Email: slashgirl@gmail.com

Notes: Part 2, see part 1 for warnings/notes.


Family pictures 2
by Stacy L.A. Stronach, August/September 1997


1997, The Loft


Jim walked up behind Blair, who was getting the vegetables ready
for dinner, and slid his arms around the younger man's waist,
kissing his neck. "Hmm, looks good, love," Jim said.


"Yeah, dinner'll be ready in about twenty minutes," Blair
replied, as he put the pot on the burner.


"Who said I was talking about dinner?"


Turning around and sliding his arms around Jim's neck, Blair
murmured, "In that case, thanks." He reached up to kiss his lover but
before he could make contact, Jim pulled away, listening.


"Sadryna's here," he said, as he walked over to open the door,
before his sister could knock. His sister was standing there, her son,
Jacob, in one arm, a baby carrier in the other.


"Here, let me help you with that," Jim offered, reaching for his
nephew, as Sadryna walked into the loft. She watched Jim as she
placed the carrier on the floor and took off her jacket, hanging
it on the rack beside the door. Jim held his nephew in his large hands
and slowly raised the boy over his head, moving him back
and forth, saying "Wheee, you like that, don't ya, Little Guy?"
Said Little Guy did seem to be enjoying the view from his lofty
perch, gurgling happily, his little arms and legs moving up and
down.


Sadryna walked over to where Blair was standing, watching his
lover and his nephew, and she slipped her arms around his waist,
giving him a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. Blair smiled, and
returned her embrace, as Sadryna spoke. "Ya know, Blair, it's a
good thing Jim found you first, otherwise I'd be trying to get my hooks
into you."


"Well, at least good taste in men seems to run in your family,"
Blair laughingly replied.


"Do you think Jim would consider time sharing you? You could
spend a few days with him, a few days with me, it could work,"
Sadryna teased, whispering, but knowing Jim would hear her.


"Not in this lifetime. Not even for my sister. I never did learn
how to share, Sadryna," Jim answered, smiling, as he sat on the
couch, cradling Jacob in one arm.


"Ah, well, a girl's gotta try, doesn't she?" Sadryna laughed as
she moved to sit down on the other couch.


As Blair sat beside Jim on the couch, he looked at his lover,
"Jim, can I hold Jacob. Please," he asked.


"Sure thing, Chief," Jim answered, handing his nephew over to his lover.
Blair held the little boy at arms length then brought him
close and placed his mouth against Jacob's tummy, and blew
against it, making a loud noise. Jacob gurgled and wiggled,
liking it. Blair brought the baby to rest against his shoulder
and few seconds later, he winced, and looked at the child. Jacob
had a fistful of Blair's hair, and was proceeding to put it in
his mouth and chew on it. "Hey, Jake, that's still attached to my head,
if you don't mind."


"Jacob," Sadryna said rather sternly, looking at Blair.


"What?" Blair asked, confused.


"His name is not `Jake'. It's Jacob. If I'd wanted him to be
called Jake, I'd have named him that," Sadryna replied, quite
serious.


"Sorry, Sadryna. I won't do it again," Blair said, contritely.


"It's okay, Blair, but I just really hate nicknames. I used to
get called `Sadie' all the time, and it annoyed the hell out of
me, so I guess I'm a little touchy about the subject," she
replied.


"Tell me about, I can't tell you how much I hate being called
`Jimmy', it reminds me too much of my father," Jim said.


Sadryna looked at her brother, "Have you heard from Stephen yet?" she
asked.


"Yeah, he's coming home tomorrow, said his flight should arrive
by 3:00 at the latest. Sadryna, I was wondering if we could do
this at your house. You've got the more recent pictures of Mom,
and if Stephen has any questions, you'd be better able to answer
them than I would," Jim explained.


"No problem, Jim. I'm looking forward to finally meeting Stephen, why
don't you guys come over for dinner?" she replied.


Jim agreed, and the conversation turned to other topics.


A little while later, Blair looked at Jim, then at Sadryna,
cleared his throat and spoke, "Sadryna, I'd like to ask you
something."


Sadryna looked at him, not sure where this was going, but
curious, said, "Ask away, Blair."


