Disclaimer: The Sentinel and all Sentinel characters are owned by UPN and Pet Fly. I have not and will not make any money off this story. If you want to go ahead and sue me anyway, all you will get us a large HECS bill and a heap of other debts.

Title: DRUGS

Author/pseudonym: Sentarla

Rating: PG

Status: Finished

Posting date: 24/01/99

Archive: Yes ohhhhh PLEASE do!!!!!!

Series/Sequel: Non

My Website: http://www.oocities.org/sentarla

E-mail: Sentarla (Please be nice)

Note: This is the complete, all parts inclusive version of Drugs. Big thanks, to all the people who sent comments, (DawnC and Carikube, you guys are great <g>) And the most biggest and largest thanks has to go to my two fantastic Betas, Bonnie and Shycat. Take a bow, guys, you deserve it. Well on with the story. Hope every one likes it. Who knows, there may be a sequel for the story some where, some time down the track. J

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The last month had been good to Blair Sandburg, Jim thought as he watched his guide sitting at their desk. His U workload had been light and no psychos or criminals from Jim's past had tried to hurt his friend. For a change, Jim felt comfortable and relaxed.

"Detective, have you heard a word I've said?"

Jim snapped his head around to look at his irritated Captain and gave him his full attention; well, all but the small part reserved for monitoring his Guide.

"Yeah Simon, you were trying to talk me into stakeout duty tonight. You'll have to come up with a better deal than next weekend off, we are both scheduled for it anyway."

"Jim, if I have to I'll order you."

"Okay Okay." Jim raised his hands in mock surrender. "Well do it."

"Thanks, Jim." Whatever he was going to say was suddenly forgotten when he saw his friend tense, the tilt if his head indicating he was focusing on something.

"Jim, Jim, what is it?"

"Blair�E" The large man whispered before rushing out of the office and over to his partner.

Blair was having a panic attack. He knew he was having a panic attack. Breathing was impossible and black dots were dancing in front of his eyes. The only sounds he could hear was the pounding of his heart and the blood rushing through his head. The sensation of somebody touching his arm sent him reeling away, his breathing even more strained. The touch returned a moment later with a persistent voice demanding his attention.

After a brief internal struggle, Blair brought his eyes
into focus on the person next to him; concentrating hard, he was able to make out the words.

"Breathe with me, Blair. In. Out. In. Out. Nice and
slow�En. Out. That's it Chief, you're doing great." Keeping the breathing and encouraging words up, Jim helped his partner calm down. Once the Sentinel had decided his Guide would soon be all right, Jim indicated to Simon all clear.

Clearing his throat, Simon told all the other concerned officers to go back to work. Not taking his own advice, Simon stepped back and watched his two friends.

"Chief, you okay, you with me, buddy?"

"Yeyeyea, Jim. Sorry.. I'm. Okay." Blair replied between depth breaths.

"What happened Chief, what scared you?"

"Nothing man, I'm okay."

Looking sternly at his Guide and folding his arms the Sentinel in no uncertain words told him otherwise.

" Don't give me that crap, Sandburg. I want to know and I want to know now."

Bowing his head in resignation, Blair mumbled sentinel soft. "Please man, not here, please."

Sighing, Jim ran a hand through his short hair. "Okay Chief, get your jacket."

Turning to his captain, Jim spoke to the concerned man.

"Simon, Blair won't talk here, I'm taking him back to the loft, so we can sort this out. I'll call as soon as I know something."

Nodding his head, Simon watched as his best detective guided the young, distressed observer out of the Bullpen. Sighing at the picture of an over protective sentinel.

The trip to the loft was quiet. Blair's breathing had returned to a normal rhythm, but his heart rate was still too fast for the sentinel's liking; something was definitely wrong. Once in the loft, Blair tried to avoid any talk. After he had disappeared into his room, Jim made a cup of tea for his friend, a soothing blend of peppermint and skull cap. When Blair came back out wearing some old sweat pants and a large Cascade PD sweatshirt, Jim knew it was time to talk. Motioning to his Guide to the couch , Jim brought over the tea.

All went well until Blair saw the tea in Jim's hand. Suddenly his heart rate shot up, and he was agitated and would not sit still. Getting up off the couch, Blair backed away from Jim, his mind somewhere else. Not understanding, but deeply concerned, Jim put the cup on the table and went to his Guide.

"Chief, what’s wrong? It’s only me. You want some tea?" At this question, Blair jumped as if burnt. Noting the reaction, Jim figured it had something to do with the tea.

"Okay Chief, I'm going to put the tea in the kitchen, then we are going to talk."

Still not getting any answer, Jim did as he said, and then went back to his Guide.

"Okay Chief, we’re going to sit down and talk, okay?"

Leading the stressed man over to the couch, Jim got them both comfortable and waited.

After what seemed forever, but was in fact only ten minutes, Blair started to talk. "I'm like so, so sorry man, about earlier. I just got a letter and it brought a lot of bad memories back."

" What letter, Chief?"

"Oh sorry, man, I ripped it up. I was so scared, I had to destroy it. Before I can tell you what is on the letter, I have to tell you something that happened to me as a child." Blair paused, not sure if he was ready to go on. Sensing his partners hesitation, Jim reached over and placed his hand on his Guide's arm. "I'm here, Blair, nothing you can say could ever change that."

Turning thankful eyes on his Sentinel, Blair continued.

"It happened a long time ago, I was only five. Naomi was between boyfriends, so we had gone to stay with some friends. I thought it was really cool, they lived in a commune. Anyway, after a few days, Naomi started getting restless again. Now that I think about it, all the adults were. I guess they knew what was going to happen. We went to bed, having said goodbye to everyone, because we were going to leave at first light.

Suddenly, I woke up, people were screaming, it was so bright that it could have been day. Naomi picked me up and we tried to get out, but there were so many police officers. They were taking all the children and anyone who resisted was hurt. They took me from Naomi; I yelled and screamed, and Naomi tried to hurt the man who had me, but she was hit from behind, knocked unconscious. I don't remember much from then on, I was out in a van with the other children and taken away. The next day I was on a plane, and being flown half way across the country. I begged for Naomi, but was told to shut up, she didn't exist anymore. I was now owned by them.

I spent the next month in an orphanage. They were nice, they didn't

know where I came from, I think. One day, a man came and took me away, I was told I was going to live with him now. I really hated it. As soon as

he got me home, he took me into the bathroom and cut my hair. The next thing I knew tears were rolling down my face and I had a short military hair cut."

Blair paused, fingering a long curl as he thought about that moment. Knowing he should not interrupt his guide, Jim waited for him to go on, not liking where this story was going.

Taking a breath, Blair continued. "Anyway, the next two months were hell. He had so many rules and I got so much punishment that I nearly stopped talking. Every now and then someone would come over and I would not say a word. After 3 months, I never spoke or cried out when the punishment got too bad. At times, talking just made things worse, but if I spoke, I got hit for asking questions, or for talking too much; this seemed the easiest way.

When I started school the teacher knew something was up. The man was important in the community, and therefore never questioned. After awhile they told him to keep me at home, I was depressing the rest of the class. I had loved school, it got me out of the house, but even that had been taken from me. I guess that was when it really started. Not long after eating breakfast, I started getting sleepy. By lunch time, I was totally out of it. I would not wake up till breakfast again, and I would feel really horrible. This continued awhile, until one morning I felt really hyper, you know, I couldn't sit down, and I felt like I would explode. I guess he could tell because he made me sit in a chair and not move all day. God, I nearly went insane. I didn't know it, but for the next year, I was a guinea pig. He was drugging all my food and drinks, recording all my reactions. I found out later he was some chemist or something, and did not have testing permission.

The school had been told I had come down with some strange illness, and school was out of the question for some time. When the school sent a doctor over, I was so out of it, they could have performed an autopsy and I would not have known. My body was covered in rashes and spots, my hair was falling out, what little I had, and thinking a complete sentence was impossible. By this time, I think he had decided to end our working relationship. Over the next week, I started to get really sick, stomach cramps and similar things. He made me drink when I could not eat anymore, and I sorta knew my time was almost up. It had been over a year and Naomi hadn't come for me, so I thought she didn't care? about me, so I didn't care what happened to me anymore.

