Author's Note: ok, I lied. There will be a bit more Jeff :) but this is pretty much it… I promise. There will be more mention, but not much else!

Chapter 33 – Hershey Chocolate

Charlotte was pretending to sleep. She wasn't really very tired but she didn't want to leave her mother just yet. She was curled up in Sara's lap with her head rested against her chest. Charlotte lay very still while she listened. 'Dum-dum. Dum-dum'. Her little mind worked as she wondered why it did that. She would ask mommy later. For now she just rested and listened to the comforting thump against her cheek and the warmth of Sara's body. She held Chester loosely in her arms while she rose and fell with Sara's breathing.

Sara was nearly asleep herself. She was watching TV with Nick but was barely looking at the TV. Sara was absent mindedly stroking Charlotte's hair and was holding Nick's hand. She was supposed to get out of the hospital tomorrow.

The day had been interesting. It was only 8:00 but everyone from the nightshift had come in to see her. Brass had stopped by briefly to tell them that he would wait until the grave shift started until he would interrogate Jeff. "Let him sweat it out," were his words. He had also gotten her and Charlotte to tell him all about Jeff so he knew what to say to him when he eventually did go and talk to him. Catherine and Lindsay had come by. Catherine asked a lot of questions. Sara was starting to think of Catherine as not only a friend, but a maternal figure. Ever since this whole thing had started she was so kind. Sara looked over at Nick. He noticed and looked at her too. She was looking at him carefully and he asked,

"What?"

"I…I'm just looking." She smiled.

"At what?"

Sara paused a moment. "Your eyes." She bit her bottom lip and looked at them again. "They remind me of chocolate."

Nick laughed. "Chocolate?"

"Yeah. Like…Hershey Bar chocolate…or…the chocolate they put on turtles."

"Turtles?" Nick couldn't stop smiling.

Sara laughed too. "Hey, I like turtles," she defended, looking down at Charlotte. She was smiling. "Hey, I thought you were asleep," she whispered to Charlotte. Charlotte giggled.

"I like chocolate too," she said, opening her eyes and missing the point.

Nick and Sara laughed. "Well that's good to know."

Charlotte looked from Sara to Nick then back again. "Do you have any chocolate?" she asked hopefully.

They laughed again. "No, pumpkin. No chocolate."

Charlotte hung her head and played with Chester's ear. "I have an idea," Nick spoke up after a moment. Charlotte looked up at him. "How about, I buy you some chocolate?" Nick leaned in closely to the little girl. Her eyes widened and she perked up.

"Really?"

"Really, really." Charlotte did a little bounce in Sara's lap. She leapt forward and wrapped her arms around Nick's neck.

"Thank you!" she said into his shoulder. Nick raised his eyebrows and smiled at Sara over Charlotte's shoulder. Sara smiled back. They were so cute together.

"Its no problem, Char," he said when she pulled away. She smiled her toothy smile that was nearly identical to Sara's. Sara sat there while Charlotte and Nick talked about chocolate and how it wasn't just for her; it was for Chester too.

SnickersSnickersSnickersSnickersSnickersSnickersSnickersSnickers

"It's about time you got here!" Jeff shouted as Brass walked into the interrogation room with a cup of coffee in his hand. Brass pretended to be hurt and put a hand over his heart, closing the door.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." He put on a fake smile and went to sit down across from Jeff, taking a sip of coffee.

"You know I didn't even do anything wrong and you people are treating me like a criminal," Jeff fumed. That temper was rising again.

"Didn't do anything wrong? Well I wouldn't exactly call pushing a woman down a flight of stairs an accident." Brass put on that smug smile again.

"I did not push her!" Jeff yelled, pointing a finger at Brass. "That was an accident. She fell."

"Oh, I see. She fell." Brass nodded like he understood. "Well, it's a kind of funny, Jeff. That's not what Sara's daughter told me."

Jeff narrowed his eyes. "You're going to believe a little girl over me? She was scared! She probably didn't even know what was happening!" Jeff threw up his hands in frustration.

"What did happen?"

"I went in to talk to Sara. Charlotte came in and Sara tried to go down the steps. She fell down the stairs just as that…Nick guy walked in." Brass noted a hint of disgust in his voice at the thought of Nick.

"She slipped." Brass pretended to think it over. "So you didn't touch her at all?"

"No!"

"You didn't touch her." Brass did the thinking thing again. "Well, according to her you weren't so gentle."

"I didn't touch her." Jeff leaned back in his chair, folding his arms as if finalizing the issue.

"You know, Jeff. I don't think this is your lucky day. I took a look at Sara's arms. She had bruises on them that she told me were from you…grabbing her."

Jeff looked down in disbelief. Brass could tell he was choosing his words carefully. "She was being unreasonable. She wouldn't let me talk to her so I grabbed her by the arm. Maybe I was a little harsh but I was frustrated!"

Brass nodded, still pretending to understand. "Tell me, Jeff. What were you two fighting about?"

Jeff sighed again and again Brass could tell he was choosing his words very carefully. Sara had told him the whole story but he still needed to talk to this guy before he could do anything to him. "We had had a fight…"

"About what?" Brass interrupted.

Jeff avoided looking at the detective. "About…another guy. I thought she was cheating and she told me she wasn't and…it got heated. I tried to apologize but she wouldn't listen. That's why I went to her house." Jeff finished, seeming satisfied with himself.

Brass looked at him carefully. "How did you get that shiner?" he asked after a moment. The bruise on Jeff's cheek was going down but was still pretty obvious.

"When I tried to talk to Sara…in front of her work…Nick came out. He just punched me!" Jeff threw up his hands again.

"Just punched you."

"He just punched me!"

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." Jeff could tell his story was going in for a crash landing but he was pulling on the wheel non-the-less.

Brass nodded again. "Again, Jeff, Sara and Nick are telling a different story. He says you were assaulting her and she says the same thing. Now, Jeff, I know you know I'm wondering why two people are going against you, how you're story could possible fly?"

Jeff looked at him, shocked. "She told me I was assaulting her?" Jeff shook his head in disbelief. "I didn't hurt her." It wasn't pleading…more trying to make a statement.

Brass nodded. "Maybe that bruise she had on her cheek last week would tell the story. Now, Jeff, I am no genius but it looked like someone hit her," Brass leaned forward, "Was it you?" he asked, pointing at him with his hands clasped together.

Jeff didn't answer right away. He just glared at the man across the table at him. Brass waited it out, folding his hands neatly on the steel table in front of him. He won the staring contest after about 10 seconds. Jeff hung his head and mumbled, "Yeah."

Brass stood up and started pacing behind his vacant chair. "And that's why she was mad at you and you still tried to talk to her." Jeff's head was still down. "So you tried to talk to her again, but couldn't because Nick came along. So, tell me something." Brass put his hands on the back of the chair. "Is that why you pushed her down the stairs?"

"I didn't push her!" Jeff screamed, standing up very fast.

"Whoa, whoa, Jeff. Lets not get hasty now. It was just a question." Jeff glared at him. "Take a seat," Brass said in a soft voice. Jeff obeyed even though he was still fuming.

"I didn't push her," he said again, trying to clear himself.

Brass nodded again. "Well even if you didn't, you still admitted to hitting her. And, Jeff, I talked to Sara just this afternoon." Brass picked up his coffee mug. "She's pressing charges." Brass left the room without looking back at him, leaving Jeff with his mouth slightly open.