Stakeout
Series: A Prequel to Kindred Spirits
Pairings: J/B/S
Warnings: there are spankings in this one also
"ELLISON! IN MY OFFICE, NOW!" Simon sat on the corner of the desk and
waited for Jim to enter. "SANDBURG!" he bellowed as an afterthought. If he
was going to send out his best man, he might as well send out his best team.
"Shut the door."
Blair scooted in behind Jim and shut the door while Jim perched on the table
across from Simon's desk. "What is it, Simon?"
"Jim, you remember that guy, Jack Bender? The crook that got off with time
served?"
"Oh, yeah yeah, man, Jim, you remember, the one who almost shot you for
trying to stop the robbery?"
"Yeah, I remember, thanks for the reminder, Chief," Jim said sarcastically.
"What about him?"
Simon tossed down a court order in front of Jim. "We just got an order to
set up surveillance on his house. Seems as though he's under suspicion of
hiring an assassin to assassinate some of his competition. The higher ups
want to know and know immediately who his target or targets are."
Blair nodded. "And you want Mr. Radar Ears here to go and sit outside his
house and listen in, right?" Simon sighed. "Something like that, yeah." He
passed Jim a sheaf of papers. "Here you go, I got all your warrants,
authorizations, and equipment okayed through the department. It should be
waiting for you downstairs, all youhave to do is pack it up in the truck."
"Very good, sir."
"Jim, one more thing," he said, halting the Sentinel's attempt to leave.
"Sir?"
"Surveillance is only for his house. Catch you doing it anywhere else, I'll
bust your ass."
Jim swallowed hard. "Yes, sir."
Blair followed Jim out after grinning at Simon. "C'mon, Jim, it won't be
that bad, I know a good way to keep warm."
"Don't even think it, Chief, we both got to be ready and not distracted," Jim
admonished as he stopped by the dispatch office and picked up the crate with
his name on it. Blair opened the door for him. "Get my keys out."
"Love to, man," Blair said, his nimble fingers dancing in Jim's pocket as he
pulled out the keys. Jim growled lightly as the fingers strayed a little too
deep into his pocket. "Blair," he gritted out warningly.
"That's my name, don't wear it out," Blair said, unlocking the doors and
getting in the passenger side as Jim loaded the crate itno the bed of the
truck.
"Keep your hands to yourself," is all Jim said as he got into the truck.
"Make yourself useful; call for Bender's position.
Blair lifted the radio from it's setting, and quickly spoke to Bender's tail.
"He's sitting and drinking at a strip bar down the road," Blair said
quietly, looking over at Jim.
Jim shot a sidelong glance at Blair. "Nothing you haven't seen before,
right, Chief?"
Blair flushed slightly as Jim teased him. "No fair, man."
"Life's not fair," Jim countered. "It's not fair that you get in all the
jokes either, it's about time I got in a shot or two," he finished as he
pulled the truck into the strip club. "When we get inside, order two beers
and a club soda; I'll be the designated driver while you drink."
"No way I'm getting smashed while you're working!"
"I figure by the time you finish that second beer, I'll have what I need,"
Jim explained. "That's why you're ordering two."
Blair nodded. When Jim explained it, it always made so much more sense than
when he tried to figure it out. "Sounds good to me, man... you buying?"
Jim snorted as he passed a twenty over to Blair. "Here. You make up the
difference, though two beers, a soda and a tip shouldn't cost twenty bucks.
No money in the G-strings, Chief."
"ah, man!" Blair grinned as he followed Jim into the bar. It was about an
hour later, and Blair was feeling the pleasant buzz of two bottles of beer.
He got up to wander towards the bathroom, but dropped immediately back into
the chair. "Oh shit Jim."
"What, Chief?" Jim asked, listening to Blair with only half an ear.
"Simon just walked in," Blair whispered.
Jim spun around so fast his chair rocked, but Simon was already at the table.
"Gentlemen!" he said, with a great deal of false cheerfulness. "Buy me a
drink." It wasn't a request.
Blair waved the girl over and ordered Simon a beer. She quickly brought the
bottle over, and Simon raised it in a silent toast to both his younger lovers
as he drank. "So, Jim, the guys tailing Bender said you called them for
location and then showed up here, care to explain that?"
Jim swallowed hard. "Um. We wanted to get a head start on that list?"
"James... did I or did I not tell you that I would bust your ass for
surveillance outside of Benders house?"
"You did, sir."
Simon flipped his glance to Blair. "And you, didn't you hear me say that?"
"Yes, sir," the Guide responded, trading glances with Jim.
"Just checking," Simon said quietly, finishing his beer. "Meet me back at
home in half an hour. If you're late, you get busted for every ten minutes
you're late."
"Yes sir," they chorused, almost knocking over their chairs in the race to
get out to the truck.
Simon laughed softly. They would be home before he was, especially the way
Jim drove. One of these days he'd have to get on the Sentinel about his
questionable driving skills.
