Title: Nova
Author: Nancy Taylor
E-mail: nat1228@comcast.net
Rating: G
Size: 20k
Status: Complete
Date: June 2004
Category: Moonridge Auction story
Author's website: https://www.squidge.org/~nat1228/TSgen.htm
Archive: Yes to CL, WWOMB

Disclaimer: Pet Fly and Paramount own the copyright to The Sentinel
and its characters. This piece of fan fiction was written solely for
the love of the characters and to share freely with other fans. No
profit is being made from the posting of this story.

Summary: After a weekend camping, an accident on the drive home leaves
Jim grieving.

Acknowledgments: I would very much like to thank Mary, who always does
a terrific beta job for me.


NOVA
By Nancy Taylor

Jim sat by the fire pit, trying to coax the damp wood to ignite. His
attention was drawn to the small, two-man tent as his partner emerged.
"Good morning, Chief."

"You couldn't tell by this weather," Blair groused as he crawled out
into the cool, foggy morning. Standing and stretching, he looked
around. "It sure doesn't feel much like summer," he said, making his
way toward the nearby latrine.

"It'll burn off later in the morning," Jim commented as he finally
managed to get their campfire started and got out the cooking
equipment.

Blair returned a few minutes later, rubbing his hands together and
then crossing his arms, tucking his hands in his armpits to keep them
warm. "Not soon enough for me."

"Have some coffee; it'll warm you up," Jim said, offering Blair a cup.

"Thanks." Blair settled on the campstool nearest the fire and sipped
the strong brew. "Hard to believe the weekend is almost over. Time
sure goes by fast when you're out here."

"You lose track of time," Jim agreed, sipping at his coffee as he
tended the eggs and bacon in the frying pan. "Hungry?"

"Are you kidding?" Blair looked up in disbelief. "Being outdoors like
this makes me ravenous."

"It's the fresh air," said Jim, shoveling a generous helping onto
Blair's plate.

"This is good," commented Blair between bites. "I should make you cook
breakfast more often."

"Well, that depends on how regularly you actually want to eat
breakfast," Jim teased. "Eat up. I want to get the gear packed. We
need to be back in Cascade by a reasonable hour. I've got a late night
stake-out tomorrow and I want to get some decent sleep tonight."

They finished their breakfast quickly and began to break camp, stowing
the gear in the bed of the pickup. As they made their way back to the
highway that would take them home, Blair squinted through the fog. "I
don't know how you can see to drive," he commented. "If anything, the
fog has gotten thicker."

"Don't worry, I can see well enough," Jim assured him. Suddenly, he
slammed on the brakes. Both men heard and felt a dull thud before the
truck came to a complete halt. "Damn!"

"What is it, Jim? What did you hit?" Blair asked anxiously, as both he
and Jim opened their doors to get out of the truck.

"I saw something move out of the corner of my eye," Jim explained as
they came around to the front bumper. "I stopped as fast as I could."

"Aw, crap!" Blair squatted down at the head of the animal they had
struck. "We hit a wolf." He reached out to stroke a hand over the
gray-brown head. "She's such a beauty, too. Is she dead?"

Jim laid a hand on the animal's ribs and fine-tuned his hearing and
touch. "She's still alive," he finally commented. "Just barely. I can
hear a heartbeat, but it's thready. She's breathing, but she's broken
a couple of legs," he said, his hands gently feeling the slender
limbs. "It would be best if we put her out of her misery."

"No! You can't do that!" Blair protested, hugging the shaggy head to
his lap. "We've got to do something to help!"

"There's not much of anything we can do," said Jim. "It'll be merciful
and painless, I promise. Just a quick twist and her neck will be
broken -"

"Please, Jim," Blair pleaded. "We could take her to WuLF."

"Wolf?" Jim asked, looking up at his distressed partner.

"Rainier University's Wildlife unLimited Foundation. They take in sick
and injured animals and rehabilitate them. The ones that are fit to be
returned to the wild are released, and the others are kept in a
park-like zoo where they can live out their lives, protected." Blair
continued to hug the injured wolf. "She deserves a chance -"

Jim saw the desperate look in his friend's eyes and made his decision.
"You stay here; I'll get a blanket." He went around to the bed of the
truck and dug a blanket out of their camping supplies, bringing it
back to where Blair waited.

Blair gently lifted the slender body as Jim slipped the blanket
underneath and wrapped the animal warmly. "She's not going to be warm
enough with just the blanket," Blair commented. "We have to keep her
warm if she's going to live until we get her to WuLF. I'll sit in the
back with her."