Taking a deep breath, he said, "I know you don't want to be
studied, but, like, I was wondering if you'd mind doing a few
tests, so I could do a comparison between your skills and Jim's.
You'd be totally anonymous, and it would just be for a few tests. It
would add some validity to my thesis, and it would help prove the genetic
aspect of this. Please?"


"Blair, really, I don't know. I don't know how comfortable I'd be with
this," Sadryna answered.


"Oh, please, Sadryna, it would mean so much to me," Blair
pleaded, using his best puppy dog eyes on her, figuring if it
worked with Jim, it might work with her.


Sighing, she looked from Blair to Jim, "How in the hell do you
resist him when he's like this, Jim?"


"It's not often I can say no to him," Jim, admitted, smiling.


"Alright, Blair, I'll do some tests for you, but Jacob is still
off limits, he's too young!" she told Blair, and was rewarded
with a smile, and a hug.


"Oh, thank you, Sadryna, so much. You don't know what this
means to me, to my thesis!" Blair said, his mind reeling with the possibilities.
Jim and Sadryna both laughed at his enthusiasm.


Sadryna Cameron's house, two days later


Stephen Ellison was extremely curious as he ate his dinner. When
he'd arrived home from his business trip, Jim had met with him,
and told him there was a woman he wanted Stephen to meet.
However, he wouldn't tell him anything else. So, they'd come to
her house, and he'd met her, but they still wouldn't tell him
anything, Jim had said they'd discuss this after dinner. Stephen
had tried to figure out why she was so important, but hadn't been able
to come up with anything. He knew she wasn't Jim's
girlfriend or anything, Jim and Blair were almost inseparable as
a couple. So, he was left curious, and hoping that dinner would
be over quickly.


After dinner was finished, they moved into the library, where
Jim, finally, told Stephen why they were here.


"Stephen, Sadryna is our sister. Well, to be accurate, our halfsister,"
Jim explained, watching his brother.


Stephen sat completely still, looking from Jim to Sadryna, then
back at Jim. "Our sister? How? I mean...Mom?" he said, confusion
in his voice.


Jim moved to sit beside his brother, putting his arm around him,
"Yes, Stephen, Mom. She remarried a couple years after she
divorced dad."


"How did you find out about this, how do you know it's true,
Jim?"


Sadryna took the old black and white picture of the boys with
their mother and a more recent one of Cathryn off the mantle and
handed them to Stephen. He looked at them, running his fingers
over the picture of their mother.


"Blair and Siobhan are colleagues and she invited us over for
dinner and I saw these pictures, and I asked her about them. The
next day I came over, showed her my copy of that old photo and
she told me why our mother left," Jim explained, still not
wanting his brother to know about the Sentinel aspect of things.


"You know?" Stephen asked Sadryna.


"Yes, do you want to know, Stephen?" she asked, sitting on the
other side of her brother, taking one of his hands between hers.


Stephen didn't say anything, just looked at her and nodded his
head. So, Sadryna told him, the same story she'd told Jim. When
she finished, Stephen angrily asked her, "How do you know she was telling
you the truth, not just some lie to cover the fact she
left us?"


Sadryna moved her hand to stroke the side of his face, to try and comfort
him, but he moved away, so she rested her hand on his
shoulder. "Stephen, I know our mother, and if you'd seen the pain in
her eyes, and heard it in her voice, you'd know," she
explained, quietly.


"Yeah, well, I guess you'd know better than I would, wouldn't
you?" he asked bitterly. "I don't believe you, or her! Dad said
she left because she hated us! Why would he lie to us?" Stephen
yelled at her.


"Dammit! Stephen! Why wouldn't Dad lie to us? After the way he
treated us growing up? The way he'd react if we even whispered
Mom's name and he heard us? You'd believe him? My God, Stephen,
think about it--" Jim said, raising his voice.


"What? I'm supposed to believe what some woman I've only known a
few hours says? And you believe her, Jim? You've only known her
for what, a week?" Stephen shouted at his brother. "I've gotta
get out of here," he muttered, rushing out of the library.


Jim started to go after him, but Sadryna's hand on his arm
stopped him. "Jim, he has to deal with this in his own way. He
was much younger than you when she left, and you did say it
affected him more deeply, didn't you?"


