~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After dinner was devoured and the dishes finished everyone resettled back into the living room. Jamie was the first to speak. "Now gentlemen, do you now understand the importance of communication?" Jamie asked as she looked directly at Jim. She got a chorus of "Yes Ma'am's. "One thing that you have to remember Jim, is that Blair is your shaman. Your healer, counselor, confidant, therapist, and all around fixer of things, physical and mystical alike."

Looking at Blair, she said, "Blair, you are the shaman to the sentinel. You are responsible for his health and sentinel well being. It is a very big responsibility, but one that you haven't already undertaken. The only reason that I have to bring this up is that you will be prepared for what you are going to be learning in the next several days."

To Simon, she said,"Simon, you are the 'Chief' of Jim's tribe. He reports directly to you and get's his orders and any primary information from you. You need to keep an eye out for both of them. Make sure that they are not burning the candle at both ends, plus the middle as well. You need to make sure that the three of you can find some kid of common ground to be able to do your jobs, and I don't mean that they need to take what you say as gold because you are their boss. But you three need to work closer together, be able to think more alike than you already do..."

"Me...think like Sandburg...Oh, lord," Simon replied with a large smile on his face.

"Oh, gee, like thanks for the vote of confidence Simon," Blair said with an equally large smile on his face.

Jim just whapped Blair up along side the back of his head with his left hand that was resting on the back of the couch.

"Ow," Blair said rubbing the back of his head, "What was that for..." he said as he returned the whap.

"You know, they are as bad if not worse than the two of you when you go at it," Carol said watching the three of them go at it.

"Ok, that's enough you guys. If you have all of this pent up energy, then I think that I have just the thing that will help." Jamie said to the 'children' on the sofa, but was looking at her partner when she said it.

"What do you have in mind, Jamie?" Blair asked.

"Oh, just a little exercise that I was planning on for tomorrow, but I think that it will make more sense if I show it to you tonight in the confines of the house." Jamie answered.

"Alright, what do we do?" Jim asked.

"Ok, first...you are obviously familiar with shape shifting, correct?" She got three nods of yes.

"Well, there are different types of shapeshifting . I've had people that shape shifted there lives into a different direction , I've had other people shape shift their bodies into losing hundreds of pounds, and then there are people that shape shift to save their life." Jamie said.

"Does that mean that you are going to teach us how to turn into panther and wolf?'" Blair asked, as he started to bounce in his seat.

"Yes...I am going to each you that, plus a whole lot more," she answered.

"Ok, what do we do?" Simon asked, not sure that he wanted to know.

"Well, for starters, I would like all of you to go into the den with Mike ad Carol, and when I give them the word, you are to come and find me," Jamie said.

"Oh, sorta like a game of hide and seek," Jim said.
When Jamie nodded to the affirmative, Jim thought to himself,* Yeah, right, try to hide from me in this house.* Jamie just smiled.

Everyone got up and headed into the den as Jamie told Mike and Carol just what she had planned.

Jamie went up stairs as Mike and Carol headed into the den. After five minutes, they said that Jim and Blair working as a team should go and find Jamie, while Simon stayed with Mike and Carol to observe.

Jim and Blair headed upstairs to where Jim heard her heartbeat. It led him straight to the room that he shared with Blair and Simon. Walking to the wall that separated his bed area from Blair's.
"I'm picking up...I was picking up her heartbeat, but now it's gone," Jim said to Blair looking very confused.

Thinking he had an idea of where this was taking them, Blair said, "Ok, Jim, if you can't pick up on the heart beat, then just try and concentrate on her presence. In other words, do you 'feel' her in here?"

Jim thought about this for a moment, then said,

"You mean like how I was able to find you at the fountain?"

Blair shuddered for a moment, then, coming away from the memory said, "Yes, exactly."

Jim closed his eyes and concentrated. Turning around in place, he stopped when he thought that he was facing Jamie. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring into the face of his Guide. Suddenly, he froze.

At that point, Jamie told Jim that it was her that was inside him, and that he was perfectly safe from her. Telling him to back away from the wall and to make Blair stand back also. After they did as she asked, she left them and reentered her body and left her hiding place in the wall. As she exited the wall, all three men just stood there with their mouths open in a kind of shock and surprise all wrapped up in one.

Jim was the first to recover,"How in the world did you do that?"

