Title: Interruptus

Author/pseudonym: Kelly

Fandom: The Sentinel

Pairing: Jim Ellison/Blair Sandburg

Rating: NC-17

Status: New but posted in parts in deference to length

Archive: Yes, please

Series/Sequel: No

Other websites: Mine; Sentinel Case Files

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me. They belong to Pet Fly Studios. I am making no money from this; I am doing it for sheer love of the characters and my own personal fulfillment.

Summary: As Jim and Blair try to cultivate a new life together, they are interrupted by circumstances and a kidnapping.

Warnings: AU (may or may not follow the show's timeline), first time, violence.

Interruptus
By Kelly

*A Sentinel does not fall in love with his Guide,* Jim Ellison chided himself as he climbed out of the shower. *It screws up the working relationship.* Jim picked up his robe and belted it on the way out of the bathroom. He was so lost in thought, he almost ran into Sandburg.

"Watch it, Jim," the Guide said, startled, as Jim sidestepped to let him pass.

"Sorry, Chief," Jim said, as Blair shut the door and turned on the shower. He put his hand on the door, listening to Blair humming one of those annoying concertos. He pushed off towards his bedroom, thinking to himself. *Keep it in your shorts, Ellison.*

Jim entered the bedroom, dropping his terrycloth robe on the floor as he closed his eyes. Though he wouldn't have admitted it to Blair, he'd taken the Guide's advice--not to start meditating--but centering himself. As a result, Jim most times slept through the night with few interruptions.

* * *

Blair turned off the shower and breathed deeply. The scent of Jim's aftershave still lingered over the steam and the scent of Blair's own natural soap. He resisted the urge to paw through Jim's cabinets to find out what the scent was. *Down, boy,* Sandburg warned himself *Guides are SUPPOSED to care about their Sentinels! That doesn't mean the Sentinel is going to turn around and dick his Guide!* Blair looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. *In your dreams, Sandburg.*

Blair poked his head around the corner, hoping to see the other man leaning against the wall, and again chided himself. But as he looked around, he realized that there was no noise in the loft. He paused, and as soon as the faint echo of his footsteps disappeared, an unnatural silence filled the apartment. "Jim?" he called out softly, but with no answer. Now Sandburg was worried. He knew Jim would have heard--especially with his Sentinel sense of hearing--and would have answered, if he wasn't zoned out, hurt, missing, or dead.

Blair stuck his head back into the bathroom long enough to pull on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. Barefoot, Blair padded into the hallway, and looked up to Jim's bedroom. There was a dark lump near the top of the stairs, and that's all he could see for the shadows. He knew it wasn't Jim by the shape and size of it, but to Sandburg's paranoia, it was sign of a struggle.

He tiptoed into the hallway and looked in. "Oh… holy shit." Blair saw Jim Ellison, sitting on his bed, naked as the day he was born, with his legs folded and his eyes closed. Blair stood there gawking, and then stepped out of the room. But as he did, one of the boards under his feet squeaked.

Jim moved in a flash, rolling off the bed to the floor on the side facing the stairs, and pushed the figure down. "Whoa!" yelled Sandburg as he reeled back, falling down and scrabbling for a grip on the stairs.

* * *

Jim was quietly centering himself when he heard one of the boards squeak under someone's treads. Without thinking, he reacted, his reflexes carrying him over to the stairs and shoving the intruder. It sent the person sprawling down the stairs, and when he heard the yelled "Whoa!" he instantly realized who it was. "Sandburg!" He cursed himself for not realizing he no longer lived alone, and the second thought was if he'd hurt Blair in any way, he'd never be able to live with himself. "Blair!"

Jim grabbed his silk robe as he sprinted down the stairs, and he found Blair sitting up at the bottom, cradling his head in his lap. "Remind me not to sneak up on you again," he said quietly.

"Blair! Christ, Blair, I'm sorry, I didn't think it was you; I'm so used to being alone and I just reacted… are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm all right." Blair shook his head slowly. "Next time I'll knock first."

"What in the name of God brought you to my room in the first place?" Secretly Jim was thrilled that Blair was all right; a bump to the head they could both live through. "You sure you're all right?"

Blair rolled his eyes. "Yes, Blessed Protector, I'm fine. A nice thump to my hard little head, but otherwise, I'm fine. And when I got out of the shower, I called for you and I didn't hear anything.
I thought something might have happened to you, like you zoned out or something, and then I started looking for you when you didn't answer me."

"Blair, I'm in our own home! What could happen to me?" Jim grinned as Blair called him Blessed Protector.

"Well, when you didn't answer me, the first thing that I thought of is that you were hurt… that you'd hit that incredibly thick skull of yours on something, or that someone had hit you and kidnapped you, and then that maybe that hadn't happened and instead you zoned out on me, and you KNOW how you get when you zone out! Finally I thought that you might have had a heart attack or a stroke or something and keeled over dead!"

It was Jim's turn to roll his eyes. "Don't worry, Chief… don't panic. I'm okay, you're okay, it's all good."

Blair laughed to hear Jim saying it's all good. "Jim… it doesn't work for you, the whole cool bit… it's just… Not-Jim."

"All I care about, Blair, is that you're all right." *Oops.* He hadn't mean to say that, especially not to Blair.

"Don't worry, Jim… I'm okay." He reached out and Jim gave him a hand up holding on perhaps a few seconds too long, but Blair didn't say anything except, "I need a little ice." Jim sat Blair down at the dining table, and handed him a towel. Blair looked at it a second. "Ice?" he asked, hopefully.

"Smartass," Jim retorted, opening the freezer and pulling out a blue tray of cubes. "Self service." Blair winced at the noise as he started popping out the cold cubes, and Jim straddled a chair across from him. "Need some help with that?" Blair passed the tray over to Jim, who popped them out and handed them to Blair, who wrapped them in the towel. "So how are you feeling, Chief?"

Blair put the towel of ice against his head and then thought for a minute. "I've been better, but I'll live." He squinted his eyes, and regarded Jim sitting across the table from him. "What's really up, Jim? Why all the concern about me?"

Jim seemed surprised and caught off guard by that question. "What do you mean? I'm always worried about you, especially when I've just sent you sprawling down the stairs!"

"Yeah, right! I haven't seen you this worried since Lash almost killed me!" Blair leaned forward and put his hand on the table, beside Jim's. "What's up?"

Jim got up from the table and got two beers, one for himself and one for Blair. He put the beer beside Blair's elbow, and then sat back down across from him. Blair's hand had not moved. "All right, Guide... I need guidance."

Instantly, Blair sat up, the pain in his head forgotten in his concern. "What kind of Guidance, Jim? What's wrong, is one of your senses troubling you?"

Jim took a long swig of beer from the bottle. "I wish it were something that simple, Chief."

"Well, if it's not your senses, what is it?"

*Oh, what a loaded question you just asked me, Sandburg... look at me again with those big doe eyes and you just might get your answer!* Jim thought to himself. "I've got a problem I need your help with, Blair. It's got nothing to do with my senses, or with my being a Sentinel. It's something a bit more personal than that."

Blair swallowed hard. *Damn damn damn!* "How personal, Jim?"

Jim swallowed hard himself, not noticing Blair had just done the same. "Well... there's this person that I care a lot about, and first of all, I am not sure this person feels the same way about me,
and I am not even sure I should be feeling this way for this person because we've already got a great working relationship that I need to keep, and yet what I'm feeling is going to overwhelm me one of these days, and I can't drive this person out of my life!" Jim stopped when he noticed Blair's hand shaking terribly, spilling the beer over the side of the bottle. "Blair?" He put out his hand to touch Blair's shoulder, and felt him flinch. "Blair... what's wrong?"

As Jim started talking, Blair's hand had started to shake, and the shaking got more pronounced the more Jim talked about this person he cared so much about. *Calm down, Blair... you know he may not be talking about you... hell, he didn't even say if this mystery person was male or female! Do not get your hopes up!* Blair's thoughts spun wildly. "Jim... who?" Jim closed his eyes as he drained his beer bottle. He paused in answering, and was surprised to hear Blair's voice bark out again. "Who!!??" Jim was so startled, he dropped the bottle. It shattered on the floor. "Jim... no more fucking around... who is it?" Blair's face was tightly drawn, and Ellison was quickly losing his nerve.

*You're in too deep now, buddy,* Jim told himself. *You have to tell him something.* He swept the glass shards that had fallen onto the table into the floor, buying himself a few seconds to get his thoughts in order. "Jesus, Blair... couldn't you figure it out? Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Yes, Jim, you do have to spell it out for me. I may be going for a doctorate but there are still some things I prefer to have clear as a bell!" *Especially when my heart is on the line with you, Jim!*

Ellison reached out to Blair again, but this time the Guide did not flinch. "All right, Blair, you want it spelled out, here we go. But don't you dare stop me until I'm done." This time it was Blair who got the beers.

