"Did you bring it?"

The man flinched slightly as the bright beam of the flashlight settled on his face, effectively blinding him from seeing who held it. "Of course. Do you have the money?"

A shadowy figure stepped from behind the light and laid a silver briefcase on the picnic table.

The man -- eager, but not stupid -- waited until the figure retreated before he stepped forward, popping the lock and raising the top slightly. He stifled a gasp as he saw the rows of green staring up at him. Imitating a hundred action movies, he picked up a stack and thumbed through it.

"What's the matter, Mark, don't you trust me?" The silky tones contained just a hint of sarcasm.

"No offense, Mr. Donovan, but you are a criminal."

"And what exactly do you think blackmail makes you?"

Mark shrugged, closing the briefcase and setting it on the floor at his feet. "Rich."

"My book, please."

Mark reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a black leather-bound organizer, tossing it onto the picnic table. "Nice doing business with you."

He grabbed the briefcase and turned back toward his car, never seeing the tiny red dot that centered on the back of his head. A nearly silent pop floated across the air, answered by the dull thud of his body hitting the ground.

"Goddamnit! This isn't it!"

"What!"

"This isn't the book. Oh, it's a pretty good copy, but it's not the real thing. Shit!"

"Motherfucker! I ought to kill that son of a bitch again."

Donovan shook his head. "Take him for a boat ride, then do whatever you have to, but find that book. Otherwise, you'll be joining him."

The strident sound of the phone bisected the sharp moan of pleasure emanating from upstairs in the otherwise silent loft.

"Shit!"

"If you stop and answer that, I'll kill you."

"It could be important, Chief."

"Okay, let me rephrase that. If you stop, you won't get laid for a month."

"On the other hand, that's what the machine is for."

"Good choice."

Downstairs the ringing stopped, and the caller was exhorted to leave a message at the sound of the beep.

An hour later, sated and showered, Blair rewound the machine.

"Hey, what's up, guys? Drop off the face off the earth or what? I haven't seen you down at the center lately. I've got a new fighter you need to check out. Anyway, Blair, I got a call from an old friend of you and Roy. Natalie Barrett. I told her she could reach you at the PD. I hope that's cool. I expect to see you guys down here soon. Bye."

Blair felt his lover's presence behind him a second before strong arms wrapped around his waist, and a soft mouth dropped with unerring accuracy to the sweet spot in the curve of Blair's neck.

"So, what did Jamie want?"

Blair leaned back, savoring the feel of the strong arms around him, the familiar and comforting pose momentarily soothing the disquiet he'd been experiencing since he heard the last part of Jamie's message.

"You listened anyway, didn't you?"

"Just to the first part. I heard Jamie's voice, and it didn't sound urgent, so..."

Blair was proud of the way Jamie had gotten himself together after his brother's death. He'd used the money he inherited from Roy to open a training center for young boxers, giving them the chance Roy had struggled so hard for. "He says he has a new boxer for us to check out."

"Hmm, we haven't been to the center in while. We'll have to head over on our next day off. So, what else?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't think a chance to check out the next Tyson has you all tied in knots, so what's going on?"

Blair sighed, at once rejoicing and despairing in having a partner that knew him so well. "He mentioned running into a woman I used to know back when."

"Know in the biblical sense?"

"Yeah."

Jim turned Blair around in his arms, grinning down at him. "I'd think they would number in the thousands, Chief; what's different about this one?"

"Come on, man, you know half my reputation is obfuscation."

"Yeah, well, it's the other half I'm worried about."

"Yeah, well, no worries mate." His fake Aussie accent brought a smile to his partner's face.

"You'd better not let Megan hear you."

Blair grinned. "I'm not scared of her. I've still got that grudge match all lined up and ready to go."

They both laughed, neither acknowledging that Blair had never answered the question.

"Hey, Blair."

Blair looked up from the report he was typing, to find Joel giving him an odd look. "What's up, Joel?"

"I, ah, have a voice mail that belongs to you."

"To me?"

