Every now and then I know there's no one in the universe as magical and
wondrous as you. ~ Bonnie Tyler
**JAX**
"I'm not talking about it anymore. Simon will be picking me up here, and I'm going to leave with him. That's that." V said in as firm of a tone as she could muster. She decided to try a different approach, to see if maybe it would help her out. She softened her voice and looked at him with her big brown eyes. "It's my life Jax, and if I want to run off on a trip around the world, I'm going to do it. I wouldn't stop you if you decided to do this." She said, knowing she wasn't exactly being truthful but she wasn't going to tell him.
"You wouldn't? Isn't this similar to running away from your problems? And haven't you followed me to Malibu more the once to pick me back up and put me together again?"
"Different time and place Jax. And who says I have any problems?" V asked, outraged that he was fighting her not over leaving, that would have been acceptable, but because she was leaving knowing there might or might not be someone else here, was something she hadn't expected. Of course this had hardly been one of her typical days.
"Perhaps, but you have a ton of problems. Who is it that you're running from? I know it's not me, we've cleared that up. There a lot of young, eligible men in town. None that I'd recommend, but you're trying to leave with Simon, so I know you don't take what I think into consideration." He thought hard about who she could be interested in. "It's not Ned, he's marrying, what did you call Chloe? The cuddly, fluffy spawn of Satan wasn't it?" He couldn't hold back his chuckle. Her description was funny and accurate, even though he'd never admit it out loud. "And I just can't see you as the home wrecker type. Which leaves out Mac too." He added as an after thought.
"Is it Jerry?" He asked, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. He wasn't sure how he felt, her falling for his older brother, but if it kept her in town, he didn't really care.
"Jerry? As in practically married, happier then I've ever seen him with his head in the clouds, waiting tables to make life easier for his intended Jerry?" She gave him an incredulous, wondering what planet he'd been on for the past year.
"Jax, it's no one. You're looking for a way to keep me here, and it's not going to work. I'm leaving," She looked down at her wrist, checking what time it was. "In probably an hour, depending on how long it takes Simon to get the plane ready. He should be here any time now."
"It's not to late, I can and will hide you from him V. I should have done it in the beginning, when you begged me to. But Chloe insisted that you should be the one to make this choice, and that you be given a chance to get to know Simon."
"And that buddy, is what you get for listening to that...." V stopped, trying to come up with something that was a fitting description. "That fly by night, chiffon clad, side show..." again she stopped, trying one last time to come up with something suitable. "Woman," she finally spat, running out of steam. "One I wish had never come to town." She added softly.
"You have such a way with words luv, to be call someone a woman in such an awful way," Jax said laughing again. "Remind me to always stay on your good side V, or else I won't know what to do with myself. I wouldn't want you calling me a 'man'."
"Shut up you oversized dork. I hate you sometimes. Maybe not with so much venom as I hate Chloe, but you still have a tendency to drive me up a wall."
"Of course I do, if I didn't, we wouldn't be half as good of friends. If there wasn't a challenge, there wouldn't have been any reason to stick around and try to get to know one another."
"Still, on my last night in town, do you have to torment me? I thought you might want to be nice so that someday I might want to come back." She said knowing it would never happen.
"She does have a point Jax. You could be a little nicer to her." Alexis said popping back into the room, carrying a bottle of champagne and three glasses. "Since there hadn't been any yelling for five minutes, I thought it might be safe to bring this in. Was I right?"
"Aren't you always darling?" Jax asked, looking over his shoulder with a silly grin. One that V noticed was reserved for his bride. "I was trying to figure out who has won fair Venus' heart."
"Jax, I know that you're not always the master of the obvious, but honestly. How hard is this?" She didn't want to fess up to knowing that there might be someone else. If V wanted to leave, it was her business and no one else's. "I would think that since she's leaving with Simon it must be him."
"One would think, but with V, you never know. And she's trying to hide this from me, which means that it's someone she knows I won't like or won't approve of."
"And he says that," V jumped in, hoping to get off of this topic. "As if I should care if he approves of anyone that I am involved with." She stood and met Alexis across the room, taking the bottle of champagne from her, "What he doesn't know is that I usually pick men I know he won't approve of, so that it will drive him crazy." Actually if he knew who it was, he'd know it was true and not just a joke.
