A little something for Super Brassfan, Beaujolais.

She showed up about forty five minutes later. His nerves were on edge as he opened the door to her. After all, it had been several years. And when he'd left last time, well… there had been some unfinished business.

"Hey," he said softly as she brushed past him.

"Hey yourself," she answered as she held up a couple of take out bags. Figured you might be hungry."

He grinned ruefully. "Yeah, a little," he replied. But as he looked at her he knew it wasn't food he desired. Annie always had a way of making him feel better, feel comfortable in his own skin. She'd done that back in Jersey, and in a different way again a few years back when he'd been here for Ellie, and he hoped she would do that for him now.

She smirked as she reached into another bag. "Thought this might be needed too," she said as she pulled out a bottle of his favorite Scotch.

Without a word, he moved to the sink to retrieve the two water glasses. He set them on the table and watched appreciatively as she poured their drinks. Watching her hands, his mind took him back to Jersey, back to their affair… to the last time those long fingers had moved over his body and the way they felt. At a time when his wife was emasculating him regularly, Annie made him whole. And she'd put him back together when he'd confessed his guilt over Ellie. And now?

This case wasn't as personal as Ellie's had been, but there was something about it that gnawed at him; something beyond the usual disquiet of a child kidnapping. He knew that as much as he didn't want to, she'd get him to talk about it. So why fight it? Why not just spill his guts? Inwardly he shrugged, because it wasn't his way…their way.

She sat on the bed and crossed her legs. Folding her arms at the forearms, she held her drink over her knee. And then she looked at him, looked into him. "So what's bothering you Jimmy? What is it about this case that has you tied up in knots?"

Jim looked at Annie sitting on the bed and knew it was time to open up. So sitting next to her he gave her the details of the case and when he was done, he looked at her and waited.

"So you're waiting for Liu to break Wong? Won't happen. But what I don't get… why are you so caught up in this case, Jimmy?"

"Dunno," he admitted. "I guess… well, the family, the Trangs, they kind of remind me of…"

"Vietnam," she finished for him.

"Yeah."

"You were still fighting those ghosts when I knew you back in Jersey; guess it isn't surprising that they're with you now. But you've had cases before…with Vietnamese people, I mean. What's so special about this one?"

"Yeah. I have."

"Did they get to you like this one?"

"No," he answered, shaking his head. "This one's different. Can't explain it; just is."

A sad smile crept on her face. "If anything bad ever happens to me, I want you to take the case," she said forlornly. Jim shot her a questioning look but said nothing. He didn't want to think about anything happening to Annie; didn't want to give voice to it.

"Oh Jimmy, don't look so worried," she said in a lighter tone. "It's just…you're so single minded when it's someone you care about." He looked away, her suggestion evoking fear in him, overwhelming him.

He felt her finger under his chin, gently coaxing his face back to her. "Really Jimmy, I'm not planning on letting anything bad happen."

He sighed. "I know. It's just… I mean… even though we don't see each other and really haven't kept in touch … just knowing you're here…"

"I know," she smiled warmly. She had the same feelings about him.

His eyes focused on her hands as they re-crossed at the wrists, the right one holding the drink. Again, he remembered the feel of those long fingers on his skin. And then his eyes travelled down, taking in the length of her legs, covered by slacks now but it wasn't difficult to remember their shape or the feel of them as they wrapped around him in the throes of sex.

As if she knew where his thoughts were going, she shifted her weight. Leaning back slightly, her left hand moving back to support her weight, she grinned at him knowingly. Her jacket feel open, revealing her off white blouse that almost but not quite concealed the lines of her bra. Heat flushed through Jim as he remembered what lay beneath. But that was years ago, he reminded himself.

"Jimmy?" she said quietly, bringing his attention back to her face.

"Sorry," he said self-effacingly.

"I didn't think…I mean, the last time, you avoided… I just thought…"

Her discomfort unsettled him. He wasn't being fair to her; hadn't been ever. Their affair had ended abruptly when Nancy had given him an ultimatum and Annie had been hurt badly. Hell, there shouldn't have been an affair to begin with, he mused. And then when he came to L.A. for Ellie; she'd tried to reconnect but… he'd been too caught up in guilt and grief. And now? What was she hoping for now? Did she really…after all these years, was there still something left?"

He didn't want to hurt her, not again. His call had been selfish and he was just beginning to realize how much so. "Annie…"

Shifting again on the bed, she put her hand up. "It's okay, Jimmy. I know the score."

Different emotions battled within him as he considered her. "You do? Because I'm confused," he admitted.

"You're a guy and you're upset…frustrated and feeling a little battered right now. You want what all guys want when they feel that way; a little roll in the hay, an excuse to cling … to hold someone and be held. I get it."

He frowned, feeling like a louse. "I don't want to use you like that Annie."

So quietly that he almost didn't hear, she replied. "But what if I want to be used like that?"

