A/N: Sorry about the delay, thank you so much for the reviews :) Here's the next part...please read and review :)

Disclaimer: I do not in any way profit from the story and all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator.

Ethan feels old…really old and cranky. He tries to keep from swearing as yet another kid crashes into his knees. He can't believe that he's actually spending his first day off in what feels like forever in a zoo. He should have been suspicious when Benji had called him excitedly in the morning and said he had a great idea for a team bonding activity. He had foolishly expected a relaxing brunch or maybe a walk in the park but instead he's been trudging along in the hot sun for the better part of three hours.

It doesn't help that he seems to be the oldest person around…the place is filled with young kids and their hassled parents. Benji looks like a five year old himself, dragging the rest of the group along with his nose buried in a colorful map.

"Ooh, they have a mated pair of red pandas. Should we go there next or to the orangutans? Wait…it says here that they have a primate show in half an hour so if we hurry we can go see the pandas first and still make the show." Benji rambles excitedly, still reading from the leaflet, with Jane gently guiding him so he doesn't crash into innocent bystanders.

Ethan decides to put his foot down. "No," he says firmly sitting down on a bench.

Benji looks crestfallen, "Oh, okay..we'll go straight to the show."

"No, I mean I'm done Benji. We've seen elephants, giraffes, a hundred different kinds of monkeys and I am fairly certain we saw the pandas already. I am just going to sit here and relax for a bit."

"No, the ones we saw were the giant pandas and I was talking about…", He trails off as Ethan levels a glare at him. "Right. So we'll just go ahead and catch up with you later?"

"Actually Benji, I think I am going to take a break as well," Brandt says, sounding as if he just woke up from a deep sleep. Ethan sympathizes. Benji's face falls another couple of notches, so Brandt rushes to comfort him. "I'll catch up soon, okay. Just need a short break."

Jane gives them both a dirty glance as she is pulled away, but Ethan is too relieved to care. He leans back, and closes his eyes against the bright sun. He feels drowsy, and wonders if he can get away with a short nap. Having Brandt around means he doesn't have be on his guard, at least. He peeks at Brandt, who is wide awake and looking around so he settles back and shuts his eyes again. The red of the sunlight through his eyelids is oddly relaxing and he can feel himself drift off.

When he opens his eyes, Brandt is still in the same position, so Ethan figures he wasn't out of it for too long. He glances at his team mate again, and suddenly notices that Brandt's eyes are laser locked onto a point to his left. Ethan follows his line of sight till he sees a young mother bent over a brightly colored crib. She isn't unattractive, and the fact that she is leaning over is certainly affording a very nice view of her cleavage, but the raw emotion in Brandt's eyes tells Ethan that that isn't what has caught his attention.

The mother straightens back up and starts pushing the crib in their direction, and Brandt quickly drops his gaze and dunks his head, trying to appear inconspicuous. The mother walks by, and the other man relaxes again.

"Did you know her?" Ethan tries to keep the question light and inoffensive.

Brandt hesitates, and Ethan wonders if he should backpedal. But then Brandt turns to look him in the eye, and answers. "No, She just really reminded me of someone I used to know."

Ethans nods and turns away, but then Brandt starts speaking again, his volume so low that Ethan almost has to read his lips. "We used to make all these plans for the future…we were going to have a house in the suburbs and a white picket fence and apple trees in the backyard. She loved dogs…but she used to live in an apartment. She told me we would adopt at least two dogs from the pound when we finally had a backyard." Brandt is smiling now, lost in his memories. "She wanted just the one kid though…we even had names picked out, Doyle if it was a boy, Tara for a girl. And the funny part was, I never even asked her to marry me, we both just sort of assumed, I guess. It ended badly…I was angry and upset and I took it out on her. I wish she didn't hate me. You and Julia, you may never be together but you both know that you love each other. I don't even have that." Brandt's voice hitches slightly and he stops talking.

Ethan wants to offer comfort, but he feels lost and shaken himself. He put his hand on Brandt's shoulder and takes comfort in the fact that he isn't pushed away immediately.