Archive of Our Own ^beta

Disclaimer: The characters from The Sentinel do not belong to me, and I am not making any money off this story. NC-17, m/m sex, J/B, Permission to archive. 1/?

Author's Note: Why didn't someone warn me that when you start writing TS fanfic, the stories take over your life? They won't let you rest until you write them! I was reading a book review in Yahoo, a magazine about the net. The book was about a man who fell in love with a woman in virtual reality. And, of course, I thought, hmm, how can I apply that to B/J. So now here I am typing less than two hours after getting the idea. Help me! Jim and Blair won't let me go. Wait a minute, forget about that. I don't think I want any help. Cuddle on over here, Jim, next to Blair, and let me tell you a story. Oh, by the way, if you dislike or hate this story, keep it to yourself. If you have ideas on how to make it better, tell me nicely. If you like or love it, by all means, tell me!

The Virtual Sentinel

by N'Wanda

Blair Sandburg pushed a strand of his long, curly hair out of his eyes and sighed tiredly. "Only fifteen more exams to grade! 'Only' fifteen? At this rate I'll be lucky to make it home for breakfast, let alone dinner!" he grumbled to himself. "It is 'so' not fair, man. Right now Jim is enjoying himself at a Jags game, and I'm stuck here grading what has to be the most unintelligent ramblings ever written!"

A knock at his office door was a welcome distraction. "Blair Sandburg?" a tall, well built man of about thirty-five asked.

"You found him," Blair stated as he stood took off his glasses with his right hand and moved to shake the man's outstretched arm. He quickly realized he couldn't shake hands if his were holding something and awkwardly shifted his glasses to his left hand.

"I'm Michael Tashtego, and I have a very interesting proposition for you," he smiled as he firmly grasped Blair's hand.

"What kind of proposition?" Blair asked suddenly wary of Tashtego.

"It concerns "sentinels'."

Blair took a step backward feeling his back hit the table behind his desk. "Uhm, Mr. Tashtego, I really don't know what you're talking about here."

"Let's drop the act, Mr Sandburg. I'm working on a project of unbelievable proportions, and I want Detective Ellison's help with it. I need to show it to you though. My car's right outside. Why don't we take a ride to my lab. You're not going to believe your eyes!"

"What makes you think I'm just going to follow you off blindly to who knows where?" Blair had resigned himself to the fact that this man knew something about Jim's special abilities, but he wasn't about to put his life in the hands of a complete stranger.

"How would you and Det. Ellison deal with having your little secret as front page news? Look, Mr. Sandburg, I promise you, I don't mean either of you any harm. The decision is totally yours, but how is 'Jim" going ' to react when he finds out it's 'your' fault everyone knows what he is?"

Tashtego was playing on Blair's deepest fears, Jim's anger directed at him, Jim rejecting him, Jim "leaving" him. "Okay, fine," he said against his better judgment, "but I'm not promising anything here."

"That's understood, Mr. Sandburg. Now if you'll just come with me; my car is out front,"

Tashtego's car was a flashy black '97 Ferrari, that stood out vividly among the junkheaps that most of the students and professors drove. Blair stopped to admire it, certain he'd never own anything near as expensive.

"She's a beauty, isn't she? One of the perks that comes with owning your own company."

Blair looked at him puzzled, then opened the car door and sat inside enjoying the feel of the rich leather seats. He'd always had a thing for leather, in cars, on lovers or people he wanted to love. He snapped his thoughts back to reality as the seatbelt moved of its own volition to enclose him safely.

"Amazing thing, technology!" Tashtego grinned. "That's what my company does, design advanced electronics, computer hardware, that kind of thing. I design most of it myself, and my latest design, well that's what I need Ellison for."

"How did you know about him being a sentinel?" Blair asked.

"My dear, Mr. Sandburg, I'm no ordinary computer hacker. My talents are very extensive and range into areas you can't conceive of. Let's just say I was able to gain access to your pc."

Blair gasped, "That's illegal!"

"True, a minor technical matter, but I covered my tracks well. You'd never find any evidence to prove it. Now, I read your thesis, wonderful writing, by the way. I knew that I had to get you to convince Det. Ellison to help me. And I read a few other things you wrote. Man, you should write for Harlequin! Hmm, that's another incentive for you to get 'Jim' to cooperate, now isn't it?"

Blair blushed furiously. How dare this man hack into his computer and read his personal notes, thoughts, hopes. He was suddenly cold with fear. What if Tashtego carried out his threat.

Tashtego noticed his reaction and laughed, "Don't worry, Mr. Sandburg, you do your part, and I'll keep my mouth shut."

Soon they arrived at their destination, a large building with one side made completely of widows. The sign out front read Virtual Electronics. Tashtego directed Blair to an room on the top floor. In it was a strange looking device that was somewhat familiar to Blair. He turned to Tashtego. "Virtual reality? This has something to do with VR?"

"Very perceptive, you're exceeding my expectations, Mr. Sandburg! I designed this particular model myself. It makes today's VR technology look like it was invented by a six year old."

"I've never heard of it."

"No one has. I'm keeping it top secret until I can plot it's full potential. That's what I need Ellison for. VR is based on stimulating the five senses. I want to run some experiments to see how a sentinel would respond to it. Imagine the possibilities if this machine can do all I think it can! It could take the place of morphine for intense pain; it could be used to rehabilitate career criminals!"

Blair stopped him, "I'm not doing anything that could hurt Jim, no matter what you threaten me with!"

"It will be completely safe for him, I guarantee it."

"And I'm just supposed to trust you with Jim's life and sanity, no way, man!"

Tashtego smiled revealing his sharp predator like white teeth. "You can test it out yourself first. I've gone ahead and designed a little program just for you. I don't like to brag, but I'm sure after you've experienced it, you'll agree. It's 'perfect' for you."

Blair grimaced. He didn't care to experience Tashtego's "perfect" little scenario, but if he didn't, the man would tell the world...and he would tell Jim. He took a deep breath and looked up. "What do I have to do?'

The loft was dimly lit as Blair sat at the kitchen table grading the last remaining few finals he had brought home. The silence in the loft seemed palpable and foreboding somehow. When the door crashed open loudly, the sound startled him, and he jerked, knocking several papers to the floor. Jim stood in the doorway wearing a tight fitting sleeveless shirt and jeans. The veins on his bare forearms stood out as if he had been working out earlier.

"Uh, hi, Jim," he paused to clear his throat. " I didn't expect you home yet."

"Don't I have the right to come home to my own home when I want to?" Jim sounded differently than usual.

"Of course," Blair stammered, "What brings you back?" He was startled when the bigger man crossed the room in three long strides and pushed him back into the kitchen island. Jim placed his arms around him to rest on the kitchen counter effectively blocking off any escape Blair might have tried to make.

"Well now," Jim growled in Blair's ear, "I've come to claim what is mine, what belongs to 'me' and 'me' alone." The feel of Jim's breath in his ear made Blair shiver. He began to tremble as the Sentinel pressed their bodies tightly together. "You want that too; don't you Blair. You want me to take what is mine. I know you do." He bent to capture Blair's mouth in a fierce, animal kiss forcing Blair to open his mouth beneath the onslaught. He plunged his tongue into the hot, moist cavern of Blair's mouth ravaging as he went. At first, Blair held still from fear and shock, but as Jim continued to hungrily feed on his mouth, he could resist no more.

Blair began returning the kiss, dueling with Jim's insistent tongue. He brought his arms up to snake around the Sentinel. Holding on for dear life as he rode the roller coaster of sensations that assaulted him.

