had done basically nothing.  They had watched a movie together and finished decorating the house, putting little touches of Christmas everywhere.  They enjoyed the day they had together and Jax had promised not to work for the day, much to his objection, and which led to Brenda's idle threat.

Throughout the day, Jax had been feeling tremendously strong urges to just take her into his arms and show her exactly how much he loved her.  He wanted to be with her every minute.  He already thought about her every minute, at least once.  As the day had worn on, he had decided to act on his feelings before he lost another moment.  It was the reason he was now driving very carefully on the roads of Port Charles.

Brenda worried constantly as soon as Jax left, but she resisted her every urge to call his cell phone.  She knew that the slightest distraction on dangerous roads could lead to serious consequences.  She didn't know where he was, so she only prayed he'd made it there safely.  She was never so glad to see his headlights reappear in the driveway close to two and a half hours later.

She flew to the door the instant it opened and flung her arms around Jax's neck.  "Whoa!" Jax laughed as he braced himself against the door when the force of her hug nearly knocked him off balance.  "You missed me that much, huh?"

She shook her head violently against his shoulder before raising her head to look at him.  "Jasper Jacks, how dare you scare me like that?  What were you thinking?  What could possibly been so important that you had to risk your life to go out there?"  In all her questions, she hadn't backed away from him one inch.  She didn't want to let go until her heart had slowed enough to reassure herself.

Jax realized just how much he had scared her and knew that if he didn't tell her right away, he would regret it.  He reached into his jacket pocket.  "Well, it wasn't exactly the way I wanted to do this, but I'll do it now anyway."  He met her eyes and smiled tenderly down at her.  He turned his hand over and revealed the velvet black box in his palm.

Brenda's eyes grew wide in astonishment.  "Is that what I think it is?"

He nodded and moved his other hand from her waist to open the box slowly.  Inside rested a beautiful diamond ring.  The emerald-cut gem sparkled in the platinum setting.  There were two sapphires on either side of the diamond.  He lifted the ring from it's velvet nest.  Taking her left hand in his, he stopped the ring just as he placed on her finger so that she just barely touched it.  Brenda's eyes never left the ring.

"Brenda, in the last few weeks, I have come to realize just exactly how much you mean to me and how much I cannot go another day without you by my side.  We have come through a lot together and the fact that you are still here with me says so much about us.  Sweetie, I love you, with all my heart.  I always have, I always will.  Will you do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife?"

Chapter 24