At Coleman’s office, Ida recognizes Skye from Alcazar’s terrace. Skye is not happy that Ida recognizes her and warns her not to change her story. Ida confesses how scared she is of Sonny and how he wants her dead. She wants out and warns Skye that she could go to the cops and tell the truth about having seen her on the terrace the night he was murdered. When Skye asks more questions about what Ida really did see that night, Ida soon realizes that Skye doesn’t even remember what happened. Eventually, Ida reveals via black and white flashbacks that she saw Skye and Alcazar kiss and Skye dropping her drink.

At the PD, Sonny arrives and he and Jax have some words. Both want to help Brenda and don’t want the other to help. Sonny tells Jax it is his fault Brenda is there – that he took her out of the country and made her a fugitive and then couldn’t follow through. Brenda overhears the last part of the conversation and tells Sonny he is wrong, that it was her decision to come back. Brenda is taken away to get processed. Jason shows up, wondering where Brenda is. Scott mocks him as the “concerned little husband.” Alone, Jason and Sonny wonder who paid Ida off if it wasn’t AJ. Just then, who shows up at the police station but Ida. She sees Sonny grinning at her and gets spooked. Sonny says hello to her and suggests she has some misunderstanding regarding him. He tells her he hopes she is able to clarify her witness statement. Before Scott can drag her away to check out the lineup, Sonny notices her diamond bracelet. Jason astutely tells Sonny that he thinks Ida is lying. Sonny thinks Ida showing off the bracelet means she is for sale to the highest bidder. They think if not AJ, then perhaps Skye is paying her off and they think all they have to do is pay a higher amount. In the lineup, Ida easily identifies Brenda. Brenda is taken away and wonders where her lawyer is.

Sonny heads out to go see Jason across the hall before the arraignment hearing. He sees Brenda and Jax get off the elevator holding hands. He informs them that it isn't a good idea that they be seen in public holding hands. Brenda tells Sonny that she came back to change her clothes and head over to the courthouse with Jasonso they could look like a real married couple. Jax leaves. Sonny waits until Jax leaves and goes into Jason's place to talk to Brenda. He explains why it is important that she be seen with Jason only and that she can't come across as a adulterous wife to the public or it could hurt her in court. Brenda wonders where Jason is since he was suppose to meet her at the apartment.

Jason talks to Brenda about the arraignment and how she needs to stay calm and only plead "not guilty" and then they are done. Jason already told Sonny that he can't let Brenda be found guilty even if he can't stand her. They head to the courthouse together. Brenda pleads not guilty in court and Jason is about to plead the same way when his lawyer butts in and says that his client doesn't need to plead anything and that Jason would like to confer with the D.A. and plead to a lesser charge. Jason looks at him in disbelief and tells the judge he wants to fire his attorney and plead not guilty. The judge tells him that he needs counsel to represent him. The attorney defending Jason tells the judge that there is no evidence linking Jason to the crime and that it all points to Brenda only and that it is in his client's best interest to plead to a lesser charge. Jason looks to Sonny for help. Sonny asks Ric if he can represent Jason. Ric agrees to step in as his attorney after promising Sonny that he will allow Jason to plead "not guilty." Ric stands up and introduces himself to the judge and asks if he could represent Jason. Jason looks at Sonny who wearily nods his head yes to Jason. Jason accepts Ric as his attorney. Ric announces that Jason is pleading not guilty to the charge. The judge sets a trial date and recesses. Brenda talks to Jason and asks him if he is sure he wants to plead not guilty so he can help her. He tells her that he meant what he said about them being in this mess together and how they would get through this fine. Brenda thanks him and hugs him for the benefit of the public. Jax and Courtney look on with concern.

Ric reports to Sonny from Ida's hideout. He tells him that it appears as if Ida hung herself or someone got to her first. At Jason's place, Brenda welcomes Jax, who sneaks in to see her. Brenda tells him that he has to be careful that no one sees him go to the penthouse. Jax resents having to take orders from Jason concerning when he can see her. He asks her where her heart is, with him or with Sonny. Brenda is taken aback by his accusation and tells him she had to return since she and Jason have to remain married so they can't be forced to testify against each other. Ja feels she should have let him take care of her and stayed with him instead of heading back to Port Charles and getting herself arrested again. Brenda explains that she may be naive about what could happen to her at trial but she had to come back for herself and clear herself once and for all so they could have a future together. They kiss and make up but it is short-lived when Jason comes home and asks why Jax is there when he asked him to stay away from her right now. Jax tells Jason to stop giving him orders. Jason tells him that it is in Brenda's best interests if he isn't seen being with her and that he thought he understood that. Jason leaves. Jax gets upset when Brenda defends Jason's actions concerning her. Jax accuses her of still having feelings for Sonny and storms out. Later, Brenda has a nightmare that Alcazar has her tied up and is going to inject her with a lethal drug so they can be together forever. Brenda wakes up screaming at the top of her lungs. Sonny comes rushing in to see if she is o.k. She tells him it was just a nightmare and feels embarrassed that she screamed so loudly. Sonny tells her that he is right there if she needs him. She is touched by his concern.

Sonny rushes into Jason's penthouse when he hears Brenda scream. She has had a nightmare, he reassures her that she was dreaming. She shakily explains she dreamed she got the death penalty and Alcazar was there to administer the lethal injection. Sonny explains he is going to South America to look for clues in Alcazar's murder. Jax tries to bribe Scott to frame Jason. Scott explains that they would surely be exposed and the case against Jason and Brenda would be thrown out. Scott tells Jax that the only way Brenda will go free is if she is declared insane. Jax introduces Cameron to Brenda and explains that he wants Cameron to have her declared mentally unstable. Irked, Brenda curtly replies that she has no intention of pleading temporary insanity because she's committed no crime. Jax rails at Brenda for going out on a limb for someone like Sonny. Jax later returns and they make up. Jax begs her to let him help her. Jason returns to his Penthouse and finds Jax and Brenda playing house. Jason orders Jax to get out, but Brenda protests. As they argue about Jax's presence at Jason's Penthouse, Alexis arrives and announces that Brenda is being hypnotized to see if there are any little clues that Brenda can remember from the night that Alcazar was murdered. Jax immediately objects. But Brenda insists and they head for the Hospital, where Brenda meets with Cameron and is hypnotized.

At the Hospital, as Brenda is hypnotized, Brenda suddenly remembers seeing a dark haired man in a trench coat near the stairs as she rushed to leave Alcazar's suite after stabbing the arms dealer. Ric arrives at Cameron's office and, through an intercom, overhears Brenda's recollection of seeing a mysterious stranger near the stairway leading away from Alcazar's suite. Ric panics when he sees through the one way window into the hospital conference room that Brenda is being hypnotized. He puts on the intercom to overhear the session. Brenda remembers seeing a man with dark hair, wearing a dark overcoat in the corner of the hallway on Alcazar's hotel room floor. She starts to get a better look through her hypnosis. Ric barges in the room to stop the hypnosis. He tells Alexis and Jax that it isn't legally right for them to have Brenda hypnotized without Jason's approval or presence in the room and that as his lawyer, this session could go against him at trial as possible testimony. Jax tells him that the hypnosis could help his client since Brenda remembers a man in an overcoat, not Jason near the hallway. Alexis apologizes for not informing him of their plans but that it happened quite quickly that Brenda decided to go with hypnosis. Ric agrees to stay and allow the hypnosis to continue. He gets worried when Brenda gets closer to identifying the man in the hallway outside Alcazar's room (being him). Brenda can't remember at the time who the man is since she couldn't see his face well.