Jim accepted the beer that Sandburg pressed into his hand, and took a deep pull of it. "Blair, I need you as my Guide. There is no getting around that. But more importantly, I want you to be a part of my life. You don't know what it means to me to have someone who knows what I'm going through. But even over and above that, I want you around. I want this loft to be your home too, Blair... I want your home to be with me."

Blair was fighting to stay calm, and he almost lost. Almost. "All this about asking me to move in with you?" Blair's voice was strained. "That's not like you, Jim."

"No, Blair, what's not like me is to fall in love with my Guide, when I don't even want to admit needing one in the first place."

Blair was stunned.

"What, nothing to say? Why do you think I was being so subtle, Blair?" Jim sighed. "Please don't leave me, Blair. I know that I had no right to say anything that I said, but the thought of losing
you--" Jim's sentence was cut off by a strangled cry from Blair just before he leaned forward and kissed Jim soundly. Not a gentle see you soon kiss, but a deep kiss, one that told Jim not only did he not lose Blair, but that the Guide felt the same as Jim did. Blair's tongue slid over Jim's, teaching him how to kiss another man. Jim broke away from Blair, and put his hand on his Guide's face. "Blair… I love you," Jim said softly.

Blair moved to sit in Jim's lap, and the Sentinel opened his arms. "I thought you were talking about someone else," Blair confessed softly. "How could I not fall in love with you, Jim?"

"When I thought that I hurt you, I couldn't stand the thought of living with myself."

Blair gave Jim a sassy grin. 'If I am going to live with you here, then we are going to have to make a change in your behavior patterns. The next time I come into your bedroom, you kiss me and make love to me, not clobber me with the door." He slipped his arms around Jim's neck. "Come on, Blessed Protector, set your mind at ease. You're not going to lose me, and now you're not going to be able to get rid of me." Jim's grin was huge. "Now… since we've both already had our showers and made our confessions, I'd say it's time for bed."

Jim put his hands on Blair's shoulders. "I've never--"

Blair gave Jim another of his beautiful smiles. "Neither have I, but don't worry. We've got the necessary brainpower to figure it out… later. Right now I just want to lay down with the ice on my head and breathe your aftershave and feel my Blessed Protector protecting me." Jim's response was to desperately cling to Blair. "Hey, Jim… you okay?"

"What if I disappoint you, Blair? Fail to live up to you? You mean everything to me, Blair… I can't let you down."

Blair looked up at Jim. "Jim Ellison, you will never disappoint me. Anger me? Yeah. Piss me off? More than likely. Frustrate me with your color-coded Tupperware? Yep. Irritate me by picking up behind me and messing with my stuff? Of course. But will you disappoint me? Never." Blair leaned forward and kissed Jim again. "And will I stop loving you? No. Jim, you're not going to scare me away! I know who and what you are, and I accept it. And I will always be your Guide." He took Jim's hand in his. "Come on. Take me to bed, Jim."

Jim sat up and wrapped his arms around Blair's waist. Blair grabbed the towel of melting ice, and Jim carried the Guide up the stairs. He stepped over the crumpled robe in the stairway, and looked
down. "I won't be needing that thing much, but we have to keep the blinds drawn… no one else is going to get to see what belongs to me." Blair boldly reached down and felt Jim's full ass under the thin silk robe. The terrycloth one remained on the floor. "I'm never going to be able to not touch you at work," Jim finished ruefully.

Blair grinned wickedly. "So you'll have to live with it; just think about all that pent up frustration you'll have at the end of the day, not being able to do this," he said, picking up Jim's hand and
running it over his curly hair. "Or this," he said, sliding the hand lower to glide over his chest. "Or this," Blair said, stealing another kiss. Jim's hand slid down and gripped Sandburg's waist as he dumped him on the bed.

"Sorry about the bed, Blair, but I wasn't expecting company." Jim wedged himself in between Blair and the wall. Then the Guide rolled over, laying his frame on top of Jim's. "Comfortable?" he asked dryly.

"Oh, yeah," Blair said, snuggling into the Sentinel. "Now go to sleep. I'll talk to Simon in the morning and call us both in sick. Then we can go hunt for a bigger bed and get some food because Jim… three week old pizza just doesn't cut it."

"Neither does tofu and bean sprouts," countered Jim as he ran his fingers through Blair's hair. "Just go to sleep, Blair. You need the rest, especially after your fall." He didn't mention that he was half-afraid that this was Blair's head injury speaking, not the Guide's true feelings. "Blair… if I wake up in the morning, and you're gone, and I dreamed all of this… just kiss me and say you love me now, so I can remember it."

Blair turned onto his stomach, and was face to face with Jim. "James Ellison… I love you," Blair said quietly, kissing Jim softly and sweetly. He lay his head on Jim's shoulder, and soon both men fell asleep.

***

In the morning, Jim woke to an empty bed. He rolled over and lifted his hand, shading his eyes as he looked around. The blinds were closed, the lights off. He put his feet on the floor, and still no
sign of Blair. Jim sighed; he should have known it was too good not to be a dream. He got out of bed and walked downstairs, and he heard music playing on his stereo. The Bradenburg Concertos. Hope soared in his heart again. The smell of cooking food brought him the rest of the way into the kitchen, and Blair was moving around, cooking in one of Ellison's shirts and nothing else. He turned around and blushed when he saw Jim watching him. "Morning, Jim."

The broken bottle from last night had been cleaned up, and Jim stared openly at Blair's shapely ass as it peeked out from under his shirt. "Blair… did last night really happen?"

Blair used the spatula in his hand to indicate his wardrobe. "You think I'd dress like this for just anyone?" Then he blushed again. "Yeah… it really happened… you didn't change your mind, did
you?" Blair's face telegraphed his panic.

Jim covered the kitchen in two strides and took the initiative this time, kissing Blair and lifting him by the bottom to fit against his body. "No. I thought that you might have when I woke up alone."

Blair blushed at Jim's open adoration. "No, I just woke up early and started breakfast. Then I called Simon and told him that we'd both had the same bad take-out and were under the weather. So we have the whole day to ourselves." Blair's hands started to wander, and Jim caught them.

"All right… breakfast and then grocery shopping and then bed shopping."

Blair shook his head. "Nope, bed shopping first, so it'll be delivered by tonight."

"Don't you like sleeping on me?" Jim asked plaintively.

Blair smiled mischievously. "Believe me, Jim… we need a bigger bed."

Jim shivered as Blair promised things with his eyes. "You win, Chief… a new bed."

"You won't regret it."

* * * * *

At the fifth furniture store they went to, Blair finally found the bed that he liked. Jim paid for it, and Blair arranged for it to be delivered that evening. As they walked out of the store, Blair was
bouncing and Jim was smiling. "You're gonna love the benefits of a big bed, Jim."

Jim looked over at Blair. "And exactly what are those benefits?"

Blair grinned at Jim. "You'll find out tonight."

At the grocery store, Blair footed the bill. But Jim absolutely drew the line at tongue. "I don't care if it is your favorite, I don't care if you've got Naomi's favorite recipe for it, I am not having tongue in my freezer!"

"But Jim, it's sooo good! And I can even cook it well done for you, with all the herbs and spices--you'll never know what it is! Besides, I thought you liked it, you ate Naomi's!"

"Forget it, Chief, no tongue! Nothing that the animal has already used; no tongue, no eyes, no brains, no intestines, no hooves. Just plain old beef and pork and chicken. Besides, I ate Naomi's because it didn't smell like tongue. N-O, Chief."

"Spoil sport." While Blair was shopping, Jim made a couple of quick phone calls from the booth outside the store, and met Blair pushing the buggy on the way out to the truck. "Where'd you disappear to?"

"I called the office to check my messages; I didn't have any but you had one from Naomi. She says she's back in Big Sur if you need to get in touch with her." Jim turned and gave Blair again. "Does she have timing or what?"

Blair rolled his eyes. "Let's not talk about my mom right now; last time she came to visit you couldn't keep your eyes off her!"

Jim smiled. "Yeah, but that was before I loved her son," he said quietly.

Blair blushed as Jim loaded the groceries into the back of the truck. Jim snuck a look at his watch and knew that the call he'd made would take just a few minutes longer to get into motion. "So,
Chief, we got a new bed, and we bought groceries, what's next on you… what the hell is this?" The last bag that Jim had loaded into the truck bed had spilled. Condoms, several tubes of lubrication, two cans of aerosol whipped cream, and a bottle of chocolate syrup. He turned around to find Blair a bright red.