Back in the truck, Jim was silently cursing. "Jim, you okay?" Blair asked,
putting his hand on Jim's shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, just didn't think I'd get told on by a fellow cop!" he
shouted, then sighed. "I shoulda dropped you off at Bender's and come alone.
Then you wouldn't be in this mess with me."
"Come on, man, no way I'd let you do this by yourself!" Blair answered.
"We're in it together, remember?"
"Yeah, together." The rest of the ride was spent in silence as they pulled
into the loft parking lot.
They pounded up the stairs together, and Jim unlocked the door and Blair
dropped onto the couch. "Ten minutes to spare. Now we wait on Simon."
"I hate waiting," Jim said, pacing back and forth. He paced all over the
living room, zig zagging between the coffee table, couch, and chair when they
heard Simon's key slip into the lock, and Blair got up to stand beside Jim.
Simon came in and lay his coat over the back of the couch, and sat down in
the chair. "James, Blair, take off the pants and the shorts," he said.
"James, you are first. Blair, you are to go upstairs and turn on the radio,
do NOT come down until I call for you." That was his standard instruction
for one while the other was punished.
Blair squeezed JIm's hand in his as he walked by and up the stairs. Simon
waited until the radio was on, and Jim focused in on Blair's heartbeat.
"James... here."
With a loud sigh, Jim draped himself over Simon's lap. "I warned you,
James." He reached into the cushions beside the chair, and pulled out the
leather covered paddle that was hidden there. "I won't ask you to count...
this time," Simon said sternly. It was more of a fight than he wanted to
admit.
Jim nodded and Simon brought the paddle down hard across his upturned
backside. He shook his stinging hand as he paddled Jim again and again. The
loud crack of leather covered wood against skin echoed in the acoustics of
the living room, and Simon cringed as the echoes entered his ears. Jim was
crying, whimpering as he wiggled slightly, not trying to escape but only to
relieve the stinging in his ass. When Simon reached fifteen, he stopped.
He dropped the paddle and wrapped his arms around Jim, managing to pull the
large man against him and soothing him. "Sssh," Simon said softly, rubbing
Jim's shoulders and back. "It's okay. I love you, Jim." He felt Jim's arms
come around his waist and smiled against his lover's neck. "Go get in the
tub, I'll send Blair up to you to soak with you when he's done."
Jim nodded and rubbed the back of his arm across his cheeks. As he did that,
Simon was reminded of the sad child Jim must have been, and he sighed.
"You'll be okay." Jim nodded again and hiccuped softly, then headed up the
stairs to the bathroom, running a tubful of cold water as Blair made his way
down the stairs. Simon watched the young man descend the stairs, and shook
his head. For all of Blair's delicate looks, he was strong and surprisingly
muscular. *Must be the baggy clothes,* he mused as Blair came to a stop
before him. "Get comfortable," Simon said, and Blair couldn't stop the
ironic smile that pushed up the corners of his mouth. "As comfortable as you
can," Simon amended as Blair braced himself across the older man's lap.
Simon leaned over and picked up the leather covered paddle, and then sighed.
The flat of the paddle was just about the size of Blair's firm bottom, and he
was torn. On the one hand, he didn't want to hurt Blair, but on the flip
side, he didn't want to be unfair to Jim. The desire tokeep Blair safe won
out, and Simon discarded the paddle in favor of a hairbrush left lying on the
coffee table.
Blair flinched when he felt the flat plastic of his hairbrush landing across
his ass. After five strokes, he was crying out, his face stiff with tears.
Five more was all that Simon could deliver, and he wrapped his arms around
Blair and maneuvered the smaller man into his arms. "It's okay, Blair. It's
over, sssh now," he soothed.
"I'm sorry, Simon, I love you, please don't be angry with me," Blair said in
a small voice. "We just wanted to do our job good for you."
Simon nodded. "I know. You do your job well all the time, you just have to
listen when I tell you something. You don't impress me when you don't
listen, you impress me when you DO listen."
"I'm sorry."
"I know. Go on upstairs, Jim is waiting for you. He'll take care of you."
Blair started up the stairs, and at the top of the stairs, he looked down to
see Simon sitting alone in the chair. "Come with us," Blair offered
impulsively. "There's enough room in the tub for all three of us, that's why
Jim bought it."
Simon almost declined, but then he paused. "That sounds great," he said,
pulling off his tie as he went up the stairs. "Sure I'm not intruding?"
"We're sure," came Jim's voice from down the hallway, accompained by
splashing as he shifted. "Come on and enjoy."
Simon grinned at the splashing. "Jim, sit," he scolded with a smile. He
heard the grumbling that accompanied another splash, but Jim settled back in
the tub. Simon sighed as he watched Blair move around the bedroom, stripping
off his shirt and tossing it in the corner, and then sitting on the bed,
looking up at Simon.
"You ready, man?" Blair asked, rolling onto his hip to take the weight off
his backside.
"I will be in a second," Simon said, stripping himself and when he was naked,
he held out his arm to Blair and herded the smaller man in front of him.