"Do you remember the little incident with Jason the other day, when I had to leave to help Mike?"

"Yeah, I understand that, but how in the world... did you make yourself part of the wall?" Jim asked, still shocked at what he just saw.

"Well, she was talking about shape shifting earlier." Blair stated matter of factly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jamie went upstairs into the loft room that the three men shared. Walking over to the porta wall that separated Jim and Blair's beds she melted into it. When the two men came straight to the wall, she left the wall in her spirit form, leaving her physical body in the wall itself. As Jim was concentrating , she left the wall, and walked *into* Blair, telling him that it was her and not to let Jim know in any way, shape, or form. When Jim stopped his scan and was facing Blair, she left Blair to *enter* Jim.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After they went back down stairs to resume their places on the couch, all three men were full of questions. She spent the next several hours going over the different ways of shape shifting and how that could be used in their line of work. Because Simon did not get the experience of the 'entry', Jamie once again left her body to let Simon know what he other two men were talking so excitedly about. Simon shivered as Jamie entered, then froze in place as she started to talk to him. Once back in her own body,

Simon said, "Please, please, please, do not do that ever again...unless it is a dire emergency."

"I hadn't planned to, Simon, I just needed you to be aware of what was going on in case you are ever in a situation that Jim or Blair needed to contact you. Just think of the...shall we say the case, of a hostage situation. For example."

"You know, I hadn't really thought of it that way," Simon said as he pondered the idea set before him.

They sat there and talked for many more hours until it was the wee hours in the morning. Finally everyone went to bed with a lot to think over before the next morning when Jamie was going to start to actually teach them these little 'tricks'.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was around 5am the next morning when Blair made his way downstairs. He woke up and could not go back to sleep. Being as quiet as possible as to not wake his sentinel or chief, he made his way downstairs. Jamie was sitting on the sofa drinking a cup of tea and watching the roaring fire in the fireplace. She looked up as he made his way downstairs, "Good morning Blair," she said as he rounded the fireplace that was in front of the stairs.

"Morning Jamie," Blair said as he came down the last two steps.

"Are you feeling any better this morning?" she asked.

"A little," he answered.

*"He's still scared to death,"* she thought to herself.

"Would you care for a cup of tea, I just made the pot?"

"That sound good," Blair said smiling a little.

After pouring him a cup and returning to the couch, she asked him, "Blair, what can I do to help you to understand your role in your sentinel's life?"

Blair sat there staring into his cup for what seemed like forever, then looking up to see the caring and compassion on her face said, "I don't know. I'm so confused right now, that I don't know which way is up. When Incacha passed the way of shaman onto me when he died, I didn't think about it that much. Only that it was a great responsibility, that I had no idea what to do with. And now that I have a better idea of what I' supposed to be doing, it scares the hell out of me."

"Ok," she said," I understand your fear of the unknown, but it's nothing to worry about, really."

"That's easy for you to say, you've been doing this for years." Then, realizing what the had just said,

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I know that you are just trying to help, but all I seem to do is screw up."

"I understand where you are coming from, believe me. I'm going to tell you something that someone told be once, and I hated her for it. That is, until I found out that it was true. The only way that you can learn is by going within. That means to go within yourself and look for the answers there. In other words, Look to your spirit for those answers. Let your spirit guide you."

"How did you know how to help Jim in the past with his senses?" Jamie asked.

"I don't really know," Blair began, "I just knew. I don't know how to explain it"

"Do you remember the other day when you asked me how I knew so much about Sentinels and Guides?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah," Blair answered, curious now.

"Do you remember what I told you?"

"Something about having the information come to you just when you need it," Blair replied.

"Ok, so then what's the difference between the way I get the information, and the way you know what to do to help Jim with his senses?" Jamie said.

Blair sat there thinking for a moment, then as he looked up at Jamie, a large blinding smile crossed his face. "You mean I've been working through the spirit world all along, and didn't even know that I was doing it." Blair said starting to bounce in his seat.

"Basically, yes," Jamie answered, adding a smile of her own.

"So it is really nothing to worry about?" Blair asked.

"That's what I just said, isn't it?"

"Alright, now that that is cleared up, I have an exercise that I want you to complete before the guys get up." Jamie stated , the smile still on her face.

