I like to thank Becky for her transcripts.

Spoilers for Sleeping Beauty.

This story is a sequel to: Rice Krispies

Blair was singing along with Angie Ferris's song, "Coming Back to Me Now". On the drive home from Rainier, Blair turned on the windshield wipers to battle that annoying rain that wasn't really hard enough for wipers but needed an occasion swipe. He liked Jim's truck, but he thought about getting a smaller car, maybe, a Volvo. Then, someone ran out in front of him and Blair screeched the Expedition to a halt.

"Whoa!" Blair got out of car and walked over to an alleyway where he found a brown haired girl, in a green hospital gown, huddled next to the wall. "Hey. Hey, you okay? You scared me there. You need some help?"

Blair helped the girl into his truck. Jim would know what to do once he got her to the loft. He gave the frightened girl his coat before heading home. The rain was getting worse and he'd be happier once they were both inside.

Jim was just picking up the sandwich when Blair opened the door and came inside. "Honey, I thought you were going to the movies." Jim had an audio book (cassette) of Jack Kerouac collected works. His earphones were in his ears and he looked about ready to tune out the world. The Kerouac Collection was Jim's, not the library's. Jim didn't have very many cassettes of his own, but his collection was growing.

"Yeah, uh, I was, but something happened," Blair said to the girl in the alley. "Come on in. It's okay."

Blair brought the nervous girl inside. Jim stood up and walked over to them. The girl just stood there in the hospital gown and socks with Blair's coat to keep her warm.

"Who's this?" Jim asked. "Your date for the evening?"

"No. Jim, I almost hit her with the truck." Blair explained. "She jumped right out in front of me. She's not talking, she doesn't have any ID, and she looks terrified."

"Judging from the gown, I'd say she's an escapee from the psych ward at Engelman General," said Jim. "I'll make a few calls. See what we can find out here. Chief, keep her off the furniture."

As Jim picked up the phone to call, Blair closed the door and let the girl wander around the room.

"Yeah, this is Jim Ellison, formerly of Cascade Police Department. I was wondering if any of your patients are missing." Jim said over the phone as the girl went over to a shelf, picked up a handmade doll from the shelf and held it to her, petting its hair. "A Caucasian female about 5'5" between, uh, 110-120. Uh, brown hair...well, she's got that green gown on."

Blair said in a soft voice. "You like that? That was made by a tribe in the pacific northwest called the Haida Nation."

"Yeah. All accounted for," said Jim. "All right, thanks." Jim hung up and looked over the girl. "She's not from Engelman."

Blair said, "There's a ton of other hospitals in Cascade, Jim."

"I think we should just take her down to the station and let them sort it out down there," Jim said.

"No, no. That's why I brought her here, man." Blair could see that the girl was shy and scared. "The station'll terrify her. There's too much going on."

"You got a better idea? Come on." Jim went back to his tape and his sandwich.

The girl was still rocking and petting the doll.

Blair put a hand on Jim's shoulder. "Well, uh, why don't we just let her stay here tonight until we figure out what to do with her?"

"Chief, we don't know anything about this girl," Jim explained. "She could be a doper, have outstanding warrants. She might need medication."

"Come on, Jim. What are you talk about?" Blair looked back at the girl to see her lying down on the couch. "Jim, come on, take a look. How dangerous could she be?"

Jim pulled out his earphones and pushed the stop button on the player. "I thought I asked you to keep her off the furniture."

"What am I going to do?" Blair asked putting the afghan on the still nameless girl.

"All right." Jim took his cassette player and ham sandwich in hand. "I'll call Missing Persons." Jim started to walk upstairs. "And, Blair, why don't you lock up the cutlery"

Blair didn't lock up the cutlery. He came upstairs after the girl was sleeping soundly on the couch. With a strange girl downstairs, he wasn't getting any sex tonight. Jim was still listening to his Jack Kerouac tape. Sometimes Blair swore Jim used his blindness to tune out the rest of the world. Jack Kerouac's stories of the road were fun to listen to once in awhile. However, Jim was using earphones and had it at sentinel soft.

Blair cuddled against Jim, not to be ignored and went to sleep. Jim woke Blair up to sunlight shining in through the balcony windows. Jim whispered, "Someone is knocking on the door."

"I'll get it," yawned Blair.

Jim got out of bed and put on his gray bathrobe. "I'll get it. You need your zees."

Blair got up anyway. He was kind of attached to the girl still sleeping on their couch. They had only met her last night and didn't know her name yet, but she was sort of like a lost puppy.

Jim opened the door, slightly, keeping the chain in place. "What do you want? Do you know what hour it is?"

"We're from Somerset Rehabilitation Hospital. We got call from the police. You found one of our patients."

Jim shut the door. "Wait a minute. We're not decent in here."

"What was that for?" asked Blair.

"They don't smell right," explained Jim. "Their pulses are up and they have that nervous sweat smell. One of us should ask to come with her."