I remember one morning waking up and seeing him watching me; he had a strange look in his eyes. He brought me a drink and told me to drink it. I was so weak, I couldn't lift my head. He sat on the edge of the bed and touched my face. I remember him telling me, it was a shame that I was not older because he had a heap of things he needed help on, but as a child I was useless. He told me not to worry, that after a sleep, I would feel much better. I remember hearing a door bell, as he made me drink some of the water. He set the glass down and went to see who it was. Not long after he left, I started to get really bad cramps. I felt like my stomach was being eaten from the inside out. I was no longer aware of what was happening. I was sure I was going to die, when I heard Naomi’s voice, I felt her hands on me and I could smell sage. I knew then that she did love me. The man was kept occupied by my old teacher, while my mum sneaked us out the back way. Mum told me later that I was the 4th child to have come down with an illness once in the man's care. When Naomi had gone to the school to see if I had been in the town, the teacher found out how I was taken. She then proceeded to tell Naomi, her suspicions, and brought her to the house I was staying in.

I tried to talk, but once Naomi picked me up I blacked out. When I next woke up I was in the hospital. ..Man, did I freak out. If Naomi hadn't been there, I'm sure they would have put me in restraints. Naomi told me that the doctors decided to knock me out until I was better, due to my reaction. I was told that I had been poisoned with arsenic in the end, small doses until that last one, had I drunk it all, I would be dead, no question about it.

Once the hospital could do nothing for me, Naomi took me, and we left. I was withdrawn for some time. It took Naomi about 6 months to get me to talk again, or so I was told. Naomi found out that a man named Michaels had bought me off the police. Naomi complained, and all that happened, was Michaels got his license revoked for 5 years, and the police officers, discharged from the service. It took some time for me to get over my fear of drinks and food from other people, but Naomi was patient. I used all my spare time researching into herbal medicine, and promised myself that I would never get into a situation where I had to take drugs, no matter what." Taking a breath Blair stopped talking.

Jim moved over and put his arm on Blair's shoulders.

"God, Chief, I never knew. God, how have you been able to stand all the hospital visits?"

Smiling slightly at his Sentinel, Blair replied softly, "I knew you were there, man, I knew you where there."

Pausing for a moment, not able to speak, Jim gave his Guide a squeeze.

"So what was in the letter, Chief?" Jim asked softly, not sure if he was ready to deal with it. Shivering slightly, Blair leaned into Jim's protection.

"It was from Michael, it said

Blair,

Your are all grown up, good, I've waited a long time, have

you had a drink of tea yet today? Do you feel tired?

Not to worry, the first thing we have to do is cut your hair; your partner's style would be a good choice.

Well, see you soon my boy

And that was it. I freaked, tore it up into little pieces and left it on your desk. I had drunk some tea at the station. Man�EGod�E. What if he drugged it? I just freaked."

Taking his partners hands in his, Jim forced his upset Guide to look into his eyes.

"Blair, Now that I know, there is no way this Michael is going to get near you again. I'll talk to Simon and we will put someone on to it, meanwhile, I'm going to check all your foods and drinks until this is over. Okay?"

Nodding his head, Blair closed his eyes and let out a tired breath.

"Okay chief, I know it's early but why don't you go lie down. I think you could use the sleep."

Yawing, Sandburg agreed, and headed for his room.

Jim listened as his Guide laid down on the bed.

"Thanks Jim" Blair murmured before falling into an exhausted sleep.

Jim spent the next ten minutes processing everything he had just heard. It explained why Sandburg had always hated meds. He knew that if Michael was behind this he had better watch out. Jim wanted both revenge and satisfaction for his Guide. Remembering his promise to Simon, Jim reached for the phone and called.

"Banks"

"Hi Simon, it's me"

"What happen Jim, I was starting to get worried?"

"Yea well, a lot has happened. Could you get Blair's tea from the break room and send it to forensics for a tox screen. Could you also see if there is anything let of the letter on my desk."

Jim heard the curiosity and worry in Simon's voice.

"Sure Jim, what's up. Is the kid okay?"

"Yes and no. It would seem that someone from Sandburg's past has come back to haunt him. He's asleep at the moment, so if you want to come over, I'll explain everything."

"Okay Jim, I'll be there in 20."

"Thanks Simon"

Putting the phone back, Jim tuned back into his Guide. The sounds of even breathing washed over him, calming him. Going into Sentinel mode, Jim walked over to the kitchen and started to go through all the food and drinks. With watering eyes, and a lot of sneezing Jim finished the search; all the food, spices, teas and other items were free of contamination. He now knew he could give Blair some tea when he woke up.

With his sense of smell still turn up, Jim could smell Simon's cigars as he walked up to the loft. Opening the door before Simon had a chance to knock, he let him in.

"Okay Jim, what's going on? Is the kid still asleep?" Simon asked in surprised

"Yea, he has had a rough day. Any word on forensics?"

Shaking his head, Simon looked at Jim.

"No I told them it was a rush job, and I should know in an hour. The paper on your desk was useless. It was smaller then confetti."

"Now I want to know why am I testing Sandburg's tea; and why did he have a panic attack at your desk."

With a sigh, Jim walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bear for himself and a cup of special Jamaican blend coffee for Simon. Once they where both sitting at the table, Jim told Simon everything Blair had told him. Once he had finished, they both sat in silence, neither sure what to say.

"No�E.I'm not hungry�E.no"

Sensing Sandburg was having a nightmare, Jim excused himself and went into the darken room. His Guide was on the bed, tangled in the blankets, his hair everywhere on the pillow. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Jim tried to lightly shake his guide.

"Chief, it's okay�EIt's only a dream; time to wake up Chief."

"No�Ego away�E.no Jim�Eelp me!!"

"I'm here buddy, but you have to wake up." Shaking his partner hard now, Jim called out.

"Sandburg, wake up!!"

With a startled gasp, Blair woke up.

"It okay Chief, I'm here, it was only a dream."

Taking a few shaky breaths Blair got himself under control.

"Thanks Jim, I'm okay now"

Watching his partner, Jim gave Blair a little bit of time.

"Chief�ESimon’s here. I've told him what's happening and I've checked all our food and I haven't found anything."

Turning grateful eyes on his partner, Blair asked about the tea at the station.

"I don't know yet, Simon will tell us as soon as he knows. Rafe and Brown have been assigned to the case, and they are going through records to see if they can get a full name for Michael. Seeing as we know he was deregistered. Don't worry Chief, we will find him and end this for good."

Giving his Guide time to get himself together, Jim walked out of the room.

"Jim, I got word from Forensics." Nodding his head, Jim waited for Simon to continue.

"They found the usual, strange concoction that Blair likes, but they also found some unknown chemical in the tea. They said it is going to take some time to break it down to find out what it does or what it was.

"No!" Jim said as he banged his fist on the table.

"How could someone get to Blair's stuff?"

"I don't know Jim but I've told Rafe to go through the security tapes to see if there was anyone we don't know in the break room.

"Jim?"

Both heads turned towards Sandburg as he slowly walked out of his room.

"Yea Chief"

"I just remembered what town I was living in with Michael, it was Dead End, somewhere near Texas."

"That's good Chief, we'll have everything on Michael in no time. Now how about you go sit on the couch and I'll make you a sandwich."

Grimacing, Blair waved off the suggestion.

"No thanks man, food is definitely doesn't interest me"

"You have to eat Blair" Jim stated in a calm voice.

"Lay off man, I said no."

Sensing an argument, Simon intervened as best he could. "How are you feeling Sandburg?"

Turning away from Jim, Blair mumbled "fine".

"Pardon Sandburg, not everyone has Super hearing."

"Yea�Eokay, just have a little headache."

"Just how little Chief?" Jim asked, moving towards Sandburg in full mother hen mode.

"Down Jim, Down. It's only in the background and I don't even know it's there if I ignore it."

"Okay chief, but if it gets any worse, I want to know about it straight away."

"Yea, Yea" Blair answered as he sank into the couch.

Sharing a concerned glance with his Captain, Jim looked critically at his partner. Other then looking tired and slightly elevated blood pressure, he seemed fine.

