December 22, Morning

Ellison could almost feel the tension and anger emanating from the bullpen as he neared the doors. If he thought that yesterday had been a little tense, either due to the impending holiday season or the workload, today it felt downright hostile. Scanning the room as he walked to his desk, he carefully observed all of his friends and fellow public servants.

He could see Brown and Rafe having a quiet but intense argument at their desk, their chairs slid together to keep them from having to raise their voices. Connor was sitting hunched over her desk, the receiver of her telephone clutched tightly in her hand. From the expression on her face, the conversation was not a pleasant one. Turning his head when he finally reached his desk, Ellison saw Taggart yawning mightily before taking a swallow of coffee. The Captain's face looked haggard, his eyes puffy and his clothes were rumpled. It looked as if he'd slept in them.

Taking off his damp jacket, he tossed it toward the coat rack and smiled when it landed firmly on a rung. Just as he was pulling out his chair and sitting down, he froze at the voice that barked at him. The door to Banks' office was standing wide open.

"Ellison!"

Straightening back up, Jim released a silent sigh and trudged toward the open door.

Simon wasn't sitting at his desk when Jim entered the office. The tall Captain was standing at the window facing the street, his arms crossed over his chest and his body filled with tension.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Where's your partner?" Banks asked without turning around.

Taken off guard by the question, Ellison hesitated before answering. "He, ah, decided to go by the Chinese Consulate. There was a telegram waiting for him last night concerning his mother and the group she was traveling with over there."

"Trouble?"

"They've yet to show up at this retreat over there. They're more than two weeks overdue."

Banks took a deep breath and turned away from the window. Instead of walking to his chair, he moved to the front of his desk and propped a hip onto the edge. "How's the kid doing?"

Sensing that their conversation wasn't going to be official, Jim pulled over a chair and took a seat. "He's upset, understandably. No one would tell him anything over the phone, so he decided to ask his questions in person. He'll be in as soon as possible, if that's not a problem."

"No, I can understand what he's probably going through." Banks pinched the bridge of his nose, then looked toward the room outside of his office. "Sure doesn't feel like Christmas is only six days away."

"I was thinking the same thing as I drove in. Daryl won't be with you, Sandburg's mother is missing and H found out Lori's grandfather has decided to spend the holidays with him."

"Ouch." Simon winced at the information. "I don't envy him. Or Joel. He slept over at my place last night. Had a fight with his wife and decided that stepping away from the situation might help."

"I thought he looked a little frazzled. And Connor?"

"Can't get home. Seems the airline has no record of her purchasing a ticket despite her credit card being charged. And the cost of a ticket now..."

"I know she was really looking forward to going. I remember spending several Christmases in strange places. Only with me, I didn't have family to spend it with like she does so it wasn't such a big deal. When does Daryl leave on his trip?"

"In two days. He called last night and we tried to talk, but--"

"Yeah, I know, sir."

The two men sat quietly for several long seconds before Banks subtly shook himself, stood up and circled to sit in his chair. "Got an interesting report that might be connected to that con artist group with the nursing homes," he finally said after adjusting his glasses and picking up several pieces of paper and handing them over his desk toward Ellison. "Your idea of sending a query out to all of the centers located in Cascade and the surrounding communities paid off. They passed the information off to the hospitals and Cascade General contacted the precinct. They were contacted by a group representing an obscure charity organization and have visited their geriatrics ward off and on this week."

Jim scanned the pages before looking up. "This indicates that the people have been there a couple of times talking to the residents."

"Apparently, one of them is made up to be an elderly person and wheeled into the ward by a couple of younger people. The decoy starts bothering the staff while the others wander throughout the ward."

"Looks like they've been there right at the shift changes for further confusion." Glancing at his watch, Jim noted the time. "Shift change should be in about two hours. If they follow their pattern and don't get spooked away, we might have a chance at catching them."

"That's my belief, too. When Sandburg shows up, take Brown and Rafe and get over there."

Standing up, Jim walked out of the office. "We'll get on it, Captain. Oh, and sir?" Jim paused in the doorway and waited until Simon looked up at him. "You're still welcome to come over. I'm sure Blair will need the company."

"Thanks, Jim." Banks gave his detective a grateful smile at the offer, then bent back over his work.

As Jim approached his desk, he saw Blair striding through the doors of the bullpen with barely repressed anger radiating from his body. The younger man practically slammed his ever present backpack onto his chair and started stripping out of his coat and scarf.

"You would NOT believe what I just went through, Jim. They wouldn't tell me anything. Anything! Argh!" Blair clenched his hands into fists and banged them on top of the back of his chair.