Joel nodded with a small grin, "Yeah, Taggert, Sandburg, what's the difference, right?"

Despite the joke, Joel appeared to be slightly uncomfortable, and Blair wondered what was going on as Joel punched in his pass code and handed the receiver to Blair.

"Blair, it's Natalie... I know it's been a long time, but I'm in Cascade for a few days, and I'd really like to see you. I'm at 555-2131, room 270. Please call me."

Although Jamie had mentioned he'd given her the number, a part of Blair had been hoping he'd never receive a call. Natalie Barrett was a part of his past that he'd conveniently shoved to the back of his mind, and he'd have been perfectly happy to leave her there. He really wasn't proud of the whole situation with her, and he so did not want to have to explain to Jim about it. Honestly, he would rather have ignored her call, but something in her voice made him think this was more than just a reunion.

He jotted down the number and returned to his desk to make the call, conscious of Joel watching him surreptitiously.

"Everything okay, Blair?"

Blair nodded. "Yeah, just somebody I used to know."

Blair reached up and straightened the knot on Jim's tie before stepping back to admire the image before him. Dressed in a gunmetal gray suit and a tie that matched his eyes, his partner looked every bit the country club kid he used to be.

"You nervous?"

"Hell, yeah. Can you imagine the nightmare of an Ellison family dinner?"

Blair winced inwardly, but pinned a hopeful look on his face for Jim's sake. "It might not be that bad."

Jim cocked one brow in patent disbelief. "Sure, my mother, my father and my brother all in the same place at the same time. It's one of the seven signs of the apocalypse."

Blair grinned. "You'll survive."

"Sure, easy for you to say. You're going to be off enjoying dinner with some beautiful woman from your past."

Blair was about to return a smart-ass remark, but he paused as he caught something in Jim's tone. "Hey, you're okay with this, right, man?"

Jim frowned. "No. I wish you were going to be with me tonight, and I wish there were no beautiful women in your past."

"Come on, man, that's not fair; I didn't corner the market on beautiful women in our collective past, Jim."

Jim sighed, "I know it's not fair, Chief; it's just how I feel."

"If you're really uncomfortable with this, I'll cancel out." A part of Blair was hoping Jim said yes, just to have an excuse not to go.

"Nah, I'm a big boy, right?" He took Blair's chin in his grasp, tilting his head up so their eyes met. "Seriously, Chief, go and find out what Natalie wants. I'll survive the night of the living Ellisons. Just ignore that brief moment of insecurity."

"I don't want to, man -- what brought it on? Surely not Natalie."

"No, just... do you miss it? Them?"

"What? Smooth, perfumed skin? Round, full breasts? Soft curves?" Blair shook his head, lacing his hands behind Jim's neck. "Not for a minute. Not for a second. Not for a teeny, tiny, millimeter of a nanosecond."

The last vestiges of doubt that had rested in Jim's heart floated away as Blair's mouth met his.

Blair looked around the diner he'd chosen when Natalie requested some place casual. It was a fairly new place, but it was establishing a good word of mouth. It was situated at a nice midway point between the University and the station, and Blair had been meaning to try it out with Jim.

"Blair!"

A cloud of perfume enveloped him at the same time as a slender frame pressed against his. Natalie pulled back and Blair was struck by how little she had changed in the past ten years. About an inch taller than he was, with a willowy, dancer's build, cafe-au-lait skin and light auburn curls that fell past her shoulders, Natalie still looked like the exuberant freshman he and Roy had met that summer.

Only her eyes showed the passage of time. The deep brown eyes were no longer innocent. Blair saw pain and knowledge reflected there. He couldn't help but feel a pang for his part in that lost innocence.

"This is my son Jesse."

Blair glanced down at the small, sturdy figure standing next to her. Natalie's eyes looked up at him from a face framed by hair cut close to control thick curls.

"Hello." A small hand was held out solemnly, and Blair shook it.

"Hi, Jesse, it's nice to meet you."

A quick mischievous grin flashed out, and Blair found himself responding involuntarily with one of his own.