"Blair, If you feel sick, or anything I need to know okay? Forensics said they found something in your tea, but we don't know what."

Closing his eyes and breathing in and out slowly, Blair concentrated on keeping himself centered, this was his worst nightmare come true.

"Okay"

Jim knew that it would be extremely traumatic for his Guide to go to the hospital for a blood test, so he was resigned to watching his partner like a panther stalking his prey.

Needing to get back to the office, Simon said goodbye and told them both to call if they needed anything.

Showing Simon to the door, Jim listened to Simon as he softly whispered.

"Jim, if there is any change I want to know about it. I'm holding you personally responsible for anything that happens to the kid. When he has to go to University, you go with him. There is no one else we can trust for his protection."

Nodding his head, Jim smiled slightly at the care for Blair in his bosses voice.

Once Simon had left, Jim headed back over to his partner. Blair had fallen asleep, and after a quick check on his vitals, Jim was happy to let him sleep for the rest of the afternoon and night. Later Jim called Simon, to get him to reassign the stakeout.

~~~~*****~~~

Jim woke up to the smell of cooking eggs. Sandburg was already up. Pulling on some sweats, Jim headed down for breakfast. Sitting down at the table he looked at Blair.

"Hey Chief, how are you feeling?"

Turning around surprised, Blair nearly dropped the coffee pot/

"Hey man, you scared me. I'm fine, you hungry? Breakfast is almost ready."

"Yea Chief. How did you sleep?"

"Sleep, Oh�Eea.. Sorry about that, I guess I was more tired then I thought, but I'm fine now, fully recharged and no headache."

Nodding his head, Jim watched Blair set a place for him and place some scrambled eggs, fried tomato and coffee in front of him.

"This looks great Chief�Ehere's yours?"

"Ohh�Em�EI've already eaten"

Looking at Blair, Jim shook his head, lying to a Sentinel was nearly impossible.

"Okay, I don't think I can handle breakfast, at least not for awhile, I'll grab something later."

Flashing back on Blair telling him how all the drugs were given a breakfast time, Jim nearly kicked himself at his stupidity.

"Okay chief, are you up to coming in with me today, or do you have to go to the U.

"Nah�EI'm all yours"

Nodding his head, Jim proceeded to eat his breakfast.

~~~~*****~~~

"Ellison, my office!"

Looking at his partner, who just shrugged his shoulders, Jim headed for his Captains office. Closing the door, Jim waited.

"Sit down, Jim�Eoffee?" Receiving a nod, Simon poured some for both of them and waited for Jim to have a little.

"Rafe got back to me, they’ve found out Michael's name and bio."

Tossing a folder to Jim, Simon watched as his friend read it with a tense jaw.

"I've called the local Sheriff, to see if they can check him out, but they called back and told me he had disappeared two weeks ago. Not long after the Lash story had finished circulating on the news programs. Brown has a theory that Michael saw it, and found out where Blair now lives."

"God Simon�Ehe file�E"

"Yea, I know Jim. It says that there were four other boys before Sandburg who all died within six months of adoption. Hell Jim, how did Blair last twelve?"

With a sigh, Simon looked over at his detective.

"Jim, I don't want you telling Sandburg about anything in the file. The kid has enough to worry about. If I hear anything else, I'll let you know. I've put out an APB on Michael, so we will bring him in. This is personal!"

Nodding, Jim took one more look at the photo on the file and committed it to memory; anybody who looked like this wouldn’t get within spitting distance of his Guide. Taking his cup of coffee, Jim went out to join his partner in the dreary duty of paper work.

Working together, neither of them noticed the stranger enter the bullpen. Jim looked up when he heard Sandburg's name mentioned, and the stranger was directed over to them. Heading over to then, the young man called out Blair's name, waiting to see who was who. Startled Blair looked up.

"That's me"

Looking critically at Blair, the man started shaking his head, by this time Jim had stood up, ready for anything.

"Hmm�Ees, I can see now why I was called." Pulling out a shinny pair of scissors, he came closer.

"Yea, that hair has got to go. It is so outdated, maybe something short."

In unison, Blair leaped out of his chair and backed away, looking like a *deer* caught in headlights, while Jim glared at the man and in an icy voice and told him to drop the scissors.

The man looked at the scissors in his hand and then back at the snarling cop.

"What? I'm here to do a job."

At his last words, large cops with guns, ready to take him out if he moved threateningly, surrounded the man.

Turning pale, the man dropped the scissors and raised his arms in surrender.

"What the hell is going on here?" a large voice boomed.

Walking closer to the man, Jim frisked him in search of more weapons. Over his shoulder he told Blair to go wait in Simon's office.

Still too shaken to talk, Blair nodded and escaped, one hand
protectively holding onto some hair.

Once the scissors had been dropped, the other officers backed down. Still tense, however, for anything.

"Ellison, what in all that you keep holy, is going on here?"

Jim's eyes never left the shaking man as he answered Simon.

"This man came in here with the intention of cutting Sandburg's hair. He said he was sent to do the job and when told to drop the scissors, he initially resisted sir."

Looking at the tightly strung detective, Simon ordered Jim to his office then turned to Brown and Rafe. "Deal with this," pointing to the still scared man at Jim's desk.

When he entered his office, he found a calmer detective sitting next to his partner talking quietly.

"You okay, Sandburg?" Simon asked gruffly.

Keeping his head down, Blair gave a small quick nod.

"Okay gentlemen, I'm not going to talk about what happen out there, I think we all know already. I'm placing security on the loft and I want you checking in with the station every 6 hours. So far, other than the tea, everything has been out in the open. If we keep our eyes open, we will catch him when he stuffs up. Unless something important comes up, I want both of you to stay at your desk and finish all the paper work that has been stockpiling for sometime.

Pulling a face, Jim stood up. The only reason he didn't complain was because he knew Simon was doing this to decrease Blair's vulnerability.

"Now, go back out there and get to work. But be warned; keep away from Rafe and Brown while they are questioning the Hairdresser. I don't want complications."

Once they reached their desk Sandburg turned to Jim.

"Jim, I'm just gonna go to the toilet. I won't be long."

"Okay, Chief."

While Blair was gone, Jim closed his eyes and breathed deeply,

needing to calm his wild mind.

With his eyes down, Blair made his way to the toilets. Once inside he went to the sink and washed his face. Hearing a noise, Blair spun around and before he could move or take in the person who was in front of him, a cold liquid was splashed over his face and in his mouth and eyes.

Spitting out the liquid in his mouth without swallowing any, Blair waited for a physical blow, but none came, only the sound of the door opening and the feel of air displacement as the person
rushed past him and left.

With his eyes burning Blair tried to get off the floor, where he had
somehow found himself. His eyes were burning too much to be of use. Blair stumbled to the door but before he could reach it, it opened once again.

"Sandburg, Blair, are you okay?"

Relief flooded through Blair as he heard Brown's voice.

"Get Jim."

With that, Blair once again fell to the floor; his eyes were so painful they felt like they were boiling in their sockets.

Rushing out of the room, Brown called Jim's name, yelling for a medic seconds later.

Hurricane Ellison entered the restroom to find his Guide on the cold tiled floor in obvious pain. His shirt and hair were wet, and Jim could smell a chemical that did not belong to the water of Cascade. Going down to his Guide's level, Jim touched him on the arm.

"Blair, where does it hurt?"

"My eyes, oh God Jim, my eyes."

"Okay Chief, just breathe. What happened?"

"Don't know, something was thrown in my face, got some in my eyes. Make it go away, it hurts."

"I know Chief, I know. I'm going to rinse your eyes out, okay. It may hurt, but it will make it better."

Nodding his head, Blair tried to stop his eyes from closing tighter on the promise of more pain.

Keeping Blair's head tilted a little to the side, Jim took the saline water handed to him. The nearby medics knew not to intervene themselves, Knowing how protective he was when his partner was in pain.

 Bitting his lip, Blair stopped himself from crying out in pain.

When Jim looked into his partner's eyes, he had to bite back a growl that threatened to slip out. The eyeballs were fiery red and fully bloodshot.

Once both were done, Jim placed a bandage over the eyes to keep them clean.

