A little holiday story for St. Patricks, maybe several chapters long, I hope you enjoy it! It's about several years after Glimmer of Twilight.

A shimmer of sunlight broke through the clouds as C.J. left her car after parking it and got her briefcase out before heading into the college building that housed the sociology and criminal justice departments at the university.

She had been guest lecturing at the university for the past semester in the late afternoons just after finishing her consulting job with the Department of Justice. She had been hired for the past year to do legal work for them in their division that dealt with exploited women and children. At first she hadn't been sure she should take the job given that Gracie had grown into a young toddler into everything having blossomed since Thanksgiving.

But five minutes on the job and she knew she had made the right decision. The work was often emotionally strenuous and the hours, at times could be long but her schedule for the most part remained flexible, important for a working mother who intended to spend time raising Gracie. Her husband Matt kept his hours flexible and in fact, Gracie was currently spending time with him and Dan while C.J. would be teaching. The place where C.J. kept her office had a day care center which Gracie really enjoyed and she also spent time with her father too. But they also kept the security team when they were back at home on their ranch outside of Houston.

The challenges and risks of both their jobs just mandated that extra expense to keep their family safe. That they had learned already.

C.J. made her way into the building, wearing her jeans and light woolen sweater with her sleeves rolled down. But in a few months she'd be trading them in for maternity clothes because she had discovered that she was pregnant again. Not that it was that surprising because Matt and she had really been working on it the past few months. She looked at her watch, noting she had 20 minutes until class. Then two hours later, she'd be heading to Chris and Dan who were hosting a St. Patrick's Day party at their house less than a mile away from the ranch owned by Matt and C.J.

Chris also had gotten pregnant again, much more easily than the first time and her son, Daniel had grown like a sprout after his surgery to repair a congenital heart defect performed by a surgeon who had played poker with Matt's late father. Rhonda who was staying with Chris and Dan while her husband, Jonathan had been at Quantico for the past two months training for the FBI behavioral sciences program was pregnant and nearing the finish line in a couple of months.

So babies were definitely going around.

Except for some fatigue and occasional morning sickness, C.J. had felt fine. She had a husband who took good care of her making sure she got enough rest and plenty of good food.

The Campus Kitchen had what she needed right now which were a deli sandwich and an iced tea. When she went into get it, she saw the tall young woman with ebony hair hanging down her back with a couple braided strands woven through it.

"Elena…."

The young woman turned around and smiled widely when she saw her. She had been wearing faded jeans and a cotton print blouse. Elena had enrolled in the university after passing her GED and lived in the dorms.

"C.J…I was looking for you earlier."

The clip of the young woman's accent made C.J. smile thinking about how the woman had made a life for herself since she'd been in the country. Soon she would have her citizenship papers in hand. When she wasn't in school on a scholarship, she volunteered at the Houston Women's Center with Fran, work that she enjoyed very much.

"I actually caught light traffic from the office," C.J. said, "I have this class and then I'm heading to Chris and Dan's for a party…You're invited."

Elena tilted her head as she considered it.

"Okay…I'll bring some tapas that my roommate taught me how to make...they're really good."

"Sounds great…I'll see you there."

Elena paused.

"Is that girl…Trina still in your class?"

C.J. nodded.

"She's one of my brightest," she said, "She's a bit quiet at times but she's very smart, a great writer."

"Well she's in my biology class and she was crying after class," Elena said, "I tried to talk to her but she had left very quickly after lab."

C.J. frowned.

"I'll guess I'll see what's going on," she said, "She's been quiet the last couple of classes."

Elena smiled as she grabbed some salad and cola and then went to the register after saying goodbye. C.J. just watched her go, marveling at her energy, she had really gotten into her new life in Texas.

She grabbed her food and after paying for it, headed to her classroom, thinking about her lesson plan in her head.

