Archive of Our Own ^beta

The characters do not belong to me. They belong to Pet Fly Studios. I am making no money from this; I am doing it for the sheer love of the characters and my own personal fulfillment.

The usual suspects; Bonnie May, my beta reader, and one of my three biggest fans; Patt and Lisa, my other two biggest fans.

Threesome. If you don't like threesomes, don't go any further.

"Welcome to Cascade, where we have seven kinds of rain and forty-two ways to order coffee."

--Capt. Simon Banks

It wasn't until after Jim started working with Blair that he'd really started to appreciate a rainy day. Before they'd met, a rainy day was just another nuisance compounded by the headache he got from the rain's unmerciful pounding on whatever surface was nearby.

Now, though, after working with his Guide to get control over his senses, a rainy day became an entirely new experience.

That was Jim's thoughts as he walked out of the station door and into a downpour. Blair was right behind him, complaining. "Oh, man... Jim--give me the umbrella!" Jim was teasing him by holding the umbrella over Blair's head. "Come--come on, man, share!"

Jim laughed and passed the umbrella over to Blair. "There you go, Chief." Jim pulled his coat collar up around his ears as he started out towards his truck. The first thing he noticed about the rain was that it was a cold rain. Second thing was that it was coming down hard, stinging his exposed head, face, and hands. He felt it plinking against his jacket; he felt the impact of the drops as he heard them splashing onto his leather coat, the asphalt, in nearby puddles, even on the vinyl of the umbrella Blair held over his head.

He lowered his face and looked back at the Guide, and Blair was staring quizzically at him. Blair had been calling his name, but Jim hadn't heard it until that moment. "Jim! Ever heard the expression, not enough sense to come in out the rain?"

When Blair said that, Jim realized he'd been standing in the parking lot, his face turned up to the rain as he experienced it. "Sorry, Chief," Jim apologized, hurrying to unlock the doors and let Blair into the truck. "Didn't mean to leave you standing like that."

Blair rolled his eyes. "Great. Of all the Sentinels in the world, I find the one who gets fascinated by a rainy day." He smiled to let Jim know he was teasing, and Jim laughed. "Isn't that just my luck?" He looked over at the larger man as Jim shook off the water as he sat in the driver's seat. "Hey... you wanna shake off OUTSIDE, Jim? I already had a shower this morning."

"I know, I was there," Jim said with a grin, leaning over to kiss Blair.

Blair returned the kiss, and then scolded him. "Put that jacket back on, Jim, your lips are freezing and you're going to get sick!"

Jim couldn't help but laugh again as he looked over at Blair and shrugged back into his jacket. "You sound a little cross there, Chief... something wrong?"

"Nothing that a cup of hot coffee and some dry land wouldn't fix," Blair said with a frown of distaste. "I'm sick of the rain, Jim. I hate it. It's dreary, it saps your energy... it's terrible."

Jim nodded. That didn't surprise him in the least; he liked it, Blair didn't. "Come on, Chief... it's not all that bad."

"No, Jim, it is," Blair said. "Trust me. I've lived through enough of them."

Jim looked at Blair as they headed home. "Chief, as soon as we get home, we'll go outside and conduct a little experiment. I'll show you just how good a rain shower can be."

Blair looked over at Jim. "Do I get to bring my umbrella?"

Jim snorted. "No. Just you and me, Chief. No umbrellas, no jackets, nothing... just us."

Blair was skeptical of this idea, but he was willing to give Jim the benefit of the doubt, just as he always did. "All right, Jim, I'm willing to try it, but if I get pneumonia, it's your fault."

Jim flinched. "I'm not going to let you get sick, Blair. That's not in my job description."

Blair heard the wounded note in Jim's voice. "Sorry about that, Jim. Didn't mean to imply otherwise."

Jim was silent for a moment. "I know, Blair, it's okay." They both sat in silence the rest of the way home, and then Jim dropped his wet jacket on the doorstep, something very uncharacteristic of the anal-retentive Sentinel, Blair noticed.

"Come on, Chief, we got an experiment to conduct!" Blair was the one who bent over to pick up Jim's jacket, and Jim laughed. "Am I rubbing off on you?"

Blair rolled his eyes and dropped it over the nearest chair back. "No, I just didn't want it to get ruined, I like you in leather!"

Jim felt the urge to blush at that. "Oh, do you like me in leather, Chief?" Jim asked, in a half flirting tone.

Blair was simply astonished. Never in his wildest dreams had Jim flirted with him, especially about the Sentinel wearing leather. Forget the fact they'd been lovers now for over a month; Jim still did not know how to respond to Blair's flirtations towards him and now Jim was the one making the moves? The Guide felt very lost at that moment. "Jim... are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, Chief, I'm fine," he said with a half smile. In a way, he was disappointed that Blair had let that opportunity pass, because it wasn't often he got the chance to do the flirting. He looked over at Blair. "Are YOU okay, Blair? It's not like you to let a leather line pass you by."

Blair dropped onto the couch, and Jim sat beside him, worried. "I was just thinking about Simon, Jim." It was only a partial lie, since he did worry about Simon... just not at that particular moment, not with the thought of Jim in leather, anyway.

Jim pretended to adopt a hurt expression. "You mean you weren't thinking about me in leather?" He got up and went down to the bathroom, listening to Blair as he went.

Blair grinned. "I was at first, yes. But come on, Jim, I know you worry about Simon too." Anything to change the subject and get out of the very odd Sentinel Zone they'd just entered.

Jim came back into the living room with a towel around his shoulders, minus his soaked shirt. "Yeah, I do worry about Simon. Working all the time, all alone, empty house to go home to... sounds a lot like me, Blair, after Carolyn and I divorced and before you moved in." He was scrubbing his hair as he sat back down beside Blair, and the Guide took the towel out of Jim's hands. "You're right, I do worry."

Blair finished drying Jim's hair, and then dried off his back and shoulders before wrapping the towel back around Jim's neck. "So what are we going to do about it?" He resolutely stamped down the forbidden thoughts that entered into his mind. He loved Jim intensely, more than anything, and yet...

Jim looked at Blair closely. "What do you think we should do?"

"Who do we know who is available?" Blair made a quick run through of the women he knew, and knew none of them would be Simon's taste.

Jim snorted again. "Nobody that he'd be interested in, except maybe us."

Blair spluttered, choking on the breath he'd just taken. He was pretty sure that Jim hadn't meant what Blair thought he meant. "What do you mean?" Blair squeaked out, red-faced and wheezing.

Jim pounded Blair helpfully on the back as the Guide choked. "I meant, that we're probably the only people that's close to Simon's social level."

Whew, Blair thought. "Well, why don't we have him over for dinner then?" The suggestion was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"Now that is a good idea. I mean... if he hadn't locked us up in the basement until we stopped that ridiculous fight..." Jim didn't like thinking about that; he'd almost lost Blair over an idiotic argument...

//flashback//

"ALL RIGHT, BOTH OF YOU, THAT'S ENOUGH! ELLISON! SANDBURG! IN MY OFFICE, NOW!"

Both grown men cringed at Simon's bellow. They stopped their shouts in midstream and walked over to the Captain's office. Blair walked in first, Jim followed, and Simon slammed the door behind both of them.

"All right. I am up to here--" Simon said, pointing to about six inches over his head "--with this nonsense. You two have a problem, you work it out at home, not in my bullpen!" He got nose to nose with Jim. "Ellison, you should know better than to yell in my bullpen!" And then he moved over to Blair. "And you, Sandburg, I don't ever want to hear your voice raised in my bullpen again, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir!" chorused both men.

"Good! Now, get your asses out of here and meet me downstairs in five minutes... don't make me come looking for you, Ellison," he said, noticing Jim's quick look around for an escape route.

Jim and Blair were waiting as Simon came down the stairs. He opened up the door marked basement, and held the door open as he switched on the light. It was a fairly dingy basement, with a table, two chairs, a water cooler, and one window that looked out onto another wall. "Get your asses in there, and call me when you've worked it out," he ordered, and threw Jim a radio.

Jim and Blair looked at each other as Jim heard the key turn in the lock, and looked back at Blair.

//end flashback//

Blair nodded. "If Simon hadn't locked us down there, I would never have listened to you."

"And I never would have apologized, and we never would have realized how we felt about each other," Jim finished for him. "We definitely owe him dinner."

Blair didn't quite know how to voice his next thought. "Jim... have you ever... I mean... when you look at Simon..." Blair let it trail off as he caught the "what the hell?" look Jim was throwing at him. "Never mind."

Jim continued looking at Blair. "No, go ahead, Chief, finish what you're going to say," he said, leaning forward. He hoped to God that the Guide would finish the sentence, because Jim didn't quite think he could do it. He had just gotten Blair into his life a month ago; he would not risk driving him out with a ridiculous fantasy about his boss. If Blair thought the same thing, then that was fine, but if not, Jim would not--could not--risk losing Blair entirely.

Blair could not figure out why Jim was giving him such a strange look. He knew Jim worried about Simon, and he had a feeling that Jim had deep rooted Simon fantasies that he definitely wasn't going to admit to anyone, least of all, Blair. He sighed. "Never mind Jim, I just... you're right, we definitely owe Simon dinner. I'll cook if you do the inviting."

Jim grinned his agreement. "You got it, Blair. You know Simon wouldn't miss anything that you cook."

Jim picked up the phone and dialed Simon at the office. He waited for it to ring, and Simon picked up. "Banks."

"Hey, Captain, it's me."

"Ellison, what the hell do you want? I told you to go home and enjoy yourself. You've been working too hard."

Jim smiled. "Yes you did, I was just calling to see if you wanted to join Blair and I for dinner tonight. We wanted to say thank you."

Simon rolled his eyes on the other end of the phone. "Ellison, get a grip. You and Sandburg don't owe me anything."

Jim disagreed. "Yes we do, Simon. If you hadn't locked us up in the basement, Blair and I never would have gotten over that argument, we never would have gotten together, and we owe it all to you. Come on, what do you say? Blair's cooking... Simon, please?" Jim put on his best wheedling tone, and he knew his captain well enough to know Simon was rolling his eyes again.

Simon sighed deeply. Those two seemed to bring that out in him. "Okay, okay, you win. When?"

"Hang on." Jim covered the mouthpiece and looked at Blair. "When?"

Blair shrugged and then smiled. "How about tonight?"

"Good idea!" Jim took his hand off the mouthpiece. "Well, how about tonight? Got any other plans?"

"You can't be serious," Simon said.

"Deadly," answered Jim. "You got nothing better to do, at least you're not going home to an empty house, right? You're coming over here, good food, good company, a couple of good looking guys, what more do you need?"

At that question, Blair looked up at Jim and Jim quickly looked away. Jim has a Simon fantasy... file that one under hunches, confirmed! Blair thought to himself. He covered his mouth as Jim looked back over at him.

Simon sighed again. "What time?"

Jim mouthed time? at Blair, and Blair shrugged. Eight? he mouthed back. It was five thirty now.

Jim spoke to Simon. "Be over here at seven thirty, we'll eat at eight."

Simon let out a very long-suffering sigh. "Do I need to bring anything?"

Jim shook his head. "We got it all under control, Simon. Just bring yourself."

"All right, I'll be there." Simon hung up the phone and dropped his head into his hands. What have you gotten yourself into? Simon asked himself.

Back at the loft, Jim looked over at Blair. "Okay, we got him over here, now what are we going to do with him?"

Blair gave him an evil grin. "Get him drunk, of course."

Jim smiled at the thought of his captain drunk. "I wonder," Jim said thoughtfully. "I wonder if he actually would get drunk or not."

Blair shrugged. "Only one way to find out; try and see."

"All right, make me a list, I will go to the store and I will get what we need."

Blair started rummaging through the cabinets and was soon rattling off a list of herbs, spices, meats, and side dishes that Jim had never heard of before, but was assured that yes, the store carried them and would help if he asked.

"What's cumin?" he complained, as he surveyed Blair's list. "Thyme and dill I know, but sherry and cumin? Blair, what is all this?"

"Jim, shut up and go to the store. You eat it all the time, you just don't know it."

Jim was slightly mollified as he continued down the list. "I eat this?"

"Yes, and you actually think it's quite good. Now shoo, I have work to do." Jim closed the door behind him, and as soon as he got out to the truck, his phone rang. "Sorry Jim, I forgot to add a few things to the list. Get a bottle of red and white wine, and cooking sherry as well as the sherry powder."

Jim was scribbling. "Hang on a second, Chief, what the hell are you cooking?"

"Sherry chicken. Red and white both go with it, depending on what Simon wants to drink, and get another case of beer while you're there. You drink it, he drinks it, I'm not wild about it but I'll throw back a few with you guys."

Jim added those things to his list and then looked at the list. "Blair, this is going to take hours to shop for."

"Then you'd better hurry, right?"

Jim sighed. Since when did he become a henpecked Sentinel? Still though, he drove to the store, got out, and started shopping.

As soon as Jim left the loft, Blair sagged against the counter. Now, he could get his end of it set up and Jim wouldn't have anything to say about it.

