Sara woke early that morning to find that she was alone in her apartment. She sat up from herspot on the couch to find a note left by Jim. Rubbing her eyes, she reached for the slip of
paper and unfolded it. Reading softly to herself, she smiled.

"Sar, Do me a favour and requisition some time off for next month. You'll need to take about aweek and a half. I'd tell you what I have planned, but I don't want to. See ya later, Jim."

Grinning heavily, Sara stood up and jumped into the shower. Feeling the water cascade off herback, she let out a soft, low groan. While washing her hair, she had visions of what a shower
with Jim must be like, his soapy hands all over her body caressing her most private of privateof places. Just then, she heard the front door open and footsteps approaching the bathroom. Shehad soap in her eyes when Jim poked his head in the door, calling to her.

"Sar, I'm back."
"That's good. Can you do me a favour?" she asked
"Sure, what?"

With her eyes closed, she fumbled for the loofah and handed it to Jim along with some body gel.Holding them in front of his face, Jim was momentarily perplexed. He and Sara hadn't even made
love yet, and now she was asking him to wash her. Far be it from him to refuse a beautifulwoman. Taking off his suit jacket and dress shirt, he stood there and soaped her up. He watched
as his lathered hands worked from the nape of her neck down her back and just above herbuttocks, which were wonderfully muscular. At this point, Jim could notice his growing arousal
and so as not to startle Sara, he turned away from her so she could not see his growing member.After a few moments, she chuckled.

"Jim, I think my butt has enough soap on it."
"Oh,...I'm...sorry."
"No you're not." she replied, turning to him and looking where she shouldn't "Hop in, there'smore than enough room."

"I don't think that's such a wise idea." he said, struggling
"Come on, I showed you mine, now you show me yours." she said reaching for his belt

Within seconds, Sara had totally divested Jim of any and all clothing including his shoes andsocks. Carefully, he climbed in the shower and when he reached for the soap, Sara stopped him,
placing her hand on his. Soap in hand, she instructed Jim to turn around, which he did.Standing in all his naked glory, Jim closed his eyes and let his mind swirl as Sara moved herhands all over his body. Smiling to herself, Sara marveled at what great physical condition Jimwas. For someone in his early 50's, Jim had the body of a slightly out of shape Greek Adonis.

As her hands made their way farther south, she lightly caressed his rock hard shaft and as shedid, she looked up at him. His eyes were slammed shut and he had his arms stretched out bracing
himself on the inside walls. Moving around to his back, she chuckled again.

"You can open your eyes now. The worst is over."
"Oh, that wasn't so bad." he replied in a very husky voice
"Really? Then why are your eyes closed?"
"You don't wanna know."

Moments later, when they had finished their showers, Jim and Sara stood before the bathroommirror. She handed the comb to Jim and he worked the knots out of her hair while she brushed
her teeth. His fingers tangled in Sara's hair, he giggled.

"Aw, man. I was hoping to be able to wake you up." he said, a gleam in his eye
"Well, I've got errands and a doctor's appointment, so I can't. But there's always time forthat." she explained

In the bedroom they dressed in a companionable silence. Sara, having to be at the lab in justover an hour, jumped into a pair of khaki slacks and a medium weight sweater. She laced up her
boots and tied them off then sat on the edge of the bed watching Jim fish for some clean shorts.

"Damn, I knew I should have done the wash yesterday." he growled

As he buried his head in the closet, he pulled out a pair of jeans and a rugby shirt. Grabbing abelt and threading it, he sat beside Sara and slipped into his socks and trainers. Looking overat her, he smiled.

"So, how'd you sleep?"
"I slept alone." she replied
"Smart Ass."
"I know I've got a sweet ass." she quipped
"Ok...Um...hmm." was his only response

Walking over to the kitchen, Jim poured himself a cup of coffee as well as one for Sara.Returning to the living room, Jim plopped himself down on the couch and kicked off his shoes.
Minutes later, when Sara had dressed and come out from the bedroom, Jim waved her over to sitbeside him. Leaning forward and turning to face her, he gave a little sigh. Taking her hand in
his he then smiled.

"I have to go away for a few days, but when I get back I'd like to take you away for a few days."
"But I thought you said we'd be going away next month."
"That's another holiday. This one is just for a couple of days." he explained
"Where do you have to go, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Back east. Back home. Ellie needs me. She's in trouble." Jim stated
"Is she ok?" Sara asked
"She's fine; just a bit of trouble, that's all. I'm sure I'll be back before the end of theweek."
"Oh, ok."