They got a booth toward the back of the restaurant where it was quieter, and Natalie slid into one side, with Jesse next to her, while Blair slid into the other. Their waitress came, bringing water and bread sticks, and took their orders.

"So, Jamie tells me you're working with the police?"

Blair nodded. "Yeah, going on five years now."

"Cool!" Jesse piped in. "Do you have a gun and a badge?"

Blair smiled at the enthusiastic kid. "Nah, just a consultant's pass, but I get to help out on a lot of cases." He ran through one of their less violent cases, emphasizing the casework. Jesse asked some intelligent questions, with Natalie throwing in a comment from time to time, but mostly just watching them. After they finished eating, she dug out a handful of quarters and let Jesse loose on the video games in the back of the restaurant.

"He's a really nice kid. How old is he?"

"Thanks. He's nine."

From Jesse's size, Blair had thought he was a bit younger. Natalie must have met someone right after she'd gone home that summer. An awkward silence hovered over them for a moment.

Natalie opened her mouth, then shook her head slightly, closing it again. Blair waited for her to bring up whatever it was he sensed she wanted to say, but she seemed to change her mind. "I was surprised when I found out you were still in Cascade. I thought you'd be in the jungle or on top of a mountain somewhere, studying some lost tribe."

His fondest dream at one time now seemed like it belonged to someone else. In a way it did. He'd been another person before he met his Sentinel. Although he sometimes missed that other Blair, he knew he was meant to be with Jim, as his guide, his partner, his lover. "Sometimes life puts us exactly where we need to be."

Natalie nodded. "I'm glad you're happy, Blair." She paused. "Jamie told me you handled Roy's... the case with Roy."

Blair nodded. "We kind of got caught up in it accidentally."

"That must have been hard on you. I know how close the two of you were."

"Yeah." Blair thought of the man who'd been his friend. A part of him still ached for the years they'd been out of contact, and the lost chance to renew that friendship. "We hadn't seen each other in a while, but, yeah."

Cascade Towers was as nice as Jim remembered from their aborted dinner with Megan when she'd first arrived. Of course after watching his mother and father talk around each other, and Stephen fiddling nervously with everything from the silverware to the salt shaker, he had a feeling he wouldn't harbor any fond memories of the place.

"How's Blair?" The question came from Grace, and Jim smiled. His mother was genuinely fond of his partner.

"He's fine."

"Too bad he couldn't make dinner." This from William, but lacking the easy sincerity of Grace's comments. Jim laid down his menu, and looked over at his father. Oh yeah, he'll kick himself for missing this barrel of laughs.

"An old friend of his is in town and he's having dinner with her."

There was another awkward silence, and then Stephen stepped into the breach with an anecdote from his job. Soon he was telling Grace about the incident with the three sisters, the event that had led to Jim being outed to both his father and brother.

While Stephen had adjusted admirably, William was still reserved. Jim supposed he should be glad his father was at least making an effort to deal with it. Grace made a comment about her sons being irresistible, sending somewhat restrained laughter around the table. Nevertheless, it was a genuine moment, and it struck Jim that he was having dinner with three people he'd thought out of his life forever. Now they were all getting a second chance -- something he would never have thought possible five years ago. Something that would not have been possible without Sandburg. Yet another reason to love him; he'd not only created a new family with Jim, he'd given him the old one back. Jim sat back and his previously tasteless steak took on new flavor. Suddenly, dinner wasn't so bad.

Blair was sitting on the couch, socked feet propped up on the coffee table, idly surfing through channels when Jim got home. The first thing his partner did after tossing his keys in the basket was to walk to the couch and lean down, capturing Blair's mouth for a long, slow, wet kiss. When he pulled back, they were both slightly breathless.

"Well, Heeello Nurse! What brought that on?"

Jim just shook his head, settling down on the couch and snuggling next to Blair with a contented sigh.

"That bad, huh?"

"Actually, not. I'll tell you about it later. How was your dinner?"

