Disclaimer: CSI and its related characters belong to CBS, Alliance Atlantis, and the show's creators; no copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: This is a future-fic, which means none of these events have happened, but in Jim Brass' case, I'd like to think that eventually they will.

Perfect Day For A Sandcastle

oooooo

Perfect day, weather, you name it; it was beautiful. The sky bore the deepest shade of blue, and once in a while, fluffy clouds flitted across overhead. As far as his eye could see the water glistened in the sun's rays, and the crashing waves deposited seaweed and froth on the shoreline.

Jim Brass dug his bare toes into the warm sand and inhaled deeply. It had been several years, since the smell of salt in the air had intoxicated him.

The glittering city of Las Vegas was a pinprick in his mind's eye. Of course, he was several years older and some considered him to be wiser, however, he liked to argue that point. He had long ago retired from the life of fighting crime, and putting up with some of what society could dish out.

He had never looked back.

A few of his colleagues had moved on and done the same. Grissom left Vegas for a better life elsewhere, undoubtedly taking Sara along for the adventure. Nicky moved up the ranks and became the lab's night shift supervisor--he excelled at his job, even after the events that took Warrick and Greg's life. All of them were scarred by their passing, and they all knew, that they wouldn't want the living to dwell on their deaths; only celebrate their lives. Catherine up and left, taking Lindsey with her, and last thing he heard she was in Florida, and had found someone there to share her life with. Contact between them all had been strained, and he hoped to someday pay them a visit.

Though, at this moment, he was enjoying his own life too much.

Standing absolutely still, he closed his eyes, and listened to the sounds all around him. The sea breeze carried a distant ship's horn to his ears, and nearby, the sounds of children laughing made him smile. Warm water lapped up against his exposed ankles, leaving little bits of sand in the rolled up cuffs of his khaki pants. He opened his eyes and watched two seagulls circle each other lazily. He finally felt at peace.

But it was time to turn around and head back.

After several minutes he approached a familiar sight and chuckled to himself. It was certainly a perfect day for building a sandcastle, but this sandy haired young man was having some difficulty. He watched with interest and sadness, as the incoming tide washed out the base of the central tower, sending the rest of the sand crumbling down.

The boy stood up and kicked the lump of wet sand. He jumped back when he noticed Jim standing there.

"Don't give up," Jim said.

"But, the water." The boy sank down next to his destroyed creation, and used his brightly colored plastic spade to poke holes into whatever was left.

"Grab your pail and I'll give you a hand."

"You will?"

"I promise." Jim smiled at the boy.

"Great!"

He scurried off and waded into the surf, where he dunked the small pail into it, while Jim looked on.

"Is this much water okay?" the boy asked, while struggling to lift the bucket past his waist.

"That's perfect." Jim nodded his head and took it from him. "You got everything, right?"

"Yep," was his reply.

"Okay, now, lets move a few feet up on the shoreline. We don't want your castle getting washed away again."

"Yeah, and I was almost done." The boy glanced back, and grew sad all of a sudden.

"This one will be better." Jim tousled his hair, and he looked up with a slight smile.

They both found a good spot and staked their claim to it. Soon their efforts were taking shape, and Jim sat back and smiled, this was definitely the happiest he had felt in a long time. His eyes were drawn to a couple several yards away, standing arm in arm. Shading his eyes he recognized them and waved, they both waved back.

"My mom is glad you came out here to be with us."

Jim turned and raised an eyebrow at the boy's admission.

"She is?"

"Yep, and so am I," he answered.

"I like it here. I don't plan on leaving anytime soon."

"Good." The boy glanced up from his work. "I um, I told mom I want to be just like you when I grow up."

The older man was taken aback by his frankness. He was also flattered to know that she had spoken so well of him, even though in the past they never saw eye-to-eye concerning his line of work. He was never around when she needed him, and that only served to drive them further apart. That was long ago, and he quickly pushed that thought out of his head.

"It's a castle fit for a king." Jim winked, paying close attention to the boy's efforts.

The boy giggled and ran off in the direction of the couple. He watched them converse, then the woman followed the boy to where he sat, still packing some sand onto one of the towers.

"Mom, I'm gonna go for a swim."

"Stay near the shore." She yelled at him, after he had broken away from her grasp, and ran past Jim toward the water.

"That looks great." She turned to him. "King Danny loved it."

Jim once again chuckled, then rose, dusting himself off. He looked over to where her son ran in and out of the crashing waves.

"Yeah, well, he's an excellent sandcastle builder."

She looked into his eyes and grinned. "He learned from the best."

He waved off her compliment and grew silent. Over the years so many things in his life had changed, and in the lives of others. He was glad that they had changed for the better. Seeing her happy for once, made him feel at ease. He observed her for a few minutes, she was happily waving at Danny, who was sloshing around in the knee-deep water. She turned to him, and a slight blush crawled across his cheeks, so he looked away.

"I really appreciate you taking us up on our offer to come out here." She slipped her arm around his, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"There's not much left for me in Newark." His eyes were distant. "Vegas, well, the only family I had there has since gone their separate ways--except for Nick."

"Yeah, people do change, don't they?" She threw the question out there, not really expecting an answer. "My life is here with Danny and Tom, and I wouldn't give that up for anything."

"A lot of things have changed." He stared off into the horizon. "People have moved away, or have passed away, but I've gained something that I thought was lost to me."

"Oh, don't start that." She squeezed his upper arm.

"I lost you once before. I don't want that to happen ever again." He turned and regarded her for a few seconds. "Look at you. I knew you had it in you to become a better person."

"I had some help."

"I'm glad that Tom was there for you." Jim sighed. "I tried my best, you know I did."

"Yes, but I took you for granted and for that I apologize."

"Don't. That's all in the past. It's time to move on."

It was time to move on, and Jim planned on being there for her and her family. The resentment she held toward him had died down, and they had grown closer together.

A slight commotion brought both of their attention back to the shoreline.

"Hey mom, look!"

"What is it honey?"

Jim let her go, and she walked away to join her son. They both knelt down and stared at something in the sand. He gazed at them for a few minutes, then decided to find out what all the fuss was about.

"Hey, that's a nice find." Jim bent down, and picked up the lonely starfish.

"Here let me hold it."

"Sure. But take it back into the water, or it'll die if it stays out in the air too long."

Danny left them standing there and walked a few feet into the water.

"He loves you, dad."

Jim smiled slightly and turned to face her. "Thank you."

She tugged on his hand and laughed softly. "For what?"

"For coming back to me, Ellie." He gave her hand a squeeze, then looked back out into the sea.

The weather was amazing, and so was everything else. But most importantly, Jim had gained back more than he ever hoped he would.

The End