One Day In Venice-11

One Day In Venice-11 til End

Brenda awakens to the brilliant sunlight streaming through her bare bedroom windows. She squints into the light and tells herself that getting curtains has got to be a priority. She rolls onto her stomach and looks at Jax, sound asleep beside her. He instinctively pulls her close to him, which makes her smile.

She thinks about Sonny. It is still hard for her to believe that he is dead. Her world had revolved around him for so long, it was hard for her to belive that she was finally out of his orbit. For the first time, she feels truly free. Not that she's glad he's dead. She isn't. Brenda knows that she has a lot of things to work through. Brenda shudders and snuggles closer to her husband.

Brenda is so thankful to have Jax in her life. She knows that he will always love her. He will put her first. And Brenda is going to put him first. Brenda smiles as her thoughts return to her husband. Brenda is lying in the arms of the one man who loves her unconditionally. She isn't sure why, but Jax trusts her with his heart. And for some reason, she trusts him with hers. Brenda still doesn't fully understand her connection to Jax. All she knows is that he is everything she has ever wanted. She reaches over and gently strokes his face.

He stirs a little but doesn't wake up. Brenda begins to trail kisses along his chest and neck until she reaches the side of his face. Jax is still sound askeep and Brenda smiles to herself as she carefully climbs on top of him. Her lips meet his in a tender kiss that brings Jax out of his slumber. His hands slide into her hair as their kiss gets deeper.

"Are you taking over my wakeup duties," Jax asks her sleepily.

Brenda nuzzles her head under his chin. "Are you complaining?"

"For the record, you can wake me like this any time you want."

Brenda is gently caressing his bare chest. "I wanted to thank you."

Jax is stroking her hair. "For what?"

"For last night. For listening to me go on and on about Sonny. I know that it couldn't have been easy for you."

He tilts her chin up, so their eyes meet. "Brenda, I am always here for you. No matter what's bothering you. Don't ever feel like you have to keep things from me because I might get hurt. The only thing that would hurt is if you felt you couldn't open up to me."

Brenda's eyes fill with love as she places a kiss on Jax's receptive lips. "Now I know why I love you."

"You were wondering?"

"No...there are so many reasons why I love you. You just showed me another one. Okay, Jax, there has to be something wrong with you. No one is this perfect."

He kisses the top of her head. "You are."

Brenda smiles. "Well, that delusion will be properly shattered with time. Seriously, don't you have any faults?"

"Everyone does...I tend to be ruthless, in business. I don't always think about my actions having consequences for other people. Believe me, Brenda, I've done my share of things to be ashamed of."

"Like what?" Jax shakes his head, but Brenda persists. "Please tell me."

"I was...taking over this hotel chain with Jerry. I was just starting to get over Miranda's death. I was angry at the world, though. I seduced...the wife of the CEO of the hotel chain. To get information." Brenda's eyes widen. "You think less of me, don't you?"

Brenda lays her hand on the side of his face. "I don't think less of you. We're all human, Jax...we all make mistakes. And I can tell that you regret what happened...we all do."

"What do you regret?"

Brenda sits up and runs a hand through her hair. "Maybe we should stop talking about this."

Jax sits up and puts his arm around her. "There's nothing that you can't share with me. I want to know everything about you...the good and the bad."

Brenda shakes her head. "You'll hate me."

"I could never hate you. Do you feel any differently about me, knowing about the things I've done in the past?"

Brenda turns and kisses him. "No. Of course not. I understand you better now. That's what I want."

"And that's what I want. Sweetie, I want to know you inside and out. I promised you 'for better or worse' and I meant it. I want to understand what drives you. What's made you who you are."

"Jax, the things that have made me who I am...they aren't very happy or pleasant." Jax puts his arms around her. "There are so many things that I would take back or do differently."

"Tell me."

