Carefully closing the door to his elderly mother-in-law's room, leaving her to nap after lunch, Jim Ellison went in search of his wife.

"Hey, Alex?"

"Ungh. Yes, Jim?"

Turning the corner from the living room to the hallway, he shook his head when he saw her struggling with the bulky wheelchair that normally sat in the big walk-in closet.

"Let me get that, sweetheart." gently moving her aside, he got it folded and tucked away neatly, closing the folding doors while she watched, looking slightly resentful. "You aren't supposed to be doing heavy lifting."

"I know." she sighed and then leaned into him, sagging. With a soft sound of comfort he wrapped his arms around her. Almost as tall as he was, she hung on and a sob escaped her. "I'm just so tired all the time!"

And emotional, Jim thought. With a kiss to her cheek, he swung her up in his arms and carried her to the back and their big bedroom, where he lay her on the unmade bed and then sat at the end, pulling a slender foot into his lap and rubbing tenderly.

"I don't have to go to this conference." the words were hard to get out.

Opening her eyes, a hand trailing up and down his straight back, she sighed.

"Blair's expecting you. This is such a big deal for him, being the keynote speaker, presenting his paper about the tribe...he's been working on this for almost five years."

"I know that. But you're my wife and you're carrying my child - he would understand that."

"Jim, come lie with me, please." turning to her side, Alexandra Ellison sighed and closed her eyes again. She felt her husband move to the other side of the bed, where he spooned around her and wrapped her in a strong embrace.

Feeling her weariness, seeing the paleness of her skin, Jim was quiet, just holding her, occasionally smoothing her short curls off her forehead.

This baby had been a surprise to both of them. He was past forty and Alex was nearly there. It seemed that the fates had conspired, though. As soon as they had agreed that they wouldn't have children, as soon as they had gotten really comfortable with their life together -- Alex's daughter Jasmine off at college, Jim settled as Chief of Major Crime, Alex accepting a supervisor position with the 911 -- this had happened.

The subject of abortion had come up, but they had both agreed that it was the wrong thing for them. They were stable, married, and had a lot to offer a child. Alex confessed that she had always wanted another one, something she had denied when they were dating and Jim told her that he had never really wanted children.

Now that made him wonder if perhaps she hadn't been as careful as she might have been. But he had no room to complain. Nothing had stopped him from going to the doctor and getting a prescription for a male contraceptive, or even going all the way and getting himself snipped.

So here she was, five months pregnant, constantly exhausted, and he was running the household. Which was really only him and her and her mother Momti. Who was ecstatic at the thought of another grandchild.

Hearing her breathing even into sleep, he pulled away and slipped off the bed. It just wasn't in his nature to cuddle for extensive periods of time. Well, there was an exception to that, but he wasn't allowed to think about it right now.

Going back to the smallest bedroom, the one beside the family room, he picked his paintbrush back up. Music -- old rock- and-roll -- thumped from the radio on the white five-drawer chest, too quiet for anyone else to hear, but plenty loud for him. Humming softly with it, he went back to painting the trim.

This had been Jasmine's bedroom before she left for school. Alex had been hesitant about the color scheme, wanting everything lacy and light, but Jim had told her to go ahead and get exactly what she wanted. Knowing that she'd had Jas when she was sixteen and there hadn't been any money to decorate or buy things new, he was getting a kick out of seeing how happy shopping for this baby made her.

He had gotten the wallpaper up last weekend; pale blue with a raised linen texture, and a border of Disney characters, Mickey and Goofy and Pluto and Donald and Daisy. Now the trim in white and then the matching Disney curtains. The thick carpet, perfect for a little one to crawl on, was the same blue, matching the sofabed they had ordered. it would be a good place for her to curl up and nurse their baby, and give Jas a place to sleep when she visited.

The crib was canopied, white and perfect...he wondered how long that would last. She was planning to take six weeks paid maternity leave, and he would take a few weeks, and then she might take another six unpaid. But money wasn't a problem, he wasn't worried about that. He worried far more that this wouldn't be as perfect as she wanted it to be and she would be disappointed.

He remembered Blair's frustration with Joey. His best friend's first son still didn't sleep through the night, and the second one, Nathan, showed no sign of doing so either.

Blair.