Once his eyes had been cleaned, some of the pain dissipated.

"Chief, can you tell me what happened?"

Still in pain but knowing Jim needed answers, Blair told him everything. When he had finished, Blair heard Simon swear in the background.

"Chief, we have to go to the hospital and get you checked out, okay?"

Shaking his head, Blair tried to get up. "Jim, I'm okay."

"No way Sandburg, you are going to the hospital. I'll be with you the whole time," Jim finished, mindful of Blair's dislike of hospitals.

Slumping a little in defeat, Blair let Jim help him up and direct him through the crowd of people at the door.

Simon motioned for a sample to be taken of the water that was on the ground. Hopefully they could get a comparison to the stuff in Sandburg's tea.

Once Jim and Blair had reached the hospital, Jim took another look at his Guide. The strain was obvious and he realised that to be going into a hospital literally blind must be terrifying for his
partner. Jim vowed silently that there was no way at any time he would leave his Guide alone.

Walking inside, Jim took Blair up to the front desk and asked to see a doctor. After a brief intense conversation where Jim ended up showing his badge, they were directed to an empty room to wait.

Before long a young doctor in a white coat walked into the room reading his notes.

"Hello, Mr. Sandburg, how are you feeling?"

Looking small and scared, Blair mumbled a reply.

"Hmm." The doctor turned to Jim and looked at the older man.

"If you don't mind, Detective Ellison, please wait outside."

Blair flinched at the order but did not say anything.

Clenching his jaw, Jim glared at the Doctor. "Yes, doctor I do mind. I'm staying with my partner."

The doctor's head came up in surprise at the refusal and then he looked back at the chart. Attached to Mr. Sandburgs' history was a short note in bold writing stating that if Ellison asked to see, stay or anything else related to Mr Sandburg, he was to be allowed, he was not to be refused of questioned. Finding this strange, but willing to comply, the doctor nodded and proceeded to look over Sandburg.

Blair's eyes were checked, and after some cream was added, they were wrapped up again. Blood was taken and his vitals were recorded. The whole time this was happening, Blair was sitting, gripping Jim's hand with surprising strength.

With the exam finished, the doctor wrote on the chart and then turned back to his patient, suggesting an overnight stay for observation.

With a little help from Jim Blair, got off the exam table. "Sorry doc, no hope. If there's nothing else, I am

like so out of here."

"You sure Chief?" Jim asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah Jim, for sure, there is no way I'm staying here."

Having stayed silent, the doctor spoke up. "Well then, Mr.

Sandburg, you can go, but I want you to keep your eyes wrapped up till tomorrow morning. Your eyes reacted quite badly to the chemicals and I will ring you tomorrow with the test results."

