Disclaimer: Not mine, but I'll take 'em in if necessary. Just the two guys, here. The extra character is mine. Of course, THEY can borrow her if they want...

Notes: As always good, bad, and ugly to wnnepooh@erols.com

Two of a Kind

by Wnnepooh

"Yeah, Blair Sandburg..."

"Blair? It's Frankie -"

"Teaching Fellow in Anthropology. I'm not in the office right now, but if you need to reach me..."

*Damn!*

BEEEEEEEP!

"Okay! Sandburg! It's Frankie. I've gotta talk to you! It's important. I'll try you at the other number, but just in case - I'm at 555-4323. Please call - it's reeeeeaaalllllyy important."

~~~~~

It was supposed to be an easy day. They were only going to check out a warehouse for a suspect that was on the lam. Unfortunately, the suspect had called in some friends and a near war had broken out. Jim had gotten away with some surface scratches. Blair had gotten himself a set of freshly bruised ribs. Compliments of his own partner. Jim had heard the gun cocking and tackled Sandburg before the shot hit him. Blair had called for backup, Jim caught the bad guys, and everyone was happy.

Until the kid passed out.

As they walked into the loft, Jim heard the click of the answering machine but he couldn't get to it before they hung up. Watching Blair ease his way over to the couch, Jim checked the messages. "This can't be right..."

"What can't be right?" Sandburg said as he attempted to slide down onto the couch.

"Says we've got 15 messages." And Jim proceeded to hit the play button. Two messages from salesmen, one from Simon - wanting to know how Blair was - and then 12 hangups. Well, 11 hangups if you count the curse on the last hangup as a message.

"I'd say someone wants to talk to us pretty badly." And then there was a smile on Jim's face. "Or maybe just you."

"How do you know that, man?" the academic asked eagerly. "Did you hear something?"

"Yeah, the voice was female and she was cursing..."

"Funny, Jim. Funny." But Sandburg's curiosity was engaged. If it had been for him, then maybe they'd called his office. He pulled his cellphone out and dialed his office at Rainier, keying in the code for his machine. He scrambled for a piece of paper and a pen as the number came over the phone. As he turned off his cell, Blair smiled and bounced slightly, ignoring the ache to his ribs.

"So, Chief." and Jim crossed to the couch, handing his friend a glass of iced tea then sitting on the coffee table. "Who's this Frankie?"

Ignoring the fact that Jim had listened in, Blair smiled and sipped his tea. "Francine Wooldridge. We were in undergrad together. She went off to do some independent research - last I knew, she took my place on the Borneo expedition." The partners exchanged a knowing look. The Borneo expedition had been a turning point in their relationship. Since then, neither of them had mentioned the trip - neither what it would have meant, nor what it may have cost in terms of Sandburg's career.

"So when did she get back?"

Blair took a deep breath and explained that the Borneo expedition had broken up just two months ago, after almost two years, and the participants had come home to their respective institutions. Evidently, Frankie had just gotten around to renewing acquaintances. At least that's why Blair figured she'd called. Then again, she'd said that it was really important. Maybe she wanted to share her findings with him before writing up her paper on the trip. The smile returned to his face as the anthropologist anticipated hearing all about their time spent in the jungles. It had been a while since he'd actually gone into the territory, and - well - he missed it.

The Sentinel watched his friend, watched the smile on his face that was dampened only by the mist to his eyes and the fluttering of his heartbeat. He may not be an anthropologist, but Jim knew that look. It was the look the kid got any time he spoke of his wanderings. And you didn't have to be any more than a friend to understand it was a look of longing.. Jim set a hand on his partner's shoulder. "I never did say thank you for staying, did I?" He was rewarded with a brilliant smile and the nervous hair-tucking that Blair did when he was unsure where to go next.

"I'm...uh...gonna give her a call, maybe get together for some dinner. You wanna come, man?"

"Nah. I'll let you academians enjoy the conversation." And he stood, letting Blair know that he'd have privacy for the call. As Jim climbed the stairs to his room, he called over his shoulder. "Besides, she's probably got some new customs to show you after two years in the jungle..."

The anthropologist just smiled and grabbed for the cordless that Jim had set on the coffee table.

~~~~~

Blair studied the pictures on his desk, staring intently at the one with Frankie. They'd been hamming it up at one of the department mixers when someone suggested they give an impromptu demo of a native ritual dance. Finding the Dean's garden flora enough for costumes, Frankie and Blair had fashioned themselves into warriors and performed happily. And to the endless amusement of many faculty and alumni.

