ellisedesade

Baby dolls part3/3

2009-04-30T14:23:17Z

Jim was looking very satisfied, Simon thought, and he couldn't help but wonder why. The reason became obvious when a few minutes later a very dishevelled Rafe emerged from the break room. Well, he couldn't say that it wasn't unexpected, Rafe's comments both in the loft and at the station, hadn't earned him any favors. For Jim to stand up and defend the kid there had to be a lot more going on than her just being a house guest. And it was time that he found out what it was.

"Ellison," he barked from the doorway of his office. There was no point in wasting time on social niceties.

"You wanted to see me?" Jim said, entering Simon's office.

"Close the door and sit down," Simon said, "about the kid..."

"Blair, what about her?" Jim asked.

"She seems to be doing a good job," he said, "and I saw her typing up your reports."

"She had a few minutes to spare," Jim said, "and she did a better job than I could have done."

"So what can you tell me about her background?" Simon asked.

"Not a lot really," Jim admitted. "I know that she was supposed to have a job teaching at Rainier, but it fell through."

"So she's educated," he said.

"Yeah, she can talk for hours on just about any subject you can mention," Jim said, "although I'm sure how much of it is true."

"And that's the reason why you brought her from the commune," Simon said.

"Simon, she was going to come regardless of what I did," Jim said. "She was trying to hitch a lift here."

"Then it's probably a good thing you brought her," he said. What the hell had the kid's parents been thinking, allowing her to come to the city by herself? Didn't they realize just how dangerous it could be for a woman alone?

"Her dad probably doesn't think so," Jim admitted. "He warned me to stay away from her."

"And you didn't," Simon said. "Is he likely to turn up and cause problems?"

"I doubt it," Jim replied, "and there are problems closer to home that need dealing with."

"Rafe," he said. "I doubt he's going to bother the kid again now that you've talked to him."

"Not if he wants to keep breathing, he won't," Jim said, "but someone like him shouldn't be a police officer."

"Jim, you know how hard it is to keep the force going, let alone recruit more officers," Simon said. "The Patriots have been talking to the Mayor again, and we all know what that means." He suspected that it would only be a matter of time before the Mayor gave in and the Sunrise Patriots were given the city. "Maybe if we could solve a few more cases..." he started to add.

"I'm doing the best I can," Jim said, "and Blair thinks she might have come up with something about my current case."

"A victory now would restore a lot of confidence in the department," he said.
Jim hadn't said that she couldn't look at the case file, Blair thought, but then he hadn't said that she could either. Still, there wouldn't be any harm in her seeing if she could find something to help him, and anything that ended up helping Jim would show people that she could be his partner. Flicking through the crime scene photos, she quickly became aware that she had seen photos like this before in a book she'd read, a history book. While the commune didn't believe in violence, all it's inhabitants were taught about it's effects. It had been in a class about violence against women that she had first read the book. The fact that the images had stayed with her had to be important. Now, if she could only remember the title of the book, it could give Jim a break in the case. All the victims had been married, had led totally respectable lives, so why had someone decided to slaughter them like animals? Her dad would have told her to jack this... Jack, that had been the first name of the man who had killed a lot of women centuries ago, but it hadn't been his real name, no one had ever found out who he had really been.

This was something that Jim really needed to know, she thought, standing up. Not that she was really sure how much use it would be to him. Still, it might give him some idea as to what he should do next. He was in with his boos, though, so she was going to have to go in there and disturb their meeting.

"Jim," she said, entering Simon's office without bothering to knock first.

"You're supposed to knock," Simon growled.

"Sorry," Blair said, "but this is really important. I might have found the killer."

"What have you got, Chief?" Jim asked.

"I was looking through the crime scene photos," she said, "and they reminded me of something I'd seen before. Back in the 1880's in London, England, there were a series of murders. They never caught who did it, but all the victims were cut up like the ones here."

"And that is supposed to help how?" Simon asked.

"I'm not sure," she admitted, "but these are surgical cuts. I worked in the commune's hospital for a while. Whoever did this knew their way around a body, where to cut it for the maximum effect."

"You mean a doctor," Jim said.

"Or a butcher," Blair said. "Those were among the original suspects." They seemed to be taking what she was saying seriously, which was a good thing. "It might be a good idea to talk to the victims' families again, they might have remembered something since they were originally interviewed," she added.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Simon asked.

"You mean that I can go with Jim?" She asked.

"Just don't make me regret it," Simon said.

"I won't," Blair promised him. She knew that she had been given a chance to prove herself and she wasn't going to do anything to misplace his trust in her.
"Chief, let's get a few rules straight before we go anywhere," Jim said, waiting for her to fasten her seat belt.

"Okay," Blair said.

"You do exactly what I say," he said. "I'm the detective, not you."

"But..." she began.

"Chief, we could end up in some pretty bad places, and I need to know that you're going to be safe," he said. The last thing he needed to be doing was worrying about not only where she was but what she was doing.

"I know that," she said, "but what if you have a problem with your senses? You need me to help you fix it."

"I'll be fine," Jim assured her. As long as he was careful, there wouldn't be any problems.

"Jim, I don't think that you understand just how serious the problems can be," Blair said.

"Then why don't you tell me?" he said. The more information he had, the better prepared he would be if something went wrong. Not that he was expecting any problems now that he had help.

"The zone outs are just one danger you have to watch out for," she said. "Anything you come into contact with could cause a reaction with your senses."

"What am I supposed to do, stay at home all the time?" Jim asked. That was totally impractical, nobody could live like that way.

"No," Blair replied, "but you do have to be careful. There are some tests I could do."

"No tests," Jim growled.

"Well, I do have a list of safe products you can use," she said. "The problem is that most of them don't exist any more, so eventually we're going to have to do some tests."

"I'm not going to be anyone's lab rat," he said. It was bad enough that he had these damned senses, without her wanting to experiment on him.

"Trust me, they won't be painful tests," Blair assured him, "and they would help to give you a lot more control over your senses."

"I'll think about it," Jim said. Not that he was going to agree to anything until he'd seen just what exactly the tests she wanted to run would entail.
"What are you grinning at?" Rafe demanded.

"Nothing," Henri replied.

"Then stop it," he snapped. Nothing, that was a joke. He knew damned well what his partner was grinning at. So much for loyalty between partners, he thought. Well, the next time Henri needed backup from him, it would be slow in arriving. As for Ellison, he was going to be a little more difficult to deal with. Still, he could be patient if he had to be, and if necessary he could lie with the best of them. He had lied in the past, and it had been to his benefit to do so. How else did people think that he could afford to buy his suits and run an expensive car on a mere detective's pay? Naturally, he was very careful about who he accepted money from.

"You should have known better than to piss Ellison off," Henri said.

"It's none of your business what I do," Rafe frowned. Henri was always sticking his nose in where it wasn't wanted, and one day it was going to get cut off.

"When it affects out partnership it does," Henri said, "and I don't want Ellison on my back because of something you did."

"She practically threw herself at me," he said. "What was I supposed to do?" If she hadn't wanted him to come onto her, then she shouldn't have been wearing those jeans.

"Sure, she did," Henri said, "and you could have acted like a gentleman and said no."

"Which is what you would have done," Rafe said.

"Of course I would have," Henri replied, "because I'm not an idiot."
It had been no wonder that he hadn't been able to find out more personal details of the victims' lives, Blair thought, listening to Jim question one of the husbands. If you wanted people to trust you, then you had to talk to them, not interrogate them. Jim had said that he was the detective, and he was, but he didn't know squat about talking to people. However, that was something that she was very good at, so it might be a good idea if she stepped in and started asking a few questions of her own, otherwise they weren't going to get very far.

"Your wife was a very beautiful woman," she said.

"She took a great deal of pride in the way she looked," Edward Jones said. "She was always going to the beauty parlor. Not that I minded, because it made her happy. She always had the same beautician."

"You get used to someone taking care you," Blair said. Not that she would know anything about beauty parlors because she had never set foot in one. "Do you remember the person she saw?" she added.

"Elizabeth Susan," Edward replied. "She sent flowers to the funeral."

"Thank you for your time," she said, "and I'm sorry for your loss." She was, because nobody deserved to die like that. When her time came she wanted to go of old age surrounded by her family. That was the way her grandfather had died. It had also been the first time that she'd seen a dead body. No doubt she would be seeing a lot more of them now that she was working with Jim.
"Chief, do you want to tell me what you were doing in there?" Jim asked, as she got into the truck.

"Getting him to tell us more than we already knew," Blair replied. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it worked," he admitted, "but that isn't the point. In some situations, asking questions will get you killed." As much as he admired her ability to get the victim's husband to give them a new lead she had to learn that there were rules to be followed.

"Then what is the point?" Blair asked.

"The point is that you're not a detective," Jim replied. "If you want to be one, then you'll have to go to the academy just like everyone else." The academy probably wouldn't know what had hit it if that happened.

"I don't want to do that," she replied.

"Then leave the detecting up to me," he said. Simon was not going to be too happy when he found out that she'd questioned someone. But she had given them a useful lead that he intended to follow up.

"Yes Jim," Blair said.

"So Chief, when was the last time you went to a beauty parlor?" he asked.

"Never," she replied, "there isn't one in the commune. Looking good isn't vital to life."

"I don't know," Jim grinned, "you look pretty good to me." She didn't wear makeup like other women, and that was something that he was grateful for, because he hated the smell of it. "And everyone could use a little pampering now and then," he added.

"I'm not having my hair cut," Blair warned him, "and who knows what all those chemicals will do to your senses?"

"I thought you said that you'd never been in a beauty parlor before," he grinned.

"I haven't, but I dyed my hair once," she said, "and the smell was awful."

"So much for looking good isn't vital to life," he said.

"I was going through a phase," Blair protested.

"What color?" he asked.

"Blue," she replied, "everyone else was doing it."

"I'm not judging you," Jim said, then added "got any photos?"

"No," she said.
"Will you excuse me for one moment?" Elizabeth Susan said when she saw the truck pulling up outside of her beauty parlor. "I need to attend to something in the back," she added. She'd seen that truck before, it belonged to some detective who had been snooping around after several of her clients had died. Something like this could ruin the reputation she'd worked so hard to build up. Well, she couldn't be questioned if she wasn't here. But sooner or later she was going to have to talk to them. She just needed time to think about what she was going to tell them. The truth was not a good idea, because it was going to land her in the electric chair.

Those women had deserved what had happened to them. They'd thought that they were better than her because they'd married into money. Well, they had all started out in the same way. That was something they'd forgotten, but that she had never been allowed to. If she hadn't been able to save enough to buy a business, then she would have been reduced to busting her ass on a street corner to make a living. No amount of makeup would cover up the fact that time hadn't been kind to her. If it had been, then she would have been able to marry a rich husband as well.

It wasn't fair that they'd done better than her. She had been the one who'd made sure that they'd gotten good positions, and what gratitude had they ever shown her, a few lousy bucks as a tip. She'd deserved more and better than they'd ever given her.
Jim had told her to stay in the truck, but she was his back up, Blair thought, getting out of the truck. He might not like that fact, but it was the truth, and she was going to do the best that she could. There wouldn't be any harm in going round the back, just in case someone decided to come out of the back door. After all, Jim couldn't be in two places at once. Besides, who was going to notice a woman going to the beauty parlor. If someone did ask her what she was doing, then she was pretty sure that she would be able to come up with a suitable explanation.

Making her way around the back of the building she caught sight of a woman in her late forties coming out of the back door. From where she was, she could see the name on the woman's uniform 'Elizabeth'. It was possible that there two Elizabeth's working here, but why would one of them be trying to make a hasty exit through the back entrance if they hadn't done anything wrong?

"Jim, she's out the back," she said, not knowing whether he could hear her or not. That was something that they were going to have to work on. If he hadn't heard her, then it would be up to her to stop this woman from getting away until Jim got to them. She doubted that talking to the woman was going to stop her, so as distasteful as she found it, she was going to have to use violence. Probably the easiest way to stop someone was by tripping them up, and she was fairly certain that she could do that without feeling too guilty about having done so.

"Sorry about this," she said, sticking her foot out as the woman ran past her. The woman went flying and ended up face down on the floor. She was going to have to remember that for the next time she had to stop someone.
"God dammit Chief, what part of stay in the truck didn't you understand?" Jim asked, coming out of the back of the building.

"She was going to get away," Blair said.

"Listen, I tell you to stay in the truck for a reason," he said, dragging the woman to her feet and handcuffing her. He'd said it for a reason, and she was going to have to learn how to follow orders if she wanted to carry on working with him. "What am I going to do with you?" he added.

"Anything you want," Blair replied without thinking, "I didn't..." she started to add.

"We're going to talk about this later," he said. Although, the thought of her agreeing to do anything he wanted did conjure up certain images. She'd hadn't meant it that way though, and she'd probably get a hell of a shock if he kept her to it. Still, it might be worth teaching her a lesson so that she would be careful and think before saying the first thing that came into her head, because that was something that could land her in serious trouble. But first he had to take his suspect back to the station and question her.

"Yes Jim," she said.

"And for gods sake, don't tell Simon that you caught her," Jim said. As it was, he was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

"I won't," Blair promised him, "even though I'm the one who got us the lead."

"Got me the lead," he corrected her. He was the detective, not her, and there was no room for glory hounds on the job.

"Well, your interview skills could use a lot of work," Blair said, "because they suck big time."

"If you're not careful I'm going to teach you the real meaning of that word," Jim warned her.
"She's singing like a canary," Blair grinned as Jim questioned their suspect.

"What's a canary?" Simon asked.

"It's a small yellow bird," she replied, "it means she's confessing to everything."

"It was good work on Jim's part," he said. For a while he had thought that this would be one case that Jim wouldn't be able to solve. But he had and the Mayor would be grateful.

"I helped as well," Blair reminded him.

"Well kid, there's a stack of files for you to deal with," Simon said.

"But..." she began.

"You're not a detective," he reminded her. She might have helped Jim this once, but that didn't mean he was going to let her do it again. There would be hell to pay when the Mayor found out that a gofer had helped to crack a serial homicide. Perhaps he could give her some fancy title that would satisfy everyone.

"I know that," she said.

"What you are is a consultant," Simon said, "but that doesn't mean that you're getting a pay raise." There wasn't enough money in the budget for that.

"So what does it mean?" Blair asked.

"That we get to pick that brain of yours," he smiled. He wasn't about to admit that she was probably the most educated person in the building.

"Consultant sounds cool," she grinned, "just as long as I can work with Jim sometimes."

"We'll have to see about that," he said. He might be willing to let her on occasion, just as long as it didn't become a habit.

Baby dolls part2/3

2009-04-30T14:22:24Z

Brian was going to get burned if he tried messing around with Ellison's housemate, Henri thought, after his partner had none too discreetly followed Blair out of the Bullpen. Besides pissing Ellison off, Brian wasn't going to get anywhere with her. No, if you wanted a woman to notice you, there was a certain way of going about it. Treating her like she was someone who mattered was something his mom had taught him, and it had never let him down so far. Unlike Brian, who struck out with every woman he went after. Perhaps that was the reason why his partner had been so withdrawn recently. He'd tried finding out what was wrong, but Brian had refused to tell him, which wasn't like his partner at all.

He had thought about going to see their Captain, but that would have only gotten Brian into trouble, and that was the last thing he wanted. Partners you could trust were in short supply. Still, he was probably worrying about nothing, and if she couldn't handle Brian, then perhaps a police station wasn't the right place for her to be. However, decent jobs were hard to come by for some people, and he supposed that she was one of them. If it didn't work out, then he'd give her the name of a restaurant where she might be able to get a job. At least Ellison wasn't in one of his moods so that was something that he should be grateful for. Maybe coming into work wouldn't be such a lottery now.
She already had a few idea about how Jim could proceed with the case he was working on, Blair thought, dropping off an armful of files in records. Jim was right though, if she could help him solve the case, then his boss would have to see that she could be useful. Plus, it would give her a chance to help Jim with his senses. It was when he was working on cases that he would be able to use them the most, and it was then that he might suffer the most problems. The other Blair had written a great deal about the side effects certain things could cause in a sentinel, but she seriously doubted that she would be prepared for the first time it happened. Maybe she should warn him to be careful, and at some point they were going to have to let his boss know what was going on, because they might need help.

"Detective Rafe," she said, almost bumping into the smartly dressed detective.

"Hello Baby Doll," Rafe smiled, "I bet Ellison's keeping you busy."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Blair said, trying to get past him, only for him to block her way.

"Sure you do," he said, "so how much are you getting?"

"Will you please leave me alone," she said. She didn't like where this was going at all. People had called her various names over the years, and for the most part she'd put up with it, but she didn't have to do that anymore.
"Come on, Baby Doll," he said, "you and me should get to know each other better, a lot better," he added.
"Rafe, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Captain Joel Taggart demanded. Whatever it was, that young woman didn't seem to be enjoying it.

"Nothing," Rafe replied.

"It doesn't look like nothing to me," he said, "leave her alone."

"She's just a Baby Doll," Rafe protested.

"I don't care what she is, you don't treat anyone like that," Joel said. The station was supposed to be a safe environment for the people who worked in it, and with people like Rafe around, that was going to end up being little more than a pipe dream. "Now I suggest that you go back to your department," he added. Naturally, he would tell Simon what had gone on, but he doubted that a great deal would be done about it. The city had a hard time not only recruiting, but keeping police officers so they rarely fired anyone, no matter what they'd done.

"I'm not a Baby Doll," Blair said as Rafe slunk off.

"Even if you were, it wouldn't give Rafe the right to treat you like that," he said. "I'm Joel Taggart."

"Blair Sandburg," she said, "I'm the gofer for Major Crimes."

"Which explains why Rafe thought you would be an easy target," he said. "If he gives you any more trouble tell me." She seemed like a nice young woman, and it always paid to stay on the right side of the department's gofer, because they tended to hear things before anyone else did.

"I will," Blair assured him.
//"You are a bad Sentinel," Blair said, smacking Jim around the back with a copy of the Sentinels of Paraguay. "When she's in trouble, you're supposed to go charging to the rescue," he added.

"Chief, that's not going to do any good," Jim said, "he can't feel it."

"Maybe not, but it makes me feel better," he said. "You saw what could have happened to her."

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that he's supposed to drop everything when she's in trouble," Jim said, "so put the book down."

"Thank god Joel is still a decent person," Blair said. "And what the hell happened to Rafe to make him that way?" The Rafe he'd known would never have acted that way towards anyone, let alone a woman.

"He's not our Rafe," Jim reminded him.

"That's pretty obvious," he said, "she could have gotten really hurt if Joel hadn't come along."

"Chief, she's got to learn how to take care of herself," Jim said, "you did."

"But I had a lot more life experience than she does," Blair said. Nathan hadn't done his daughter any favors by restricting her interaction with the outside world. Naomi had always encouraged him to explore the world around him, and she had certainly never tried to hide the fact that bad things happened from him.

"Even so, you were pretty naive when you first started working with me," Jim said.

"Maybe so," he admitted, "but I wouldn't have let anyone get away with that." While the Sentinel was supposed to protect the Guide, there were times when it worked the other way around. She wasn't going to be very good backup for Jim if she froze with fear every time something bad happened.//
"Chief, are you okay?" Jim asked when Blair dropped a file off at his desk. She looked pretty pale, and he really hoped that she wasn't coming down with something, because he doubted that she had the money for medical care, and it would be some time before she was eligible to join the department's policy.

"I'm fine," Blair lied, "just busier than I expected to be."

"It's only your first day, you'll get used to it," he assured her. If she hadn't gotten used to it by the end of the week, then she was likely to go back to the commune. While that would get her away from the dangers of the city, it would also leave him without anyone to help him with his senses. She was the only person who seemed to understand what was happening to him, and to lose her would be terrible.

"It always takes time to adjust to new situations," Blair said.

"It does," Jim agreed. And if someone was giving her a hard time, then he wanted to know about it so that he could deal with them. That could end up being a lot of people, if the rumor persisted that she was his Baby Doll. Unfortunately, the more he denied it, the more people would believe that the rumor was true.

"I'd better get back to work," she said.

"Chief, don't go out of the station on your own, okay?" Jim said. She wouldn't get far before someone ripped her off, not that she had a great deal which could be taken from her. Most of what she had brought with her were books. Still, he supposed that she was going to need them if she was to help him.

"Okay," Blair said, giving him a faint smile.
"Joel, what can I do for you?" Simon asked when his friend entered his office.

"You could talk to Rafe about leaving the new gofer alone," Joel replied.

"What did he do?" he asked. For Joel to have brought this to his attention, it had to be serious.

"He was on the verge of molesting her when I turned up," Joel replied. "We both know that this isn't the first time he's tried something like that."

"Have you told Ellison?" Simon asked.

"Why would I want to do that?" Joel asked.

"Because she's renting his spare room," Simon replied.

"That would explain the Baby Doll comment Rafe made," Joel said. "She's not, is she?"

"Do you think that I would allow her in my department if she was?" Simon replied. "She comes from the commune." Although, he couldn't understand why anyone would want to leave a place like that to come and live in the city. However, he didn't know all the circumstances of her life there. It was entirely possible that she had been running away from something.

"So Ellison felt sorry for the kid," Joel said.

"Something like that," he said.

"She must be pretty important to him to let her live with him," Joel said.

"She seems to be a good influence on him," Simon said. Well, there hadn't been any complaints about Jim so far today, and the attitude problem his friend had had before going on vacation seemed to have disappeared.

"Someone needed to be," Joel grinned. "I never thought it would be some kid from the commune though."

"Neither did I," Simon admitted. Still, as long as Ellison was more human, he wasn't going to complain, and the kid seemed to be doing a damned good job as the department's gofer.
The way he kept looking at her made her skin crawl, Blair thought, throwing a file onto Rafe's desk. However, there wasn't a great deal that she could do to avoid him, because it was her job to make sure that everyone got the files they needed. Still, she could do her best to try and avoid him outside of the department. Perhaps she should have told Jim what had happened, but she didn't want to cause trouble, because it could get her fired. These people didn't know her, so they were bound to believe him over her. Back in the commune no one would have dared to treat her like that, but she wasn't in the commune anymore. The city was a very different place and she was going to have to learn how to live in it. That meant that she was going to have to accept their way of doing things, and that included violence. Her father would be really disappointed with her if he knew that she was thinking of hurting someone, but she seriously doubted that talking to Rafe would make him leave her alone.

He wasn't going to be the only one who would try and do that to her, so she would have to be better prepared for the next time it happened. That meant that she was going to have to talk to someone. If she talked to Jim, then he would want to know why she wanted to know how to protect herself. Still, it wasn't the sort of thing she could find out for herself, because she really didn't know anyone else well enough to trust them to give her the right advice. She supposed that she could say that it was so that he wouldn't have to worry about her every time that she went out without him. Not that she'd been anywhere alone yet, but at some point she would have to. It wasn't fair to let him do all the grocery shopping, she was the one who had the information to make sure that what he ate wasn't going to poison him. So far, she had to admit that she didn't think a great deal of his eating habits.
There were times when he really had to fight the urge to wipe that smug grin off Brian's face, Henri thought, and now was one of those times. Brian was going to go after Hippy Chick with all guns blazing, and the poor kid wasn't going to stand a chance if someone didn't step in and do something. He was just the person to do that, because he knew Brian better than anyone else. Yet there were times when he got the feeling that his partner was keeping a big part of himself hidden, a part that he suspected he wouldn't like if he ever found out what it was.

Seeing Blair going into the break room, he decided that he should go and talk to her, maybe assure her that he didn't think that she was a Baby Doll. She seemed too smart to have been sucked into that sort of life. Besides, Ellison was so straight there was no way in hell that he would even give the time of day to a Baby Doll, let alone allow one to share his home.

"Hey, Hippy Chick," Henri grinned, entering the break room, "how's it going?"

"Fine," Blair replied, backing away from him slightly.

"It's okay," he assured her, "I just thought that you should know it's not a good idea to be alone with Rafe."

"I don't plan to be," she said.

"Not all of us are like him," he said.

"That's good to know," Blair said, "not that I thought you were."

"If he gives you any problems..." Henri began. Although, from the way she was acting, he suspected that his warning might have come too late. "I don't suppose that you had to deal with guys like Rafe in the commune, did you?" he added.

"No," she admitted.

"Well, here's a quick lesson in how to deal with someone like Rafe," he said. "Fight back, slap his face and knee him in the groin."

"I can't use violence," Blair said, "it's wrong."

"You don't have much choice when it comes to Rafe," Henri said, "and try to make as much noise as possible. Shouting fire attracts a lot of attention."

"I can shout really loud," she said. "It's the hitting I have a problem with. There has to be some alternative."

"You could tell Ellison," he said. But that would lead to Brian suffering a great deal of pain, which, when he thought about it, might not be such a bad thing. By the time Ellison had gotten through with him, Brian might just think twice before harassing anyone else.
So that was the reason why she looked so pale, Jim thought, and he wouldn't have known if his hearing hadn't suddenly tuned into her voice. Well, now that he knew what was wrong he could do something about it. And he would be talking to her about telling him as soon as something like that happened to her. Not that he expected it to happen again after he'd spoken to Rafe. He had to admit that it was nice to know that his senses playing up was going to come in useful from time to time. Blair had told him something about his namesake, and now he could understand how the other Jim Ellison had gotten to be a legend in Old Cascade. If he could achieve even some level of control over his senses, he might be able to make a difference to the city's crime rate.

His Chief was smart, so from now on he was going to listen to whatever she had to say, because it could turn out to be important. Besides, she had the sort of voice he could listen to for hours, and so far she'd talked about a great many different subjects, some of which he'd never even heard of before. For someone who had lived a fairly isolated life, she must have read a hell of a lot of books to have gained that sort of knowledge. Personally, he only read when he was forced. She was probably pretty good at paperwork, a part of his job that he didn't particularly relish. If she could type, then it would go a long way in showing Simon that she could be more than just a gofer. Perhaps the best way for her to end up being his partner was to do it by stealth, so that hopefully by the time Simon realized she was working with him on cases full-time, they would have a couple of successful ones under their belts. After that Simon would have no choice but to let her continue being his partner.

"Chief, over here," he said when Blair came out of the break room with Henri.

"Coming," Blair replied.
"If only," Rafe muttered to himself. If Taggart hadn't come along when he had, she could have been on her knees giving him what would have probably turned out to be the best blow job of his life. She certainly had the right sort of mouth for it. He could just imagine her lips caressing his penis as she gently sucked on it. Damn, now he had a hard on that he wasn't going to be able to get rid of. You could bet the real reason Ellison was in such a good mood was because he'd gotten laid last night, and probably again this morning, and when he got home tonight… It was all right for some people, but he didn't have the sort of money you needed to buy a full-time Baby Doll. The closest he'd gotten so far was a weekend hire, and that had cost him all his poker winnings for six months. Even then she hadn't been that special. If you wanted a top quality baby doll you had to pay top dollar. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be able to get his hands on that sort of money any time soon. Which led to the question as to how Ellison could afford someone like her. But then money probably wasn't that much of a problem to someone of Ellison's background.

He couldn't help but wonder what Ellison's old man would think if he found out that his son was not only living with a Baby Doll, but took it like a man as well. Not that he had any proof as to the latter thought, but then he didn't need any. Ellison was a disgrace to the force, people like him really shouldn't be allowed to be police officers. Of course, it was nothing personal, but if Ellison was out of the way, then other people would stand a better chance of claiming some of the limelight.
//" Chief..." Jim began.

"I know that you would never take it like a man," Blair said.

"Actually, I...er...have," he said. Just not that often, and never with the one person he had really wanted to be with.

"You're gay!" Blair said in surprise.

"Bi," Jim said, "I was married." And just look at the huge mistake that had turned out to be. Caroline had never understood him the way Blair had, had never touched his soul. Now it was too late for him to do anything about it, because he'd been dead for a century.

"You should have told me," Blair said.

"Why? It wouldn't have done any good," he said. If anything it would have ruined their relationship, and he'd gone and done that in the end by not only not trusting Blair, but going after Alex Barnes like a dog in heat.

"It would have been nice to have known," Blair said. "I've dated a few guys myself."

"You have?" Jim asked. Blair was just saying that to make himself seem relaxed about the idea of his best friend having sex with a man.

"Sure," Blair grinned, "but never while I was with you."
"Me either," Jim said. It would have felt too much like cheating, even though Blair had never known how he truly felt about him. "Now we can't do anything about it," he added.

"Actually, that might not be true," Blair said. "I've been talking to some of the more long term residents, and apparently the one in charge around here doesn't mind, just as long as you're not hopping from bed to bed."

"Really," Jim said.

"Yeah, and this is supposed to be heaven after all," Blair replied, "so if you've met someone..."

"I already have," he grinned.

"That was fast work," Blair said.

"I wouldn't say fast, Chief," Jim said, "I've known them for a long time and been in love with them for most of that time."

"Cool," Blair grinned, "is it anyone I know?"

"You could say that," Jim replied, wrapping his arms around Blair.

"Me?" Blair asked.

"You," he said, "tell me if you don't want to do this," he added, lowering his head towards Blair's.

"I would never tell you that," Blair said, "but this is forever, right?"

"Forever," Jim said, brushing his lips against Blairs.//
"Well," Blair asked, "did I do it right?" She'd never typed up a police report before, so she didn't know whether it was up to Jim's high standard or not.

It's better than anything I could have written," Jim admitted, "and there aren't any spelling mistakes."

"There aren't supposed to be any," she replied.

"Think you could do the rest of my reports like this one?" he asked.

"Sure, it's not that hard," Blair replied. She could write reports all day long and it wouldn't bother her at all. In fact, she had to admit that she preferred the idea of doing that over running around with files, and there was a lot less chance that Rafe would harass her again while she was working with Jim. Not that it was going to stop him the next time he got her on her own.

"Why didn't you tell me about Rafe?" Jim asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to her.

"There's nothing to tell," she replied.

"Chief, I heard you and Henri talking in the break room," he said.

"You did?! That's great," Blair said. "You know we should work on your senses when we get home." The other Blair had kept detailed notes on all the tests he'd run on his Jim, and she was pretty sure that she could recreate most of the tests. Well, the ones which didn't involve a lot of technology, because that was the only thing she didn't have access to at the moment. If she'd been teaching at Rainier it would have been an entirely different matter.

"Don't change the subject Chief," Jim said. "If we're going to be working together, then we have to be honest with each other, and that includes telling me if someone's harassed you."

"Jim, I can handle it," she lied. She wasn't sure that she could, not even with the advice Henri had given her.

"There's only one thing someone like Rafe is going to understand, and that is me busting their ass," Jim said.

"Literally or figuratively?" she asked.

"Figuratively," he replied, "if you don't stop him now, then he'll keep doing it, only next time you might not be so lucky."

"I don't approve of violence," Blair said, "I was raised not to."

"But you wouldn't be committing any violence," Jim assured her, "I would."

"And that's going to get you into trouble," she said.

"Let me worry about that," he said, "and I don't think that Rafe will be complaining, because he'd have to admit what he did."
Now would be a really good time for him to deny that he'd seen anything, Henri thought as Ellison followed Brian into the break room. He did not want to end up on Ellison's bad side, and quite frankly, his partner deserved everything that Ellison did to him. For too long his partner had gotten away with things, because nobody had said anything to him. Perhaps he should have, but when he was on the streets he needed Brian to watch his back. He was the main provider for his family, so he couldn't afford to be either injured in the line of duty or killed.

He just shrugged his shoulders when Joel gave him a questioning look. He knew for a fact that Joel didn't like Brian, so that meant that there were two people who wouldn't say anything about Jim going into the break room while Brian was in there. Hippy Chick kept casting worried glances towards the break room door, it was almost as if she was expecting someone to come flying out of it, he thought. Admittedly, that was a possibility, especially if Brian tried passing off harassing Hippy Chick as nothing more than a joke. Ellison was not known for having a sense of humor. Not that he could blame him when there were people like his partner around.
"Hey Buddy," Rafe grinned.

"Don't buddy me," Jim growled, slamming Rafe up against a wall. This man had no right to grin at him, not after the way he'd treated his Chief.

"Jim, what's going on?" Rafe asked.

"What is going on is me talking to you about harassing my partner," he replied.

"I didn't do anything," Rafe protested, "she came onto me."

"Now why do I get the feeling that you're lying," Jim snapped. Blair wasn't the sort of person who would come onto anyone, least of all someone like Rafe. Rafe was lying through his teeth, and he was going to make him pay for that.

"She's only a baby..." Rafe began, he was unable to say anything else, because Jim jammed his other arm across his throat.

"For the last time, she is not now, never has been, and never will be anyone's baby doll," he said. He'd give her every last cent he had before she was reduced to that way of life. And even then there was no way at all that she would consider Rafe, because she had taste. "Having trouble breathing?" he added, "good," when Rafe nodded, "mess with her again and it'll be a permanent problem." He then let go of Rafe, the young detective slumped to the floor gasping for breath. He meant it, and the next time Rafe tried harassing her, they wouldn't find a body. There were plenty of places you could dispose of a body in Cascade, it was certainly a fate that Rafe deserved, and the city would be a lot better off without someone like him in it.

Baby dolls part 1/3

2009-04-30T14:20:03Z

Baby Dolls
By Fluffy Rabbit
Disclaimers: The Sentinel guys belong to Petfly, the rest are mine.
Warnings: AU,
Notes: Betaed by Bobbie T.
Summary:
________________________________________
He wouldn't have thought it of Ellison, Simon thought, making his way up to the loft, but the officer he'd had watching the loft had reported that Ellison had come back with a baby doll. Jim knew how he felt about such things. Still, it wasn't as if he could tell his friend how to live his life, but that didn't mean that he and a couple of others from the department couldn't drop by for an impromptu poker game. Jim wasn't the most sociable person in the world, but if his friend had someone living with him, then he wanted to check them out. Not that he thought that Jim would ever get mixed up in anything that was even remotely illegal, but there were people who wouldn't hesitate to try and use the fact that Jim had a baby doll to apply pressure on him.

Personally, he thought the whole baby doll thing was not only sad, but damaging for the women involved. It was also big business and a great deal of money could change hands, and that led to all sorts of criminal activity. He roughly knew how much Jim made, and there was no way his friend could afford a live in baby doll without some other source of income, and as far as he knew, Jim didn't have one.
"So what do you think?" Jim asked.

"It's great," Blair grinned, entering the room that was going to be her home for at least the next couple of days. Jim had really gone overboard in making sure that she had somewhere comfortable to stay.

"Try and keep it tidy," he said, "and don't forget about the house rules."

"Yes Jim," she replied. The list he'd given her was almost as long as her arm, and she was pretty sure that he was going to remind her every time that she broke one. Now all she had to do was find something to put in her room. Back in the commune she'd had a roomful of stuff, but she was hardly in a position to go back and get it. If she tried, the chances were that her dad would stop her from leaving again.

"I mean it Chief," Jim said, "I have the rules for a reason."

"I know," Blair said. It was just that she wasn't used to having to follow so many rules. Still, this was his home so she didn't have much choice in the matter.

"Chief, you hungry?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied, "I can cook something if you like." She'd seen what he ate, and it wasn't that healthy. Having junk food for breakfast was not a good idea. And from what she'd read in the journal, everything that Jim came into contact with had to be carefully monitored in case he had a reaction to it. Fortunately, the other Blair had made detailed lists of everything that his Jim had had problems with. The only problem was that it was over a hundred years out of date, most of the things on the list she had never even heard of. She was going to have to find a library and do some serious research, because eventually the journal might not be enough for her to help Jim with his senses.

"I'm thinking along the lines of Chinese," Jim said, "my treat."

"Sure," she said, "but my cooking's really not that bad." If it had been, then she would have starved a long time ago, because her dad couldn't cook at all.

"You can cook when I'm back at work," he said. "I won't have time to do it then."

"I'm going to start looking for a job first thing in the morning," Blair said. She needed to earn some money so that she could pay him rent.

"I thought you were going to teach at Rainier," Jim said, "that's what you were talking about doing last night."

"Well, I phoned them earlier and they said I turned the job down two weeks ago," she replied. She hadn't, but someone had told them that she wouldn't be taking it, and there was only one person who could have done that, her dad.

"So what sort of job are you looking for?" Jim asked.

"Anything, as long as it's legal," Blair replied.
Having her stay with him was working out okay, so far, Jim thought as Blair went for a shower, but it was still early days yet. Probably the best thing was that he hadn't had any more of those lapses. Blair called them zone outs. For the first time since this had all started he felt as if there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. However, the real test would be when he went back to work in the morning. At some point he was going to have to explain all this to Simon, not that he had any idea how he was going to do that, and the chances were that Simon wouldn't believe him. If it wasn't happening to him, he wouldn't believe it either. The whole thing was like something out of a novel, but only the beginning of the story had been written, and he was going to have to wait to find out what happened next.

"Chief, food's here," he shouted when he heard a knock on the door.

"I'll be out in a minute," Blair shouted back.

"Don't forget to put the damp towels in the basket," he reminded her, going to open the door. He'd bet anything that sometime during the next couple of days he would have to sit her down and go over the house rules again. "Simon," he added, opening the door to find not only his friend standing there, but the rest of the department as well. This was not what he had expected.

"We thought we'd drop by and see how you're doing," Simon said, "maybe play a couple of hands of poker."

"Now's not a good time," Jim said, trying to close the door, but unable to because Simon's foot was in the way.

"I wonder why that is," Simon grinned, looking past Jim, "aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?"

"Chief, you decent?" Jim asked. They weren't going to go until they'd been introduced to her, so he might as well get it over with now.

"Yeah," Blair replied, coming out of the bathroom.

"I guess that you'd better come in then," he said, reluctantly stepping to one side.
"Hey Baby Doll," Detective Brian Rafe grinned.

"Hi yourself," Blair replied as she finished towelling her hair off. It was strange that she recognized these guys from the other Blair's photos, but she didn't know them.

"Chief, Baby Doll is not something you want to be called," Jim said, closing the door to the loft.

"Why not?" she asked. People had given her cute nicknames before, so she really didn't see what the problem was.

"A Baby Doll is a high class hooker," Simon said.

"I'm not a hooker," Blair protested. She might enjoy sex, but that didn't mean that she was a whore. "But it is one of the world's oldest occupations," she added. So these were the people Jim worked with. Well, from where she was standing, he didn't seem too pleased to see them.

"So Baby Doll, where are you from?" Rafe asked.

"I'm not a Baby Doll," Blair said, "and I come from the commune."

"You're a hippy chick," Detective Henri Brown grinned.

"What's a man got to do around here to get a beer?" Simon asked.

"I'll get you one," Blair said.

"Simon knows where the fridge is," Jim said.

"I don't mind getting him one," she said. She was just trying to be helpful.

"Chief, you're a guest, not a servant," Jim growled, "you don't have to wait on these guys."

"Okay," Blair said, "I'll go to my room until the food gets here." They seemed nice enough, but the one who'd called her Baby Doll twice gave her the creeps. She could tell that he was mentally undressing her.

"Okay, Chief," Jim said.
"Well?" Simon asked expectantly as he set out the poker things on the kitchen table. Not that he was really expecting his friend to tell him anything about the young woman who was a guest in his home.

"The kid's staying with me until she can find somewhere else to stay," Jim replied. "If she wasn't here, then she'd be sleeping on the streets."

"Going soft in your old age, Jim?" he joked. It just wasn't like his friend to put himself out for a total stranger. "She is legal..." he started to add.

"Yeah," Jim replied, "and she's paying rent."

"I knew you wouldn't get one," Simon said. But he could see how it might look to someone who didn't know Jim as well as he did.

"Simon, she needs a job," Jim said, "and I need a partner."

"Finally he admits it," he grinned. He'd never thought that he would see the day when Jim admitted that he needed anyone. "Joel's coming back to the department," he added.

"I want Blair to be my partner," Jim said.

"Why?" Simon asked. There had to be some reason, and he wanted to know what it was before he decided anything.

"She'd be able to go into places I couldn't," Jim replied, "and without her, I don't think I'm going to be able to crack the case."

"Do you have any idea what you're asking?" he asked. Of course Jim did. "She's not a cop, is she?" he added.

"No," Jim replied.

"And what does she think of your idea?" Simon said.

"I haven't mentioned it to her yet," Jim admitted, "I'm not even sure that she would want to work for the department."

"You know the regulations," he said, "only qualified officers are allowed to work on cases." All sorts of problems could occur if civilians were allowed to work on cases. Besides, he didn't know anything about her background. For all he knew, she could be a militia plant, or someone who would get whatever information they could and pass it on to some of the criminal elements in the city. "But I suppose that the department could use a gofer," he added, "but she would have to pass all background checks." He was probably going to end up regretting this, but he trusted Jim's judgment and it was very rare for his friend to ask any sort of favor from him.
Not having a door on her room meant that she could hear what was being said. Admittedly, she had never thought about pursuing a career in law enforcement, but only because she knew that it was something her dad wouldn't have approved of. Well, she didn't need his approval anymore, and if she worked in the same place as Jim, then she would be able to help him when he had problems with his senses. It could be really dangerous for him if his senses started spiking when she wasn't around, and she needed some sort of job if she was going to be able to pay him rent. At least it was a legal job, and the fact that he'd gotten his friend to consider it meant that he had to trust her. Unless he didn't trust her and wanted to keep a close eye on her.

In time they would get to know each other better, but she already had a reasonably good idea of the sort of man he was. He might appear to be cold and aggressive to other people, but with her he was nothing but kind and generous. Although, she had sort of conned him into letting her stay with him. She could have found somewhere to spend her first night in Cascade, but she had to admit that she felt better knowing that she could fall asleep and still have her few belongings with her when she woke up in the morning. Besides, it had been his idea that she stay with him. However, people were never going to believe that she wasn't his Baby Doll until she'd proved that she wasn't what she seemed to be. She'd had to prove herself before, and she could do it again.
As far as evenings went, it had been one of the better ones he'd spent recently, Jim thought, tidying up after the poker game had finished. Although, there had been far too many questions about Blair for his liking, not that he had answered all of them. Still, the last woman anyone at the station had known about had been his ex-wife, since then he'd kept his private life private. Besides, he didn't exactly have a great track record when it came to relationships. And recently his senses had been too screwed up for him to even contemplate getting involved with anyone. Now he had Blair staying with him, so it wasn't going to be very practical to invite someone home to spend the night with him.

"Chief," he said. He hadn't seen or heard from her since he'd taken her food into her room. There had been no need for her to have stayed in there all night though. Although, he had to admit that she might have felt more than a little uncomfortable spending the evening with people who were a lot more interested in her than the poker game they were supposed to be playing. "Chief," he added when there was no reply. He supposed that he'd better go and check on her just to make sure that she was all right.

She must have been really tired to have fallen asleep with all the noise that had been made in the living room, he thought, entering Blair's room and seeing her fast asleep on the bed, surrounded by books. He might as well tidy some of those up so that she would be more comfortable, and she was going to get cold without any covers on her. At least she didn't snore, but her keeping her room tidy might turn out to be a problem.