"They were a surprise," Blair said. "Get in the truck and I'll explain."

Jim gave Blair a sidelong glance as he got into the truck. "Blair… I'm not that dense, I know what all those things are used for, and I can even see them in relation to one another when I see your hand in it! I just didn't realize you were that kinky."

Blair was still flushing. "I am not kinky… just creative."

Jim laughed, and he pulled Blair close. It felt so good to be able to touch him. He could feel the heat from Blair's face. "All right, all right… I'll stop giving you such a hard time. But I'm not
wearing the chocolate. Not unless you ask me very nicely."

Blair smirked. "The chocolate is for my milk; the whip cream is for you." Oh, he wouldn't bother asking Jim; he'd just squirt the big man down and let him fume.

Jim choked on that one, and Blair pounded the big man on the back. He choked the whole way back to the loft. On his way there, his eyes caught sight of a white van pulling away from the complex and up to the stoplight as he pulled in. He parked and handed Blair his keys. "Go unlock the door, Chief, I'll bring in the bags." He busied himself with the bags until he heard the click of the key in the lock, and then he heard Blair's voice.

"Oh my God! Jim! !" The Guide turned and pelted down the stairs. "Jim, someone's been in the loft! They left a whole bunch of stuff!"

Jim looked up at Blair. "I should hope it's more than just stuff, Chief. I hope it's a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, a table with a rose on it, and two nice, hot plates of spaghetti parmigiana from Murray's," Jim said, carrying the bags up the steps, Blair bouncing behind him.

"You mean you knew about it?" demanded Blair.

"I set it up."

Blair was stunned. "You… set it up? Candles and white linen and china and everything? The whole thing?"

Jim nodded. "Welcome home, Blair."

After dinner, Jim and Blair were sitting on the couch, sipping the last of the champagne. Blair lifted his glass in a toast. "To Jim, who sets up the most romantic and yet most unnecessary seduction scenes." Blair took a drink from his flute and watched Jim's reaction over the rim.

Jim snorted the expensive champagne, causing Blair to laugh hysterically. "Only you, Chief… only you could possibly wedge an insult into your compliments."

"Me, insulting? I prefer to think of it as appreciating your refreshingly gentlemanly courtship rituals. Just to save you money down the road, I hate roses--they make me sneeze--and chocolate gives me cavities." He ran his fingertips over Jim's forearm to let the Sentinel know he was only teasing.

"Do I look like the flowers and chocolate type to you?" Jim demanded.

Blair looked him up and down. "Well, you didn't strike me as the romantic dinner and champagne type either."

Jim rolled his eyes. "And what exactly did I look like to you?"

Blair snuggled against Jim as he pondered. "Well, you always kind of struck me as the take no prisoners kind of guy… hold me down and kiss me until I beg for mercy kind of thing."

Jim thrilled inwardly when Blair mentioned that, but he shifted on the couch. "You know…"

Blair nodded. "I know, and it doesn't mean anything because I haven't either--and we've been through this. But we're both smart guys, we should be able to figure something out." Just then there was a knock on the loft door, and Blair answered it. "All right, it's the bed!" Blair jumped over the back of the couch to sit with Jim, out of the way of the furniture movers that brought the bed in. Blair deliberately tried to stay out of the notice of one of them, and Jim didn't notice as Blair cuddled tightly to him. Jim didn't see the glances that the two movers traded, or the limp-wristed gesture, but Blair did. He saw it, and turned so that Jim wouldn't realize he'd been upset, because then Jim would have been furious. He leaned back against Jim, thinking. He'd gotten that look and that gesture before, but most times he'd been able to shake it off. Now, though, when it degraded the special relationship that he and Jim were just cultivating, it wounded him.

Jim realized something was wrong with Blair when he rubbed his fingertips against Blair's cheek, and his Guide didn't move. "Hey… Chief… what's on your mind?" Jim asked softly, tugging one of Blair's corkscrew curls.

Blair jumped, shaken out of thought. "Huh? Oh, um… ask me later, when we're laying together in that big bed upstairs," Blair said quietly, waiting for the movers to leave.

Jim didn't like the look on Blair's face; something had upset his Guide and as his Blessed Protector, it was Jim's responsibility to find out what it was and to take care of it. It was a responsibility that Jim found he very much wanted. "Blair… if something is wrong--if I've done something--"

"No, Jim! You didn't do anything… you've been perfect." He leaned forward, and slipped his hand around the back of Jim's head, pulling him forward into a kiss. He didn't stop as he had last night; Blair needed to know that Jim wanted him, still needed him, and didn't find him or their relationship dirty, as those movers had.

Jim leaned forward as Blair pulled him, and he kissed Blair back; this was familiar territory for him, and he was a good kisser. He kissed Blair softly at first, getting more aggressive as Blair did,
his tongue licking at Blair's and Jim found himself in serious danger of zoning out on the taste of his Guide. He put both his hands on Blair's shoulders, and the other man surprised him by moving even closer to him on the couch, and Blair's tongue licked back at Jim's.

One of the movers elbowed the other, and cleared his throat over the kissing couple. " 'scuse me, but we need to know if you're keeping the bed or sending it back with us?"

Jim cleared his throat, trying to catch his breath as he held onto Blair, who was unusually quiet against him. "Um, we're storing it for now, down in the basement against the far wall." Jim got up from the couch at the man's blank look. "I'll show you where; bring the pieces." One of the movers went with Jim, carrying the broken down bedstead, and the other stayed with Blair.

"Long time no see, bitch," the mover said softly, once Jim was out of the room.

Blair didn't--couldn't--look up to face him. "Carlo, what are you doing here?"

"Now, is that any way to greet your ex?"

Downstairs, Jim's hearing picked up the conversation as soon as Blair started speaking, but he said nothing as he helped the other guy settle the bed against the wall.

"You're not my ex, Carlo; you wanted to fuck me, I turned you down, and you took that as a sign to use me as your personal punching bag."

Jim bristled in the basement and started up the stairs, shoving the other guy out of his way and listening as he got closer.

"Yeah, and now you've decided that you're going to bend over and put out for this stuffy-ass cop friend of yours instead of me?" Carlo moved forward to touch Blair's soft hair, and the Guide jerked away.

"Keep your hands off me!" Blair was panicking.

Jim started taking the last few steps two at a time when he heard the panic in Blair's voice. He burst through the door with a loud slam, and jumped the couch as soon as he was in range. "You want to take your hands off my buddy there?" Jim asked softly as he reeled Carlo in by his greasy hair. "Touch him again and I'll break your fingers." Jim bent Carlo's index finger almost to breaking to make his point. "Get the hell out of here before I arrest you for harassment and attempted rape." He used the bent finger to shove Carlo towards the door and with the other hand he pulled Blair beside him. "Are you okay, did he hurt you?"

Blair shook his head. "No, I'm fine, I just need a shower." He twisted away from Jim and bolted back up the stairs to the shower, and Jim grabbed Carlo by the scruff of the neck.

"You even look at Blair again, and I promise you, you'll regret it. Now get out of here, and don't come back." Jim watched them leave, and double locked the door, slipping the chain in place and then bolting the deadbolt. He started walking up the stairs to the bathroom, and he knocked on the door. "Blair, it's Jim… can I come in?" He listened over the rushing water for an answer.

Blair's voice was almost too soft, even for Jim's heightened hearing. "Are you sure you want to?"

"Blair, if you don't let me in, I am going to break down my own bathroom door to come in there and make sure you are all right." Blair didn't say anything, and Jim pounded on the door again. "Blair… Blair! Let me in!" When there was no answer, Jim kicked the door, and in three kicks, it gave. Jim found Blair sitting on the floor of the shower stall, the hot water pouring down on him. "Blair, talk to me." It disturbed Jim that the Guide was still fully clothed, and he pulled off his own sweater and boots as he started to do the same for Blair. "You want to tell me what this is all about, Chief?"

Blair shrugged as he pulled away from Jim. "Why are you trying, Jim? You heard what he said; I lied to you."

Jim grabbed Blair again and kept pulling the wet clothes off. "Yeah, I heard what he said. And I heard you say he beat you because you wouldn't have sex with him. You told me you never had before. You didn't lie to me, Blair, and even if you had, I could forgive you for it. I could forgive you for anything." He turned the shower off, and held Blair close to him. "I'm sorry he hurt you, Blair, and I'm even sorrier that I didn't hurt him just now when I had the chance."