"Why do you think I decided that leaving with Simon was a good thing? I knew that Jax, after reconsideration would decide that he wasn't good enough for me, and would regret pushing me towards him."
"You don't have to leave for that to happen. Just the thought of you leaving is making me regret it." He looked to Alexis for help, since he was getting no where with V. "You know, Alexis and I could really use some help around here, right Alexis? What if I quadrupled what Ned is paying you and cut you in on the profit of what we're going to make on this deal we're working on together. Could I convince you to stay?"
"Not on your life. And I no longer work for Ned. I resigned my position before coming here." She said sitting down with the open bottle of champagne. She looked at the glasses that Alexis still held. "Is this bottle for me? I don't need a glass, if you two have your own."
"I refuse to celebrate your leaving V. I can't drink and pretend I'm happy about something that is making me absolutely sick thinking about it." Jax said, trying to block Alexis from handing V one of the flutes.
"Not sitting down and drinking with us isn't going to stop her from leaving Jax." Alexis said, wondering what was really wrong. It wasn't like Jax to prevent someone from doing what they really wanted to do. "Instead it's going to make V's last memories of time with you sour because you wouldn't be supportive of her."
"Maybe she shouldn't be leaving and I wouldn't have to not be supportive. For once I want her to listen to me. I know what I'm talking about."
Alexis, fed up with his antics, kissed him quickly, and when she pulled away she smacked him in the back of the head. "This isn't about you Jasper Jacks. Unless you've got a secret that I don't know about and you're really V, then you are going to sit down, play nice and stop making this harder on her then it already is."
V couldn't help but laugh when he did exactly what Alexis said. "And you wondered why I was so concerned with leaving you here alone with that woman. She never would have been able to handle you like that." V said with a smile. "You'll be fine Jax. And I promise once I settle in somewhere or find a place that I want to be more then I want to be on that cruise, we'll get together for a long weekend. I'll even let you bring Alexis, if she promises to behave."
"Thanks a lot friend. I always behave, it's my husband who has a hard time with it. And he's always trying to drag me into his trouble." She said looking at Jax in wonder. "But he's a hunk, so I'm not going to complain to much."
"With a heart of gold, don't forget that part. Or I'll have to come home and kick your butt. I'm leaving him with you, this is a big step for me. I've never trusted him with anyone before."
"How is it that you get to approve of my choice in a mate, but I don't get to reciprocate?" Jax asked, not sure if he should be offended or glad that there was someone who loved him enough, outside of his mum, to worry like V did. "Probably because you know I'd never allow you to run off with Simon."
"There is that, and the whole idea of someone who I had a crush on picking my future mate just isn't very appealing to me. Just trust me in knowing that I do know what I'm doing, and that it's for the best." She said pouring champagne into her glass. "Come on you two. We need to have a toast, in my honor preferably, and quickly. Simon will be here any time now, and this is something I don't want to share with him. One last thing, that's just my friends and I."
Jax took the bottle from V and poured a glass for Alexis and himself, before standing and looking at both of his ladies. "Since neither of you two are jumping at the chance, let me take just a minute to tell you about my friend V."
"Oh this ought to be good," V said in a whisper to Alexis. "Please go ahead Jax. I can't wait to hear what you've got to say about me."
"As I was saying. My friend V, the one woman who I didn't want in my life, but who wormed her way in. She completely changed my life, made me a better person for knowing her, and I'm going to miss her like hell when she runs away, leaving me for a man who she'll end up killing in about two weeks time." He stopped for a second, then continued with a smile. "Of course, that might not be such a bad thing. I'd actually pay to see her take him on again." Alexis cleared her throat, which seemed to get Jax back on track. "I'll miss you officer Ardanowski, but since you've been such a good influence on me, you can bet I won't be making any boarder runs anytime soon. Just out of my undying respect to you."
"And promise me that you won't get yourself killed? And that you'll listen to your wife when she says something. Just like you would if it were me. Actually better, since you never listened to me the whole time I was here." She said raising her glass to Jax, then taking a sip of her champagne. "You know, I'm going to sleep from here to where ever we're flying to tonight. I've had a bottle of champagne, just on my own, or close too it."
Jax was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. "Do I have to answer that?" His smile fading, knowing that to open the door was to let her walk out the door. We could all be very quiet and he'd go away after a while I bet."