Grabbing onto Blair's shoulders, Jim started to knead the tension out of them. "Take it easy, Chief. Take a breath and calm down... That's it. Now, what happened?" When he felt like his friend was back in control, Jim eased Blair down into his own chair and leaned against the desk in front of him.

Blair closed his eyes and took several calming breaths before he felt in control enough to speak. When he opened his eyes back up, tears glistened in them. "First, this guard wasn't even going to let me into the building. After I was able to convince the guy that I had a legitimate reason to speak to the people inside, I got stopped by this aide inside the door and she wouldn't let me pass. I finally found out that there wasn't anyone there to talk to in the first place. I left my card, which she didn't even look at, and asked her to please call me if any news came it. She said that she would inform the ambassador of my request when he returned."

"Any idea when that would be?"

"No, damn it! I just don't know what to do, Jim."

Leaning forward and placing a comforting hand onto the smaller man's shoulder, Jim gave it squeeze. "We can call the Red Cross. I know they have ways of finding out stuff and getting people into countries that have had their borders shut down in war. I'm sure the fact that Naomi's group has been missing for so long is reason enough for them to check the situation out."

A glimmer of hope appeared in Blair's eyes. "Yeah, right. I guess I forget about them." Dragging open the bottom drawer in the desk, Blair hauled out a thick telephone book and started thumbing through the yellow pages until he reached the charity listings.

"Make it quick, Chief. We've got a line on our con artists hitting the nursing homes and Simon wants us to take Brown and Rafe with us this time." Standing up, Ellison leaned over and grabbed his jacket.

Blair waved one hand, then continued scanning the page in front of him as he reached for the telephone with the other. "I'll meet you in the garage. Five minutes, promise."

"Make sure that you do," Jim replied over his shoulder as he walked over to Brown and Rafe's desks. His approach was undetected and he was able to hear their conversation.

"I'm telling you, L.T., you should ask Hairboy about that. He's spent years working with that system and he has to know of some way to get around it," Henri voiced.

Rafe just shook his head. "We've talked to everyone you could even think of talking to, and maybe a few even Sandburg wouldn't know. University policy is to not round up the numerical scores. So, his 2.45 average cancels him out of the scholarship for the next semester."

"And he has to re-apply for next fall and start all over again. I'm really sorry this happened, man."

"Thanks, H. Now, I've got to find some way to open David's eyes about those fraternity guys he's been hanging with short of pulling their arrest records." Rafe leaned back and rubbed his hands over his face, then noticed the presence standing near him. Looking over, he saw Ellison waiting patiently and quickly stood up. "Jim, hey. Didn't notice you there."

"No kidding." Jim gave the clean-cut detective a lop-sided smile. "Sounds like David's having some difficulty at Rainier."

"It's nothing, really." The smaller man gave a small wave of dismissal.

"Don't believe it, man. The kid's scores are just slightly under the academic requirement and he lost his scholarship for the spring semester," Henri spoke up, earning a glare from his partner.

"I thought David was doing pretty good at school."

"He was, until he got interested in pledging at this fraternity. I've seen his tests and I just can't understand how they only add up to the grades he got. But it's nothing for you guys to worry about. Did you need something, Jim?"

Rafe's quick change of the subject had the other raising an eyebrow at Brown, but at the black detective's subtle headshake he let him get away with it and continued. "We have a lead on the group ripping off the nursing home residents. They've moved their operations to the hospital. The Captain wants you two to back up Sandburg and me when we go over to Cascade General since there is a possibility of them showing up today."

"We're down on that," Brown jumped up from his chair with a wide grin, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "I'm in the mood to take down a bunch of lowlifes that like to prey on old folks." Rafe nodded in agreement.

"Great." Looking over at his partner, Ellison saw that the younger man was talking to someone on the telephone and the expression on his face was no longer one of frustration. "Let's head on down to the garage. Sandburg will join us in a couple of minutes." Leading the way, he walked out of the bullpen.

With a sigh of relief, Blair hung up the receiver of the telephone. It felt good to talk to someone who was willing to listen to his situation and have them offer to help. The Red Cross official, after taking down the information Blair gave concerning his mother's itinerary, promised to contact their office over in that area and get back with him as early as tomorrow with any news.

Standing up and grabbing his backpack, Blair started toward the doors when he noticed Joel Taggart sitting at his desk with a forlorn expression on his face. The man's eyes were staring off into space. Unable to just walk away, Blair strolled over toward his friend.

"Joel? Hey, man, are you all right there?" he asked, startling the man.