"Night, Chief," he said, pulling the bed covers up over her after stacking the books which had been on the bed on the floor. If anyone saw him doing this they would have thought that they were seeing things, because he had a reputation for being cold. But there was just something about her which made him drop all his defenses. Not that he was going to admit that to her or anyone else, because it was something that could be used against him.
Ellison wasn't fooling anyone with that 'she's not a Baby Doll' routine, Rafe thought, the following morning. It was pretty obvious what she was, and nothing Ellison said was going to change his mind. He had to admit that Ellison had some nerve bringing her into work with him, because most Baby Dolls were locked in their rooms while their owners were out. Still, some owners liked showing off their property. So it was more than a little surprising that Ellison hadn't made sure that she was better dressed. However, Ellison wasn't known for his dress sense, so perhaps he could give him a few pointers in return for an hour of her time. Hell, he'd even pay him to be alone with her for a while. You could bet that she had more than a few tricks up her sleeve when it came to the bedroom.

"You're drooling," Henri said.

"With good reason," Rafe replied, "if those jeans were any tighter they would be painted on." She was either wearing nothing or very little under them, and maybe he'd get a chance to find out which it was for himself later on.

"You heard what Ellison said last night," Henri said, "and do you really think that the Captain would allow a Baby Doll in the department?"

"Maybe he's getting some as well," he said.

"If he hears you talking like that he'll..." Henri began.

"As if I'm going to say anything around him," Rafe said. He had more sense than to do that, but he knew that Ellison had a reputation for visiting some of the more exclusive clubs in the city. Clubs that dealt solely with some of the more intense pleasures of the flesh. Which raised the question of whether Ellison dished it out or took it like a man. Now that was a thought which conjured up some very interesting images. He could see Ellison being one of those guys who could only get it up if someone was giving it to them hard and rough.
"So what case are you working on at the moment?" Blair asked.

"Serial homicide," Jim replied, "but officially you're going to be the department's gofer, which means that you do a lot of running around for very little thanks."

"It's a job," she said. One that she could probably do in her sleep, but it would give her a chance to get to know people and them to know her.

"Before you start, there's some paperwork that you need to fill in," Jim said, "and you have to take a drug test, is that going to be a problem?"

"No, of course, it's not," Blair replied, "does it look like it might be to you?" So, maybe in the past she might have smoked the odd joint, but it was something most people in the commune had done at one time or another.

"I was just checking," he said, "because it's my neck that's going to be on the line if this doesn't work out."

"Don't worry, it will," she assured him. She wasn't going to do anything that might reflect badly on him.

"Chief, if anyone causes you problems, let me know," Jim said.

"Why would they?" Blair asked. She hadn't done anything to anyone here, and she didn't intend to either.

"This isn't the commune, so be careful," he said.

"I will be," she replied. But she was sure that she could handle anything that came up, and running off to tell Jim if she had problem wasn't going to earn her any favors.
Well, he certainly couldn't fault her enthusiasm, Simon thought, looking out of his office window into the Bullpen as Blair literally flew from desk to desk dropping off and picking up files. If the kid wasn't careful, then she was going to wear herself out before lunch time. He had to admit that he had been more than a little surprised that she had passed the drug test, but he should have known that Jim wouldn't have allowed anyone who was using illegal drugs to stay with him. He couldn't help but notice that Jim wasn't the only one who was watching what she was doing closely, Rafe was as well. There was something decidedly strange about that particular detective. It was more a gut feeling than anything else, but the moment he got proof to back up his feeling Rafe would be out of his department. It might be wise to give his new gofer the 'my door's always open' talk. However, he seriously doubted that anyone would mess with her once they found out that she was staying with Jim. What exactly that meant he wasn't sure, but she'd gone into the small closet room last night. Of course, could have just been for show. Not that it was really anyone's business what Jim did when he wasn't at work, just as long as it wasn't illegal.

He had to admit that Jim hadn't been in one of his moods so far today, but it didn't mean that he wouldn't be in one later. It would be interesting to see how the kid dealt with that. She'd probably take one look at a scowling Jim and run as fast as she could in the opposite direction. Not that he would blame her, because grown men had been known to quake with fear when Jim had backed them into a corner. Then again, maybe the kid would be a good influence and Jim would become more human. Hell, it was a possibility, wasn't it?
"Chief, sit down and take five," Jim said, "now."

"Sure Jim," Blair replied. "How's it going?"

"It's not," he replied. He'd looked at the case from just about every angle possible and he still hadn't been able to find any reason why someone would want to kill those particular women. If he couldn't find something, and soon, there were going to be more victims.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. "Talking usually helps me work things out."

"I don't think it's going to help in this case," Jim said. She didn't know anything about police work, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to introduce her to it.

"You never know, it might," Blair said, "and what have you go to lose?"

"Okay, Chief, just stop me if you don't understand something," he said. "So there have been six murders over the past two months, all women in their late thirties, all killed in the same way."

"How?" Blair asked.

"You really don't want to know, Chief," Jim replied, "they didn't die quickly or painlessly."

"Then it's probably personal," she said. "Whoever killed those women either knew them, or they reminded him of someone."

"Why did you say him?" Jim asked. "It could have been a woman."

"Statistically women are less likely to kill than men," Blair said, "and being a woman, if I was going to kill someone, then I would do it as quickly and cleanly as possible."

"You trying to tell me something, Chief?" he asked. Not that he could imagine her ever killing anyone.

"No," she replied, "but I have a degree in crime studies. The commune wasn't always sweetness and light, you know."

"So, Chief, where would you start?" Jim asked. Maybe she was right and this was personal, not that knowing that really helped, because there was nothing in the victim's backgrounds that linked them.

"I haven't seen the files, so I wouldn't know," Blair said, "and I'm only the gofer around here."

"Help me with this and that could change," he said. Simon was bound to consider his request that she be made his partner if he could show that she would be a lot more use to the department as that, rather than as it's gofer. Although, he wasn't sure how she would stand up to some of the rigours of police work. At times it could be brutal, and she was pretty naive about how the world really worked.

"I'll give it a shot," she said, "but I'm supposed to be delivering files to records."

"You do that, then come back and help me," Jim said.

Fisrt Steps 3/3

2009-04-20T17:21:06Z

She was watching him, Jim thought, dropping his surfboard on to the sand and picking up his towel. He'd known that she was there as soon as she'd set foot on the beach. He wasn't sure whether he should be pleased that she was here or not. Her father wasn't going to be too pleased that she had sought him out. Still, he supposed that he should go over there and say hi. It was the polite thing to do, although he couldn't think of anyone who would call him that. He knew that most people saw him as being cold and isolated from those around him. Even his best friend did; but he wasn't very good at dealing with the emotional side of life, probably because his father had been cold and distant. Still, a lot of people had trouble when it came to dealing with emotions. His ex-wife had often complained that she would have gotten more emotion out of a toaster than she had ever gotten from him. She hadn't exactly been a warm person herself, though. Hell, at times she had been downright critical of the way he'd done things. But unlike some people, he had never looked the other way when a crime had been committed, or taken money to conceal evidence.

Honesty was something he valued, because he saw so little of it in his job. All things considered, he was lucky to be working in a department whose captain demanded honesty from all officers working for him. Sure, there were times when he was less than truthful, but never about anything important. He'd seen too many people either killed or locked up for something that they hadn't done, to play with people's lives. With a reasonable amount of certainty, he could say that he had never deliberately arrested someone who had later turned out to be innocent.

"Hi," he grinned.

"Hi," Blair smiled, "you're pretty good at that."

"I'm out of practice," Jim replied. "I could teach you if you like."

"I can't swim," she said, "and the water frightens me."

"You live next to the ocean and you're afraid of it?" he asked.

"That must sound pretty dumb to you," Blair said.

"Everyone's afraid of something," Jim assured her.

"Even you?" she asked.

"Even me," he replied. Not that he was going to admit what he was afraid of to her.

"So where did you end up staying?" Blair asked.

"With one of the police officers in town," he replied. "It's not a bad room." And he'd learned a great deal about the history of the commune since last night. Probably more than he needed to know. "The food was great though," he added. For the first time in months he'd been able to eat a meal without it tasting weird.

"We grow most of our own food," Blair said, "while trying to have as little effect on nature as possible, because the damage takes centuries to repair."

"I might take some back to Cascade with me," he said.

"Have you got anything to trade with?" she asked.

"I'm sure that I'll be able to find something," Jim replied.
It wasn't unusual for Blair to be up before him, Nathan thought. She had probably gone to the beach to meditate, as it was such a beautiful morning. Sometimes he joined her, and often there was quite a crowd to welcome the new day in. Despite what some outsiders might think, they had some very strong traditions in the commune. Welcoming the day was one of them, and it was probably the oldest. It came from a time when people had just been grateful to still be alive each morning. When he really thought about it, most of their traditions were connected in some way to gratitude. Still, those had been very different times for everyone, and his family had been lucky to not only have survived, but prospered. That was the sort of harsh life Blair would be facing if she chose to leave the commune. He'd seen what the outside world had to offer. As a young man he had travelled across part of the country and had been disgusted by what he'd seen. Blair didn't seem to realize that not everyone held life in the same high esteem as they did. And while he didn't want to deny her her fate, there had to be a lot better way of going about it.

If it came down to it, he was prepared to allow Ellison to stay in the commune. He had enough influence on the council to make sure that happened, but somehow he could see that being fraught with problems. A man like Ellison was not going to find it easy to adjust to life in the commune. There wouldn't be enough action for him, and violence was not something that they were prepared to tolerate. Eventually he would move on, leaving Blair broken-hearted. That was not something that he was prepared to let his daughter go through. As tough as she might think she was, she was still his little girl. He hadn't raised her to become some city dweller's plaything. She deserved a lot better than that, and he intended to make sure that she got it. There were any number of young men in the commune who would be only too happy to settle down with Blair. Only she was too busy having fun. That was all well and good, but she had a responsibility not only to him, but the rest of the commune as well. People were already looking at her as their next leader, not that he had any intention of retiring just yet, because he still had a lot of years' service left in him.
They seemed to be getting on okay, Blair thought, sitting on the sand, talking to Jim. Maybe now would be a good time to bring up what she thought he might be. But then again he might think that she was nuts, and she really didn't want him to do that.

"I've been reading this journal," she said, "another Blair Sandburg wrote it. It's about someone he met."

"A woman?" Jim asked.

"A man," she replied. "His name was Jim Ellison as well." There, she'd left an opening for him to ask her about it. If he didn't, then she was going to have to try something else.

"That's some coincidence," he said.

"Yeah," Blair smiled, "the two of them were really close, almost brothers."

"Well, Chief, it's a good thing I'm not your brother," Jim said, "because then I wouldn't be able to do this," he added, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her.

"Wow!" she said. She had been kissed before, but it had never felt like that. Not that she was in the habit of letting someone who was practically a stranger kiss her, because that was precisely the sort of thing which would get you a bad reputation. Sure, she'd been out with a lot of men, but she had known just about all of them for a long time before she went out with them. "Jim," she added as his fingers dug into her face. This was not good, and she really didn't like the glazed look in his eyes. Maybe this was something that was perfectly normal for him, but she seriously doubted that it was. She really wished that she'd finished reading the other Blair's journal, because there was probably something in it that would help her to figure out what was going on. Only she hadn't, and it was on her bed at home. She couldn't leave him like this while she went and got it, because anything could happen to him while she was gone.
//"So, what have I missed?" Blair asked.

"He's zoned," Jim replied, "and she doesn't have a clue how to bring him out of it."

"But she's read my journal," he said. He'd seen her sit there and read it.

"She didn't read it all the way through," Jim said. "Maybe you should have given it an index."

"I was planning to," Blair replied. Only he'd never gotten a chance, because he'd been murdered. That particular fact seemed to have slipped Jim's mind. Not that he was going to remind him, because the memory was painful enough for him to have to deal with. Besides, Jim had spent the first decade apologizing for having kicked him out of the loft, even though there had been no need for him to feel guilty. At the time Jim had done what he thought would protect him, only it hadn't worked out that way.

"We can't leave him like that," Jim said, "trapped in his own mind."

"What do you expect me to do?" Blair asked. "It's not as if I can talk her through it." It would be a great deal easier if he could do that, but he couldn't, so he was going to have to find some other way of helping. However, given enough time he would probably come out of it on his own.

"I don't know, Chief," Jim admitted, "anything that might help."

"I'll try," he said, "but I can't give you any guarantees." He'd do his best, but it might not be enough.//
It had happened again, Jim thought, as he gradually became aware of his surroundings. Only this time it hadn't lasted as long as other times.

"Are you all right?" he asked, letting go of Blair's face. He could see the dark red imprints where his fingers had held onto her face.

"A little freaked out," she admitted. "What happened?"
"I have these spells sometimes," Jim replied. "The doctors don't know what's causing them." Most of them had suggested that it was all in his mind after they hadn't been able to find any physical reason for them.

"Maybe there's nothing wrong with you," Blair said, "it could be something perfectly natural."

"Such as?" he asked. There was nothing natural about what was happening to him.

"Well, that depends," she replied.

"On what?" Jim asked. Why couldn't she just get to the point?

"Whether anything else unusual is happening to you," she said.
"I can see things other people can't," he admitted, "hear them as well." Now she was either going to laugh at him or say that he was crazy.

"Are all your senses better than average?" Blair asked.
"Yes," Jim replied. "Look, if you know what's wrong with me, then tell me."

"I think that you might be a Sentinel," Blair said, "and if you are, then I might be able to help you."

"What is a Sentinel?" Jim asked.

"Someone with all five senses enhanced," she replied. "In ancient tribal cultures they would play a major role in the tribe's survival. It's even possible that they might have played a role in the justice system."

"So how do I stop being one of these Sentinels?" he asked. She was obviously some sort of expert on the subject.

"I'm not sure that you can," Blair admitted. "I'd have to read the rest of the journal to find out. But being one could be a serious advantage in your job."

"It could also get me killed," he said. So far he'd been lucky not to have one of those spells on duty, but sooner or later he was going to. Besides, how was he supposed to explain this to his captain?

"From what I've read so far, a sentinel has a partner who helps them," Blair said. "That's what the other Blair did for his friend."

"Let me guess, they lived long and happy lives," he said sarcastically.

"No," she replied, "Blair drowned and Jim died not long after that. They had a double funeral."

"And the world went to hell," Jim said. Now the nightmares he'd been having made sense. But he couldn't drag her into his world. There were far too many dangers for someone like her to be able to survive for long.

"Yeah," Blair said, "he also helped..."

"I know about their reputation," he said. It was all he'd heard about while growing up, yet his father had been very disappointed when he'd decided to join the police force. It was a hard life, but one that he wouldn't swap for anything.

"I could be your partner," Blair said.

"I don't think so Chief," Jim said. He couldn't be responsible for anyone else's life. He'd already lost one partner, and he got the feeling that he would be tempting fate if he allowed her to be his partner. Probably the best thing he could do for her was leave and never come back. That was going to be hard to do, because she'd already started to work her way through his defenses.
"Blair," Nathan said when he heard he front door slam, "what's..." he started to add when he heard her running up the stairs quickly, followed by her bedroom door slamming. Something was wrong with his baby, and he had a pretty good idea that it was in some way connected to Ellison. He should never have helped the man to change his tire, because it had only served to encourage him to hang around instead of moving on. By nature he was a pacifist, but he might just forget that fact if the man came to the house. Right now though, he had to go upstairs and see what he could do to help his daughter. This was going to be one of those times when all he could do was utter meaningless platitudes, such as it was for the best, that there would be more important people in her life. Still, how emotionally involved could she have gotten with Ellison in the space of a few hours?
Hearing banging coming from upstairs he decided that he was going to have to go up there and talk to her. It was very rare for Blair to be destructive, but she did tend to get very passionate about some things, overly so at times. In the past it had led to some pretty heated arguments between them. Well, Ellison was a lost cause, that had been obvious the instant he'd met the man. Men like that lived with violence every day, and they usually died violently. That was not the sort of life he wanted for his daughter.
Well, he might not want her help, but he was going to get it, Blair thought, packing her backpack. How was she supposed to forget about him when he was her destiny? She had been born to help him, her dreams had told her that. Besides, she was pretty sure that she would be able to wear him down, given enough time. It was a tactic that had worked with other people in the past. And she found it difficult to believe that he would have kissed her if he hadn't felt something for her. He was just too stubborn to see that he couldn't do this alone.

"Was he this stubborn?" she asked out loud, looking at the photo of the other Jim and Blair. He probably had been, and it must have taken a great deal of work on the other Blair's part to get through to his Jim. She could be just as stubborn as anyone else when she wanted to be. As soon as she'd packed what she needed, she was going to leave the commune and go to New Cascade. Her dad wasn't going to be too happy about it, but it was her life and she had the right to live it as she saw fit. "You can come in," she added when she heard her bedroom door opening.

"Sweetie, do you want to tell me what's going on?" Nathan asked, entering her bedroom.

"I'm leaving," Blair replied.

"Why would you want to do that?" he asked.

"Because I want to see what's out there," she replied. There was a whole world to explore and she wanted to see it.

"Blair, there is nothing out there for you," Nathan said, "at least nothing good."

"How do you know that there isn't?" she asked. "You've never left the commune."

"That's not true," he said. "I left once, before you were born. Life outside is harsh and violent. Someone like you would be crushed by it."

"You don't know that for certain," Blair said, "and things might have changed." Just because he hadn't found anything outside that he had liked, it didn't mean that she wouldn't.

"This has something to do with Ellison, doesn't it?" he asked. "He's put this idea into your head."

"Dad, I've been thinking about leaving for a while," she said, "long before I met him."

"Someone like him is going to use you then throw you away," he said, "and you deserve better than that."

"Maybe I'll leave him," Blair said. She wasn't naive enough to believe that might not happen, but if it did then, she would deal with it. She was a lot stronger than her dad gave her credit for.

"I wish that you weren't even thinking about leaving," Nathan admitted. "You have no idea what a dangerous place the outside world can be."

"And whose fault is that?" she asked. He had never allowed her to go beyond the communes borders.

"I was trying to protect you," he said.

"I don't need protecting," Blair protested. "I can make my own choices, and leaving is one of them." He had taught her to question things, and to stand up for what she believed was right. Yet now he was saying that she didn't know what she was doing. Well, she did, and there was very little that he could do to stop her from leaving.

"Blair, you can't walk to wherever you're going," Nathan said. "Why don't you wait until Monday morning and I'll take you anywhere you want to go."

"I'm leaving now," she said, fastening her backpack. If she waited like he wanted, then he would find some reason for her to delay her leaving again, and before she knew it she would have spent her entire life trying to leave and never being able to do so.

"If you go, don't expect me to save you when it all goes wrong," Nathan replied.

"I wouldn't want you to," Blair snapped, picking up her backpack and putting it on. She would do just fine without him.
"What's going on?" Jim asked when he returned to the place where he was staying to find his belongings dumped out front.

"You're going to have to leave," Officer Lee Perrin said. "You're not welcome here anymore." Personally, he didn't mind Ellison staying with him, but Nathan wanted the man out of the commune, so he had no choice but to throw him out.

"Why?" Jim asked.

"You messed with the wrong person," he replied. "Blair..." he started to add.

"I never touched her," Jim replied.

"That doesn't matter to Nathan," Perrin said. "She's decided to leave and he's blaming you." Although, he doubted that it was more than a coincidence that she'd chosen this particular time to travel. However, Nathan didn't see it that way. Someone was to blame and it was better that person was an outsider than someone who belonged to the commune.

"She didn't mention anything about leaving to me," Jim said. "If she had, I would have told her that it's not a good idea."

"Whether it is or not doesn't matter," he said. "Blair's leaving and Nathan's angry." He'd seen Nathan upset before, but never angry. Still, if he'd had a daughter, he wouldn't have been too happy about her leaving the commune. Yet he wouldn't have blamed anyone else for her making that choice. "Whatever Nathan wants, he usually gets," he added, "and as head of the council, he can make life unpleasant for anyone who goes against him when it comes to Blair."

"My leaving isn't going to make her change her mind," Jim said.

"I know that," Perrin said, "but Nathan's made his mind up." He certainly wouldn't want to be in Blair's shoes if she had to come home, because Nathan was known to hold grudges for a very long time, and not even Blair was going to be immune from that side of his nature.

"I'll go," Jim said, "but what if she turns up in New Cascade?"

"Take damned good care of her," he replied, "because you don't want Nathan Sandburg coming after you." He'd heard rumors that Nathan wasn't always the pacifist he claimed to be. Not that he'd come across any proof that those rumors were true, and he certainly wasn't going to start digging around to find any. He knew what was in his best interests, and that was staying on the good side of Nathan Sandburg.
He had to give it to her, she was determined, Jim thought, slowing down when he saw Blair walking along the road out of the commune. However, she was going to find herself in serious trouble if she accepted a lift from just anyone, and that would probably be the last anyone ever saw of her, unless she ended up in one of the various brothels in New Cascade. The only way he was going to be certain that she reached her destination in one piece was if he took her himself.

"Need a lift, Chief?" he asked, pulling up next to her.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Get in then," he said, opening the passenger side door for her.

"Thanks," Blair smiled. "So where are you going?" she added, taking her backpack off before getting into the truck.

"Don't you think that you should have asked that before you got into my truck?" Jim asked. She was going to last all of ten minutes on the streets of Cascade before she was either ripped off or in serious trouble, and there would be no one to bail her out of it.

"I just want to get away from the commune," Blair replied.

"And I suppose that if I hadn't come along, you would have just accepted a lift off anyone," he said.

"I'm not that stupid," she said, closing the door.

"Thank God for that," he said. "You have no idea how dangerous the world can be."

"That's what my dad said," Blair said, "and he was wrong."

"Chief, you have a pretty good life here, why would you want to give it up for a noisy, dirty and crowded city?" he asked. He knew people who would kill to be able to live in a place like the commune.

"Because you need my help," she replied, "and it's time that I saw what's out there for myself instead of relying on my dad telling me."

"He can't be happy about you leaving," Jim said.

"He's not," Blair admitted, "but this is my life, not his. And I'm big enough to take care of myself."

"You think so," he said. "I hate to tell you this Chief, but there are some people in this world who wouldn't think twice about hurting someone like you. In fact, some of them would get a great deal of pleasure doing it." Fortunately for her, he wasn't such a person. However, he had enjoyed certain distractions that such people had provided, but always with a willing partner.

"Not everyone in the commune is perfect," she said, "it does have it's darker side of life, and I've seen it."

"How dark?" Jim asked. Whatever she'd seen probably wouldn't even come close to some of the things he'd seen during his time in vice.

"Pretty dark," Blair replied. "The point is, I know what goes on and how to avoid it."

"Fine," Jim said. He wasn't going to take her word for it though. She was a total innocent, and it made a nice change from all the cynical and world weary people he met.

"Jim, you wouldn't happen to know of somewhere I can stay, do you?" she asked, "somewhere cheap."

"Yeah," he replied. She hadn't thought this through very well, so until she got on her feet, he was going to have to watch out for her. "I've got a spare room you can have for a while. It's only small though," he added. It was more like a storage cupboard, but it wouldn't take him long to clear it out and make it comfortable for her.

"I'll pay rent," she said, "but I'm sort of broke at the moment."

"Pay what you can afford," Jim said, "and I expect you to stick to the house rules."

"That's not a problem," Blair grinned.
// "See things are working out," Blair grinned.

"Chief, he doesn't have a clue what he's getting himself into," Jim said.

"Just think about the fun they're going to have," he said. "She's smart, it won't take her long to work out how to help him." His journals covered just about everything she needed to know. Although, there were probably some things that didn't exist anymore. "And you have to admit that she's already having a good effect on him," he added.

"He's gentler with her," Jim admitted, "but something tells me that he'd going to need a lot of patience to deal with her."

"Meaning?" Blair asked.

"That you could be a little flaky at times," Jim replied, "but in a good way," he added when he saw the look on Blair's face.

"She's not flaky, it's an act," Blair said. "What better way to get him to protect her than by pretending to be totally helpless?" However, she was going to have to lose some of her naiveté if she was going to make it. "Five bucks says she doesn't spend more than a week in her room," he added.

"Chief, there are two problems with that bet," Jim said, "you don't have five bucks, and I never bet on anyone's sex life."

"How about if I owe you the five bucks?" he asked.

"And when are you going to be able to pay me back if you lose the bet?" Jim asked.

"You never know, I might find five bucks laying around," Blair replied. Stranger things had happened, such as his impersonating a doctor so that he could meet the embodiment of his life's work. Their counterparts had just started on what would be the most amazing journey anyone could undertake, and he and Jim would be watching over them every step of the way.//

First Steps 2/3

2009-04-20T17:20:11Z

A flat tire was not good news, Jim thought, especially when his spare tire was underneath all his luggage. Still, there was a house not too far away, and there might be someone there who could help him. Besides, it was about time that he stopped for a break, because he'd been driving non stop since leaving Cascade. The view was certainly spectacular, and it was the sort of thing you didn't get in the city, because of all the buildings. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen such a view; the beach was close by, so staying somewhere around here would be handy. There was bound to be someone willing to rent a room to him for a couple of nights. Failing that, he could always sleep in his truck, but he didn't know what sort of law and order was set up around here. The last thing he wanted was to end up being arrested for breaking some vagrancy law. Maybe they could tell him that at the house.

He had to admit that this was one of the better kept areas he'd passed through. The road was well maintained, and it looked as if someone was keeping the side of the road clear of trash. There wasn't all the much noise either, and that was good, because noise had really started to get on his nerves recently. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but it had only started recently, roughly about the same time he'd been on a stakeout in the middle of nowhere. Whatever it was, he was going to have to get it sorted out, because it could end up costing him not only his career, but his life as well.

"I'll get it," Blair said, getting up from the kitchen table. Her dad was worrying too much again. She was more than capable of taking care of herself if she had to. Not that she had to in the commune, because nobody here would hurt her. Outside, it was an entirely different matter altogether. People who had travelled in the outside world had told her about the dangers that were waiting for the naïve and unprepared.

"Be careful," Nathan said.

"I will be," she replied. Like she didn't know the basic rules of safety when opening the door to a stranger. It had to be a stranger, because everyone they knew would have come round the back of the house and knocked on the kitchen window. They hadn't had a stranger in the commune for a few months now. She enjoyed the stories that they brought with them. Stories were hard to come by these days, there were very few new books being printed, and those which were, she devoured as soon as she got them home. Plus, she'd read all the books in the commune's library. "Yes?" she said, after opening the front door.

"My truck's got a flat tire, and I was wondering if you could help me," the man standing there said.

"Dad," Blair shouted. She was smart enough to know that it wasn't a good idea to just go with someone who came to the door asking for help.

// "He asked, not demanded," Blair said. So maybe there was some hope for this Ellison after all, but he knew that it wasn't going to be easy for her to convince him that she could help him.

"We can be civilised when we want to be," Jim said.

"Well, he'd better be on his best behavior with her," he said. "I know what your family's reputation with women is like." Who would have thought that Jim's brother would have gotten married and divorced three times? Still, a lot of early survivors had suffered serious emotional problems after losing everything they'd ever known.

"Stephen was an exception," Jim said, "and he is probably the worst one so far. And what is it with your family? Not one of it's children has been raised by two parents."

"Robert was widowed," Blair protested, "as for the rest of them, it wasn't their fault." So his family had made some mistakes as well when it came to women, but nobody could say that they hadn't been good parents.

"She'll be different." he added. As long as this Ellison was a little more trusting that Jim had been.

"And it's not just the men," Jim said.

"Jim, have you seen some of the places where he goes for company?" Blair asked.

"Unlike some people, I don't keep tabs on other people's sex lives," Jim replied.

"You should, it's a lot of fun," he grinned. And it wasn't as if he was going to get laid any time soon. An after life without sex should have been hell, but he had plenty of time to do research.//
"What can I do for you, Mr..." Nathan began.

"Ellison, Jim Ellison," Jim replied. "As I was just telling your daughter, my truck's got a flat tire and I need some help changing it."

"You're not from around here, are you?" he asked. There was something about this man that made him nervous.

"No," Jim replied, "I'm on vacation."

"So where do you come from?" Blair asked.

"New Cascade, look, can you help me or not?" Jim asked.

"A flat tire's no problem," Blair said. "So are you going to be in the commune long?"

"Is that what this place is?" Jim said.

"Blair, don't you have something important to do?" Nathan said. She was paying their visitor too much attention for his liking, and he certainly didn't want her to get any ideas about going off to New Cascade with this man.

"Yes dad," she sighed. "I'll see you around, Mr. Ellison."

"Sure," Jim said.

"I'm sure that as soon as you've gotten your tire changed, you'll want to be moving on," Nathan said. In fact, he would do everything he could in order to encourage him to do that. The commune didn't want someone like this staying around for long. He wouldn't be surprised if Ellison wasn't in some sort of trouble with the law.

"Actually, I was thinking of staying for a few days," Jim said, "maybe do some surfing."

"If you're in some sort of trouble, we have a police force here," he said.

"That's good to know," Jim said. "I might drop by and pay them a visit later, as a colleague."

"You're a police officer?" Nathan asked. The man didn't look like any police officer they'd ever had in the commune.

"I'm a detective, Major Crimes department of New Cascade," Jim replied, taking out his badge and showing it. "While I'm here, I'm going to need somewhere to stay. You wouldn't happen to know of a room I could rent, would you?" he added.

"Depends on how long you're going to be staying," Nathan replied.

"Just until Monday," Jim said. "I have gold currency."

"Problem is, your a stranger," he said, "people are wary of strangers, especially those from cities." He had a free room, but he wasn't going to rent it to Ellison, because he didn't want Blair getting too close to this man.
"I'm sure I'll find somewhere," Jim said.

It was him, Blair thought, looking at the photo in the journal. Now all she had to do was get him alone and tell him about her dreams. But somehow, she doubted that he was the sort of man who would believe in such things. Still, she had to try; because she got the feeling that this was really important to both of them. Her dad hadn't seemed too pleased about her showing any interest in their unexpected visitor. Still, he didn't have any say in the matter, because she was an adult who was free to see whoever she wanted to. Coming from the big city, he probably had a lot of interesting stories to tell. Maybe she could persuade him to tell her some, and she could write them down for other people to read. She'd done some writing before, and it had been very well received.

People didn't go on vacation now, so there had to be something wrong with him. He certainly looked tense; a few sessions of meditation would soon sort that out, though. Meditating always had a good effect on people, and she couldn't help but wonder how flexible he was with all those muscles. Most men in the commune didn't come built that way. Still, if he was like the other Jim, then he was going to need her help. Not that she would be able to give him much until she'd read all the other Blair's journal, along with anything else he'd written.
She was watching him from an upstairs window, Jim thought, as Nathan helped him to change the tire on his truck. It was some distance to the house, so he shouldn't have been able to see her, yet he could, just as clearly as if she was standing right in front of him. Now was not the time for his senses to start playing up again. He didn't want anyone to know about the problems he was experiencing until he'd worked out not only what was wrong, but what he could do to make it stop, because he didn't want to be different any longer. There were times when he had lapses, and eventually that was going to turn out to be very dangerous, not only for him but for the people he was supposed to protect.

"And this commune..." he began.

"We've been around for a long time," Nathan said, "have our own laws and our own punishments."

"No militia?" Jim asked.

"No," Nathan replied.

"That's pretty unusual," he said, they tend to go for small communities." It was probably only a matter of time before they were bothered by them. He hated to think about good people being held captive by a militia.

"We've never had any problems with them in the past," Nathan said.

"You know, other places haven't been so lucky," Jim said. "It would be a shame if anything happened here."

"Is that a threat?" Nathan asked, "because if it is, you can go back and tell whoever you work for that we're not afraid of them."

"It's not a threat," Jim said, "just a comment. I see a lot of people coming to Cascade to get away from militias." The stories some people had told him about what had been done to them had made him angry. Being poor was no reason for anyone to be treated badly.
// "Don't piss the man off," Blair said, "he's not going to let his daughter go anywhere with you if he thinks you're a caveman."

"I don't think he's going to let her go anyway," Jim said. Which meant that they could have a very serious problem on their hands. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to waste on the social niceties, so it looked as if he and Blair were going to have to step in and take more direct action in order to try and make sure that things worked out the way they wanted.

"If he doesn't, she'll run away," Blair said.

"Then she's going to find herself in serious trouble," Jim said. The very reason why they were needed so badly was because the world was in such a bad state. If she ran away, then she was going to find herself facing a side of life that she had never been exposed to.

"You mean like I did," Blair said.

"Something like that," he said. Not that it had always been Blair's fault, things had just happened to him. Until, finally, he'd been murdered by that bitch Alex Barnes. He could have stopped that from happening if he'd trusted Blair more than he had. It wasn't going to be easy for his namesake to trust her, but he had to, if he wanted to stay sane.

"Don't worry I'll take care of it," Blair assured him.//

With his truck fixed, Ellison wouldn't have any reason to stay, Nathan thought, so why did he have the overwhelming desire to invite the man to dinner. It was bound to be a recipe for disaster, but it might just put Blair off the idea of going to New Cascade. As much as he wanted his daughter to expand her horizons, he didn't want those horizons to extend to a man like Ellison. He'd come across Ellison's type before, and they only cared about what they could get from someone.

"If you can't find anywhere to stay, I have a room you can have for a couple of days," Nathan said. "It's pretty basic though."

"Basic is fine," Jim said. "I'm planning to spend most of my time on the beach."

"I said if you can't find anywhere," he said. And after he had made a few phone calls, Ellison would be inundated with offers of places to stay.

"You don't like me very much, do you?" Jim asked.

"We've had problems with strangers before," Nathan said, "it's nothing personal, but the world is a very dangerous place, and I don't like that danger getting too close to my daughter." He knew what Blair was like, and with the mood she was in at the moment, she was likely to go to New Cascade with anyone who offered to take her, and that would be the last he saw of his daughter.

"I'm not dangerous," Jim said.

"That's your opinion, not mine," Nathan said, "I have a pretty good idea of what you are."

"I'm just here for the weekend," Jim said, "then I'm going home, so I don't understand what your problem is."

"Just stay away from my daughter," he said. He'd warned Ellison off, and he would have words with Blair. Not that he was really expecting her to listen to him. She was really excited about finding out about the other Blair, and that sort of excitement was going to land her in a hell of a lot of trouble if he couldn't steer her away from it.
Her dad only slammed the door like that when he was really pissed off about something, Blair thought. As she hadn't done anything, it had to be their visitor. She knew what her dad was going to say, that she should stay as far away from him as she could. Well, she couldn't do that, because he could be what she was looking for. Even if he wasn't, he might know where she should start looking, or at the very least, be able to give her a lift to New Cascade. As it was, there was no way her dad was going to let her go, he'd already made up his mind that it was too dangerous for her there. There had been times in the past when he had told her not to do something and she'd gone ahead and done it anyway, this could be one of those times.

"I'm coming," she shouted when she heard him calling her. Now came the lecture and the expectation that she would give him her word not to have anything to do with Ellison. She really hated lying to her dad, but she was going to have no choice but to do jusr that. "What do you want dad?" she added.

"Sweetie, we need to talk," Nathan said from the bottom of the stairs.

"What about?" Blair asked innocently, making her way down the stairs.

"Our visitor," he replied. "I'd prefer it if you stayed away from him while he was in the commune."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because he's not a very good influence," Nathan replied. "Men like him don't understand our way of life. All he knows is violence."

"Then shouldn't we try and show him that there's another way to live?" she asked. Other people had come into the commune and learned to live the way they did.

"Blair, promise me that you'll stay away from him," he said.

"I promise," she said, crossing her fingers behind her back. He hadn't made her promise not to bump into Ellison by accident, and she was more than likely to, as the commune wasn't that big a place.
That guy had some nerve telling him, to stay away from his daughter, Jim thought, especially when he'd barely said two words to her. Still, he was a visitor, and the last thing he wanted to do was piss off the locals. Simon was not going to be happy if he had to bail him out of some jail because he'd broken some law by accident. Yet, there was something about her which drew him to her. When she smiled at him, he'd felt at peace for the first time in a long while. It was pretty obvious that life here moved at a much slower pace than it did in New Cascade. The people here didn't have to deal with the darker side of life on a daily basis, because they'd isolated themselves from the world. He wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing, but he could understand why they had done it.

It might have been a century since the VX attacks had taken place, but the world was still recovering. This place seemed to have done a lot better than others. But if they weren't careful, then a militia was going to march straight in and take over. He'd seem plenty of places where that had happened, and it made him sick to think of people being treated like property. That was not a fate he would want anyone to suffer, especially not someone like her. She would never be able to survive a life like that. However, the one she would have if she left the commune would be just as hard, unless she had someone to help her. He could be that person, not that it was going to be easy to convince her father of that fact. She might not even want to go to New Cascade with him. After all, it wasn't as if she knew him or that he could offer her a great deal.
This wasn't the first time that she'd snuck out of the house early in the morning, Blair thought, and she doubted that it would be the last time. If her dad caught her, then there would be hell to pay, but he wasn't going to catch her. At this time in the morning there weren't a great many places open. The beach was always open, and there were plenty of things you could do on it alone. She would have had to be blind not to have noticed the surfer's shirt their visitor had been wearing the previous day. Now was a really good time to catch some waves, not that she'd ever done that, because she was afraid of the ocean, she had been for as long as she could remember. It was probably due to the fact that she, or rather the other Blair, had drowned. However, she did like walking along the beach, just as long as she could get out of the way of any large waves that came along.

Seeing a figure coming out of the water carrying a surfboard, she smiled. Now all she had to do was go over there and talk to him, but she didn't want it to look as if she was following him, because she wasn't. They just happened to be in the same place at the same time. Besides, she wasn't entirely sure what she was going to say to him yet. It wasn't as if she could just come out and ask him if he was a sentinel. Doing that could land her in all sorts of trouble. Maybe it would be better if she just asked him whether he was enjoying his stay in the commune, and suggest some places of interest that he might like to visit during his stay.
// "I don't believe it," Jim grinned, "a Sandburg lost for words." This had been a long time coming, and he was going to enjoy every moment of it.

"Give her a break," Blair said, "she's nervous. Your family has that effect on people."

"Chief, it's not as if he's going to hurt her," he said. At least, he wouldn't if he had anything to do with it. The guide had to be protected at all costs, something which he had forgotten, and the consequences had been devastating for everyone.

"She's led a pretty sheltered life here," Blair said, "even with his help, she's going to find it pretty difficult to adjust to life in a city."

"But if she doesn't go with him..." Jim began. She didn't have much choice in the matter, because New Cascade needed it's sentinel and guide. He'd seen what the future was like if they failed, and it wasn't pretty.

"They have to talk to each other first," Blair said, "and that's not going to happen unless he makes the first move."

"Him? Chief, all she has to do is walk over there and say hi," Jim said.

"He's next to the water," Blair said, "and she's terrified of it."

"Maybe giving her that particular nightmare wasn't such a good idea," Jim said.

"It was the best one that I could come up with at the time," Blair said, "and it got her thinking about the past."

"Plus, it's left her with a phobia about the ocean," Jim reminded him. Or any other large body of water that she came across. He had to admit that he understood how she felt, because he'd had the same phobia. So it was rather ironic that Blair had been drowned in a fountain.//

First steps 1/3

2009-04-17T15:10:30Z

First Steps
By Fluffy Rabbit

Disclaimers: The Sentinel guys belong to Petfly, the rest are mine.
Warnings: AU, Female Blair. Premise: Blair died at the fountain and VX gas attacks took place on mainland America.
Notes: Betaed by Bobbie T. // denotes speech and action in spirit world
Summary: In a world still struggling to rebuild, a guide meets a sentinel
________________________________________
"Jim," she screamed silently as the water went over her head and started to fill her lungs. Oh God, he wasn't going to get here in time and she was going to drown. Through the water she could just make out the blurred reflection of the spotted jaguar looking down at her. It wasn't supposed to end like this, they still had so much to do. "Help me, oh God Jim, help me." It was her own fault for not telling him about the other sentinel, perhaps if she had, he wouldn't have kicked her out of the loft and she wouldn't be about to die. The next thing she was aware of, she was floating above a body, only it wasn't hers, the face belonged to a man. It was a face she'd seen countless times in family albums. Around the body were several men and one woman. One of the men was frantically trying to revive the body, not knowing that it was already too late and that they had gone for good. Tears ran down the man's face when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to bring his friend back. Suddenly she found herself watching a funeral, her great great aunt Naomi was there dressed in red and her great grandfather Robert was doing his best to try and comfort her, but there was no sign of the man she had expected to see there. Then she realized that there were two coffins being lowered into the ground. Jim had died as well. Had the guilt been too much for him to bear, or had it been something else?
"Miss Sandburg, I'm so sorry for your loss. If there's anything that I can do," A tall African American man said, taking hold of one of Naomi's hands as tears ran freely down his face.
"Just find who did this," Naomi replied.
"I will, even if it's the last thing that I do," he said.
He hadn't found them though, and the world had paid a heavy price for that failure. And it was all her fault for not being honest with Jim. It was time to try and put things right now, though. Not that it was going to be easy, because she didn't know where Jim was, and she couldn't see her father being too overjoyed at the prospect of her going off and trying to find a man who had been dead for over a century. Still, she had been given this chance, and she was going to take it and hope that things worked out better this time.

He hated that nightmare, Jim Ellison thought. It was bad enough that his senses had started spiking, without his losing sleep because of a nightmare. He couldn't afford to be tired when he went to work. Lives depended on him being able to function properly. The most disturbing thing about the nightmare was the fact that he was playing a major role in it, yet at the same time it wasn't him. The man who looked like him was his great uncle James Joseph Ellison, who he was named after. It was family tradition that every eldest son was named after his great uncle, who had been something of a legend in Old Cascade. But that city was long gone, along with anyone who might be able to tell him who the other man was. The only person who might know was his father, but they hadn't been on speaking terms for years, so he wasn't about to go and ask him about some nightmare he was having. It would be much better for him to try and forget all about it. After all, he had much more important things to do, like getting to work on time.
Being a detective in New Cascade was the only thing that kept him going. It wasn't an easy job by any means; ever since the gas attacks which had claimed the life of his great uncle and the rest of the legendary Major Crimes Department the world had become a great deal more lawless. At times it was as if some people had totally given up on the concept of law and order, but it was his duty to try and enforce the law as well as he could. Some people, including his ex-wife, would say that he was a cold and unemotional man, but emotions could get you killed in a world where life was cheap and death could happen at any moment. If he'd allowed his emotions to get in the way of his doing his job, then he would have been dead a long time ago and that wouldn't have helped anyone, least of all the people he worked with. They relied on him to back them up, and he had a good reputation for doing exactly that. His captain was proud to say publicly that Major Crimes had the best record of any police department in the country. Not that there were many police departments left. Most cities ran heavily armed militia, who carried out the orders of anyone who could afford to pay them. That was not something that he ever wanted to see happen in his city. The strong were supposed to protect the weak, not take them for everything they had and then turn their backs on them when they couldn't afford to pay for protection. Which was probably why the city had such a high number of people flooding into every day. Still, it was only a small minority of those people who caused him serious problems. Most people just wanted to make a new life for themselves and their families, and were grateful that there was an organized police force looking out for their interests. He'd always treated people the same, whether they had money or not. Now that was something his father would have disapproved of. To William Ellison, the only thing that mattered was money, and that was something that he had never been able to understand. Perhaps it was the fact that his father hadn't been the eldest son, and had therefore been unable to bask in the reflected glory of their dead ancestor that had made him so bitter. Or it could just be the fact that he had been born that way.

