Trying not to sound too upset or jealous, Chloe took a deep breath and tried to relax.
"Brenda," Chloe stuttered. "Ummm... It's good to meet you."
Chloe looked at Jax to see what he was thinking.
Jax felt as though his heart was being ripped from his chest. He took a deep breath and then took a step toward Chloe. He could see the fear in her eyes. He wanted to tell her that there was nothing to fear. The last year had taught him that.
Jax took another step. Another thing the past year had taught him was that there was no turning back. When one finds true, pure love...the kind that is unconditional and without selfishness...one must hold on to it...or face it's loss.
Jax stood next to Chloe and whispered, "I'm right here. I am not going to leave you." He turned to face Brenda. He still had to know what had happened to her...and why of all days had she chosen to come back to him on the anniversary of her "death."
Jax waited for Brenda to say something. He wasn't really sure what to expect. Had she had amnesia? Had she found out the test results and been too afraid to face them with him? Had her mother convinced her before the car went off the cliff that even if she didn't end up going mad that she had no future with Jax?
Jax admonished himself. 'No use guessing. She will tell me.'
Brenda looked back at Jax. she needed to tell him the truth. "My mother...you know she was crazy....*she* turned the car off the cliff..." Brenda started to pace. "What happened was I had amnesia, someone cared for me, and I remembered, and I came back--to you."
Jax didn't know what to believe. For all he knew, she had stopped by Sonny's first. It had always been hard for him to truly believe he meant as much to her as she did to him.
"Where were you? Didn't they recognize you?" Jax asked, trying to keep his cool. All the while, he held on to Chloe's hand...his lifeline...his anchor to reality and the present. He knew that as long as he held on to her, his past couldn't gobble him up.
Chloe couldn't believe her ears as she heard Brenda saying she was coming back to Jax. But she wanted to do what was right, so she did.
"Jax, I think you have some catching up to do."
Chloe smiles up at him and whispers something in his ear. "Please don't leave me, Jax." She kisses him and walks out of the room.
Jax smiled to reassure Chloe. "You have nothing to fear, my love," he whispered softly in her ear. "If she thinks she can just pick up where we left off a year ago, she is sadly mistaken." He gave Chloe a quick kiss on the lips and squeezed her hand gently. "I'll see you soon I hope."
***
Back at the Quartermaine mansion, Carly had just talked with AJ. She is sitting in her room alone, brushing her hair and looking at herself in the mirror, admiring herself and all her jewelry. ‘I have to get rid of AJ. How am I ever going to do this? I really need a good plan. I should talk with my mother, maybe she can help me. Nah...she thinks I should just stay married. Well maybe I will and maybe I won't. I haven't decided yet. I think I will go to the penthouse and see Sonny. Maybe he can give me some information about Jason. Maybe he can tell me if I should bother...Sonny will just tell me to get lost. Well...I’ll give it a shot.’
Carly gets off the elevator on the top floor of Harbor View Towers. She stands in front of Sonny's penthouse door and smiles, "Hi, Johnny. Can I see Sonny?" As Johnny announces her, Carly as she rushes pass him. "Hi, Sonny. What’s up?"
“What do you want now, Carly?" Sonny says, more than a little irritated.
"Nothing much. I was just checking on Jason."
"I am not going to discuss him with you...I told you that already."
"Well, can you tell me how he is? Have you heard from him?"
Sonny was getting really ticked off. "No, Carly! Now leave."
Carly leaves feeling a little lost and dejected. Reluctantly, she goes back to the mansion.
***
Felicia looked at her husband and sighed. "Mac, I just came up to you and gave you a passionate kiss and all you can say is..."I don't want Faison to walk the streets? Mac, you will arrest him and I hate him just as much as you. He killed my best friends too you know. Mac, you need to relax." she said sighing.
Mac kicked himself internally. "I'm sorry, Felicia." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her with a soft, intense passion.
Mac knew that Faison was invading every part of his life. He also knew that if he didn't work harder at keeping his hatred for Faison in check it would tear him apart emotionally.
'I'm home now..." he thought. 'Don't let that maniac ruin a quiet evening at home in addition to a hectic day at the office!'
