Stefan, hearing some loud hollering in the living room, got up from his chair to go see what all the commotion was about. When he walked into the room, he saw his entourage of guards. Two were holding back Jax and the other was keeping Chloe at bay.

Jax, being very cautious, reached into one of the guard's pocket and pulled out his gun.

"Release them." Stefan ordered.

"But, Mr. Cassidine, you said-"

"I said release them." Stefan said in a sterner voice.

The guards promptly let Jax and Chloe go. Chloe immediately ran to Jax's side and wrapped her arms around him.

"That will be all." Stefan said to the guards, who then left. "There seems to be some kind of misunderstanding." Stefan said in a weak attempt to cover.

"I think a 'misunderstanding' is an understatement." Jax said defiantly. He then pulled his hand out from behind his back, revealing the gun he had just swiped from the guard, and aimed it towards Stefan.

"Jax…" Chloe gasped.

"Why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you?"

Stefan put his hands up in surrender. "Go ahead. Shoot me." Stefan said calmly.

Jax waved the gun around. "You know, Stefan, I don't even know where to start! Perhaps I should start at the beginning, when you got this crazy idea to somehow use Chloe's dreams to spy on your mother for you own sick revenge!"

Chloe looked at Stefan in shock. "Is that true?"

Stefan remained silent.

"Of course it's true, Chloe." Jax said. "And that's not even the worst part. He actually switched your medicine with a placebo so that your dreams would continue, and your condition would not improve."

"What?" Chloe looked at Stefan in complete malice. He remained silent.

"And then, let's see, you get this ridiculous idea to make me think Brenda is alive so that you can kidnap Chloe for your own selfish needs. First, you follow us to the island with that look-alike Brenda. Which, by the way, when I saw her, did you know that your mother was upstairs trying to kill Chloe with a stiletto? How's that for a plan that could have seriously backfired on you? Thank God I was able to stop her! Then you send me to Paris to follow some other look-alike, and you plant a picture in the Port Charles Herald where you knew I would see it! You keep me prisoner on some island so that you can keep me away from Chloe! But you know, Stefan, the worst thing about all of this is that you don't even seem to care. Do you even care that Chloe could go blind without her medicine? I ought to shoot you dead right here!" Jax's finger inched closer to the trigger.

"Jax! No, don't!" Chloe pleaded.

"Go ahead, Jax. Kill me." Stefan goaded.

"Jax…" Chloe whispered.

The look on Jax's face was of complete contempt for the man. His finger inched closer and closer to the trigger, and then he stopped. "You're not worth it." Jax took his finger off the trigger. "I won't do that to Alexis. She means too much to me. Unlike you, Stefan. Do you know that she is mourning you? And yet, do you even bother to let her know that you are alive? Do you even care?"

Stefan was silent again. He knew when he was defeated.

"Come on, Chloe. Let's get out of here." Jax took her hand and started to lead her out the door.

Chloe stopped momentarily and looked at Stefan. "You know, I thought that we could become friends. I thought I knew you, but I didn't know you at all. I will *never* forgive you for this."

"Come on, sweetie." Jax urged. Chloe let Jax take her out of that awful place, and she never turned back to face Stefan.

Jax led Chloe through the woods, his arm around her tight. Chloe started crying. Jax stopped and held her face in his hands. "Hey, it's all over now, sweetie."

"I know. I just, I-" Chloe couldn't finish her sentence as she was suddenly overcome with sobs.

"It's okay." Jax wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. "Come on, I'm taking you away from here." Jax reached down and scooped Chloe up into his arms. He carried her all the way to the plane.

When he reached the plane, he laid Chloe in the seat and buckled her up. She was already asleep, worn out from exhaustion.

Chloe awoke to the sound of an engine stopping. She blinked her eyes several times, trying to figure out where she was and if she was dreaming or if she was really off of the island.

"Hey." Jax gently nudged Chloe. "We're here."

"Are we in Port Charles?" Chloe asked, still sleepy.

Jax chuckled. "No sweetie, I don't think I could make it all the way to Port Charles tonight. We're in Rome."

"Rome?"

"Yes." Jax reached over for Chloe's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Chloe smiled. Rome. She was so glad that she wasn't dreaming.

To be continued...