Matt sank onto the couch of his office, while Gracie lay passed out asleep on his lap. She had wiped him out with all of her moving around, exploring every corner of the office and then when he caught up with her, sitting on the floor in her romper suit giggling at him and pointing her finger at him. Her dark hair tousled and her eyes lively, as she moved away from him again.

His little girl had inherited some quick moves from someone.

Being a father was the best job that he had ever held even if he could be undone by a toddler. He had been office bound proofing a security manual for a new system that he and Dan had designed and C.J. had dropped off Gracie here before heading to teach at the university. She had said she would meet them later at Chris' party after she had finished her teaching stint.

He had reminded her to make sure she got something to eat before class because she hadn't been eating much in the mornings.

"I'll be fine," she said before kissing him goodbye, "See you later."

And she had left him with Gracie who had wanted to play with everything in his office. Dan had walked in from a conference call and had seen Matt on the floor trying to keep up with his daughter.

"I see she's got you under her thumb," Dan said, "She's going to wear you out before she turns five."

Matt smiled.

"She'll have a brother or sister to keep her busy in six months."

Dan chuckled.

"She's going to give you some grey hairs I can tell," he said, "Just wait until she starts dating."

Matt sighed.

"I haven't even thought about that," he said, "I'm going to have to warn her about guys like her daddy."

Dan shrugged.

"You wound up all right once you got your priorities straightened out and you're a great father."

Matt reflected on the last year, which had been filled with joy intermixed with fearful moments. Still, he wouldn't trade that time for anything, nor his daughter.

"Well sometimes I wish my daddy had known, and other times I feel like he's watching from someplace."

"Yeah I felt the same way with Daniel and now the next one on the way," Dan said, "It's a great time right now for both of us."

Matt couldn't agree more. Life had thrown some tough challenges at him and his wife that had nearly broken them but they'd made it through together and had grown stronger. Now life had been settling down with C.J. fitting in a teaching job with her other work before going on another maternity leave before their baby was due…and the new prototype security system would be released soon.

Dan had left him again to take another call and he chased Gracie around and let her chase him, marveling at her quickness. Soon enough she'd be walking and then running and climbing. Time passed so quickly with the young, he remembered as if were yesterday, the moment she came into the world.

Back when he'd held this squirming newborn in his arms while Cattle Annie who had delivered her tended to his wife…and then taking both of them home from the hospital into their house.

Now he had a sleeping daughter on his lap which meant he didn't want to disturb her so he just closed his eyes and soon he nodded off as well.

C.J. had finished teaching her class and the students began to file out after she had given out the latest homework assignment to write a paper. She had meant to talk to Trina because during the past half hour when they took a quiz, she had read an assignment she had turned in and something had prickled at the back of her neck.

Something familiar…

She had called Matt on her cell phone telling him she was getting ready to leave for Chris' house but had gotten his voice mail so she just left a message for him. Then she slipped her phone back in her purse and got ready to grab her things.

But while doing that she looked up and noticed that Trina hadn't left her seat. She sat there looking in front of her but C.J. didn't know if she even saw her. Seemingly focused on something else…or someplace else.

"Trina…I'm getting ready to leave now…would you like to walk out with me?"

The tall student with a curvy build and jet black hair just looked at her, not moving and not responding.

"Would you like me to stay and talk to you here," C.J. said, "I read your paper…is everything okay?"

When Trina looked at her finally, C.J. could see that something was not okay because the girl had pulled out a switchblade and extended it.

"Trina, what's going on here?"

The girl looked up at her, and C.J. saw fear mixed with other emotions that she knew very well from her own life.

She started to step towards her but suddenly Trina raised the knife to her own throat.

"Don't come any closer or I'm going to do it…?"

C.J. put up her hands.

"What's wrong Trina…why you carrying that knife and why are you threatening to hurt yourself?"

Trina just shook her head.

"I don't want to hurt myself…I want to die."

C.J. just looked at her, her eyes widening, her mind working quickly to decide what to do.