The Magic Continues-25-

by Deb

Before the sun rose Jerry slipped out of his warm bed and shivered as he pulled on his clothes. He quietly gathered his belongings and was heading to the front door when Alexis stepped up behind him and ran her hand along his shoulders.

"Still worried, I see."

"Lex, I'm sorry I woke you. I have to go check on Jax and Brenda. Something just doesn't feel right."

"Jerry, I won't tell you to be careful, but I will worry if you don't keep me updated."

"They're probably just fine, and I'm worrying about nothing. And you may have to come to protect me from Jax when I go barging in and interrupt their romantic interlude."

"If that is the case, at least Jax will be too tired and distracted to chase you very far."

Jerry laughed and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll call you on your cell phone as soon as I find out they're okay. I don't want to worry my folks unnecessarily."

It was with a sense of foreboding that Alexis watched him leave. That he loved her she had no doubts. That they were capable of love still amazed them both. When they had met that first time as teenagers there had been an immediate sexual attraction and a sense of connection. That one night of passion had forever changed their lives. Her resulting pregnancy had forced her to run from the Cassidines until she had finally been found by Stefan. Stefan had protected her and her baby, but had made sure that Jerry was told that they had both died when Jerry had searched for her.

Alexis couldn't keep herself from wondering what difference it would have made if she and Jerry had found each other sooner. They had been so young, and she knew that Stavros and Helena would never have accepted or tolerated the situation. It was useless to speculate on what might have been. The past was gone, and the future uncertain, so in the end the only thing that you truly had was the present. She shivered as she thought about how the past had effected Jerry. There was a darkness in his soul that he tried to camouflage with charm and wit, but she knew it was there. Jerry tried to shield her from things that he had done and was capable of doing. He had not yet been able to accept that none of that mattered to her, and therefore, he didn't have to keep it all bottled up inside. As a Cassidine she had grown up seeing what people were willing to do to acquire and maintain money and power. There were members of her family that had been cruel, merciless, murderous, vengeful, and ruthless. There were no external rules that applied to such people; their own internal code - if indeed they had any - was all that controlled them. As much as he tried to hide it, Jerry did have a moral code; maybe not like most people, but more then most of the Cassidines. Family was the only thing that Jerry believed in. He loved the thrill and the danger, but the money and power were only a means to an end. That end being the protection and care of his family.

As Brenda opened her eyes she was at first confused by where she was and why every part of her body hurt. Slowly, everything started to come back: Switzerland... Jax parachuting to join them... the train ride... the avalanche... Jax being trapped by the wreckage... making it to this caboose just before another avalanche hit. She and Jax had spent the night huddled together on a mattress placed close to a small oil heater on the wall. From the faint glow of the oil heater she was able to make out Jax's features. He looked so peaceful as he slept. She felt so warm and safe just lying there in his arms, but she knew that she couldn't remain there any longer - she needed to check on their situation.

Reluctantly, Brenda eased her way out of Jax's arms. He gave a slight groan as she moved away from his body. Brenda quickly wrapped a blanket around herself and hopped across the cold floor to where she had laid out their clothes to dry. Luckily, the little heater had been enough to dry them out, and she was back into her clothes in a flash. She then went exploring around their little sanctuary.

Last night they had entered by a door at the other side of the car and had come down a corridor into this room. With the heater and the bunks on the wall this evidently was the rest area for the train crew. Brenda hoped that she would also find other provisions to make their wait for rescue more comfortable. There were windows and another door at the end of the room, but a wall of snow was all that could be seen through them. Working her way slowly back toward the corridor, she ran her hands along the wall and found that there were cupboards and cabinets. Checking the ones closest to the heater, she found a few dishes, pots and pans, and an old tea kettle that could be set on top of the heater. There were also a few cans and some dried goods.

Brenda chuckled to herself. "Well, Jax I guess we will find out whether or not I can boil water. That is assuming, of course, I can find some water to boil."

She continued her search until she found a small lantern, and it only took a few tries before she figured out how to light it from the flame on the oil heater. Lantern in hand, she then continued her search. As she reached the corridor she found that there was a door on each side. Opening the door on the right, she found a closet filled with extra uniforms and blankets. Opening the door on the left, she found a bathroom. It wasn't big, but it had the essential items in it. She made use of the first, and then turned to the sink. After splashing water on her face, she cautiously peered into the tiny mirror on the wall. At least she was in one piece. She used her fingers to comb through her hair, and used a clip in her pocket to pull it up on top of her head. Finding a glass, she filled it with water and returned to Jax.

