This is my first attempt at writing fan fiction and is basically an introduction of my OFC Taylor. If you don't like OFC stories don't read mine. She will be in every story (for now). Also must warn you that in my universe Blair became a cop with some restrictions (not telling what, you have to read it to find out).
All characters except Taylor Lawson are property of Pet Fly and no harm intended and no profit being made, just having some fun.
Please do not use my OFC without asking. Thank you.
I must thank Wolfpup for adding me to 'the den' and leading me to my beta reader, Shallan who has been very helpful in my clumsy attempt at writing.
Feedback is much appreciated, just please be nice. Don't make me have to define constructive criticism. Email -> sandradumicich@aol.com
Not sure about the rating. I would go with PG-13 because I did use a few swear words and some violence (described not shown).
SandraD
The room was swarming with activity. Taylor Lawson slowly stepped off the elevator and stood in the doorway of Major Crimes. Everybody seemed too busy to notice the petite red head. She walked to the closest desk and tapped the nicely dressed young man's shoulder. Detective Rafe turned his head in surprise and smiled.
"How may I help you?"
"I'm looking for Detective Jim Ellison. Is he here?" She looked around the bullpen as she talked.
A tall, handsome, well-built man dressed in khakis and a green polo shirt turned in her direction. Rafe guided her to Jim's desk.
"You're looking for me?" The voice was gentler than she had expected and the smile settled her nerves. Jim quickly noted her rapid heart rate and slightly flushed skin.
"Detective Ellison?"
"Yes. Why don't you have a seat? Can I get you something to drink?"
Taylor took the chair he offered. "No, I'm fine, but..." She scanned the room nervously. He sat down and motioned for Rafe to give them some privacy. The young man excused himself and went back to his desk.
"I'm not sure if anything is wrong, but..." She swallowed and looked around the room, again. "Is Blair here?" she asked quietly.
"No. He left to meet someone for lunch."
"When?"
He frowned at the clock on the wall. "About two hours ago."
"Shit," she mumbled.
"Has something happened to Blair?" Jim asked, anger and suspicion evident in his raised voice. The detectives closest to Jim's desk stopped at the sound of the new detective's name. Blair Sandburg had the tendency to get into trouble.
"God, I hope not. He was supposed to meet me for lunch, but I waited for an hour..."
Ellison was already reaching for the phone.
"Jim, is everything OK?" Inspector Megan Connor asked.
"Not sure, Connor." He hung up the phone roughly making Taylor jump. Jim stood, taking Taylor's arm and headed for Captain Simon Bank's office. He knocked, than entered without waiting for an answer, leaving Megan and the rest of Major Crimes staring after him.
"Well, come in Detective." Simon raised his eyebrows.
"Sorry, Captain. It's Sandburg." Taylor stared at one and then the other before pulling her arm out of Jim's grasp.
"What has he done this time?"
"Hopefully nothing, Sir, but it seems that he is missing."
"What?! Explain Detective." Taylor took a step back as the Captain stood and walked around his desk. The small women retreated to the couch and sat down.
"He was supposed to meet me," she whispered.
Both men turned towards her.
"All right." Simon put his hand on Jim's shoulder before he could move. "Miss..."
"Lawson, Taylor Lawson."
"Taylor. You're Taylor?"
She looked up at Jim surprised by the tone in his voice.
"Blair hasn't stopped talking about you."
Jim sat down next to her.
"He said he was going to invite you to dinner this weekend, so I could meet you. Why don't you tell me... us, from the beginning, what happened."
"Blair called me last night and wanted to know if I could meet him for lunch. I told him I was pretty sure I had time between classes, but that he should call me."
"Classes?" Simon asked.
"I have my own dance studio."
"Go on," Jim said.
"I was just cleaning up after my last morning class when Blair called. It was about eleven- thirty. We made arrangements to meet at Valentino's. It's a new place a few blocks from my studio. He said he was going to leave when he got off the phone and would be there by twelve. I waited until one before I got worried. I called his cell phone, but he didn't answer. I left a message at the restaurant for him to call me if he showed up. I went past the loft on my way here, but his car wasn't out front. Blair said I should find you if..." She shuddered at the thought.
"Blair said he was going right there. He wasn't planning on stopping anywhere?" Simon asked.
"As far as I know, but that doesn't mean he hadn't planned on stopping some place first. You know Blair. He's always doing five things at once."
Simon stepped to the door. "Rafe, Brown."
The two men ducked into the office.
"Captain?" Rafe asked.
"I need an APB on Sandburg's car. Also check with dispatch. I want to be sure he didn't radio in his position."
"Sir?"
"You heard me."
