The call came in from Central Dispatch while Jim just happened to be standing by the Sergeant's desk. It was a 911 but Jim recognized the address immediately. "It's okay Frank, I've got it," he told the sergeant. Then grabbing Mitch, he headed to his car and pulled out of the lot at top speed. Mitch followed in his patrol car. When they arrived at the house, everything seemed quiet, normal. But Jim didn't trust the quiet and approached carefully.

Mitch tried the front door and it opened. The two men entered cautiously, guns drawn and proceeded to sweep the house, one room at a time. Finally they made it down the hall and as they approached the door that he knew was to her bedroom, Jim had to swallow back the bile that was threatening to rise in his throat. Please God, no surprises behind the door, he said silently as they prepared to enter.

The door swung open and Jim released the knob. The room was darker than the rest of the house and his eyes had to adjust. But slowly the contents came into silhouette. And that's when he saw her, lying on the bed. Mitch held back, understanding the connection between his Captain and the woman on the bed, ready to help if needed but giving them some bit of privacy.

Jim stood, hovering over her as he studied her form. She lay on top of the covers, naked. He saw no evidence of physical harm and after a few tense seconds, he saw her chest rise and fall with her shallow breath. His chest constricted at the sight of her lying there, vulnerable and exposed. Finally he found the courage to call out her name. "Catherine," he said quietly. He watched for a response and seeing none, he tried again. His third try was accompanied by a gentle shake of her shoulder. Finally she stirred. He reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. Mitch let out a small gasp as the state of her undress became apparent to him. "Hey Mitch, why don't you find the phone used to make the call?" Jim suggested over his shoulder.

Mitch nodded. He knew that Catherine would be embarrassed later if she realized that she'd had an audience for her exposed situation, so he disappeared down the hall, resolving to stay close but not too close.

Jim found a throw on the chair and put it over her, hoping she wouldn't realize all that he had seen. "Catherine, you need to wake up…"

Her eyes fluttered open with some effort and as he peered into them, he groaned. "What did you take? How many?" he growled, nausea growing in his gut.

"Hmmm?"

"Catherine," he said more forcefully, "what did you take?" He began looking around the room frantically as he realized she couldn't respond yet. Then glancing into the bathroom, he saw the bottle on the counter. Moving quickly, he investigated and discovered a prescription for sleeping pills. The label said there were originally 30 pills in the bottle. Four were missing. As he read the date, he saw that the script had been filled a month ago, so more than likely, she had taken some of the four missing pills before tonight. Relieved, he decided to handle things here rather than calling an ambulance.

He headed down the hall and found Mitch in the kitchen. "The phone on the counter was off the hook," he told Jim. Jim nodded and began putting on a pot of coffee. "It's okay Mitch. I'm going to stay here with her but you can head back. Please….just don't tell anyone how we found her. Okay?"

"Right," Mitch agreed. "False alarm." And he headed out.

Once the coffee was ready, Jim poured them each a cup and headed back to her room. She was still out of it but it did seem she had tried to move. The throw had been kicked off. Setting the mugs on the table, he sat next to her on the edge of the bed and gently coaxed her to wake up. Finally her eyes opened again and even began to focus. "I have coffee," he smiled.

She seemed unaware of the situation; Jim in her bedroom with her lying naked and exposed. He tried the throw again and she tried to kick it aside. Finally he compromised by only covering the most sensitive areas of her body and she seemed to accept that.

Finally, after some more gentle prodding, she woke up enough to accept the coffee. They remained quiet, sipping from the mugs while he allowed her cobwebs to clear. Then, when she seemed coherent enough, he asked his question. "Why did you take the pills, Catherine?

Her eyes widened as her mouth formed a large "O." "I…only two," she said defensively.

"The prescription says only one," he chided.

"After the funeral…I came home and …it just wouldn't stop. The memories, the pain…I kept seeing Warrick, lying in a pool of his own blood. And Gil, such anguish and despair; I've never seen Gil like that. And Nicky…poor Nicky. I wonder if he'll ever get past this."

"Yeah," Jim said heavily. "I know."

"I just felt so alone… and I needed to sleep."

"You're not alone, Catherine. You have friends who understand."

"Friends who are hurting as much as I am," she reminded him. "Even you."

