Disclaimer
Okay, once through quickly! Nothing about The Sentinel belongs to me, everything about it
belongs to UPN or Pet Fly Productions. I don't make any money from this. This one is just a
simple Blair/Jim story with a little smarm thrown in for good measure. Hope you like it, and I'd
love to hear your comments - good I hope! *bg*
Tara
"Thought you could get away, huh?" The man caught her from behind, slamming her forcefully into the wall. His face was mere microns from her own, "Where's the money, Beth?"
"I ... I don't have it ..."
Her tiny frame shook as he backhanded her viciously across the face, "My boss wants his money, now, Beth. Or ... something else." From his pocket he pulled out a long thin wire.
Trembling violently, she raised tear stained eyes to his face. "I'll get the money, Nathan. I swear I'll get it."
He growled, "Sorry, babe. Too little, too late." With tiger like ferocity, she kicked him in the groin as he brought the wire up to her neck, causing him to let her go. Wasting no time, she ran. Nathan dropped the wire and pulled out his gun. With a single shot, he caught her in the back, piercing her heart. Her lifeless body dropped to the ground.
Blair and Jim walked out of the little cafe, chatting happily. Suddenly the sentinel's muscles tensed, and his face was suddenly seized by a look of total concentration. "Jim, what is it?" Blair asked softly. The eyes narrowed, drawing his gun, Jim started running. Slightly confused, Blair stood motionless for a moment, before following the sentinel.
"Cascade PD, FREEZE!" Jim barked. "Drop the gun!"
Nathan laughed dryly, "Or else what? Seems like I've got you in my sights just as good as you have me." He raised the gun as Blair came around the corner. With the quickness of a cat, the anthropologist pushed his sentinel out of the way and dove for Nathan. Both he and Nathan fell to the ground, fighting for control of the gun.
Jim moved forward just as Nathan scrambled back to his feet. Blair was yanked to his own feet and grabbed securely around the neck. The anthropologist winced as cold metal brushed his chin. "You want him dead?" Nathan growled, stopping Jim's advance. He glanced at Jim's gun. "Loose it, now. Jim carefully placed the gun on the ground and stepped away from it, his eyes never leaving Blair's.
"It's now or never, Sandburg." Blair told himself. Taking a deep breath, he clamped his teeth down tightly on Nathan's arm. Hazel eyes burned with anger.
"You're going to regret that, kid!" he screamed ... his finger moved on the trigger.
Blair paced back and forth, nervously, as the team from Major Crimes poured over the scene. He looked up to see a very angry man coming towards him. "SANDBURG!" Jim yelled, beginning his tirade, "What the hell were you thinking?"
Blair cringed as the sentinel grabbed his arm, quite tightly. "He didn't shoot me, Jim." he said softly.
Jim stared incredulously at him. "You got lucky, kid. That gun jamming was the only thing that prevented your head from being blown off!" They were drawing attention, Jim shoved Blair roughly towards the truck.
"Ow, Jim. Take it easy." Blair whimpered.
"Just get in the truck, Sandburg." Jim said flatly.
The drive back to the loft was a quiet one, cold. "Jim?" Blair said softly. "Jim, please talk to me." He risked a glance at the sentinel.
Blair shivered at the anger burning in the sentinel's eyes. "What the hell went through your mind, Blair?" The voice was a growl, "Were you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Of course not." Blair countered, grateful at least that Jim was talking.
Jim laughed dryly, "Well that's what it seemed like."
"Jim, he was going to shoot you. I wanted to protect ..."
Arriving home, Jim parked the truck. "That's my job!" he interrupted, livid. Frustrated, Jim got out of the truck, slamming the door with a little more force than necessary.
For a brief moment, the anthropologist considered sleeping in the truck. "I'm sorry." he whispered, slipping out the door.
Tossing his keys into the basket, Jim rubbed forcefully at his eyes. Grabbing a towel and his robe, he headed into the bathroom for a very long, hot shower. Soaking up the warmth, he heard the door to the loft open and close. He was being hard on the kid, but then, Blair had scared the crap out of him today. Sighing, he scrubbed his body until his skin was raw. Stepping out of the shower, he slipped into his robe and padded out of the bathroom.
Blair lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Sitting up, he gathered the blanket off of his bed and padded outside onto the balcony. Curling up into a chair, he gazed wearily at the velvety black sky dotted with thousands of sparkling stars. "A guide's role is to guide and protect his sentinel." Blair said quietly to himself. "I couldn't just let him kill you, Jim. You mean too much to me." Exhausted, he rested his head against the back of the chair.
Brewing some coffee, Jim watched the guide's sleeping form. Pouring two cups, he slid open the balcony door. "Here, Chief." he said gently, pushing the warm mug into his partner's hands.
Blair opened his eyes groggily, they were so distant. He took the cup gratefully. "Thanks."
Jim sighed, "I have to get to work, but you're right, we need to talk about this. How about I take you to dinner, my treat?"
"Sure, Jim." the reply was almost a whisper.
Jim smiled slightly, "Okay, I'll pick you up at the university, what time is your class over?"
"5:30." Blair murmured.
"Okay, I'll see you then." Standing up, he started to head back inside. "Are you coming in?"
Blair shook his head. "Not just yet." Wincing at the emptiness in the voice, Jim hesitantly grabbed his coat and headed out of the loft.
The class had not gone well, and he had dismissed it early. Turning his key in the lock, he stepped into the loft. Tossing his backpack onto the table, he fixed himself a small sandwich and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Letting his mind wander, the now unappealing sandwich, lay untouched on the plate. Slowly, he pushed himself out of the chair and headed into his room.