Sonny arrives in South America and finds the hotel that Alcazar took Brenda to stay in on vacation while he conducted business. According to a woman who served them there as a hostess tells Sonny about how Alcazar treated Brenda like a queen but never let her see his business associates and conducted business when she was out shopping. The woman allows Sonny to look around the hotel suite. Sonny finds a secret safe behind a picture frame. He gets in the safe by using Alcazar's birthday as a code which works. Sonny digs out a bunch of passports and files to look at. Before he can really look at them, the prison warden and his guards show up to accuse Sonny of trespassing and to threaten to shoot him or put him in one of their jail cells. Sonny remains calm and informs the warden about how his associate Jason and his wife Carly were detained by him and put in a jail cell and promises to mention the warden's inhospitable and corrupt behavior to two of his business associates in South America. The warden believes Sonny's subtle threats and instantly has a change of heart toward him and agrees to bring him files of prisoners that were in his prison right before Alcazar's murder that had been released at that time. He brings him the files later. Sonny finds a picture of Jax stuck behind a framed picture of Brenda with Alcazar. He realizes that Brenda was thinking of Jax while she was with Alcazar. The warden gives him the files. One of the prisoners was released a week or so before Alcazar's murder. He tells Sonny that there is no picture in his file to help him identify the man. After the warden leaves, the hostess hands Sonny a picture she stole from the file to give to Sonny. Sonny realizes the prisoner is none other than Ric Lansing, Jason's lawyer. Sonny starts to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Brenda and Jax return to the penthouse. When Brenda and Jax get off the elevator, Carly questions them about how the hypnosis went. Brenda tells her that she remembered seeing a dark haired man in an overcoat near the hallway outside Alcazar's room. Brenda gets another memory flash after she tells Carly and then can't believe she forgot to tell Cameron and Alexis that she remembers the man had a shoulder holster on him which means he was carrying a gun. Carly warns Jax about Brenda going to prison and that she doesn't care what he does as long as he takes Brenda away from Port Charles after the trial is over after he makes some comment about their being no coincidence that Sonny is living on one side of the hall and he has Brenda living across the hall from him. Jax and Brenda share a warm cozy moment alone. He tells her that everything he has been doing has been to protect her and that he realized today when she was being hypnotized that she has been doing the same by going to Alcazar's room to warn him to stay away from him and not kill him.

Taggert arrives at Jason's Penthouse to see Brenda and Brenda excitedly reports to Taggert about her hypnosis session and the man Brenda remembered seeing lurking at the Port Charles Hotel the night Alcazar was killed. But Taggert reminds Brenda that Jason turned off the surveillance cameras in the Hotel and looking for Brenda's mystery man would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Jax arrives and tries to persuade Taggert to look for the mysterious stranger in the rest of the Hotel's surveillance system. As Ric torches his incriminating overcoat in the Speakeasy's furnace, Carly surprises him in the act. When Carly demands to know what Ric is doing, Ric covers by telling Carly that he was just trying to determine if the old furnace was still in working condition.

At Alcazar's South American Estate, the housekeeper confides to Sonny that she and Ric were once lovers. Ric was wealthy, charming, and he worked for Alcazar. One day, Alcazar ordered Ric arrested and, when she secretly visited Ric in prison, Ric was consumed with his desire to pay Alcazar back for all that Ric had lost. Then, just as suddenly, Alcazar ordered Ric released. The housekeeper confides to Sonny that she believed that Ric killed Alcazar when she heard about Alcazar's death. Brenda tells Jax about a prisoner Alcazar kept tied up and beat because Alcazar believes the man had been stealing from Alcazar, using computer tricks. At the end of the beating, Alcazar pulled the hood of the prisoner's head and Brenda now realizes that the man being beaten was Ric - Jason's attorney. Back in PC, Sonny meets Ric on the Elm Street Pier and Sonny immediately asks Ric why Ric kept his connection to Alcazar a secret! Sonny accuses Ric of being the one who killed Alcazar. Ric admits that he followed Alcazar to Port Charles and wanted Alcazar dead, but the closest Ric got to Alcazar was seeing Alcazar fall from the balcony. Ric reports to Sonny that Ric saw Alcazar fall and went into the Hotel to search Alcazar's room to remove any documents that might tie Ric to Alcazar and Ric saw a panic-stricken Brenda running through the corridor from Alcazar's suite. Sonny accuses Ric of being the one who killed Alcazar, paid Ida and then killed Ida to prevent her from changing her story. Ric warns Sonny that if the Police find out about Ric's presence at the Hotel that night, it will ultimately work against Brenda and Jason. Ric warns Sonny that if Sonny goes to the Police with the information that Ric was at the Hotel, the only thing Ric could testify to would be that after Alcazar fell from the balcony, Ric saw Jason lead a panic-stricken Brenda out of the Hotel and Ric's testimony could convict both Jason and Brenda, since it would confirm Baldwin's theory that Jason wa in the building and helped Brenda murder Alcazar and leave the scene of the crime. Sonny warns Ric not to testify against Brenda or Jason if he wants to remain breathing! Ric agrees, but only if Sonny reciprocates. Sonny agrees that he will not go to the police with his supposition, but orders Ric to cut off all ties to Sonny's family - especially Carly!

Brenda tells Jax and Jason that she remembers seeing Ric at Alcazar's compound in South America. Jax suggests that maybe Ric was also the man Brenda saw at the Port Charles Hotel the night Alcazar fell to his death. Brenda tells Jax and Jason that her mystery man could have been Ric! Jax angrily gets ready to hunt Ric down, but Jason urges Jax to wait until they have proof before makingany kind of move. But Jax refuses to listen to Jason and leaves anyway. Afterward, Jason warns Brenda: "You need to stop that idiot before he gets you put in prison!' As Brenda and Jason argue about Jax, Brenda suddenly guesses that Jason has someone he cares about and begins trying to guess the identity of her husband's girlfriend. But, as Brenda gets close to the truth, they are interrupted by Sonny's arrival. Brenda, Jason and Sonny compare notes about Brenda's recollections about Ric and what Sonny learned from talking to Ric and Sonny convinces Brenda to call Jax off before Jax gets the police involved.

Jax suddenly arrives at Carly's new club, brandishing a gun! He demands that Ric go with him to see Baldwin. Ric reluctantly leaves with him. Carly arrives with the news that Jax just took Ric at gunpoint and they are headed to see Scott Baldwin. Jax arrives at the Court House with Ric and demands that Scott arrest Ric for Alcazar's murder. When Scott hesitates, Jax begins to announce Ric's involvement to the press. With cameras clicking, Jax charges Scott with framing Brenda to get Jason and Sonny to take the rap for Alcazar's murder, while, all the time, Ric was the real culprit. Mac and Taggert showed up at Jax's press conference and heard Jax's theory about Ric killing Alcazar. They and Scott took Ric to police headquarters to interrogate him. Brenda found Jax and explained that it would hurt her case to admit seeing Ric in the hallway the night of the murder. She asked Jax to trust her judgment and go along with what Sonny and Jason want her to do. Alexis arrived on scene and quickly agreed that Brenda should keep silent. At police headquarters, Sonny showed up to see Ric, but Scott would not let him. Finally, Scott got Ric alone in the interrogation room and tried to coerce Ric into being a witness for the prosecution. Ric said that he saw nothing that night, infuriating Scott. Scott decided to hold him overnight to try and change his mind. Ric continues to maintain that he took a short-cut through the alley by the hotel, saw Alcazar fall, recognized him as Luis Alcazar and that he was dead. When Scott demands to know HOW Brenda saw Ric inside the Hotel when Ric failed to see Brenda, Ric has no explanation.