He pulled out the table and put a very nice white tablecloth over it. He rooted around again in the cabinets and came up with a pair of silver candlesticks, and he sat those on the table as well, with white candles in them. That will do very nicely, Blair thought to himself.

He looked through Jim's color-coded Tupperware and the other cabinets, and found nothing he could use, which did not surprise him in the least. Jim just didn't strike him as the kind of guy who kept the necessary parts for a romantic dinner on hand.

Oh well. He'd have to make do. He looked through the shelves again and found a set of four white china plates--formal place settings. If Jim knew how to use half the pieces of silverware in that setting, he'd kiss the Sentinel's ass. Then again, Blair thought to himself, I better not make that bet! Knowing his anal retentive partner, Jim had probably checked out every piece, learning how to properly use it just in case, and while kissing Jim's ass was not at all an unpleasant prospect, it wasn't how Blair had intended to use this evening.

This evening was about loosening Simon up, loosening Jim up, and loosening himself up. He wasn't sure when he'd made the decision, he just knew it'd been made. Everyone was going to get loose if it killed them. And hopefully, between Blair's cooking, the wine, and the beers, Simon would be intoxicated enough not to get in the car and leave. That would at least give them a reason to keep Simon overnight. And if that doesn't work, we could always kidnap him, Blair thought with a giggle.

Blair busied himself cooking after he pulled out the place settings, and put the candlesticks on the table along with them.

Jim walked through the door an hour and a half later. He plunked down all the groceries that had been on Blair's list. "Cumin? You sent me out after cumin?" The Guide rolled his eyes; Jim was still bitching about the cumin. Jim sniffed the sauce that was simmering in the pot, but as he reached for the lid, Blair slapped his hand. "Forget it; get those grubby paws out of my pot, that's for Simon's dinner." Jim pouted, and tried for another taste.

"Blair, it smells great!"

"And it's going to taste great too, but keep those grubby hands off my sauce." Blair brandished the spatula he was holding, and smacked Jim's questing hand again. "Back! Away!" Blair started around the counter, chasing after Jim with the spatula still in his hand.

This is the scene that Simon walked into, after trying the door and finding it unlocked. Blair, in a truly hideous multi-colored apron, chasing Jim around the living room and kitchen with a spatula in his hand. "Did I come at a bad time?" he asked, clearing his throat as both men skidded to a halt. "I'll come back later, when you're done."

Jim blushed a deep, scarlet red, and Blair was only a few shades behind him. "I... uh... hi, Simon, you're early!" Jim blurted out.

Blair smacked the Sentinel in the back of the head. "Gee, now that's a nice way to greet our guest. Come on in, Simon, have a seat... we're running a little bit behind."

Simon came in and sighed as he shut the door. "I knew this was a bad idea," he muttered to himself, taking his tie off.

Jim hid his blushing face in the refrigerator as he pulled out three cold beers and put the new case in to chill. He popped the cap on one and gave it to Blair, and carried the other two into the living room and handed one to Simon. "Here you go, Simon. Enjoy."

Simon raised an eyebrow at Jim as Blair was cooking in the kitchen. "So I take it things are working out?"

Jim draped one arm over the back of the seat. "Better than I'd dreamed. Blair's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me."

Simon choked on his beer. "The greatest thing that ever happened to you is chasing you around the living room with a kitchen implement? Kinky," he said, enjoying the sight of Jim blushing. It wasn't often he got to relax like this, especially with someone he liked and respected as much as Jim--and Blair, he admitted to himself. "It shows, Jim."

"What does?"

"That you love him," the captain said softly. "And if you ever do anything to make that light in his eye go away, you're going to have me on your ass faster than you can blink."

Jim looked into Simon's face, and saw the captain was deadly serious. "Understood," Jim said softly. "But you don't have anything to worry about."

"I hope not, Jim." He raised his bottle, and Jim clinked his against it. Then Simon looked out towards the kitchen, watching the usually frenetic Guide calmly cooking. "You should thank your lucky stars that you found him."

Jim followed Simon's gaze, and Blair turned to meet Jim's eyes and smile brightly at him. "I do, Simon. Every second." His ears caught the gusty sigh that came from his friend. "You okay?" he asked, turning back to Simon.

Simon's eyes were slightly cloudy. "I'm okay, just trying to remember what it was like, to be that much in love."

"I'm sorry, Simon."

Simon shook his head. "Don't be... I'm glad that you and Sandburg are happy." I just wish I were, he added to himself. He rarely indulged in self-pity, and he loathed it.

Jim turned his head and looked at Simon, as though reading his mind. "You know every man on that force thinks of you as their father, respects the hell out of you, cares for you..." Jim let his thought trail off, after placing too much emphasis on the last part.

Simon held up his hand as he chugged down a long swallow of beer. "It's not the same thing, Jim, and you know it," he said softly. "You know, I think I remember saying something to you except I used brother instead of father."

Jim nodded. "You did, where do you think it came from? It was true then, it's true now."

Simon raised his bottle in a mock toast. "Touch, I suppose."

Blair picked up on the change in the living room mood, and came in with two bottles of wine. "Simon... red or white?"

Simon shrugged. "What are you cooking?"

"Chicken," Blair answered.

"Go with white then," he said. "I like white."

Blair smiled. "White it is. I'll pop the cork and pour us some."

"I'm not finished with my beer yet!" Simon protested, holding up a half-empty bottle. Well, it's more than half-empty, Simon realized, after inspecting the bottle. More like three-quarters.

As soon as Blair saw the level of beer in Simon's bottle, he took the empties out of Jim and Simon's hands and brought in two fresh beers, and got one for himself. Turning down the heat on the sherry sauce, he let it simmer for a few minutes as he sat down beside Simon and across from Jim. "Jim, what are you trying to do, depress him?" He casually draped an arm around Simon's shoulders as he sipped at his own bottle. "Don't listen to him, Simon."

Simon smiled briefly as Blair's arm draped around his shoulders, and he thirstily attacked his second beer. "He's not depressing me," Simon said, after a few deep swallows. I'm doing a fine job of that all by myself, he finished in his head. "I just told him I envied you guys."

"Envy us?" Blair questioned.

Simon paused, leaning back to finish his second beer before explaining himself to Blair. "Even before the divorce... let's just say it wasn't a picnic for Joan and I. It was worse for Darryl, seeing that his mother and father didn't love each other any more... if we ever did." Simon sighed, and tilted the bottle to his mouth again, forgetting for the moment he'd emptied it already. Jim had gotten up and brought another, and pressed it into Simon's hand. The black man drank deeply and continued. "I wish he hadn't had to see that or live through that, but Joan and I... well, it got bad near the end." Into his third bottle now, Simon was almost oblivious to the fact he was quickly getting drunk. He was just blissfully aware that he was with friends and not alone again. "Anyway... it's just been longer than I care to remember since I loved anyone as much as you two love each other." Simon polished off the last dregs, and Jim passed his untouched bottle over as Blair got up to stir the simmering sherry. Both were loath to interrupt Simon so long as he felt like talking, and after passing Jim a fresh beer, Blair sat back down beside Simon. "It would be nice to feel that again," he said softly, into his beer bottle.

Blair gave Simon a quick hug as he went back out into the kitchen to finish dinner. "You will, man."

Yeah, right, Simon thought, enjoying the brief contact. When both my best prospects are already in love with each other? He surprised himself with the bitterness in that thought as he gazed at the foaming head of his latest beer.

Blair and Jim exchanged a startled look over Simon's head. From the look on the man's face, he had no idea he'd just spoken those words aloud. "Hey, Jim," Blair called out. "Can you come help me in the kitchen please?"

Jim almost shot up out of his chair. "Sure, Chief." He looked down at Simon, who was looking up at him, blank faced. "I'll be right back, Simon," he said softly, gripping the man's shoulder briefly as he walked past the couch and into the kitchen. "What do you need, Blair?"

Blair's hand shot out and grabbed Jim's wrist. "Did I just hear Simon say what I think he said?"

Jim nodded, keeping his voice quiet. "Since when did Simon start feeling that way towards us?"

Blair glared at Jim. "I am holding a cast iron skillet, Jim, don't make me have to use it!" Blair hissed. "Are you that out of it? I knew Simon cared about us, he wouldn't have tried to get us together if he didn't. I just didn't know how much he cared, you know?"

"So what are we going to do about it, Chief? I don't want Simon to be alone any more than you do." Jim sipped nervously at his beer as he looked at Blair.

"We feed him, we ply him with wine, and we love him," Blair said softly. "I mean, let's face it, Jim... we both adore Simon and if we would sit down and admit it to each other, we'd both kill for the chance to have him with us, right?"

Jim blushed as he nodded yes, and he could not meet Blair's eyes. "Sorry, Chief... I didn't mean to hide it from you, I just didn't want to hurt you." He held out his hands for the wineglasses full of wine that Blair was passing to him. "It's not that I don't love you, because you know I do, it's just that--"

"--that Simon is a very special individual who deserves someone to care about him as much as he cares about everyone else?" Blair finished, and Jim nodded. "Thought so," Blair said softly. They'd both felt the same way about the captain and neither had admitted it. "Jim, we can do this, but only if you are sure about it. Because once we do it, it's going to change everything. Including us, and we can't go back. We'll always know that we need Simon to be with us, to make this relationship and this family whole. It's up to you, Jim." Blair knew what he wanted, but he was going to leave the final decision up to Jim.

Jim drained his beer and dropped the bottle in the trash. "We'll talk to him after dinner," Jim said, his jaw set. "We won't let him tell us no." He reached out, and cupped Blair's face in his hand, and then kissed him softly. "Thank you," he said softly.

Blair cleared his throat as he filled the plates and dimmed the lights. Jim lit the candles, and helped Blair out of the apron. "Hey, Simon," Blair called. "Dinner."

Jim walked into the living room and met Simon on the way in, confiscating the empty bottle and subtly supporting the tipsy man as he made his way to the table.

They put Simon in the middle, with Jim on one end of the small table and Blair on the other end. Both Jim and Blair moved their plates and chairs closer to Simon in the middle without saying a word, and Simon didn't seem to notice as he started eating. "I'm impressed, Blair," Simon said, around a mouthful of chicken. "This is damn good. Spicy but not too bad... what is that, cumin?" Jim choked on the mouthful of chicken and pasta he'd just taken, and Simon reached around to pound Jim on the back. "You okay, Jim?"

Jim wheezed. "Fine," he croaked out. "You and Blair with that damned cumin! I can't even taste it!"

Blair and Simon shared a look that said "heathen!" and Blair grinned. "Sure you do, Jim, you just don't know what you're tasting. You're also tasting sherry, dill, a sprinkling of oregano, onion powder, powdered chile peppers, and a few special ingredients that you're happier not knowing." He looked over at Simon, who was trying to listen attentively. "You want me to send it home with you?"

Jim looked worriedly up at Blair when he mentioned home, but the Guide shook his head, and Jim picked up the cue and kept his mouth shut.

Simon snorted. "Like I ever have anyone over for dinner." Simon thought hard. Most of what was in his pantry cabinets was either heat or serve, or he ate out.

"Why don't you start having dinner with us?" Jim asked suddenly. "You know we'd love to have you over, and even if we are just getting take-out, you can at least sit in front of our TV and eat with us," he offered, and Blair nodded appreciatively.

Simon cocked his head at the Sentinel. "And just why would I be putting myself in the middle of your lives like that? You wouldn't be feeling sorry for me, would you?"

Jim heard the obstinate tone in Simon's voice and groaned inwardly. Simon was turning out to be a pissy drunk. "No, I wouldn't be feeling sorry for you," Jim said quietly. "I just thought you'd like to spend some time with Blair and me and see what you brought together." This was not turning out as Jim had anticipated.

"Well, in that case, the answer is no." Simon went back to eating, and Blair and Jim exchanged frustrated glances, and then Blair took a shot.

"Simon, look, nobody is feeling sorry for you, all right? We care a lot about you, you are the one who brought us together, really, because we wouldn't have gotten together if you hadn't locked us up and not let us out until we listened. We owe you a lot, and we want to see you happy and taken care of, just like you've taken care of me and Jim."

Simon let out a gusty sigh on that one. "It's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, Blair, I just don't think I should be stepping in on your time with Jim."

"Why not, Simon? I do it all the time at the station, step in on your time with Jim, it's about time you returned the favor, isn't it?" Blair said with a smile. "You're not stepping in, Simon. We're asking. And we want you to say yes."

Simon closed his eyes and leaned back, picking up his full wineglass and sipping slowly. He wondered just how long it would take to get the office pool going again, but this time with himself as the subject; how long before he nailed Blair or got nailed by Jim. As soon as he'd found out the bullpen was taking friendly bets on how long Jim and Blair could fight before they broke down and screwed each other silly, he'd put a stop to it. He could just imagine the pools that would be going on behind his back this time. "All right. We'll give it a try, but the first night I'm intruding on you guys, it's adios," he said firmly. You are really asking for it this time, Banks, Simon admonished himself.

Blair smiled. "Great! I can't promise sherry chicken every night, but you won't be disappointed."

