Meanwhile, at the loft

Blair opened the refrigerator door and reached for a bottle of water. Jim had been gone for over two hours. He was interpreting the long period as a good thing. Blair figured, as he opened the bottle and started to drink, if the discussion with William Ellison had gone badly, Jim would have been home already. On the other hand, Blair's insatiable curiosity had been eating away at him since the moment Jim had remembered his Aunt Faith's attack.

He was almost done with the bottle when he was startled by a loud knock at the door. Throwing the empty bottle into the trash on his way, he looked through the peephole. He was surprised to see Grace Ellison standing in the hallway.

Blair almost decided not to open the door, but it had been several months since they had seen Grace. His curiosity overruled his disgust at her previous behavior and he opened the door. The woman smiled at him and offered her hand. "You must be Blair Sandburg."

Blair ignored the hand. "Hello, Grace. I'll only let you in if you promise not to break anything this time. Your little tantrum the last time you were here cost your son a fortune." Blair stood firm, blocking the door as he awaited her response.

"But I've never..." The woman's eyes opened wide, as if she was surprised by the accusation.

"Cut the crap, Grace," Blair replied in exasperation. "Surely you're not old enough for senility to have set in. You remember last October? Throwing that doorknob through the glass door, just before making your dramatic exit?"

Grace Ellison raised her hand to her mouth and started shaking. "Oh my god, she's been here since last October. But I thought... I had no idea... I can't believe she was so bold. What has she done to my boys, to Jimmy and Stevie?"

Blair studied the woman standing in front of him carefully. He was pretty sure the woman wasn't acting. In fact, he suddenly had a small inkling of just who had been visiting the Ellison family pretending to be Grace Ellison. He immediately changed to a much politer tone. "Ms. Ellison, why don't you come in and sit down."

"Mr. Sandburg, this is very complicated to explain, but I am the real Grace Ellison. The woman who was here before, impersonating me, is..."

"Is your twin sister Faith," Blair finished for her. "We've known for a few months now that you have a twin sister. We found a picture of the two of you together. It was quite a shock for Jim."

Grace sighed deeply. She had wanted to explain herself about her sister. "I'm sure. After he was hurt, he didn't remember his aunt, blocked his memory of her completely. The doctor thought it was best he not be forced to remember. I had no idea that she had contacted you already." Grace took a handkerchief from her purse and wiped her eyes.

"Can I get you something to drink, Ms. Ellison?"

"If you've got any tea, I'd love a cup, and you may call me Grace. I understand you have been a very good friend to my son over the years. I am very grateful to you for that."

Blair blushed at the compliment. "Please, call me Blair, and I can manage to make a nice cup of chamomile tea for us."

Blair filled the teakettle and placed it upon the burner. He surreptitiously watched as Grace Ellison moved around the room, looking at the pictures and artifacts scattered about the loft. Grace paused and stared at one picture in particular. It had been taken the night of the bachelor auction and showed Jim and Steven, arm in arm, smiling happily at the camera.

His attention was returned to his task as the teakettle whistled. Pouring two cups of the calming tea, he carried them into the living room. "If you'd like, I'll have a copy made of that picture for you," he said, gesturing towards the photograph she was holding.

Grace set the picture down. "I'd like that very much. I haven't been able to keep close tabs on my boys. It was much too dangerous for them. I had to keep my distance from them in order to keep them safe. If I had known Faith had already been here... known she had contacted my son, I would have come sooner."

"Why don't you come sit down and tell me all about it?" Blair gestured to the seat next to him at the table.

Grace smiled as she crossed the room to sit down at the table where Blair had set the cups.

"I'm not sure where to start." Grace played with the cup in front of her for a moment.

"Start at the beginning. Tell me why you came here now, after all these years," Blair proposed.

"Faith found out about Jimmy and Stevie. There was no reason to stay away any longer. I did stop by a few months ago, but you weren't here. Never mind, I'll explain all that later. Please, it's been so long. Would you tell me all you can about my children? I've waited years to see them again, to be able to know them. Hopefully, to hold them and explain why I had to leave."

