By: Santana
All Standard disclaimers apply. I think we all know them by heart by now, now don't we. We know who they belong to. We know that we don't get paid for this, except for the wonderful letters of encouragement that we occasionally receive. (hint, hint) This is done for fun, and with total respect for the characters. Thanks to Monica for her input, and to Nancy for her patients. I know I make a lot of promises. Sometimes it just takes a little while to deliver on them. Love ya both.
I was at my mom and dad's house the other night. Monica and I were laying on her bed watching a Sentinel tape....one of many.....then she started playing with my hair. Well, I just couldn't fight it any longer. The idea came to my mind with full force after being pushed back for a month or so. She gave me some paper and a pen. I wrote, while she tortured me and my hair....ha ha. Enjoy! :o)
"Hush." Danielle scolded, while stuffing an M&M into his mouth to occupy him before starting on his hair again.
Blair tried to look back at her. "Can't you find someone else to torture?" His scalp wasn't use to this kind of treatment and it was becoming sore.
"Would you stop whining? Your hair is curly and the same length as mine. I have to find out if this style is going to work before Friday night." She replied, trying to find enough pens in her bag to hold up his thick wad of hair.
Blair sighed heavily as Danielle let his hair fall back around his face. "Finished?" He asked hopefully.
"No, I'm not finished." Danielle snapped. "Look, you agreed to this. A favor for a favor, remember?"
"But you've been doing this for a hour." Blair began to whine again, twisting slightly trying to loosen the hold Danielle had on him.
"A favor has no time limits. Now hush." Danielle said around a mouthful of hair pens. Glancing at the clock on the VCR, she rolled her eyes. "It has only been thirty five minutes Blair." She picked up the remote and turned the television on to distract the antsy anthropologist.
Blair became still as an old episode of In Search Of... came on. Then with hands in motion and bouncing with each word, "Oh, this is a good one. I remember watching this when I was a kid. It's about the pyramids of Egypt. Stuff like this is what got me into anthropology."
Danielle couldn't help but grin. She thought that he was just *too cute* when he got excited about stuff. Even though she was only a few years older than him, he reminded her of the kids in her class. Full of energy, excited about anything new and always, always very animated. "Blair, can you talk without bobbing your head so much?"
"Can you talk without bobbing your head?" Blair mocked in a high pitched voice, while narrowing his eyes.
Danielle pulled his hair a little tighter in the bun.
"Oh man. Stop!"
Danielle snickered, loosening the knot. " I thought that would get your attention."
Blair put on his best puppy dog face and leaned his head back to look up at Danielle. "Hurry Please."
"One more and I'll be finished, I promise."
"Okay, but then it's time for my part of the deal."
"Yes, I know.....Be still." Danielle repositioned Blair's head. "Watch TV, don't move."
Blair opened his mouth to mock her again.
"Don't even think about it." She added quickly.
Damn she's good.
"I hope that I'm not interrupting anything." He said, as he saw Danielle staring, rather intently, at Blair. Jim walked over to stand beside her. Seeing Blair's new look, he couldn't help but tease the young man. "Gee Blair, you look attractive buddy. Exactly what look are you going for?" Jim asked, shifting his weight and crossing his arms over his chest while waiting on Blair's answer.
Blair rolled his eyes. He had hoped to be finished before Jim got home. He knew the comments that Jim would make. He also knew that they would be made for a while. "Okay, that's it!" Blair said as he struggled to get the pens out of his hair.
Jim looked compassionately at the cast on Blair's arm. "How's the arm Chief?"
"It itches." Blair replied grumpily, finding another pen and staring at Dani in disbelief. "How many of these things did you use? I've found 5 already."
"10 I think." She grinned at Jim as she went into the kitchen to clean out the sink.
Jim followed her. "How did you ever rope him into doing that?" Jim asked, whispering in her ear as he gave her a hug from behind
"Oh, I promised to wash his hair." She said innocently.
Jim realized what her intentions were with the sink. "In here?"
She gestured at the sprayer on the sink. "The sprayer will come in handy."
"Oh, I haven't thought about that."
"I know. I think that Blair was getting tired of being half drowned in the bathroom sink." She laughed.
