TS fic - Laying Siege - part 2
Jan. 1st, 2007 09:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dimity_bluePart 1.
Lying on his cot, the cold from that damned manacle seeping into his ankle, Blair kept his eyes closed and did his best to keep his breathing even. Having a panic attack wasn't going to help him.
Kincaid was a Sentinel, he was almost sure of it.
Kincaid's sight was definitely enhanced, probably his hearing too, and his sense of taste and of smell were also heightened - that was evident by his reactions to his meal. So that only left his sense of touch.
Blair shuddered slightly. He'd assumed that Jim was a tactile person due to the amount of times that Jim touched him - nothing inappropriate; casual pats to his arm or back, even an arm slung around his shoulders once - but Kincaid was doing the same thing as though he couldn't bear to keep his hands off him. Blair wasn't getting any kind of vibes off the guy and he really doubted that Kincaid had any tolerance for anyone who wasn't one hundred percent straight, but the man kept on touching him.
If Blair were honest with himself, it was creeping him out.
The tent flap crackled as it was pushed back and Blair's hackles rose at the sound. Kincaid was back.
"Resting? That's good."
Blair gritted his teeth as Kincaid patted him casually on the shoulder, the feel of the man's hand making his skin crawl.
"The snow's stopped so we'll be going for a run in an hour or so...well, that's assuming we can find a pair of boots that'll fit you." The hand patted his shoulder again. "You'll be no good running in those shoes."
Kincaid turned his back, apparently unaware of the scorching glare Blair was directing at him, and pulled his shirt off, exposing his rash-covered back. Blair bit back the gasp that almost escaped him, not wanting to give the faux-soldier another reason to hover over him. It looked like Kincaid had a problem with his sense of touch too.
~'~
"Ellison!" For a second, Simon thought his authoritative bark was going to fail, then Jim turned back, a barely patient look on his face. Sighing, and shaking his head, Simon gave in. "If you're going back, so am I. You'll be a sitting duck if you do that Zen thing in the middle of the mountains."
Jim frowned, then a half-smile appeared on his face. "Zone out, Simon, not Zen."
"Whatever. And on the way there, you can explain yourself to me. Now get out into the bullpen and pretend to do some work while I organise another search party."
"Yes, sir."
Simon grabbed the phone as the door closed behind Jim. A search party was good but a search party with a helicopter would be better, especially now the snow had stopped. And Simon knew a mayor who owed him and Jim a favour.
~'~
"Step it up, Blair! Soldiers have to run in all conditions!"
Blair stared at the landscape as they jogged, wishing that the man behind him would trip and knock himself out. He was sick and tired of listening to Kincaid bark orders. However, the self-styled soldier had to be pretty sure of his ability to control Blair to let them go jogging alone. Kincaid, of course, had no idea that he was a Sentinel who was vulnerable to zone outs - a fact that Blair was all too ready to take advantage of. Needing a bit of a breather, Blair slowed and came to a halt in the middle of a plain, the Cascade Mountains with their snowy caps looming close by.
"You can do better than this, Blair."
Kincaid's hand rested on his shoulder and Blair resisted the urge to shrug it off, instead turning and letting it fall as naturally as possible as he asked, innocently, "Do you hear that?" Blair couldn't hear a thing but hearing was an easy sense to zone out on so....
For a brief moment, Kincaid looked confused, then, "Chopper!"
As his hand reached out to grab Blair again, Blair stepped away, his head turning as he looked to see what the Sentinel had unexpectedly heard. "I don't see -"
"Let's get back - get a move on!"
Kincaid tugged and Blair acted. Knocking the hand away, he took off at his top rate across the plain, hoping the helicopter would come into sight before Kincaid managed to get them both under cover.
"Blair!"
Naturally, Kincaid was following, but Blair was going at a far faster speed than the one he'd assumed previously and he hoped it was enough to keep his distance. A heavy weight landing on his back, and sending him sprawling face down in the snow proved him wrong, but Blair was down but not out. Yet. Rolling, he hit out with his fist only to miss as Kincaid ducked out of the way.
"Damnit, boy!"
