I hope you enjoy this little bit of background on Brass from my imagination. I don't own any of these characters except the ones I make up blah blah blah……..

Jim reached for the phone on the first ring.

"Brass" he leaned forward in his seat, fiddling with the pencil on his desk blotter.

"Jim…" He recognized the voice immediately and the tone made his heart stop cold. "He's gone."

"When?" Jim leaned back and rubbed his temples.

"Early yesterday morning."

"I'll be there. Ivy? I'm so sorry."

"See you soon." and the line went dead.

Jim Brass put his head in his hands. Patrick O'Malley was dead. It was just a matter of time. Jim had known that 2 years ago. Patrick's two pack a day habit had finally caught up with him. He had succumbed to lung cancer and it had metastasized to his brain in a matter of months. His wife, Ivy, had been giving Jim updates periodically. Jim had traveled back to Jersey to see Patrick twice in as many years. Now he would be going to his friends funeral.

Jim arranged for two days off. He didn't want to spend anymore time in his old stomping grounds than possible. If it weren't for Ivy he wouldn't have went back.

He thought about the first time he had seen Ivy Warren. She had been walking across campus with her friend. The friend would eventually be Jim's wife. He had noticed Ivy first, though. She had her head back laughing at something Laura was saying. Jim remembered the two girls walking past him as he sat on a bench outside the library. As they passed he noticed that Laura had great legs.

The next time he saw the girls, he was with Patrick. They were at a bar off campus. The girls walked in and the sound of Ivy's laughter reached Jim's ears. He turned at the sound. Patrick also spotted the girls. The girls squeezed into a place at the crowded bar next to Jim and Patrick. Ivy glanced at the boy's, smiled and nudged Laura.

"Hey, didn't I see you outside the library the other day?" Laura asked Jim.

"That was me." He tried to be cool. As cool as a year 20 year old could be faced with a great looking blond with great legs that seemed interested in him.

"I'm Laura Patten and this is my roommate Ivy Warren." Ivy waved at the boys.

"Jim Brass" He jerked his thumb at Patrick. "This ugly mug is Patrick O'Malley."

Patrick gave Jim a good natured punch on the shoulder. He noticed a table opening up and ushered everyone to it.

"So do you guys go to Seton Hall?" Laura asked

"Yeah." Jim said noticing her blue eyes, long blond hair and those incredible legs. She knew he was noticing and kept crossing and uncrossing her legs. Jim was glad that short skirts had not gone out of style. While Jim and Laura got to know each other. Patrick and Ivy made small talk. Patrick's gaze kept straying to Laura. Ivy was used to this with the men she dated. After they met Laura, she was usually pushed aside.

"What's your major?" Ivy asked Patrick

"History. I want to be a fireman. My parents said if I wanted to be a fireman I had to go to college first. So I'm doing my four years to please the family." He said shifting his attention to Ivy. Noticing her red hair, clear skin and startling green eyes. "Ivy Warren, huh, you're not related to Jason Warren?"

"My brother. He graduated last year" she said knowing what was coming next.

"He and I had some classes together. Same red hair, does it run in the family?" Patrick laughed.

"We all have it." she smiled, glad he didn't bring up her father. Ivy's father was the attorney general of New Jersey and had his eye on a seat in the U.S. senate.

"Jason? Is that the guy that organized the protests last year?" Jim said interested. "Cops had to bust that one up. If got kinda rough.'

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. He almost didn't graduate." Patrick said.

"Your dad was so pissed." Laura said taking a sip of Jim's beer. "He had to pull a lot of strings to get Jason out of trouble on that one."

"You two ladies want to get out of here and do something fun?" Patrick suggested.

"Sure" Laura said standing up. "I'm ready for anything."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Sir do you need anything?" the flight attendant asked Jim. He was pulled out of his memories. "We will be landing soon."

"No, everything is fine, thanks." Jim clicked his seat forward and raised his tray table. Rubbing his face, he mentally prepared for facing his past.

He rented a car and drove first to Ivy and Patrick's house. He expected a crowd to be there, but no cars lined the street and the house looked dark. Jim checked his watch, wondering if he had gotten his day or time wrong.

He parked on the street and went up the walk. Snow was on the ground and his feet crunched in the snow on the walk. It need to be swept. He didn't miss shoveling snow. The Christmas wreath was still on the door, even thought it was well into the new year. Jim knocked on the door. He rang the bell. He looked through the window beside the door and only saw a lamp burning in the hall.

Something didn't feel right to him. His radar went up. He tried the knob, it gave and Jim entered the foyer of the house.

"Anybody home? Ivy, you here, it's me Jim." He instinctively reached for his waist to draw his gun, but it was not there. He was a civilian here and had not brought a firearm. He stood for a moment in the hall, a pile of mail was on the table. He heard the buzz of a phone left off the hook.

"Ivy, are you in the house, sweetheart, it's me Jim." he called again and listened

"Jim?" someone moaned from upstairs.

Jim took the steps two at a time and went into the room he knew belonged to his friend. On the bed lay Ivy, tangled in her sheets and blankets. She was on her stomach. She was trying to lift herself from the bed.

"Jim, you came. I am so glad you came." she untangled herself. Her face stained with tears and her hair in tangles."

"Are you okay?" Jim kneeled beside the bed. He checked her pulse, looked into her eyes. "Have you taken something? Do I need to call someone?"

Jim noticed the pill bottles on the bedside table and the empty liquor bottles.

"What have you been doing? I thought the service was this afternoon."

Ivy pointed to a box on the other bedside table.

"There he is, the bastard. Let the dead buy the dead. He can burn in hell. I cancelled the service."

"What are you talking about. Everyone loved Patrick. His firehouse will want to say goodbye."

"You know me, Jim. Everyone will say crazy Ivy is just having one of her spells. They told me to call them when I was ready." she began to laugh.

"Ivy, I need to get some help for you. Can you walk?" Jim looked at the prescription bottles.

"I'm not trying to kill myself. You know pills aren't my style." she laughed again and held up her wrists.

Jim winced. He had been the one that found her that day. Jim had saved her life. Patrick had been leading an EMT class out of town.

"Did you know, tell me the truth am I the only one of us that didn't know? Ivy began to cry. She collapsed onto Jim's shoulder. He reached out and tried to comfort her.

"Don't you touch me. Tell me did you know?" she began to weakly beat his chest with her fists.