Blair said, "Jim, you've been a cop too long. Still I wouldn't mind seeing her settled into the hospital. It would give me some closure."

"Good." Jim opened the door again. "My friend would like to drive with you to the hospital."

One of the men pulled a gun. "Just the girl."

Jim slammed and bolted the door. Blair was thankful for the steel reinforcement. "Get the girl upstairs. They aren't from the hospital. Then call for backup."

The steel door wouldn't keep them out for long. Jim got his gun from his locked drawer and loaded it. He could see or sense motion, as long as his target was moving he could get a lock on it, like those horses going around the ring. All he knew that, after his camping trip, he could see and hear the traffic and he felt much safer crossing the street. He had an awareness of moving objects, except for that unexpected orange Blair threw at him. With the orange, he hadn't trained his new ability yet and the blur of orange hadn't meant anything to him until it hit him in the chest.

The men at the door left before Simon arrived with Dr. Tarloff. A few other police personnel were milling around the loft. The doctor checked over the girl. "Thank you, Stacey." Dr. Tarloff got up from the sofa to talk to the others. "Well, other than a few scrapes and bruises I'd say she's fine, given her condition."

"What is her condition?" asked Jim.

The doctor, Simon, and Jim stepped away from the couch to talk while Blair stayed with Stacey.

"When she was 12 years old, Stacey was in a car wreck with her parents," Tarloff said in a soft voice. "They were killed. She's spent the last eight years in a coma."

"Eight years?" said Simon.

"She finally woke up a month ago," the doctor explained. "She's undergone intensive physical therapy to overcome the effects of such a long coma. She's doing fairly well. Psychologically, it's another story. She won't talk, she has bad dreams and she gets frightened easily. Physically, she's young woman."

Blair picked up the Haidu doll to give to Stacey.

The doctor went on to say, "Emotionally, Stacey's a 12-year-old girl. I'd like to get her back to the hospital as soon as possible."

"No, that's out of the question, doctor," said Simon. "We still don't know who those two men were. Until we do, I want her under 24-hour protection."

Jim said, "You arrange for a safe house."

"Actually, it's probably best if she stays here," said Simon. "The less exposure, the better. How about it, doctor?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I suppose a few days will be all right," said the doctor. "I'll arrange for a physical therapist to work with her here."

"Great," said Simon. "Then it's all settled. I'll set it up."

"Hold on," said Jim. "Those men know where she is and I'm blind and Blair is Blair."

"We'll have backup downstairs and 24-hour surveillance," said Simon.

"You can't do this to me," said Jim.

"It's settled," said Simon.

"No, it isn't. I don't work for you anymore."

Blair put a hand on Jim's shoulder. "Stacey likes us. It will work out."

Jim threw his hands up in the air and headed toward the stairs. "I'll be listening to Kerouac or reading Interview. Blair, you want her. She's yours."

Blair yelled, "Stacy isn't a puppy dog."

"You bring her home like some stray." Jim walked upstairs. If Simon wanted to talk to anyone, he would have to talk to Blair. Jim had it. He put the next cassette in the series of recordings into the player, put his earphones on and hit the play button.

After calling some people, Simon went upstairs and gave Jim the address of the Neumann's old house. Jim turned off his tape, removed his earphones then read the ballpoint pen imprint with his fingers. Simon said, "That's freaky."

"You gave me the address to read," said Jim. "I read with my fingers. Notice the Braille edition of Reader's Digest on the kitchen counter."

"Why are you so hostile?" asked Simon.

"Ever since you watched me follow Little Stogie around the racetrack, you've acted like I'm faking being blind. I wish I was."

Simon put a hand on Jim's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Jim pushed Simon's hand away. "Fuck you. I can't watch Stacey. I can't watch anyone. You don't get it."

Blair walked up the stairs. "Self-pity isn't your style."

Simon said, "Jim, I can't know what you are going through, but could you take Stacey to her parents' house and see if it brings back any memories? You used to be a darn good cop."

Jim turned his head away from Simon. "Yeah, Cop of the Year."

Stacey rested against Jim on the way over to the Neumann house. The child, who spent the last eight years in a coma, seemed worried about Jim. Her late parents must have raised her right to make her such an emphatic person. Blair couldn't deal with Jim's sulking right now. However, Blair hated, letting a mere child give Jim emotional support, a child that needed more emotional support than Jim, while Blair drove the Expedition.

Blair, Jim and Stacey pulled up outside a house in a middle class suburban neighborhood. It was outside of Cascade jurisdiction, but that didn't matter Jim wasn't a cop anymore. He told Simon that very loudly less than an hour ago. Jim and Blair were just two people helping Stacey put together her past.

Jim walked into the house with Stacey clinging to his arm and asked, "Do you know where we are, Stacey?"

Stacey let go of Jim and walked a bit further into the house then went back to Jim to pull him inside.

"She seems lost." Jim put an arm around the child.

