Sitting behind a pile of files on his desk, Jim Brass was beginning to wonder if there would ever be an end. He had assigned himself to desk duty for the week because Sofia could call any time, ready to go to the hospital. He didn't want to be in the middle of a case when the call came. Signing the bottom of the page in front of him, he slipped it into a folder and moved it to the 'done' pile. He sighed deeply as he lifted the next folder off the stack. It was then that he heard a snicker form his doorway. Looking up, he saw Catherine standing there, smiling. "Catherine," he smiled. "You over here on a case?"

"No," she said as she walked into his office. "Just thought I'd come by to see how the daddy-to-be is holding up."

Eyebrows shooting up, he sighed again. "Sitting on pins and needles," he smirked. "Thing is, she seems in no hurry. When I left the house, she was cleaning."

Catherine eyed him, "I'm sure it will be soon. I spoke with her earlier and she's full of energy. Won't be long now."

"What?" Confusion covered his features.

"Oh, come on Jim….you know that often women get a huge burst of energy just before going into labor."

As if on cue, his phone rang. "Brass," he said into it.

Catherine watched as his expression changed from confusion to panic while he listened.

"Okay, I'm on my way. Please, honey….don't do anything til I get there." He was out of the chair before the call was over. Hanging up, he looked at Catherine. "It's now….we're having a baby."

Catherine chuckled. "So I gathered. I'll see you two later at the hospital." She watched him as he hustled out of his office and down the hall. She hadn't seen him move that fast in a long time.

Jim swung the car into his driveway and hurried into the house. Sofia was waiting for him in the living room, looking nervous but happy. But then she almost always looked happy. The sight of her, though, sitting there and smiling at him stopped him in his tracks. "This is it, Jim," she said. "When we come home, it won't just be the two of us anymore."

Breathing deeply, he walked over to her and knelt in front of her, gazing into her face. His hand caressed her jaw as he kissed her gently. His heart was so full that he couldn't speak, but he saw in her eyes that she understood. This was one of those moments he would tuck away in his memory and cherish forever.

Standing up, he held his hand out to take hers. "Come on baby, let's go." Her eyes twinkled at him as she rose and followed him out of the door. He helped her into the car and then they sped away.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her reaction when a contraction hit. By the time they made it to the hospital, he was convinced that the dashboard would hold her clench marks permanently. They made it into the hospital and a nurse took her to a labor room while Jim finished the admitting details. By the time he made it back to her, she was in a hospital gown and hooked up to a monitor. She was in the middle of a contraction when he walked into the room. He pulled a chair close to her and took her hand, which she squeezed. "What was it I'm supposed to do?" he asked her.

Looking at him in disbelief, she snapped at him. "Didn't you pay any attention in the class?"

"Well, yeah…but when they got to the part where it hurts…I sort of quit listening. I didn't want to hear about you hurting. And then there was all the icky stuff…." He shrugged his shoulders and shook all over as if shaking off a bad memory.

Sofia glared at him, squeezing his hand harder, hoping to inflict a little pain herself. Then she spotted the gleam in his eyes and realized he was playing with her. Her expression softened. Of course this is how he would behave. He always used humor to deflect worry. When he stopped joking and gave into the worry, that's when she knew there was trouble. She squeezed his hand harder anyway.

Jim chuckled. "You tryin' to break my hand?"

"I've given it consideration. After all, you said you wanted us to share everything. Icky stuff, eh? If I have to do icky, then so do you."

"And the pain? You want to share the pain?" Another contraction gripped her and she squeezed harder. Jim flinched at the strength of her grip as he tried to talk her through the contraction, coaching her in breathing.

Once it was over and she began to relax, she smiled at him. "So you were listening after all?"

He returned her smile, looking intently into her eyes. His features changed to the puppy dog look that she adored. She saw his breath catch and then he swallowed. "God, you are so beautiful…." He said softly.

"Yeah…right." She flinched as another contraction came.

Jim coached her through it and relaxed as she relaxed. "Yeah…you are."

"Are what?" she asked in confusion.

"Beautiful…undeniably so." She scowled at him and then chuckled.

The doctor chose that moment to appear. "I'm so glad to see you two are having such a good time," she quipped. "Let's see how we are doing?"

Jim looked once again into Sofia's eyes. "We're doing fine, Doc. But you might want to check on the baby."

Sofia looked at her husband, tears forming in her eyes. She knew that some people wondered why she was with him, with the age difference and all. But those who wondered didn't know him as she did. When he cared for someone, he cared deeply. And when he loved, he loved whole-heartedly, holding nothing back. She felt fortunate to be the focus of his heart, basking in his adoration daily. No one felt more cherished than she.

But that wasn't all that made her love him so much. He was her hero, facing life head on with integrity. Many of the details of his life in Jersey that haunted him so much were the very things that had elevated him in her eyes. Trying to make his marriage work even in the face of so many problems and clinging tightly to his role as Ellie's father, even after the truth had been revealed, spoke to his character. And willingly taking the heat to clean up the Vice Squad had taken immense courage; courage she had witnessed time and again in Vegas. That same courage, along with his integrity, carried him after Bell was killed. Not many would have accepted the responsibility of firing the fatal shot into Officer Bell or could have faced Bell's widow as he had done. She had seen him on his way into the room; seen the determination in his face, the need to take whatever she wanted to dish out. Later he told Sofia how much it had surprised him that Traci Bell had forgiven him and hugged him….how they had cried together. She lived in awe of Traci Bell's ability to forgive him, especially knowing how much that forgiveness meant to Jim, even though he would never forgive himself. Sofia didn't think she would be able to forgive someone who took her Jim away from her.

Another contraction interrupted her thoughts. The doctor had finished her exam and reminded her that they could give her something for the pain. Her eyes twinkled as she looked at Jim. "Well, I'll eventually need something but I think Jim could use something now."

Jim smirked. "I can take it if you can."

Three hours later the doctor decided it was time to "get this baby out." Jim's hand ached and Sofia had gotten very cranky. He had been relieved when she agreed to an epidural. Jim didn't like seeing her in such pain and had she not agreed, he was ready to beg. Suddenly they were in a room full of other people. The doctor was there, of course, along with several nurses. Jim concluded that one had been called in to watch him, in case he passed out or something. He had been asked several times if he was okay; apparently he looked pale. But he wasn't leaving his Sofie. Besides, they had deliberately not been told the sex of the baby and he wanted to be there for its arrival and find out with her.

Finally the doctor gave Sofia the okay to push and relief flooded her countenance as she complied. Three pushes later and a head popped out, followed by the rest of their baby's body. Both parents looked at the doctor with anticipation. Once she'd finished the task of tying off and clipping the umbilical cord, she looked at them. "Sofia…Jim…," she held the baby over Sofia, "say hello to your son." Sofia started crying. Jim felt as if he was standing there like an idiot, chuckling. They watched their squinty eyed, bawling little creation in awe. Then one of the nurses whisked him away.

The doctor returned to her work on Sofia as Jim took Sofia's hand in his. Tenderly, he leaned over and kissed her. Tears in his eyes, he couldn't speak; but she didn't need to hear words because she could read him. His eyes sparkled a clear, bright blue as his joy shone through. It was one of those moments that she would file away and cherish forever.

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Okay, so now what? Do they live happily ever after or is there trouble on the horizon?