Just then Sara's cell rang and she snatched it up. Jim could hear her responding to severalquestions with "Ok" and "Yeah, sure". After a few moments, she hung up.

"That was Warrick. He needs me at a scene that just came in."

Standing up Sara took Jim's hand and pulled him to her. They embraced quickly before Sara leftfor work and Jim packed his bags.

Sitting in economy class, Jim opened his carry on and pulled out a book. Truth be told, hewasn't really interested in reading, he just wanted to take his mind off of going back home to
New Jersey. Ellie had never needed him for anything before, and since she had called him, hismind was teaming with fears and his heart was welling over with feelings. Even when she was a
little girl, Ellie would never admit that she needed him for anything and now that she hadcalled him, he couldn't help but think that things were really bad.

Crouched down beside a dead body, Sara looked to Warrick and almost vomited. Grasping herstomach tightly, she ran into the house and headed for the bathroom. Having honked into the
toilet several times, she stood up and braced herself against the sink. Looking into the mirror,she growled and ran the cold water. Splashing it on her face, she felt a little refreshed, but
still physically ill.

Back outside, Warrick was still processing the scene as she came up behind him. Tapping him onthe shoulder, Sara turned her head and tried not to vomit again. Standing up, he caught her
just as she was about to fall to the ground.

"You ok, girl? You look like you're gonna die." he said as he sat her down on the ground

Hesitating for a few moments, Sara finally collected herself enough to reply to his question.

"I don't know what's up. All I know is that my head is spinning along with my stomach."she explained
"Go home. I got it from here."
"Are you sure?" she asked
"Yeah. Go home and lay down. You've probably got a stomach virus or something."

Back at her apartment, Sara grabbed a trash pail and lay down on her bed tucked into a ball andholding her stomach. She had felt fine that afternoon when she woke, but right now she felt as
if she were being turned inside out. Opening her bedside table drawer, she pulled out a digitalthermometer and took her temperature; 103.4. She prayed to God that all it was would be a
stomach bug. As she sweated profusely, she drifted to sleep.

Having rented a car, Jim drove from the airport back home, or at least the last home that heknew before leaving for Vegas. Driving south towards Little Silver from Teterboro, he tried to
focus on what could be so important that Ellie, after so long being out of contact, would callhim and say that it was an emergency. Was she sick? Was she in trouble? Was she pregnant? God,he hoped not. Just the thought of Ellie with a kid made his skin crawl. He knew she loved himdeep down, very deep down, but let's face it, she was far too selfish to think of anyonebesides herself. She'd always been that way and if there was one thing Jim knew about people,it was that its damn near impossible to change your nature. Yeah, you could change your actionsand even your way of thinking, but no matter how hard you try to change who you are on theinside, behind all the faces and facades that you may project, you're still the same person. Ofthis, Jim was a firm believer.

Laying in bed, Sara was awakened by the shrill sound of her cell phone. Flipping it open, shegrowled at her caller.

"What?"
"Sara, this is Jim. I was just calling to let you know I got in ok. Hey, how come you're notat work?" he asked

"I'm sick. I've been throwing up all evening, so Warrick sent me home. I've got a slighttemperature, but I'm sure everything will be fine." she explained

"Ok. I'm pulling up to the house right now. I'll call you tomorrow."

Pulling up in front of the house he used to call home, Jim had a very unpleasant flashback fromwhen he was still married. He stood in the foyer arguing with his wife and just as he turned to
leave, Ellie came running to him, begging him not to leave. Part of him thought that somethingsimilar would happen tonight.

The house was a Cape Cod style with a nice sized front yard and a white picket fence that wasnot there when he left last time. In the yard were some garden gnomes and even a lawn jockey
at the head of the drive. Jim grinned at all the kitchy little lawn ornaments and gave achuckle.

"This must be you, Ellie."

Taking a deep breath and summoning up all of his courage, Jim stepped out of his rented car andwalked up the stone path to the front door. Balling up his fist and knocking, he took a couple
of deep breaths. After a few moments, he knocked again. Finally, he heard movement. The chainrattled and as the door opened he plastered a fake smile on his face. Standing in front of him,Ellie smiled and, quite out of character, gave him a hug. Having been caught off guard, Jim wasnot sure how to respond, so he just hugged her back.

Inside, the house was very different from what he remembered. The carpeting was new and of adark green colour and a very nice living room lounge set complete with two Lay-Z-Boys and anice teakwood coffee table. There was new the furniture, which was nice, a large plasma screentellie, a stereo system and other things that indicated that a younger person lived there.
Ellie gestured to Jim to have a seat while she took care of something. She left the room and asJim watched her climb the stairs, he saw what looked like a child's sippy cup. "Oh, God, she'sgot a kid". he said to himself. He wondered how old he was and other things that parents thathave children wonder about.

