Title: While there is still time
Author/pseudonym: Sentarla
Rating: PG
Status: Finished
Date: 18/11/99
Archive: Totally, please do!!!!!!
Series/Sequel: Non
My Website: www.oocities.org/sentarla
E-mail: sentarla (Please be nice)
Authors notes:
Okay I know it is a little early for
Christmas stories or stories around Christmas time setting but you can blame
the Sentinel Angst List for this (wave to list<g>). I have to give thanks
to my beta, Bonnie, who you should all thank seeing I really need a beta
<g>. Please send comments as that makes me write more stories faster.
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While there is still time
A light snow had been falling for hours, it
was Christmas Eve and with over half of Cascade PD out with the flu, Jim
Ellison found himself sitting at his desk on call. Blair was out doing last
minute shopping and knowing how much his partner hated the cold, Jim knew the
presents must have been important.
Much to everyone's relief, there had been
little use for the police so far; there were a few break and enters and two
people arrested for disorderly conduct. All in all it was a quiet afternoon,
but no one was complaining.
When the call of a fifteen car pile up with
fatalities came over the PA, Jim, Rafe, Joel and Brown were sent out along with
ten other patrol units.
It was not until the car was in motion,
speeding towards the address Joel had been given, that Jim started to feel
uneasy. Knowing the destination, Joel looked over towards Jim and gave him a
tight smile.
"Where was the accident, Joel, I missed
the announcement?"
Crossing his toes inside his shoes, Joel
replied. "Umm, near the University roundabout, but you said Sandburg had
to do some shopping, so he is probably not even it that area."
Clenching his jaw, Jim nodded and pulled out
his cellphone, needing to hear his Guide's voice. Pressing the speed dial, Jim
listened as a recorded voice told him that Blair's cell phone was either
switched off or not in a mobile area.
Within moments they arrived at the crash
site. There were three ambulances on site and another three on the way. Some of
the patrol units that were closer when the call had come in, were already busy
talking to witnesses and helping the medics. Getting out of the car, Jim and
Joel went over to the officer in charge at the present time.
"What have we got, Sulliven?"
Taking in the imposing figure of Jim
Ellison, Sulliven pulled himself up to his full height and tried to impress the
legendary Detective with a detailed report.
"From eye witnesses reports, a large
blue semi- trailer lost control on the icy road and overturned, crushing the
two cars that were travelling beside it. The other twelve cars, due to the ice
and the suddenness of the accident, crashed into the semi and each other. The
driver of the semi and four other cars have been sent to the nearest hospital.
So far we have six dead, all from the first two cars, and the drivers of the
other cars are being checked out on the scene."
Nodding his head, Jim left Joel with
Sulliven and went to take a closer look at the cars. The smell of blood on the
cold wind was so intense that Jim turned down his sense of smell to almost
nothing. As he got closer the destruction came sharply into focus. The first
two cars were a mangled mess under the semi-trailer. But what stopped Jim cold
was the dark spray of crimson blood on the snow whiten road, under and around
what could have only been Blair's car. Rushing forward, Jim grasped the mangled
ajar door and looked inside.
The relief of not finding Blair dead in the
car was both a blessing and a curse. There was drying blood on the steering
wheel and the seats were covered in glass fragments, most of which where light
pink and red. The sound of his name being yelled pull Jim's attention briefly
away from the wet, sticky, metallic substance. Trying to come to grips with
what he was seeing, Jim turned back to the wreck.
"Jim, is thatE"
Nodding his head slightly, Jim felt Joel
grab his shoulders and turn him back around. "Come on, Jim, let's go ask
Sulliven where the kid is. I'll send a uniform to drive you." Going on
autopilot, Jim let himself be manhandled away from the car and towards Officer
Sullivan.
"Sulliven, what happen to the man in
the green Volvo?" Joel asked the busy officer, all too aware of the stoic
detective at his back.
"Umm, green volvo...green volvo, umm,
ohh you mean car three, the bleeder." Joel tensed as he heard Jim growl.
"Yes. Where is the driver?"