Jerry piloted the snowmobile in the most direct route through town. The fact that such use through town was banned was not even a consideration for him. The snowstorm had let up, but the extent of it's aftermath would keep most people from venturing out anytime soon. Jerry made his way quickly to the Eiger Ambassador Hotel. His concern deepened as he noticed that their VIP express train wasn't there. Jax and Brenda had taken it yesterday to spend the night at the summit, and the train should have returned after dropping them off.

Upon entering the lobby he noticed that few people were up and about, so his attention was immediately drawn to an area of frantic activity. He watched as people came and went through the door to the side of the check-in counter in a rapid and hurried manner. Jerry followed the next person through the door, down a long corridor, and into a large conference room. The people within the room were a strange mix: the formal hotel staff and others in security uniforms or snow gear. It had the look of a war room with maps and communication gear in disarray throughout the room

As Jerry walked in he heard someone say. "We aren't going to be able to keep this under wraps for long. There were some VIPs on board that train."

All eyes turned to Jerry as he said, "Since my brother was one of them, you had better tell me what happened!"

Jerry watched as a plethora of emotions played across the faces of the people within the room. Their surprise, guilt, sympathy, and even pity was quickly masked by a controlled reserve.

The hotel manager turned to him and with a soothing voice replied, "Sir, you don't know what we are discussing, and you're not authorized to be back here." He motioned toward the person closest to the door. "If you will go with Miller, I'm sure that we can get this..."

The look that Jerry gave him caused the rest of the words to stick in his throat. Jerry's voice was cold and measured as he said, "My brother, Jasper Jacks, and his wife, Brenda Barrett-Jacks were on your express train to the Jungfraujoch yesterday, and that train is now missing. I will not be placated or handled! You will tell me right now what has happened to them!" The unsaid 'or else' hung in the air and caused the temperature in the room to drop and then rise rapidly.

The hums and hahs of the manager were cut short by the tall man in snow gear that stepped forward to face Jerry. He gave a curt nod. "Jenson, security. Sometime yesterday there was an avalanche that hit the train as it was crossing a bridge 10K down from the peak. The bridge was taken out and the train fell 500 meters down into the ravine below. Communications had been shut down by the storm until just an hour ago. The search party from the peak couldn't reach the site with the bridge out, but there were no signs of survivors. We are leaving from here within 5 minutes. You may come with us if you will follow my orders and stay out of our way."

Jerry met the level stare and nodded. Everyone in the room had been frozen and there was now a collective sigh of relief as everyone jumped into action. As they got ready to leave, Jerry made a quick call to Alexis.

He tried to keep his fear out of his voice when she answered. "Lexie, their train was hit by an avalanche. I'm on the way out to the site now. I probably won't be able to connect with you again until we get back, but I'll let you know what I find out as soon as I can."

"I understand. Please keep me updated when you can. I won't tell your parents until we have definite news... Jerry, I love you."

"Thanks, Lex. I needed to hear that."

Brenda went back and sat down beside Jax. She tried calling his name and shaking him gently, but he didn't respond. She lifted his head and put the glass of water up to his lips and cautiously poured a little bit of it into his mouth. She waited to make sure that he swallowed, and then she gave him a little more.

"Jax, I'm so sorry. I don't know what to do. All I can think of is to ask myself what would you do if you could. I know that you would go get help or make sure that they could find us"

With that resolve Brenda left Jax with a kiss and made her way back to the corridor. She could see a little daylight coming from that direction so she moved slowly down the corridor to the landing that they had first used to enter the caboose. It had been all that Jax could do to pry open the door, and they had tumbled in right before another avalanche had hit. Now that door was twisted and wedged in a partially open position. As she moved to the door to see if she could get it open, there was a strange sound of creaking, and she felt a shifting under her feet. Brenda grabbed the door for balance, and then she noticed that all that was visible from that end of the railroad car was open air to the ravine far, far below. The shifting that she had felt was their car teetering on the edge of the cliff. Backing away, she could feel the car shift back to stable.

Brenda tried to keep herself calm and steady as she moved away from the end of the car that was suspended over the edge of the cliff. She made her way cautiously back to Jax. Sitting down beside him, she stroked his face.

"Jax, please wake up. I'm scared, and I really don't know what to do."