It had been almost a year since he saw him. The tribal study had ended six months ago and then the intrepid little family had traveled the U.S for a while before settling down in California, where Blair accepted a position at UCLA. Full tenure, the promise of lots of future field work. The only drawback had been that they didn't want Francis as badly as they did Blair. Her work was just as thorough and her papers as well written...but she wasn't half the teacher he was. Amazingly, this hadn't seemed to phase them. They had settled in, and then Francis had kissed the boys and left for a year-long expedition into Central America.

Having finally got his home life settled, Blair had accepted the offer to be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the International Anthropological Society. It was a tremendous honor for a man barely past thirty.

He had registered Jim for the conference the very day he'd agreed to speak.

Without guilt Jim allowed himself to feel a flush of anticipation.

Two more days. In two days he would see Blair again.

"Uncle Jim!"

Stepping off the shuttle bus that ran from the airport to the big luxury hotel, Jim spotted Blair first, his eyes misting, and then he caught the small tornado that threw itself at him with abandon.

"Joey!" he shouted, tossing the child high into the air.

With squeals of delight the little boy begged for more. At four he was a sturdy child, on the short side, with his father's curly hair and his mother's dark eyes in an impish face.

"Again again again!" he chanted between giggles.

Looking past the happy child, Jim grinned at Blair, who rolled his eyes and shrugged, turning toward the luggage that was being unloaded. In a couple on minutes Jim's single bag showed up and he picked it up. Over his shoulder Nate peeked with wide blue eyes, secure in the backpack he was tucked into.

Tossing Joey one last time, Jim pretended to step away while he was still in the air, making him shriek, and then caught him at the last minute.

"Thanks, Jim." Blair said drily, coming up to him. "Like he needed to be any more excited." But he was grinning broadly and he ran a hand through Joey's tousled hair, smoothing it. "I should have braided that this morning, but I'm not as good at it as Francis."

"Have you heard from her?" Jim asked as they started to walk, Joey settled on his hip, Blair keeping the bag.

"Momma sent a letter!" Joey said, bouncing. Jim winced and gave him a squeeze. "She saw a parrot nobody else ever gets to see."

"Yes, she did." Blair responded to his son. "What is that called, Joe, when there are so few of something that nobody hardly ever gets to see them?"

"That means they are rare." speaking matter-of-factly, Joey glanced at Jim for approval.

"That's absolutely right." The big man accentuated his words with a quick toss and a hug. They were entering the lobby and several people glanced at them. A few smiled at Joey's bright giggle.

They got into the room with only a brief scuffle on the elevator -- Joey wanted to push the button but it was crowded and there were people in front of them and Jim didn't feel comfortable putting him down in the crowd.

"Is this our room?" he asked the child when Blair stopped in front of a door.

Slowly the little boy read off the numbers.

"One - nine - two - five...five...yes, this is it, Uncle Jim!" he squirmed until he was put on the floor, taking the key card his father offered. "Like this?" he held it upside down, the magnetic strip facing the wrong way.

"No, turn it over." Blair said, reaching behind himself to pat Nate on the back as the toddler began to get fussy.

Joey got the door open at last and Blair unstrapped the backpack with an expression of relief. Freed, Nathan put a hand on the coffee table to steady himself, and then trooped for the open bedroom door on the right side of the living room area.

"Nice." Jim commented, looking around.

"Bedroom is in there." Blair nodded to the door on the left, which was shut. "Let me get them occupied and then I'll greet you properly."

The words were right, the tone was perfect. Nothing more than old friends getting together.

Sometimes it took longer than others to make that shift.

There were two double beds in the room and Jim opened his bag on the one nearest the door. He knew Blair would be sleeping in the one by the window.

He had just finished putting his jeans and t-shirts into a top drawer -- it was a week-long conference and he would be here for all of it -- when Blair came in. The younger man closed the door, leaving it open a crack, and came up behind him, wrapping his arms around Jim's waist and hugging him tightly.

"I've missed you." he whispered, too softly for anyone but a Sentinel to hear.

Waiting until the embrace loosened, Jim turned in Blair's arms and smiled down at him. His hands came up to frame the beloved face, and then he tilted it up so he could kiss him gently.

"And I've missed you."

Blair looked nervous, which was odd. It made Jim hesitate.

"Can we - lie down, for a minute? Just lie down together?"

"Whatever you want." Jim allowed himself to be led to the second bed. Stretching out on his side, he watched while Blair untucked his button-down shirt and kicked his shoes off. "Getting comfortable?"

"I put a movie in for the boys...dinner's not for a couple of hours...do you mind?" Pausing at the side of the bed, hands on his hips, Blair looked briefly worried.

