Chapter Text
Driving Rain
by Linda3
(9/12/00)
Jim Ellison peered through the windshield as the Jeep's wiper blades tried valiantly to keep up with the driving rain. It was a miserable day to be driving but he wanted to at least get to Riverside before stopping for the night and hopefully be back in Cascade sometime tomorrow. He had unconsciously turned up his sight in order to compensate for the bad driving conditions. Having deliberately picked this lesser traveled highway to avoid hitting any traffic it had become obvious for quite a while now that very few other vehicles were braving the roads, especially during these early morning hours. Even the usually numerous truckers had apparently opted to wait out the storm. With his enhanced vision Jim was not even aware that he was looking at least a mile down the road, he just knew that, so far, he had managed to spot anything dangerous in the road in plenty of time to avoid it. Hoping to make it to Riverside before it got too late he drove on.
A few miles later Jim saw something, no someone, standing beside the road a little ways further down. A hitchhiker, out in this weather, was almost unheard of. Still, he remembered his early military days when hitchhiking back to the base after a night on the town or going to visit his latest girlfriend, was considered a viable means of transportation. He slowed down to get a good look at the person before deciding whether or not to stop. Things were a lot different now and as a detective in the Cascade PD Major Crime department he knew what sometimes happened to hitchhikers or to the drivers who picked them up.
Well, he was male, maybe early twenties, didn't look to be more than about 5'9, hard to tell his build under the (totally inadequate) jacket he was hunched into. His hair seemed reasonably short and a backpack lay at his feet. And he looked, for want of a better word, absolutely miserable. Probably a college student, although he couldn't think of any colleges or universities in this area. Then Jim caught the name on the sign the kid was holding. Even though the rain had pretty well ruined the lettering he could still make out the word CASCADE. Rainier University maybe? As he got closer he could see that his possible rider was soaked through to the bone and shivering constantly. Since there was little chance that another ride would come along anytime soon Jim decided to stop. If the kid did turn out to be trouble, well from the looks of his current condition, he didn't think he'd have any problem taking him on, but somehow Jim didn't feel as though he wanted anything more than to get out of the rain.
Jim pulled to a gradual stop next to the wet hitchhiker and pressed the button to unlock the passenger side door. A few seconds later a waterlogged but smiling face was looking up at him. "Oh m-man, you are l-like the f-first car I've seen in ages. I can't b-believe you stopped too."
Jim looked over at his soon to be companion. Yep, definitely a college student. "Might as well ditch the sign. You can't read it anymore anyway and it's too big and wet to bring in here."
The student seemed to hesitate for a moment between littering and getting in. Then he smiled, tossed the sign onto the shoulder of the road and climbed in, putting his backpack on the floorboard by his feet. "Oh well, it's b-biodegradable cardboard anyway. Won't actually h-hurt anything." He shut the door, put on his seat belt then turned towards his new benefactor. "I-I am really like so grateful you s-stopped."
As he pulled back onto the road Jim glanced at man sitting next to him. Ok, so he'd been wrong about the hair, it wasn't short, it was pulled back into a thick ponytail. And how could he have missed two earrings? Even so, the poor guy still looked too miserable to be any trouble. If anything he was shivering even harder than he had looked from the outside. Without thinking about it Jim reached over and turned up the heat. "So you're headed for Cascade? You know you've got quite a long way left to go." No point in telling him that he was also going to Cascade. Not yet anyway.
"Y-Yeah. That's why I-I really appreciate however f-far you can take me." As the heat suddenly kicked up a pair of pale, reddened hands sprang in front of the vent. "Oh m-man that feels good." The hands were turned front to back several times so both sides were warmed up, then taken back down and the fingers flexed. "Hey, I think I can almost feel my f-fingers again. Oh yeah, my name's Blair and I'm trying to get back to R-Rainier University. I'm a grad student there."
Jim grinned to himself, pleased to have guessed the school correctly and for some reason also pleased to note that now that he had warmed up a bit, the kid's stuttering was almost gone. He must have really been cold.
"Jim. I'm on my way back from a convention." A very boring Fraternal Order of Police convention that Simon had finally managed to talk him into attending. That's all right though, wait until Simon gets his expense report. He had decided to go all out and treat himself right on this trip. It's the least the PD could do for sending him to that godawful convention in the first place. A grad student, huh? At least he should be able to hold a reasonably intelligent conversation. Maybe the rest of trip wouldn't be so bad after all.
Jim was watching his passenger out of the corner of his eye as he drove. Despite the additional heat Blair had his coat wrapped tightly around himself and was still shivering. Being soaking wet and in cold, wet clothes wasn't helping. He tried to distract the young man from his misery. "Open the glove box. There's a map in there already folded to our route. That's marked in red. Check how far we are from Exit 128, Clemson Road in Riverside." Of course he already knew exactly where they were and far it was to Exit 128 but putting him charge of the map might give Blair something to do to help keep his mind off how cold he was.
Blair opened his coat and reaching into his shirt pocket pulled out a glasses case then removed pair a of wire framed glasses. Once he had them on he opened the glove box and pulled out the map. He looked at it for a minute then turned to Jim with a sheepish look on his face. "Uh, Jim? Where exactly are we right now? The last guy just dropped me off where you picked me up and with the rain and not having my glasses on and all I couldn't really read the road signs as we passed them. Sorry."
The former Covert Ops Army Ranger turned police detective laughed to himself. His passenger was on the short side, had a solid but still slender build, was a college student, wore earrings and glasses and was totally clueless as to where he even was. Any notion that Blair was any kind of threat was now completely dispelled. Jim relaxed as he answered. "Don't worry about it, Chief. I picked you up just past Exit 113. You just keep up with the exits as we pass them. I was planning on stopping at Exit 119 or 120 for lunch. That sound all right to you?"