"She is, man," said Blair. "She went to sleep as a child. She woke up as an adult. She missed critical years of her life. All sorts of cultural indoctrinations, rites of passage. I can't imagine what she's going through, you know?"

Stacey went up the stairs; Jim and Blair followed. Stacey, after entering a small bedroom, went over to the window.

Jim went over to Stacey but didn't touch her. "This must have been her room."

"Yeah." Blair sighed. Jim needed someone to care for to get him over his self-pity. Stacey was just what the doctor ordered. So that was what Simon was up to. That devious man. Blair wished he had thought of it.

Stacey looked out the window to see two girls playing on the lawn with Barbie dolls. When she ran out of the bedroom. Blair took Jim's hand then followed. Stacey didn't approach the girls but sat a few feet away from them and picked up a Barbie. The two girls looked at her before whispering to each other.

Blair watched the interaction from a safe distance.

The first girl said, "You're too old to play with Barbies. Don't you think she's a little old to do this?"

"Yeah, she's weird," said the second girl.

"She's really weird," replied the first. Those girls needed to learn some manners. The first girl stood up and went over to Stacey, holding out her hand. "Can I have my doll, please? We have to go."

Stacey gave the girl the doll back. The two girls picked up their stuff and left. An ice cream truck came down the street. Stacey looked at it, then started walking toward the truck as it stopped. The music filled the air bringing back childhood memories.

Stacey ran to Blair while they watched the kids around the ice cream truck. "Can I have some ice cream?"

Blair stared at her a second. She finally spoke.

"Please?" Stacy begged with her eyes.

Blair dug in his pockets. "Oh, yeah. Of course." He pulled out a rumpled bill and gave it to her. "Here."

Stacey ran over to the ice cream truck. Blair, blinking a few times, watched her go and shook his head in amazement. Jim came back over to Blair.

"The man watching Stacey ran away," said Jim. "He'll be back."

"She talked," said Blair.

After the ice cream, they went to the hospital to tell Dr. Tarloff that Stacey could talk or let Stacey tell him. Either way, Blair was pretty excited. On the ride to the hospital, Stacey was still on Jim's arm. Blair hoped she wasn't developing a crush on Jim.

Dr. Tarloff examined Stacey then talked to her as Blair watched. "Do you remember the car accident?" Tarloff asked.

"Um, not really," said Stacey. "It's all so confused."

The doctor asked, "What about your mother, your father?"

Stacey looked deep in thought. "Well, I remember Mom had brown hair."

"Mm-hmm," said the doctor. Blair couldn't help but feel the doctor was concerned about more than his patient's health. Then again, Blair had probably been hanging around cops too long.

"And Dad, I can't remember. Why can't I remember them?" Stacey cried.

Tarloff patted her hand. "It's okay." Tarloff talked to Stacey a little longer before a therapist took over her care. He walked over to Blair and Jim. "Well, after her coma, it's not surprising that she'd suffer from partial amnesia, but at least she's talking to us."

Blair said, "So is this one of those wait-and-see situations?"

"I'm afraid so," sighed Tarloff.

After Stacey was done her therapy, a woman appeared behind Stacey and Blair. "Stacey, Stacey Neumann?"

Blair grabbed Stacey and hustled her away from the newspaper reporter.

"I'm Kerri Sullivan from the Cascade Sun," said the reporter. "Can I speak to you for just a moment?"

"That won't be possible," said Blair. "Miss Neumann's in protective custody."

"And you are?" said Sullivan.

"Blair Sandburg, advisor to Major Crimes," Blair showed the lady (He used the word loosely.) his ID. "Special liaison to Captain Simon Banks." That sounded official.

"Come on, Mr. Sandburg. She just woke up from an eight-year coma," said Sullivan.

When the elevator arrived, Jim and Blair hurried Stacey in.

Sullivan tried to follow them. "It's like a real sleeping beauty story. I just want to know a few things. It's not gonna take very long."

"I'm sorry," said Jim. "This elevator's full."

Sullivan said with pen in hand. "You have no right."

Elevator doors closed in her face.

After noticing the time, Blair put Jim's food in a Tupperware container. The gym closed at seven, so where was he until nine? Finally, at nine-thirty, Jim came into the loft with two dress boxes. Stacey opened a dress box and pulled out a long flowered sundress.

"Oh! It's beautiful!" Stacey gushed. "How did you know I'd like it?" She held dress up to herself as she danced over to Jim.

"Uh, a lucky guess," Jim said.

Blair sat on the couch. "Jim Ellison in a dress shop. I would have loved to have seen that. Oh, to be a fly on the wall."

"Oh, come on, I was married once, you know? I mean." Jim blushed.

Stacey put her arms around her neck and hugged Jim while Blair just watched. Stacey released Jim and stepped back.

"Thank you," said Stacey.

Jim smiled. "You're welcome."

"I'm going to go try these on." Stacey gathered up the dress boxes.

