~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Ok Simon...Blair too for that matter," Mike began, "this morning after breakfast, I told Jamie about the two interviews that I was going to have this morning before picking up you and Blair from the airport this afternoon. She had one of her *feelings* and asked about the two that I was going to see. I told her it was the maid and the grandson of a couple that was found murdered. She said to be very careful around the grandson. While I was interviewing the grandson, I noticed his aura was a very muddy yellow which means that he had a greedy, self centered ego. His parents had disowned him, and the only way that he would get anything was if the parents were to die. They died six months ago in a car accident. Their brakes had been cut, and they went off a 500 foot clift. Anyway, I picked up on his fear as he was walking around the desk. He pulled open a drawer and pulled out a gun as I was reaching or mine. He got his out first. At that point, I reached inside myself and pulled real hard on that tether that connects me and Jamie, and I yelled for help..."

Jim jumped in at this point, "...yeah" he said, "we were sitting in the den talking, and she suddenly stopped talking and said "Mike's in trouble, I'll be right back." And with that, she sat back on the couch, closed her eyes, and I could swear I saw something like white smoke coming out of her head. It floated up to the ceiling and disappeared. And then when I looked back at her... it looked like she was dead..."

Mike picked up the story again, "...After I called Jamie, it wasn't 10 seconds later, I saw the white smoke like substance Jim saw. It formed into Jamie, and then it walked into, and I do mean literally into the grandson and told him to put down the gun down or she would do it for him. Let's just say that he got the funniest look on his face, and laid the gun down without question. After that, she backed out and I cuffed him, and read him his rights. I told her thanks, and that I would see her later. She nodded, then turned back into smoke, and disappeared. Then I took the grandson in..."

Jim's turn again, ...It scared me for a minute, because I really thought that something was wrong. When I checked her out with my senses,everything was within normal limits, but she still looked *DEAD*. After, I don't know, maybe a minute, the smoke reappeared. It floated back down, and reentered her head. Her pulse and respiration came back up a little, and the color came back into her features, and then she 'woke up' and explained what I had just seen."

"You can astrial project?!?!?!" Blair asked, bouncing in his seat.

"Yes Blair," Jamie answered him, "and so did you yesterday."

He stopped bouncing,"Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I...but, I was DEAD," he said.

"But, it's still the same principle," Jamie said gently.

"I'm sorry Jamie, but this is like way over my head," Simon said. "Why did you need me here in the first place?"

"As I told you on the phone, Simon, first, I needed you to get Blair here for me, and second, you are their *watcher*..."

"But I thought that the sentinel was the watcher?" Simon said confused.

"The sentinel is the watchman, while the guide watches the sentinel's back and takes care of him. The watcher, or chief of the tribe, in your case the Captain, keeps an eye on both the sentinel and guide. He makes sure that they have all of the supplies needed, like food water, medical supplies, and any weapons that are needed, so that they can properly do their job. He is the supplier of weapons, manpower, etc." she told Simon.

"How do you know all of this?" Blair asked as he finished the last of his tea.

"I do a lot of work in the spirit realm, and sometimes, the information that I need is given to me as I speak. Have you ever said something, then wondered where it came from? Well, it's the same thing, and one day you will begin to recognize it more and more." she answered him, then asked, "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, I do, but I'm still real tired," he said

"You will be for a day or two, so we'll just take it easy on you for awhile, ok? Dinner is in 5, so you can crash after dinner if you want to, because you've had a big day. You all have." she finished.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After a very lovely dinner, Mike went home with a very large plate for Carolyn, and Jamie showed Blair and Simon to the room that they shared with Jim. The room was 30 feet wide with the bathroom on the far left.There were three Murphy beds that could be separated with portable walls. Each bed was a full size bed, but the great part was that they were also 7 feet long, so nobody had to worry about their feet hanging over. Jim had the bed in the middle, while Blair took the one on the left, and Simon got the one on the right. Simon figured that Jim and Blair wanted some privacy, so he pulled the wall that separated him from them. When he did so, Jim just nodded a silent thank-you, and Simon smiled in return. Jim left it up to Blair as to whether he wanted the wall between them or not. Blair opted for openness, and Jim was silently pleased. Blair was exhausted and asleep as soon as his heat hit the pillow. Jim was just planning to lay down for just a little bit of a nap, he told himself. He was dead to the world within minutes, and Simon was right behind him.