"Yes, Sir." The two men quickly left the office.
Jim headed for the door.
"Detective, where are you going?"
"Captain..."
"Jim, I know your first instinct is to go out and look, but you don't even know where to start."
Jim reluctantly stepped away from the door and walked to the window.
"He's out there somewhere, Simon."
Taylor sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair in the break-room where Jim had dumped her an hour before. She picked at the side of a now empty paper cup.
"To hell with this," she said to herself, tossing the cup into the garbage. The door opened as she stood and Rafe entered the room.
"Miss Lawson. I didn't know you were still here."
"Figures," Taylor huffed. "Where is Detective Ellison?"
"In the Conference Room I believe."
"Thank you," she mumbled and hurried out of the room.
"Did they get all of the files, Captain?" Jim asked grabbing the first file off the top of one of six large stacks collected on the conference room table.
"That is all of the cases you and Blair worked on, but, Jim, this could be about..."
"I know Simon, one step at a time. When I know for sure no one from our past is involved, I'll start with the people wanting Sandburg's Sentinel research. I can't..."
The door burst open and Taylor stormed in.
"Miss Lawson..." Simon stuttered.
"No, I will not go sit down. I am tired of waiting." Taylor's voice grew until she was screaming. "I came here because Blair said I could trust you. Something has happened to him and I want to know what you are doing to find him, and I am not leaving until you tell me."
"Miss Law... Taylor. I understand that you are concerned..." The fire in Taylor's eyes stopped Jim in mid sentence. "Uhm..."
"I'm waiting," Taylor said crossing her arms.
"Captain..."
Simon put his hands up. "Not a chance, Jim. She was Sandburg's problem. Now she's yours."
Jim glared at him.
"Be nice to her, Jim. I think this one is good for Sandburg," Simon whispered Sentinel soft.
"Great," Jim mumbled. "Have a seat, Taylor."
She glared at him from across the room.
"Please," Jim added.
Taylor sighed heavily, but took a seat at the other end of the table.
"We are doing everything we can to find Blair."
"And what would that be?"
"I can't divulge information about an ongoing investigation..."
"Detective Ellison..."
"Jim."
Taylor leaned forward on the table. "Blair means a lot to me. I want to know what you are doing to find him."
"I can't..."
"You are so full of shit."
"Excuse me?"
"There is no reason to believe that foul play is involved. Maybe he had an accident or..."
"We checked the hospitals. No one fitting Blair's description has been admitted to any of them."
"No information, huh?" Taylor smiled slyly. "Gonna' tell me more now?"
A small smile touched the corners of Jim's mouth. "Been taking lessons from Sandburg, haven't you?"
"I know how to get what I want. So, now what?"
"Taylor..."
"Jim, I'm not leaving until you find Blair. So either I can follow you around until you decide to tell me or we can skip that part and you can tell me now."
"Blair left out stubborn from his description of you."
Taylor sat back in her chair sadness filling her eyes. "You are going to find him, right?"
"Yes I am."
"So, what can I do to help?"
By the next morning, Jim was snapping at everyone. No new information had been found. Nobody Jim and Blair had put in jail had been released or paroled in the last six months, and no ransom demands had been made.
It seemed Blair had fallen off the face of the Earth. No witnesses and no evidence had been found. Nothing.
"Jim, do you want some coffee?" Taylor asked.
"Sure." He tried to smile but it came across as a grimace.
"I'll be right back."
Jim watched her go, wondering how long the calm exterior was going to last. Every time the phone rang or someone walked into the bullpen, her heart rate shot up. Jim jumped as a hand touched his shoulder.
"Sorry." Rafe and Brown stood behind him.
Surprise that he hadn't heard them was pushed back by fear. "Sandburg..."
"A patrol car found the car. There was no sign of Sandburg, but there was some blood. The blood was found in an alley..."
A gasp caused all three men to turn towards the door just in time to see Taylor run from the room, two cups of coffee splashing to the floor.
"Taylor!" Jim called, running after her.
Taylor couldn't breath. Outside, she had to get outside.
Blood. Blair's blood. No. It can't happen. Blair can't be dead.
She didn't remember running down the stairs or exiting the building. She didn't realize she'd walked into the street until strong arms grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back. A car honked and passed a few feet in front of them.
Jim held her tight and pulled her back into the station.
"Let go!" Taylor screamed.
Jim groaned as her foot connected painfully with his shin.
"Stop it, Taylor."
He pulled her up off her feet and carried her into an empty room. Her heart rate and breathing were erratic and he was afraid she was going to pass out. He pinned her arms under his and hooked one of his legs around hers bringing her to the floor. Gradually her fighting grew weak and he loosened his grip. She turned her head into his chest and cried. Jim held her until exhaustion took over and she began to drift to sleep.