Jim sat on the sofa with Blair. "Great." Jim took off his shoes and put his socking feet on the coffee table.

Blair sighed as Stacey went into Blair's home office, which also became the guest bedroom. Blair had no problem barging in when his mother was using it, but a girl like Stacey needed privacy.

"All right, Chief," said Jim. "You got anything to say, just come out with it."

"I don't have anything to say. I think she said it all." Blair also took off his shoes. The phone rang and Blair answered it. "Hello? Yeah. Hey, Simon. How you doing? Hang on a second."

Blair got up and got a pen and pad from the kitchen since his office was a being used as a girl's bedroom. After he had a pen in hand, he took the phone. "Simon, I'll ready."

"The morgue finally dug out those fingerprints on Stacey's parents," Simon explained. "The FBI has positively ID'd them as Jack and Nora Strassman of Tacoma. They were researchers in the physics department at Pacific Tech University and nine years ago, for no apparent reason, they vanished."

"All right." Blair wrote down Pacific Tech University, Jack and Nora Strassman and Tacoma. "We'll check it out." Now all Blair had to do was get Stacey out of his room so he could use the computer or beg at the curtain for his laptop. Not that she would know what one was, they didn't have that many laptops if any eight years ago.

The next morning, Blair looked up the address for Pacific Tech University while Jim was at work. Blair drove Stacey to the University. Blair parked the truck in faculty parking. His sticker was for Rainier. Still he could talk his way out of a parking ticket. Stacey ran up to a statue of a bird.

I remember this." Stacey stumbled over the words. "And I remember my mom. She was sitting right there, and she was wearing a white sweater!"

"Well, good, good. Yeah." Blair hugged her.

"I remembered I was here," said Stacey.

Blair spoke to Martin Van Zandt while Stacey feed the ducks at the duck pond. He got the feeling Van Zandt was hiding something. The same Foundation that's paying Stacey's hospital bills also funded her parents' research. Blair went back to check on Stacey, pulled out his phone and dialed. "I need the number for Chadway Foundation, please."

After he got off the phone, he said, "Stacey, let's go out for lunch. By the time we get home, Jim will be done work. He can help us with this Chadway puzzle. He used to do secret stuff for the government."

"Cool," said Stacey.

"Mind you, I know nothing about it," said Blair. "Jim said, if he told me, he would have to kill me."

"He wouldn't kill you," Stacy said, fastening her seatbelt. "He loves you."

"Yeah, but he won't tell me either. Honestly, I feel safer not knowing those kind of things. I, for one, don't want to know how truly fucked up our government is."

Blair met Jim at Harv's Gym. Stacey ran over to Jim and hugged him. Harv asked, "Who's the chick?"

"She's our foster child," explained Jim. "Her parents died and my former captain asked us to watch her."

Blair took Stacey over to where the Powerbars and other high-energy foods were displayed. "You take one," Blair whispered.

"I'll watch her," said Harv.

"No, you won't. Mentally, she's twelve years old." Jim walked over to Stacey and Blair. "Harv, I'm signing out for the day and keep your dirty thoughts to yourself."

After stopping for sandwiches, Blair, Jim and Stacey pulled up outside a fenced-in warehouse. The sun was starting to set. Jim and Blair got out and walked up to the fence while Stacey stayed from inside the truck.

"So this is the Chadway Foundation." Jim started to walk around the building.

"What kind of foundation operates out of a warehouse, man? It doesn't even look like they use it anymore." Blair said, before seeing the security camera. "Why would a vacant warehouse need a security system and a high-tech surveillance camera?"

"Good question," said Jim, starting to climb the fence.

"Hey!" Blair yelled. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I was going to see if anybody's home." Jim climbed over fence and barbed wire to get inside. Inside, Jim pulled out his wallet and went up to the doorway of the building. He ran an ATM card through the card scanner and then punched random number buttons on the keypad by the door. "This ought to get their attention."

Lots of alarms went off.

"Jackpot," Jim shouted.

A black van screeched up on the street, parking just a bit away from the Ford Expedition. Several men with big guns poured out and headed for Blair.

"Let's go!" said one of the men. "Put your hands where we can see them! I got him, I got him!"

Jim moved toward the fence to go back over, but the warehouse door opened and another man with a gun came out and pulled him away.

"Oh, easy," said Jim. "Do you always pick on unarmed visually impaired people?"

"Relax, big guy." Blair said to the man grabbing him. Then a lot of people were bigger than him. "I'm unarmed, too. Relax."

Men outside pulled Stacey out of the Ford truck while Sullivan came out of the building.

"We know who you are: Mr. Ellison, Mr. Sandburg."

Blair yelled, "Take it easy on her!"

"What are you doing here?" asked Sullivan. One thing for sure, she wasn't a news reporter.

"Well, I could ask you the same question," said Jim. "And while you're at it, why don't you tell me who you really are?"