"Yes, but..."


"Give him some time to sort through what he's feeling. He's
believed one thing for so long, it's difficult to think there
might be another reason for what happened so long ago. Let him be for
tonight, give him a call tomorrow, and talk to him, okay?"
she said, giving her brother a hug.


"She's right, Jim, just give him some time, when he's calmed
down, I'm sure he'll want to talk," Blair said, coming up behind
his lover, wrapping his arms around him.


"I suppose you're both right," Jim sighed, as he turned around to hold
Blair to him.


Stephen Ellison's apartment


Stephen had managed to get home without crying. As he poured
himself some Scotch, he felt the tears starting, and managed to
get to the couch before the sobs overtook him. He was so
confused, he didn't know what to think, what to believe. Did his
mother really love him? He thought about what Sadryna had said.
And what Jim had said about their father, and he remembered, how
their father could react when their mother was mentioned...


1972, The Ellison Household


Stephen knelt by his bed, saying his prayers, as he always did
before going to bed. He whispered, quietly, "Thank you, God, for
all the blessings in my life, for Jimmy, for the food on our
table, the roof over our heads. Oh, and thanks for helping me
pass my English test the other day. God, can I ask you for
something? I've tried my best to be a good boy, will you make my
Mommy come home, please, I miss her. I promise, I'll be a good
boy forever, if you just let her come home..."


He stopped when he heard a noise outside his door, and realizing
it was his father, added a prayer in his head *Please don't let
Dad have heard me, he'll be so mad at me, please God*.


This night, his prayers went unanswered, as his father strode
into his room, turning on the overhead light, glaring at his
younger son. "How many times do I have to tell you not to mention that
whore in this house, boy? How many!" he said harshly, as he
removed the belt from his pants. Stephen looked up at his father, towering
over him, and started to cry. "You're such a damn
crybaby! I can't believe you're my son, you're so weak!" he
hissed.


He picked the boy up by the collar of his pyjama top, throwing
him across the bed, then yanked his pants down. Stephen braced
himself for the sting of the leather against his backside, he
didn't want to cry out, it only enraged his father further. He
heard the belt as it whistled through the air towards him, then
_whack!_ as it hit him and he cried out as he felt the metal of
the buckle gouge his skin. "NOOO! Daddy, please stop! I'll be
good, I promise--" His pleas were cut off by another whack of the belt
and he started screaming "NO! Daddy, no!" over and over as
his father continued to hit him. "I'll teach you, you little
bastard!!" his father said.


Jim was studying in his bedroom, listening to the radio, when he
heard the first scream out of his little brother. He quickly
jumped up, opened his door and hearing the sound of leather
hitting flesh, he ran into his brother's room. He took in what
was happening--his father was hitting his brother with the buckle end
of the belt as hard and fast as he could, Jim could already
see several cuts and welts forming on his brother's backside. His father
was like some maniac, he didn't even know Jim was in the
room. Jim went over and grabbed the belt, wincing at the sting it caused,
but able to rip it out of his enraged father's hand.


"Give that back to me, NOW, Jimmy! Or you'll regret it!" his
father sneered at him, advancing on his elder son.


Jim stood his ground. At 14 he was already about 5' 10", and he
was quite strong--his cousin had turned him onto body building,
and he worked it for strength as well as definition. His father
was taller than he, but wiry and thin, no match for his elder
son. "Yeah, c'mon, `Dad', give me a reason to use this on you,
I'm waiting," Jim dared his father, hatred pouring forth from his entire
body, as he snapped the belt in his hand.


Joe stopped, looking at his son, something about the way his son
was standing, the way those blue eyes (so much like Cathryn's)
were looking at him, with such loathing, scared him. He backed
down, and looking at both boys with contempt, said, "Clean your
brother up, Jimmy, and I don't want to hear any more noise out of either
of you tonight, is that clear, boy?"


"Yes, `sir'," Jim replied, hatred in his voice.