Brenda leans back against his chest. "I've told you that my relationship with Sonny was...very rocky. He kept a lot of things from me. And I betrayed him. I couldn't trust him and...he ended things with me."

"How did you betray him?"

"I wore a wire...to gather information for the police. Sonny...well, a few of the things he does aren't quite...legal. And he never told me the truth about it. So, I betrayed him. He was never more hurt than he was at that moment...except..."

Jax hugs her tighter. "Except for what?"

Brenda takes a deep breath and continues. May as well drive him away for good. "After we broke up, Sonny went away with Lily. I'd been jealous of her all along...naturally I assumed the worst. So, I decided to get my revenge and fall into bed with the next guy who came along...There's nothing I regret more. I rubbed it in Sonny's face and..." She starts crying. "He called me a whore...and for a while I believed him."

She turns, burrying her face in his shoulder. Jax kisses the top of her head and gently rubs her back.

"You think he was right don't you?"

Jax tilts her chin up so she is looking into his eyes. "I don't ever want to hear you talk like that again. We all make mistakes, especially when we're in emotional turmoil. I know, when you're thinking clearly, you would never give yourself to a man unless you really felt something for him."

"How do you know that?"

"Because of the way you put me off and made me chase you all over the world."

Through her tears, Brenda laughs. "That's true."

Jax holds her in his arms. "You were determined that our relationship be more than a vacation fling. Brenda, you didn't let me make love to you until you were certain of your feelings. You gave yourself completely. Sweetheart, you are the most wonderful, giving woman I have ever known."

She smiles and kisses him, reverently. "Then you need to get out more."

Jax reaches over and picks up a pillow, hitting her with it. Brenda grabs her own pillow and hits him, harder. Soon, they are in the middle of a full-blown pillow fight.

Later that morning, Brenda is downstairs in the kitchen, pouring glasses of orange juice, when Jax enters wearing grey sweatpants and a t-shirt. He's carrying the newspaper.

Brenda hugs her returning husband. "How was your run?"

"Great. I think I could get used to Port Charles."

He sits at the table and Brenda hands him a glass of orange juice. "That's a good thing, since we live here now." She sits in his lap and rests her head on his shoulder.

Jax smiles and opens up the PC newspaper, saying, "Let's see what's going on in this town of yours."

Both of their smiles vanish when they see the front page. There is a huge picture of the two of them arriving in Port Charles, with the caption, "Model Marries Corporate Raider." Brenda meeets her husband's eyes.

"Jax...how did they..."

He puts his arm around her. "I don't know. We aren't exactly low profile, but still..."

Brenda tosses the paper aside. "At least I don't have to think of a way to break the news to everyone."

"I'm sorry about this."

She kisses him. "It's not your fault. Everyone would have found out about our marriage eventually. Actually, this just saved me a lot of time."

She walks over to the sink and leans against it, looking out the window. Jax walks behind her and puts his arms around her. "What can I do to fix this? I know you wanted to tell your friends about our marriage in your own way."

Brenda leans back against his strong chest. "It's okay, Jax. I'm not upset. I'm just wondering how everyone has reacted to the news."

Later that same day, Brenda takes Jax with her over to Kelly's, so she can pick up the rest of her belongings and speak with Ruby. As soon as they are in the door, Ruby makes a beeline for the newlyweds.

"Well, Brenda, it's good to see you back in Port Charles." She hugs her. "Though, from what I read in the paper, it would appear that your days as my tennant are over."

Clutching Jax's hand, Brenda smiles apologetically. "I'm so sorry that you had to read about my marriage in the paper. I was trying to come up with the best way to tell everyone myself...but the press beat me to it."

Ruby nods. "As long as you're happy. Though, this marriage was very sudden."

Jax speaks up. "That was my doing...I was so crazy for Brenda...I couldn't bear the thought of being away from her. I assure you, she thought our marriage was a nutty idea."