Turning towards the doctor's voice, Blair thanked him and walked out with Jims' help.

~~~~

The next two days were uneventful. The blood work had come back and although there was something in it, the labs could not break it down, as with the chemicals in the tea. The video surveillance at the station had been tampered with, so no identification could be made.

Blair's eyes only hurt with excessive reading and Jim hoped

Michael had tormented his Guide enough and would now leave him alone. However, his instincts told him that was a fairy tale, things had only started.

One the third day after the washroom incident, Blair woke up before the alarm, and got out of bed. Going into the

kitchen he put the coffee on, once under way, he headed for

the shower.

Leaving enough hot water for Jim, not wanting him in a bad mood, Blair creamed his face and shaved.

"Ouch!" Blair looked into the mirror and cursed; he had nicked himself. After finishing shaving and washed the remaining cream and blood off, he grabbed a tissue and put pressure on his cheek. After a minute or two, Blair pulled the tissue off. Looking down, he was surprised to see a large amount of blood on it, and he was still bleeding quite freely. Shrugging his shoulders, Blair grabbed another tissue and pressed it to his face and walked into his room to get dressed.

Jim woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs, stretching in bed, Jim sent out his hearing to listen to his guide. Smelling something else under the food, Jim tried to focus, but found the smells of breakfast too distracting.

"Morning, Chief," Jim called out as he headed for the

bathroom. Smelling blood, Jim looked around and found a bloody tissue in the wastebasket. Shaking his head, he wondered why Blair never cut himself cooking with big sharp knives. Pleased to have some hot water left, he hummed a meaningless tune in the shower and then headed to his room.

Coming back down, Jim sat down at the table. Tilting his head to the side, Jim concentrated and blocked out the tantalizing smells of breakfast. Like a brick it hit him: blood, he could still smell Blair's blood. Piggybacking his sense of Sight, Jim found another 2 tissues near the kitchen sink. Wow, Sandburg must have really cut himself, Jim thought.

"How did you sleep, Chief?" Watching Blair as he came to the table with his breakfast, Jim noticed another bloody tissue being held to his face.

"Good Jim, how about you?"

"Yea, same; Hey, Chief are you okay?"

Taking a sip of orange juice, Blair nodded.

"Yeah. Just nicked myself, it will stop bleeding soon."

"Must have been a large nick, Chief, let me see"

Shaking his head, Blair indicated Jim's food. "Not yet man, eat your food before it goes cold, it's only a scratch."

Focusing on his food, although still a little unsettled, Jim ate.

Once Blair had finished his juice, he headed for the bathroom to do his teeth and have another look at his face.

Jim supposed Blair’s cut would have stopped bleeding by now, but as soon as he heard his partner‘s exclamation of annoyance, he was up and heading to the bathroom.�E#060;o:p>

"What's wrong, Chief?"

Looking at Jim, Blair shrugged his shoulders. "It's still bleeding, it's not stopping."

Becoming a little more than concerned, Jim held Blair's head still as he focused on the nick. Jim saw the small break in the skin and watched as the blood came trickling out. The blood was still too thin, and did not look like it was going to stop anytime soon.

"Jim, come back man, follow my voice. Jim, Jim. That‘s right, big guy, follow my voice."

With a little gasp, Jim looked up into Blair's eyes.

"You okay, big guy?"

"Yeah, Chief, I'm just gonna grab my jacket, and then I'm taking you back to the hospital. Something is not right. Chief, it should have stopped bleeding by now."

"Jim, It's only a little cut, it will stop soon, chill out."

"Chief. no arguments, grab what you need, we leave in 2

minutes," Jim replied, turning Blair around and propelling

him out of the bathroom.

Mumbling under his breath, Blair did as he was told. When he bent over and started to put on his sneakers, he nearly fell over when an immense feeling of weakness hit him.

Having been monitoring his Guide, Jim rushed into the room in time to catch Blair, and lower him onto the bed.

"Chief, Chief, you okay?"

Looking pale and a bit shaky, Blair looked at Jim. "I don't know what happened."

"I think you nearly fainted, Chief. If I help, do you think

you can walk to the car?"

"Yeah, Jim, I feel a little shaky, but all right."

Grabbing some more tissues, Jim and Blair headed to the car. By the time Blair was in the car, he was breathing heavily and noticeably shaking; his chin was bleeding even more freely and no amount of pressure was stopping it.

"Jim�EWhat's wrong with me?"

Reaching over and lightly squeezing Blair's shoulder, Jim shook his head. "I don't know Chief, but don't worry, you'll be okay.

Closing his eyes, Blair rested his head on the headrest. God he felt cold.

Once they had reached the hospital, Jim carried his guide through the door.

"Help, I need help here."

With much ado, Blair was taken and wheeled into an exam room, as a doctor was paged. Stuck in the waiting room, Jim tried to listen to his guide.

"That's right, Mr Sandburg, I just want you to close your eyes and rest. There is no need to worry, everything is taken care of. Sleep.

Jim heard the doctor close a door and faintly mumble under his breath as he wrote on a chart. Pulling out his cell phone Jim called Simon.

"Banks," The ruff just woken voice of his Captain answered.

"Simon, it's me." Hearing the tone of his friend's voice, Simon instantly became alert. "Jim, you okay? What's wrong?"

"I'm at the hospital, something's wrong with Sandburg."

"What do you mean?" Simon asked softly; the sounds of Simon gathering his clothes and keys could be heard in the background.

"I don't know, he cut himself shaving this morning, but it didn't stop bleeding, and then he collapsed."

"I'll be there in 15, Jim. Can you hang on till then?"

Sighing in both relief and gratitude, Jim agreed.

"Okay, Jim, call me if you hear anything."

As soon as he got off the phone, the same doctor who had seen Blair the other day came over to him.

"Detective Ellison."

Standing up, Jim nodded.

"We have you named as Mr. Sandburg's next of kin, is that correct?"

"Yes, I am," Jim replied with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Sitting down, the doctor waited for him to join him.

"Detective, from all test results that we have currently done, the best conclusion we can draw is that Mr Sandburg is having a severe blood thinning problem. It would seem that his blood is unable to clot. If I had not treated Mr. Sandburg myself the other day, I would have instantly come to the conclusion that he is a hemophiliac. His records however state that he is not, so I will have to wait on the blood test results before I can make an accurate diagnosis. At the moment I am treating him as if he were a hemophiliac. I have him on a mixture of blood clotting drugs, and he is responding quite well. I am however a little wary about using all these different drugs while we don’t know what he currently has in system. Mr Sandburg is asleep at the moment and he will probable stay that way for a few hours yet: when the blood is thin, oxygen is reduced and there is not enough for the other organs."

Wearily, Jim rubbed a hand over his face. "How could this have happened, doctor?"

Shaking his head, he looked at Jim. "I have no idea, Detective, I have never seen or heard of a case like Mr. Sandburg's before. At least not at someone his age."

"May I see him?"

"Of course Detective. He is in room 113."

Rising, Jim headed for Blair's room, wondering where the good morning had gone.

Blair was peacefully sleeping in the bed with an IV of blood and another one full of clear fluids going into his arm. A large white bandage was on his cheek, slowly turning red.

Pulling a chair closer, Jim sat beside his partner.

"Hey, Chief, you really gave me quite a scare. The doctor says you’ll be fine, you just need to rest, and that’s what I want you to do buddy. Rest. When you wake up I will be right here, there’s nothing to be afraid of, so rest."

Seeing some of the tension leave the sleeping body, Jim watched as Blair moved into a deeper sleep.

Ten minutes later a nurse entered the room

"Detective Ellison, there’s a Captain Banks waiting outside. He asked me to let you know."

Nodding his head, Jim thanked the nurse and turned to Blair to lightly squeeze his hand. "Chief, I’m just going outside to talk to Simon, I won’t be far away. If you need me, just make a sound. I will be listening." Waiting for any reaction and getting none, Jim got up and left.

Seeing Simon pace the small corridor outside made Jim smile. Simon was acting like a worried parent waiting for news from a doctor. Seeing Jim he stopped and came closer.

"Jim, what’s happened, is the kid okay?"

Looking at Simon, Jim sank into a nearby chair. "I don’t know Simon, the doctor is waiting for test results. They have him on some drugs to stop the bleeding, and they also gave Sandburg a blood transfusion. He is asleep at the moment. God, Simon, he only shaved himself, he usually cuts himself. What’s the difference this time?"

Befo

re Simon could come up with an answer, Blair’s doctor came over.

"Detective Ellison, we have the test results back."

Nodding his head, Jim waited for the news. Seeing the doctor pointedly look at Simon, he waved off the concern and said,

"Anything said to me can be said to the Captain as well."

Nodding his head, the doctor pulled up a chair and sat down in front of them, creating a small private triangle.

"Gentlemen, it would seem that we have a significant problem. All the test results that have come back indicate Hemophilia. As impossible as it may sound, Mr. Sandburg is a Hemophiliac."

Closing his eyes, Jim made himself listen to the rest.

"I also got the results from the chemical found in Mr. Sandburg’s blood. So far, it is the most likely reason for Mr. Sandburg’s condition. The University took a small amount for study, and when given to mice they also developed blood problems. The Scientists at the University are still trying to break it down, to find a way to countermand it. It may take some time though, hemophilia has been around for centuries and we are still no closer to a cure. At this point in time, it is best if we treat Mr. Sandburg as if he had Hemophilia."

The two listeners nodded their heads. Simon spoke up for the first time. "What do you mean? How do we do that?"

The doctor sighed and looked at the floor for a few moments. "Okay, first let me say that anything I say is not personal, I am giving advice, not dictating." Both men nodded, waiting for him to continue. "You would both know the basics about Hemophilia. Living with a hemophiliac can be very difficult in many ways. Most first reactions would be to wrap the person up in cotton wool and restrict their movements to a degree they feel trapped. The other main reaction is the complete opposite. They act as if nothing has changed and the usual result is fatal. You need to find the middle ground. Mr. Sandburg will need to know that his life is not over, he can still live a rewarding life. It just has to be different. The things he took for granted have dramatically changed; for example, shaving. A cut could turn into something life threatening if medication or treatment is not sought. At the moment, someone punching Mr. Sandburg in the arm could cause internal bleeding. Yes, that’s right, a simple knock or fall. Any form of bruising needs to be checked immediately. Consider them all life threatening. I’ve looked over Mr. Sandburg’s records, and I’ve noticed that he has been a frequent visitor here; gunshot, concussions , drugs overdose. It would be in his best interest if Mr. Sandburg stayed away from police duty. The chances of injury to his all ready fragile health is too great."

Jim hung his head and calmed his breathing. It would be tough, but he would see to it all. If it meant desk duty for the next 20-30 years, he would do it without complaint if it meant the life of his Guide.

Simon wished for a cigar and watched his best detective. He saw the news hit and then saw the determined expression. Knowing what was going through Jim’s head, Simon put a hand on his shoulder and let the doctor continue.

"Mr. Sandburg will be ready to go home tomorrow morning. I have not told him yet, but I would like your presence, Detective, when I do. He will need a lot of support. The important thing is that you see he gets his medication on time and takes it regularly. It will stop any minor bleeding if it should occur again. Here is a card with my home number, pager and work hours. If anything should happen, or you need anything, call me. We are all entering new territories with this one." Nodding his head in goodbye, the doctor handed over the card and left the two shell-shocked men. The meeting he thought had gone very well.

After a few minutes of silence, Simon cleared his throat.

"Uhmm. Jim, you okay? Jim, talk to me."

Turning dull eyes to Simon, Jim asked why. Simon watched as the eyes turned from that dull desperate look to one of anger.

"Why the hell would Michaels do this to Sandburg. Shit, Simon, Blair's done nothing, he’s an innocent. When I find the sorry sick s.o.b, I’m gonna�E"

"Ellison!" Banks half yelled, stopping his friend in mid sentence. "Jim, I don’t want to know. I don’t want to be forced to repeat any of it. Hell, Jim, I have my own torture methods in mind, but don’t say them aloud. We will get him, and when we do..." Simon closed his mouth and let the thought hang in the air.

Feeling his Guide’s restlessness, Jim told Simon and went back to him.

Sitting back down in his chair, Jim noticed the bandage had been changed and the bleeding had completely stopped. There were dark smudges under Blair’s eyes and a tired look on his face.

Jim was still there 3 hours later when his Guide fully woke up.

"Hey, Chief, how are you feeling?" Jim asked, a note of concern in his voice.

"Better. Thirsty. What happened?"

Letting Blair sip some water, Jim told him to hold on while he got the doctor. Within two minutes he had arrived and seeing an alert Blair, he checked the vitals, recorded them and then pulled up a chair and proceeded to tell Blair everything.

Although he looked completely calm, Jim could feel his partner's heartbeat increase. After it all, Blair gave a little chuckle. "Well, I guess Michaels won after all."

"Chief," Jim groaned, "No."

"Yeah, Jim, he did. He wanted to use me as a guinea pig and he has. He is probably somewhere close in the hospital recording everything. No, Jim, I’m okay, but please understand I am not giving up!"

Keeping his emotions tightly in check, Jim nodded his head and gave his partner a small smile.

"What ever happens, Chief, we are in this together."

Seeing this as a good time to leave, the doctor nodded to the two men and left.

Blair spent the rest of the afternoon tossing and turning Simon arrived after dinner and talked to Blair. Everything was going well until Simon prepared to leave. Forgetting his own strength, he gave Blair a supportive/encouraging squeeze on the shoulder as he stood up. Blair gave a faint moan at the pressure and Simon quickly let go. But it was too late; both Simon and Jim could see the rapidly developing bruises.

Signaling Simon to get the doctor, Jim sat beside his partner. "You okay, buddy?"

Blair nodded, breathing deeply to control his shaking.

Before Jim could say any more, both Simon and the doctor rushed into the room. Moving straight over to Blair, the doctor saw the darkening arm.

"Are you in pain, Mr. Sandburg?"

Nodding his head, Blair relaxed as a pain-killer was put into his drip. "That should help a little. I'm going to up the dosage on your meds until you leave. Your body has still not built up enough resistance yet."

Closing his eyes, Blair held onto Jim's nearby hand and relaxed into sleep. The doctor bustled around and checked and recorded Blair's condition, making
sure he had not further injured himself. Simon was standing over in the far corner, his shoulders shaking, reaction having set in. Slowly slipping his hand out of Blair's slack grasp, Jim went over to Simon and lightly touched him on the shoulder.

"Simon. Simon, it's okay, Blair's okay." Jim waited as his friend slowly let out a shaky breath, straightening up. Simon looked into Jim's eyes, his expression showing his guilt and sorrow.

"Simon. It's okay. It was an accident, Blair's okay."

"Damn, I'm sorry," Simon gruffly said as he swiped a hand over his eyes.

"Simon, the doctor told me that the bruising should not have happened, it would seem that he is still ultra-sensitive to touch." Giving a shaky laugh, Jim spluttered at his own joke.

"Can he still go home tomorrow?" Simon asked.

"Yeah, the doc said there was nothing that could be done for him here at this time. He would be more comfortable at home. He also gave me a list of foods for Sandburg that would help build up his blood count, knowing his aversion to drugs."

Taking a deep breath, Simon stood tall once again and his emotionless mask was once again in place.

"Okay, Jim, I'm giving you tomorrow off to get Sandburg settled in. I've already assigned around the clock surveillance, and if you need anything, call."

Smiling in thanks, Jim sat down in the chair near Blair's bed. Knowing there was nothing else for him to do, Simon said goodbye and apologized softly to Blair before leaving the room.

Before Simon could leave the hospital, the doctor cornered him.

"Captain, there is something that I haven't told Detective Ellison, but I thought you could organize it anyway."

Nodding his head, Simon wondered what it could be.

"One of the most dangerous times Mr. Sandburg is going to have is the first two weeks at home. With it all being so new, patients usually bump into chairs, or get up late at night and trip over chairs, books, shoes, and other things. It can be very dangerous." What we usually suggest is to have all the furniture, mainly the corners, padded. It is also wise to do a general sweep of the house and removing, moving or padding anything that could get in the way of the general traffic areas, such as the toilet, bathroom, kitchen and front door. The padding is in case he forgets and gets up at night, or trips."

Nodding his head, Simon told the doctor that he would take care of everything. By the time Sandburg got home, he would feel like he was in a padded cell.