"You're pulling my leg, right?" Jim asked, looking at his shivering
partner. "You'd both freeze back there."

"We have to do something to keep her warm!" Blair insisted. "And
there's not enough room in the cab of the truck."

"I'll ride in back with her. You drive," Jim said, handing Blair the
keys. He stood up and headed for the bed of the pickup, clearing
enough room to sit with the injured wolf.

Blair gathered the animal into his arms, cradling it carefully as he
carried it to where Jim waited. His partner had jumped in the back of
the truck and now held out his arms for the wolf. Blair handed her
over, and Jim settled on the truck bed, his back against the cab. He
pulled the wolf onto his lap and allowed Blair to wrap an extra
blanket around them both.

Climbing into the truck, Blair pulled out on the road, grateful that
in the intervening time, the fog that had been so treacherous had
begun to lift. By the time they were off the mountain and approaching
the wildlife rehabilitation center the sun was shining brightly,
warming their precious cargo.

Blair pulled into the driveway and parked. Getting out, he hurried
around back to see how Jim and the wolf were doing. "How is she?" he
asked, picking at the blanket to pull it back for a peek.

"Nova's fine - well, as fine as she can be, considering her
condition," Jim explained rather lamely.

"Nova? You named her?" Blair asked, incredulous.

"You got a problem with that?" Jim asked defensively. "I was talking
to her during the drive. I had to call her something."

Blair rolled his eyes heavenward. "You're such an old softie!  C'mon
let's get her inside so they can take care of her," he chuckled in
amusement, ignoring what sounded suspiciously like growling coming
from Jim's direction.

Jim hugged the animal a bit closer. "I'd like to wait a few minutes,
if you don't mind. She's nervous."

"You can hear her heartbeat; tell she's nervous?" Blair asked.

"It's more of an overall senses thing," Jim hedged. "She's confused,
disoriented."

"Well, that's understandable," agreed Blair. "But we have to get her
inside."

"May I help you?" A man with a WuLF insignia on his shirt walked out
to the truck. He put out his hand for Blair to shake. "Matt Wilson."

"Blair Sandburg; and this is my partner, Jim Ellison."

"Blair; Jim -" the man acknowledged his guests with a nod. "What can I
do for you?"

"We were coming home from a camping trip earlier this morning," Blair
explained. "It was really foggy up on the mountain, and we hit a
wolf." He indicated the pile of blankets in Jim's lap. "We think she
has a couple broken legs. Other than that, she seems to be stable, but
we don't know how seriously she might be hurt."

"Why don't you give her to me, and we'll take a look?" Matt suggested,
reaching for the bundle.

Reluctantly, Jim handed over the injured animal and climbed out of the
bed of the truck. "You're going to treat her, right?" he asked.
"You're not going to just put her to sleep?"

"Oh, no -" Matt said, shaking his head. "We never put an animal down,
except as a last resort. We'll take good care of her."

"Nova," Jim added. "Her name is Nova."

"Don't worry, Jim. We'll take excellent care of Nova," Matt assured
him. "If it's at all possible, once she's recovered from her wounds,
we'll release her back to the wild. If she's permanently crippled -"
He stopped when he saw Jim cringe slightly. "It's all right. It was an
accident; these things happen," he assured the distraught man. "If
Nova can't take care of herself, she'll have a permanent home here.
Would you like a tour of the facility?" he asked, looking over his
shoulder as he carried Nova into the compound.

"Yeah, thanks!" answered Blair, slapping Jim on the back to propel him
forward.

They walked across a small yard to a white clapboard building. Inside
was an amazingly modern veterinary clinic. "As a grant program
connected with Rainier University, we get all the finest equipment
here to take care of the animals," Matt informed them. "Annie, here,
is a fourth year veterinary student," he said, laying Nova on an
examination table. "She'll do the preliminary exam and start treating
the patient. Dr. Bernard will make sure everything is done correctly.
Come -" He led the way out the back of the clinic and across another
yard. "These are our holding pens. Once Nova has been treated, she'll
spend the first forty-eight hours in the clinic, and then be released
out here for the duration of her recovery period. We like to keep the
injured animals separate, so that the healthy ones don't take
advantage.

"And this is our zoo facility," Matt continued, rounding a corner and
waving an arm at several large, fenced enclosures. "If Nova can't be
returned to the wild, this is where she'll live out her natural life."

"Are there many other wolves here?" Blair asked, looking around.

"We have three, so far; two males and a female. Another female would
be welcomed," Matt explained, leading them to one particular
enclosure.

