Sara sat nervously in the car; Sylvia had agreed to let her go home, as long as she came back for another session in two days. She had also prescribed Lithium to try and control Sara's extreme mood swings, fearing it was more than just the hormones from the pregnancy, most likely Sara was Bipolar. But still, she was allowed to go home, and Brass would stay with her. In a few minutes she would be there, somewhere she hadn't been for nearly two weeks.

Brass pulled up to her apartment complex, and turned to look at her 'You alright Kiddo?' he asked, a smile on his face

'Yeah…Yeah…I'll be ok…Just remembered the state I left the place in…So let me apologise in advance for the mess'

'Oh, don't worry about that at all Sara' he said whilst getting out of the car, waiting for her to follow. After a few more minutes she did, and then walked up to her apartment feeling a little apprehensive. At last she reached the door, unlocked it, and stepped in, Jim close behind her.

'Sorry' she mumbled, closing the door behind her.

'It's ok Sara, really, don't worry about it, I've seen worse, now, shall I make some tea?'

'Oh… sure… I haven't got any milk though; everything in the fridge would have gone bad… I need to go to the supermarket… ' Sara fiddled with the keys in her hand.

'That's ok, we can drink it black, go shopping later, go, sit, relax…' Jim steered her towards the sofa, but Sara resisted 'No, it's ok, I want to get started on the cleaning… just an hour, at least do the washing up…'

'Let me help then?'

Sara nodded slowly, accepting the help 'Ok… Perhaps you could strip the bed, put some clean sheets on?'

'Sure, no problem, let's put some music on, shall we? What are you in the mood for? More Jazz?'

'No, actually… don't laugh… but the go-to cleaning music is the Shrek soundtrack, every time… I hope that's ok?'

'Shrek… that green Ogre? Never seen it, but sure, whatever you want Sara' he chuckled to himself, and walked towards the bedroom, taking in the state of the flat but making no comments about it.

About an hour later Sara had finally finished washing up all of the pots pans and crockery, and had put the kettle on. Walking to the fridge automatically for some milk, she couldn't help but gag at the smell when she opened it. The fridge was a little worse than she thought it would be. It was also depressing, as it was mostly filled with old take-away cartons and very little else… except for the beer. Closing the fridge again she called out to Jim 'Unless you want to go to the supermarket, I think we best order in a takeaway… the fridge is gross, and the cupboards are a little bare…'

'Don't be silly Sara, I'm sure there must be something we can cook…let me have a look…' he replied walking into the kitchen with the old bed sheets, and placing them in the washing machine. 'Hope you don't mind, but the bed didn't take long, so I gave the bathroom a quick clean'

Sara looked at him sceptically for a moment 'You mean you went in the bathroom to look for razors or anything else sharp?' she asked, feeling a little hurt.

Brass frowned 'No, actually… Your mess, your responsibility…In my experience confiscating anything sharp or alcoholic only makes things worse. You need to resist, and I'll help with that, I will, but if I take them, you won't learn, only resent and crave more…' Brass shrugged 'Call it Fatherly experience, you know about Ellie… I won't make those same mistakes with you' as he was speaking he stepped closer, and placed his hand on Sara's arm. Sara smiled weakly and nodded, and then unexpectedly pulled him in for a hug 'Thank you' she mumbled into his chest.

'So, what can I cook? Up for some nail soup?' he asked placing a kiss on her head before pulling away

'Nail soup?' Sara asked a little confused

'Yes, nail soup… you haven't heard the story?'

Sara just shook her head no and chuckled a little 'Not a clue…'

'Ah… watch and learn' Brass said beginning to open the various kitchen cupboards.

Awhile later, after they had finished eating and once again Sara had cleaned up the kitchen, they both sat on the sofa, drinking tea.

'How are you feeling?'

'Ok…I guess Sylvia was right…my mood has been a bit more even, but now instead of drinking I'm popping pills… 3 prescriptions, plus the vitamins… maybe iron too soon… all I can think is that I'm grateful I've been taking vitamins for years, and they have Folic Acid in them… it helps grow the baby's spine or something… It's important anyway, so that's one less thing to worry about…' Sara leant her head against Jims shoulder 'Thanks for being here…'

'Anytime kiddo' he replied throwing an arm around her shoulder.

'Jim?' Sara whispered

'Yeah?'

'What do you think about Catherine?' she asked, curling into his side a little more

Xxx

Catherine sat at home, looking at her phone, it was a little early to go into work, and Lindsey was at a friend's house working on a school project. She really wanted to ring Sara, knowing she was now back home, but she didn't want to crowd her. She'd been by the hospital late the night before. Jim had phoned her after seeing Sara to let her know what was going on. She'd spend about two hours with Sara before she fall asleep. They'd talked a little, but mostly they had sat quietly together, not quiet knowing what to say. Before Catherine had left she had kissed Sara again, pouring her emotions into the embrace, and was happy when Sara had not only been receptive to the touch, but had returned it.

Reluctantly she decided to wait a little longer. She'd phone Sara on her break later, let her settle in a little bit more.

Xxx

Jim smiled 'Catherine eh… Why do you want to know?'

Sara twisted slightly 'I…' she looked down feeling a little embarrassed 'I…We…'

'I know' Brass said rubbing her arm 'She didn't say anything, but I picked up the vibes, even over the phone… When did it happen?'

'At the hotel' Sara mumbled, leaning back into his chest.

'Well then, you know Catherine has seen you at a fairly low point, but there's obviously something there… she would have dealt with the whole situation differently otherwise…'

'You haven't answered the question though…'

'What question?' he asked half serious

'What do you think about her…'

'Why is it important?'

'It…I don't know… It…It…' Sara sat up, looking around the room 'My Father wasn't a good Father, I've never really had a good family, I've never really cared about what people think of me, I've seeked a lot of… academic approval… but never… never really personal approval….' Sara said fidgeting in her seat.

'Ah, I see… Well, I think she's a good person, a good Mum, a hard worker, a great CSI, I think she's good for you, she'll help balance you out… in a few years perhaps she'll even make a good Daughter-in-Law' he said a big smile on his face, his hand resting on Sara's leg.

Sara's head snapped up at that 'What….' She stammered out

'I said, Catherine would make a go…' Sara cut him off 'I…I heard what you said, I… I…I'm just a little…speechless… confused…'

Jim just smiled again 'Why, I told you, I already made mistakes with one Daughter, I won't make them again… I wish you were younger Sara, I'd adopt you if I could…' Once again Sara cut him off

'You can… I… I read about it somewhere… you can, I mean, if you're serious…' Sara looked down once again.

'I am' Jim said lifting her head up 'So, what do you say?'

Sara nodded, a massive smile on her face, and threw her arms around him 'I love you Dad' she said giggling

'I love you too Kiddo'

Xxx

A/N – See, a happy chapter! Also, do look up 'Nail Soup' if you don't know it already. Also also, the Shrek soundtrack (original movie) is brilliant, and it is actually what I listen too to clean 90% of the time (The other 10% of the time is Toxicity by System of a Down…)

Thanks for reading, Emz