Blair looked up into Jim's serious face. "You really mean that, don't you, Jim? You really are my Blessed Protector." He lifted his hands to cup Jim's face.

Jim lifted his hands to cover Blair's, holding them in place. "Blair, of course I mean it! You're my Guide, but more than that you're my friend and I hope soon my lover! You're damn straight I mean it!"

Blair started crying. Jim picked him up and wrapped him in a big towel, and carried him to their new bed. He got into the bed beside Blair, and held him tightly. He didn't try to talk, just held Blair until the crying started to taper off. "I'm sorry, Jim… this was supposed to be a special night."

Jim hugged Blair. "Any night that we're together is a special night, Chief." He stroked Blair's hair, running his fingers through it and petting him. "It's okay… sleep and as long as we're together, it's going to be special."

"Jim… you don't think I'm anything to be ashamed of, do you?"

"I never have. As long as you're not ashamed of having an old man instead of a young stud like yourself."

Blair laughed. "I love you, Jim Ellison."

Jim leaned down and kissed the top of Blair's head as he lay it on Jim's shoulder. "And I love you, Blair Sandburg."

* * * *

Jim definitely did not want to get up when the alarm went off. Part of the reason why was that Blair was draped over him, one leg thrown over Jim's and his arms around Jim's waist as his head rested on Jim's shoulder. As he looked down at Blair, he realized that last night he'd not done his centering exercises and yet he'd slept soundly through the night. The reason for that lay warm in his arms. He tapped Sandburg on the shoulder, and when that didn't work, Jim kissed his cheek. "Sleeping Beauty, wake up." Blair stretched against him, and Jim felt a tremor in his loins but quelled it for now. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty… it's time for us to wake up, we do have jobs to go to."

Blair rolled over and put his arm over his eyes. "Aw.. man, do we gotta?"

Jim rolled out of bed and waited for Blair. "Yes, we have to, especially since we called in sick yesterday."

"Yeah, but it was worth it, and we haven't even gotten the good part yet," Blair said with a wolfish grin.

Jim gave him a grin in return. "Speak for yourself, Chief. I have what I want… you."

Blair flushed, feeling intently the open admiration of the other man. "Jim… you are a good man," he said, rolling out of bed to join Jim by the door. "Shower?"

"Yeah--separate, or else we won't get to work on time and you know it." He shooed Blair to the shower. "You first. I'll make coffee and you can make breakfast."

"Okay Jim… but after dinner, we shower together."

Jim replied with a grin, and he watched Blair as he left the bedroom and then picked up the phone. When the other end picked up… "Yeah, I need to place a couple of orders, please."

* * * * *

By the time Blair got out of the shower, Jim had made a pot of coffee and was half-dressed in the bedroom. A steaming cup was sitting on the dresser for Blair. "Drink up, Chief, and get dressed--it's later than I thought and we're going to have to grab breakfast on the run."

"But Jim you hate that!" Blair was concerned. "You hate missing breakfast!"

Jim leaned over and kissed him. "Yeah, well, I hate being late more. Now let's get a move on, Chief!"

Blair darted out of the room to grab his clothes, and brought them back to Jim's bedroom, where the other man was now dressed and was finishing his coffee. "Hey Jim… do I get closet and dresser space too?" A pair of socks to the chest was Jim's answer as Blair grinned. He pulled on the khakis and white golf shirt he'd brought with him, and caught the flannel shirt that Jim threw at him. Then Jim passed him the coffee cup from the dresser.

"You coming to the office with me or am I dropping you off at the university?" Jim sipped his coffee while he waited impatiently.

Blair paused in mid-gulp to think. "Um… I think I'm going to the office with you, because I've got all my classes covered for the next week, all my projects are caught up, and I don't have any
appointments until Friday."

Jim smiled. "Maybe I can get Simon to set up another desk facing mine and get you some real workspace for a change."

"You know Simon will never go for that!" Blair followed Jim out as they started out of the loft to the truck. "He's not exactly thrilled with me around there all the time as it is! He's okay with the Sentinel stuff, but I tell you, Jim, he'd be thrilled if I just disappeared!"

"Blair, I think you've got Simon all wrong. He's passionate about being a cop and he doesn't understand exactly what good you do for me. He's just not sure, Blair, and he gets jumpy when he thinks you're in the way. But he knows you're a good guy, and Blair, I couldn't do it without you."

"Maybe so. Where are we going for breakfast?" he asked, changing the subject. He definitely did not want to talk about Simon. He'd rather listen to Jim talk. About anything.

"How about that new Danish bakery? We can get Danish and coffee and buy some for breakfast to keep at home."

Blair rolled his eyes. "You and your Danishes. Okay, but just this once!"

"Thanks," Jim said, leaning over to plant a kiss on Blair's cheek as he turned into the bakery. "I want cinnamon and chocolate."

"They do have a drive through," Blair said pointedly. "Right around on the other side of the store."

"I didn't know that," Jim said defensively, pulling the truck into the drive through. He ordered enough Danish for his and Blair's breakfast, and then several boxes to keep at home and one at Jim's desk.

Before they pulled out of the bakery parking lot, Blair's university beeper went off, and he checked the number. "Jim, let me see your phone, this is the student teacher who's watching my office."

Jim passed the phone over to Blair, and parked the truck. "Here you go, Chief, let me know if I need to swing you by the office." Blair took the phone as Jim handed it to him. "It's the first speed dial on the list," Jim added helpfully. Blair dialed his office, and Jim listened to both halves of the conversation.

"Dr. Sandburg?" A quiet female voice was on the other end of the phone.

"Well, not yet but I'm working on it; what is it, Cecelia?"

"Well, there's a delivery here for you and I'm not sure I should sign for it or not. I mean, what if your girlfriend finds out another woman signed for it?"

Blair paused. "I don't have a girlfriend, Cecelia; what are you talking about?"

Jim heard the long pause on the other end of the phone. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Sandburg, I thought--is it your birthday? There's a huge bouquet of flowers here, I think they're a mix of carnations and
orchids, they're beautiful and I thought your girlfriend sent them to you or something."

Blair covered the mouthpiece of the phone as he started to laugh. "It's okay, Cecelia, just sign for them and leave them on my desk, I'll get them in the morning."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you then, Mr. Sandburg."

Blair pinned Jim with a look as he finished his phone call. "No, it's okay. If you need me again, just page me." And then he turned to Jim. "And you! Not a word from you!" Blair doubled over in laughter at Jim's exaggerated innocent look.

Jim smiled as he floored the gas pedal. "We're going to have to speed if we want to make it to work on time," Jim said, trying to hide his smirk. "Well, you said roses make you sneeze."

"They do, I wasn't kidding about that. But Jim--you didn't have to send me flowers."

"That office of yours can use some brightening up," Jim said. "Besides, I know I didn't have to. I wanted to."

"You are something else, Jim Ellison." Blair was silent the rest of the way to the station.

* * * * *

"SANDBURG!"

Blair cringed as he and Jim got off the elevator and entered the Major Crimes division. "Is it too late for you to drop me off at the university? I really hate it when he bellows my name like that."

Simon Banks came striding down the hall to meet Blair. "I don't know what poor woman you've got on the string now but the next time you tell them to send you crap at your office, not here!"

Jim flashed a look at Blair and then at Simon. "Um… Captain… what are you talking about?"

Simon pointed to Jim's desk, and the corner of it that belonged to Blair. "That's what I'm talking about!" Jim and Blair both followed Simon's pointing arm, and on the corner was a large vase full of flowers with a satin ribbon around the vase. "How many times have I told you that this station is not your personal harem?" Simon turned and went back into his office with a slam of his door, and Blair sat down in Jim's chair while Jim perched on the side of the desk.

"So who are they from, Chief?"

Blair leaned forward and took the card off the little plastic stake in the middle of the flowers. "To Blair, my Guide in everything, love, your Blessed Protector."

"Wonder who that would be?" Jim asked softly.

Blair tucked the card into the breast pocket of his golf shirt, touching it briefly as he did. "Jim… have you ever heard the words, don't ask and don't tell?"

The smile quickly fell from Jim's face as he looked at Blair as though he'd turned into a snake. "Yeah, and I don't like them coming from you because it implies there's something wrong with us and something we have to hide."

"Jim--"

"Now's not the time for this," Jim said, getting off the corner of the desk, suddenly angry with Blair. "I'll talk to you later."

"Jim, wait!" Blair got up and called out after him. But Jim didn't stop.

* * * * *

Jim stopped by the captain's office. "Hey, Simon. I'm going out for a while; there are a couple of active cases I'm working on that I need to check out."

"Take Sandburg with you."