Jim waited until he heard his father go into his own bedroom,
before he turned to his brother, who was sobbing on the bed. He
looked at the cuts and angry red welts which had formed across
his brothers buttocks and upper thighs, knowing Stevie would
never be able to walk to the bathroom. Jim pulled the pyjama
bottoms the rest of the way off of his brother, then picked him
up, carefully placing him over his shoulder, carrying him into
the bathroom, so he could tend to the boy's wounds.


Jim slid Stephen off of his shoulder, getting him to stand up.
Stephen winced as the pyjama top brushed against his wounds, so
Jim removed it for him. He cleaned out the cuts from the belt
buckle, then applied the iodine, warning his brother that it
would hurt. Stephen started crying again, and Jim quickly and
gently bandaged the deeper cuts. Jim didn't try to put anything
on the welts, it would hurt too much, he'd put some salve on them tomorrow.


Stephen was still softly crying when Jim finished dressing his
wounds. "Do you want to sleep with me tonight, Stevie?" Jim
asked his brother. When his brother nodded yes, Jim leant down so Stephen
could wrap his arms around Jim's neck, and Jim put his
arms around Stephen's back, picking him up, but careful not to
touch the sore spots.


Once they were in Jim's room, he set his brother down, and
quickly changed into his own pyjamas. He grabbed one of his
flannel night shirts and put it on his brother, who swam in the
garment, but it was long enough that the edge of it didn't rub
against his welts, and the flannel would be softer than other
materials against his wounds. Jim climbed into his bed, then
patted the space beside him, and Stephen got in beside him,
curling up to his brother's side. Jim stroked the younger boy's
hair and back, waiting for him to fall asleep before he could
allow himself to fall asleep. He wished he knew where their
mother was, because if he did, he'd runaway right now, taking
Stephen with him, away from this house. That was just a pipe
dream, he knew, they were both stuck here until they were old
enough to leave on their own...


1997, Stephen Ellison's apartment


Stephen lay on his bed, and ran his hand down the left side of
his body, he could feel the scars from that long ago beating.
He'd often wondered what would have happened if Jim hadn't come
in and stopped their father that night. But Jim had come in time, as
he almost always had. After that night, Jim had always kept a
close eye on Stephen, making sure their father didn't beat him
like that again. He sighed, despite the whole competition thing
their father had created between them, Jim had always been there
for him, hell, even when he'd beat the old man's car with the
crowbar, Jim still protected him, by not telling the truth. *But
look what that stupid trip cost me--Jim left home and I didn't
see him for 15 years--I was so fucking stupid* he thought, as he
fell asleep.


The next morning, Stephen woke up and saw that it was only five
o'clock. Knowing he'd never get back to sleep, he got up, made
himself breakfast, sat out on his patio to eat it, and watched as the
sun started to break over the horizon. He thought about what
had happened the day before, and his reaction to it. *I can be
such a prick, sometimes* he thought ruefully. Stephen knew, deep
down, that what his mother had told Sadryna was probably the
truth--after all his father was not the nicest man on earth, but
he'd like to hear it from his mother directly. *Dear God, to see her
after all these years...I missed her so much. What will I
feel when I finally see her? Will I be able to forgive her? Oh,
God, I hope so, I really hope so,* and as he thought about his
mum, he could feel the tears starting again, but didn't allow
himself to cry. *I've done enough of that for awhile.* As the sun rose
over the horizon, throwing a pinkish cast on everything,
Stephen decided that first thing this morning, well, later this
morning, he'd go over and see his...sister. He liked that, the
fact that he had a sister--it was a little strange, as he'd only
ever had a brother, but he figured he could get used to it.
Smiling, he realized that he also had a nephew, *Uncle Stephen, I like
the sound of that* he thought, as he went inside to get
dressed.


The Loft


Jim slowly came awake to the feeling of something wet and warm
against his chest, specifically over one of his nipples. Moaning, Jim
brought his hands up to grab a hold of his lover's head,
moving Blair up so he could kiss him. Their mouths met, open,
tongues seeking each other for a slow, gently, passionate kiss.
Jim sighed, for as much as he kissed his lover, he never tired of him,
of his wonderful taste and knew that he never would.


Blair shifted slightly so that their erections were pressed
against each other, and he slowly started moving his hips back
and forth. Jim moved his hands, stroking them across his lover's
back, down to caress his ass, cupping the cheeks in his hands,
holding him closer, increasing the pleasure.