"If it all tastes this good, I know I won't be." Simon finished off two helpings of Blair's sherry chicken, and four glasses of wine. When he stood up, the beer and the wine hit him, and he felt lightheaded. He grabbed the back of the chair, and Jim reached out and steadied him. "I think it's time for me to go home, before I make a bigger idiot out of myself."

"No way we are letting you near your car, right, Jim?" The Guide delivered a swift kick to Jim's shin to cue him.

"Absolutely right, Simon, you're way too drunk to drive." He reached down and gingerly rubbed his leg where Blair had kicked him.

"So what am I going to do, stay here all night?" Simon demanded.

"Well, why not? Blair's old bedroom is still made up, and now that he's sharing the upstairs with me, there's not really a reason why you can't stay." Jim was fervently hoping that would become Simon's bedroom now, instead of Blair's old room.

Simon held up his hands in surrender. "All right, I surrender, I will be a good little captain and sleep over and not drive." He dug through his coat pockets, and tossed his keys to Jim, who pocketed them. "Since I'm staying, how about another drink?" Simon helped himself and poured another glass of wine.

Jim suddenly snapped his fingers. "I just rented videos last night-what do you want to watch? I have "The Green Mile," I have "Gladiator," and I have "X-Men," he said, throwing a glace at Blair when he listed the last one.

Simon rolled his eyes at "X-Men." Why didn't it surprise him that Sandburg would be watching the X-Men? "Gladiator," Simon said finally, after considering. "I've already seen Green Mile."

Jim got up to put the video in, and Blair looked over at Simon. "And when did you see Green Mile?" the Guide questioned.

If Simon could have blushed, he would have. "When it came out, I took someone out to see it, and she liked the movie, she just didn't like me."

"Well, she was a loser," Blair said confidently, and then scooted over for Jim, who sat in the middle between Simon and Blair on the couch. He passed one beer to Simon, and the other to Blair as he sipped his own. Blair immediately snuggled in against Jim, laying his head on Jim's shoulder as the Sentinel slipped his arm around Blair's shoulders. His other arm he laid casually against the back of the couch, and then slowly let it fall to rest against Simon's shoulder as the movie started.

Jim got up twice during the movie, and each time he sat back down, Simon moved back into position, with Jim's arm around his shoulders. Blair picked his head up and looked around at Simon, and then smiled at Jim. "He's passed out on us," Blair whispered quietly, and Jim looked down. Sure enough, Simon's head was leaned against Jim's shoulder, his eyes closed and his bottle half empty. Blair took the remote and stopped the tape, and Jim picked up Simon, and was surprised at how heavily built his captain was.

Jim carried Simon down the hall, Blair leading the way and turning on the lights, and then once in the room, he turned down the sheets and blankets on the bed as Jim brought Simon in. They put him in the bed, and Jim took off his shoes and loosened the tight collar, and Blair took off his glasses and put them on the table beside the bed. Blair pulled the sheet over Simon's lower body, and impulsively leaned down and kissed Simon softly. "Night, Simon," he said against the black man's lips.

Simon opened his eyes and looked up at Blair, then closed them again before sliding his hand up Blair's arm to his shoulder, and pulled the Guide in for another kiss. Jim silently sat down on the edge of the bed, watching as Simon kissed Blair, and he slid his hand up the captain's leg, resting his hand on Simon's hip as he watched.

Simon could not figure out why he was being kissed awake, especially when he hadn't remembered falling asleep. Then he remembered passing out on the couch beside Jim, but that still didn't explain why he was being kissed. Slowly he opened his eyes, and found Blair-beautiful, delicious Blair Sandburg-leaning over him, kissing him as he lay in his and Jim's downstairs bedroom. He reached out and touched Blair, making sure he was actually there and he was not dreaming, and when he encountered a real arm and shoulder, he brought Blair back in for another kiss as he felt Jim sit down on the bed behind him, felt Jim's hand resting on his hip. It would be so easy for him to just turn over and let Jim's hand slide across his stomach as Blair-at that thought, Simon stopped himself, and pushed them both away. No matter how much he wanted it-and he admitted to himself that yes, he did want it, want it so badly he could still taste Sandburg on his lips-he couldn't. He sat up in bed, scrubbing at his eyes as Blair caught his hand. "Let me go, Blair," Simon said softly. "Please."

Blair held on a moment longer, but then let Simon's hand drop as he'd requested. "Why?" Blair asked, just as softly. Jim had moved his hand from Simon's hip, but remained seated on the edge of the bed, waiting.

"First of all it's taking advantage of you and second of all it's coming between you and Jim, and third I won't use my best friends that way," Simon explained, fighting against the urge to say 'yes' to the questioning in Blair's eyes. He would not-could not-look at Jim for fear of what he'd see.

Then the choice was taken away from him as Jim took Simon by the shoulders and turned him around. "Simon, you're not taking advantage of us-we are taking advantage of you," he said, leaning in to keep whispering. "Blair and I invited you over tonight for the sole purpose of feeding you good food, relaxing you, and then seducing you because we both care about you and we both want you." He finished his statement with a firm kiss on Simon's mouth. The black man returned Jim's kiss with a surprising hungriness, and Jim growled.

At Jim's growl, Blair moved up and pushed him gently out of the way and reclaimed Simon's mouth. "What he said," he whispered, and he kissed the black man hard.

Simon returned Blair's kiss as well, and he tried to think as Jim's mouth pressed against the back of his neck, and Jim's large hands slid around his chest. He tried to lean his head back, and found it resting on Jim's shoulder as Blair moved his mouth down the arch of Simon's throat. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply as both men tried to convince him to let go. They want you, Simon, he thought to himself. You can't deny it. He shivered, and he opened his eyes to look up at Jim, and then over at Blair. "Yes," he said softly, and Jim's hands tightened on his shoulders. Blair's mouth spread into a wide grin as he moved back up to kiss Simon again.

Jim's hands slipped inside the opened button at Simon's collar, and rubbed across the smooth skin of Simon's chest. Opening each button lower, Jim's hands slid deeper inside Simon's shirt, until he found the black man's nipples. Blair's mouth nipped Jim's fingers as they pinched the right nip, and Jim moved to his left and let Blair have the right with his mouth. He moved his neck forward and kissed Simon again, this time thrusting his tongue into the man's mouth, teasing and nipping as his nails gently raked the puckering skin.

Simon found himself trembling as Blair and Jim started to make love to him. He was not afraid, but it threatened to overwhelm him, what was happening to him, and he shook against Jim's body. Jim wrapped his arms around Simon and held the shaking man as Blair moved up and over, helping to pull Simon's shirt off, and moving his hands down to unbuckle Simon's belt. He threw the shirt aside, and discarded the belt almost as quickly. Simon leaned back against Jim as he lifted himself, and Blair slid down his slacks and his underwear, pulling socks and shoes off also and tossing them down on the floor. Simon was now beautifully naked, and both men stepped back for a moment to just look.

Simon felt vulnerable under the watchful eyes of his friends, and he made a move to pull the sheet over himself when Jim reached out and stopped him. "Don't," Jim whispered softly. "There's no need." He pulled off his shirt, kneeling on the bed beside Simon, picking up the man's hand and placing it on his bared chest. "Touch me," Jim whispered, and he moved his hand from Simon's.

Simon kept his hand still at first, just spreading his fingers out across Jim's breastbone, and then as he extended his fingers to their limits, he moved his hand to the left, stroking the ridged muscles of Jim's pectorals, and down over the well-defined ridges of his abdominals. Jim sucked his breath in lightly as Simon's fingers ranged over his abs and stomach, and dipped momentarily below his belt.

Simon heard the Sentinel's intake of breath, and hovered his slender fingers over the button of Jim's slacks, and then he took a deep breath himself, and slid his hands over Jim's hips and around to gently rub his buttocks through the thin fabric. Jim said nothing, waiting for the other man and finally Simon brought his hands to rest on the silver buckle of Jim's belt, hovering briefly before pushing the belt aside and sliding the loose material down over Jim's lean hips and thighs. As he did that, he was, for the first time, faced with the erection of another man. He reached out, gently touching it, then at Jim's whispered grunts of encouragement he wrapped his long fingers around it. Jim's hand covered Simon's, and he guided the man's motions as Blair moved to the end of the bed.

Both men turned to watch Blair's motions, as he slowly pulled off the blue turtleneck he'd been wearing, and tossed it to the ground. Jim never failed to be moved by the sight of his lover's body, and the primitive undulations that Blair began as he almost slithered out of his slacks and boots sent tremors through his body and soft throbs to his groin. Blair's body was swaying back and forth, his hips moving in a counterpoint to the rest of his body as his hair sparkled in the dim light of the bedroom, and his clothes seemed to fall away as Jim and Simon watched.

As Simon felt the throbbing in his hand, he tore his eyes away from Blair's dance and turned back to Jim's body in front of him. He closed his eyes, feeling Jim's hand move off his and he kept the same stroking motion as he felt Blair's hot skin gliding across his as Blair moved around him. Jim pulled Simon up to his knees, and Blair moved almost immediately to slide beneath him. "And where were you hiding all this?" Blair demanded softly of Simon as he gingerly licked the leaking head of Simon's erection. "Packed to the right or the left?" Simon bit his lip as Blair's tongue touched him, and he almost vaulted off the bed when the young man fully engulfed him with a single, fast sucking motion.

Jim's hands were resting on Simon's shoulders, and he felt his eyes slitting as he watched his lover wrapping his mouth around Simon's thick shaft. He saw only Blair and Simon as he listened to them together. The wet suction of Blair's mouth pulling on Simon's organ, the grunts and groans of both his lovers as they explored each other sent hot shivers through his body. He was tuning in on the sounds, disregarding everything else when he was jolted almost out of his skin by a hot mouth wrapping around his own organ. He opened his eyes and almost came on the spot, biting his lip as he saw Simon's bowed head clumsily echoing Blair's motions.

Blair saw what Simon was doing and slowed his own sucking down, letting Simon get a better feel for what he was doing. He braced his hands on Simon's strong thighs, showing the black man by example how to move and where to use tongues and lips. Both Jim and Simon were shuddering, and Blair's own erection was twitching as he sped up his mouth's movements on Simon's organ. Simon felt Blair's twitching as their bodies touched, and he pulled away from Jim to turn around, offering his mouth to Blair's neglected erection.

Blair moved to bring himself level with Simon's mouth, and that brought Blair face to face with his Sentinel's erection, still wet from the other man's attention. He breathed in and could smell Simon's scent on top of Jim's, and it filled him inside. His tongue snaked out and wrapped around the familiar contours of Jim's shaft, licking and sucking as hard as he could to fill his mouth with Simon's taste on Jim's shaft.

Jim's fingers wrapped themselves in Blair's hair, pulling his head up from his erection to meet his mouth in a hot kiss. Blair thrust his tongue into Jim's mouth, and Jim nipped it, then sucked it hard as Blair's nails dragged lightly along his shoulders. Simon's mouth was still working on Blair's erection, and Jim stopped him, leaning over the black man and kissing him as he held Blair tightly to his side, as the Guide's sharp teeth worried the skin of Jim's shoulder.

As he kissed Simon, he was gentler than he had been with Blair, but his tongue still pressed insistently against Simon's until finally he accepted the kiss and Jim's hands slipped around to hold Simon's face carefully as his tongue swept and possessed every part of Simon's mouth. As they kissed, Blair moved away from Jim and straddled Simon's body, his knees hugging Simon's lean waist as he beckoned to Jim.

Jim knew what Blair was indicating, and Simon seemed to also as he relaxed and wrapped his arms around the Guide's waist, pulling him down. Jim shivered as he throbbed, watching Simon guide Blair's erection to his mouth as Blair did the same, and he listened for a moment as he reached into the top drawer of the bedside table, finding the tube of lubricant and covering his fingers and erection both with the slick jelly.

Jim reached down and stroked the curve of Blair's firm buttocks, and then parted them carefully to slide his slick fingers into the tight opening. First one, and then as he stroked, he felt Blair pushing back against him and saw Simon's hands gripping Blair's waist tighter and tighter. Jim fought down the urge to savagely pound the smaller Guide, and instead slid a second finger inside, stroking and twisting as he felt Blair thrusting gently into Simon's mouth.

"Jim, please," whispered Blair, around mouthfuls of Simon's shaft, and Jim nodded as he heard the plea in his lover's voice. Carefully positioning himself, Jim thrust forward to lodge himself in Blair's passage. He cried out, tightening his muscles around Jim as Simon drew steadily on his erection.

Simon opened his eyes at Blair's plea to see Jim looming over him. He stopped what he was doing, watching as Jim's erection slid slowly into Blair's body, over and over again. He could feel their bodies shaking together, he could feel Blair shaking and trembling, felt the vibrations of Blair's moans and cries against his erection. The joining of their bodies was flawless, the curve of Jim's groin fitting tightly against Blair's buttocks and Jim's hands fit perfectly around Blair's waist. The long slow strokes almost hypnotized Simon as he watched, and the emptiness of his own body cried out as he pushed himself deeper into Blair's mouth.

