Title: Captains Aren't Always Right

Author: Ami

Email: SciFiCatGirl18@aol.com

Pairing: Jim/Blair, and minor Simon/Megan

Rating: R

Summary: Simon makes an assumption -- and an ass out of himself -- when he forgets one simple fact: Captains *aren't* always right.

Archive: Sure, go ahead.

Disclaimer: Jim and Blair belong to Pet Fly. Simon's stupidity is purely my idea.

Author's Notes: The dates I use match up with this year. The song 'At the Beginning' is this story is actually my favorite song, it's by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis. Like Jim and Blair, the day after I saw the movie Anastasia, I went out and bought the CD, purely for that song. It's a very moving piece of music.

This was betad by Bobbie, Alex and Chairchick -- fastest betas in the US.


Captains Aren't Always Right
By Ami

"Are you *insane*, Sir?" Jim asked his captain.

Simon Banks chomped hard on his cigar, almost biting it in half. "No, Ellison, I am *not* insane. The Chief of Police, however, is being a manipulative bastard. He wants *you* to escort his niece to the Cascade Community Christmas Party."

Jim's eyebrows rose as he heard his superior's heartbeat quicken. "He asked for me specifically?"

Simon shifted uncomfortably in his desk chair. "Actually, he just wanted one of my detectives, and since you are the only one without a date..."

"Who says I don't have a date?" Jim interrupted. He'd wanted to keep his and Blair's relationship quiet, but he'd been meaning to tell Simon, he just hadn't found the right time. He guessed it would be this Saturday, when he showed up at the party with Sandburg on his arm. "I asked my date weeks ago, when the memo first went out that all senior detectives were expected to attend." He smiled. "So, since I *do* have a date, you'll have to find someone else." He opened Simon's office door and exited, saying, "Sorry, Simon."

Simon harrumphed as he followed the departing detective with his eyes. "Yeah, right, you have a date. You're bringing Sandburg; I know you are. He's not a date, he's a menace. I'll just have to arrange for the Chief's niece to meet us there, and then there'll be no way you can refuse her." He smiled, confident in his plan. After all, the captain was always right.

***

"Hey, Chief," Jim greeted his lover as he came in the door. He threw his keys in the basket and pulled Blair in for a kiss. "Mmmm," he purred, tongue delving deep into his Guide's mouth.

"Hey, lover," Blair panted, as Jim finally pulled back. "What was that for?"

"I missed you," Jim said quietly.

"I missed you too, Big Guy," Blair said, stroking a hand down Jim's face. "What's up?" he asked, noting the slightly drawn look on his Sentinel's face.

Jim sighed; he never could keep anything from Blair. "We're gonna have to tell Simon at the party on Saturday."

"We *have* to? Why?" Blair asked, having deduced that Jim meant they were going to have to let the captain know that he and Jim were together.

"Chief Warren manipulated Simon into getting a date for his niece, and Simon picked me because I didn't have a date...or so he thought," Jim finished glumly. "I told him I did have one, and when I show up with you at the party, he's going to figure out we're dating."

Blair took a deep breath and nodded. "It'll be okay, Jim," he said, wrapping his arms around his lover. "We're in this together, right?"

Jim smiled; he knew he could count on his Guide. "Right, Chief."

"Now..." Blair purred. "I've always wanted to make love underneath the Christmas tree, and since we finally have one this year..." he trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows.

Jim grinned and swept his partner up into his arms, heading towards the balcony. They had gone all out this year. In previous Christmases, both he and Blair had been too busy to do much decorating; they hadn't even had a tree. But this Christmas, in honor of their budding relationship, Jim had purchased a 7-foot tall spruce. It stood near the balcony windows, and it lit up the room with an incandescent swirl of bright colors; reds, greens, yellows and blues all twinkled and flashed as they vied for attention. On top sat a large Silver star with a punched hole pattern, that light shone through.

Jim placed his precious burden on the soft skirt under the tree and laid claim to Blair's lips. Outside the balcony windows, laughter was heard by passing pedestrians as the Sentinel and Guide celebrated Christmas the best way they knew how -- by loving each other.

***

Saturday, December 20th

"Hey, Jim, I think Simon's seen us. He's waving us over," Blair told his lover, and date for the evening, as they entered the ballroom where the mayor was holding this year's Community Christmas party. "Who's that with him and Megan?" he asked.

"I don't know..." Jim said thoughtfully, taking in the elegant blond woman in a blue gown standing next to Simon. He knew that wasn't Simon's date; his boss was escorting Connor.

"Hey, Simon," Jim said, threading his way through the crowd with his partner following in his wake. "What's up?"