Blair saw the anguish and pain in Grace's blue eyes, eyes so much like those of her elder son.

"I propose a deal, a story for a story. I'll tell you what I can about both your sons' activities the last few years, and you'll tell me about why you had to leave them to keep them safe."

"Sounds fair. It'll be nice to tell the story to someone who just might understand my decision. Who shall go first?" Grace asked after sipping a mouthful of tea.

"You should, since it was my brilliant idea," Blair answered, grinning from ear to ear.

"A story... hmmm... it's been a long time since I've told any stories. They're all supposed to start with 'Once upon a time', right?"

"Fairy tales are supposed to start that way. I think it's an unwritten rule, but something tells me your story is not in the same category as a fairy tale."

Grace was wringing her hands. She sighed deeply. "You're right. Fairy tales have happy endings. This story doesn't have one of those."

Blair patted her hands, trying to calm her. "Seems to me the story isn't over yet, Grace. You still have a chance at a happy ending here," he said comfortingly.

She smiled sadly and nodded. "You could be right. Okay, once upon a time, there were two sisters, twin sisters actually. Though they were fraternal twins, upon first glance most people often mistook them for identical twins. The two girls were very close. They relied on each other for support and love because their parents were strict, demanding, and cold. Their names were Faith and Grace. Faith was the older sister, by a good three and a half minutes, and she took her role of protector to the younger sister quite seriously."

"Sounds like a genetic trait. Jim is the same way," Blair commented.

"I suppose that's possible. Jimmy was always very protective of Stevie," Grace said with a smile before continuing her story. "Ever since they were little girls, they knew that Faith was different from other children. She could see and hear much better then everyone else. In fact, all of her senses were stronger than normal."

"Faith is a full Sentinel? All five of her senses are heightened?" Blair asked excitedly.

Grace nodded hesitantly.

"After reading Jake's journals, I suspected she had several heightened senses, but I wasn't sure if it was all of them," Blair explained.

"We didn't know what to call it back then, but yes, Faith and Jimmy have the same family curse."

"It's not a curse," Blair corrected. "It's a gift. Jim has used his senses to help a lot of people, Grace."

"I guess. Jimmy seems to have much better control. Sometimes, Faith would become... lost because of them. A loud noise or if she was staring too hard at something would cause her to drift away."

"I call them zone-outs. They happen when a sentinel focuses too hard on one of their senses," Blair explained. "Jim had them too, but they are mostly under control now. He still suffers periodically with sensory spikes when under extreme stress."

"Exactly. It happened more frequently if we were apart for a long period of time. But, that didn't happen very often when we were growing up. In fact, even after I was married and had two children of my own, we spent a large amount of time together. Faith was married herself, but still found the time to see me several times a week."

"It's nice that the two of you were so close."

"Some people have said that we were too close, too dependent upon each other," Grace replied, ominously. "Later on, Faith was very jealous of time I spent with other people. She became very possessive."

"I've never noticed that before. Jim's never objected when my former school work or friends kept me away from him." Blair wished he had a notebook handy. This was important information.

"Faith became more possessive after... after a major upheaval took place in her life. The problem became clear when Faith attacked Grace's oldest son, Jimmy, just after he turned seven. She tried to kill him. She tried to kill my baby." Grace's voice lost the storyteller's tone as she finally spoke of the attack on her son. She had tears running down her cheeks.

Blair reached over and patted her hand. "It's all right, Grace. You don't have to say anything more. Jim told me about it."

Grace stared at Blair, horrified. "He remembers? He didn't remember when he was a child."

"The memories are just starting to come back. He doesn't recall everything that happened, but eventually I think he will."

"It would probably be better if he didn't remember. After that incident, I had Faith committed to the Washington State Asylum. I told my husband that I would be leaving town for a while to stay closer to the Asylum. Faith needed me more than he or the children did. William and I had already been separated for over two years for other reasons, so I didn't think he would be so upset about my absence."

