They had decided on a casual lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe' since they were all wearing jeans. They were seated at a table on the second floor near an overlook.

Jax was extremely happy to see a place to sit down once he took his time getting up the steps. Brenda had been right. He was in some serious pain and even he was beginning to think there was more to the bump on his foot than just a bruise. It hurt every time he put the slightest amount of weight on it or tried to move it in any way. He knew he should go to the hospital, but he didn't need or want Brenda and Lois making a fuss over him, like he knew they would if he said something.

Once they'd ordered their lunches, they got into a discussion over a recent political scandal. It always seemed that Jax and Brenda would take sides with each other against Ned and Lois. Ned noticed it and thought that it was another example of why they should be together. They continued to argue as they ate their lunches with the end coming when they agreed to disagree.

They were headed back down to the first floor on their way out when Jax stopped suddenly at the foot of the stairs with a gasp. His face was contorted in pain and he was muttering a few sharp words under his breath.

Brenda turned around, concerned, "Jax, are you okay?" She hadn't even put her plan to get him to the hospital into action yet. The pain on his face told her she may not have to. She went to grab his arm as he stood holding the banister with one hand and his foot with his other.

"Jax? What's wrong?" Lois was worried now. She'd never seen him look this desperate or in so much pain.

Jax took several deep breaths and nodded to Brenda, answering the unspoken question in her eyes. He'd had enough.

Brenda turned to Lois and asked her to call a cab while she and Ned helped Jax to the car. Ned put his arm around Jax's waist while Brenda still held his other hand. Forcing Jax to lean his weight into him, Ned helped him walk to the waiting cab. They moved slowly and painfully with each step.

Brenda tried to distract Jax's attention from the pain. "What made you change your mind about going, Jax?"

He was concentrating on keeping as much weight as possible off his injured foot. "Those steps. I was fine before them."

"Yeah, right, you were great. I'll bet it didn't hurt at all, huh?" Ned said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Jax gritted his teeth. "I would have been perfectly okay without those stairs," he said indignantly. "But coming down them, I felt something strain or crack and it hurt like hell."

They had reached the waiting car and Ned helped Jax get in. They headed for the hospital and reached it almost half an hour later because of the heavy traffic. Jax had leaned his head back against the headrest and had his eyes closed. He couldn't believe he was actually voluntarily going to the hospital. They pulled up out front and while Lois paid the driver, Brenda and Ned helped him out. Lois went ahead to get a nurse.

Finally, Jax was settled in an uncomfortable plastic chair filling out his paperwork. When his name was called thirty minutes later, Brenda stood up to help him. Jax stopped her and held up his hand, "Brenda, please, stay here with Lois." Lois was the only one who remained seated, knowing Jax wouldn't need her in there right now.

"No," Brenda said simply and moved toward him again.

Ned took hold of her hand and took her away a few feet. Jax watched as Brenda vehemently shook her head and then finally relented and nodded. Ned returned to his side a moment later while Brenda sat down next to Lois and let them go in alone.

They entered the examination room and Jax sat on the bed with Ned standing next to him. He swung his legs around and propped himself on his elbows. He looked at Ned and said, "I don't know what you told her, but thanks."

Ned shrugged and smiled, "Oh, I didn't say anything except that you probably didn't want her to see you cry from the pain."

Jax's mouth was open in shock. "You didn't! Ned-"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Jacks," the doctor entered the room just then. "So, why are we here?"

"You probably work here, but he's here because he's in pain." Ned hated that all-inclusive 'we' everyone seemed to use. Jax was the only patient, so there was no 'we' about it.

"I see." She turned to look at Jax. "Mr. Jacks, how can I help you?"

Jax sat up and began to untie his shoe. He stopped and swore softly when he accidentally pressed into his foot. The doctor pushed his hands aside and gently finished it for him. She began to ease his shoe off. Jax gripped the side of the table and bit his lip to keep from crying out. The shoe finally off, she reached for his sock and began again. Jax just closed his eyes.

Ned was shocked by what he saw when she took off his sock. "Jax, you were walking on that all morning?!" he exclaimed. "You must be insane. Or have a very high pain tolerance."

Jax opened his eyes to see what Ned was talking about. There was a large bump on the side of his foot near his ankle. It was a dark blue color and the bruise spread beyond the bump.

The doctor began her examination by lightly touching the center of the bruise. Jax took a sharp breath and his foot jerked involuntarily as the pain coursed through him. She continued to probe the area until he couldn't take it anymore.

"OK, while you do that, I'm just going to lay down here, all right?" The pain was making him light-headed and his head was beginning to swim. He was starting to wonder if Ned hadn't been right about what he'd told Brenda. He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. Taking slow, deep breaths, he tried desperately to think about something else.