He laughed at the picture once more, then picked up the ringing phone. "Yeah, Blair Sandburg."

"Teaching Fellow in Anthropology - yeah, I know..." The voice stopped when the message didn't go on. "Blair?"

"Frankie?!?!" And his face widened in smile. "Where are you, girl?"

"Actually, I'm on my way to meet this gorgeous guy..." she said.

"OH. Had to ask, didn't I?" There was silence on the other end of the phone. "So, you called?"

"Yeah, honey. I need to talk to you."

"Well, when you're done with your meeting, you can drop by my office after that." He said staring back at the picture and smiling.

"I can?" she said with a giggle. "You're still in Hargrove? That modified storage closet?" She heard him laugh as she stopped before the door.

The knock startled him. "Hold on, I've gotta get the door." Picking up the base, Blair juggled the phone's receiver between his ear and shoulder as he moved to open the door. "Yeah, come in. I'll be with you in a minute." His back was to the open door as he tried not to stretch the cord. "Frankie? You there?"

"Yeah." She said staring at the back of him. "I'm here."

He heard her voice, turned to see her - and her cell phone - standing behind him, staring at him with a curious smile. "I thought you said..." Sandburg stopped and put the phone down on the desk. With a bit of a red face, the anthropologist turned back to his guest and embraced her. "I thought you said you were on your way to meet someone?"

She sighed and shut the door. "I said I was on the way to meet a gorgeous guy. I was! And now I'm here with him. Hello, gorgeous!" Frankie was rewarded with Blair turning a deeper shade of red. But she got a bigger hug. She closed her phone as he took her hand and lead her to an open chair. A glance about the place and she noticed so much of a difference. "Wow! You've certainly changed things here. What happened to all the clutter? Is that a REAL filing cabinet? You go away for a couple years and suddenly someone grows up..."

She'd always teased him about his habits, his disarray, and his other youthful ways. Truth was, she was only half as messy as he was and three years older than him. Of course, the two years in Borneo had aged her immeasurably. But what it had taken in physical payment, she'd gained in other ways. He was still laughing at her, at the way she was examining his office. "Man, I've missed you."

"Yeah, right." he said trying to keep the hurt from his voice. "I'm sure two years in Borneo really left you a lot of time to miss me."

"Blair, " Frankie started and grabbed his hand. "It took me a whole year to get over the fact that I went and not you. I almost didn't go in the first place. They didn't tell me I was second choice until we were at the airport and old basket britches, Dr. Kimmer - she mentions that I was still SECOND banana." The woman saw the flash of pain cross her friend's face. They'd always been number one and number two in everything. Their grade points were only a hundredth of a point in difference, they'd been on all the same expeditions, and they were usually inseparable in classes and elsewhere. Then Blair started working on his doctorate project, his research subject. She'd understood it completely. She'd been working on her own project and it had come time for them to separate. Unfortunately, it had taken her two years in the bush to realize how lonely she was without him. "Some day you'll tell me why you didn't go..."

"Some day." he said, then took a deep relaxing breath. He looked her over, noting how the bush had changed her. She looked good, even if she was wrapped up in a multitude of clothes. Compared to Borneo, Cascade might as well be Alaska. Still, the color in her cheeks set off the smile in her green eyes, further accented by the now sunkist hair. "So! You gonna take me to dinner and tell me all about it? Or do I have to cook you one of my famous seven course meals and force the details out of you?"

"Hey," she said, throwing her hands up in surrender. "You never had to force anything out of me. But you are a great cook..." She pushed herself up out of the chair and headed for the door. "I have a debriefing with her highness - Dr. Kimmer - and the dissertation committee....it's kinda what I want to talk to you about. It really is important."