"Sure Jim, whatever you want to do. I'm just along for ride, remember?"
"Speaking of which, how did a grad student from Rainier end up hitchhiking in the rain this far from home?" Talking was usually a good distraction.
It was as if someone had thrown a switch. Blair suddenly sat upright, his face lighting up. His hands starting moving a mile a minute as he starting talking in a rush. "Oh man, it was so cool. I have this friend, Jerry, at Mt. Holyoke University, you know in Carleton. Anyway their archeology department was at this dig site they were working on of an ancient, I mean like almost 500 years old, Indian village they had discovered not too far from Hammond, that's were I'm coming back from now, the dig site. Everyone was really surprised to find an almost complete village this far north so it was like really exciting, you know? So anyway, everyone originally thought these Indians were just farmers, a real peaceful tribe. Until they found evidence of warriors. Or to be more exact, one particular warrior." If it were possible Blair seemed to get even more excited. "I'm working on my doctorate in anthropology and my thesis is on sentinels, special warriors that I think most tribes had to protect them and help them. These warriors had genetically enhanced senses that let them do things that ordinary people can't. My goal is find someone who still has these traits. But anyway, Jerry called me about the this village's warrior, thinking he might have been a sentinel, and I've been at the dig for the past couple of weeks. I got some really great pictures and tons of notes and after Mt. Holyoke gets done entering and cataloguing everything the archeology department is actually going to lend me some of the warrior's artifacts so I can do a more in depth study. This is probably the closest I've come yet to actually proving the existence of sentinels and the proof is right here in Washington. That means that there were sentinels right here and that increases the chances of my, hopefully, finding one somewhere in this area. It just mind blowing, y'know?"
Jim was stunned. Ask a simple question. And in all that, Blair still hadn't answered his original question. "That's all really interesting, Chief, but it still doesn't explain why you're hitching rides in the rain. And if you've been at a dig site for a few weeks, where's all your stuff? You didn't wear that one set of clothes the whole time, did you?"
Blair seemed to deflate right before his eyes. "No."
Well, something had definitely turned Blair's switch back to 'off'. "Hey, look, I'm not trying to pry or anything. Just making conversation, okay?"
"No, it's all right, its not really that big a deal." Blair kept talking but the earlier enthusiasm was gone. "It's just that this semester the Housing Dept messed up and didn't assign me a place to live. Hell, I've been going to Rainier since I was sixteen, you'd think by now I'd have my own personal suite with my name on it." He tried to smile, but it fell short of his eyes. "Anyway, once school starts it's real hard to find a place, especially in or around the campus. I've been bouncing around from place to place until they can find me somewhere. Most of my stuff is in a friend's basement, but they just had a baby so I really can't stay there. When I left I was staying with a couple of undergrads, not my ideal choice of roommates. They're the kind that think that college is just one big party. But hey, beggars can't be choosers, right? After the dig was over I had just enough money to get a bus from Hammond to Greenwood. One of my roommates was supposed to pick me up at the bus station there. After waiting around for a couple of hours I finally called him, but the phone's been disconnected."
Blair sighed. Jim waited for him to continue.
"I have the awful feeling that they've finally been evicted. The landlord's been threatening them about it for weeks. Sooo, unless the Housing Dept has suddenly worked a miracle, I think I may be homeless when I get back." He let out another long sigh. "I put everything except my backpack in a bus station lockerâ€"" Blair opened the breast pocket on his jacket and pulled out a key, looked at it, then put it back, "â€"end of story."
Jim didn't say anything. Poor kid. From discovering, what to him, must have been the find of a lifetime to finding out that he may now have nowhere to live. Well, he could at least give him a place to stay tonight and then a ride all the way into Cascade tomorrow. "Damn Chief. Sorry about the housing screw up. But if it helps any, I'm actually going all the way to Cascade myself. If you don't mind the same company for the whole trip I can least get you back to school. It's gotta beat standing in the rain waiting for the next ride."
"Oh wow Jim. Mind? Man that would be great. Believe me, I don't do cold well and as for cold AND wetâ€"forget it. This is perfect, thanks."
Jim watched as Blair relaxed a little, leaning back more against the seat. At least one of his current problems was solved for now. They spent the next few hours just talking. Blair told Jim about some of his more colorful expeditions and Jim regaled Blair with some tales from his Army days, leaving out any mention of Covert Ops. He still hesitated to reveal the fact that he was a cop. He just wasn't sure how the long-haired, earringed college student would react to that. And to his own surprise, it somehow actually mattered to him what his new acquaintance thought of him.
"Hey Chief, what's the next exit? I'm getting hungry."
Blair looked down at the map he was still holding then squinted through the windshield. "Awww jeez, Jim. Here I've been talking away and forgot to check the exits. I'm sorry. I'll catch the next one, promise."
Looking easily through the same windshield Blair could barely squint through Jim saw the upcoming exit sign. "No problem. Exit 119 coming up. How about we stop here? That sign shows about five different restaurants at that exit."
Blair adjusted his glasses, leaned forward and stared out through the rain. "Sign? What sign? What are you looking at? I don't see anything."
Just then a large blue information sign showed up in the distance. As they got nearer Blair could read Exit 119 at the top and the logos for five restaurants printed on it.
Jim just grinned. "Told ya."
At Blair's lack of response, Jim risked a quick glance. Blair was staring at him open mouthed.
"What?"
"Do you realize, Jim, that you read that sign from almost a mile awayâ€"in the rain?"
Jim just shrugged. "Must have been a trick of the light. You know, reflecting off the rain or something." No way was he going mention that things like this had been happening a lot lately. Weird flashes of seeing or hearing or smelling things that he shouldn't be able to. Food suddenly tasting funny, like in the restaurant with Carolyn the other night. Some days his clothes itched so badly he had to go home, take a shower and change. Bad enough he thought he was going crazy, didn't need anyone else to think so too.