"Jax, do you want me to leave?" Ned had been watching and thought maybe he wouldn't want him to see him like this. Jax shook his head quickly and bit down on his lip again.

The doctor finally stopped touching his foot. She looked at Jax after he'd taken a minute to recover and sit up. "We're going to have to get some x-rays, but my guess right now is that you have a small fracture in the bone." She took out her pen and flipped open his chart. "Why don't you tell me what you did to yourself?"

He told her about hitting his foot against the hall table and that he'd thought he was fine. And then he told her about the steps at the restaurant. When he was finished, she left to set up the x-ray. Jax glanced at his watch. They'd been there for an hour already.

"Ned, do me a favor? Go get Brenda and Lois. I'm sure they're bored out of their minds right about now." Ned nodded and left the room. Alone, Jax let out a sigh that reflected his pent-up pain and frustration. He lay back on the bed and pulled his right leg up to him, placing his hands beneath his head and closing his eyes again.

Brenda was the first to come back into the room and find him that way. She walked to the bed and looked at him. She almost thought he was asleep. She ran her fingers lightly through his hair, brushing it off his face. When her hand touched his under his head, he took hold of it and brought them both to a rest on his chest. He opened his eyes to see the concern in her eyes.

"Stop looking at me like I'm dying, Brenda," he smiled slightly. "It's only a broken bone. Last I heard, they weren't fatal."

Lois smiled and asked, "Do you know for sure if it's broken yet?" She saw the ugly blue knot on the top of his foot.

Jax shook his head and sat up. "Not yet, but that's what the doctor suspects."

Just then, the doctor returned to the room. A nurse followed with a wheelchair. "They're ready for you in x-ray, Mr. Jacks." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat down in the wheelchair. Brenda asked to go with him, but he quickly shook his head. The nurse took him down the hall and they took several x-rays of his ankle and foot.

Eventually, he returned to his room to find Ned and Lois sitting in the two chairs and Brenda on the bed, swinging her legs against the side. They all looked at him expectantly. He shrugged his shoulders and sat back down on the bed once Brenda vacated it.

They passed time idly trying to think of things to talk about. Twenty-five minutes later, the doctor came back carrying several x-ray films. She tacked them up to the light to show him what she was about to tell him. "Mr. Jacks, you didn't actually break the bone, which is good. There is a slight crack along one of the joints, which is probably what you felt on the stairs. It's a small stress fracture most likely caused from your walking on it today. Other than that, you did bruise the bone and break a few blood vessels along the side of your foot."

"How do you bruise a bone?" Brenda asked in a doubtful tone.

"Normally, it's caused by either twisting the foot further than its limits or, as Mr. Jacks did, by banging it into something hard or heavy. It doesn't break a bone or even crack it. What it does is bruise the muscle all the way to through to the bone and make it very sore and painful to walk on."

Jax nodded. "Which it definitely did. So what does this mean I have to do?"

"We're going to splint your foot, but not actually put a cast on it. The splint will immobilize your ankle, as well. You will have to stay off of it for at least a week, possibly more, depending on how quickly you heal." She took the splint from the counter in front of her and carefully, but firmly placed it around Jax's foot. She persisted through his sharp yelp and made sure he was watching her so he would know how to do it himself. When she was finished, she handed him a prescription for pain killers with a warning of their side effects, like a headache or slight nausea. She gave him a brief lesson on using the pair of crutches she gave him and with a few final instructions, released him to the care of his friends. A nurse returned with a wheelchair to take him to the front doors.

Three hours after leaving the restaurant, the four of them returned to the apartment. Brenda took his keys and opened the door, leading the way to the bedroom. For once, Jax didn't argue with her. He lay down on the bed and propped his head on the two pillows at the top while Brenda took the other two and put them under his foot. She could tell he was fighting exhaustion and pain, but told him to stay awake until Ned returned with his prescription. He did so only because she was talking to him loud enough to prevent otherwise. Mercifully, Ned came back within an hour and Jax took two pills before finally closing his eyes to sleep.

Brenda, Ned, and Lois stayed out in Jax's office for the rest of the afternoon. Ned made some phone calls while Brenda and Lois flipped through the channels on the television and talked.

Around five-thirty, Brenda went to Jax's room to check on him. He was still asleep from what she could tell. She watched him for a few minutes and just as she turned to leave the room, she heard him say her name.

"I'm right here, Jax," she said before she realized he was still asleep.