There was a great big smile on his face as he kissed her cheek. "Dinner it is. Seven tonight." And he handed her a slip of paper with the address on it. "I'll be waiting."

~~~~~

"So," Jim started, watching his partner working away in the kitchen. "How come you never mentioned Frankie before? Sounds like you were really close."

"Yeah, we were. Still are, I guess." And he resumed his search of the cabinets.

"Looking for another can of grape leaves?" The detective joked.

"Huh?" and Sandburg turned red. "No. It's not like that. Frankie, well..." And he stopped and smiled at his memories. "Frankie and I were never in competition with each other, but everyone always thought we were. We were even working on the same area of anthro-" His eyes widened. "Ohmygod!"

"What is it, Chief?" Jim asked with concern, tuning into the racing heartbeat of his friend. "Something wrong?"

Sandburg knocked himself in the head. He didn't get it before. He and Frankie had actually come together over a set of books. She had them and he needed them. They were a set of critiques of Burton's works. It had gotten his goat that Frankie had the texts, and it didn't hit him until later that they might have been working on the same subject. They'd been working out of the same books for months. Blair had even quoted her published works in his Master's paper, and she'd returned the favor. Now, coming back from the wilds and needing to see him, it made sense.

"She's found a Sentinel..."

Jim was off the couch in a second at the whisper. "What was that? What did you just say?" The large man came to stand by the cooking island, across from his friend. Their eyes locked and Jim noticed the panic in Blair's eyes. "Frankie was working on Sentinel's too?" Blair could only nod. "And you never told me this?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense. She...she...she took my place on the Borneo expedition...and she had a meeting with the dissertation committee today." Blair was still lost in his own thoughts. "Gees, Jim. If she's passed this by the dissertation committee and she can give them the physical proof - then..."

"Then what?" Jim could only guess, but it would probably ruin Sandburg.

"Then my research would be moot - in essence nullified. If she can get her information together and write it up now, then I'm blown out of the water. She's proven my theory first, so it's not original... Shit!" And he slammed his fist on the counter. "Three years..."

Jim had no idea what to do. With his dissertation trashed, Blair wouldn't need to stay. There would be no need for him to continue his research. Yeah, it was about friendship, sure. But it was more now. Once a cop got used to a partner, it was hard to let them go. Lots of teams were known to get promoted together, even retire together - cause they didn't work well with anyone other than the one partner. What would he do? Gees, what would THEY do?

The phone was ringing, but neither of them were answering it. The answering machine picked it up but neither of them paid it any attention until the beep. "Hello," started the very proper voice. "This is Dr. Kimmer and this message is for Mr. Sandburg. If he could call me in the morning, it is extremely important that I speak with him regarding his colleague, Ms. Wooldridge. Thank you."

The two men were silent, both facing the answering machine.

"That's it." Blair said and stormed into the livingroom. "How could I be so stupid?"

"All right, Sandburg." The detective said. "Take it easy. You obviously can't do anything until morning. So get dinner together, and when she gets here, take the opportunity to find out what's going on." Jim checked his watch. He had night-shift this week, which luckily for him meant a desk and paperwork, and time to think. "Chief. I gotta get to the precinct. Why don't we just calm down about this and see how it pans out?"

"Pans out, right." And Blair nodded absently, then pulled some pots and pans from under the cooktop.

"Take my advice, Sandburg." And the kid turned blank eyes towards him. "Call for some take out and a couple bottles of good wine." With a quick cuff to Blair's shoulder, Jim put on his coat, along with his false sense of security, and headed out the door.

~~~~~

She'd arrived at exactly 7:00 PM, with a backpack and oversized attache full of stuff. In making dinner, Blair had cleared his mind of the possible problems and slipped into the persona of a man awaiting a long lost friend. So when Frankie arrived, Sandburg was genuinely happy to see her. They talked all through dinner, finished off the bottle of wine Frankie had brought and started on the second. Still talking, they cleaned up the dishes and adjourned to the livingroom where Frankie emptied her backpack onto the coffee table. There were notebooks, journals, loose notes, pictures, and some random pieces of native crafts.

Blair's fears suddenly came back to him at the sight of it all and he poured himself a full glass of wine. If she'd actually succeeded, then Blair knew he should be happy for her. If positions were reversed, he knew she'd be happy for him. He'd probably end up telling her the truth by the end of the night anyway...

"Blair..." she said softly. "Before we get into this stuff - I gotta talk to you about the past two years."

*Here it comes.* he thought.

"I...I really...I mean. I found..." She took a sip of wine, filling her glass from the bottle sitting on the table. "I don't know how to say this..."

"Just say it." And he moved closer, steeling himself for her words. "I think I can take it."

"I.." and she took a deep breath, seeing Blair wince. "I don't think you want to hear this." Her tone was suddenly angry. "I knew it was stupid to come here tonight. We should have gone out. Gees! I was so stupid."

In the middle of her ranting, Blair watched Frankie stand and wobble to the phone. Vaguely he heard her calling for a cab. It was then that he stood up and tried to clear his head. "What in the world is going on, Frankie?"

Tears. All she could do is wipe away the tears. For the past year, she'd dreamed of coming back to her best friend and telling him the hardest thing she could. She'd just tried to tell him and the look on his face told her that they weren't on the same wavelength. Something else was on his mind, and it wasn't her. She gave the address to the cab company and hung up the phone, then headed for the door. "I'm sorry, Blair. I'll just have to stop by your office tomorrow."