Brenda smiles. "But, I quickly changed my mind. Ruby, I'd like you to meet Jax. Honey, this is Ruby. She's the closest thing I've had to a mother since I've been in Port Charles."

Jax and Ruby shake hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ruby."

"It's nice to meet you too, Jax. I hope you'll treat Brenda the way she deserves to be treated."

Jax kisses his wife. "That's the plan."

Ruby smiles, completely won over by Jax's obvious devotion to Brenda. She is glad to see Brenda smiling. Especially after that nasty business with Sonny.

Brenda turns to Jax, handing him her keyring. "Honey, could you go ahead upstairs? I want to talk to Ruby for a minute. I'll be up with some boxes."

Jax takes the keys, giving her a quick hug. "Your wish is my command."

Brenda gazes at him, her eyes filled with love. "It's the second door on the right. I won't be long." After Jax leaves, Brenda looks over at Ruby. "So?"

She guides Brenda to a table. "So...he seems perfect. He's handsome, rich, powerful...and most importantly, he clearly adores you."

Brenda smiles in relief. "I'm so glad you think so." Her joy is quickly replaced by more nervousness when Robin comes inside. She hesitates in the doorway a moment before coming over to Brenda.

"Hi, Brenda."

She smiles, tentatively. "It's good to see you."

Robin sits down. "How could you do this?"

Brenda sighs. "I suppose it was too much to hope you hadn't seen the paper yet."

"It's true, isn't it?"

Brenda can't help beaming. "Yeah. Robin, you are going to love Jax, I promise you. He is so wonderful. And I'm sorry that no one was at the wedding...but it was very last minute." She looks at Ruby. "And it was so romantic."

Robin can't believe this. "You barely know this guy. Unless you've been living some secret life for the past few months."

Brenda shakes her head. "No...I"ve only known Jax for a few months. But we've been inseparable. Jax is so...amazing. I can't even put him into words. He's not like anyone I've ever known."

"What about Sonny?" Robin's eyes fill with tears. "Did you hear what happened?"

Brenda nods. "I'm so sorry, Robin. I know how much you loved him."

Robin looks at Brenda cautiously. "What does that mean? That you didn't?"

"There was a time when I loved him. But, Robin, that was a long time ago. It's been over. It just took me a long time to admit it. I'm sorry that he's dead. I never wished him ill. And there are a lot of things I never got a chance to tell him. But, Robin, that does not change my feelings for Jax."

"I can't believe you're saying this. What happened to you?"

Brenda looks down at her wedding ring. "I fell in love. And more importantly, I grew up."

Ruby senses that Robin isn't ready to let this go, so she does her best to change the course of the conversation. "Brenda, sweetheart, why don't you head on up to your husband, so the two of you can get started packing."

Robin looks up. "He's here?"

Brenda smiles. "Yes! I want you to come meet him. If you give Jax a chance, I know you'll like him. He's so great." She stands. "Come on."

Ruby puts her hand on Robin's shoulder. "Brenda, you go on up. I'll see if I can dig up some boxes for you with Robin's help."

"Okay."

After Brenda is upstairs, Ruby looks at Robin. "Don't spoil this for her. You know how Sonny treated her for the past few months. She's finally moved on and she's happy. What do you want her to do? Dress all in black for a year before she starts dating again. Lily was his wife, not Brenda. I have never, ever seen her this happy. Let her enjoy her life. She deserves it."

Robin wavers a bit. "What about Sonny? He's...he's gone."

"I know, Honey. But that's not her fault. He pushed her away and hurt her for almost a year. Brenda doesn't owe him anything. Not even her tears. She is sad that he's gone. I don't think you can expect much more of her. Go upstairs and meet Jax. After two minutes, I promise, you'll see how much he loves her. Be happy for her, Robin. Brenda is your friend, too."

Upstairs, Brenda walks through the open door to her room and smiles at the sight of Jax taking everything in. He is looking at everything in detail. Trying to get a more detailied impression of what Brenda's life in Port Charles was like.

