The next morning Jim woke to the sound of snoring. Perplexed, he tried to identify who it might belong to. Finally in frustration, he called out. He heard the shuffling and surprise from the chair that An had occupied the previous day. Then he heard the groggy drawl of Nick Stokes. "Hey Jim… you're awake."

"Yeah…but you aren't."

Unseen by Jim, Nick did a double take. When he'd visited Jim before, his speech had been difficult to understand but that sounded normal. Before getting too excited, Nick decided to test him further. "So how'd you sleep last night?"

"Okay… bbbetter."

"Hey, we wrapped up the hotel investigation. The bomb was triggered by weight, like we thought. But instead of one big charge under the mattress, there were small charges strung all along the wall. Made for a big mess and a lot of shock and awe, but not as deadly as if it'd all been under the mattress."

Jim contemplated the information. "Ssso, not your basic pipe bomb?"

Nick tilted his head. "Hey man, can you hear yourself?"

"Huh?"

"You're talking is better…you got it back."

"I ddid?" He felt some of the gloom lift as he realized that talking was easier. And his head felt better too.

"Yeah, you did," Nick reassured him. And then he watched as Jim's expression changed from a smile to a frown.

"Is Jimmy Trang back yet?" Jim asked.

"I don't know. He and Guy were supposed to be heading back today. Sally was going to drive them back. I talked to Liu over in L.A. They had enough evidence from the house where we found the Trangs; Wong's pleading out. We're still looking at the evidence but I think we'll be able to nail Lily Chen for Mai. But we don't have enough yet to pin the bomb on anybody. Still haven't figured out who they guys are that had Mai at the motel."

"You're ssstill on it?"

"Yeah, Greg and I are working it. And of course, Vega. Ecklie's authorized extra hands as we need them. We're going to nail these bastards, Jim."

"Yeah. Ttthat's good. Best part is we got Mai back." Jim was thinking of it in a whole new way after An's revelation last night. It was real, wasn't it? It's not just another dream…

"Yeah, I'm with you on that." Nick watched his friend and colleague, wondering what the man was thinking. One thing was for sure, he wasn't thinking about the investigation. "Well listen, I probably better get back home and get some sleep. There's more processing waiting for me at the lab but my mind was pretty well fried. I did want to check on you first though."

Jim seemed to shake off his thoughts and smiled. "Ttthanks Nicky. I'm…better."

His speech therapist showed up about an hour after Nick left. She was pleased with his progress, amazed even. "Must mean the swelling is reducing quickly," she informed him. "That's good news, if it is. I'll tell your doctor. I'm sure he'll come by soon to check on things."

Jim basked in her optimism. But a slight grumble in his stomach brought a question. "Fffood? Cccan I eat?"

Chuckling, she nodded. But of course, Jim couldn't see it. So then she spoke. "Let's start with something easy. I'll get you on the lunch schedule and come back then. I want to be sure you are able to swallow and just generally see how you do with it."

A grin teased at the corners of Jim's mouth. He knew he was receiving nutrition through his IV, but he was hungry. Although he knew a good steak was not in his immediate future, the thought of one was making him salivate. The hours until lunch were going to be long, he knew.

After the therapist left, a nurse's aide came in to help him with a sponge bath. It felt good, getting cleaned up. They'd cleaned him up after he'd been brought into the hospital, gotten the dirt and grime from the explosion, but he'd been wearing the hospital since. While he'd kill for a nice hot shower, he was content with this.

A few minutes later, Catherine showed up with his electric shaver from his desk drawer. "Thought you might be ready to lose the scruff," she said lightly.

"Yeah," he agreed as he lifted his hand to swipe at the beginnings of a beard on his face.

"Hey, look at you," she exclaimed. "Yesterday you couldn't have done that."

Relief seeped over Jim. Maybe he would recover after all. He listened as she turned on his shaver. "You want to do this or you want to trust me?" She asked.

"You dddo it," he said. "II'lll practice later."

Catherine set about her task, gliding the shaver over his features. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you this scruffy before…"

"Mmmm," Jim agreed. "Marine tttraining… "

"Even in the jungle?"

"No…not there. Wwwe got pretty ssccruffy there," he remembered with a smile.

"A young scruffy you must've looked pretty fantastic," she teased. "Apparently you got An's attention."

Jim swallowed. "YYeah… dddid you know?"

"Know what, Jim?"

"Ttthat she is JJimmy Trang's mother?"