Blair was dumbfounded at how Grace could be so matter-of-fact about the situation. "Faith attacked your son and you left your family to take care of her. I'm not surprised at all at his reaction."

"Oh, no! You've misunderstood. William didn't know how Jimmy got hurt. I lied about how it happened," Grace confessed, her shame evident to Blair. "When William found out that I had Faith committed, he demanded that I never see her again. I just couldn't agree to that."

Blair was certain that Grace was hiding a great deal about the story, but didn't press for more details. "It was clearly a terrible situation for all concerned."

"It was a stressful time in my life. At first, we weren't sure Jimmy was going to survive the attack. Then the doctors were sure there would be some brain damage. Thankfully, Children's Hospital had the best pediatric neurosurgeon on the West Coast."

"Now I understand why Steven has continued to support the hospital's fundraising activities. I knew Jim had spent some time there, but he didn't mention how seriously hurt he was."

"Jimmy didn't remember much of anything about that time and Stevie was too young to understand either. All he knew was that his brother couldn't come home. A few months later, Jimmy got so angry with me when I didn't want him playing peewee football. It seemed so soon after his injury, but I was overruled by the doctor and by William."

Blair realized that Grace really did have no idea how her sons had grown up. "Jim loves sports. Always did, though these days he's more into basketball than football."

"It was just another battle between me and William. We tried to hide it from the children, but we were fighting all the time. I couldn't take the pressure. Six months after Jimmy was released from the hospital, I asked for a divorce."

Blair didn't know what to say, so he reached across the space between them and took her hand, allowing his actions to speak for him.

"There was no one else for Faith to rely on besides me. My lawyer thought I was crazy, when I agreed to the divorce, asking for nothing in the settlement. I didn't want custody of the children. I just wanted to be able to see them. I also didn't want spousal support, but the lawyer insisted. I just wanted William to sign the papers."

"How did you support yourself and your sister on just spousal support?"

"My parents left a substantial amount money to Faith when they died. I was appointed her legal guardian when she was in the institution the first time and the funds were made available to support the two of us. I also worked at several different chemical companies over the years. I did manage to finish my Master's degree in Chemistry. When the government passed all those equal opportunity laws, woman scientists were a hot property on the job market."

"I can imagine. My mother was involved in more than one of the battles over woman's rights," Blair said fondly. "It must have been very hard balancing work in addition to having to take care of Faith and having children of your own."

"I did see the boys several times over the next few years. The problem was, each time I visited with Jimmy, Faith would slip back into madness and rage. I was always so careful to remove any traces of my visits, but she always knew when I had seen the boys."

Blair could see the confusion in Grace's expression. She clearly didn't understand just how strong a Sentinel's senses could be if fully utilized.

"She's a Sentinel. Scent is a powerful motivator. Even if you showered, Jim's scent would have remained on your coat or clothes."

"She threatened them both, Jimmy and Stevie. Several times she managed to get out of her room. She never made it off the grounds, but she got close enough to frighten me. I knew sooner or later she would succeed in escaping and go after my children." Tears started rolling down Grace's cheeks as the memories of living in a constant state of fear for her children overwhelmed her.

"If you were acting as her guide, she would've been threatened by your spending time with another Sentinel. Jim and I experienced something similar a few years ago. Sentinels are very territorial, particularly about their guides."

Grace shook her head. "I wasn't her guide. Not like you are for Jimmy, or like... never mind." Grace continued on nervously, "I had to choose, Blair. I had to choose between my sons and my twin sister. I thought Jimmy and Stevie would be happy with their Dad. Sally had been more of a mother to them than I had at the time."

Grace had to pause for a moment to calm down so she could continue. "Faith had no one but me. I also didn't believe Faith would ever stop trying to hurt Jimmy. Sooner or later, she would have escaped from that hospital. It was the most difficult decision I've ever made, but I chose my sister. In order to protect them from her, I told Faith that Jimmy and Stevie had been killed with their father in a car accident and never saw them again."

Blair was dumbfounded at the decision that Grace had been forced to make. He couldn't imagine having to chose between his mother and Jim. Thankfully, he had never been forced to choose.