An angry Jax arrives at Jason's Penthouse, looking for Brenda. When Jason says he has no idea where Brenda would be, Jax informs Carly and Jason that Brenda is missing. When Jax suspects that, since Sonny is also missing, Sonny has run off with Brenda to protect her Carly insists that her marriage to Sonny is sound and Sonny would never do something like that. While Carly, Jax and Jason look for Sonny, Sonny is at the PCPD and asks Alexis to take Jason's case since Jason's attorney has turned out to have connections to Alcazar. Alexis protests that Jason does not need Alexis's help but Brenda does. While there, Sonny steps in and commends Ric for refusing to cooperate with Scott and Ric asks Sonny how much it will take to get Sonny to trust him. Sonny tells Ric that he is beginning to feel impressed by Ric. After Sonny leaves, Scott reminds Alexis that it was Alcazar bringing Brenda back to Port Charles that set the wheels in motion which resulted in the death of Alexis' sister. When Sonny returns to the Penthouse and everyone realizes that Brenda is not with Sonny, Jax becomes even more concerned for Brenda, but Sonny accuses Jax of being such a loose cannon that Brenda split to protect herself.

Scott and Taggert are surprised when Coleman shows up at PCPD and claims that Coleman saw Ric in the alley when Alcazar fell. Taggert protests that Scott's latest witness has a history of questionable involvements, including blackmailing Courtney Matthews, but Scott insists that Coleman is a good citizen and orders Taggert to take Coleman's statement and release Ric. When Ric is released, he informs Coleman that Ric knows that Coleman was not in the alley and asks what Coleman has to gain by clearing Ric. But Coleman tells Ric not to worry about it, and saunters off. Carly arrives at Jason's Penthouse and demands he wear something that makes him look like an ordinary fellow instead of Sonny's hired killer. When Carly insists that Brenda split because Brenda does not care that Jason will end up taking the rap alone, Jason surprises Carly by informing her that Jason believes that Brenda does care.

In the Courtroom, Alexis tries to tell the court that she gave Brenda and Jason the wrong information about the trial's starting time, but Scott insists that Brenda and Jason have fled the jurisdiction. Jason suddenly appears, but has no answer when the Judge demands to know where Mr. Morgan's wife is. The judge in the murder case asks Jason where Brenda is and is not pleased with the hold up. Jason tells him he doesn't know where his wife is. Scott calls for a warrant to be issued for the arrest of Brenda Barrett. Scott tells the judge that it isn't the first time the defendant has fled the country. Meanwhile, Nikolas and Gia are on the docks. Nikolas tells Gia it looks like a body floating in the water and dives in to rescue the person. Nikolas and Gia drag Brenda's unconscious body onto the docks. Nik calls 911 and explains that the victim isn't breathing after Gia tries to administer CPR. Later, Taggert shows up at the courthouse to announce that Brenda's been found nearly dead from being in the water and has been rushed to GH. Alexis asks the judge to call a recess and discontinue the trial until the condition of her client has been established. The judge decides to call a recess for now but wants the trial to resume at the earliest possible date. Alexis advises Jason to show up at GH and see Brenda and act like a concerned husband. Jason agrees to it. Jax gets to the hospital and finds Brenda being rushed in. He is by her side when she regains consciousness. She whispers to him that she has a key to give him. Sonny watches Brenda give Jax something. Scott tries to stop Jason from seeing Brenda in recovery. Jason tells him he can't stop him from seeing her since he is her husband. He tries to bar Scott from going in to see her. Scott questions her about diving into the ice cold water. Brenda reveals nothing to Scott and claims she went for a swim. Scott gets frustrated with not getting any answers. Alexis shows up. Jax heads out of the hospital in a hurry but Sonny finds him and asks him what Brenda gave him just then and what he is up to. Jax tells him she only gave him her ring. Sonny doesn't believe him and follows him. Jason gets in to see Brenda alone. He asks her what she gave Jax just now. She tells him about the key to Alcazar's safe deposit box. She tells him that she needed to get the key and that Jax needs to get the contents of the box before the police seize it. He says it would have been better to have Sonny handle retrieving the items. Jason tells her she should have told him and he could have had a diver go down for the key as she almost died from hypothermia. Then he surprises her by remarking how brave she was to do this. Touched, she tells him to stop it as its too weird to hear him compliment her.

The judge in the murder trial listen Alexis and Scott argue about postponing the trial until Brenda is out of the hospital and is alright to testify. The judge orders a live-feed to go through Brenda's hospital room so she can see what is going on in court and the jurors can see Brenda on the T.V. screen as well. Courtney asks Jason about his closeness to Brenda. Jason tells her that it is important for him to act married in public and takes off to go back to court. Courtney goes in to see Brenda. Courtney tells Brenda that Jason will do everything in his power to help her and that he was really defending her in court today. Brenda tells Courtney that Jason is very loyal. Brenda asks Courtney her name again and Courtney tells her that Jason is a good friend of hers. Brenda realizes that Courtney is the one that Jason is probably involved with right now. Courtney heads back to the courthouse. Brenda is given a room and is admitted. Jax comes in to see her and tell her that he found a video tape in Alcazar's safety-deposit box and that Sonny showed up demanding him to give it to him but then while they were arguing the police showed up and confiscated the tape before they could see the tape. Brenda tells him that wasn't smart of him to do that since the tape could be incriminating like she thinks it is and explains that she thinks it is a tape of her fighting with Alcazar about wanting to see Jax and Sonny and him not letting her and worries about that tape being in court. Sonny had already chastised Jax for not hiding the tape before the police showed up. A camera crew show up in her room and explain that Brenda will get a live feed of the courtroom so she can listen and see the trial from her hospital room and she will be able to see who is testifying against her and also the jurors will be able to see her on T.V.

Alexis gives her opening statement as the trial resumes. A.J. is the first witness that Scott calls. Scott asks A.J. about the night of the murder when he saw Jason driving the limo with Alcazar inside it. Alexis cross-examines him and gets him to admit that Jason is his brother and that he has had a grudge against him and his testimony is biased against Jason. A.J. continues to swear that he saw Jason driving Alcazar's limo. Meanwhile, Sonny is outside the courtroom at the same time that Coleman is out there. He approaches Coleman and tells him that he knows he has been working for A.J. and is probably involved with the death of Ida Warren. He tells Coleman that if Brenda and Jason get convicted he will see to him getting what is coming to him and gives him an idle threat to his life. Coleman is shaken by Sonny's threats.