Straightening, Taggart started rustling through the papers on his desk. "Blair, uh, yeah. Everything is great. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, man. Maybe it's the lost look I saw on your face just a few seconds ago or the fact that you look like you're under some pretty big stress. Talk to me, Joel. I looked the same way last night and talking to Jim helped me." Leaning onto the other man's desk, Blair's voice dropped down until he was sure no one else, with the exception of Jim, would be able to hear him. "Something happen at home?"

With a grimace, Taggart allowed the feigned expression to fade from his face and looked up into the concerned deep blue eyes staring at him. The younger man in front of him had become a very close friend over the years, and Taggart knew that he could trust Sandburg with anything he told him.

"I thought it wouldn't be a big deal. We'd been saving the money up for a nice trip, so I went down to the travel agency and booked us a cruise in the Caribbean from Christmas Eve until after the New Year. I thought it could be like a second honeymoon."

"But that's not the way your wife took it, was it?"

Joel gave a snort. "You would have thought that I had committed the worst sin in the world. How could I even think of spending Christmas away from the kids? Didn't I want to spend the holidays with family?"

"Ouch, man. That doesn't sound very good."

"That's putting it mildly. Of course I yelled, she yelled, then we decided that it would be best if I spent a couple of nights elsewhere. Simon was gracious enough to let me stay with him, since Daryl wasn't coming home."

"Ah, man. I'm sorry, Joel. Is there anything I can do to help? Maybe mediate between the two of you or something?" Reaching forward, Blair placed what he hoped was a comforting hand on the older man's forearm.

Joel smiled up at him. "Thanks for the offer, Blair, but I don't think so this time. I doubt the travel agency will even consider it, but probably the best thing I can do is try to turn in the tickets and take whatever loss there will be on the late cancellation.."

"And then?"

Joel sighed. "And then I don't know. She is really angry this time. It might not be until Valentine's Day that she forgives me."

"My mom was supposed to visit for Christmas, Jim was supposed to spend the day with his dad and brother and Simon was supposed to spend the holidays with Daryl. But now, it looks like we'll all just be sitting around the loft. You know you're more than welcome to come and join us." Sincerity gleamed from Blair's face.

Giving the younger man a warm smile, Joel pulled Blair's hand from his arm into his own two and grasped it tightly. "Thanks for the offer. It's the best thing I've heard all day. Would there be room for another lost soul?" Leaning around, Joel looked toward Megan, who'd just slammed the receiver down onto her telephone.

Peering over his shoulder in the direction Joel indicated, Blair saw who he meant and nodded. "No problem, man. The more the merrier. Gotta run, or Jim will take off without me. You okay here?"

"I am now."

Giving his friend what would be considered almost a blinding smile, Blair jumped up and practically danced out of the room. His heart was ten times lighter than when he'd entered.

Ellison, Brown and Rafe stared at the number indicator on the elevator, each lost in their own thoughts during the slow ride down to the garage level of the building. The car was stopping on every floor picking up and dropping off residents of the building. At the first floor, the doors stayed open for what seemed like an interminable amount of time.

Ellison gave a grunt of irritation and leaned against the back of the elevator car with his arms crossed over his chest. That is, until he saw a familiar figure through the front doors of the building. The man had shaggy, reddish colored hair, a mustache and goatee and was dressed in rumpled clothing that had seen better days. The individual looked through the glass straight at Ellison and gave him a childlike smile. Gabe!

Leaping forward to slam his hands at the closing doors, Jim thrust them back open and ran out of the car, unmindful of the calls from his two friends. A man walking into his path made him halt abruptly and stumble to the side to prevent running the guy over. When he'd regained his footing, Jim muttered a short apology and continued toward the door. Bursting out of the building, the familiar figure was no longer in sight. Swinging his gaze from right to left, Jim searched in vain for another glimpse of the man he thought for sure had been Gabe. He heard the arrival of Henri and L.T., but paid them no attention.

When his eyes swung around to his left, Jim saw a man in a Santa Claus suit standing at the edge of the alley and huddled in conversation with a young man. Using his enhanced sight, he zeroed in on the purse the youth held open in his hands and the other was rummaging through. "Rafe. Go back through the lobby to the side door and come around behind Santa and his elf over there," Jim ordered. At the other's hesitation, he continued, "There is a team that has been mugging people outside our building and got Rhonda yesterday. One was dressed up like Santa." At the mention of their favorite office manager's name, Rafe flew back into the building.

"I can go across the street and make sure they don't take off that way, Jim," Brown offered. At Ellison's nod, the detective trotted carefully out into the road.