As if it was unimportant, Sulliven waved
towards the medical personnel. "He was sent to the hospital not long after
I arrived, he was bleeding pretty badly."
Giving a quick nod of thanks, Joel called
over a nearby uniform and told her to take Jim to the nearest hospital, where
they had sent the victims. Receiving a puzzled look, Joel continued to tell her
that one of the victims was Jim's partner, and as if a light had been switched
on, she completely understood and effectively took charge of the dazed
detective and led him quickly to her car.
The trip to the hospital took forever. His
senses were no longer working and all he could think about were Sulliven's
words, "the bleeder"; "bleeding pretty badly". He felt like
his world was crumbling.
The hospital was in full swing when, they
arrived; rushing up to the front desk, Jim slammed his badge onto the desk and
demanded to see Blair Sandburg. Over-worked and tired, the duty nurse looked at
his charts and shook his head. Impatient, Jim told him that Sandburg was part
of the fifteen car pile up at Rainier and gave a brief description of him.
Nodding his head, the nurse paged a doctor and held up a finger, indicating for
Jim to wait a moment. Seeing the doctor come out, Jim rushed over.
"Have you seen my partner? Where is
Sandburg?" Shaking her head, the doctor lead Jim aside.
"We have only received two people from
the Rainier crash, we had to send the rest on to Cascade General. One of them
matches your partner's description, but I'm sorry to say that he was DOA. If
you would come this way, I'll how you and you can tell me if it is him; we have
not had a chance to try and confirm his identity."
Unable to accept what was being said, Jim
just stood there stunned as the doctor went on. After a few moments, she saw
that Jim was no longer listening, so she simply took Jim's arm and led him
towards an empty trauma room. All Jim could think about was what he had never
told Blair. There were so many feelings he had kept inside, afraid that his
guide would leave as soon as he knew. Jim had lived with him for two years now and
had kept all his emotions inside. For the last month or so, he had been tossing
around the idea of telling Blair how much he needed and relied on him. He had
wanted to make a commitment to telling Blair last Christmas, but he just never
had the guts.
Seeing the brown curls under the
blood-splattered sheet was nearly his undoing. Remembering he had an audience,
Jim lifted a shaking hand to the sheet and pulled it back.
Nearly collapsing with relief, Jim saw not
his still, dead Guide as he had been led to believe, but another Cascadian
resident, whom he did not recognize. Thanking God, Jim shook his head at the
doctor.
"This is not my partner, it's not
Sandburg."
Nodding her head, the doctor replaced the
sheet and led Jim out of the room.
"Well, I'm happy it was not your
partner. detective, but he still belonged to someone."
With that realization having just sunk in,
Jim realized that Blair could still be alive somewhere and hurt. Jim took hold
of the doctor's arm and barely restrained himself from shaking the answer out
of her.
"Where is my partner? They said he was
sent here!?"
A little unnerved, but understanding where
Jim was coming from, she stood very still and calmly answered. "Try
Cascade General, that is where all the other crash victims were sent."
Letting go of the doctor as if she were a
hot potato, Jim raced out of the hospital and commandeered the police car, not
bothering to wait for the stunned uniform who had waited in the lobby for him.
The trip to Cascade General was fast and
furious. Most cars moved out of the way not because of the sirens but simply
because they wanted to live. The entire way to the hospital, Jim prayed and
bargained, swearing that if he was given a second chance, he would make sure he
told Sandburg how much he meant to him, how he was family. The experience at
the other hospital had brought it all vividly home to Jim: tell them while you
can. Reaching the hospital entrance, Jim abandoned the car and pushed past the
people waiting till he reached the administration desk.
"Blair Sandburg, I'm looking for Blair
Sandburg, he was involved in the Rainier accident. I was told he was sent
here."
Seeing that the person manning the desk was
annoyed and about to call security, Jim pulled out his badge and forcefully
placed it on the desk before her.
"I want to see my partner, and I want
to see him now!"
Holding her hands out in a calming motion,
the receptionist told Jim to calm down and she would call the attending doctor.