He just barely heard Blair whisper, "One."
Trying to change the subject he asked Blair which restaurant he wanted to eat at. When Blair left it up to him he started to go towards Denny's but decided to spend Simon's money at Red Lobster instead. Once they were seated with menus Jim noticed that Blair barely glanced at his then put it aside. Must already know what he wants. When the waitress came back Jim gave his order but frowned when Blair only ordered hot tea. Telling the waitress to wait a minute he turned back to Blair. He was paler than he had been earlier and his eyes looked duller too. "Look Chief, you need something hot and more substantial than tea in you. I'll bet you haven't eaten all day, have you?"
Blair looked down at his hands where they sat on the tablecloth. He actually hadn't eaten since waiting at the bus station some time yesterday. But that wasn't Jim's problem. Still, even as the lie was forming in his mouth he found himself just shaking his head. He briefly wondered why he felt compelled to admit that to this almost total stranger.
"Do you like clam chowder?" When Blair nodded Jim turned back to the now slightly impatient waitress. "My order and a large clam chowder and hot tea." He glanced at Blair then back at the waitress. "One check." Writing everything down, the woman turned and left them alone. When she was half way across the restaurant Jim chuckled. "Our charming waitress thinks that people should know what they want before they start to order and she thinks that you look old enough to order for yourself."
Blair's eyes opened wide. "You heard her say that? From here?"
"Yeah. It's pretty quiet in here. I guess her voice carried or something."
Blair looked down at his hands again and whispered, "Two."
Before Jim could comment Blair spoke out loud again. "You don't have to pay for mine, Jim."
"Trust me, Simon can afford a bowl of chowder."
Blair looked up. "Simon?"
"My boss. I told you, this was a work convention. This whole trip is being expensed out. Don't worry about it."
"Oh."
Blair knew that he wasn't feeling well but he couldn't let Jim know. If Jim knew he was getting sick he might not let him back into his nice, dry and even more important, warm Jeep. The thought of standing on the side of the road in the rain again was almost unbearable. And so far he had noted that Jim had two enhanced senses. What if he had more? Besides that, he found that he just enjoyed riding with Jim, much more so than with the other few people who had given him a lift. Even though they had only known each other for a few hours he felt comfortable with him. Safe even. Now where did that come from?
Jim studied Blair. The kid definitely looked worse than when he first picked him up, but he obviously was not going to admit it. Probably afraid that I won't let him ride with me anymore if I thought he was getting sick. Actually just the opposite was happening. He was finding himself becoming more and more concerned. He watched as another shiver started at the top of Blair's head and worked its way down. Blair definitely needed to get out of those wet clothes and into something warm. He just hoped that the hot chowder would help until then. There was no explaining why he felt so concerned, almost protective, towards this hippie looking grad student that he'd just met, but the feelings were there so there was no use in denying them.
When their food arrived Jim ate while he watched Blair pick. When he had finally managed to eat almost half of the chowder, he pushed the bowl away and spent the remainder of the meal just sipping his tea. Jim didn't say anything, he just paid the check and guided Blair back to the Jeep. They were barely on the highway again when Jim heard soft snoring coming from beside him. Glancing over he saw that Blair had curled up as much as possible inside his seatbelt and was now sound asleep. Without even consciously trying to listen, Jim became aware of the slightly labored breathing and the beginnings of congestion his passenger's lungs. "Go on and sleep, Chief, you need it. I can watch for the exits by myself from here on out."
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Jim turned away from the AmeriSuites front desk holding two key cards. He was glad it was a slow time of year, so he had no problems switching his reserved single room with one king sized bed to a double room with two full sized beds instead. As he climbed back into the driver's seat he looked over at Blair. Poor guy hadn't moved in the past couple of hours, but his breathing and congestion were getting worse. He quickly pulled around and parked directly in front of the door that opened into the hallway where the room was located. When Jim reached the room he put his suitcase and Blair's backpack on their respective beds before going back to the car to rouse his temporary roommate. Opening the passenger door he unbuckled the seatbelt, using the opportunity to feel Blair's forehead. Too warm. He gently started shaking Blair's shoulder. "C'mon Chief. Time to finally get out of those wet clothes."
Getting no response he shook a little harder. "Come on kid. You need to get inside."
Blair started then his eyes flew open. "Huh? What?" He looked around. "Whereâ€"?"
Jim put his hand on Blair's arm. "Hey, relax Chief. It's all right. I got us a room for the night."
Blair tried to focus on the face in front of him. "Jim?"
"That's right."
"Room?"
"Right again."
"Bed?"
"Comes with the room."
"'kay."
Jim helped Blair out of the passenger seat, then held him up when he wavered a little. By the time they got into the room Blair was more awake, looking around. "Hey, this is one of those suites with a little kitchen and living room and everything. You must have a generous boss."
Jim started making sputtering noises which he covered up with a cough. Oh yeah. Until Simon sees my expense report for this trip. Bet it's a cold day in Hell before Accounting lets them send me off to another convention. He smiled at the thought.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. All right first things first. Strip off all your clothes."
Blair froze, his eyes growing incredibly wide. "WHAT? What did you just say?"
Jim, thinking that Blair simply didn't hear him, repeated himself. "I said I take all your clothes off."
Oh God. Not Jim. He was last person he expected to be one those types of men. Guess there really is no such thing as a free ride. But this wasn't a price he was willing to pay. Blair slowly inched his way sideways until he was beside his bed. Reaching down he picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, then he started edging his way towards the door, keeping a wide distance between himself and Jim. "Uh, hey look Jim, or whatever your name really is. I appreciate the ride and the meal and all but sorry, I don't do this. Never have, and sure as hell don't plan to start now. I don't want any trouble, I just want to leave. Now. So, just get away from the door and I'll be outta here so fast neither of us will even remember I was ever here."