Blair knew that as Kincaid was a trained soldier and he was, well, an anthropologist, anyone laying odds on who would win a straight out fight would be nuts to back Blair, so Blair wasn't surprised when he found himself pinned, flat on his back, with an irate Kincaid holding him down. Lurching up as far as he could, Blair screamed in Kincaid's face and grinned with triumph as the Sentinel recoiled, his hands automatically going to cover his hyper-sensitive ears. This time Blair's fist made satisfying contact with Kincaid's face, and Blair scrambled to his feet and ran as the Sentinel's hands left his ears and grabbed for his suddenly bleeding nose.
Fully aware of the stinging in his hand that was a vivid reminder of the end of the Switchman case, the thought drifted through Blair's mind that Naomi would be incredibly disappointed that he'd punched two people in just as many weeks, but it disappeared as Jim's truck came hurtling into view, several police vehicles behind it. Letting loose a triumphant holler, Blair jumped up and down, waving his arms in case his Sentinel couldn't see him.
The truck skidded to a halt with both Simon and Jim leaping out, and Blair practically fell into Jim's arms.
"You okay?!"
Blair got one glimpse of Jim's concerned face as he nodded, then he was handed over to Simon and the Sentinel stalked past them towards Kincaid.
"Jim?"
The confused query came from Blair and Simon both, and Blair looked up into Simon's face.
"It's good to see you, kid." Simon glanced over his head. "Jim was worried about you."
Blair followed his gaze over to where Jim seemed to be arresting Kincaid with a hint of excessive force. "He uh...was?" As Kincaid was pushed face down into the snow, Blair added, "Is Jim supposed to be doing that?"
Jim glanced up, a feral look on his face. "Snow's good for nosebleeds." Kincaid was yanked back up, and Blair saw his face pale even further as Jim murmured something in his ear.
The radio crackled, and Simon leant into the truck to answer the call, leaving Blair with a full view as Kincaid was pushed towards one of the other police officers, his hard stare never leaving Blair's face.
Blair's gaze shifted to meet Jim's, and he was unnerved to see the same possessive look in Jim's eyes. Stepping back, his shoulder hit the edge of the open door, and earned him a, "Watch it, Sandburg!" from Simon.
As Jim stepped forward, Simon straightened up, accidentally giving Blair somewhere to hide behind. "They've got the rest of the Patriots," he announced, a satisfied tone in his voice. "They were sitting around a camping stove keeping warm when our guys went in." He turned, a smile on his face, giving Blair the idea that maybe, just maybe, the police captain liked him...a little. "Jim will give you ride down, right, Jim?" At the stiff nod, Simon continued, "You'll have to come in and give a statement but that can wait until tomorrow. Take a few hours to decompress. Jim, I suggest you stay out of the way until Kincaid's safely locked up. Come in with the kid tomorrow."
There was a slap on his shoulder, then Simon headed over to one of the other cars, leaving Blair to face Jim.
"Jump in." The glare softened, Blair's knotted nerves relaxing slightly with it. "I'll bet you'll be glad to see Cascade again."
"Oh, man!" Blair shook his head. "You got that one right!"
~'~
It wasn't until the outskirts of Cascade itself was in view that Jim noticed Sandburg finally relax. Dusk had fallen and the city was lit up like a Christmas tree, but the kid wasn't able to see it as his eyes were firmly closed and the soft snoring was an obvious sign that he was dead to the world. Jim wasn't surprised. Adrenaline spikes were all well and good when you needed them but you tended to crash afterwards. Pulling over to the side of the road, Jim slid his jacket off and draped it over his friend, oddly pleased when Blair made a quiet noise of contentment and snuggled further down in his seat.
Sighing, Jim rolled his head back and let the feral anger he'd been carrying around inside dissipate. When he'd seen Sandburg, he'd thought he'd feel better about the whole thing: thought that heavy weight of guilt and responsibility inside him would go, instead it had been swamped by the feelings of anger and...possessiveness - it seemed to be the right word - that having Kincaid near Sandburg caused.
Jim shook his head. Why he was feeling possessive over Sandburg was a mystery. The kid was the wrong sex and even if Sandburg had been female, Jim had never felt that way over Carolyn. Unless....
A thought occurred to him and Jim glanced over at the sleeping figure again. Of course, it all made sense now: Kincaid had kidnapped Jim's partner - for all that Sandburg wasn't a cop, he'd been handy to have around during the Switchman case and had handled himself well when it came to containing Veronica Sarris. Any cop would have reacted the same way when his partner was kidnapped.
Satisfied, Jim put the truck into gear and drove off. He had his partner at his side, and all was well.