"Never, Chief. C'mon." holding out his arms, he waited until the smaller man crawled into them and then closed them around him.

Blair's head rested on his chest and his hair tickled Jim's chin when he nuzzled beneath it with a sound suspiciously close to a sigh.

"A movie, Chief? Using the tv as a babysitter now? What happened to no tv?"

"That was Francis's philosophy, not mine." he sighed again, more obviously this time. "They're watching Barney, man. That bane of civilized humanity everywhere...but it's good for little kids."

"Oh, god. Barney? Is that what I have to look forward to?"

"Yup." sounding unreasonably happy about it, Blair tilted his head and grinned up at him. "Barney and diapers and Disney and Sesame Street and Dr.Suess..."

"Help." with a mock-groan Jim wrestled him over to his back and rose over him, using his hands to keep Blair's above his head. "How do you do it, Chief?"

"I had a good teacher." answering with a small smile, Blair stared up at him with wide, soft eyes. His body relaxed, yielding to Jim's and the older man leaned close.

"Yeah, your mom did a wonderful job, Chief."

"I'll tell her you said so." With less than a foot between them now Blair sighed and then took a deep breath.

They stared. Jim's hands flexed on Blair's wrists, loosening and then tightening his grip.

Opening his mouth, Blair licked his lips with the tip of his tongue, and arched slightly, then settled back to the bed. At last he took another, deeper breath, closing his eyes for measured seconds, and then opened them again to meet Jim's. "Hi." The words were ritual now, not that they had ever discussed or planned it that way.

"Hi." Jim's voice cracked, and his smile widened until it threatened to split his face. "I missed you."

"I'm here now."

The words had scarcely left his mouth before Jim's lips opened over it. Their tongues tangled in the hot caverns and Blair surrendered to Jim's control of the kiss, his body shifting restlessly on the bed.

"Da!"

The shout was their only warning. Jim rolled quickly to the side, but Blair's arm on his kept him from leaving the bed entirely.

"What's wrong, Rainmaker?" he used Joey's middle name as often as he did his first.

"The movie is messin' up."

"Did you try the tracking?"

A vigorous nod.

"I'll go fix it. Why don't you talk to Jim for a minute?"

Leaning and giving Jim a swift kiss on his closed mouth, Blair bounded out of the room. Joey grinned at his only uncle and clambered up onto the bed.

"Da said he was gonna kiss you, Uncle Jim." he said with a conspiratory air. "And he did, din't he?"

"Yes, he surely did." Mildly confused, Jim changed the subject. "Your Da told me on the phone that you are reading now. Will you read me a story tonight?" He found the children's name for Blair odd but endearing. It was such a Blair thing.

"You haveta read one to me first. That's the trade." he said it solemnly, as if it were very important that Jim understand the rules.

Blair was back a moment later.

"I think the tape is bad, Squirt, so I started another one. Your brother is falling asleep on the bed, do you want to lie down with him and take a nap?"

"Um, maybe." sliding off the bed, the little boy stopped and gave Jim a quick hug, which the startled man returned. "Can I get out my cars if I don't?"

"As long as you don't wake Nate." Squatting, Blair kissed his son on the top of the head. "And you can't leave the suite."

"Yes, Da." squirming free of the embrace, Joey giggled and dashed out of the room.

Blair stayed where he was, arms hanging across bent knees, watching Jim, who couldn't quite meet his eyes.

"How is Alex feeling?" Lacing his hands together, Blair showed no inclination to move. One of the most noticeable things he had brought away from his experience with the Mmbari was this stillness. It was a huge change from the frenetic energy Jim would always associate with him. Now he looked focused, reserved, prepared.

"Too tired. I think it's because of her age." Also leaning forward, Jim remained sitting as well. "I'm hoping she starts to feel better soon, or she may have to take off work before she's ready to, and that will-"

"Francis knows."

The words tumbled softly from Blair's mouth, almost accidentally. Jim snapped his own mouth shut and stared. With a shrug Blair gestured in the air, hands sketching arcane patterns of defense.

"She's so intuitive...anyhow, before she left she asked, and I told her. I've never lied to her, Jim, and I wasn't going to start."

"Wh...what did she say?"

"That she'd always known you have the bulk of my heart and she couldn't really compete. There were a lot of reasons that we never got married - but that was one of the big ones."

"How do you feel about it?"

Another shrug.