That short speech was too much for Blair's already straining lungs, he ended it in a coughing fit that nearly doubled him over. When Jim started towards him to help, Blair quickly moved behind the small dinette set, keeping the furniture between Jim and himself. He held onto the back of a chair with both hands to steady himself, as he tried to talk while still catching his breath.
"Don't... come near me... Don't... touch me... I'm warning you."
Realization of what he said and how Blair was reacting to it finally hit Jim. It would almost be funny except that, despite Blair's bravado, he could actually smell the waves of fear coming off the smaller man. That fear was making his heart pound dangerously fast, forcing his already weakened lungs to try to provide even more oxygen. Blair's face was white, with beads of sweat across his forehead. His lungs were straining to pull in enough air. If he didn't calm down soon he was going to collapse.
"Blair, listen to me. I know what I said but I didn't mean it the way it sounded."
Blair just stared at him, still breathing hard.. "Yeah?... And just what part of... 'take all your clothes off'... did I misinterpret? Look... I just want... to leave."
Jim took a deep breath. He had to get this right. If Blair left and spent the night outside in the cold and rain in his current condition, at best he could end up with pneumonia, at worst, he might not even survive the night. He could tell that Blair's fever had risen and the congestion was worsening.
"Just hear me out before you do anything, okay? Okay?" Blair's heart rate and breathing had slowed down a bit but were still too fast. He never took his eyes off of Jim as the bigger man continued "The ONLY reason I wanted you to take off your clothes is because I wanted you to take a hot shower, to warm you up, plus the steam will help with the congestion building in your lungs. All these rooms are suites which means there are washers and dryers available for guest use. Your clothes are still wet. I was going to wash and dry them, even your sneakers. That's it. I swear. I should have told you what I was planning to do first, instead of just blurting out what I wanted you to do."
"Okay then, tell me this... what was I supposed to wear... when I got OUT of the shower? Since all my clothes would be gone?... Just prance around all night... in a skimpy hotel towel? I don't think so."
Jim looked baffled. God. He hadn't even thought about the fact that Blair had no other clothes with him. "Damn. You're right Chief. I was more concerned about your getting a hot shower and drying your clothes. It never even occurred to me what you'd wear when you got out."
Blair just raised an skeptical eyebrow at him.
"Okay, I can understand your doubts. Look, I'm going to go over to my suitcase, there's something in it I want to show you. Just stay there. Don't move, please."
Jim turned and headed towards the beds. It was as if he could actually feel Blair's eyes trained on him. Not wanting to spook Blair anymore than he already was, he made it a point to move slowly and carefully. Any sudden moves and he was sure Blair would be out the door, which was on the far side of the room from the beds. Reaching his suitcase he opened it and removed a few items which he carried back to the dinette table. Even though the table was pretty small, Jim still made it a point to stay at the far end, away from Blair. He laid down a small pile of folded clothes with a leather wallet on top. Blair glanced at the pile for a second then looked back up at Jim. His breathing had evened out some more, his heart rate slower but still elevated.
Jim started to speak, deliberately keeping his voice soft and as unthreatening as he could.
"Everything I told you about myself is true. I just didn't tell you the whole truth. There were no ulterior motives, no reason I felt I had to lie. My real name is Jim, James Ellison to be exact. I do work in Cascadeâ€"" he reached down and picked up the leather wallet, flipping it open as he continued talking, "â€"for the Cascade Police Department, Major Crime Unit." He held out the open wallet, revealing a gold badge and a police photo I.D. showing him to be Detective James Ellison, Cascade PD. As Blair slowly reached out and took the leather case, Jim picked up where he left off. "My boss is named Simon, Captain Simon Banks, head of the Major Crime Unit and I am heading back from a work related convention, hosted by the Fraternal Order of Police. There are some brochures and handouts in my suitcase if you want to look at them. I didn't tell you I was a cop earlier because I realized a long time ago that most people tend to act differently when they know they're around a cop. They're usually uncomfortable, feeling like they have to watch what they do or say. When I first picked you up I just figured that I give you a ride for a while, you'd leave and that would be that. I didn't see any reason to bring it up."
Blair looked up from the I.D. he was studying. "And now?"
Jim's gaze never faltered as he look directly at Blair. "And now, for reasons I can't even explain myself, it's very important to me that you trust me, that you feel you're safe with me. That you know, and really believe, that I won't hurt you. As a cop I arrest people for doing what you think I was trying to do to you. I want you to know that I actually enjoy arresting those types of scumbags and only wish I could throw away the key myself."
Looking down, his face flushed, he picked up the pile of clothes. "Uh, here. This is a pair of sweat pants, a T-shirt and socks. The pants have a drawstring waist so you can adjust them, but I'm afraid you'll have to roll up the legs a bit. The shirt might be a bit big too but you have pretty broad shoulders so I think it'll fit okay. I don't see a problem with the socks. At least you'll have something to wear. Something warm and dry. And a warm, dry, safe place to sleep tonight. If you want to." He held out the pile towards Blair.
Blair put down the wallet and looked up into Jim's face. He didn't know why but he believed him. He felt a warm sense of relief flowing through him as he concluded that his earlier assessment in the restaurant of how he felt towards Jim had been correct after all. He felt like he had known him for a much longer time than just the past several hours. And despite the unexpected panic attack he'd just had, he really did feel safe with him. Especially now. In fact he got the distinct impression that there was nowhere safer he could be than with this man. His smile was small but genuine as he accepted the pile of clothes. "I guess it would be better than mooning anyone who happened to be walking past the window."
Jim smiled back. At that moment they both felt it as something very right 'clicked' between them. A feeling that their lives were about to change forever. The moment passed as Jim saw Blair shiver again.
