(rogue_ch@juno.com)

Note from BAW lawrence81@iwon.com : Rogue begged me to write this 'missing scene' from In Soggy Old Cascade, and I gladly gave permission. I wanted to include something like this, but I felt that, as a man who has not spied on the rites of the Bona Dea, I could not do justice to it.

Maureen Fitzgerald yawned, wrapping her robe around her as she answered the knock on her door. She opened it to find three serious-faced young women.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Friends of Jim Ellison, you slut!" the tallest of them snarled, just before plowing a fist into Maureen’s face.

The tall basketball player staggered backwards away from the door and fell in a heap on the floor. Angry, a little frightened, she rolled up onto her knees as the three women entered and shut the door behind them.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" she yelled.

"Weren’t you listening? We’re *friends* *of* *Jim* *Ellison*," the thin blonde woman growled, and her hand flashed forward, grabbed one of Maureen’s ears, and twisted hard as she added, "Maybe that’ll loosen the blockage in there!"

Maureen screamed and smacked the hand away from her ear, then got to her feet in one powerful surge, anger contorting her features. "So, you’re friends with Jim. Does he know what you’re doing to me?"

"No, but we’re pretty sure he won’t mind when he *does* find out. *If* he does," the third woman added. "Allow us to introduce ourselves. I’m Detective Margaret Ross. His brother, Steven’s, fiancée."

Maureen’s eyes went wide. "You’re a cop?" she yelled.

Maggie nodded and looked at the tall Australian. "Megan?"

A cold, predatory smile flashed over Connor’s face. "G’day, witch. I’m Inspector Megan Connor. I work with Jimbo and his partner, Sandy, in Major Crime."

"Another cop." Fitzgerald looked at the blonde. "You, too?"

"Not officially. I’m the assistant to Jim’s boss, Captain Simon Banks. By extension, that makes Jim one of ‘my’ guys, and a friend to me. I’m Rhonda Kent," the blonde said coldly.

"Well, you three are in for a world of trouble—" Maureen began, and that’s when Megan knocked her backwards again with a vicious front-snap kick to the stomach.

She lay crumpled on the floor gasping as the other three women surrounded her.

"No, dear, I don’t think you get it," Maggie said with patently false sweetness. "*You* are the one in for a world of trouble. See, Jim is pretty much family to all of us. We care about him very, very much. You picked the wrong ‘big dumb cop’ to screw around on."

Maureen’s eyes went wide again. "What are you…? How do you know?!" she demanded.

Megan’s cold smile came out again, her lovely eyes glittering as sharply as knives. "Jim told us himself, sweetie. He heard you when he came to see you at your hotel."

Fitzgerald went totally pale. "He what?" she whispered.

"Oh, yes, that’s right. You were too busy screwing around in bed with that other guy," Rhonda said. "Of course you didn’t know he was there. See, he showed up with champagne and a ring for you. Got the keycard from the concierge when he said he was your fiancé. Got up to your room, walked in, and heard you and the other stud in the bedroom. He also heard what you said. How did it go? Oh, yeah. *The big dumb cop is great in the sack, but that’s about all he’s good for.* Well, honey, we’re here to correct that misconception."

"You’re cops," the redhead hissed as she got to her feet again.

"Actually, Megan and I left our shields and guns over at Jim’s place, right in front of our boss, just before we came over here. Technically, we’re *not* cops at the moment. And before you get any bright ideas, he knows what we’re here for, but officially, he’s turning a blind eye to it," Ross growled.

Fitzgerald took as deep a breath as she could as she glared at the three of them. "Bring it on, if you think you can, then."

They did.

The next forty-five minutes were spent teaching the spiteful blockhead the error of her ways by three righteously pissed off female friends of Jim Ellison. Working together, they managed to reduce their own injuries merely to bruised and scraped knuckles, and bruised toes from the force of their hits and kicks.

Maureen was reduced to a quivering mass of repentant bruised flesh and torn, scraggly hair. Finally, she began crying and saying she was sorry.

It was at that point that the three avenging angels left her alone with the admonition that if they ever saw or heard from her in any way, shape, or form ever again, they would be back to finish the "conversation".

She cowered and promised they would never hear a peep out of her.

"I never meant to hurt Jim," she whimpered.

"You *did*, though," Maggie snarled as they left. "You damn near killed him, bitch woman. And Jim Ellison’s friends don’t *like* people who hurt him. Consider yourself on the shit-list of a *lot* of people, lady."

And with that, they were gone.

Maureen managed to crawl into the bathroom and into the tub, where she ran a bath and realized she had gotten off lucky, even as she realized what a good thing she had lost by treating Jim Ellison so shabbily. A man who earned the friendship and fierce protection of women like those three – and probably dozens of other people – was not someone who was worth only a tumble in the sack and her callous indifference.

****

The three women were silent for a while as they drove back towards the Loft.

Finally, Maggie growled, "She was never good enough for him anyway."

"No, she wasn’t," Rhonda agreed. "Nobody is, really."

"Correction, mates," Connor groused. "Sandy. *Sandy* is good for him." She sighed. "Wouldn’t it be easier all around if Sandy was a woman?"

Rhonda and Maggie agreed.

"Unfortunately, he’s not," the blonde secretarial assistant stated.

"Yeah. But I don’t foresee him hightailing off anytime in the near future," Ross added.

"’Near’ future? I don’t foresee him *ever* doing that!" Rhonda laughed. "He and Jim are very much linked together."

"Yup. Perfect partnership those two have. Almost like a marriage. Huh. What do you think our chances are of convincing Jimbo that he should go after women only long enough to scratch his natural itch, but settle for a life-long commitment with Sandy?" Megan asked.

The three women were silent as they considered it, then laughed.

"I don’t think he’ll listen to us right now. We’re women. He’s probably not going to be receptive to females for a little while," Maggie said.

"Besides, if I know Jacob, he’s doing his level best to drill that idea into Jim’s skull right about now, and he’ll keep at it until Jim gets the point," Rhonda added.

"Yeah. Thank God for Sandy," Connor said fervently. "Ellison deserves someone like him in his life."

"Uh-huh. And Jacob deserves Jim. They’re both good men," Maggie commented. "Close as brothers, too. So, I suppose I’m getting *two* brothers-in-law!"

"Lucky!" Rhonda teased her.

"Damn straight!" Maggie agreed.

The three women laughed as they pulled into the parking lot below the Loft and headed upstairs so Megan and Maggie could collect their badges and guns, nodding silently at the grateful look Jacob sent their way with intense blue eyes before those same blue eyes swung back to the silently sleeping figure of James Ellison.

They then left as silently as they had arrived, intensely satisfied with a job well done.

****

On Monday, their understanding Captain asked only if the "interview" had been successful. When they reported that it had been, with such skill that any attempt at retaliation was unlikely, he grumped and chewed on a cigar, satisfied with their efforts.

When they exited the office, Jacob sent a silent, heartfelt thank-you with his expressive baby blues before turning his attention back to his partner.

Jim, still wrapped up in the connection he had felt with the younger man all weekend, ignored them all and basked in the attention from Jacob as he began asking questions on their current case.

And all was well in soggy old Cascade.