Sofia had gotten little sleep as she had tossed and turned over the situation she feared she had created with her plan. Her drunken state had spawned an idea that had made perfect sense at the time, but upon reflection she realized that she had overlooked the pitfalls. Finally she had decided to abandon the plan and try play down her antics yesterday. Hopefully neither man would read too much into her odd behavior and they would all get back to normal.

As a consequence of her stress filled night, she overslept. Since it was a day off, she decided it didn't matter and took her time about getting up and putting herself together. She had just brushed her teeth when she heard a knock at her door. Surveying herself in the mirror; her bedhead screaming for attention and her favorite pair of flannel pjs looking well worn, she really hoped they would go away. But another knock sounded. "Okay, okay. Keep your shirt on," she called out as she shuffled to the door.

She opened her door to find a well groomed and nicely dressed Jim Brass smiling at her. "Payback," he chuckled.

"Jim, what are you..."

"Can I come in?" he interrupted.

Stepping aside to allow him access, she caught a whiff of his aftershave. Hmmmm, she thought. He smells good. Jim stood in the middle of her living room, smiling at her befuddlement. Sofia motioned for him to sit as she settled into her favorite chair; the birthplace of the now defunct plan. So, Jim?"

"Well, you expressed such an interest in hockey yesterday that I thought you might like to go to a game. I got tickets to the Wranglers game this afternoon. But if you want to go, you'll have to hurry."

"Jim, you should have called. I needed some warning for this..."

"Tried. But you have to have your cell phone on for me to get you. Hey, if you don't want to go, I understand." His expression was a mix of anticipation and doubt.

As she gazed at him, she decided that there was no one she'd rather spend her day off with. "Oh, I want to go to the game with you but it'll take me a few minutes to get ready. Is that okay?"

"Take all the time you need...puck drops in one hour."

"Oh, well...make yourself comfortable and I'll be out as quick as I can."

She scurried back to her room to finish freshening up and get dressed. Another knock sounded at her door. "Jim, would you get that please?"

Brass opened the door and was a bit dismayed to find Grissom standing there. He moved aside to let his friend enter.

Grissom turned to Jim, "Is Sofia here?"

Nodding toward her room Jim spoke, "She's getting changed." Inspiration, not necessarily a good one struck him and he continued, "she didn't think it was a good idea to wear her nightie to the game." He was smirking now.

Gil looked a little shocked at the implication."It's afternoon. She's still in her nightie?"

"Yeah, well, guess she didn't get much sleep last night." Jim flashed his most innocent smile.

His brow furrowing, Gil asked, "Did you happen to see a jar with two roaches in it anywhere?"

"Yeah, over on the kitchen counter. What's with the roaches, anyway?"

"Well, Sofia callled me to come catch them last night and I was suppossed to take them with me but I forgot them. Got too involved in saying good night, I guess."

Feeling his face flush a little at Grissom's implication, Brass quipped, 'Got to stay for dinner, but not dessert, hey."

Now it was Grissom's turn to flush. "Hey Jim. look...nothing's happened between us; yet.

Jim glared at his possibly soon to be ex-friend. "Look, it's bad enough that you have Sara panting after you like a love sick puppy...and Catherine can't find a good relationship because none of the guys she goes out with is you; and every woman that gets within ten feet of you goes all gaga over the Grisssom mystique. Can't you leave a few of the women alone so us normal guys can have a chance?"

Grissom was dumbfounded. "Jim, I...I not trying to make every woman in Vegas, If anything, I try to make myself unavailable."

"Yeah, the Grissom mystique. No woman can resist it. If you really wanted to be unavailable you'd marry Catherine or find some other woman to love ...you know the ring on your finger;yoke around your neck kind of unavailability. Not the 'I'm unavailable unless you try harder to catch me kind.'

Grissom was angry now.Too angry to speak.It wasn't often that he ever felt violent but at that moment he would have happily punched Jim. Sofia choose that moment to emerge from her room.

"Oh, hi Gil?"

"Hi. I remembered that I forgot Duece and Jack and stopped by to pick them up." His eyes were still blazing and his fists were curled.

"I kept them on the counter, all safe and sound." She was looking from one man to the other and wondering what had been going on.

"Yeah, Gil, snapped Jim. "Your playmates are waiting for you."

"Gil, Jim and I are going to a hockey game. Care to join us?"

Grissom looked from her to Jim.His mood wasn't improving. "Thanks, but I prefer baseball. Not so much violence and the strategy is a beautiful thing to observe." He turned and left, picking up the jar on the way out.

Sofia looked at Jim."Okay, what the hell happened between the two of you?"

"Nothing." Jim felt like he'd been called to the principal's office.

"Something happened and we're not leaving til you tell me."

"Well...he said something I didn't like. And I said something he didn't like. And then he said something else and then I said something to make him really mad and I really think he was about to puch me. You saved him though, by coming in when you did. Because if he swung at me I was putting his face in the wall."

Sofia scowled at him. "What was this 'something' you two were so hot about?"

"Uh...I'd rather not say."

"Jim..." her voice was menancing.

"I'm invoking my rights under the Fifth Amendment. Look, Sofie, I don't want you in the middle of this. It's something that's been brewing for awhile and something happened to bring it to the surface.That's all I'm going to say."

Problem was, Sofia was afraid she already was in the middle of it...and the cause.

"Well, Jim. I think under the cirumstances I have to pass on the game. In fact, I really don't want to see you or Gil again until you two make up and play nice together again. Understand?"

Now Jim knew he'd been called to the principal's office. Worse, in hockey terms, he was in the penalty box. "Sofie, please..."

"Don't Sofie me...I mean it. You and Gil don't have many friends; your jobs get in the way. I don't want to see you loose something that means so much to both of you."

"You're right." Problem is, Jim mused, it means one of will looose you. And Jim's heart was breaking that he might be the one. "I'll talk to him tomorrow. Please, go to the game with me?"

Sofia looked at his sorrowful eyes. She detected the sincerity of his answer and the flickering hope that she migh give in and go with him. But she held her ground. "There will be other games, Jim. I meant what I said...only work related stuff til you two kiss and make up.