~~~~~~

When Blair woke up the next morning he had a tired, over-protective mother hen Sentinel to deal with. As soon as the doctor had done his rounds, Blair was able to get dressed and get out. Jim insisted on wheeling the wheelchair, and when the elevator came to a small sudden stop, Blair felt Jim gasp.

"Blair, you okay?!"

Rolling his eyes, Blair tilted his head back and looked up and back at his Sentinel.

"Yeah, Jim, didn't feel anything. Umm, Jim," Blair said so softly that only a Sentinel would hear, "What do you have your touch set on?"

With a tense jaw he answered. "Nine."

Shaking his head, Blair softly replied. "Jim , at nine, a sneeze would feel like a mild earthquake. I want you to dial it back to 3. This way, you will feel only what I feel, okay, man?"

Closing his eyes, Jim nodded and reset his dial to four, promising himself to be aware of everything that came near Blair.

Blair could not ever remember such a smooth ride home in the truck. From the look on his face, Jim had been concentrating intently for any flaw in the road, and then avoiding it. He even traveled well below the speed limit, so if they had to stop suddenly, it would only be with a small jolt, if any.

Once they entered the loft, they both stopped in shock; the place looked like someone was about to pack it all up. Everywhere they looked they saw white padding. It covered the table, kitchen benches, and all the corners of the furniture. They were both totally surprised. Looking at his Sentinel, Blair was about to show his opinion of the redecoration, but was stopped short by Jim holding up his hands in surrender as he grabbed a white note off the coffee table.

Jim and Blair,

Hi, sorry for not telling you what I was doing, but the Doc suggested I do this to save any disruptive hospital visits. I don't want to see either of you at work today, but if you need anything then let me know.

Simon

P.S. I ran out of padding before I could do the walls. Oh well, maybe next time.

Both Jim and Blair laughed at the note. Jim silently thanked his Captain.

"You want anything to drink, Chief?"

Shaking his head, Blair headed for the bathroom. "I'm just gonna have a shower, I need to get the hospital smell off."

"Okay, buddy, call me if you need anything."

Walking into the kitchen to make some coffee, Jim listened to his Guide. His hands stilled as he heard Sandburg laughing.

"Chief, you okay?"

"Ohh, yeah man, this is like so not funny."

By the end of the sentence, Jim was at the door. Before he could knock, Blair opened the door and gestured towards the shower. Completely mystified,

Jim walked over to the shower and then started laughing.

"Jim, this is soooo not funny man. I'm not a baby!"

Jim took one look at his partner's puppy dog eyes, and laughed harder. Simon had thought of everything. To stop Blair from slipping in the shower, Simon had put some non-slip patches on the shower floor. What was so funny was that they were glow in the dark Sesame Street ones, with Big Bird in the centre. Shaking his head once more, Jim headed out of the bathroom and left his unhappy Guide to have a shower with his new friends.

The rest of the day went by without incident. Blair felt like he was under a microscope with Jim constantly watching and hovering over him. Once Blair had tried to get up off the couch, to answer the door, but he was calmly told that if he moved off the couch, he would be carried to bed, and stuck there for the rest of the day. With all the rest, Blair was very ready to go to work the next day.

"Jim, come on, man. You can't keep me locked away forever. I'm fine, I'll stay at your desk and do paperwork, no problem."

"Chief, I don't think it will be safe for you."

Blair stopped for a second and looked into his Blessed Protector's eyes and spoke slowly. "Jim. The safest place for me is at your side, and you will be at the station." Jim, stunned by the trust evident in his Guide's voice and eyes, hung his head and said a silent prayer to all the gods who watched over them.

"Okay, Chief, but if I tell you to sit down and don't move, then I mean it , okay?"

Bouncing with energy once again, Blair gave one of his mega-watt Sandburg smiles and bounced to his room.

"No problem, Jim, you won't even notice I'm there."

Shaking his head, Jim smiled. There was no way short of a tranquillizer dart that Sandburg could go unnoticed, even for a brief amount of time. He was way too energetic for that.

The drive to work was quiet, both thinking about the same thing but not wanting to talk about it. Blair noticed, but did not mention the fact, that Jim was driving slowly, and with a lot more care than usual.

Once they reached the Station, Blair was not sure what to expect. He hoped Simon had not decided to pad the office, God if he had�Elair cringed at the mental image.

As they made their way up to the Bullpen, Blair took some deep cleansing breaths and turned to Jim.

"Umm, Jim, has Simon told the other guys about me?" Fearful at the prospect, but at the same time relieved, Blair waited for the answer.

Searching for the right words, Jim answered with unease. "Well, I know we should have talked to you first, but Simon and I both felt, after what happened when Simon grabbed you too hard, that we better tell them. You know how much they muck around and we didn't want you to get hurt again."

Nodding his head, Blair considered the wisdom of his protector. Before the elevator's doors opened, Jim heard a loud frantic voice. "Quick, quick, he's coming, they're in the elevator!"

Glancing at his partner, Jim saw Blair stare at the numbers as they counted their way up the seven floors. Nope, he hadn’t heard. Tuning back in, Jim caught the last of it.

"That's enough," a calm voice bellowed, then more softly, "Just act normally, he's no different today than any other day; you just have to remember not to hit him, bump into him, or let him bump into anything, okay?" A chorus of "Yes Sir" followed the Captain's words. Jim let out a small sigh. Maybe this would not be so bad after all.