Blair sucked harder as Simon pushed himself into his mouth, and he rocked his body back against Jim, meeting his larger lover's thrusting strokes with pushes of his own. "Jim," he cried out, moving his hand to stroke Simon's shaft as he leaned his head back towards Jim.

"Blair," Jim called out in answer, wrapping his arm around Blair's waist and pulling him back even harder, stroking harder and faster as they became shorter and shorter. "Gawd, Blair, hurry," he said, digging his nails into Blair's waist.

Simon moved his hand down from Blair's hip to his thigh, bracing himself and stroking the man's balls with his fingertips as Jim's thrusts bounced both their bodies. Simon lifted his hips, pushing into Blair's rapid thrusts, sliding himself in and out of Blair's tight grasp almost faster than he could stroke. He moved his mouth back to Blair's shaft, sucking hard and then crying out as Blair's mouth moved again to Simon's shaft, sucking and stroking hard again as Jim shouted loudly, drawing Blair back against him as his body shuddered, and his seed spilled into the Guide's waiting body. Blair's body jerked the same time Simon's did, and Simon moved back, using his hand to pump Blair's orgasm from him as Blair's tongue worked at his head, urging out Simon's orgasm. The suction of Blair swallowing caused Simon to come harder, and Blair's mouth was full to almost overflowing before he could swallow. Blair's own seed covered Simon's hand and spilled over to Blair's own stomach as he leaned back against Jim, and kissed him softly. Then both men leaned down, kissing Simon thoroughly together, three tongues playing together lazily.

Simon felt so drowsy, surrounded by the heat of two other bodies and the gentle kisses and nibbles they placed on his face, neck, and shoulders, and soon he found himself fighting the need to sleep. He felt Jim on one side of him, the Sentinel's arm wrapping around his waist and on the other side, and Blair curled up against him, the Guide's warm breath tickling his nipple. He wrapped his arm around Blair and let himself nestle against Jim as he drowsed off to sleep, his two lovers drowsing alongside him.

Jim woke first to the sound of two cell phones ringing, as well as the house phone. He rolled out of bed, kissing Simon's shoulder gently before digging through the pile of his discarded clothing for his ringing phone. He pulled one out, and almost answered it before realizing it was Simon's. He tapped the captain on the shoulder, laying the ringing phone on his hip as he picked up his. "Ellison."

"Jim!" Detective Rafe's voice sounded panicked on the other end of the phone. "We haven't been able to get in touch with Simon yet, and something bad happened."

Jim was instantly awake, hearing Simon answer his phone as well. He listened to Simon's conversation as well as to Rafe. "What happened?"

"That cop you guys took down last year, the one funneling drugs and guns to the street gangs--"

"I remember him," Jim said shortly. "Garrison Wilkes... what about him?"

"He's kidnapped Simon's son," Rafe said, and Jim heard Simon cursing on the other phone. "He's demanding that Simon turn you and Blair over in exchange for not getting his son back in pieces."

"We're on the way in," Jim said, hanging up on the detective. Blair was already sitting on the edge of the bed with Simon, his arm around the captain. Jim went and knelt down before Simon and Blair. "What did they tell you?"

Simon looked up at Jim, and for the first time, the Sentinel saw fear in his captain's eyes. "The bastard got Darryl," he said hoarsely. "He has Darryl and he wants you two."

Jim nodded. "That's what Rafe told me. Come on, we've got to get to the station and figure out what to do."

Simon stopped Jim with a hand on his arm. "Jim, I can't make that call," he said softly.

"That's fine," Blair said. "We'll make it for you. We're doing it, Simon, and we're going to get Darryl back."

//flashback to a year ago//

The judge pounded the gavel. "Garrison Wilkes, you have been convicted of the following; theft of impounded evidence from the police locker room; selling of illegal drugs and weapons to underage and illegal buyers; theft of confiscated assets from the police locker room, and distribution of stolen assets."

Wilkes stared at Sandburg, Ellison, and Banks across the courtroom. They were all sitting behind the state's table, badges and credentials proudly displayed for the world to see. They'd fucked him over good, and he was going to find a way to make them all pay.

The judge continued. "For these crimes, you are hereby sentenced to thirty years in a federal prison, with no possibility of parole." There were some faint cheers in the back of the courtroom, as the judge pounded his gavel and called for order. "Your sentence will start immediately, that is the judgement of this court."

"All rise!" called the bailiff, and after the judge walked out, Wilkes was handcuffed and he started shouting out to the three men who'd brought him down.

"You think you're tough, big man?" he shouted, focusing on Simon for the moment. "I know where you live, Cappy! I know where you are at and I know how to get to you! Watch your back, Banks... sleep with one eye open! How's that kid of yours, Banks? He's how old now? Seventeen? Fine boy I'm sure... wouldn't want anything happening to him, would we?" The officers dragged Wilkes out of the courtroom as Blair and Jim closed in around Simon. "Little faggots!" he called out, seeing the big man and his companion close up around Simon. "Which one you fucking, Cappy?" was the last thing that Wilkes shouted before being thrown into the prison van.

Jim put his hand on Simon's shoulder. "Forget about it, Simon. He's not going to be able to hurt you OR Darryl anytime soon. By the time he gets out of prison, he's going to be too old to hurt anyone."

Blair nodded. "That's right, and we're going to help watch your back, right Jim?"

"Absolutely right, Chief."

Simon nodded in acknowledgement and Jim and Blair made plans to stay at Simon's house with him and Darryl, and they stayed until Wilkes was safely transferred to the prison.

//end flashback//

Simon closed his eyes against the memories. He didn't want to remember Joan being right and putting Darryl in danger. He just didn't want to remember the unhappiness.

Jim and Blair traded quiet looks as they too got dressed. "Come on," Jim said, "I'll drive us."

Blair stopped him. "No way, Jim, you had a few too many yourself."

"Blair, I'm fine."

"Forget it, Ellison," Simon interrupted. "You're not driving and neither am I. Sandburg is." And that was the end of the debate as Jim tossed his car keys to Blair as all three men grabbed their jackets and headed out into the still-pouring rain.

Jim sat in the extended cab as Simon sat up front with Blair, talking on the cell phone to Rafe. "When did he break out?"

"About two days ago," the detective reported. "They just alerted us tonight, about the same time we got the phone call from Wilkes himself," Rafe continued. "As soon as we got the alert and the call, we tried to call you but no answer at the house."

"I was having dinner with a couple of friends," he said shortly, listening to the explanation. "Go on."

"Well, we called Jim and you on your cells at about the same time, trying to get everyone involved together."

"We're on the way," Simon said, and closed the phone.

Jim reached through the partition in the seats and gripped Simon's hand. "Don't worry, Simon, we're going to take care of it." Simon leaned back, and looked at Jim. "I promise," the Sentinel said.

Blair looked over. "Jim's right, Simon. We're going to take care of it, and we're going to bring Darryl home, nice and safe, just like we always do. We're going to beat the bad guys and win."

"Jim... Blair... you don't have to do this. I can't let you put yourselves on the line like that, when there's no guarantee that we'll get you back."

"Simon, the decision's already been made," Jim interrupted. "We're going to do it, and we're going to make sure that we all get back in one piece, especially your son. And we're going to put Wilkes back where he belongs, and that's in jail."

"I hope so, Jim... but right now, all I want is Darryl back, safely."

"You'll get it," Jim promised. He looked at Blair as they pulled into the parking lot of the station. It was still raining, and Blair let Simon and Jim out on the front steps as he drove around and parked the truck in the back, and then ran through the rain to meet them inside the station. Jim kept his hand discreetly on the small of Simon's back, guiding him through the officers and the changing shifts as they made their way to the elevator and up to Major Crimes.

As soon as he got off the elevator, Simon shook off Jim's hand with an apologetic glance and became all business. "I want to know what the hell is going on, and I want to know right now and I want to know what's being done about it."

Rafe, Brown, and all the other detectives jumped as Simon came in, bellowing. They realized that the captain's son was in danger, and that made their job only that much more pressing. "We're tracking down where the tape was made; ballistics are checking out some shells they got from the kidnapping scene, but we know nobody was shot because there's no blood and none of the shells were warped."

Simon breathed a small sigh of relief. At least Darryl hadn't been shot. If he had been, Simon didn't know what he would have done. "Where are they?"

Brown shook his head. "We don't know. But we're searching for them right now, and Wilkes is scheduled to be contacting us within the hour."

Simon sighed. "Keep me informed up to the second. Ellison, Sandburg, in my office, NOW."

Jim and Blair followed Simon into his office, sharing a look of concern, but not saying anything until the door was shut safely behind them. "Simon, don't worry. As soon as Wilkes calls, we'll set up the trade. I'm going to try and talk him into just me, letting Blair take Darryl back, but I don't think he'll go for it. He'll want us both, Chief," he said, darting a glance over at Blair.

Blair was scared, but he wasn't going to let Jim or Simon see it. "That's cool, man, I can work with it. We'll have one of the other guys drive us over there and get Darryl."

Simon shook his head. "I can't believe you guys are planning on walking calmly into this psychopath's clutches like it's no more than a Sunday stroll!"

Jim and Blair traded another glance. "It's not like we have a choice, Simon," Blair said quietly. "We're not going to let anything happen to Darryl. Not while we have anything to say about it."

Jim nodded his confirmation as he listened to a ringing phone, and then a flurry of activity. "Simon... you're up," he said quickly just before Rafe pounded on the door. "Captain, Wilkes is on the phone--he's got Darryl with him."

Simon picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Dad?"

"Hey, son." Simon closed his eyes; Darryl sounded terrified. "Don't worry, you're going to be out of this soon."

"Dad, what's going on?"

"Just hang tight, Darryl," Simon said quietly as he heard the phone getting jerked away.

"Well, Cappy, seems like I got your little boy after all," Wilkes' gravelly voice came over the phone. "You got what I want?"

Simon nods. "Ellison and Sandburg are right here, listening to the conversation."

"Let me hear them," Wilkes demanded.

Jim nodded and grabbed the phone out of Simon's hand before the captain could protest. "Give back the boy, Wilkes," Jim demanded. "You know you don't have a choice."

"Ah... Ellison. Come now, James, do you really think you're in a position to demand anything from me? As long as I've got Cappy's kid, there's not a goddamned thing you can do except what I tell you. Bring your little fuckbuddy along, James, it's going to be a long row to hoe." Jim gritted his teeth. Nobody referred to Blair as his fuckbuddy. And nobody but Blair called him James. "I can hear you seething, James," Wilkes said with an ugly laugh. "Give the phone to the pretty boy." Jim passed the receiver over to Blair, still listening.

"Sandburg," the Guide said quietly.

Wilkes' laughter was grating. "You still sound like a little faggot," he breathed into the phone at Blair. "So which one are you fucking now, little faggot? The big guy or the captain?" Blair didn't answer, but Jim heard his breathing quicken. "Well?" Wilkes demanded. "I want an answer, Blair."

"Both," Blair breathed softly, and Jim's hand tightened on the chair handle.

Wilkes' laugh was harsh. "You hear that, kid? The pretty boy's fucking your dear old dad?"

Blair choked off a soft sob as he heard Wilkes' shouting that to Darryl. Jim's face twisted as he heard it, and Simon was shocked at the look of hate on the Sentinel's face. Usually it was reserved for people who were hurting Blair. "Jim?" he asked softly.

Jim shook his head at the captain as he took the phone back from Wilkes. "Later," he said, passing the phone back to Simon.

"Wilkes! What do you want?" demanded Simon. He was really starting to hate the sound of Wilkes' laugh.

"What do you think I want, Cappy?" Wilkes' breathing rasped over the phone. "I want Ellison and Sandburg. I want them alone out by the old .357 Warehouse, and as soon as I see them there, you'll get the kid." The line went dead, and Jim all but vaulted out of the chair.

"He told Darryl, Simon," Jim said softly. "He told Darryl that Blair was fucking you."

Simon exhaled sharply. That's something Darryl shouldn't have had to heard. But there was nothing to be done about it, and Simon wasn't about to hurt Blair by denying it. He would deal with it as it came. "He wants you to meet him at the old shell of the .357s Warehouse."

Blair blinked. "Where I used to live?"

Simon nods. "Guess so, that's the .357 Warehouse."

Jim shrugged. "Let's go. Simon, you'll drive."

"You think I'm fit to drive?"

"You have to, if we're going to pick Darryl up. The kid doesn't need to be with anyone else but his family right now."

Simon nodded. Jim was right. And he was feeling sober enough to drive, as long as he could turn on the sirens and clear the roads on the way back. First thing he swore to do was take Darryl to the hospital, and once Darryl checked out... he would find a way to rescue Jim and Blair. He wasn't going to leave them in the psychopath's hands any longer than he could get away with. "All right. You guys get in the car, and I'll meet you down there." He didn't think he could walk with the two of them through the bullpen without losing his composure. Too much had happened tonight for him to remain calm and inscrutable.

Jim and Blair shared a look as they got up and walked out of Simon's office. Brown and Rafe immediately glued themselves to the men's sides. "Jim... don't trust this guy, all right? Be careful."

Blair nodded his agreement with Rafe's words, and then almost jumped as Brown tried to slip a gun into Blair's hand. "No way, man, forget it, I don't touch those things!"