"Sweetie, do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Nathan Sandburg asked when Blair joined him for breakfast. It was hard not to notice that something had been bothering her for the past few days. Normally Blair was so full of energy that nothing put a damper on her moods. "Whatever it is, I won't judge you," he added.
"I've been thinking about leaving the commune," Blair said.
"To go where?" he asked. She'd never mentioned wanting to leave before, and the outside world was a very dangerous place for a young woman to go traveling alone.
"New Cascade," she replied. "I've been offered a teaching post at the university."
"Do you want to tell me the real reason why you want to go to New Cascade?" Nathan asked. Blair could get a teaching post in the commune if she really wanted one, but his family was in the fortunate position that they didn't have to work if they chose not to.
"I've been having these dreams," Blair admitted, "about Old Cascade and the other Blair.
"What sort of dreams?" he asked.
"I was him, I was drowning..." she began, "you don't believe me do you?"
"Of course, I do," he assured her, "but I don't think it's a good idea for you to go."
"But I have to," Blair protested, "he's waiting for me."
"If you go, I'm going with you," he said. That way he could make sure that she got there safely. And he didn't need to ask who the man who was waiting for her was. He'd always suspected that this day might come, but had hoped that it wouldn't. Still, he couldn't deny her her fate, but he could try and delay it a little while. "There's something you need to read," he added. If she still had her heart set on going after reading her namesake's journals, then there would be very little that he could do about it.

There was something different about Ellison today, Captain Simon Banks thought, and he wasn't sure that he liked the change in his friend. Jim had always been a difficult man to get along with, but recently he'd become almost impossible. People actually went out of their way to avoid Jim when he was in one of his moods, and he’d just about given up all hope of finding a partner for Jim. The few officers who had been assigned to work with Jim had threatened to quit, in one case after only spending an hour with him. Still, he couldn't fault Jim when it came to doing his duty as a police officer. The department's reputation certainly wasn't damaged by having Jim as a member of it.
"Ellison," he ordered, "my office now." He was going to have to suggest that Jim take a few days off. Maybe that would help get his friend out of whatever mood he was in.
"You wanted to see me?" Jim said, entering Simon's office and closing the door behind him.
"Sit down, Jim," Simon said, "how are you feeling?" He had to ask, because his friend looked like hell.
"I'm fine," Jim replied, sitting down.
"You don't look it," he said. "You've been working pretty hard recently, and I can't remember the last time you took a day off."
"I don't need any time off," Jim said, "I'm in the middle of a case."
"Jim, if you don't take a few days off, then I'll be forced to suspend you," Simon warned him. He really didn't want to have to do that, but at the same time, he didn't want his friend to burn out through stress. "The case can wait," he added.
"And what am I supposed to do on my days off?" Jim asked.
"Sleep, read a book," he replied, "just anything not related to police work."
"Simon, you know how much this job means to me," Jim said.
"Which is why you're going to do as I say," Simon said. "Now out, and I don't want to see you until Monday morning."
"I'm going," Jim muttered, standing up.
"And Jim, if I catch you anywhere near the station before Monday you will be suspended," Simon said.

She couldn't believe that she was actually reading something her namesake had written, Blair thought. Her dad had never mentioned any journals before, and she couldn't help but wonder why. He knew how interested she was in family history, and she had always wanted to know more about her namesake. Now she had a chance, and she didn't want to waste it.
"The Journal of Blair Jacob Sandburg," she read out aloud from the cover. Someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to make sure that it had been not only bound properly, but preserved. That sort of thing wouldn't have been cheap, even in the other Blair's day. "You know, we even have the same middle initial," she added, almost expecting the book to answer her.
"Sweetie, it's not going to fall to pieces if you open it," Nathan smiled.
"Have you ever read it?" she asked.
"No," he admitted, "but I always thought that you might one day."
"Why?" Blair asked.
"Because you're a lot like him," he replied, "at least according to my grandfather, but he was still just a child when the other Blair died."
"That's when we came to the commune," she said. She'd learned all about the exodus in school, how some families like the Sandburgs had left Old Cascade before the gas attacks which had destroyed it and changed the world forever.
"Yes, only in those days it was called Big Sur," Nathan said. "This is the place where Naomi settled down after Blair died, and we live in her house."
"It was my fault that it happened," she said, "or he felt that it was his."
"Blair, nobody could have stopped that woman," he assured her, "least of all Blair."
"It doesn't stop him from feeling that it was his fault though," she said, "he didn't tell his friend something important."
"Everyone makes mistakes," Nathan said, "and if you want to blame someone, then blame the person who created that gas."
"Creating something to kill people is always a bad idea," she said. She'd been raised to believe that violence was never a good thing, and nobody in the commune would ever create something that would deliberately harm anyone else. Whenever there was trouble in the commune, it had usually been caused by outsiders who didn't want to abide by the rules that were there for everyone's benefit.

Maybe Simon was right and he did need some time off, Jim thought leaving the station. He really didn't like leaving a case unfinished. And what was he supposed to do until Monday morning? It wasn't as if he had anyone at home waiting for him, there hadn't been since his marriage had ended. Nor did he have any hobbies. Unlike other people, he didn't have the patience to sit there fiddling with some model or craft. He was a man of action, so perhaps he should go and find some.
There were plenty of places in the city that he could go, especially if he wanted company. However, Simon wouldn't be too happy if he was arrested in a vice raid. Still, he didn't have to stay in the city. It had been a while since he'd left it, and it might be a good idea to find out what was going on in other communities, because whatever was happening there was bound to reach Cascade sooner or later. Checking things out wasn't really police work, and he could always tell Simon that he had been camping. Although he suspected that his friend wanted him to spend time with other people during his days off, he wasn't good company. People tended to avoid him after spending some time in his company, and he really wasn't in the mood to sit listening to some damned idiot going on about how much money they'd made last year. Women were even worse, because they expected you to not only pay them attention, but make some sort of emotional commitment to them, and that was something he wasn't good at. He never had been, which was probably why his marriage had broken down.

Give her a book and she was in a world of her own, Nathan thought, and it had always been the same. Even before she had learned how to read, Blair had spent hours trying to work out what the squiggles underneath the pictures meant. There was no denying that she was smart, probably too smart for her own good at times. Yet when it came to the outside world, Blair was very innocent about the things that went on. He'd done his best to try and protect her from some of the more unpleasant facts of life, and perhaps he shouldn't have done that. Still, people couldn't help but like Blair. She was always surrounded by people, but not all of them were good for her. His daughter was one of those people who gave as much of themselves as they could, but got very little in return. However, she never complained about that, so he didn't like to mention it.
There were times when he wished that she would be a little more restrained in her zest for life. So far, she'd left a string of broken hearts across the commune and had shown absolutely no intention of staying with one person for more than a few weeks. Still, he couldn't really judge her, because he'd slept with more women than he could remember. But there had come a time when he had fallen in love for real, and Blair was the result of that relationship. However, Blair's mother had decided that she really didn't want to be a mother and had left before Blair was a week old. Blair had never seemed to mind not having a mother though, but then he'd never spoken about the woman since the day she'd left.

"So, this is what he looked like," Blair said, looking at a photo that was stuck to one of the pages in the journal. It was of three men, and it looked as if they were fishing. Her namesake was in the middle with two taller men, one each side of him. "The question is, which one is he?" she added. Not that knowing was likely to do her much good, because there was no guarantee that the man she would be looking for would in any way resemble his namesake. Still, it did give her a starting point, and from what she'd learned from the journal so far, all she had to do was track down the descendants of a Detective James Ellison. Even doing that wasn't going to be easy, because decent records hadn't been kept in most places since the VX attacks. All she could do was hope that New Cascade kept decent records. "I know that the two of you were like brothers. Well, I've never had anyone like that in my life, and it might be nice." Some times she was surrounded by people, but it always felt as if there was someone important missing. Now she knew who it was.
Somehow, when she found him, she was going to have to convince him that she was telling the truth and wasn't some crazy woman. There were a lot of people out there with serious problems because of the VX attacks. It was only now that the real price was starting to be paid. Even in the commune, the long term effects were being felt, but probably not as greatly as in other places. Everyone had thought that the nightmare was over once the last body had been buried and the mass graves filled in, but it had taken two generations for the genetic effects to start making themselves known. Fortunately, a test had been devised so that at least people knew what might lay ahead for their children. She personally would rather not know and just accept what fate brought her. Besides, the tests weren't that accurate and she'd seen the heartache someone went through after finding that out for themselves.

He should have done this before, Jim thought, because the further he got away from the city, the better he felt. However, he had no idea where he was going, but somewhere along the coast sounded good to him. He could do some surfing and try to relax like Simon had ordered him to. No doubt his friend would be surprised to discover that he was taking his order seriously. But knowing Simon, he’d probably had someone watching the loft just to make sure that he didn't go anywhere near the station. He had to admit he was surprised that he still had friends in the department, especially after the way he'd been acting recently. However, there was no way that he could have told Simon about the problems he was having without his friend sending him to see the department shrink. Having his head examined by some geek was the last thing that he needed. So had the idea of taking some time off in the middle of a case, but here he was about to start his first vacation since joining the department.
Real men didn't take vacations, at least according to his father. But then, there were a lot of things real men did that he would never do, like kick someone when they were down. That was something his father was really good at, and it was the reason why he hadn't spoken to his father in years. Hell, even as far as Simon was concerned, he didn't have any family. What was happening to him now was something his father wouldn't understand at all. He wasn't even sure that he did. For some reason he was seeing things that nobody else could see, smelling things that weren't there. Not to mention the fact that he seemed to be having some sort of seizures. There were times when he sat down when he got home from work, only to find that he was late for work the following morning. Of course, it could just be stress, and getting away from the city was what he needed to sort himself out. If it didn't, then he might be forced to talk to someone about what was happening to him.

// "Chief, we have to do something," Jim said, "or when she meets him, she's going to run in the opposite direction."
"Don't worry about it. She's a Sandburg, she'll know what to do when the time comes," Blair assured him.
"I hope you're right," he said. This was too important to leave to chance. He'd made a terrible mistake when he hadn't trusted his guide, and the world had ended up paying the price for that. The world needed it's sentinel, and somehow that relatively naive kid was going to have to tame an overbearing antagonistic sentinel. "Was I ever that bad?" he added.
"Maybe a little in the beginning," Blair admitted, "but his world is very different to the way ours was."
"Do you miss it?" Jim asked. He didn't like the fact that he could only stand by and watch while events unfurled around him.
"Sometimes," Blair replied, "but think about all the good things we've seen, and there are a lot more of them to come."
"I suppose, you're right," he said. He just wished that he could do something about his namesake's attitude, because it wasn't going to do him any favors in the long run.
"And don't forget we know what's going to happen to them," Blair grinned. "Trust me, he's not going to know what's hit him when he meets her."
"I remember that feeling," Jim said, "and if he has any sense, he'll listen to her."
"And if he doesn't?" Blair asked.
"She'll keep talking until he does," he replied. If she was anything like his Blair, then she wouldn't quit when the going got tough. As a last resort he would give his namesake the mother of all nightmares to make sure that he ended up listening to her.//

"Dad, do we have any more of Blair's stuff around here?" Blair asked.
"There are some boxes in the attic," Nathan replied, "but I want you to have something to eat before you go rooting around in there." Once she got really involved in something, she not only tended to lose track of time, but skip meals as well. At times she skipped so many meals that she passed out, and he wasn't going to let that happen again if he could help it.
"I'll get something later," she said.
"You'll sit down and eat now," he said. He rarely imposed rules on her, but this once he was going to do so.
"But dad, I really need to find something out," Blair protested.
"Sweetie, those boxes are still going to be there after you've had something to eat," he said.
"Fine," Blair said, sitting down at the kitchen table, "I found a photo of him."
"That's nice," Nathan said. Now that she had a photo, she might lose some of her eagerness to rush off to New Cascade. "Have you learned anything interesting from the journal?" he added.
"Blair was a guide to something called a sentinel," she replied. "Jim was his best friend, they did just about everything together."
"Do you think that's what you'll find in New Cascade?" he asked.
"I don't know," she admitted, "but if it is, then I need to be prepared."
"Blair, you know how he died, don't you?" Nathan asked.
"He drowned before the VX attacks," Blair said, "and Jim died not long after him. I saw two coffins in my dreams."
"Dreams are often a warning," he reminded her. "Naomi had one which told her to leave Cascade." He didn't want her getting hurt by following some pipe dream.
"This wasn't a warning, it was the past," Blair said, "and this is something that I have to do."

Repercussions part3

2009-04-17T14:02:04Z

Jim was going to kill him, Blair thought, pulling up outside of the loft, that was if Jess didn't do it first. He'd forgotten just how stubborn Elias could be when he wanted to be. And now, unfortunately was one of those times. Right now they should have been talking over a meal. Of course, Elias was bound to be curious about the man Jess was on a date with. After all, it was her first ever date, a fact that he'd neglected to tell Jim. Still, it was bound to come up in conversation, always assuming that they actually got around to talking after dinner. What if they hadn't made it through dinner before pheromones or something had taken over. Right now they could be... That was not something that he wanted to walk in on.
*************
"What time did Blair say he would be back?" Jessica asked.
"He didn't. He Just said that he'd crash at your place if it was too late." he replied.
"Not exactly subtle," she said smiling at him, "and he lied. Sounds like my dad's dragged him here."
"That's the first time I've heard him say that." he grinned at her as Blair muttered an obscenity.
"One word of advice on handling my dad." she said.
"Only one?" Jim asked.
"Trust me it's important. Under no circumstances let him make you split pea soup. It's totally disgusting. Eating it is truly an act of daughterly devotion. If I didn't eat it he'd be really upset. You on the other hand are allowed to develop a sudden allgery to it."
"That bad?"
"I eat it with everything turned down and it still tastes pretty bad. Why can't he just make chicken soup like other people, I don't know."
**************
"All these stairs aren't good for her legs," Elias complained, when he and Blair reached the level that the loft was on, "She has to be careful."
"Jess ran during the search for those kids," Blair said, "She kept up with Jim the whole time. And he is no slouch when it comes to physical activity."
"Please, don't tell me that he's some muscle bound macho man."
"He's got muscles but he's also got this sensative side to him. The two of you are going to get on great." Blair reassured him.
"And Jessie really likes him?"
"Hasn't stopped talking about him all week. The two of them hit it off right away."
"Does he know about..." Elias began.
"Jim's the same as Jess. They've even found a third one. Well, Jess did."
"You know I've always worried that she might be the only one. It's good to know that she's not." he said smiling at the younger man.
*************
"It's only me Jim," Blair said on entering the loft, "Jess's dad wasn't hungry so..." looking around the lower level of the loft and seeing no sign of her, "She's still here right?"
"Upstairs in my room." Jim grinned.
"Maybe we should come back later," he said as Elias entered the loft, "Obviously you guys are..."
"Hi dad," Jessica said appearing fully dressed at the rail on the top level of the loft, "Blair." making her way down the stairs.
"Should I even ask what you were doing up there?" Elias said.
"Just checking out the furniture." she replied.
"What did you think?" Jim asked.
"It's great what you've done up there," she said smiling at him, "Dad, this is Jim, Jim, my dad Elias Angel."
"Mr.Angel." Jim said too formally.
"Detective." Elias said sizing up the man his daughter was seeing.
"Suppose it's time I was going," she said, "Thanks for putting up with my lousy company."
"It was my pleasure." Jim grinned at her.
"Maybe next time." she said winking at him.
************
"So how did it go?" Blair asked once Jessica and Elias had left the loft, "You didn't do the strong silent act did you?"
"No, and it went better than I expected." Jim admitted. So all they'd done was talk, that didn't mean that things couldn't progress from there.
"The two of you going to get together again?"
"I think so," he grinned, "You know Chief, I have to admit that it was one of your better ideas."
"No problems with..."
"We were both fine."
**************
"Babe..." Elias began, then he saw the look on his daughter's face, "Jessie, I don't mean to pry but..."
"I really was just checking the furniture out," she said, "I know how to be careful."
"Your brother said that you weren't listening to him again."
"Dad, Tommy overreacted. I'm fine. In fact, I don't think I've ever felt this good."
"Your friend has a very dangerous job."
"No more dangerous than what I do," she replied, "He's been Police Officer of the Year and he really is a great guy. You know Tommy's dating a cop so are you going to talk to him about it as well." For the first time in her life she'd met a man who she could talk to about her senses, who understood what it was like to be different.
"I'm only looking out for you. As your father I have a right to worry."
************
So she'd had to make a few compromises, Taz thought, at least she'd won on two major points, being allowed to spend more time with Daryl and being allowed to learn how to use her senses. The deciding factor had to have been the fact that she and Daryl had talked things through beforehand. A united front worked, she'd have to remember that for the next time they needed
something. Now all she had to do was put that bitch Melanie Warren in her place and everything would be fine.
***********
"I'm so glad you're back," Taz said hugging Daryl the following morning at school. "Things have to get better now you're here." she said letting go of him.
"Taz, I'm not sure that there's a lot I can do." Daryl admitted.
"I know that but just having you here makes me feel better, " she replied, "And you have friends who aren't afraid to stand up to Melanie. All it's going to take is one person and..." she was saying, stopping when she saw that Melanie was walking towards them.
"Don't let her get to you no matter what she says." he warned her.
***********
"Hello Daryl," Melanie said batting her eyelashes at him, "You know you could get into a lot of trouble for hanging around with her."
"I doubt it. So why don't you just leave us alone," he said, "We haven't done anything to you."
"No, but you did to poor Harold," she smirked, "I'm surprised that she hasn't been arrested yet."
"The only one who should be arrested is you." Taz snapped.
"Taz," Daryl said, "She's not worth getting into trouble over." taking hold of one of Taz's hands and leading her away from Melanie.
"You're going to regret taking her side." Melanie screamed. She'd already set in motion a plan to make Taz's life totally miserable, now it looked as if she was going to have to include Daryl in that plan as well. She thought. Her dad had already spoken to the principal about getting Taz thrown out for what she'd done and as soon as he'd handed over the cheque, Taz Rafe would be history.
*************
He was just dying to know the truth about what had happened between her and Jim last night, Jessica thought, when she caught a pair of blue eyes staring intently at her. Not that she was going to tell him anything because nothing had actually happened, apart from a very nice dinner and a lot of talking. Of course she wouldn't mind seeing Jim again but it wasn't as if they'd made any definite plans to do that.
**************
"Coffee?" Blair asked.
"Please." Jessica replied.
"Jim was saying that he had a great time last night," pouring her a mug of coffee, "and that the two of you might get together again."
"Maybe," she admitted, "We didn't make any real plans to or anything."
"Jim can be a little stiff at times. He can't help it, so maybe you should give him a second chance." he suggested.
"I wasn't exactly at my best last night either," she said, "and having you and my dad turn up like that didn't really help matters."
"You know better than anyone how stubborn your dad can be," he said. "So are you willing to give Jim another chance."
"Sure I am," she said smiling at him, "If he's willing to give me one."
*************
This whole thing wasn't fair to Daryl at all, Taz thought, as yet another of Daryl's friends gave him the cold sholder. At this rate, by the end of the day he wouldn't have any friends left and she would have lost the only one she had, him.
"You know he didn't mean it." Daryl said when he saw the look on her face.
"He did you know," she replied, "He really believes that we killed Harold. Doesn't he watch the news?"
"There isn't anything that we can do so let it drop." he said.
"I can't! We haven't done anything wrong, " Taz snapped. "You know we could get kicked out because of these damn rumours. It wouldn't surprise me if Melanie was waging a campaign to make sure that happens."
"So what do we do?" he asked.
"Become Stepford kids. Follow every rule, behave like the perfect students we are."
"And if that doesn't work?"
"Then we're well and truly fucked."
***************
Taz had told him how bad it was for her at school but now he was seeing it for himself, Daryl thought, heading to his next class. Her idea that they become perfect students wasn't a bad one but he got the feeling that no matter what they did, things weren't going to get any easier for them. Still he knew a few guys who weren't afraid to stand up to Melanie Warren. The only problem was that they weren't going to talk to him with Taz hanging around. He didn't want her thinking that he was abandoning her because things were getting pretty rough for him. No matter what happened he would never do that.
****************
"Miss Rafe, you're late," Mr.Johnson smirked as Taz entered his classroom. "The lesson began precisely two minutes ago."
"I'm sorry Sir." she said meekly looking at the still empty classroom. Now was not the time to point out that she was, in fact the first student there because that would only serve to get her into trouble. "It won't happen again."
"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to give you a late attendance slip," he said picking up a piece of paper from his desk as Melanie and the rest of the Barbie clones entered the classroom and took their seats, "Take it to the principal's office."
"Yes sir." she said taking it off him and leaving the classroom. As she left she couldn't help but hear Melanie telling her friends that she was going to be off sick the next day because she had a doctor's appointment. Keeping her hearing on Melanie's voice she headed for the principal's office.
**************
"You are going to call him, aren't you?" Blair asked, "After all, you did say that you'd give Jim another chance."
"He's probably busy," Jessica replied, "Besides, I have to start trying to work out how to teach someone to be sentinel."
"Jim could help you with that," he suggested, "After all, he did learn a lot while in Peru."
"All right Blair. How much is he paying you to beg on his behalf?" she asked. He was doing a very good job of it as well, she thought.
"I would never beg for Jim. He can do his own as far as I'm concerned."
"Yeah, I can just see him. Flexing those muscles and trying to look totally pathetic."
"He doesn't do pathetic very well." he said grinning at her.
"Give me his number and I'll call him." She was going to anyway. This way though Blair would be able to tell Jim that he'd persuaded her to and it wouldn't make her look as if she was being too eager in calling him. After all, it was only right that he did some pursuing seeing as though she'd chased him when they were looking for those kids.
**************
He couldn't help Taz if no-one was willing to stand up against Melanie Warren, Daryl thought, doodling on a piece of paper instead of concentrating on his lesson. Everyone at school was afraid of Melanie and what her dad could do if they crossed her. Taz was a prime example of that. She hadn't done anything wrong and she was being made a total outcast. Maybe there was
another way that he could hep her though, that friend of Detective Ellison's wasn't a cop so she didn't have to worry about what Melanie's dad might do to her. If he asked her to help she could only say no and then Taz wouldn't be any worse off than she already was.
***************
"Miss Rafe, please take a seat." Principal Pauline Locke said.
"Yes ma'am." Taz said sitting down.
"A late slip, that makes how many so far?"
"It's my first one," she replied, "and the rest of the class wasn't there when I got there."
"From your record I see that you were involved with that incident on the field trip." Locke said frowning at Taz.
"Daryl and I were trapped in..." she began.
"I know what you told people. However, I have it on good authority that this isn't the first time you've been involved in a highly dubious situation."
"Ma'am?" she said not understanding what she was talking about.
"I'm talking about your lack of morals. Something that I think your brother should be made aware of..."
"I don't understand." Taz said. As far as she knew she was a very moral person. She hadn't even let Daryl kiss her yet, not that he had tried to.
"You and several members of the football team," Locke said, "Such behaviour will not be tolerated in this school is that clear."
"But I don't know anyone on the football team." she protested.
"Miss Rafe, there's no point in denying it. You were seen."
"By who?" Not that she really needed telling who it was who was supposed to have seen her.
"Miss Warren..."
"The same Miss Melanie Warren who's got a doctor's appointment tomorrow because she caught something nasty from the last guy she slept with."
"Miss Warren's medical condition is none of your concern," Locke snapped, "Now unless your behaviour improves rapidly, I will have no alternative but to suspend you. Is that clear."
"It's not fair, I've never been in trouble before." Taz said. Brian was going to go nuts if she was suspended, she thought.
"Life isn't supposed to be fair, and the sooner you learn that the better. Dismissed." Locke said.
Sliently Taz stood up and left her office. She knew that she wasn't supposed to use her senses to get back at Melanie but she'd been left with no choice at all. If she didn't start fighting back soon, she was going to get kicked out of school.
***********
Grinning, Jim put the phone down. She'd finally called, and to think that he'd actually been worried that she wouldn't. Not that he would really have blamed her if she hadn't. Last night hadn't been the best date he'd been on, and he doubted that it had been her best one either. Still, she had called and said that they should do it again sometime, only without the inclusion
of Blair and her dad dropping by.
**************
'Freak' Melanie mouthed when Taz entered the classroom. It wouldn't be much longer and Taz Rafe would be out of her life for good, she thought, and that day couldn't come soon enough. She was going to have to talk to daddy about bringing in that cheque before the end of the week. Then she could wave bye bye to Taz and hello Daryl. With Taz out of the way, Daryl would be tripping over his own feet to ask her out for a date. What was even better was the fact that the best job Taz had to look forward to was flipping burgers in some horrid little greasepit while she was destined for greater things.
**************
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" H asked.
"I don't know what you mean." Brian replied.
"You and this Tommy guy. It's like he's suddenly become your new best friend."
"He's just helping me with Taz. Getting trapped in that cave wasn't exactly fun for her," he said, "Another half an hour and that guy would have gotten to her and Daryl."
"She's having problems?" H asked, "If there's anything I can do to..."
"We'll be fine. These things take time to get over."
"Bet it scared the hell out of you."
"Yeah,I can't help thinking that if it wasn't for Jim and that Doctor I could have lost her."
"Is she having a party, only my mom was..." H began.
"I don't think she's decided whether she wants one or not yet," Brian admitted, "When she does, I'll let you know."
"Be a shame if she didn't do something special, she only gets to be sixteen once." H said.
*****************
Ignore them Daryl told himself when he heard people talking about him and Taz. Even if he tried to put them straight, they weren't going to believe him because Melanie had done such a good snow job on everyone. He was reluctant to admit it but if hadn't known Taz as well as he did he might have believed some of the things that they were saying aobut her. This whole thing just wasn't fair to Taz. The only reason Melanie was causing so much trouble for her was because he'd turned her down. Like he would really want to go out with her even if she wasn't a total bitch. Sure going out with a girl like Melanie might look like fun but it was also one of the quickest ways for a guy to get into trouble. Besides Melanie dumped every guy she'd ever dated after a week then moved on to the next one. He was much better off being with Taz, she was his friend and his sentinel. What they had was pretty special and that was something that someone like Melanie would never understand.
****************
"Dad, she can't stay here." Tommy said.
"It's just for a few days while she visits Blair," Elias said, "I know that her and Jessie haven't always gotten along too well..."
"Get along, they hate each others guts!"
"A woman like Naomi doesn't hate anyone, it's not in her philosphy to," Elias said, "I'm sure that your sister will accept the situation like the responsible adult she is."
"Yeah right, the minute Naomi walks in, Jess walks out." he said. His dad just didn't get it, Naomi didn't like Jess because she was the one female in his dad's life that she couldn't run off.
"I really don't understand why Jessie has such a problem with her. It's not as if Naomi's ever done anything to her." Elias said.
"What about our fifth birthday party,or Jessie's sweet sixteen party? You just had to go and invite Naomi to that. She ruined it for her, totally took it over and you wonder why Jess doesn't like her." Tommy said.
*****************
He wasn't going to do it, Simon thought, putting down the phone after talking to Chief Warren. Disobeying orders given by the Chief was never easy for him to do, but there was no way in hell that he was going to suspend two of his detectives on the word of a teenage girl. As a police officer, he'd taken an oath to uphold the law, to find out the truth no matter what the
cost. The truth in this case was that the Chief's daughter was lying through her teeth. After he warned both Ellison and Rafe that the Chief was after their heads he was going to do a little private checking into what Daryl had told him about her.
******************

Repercussions part2

2009-04-17T14:01:13Z

It wasn't like Taz to keep him wating, Brian thought, sitting outside of Simon's house. After all, she could hear his car pull up outside. Switching the engine off, he got out of his car. Something was obviously wrong. What if she'd had another of those zone things and Daryl hadn't been able to bring her out of it.
Maybe it was time that he took her to see a proper doctor, get some proper tests done, find out if there wasn't some medication that could help her. He'd never forgive himself if she turned out to be really sick and he hadn't done anything to help her.
*******
"If this is about..." Simon began, opening the front door and finding Brian standing there.
"Taz ready to go?" he asked.
"She's not here," he replied, "She left about twenty minutes ago."
"You let her leave! What if she..." Brian began.
"Taz stormed out," Daryl said from behind his father, "I wanted to go after her but..."
"That's just great," Brian snapped, "You're supposed to be helping her not upsetting her. She has enough to deal with without her best friend letting her down."
"Rafe, your sister has to learn that Daryl has his own life to live," Simon growled, "That she doesn't have a right to decide who he can and can't be friends with."
"Dad, I'm not friends with Melanie Warren. I wouldn't want to be," Daryl replied, "Not after everything she's done to Taz. I mean anyone else would have been arrested by now for what she did. Instead she's free to carry out a full on "Blame Taz" campaign at school. It's no wonder she went through the roof when she found out that Melanie had been here."
"What blame campaign?" Brian asked.
**********
She'd gone and got herself lost, Taz thought, looking around at her surroundings. And this definitely one of the seedier parts of town. The best thing that she could do would be to turn round and go back the way she'd come until she found herself somewhere safer. This was exactly the sort of place that Brian had always warned her about going anywhere near. Just like
he'd warned her about a lot of other things.
"Go away," she muttered when she saw the black wolf cub trotting towards her, "I don't need you. I can do it on my own." She didn't need it or anyone else to help her. From now on she would do things alone, after all, relying on other people hadn't gotten her anywhere. Why should she have to put up with being told what to do and when to do it when she had advantages. Maybe
it was time to start using what she was to make people pay for the way that they'd treated her. By the time she'd finished with Melanie Warren not even a bag lady would want to have anything to do with her.
***********
"She would have told me if she was having problems at school." Brian said.
"When?" Daryl asked, "You don't listen to her. And Melanie's dad wouldn't hesitate to get rid of you if you tried to do anything about it."
"Daryl." Simon said sharply.
"Dad, everyone knows that if you get on the wrong side of Melanie Warren you may as well leave town because her dad'll make your life hell."
"Do you have any idea where Taz might have gone?" Brian asked because he had to find her and try and talk some sense into her before it was too late.
"No," Daryl replied, "She doesn't really have anywhere to go."
"What aobut the Stone Centre?" Simon suggested.
"Melanie got her banned and her dad bought her the helper of the year award."
"I didn't know that she went there." Brian said.
"She doesn't." Daryl said.
"What about other friends?" Simon asked.
"She doesn't have any. Even if she did Melanie would have turned them against her by now."
Brian sat there looking at him. He'd always thought that he would be the one Taz would go to if she was in any sort of trouble. Now it looked as if he didn't really know her at all. Maybe he should have made more of an effort to listen to her when she'd tried talking to him. "Brian, we will find her." Simon said trying to reassure the younger man.
***************
"What's he like?" Jessica said helping Jim with the dishes after dinner, "Well he looks like an older version of Tommy and he's not Blair's dad if that's what you're thinking. He could probably come up with a long list of possibilities though."
"You're sure about that?" Jim asked.
"I asked him once and there's no way my dad would lie about something like that," she replied, "I've been able to tell that people were lying to me since I was five. Trust me, you'll really like him when you meet him."
"And your mom?"
"She OD'd when we were a week old. We were raised by dad and whoever his latest "friend" was," she said, "I didn't really bother getting to know any of them. Not much point when they weren't going to be staying long term."
"Sounds a lot like Blair's upbringing."
"We stayed in one place all the time," she said smiling at him, "In fact, it was all pretty dull."
"No wild adventures?"
"Maybe a few," she admitted, "But probably not as many as you've had."
"I've had my share of them," Jim grinned, "So's Blair."
"Tommy's been pretty lucky so far. He tends to end up dealing with the fallout afterwards," Jessica said drying to the last of the dishes, "He hovers a lot and makes that pondwater he claims is tea."
***********
"Just how long has Jess been seeing this Jim?" Elias asked as Blair drove away from the airport.
"This is their first date," Blair replied. "They met when she helped out on a case."
"I had hoped that she'd put that behind her after what happened."
"There were kids involved," he said. "She and Jim got the guy before he could hurt them."
"Blair, I know who it turned out to be," Elias said, "And for what I'm thinking right now Naomi would have to burn a hell of a lot of sage to cleanse me."
"How is she? I haven't heard from her for a while." he said changing the subject.
"She was fine when I saw her this morning," he replied, "She would have been here but she couldn't get a seat on the flight."
"Probably better not to mention that to Jess when you see her."
"You know it's only Naomi that she has a problem with," Elias said, "Anyone else she gets along with just fine."
Blair looked at him briefly. He didn't remember it being that way at all. Jess had always distanced herself from Elias's girlfriends, become indifferent to them and in most cases she hadn't even bothered to learn their names.
"How long's Naomi been staying with you?" he asked,
"A couple of weeks. Just turned up one night. You know Naomi and her surprise visits."
"Yeah."
**************
Okay, so maybe she did need him, Taz thought walking up the front path to Daryl's house. But that didn't mean that she had to like it or follow any dumb rules that his dad laid down. If they were going to do this, then they were going to do it right from the beginning. That meant that some major changes were going to have to take place. It was just tough luck if the adults didn't like it because from now on she was in charge.
***************
"I'll get it." Daryl said when he heard the door bell ring.
"It's probably Tommy." Brian said.
"Just go get it." Simon growled when it sounded again.
***************
"Hi," Taz said nervously when the front door opened and she saw Daryl standing there, "Sorry I blew up like that."
"It's my fault, I should have told you that Melanie had been here," he said. "Guess I forgot that you could smell her perfume."
"Is your dad still pissed off with me?"
"A bit, but only because he doesn't understand," he said. "Your brother's here and he's really freaked out about you taking off like that. So you coming in or what?"
"Suppose I'd better." Not that she was looking forward to apologising to his dad.
"Taz, if you want to look for a better guide I'll understand. I haven't done such a great job so far." Daryl said.
"Only because you haven't been given a chance to," she replied, "But that's going to change." It had to for everyone's sake, especially hers.

******************
"Who is it?" Simon asked when his son returned to the living room.
"You can call off the search parties, Taz came back." Daryl replied stepping to one side.
"What the hell do you think that you were playing at taking off like that?" Brian demanded, "Do you have any idea how worried I've been?"
"I didn't come back to get shouted at," she said, "So shut up and start listening. No more rules, especially about how much time I get to spend with Daryl," looking directly at Simon, "Three hours is not enough to help me keep control of my senses."
"So you're just going to take over his life." Simon growled.
"If you hadn't noticed it's the other way round," Taz replied, "I need Daryl more than he needs me. Without him I'm likely to end up in a padded room wearing a straitjacket. Nobody minded how much time I spent with him before this happened."
"That was different," Brian said, "You weren't..."
"I'm still the same person, " she protested, "But the only one who sees that is Daryl because everyone else is hung up on my senses."
"We're only trying to do what's best for you." her brother said.
"No, you're not. You have absolutely no idea what it's like. Little things that I didn't notice before really drive me nuts now."
"Such as?" Simon asked.
"Noise, I haven't had a decent night's sleep since this thing started. If it isn't the bathroom tap dripping, it's something outside keeping me awake. No matter how hard I try I can't shut it off."
"Why not?" Brian asked.
"Because I don't know how to," she snapped, "I haven't been allowed to learn how to."
"Taz, it's dangerous for you to start messing about with them," Brian said, "We're not even sure whether this is permanant or not yet."
"Brian, this isn't going to go away if you ignore it," she said, "I'm going to be like this for the rest of my life. Which is going to be really short if things don't change."
"Don't talk like that," Daryl said, "You're not going to die for a long time. At least a hundred years." he said smiling at her.
"Doesn't feel like that right now," Taz admitted, "because I don't have control over anything."
"Maybe you should see a real doctor," Brian suggested, "Have some tests done."
"Told you he never listens," she said looking at Daryl, "I could stand here talking till hell freezes over and he still wouldn't listen."
"I'm listening." Simon said. It looked as if he was going to have to whether he wanted to or not because this wasn't going to go away ot sort itself out if they ignored it.
"It's about time someone other than Daryl did." Taz said.
************
She supposed that at some point he was going to try and kiss her, Jessica thought. After all, that was what happened on dates wasn't it. Although Tommy tended to go alot further than that on some of his dates from the stories he'd told her. She didn't think that she was ready to go that far on her first date with Jim, well with anyone. At school she'd never been one of the popular girls who'd had a string of boys asking them out. The only attention she'd got from boys was when they'd wanted her to help them with their homework. And with her senses she hadn't really felt able to trust anyone even if they had asked her out which they hadn't. It had been totally different for Tommy though, he'd always been popular. Sure he'd let her join in with what he was doing, but she'd never really fit in. Maybe that was why she felt like she had to help Taz adjust to the way her life would be from now on. Not that it was going to be easy when everyone was interferring because they thought that they knew what was best for her.
*************
"Not zoning on me are you?" Jim joked.
"Just thinking," she replied, "I'm sorry that I've been such lousy company. Especially when you went to so much trouble."
"It's okay. Tough week?"
"Not really," Jessica admitted, "Guess I'm just coming down from the high of finally seeing that sick bastard behind bars."
"Until the trial." he reminded her.
"Yeah, but that could be months away. And I'll handle it when the time comes."
"As long as it goes to court that's all that matters," Jim said, "You've waited long enough for it." He wouldn't have had the patience to rebuild his life and not go after the person who'd destroyed it, he thought.
"There wasn't a lot that I could do but wait," she replied, "At least his victim's families will get some closure."
"You as well." he said casually drapping an arm across the back of the sofa.
"It was never about me," she said smiling at him, "You know, I don't feel so lonely since meeting you. Tommy's always done his best to understand what it's like. But it's not the same as talking to someone who knows."
"There's three of us now."
"I don't really count. Normal touch."
"Of course you count," Jim reassured her, "After all you've been doing this a lot longer than I have."
"Probably made a lot more mistakes as well."
**************
He was in serious trouble, Tommy thought, because there was no way that he could pass off dad's visit as a sudden thing. Not after Jess had heard his message on the answering machine. Right now she was probably at the airport waiting for his plane . Tonight was supposed to have been her first date with Jim as well. So that meant that she was going to be doubly pissed with
him because she'd had to cancel it. There was no way that he could possibly make up for her having to do that. Dad wasn't going to be too pleased either that he hadn't let her know that he was coming. Maybe if he stayed out of Jess's way for the next decade or so she might start to calm down and forgive him.
*************
"Have you finished now?" Simon asked. Having sat there listening to her for the past fifteen minutes he'd come to realise that perhaps he'd been too harsh in treating her like she was a threat to his son.
"For now." Taz replied sitting down next to Daryl on the sofa.
"Taz, I'm sorry. I never realised just how bad it was for you," Brian said apologetically, "You're right, I should have listened."
"Bit too late now." she said.
"The question is how do we handle this from now on," Simon said. "Obviously some of us have been going the wrong way about things."
"Like I said all I want is a chance to try and learn how to control my senses. Once I can do that, I shouldn't have to rely on Daryl so much."
"I don't mind." Daryl said.
"But I do," Taz said, "If you go away what happens to me? Am I supposed to choose a career just so that we can be together?"
"Of course not," he protested, "And I would never go away without you."
"So neither of us have any sort of life," she said, "We're in this for the long term. We have to get it right from the start, or we're going to end up hating each other."
"I would never hate you no matter what happened."
"As much as I hate to admit it, she's right," Simon said, "There are a lot of things that are going to try and come between you."
"Boyfriends, girlfriends," Brian said, "What if one of you wants to get married and have a family?"
"Those aren't problems," Taz said, "And they never will be."
"How can you be sure of it? You're only sixteen." Simon growled.
"Because I know who I want to marry when I'm old enough to." she replied.
"Who?" Brian asked, dreading her reply.
"Daryl," she said, "You know, we don't just watch videos when I come over. We do talk about stuff."
"So the two of you have it all figured out." Simon said.
"Just about."
"And what if we don't like what you've worked out?" he asked.
"Then we just wait until we're old enough to do it anyway." she admitted.
**************
Just how far was he supposed to take things, Jim thought. For some reason he actually felt nervous about touching her. He supposed that he should apologise; after all that had been the orginal idea behind the dinner. No doubt Blair would have claimed that there was some elaborate ritual that went along with the apology. In his opinion, "Sorry Connor was such an
asshole" would surfice.
"I'd like to apologise for the way Connor treated you," he said, "Simon really bellowed her out."
"Then why isn't he apologising to me?" Jessica asked.
"Because Blair thought it would be better coming from me," he admitted, "Sentinel to Sentinel."
"You have nothing to apologise for," she said smiling at him. "And your Captain Taggart was very courteous, if a little surprised that Dr.Angel was so young."
"Too young to have seen so much death."
"I usually only see photos and crime scenes." she admitted.
"Too overwhelming for your senses?"
"I hate the smell of fresh blood. Even fainted once. Not exactly your typical image of a sentinel."
"Personally I don't think there is one," he said, "Blair's always reminding me that I'm not Superman."
"I'd have said Demolition man," she joked, "I've heard about your track record for destroying trucks."
"Blair?" He was going to kill him when he got home.
"Naomi," she replied, "She and my dad meet up from time to time. Apart from Blair he's been the one constant in her life. Her safety net for when things go really wrong."
"She's never struck me as the type who needed one." he admitted.
"Don't let that aging hippy act fool you. She has a vicious streak in her that it's better not to get on the wrong side of."
"Meaning you have?"
"More than once."
"So what did you do?" Curiosity getting the better of him.
"My dad calls all his ladyfriends Babe. And Naomi calls all her guys Sweetie. Keeps things simple, can't say the wrong name at the wrong moment," she said, "It was mine and Tommy's fifth birthday. I didn't know that she wasn't supposed to know that he called other women Babe."
"I can see why she wouldn't have been too pleased to have found out." Making a mental note never to call her either Babe or Sweetie. Not that he was the sort of man who would call any woman names like that.
"That's an understatement," Jessica said, "Right in the middle of a game of pass the parcel she told us and our guests how my mother died in very graphic detail. Then she tried telling my dad that our karma's would have been screwed up permanantly if she hadn't told us."
"And?" This didn't sound at all like the woman he knew as Blair's mother.
"He told her to leave. Then didn't talk to her for the next seven years. She rang to say that Blair was really sick. He paid all his medical bills."
"And you're still sure that he's not..." he began.
"Put it this way my dad's the only one who couldn't be."
"But he might know who..."
"Jim, I really hate to say this but at the time Naomi was just about anyone's for the price of a joint," Jessica said. "Considering what she was doing at the time, it's a miracle that Blair's normal."
"Some people would question that." he said.
"At least she had enough sense to stop when Blair was on the way. Mine didn't," She said, "Ever seen a baby going through withdrawl."
"No."
"Trust me it's not a pleasant sight. My dad volunteers and helps to prepare foster and adoptive parents for what they should expect. I suppose Tommy and I got lucky."

