Jim sat staring at the bottle of pills. He had reached for it and begun to spill two into his hand when he'd caught the clock in the corner of his eye. Only three hours since the last ones? Can't be. He checked the clock to be sure it was accurate. It was. Dread filled him as he realized what he had been about to do. How many other times had he reached for the bottle without thinking? Did he really need the painkillers or was he becoming addicted? His thoughts turned inwardly. He was in pain, but he decided a couple of Tylonol would have to suffice and he'd taken three. And now he sat.

There were six left in the bottle. There had been sixty in the bottle to begin with, enough for four doses a day for the week. There were 12 left in the bottle. Doing the math in his head, he realized he'd taken between seven and eight dozes a day…twice the prescribed amount. He was in trouble and he broke into a sweat as understanding dawned. "Shit," he muttered to himself. His hand shook as he picked up the bottle and put it away, determined to make it three more hours until the next dose. "No more of that," he told himself.

He tried to occupy his mind with reading, watching TV, and even going back to sleep. Nothing worked. His thoughts keep going back to the pills in the cabinet. His pain grew and he kept telling himself it was his mind playing tricks with him to get him to take more pills. His frustration grew. "How could you do this?" he asked himself.

The hours passed slowly. At the prescribed time, he allowed himself one pill instead of the customary two. And as soon as the doctor's office opened the next day, Jim was calling. He arranged an appointment for later in the day.

His hours battling the urge to take the pills hadn't been a total waste, however. Jim had been able to make some plans. Once his immediate concern with the pills was resolved, he dialed the HR office at PD. After a short conversation with the woman on the other end, he was confident that the required forms would be sent to his home. He wanted to change his beneficiary, dropping Ellie and adding Catherine. He felt a pang of guilt about Ellie but he had spent a lot of money on her rehab and tried to help her get back on her feet. She'd insisted on going back to her life in LA, using prostitution as a means of support. They hadn't talked in months but he was sure that drugs were a part of her life again too. Catherine was carrying his child and if anything happened to him, his pension would come in handy. He knew that his pension and life insurance was small when compared to what she would inherit when Sam Braun's estate was finally settled, but this was his child and he had a responsibility towards it. He had done all he could do for Ellie; this child deserved a chance in life too.

During the long hours, he had also made one other plan. Finished with his first two tasks, he made one more phone call. Paul Brower was a real estate agent he had met a few years ago. Jim had been impressed with the man and thought he could help with the sale of his house. It had been a good house for Jim Brass, bachelor. But Jim Brass, family man, would require a larger house. Paul could help with that too.

Catherine called him a few minutes later and he told her about his doctor's appointment. She was surprised, thinking that his next appointment was in another two weeks. Ashamed of himself, Jim didn't want to tell her why he made the appointment and hedged her question. "All right, then," she said. "I'll come by and pick you up."

"You sure? I could get someone else to take me. You need to get plenty of sleep, you know."

"I'll head home and sleep now. Then I can be awake for your appointment."

"Okay…but I'll miss you," he said forlornly.

Catherine chuckled into the phone. "Well, I would come over there to sleep, but I have a feeling you wouldn't let me."

"Oh, I'll let you sleep. I just want to watch," he told her.

"And you really believe that I could sleep with you leering at me?" she teased.

It was Jim's turn to chuckle. "Okay, you win. I'll see you later."

He waited until an hour before the therapist was due before he took the next dose of pills. He decided that two would probably be required to get him through therapy. His hands shook as he turned the bottle in his hand to dump two pills into his hand. Yeah, you got a problem…he muttered to himself.

Catherine arrived to drive him to his appointment and as she drove, he told her about his plan to sell his house. "My house is too small and really, so is yours. I mean, Lindsey should still have her own room and the baby will need one. I thought it might be good to have a spare room too."

"Why? You think you'll get sent to it when you misbehave?" she asked smirking at him.

"Probably," he grinned. "But I was thinking it might be handy if your mother needed to stay with the kids or something."

"Right," Catherine nodded. They pulled into the parking lot at the medical building and walked hand in hand into the office.

Jim pulled the pill bottle out of his pocket and set it on the counter. "You gotta give me a different prescription," he told the doctor firmly.

The doctor looked at the bottle and then Jim. "Is it not working?" He picked it up and examined the contents. Then, noticing the date on the label his eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah," sighed Jim. "I um…just took pills for the pain, but I wasn't paying attention to the clock. Now I…well, it's too many."

The other man nodded thoughtfully. "How long do you think this has been going on?"

"The home care nurse handled the meds but when she left…"

The doctor checked Jim's chart. "So a little over three weeks…"

"Yeah. I…well, I've seen people who need those things too much, and I see what it does to them. I need something different; I don't want to get that way."

The surgeon nodded as he pulled out his prescription pad. "I'm going to write one for something less addictive…but it is still a narcotic, so be very careful. Anything less won't be effective for the pain. You can take Tylenol or Ibuprophen after three hours if you feel the need to boost the effect. I think you understand that you should not take extra doses. And if you experience withdrawal symptoms that you can't handle, call me. Understood?"