Now it was Blair's turn to shake his head. "Kind of weird. I mean, even for us, weird. I haven't seen her in what... ten years? She makes an effort to track me down, and then just... nothing."

"What do you mean, nothing?"

"We didn't part on the best of terms, yet she acted like we'd just seen each other last week or something -- plus I am definitely getting a trouble vibe from her, man."

"So what? You figure she tracked you down for a reason other than catching up with an old friend?"

"Yeah, but whatever it was, she didn't bring it up. Introduced me to her son, we had a pleasant dinner, said keep in touch, and that was it."

"Maybe she changed her mind about whatever it was."

Blair shrugged. "I guess so. The thing is, it's not like we were friends, not really." He paused for a moment before trying to explain to his best friend and lover. "I mean, before you, friendship wasn't a big part of my sexual relationships. Don't get me wrong, I liked all the women I was involved with, but whenever I'd meet a woman, the idea of sex was always in the back of my head."

Jim snorted. "Why am I not surprised, Chief. I always figured any woman too young to be your grandmother and too old to be your daughter was fair game for you."

That earned him a soft pop on the head. "Despite what you think, I wasn't that much of a horn dog, man." Another snort. "Okay, a little bit of one, maybe. But what I mean is, with women, there was always the possibility of that lurking in the back of my skull, whereas with you, the friendship was there, and solid, long before I began lusting after your stunning body."

Jim reached over and took the remote from Blair's lax hand. He snapped off the TV. "Put your money where your mouth is, Chief, and let's see some examples of this so called lust."

Blair stood up, pulling his lover up with him and into a deep kiss. "Last one up the stairs springs for the new supply of lube."

Blair watched the numbers increase slowly, a tiny hitch of relief running through him when he heard the "ding, swish" that indicated the doors opening for the sixth floor. A strong, reassuring hand at his back calmed the tiny part of him that was always afraid that some day the doors wouldn't open.

"It's nice to have one resolve itself like that for a change. I so do not like spending my days getting shot at."

They'd left the loft early, planning to stop for breakfast before work, when the call had come over the radio. Fortunately, the ring of counterfeiters the police had cornered in their warehouse printing press had exchanged only a brief round of fire, before giving up, and no one had gotten hurt.

"Yeah, well, we still have all that paperwork to do. I'd almost prefer the bullets."

Blair's grin disappeared as they walked through the doors of Major Crimes and he saw the frantic woman at his desk.

"Blair!" Natalie ran across the room and threw herself into his arms, eliciting stares of surprise from the various people surrounding them.

"Natalie. What's going on?" Blair looked over at his desk, to find Jesse staring at them, his eyes wide.

Natalie raised her head from his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Blair. I just..." She took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure.

"Jesse, come here a minute, buddy." Blair laid a comforting hand on the boy's head when he reached his mother's side. "Jesse, this is my partner Jim."

"Hi, Jesse."

"Sir." A tiny hand was engulfed in a large one in a solemn shake.

"Jesse, I need to talk to your mother for a little bit. Would you do me a big favor and go with Jim?" He smiled reassuringly at the child. "He'll show you the games on our Captain's computer, and you can show him how to play them."

"Mama?" Jesse's voice was tentative as he picked up on the tension radiating from his mother.

Natalie knelt down and pulled her son into a hug. "It's okay, baby, you go with Jim. I just need a few minutes to discuss something with Blair."

Blair waited until Jim and Jesse had closed the door of Simon's office before he turned back to Natalie. "Come on, we need some place private."

An empty interrogation room offered the most privacy, and, after securing the door to the outer room, Blair followed Natalie in.

"Tell me what this is about, Natalie?"

She walked over to the two-way mirror, staring intently, as if she could see past the reflective glass. "I have a favor to ask you, but first, you should know. Jesse might be your son."

Her soft words ricocheted through Blair's head, and he replayed them over and over again, trying to make sense of what she was saying.

"I'm sorry, Blair. I didn't want it to be like this, but I don't have time..." She trailed off, turning to face him with stark fear in her eyes. "I need you to take Jesse."