Moving away from the sweetness of Jim's mouth, Blair started
kissing his neck, down to gently bite and suck on his shoulder.
Blair moved his hands between their bodies, fingers tweaking
Jim's nipples, making the older man groan, and he thrust harder
against Blair. As they pushed against one another, Blair knew he was
close to coming, and he started moaning as he felt the
tension build in his body, and with one final hard thrust against Jim,
he came, spurting across Jim's cock and stomach.


The look of ecstasy on his lover's face, the feel of the warm
liquid on his body and the smell of Blair's cum sent Jim over the edge.
With two more quick thrusts against his lover, Jim
orgasmed, his seed mixing with his lover's. He held the younger
man against him, whispering to him, "Oh, God, Blair, I love you
so much, so much."


Still not capable of saying much, Blair lifted his head, blue
eyes meeting blue eyes, and gently kissed his lover on the mouth, mumbling,
"Love you, babe."


After a few minutes, Jim became quite aware of the sticky mess on their
stomach's, and found it very uncomfortable. "Hey, Chief, we better get
out of bed and get a shower, before we're stuck
together forever," Jim suggested.


"And that would be a problem?" Blair asked, smiling at his lover.


"Well, it would make going to work kinda difficult, now, wouldn't it?"
Jim asked.


"Oh, I guess you've got a point there, man," Blair replied as he
climbed off of Jim.


After the two men showered and dressed they started getting the
things they'd need for the picnic they were going to have this
afternoon, with Sadryna and Jacob, and maybe Stephen.


Looking at the clock, Jim decided to call his brother, but all he got
was Stephen's answering machine. He wondered where his
brother would be at nine o'clock on a Saturday morning, and
decided to call again, later.


Sadryna Cameron's house


Stephen rang the doorbell, and Mary opened the door, "Good
morning, Mr. Ellison, how can I help you?"


"I was wondering if I'd be able to speak with Sadryna, Mary."


"Of course, she's eating breakfast. Come in, and follow me," Mary said
as she walked into the kitchen.


Sadryna sat in the breakfast nook, in a blue silk robe, and fuzzy blue
slippers, reading the paper as she drank her juice. She
looked up when she heard them enter the kitchen, surprise on her
face at seeing her brother there. "Morning, Stephen," she said,
smiling at him, "Have you had breakfast yet?"


"Yeah, I have. I just needed to talk to you," he replied, as he
sat down across from her. "Look, about yesterday, I'm sorry I
acted like such an ass. This was just so...unexpected. It's just
that Mom's leaving us was...I had a really hard time with it--I
was closer to her than I was to Dad. I didn't believe, couldn't
believe that we were the reason she left. But I heard it so much
that... And I was jealous of you--you've had her in your life,
all of your life and I didn't..." he trailed off, looking at his
sister.


Sadryna smiled, almost sadly. "Stephen, you don't have to
apologize for what you felt, for what you're feeling--you're
entitled. And it was a shock, finding out you have a sister and
what really happened with your parents. As for being jealous,
believe it or not, I do know how you feel. I used to be jealous
of you and Jim."


"Why would you be jealous of us?" Stephen asked.


"Because for all that I had Mom in my life, it was like a part of her
was missing--the part that would've made her truly happy. I
mean, I know she loved Daddy and me dearly, and she really tried
to be happy, but without you two in her life... I remember she
used to talk to me about the two of you and that sadness would go away
for that little while. It always came back though. Sometimes I think
the years you had with her were better, she was complete
then. There were times I wished she'd never had you boys, and
other times that I wanted nothing more than the two of you to
come and live with us. It was usually the second choice--I hated
being an only child." Sadryna smiled as she remembered, "I
remember, I must have been about 8 or 9 years old, and she was
telling me some story about you or Jim, and when I saw the joy in her
eyes, I vowed that I would do everything I could to make her
look like that as much as possible. I managed it a few times, but they
were few and far between. That's why I'm hoping that you
guys want to see her again--it would make her happy, and I hope
that it would make you two happy as well."


"She missed us that much?" Stephen enquired, wanting to believe
it.