Hearing his Sentinel, Blair turned a half-hearted smile his way. "I know, big guy, everything is going to be okay."

Reaching over, Jim lightly tossed his friend's curls before holding the elevator door open.

Once they entered the doors to Major Crimes, Blair felt as well as heard the silence. All eyes were on him, and Blair felt like turning around and running back to the truck. The silence, however, was broken once a general "Welcome Back, Sandburg" was yelled out suddenly. The Bullpen came alive with noise once again. A few came up to say hello, while others gave a wave and got back to work. After a few minutes Jim and Blair headed for Simon's office, where he was patiently waiting with door open.

"Hey, Simon, got any coffee?"

Shaking his head, Simon poured a cup. "One day the other detectives are going to realise why they don't see you drinking the break-room coffee. That got a short laugh, then the room fell silent.

Feeling a little self-conscious, Blair cleared his throat. "Umm, thanks, Simon for the loft, umm, it was really thoughtful."

Giving a gruff "Your welcome", Simon tried to pick a less personal topic.

"Okay, Jim, on your desk is all the possible places which could have supplied Michaels with some of the strange chemicals in his drugs. There is a picture and a fill-in-the-blank search warrant, if you need it as well. Sandburg, as of today, I am restricting you to light desk duties, and if you feel threatened in any way, even if it is just someone too close to you, then I want to know about it straight away."

Keeping his head down, Blair nodded his agreement.

"Okay, gentlemen, back to work then."

Once back at the desk, Blair sat down and looked down at the mountain of paperwork that had mysteriously turned up on their desk.

"Umm, Jim, what is this?"

Trying to stifle a grim, Jim replied, "Paperwork, Chief."

Rolling his eyes, Blair pointed to the pile again.

"I know that, Jim, but why is it here? I finished all our paperwork the other day; we're up to date."

Just as Blair had finished talking, another folder was placed on the pile.

"Yeah, Hairboy, but we're not." H replied to Blair's question. "When ever one of us is put on desk duty or restricted to base due to an injury, we have a standing rule; that person gets everyones paperwork."

"Please, Jim, tell me he's joking."

Giving H a wink, Jim said. "Sorry, Chief, no can do."

Giving a loud theatrical sigh, but secretly pleased to be considered one of them, Blair started on the first file.

The day passed slowly; by the time Blair had finished 10 case files, it was 5pm. He was still hungry, even after the large plain salad sandwich someone had placed on his desk at lunch. Jim had been close-lipped over who had put it there, except that he had checked it out and it was safe.

Picking up his jacket, Blair was about to follow Jim out, when the phone rang. Out of habit, Blair picked it up.

"Major Crimes, Detective Jim Ellison's phone, Blair Sandburg speaking."

"Hello, Blair. Miss me?"

With an intake of breath, Blair stood stock still, a slight shake invading his frame.

"What, lost for words? That's okay, you don't need to talk. So how are you feeling, boy?"

Sensing his Guide's distress, Jim turned around and took in the situation at a glance. "Joel, trace the call on my line," Jim softly indicated. Reaching over, Jim took the phone out of Blair's tight grip.

"Who is this," Jim growled into the phone.

"Ahh, Detective Ellison. So how is my little boy today? Is he feeling okay?"

"Michaels," Jim growled. "You better watch your back., When I get you , you're dead."

Jim heard a chuckle from the other end of the phone. "Now, now, Detective, you better be nice, otherwise you will never see the antidote and Blair may have a few accidents. Can you imagine what a simple pebble thrown at him could do?"

Before Jim could respond, the phone was slammed in his ear, causing him to cringe. As he put the phone down, he saw Joel shake his head. No luck. Going over to his partner, Jim pushed Blair down into a chair.

"Chief, you okay? Blair, talk to me."

Taking a few slow breaths, Blair opened his eyes. "Yeah, big guy, it was just, you know, a shock."

"Chief, I'm just going to tell Simon, and then we're out of here, okay? Will you be okay out here?"

"Yeah, Jim. Joel's over there, and I won't move from this chair."

Looking at his Guide, Jim nodded and told Joel to watch Blair.

Ten minutes later, Jim and Blair headed home. The trip was in silence and they picked up dinner on the way. Trusting his Sentinel, Blair ate as much as he could and then went to bed, the phone call never once mentioned.

The next few days were quiet. Since they were stuck on desk duty, Major Crimes were up to date with all their paperwork for the first time in history. Everyone had settled down, and Blair's hemophilia was no longer a talking point. There had been no sightings of Michaels and Blair had not had any bleeds. It was on the fifth morning after Michaels call that Jim awoke with a start. Something was not right, his senses were screaming for his attention. Sending his hearing towards his Guide, Jim tried to find the problem. From Blair's room, he could hear his Guide struggling for air, his heart rate erratic. Rushing downstairs, Jim found his Guide unconscious and his lips blue. Knowing an ambulance would take too long, Jim chucked some clothes on and rushed his Guide to the hospital.

Blair was taken from Jim immediately and whisked away to the ER. Within fifteen minutes Simon was there next to Jim, trying to calm him down. The nurses, knowing what the Detective was like, decided it would be better for everyone around if they called the Captain.

"Jim. Jim, come on, focus on me. Jim. Snap out of it!"

As if waking from a dream, the frenzying pacing was stopped and the Sentinel shook his head. "Simon?"

"Yeah, Jim. What happened?"

"Ahh, don't know. I woke up, something was wrong. I found Sandburg in his room having problems breathing. Simon, no one had been in the loft. Why is this happening?"

How many obstacles would these two have to face? Simon wondered.

The same doctor who had been treating Blair since it all started, came out into the waiting room.

"Detective Ellison, Captain Banks." Sitting up straight in the chair, Jim braced himself as the doctor sat down, and drew a weary hand over his face.

"How is he?"

"Hmm. Well we have him hooked up to a respirator and at the moment he is stable. From what I can see, his blood has become dangerously thin, which is inhibiting oxygen flow to his brain and other vital organs. We are currently trying some blood thickening medicine, but to help decrease the demand of oxygen on the body, we have induced a coma. This way he‘ll have more time."

Jim gave a low anguished moan at the doctor's last words.

"More time?" Simon requested, seeking more information.

The doctor put down the chart. "Yes. From all indicators, Mr. Sandburg is dying. As soon as we find a solution for one problem, there is another. If this was just normal Hemophilia we could deal with it, but it is different. It is like it has mutated into something more deadly."

"Can I see him?" Jim asked, trying to block out all that was said.

Nodding his head, the doctor softly said a number and watched as Jim staggered to his feet, and stumbled off.

Jim's first reaction was to turn and run. His Guide would have looked like he was sleeping if not for the tubes, wires and respirator coming out of his body. Jim knew that when Blair was going through the Golden Incident, he would have looked like he did now, but this time Jim could see and the image of his Guide now fighting for his life would be burned into his mind forever.

For the next hour, Jim sat at his Guide‘s bedside and watched him, nearly zoning on all the different noises and smells. Just when he was about to lose himself in them all, Simon walked in. Laying a hand on Jim's shoulders, Simon felt the large man jump as if bitten.

"Oh, hi, Simon."

"Hey Jim, you okay?"

"Yeah. You caught me, I was just about to zone."

"Oh." Simon said as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Jim, this letter was left on your desk. Joel‘s cleared it. " Taking the letter from Simon, Jim carefully opened it, not wanting to destroy any evidence. Inside was one single sheet of paper.

Dear Detective Ellison,

I have been monitoring my young boy‘s progress and have been most displeased. I need more time to work the bugs out of my new concoction. So if you would be so kind as to have the doctor pull vials of his blood, I will give you the antidote. Be warned, I am watching you. I will give you further instructions on where to drop the blood and where you can pick up the antidote.

Yours,

Michaels

Taking care not to crease the paper, Jim handed it to Simon and in full control left the room. Once outside he headed to the stairwell, where he punched the wall a few times. When his temper was taken care of, he made his way back to Blair's room.

"Jim. What can I say, this may be the kid‘s only hope."