He stroked her jaw with his knuckles, tenderly tracing the lines to her chin. And then moving his hand down, he took the glass from her hands and reached over to place it on the night stand, along with his. His hand moved back to her face, his fingers coaxing her face to him.

The room seemed to disappear around them as he looked into her dark eyes. He found acceptance and empathy beyond anything he'd felt from another in years. "Annie," he whispered.

She cupped his face with her hand and tender smile settled over her features. "Let me be here for you tonight, Jimmy. Let me hold you…let me be the one…"

His heart pounded in his chest as his breathing became almost non existent. Letting everything else fall away, he lost himself in her eyes and sensed that his was losing his inner struggle with conscience. And as she kissed him, he let go and surrendered himself to her.

There was a shyness at first, both aware that their bodies were not what they had been before. But as instinct and need took hold the nervousness fell away. And soon they were rediscovering the familiar. And once the fever had passed and they lay snuggled on the bed, Jim's fingers slowly played along her arm as he wrapped his arm around her, holding her close. Satiated and finally calm, Jim realized she had done it again, that which she had always done for him; she had made him feel normal…whole again. And not for the first time, he wondered why he had never pursued something long term, more permanent with her. But as he drifted to sleep, he knew. Long term with Annie would have ended like long term with Nancy had because there would always be someone else… Or at least the memory of someone else.

He woke the next morning to the sound of her getting dressed. Groggily he sat up, trying to pull himself together. "Hey," he said softly.

She turned and smiled at him, a warm beautiful smile that cheered him. He crossed the room and enveloped her in a hug. "Thanks," he whispered.

She leaned back, putting her hands on either side of his face. "My pleasure Jimmy," she chuckled. And then she backed out of his embrace and started for the door. Turning when she reached it, she sighed. "Before you go beating yourself up because you think you used me in some way… just remember that I know the score. I know you care about me Jimmy. But … I'm not the one."

Jim frowned at her. "The one?"

"The one that you can love like you were meant to love a woman. Nancy wasn't it either. I keep hoping that one day I'll hear you found her. It'll break my heart, but I'll be happy for you." And then she scooted out of the door and was gone.

Jim stood, staring at the door, transfixed. And he thought of An.

An hour and a half later, he and Nick met Adam Liu at PD. "We grilled Wong for hours until his lawyer showed up," Liu told them. "But we got nothing. Now he's lawyered up and …well, that's it, I'm afraid."

Nick looked at Jim and waited. After Jim didn't say anything for a moment, Nick finally spoke. "So now what?"

Jim looked at him desolately. "We go home…"

The drive back to Vegas was long. They'd stopped by the hospital to check on the Trangs. Both were being cared for and awake.

Jimmy explained his disappearance to Jim. "Guy called me. Wong had told him to bring him money… $250,000. Then he would give us Mai. So I got the money out of the safe at our business and drove here. But …Daniel Wong took the money and just laughed at us. Then took me to that house and when I tried to get away, his man beat me." Tears were running down Jimmy's face. "Then he told me that we wouldn't get Mai back ever; that she is…that she is being sent to China…as a …." He slumped and then Jim heard him whisper, "slave for a rich businessman there."

Jim watched the man intently. "Look, we're doing everything we can to find her. I promise you, I'm not giving up."

Jimmy looked up at him sadly. "I want to believe that she will be found but in my heart, I don't."

Jim knew the man's heart was breaking. "Look, Guy's wife is on her way here. The doctor says both of you will be released later today and then you can go back home. I'm heading back to Vegas now. We're not out of leads yet. Don't quit believing just yet, okay?"

Jimmy looked at him and nodded. "I will try." He hesitated and then asked quietly. "Does Alicia know?"

"That you tried to get Mai back on your own? No. Detective Vega just told them that we had found you and Guy. Your family was relieved. They have enough to deal with without you going off to try to be a hero, you know."

Jimmy nodded. "I know…I just…" And then he slumped again.

Patting the younger man on the shoulder, Jim spoke softly. "I know; you just had to do something."

Jimmy looked at him gratefully. "Yes, that is it. Thank you for understanding."

Jim smiled sadly. "Hey, like I told you; I'm a father, I've been there. But from now on, you take care of your wife and let me do my job, okay?"

As they headed east, Jim called Annie. "We're headed back to Vegas," he told her.

"Yeah, okay," she replied. "I'm glad we got to have that drink."

"Yeah, me too. And…thanks."

"Anytime Jimmy. You know how I feel about it…"

"Yeah. And…well, you know…"

"Take care of yourself," she admonished.

"You too…"

Nick looked knowingly at Jim out of the corner of his eye. "She somebody special?"

"Once…a long time ago," Jim answered nostalgically. And last night….and anytime I need her to be.

There's this place in me where your fingerprints still rest, your kisses still linger, and your whispers softly echo. It's the place where a part of you will forever be a part of me.

Gretchen Kemp

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