"All right Chief. Get into the bathroom and toss out your wet clothes as you get undressed. I'll take them to the laundry room when you're finished. I thought that then I'd pick up some dinner. You like Chinese?"
"Yeah, but I'm really not hungry." Seeing Jim's frown he added, "But how about some Won Ton soup and vegetable fried rice?" Putting the pile of clothes back on the table he slipped off his backpack and took off his jacket, hanging it over the back of the chair. Picking up the clothes he entered the bathroom. A few minutes later out came one wet sneaker followed by another then two pairs of socks then no less than three shirts and one still damp pair of jeans with the grand finale being a pair of plaid boxers.
Jim looked at the pile on the floor. "You sure this is all yours Chief? I've seen two or three people combined that don't wear this much." He heard what sounded like a muttered "Cold outside" then the shower was turned on. He laughed out loud as he started to gather up the clothes off of the floor.
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Jim juggled the bags into one arm as he slid the key card into the slot, relieved when the light turned green. He didn't think he'd ever really get used to these keyless doors most hotels used now. Just one more thing to break down later. Once inside he put the large bag on the dinette table and a smaller one on counter beside the 'kitchen' sink. He didn't need to use his hearing to find his roommate. There was a large, curled up, blanket covered lump on the small couch that Jim was sure hadn't been there when he left. One of the two pillows from Blair's bed had also made it to the couch, between it and the blanket the only part of Blair that was visible was a small patch of brown hair. Jim really hated to wake him up, he needed the sleep. But he also needed to eat and take what was in the small bag on the counter. In a few steps he was beside the couch and leaning over the shapeless mass, reaching out to where he thought a shoulder might be, gently shaking it.
"Come on Chief, I know you're tired but you need to wake up for a little while."
The mass moved a little and a muffled voice could barely be heard, "'m 'sleep. Go 'way."
Jim had to smile, his younger brother used to sound just like that when he was small and someone tried to wake him up. But he had to get Blair up. "No can do, partner. You need to eat. I went out in this driving rain to hunt us down some food, the least you can do is eat it."
The blanket lowered just far enough to reveal one blue eye. "Hunt?"
"Hey, it's a regular jungle out there. I just did manage to cut off and beat this little old lady to the last decent parking space by the restaurant. She was small but feisty. Thought she was going to hit me with her umbrella."
That brought the blanket the rest of the way down as Blair started to sit up as he laughed. "Well since you obviously risked life and limb in order to get dinner, I guess I do feel somewhat obligated to eat some of it." He rubbed his face with both hands. When he looked up he saw Jim staring at him. Looking down at himself then back up again, he started coughing as he asked, "What? If it's the outfit, remember, you picked it out."
Jim blinked. "No, it's just the first time I've really seen all your hair. You've had it pulled back all day."
Blair reached one hand up to his still slightly damp curls. After keeping it in a tight ponytail all day it felt good to let it hang loose. Besides it would never dry pulled back. But Jim was ex-military and a cop, he probably had a real hang up about long hair on guys. "Hey, if it bothers you I can keep it pulled back. No problem." He started looking around for his elastic band.
"No, no. It doesn't bother me. In fact, as far as long hair goes, it looks all right. Now get over here before your dinner gets cold."
Relieved, Blair picked up his glasses from the coffee table, putting them on as he walked over to the table while Jim started taking cardboard cartons out of the bag.
"Why don't you get out some plates, glasses and silverware while I open these."
When Blair turned back to the table again he saw that besides the food there was a six-pack of beer on the table and a carton of orange juice. Sitting down he slid a plate with a knife and fork on it towards Jim then reached over to snag a beer. "Man, after a day like today I can really go for one of these." He snatched his hand back in surprise when Jim smacked it.
"No, you don't."
"Hey! What's the big idea? I'm over twenty-one. You can check my driver's license." He paused. "Oh. You bought those for you, didn't you? I shouldn't have just grabbed one like that. I'm sorry." Keeping his eyes down he slowly pulled the Styrofoam bowl of soup towards him and removed the lid. Picking up the plastic spoon that came with it he started to stir the soup, muttering to himself. "What's wrong with you? Just grabbing like that? It's not like you even helped pay for any of this." He kept stirring, but not eating, the soup in front of him.
"Blair."
When Blair looked up Jim continued. "It's not that I mind sharing with you, not at all. It's just that you can't mix alcohol with cold medicine."
"Yeah, except that I don't have any kind of cold medicine. I wasn't exactly planning on having to hitchhike back to school, especially in this weather."
Jim went over to the counter and tossed the smaller bag to Blair. "You do now."
Blair caught the bag. "Huh?" He opened the bag and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. Putting it on the table he reached in again, this time removing a box whose label stated it contained an extra strength cough syrup with a decongestant. Turning the bag upside down he watched as a smaller bag fell out, vitamin C tablets with zinc. "Oh." Picking up the box of cough syrup he read the label. 'WARNING: Do not consume alcohol while taking this medication. May cause side effects including dizziness, nausea and cramping.' That does not sound like fun. So no beer tonight. He put the box back down and looked back up at Jim. "Thanks man, you didn't have to do all this. Um, you know I can't pay you back anything until we get back to Cascade. Keep a tally of everything and I'll settle up when we get there, okay?"
Jim sighed. "I already told you Chief, the meals and room are courtesy of the Cascade PD, so don't even worry about that. And I bought the cold stuff as much for me as for you." At Blair's puzzled look he smiled. "This way I don't have to listen to you try to cough up a lung all night and all day tomorrow." He poured a glass of orange juice and placed it in front of Blair. "Now eat."
Blair picked up his spoon again, this time actually getting the soup from the bowl to his mouth, watching as Jim finally sat down and started eating his own dinner. Okay Ellison, I can buy getting the cough syrup, I guess hearing me hacking all night would get pretty annoying, but that doesn't explain the aspirin or the vitamins or the orange juice. He realized that Jim was talking and he did not sound happy.
