By the time Jim drove into his driveway, he was fighting to stay awake. He decided to ditch plans to grab a bite to eat as he unlocked his door and trudged into his house. Tossing his jacket over a nearby chair, he pulled his loosened tie off as he made his way to his bedroom. By the time he had slipped out of his clothes, he was already falling asleep.

Gunfire sounded from deep in the forest on the other side of the fields. His small group of Marines huddled just outside the village, prepared to defend the village in the case of attack. The eight Marines waited, knowing they were the last line of defense for the tiny community. An Army unit had engaged the enemy earlier that afternoon while on patrol and the battle had waged for several hours. The last hour, the gunfire had been sporadic, indicating that one side or the other was withdrawing.

"Hey Brown, got a smoke?" he asked. Brown was hunkered down behind a rock a few feet away. Brown reached in his shirt pocket and tossed the pack across to him and he pulled one out and lit it. Then tossing it back, he nodded his thanks.

Conrad cursed from behind him. "Be careful with that smoke, jackass. They could see it."

"I doubt it," they heard from Kerr, who was a few feet in front of them, behind a large tree. "They're still too far away." Kerr was their Sergeant and had the most experience. "We'll have to be alert tonight though. Ruiz, Savoie, and Conrad… secure and try to get some shut-eye. We'll sleep in shifts," the Sergeant commanded. The three instantly withdrew from the edge of the clearing and hunkered down behind some trees, getting as comfortable as possible before trying to rest.

He surveyed the rest of the little group and wondered who would be the next to go. Savoie had been the latest replacement, coming in when Andersen was killed a month or so ago. It was hard to keep track of time here. One day just seemed to roll into the next. Their tiny CAP unit had been assigned to this village about a year ago. They were here to help protect it, train the young militia, and help make improvements in the area. So far, they'd lost three men in the effort. He'd forgotten the real name of the village; they simply called it Chết Tiệt, or hell.

VC mortar rounds had destroyed several buildings, really no more than huts, the previous year. The CAP unit had helped rebuild and repair the little school and a few homes, as well as making repairs to the village well. Not bad, he thought, as his mind wandered over his five months here. It could be worse, after all. He'd started his tour near Da Nang and later moved to Khe Sanh. Then here. They'd seen less combat here, but were also farther away from back-up. Basically, they were out here with their asses hanging out waiting to get shot. Statistics weren't good for Cap units; causalities were high.

The hairs on the back of his head began to bristle, alerting him to danger. Turning to peer over the fallen tree that was his cover. "About one o'clock," he told his comrades as he watched the movement in the trees across the field.

Five heads rose just enough to look across and locate the source of the concern. Then a collective sigh of relief sounded as they recognized the Army unit slowly making its way across the open ground. Sleep would be easier tonight, he thought. Maybe I'll even sneak into the village…see if I can get anywhere with An, he thought. The girl, a year or so younger than him had been very shy with him but had warmed up lately as he'd spent time with her father, helping with some repairs to their hut. His Vietnamese was limited and she spoke very little English, but he'd been attracted immediately. She was pretty, he thought and her smile made him feel good. Yeah, he mused, I'll go see An tonight…

The shrill buzz of his alarm woke him. It took him a minute to shake off the dream and bring his mind back to the present day. Jim grunted and pondered the dream momentarily. "Haven't dreamed about 'Nam for years," he said softly, wondering what had prompted the dream. Then he remembered the Trangs and he knew why; Jimmy reminded him of the people of Chết Tiệt.

After a shave and shower, Jim drove back to PD. His mind wandered back to 1970 as he drove. An was his first real love, as much as anyone can really be in love at that age, he mused. He tried to recall her face but the passage of years had blurred the image. All he could remember clearly was her eyes when she looked at him; no one had looked at him that way since. Thinking about her created a mild ache within him as he wondered what his life would have been like if an ocean hadn't come between them.

"Probably would have screwed it up like I've done every other relationship," he thought as he pulled into the parking garage. By the time he made it into the building and to his desk, Jim's mind was fully in the present. After taking care of some Administrative duties for the shift, he called Nick at CSI.

"Hey Jim, I was just gonna call you. Identified the prints from the Trangs, including a Guy Trang."

"Yeah, he is the vic's brother. They're in business together. The nephew says he's on his way back to Vegas from a trip to Vietnam," Jim replied.

"Right. I have two other prints that I'm working on. So far the system hasn't had a hit though," Nick said. "Most of the blood samples were from Trang. There's one sample that I haven't started on yet. And I did get another sample from a drop I found near the door. We're working on it too. DNA is male but that's all I can tell you right now."

"Okay, thanks Nicky. I um…I promised I'd keep the Trangs in the loop and I don't have much to tell them so far. But at least I can tell them you have something to work with." Jim closed his phone with a sigh.

