by: Susan
"Brenda, luv. Callie is here, with me. "
"With you? "
Jax nodded. Brenda was sitting at the kitchen table now, and Jax couldn't take his eyes off her. Her hair was soaking wet, the clothing she was wearing had seen better days, and her face…God, she was so pale, and covered with bruises. When she slouched in her chair her sweatshirt fell down and he saw a angry red slash there. She ran a hand through her hair and smiled at John when he handed her a cup of coffee.
"You know then? "
"That she's my daughter? Yes. Brenda why? "
"Jax I'm so sorry. I didn't know…I found out a month after you had gone. "
Jerry and John nodded at each other and left the room. Brenda shivered again. Jax held his hand out to her and she looked up at him, her eyes filled with longing.
"You need rest now Bren, we can discuss this in the morning. "
"No, Jax I need to tell you now…"
Jax crouched down in front of her and rested his hands on her thighs.
"We've got way too much to work out now sweetie, it's going to take us time. "
"What are you saying Jax? "
"I never stopped loving you Brenda. Two months after I left I went back to Port Charles. "
Brenda's eyes widened and she shook her head.
"You were already gone. I went to the penthouse, but the hotel said you had left two weeks before with no forwarding address. I tried to find you Brenda, God, I went nuts for the next month. Lois hadn't heard from you, neither had Robin, or Ned. You had dropped off the planet. Then, I got the divorce papers back that I had sent you. Your signature was on them. "
Jax reached up and caressed her cheek, his thumb outlining her lips.
"Jax…"
He shook his head.
"Let me finish. I don't know what I thought then. Everything was a blur. For about 4 months I wandered around. Buying and selling as many companies as I could get my hands on, but it wasn't enough, the game just wasn't there anymore. I know neither of us has an excuse for the way we handled everything, but we're together again now Brenda. I don't know for how long. Maybe we can find a way to work through all the pain, maybe we can't, but for the sake of our daughter I think we ought to try. Don't you? "
Brenda smiled. He never stopped surprising her. Four years after she had broken his heart, and subsequently hers, he was willing to work through everything, something they should have tried to do in the first place. Reaching up she brushed a strand of his hair off his forehead. Her eyes were closing on her, she couldn't fall asleep now, couldn't. But her body had a will of it's own. She leaned into Jax and rested her head on his shoulder. She felt like she was home again.
"I still love you Jax. "
Jax wrapped his arms around Brenda and lifted her up. Her head fell against his shoulder and he knew that she was asleep. They would start everything tomorrow. Trying to recapture the love that was still lurking between them, the love that four years of pain and separation couldn't destroy, and planning to bring down the man who had set in motion the set of circumstances that had let to that separation. Sonny Corinthos wouldn't know what hit him.