"Blair, take the gun," Rafe pled. "You're going to need it."

"No way, man," Blair stated again. But at a pleading look from Jim, Blair reluctantly took the weapon and slipped it into the back of his khakis. "There now, happy?"

Jim shook his head. "We'll be fine," he said, not quite answering Blair's question. He most assuredly was not happy that the Guide needed to carry a gun, but he was happy that Blair had it if he needed it, and could use it.

"Fine? Are you nuts?" Brown demanded.

"Not nuts," Jim said shortly as he heard Simon getting up out of his chair. "Come on, Chief, if we don't hurry, we're going to be late." Jim hurried Blair out of the bullpen and into the elevator and down to the parking garage as they waited for Simon. He put his arms around Blair's waist and pulled him close as he leaned back against Simon's car. "I'm worried about Simon," he said, eyeing the black man as he got off the elevator. "He looks bad."

Blair nodded. "Wouldn't you if your son was kidnapped by a psychopath intent on obliterating your two best friends and newly discovered lovers?" he asked softly, too soft for the approaching man to hear but clearly audible to the Sentinel.

"Yeah, I guess so." Jim was reluctant to let go of Blair as Simon walked closer. His instincts were screaming at him that this was a bad idea. That they shouldn't be doing this, that they should be finding another way to get Darryl back. But at the same time, he knew, there was no other way. Wilkes had the upper hand as long as he had Darryl. But there was still a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Chief... is there any way you'd stay behind?"

"You know that can't happen, Jim, no matter how scared I am or how much you want me to," Blair said softly. "He wants us both, blames all three of us, and if he doesn't get me, then we're not going to get Darryl back." Only then did he let the Sentinel briefly feel the trembling in his hands before sharply quelling it again. "I'm terrified, Jim, but I know you'll take care of me, and we'll get Darryl back safely for Simon."

Jim tightened his arms around Blair as he felt the smaller man trembling. He still keenly wished for a way to keep Blair safely out of it, but he knew the Guide was right. Wilkes had asked for both of them and he would accept nothing less. "I'll take care of you, Blair," Jim promised quietly. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Blair leaned back against Jim as Simon finally arrived at the car. "I know you won't, Jim," he said, just as quietly. He stood for a minute more in the safety of the Sentinel's arms, allowing himself a last few moments of Jim's closeness before separating and climbing into the backseat as Simon got into the driver's seat. The captain was silent, and it worried Jim greatly as he slid into the seat beside Blair. "Simon... its going to be okay," the Guide said. Jim was glad that Blair could offer those words of reassurance; he knew he couldn't. He just wasn't good at it.

Simon looked at Blair in the rearview mirror, and shook his head, not saying a word. All three men rode in silence to the other side of town, and Simon finally pulled into the parking lot of the condemned shell of the exploded warehouse. Blair shivered as he got out of the car; the night was cold and dank after the rain, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. Jim got out behind him, and the Sentinel's hand was resting on his gun. "Wilkes! Darryl!" Jim called out.

"Dad? Jim?" Darryl's voice echoed out of the empty warehouse shell. Simon swept the spotlight on the side of the car into the warehouse, and he saw his son standing in the middle of the room, and Wilkes standing behind him, a gun pointed at the boy's head.

"I'm here, Darryl!" called Simon.

"Wilkes! Let the boy go, Sandburg and I are here!"

There was a pause before the answer came. "So you are, James. Drop your heat or I drop the kid."

Jim obligingly threw his gun forward, and it clattered on the asphalt. "There, it's down! Now let Darryl go!"

"And what about your beautiful little friend, does he have a gun, I wonder?"

Blair reached to the small of his back and pulled out the small pistol that Brown had pushed on him, and let that drop as well. "There, it's gone!" Blair called out. "Now let him go!"

"Red Rover, Red Rover, send Ellison on over," Wilkes called out, playfully. He was thoroughly enjoying baiting the cop and his friend.

Ellison looked back at Simon and Blair, and kept his hands in sight as he moved into the warehouse. Wilkes had a second gun and was waiting for him. He trained the gun between Jim's eyes, and then pointed to where Darryl was standing. "Over to the other side, James, and if you think you can block my line of fire, go ahead and try it. I've got two guns; you got two bodies?"

Jim refused to answer as he walked over to Darryl. "You okay, kid?"

"No," Darryl confessed. "Scared as hell."

"Your dad's out there, he's not going to let anything happen to you."

"Jim, what are you doing here? Is it true, what he said about Blair and my dad?"

Jim shook his head. "Don't worry about that now, Darryl. When Blair gets here, just go to your dad, and he's going to get you out of here."

Darryl went over to the big man and stood close to him. Wilkes just grinned. "You can't hide behind him, boy." He turned back to face the car. "Red Rover, Red Rover, send Sandburg right over!"

Blair traded a look with Simon and his eyes sought out Jim first, and saw Darryl standing beside the Sentinel. He made his way over to Wilkes, who motioned him over towards Jim and Darryl. Darryl shifted and stood closer to Jim as Blair came over, and the Sentinel traded a look with the Guide. "All right, Wilkes," Jim said, moving to stand in front of Blair and Darryl both. "You've got what you want, now let the kid go."

"I don't think so," Wilkes said softly. "If I keep the kid, at least I have a chance of keeping you two in line until I kill you."

Jim lunged for him but Blair called out his name. "Jim! Don't, he'll kill you now!"

Jim stopped in mid-motion, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Wilkes swinging his gun arm around as he felt the connection of gun butt to his temple. He fell to his knees, his eyes blurring. Blair knelt beside him, but Jim pushed him towards Darryl. "Get over with him," Jim said, his eyes watering and temple throbbing. He felt a warm trickle of blood as he pulled himself to his feet.

Blair moved over to Darryl and pulled the boy against him, and Darryl didn't fight. "Come on," Blair said quietly. He moved in the direction Wilkes was herding them, and found himself in front of a dingy gray van, the back door already open. He let Darryl get in first, and then got in himself, watching Jim stumble towards the van. Jim got in behind them, and pulled Blair and Darryl against each side of him as Wilkes slammed the door on the three of them and left them in darkness.

Simon called out to Darryl, and then as Wilkes called Jim over first, he shut up, getting out of the car to stand beside the spotlight. He could see Darryl, and as Jim walked over, he could see his son going to stand beside Jim, and Simon was glad. As long as Darryl was with Jim, Darryl was safe. Simon kept repeating that to himself. He started over towards Blair, intending to offer a hand of comfort, but Blair's hand waved him back as he belatedly remembered what Wilkes had told Darryl and he refused to play into it.

"Red Rover, Red Rover, send Sandburg right over!"

Simon shivered as he heard that. But as soon as Blair went over, Wilkes would send Darryl over, and then Simon could start thinking about rescuing his friends. But he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, that it wasn't going to go down that way. He wanted to move closer to the other man and offer some sort of support to him, but Blair waved him back with a quick flick of his hand. Belatedly, Simon remembered the things that Wilkes had told Darryl about him and Blair, and stayed back.

Blair walked over to Wilkes, and showed his empty hands. Darryl shifted closer to Jim, and the gunman waved Blair over to stand with them. "All right," Jim said, moving to stand between Wilkes and the others, blocking a direct shot to either Darryl or Blair. "You've got what you want, now let the boy go."

Simon could hear the voices, but he could not see them. Quietly he walked forward, and he got himself into the line of sight so he could see what was going on. Jim's voice was echoing through the warehouse, and Simon couldn't cry out as he saw Wilkes' gun arm swing up and crack Jim in the temple with the butt of his gun.

Blair moved to Jim's side as the Sentinel crumpled. Wilkes pointed the gun at Darryl. "In the van, kid," he said, gesturing with the gun to the dingy gray van. Darryl got into the back, and Blair helped Jim up, wincing at the gash on the side of the Sentinel's head. "You two, in the van." Simon watched helplessly as Jim and Blair got into the van beside Darryl, and Wilkes turned to face him. "How you doing, Cappy? Just thought you'd like to see your kid before I blow his face off later tonight," he said with a feral grin at the other man.

Simon ran towards the van, pulling his gun in the process, and he heard two gunshots as he dropped to the pavement as they struck his front and rear left tires, flattening them. By the time Simon got back to his feet, Wilkes' was in the driver's side of the van and pulling away.

Simon looked down; no plates on the van. As it pulled off, he memorized as many details about it as he could, though he had no doubt they would find it later, abandoned. No plates, a large dent in the rear fender, bond-o paint on the back doors, the windows taped over with duct tape.

Simon dropped back into his car, and watched his son being taken away. He knew Darryl would be safer with Jim and Blair there, but the thought of Wilkes with his hands on all three of them filled Simon with cold dread. Darryl, Blair, and Jim were all the family that Simon had left. And Wilkes had them all in the palm of his vengeful little hands. The chill spread through his limbs as he reached for his radio and quietly called in the situation. He called also for a truck to tow his car back to the garage, and he sat silently in the driver's side, his head resting on the steering wheel. Please God... let them all be all right, he prayed. Don't let anything happen to my family.

Jim made sure that he sat between Wilkes and the two in the backseat. "Why didn't you keep your word?"

Wilkes' laughed as he drove. No light could filter through the taped-up windows, but Jim didn't need it; he could see the reflection of Wilkes' face in the windshield. "Now why would I let my hostage go, James? If I tried to threaten Blair, you wouldn't bat an eye at doing whatever I told you to do, or if I killed him, you'd kill me in revenge, and then where would I be? No, it's much better to keep the kid around for a while, and that way... I've got you and Sandburg both under control."

"You're psychotic," accused Jim.

"Just hedging my bets," clarified Wilkes. "Last thing I need is some kill-crazy cop coming after me and trying to avenge his fuckbuddy."

Jim started to lunge through the small opening into the front, but Blair called out his name sharply. "Jim! Stop! It's not going to accomplish anything but getting you shot and us killed."

Jim looked back at Blair, and slowly settled back into his seat as Wilkes took his hands off the wheel long enough to applaud. "Nice control you have over the guard dog there," he complimented Blair.

Blair didn't deign to answer, and he pled with his eyes for Jim not to rise to it. Instead, Jim shifted position in the back of the van, moving to sit closer to Blair and Darryl. Blair moved to sit against his side, and Jim unconsciously let his arm wrap around the Guide as Darryl moved to sit against his other side. "Hey, Jim... was that really my dad out there?"

Jim turned to look down at the young man. "Yes, it was. He brought us and was hoping to pick you up and take you home with him."

Darryl's eyes darted over to where Blair leaned against Jim. "Was it true what he said about him and my dad?"

Jim raised an eyebrow. "That's something you're going to have to ask your father," Jim said softly.

"Doesn't it bother you?"

Jim shook his head no. "Why should it?"

Darryl paused to think, looking from Jim to Blair. "You and him?"

Jim and Blair exchanged a quick look, which the teenager didn't miss, and Blair nodded. "Yes, me and Jim," he said softly. "And we hope your father."

Darryl stared hard at the two men. His young mind fought to process a lot of things. These two men had laid their lives on the line for him and his father. They'd helped to protect them both the first time Wilkes had threatened them. And he knew how highly Simon thought of them both. "You guys must really care about my dad, huh?"

Blair nodded again. "Yeah, Darryl, we do. We care about Simon a lot; he's done a lot for me and Jim, and he's a very good friend... we care a lot about him."

"I guess if he's happy, then it's okay, right?" The teenager offered a half smile to the Guide.

"That's generally the way it works, yeah." Blair returned the half smile with a half one of his own.

Jim cleared his throat. "Darryl... what happened? How did he get his hands on you?"

"Well... me and JoJo--he's my friend--usually hook up after school and shoot some hoops, and his daddy takes us home. Well, his daddy was working late, and after we hooked up with the hoops, we started walking home, and JoJo lives closer so I was walking by myself after he got home, and bam... out of nowhere some wacko with a gun shoots over my head and shoves me in the van and there we go."

Jim paused for a moment, mentally deciphering the young man's speech and putting the scenario together. He was interrupted in his thoughts as the van lurched to a stop and Wilkes opened the back door. "Okay, we're here... everybody out."

Jim got out first, standing again in Wilkes' line of fire. "If I didn't know better, James, I'd say you were trying to serve and protect," Wilkes said with a grin as he watched Blair emerge and then help Darryl out. Blair made sure that Darryl stood behind him and Jim both.

"I am trying to protect him," Jim said. "I don't want the boy hurt."

"He won't be, if you behave." He used the gun to point towards the door, and when he fell in behind Darryl, Blair shifted position to put Darryl between him and Jim. Wilkes just laughed as they jockeyed for position. "Let me guess... the cop's ethics are rubbing off on you?"

"I just don't want to see an innocent child hurt because of your psychotic ravings," Blair countered.

Wilkes' arm raised to strike Blair, and Jim moved quickly. He shoved Blair out of the way, taking the brunt of the blow on the side of his face. An inch long cut was opened on his right cheek by Wilkes' gun as he absorbed the impact. He shoved Blair and Darryl into the door in front of him, and Wilkes hit him again, slamming his forearm into Jim's ribs.