Jax tried to concentrate, but he was not able to focus. It felt like he was drowning in cotton. There was something important, but he couldn't remember what it was. He could hear Brenda's voice and fought to get back to her. It was just like being under the ice in an Alaskan lake. He couldn't break through, and then everything just seemed to go black and he floated off.

Alexis wandered around the Chalet and tried to occupy her time. It was not what Jerry had said, but what he had not said that worried her the most. It was so frustrating just to wait and try not to upset the rest of the family .Suddenly, she thought of something that might be of use. She ran out to the snowmobile to see if Jerry had already taken it with him, but he hadn't. There on the snowmobile and wrapped in the parachute that Jax had used to join them was the tracking scope that he had helped him to find his way down.

She left a note for the others that she was out with Jerry and headed to the Eiger Ambassador Hotel. As she entered the hotel she found that there were only a few people who were up and around at that hour. The snowstorm had caused most to settle in for a relaxing day. She was quickly spotted by the concierge, a man whose job it was to recognize and solve the problems of the rich and powerful.

"Ms. Davis, is there something that I can help you with?"

"Yes, I need to see the manager as soon as possible."

"Let me get him for you."

Alexis noticed the concierge go to a large rather pompous looking man, and she could just hear the concierge mention, "Cassidine" and then her name.

The manager then approached with a smile. "Ms. Davis, I'm surprised you were able to make it in after this storm, but I'm sure that we can find an appropriate suite for you."

The manager's smile faded as she responded, "Actually, it's Mrs. Jacks now, and the only thing I need is an escort out to the train crash scene."

He paled as he responded. "Mrs. Jacks, I'm sure that you understand that there are safety concerns and protocols to be followed."

Alexis paused and looked at his gold-plated name tag, "Mr. Bellows, I don't have time to be reasonable or diplomatic."

He interrupted and sought to maintain his position of authority as he responded, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Jacks, but it won't be possible to make such arrangements at this time."

Alexis then used her best Cassidine voice and replied icily, "Mr. Bellows, that was not a request. You met my husband this morning. If he were here now, he would rip your heart out of your chest and show it to you. That is not my style, but if I'm not on my way within five minutes, I will make one phone call, and you will wish that you only had my husband to deal with."

It was only a few minutes later that Alexis left with an escort to the crash site.

When Jerry had first arrived at the crash scene he had been hopeful. A blanket of snow had covered all evidence that any havoc had occurred. It was not until they started removing the snow that they became aware of the extent of the carnage. There was no part of the train that had escaped destruction. Nothing seemed to be left whole: there were only pieces and parts of equipment and people that were scattered down the cliff.

No one spoke directly to Jerry, but he could tell in their eyes what they were thinking 'no one could have survived that fall'. The only hope was to look in the higher areas in case someone had been thrown out prior to hitting the bottom. Jerry started searching the surrounding area and was soon joined by the other members of the group.

After about an hour the head of security, Jenson, approached Jerry. "I was able to reach the summit, and they are forwarding to the military station in Interlaken to send equipment and the avalanche dogs, but there isn't much else we can do until they arrive."

Jerry nodded, "Thank you." He didn't have the energy or the strength to say what they were both thinking. The sound of approaching snowmobiles caused them to look up. When Jerry recognized that one of the people was Alexis, he rushed over to try to stop her before she came into view of the worst of the wreckage that they had uncovered.

As Alexis got off the snowmobile, she found that from the cold and vibration she could hardly walk. She could see from the site that Jax and Brenda had not been found, and from the look in Jerry eyes she feared that there was little hope that they would be found alive.

Jerry walked up and put his arm around her and turned her away from the sight of the wreckage. "Lexie, what are you doing here?"

Alexis pulled the electronic mechanism out of her jacket and held it out. "Jerry, I just wanted to help in some way. I remembered the tracking device that Jax had used to parachute, and if he turned on the homing device you could pick it up."

Jerry took the tracker, and, fearful of giving himself hope, he gave a silent prayer and turned it on. He moved the scope slowly over the area around him. He avoided meeting Alexis's eyes when there was only silence.

Jenson had been watching the interaction and knew Jerry needed to be occupied."We have done about as much as we can do here. Why don't you two follow the train tracks up to the bridge and start down, and we will work our way up to you."

Jerry nodded, thankful for something to do other then just wait. Jerry and Alexis then got on the snowmobile and headed up to the original point of impact.