Skye is called to the stand. She testifies to seeing Brenda try to stab Alcazar in his room that night. Alexis cross-examines her and brings up being a recovering alcoholic like A.J. and what it means. It is obvious that Skye is drunk and Alexis gets her to admit her hatred of Brenda and admit she didn't actually see Brenda throw Alcazar off the balcony and that she was drunk that night and had sex with Alcazar as well and could have had a blackout in his bed. She brings up a motive for Skye to have killed Alcazar that night. Skye admits she had a motive to kill Alcazar and gets hysterical and heads over to the T.V. monitor and starts calling Brenda a whore and that she hopes she rots in prison which she deserves for stealing her husband from her. A.J. has to pry her away from the T.V. and Jax talks to Skye through the t.v. and tells her to stop blaming Brenda for the murder since she is innocent. A.J. takes her away and sits her down with the others. Taggert shows up with the videotape and Scott announces it as new evidence. Alexis objects to it since she had no knowledge that this new evidence existed and that she should have been privy to its contents beforehand. Scott argues that Brenda was the one who provided the tape herself and so it wasn't new evidence at all. The judge asks Brenda how the tape was found and if she provided that information to the police. She tells him that she had a key to a safety-deposit box belonging to Alcazar that she found in his yacht and that she gave it to Jax to go to the bank and the police confiscated it. Jax admits to this happening when the judge asks him. The judge overrules Alexis' objection and allows the video to be shown to the jurors. The video shows Brenda in a hotel room with Alcazar. She tells him that she wants to go back to Port Charles and see Jax and Sonny from afar and say goodbye to them and that she doesn't want to actually talk to them but see them so she can say goodbye. Alcazar refuses to let her go back to Port Charles and confronts her about having pictures of them behind a picture of them together and asks her if she had her pills today. Brenda tells him she hasn't and he tries to stop her from taking the picture of Jax. Brenda takes the letter opener and tries to stab Alcazar with it and he grabs her by the wrist to stop her. The jurors see it and it looks bad for Brenda. Scott argues that Brenda was desperate enough to get to that tape by diving into the icy cold water to retrieve before the police found it and showed it to the court since it shows that it wasn't the first time she tried to kill Alcazar. Jason shakes his head and rests his hands on his face in defeat. Alexis continues to object to the tape being shown to the jurors. Sonny tells Courtney that it is all over now. Brenda and Jax react with disappointment. In Brenda's Hospital room, Jax disables the court-ordered closed circuit TV camera and sendsthe cameraman away. When Brenda reminds Jax that the camera was court-ordered, Jax pleads with Brenda to realize that their only way out at this point is to give up Jason.

Alexis informs Jason that she will need to put Brenda and Jason on the stand. When Jason protests that he is no good when he takes the stand, Alexis assures Jason that Alexis knows that Brenda and Jason are innocent, but she needs their help to prove it. Back at the Hospital, as Jax tries to convince Brenda that she should testify against Jason to guarantee HER freedom, Scott arrives. Jax asks Scott what would happen if Brenda changed her story and claimed that, although she did stab Alcazar, Jason came in, threw Alcazar off the terrace on Sonny's orders, dragged Brenda out of the Hotel and threatened to kill her if she ever talked. Scott assures Jax that if Brenda testified to that story, Scott could worksomething out that would enable Brenda to walk. Brenda informs Scott and Jax that she would never testify to that kind of story, since it is not true! Jax pleads with Brenda to take the deal and urges her not to throw her own life away just for Sonny's errand boy! When Brenda continues to refuse, Jax accuses Brenda of sacrificing her life for Sonny again. Then Jax announces that he is through with Brenda and will be in Australia tomorrow. Then Jax storms out. Scott urges Brenda to take the deal, but she orders Scott out of her room. After Scott leaves, Jax secretly returns and tells Brenda that his harsh words were just an act for Scott's benefit. Jax tells Brenda that he will make arrangements for Brenda to leave the country and if Scott believes that Jax and Brenda are estranged, Scott will not suspect that Jax is planning to help Brenda vanish without a trace and hide out under new identities. When Brenda insists that she must tell Jason, Jax suggests that will be a good idea, so Jason can make plans to split as well. Jax hands Brenda a cell phone and tells her never to be without it that Jax will call her when the escape plan is in place. They kiss and Jax leaves.

Scott returns to Brenda's room and announces that he just talked to the Judge and the Judge turned down all of Alexis's requests for delays. Scott tells Brenda that the Judge is eager to move ahead and, since Alexis has no witnesses to call and no evidence, the trial will be over in a couple of days. Scott announces to Brenda that he believes the jury will take no more than two or three hours of deliberation - in fact - it might only take 45 minutes to convict Jason and Brenda of Alcazar's murder. Scott warns that if Brenda plans to roll over on Jason, she needs to do it now because, once the jury begins deliberation, Scott will no longer be able to help Brenda. After Scott leaves, Brenda calls Bobbie and asks if Bobbie would take her IV out. Bobbie agrees and reminds Brenda that there are many people who care about Brenda. But when Bobbie leaves, Brenda gets dressed and slips, unnoticed, out of the Hospital. Jason meets Brenda on the Docks and Brenda warns Jason that Scott believes the trial will be over in a few days. Jason insists that Alexis will be able to stall, but Brenda informs Jason that the Judge has already turned down all of Alexis' requests. Brenda declares that their only hope is to go to Lisbon - tonight!

Realizing she fears she'll end up in prison or worse, Jason tells Brenda that he will flee the country with her and makes the necessary arrangements for them to fly to Lisbon. Jason then gives Sonny and Carly the news about their decision. Carly pushes Sonny to say goodbye to Brenda. At the airport, in a Casablanca-esque fogged filled scene, Sonny and Brenda say goodbye. After Sonny leaves, Jason arrives and advises Brenda that while he has arranged for her to escape to Lisbon, he has decided that he can't leave town. Brenda informs Jason that she is not going to skip town and let Jason stand trial alone, but Jason assures her that Sonny will take care of everything. Brenda reminds Jason that Sonny has been singing that same old song for months and they are still in the middle of a mess up to their ears. Brenda insists that she will not leave without Jason and asks him if he plans to bodily put her on the plane and Jason grabs her and carries her toward the plane. Just at that moment, the Police arrive, looking for Brenda and Jason and the Morgans hide together in the shadows. From their hiding spot, Brenda and Jason overhear the police talking and learn that the police are searching for Jason and Brenda on Taggert's orders. Brenda finally agrees to board the plane if Jason will tell her why he can not leave then guesses the reason is someone who is blond. Brenda suddenly asks if Sonny knows about this, but Jason evades the question. Brenda pretends to get on the plane, but gets off right away and returns to Jason's Penthouse. Jason returns as well. When he hears noises in the next room, he pulls out his gun. He is shocked when he finds that Brenda is there. As Jason and Brenda argue about Brenda's most recent failure to do what she promised to do, Taggert comes to the door and informs Brenda that she is under twenty-four hour surveillance, and she apparently left the Hospital before she was discharged. Brenda informs Taggert that she did not know that was against the law. After Taggert leaves, Jason reminds Brenda that when she did not get on that plane she probably blew all of her chances to run. When Brenda confides to Jason that there are people in town she does not want to leave either, her husband assumes that she is talking about Sonny. When Jason asks Brenda point-blank if it is about Sonny and she does not answer him, he presumes that he is correct.

Carly goes over across the hall to see Brenda. She thanks her for staying backing up Jason in court. Brenda tells her that she is going to stay and fight the charge since she is innocent and that she can't go anywhere until that is done. Brenda and Jason show up at the courthouse with the press fast on their heels. Dara Jensen surprises Sonny when she agrees to defend Brenda and Jason since Alexis bailed out on them. She is no longer in the D.A.'s office and tells Sonny that she is surprised that she is agreeing to defend Jason but that she feels he is innocent and that Brenda is going to be harder to defend with the evidence Scott has against her. The trial resumes. Scott introduces new evidence against Jason that Dara just barely heard about and didn't have time to review it in court. The judge allows Scott to enter it into evidence. It is a hair follicle belonging to Jason that was found on the balcony of Alcazar's room. Dara objects to the evidence since it could have been planted but then asks Jason why he didn't tell her he was on the balcony. Jason tells her that he went and checked out Alcazar's room a few days before his murder but he couldn't admit to that in his testimony for obvious reasons. Ric got a surprise of his own when he came out of the shower and saw writing on his mirror in red lipstick that said "They are innocent, and I can prove it." Ric goes to the courthouse and tells Sonny what he saw on his mirror. Sonny doesn't trust Ric's account and either does Carly. Ric gets a call on his cell phone and he goes out and answers it. It is a mysterious woman who asks him to meet her on the docks and that it concerns Alcazar's murder. Dara calls Taggert to the stand to question him about whether Scott presented all his evidence to the defense before the trial or if he omitted anything important from them. Taggert tells her his job is to gather evidence not prepare it for trial. Scott objects and tells the judge it isn't his fault that the defendants have another new attorney who isn't prepared for trial and that she has no right to pit the jurors against him in court. The judge agrees with Scott. Brenda gets out of her seat and approaches the bench. The judge asks Dara to keep her client in line or he will hold her in contempt of court. The bailiffs try to push Brenda away from the bench and back to her seat. Brenda asks the judge to allow her to take the stand and testify. Jason isn't to happy about her decision. Dara asks her to explain what happened that night. Brenda explains about the knife incident and that she had no intention of killing Alcazar but to just scare him. She tells them that Jason was outside the room and stopped her from going back into the room to confront Alcazar again. Scott cross-examines her and rips her testimony apart effectively. He tells her she couldn't have known where Jason was before he was in the hallway with her and could have killed Alcazar before he stopped her. Brenda tells him he couldn't have had time to kill Alcazar since she just ran out of his room and no one was there. Scott talks over her and tries to get her to admit that Jason killed Alcazar and she is helping him cover it up.

