"I'm going to see if there's anything I can do." Brenda told Jax. He was sitting at the table already, a paper in his hand. She recognized the company name and bit her bottom lip. She knew he was in the market for a new toy to play with and he enjoyed nothing more than taking one that previously belonged to someone else. While she believed he may have loved her when they got married—had it only been a few months since that glorious ceremony?—she had a hard time keeping faith that he still might.

She was everything he had ever wanted: the collector's item never to be taken out of the box. She was a precious tool for him, a beautiful adjustment to his known bachelor reputation. He often credited her for being the one who changed him, made him a better man. Strangers and business partners alike probably thought that she was put on a pedestal when they were alone—and in some ways perhaps they were right.

The only problem lay in when she wanted to leave the pedestal, walk on her own two feet, or God forbid, make her own decisions. She had seen evidence enough since she had offered to spend enormous amounts of time with Lucas, Dillon, and Lance. Jax was jealous and he didn't hide it very well. Even now, she watched his eyes diminish to the size of points.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Even though he hadn't said anything foul to her since their previous fight—their last one he had sworn up and down—and even though there was nothing directly abrasive about his question, she couldn't help but detect the subtle threat in it.

"Wise?" Brenda parroted. "They're my friends."

"Lucas is your friend." Jax corrected her. His face was set in a pout, but his eyes were abnormally black.

"Yes and he's in pain. Why shouldn't I offer some sort of comfort for him and his family?" Jax said nothing in return. He stayed silent so long it began to grate on Brenda's nerves. "What?" She exploded. "What is wrong with you?"

"Maybe you should spend a little more with your own family and a little less time with someone else's." Jax suggested coolly.

"Spend my time doing what? Watching you rip our wedding designer's life apart by going after her husband's business? Thanks, but no thanks. I don't enjoy the kill."

"You're overreacting." Jax accused evenly. He spoke to her as if she was a petulant child in need of a little disciplining.

"I'm sure after a few years being married to you I'll be the adequate level of cold." Brenda snapped angrily.

"Then go. Go and make sure everyone can see you, Brenda Barrett, offering help to the needy. I'm sure it'll do wonders for your self-absorbed status." Jax waved her off.

"And here I thought that was why you loved me."

"It is." Jax was still smiling long after his wife slammed the door behind her. Such a drama queen. She was becoming rather troublesome. He should have seen it coming when he decided to go after the PC Insider. Her loyalty seemed to rest with anyone. With his name as her driving force, she was able to do everything she had previously been unable to do. How fortunate for her that he actually loved her.

"She'll come around." He told himself and pushed away from the table. Dinner had gone cold an hour ago when Rose had prepared it for them. She was a fabulous cook and he got a thrill out of being able to communicate with her without his wife understanding a word of their conversation. Portuguese wasn't one of the languages she felt she absolutely had to conquer.

The Quartermaines had paid off in a way he hadn't been anticipating. ELQ stock had dropped in price, but not value and Jax managed to buy them out. It was all the same to the old man, his son, and daughter-in-law. Their children were dropping like flies and the oldest son wanted nothing more to do with them or their family company. Any remaining family members were estranged and thereby forfeited any claim they might have had to the company.

The majority of the banks didn't consider Rodriguez's scrappy little newspaper a sound investment and the fools who might actually consider it had been handled early on. Jax had spent the last several months developing relationships with all sorts of people, people who could help him, so if this turned sour, he would call in his favors and all that would remain to solidify the deal would be a flick of his pen.

Currently, the Spencers and family alike were huddled around the new family member's bedside. A short phone call had told Jax that she had started breathing on her own. If she continued to get better, it behooved him to go ahead with his plan ahead of schedule. Rodriguez would only be incapacitated for so long. The time to strike was now and Jax knew it. He pulled his cell from his left pocket and flipped it open. He pressed two buttons and the other line picked up immediately. To the person on the other end he said only eight words, "I'm through waiting. Call me when it's done."