"What is it?" Blair asked, not really sure if he wanted to know what it was.

"Don't worry," Jamie said, "It's really very simple. It's just a meditation exercise. The other work won't come until later this afternoon."

"What do you want me to do?" Blair said as he drained the last of his tea.

"Ok, follow me," she said as she got up and headed for the den.

Once in the den, she pulled out a CD that said 'Temple of Healing' on the cover. After putting that into the CD player, she pulled out a cassette and put it into the other player.

"Ok Blair, I want you to get comfortable and relax. You may want to lay down rather than sitting, because if you go as deep as I think that you will, you don't want to come out of the meditation and find yourself having fallen head first on the floor."
Blair thought about that for all of a nanosecond and then lay down on the couch.

"Ok Blair, you know the drill. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths and relax. This tape will take you through the relaxation necessary for you to make the journey. I'll be in here if you should need me, but I think that you are in good hands here with your spirit guide, and guardian angel." Blair nodded his head in agreement, as Jamie started to speak several words in another language that he didn't understand. Opening his eyes, he saw her gesturing around the room as she spoke. Seeing the confusion in his eyes, she said, " I'm just creating a shield that will help to protect you on your journey." When she finished, she sat down in the chair that sat across from the sofa Blair was lying on.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As Blair laid down on the couch, Jamie's voice came over the tape player. He followed the instructions as she took him into a very deep relaxation.

He was very relaxed and comfortable when he heard what sounded like the jungle. Opening his eyes, he found himself standing in the jungle. Looking around, he noticed the pyramid that stood about a hundred yards or so off to his right. Squinting, he could barely make out the statue of a jaguar on the top of the pyramid. Walking towards it to inspect it further, he heard rustling in the bushes up ahead. Out stepped a wolf. It looked at him as he had frozen in mid step. Turning, it walked towards the pyramid, turning several moments later to see if it was being followed. Seeing the look in the face of the wolf and remembering the words that he had told Jim when they were in Peru to find Simon and Daryl, he took off after the wolf.

When they reached the base of the pyramid, the wolf jumped up onto a platform that resembled the one he had seen in his 'dream' when he met with Incacha only several days before. It also looked very much like the Temple in the picture that he had showed Alex the week before. Suddenly, the wolf morphed into a copy of himself.

"What do you fear?" his double asked him.

"Excuse me?" Blair asked.

"What do you fear?" the double asked again.

Realizing what his double was asking, he answered, "Failing my sentinel, getting him hurt or killed because I screwed up."

"Do you not trust your instincts?"

"I thought I did, but all that did was get me killed. I'm not sure of what is right anymore."

"You take your responsibility very seriously, and that is why you were chosen as shaman to your sentinel. You must bear this in mind as you go from day to day. And you must listen to your instincts, as they will not lead you astray. But you also must learn to communicate with your sentinel. You must share your thoughts and feelings with him. Communication is the only way the two of you can work as a team. The one that has been sent to help you to learn is a very wise and knowledgable teacher. Listen to what she has to share and you will not go wrong. This is not to say that you will not be tested, but if you stick to what you know, you will always come out the winner in the end." With that he morphed back into the wolf and leaped into Blair.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
>
As Blair laid down on the couch, Jamie's voice came over the tape player. He followed the instructions as she took him into a very deep relaxation.

He was very relaxed and comfortable when he heard what sounded like the jungle. Opening his eyes, he found himself standing in the jungle. Looking around, he noticed the pyramid that stood about a hundred yards or so off to his right. Squinting, he could barely make out the statue of a jaguar on the top of the pyramid. Walking towards it to inspect it further, he heard rustling in the bushes up ahead. Out stepped a wolf. It looked at him as he had frozen in mid step. Turning, it walked towards the pyramid, turning several moments later to see if it was being followed. Seeing the look in the face of the wolf and remembering the words that he had told Jim when they were in Peru to find Simon and Daryl, he took off after the wolf.

When they reached the base of the pyramid, the wolf jumped up onto a platform that resembled the one he had seen in his 'dream' when he met with Incacha only several days before. It also looked very much like the Temple in the picture that he had showed Alex the week before. Suddenly, the wolf morphed into a copy of himself.

"What do you fear?" his double asked him.

"Excuse me?" Blair asked.

"What do you fear?" the double asked again.