"Military intelligence and you just broke into a high-security government facility, Mr. Ellison. A very serious offense, so unless I get some fast answers, you're going to jail."

"If a blind man can break into your high-security government facility with a ATM card, it isn't very secure," said Jim.

"So you're a comedian, too," said Sullivan.

Sullivan brought Jim, Blair and Stacey inside the warehouse. She seated them in chairs, several feet apart. Sullivan stood in front of them. Armed men were scattered around the edges of the room.

"Come on, Sullivan." Jim said, "It's getting a little old. We've been going over this for a couple of hours now. None of us know anything."

"You know about Jack and Nora Strassman, about Pacific Tech, the Chadway Foundation," stammered the woman.

"But we can't make sense of any of it," said Blair.

Sullivan smiled at the girl. "Do you want to go to prison, Stacey?"

"No," came the frightened voice.

Sullivan badgered her, "Then tell me what your parents told you."

"I can't remember anything." Stacey looked on the verge of tears. "I've tried, but I can't."

"Hey, Sullivan, we might be able to help you out if you tell us what's going on here. Yeah, this is a voluntary Q&A and I've had enough. You have no right to hold us here." Jim stood up.

One of the men came over to stand next to Jim.

"Sit down. I said sit down!" Sullivan yelled.

Man put out an arm to shove Jim back in his chair. Jim grabbed the man's arm and pulled it behind him, getting his gun in the process. Jim held the gun to the man's head as the other men moved in.

Jim smiled. "Military training."

"Everybody hold your fire." Sullivan yelled.

Simon marched in with a few other officers. "Cascade Police! Any of these people make a threatening move, shoot them! I'm Captain Simon Banks. These are my people."

Sullivan said, "This is federal property."

"I don't see any signs here," said Simon. "Did you, Jim?"

"No, sir," said Jim.

Blair smiled. Jim couldn't read a sign unless it had raised printed and he was able to touch it, but the point was well taken.

"Unless I see a federal warrant in two seconds, these people are coming with me." Simon paused. "That's what I thought. Let's go."

Jim helped Stacey up. "You all right?" Then Jim said to Blair. "Come on."

Simon said, "I don't know who you people are or what you're up to, but I'm going to find out."

Jim, Blair and Stacy exited the warehouse with Simon and the other police officers watching their back. Jim said, "Nice to see you, sir. How did you find us?"

Simon said, "I heard you were going to the Chadway Foundation."

"You were bluffing back there, Simon?" Jim said.

Simon said, "You know me. I love to play poker."

The next day, Jim bought up a bunch of boxes a box one at a time and placed them all over the living table.

"Hey, what's all this?" asked Blair. He couldn't have taken all this stuff across town by bus. And Jim wouldn't be smiling and whistling if he had a taxi, running a meter.

"While Stacey was in the hospital, her parents' things were put in storage," explained Jim. "I asked Rafe and Brown to bring couple of things over here. I thought it might help her memory. Why don't you help her with one of the boxes, Chief?"

"Yeah," Blair helped Stacey move a box onto the floor. "There."

Stacey sat on the floor in front of the box. Blair sat next to her. Jim came over and sat on a low footstool on her other side. Stacey opened the box and pulled out the stuffed animal. Stacey laughed. "It's Bowser."

Blair laughed with her and did a little "aroor" noise. Then he pulled out a picture album. "What's this? We've got some picture here?" He opened the album. "Yeah."

They looked through the album.

"What a cute baby," Blair said. "Is that your mom? She's pretty. You look a lot like her." Blair thumbed through more pages. "Hey, look, there she is at the university with the white sweater you were talking about. Is that it?" Blair looked at Jim. "They look like a happy family."

Stacey dropped the album back in the box and started to cry. She jumped up, holding onto Bowser, and ran into Blair's bedroom. Jim and Blair stood and watched her go.

"Oh, man," said Blair.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" said Jim

"Jim, I think right about now, you're the one she's closest to," said Blair.

"Me?" said Jim, "I've been going to work everyday. You are the one who is with her twenty-four/seven."

"Yeah. Last night, when she went to sleep, I, uh, I found this on the floor." Blair showed Jim a pink heart valentine.

Jim touched it. "It's a heart with a heart cut out of the middle. I don't feel any writing on it."

"Magic marker," said Blair. "It doesn't leave an imprint. It says 'Stacey loves Jim.'"

Jim smirked. "This is some kind of schoolgirl crush. Come on. I mean, emotionally, she's a kid, remember?"

"When you're 12 years old, your feelings, they may be immature, but they're still real."

Walking across the room, Jim touched the outline of the inner heart. He opened the curtains of Blair's old bedroom. "Stacey, can I come in?" He walked a few steps inside. "I know this is all very difficult for you, Stacey."

Stacey was curled up on one end of the bed, hugging Bowser. "Sometimes I wish I was still asleep. I have all these feelings. I get mixed up."

"You've been through a lot." Jim sat on the futon. "It's going to get better. Things will change."