Repercussions part1

2009-04-17T14:00:14Z

Title:Repercussions
Author/pseudonym: Fluffy Rabbit
Fandom: Sentinel, Daryl/OFC Jim/OFC Rafe/OMC
Rating: R
Archive: To WWOMB
Email address for feedback: kevin.schmidt@ntlworld.com I love feedback
Series/Sequel: Second in series, Sequel to Discovery
Other websites: No
Disclaimers: The Sentinel guys belong to Petfly, the rest are mine.
Warnings: AU.
Notes:Many thanks to Mary Shukes for betaing this for me and doing such a good job.
Summary:Learning to be a sentinel isn't easy

DISCOVERY 2
REPERCUSSIONS
By
Fluffy Bunny
She was going to kill her brother when she got her hands on him, Jessica thought, after listening to the message her dad had left on the machine. Still, she supposed that she should go and pick him up from the airport. But first she was going to have to call Jim and tell him that the date they'd been trying to have for the past week was cancelled. She'd really been looking forward to it as well.
"Taz, will you sit down." Daryl said. All she'd done since he'd gotten out of hospital was fuss over him, it was starting to get on his nerves now.
"You want a drink or something?" She asked, hovering over him.
"No, I want you to sit down so we can watch the video before my dad gets back and you have to go home."
"Sorry." She sat down next to him on the sofa and fidgeted nervously.
"Take a deep breath and try to relax," Daryl said, placing a hand on her back.
"I can't, I feel jumpy all the time," she relaxed into his touch, "School's really hard to deal with as well."
"Melanie?" he asked.
"Her and the rest of the Barbie clones," she replied, "They're saying that it's my fault that Harold got killed."
"You know that's not true." he reassured her.
"But it was me who decided to go look for Mr Smith, and I was the one who told Harold to take the others back so maybe..."
"Maybe nothing," Daryl said firmly, "After Harold left the cave he made his own choices. If anyone's to blame it's Melanie." Not that anything would happen to her because her dad was the Chief of Police.
"I quit the track team. No-one wanted to train with me." tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
"Everything is going to be fine. Remember I promised that it would be." moving his arm so that it was drapped around her shoulders.

****************

"I understand," Jim said, "How about tomorrow night. I'll see you then." putting the phone down with one hand while loosening his tie with the other one.
"Problem?" Blair asked on seeing the disappointed look on his friend's face.
"Jess just cancelled. She has to pick her dad up from the airport."
"And you think it's an excuse?"
"The first time in a week we've been able to get to gether and she cancels. Sounds like to me Chief." he replied.
"Jim, all she's talked about is this date," Blair said, "It's not her fault that Tommy called their dad and he's only been able to get away now."
Jim looked at him doubtfully. He knew that he had a terrible track record when it came to women, but he'd hoped that it might be different this time since he and Jessica had so much in common.
"Why don't you call her back and tell her I'll pick her dad up," Blair suggested getting off the sofa, "I'll take him out for something to eat, catch up on old times. The two of you can have a nice dinner here."
"Chief..." Jim began.
"I know it's not the same as going out, but my cooking's not that bad," he grinned, "There's a lasagne in the freezer, the bakery should still be open so that's dessert taken care of. All you have to do is throw a salad together."
"What if she doesn't go for it?" Jim asked. There was no guarentee that she would and he didn't want to end up looking like a complete idiot.
"There's only one way to find out. Call her." Blair replied heading towards the kitchen.

******************

"I feel pretty guilty about Jess," Tommy said, "Here we are having a wonderful time and she and Jim haven't had their first date yet."
"And I can't stop worrying about Taz." Brian said.
"No matter how old your little sister gets, you still worry."
"Little, you're twins."
"I'm ten minutes older than her," Tommy replied, "Been looking out for her my entire life. We have a lot in common."
"How do you do it?"
"Do what?" Tommy grinned.
"Handle the secret thing," Brian replied, "If Taz sits there for more than five minutes with out moving I start to ..."
"Panic. It does get easier with time. You have to trust her and Daryl to work it out though."
"But she's so young. What it he wants to go away? How is that going to affect her?"
"The protection thing works both ways," Tommy said, "And their friendship is what will get them through any bad times."
"So that's it, they're together forever." He didn't like that sound of that at all.
"Maybe, maybe not. It's up to them to decide. You can't make her choose because you won't win."
"Daryl's not a bad kid, but the odds are stacked against them."

***************

"Feeling better?" Daryl asked as Taz lay half sprawled on him as they watched the video he'd rented for the night.
"Yeah." she yawned.
"Not sleeping too good?"
"Too much of the wrong noise. I miss the sounds you make."
"Let me guess, your brother snores."
"Big time." she replied.
"Maybe you should talk to Blair about not being able to sleep," he suggested, "He might be able to help."
"Maybe," she admitted, "And maybe I should move into my own place."
"You can't be serious. Where would you go? What if something happened to you?"
"I have some money saved up, so I can rent somewhere." Somewhere dirt cheap that was.
"What about school? Or are you going to quit that as well?" he asked.
"You don't understand what it's like. Brian's driving me nuts. I can't even go to the bathroom without him checking on me to make sure that I haven't zoned," Taz said, "The way things are now it's not living. YOu know the only time I feel like my old self is when I'm with you."
"Taz, I don't want you to do anything until you've talked to your brother about it. Maybe he doesn't realise that he's upsetting you."
"Yeah right, talk to him so he can ignore me like he always does." No matter what she said Brian just wouldn't listen. He hadn't before when she 'd been normal and things were even worse now.
"Promise me that you won't." he said.
"But..."
"Please."
"Okay I promise, but only for a week." she said reluctantly. After the week was up she'd do exactly what she wanted to regardless of what anyone said especially her brother.

*************

"You got enough money Chief?" Jim asked taking his wallet out.
"Yeah," Blair replied getting his keys out of the basket and grabbing his jacket from the coat rack, "I can crash at Jess's if things go well for you guys."
"This is only our first date." Things might not work out, he thought.
"Just don't do the strong silent act on her and you'll be fine." Blair said before heading out of the door.

**************

Why the hell was she feeling so nervous, Jessica thought, making her way up the stairs to the loft. After all, it was just an apology dinner which had turned into a date. There was absolutely no pressure on her to do anything other than have a nice meal with Jim and talk about things. So what if she'd spent a couple of hours getting ready. She'd felt like making an effort for once and she supposed that Jim had as well.

*************

"Jess," Blair said almost bumping into her on his way down the stairs, "You look..."
"Just thought I'd make an effort," she replied blushing slightly, "I really appreciate you picking my dad up from the airport."
"You'd do the same for Naomi," he grinned, "And it was the only way you and Jim were going to be able to have this date tonight."
"Seems like everything's in the way of our getting together."
"Hey, you're both busy people."
"Suppose so. Well I'd better get going before he thinks I've changed my mind."

*************

"Hi." Jim said opening the door before Jessica had had a chance to knock on it.
"Hi," she replied, "I bumped into Blair on the way up. I'm going to owe him big time for this."
"So am I," grinning at her, "Come in," he stepped to one side, "Dinner's going to be another twenty minutes."
"Is there anything I can help with?" she said entering the loft.
"No, it's all under control. Would you like a glass of wine?" He closed the door behind her.
"I'd rather have a beer if you've got one."
"One beer coming up." heading towards the kitchen.
"The Lasagne smells good."
"Blair made it," he replied opening the fridge, "He's a pretty good cook."
"I do most of the cooking at home because Tommy's been known to burn salad."
"That sounds like an interesting story."
"Trust me it is." she smiled.

**************

"Your dad's back," Taz said on hearing the car pulling up outside, "You know three hours isn't enough time." They'd spent more time together when they'd just been friends than they were doing now.
"That's what we agreed to." Daryl said.
"I know we did. But it's not helping. I just start to get control and relax, then it's time for me to go home."
"I doubt that my dad's going to let you move in," he said, "He's still having trouble accepting what's going on."
"You could move in with me when I get somewhere."
"Taz, we're still at school. But I'll talk to my dad, see if we can't spend more time together."
"If I could get a good night's sleep I'd probably feel better." But she knew that she wasn't going to get one of those any time soon.

*****************

No matter how hard he tried to he just didn't feel comfortable with the idea of his son being a guide. Taz was a good kid, and he knew that if it hadn't been for her Daryl could have died in the cave in. But he couldn't shake the feeling that maybe in a few months time someone was going to come after them. Jim and the kid had certainly attracted more than their fair share of serial killers and other assorted lunatics.
Of course his ex-wife thought having Daryl staying with him was an attempt to get back at her. Never mind the fact that his son actually liked living with him. What was going to happen when she wanted him to go stay with his grandparents during the summer.

*******************

"Hi dad," Daryl called, "You're back early."
"Taz still here?" Simon asked entering the living room.
"I'm just waiting for Bri to pick me up. He's out with Dr.Angel's brother again." she replied.
"I suppose that he's having a few problems adjusting to things." he said.
"Not really," she said, "They're having dinner. And Dr.Angel has a date with Detective Ellison."
"The only ones not dating are us and you." Daryl joked.
"Only because we're not allowed to," Taz muttered, "Which is really unfair. It's such a dumb rule, like the one about not messing about with my senses. How am I supposed to learn how to handle them if I'm not allowed to experiment?"
"Because it's dangerous." Daryl reminded her.
"It wouldn't be dangerous if we knew how to control them." she said.
"We?" Daryl asked.
"Amazing how fast some people forget they're part of a team," she said bitterness tinging her voice as she stood up, "Especially when that bitch Melanie's been here."
"Taz, I can..." he began.
"What explain! After all she's done you're still talking to her..."
"She came to the front door, I didn't let her in," he protested, "Taz, you know me better than that. You're my best friend, my..."
"Own personal freak." she snapped before storming out.
***********
"I've got to go after her," Daryl said getting up off the sofa, "Try to..."
"You're not going anywhere," Simon growled, "She has to learn that you have your own life. Better now than later."
"Dad she was talking about leaving home and things are really hard for her at school right now."
"Daryl, I know that you care alot about Taz because she's your friend..."
"My sentinel," he said, "You don't want me to help her do you?"
"You're both too young to be acting like adults," Simon said, "I just think that the two of you need some time apart to put this whole thing into perspective."
"You mean abandon her! I can't do that."
****************
Now everyone had rejected her, Taz thought, walking down the street with her hands thrust deep into her pockets. Not that she could blame them, she was a freak and who wanted to hang around with someone like her. Maybe Melanie was right, it was her fault that Harold had been murdered. What good was having enhanced senses when you weren't allowed to learn how to use them.
No-one would miss her if she just walked away from them and never came back. Before finding out that Melanie had been to see Daryl, she would have said that he was the one person who would always stood by her. But he'd shown that he was just like all the rest of them, willing to turn his back on her just because Melanie had told him to.
****************
"Something wrong with the food?" Jim asked wathcing Jessica pushing her food around her plate with her fork.
"No." she said giving him a faint smile.
"The company?"
"The company's great. Guess I'm just a bit distracted tonight." she replied.
"Your dad arriving?" he suggested.
"Taz and Daryl," she said, "Things are going so good for them right now.
And we both know that three hours a day isn't enough to build any sort of bond between them."
"Simon's not too happy about the three hours," Jim admitted, "He'd rather Daryl wasn't a guide."
"Well he can't do anything about it," she said, "According to Tommy, Brian..."
"Brian?"
"It's a lot better than what Tommy calls him on the phone," Jessica said, "Anyway, Brian is doing the panicking routine every time she just sits there. Poor kid can't even go to the bathroom without him worrying."
"Your brother and Rafe?" he said raising an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah, I swear that I can smell Brian's pheromones over the phone," she laughed. "We need to do something about those kids though because it's not the way my dad handled it. What about..."
"He didn't want a freak for a son. So I supressed mine for a long time." he replied.
"Well, my dad encouraged me to embrace what was different about myself. That's probably why I haven't had too many problems."
"What about cleaning products and medication? Blair's had to do a lot of reasearch."
"We were ecologically sound before it was popular . Even now my dad won't let areosols in the house. As for medication, he's really into natural healing."
"And when you were in the hospital?"
"I was out of it most of the time to begin with," she admitted, "Tommy would know about serious problems."
There was no mistaking Elias as anything other than Jess and Tommy's dad, Blair thought, spotting him coming through the arrivals gate. With his mass of dark curls and blue eyes he was an older version of Tommy. At times, he even thought that he saw more than a passing resemblence to himself in the older man. But Elias would have told him that he was his father if he was.
He wasn't the sort of man who neglected his responsibilities to his children. He was also one of the few men that Naomi had been involved with who hadn't used him to get to her. Over the years his mother had been involved with Elias several times. Not that Jess had ever been overly happy when she had. Still she'd never taken it out on him.
************
"Blair," Elias Angel shouted when he saw the younger man waiting for him, "Is..." Obviously something was wrong or one of his chlidren would have been there to meet him.
"They both have dates." Blair explained.
"Jessie has a date! It's about time. She can't be too bad if she's dating." he said.
"Trust me, she's fine," he reassured him, "It's like she's the old Jess again. Meeting Jim is the best thing that could have happened to her."
"Your roommate Jim," Elias said, "The detective?"
"He's a great guy, a little stiff at times but I'm working on him."
"Subversion from the inside," Elias laughed, "You know I had always hoped that Jess would turn out to be a big subversive."

Discovery part 7

2009-01-24T12:35:55Z

It was so close now that she could almost touch it, Taz thought, moving even closer to Daryl. Dying in a cave wasn't the way she'd imagined her life ending. At her age most people didn't think that they could die, but she knew differently. Somehow she'd always thought that she would die where she could see the sun. There were so many things that she'd never had a chance to do and never have now. No date with Daryl, no first kiss. Oh god who was going to take care of Brian when she was gone.
'I don't want to die here,' she said with tears running down her cheeks, 'It's not fair I haven't had a life.'
'Taz, don't cry,' Daryl said, 'You're smart, think of something.'
'I can't,' she replied, 'It's too big and too strong for me to stop on my own.'
'We're in it together remember,' he reassured her, 'Your brains, my brawn. If this thing's coming then we can't just give up. No matter what Melanie did you never gave up.'
'I could fight Melanie,' Taz said, 'But I don't think that I can fight this. I can't see it.'
'No, but you can smell it, hear right.'
'Yes.' brushing away the tears with the backs of her hands.
'Why can you hear it now when you couldn't before?'
'Because it's not it that I'm hearing.' she sniffed.
'Then what is it?' he asked.
'People.'
'So we just have to hold on until they get here then. We're going to be fine,' he reassured her, 'How about we go to Playland when this is all over?'
'It's going to cost you more than twenty bucks to take me there.' She knew that he was trying to distract her so that she could think of something that might help them get out of their current situation.
'After this my dad'll give me a raise,' he replied, 'Of course my mom's going to blame him for all this as usual.'
'At least you're not going to be grounded 'til you're a hundred. I'll be lucky if Bri lets me go to school without an armed escort,' You know who we have to blame for this don't you.'
'Melanie Warren,' he said, 'Not that there's a lot that we can do about it.'
'Right now there isn't,' Taz said, 'But she's not going to get away with doing this to us.'

****************

With that leg of hers she shouldn't have been able to keep up with him, Jim thought running through the cave. That fact that she was only a few seconds behind him was damned impressive.
'Almost there.' he said.
'Yeah,' Jessica replied, 'Then it really begins.'
'We'll see.'

*****************

Looking out of her cabin window at all the activity going on Melanie couldn't help but smile. The Geek and Daryl were going to be in serious trouble for causing this. They probably weren't even in the caves anymore, she thought. for one brief moment she toyed with the idea of telling someone that Harold had gone to look for them, then she decided against it. After all it wasn't her fault that the idiot had got lost. Who was she, the patron saint of geeks. No-one would say anything about talking to him though, not if they knew what was good for them. And if they did, daddy would take care of it like he always did.

*******************

'Tommy...' Blair began while Simon and Brian were getting coffee.
'He doesn't need to know what really might happen to her,' he said, 'That his sister might end up dead if she's lucky. Blair, I've been through the other option. Trust me it's no fun at all.'
'Jess said at the station...'
'It came down to finger prints or DNA testing to id her. I was there when she was found. Every day of my life I've seen that face looking back at me and I didn't recognise her. There was so much blood, the paramedics were slipping on the floor. And do you want to know what the worst part of it all is?'
'Only if you want to tell me.' Blair replied.
'He's still out there somewhere. They gave the bastard bail and he ran. Eight murders and they let him out. Just goes to prove that knowing the right people will let you get away with murder. '
'Does Jess know?'
'Yeah, she knows. Spent most of the first year trying to find him from her hospital bed. Now she doesn't talk about him unless pushed.'

***************

'Sandburg,' Simon bellowed, 'We have a photo of this guy.' Blair and Tommy made their way over to where Simon and Brian were standing.
'Oh shit, you, I have to go to Jess.' Tommy said looking at the picture Simon was holding.
'Why?' Simon snapped grabbing hold of one of his arms to stop him from running off.
'It's him,' Tommy snapped, 'The bastard who. You need to get armed officers in those caves now.' shaking off the hold Simon had on his arm and running off into the night with Rafe swiftly following him.

***************

Hefting a torch in one hand Taz took a deep breath when she heard signs of movement coming from the other side of the blocked exit. Someone or thing was trying to get in. A torch wasn't going to provide much protection against what was out there, but the only other thing she had to use were rocks.
'It's here isn't it.' Daryl said, even he could hear rocks being moved.
'Yeah, helps not far away though,' she replied, 'Think you could try and run for it if you had to?'
'Taz, I can't even stand on my own. Besides I'm not leaving you here to face it alone.'
'The cats are getting really agitated,' watching them pacing up and down in front of the blocked exit, 'Especially the white one. I think she knows it's out there.'
'Think they can stop it?'
'Maybe, at least it's going to take it a while to get in here. That roof caved in pretty good.'
'Told you that we'd be okay didn't I,' Daryl said, 'They're going to get to us before it does.'

****************

With almost superhuman strength Smith tossed rocks to one side. Two more victims and he'd disappear just like he had last time. Only this time there wasn't anyone to stop him. Hearing footsteps echoing behind him he worked even harder to remove the barrier which stood between him and his victims.
The world was going to be a much better place without freaks like them in it. He only had one regret and that was that he hadn't finished off that bitch he'd grabbed two years ago. Still he could always pay her another visit in a couple of years time. But right now he had to take care of these freaks before they had a chance to grow up and breed.

******************

Almost stumbling Tommy ran blindly into the cave. That bastard wasn't going to get his hands on Jess again. And if he had anything to do with it the only way that man would be leaving would be in a body bag, even if he had to shoot him himself. He was prepared to go to prison if he had to in order to protect her. But that guy was a serial killer, a very dangerous man, there was more than enough evidence to convict him of at least ten murders. No jury would shed tears for a man like that.

********************

'Freeze Cascade PD,' Jim shouted drawing his weapon when he saw the figure in front of him moving rocks, 'Put your hands up where I can see them.'
'FBI,' Jessica said from behind Jim, 'I'd shoot him if I were you. He's not going to surrender. Old Sparky's waiting for him in Texas.'
'You can't shoot me.' Smith said.
'I don't see anyone around here whose going to stop me. Do you Jim?'
'No.'
'For all we know you've already killed those kids. And whose going to miss a piece of scum like you.' He wasn't going to walk away this time, if she had anything to do with it. It either ended here and now or with him being strapped into an electric chair.
'You know this guy?' Jim asked.
'I got to know him very well during the twelve days I spent with him. We'd be doing the world a favour by shooting him. Would have a really good case for self defence as well. You've killed what fifteen people.'
'Thirty.' Smith boasted.
'Thirty people, and destroyed how many others as well,' reaching into the back of her jeans and pulling a gun out, 'I'd do it in an instant.'
'That's murder.' Smith protested dropping the rock that he was holding.
'So's what you've done,' Jessica replied, 'Daniel Jones, I'm arresting you on charges of serial homicide and bail jumping. Anything you say, you've heard it all before,' aiming the gun she was holding just to the left of his and squeezed the trigger. 'Just in case you thought I wouldn't do it. Cuff him.' covering Jim as he moved towards where Smith was kneeling.

*********************

'What was that?' Darly asked.
'Gunshot,' Taz replied, 'It's okay, they've caught it.' dropping the torch she was holding.
'You're sure they have?'
'Yeah, I'm sure. We'd better shout for help.' Although she got the feeling that the people outside of the cave could hear what she was saying.
'Help,' Daryl shouted at the top of his voice, forcing Taz to clamp her hands over her ears, 'Sorry.'
'They can hear us so just tone it down a little.'

*********************

'Suppose we'd better dig them out.' Jessica said hitting Smith across the back of his head with the butt of her gun.
'That's assaulting a prisoner.' Jim said.
'I'm not a cop.' she laughed.

**********************

'You guys okay in there?' Jessica asked climbing through the hole that now led to where Daryl and Taz where.
'Daryl's leg's hurt,' Taz replied, 'And he hit his head pretty hard when the roof caved in.' looking at the young woman who was now in the cave with them. 'Did you get it?'
'We got it. You don't have to worry about it anymore,' Jessica reassured her, 'He's cuffed and out cold. Jim, we need a medic in here to check Daryl out.' calling behind her.
'I'll do it,' Jim replied squeezing his not inconsiderable size through the hole, 'I was a medic in the army.' when he saw the look of confusion on Jessica's face.
'You check Daryl out and I'll try to explain a few things to our new sentinel here.' And she was going to have to hurry because she could already hear others coming.

*********************

'Sentinel?' Taz asked as Jessica crouched down next to her, 'What's one of those?'
'Something very special,' Jessica replied, 'You can see the cats right?' looking across at where the two jaguars were busy sniffing each other.
'I'm hallucinating again.'
'No, they're spirit guides. The white one's mine, and the black one's Jim's. You are not hallucinating or going mad. What you have is enhanced senses. Right now you're feeling a little weird and very scared right.'
'Yeah, I think Melanie spiked my chocolate.' Taz said.
'Trust me what's happening is perfectly normal.' Jessica said, 'Just takes a little while to get used to that's all. And you've got people to help you to do that. Including your friend Daryl over there. He's your guide. We'll go into that later. All you need to know for now is that you can't tell anyone, especially not your brother. The wrong people find out and it's, well you just can't okay.'
'But I'm sick.'
'No you're not. You're just very special. Do you know what that guy wanted to do to you?'
'Kill us,' Taz replied, 'Because I'm different.'
'That's right, bet you thought about letting him kill you so he'd leave Daryl alone.'
'Maybe.'
'Making sure that your guide is protected comes before anything else,' Jessica said, 'These are the rules for now, and you have to follow them no matter what anyone says okay.'
'Okay.' Taz replied reluctantly.
'You don't mess about with your senses at all. It can be very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. We will teach you and Daryl how to handle them, but it's going to take some time. You can't date anyone either, it's for your own safety. sometimes your senses overload and you blackout,' Jessica said, 'And finally spend as much time as you can with Daryl, it will help you to keep things under control.'

******************

'My dad is going to...' Daryl began, 'He won't believe any of this. Then I won't be able to help Taz and...'
'Your dad knows,' Jim reassured him while feeling his leg to see if anything was broken, 'He might not be very happy about it though.' As soon as he was sure that Daryl was all right Simon would be shouting at everyone in sight not that that would change a thing.
'Guess that explains why Taz got so pis. upset when Melanie Warren kept butting in between us.' he said.
'Could be.' Jim admitted.
'I didn't do anything to encourage Melanie though. Even told her to leave me alone, and quit having a go at Taz. Not that it did much good.'
'Some people are like that.'
'You don't need to worry about me,' Taz said moving to crouch down next to Daryl, 'I'm going to take care of her so good not even her precious daddy'll be able to bail her out.'
'You can't use what you are for revenge,' Jess said, 'Only end up hurting yourself if you do.'
'But she's the one who got Harold killed by that thing.' Taz protested.
'She could smell the blood.' Daryl explained.
'You don't go anywhere near her is that clear,' Jessica said, 'She comes upto you, you walk away. We will take care of it, legally.'
'That's not going to be easy,' Daryl said, 'Melanie really has it in for Taz. She got Detective Dobson fired for letting Taz have one of his puppies when she wanted them all. Her dad's the Chief of Police. The cops can't do...'
'Trust me, Chief of Police is nothing compared to some of my friends,' Jessica smiled, 'Friends who owe me some pretty big favours.'
'What are you going to do?' Jim asked, 'Chief Warren has a lot of power. And we're talking about people's jobs here.'
'Firing a detective over a puppy is a misuse of authority.' she replied.
'Her dad spends a lot of money. He paid five grand for Taz's place on the gym team.' Daryl said.
'I thought you got dropped.' Jim said remembering what she'd said at the poker game at Rafe's.
'Telling Bri wouldn't have done any good. Would have only got him fired, I have to take care of my brother.' Taz said.
'Any rumours from the station Jim?' Jessica asked, 'You must have heard something about him.'
'I don't go around listening to other people's conversations on purpose.' Jim replied.
'Pity, it's amazing what you can overhear in the bathroom.' smiling at him.

******************

'Jess,' Tommy shouted when he saw the cuffed body laying on the cave floor, 'You okay.' sticking his head through the hole in front of him. The link that he had with her told him that she was, but he wanted to see for himself that she was.
'Yeah, never felt better Bro,' she laughed, 'If you move back we'll get out of here.'
'What about that...' he began.
'He's not going anywhere except prison,' she replied, 'Daryl, think you can walk out of here with a little help?'
'I'll help him,' Taz growled as she helped Daryl up off the floor, 'He's my...'
'Tommy's my guide so it's okay to talk in front of him,' Jessica reassured her, 'And I think he should be the one to explain it to your brother.'
'Who is?' Tommy asked moving back from the hole so that they could get through it.
'Rafe.' Jim replied.

**********************

'Taz.' Brian shouted rushing over to where his sister was helping Daryl stay up right.
'Calm down Bri, I'm fine,' Taz replied, 'Well nothing that a a hot bath and some food wouldn't fix.'
'You could have been killed,' anger showing in his voice, 'That is the last time you ever have anything to do with Daryl.'
'Rafe, it's not Daryl's fault,' Jim said, 'There was a cave in, Could have happened to anyone.'
'It happened to my sister though,' Brian protested, 'If he hadn't dragged her...'
'Don't talk about Daryl like that,' Taz snapped, 'It was my idea to go looking for Mr Smith not Daryl's so if it's anyone's fault it's mine.'
'We were taking a break before heading back when the roof caved in,' Daryl said, 'If Taz hadn't dragged me back there I'd be dead. And she took really good care of me because I was hurt.'
'Do you think that we could get out of here now? Only I could really use a cup of coffee.' Jessica said.
'And a hot bath, your legs aren't going to thank you for this little escapade.' Tommy said.
'Believe it or not they don't ache as much as they did earlier,' Jessica grinned, 'Guess a good work out's just what I needed to get them working again.'

********************

'Simon, he's fine. Just a little bruised,' Jim reassured his Captain and friend, when they met each other in the cave, 'But we are going to have to talk.' Something that he wasn't really looking forward to at all.
'What about...' Simon began.
'He's cuffed and had his rights read him,' Jim replied, 'Rafe and Dr Angel's brother have him under guard.'
'Thank god you apologised to her and she agreed to help us out.'
'Acutally I never got a chance to apologise to her.' Jim admitted.
'I would have agreed to help anyway,' Jessica said from behind Jim, 'But I think dinner tomorrow night would go along way to making up for what Detective Connor said.'
'You're making burgers.' Jim reminded her.
'You owe me an apology and I intend to get it out of you. And home made burgers aren't going to cut it. Expecially when I'm the one making them.'
'Jim, take the doctor out to dinner. That's an order.' Simon smiled.

END

Discovery part 6

2009-01-24T12:35:14Z

'You're sure he's out there?' Simon asked snapping the cigar that he was holding.
'One of the rangers saw him arrive,' Megan replied, 'They're going to patrol the students camp area until we've found him. The chances are...'
'I want those students out of there now. The least thing we want is one of them getting injured if he's there and decides to resist arrest,' he growled, 'Is Rafe still here?'
'I think so,' Megan replied, 'Why?'
'His sister's on the trip. Her and Daryl were both booked to go on a caving trip today.' The young detective wasn't going to take the news very well, he thought, he was very protective of his sister, almost to the point of obsession.
'Will he tell his parents or...' she began.
'There's just the two of them,' Simon replied, 'I want Ellison out at that campsite ASAP. And see if Dr Angel would be willing to join us. We need to know how he'll react if cornered.'

************

Not now, Jessica thought, when she saw her room morph into a cave. In it she could see the cubs she'd seen earlier, only this time there was no sign of her spirit guide. A shiver went down her spine when a large black bird descended from nowhere and began attacking the cubs. The little jaguar cub stood it's ground while trying to defend the wolf cub from the bird which kept swooping with talons extended. Unable to move she was forced to stand there and watch while the bird repeatedly slashed the jaguar with it's razor sharp talons. Until finally the little cub sank to the floor in a pool of it's own blood. The bird then turned it's attentions to the wolf cub.
She couldn't let it happen, Jessica thought when the scene faded. The world needed more Sentinels and guides not less. But she didn't have a great deal to go on to try and find them. They could be anywhere, but usually her visions related to the area where she was at the time. She was in Cascade, therefore they had to be in Cascade. It was still a big area to search though. Tommy wasn't going to be too happy if she suddenly decided that she had to search the entire city for a potential sentinel and guide. Then there was Jim to consider, he didn't see her as a threat because she was injured, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't consider the cubs to be a threat to him. Still they needed help and he was the only one who could provide it. They'd just have to work everything else out once they'd found them. Besides at the minute they were in danger from that bird.

*************

Brian sat there, his face pale as he listened to what Simon was telling him. His little sister could be the next victim of the "Delivery Man.' He should never have agreed to let her go on that trip, he thought, because if he hadn't then she would have been safe at home which was where she belonged. Well it would be the last time she went anywhere without him.

*************

'Rafe, Brian,' Simon said, when he got no response from the young man sitting opposite him, 'It's going to be all right. We're not even sure that he's out there.'
'Taz is all I have,' Brian said softly, 'If anything....'
'Nothing is going to happen to her,' he reassured him, 'Right now her and Daryl are probably drinking hot chocolate in the Ranger's station wondering what all the fuss is about.' They'd better be, he thought or heads were going to roll.

****************

Everything looked totally different in the dark, Harold thought, doing his best to follow the path in front of him. He was certain, well as certain as he could be that he was going the right way. At least Melanie hadn't seen him leave, not that that would stop her from causing trouble for him when she found out that he'd gone looking for Daryl and Taz. Maybe if he hadn't been such a coward earlier Daryl and Taz would have been back by now.
Seeing a figure walking towards him he breathed a sigh of relief. It looked as if one of them was coming back, he thought. It was only when he got closer to the figure that he realised that it was Mr Smith. Obviously they'd been mistaken when they'd thought that something had happened to him. Not that that did anything to reassure him that Taz and Daryl were all right.

********************

So that's what he was up to, Melanie thought, ducking behind a bush so that she wouldn't be seen by either figure on the path. Well he was going pay for telling on her. It didn't even strike her as strange when Harold left the path, after all she had no intention of following him any further. Coming out from behind the bush she began to make her way back towards the campsite.

********************

'You're sure that this is a short cut?' Harold asked nervously. They didn't seem to be going in the right direction to get to the caves.
'Trust me it's the quickest way to get there,' David Smith replied, 'I spend a lot of time out here, know the area like the back of my hand.'
'They will be okay won't they?'
'There's no reason why they shouldn't be, You'd be surprised by how many side tunnels there are in those caves. If you don't know where you're going it's easy to get lost.'
'Shouldn't we tell the Rangers?' Harold asked, 'So they can look for them.'
'Who do you think told me that they were lost. Your teachers know about the note you left so it's okay.' Harold looked at him doubtfully, he had left a note which was bound to have been found by now. And they were supposed to check that everyone was there at bedtime so someone was bound to notice that he was missing along with Taz and Daryl.

****************

'Ellison,' Jim said opening his cell phone, 'We'll be there in about half an hour. I think she should be willing to help. Daryl's a smart kid, he'll be okay.' closing his cell phone.
'Problem?' Blair asked on seeing the concerned look on Jim's face.
'They've tracked the "Delivery Man" suspect to the National park,' he replied, 'A group of students including Daryl are camping out there. Simon wants us to get over there, and he would like Dr Angel's help.' He didn't know her well enough to call her by her first name yet.
'It's cold and wet out there,' Tommy said, 'Do you have any idea how that affects her? Her leg muscles tighten up, then if she's lucky after a couple of days she'll be able to limp around again. Jess can't do the physical stuff anymore.'

*****************

'Don't you think that's upto me to decide?' Jessica asked entering the living room wearing a pair of faded jeans and a thick sweater, 'If I'm right those kids are in serious trouble.'
'What do you mean?' Blair asked.
'I'll explain later,' she replied, 'I might not have touch but the rest just fine. With two of us out there we should be able to find them a lot faster.' Hopefully before it was too late, she thought.
'Jess...' Tommy began.
'I have to do this so don't even try to stop me. Are we going or not?' walking through the living room.
'That's it I'm calling dad. Maybe he can talk some sense into you because I obviously can't.' Tommy yelled.

*****************

I'm not looking.' Taz promised, holding Daryl up as he relieved himself in a corner of the cave. Watching him do that was not high on her list of priorities at the minute. Still it wasn't his fault that he'd had to go and needed help to.
'This is really embarrassing.' Daryl said staring straight ahead.
'Pretend I'm not here.'
'That's not going to work,' he replied, 'It's kind of hard to ignore you.'
'I'll take that as a compliment.' she joked, although she knew that he hadn't meant it as a joke. Still he was right, he could hardly ignore her when she had her arms wrapped around his waist. Of course she was being very careful not to make sure that she didn't touch anything even by accident that she shouldn't.
'You should,' readjusting himself before doing up his zip and button, 'You're beautiful and smart and funny. I'm lucky that you'd even say maybe to going out on a date with me.'
'No, I'm lucky that you asked me,' Taz said, 'You ready to go sit down.'
'Yeah,' he replied, 'Taz, I'm sorry that I can't be more help.'
'Daryl, it's okay. You're hurt that's not your fault,' she reassured him, 'I even promise to visit you in hospital. When we get out of here.'
'My leg doesn't feel that bad now.' hopping with her help back over to where he'd been sitting before.
'I'm going to try moving some more of those rocks.'
'What's the point? We're not going to get out of here anytime soon.'
'You can't think like that. We will get out of here, it's just a matter of time,' helping him to sit down, 'Why don't you get some sleep. You look like you could use it.'
'What about you? I'm not the one whose doing all the heavy stuff.'
'I'm okay for now.'

****************

'Jess, what's going on?' Blair asked as Jim drove straight through a red light.
'I've had a couple of visions today,' she admitted, 'The cubs were so cute, not getting along but that comes with time.'
'Cubs!' Jim said.
'A wolf cub and a jaguar cub,' she said, 'Probably won't get a chance to grow up if we don't find them first. You know until meeting you I thought I was the only one.'
'Sentinels are rare.' Blair said.
'But why are we rare?' Jessica asked, 'Wouldn't it be better if there were more of us? Just think how much better the world would be if there were Sentinels on street. Crime would go down. Purely from a reproduction point of view what are the chances of two Sentinels meeting up?'
'Very slim.' Blair admitted.
'Could we just go back a step?' Jim asked, 'What have cubs and the "Delivery Man" got in common.'
'He's after the cubs. He's going to kill them if we don't stop him.' she replied.

*****************

Suddenly from behind him a hand grabbed him across the throat. Struggling for breath, Harold tried fighting back.
'Stop that.' Smith snapped reaching into his back pocket with his other hand and pulling out a hunting knife, it's blade still stained with blood. On it's handle were five roughly cut notches. Tightening the hold that he had on Harold's throat he brought the knife round and plunged it straight into the centre of Harold's chest.
A scream rang out, then Harold slumped forward as Smith released the hold that he had on his throat. After rolling him over onto his back Smith knelt over his latest victim and grinned when he saw the look of absolute terror in his eyes as he ran the knife lightly over his throat.
'Please.' Harold begged.
'Certainly.' Smith replied running the blade against Harold's throat. This time leaving a trial of dark crimson blood in it's wake.

***************

On hearing the muffled scream Taz began clawing frantically at the rock which was barring her and Daryl's exit from the cave. Time was rapidly running out for them she thought, help wasn't going to come. Instead something else was going to come for them. She didn't know what just that it was going to hurt them.

***************

'Taz, what's wrong?' Daryl asked on hearing another piece of rock hitting the wall opposite him.
'We have to get out her now,' she snapped, 'It's not safe here.' looking around her.
'You mean there's going to be another cave in.' Accepting what she was saying as true.
'Something worse,' moving away from the blocked exit when the heavy scent of blood seeped through it, 'Blood, I can smell blood.' backing away until she was crouching besides Daryl.
'It's okay, you're just having a panic attack,' he reassured her, 'Take a deep breath.' stretching out a hand and placing it on her back.
'My skin hurts.' trying to rip her jacket and shirt off.
'Listen to me,' he said firmly, 'I need you to tell me what's going on. Because that's the only way I can try to help you.'
'I don't know,' she admitted her eyes scanning the cave for anything that shouldn't be there, 'This didn't happen last time.'
'Can you hear anybody out there?'
'No, but he's coming. I can smell him, he smells of blood.'
'Take a deep breath and try to relax.' He didn't have a clue what was going on with her, but she was his best friend therefore he had to believe that she was telling the truth until he found out otherwise. 'Whatever is going on we're in it together okay.' rubbing her back.

**************

'What do you mean you don't know where they are,' Simon growled, this was not what he wanted to hear, 'Do you realise the danger that they could be in?'
'Mr Banks, there is no need to shout,' James Frost said, 'I'm sure that both our son and Miss Rafe are perfectly all right where ever they are.'
'But you don't know where they are,' Brian said, 'If anything's happened to my sister you'd better start running now.
'Mr Rafe, quite frankly I wouldn't be surprised in the least if your sister hadn't orchestrated this little disappearing act in order to attract attention to herself.'
'Taz wouldn't just take off like this,' Brian protested, 'Something has happened to her.'
'When was the last time anyone saw them?' Simon asked.
'When they left with the rest of their group for the caving trip. Everyone else came back early,' Frost replied, 'Miss Warren said that they'd decided to go exploring on their own. You have to understand that we can't keep track of them all the time.'
'So as far as you know they could still be in the caves.' Simon said.
'It's possible,' he admitted, 'But it's also possible that they've gone into the woods.'
'You'd better pray that they turn up safe and sound,' Simon warned him, 'Or you could be facing serious charges.'

**************

Looking up when she got out of the truck Jessica could see a huge black bird circling in the sky. It was the bird she'd seen in her vision.
'He's here,' she said pulling her jacket tighter around her to try and shut out some of the cold, 'We have to find them fast.'
'Where?' Jim asked scanning the area with all his senses.
'Over there,' pointing towards a large group of trees, 'He knows where they are.'
'Jess, are you sure?' Blair asked.
'I'm positive,' she replied, 'We have to hurry.'
'You're not going anywhere,' Jim said, 'It's going to be dangerous.'
'That's why I have to go with you.' beginning to walk towards the trees she'd pointed at.
'Chief, find Simon and tell him where we've gone.' Jim said following Jessica.

****************

Taz rubbed her eyes when she saw the two large cats suddenly appear in front of her. She moved even closer to Daryl who was still rubbing her back in an attempt to get her to clam down. This was not good because she was hallucinating now. Maybe it was something in the cave that was doing this, but why then wasn't Daryl going through whatever it was as well. There were only two differences between them that she could think of, he was hurt and she wasn't, she'd also eaten chocolate before the cave in. It had to be the chocolate, someone had spiked it. Melanie, she wouldn't put it past her to do something like that. Luckily she hadn't eaten the whole bar.

****************

'Feeling better now?' Daryl asked, his voice full of concern.
'No, I'm seeing things now,' Taz replied, 'I think she spiked my chocolate.'
'Who? Melanie?'
'She's the only one who has a reason to. You know how much she hates me.'
'Is there a golden haze?' he asked hesitantly, because if there was then she was in serious trouble.
'No, no haze. Just two pumas, one white and one black.'
'Pumas!'
'It's okay they're not real. The only heartbeat I can hear is yours.'
'Guess that means you're dead.' he joked.
'This isn't funny Darly,' she snapped, 'They won't let me become a cop if they find out about this.'
'You know that you can trust me. I won't say anything about this okay,' he reassured her, 'It'll be our secret. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it.'
'I don't know what to do,' Taz admitted, 'It's coming and I don't know what to do.'
'You have to relax, getting stressed isn't going to help.'

*******************

She had to keep up with him, Jessica thought as Jim got ahead of her. Whatever was after those cubs it was going to take the both of them to stop. Tomorrow she was really going to pay for doing this, but if they were in time then it would all be worth it. And just because she wasn't a full Sentinel anymore it didn't mean that she had to stop caring about those who were. Maybe that was what she was supposed to do with her life now. Learning to deal with heightened senses wasn't easy. And she wasn't ashamed to admit that in the beginning she'd thought about taking her own life, but then things had got better and she'd learnt to cope. Just like she was having to do now.

******************

He could smell the blood, it's coppery scent heavy in the air. Extending his vision he could see the body laying half hidden in undergrowth. Reaching it, he crouched down besides it, feeling for a pulse he already knew he wasn't going to find.
'He's dead.' Jim said.
'Is it...' Jessica began, catching up with him.
'It's not Daryl.'
'That means he's in the caves.'
'You think Daryl's a Sentinel!' Simon wasn't going to be too happy about that. As it was he had a hard enough time dealing with him.
'There's a girl with him. She's the Sentinel. She's terrified because she knows that it's coming for her.'
'And it is?' he asked.
'Pure evil.'
'We're after a man, not some figment of your imagination.' he snapped heading off again.
'We'll see.' she said following him.

***************

'Sandburg, where's your partner.' Simon growled when he saw the young man running up to where he and Rafe were standing.
'He and Jess have gone after him.' Blair panted.
'Which way?' Rafe demanded.
'Back there, through the trees. They think he's after someone.'
'Daryl's missing so's Rafe's sister.' Simon said solemnly.
'We have to find them.' Rafe snapped.
'Brian, running around blindly in the dark isn't going to do any good,' Simon said placing a hand on one of the younger man's arms, 'Jim will find them.' Hoping that his belief in his friend wasn't misplaced.
'Rafe, you have to trust Jim. Right now he and Jess are the only ones who can find Daryl and your sister in time.' Blair said.
'Taz...'
'Is going to be fine.' Simon reassured him.