Walking casually down the sidewalk, Ellison kept his eyes on the pair and extended his hearing.

"Damn it! Eight bucks and no credit cards. I thought you said she'd be carrying."

"She was. I mean, I thought she was. She had this massive rock on her hand and one of her bags was from Lord and Taylor. I mean, you have to have bucks to shop there."

"Stupid!" ~smack~ "You can pick up those bags anywhere and the ring could have been bought at a garage sale. You were supposed to observe the car they came from, see them make a purchase, anything to verify their wealth."

Ellison heard enough. This had to be the pair that had mugged the Commissioner. Glancing to his right, he saw Brown in position across the street, watching the pair closely. Extending his hearing into the alley, he could pick up the sound of someone walking stealthily. There was a rustle of clothing and a snap being opened that told him Rafe was unholstering his weapon. Knowing that his backup was in place, Ellison increased his pace.

When Jim was within 50 feet, the Santa Claus saw him and froze. The young man with him spun around in fright and, realizing the situation, took off across the street.

"Freeze! Cascade P.D.!" Jim yelled, pulling his weapon and leveling it on Santa. The man looked like a rabbit caught in the gaze of an eagle, the fear emanating from him in waves. He made a move to run into the alley, but saw the menacing figure of a dark-haired man walking toward him also pointing a gun.

"Chill man!" came Brown's voice from across the street. Ellison spared a glance in that direction and saw that the black detective had the struggling youth by the collar and was forcing him against the wall. Satisfied that the accomplice was taken care of, Jim turned his attention back to Santa.

"Put down the purse and raise your hands," Jim ordered.

With a defeated look on his face, the man obeyed. He didn't struggle when Rafe swung him around and had him spread-eagle against the wall. Nor did he struggle when the pair of uniformed officers trotted up to take him and his accomplice under their control, Ellison instructing them to book the Santa and youth on charges of theft, assault and possibly more criminal counts.

"Good eye, Jim," Henri snickered, then jumped back a step at the look the taller man threw at him.

Jim knew what the black detective was referring to with his remark and still was a little uneasy about the number of people who now knew about his abilities. He was about to reply when he caught sight of Gabe again at the edge of his eyesight. Swinging his head, he saw the mysterious man standing at the end of the block staring at him. He smiled again and held up his two hands clasped together. The blare of a car horn caused Jim to jerk his eyes away for just a second. But that was all that was needed. When he looked back, Gabe was gone.

"So you believe me now that you saw him yourself," Blair asked his partner after the other told him what had happened outside of the building.

"I believed you before, Chief."

"Yeah, sure."

"I did. Anyway, we never would have caught our mugging Santa and elf if I hadn't seen him outside of the front doors. It was like..." Jim hesitated in his description, unable to voice the words.

"Like he was trying to get your attention so you could catch the guy. The Commissioner is going to be VERY happy that you did, man. He might even reward you." Blair grinned at his partner and raised an eyebrow when the larger man looked at him. The result was a backhanded smack on his arm. Blair had tried to shift away, but the confines of the truck didn't allow it. So he accepted the action and laughed at how Jim grimaced.

"Very funny, Sandburg. I didn't catch the guy just to be in Matthews' favor. The pair had just mugged another woman. I don't like that happening on my watch."

"I hear you, man." Blair gazed out his window, thinking hard on why a man who'd disappeared from a hospital without being treated after being shot would suddenly start appearing again. He was jolted out of his thoughts by Jim's voice and a lighter tap on his arm.

"Earth to Sandburg. Are you back with me, Chief?"

"Yeah. Sorry, Jim. I was just wondering why Gabe is back around."

Ellison gave his partner a small grin. "That's what I was asking you. We haven't seen him for more than two years and he's shown up twice in as many days. Why?"

Sandburg brought a hand up to his mouth and pulled at his lower lip, his eyes were focused down onto the dash. "Well, the last time, he told me that he was here to perform a miracle. I mean, he did jump up and take the bullet meant for Johnny Mercado."

"Oh, come on, Sandburg. A miracle?" The words came out with a sarcastic tone.

"Hey! You asked me why and I'm just thinking aloud here. I have no idea why he's back here and won't until we catch up to him and ask. Okay?"

Ellison held up a hand in complacency. "Okay, Chief. Okay." Spinning the steering wheel of the truck, he pulled into the parking lot of Cascade General Hospital and stopped in a parking space at the outer edge of the lot. Brown's sedan followed close behind, choosing a space nearby to park. Stepping out of their vehicles, the four men met at the back of Jim's truck.