"I'm not sure I could make a decision given those choices."

Grace smiled sadly and shook her head. "You already did, Blair. You gave up fame and fortune in exchange for protecting Jimmy's identity. You declared yourself a fraud rather than expose my son to public scrutiny."

"It's not quite the same. It's a lot easier for me to choose between material possessions and a person for whom I care deeply. You had to choose between members of your family."

Grace found comfort in Blair's assurances, but didn't want to discuss it any further. Changing the subject, she said with a smile, "I've kept my end of the bargain. Now it's your turn for story time. Tell me how you and Jimmy met. You seem to have such different personalities. It's hard to believe the two of you are so close."

"We didn't exactly get off on the right foot. If I remember the discussion, I called him a throwback to primitive man and he called me a Neo-hippie witch doctor punk."

Grace laughed so hard she was shaking. "Knowing a little about my son, I'm surprised you're alive to tell the tale."

"Actually, that was our second meeting. Our first meeting was at the hospital. I was impersonating a doctor..."

Present, Ellison Residence

"What? What did Mom do?"

"Do you remember the time just before Bud Hadish was murdered? I was supposed to go to a conference?" William asked. "I wanted Grace to stay with you boys while I was gone."

Jim remembered Bud's death. He vaguely remembered coming home after football practice to hear his father talking to his mother on the phone...

Ellison Residence, 1972

"Hey, Stevie... Is Dad eating with us?"

"I don't know. He's talking to mom," Steven answered.

Jim could hear a hint of distress in his little brother's voice. He could see his father in the den through the window. His father sounded very angry. He tried to hear the conversation. If there was going to be trouble, he wanted to know what was happening. These days his parents were always fighting about something. He didn't want Stevie to worry about it.

"Grace, that's not my problem!"

Steven wasn't sure what was going on. Jimmy was just standing there staring through the front window.

"Whatcha you looking at?" He asked, rocking from side to side.

Jimmy didn't answer. He was too focused on the conversation occurring between his parents.

"Grace, I can't pay you alimony if I don't work. This conference is not optional and I gotta attend it. And I need you to take care of the boys for two weeks."

"I can't, William. You don't understand. I can't have them around."

Jimmy didn't want to hear anymore. His mother didn't want them with her. He turned his attention back to his little brother, who was demanding to know what was going on. Stevie really missed Mom. He had to be protected from the knowledge that their mother didn't want to be around them.

"Hey, who do you think would win in a fight -- Spiderman or the Hulk?" Jimmy asked in the hopes that Stevie wouldn't ask what was going on inside.

"No contest. Spiderman would kick his butt."

"Bet he couldn't."

"Bet he could!"

"I was listening, Dad. Steven and I were standing outside the window while you were on the phone with Mom. I heard her say, 'I can't have them around.' I quit listening after that. I think that was the point I gave up on her. I didn't care if she ever came back."

"Then you didn't hear why she couldn't take care of you?" William asked tentatively.

"No."

"Let me explain..."

"Why, Grace? They haven't seen you in ages. The boys need you, particularly Stevie. He misses you. Jimmy does too, even if he won't admit it."

"I'm sorry, William. You just wouldn't understand. I can't be around the boys. It upsets Faith too much when I am."

William's face was bright red with rage. He yelled into the phone, "You're right! I don't understand! Faith has nothing to do with this."

"She does. She gets so angry when I see them."

"Just don't tell her." William mentally made a note to purchase a longer cord for the phone. He needed to pace when talking to his ex-wife.

"She'll know. She always knows," Grace wailed.

"Grace, it's her problem. The boys need to see you. I'll send them to you. That way, you won't be far from Faith. Jimmy can watch Stevie for a few hours while you visit with your sister. He's very responsible," William replied firmly, in a much calmer tone.

"No, William. Don't send them here. It's too dangerous for them to be here. I don't want to take the risk."

"What do you mean by dangerous? Faith wouldn't hurt the children."