"What's for dinner? I'm starved," he told his wife with a playful grin.
"Well...it all depends on what your hungry for." Felicia caught on to her husband’s sly grin. "We have spaghetti, salad, and homemade garlic bread, but if you'd rather just skip it and go straight to desert, I have some fresh strawberries and whipped cream." She smiled playfully. "It's all up to you." She said trying her best to cheer him up. She couldn't stand it when he was upset.
"Strawberries and whipped cream, huh? Sounds perfect." Mac said with a boyish grin played across his lips. "I think I would like a hot shower first. Care to join me?"
Before Felicia can answer, Mac's cellphone rings from the pocket of his sport coat.
"Should I answer it?" Mac asks.
"You don't really have a choice do you?" Felicia asked. "I'll go take the food out of the oven and go put the strawberries away. I know that when that cell phone rings it means ‘Bye, Bye Mac’,” Felicia said sighing.
Mac leaned over and kissed his wife as he twisted around to take the phone out of the discarded jacket. "Talk to me," he said, trying his best to not sound as angry as he was for being disturbed at home.
Felicia got up and went into the kitchen.
***
Lucky gets into Port Charles the first place that he heads is Kelly's to find Liz. She isn't there so, he heads to Liz's house. ‘Not there either. Where could Liz be?’
Lucky heads to “Luke's” to find his father, who is no where to be found. Lucky decides to head to see Laura at what used to be his house. ‘I wonder where everyone could be? Maybe Mom’s at the hospital for a meeting.’
Chloe takes a walk to the General Hospital just to visit people. She wanted to do something to get her mind off of Brenda and Jax. Instead, she bumps into Lucky. "Hello," Chloe says uncertain. She's not sure if it's him. "Lucky? Lucky Spencer? Weren't you Emily's friend? Oh my God, I can't believe it's you. You were gone here for so long, everyone thought you died."
"Yes, I am and you would be Emily's cousin Chloe, right? I wasn't dead I was locked in a room somewhere. I finally got out because the door was unlocked. Have you seen my parents today?”
"I think your mother, grandmother and sister are in North Carolina. I haven’t seen your father today. Well, I'm glad you escaped that room, Lucky. Elizabeth is sure lucky to have a great guy like you with her. Welcome home.” Lucky continued into the hospital.
Instead of going in herself, Chloe decides to take a cab to the wharf.
***
Jason rushed into the ER at General Hospital looking around for Luke, until he spotted him near the window. "Luke!" Jason called.
Luke turned around. "How is she?" Jason asked concerned.
As Lucky comes into the first floor waiting room, he sees his father.
"Dad, I'm home. Do you know where Elizabeth is?"
Jason looked at Lucky in shock to see him alive and then back at Luke.
"Lucky.." Jason couldn't think of anything to say. "I-uh-I have to make a call. Good to see you again Lucky."
Jason patted Luke on the back and went over, to sit on some chairs. He pulled out his phone and called Sonny. “Hey."
"What's going on?" Sonny asked.
"Lucky's alive." Jason told his partner.
"What?!"
"Yea, that was my reaction. I don't know, he showed up at the hospital...Liz was in an accident."
"Is she OK?" Sonny asked.
"Yea, they said she'll be alright, eventually. Listen I gotta go."
"Wait-wait Carly just left."
"What did she want?"
"Ah...nothing...she wanted to know how you were."
"What did you tell her?" Jason asked, very interested now.
"I told her to leave." Sonny explained.
"I really have to go now." Jason hung up his phone and placed it in his coat pocket. He glanced over at Luke and Lucky and walked over to the elevator. He should really tell Carly how Liz is...or maybe I should come up with another excuse to see her Jason thought.
***
As Pat walked down the halls of General Hospital, he worriedly glanced into every room. "Liz, where are you? I hope you're okay," he thought to himself.
Finally he came upon room 551, the room the nurse at the front desk had directed him to. Glancing through the window he saw Liz laying on the bed, eyes closed. machines were hooked up to her.
"Oh God! Please let her be okay," he whispered to himself as he pushed the door open. "Liz?" he said.
"Hmmm?" Liz turned her head toward the voice. "Pat? Is that you?"