Simon smiled a Cheshire cat grin, and said, "This is Melanie Blake."

Jim began to get a cold feeling in his gut.

"Hi," Melanie said, holding out her hand for Jim to shake. "Uncle Roger said you were going to be my date for the evening."

"Uncle Roger?" Jim asked, shocked at what Simon had pulled.

"Chief of Police Roger Warren," Simon supplied helpfully, his smile never fading. "Melanie is the Chief's niece."

Meanwhile, Blair was standing there with his mouth hanging open. He finally got his wits about him enough to ask, "Uh, Jim? Is there something you want to tell me?" There was a dangerous glint in his eyes, and Jim knew if he didn't fix this soon, he'd be sleeping on the couch tonight.

Simon turned and scowled at the observer. "I know Jim only brought you because he didn't want to come alone to this thing. Beat it, kid, and go find some woman to flirt with," he said in a low voice. He was tired of the kid always hanging around Jim, getting in his way and inviting himself along on every outing. He didn't dislike Sandburg, but before the anthropologist had shown up, Simon would never have had to worry if Jim was lying about having a date. Jim mostly brought Sandburg with him to formal functions, instead of trying to find an actual date. He hated deceiving the Sentinel like this, but he needed to show his detective that you couldn't bullshit a police captain.

Jim's face reddened with rage. "Do *not* talk that way to my lover, Simon," he said in a low, dangerous voice. "I don't know why you pulled this stunt, but it was a shitty thing to do, to me, to Sandburg and to Melanie. I told you I had a date, and I do. Sandburg and I are a couple, therefore, I brought him as my date." He placed his arm around his lover's waist and Blair snuggled in close to the bigger man, flinching away from the captain's dark gaze. Jim hated being so blunt about their relationship, but Simon had no reason to suspect he was lying. He though his captain trusted him more than that.

Melanie sputtered, "You're gay?" She was shocked; the dark-skinned police captain had told her Jim was working the late shift, so he needed to meet her at the party. She never expected that he would not only have another date, but a male one at that.

"Bisexual, actually," Blair answered for them both. He was a bit nervous about declaring their relationship; most of the functions they'd gone to, people thought Blair had just accompanied Jim as his partner, because Jim didn't have an actual date. There were so many rumors floating around the station about them being lovers that no one gave the fact that they actually might *be* lovers any credence. He looked over at Megan and breathed an internal sigh of relief at the encouraging smile on the Australian's face; at least he and Jim had one ally.

Simon's mouth was hanging open. "You mean you and Sandburg are lovers?" he squeaked. He cleared his throat, grimacing at the sound he'd made...and the grievous error he'd perpetrated on his friends and the Chief's niece. He couldn't believe he'd been wrong about Jim obfuscating about having a date.

"Yes, Simon, that is what I'm telling you." Jim sighed, put on a smile, and turned to Melanie. "I'm sorry about the misunderstanding, Miss Blake." Then he shot Simon a glare from the corner of his eye. "If I weren't otherwise engaged," here he caressed Blair's wrist, "I would have loved to be your escort to this party. As it is, I'm afraid I'll have to decline the honor." He could be as cordial as the next man, when he tried. It also helped that he was sincere; if he and Blair weren't together, he would have loved spending the evening with this lovely lady. As it was, he had Blair, and he didn't even feel the need to look at anyone else.

Melanie's face softened as she looked at the two men, who were obviously very much in love. "That's all right, I really didn't want a blind date to this thing, but my Uncle said he'd already lined someone up to take me. There was no graceful way to refuse." She gave Simon a hard look. "Your captain could have saved everyone a lot of grief, if he'd just listened to you when you told him you had a date for the evening." She sighed and headed inside to the party. Jim thought he heard her murmur, "All good men are either gay, married, or both. Shit! I need a drink."

Jim turned to Simon. "Simon, however much I hate it when Chief Warren throws his weight around, I'd never lie to you. I thought you knew that." His quiet words were unable to hide the hurt he felt.Blair, responding to his lover's unconscious need for comfort, hugged Jim tightly.

Simon sighed as he looked at his officer and the observer. "I'm sorry, too, Jim, I just... Sandburg goes with you to everything as your 'date'." Here he made finger quotes in the air. "I mean, you spent the whole evening with him at your Detective of the Year award ceremony, and I know it was because you didn't even know about it, so there was no way you could have found a date, but still, most people in your position would have mingled a little. I know you don't like parties that much, but even I would have tried to weasel out of this one. Forced blind dates aren't that appealing. And I didn't think you were lying, just obfuscating -- I knew you were bringing Blair; I just didn't know you were going as anything more than friends."