He glanced at a picture that sat on his desk of Ellie from happier times. He could understand Trang's frustration in his office. Jim knew he'd be out combing the city looking for his daughter and in fact, had done so several years ago. The hairs on his neck began to itch again as he thought about the possible trouble this little girl could be in.

A knock at his door brought him out of his thoughts. Looking up, he waved Sam Vega in. "What do you have, Sam?"

"The guys canvassed the area but nobody saw anything. I did some background work on Trang. He came here from the Philippines sometime in the early 80's, living first in L.A. before moving to Vegas in '93 or '94. Apparently he was one of the boat people and spent a couple of years in a refugee camp at Palawan before a Catholic organization sponsored him and some of the others at the camp and brought them to L.A. Worked in construction while he worked on citizenship and also went to night school. Got a job at an export company in L.A. and worked there until he moved here and started his own company. Owns Trang Imports with his brother. Never married as far as I can find. Not so much as a traffic ticket. Clean as a whistle," the detective concluded.

Jim grunted. "Fits what the nephew told me. Have you looked into the business? The nephew says there were people after him because of the business but he didn't really know what was going on."

"I'll see what I can find," Vegas said. "Also, I sent Brian Trinh to speak to some people he knows in the Vietnamese community…see if they can help any."

"Okay, good…" Jim brushed the back of his head with his hand as he considered where to take the investigation next. "Okay, you look into the business…and I'll go talk with the Trangs again…see if he has anything he can add."

Jim's mind wandered back to Vietnam as he drove to the Trang's house. Night had fallen over their village, as they had come to think of it…or at least, he had. The enemy was in the area so Kerr had decided they would sleep out in the forest that night, instead of huddling in the village in one of the public huts, like the tiny school. Sometimes families would open their huts to members of the group at night but it wouldn't do for the enemy to find the Americans inside the village, if they came that way. Consequently, they were huddled near trees, finding some shelter in the twisted tangled roots and undergrowth.

Conrad and Ruiz had first watch and the others were trying to sleep. But for him, sleep wouldn't come. He was worried about An. What would the gooks do to her if they raided the village? Her parents had hidden her before; hopefully they would do it again. But the thought didn't bring him much comfort. It was a long night for Jimmy Brass, who didn't sleep at all. Relief washed through him the next morning when they went back to the village and he spotted An outside her hut.

Jim tried again to remember An's face as he drove but he just couldn't bring it into focus. He could remember the way she made him feel.

Xin chào. Tôi tên là Jimmy Brass. Tên của bạn là gì? He smiled at her, finally getting the chance to talk to her. Although her father had befriended him, the family had worked to keep him away from their daughter. She smiled back and answered simply, "An." His stomach tightened as he swallowed. She was about the most beautiful girl he'd ever met and he tried to tell her…"dep…"

She blushed and looked to the ground. He had embarrassed her and somehow it made him want to know her even more. There weren't many things in this place that he liked, but when she was around, he was almost happy. She wasn't like any of the girls he'd known in high school. But he knew he had to be careful. Their unit was here to help these people, build their trust…not make them hate Americans. But god, she was so pretty…especially when she was being shy and blushing. It tickled something inside of him to see her like that.

Jim chuckled as he remembered the day her mother had chased him away from the hut, from An, with a rake. "Lấy đi, lấy đi," she yelled as she waved the rake at him. Jim had run away laughing. He chanced a glance back over his shoulder at An, who was laughing as well. She bowed slightly and looked off to the trees behind her hut, silently letting him know that she would meet him that night in their special place.

Jim felt familiar warmth spread through him as he thought about that night; it had been their first time. He had known she was a virgin and he really shouldn't be doing what he was doing with her, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. She was the only good thing in this miserable place, he'd thought. Besides, the older and wiser Jim Brass thought, I was just a horny kid at the time who hadn't seen a pretty face in ages… He shrugged with the thought, remembering how smitten he had been with the girl. Once again, he quietly wondered how his life might have been different if…

He parked on the street in front of the Trang house. Alicia Trang answered the door, a look of terror enveloping her face as soon as she saw him. "Ha…have you f…found her?"

Jim's chest ached, she looked so frightened. "No, no we haven't," he said gently. "I wanted to talk some more with you and your husband, if that's okay… the more information we have, the more we have to work with…"

She opened the door and let him enter. "I'll get Jimmy," she told him as she indicated the living room to the left. "Please, take a seat and…I'll be right back." She disappeared down the hallway. Jim sat on a chair near the sofa. Years of these kind of interviews taught him that the couple would want to sit together. He took a deep breath as he settled in to wait for the Trangs.

"I worked so hard for that first kiss
And a heart don't forget something like that

Like an old photograph
Time can make a feeling fade
But the memory of a first love
Never fades away." Tim McGraw

Xin chào. Tôi tên là Jim Brass. Tên của bạn là gì? Translates to:Hello. My name is Jim Brass. What is your name? …Or at least I hope it does, lol.

I hope this is making sense. I know the story jumps back and forth in time and it could get confusing. Let me know what you think;)