"Well, Jax...what do you think?"

He turns and meets her gaze. "You lived here? Were you hiding out from someone?"

Brenda nods and walks toward him. "I think I was afraid to go anywhere more...permanent. This way, I could pick up and leave the moment Sonny decided he wanted me. Pretty pathetic, huh?"

Jax takes her in his arms. "You don't have to wait up here anymore."

"Nope. The prince rescued me from the gloomy tower."

Jax smiles and hugs her. "I'll never leave you, Brenda. Or hurt you. No matter what."

She reaces up and gently touches his face. "I love you."

As their lips meet, Jax replies, "I love you, too."

This is the scene that Robin walks in on when she comes upstairs. She can feel the love between them. It is filling the room. Robin clears her throat to get their attention.

Brenda pulls away from Jax and turns to face her friend. "Robin...come on in. I want you to meet someone." She takes her husband's hand and leads him over to Robin. "This is Jax...my husband. Jax, this is my...well, I call her my little sister, eventhough we aren't really related. Anyway, Jax. This is Robin."

Jax takes Robins's hand. "I've been looking forward to meeting you. Brenda talks about you all the time."

"It's nice to meet you, too."

Jax smiles. "This must have been a shock for you...your best friend goes away for a few months and comes back married to someone you've never met before. But, Robin, I promise you that I'll take care of Brenda."

Robin looks at him and she knows that he is telling the truth. She's wanted so much to dislike him, put it was painfully obvious that he was madly in love with Brenda. She almost felt like it was a betrayal to Sonny for her to like Jax.

Jax gives Brenda a quick kiss. "It was great to meet you, Robin. I hope that we can all go out to dinner sometime."

Brenda glances up at him. "Are you going somewhere?"

"I have a...meeting. I'll meet you at home before we go out to dinner tonight."

Brenda hugs her. "Okay. I'll see you later."

After he's gone, Brenda sits down on the bed. She glances over at Robin. "Well...What do you think?"

"I'm happy for you, Brenda. I'd have to be blind not to see that he is crazy about you. And you're in love with him too, right?"

Brenda smiles excitedly. "I've never felt this way before. I always thought that I knew what love was...Jax has shown me that I was wrong. I feel so...happy when I'm with him. I never want to lose what I have with Jax."

Lois is sitting at her desk, at the gatehouse, trying to get some L&B business done. She quickly responds to a knock on the door. It's Jax. Lois smiles and welcomes him inside.

"I'm really glad that you could come. I've never really gotten the chance to talk to you. Alone, that is. There are a few things I thought we should talk about."

Jax sits down next to her on the couch. "No problem. Brenda's packing up her old room with her friend, Robin."

Lois smiles. "How did Robin react to the news of your marriage?"

He shrugs. "She seemed a little hesitant. But that's to be expected. Anyone would be surprised, given the circumstances of my marriage to Brenda. Why?"

"Well...Robin is ... was very close to Sonny. So, don't take it personally if it takes her a while to warm up to you. She has a large blind spot when it came to seeing Sonny for what he really is. She loved him very much. And...she might force herself not to like you for a while. Out of respect to Sonny. Just so you're warned."

Jax leans back. "Thanks for the tip. I sense that there is a lot more that you want to tell me about. Go ahead."

Lois sighs. "You know, I grew up with Sonny. and my husband thinks I have the same blindness Robin does, but he's wrong. I loved Sonny, but I knew what he was. And I didn't pretend he was honorable or noble. And I never thought that Brenda should be with him. He had her so tied up in knots for so long. She definitely needed someone new in her life."

Jax smiles. "But that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm the right someone new."

"Look, Jax, I barely know you. I really don't understand why there was all this rush for you and Brenda to get married."

"I don't understand it myself. The moment I laid eyes on Brenda, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. It sounds strange, but...I feel like Brenda is the part of me that's always been missing. And when you meet the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you don't want to wait."