"Brenda, please," his soft voice was almost pleading with her. She wondered what he was dreaming about. "Brenda, stay with me," he continued to murmur. He moved his head from side to side as if he were shaking it no in response to something. "Not her, no. I don't love her. I never have." He shook his head again. "No, I never loved her. I love you." Brenda's mouth fell open in shock. Could this be? Was it a dream? Or was he trying to tell her this? "Brenda, I love you. I always have, I always will," he whispered. Brenda didn't know what to think, but it seemed to her that her wishes had been granted after all. But now what was she supposed to do?

Jax woke up feeling very light-headed. He'd been dreaming about something, but he couldn't remember it. All he knew was that he had been enjoying it. He sat up in the bed, but immediately lay back down, the color rushing out of his face. He put his head on his pillow and closed his eyes. Then, he heard the clock in the hall begin to chime. He turned his head slowly to look at the clock next to his bed. He couldn't believe it was reading seven o'clock already. As he lay there, he heard the door opening softly.

"Jax?" Lois called softly, not wanting to wake him if he was still asleep.

"I'm awake, Lois. I'm just not getting up for a minute."

She noticed the pale coloring to his face. Placing her hand gently against his forehead, she asked, "Why? What's wrong? You don't look well."

"Nothing, I just woke up and was dizzy when I tried to sit up."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Where are Ned and Brenda? Are they still here?"

"Ned is, Brenda left."

"Where'd she go? Home?"

"No, she went down to the store on the corner. Ned is fixing dinner and she went to get some food. She seemed awfully ready to leave, though. And she's been gone for a long time, too."

"Really? Was she upset about something?"

"If she was, she didn't tell me about it. But she was kind of quiet before she left. Are you going to get up and come out or should we bring dinner to you?" She was going to go help Ned in the kitchen if Jax didn't need her.

He tried to sit up again, only to lay back down and close his eyes once again. "I don't know. I'll let you know. Why don't you come back in a little while and we'll see?"

Lois nodded and closed the door as she left. She was headed to the kitchen when the front door opened and Brenda walked in.

Brenda saw where she'd come from and looked towards the closed door. "Is he awake yet?"

Lois nodded, "But he's not feeling well right now."

Brenda looked alarmed. "Is he all right? What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure, but he said he was feeling dizzy when he tried to get up. It's probably just a side effect of the pain killers he took earlier."

Brenda handed the grocery bags to Lois and went to check on Jax. She opened the door to find the lights off and Jax in the same place he had been when she'd left. It looked to her like he was asleep again. She went and kneeled next to the bed. Running her hand over his forehead, she lightly brushed his hair back. He sighed softly in his sleep.

"Jax," she whispered. When he didn't respond, she continued, "What happened to us? How did we get like this? You are my best friend, but God knows I love you more than anything in this world. And I would give anything to have what we had again. But you're married to Miranda and I'm married to Sonny, and neither one of us is happy with them. I just wish I knew if what you said before was real. I need to know if you meant it, otherwise it's just a prayer that you might. Jax, I need to know, do you love me?" She didn't expect a response since he was still asleep, but it made her feel better to have said it aloud. She kissed him lightly on the cheek before getting up.

It was enough to wake him a little. He took a deep breath and moved his head to the side. He must have fallen asleep again, he realized. He saw the door closing as he opened his eyes. "Brenda?" he called softly.

The door opened again and she came back into the room. "You are awake," she reached for the light switch.

He was squinting against the hallway light as he held up his hand to block it out. "No, don't turn on the light just yet."

She left the door cracked and went back to the side of the bed. "How do you feel? Does your foot hurt at all?"

He shook his head. "Not right now."

"Lois said you were dizzy before."

"Yeah, I tried to get up and had to lay back down, twice."

Concern filled her eyes. "But you're okay?"

To test it, he attempted to sit up again. He put a hand to his head as he felt a dull ache, but succeeding, he nodded to her. "I'm fine now, I think. Just a little headache."

"Are you going to stay in here, though?" She got up to go check on Ned's progress in the kitchen.

"I don't know yet. If I'm not out there in a little while, you'll know where to find me." He smiled as he put his legs over the side of the bed.

Brenda left the door open and went to the kitchen. It was so difficult for her to pretend she hadn't heard what she had. But she had to, at least for now.

Meanwhile, Jax took hold of his crutches and made his way into the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked pale and there were faint circles under his eyes. He splashed some cold water on his face and grabbed a towel. Running his fingers through his hair, he snapped off the light and went towards the bedroom door. He could smell spaghetti sauce cooking when he got into the hallway.

Entering the kitchen a few minutes later, Jax said, "You better not be burning my house down, Ashton!"

Ned turned to him and replied, "Not right now, but give me some time, I might still." Brenda and Lois were cutting vegetables for the salad on the counter. "It's about time you got up, Jax. I thought I'd have to put up with these two by myself all night." He grinned. "Maybe that's not such a bad idea, after all." Brenda and Lois each threw a piece of a vegetable at him while Jax laughed. "By the way, Jax, how are you feeling?"