Blair moved to intercept Jim, but Darryl held him back. "Just wait, man, if you get in that now, you're just gonna get him hurt worse." He turned his face, and in the light of the room, Blair could see the faded bruises on the side of Darryl's face. "He'll get it out of his system soon enough." Blair watched helplessly as Wilkes continued to beat the Sentinel.

Wilkes kept pounding forearms into Jim's ribs and stomach, forcing the larger man back into the room.

Why wasn't Jim fighting back? That question spun through Blair's mind as he watched Jim take the beating that was meant for him and his insult.

Jim, meanwhile, was concentrating on not fighting back as Wilkes assaulted him. He knew the man's rage would peter out, and the psychotic calm and joking would return, and he only had to survive it until then. In the van, he'd noticed the fading bruises on Darryl's cheek, saying nothing as he put it together. And when he heard Blair's insult, he knew he had to protect his Guide. Wilkes was not as massively built as Jim, but his blows were beginning to even the score. Jim was fighting to get his breath, his wrist was throbbing from where he'd tried to block one of the blows, the cut on his cheek throbbed as well and his eyes were blurry from the gun to the head at the warehouse.

Almost as soon as the rage had hit, it left. Wilkes cleared his throat and squared his shoulders, looking at all three men. "James... Darryl... Sandburg... make yourselves comfortable," he said, indicating the ratty couch and recliner. He departed the windowless room, and locked the door behind him.

Walking to the dilapidated kitchen, Wilkes picked up the cellular phone and dialed Simon's office. He picked up on the second ring. "Banks."

"You sound a little upset, Cappy. Don't worry, I still got your boy, he's safe for right now. So is Ellison and his little fuckbuddy."

"Let Darryl go, please," Simon begged quietly. "He's done nothing to you. I'm the one who got you arrested, at least let me trade places with him."

Wilkes shook his head. "No, I don't think so, Cappy... see, I know this is killing you more than I ever could with just a bullet to the head. Just think of your son, locked up in the basement with those two fags... wonder how long they wait before busting his ass open?"

Simon swallowed hard. He wasn't worried about that; he knew Jim and Blair both would not lay a hand on Darryl. "They won't touch him," Simon said confidently.

"You think not? Well... then I just might have to bust that tight little boy ass wide open. Fuck it hard as I can then shove my gun up his ass and blow it away? How long you think he can live with a shot like that, Cappy?"

Simon choked at first, and then he couldn't hold it in anymore; he started to cry. "Please don't hurt my son," he whispered. "Please."

Wilkes just laughed. "You'll hear from me again, Cappy." He hung up the cell phone and walked back down to the basement.

As soon as Wilkes locked the door, Blair sprinted across the room to slip Jim's arm around his neck as he slipped his own arm around the Sentinel's waist. "Come on, Jim, sit down." He heard the slight wheeze in the Sentinel's breathing and worried that a rib might be broken. "How bad are you hurt?"

Jim lifted his twisted wrist before he thought and barely hid his wince from Blair. "I'm fine, Chief," he gritted out.

"Yeah, right," Blair retorted. He pulled off his flannel shirt, and with one hand he prodded Jim's wrist while with the other, he dug through the Sentinel's pockets until coming up triumphantly with a pocketknife. He used the blade to rip the sleeves off the shirt and tied them together, making a rough bandage for Jim's ribs. He sliced off the collar and the buttonhole strip, and used those to wrap Jim's wrist.

Darryl watched in fascination as Blair tended to Jim. The care each man had for the other was evident. He just couldn't believe that Jim had taken the beating meant for Blair. He knew that Jim would have done the same for him if he'd been the one Wilkes had threatened, and he shook his head. He just didn't understand it, but he was definitely glad they were on his dad's side.

Blair finished fussing over Jim, and sat down on the couch, picking up Jim's head and then laying it in his lap. The Sentinel hissed a bit as he moved to accommodate Blair, and then sighed. "Hey, Jim... thanks."

Jim closed his eyes as he felt Blair near him. "You're welcome, Chief," he said softly. He took one of Blair's hands and laced his fingers through the Guide's. "Darryl--just wait, we're going to find a way out."

"Yeah, I know," Darryl said, trying not to stare at the two men holding hands.

Blair was concentrating on Jim, and he didn't notice the way Darryl was looking at him. When he looked up, he finally saw Darryl trying not to stare. "It's okay to look," he said quietly, trying not to disturb the Sentinel's rest.

Darryl shook his head. "It's just weird man... nothing personal, just I ain't never seen it before and I don't know what to think," he explained.

"Think of it as two people who love each other," Blair suggested, gently running his fingers through Jim's short hair, trying to calm the larger man's heartbeat. "Or don't think of it at all," was his second suggestion.

The first one sounded good to Darryl. "I guess that makes you lucky, that you got somebody to love."

Blair nodded. "Everyone should be so lucky."

"Blair... why didn't Dad and Mom get along better? I mean... as long as I can remember they were fighting and stuff, but it got bad there at the end and they were both miserable."

Blair didn't have an answer for the young man. "Simon's the best cop I know, Darryl, and it made him happy doing it. But your Mom wanted him to quit. I'm not saying she was right or wrong, but when two people don't agree about something that's important to them, they tend to fight a lot about it. It doesn't mean they don't care about each other, it just means that they don't agree."

Darryl nodded. He still didn't understand, and he didn't think he ever would. He just knew that because his dad was a cop and his mom didn't like it, he didn't get to see his dad very much, but he still wanted him to be happy. And if Blair and Jim made him happy... that was his thing to do then. Darryl shrugged. "I don't understand it, man."

Before Blair could answer, Wilkes came back in the door, and Jim was fighting to sit back up. "Now James, don't bother such a pretty little picture," he said in a lightly scolding tone. "I just came to let you know, kid... I talked to your dad again and told him just what I was going to do to you... never heard the big man cry like a baby like that."

"You leave my Dad alone, you bastard!" Darryl got up and headed towards Wilkes, and the man laughed as he pushed Darryl down to the floor, pulling a foot back to kick him with.

Jim's growl told Blair that there wasn't going to be any holding the Sentinel back this time. Nobody fucked with someone Jim cared about like that. Jim ignored the pain in his chest and arm as he lunged for Wilkes. Blair grabbed Darryl and swung him onto the couch, out of the way of the fight, as Jim's shoulder hit Wilkes straight in the midsection. The man dropped his gun as he was rammed against the wall, and Blair sprinted to pick it up.

There was a blur of activity as the Guide tried to aim at Wilkes, but the constant motion of Wilkes and Jim fighting obscured the target.

As soon as Wilkes pulled back his foot to kick Darryl, Jim moved into action. He shoved the psychopath back against the wall, using his bandaged wrist to slam Wilkes' hand against the wall and the gun hit the floor. He heard Blair scurrying behind him to grab the gun, but as Wilkes swung at his stomach, Jim got into the fight. He had held himself back before, but not now. Pent up rage flowed, for Blair and for Darryl but mostly for Simon, who was being tortured by this son of a bitch. He pulled his injured hand back against his body and began pounding Wilkes with left hands, a wild flurry of lefts that bloodied Wilkes' nose, and busted out his front teeth. A knee to the groin stilled his fight, and Darryl ran to help Jim up off the floor as Blair held the gun on Wilkes.

Jim leaned against the boy's sturdy frame as he limped over to the couch. Blair kept the gun trained on Wilkes as he turned his head to look at Jim and Darryl, and Jim's head shot up, catching the motion of Wilkes standing and moving forward. "Blair, turn around and drop, now!"

Instead of dropping, Blair turned around and saw Wilkes' huge bulk lumbering towards him, reaching for the gun. Protect Jim. He froze, and then his finger pulled the trigger three times as the bullets seemed to almost jump out of the gun and bury themselves in Wilkes' body.

"Blair!" Jim pushed off of Darryl and sprinted over to Blair, wrapping his arms around the shell-shocked man. He pulled Blair back as Wilkes' corpse fell on the floor, barely missing the young Guide. Blair was shaking like a leaf. "Darryl, go upstairs. See if you can find a phone, call your father. Tell him Wilkes is dead and we're all right, and then see if you can find where we are."

"You got it." Darryl made a wide skirt of the dead body as he climbed the stairs.

Jim pulled the trembling Guide into his arms. "Blair... come on, Chief... come on, snap out of it."

Blair was numb. He had never killed before. His suddenly-cold fingers dropped the gun and he tried to wrap his arms around Jim, but his arms wouldn't move. All he could do was tremble, and replay the scene over and over again. He had shot Wilkes. Three bullets in him, out of the gun in Blair's hand. He had killed. Taken a life.

Jim picked Blair up, ignoring the scream of pain in his ribs and his wrist as he settled the Guide onto his lap as he sat on the couch. "Chief, listen to me... if you hadn't done what you did, it could be you dead, or me dead, or even Darryl dead. He was going to kill one of us, Blair. He was going for the gun, he was going to shoot me."

Blair shivered as some of Jim's words started to sink in. He had protected Jim. Wilkes was dead, Jim and Darryl were alive. He buried his face in Jim's shoulder and started to cry. Something inside him felt broken, but the warm thought of having saved Jim's life wrapped around him as Jim's arms held him close. In time, it would knit back together, and Blair would be Blair again. In the meantime... he held onto the fact that he had saved Jim's life. He wasn't just a useless Guide. He was a meaningful partner, and the warmth wrapped even tighter around him, and Wilkes' face faded.

Jim heard Darryl's footsteps coming back downstairs. "Dad's on the way; he wants me to wait outside and flag them down."

"Go ahead, and tell Simon to send the medics down here," he gritted through the burning in his chest. "I don't think I can make it up the steps." He hated to admit that, but his broken ribs wouldn't have it any other way.

Darryl nodded. "You got it, Jim." He pounded back up the steps, waiting for his Dad to show up.

Jim tucked Blair's head under his chin, stroking the thick mass of curls. "You did it, Chief," Jim said softly. "You saved the day, you got the bad guy and Simon is on the way."

"Simon?" That was the first word that Blair had spoken since he fired the gun. "Simon's coming?"

"Yes, Simon's coming," Jim affirmed. "He's on the way, Darryl called him."

"Simon's coming," Blair repeated. Another wave of warmth wrapped around him at the thought of the captain. He'd protected Simon's son. Darryl was alive because Blair had done what he had to do. Wilkes' face faded even more, and the shaking stopped.

Jim held Blair quietly in his lap, rocking him. Neither man spoke until Jim heard the sirens approaching, and then the tread of Darryl upstairs as he ran out to flag down the cars and medics. "He's here," Jim said quietly, still holding Blair. "You okay, Chief?"

"I will be," he said softly, holding Jim's hand as he got up. He made a concerted effort not to look at the corpse in the floor. "Jesus, Jim, your chest!" He just realized he'd been laying on Jim's injured ribs. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"You needed me," Jim said simply.

Blair's face softened. "Dammit, Jim..."

"I love you too, Blair," he said, grimacing as he sat up. A heavier tread came down the stairs, and he looked up. "Simon!"

Simon had not let go of Darryl since the squad car had pulled up to the curb. He wrapped his arms around his son's shoulders. "Are you okay, Darryl?"

"Yeah, thanks to Jim. Man, you should have seen the beatings he took from Wilkes!" He didn't let go of his dad. "And then Blair shot him! I think it upset him though, he looked pretty white when Jim got hold of him."

"Blair shot Wilkes?" Simon couldn't believe it. He knew the Guide would definitely be having it rough for a while.

"Yeah, he was coming after Jim because Jim just beat him up and bam! Blair shot him!"

Simon grabbed Darryl harder, hugging him. "Get in the car, Darryl, and don't move."

"Dad, Jim said to send the medics downstairs, cause he couldn't get up the stairs. I think Blair said his ribs were busted or something." He hugged his dad back, just as hard. "They're really great guys, Dad... Blair's right, though... if they make you happy then you should be with them."

Simon looked at his son in shock. "We're going to take you to the hospital and get you checked out." He touched the fading bruises on his face, ran his fingers over Darryl's features. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, Dad, I'm sure. Go and check on Jim for me, would you? I think he's hurt worse than he's saying."

Simon nodded, and waited until Darryl was sitting safely in the back of the squad car before pounding down the stairs.

By the time Simon got down the stairs, Blair was on his feet helping Jim up. Heedless of who was watching, he grabbed Blair's hand and yanked him forward, hugging him tightly. Sandburg wrapped his arms around Simon and returned the hug. "Told you we'd get him back for you," Blair whispered, and Simon's hold tightened. Then he moved over to Jim, wrapping the big man in a bear hug. "Simon... ribs!" Blair reminded, and Simon let up just enough to see Jim's grimace.

"All right, come on... the paramedics are on their way down. Darryl said that Wilkes beat you?"

"Twice," Blair confirmed before Jim could deny it. "Once for me, once for Darryl. But then Jim took care of him." He couldn't bring himself to mention the gunshots.

"Blair--thank you for what you did, you saved all their lives," he said softly, and he gave the young man another hug, pressing Blair's head tightly against his shoulder. "You did good, Blair."