~'~
Blair muttered sleepily and batted a hand at whatever was shaking his shoulder.
"C'mon, Chief, wake up. I'm not going to carry you upstairs."
Jim! Blair's eyes flew open and he jerked back as he found Jim's face inches from his own.
"Hey, relax, it's me. Kincaid's on his way to jail right now, remember?"
Oh, he remembered, all right. "Yeah. I know." Blair managed not to flinch as Jim squeezed his shoulder lightly before letting go, then pushed Jim's jacket off him and into the Sentinel's hands, disturbed by the fact that he'd felt safe and warm while covered with Jim's jacket. "Uh, thanks."
"You're welcome. I didn't want you getting cold."
As Jim pushed his door open and stepped out of the truck, Blair looked around. They were at the loft?
"C'mon, Sandburg, I'm freezing my butt off here."
Licking his lips, nervously, Blair got out and stood to one side as Jim locked the truck securely. "Hey, Jim, I'll uh...catch a cab to the warehouse and see you tomorrow, okay?"
"What?" Fortunately for Blair's self-control, that possessive look hadn't reappeared. "If you really want to go back to the warehouse, I'll give you a ride but I thought you'd stay over tonight."
"Stay over?" Blair hoped Jim would ignore the way his voice cracked.
"Yeah. I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone right now. You've had a rough day. Or two."
"That's an understatement, man."
"Yeah, I know." Jim rubbed his hand over his head, as if trying to buy himself a little time. "It's late, you're hungry - I doubt if Kincaid fed you that well - and I make a mean pasta dish. So just come on inside and we'll...talk about things."
Blair's uneasiness deepened as he realised a few things. One was that Jim had to be desperate to stop him from leaving if he were willing to talk things over; a few days in Jim's company had convinced Blair that the ex-Ranger, Sentinel and cop was not the kind of guy who liked talking. Blair just didn't know if Jim realised why he was trying to stop him from leaving. "Jim, I -"
"You're not telling me you'd rather be alone?"
"It's not that," Blair protested. "It's just...." He really wasn't sure how to explain to Jim that being around a Sentinel, any Sentinel, was freaking him out right now.
"What?" Jim prodded.
Blair shook his head. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"What?! Sandburg -" As Blair turned around, Jim grabbed his elbow and turned him back. "I understand, okay? If you want to talk about it, I'll listen; if you want to veg in front of the TV, that's fine. I don't care. But I don't think you should be alone."
"I'll be fine, okay?" Blair pulled his elbow free and held up his hands placatingly, hoping that Jim would accept that.
"No, I don't think you will be."
"Are you sure it's not you who has the problem here, Jim?" Blair demanded, though he knew the accusing tone in his voice was a mistake.
"God damn it, Sandburg, you're not going back to that damned warehouse tonight so don't even think it." With that, Jim latched onto his shoulder and hauled him towards the door.
"Jim!" Barely thinking about it, Blair wrenched himself away, feeling the sleeve on his much-abused jacket rip a little.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Sandburg? You're acting like I'm the enemy here!"
"You're not the enemy, okay?! You're just a - a Sentinel!" Blair practically hissed the last word, wanting to keep his voice down but needing to make sure it was heard.
"I'm a...how is that a surprise to you, Sandburg?! You knew I was a," Jim's voice dropped on the word too, "Sentinel the first time you met me!"
"I didn't know Kincaid was one too though! Not until today!" Blair flinched as Jim's gaze seemed to narrow, focussing on him with an intensity that didn't seem quite human.
"He's a S-" Jim bit the word off, and Blair would have sworn there was a growl underlining his tone as the truth dawned on Jim. "He's not having you!"
"What?!"
There was definitely a growl rumbling in the Sentinel's throat as he dragged Blair towards the elevator and pushed him into it, Blair's struggles not even seeming to register. It wasn't until Blair was in the loft that Jim let go of him again, and Blair backed off, his wide-open eyes noticing the way the Sentinel was keeping between him and the door.
"Jim, I think you need to calm down a little here."
The Sentinel glared at him, that possessive glint back in his eye. "He's not having you, Sandburg. I found you first."
"Hey, I found you - remember?" Blair babbled, hoping he was saying the right thing. "I came looking for you. I didn't go looking for Kincaid; Kincaid kidnapped me."
"He'll never touch you again!"