Blair sat down. The way he was feeling, he'd have hit the floor otherwise. "Natalie..."

She sat down next to him. "Please, Blair. I know it's a lot to ask, but I need to know he is safe. I swear it won't be more than a week. Just until I can find out... until I can get something taken care of."

Blair responded to her distress, pushing his shock to the side for the time being. "Natalie." He took her hands in his. "I don't know what's going on, but something obviously has you scared to death, and I'm not letting you face it alone. Let us keep you safe too."

At his words, she broke down, sobbing on his shoulder as he drew her into his arms.

"Oh God, Blair, I don't know what to do."

"Shh, it's okay. It will be okay now. I promise." He gently stroked her back, calming her.

Back in the bullpen, Blair had a word with Megan, then glanced toward Simon's office. Simon still hadn't returned from his budget meeting, but Jim had indeed managed to find the stash of computer games on the Captain's computer. Manual dexterity and stress relief were the excuses the captain had given Blair when he'd had the consultant install them.

Jesse was fiercely slaughtering space aliens when Blair called Jim quietly under his breath. Jim stood up with a whispered word to Jesse, and came out, holding the door open for Megan, who took his spot. Blair saw her mouth moving and an immediate smile appear on Jesse's face as she picked up the other controller.

"What's going on, Chief?" Jim tried to keep his voice neutral, not letting any of the jealousy he was feeling seep through. He knew it was irrational. He didn't doubt Blair's love for him, but a beautiful woman in distress, with a child, brought out the 'knight in shining armor' in Blair, and touched a part of him that Jim never could.

"What's going on is a piece of the past coming back to bite me in the ass, man." Blair sighed, looking away from his partner. "I didn't tell you everything about Natalie."

"What do you mean?"

"Roy and I met Natalie one summer. She was in Cascade visiting her father, before her freshman year in college."

"So you hooked up with her?"

Blair nodded. "Sort of. The thing is, Roy and I both clicked on her. At first it was just a little friendly rivalry, you know, but -- I don't know, at some point the game got to be more important than the girl. Long story short, Natalie was the one who wound up losing in the end. We hurt her pretty badly. She took off for home early, and that was that. Ever since then I've made sure that every woman I've been with knew the deal -- except Maya." Regret shadowed his features briefly.

"Chief, Maya wasn't your fault."

Blair shrugged, not wanting to argue the point with Jim. "Even so, Natalie was. I was young, man, but that's no excuse. She deserved better. I don't know exactly what's going on with her, Jim, but she needs help."

"And you feel like you owe her."

Blair nodded, his expression asking for understanding.

Jim sighed, knowing Blair was already involved, and that meant he was too. "Okay, we'll see what we can do, Chief."

"Jim, that's not all."

Jim could hear Blair's heart beating almost double time, and there was something in his voice that froze the Sentinel in his tracks. Blair's blue eyes met his, and there were a thousand things in them.

"Her son, Jesse. Natalie said he could be my child."

Jim looked as stunned as Blair still felt. The whole thing had changed from just a bad love affair to something a lot more, and Blair knew he owed Jim the whole tale.

"Chief, I think it's time to make a short story long."

Blair nodded. "I know. Later, I promise."

"I moved to Atlanta about a year ago, then about six months ago, I started working for Donovan Imports. I met Mark my second week there. He worked in purchasing, and he was always down in the lobby, waiting on deliveries, and signing for stuff. We hit it off right away. He was smart and sweet and he and Jesse got along great. I thought finally my luck with men had changed." She sighed. "Two months ago, he asked me to marry him. He said he was working on something for our future, but he wouldn't say what. Then one day I came back from lunch early and Mark was arguing with Mr. Donovan. When I asked him what was going on, he finally told me that Donovan Enterprises was into some illegal stuff, and that Mr. Donovan was going to pay a lot of money to keep that quiet."