"I can't, sir, he's waiting on a phone call for me. As soon as it comes in, he's going to relay it to me, but I need to be on the road so I can roll as soon as I get it. Blair's the only one I trust to
take the call."

"All right, but if he causes any more trouble while he's here, it's on you."

"I'll take the responsibility, sir."

"All right, just make sure we can get in touch with you if we need you."

"I've got my phone, Captain." Jim left the office, and then the division as he headed towards the elevator. Blair called out his name again, and Jim ignored it as he got on the elevator.

Blair watched as Jim walked out of the division. He looked at the set of Jim's shoulders, and knew the man was furious. Blair didn't know where the words came from, and he couldn't understand why he'd said them. He just knew that when he'd said then, he'd hurt Jim. The one thing he'd never wanted to do, he'd done. He felt in his pocket for the card, and he read it again. *To Blair, my Guide in everything. Some Guide you are, Sandburg.* Before Blair could recriminate himself further, Jim's desk phone rang. "Major Crimes, Ellison's desk."

"Blair… I hope to God that's you… you better be the one answering my phone…"

"Jim?" Blair tried to interrupt, a bad feeling in his heart, but Jim kept talking.

"Blair, if that's you, get Simon. Bring him with you, bring somebody, I don't know who but I need you. Something's gone wrong, Chief… I'm deaf… if I ever needed a Guide it's now."

"Hang on, Jim… just hang on, we're on the way." Blair slammed the phone down and pounded on Simon's door. "Captain! Captain, come on… something's happened to Jim."

Banks looked up. "What? Where is he?"

"Shit!" Blair rarely cursed; that he did now was a testament to how upset he was. "He didn't say!"

The phone on Ellison's desk was ringing again, and when Blair answered it, it was Jim again. "Chief, that's got to be you. You can't hang up on me again, Blair, please.. I need you to stay with
me. You'll see my truck, Chief… call my phone, it's on vibrate. If that's you, Chief… call me. I stopped the truck in the parking lot of the bakery we stopped at this morning. I'd kill to hear your
voice right now, Blair." Then the line went dead.

Blair didn't look over at Simon until the captain gently pried the receiver out of Blair's white knuckled hand. "I know where he is, and bring your phone."

"Blair, what is going on?"

Blair shifted and looked at the elevator, almost dancing with impatience. "Jim's lost his hearing; he's parked at a bakery about ten minutes away. His phone is on vibrate; he wanted me to call him and let him know we got the message."

"Come on." Simon threw Blair his phone as he led the way through the parking garage to the closest squad car. Blair grabbed a notebook off Simon's dashboard and crammed it in his pocket. "Sandburg; where is this bakery?"

Blair was busy dialing Jim's number; he knew it by heart. "It's the Danish place, over on Harrison… we stopped there this morning."

"Hold on," Simon said. He floored the pedal of the squad car, and turned the sirens on. Blair braced himself on the dashboard with one hand while he held the phone with the other. "Come on Jim, answer," Simon said softly while watching Blair dial the number.

"He won't answer; he can't hear it ring and he can't hear me. He's just got it on vibrate so we can let him know we're coming." He pointed. "Look, there's Jim's truck." Then he saw a person stagger out into the road. "Simon!"

* * * * *

Jim hadn't gotten far from the station when his hearing turned off. He slammed on his brakes, almost getting rear-ended in traffic. He had been thinking so hard on what Blair had said to him that he hadn't first noticed that he couldn't hear the songs playing on the radio. When he did notice, he pulled into the parking lot, and fumbled for his phone. As soon as he realized he couldn't even hear the tones of the phone dialing, his hands started trembling as he dialed his desk. *Blair, please be there.* As soon as the display told him someone had picked up the other end, he started talking. He hung up for the second time, and cradled the phone, staring at it in his cupped hands, willing it to vibrate. As soon as it did, he almost dropped it. He caught it before it fell to the ground, and he held it close. *Thank you, Blair.* He got to his feet, and he made his way around the truck, heading out to the highway.

* * * * *

Blair dropped Simon's cell phone and braced himself against the dashboard of the car as Jim stepped out in front of them. Simon sent the car into a sideways spin, clearing out both bear lanes of traffic as he stopped the car. Blair spilled out of the passenger side and went to Jim, dragging him back to the side of the truck. Simon went with him, but Blair shooed him away. "Captain, I need to work with Him alone; just make sure his desk is covered."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Simon looked over at Blair; he sounded unconvinced.

"Look, Captain, I've been working with Jim ever since we found out about his hyper-vigilance, and I think I know what I'm doing here!" He hadn't meant to sound testy, and Simon took the hint.

"All right, but if something goes wrong or you need help, don't hesitate to call me personally."

Blair nodded as he turned from Simon to face Jim, who was holding onto him. Blair wrapped his arms around Jim, helping him to sit by the side of the truck. Jim patted Blair's chest, and at first he didn't know what Jim was asking, but then he realized and pulled the card out, showing it to Jim who smiled and reached for him. Blair pulled out the notebook and scribbled. *I wouldn't have left without it.*

"I'm glad," Jim said, and he was still off balance because he knew what he was saying and yet he couldn't hear it. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stormed out without you."

Blair took the notebook back and scribbled again. *I'm sorry too, Jim. I shouldn't have said that and I'm not sure why I did. I'm not ashamed of you, Jim, I just thought you might like it better if no one else know… I know how cruel people can be once you're labeled a homosexual. I don't mind it; I get it anyway but I thought for you, it might be better if you didn't have to put up with it.* That was very difficult for Blair to put down.

Jim read it, and then thought for a long while before speaking. "Blair… you should know by now that it doesn't matter to me what label gets put on me. I'm already a freak because of my senses; what does one more difference make? And if someone wants to condemn me for loving you, then I can't imagine a better road to Hell than with you. No, I'm not going to take out a billboard, but I'll be damned if I treat you--or us--like it's something I'm ashamed of. Because it's not. And if I ever start acting like it is, then that's degrading to you." Jim was forcing himself to whisper, and he hoped the Guide heard every word.

Blair did, and he scribbled in the notebook one more time. *I love you, Jim. I'm sorry.* Jim read the final note, and then pulled off both notes and folded them carefully, putting them in his wallet. "One for me now," he said, reaching out to pat the shirt pocket where Blair's card rested. Blair smiled, and then took the notebook back.

*What happened?*

Jim shrugged. "I'm not sure; I left the station so angry at you that I couldn't think straight, I was almost obsessing on it as I was driving. Then I just… I suddenly realized that I couldn't hear the
radio or the car or anything; then I looked for a safe place to stop. Once I was stopped, I knew I wouldn't be able to hear you but I had to call you, had to have you find me."

*We'll find a way to get your hearing back.*

Jim nodded. "Yes… together."

*Together. And that is a promise.* Blair tucked that note into Jim's pocket also, and then pulled the keys out. He tapped Jim on the shoulder for attention. "Home… I'll drive." He helped a wobbly Jim into the passenger side, and then got in on the driver's side. As he cranked the truck, he felt Jim's hand reaching out for his, and he squeezed it. "Don't worry, Jim… I'll take care of you this time."

He almost eased his foot up off the brake but Jim stopped him by turning Blair's face towards his. "You are not the Protector, Blair. I am."

Blair reached for the notebook but realized Jim had just read his lips. "That's where you're wrong, Blessed Protector. The Guide protects his Sentinel by giving him Guidance and helping him in his
time of need. And you know you need me, Jim; that's why you called me. You need me because I love you, and you know we'll find the solution together. We can't do it alone, Jim, but together we can. Let me protect you, Jim. Please."

Jim leaned back and closed his eyes as he lifted Blair's hand to kiss it. "All right, Chief, but just this once."

Blair eased the big truck out into traffic, and he picked up Jim's phone to call Simon, who had just made it back into his office. "Hey, captain. Yeah, I got him calmed down and we're on our way home. I'm going to work with him tonight and I'll let you know where we stand in the morning."

"Good luck, Sandburg. If you need me, give me a call."

"Actually, Captain, there is something that you can do. Those flowers this morning were from Jim--can you have someone bring them down to the steps? I'll swing by there long enough to pick them up. And before you ask, Yes, Captain, I think they will help."

Simon paused on the other end of the line. "I'll bring them down myself and hope to God you know what you're doing."

*You and me both, Captain,* Blair thought to himself. Aloud, he said, "Don't worry, Captain, Jim's in good hands." He hung up the phone and passed it over to Jim, who slipped it into his jacket pocket. At the next stoplight, he turned to face Jim. "We're going to pick up something from the station before we go home."