"Yes, and that's one of the reasons I knew she was telling me the truth
about what happened with her and your father. That and the
fact that she admitted to her part in what happened, she didn't
try and make your father out to be a man who'd kicked her out for no
reason. It wasn't until I had Jacob, though, that I really
understood how difficult it was for her, not being able to see
her children. If that had happened to me, I don't know what I
would've done," she finished, looking at her brother.


Stephen didn't say anything, he just sat there, staring out the
window, considering what Sadryna had told him. Sadryna stood
up, and went over, hugging her brother, and he returned the
embrace, accepting the comforting.


Sadryna straightened up, her head to the side, as if listening
for something, "Ah, speaking of his Lordship, I think he's awake. I have
to go up and feed him, then get dressed, Stephen. Oh, Jim, Blair and
I are going for a picnic lunch today, at Cascade Park,
and you're invited, if you'd like to come," she said.


"I'd like that a lot, Sadryna, thanks," he replied.


"Well, why don't you give Jim a call and let him know. Then once
I'm ready, we can head down there, okay?"


"Sounds like a plan, I'll go and call Jim," Stephen said.


Cascade Park, later that day


It was a beautiful day for a picnic, the sun was shining, and it
was a hot day, but there was a cool breeze coming in off the
water. Sadryna opened the picnic basket that Mary had packed for
them, and started to take the food out. There were several kinds
of sandwiches, cold cuts, a tossed salad, and potato salad.


"Man, Mary packed enough food for an army in there," Blair said.


"She didn't want us to go hungry," Sadryna explained, "And you
guys better save room for dessert, there's cake, pie, and cookies as
well."


"Hey, Jim, look, there's Simon and Daryl," Blair said, pointing
to the walk way.


"Do you mind if I ask them to join us?" Jim asked his family.
When no one objected, he called out to his Captain. "Hey, Simon,
come on over."


Simon and Daryl walked over, "Hey, see you guys are out enjoying
this fine weather we're having," Simon said.


"Yeah, if you guys haven't had lunch, why don't you join us?" Jim asked.


"Cool, man. Look at all that food, I'm starved!" Daryl exclaimed, as
he sat down next to Blair and picked up a plate.


Simon laughed as he sat down, between Stephen and Sadryna, "I
guess that's a yes, Jim."


"Simon, Daryl, I'd like you to meet my sister, Sadryna Cameron.
Sadryna, this is my Captain, Simon Banks and his son, Daryl," Jim made
the introductions.


Daryl nodded at her, his mouth full of food, while Simon reached
over to shake her hand, thinking how beautiful she was.


As their hands met and they looked at one another, Sadryna felt a thrill
of electricity go through her. *This is one sexy man,* she thought, wondering
if he was still married. She looked at his
ring finger--no ring, a good sign, but she'd ask him later, just
to be sure.


"Oh, man, I ate like way too much, I don't think I'll ever be
able to move again," Blair moaned, as he lay back on the blanket.


"I told you that you shoulda let me have that last piece of cake, Blair--I
could eat 3 or 4 more pieces of that cake, it was good," Daryl said.


"You must have a hollow leg you're trying to fill up there,
Daryl," Blair teased.


"No way, man, I think my entire body is hollow, I eat so much,
but never seem to gain any weight," Daryl replied.


Simon watched as Sadryna changed her son's diaper, and asked,
"Are you married, Sadryna?"


"No, I'm a widow," she replied.


"A widow? You're so young...I'm sorry, I shouldn't pry," Simon
said.


"That's alright. My husband, Kevin, was a firefighter in San
Diego. He was killed in a fire a year ago July. We'd only been
married six months and I didn't even find out I was pregnant
until about a week after Kevin died. Then about 4 months ago, I
got the opportunity to work at Rainier--I'm glad I decided to
come here--I found my family. So, something good did come out of
all the bad," she finished.


She looked so tiny and fragile sitting there, that Simon just
wanted to take her in his arms and protect her from any more
pain. He shook his head, trying to understand why he was having
such strong feelings about a woman he'd just met. *Hmm, maybe
this is what they mean by love at first sight?* he thought as he
watched her. Simon realized that she'd just asked him a question
and he'd missed it completely. "I'm sorry, I missed what you
said."