"Chief, since you're less likely to tip our quarry off, I want you to enter through the front door. You're a young man coming to visit his grandfather. Got it?" At Blair's nod, Jim turned to the other two. "You two can flip a coin to see who goes in next. The other will go with me around to the back."

Brown looked at Rafe, then grinned. Putting one arm around his clean-cut partner's back and digging into a pocket with the other, the two walked a couple of feet away. After doing what appeared to be tossing a coin, the two came back.

"Let's go, Ellison," Henri ordered in a gruff voice and started around the vehicles toward the side of the building. Shrugging at the man's action, Jim followed. He heard the two younger detectives talking.

"Henri sounds upset. Why?" Blair asked.

Rafe snickered. "He lost the toss. He has to go with Jim."

Blair's quiet laughter followed Jim across the parking lot.

The Geriatrics Center of Cascade General was a two-story brick building that sat diagonally from the main entrance of the hospital. Designed to take elderly patients on a short-term basis, after initial treatment from the hospital, the Center would stabilize them until they were able to be discharged to their home or to a long-term facility.

Entering the lobby, Blair stopped just inside the doorway to check his watch. The digital dial read 10:47, less than fifteen minutes before the next shift of care personnel were supposed to take over. As if to confirm that information, a male and female in medical garb stepped around him and headed toward the door marked 'STAFF'.

Swinging his gaze around the area, Blair saw a couple of young children occupied by a television playing in the far corner, a woman standing at the counter talking to an orderly and two elderly ladies sitting together in the middle of the lobby. There was a third woman nearby in a wheelchair, talking to the other two in a fervent manner.

"Excuse me," Blair voiced quietly to an older black man sitting at a computer behind the counter. He wore the standard white lab jacket of a medical person and his nametag read Dr. Casey. "I was wondering if you could direct me to the administrator on duty."

Looking up, the doctor first saw the pleasant face of a long-haired young man. Then his eyes strayed down to the gold detective badge the youth had lowered so that it was only viewable to someone on his side of the counter. At the man's nod, Blair closed the wallet and slid it back into his pants pocket. Leaning forward onto the counter, he lowered his voice, "We received a phone call this morning and I'd like to speak to either the administrator or whoever made the call. It is urgent."

"Please come with me," Dr. Casey said, standing up and walking around the corner until he was standing in the hall to the left. "I'm the one that made the call, but it's probably not a good idea to talk out in the open. I wasn't expecting you to show up today."

Walking over to the doctor, Blair smiled at the surprise in the man's voice. "We really want to stop these people before they hurt someone else, Doctor."

"You're not the only one they sent, are you?" The man glanced around Blair back toward the lobby.

"No, sir," Blair chuckled in answer. "My partner and another are circling around to the back and will come in that way. There'll be another following me shortly."

The doctor relaxed slightly. "That's good, because I think they are already here. A man and woman have already gone down the hall and are in the Recreation room. It's around back and I've got one of my orderlies watching them. That woman," Casey nodded to the lady in the wheelchair, "is the one they left behind. There are two young men I don't remember seeing before who've gone upstairs into the wards. I'm not sure where they are at this moment."

Reaching into his jacket, Blair keyed the radio he had placed there before leaving Jim's truck. "They're already here, guys. One in the lobby, two upstairs and two near you, Jim. I'm heading up." After releasing the button, Blair heard a double click from the radio as a reply to his message. Giving the doctor a smile, he walked over to the elevator and punched the button to call the car.

Before the elevator car arrived, Blair watched Rafe walk confidently through the doors and up to the counter. He was met by Dr. Casey, and the two stepped over to the side so that they would have a clear view of the lobby. Rafe looked around, saw Sandburg and gave a slight nod with his head before turning his attention back to the doctor.

"Show time, H." Giving an unconscious check of his holstered weapon at his back, Jim pulled open the door he and Henri had waited at and stepped carefully into the building. Pausing, he opened his hearing to the surrounding area and carefully filtered out all the incidental noises.

"I'm sure you must be so relieved that your grandchildren will be so well taken care of. But I can't help to think about all those who don't have such security. Without Safe Haven, there are many who would never know what a home is."

Ellison knew this had to be one of the con artists. He could almost hear the oiliness in the voice. Motioning to Brown, he walked in the direction of the voice. Understanding their surroundings, neither man drew their weapons.

Peering around a corner, Jim saw a large Hispanic man in a white uniform leaning against a wall pretending to read a chart. His attention was actually on a doorway halfway between him and the detective.