"Not until yesterday. She thought we were married. She didn't want to cause trouble…"

"Yeah," Jim nodded. "Dddid sshe tell you about Jimmy?"

"An told me. Guess we know where he got his name…"

"HHe ssaid he chose the name as his AAmerican nname; but… he is mmmy sson. An tollld me…"

"Wow. That's quite a…"

"SSurprise…"

"Yeah. So, how you feel about it?"

Jim sighed. "I ddon't know, exactly. I mmean, iit's like a dream… When I wwas married, I wanted kids so mmuch. BBut I found out tthat having kids with the wrong pperson…not so ggood."

"You had Ellie…"

Another sigh from Jim told Catherine that there was something more there; something he didn't want to say. She watched as he seemed to make up his mind about something. "III ddidn't hhave EElie…"

Catherine snorted. "Finally, a man who admits that it is the woman who does all the work…"

"Yeah," he smirked. And then a cloud settled over him. "Bbbut in tthis ccase, I ddidn't ddo any of it. Sshe's my ddaughter bbut, I wwasn't tthe sperm donor."

Her brow creased as Catherine absorbed that bit of information and a lot of things from the past ten years became clearer. "No wonder you have such a bad taste about your ex. I knew things ended badly and that you were harboring a lot of anger, but I had no idea. Does Ellie know?"

"No. Aand Iii want it tthat wway."

"So… you raised a kid that wasn't even yours as your own… and all the while, your own child was half way around the world, growing up without a father?" Catherine regretted her question immediately as she watched the air go out of Jim. "Jim, I'm sorry….that sounded a lot worse than I intended."

"BBut it's true."

"An told me he doesn't know."

"No," Jim answered, shaking his head. " Hhhe hates me…hhis ffather…"

"But why?"

"Hhhe thinks I abbbandoned his mmother. And Iii did." Sadness settled into his features as he seemed to drift away, someplace far away. "Ttellll me… An… wwhat does sshe llook like? She was pretty … ssoppretty."

"She still is… Her hair has some gray but it's not all gray yet. I'm guessing she's about a year or two younger than you? But she looks ten years younger than she is… a few lines and wrinkles around her eyes and mouth but not deep ones. Nice facial structure. But her eyes…I think they're her best asset; she has very pretty eyes and such a gentle look. In fact, her whole demeanor is gentle."

Jim smiled. "It wwas her eyes that first got mmy attention, the way sshe looked at me…" He sighed. "I wwish I could ssee her."

"You will, Jim. You're speech is already much better. The rest will come…"

"DDoc said…. " he took a deep breath as he fought to control his despair, "ccould take awhile…mmaybe a yyear. And eeven then, maybe I'll hhave trouble sstill."

Catherine watched his expression as she digested what he was telling her. He was putting up a good front, but she could tell he was worried. "You're afraid you won't ever see again… that this will be permanent?"

His nod was subtle but even without it, his face told her that she'd hit on the truth. "Jim…" she whispered. "I wish …I don't quite know what to say, except that you gotta believe you'll get your sight back. If the doc says you will…then trust it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"It's just… I wwwant to be abbble to see her when we ttalk, to look in hhher eyes and know…"

"Believe me, I get it. You've been handed a lot to deal with, Jim. But you can handle it. And you'll sort all this out with An."

"Mmaybe…"

Catherine tilted her head as she watched the chagrined expression on her friend's face. "So how do you feel about all this anyway?"

He frowned. "All ttthis? You mmmean being bblind? Or sssomeone from fforty years agggo suddenly reappearing? Oor what?"

"Mmmm…all the above. Plus that small detail about having a son. And oh yeah, you saved your granddaughter's life."

Jim grimaced. "I dddidn't know sshe was mmy grrranddaughter."

"But you still saved her." Catherine smiled. "And you still haven't said what you think about having a son."

She watched as Jim's jaw tightened. "I dddon't know…I mmmean, he may nnever know. Right nnow, he hhates me…or at lleast the mman who is his ffather. Wwhat happens iiif we ttell him wwhho I am to him?" He heard her deep sigh and he knew she understood how messed up this felt.

"But surely, after you saved his daughter…surely, he'll be willing to give you the benefit of the doubt?"

"I dddon't know, Catherine. I've hhheard stories… Vietnnnamese kkids showing up on the ddoorsteps of their American ffathers. It isn't ssmooth sailing. They aaare nnnot always hhappy to see each other."

"Sooo, you're not happy to have a Vietnamese son?" She watched as total despair crossed his face. He looked lost to her.

