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Spring Fever
by Lianne Burwell
April 2003
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Springtime.

A time for renewal. A time for new life. The world coming 
alive again after slumbering through the cold, wet winter 
months. A time to celebrate. A time to take long walks, 
inhaling the clean green scent of new growth and listen to 
the sweet song of courting birds.

Yeah, right. Try telling that to the criminals.

It was the first spring on the force for Officer Blair 
Sandburg, and he would much rather be off in the woods 
camping, doing something else to celebrate the new season. 
Something that involved the enthusiastic participation of 
his partner. Something as old as civilization.

Instead, Jim was chasing a would-be thief while Blair tried 
to circle around to cut the moron off.

Blair turned the corner and skidded to a stop. "Jim," he 
wheezed, trying to catch his breath. "I'm at the corner of 
Lawrence and Mercanter. I hope you're coming this way, 
because I'm beat." Blair was no slouch in the physical 
fitness department, thanks in large part to Jim's help and 
encouragement, but he wasn't a sprinter.

There were shouts coming from down the street, including 
one demand to stop that he recognized easily, and Blair 
braced himself, ignoring the curious looks from passersby 
out enjoying the beautiful day.

The shouts were getting closer. Then the crowd on the 
sidewalk parted like the red sea had for Charlton Heston 
and a scrawny young man, seventeen if he was a day, came 
thundering towards Blair.

"Stop, Police!" Blair shouted in his best cop voice, then 
braced himself as the kid, paying more attention to who was 
behind him, ran straight into him.

By the time Jim got there with two uniforms in tow, Blair 
had the kid pinned to the ground and was reading him his 
rights. Once he finished, he stood up and let the patrol 
cops take him away. The kid was blubbering something about 
just wanting to get some cash to buy his girlfriend a gift, 
which had to rate up there as one of the stupidest reasons 
to try to hold up a convenience store with a kitchen knife, 
especially when two cops were coming in the door to buy 
some pop.

Blair staggered over to a bench facing the park across the 
street and collapsed on it. "What an idiot," he said, 
leaning back to stare up at a blue sky dotted with fluffy 
white clouds. "Did he really think his girl would want 
something bought with stolen money?"

Jim sat down next to him, mirroring his pose. "And if she 
would, he'd be better off without her."

Blair shook his head. "And now he's going to be sitting in 
a jail cell instead. Pick her some flowers, damnit. Take 
her for a long walk. Don't hold up a store to prove your 
love."

"Sometimes just being there is the best proof of love of 
all," Jim said, wrapping his arm around Blair's shoulders.

Blair glanced over at him and smiled brightly at his lover. 
As if he could be anywhere else.

They needed to get up, head back to the PD to fill out the 
arrest forms on the latest kid brought low by Spring Fever, 
but that could wait. For now, they would just sit there, 
enjoying a perfect spring day.

And just be there.

"So, want to go camping this weekend?"

The End