Jim stood by his truck in the university parking garage, glancing at his watch. Sandburg was already twenty minutes late. After giving him another fifteen, Jim sighed. "He's not coming, Ellison." Climbing back into the truck, he headed for home.
Arriving home, Jim listened for Blair's heartbeat, relaxing a little when he heard the calm, steady rhythm. Stepping through the door, he eyed the large pile of boxes in the corner suspiciously. Blair was coming out of his room with yet another box. "Chief, what are you doing?"
"I should think that's fairly obvious, Jim." Blair said dryly, setting the box down with the others.
"You were just going to leave?" Ellison said quietly. "Damn it, Blair," he breathed, "I don't want you to move out." The anthropologist looked at him.
"Well excuse me if I don't believe you, Jim." he snapped, not bothering to hide the bitterness in his voice.
"I'm sorry about last night." Jim said gently.
"Why?" Blair shot back. "I'm the one who screwed up, again. You have every right to be angry." his eyes burned with anger.
"I was angry, Chief. At myself."
Taken aback, Blair eyed his sentinel. "Huh? Why?"
Jim sighed, walking over to the fridge he pulled out a couple of beers, handing one to Blair. "I got you into this, Chief. Because of me, you've been beaten, tortured, drugged, not to mention almost killed half a dozen times." He paused, taking a long sip of his beer. "The words are hard for me to say, Blair." he trailed off lamely, then raised his eyes to meet Blair's. "Chief, you mean so much to me. Just the thought of you being in danger is enough to panic me. I don't ever want to lose you. I couldn't handle that."
Blair swallowed, this was one of the only times, that he could remember, that Jim had actually opened up to him without being prodded."What's the deal here, Jim. You never talk about your feelings. Why the change?"
The sentinel closed his eyes, "Yesterday really shook me up, Chief." he said softly. "You scared the shit out of me when you went after that guy."
Blair looked at him, eyes widening. "I have a hard time picturing you scared about anything, Jim. You're always so calm, it drives me nuts."
Jim smiled slightly. Gently he patted the younger man's shoulder. "Blair, you're closer to me than anyone, including Carolyn. You're my guide, but you're so much more than that." He took another sip of beer. "I can count on you, you keep me centred, focused. Somehow, you've made this sentinel thing work, and God knows I don't make it too easy on you most of the time. You give me the control I need." He paused, raising his eyes to meet Blair's. "I guess what I'm trying to say ... you're precious to me, Chief."
Blair grinned, looking into those blue depths he felt his anger begin to dissipate. "I'd do it again, Jim," he said softly, "if it meant protecting you."
Jim laughed gently. "Chief, you ever do that again and your Blessed Protector is going to kick your butt!" Then he pulled him into a welcome bear hug. "Besides, aren't I supposed to be the one protecting you?" Blair grinned, snuggling against the sentinel. Pulling back, Jim looked into the guide's eyes. "So, are we okay? Still partners?"
Blair's smile widened, "Yeah, and ... thanks, Jim."
Returning the crooked grin, Ellison shifted his eyes to the boxes in the corner. "So you'll stay, then?"
Blair laughed gently, "I never wanted to leave in the first place, Jim. I just thought..."
"You thought that I didn't want you around anymore." Jim finished for him, Blair nodded. An impish gleam streaked across the sentinel's face. Grabbing Blair, he tousled the guide's hair with a vengeance.
Blair squirmed with laughter, "Not the hair!"
Jim chuckled softly, "Be serious, Chief. I never want you to leave, ever. Understood?" Blair's eyes sparkled as he smiled.
"I'll help you unpack all of this later, but right now, I'm starving. Especially since I haven't eaten dinner yet."
Blair looked sheepishly at him, remembering the dinner he had blown off. "Sorry about that."
"Forget about it, Chief."
Blair shook his head, "Aw, c'mon, Jim. Let me make it up to you. I have this killer recipe for chicken stir fry." Jim sighed in resignation, and Blair bounced happily on his heels. "I can have dinner ready in about an hour, why don't you take a shower?"
"I think I will, thanks." Ten minutes later, Jim padded from the bathroom, towelling his short hair dry. "Need any help, Chief?"
Blair chewed noisily on a carrot, "The rice is almost ready, but you could chop the vegetables."
Taking the offered knife and cutting board, Jim paused briefly to sniff the contents of the pan. "Smells great." he smiled.
"Glad you think so." Blair said, gently stirring the mixture as Jim slowly added the chopped vegetables.
"Hey, Chief." Jim said softly. "The next time we see Naomi ... remind me to thank her for doing such a good job with you."
With a snicker, Blair dove for Jim. "All right, who are you? And where is my partner!" a smile played across his lips as he tried to look serious.
"Cute, Chief." Jim laughed, play fighting with him. "Now, do you want to eat. Or should we take this in the other room?"
Blair donned an evil grin, "You're lucky I'm starving, or I might have taken you up on that offer." Jim chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, I could take you." Blair teased as Jim continued to laugh.
"Mmmm, that was great." Jim said happily, getting up from the table. He helped Blair clean the dishes, then both of them started unpacking boxes. Blair nearly doubled over laughing as Jim mocked the faces of some of the artifacts that he was pulling out.
"You are soooo weird." Blair laughed, wiping a tear from his eye.
Jim bowed low to the ground, "I learn from the master." he said, flaring his hands.
Laughing, Blair playfully punched the sentinel in the shoulder. Then unexpectedly, he wrapped his arms around the older man in an emotional bear hug. Jim sighed and returned the embrace; this was true friendship, and neither man would trade it for anything.
The End