Title: Halloween Again

Author: Scorpio

Archive: Yes

Fandom: Sentinel

Pairing: Jim/Blair

Rating: PG

Catagory: Romance (DEATH STORY)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Sentinel and I'm not making any money from this.

Notes: This is not beta'd in anyway, shape or form. All mistakes are mine.

Warning: This is a life after DEATH STORY!!!! Do not read it if you don't want to.

Summary: Several decades in the future, Blair thinks about his love, makes peace with thier past, and goes home...

Halloween Again
by Scorpio

It was Halloween,... again. Two years to the day since Jim died. Two years since he was killed, actually. Two years since Cascade's Chief of Police, James Ellison and his husband Blair Sandburg, Captain of the Major Crimes Unit at the Cascade Police Department accepted the invitaion to the Halloween Bash being hosted by the Mayor, Brian Rafe. Two years since they stopped on the way home from the party at a corner drug store to pick up a package of antacid. Two years since the trembling street punk with a 'crystal spike' addiction and a hot blaster gun demanded that everyone in the store give up thier credit chips. Two years since the Sentinel of the Great City had sacrificed himself to save a young pregnant woman by throwing himself between her and the blaster fire. Two years since the light and happiness went out of Blairs world.

He had spent those two year doing what had needed to be done. Brian Rafe, bless his soul, risked his own political career to back him up. In fact, many people, some he hadn't seen for years, had all come forward to support and validate his claims, theories and proof.

The first year after Jim's death, Blair had dug through his office organizing, editing, and rewritting all of his work and research on Jim in particular and Sentinels in general. It became such a massive project, that Blair chose to retire from the police force. He did, however, manage to pull enough political strings to ensure that Detective Daryl Banks was promoted to Captain as his successor to the Major Crimes Unit. Blair liked the symmetry in that.

By the end of the first year, Blair had all of the books, articles and papers he had ever written on Sentinels and Guides finally finished. They were organized and ready to publish. From the original thesis that had changed the course of his and Jim's life, to a brief paper explaining Blair's personal reasons for the press conference he had called all those years ago to denouce his own work. Over the years, that one little controversal thesis had grown into twenty-seven large technical volumes, several small volumes of love poetry, and a lifetimes worth of family scrapbooks.

Then began the hard part. During this past year, the second one since Jim had been killed, Blair took his twenty-seven vollume masterpiece and went public. After all, Jim was no longer alive to be hurt by it. It was an exciting and buzy year filled with publishers, lecture tours and talk show appearences.

At first sceptical, the scientific community and the public at large eventually became very excited over the whole concept. The publicity also had the unexpected side-effect of convincing five Sentinel and Guide pairs around the world to go public. It also helped three unpaired Sentinels to come forward and advertise for Guides.

Almost overnight, Blair came to be known as the "leading expert" on both Sentinels and thier Guides. The tests he had divised for Jim became the standard and his method and theories on training for the senses and maintaining control over zone-outs became gospel.

Various Universities and many scientific communities tried to bestow honors and accoulades on Blair. He smiled gently and quietly thanked them. It was the bitter-sweet validation of a labor of love.

Now, that second year was over and Blair could still feel the edges of the excitement fluttering around him. Taking a deep breath, Blair walked through thier home, looking around at the gathered memories, pausing here and there to reach out and touch a picture, a knick-knack, a book... There was nothing in the house that did not remind Blair of his late husband.

Walking slowly, Blair made his way past the ghosts of thier past. Some were sad, some were angry, but most of them were full of love and happiness. Eventually, he made it up stairs to their bedroom. He spent a few quiet moments straightening up before he changed into his favorite silk pajamas.

With a soft sigh, Blair slid into the big beg he had shared with Jim for years. He reached out and curled himself around Jim's pillow. He still hated sleeping alone, and the hug-battered pillow was his only solice. Carefully, he arranged himself and settled down into the soft blankets Jim had bought.

Yes, it was Halloween again, two years to the day since Jim had been killed. He had spent that time finishing his work and doing what had to be done. Now, finally, he was finished. It was time to sleep, to rest. It was time to go home. Home to Jim. Silently, without a fight or a fuss, Blair Sandburg slipped into sleep. Two hours later, he stopped breathing.

...o0O0o...

There was a flash of bright white light so intense that Blair saw it behind his closed eyes. It also woke him up. Blair was warm and comfortable and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to get out of the bed. The sheets felt so smooth and the blankets were soft and warm and light weight. Happiness welled up inside him and he indulged in a full body stretch.

"C'mon Chief. Wake up already. Let me see those beautiful eyes."

Shock rocked through him like lightening and his eyes flew open. Staring in disbelief, he greedily drank in the beautiful sight of a smiling Jim Ellison sitting on the edge of the bed.

Jim's bright blue eyes were sparkling as Blair slowly reached out to trace the smooth wrinkle free skin. Then he slid his hand back and ran it through thick soft short brown hair. Jim looked *exactly* as he did when they had first met. Blair was stunned, overwhelmed, amazed.

"Y... you... you have hair..."

Jim laughed. That warm, sweet, deep chuckle that Blair loved so much. Oh, how he had missed that wonderful laugh.

"Yeah well," Jim quickly glanced up towards his own hairline, "Welcome to Heaven Blair."

"Heaven?" he recognized the breathy whisper as his own.

"Yeah, Chief. Heaven."

With a gentle smile, Jim reached out and pulled him into a tight hug. Those strong muscled arms went around him and he buried his face into the crook of Jim's neck. Tears of happiness and joy streamed down his face. He was in Jim's arms again. He was finally home. He was in Heaven.


The end.

Lovingly dedicated to all the poor misguided souls who are spending thier Halloween running the abomination known as Hell House....