Jim peered through the fence into the wooded pen. In the shadows of
the fir trees, three wolves lounged or prowled. A small wooden
structure was tucked into one corner; its floor covered with pine
needles and soft brush - a perfect "cave" for the wolves to retreat to
when the weather turned cold and wet. He nodded his approval. "Would
you mind if we stopped by in a few weeks to see how Nova is doing?" he
asked.

"No! As a matter of fact, we'd welcome your visit. Come by any time,"
Matt insisted. "We're thinking about opening up the zoo portion of the
facility to the public," he said. "It would be a great way to educate
children about wildlife conservation, while at the same time, earning
us a little money to help support the animals we keep."

"How expensive is it?" asked Blair, his eyes glued to the three wolves
in the pen.

"It can cost us upwards of four thousand a year to feed and care for
those three, alone," Matt answered. "We also have a three-legged bear
- another automobile casualty - several deer, a pair of foxes, a
heron, and a number of owls. We get our operating expenses for the
clinic from the university, but it's been up to the staff to find
creative ways to earn enough money to keep the zoo animals fed."

"That's a lot of money," Jim said, rubbing his chin as he looked
between the wolf enclosure and the two men. "How about when we get
home, I send you a check for a thousand dollars to offset Nova's care
and upkeep?"

"That's very generous of you!" said Matt, his face alight with a huge
smile. "But I'd rather you brought the check in person. How about you
come visit us in two weeks, when Nova is up and about on her legs
again?"

"She'll be walking that soon?" Jim was surprised by the pronouncement.

"We'll set the legs in walking casts, and she should be good to go in
a few days," Matt said. "You'll see. She's going to do fine."

Blair sighed, turning his attention back to his human companions.
"That's a big relief. I was scared to death we'd killed her. When I
heard and felt that thump -"

Jim reached out and put a hand on Blair's arm. "That's enough, Chief.
I don't care to relive that part of the day."

"Sorry," Blair apologized, turning puppy-dog eyes on his friend. "I
won't mention it again."

"Don't worry," Matt assured them. "Come back in two weeks, and you'll
hardly recognize her."

"Sounds good to me," Jim agreed. "Come on, Darwin; let's go home." He
guided Blair down the path with a hand resting in the small of his
partner's back until they reached the truck. "It was nice meeting you,
Matt," he said, shaking the man's hand. "See you in two weeks."

They climbed into the truck and pulled back onto the highway as Matt
waved his farewell.

~oO0Oo~

They got home, stowing their gear in the basement storage before
taking the elevator up to the third floor.

"Boy, it feels good to be home," Blair said, hanging up his jacket and
making a beeline toward the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower."

"You do that," said Jim, detouring to the kitchen for a beer and then
heading to the couch. He settled on the cushions and picked up the TV
remote. "Enjoy yourself."

"Oh, I will," enthused Blair, who turned just before entering the
bathroom. "But no 'Judge Judy'," he scolded. "It rots the brain. Try
watching the Discovery Channel." He closed the door as behind him, Jim
tuned to 'Divorce Court' and settled in to watch TV.

Twenty minutes later, Blair emerged from the shower, his freshly
shampooed hair hanging in damp ringlets around his shoulders, his robe
pulled tightly closed. He looked over toward the couch, where his
partner was slumped. "Hey, Jim?"

"Yeah," Jim answered, not taking his attention away from the
histrionics on the small screen.

Blair approached the couch, settling next to his friend. "Okay, what
gives? Are you still upset about what happened this morning?"

"It was my fault," Jim sighed. He turned to pin Blair with an icy blue
gaze. "What good are my sentinel senses if they can't help me see a
wolf in the road?"

Blair reached out to rub Jim's shoulders. "It was foggy. Very foggy,"
he reminded his friend. "Nova couldn't see any better than you could.
She stepped out onto the road in front of the truck. You didn't have a
chance. Jim... it was an accident."

"Fat lot of good that does anybody now," Jim said.

"Look," said Blair, his mind moving with lightning speed. "Maybe we
can do something more to help."

"Like what?"

"Well... you were planning to donate a thousand dollars to the
foundation. Maybe we could come up with a way to earn some more money
for the upkeep and care of the animals."

"Like what?" Jim repeated, his voice sounding a bit more hopeful.

"Oh, I don't know... Maybe a we could organize a talent show and
charge a nominal fee to get in - say two or three dollars - with all
the proceeds going to WuLF." Blair nodded, his excitement growing. "I
could ask around on campus, and you could hit up the guys in Major
Crime and Vice. We're bound to have some talent there."

Jim nodded, a smile slowly curving his lips. "I like that. Think we
could pull it together before our return visit in two weeks?"