Brenda continued to sit beside Jax, stroking his face and talking to him. It had only been a few months since she had awakened in the hospital with no idea of who she was. Jax's friend, Thao, had kidnapped her out of a casino in Monte Carlo, and the next thing she had known she had awakened to see Jax sitting beside her, holding her hand, telling her that he loved her and had been searching the world for her. She had not known who he was and had no memory of their previous life together, but there was something about the way that he had looked at her that had reached something deep inside of her. She had known that she was safe with him and that he wasn't lying to her. She had felt connected to Jax from that very first moment. She couldn't pinpoint when she had started to fall in love with him - maybe right from that first moment. It had been so frustrating because she would just remember little bits and pieces of their former life together, and then she had been afraid that he couldn't really love her if she didn't remember it all or couldn't be that same person.

At times it felt like she was living in a fantasy and that at any moment she would be recognized as a fake, or she would awaken and be alone. Jax had been so understanding and patient with her during all of this, so much so that she feared she would only disappoint him with who she actually was. But he had not tried to make her become who she had been, but only who she wanted to be. It had taken her a while to realize that he also feared that she would not love him. She only knew that she wanted to be his wife. She actually was still his wife, but somehow she didn't feel like it.

'That was it!' She knew what she had to do.

She took his left hand in both of hers and slowly slid his wedding ring off his finger. As she removed the ring, Jax groaned and moved. She reached up her hand and stroked his cheek. "It's okay."

She continued to hold his hand as she said, "I, Brenda take you, Jax..." As she said the words, fragments of memories flashed through her head: a yacht, a staircase, a small chapel on a black sand beach.

Jax continued to fight the fog that enveloped him. Something was wrong. Something important had been taken from him, but he couldn't seem to find it. And then he heard her words, "I, Brenda take you, Jax..." What was happening? He had to concentrate. "To be my lawful, wedded husband..." She wasn't sure where these words were coming from, but it was something that she had to say.

"To be my lawful, wedded husband..." That was Brenda. Was he dreaming?

"To have and to hold from this day forward..." More scenes flashed through her head: she was in a white flowing gown... then a formal gown with a stiff bodice... then a strapless lace gown with gloves. All of the dresses raced by just outside her reach.

"To have and to hold from this day forward...." She was so beautiful. Jax remembered how Brenda had looked on the yacht, at the Quartermaine's, and on Kronos.

"For better or for worse; for richer or for poorer; in sickness and in health..." Visions of Jax in a tux danced through her mind, but the color and style of the tux kept changing.

"For better or for worse; for richer or for poorer; in sickness and in health..." This wasn't a dream. He could hear her voice.>

"To love and to cherish from this day forward." As she said the words, memories of the way that Jax had looked at her came rushing back.

("To love and to cherish from this day forward." He could feel her holding his hand, and he could hear her saying the words. He had to open his eyes.)

"I love you Jax." She slid the ring back onto his finger, and as she leaned forward to kiss him, his eyes slowly opened.

"I love you, too, Brenda."

His voice was faint, but it made her cry, "Oh, Jax! I was so worried when you didn't wake up!"

"I'll be okay, but you had better help me up. I don't want to fall asleep again."

Brenda left him reluctantly to get his clothes and then tried to concentrate on getting him dressed and not being totally distracted by the gorgeous view. She helped him to his feet and watched him grimace as he was unable to stand on his injured foot.

Jax shock his head trying to clear out the cobwebs. He probably had a concussion and couldn't risk blacking out again. He knew there was something important that he was forgetting, but he just couldn't concentrate enough to retrieve it. He turned to see Brenda watching him with concern.

"Brenda, don't worry. I'm fine. If the storm has passed, people should be looking for us. We just need to stay put and signal them in some way."

"Jax, I don't know if we can stay put or not. When I went to the other end of the car, I saw that it is hanging over the edge and it started to tip down."

"Well, that way is not an option, so we will have to go out this other end."

"But it's buried in snow."

"That means we had better start digging."

Jerry piloted the snowmobile up the mountain following the railroad tracks .Everything was blanketed in snow and any other time it might have seemed beautiful, but now the pristine scene just mocked the despair that he was feeling. He was thankful for Alexis' presence, but was glad that he didn't have to try and carry on any type of conversation. It was comforting to feel her arms around his waist, her body against his back, and her head on his shoulder, but he feared what she would see when she looked in his eyes.

