A week passed. After the last scan showed that while the bruising to his brain more widespread than they'd originally thought there was no permanent damage, Jim had been moved from his room on the medical floor to the rehab unit in another wing of the hospital and he was getting therapy and training several times a day. At his last session, the trainer had told him that he needed to be making some plans. He'd probably be released in another week or so and be on out-patient status. As much as he wanted out of the hospital, it frightened him. How was he going to survive at home alone?

It was Catherine who came up with a solution. After a couple of intense conversations the PD's human relations department and their insurance carrier, she arranged for a live-in. She called one of the agencies on the insurance company's list and got everything set up. And as luck would have it, they had a man in their employ that was available. He retired the previous year and did this work for extra income. So while he was a bit older than Jim, he wasn't too old to handle the light housekeeping and helping Jim navigate things. The man was willing to drive Jim to his appointments and do other chores, like the grocery shopping. Catherine was pleased with the arrangement and after she told Jim about it, he had to admit that it made him more comfortable about going home.

His headache was finally gone. There'd be occasional flair ups but they were mild compared to what he had been suffering. And his speech had improved dramatically with only a minor hiccup or two if he got too excited. But what pleased him the most were An's daily visits. Jimmy had visited also, twice. They had talked a little more and the younger man seemed to be accepting Jim's side of the story.

An had inquired about his scheduled activities and finally decided to come at lunch time. Jim had been embarrassed at first because he was so awkward and messy when he ate. But she would bring her own lunch and sit with him and talk as if nothing was unusual about him spilling his peas all over the bed or missing his mouth with his cup of tea. And since he couldn't see, she was free to let her emotions show. Worry was primary among them.

Also since he couldn't see, he missed to looks of hopefulness and wistfulness that flashed on her countenance frequently. The warm, caring expression that she wore when she was with him went unnoticed, as were the frequent smiles and even the occasional tears. All Jim knew was that she was there and seemed as happy about her presence in his room as he was.

The day before, she had brought Mai to visit again. An told him that Mai had worried about him ever since the last visit so Jim was extra careful to form his words slowly and make sure he sounded better. He even had the nurse help him to the chair next to his bed, so that he would be sitting up when the girl arrived. He thought that might help her see that he really was getting better.

She'd been shy at first, almost afraid of his blindness. But with An's encouragement and his questions, he soon had the girl telling him all about her school and her friends. He'd enjoyed the visit immensely because it gave him the opportunity to know his granddaughter better. His anticipation of the day when she would know that he was her grandfather made her visit even richer for him.

He took a short nap after they left, tired from the morning's activities. When he woke something seemed different. He was trying to clear his mind when Nick knocked at his door. "Is this a good time for a visit?" he asked softly.

"Nicky, sure…. Come on in," Jim waved in the direction of the voice. He listened as Nick crossed the room and pulled a chair close to his bed. As Jim turned his head to follow the sounds, he blinked. "Where are you, Nick?"

Sounded a little confused, Nick replied. "I'm across from your bed, in front of the window."

Jim frowned. "Is…is it light outside?"

Nick glanced over his shoulder at the window and then turned back to study his friend. "Uh yeah. Typical sunny day in Vegas."

"Move away from the window," Jim requested.

Nick took a couple of steps to the side, watching Jim's face. "Are you seeing something?"

With a shrug, Jim answered. "Not really…maybe a shadow. The doc said my brain might fill in the blanks. My brain might know it's sunny outside and know you were by the window…"

Reaching in his shirt pocket, Nick pulled out his mini mag and flashed the light towards Jim's face. Jim blinked. "What was that?" he asked.

Nick grinned. "My mini. You didn't know about that, did you?"

A smile began to creep over Jim's face. "No, no I didn't…"

"Should I get a nurse; have her call your doctor?"

"He's coming by later anyway," Jim told Nick. "He's been checking on me every afternoon. It's okay."

"Alright, if you're sure…"

"Yeah. So why the visit anyway?"

"I um… well, I wanted you to know… Sally Trang's being taken into custody. She was behind Mai's kidnapping and was working with Wong."

"What?" Jim was genuinely surprised. "Sally? But why? What was in it for her?"

"Apparently, she was working Guy to get a deal for the Trang's company to handle some of Wong's drug shipments. Wong had promised her a lot of money for her help. And she almost had Guy on board when Tim found out about it and tried to put a stop to it. So Wong had him killed. We still haven't sorted out the Chens involvement. Anyway, it was Sally's call to Wong that brought the two guys to Vegas and Sally was keeping Wong up to speed on everything that was happening here with the investigation. And she suggested the bomb."