Jim shot an apologetic look toward Blair, who had found yet another pen but was finding it to be stubborn.
Danielle placed a hand on his arm. "It's okay. It's not your fault."
"The Hell it's not." Jim began, diverting his gaze away from Danielle, he suddenly found the exhaust fan interesting.
"Jim your taking this thing too personally. You need to be more objective."
The voices in the kitchen became just a little too loud, but then back to a whisper just as quickly. Blair knew the conversation was about him and the accident. He hoped that she would have more luck than he had, had trying to convince Jim that it wasn't his fault.
"He shouldn't have been there." Jim said, still staring at the fan and clenching his jaw.
Danielle spoke softly, trying to reassure Jim. "You would have died if he hadn't been."
Then stubbornly Jim replied. "You don't know that to be fact."
Danielle was becoming pretty irritated. She had seen it too many times. Each man placing a higher value on the others life. Jim did everything in his power to protect Blair. Yet he became angry with the young man when he tried to do the same for Jim. There was always a double standard, and Jim used the department for his reasoning. Danielle was tired of it. "It would have been to close to call Jim. If Blair hadn't spotted the shooter and pushed you out of the way when he did, that bullet would have found its target, instead of Blair's arm."
"He's not a cop!" Jim's eyes darted to Blair in the living room, who was watching the intense conversation taking place in the kitchen.
Danielle brought his attention back to the kitchen. "Bull! What makes a cop Jim?"
Blair watched as Danielle stood her ground, defending him. Go get him Dani. Blair had seen this side of Danielle only once before. And he knew that Jim was in for it. He smiled inwardly.
"Does it take a piece of tin? A gun? What makes a cop Jim, huh?" Dani had her hands on her hips now, which meant that she wasn't about to back down. Her green eyes were locked in on the blue ones in front of her.
Jim was speechless, but proud at the same time. He had never seen Danielle so fired up about anything before. Sandburg was lucky to have someone like her to go to bat for him.
Sure that she had Jim's attention, Danielle continued. "I thought that it took courage, instinct, the need to protect and make wrongs right. I think that Blair has more than proven himself in that respect. I think that it's time you stop looking at what he's not and start seeing him for who he is. A cop, a friend and partner, with the instinct to protect you. Doing the best that he can with the resources at hand. Even if it means using his own body to stop a bullet intended for you. It goes beyond the job Jim. It's all about friendship."
The last sentence shook Jim like a slap in the face. He had heard those words before.
Danielle calmed herself and then continued. "If you can stand there and tell me that you wouldn't have done the same, if the roles had been reversed, then I will drop it and never speak of it again. Otherwise you need to get over it and on with it. Be thankful you have someone to watch your back. A good friend...partner is hard to find." Danielle stood there trying to catch her breath after her lengthy and somewhat animated speech.
Jim thought about what Danielle had said. Then he flashed back to the day of the shooting........
Jim had received a call at the station, telling him that the bank robbery suspects that he had been watching had been seen at Cascade Savings and Loan. The caller had refused to leave his name. This wasn't uncommon, many people wanted to help to a certain extent, without getting *involved*. "Come on Chief, we may have a lead on the Randolph case." He said, while grabbing his jacket from the coat rack beside the door. Blair packed his things back into his back pack and quickly followed Jim out the door. He had to practically jog to keep up with Jim's quick, long strides. Within minutes they were at the bank. Everything seemed to be quiet. An undercover officer went into the bank to check it out. He came out of the bank giving Jim a signal that everything was alright inside. Jim rubbed a hand over his crew cut and then over his tired eyes. He was getting tired of chasing his tail on this case. Every lead led nowhere.
Blair stood at his side, his mind working overtime. This case had him just as stumped as Jim. "Why would anyone call us out here when nothing is going on." He wondered out loud, but mostly to himself. Blair started to look at the neighboring buildings. Not really for anything in particular. That's when he saw it. On top of the old Ebson's department store, directly across from the bank, a person was perched on top of the three story building. Blair didn't need Jim's heightened senses to see that the person had a rifle of some sort, and it appeared to be aimed at Jim.