Jim started to protest, and then nodded. "You're the boss, Chief." He pulled out the note that Blair had written earlier and looked at it. *I love you, Jim.* "Chief… what's wrong with me?"

"I don't know, Jim, but we'll find out together." The light turned green, and Blair flew through it. He almost thought about switching on the lights and sirens, but decided against it. *Misuse of police authority.* And then another thought. *This is Jim, dammit.* With that thought, it was simple enough for Blair to decide to put up Jim's light and flick on the truck's siren. As soon as he did that, cars started to clear out of the way for the truck, and Blair started weaving in and out around them. In no time, he was outside the Cascade station. He left the lights on, but turned off the siren. Simon was just coming out the door as Blair turned it off, and he handed the flowers to Blair.

"You know that's a misuse of Jim's authority," he said quietly to the Guide.

Blair turned and took a quick look at Jim and then turned back to Simon. "You tell me that's not an officer in distress, Captain," Blair said, just as quietly. He handed the flowers to Jim, who had
opened the door to accept them. Blair shut it again for him, and turned back to Simon. "You going to tell me not to do it again?"

Simon looked from Blair to Jim and then back again. "You just get that officer out of distress as soon as you can."

Blair nodded and got back in the truck, pulling back into traffic. Jim was watching his Guide through the flowers. *I've got to be able to hear again,* Jim thought to himself. *I can't not hear his voice, and I can't be that kind of a burden on him, not when he's got so much planned in his life.* He breathed in the flowers' delicate fragrances, and sighed.

As soon as Blair pulled into traffic, he flipped on the light and the sirens again, heading back towards the loft. Blair turned, and Jim was watching him intently. "Don't worry, buddy, we're almost home."

* * * * *

Jim looked towards the loft, and frowned. Looking closer, he found a broken-down brown van sitting in the parking lot… a van that shouldn't have been there. "Blair, stop. Don't go into the parking lot; something's up. There's a van there that shouldn't be there." Jim reached into the back waistband of his slacks, and pulled his gun out of the holster. "Stay here, I'm going to check it out."

Blair got out of the car the same time Jim did, sprinting around to grab Jim's arm. "Jim, you can't go into anything with one of your senses down! I'm not letting you go!"

"Blair, there's no time." Jim shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to Blair. "Take my phone, call for a squad car, and--" Jim paused, sniffing the air. "No. Forget about the car. Blair, get back in the truck and drive back to the station." He took his jacket back and put it back on. He sniffed again. "I know that smell-- Aga Veris cologne."

Blair stiffened. "Aga… Veris… that's what Carlo used to wear." He looked at Jim again. "No way I am going to let you go into this alone, Jim!"

Jim gritted his teeth. "I don't want to give him the chance to get his hands on you, Blair… why else would he be here? Remember what you said he did to you before, do you really want to go through that again?"

Blair definitely did not. He almost balked, but his alliance to Jim was greater than his fear of Carlo. "I don't care, Jim… I can take care of myself, I just don't want you to get hurt."

Jim crushed Blair against him. "You stay close to me, Chief, like a second skin. And if I tell you to take the gun and run, then that is what I want you to do, got it?" Jim pulled back to read Blair's reply.

"Loud and clear, Jim. I'll stay behind you, and listen; if I hear something coming from either side, I'll tap you on that side. If it comes from above, I'll tap you higher up." Blair plastered himself
against Jim's back as the man started moving forward to investigate.

Jim held his gun at the ready, and looked around, searching. He felt Blair tap him gently on the left side, and he looked to the left to find one man sitting on the roof of the van with a hunting rifle and scope. Jim picked him off with one shot. There was a flurry of activity behind him, and Jim felt Blair being yanked away as he turned.. He turned around to meet the butt of a rifle with his head, and then he felt a second, harder blow. Then he fell, his head colliding once more but this time with the pavement. He felt his own blood flowing from lacerations on his face and head. "Blair!"

Before he blacked out, he saw Blair calling out for him, and he could barely make out his name on Blair's lips. His eyes were blurring, and he passed out, clutching at a piece of fluttering cardboard.

* * * * *

As soon as Jim mentioned Aga Veris, Blair knew that seeing Carlo had not been a coincidence. Somehow the man had seen him and Jim together at the store and put it together. He'd only confirmed it when he made the delivery to the loft. But he knew he had to go, knew he had to protect Jim and keep Carlo from killing him. He stayed close to Jim until he caught a motion on the Sentinel's left side, and tapped. He saw Jim pick off the guy on the van roof, but the one that dropped from the tree surprised Blair before he could react. "Jim!" He scrabbled against his chest, and threw the card from the flowers at the fallen Sentinel as they hauled him off.

* * * * *

Jim woke up with a throbbing pain in his head. Beside his hand was the card from Blair's flowers. He slipped it into his wallet as he looked at the crushed remains of his cell phone on the pavement. He pulled out the keys, and stumbled up the stairs to the loft, and called Simon from the apartment. "Simon, it's Jim. I still can't hear you but they've got Blair. I'm at the loft; get over here with help as soon as you can." He pressed his hand to his head and it came back bloody. "And a medic."

Jim was waiting in the parking lot when Simon got there, paper in hand detailing what went on. Jim had written a note at the bottom of it; if you talk slowly and face me I can read your lips.

Simon finished reading and turned to face Jim. "So you know who clubbed you and took Blair?"

Jim nodded as the medic finished bandaging the cuts on his head. "I do, and I know where he worked, as of yesterday. I don't know if he still works there or not. He's got very distinctive cologne combined with the fact he stinks like he hasn't bathed in a week. Get me close enough and I'll smell him out, Simon. And I'll tear him apart before he hurts Blair again."

Simon looked up speculatively. "I think you better give me the details, Jim… ALL the details."

"Blair and I are living together, Simon. Take that however you want to and you won't be wrong."

Simon massaged the bridge of his nose under his glasses. So many things made sense now. "So that would explain the flowers." At Jim's confirming nod, Simon sighed heavily. "I don't suppose telling you that you're too closely and heavily involved would do any good?"

"Not a chance, Simon. Blair's my partner, and it's my duty to protect him."

* * * * *

Carlo met Blair in the back of the van. "Welcome back, little bitch," Carlo said quietly. "I am going to take what you owe me, Blair, and your big friend isn't going to be able to stop me. We left him deaf and unconscious, lying in a puddle of his own blood." Carlo watched as Blair lost color in his face.

Blair started to struggle against the bonds holding him. "Let me go! Let me go back to Jim! You can have anything you want, just let me make sure he's all right!"

"Forget it, bitch," snarled Carlo, backhanding Blair. "You just need to worry about making me happy. When I'm done with you, I might let you go back to your cop. Or then again, maybe he won't want you when I'm finished with you; who would want damaged goods?" He turned to yell into the front seat. "Juan, roll down the window, hah? It's hot in here!"

* * * * *

In the middle of the ride back to the station, Jim's nostrils flared, and his head shot up. "Simon, stop! I smell that cologne!"

"Which way, Jim?"

"Down Third… I'll tell you more when we get there… just go. We've got to find Blair."

* * * * *

The van pulled over in front of an abandoned apartment complex. Carlo and the one he called Juan carried Blair up the stairs to the fourth floor. "Remember this place, Blair? Nothing's changed, I left it just the way we had it."

Blair closed his eyes. After Carlo had hit him, he'd sat quietly in the back of the van, trying to come to terms with the fact that Jim wasn't going to be able to rescue him this time. Having been brought back to his old apartment, more hope fled. *Jim… I will never stop loving you,* Blair thought, trying to comfort himself. He felt himself dropped onto a soft surface, and he looked around. He was lying on the couch. He opened his eyes, seeing the same furnishings, the same pictures hanging on the wall as they were when he'd left. "Take him into the bedroom," Carlo instructed as he sat down on the couch, popping the top on a Corona.

Blair bounced on the bed as he was thrown onto it, and the man untied Blair's hands. He didn't bother looking to the window for exit; the fire escape had been broken when he'd used to live there; there was no reason for it to have been repaired in the meantime. He wished for a moment he had the card, but he knew that Carlo would have destroyed it as soon as he'd gotten his hands on it. He almost jumped out of his skin when his pager went off. Carlo burst into the room but not before he could check the number; Jim's number, with a 911 behind it. He almost could have wept. He fought Carlo to keep the pager, but Carlo beat him until he gave it up. His captor took
the pager, and crushed it under his boot. Blair, meanwhile, curled on the bed around his wounds. A split lip, a black eye, bruised ribs, and his left ear all throbbed together with his heartbeat.

* * * * *

"Jim, what are you doing?" Simon reached out to stop Ellison from peeling out of the car as soon as they found the brown van.