The orderly's attention shifted when Ellison and Brown stepped around the corner, his body stiffening at their appearance. He relaxed when a badge was displayed, then nodded and backed away when the other gestured at him.

With another gesture toward his companion, Jim motioned for him to walk casually past the door to the room and set himself up on the other side. Henri complied, a wide grin on his face as he passed the taller detective. Due to the location of the room, Jim stayed at the corner to prevent being spotted by their quarry. He wanted to make sure Henri heard and witnessed the actions of the con artists to back him up when it came time to prosecute them.

When Ellison started to focus his hearing back onto the occupants of the room, he felt the presence of someone move hesitantly to stand behind him. Just as he was about to turn and see who it was, a familiar voice spoke softly.

"With ears that can hear a hundred miles, what is the most important thing you should be listening for?"

Swinging around sharply, Jim almost fell into Gabe since he was leaning in toward the detective. Jim took a stumbling step back and looked critically over the figure in front of him. The smaller man hadn't changed too much from what he remembered. His clothes looking more rumpled and tattered, but his face still held the same wide-eyed, angelic innocence. Jim opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when Gabe turned his face upward and, with his hands clasped together, pointed toward the ceiling.

With a sinking feeling building in his stomach, Ellison tilted his head slightly and focused his hearing up toward the second floor. Without any difficulty, he was able to pick up the familiar tones of Blair's voice... and it sounded like the younger man had once again found himself in the middle of a situation.

When Blair stepped off the elevator, he felt like he was on a hospital floor. There was a large desk area in front of the elevators with several nurses and orderlies behind it. They looked to be in a mild state of confusion that he figured was common at a shift change.

Approaching the station, Blair displayed his badge and asked if any of them remembered seeing two young men on the floor. One of the nurses looked up and shook his head in the negative, then immediately turned his attention back to the charts lined up along the counter top.

Accepting the dismissal, Blair started walking down the hallway to his left. If the ward were set up in the same pattern as a hospital, he would be able to completely circle around the floor and end up back at the elevators. Trying to look as if he belonged on the floor, Blair kept his pace slow and comfortable as he glanced into each room he passed.

Few were empty, attesting to the fact that this area of the hospital was busy, and most that were occupied had what appeared to be family members with the occupants. Balloons and cards decorated most of the doors as well as signs indicating the usage of oxygen and other medical pieces of equipment. Letting out a sigh of frustration, Blair continued to travel the floor, searching for two that didn't belong.

Reaching the back part of the floor, where the view from the windows was of the highway and the Cascade skyline and there wasn't very much people traffic in the area, Blair glanced into a room on his right. What he saw set off silent alarms in his head, but he kept walking past. A young man dressed in a long coat and carrying an open backpack on one shoulder was opening the door to the armoire in the room. He cast a furtive glance to the sleeping occupant of the bed before reaching into the piece of furniture.

Sandburg continued on down the hallway and stopped at the water fountain three doors down. Bending over to take a drink, he kept the area he'd just passed in the corner of his eye and took a drink from the fountain. No one came out of the room. Confident that he hadn't been noticed, Blair stepped quietly back down the hall and flattened himself just outside the door. His heart rate accelerated and his breathing increased with the thought that he'd found at least one of the members of the gang that was ripping off elderly people. Peeking into the room, Blair saw the old man lying in the bed beginning to stir awake. He had to move quickly.

Cursing the fact that he didn't dare use the radio on him to call for backup for fear of alerting the other, Blair did the only thing he could think of. He 'called' out quietly to his partner, unconsciously hoping his quarry couldn't hear him. "Jim. I'm upstairs at the back of the floor. Room 226. I've got one guy up here going through the rooms, but don't know where the other one has gone. I could really use you up here, man."

Pulling out his wallet and displaying his badge, Blair stepped into the room, blocking the doorway. His sudden appearance startled the young man into leaping away from the closet and dropping the coat he'd been rifling through onto the floor.

"Take it easy, man," Blair ordered the frightened youth, holding up the badge with his left hand and holding his empty right hand out away from his body. The elderly man on the bed awoke with a gasp, then silently watched the scene in front of him.

The youth, for the young man was clearly only in his teens, quickly dug a hand into his coat pocket and pulled out a knife. With a flick of his wrist, the blade popped out and the kid jabbed it in Blair's direction. His eyes swung wildly around the room looking for an escape.

"Whoa!" Blair cried out, jumping back and out of the way of the swinging blade. "Easy, man. Put the knife down and your hands up. I don't want to hurt you."