Jim pulled away and smiled evily. He chuckled softly deep in his throat. "I thought so, Sandburg."

Blair stared at him unable to speak or move, his heart pounding in his chest.

"I don't need to be a Sentinel to hear your heartbeat, Chief. It's going a mile a minute. You must really be enjoying this. You get into this sort of thing, don't you? No, soft and tender for you, you like it hard and rough; don't you, Chief?"

Blair tried to speak, to tell Jim no, he didn't always like it this way. True, one of his favorite fantasies was for Jim to "claim" him; but he had just as many where Jim was the sweet, romantic lover. He couldn't form any words. Blair's body was moving of its own accord toward that source of heat and strength.

Jim's arms wrapped around him tightly, holding him firmly, leaving no doubt in Blair's mind who was in control here. "Don't worry, Chief, I know just how to satisfy that little craving of yours." He pushed Blair onto the floor and looked down at him while slowly removing his shirt. Blair shivered when the large, muscular chest was exposed, nipples achingly erect. Jim nodded at Blair. "Take off your clothes," he commanded. "I want to see what is mine. I want to see you naked and ready beneath me with your legs spread for me."

Blair complied slowly. He could barely make his fingers undo the buttons of his shirt. "Hurry up!" Jim barked at him, "Or I'll rip your clothes from your body." Blair looked up at him with a stunned look. "This" was Jim? He managed to get the rest of his clothes off and frantically pushed them over to the side. He looked back to Jim and awaited further instructions. "Pull your legs up," Jim told him, "Yes, like that; that's good, Blair. Now take your finger and suck on it, no harder. Get it good and wet."

Blair followed Jim's instructions hypnotically, powerless to disobey the large man who towered above him still wearing his jeans. "That's enough," Jim continued, "Take your finger and work it into yourself slowly. Pretend it's me in you, filling you ,possessing you; but when it it really is me, Blair, you'll know it, oh yes, my sweet Blair, you'll know it's me." Blair's cock was hardening just from listening to the words that streamed from Jim's mouth, words he was sure he'd never hear Jim say. He pushed his index finger into his ass and began moving it in and out, never losing eye contact with Jim.

"Oh, that's good, Blair; that's very good!" Jim breathed raggedly caressing himself 1through his jeans. "I think it's time for my participation in this party, don't you?"

Blair nodded, "Please, Jim!" he managed through clenched teeth as Jim stripped off his remaining clothes.

"Please what?" Jim growled as he moved to cover Blair's body with his own. "Please touch me? Please lick me? Please fuck my brains out?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Blair sobbed, "Any of it, all of it, just please do it!"

"Oh, I'd be most happy to oblige, Chief." Jim bent his head to suck viciously on Blair's neck. Blair bent his head back moaning with pleasure, and his glazed vision took in the room around him. It seemed surreal somehow. Jim's hands ran down his sides and onto his hips pushing him into the floor as Jim began to nip and bite down Blair's chest.

"Oh...Oh...Oh!" Blair cried with each love bite. Jim grinned against his chest.

"Like that, do you, Chief. Let's see what else you like."

Blair was unprepared for the hand that suddenly grasped his cock tightly, stroking down the full length. Blair tried to sit up as he screamed, "JIM!"

Jim pushed him back down easily. "Hey now, Chief, let's remember who's calling the shots here." He removed his hand from Blair who moaned from the depravation. "Uh uh, Babe, it's my turn now. Bring that pretty mouth of yours over here, and let's see if it's good for anything besides babbling."

Blair reached for Jim's cock wanting desperately to touch it. He held the base in his hand while he brought his mouth to it and began to suck. Jim placed his hands on Blair's head and neck to guide him. "Oh, yeah, Blair, yeah, you certainly are talented in this area. Mmmm, I'll have to partake of this particular talent often." He let Blair tongue his hard length for several moments before pulling away. Blair blindly sought to recapture his prize, but Jim took his hands and pinned them behind his back. "I have to keep reminding you of who's in charge. I hope you're ready, Blair, because I'm going to fuck you into the ground."

Blair felt himself pushed back. Jim's cock was huge, but he didn't care. He wanted as much of Jim as he could take, and he wanted it now. Jim placed himself at the entrance to Blair's body, and Blair tried to impale himself back onto it. "Patience, Chief, patience now. We're getting there," Jim whispered in his ear. He slowly began inching into Blair who was whimpering softly. Even in his extreme pleasure, Blair was able to note that Jim was taking infinite care not to hurt him. All of his talk about being the owner, the one in control was just that, talk. Blair realized that to Jim this was not just some game, and he relaxed allowing Jim to penetrate him deeply.

"Oh, god, Blair!" Jim gave a strangled cry, and Blair smiled. So, Mr. "I am in control" was starting to lose that famous control. He raised his hips to meet Jim's frantic, pounding thrusts and soon was echoing Jim's moans and cries with his own incoherent ones. All to soon, he felt his orgasm shake him violently, and as he came, he felt reality slip and oblivion take him.

When Blair next opened his eyes the room spun around him violently. He brought a hand to his head and moaned.

"Take it easy now, Mr. Sandburg. It can be very disorienting at first," said a familiar voice.

Blair gasped as his vision cleared, and he saw Michael Tashtego bending over him smiling. "Pretty realistic, isn't it? It even makes you forget you're in a simulated environment. Did you enjoy my little treat? Well, I can see that you did!" he gestured down at Blair's pants at the growing dampness in front. "You're quite the little tiger, you know. Jim doesn't know what he's missing with the way you looked just now, all and sweaty and gasping Jim's name."

Blair stood, suddenly furious. He wanted to rip Tashtego's throat open. The man noticed the murderous look in Blair's eyes. "Uh uh uh, Mr. Sandburg, I wouldn't do that if I were you. How would Det. Ellison react if he got this particular videotape in the mail. Yes, I just had to tape your lovely performance for posterity, and if you threaten me again I won't hesitate to send this to dear, old Jim. Now, I had the forethought to have an extra pair of pants handy. I thought you might need them." He handed the pair of jeans to Blair who ripped them out of his hands.

Tashtego watched Blair closely. Then sighed, "Well, I guess you'd like some privacy. Shame though, saving that gorgeous body for a fool like Ellison. If you ever get over your little crush, I'll be here waiting, sweetheart."

"GET OUT!!" Blair screamed at him his face going crimson with rage.

Tashtego pocketed the videotape and exited the room chuckling loudly. "I guess this means you'll talk to Ellison!" he yelled from the corridor. "When your ready, my limo driver will be out front waiting to take you back to the university."

It took Blair a full fifteen minutes to calm himself down enough to change his pants. He wanted to scream, to break things against the wall, but that wouldn't help matters, nothing would. Oh god, he could see Jim's face now, lip curled in disgust as he snarled, "Get your things, and get out now, you little pervert! I never want to see you again." Blair couldn't let that happen. He couldn't go through that; it would kill him as surely as a knife to the heart.

He felt as if there "were" a knife in his heart now. It ached fiercely. "Jim," he whispered, "Oh, Jim, what am I going to do?" He managed to put on the jeans Tashtego had so "thoughtfully" provided and exited the room leaving his soiled pants in a heap on the floor.

Blair sat at the kitchen table pretending to be grading the finals. It was for real this time. Jim wasn't going to come crashing through the door, pull him into his arms, and kiss him passionately. It had all been a computer generated dream, the product of his desperate, hopeful mind. The phone rang and he slowly moved to answer it. "Sandburg," he said flatly into the receiver.