"He can't be dead," she said softly, surprising Jim.
"No, he's not dead. Blair has a way of finding trouble, but he always manages to find a way out."
Taylor sat up wiping her face. "From the way he tells it, you always find him."
"Blair's been talking about me?"
"Not really." She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, maybe a little. What has he told you about me?"
"Not much."
"Did he tell you how we met?"
"You met in the park."
"That's all he said?"
"Yeah."
"I probably shouldn't..."
"Probably not."
They shared a sad smile.
"I spend any nice day at the park during my lunch-break. One day about two months ago, Blair was sitting on my usual bench. Even with the short hair, I knew who he was. You would've had to been on Mars not to. I didn't want to bother him, but he looked so... I don't know. I asked him if something was wrong. I didn't think he was going to answer me, but after a couple of minutes, he smiled and asked me my name."
"That's Blair."
"Yeah, I know, table leg."
"He told you?!"
"He told me a lot of things. We talked for hours that first day." She looked down at her hands. "That was the first day of his weapons training," she whispered.
"You're the friend he talked to?"
"Yeah, that was me. I don't know exactly what I said, but when he left he seemed happier. I had given him my phone number and I really didn't think he was going to call."
"But he did."
"The next day. We went to lunch. We found that we have a lot in common. I'm not a genius like Blair, but I have been dancing since I could walk. Both of us had less then normal childhoods."
"He told you about Naomi?"
Jim noticed, as they talked Taylor's heart rate was decreased and the panic was gone from her voice.
"Like I said, he told me about a lot of things."
Jim knew Blair wouldn't tell anybody about his Sentinel research. The press conference was enough to squash those fears, but Blair seemed to be very open to someone he had just met.
"Are you ok?" Taylor asked.
"Sure, what else do you and Blair talk about?"
"Nothing much. He tells me about the problems he's having at work and I get to whine about my students who don't live up to their potential. I think he's living vicariously through me."
"He misses teaching."
"No, not really. He loves being a cop some days are just harder then others. Besides, he gets to spend more time with you."
"Me?"
Taylor smiled at him and stood.
"You have no idea how he sees you?"
"What do you mean?"
Taylor turned and headed for the door. He followed her. With her hand on the doorknob, she turned back to face him.
"I've said too much."
"Taylor."
She leaned back against the door. "After the press conference, you gave him this incredible opportunity." She slowly lowered herself back to the floor. "He's so afraid of disappointing you," she whispered.
"Disappointing me?" He sat down next to her.
"According to Blair, you're a really good cop, Jim. He said you were even awarded 'Cop of the Year' more than once. That's a lot for him to live up to."
"He knows I don't expect anything from him."
Taylor looked at him and shook her head. "No, he doesn't know that. Why do you think it took him three weeks of weapons training before telling you he didn't want to carry a gun?"
"And he only told me after you talked him into it."
"Please, nobody talks Blair into doing anything. He wanted to tell you."
"But he thought I would be angry."
"No, not angry. For some reason he thinks you want more from him than you do. Being on the outside, not being a cop I mean, I can see where he's coming from, but I can also see what he can't. His expectations, or your expectations as he sees it, are sometimes so out there he needs someone to reel him in and give him a different perspective. Sometimes Blair just thinks too much."
"Tell me about it," Jim mumbled. "He thinks I expect him to be, what, like me?"
"No, just what he thinks you want him to be."
"I want him to be Blair Sandburg. I like Blair Sandburg."
Taylor smiled at him.
"You should tell him that. I don't know if he believes that he can be what you want and still be himself."
They are startled by a knock on the door.
"Yeah?" Jim asked.
"It's Simon. Is everything OK?"
Giving Jim a reassuring pat on the leg, Taylor stood. Jim smiled and joined her by the door.
"You won't tell Blair about this, will you?" Taylor asked.
"Not a problem."
Jim opened the door.
"Everything OK?" Simon asked.
"We were just talking."
"I was heading down to check out Sandburg's car. Thought you might want to join me." He handed Jim his coat.
"Thanks, Captain." He turned to Taylor. "Why don't you go back upstairs? The minute there is any news, I'll get word to you." Jim noted her increased heart rate and was ready for an argument. "I promise."
Taylor took a deep breath, not answering right away. "OK." She grabbed for Jim's arm when he turned to leave. "Find him, please." Not waiting for a response, she turned and headed for the elevators.
Shaking his head, he turned to follow Simon. "I intend to."
