Watching The Two Mrs. Grissoms. I love Marlee Maitlin...always.

Anyway, it has inspired me to polish up this chpater and get it posted. Well, that and the fact that expectations for reviews were exceeded on the last one, lol

Happy reading!

"I'm being sent home on leave. I'll be gone about three weeks…"

Tears sat in her eyes as she looked at him. "You not come back."

"Yes, I will. This is emergency leave…because of my grandmother. There was talk about me being reassigned to Pendleton but I said I wanted to come back." A chuckle rumbled from his chest. "Guess they don't get many volunteers 'cause the sergeant looked at me like I'm crazy. I promise, I'll be back."

"But you go home and see pretty white girls and when you come back…" her soft sob made his chest tighten.

"No, no…no way. I've seen them before, remember? And none of them…they don't…oh sweetheart, they just don't make me feel like you do. I love you, you know that, right?"

"You will come back… to me?" She asked as she looked at him hopefully.

His hand went to her face, cradling it. And he looked into her eyes, his heart breaking at the sight of her tears. She hadn't answered him. "You know I love you, don't you?" he said more forcefully.

She nodded that she did, but it was unconvincing. "I just know I love you," she said tentatively.

"You'll see…when I come back, you'll see…"

Jim grunted in his sleep and shifted his position on the couch.

"You're going back?" his mother cried in disbelief. Looking at him over the dinner table, she was aghast. "You volunteered?"

"Yes Mom. I volunteered. What we're doing in that village…it's a good thing."

"But you've already been there a year and in some horrible places. We see it on the news…how horrible the fighting is."

"But Mom, the people in the village…"

"Got along just fine without you before and they will be fine without you now…" She wiped her hands on her apron nervously. "I just don't understand."

His father looked at him skeptically. "What's this about Jimmy? You went kicking and screaming into the Marines and now you can't wait to go back. Your grandmother's funeral was just yesterday and today you want to go back…"

Looking at his father, he struggled to find an answer that would satisfy them. "It's just… I am making a difference; oh, not in a big way but…those people have been bombed and had mortar rounds fired into the heart of the village. They grow crops and then the enemy comes through and steals the food. But they keep trying. They just want some peace and my unit provides enough protection so they get some."

His father shook his head, not accepting the explanation. He looked across at his older brother, who smiled at him. "Is she pretty?"

He frowned and shook his head, not wanting the conversation to go there. But his mother always picked up on those kinds of things and was beside him immediately. "You've met a girl? One of them? Oh Jimmy… You know they are diseased. Don't you even…"

Jumping up from his chair, he lost his temper. "Look, they are not. And it is really none of your business and… just because you don't know someone…because they are different, come from a different place... Oh to hell with it," he exclaimed as he threw his napkin on the table. "I should've just stayed. You don't know what it's like over there and what those people have to deal with and…" He turned and stormed out, realizing that he was only upsetting his mother more.

"Son," his father said softly as he approached him on the back porch.

He looked up at his father's lined face, his dark blue eyes showing his concern…and maybe a little understanding. "I'm sorry, Dad. It's just…"

"It's okay…but you will need to apologize to your mother." The older man sat down on the wicker chair next to his. "Is there a girl, Jimmy?"

Slowly he nodded.

"Yeah, kinda thought so." He let out a deep sigh. "When I was in the Pacific… well, there was this one island where we were stationed for awhile. And I met a girl… Home seemed so far away and I wasn't even sure I would ever get back. And she was pretty and …" A faraway expression crept into his eyes as he smiled. "…well, I was pretty smitten. By the way, your Mom doesn't know and I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything. She wouldn't understand."

He looked at his father and nodded, affirming that he wouldn't say anything. "You ever think about her, Dad? How things might have been…"

The older man sighed. "Think about her? Yeah, from time to time. When I was younger it was, well …in a horny kind of way. Now that I'm older, it's a bitter sweet memory. But I knew how it would turn out if I brought her back, not that the Navy would have let me bring her back anyway. She wouldn't have been accepted …not by the town, not by my family…not at all. I've known guys who brought back Pacific women after the war; it didn't go well. And you kids… it would have been hell for you too."

"But times are different. Surely…"

"Times may be different, son. But scratch below the surface and people never really change all that much. You go back and do what you need to do…what you think is right. And if you do bring the girl home, I'll support you. But don't count on your mom, or anyone else in the family for that matter."

He nodded that he understood. "It's just… she's so beautiful. And I love her so much," he said desperately.

His father looked at him wisely. "You gotta ask yourself if that love will hold up against the reality of coming back home."

"Then…we'll find someplace else to live," he said definitively.

"Like I said, do what you gotta do…just be sure it is for the right reasons." His father said as he stood to walk away.

He looked up gratefully. "Thanks Dad…for at least understanding."

"It's my job, son."

Jim woke, still exhausted. Shaking off the dream, he trudged through the house to the bathroom, and then decided to head for bed. He hadn't intended to fall asleep on the couch; he'd just collapsed there when he got home.

As he settled back down and began to relax, he thought about the Trangs. True to Sally Trang's warning, Mama Trang wasn't talking to anyone. Sam had even driven over to her place to try to talk face to face. She'd slammed the door in his face, yelling something in Vietnamese that he couldn't understand. After hearing part of what she'd said, Brian Trinh said it was a good thing Vega didn't understand. Frustrated with Sam's report, Jim had headed home to get some sleep before heading west.