"But maybe I don't want things to change," Stacey declared. "Maybe if things change too much, you won't be around anymore."

Jim pushed her long hair aside with his fingers. "I'm not going anywhere. We'll always be able to be friends and that's not going to change."

"What if I want you to be more than just my friend?"

"Stacey, so much has happened to you. I think your emotions are a little confused right now." Jim felt his face grow warm.

"You think I'm just a child? Some little girl?"

"No, no, not at all. I just think you have some time to make up and you just need to be a little bit more patient with yourself." Jim held her close to him.

"I don't want to be patient. It's too hard and it takes too long."

"You know, these feelings that you have for me right now. They aren't what they seem to be."

"You don't know what I think or how I feel."

"No, I wouldn't." Jim continued to hold her. "You know that Blair and I live together like your mother and father."

The girl moved away from Jim. "Oh. Blair takes care of me like Mom and you go off to work like Dad."

"Blair is a teacher," Jim said. "He doesn't have class until summer school starts."

"I didn't mean anything."

"Blair is the love of my life." Jim put his fingertips on Stacey's face. "You're a very pretty girl. You will find a boy that doesn't have someone else."

Stacey pushed his hand away. "You think I'm an idiot."

"I don't think that," Jim said. "Let's help Blair cook. See that he doesn't put too many healthy things in the stew."

Stacey laughed. She helped Jim and Blair with the beef stew. While Jim was cutting the potatoes in bite size chunks (Smaller chunks quicker cooking time.), Stacey grabbed the salt, pepper, and oregano from the cabinet. "You can read this little print."

Jim took her hand and placed it over the bottle of seasoning. He pressed one of her fingers over the plastic label. "You feel that."

"There's bumps," said Stacey.

"Yeah, and if you felt them long enough you would be able to distinguish them. You didn't write that valentine for me. You wrote it for Stacey. Magic marker doesn't leave bumps." Jim returned to cutting the potatoes.

"You bought me clothes."

"I can distinguish a red dress from a blue dress. I can also feel the fabric. You want someone who can read your valentines. I'm not that great of catch."

"It doesn't matter to Blair to that you can't see well."

"It doesn't matter to me that Blair can get lost going across the street. That's what love is about. Your parents ran away from Chadway because they had similar dreams. You will find someone like that."

"You think so."

"I know so." Jim put the potatoes in the pan with the meat Blair was browning. "Stacey, get me some carrots from the fridge."

The following afternoon, Martin Van Zandt knocked on the door while Blair was making Stacey lunch. Blair checked the door. "Dr. Van Zandt, we need to talk some more. Please, come in."

Martin sat on their sofa. "Jack and Nora Strassman weren't just two of the best scientists I've ever known. They were also the most moral. Their passion was to develop a cheap, pollution-free energy source. They were on the verge of breakthrough. They needed money, so I got them some."

"From the Chadway Foundation," said Blair.

"Yes," said the nervous man.

Blair didn't need Jim's senses to know Martin was nervous. "Which is a front for the military."

"Well, they use it to channel funds when they want to keep a low profile. The military wanted to use their research for weapons applications. I, uh, didn't tell that to the Strassmans." Martin popped a mint into his mouth.

"And when they found out?" Blair needed to keep him here until Jim got home.

"They were peace activists. They refused to continue and the military threatened to take their project away."

"Was Kerri Sullivan involved?"

"You've met her?"

"Yeah. She doesn't have a sense of humor." Blair could tell that Martin didn't have one either. He was here because he wanted something. Blair wanted something, too, the truth.

"Then you know how difficult she can be. Somehow she got the notion that the Strassmans wanted to sell their ideas to a foreign government. She confronted them. They disappeared, along with their work."

Blair got up to check on Stacey. "We can continue talking in a second. Stacey, your toast is done. We can talk as I stir the mayonnaise into the tuna salad."

Martin smiled at Stacey as she left the little bedroom. "Hello, Stacey. I was a very good friend of your parents at the university. Don't you remember me?"

Stacey said, "I don't remember a lot of things."

Martin took one of the boxes and sat on it in front of Stacey. "You will."

Blair put a tuna fish sandwich on a plate on the coffee table. "Stacey, you need to eat. Dr. Van Zandt, do you want a sandwich? I always make too much."

"I didn't come here to eat," Martin said.

Stacey squeezed Bowser. "Why did you come me here?"

Blair sat by Martin. Lunch could wait. "Well, I want an answer, too. Do you want some coffee?"

"No, I don't want coffee or a sandwich." Martin popped another mint in his mouth. "I can here because I want to help. The government thinks that your parents were traitors."

Stacey clutched her teddy. "But they weren't."

"I know. But to prove it, you need to remember where they hid their research."

"I've tried, but I can't." Tears were forming in Stacey's eyes.

"You're upsetting her." Blair said, trying to keep his cool. "Stacey, you eat your sandwich in your room. I'll talk to Dr. Van Zandt."