Lois smiles and pats him on the shoulder. "I can see that you love her very much. And she loves you. I just want you both to be happy."

Jax smiles at her. "We will be. You have my word."

"I hope so. Just ... let her deal with Sonny's death in her own way. She'll be okay."

It's early afternoon at the cemetary in Port Charles. Brenda walks over and sits down on a bench opposite Sonny's tombstone. This is such a surreal experience for Brenda, she's not sure if it's really happening. She reaches out and touches the stone, as though she needs to feel it in order to believe that this is real.

"Oh...Sonny I can't believe how things turned out. If I knew then what I know now ... I would have done so many things differently. I would have let you go a lot sooner than I did ... I would have realized that we didn't really have love.

"I have so much to say to you. And this isn't good enough. There are so many things I'm angry with you about. Why did you treat me so horribly? Why couldn't you trust me? Why didn't you let me go ...

"I always thought we had true love. It was just an adolescent fantasy. My own little 'West Side Story.' I can't get over how stupid I was. I actually thought that I could change you. That alone should have told me that we weren't meant for one another.

"I only just realized, that loving someone means that you love them no matter what. That you would never dream of changing them. I have that now, you know. At least I finally figured it out. I finally have a man who loves me, faults and all. He knows about all of the terrible things I've done, and it doesn't matter. He still loves me.

"He's wonderful to me. I could never imagine Jax yelling at me, or hurting me. He's completely open and honest with me about everything. And for the first time in my life, there's someone that I don't have any secrets from. We're good friends, not just lovers.

"Goodbye, Sonny. I wish that things had turned out better for you. I hope that you've finally found peace, because I know that you never found it in all the time that I knew you. I won't be back. It's time for me to move on. Life's given me a second chance. It's given me Jax and I'm not going to blow it this time. Goodbye."

Later that evening, Jax comes home. He doesn't see Brenda anywhere, but he hears music playing upstairs. Jax walks up and follows the music into the bedroom. Jax is astonished at the room. Brenda must have had a hundred helpers. The bedroom is completely finished. There is a huge four-poster bed in the middle of the room with a rich, cream and gold comforter and mosquito netting is hanging from the canopy of the bed. It is piled high with pillows and there is a fire burning in the fireplace. Jax realizes that the music is coming from inside the bathroom. He walks inside and the vision before him takes his breath away.

Brenda is relaxing in a warm bubble-bath with her hair piled high on her head. The lights are turned down low and she has lit candles throughout the room. Brenda is resting her head against the edge of the large, sunken tub with her eyes closed, listening to Celine Dion's "Falling into You."

And in your eyes I see ribbons of color

I see us inside of each other

I feel my unconscious merge with yours

And I hear a voice say, "What's his is hers."

I'm falling into you

This dream could come true

And it feels so good falling into you

Jax smiles and quietly creeps into the room. He walks over to the edge of the tub and kneals down beside her. Jax leans over and places a kiss on her neck. Brenda slowly opens her eyes as a lazy smiles spreads across her face. Brenda slides one of her hands along the nape of Jax's neck and then up into his hair. His slips slowly make their way to hers and Jax and Brenda are joined in a passionate kiss.

Brenda gazes into her husband's eyes with an expression of true love. "I'm glad you're home. I missed you."

"Missed me? I only left you a few hours ago," he replies teasingly.

She slides her hand out of his hair and to the back of his neck. "I know, honey. But...we've been together all the time for the past few months. It just seemed strange that you weren't there...holding my hand or making me smile."

He reaches over and caresses the side of her face. "I will always be there to hold your hand and make you smile. I promise."

He leans over and tenderly kisses her again. Brenda wraps her arms around his neck and carefully slides his jacket off his shoulders and onto the floor. Her fingers begin to carefully unbutton his shirt and Brenda slides one hand over his muscular chest.

"Mrs Jacks, I do believe you are trying to seduce me," Jax says jokingly.