"Chief, I need you." It was his partner's voice. Blair choked over Jim's choice of words. "There's been a murder at 567 Washington. Get down here right now."

"I'm on my way, Jim," he replied hoping his voice didn't reveal the awkwardness he felt. Jim hung up without saying goodbye, and Blair headed out the door to meet him. He was halfway to the murder site when it struck him. "567 Washington? Isn't that where I just.....Oh, my god!" He raced to the scene and groaned as his suspicion was confirmed. He parked near the sign that read Virtual Electronics, and ran into the building. He pounded the top floor button in the elevator over and over, cursing at it to hurry. Then another thought struck him, "His pants! He had left his pants in the room!"

When the elevator doors opened he forced himself to slowly walk down the corridor toward the room where all the cops were milling about. He heard snatches of conversation. "...shot once in the back of the head, one Michael Tashtego..." He blinked in shock, steeled himself and walked into the room, the room where less than six hours ago he had lain dreaming of being fucked by Jim. Jim and Simon were over in the corner of the room deep in conversation. Blair's heart plummeted when he saw what Jim was holding. He held a videotape gently in his hand; he might as well have held Blair's life there. The Sentinel looked up, noticed Blair, and motioned for his Guide to come closer.

Blair could barely make his feet walk over to where Jim and Simon were standing. What he really wanted to do was turn and run out the door and down the street and never stop running. He would always be running now, running from the image of Jim in his mind, his voice dripping with scorn. "How could you ever think I could love anybody like you, Sandburg? You make me sick!"

"I haven't got all day, Chief!" Jim called to him in an exasperated tone. "Get over here!"

When Blair reached him, Jim began filling him in on facts that Blair already knew, telling him about Tashtego's breakthrough in VR technology.

"I've got someone looking into Tashtego's past." Simon continued for him talking more to Jim than Blair. "Enemies, ex lovers, that sort of thing. The evidence we found on the scene is off being tested now."

There was no way for Blair to casually ask if his pants had been part of that evidence. He would just have to wait for now; but the videotape, that he would have to do something about immediately. Obviously, they hadn't watched it yet, because he wasn't lying on the ground after being knocked down by a furious Sentinel.

"Why don't you take a look at the video tape we found on the body, Jim. Maybe you can see or hear something that will help us figure out who did this."

"NO!" Blair cried.

Both men turned to look at him, stunned by his sudden outburst.

"I mean, um, you've been having trouble concentrating lately. Why don't we take it home and play it there. You'll be more likely to pick up on something."

"He's got a point, there." Jim looked questioningly at Simon.

"Fine, see what you can get, and let me know."

"Right, Sir. Let's go, Chief."

Blair followed Jim out of the room quickly this time. He was relieved to leave that place, the place where this nightmare had started. As he stood in the elevator beside Jim, his eyes never left the videotape that Jim still held. Tampering with evidence was a federal crime. Did he have the nerve to follow through with the wild scheme that was starting to present itself to him? He thought again of a life without the man he had secretly come to love and knew that he would do anything, anything at all to keep Jim from seeing that tape.

He put his plan into action once they were in the truck headed for home. "Hey, man, let's stop on the way back and get some coffee at the supermarket. We're out at home, and you know how cranky you get in the morning without it"

Jim rolled his eyes at him, but agreed to stop. When he pulled up in front of the store, Blair slipped out of his seatbelt. "I'll run in and get it. It'll just take a minute."

Blair walked swiftly into the store. "Video tapes, where do they keep the video tapes?" he thought frantically. He searched the aisles for a full five minutes before finding them. The brand he was looking for was on the top shelf, and he snagged one and headed for the check out line. He was half way there when he realized that he had forgotten the coffee. "Damn!" he muttered and went running to find it almost bumping into several people in the aisle.

"Hey, watch where you're going, buddy!" one of them yelled at him, but Blair didn't spare him a glance. He grabbed a container of coffee without looking at it and raced back to the check out line.

"That'll be $7.95, Sir," the cashier told him. He gave her a wadded up ten dollar bill from his pocket, and took the change she gave him. "Paper or plastic?"

"Wha..., what?" Blair stuttered, unable to comprehend this semingly simple question.

The cashier, a large girl in her late teens, smirked at him and repeated slowly, "Paaay-per orrrr plaaastic?"

Blair was too occupied to notice the implied insult . He waved his hand frantically. "What ever! Just please, hurry!" If he didn't get back to the truck soon, Jim might come in looking for him, and he wasn't done yet! He grabbed the bag from the cashier and walked to a deserted area in the front of the store. The cashier made another face and turned to the next person in line. "Sheesh!" she told the stranger, "They'll let 'anybody' in here!"

Blair fumbled with the wrapping on the tape. He finally had to break the it open with his teeth. Once he had the cellophane off, he pulled the tape out and discarded the stickers in the trash, "The" videotape had not had any stickers on it. He mushed the box a little so it wouldn't look brand new and put the tape back in. There was no way this would fool Jim for long, but if he were very lucky, it might buy him enough time to confuse Jim as to exactly when the tape was switched. Even if the evidence pointed to him, he wouldn't have to tell Jim what had really been on the tape. Blair would rather go to jail than to have Jim know how he felt about him as there was no possible way the Sentinel could ever reciprocate those feelings. Jim was the epitome of straightness, and Blair had had to reconcile himself with the fact that he would never be able to look into the beautiful blue eyes of his partner and declare his undying love.

"Why are you wasting time mooning over him now, Sandburg!" he chastised himself. "Get your butt in gear, and get outta here!" He clutched his package tightly as he returned to the truck.

Jim scowled at him when he opened the door. "There you are! I was just about to send it a search and rescue team. Do I have to go with you everywhere, Chief?"

"If only you would," Blair thought soberly. "If only you would, I'd never ask for anything else my entire life, I swear."

They were half way home when Jim asked, "So what kind of coffee did you get, anyway? You certainly took long enough to choose!"

Blair rummaged in the shopping bag being careful not to reveal the videotape also inside and took out the coffee. "Swiss Almond Mocha," he read.

"Are you crazy, Chief. You know I hate that flavored stuff!"

"Uh, sorry, Jim, I must've grabbed the wrong one by mistake."

"God, Blair, you need a chaperon; you know that?" he gave Blair an irritated glance.

Blair couldn't help agreeing with that statement, and he knew just who "he" wanted to fill that position.

At the loft, Blair nearly had a heart attack while he waited for Jim to leave the room even if only for a moment. He sighed in relief when Jim went to use the bathroom. Wasting no time, Blair took the incriminating tape and left the blank one in its place. He was about to destroy the first and then dispose of it, when Jim shocked him by emerging from the bathroom. Blair hid the tape behind his back before Jim could see it. He backed up slowly feeling very conspicuous and entered his room. It wouldn't be his room for much longer if he didn't do this right! He hid the tape under a pile of his clothes in his dresser knowing it was a lousy hiding place, but having no choice at the moment. He couldn't think clearly enough to find a better place. He walked out to the living room area where Jim had the tape in his hand nd was about to pop it into the VCR. He suddenly knew that he couldn't be there when Jim played the tape. He knew he couldn't keep his eyes from disclosing what he had done.

"Oh, man, I am such an idiot!" He smacked his head.

"You'll get no argument from me there, Chief," Jim grinned to show he was kidding. "Why this time?"

"I totally forgot! I promised to meet with one of my students tonight to help her with her term paper!" He checked his watch. "I'm already ten minutes late. I'll have to check back in with you later, Jim. I'm sorry, man." And then he was gone before Jim could even reply.