"It's me. Audrey told me you were here. I was so worried. After all that's happened to you this year." He leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead. Pat held her hand and softly caressed it. "I couldn't believe it myself."
"Pat... please... don't talk about Lucky. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Colorado?"
"Actually... there's something I needed to tell you. But first promise me you'll be my date to this Policeman's Ball that Audrey's been telling me about."
"Policeman's Ball? That's the first I've heard about it. You pass out from shock and suddenly no one tells you anything anymore. But yes, as soon as I get out of here, I will definitely be your date. Now what is it you came all the way from Colorado to tell me?"
"Liz?" Pat brought her hand to his lips and kissing it lightly. "I've been putting off telling you this for weeks..."
***
Emily comes bounding down the stairs.
Reggie hands her an envelope. “I thought this one might interest you.”
She opens an important looking invitation.
It reads:
“You are invited to the first annual Policeman’s Ball Sept 30 1999. Black tie event. RSVP required.”
Emily giggles, “Who am I going to go with? My parents won’t let me near Juan. Hmm... I think I'll see if Jason is going with anyone. Even so, maybe I can tag along. It will definitely be better than sitting with my parents.’
Emily calls Jason’s cell phone. “Hi, Jason. Where are you?"
Jason answered his phone, "Hey, Em! I’m at a stoplight on my bike. Why?" Jason asked, he certainty couldn't tell her he was on his way to the mansion to see Carly, but this was perfect... Now he had an excuse to be there. "This is bad connection. You know what? I am only five minutes away from the mansion.. Why don't I stop by and we can talk?”
“Okay, great! See you soon,” Emily responds.
“Bye," Jason smiled as he hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. The light changed and he took off on his bike.
***
After Chloe had gone, Jax looked at Brenda intently and studied her.
An entire year had passed since the car plunged over the cliff. Three-hundred and sixty-five days of not having her near him. A lot had happened in that time. He'd lost his fortune and rebuilt his business. He'd met Chloe and done the one thing that he thought was impossible...he had found real love. He wasn't about to throw that away for something that might not have been right to begin with. Sure, he had been happy with Brenda...but she hadn't always been happy with him. He knew her heart was divided between himself and Sonny.
Jax was so unsure of the situation. ‘Sure...she’s chosen me this time, but would she still chose me over Sonny when she saw him next?’
Jax couldn't convince himself that she would. He wasn't the type to take anything for granted. He would not abandon Chloe. 'She is too important to me,' Jax thought.
"What are you doing here, Brenda?" he asked pointedly.
Brenda looked at Jax and smiled "I came back...as soon as I could. I missed you so much!...For so long I had no idea who I was, what was my name, what my life was like..." A tear rolled down her cheek. "But the only thing I could remember was you...Your face...and your smile...that’s all. You were the only thing that kept me going every day. I...I am so sorry..." Brenda choked out, "I shouldn't have come to you...I just thought that you still loved me, that you still...just, remember I'll always love you no matter what, Jax." Brenda forced out before putting her back to him and sobbing into her hands. "I...I have no one." She said in between sobs.
Jax hated to see Brenda cry. He always had.
"I'm sorry I was so hard on you. It's just that...you were dead and I had to go on with life. Your life may have revolved around me, but if I had let mine be focused only on you, I wouldn't have been able to function. So much has happened in a year. You can't believe how much... I don't want to hurt you, but I can't just pick up where we left off." Jax swallowed hard before continuing. "I'm married...to Alexis Davis. It's a very long a complicated story. Chloe and I are good friends... I can't just leave my wife and friends to go back to something that was over a year ago. It wouldn't be right. I've made promises and taken vows."
Jax looked down at the picture of himself and Brenda on the table. "I love you...and I always will, but I am not IN love with you anymore. I can't divide my heart. I'm sorry, Brenda."
Brenda was sobbing, and tried hard to stop. Finally, she lifted her head and looked at Jax. "I hate you! Why are you doing this to me?! I came back to *you* not Sonny! I could have, and you know what I should have, but I didn't! You're always giving up on us! Maybe there wasn't even an us!" Brenda was trying to blame Jax, and wasn't even sure what she was saying anymore, she was just screaming things at him, "That's it. That's it! You never loved me....never. I should have known. You don't stop being *in* love with someone Jax! Once you have feelings for a person they don't go away! Ever! I knew you wouldn't understand... Sonny would have, Sonny would have been there for me just like he always has! Do me a favor and forget everything that ever happened between us! Forget you ever loved me!" Brenda yelled, tears streaming from her eyes.