"For now, I feel fine."

Ned began to get the plates ready. Lois carried them over to the table and put one in front of each chair. Jax sat down by the window and noticed an extra chair off to the side of the table. He put his foot up on it when he sat down. The other three took their seats and they began to eat. Jax wasn't all that hungry, in fact, the sight of food was close to making him sick, but he ate what he could, leaving more than half on his plate.

Brenda was watching him carefully and while he looked and acted fine, she knew he wasn't feeling as well as he let on. He was trying to show he didn't need help with anything. She knew better. "Jax, if it's okay with you, I'm going to stay here tonight with you." She, Ned, and Lois had discussed it before and come to the conclusion he might need someone's help tonight, even if he wouldn't admit it. Brenda had been the first to volunteer. She wanted the time alone with him.

"Why? I don't need you to stay."

"You don't get a vote. We think you do, so I'm staying. Besides, you just won't admit that you'll need the help, now we're doing it for you."

Jax just sighed in response. He wasn't in the mood to argue with her right now.

Once they finished their meals, they went into Jax's office. Jax and Ned sat down at his desk to check for an e-mail from the private investigator.

"Anything?" Ned asked.

Jax nodded. "Yeah, he says Brian Dolway's name is nowhere to be found in the company. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have something to do with it. It's owned by an anonymous person, so that could very well be him or someone he's working with. The investigator will need a little more time to figure out who it is. He's starting to run background checks on everyone in the company. He'll let us know more tomorrow." Jax leaned back in his chair. "I just know Dolway's involved here somewhere, but he's not this smart. Do you think someone else might be running it for him? Someone more capable?"

"It's possible, but my guess says if he's got anything to do with it, we'll find out. Don't worry. They won't get a chance to steal another deal." They decided to stop discussing business for the night and went over to where Brenda and Lois sat on the couch.

"So now what?" Jax asked. "How long are you two staying? If, in fact, Brenda is staying all night." He looked at Ned and Lois.

"Actually, I was going to leave about now," Ned replied. "Lois?"

"I think I'll go with you." They got up to leave. Lois kissed Jax quickly on the cheek and after promising to be there again tomorrow, they left together.

Jax sighed and looked at Brenda. "Are you really going to spend the night here tonight?"

She nodded, "Yes, and there's nothing you can do about it. You never know what might happen and you do need someone to be here."

Jax sat down in the corner of the couch and brought his legs out in front of him. He leaned his head against the cushions and reached for the remote control to the television. Brenda picked up a magazine and began to flip through it. He settled on watching an old movie and put down the remote.

Brenda read her magazine quietly until she turned a page and came across an ad she's represented the models for. Actually, she'd done more than just represented the models. The ad had been partly her idea, but she had never admitted that to anyone, not even Lois. It had come from something in her past with Jax and she hadn't wanted anyone to suspect it and find out. The man and woman were set in a field in the mountainside. All around them were nothing but green, rolling hills. It was picturesque all the way around. A shot from above showed the couple lying on the ground on a picnic blanket with their legs wrapped around each other, seemingly asleep in the grass. What Brenda didn't want anyone to know was that when she and Jax had done the same thing, it had been part of a day when Jax fulfilled one of her childhood fantasies. She had grown up loving "The Sound of Music," so one day he'd taken her up into the hillsides for an afternoon picnic. The setting had been meant to represent the opening of the movie. And when she and Jax were lying on the ground, their arms and legs wrapped around each other, it was the first time Brenda had told Jax that she loved him.

Brenda was brought back to reality by a yell on television set. The volume hadn't been balanced and it was unusually loud. She reached for the remote control to turn it down. Jax was still watching the movie when she looked at him.

Glancing back at the ad, she gathered her courage. This was why she'd wanted to be alone with him tonight. "Jax, how did we end up like this?" she said, still looking at the ad. "Best friends, and nothing more? We went from being engaged to being nothing at all together all because of that night. How? Did we really never forgive each other for the things we said that night? It was four years ago. I know a lot has happened in those years, and we're both married now, but I also know that neither one of us is happy where we are. Jax, I heard what you said today while you were sleeping. I need to know if you meant it or if it was nothing more than a dream." She finally looked up at him. "Jax, do you still love me?" He was silent. His head was cast downward and he didn't move to respond to her. She got up to sit next to him and as she sat down, she realized why he wasn't answering her. He had fallen asleep again. She kissed him gently on the forehead and smoothed back his hair with one hand. "I do know one thing for sure, my love," she whispered softly. "I love you, with all my heart, and nothing will ever change that. Nothing ever did."