Jim sighed and ran his hand over his head in frustration. "Her!" he thought, "Trust Sandburg to leave something as important as this for some girl." There had been a lot of "hers" lately for Blair, more than usual. "Why does that bother me so much?" Jim questioned himself, and then pushed the thought quickly aside as he usually did when those kind of thoughts about Blair came unbidden to his mind.

He knelt to place the tape in the VCR and turned it on. There was nothing but snow. Well, that was a huge waste of time. He decided to salvage the night by watching the replay of the Jags game that he had been to on TV.Some of Blair's clothes lay discarded on the couch, and he sighed as he picked them up. When would the kid learn to pick up after himself. He was a cop, after all, not a maid.

He entered Blair's room and opened a drawer intending to stuff the clothes in and leave. The feeling of a hard rectangular object stopped him, and he pulled the video tape out and stared at it unbelievingly. It was an exact duplicate for the evidence tape. What was it doing here in Blair's drawer? Jim walked quickly back to the VCR. He slid the tape in and pushed play.

The tape clicked on and a picture hummed into life on the television screen. Jim sat down hard as he saw his partner lying in the room where the murder victim had been found. Blair was being hooked up to the VR machine by a soon to be dead Michael Tashtego. There were gloves fitted onto his guide's hands, and special glasses on his face. Several wires were attached to his temples. Jim stared as the scene unfolded unable to break his eyes away from Blair's face.

"There, Mr. Sandburg," Tashtego said, "You should be starting to get a picture. The sound of my voice should be fading away leaving you alone with your fantasy. I know most of the fantasies you wrote about were of a soft and gentle nature, but this was one of my favorites. And I thought it would be fun, so to speak, to experience it with you."

Blair mumbled something Jim couldn't make out and then said clearly, "What brings you back?" He paused as if listening to another voice answer him, but that was just what was happening in Blair's mind, Jim realized.

Blair started to become agitated. He was breathing heavily and thrashing back and forth. "Yes, yes, yes! Any of it, all of it, just do it!" Blair suddenly yelled. With mounting horror, Jim realized he was watching the man in the throes of sexual ecstasy. He wasn't disgusted, but he felt as if he were intruding on something very private that he shouldn't be watching. He felt shame, and perhaps something a little bit more as he watched Blair's head roll from side to side, something he refused to identify. He now realized why Blair had somehow switched the tape on him if not what his friend had been doing in Tashtego's lab.

Just when he felt he had reached his astonishment quota for the year, Jim watched as Tashtego began to stroke himself through his pants while watching Blair intently. He undid his jeans and pulled his hard cock out, licking his lips as he gazed on Blair. When he began to stroke himself vigorously, Jim leaped to his feet and shut it off in a haze of anger. "How dare he!" Jim thought, glad the man was dead. "If he weren't, I'd kill him right now with my bare hands. How dare he do that to Blair, to someone so innocent, so..." Jim kicked the wall in his rage.

He stopped himself suddenly; he had to find out what was on the program where Blair had been so blatantly violated. He searched his memory for the name of the vice president of Virtual Electronics. Jonathan Phao wasn't that it? "Well, Mr. Phao," he thought grimly, "You're going to show me that program if I have to arrest you."

"Detective Ellison, this is highly irregular." persisted Jonathan Phao, a much shorter man with glasses and a goatee, as he hooked the Sentinel up to the VR device.

"So is murder, Mr. Phao. Now if you don't want to help me, I'll have you thrown in jail for interfering with a murder investigation." Jim knew he probably couldn't arrange that, but Phao wouldn't.

"Alright, Detective, I'll help you, but I have to warn you, you won't be able to tell it's just a dream; you'll think it's real."

"How did Tashtego manage that?" Jim asked wondering if his enhanced senses would allow him to remember it was a simulated landscape.

"'Tashtego' didn't," Phao exclaimed his voice dripping with scorn, "He didn't invent half the goodies that were making him rich. I did all the grunt work for him." He placed a final wire on Jim's head and then put the glasses over his eyes. "It should start any second now, Detective."

Jim tensed as a room came into view. The loft? What was he doing in the loft? He fought to remember that this was not real. "It's not real," he repeated to himself. He was sitting at the kitchen table grading finals. Grading finals? It took him a moment to remember that this was supposed to be Blair's fantasy here.

His Sentinel hearing picked up approaching footsteps. The door slammed open; Jim looked up and came face to face with...himself! He started violently scattering the papers in front of him. He barely remembered what Blair had said on the tape.

"What brings you back?"

"Well now," 'Jim' said advancing on him, "I've come to claim what is 'mine', what belongs to 'me' and 'me' alone. You want that too; don't you, Blair? You want me to take what is mine, I know you do."

He, Jim Ellison, was Blair's fantasy! Blair wanted him, wanted to sleep with him! Jim's mind spun with the implications. He got the shock of his life when "Jim" grabbed him roughly and kissed him passionately. "Whoa," thought Jim incoherently, trying to break away from "his" strong grasp, "This is one for the record books, being kissed by yourself! Is this what it feels like when I kiss someone? Is this how Blair felt?"

He wrenched away from the man holding him and shouted at the empty loft, "Stop it; stop the program right now, NOW, DAMN IT!" He squirmed to avoid the hands that reached to ensnare him again, "Shit, Sandburg, is this what you think of me, a macho 'I take what's mine' pig?"

Suddenly the loft disappeared, and Jim was in darkness. A voice soothed, "Take it easy, Detective, you're alright, though for the life of me, I can't figure out how you knew it was a simulation."

Jim ignored Phao and began pulling off the wires attached to his head. All he knew was, he had to find Blair and quickly.

"Hey, Ellison, careful there, you can't treat something so expensive like that!"

"Can't I?" Jim snarled giving the machine a vicious kick as he hurriedly left the room and a stunned Phao.

The only place Jim could think of to find Blair was the university. On the way there, one thought kept repeating in his mind, "Blair wants me! He wants me, damn it! Does that mean he loves me?" The thought should have disgusted him; why didn't it? Why did he feel a sort of happiness springing from that thought instead? "Could it be I have feelings for him too? But I've never thought of him that way! That's a lie!" he told himself. "You mean you've never let yourself think of him that way. You've always pushed those thoughts aside so damn quickly. What were you afraid of, Jimmy? Were you afraid that maybe, just maybe, you might feel something for him other than brotherly? Stop trying to deny it, man. It's always been there, just below the surface whenever you looked at Blair. He was so damn b..."

Jim stopped himself. "Was I really about to call Blair beautiful, me straight as an arrow Jim Ellison? Well, obviously the arrow wasn't so straight anymore, if it ever really had been to begin with. He had been about to call Blair beautiful, and he was. He was 'so' damn beautiful!"

"Whoa, slow down there Slick!" he continued his introspection, "You don't even know exactly what Blair feels for you. You don't know if he's just hot for your bod, or if he's looking for something serious here. Don't get your hopes up. Get my hopes up?" Jim sighed, he couldn't resist the admission any longer. He had feelings for Blair Sandburg and of a serious nature at that. Just how serious, he had yet to find out, but he suspected, hell he damn near knew that they were deeper and stronger than he'd ever felt for anyone in his whole life.

"Just give us some time," he begged, "Time to sort this out." But he knew time was one thing they didn't have. Blair was now implicated in Michael Tashtego's murder, just how strongly Jim didn't know yet. But he did know one thing. He was going to find Blair, and when he did, he was going to force Sandburg to look him in the eye and reveal to him exactly what his intentions were toward his Sentinel.