"That's good!" As the Sentinel paced up and down, Blair took the opportunity to put the couch between himself and the well-trained ex-Ranger who was freaking him out. "I don't want to see Kincaid again. I punched him in the face - I don't think he's gonna be pleased with me."
The pacing slowed. "You hit him."
"That's right; I was trying to get away from him."
"Yeah, you were." The Sentinel stopped. "You did good."
"Right, I did good." Blair took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down now that Jim seemed to be calmer.
"I told him I'd kill him if he came near you again." Jim stepped towards the couch and Blair noticed how much his hands were trembling. "I meant it. He's a Sentinel; he shouldn't be near you."
"Well, he's not going to be near me, remember? He's in jail now."
"Yeah, he's in jail; he's gone. That's good." Jim nodded then took a breath and slowly exhaled. "I didn't mean to scare you though."
"It wasn't that, Jim." Blair sank down onto the couch, sure that the crisis - or whatever the hell it had been - was over.
"Jesus. I..." Jim sat down too. "I just dragged you in here like a - a..." He shook his head and scrubbed his hands over his face. "I guess you were right to call me a Neanderthal."
Blair shook his head. "I think it was some kind of Sentinel imperative, Jim. Kincaid was determined to hang on to me and you...."
"As soon as I got hold of you, I did the same thing." Jim's voice was filled with self-loathing.
"No, it's not the same. At least," Blair shook his head again, "I don't think so."
"It looks the same way to me, Sandburg, and I think you'd have agreed with me a few minutes back."
Turning to face his friend, Blair asked, "And if I tried to walk out now, what would you do?"
"I'd..." Jim paused, then sighed. "I'd drive you to the warehouse or make sure you got a cab. It's dark, it's late - that's a rough area to be in this time of night!"
Blair smiled, his heart warmed by the protectiveness in Jim's tone that underlay the note of defeat.
"You want me to call you a cab, Sandburg?"
"Nah." Blair shook his head. Now that Jim was prepared to ease off, he wasn't as freaked out as he had been. "You offered me a pasta dinner, remember?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Whatever Kincaid was, he wasn't Blair's Sentinel. And he had to admit, it felt right to be at Jim's side - it felt as right to be with Jim as it had felt wrong to be near Kincaid.
"Okay, one pasta dinner coming up."
"Good, I'm starving." Sliding off his coat, Blair followed Jim into the kitchen. "I worked in an Italian restaurant one summer. I loved it - the hours were good, the pay was okay, and all the pasta I could eat."
"I'd better make enough for three then, right?"
~'~
Later that night, with sleep eluding him, Jim rolled over in bed and gazed down towards the couch where Sandburg was. His Sentinel eyesight had no trouble cutting through the darkness and cataloguing every detail of the sleeping figure, and Jim revelled in the sight, glad that he'd managed to pull back and stop himself from driving Sandburg away.
He still didn't know where that feral anger had come from, and he now knew there was no way he could explain that sudden possessive rage as being anything cop-related. Maybe he'd have to admit Sandburg was right; maybe it was Sentinel-related, though Jim cringed at the idea, hating the thought that he could be so out of control thanks to his stupid overactive senses and the effect they had on him.
Closing his eyes, Jim tried to force himself to sleep. Whatever it was, and whatever Sandburg's part in all this was, he belonged with Jim. Kincaid would have to find his own helper...aide...sidekick? Jim smiled slightly, sure that the said sidekick would not be pleased with any of those titles. Well, whatever Sandburg was, he belonged with Jim and they'd figure it out together, and that was a comforting thought.
The End
Lying on his cot, the cold from that damned manacle seeping into his ankle, Blair kept his eyes closed and did his best to keep his breathing even. Having a panic attack wasn't going to help him.
Kincaid was a Sentinel, he was almost sure of it.
Kincaid's sight was definitely enhanced, probably his hearing too, and his sense of taste and of smell were also heightened - that was evident by his reactions to his meal. So that only left his sense of touch.
Blair shuddered slightly. He'd assumed that Jim was a tactile person due to the amount of times that Jim touched him - nothing inappropriate; casual pats to his arm or back, even an arm slung around his shoulders once - but Kincaid was doing the same thing as though he couldn't bear to keep his hands off him. Blair wasn't getting any kind of vibes off the guy and he really doubted that Kincaid had any tolerance for anyone who wasn't one hundred percent straight, but the man kept on touching him.
If Blair were honest with himself, it was creeping him out.
