I had a request for a story about Brass and a certain other character from a Jim Brass superfan. Happy New Year, beaujolais! I hope all the other Brass fans enjoy as well. Please push the little button and deposit your reviews. Brass stories don't get near enough. But then we don't get enough of Jim Brass either, lol.

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The sun worked its way through the drapes, casting light and shadows over him. She lay beside him, gazing at his face. He was still sleeping soundly, having worked a double yesterday. She loved these moments when she could watch him without him knowing. She loved to look at him; he was her joy in life.

His appearance had worried her lately. Fatigue and weariness were becoming a permanent fixture in his features. He was tired….unbelievably tired. He had been for months. She tried to get him to go to the doctor and have an exam but he had shrugged it off. He'd had enough of doctors, he said. She understood; doctors had been a major part of his existence for over four months as he had recovered. Now he was free from them and wanted nothing more to do with them for awhile. But she still worried.

Even so, she loved looking at him. His face was a map of his life…of him. The laugh lines around his mouth and eyes told of his sense of humor. Years of worry and frustration showed in the lines on his forehead. And his eyes, beautiful blue eyes that told her so much; when he was happy or amused, they were bright and sparkled but when he was sad or worried they turned dark and when he was aroused, they became smoky. Lately they had been dark most of the time. She missed his bright eyes and even more missed the smoky ones.

Then there was his hair. Since she had known him, it had slowly receded and turned grayer. But the thing she loved about his hair was that he never quite knew what to do with it. When she first met him, it was a little longer and he combed it forward, stray strands falling over his forehead randomly. Now he wore it really short, giving him the look of the marine that he had been in his previous life. In fact, with that haircut and his often tough demeanor, he looked like a retired DI, one that could still scare the hell out of a recruit.

Smiling, she remembered their first "morning after." His hair had been a mess. Between the number she'd done by running her fingers through it and the bedhead look, his hair was standing up, spiking in all directions. She'd had a difficult time not laughing. He, of course, demanded payback for her snickers. What sweet payback it was too. Just the memory still made her flush and grow wet.

He had never looked old to her, but lately…. Not that she thought of him as old, just weary. When he was rested and not so weighed down, he was anything but old. But the last year had taken a toll. The problem with being a part of a team is that when one member is having a bad time, everyone suffers. Between Jim's battle for his life, Catherine and Lindsey's abductions, Gil's near burn out, and Sara's kidnapping, it had been a very bad year. The stress of the whole Miniature Killer case and the mess with Mike Keppler didn't help any. But things had seemed to settle down a little, that is until Sara just up and left. Gil was hurt the most, but the whole group was affected.

But old or not, she loved him with her entire being. She knew their age difference worried him. She was young and vital, he had insisted just the other day. What was she doing with an old dog like him? He'd made her angry which upset him. He never liked to see her upset and she could see him silently berating himself for hurting her then. "Give it up," she'd told him. "I love you and I know you love me. Nothing else matters."

For a few minutes the sparkle had returned to his eyes. But then the phone rang and he left on another case. When he'd come back, after the double, the darkness was entrenched. It hurt her to see him like this. She'd heard all the stories, the warnings about getting involved with a cop, but since she was a cop too she thought she could handle it.

And she was handling it but she was worried about him, really worried. And the news she had yet to deliver might be more than he could handle. But she had to tell him. There had been too many secrets in his life already.

He began to stir. She reached for him, her hand gently rubbing his cheek. His eyes opened, looking startled. Then he saw her and his features settled into a smile. She loved the way his smile took up his whole face. Continuing to rub his face, she whispered, "good morning."

He grunted contentedly. He reached for her, taking her hand in his and tenderly kissing it. The sparkle was back. "Ready for some breakfast?" she asked.

He nodded negatively. Throwing the covers off, he mumbled, "be back in a minute."

She heard him in the bathroom and then the buzzing of his electric toothbrush. The door opened and he shuffled back to bed. Back in the bed, he pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her. "Ready for you." His eyes were growing smoky.

She gave herself to him eagerly. His touch sent tingles through every nerve in her body, sparking a fire within. She had missed this, what he did to her with his hands, where his touch sent her. There was no urgency in their love making. They needed something more than just sex. They needed the warmth and reassurance that comes with loving and being loved, so he took his time exploring, kneading, kissing, and nuzzling. Her hands reveled as they made their way around his body, spending extra time on his hot spots. Their kisses were soulful and giving, conveying feelings for which there are no words.

The tenderness gave way to fervor as the pace accelerated. He took her into an erotic fog of agony and pleasure, bringing her to the brink and then teasing her by backing off just a little, holding her there, wanting the ecstasy that she knew he had in store for her. He taunted her a little longer and then took her higher sending her over the edge into sweet relief. Digging her fingers into his back as he went with her, she moaned and yelled his name. "Oh baby," he groaned as he exploded. They clung to each other as they descended together. He nuzzled into her neck, breathing in her scent and then gently nibbling. "God baby, I don't know what I'd do without you. I love you," he whispered.

She kissed him and then sat up. "We need to talk."

Concern crossed his face, wiping the bright blue away and turning his eyes dark. "What about," he asked cautiously.

"I, um, I'm not sure how you're going to take this…"

"Just spit it out. You're moving on, aren't you?" The bitterness in his voice bit her. His expression revealed a desperate resignation in his soul. His heart was breaking.

"No," she said, as she reached for his face, holding his jaw in her palm, her thumb stroking his cheekbone. "No…I couldn't do that, Jim. You are everything to me. Without you…nothing else would matter. Especially now…"

He looked at her relieved but questioning. "Then … what?" he mumbled.

"Um….how would feel about…." she paused, gathering courage, "… about a little Brass?"

Shock stilled him. He stared at her, his mouth half open. Then he dipped his head, staring into the bed, his fingers fidgeting as they always did when he was nervous or excited. She couldn't read what he was thinking so she waited.

Finally he looked up at her, into her eyes. "I'm too old for this, but….I can't think of a greater joy in life then seeing you heavy with my child….or better seeing you holding my baby in your arms. It's for real, Sofie…we're having a baby?" His eyes were bright blue behind the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. "It's not fair to you or it. I'll be an old man before he graduates grammar school, but I can't help it….I'm so happy."

"I know you've worried about our age difference, Jim. This makes it fair, because if you are right and you leave me before I'm ready to lose you….this baby….I'll still have a part of you with me; a little someone we made together." She felt the tears that were spilling out of her own eyes.

He pulled her close to him and tenderly kissed away her tears. Then he pulled her down on the bed and stretched out next to her, his hand covering her belly. She watched his expression as it changed to awe and reverence. "A baby…." He whispered. His eyes turned towards hers, bluer than she had ever seen them, tears still seeping out. "All the screw ups and trouble in my life," he choked out. "All the hurt and heartbreak….it was worth it to have you here, now. The last chapters of my life will be my happiest ones."

"I don't want to hear about the last chapters, Jim. I plan on making the most of whatever time we are given together. My prayer is that our child has the benefit of his or her father's guidance well into adulthood, because you have so much to give our baby and I want that for him."

"Or her," he smiled.

"Or her…." She agreed.

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