Blair glared at the tall captain, finally getting over his nervousness enough to speak his mind. "Jim has *never* shirked his responsibilities. There are plenty of cops at the precinct you could have set Melanie up with; what I don't understand is why it *had* to be Jim. And don't give me that line about how he was the only one without a date. Henri and Rafe may not have been invited to this thing, but they were both free tonight, and I'm sure the Chief wouldn't have cared if one of them had been Melanie's escort."

Simon was so stunned by the coldness of Sandburg's voice he took a step back. While he was gathering his wits about him, Megan intervened with an explanation -- not much of one, but it was the only one either of them had. "I spent the whole ride over here listening to Melanie go on and on about Jimbo. Seems the girl's got a bit of a crush." She grinned evilly at the Sentinel. "I bet Simon wanted to score points with Warren, and since he didn't think Jim *had* a date... Well, that blew up in your face, didn't it, mate?" She directed her last comment to her date.

Simon blushed. "Un, yeah, I guess so." He shifted uncomfortably; Connor had a sharp tongue, and he was most likely going to spend the rest of the evening listening to her harangue him.

Jim sighed. "Whatever. Me and my *date*," he emphasized the word, "are going inside to enjoy the party. At work, I'm going to be completely professional. Do not call me into your office to chat about fishing, ask me to try your new coffee blend, or to complain about your ex-wife. Rank may have it privileges, but always being right isn't one of them." And with that little gem of a barb, Jim stalked off, his hand on Blair's back, because, though they might have told Simon and Megan about them, they weren't 'out'.

Simon looked at the two men, so obviously in synch with each other, and sighed. "I really screwed up, didn't I, Connor?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yes, you did, Simon, and you just made another boo-boo." She scowled at her date, when Simon turned an uncomprehending look on her. "Blair might not mind if his lover calls him 'Sandburg', but I do mind if my date calls me 'Connor'. Tonight, I am not your exchange officer, nor one of your *men*; I am your date...though, at the moment, I'm wishing circumstances were different. Call me Megan." And with that directive, she glided towards the door to the Cascade Arms ballroom.

Simon groaned and threw his head back. "Why me?" he appealed to the heavens.

***

"Mmm, this punch is really good," Blair said as he took another long gulp. He passed his almost empty glass to Jim for a refill, since the Sentinel was
standing right next to the punchbowl.

Jim chuckled as he picked up the ladle and filled Blair's glass. "Yeah, I think it's the fact they made it from real fruit juice, instead of buying it as a
premixed punch." He handed the cup back to Blair

"Really?" Blair accepted the refilled glass of punch, perking up at the mention of Jim's senses. "You can tell they made it themselves?"

"Yeah, premixed fruit punch has no orange juice pulp, and this one does."

"Oh." Blair was a little let down; he thought Jim had been using his senses to tell the difference.

"Hey, you wanna dance?" Jim asked, hoping to lift Blair's spirits a little. He knew Blair was still a little ticked at Simon, and he wanted to do something to make Blair happy. He knew Blair loved to dance; after a long day, sometimes they'd put on some music and just sway in each other's arms.

Blair shot Jim an astonished look. "But Jim, we're not 'out'. If we dance together, everyone will see." He glanced nervously at the nearby partygoers.

"Not necessarily," Jim said cryptically. "C'mere." He led Blair away from the table towards a group of tall potted plants in a corner away from most of the people. He pushed through the foliage and came out in a little alcove with a pair of benches. He pulled Blair into the center of the cleared space and cradled him in his arms.

"Our song is starting," he said happily, referring to 'At the Beginning'. Blair had talked him into going to see the Disney movie Anastasia a few years back. He'd wanted to see how the movie compared to reality, and though in real life there was no happy ending, and Anastasia wasn't who she thought she was, Blair thought it was a fantastic movie.

Jim had thought so too. He would always remember that night, because the ending song, 'At the Beginning' had struck a chord with both of them. As they were standing in the emptying theater, Blair had turned to Jim, and Jim to Blair, and they'd looked into each other's eyes, and known how they felt about each other. They'd exchanged slow, tentative kisses in the darkened theater until Jim heard the janitor coming. They'd run out of the movie house and held hands in the truck all the way home. And when they'd gotten back to the loft... Needless to say, Jim had gone out and purchased the soundtrack the very next night. And whenever one of them was in a romantic mood, he'd put on track eight and they'd sway together in each other's arms.

Jim pulled Blair tighter into his arms, and Blair laid his head on Jim's shoulder. Jim smiled as he thought about the love they'd made that night. Neither of them knew what they were doing, they only knew they wanted to be close to each other. It was the best sex either of them could remember, because they knew they were making love with their soulmate.