"She would," Grace mumbled. Quickly making a tough decision, she decided it was time to tell her ex-husband the truth. "She has once already and I won't give her the opportunity to do it again."

"What do you mean? When did she hurt the boys?" William yelled. Calm was no longer possible.

Grace moved the receiver away from her ear until William was done yelling. "Jimmy's accident, when he was seven... well, it wasn't an accident," she mumbled.

"It wasn't? What the HELL really happened!"

"I dropped by the house to give Jimmy his birthday gift. Faith was supposed to wait for me in the car, but she didn't. While Stevie was showing me something in his room, Faith sneaked into the house."

"I told you she wasn't welcome at the house. How could you bring her here?" William's grip on the receiver was so tight that he cracked the plastic.

"I'm sorry, William. I thought it would be all right. I didn't know what would happen. I didn't think she'd really hurt him."

"How did it happen? How did Jimmy get hurt? Don't lie to me this time, Grace."

"Jimmy was downstairs and heard her come inside. He tried to run away. He was yelling for help. He managed to get to the top of the stairs before Faith caught him. I heard him screaming for me, calling my name. I came out of the bedroom running towards them, but Faith threw him down the stairs before I could stop her."

"How the HELL could you have let that happen! Why would she have hurt Jimmy!" William screamed into the phone, wishing he was face-to-face with her. Then, realizing that his sons needed him at home and not in jail, he was thankful there was some distance between them.

"Faith was out of control. You remember what had happened just before Jimmy's birthday. I'm not sure why she felt that way, but she believed that Jimmy was a threat to her."

William gritted his teeth as he forced out the next question to his former wife. "He was seven years old. How could he have been... never mind. I can't believe that you knew Faith hurt Jimmy deliberately and you didn't do anything about it!"

"That's why I had her committed, so she couldn't hurt anyone else."

"Jimmy could have been her second..."

"That's not fair, William. Faith was only defending herself from Paul. It's not the same thing." Grace's embarrassment was being replaced by anger.

"No, this is much worse. She hurt a defenseless child. I can't believe you didn't tell me this sooner."

"She's my sister, William. She would have been sent to jail. You would have made sure of that," she replied, her tone completely hostile. The reasons she divorced this man flooded back, increasing her anger.

"That's the only thing you've gotten right in ages. It's where she belongs, not that country club for the insane."

"She needs help, not prison. William, please try to understand?" Grace pleaded. Now that William knew the truth, he could make their lives difficult.

"NO, I can't. It doesn't matter anyway. This whole discussion is irrelevant. I still don't understand why you can't take the boys. Faith's in a secured facility. It's not like she can come and go as she pleases. What's the danger?"

"After each of my visits to the boys, she's made an attempt to escape. She came very close to making a clean getaway the last time this happened."

"Does she still want to hurt Jimmy? Is that why she keeps trying to escape?"

"Yes, and not just Jimmy. She also wants to hurt you and Stevie. Nothing I've said has made a difference to her."

"Listen to me carefully, Grace. You can't help Faith. You need to walk away, for your sake and your children's well being. I'll help you. We may not have been able to stay married, but I do love you. You deserve more than being a keeper for a mad woman, even if she is your sister."

Forgetting that her husband couldn't see her, Grace shook her head as she answered, "I can't abandon her. She's my family, William. She needs me."

"What about your children? They need you, too!"

"The boys will be happier with you, and Sally is a better mother to them than I ever was. I've made my decision, William, and there's no turning back. After what I did, I can never see you or the boys again."

William rolled his eyes. Grace had always been so damn melodramatic. "Of course you can. I'm angry at you for lying to me, but I'm not going to stop you from seeing the boys."

"No, that wasn't what I meant. I made a decision, William. I had to do it to keep the children safe."

"What have you done?" William asked, afraid to hear the answer. His ex-wife obviously was NOT behaving rationally.

"I told Faith that you and the boys were killed in a car accident last month."

"You did what!"

"Faith believes that you all are dead, which is the way I want it. Now you and the children are safe from her."