A few minutes later, Ellie came back downstairs carrying a child in her arms. He appeared to behalf asleep, but his eyes were open slightly as he looked at Jim. Sitting beside his daughter,
Jim turned to her and took a deep breath. The boy in her arms looked like someone he had seenbefore, but for the life of him, he couldn't place who it was.

"Who's this?" he asked, looking at the boy
"His name is James Francis Brass II. I named him after you." she said softly
"You named him after me? Why?"
"I know I've been a real bitch for my entire life, but I do love you, Dad. I just wanted to showyou that." she explained

"Well, I don't know what to say." Jim replied, watching as Ellie lay James down on the couch,covering him up with a blanket

"I need to ask a favour of you, Dad." she said, wiping a slight tear from her eye
"Sure, anything. You know that."
"I have to go away for a while and I wanted to know if you could look after James." she said
"Where are you going and why do you want me to care for James?"
"I'm checking into rehab. Its a residential 12 month programme. I've got a problem and I want tobe healthy for James."

On one hand Jim was glad that Ellie was trying to get her life on track, but on the other hand,he wasn't sure if she would ever be capable enough to care for her young child. Looking over at
James, Jim smiled and gave a chuckle.

"Let me ask, why didn't you ask your mother to care for him?"
"Oh, that's right, you don't know."
"Don't know what?"
"She passed away last year. She had pancreatic cancer. It all happened so fast; within 6 monthsof diagnosis. She left me the house and pretty much everything else." she explained

Jim and Ellie sat and talked for a while, going over James's likes and dislikes as well as hisdietary needs and such. In the end, Jim agreed to care for James on the proviso that shecomplete the drug treatment programme and after that, she go into intensive psychotherapy. If,for whatever reason she couldn't or wouldn't complete the programme and the subsequent therapy,he would petition the courts for full custody of the young boy. At first mention of thisstipulation Ellie was hesitant, realizing that she might never get James back. But in the end,she thought of what was in her son's best interest and agreed to Jim's terms.

The following morning Jim and Ellie woke up and as she packed her bags and gathered James'spersonal documents like his social security card and birth certificate, Jim acquainted himself
with his grandson. It bothered him that James looked like someone he had seen before and itbothered him even more that he couldn't place who it was. James definitely had Jim's teeth,
with the prominent canines and naughty grin. Sitting at the breakfast table, Jim looked overat his namesake and gave a lopsided grin.

"So, how old are you, James?"
"He's two, Dad. He's not very talkative unless its to do with trains or airplanes." Ellie stated
"So, he's a machine nut, then?"
"Yeah, he is. Last month he took the tellie remote apart." she replied, standing in the doorway
"How'd he do that?" Jim asked
"Santa gave him a little toolbox for Christmas."

Her bags having been packed and put in the trunk of Jim's car, Ellie and James climbed into theback seat and Jim pulled away from the curb. During the ride, Ellie spent time with James,
saying her good-byes. Every so often Jim would look in his rear view mirror and hazard a glanceat the two of them. He could tell by the look on her face that this was not easy for her.

About an hour later, Jim thought of something that he didn't bother to ask back at home, andthat was James's parentage. Swallowing hard and contemplating his words, he spoke up.

"So, El, what does the father have to say about all this?" he asked
"He's got no idea. Besides, it was a one night stand." she replied

Given James's age and the fact that Ellie was in Vegas at around the time that he was supposedlyconceived, Jim felt a bit flustered. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up.

"You say this ass has no clue?"
"His name is Greg and he's got no idea." she replied

At then mention of Greg's name, Jim immediately tensed up and white knuckled the steering wheel.Sensing this, Ellie spoke up.

"Does he have a job?" he asked
"I think he's a med student. He had all sorts of books about medicine and magazines about bloodborne pathogens at his place." she explained

"Huh" was Jim's only response
"Dad, don't go looking for him. We're all better off not knowing."
"If you say so."

Outside the rehab centre, Jim stood by as Ellie and James said their good-byes. It was reallyvery emotional an experience and as Ellie kissed her son good-bye, she turned her attention to
Jim.