"Did you ask the band to play this?" Blair mumbled into Jim's neck, his warm breath ghosting over Jim's skin and sending chills up the Sentinel's spine.

Jim smiled into Blair's hair. "Yup. I detoured by the stage on the way to get the punch while you were being waylaid by Mrs. Potter-Jennings."

Blair mock-shivered. "She's 74 years old, married, with four kids and nine grandkids, but I could swear that if I had your sense of smell I would've scent ed pheromones all over the place. The woman has a serious crush on me."

Jim chuckled. "It's the hair. Mrs. Potter-Jennings has three cocker spaniels, all with curly brown fur."

Blair bristled and pulled back in Jim's embrace. "Are you comparing me to a cocker spaniel?" he asked in a dangerous voice.

Jim laughed lightly. "No, I'm saying Mrs. Potter-Jennings has a weakness for short, cute things with curly brown hair. Every time she sees you she always manages to get a hand on your hair. I think it's hair envy; her husband is completely bald."

Blair looked hard at his lover, but could detect no hint of obfuscation. "All right." He moved back into Jim's arms.

***

From across the room, Simon watched as his best detective and his partner disappeared behind the group of potted palms in the corner. He sighed, wondering if Blair would ever forgive him. He knew that if Blair didn't, Jim wouldn't either.

Megan appeared at the tall captain's elbow, holding out a glass of punch. "Here, Si, this punch is pretty good."

"Si?" Simon questioned, taking a gulp of the fruity drink. "Mmm."

Megan shrugged as she took a sip of her own punch. "I like to give people nicknames. Jim's Jimbo, Blair is Sandy, Rafe is Bri, and you're Si."

"So would you mind if I called you Meg?" Simon asked

Megan considered for a moment, then nodded. "Sure. Sounds kinda nice." She looked around the elegant ballroom. "Where're Jimbo and Sandy?"

Simon cleared his throat. "Um, they went behind the trees in the corner." He pointed towards the potted foliage.

Megan craned her neck, catching sight of movement behind the leaves of the trees. "Probably wanted to dance."

Simon boggled. "Dance? Jim Ellison? Mr. 'I only danced with my wife at our wedding *once* because she made me'?"

Megan chuckled as she looked at her superior's befuddled expression. "Didn't you tell me yourself how much Ellison's changed since Blair showed up? I know Sandy loves to dance, I'm sure he and Jim are swaying to the music behind those trees." She smiled, hoping someday to be as much in love with someone as Jim and Blair were with each other.

***

The party was over. They were back at the loft, sprawled on the sofa in each other's arms. Blair had been lucky and had managed to avoid Mrs. Potter-Jennings for the rest of the night by the expedient means of simply staying with Jim behind the palm trees for most of the evening.

They'd danced, talked, eaten lots of fattening goodies (Blair had declared that anything eaten during the holidays wasn't bad for you, since the peace and goodwill of the season offset the cholesterol and calories), and drank loads of punch, which Jim had been kind enough to fetch. They'd only ventured out of their cozy alcove four times -- twice for bathroom breaks to rid themselves of all that punch, once to pile heaps of the city-provided Christmas confections on plates to take with them behind the palm trees, and a final time to request their song again, for one last turn around their secluded corner.

"Mmmm," Blair hummed, tracing an aimless design through Jim's hair. He'd been pleasantly surprised a few weeks after they'd first gotten together, when he'd found that a love of scalp massages was one more thing he and Jim had in common. "This is nice."

"Yeah, it is," Jim agreed.

They were quiet for a few moments, just basking in each other's company.

"So, are we ever gonna forgive him?" Jim asked abruptly.

Blair thought for a moment. He knew Jim was talking about Simon. He also knew that Jim wouldn't forgive Simon as long as Blair was still mad at him. He liked that Jim was always willing to stand up for him, but he wished that Jim wouldn't follow his lead in all emotional things. "I suppose," he relented grumpily. "Eventually." He smirked.

A chuckle rumbled through Jim's chest. "Well, we have the whole next week off, so we can let Simon stew until Christmas Day -- unless you want to change our plans for having Christmas dinner at his house?" He shot Blair a questioning glance.

"I still want to go. But we'll let him worry until then. He needs to learn that he's not infallible, that he *can* make mistakes."

Jim gave his lover a peck on the nose. "Mm-hm. After all, Captains aren't always right." He grinned lasciviously at Blair. "C'mon, let's go upstairs."

Blair returned Jim's grin, and pulled him in for a longer kiss. "Sounds good to me, lover," he purred seductively.



END