Sandburg pushed the door shut before she could leave. He couldn't understand this outburst. This wasn't the person he knew two years ago. "What the hell is going on? Talk to me!"

"You don't want to talk to me. You probably don't even want me here tonight. Why would you? You've lived without me for the past two and a half years - what was I expecting?" The look of utter confusion on her friend's face seemingly confirmed her thoughts. "You know. I knew when you got your test subject, you'd lose interest in everything else. I accepted it then. But I thought after two years, you might miss me. At least feel more than indifference for me." She lowered her eyes and finished her thought. "Cause I certainly feel something for you..."

"Huh?" The young man pinched the bridge of his nose then reached out for his friend. "You mean you didn't find a research subject in the field? You aren't ready to write your thesis? You came here tonight because you missed me..."

She sighed and tried to open the door again, which Blair now leaned against. Giving up on that, Frankie walked to the balcony. She understood now. He was worried that she was going to publish before he did. "Oh, Blair. What's wrong with me?" And she laughed.

He shook his head, trying to clear it. *What's wrong with you? What's wrong with me?* ran through his mind. "Frankie...I didn't mean -"

"I understand, Blair." Again the tears came. "It was silly for me to think I could just come back and spring this -" she was still facing away from him. "I know you, and I should've thought this through. I'm just not you're type, am I? Who am I kidding? I not ANYone's type. I'm not tall and leggy and stacked. Guess men really are intimidated by a high IQ and put off by a nice personality."

Some of her words were making sense. She'd come back to the states after two years in Borneo and the only person she wanted, literally, was Blair. It wasn't what he'd expected. It wasn't something he'd turn away, though. Frankie had always appealed to him - because she kept his brain working when he was with her. They talked, they laughed, they flirted, they even fought, but they were always friends. He should have fallen back on that. But he was so intent on protecting his interests, that he'd trampled that down. He walked up behind her, his arms coming around her waist and holding her close to him. "Frankie." he said calmly. "I'm really sorry. I'm so stupid."

"Duh." she said and wiped her eyes. "I can't blame you, babe. I didn't exactly give you enough information...I'm just going through a lot, right now. Lotta stuff coming down." She turned around in his arms, finding his face awfully close. "Blair. I'm on a tight schedule, here. I don't have time to be subtle. I've spent the past two years thinking about you - and me. That's why I came here tonight. I -"