Natalie shook her head. "I never even had a clue. I know it was stupid, but he seemed so sure everything would work out. Just another cost of doing business he said, so I let him convince me that everything was going to be okay, and now..."

Jim leaned forward. "You think something happened to him?"

Natalie nodded. "I think maybe so. I know he'd try and contact me if he could. He wouldn't have just disappeared like this, without a word. I didn't know what to do. All I could think about was getting Jesse some place safe, and then I could figure out what to do about Mark. I knew Roy had relatives here, and I was hoping to contact him. When I found Sweet Roy's, I thought I'd lucked out, until Jamie told me what happened." She glanced at Blair. "Then he mentioned you. Like I told you, I thought you'd be somewhere in outer Timbuktu."

"So you called me."

"Yeah. I wanted to say something at dinner, but I didn't want to just throw it at you." She smiled ruefully. "Kind of the way I did, huh? I thought I'd have some time. Nobody knows about that summer I spent here, not even Mark."

Jim sat, watching Natalie as she continued to talk. Half of him was listening to her story; the other half was grappling with the fact that she could be the mother of Blair's child, and wondering what it would mean for all of them if it was true.

"Last night, when I got back from the restaurant, somebody had been in my hotel room. Searched it. I was so scared, I didn't know what to do; I only knew how to reach you through the station. I took Jesse, and we went to an all night diner and just sat there, until morning; then I came here."

Blair put a hand on shoulder. "I'm going to take you and Jesse to our place. We'll look into this, Natalie, see what we can find out. And in the meantime you'll be safe there."

She gave him a smile filled with gratitude as they left the room and started down the hall. Blair stopped and turned back to Jim, a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, man."

Jim shook his head. "Don't be sorry, Chief, you've still got a ways to go before you top me on the dark and hidden past front. Go get them settled. It's not like it's going anywhere. We'll work it out."

Jim stayed at the station, starting a search on Emil Donovan immediately, while Blair took Natalie and Jesse to the loft, getting them settled in his old room. Jesse immediately curled up on the bed and was asleep in minutes. They both stood in the doorway watching him for a moment before moving quietly back into the living room.

Natalie shook her head, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "My poor baby. He only got a few hours sleep last night, in the booth. I think he's been running on pure adrenaline."

"From the looks of it, you have too. Why don't you lie down with him and try and get some rest, Natalie?" Blair walked to the door. "I'll set the alarm before I head back. Jim is number one on speed dial, and I'm two if you need anything at all. I'll get a unit to do a regular drive by to keep an eye on things. You'll be safe here."

Natalie nodded, giving him a brief hug "Thank you so much, Blair."

About an hour later, Blair got back to the station to find Jim gone with Megan to check out a lead on one of her cases. Simon came back and called a briefing, and they wound up grabbing something to eat at their desk, trying to finish up some pending paperwork, so all in all, they didn't get a minute really alone the rest of the day. A part of Blair was glad since he was dreading explaining to his partner.

They were both silent until Jim pulled he truck up at the first stop light down from the station.

Jim looked over at his partner. "Chief, you know I love you. You, the good and the bad, and there's nothing you can tell me that's gonna change that."

"I know, it's just... I'm really not proud of that summer." Blair sighed, looking out the window. "I told you Roy and I met Natalie at the same time. It was not too long after we'd met, and we were still, I don't know, testing the friendship boundaries, I guess. I was about what... five steps from geekdom, and Roy was trying to rise through the ranks and raise Jamie at the same time. It was this big ego rush, having Natalie interested in us. I don't even know how the contest developed but it escalated badly, to the point where Natalie believed we both really loved her. She wasn't close to her family. That summer was the first time she'd seen her father in years." He gave a bitter laugh. "She was a young girl looking for love, and we were two jerks trying to out-Romeo each other."

"What happened?"

"Roy won her. There was no way he was planning on a serious relationship though, not at that point in his life, and he kind of pulled back. Natalie turned to me, her other devoted suitor. I tried, man, but the heart wants what the heart wants, and Natalie wasn't it. I think she realized even before she heard me and Roy talking about the situation, but it was finding out about the contest that tore her up man."