Jamie stood at the top of the stairs listening to the three men sleep. *They'll need all of the rest that they can get, as this coming week will be both physically and emotionally exhausting for them.* she told herself. She went to her room, pulled her portiwall across her side of the loft and went to bed also.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At 8:30 the following morning, Jim, Blair and Simon were sitting at Jamie's dining room table enjoying a hot cup of coffee. Blair and Simon were entranced with the scene outside as Jamie was `exercising her animalsī. Jim, having seen the scene the morning before, was sitting there lost in his own thoughts. They were all inside as it was a chilly 30 degrees and there was three feet of heavily packed new fallen snow on the ground.

For the end of May, it was definitely NOT normal, even for this elevation. The last time this had happened, was in 1984. The freak snowstorm wiped out all of the summer crops that had just been planted. This storm had effectively brought the whole entire area to a halt, and most roads were completely impassible.

Blair and Simon were sitting there watching the scene outside as they talked excitedly back and forth.

"Did you see that!!!" Blair exclaimed, as he watched Jamie as the black panther suddenly morph into the wolf as she was in mid run across he back yard.

"I'm seeing it, but I'm not sure that I'm believing it," Simon said unable to take his eyes off of the scene before him.

Hearing a yelp from just outside of their view, all three men were instantly brought back to the real world.

Suddenly realizing that Jamie might be in some kind of trouble, they grabbed their coats and ran out the door. Standing on the porch looking for the wolf, they were all nailed square in the face by three well built snow balls. Hearing the wolf again, they they looked up to see it dash behind the wood pile. Running to join it, they were amazed to find about 4 dozen equally built snow balls. As Jamie turned back into her human form, Jim asked, "What's all this?" as he gestured towards the ammo dump of snow balls.

"Ammo," she said, then added, "Mike and Carolyn are like children when it comes to snow."

O...K...,well then let's make some use of your ammo Jamie, "he said picking up two of the snow balls and prepared to launch them. Simon just shook his head as he picked up the ammo, while Blair, bouncing happily in anticipation, grabbed two of the the balls and started firing .

With the ammo quickly disappearing, Jamie said, "keep them occupied while I go sabotage their ammo"
"You want any help?" Jim asked.

"Not yet," she said, "but when you hear the signal, be ready." Then she turned into a squirrel and ran around the house.

Jim, with his sense of sight, and Blair with his great throwing arm, held off the opposing forces as Simon made himself ammo supplier.

"Come on, Jamie," Jim said," any time now."

Suddenly the squirrel ran from the other side of the house behind Mike and Carol. Then she morphed into...

^"Oh my god..."^ the three said in unison forgetting the snowball fight. Their eyes fixed on the sight before them.

Seeing their reaction , Mike and Carolyn tuned to see what had frozen their enemy in place. "Oops," they said in unison as they dove to either side of the 25 foot dragon, (wings and all) leaned it's head back and let loose with enough fie to not only melt the cache of snowballs, but to also evaporate any sign that the were ever there.

Blair was the first to recover, sorta. "Simon man, please tell me that this is a dream," Blair said, not taking his eyes off the magnificent creature before him.
"I'm hoping to wake up myself, Blair." Simon said not blinking. "Jim, what's your opinion?" he asked hoping someone would wake him up.

Not hearing an answer, both Blair and Simon looked over to find a very zoned sentinel. "Oh great," Blair said as he almost ran to Jim's side. With the dragon forgotten, Blair grabbed Jim by the shoulders and gently, but firmly shook him."Jim, come on man, snap out of this. Follow the sound of my voice. You're safe here. Come on back now ok?"

Jamie seeing what had happened , morphed back into her human form and headed over to see what she could do to help.

Several seconds later, Jim took a deep breath and blinked as Jamie, Mike and Carolyn walked over with concern in their eyes. "You OK, Jim," Jamie said as she came over.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jim said regaining his composure. "What happened?" he said trying to shake off the last effects of the zone.

"You zoned man, big time," Blair said, not leaving his sentinels side.

"On what? The last thing that I remember, is the snow ball fi..." he trailed off as it came back to him. What he had just seen. Looking at Jamie, he said, "You turned into a..."

"...dragon," she finished for him.

"But that's not possible...dragons are mythical creatures. They're not real? Are they?" Jim asked very confused.

"Just because they are mythical, does not mean that they are not real," Jamie said. "For the most part, they live on a different plane of existence, because of their size. They were so big that they scared everyone. And with the exception of Lock Ness, they remain on that other plane," Jamie said.

"Hey, whats say we take this little discussion inside? It's starting to get a little chilly out here," Mike said, as he started to shiver.

"That's a good idea," Jamie sais. "We don't need anyone catching pneumonia, least of all Blair."

"Here here," everyone said in unison.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Once inside, Jamie started a fresh pot of coffee, as Mike put a few more logs on the fire.