"I'm glad." Blair said honestly. "Now I don't have to worry about hiding it from the boys."

"Joey's ready for it." Jim gave a twisted half-grin.

"I know you can't tell Alex." Blair rose, with that same quiet ease, and joined Jim on the bed. "And I'm sorry you have to live with that guilt."

"I'm not guilty." Leaning back, Jim slipped an arm around Blair's waist and dragged the smaller man down beside him.

"I know you, Ellison. You're good at putting it aside, but I know this relationship makes you feel guilt."

"It's worth it." Jim said quietly, nuzzling into Blair's hair. "I know this is the way things are, the way they have to be. I'm okay with that, neither of us wants to live together in an open relationship and we both still want women...but I need at least this much of you."

"You'll get a little more of me now that I'm back in the country." Blair sighed and grinned at the same time.

Jim nuzzled and nibbled on his neck and Blair curled on his chest and held him. After a little while he yawned.

"Tired?" Jim asked.

"My monsters don't sleep at night." Blair yawned again.

"Close your eyes, Chief. Take a nap. I'll hold you as long as you want me too."

"Mmm. Thanks, Jim." the younger man did as he suggested and was soon deeply asleep.

The Friday night dinner was informal, a getting-to-know-you thing, but Blair was the main speaker, so they were interrupted many times as they ate.

Joey was excited by all the people and infatuated with the food, mostly because Blair let him order a cheeseburger. Blair had a plate of seafood pasta that he shared with Nathan, grinning at the expression on Jim's face as the little one ate the long strands of angel-hair pasta with his hands and offered the older man several pieces.

"Thank you, Nate, it's nice to share." Jim said cheerfully as he accepted yet another smiled strand and lay it carefully on the edge of his own plate. Despite the care he usually took with his diet now, he'd ordered a steak, figuring he was on vacation and entitled.

"Dr.Sandburg!" Blair winced, but his face was friendly when he turned to greet yet another colleague.

"Dr.Stoddard. How have you been?" he greeted his old teacher with affection. "Mrs. Stoddard." he nodded to the man's wife, who he'd never really talked to.

"Good, good." the older man blustered. "Are these your boys? Good looking little fellows."

He offered his hand and Blair half-rose to shake it.

"Joseph and Nathan. And this is my friend, Jim Ellison."

Blair introduced him and Jim gave a polite hello, distracted by Joey's attempts to get ketchup from the bottle onto his fries.

"Here, Joey, let me get that." Taking the bottle from his small hands, Jim turned it over and smacked the bottom expertly, bringing forth a stream of rich red sauce.

"Thanks, Uncle Jim!"

"So, where is your wife, Blair?" Mrs.Stoddard asked, her eyes narrowing.

"My Ds'a'shania is currently working her way through South America." Blair answered using a Mmbari word.

"Your what? I don't remember hearing that word in your paper." Dr.Stoddard pulled out one of the empty chairs at the six-person table and sat without an invitation.

"Ds'a'shania." he repeated the word. "Francis and I never married, you knew that." he said it with as a gentle scold. "It means 'the mother of my children. Usually used in the case of a marriage arranged for political reasons - to bind two clans together. The couple isn't expected to be faithful to each other, it's only required that they don't have children with anyone else. When they do have children they are usually free to become involved in other relationships."

"'The mother of my children'. What an interesting concept.'"

The older professor looked intrigued, but his wife was frowning. "So you're raising these two little boys by yourself? That's criminal! Children need two parents."

"I was raised by a single parent, and so was Jim. It didn't hurt us." It was clear to Jim that Blair was forcing himself to be polite. "Francis will spend as much time with our boys as I do."

"Hmph. I always knew there was something strange about you, Blair Sandburg. No commitment, that's what I told Eli. And then you turned down the greatest opportunity you'd ever had, after he went to all that trouble to get you on the team..."

"Hush, Helen." Dr.Stoddard stood again, taking his wife's hand and patting it. "It was no trouble and I'm sure he had a very good reason. Besides, it worked out for the best, didn't it? Blair has become the world's expert on a lost tribe and he's here to tell us all about it."

"That I will." Blair smiled at his mentor. "In fact, my first presentation will be over the Ds'a'shania concept. There's a male term for it as well, and a whole slew of cultural references..."

He talked for a few minutes more, pausing every once in a while to smile at or speak to a child or include Jim in the conversation and, finally, the Stoddards left.