*********************

'What's coming?' Daryl asked now that Taz seemed to have calmed down.
'Can't you feel it? It's dark, sucks all the light into it.' How was she supposed to describe something that she couldn't see.
'You said that it smelt of blood. Whose blood?'
'Harold's,' she whispered, 'Maybe if we're quiet it wont find us.'
'Taz, what does it want?'
'Us, it's coming to kill us.' That was the only thing that she was certain about at the minute.
'Why? What have we done?' alarm showing in his voice.
'I don't know. Maybe it knows that I'm different. I'm sorry I want to protect you but I...' It was almost on top of them now.
'T...' a hand clamped itself tightly over his mouth before he had a chance to say anything else.
'Ssh.' taking her hand off his mouth. Maybe it would be happy just to kill her, that way Daryl would survive. His survival was all that mattered to her.

******************

Gritting her teeth as a flame of pain shot through her knee Jessica carried on running after Jim. They had so far to go and so little time in which to get there. She wasn't going to let those kids down even if it meant that she never walked without a limp again.

******************

We shouldn't have let her do this by herself, Tommy thought, pulling up next to Jim's truck. Who else was going to put her back together again afterwards. And his dad would never forgive him if he let anything major happen to Jess again. Spotting Blair standing with two men he headed over to where they were stood.

******************

'Tommy, what are you doing here?' Blair asked.
'Jess is out there,' he replied, 'And my dad's on his way. So I figured that I'm going to need some police protection when she finds out that I called him. She's doing okay, hell she's keeping up with your friend.'
'How...' Rafe began.
'We have this bond because we're twins,' Tommy said, 'She is very good at finding people alive. There was this one time....'

******************

Discovery part 5

2009-01-24T12:34:27Z

She had no money and no way to get home, Jessica thought, getting out of the lift on the ground floor. There was no way that she could walk home as her leg was hurting her too much. And to make matters worse she was starting to hallucinate again. There in front of her she could see the small grey jaguar that she'd been seeing for the past several weeks. She couldn't help but smile when she saw her spirit guide Soliel circling the cub as if to stop it from wandering off. Who it belonged to she didn't have clue, just that it needed protecting until it was big enough to look after itself. Moments later it was joined by a black wolf cub. Now that was a new development, she thought, he was unsteady on his feet as if he hadn't been born too long ago. Maybe he hadn't, spirit guides had to come from somewhere so there was no reason why they weren't born like normal animals.
Although what she was seeing was amazing, there was something wrong. The two cubs should have been playing together instead they were totally ignoring each other. Even when Soliel nudged them towards each other they moved apart the moment she went to nudge the other one. She was going to have to talk to Tommy and see if he couldn't work out what was wrong. Because apart neither of them were going to survive long enough to grow up.

****************

Where was that light coming from, Taz thought, looking around. Checking to make sure that the torch was switched off she found that it was. That meant that there was light getting into the cave from somewhere outside. Looking across at Daryl she could see that he was fast asleep. And he looked a lot worse than he had when she'd just had the torch to use for light. Now that she had some proper light to work by she could patch him up a lot better than she'd been able to so far. She might even be able to start digging them out now that she could see properly.
After digging out the water bottle she'd opened earlier and her first aid kit she got up and moved over to where Daryl was. He looked so cute when he was asleep, she thought. There she'd finally admitted to herself that she thought Daryl was cute. Not that it meant that she forgave him for the way he'd treated her or anything. But he needed her to take care of him right now. Casting a quick glance at her watch she realised that it was a lot later than she'd thought it was. And that help was taking it's time coming.

**************

'Mom.' Daryl moaned when something cold and wet touched his face.
'It's Taz,' she said softly, 'Go back to sleep.'
'What time is it?' he groaned.
'Four in the afternoon,' wiping the dried blood off his face, 'Help's taking a little longer to get here than I thought. But it will get here. We just have to sit here and wait.'
'How long?' trying to stretch then regretting it when his body protested.
'Could be tomorrow,' she admitted, 'Last time...'
'Last time!'
'This isn't the first time I've been trapped in a cave okay,' she said, 'It was warmer than this though.'
'No wonder you're not freaking out.' he joked.
'Wouldn't do any good to.'
'So where was it and when?'
'South Africa when I was ten,' Taz replied, 'Believe it or not it was my first visit to my uncle on my own.'
'You went all that way on your own when you were ten!' disbelief showing in his voice.
'Bri couldn't get away because of this big court case and H wouldn't have been too welcome there at the time. I was okay, except I ended up sitting next to this really old lady who ate mints the whole way there.'
'My dad wouldn't let me go all that way by myself even now,' he sighed, 'What's it like there?'
'Now or before Mandela?'
'Both.' Daryl replied.
'I guess it depends on where you go and who you meet. Like anywhere else really. My uncle knows some really cool people.'
'So how come you got trapped in a cave?' moving to get more comfortable as he suspected that it was along story.
'There was a cave in. I got stuck on one side and my uncle on the other,' Taz said, 'Luckily I was carrying the food and water. It got really boring after the first three days. Not a lot to do in a cave except sit and wait to be rescued. Good thing I brought a book with me this time.'
'Why? You can't read it without using the torch and I thought that we were saving that.'
'It's light enough in here to see without the torch.' Maybe he'd got a bigger bang on the head that she'd originally thought if he couldn't see the light. She couldn't really say anything in case it scared him. 'How's your leg feel?' changing the subject.
'Feels stiff. So how come you can see in the dark and I can't' Daryl said.
Well, I, er I've always been able to.' It wasn't exactly a complete lie, she thought, she'd always had better eyesight than her brother and it had got even better after she'd been trapped in that cave.

**************

Zoning in the middle of a police station lobby was not a good thing, Tommy thought when he saw his sister standing there staring into space. She'd over done and now she was paying the price. Once he'd brought her out if he'd get her home. Then it would be straight to bed for her where she'd be staying for at least the next twenty four hours. And she wouldn't be working on anymore cases.
If she didn't listen to him then he was going to have to call dad. Because he'd make Jess listen to him. He'd last spoken to him to tell him that Jess had changed careers and gone into teaching at Rainier. He'd been so pleased that finally she'd seen sense. Now he was going to have to break the news to him that Jess had taken on another case, one which was similar to the one which had almost got her killed. This time though he wasn't going to let her down, if anyone wanted to get to her then they were going to have to go through him. And he had a gun.

*************

'Jess,' Tommy said gently touching her on the arm , 'Time to go.'
'Where?' she asked.
'Home, you need to get some rest.'
'Maybe I do,' she admitted as the scene in front of her faded, 'My leg hurts.'
'That's what happens when you push yourself too hard. You should never have agreed to take on the case.'
'All I've done is look at case files,' she reminded him, 'And I found them a possible suspect.'
'We're going to have a long talk about this when we get home.'

****************

'Does this mean we're friends again?' Daryl asked when Taz had finished cleaning his face up.. He hoped so.
'I don't know maybe,' she replied, 'You want a drink?'
'Yeah, you got anything to eat?'
'Some chocolate and a couple of apples.'
'I'll have an apple.' he said.
'You only brought chocolate.'
'I'm not the expert at getting trapped in caves.' he joked.
'You won't be laughing when we're licking lichen off rocks.' handing the bottle of water that she was holding.
'No way am I licking anything off rocks.'
'When you're hungry enough you'll eat anything.' she said going to get him an apple. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that though, she thought, help had to come before it got that bad. Right now there was a search party being organised, or at least she hoped that there was. Harold was sensible enough to have got everyone else back safely and to have told someone where they'd gone. But she wouldn't put it past Melanie to try and throw a spanner in the works just to teach her and Daryl a lesson. If that was the case then they could be trapped for a very long time. Not that she could tell Daryl that, because it was her fault that they'd got trapped in the first place.
'Taz are you okay?' Darly asked.
'Just thinking.' she replied.
'I wish you wouldn't do that.'
'What think?'
'Go quiet like that, it's unsettling.' he said.
'Sorry, so what do you want to talk about?' handing him the apple she'd just got him. She wasn't really in the mood to talk but if that's what he wanted her to do then she would.
'Why did you want me to drop it earlier? You know when we were talking about who we'd date.'
'There was no point in talking about it. No-one is ever going to want to date me.'
'That guy asked you out.' he said.
'For a dare. I'm a geek, nobody dates geeks.' she sighed.
'Taz, you're not a geek. Just because you're smarter than most people it doesn't make you a geek.'
'Daryl, I've never fitted it,' Taz said, 'No matter how hard I've tried to I just can't. I'm not like other people and never will be.' There she'd finally admitted it to someone else.
'Then don't try to fit in. I like you because you're not like everyone else.'
'Sure right.' she muttered. No matter what he said she knew what the truth was.
'So you were just pretending to be jealous of Melanie.'
'You really don't want to know the answer to that.' Because if she told him then that would be the end of their friendship for good.
'You weren't pretending were you?' he asked.
'No, I wasn't pretending. There now you know the truth. Happy now,' she snapped, 'Now you can have a good laugh at just how pathetic I really am.' moving to the other side of the cave that they were in.

**************

She hadn't been pretending, Darly though, that meant that she had to like him more than just as friend. That was good because he liked her as more than as friend as well. So why was she still so mad with him. Somehow he got the feeling that this was one of those "I'll never understand women" moments that his dad had told him about. No matter what he said or did at the minute it was going to be wrong, but that didn't mean that he shouldn't try to get her to understand how he felt about her. He should just go ahead and tell her because he couldn't make things any worse between them than they already were.

*****************

'Taz, I'm not laughing okay,' he said staring into the darkness at what he hoped was her, otherwise he was going to be talking to a rock wall, 'And I don't think you're pathetic. If anyone is, it's me.' She obviously agreed with that because there wasn't any denial coming from her. 'We're friends, we should be able to talk about anything right. At least I always thought we could. Guess I was wrong. Just some things you can't tell me right.'
'Guess so.' came a hesitant reply.
'I really do like you, not just as my best friend. Maybe, that's if you wanted to we could go on a date date.'
'Maybe,' Taz said, 'If Brian would let me that is. Which he won't.'
'Because it's me?'
'No, he just doesn't want me dating anyone. He says I'm too young.'
'But if he let you, would you want to?' A simple yes would do he thought.
'Depends.'
'On what?' he asked.
'Where you were planning to take me,' she replied, 'Wonder burger isn't going to cut it.'
'You know I only get twenty bucks a week allowance.'
'You'd better start saving up then.' she joked.

**************

'Drink it while it's hot,' Tommy said handing Jessica a mug of tea, 'It'll help you to relax.'
'Just for once couldn't you make proper tea?' she asked sniffing the contents of the mug, 'This smells like pond water.'
'It's good for you so drink it.' It would also help her to sleep, something that she hadn't been doing a lot of recently. Maybe after a good night's sleep she would think again about working any more cases.
'Why is everything that smells and tastes bad good for you? Wouldn't it be a lot easier if pizzas were good for you, or how about hamburgers.'
'Of course it would. But life wasn't meant to be easy.' And she knew better than anyone just how true that was. 'And don't think that distracting me is going to work, you're still going to have to drink your tea.'
'Did you know about that Jim guy?' drinking her tea down in one go.
'Jess, I swear all I knew was that Blair had some test subject, not who or what he was,' Tommy reassured her, 'You know that I would never...'
'It's okay, I believe you. From now on I will try and do a better job,' tears forming in the corners of her eyes, 'I just get so tired sometimes. I want the pain to go away for just a little while so I can remember what it was like before.'
'It will,' taking her now empty mug off her, 'You have to be patient. Time is the only thing that is going to make it better.' She'd never had much patience except when it came to working on her cases. And her patience had been pushed to it's limits again and again over the past two years. He didn't like to see her so down. Maybe she'd feel better tomorrow night after she'd had a chance to talk to Jim. After all he was the only other person who understood that it was like to see the world totally differently to everyone else around them. 'Do you want me to run you a bath?'
'Yeah, might loosen the muscles up a bit,' she replied, 'Do you think he's cute?'
'Who are we talking about?' Tommy asked.
'Jim.'
'He's a bit too macho for my taste, but yeah he could be considered cute.' smiling at her.

******************

'Chief, if you want to go see your friend, make sure she's okay,' Jim said, 'I've just about finished for today.'
'I think I should. Tommy could probably use someone to talk to,' Blair replied, 'I didn't know that she had all of them until...'
'It's not a problem. you'd know if it was.'
'So you like Jess?'
'She's nice.' Jim admitted, and he wouldn't mind getting to know her better if he had got the chance to. 'Has a tough job.'
'Had, she's teaching now, or will be from after half term. She's sharing my office.'
'She could use someone to keep an eye on her.'
'Tommy's done a pretty good job of it so far. At least she doesn't have to hide what she is as well as you have to,' Blair said, 'Might be nice for her to have someone she could talk to. And she might have some techniques you could use at crime scenes.'
'What makes you think that she'll want to teach me anything?' The last thing she probably wanted or needed right now was him bothering her.
'Because helping other people always helps distract her from her own problems.'

***************

Something was wrong, Harold thought, Daryl and Taz should have been back by now. Maybe he should have stood up to Melanie when he'd had the chance to. Now if he said anything about where they'd gone he was going to get into serious trouble. Not that what Melanie had done was worth that much trouble. Beside it would come down to her word against his and he knew who everyone would believe. He'd give them unto it was dark to be back by, then he'd go looking for them himself. If he couldn't find them then he was going to have to tell someone in case they were hurt.

***************

The little creep was having second thoughts about not saying anything, Melanie thought when she saw Harold wondering around. Not that anyone would believe him if he said anything, after all he was just a friendless geek where as she was very popular. Still she couldn't take the chance that someone might think that there was something wrong and decide to check where Daryl and Taz where for themselves. Not that she'd done anything wrong, they'd decided to go and look for Mr Smith no-one had asked them to. And it was their fault if they'd got hurt or anything. She was going to have to keep a close eye on Harold for the time being though, just so he knew that it would be better for him not to say anything. And if he dared to, well then both her and daddy could make life very unpleasant for him.

***************

'Ellison, Sandburg.' Simon bellowed as Megan left his office. He was going to find out just what exactly had taken place in his department between Connor and Dr Angel. The young profiler had admitted that her senses were better than average and she'd zoned in front of him. There was still a lot that he didn't understand about the whole Sentinel thing that was going on with his best team. But if something was going to affect it then he needed to know before anything happened.

***************

'You bellowed.' Blair grinned as he and Jim entered Simon's office.
'Close the door,' Simon growled, 'Dr Angel...'
'She didn't start it,' Jim said defensively, 'Connor did, she...'
'I know exactly what Connor said. But that doesn't excuse Dr Angel walking off the case.'
'Jess didn't have any choice,' Blair said, 'Megan backed her into a corner.'
'After she'd given her a suspect,' Jim reminded him, 'The only one anyone's been able to come up with.'
'I'm well aware of that fact,' Simon said, 'Also that Dr Angel zoned. Is she...'
'She was a full Sentinel, but now touch is normal.' Blair said.
'Are there going to be any problems that I need to be aware of?'
'I don't think so do you Chief?' Jim said.
'Not unless she has to work with Connor again,' Blair replied, 'Sentinels and red heads don't mix.' earning him a cuff round the head from his partner for that comment.
'Joel'll be handling all contact with Dr Angel from now on. As well as apologising to the Dr for Connor's attitude problem.'
'That might be better coming from Jim,' Blair suggested, 'You know Sentinel to Sentinel. It's his tribe that's insulted her. And you never know when you might need her help in the future.'
'Just make sure that she knows that Connor's been reprimanded for her behaviour.' Simon said dismissing them.

****************

A real date date with Daryl, Taz thought, that would be really cool. But there was no way that her brother would let her go on one. By the time that they got out of this cave she'd be lucky if he let her go to school by herself. Still she didn't have to tell him that it was a real date she as going on. After all he was used to her hanging out with Daryl now.
Looking at her watch she realised that less than an hour had passed since the last time she'd looked at it. Another couple of hours and it would start getting dark outside. Already she could feel the air in the cave starting to get cooler. She'd be fine if the temperature dropped because she could get up and move around to keep warm. Daryl wasn't going to be so lucky though with his injured leg. It was going to be upto her to try and keep him warm.
Getting up from where she was sitting she walked across and sat down next to Daryl.
'How you doing?' she asked.
'Okay,' he replied, 'But I'm going to need the bathroom soon.'
'Oh!' That could be a bit of a problem, she thought as he wasn't going to be able to stand up on his own, well to do it. 'We'll work something out when you really need to go.' But what, she wasn't exactly sire of at the moment.
'I'm starting to feel cold.' he said.
'It's the damp,' Taz said, 'I'll see what I can sort out. By the way how much do you like your backpack?'
'Right now not a lot.'
'So it's okay if I rip it apart?'
'Sure.' he replied.
'I'll buy you another one when we get out of here.' she promised as she began to work out the best way to take his backpack apart so that it would be of the most use to him.

****************

Closing her eyes Jessica let the warm water relax her aching muscles. A long hot bath always helped her when she'd had a stressful day, and today had been pretty stressful. Just about the only things that had stood out as being good were seeing Blair again and meeting his very handsome roommate Jim. She just hoped that she would get another chance to meet him and hopefully talk to him about how his senses affected his life. Maybe he had some idea how she could adjust better to having one sense missing because she hadn't done very well on her own so far. Tommy was doing his best to try and help her, but he just didn't understand what it was like.
Running her hand through the water she could remember how it had used to feel against her skin, the way the bubbles had always tickled her. Rembering wasn't the same as feeling though and never would be. It was the memories of how things felt that was the hardest for her to deal with. Maybe all she had to do was be patient like Tommy had said and it would come back to her.

*************

'Nice house.' Jim said sarcastically pulling up outside of a rundown looking house on the edges of one of the less popular neighbourhoods in Cascade.
'It's just temporary,' Blair replied, 'The house they've bought is still being decorated. Now that is a nice house.'
'This place is nearly as bad as that warehouse you were living in.'
'Jim, it's not that bad.' getting out of the passenger side of the classic blue and white truck.
'She deserves to live somewhere better than this.'

*****************

It just wasn't right that she was living in a rundown place like this, Jim thought following Blair up the garden path to the front door. With a lot of work it could probably be made habital. Her guide hadn't been doing their job very well if this was the best that they could afford to rent. On the battered front door he could see specks of dark blue paint which showed what colour the front had once been. He just hoped that their security was better than the front door.

*****************

'She's not working on anymore cases,' Tommy said bluntly on opening the front door and seeing Blair and Jim standing there, 'So you can tell that jumped up...'
'Tommy, we're here to apologise,' Blair said, 'And I've done a lot of research. There might be something in it to help Jess.'
'You'd better come in them,' he said, 'She's having a bath, it helps to relax her muscles.' There was very little point in trying to hide just how bad it was from them.
'Is she taking any thing? Only...' Blair began.
'Medication can affect her senses,' closing the front door behind them, 'Blair, I've been taking care of her my entire life.'
'Doesn't look like you're doing too well at the minute.' Jim said looking around. There were boxes stacked waist high against all the walls in the hallway.
'We've been here less than a week,' Tommy said, 'The house we've bought will be ready next week. So there wasn't much point in unpacking.' leading the way through into the living room.
'Nice furniture,' Jim said staring at the battered couch and threadbare chairs, 'Don't tell me the good stuff's in storage.'

*******************

'This is the good stuff for now,' Jessica said entering the living room wearing a pale blue towelling robe with a towel wrapped round her head, 'For the time being, no point in bringing new furniture into a place like this.'
'Feeling better?' Tommy asked.
'Yeah, why don't you make some proper coffee while I get dressed,' she suggested, 'And I want proper cream in mine, not that low fat gunk you keep trying to pass off as cream.'
'It's better for you.' he protested.
'One mug of coffee a day with real cream isn't going to clog my arteries,' she sighed, 'And I'm sick of things being good for me.' heading through the living room to one of the bedrooms at the rear of the house.

****************

This wasn't good at all, Megan thought, their prime, only suspect in the "Delivery Man" case was on vacation in Cascade National park. That was a lot of ground to cover in a search. He was due back tomorrow but she didn't really expect him to come back of his own volition. After all he had to know that his luck would run out sooner or later, and that it was only a matter of time before he either made a mistake or someone connected him with one of the crime scenes. Which was exactly what Dr Angel had done after looking through the case notes once.
She still couldn't understand how both she and Joel could have missed something like that, they'd been working on the case since the beginning. Maybe they should have taken a step back or asked one of their colleagues to go over the case files. Instead they'd been helped by a woman she'd insulted afterwards.

*******************

'Dogs,' Joel said from behind Megan, 'She was right about the missing dogs. There are a stack of missing dog reports from a three block radius around his house. Along with a a report of a pot bellied pig going missing from it's run.'
'Dogs do run off.' she said.
'One street lost six in two days, three of those were chained up. The chains had been cut.'
'Did they find any of the corpses?'
'Only the pig's. It had been mutilated just like she said,' he replied, 'You find anything on him.'
'I spoke to his supervisor, reliable, hardworking, tends to keep himself to himself, lives alone and has a degree.'
'We should bring him in for questioning.' Joel said.
'There could be problem with that. He's gone camping in the National park,' she replied, 'Apparently he's volunteer guide. Take groups through the caves.'
'Damn, we have to get a search team ut there now.' heading towards Simon's office.
'Why?' following him.
'There's a group of students from Cascade high camping out there. Daryl's with them.'
'Simon's Daryl?'
'Yeah.' Joel replied.
'He's going to spit the dummy over this.' Megan said.

***************

'Feel any warmer now?' Taz asked when she'd finished arranging what had been Daryl's backpack underneath him.
'A little.' he admitted.
'It should stop the ground from leeching the heat out of you for a while.' After that she would have to think of something else.
'They've started looking for us haven't they?'
'They should have. I can't hear anyone coming though.'
'How could you it's solid rock?' Daryl said.
'I meant I can't hear anyone digging. I think I might try moving some of the rocks myself. See if I can't get us out of here any faster.' It was something that she should have thought about earlier but she'd been busy taking care of him. Making sure that he was all right was her main priority.
'The roof could come down,' he warned her, 'And we don't know how far back down the passage it collapsed. Could be all the way back to the entrance.'
'Maybe there's another way out. I doubt it's the first time there's been a cave in down here,' Taz said, 'I can't just sit here not doing anything.' Suddenly she'd got that bad feeling back. She wasn't sure why but suddenly it was very important that they made some sort of attempt to get out of there before it was too late.

*************

No-one would notice him sneaking off, Harold thought, slipping his backpack on. There weren't many people around and it was starting to get pretty dark now. Taz and Daryl should have been back long before now, he'd given them more than enough time to get back even if one of them had got hurt. After leaving a note for his cabin mate telling them why he was gone and where he was going he left the cabin not realising that he was being watched by a figure in the shadows.

Discovery part 4

2009-01-24T12:33:45Z

'Joel, will you make sure that Dr, Jessica has everything she needs,' Simon said, Connor I want you to help her go through all the case notes.'
'Actually I prefer to work alone,' Jessica said, 'And I'm sure that your officers have more important things to do than baby-sit me while I go through some files.' She really didn't like anyone other than Tommy watching her when she was working.
'This is our case not yours,' Megan said bluntly, 'You need someone to any questions you might have.'
'If I have any questions I'll ask them once I've gone through all the case files.' 'I'd still like Connor to assist you.' Simon said.
'You're the boss.' Jessica said.

*****************

She was beautiful, Jim thought when he saw the young woman following Megan and Joel out of Simon's office. It was no wonder that his spirit guide had been so interested in getting to know hers better. And he could see why she wasn't any threat, she was limping. Having dinner with her wasn't going to be any hardship for him, although she might nor think that spending the evening with a middle aged cop was such a good thing.

******************

'Will you excuse me for a minute,' Jessica said, 'I just need to talk to my brother about something.'
'Your desk is the one in the corner.' Megan said frowning slightly.
'I shouldn't be too long.' she replied. She had a right to talk to Tommy if she wanted to, besides he was going to end up working on the case with her. Sometimes he even gave her her best ideas as to how to proceed with a case.
'Make sure you're not.'

*******************

She had a serious attitude problem, Jessica thought walking over to where her brother was stood with Blair. She wasn't a novice at profiling cases so she didn't deserve to be treated as one. Hell she wasn't even getting paid for helping them out so they were going to have to cut her some slack, especially when she started teaching.

*******************

'You're not supposed to be here,' Tommy said, 'And you're not going to be for much longer.'
'Why? It's not as if I'm going to be running around the streets,' she replied, 'All I'm doing is looked at case files. Which I can do sitting down. And you are.' looking past her brother at the muscular blonde man sitting behind the desk.
'Jim Ellison.' he replied smiling at her.
'Jessica Angel.' smiling back at him. He was seriously cute, not that she could let herself get distracted while she was working on a case. She had to keep an even keel otherwise her emotions might start to influence her view of the case she was working on.
'The two of you have a lot in common.' Blair said.
'So I heard,' she replied, 'Is seven thirty okay?'
'It's fine.' Jim replied.
'Good, now if you'll excuse me I have to go and try to catch a serial killer.' heading towards the empty desk in the corner of the Bullpen.

***************

'She's not usually like that,' Tommy said, 'Once she's working on a case all her social skills tend to disappear along with her ability to sleep.'
'Sound familiar?' Blair asked looking at Jim.
'I'd be very careful if I were you Chief,' Jim warned him, 'I know where you sleep.'
'I'd better go and keep an eye on Jess, make sure that she doesn't run herself into the ground on her first day,' Tommy said, 'Blair has our address.'

***************

Slowly Taz opened her eyes and found herself face down on hard rock. At first she was confused as to where she was and what she was doing there. Daryl! Oh god, he'd been right behind her when the roof had caved in. By running the way she had she'd killed her best friend. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and then began their slow journey down her cheeks.
She should have accepted his apology because she hadn't really been that angry with him. Now he was gone and she wouldn't ever have a chance to tell him that she forgave him for being such a jerk. And what was she supposed to tell his dad, that it was all her fault, that Daryl hadn't volunteered to go with her to look for Mr Smith then he'd still be alive.
A wave of panic washed over here when she realised that she might be trapped in here until she died. Which wouldn't be long if there wasn't any air getting in. Suddenly she wished that she wasn't so smart because then she wouldn't have been able to calculate how long she had until she suffocated. Hearing a faint moan coming from just to the left of her, she peered into the darkness trying to see what was making it.
'Daryl?' she asked tentatively, there was another moan, 'Is that you?' She was going to have to move in case it was him. He could be hurt, she thought. Using her arms to push herself up onto her knees she crawled to the left of her, putting a hand out in front of her to feel for anything that was there. Her hand brushed against something that felt like fabric with a buckle on it. A backpack! If it was then he was face down just like she had been. Sitting down she slipped her back pack off. Her fingers fumbled with the fastenings as she tried opening it. With any luck the torch that she'd packed would be all right, failing that she had matches and candles. Brian had laughed at all the extras she'd packed , well now it looked as if she'd been right to. Feeling around in her backpack her fingers finally wrapped around the torch. Pulling it out she switched it on, aiming it in front of her.
It was Daryl, she thought looking at the dust covered figure laying in front of her. Shining the light from her torch upto his head, she took a deep breath then she saw the small pool of blood on the floor. He'd hit his head, and that could be really serious. Next she shone the light down the rest of his body until it reached his feet. Good, she could move him if she had to because there wasn't anything trapping his feet. Moving up to his head she touched his face.
'Daryl,' she said softly, 'Wake up,' moving her hand to his shoulder and shaking it gently, 'Daryl,' louder this time prompting a moan from him, 'You have to wake up. I forgive you.'
'Taz...' as he tried turning his head in her direction.
'I'm right here,' she reassured him, 'Can you tell me where it hurts?'
'Everywhere.'
'Okay, I'm going to turn you over, but if it hurts you have to tell me.' She'd worry about getting his back pack off later. Carefully she began rolling him over onto his back, 'I'm sorry.' she murmured when she saw the look of pain on his face.
'S'okay.' Darly moaned.
'You hit your head pretty hard.' looking down at the bump on his forehead and the deep gash on the right side of his face. So that's where the blood had come from, she thought. 'Help shouldn't be too long, but until then you're stuck with me.'
Back hurts.'
'That's probably your backpack digging into it. When you're feeling upto it we'll get you sat up and take it off.' But it might be a while before he was upto doing that though.

*************

'He's interested.' Jessica said softly when she caught her brother looking across the Bullpen at where Rafe was sitting.
'He's straight,' Tommy replied, 'Blair said...'
'You shouldn't let that stop you. Ask him if he wants to go for a beer tonight.'
'I couldn't.'
'Couldn't! From the man whose got me a date with a total stranger. If you don't ask him I will.'
'Okay, I'll ask him but later. You know how homophobic cops can be.'
'Yeah I know,' she replied, 'But it's only going for a beer. Whereas I have to cook.'
'Just don't poison the poor man.' Tommy joked.
'I've never poisoned anyone. Except for when I made that pork curry, and I told you not to eat it.'
'You made such a lovely nurse though,' he said, 'But a lousy patient.'
'Maybe if your bedside manner improved.'
'Like you would know all about bed and manners.'
'Look just because I've chosen not to date for a while it doesn't mean that I don't know anything.' Not that she was really in much state to do much at the moment.
'Be honest Jess, you've never dated. Other things have always been more important to you. First it was studying then it was work.'
'And I'm still a geek,' Jessica said, 'Always have been, always will be.' He'd always found it easy to get dates, while guys wouldn't even look twice at her. She just wasn't the dating type, but she'd go ahead with tomorrow night , be nice to Jim and then never see him again.

**************

He looked a little better, Taz thought when she'd finished cleaning his face up. There were going to have to be careful with the food and water they had because they couldn't be sure of when help might come. By now Harold and the others were probably back at camp, it's take a while for a search party to be organised though. And then it could take hours for them to dig through the rock which was blocking their way out of the cave. At least the air didn't seem to be running out yet.
'Feel like trying to sit up now?' she asked.
'Yeah.' Darly replied weakly.
'It's going to hurt.' She'd do her best to try not to hurt him, but she was probably going to anyway.
'Just do it. I'll be okay.'
'Think you're upto standing up? Only the wall over there looks pretty smooth,' flashing her torch over to where she meant, 'You can rest your back against it.'
'I can try to,' he replied, 'I'm going to need some help though.'
'You've got it.' Now came the difficult part, she thought, once he was on his feet she'd be able to get him over to where he could sit down. Kneeling down next to him she helped him to sit up so that she could take his back pack off. Putting it down next to hers she draped his left arm around her shoulders while wrapping her right a around his waist. 'On the count of three okay. One two three.' she said standing up dragging him to his feet.
'My leg.' Daryl moaned raising his right leg slightly off the floor.
'It's okay, we don't have far to go. I'm not going to drop you.' No matter when she wasn't going to do that.

**************

After a lot of struggling Taz got Daryl settled against the wall. Retrieving both back packs from where she'd left them and sat down next to him.
'How's your head?' she asked going through his back pack to see what he had in it.
'Doesn't hurt that much now,' he replied, 'I'm sorry for being such a jerk.'
'It's okay,' she said, 'This is all my fault. We should have run the way you said.'
'Taz, it was an accident. Things could be a lot worse.'
'How?'
'I could have been trapped in here with Melanie,' he replied, 'How much use do you think she'd be?'
'Not much,' Taz admitted, 'I can see her whining about getting dirty. That if the roof didn't go back up she'd tell daddy.'
'You find anything useful in there?' he laughed.
'A couple of things. I might be able to make a splint for your leg. I'll have to wreck the straps on your back pack though.'
'Not as if we're going to be hiking anywhere soon,' Daryl said, 'Taz, I don't know much about this survival stuff, so...'
'I understand, but I'm not going anywhere without you. We both get out of here or we both stay. No middle ground.' Even if there was a way out she wasn't just going to take off and leave him behind, not when he was hurt. She wouldn't be much of a friend if she did that. 'You going to be okay if I turn the torch off. Don't want to run the batteries down too soon.'
'As along as you keep talking to me I will.'
'Sure I'll talk to you.' she reassured him before turning the torch off and plunging them into darkness.

*****************

'Something just doesn't feel right.' Jessica said putting the case file she'd been studying to one side.
'What do you mean it doesn't feel right?' Megan asked.
'Like there's something missing,' she replied, 'How many people have had access to these files?'
'I don't know.' Megan admitted.
'Well I need a list of everyone who's touched them.' If she could just figure out what was missing then she might have a solid lead for them to work on.
'Maybe you should take a break,' Tommy suggested, 'Have a coffee, get something to eat. You haven't eaten anything today. You're going to get sick if you don't eat. I'll have to call him if you get sick.'
'You wouldn't!' Jessica said, 'He'd make split pea soup and make me eat it.'
'It's your choice, either take a break or I call him.'
'Okay I'll take one. Just don't call him,' she replied using the desk she was sitting behind to push herself upright, 'I need to use the bathroom anyway.'
'And don't forget to get something to eat.' Tommy reminded her as she began limping towards the exit.
'Yes dad.' she replied.

**************

'Who were you going to call?' Megan asked.
'The only person who can put the fear of god into her,' Tommy replied, 'Dad.'
'She's scared of your dad!'
'Actually she's scared of what he'll do if he comes. He's not exactly your average dad. He and Jess are complete opposites.'
'And?' sensing that there was more to it than that.
'Have you ever met Naomi? Blair's mom.'
'I've heard about her.' she admitted.
'Well our dad's a lot like her. He has a tendency to embarrass Jess, he doesn't mean to though,' Tommy said, 'I don't think she's forgiven him for ruining her sweet sixteen party.'

**************

He couldn't come, Jessica thought entering the break room, because she would never be able to live it down if he did. It wasn't that she didn't love her dad, he just went over the top most of the time. She supposed that she could always say she was adopted, she'd done it in the past. But then she'd hurt his feelings.
He might even bring someone with him which would be even worse. Yet another of his long line hippy bimbos, as a child she'd never been able to keep track of them all or their names. Sometimes there'd been more than one woman a week passing through his bedroom. Which was probably why he called them all Babe, after all it was a lot easier than trying to remember who he was sleeping with that night.
She hadn't like most of them and the ones she had, well. She'd learnt that that it wasn't good to get too attached to anyone other than Tommy because people moved on after a while.

***************

'Taz, you still there?' Daryl asked, she'd been pretty quiet for a while now.
'Yeah, I was just thinking.' she replied.
'About what?'
'Brian, he's going to be really worried when he finds out. And he doesn't have anyone to help him deal with it.'
'What about H? They're partners.'
'That's not what I meant. He needs someone to look after him when I'm not there. I don't want him to be on his own anymore.'
'So what you going to do? Find him a girlfriend?' he asked.
'Or...' it was probably better if she didn't say what she was thinking in case she was wrong.
'Or what?'
'Bri used to have this friend Damien. This was like way before he became a cop. They were best friends, did everything together.'
'And?' Daryl prompted.
'We didn't live in a house then. We lived in an apartment. Damien would stay in Bri's room, sleep in his bed.' He had to have some idea where she was going with this, she thought.
'Whatever it is you can tell me. I told you all about my mom and her friends.'
'Okay, but this stays between just the two of us,' Taz said hesitantly, 'I walked in on them once and they were kissing.'
'Your brother was kissing another guy!'
'Yeah.'
'So what happened to this Damien guy?'
'I don't know, he just left one day. He and Bri must have broken up,' she replied, 'Since then he's only dated women.'
'So he's gay!'
'Bi, I suppose.'
'You know it's not such a big deal.'
'It is if you're a cop. I mean what would your dad say, or even worst Melanie's.' Taz said.
'My dad's cool about a lot of stuff. As long as your brother does his job he can't really say anything,' he said, 'Melanie's dad's a different matter. He had Detective Dobson fired because she didn't get all the puppies.'
'That sucks. I should have let her have the puppy.'
'No way,' he said, 'You ever wonder where her dad gets his money? I mean five grand for the gym team place, and the puppies weren't cheap.'
'Guess being Chief of Police pays allot' she replied, 'Has to, keeping Melanie in lipstick and nail polish must cost a fortune.' Not to mention all the designer clothes she wore.
'A problem your brother doesn't have.'
'Wanting to look like an over painted doll isn't high on my list of things to do.' she replied.
'You ever notice how sickly she smells?' he asked.
'Oh yeah. It's like someone's dumped a bottle of perfume over head.'
'How come you never smell like that?' Daryl asked.
'I just don't want to. I have got perfume. Mrs Brown gave me a bottle for Christmas, I'm saving it for a special occasion.' she replied. Not that she could think of one off hand though.

**************

'So how do you know them?' Jim asked looking at his partner and friend.
'Naomi,' Blair replied, 'Their dad's a friend of hers. We stayed with them a couple of times when I was growing up.'
'Friend?' He knew all about Naomi's friends.
'They had this on off thing going on for a while. I thought maybe Naomi would settle down for good. Their dad's a great guy.'
'So what happened?'
'Naomi screwed up big time,' he replied, 'She thought they should know how their mom really died. Thought their Karma would be totally damaged if they didn't know.'
'And?'
'She went into pretty graphic detail,' Blair said, 'Jim, they were five at the time. Jess hasn't stayed in the same room as Naomi since then.'
'Can't say I blame her Chief. Your mom can be a little difficult to handle...' So is this guy a potential candidate?'
'Could be. He knew Naomi before I was born,' he relied, 'But Naomi says she doesn't know so...'

*******************

Of course she doesn't know, Jessica thought, pouring herself a mug of coffee in the break room, because she'd been too high on drugs to remember who she'd slept with the month Blair had been conceived. But it sure as hell wasn't her dad, he was the only one who hadn't slept with Naomi during that month. She'd heard all about Naomi's exploits during the sixties from her dad and some of his friends.
Growing up she'd actually felt sorry for Blair having Naomi as a mom. He'd been dragged all over the place, dumped with total strangers whenever she'd felt like taking off. No matter how much her dad had embarrassed her over the years, he'd always been there for her when she'd really needed him, even if Tommy was his favourite.

************************

'You ever think about dating?' Taz asked using the straps she'd got off Daryl's back pack to fashion a splint for his leg, 'What sort of person you'd date?'
'Sometimes,' he admitted through gritted teeth, 'So what would he be like?'
'I don't know.' she replied.
'Why did you ask then?'
'Not exactly a lot else to do in here. I'll remember to pack a radio for the next time we get trapped in a cave.'
'How about a cell phone?'
'Rocks too thick, signal would never get through it. If I had one which I don't.' When they were out she'd ask Brian if she could have one for Christmas.
'I want to know what he'd be like.' Daryl said.
'Do I really have to tell you?' Taz asked.
'Yeah, if you tell me I'll tell you.'
'Well...' she began hesitantly, 'He'd be tall, because just about everyone is taller than me. Have a sense of humour. I guess he'd be a lot like Brian.'
'White, middle class.'
'Not necessarily. As long as I'm happy he could be purple with yellow spots,' she replied, 'It's your turn now.'
'Someone like you,' he said, 'That I could be friends with. My mom and dad weren't friends. Not like we are.'
'I think there's a big difference between being friends with someone and marrying them. But I can see how it would make things easier. You'd have a lot in common to begin with, similar backgrounds, values.'
'Just like us.' Daryl said.
'Yeah, just like us.'
'So if someone like me asked you out, you'd say yes?'
'I guess so. Could we talk about something else now.'
'Why?'
'I just don't want to talk about it anymore,' she snapped, 'So just drop it.'
'Taz...' he began.
'I've said drop it.' turning the torch off and moving away from him.

***************

He'd upset her, Daryl thought sitting there in the darkness. He hadn't meant to, and he couldn't afford to upset her because she was his best friend and she was his only hope of making it through this okay. Melanie had claimed that Taz was jealous, she'd even sounded jealous to him. But that was ridiculous, Taz was the sort of person who would tell someone if she liked them more than just as friends, she hadn't said anything to him about that though.
So maybe he did like her more than as a friend should. Not that he'd said anything to her, it wasn't easy to tell your best friend that you might be in love with them. What was love anyway? He'd asked his dad that once and he hadn't been able to give him a definite answer, just that he would know what it was when the time was right.
What if she'd only been pretending to be jealous to annoy Melanie. If he said anything he could ruin their friendship. For the time being he wouldn't say anything to her. Being friends with her was more important that anything else right now.

**************

Looking at the names on the list Megan had got her Jessica frowned. There was one name that was listed for every case file. So it wasn't anything solid yet, but it did warrant a closer look at the officer involved.
'Well?' Megan asked impatiently.
'I think I've found something,' Jessica replied, 'One person has been at every crime scene and has handled every case file.'
'So?'
'So since when did record clerks attend crime scenes?'
'They don't'
'Exactly. Of course I haven't found any solid proof against him. But with a little digging you should be able to find something linking him with them.'
'You're sure it's him?' Megan asked, 'We can't just go around arresting people.'
'I've given you a potential suspect, which is a lot more than you had two hours ago,' Jessica snapped, 'You know my brother was right, I shouldn't even be doing this. I'm not getting paid for it. And don't start telling me about not accusing people wrongly.'
'We have to be sure.'
'Do you know what sure really gets you?'
'No.' Megan admitted.
'It gets you two years of agony. Because people like you don't always listen to people like me. You have a suspect so go do your job because I've done mine for the time being.' Did she really think that she would just pick any name at random to get it over and done with as quickly as possible.
'I will but if you're wrong...' Megan began.
'It's him, or someone very close to him. He might even have helped them,' Jessica said, 'I should be at home resting not putting up with crap from you.' standing up, 'Blair has my phone number if you need any more help.'
'You can't just walk off an investigation.' Megan protested.
'It's your investigation not mine,' she replied, 'And in case you hadn't noticed I can't run round the city chasing suspects.' trying to limp away from her.
'Just because...'
'Because what?'
'You screwed up your last case.' Megan shouted.
'For your information I didn't screw up,' Jessica shouted, 'It was someone like you who did. And I've spent every day of the past two years paying for it.' Megan looked at her in stunned silence. 'Two weeks that bastard had me, two weeks. The fucking cops wouldn't even start looking for me until Walter put a gun to the head of their Chief of Police and threatened to blow his brains out if he didn't put an APB out on me.'
'The file said...'
'What that I accused a thirty year old desk sergeant of being a serial killer?' Jessica asked, 'Didn't mention the fact that there was a stack of sexual assault complaints against him did it. How about the fact that he was engaged to the Mayor's daughter at the time?'
'No,' Megan admitted..
'I was in what was supposed to be a safe house when he grabbed me. After walking straight past all his cop buddies he took out four FBI agents. And even then they wouldn't look for me because they were still so sure I was wrong. They ignored all the evidence, and he killed three more people after he grabbed me,' she said, 'He even held poker games for his friends, while he was holding me. One of them even saw me and said nothing about it. Two paramedics fainted when they found me. They had to use fingerprints to identify me because no-one recognised me.'
'I'm...' Megan began, aware that everyone was looking at her.
'What sorry, that's a first. I'm still waiting for one from those bastards who screwed up. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going home.' Jessica said pushing past her.