"Dammit. I TOLD them not to use any MSG." He was making a disgusted looking face. He tried a forkful from each carton, including Blair's rice. "Well, at least it only seems to be in the Mongolian Beef. How's your soup?"
"Uh, fine I guess." Blair was staring at Jim. "Jim. Are you telling me that you can actually taste the MSG in the food? You can tell which has it and which doesn't? Have you always been able to do it?"
Well, yeah. It gives everything a bitter, 'off' taste, y'know? And no I haven't always been able to taste it, it just started lately." With all the other weird shit that's going on with me.
Blair didn't respond as he ate his soup with one hand and pulled his carton of rice towards his plate with the other. But Jim heard the barely whispered, "Three."
The rest of dinner proceeded rather quietly. Jim noticed that Blair had suddenly seemed very preoccupied. He didn't seem to be in any acute distress, aside from occasional coughing, so he put it down to Blair's being tired.
As soon as they both finished eating Jim cleared the table, putting the few dishes used in the sink and throwing away the rest. He then put the cough syrup, aspirin and vitamins in front of Blair and refilled his glass with orange juice. "Now that you have some food in you take those, in what ever order you want."
It was Blair's turn to make a disgusted face. He pulled the bottle of cough syrup out of the box and looked at it. "I hate taking this kind of 'medicine'". Besides being all chemicals, I don't care what flavor it says on the box, this stuff only has one tasteâ€"gross." He opened the bottle and sniffed, quickly turning his nose away from the offending odor. "Oh yuck."
Jim laughed. "If you take the cough syrup first you can then take the aspirin with some orange juice and then chew a few vitamin C tablets, that should kill the taste. Go on, take them so I can go check on your clothes."
"Speaking of clothes..." Blair looked down and pulled the T-shirt he was wearing away from him looking at the logo on the front. "... my Mom would probably freak if she saw me wearing a police department T-shirt. She'd think I'd gone and joined the 'other side'."
Jim knew a diversionary tactic when he saw one, but he was curious. "I take it your mother doesn't like cops."
"Naomi is a rather 'unique' individual." Blair's smile and eyes conveyed his deep affection for his mother. "She was one of the original hippies from the sixties. She embraced the counter culture movement back then and never left it. I spent my childhood constantly moving, going to sit-ins, protests and demonstrations. Let's just say that she didn't always view the cops as the good guys." He grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? That's my mom."
"How'd your father feel about all this? Was he a protester too?"
Blair's grin vanished as he lowered his eyes. His voice dropped to just above a whisper. "Wouldn't know. Never met the man."
Obviously time to change the subject. "All right. Enough stalling." Jim stood beside Blair and put his hand across his forehead. "Yep. Low-grade fever. Be sure to take the aspirin too. It'll help with the fever and any aches and pains you may have. Then you need to get into bed. Bed bed, not couch bed. I want to get an early start in the morning and you need a good night's sleep." He watched as Blair opened the aspirin bottle and put two pills beside the glass of orange juice. Then he opened the vitamin C bag and unwrapped two tablets leaving them on the table. Once everything else was set up, he opened the cough syrup and poured it into the small plastic cup up to the prescribed line. He looked at it as if it were pure poison.
Jim smiled and shook his head. "Close your eyes, hold your nose and swallow. It'll all be over before you know it."
Blair did. The face he made definitely reminded Jim of his younger brother whenever their housekeeper made him take medicine he didn't like. He watched as Blair quickly swallowed the aspirin with almost the entire glass of juice then pop the vitamin C into his mouth. Finally.
"Good boy. Now go get into bed. I'm going to go get your clothes. I put them in the dryer on my way back in. I don't know about you but if I put on clothes that aren't just washed and dried, they bug the hell out of me all day. Sometimes even then."
Blair's tried to stay calm. "Your clothes irritate your skin? That's gotta be rough."
"Yeah." Jim looked thoughtful. "But you know it's funny. Back when I was still in the Army we'd be out in the field, wearing the same clothes, for days sometimes and it never bothered me. Same thing with long stakeouts with the PD. But now, if I can't change clothes after so many hours or if they get wet or messed up, it drives me nuts."
"Really?" Oh God, that's four. Three is practically nonexistent but NOBODY'S ever had four. "Let me ask you a totally off the wall question Jim. Have you spent any time recently totally isolated from everyone else? You know, like totally on your own?"
"Well, yeah as a matter of fact. There's this serial bomber, calls himself The Switchman, he's been blowing up buildings all over the city. I was staking out this building we thought he was using. Way out in the woods. I set the stakeout up like a recon mission and was out there for a few weeks by myself. Only had occasional radio contact with anyone. They finally radioed me that he was coming. We had several SWAT teams following him in. Anyway, at one point I almost had him..." Jim looked down, "... but he got away. We went in to check out the building. Almost as soon as we got in I smelled the bomb. I finally found it a few floors down buried under the floorboards. We all just barely made it out before the whole building blew. The whole thing had been a set up. I had him. Dammit, I had him. And I let him get away. That's when things started getting weird. Like the thing with my clothes and hearing things and other... stuff. Simon figured it was stress mixed with guilt. Since we knew his pattern and the fact that he'd almost been caught, Simon decided it would be all right to send me to this conference so I could get away from it for a few days and "recharge my batteries" as he put it."
Jim was stunned at himself. The kid asked one simple question and suddenly he was spilling his guts about everything. But at the same time it really felt good to finally tell someone everything. And he just somehow instinctively knew that if there was anyone he could tell, it would be Blair. He looked for Blair's reaction.
