CSHP1

Today started much like any other day in the life of Dr. Blair Sandburg, PhD. Waking up that morning and making breakfast for Detective James Ellison, Sentinel to his Guide, and himself. They would take turns making breakfast. Blair lived with Jim in his loft. He had been living there for several years now after the warehouse that he was renting was blown up by a gang's drug lab explosion next door. Soon after that he started to rent a room from Jim in his loft and for the first time in his life had a real home.

You see, Jim is a sentinel, one with all five and possibly a sixth sense heightened beyond that of the ordinary person. In all tribal cultures a sentinel is born to protect the tribe, help search for food, and also to detect changes in the weather. Now, though in today's culture a sentinel doesn't need to detect weather changes or look for food, we still need one to protect us. And that is why we have sentinels. And that is why we have guides. Guides are there to back up their sentinels. If a sentinel focuses too much on one or more of their senses then they will "zone out". That is why they need guides, to back them up so they won't zone out and get themselves or others killed in the process.

Realizing that it would be dangerous to Jim and to himself and the others that they both cared for and loved, Blair decided not to submit his dissertation on sentinels. He also realized that he had enough information to submit a dissertation on closed societies in a police department. That earned him his doctorate and the title of PhD. after his name. And after some work from his and Det. Jim Ellison's captain Simon Banks, he now had a permanent and paying job with the Cascade PD. He now had the title of "Special Civilian Consultant" with the duties and privileges thereof.

Now after spending the morning helping Jim with their last case's paperwork, Blair was now heading off to work on a new exhibit that was opening on Mayan statues at the university museum building. He loved being an anthropologist as much as he loved being a guide and a consultant to the CPD.

Walking through the building he was met by Dr. Eli Stoddard, his mentor and friend. "Hello, Dr. Stoddard," Blair said as he found the professor.

"Well, hello yourself, Dr. Sandburg," Dr. Stoddard said smiling at Blair. "Come here to get your hands dirty with the students?" He as well as Blair loved to work alongside of their students. They both thought that by doing so they would learn more from their teachers than just telling them how it is done. And as it worked out the students did learn and loved learning too.

"Yep," Blair said smiling back as he walked over. "I have to say this is working out very well too. This looks great! Eli, why don't you go have a little break and I will help the guys out for a while?"

"You must be psychic, Blair, I am hungry!" Eli said amazed.

"No, Eli, I just heard your stomach growl," Blair said chuckling, "very loudly as a matter of fact!"

"I think that I will take you up on that one, my boy!" Eli said laughing and slapping Blair on the shoulder then walking to the door still laughing out loud. Blair had to shake his head.

After watching Eli leave Blair walked over to Steve, one of his best students and they began to work on placing the platforms for the statues in their proper places. Then looking at one another they smiled and agreed that they had picked the right formation. Steve then said to Blair, "Hey man, I need to go to the boys room, I will be back."

"Cool, take your time, I need to see what I can do over by the stage area for the speech." he said back.

As Steve left for the restroom, Blair walked over to the stage. It had looked like a mini rock concert stage Blair had thought. With lighting over the stage to make the platform well lighted. He stood behind the podium and looked out to see if everything was set up right. Just then he heard what sounded like a snap from above, and the lighting began to fall down on him. Expecting for the thing to fall down on him Blair instinctively covered his head with his arms. But the second that he thought that it would make contact with his head, it didn't. Peeking through his arms he saw that it was just hovering above him a couple of inches wobbling slightly. Then he watched as the object floated over to the side and land in front of a woman who was standing there with her hands out in the direction of the thing. It appeared as if she was guiding it with the motion of her hands.

She was about 5'5" tall with curly reddish-brown hair down to her waist. It was pulled back in front out of her face. She had dark-brown eyes that as Blair looked into them they appeared to hold something special. Which, if he was right in what he was thinking at the current moment, wasn't too far form the truth. She had what he thought was a healthy build, not too skinny and yet not on the plump side either. She had on a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a colorful Native American print vest and a long silver chain and a crystal hanging from it, of a style of which he though Naomi, his original hippie mother, would likely wear as well. She also had on a pair of black boots and a black leather hooded jacket that went down to her knees. She looked like a fairly attractive woman and Blair liked what he saw.

"Um, thank you, I think?" Blair said as he finally found his voice and spoke to her. She just looked at him not knowing exactly what to say. Usually she could just explain away her gifts, but with this man she didn't think that she could. And, somehow she thought with amazement that she could trust him.

"No problem, I couldn't just let that thing kill you," she then walked over and reached out a hand to Blair and said, "Hi, my name is Deana Greenwood. Nice to meet you, Dr. Sandburg."

"Dr. Deana Greenwood?", Blair asked taking Ranier's new linguist/anthropologist's hand.

"Yep, that's me." Dr. Greenwood answered shaking Blair's hand and smiling.

"Very impressive, you're telekinetic are you?"

"Yes, it is strange though, I don't quite know why but I feel as though I can trust you."

"Well, tell you what, why don't you and I go out somewhere tonight at about seven and we find that out?"

"I wouldn't mind that at all." Deana said smiling at Blair and seeing him return the smile.

Blair then with Deana's help finishes helping his students and takes her on a tour of Ranier University. He thinks that he is going to like her. And Deana thinks that she will like living in Cascade. And, she had already made a new friend too. Things were definitely starting to look up for her. The only thing that was puzzling her now was why on Earth was there a wolf following him around and why didn't anyone else notice it. He did though seem to see it but not mind. She was gonna have to ask him sometime what that was all about. Just maybe he was as different as she was.