Jax stood motionless, as he tried not to lash out at Brenda. He really didn't want to hurt her. "I did love you...but I was never sure if your feelings for me were as deep as mine were for you. I was never sure if Sonny was really out of your life. I guess he wasn't."
Jax took a deep breath. "I want you to be happy," he said sincerely. "I want what's best for you...and it isn't being with me. We'll only end up hurting each other over and over."
Jax looked down at the picture on the sofa table again. He didn't want Brenda to see how much this was affecting him. He turned his back to her so she wouldn't see the tears forming in his eyes. "I think you should go now," he said softly.
After the door closed, Jax put his hand to his lips. Just a moment before, Brenda had kissed him and he could still taste her tears...or were they his. "I'm sorry, Brenda," he said softly.
***
Mac listened quietly for a moment as the person on the other end talked.
"Yeah...do what you have to...I'll take care of it in the morning...No, I am having dinner with my wife...Taggart, you're a lieutenant now, can't you handle this on your own?" Mac rolled his eyes. "Alright...If you have any more trouble, call me. I'll talk you through it, but I am not coming in tonight."
Mac hung up and, for a split second, thought about turning the annoying device off. As he put the cellphone back in his coat, Felicia came back into the living room. "Now...you said something about strawberries, I believe," he said, flashing a seductive smile.
Felicia smiled as she walked back over to him and sat down. "Well, yes, I did. I have strawberries and whipped cream. Would you like some?" Felicia asked as a smile spread across her face. At his nod, she walked into the kitchen and grabbed the bowl of strawberries and the whip cream out of the fridge. She walked back and sat down. "Now, here, tell me what you think?" She asked as she sprayed the whip cream onto the strawberry and lifted it to Mac's mouth.
Mac bit into the sweet berry. "Mmmm...Wonderful. My turn."
Mac sprayed a little whipped cream onto his finger. He swirled his finger around in the air and then suddenly dotted it on her nose. "Missed...I was trying for your mouth," he said playfully. He took a strawberry from the bowl and wiped most of the whipped cream from Felicia's nose onto the berry and held it out for her to bite into.
Felicia giggled when the cold whipped cream hit her nose. She bit into the juicy strawberry and sighed. "This is so good." She smiled. She reached over for the can of whip cream. "Here." she offered as she sprayed some on his face. "Oops, I missed." She said laughing. "I'll race you upstairs." She said with a seductive grin.
Mac smiled. "Last one to the shower is a rotten kiwi!" He got up and vaulted himself over the back of the couch. As he bounded up the stairs, he could feel Felicia right on his heels.
Mac made in to the master bath first. After Felicia had crossed the threshold, he closed the door and turned on the shower...
***
Jax walked over to the mantle and picked up a small, carved wooden box. He held it for a few minutes, just staring at it. Finally, he opened the box and took out Brenda's bracelet...the one she had won in New Orleans. He clasped it tightly in his hand and then opened it again. The beautiful gems had left their impression on his flesh.
Jax put the empty box back on the mantle and went to the door. He nearly tripped over Brenda, who was sitting on the floor, as he opened the door and started toward the elevator. He knelt down beside her and slipped the bracelet over her wrist, then kissed her on the top of her head.
Before Brenda even had a chance to stand up, Jax had gotten onto the elevator and the doors had closed. He leaned heavily against the back wall of the elevator. His heart felt as though it was plunging faster than the elevator was descending.
The feeling didn't stop when the elevator reached the ground floor of the Port Charles Hotel. He walked out to the street and hailed a taxi.
"Banister's Wharf, please," he told the driver absent-mindedly. When the cab stopped, he got out and paid the fare without even looking to see where on Lakefront the driver had dropped him.
As the cab drove away, Jax took a look around. He was close to the dockside park with the benches and great view of Spoon Island. He stood at the top of the stairs and looked down to the next level.
***