She didn't say anything else. She couldn't. Not with Blair kissing her so thoroughly.

~~~~~

The smell of coffee awakened him. Rolling over, Blair found only a pillow bunched in his arm. He threw on a pair of boxers and a shirt and walked to the kitchen, finding a cup of coffee waiting with two aspirin. The patio doors were open and he crossed towards them, expecting to find Frankie enjoying the morning sun. What he found was Jim sitting on the couch examining all the photos and notes.

"Morning, Chief." Jim said, watching Blair peer out the doors. "She's not here, buddy. And before you go finding her, I think you need to look at this stuff."

Blair took the seat next to his partner and picked up a notebook. A couple hours later, Blair was still reading over the journals, shocked and elated. He was right. Frankie had found a Sentinel - a member of a small tribe in their study region. During a daily scouting mission, Frankie had run into the Sentinel pair involved with a skirmish. The Sentinel was busy with a pair of outsiders and never saw the other two who were attacking the Guide. Frankie, a blackbelt in Tai Kwan Do and a woman with four brothers, had actually taken out the two warriors, but it was too late for the Guide. The wound was mortal. As Frankie had comforted the Guide and blessed her into the next world, the Sentinel had observed the whole situation. It was the Sentinel's conviction that Frankie take over the Guide's duties. It was an opportunity she couldn't pass over. So, over the past year and a half, she'd studied and noted. Finally, Frankie had obtained permission to move in with the other tribe.

"You're saved, Chief." Jim had said as he set a salad in front of his friend.

"Huh?" the enthralled anthropologist had grunted. "How's that?"

"Her Sentinel is a woman, and still in a native setting. That's gotta be different than your theory about their integration into civilization. Right?" And he took a nervous seat next to his friend. Blair's reply was interrupted by the ringing phone. "Hello? Yes. He's right here."

Taking the phone, Blair tried to concentrate on the voice on the other end. "Frankie? Oh, Dr. Kimmer. No, I don't know where she is. We had dinner last night, it was late and she left sometime early this morning."

Jim noted the look of shock that passed over Blair's face. The pale color worried him. "What is it, Sandburg?"

"Right. If I see her - I'll let you know. I'll try talking to her. MM-bye." He turned off the phone and set it in the midst of the notes and such. "Frankie quit the program, yesterday. She just walked into Kimmer's office and said that she'd found something that would require her absolute attention. Said it was a matter of life and death, then turned and walked out. No one's seen her since."

There was silence for a moment, as Jim picked up a picture of a native woman in warrior dress. He recognized the similarities to the Chopec. And having read most of Frankie's notes, he knew this was her Sentinel - Nehatu. Standing next to the warrior was Frankie. It was almost hard to imagine the girl had been born and bred in Boston, for all the native garb and tribal costume she wore. Jim smiled at the picture, then down at his roommate.

The phone rang again.

"Frankie?" Blair blurted into the reciever, but it was just the building super. He had a registered letter Blair. "Bring it up, please." Then looking up at his partner, Blair shook his head. "What were you saying about the dissertation?"

"I was saying that Frankie obviously found an active Sentinel in a native environment. A FEMALE Sentinel in a female-dominant tribe. That's like way different than an active Sentinel in a major metropolis, dontcha think?" Jim had the satisfaction of seeing Blair smile. "And a hundred and eighty degrees different in gender. True?"

"I'll make an anthropologist out of you yet." The young man said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear. "As comforting as that thought is, the fact remains that Frankie has withdrawn her research project from active status. She's as much as written off her past three years of work. Given up the ghost. Why would she do that? For what? What is so pressing that she's taken off like this?"

While Blair had been questioning himself, Jim had answered the door and accepted the letter for Sandburg. He stopped halfway to the couch. He took a deep breath and walked from Blair's bedroom door, to the couch, then to the balcony. As Ellison had passed the anthropologist, he'd dropped the letter into the kid's hands. He stayed standing in the open patio doors, watching as Blair opened and read the letter.

Dear Blair,
I'm sure that you've had enough time to sort through the literature on the coffee table. And I'm positive that basket britches has called and told you I quit. You can't do anything for me, so don't try. But I know you'll understand, we've always been so alike.

We dreamed of finding our destinies,' and we have. I found Nehatu, and you have Jim. I know you won't be surprised that I know. Or that I've known since your research began. All the experiments and lab time, and the only other person I ever saw was Detective Ellison. No one else knows, babe. And I won't be in any position to tell anyone who'll affect you. Nehatu, my Sentinel, is waiting for me to return. It's a duty, Blair. A necessity, really, that I feel deep inside. The friendship we have, the responsibility to the tribe we share, is more important than a piece of paper. A piece of paper can't help my tribe. But I can.

All the documentation I have is yours. If I haven't seen you by the time you get this, the key to my office is included. Computer disks, notebooks, everything. I want you to use it. I will attempt to send you what I can of my future interaction, but I don't know if that's logical or feasible. I'm not coming back, dear. You know why. It's not something I can put words to. And for me, that's saying a lot. You know I love to talk. All I can tell you for certain, is that I feel a purpose.

The Sentinel research is yours - no more first and second place. Like I could ever compete with you.

From my heart to yours,
Frankie

PS: I expect full credit in your references.

Blair turned glossy eyes to his partner. There on the page was an affirmation that his past three years were understood by at least one other person. A purpose - a duty to the tribe. That was a lot of it. But Frankie had said the other part, as well. A friendship and a necessity. He didn't know what hurt more: the fact that he'd lost his best friend, or that he'd gained his best friend.

"Blair?" Jim asked quietly. "You all right?"

The young man smiled and handed his Sentinel the letter, then picked up the research and took it to his room. Blair settled it on his already overcrowded desk, kocking several things off. As he knelt to pick them up, he found a small envelope addressed to him in Frankie's handwriting. He opened it and read it quickly. It wasn't overly wordy, but it brought the tears back to his eyes and Blair found himself grabbing up clothes and heading to the shower. The running water would easily cover the sound of his heartache.

Jim turned at the sound of the bathroom door closing. He'd just finished reading the letter and had found his mug empty. And he desperately needed something to drink, since he had a lump to swallow. As he crossed to the coffee pot, he saw the paper on the counter. He poured himself a full mug, then read the note.

Dearest Blair,
If I stay for you, I lose my purpose. If I leave for purpose, I lose you.
You're in my heart, always.
Frankie

Jim could just barely discern the soft sobbing from the running water...

~Finis~