The opening speeches were long and boring. The high point was when Blair jogged up to the podium, literally, his hair loose and flying around his face. When he spoke the microphone squealed and then his voice came through, telling an very old, very corny joke, but before anyone could laugh Nate finally looked where Jim had been pointing him and bellowed "DA!" at the top of his lungs, turning the laughter real.

"Are they asleep?" Sitting up in the bed, Blair set aside his laptop and the presentation he was reviewing. Joey had insisted that Jim put him and Nathan to bed and the older man had agreed good-naturedly.

"Ten stories, two tickle-fights and almost two hours later, yes." With a mock-groan Jim fell into the bed in his clothes. "How do you do this every night?"

"I'm younger than you, got lots of energy." Blair teased, rolling to his side and propping up on an elbow. One hand slid halfway across the space that separated them.

"Mm-hm? Well, you should prove that." A smile broke across Jim's face like the dawn. "You know, it's been a long time since we were together for more than an evening."

"It will be good for us." Blair said softly. "Won't it?"

"Just feels like we're breaking some rule." the older man admitted with a nervous shrug.

"We make our own rules, Jim." closing his eyes, Blair drew in a deep, ragged breath. "We can change them whenever we're both ready to."

"Not tonight, Chief." Jim responded quietly. "Tonight...let's go shower, okay?"

"That would be good." agreeing with a loving smile, Blair let Jim lift him off the bed with one hand and lead him into the master bath.

Nearly an hour later they padded out of the bathroom. Blair was nude, comfortable that way, and Jim had a towel wrapped around his waist. He blinked in surprise when Blair turned off into the boys' bedroom, leaning over, kissing each little head, tucking the covers more tightly over the cuddled bodies.

"They still don't like sleeping away from me." he grinned at Jim, speaking too quietly to wake them. "But now that we're back here in the states I figured it will make things easier for them."

"Joey's been sleeping in your bed since he was born." Jim observed, trying not to fixate on Blair's naked ass when the younger man bent over to retrieve a toy from the floor. He had to dig beneath the bed a bit, and so stayed in that position a minute or two. The dusky crack beckoned Jim. "How did you get him out of it?"

"I told him that Nathan would be too afraid if he had to sleep by himself and it was Joey's job as his big brother to protect him." Straightening, Blair laid a small red truck on the bed beside the boys and ruffled their hair once more. "I have to admit, I miss feeling them there, listening to them in the night. Having them snuggled up to me made me feel stronger."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Jim heard the sadness in the suddenly husky voice and reached to gather the smaller man close. "So you do miss her."

"Well shit, Jim. Of course I do. But she's kept all of her promises, given me the boys to raise...she'll be back. She's a little bit like you that way." wiping a slender hand over damp eyes, Blair gave Jim a small smile and let the older man lead him out of the room.

"She's a free spirit, like my mom." Blair continued as they crossed the living room. "But Francis will always come back."

"And where does that leave you in the meantime?" Jim asked softly, moving Blair so that his back was to the bed and then gently pushing him down on it.

"Available to you." Blair answered, a smile playing on his lips. He spread his knees and Jim dropped to the carpet between them. Blair's hands closed on his head. "Ah, Jim."

"Mmm-hmm." Unable to answer with his mouth full, Jim closed his hands over Blair's thighs and squeezed warmly. "Mmmmm."

"That feels so good." with a sigh Blair gave himself up to the pleasure of Jim's touch.

Unlike most of their returns, this wasn't hard and fast and desperate. It might have been because they both knew they had a full week, the most time they had spent together since Blair moved out, or it could have been the edge of sadness that came from Blair's newly mostly single state. Or the fact that his sons were sleeping not so very far away and they were inclined to wake at night either way.

Whatever caused it, this lovemaking was slow and sweet, the way their second bout usually was. Jim worked Blair's cock until the younger man came, groaning, and then laid him back on the bed and worked his way up the still too-thin body, kissing and tasting and loving. Oddly docile, Blair allowed Jim complete control without being restrained in any way, just lying there, movements small, making quiet noises.

"do you want me?" Jim whispered in his ear, his big body pressing Blair's firmly into the bed.

"always." Blair breathed his answer, turning his head to the side and pressing back up against him. "I always want you, Jim. You'll always be a part of me."

"Be still, then." Jim crooned. "Lie still and let me make love to you. Don't move, so you can feel it every time I do."

A shaky breath and a nod were his answer. With gentle fingers he prepared the younger man, spending long moments probing and stretching and lubricating him within and without.