Jim was about to send the back up units away. He felt stupid for calling them out for nothing. Then suddenly all Hell broke loose.
Suddenly Blair shouted. "Jim look out!" Blair lunged at Jim, just as Jim heard the shot fired. Blair tried to push Jim out of the path of the bullet only to be hit himself.
Jim heard the high pitch of the bullet cutting through the air in their direction. Then he heard the small object as it made contact with flesh. He felt Blair's body jerk from the impact. Jim was about to zone when he heard the cracking of bone as the bullet became embedded in it. Before Jim could give the command, the other officers were returning fire and several were making their way to the building to seal off all of the exits. Several other officers rushed the building. Shots could be heard echoing through out the old abandoned structure. Jim was still face down on the pavement. Fear filled him as he could feel the weight of his friend/guide on his back. "Blair?" Jim called. Blair didn't answer. Suddenly Jim picked up the faint, but all to familiar coppery scent of blood. Blair's blood. Jim's heart began to beat rapidly as thoughts filled his head of where Blair might have been hit. He tried to roll out from under Blair, being careful not to cause any further injury. Blair's eyes were open, staring emptily at the sky. Blair's heart was still beating strong and steady, Jim sighed, somewhat relieved. Blair was just a little disoriented. "Hey buddy...Can you talk to me?"
Finally Blair blinked. "Jim?.....What happened?"
"Someone decided to use us for target practice." Jim replied as he hovered over Blair trying to find a wound. At first Jim was unable to see any signs of blood. Then he noticed a slight tinge of red on the sleeve of Blair's flannel jacket.
"What's wrong? What are you doing?" Blair asked, trying to sit up.
Jim carefully pushed him back to the ground. "Just checking you out Chief."
"I'm okay Jim."
"Humor me kid." Jim carefully lifted Blair's arm exposing the blood soaked area where the bullet had made its entry.
"Owe man, that hurts!"
Jim winced. "I know. It's alright." Jim gently examined the area, knowing that he was causing Blair more pain, but also knowing that it had to be done. From his training as a medic, and his heightened sense of touch, he could tell that the bullet had become firmly embedded in the Ulna, just below the elbow. In the distance Jim could hear the sound of an ambulance approaching. He looked down at his friend. "Just rest easy buddy. It's going to be alright."
Blair looked up at Jim, "Are you Okay?" Blair asked, finding it heard to examine Jim for any possible injuries from his position.
"Yeah, I'm fine kid."
"Are you sure? You look a little pale man." Blair asked, concern clearly displayed on the younger man's face.
"You gave me a hell of a scare there Chief." Jim shot a crooked smile at Blair, trying not to show how worried he really was about his friend.
"Sorry. But I had too. I couldn't just stand by and watch you die." Then Blair's eyes took on a lost, and somewhat pleading quality. "We're partners right? That's what partners do." He winced as Jim applied a little more pressure to the wound to slow the flow of blood.
"We'll talk about it later. You just worry about getting better."
The ambulance pulled up and the EMT's checked Blair's wound and loaded him into the vehicle to be taken to Cascade Community General.
Simon joined Jim in the waiting room. "How is he Jim? I heard that the kid was hit, but the details were sketchy."
"The bullet hit his arm, lodging itself in a bone. The doctors are trying to remove the bullet and repair the damage." Jim shifted his weight and forced his attention from the OR doors to Simon. "So....did they get the shooter?"
"Yeah, he didn't make it. It was Randolph. Evidently you were getting too close for comfort." Simon replied, taking in the appearance of his best officer and best friend.
"Good. I hate to say this. I know it sounds cold. But I'm glad he's gone. He hurt Blair, the bastard didn't deserve to live after that." Jim resumed staring at the doors that blocked his view of his friend.
Simon was about to open his mouth to comment when the doctor came into the waiting area. Jim again caught the unmistakable smell of Blair's blood. His stomach flipped, when he noticed that the doctor's scrubs were covered with it.
"Gentlemen? I'm Doctor Connors. Mr. Sandburg is in recovery, and he is doing fine. His injury wasn't life threatening, but serious all the same. We removed the bullet, and placed a series of pins in the bone to aid in the fusing process."