"Go answer the door Jasper, it's time for me to be going," V said quietly, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm ready, and so are you now."
**JAX**
"I'm not talking about it anymore. Simon will be picking me up here, and I'm going to leave with him. That's that." V said in as firm of a tone as she could muster. She decided to try a different approach, to see if maybe it would help her out. She softened her voice and looked at him with her big brown eyes. "It's my life Jax, and if I want to run off on a trip around the world, I'm going to do it. I wouldn't stop you if you decided to do this." She said, knowing she wasn't exactly being truthful but she wasn't going to tell him.
"You wouldn't? Isn't this similar to running away from your problems? And haven't you followed me to Malibu more the once to pick me back up and put me together again?"
"Different time and place Jax. And who says I have any problems?" V asked, outraged that he was fighting her not over leaving, that would have been acceptable, but because she was leaving knowing there might or might not be someone else here, was something she hadn't expected. Of course this had hardly been one of her typical days.
"Perhaps, but you have a ton of problems. Who is it that you're running from? I know it's not me, we've cleared that up. There a lot of young, eligible men in town. None that I'd recommend, but you're trying to leave with Simon, so I know you don't take what I think into consideration." He thought hard about who she could be interested in. "It's not Ned, he's marrying, what did you call Chloe? The cuddly, fluffy spawn of Satan wasn't it?" He couldn't hold back his chuckle. Her description was funny and accurate, even though he'd never admit it out loud. "And I just can't see you as the home wrecker type. Which leaves out Mac too." He added as an after thought.
"Is it Jerry?" He asked, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. He wasn't sure how he felt, her falling for his older brother, but if it kept her in town, he didn't really care.
"Jerry? As in practically married, happier then I've ever seen him with his head in the clouds, waiting tables to make life easier for his intended Jerry?" She gave him an incredulous, wondering what planet he'd been on for the past year.
"Jax, it's no one. You're looking for a way to keep me here, and it's not going to work. I'm leaving," She looked down at her wrist, checking what time it was. "In probably an hour, depending on how long it takes Simon to get the plane ready. He should be here any time now."
"It's not to late, I can and will hide you from him V. I should have done it in the beginning, when you begged me to. But Chloe insisted that you should be the one to make this choice, and that you be given a chance to get to know Simon."
"And that buddy, is what you get for listening to that...." V stopped, trying to come up with something that was a fitting description. "That fly by night, chiffon clad, side show..." again she stopped, trying one last time to come up with something suitable. "Woman," she finally spat, running out of steam. "One I wish had never come to town." She added softly.
"You have such a way with words luv, to be call someone a woman in such an awful way," Jax said laughing again. "Remind me to always stay on your good side V, or else I won't know what to do with myself. I wouldn't want you calling me a 'man'."
"Shut up you oversized dork. I hate you sometimes. Maybe not with so much venom as I hate Chloe, but you still have a tendency to drive me up a wall."
"Of course I do, if I didn't, we wouldn't be half as good of friends. If there wasn't a challenge, there wouldn't have been any reason to stick around and try to get to know one another."
"Still, on my last night in town, do you have to torment me? I thought you might want to be nice so that someday I might want to come back." She said knowing it would never happen.
"She does have a point Jax. You could be a little nicer to her." Alexis said popping back into the room, carrying a bottle of champagne and three glasses. "Since there hadn't been any yelling for five minutes, I thought it might be safe to bring this in. Was I right?"
"Aren't you always darling?" Jax asked, looking over his shoulder with a silly grin. One that V noticed was reserved for his bride. "I was trying to figure out who has won fair Venus' heart."
"Jax, I know that you're not always the master of the obvious, but honestly. How hard is this?" She didn't want to fess up to knowing that there might be someone else. If V wanted to leave, it was her business and no one else's. "I would think that since she's leaving with Simon it must be him."
"One would think, but with V, you never know. And she's trying to hide this from me, which means that it's someone she knows I won't like or won't approve of."
"And he says that," V jumped in, hoping to get off of this topic. "As if I should care if he approves of anyone that I am involved with." She stood and met Alexis across the room, taking the bottle of champagne from her, "What he doesn't know is that I usually pick men I know he won't approve of, so that it will drive him crazy." Actually if he knew who it was, he'd know it was true and not just a joke.
"Why do you think I decided that leaving with Simon was a good thing? I knew that Jax, after reconsideration would decide that he wasn't good enough for me, and would regret pushing me towards him."