Going over to the bed, Jim placed his hand gently on Blair's cheek and turned pained eyes to his Captain.

"Jim. If we give him what he wants, he may go away for awhile, giving Blair a chance. Once Sandburg is better, you can track this SOB down together, but first, let‘s get Blair better."

Taking a breath and tuning into his Guide's slow heartbeat for comfort, Jim nodded his head. "Okay."

Within minutes, Blair‘s doctor had been summoned and Simon pulled rank and demanded the blood taken. The doctor protested long and hard until Jim turned and threatened to do it himself. Shaking his head, the doctor did as told. Checking Blair's vitals, he shook his head. The medicine had not helped and Blair was losing the battle.

A few minutes after the doctor left, the phone beside Blair's bed rang.

"Ellison."

"Ahh, I see you have agreed to my terms. Bring the blood to the stairwell and leave it between the third and fourth floor. If you then look down, you will see a syringe with the antidote in it. The antidote, like my virus, was made by me and has a few catches. If it is not administered within 1 hour of leaving the fridge, it will be useless, and no, re-chilling it will not work. By my watch you have 10 minutes before the deadline is reached. If I see Captain Banks move from the room, I will destroy the antidote. This is something you have to do all by yourself."

"Why the hell should I trust you?" Jim growled into the phone.

Light laughter which grated on Jim's ears came over the line.

"Why. Why? Because I will use him again later. There is no use for him to die yet, there is no value. The people I work for want a virus, not a mutation. Need I remind you, Detective, that you now have nine minutes and 10 seconds?"

"Watch out, Michaels, I will get you and when I do, you are dead."

Without giving him time to make a reply, Jim hung up the phone.

"Well?" Simon said, having heard only one side of the conversation.

Looking once more at Blair, Jim turned to Simon. "Simon, I need you to stay here and watch over Sandburg. I have to go to the stairwell and do the exchange."

"But..."

"Simon, I don't have the time to explain, I have a deadline to adhere to or the antidote is useless. Please, just stay with Sandburg, He is watching."

Letting out a sigh, Simon knew when he was beat. "Okay Jim, just hurry."

With that, the Sentinel took the blood and left his guide with the Watcher.

Without his Guide to focus him, Jim did not feel in control. Using his sense of hearing, he tried to hear if anyone was nearby. After a moment, Jim shook his head and gave up. Without his Guide his senses were useless; worse, he felt sluggish and uncoordinated. Not seeing anyone around, he entered the stairwell and walked down one flight. Once on the mid level, Jim looked over the railing and saw the
syringe below him. Leaving the blood, he jogged down and picked the antidote up. Looking at his watch, he had only 5 minutes. The cop in him screamed for him to find Michaels, to leave the antidote till later, but the Sentinel won out. Protecting the Guide was more important than breathing.

Racing up the two flights of stairs, Jim saw the blood was still where he had left it, but kept going. Silently, the Sentinel vowed to get Michaels and make him pay dearly.

Once on Blair's floor, Jim rushed into his Guide's room. Simon looked up from the bed with sad eyes. Jim could sense that something was not right. Blair looked even more pale and the machines sounded a bit off.

"Simon, what's wrong. What's wrong with Blair?"

"Jim�EJim, Blair's kidneys failed. The doctor said he has one hour max."

Looking at his Guide, Jim shook his head. "No, no way. It's not going to happen. I have the antidote, Simon, he won't die."

With what could be Blair's only hope, Jim pushed the syringe into Blair's arm and prayed to any deity that would listen to help his Partner.

While watching his Guide, Jim tensely told Simon what had happened. Moments later, Simon took the now empty syringe out of the worried Sentinel's hand and took it to the head nurse for a tox screen. Once everything had been taken care of, he returned to his friend.

The doctor was paged and with great surprise, they all watched and waited as Blair survived the next one hour. Once the deadline had passed, new hope was born; maybe Blair had a chance after all. Jim watched his Guide closely, making sure there were no side effects.

The night slowly wore on and Simon came and went. If asked, Jim would have stated that his world only consisted of his Guide and everything else was trivial, not important.

By dawn, the medical staff were amazed. Not only was Blair alive and fighting, but he was winning. From all reports and tests, his blood was slowly but surely gaining oxygen content.

Needing to stretch, Jim stood and paced the small dim room. The doctors had decided that the medicine could be tapered off. Blair's kidneys and liver were slowly returning to normal function. Feeling like a third wheel, Jim stopped and looked at his Guide, focusing all his attention on the small, pale body. On the outside, he looked like he was coping, but inside, Jim was screaming at himself. There was a part of himself that demand he realize he may have made Blair worse by giving him the drug.

The doctors had said that Blair should be waking up soon, an hour at the most. If he didn't then there was a chance there could be brain damage, due to the oxygen problem. So far he had shown no sign of waking. Simon had left a message that Michaels had not been seen, there was no info on the antidote.

Feeling soul-weary, Jim gave a sigh and sat back down.

"Blair. Come on buddy, you have to wake up. Everything's okay. Blair, can you hear me?"

Jim felt more than heard the change in Blair's heart rate. "That's right, buddy. It's time to wake up, open your eyes, Blair."

The first thing Blair was aware of was the dryness in his throat, and then a killing headache. Through the pounding of his head, he heard a calm, persistent voice. Turning his head towards the voice, Blair tried to open his eyes.

"That's right, Chief, open those blue eyes."

The light nearly blinded him, but drawing strength from his Sentinel's voice, Blair opened his eyes and came to full consciousness.

"Hey, Chief, how are you feeling?"

With the dryness of his throat, Blair just gave a grunt in reply, his eyes giving a silent plea for information.

Reaching over, Jim poured some room-temperature water for his guide, and helped him take a few tentative sips. "It's okay Blair, it's over. You just have to concentrate on getting better."

Licking his now not so dry lips, Blair met Jim's eyes and whispered, "What...?"

Understanding the meaning, Jim just shook his head and rested his hand on Blair's arm. "Later, Blair, just rest and know it is over, you’re safe. "

To tired to argue, Blair simply looked at Jim once then gave up the fight and closed his eyes.

Listening to his Guide slip into a healing sleep, Jim sighed and offered up a little prayer for the safe return of his Guide. This time it had been close, very close.

From all reports, the doctors still did not know what Michaels had given Blair, or what was in the antidote. All they knew was that Blair had only hours to live, and then, within the same time, he was cured.

Two days later, Blair was bouncing back. Though he never said it, Jim knew his Guide was barely handling the idea of staying in the hospital. When the doctor mentioned a week stay for tests and observation, he heard Blair‘s pulse skyrocket. Knowing he would rest better at home, Jim tried to convince the doctors to release Blair early. When that did not work, he gave Blair, for the first time, his full approval and support as Blair signed the AMA papers.

While Blair spent the next few days sleeping or reading, Jim kept up with all the efforts in trying to find and catch Michaels. For all intents and purposes, Michaels had totally disappeared. There had been two reports from snitches who said they saw a man like Michaels being hustled off the street into a dark sedan by men in dark suits. There were three other identical cars that followed.

Jim was not happy and it showed. Blair could tell his Sentinel was upset, but still too tired and sick, he did not have the energy needed to pry the problem out of the stubborn Detective.

With the suspicion that the government or someone shadier was probably involved, Jim called some old contacts to see if they had heard anything. Within an hour, Jim got a short, yet cryptic reply.

'Michaels is underground in the Black. Although he is still holding a grudge, he will not be released for some time.'

Understanding the message, Jim gave a sigh of relief. It meant that for the moment everything was finally over. There was no need for police protection and Blair could safely start getting control of his life back.

Trusting his contact, Jim rang the station and told Simon the protection could be pulled. Once Simon had been convinced, Jim hung up and went to visually check his Guide.

With a peaceful look of innocence on his face, Blair slept, unaware of his Sentinel watching. Feeling the over-whelming need to reassure himself, Jim bent down and lightly brushed a stay lock of hair from his Guide‘s face. Reacting with the trust of a child, Blair let out a soft breath and moved closer to the edge of the bed, near Jim.

Nearly floored by the trust Blair repeatedly showed him, Jim softly swore to protect him always, and swore with venom that Michaels would never come near him again.

~Fin~