Jim nodded as he accepted the prescription from the man. "Thanks. I um…yeah, I'll be careful," he assured the surgeon.

As Jim and Catherine exited the medical building, his eye caught a shop across the street. Catherine was turning to head for the car when he caught her hand and pulled her with him towards the shop. "What are you doing?" she asked him.

"It's good to be out of the house…just a few more minutes, okay?"

"Just a few…then back home and a nap," She told him firmly.

He led her to the shop and she gasped when she realized where they were going. "Jim?"

"You said yes," he smirked as he opened the door and followed her in.

Catherine stood inside the jewelry store, her eyes sparkling. Jim's hand moved to the small of her back as he guided her toward the counter. He told the clerk that they wanted to look at rings and within seconds, they had a variety to peruse. "They're all so beautiful," Catherine oozed.

Jim scanned the case, his eyes stopping at one. His hand shook as he pulled it from the case. "What about this one?"

Catherine's eyes widened and lit as her mouth formed an 'O'. Then, "Jim…it's beautiful but it is too much…"

"Not as beautiful as you," he mumbled as his face flushed. "And no…it is not enough to say how I feel."

The luminous blue of Catherine's eyes settled on his. He struggled for air as he thought that she sparkled more than the diamonds in the ring. He was still holding it so he took her hand and slipped it on her finger. "Catherine, I love you; will you marry me?" He asked her again. He saw the tears that fell as she looked down at her hand, gazing at the ring. He used his other hand to lift her chin so that he could see her face. Using his thumb, he wiped away the tears, his own eyes glistening. His left eyebrow slid up, a question in his eyes.

She swallowed and nodded, still unable to speak. And then she looked back at her hand. Jim's eye twitched, uncertainty racing through him as he waited for her to say something. Her right hand went to the ring and for a moment Jim's heart clinched as he thought she was going to take it off and give it back to him. But she merely traced the stones with her finger, more tears falling. "It is so beautiful…," she finally said. Jim began to breathe again. "You really like it?"

"I love it," she whispered. "Almost as much as I love you. But it isn't necessary, Jim. I mean, you're already talking about buying a house…and now this…"

Jim looked at the clerk. "We want this one but it will need sizing."

The clerk pulled out his sizing rings and began trying them on Catherine's finger. "We can resize it and it will be ready in three days or we have one in the correct size with the same setting. Jim looked at Catherine and she smiled at him. "Let's see the one in stock," he said.

The clerk brought the other ring and Jim slid it onto Catherine's finger, replacing the original in the case. Catherine studied the second ring and looked at Jim, nodding. "I think the stones are clearer in this one," she told him. Jim smiled and turned to the clerk. That's the one."

They picked out wedding rings also. "I'm getting you a ring, Jim."

"You want me to wear a ring?"

"I do…I want everyone woman out there to know you're mine…"

Jim chuckled. "Like they're gonna care," he scoffed.

"You saying you're not going to wear my ring?" Her glare was piercing and as Jim looked at her, he realized that this was important to her. Eddie had cheated on her, several times that Jim knew of and probably more. She was going to be territorial with him, which suited him just fine. "Okay," he said. "I don't think it is necessary because there isn't a woman out there that can compete with you, but I'll wear a ring. It'll make all the guys at the station jealous…" he finished mischievously.

He intended to pay for it all but she insisted on paying for his ring. Jim acquiesced and once the purchases were made, they headed for the car. They went to the pharmacy to get his prescription filled and then as Catherine drove him back to his house, they talked.

"Jim, you're moving so fast with all of this…are you sure this is what you want?"

Jim looked surprised, his eyebrows shooting up. "You are kidding me, right? What's not to want? You're beautiful, sexy, smart, and for some reason you want me…and you're carrying my baby. And I feel like the luckiest guy on Earth. There's a reason I wanted to get your ring today; I don't want any other guy getting ideas and making a move on you…don't want to give you a chance to change your mind."

Catherine glanced across at him. "No way," she told him. "You're stuck with me."

"More the other way around," he told her. "I…well, I'm not exactly in my prime anymore…"

Catherine reached for his hand. "You were a jackass when you were in your prime; I remember. I like you much better now."

Jim laughed. "Yeah, I guess I was pretty obnoxious when I first came to Vegas…still reeling from the going over my ex gave me. Besides, my insides turned to mush and cobwebs tangled my brain every time you were around. It took me a long time to learn how to be in the same room with you."

Catherine pulled into his driveway. They walked inside and then she responded to his last comment. "You um…had feelings for me back then?" she asked.

Jim's face flushed. "You were married and I was a mess. I figured …you know, better behave myself."

Her eyes began to twinkle as she kissed him. "Guess you got over it, huh?"

"Over what…you?"

"No…behaving yourself." She teased as she led him back to his room to rest.

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You guys are killing me. Everyday I open my browser happily anticipating reviews and with the exception of a faithful few, my box is empty. I do appreciate the faithful ones, however. They keep the juices flowing and bring me back to the keyboard with renewed vigor. That and whenever I go to sleep, I dream this stuff. Yeah, I know...I need a life,lol. Anyway, PLEEAZE review! Tell me what you think about this chapter, story...future chapters... Thank you.