Sometime recently following BROTHER'S KEEPER….

"No way, Chief," Jim replied jokingly, "I have a hard enough time keeping you in shape, with all those girls that love to cook for you." The big man reached over and tickled Blair's belly, grinning as the young man yelped and pushed his hand away.

Stephen watched his brother and Blair with a gentle smile on his usually serious face. It had been only three months since he had reconciled his differences with Jim, but it felt like they'd never been apart. He'd had his brother and new friend over for dinner about every two weeks since the incident at the racetrack. They all got along brilliantly, and his little girl Amy was ecstatic at meeting the uncle she never knew she had.

"Uncle Jim! Uncle Blair!"

Stephen chuckled when, as if on cue, Amy came flouncing into the room to throw herself onto Jim's legs. The detective grunted and laughed, scooping her up and depositing her on the couch between he and Sandburg. The two of them took turns exclaiming over the loveliness of Amy's hair, dress, and dolly. The little girl beamed, glowing at the attention.

The younger Ellison let them visit for a few minutes, then pointedly cleared his throat. His daughter looked at him, and he pointed at his watch. With a sigh and a rolling of her blue eyes, Amy nodded.

"OK, Daddy, I know. Time for bed."

Stephen smiled at his little angel. "Right sweetheart. Say goodnight to your uncles."

Jim grinned as Amy scrambled up onto her knees, leaned forward and pressed a big, wet, noisy kiss on his cheek. He returned it, buzzing his lips against her forehead and making her giggle. Then she turned to Blair and hugged the young man so tight, Ellison swore he heard bones creaking.

"Ooof!" Blair grunted, exaggerating. "Hey, who let this boa constrictor in here!" He grinned widely as Amy planted an equally noisy kiss on his cheek, before pinching his nose. "Hey!" he exclaimed, indignant, "You didn't pinch Uncle Jim!" he watched, amused, as Amy blushed and leaned up to whisper in his ear.

"That's cause you're CUTER," she hissed. She smiled as her honorary Uncle Blair wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. Her seven-year-old imagination was filled with images of the day she would marry Uncle Blair. After she caught up to him in age, of course.

"OK, peanut, that's enough," Stephen said, scooping up his daughter and placing her on his shoulders. "Let's get you to bed before the sun comes up." He bounced his way over to the stairs, Amy shrieking with delight, holding onto his hands tightly. He made racecar-revving noises as he charged up the stairs, accompanied by giggles from his passenger.

Jim watched his brother with a smile on his face. It was good to see Stephen relax; his younger sibling had seemed such a workaholic when they'd first become reacquainted at the racetrack. But now things had settled down, Stephen was the new President of the track, and they were well on their way to becoming a family again.

"Boy, she's something, isn't she?" Blair asked, breaking the silence. He smiled and shook his head as he recalled the little arms clenched tight around his neck. "Always in motion, never stops for an instant. And what a little chatterbox!" Blair broke off as his partner snorted. He turned to see Jim covering his mouth, trying to hold in obvious laughter and failing.

"What?" the anthropologist asked, grinning.

"Nothing Chief," Jim replied, waving a hand. "It's just that, you pretty much described yourself, there." He watched as Blair's mouth dropped open, then shut, and the young man held up his hands in surrender.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up," Sandburg muttered.

The conversation was interrupted by Stephen's return. He smiled at his guests, coming back to join them. With a flourish, he plopped a stack of children's drawing paper down on the coffee table between them.

"Here," he urged, pointing. "Amy wanted you to see these."

Jim leaned forward and peered at the pages, covered with crayon drawings. The drawings weren't half-bad, he realized as Blair picked up one of the stacks of paper. He was about to ask Stephen what the drawings were, when his partner burst into guffaws of laughter beside him.

"What?" the sentinel asked, amused.

"Oh man!" Blair gasped, face red, gasping, tears running from his eyes as he laughed. "Check it out!"