Blair took the tuna sandwich to his former bedroom while Stacey clung to her teddy bear. This was Stacey's room from now on. He would move the rest of his things upstairs. A teenager girl needed a room of her own. He could hear Van Zandt going through the boxes. He sat the sandwich on the bed near Stacey. "You need to eat."

Stacey picked up the sandwich. "I'm eating."

"Good," said Blair. "What are you looking for? All those papers have been looked at thousands of times."

Martin's face got bright when he said, "Well, picture an energy source so wonderful that it could make nuclear arms obsolete. I think any government on earth would want that." A joyful gleam in someone's eyes wasn't enough to convict them of a double murder that took place eight years ago.

"But the Strassmans could just have destroyed their files." Blair would never destroy his files, but he wasn't the Strassmans.

"No. It was the discovery of a lifetime. Knowing Jack and Nora, they probably hid it somewhere hoping to retrieve it when the time was right."

"Jim will be home soon." Two hours wasn't that soon but Blair didn't need to tell Martin that. "He may know more. Upsetting a little girl does nothing." Blair had a loaded gun in the kitchen and knew that Rafe and Henri were downstairs guarding the loft.

Martin went over to the bedroom. Blair needed to act now. Stacey wasn't getting kidnapped out his own house. He took the gun from where Jim left it in the kitchen.

"Stay away from Stacey," said Blair. "Stacey, call the police."

Stacey hit the auto-dial for the cops downstairs. "A bad man is in the loft. Blair needs help."

Martin turned around. "You better be prepared to use that."

"Sit down," said Blair. He shot at fire people in a drug-induced haze. He could shoot at a real person. He once killed a man with a vending machine. Blair aimed the gun at Martin. "Stacey, check him for weapons while I cover him."

Stacey felt his shoulders then worked her way down.

"Check his waist and his backside. Jim used to keep a gun near his butt crack."

Martin moved his hand.

"No, you don't. You move it. I shot it off." Blair tried to remember what people with guns had said to him over the last year. What were the things that worked and the things that didn't? Pointing the gun seemed to be the important part.

Martin put hands up.

"Good boy." Blair pointed the gun at Martin's face. "Stand up. Stacey needs to pad you down."

Martin stood up slowly.

"You know better than arguing with a nervous man with a gun. It could go off by mistake."

"I don't have a weapon," said Martin.

"I'm the one with the gun," Blair said.

"Yes, you are," said Martin.

Stacey felt Martin's backside. She blushed as she felt his the whole way around his waistline.

The gun was weighing in Blair's hands. "Now his legs."

Stacey felt something in his pants leg. "He has a gun."

"Stacey, handle the gun with his jacket. You don't want to get your fingerprints on the weapon. And Martin, don't try anything. My gun is still pointed at your face."

Rafe and Henri were knocking at the door while Stacey was taking the gun.

"Stacey, put the gun on the kitchen table and be careful not to get any fingerprints on it." Blair heard the gun drop onto the kitchen table. "Stacey, now get the door. I can't hold this gun on Martin forever."

Henri and Rafe both had their guns ready when they entered the loft. Blair dropped his. "Henri, Rafe, you took long enough." Then Blair took a deep breath and ran into the bathroom to throw-up.

After Jim came home from work, he put on his apron and made homemade chicken soup for Blair. Having Stacy in the house, they had all the vegetables needed for the whole chicken in the pot type. Jim cut up celery, carrots, parsnips and onions.

Jim yelled to Blair still recovering on the sofa. "I'm making Jewish penicillin."

Blair just groaned.

After the water came to a boil, Jim put a lid on the pot and lowered the heat. Jim sat by Blair and put Blair's head on his lap. "In two hours, we'll have soup."

"You need to put salt and poultry seasoning in it or it tastes like shit," said Blair.

Jim put Blair's head had back on the sofa then stood. "Seasoning. I knew I forgot something." Jim went back in the kitchen. He went through the seasoning rank and got salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Then he seasoned the soup. Now it would be like Naomi made.

Jim put on the latest Angie Ferris CD, the one Blair played several times a day. He walked over to the sofa and tapped on Blair's shoulder. "May I have this dance?"

"You look awful cute in your apron." Blair giggled.

Jim went back in the kitchen and removed his apron. Then he restarted the song. "Now."

Blair giggled, again.

"Well, do you want to dance?" Jim asked.

"Sure," said Blair.

Jim took Blair's hand and helped him from the sofa. Jim allowed Blair to rest in his arms and they swayed to the music. Halfway through the song he heard Stacey's footsteps as she entered the room. Jim took his hand off of Blair's butt and put it a bit higher. He didn't want to give an innocent little girl any ideas.

Blair asked, "Why do you always lead?"

"Because I'm taller than you."

"Oh." Blair rested his head on Jim's chest and shoulder.