Scott tries to pin Brenda down on the events of the night of Alcazar's death, although Dara keeps objecting that Scott is badgering the witness. As Scott accuses Brenda of covering for a cold-blooded killer for hire, Courtney suddenly passes out and creates a stir in the Court Room. As Sonny gets Courtney out of the Court Room, he insists that she go home but she refuses! Scott tells Brenda that he believes that Brenda confronted Alcazar and Alcazar attacked Brenda and threatened Jax. Brenda suddenly admits that she DID want to kill Alcazar!As Scott indulges in a self-satisfied grin, Jason quietly begs Dara to get Brenda off the stand. When Dara gets her chance to cross-examine Brenda, Dara only asks Brenda if she killed Alcazar and Brenda denies it. Dara asks if Alcazar was alive when Brenda left the room. When Brenda says yes, Dara announces that her Defense rests. As Scott sums up, he supposes that Alcazar suspected that one day Brenda would try to kill him and that was why Alcazar kept the tape of Brenda attacking him with scissors and marked it 'Murder!' When Dara sums up, Dara claims thatScott's only motive in the trial has been convicting Jason and all of Scott's case is based on circumstantial evidence. After Dara's summation, the Judge instructs the Jury, and they leave to deliberate. After the Jury leaves, Dara apologizes to Brenda for leaving her on the stand, but Dara admits that it was a tactic - Dara just wanted the Jury to see Scott badgering Brenda. Jason assures Brenda that she did fine on the stand. When Sonny, Carly and Courtney leave the Court Room, Brenda urges Jason to go spend a few minutes with Courtney. Scott catches Sonny in the hall and gloats that the Jury is about to convict Sonny's number one stooge and Sonny is going to be next! Sonny returns to the Court Room and assures Brenda that everything will be OK. Carly spots Sonny and Brenda together and walks away. Felicia finds Sonny with Brenda and tells the mob boss that she is positive that A.J. and Coleman paid Ida for false testimony. Sonny tells Felicia that if she can prove it they would be able to get a mistrial. Felicia hurries off to see what she can do. Dara informs Brenda, Carly and Sonny that the verdict is in. When the jury returns with the verdict, they pronounce Brenda and Jason guilty. Everyone else in the courtroom are shocked by the Jury's quick verdict but A.J. and Scott look pleased!

While the Courtroom reacts to the stunning news that Jason and Brenda have been found guilty of murdering Luis Alcazar, Sonny warns Courtney to hold it together. A.J. congratulates Scott on the District Attorney's brilliant Court Room strategy and Scott smugly declares that he believes that life is grand. As Jason and Brenda are remanded to custody, Dara announces that she will begin an appeal immediately. Scott spots Sonny in the hall, and gloats about his legal triumph. Then Scott warns Sonny that Sonny will eventually slip up and Scott will nail Sonny as well. A.J. manages to remind Jason that Jason is merely going to jail to finally pay for his crimes, then Taggert leads Jason and Brenda away. On the Docks, Ric's hooded Mystery Woman announces that she is the one who killed Alcazar. She hands Ric a bag. Then the mystery woman admits that, on the night of Alcazar's murder, she struggled with Alcazar and the arms dealer's blood got on her coat. She declares that this evidence should clear Jason and Brenda. When Ric protests that that is not enough because the D.A. will argue about that the chain of evidence is tainted, the mystery woman runs away.

When Sonny, Carly and Courtney arrive at the Port Charles Police Department, Scott continues to gloat about his court victory, but Mac allows Sonny, Carly and Courtney to visit Brenda and Jason. When Sonny goes in to see Brenda, Carly insists that Courtney be the first to visit Jason. Sonny assures Brenda that he will continue working to get her out of her fix. When Sonny gets a chance to speak to Jason, Sonny apologizes to Jason for making so many wrong decisions and letting Alcazar get the upper hand. Jason asks Sonny to take Carly home before Carly concocts a plot to break Jason out of jail. Later, Mac lets Brenda and Jason meet and Brenda tearfully apologizes to Jason for ruining his life when she returned to town. But Jason assures his wife that they will find a way out of their impossible situation.

Felicia tracks Dara down at the Court House and lets Dara know what Felicia learned about Ida's connection to Coleman. As Felicia and Dara talk, Ric finds Dara and informs the defense attorney that he just met with the real killer, who wants to exonerate Jason and Brenda. When Ric produces the evidence that the mystery woman gave him, Dara warns that Scott will claim there is no chain of evidence to tie this particular evidence to Alcazar's murder. Dara suggests that the evidence might be good enough to demand a new trial for Jason and Brenda. Ric offers the opinion that he doubts Scott would risk a second trial, which the District Attorney might lose. Dara leaves to file a motion and orders Ric and Felicia to head to the PCPD to try to convince Scott that the new evidence does exonerate Jason and Brenda. When Ric arrives at the PCPD later and announces that he has new evidence, Scott at first refuses to listen to Ric. But, when Taggert shows an interest in the new evidence, Scott quickly changes his mind. However, Sonny spots Ric going into Scott's office and declares to Carly that ifSonny discovers that Ric is working with Scott and against Sonny, Ric will be a dead man! In the meantime, Ric informs Scott of his meeting with the real killer. Scott refuses to believe Ric until Ric's mystery woman places a personal call to Scott and confirms what she told Ric. Then the mystery woman informs Scott that there was another stab wound in Alcazar's stomach, information that the police never released to the public!

In another fit of anger and frustration, Sonny smashed up the penthouse until Carly was able to calm and comfort him. Brenda and Jason planned an escape after their sentencing. Sonny made arrangements for his men to intercept their prison transport van. Felicia and Rick told a disgruntled Scott about the new evidence and presented the blood-stained cloth. Tensions rose between Scott and Taggert as Taggert called the judge to present the developments and sent the cloth to the lab to be tested. Rick arrived at the penthouse but could not convince Sonny and Carly that the "new evidence" he spoke of was real. Mac slipped Brenda's ringing cell phone to her. It was Jax and Brenda told him that although she was in a jail cell, that their plan was still in place and that Sonny and Jason were going to get her out. The line suddenly went dead as Jax hung up on her.