*****

He should have guessed. Luke smiled, amused. Of all the places for his wife to run to, she had chosen to run to the nursery, probably under the guise of checking on Nathan. If the twins, Cameron, or Majandra were nearby she probably would have taken over their care immediately. Fortunately Lucky, Elizabeth, Bobbie, and Cruz had apparently considered that very situation and had left the children with Audrey.

Coming up behind her, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "He looks like me doesn't he?"

"Maybe if he had a head full of wispy blonde hair and blue eyes." Laura replied, leaning into him. She touched her finger to Nathan's tiny left fist and he wrapped his fingers around it.

"Nonsense. That boy is pure Spencer. Just look at the way he has all the girls here wrapped around his finger."

"Who couldn't love him?" Laura agreed, stroking her knuckles across his cool cheek.

"Certainly not you." Luke sighed as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I knew I would find you here."

"Am I that predictable?" Laura sighed.

"Only when it comes to babies Angel."

"I figured if I wanted to see this little guy, I had to wait for the rest of the family to be asleep."

She had a point, Luke agreed silently. Lucky had taken up residence in the nursery hall ever since he returned this morning. When he wasn't there, the rest of the family filled in. Nathan had all the early indications of being an attention seeker when he got older.

"I'm worried about him." Laura admitted.

"We all are Angel." Luke reminded her softly. "But Patrick is handling this as best he can."

"He's not handling anything Luke. Not really."

"Patrick's in shock. Just like when he found out about Mattie. He'll come around."

"What happens...?"

"It's not going to happen."

"But what if it does?"

"Then we'll help both these boys. Just like we did the last time." Luke reasoned. "We'll handle this and Patrick will be fine. Robin too."

"I've never seen him so broken." Laura turned away from Nathan.

"He's never really had anything to lose like this before." Luke looked into her blue eyes.

"You don't think Dr. Walker was right do you?" Laura could still hear that damned doctor telling Patrick, as well as the rest of them, that just because Robin was breathing on her own now didn't mean anything drastic had changed.

"Never in a million years. Little Robin has been a fighter from day one. There aren't many women alive who can say they dated a member of the mafia and lived to tell the tale without at least losing their reproductive abilities in the process. She survived losing Stone, her own diagnosis, and divorcing that louse of a nephew of ours. Robin is the only person who has out-stubborned both Patrick and Lucky. Don't you worry. Robin isn't going anywhere."

*****

"I thought I'd find you here." Maxie grinned the moment Georgie opened the door for her. Rumor had it that Audrey had gotten saddled with all of the kids and Georgie, the all-year elf, would have gone out of her way to help. Besides, it gave her a chance to forget that her husband was in another country without her.

"Came to help did you?" Georgie smiled at her sister as she balanced Jake on her hip. Majandra was happily crawling in the play area on the floor while Audrey had taken Gracie upstairs to change her.

"You know me. Mary Poppins in training." Maxie replied wryly.

"Completely right up your alley." Georgie teased right back. Maxie had lasted at exactly one job. The second the child stuck his head between the slats on the stair railing, her sister had called home and demanded that Georgie switch places with her.

"Can we talk?" Maxie requested.

"Why not?" Georgie stepped aside to let her sister enter the house.

Maxie followed Georgie to the couch where Majandra crawled over to her, not comfortable enough with walking to attempt it, and held up her chubby little arms. "Daddy." She giggled.

"Not exactly." Maxie corrected with a shake of her head.

"Bobbie says it's the only word Majandra's really mastered. It was pretty funny when she called Lucky that this morning." Georgie laughed.

"At one time that would have been darn confusing." Maxie told Majandra, scooping her into her arms and awkwardly rocking her.

"Just slightly." Georgie placed Jake down in his bouncy seat, making sure he was occupied with the small Teddy Bear Elizabeth had sent over with him. "So any reason for this little visit?"

"Can't a girl just seek out her sister for no reason?"

"Not when she has a babysitting phobia."

"Okay, you caught me." Maxie admitted, patting Majandra's back. "I need to talk to someone about this."

"Ric?" Georgie guessed.

"Yes."

Georgie nodded as Maxie confirmed her supposition. She had been surprised her sister handled the run-in with Ric as well as she had. "I was waiting on this one."

"I don't know what to do."