William couldn't believe his ears. Grace didn't even sound upset. Her tone was so matter-of- fact that she could have been discussing the weather, not the permanent abandonment of her children. "Even if it means you can't see your children?"

"It's a small sacrifice if it keeps them safe. Promise me you'll take good care of them, William."

"I'll do one better. I promise I'll raise them to be strong, independent, responsible men, Grace. They'll be nothing like you. I won't allow it." William swore as he slammed down the phone. How could his ex-wife have done this? More importantly, what was he going to tell his sons?

William tried to find the words to explain his actions after Grace abandoned them. "I knew that you had abilities very similar to Faith and I was afraid. So I was very tough on you. I was afraid you would lose control like Faith and have to be put away."

"Dad, you don't have to say anything. I understand now." Jim was surprised as it sunk in that he truly did understand, and that he was ready to forgive his father for the gap that until now had always been between them.

"No! I need to say the words, Jimmy. I saw how close you and Stevie were after your mother left us. I thought the two of you were too close, too dependent on each other, like Faith and Grace were when they were young. I was determined to teach the two of you to stand on your own. I thought if you could do that, you wouldn't grow up to be like your aunt."

"You did that. Until I met Blair, I was convinced that I never needed anyone else in my life."

"I know I'm to blame for that. I thought I was doing the right thing, son."

Jim shook his head at his father's apology. "That wasn't completely your responsibility. The Rangers had a little influence on my attitude as well, Dad."

"I'm sorry, Jimmy. I know I didn't handle this situation well. I didn't want you to be like your Aunt Faith. I thought you could learn not to use your senses. I don't know what else to say."

"You did the best you could, Dad. I know that now. I'm not sure what I would have done had I been in your place. We're okay now. We both need to let go of the past."

"Thank you, son." William reached out for Jim, offering a long overdue hug for his eldest child. The open wounds between them were finally starting to heal.

Loft

"...And that's how Jim and I became roommates," Blair finished. "Would you like a refill?"

"No thank you, Blair," Grace answered politely.

Blair nodded as he set down his own cup. "If you don't mind my asking, Grace, before you said that your parents left a substantial sum of money to Faith. Didn't they leave you anything?"

"No, I was a severe disappointment to my parents. I could never seem to please them. They were unhappy with my plans for my life, my desire for a career. You see, when I was in high school, I was surprised to find out that I had a strong aptitude towards math and science."

"I don't understand. Why would that surprise you?"

"You have to remember the time. This was the late fifties. The idea of women studying science was not well received...

Cascade Washington 1956

"But Mother, they won't let me into the science track unless you sign the permission slip," Grace explained, frustrated with her mother's obstinacy.

"This isn't a proper set of classes for a young lady to take. You should be more concerned with the home economics courses. You'll have your hands full with your own household and children soon enough. You need to learn how to handle these things. Lord knows you've avoided learning those things around here."

Grace refrained from rolling her eyes. Now was not the time to anger her mother. "I'm not ready to get married yet. I'm not sure that I want to be someone's wife or a mother."

"So what will you do with your life? You can't live here forever."

Grace refused to back down. She stared back at her mother, who was glaring at her with her arms folded across her chest, tapping her foot and waiting for her reply. "I want a career. I like chemistry. It's fascinating to watch the experiments. I want to go to college and be a scientist."

"Who has put these ridiculous ideas in your head? You should be ashamed of yourself. That is totally inappropriate for a young lady to be studying. What will people say?"

Grace clenched her jaw and stood straight, squaring her shoulders before answering. "I don't care what other people think. The busybodies at the country club can just mind their own business."

"Watch your tone, young lady. You are still young enough for me use that switch on you."

"I'm sorry, Mother. But, this is what I want to do. Please?"

"Fine, you want to do this... this... this science curriculum, I'll sign the sheet. But you will continue to take the home economics courses, too. That way, when you fail, you'll have something to fall back on."

Grace waited until her mother left the room before muttering, "I won't fail. I wouldn't give you the satisfaction."

Faith entered the room and wrapped her arms around her little sister. "I know you'll do great. I believe in you."

