For Miss Jude, who knows how to pester for another obsenad or snippet or drabble or whatdoyoucall'em--my little collection of words that have no plots? For Silk and Alyjude and Jenn, who love Blairbaby stories--ok, folks, enough of Susan snippets!

"Stephen! Wait! Wait! Stop!" Jimmy yelled, taking off after his little brother in the cowboy duds.

Stephen Ellison's silver spurs jingle-jangled in the night and flashed in the porch and street lights of the neighborhood.

He was running away from his responsible, dependable, reliable, older, stick-in-the-mud big brother.

Jimmy caught up with Stevie, who was hunkered down on one knee, parting a thorny bush with both hands. A curly-headed tiny boy was sitting on the ground, sucking his thumb.

The little one looked up. His Batman cowl was pushed back, the bat ears tangling in his hair and cape.

"What chu doin' here, all by yourself?" asked Jimmy, who knew that awful things happened to kids who trick or treated with no adult supervision, (well, Dad thinks I'm old enough to keep Stevie in line,) but...

The littlest Batman's blue eyes glowed, his eyes sparkling in the autumn moonlight. "'m Blair."

"Hey, Blair...where's your Mom? or Dad?"

The beautiful child burst into sudden tears. "Huh...uh...mm...uhuhuhuh...ca...can't fin' her...where's my mamma?"

Jimmy shoved Steven over, knocking him down in his haste to pull the crying child up.

Those adorable glowing eyes flashed into Jimmy's icy cool eyes, and there a spark...

The Blair child wrapped his short little legs around Jimmy's waist, rested his curls in the curve of the young sentinel's neck and sighed. Tenderly, Jimmy Ellison comforted his young guide.

Blair patted Jimmy, admiring the soldier costume, and the shiny "authentic" machine gun slung around his neck. Oh what would Naomi say when he told her of his Halloween adventure?

Little Blair allowed his mother to remove the bedraggled cape from his shoulders. He kept a firm hold on his cowl, the points of his bat ears fisted in the palms of his tiny hands.

Naomi smiled and tickled him ferociously, over the bat chest insignia, making oinking and other disgusting mother noises. He giggled, ducking his chin and sparkling his big eyes at her through the bat eye slits. "Oh, Mommie, stop...stop...stop it..."

"My little Man! Why didn't you stay with your cousins...they hunted all over for you. Why'd you run away? Robert rushed back to me when they lost you...do you know how scared I was?"

"Mm...I'se awright, Mommie...I foun' two frien's...they was a big boy who carried me piggy-backed to all the houses...til we foun' home ag'in. You didunt cry, did you, Mama?"

Naomi hugged her baby and held back a sob. "No, honey, I didn't cry...much."

Looking at her with very wise-child eyes, her son nodded. "Mm...fine...now..."

"Now, sweetie, what was this little boy's name?"

Blair put his little hands on his hips and pouted. "He wuddunt li'l. He was big an' tall, and strong. He's my frien'. Jimmy. Jimmy Ellison. And his brother Stevie, too, he's nice. And, Mommie, can I go over to their house on Sat'day, it's Stevie's birf day...can I, Mommie, huh?"

Naomi glided the cowl over her son's head and watched the curls spring out in all directions. She smiled, "I can't promise, Blair, maybe, if we're still in Cascade, but we may be leaving for Texas this Friday..."

Gulping back a sob, the little one buried his head into her breast, and cried, "But, Mommie, he's...he's...my..."

"He's what, sweetie?"

Little Blair poked his thumb between his lips and let it graze the roof of his mouth. He bundled his tiny fist and pressed it upon Naomi's heart.

"He's my...boyfrien'," he whispered into his mother's soft breast.

Naomi tugged her son into the safe cuddle of her arms and held back the half sob, half chuckle threatening to overcome her.

"How old is your boyfriend, Little Man?"

"He's four...fourteen! An' he's a sole jur, wif a gun an' a hell mitt, and he said...his Daddy wuz gonna make him go away coz he can see far away and he hears ever'thin' and stuff...can he come live wif us, Mommie? Jimmy won' be no trouble, he won', I promuss..."

Naomi kissed the tiny retrousse nose and whispered her breath over the feathery lashes and brows. "Little Heart...Jimmy must stay with his own people. And we have fun together, don't we..."

Blair nodded, bouncing curls and tickling her chin. "Yeah, Mommie."

"Why, Little Man, we have so much fun together, just us, learning new things, and seeing strange places and meeting all kinds of different people."

The little wise guide nodded. "Yes, Mommie, the wa'falls, and the big, big see kwa trees, and the cactusses in 'zona, an' the big fishes in the tanks an' the funny old bones and plastic people in the mu-muzee ums...but...can't Jimmy come with us? His fovver is a meanie!"

After landing a perfect smooching kiss upon her son's chin and adam's apple, she said, "One day...Blair, you and Jim will meet again and be...together...but right now, your Mommie wants...needs you. You're all I have. Jimmy has a dad and a little brother who need him very much. Do you see...?"

Blair burst in sobs. "Don', don', don' wanna leave my boyfrien'..."

"Shhhh....shush, baby, you'll see him again. It's fate. Remember that word we learned at that place in California with all those people?"

Blair nodded, "The one where all the men had beer's and braids down to their belly button?"

Naomi smiled. "'Destiny,' Blair. One day...you will meet Jimmy again, but your Mommie must leave Cascade, we can't stay...we have to leave, today..."

"MOMMIE!"

Trying to soothe her son, Naomi promised herself...Blair would return to Cascade...and Jimmy would be here waiting for him, but would James Ellison remember the sweet precious child, his little "boyfriend" from many Halloweens ago?

****************

"Whew!" Blair sighed and popped off the lights. "Last of the CPD kids!"

"That the end of our trick or treaters for the year, Chief?" called Jim from upstairs, disrobing and pulling back the bed covers.

"Yeah, it wa..." trailed Blair, admiring the playful leap of muscles and the smooth...oh...Jim...man who dazzled his eye at the top of the stairs.

"Ready for your own treat? Wanna be my trick for the night?" invited the big man.

"No tricks, Jim. I love what you put in my pumpkin...it's sweet and tart and gooey and creamy and chunky and I love it...because it melts in my mouth!"

Jim threw a pillow punch and landed it on the tip of the twitching Blairnose.

"Yep, our last little Batman and G.I. Joe have gone back..."

"Batman and G..." interrupted Jim, collapsing on the bed. He reached across the width of the mattress and grasped his lover's hand, spilling him across the bed. Curls landed in his lap.

Curls, and limpid dark blue eyes...and streaking tears...and precious little plump legs squeezing his waist and a moist little face hidden in his neck and a chubby little arm holding tightly to him, patting his face. Child-snuggles. Blair-cuddles.

Blair looked up, touched Jim's cheek as if fingerpainting a design, and asked, "You still my boyfrien'?"

And Jim looked down, saw the beautiful gift he'd been given. "Well, Chief, who can forget his first love?"