"Dad, I know you'll take excellent care of James, but can you do one more favour for me?"she asked
"Sure thing, what?" he asked
"Don't let him forget me. Make sure that he knows that I did this for us. Remind him that Ilove him and that I'll be back as soon as I can. Here's a picture of me and another one of us."she said, handing Jim the photos

Looking down at the two photos, Jim smiled. In the two-plus years since he had last seen Ellieshe had, in fact, undergone some very drastic changes. Apparently, she had proven Jim wrongabout his theory regarding changing one's nature; and for this, he was happy to have beenproven wrong.

Having just landed in Vegas, Jim and James grabbed their bags from the baggage carousel and wentto the parking garage. Jim had purchased a child's car seat back in New Jersey, so he buckledit in the back seat of his car and helped the little man into his seat. Hopping behind thewheel, he drove them home. During the ride back, James was very talkative, asking questions
about the hotels and casinos along the strip. Jim tried to explain that they were like greatbig video arcades, but soon realized that the little boy had no idea what he was talking about.

Sitting at a red light, Jim pulled out his cell phone and dialed Sara. As he waited for her topick up, he watched James gawk at all the lights, glitz and glitter of the Las Vegas strip.After a few moments, she picked up.

"Sidle."
"Sar, its Jim."
"Oh, hey. Where are you?" she asked
"I'm in front of the MGM Grande."
"Wow, that was quick. Is everything ok?"
"Yeah, but we need to talk." he stated
"This doesn't sound good. What's the matter?" she asked
"Nothing is the matter, its just that there's something you need to see." he replied
"Ok, well, I'm at home."
"My home or your home?" he queried

Her last question made Jim think about their relationship. They had been spending a lot of timetogether lately and even though they still maintained their own separate residences, they had
become like an old married couple, joking back and fourth and griping on each other. The timehe spent with Sara gave a whole new light to his otherwise boring and routine days.

"Um, your home. I got lonely and let myself in. I hope that was alright." she replied
"Yeah, that's perfectly alright. We'll be home in about half an hour."
"Who's we?" she asked
"You'll see."

Jim closed his phone and continued on his way back home. Looking back at James, he figured thathe'd better prepare the young boy, so pulling into the Dairy Queen, they got out and wentinside. They ordered a banana split and much to Jim's delight, James preferred strawberry andchocolate ice cream. Sitting at a table in the corner of the establishment, Jim broached thesubject of he and Sara.

"James, do you know who I am?"

The young man nodded his understanding.

"Ok, I have a friend at my house. Her name is Sara. Is that ok with you?"

Again, he nodded.

"Well, my friend, Sara, spends a lot of time with me. I guess you could say that she's my bestfriend. Would it be ok with you if you met her today?"

Again, the nod. Jim smiled and took another spoon of their split. James truly was a boy of fewwords, but Jim had no doubt that he understood perfectly well. James's lack of vocalization
made Jim think about what sort of program he should be placed in for school. He knew that thedepartment had a day care centre at the annex and he made a mental note to check into it later
in the week.

Pulling into his drive, Jim turned to James and smiled.

"Remember, her name is Sara and she's really nice. I think you'll like her."
"She's nice?"

Jim smiled and chuckled.

"Very nice."

Having pulled their bags from the trunk, Jim unbuckled him from his seat, and led him up thefront walk. Standing on the front porch, Jim fished out his key and slid it into the lock.
Nudging the door open with his foot, Jim did a quick visual sweep of the house to make sureSara wasn't naked on the couch or anything. The coast was clear as they entered the house and
set their bags by the front door.

Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, Jim flipped on the Disney channel and plopped Jameson the couch while he went in search of Sara. As he entered the bedroom, he could hear the
shower running and he poked his head in the bathroom to find Sara showering. Tapping on theglass sliding door, he stuck his head in.

"Hey, hun. We're here."
"Again, who's we?" she asked
"Finish your shower and come and see. We're in the living room."
"Ok, I'll be out in a few minutes."

Jim left her to finish her shower and as she raked a comb through her hair, she wondered why Jimwas being so secretive about their guest. Jim wasn't really one for surprises, but today he wasmaking a point to be vague. She wasn't really worried, but more curious. Sticking her head outof the bathroom door, she silently thanked Jim for closing the bedroom door so she could dressin privacy. Having dressed in a pair of jeans and one of Jim's sweat shirts.

Stepping out into the living room, Sara saw the back of Jim's head from where he sat on thecouch. Walking around to stand in front of him, she stopped in her tracks when she saw thelittle boy. Smiling, Jim stood and made the introductions.

"James, this is Sara."

James looked up at her and said a very soft "Hi", then turned his attention back to the tellie.

"Sara, this is James Francis Brass II, my grandson."

TBC?