Backing down a little, Jim had only paced in
front of the desk twice before his hearing kicked back in and he heard his
Guide's pain-filled moan of distress. Not bothering to wait for the doctor, Jim
followed the low sound until he reached a darkened room, two floors up.
There were two other people asleep in the
dimly lit wardroom, but Jim acted as if they did not exist. Spotting his Guide
in the bed closest to the far window, he slowing walked towards it. Seeing
Blair's chest rise and fall with each breath allowed the tough Cop to let out
the breath that he had been holding, allowing himself to relax; his Guide was
alive.
Hearing Blair moan again, Jim quickened his
pace and gently placed a hand on his Guide's forehead. Feeling Blair calm at
the touch, Jim took a moment to look Blair over and assess his injuries.
A large white bandage was taped to the ribs,
indicating they were either broken or cracked; another was wrapped around
Blair's head and there were stitches in various places over his arms and legs,
some covered, some not. The most frightening injury, however, was to Blair's
left arm; it required many layers of gauze and a metal contraption to keep the
limb still from the elbow down
Before Jim had a chance to sit down, a
doctor came into the room and paused just inside, to gain his breath.
"Really, detective, there was no need
to worry. As I would have told you if you had waited for me, your partner is
fine."
Giving a small sheepish smile to the doctor,
Jim shook his head. "How is he really?"
Looking over the chart at the end of the
bed, the doctor indicated the two chairs near the wall and sat down.
"He is doing really well. When he was
brought in, he had three broken ribs, numerous cuts that needed stitches, about
two hundred all told, with his left arm needing most of them. His arm had been
deeply cut from elbow to wrist, cutting the artery. It was only the quick
response of the paramedics at the scene that saved his life from blood loss.
Mr. Sandburg is also suffering a nasty concussion from where he hit his head
and opened a nice two-inch gash. From what I have heard of the accident, he is
a very, very lucky man, if he had been one car closerEAnyway, we are keeping
him overnight for observation and then another three days because we can't risk
him opening any of the stitches on his arm; that is why it is immobile. Barring
that, there should be no complications and you can take him home. I assume
there will be someone to watch him for the next week or so?"
"Yes, he's my roommate. I'll take time
off if I have to."
"Good, good." the doctor said,
making a note on the chart in front of him and rising from the chair.
"Well then, detective, I need to go
back to rounds. If you need anything, page a nurse and I will check back on Mr.
Sandburg before I go home tomorrow. Merry Christmas."
"Yeah, thanks, you too," Jim
absently replied, his attention now fully on his partner.
Pulling the chair closer, Jim picked up his
Guide's right hand and started rubbing his thumb in small circles over the cold
pale skin. Talking quietly, Jim started to pour his heart out to the pale man
in the bed. He told Blair of the feelings he had been holding back all this
time. Of how Blair was like a brother to him, a light when everything was dark
and the only thing that stood between him and a bullet when times got too hard.
Jim was still talking an hour later when he
felt a change in Blair's heartbeat. Fearing the worst, but hoping for something
else, Jim looked up from his Guide's hand into a pair of dazed blue eyes.
"Hey, chief, welcome back."
Blinking once, Blair opened his mouth
slightly and tried to say Jim's name. Reaching over to the small bedside table,
Jim poured a small amount of water into a cup and helped Blair sip it.
"Better?"
Giving a small smile, Blair looked at his
Sentinel and gave a small prayer to God. It had been close this time, very
close. Blair had not expected to wake up. Knowing what his Sentinel was like in
emotional situations, Blair knew he could not let Jim continue to pour out his
heart and soul, even if he would have liked to have heard it all, having only
woken up for the last bit; seeing it shine in his Sentinel's eyes would have to
do.
"Don't..."
Jim looked at Blair and waited.
"Enough...too much...too soon, later."
Seeing his Guide's eyes droop and sensing
sleep about to take the younger man once again, Jim smiled and nodded; they
would talk about it all later, after Blair was more awake, and he himself had
more emotional control.
Watching sleep claim his Guide, Jim sat back
and stroked Blair's hand again, thanking God for allowing him another chance to
tell Blair while he still could, what he meant to the tough hard a$% detective
known as James Ellison.
~Fin~
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