At the Port Charles Police Department, Brenda is thrilled when Jax arrives and promises that he will see to it that she is released. Jax warns Brenda not to go along with any of Sonny's crazy escape plans. But Brenda fills Jax in on Ric's mystery woman's confession and suggests that the verdict might be overturned. Jax suddenly rushes off. Elsewhere at the PCPD, when Scott spots Alexis and tells her that she is wasting her time with an appeal, Alexis announces that this farce is ending today and Alexis came back to make sure that it happens. Taggert arrives and confirms that the mystery woman had information about Alcazar's third stab wound that was only in the sealed file. Taggert also reports that the blood on the patch from the coat matches Alcazar's blood. But Scott continues to insist that there is no proof that Alcazar's blood got on the coat patch ON the night of the murder.

Jax tracks Skye down at the Court House and asks his ex-wife point blank if she killed Alcazar. Skye denies that she is Ric's mystery woman, and points out that she would never feel so guilty about Brenda going to jail that she would confess to anything! Jax agrees that he believes her. Later, when Alexis shows up at the Court House, Jason informs the attorney that he does not want her representing him. But Brenda talks Jason into accepting Alexis. The Judge sentences Brenda and Jason to 22 years. When Alexis presents her 440 Motion, Scott objects that it is an attempt by the Corinthos crowd to derail the court with suspiciously trumped up 'new evidence'. But the Judge announces that the court is not easily derailed, then the Judge declares a recess while he considers the new evidence. Jax warns Sonny that Jax plans to work through the legal system to get Brenda released and that Sonny should leave Brenda out of any spectacular escape plans Sonny has hatched. When the Judge returns, he announces that the new evidence would have changed the outcome of the original trial and vacates the Judgment against Jason and Brenda. The Judge then orders that the prisoners be released. As Brenda runs into Jax's arms, Skye breaks down in a corner of the courtroom and cries.

Jax surprises Brenda with a diamond engagement ring on the breakfast table. He asks her to marry him and tells her he loves her and always has. Brenda tearfully accepts his proposal. Taggert shows up to question Jax about whether Skye ever said anything incriminating about herself concerning Alcazar's murder. Jax tells him that she said nothing to him and that he doesn't believe she is cold-blooded enough to kill Alcazar and then frame Brenda and Jason. Taggert doesn't quite believe he is telling him the whole truth but leaves. Jax tells Brenda that it is possible that Skye may have killed Alcazar but only if he had her back against the wall and that Skye is her own worst enemy sometimes. Brenda tells him that if he feels he needs to help Skye than he should do it. Jason shows up at Brenda's so they can go to the Dominican Republic and get a quick divorce. Brenda asks Jason what his big hurry is. Jason had already been to see Courtney. He told her he no longer wanted to hide their relationship now that the trial is over. Courtney had been reluctant to make their relationship public. Jason told her that he is going to go get a divorce from Brenda right away. Courtney stops worrying and agrees they shouldn't hide anymore. Brenda guesses that his rush to get a divorce right away has something to do with Courtney. Jason doesn't admit anything and tells her to keep out of his private life. Brenda tells him about her engagement to Jax. They head to the private jet that Sonny had set up for them at the airport.

Brenda starts to really get on Jason's nerves when she starts to panic on the plane when they hit some turbulence. This is very funny and a great use of history given that Brenda has crashed twice, once with Jason! (For all of the Brenda & Jason plane crash refer to the Brenda 1998 tape #2 which contains all of those scenes). Jason reassures her later that the turbulence has stopped and they are fine. Brenda starts to annoy him more when she questions him about his relationship with Courtney. Jason tells her that Courtney doesn't need to be the center of attention like she does all the time and that she knows when to be quiet and not ask questions. Brenda makes fun of their relationship but Jason ignores her and refuses to say anything about their relationship. Brenda figures out that Sonny doesn't know about them yet and asks him why he agreed to marry her when he had Courtney. Jason tells her it was to help Sonny and that he didn't marry her to push Courtney away from his lifestyle. They continue to argue when they are ushered into a cabin and not to the courthouse. Their escort informs them in Spanish that he is the Judge's cousin and he will get him for him. Brenda thinks they will be stranded together and no judge will actually come to help them get an annulment. They start arguing again and a judge does show up with annulment papers. Brenda is about ready to sign the papers but stops and tells Jason she is going to be sick and then tells the judge she can't sign the papers because she loves him. Jason looks at her in disbelief.

Brenda refused to sign the annulment papers, telling the judge that although she and her husband fought a lot, that she loved him and that he is the person she wants to be married to (the look of horror and disbelief on Jason's face when she says this!). The judge tells an exasperated Jason that he can't annul their marriage if she doesn't agree. After the judge left, Jason tells her they are going to Switzerland so he can commit her as she is going crazy! Brenda explained to a shocked and frustrated Jason that she needed to buy some time because she and Jax were moving too fast, that she was afraid of something going wrong and spoiling her happiness. She cries that every time she is about to be happy something happens to ruin it. She admits that she feels safe with Jason and that he is the only man who has never let her down. She sobs that after they are divorced that he won't be her freind anymore. She tells him to go ahead and make fun of her as she expects him to do. Instead, he says it is the first time she has made sense. Seh says that Jax won't understand why she wants to put off the wedding, that Jax is still threathened by Sonny and will think she is dleaying marriage because she has feelings for Sonny. Jason asks if that if the real reason is that she has feelings for Sonny? She said no, that what she and Sonny had was over a long time ago. They argree to delay the annulment to do it back in the US where it will take longer and give her some time. She will tell Jax that she wants it done in the US to make sure it is legal. Brenda and Jason returned to Port Charles, where Jax surprised Brenda with the wedding invitations he had picked out before she could tell him that she and Jason were still married. Skye ran into Jax and saw the wedding invitation. She told Jax that she wished him and Brenda happiness and that things work out as they should. Later Skye told Coleman that their connection was over and that she had figured out how to get Jax back by playing the role of the damsel in distress which Jax can't resist. This will give Brenda plenty of time to give into her one fatal weakness, the attraction that Skye is sure Brenda still has for Sonny.

Brenda told Jax that she and Jason had decided to file for the annulment back in New York even though it would take longer. A disappointed Jax told Brenda that they had lost too much time already, but Brenda insisted that they were together whether they were married or not. She said it would be nice to have a courtship and take their time. Jax ignored his ringing cell phone to continue their conversation. He made it clear that he was uncomfortable with her hesitation. Brenda tried to make light of it, but Jax would not be comforted. Their house phone rang, and Brenda gave the phone to Jax saying it was Scott Baldwin. Scott asked Skye to recite the words in the mystery woman's phone call so the lab could compare their voices. Skye left and went back to the hotel suite where the murder took place, trying to remember more details. She remembered seeing another woman leaving the suite. She tried to call Jax, but he didn't answer. Scott and Taggert showed up with a warrant for her arrest saying that her voice had matched that of the mystery caller. She climbed over the railing of the balcony and threatened to jump. Scott called Jax and told him that Skye was threatening to jump unless Jax came. Jax went to the hotel and tried to calm Skye down.

In Alcazar's Suite, Scott is in favor of rushing Skye to get her off the ledge, but Alexis and Cameron warn the District Attorney that IF Skye jumps, Scott will never learn what the facts really are in the Alcazar case. On the balcony, as Skye tells Jax that she is beginning to remember details about seeing the real killer, Jax assures Skye that he believes her and wants to help her. Skye describes seeing a woman with dark hair. Jax finally succeeds in convincing Skye to join him on the balcony. Skye confides that she remembers the killer was wearing jeans and a long, dark coat. Jax vows that they will find the woman and clear Skye's name. But Scott bustles out on the balcony and orders Skye arrested. When Scott orders Skye's arrest, Jax warns Scott to stay away from Skye. Cameron insists that IF Skye is going anywhere, it should be to the Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, because she just threatened to jump off a ledge. Skye tries to tell Scott about the memories that she is beginning to recover from the night of Alcazar's death, but Scott refuses to listen. Jax begs Alexis to defend Skye. Alexis finally agrees, but Cameron cautions Alexis that she appears to be too fixated on the Alcazar murder. Later, at the Port Charles Police Department, Skye thanks Jax for helping her out and Jax promises that he will keep Skye out of jail.