"I…I'm nnnot sure what I'm ffeeling about it all. I mmean, I should've bbbeen there. But whatever I'm fffeeling, it has nnnothing to do with hhhim being Vietnamese. I llloved his mother. Hhhow could I lllook at him differently?"

"So you love him?"

Jim shrugged. "I dddon't know… I don't knnnow him. But… he is my ssson. IIII can't turn my back on that."

"What if An tells him and he wants nothing to do with you? How will you handle that?"

The restrained flinch that raced over Jim's face was not lost on Catherine. It would hurt and hurt badly, she realized. But once he'd schooled his features, he grunted. "Ggguess I'll have to live with ttthat."

Catherine decided to change the topic, realizing that this was hard for Jim. "So when they going to let you out of here?"

Jim shrugged. "Haven't ssaid. Ttthey wwant the sswelling tto go ddown."

"Well you know, if you need anything…"

"Thanks," he smiled.

Just as she'd promised, An came back. Jim was just finishing his lunch. The nurse had been excited about him getting solid food and the therapist had been encouraging. But he wouldn't call the food solid. Still, his stomach wasn't grumbling anymore, so he accepted that it was the best he was going to get for awhile.

Someone had just taken away his tray and he'd heard the shuffle of feet as the nurse and therapist left. Just settling into his pillows for an after lunch nap, he heard her soft voice. "Jimmy?"

"An?"

"I am here like I promised."

Jim smiled. "Yyyeah."

"I brought… Mai would like to see you. They are sending her home in a little while and she wanted to see you before she leaves. Will that be okay?"

"SShe doesn't know, does sshe?"

"No. She just wants to see the man who saved her life. I haven't had a chance to speak with her father yet."

"You ssure you wwant to?"

"I thought of nothing else all night. He should know. What he does with the knowledge is up to him."

"Tthen wwait….unttil III can bbe with yyou tto ttell him."

He heard her take a deep breath. "Are you sure? He might not take it well, might be very angry with you."

"Wwhich is wwhy I wwant tto be there."

"Okay, I will wait. But for now….Mai?"

"Yyeah, I'dd llike to ssee…" he stopped, sadness enveloping him. "BBring her in."

Listening to the sounds of An retrieving Mai from the hall, Jim wondered how long it would be until he could claim the child as his granddaughter… and how would she handle that new information. Once again fear crept over him.

"Mr. Brass?" a soft voice called to him from a few feet away.

"MMai? How aaare you?" He struggled to make his words come out plainly, not wanting her to realize the extent of his injuries.

"The doctor says I am fine. I'm going home in a few minutes. Mama and Bai both said you were hurt but that you are getting better."

"Yeah kkid, I'll bbe ffine…" He tried to look in her direction, hoping it wouldn't be too obvious that he couldn't see her.

"I wanted to see you," she said from a closer distance. "I want to thank you for staying with me. I was so scared and…you made me feel better."

Jim smiled. "I'mmm gglad. Even mmore that you aare ggoing home."

"Your voice is funny," she said worriedly.

"Yyeah, The bblast shook mmy bbrain. Iit's getting better."

"I'm sorry," she said as she put a hand on his arm.

The gentleness of her touch froze him. He wanted to see her face, wanted to be able to reach out and return her gesture. A tear trickled out of his eye. He wanted to be able to hug her as her grandfather. But he had to wait. "For wwhat? Yyou didn'tt ddo anything wwrong. You are a vvery bbrave girl."

"You're really getting better?" Timid hope was in her voice.

"Yeah. Rreally. Bbut I'm kkind oof ttired soo mmaybe I'l sse ya lllater?"

"Okay," she answered disappointedly.

Jim heard the regret in her voice and immediately felt bad. But he honestly didn't think he could handle much more. "MMaybe after I gget oout of hhere, Ii'll ccome sse how yyou're ddoing, ookay?"

"I would like that," she answered with a brighter voice. And then Jim felt a soft kiss on his cheek. And another tear trickled out. "Bye," she said.

"Bbbye…"

He felt a hand on his arm and then heard a soft whisper from An. "I will come back later and we will talk more?"

Smiling, he grunted. And then he listened to their footsteps fading from his room.

"I believe that if I should die, and you were to walk near my grave, from the very depths of the earth I would hear your footsteps."

Benito Perez Galdos

Hmmm, don't know what to think here, the reviews have fallen way off. You are still out there, aren't you? If so, drop me a line aboout what you think of how things are going. Noticed any holes in the story, like the OCs, am I being too hard on Jim? Reviews are very inspiring, you know.