Realizing what his double was asking, he answered, "Failing my sentinel, getting him hurt or killed because I screwed up."

"Do you not trust your instincts?"

"I thought I did, but all that did was get me killed. I'm not sure of what is right anymore."

"You take your responsibility very seriously, and that is why you were chosen as shaman to your sentinel. You must bear this in mind as you go from day to day. And you must listen to your instincts, as they will not lead you astray. But you also must learn to communicate with your sentinel. You must share your thoughts and feelings with him. Communication is the only way the two of you can work as a team. The one that has been sent to help you to learn is a very wise and knowledgable teacher. Listen to what she has to share and you will not go wrong. This is not to say that you will not be tested, but if you stick to what you know, you will always come out the winner in the end." With that he morphed back into the wolf and leaped into Blair.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Blair sat bolt upright on the couch, then fell back down as his world began to shake. "Oh man, that was definitely a Mr. Toads Wild Ride if I was ever on one." Blair said as he closed his eyes and waited for the world to stop shaking.

"Are you OK, Blair?" Jamie asked from across the room.

"I will be as soon as the room stops shaking," he answered as he slowly sat up. Opening his eyes, he leaned back against the couch, *I wonder if this is what Jim goes through when he visits with his animal spirit?* "Well, the reason that you are shaking is because you came back into your body too fast. It just takes several minutes for your body to get used to having it's spirit home again. With a little practice, you should get the hang of it in no time," Jamie said to a wide eyed Blair.

"You mean I..." Blair started.

"Yes Blair," Jamie said with a smile at his innocence, "You just did a conscious astrial projection."

Blair just sat there for several moments, then looking up at Jamie he asked, "Jamie if I am to be Jim's guide, and Jim's guide alone, then how will all of the knowledge of shamans be able to help me? I mean, if I'm going to be a cop, then how will the knowledge of the shamans help me? As an example, if we are to keep Jim's Jamie a secret from everyone but the people that we work directly with, and something like... say a bank robbery with hostages for example. If we were to use what you showed us last night and 'go through the wall', then when that case comes to trial, wouldn't it come out in the trial that we had special abilities that would just invite any sickos in the world to try and take us out? I mean, after all, I tend to be a trouble magnet."

"I understand where you are coming from Blair, but if you keep your shields up, your batteries charged, and believe in yourself and your abilities, then you cannot go wrong. Sure, there will be times that you be tested, and people will try to come after you, but if you just hang in there and try to do the best job that you can, everything should be ok."Jamie said.

"You're sure about this?" Blair asked.

"Would I be a detective if I wasn't sure?" she answered.

"I guess not," he said, the smile returning to his face, then added, "Jamie...can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Blair, what do you need."

"How did you come to working with dragons?"

"Well, actually, they were sent to me." she replied.
At Blair's 'lost' look, she continued. "I occasionally still do sub work for the School Board as a bus driver. One day I had a field trip to one of the malls in Colorado Springs. The kids got to go see this movie because they were the winners of some contest. Anyway, I didn't want to see it, so I went to one of the book stores to wander around until it was time to take the kids back to the school. When I went the book store and got ito the metaphysical section, my Spirit Guide showed up with a baby dragon on each shoulder and told me that I needed to start working with the dragons.

He pointed out the book that I was supposed to use to begin my work. With book in hand and a dragon on each shoulder, I checked out and headed to the food court for a cup of tea and some free time to start my study into what I refer as dragonland. Now, normally, the general rule is one dragon per person, but with the type of work that I do, plus my partners, I was sent two. I now generally only have one at a time, but in the case of our little exercise the other night, more tend to show up if I need them." As she had been talking, the smile grew ever wider on Blair's face as the comprehension and magnitude of these little creatures hit him.

"You know what," Jamie added.

"What's that Jamie?" Blair asked.

"When these little guys showed up the other day for that little exercise, I thought that they were there just for that exercise. But now, I think that maybe, just maybe you will also be working with dragons in the future."

"Why do you say that?"

"Oh, maybe because the one that was asleep on
your shoulder the other night is there again."

Looking down at his shoulder, Blair could see the little creature looking up at him. Looking at Jamie, he asked, "What's his name?"

"Why don't you ask him," she replied.

Looking back down at his shoulder he asked, "Hey little one, if we are going to be working together, could you tell me your name so I don't have to go around saying 'hay you' all of the time?"