"If you want to dip me, I say go for it, but wait until your stomach feels a bit better." Jim held Blair close, feeling his heartbeat echo his and the backbeat of the music.

After the song was over, Stacey said, "Can you teach me to dance?"

Jim gestured toward his roommate. "Blair?"

"I can teach you," said Blair. "Once you start school, you'll go to plenty of dances."

"Are there dances at your school?" asked Stacey.

"One or twice a month," said Blair. "Different clubs have them. Girl and boys drink punch, look at each other and then you ask someone if they want to dance."

"Doesn't a boy have to ask a girl?" Stacey giggled.

"Not always," explained Blair. "Sometimes a girl asks a boy or a boy asks a girl. Sometimes two girls will dance together. There are always more girls at dances than boys."

Blair took Stacey's hand as Jim walked back to the kitchen to check the soup.

The next day Blair took Stacey to the police station. "Rhonda, I need to see Captain Banks about some unfinished business."

Rhonda phoned Simon. "He'll see you now."

Stacey stayed outside. "Good luck."

Simon growled. "The Strassmans' killer is awaiting trail. What do you want now?"

"We have a little matter to settle." Blair put his itemized bill on Simon's desk.

"What is this?" Simon asked.

"It's five dollars an hour for three days of twenty-four hours surveillance." Blair took out more papers. "These are the bills for gas to Pacific Tech, the Strassmans' house and Chadway. I also included bills for food for at restaurants. I circled Stacey's portion. It's all itemized on the invoice."

Simon chuckled. "You expect payment."

"I find five dollars an hour to be reasonable. Security at a safe house would be far more expensive. I kept Stacey with me at all times. I expect payment within a reasonable period of time or I will never work for you, again."

Simon crumpled the invoice.

"I gave one to Vera at personnel. I also have copies at home and Rainier." Blair took another copy from his backpack. "I expect payment within two business weeks. Pleasure doing business with you."

Simon looked at the bill and pointed at an item. "What's this?"

"The price per a gallon for gallons used," said Blair. "The Ford Expedition isn't known for gas mileage."

"Sandburg, I never knew you were this pedantic."

"Sir, the next time we agree on contracting fee before services rendered. Good day."

Simon was still looking over the invoice when Blair left the office. Simon would never take advantage of his good nature, again.

Jim came down the stairs from upper bedroom.

"Friend of mine at the federal building says Sullivan's bosses were so pissed at her actions that she's been relieved of duty and scheduled for a review," Simon explained. "By the time they're through the only assignment she'll pull is mopping the director's office.

Jim smiled. "Oh, life can be so cruel." Jim picked up a roll of plastic, no film like a negative, that fell out of Stacey's bear while she was packing and put it in the kitchen drawer with the pens, pencils and rubber bands. He wondered what a roll of film was doing in a teddy bear.

Blair and Stacey came out of Blair's bedroom with suitcases. Blair said, "All right, guys. We're all ready to go to the airport."

Jim walked over to Stacey and hugged her. "We're going to miss you around here."

"Hey, Blair, you know, there's some construction over on Fifth," muttered Simon. "You might want to check out this."

"Oh, right." Blair said. Simon did pay the full amount on the invoice. What's more the check cleared. Cascade wasn't bankrupt after all. Simon and Blair walked away, giving Jim and Stacey some privacy.

"Blair tells me that this school you're going to in Portland has a great program." Jim said. "They're going to help you catch up."

"I hope so. Well, you know, I look in the mirror and I see this grown-up person. Inside, I still feel small. Actually, I'm a little scared."

"I feel that way a lot myself." Jim chuckled. He couldn't read street signs and the people on the street were a blur of color, smell and noise. He had to rely on the kindness of strangers more than he liked and he got scared at times. "But if you ever feel that way, feel free to call anytime, okay?"

Stacey hugged Jim. "Thank you for everything. You helped me get back my life."

"Uh, guys, we really got to go." Blair took one of Stacey's suitcases.

Jim waved good-bye to Stacey and Blair. "Take care of yourself. See you soon. Honey, drive safe."

"Of course," said Blair. "We'll see you later."

"Talk to you," said Jim.

"Simon, I look forward to working for you, again," said Blair.

Jim shut the door after Blair and Stacey had left. Simon walked over to Jim. "Ever wish you could just sleep through those bad periods of your life, wake up and it's all over?"

"Me? No. Never." Jim just repressed the bad times.

Simon laughed. "Come on, buddy. I'll buy you a cup of coffee."

"Better make it a double. If I fall asleep now, I don't know when I'll wake up."

Simon laughed as Jim reopened the door and they exited the loft.

"I don't think I'd make a very good sleeping beauty." Jim closed and locked the door. Jim unfolded his cane.

"You still need that thing."

"It tells other people I'm blind." Jim walked ahead of Simon. "Simon, do I have to explain about eye charts and big 'E's? I didn't think so." 2

End Stacey by Athena: athena@fateordestiny.com

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