Jason and Courtney are in a car accident. Brenda is notified and arrives at GH. Brenda tells Sonny and Carly that she is technically still married to Jason and that things happened in the Dominican Republic that stopped them from getting their marriage annulled. She makes some excuse about a bad rainstorm and severe weather. Sonny jokes about the annulment being called on account of rain. Sonny goes to see Jason. Carly isn't buying Brenda's excuse, knowing Jason wanted out of the marriage that he wouldn't let a little rain stop him. Carly accuses Brenda of staying married to Jason to get closer to Sonny. Brenda denies that is true and that she is amazed by the amount of insecurity Carly still harbors about her marriage to Sonny. Carly tells her that Brenda thinks she is a little princess used to getting what she wants but not this time. Brenda reminds Carly that she was here first! Jax shows up and Carly mentions Brenda's presence at the hospital to get close to Sonny. Brenda got a visit from Elton, the wedding planner. He starts rattling off ideas for her wedding to Jax but Brenda cuts him off and politely tells him that she plans to maybe get married at the end of the year and that she is a little overwhelmed by all this wedding stuff. Elton agrees to get back in touch with her in a few months. As he is about to leave, Jax shows up and is thrilled to see Brenda and Elton talking about the wedding. Elton leaves. Jax tells her that he just got the papers to have Jason sign over power of attorney so they can get the annulment. Brenda just grins and bears it.

Brenda waited at the hospital to see Jason. Jax showed up at the hospital and told Brenda he wanted her to ask Jason to sign power of attorney papers so they could get the annulment. Brenda argued that she wanted to wait and that Jason was in no shape to be worrying about that now anyway. Jax accused Brenda of holding on to her last tie to Sonny. Brenda reassured him that that was not the case and told him not to worry. Brenda ran into Carly again at the hospital, who told her to hurry up and sign the annulment papers and get out of Jason's life. Brenda then went to see Courtney. She told her she was glad she was okay. Courtney asked if Brenda minded her and Jason being together, and Brenda laughed it off. Brenda told Courtney that although Jason deserved to be happy, he lived a very dangerous life and that Courtney should re-consider being a part of it. She told Courtney that she reminded her of herself when she was with Sonny. Courtney insisted that she loved Jason more than Brenda had loved Sonny because she would never give up no matter what.

Jason returned to the penthouse, devastated. Brenda was there, and she tried to get him to open up about what was wrong, but Jason just asked her what she wanted. She explained how Jax was pushing hard for the annulment and that he was scaring her. Jason told Brenda that she should tell Jax that. He also said that she was the only person standing in her way. Jax appeared at the door asking for Jason to sign the annulment. He began to say that he wasn't up to it, but a pensive Brenda agreed that she was standing in the way of her own happiness and that she was ready to take a chance on love. Jason signed the papers. Brenda asked Jax to wait outside for her. Brenda asked Jason if he had broken up with Courtney, if that was why he appeared so hurt. Before leaving she told him that he was free to choose a new life, that he could leave his lifestyle and have a life with Courtney. Jason went to the loft to pack up his things. When he returned home, he could hear Courtney yelling at Sonny in the penthouse. He listened for a moment, then shook his head and took off on his motorcycle. Meanwhile Brenda agreed when Jax asked her to marry him on Valentine's Day.

Jax and Brenda meet with Elton at the Port Charles Hotel to make final arrangements for their Valentine's Day wedding. Lila, Edward, and Monica spot Jax and Brenda and offer them congratulations, but Alan reminds them all that Skye is losing the great love of her life and A.J. points out that Skye did just threaten to jump from Alcazar's balcony. Edward orders A.J. to go to the Hotel manager and instruct the manager to put Jax and Brenda's wedding at the top of his priority list. But A.J. walks out after declaring that A.J. works only for Ned.

Jax drops by the Speakeasy and informs Carly that he plans to marry Brenda on Valentine's Day and strongly suggests that Carly find a way to keep Sonny occupied so that Sonny does not crash their wedding. Carly laughs at Jax that he doesn't trust Brenda. At the same time, Brenda stops by Jason's Penthouse to invite Jason to the wedding. Not finding Jason at home, Brenda knocks on Sonny's door. Just as Sonny opens the door for Brenda, Ric comes up in the elevator, spots Brenda going inside Sonny's Penthouse and leaves. Brenda informs Sonny that she is marrying Jax at the Port Charles Hotel on Valentine's Day. Ric returns to the Speakeasy and after Jax leaves, Ric 'lets slip' to Carly the news that Ric didn't get a chance to meet with Sonny because Sonny was occupied with Brenda when Ric stopped by the Penthouse.

The wedding preparations begin as Elton buzzes around. Jax's parents arrive and are thrilled to see Brenda. Later, Skye stops by seemingly to discuss the identity of the real murderer that she saw the night of Alcazar's murder. She is hurt as she looks around and recognizes the wedding decorations. Seh tells him to focus on his wedding. He tries to get her to tell him who she saw but upset she leaves. Sonny and Carly have a fight on the docks about hs insistence that Jason stay away from Courntney. Brenda watches as Carly tells Sonny off and storms off. Brenda comes down the stairs and asks if they fight like that all the time. She wants to know if he is happy because she is and it is because of him. She finally understands why he left her and what he must have gone through afterwards. "Thank you" she says and "goodbye". They kiss deeply as a stunned Carly just returning looks on in horror. Skye gets a gun from Jake's bar. Ned tells Jax that Brenda asked him to walk her down the aisle. Jax dooms himself to disaster by saying nothing will stand in their way, flash to Sonny and Brenda still kissing on the docks. Carly has left by this time, Sonny tells Brenda he wants his life with Carly, and he wants the best for Brenda even if it is a life with Jax. he says he wanted to see if he could kiss her and still love Carly (guess the kiss on the island wasn't enough to figure that one out). Carly arrives at her club, sobbing.

Guests begin arriving for the wedding. The Quartermaine's are shocked to see Skye arrive. Skye sneaks a peak at the gun hidden in her purse. Jax is surprised to see her and when she asks to stay he doesn't think it is a good idea. Why put herself thru that? She sweetly says that she wants a new start with him as a friend and wants him to be happy. Jason shows up to meet Brenda at her request. She looks incredibly beautiful. This is cute as he dashes in expecting her to ask him to get her out of there! He asks if she has had second thoughts and seems ready to help her escape getting married to Jax. She assures him she wants to go through with it and that isn't why she wanted to see him. She thanks him for helping her and teases him that he married her because he really likes her. She tells him that she respects Sonny's marriage as he will respect hers and that Jax is the best thing that ever happened to her. He thanks her for the invite to her wedding but can't stay. He tells her that he is happy for her and they hug. Jax enters, and after Jason has left, Brenda teases Jax whether anymore hidden wives would be popping up or any other secrets (refering to their last wedding when his presumed dead wife Miranda showed up)? The weddng begins, Brenda walks up the aisle to meet Jax. Brenda takes a moment in front of their family and friends to tell Jax how much he means to her and to say her vows to him. Skye stands in the hallway, listening, and pulls her gun out. Jax tells Brenda how much she means to him, Skye cocks the trigger, then its Jax's turn to say "I do" but instead he says "No!". The wedding guests gasp in shock. He continues, "I can't marry you when your heart belongs to someone else. I know you were kissing Sonny last night on the pier!" He waited all night and morning for her to tell him about it, but she didn't and he couldn't marry her if he didn't trust her. Brenda tried to convince him that it was a goodbye kiss, that she had told Sonny to be as happy in his life as she was with Jax, but Jax resisted her. Brenda admitted she would always love Sonny and Jax could not accept that. Humiliated, Brenda told Jax he should not have ended their engagement in such a public way, especially after her similar wedding with Sonny had led to her nervous breakdown. She said that because he did such a cruel thing, she no longer wanted to marry him either. Brenda walked out and returned to her suite as Skye looked on. Skye entered Brenda's suite while she was gathering her things and told her she deserved what had happened. Brenda told her that Jax needed someone he could trust, and that certainly wasn't Skye. Brenda left and a few moments later Jax arrived, annoyed to see Skye there. He guzzled champagne while Skye told him that Jax had outrageously high standards and even Brenda couldn't live up to them anymore.