"Thanks," Grace replied, sniffling slightly.

"So does William Ellison," Faith added with a smirk. "I think he likes you."

"He does not!" Grace pulled out of the embrace, giggling. "Anyway, I noticed Paul has been staring at you in gym class again."

"Yeah, but William Ellison is quite a catch. Not to mention, Mother and Father think highly of the family."

"Yes, but they want me to marry him. I'm not sure that I'm in love with him."

"So? Nothing says that you can't be friendly with him. Think about it. It might get Mother off your back for awhile."

"I don't want to lead him on. That's not fair to him." Grace didn't like the idea of using William to make her mother happy.

"Do you like him?"

"Yes," Grace answered honestly.

"See where it leads. Nobody gets hurt if you're honest with him."

"So your sister supported your decision to study science when your parents didn't?" Blair clarified.

"Yes, both she and William were very supportive when we were in school together. It was almost the only area where the two of them agreed."

"I noticed before that you said you became Faith's legal guardian when she was institutionalized the first time. What did you mean by the first time?"

"I'm afraid Faith has been in and out of institutions for the last twenty years. I was quite thankful for that when all those news reports aired when Jimmy was rescued from Peru. I was so sure that Faith would discover that he was alive."

"Why institutions? I mean, wasn't that a bit extreme?" Blair was horrified at the idea that people were being locked away only for having out of control heightened senses. Something that was, with a little training, completely manageable.

"I can't always help her when she loses control. It's happening more frequently now. She's also very protective of me. Twice in the last five years she's been charged with assault."

"I'm sorry, Grace. I don't know what to say."

"That's all right, Blair. There's nothing you can do. It's my burden to bear. She is my sister, which reminds me... are Jimmy and Stevie close?" Grace asked, bluntly changing the topic of discussion.

"They are now, but for a while there they weren't in touch with each other. For the first year or so I knew Jim, he never mentioned that he had a brother."

"So how did they get back together?"

"It involved a murder case." Blair laughed as he remembered Jim borrowing that horse in hot pursuit. "Did you know your eldest son had a hidden desire to be a jockey?"

Back at William Ellison's residence

"At the time, I really believed I was doing the right thing by you and your brother. Looking back, I'm not so sure, Jimmy."

"I understand, Dad. Really I do. I can see why you raised us the way you did, not that I don't wish things could have been different."

"All I can say is I'm sorry. I'm just happy to see that you can handle your senses without the difficulties that Faith had."

"Blair's a big part of the reason I can. If he hadn't known about sentinels, I think I would have signed myself into the funny farm. Just before I met Blair, I had almost no control over them. He taught me a lot about controlling them, but, more importantly, he has a presence that seems to ground me automatically."

"Faith had problems with hers almost all the time. I met Faith and Grace when they were in high school. I fell in love with your mother our senior year. We decided to go to the same university when we graduated. We were quite the group. It was Faith, Grace, Jake Groves, Paul Sutton and I. The five of us were always together. Grace and Jake Groves were in the science school. I was in the business school along with Faith and Paul Sutton."

"Is Paul Sutton the one who Faith had to defend herself against?" Jim asked, recalling his father's earlier reference to 'Paul', curious as to what had happened.

"Yes, but that wasn't until much later in our lives."

"What made Faith so angry that she attacked me? You mentioned something about an upheaval? Did it involve this Paul Sutton?" Jim asked, tired of having to get the story in bits and pieces.

"Are you always a cop, Jimmy?"

"Sorry, but I guess I am," Jim apologized. "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand."

William waved off his son's apology. "It's alright. You have the right to know. Two deaths should have been big news, but Faith's family and the Sutton family had a lot of political power back then. No one wanted to see the story told in the newspapers."

"Two murders were covered up!" Jim exclaimed, appalled at the idea.

"Actually, it was ruled one murder and one act of self-defense by the District Attorney. This was back in 1968. Faith and Paul had been married for about two years. Your mother was working on her master's degree in chemistry. One of her lab partners was a woman named Lyssa Clark. Faith became good friends with her. In fact, I recall Grace mentioning that Faith didn't have any of her spells during the time she was friends with Lyssa."