*************

She'd really screwed up, Megan thought, and there was nothing that she could say that was going to make matters any better. She was going to be hauled over the coals by Simon for this.
'You go anywhere near my sister again and I'll personally kick your butt all the way back to Oz,' Tommy said glaring at her, 'She doesn't need some jumped up sheep shearer telling her how to do her job because she is the best there is. By the way I will be reporting you.' walking off to find his sister.

Discovery part 3

2009-01-24T12:32:56Z

'It's right this way,' Joel said pushing open the double doors which led to the bullpen, home of Major Crimes, 'Some of the crime scene photos are very graphic.'
'I don't have a problem with that,' she replied, looking at a few photos wasn't going to do any harm, 'I've worked graphic crimes scenes before.' on seeing the look of doubt on his face.
'Simon, that is Captain Banks will want to be in on any theories you might have.'
'That's fine with me.' She didn't want to tread on anyone's toes, especially when she might be working with them again the future. She really had missed working out on the streets on a case. And it was only now just sinking in that she might never be able to work on a case like she used to.
'Do you mind me asking how serial homicides you've worked on?' Joel asked.
'Alone or with a team?' Jessica said.
'Alone.'
'I'd have to say about six. But if you include the serial rapes and burglaries it's be close to a hundred,' she said, 'Don't let my age fool you, I do know what I'm doing. And I was trained by one of the best profilers in the field.

*******************

'Enter.' Captain Simon Banks growled when there was a knock on his office door. He hoped that it was good news because he was tired of handling calls not only from the Chief of Police but the Mayor's office about the total lack of progress in the "Delivery Man" case.
'Dr Angel's here to go over the case notes.' Joel said stepping into his office.
'Good, send him in and find Connor.'
'Her.' he corrected Simon, stepping to one side to let Jessica enter the office before going to find Connor.

******************

'Captain Simon Banks,' he said standing up and holding his hand out to the young woman who'd just entered his office.
'Dr Jessica Angel.' shaking it briefly while giving him a faint smile. v 'Please sit down doctor. Would you like some coffee?'
'Please, strong black,' dropping her bag by the side of a chair before sitting down, 'I have to admit that I'm more than a little surprised that you don't have anyone from the FBI working on the case.'
'At the moment they're unable to spare anyone,' he replied pouring her a mug of coffee, 'And you came highly recommended.'
'By Walter Edwards no doubt.'
'Yes,' he said, 'He mentioned something about you having special talents.'
'Did he?'
'I'd be interested in knowing what they were.' handing her the mug of coffee he'd just poured.
'I solve puzzles, have a very high IQ,' Jessica said, 'My senses are also better than average.'
'Dr Edwards said something about you have an assistant.'
'My brother, he's a forensics expert. If I'm heading up a case he works with me...' turning her head moments before the door behind her opened.

******************

'Connor,' Simon said, when a tall red haired woman entered his office along with Joel, 'This is Dr Angel, she's going to be helping you with the "Delivery man" case.'
'I prefer Jessica,' Jessica said, 'Or Doc.'
'Doc,' Inspector Megan Connor said, 'How much do you know about this case?' sitting down next to Jessica.
'Not a great deal I'm afraid,' she admitted, 'We've only just moved to Cascade.'
'The first victim was discovered a month ago,' Joel said placing a case file in front of her, 'Since then there have been four more victims.'
'That you know about,' opening the file in front of her, 'Never assume that the first is the first.'
'He's sent us letters telling us where to find each of the victims,' Megan said, 'Each one was found three days after going missing. They're not out of order.'
'That's not what I meant,' Jessica said, looking at the autopsy photos, 'To get as good as he is takes time and practice. See how clean the cuts are,' showing the picture she was looking at to Simon, 'You don't just pick up a knife and do that straight away.'
'You said he,' Megan said, 'None of the witnesses reported seeing a definite gender going into any of the victims homes.'
'Try picking up Captain Taggart,' Jessica suggested, 'You couldn't even if you wanted to because he's heavier than you. No offence meant Captain.'
'None taken.' Joel said.
'Statistically speaking women are less likely to become serial killers than men,' Jessica said, 'You're looking for a man who is used to lifting heavy weights. Whether it's to do with his job or for recreation. He's very charming. He has to be to get his victims to drop their guard and let him into their homes with virtually no questions asked.'
'If he exists who was his first victim?' Megan asked frowning slightly.
'He exists don't doubt that for a minute or you'll never find him. As for his human first victim, it could be an unsolved homicide, a stabbing.'
'Great,' Megan muttered, 'Do you have any idea how many unsolved homicides there are every year in Cascade?'
'Probably a lot.' she admitted.
'You said first human victim.' Joel said.
'He wouldn't have started with people first, too higher a risk of getting caught before he'd had a chance to perfect his art. I'd look into cases of mutilated animals, anything bigger than a German Shepard. See if any large mammals have gone missing from the zoo or whether fisheries and wildlife have found an increase in dead bears etc. What he did wouldn't be noticed at first, not if you didn't know what you were looking for.' Jessica said picking her coffee up and taking a sip of it.
'You sound as if you admire him.' Simon said disapprovingly.
'He's clever, knows exactly what he's doing and how to avoid leaving evidence behind.'
'Sending letters isn't that smart.' Megan gloated.
'Are you sure that they're coming from him?' Jessica asked, 'What about the grammar and punctuation?'
'Have a look for yourself.' Joel said handing her another file.
'He didn't write these.' looking briefly at the first letter in the file.
'How can you tell? You didn't even read it.' Megan protested.
'The man you're looking for is highly educated, possibly to a degree level. He's very precise, proud of his work. A perfectionist. He would never send a letter with so many simple spelling mistakes in it,' Jessica explained, 'And the handwriting's different on each of the letters,' opening the evidence bag that the first letter was sealed inside, 'It's blood. I'd have it DNA typed and checked against the victims. Also check the handwriting against samples of the victims. I wouldn't put it past him to get them to write the letters for him.'
'You can tell it's blood just from smelling the air in the bag?' Megan asked.
'Blood always a coppery scent to it.' she replied.

********************

It was just a cave, Taz told herself, entering it with the rest of her group. Then why did she have a really bad feeling about it? She'd been caving before when she'd visited her relatives in South Africa. And the cave had to be safe otherwise they wouldn't have been allowed to go exploring in it. Not that that did anything to reassure her when she looked back towards the entrance which was rapidly disappearing into the distance as she ventured deeper into the cave.

*************

'This is so cool.' Daryl said looking around, the light from his helmet lamp bouncing off the rock formations in the cave, 'I've got to get my dad to come down here.'
'I want to go back,' Melanie whined as she almost slipped, 'It's slimy and it smells.' And was not the sort of place someone like her should be seen in at all.
Daryl shook his head slowly then began walking faster in the hope that he could catch up with Taz and maybe get her to listen to his apology.

**************

'I'm going to kill her,' Tommy said after reading the note he'd just found under his sister's mug, 'She knows damn well that she's not supposed to be walking around without her stick. Never mind running round the city chasing psychos.' Of all the stunts she'd pulled recently, this had to be the dumbest, he thought. If she wasn't careful she was going to end up back in a hospital bed. 'She'll run herself into the ground working the case. Then when it's over I'm the one supposed to put her back together again. She's been having trouble controlling her senses recently.'
'What do you mean by trouble?' Blair asked.
'They've been spiking,' Tommy said, 'Touch has been normal for the past two years. I think that the others are trying to compensate for it.'
'Tommy, just how many heightened senses does Jess have?'
'You know Jess, she's always been able to hear and see better than anyone else.'
'So that's two...'
'Then the others got better after she hit puberty.'
'Oh man! We've got to keep her away from Jim.' Blair said.
'Your roommate!'
'And my test subject. Put the two of them in the same room and KABOOM.'

***************

Detective Jim Ellison did a double take when he saw the small white jaguar laying stretched out in front of the door to Simon's office. He closed his eyes briefly and when he looked again saw that it had been joined by his spirit guide the black jaguar. Walking over to his desk a smile crept across his face at he watched the big black cat first sniff at then begin to nuzzle the neck of the smaller white cat which was ignoring it completely.
Relaxing his guard, he realised that if the white cat had posed any threat to him his spirit guide would have dealt with it. Sitting down behind his desk he carried on watching the interaction between the two cats. The larger cat tried to get the attention of the smaller one by alternating between nuzzling and pacing up and down before the smaller one. Until finally the smaller one had had enough of being bothered and flicked it's tail sharply across the nose of the larger cat before getting up and walking straight through the door of Simon's office.
'Guess she's not interested.' Jim muttered. It had come to something when his spirit guide had more chance of getting a date than he did.

************

If she looked at him then he'd think that she'd forgiven him for hanging out with Melanie instead, Taz thought when she saw Daryl walking alongside her. It was going to take a lot for her to forgive him, that was if she was able to. Hearing what she thought was a rumbling noise she stopped and began looking around. Seeing that there was nothing wrong she dismissed it was her imagination playing tricks on her and began walking again.
'Taz...' Daryl began, what was he supposed to say without making things even worse between them than they already were, 'You can ignore me all you want but I'm not going away until you've listened to me.'
'Just get it over with.' she snapped.
'I'm sorry okay. I'm not, never have been or ever will be interested in Melanie Warren or anyone like her,' he said, 'If you don't want to be friends anymore that's okay. I mean I haven't behaved much like your best friend since we got here.'
'No you haven't. Friends are supposed to stick together. Instead you went off with her,' Taz said, 'After everything she's said and done to me, you still chose her. Well I hope that you'll both be very happy together. Just don't come crawling back to me when she's dumped you.'
'For the last time I'm not dating Melanie Warren. I wouldn't date her even if her dad paid me to,' Daryl snapped, 'I'd have to be pretty dumb to do that.'
'Maybe you are,' walking faster to get away from him, 'I don't know whether I still want to be friends with you or not.'
'Taz.' he called after her.
'Just stay away from me.'

*****************

He'd made things even worse with apology, Daryl thought, so maybe he should have backed off and left her alone for a while. At least until she'd cooled down, although right now he doubted that she would. And he could just imagine what his dad would say when he told him that he and Taz weren't friends any more, he was really going to be disappointed with him for treating his best friend like that.
Even worst was the fact that right now Melanie would be telling everyone that she'd broken him and Taz up. There were going to be guys asking Taz out all the time now, and she was bound to say yes to one of them. Now who was sounding jealous?

**************

'Doctor.' Simon said sharply when he saw the glazed look in her eyes. He'd seen that same look in Jim's eyes when he zoned.
'What?' Jessica asked blinking.
'Are you all right?' Joel asked.
'Just got caught up in my thoughts that's all,' she replied, 'Right where were we?'
'Lack of evidence at the crime scene.' Joel reminded her.
'Forensics have been over all the crime scenes with a fine tooth comb and they didn't find anything that didn't belong there,' Megan said, 'We even got Jimbo and Sandy to see if they could work their magic.'
'Jimbo and Sandy?'
'Detective Jim Ellison and his partner Blair Sandburg.' Simon explained.
'I'd like to talk to Detective Ellison.' Jessica said.
'This isn't his case,' Megan said, 'And he didn't find anything.'
'I'd still like to talk to him. Just to get another viewpoint of the crime scene,' she said, 'In a case like this it's the little things that will add up, not the big things.'
'You'll have plenty of opportunity to talk to Detective Ellison later,' Simon said, 'Now do you have any idea who he's going to go after next?'
'Not yet,' she admitted, 'But it's going to be soon. I don't think he's working to any set time table, such as the lunar cycle.'
'So we still don't have anything solid to go on.' Megan said.
'This isn't a precise art,' Jessica said, 'It's more like doing a jigsaw puzzle with no picture and most of the pieces missing. Given enough time I will find you something to go on.'
'After how many more victims?' Megan asked.
'I'm going to need a desk and a couple of hours,' ignoring Megan's question, 'By then I might have something for you. I'll also need a list of everyone whose been at the crime scenes, forensics, medics. If someone was there I need their name on that list.'
'Why?' Simon asked.
'So I know who to exclude,' she replied, 'I have feeling that he knows what procedures you follow when collecting evidence. He could also have been back to the crime scenes. A civilian would stand out.'
'To laugh at us?' Joel asked.
'To gloat is more likely. He'd also be there to make sure that he hadn't left anything behind. And if he did, well there's damned good reason for trace evidence being there, he was officially at the scene.'
'You're saying that he could be a cop!' Simon growled, the chief and the mayor were going to love that theory, he thought, 'Do you have any idea of the panic that would cause if the papers found out?'
'We wouldn't be able to do our jobs,' Megan said, 'And how many serial killer cops have you come across?'
'One so far,' Jessica admitted, 'And I can't discount any possibility in case it's the right one.'

******************

'Blair, what exactly does KABOOM mean?' Tommy asked following Blair out of the lift.
'Just that it would be a very bad thing for Jess and Jim to be together in the same room,' Blair replied, 'Jim can be pretty territorial. He's an ex-army ranger. He feels threatened and...'
'You mean Jess could get hurt!'
'She's not exactly able to defend herself right now is she?' If Jim felt threatened and lost it she was going to be in serious trouble.
'Jess would never threaten anyone. Not unless they threatened me or her first,' Tommy said, 'She's very protective of me sometimes.'
'Because you help her with her senses right. You should have told me that all of them were enhanced.'
'They're just better than everyone else's. And she has a hard enough time of it being as smart as she is. I don't want people treating like she's some sort of freak. Including you.'
'Trust me I won't. But I would like to run a few tests, maybe compare her to Jim. See if gender has any effect on them.'
'You'd have to ask Jess, but no pushing it if she says no.'

***************

Rafe couldn't help but stare at the young man who'd just entered the Bullpen with Blair. He was even more handsome than he'd looked the previous night. And those jeans he was wearing looked as if they'd been painted on, the dark green shirt he was wearing only served to enhance the brilliant blue of his eyes.
Suddenly aware that H was looking at him, he stopped staring and went back to doing his paperwork. He'd been too obvious in showing his interest on the young man. Especially when that interest wasn't going to be returned.

*****************

'He's cute.' Tommy said looking in Rafe's direction.
'I wouldn't say that to Jim,' Blair said, 'Not if you still want to be standing afterwards.'
'Not your roommate, your friend from last night,' he sighed, 'Although if your roommate's the big macho blonde I'd line him up for Jess.'
'The idea is to keep then apart, not throw then together.' Blair reminded him.
'Pity, she could use some romance in her life. Been seriously lacking recently. Well forever to be honest.'
'You could always get her together with Rafe.' Blair joked.
'Not her type, too dressed up.'

*********************

There was that noise again, Taz thought, and she had that bad feeling again. Something strange was going on but she wasn't sure what. It was too late to turn back now and it would spoil it for everyone if she made a fuss. Looking back she realised that she was quite a distance away from the rest of the group, which Daryl was heading up with Melanie just behind him. She couldn't even see Mr Smith who was supposed to be in charge. Stopping she waited for everyone else to catch up with her.

********************

'Where's Mr Smith?' Taz asked.
'He must have gone on ahead.' Daryl said.
'I haven't seen him for the last half an hour. I think something might have happened to him.'
'It's not our problem.' Melanie said callously.
'Of course it's our problem,' Taz replied, 'He could be hurt. I'm going to look for him, but the rest of you should go back and tell someone.' They just couldn't leave someone down there when they might be hurt.
'I'll go with you,' Darly said, 'If he's hurt you're going to need help getting him out of here.'
'We need you to get us out of here.' Melanie whined.
'All you have to do is go back the way we came. It's a straight line, I doubt that even you could get lost following a straight line,' Taz snapped, 'Harold, I want you to keep everybody together on the way back. And tell them what's happened when you get back to camp.' Harold was probably the most sensible one amongst the rest of the group.
'I'm not doing anything he says.' Melanie protested.
'Fine, don't,' she snapped, 'But if you get lost it's not my problem.'
'I'm going to tell my dad and he'll fire your brother.' she threatened.
'I don't give a damn about your dad. He can go fuck himself for all I care,' moving towards Melanie, 'And you can do the same.'
'You can't talk to me like that.' Melanie whined.
'Yes I can,' Taz replied, 'Come one Daryl.' turning and walking away from Melanie.
'Harold do as she says.' Daryl said before hurrying to catch up with Taz.

********************

'Guess this means we're friends again.' he said walking along side Taz.
'For now,' she replied, 'She'll probably get lost and blame me.'
'Maybe,' he admitted, 'You really let her have it though. She won't bother you for a while.'
'Yeah right, I showed her up in front of all her friends. She's not going to forgive me for that in a hurry.' Losing her temper had just given Melanie more ammunition to use against her.
'You stood up to her, that counts for something.'
'Not a lot.' she admitted. Brian was going to be really upset with her because she was going to be reason that he was going to be fired. Still at least Daryl had volunteered to go with her to look for Mr smith. Not that it proved anything, he probably just wanted to play hero so that Melanie wouldn't dump him as soon as she'd dumped all the other guys she'd gone out with.

***************

Hearing her brother's voice coming from outside the office she was in made Jessica's heart sink. She was really in for it, if she was lucky he wouldn't drag her out of the office and straight home. He might even wait until they got home before really ripping into her. By the time he'd finished with her she'd be lucky to if he let her walk to the bathroom on her own. Still maybe he had a point about her trying to push herself too far. She was starting to feel really tired now, but she had to keep going. Falling asleep over case files just wasn't an option that she could take right now. There were too many people relying on her, just like there always were.

******************

'Hey Jim,' Blair said, standing in front of his partner's desk, 'You feeling okay?'
'I'm fine Chief,' Jim replied more than a little confused as to why his friend was asking him that particular question, 'Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?' looking at the nervous looking young man standing next to Blair.
'Sure, Jim, this is Tommy, Tommy, Jim. Tommy's sister's going to be helping Joel and Megan with their case.' Blair said.
'She's a profiler, and teacher.' Tommy said.
'They could use the help.' Jim said. Well that answered the question of who the white jaguar belonged to, he thought.
'You want to go to the break room?' Blair asked.
'Not at the moment,' he replied, 'Why don't you just tell me what's going on Chief.' His friend was nervous about something because his heart beat was all over the place.
'I just don't think that it would be a good idea for you and Tommy's sister to meet up right now. Not until I've done some research.' Blair said.
'Trust me Chief , it's not going to be a problem,' Jim grinned at him, 'If it was I'd be in lock up right now.'
'So no adverse reactions?'
'None, I take it that your friend here knows all about it.'
'I help her,' Tommy said, 'She's not a threat to anyone, she shouldn't even be working on this case.'
'I wouldn't worry too much,' Jim reassured him, 'Joel's not the sort to push, and I'll keep an eye on her.' Would be nice to talk to someone else who had enhanced senses, maybe her guide was just as big a trouble magnet as his was.
'Maybe the two of you could get together over dinner,' Tommy suggested, 'She gets a bit lonely sometimes. And she makes a mean burger.'
'When?' Jim asked.
'Tomorrow night.' he replied.
'That's fine with me.' It looked as if he'd been successful where his spirit guide hadn't.

******************

"I don't think he's down here.' Darly said,
'Maybe you're right.' Taz replied, they'd been walking for the past half an hour and hadn't seen any sign of him. 'We'll have a break then head back.' slipping her backpack off and sitting down on an outcrop of rock.
'Think the others have made it back okay?' he asked sitting down next to her.
'Should nearly be there by now. We'll probably meet up with the search team on the way back.'
'So how come you know so much about caving? I can't see your brother being into it.'
'No, Brian hates the outdoors,' she said, 'As for how I know so much. My uncle's a geologist. Every time I visit he takes me caving. Usually a lot warmer than this though.' shivering slightly as she opened her back pack and took out a bar of chocolate.
'Think you can forgive me for being such a jerk?'
'Maybe,' she admitted, 'But that doesn't mean I'm going to share my chocolate with you.'
'I've got my own.' smiling at her.

***************

This was the perfect opportunity to get her own back on both Taz Rafe and Daryl Banks for the way they'd treated her, Melanie thought. But first she was going to have to get Harold Barclay to do as she said. And as much as she was going to hate it she would have to let the little geek touch her.

******************

'Harold,' Melanie purred sidling upto him, 'I think you're so brave leading everyone to safety like this.'
'R,Really.' he stuttered while blushing heavily.
'Really, not just anyone could take charge like you have. They were pretty selfish to leave everything to you to do.'
'Someone had to go and look for Mr Smith.'
'I really admire people who are as brave as you.' Already she could feel her stomach churning from being so close to him. 'There's no need to tell anyone that they went looking for Mr Smith is there.'
'I have to, they could get into trouble.' he replied.
'They just wanted to spend sometime alone.'
'Why would they want to do that?' Harold asked.
'Why do you think ?' Melanie replied, 'I mean dark romantic cave, nobody else around. And David Ross said that Daryl didn't go back to their cabin last night. So I wouldn't worry about them too much if I were you.'
'I don't know.'
'Harold, they're not going to be very happy if you send a search party after them. You wouldn't want them to get into trouble would you?'
'The most I can give them is a couple of hours,' he said, 'If they're not back...'
'It doesn't take that long.' smiling at him.

***************

'Did you hear that?' Taz asked as a rumbling sound rang out.
'Yeah,' Darly replied, 'Maybe we should get out here mow.' as dust began to fall from the ceiling along with small pieces of rock.
'I think you're right,' standing up and slipping her backpack on, 'No point in hanging around here...' looking up she could see a crack rapidly forming in the roof of the cave and a large piece of rock which looked as if it was going to fall at any minute.
'What?'
'Run.' grabbing hold of one of his arms and dragging him deeper into the cave.
'The other way.' he shouted as piece of rock narrowly missed him.
'Too late.'she screamed as there was a deafening roar behind them as the roof caved in.

****************

Discovery part 2

2009-01-24T12:32:06Z

This really sucked, Taz thought getting onto the bus. She'd planned on sitting next to Daryl on the way there, instead Melanie Warren was and to make matters even worse she was flirting with him. Daryl shrugged his shoulders apologetically as she walked past him to the rear of the bus. Still at least she'd be able to spend some time with while they were at the camp site. That was something that they hadn't been able to do recently, not alone anyway. Ever since her brother and Daryl's dad had found out that they were friends they'd both been keeping a pretty close eye on them. Like they were even going to think about doing something that they shouldn't while they were being watched.
'I don't see how you can like someone like that,' Melanie pouted as all her efforts to flirt with Daryl failed, 'She doesn't even wear eyeliner.'
'Exactly.' Daryl replied, that was just one of the reasons why he liked Taz as much as he did. She didn't act like all the other girls at school, she wasn't afraid that she was going to ruin her makeup or break a nail if he wanted to shoot hoops with her. With Taz what you saw was what you got. He didn't even mind that some of the guys at school teased him because he was friends with a girl. They were the ones missing out, he thought, and it wasn't as if there was huge queue of girls waiting for him to ask them out.
'But she's ugly.' Melanie whined playing with her long blonde hair. Daryl smiled politely at her, after his parents had taught him that if you couldn't say anything nice it was better not to say anything at all. Taz wasn't ugly though, she was pretty and she was fun to be around. He knew that it was only a matter of time before some other guy realised that and asked her out, she would say yes and that would be the end of their friendship.

********************

The house was just too quiet without Taz in it, Brian thought letting Max out into the back garden. Still he supposed that he'd better start getting used to it because sooner or later Taz would be leaving home. Hopefully later thought, because she was still too young to be living away from home.
H would say that he had to get a life, that somewhere out there just waiting for him to come along was the perfect woman. The only problem was that he didn't want to find a woman. It had all been so much easier when Taz had been younger, after all there were very few women who were prepared to taken on a little sister. Now though there was no excuse for him to turn down dates, except that he didn't want to go on them. and how was he supposed to explain it to Taz, explain that she was more likely to end up with a brother in law than a sister in law. She was going to be really upset that he'd kept something this big from her, after all they weren't supposed to have secrets.

*******************

'I hate mud,' Melanie whined as her heels sank into the ground, 'My shoes.'
'Why do you think we were supposed to wear boots?' Taz asked from behind her, fighting the urge to push Melanie face down in the biggest mud puddle that she could find.
'Come on,' Daryl said taking hold of one of her arms and pulling her away from where Melanie was, 'You don't want to get sent home when we've only just got here do you?'
'Nah, she's not worth it.' Taz said walking away as Melanie struggled to get her shoes free of the mud.
'Daryl.' Melanie screamed as the two of them walked away.

********************

Nobody treated her like that, Melanie thought, finally getting free of the mud. Especially when one of those nobodies was Taz Rafe. She was a geek, an ugly, parentless geek. Well she was going to show her what happened to someone who dared to try and take something away from her that she wanted. She might have got that stupid puppy, but she wasn't going to get Daryl. She was going to have to up the ante, flirting with him just wasn't going to cut it this time. No, she was going to offer him something that nobody had ever turned down before. The geek couldn't possibly compete with that, hell she was probably still a virgin.

********************

'You shouldn't let her get to you.' Daryl said.
'I can't help it, she does it on purpose,' Taz said, 'I mean what sort of person wears high heels to go camping in. With any luck the mud'll suck her under.'
'We could always put a snake in her bed.'
'I don't like snakes but I couldn't be cruel to one.' she laughed.
'I was saving the seat next to me for you but...' he began.
'It's okay, sitting at the back was okay.'
'All she did was talk about herself,' he said, 'After the first ten minutes it got boring. She didn't even notice when I fell asleep.'
'Shows how dumb she really is.' Daryl had never fallen asleep when she'd talked to him, but then she'd never droned on and on about herself. All of which went to show just how vain and shallow Melanie really was. Still it was that same shallowness and vanity that got Melanie so many dates, 'I'd be really careful around her.' Personally she wouldn't trust Melanie as far as she could spit, but apart from giving Daryl a friendly warning there wasn't a great deal that she could do.'
'I'm not interested in her.' he smiled.
'That doesn't mean that she's not interested in you. Last guy she got her claws into still paying for it.' she reminded him.
'Not going to happen to me.'

******************

'Thought you'd be at home enjoying the peace and quiet.' H said when his partner sat down at his desk and began doing paperwork.
'Just thought I'd get caught up,' Brian replied, 'If you have a problem with that?'
'No problem, just figured that with Taz away first thing you'd do is invite some lucky lady over. There's been a lack of them recently.'
'You ever stop to think that maybe I don't want a woman.'
'You're joking right. It's going to get pretty lonely when Taz leaves home.'
'She won't be doing that for a couple of years,' Brian replied, 'And I can always get a lodger.'
'You with a lodger, believe it when I see it buddy,' H laughed, 'I give you six months max when Taz's left home before you're engaged or married.'
'Not going to happen.' To begin with he couldn't get engaged to someone if he couldn't marry then, he thought. And he certainly wouldn't be as desperate for company as H was making out when Taz left home. But he would be able to invite someone back to the house without any awkward questions being asked. Although in order for him to meet someone he would have to go out. It had been along time since he'd last gone to a bar with the intent purpose of finding someone that he wanted to date and then eventually sleep with.
Things had probably changed a lot since the last time he'd dated a man. Now there were all sorts of disease out there, looking back at his younger wilder days he could see that he'd been damned lucky to catch anything. Attitudes on the force hadn't changed a great deal though, the streets could still be a very dangerous place for a gay cop who was out. Still nobody knew he was, and he'd dated enough women since joining the force that nobody would suspect it.

******************

Looking around the log cabin Taz realised that she'd been lucky to have one all to herself. No doubt any potential room mate had decided that the stigma of sharing with the geek would be something that they could never get rid of. Not that she minded being on her own, she could do as she pleased when it came to deciding what time she went to sleep. And if she felt like it she could stay up all night if she wanted to, something Brian would never have let her do at home.
Unpacking her overstuffed back pack, she came across the notebook and pencil case she'd packed. Now that she had some time and privacy she could work on a personal ad for her brother. Sitting on the edge of one of the beds in the cabin she opened the notebook and stared at the clean sheet of paper while she tried to sort out in her mind what it was that she wanted to say. Taking a pencil out of the case, she began to write.
'Wanted,' she said aloud, 'By tall,' five foot eleven was tall, she thought, it was when compared to her five foot five, 'Attractive,' even she knew that her brother attractive, 'Man in his late thirties, Female companion for evenings out and possible romance.' Well she didn't want anyone who was only interested in a short term fling answering, after all one day she would like some nieces and nephews to baby-sit for. 'Must like teenagers and dogs.' That said just about all she wanted it to say for the time being, and she could always alter it later. If the final version of the ad didn't work she could always suggest that he date guys.
'Damien, she thought, dredging up a memory from the recesses of her mind. He'd been Brian's best friend long before H had. They'd done everything together, now she was starting to realise just what exactly everything had included. Brian was gay! No Bi, he had to be Bi because she'd met some of his dates and they'd all been women. Not that any of them had stayed over night or for more than one or two dates. She'd always thought that it was her fault that they hadn't stayed around longer, but maybe it wasn't.
Tearing the piece of paper she'd written on out of the notebook she scrunched it into a ball and dropped it into the bin at the side of the bed. When she got home she was going to have to ask Brian some really searching questions.

*************

'Sorry that seat's taken,' Darly said as Melanie tried to sit next to him at the lunch table, 'Taz'll be here soon.'
'She's not here now thought,' Melanie replied sitting down next to him, 'Did you know that she stole my puppy? He was the cutest little thing. Daddy was going to pay a thousand dollars for him. Now Detective Dobson's looking for a new job.'
Darly looked at her and pushed his lunch tray across the table. She wasn't going to go away quietly, he thought, and Taz was going to be pretty upset that Melanie was trying to butt into their friendship.
'He's going to get me onto the track team to make up for it,' she smirked, 'So someone's going to have to get dropped.'
'Melanie, go away.' She was only telling him because she knew that he would tell Taz what she was going to do. What really sucked was the fact that he knew that there was nothing that they could do to stop her from getting Taz kicked off the team. At least Taz still had the Stone Centre, that was until Melanie found out about it.
Melanie had to be really insecure to hate Taz as much as she did. After all Taz had never done anything to her. They didn't eve hang out with the same people. Come to think of it the only person Taz ever hung out with was him, she didn't seem to have any other friends. Maybe she just preferred it that way, because she was pretty serious at school. Not that she didn't know how to have fun as well.

***************

She wasn't going to lose her temper or get upset, Taz thought on entering the lunch room and seeing Melanie sitting next to Daryl, because she would be playing straight into Melanie's hands if she did. Once Melanie decided that she wanted something or one, she wouldn't let anyone get in her way, no matter how many people got hurt in the process. And it looked as if she'd decided that she wanted Daryl.
He just didn't stand a chance against Melanie when she was in full seductress mode. By the time they went home in three days time Melanie would have chewed him up and spat him out, just like every other guy she'd ever dated. Daryl was her friend, her best friend, well the only friend that she had, but she wasn't so sure that she wanted to be the one who put him back together after Melanie had finished with him.
If she'd been prettier, or even taller she might have been able to put up some sort of fight against Melanie. But she wasn't and Daryl wasn't even remotely interested in her romantically. So for the time being she was just going to have to stand by and wait to see what happened.

*******************

A self satisfied grin spread across Melanie's face when she saw Taz taking her lunch tray over to a table where the rest of the geeks and misfits were sitting. Finally she'd learnt that no matter how hard she tried she was never going to be accepted as normal. People like Taz Rafe were there to be used and stepped on while you were going up the ladder of success. Of course they were never allowed to climb that ladder no matter how smart they were or how hard they tried.
There were always ways to stop people like Taz Rafe from getting anywhere in life, daddy had taught her that. After all it wasn't as if Taz had any family to push her name forward. No, all she had was a brother who was a lowly detective. By the time she'd finished with her Taz would be lucky to get a job flipping burgers for minimum wage.

*****************

'Another one bites the dust,' Harold Barclay said pushing his thick rimmed glasses back onto his nose at Taz sat down at his table, 'Sorry he's a friend of your isn't he.'
'Yeah.' she replied.
'Couple of days and she'll have dumped him.'
'I know that.' Everybody knew that Melanie never dated the same guy for more than a week.
'Bet you didn't know that he was the sixth this month.' he said.
'Sixth!' She'd never even dated a single guy yet. And Brian would kill her if she tried dating six guys in a month. Doing something like that was the right way to get yourself a reputation, something that you couldn't get rid of quite so easily. 'Why do guys keep going out with her if they know that she's just going to use them?'
'Because she gives them what they want.'
'You mean she...' Harold nodded. 'There is no way Daryl. I mean it's sick.' She didn't even stand a chance of keeping Daryl away from Melanie when Melanie was prepared to go that far. 'How do you know?'
'My brother dated Melanie last year,' Harold replied, 'A broken heart wasn't all that she left him with if you get my meaning. Do you want that?' watching her push her food around her plate with her fork.
'You can have it,' pushing the tray towards him, 'I'm not very hungry now.' Daryl could find himself in serious trouble if he wasn't careful, she thought, but with Melanie looking as if she was going to be hanging around him all the time she wasn't going to get much of a chance to warn him about the trouble that he might be getting himself into.

****************

'Isn't that sweet,' Melanie mocked, 'She's found a little geek friend to play with.'
'Quit having a go at Taz,' Daryl snapped, 'It's not as if she's ever done anything to you.' moving his chair away from Melanie's when he felt a hand touch his thigh.
'She's not like us,' she replied, 'People like her are never going to be accepted. It's better that she learns that now.'
Darly looked at her, nobody had the right to write off anybody else, he thought. Especially not when that person was his best friend.
'Just what exactly is wrong with Taz?' he wanted some solid reason why she didn't like Taz, to have the nerve to assume that she would never be accepted.
'Where do you want me to start?' she asked, 'She's ugly, a geek. And just look at what she's wearing. Those clothes look like something a bag lady would throw out.'
'This is a camping trip not a fashion show.' he reminded her.

********************

'At least someone cares.' Brian said as Max raced up to greet him after opening the front door. Not that a puppy helped to fill the growing feeling of loneliness inside of him. Eating a lot alone wasn't some thing that he was looking forward to. Normally he and Taz ate together mostly to make sure that they both ate something. Mealtimes were also when they talked about their days. Not that he always told her the truth, there were some things that she didn't need to know about, the dead bodies, the junkies. He'd do his damnedest to keep her from ever seeing those. Taz was a lot better at school work than he'd ever been. There'd be no pounding the beat waiting for a chance to get her gold shield. No, she was going to go into either business or science. Some job where she didn't have to worry about getting shot at. He'd decided along time ago that she wouldn't be having anything to do with the darker side of life.

*************

Yawning Taz opened her cabin door. An early morning and an afternoon of trekking through the woods were starting to take it's toll on her. Closing the door behind her she looked it just in case anyone was in the mood for playing practical jokes. After turning on the lamp she closed the curtains before getting ready for bed.
Putting her sweats on she thought about how little time she'd been able to spend with Daryl. Melanie had clung to him like a limpet all day. She'd even tried following him when he'd needed the bathroom during their trek through the woods. Right now Daryl was probably taking full advantage of what Melanie was offering. Still that was up to him, it wasn't as if she could force him to stay away from her. At least tomorrow she wouldn't have to put up with Melanie simpering over Daryl because they were going caving and Melanie wasn't booked to go on the trip.

***************

He'd made a terrible mistake, Brian thought entering the club. This wasn't really his sort of place. He wasn't even sure why he'd even come here, maybe to try and erase a little of the loneliness that was starting to overwhelm him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw a familiar figure from the station standing at the bar with a group of young men. He had to get out of here before he was seen otherwise the fact that he'd been here would be all over the station by lunch time tomorrow.
Too late! Blair had seen him and was coming over. Better have an explanation ready, he thought, and it was going to have to be a damned good one.

****************

'Hey Rafe,' Blair said, 'Fancy seeing you here,' grinning at the obviously uneasy detective, 'Come here often.'
'First time,' Brian replied, 'I was just going, not exactly my type of place if you know what I mean.'
'Why don't you stay for a drink? H was saying that you could probably use some cheering up with your sister away.'
'The house does feel empty,' he admitted, 'And clean and tidy.' There was no life in it with Taz away.
'So what do you say to a beer?' Blair asked.
'Sure why not.' He didn't have anything to lose and he could always leave after he'd drunk it.

***************

'Oh god.' Brian groaned the following morning. His head felt like there was a jack hammer in it and his tongue had suddenly grown fur. Stumbling out of bed he staggered across the bedroom and towards the bathroom.
Blinking at his dishevelled reflection in the bathroom mirror, he turned on the cold water tap and splashed some onto his face. Feeling only slightly better he opened the bathroom cabinet, took two aspirins from the bottle in it and swallowed them. He was going to need a lot of black coffee, he thought leaving the bathroom. And then he was going to have to try and remember just how exactly he'd got into this state.

******************

Sitting at the kitchen table cradling a mug of strong black coffee vague memories of the night before started coming back to him. He could remember accepting Blair's offer of a beer and of being introduced to the young's man friends. In particular he remembered a young man about Blair's height with short dark curly hair, who had seemed more than a little interested in getting to know him better. He hadn't been able to say anything with Blair being there otherwise he would have asked for his phone number. After that there had been a few more beers and a few more after that. He could definitely remember being put into a cab at some point late in the evening so he couldn't have done anything too embarrassing, he thought. Still he couldn't help but wish that he'd been able to pluck up enough courage to ask that young man for his phone number.

********************

'You know just because they're moving your desk in today it doesn't mean that you've got to do the same.' Tommy said taking a box from the rear seat of the dark blue jeep.
'The sooner I do it the less likely I am to change my mind.' Jessica replied getting out of the front passenger side of the jeep.
'I still think you're pushing yourself too hard.' watching her use her walking stick to steady herself.
'I'm going to be teaching a couple of classes a week. Maybe give the odd outside lecture, that's all.' She was going to ease herself into teaching.
'Just remember that you get tried easily and no carrying heavy objects.'
'So tell me more about this guy you met last night.' changing the subject before he could give her another of his lectures about taking better care of herself.

********************

Taz's heart sank when she saw Melanie joining the group that was going caving. There went her chance to spend time with Daryl, she thought. And it looked as if Melanie had got her claws well and truly hooked into him. Well she certainly wasn't going to waste anymore of her time on someone who was dumb enough to get involved with Melanie Warren. Brian would be happy about it thought as he'd been wanting her to spend less time with Daryl.

**************

'Oh look, your little friend's sulking,' Melanie cooed clinging to Daryl's arm despite his best efforts to shake her hold off him, 'I wonder why? She couldn't possibly be jealous of me could she?'
'Melanie, for the last time, leave me alone,' Daryl snapped finally shaking her hold off, 'I'm not interested.' And he never would be.
'Nobody turns me down,' she pouted, 'You and the little geek are going to regret this.'
'You don't even know when to shut up.' he said walking over to where Taz was standing.

********************

'Hey Blair,' Tommy said entering Blair's office, 'Sol's coming, takes her a little longer to get around these days than it used to,' putting the box that he was holding down on the empty desk in the room, 'I really appreciate you giving up some of your office space to her.'
'No problem.' Blair replied.
'She shouldn't be in your way too much, she'd only teaching part time for the next couple of months.'
'Anything I need to know?'
'No sage burning, no strong after shave and don't even think about raiding her desk for snacks.'
'Anything else?'
'She's pretty flexible regarding everything else.' Tommy replied.

*******************

'Talking about me again?' Jessica asked limping into her new office, 'Why don't you make yourself useful and make me some of that foul tasting tea you like so much.'
'Yes boss,' Tommy laughed, 'That's the closest she'll come to admitting that she likes it.'
'Watch it I'm armed,' waving her stick at him, 'Blair, it's good to see you again.'
'You too.' he replied grinning at her.
'So what can you tell me about this man Tommy met last night?' she asked.
'Which one?' Blair asked.
'Five eleven, hazel eyes, designer casual ring any bells.'
'Rafe!'
'Is that his first name or last name?' limping over to her desk and sitting behind it, 'My balance is still a little off. So if you find me face down on the floor I'd really appreciate a hand up.' on seeing the concerned look on Blair's face.
'No problem,' he replied, 'I hate to break it you Tommy, but Rafe's straight.'
'Still it couldn't do any harm to give him your phone number in case he changes his mind.' looking at her brother.

******************

'How much longer are you going to ignore me?' Daryl asking walking alongside Taz.
'I'm not ignoring you,' she replied, 'I just don't want to talk to you right now. I'm sure that Melanie would be more than happy to listen to anything you have to say.'
'Taz...' he began.
'Look you want to hang out with Melanie that's fine. Just don't expect me to pick the pieces up afterwards.' she snapped.
'I don't want to hang out with Melanie.'
'Why not? You did yesterday.'
'I tried getting rid of her, but she wouldn't go away.' If it had been a guy bothering him like that he would probably have hit him, but hitting girls was wrong.
'Yeah right,' she muttered, 'You do know that you're the sixth guy she's dated this month.'
'I'm not dating Melanie.' She sounded jealous, he thought, but she couldn't be because they were just friends. Recently though with Melanie chasing him he'd begun to think that maybe he should be dating someone. A lot of guys his age were on their third even fourth girlfriend and he'd dated a grand total of zero so far. He hadn't even kissed a girl properly, although he wasn't going to admit that to anyone. The only problem was that any girl he dated wasn't going to want him hanging out with Taz and he didn't want to lose his best friend. 'I'd never date anyone who didn't like you.'
'Who you date is nothing to do with me.' Taz frowned.
'Just because your brother...'
'Leave Brian out of it. No wonder he doesn't want me dating when there are so many jerks around.' marching off ahead of him.

********************

He'd really blown that, Daryl thought, it had all come out mixed up. When it came to talking to girls he always messed up. This time was worst of all because he'd upset his best friend. Somehow he was going to have to say sorry to her. Which wasn't going to be easy as she probably wasn't going to speak to him ever again.
It was at times like these that he really wished he'd been about to talk to his dad about things. His dad probably had some great advice as to how he could put things right with Taz, but he couldn't call him so he was going to have to do it by himself.