Jim pushed open the door to Blair's office entering softly. Blair lay asleep with his head resting on his desk. Jim was stunned by the new sensations that shook him as he watched his guide sleep. He wanted to stroke his finger along Blair's cheek. He wanted to kiss the full, pouting lips. "God help me." Jim thought, "There's no turning back now, and I don't think I would, even if I could somehow manage to tear myself away from him."

"Blair," he whispered out loud, "Blair wake up."

Blair opened his eyes and looked up at him. One look at Jim's face confirmed his worst fears. Jim knew! Somehow he had seen the tape and was here now to tell him that he never wanted to see him again!

"Oh, Jim, Oh god, Jim. I'm so sorry!" He stood and moved around his desk wanting to leave before Jim could break his heart, but Jim's question stopped him. It was not what he had expected the Sentinel to say at all.

"How did that bastard get you into his lab in the first place?" Jim asked softly.

"What?" replied a thouroughly confused Blair.

Jim reached to put his hand gently on Blair's shoulders. He placed the other under Blair's chin and forced the young man to look into his eyes. "I want the truth here, Chief; tell me the truth. How do you feel about me?"

Blair's mouth worked in anguish reflecting the torment that twisted inside him. He could look nowhere else but the crystal blue eyes of the man standing in front of him. His heart shattered in a million pieces as he suddenly screamed, "I love you, okay! Is that what you want to hear? I love you; I love you; I love you!"

He broke away from Jim with a sob and turned to face the wall. "Please, just let him leave. Just let him walk away now without saying anything," he prayed. "I can't take any more!"

But Jim didn't leave. Instead, he moved to stand behind Blair and wrapped his arms around him feeling his guide stiffen in surprise. "Yes," he whispered in Blair's ear, "Yes, That is what I wanted to hear, what I've longed to hear you say."

Blair was unable to comprehend what Jim was saying to him. "He doesn't sound angry. He sounds...happy." He turned to look at Jim, "What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying, Chief, is that I have feelings for you too. I'm in love with you, Blair."

"No," Blair breathed. Jim couldn't love him. He must not have heard him right.

"Yes," Jim smiled as he stated his devotion firmly. He wiped a stray tear from his guide's wet cheek. "I, James Ellison love 'you', Blair Sandburg!"

"But how...?" Blair was having serious trouble comprehending this possibility. Never in his wildest dreams had he entertained the thought that the detective might really feel the same way about him.

"A bit slow on the uptake aren't you here, Sandburg?" Jim laughed. "Want me to spell it out for you? After, I saw you on that tape, and by the way, 'next' time pick a better hiding place, after I saw how Tashtego used you, I was so furious at him, I could've killed him. Lucky for him he was already dead! And then after I ran the program..."

"You ran the program?" Blair asked mortified.

"Yeah, well, I had to know, Chief. He was using you, and I had to know what he used. I was jealous, Blair, jealous of myself actually. Believe me it's quite a shock being kissed by yourself!"

Blair gaped at him. "You ran the program?" he repeated.

"Yes, Blair, I ran the program. It got me to admit what I've always felt for you. I've just been blocking those feelings out because they scared the hell out of me, but they don't anymore, Blair. They don't anymore!"

Blair was finally able to understand what Jim was saying to him. He looked back up at the Sentinel again. "You love me?"

Jim shook his head in an exasperated fashion, "Haven't you heard a word I've said here, Chief?"

"You love me." a statement this time. Jim nodded. "YOU LOVE ME!" Blair shouted and threw himself into Jim's arms, home at last.

They held each other for long moments, reveling in the closeness of the other, enjoying the feel of something so new and long sought after. Finally, reluctantly, Jim pulled back.

"I wish we could just charge full speed ahead, Blair, but there's something we have to figure out first. You're the prime suspect in Tashtego's death now."

"I didn't do it, Jim. I didn't kill him!"

"I know that. Blair, don't you think I know that. I need you to tell me everything starting with how Tashtego got you to his lab in the first place."

Blair told him everything, including leaving his pants on the scene. Jim shook his head. They would have Blair's DNA now and would speculate that he had killed Tashtego after some sort of sexual liaison or out of anger from being video taped.

"We've got a lot of ground to cover, Chief. Somehow, we've got to prove that someone else killed Michael Tashtego. And we've got a lot of other stuff to talk about, heavy stuff. I don't know about you, Blair, but I think we should wait with this relationship thing until after we've cleared your name. We need to be thinking clearly here."

Blair nodded, "Okay, Jim." He looked very sad and lost again now, and Jim felt obligated to cheer him up.

He put an arm around Blair's waist as they walked to the truck. "The sooner we get this thing solved, Chief, the better, because I can't wait much longer to make love to you." That got the desired effect as Blair shivered against him. They pried themselves apart each missing that newfound closeness and entered the truck.

Jim's heart fell when he saw Simon waiting for them at the door to the loft, his face grim.

"Jim," Simon said softly, "I assume you know why I'm here."

"He didn't do it, Simon!"

"I know that, Jim," Simon continued gently, "But I have no choice. His prints were found on the murder weapon" He maneuvered past Jim to stand in front of Blair. "I'm sorry, Blair," he told him as he took out his handcuffs.

"Do what you gotta." the small man whispered back.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you by the state. Do you understand these rights as they've been read to you?"

Blair nodded as Simon gently fitted the handcuffs around his wrists disregarding Jim's loud protests against the procedure.

The three of them sat in the conference room. Jim was still furious at Simon for using the handcuffs to bring Blair down to the station. It hadn't been necessary. Blair wouldn't have tried to escape. He refused to accept Simon's explanation that he had to do things by the book if they were going to clear Blair. Blair himself had tried to calm Jim down saying, he didn't mind, but it hadn't worked. Jim was still seething. At least Simon had taken them off once they entered the building and hadn't made Blair walk through the bull pen with them on.

Now Blair sat calmly answering Simon's questions, telling his part of the story. Simon removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I won't kid you here, Blair. It looks bad. We've got your prints on the gun, your DNA from the semen on your jeans, and Tashtego's semen on the floor. The prosecuting attorney's gonna have a field day with this!"

Blair looked confused when Simon mentioned Tashtego's semen. He didn't know that the man had jerked off while watching him, and Jim didn't want him to know. "Look, Simon, how could Blair's prints get on the gun?" he asked quickly to forestall any questions on Blair's part.

"Yeah, man, I hate guns. I wouldn't pick one up unless I absolutely had to," Jim was relieved to see Blair seemed to have forgotten his earlier question for the moment.

"You were out of it for a long time there, Sandburg. Someone could have put the gun in your hand while you were in VR."

"But, Simon, Tashtego was in the room the whole time, wasn't he."

"I don't know, Jim. I haven't seen the tape. You tell me."

"I never watched the whole thing. I had to turn it off after I saw..." he stopped abruptly.

"After you saw what, Jim?" Blair looked at him.

"Nothing." Jim set his jaw. "Just leave it, Blair, okay, for now at least."

"Well, Jim, obviously we have to play that tape and see if anyone else did come into the room."

Jim turned to Simon, his eyes full of fire. "Never! Do you hear me, Sir? You are NEVER seeing that tape!"

Blair tried to calm him yet again, "Jim, that's pretty unrealistic. If this goes to court, lots of people will have to see it."

"It's not going to court. I promise you, Blair, no one else is ever going to see that tape." Jim sounded very sure of himself, and Blair could almost believe him, almost.