The little dragon sat up on his shoulder, stretched like a cat after a long nap, and worked his way down the front of Blair's shirt. Blair put his open hand against his chest and the little dragon stepped right onto it. Blair could actually feel the weight of the little guy in his hand. He fit in the palm of his hand with a little bit of room left over.

Wrapping his tail around Blair's thumb as a balance anchor he looked up into Blair's eyes and said, "My name is Cheezka and it's nice to meet you Blair."

Blair just kinda sat there for several seconds before he found his voice again, "It's nice to meet you too Cheezka," Blair returned.

With he introductions out of the way, Cheezka jumped back onto Blair's shoulder and said snickering in Blair's ear, "If you need me, you know where to find me." Then laid back down on Blair's soldier and closed his eyes to go back to sleep.

Blair looked back over to where Jamie was sitting and said, "Ok, he's mine, but what do I feed him, and how do I take care of him?"

"Anything that I want, and I'll let you know,"
Cheezka said as Blair jumped.

"As he said Blair," Jamie replied, "plus the one thing that you should *ALWAYS* remember. Never forget the fact that dragons are here to help you to learn. They demand respect, and they can turn on you faster than you can blink if you're not careful. But people who have real good continuous working relation with dragons, have friends for life. I'll go get my copy of Dancing with Dragons, and you can read it while I start breakfast, Ok."

"Ok, Blair replied.

Grabbing their tea cups they both made their way from the den. Blair sat at the table as Jamie headed up into her room to retrieve the book.

After returning with the book, Jamie went back into the den, turned on her tv, and after logging onto the internet through the Web tv, she loaded the page for the bookstore in Colorado Springs that delivered. After ordering a copy of Dancing With Dragons with a same day delivery date for Blair, she turned everything off and headed back into the kitchen to start breakfast.

Blair sat at the table looking through the book. His eyes kept getting wider at every turn. Looking up he said, "Is this the complete works of studying dragons?"

"No book is ever complete, but this one does come close," Jamie replied.

"I don't think that there could be a book that could contain any more than this one," Blair said as he flipped through the pages.

"Wait until you really start to study these little guys," Jamie said as she started to peal potatoes.

"Well, if it's anything like the study of Sentinels, then it will have his complete and undivided attention," Jim said as he made his way down the stairs.

"geez Jim, give us a heart attack why don't you," Blair said as he got his heart beating again.

"What do you mean us?" Jamie said smiling, "I heard him coming all along."

"Alright you two, what have you been doing behind my back," Blair asked as Jim accepted a cup of coffee from Jamie.

"I could ask you the same thing Blair. How long have you been up anyway?" Jim asked Blair as he sat down at the table across from him.

"I don't know, maybe since 5. Why did I wake you?" Blair asked.

"Actually, no. I don't think that I heard anything from the time I went to bed until the time that I woke up a few minutes ago. In fact, I think that that was the most sound and restful sleep that I've ever had in my life." Jim replied.

"Feeling safe and secure will do that to you won't it?" Jamie asked.

"You know, I really never thought of it that way. I guess I do feel safe and secure..." Jim said.
"...and loved too," Blair added.

The two partners just looked at each other for a moment before Jim added, "and loved too."

"Now, what was the big pow waw going on that I missed?" Jim asked trying to get back to the subject hand.

"Well," Blair began, "Let's just say that I was introduced to my spirit guide, and we had a deep and meaningful, heart to heart talk that really cleared up a lot of the confusion that I'd had."

"That's great Blair," Jim said. The worry now long gone from his mind.

"You think so?" Blair asked, not sure of the 'happy' in his partners voice.

"Yes, I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be sure? If you had this meeting with your spirit guide, and it was anything remotely similar to the ones that I've had with mine, then it was a real eye opener." Jim said hoping to make his partner aware of just how much he cared.

"That it was," Blair said to his partner with an ever increasing smile on his face.

Jamie watched the two of them for several minutes before going back to making breakfast.

Several minutes later, Simon came down the stairs.

"Good morning Simon," Jamie said as she handed him a cup of coffee that she had just poured.

"Good morning Jamie, Jim, Sandburg" Simon said as he accepted the coffee and took a seat next to Jim at the table.

Jamie went about cooking and serving breakfast.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
On To Part 7