The tent flap crackled as it was pushed back and Blair's hackles rose at the sound. Kincaid was back.
"Resting? That's good."
Blair gritted his teeth as Kincaid patted him casually on the shoulder, the feel of the man's hand making his skin crawl.
"The snow's stopped so we'll be going for a run in an hour or so...well, that's assuming we can find a pair of boots that'll fit you." The hand patted his shoulder again. "You'll be no good running in those shoes."
Kincaid turned his back, apparently unaware of the scorching glare Blair was directing at him, and pulled his shirt off, exposing his rash-covered back. Blair bit back the gasp that almost escaped him, not wanting to give the faux-soldier another reason to hover over him. It looked like Kincaid had a problem with his sense of touch too.
~'~
"Ellison!" For a second, Simon thought his authoritative bark was going to fail, then Jim turned back, a barely patient look on his face. Sighing, and shaking his head, Simon gave in. "If you're going back, so am I. You'll be a sitting duck if you do that Zen thing in the middle of the mountains."
Jim frowned, then a half-smile appeared on his face. "Zone out, Simon, not Zen."
"Whatever. And on the way there, you can explain yourself to me. Now get out into the bullpen and pretend to do some work while I organise another search party."
"Yes, sir."
Simon grabbed the phone as the door closed behind Jim. A search party was good but a search party with a helicopter would be better, especially now the snow had stopped. And Simon knew a mayor who owed him and Jim a favour.
~'~
"Step it up, Blair! Soldiers have to run in all conditions!"
Blair stared at the landscape as they jogged, wishing that the man behind him would trip and knock himself out. He was sick and tired of listening to Kincaid bark orders. However, the self-styled soldier had to be pretty sure of his ability to control Blair to let them go jogging alone. Kincaid, of course, had no idea that he was a Sentinel who was vulnerable to zone outs - a fact that Blair was all too ready to take advantage of. Needing a bit of a breather, Blair slowed and came to a halt in the middle of a plain, the Cascade Mountains with their snowy caps looming close by.
"You can do better than this, Blair."
Kincaid's hand rested on his shoulder and Blair resisted the urge to shrug it off, instead turning and letting it fall as naturally as possible as he asked, innocently, "Do you hear that?" Blair couldn't hear a thing but hearing was an easy sense to zone out on so....
For a brief moment, Kincaid looked confused, then, "Chopper!"
As his hand reached out to grab Blair again, Blair stepped away, his head turning as he looked to see what the Sentinel had unexpectedly heard. "I don't see -"
"Let's get back - get a move on!"
Kincaid tugged and Blair acted. Knocking the hand away, he took off at his top rate across the plain, hoping the helicopter would come into sight before Kincaid managed to get them both under cover.
"Blair!"
Naturally, Kincaid was following, but Blair was going at a far faster speed than the one he'd assumed previously and he hoped it was enough to keep his distance. A heavy weight landing on his back, and sending him sprawling face down in the snow proved him wrong, but Blair was down but not out. Yet. Rolling, he hit out with his fist only to miss as Kincaid ducked out of the way.
"Damnit, boy!"
Blair knew that as Kincaid was a trained soldier and he was, well, an anthropologist, anyone laying odds on who would win a straight out fight would be nuts to back Blair, so Blair wasn't surprised when he found himself pinned, flat on his back, with an irate Kincaid holding him down. Lurching up as far as he could, Blair screamed in Kincaid's face and grinned with triumph as the Sentinel recoiled, his hands automatically going to cover his hyper-sensitive ears. This time Blair's fist made satisfying contact with Kincaid's face, and Blair scrambled to his feet and ran as the Sentinel's hands left his ears and grabbed for his suddenly bleeding nose.
Fully aware of the stinging in his hand that was a vivid reminder of the end of the Switchman case, the thought drifted through Blair's mind that Naomi would be incredibly disappointed that he'd punched two people in just as many weeks, but it disappeared as Jim's truck came hurtling into view, several police vehicles behind it. Letting loose a triumphant holler, Blair jumped up and down, waving his arms in case his Sentinel couldn't see him.
The truck skidded to a halt with both Simon and Jim leaping out, and Blair practically fell into Jim's arms.
"You okay?!"
Blair got one glimpse of Jim's concerned face as he nodded, then he was handed over to Simon and the Sentinel stalked past them towards Kincaid.
"Jim?"
The confused query came from Blair and Simon both, and Blair looked up into Simon's face.