"And now there's Jesse."

Blair nodded. "Yeah, and now there's Jesse."

"How do you feel about it?"

Blair shook his head. "I don't know, man. I always figured I'd have kids someday, but only in that sort of vague it's what everybody does way. I was always careful, even with Natalie, but nothing is a hundred percent."

"And she's not sure if it's you or Roy?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "In a way, I'd prefer it was me, I mean with Roy dead, you know?" Blair glanced over at his partner as they pulled into the parking lot. "So how would you feel about being a step dad?"

Natalie showed her surprise when she realized that Jim lived at the loft with Blair. She cast a slightly shocked look upstairs. "Oh, I didn't realize... I ah... I'd better go wake up Jesse for dinner."

Jim and Blair glanced at each other, adding yet another potential problem to the roster.

Dinner was fairly rowdy, with Blair and Jesse exchanging terrible puns, and knock-knock jokes older than both of them. After dinner, Blair and Jesse parked themselves in front of the television, identical expressions of intensity on their faces as they watched a documentary on wolves. During the commercial breaks, Jesse's light voice and Blair's deeper one intermingled in eager discussion of Jesse's plans to be a zoologist, or a marine biologist.

Jim felt a pang as he watched the two of them together. His feelings about parenthood were as ambivalent as Blair's. He watched Natalie watch them as well, a wistful expression on her face that tied his guts in knots. Blair would make a great father, and he wondered if Natalie was thinking the same thing.

After a while he stood up. "Natalie, why don't I drive you back to the hotel to get the rest of your things?"

On the way there, he told her what their inquiries about her boss had turned up so far. There were rumors mostly, but enough to indicate that Mark had been telling the truth. Donovan was involved in some seriously shady stuff.

Natalie sighed. "And my spectacularly bad luck continues. Can you believe it was a temp job? So what's next?"

"We start trying to track your friend." Jim glanced over at her. "We may have to contact the Atlanta police, Natalie."

Natalie nodded in acknowledgment. "I just hate to... I mean, if he's okay, then I'm going to be stirring up a lot of trouble. It's just, everything seems sort of surreal now. I guess it's because I finally feel safe thanks to you and Blair. It has me wondering if I'm overreacting."

"What about your room?"

"Maybe it was just a robbery instead. Just more of my bad luck."

Jim acknowledged the possibility, but he had a feeling Natalie's initial response had been the correct one.

"Maybe I'm an idiot, and he really did just leave without me."

There was a sort of sweet sadness about her that engendered Jim's sympathy and smothered any remaining feelings of jealousy he'd harbored. "If he left without you, Natalie, he's the idiot."

She gave him a warm smile. "Thank you."

The hotel was full of people milling around the lobby when they arrived. They bypassed the front desk and headed straight for the elevators. Jim scanned the room briefly while Natalie hurriedly packed her and Jesse's things. It was obvious someone had been there. Drawers were opened, a lamp turned over. It could have been a robbery attempt. Nothing stood out to say the room had been deliberately searched, and he couldn't extend his senses too much with Natalie there, but Jim was even more sure she was on the right track.

"Hold on a minute, let me check out. They've got some kind of convention going, so I'm sure they'll be glad to get the room early."

Jim leaned against a pillar, out of the way of the crowd, while Natalie went to the front desk. He concentrated on fighting back the headache the noise and congestion in the small area was giving him.

A large group all came through the door at the same time, laughing and talking, smelling strongly of cigarettes and beer. They crossed his view of the front desk for a moment, but it was long enough for Natalie to be gone by the time they'd passed.

"Shit!" Her bags were still parked at the counter. "Excuse me, there was a woman here, just checking out. Ms. Barrett." The desk clerk glanced up, her weary expression perking up immediately at the sight of the gorgeous man in front of her.

"Uhm, oh yes. She was talking to a friend of hers. I'm sure she'll be right back; she left her receipt."