Between kisses, Brenda murmurs, "I think you're right."

Jax offers his feeble attemt at resisting his wife's advances. "Brenda ... we have reservations for dinner at the Outback. We don't want to be late."

Brenda releases him and considers the situation. "Ah, but I know something you don't know."

"What's that?"

"I called the Outback and cancelled our reservations."

"Why?"

Brenda teasingly begins to caress the back of his neck. "Because, I thought we could use some more time alone. We are newlyweds, after all."

Jax touches the side of her face. "Did something happen today?"

Brenda nods. "I went to Sonny's grave. And I ... I said goodbye. You know what? I realized that I wasn't burrying a lover. It was more like burrying a ... a tormenter. I know it's terrible of me to speak badly of the dead. I don't think Sonny meant to treat me badly. He was just ... very broken. Anyway, I realized something."

"What did you realize?"

"I realized that for the first time in my entire life ... I'm happy. I have everything that I could possibly have ever wanted."

Jax smiles. "Of course. You have a fabulous career, tons of money, a gorgeous house, you're beautiuful--"

Brenda silences him with a kiss. "I have you. That's all. Just having you makes me the luckiest woman on the planet. And I love you."

I was afraid to let you in here

Now I have learned love can't be made in fear

The walls begin to tumble down

And I can't even see the ground

I'm falling into you

This dream could come true

And it feels so good falling into you

Jax gazes into her eyes for a moment before taking her into his arms and kissing her. As the passion increases, Brenda wraps her arms around his neck and allows him to lift her out of the tub and into his arms. Their lips finally part as Jax reaches up to remove the clip holding her hair up. Brenda tilts her head back as he allows his lips to roam over her neck and shoulders.

Brenda moves her body even closer to Jax, as if that were possible, and murmurs in his ear, "I think we should get you out of these wet clothes."

Jax smiles as she finishes unbuttoning his shirt and slides it off his shouders. Her hands slide down his chest and over the rippling muscles. Brenda looks up and gazes up at her husband. She sees her desire mirrored in his pale blue eyes. Their lips meet again as Brenda's hands move to his waist and she slowly unbuckles his belt and unzips his pants.

They slide to the floor and Jax removes them along with his socks and shoes. He takes Brenda in his arms again and she jumps into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. He strokes her back, enjoying the feel of her smooth, slightly moist skin beneath his fingers. He kisses her again and slowly begins walking into the bedroom, with Brenda still wrapped around him.

Falling like a leaf, falling like a star

Finding a belief, falling where you are

Catch me, don't let me drop!

Love me, don't ever stop!

Jax gently places her onto the bed and lies down next to her. Brenda turns to face him. She reaches out and caresses his face, kissing him lovingly. He traces his finger along her collarbone and down to her breasts. Brenda is trembling with desire now. Jax pulls her closer to him as his mouth begins to roam over her breasts. She moans as the warmth of his mouth and tongue caress her.

So close your eyes and let me kiss you

And while you sleep I will miss you

I'm falling into you

This dream could come true

And it feels so good falling into you

Their lips are joined yet again and Jax gently eases on top of her. Brenda slides her hands into his hair, gently stroking it. Brenda feels like all of her senses are alive as she and Jax are joined in an incredible passion. When they return to earth, Brenda rests her head on Jax's chest as he runs his fingers over her hair.

Falling like a leaf, falling like a star

Finding a belief, falling where you are

Falling into you

"I love you, Jax. I'll love you forever."

Jax kisses her tenderly. "I love you, too. Always."

THE END ... for now

(I'm having a tough time writing a happy storyline with Brenda involved right now, so I'm taking a break from this story and working on another one. When I feel better about the Jax and Brenda relationship being portrayed on the screen, I will continue this story -- I promise.)

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Cristina

cjohnson@ucla.edu

"I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they

go flying by."

-- Douglas Adams

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