"It's good to see you, kid." Simon glanced over his head. "Jim was worried about you."
Blair followed his gaze over to where Jim seemed to be arresting Kincaid with a hint of excessive force. "He uh...was?" As Kincaid was pushed face down into the snow, Blair added, "Is Jim supposed to be doing that?"
Jim glanced up, a feral look on his face. "Snow's good for nosebleeds." Kincaid was yanked back up, and Blair saw his face pale even further as Jim murmured something in his ear.
The radio crackled, and Simon leant into the truck to answer the call, leaving Blair with a full view as Kincaid was pushed towards one of the other police officers, his hard stare never leaving Blair's face.
Blair's gaze shifted to meet Jim's, and he was unnerved to see the same possessive look in Jim's eyes. Stepping back, his shoulder hit the edge of the open door, and earned him a, "Watch it, Sandburg!" from Simon.
As Jim stepped forward, Simon straightened up, accidentally giving Blair somewhere to hide behind. "They've got the rest of the Patriots," he announced, a satisfied tone in his voice. "They were sitting around a camping stove keeping warm when our guys went in." He turned, a smile on his face, giving Blair the idea that maybe, just maybe, the police captain liked him...a little. "Jim will give you ride down, right, Jim?" At the stiff nod, Simon continued, "You'll have to come in and give a statement but that can wait until tomorrow. Take a few hours to decompress. Jim, I suggest you stay out of the way until Kincaid's safely locked up. Come in with the kid tomorrow."
There was a slap on his shoulder, then Simon headed over to one of the other cars, leaving Blair to face Jim.
"Jump in." The glare softened, Blair's knotted nerves relaxing slightly with it. "I'll bet you'll be glad to see Cascade again."
"Oh, man!" Blair shook his head. "You got that one right!"
~'~
It wasn't until the outskirts of Cascade itself was in view that Jim noticed Sandburg finally relax. Dusk had fallen and the city was lit up like a Christmas tree, but the kid wasn't able to see it as his eyes were firmly closed and the soft snoring was an obvious sign that he was dead to the world. Jim wasn't surprised. Adrenaline spikes were all well and good when you needed them but you tended to crash afterwards. Pulling over to the side of the road, Jim slid his jacket off and draped it over his friend, oddly pleased when Blair made a quiet noise of contentment and snuggled further down in his seat.
Sighing, Jim rolled his head back and let the feral anger he'd been carrying around inside dissipate. When he'd seen Sandburg, he'd thought he'd feel better about the whole thing: thought that heavy weight of guilt and responsibility inside him would go, instead it had been swamped by the feelings of anger and...possessiveness - it seemed to be the right word - that having Kincaid near Sandburg caused.
Jim shook his head. Why he was feeling possessive over Sandburg was a mystery. The kid was the wrong sex and even if Sandburg had been female, Jim had never felt that way over Carolyn. Unless....
A thought occurred to him and Jim glanced over at the sleeping figure again. Of course, it all made sense now: Kincaid had kidnapped Jim's partner - for all that Sandburg wasn't a cop, he'd been handy to have around during the Switchman case and had handled himself well when it came to containing Veronica Sarris. Any cop would have reacted the same way when his partner was kidnapped.
Satisfied, Jim put the truck into gear and drove off. He had his partner at his side, and all was well.
~'~
Blair muttered sleepily and batted a hand at whatever was shaking his shoulder.
"C'mon, Chief, wake up. I'm not going to carry you upstairs."
Jim! Blair's eyes flew open and he jerked back as he found Jim's face inches from his own.
"Hey, relax, it's me. Kincaid's on his way to jail right now, remember?"
Oh, he remembered, all right. "Yeah. I know." Blair managed not to flinch as Jim squeezed his shoulder lightly before letting go, then pushed Jim's jacket off him and into the Sentinel's hands, disturbed by the fact that he'd felt safe and warm while covered with Jim's jacket. "Uh, thanks."
"You're welcome. I didn't want you getting cold."
As Jim pushed his door open and stepped out of the truck, Blair looked around. They were at the loft?
"C'mon, Sandburg, I'm freezing my butt off here."
Licking his lips, nervously, Blair got out and stood to one side as Jim locked the truck securely. "Hey, Jim, I'll uh...catch a cab to the warehouse and see you tomorrow, okay?"