"Look, Jim, I can leave the room, and Blair can come with me if you want, but you will have to watch that tape again if you want to clear Blair."

Jim turned to look at Blair. "Blair, I watched that tape once without your permission, and that was wrong, very wrong. I feel so dirty now. I don't think I'll ever get over the shame of what I did to you. I...I need your permission to watch it again, just one more time. That's it, after this I promise you, no one will ever see it again! Do I...do I have your permission, Blair?" Part of him was hoping that Blair would say no, so that he wouldn't have to see Blair being used again, so 'he' wouldn't have to use Blair again.

"I trust you, Jim. Watch the video tape, and find the guy who's doing this to me."

Jim nodded and waited for Simon to take Blair's arm and escort him from the room before he loaded the tape for what he swore would be the last showing.

Blair sat still in Simon's office. The captain had never seen the frenetic young man sit so still. Jim had not told him exactly what was on Blair's fantasy VR program, but Simon had a strong hunch of just who had had the starring role. He assumed it was the reason why Blair was now so calm, and Jim was incredibly agitated like a caged tiger being poked at with a sharp stick. Simon decided not to say anything about it. He would let them come to him in their own time when they were ready.

"This has gotta have something to do with my Sentinel research," Blair said suddenly. "Tashtego wanted Jim to help him with his VR project; whoever's framing me must want him for the same thing or for something we don't know about yet."

"But how does framing you get Jim's cooperation, Sandburg?"

"I haven't figured that out yet Simon, but that's got to be the key to this whole thing."

Jim forced himself to look at the video tape. He was almost to the part where he had shut the tape off earlier that night. He tried not to notice the obvious pleasure of Michael Tashtego as he masturbated to Blair's moans.

Suddenly, Blair sat up in the chair and yelled out a word that would have saved Jim a lot of time if he had heard it before. "JIM!" He collapsed back into the chair as if he had been pushed, but then he had been, by Jim, or rather a simulated image of Jim. Jim watched Blair reach his climax and noted the growing stain on the front of his jeans. "I shouldn't be watching this!" he cursed himself.

Tashtego had reached his climax also, spilling his semen onto the floor. He sighed loudly and replaced his now limp cock back in his pants. He walked over to where Blair still lay, not back to consciousness yet. He caressed his long fingers down Blair's face pausing to rub his bottom lip ever so slightly.

"You're quite a beauty, my dear Mr. Sandburg. If time permitted, I would partake of more of that beauty, but...." Tashtego left the thought hanging.

Jim could barely keep from screaming. He wanted to snap those fingers that had just dared to touch Blair's face, rip them from their sockets, and force feed them to that monster, that asshole, that...dead man, he reminded himself. "He's dead and he can't hurt Blair ever again, but someone else is trying to, and if you don't pay attention here, Slick, he's going to."

Tashtego then moved to leave the room. He looked up at someone off camera as he did. "Clean him up, and start bringing him out of it," he commanded. A voice answered in the affirmative so quietly that Jim almost missed it the first time even with his Sentinel hearing. He reran the tape, and listened again. It only took him a few moments to recognize the voice.

"Jonathan Phao? You heard Jonathan Phao's voice on the tape?" Simon asked, "But why would he try and frame Blair?"

"When Phao showed me the program, he let it slip that it was he and not Tashtego who actually designed the new VR machine. He must have had a grudge a mile long against him. Tashtego was apparently taking the credit and money for a lot of his inventions."

"So he figured he could kill Tashtego and let Blair take the fall. Then he would take over as president of Virtual Electronics."

"Right, Sir. It would have been easy for him to put the gun in Blair's hand when he was alone with him, but it doesn't explain why Phao was letting Tashtego take credit for his genius."

"Blackmail?" Blair offered.

Jim smiled at him. "You just may earn your keep around here yet, Chief. It has to be."

Simon frowned, "So it wasn't just about this Sentinel thing, but we still have a major problem here, gentlemen." Both men turned to look at him. "We have no proof of any of this. No one else would be able to hear Phao's voice on the tape. From what my guys tell me about this VR machine, we're dealing with a genius here. We're not going to be able to trip him up with a simple wire. This is a guy who could give Lee Brackett a run for his money!"

"Yeah, but look what happened to Lee Brackett, or rather 'who' happened to Lee Brackett," Blair grinned glancing at Jim.

"I'll just have to get him to confess, Sir." Jim stated.

"Oh, and how are you going to do that, Jim, just walk in and say, 'Pretty please, Mr. Phao, admit you killed Michael Tashtego and go to jail for life,'?"

"I don't know yet, Simon, but it'll come to me. I'm going down there now. I bet that bastard's still in his office gloating.

"No, Jim, absolutely not! I'm not letting you go down there without backup!"

"Sir, if he even catches a glimpse of another cop, I won't have a chance. Just give me one hour here, Sir, please." "You're starting to get an idea aren't you?" Blair asked standing at his side. "I'm going too, Jim. You'll need my help."

Jim turned to him, his face deadly serious. "Uh uh, Chief, you're sitting this one out. And that's an order!" he continued as Blair started to protest. "It's too dangerous."

"And besides, Sandburg, you're a murder suspect, remember?" Simon admonished. "You can't return to the scene of the crime!"

"Does that mean you'll let me do this my way, Simon?"

Simon shook his head, "One hour, Jim," he stated holding up his index finger. "One hour, and then I'm coming after you, guns blazing. You got that, Ellison!"

"Right, Sir," Jim agreed turning to leave, "Oh, and, Sir?" Simon raised his eyebrows. "Keep an eye on him," The Sentinel pointed to Blair. "Sit on him if you have to," he ordered as he exited quickly.

One of the uniformed officers still at the murder scene let Jim in the Virtual Electronics building.

"Is Phao still here?" Jim asked the man.

"I think he's in his office on the top floor. He was helping the forensics guys get a look at some of the equipment they got here, smart guy, really knows his stuff."

"I'll bet he does," Jim replied as he breezed by. On a hunch, he decided not to take the elevator and walked quickly up the stairs. He was only slightly out of breath when he reached the tenth floor. There were no cops up here, and it looked like the forensics team had packed it in for the night. He stood listening and soon picked up one other heartbeat on the floor. He walked in that direction until he stood outside a half open door labeled "Jonathan Phao, Vice President". Jim stood there for a moment thinking about his next move.

"You might as well come in, Detective Ellison. I believe we have a lot to discuss."

Jim wasn't surprised that Phao had somehow learned of his entrance into the building. He squared his shoulders and walked into the office. It was adequate in both size and furnishings for a man of Phao's status, but it was no where near the lavish brothel that had been Tashtego's.

"I know you're capable of fixing the evidence to clear Blair's name, and you're going to do it," he stated the fact simply.

"And why, Det, would I do that? You have no proof of any wrong doing on my part."

"Because, in exchange for you clearing Blair's name, I'll participate in your little VR experiment."

"Well, you seem to have upped the ante, here. You will willingly comply with my directions if I guarantee that Mr. Sandburg will not go down for Tashtego's murder?"

"I just said I would."

Phao smiled. It was a cold, barren smile, very different from the childish leer Jim had seen on Michael Tashtego's face. It made him even more aware of the fact that while Tashtego had been the bigger pervert, Jonathan Phao was infinitely more dangerous.

"Step this way, Detective." He led Jim to the far wall where he pressed a small device in the palm of his hand. A shrill tone followed and the wall slid back to reveal a laboratory far more complex than the one at the murder scene. "After you,...'Jim'," he gestured.