"Look, Simon, my nose can only lead me so far! I've got to know if Blair's in there or not, and if he is I've got to find a way in there. And I can't do that without my ears! I've got to make them
work, Simon, there's too much at stake here." He sat down on the pavement beside the unmarked car, leaning back against it. "You'll have to watch me, and if I am out too long or too deeply, you'll have to wake me up." He closed his eyes, and focused in on his hearing.

For the first while, he heard nothing but silence. Then, a slight buzzing. He latched onto the buzzing, and focused harder on hearing it, to the exclusion of everything else. His breathing slowed slightly, and then after a while the buzzing turned into a voice; Simon's. Simon was talking into the radio, asking for a medic to be on standby. But he heard! He let Simon's voice fade into the background, and he stood up, his eyes still closed. He heard another, more faint buzzing, and he started moving towards it.

Simon dropped the radio and sprinted to stop traffic as Jim wandered out into the middle of it. He didn't dare to call out to him, and thanked God that here was only one car on the road. Jim sat on the steps of the abandoned complex, and the buzzing got louder as he focused on it.

A man's voice; "Still too good for me, bitch?" Then the sound of a leather strap hitting someone's skin, and then "Stop! Please!"

That was Blair! Jim heard something inside his head snap, and he stumbled as his hearing returned in a rush, almost too much for the Sentinel. It would be so easy to just zone out and let his hearing sort itself out, but he heard Blair crying out again, and he forced himself to work through it. He motioned to Simon for a gun, and the captain brought him the riot rifle from the car, as well as the shells in the lock box. He loaded his pockets and the rifle, and then kicked down the door. There was Juan on the inside, and Jim blew him away even as Juan raised his machine gun.

Upstairs, Carlo heard the gunshot the same time Blair did, and Blair screamed out. "Jim!!!!" Carlo used the belt to strap Blair across the face with, and the buckle cut his cheek, silencing him for the moment.

As soon as Jim heard Blair's scream, he zeroed in on it instantly; he knew where it was coming from. He reloaded the riot gun and charged up the four flights of stairs. He smelled Carlo's cologne and body odor on the second landing, and on the third landing he could smell blood. He barely cleared the fourth landing and into the hallway before he heard the shots of his own stolen gun peppering the doorway. As soon as Carlo stopped to reload, Jim burst through the doorway and into the hallway. He rolled Carlo into the apartment and pinned him, pounding him over and over with the butt of the rifle, furious. He threw the gun aside and started using his fists, a
primitive rage coming over him as he pounded the smaller criminal, until Blair inserted himself between Jim and Carlo.

"Jim! Get a hold of yourself, you can't kill him!" Blair wrapped his arms around Jim, wincing, trying to stop the Sentinel's fists from flailing the downed man more, and found himself locked in Jim's arms. "Jim!"

"Blair, you're hurt!" He went to the window and bellowed down. "Simon! Blair's been hurt, I need an ambulance and right now!" He looked at the bruise forming on Blair's face, the others already formed on his face, arms, and chest. "You should have let me kill him," Jim said softly. "He deserved it and I promised him."

"No, Jim, you can't! Sentinels don't kill for vengeance, they kill to protect!"

"I am protecting, Blair. I'm protecting my Guide."

Blair got up and moved away from the window, sitting on the couch with his back to Jim. "It doesn't work that way, Jim." He was turning around to face Jim and repeat himself when Jim answered.

"Yes, it does work that way. I'm your Blessed Protector, Blair, you told me that yourself." He walked over to Blair and pulled out his wallet, and handed him the card.

Blair accepted the card, and the delayed double take was priceless to Jim's eyes. "You… you…. I thought… Jim!!"

Jim laughed and put his finger over Blair's lips. "I'll tell you on the way to the hospital, Chief; the ambulance is almost here, I can hear it."

Blair's eyes lit up and then faded. "If you could do it on your own, then that means you don't need me."

"Back up there, Chief, and hold that thought. I couldn't do it without you. I had to find you, Blair, Simon was ready to call that ambulance for me."

The realization hit Blair about the same time the medics hit the stairs. "You mean you went into a deliberate zone out?" thundered Blair. "Without your Guide?"

Jim held his hands up defensively. "It was the only way you find you, Chief."

"We'll be discussing that later, Jim," Blair said with a disapproving look.

* * * * *

"Blair, they're just keeping you here overnight, to make sure that you're all right!" A thoroughly chastened Jim sat back in the chair beside Blair's hospital bed. The Guide had chewed him out royally for the stupid chances that he'd taken. Jim himself still sported bandages on his head from where Carlo had dropped him with the rifle butt earlier, and two of his fingers were taped together from the fight.

"Look, I am fine, I am ready to go home!"

"The doctor just wants to make sure those ribs don't give you any trouble."

"You could tell them any changes in my breathing before they could anyway!"

"So, do you want to be the one to explain to the doctor, or should I?" Jim asked, with his eyebrow quirked up.

Blair sat back in the bed, defeated. He was so used to Jim's special abilities that he often forgot that others didn't know. "All right, all right, I will be a good little patient and stay here, but you are taking me home first thing in the morning!"

"You bet I am, Chief. Now, get some sleep. Hey, did I mention that Simon pulled some strings and got me named your police guard? That means you're stuck with me, Blair. All night long."

"Oh, I could think of worse things." Blair turned onto his side, and indicated the empty space in the bed. "So come on and guard me, Officer Ellison." As soon as Jim got in bed with Blair, the Guide curled around Ellison and slept.

* * * * *

The next morning, Jim woke before Blair did, and he got to the chair beside the bed in just enough time to meet the doctor coming in. The doctor cleared his throat softly. "Detective, we usually prefer for our patients to sleep alone."

"Doctor, do you usually prefer for your patients to be woken in the middle of the night with loud piercing screams?"

The doctor took off his glasses and polished them with his coat before continuing. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"I mean that this young man tends to have horrible nightmares. I have been a friend of his for quite some time now, and I know that when he gets upset or traumatized, he tends to have dreams reliving the experience. To keep your patient's rest undisturbed, I slept with my friend here to make sure that he didn't have any bad dreams, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd exercise some of that understanding that doctors are supposed to have for their patients," Jim said softly.

The doctor cleared his throat again. "Well, under the circumstances, and considering that he was just under observation and not under any kind of treatment, then I don't know what the problem would be," the doctor said with a smile. "In fact, Mr. Sandburg is due to be released as soon as he wakes up."

"Why can't we get the paperwork take care of so I can take Blair home as soon as he is awake? Yes, I will sign for him, and he will accept that; if you will look in his records, you'll find I'm listed as his responsible party."

The doctor obviously did not like being out-thought as Jim was out-thinking him. "Yes. Well. I will go and check our records, just to make sure everything is in order, you understand, and then I shall be back shortly with the discharge papers." There really wasn't anything else he could do.

As the doctor shut the door, Jim turned back to look at Blair. "You can take your head out from under the pillow now, he's gone."

Blair laughed. "It's a pleasure watching you work, Jim." He swung his feet to the floor, and walked over to the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower."

Jim's arm blocked the way. "Forget it, Chief. That shower is waiting until we get home, and I can give it to you."

Blair smiled. "All right. You ditch the doctor, I'll change, and we can go home." Blair disappeared into the bathroom. Simon had gone by the loft earlier and dropped off clean clothes for both Jim and Blair, and when Blair emerged, he was wearing Jim's shirt over his own jeans. "Couldn't help myself." Jim just left his shirt on and switched from the dirty work khakis to jeans, and washed off his face as the doctor came back into the room.

"Well, everything seems to be in order, if you'll just sign here please." Jim scrawled his signature where the doctor indicated, and when he was done, the doctor wheeled a wheelchair in. "It's hospital regulation, if you'll bring your car around to the front, we can release Mr. Sandburg to you."

Blair settled himself in the wheelchair, and Jim put all Blair's clothes and things in the small duffel bag their clean clothes had been in this morning, and slung it over his shoulder. "Hang tight, Chief, I'll bring the truck around." He leaned over and gave Blair a quick hug as he went out.

As soon as Jim left the room, the doctor turned to Blair. "I ran the tests that you asked for, on both you and your friend. You both have clean bills of health," he said, and then passed a prescription to Blair. "If your friend was telling the truth about the nightmares, here is a fairly strong sleeping pill that should take care of it."

Blair smiled as he declined the prescription. "A slight exaggeration… I don't have nightmares quite that often and they're not that bad. But thank you for the tests."

The doctor smiled in return. "I wish more people were as careful of each other as you and your friend are. I'm afraid I made rather a bad impression on him."