"Jim, scoot over, here we come."
There was a quiet curse and a loud splash and thump, but by the time they got
to the bathroom, the pleasant scent of sandalwood hung in the air and there
was plenty of room for Simon and Blair to join them. "It's cold," Jim
offered half apologetically.
Blair grinned. "Cold sounds so great," he said, lowering himself into the
water beside Jim. "Oh yeah, man, perfect!" He wiggled a bit to get situated
, and then looked up at Simon. "Well?"
Simon stood in the middle of the bathroom a moment, looking at the tub.
Blair and Jim were obviously maneuvering him into the middle, so they could
both relax against him. It didn't bother him; in fact he liked the feeling
of both men leaning against him; the trust and the caring from both washed
over him, and he took a deep breath. "Just how cold?"
"It feels good on my ass," Blair piped up. "Quit stalling, it only gets
colder the longer you wait."
Simon raised his eyebrow; Blair had a point. He put a foot in the tub and
hissed. "Jim, did you dump ice cubes in here or just melt a glacier?" The
black man gingerly lowered himself into the icy water and leaned back against
the side of the tub. Almost instantly, Jim leaned against his left side and
Blair against his right as they nudged Simon's arm around their shoulders.
"You know I love you guys, right?" he asked softly, his fingers playing with
the tips of Blair's hair and swirling lightly on Jim's shoulder.
"Yeah, we know," Jim said softly. "And we love you." He paused. "I love
you." He closed his eyes as he leaned against Simon, turning his dials up
just a bit to feel the warmth of his lover's fingertips.
Simon looked down at Jim's closed eyes and thoughtful expression. "What's on
your mind, Jim?"
"Just thinking."
Blair snickered, his eyes also closed. "Don't hurt yourself."
Jim reached out and splashed Blair with a large handful of cold water, which
resulted in Blair splashing back. "Hey hey hey," Simon said, before a
full-scale splash war could break out. "No splashing, children."
Blair giggled and Jim smiled. Simon closed his eyes and leaned his head back
as Jim and Blair snuggled against him.
Jim curled closer to Simon's solid bulk. It was comforting to have the
larger man close. It was not often that someone came along who was bigger
than Jim, especially not someone he loved, and the feeling of being cared for
and being taken care of was bliss to him. He loved Simon for giving him that
feeling, he loved Simon for accepting him, he loved Simon for loving him.
On the other side, Blair moved next to the warmth offered by Simon's body.
He always seemed to be cold, but when he was with Simon and Jim he never
noticed; they warmed not only his body with theirs but his heart and soul as
well. Simon loved him, cared for him, gave him a stability in his life that
he'd never had. Jim had taken a chance on him, staked his career on Blair
more times than not, and came through as the first and most true friend and
lover that Blair had ever had.
Not only that, but both of his big guys, as he liked to think of them,
actually cared enough about him to take care of him. They made rules for
him, rules that would keep him safe and happy and healthy; the first time
that anyone had done that in his life. Sure, he'd had the regular common
sense things, but never before had anyone sat down to say to him, *Blair, I
love you. I don't want to lose you. Here is the deal so I don't.*
Simon--and Jim--gave him that.
Unaware of the thoughts of his two young lovers, Simon was deep in thought
himself. After his divorce from Joan, he hadn't thought he'd be able to care
for anyone--or that anyone could care for him. When Jim had transferred in
from Vice, his marriage with Joan was just breaking up, and the smart-assed
ex-army cop was working on an attitude problem, but Simon couldn't help but
grow to like Ellison as he'd matured. By the time Blair had entered the
picture, Jim and Simon had been close friends for years. But with the advent
of Sentinel abilities and the super cop attitude combined with the reckless
anthropologist partner, it had been obvious someone needed to take the reins.
It had also been obvious that Jim and Blair belonged together, and it wasn't
until one night during dinner at the loft that Jim and Blair had approached
him.
How Jim had known that Simon loved him, Simon didn't know. Nor did he know
how Blair knew. He was just shocked--even more so when both had volunteered
their love for him. He hadn't been able to believe it at first, but they
didn't let up until he did. Finally, about three weeks after that dinner,
Simon let himself believe that he had found the relationship he needed. He
loved and was loved. But with this relationship, he realized that the chance
to take the reins was right in front of him.
With that thought, he opened his eyes and looked at Jim first and then Blair.
Neither man had fought him, as though both instinctively knew they needed
help and guidance. However, he also knew that Jim still had problems
sometimes accepting it. He tried to help, but Jim politely told him once
that it was something that Jim was going to have to do on his own. Simon had
firmly told him, no you're not. Whenever the situation arose with Jim, Simon
was careful to treat it with caution, respect, and firmness. And slowly Jim
seemed to be coming around. *I am so lucky to have you two, though you give
me gray hair and a receding hairline,* he thought fondly, rubbing Jim's own
receding hairline. *Maybe not this bad though,* he thought with a grin as he closed his eyes once more, and snuggled beside his boys.