"Before we continue," Jamie said to the group,"I'd like to introduce you to Carolyn Lawson. She's Mike's wife, a shaman, and an RN who also teaches at the University of Colorado's teaching hospital in Colorado Springs. She also does Search and Rescue with Mike and I, "Jamie finished before introducing her clients.

After all of the introductions were made and their coffee filled or refilled, everyone sat down in front of the nice warm fire to continue the discussion where they had left off outside.

"Ok," Jamie began."Before we go back into Dragon land, I have three suggestions that I'd like to offer." Receiving nods of 'go ahead', she continued. "First, to Jim. I would suggest, that when you get home, that you get together with your fellow detectives in Major Crimes and Forensics as well. Sit them down and tell them and only them about your Sentinel abilities." Holding up a hand to forestall the explosion that she could see in Jim's face, she said, "Please Jim, let me finish." After he closed his mouth and sank back into the sofa, she continued.

"By telling these people and only these people, and asking them not to spread the word, you will further increase your arrest and conviction rate. Plus the fact that with these people who would know of your gift, they will better be able to help you find what you can to help them. For instance, say you are at a murder scene and you smell carnuba wax for example. There is no other evidence than that particular smell. So when you are going through possible suspects, friends, relatives, and you find that one has an auto detail shop. plus he surfs, well, that's one leed that your people would put together knowing of the smell that you, and only you detected."

"Or," Jamie continued, "say you, Blair and another detective are in the middle of an undercover operation that no one could possibly be wired in any way shape or form. The rest of your team would be able to communicate with you any pertinent information that was needed."

"Plus, it will give them an understanding as to why Blair is there, and why you need him around." she finished.

Simon was the first to speak, "She does have a point Jim, I mean, if Rafe Brown and Taggert knew what was going on, they could better help. Not to mention forensics."

"I'll think about it," was all Jim said.

"What's number two," Blair asked.

"Ok, for starters," Jamie began again, "If I were you, I would get that dissertation written and handed in. The sooner you defend, the sooner you can get down to the business of being Jim's shaman and guide on a more full time level. Now, I'm not saying that you should not teach any more, I'm just saying that once you have your Ph.D., then you will not have to worry about having to do this or that test. You won't have to worry about the scientific point of view any more, just the spiritual point of view. It will be Sentinel and Guide, doing what they were born to do," she said.

"The only problem that I'm having with the diss," Blair began, "is how can I publish and still keep Jim's identity a secret?"

"Well," Jamie said, "Could you put into the dissertation that you must keep your subjects identity a secret due to the danger of his work. Then explain to your committee that Jim will be available to defend the diss itself, but that you must keep his identity a secret to the rest of the world?"

"There's a thought," Simon said.

"Yeah, but Simon," Blair began, "What's gonna be the excuse for me to keep working with Jim?"

"I'd like the answer to that one myself," Jim stated flatly.

"That's number three actually," Jamie cut in. Everyone gave her their complete attention. "Actually it would go hand in hand with number one. It would require Simon going to the Commissioner and explaining Blair's reason to remain as Jim's partner. That is, as Jim's shaman and guide, it will require a demonstration of his abilities as well as explaining zone outs and what not."

"Get him a position as Detective/Special Consultant, and Jim's permanent partner. Then, after Blair finishes his dissertation, let him go through the police academy."

"..."I'm sorry," Blair cut in, "but I am ^NOT^ cutting my hair!!!" he said adamantly.

"Blair," Jamie said calmly, "please just calm down, relax and let me finish, or you are going to work yourself into another panic attack, ok."

"I'm sorry, please continue," Blair said, relaxing as Jim put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Smiling at how easy Blair relaxed under Jim's comfort, she continued. "Because you are a Shaman, and that is a religious title that can not be discriminated against. Plus the fact that shamans are considered 'psychic', and most psychics have long hair because it helps them to ground and center their energy. As long as you kept it tied back and out of your face at work, I see no problem with it."

Then she added, "And also, by going through the police academy, you will never have to hear, and I quote 'You're not a cop Sandburg'."

Blair looked at the two faces in the room when that comment was made, and neither of them would make eye contact with him. But he could tell that they were both tyring very hard not to laugh . Returning his attention to Jamie, he asked, "But by going through the academy, wouldn't I have to carry a gun?"

"Another MacGyver," Mike said chuckling from the love seat that he shared with Carol on the left side of the sofa.

"Have Swiss Army Knife, will travel,"Jamie said as she glared at Mike from the chair she occupied on the right side of the sofa. Returning her attention to Blair, she said, "just ignore him, he is just jealous he hasn't learned to control the weather, and still relies on more violent means of apprehending suspects."