Jim closed his eyes and tried to focus. He wished like hell his partner were here. He was taking the chance of zoning with all the input around him. "Come on, Natalie, say something, help me out here."

He stepped away from the desk and turned down the corridor that led to the first floor rooms. It was quieter there, and that made it easier for him to isolate sounds. In the end, it wasn't her voice, but her name that caught his attention.

"...boss isn't real happy, Natalie. That's not the mark of a good employee."

He followed the voice out the door leading to the pool and gazebo area. There were a few people out here as well, and it took Jim a moment to orient on where the sounds were coming from.

The smell of gun oil and fear were a sudden double assault on his senses. His eyes traveled instinctively to where Natalie was standing, partially in the shadows of the gazebo. A tall, olive-skinned man stood next to her, whispering intently.

"Please, Silvas... don't." Natalie's whisper was stark with terror. The crowd between them shifted slightly, and Jim caught the glint of light off the barrel of the gun pressed to Natalie's side. He edged his way slowly toward them, not wanting to spook her assailant. His own gun was loose from his holster and tucked against his leg.

A cacophony startled them all as the doors opened behind Jim, emitting the large group that had come in through the lobby. Volume on high, Jim flinched at the sudden pain assaulting his ears. Less than three feet away, he fought through the echo of sound, shaking his head like a baited bull.

Frightened brown eyes met his pleadingly at the same time the man holding her noticed his presence. They all froze in a tableau for a moment, before motion quick-started.

The guy yanked Natalie around, shoving her toward Jim, effectively blocking his pursuit as the guy took off through the back gate. Jim gave a moment's thought to following, but he didn't want to leave Natalie alone. He turned his attention back to the shivering woman next to him, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Natalie nodded. "That was... He..."

"It's okay. Let's get back to the loft. We need to talk."

"That was Silvas. He's Mr. Donovan's assistant."

Blair sat forward on the sofa. "Natalie, you know we are definitely going to have to contact the Atlanta police now. This isn't something Jim and I can handle."

She nodded, bowing to the inevitable. "Yeah, I guess trouble is already stirred, huh. I don't know what I'm going to do."

"You and Jesse have a home here for as long as it takes to get all this sorted out, Natalie." Blair reached over and placed a comforting hand on Natalie's shoulder. Jim's hand was at his back, a solid reminder of the love and support his partner offered.

She looked between the two of them, her eyes filling with tears. A hand pressed against her mouth to stifle the sobs threatening to escape. "You must think I'm a terrible mother. I do sometimes. I mean what kind of woman doesn't even know who the father of her child is?" She shook her head. "I know I make bad decisions, about men, and jobs. I drag him around from place to place, looking for God knows what. And now this. I've graduated to putting him in mortal danger."

She sat up straighter, eyes glistening and fierce. "But I love him more than anything else in this world, and I'd do anything to protect him."

Jim took her hands in his, squeezing lightly. He found himself remembering a small, red-haired tornado blasting into Simon's office. "Natalie, trust me, in the long run, it's the love that counts. Jesse is an extremely lucky little boy. And we aren't going to let anything happen to him or you."

Later that night, Blair snuggled down in Jim's arms, closing his eyes contentedly. He had waited until Natalie and Jesse were tucked in before moving quietly upstairs. He was almost asleep when Jim spoke again.

"You know who she reminds me of, babe?"

The sleep that had crept up slowed his, thought process. "Who? Natalie?"

"Yeah."

He shook his head slightly, and Jim felt the motion against his chest.

"Who?"

"Naomi."

Blair froze for a moment before he pulled back to stare at his partner. "You're kidding, right?"

Jim shook his head. "Nope."

He thought of Natalie, with her fierce protectiveness of Jesse, and even her restless lifestyle. He hadn't seen it before because he had been seeing the Natalie he'd known ten years ago -- but now that Jim mentioned it, there was a definite similarity. Then he thought about the lengths his mother had gone to trying to protect him, and help him, and the results. Blair lay back down with a small shudder. "Whoa, that's scary."

"Definitely."