Blair couldn't help just staring at Jim. He smelled a bomb from a few floors away. Number five. Jim was IT. After all this time and work. He found one. He actually found one! It fit. It all fit. The isolation. The senses suddenly coming online. Everything fit. He had actually found a living, breathing sentinel. His heart starting pounding in excitement, it was getting hard to breathe. He suddenly felt very lightheaded.
Jim was watching for Blair's reaction. The last thing he expected was this look of, what, awe that appeared on his face. He could almost see the wheels turning in his brain. Suddenly Blair's face paled as his breathing got faster. He was shaking too. Jim turned Blair sideways in his chair as he knelt down in front of him, holding his upper arms as the younger man swayed a little in his seat.
"Blair? Blair! Answer me! What's wrong?"
Blair was staring at him with slightly glazed eyes. "Omigod Jim. All five. You have all five. You're real."
Jim reached up and felt Blair's forehead. The fever didn't seem any higher. Maybe it was taking all that medication at once. "Yeah Chief. I'm real and you're going to bed. Come on."
He held onto Blair's arms as he lifted him off the chair, keeping a tight grip until he was sure he was steady on his feet. "Can you make it to the bathroom all right? I'll fix your bed back up while you're in there. Are you all right now?"
Blair smiled, feeling very tired as the sudden rush of adrenaline faded away. "I'm all right. In fact everything's all right now. It's just, wow, y'know?"
Jim didn't know but he nodded anyway. "Sure Chief, whatever you say. Go on now." He watched until he was sure Blair was walking steadily, then he gathered up Blair's bedding from the couch and brought it over to the bed. When Blair emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later he was just finishing.
As Jim watched Blair walk from the bathroom towards his bed he saw the large yawn escape. He smiled to himself. Perfect timing. When Blair reached Jim he stop and just looked at him with a small, mysterious smile on his face. Just what's going on in that highly educated brain of yours, Chief? And why do I get the feeling it involves me somehow? Another large yawn preempted any answers tonight. Blair sat on the edge of the bed and removed his glasses, putting them on the nightstand then curled up in the bed facing Jim. He pulled the covers up to his neck with a contented sigh as he closed his eyes.
"You comfortable enough? You need anything?"
Blair shook his head. "Uh-uh."
Jim reached down and turned off the lamp. As he started to straighten up Blair reached out and grasped his wrist. Squatting down beside the bed he saw Blair looking at him, blinking to keep his tired eyes open. "What's the matter, Blair?"
"I-I just wanted to say... thanks. For the ride and room and all the food and the medicine and washing my clothes. No one's ever gone out of their way for me like that before and I wanted you to know that I really appreciate it." He kept his grip on Jim's wrist. "And I really want to say that I'm sorry... for thinking... for what I thought you wanted... what I thought you were trying to make me do... earlier. I know you're not like that. I just wanted you to know." He was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.
"Hey, I'm just glad I'm able to help you out. It's not like you planned on getting stranded. As for the other, well as long you really understand that I won't hurt you, that I won't let anything hurt you, then everything's okay." It was still very important to him that Blair believe he was safe with him.
Blair nodded, unable to keep his eyes open. His grip was loosening on Jim's wrist. "... accepted me as part of your tribe. Must protect the tribe..."
Tribe? Jim briefly flashed on something Blair had said earlier. About the Indian village and a special warrior whose job it was to protect the tribe. He looked back to ask Blair if that's what he was referring to but realized he'd be talking to a sleeping man. He carefully slid his wrist from under Blair's hand and slowly stood up. They had lots of time tomorrow to talk during the long drive back to Cascade. Yet somehow he had the feeling that his relationship with this obviously unique young college student was not going to end when they got there.
And that thought pleased him greatly.
As he crossed the room towards the door to go get Blair's clothes, the loud boom of rolling thunder reminded him that the storm outside had not let up yet. Just goes to show you that you never know what a driving rain can blow into your life. He was still smiling as he picked up the key card and headed out the door.
Part 2
Jim woke up slowly, his internal clock telling him it was six a.m. As he stretched he looked over at the other bed. His temporary roommate was practically buried under the covers. He had turned the thermostat down before going to bed, apparently Blair didn't share his preference for cooler temperatures while sleeping. Frowning to himself, he wondered if given Blair's current illness, maybe he should have kept the room a bit warmer. Getting out of bed he went over and raised the setting on the thermostat. By the time he finished in the bathroom the room should be warmer, he'd let Blair sleep until then.
Twenty minutes later he was showered, shaved and dressed. The room definitely felt warmer. Time to wake up his traveling companion. He leaned over the bed and poked Blair's shoulder a few times. "Come on kid, wake up. Time to get a move on."
He jerked back when Blair's eyes flew open as he threw himself across to the far side of the bed. Jim could hear his heart pounding. He made sure he stood very still until he saw recognition dawning in Blair's eyes.
"Blair? You all right?"
A red blush was spreading across Blair's face. "Um, yeah, Jim. I'm fine. You just, uh, startled me, that's all." He glanced at the window, it looked like it was still dark. "What's wrong? What time is it?" Damn. Guess I'm not quite over last night just yet. Probably scared poor Jim half to death. His heart rate was slowing back down, his eyes growing sleep heavy again as the brief adrenaline rush ebbed.
After glancing at his watch Jim answered, still surprised at Blair's reaction. "Nothing's wrong and it's almost six thirty. We need to be starting out soon." Since Blair now seemed to be choosing to ignore his initial outburst Jim decided to follow his lead.
Blair stared at him then started to crawl back under the covers. "SIX THIRTY! In the morning? Are you nuts? NOBODY gets up at six thirty unless they have to be somewhere at a specific time. We don't." He pulled the covers back over his head. "Wake me back up at a decent hourâ€"around nine-ish." He almost totally disappeared again.