At the cottage, Brenda packed her things. Skye arrived and told Brenda that the cottage was half hers under the divorce settlement and she would be selling it. After Brenda left to see Ned, Skye made arrangements to donate the cottage and all its contents to charity. After saying goodbye to Ned, Brenda to Jason's apartment. When he arrived and saw her there, he expressed his condolences for her and Jax's failed wedding. Brenda asked him to help her get to Europe. Jax knocked at the door. Brenda motioned to Jason to let him in. After Jason left, Jax handed Brenda an envelope with a check for a million dollars and asked her not to come back to Port Charles. Brenda tells Jax that he can keep his million dollars, because Brenda would never agree to stay away from Port Charles. Brenda accuses Jax of trying to make her feel like a prostitute. But Jax blasts Brenda for trying to make Jax feel guilty about Brenda's great love for Sonny. Brenda accuses Jax of seeing her as a prize he needed to win away from Sonny rather than a real person that Jax actually loved! Jax retorts that he knows that he would always be Brenda's second choice after Sonny and declares that Jax knows that he deserves better than being a standin for Sonny! Brenda tells Jax to take his money and donate it to a battered women's shelter so Jax could find a new damsel to rescue (note Vanessa's charity is a battered woman's shelter).

After Jax leaves, Jason also offers Brenda a safe Swiss bank account, insisting that Sonny has nothing to do with that money. Jason insists it is only a loan and Brenda agrees to use the account only if she can pay Jason back. Then Brenda breaks down and cries on Jason's shoulder. Jason takes Brenda to the airport and waits with her for her flight. As Brenda complains that she always has these really bad wedding days, Jason suggests that the next time, Brenda should think about doing it the way Brenda and Jason did in Las Vegas minus the wedding! She tells him that out of everyone she has ever met, he is the one who most deserves to be happy. When Jason leaves, he tells Brenda to call him if she needs anything. Brenda tells Jason that he needs to fight to be with Courtney if Courtney is truly the great love of Jason's life! Brenda sits alone at the airport and remembers the events of her most recent return to Port Charles in a series of flashbacks in a music montage of Sonny and Brenda and Jax and Brenda scenes. Brenda remains deep in thought, even when one of the airline employees informs Brenda that she will need to hurry if she wants to make it on board her plane on time (about 7:15).

Jax has a run-in with Sonny on the docks. Sonny calls him a loser for humiliating Brenda at the altar after already tossing his wife aside for her. Jax blames Sonny for his failure to marry Brenda and accuses him of kissing Brenda to keep some hold on her. Jax threatens to take him down. Sonny tells him to try it and see what happens. Skye finds Jax on the pier and tells him that she saw Alexis leave Alcazar's room and that she isn't lying to him. Scott and Taggert have technical problems (they have her bugged) and don't hear that conversation. Jax tells her not to tell anyone, especially the cops what she saw until he gets back to her. Jax goes to see Alexis and tells her that the police are probably going to arrest Skye sometime this week and that they are already interrogating her without a lawyer. Alexis tells him she will probably be able to stall the police until at least the summer. Jax tells her that Skye remembers seeing her at Alcazar's room after he was murdered and that she thinks she did it. Alexis turns into the other personality when he tells her this. Jax notices the change and wonders what is going on with her. The doorbell rings and she answers it. It is Cameron, who she throws out of her place as well as Jax. Cameron tells him that Alexis is suffering from a split personality. Jax doesn't believe him until he explains what happened. Jax realizes that Alexis killed Alcazar without knowing it since she was the other personality at the time. Jax tells him he needs to try and stall things until they can help her out of this. Cameron agrees to do what he can. Jax finds Skye waiting on the pier for him all this time. She asks him what he found out and worries that she will be charged with murder if he doesn't do something. By this time, Scott and Taggert fix the technical problem with the mike and overhear Jax tell Skye that the cops can't find out that Alexis killed Alcazar right now. Scott and Taggert are shocked by the revelation. A few days later, Ric arrives at Carly's club to announce that Scott arrested Alexis for Alcazar's murder. Sonny tells Ric that he appreciates the update. Another great use of history as Jason remembers how Alexis always said she wouldn't represent them if they were accused of a violent crime and now she is accused of murder. Alexis is eventually acquitted on reasons of temporary insanity. (7:22)

To finish off the tape I included a few additional items. There was some great music montages for the anniversary show so I added a four of them that featured brief clips of Brenda as well as a variety of GHer's celebrating the 10,000 anniversary episode of the show (aired 4/17/02).

Danger Zone Montage (from Top Gun) - clips of L&L in the early 80's, Luke hitting Scotty on the deck of the ship during his wedding to Jennifer Smith, Roy Deluca shooting, Left Handed Boy & Ice Princess scenes, Alan brings down the roof on Monica, Frank Smith shooting in Puerto Rico, Big Bear location scene with Jason/Karen/Jagger on the run, Sean & Anna on the tram, Sonny & Carly, Jason shot, L&L in the pink caddy, Frisco & Anna with Asian Quarter scenes, Puerto Rico location shots with S&B, Robert & Tiffany on the Cassadine island, various explosions, L&L's wedding, Ned & Lois at Coney Island, Ryan in the fire, L&L at the Canadian diner/parachuting/river scenes from their 1993 return.

Wedding montage - Laura & Scotty, Lesley & Rick, Karen & Jagger, Tony & Bobbie, Robert & Anna, Robin & Stone (the didn't actually marry but the scene where she wore the lace montilla and they dreamed of their future wedding), Brenda waiting for Sonny at the altar, Frisco & Felicia, Liz and Lucky (when they pledged their unofficial vows at the church), Luke & Laura, Ned & lois, Duke & Anna.

Montage of memorable cast moments - Black & white shots of Audrey & Steve, L&L at Wyndham's, Robin as a little girl with Anna, Luke and Lucky as the "pips" during a Nurse's Ball, Holly & Luke at the lake during her 1982 arrival, Sean Kaanan as AJ, Stone's death, Scotty & Laura in front of their Christmas tree, Lois jumping out of the cake, Baccahnalian Ball, Miguel & Lily at the Puerto Rico ruins, Demi Moore, Richard Dean Anderson, Jax & Brenda in Malibu, emily, Alan & Monica. Montage of kissing scenes - various GH couples

GH 40th Anniversary Promos 4/03 - Robin & Stone, Love - various couples - S&B, Cops & Robbers - Frank Smith, Sonny, various clips of mob guys and cops.

Soap Opera Digest Awards 4/03 - Vanessa wins for Best Return, Steve Burton wins for Best Supporting Actor, Maurice wins for Best Actor, GH wins for Best Show. Ends 7:48

**The End**