"You don't have to leave for that to happen. Just the thought of you leaving is making me regret it." He looked to Alexis for help, since he was getting no where with V. "You know, Alexis and I could really use some help around here, right Alexis? What if I quadrupled what Ned is paying you and cut you in on the profit of what we're going to make on this deal we're working on together. Could I convince you to stay?"
"Not on your life. And I no longer work for Ned. I resigned my position before coming here." She said sitting down with the open bottle of champagne. She looked at the glasses that Alexis still held. "Is this bottle for me? I don't need a glass, if you two have your own."
"I refuse to celebrate your leaving V. I can't drink and pretend I'm happy about something that is making me absolutely sick thinking about it." Jax said, trying to block Alexis from handing V one of the flutes.
"Not sitting down and drinking with us isn't going to stop her from leaving Jax." Alexis said, wondering what was really wrong. It wasn't like Jax to prevent someone from doing what they really wanted to do. "Instead it's going to make V's last memories of time with you sour because you wouldn't be supportive of her."
"Maybe she shouldn't be leaving and I wouldn't have to not be supportive. For once I want her to listen to me. I know what I'm talking about."
Alexis, fed up with his antics, kissed him quickly, and when she pulled away she smacked him in the back of the head. "This isn't about you Jasper Jacks. Unless you've got a secret that I don't know about and you're really V, then you are going to sit down, play nice and stop making this harder on her then it already is."
V couldn't help but laugh when he did exactly what Alexis said. "And you wondered why I was so concerned with leaving you here alone with that woman. She never would have been able to handle you like that." V said with a smile. "You'll be fine Jax. And I promise once I settle in somewhere or find a place that I want to be more then I want to be on that cruise, we'll get together for a long weekend. I'll even let you bring Alexis, if she promises to behave."
"Thanks a lot friend. I always behave, it's my husband who has a hard time with it. And he's always trying to drag me into his trouble." She said looking at Jax in wonder. "But he's a hunk, so I'm not going to complain to much."
"With a heart of gold, don't forget that part. Or I'll have to come home and kick your butt. I'm leaving him with you, this is a big step for me. I've never trusted him with anyone before."
"How is it that you get to approve of my choice in a mate, but I don't get to reciprocate?" Jax asked, not sure if he should be offended or glad that there was someone who loved him enough, outside of his mum, to worry like V did. "Probably because you know I'd never allow you to run off with Simon."
"There is that, and the whole idea of someone who I had a crush on picking my future mate just isn't very appealing to me. Just trust me in knowing that I do know what I'm doing, and that it's for the best." She said pouring champagne into her glass. "Come on you two. We need to have a toast, in my honor preferably, and quickly. Simon will be here any time now, and this is something I don't want to share with him. One last thing, that's just my friends and I."
Jax took the bottle from V and poured a glass for Alexis and himself, before standing and looking at both of his ladies. "Since neither of you two are jumping at the chance, let me take just a minute to tell you about my friend V."
"Oh this ought to be good," V said in a whisper to Alexis. "Please go ahead Jax. I can't wait to hear what you've got to say about me."
"As I was saying. My friend V, the one woman who I didn't want in my life, but who wormed her way in. She completely changed my life, made me a better person for knowing her, and I'm going to miss her like hell when she runs away, leaving me for a man who she'll end up killing in about two weeks time." He stopped for a second, then continued with a smile. "Of course, that might not be such a bad thing. I'd actually pay to see her take him on again." Alexis cleared her throat, which seemed to get Jax back on track. "I'll miss you officer Ardanowski, but since you've been such a good influence on me, you can bet I won't be making any boarder runs anytime soon. Just out of my undying respect to you."
"And promise me that you won't get yourself killed? And that you'll listen to your wife when she says something. Just like you would if it were me. Actually better, since you never listened to me the whole time I was here." She said raising her glass to Jax, then taking a sip of her champagne. "You know, I'm going to sleep from here to where ever we're flying to tonight. I've had a bottle of champagne, just on my own, or close too it."
Jax was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. "Do I have to answer that?" His smile fading, knowing that to open the door was to let her walk out the door. We could all be very quiet and he'd go away after a while I bet."
"Go answer the door Jasper, it's time for me to be going," V said quietly, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm ready, and so are you now."