"I did what I had to," Blair said, just as softly, almost an inaudible whisper in fact.

Simon didn't mention the corpse, the gun, or the shooting again. "As soon as we get you upstairs, you three are going to the hospital, and I'm coming along."

The paramedics were close on Simon's heels, and they loaded Jim onto the stretcher, and Simon helped to carry it up the basement stairs. He got into the car beside Darryl as Blair got into the ambulance with Jim. "Follow the ambulance," Simon told the uniform in the front, as he wrapped his arms around his son. Darryl hugged his father back.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Darryl."

In the ambulance, Blair started to shake again. Jim was safe with the paramedics, Darryl was safe with Simon, and the weight of what he had done came crashing down on him. He could not believe he had taken another life. Shot a man, defending Jim. Stop it, Sandburg, an inner voice said. It's nothing that Jim hasn't done for you a hundred times before.

Then Jim's voice sounded in Blair's head, almost like a conversation. //Yeah, but that's my job, not yours, Chief... my job is to protect you, your job is to help Guide me through the rough spots, not kill in my name.//

As the turmoil inside Blair churned, the Guide shook harder and harder. Jim fought the belts holding him onto the stretcher, and ended up pulling out the IV needle they'd strung in him and pushing the medic to the side as he struggled and sat up finally, pulling Blair against him. "It's okay, buddy," Jim said quietly. "It's going to be okay." He felt wetness on his shoulder through the torn fabric of his shirt, and he leaned back just enough to see that Blair was crying.

"I killed a man, Jim," Blair said through the tears. "I shot him, man... I just... I looked him in the face and I shot him. That sound, Jim, how can you not hear it, the sound of bullets hitting someone's body? That... meaty thud... like a cleaver, cutting through a side of meat." The Guide's voice had dropped to an agonized whisper. "How do you live with it, man? How do you live with the sound in your head all the time?"

Blair's body was radiating anguish, and Jim felt every wave of it as it rocked his Guide's small frame. He had no words to offer the young man's conscience, but he had to try. "Blair, lover, listen to me. That thing you shot tonight, that wasn't a man. That was a psychopath, bent on hurting me, Darryl, you, Simon, anyone that he could get his hands on. He didn't care about who's life he ruined, or who's life he ended, it just mattered to him that somebody suffered and somebody paid because it amused him to watch." He gripped Blair tighter against him. "It never gets any easier, buddy, it never gets any easier to kill, but I promise you, it does go away, because slowly you realize that if you hadn't done what you did, it'd be you lying there in that bodybag, or me, or Darryl, and you realize you did the only thing that you could do in that situation."

"No!" Blair said, pounding his fist on his leg, then frantically scrubbing his hands on his dirty khakis. "It can't be that way, Jim, there can't be a situation where somebody has to die!"

The medic had long since given up trying to calm the situation here, and had crawled back into the front, and Jim shifted, giving Blair more room to move in as he took the Guide's frantic hands. "Yes, Blair, there is! We were just in it; Garrison Wilkes was a psychotic who was going to blow us--and Darryl--away just because we sent him to jail. Would you rather it be me dead on that floor, Chief? Me in that body bag?"

"No, Jim, never, and you know it!"

"And that's what you stopped," Jim said, forcing Blair to look up to him. "That was going to be me in that bodybag, because Wilkes was going to take the gun out of your hand, and he was going to shoot me first, and then you, and then Darryl. They would have been loading three bodies into the meat wagon, and Simon would be left alone. You did a good job, Chief... you saved lives, and you didn't get hurt."

Blair didn't say anything else after that, only clung tighter to Jim as the ambulance finally pulled into the hospital. As soon as they came back to open the doors, Blair jogged behind the stretcher, following them into the ER and pushing his way through the doctors to stand by Jim's side. The tear tracks dried, making his face feel tight as Jim held his hand tightly. "I'm okay, Jim," he whispered softly, as the doctors finally broke in and separated them. "I'm going to be okay."

"Darryl!"

Simon would have cringed if he hadn't been so worried about Jim. He turned from the door outside Jim's room to look at Joan as she approached. "He's fine, they checked him out... if Jim hadn't stepped in though, he'd be in the bed instead," Simon said as she walked up.

She refused to look at him. "Come on, Darryl... we're going home." She didn't even speak to him, nor acknowledge the fact he'd even spoken.

"But Mom--"

"I am taking you home, Darryl... now." She placed emphasis on the last word, and the young man had no choice but to obey as she almost dragged him behind her.

Simon sighed as he watched his son disappear with his ex-wife. He knew that it'd be a long while before he'd be able to see him again, now that this had happened. He only hoped Darryl knew that it wasn't his choice to stay away so long.

Turning back to the door, he looked through the small window, seeing Blair sitting beside Jim's bed, holding the Sentinel's hand and speaking softly to him. Jim turned his head to smile at Blair, the heart monitor beeping steadily, showing the man's heartbeat. He rested his head against the cool glass as he watched. And that's what it comes down to, Simon thought to himself. When it comes down to it, it's Jim and Blair, and you don't fit into that equation. He fought down the surge of disappointment and heartache that filled him as he realized that. That was a beautiful night, but they were drunk and so were you, he reminded himself. You don't belong in the middle of them; you worked too damn hard to get them together in the first place. Bitterness burned in his chest, as he started to turn away from the door. Suddenly he couldn't stand to see Jim and Blair together.

Jim looked up as his eyes caught motion at the door. "He's leaving," he said quietly to Blair. "Go and get him, please." He turned his eyes to plead with Blair. "We can't let him leave."

Blair nodded. "Just take it easy, Jim. I won't let him go." He put the Sentinel's wounded hand back on the bed, and kissed him softly. "I'll be right back." He walked over to the door, opening it and reaching out to tap Simon on the shoulder. "Simon... he's asking for you."

Simon shook his head. "I can't."

Blair frowned. "Can't or won't? He's your friend, Simon, and he saved your son's life... you can at least come into the room and listen to him."

Simon grabbed Blair by the jacket collar and pushed him against the half-opened door. "Listen you little... "

"Simon," Jim called softly. "Put Blair down. Now." Though the volume was soft, the tone was not. There was a definite threat in that tone, and Simon respected it.

Simon blinked, as he looked from the Guide in his hand to the Sentinel struggling to sit up on the edge of the bed. Jim had never talked to him in that tone before... but then again he'd never done anything to deserve it, either. "Sorry, Jim." He set Blair down on his feet again, and Blair put his hands on Simon's wrists. "I'm sorry, Blair."

"Don't worry about it, we're all under a bit of stress right now," the Guide said softly, shutting the door and trapping Simon in the room.

Simon was well aware of being closed in the room with Blair and Jim. Blair leaned casually against the door, blocking it and Jim gestured to the chair where Blair had been sitting. "Simon... please... sit down."

In spite of himself, Simon helped Jim back into bed, getting the Sentinel settled in with the blankets and monitors, and helping him situate his pillows. "Jim... I should be going shortly, I've got a lot of paperwork to do at the office... I will come back tonight," he said softly, not quite meeting Jim's eyes and avoiding Blair's altogether.

Jim would not let go of Simon's hand. "Forget the paperwork, Simon, and stay with me."

Simon cleared his throat. "You don't need me, Jim, this is what you got Sandburg for."

Jim shook his head. "Not true, Simon... we both need you too."

Simon pulled his hand out of Jim's. "I was watching earlier, Jim. I looked in the window, I saw you and Blair together... I saw just how much you needed me." His chest burned when he said that, remembering the scene. He didn't want to. "You and Blair, in here together, him by your bedside and me on the other side of that door... come on, Jim. You and I both know that's the way it's always going to be... me on the outside, looking in."

Blair moved from his place by the door and sat on the side of the bed, taking Simon's other hand. "Simon, we were talking about you," Blair said softly. "I told Jim that I couldn't imagine what had taken us so long to get you into our family. He smiled and said because you hadn't told us to yet."

Simon looked from Blair to Jim. "It's true," Jim said softly. "You belong with us, Simon."

The black man shook his head. "No. I don't. You belong with Blair. Blair belongs with you. And I won't have you feeling sorry for a lonely old man." He got up to leave. "I will be back tonight." And inwardly he cursed; he still could not stay away.

Blair got up and blocked Simon's path. "Unless you pick me up and move me, Simon, you're not walking out of here thinking that we're feeling sorry for you. Dammit, you should know by now that neither Jim nor I feel one damn bit sorry for you! We care about you, very much and very deeply, and if I didn't know you're just as stressed out as Jim and I, I'd be very offended that you accused me of a pity fuck." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Simon.

"A pity fuck?" Simon laughed bitterly. "I don't remember getting fucked, Blair, I remember sucking your cock and watching Jim fuck you."

Blair's hand cracked loudly against Simon's face in the silence of the hospital room. "That's for making me feel like a whore," Blair said softly. "And for making me think that you gave a damn about me or Jim." He moved out of the door. "Get out, Simon."

Simon stood there for a moment, shocked. He couldn't believe that Blair had slapped him. He raised his hand to his face, and touched the hot handprint that was raising on his cheek. He looked in the reflection of the window glass, and saw Blair sitting on the bed, his back to Simon as Jim met the captain's eyes in the window, silently recriminating.

You deserved that, Banks, he said to himself. Blair's right, you did just treat him like a whore. He walked over to the bed, and sat down, watching Blair stiffen as Simon put his hand on Blair's shoulder. "I deserved that, Blair," he whispered softly. "I don't know what came over me, I don't know what made me say that." He tugged, and Blair's shoulders were still resistant. "I'm sorry," he said.

He looked at Jim's reflection in the glass of the door, and he didn't like what he saw. He saw disappointment and anger alongside something softer, a glint in the Sentinel's eye usually reserved for Blair alone. Jim saw Simon staring at his reflection, and blanked his face, looking down and forcing Simon to turn around and look for himself-if he wanted to see.

The door closed loudly after the black man as he left the room.

The next time he came by to see Jim, he only stopped by long enough to drop off a potted lily for Jim's hospital room. "Hello, Jim," he said quietly, fearing the reaction. "I brought something, thought that it might cheer the room up."

Blair was silent in the corner, and Jim's reply was awkward. "Thanks, Simon... I appreciate the thought."

The silence in the room after that hung heavy on the captain's shoulders, and he almost jumped when his beeper went off. He looked down, and almost heaved a sigh of relief. "I have to go," he said, and almost bolted for the door. There were a lot of almosts surrounding Simon.

The following day, Simon cursed himself for not being able to stay away, and when he peeked his head into the door, Blair wasn't there. "I'm on my way to a crime scene," he offered lamely. "I just wanted to see how you're doing."

"We miss you," Jim said softly.

"I miss you two," Simon agreed softly. "But I have to go."

Two weeks passed before Jim was released from the hospital, and Simon always found an excuse to go and stop by, but never stayed long enough to say anything of major importance. He dreaded the Sentinel's return to work, because the past two weeks had been the longest of Simon's entire life. He'd just gotten used to the loneliness again, and he was not at all sure he was ready for Jim and Blair to be back in the station, in his face, every day. He was not sure at all.

The phone ringing on his desk almost sent him jumping out of his skin. "Yes?"

The switchboard operator answered. "There's a call on your direct line, Captain, from Detective Ellison's partner."

Simon's throat closed. Blair. "Go ahead and put it through," he asked her, and he heard a click as the call was connected. "Banks."

"Simon, it's Blair."

Like I didn't know that, he thought bitterly. "What do you want, Blair?" He just couldn't bring himself to call the man by his last name now... it just didn't seem appropriate.

"Simon, you've got to talk to Jim."

It was then that Simon noticed the urgent note in Blair's voice. "What's wrong, Blair?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "He doesn't want to be a cop anymore, Simon. He's decided that people in general aren't worth investing himself in if they're not going to give him a break." There was another pause before Blair plunged into his next line of thought. "He's talking about picking up and moving completely out of Cascade, finding another line of work and starting over again. I can't talk him out of it, Simon, he's not listening to me."

Great going, Simon... you've not only lost your best friends and the only two people who care about you, you've also lost the best damn team in your division. He was silent as he thought. "If he's not listening to you, what makes you think he's going to listen to me?"

Blair made a rude noise on the other end of the phone. "Get with the clue train, Simon!" he almost shouted. "Let me spell it out for you... Jim is depressed and angry because you refused to talk to him, and you let him down... and he is now reading that into everyone because you are the one man he cares for and respects the most and you let him down, Simon, you didn't even give him a chance before you walked out on him, and he's figured if you would do it to him, so will everyone else, and why give them the chance to hurt him? You've got to talk to him, you're probably the only one he will listen to right now."

Simon took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Blair..." He was definitely not in shape to face the Sentinel OR his Guide.

"Simon... if you ever did or still do care about Jim Ellison, you're going to come talk to him, now. He needs you." Then a click as the Guide hung up on him.