The youth grimaced and swung the blade again, trying to force Blair away from the doorway. Suddenly, his eyes flickered to something behind the detective and a small smile appeared on his lips.

That was the only warning Blair received and, knowing that he was in trouble, he acted immediately on it. Rushing forward, he knocked the arm holding the knife away, grabbed the front of the kid's coat and swung him around until he slammed into the closet door. Stunned, the youth dropped the knife, allowing Blair to swing him around until he was able to use him as a shield against whoever had appeared behind him. He pulled one of the kid's arms behind his back and had his own arm holding the kid across the chest.

The person standing in the doorway was obviously his captive's partner. Taller, and older, the man was holding a backpack with one hand and had a small caliber gun pointed at Blair with the other. "Let him go," the man ordered.

"Cascade P.D. Put down the gun, you're under arrest." Blair said with false bravado. He tried to paste on his face the same cold imposing expression of 'don't mess with me' that he'd seen on his partner's face so many times, but didn't think it was working. "You don't want to do anything stupid, man. It was simple robbery until you pulled the gun. Now it's assault and you're looking at possible jail time. Don't make it worse."

The other man gave him a grim smirk and pulled back on the hammer of the weapon, the ominous click filling the room. "I said let him go."

Blair's breath had sped up considerably. The youth in his arms struggled for release, but Blair kept a tight grip, knowing he was probably the only reason the other hadn't shot at him. "My partner will shoot you before you even start to press the trigger, man. Put it down."

The other man chuckled at the comment and started to extend the hand with the weapon. Suddenly, he felt something cold and metallic press against the back of his neck. He froze.

"I'm pretty sure my partner told you to put down the gun, dirt bag," Jim spoke into the man's ear, his voice low and threatening.

With eyes opened wide in surprise and no small amount of fear, the man carefully released the weapon and allowed it to swing loosely in his hand as he moved his arms away from his body. He felt the man behind him reach around his body and remove the pistol from his hand before he was shoved face first into the wall.

A nurse skittered around the two toward the man lying in the bed. Snapping on the light over the bed, she began speaking in a soothing voice, checking his vitals and hooking the oxygen system up.

"You okay, Chief?" Jim asked, pocketing the confiscated weapon and, still holding his own pistol to his prisoner's neck, started frisking the man.

Copying his friend's actions, Blair started taking care of the kid in his arms by forcing him face first into the front of the closet and pulling out his pair of handcuffs. "I am so glad you heard me, Jim. You really must have hustled up the stairs to get here so fast. I was going to wait for you or one of the others to make it up here before I moved, but the old guy there looked like he was starting to wake up and I didn't want to even think of what might have happened if he had while this boy was going through his things, though I wasn't sure where the other guy was and I know I should have waited for backup and all--"

"Sandburg!" Startled at the interruption, Blair stopped his actions and looked over at his friend. "I was already up here when you called out."

"Did you get the others down stairs?"

"Brown and Rafe are rounding them up now." Tilting his head slightly, Ellison 'listened' down toward the area he's just left. He 'heard' Rafe talking to Brown and telling him that the uniforms had arrived and they could go ahead and arrest the pair in the ward.

Pulling his prisoner over to where his partner was handcuffing the other guy, Blair asked, "What do you mean 'rounding them up'? Didn't you have them before you came up here?"

Several expressions flitted across Ellison's face before he was able to school it back into control. "Someone... told me that you were in trouble," he finally said. Grasping his prisoner by the arm, Jim pulled the man into the hall and started walking back toward the elevators. He could hear Blair following; the kid he was dragging with him was scuffling his feet on the floor.

"Told you?"

"Yes, told me, Sandburg. I didn't stutter."

"Who?"

When they reached the elevator, Ellison jabbed at the call button and stared at the floor indicator over the doors for several long seconds. He knew his friend wouldn't just let him go without answering, but he wasn't sure of what words to use that would make sense. Finally, he tore his gaze away from the elevator and looked down into the curious blue eyes of his friend. "Gabe showed up again. Just when H. and I were going to take down the couple, he appeared behind me. In his typical, cryptic manner, he told me you were in trouble."

"Wait a minute. He was just downtown at the precinct. How did he know to get down here? Do you think he followed us?"

The elevator doors opened and Ellison pulled his prisoner into the car. Blair was right behind him. "I don't know, Chief. He just... was there behind me. Again. And I'll bet you that we won't be able to find him if we do a search of the area."

Blair could hear the frustration in his friend's voice. One thing Jim Ellison hated was anything that couldn't be explained logically or was just down right mystical. Despite the fact that he'd seen ghosts and had a spirit animal that seemed to appear at the oddest moments, Jim Ellison was a very practical, down-to-earth man.