The area was full of old empty warehouses. Blair's car sat at an angle to an alley. The blood was ten feet into the alley. Jim found himself zoning at the smell.
"Jim. Come on, Jim. Blair needs you to find him." The void disappeared and Jim shook his head.
"Sorry, Sir."
"What was it?"
"The blood." Jim stood and scanned the area for the sound he had to find.
No heart beat. If Blair was in the area, he was dead. No, don't go there.
Jim went back to smell. Going past the blood in the alley, he tried to find more. Moving back toward the car, he picked up a faint trace. Down the street, well out of the search area, hid in another dark alley, was a small amount of blood smeared on a door handle.
"Jim?" He put his hand up. Reaching out his hearing he thought he could hear a faint heartbeat, slow, but steady.
"He's here." Without waiting for Simon or worrying about what might be behind the door, Jim entered the building. The darkness would have blinded anyone but the Sentinel.
"Jim," Simon whispered from the doorway.
"It' clear, Simon." A flashlight clicked on behind Jim, momentarily blinding him. He blinked several times to adjust before running forward.
"Jim, be careful." Simon moved quickly to Jim's side scanning the room with the flashlight.
"He's under us. Simon!" Jim grabbed Simon's arm and pulled him back.
"What the..." A large hole had rotted through the floor. In the midst of the crumbled floor was Blair.
"Shit. I'll get some help." Simon ran for the door.
"Blair?" Jim was relieved to see Blair's chest rise and fall, but was worried about the slowing of his heartbeat. "Blair, answer me."
"Jim?" Blair whispered.
"Yeah, Chief. Up here."
"What took you so long?"
"I've been busy. That girl of yours is a handful."
"What, Taylor? Damn. I was supposed to meet her."
"Don't worry, Chief. She's waiting at the station."
"Maybe you should call her. Man, she must be..." He winced as he tried to move.
"Stay still. Simon went to get some help."
"Oh, God, definitely not moving."
"Where are you hurt?"
"Everywhere, but my leg is the worst. Damn kid. I was just trying to help him, and he stabs me."
"Who were you helping?"
"Oh, man, this kid ran in front of my car, but he got up and ran away. I had to make sure he was OK."
"Yeah, Chief," Jim said shaking his head.
"I followed him into the alley. I must have scared him, because he pulled a knife. Before I could do anything he stabbed me."
"And instead of going back to the car and radioing for help you kept following him."
"Wasn't the brightest move, I know, but I just needed to make sure he was ok. My leg wasn't bleeding that bad and it would have been fine if the floor hadn't given out."
"And the kid you were trying to help?"
"He must have run off. Guess he wasn't that hurt."
"Guess not."
An hour later Blair was in the back of an ambulance.
"Jim, man, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make everyone worry."
"I wouldn't worry about me. Taylor is meeting us at the hospital."
"Oh, man!"
Blair was alive.
She kept repeating that over and over in her head until she reached the hospital. She left Rafe and Brown in the car, jumping out before it had completely stopped. Running through the ER doors, she went straight for the admitting desk.
"Excuse me. Blair Sandburg. Where is he?"
"I'm afraid I will need a little more information..." the nurse began.
"The detective who was brought in..." she stopped at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Would you stop touching it? Where is the doctor?"
"Never mind," Taylor called over her shoulder as she made her way toward the voice.
"Miss, you can't go back there!"
Blair heard the nurse's voice just as the curtain was moved back. "You are such a whiner, Sandburg." Taylor smiled.
Jim moved from the side of Blair's bed toward the nurse. "It's OK." He pulled the nurse passed the curtain. Taylor stood at the foot of the bed. Blair was in a hospital gown. An IV ran into the back of his hand and a tube ran under his nose. He motioned for her to come closer. She didn't move.
"Taylor, I'm sorry."
She gently sat down on the edge of the bed. Blair's hands came up to her hips, and he pulled her down into a kiss.
"You scared me," she said between kisses.
A soft grunt was his answer. She pulled away. A small smile touched her lips.
"Are you ok?" She asked sitting up.
"He's going to be fine," Jim said, pushing the curtain out of his way.
"And since when did you become a doctor?" Blair asked.
"You are such a baby. You get a little cut on your leg..."
"Little!"
"Yes, little. You've survived worse."
"Oh really? This happens a lot?" Taylor asked, taking Blair's hand.
Blair glared at Jim. "No, Jim is referring to the few times I was hurt helping him."
"Well, let's see. You've been shot, poisoned, drowned, kidnapped and now stabbed. I think you've covered every possible way of being hurt."
Taylor laughed as the two men continued to throw insults at each other. This was definitely going to be interesting.
THE END