Simon sat back in the chair, sighing deeply as Blair's last words echoed in his head. If you ever cared about Jim Ellison, you're going to come talk to him, now. He needs you. Simon made the decision before he was almost aware of it. He got to his feet and put on his coat, and picked up the phone as he got his things together. "Any calls I get, route them to Brown, he'll take care of them," he told the switchboard operator and hung up before she could question him. His long legs took the stairs two and sometimes three at a time as he hurried downstairs, and out into the rainy parking lot. He barely took the time to flip open his umbrella as he hurried out to his car, and got in the driver's side. He dropped the wet umbrella into the passenger side floor, and left skid marks on the asphalt as he pulled out of the driveway and into traffic.

Jim paced around restlessly, prowling the living room and kitchen as Blair hung up the phone. Half of him couldn't believe that Blair had called Simon, and half of him was glad he had. The part that couldn't believe it won out. "Why did you call him?" Jim demanded as he turned to look down at Blair.

Blair sat calmly down on the couch, ignoring Jim's pacing and snarling. "Because you're not listening to me, and he's the only other person I can think of who is going to make a dent in you," he said quietly, forcing Jim to calm down and quiet down to hear him. Best Guide trick I ever learned, Blair thought to himself. And it worked, because Jim dropped into the chair across from the couch and heaved a gusty sigh, but at least he was quiet now. "Besides, we don't know that he's actually going to come."

Jim heaved another gusty sigh. "You mean you didn't tell him to come? I'm amazed, oh wise and powerful Guide of mine," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I told him to come, Jim. But I can't guarantee he's going to. You know that as well as I do."

"Why would he?"

Blair had deliberately left the door unlocked, hoping Simon would try it himself as he had the last time he came to the loft, and it worked. Simon opened the door in time to hear Jim ask, "Why would he?"

"Because I give a damn what happens to you, Jim," Simon said, walking into the loft, and shaking off his umbrella and leaning it in the corner as he hung his coat on the rack. "What's this Sandburg tells me about you quitting on me?" He sat down on the far end of the couch, leaving the full cushion between him and the Guide.

Jim looked over at Simon, and the black man was surprised to see the venom in Jim's eyes. "Why bother with it, Simon, when you're just going to get stabbed in the back?"

Simon had known when he'd come over that it wasn't going to be easy, and Jim was hitting it right off the bat. "You think that just because I didn't crawl into bed with you, that's stabbing you in the back?"

"Low blow, Simon," Jim said quietly. "I call that your choice. What I call stabbing me in the back is threatening Blair in the hospital room that day, barely poking your head in to say two words to me, and then going back to the station behind my back and telling everyone how concerned you were about me. I heard that from so many of the guys, how broken up you were, how upset and concerned you were for me, and I barely saw your ass. I thought we were friends, Simon. I'd hoped we could have been more, I won't deny it, but I thought we were friends, and you betrayed that. I'd counted on you and you let me down. Forget working for you, Simon, I don't want to be the kind of cop-or the kind of friend-that you've turned out to be."

Jim's words were like small fires to Simon. He couldn't argue with a single thing that Jim had said. He watched as Sandburg walked over to Jim and put a hand on his shoulder, leaning over to exchange whispers in a soft hum. He hadn't realized just how much Jim had felt for him, or Blair for that matter. The Guide's face was slightly worried as Jim waved him off, and Blair took his seat again, drawing up his knees to rest his chin on them. Not being able to defend himself, Simon switched tracks. "Jim, you're a Sentinel, for the love of God. That has to mean something to you."

"It doesn't to anyone else, why should it to me? All it means is that I'm a good little cop, protecting the citizenry that doesn't give a flying damn about me one way or the other."

Blair leaned over to Simon. "He's been like this since that afternoon," he explained quietly. "After you left, he wouldn't talk to anyone, wouldn't take no for an answer. Suddenly the world was against him, and that was when he decided he didn't want to be a cop anymore."

Simon looked over at Blair as Jim got up and stalked out to the kitchen, rattling in the fridge. "You're telling me that all this happened because of me?"

Blair nodded. "We tried to tell you, Simon, you mean a lot to both of us." He nodded towards the pacing Sentinel. "Especially to Jim. Not that you don't to me," Blair added softly.

Simon looked from Blair to Jim and back again. "What can I say to change his mind?"

Blair shook his head. "I don't know, Simon... that's why I called you. I don't know what to say to him."

Simon got up and walked out to the kitchen, and Blair stayed behind. "Jim..." Simon said, reaching out to touch Jim's arm.

Jim jerked away from Simon. "What do you want?"

"For you to listen to me."

"Why? You didn't listen to me OR Blair when we tried to talk to you. Why should I bother?"

Simon sighed. "I was wrong, all right? I should have listened."

"It's not too late," Blair inserted, from where he'd moved to stand in the kitchen entryway. "Jim, if you'll listen to Simon first, then he'll listen to whatever we've got to say, deal?" He offered it to both men.

Simon jumped on it. "You got a deal," he said, looking over at Jim.

"Fine," was all the Sentinel said, and Blair inclined his head towards the living room.

"Make yourself comfortable, Simon." Blair wrapped his arm around Jim's waist, and steered him to the couch, and sat almost on top of the Sentinel to keep Jim from pacing or walking out in the middle of Simon's speech.

Simon sat down in the chair across from Jim, and leaned forward. "Jim, listen to me. You're the best damn cop I ever met, and the best man besides. And the best friend. Not every friend would put themselves on the line like you did for Darryl, and I can't tell you what that means to me, that you were willing to protect my son at the risk of your own life. I guess that's what makes you a Sentinel and me just an old beat cop who's risen through the ranks." He took a deep breath, and resolved no alcohol this night. Blair seemed to read his mind, and got up and took out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and handed it to Simon. He nodded his thanks and took a pull off the bottle as he thought. "You can't give up being a cop, Jim, any more than you can give up breathing. You have to help people, it's a part of who you are and I don't see you stopping that any time soon. And from what I understand, it's part of the Sentinel's job description. You can't stop being who and what you are, Jim, and you are a Sentinel and a cop. The best of both, in fact." He sat back. "And I miss you, Jim. I miss my best friend and I miss the best team I have in Major Crimes." He took another drink of water. "Your turn, Jim."

"I don't care about being a cop or a Sentinel, Simon, not if it means that I can't be with someone I truly care about. I didn't go after Darryl because I am a Sentinel and it's what I do, I went because he was your son, and because I knew we had the best chance of getting him out alive and us out too. We went because of you, Simon, not because it's our job or not because it's what we're supposed to do as Sentinel and Guide, but because you mean a lot to both of us and that's why. Being a cop here in Cascade is all well and good, but I could go and be a cop anywhere. Blair's university is here; as soon as he finishes the degree he can take it anywhere in the country and so can I. The only thing that keeps us here is family and friends, and like it or not, Simon, that's you. You're the only family in town that either of us have, to be honest about it, and if you're not going to BE family, then there's nothing here for either of us. The people in Cascade don't give a damn about me, Simon, I'm just another cop who gets paid out of their tax dollars and if I leave, that's one less badge they have to feed," he continued softly. "I can be a cop anywhere, but I can only be your friend here. And if you're going to turn on me and Blair like you have so far, then there's definitely no reason for me to hang around here. I'll find another station, and I'll wait for Blair there."

That last sentence hung in the air.

What about it, Banks? he badgered himself. Believe it now? Believe that they might actually give a damn about you, or do you think they're still feeling sorry for you? Can't you admit to yourself-or them-that you were wrong to throw their affection for you back in their face? He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers again. "Jim..."

"Give us a reason to stay, Simon, and we will stay here," Jim said, almost whispering. He got up and moved to crouch beside Simon's chair. "Otherwise, we're going to leave what is an uncomfortable situation for all of us. Blair and I have talked, and we both think it's not fair to you for us to come in there every day and expect you to pretend like nothing's gone on between the three of us. Yes, we're all adults, but this isn't an easy situation."

Simon could not deal with this. "Jim-Blair-I don't want you to go," he said softly. "But I don't know what else you're asking me." He was surprised to see Jim's face soften a little and his arms come around Simon's shoulders.

"Let us love you, Simon. We already do, we always will," Blair said, coming over to crouch on the other side. "Nobody is feeling sorry for you; we need you. Jim falls apart without you; I'm his Guide but you are his best friend, his leader, and he needs that from you. You brought me and Jim together, Simon, now it's time for you to come with us." He stroked Simon's hand gently as he talked.

Simon nodded. "I need you too," he confessed in a whisper. "I need my friends and I need someone to care about me," he finished. "I just didn't know it was you until earlier, and I couldn't come between you and Jim."

"Simon, you're not," Jim reassured him. "Nobody can come between me and Blair, ever, because that's how we love each other. But nobody is going to separate the three of us, either, because we're not going to let it happen. I'm not going to let it happen," he said with emphasis. "It's my job."

"Yes, then," he said softly. "Yes... so long as you don't leave me." His breath was almost cut off as Jim and Blair both hugged him tightly.

"We won't leave you, Simon, we promise," Blair whispered.

Simon pulled his arms loose, and he wrapped one around each man. "And don't leave me out either," he whispered, afraid to say it out loud but needing reassurance.

"Never again," Jim confirmed. "And only when you're ready."

"I'm ready now," Simon said softly. "Blair scared me when he called, I was not sure you'd listen, and I didn't think I was ready, but the thought of losing you both wasn't something I could live with."

"You don't have to live with it," Blair said quietly. "Are you sure you're ready, Simon? Sure you want this?"

Simon nodded shakily. "I'm sure, Blair... I don't want to keep going on in a haze, just existing... I want to be part of something special, and if you and Jim will still let me be part of you, then that's what I want."

"Of course, Simon," Jim said, nuzzling his captain's neck. "Of course we will still let you; you have to be."

Simon closed his eyes. Time to confess all. "I was scared," Simon said softly. "Scared for Darryl, scared for you and Blair, scared OF you and Blair, of how much you mean to me and of what losing you meant to me too," he said, reaching out to pull both men close to him. "Scared of what might happen, scared... scared of being alone again but most of all... scared that I would give myself to you and have it thrown back in my face... like Joan did," Simon confessed. He felt Jim and Blair both wrap their arms around him. "I am sorry," he whispered to them both.

Jim got up first, and held out his hand to Simon as Blair got up and pulled Simon's other hand, getting the black man to his feet. "Come on," Blair said softly. "All is forgiven, and we are going to prove it."

Simon let Jim and Blair pull him along behind them as they headed towards the stairs. Up and around the corner, into the actual bedroom. Jim's bed could easily accommodate all three of them, unlike Blair's old room which had been a somewhat tight fit. Once they were all upstairs, Blair reached up and hooked his hand around the back of Simon's neck, kissing him as Jim's hands slid around, undressing him. Blair's hands helped Jim's pull off Simon's tie and push his shirt aside. The Sentinel peeled it off and then planted light kisses down the captain's spine as he knelt to work on Simon's slacks. He swiftly unbuttoned the top button, caressing the stirring manhood under the briefs as he slid the pants off his calves, and peeled off his socks and shoes.

Simon was breathless by the time Blair broke off the kiss to help Jim finish undressing him. Jim straightened and turned Simon to face him. "We're not going to hurt you," he said softly, his hands on the captain's shoulders. "We care about you, Simon. We love you, we need you, we want you." Blair's lips and teeth worrying at the black man's shoulder and neck confirmed Jim's words. "We're not going to leave you out, ever again, and we're not going to let you be alone anymore." Jim's tongue teased Simon's ear and earlobe as he spoke. Simon let out a quiet moan as Jim whispered to him. "We need you, Simon."

Blair had undressed as Jim was undressing Simon, and he took the Sentinel's place, kissing and caressing Simon as Jim undressed. Both men paused, watching Jim move quickly and efficiently; even in bed Jim's efficiency carried through, and Simon smiled as he watched. It didn't surprise him at all. He moved forward, tugging Blair with him as he spread his hand out on Jim's chest. "Touch me," Jim whispered to Simon. He carefully turned up his dials to feel every nuance of Simon's skin against his, and he shivered at the delicate touch across his chest. As his shivers increased, Jim was forced to dial back down or lose it completely, and Blair nodded as he watched Jim retreat to safety.

Simon let his hands slide over Jim's chest and shoulders, waiting impatiently for Jim to be naked, and once he was, Jim stepped into Simon and laid his head on the taller man's shoulder, as Blair wrapped his arms around the black man's waist. They stood like that for several minutes, until Jim backed up and guided all of them into the bed. He pulled Simon in after him, and Blair climbed in behind, putting Simon in the middle.

Simon had expected Jim to take him, claim him again and again, but instead, the gentle persistence of Jim's arms around him spooned him against the Sentinel's strong body. He sighed as Blair spooned in behind him, and he could feel the young man's breath on the back of his neck. "I'm glad you're here," Blair said, kissing the back of Simon's neck softly.

"Me too," echoed the Sentinel.

Simon couldn't speak; a lump of unshed tears formed in his throat. He reached behind him with one hand and felt Blair's arm wrapping around his waist, resting lightly on his hip, and Jim's arm lay on his side. He linked the fingers of one hand with Blair, and then pulled the linked hands to rest beside Jim, who held the linked hands tightly. All three of them, united. The way it was supposed to be.

End Family Loyalties by Kel: [email protected]

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