"What?" Fortunately for Blair's self-control, that possessive look hadn't reappeared. "If you really want to go back to the warehouse, I'll give you a ride but I thought you'd stay over tonight."
"Stay over?" Blair hoped Jim would ignore the way his voice cracked.
"Yeah. I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone right now. You've had a rough day. Or two."
"That's an understatement, man."
"Yeah, I know." Jim rubbed his hand over his head, as if trying to buy himself a little time. "It's late, you're hungry - I doubt if Kincaid fed you that well - and I make a mean pasta dish. So just come on inside and we'll...talk about things."
Blair's uneasiness deepened as he realised a few things. One was that Jim had to be desperate to stop him from leaving if he were willing to talk things over; a few days in Jim's company had convinced Blair that the ex-Ranger, Sentinel and cop was not the kind of guy who liked talking. Blair just didn't know if Jim realised why he was trying to stop him from leaving. "Jim, I -"
"You're not telling me you'd rather be alone?"
"It's not that," Blair protested. "It's just...." He really wasn't sure how to explain to Jim that being around a Sentinel, any Sentinel, was freaking him out right now.
"What?" Jim prodded.
Blair shook his head. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"What?! Sandburg -" As Blair turned around, Jim grabbed his elbow and turned him back. "I understand, okay? If you want to talk about it, I'll listen; if you want to veg in front of the TV, that's fine. I don't care. But I don't think you should be alone."
"I'll be fine, okay?" Blair pulled his elbow free and held up his hands placatingly, hoping that Jim would accept that.
"No, I don't think you will be."
"Are you sure it's not you who has the problem here, Jim?" Blair demanded, though he knew the accusing tone in his voice was a mistake.
"God damn it, Sandburg, you're not going back to that damned warehouse tonight so don't even think it." With that, Jim latched onto his shoulder and hauled him towards the door.
"Jim!" Barely thinking about it, Blair wrenched himself away, feeling the sleeve on his much-abused jacket rip a little.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Sandburg? You're acting like I'm the enemy here!"
"You're not the enemy, okay?! You're just a - a Sentinel!" Blair practically hissed the last word, wanting to keep his voice down but needing to make sure it was heard.
"I'm a...how is that a surprise to you, Sandburg?! You knew I was a," Jim's voice dropped on the word too, "Sentinel the first time you met me!"
"I didn't know Kincaid was one too though! Not until today!" Blair flinched as Jim's gaze seemed to narrow, focussing on him with an intensity that didn't seem quite human.
"He's a S-" Jim bit the word off, and Blair would have sworn there was a growl underlining his tone as the truth dawned on Jim. "He's not having you!"
"What?!"
There was definitely a growl rumbling in the Sentinel's throat as he dragged Blair towards the elevator and pushed him into it, Blair's struggles not even seeming to register. It wasn't until Blair was in the loft that Jim let go of him again, and Blair backed off, his wide-open eyes noticing the way the Sentinel was keeping between him and the door.
"Jim, I think you need to calm down a little here."
The Sentinel glared at him, that possessive glint back in his eye. "He's not having you, Sandburg. I found you first."
"Hey, I found you - remember?" Blair babbled, hoping he was saying the right thing. "I came looking for you. I didn't go looking for Kincaid; Kincaid kidnapped me."
"He'll never touch you again!"
"That's good!" As the Sentinel paced up and down, Blair took the opportunity to put the couch between himself and the well-trained ex-Ranger who was freaking him out. "I don't want to see Kincaid again. I punched him in the face - I don't think he's gonna be pleased with me."
The pacing slowed. "You hit him."
"That's right; I was trying to get away from him."
"Yeah, you were." The Sentinel stopped. "You did good."
"Right, I did good." Blair took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down now that Jim seemed to be calmer.
"I told him I'd kill him if he came near you again." Jim stepped towards the couch and Blair noticed how much his hands were trembling. "I meant it. He's a Sentinel; he shouldn't be near you."
"Well, he's not going to be near me, remember? He's in jail now."
"Yeah, he's in jail; he's gone. That's good." Jim nodded then took a breath and slowly exhaled. "I didn't mean to scare you though."
"It wasn't that, Jim." Blair sank down onto the couch, sure that the crisis - or whatever the hell it had been - was over.
"Jesus. I..." Jim sat down too. "I just dragged you in here like a - a..." He shook his head and scrubbed his hands over his face. "I guess you were right to call me a Neanderthal."