"Oh yeah," Mike said, "and throwing lightning bolts is not a violent way to apprehend a suspect?"

"Say what," Simon said.

"Huh," Jim managed.

"Excuse me," Blair choked out.

"Yes Blair," Jamie said, " Shamans can control the
weather when needed."

Three jaws were still sitting on the floor as Jamie continued. "No Blair, I see no reason that you would have to carry a gun if you did not want to. Although, you would still have to qualify on the firing range to be licensed as an officer, but I'm sure that Jim would be more than willing to help you out there." Then added," I don't carry a gun, and I'm still around."

"Any way, just think about those three things, ok?" she asked the still shell shocked trio sitting on the couch.

Looking up at the clock on the wall, it was 9 am. "Would anyone care for breakfast?" Jamie asked rising from her chair.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Shaman School Chapter 3b

After breakfast was finished and the dishwasher was doing it's thing, everyone settled back into the living room.

"Now about those Dragons," Blair asked.

"And controlling the weather," Jim added.

Mike and Carol started to chuckle from their perches on the love seat, "A couple of new sponges," Mike said.

"Yep," Carol agreed.

"Huh?" Simon asked.

"Sponges," Jamie said, "Jim and Blair are like a pair of new sponges. Like a child learning something new, they are absorbing all of this new knowledge. And like a new sponge, they are thirsty for more."

"What about the Dragons," Blair wined, bouncing in his seat.

"Oh, you mean like the one on your shoulder?" Jamie asked Blair.

Both Jim and Blair jumped. "Where," they said in unison as Simon just kinda edged closer to the furthermost end of the couch.

"Don't worry, they don't bite... much, unless you piss them off by not sitting still," Jamie said.

Blair froze in place, afraid to move. "Where is he," Blair asked, not sure of what he should do.

At this new piece of information, Jim started to visually scan his partner for anything that would endanger him.
Focusing on hair that seemed to move on it's own, Jim didn't see anything. But as he pulled his vision back to within normal limits, he saw a pair of eyes studying him very closely. Reaching over, he gently pulled back Blair's hair to reveal a baby dragon no bigger than a kitten. It continued to watch him as he was looking at it. Gently tucking the hair back around the creature as it started to shiver, he said, " Just try not to move around very much, and I think that you'll be ok."
"You can see him!?!" Blair said excitedly, trying not to
bounce.

"Yeah," Jim said, "He's about the size of a kitten. And he's curled up between your hair and your neck where it's warm."

"I wish I could see him," Blair said a little disappointed.

"Well, there's always the one on Jim's shoulder," Jamie said.

Hearing this, Jim suddenly stiffened up, then remembering the small animal curled on in Blair's shoulder, he relaxed. As he did so, he glanced at each shoulder wondering where the little guy was, because he didn't have the long hair that his partner had. Jim saw the creature as Blair opened his mouth to speak.

"What do you see Blair?" Jamie asked as Blair's jaw dropped.

"It's about the size of a large house cat, and he's drapped around Jim's shoulders. The head and front legs are on Jim's left while his tail and back legs are on his right. The tail goes down to his waist, and the wings are basically acting as a brace to keep him in position on the back of Jim's neck."

"What color is he?" Jamie asked smiling.

"He's kinda bluish purple with pink on what I can see of his chest.

"That's good Blair, that's really good," Jamie said.

"Looks like that eye is opening nicely," Mike said from his perch on the love seat.

"Jim's is already wide open,"Carol said from her perch next to Mike.

"What eye?" Simon asked as Jim looked at Jamie confused, and the little light went on in Blair's head.

"The third eye Simon. The one associated with clairaudiiance, clairvoience, and for lack of a better word, ESP." Blair said, starting to bounce again, but immediately quit when he remembered the small dragon trying to sleep on his shoulder.

Glancing down at his shoulder, he could see two sleepy eyes peering up at him. "Sorry," he whispered. The little one merely closed is eyes and put his head back down on Blair's shoulder, snuggling closer to his neck for warmth.

Blair reached up and gently reached up and tucked his hair around the little guy as best as he could to help to keep him warm.

"Already wide open, I'd say," Jamie said smiling as she watched the exchange between Blair and the dragon.
Blair just beamed.

Simon kinda grunted.

"Ok, Simon," Jamie started,"sit back and close your eyes."

Simon did as he was told, not sure what would happen to him if he did not.

"Relax Simon, nothing is going to get you. Just relax and take a couple of deep breaths." Simon did so, and when she could see that he was relaxed she said, "Ok, Simon, open your eyes and tell me what you see," Jamie requested of him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
On To Part 5