Jim smiled as he ignored the muffled coughing coming from under Blair's blanket. This kid changed gears faster than a Ferrari. But they were wasting time, they still had a long drive ahead of them and he wanted to get an early start. He grabbed Blair's foot and started shaking it. "Let's go Chief. I'm checking out of here no later than seven a.m. That means I'll need my clothes back. You can then explain to the maid why a naked man is still sleeping in a supposedly unoccupied room." It also sounds like you need another dose of your favorite cough syrup.
Blair stuck his head out and looked back at a too smug looking Jim. "You'd really do that too, wouldn't you?" Jim just gave him a evil grin. "Fine." With a loud dramatic sigh he pushed the covers off and swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up he scrubbed his hands over his face. "Great. Looks like I'll be doing my Grizzly Adams impression today. Just my luck, I'll probably meet some really cute girl too, with me looking all scruffy and everything."
Jim was impressed. For such a young looking kid he had a pretty good amount of stubble already. Could probably grow a full beard in no time. He walked over to his suitcase and pulled out his shaving kit, then held it out to Blair. "Here. There's a few unused disposable razors in here, help yourself. And since we're going to be in an enclosed car most of the time, feel free to use the deodorant too."
Blair took the kit. "Thanks, I think. You wouldn't happen to have an extra toothbrush in there too, would you?"
"No, and there is a definite limit to what I'm willing to share."
Blair sighed again. "Oh well, won't be the first time I've brushed my teeth with my finger. Did I tell you about the time I wasâ€""
"Not now Chief. Move it, we're wasting daylight,"
As Blair got up he tilted his head towards the window. Through the slightly parted curtains a barely noticeable band of pink was peeking out across the horizon. "Jim, daylight isn't even awake yet. Relax man, unless you've got a hot date waiting for you in Cascade, I don't think we're going to be late for anything." He grinned and ducked past Jim as he grabbed his clothes off the dresser where Jim had put them and hurried into the bathroom, just missing a swat aimed at the back of his head.
Ten minutes later a dressed and more awake looking Blair emerged from the bathroom. He handed the shaving kit and clothes he had been wearing to Jim. "Thanks man. But why do you carry a bunch of razors with you? Just how long was that conference supposed to be?" Sitting on the edge of the bed he started putting on his sneakers.
How to explain this without it sounding too weird. "One razor used to last for a while. Now they seem to get dull real fast. It seems like one day it feels fine then the next it almost hurts to use it. So I just always keep a couple of new ones around so I can switch out whenever necessary."
Blair's head jerked up as he suddenly remembered his discovery from last night. Jim was a sentinel! How on earth could he have forgotten that? Must be this damn cold. Of course he had extra sensitive skin, he could probably feel the minutest nicks and dulling of a razor blade way before anyone else would. Oh man, this was so exciting. He had actually found a real sentinel! All he had to do now was to explain to an ex-Army Ranger, straight laced cop that he was genetic throwback to previous generations and talk him into letting him study him for his dissertation. Oh yeah, that conversation should be lots of fun. Probably best to have that little talk in the car, at least if Jim was driving he couldn't walk away. No, he could just stop the car and make him get out. But so what? Even if he did, he already knew Jim's full name and where he worked. He would just find him in Cascade and somehow convince him that he was right. But what if he really refused? What if after all this time he finally found his sentinel and he refused to even talk to him? Told him to never come near him again? He was a cop for christsake, a damn big cop too. Blair was starting to hyperventilate. He couldn't get this close to his dream and fail. He just couldn't. He wrapped his arms around his waist and started rocking slightly. I am not having a panic attack. I AM NOT having a panic attack. His inner monologue was suddenly halted as he bent over as wracking coughs overcame him.
Jim just stood there momentarily confused. When he told Blair about the razors he looked up at him but he seemed almost excited not upset. Then his heart rated started getting faster as had his breathing. That's when he did start to look upset, almost scared. Now this. He hurried over to Blair's bed and sat beside him. His hand hovered over Blair's shoulder for a moment before he tentatively put it on it. Dammit, he wasn't good at this sort of stuff. "Blair? What's wrong?" He looked around. "Where'd you hide that damn cough syrup?"
Blair raised himself back up to a sitting position. "It's all right Jim. I'm fine now." His voice was slightly hoarse from coughing. He turned and faced Jim. "You... you wouldn't kick me out of the car, would you? I mean, if I said something you didn't like, would you make me get out?" Maybe it would be better to wait until they got back to Cascade to talk to Jim. But he really needed to talk to him now.
What was the kid talking about now? You almost needed a program to keep up with him. Why on earth would Blair think he would ever kick him out?
"No Blair. I told you that you had a ride all the way back to Cascade and I meant it. When I give my word on something I keep it. What's going on here and why would you think I'd kick you out over something you might say?"
Blair just gave him a small smile. "Never mind. It's almost seven. We'd better get going." He picked up his glasses off the nightstand and put them on as he stood up and looked around. "Looks like we've got everything. I guess we're ready to leave."
Jim shook his head. He was wrong earlier. A Ferrari had nothing on Blair when it came to changing gears. The best he could do was to just try to keep up. He went over and picked up his suitcase. "I'll take this to the Jeep. Why don't you meet me at the front desk? They have a free breakfast buffet here. I thought we'd hit that first, after checking out, before we head out." He had heard Blair's stomach growling, though he doubted if Blair would have mentioned being hungry.
"Free breakfast? Man 'free' is like so in my budget. Let's get this show on the road."
"I'll go put this in the car then drive around to the front, that way we can just eat and go. Meet you at the check out desk."
"Okay." Blair picked up his jacket and backpack and carried them as he went through the door and turned right towards the main lobby.
Jim started to pick up is suitcase when he noticed the small paper bag containing Blair's medicine pushed back in a corner on the counter by the sink. He retrieved it, putting it into his jacket pocket. Nice try, Chief. Leaving the room he turned left, towards the back door that led to the parking lot.
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CONTINUES