"I'm guessing talking to him is out of the question?"

"Of course! I don't want to give him false hope."

"But?"

"But I..."

"Still have feelings for him? Still miss him like crazy?" Georgie assumed. Her sister had to be having some sort of residual feelings for the doctor or else she wouldn't feel the need to talk this out right now.

"I was glad to see him working on Robin's case."

"Well you always said he was the best."

"I didn't know it would feel so good to see him. And then, at the same time, to feel this pain."

"Maxie," Georgie said gently, placing her hand on her sister's arm. "You still care about him."

"Why?"

"Maybe because you care about him a lot more than you ever admitted to yourself?"

"That doesn't sound like me." Maxie argued.

"It doesn't," Georgie admitted. "But once the heart gets involved, all bets are off. I mean between the two of us, the smart money would have been on you for eloping with an older man Dad had never met."

"Have you talked to Steven today?"

"Briefly." Georgie clarified. "There wasn't a lot of time and I'm still trying to figure out the whole time difference."

"I doubt he'd mind if you woke him up." Maxie reasoned.

"Probably not, but I didn't have anything new to tell him. And he'd want to talk about how much longer before I'm out there with him..."

"Why aren't you there with him?"

"Because I can't."

"Care to explain that?"

Georgie took a deep breath and looked her sister in the eye. "I didn't get in to the Australia program. If I go to Australia I'll have to leave school."

"Georgie...why didn't you say anything?"

"Because it's silly. I mean Robin's fighting for her life and you're starting this new adventure. It's just one school program I didn't get into. It's not that big of a deal really."

"It is if it means you're away from Steven for even longer."

"And I hate that, but it's what has to happen. If he knew I wasn't coming with him, he wouldn't take this job. Or he'd quit. I don't want him to lose this chance Maxie."

"I can't imagine how difficult this has been for you." Maxie left the couch and put Majandra on the carpet to play with her toys before turning back to Georgie, her eyes narrowed. "And you being you just thought you'd suffer in silence?"

"It would have come up eventually. Like when I never got on the plane for instance."

"I understand why you couldn't tell Steven, but why didn't you tell me?"

"Maxie what could you do? You're living across the country trying to get over a man you clearly still care about." Georgie reasoned.

"It's not even the same thing." Maxie countered. "I don't love Ric."

"Maxie. Please." Georgie scoffed. "You haven't been able to lie to me since you were six. Call it what you want but you love him."

"Love doesn't come close to describing it." Maxie shook her head. "And anyway, I wouldn't have the same trouble you are. I would choose myself over him every time."

"Then why are you so confused over seeing him again?"

"Because I thought I would hate him."

"You didn't leave because you hated him. You left because you were hurt. There's a world of difference between those two situations."

"I left because it's what was best for everyone involved. It gave him a chance to see what he really wanted. At least it was supposed to." She would have been able to truly move on if she would have come home and found him with Kate.

"You ran away because you didn't want to give him the chance to hurt you." Georgie pointed out.

"I thought you were on my side."

"I'm always on your side. But that doesn't mean I won't point out what you are doing. When have I ever let you get away with trying to destroy your life?"

"Is that what you think I'm doing? Georgie, even if I could forgive him, I have no guarantee that he wouldn't do it again."

"There are no guarantees when the heart is involved. There's no guarantee Alexis will get better, but Dad is still there with her. There's no guarantee for Robin and look at Patrick. There is no guarantee Steven and I will handle this separation well, but I'm going to do it for his sake. If you're looking for guarantees Maxie, you might as well just join a convent because you aren't going to find them in relationships."

"I have to end this. Once and for all." Maxie decided, heading for the door.

"I thought you already did that."

"I thought so too, but obviously not."

"Maxie?"

"Huh?"

"If you really wanted to end this once and for all, wouldn't a better way for him to get the message be to just leave again without talking to him?"

That stopped her. "I guess."

"I'm not telling you what to do and I am on your side. Just think about it ok?"

"Only if you talk to Steven."

"I talk to him all the time."

"You know what I mean."

"I know." Georgie sighed. "I'll think about it if you will."

"It's definitely something to think about."