Jim's stomach tightened, he knew that this was his fault. He should have made the kid stay at the station.
The doctor began again after looking briefly at Blair's chart. " We were happy to find that the bone wasn't splintered as badly as we first thought. He will be in a cast for about six weeks. After which it will be removed and further steps will be taken if necessary. He should recover fully.
Simon let out a sigh of relief. He liked the kid and was happy to hear that he would be alright.
Jim simply nodded, and began to make plans to make things easier, for the kid, around the loft. He would have to find a way to make it up to him........
Danielle gave him a squeeze and a peck on the cheek.
"Thanks" He said.
Blair walked up to them. "Okay, I'm ready if you are." He grinned, hoping to lighten the mood.
Jim turned around and pulled Blair into a tight embrace, causing him to drop the shampoo.
"Thanks Chief. I owe you one." Jim squeezed a little harder.
Blair peeped over Jim's shoulder, smiling at Dani. His eyes were wide, filled with emotion. "Hey, no problem man. Just let me go, I can't breathe."
Jim saw her dilemma. "Why don't we let him lay on the counter top." Jim offered.
"Hey, that might work." She agreed.
"What?" Blair looked at the two, with arched brows.
Jim got a mischievous look in his eyes as he scooped a squirming Blair up and sat him on the counter. "Lay down Chief."
"No way man. You're not my type." Blair laughed at his own little joke.
"I can't help it, I think it was your new doo." Jim teased.
Danielle was amused with the current conversation, but she was ready to get this over with. "Do you want your hair washed? Or are you two going to make a date?" Danielle waited, somewhat impatiently, tapping her foot.
Blair nodded silently and laid back. Jim helped to get him positioned so that his head was over the sink. Dani placed a rolled up towel under his neck to make him a little more comfy.
Blair started swinging his legs, anticipating the shampoo he had been promised. His shoes were beating against the side of the cabinet.
"You scar the woodwork and I'll break your other arm." Jim said, scowling at the younger man.
Blair forced his feet to be still.
"Hey Jim, look....We can always give him a hair cut." Danielle grinned evilly, her finger a little too close to the power switch, of the disposal, for Blair's comfort. She saw Blair's eyes widen in fear. "Don't worry, I would never do anything like that..." then with a grin. "Besides who would I have to experiment on. Nope, I need your hair." Both Danielle and Jim laughed as Blair let out a sigh of relief.
Then trying to cover it. "As if.....like I really believed you were going to do it. Come on, get real." He rolled his eyes trying to convince them that he was onto their game. Only he couldn't fool the sentinel who could clearly hear his racing heart.
Blair's reaction scared Jim just a bit. There were so many facets to this kid. So many things that he didn't know about Blair's past. He wondered what could have happened to make Blair so jumpy at times that he didn't see a joke, even one like this.
As Dani worked his hair into a rich lather, Blair moaned. "Oh Yeah!"
"Calm down Tiger." Jim chided.
"Can't help it man. It's the shampoo. Haven't you seen the commercials?" Blair enjoyed the feeling of Dani's fingers massaging his scalp. By the time she started to rinse his hair he was completely relaxed. His feet started thumping against the side of the cabinet again. He felt so good, he didn't care if Jim did break his other arm. "Don't forget the conditioner." He whispered sleepily. He knew that he didn't have to remind her. Danielle was well aware of how naturally curly hair could be without proper conditioning. But he wanted to make sure he got a little more of this *special attention*. He closed his eyes as she began applying the conditioner.
Danielle was about to rinse it out when Jim stopped her by gently tapping her shoulder.
"He's asleep." Jim smiled.
Danielle grinned and finished the job. "What should we do?"
"Let him sleep. I'll wake him up in a bit." Jim said as he went to get the blanket from the couch and covered Blair with it.
Danielle carefully toweled dried most of the water from Blair's hair, leaving it only slightly damp. Not enough for him to catch a chill, he should be okay.
Jim stood beside Danielle, carefully slipping his arm around her waist. They stood watching Blair for a moment and then went to the living area, leaving the young man to his dreams.
The end
Well, what did you think? Is anyone there? ha ha.