"How do you know all this?"

"The evidence linked Tan and Lee to Wong. Carrie Murphy's cell phone was what pulled all the pieces together for us. LAPD picked up Tan and Lee and using the evidence we'd gathered, were able to get enough out of them to bargain with Wong. He gave up Sally."

"Geez…"

"Yeah," Nick said sadly.

Jim's thoughts went to his new family. This was going to hurt. That Mai had almost been killed on her aunt's instructions… Jim sighed heavily. "Thanks Nicky… I appreciate you following through on this."

"Yeah, well… you could've been killed Jim. We weren't going to just drop the investigation."

Jim was grateful for the CSI's attention to the case. He was even more grateful that the Trang family was no longer a target.

That afternoon, he told the doctor about Nick's visit and Jim's awareness of changes in the light as Nick moved in front of the window. The doc did his own battery of simple tests and agreed that Jim's brain was indeed beginning to register light. "It's a good sign, Jim. But don't expect to wake up tomorrow with your eyesight back. This will still be a long road…"

Jim nodded. "I know, I know," he said as he waved a hand in acceptance. "But… it is coming back, right?"

"We'll see how it goes, but odds are yes, it is."

Jim spent the rest of the afternoon in hyper drive. The bed seemed to have needles in it and the chair wasn't much better. He even tried walking around his room, his hands positioned as he'd been shown to ward off disaster. After the fourth trip around his room, he sat in the chair and sighed. He wanted to share his news, his excitement, but quickly deflated when he had no one in his life to share it with…not really. Oh, Catherine and Nick and the others would be happy. And An…she'd be happy too; what a relief for her and her family. They felt some responsibility for his condition.

Then his heart sank. That's all it would mean to anyone, him getting his sight back. There was no loving family glad to have the husband/father/grandfather back fully. Suddenly his life felt like a giant black hole. Oh, he'd done good things, caught plenty of the bad guys, and had a lot of friends…some very good ones. But he didn't really matter to anyone. If he'd died in that explosion his friends would've mourned for awhile and then moved on. Every now and then someone would mention him and there'd be an awkward moment before the conversation turned to happier thoughts. No, he didn't really matter to anyone. And no one really mattered to him.

But that wasn't entirely true, he realized. An's daily visits meant everything to him. Slowly she'd opened up to him, revealing more and more of the strong woman she had become. She'd raised Jimmy and supported herself and their son while taking classes, improving her English and learning skills to improve her job prospects. She'd started out as a maid in a cheap motel and ended up as a partner in the family business, one with global reach.

She'd made him laugh with stories of her travels. She'd met with business men and women all over the world, conducting negotiations for their business. Some of those meeting had been awkward and some of her stories made Jim angry. She was not always treated with respect. But An seemed to have taken it all in stride and made the deals she wanted to make, getting her revenge through some pretty cut throat tactics of her own. His admiration for her had grown as she told him about some of her little get backs.

And sometimes after she left, her stories made him want to cry. Raising their son hadn't been easy. But she'd managed to keep him focused on his education and away from the gangs that seemed to permeate the LA landscape. He knew that young refugees were targets for the Chinese and other Far Eastern based groups. And although Jim still knew very little about his son, he knew Jimmy had grown into a good man, responsible and family oriented…a better father than he'd ever been, Jim recognized.

But as he pondered his life that afternoon, Jim's mind began to go in new and exciting directions. What if his eyesight was coming back? He and An seemed to be reconnecting and Jimmy even seemed to be warming to him. Could there be a chance for him to have the family he'd always wanted with the woman he'd always wanted it with?

Negative thoughts managed to wiggle into the bright possibilities he was envisioning but he quickly pushed them away, refusing to let his usual cynicism make him hesitate. And as he settled in for the night, his last thoughts were of the conversation he wanted to have with An the next day.

OKay, I'm really struggling here. My much longer than usual time between postings is a result. The big computer crash just really set me back. Things are just not coming together as they did when I wrote this the first time. So it'll be a few days or even a week or so before I get the next chapter up. I really appreciate everyone who's sticking with me on this one. I haven't forgotten it, I promise.

As always, reviews, comments, and constructive criticism are most welcome.