Finally, they arrived at the bridge - or what had been a bridge. There were only a few supports left of it now, with short sections of railing extending out into what was now a void. Alexis allowed Jerry to avoid having eye contact with her, knowing the demons that he was wrestling with.

Jerry stepped away from the snowmobile and made a slow cautious sweep of the area. When nothing showed on the scope he silently remounted the snowmobile and retraced their route back several hundred meters. Again he stopped and slowly scoped the area. It was after his third unsuccessful try that he sat back down on the snowmobile, but instead of starting up again he cursed, threw the scope into the snow, and dropped back his head, trying to clear the tears that were suddenly blinding him.

Jax had succeeded in breaking out one of the upper windows, and now they were painstakingly scooping out the snow and pulling it into the caboose. When they could no longer reach any snow Jax held Brenda up and had her continue to burrow up into the snow bank. Then he almost dropped her when he suddenly remembered the homing beacon. After his parachute jump he had picked it up, showed it triumphantly to Jerry, and put it in his pocket. In his pocket! Which pocket? He had been wearing the military snowsuit when he jumped.

"Brenda, where is my jumpsuit?"

She looked at him like he had lost leave of his senses. "Jax, if you are cold, I saw other clothes that you can change into."

"No, Brenda I have to find my jumpsuit! The homing beacon was in it! I put the beacon in it after I landed from the parachute jump. Jerry took the scope back with him, and he would be using it to search for us. He loves that sort of electronic gadgetry."

Brenda quickly found his jumpsuit. It had been badly torn from the aftermath of the wreckage, but there in the pocket was the homing beacon. With a quick prayer Jax turned it on, and was relieved to feel the slight vibration as it activated. Jax was concerned as he noticed that Brenda's gloves were soaked from digging in the snow. He hopped over to one of the bunks, sat down, and pulled her into his lap. He slowly slid the gloves off her hands to find that her fingers were white and very cold to the touch.

"Can you feel that?" He asked as he gently rubbed them between his hands. She shook her head 'no.' He continued to rub them, then lifted his sweater, and placed them against the bare skin of his stomach. Slowly the feeling returned to her fingers, and she brought them up and stroked along his cheek.

Alexis climbed off the snowmobile, and slid in front facing Jerry, putting her arms around him to let him vent his sorrow and frustration. Several minutes passed in silence then they heard a persistent little beep. Scrambling for the scope, they found that the beep was the scanner picking up a signal. With a sigh of relief and quick kiss for his wife, it only took Jerry a few minutes to find where the signal was coming from. It was an area that they had already passed, but now they quickly returned to it. Nothing could be seen from the tracks, but as soon as they got close to the edge, the train car began to become visible.

Pulling a rope out of the storage of the snowmobile, Jerry tied one end around his waist and directed Alexis to tie the other around a nearby tree. He tossed her the radio that he had been carrying and told her to call Jenson and get help up there right away. He then made his way to the car as quickly as he dared on the shelf of snow deposited by the avalanche.

Getting close, he saw where the snow had been disturbed and started digging down. Reaching a small tunnel, he called down, "Jax, Brenda, are you okay?"

Jax called back up, "What took you so long? We were going to call for room service."

"Jax, let's get this show on the road this is a definite J4."

Brenda looked at Jax and asked, "J4?"

He answered quickly, "Jacks code for ' move like hell or the deal is going to fall through 1'"

Jax gave Brenda a quick kiss and boosted her up toward Jerry. Jerry grabbed Brenda's hand and pulled her quickly to the surface. Jerry untied the rope from around his waist and secured the other end to a railing at the top of the car.

"Brenda, follow the rope Alexis is at the other end."

"No, I won't leave Jax."

"Brenda, I don't have time to argue with you. Right now you are only in the way. I will get Jax out."

"Promise?"

He gave her a quick grin. "On my life. Now go."

Reluctantly she moved out of the way and started to follow the rope, pulling herself hand over hand over the snow.

Jerry turned back to the tunnel. "Okay, little brother, she is safe. This is not a good time to be slow. What is taking you so long?"

"Jer, I'm having trouble getting through the window."

Jerry dug down to find Jax half in and half out of the window. Bracing himself against the car, Jerry reached for Jax's hand. Just as their hands connected there was a roar, and the train car slipped over the side and down the cliff.

The noise caused Brenda to turn around, and the ripped end of the rope came bouncing back at her as the car disappeared from view. After the roar the eerie silence that followed was broken only by Brenda's screams.