Blair smiled as Jim pulled the truck up front to the ramp and waved. "He's just overprotective of me."

"That's because he cares so much, if I'm not overstepping my bounds here, Mr. Sandburg. It's not an easy road you've chosen."

Blair watched Jim get out of the car. "No, but I think we can make it together."

The doctor shook Blair's hand. "Good luck," he said, as Jim came around to get Blair into the truck. He got Blair settled, and turned around. The doctor passed him a sheaf of papers. "Detective, you and your friend both checked out fine." Then he smiled. "Though I think you and Mr. Sandburg should compare notes. You see… you both requested the same battery of tests."

Jim started laughing, and he was still laughing as he got into the truck. He looked over at Blair as he put the truck into gear. "So we ordered the same tests, huh?"

Blair flushed and so did Jim as both broke into laughter. "Hey, I always told you, great minds think alike."

"You're something else, Chief." Jim simply enjoyed the sound of Blair laughing, and then frowned as he felt Blair tense against him as they approached the loft and saw all the cars parked there. "Relax, Chief… Simon told the guys that you were getting to come home today, and they're here to welcome you home," Jim said quietly. "Just act surprised, and we'll get 'em out."

* * * * *

Simon turned out to be the greatest help in getting everyone out of the loft. And once everyone was gone, he sat in the chair across from the two men on the couch. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what's going on behind the scenes with you two, and it's damn well taken you long enough to figure it out and do something about it." He went to where his coat was lying over the bar. "I didn't tell anyone else because I figured it was your business to handle and that's fine… but I just wanted to give you guys a personal housewarming present." He pulled out a bottle of champagne, and handed it to Blair. "Congratulations, Jim. You better take care of Sandburg here because you'll have the bullpen up your ass if you don't, not to mention dealing with me if you mess up."

"Yes sir… you won't have to worry about that."

"I hope not," Simon said, picking up his coat. "I know you two need to be alone. I'll see you at work tomorrow afternoon."

"Sir?" This time it was Blair who questioned.

"You heard me. Take the morning off but I expect to see you both there first thing that afternoon."

Jim got up and walked Simon to the door. "Simon--"

The captain held up his hand. "Look, Jim, I don't understand it. I don't even try to. I just know it makes you and Sandburg both happy, and happy cops are good cops. Now, I'll see you both tomorrow afternoon." Jim locked the door behind Simon, and turned back to Blair.

"Ready for that shower, Blair?"

Blair grinned. "I'll race you up the stairs."

"No you won't, Chief. You'll go up there and get started, and then I'll be up to join you as soon as I pull a few things together."

"What are you pulling together?" asked Blair as he headed up the stairs. "I want to know what to expect."

"Expect a surprise."

Blair giggled as he went up the stairs. "Hurry up, Jim!" he shouted down, once he got to the top.

Once Jim heard the shower running, he started pulling things together. He got the cans of whip cream that Blair had bought, and he found a pint of strawberries back in the fruit crisper. He also
found the ice bucket from the previous night's dinner, and iced down the bottle of champagne that Simon had brought them, as he found up two glasses to drink from. He took all those things upstairs to the bedroom, and he turned off the lights and lit the set of meditation candles that Blair had brought with him. He flipped through several CDs before finding one that he liked and he popped it into the player. Then he stripped off his clothes, and looked at himself in the mirror. *What does he see in you?*

Naked, Jim padded down the hallway to the bathroom, where the door stood open in invitation. He stepped in, and Blair stuck his head around the shower curtain. "It's about time."

Jim pushed back the shower curtain, and for the first time, he took a good look at Blair Sandburg. Blair was getting a little jumpy as Jim stared at him, but then took the time to check out Jim, just as Jim was checking him out.

Blair was not that much smaller than Jim, though the Guide's habit of wearing baggy clothes sometimes made it seem that way. Instead, Blair was solidly built, lean and toned and muscular, slick from the shower. "Blair… you are beautiful."

"So are you, Jim." Blair reached out to Jim, and Jim came to him. They kissed, and Jim felt like he was on fire, because Blair was so hot in his arms that the water should have been turning to steam. He touched Blair, and his hands slid over him from the cushion of water from the shower. Over his shoulders, down his strong arms to feel each finger. Down his side, over his buttocks and down his legs, then up his thighs and back over his stomach. Blair moved against Jim, pulling the taller man into the spray with him, and Jim shivered. Blair's skin was so hot and the water felt so cold. Blair felt hot… so hot, silky, smooth and firm… Jim reeled as he mentally pulled himself away from the feel of Blair's skin before he lost himself in it. He broke the kiss, and let his mouth slide down the Guide's throat, then back up to his lips.

Blair dragged his nails up Jim's back as they kissed, and Jim moaned softly, arching his back and rubbing his chest against Blair. Blair did the same thing again, and Jim reacted the same way. His shaft was hard and throbbing, weeping for a touch, and he felt Blair's pressing against him. He felt Blair's hand sliding lower, and he caught at it desperately, before it went too low. "Blair, no…"

"I have to," Blair whispered back. "I have to." Jim let his hand go, and Blair reached down and wrapped his fingers around the thickness of Jim's shaft. The older man bit his lip as he felt Blair
touching him. "Jim…" Blair whispered throatily.

Jim's hand was trembling as he reached for Blair's shaft. His hand wrapped around it, stroking it softly and rubbing his fingers over the head. Jim's entire body bucked when Blair's hand began to echo his Jim's motions. Jim slid his free hand around to cup one of Blair's firm cheeks and half lifted him, enough to bring them to a more similar height. "Jesus, Blair, if you don't stop, I'm going to blow everything."

Jim picked Blair up and carried him out of the shower, physically restraining the Guide's hands as they moved over his body. He barely made it into the bedroom, dropping Blair onto the bed and dropping beside him. "Jim please… I need you," Blair whispered, and Jim kissed him hard. Finally Blair pushed Jim back to where the larger man was sitting on his heels, and reached for one of the tubes of lubricant, which Jim passed to him with a shaking hand. "I sort of know how this works," Blair whispered. "Just never done it before… never wanted to, until you." He flushed as he made that confession. His fingers moved gracefully, covering Jim's erection thoroughly until it glistened. Jim was trembling, his body shaking with the strain of not cumming yet. "Jim… you have to do the rest," Blair panted, and Jim took the lead.

"Let me know if I hurt you," Jim said softly. He traced his hands over Blair's hips, thighs, and parted his legs. Blair raised himself up, and Jim's fingers found their destination. He worked one finger in, and gritted his teeth against the tightness. "No way, Blair… it's not going to fit…. "

Blair sat up and grabbed Jim by the shoulders. "Jim, trust me on this. It will fit, it will work, and I know you want it as much as I do… please do not stop now," he begged, wrapping his legs around
Jim's waist and pulling him down.

Jim closed his eyes and gritted his teeth again as he reached down to guide himself into Blair. As he pressed against the tight opening, he felt the muscles there give as the head of his erection slipped inside Blair. "I can't!" he cried out, as he felt the tightness of Blair's muscles pull him the rest of the way inside.

Blair cried out and locked his legs around Jim even tighter as Jim started to move inside him. The Sentinel was reverting to primitive instinct as he made love to Blair. Faster and faster he thrust,
happily accommodating the demands of his new lover for harder, deeper, and faster. He refused to let himself be lost in the sensations, because they were so entrancing he knew he would never
return. Instead, he held tightly to Blair's body, anchoring himself, pounding Blair body with grunts and moans as the Guide called out his name. He felt nails sinking into his back, and with a guttural scream, Jim's body bowed and snapped, driving himself to the hilt inside Blair and filling his lover's body with his orgasm.

As Blair felt Jim's shaft twisting and pumping inside him, he took Jim's hand and wrapped it around his own. Jim's constant stroking and the gentle pressure of his grip caused Blair to shudder, cumming explosively.

Jim shuddered as he felt the warm stream of Blair's orgasm on his hand and stomach. He rolled over, pulling Blair to rest on top of him, their bodies still joined together. The cans of whip cream had fallen to the floor, the CD long ago ended, the candles burnt down to nubs, and the ice in the champagne bucket turned to water. Blair stretched against Jim, and the big man wrapped his arms tightly around Blair. "I think this officially makes us a couple," Blair said, nipping Jim's shoulder lightly.

Jim smiled lazily as he toyed with Blair's hair. "No, this officially makes us lovers. We were a couple before this, and we'll be a couple even when we don't make love."

Blair stretched again. "I hear that," he said softly. "Jim… I told you that you were going to love the benefits of a big bed."

The End