Title: Accidents

Author: dark SH

Fandom: The Sentinel

Pairing: J/B/R

Rating: harmless

Status: snippet

Series/Sequel: nope

Disclaimer: "The Sentinel" and its characters belong to Pet Fly, Paramount, and the Sci-Fi
Channel. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes. No money is being made
from it and no copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Exploding computers at the PD are causing some disturbances and leading to some
fatal accidents

WARNING: no sex, death of major character!

Accidents
by Dark SH

Jim watched Blair slightly amused, as his partnertyped away on his computer, "fixing" Jim's latest report. He had gotten better at them, but today Blair just found nothing that sounded right and, annoyed, Jim had handed him the keyboard, with a rough, "Then do it yourself, Chief!"

Suddenly he heard a strange high-pitched sound and a shocked squeaking sound from Ronda,
followed by a loud "puff" as smoke curled up around her screen.

Mere seconds later a second "puff" was heard and someone screamed from the next room, "Damn, my screen exploded!" By then the sound "moved" in their direction. Reaching out, to pull Blair away from the suddenly dangerous computer, the screen exploded, right into Blair's face.

All hell broke lose around Jim, who desperately grabbed Blair's arms, to keep him from touching and scratching at his bleeding face. Several shards had buried themselves into the face and eyes. Absently Jim registered that some more screens gave up their lives, but by now almost everyone on the floor had stepped back or shut down their computers.

Pulling the distressed Blair onto his lap, Jim more or less hugged him to his body, immobilising
him that way, pinning Blair's arms to his chest.

"Jim, it hurts," Blair moaned, fighting against the arms holding him weakly.

"I know, Chief, but it's going to be all right," Jim whispered in his ears, trying to calm him
down.

"Ambulances are on the way!" Rafe shouted across the room, phone still in his hand. Then his eyes met Jim's, who mouthed a "Thank you" in his direction, which he acknowledge with a nod and a small smile.

Jim slowly began to rock, keeping the murmuring going. Telling what he would do with Blair, once they were back from the hospital. By the time Rafe showed up with one of the first aid kits
Blair wasn't moaning from pain alone any longer.

Careful not to cause more pain, or dislodge some of the bigger shards, Rafe managed to clear parts of Blair's face and neck from the blood.

Then finally the first ambulance arrived and within a few minutes the injured were taken care
off and brought to the hospital.

*****

Hours later Blair laid pain free and relaxed in his hospital bed. The shards had been removed
without much complication, he'd needed only a few stitches, and his eyes were going to be all right in a few weeks too. Till then he had to keep the bandages on them.

Now he waiting for Jim and Rafe to take him home. The ambulance had been unable to take any passengers with them, the vehicle full. He told Jim to follow with the truck, that he would be
okay till they could catch up.

What took them so long?

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

Rafe stared at the wreck that once had been the treasured truck of Jim. He had to stay calm now. He would be of no help if he panicked. Careful of the sharp edges of the broken window, he climbed through the car, which had slammed the truck unmercifully into the trees.

It had happened so damn fast. One minute Jim was two cars in front of him, then that rover
ignoring the red light saw Jim too late, and despite both of them trying to avoid a crash, the
rover slammed into the passenger side of the truck, smashing it into that group of old, huge
trees Blair loved so much, before the rover in slow motion moved sideways, wrapping itself
around the front of the truck.

The silence that followed was eerie.

Rafe couldn't recall later how he had managed to avoid a crash himself, but somehow he stopped his car only a few meters away from the accident. He fished his cell phone out of his jacket, and on his way to the side of the accident he called backup. Another driver had stopped, and was now on his way to help the one in the rover. Ignoring them he headed straight to Jim, only to nearly scream out in frustration and fear as he saw that there was no way to reach his trapped lover. The driver's side was pressed against the largest tree. A low hanging branch blocked Rafe's entrance from the rear of the truck and the Rover was obstructing the front.

As soon as the driver from the rover had been removed, Rafe ignored all shouts and orders to
stay back, and climbed over the wreck towards Jim. One of the medics followed him, first aid
kit in one hand, adjusting a headset with the other, and nodded at Rafe.

"Jim?" Rafe whispered, fighting his fear and panic at the sight of so much blood. He should be
used to it, but this was Jim! Not some unknown body at a crime scene. The front and both side
windows where broken, covering his still form with tiny shards. They only had managed to let
Jim place that security glass, which would splitter into tiniest more or less harmless shards in case of an accident. But they weren't the source of the blood.

It was the smashed chest, the front of the truck had been pushed inside by the impact or the other car, becoming a deadly trap for its driver.

Rafe ignored as the medic whispered to someone on the other end of his headset then listened to the tiny voice coming through, instead he watched the slow up and down of the chest he loved so much. "Jim!" he called out louder now, and got a reaction.

Jim moved his head towards him and tired, pain filled bloodshot eyes looked at him. That moment Rafe knew deep in his heart that Jim wouldn't survive. The medic tapped Rafe on his shoulder, catching his attention long enough to whisper: "Go to him and keep him calm. We are trying to get to him through the rear," the unspoken 'but I don't believe we'll be in time' written in the strange, compassion filled eyes.

Slowly Rafe slid into the seat beside Jim, who smiled at him, reaching out with one hand to wipe
away the tears which Rafe hadn't felt, before Jim closed his eyes against the pain racking his
body. Rafe touched the cold face, not letting go, offering all the comfort, all his love he had to
give. "Dial it down, Jim, dial it down all the way," he whispered the voice soothing and calm
despite his inner fight, and he felt the tremors stop, and a faint smile stayed on the dying man's
face.

Together they waited in silence for the moment when the time came to say Good bye.

****

The funeral was on a rainy day, matching the mood of the people around the grave.

Blair's eyes were still wrapped, the bandages hidden behind dark glasses, and he listened to
Rafe describing with a breaking voice how it looked. They all had been worried about the
observer. The sudden death had hit him hard. Rafe envied him a bit about being allowed to show his pain in a public way. Rafe had to hide it, only allowed to grieve the loss of their lover in the privacy of their home.

It took time for everyone to say Good Bye to the dead and to the living but finally the two were
alone. Simon and Henri had offered to stay, but Blair and Rafe had declined, wishing to be alone.

"What now?" Blair whispered staring unseeing at the fresh earth.

"Let's go home. We are both wet and cold." Rafe took Blair's arm, slowly leading him away. "A
shower, some fresh clothes and a huge bed are waiting for us." He tried to sound optimistic.

"It won't be the same anymore, will it?" Blair whispered.

"No, but he wouldn't want us to mourn longer than necessary for him," Rafe hugged his crying lover closer. "I had to promise him to watch out for you, and to go on…" he murmured heartbroken. Soon their tears became one with the steady rain running down their faces.

"Come on loved ones, get home…" the wind seemed to whisper.

Ennnnnnnnnnnnnnnd