"What did he have on you?" Jim asked while Phao attached several wires to his head. They were different this time from the ones he had used before.

"Who? Tashtego?" Phao paused for a moment. "He caught me with my hand in the till, so to speak. I needed the money to finance my little experiments, and my backers weren't about to give me any more, not after what happened to my last test subject." He smiled again. "But you don't want to hear about that now; do you, Jim? He told me he would finance my more serious experiments and ones that would be more profitable to his company. In return, he wouldn't have me thrown in jail for embezzlement. I knew I could wait, wait until I had an opportunity to get him out of the picture, and your Mr. Sandburg provided that for me quite nicely."

"Now," he said leaning back, "I should warn you, this piece of equipment is ten times more advanced than the simulation you underwent this afternoon. I'll be entering the landscape with you," he gestured at a similar chair nearby. "Then I'll explain to you exactly what I want you to do. It should be fascinating to see how your heightened senses react to my version of VR." He placed the glasses over Jim's eyes, and a new landscape appeared in front of JIm.

Jim looked around him. It was pretty barren wherever he was, rocks, sand, sky. He didn't see Phao yet. All this place needed was a few buzzards, and it would be just like the New Mexico desert he had camped in years ago. A loud cawing sound startled him, and he looked up to see several large buzzards in the air. "What the hell? Did I do that?' He tried an experiment of his own and thought of the few cacti he had seen growing in the desert sand. Sure enough, after his thought, several cacti appeared on the landscape. "How far can I take this?" he thought. "How much control do I have, and is it because I'm a Sentinel, or does it react that way to everyone?" He hoped that his abilities would give him at least a little bit of an edge. He needed all the help he could get.

"It's not hot enough to be the desert," Jim realized, and the temperature increased by what felt like about fifteen degrees to him.

"As you've no doubt noticed, Jim, the landscape is a composite of both our minds. We can control it to a certain extent. I've been able to incorporate sight and sound quite easily. The other senses have been giving me a few problems. That's where you come in."

Jim noticed that beyond Phao a large deer skull appeared gleaming in the sun. "Is that from you?" he asked pointing.

Phao turned to look, "Yes, it must be. Hmm, wonder what that says about me, but then I wonder what 'that' says about you."

Jim looked. It was Blair, not the real Blair, but some virtual Blair perched on a high rock watching them dispassionately. There was no emotion on the young man's face, and Jim wondered why. It took him several seconds to realize, "Of course, he's like a blank slate to me now. I don't know the 'real' Blair yet, not the one who's in love with me, but I will and soon."

"Shall we begin?" Jim turned his attention back to Phao. "I'd like to start with taste." He concentrated for a minute and a cup appeared in his hand. "I want to start with something neutral, water," he handed the cup to Jim. "Drink it slowly, and tell me what you taste."

Jim took the cup and took a small sip. The water was cool, but it didn't have to be he realized. He concentrated and felt the cup grow warm and then hot in his hand. He moved quickly before Phao could see the steam coming from the cup or hear the water boil. He hurled the now boiling liquid right in Phao's face.

Phao screamed as the scalding water burnt into his flesh. He threw himself on Jim, remarkably able to fight even after receiving such pain. Jim was stronger, but Phao pulled a gun from his jacket and held it to the detective's head.

"If I kill you here, Ellison, you'll die out there too!" he shouted and unlatched the safety.

Jim visualized a cliff, and suddenly they were standing on its edge. Phao stumbled in surprise. "How did you do that!"

They continued to struggle. Jim managed to knock the gun out of his hand, and it went hurdling down over the cliff into the mist below. Jim could see no bottom to the ravine, and felt a certainty that it was bottomless. If one or both of them fell, they would be falling for ever, and God only knew what that would do to their minds in real life.

Jim felt himself starting to slip as Phao continued to try to push him off. He knelt slightly and grabbed Phao's waist. He used the momentum of the man's next shove to lift him over his head. Phao went flying over the side of the cliff. His screams were piercing, and Jim put his hands over his ears to block the pain of them.

He had no idea how long he knelt there by the cliffside waiting for the screams to subside. They never really did, only lessened in decibel level. A hand on his arm got his attention. It was his virtual Blair kneeling beside him, looking at him with concern now.

"Come back to me," 'Blair' said softly, "Come back to 'us'." He leaned forward to kiss Jim. An electric shock went through Jim's body. It was the first time he had kissed Blair, and this wasn't even really Blair. Jim wondered how much more powerful it would be to kiss the real Blair. He wanted to find out the answer to that question very much. Blair pulled away from him. "Come back to me, Jim. Please, come back to me."

Suddenly, the screaming returned. Jim placed his hands on his ears again and curled into a fetal position. It was somehow different this time, closer.

"Hey, Jim, Jim, take it easy there, Buddy!" a new voice said. He opened his eyes to see...Simon? He was back in Phao's hidden lab. Blair stood at his side clasping his hand tightly. The screaming 'was' louder. In the next chair, Phao was yelling while several officers subdued him. Jim noticed with horror the vicious burn on the man's face, and then uncurled his painful right hand. The palm was an ugly red color, and several nasty looking blisters were already forming.

"We'll get that taken care of right away, Jim," Simon continued. "I don't know what you did, man, but Jonathan Phao is a basket case. He's been screaming hie head off confessing to Tashtego's and several other unsolved murders. He's also given out some of his private computer codes. It should be a piece of cake to get a conviction and clear Sandburg. All of his screaming led us right to this place, had to break through the wall, though."

Blair, the real Blair this time, leaned over to look into his eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked with real worry in his eyes.

Jim nodded up at him, "I am now, Blair," he told the man he loved with all his heart. "I am now."

Blair Sandburg slammed his car door shut and jogged quickly up the steps to the loft. In the last couple of days he'd had to tell his story a few more times but had been quickly cleared when the files in Phao's computer that contained details about his plans for Tashtego came to light. It had been embarrassing talking about how his semen stained jeans had gotten there, but no one had had to see the tape or know just what type of fantasy world he had been in. He counted himself lucky, in more ways than one.

Jim hadn't made any moves yet toward furthering the relationship, and Blair wasn't going to push it. It was enough for now to know that Jim loved him.

He opened the door to the loft to find Jim on his knees by the fire place getting a fire started. It hadn't really been chilly enough lately to start a fire, but Blair didn't think he was going to mind. A mellow, instrumental CD was playing. It sounded like...Kenny G? Since when did Jim start listening to that kind of music?

Jim looked up at him, "Hey, Chief, what do you think of my little seduction scene here? Think it'll work?"

"Well, frankly, Jim, you could've played 'The Beer Barrel Polka', and I be turned on."

"I'll have to remember that for next time," Jim grinned. "Come on over here, Chief." He patted the space beside him, and Blair moved to sit next to him, their bodies were close, but not touching, yet. "On that tape, Tashtego mentioned that most of your fantasies weren't like that . What you really wanted was for it to be slow and tender." Blair nodded, and Jim continued. "I was hoping maybe we could mix that with one of my fantasies."

"You have fantasies about me?" Blair breathed.

"Countless, Babe. I thought that, well, maybe you could....Ah, damn, this hard to say!"

"Maybe I could what, Jim? You can ask me anything."

Jim looked at the floor and whispered, "I want you to make love to me, slowly and tenderly, and passionately, but I want it. I want you, Blair."

Blair reached out to lift Jim's face up to look into his, "Jim," he sighed, "I want you too. I 'want' to make love to you." And then he moved, startled by his own boldness, to kiss Jim, softly at first and then harder as Jim began to respond like a starving man against him. It was their first kiss. They had each kissed a computer simulation of the other, but even that experience did not prepare them for the earth shattering sensations that ripped through them.