Grumpily, he grumbled in the dark about the FBI. He knew that Ecklie had to make the call but Jim didn't want them pushing him out of the case. This one was personal for him. He wasn't sure why, but it was. Rolling over he mumbled as he drifted off, "screw the FBI…and screw Ecklie."

"You came back," she said laughing with happiness.

"Told you I would," he grinned foolishly. "And I've been thinking…"

"What you been thinking, Jimmy Brass?"

"I want us to get married, An."

She looked at him with those beautiful eyes, so trusting. "Really? You sure? You take me with you to America?"

"I'm very sure," he told her confidently. "I thought about you the whole time I was gone. I want us to be together."

"But...what about your family?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your family will…like me?"

Looking into her eyes, something inside began to melt. He loved her, even more than he thought before. "I talked to my Dad. He said he understood…that he'd stand by my decision."

"And your mother?"

Full of youthful confidence, he smiled. "She'll come to love you as much as I do," he said naively. "I'll speak to your father…and then I have to get my Captain's approval. But after that…"

"I love you, Jimmy Brass."

Jim woke, tears streaming down his face. "I love you too," he whispered into the darkness.

After a quick shower, he dressed and was packing a go bag for his trip to L.A. His phone rang and he recognized Sam Vega's name on the caller ID.

"Jim, Trang took off," Sam Vega told him through the piece.

"Trang? You mean Jimmy Trang?"

"Yeah. His wife said he got a call and he left right after. She's not sure but she thinks it was from his uncle….Guy."

"Any idea where he's headed?" Jim asked with a sinking feeling.

"No. But his wife said Guy was supposed to land in L.A. a few hours ago. He had a connecting flight to Vegas but he wasn't on it."

"Maybe he caught a later flight?" Jim was struggling to wrap his mind around it.

"I called the airlines and there's no Guy Trang or any other Trang on any flights from L.A. to Vegas. The guy landed in L.A. but did not board his plane an hour later."

"Yeah, okay….I got it." Jim thought for a moment. "Five'll get ya ten Jimmy's on his way to L.A. Something's up with Uncle Guy; this whole thing feels hinky to me."

"So, you want me to get ready for a trip to L.A?"

"I'm going. You stay here and babysit the rest of the family. We don't need anymore of them disappearing. Get all of them to safety in a place where you can keep them under your thumb."

"Okay, gotcha. See you in a few…"

Jim turned and grabbed his bag before heading out the door. Ecklie was waiting for him when he got to PD. "Vega says you think Jimmy Trang went to L.A."

"Yeah. Guy got off a plane there and didn't get on his connecting flight. Now, Jimmy's gone…. It's gotta be."

"I agree," the Under-Sheriff said as he nodded. "I'm sending Nick with you. And I've already talked to the Chief there. You'll have a detective working with you." Jim opened his mouth to request his friend, Annie Kramer but was stopped by Ecklie's raised hand. "And it won't be your friend Captain Kramer. The Sheriff doesn't want a repeat of your last adventure with her in Los Angeles."

Jim looked at him stunned. "But this is different…"

"Doesn't matter, Jim. You'll have a detective but it will be up to the L.A. to decide who."

Recognizing defeat, Jim sighed. "Yeah, okay." I'll call her anyway when I get there…

"And don't forget to contact the L.A. FBI office when you get there…" Ecklie called out to Jim's back as he left.

Having Nick along made the drive easier. Ecklie had tried to fly them over but the flights were booked until the next day so they were actually going to get there quicker by driving. As he drove, Jim's mind wandered back to the last time he'd made the drive, when he'd gone to see about Ellie after her friend had disappeared. That had been a disaster. Hopefully this trip would have better results.

Glancing over at Nick, Jim chuckled. The CSI was dozing in the dark car, his head nodding in different directions with each curve or bump in the road. Nick had been working the case as hard and hadn't gotten much sleep either; Jim was glad that he was in on the trip."

They drove into the city with the sun rising behind them. Nick helped Jim follow the GPS directions to the police precinct that they'd been instructed to report to. They parked and walked into the Central Police Station. Jim showed his badge to the receptionist and asked to speak to the station chief. A few minutes later Captain Russell Todd walked out and introduced himself.

"I've assigned Adam Liu to your case. He's already been out to the airport but there wasn't much to find. He did get the security tapes and our lab found your man, Trang leaving the building. He got in a cab and headed out. Liu is tracking down the cab."

"So, anything you can tell us about Daniel Wong's operation?" Jim asked.

"Well, he's behind a lot of the mischief around here but the FBI really has more than we do about him. I can tell you that you won't get any help out of Chinatown or the other Asian communities. They're all afraid of him."

"Well, our two suspects back in Vegas are tied to him. They wouldn't have killed Tim Trang and snatched his niece without Wong telling 'em to. Lily Chen had the girl last and we think she headed back here."

"You could be right. But Liu knows this guy better than I do. If anyone can help you find the girl, it's him."

"And the other two Trangs?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, them too. Meantime, make yourselves comfortable until Liu gets back."

"Actually, we need to get checked in at the hotel and grab a bite. How long you think Liu will be?"

"An hour…maybe two," the Captain told them.

"Okay then…we'll be back," Jim assured him before the two left his office.

Dreaming men are haunted men.
Stephen Vincent Benet