Jim nodded. "Yeah, but how much worse do you think everyone would feel if I had to go back and tell them you'd OD'd on sleeping pills."

"Sorry…I wasn't thinking too straight." Her chagrin was genuine.

They sat quietly again, each in their own thoughts until Catherine set her mug on the table. Her warm hand went to Jim's cheek, softly caressing the line of his jaw as her eyes sought his. "I don't want to be alone, Jim."

As he looked into her eyes, her meaning was unmistakable and sent alarms through Jim's entire being. Swallowing was difficult, but he managed it before responding. "You're not alone, but maybe I should step out for a minute while you get dressed."

Her eyes glanced down at her body and then straight back into his. "Why. You've seen all there is. Why should I try to hide it now?"

"Because…um…tomorrow you might be embarrassed?"

Her eyes held his. "Do you see anything I should be embarrassed about?" she asked.

A grin tugged at his mouth. "No, but I've really tied not to look."

"So stay with me, Jim."

He could see the pain in her eyes …and the fear; emotions he was very familiar with. He knew about long nights filled with regret and sorrow and understood the temptation to find temporary relief, comfort from any source available. He didn't intend to be her source…not like that, not a one nighter that she'd regret tomorrow.

"I'll stay here but only if you get some clothes on. We can talk or not if you want to, but nothing's going to happen that either of us will regret."

Catherine looked at him intently, a denial of her intentions in her throat, but as she studied his face, she knew he had seen through her motives in asking him to stay. It was true; she had intended to use her friend to escape the pain. Shame filled her as the enormity of her intentions set in. What would it have done to their friendship? How could she have thought of hurting Jim like that? "I'm sorry," she said faintly.

His big hand covered her small one as he smiled sadly. "No harm done," he told her. Then he stood. "So get some clothes on and I'll go start another pot of coffee." She watched as he left the room, pulling the door closed as he left. Her eyes filled with tears as she realized her good fortune that Jim had responded to the call for help.

Several hours and a pot of coffee later, she was feeling better. They had talked. At first it had been about the funeral, about how broken Gil seemed even though Sara was back, and about their feelings about Warrick. Catherine admitted to Jim that she'd once had feelings for Warrick and he had told her that he knew. He'd seen the connection between them. He shared his regret over his goading of Warrick that led to assigning him to Holly Gribbs. She commented on Warrick's marriage and Jim told her how Warrick had been there for him with Ellie.

And then they were quiet for awhile, simply finding comfort in the presence of another human being that understood. They sat together on her couch, sipping coffee and relaxing. Catherine was tired in spite of the coffee and leaned into Jim, who raised his arm so that she could rest on his shoulder. He felt her growing limp so he grabbed one of the pillows and put it in his lap, coaxing her to put her head down. She fell asleep, her head in his lap, his hand stroking her hair as he had done with Ellie when she was little. Jim watched her sleep for a few minutes before putting his head back against the couch and dozing off too.

Jim woke to the sensation of being watched. Opening his eyes, he saw Catherine gazing at him with a wistful look on her face. His eyes widened as he tried to clear them and his head and she smiled. Finally he acknowledged her with a grunt.

Her eyes darted away and then back to him, questioning. Her demeanor was making him nervous and he tried to look away. "Why?" She asked him.

His stomach knotted as he realized what she was asking. But he played dumb. "Why what?"

"Why didn't you…I mean most men would have…or do you not find me attractive?"

Jim blinked before his left eyebrow shot up. Grimacing he cleared his throat. "Ah…how can I answer you and not make it worse, Catherine?"

"Oh don't bother," she almost spat. "I get it. I'm getting too old; men just aren't interested anymore."

His hand went to his face, swiping down across his cheek and mouth as he absorbed the impact. Shaking his head, he threw up his hands. "We're friends Catherine. For me to….to do what you were suggesting…to take advantage of you like that…it would be wrong, so wrong."

Catherine frowned at him. "Take advantage? I wanted you to…to be there for me Jim."

"And I did the best I could, Catherine. But you mean too much to me to use you like you were suggesting…to let you use me that way too."

Suddenly she looked defeated. "Yeah, you're right. I just…I feel so cold, so alone."