Jim felt like he was on fire, burning in a blaze so hot it seemed to singe his soul. He opened his mouth to Blair and met his tongue with his own, desperately trying to taste Blair as Blair was trying to do the same to him. "This is real!" his brain chanted, "This is goddamn real!" He brought his arms up to encircle Blair and bring Blair beneath him to the ground, but Blair slipped out of his grasp.

"Uh uh uh, Jim, did you forget who's in charge here?"

Jim smiled, "Now where have I heard that before?" He allowed Blair to start unbuttoning his shirt. He was making a painfully slow process of it, and it was killing Jim to just sit there. He wanted to reach out and kiss his way down Blair's beautiful body, but he took a deep breath and calmed himself. Blair was running the show, and he would have to submit to every whim and desire of his partner. Jim shivered and wondered just what exactly that might entail. In any case, he just hoped it happened soon. Blair seemed determined to drive him insane with those small touches of his fingers against Jim's still clothed chest.

"Oh, Blair....please, don't do this to me, hurry! I want to feel you."

"You are feeling me," Blair replied, but he took pity on his highly aroused lover and quickly removed the shirt. Jim lifted his arms up for Blair to remove his undershirt, and Blair found it a very appealing sight, 'his' Sentinel submitting entirely to him. He took off the offending garment and pushed Jim to lie down. Jim did so, watching his lover's face intently with glazed eyes. Everything felt so real, so solid. There was no doubt in either man's mind that this time, it was the real thing.

Blair took Jim's hands to raise them above the Sentinel's head. He brought Jim's fingers to the leg of the large chair that sat near the sofa. "Hold on to that, and whatever you do, don't let go until I tell you you can." Jim nodded in absolute obedience and grasped the chair leg so tightly he heard it crack.

Blair bent so that just the end of his hair brushed against Jim's chest. The nerve endings on Jim's chest sizzled from the soft touch, and he cried out, "Blair,...Blair, Gawd Blair!" His head rolled from side to side as Blair let his curls move up Jim's chest to brush one of his erect nipples. Jim nearly jumped out of his skin. The sensation was incredible! He'd never felt anything like it.

Blair unfastened Jim's jeans and pulled them down his legs. He hadn't been wearing any shoes. Just when Jim thought the sensations that assaulted him could get no stronger, he felt the brush of Blair's hair on his groin through his boxers. His mind overloaded, and he greyed out. When he came back to reality, he saw Blair's concerned face above him.

"Jim, Jim! Are you alright, man?"

Jim took a deep breath. "Wow!" he exclaimed, "You're almost too much for me to handle, Chief!"

Blair frowned. "Do you want me to stop?"

"God, no, Blair, whatever you do, don't stop! But you could help me out, man, by taking off all those clothes."

"I don't know, Jim," Blair chuckled, "I gotta wonder if you can handle all that! Maybe we should just call it quits tonight."

"Sandburg, get your clothes off and your ass down here, NOW!!"

"Well, all you had to do was ask nicely, Big Guy." Blair stripped, not being slow about it any more. Jim could tell that Blair's control was slipping too. He wanted this just as bad as Jim did. Finally, Blair was naked next to him, and Jim hungrily gazed down his chest to very prominent erection.

"Is that for me?" he asked.

"Oh, most definitely," Blair replied moving to remove Jim's boxers. Jim lifted his hips so Blair could take them off. "Mmm," Blair licked his lips at the sight of Jim's engorged cock. "It looks like we have a situation here, Detective. How do you think we should handle it?"

"I think the procedure is to take my weapon. Do you think you can handle that?" he taunted.

"You tell me," Blair said as he moved to engulf Jim's shaft with his mouth. He took Jim's loud, incoherent scream as approval and began to suck and tongue its whole length. He cupped the detective's balls in one hand and moved the other to probe ever so gently between those firm cheeks. Jim seemed to be trying to say something, but he was having a great deal of difficulty getting anything out that sounded even remotely like English. Blair released Jim's cock to try and find out what Jim wanted so desperately to tell him.

"In...jeans...po....po...pocket," he stammered.

Blair reached into Jim's discarded jeans pocket and pulled out the tube of lubricant. "You really were prepared, weren't you? Does this mean what I think it does, Jim?"

"Y..yes, want you to fff..." Jim gritted his teeth, "Fuck me, Blair."

Blair's eyes went wide. Even in his many fantasies, he had never thought of doing this, never thought Jim would be able to let his guard down enough to let him. "Are you sure?" he questioned.

"GOD, YES!"

"Okay, take it easy, Jim, take it easy, you're going to hyperventilate." He had never seen his friend so agitated, but then he had never seen him lying with his legs spread waiting for Blair to fuck him either. "I wouldn't mind seeing this on a regular basis," he thought as he spread some of the lubricant on his hand and began to massage it into his cock. "Not at all!" He spread a generous amount on his fingers again and then slipped one between Jim's cheeks. He pushed slowly inside the virgin territory gently. Jim whimpered against him, but it was not a whimper of pain. Blair probed the hot, moist tunnel stretching Jim out, getting him slick and ready.

When Jim pushed back against his finger, Blair knew he was ready for more. He pushed another finger in, stretching Jim even more. Finally, he followed with a third, moving all his fingers until he felt that Jim would be able to accommodate him without too much difficulty. "Are you ready, Jim?" he asked needing permission to proceed to the next and most intimate of levels.

"Please, Chief!"

Blair didn't need any more encouragement. He placed himself at the entrance to Jim's body with a trembling hand. There was no turning back now. They could only go forward to whatever lay ahead. He pushed inside slowly and cried out as he felt his partner contract around him.

Jim grunted, and his hands which were grasping the chair spasmed. The movement caused the chair to flip over while flying about a foot in the air, in the opposite direction luckily. Neither man noticed. They were too caught up in their own hot, little world. Nothing existed for them except the point of their connection. As Blair thrust into him, Jim moved his now free hands to cup Blair's ass feeling the strength there.

Time seemed to stop, and the moment seemed to last forever, and even forever was not long enough. Blair emptied his seed into Jim moments after he felt Jim come on his thigh. He collapsed onto Jim, still encased within him, and Jim brought his arms up to encircle his weary guide. They lay like that for a long time, neither one wanting to break the spell that had been cast around them.

Finally, the need to clean themselves up asserted itself. Blair reluctantly withdrew from Jim. He noticed the chair lying on its side. "Um, Jim, are you always so...athletic when you make love?"

Jim spotted the chair too. "That's a new one for me, Chief. What can I say? You bring out the animal in me."

"Well, hey, Tiger," Blair grinned, "What say we share the first of many showers together?"

"Sounds wonderful, why don't you get it nice and hot, and I'll be in in a minute."

"'Kay," Blair agreed. He leaned over to share one more juicy kiss with his lover before padding off naked to the bathroom.

Jim waited to hear the water start running before he went to take something out from behind one of the books in the bookcase. He pulled the tape out of the video with a vengeance, taking long strands of it between his fingers. Finally, he thrust the utterly destroyed video tape into the fire watching it burn with a sick joy. When there was nothing left of the offensive object, but a few shriveled pieces of plastic, Jim turned his mind back to what awaited him in the bathroom. Blair was singing softly to himself, and it made Jim smile. Putting out of his mind what he had just done, Jim headed towards his lover's voice. There were a few things he wanted to show Blair.

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