Blair shook his head. "I think it was some kind of Sentinel imperative, Jim. Kincaid was determined to hang on to me and you...."
"As soon as I got hold of you, I did the same thing." Jim's voice was filled with self-loathing.
"No, it's not the same. At least," Blair shook his head again, "I don't think so."
"It looks the same way to me, Sandburg, and I think you'd have agreed with me a few minutes back."
Turning to face his friend, Blair asked, "And if I tried to walk out now, what would you do?"
"I'd..." Jim paused, then sighed. "I'd drive you to the warehouse or make sure you got a cab. It's dark, it's late - that's a rough area to be in this time of night!"
Blair smiled, his heart warmed by the protectiveness in Jim's tone that underlay the note of defeat.
"You want me to call you a cab, Sandburg?"
"Nah." Blair shook his head. Now that Jim was prepared to ease off, he wasn't as freaked out as he had been. "You offered me a pasta dinner, remember?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Whatever Kincaid was, he wasn't Blair's Sentinel. And he had to admit, it felt right to be at Jim's side - it felt as right to be with Jim as it had felt wrong to be near Kincaid.
"Okay, one pasta dinner coming up."
"Good, I'm starving." Sliding off his coat, Blair followed Jim into the kitchen. "I worked in an Italian restaurant one summer. I loved it - the hours were good, the pay was okay, and all the pasta I could eat."
"I'd better make enough for three then, right?"
~'~
Later that night, with sleep eluding him, Jim rolled over in bed and gazed down towards the couch where Sandburg was. His Sentinel eyesight had no trouble cutting through the darkness and cataloguing every detail of the sleeping figure, and Jim revelled in the sight, glad that he'd managed to pull back and stop himself from driving Sandburg away.
He still didn't know where that feral anger had come from, and he now knew there was no way he could explain that sudden possessive rage as being anything cop-related. Maybe he'd have to admit Sandburg was right; maybe it was Sentinel-related, though Jim cringed at the idea, hating the thought that he could be so out of control thanks to his stupid overactive senses and the effect they had on him.
Closing his eyes, Jim tried to force himself to sleep. Whatever it was, and whatever Sandburg's part in all this was, he belonged with Jim. Kincaid would have to find his own helper...aide...sidekick? Jim smiled slightly, sure that the said sidekick would not be pleased with any of those titles. Well, whatever Sandburg was, he belonged with Jim and they'd figure it out together, and that was a comforting thought.
The End
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-02 02:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-02 10:44 pm (UTC)I'm really glad you liked the story. Thanks for the feedback!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-02 03:02 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-02 10:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-02 04:17 am (UTC)L
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-02 10:46 pm (UTC)I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-03 10:33 am (UTC)I loved: >
It is sad that finish quickly, you will write more?
Kincaid is going to come back?
will try to find Blair?
A Sentinel possessive is going to disturb Blair?
Please, writes more: >
Love To Read: >
It Thinks of putting some Bonding Fic. in
January ?
Happy 2007 for you , a lot health, for that you obtain to carry out your dreams.
Happinesses: >
Mari
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-03 09:13 pm (UTC)I'm still writing bonding fic, and trying to finish more auction stories. They'll be posted when they're done - unfortunately Real Life (and work) is taking up too much time. And if I can think of a plot for a sequel then it'll get written, though I really don't know when. :o(
Thanks for the feedback. I'm really glad you enjoyed the story. :o)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-05 10:36 am (UTC)In here is everything good : >>
I stayed haaaaaaaaaaaaappy in know that you continue to the write your marvelous Bonding Fic., I love, when I see that you put a new story I stop what will be doing and I am going to read.
Bye
A great one weekend for you. : >
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-11 02:48 pm (UTC)Great read, thanks. I really enjoy 'what if' fics, plus possessive Jim pushes my buttons every time. Yum *g*
Kincaid as a sentinel makes all sorts of sense, and I loved Jim reasoning away his possessive urges, bless him.
Just sorry it took so long for me to read and comment - real life stuff is such a nuisance!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-11 08:32 pm (UTC)Heh, I love possessive Jim too! He's great!
Thanks for commenting. I'm really glad you enjoyed it.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-12 03:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-22 03:28 am (UTC)a) Sentinels =/= Law-abiding
b) Sentinels = possessive
Great story.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-25 06:59 pm (UTC)Thanks for leaving feedback - and intriguing feedback at that! :oD