Blair thought about it. "That's cutting it awfully close, but I think
we might be able to manage. I play guitar - you could be my lead
singer!" he teased.

"You've got to be kidding!" Jim scoffed. "Why don't you accompany
yourself?"

"Haven't you been listening when I sing in the shower?" Blair shot
back, a huge smile on his face. "When I was little and us kids would
be singing camp songs, everyone else would turn to me, point, and
laugh. I can't carry a tune in a bucket, man!" He chuckled.

"I play drums," Jim admitted, remembering the set he had stored in the
basement.

"Well, there you go!" Blair crowed. "All we need is a singer, and
we've got ourselves a band. Now, we just need to do some fast
recruiting."


Ten days later:

"Who would have thought Megan could sing like that?" Blair whispered
to Jim as they came off stage after their second set of the evening.
"We're really popular!"

"There's quite a crowd, too," Jim said, smiling. "And I've heard
rumors that some people have donated extra for the fund."

"And why not?" Megan asked, walking up to the pair. "It's a very
worthy cause, after all. I didn't even know about WuLF until you said
something, Sandy. Thanks for getting this organized."

"Thank you for offering to be our singer," said Blair. "I was afraid
we weren't going to get this little band off the ground."

"Anything to help the animals," Megan said, patting Blair on the back.
"Don't you think it's about time you counted the take and made the big
announcement?" she suggested.

Blair nodded. "Good idea." Fifteen minutes later, he stepped up to the
microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen," he began. "I'd like to thank you
all for coming, and to all our talented volunteers -" he turned to the
stage wings and gestured, "for making this possible. The Wildlife
unLimited Foundation takes in and cares for dozens of animals each
year. Many can be returned to the wild, but a few are less fortunate.
Those few are kept and pampered by the Foundation's dedicated workers
who must find funding for their upkeep, or take the money from their
own pockets. Your generous donations this evening has made it possible
for the Foundation to support its wolf pack for a full year.

"I suppose I've left you in suspense long enough," Blair said, pulling
a note card from his pocket. "Tonight's collection netted -" he waited
as Jim did a dramatic drum roll, "$4,223!" The crowd stood, applauding
and cheering at the generous amount raised in support of the animals.
"Thank you all very much!" Blair shouted over the noise. "Good night!"

With his final words, the stage lights dimmed and the house lights
rose as the crowd began its push to the exits. Backstage, Blair walked
up to Jim. "This should make you happy," he said, smiling. "With your
contribution, we're donating over five thousand dollars to the care of
the animals."

"Yeah," Jim said, finally grinning. "It helps."

~oO0Oo~

Wildlife unLimited Foundation:

"Jim! Blair!" Matt greeted the pair like a couple of old friends. "I'm
glad you came back. Come on," he said, "wait until you see Nova!" He
led the way to the back where the wolf pen was located. Nova was
happily limping around the pen with her two cast legs, lapping up the
attention of the dominant male.

"It looks like she's enjoying herself," Blair commented.

"She's getting along quite well," Matt informed them. "So well, in
fact, that we decided to move her from the holding pen to here." He
turned to Jim. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that despite our best
efforts, Nova won't heal well enough to be returned to the wild. But,"
he added quickly, "Dominic seems anxious to take her as a mate." He
indicated the large, black wolf. "And Nova is willing enough. I think
she'll be quite happy here."

"That's good to hear," said Jim, relieved that his wolf was doing so
well. "I brought my check, and a little more, besides." He handed the
check for $5,223 to Matt.

"Whoa! That's serious money," Matt exclaimed, impressed.

"We arranged a charity event to raise some extra cash," Blair told
him. "It went so well," he turned to Jim with a teasing grin, "that I
think we'll make it an annual affair."

"Sounds like a great idea!" Matt agreed. "I can't tell you how much
difference this is going to make. Thank you both so very much!"

"No problem, man. It's for the animals," Blair said, reaching out to
shake Matt's hand.

They stayed a while longer, watching as Nova made the rounds of the
small wolf pack. Despite her current disability, she appeared to be
the dominant female and was enjoying the attention of the two males.

"Looks like she's going to be okay," Blair said, turning to Jim with a
smile.

"Yeah; and so am I," Jim replied, wrapping an arm around Blair's
shoulders and leading him back out to the truck. "You know," he said
as they pulled out onto the road, "it's never too early to start
making plans for next year -"

~finis~

Author's note: 'Nova' is the name of the wolf that Garett "adopted" at
the first Moonridge Celebrity Event in August of 2001.