"Jimmm...!" Blair groaned a warning as the big man's hands spread his ass and Jim fitted his body to the smaller one below. It was a perfect fit, like two broken pieces coming together to make them whole.

"Be still. Lie still." crooning, Jim petted his back and sides and nuzzled the tense neck, easing as much of his weight onto the body beneath his as he dared. Blair was quivering, every muscle jumping in time with his thundering heartbeat. "There. I'm inside you, Chief. Where I belong. Together. The way we're meant to be."

"Jim, please." a gasp.

"Alright." Fighting his own battle for control, the bigger man began to move slowly. Lifting his hips, he pulled his throbbing cock partially from Blair's straining body and slid it back in again slowly. "Is that good?" he panted, hands clenching on Blair's shoulders.

"So good. So good." Panting, Blair shook harder with the effort to remain still. "Let me move."

"No, Chief. Feel it. Feel me. In you, moving, sliding, aching. You feel so good, Chief, so fucking good."

Reduced to inarticulate moans, Blair stretched his arms out at shoulder-level and gripped handfuls of the bedclothes, turning his face into the pillow. His body shook but he was still as Jim continued to thrust, maintaining that slow, steady pace.

"Feel how close you are, Chief? It's like making love to a fire, you're so hot. I feel like I'm going to mel inside you and then I'll be a part of you always..."

"Yes, Jim. Yes. Melt, dissolve, liquify yourself. You'll always be a part of me, Jim. Always."

Tightening his muscles with effort, Blair gripped the cock that moved within him, making Jim gaps and grunt and moan with hungry desperation.

"Blair - Chief -B-B-I love youuuu......"

Feeling the sudden heat as Jim released his sperm in heated spurts, Blair rubbed his own frantic cock into the bed below him once, twice, and then came as well, his ass clenching even tighter around Jim.

Turning his head to the side again, he took slow, careful breaths, Jim's weight welcome, protecting, comforting him. The bigger man sagged, letting Blair take all of it, until the thunder in his ears subsided and he could hear something besides his own heart.

"You okay?" he shifted up in his elbows and listened with a grin as Blair sucked in several deep breaths.

"I'm great, man." Blair turned beneath him, Jim's softened cock slipping free of his ass. Both hands came up to stroke the broad chest above him. "How 'bout you?"

"I'm exhausted." Jim grinned. "And very happy."

"Mmm, good. I love you." Turning to his side now, Blair tugged at Jim until the older man spooned around him. "I love this."

"I love you." Jim nuzzled into the sweaty hair that tickled his face. "Want to clean up?"

"It will dry." Blair closed his eyes and punctuated the words with a yawn. "We better get some sleep before the boys get up."

"Uh-huh."

Dimly Jim remembered that there was something he was supposed to do...call Alex, maybe?...but right now he was too comfortable and happy to move.

He slipped into sleep as soon as he heard Blair's first light snore.

"Hu-wha?" Groggily Jim lifted his head.

Round blue eyes, bright to Sentinel senses even in the dark bedroom, peered at him over the side of the bed.

"Nathan?"

A chubby hand grabbed the bedspread and tugged.

"C'mon up, baby." Blair's voice was still asleep, but he held up the covers and reached for his son automatically. As soon as the toddler was tucked into the curl of his body his father fell right back into sleep. Jim stared for a minute, amused, and then sighed as he heard another set of footsteps, these quicker and steadier.

"Uncle Jim?" the whisper was nervous. "Is Nathan in here?"

"Yes, he's sleeping with us, Joey. Climb on up and you can too." Distinctly aware of his own nudity, Jim nevertheless lifted the covers and then tucked them around the small sturdy body when Joey cuddled next to his brother and father. It wasn't like this was anything new to these kids. For most of his young life Joey had gone butt-naked, right alongside his father. Keeping the clothes on him was the challenge.

"G'nite, Uncle Jim. You gonna stay with us a while?" a sleepy question from a sleepy boy.

"Until you go home, Joey." Lying back, Jim listened. He wondered if this was what it would feel like to hold Alex while she held his child, all of them snuggled in his big bed at home.

"Love you, Uncle Jim."

For a moment he thought that Blair had spoken, but then his heart thumped. The words had come from Joey.

Yes. He would have a child with Alex, and he would love it dearly. But Blair's children would always be his children in his heart.

(the end - finally!)

saraid@wf.net