Major Crime, The Next Morning
"I swear, Sandburg, if you ever do that again," Jim growled as he led the way into Major Crime.
"Like it was my fault," Blair countered, hot on Jim's trail.
Henri and Megan looked up from their respective desks, then decided against entering the conversation and returned to their tasks. Blair trailed Jim into the bullpen and tossed his coat on the coat rack beside Jim's desk.
"It's not that bad, Jim," Blair said as he perched on the edge of the desk.
Jim slumped into his chair and glared up at his partner from under the brim of his Jags cap. "Baloney."
"Can't you see the humor in this?"
His reply was a dark glare. "I'm changing it back as soon as we're out of here," Jim said flatly.
Simon chose that moment to stroll over to the pair. "Dare I ask what you two are fighting about now?" he asked, stirring his coffee with a wooden stick.
"No," Jim said.
Blair grinned. "Come on, it's funny."
"To you, maybe," Jim groused.
"Now you have to tell," Simon said with a wicked grin. "It sounds too good not to share."
Blair held up his left hand, his palm covered with a thick, white bandage. "Well, I was slicing carrots for dinner last night and cut my hand with the knife. We went into the bathroom and Jim put peroxide on it. Then he managed to drop the bottle cap and when he bent down to get it, I accidentally knocked it over onto his head."
Simon chuckled. "So he's grumbling over a lump on his head?"
"Well, it's a little more than that," Blair said, biting his lower lip.
When no one offered any more information, Simon growled, "So?"
Realizing he wasn't going to get out of it, Jim took off the Jags cap. Simon's mouth fell open and he almost dropped his coffee mug. Blair covered his mouth with his uninjured hand, trying not to laugh out loud. The corners of Simon's mouth quivered and he began snickering softly. That did Blair in. He doubled with laughter, slipping off of Jim's desk as he did so. This caught Henri and Megan's attention, who stopped their work to gape at the detectives.
"Next time, Jim," Simon said as he laughed. "Wash out the peroxide."
Jim glared at the people around him. His brown hair had an orange streak running down the left center of his scalp, with random orange dots here and there.
"It's getting dyed as soon as I get home," Jim said.
"Jim, what did you do?" Megan asked from her desk.
"He lost a fight with a bottle of peroxide," Blair said from his spot on the floor. He wiped tears from his eyes.
"Who fought with what?" Rhonda asked as she entered the bullpen. The secretary looked harried and out of breath as she looked at the people laughing all around her. She took in Jim, then shook her head. "Forget it, I don't want to know."
Rhonda strode over to her desk and practically dumped her shoulder bag onto it.
Blair picked himself off the floor, calming considerably. "You okay, Rhonda?"
"Fine," she said, turning around. "I'm sorry I'm late, Captain Banks. I was already running late when I forgot I didn't have a car and you know how rotten public transportation can be."
Simon frowned. "What happened to your car?"
Rhonda sighed. "I drove out to visit my sister and her family last night. On the way back, I hit a deer. It totally smashed in my front end and windshield."
"Are you all right?" Simon asked, walking over to her.
"My car was the only casualty," she replied. "While not the most dependable machine in the world, it did have four wheels and moved. You know something should really be done about all the deer around here. My sister almost hit one last week and she had her daughters in the car."
"Hey, Rafe," Henri said.
Heads swiveled towards the bullpen's main doors. Rafe walked in mechanically, his eyes fixed firmly on his desk. He didn't seem to hear his partner as he crossed the room and sat down, neatly folding both hands on his desk blotter. Henri stood up and walked over. He gently put a hand on Rafe's shoulder.
"You okay, man?" Henri asked.
Rafe blinked, noticing his audience for the first time.
"How's David holding up?" H prompted.
"He wants to go to Lucy's funeral in Michigan," Rafe said, his jaw quivering minutely.
"Time off isn't a problem," Simon said gently.
"David's coming home tomorrow," Rafe continued. His words came out as if he was in a daze, unaware he was even speaking. "He's moving back in for a while. He's going to need my help."
Henri blanched. "Rafe--?"
Rafe's hands balled into tight fists as he fought for control. "The doctor said David will be lucky if he ever regains sixty percent of his sight. The best he can hope for is forty."
No one spoke. A thick cloud of silence hung over the bullpen as the seconds ticked away. There was no happy ending for this one. For anyone, knowing you will not be completely blind is an unadulterated blessing. For a nineteen year-old boy who had just seen his dream of becoming a detective obliterated in the time it took to drink a beer, it just wasn't enough.
After several minutes, activity returned to Major Crime.
And life continued.
Like this episode? Email the writer: dupshaw98@hotmail.com
Want to comment on production? Contact Black Panther Productions: bpproductions@wildmail.com
Stay tuned in two weeks when the ethics surrounding the Bait and Shoot program are as much a problem for the community as for our two detectives in "Bait And Shoot" an all new The Sentinel.
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