*******************

'Yes,' Jessica said when the office door opened and a rather stout African American man entered, 'If you're looking for Blair I'm afraid that you've just missed him. He's gone to lunch.'
'Actually I'm looking for Dr Angel,' he replied, 'Captain Joel Taggart, Cascade Police Department.' taking out his badge and showing her it.
'Is this about the parking tickets? Only the car was stolen and written off nearly two years ago. I was promised that there wouldn't be any more.'
'This isn't about parking tickets,' he reassured her. 'You're Dr Angel?' looking closely at the young woman sitting behind the desk.
'I was when I got up this morning,' smiling at him, 'What can I do for you Captain Taggart?'
'I'm currently working on a serial homicide case. And you were recommended by the FBI office in Seattle.' he replied.
'Really!' she said, 'Do you have the case notes with you?' Tommy wasn't going to like this one bit, she thought, but she couldn't turn them down when there were people's lives at risk.
'They're at the station, regulations.' he said.
'In that case I need to need note for my brother. He tends to worry if he doesn't know where I am every minute of the day.' reaching for the pen and notepad which sat on the left hand side of her desk. Quickly she scribbled a note and stuck it under her mug, knowing that would be the first place Tommy would look for one.
'If you're ready?' Joel asked.
'I just need to get my bag and a couple of reference files.' she replied. They were bulky but not that heavy, she thought, and there was no need for her to take her stick with her because she wouldn't be walking that far. And people always assumed that just because she had trouble walking there was also something wrong with her brain.

*****************

When it came down to it all guys were jerks, Taz thought, and they were all only after one thing. Well she wasn't ever going to do that. As far as she was concerned they could go to the Melanie Warren's of the world for that. She'd thought that Daryl was different, and he'd turned out to be just like all the rest of them, out for what he could get from her.
And if he dared to try and apologise to her, she'd really let him have it. Nobody treated Taz Rafe like that and then still expected to be friends with her. She'd make some new friends, find a new best friend who didn't want anything from her.

****************

Leaving her stick behind had been a mistake, Jessica thought, following Joel out of the lift. She hadn't walked that far and already her legs felt like they were made of lead. All she had to do was keep going until she could sit down. Tommy was really going to rip into her for thinking that she was upto taking part in an active case.
Still it was too late to back out now when she was actually at the station and people were relying on her to help them solve the case. Perhaps once she'd seen the case notes she'd be able to point them in the right direction.

**************

Discovery part 1

2009-01-24T12:30:49Z

author's note: I orignally wrote this story because I was thinking what if this happened. Well here's the story I hope you like it. Feedback is welcome.
Title:Discovery
Author/pseudonym: Fluffy Rabbit
Fandom: Sentinel, Daryl/OFC Jim/OFC Rafe/OMC
Rating: R
Status: New Complete
Archive: To WWOMB
Email address for feedback: kevin schmidt@ntlworld.com
Series/Sequel: First in series
Other websites: No
Disclaimers: The Sentinel guys belong to Petfly, the rest are mine.
Warnings: AU, serial killer.
Notes: Unbetaed, anyone willing please let me know.
Summary: none

DISCOVERY
By
Fluffy Rabbit
Poker night was in full swing, Taz thought opening the front door and hearing laughter coming from the dining room. She supposed that she should make a brief appearance if only to reassure her brother that she'd got home safely. Maybe now would be the right time to tell him that she'd been dropped from the gymnastics team at school, pass it off as being no big deal after all she'd got a place on the track team which was way cooler. Only it was a big deal. She'd worked hard to get on the team in the first place, put in a lot more hours of training than anyone else. And what for? To get dropped because Melanie Warren's dad had waved his cheque book in front of the coach. At least Melanie Warren didn't like track so she had omething that she could pour all her physical energy into without having to worry about being kicked off the team.
'Hi.' she said entering the dining room on her way to the kitchen.
'You're late.' Detective Brian Rafe said looking up from the cards that he was holding and at his sister.
'Max's mom was late picking us up from the centre,' she replied, 'She dropped me off right outside, and waited until I'd opened the front door.'
'So how's the gym team going?' Detective Henri Brown asked.
'I got dropped from the team a couple of weeks ago.' Taz replied.
'Why didn't you tell me?' Brian asked.
'You've been busy recently. I'm cool about it. I'm on the track team instead.'
'What event?' Henri asked.
'Two hundred and four hundred. Plus I'm going to try out for the relay team. You know what the coolest thing is?'
'No.' Henri replied.
'I get to train with my best friend,' she said, 'Plus everyone knows that all the seriously cute guys are into track and field.' Not that they ever paid her any attention, no they were all too busy following Melanie Warren around.
'You haven't forgotten that we're going to get your birthday present tomorrow have you?' Brian asked tossing several poker chips onto the pile in the middle of the table.
'How could I.' smiling at him before going into the kitchen.

************

'So you're still getting her that puppy.' Henri said.
'Yeah,' Brian replied, 'A pedigree chocolate labrador. Took a while to find one. Luckily Dobson in Vice has a dog that's had puppies. I've been promised the pick of the litter. She's already bought the bed and food
herself. And read just about every book they had on puppies in the library.'
'Would never have thought of you as being a dog owner.' Captain Simon Banks said knocking the ash off his cigar.
'It's going to be Taz's dog not mine.' Brian replied.
'Which means it's going to cause chaos,' Henri grinned, 'Sleep on the couch, get dog hairs on all those designer suits of yours.'
'She's taking it to training classes,' Brian said, 'I've already signed them up.'

***********
v 'Couldn't you have dressed a little better?' Brian asked the following morning when his sister came out of her room dressed in faded jeans, a baggy t shirt and a pair of trainers which should have been thrown out long ago, dragging a worn-out blanket behind her.
'Puppies have accidents,' Taz replied, 'And he might get car sick.'
'If he is, you clean it up.' Nobody was going to be sick in his car, because he'd never be able to get the smell out of the leather seats.
'Relax Bri, he'll probably sleep all the way home. Wrapped up in this,' picking the blanket up and folding it neatly, 'I've been thinking of names for him.'
'What if it's a girl?' he asked.
'I want a boy. We've got the pick of the litter so I can have any one I want right?'
'Right.' smiling at her. This was more like the old Taz, he thought, recently he'd sensed that she had something on her mind. Not that she ever talked to him about how she was feeling.

**************

Taz's heart sank when she saw the black mercedes parked outside of where she was getting her puppy from. Melanie Warren had beat her to it that meant that she was going to have to take whatever puppy was left. No matter what she did Melanie Warren came along and spoilt it. At least she hadn't got her hooks into Max yet, but she suspected that it was only a matter of time before she did. After all there was no way that she could possibly compete with Melanie's long blonde hair and flawless complexion.
'Well if it isn't the freak geek.' Melanie Warren smirked when she saw Taz.
'Melanie,' Taz said politely, 'I didn't realise that you liked dogs.'
'Daddy says I should have some. And these are pedigrees, not that you would know anything about that.'
'Well I just came to get my puppy.' Taz said clenching her fists until the knuckles went white.
'They've all gone.' Melanie gloated.
'Except for one,' Robert Dobson said from behind them, 'He's not the biggest one, but then his father wasn't when he was this age and he turned into the best dog I've ever had.'
'I don't care as long as he's healthy.' Taz said.
'Why don't I show you him.' Robert suggested, leaning over into the puppy pen and carefully taking out the smallest puppy in it.
'A runt for a runt.' Melanie sneered looking at the tiny puppy in Robert's hands.
'He's not a runt.' Taz snapped, she didn't care how big he was because he was her puppy. And no matter what Melanie said he was the best puppy in the world.
'Why don't you hold him for a while.' Robert suggested handing the puppy to Taz.
'You are so sweet,' Taz said softly, cradling the puppy to her chest, 'Now all I have to do is give you a name.'
'I wouldn't bother if I were you. Daddy'll buy it for me.' Melanie said.
'Not this one he won't,' Robert said, 'It's not for sale.'
Taz looked at him, why was he even bothering to let her hold the puppy then.
'He's a gift.' Robert said.
'You can't just give him away,' Melanie pouted, 'It's not fair, daddy'll pay you five hundred dollars for it.'
'It's okay, she can have him,' Taz said, 'Bri'll find me another puppy.' handing it back to Robert. Nobody was going to turn that amount of money for a puppy, she thought, walking away from the puppy pen. Yet again Melanie had taken something that she'd wanted away from her.
'Don't forget your puppy.' Robert said.
'But...' Taz began as she turned round.
'He's all yours if you still want him,' Robert said, 'I promised your brother you could have one. Just take very good care of him.'
'I will,' smiling at him, as she returned to take the puppy off him, 'I won't ever let anything happen to him.'
'A thousand.' Melanie said.
'So what are you going to call him?' Robert asked ignoring the mini tantrum that Melanie was throwing.
'I don't know,' she admitted, 'What was your first dog called?' Maybe that would give her some idea as to what she should call hers.
'Mitch after my best friend.' he replied.
'Then I'm going to call him Max after my best friend,' she said, 'You like that boy.' stroking the puppy's head.
'You can't do this,' Melanie whined, 'She's a geek.'
'And you're a spoilt brat,' Robert said, 'Your brother's got my number if you need any advice about Max.'
'I'll get you for this Rafe.' Melanie pouted.

***********

'He's small.' Brian said looking at the puppy his sister was holding.
'He'll grow,' Taz replied, 'And I've given him a name.'
'What?'
'Max.'
'You do realise that you're going to have to take very good care of him. He's your responsibility.'
'I know that,' she replied, 'I'll even take him to a training school.'
'You're already signed up for one.' he said.
'Would it be okay if I called Max and asked him over so that he could see his namesake?'
'Max is a he! I thought...' This threw a completely different light of her just going off with Max when she felt like it. She wouldn't be going anywhere else with him until he'd met him.
'That Max was a girl,' finishing his sentence for him, 'He is going to love that.' She could just imagine the look on her friend's face when she told him about her brother's assumption.
'Taz, I think that we need to have a talk about you and this Max,' Brian said, 'About just how good friends you are.'
'We're buddies that's all.' she said. Not that she would mind if Max asked her out on a real date.
'You're sure about that. Guys don't always see things the same way girls do.'
'I know that, H's mom told me all about the difference. That if a guy doesn't respect you stay well away from him.'
'In that case I think that you should invite him over.' Brian said.
'You're not going to make a big deal out of this are you?' Taz asked. The last thing she wanted was for her brother to embarrass her best friend.
'Of course not.' he replied.
Taz looked at him, he might say that now but he wouldn't be able to help himself. As soon as he met Max he'd start asking all sorts of embarrassing questions. Her brother really needed a life of his own so that he wouldn't be so interested in hers. She couldn't remember the last time he'd had a date or spent any length of time with a woman. In fact the only person he spent any length of time with apart from her was H.
There had to be a woman out there who would like to be with someone like her brother, she thought. He was smart, funny, honest, and so what if he overdressed all the time there wasn't a great deal that she could do about that. Maybe she could take out a personal ad for him because she knew exactly what she wanted from a potential sister in law. Someone who would love Brian and take care of him when she wasn't there. She didn't want to see him end up as a sad and lonely old man.

*************

At some point definitely before Max arrived she was going to have to tell Brian just who exactly Max really was. Or he was going to get a huge surprise when he opened the door and saw him standing there. Especially as Max's dad was coming with him.
'Max isn't his real name,' she said watching her puppy sniffing at a pair of Brian's slippers, 'It's his nickname. Every time he orders a burger he has it maxed. You thought H could eat, just wait until you see how much Max can put away. I guess it's because he takes after his dad.'
'So what is his proper name?' Brian asked.
'Daryl,' she muttered, 'Max come here.' tapping the floor next to her.
'As in?'
'Banks.' She was in serious trouble, she thought.
'You're dating Simon's son? Does he know?'
'I doubt it,' Taz admitted, 'And we're not dating. You know it is possible for two people of the opposite sex to be just friends.'
'And just how long have the two of you been friends?'
'Since I started going to the Stone Centre. We sort of drifted together with us both having cops in the family. Sometimes there's no-one else we can talk to.' It wasn't easy having a parent or guardian who was a police officer, or sitting at home at night wondering if they were going to come home or whether there would be a phone call asking you to go to the hospital. Even worse was the fear of the knock on the door in the middle of the night to tell you that they wouldn't ever be coming home again. She'd been lucky she knew that, Brian had never got really badly hurt so far.
Daryl hadn't been that lucky though, some pretty bad stuff had happened to both him and his dad.
'Taz, you know that you can always talk to me don't you.'
'Sure I do, but you're not always here. And Daryl doesn't get to see his dad that often and his mom's always too busy with her latest "friend" to listen to him when he needs to talk about stuff.'
'So you listen to him?' Brian asked.
'Yeah, and he listens to me. Somehow between the two of us we make sense of all the crap that goes on.'
'You would tell me if there was anything wrong wouldn't you. If the two of you were...'
'Bri, we're not doing anything we shouldn't be. Besides he's kind of shy around girls.' Except for her that was and that was probably because he saw her as a guy.
'But you're a...'
'I don't do girl stuff. Well except for the gym team and I got dropped from that.' she replied.

***************

This house was very familiar, Simon thought pulling up behind the red dodge viper parked outside of it.
'Are you sure that this is the right house?' he asked, maybe his son had made a mistake with the address.
'Yeah, mom dropped Taz off here last night,' Daryl replied, 'Why?'
'This is Rafe's house.'
'He's Taz's brother,' getting out of the car, 'She's having a tough time at school.'
'If she's in some sort of trouble...' Simon began.
'She's not in any trouble. There's this girl who keeps harassing her. She's the one who got Taz kicked off the gym team.'
'I thought that she was dropped.' At least that's what she'd told her brother the previous night.
'Taz doesn't want her brother to make a big deal out of it,' Daryl said, 'But everyone knows that this girl's dad paid the gym coach five grand for Taz's place on the team. Rumour has it that she's going after Taz's place on the track team next.'
'Maybe she was better than your friend,' Simon suggested, 'Sport is very competitive.'
'Dad, Taz won this huge trophy a couple of months ago. And this girl doesn't even bother going to practice. If it was just that she was better than her Taz wouldn't mind. She'd work harder to get her place back. It's the way that she got her place on the team. What's the point in training when you know that someone can buy your place.'
Simon looked at his son, he had a point, he thought, there wasn't much point in working hard and doing your best if you could just hand over a cheque and get what you want.
'Have you spoken to your principal about this?'
'He wouldn't believe us even if we had proof. This girl's dad has a lot of power.' Daryl replied.

**************

'Max, no,' Taz said scooping the puppy up before he had a chance to squat on her slippers, 'We do that outside.' carrying him out of the living room, and through the kitchen before opening the back door and putting him on the ground outside. She was going to have to keep a close eye on him until he learnt that he had to go to the back door if he wanted to go out. 'Good Max,' praising him when a puddle formed under him, 'Whose a clever puppy. Come here boy.' Max walked unsteadily over to the back door, then tried to get up the back step that was taller than he was. 'Here you go,' bending down and picking him up, then putting him down on the kitchen floor, 'Want some dinner? I've got some nice puppy food for you,' opening the bottom cupboard closest to the back door, 'And Maxie has got his own dishes, yes he has. He is such a lucky puppy.'

**************

He'd better get that, Brian thought when he heard the doorbell go. This would have been a lot easier if it was a total stranger who was Taz's best friend. He would have been able to find some fault with them and ban Taz from ever seeing them again. But it wasn't a total stranger, it was Daryl. Simon's son, his boss's son and that could cause him some serious problems at work. It wasn't that he didn't like Daryl, he was a decent young man who had never been in any trouble, but in his opinion Taz was just too young to have boys as friends never mind having one as her best friend. When he'd been growing up girls where what you dated, you certainly didn't have them as your friends. Hopefully Simon would see things the same way he did and they'd both be able to talk some sense into Taz and Daryl.

****************

'Rafe.' Simon said when the front door opened.
'Simon, Daryl, or should I say Max,' Rafe said, 'Come in Taz is in the kitchen feeding Max.' It was going to get confusing with two Max's, he thought so he was going to call Daryl, Daryl.
'Max?' Simon asked entering the house followed by Daryl.
'Taz's nickname for me,' Daryl explained, 'It's like everyone calls Taz Taz even though it's not her proper name.'
'So what is her proper name?' Simon asked.
'I don't know,' Daryl admitted, 'Even the teachers call her Taz.'
'It's Johanna Hope,' Brian said, 'Not that she'll answer to it. Daryl why don't you go through into the kitchen it's...'
'I know the way.' Daryl said finishing his sentence for him before heading in the direction of the kitchen.

****************

'Hi.' Daryl said entering the kitchen.
'Hi,' Taz replied, 'So what do you think of him?' looking at the puppy who was busy filling his stomach.
'He's small.'
'He was the only one left. She was there and she bought all the others.'
'So how much was he?' casually leaning against the door frame.
'Nothing, he was a gift.'
'She must have loved that.' he said,
'She threw a fit, said her dad would pay a thousand bucks for him,' Taz said, 'Can you imagine what it would be like for him living with her?'
'Pretty bad,' Daryl replied, 'I think it's sort of cool that you gave him my nickname.'
'You're my best friend so why wouldn't I?'
'I just thought you might want to call him something else.'
'Like what?'
'I don't know. Maybe David.' he suggested.
David! Why would I want to call my dog David?' That just didn't make any sort of sense to her at all.
'You know after David Peters. The two of you have been seen together a lot.'
'And that means what exactly?' she asked frowning slightly.
'Ross said that David Peters was going to ask you out.'
'He did,' Taz replied, 'But I turned him down.'
'You did! Why?'
'Well for a start he's a total creep, and secondly he's dated MelanieWarren. Like I'd ever date someone she had.'
'So you and David Peters aren't...'
'Totally no way,' she said, 'But if the right guy asked and he hadn't dated Melanie then I'd probably say yes. Not that there's much chance of that happening though.'
'Why not?' Daryl asked.
'Because they're all chasing after Melanie and the rest of the Barbie clones.' It would be a long time if ever before she got that sort of attention.

*************

The one thing that was instantly noticeable about the photos in the living room was a lack of recent ones of them with their parents, Simon thought.
'They died when Taz was two.' Rafe said when he noticed what Simon was looking at.
'You can't have been much older than Daryl at the time.' Simon said.
'A few years older,' he replied, 'And I had some help. My uncle took Taz in while I went to the academy. Then H's family sort of adopted us. Taz is a good kid so I must have been doing something right. She's never given me any serious trouble, an honour roll student, straight A's all the way through school. And now she's tutoring at the Stone Centre.'
'That explains why Daryl's grades have gone up since he started going there,' Simon said, 'You should be proud of her.'
'I am,' Rafe replied, 'There are a lot of kids from "normal" families who aren't doing half as well as she is. In fact she'll be graduating soon, two years early.'
'Daryl talks about her a lot according to Joan,' he said, 'If I'd known it was your sister I would have...'
'Likewise. The thing is what are we going to do about it? Taz is too young to be seeing anyone right now. Maybe in a year or two.'
'How old is she?'
'Sixteen next month,' Rafe replied, 'Last week some boy asked her out but she turned him down.'
'Rafe, they're just friends.' Simon said.
'And how many girls did you have as friends at Daryl's age?'
Simon looked at him, he had a point, he thought. But between him and Joan they'd raised Daryl to know the difference between right and wrong and to always respect other people.
'I don't like telling Darly who he can and can't be friends with, unless there's a damned good reason. And I can't think of one.' Taz was the sort of friend he and Joan actually encouraged Daryl to make.
'If it wasn't for the age difference I wouldn't have a problem.'
'It's only two years which isn't that big a difference,' Simon said, anyone would think that Daryl and Taz were dating instead of being friends.

*************

'You know what you said about all the guys chasing after Melanie and the Barbie clones.' Darly said walking over to where Taz was now sitting on the kitchen counter.
'Yeah.' she replied kicking her hells against a cupboard door.
'Not all of them are. Believe it or not there are some guys who wouldn't touch Melanie Warren or the Barbie clones with a ten foot pole.'
'Only because she hasn't wiggled her butt in their direction yet.'
'That's not true.'
'Sure it is. I've seen it happen. No guy has ever turned her down.' Why would they when Melanie would give them everything they wanted. No-one could compete with Melanie and the Barbie clones, they had it all and would do anything to keep it that way. 'I've even seem you looking at her.'
'No way.' he replied.
'Yes way. She's beautiful, so why wouldn't you look.' It was only natural that he would, after all he was a guy and that's what guys did.
'She's not beautiful inside. The way she treats you is really bad. You should tell your brother.'
'Which would do no good at all. Bri would make a big fuss about it and then he'd get kicked off the force,' Taz said, 'A couple more months and I'll be rid of her.' She could handle it knowing that once she'd graduated she wouldn't have to see Melanie Warren on a daily basis.
'So are you going to do this going to work day thing?'
'If Bri lets me I will,' she replied, 'I still haven't told him that I want to be a cop yet.'
'There's no rush, you're going to have to wait a couple of years before they'll let you into the academy,' Daryl said, 'My mom doesn't even want me to be one, and my dad says that I have to go to college first.'
'I'm going to college, eventually all cops will have some sort of degree. The crooks are getting smarter so the cops have to be even smarter than them.' smiling at him.

**************

'Would you like some coffee?' Brian asked, it would give him the perfect opportunity to check on Taz in the kitchen. It wasn't that he thought that she was doing something that she knew she shouldn't be, but he wanted to make sure that she knew that he was going to be keeping a close eye on her and Daryl from now on.
'Please.' Simon replied.

*************

Rafe was being too over protective, Simon thought, still having raised his sister by himself he was bound to be. Not that that was going to make it easy for Daryl to continue his friendship with Taz. Perhaps there was something that he could do about it, maybe suggest that they had a third person with them when they went anywhere at least until they went to college. In his opinion trying to stop them from being friends wasn't going to do anything except make them even more determined to see each other.

************

'Everything okay in here?' Brian asked entering the kitchen and seeing Taz sat on one of the counter.
'Yeah,' she replied, 'I've fed Max, I'll put him out in a few minutes. I can't wait until I take him for his first walk.'
'He has to have all his shots first,' he said, 'Why haven't you offered Daryl a drink?' He'd taught her better manners than that.
'He knows where they are if he wants one.'
'Third shelf in the fridge.' Darly said moving slightly as Max began sniffing his trainers.
'I know where everything is at his mom's,' she said, 'And H knows where we keep all the snacks.' As far as she could see there wasn't that big a difference between H knowing and Daryl knowing, 'Mrs Brown was here every time Max came over.' She had a pretty good idea what her brother was thinking, that Max was coming over when there was nobody else there.
'Let me know next time okay.' Brian said.
'Okay,' smiling at him, 'Have you decided whether I can go to work with you or not yet?'
'My dad's letting me go,' Daryl said, 'There's going to be a crime for all the kids to try and solve.'
'Doesn't it clash with your school trip?'
'Going to work day's after that,' Taz sighed, 'You know it would be pretty cool to hang out with you all day.'
'We'll see. I'm sure that Cap, Simon doesn't want the department over run with teenagers.'
'It's just going to be me and Taz in Major Crimes,' Darly said, 'My dad'll even let us hang out in his office if we want to.'

*****************

Jumping to conclusions part 7

2009-01-18T13:39:45Z

Things hadn't gone well, Robert thought when Ria arrived home. He could always tell when they hadn't because she went quiet. That always reminded him of Jimmy and his moods, a lot of pampering had brought him around though.
"There's plenty of hot water if you want a bath." he said.
"I could use one," Ria admitted. "I can still smell him on me."
"He didn't..." Robert began.
"Dad, don't worry. He didn't get a chance to touch me," Ria assured him. "He just smelled really bad. Like all the evil in him was..."
"Ria, honey, you know that people don't smell the way they are," he said. "They just smell sometimes."
"You didn't smell the guy," she protested. "It was like really rotten meat."
"Why don't you go for your bath," he suggested. "I'll make sure that there's some hot chocolate ready for after you've had it."
"I suppose that I should get changed and be ready for when Jimmy gets here," she said. "You are cooking something nice for supper, aren't you?"
"You said beer not dinner." Robert frowned.
"You have to feed him, make him feel welcome." she said.
"No, I don't," he replied. "He's coming to explain. This is not a date."
"Would if really be such a bad thing if it was," Ria said. "I mean..."
"Bath." he said firmly. If Jim was expecting him to cook then he was going to be very disappointed. He was only seeing him so that he could listen to whatever pathetic excuse Jim had come up with during the past decade as to why he'd abandoned them. Ria had no right to let Jim think otherwise, it wasn't fair to do so. Still, he would put him right when he arrived.
**********
He wanted to make a good impression on Robert, Jim thought looking through the clothes in his wardrobe, but not too much of one in case Robert thought that he was hoping for more than just the chance to explain why he'd left and never gone back. Besides, Ria would be expecting him to make an effort in the hope that it would work in his favour. The last time that he could remember being this nervous about seeing Robert was the evening after they'd first become lovers. For a while he'd thought that Robert was only pretending when he said that he loved him, but it had turned out to be true. His upbringing had never led him to believe that anyone could love him. Love wasn't something that his father had expressed a great deal of. Ellison men were supposed to be stoic, something that he had learned to do very well over the years. But there was no way that he could possibly be stoic when it came to Robert. The man could see straight through to his heart and he'd claimed it just like Ria did.
He knew that at some point all the important people in his life were going to have to meet. But that was something that wasn't going to happen until he knew how things were going to be with Robert. He would let Robert make all the descions as to what happened and whether he liked them or not, he would abide by them. Causing Robert any more pain was the last thing he wanted to do. For the time being he was going to be walking a very fine line, performing a death defying juggling act, while he tried to keep everyone happy. Ultimately, he knew that it would either all crash down around him or work out fine. He hoped that it would be the latter. The first thing that he had to do when he saw Robert was to try and explain the sentinel thing. Blair would say it was dangerous for anyone else to know about it but Robert had a right to. From now on he wasn't going to keep secrets from him. It wouldn't be right to. Not if he wanted to earn his trust and keep it.
******************
She had planned to make an early exit from her dad's meeting with Jim, Ria thought running her bath, but right now she could use a little reassurance from both of her dads. Joel had done his best to make that guy talk just like she had, only nothing had worked. His lawyer had been a total sleazeball just like she had expected him to be, as soon as he'd arrived he'd started talking about getting bail for his client. The fact that his client had wrecked so many lives didn't seem to bother him. How could someone like that sleep at night? She knew she wasn't going to get much until she knew whether it had been her Adam he had been talking about or not. The Frosts deserved to know what happened to their son, even if it took her the next twenty years to find out. she owed it to Adam for all those times he hadn't said anything to his parents when he'd seen her dad and Jimmy being overly friendly. It must have been really hard for them not to show how much they loved each other to the outside world. She wasn't sure that she'd be able to live like that, even if she had to.
Sometimes she thought that there was something wrong with her because she'd never felt that way about anyone. Sure, she'd been out with guys, but none of them had made her feel like she was willing to die to protect them. Maybe she'd never feel that way, or what if she did and the other person didn't feel the same. It was obvious that Jimmy still felt that way about her dad, and with a few nudges from her, her dad would remember that he felt like that about Jimmy. Then they would all live happily ever after. At least, if they were living in a fairy tale they would. They weren't though and real life could be very cruel at times. Then again, maybe working with those assholes in Seattle had turned her into a cynic.
****************
"Looking good there, Big Guy." Blair said when Jim came downstairs wearing a suit. "You planning on taking her out to dinner after you've talked to her dad." Jim only wore suits when he had to, so for him to be wearing one now meant that there was something going on.
"I might," Jim replied. "Believe it or not Chief, I used to take her out all the time when she was a kid."
"What to Wonderburger?" Blair asked.
"The park," he said. "The batting cages."
"You taught her how to play baseball!" Blair exclaimed.
"Yeah, of course, at the time the bat was nearly as big as her," Jim grinned. "She had a pretty mean swing on her."
"Sounds like you had some good times." Blair said.
"We did," Jim replied. "I should never have let them end."
"Then why did you?" Blair asked. If she was really that important to Jim, why had he decided not to be involved with her after he'd gotten back from Peru.
"It's complicated," Jim said. "I have a lot apologizing and making up to do."
"Jim, I'm sure that you can work this out," he said. Whatever this was, because he still had the feeling that Jim wasn't telling him everything. Demanding to know the truth had only gotten him part of the story, now he was going to have to wait until Jim was ready to tell him the rest.
"It's not going to be easy." Jim admitted.
"If you want to talk about it, I'm here." Blair said as Jim left the loft.
*****************
Another fifteen minutes and Jimmy would be here, Robert thought looking at the clock on the kitchen wall. That was if he wasn't late. But since when had Jimmy ever been late for anything important. Did meeting with your ex lover count as being important though. Ria seemed to think that it was but she had an ulterior motive for thinking that. He was prepared to admit, at least to himself, that he wasn't totally filled with loathing for Jimmy. That maybe he still had some good feelings for him. It was hard not to think about all the good times they'd had. Spending fourteen years with the same person had an effect on you. Not that he would admit that to either Ria or Jimmy. No, he was going to play it cool when Jimmy arrived. That was the only way he could play it until he knew why Jimmy had just disappeared from their lives. He knew that Ria had always missed Jimmy, that she wanted her family back together again. Unfortunately, she could end up being very disappointed because he wasn't going to let her feelings decide what he did about Jimmy.
She'd said that Jimmy wasn't married anymore, but that didn't mean that he wasn't involved with someone. That hippy looking kid seemed to be rather attached to Jimmy. If Jimmy was involved with someone then he wasn't going to ruin that relationship. Breaking up families was more Jimmy's thing than his.
******************
"I'll get it." Ria shouted rushing down the stairs to get the front door as the bell rang. It had to be Jimmy because she'd seen his truck pull up from her bedroom window.
Hey moppet," Jim grinned when the front door opened. "Not late, am I?"
"No, you're on time as always," she smiled. "Dad's in the kitchen cooking something or other." She was glad that her dad had decided to cook because if the conversation lulled they could always talk about the food.
"How is he?" he asked entering the house.
"Nervous but not admitting it," she replied. "I'm going to watch TV so why don't you go through and talk to him." They would appreciate some privacy and if she had the volume low on the TV she'd be able to hear what they were saying and be able to jump in before things got too out of hand.
"No matter what happens between me and your dad I'm still going to be there for you." Jim said.
"I know, now go talk to him." she said. At least, he'd made an effort with his appearance, not that that was going to do him much good if her dad decided not to listen to what he had to say. She'd got Jimmy a chance to explain, now it was up to him to convince her dad that he really meant it when he said that he was sorry. She believed that he was, that he wished that he could wipe out all those years he'd been away from them. If tonight didn't work out the way she hoped it would then she would just keep working on her dad until she got the result she wanted. Given enough time she was certain that she could get him to see what she saw when she looked at Jimmy, a man who deserved a second chance with his family. And there was no way that she was going to turn her back on Jimmy now that she had him back in her life again.
*************
"Hi," Jim said nervously when he entered the kitchen. "Ria said it was..." Robert looked as he always had in the kitchen, perfectly at home in it. When they'd been together it had been Robert who had done most of the cooking simply because he was better at it.
"Ria says a lot of things," Robert said. "So..."
"I suppose that I should start by explaining a few things." Jim said.
"That would be a good start." Robert said.
"Peru changed me," he said. "I wasn't the same person as before I went. Losing the guys..." For a long time he'd felt guilty about the fact that he had been the only survivor of the crash.
"You know, nobody would tell us what was going on," Robert said. "All that time we didn't know whether you were dead or alive."
"I'm sorry about that," he said. "When I got back I wasn't myself. I even thought that I might be going crazy; that I was dangerous. I really thought that I was doing the right thing by getting away from you and Ria. I did it to protect you. Hurting you was the last thing I wanted to do." But that was what he had ended up doing.
"Jimmy, why didn't you come back?" Robert asked. "Do you have any idea how it felt to be dumped like that? Then when that..."
"When what?" Jim asked.
"We saw the wedding photo in the newspaper," Robert snapped. "Someone sent it to us. You didn't even have the decency to call and say that this was the way things were going to be from now on. Ria cried herself to sleep for a week over that picture."
"Robert, I thought that you'd moved on," Jim said, "that you'd found someone else." At least, he'd assumed that he had and that was what he'd heard from Sally. Why did he get the feeling that his father had played a part in keeping them apart.
"Moved on! Since you left it's just been Ria and me. How could you think that I would go out and find someone else." Robert demanded.
"That's not how... God I'm making a mess of this, aren't I." Jim said running a hand through his hair. He knew that he was but he just couldn't find the right words to express how he'd felt at the time and how he felt now.
"Talking was never your strong point, was it," Robert said, "except when it came to Ria."
"Nobody can resist those eyes," Jim said. "I wouldn't blame you if you asked me to leave and never wanted to see me again. I hate myself for what I did but..."
"You're sorry." Robert said finishing his sentence for him.
"I know that it's not going to make up for all the hurt I've caused you and Ria, but it's the truth," he said. "If there was some way that I could go back and change what I did then, I would. I never stopped thinking about the two of you."
"So, I'm just supposed to accept your apology and..." Robert began.
"That's up to you," Jim replied. "Whatever you decide I'll abide by it."
Forcing Robert to make a descion here and now wouldn't do either of them any good in the long run. If Robert decided that he could have a second chance then he wasn't going to do anything to ruin it.
"I need time to think about this," Robert admitted. "It's been a long time, a lot's happened. You got married."
"That was a mistake," Jim said, "eveen when I was with her it was you that I wanted." Caroline had been a lifeboat that he had grabbed onto hoping that she would fill the hole in his heart only the hole had gotten bigger because every time that he looked at her he had been reminded of what he'd thrown away. The only person he would ever love was Robert.
"For the time being and Ria's sake I will be civil to you," Robert said. "There's no reason why she should have to suffer any more because of something you did. I expect you to keep an eye on her at work."
"I already am," Jim replied, "she's still my daughter."
"It's a pity that you didn't think about her before you decided to take off," Robert frowned, "It's not been easy for her and I'm not having you waltz back into her life and then run off again."
"I won't. You have my word." Jim said. He wasn't going to do that no matter what Robert decided to do. Ria deserved to know that he was always going to be there for her.
*****************
Well, they weren't shouting at each other and she couldn't hear anything being broken, Ria thought. So things had to be going okay. Not that it meant that things would be fine between her dad and Jimmy overnight. Getting her dad to trust Jimmy again was going to take time and a lot of talking. When it came to talking about things Jimmy wasn't very good at it. Still, remembering the time that she'd met her Granpa William she could understand why. She knew that he'd been the one who'd sent that newspaper cutting about Jimmy's wedding. He probably hadn't like that fact his son was gay or that he had a daughter with another man. Her grandpa John had had a few problems with it but he'd always been there for her. Even when he'd been drinking, there'd always been a card and something for her on her birthday. He'd always boasted about her to the guys in the bars where he'd used to drink.
Since he'd given up drinking she'd really got to know him a lot better. Him and her dad were getting on great now.
She had to give him a lot of credit for trying to fill in for Jimmy but it had never been the same. There'd always been a gap in her heart where Jimmy belonged. That gap was going to get a lot smaller from now on. She was going to do everything that she could to make sure that Jimmy never went away again. She knew that it couldn't have been easy for him losing all his men like that in Peru but her and her dad would have stood by him; helped him. If anything really bad ever happened to her then her dad and Jimmy would be the first people that she turned to for help. When you loved someone you took care of them and they took care of you. Only Jimmy hadn't given them a chance to do that.
*************
"You know, she still sleepwalks," Robert said. "So much for her growing out of it."
"Today was pretty rough on her," Jim said, "brought back some memories for me as well."
"Do you think that he took Adam Frost?" he asked.
"Probably," Jim admitted, "but there's no way to prove it unless he talks." Even with his senses he couldn't do anything except know that the suspect had been lying about something.
"That means she's not going to get any sleep tonight." Robert said.
"She still has trouble..." Jim began.
"Yeah, some nights she only has two hours sleep," he replied. "How she keeps going is beyond me. I'd be shattered trying to do everything that she does on eight hours sleep."
"She never did need much sleep," Jim said. "I can still remember the words to Twinkle Tiwnkle Little Star."
"You singing was about the only thing that could get her to sleep," he smiled. "and Mr. Daffodil. Of course, he's looking a bit battered these days."
"She still has him." jim grinned. Mr. Daffodil had been he first toy he'd ever bought Ria. At the time Robert had thought that he'd gone mad. After all, who bought their daughter a bright yellow teddy bear.
"He sits on her bed along with all the other toys you bought her." Robert replied.
"I thought that you might have..." Jim began.
"What thrown them away?" Robert asked. "That's what you do not me."
"I know what I did," Jim said, "and I've regretted it every day since then." There weren't any words to expressed just how deeply he regretted what he'd done. The empty space that had been in his heart for the past decade.
"Have you?" Robert asked.
"Of course, I have," Jim replied. "There hasn't been a moment when I haven't thought about you and what I threw away." No matter what he said Robert wasn't going to believe him but that didn't meant that he was just going to give up. Eventually, he would make Robert see that he meant what he said; that he could be trusted if he was given a second chance.
***************
No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't see Jim as being the devoted uncle type, Blair thought. Still, the Jim in those photos hadn't been the Jim that he thought he knew so well. Then again he had to admit that he didn't know a great deal about the pre Peru Jim because Jim hadn't talked about that time much. Maybe this was his chance to learn aobut the man that his friend had been before Peru had changed him for good. And he should have known, that sooner or later, Jim's past would catch up with him. At least, this situtation wasn't as threatening as he'd firsth thought it would be. As long as he didn't do anything to upset Ria Jim would be open about what was going on. Well, mostly open. Somehow he got the feeling that there was a lot more that Jim was going to tell him once he was certain that he was comfortable with Ria being around.
He supposed that he really should make an effort to get to know the woman that his partner would be spending time with from now on. She'd already said that she would be friends so he could take things from there. Maybe even invite her over to the loft so that she could spend time with Jim while he observed their relationship. Although he would have to make sure that Jim didn't catch him watching too closely in case it upset him. He had to admit that having a beautiful woman spending time in the loft wasn't going to be any real hardship. The more he knew about her the better that he'd be able to help Jim if anything did start to go wrong with his senses.
************
"So, what's the story with the hippy?" Robert asked as he set the table.
"Blair's my partner at work," Jim replied. "He needed to ride along with someone for his dissertation on closed societies."
"You volunteered?" Robert said. It was certainly a plausible enough explanation, he thought. although he hadn't liked the way that kid had been looking at Jimmy.
"He also lives with me," Jim said, "his place got blown up."
"You felt sorry for him, right." he said.
"Something like that," Jim said. "It's strictly as friends. He doesn't know that I'm, was with you."
"Are you going to tell him?" Robert asked. He wasn't going to be hidden away like some dirty little secret that Jimmy had if he decided to give him a second chance.
"That depends on you," Jim replied. "I don't want to do anything that causes you or Ria problems."
"Jimmy, I'm out," Robert said, "Have been for the past five years. I don't advertise the fact but..." Coming out hadn't been easy but it had been the right thing to do. Whether Ria had told anyone at work he didn't know but somehow he doubted that she had.
"I don't care," Jim said. "I can be friends with who ever I choose."
"And if we end up being more than friends?" Robert asked. "Are you willing to come out at work."
"Only to some people," Jim admitted, "and it wouldn't be easy even then." "How about to your partner?" Robert said, "because if I decide to give you a second chance he's going to have a lot of questions."
"I'll tell Blair when the time is right," Jim said. "Even then it's going to take him some time to get used to the idea."
"Keeping secrets isn't good, Jimmy," he said, "you only end up getting hurt in the end.
"I know that." Jim replied. "I just want to give him a chance to get used to Ria being around before I say anything."
"So, what did you tell him about her?" Robert asked.
"That I was her adopted uncle." Jim replied.
"Couldn't you have just told him that she was your daughter," he said. "Because that's how you used to think of her. If that's changed..."
"Of course, it hasn't changed," Jim said. "If I had said that then she would have been moved to another department. I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her."
"You know, I think she'd really like it if you said that she could call you dad from time to time." Robert said.
"She did earlier and I didn't mind," Jim replied. "I'm very proud of the way she'd turned out... How you raised her. You did a good job."
"Someone had to," he said, "not that we haven't had a few problems along the way. Mostly to do with boys."
"What is the policy on them?" Jim asked. "Only at the station..."
"She sees who she wants," Robert replied, "but if I don't like them then I make it pretty clear. They don't tend to hang aorund for long after that. Why had someone..."
"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time before someone does ask her out," Jim said. "I was just wondering how to deal with it when it does."
"Through gritted teeth," Robert smiled. "I know that she keeps telling me she's an adult and she is. But she is still my baby."
"Our baby." Jim corrected him. "I know that I've missed out on a lot but I want to be as involved as I can with her from now on."
"You could start by telling her that dinner's nearly ready." Robert said. This was going a lot better than he'd thought it would. Not that he was ready to give Jimmy another chance just yet. In time, he could see himself doing that. He only had to look in Jimmy's eyes to know that he really meant it when he said that he was sorry. For the time being. he wasn't going to make things easy for Jimmy. Why should he?
***************
"Your dad says..." Jim began as he entered the living room.
"I heard," Ria replied. "Sounds to me as if he's going to forgive you."
"I hope so," he said.
"If he doesn't then we'll just have to work on him." she smiled. Now that they were actually talking it was only a matter of time before her dad would forgive Jimmy. Especially if she had anything to do with it.
"Ria, this is between your dad and me," Jim said. "I need to sort this out on my own."
"Jimmy, I've had a decade longer of getting round him when he won't do something than you do." she said. "Besides I have an interest in how this turns out." If she left it up to him he'd probably still be standing there looking at her dad and wondering what to say. She wasn't about to let him mess this up.
"I just don't want your dad thinking that I'm using you to get to him." Jim said.
"Trust me, he won't," Ria assured him. "I don't let anyone use me." She was smarter than that and if she hadn't thought that Jimmy had meant what he'd said that day in the park she would never have told her dad.
"Your dad was saying that you still have Mr.Daffodil." Jim said changing the subject.
"Yeah," Ria smiled. "He's got a few bald patches now and he's lost an eye."
"Still tell him all your secrets?" he asked.
"What do you think?" she said. Some people might have thought it strange that she told her secrets to a teddy bear but Jimmy had never thought that. It was almost as if he understood that there were just things that she hadn't felt able to tell her dad or him. It had mostly been little things like which boy she'd liked or what she really wanted for christmas.
"We never did find a Mrs. Daffodil, did we?" Jim asked, "maybe we could do that now."
"Sure we could." she replied. "You know, they've got some great GI Joe toys now..."
"No war toys," Jim said. "You know how your dad feels about them."
"I never could understand that," she admitted. "He was okay about you teaching me self defense."
"We both thought that you shouldn't have any more violence pushed at you," Jim said. "Remember you were supposed to have been a scientist, not a cop."
"I'm a good cop though." she said, "I did a good job today, didn't I?"
"Yes, and I was worried the whole time." he admitted.
"Nothing happened to me. I knew that you would come charging to the resuce the second anything did." she said. She'd always trusted Jimmy to keep her safe. It wasn't any different now that they were working together.
"Just remember I'm not always going to be there," he said. "Things can soon get out of hand in a situation like that."
"At least, this time I had backup." Ria replied.
"Meaning?" Jim asked.
"That I haven't always had it in the past," She said. "Don't look at me like that, Jimmy."
"You've gone under cover without back up." he growled.
"Yeah," Ria admitted. "My last partner wasn't always around and most of the cases they gave me were supposed to be no hopers. I solved them all."
"We play by the rules in Major crimes." Jim said.
"You mean most of the time, right." she said.
"Ria, if you break the rules then Simon is going to find out," Jim warned her. "and I will not be charging to the rescue then."
"Okay, I'll stick to the rules." she sighed.
"So, what's the story with the hippy?" Robert asked as he set the table.
"Blair's my partner at work," Jim replied. "He needed to ride along with someone for his dissertation on closed societies."
"You volunteered?" Robert said. It was certainly a plausible enough explanation, he thought. although he hadn't liked the way that kid had been looking at Jimmy.
"He also lives with me," Jim said, "his place got blown up."
"You felt sorry for him, right." he said.
"Something like that," Jim said. "It's strictly as friends. He doesn't know that I'm, was with you."
"Are you going to tell him?" Robert asked. He wasn't going to be hidden away like some dirty little secret that Jimmy had if he decided to give him a second chance.
"That depends on you," Jim replied. "I don't want to do anything that causes you or Ria problems."
"Jimmy, I'm out," Robert said, "Have been for the past five years. I don't advertise the fact but..." Coming out hadn't been easy but it had been the right thing to do. Whether Ria had told anyone at work he didn't know but somehow he doubted that she had.
"I don't care," Jim said. "I can be friends with who ever I choose."
"And if we end up being more than friends?" Robert asked. "Are you willing to come out at work."
"Only to some people," Jim admitted, "and it wouldn't be easy even then." "How about to your partner?" Robert said, "because if I decide to give you a second chance he's going to have a lot of questions."
"I'll tell Blair when the time is right," Jim said. "Even then it's going to take him some time to get used to the idea."
"Keeping secrets isn't good, Jimmy," he said, "you only end up getting hurt in the end.
"I know that." Jim replied. "I just want to give him a chance to get used to Ria being around before I say anything."
"So, what did you tell him about her?" Robert asked.
"That I was her adopted uncle." Jim replied.
"Couldn't you have just told him that she was your daughter," he said. "Because that's how you used to think of her. If that's changed..."
"Of course, it hasn't changed," Jim said. "If I had said that then she would have been moved to another department. I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her."
"You know, I think she'd really like it if you said that she could call you dad from time to time." Robert said.
"She did earlier and I didn't mind," Jim replied. "I'm very proud of the way she'd turned out... How you raised her. You did a good job."
"Someone had to," he said, "not that we haven't had a few problems along the way. Mostly to do with boys."
"What is the policy on them?" Jim asked. "Only at the station..."
"She sees who she wants," Robert replied, "but if I don't like them then I make it pretty clear. They don't tend to hang aorund for long after that. Why had someone..."
"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time before someone does ask her out," Jim said. "I was just wondering how to deal with it when it does."
"Through gritted teeth," Robert smiled. "I know that she keeps telling me she's an adult and she is. But she is still my baby."
"Our baby." Jim corrected him. "I know that I've missed out on a lot but I want to be as involved as I can with her from now on."
"You could start by telling her that dinner's nearly ready." Robert said. This was going a lot better than he'd thought it would. Not that he was ready to give Jimmy another chance just yet. In time, he could see himself doing that. He only had to look in Jimmy's eyes to know that he really meant it when he said that he was sorry. For the time being. he wasn't going to make things easy for Jimmy. Why should he?
***************
"Your dad says..." Jim began as he entered the living room.
"I heard," Ria replied. "Sounds to me as if he's going to forgive you."
"I hope so," he said.
"If he doesn't then we'll just have to work on him." she smiled. Now that they were actually talking it was only a matter of time before her dad would forgive Jimmy. Especially if she had anything to do with it.
"Ria, this is between your dad and me," Jim said. "I need to sort this out on my own."
"Jimmy, I've had a decade longer of getting round him when he won't do something than you do." she said. "Besides I have an interest in how this turns out." If she left it up to him he'd probably still be standing there looking at her dad and wondering what to say. She wasn't about to let him mess this up.
"I just don't want your dad thinking that I'm using you to get to him." Jim said.
"Trust me, he won't," Ria assured him. "I don't let anyone use me." She was smarter than that and if she hadn't thought that Jimmy had meant what he'd said that day in the park she would never have told her dad.
"Your dad was saying that you still have Mr.Daffodil." Jim said changing the subject.
"Yeah," Ria smiled. "He's got a few bald patches now and he's lost an eye."
"Still tell him all your secrets?" he asked.
"What do you think?" she said. Some people might have thought it strange that she told her secrets to a teddy bear but Jimmy had never thought that. It was almost as if he understood that there were just things that she hadn't felt able to tell her dad or him. It had mostly been little things like which boy she'd liked or what she really wanted for christmas.
"We never did find a Mrs. Daffodil, did we?" Jim asked, "maybe we could do that now."
"Sure we could." she replied. "You know, they've got some great GI Joe toys now..."
"No war toys," Jim said. "You know how your dad feels about them."
"I never could understand that," she admitted. "He was okay about you teaching me self defense."
"We both thought that you shouldn't have any more violence pushed at you," Jim said. "Remember you were supposed to have been a scientist, not a cop."
"I'm a good cop though." she said, "I did a good job today, didn't I?"
"Yes, and I was worried the whole time." he admitted.
"Nothing happened to me. I knew that you would come charging to the resuce the second anything did." she said. She'd always trusted Jimmy to keep her safe. It wasn't any different now that they were working together.
"Just remember I'm not always going to be there," he said. "Things can soon get out of hand in a situation like that."
"At least, this time I had backup." Ria replied.
"Meaning?" Jim asked.
"That I haven't always had it in the past," She said. "Don't look at me like that, Jimmy."
"You've gone under cover without back up." he growled.
"Yeah," Ria admitted. "My last partner wasn't always around and most of the cases they gave me were supposed to be no hopers. I solved them all."
"We play by the rules in Major crimes." Jim said.
"You mean most of the time, right." she said.
"Ria, if you break the rules then Simon is going to find out," Jim warned her. "and I will not be charging to the rescue then."
"Okay, I'll stick to the rules." she sighed.