"I asked if you were married or not?" Sadryna replied, smiling at Simon.
She really liked this man, and was hoping like hell he
wasn't married.


"No, I'm divorced, it's been about two years now," Simon
answered.


"Oh, that's too bad, Simon," Sadryna said, not really meaning it, and
very glad this man was unattached, there was something about
him...


Jim and Stephen decided to go for a walk so they could talk.
"Look, Jim, about yesterday--I'm sorry I freaked out on you guys. I was
just so surprised--I needed time to think about it."


"It's okay, Stephen, I understand. It threw me for a loop when I
first found out about it, too. I've been thinking about it, and
I want to see Mom again, I don't know if you do or not. I'd
understand if you didn't..." Jim said.


"Oh, yeah, I do want to see her again. I mean, we wasted fifteen
years not speaking to each other, and it's been almost thirty
years since we've seen Mom. I missed her, Jim, I really did,"
Stephen said, quietly.


"I know, I did, too," Jim replied. "Let's go talk to Sadryna
about this, okay?"


Stephen nodded, and the two brothers made their way back to where their
sister was talking with Simon.


Sadryna Cameron's house, two weeks later


Sadryna smiled and hugged her mother, "Oh, Mom, it's so good to
see you again," she said.


"I know sweetheart. Now where is that beautiful grandson of
mine?" Cathryn asked.


"He's upstairs, taking his nap. I'll bring him down in a little
while," Sadryna replied, as she led her mother toward the
library. She stopped just outside the door, and turned her mother to
look at her. "Mom, there are a couple of people in there who
want to see you," Sadryna said, smiling, and let her mother go
into the room.


Cathryn saw the two men standing by the fireplace, and when they
turned around, she gasped. *Oh my God, it can't be, not after all these
years--my boys!*


Jim and Stephen both said "Mom!" at the same time and rushed over to
hug her. Sadryna watched from the doorway for a few seconds,
before quietly closing the door and going to wait in the living
room with Blair.


"Oh, my. James, Stephen. I can't believe this. I think I'd better sit
down," Cathryn said, knowing her legs wouldn't hold her up
much longer.


The three of them made it to the couch, where Cathryn sat between her
two grown sons, just looking at them--they had both turned
out so handsome. "Dear God, how did you find out about your
sister?" she asked.


Jim explained what had happened, not mentioning the Sentinel part of
things--his mother had enough to deal with--and how he'd seen
the pictures on the mantle and recognized them, and that Sadryna
had told them what had happened, why she had left them.


"How can you two ever forgive me for what I did?" Cathryn asked
her sons.


"Mom, you did what you thought was for the best, didn't you?"
Stephen asked.


"Yes, but--"


Stephen cut her off, "You couldn't know how things would turn
out, and you did what you thought was right. As we all know,
hindsight is 20/20. I know we've both forgiven you, and besides,
we've lost almost 30 years, we don't want to lose any more, right Jim?"


"Right. Mom, Stephen and I know all too well how foolish it is to stay
angry for too long," Jim answered, smiling at his mother.


"What do you mean, Jim? What the hell did Joe do to you two?"
Cathryn asked, almost afraid of the answer.


For the next hour, Jim and Stephen told their mother about what
their lives had been, after she left, and she answered their
questions about what her life had been like for the past decades.


When they'd finished, she looked at her boys sadly, "I'm so sorry for
leaving you to be treated like that by Joe, and for not
trying to find you later, but I was so scared you'd hate me..."
she said, fighting the tears.


"Mom, we love you. Don't waste time feeling guilty, the important thing
is that you are here with us now, you're back in our lives, which is
something I've wanted for years," Jim said as he hugged
his mother.


"Yeah, Mom, we've forgiven you, you have to forgive yourself. I'm just
happy you're here, finally," Stephen added, as he too,
hugged his mother.


Cathryn returned the boys' embraces and then asked, "So, are
either of you married? Do I have any other grandchildren?"


"No to both questions for me, Mom. Guess I just haven't found the right
person, yet," Stephen answered.