"Wow," was all that Blair could think to say.

"Yeah, wow," Jim answered, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

The two detectives remained silent as the elevator made its way slowly down to the first floor and opened to a lobby area filled with uniformed policemen and frenzied medical people. Passing their prisoners over to the waiting officers, Ellison took off toward the doors leading out of the building with Sandburg struggling to keep up with him.

Jim felt like he had to get outside and get into some fresh air. Twice, now, a man appeared and helped him apprehend criminals. This time, he'd also helped him keep his friend and partner from getting injured. The whole idea completely bothered him.

Walking until he was several feet from the entrance and not too far from the entrance to the main part of the hospital, Ellison froze when a familiar figure exited from the doors of that building. "Dad?"

William Ellison stumbled to a halt, his mouth dropped in surprise. "Jimmy? What are you doing here? Are you hurt?" Mr. Ellison looked his eldest son over carefully.

"What are you doing here, Dad? I thought you had some business meeting you had to be at or something."

"Well, I... you see," William started, then glanced at the smaller figure behind his son. He saw Blair give him a shy smile, step back, then go back into the building behind him, leaving the two men alone.

Jim heard his partner murmur 'I'll be inside' before leaving, but his attention was on his father in front of him. The older man looked embarrassed, as if being seen at the hospital by one of his sons was the last thing he wanted.

The two men looked at each other uncomfortably before Jim decided to break the silence. The muscle along his right jaw twitching was the only outward sign he gave of any emotion. "If you didn't want to spend the holidays with me, you didn't have to use an out of town business meeting as an excuse."

"I didn't make up the meeting as an excuse, Jimmy. Something has come up and I didn't want you to worry."

"Does Steve know you haven't left town, or is he in this with you?"

Scuffing his foot at a mark he located in the cement, William opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before he was able to get the words out. "It's not that way, Jimmy. I told you and Steven I was going out of town because I didn't want you worrying about me and messing up your holiday. I just thought the two of you would still get together and enjoy Christmas."

"Why, Dad? What is so important that you'd lie to the two of us... again?" Crossing his arms across his chest, Jim focused an icy stare onto his uncomfortable sire.

"This is not the place to talk about this." Straightening up, the older man tried to stare down his son, but he was no match for Jim's firm gaze.

"Where would you like to go to discuss this? The cafeteria? There's no one around to hear us, so just spit it out."

"You know, I knew you would have this attitude. Your plans get disrupted and I'm the bad guy."

"You're the one with the attitude, Dad. If you want to be this way, then fine. I'll see you later... maybe." Throwing his hands up into the air in exasperation, Jim turned around to walk back into the building when he felt his father's hand grasp his arm. Turning around, he saw that the defiant man had wilted down into the frail figure of his father again.

"Wait! I'm sorry, son. I don't want to fight. It's just that... Damn it, it's hard to admit you have something wrong when you've always had to be the strong one."

"Been there, done that and it doesn't really help those who care about you."

"I know, Jimmy. I'm sorry." William cleared his throat, then took a deep breath and released it before continuing. "You see, I had a check up last week and the doctor said that the results of the tests were odd. Something about an enzyme problem and some irregular readings with my heart. I am going out of town tomorrow, but it will be down to San Francisco to see a specialist for some more detailed tests."

At the utterance of his father's words, the anger drained from Jim like someone had pulled a plug and left him with a lump in his stomach. He'd never seen his father ill in his entire life, though his frailty had become more evident over the years. Jim scanned his father and noticed little signs on the older man's face that proved his words. The was a pallor about the man, more than would be expected for this time of the year, and a slight bluish tinge around his lips that could be an indication of not enough oxygen. Listening to the older man's heart, he couldn't tell if there was any type of irregularity.

"You should have told me, Dad."

"Why? And have you hovering around me like I'm going to keel over any moment? I don't need that right now and you don't either. You've got enough going on with your job and your... you know." William gestured toward his own eyes and ears to indicate Jim's senses. "I don't want you to tell Steven about this. He doesn't need to have his holiday ruined, too."

Seeing the stubbornness flare in his father's eyes, Jim threw up his hands. "I don't understand you, Dad. We're family and you're shutting us out. Not wanting us with you at this time has already ruined it. If you think it might be something I should know about, give me a call when you get back and let me know what happens. Merry Christmas, Dad."

Spinning around in anger, Jim stalked back up the sidewalk toward the Geriatrics Center and entered the building, leaving William standing with his mouth hanging open.