"What is it you want, Catherine. What do you really want?"

She was quiet for moment and then tears began to slide from her eyes. "I was watching Sara and Gil at the funeral. That's what I want."

"What…crushed?"

"No…but to have someone there for me when I am crushed, someone who will be my strength..."

"I'm not sure who you think is whose strength, but Gil is broken and blaming himself. He thinks he let Warrick down by not being more aware of what was going on with him. I think that if Sara hadn't left, he would have. We all saw the subtle changes in Gil after she left... like he just didn't care anymore. He seemed to finally be coming out of it...until this. And Sara…she's feeling tremendously guilty. Something starting unraveling in Gil when she left and it snapped when Warrick died. They were holding together at the funeral, but barely."

"But she came back to help him…"

"Maybe. But has it, really, I mean? He seems more lost and confused than ever, if you ask me."

Catherine considered all that he had said. "Still, I want someone in my life, someone who really matters."

"Then why try to ease the pain in a one nighter with me?" Jim asked sadly. "Why not look for the real thing?"

Her expression brightened as understanding grew in her. "You thought I …" she laughed. Jim looked at her with a grin but he was not really amused. "You thought I was looking to you for a one nighter?"

He felt the red creeping up his neck into his face. "You seemed to be…I mean, what with the 'stay with me Jim' while you were lying naked on the bed and all. What was I supposed to think?"

She leaned into his face, her lips almost touching his. The temperature between them was rising and Jim had an urge to bolt, but he knew he'd never outlive the wrath of Catherine if he did. "You might have thought that maybe I wanted you, not just anybody…just you."

The air around them was suddenly very still and he swore he could hear his heart beating in his chest. "Yeah?"

Her lips were warm against his and smooth. Her kiss began innocently but soon she was nibbling on his lip and then her tongue began to trace a path around his mouth. Slowly, she pulled away. "Yeah," she said before kissing him again.

Jim's mind was reeling. His hands went to her arms and he gently extricated himself from her kiss. "Catherine, what is this?"

Her face remained close to his and he thrilled as her hot breath tickled his cheeks when she spoke. "This is me telling you that I'm interested. I value your friendship but I want more…much more."

"You do?" he managed to say.

"Yeah…" Her tone was confident; Jim felt anything but. "Why?" he asked her, confused.

She looked amused. "Why not? You smart, funny, attractive, and…you're a good man."

He looked at her worriedly. "Not really, especially the good part. I mean, I try but…"

Using her hand, she waved him off. "Not listening," she told him firmly. "I know you too well." Then she grew more serious. "So what are you thinking? Do I have a chance or has some other lucky broad already claimed you?"

Jim snorted. "Yeah right. In case you haven't heard, I've been a bit out of practice these last few years."

"No, I haven't heard. Jim Brass's love life is not exactly the talk of PD."

"Good," he declared.

"But I'd like to make it the hot topic…if the talk includes me." Jim sat, staring at her stunned. "Aw come on, Jim. Let's give it a shot," she cajoled. "What have we got to lose?"

"Our friendship. In case you haven't noticed before, I'm not good with relationships."

"Apparently I'm not either so we are a perfect pair.. Come on Jim, ask me out."

Jim couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd wanted to ask her out so many times but she always seemed involved with someone else. And then they had become good friends and it seemed dangerous to mix any possible romantic feelings he might have into things. Besides, she was way out of his league. But here she was, telling him to do it. Swallowing his concerns and searching his gut for courage, he gulped and looked at her. "Dinner tomorrow night?"

Her eyes lit up as she nodded affirmatively. "What time?"

More scared than he had been of anything in years, he couldn't think. "Can I get back to you on that?"

She smiled. "Okay."

Jim left her house a few minutes later, bewildered by the fact that he had a date tomorrow night. As he drove home, he fought the urge to pinch himself to be sure it was real. And as he pulled into his drive, he let out a small giggle. Whistling, he let himself into his house. He had a date with Catherine and the possibility for something more.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Okay, so I'm in the middle of writing something else and I see a a spot on CBS advertising their shows and Brass is there pointing with assurance and generally being...Brass. I just hope my hubbie never finds out about the other man in my life, lol. Oh how I wish! Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think. Yes, I checked and the little button is still there.