"I was married for a couple of years. We divorced about three
years ago, and we didn't have any children. But I do have someone special
in my life," Jim paused, not sure how his mother would
react to the news her eldest son was with a man. Sadryna had
assured him that Cathryn wouldn't have a problem with it, but he
wasn't so sure. "His name is Blair Sandburg, and we've been
together for almost two years," Jim finished, waiting to see how
his mother would react.


She looked at her son, "You're gay? I'm a little surprised but
Jim as long as you're happy with Blair, and are in love, that's
wonderful, I'm very happy for you. So, I suppose grandchildren
are out of the question now?" she asked, smiling.


"Well, maybe not. It's something Blair and I have been talking
about it--we might adopt, or try the surrogacy route. But it
probably won't be for a little while," Jim told his mother.


"Oh, that would be wonderful, Jim. I'd really like to meet
Blair," she said.


"He is here. I imagine he and Sadryna are off somewhere,
talking," Jim replied.


"Let's go find them, then. I need to talk to my daughter,"
Cathryn said as she rose off the couch, her sons following her.


Sadryna heard the door to the library open, and taking Blair's
hand, headed for the hallway. Both of them were relieved to see
the smiles on the faces of the other three.


When she saw her daughter, Cathryn went over and hugged her, "Oh, Sadryna,
thank you for this, so much. I guess you were right, I
should've looked for them before this. I love you, my baby girl," she
said.


"I'm just happy to see you so happy, Mom. Plus, I'm not an only
child anymore," she teased her mother.


Jim had put his arm around Blair, and now reached over and
touched his mother's shoulder. "Mom, I'd like you to meet my
lover, Blair Sandburg. Blair, this is my mother, Cathryn
Cameron," Jim made the introductions proudly.


"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Cameron," Blair said.


As she hugged the younger man, Cathryn said to him, "Please,
Blair, I'm already an old woman, don't make me feel like one,
call me Cat."


Blair laughed as he returned her embrace, "Okay, Cat, but you're
not an old woman. Why, if I didn't know better, I'd think you and Sadryna
were sisters," he said, meaning it.


Linking her arm through Blair's and walking towards the living
room, Cathryn said, "I think we're going to get along very well,
Blair. So, what do you do for a living, and just how did you meet my
son?"


"I'm an anthropologist at Rainier University..."


Jim looked at his siblings as they followed the other two into
the living room, "Well, we won't be able to talk to her for at
least an hour, now that Blair's started," he joked.


"Oh, please Jim, it'll be at least two hours, you know how
Blair gets--once he starts talking, he doesn't like to stop,"
Sadryna said, and they all laughed.


The Loft, six months later


It was a little crowded in the loft, with everybody who had been
there for the dinner, celebrating Jacob's first birthday. At this particular
moment, Jacob was sitting with his Uncle Stephen,
who'd managed to get the arm chair before anyone else. Jim and
Blair sat on one couch, with Sadryna and Simon on the other
couch. Naomi and Cathryn sat at the kitchen table, looking at
each other's photograph albums, sharing stories of their
children.


Cathryn and Naomi had met when Naomi had arrived to visit Blair a week
ago, and they had hit it off immediately, discovering they
had many interests in common. In fact, Naomi was staying at
Cathryn's house, not wanting to be a bother to her son and his


lover. Besides, as she had confided to Cathryn, it sometimes got
a little noisy at the loft during the night.


Cathryn had decided to sell her house in Seattle and move to
Cascade, since all three of her children and her grandchild, now
lived there, and she wanted to be close to them.


They were currently looking at Blair's baby pictures, "My, Blair
was a cute little baby, Naomi, wasn't he?"


"Well, I might be a little prejudiced, but I always thought he
was gorgeous!" Naomi replied, laughing.


"I guess all mothers feel that their children are the brightest,
best and most beautiful, and of course, we're right," Cathryn
said with a laugh.


"Aren't we, though?"


Just then, there was a knock on the door, "I'll get it," Jim
said, as he rose off the couch and headed for the door. When he
opened it, he stared at the man standing there, the last person
on earth he'd expected to find at his door.


"Hi, Jimmy, how are you doing? I didn't come at a bad time, did
I?" Joe Ellison smiled and asked his son.

tbc...