Sutton Residence, 1968

"Just where do you think you're going, Faith?" Paul asked, staggering slightly and spilling his fourth scotch of the evening.

"Lyssa and Grace are waiting outside. Finals are over and we've decided to celebrate. I won't be late, Paul," Faith answered.

"I'm sick of hearing about Grace and Lyssa, Lyssa and Grace. I'm tired of you spending more time with them than you do with me. Just sit down and shut up."

Paul grabbed Faith by the arm and threw her down onto the couch. During her fall, Faith knocked over the lamp on the end table and it smashed into several pieces.

"Don't touch me again. I swear to God, if you touch me again, I'll kill you!" Faith screamed as she got to her feet and moved out of his reach.

Faith could hear someone pounding at the door. She darted to her left to get to the door, but her husband blocked her path. As they jockeyed for position, she heard someone turning a key in the door. She was relieved to see both Grace and Lyssa burst into the room. Paul had never hit her in front of anyone else. He had always been careful not to leave any bruises someplace visible.

"Leave her alone, Paul!" Grace yelled as they moved into the living room.

"Come on, Faith. You can't stay here anymore. It's not safe," Lyssa said as she crossed the room to stand by Faith.

"She's not going anywhere. This is none of your business, so get the hell out of my house!" Paul ordered, swaying as a result of all the alcohol he had consumed.

Lyssa moved in front of Faith, blocking Paul's view. "I'm sick of seeing Faith so covered in bruises she can't move. I'm sick of hearing her make excuses for you. This time, I'm going to make sure she files charges."

"Let's just go. We'll let Paul sober up," Grace suggested.

Paul moved to block their way to the door. "She's not going anywhere. She's my wife and has to obey me."

Lyssa tugged on Faith's arm, gesturing for her to go first. In her efforts to get Faith out of the house, she turned her back on Paul. Grace could only watch as Paul grabbed Lyssa by her long hair and slammed her against the wall. He braced his forearm against her throat, forcing her to struggle for air.

Grace tried to pull him away from her friend but he backhanded her across the face, knocking her to the floor.

"Think you're hot stuff huh, bitch? You're not taking my wife anywhere. She'll never see you again. I promise," Paul roared. He increased the pressure across Lyssa's windpipe.

Faith picked up the fireplace poker and raised it over her head. "Let her go, right now, or I swear I'll hit you with this."

Paul was too drunk to pay attention. Faith could see that Lyssa wasn't moving anymore. She swung the poker, hitting her husband across the back. He fell to the floor and rolled away from her. Lyssa fell to the floor, as boneless as a rag doll.

Faith continued to menace her husband with the poker as Grace tried to help their friend. With a trembling hand, she checked for a pulse.

"She's dead. He killed her," Grace cried out, sitting back on her heels.

"No, that can't be. She's not dead," Faith wailed, shaking her head in denial. She didn't notice Paul climbing to his feet and slinking away from her. "She can't be dead. Please don't let her be dead."

Grace reached for her sister, muttering softly, "I'm so sorry, Faith. I'm so sorry."

The two women were reminded that they weren't alone when Paul started yelling, "It's your fault, Faith. You made me do it." He lunged for the two women. Faith raised the poker again as Paul struck Grace across the side of the face and then reached out to take the poker from her.

"I hate you! I hate you!" Faith kept screaming, with each word striking her husband with the poker. "You are never hurting me or anyone else ever again." With one well-placed blow, she bashed in his skull, splattering blood everywhere. Faith continued to mutter those same words even as Grace pulled the weapon away from her and held her in a tight embrace.

"So, Faith killed Paul after he killed Lyssa," Jim summarized. He thought he remembered a slim brown-haired woman who visited with his mother sometimes. "Did Lyssa have a daughter?" Jim had vague memories of playing with a little girl who came to visit when his mother was home.

"She did have a little girl just a little younger than you. She went to live with her grandparents back east when Lyssa died," William replied.