Jumping to conclusions part 6

2009-01-18T13:38:56Z

That had to be her Naomi thought when she entered the Bullpen and saw the young woman who Joel was talking to because she was the only woman there. She looked a lot younger than she had expected her to but then appearances could be deceiving. Getting her on her own so that she could talk to her would be difficult, she was certain that she could though. It was obvious why Jim was attracted to her, she was beautiful. There was something about her eyes though. To start you couldn't help but notice them. Then once you had you felt like you wanted to bear your soul to their owner. She could only imagine what sort of karmic energy that young woman posessed. During her visits to various spiritual retreats over the years she'd come across people claiming to have powers, until now though, the only person who had actually been able to prove that they had was her friend Charlie. She suspected though this young woman was more than just psyschic.
"Blair, Sweetie." she called as she walked across the Bullpen.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" Blair asked.
"I went back to the loft after buying that tea you wanted," she replied. "Only I couldn't get in because I don't have a key." It wasn't a complete lie, she had gone back to the loft.
"Jim doesn't like just anyone having a key." he said.
"Sweetie, I'm your mother not some stranger," Naomi said. "You know, she has some major karmic energy surrounding her." she said when she caught Blair staring at Ria.
"Good or bad?" he asked.
"Good," she assured him, "which is something that this place could use." Every time that she came into the station to visit she could feel herself being surrounded by negative energy. Anything that changed that had to be good.
"Did you find anything out?" Blair asked.
"There wasn't much to find out," she admitted. "She's adopted, where and when is a little hazy." It was almost as if someone had taken a great deal of care to make sure that anyone digging into her past would find very little to go on.
"Thanks for trying, Mom." he said.
"I did find some photos though," Naomi said reaching into her bag. "I could have... I must have left them in my car."
"You can show me them later." Blair said.
*********8
This was very bad, Jim thought coming out of Simon's office and seeing Naomi with Blair. Once the woman got her teeth into a subject she wouldn't let go of it until she'd shaken every last drop of truth out of it. There was no way that Ria would be able to withstand a grilling by Naomi Sandburg for long. Within five minutes she'd be telling her, her whole life story and Blair would be there lapping up every little detail. Of course, he wanted Blair to know the truth, but at a time when he felt ready to tell him about it. He wasn't going to be rushed into anything by anyone... especially Naomi Sandburg. He was going to have to go over there and rescue her before Naomi got her on her own for a little chat.
No, he couldn't he thought when he saw Ria heading over to where Blair and Naomi were standing. What did she think that she was playing at? Apart from going over there, which would now attract a lot of unwanted attention there wasn't anything that he could do except use his senses to monitor the situation closely. If it looked like Ria was about to tell Naomi something that she didn't mean to then he would charge to the rescue. Even now when he looked at her he still saw that helpless sick baby who'd been left to die, his and Robert's little girl, his moppet. She'd been such a happy child, full of life until Adam had gone missing, then she'd become quieter. Still, losing your best friend wasn't an easy thing for anyone to come to terms with never mind an eight year old child. He and Robert had both done their best to reassure her that nothing like that would happen to her because they wouldn't let it. He'd always gotten the feeling that she'd never quite believed them about that though. Both of them would have, still would do, anything to protect her. He could do that a lot better now that he had sentinel senses. That was something that Ria was going to have to know about. She was his daughter and it wasn't right for him to keep secrets from her.
**************
"You dropped these." Ria smiled as she handed Naomi several photos.
"Thank you," Naomi said. "I'm Naomi Sandburg, Blair's mom, and you are..."
"Ria O'Brien." she said.
"The detective Jim was telling us about," Naomi said. "You look very young to be a detective."
"I've never looked my age," she admitted. "and it comes in useful at times."
"Ria's just helped to catch this guy who was preying on kids over the internet." Balir said. He was pretty sure that his mom hadn't dropped anything when she'd entered the Bullpen, so where had Ria gotten the photos she'd just given her.
"I was just doing my job." Ria said.
"So, have you know Jim for long?" Naomi asked.
"Years," she replied. "He and my dad go way back, to before Jim went to Peru."
"Right." Blair muttered. So her and Jim had gotten together to get their stories straight. He wasn't going to believe anything that they said until he saw proof of it.
"You know if it wasn't for Jim I wouldn't be here." Ria said.
"Maybe that would have been a good thing," Naomi said helpfully. "As I keep telling Blair this sort of work is very dangerous. All this violence isn't good for his karma."
"Mom, you know that I work with Jim because of my dissertation." Blair said. His karma might be getting damaged but at least his conscience was clear. This whole situation was turning out to be worse than he'd orginally thought. She obviously owed Jim a great deal for something that he'd done for her in the past. That meant that she was only seeing him because she felt that she had to. How could Jim possibly think that that was any sort of basis for a relationship was beyond him. This was a whole new side of Jim that he was seeing; one that he didn't particularly like very much. If he said anything to Jim about it he would just deny it, so for the time being, he wasn't going to.
*************
He was only baking cookies because Ria liked to have something to snack on when she couldn't sleep, Robert thought, taking the baking sheet out of the oven. The fact that they were his special chocolate and raisin ones had nothing to do with the fact that they were Jimmy's favourites. His baby deserved some pampering, she always needed some when she was working on a difficult case. If she wanted to talk about it then he would listen to her and afterwards hug and reassure her that everything was going to be all right. For the next few days though he'd keep a close eye on her to make sure that she was handling things. When he saw Jimmy he'd suggest that he do the same as he'd be able to watch over her at work. Ria kept insisiting that she wasn't a little girl anymore, that she could take care of problems on her own. Still, no matter how old she got, she was always going to be his baby.
He supposed that when he did see Jimmy it would only be fair to point out from the beginning that there was no chance of them getting back together. They could be civil to each other, perhaps even meet up from time to time with Ria for dinner, he didn't have a problem with that. Ria had made it pretty obvious that she was going to be involved with Jim regardless of how he felt about it. It was her right to do that if she wanted, after all, she really was an adult now. In the past that fact had caused a few problems between them especially, when she'd decided not to go to college but to go the police academy instead. He had to admit that he had been disappointed about that, but she had gone to night school in Seattle to get her degree.
Seeing her get it had been a very proud moment for him. Jimmy had missed out on that and a great many other important milestones in her life. Still, that had been his choice. If he'd wanted to find them he could have. Why should he have had to be the one to make the first move. He hadn't done anything wrong. He was the one who'd had to raise their daughter for the past decade.
There'd been times when he would have like to have just walked away, only he hadn't been able to because he'd had a responsibility towards Ria. It was a responsibility that both he and Jimmy had agreed to take on that day in the orphange. No matter what his feeling towards Jimmy were now he wouldn't have traded the happiness that Ria had brought him for anything.
**************
He was an arrogant son of a bitch, Joel thought sitting opposite the suspect. He knew that the minute his lawyer arrived he was going to be told to keep his mouth shut. When it came to questioning suspects he had to admit that perhaps he wasn't as good at it as he could have been. He'd told his partner that he was going to question the suspect so that was what he was going to do.
"Tell me about Adam." Joel said. That was as good a place to start as any. Not that he was really expecting to be told anything, but at least he could try and get something out of him.
"Which one?" he asked.
"The one you mentioned to Detective O'Brien." Joel replied. He couldn't help but wonder just how many boys called Adam this guy had come into contact with over the years, how many lives he'd destroyed.
"Him, he's just some kid I ran into once," he said. "Turned out to be a right little wuss."
"What happened to him?" Joel asked.
"How ahould I know." he said.
"What about giving me his last name?" Joel said. With a last name they'd at least be able to find out whether this Adam had ever been reported as missing.
"I never bothered to ask," he admitted. "I run into so many kids it's hard to tell them apart. After a while they all start to look the same."
"We know what you've done, it's all on tape." Joel said. Getting anything out of this guy was going to be hard work. Still, with the charges he was facing, it was hardly surprising that he wouldn't want to say too much without his lawyer being present. Ria was going to be disappointed that he hadn't been able to find out anything about her friend though.
***************
"Tell him," Ria whispered staring through the mirror at the suspect that Joel was trying to question. "Tell him everything, because if you don't you'll hear the screams of your victims for the rest of eternity." It didn't matter what she said,even if he could hear her which he couldn't, because he wasn't going to talk. She doubted that even the threat of physical violence would make him talk. She'd come across people like him before and unfortunately they had a tendancy to walk because they could afford to hire some sleazeball lawyer who could make a jury believe that his client wasn't bad but mad, that it had been a momentary lapse in judgement. Even with the charges he was facing it would only put him away for the next twenty years which just wasn't long enough in her opinion. No matter how long he spent in prison it would never undo the damage he'd done. Nothing would ever do that.
"How's it going?" Jim asked from behind her.
"Not too good," she replied. "He's not talking. I don't think he's going to either."
"That's the way it goes sometimes," he said, "whether you like it or not."
"I know," Ria said. "It's frustrating knowing that we could get him on more charges if he talked." Which was precisely why he wasn't going to. Even she could see that it would be stupid to say anything that could get you sent up for even longer.
"Would you really want to hear what he had to say if he decided to talk?" Jim asked.
"Probably not." she admitted.
"Nothing he says will bring Adam back," he said, "but at least, he's off the streets for now so you've accomplished something."
"I have, haven't I." she smiled.
"Sure you have," Jim grinned. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."
"Someone had to be." she replied. She knew that at times she was her own worst critic but there was always room for improvement in anything she did. She didn't want to be just another good cop, she wanted to be the best cop ever. If that meant pushing herself to the limit then so be it.
"You don't have to act like some sort of superhero," he said, "because that's a sure way to get yourself killed."
"I know that and I don't make stupid mistakes," Ria said. "Dad would kill me if I did." She'd come pretty close to dying a few times, but then so had a lot of other cops. Risks were a daily part of the job. If you couldn't handle that then you shouldn't be on the force.
**************
6He just couldn't keep his hands off her, Blair thought when he saw Jim standing outside an interview room with an arm drapped across Ria's shoulders. When it came down to it he had to admit that Jim was a pretty tactile sort of guy. It was almost as if he used his sense of touch to reassure himself that everything was fine. She didn't seem to mind though. What woman would? The guy just oozed sensuality. Everywhere they went women checked Jim out, not that bothered him because a few usually looked in his direction as well. They'd even been known to give him their phone number so that he could pass it on to Jim.
He hated to admit it but maybe his mom was right and the only way that he was going to find out the truth was by confronting Jim and demanding to be told it. Whether he would still be standing afterwards was doubtful but Jim had to be made aware of the damage that he was going to do to their friendship if he didn't stop lying.
"Jim," he said. "I need to talk to you. In private."
"Sure, Chief," Jim said. "Don't forget to give me your dad's address."
"I won't," Ria assured him. "Wouldn't want you to get lost."
"I never get lost unless I'm following Blair's directions." Jim grinned.
"That's not true." Blair said. He'd made one mistake and he'd never been allowed to live it down.
"I'm not very good at directions either." Ria admitted.
"She got lost going to the bathroom once," Jim said. "Her dad had to put pictures on all the doors so she would know which room was which."
"I was four." she protested.
"Jim, that talk," Blair prompted. If he let Jim get sidetracked by her then they could be here for ages. "It's kind of important."
"You guys go ahead and talk," Ria said. "I'll go give my partner a hand in there." She then headed into the interview room.
***************
"Chief, there's no need for you to be rude to her." Jim frowned. Blair was making it pretty obvious that he didn't like the fact that he and Ria were getting close but that didn't mean that he was going to put up with him being rude to her. Guide or not, Blair was going to have to show her the proper respect. "Jim, my mom showed me some photos..." Blair began. "Photos?" he said. That woman had been through his personal things, that was it, she wasn't going to be staying at the loft any longer. "Yeah, I told her not to... You know what my mom's like," Blair said. "Who's the little girl in the photos?" "Ria." he replied somewhat relieved that Naomi hadn't found the other photos because he would have had to do a hell of a lot more explaining about those than the ones with Ria in them.
"Does her dad know about the two of you?" Blair asked.
"Chief, there is no two of us," Jim said, "I told you that earlier."
"Then why have you got photos of her as a kid?" Blair said.
"Her dad and I were pretty close," he replied. "He didn't want Ria growing up without any family around her. So, I become sort of an adopted uncle." Which was the role that he'd played to the outside world for fourteen years. "Chief, you know what sort of family I grew up in. Her dad's wasn't much better. He just wanted to make sure that that she had some good role models around her." he addded.
"So, you're just picking up where you left off before you went to Peru." Blair said.
"Something like that," Jim admitted. "We have a lot of catching up to do. The last time I saw her she was this skinny little kid, now..."
"She's a woman." Blair said finishing his sentence for him.
"Yeah," Jim said. "The only way I've ever thought about Ria is as my niece." That wasn't strictly true though because he'd always thought of her as his daughter.
"I can understand you wanting to try and reconnect with your past," Blair said, "but why all the secrecy."
"I wasn't sure how things would go." Jim replied. He still didn't know as far as Robert was concerned. Tonight was going to be either make or break time. He didn't know what he was going to do if Robert didn't want to have anything to do with him. Not that he would blame him if he didn't. If he was in Robert's shoes he seriously doubted that he would even want to meet with the man who had abandoned him a decade ago.
**************

Jumping to conclusions part 5

2009-01-18T13:38:10Z

When Captain Banks had said back up she hadn't realised that he'd been referring to the whole department turning out, Ria thought, adjusting her baseball cap as she entered the snack bar in Cascade's airport. Still, she had to admit that she felt better knowing that there would be plenty of people ready to step in if things went wrong. Sometimes, despite careful planning, things still went wrong on undercover assignments; mainly because you could never tell how someone would react to any given situation. She'd had a few close calls in the past but she'd always been able to get away without too many problems. Needing the bathroom was always a good excuse to leave a room. Only in this case she was going to have to use the gents otherwise she'd attract too much attention from the suspect.
Maybe she'd be lucky and the suspect would be stupid enough to incriminate himself within a few minutes of talking to her. Then again he might not. Either way she would have to be prepared. Finding a table where she could see everyone who entered the snack bar she sat down and waited.
***************
"Jim, you knew my partner when she was a kid, didn't you?" Joel asked, sitting in an unmarked police van just outside of the entrance to the airport.
"Yeah." Jim replied.
"She said that some friend of hers went missing and..." he began.
"His name was Adam Frost," Jim said. "He lived two doors down from her. He went missing on his way home after little league practice. For a while we thought that he and Ria had gone off somewhere until she came home."
"We?" Blair asked.
"Me and a couple of other guys were helping her dad to build her a treehouse in their backyard." Jim replied. "that day was the only time she didn't come straight home like she was supposed to."
"You built her a treehouse!" Blair exclaimed.
"It was her liberation day present," Jim said, "by the time she got home her dad was in one hell of a state." He hadn't been in a much better one either because Ria hadn't been the sort of kid to just go off on her own. Neither had Adam which was why people had started to panic when they were both late getting home.
"You just let two eight year olds walk home by themselves?" Joel said.
"It was a five minute walk from the house to practice field," Jim said. "Adam's mom was supposed to pick them up only she was late. By the time she got there they'd started to walk home."
"And he just vanished into thin air?" Joel said.
"Yeah. There were a couple of sightings of a jeep but it was a military base so there wasn't anything unusual about that. They checked the mileage on every jeep on the base, none had unexplained mileage on them. I think that the worst thing was having to explain to her that Adam might never come back." At first she'd had nightmares which had seen her ending up in his and Robert's bed. Then the sleepwalking had started. More than once she'd gotten out of the house despite that fact that it was locked up. They'd always found her in the same place, the ammunition store. Robert had taken her to the doctor's only to be told that it was her mind's way of coping with what had happened and that in time she would grow out of it. Only she hadn't; every time that she'd gotten really upset or worried about something they'd find her by the ammunition store.
"This guy never babysat her, did he?" Joel asked.

**************
There was no way that Jimmy was going to be able to say that he wasn't taking care of Ria, Robert thought scrubbing the already spotless kitchen floor. If he showed any sign of weakness Jimmy would pounce on it. That made it sound like the battle it was likely to turn in to. No matter what Jimmy said he wasn't going to take him back. Even if he got down on his knees and begged he wouldn't. Jimmy had made his choice when he'd just walked away from them after Peru, he couldn't turn round now and say that it had been the wrong one. At the time all he'd had to say was that he needed some time away so that he could try and get his head around what had happened. If Jimmy had said that he would have understood. Instead, he'd sneaked into the house while he and Ria were out, taken a few things and vanished into thin air. Nobody knew where he'd gone, at least, if they had they hadn't told him. He'd even gone so far as to call William Ellison just in case Jimmy had been in touch with him.
The next time he'd heard anything about Jimmy had been that newpaper cutting of his wedding to that Plummer woman. His first thought on receiving it was that Jimmy had sent it as a clear message that he never wanted to hear from either him or Ria. But if that had been the case Jimmy wouldn't have included the write up that had gone with the photo. There'd only been one other person in Cascade that he knew of who'd had his address, William Ellison. Jim had often talked about the sort of man that his father was, the way he'd reacted the only time he'd taken Ria to see him. His father might have been a drunk but at least he'd always made an effort not to drink around Ria, taken a little more pride in his appearance when he knew that she would be visiting him. In the end it had been Ria who'd gotten her grandfather to sober up. It was just a pity that she hadn't been able to work a miracle on Jim's dad.
*************
She was going to have to scrub her skin raw to get the stench of this guy off her, Ria thought as she played with the straw in her coke. The guy smelt of pure evil, fortunately he was doing all the talking. A few more minutes and there'd be enough on tape to send him down for a very long time.
"You remind me of a kid I used to know." he said.
"What was he called?" Ria asked. "You said that you liked boys better than girls." she added when she saw the look on his face.
"Adam," he replied. "Why don't you drink your coke?"
"I'm not thirsty." she replied. Why did he have to say Adam, she thought, had he read her mind or even worse did he recognise her despite her disguise. As for her drink she'd taken her eyes off it being poured for a split second which was long enough for it to have been tampered with. When she went out with anyone other than her dad she always kept her drink with her. If she had to leave her glass unattended for any reason then she always got herself a fresh drink rather than take the risk of drinking something that might have been spiked.
"I said drink it." he snapped.
"Okay." Ria said. As she went it pick it up she knocked it over, the lid came off and coke split all over the table. Well, that had put paid to any plans he might have about her drinking it. He could hardly make her lick it up off the table without attracting a lot of attention and that was the last thing that he wanted to do. After all, in his smart business suit he looked like so many other men passing through the airport. Only he wasn't like everyone else, he was a monster who preyed on children.
"Clumsy," he tutted. "Never mind we should be going. We are going to have so much fun this afternoon." He then stood up.
**************
"Now." Simon ordered. They had everything that they needed and more on tape. This guy was going to go down for a long time. He'd seen a lot detectives work undercover before but she had a natural talent for it. Undercover work was difficult at the best of times, and this case was one of the worst types for any officer to work on. Especially, one who was so young. Still, it was her youthful look that had allowed this operation to go ahead. She definitely deserved a well done and a pat on the back for putting herself through this.
Once they'd gotten the suspect in custody back at the station he'd invite her into his office, offer her coffee then they'd have a talk about those rumours going round about her and Jim. Personally, he didn't give a damn what his officers got up to off duty, just as long as it wasn't illegal and it didn't cause problems for them at work. But the brass would expect answers from him about what was going on and he wanted to be ready with them. You'd have to be blind not to notice the way that Jim looked at her. He just hoped that whatever was going on it wouldn't cause too many problems between him and Blair.
****************
"You okay?" Jim asked as the suspect was led away in handcuffs by Joel. "He didn't..."
"He never laid a finger on me," Ria assured him. "You should get a sample of the coke, I think he spiked it."
"Don't worry we will." Jim said.
"As you guys seem to have everything under control here I'm going to head back to the station and get changed." she said taking her baseball cap off. "If you could hang on for five minutes I'll give you a lift back." Jim said.
"It's okay, I'll get one with Joel." she said. "He'll have to start the paperwork."
"Do you want me to call your dad?" he asked.
"No, I'll call him once I've gotten changed," Ria replied. "He tends to worry if he gets official phone calls."
"If you need to talk you know where I am..." he began.
"Yeah, but I'm not a little girl anymore. I can play with the big boys and beat them at their own game." she smiled.
"I know, it's just that I know how the job can affect some people." Jim said.
"Trust me, Jim, I'm fine," she assured him. "You'd know if I wasn't." Still, it was nice that he was worried about her being okay.
"I'll see you back at the station then." he said ruffling her hair.
"Yes, Dad." she sighed.
***************
He was the only one whose hair Jim ruffled like that, Blair thought, at least up until now he had been. Maybe he should have let his mom go through Jim's things after all. With her talents she was bound to have found something out then he wouldn't be feeling as if he was waiting for the guilotine to drop on his and Jim's partnership. She'd obviously said something that Jim liked because his face was lit up in an enormous grin. It wasn't all that often that you saw one of those either. What sort of chance did he stand against someone who could make Jim smile like that. Jim was still going to need his help with his senses so she wouldn't be able to push him totally out of Jim's life. Things were never going to be the same as they had been before she'd come along. How could they be when Jim had so obviously lied to him and thought that he'd gotten away with it.
When the relationship ended, which it would sooner rather than later with Jim's track record, he was going to have trouble not saying I told you so. He was the one who had to try and put Jim back together again after his latest either turned out to be a criminal or involved with someone else. She wasn't a criminal as far as he was aware, but there was the possibility that she was involved with someone. That would really knock Jim for six, he thought.
****************
"Ria..." Joel began as he drove them back to the station. He didn't know her well enough yet to know whether being totally silent was normal for her after she'd been undercover or not, but for his own peace of mind, he had to know whether she was all right or not.
"Sorry, did you say something?" she asked.
"I was just wondering whether you're all right," he replied, "you look very pale."
"I'm fine," she assured him. "Just wondering what to ask him during questioning. Whether it's okay to ask him about Adam or not."
"He gave up the name so I don't see it being a problem," he replied. "It might not be the same one you knew though." The chances of that were pretty slim.
"I know, but somewhere out there is a kid called Adam who came into contact with this guy," Ria said. "I'll feel a lot happier when I know what happened to him."
"So will I." he admitted. It was probably hoping too much that this kid had escaped unscathed from this guy, but every victim that they could trace meant a longer sentence.
"You know, he's one of the few people my dad wouldn't ever let in the house," she said, "said there was something about him that didn't feel right."
"Looks like your dad was right." Joel said.
"It does, doesn't it." she said.
****************
A few photos hidden in the bottom of Jim's wardrobed, that was the net result of her search. They weren't even very revealing photos, Naomi thought, just your average family and friends photos. The only thing even remotely interesting about them was the fact that Jim was grinning in every photo. He'd always struck her as being very stoic and not the sort of man who would show his emotions very often. The time when the photos had been taken had obviously been a lot happier for him. She certainly would never have thought that Jim Ellison was the sort of man to build sandcastles with a child. Whoever the little girl was in the photo it was obvious that she meant a great deal to Jim because she was in every photo that he was. So what relation was she to Jim? Blair had never mentioned anything about Jim being an uncle and he certainly would have if he had have been. From the photos it looked as if there was a lot more going on than Jim just being friend's with that woman's father. Not that she'd believed that story the minute Jim had told it. He wasn't very good at lying. The only way that Blair was going to be told the whole truth about what was going on was if he confronted Jim with the photos she'd found and demanded to be told it.
***************
"You want to tell me what's wrong, Chief?" Jim asked. Normally when he drove anywhere Blair would give him an impromptu lecture about some obscure subject or other. Right now though, if he hadn't known better he would have said that Blair was sulking.
"There's nothing wrong," Blair replied sullenly. "Why would you think that there was?"
"Nothing." he said. "I just thought that you might like to talk about whatever's bothering you." Apart from the fact that Ria was now going to be a part of his life from now on he couldn't think of anything that could have put his friend in such a foul mood.
"You really want to know what's bothering me?" Blair asked.
"Sure, I do." he replied. No matter what it was he wanted to know so that he could help Blair.
"It's Detective O'Brien..." Blair began.
"Ria! Chief, if she's upset you I'm sure that she didn't mean to." Jim said.
"She hasn't." Blair replied.
"Then what's the problem?" he asked.
"Don't you think that you guys are getting a little too close too soon," Blair said. "You barely know her. What if this is..."
"Hold it right there, Chief," Jim growled, "how close I am to Ria has nothing to do with our friendship, partnership or the Sentinel thing, is that clear." He wasn't going to abandon her again just because Blair was jealous.
"Jim, everybody at the station's talking about the two of you," Blair said.
"Trust me, nobody believes the daughter of an army buddy story including me. So, you might as well admit that you're seeing her."
"Chief, if you want to believe that then go ahead and believe it," he said.
"You mean you are!" Blair exclaimed.
"Like I said Chief, you want to believe the rumours go right ahead." Jim said. Although he would have expected his best friend and guide to have dismissed the rumours as nothing more that station gossip. Even if he told Blair the truth he would never believe him, so at the moment there was no point in even trying.
******************
She was never going to be able to get the stench of that guy off her, Ria thought standing under the shower in the locker room. Sometimes, when she'd been undercover, it took two or three showers until she felt clean again. She didn't have time to do that at the station today though because she had suspect to question. After rinsing herself off she turned the shower off and wrapped a large blue towel around herself. When she got home she'd have another shower and an early night. Her dad would understand, besides it would give him and Jimmy a chance to talk.
Even if things didn't go too well between them tonight she wasn't going to give up hope of them getting back together again. It was only natural that it would take time for them to sort out all their problems. A lot had happened in the past deacde. Her dad was going to want to know why Jimmy had married that Plummer woman, that was something that she'd like to know as well. Jimmy had always said that her dad was the only person he would ever love, so he'd either lied to her dad or that woman. She supposed that they should be grateful that he wasn't still married to her now or that would have made an already complicated situation even more so. The really important thing was that she had her other dad back in her life. They'd be able to spend time together, getting to know each other again. There was only one thing that she wasn't sure about and that was how Jimmy's partner, Blair fit into the equation. He was going to have to be told something because he didn't strike her as the sort of person who would just accept something at face value. He was bound to have noticed the way that Jimmy was looking at her dad earlier. If she had to lie she would.
Eventually the truth would be exposed. Maybe it would be better if it came out now rather than later. That wasn't her decision to make though. Whatever her dad and Jimmy decided to do she'd go along with.
*****************
"Jim, my office." Simon said seeing as though Detective O'Brien wasn't present he thought that he may as well get Jim into his office and find out his version of what was going on between him and O'Brien. He'd wager every cigar that he had that there was a hell of a lot more going on than what he'd told Joel. One way or another he would get to the bottom of what was going on. As for what he'd do when he got to the truth he wasn't sure but he couldn't allow anyone's personal relationships upset his department. Alreay he could sense a rift starting to form between Jim and the Kid. There was still a great deal about the whole Sentinel thing that he didn't understand and probably never would. Anything that upset the partnership of his best team couldn't be good and he wanted it sorted out as soon as possible. He wasn't going to take sides as they were both grown men and should be able to sort out their own problems. However, what he could do was listen to what they had to say and help them to try and keep things in perspective.
"Let me guess, this is about Ria." Jim said entering Simon's office. He then closed the door behind him.
"Jim, you know that I don't usually intefer in the personal lives of my..." Simon began.
"Robert, that's Ria's dad and I were on this mission, where is classified," he said. "In the middle of nowhere we came across this orphange." He could still remember the first time that he'd seen the rundown building that housed the orphange. "Simon, the kids in it were the ones no one wanted or cared about. There was this one makeshift cot with a bundle of stinking rags in it..."
"Jim, what does this have to do with Detective O'Brien?" Simon asked.
"It wasn't until I hear this faint crying sound that I realised that there was baby in it," he said sitting on the edge of the table. "She was so small and sick. They'd just left her there to die. If I hadn't heard her she would have. I still don't understand how anyone could do that to a baby, just treat them as if they were trash."
"What happened to her?" Simon asked.
"Robert bribed the head of the orphange so we could get her out of there. We brought her back to the states, then he adopted her. Until I went to Peru I was a part of her life," Jim replied. "I haven't seen her since then though."
"So what exactly is your relationship to her?" Simon said.
"Adopted uncle," he said. "I did stuff with her andspent time with her." Something that he should have been doing for the past decade.
"How much of this does Sandburg know?" Simon asked.
"None of it," Jim admitted, "he'd rather believe the rumours."
"You know, unless you tell the rest of the department what you've just told me those rumours aren't going to stop." Simon said.
"I know," he replied. He could live with the rumours as long as they didn't cause Ria problems, if they started to then he was going to have to tell the story he'd just told Simon to everyone else.
"So, Uncle Jim, did you ever change a diaper?" Simon grinned.
***************
She looked even younger than she had at the airport, Joel thought when Ria entered the Bullpen, something he hadn't thought possible. Right now she looked as if she should still be in school instead of being about to question a suspect. While she was with the suspect he'd keep a close eye on her to make sure that she didn't step over the line. He doubted that she would but there was always that possibility.
"You feeling better now?" he asked as she sat down at her desk.
"Yeah, I still haven't got the smell of that guy off me though." Ria replied.
"I could do the interrogation if you'd like." Joel said.
"You're the senior partner so it's your call," she said.
"I'll question him then." he said. It would probably better if he did as she had a link to a possible victim. So far, they'd done everything by the book because if they made even a simple mistake his lawyer would pounce on it and try to claim that their case was based on nothing more than one officer's emotions. They had a lot of evidence against this guy and he wasn't about to be the one who caused him to walk away a free man.
"Joel, you will ask him about Adam won't you?" she asked.
"Don't worry I'll ask him," he assured her. But if the suspect wouldn't give up any information then there wasn't much that he could do about it. "I'm not getting my hopes up," Ria said. "As long as he goes down that's the important thing."
**************

Jumping to conclusions part 4

2009-01-18T13:33:30Z

4There was so much that he didn't know about her life during the past decade. The only way that he was going to find out was by talking to her and spending time with her. He couldn't really see Robert being too happy about his doing that.
"Jim, we need to talk." Blair said.
"What about?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Detective O'Brien." Blair replied.
"What about Ria?" Jim said, wondering what he was going to say without giving away anyone's secrets.
"She doesn't look much like her dad." Blair said.
"No, she doesn't," Jim admitted. "There's no reason why she should, is there?" That wasn't what he'd been expecting Blair to say. If he thought that he could catch him off guard then he was going to be disappointed.
"I guess that means she takes after her mom." Blair said.
"I wouldn't know. She's adopted." he said. It wasn't a secret that she was. In fact, as a kid, Ria had been very proud of the fact that her dad had chosen her instead of having to take what he was given by nature.
"She is!" Blair exclaimed.
"Chief, I suggest that if you want to know anything about her you talk to her yourself instead of asking me." Jim said.
"Maybe I will." Bliar replied.
**************
If anyone else had told him what to do first, he would have told them to butt out of his life, then laid them out cold on the floor when they'd persisted. Ria was his daughter though. He'd never raised a hand to her and he wasn't about to start now. When she was determined to do something she wouldn't let anything get in her way. Still, that was the attitude that he and Jimmy had instilled in her at an early age, that she could do anything if she put her mind to it. Right now it was obvious that she was trying to make some sort of relationship between him and Jimmy happen. Well, he could be just as determined and stubborn as she could to resist that happening.
She had been right about Jimmy still looking good. Not that he was going to let that sway him in any way. There were probably thousands of good looking guys out there who'd be interested in him. All he had to do was go and look for them, but he'd never been one to go trawling for company. He was perfectly happy with the way his life was. The last thing he wanted or needed was someone playing around with his heart. Ria didn't seem to realise that once you'd had your heart broken it was difficult to trust anyone with it again. Broken! That was a joke. Jimmy had taken his heart and shattered it into a millon pieces which he was still trying to put back together.
**************
"What's up?" Ria asked entering the Bullpen dressed in a two sizes too big sweatshirt, combat pants and a baseball cap which completely covered her hair. The most dramitc change in her appearance was the fact that her eyes were now a brilliant blue. If she could pass as a boy amongst the people she worked with she wouldn't have any problems convincing a total stranger that she was one. There was no way that she was going to let the suspect get away so that he could prey on some other kid. People like that deserved to be locked away for life, which would be really short, if she had her way.
"You looking for someone kid?" H asked.
"Nah," she replied. "Just figured I'd see what cops do all day." She then went and sat at her desk.
"Well, you've seen so why don't you run along." H smiled.
"I'm not doing any harm." Ria said pushing her chair back and putting her feet up on her desk.
"Look, kid, this is a police station not a playground," he said firmly. "If my captain comes out and finds you here you're going to be in serious trouble."
"Listen up, man. I've got as much right to be here as you," Ria said. "If you don't like it you can go..."
"You little..." H began.
"Man, to wear a shirt like that you've got to be colour blind." she said.
"Son, how about you give me your name and adress." H said.
"I'm nobody's son." Ria said. Well, she wasn't . Not that she was going to tell him that just yet.
**************
She was good, Jim thought. For a moment she'd fooled him because her scent had changed. If it hadn't been for his sentinel senses he would have had as hard a time of telling which sex she was as H was having. He wasn't going to do anything because then he'd have to try and explain how he knew that she wasn't a guy. A lot of officers when they went undercover as a member of the opposite sex got the little details wrong. But she had everything perfect. She even had the right sort of bulge outline in her jeans. Not that he had focused solely on that particular area of her body when she'd entered the Bullpen unlike Blair and Rafe. Still, checking out the other guy to see what sort of competition you faced was perfectly natural. If Rafe didn't stop checking it out in the next thirty seconds he wasn't going to be responsible for his actions.
He might not have been her other parent since she'd been fourteen but that didn't mean that he was just going to sit there while some Armani wearing detective drooled over her while she was dressed like a guy. His moppet deserved a lot more respect than that and he intended to make sure that she got it. Robert would never forgive him if he let her get involved with someone who wouldn't treat her properly. There were plenty of guys out there who would just love to try and take advantage of her. Not that they were going to get a chance if he had anything to do with it. He didn't know what Robert's attitude towards her having boyfriends was but any guy who went anywhere near her would be checked out to make sure that they didn't have any sort of criminal record.
*****************
"What is going on?" Simon demanded coming out of his office to see what all the noise was.
"Nothing, Captain," Brown replied, "just some kid trying to cause trouble."
"I'm not a kid," Ria said, "and if I really wanted to cause trouble there wouldn't be anything that you could do about it." If she had to she could play with the big boys and she could play a lot harder than them. She then swung her legs off her desk stood up and turned around. "Nor am I anyone's son." she said taking her baseball cap off.
"O'Brien, what do you think you're playing at?" Simon growled.
"Just getting into character, Sir," she replied. "I thought that if I could fool these fine upstanding detectives I wouldn't have any trouble fooling the suspect." She'd done a good job of fooling Brown but she was going to have to do an even better one when she was sitting opposite the suspect.
"Where's your partner?" Simon asked.
"I don't know." Ria admitted.
"Then I suggest that you go and find him." he said.
"Any suggestions as to where I should start looking?" she asked.
"Just go find him." Simon snapped before heading back into his office.
"Should have known that it wouldn't be any different than Seattle." she muttered. She wasn't going to waste valuable time tracking down her partner. He knew where she was and what she would be doing. If he didn't turn up on time then it was his problem not hers.
**************
They had a serious problem, Joel thought returning to the Bullpen. He'd thought that the suspect's name was familiar so he'd done some checking. What he'd discovered had filled him with revulsion. The information in the case file barely scratched the surface of the long list of crimes that the suspect had been accused of but not convicted. His partner wasn't going to stand a chance against this guy if he decided to use force to get her to do what he wanted. Once Simon knew all the facts he'd call off the undercover sting because it would be too dangerous to proceed with it. He was also going to have to tell his partner what he'd found out because she needed to be involved in the final desicion as she would be the one to pay the price if it went ahead and something went wrong.
"Ria." he said stopping by her desk.
"Joel, what do you think to the disguise?" she asked.
"It's good..." he began.
But?" she said.
"I did some checking on our suspect." he replied.
"Let me guess you found out that he had a long list of arrests but no convictions for similar crimes." Ria said.
"How?" Joel asked.
"Guys like him usually do," she said, "and what you found is probably just the tip of the iceberg. Who knows how many victims never reported what happened or they just disappeared after meeting him."
"Simon needs to know about this so that he can decide whether we go ahead or not." Joel said. It was going to be Simon's head on the chopping block if it went down and something went wrong. You didn't take chances when a suspect like this was involved.
"I'm still willing to go through with it if he gives the okay," she said.
"This guys needs stopping before he brutalizes any more kids."
************
"Enter," Simon growled when there was a knock on his office door, "Joel, what can I do for you?" He then saw Ria.
"I made a few checks on the suspect," Joel said handing the file he was holding to Simon. "What I found, well..."
"Sir, I'm willing to go ahead with..." Ria began.
"O'Brien, have you read this?" he asked.
"No, Sir, but I can guess what it says," she replied. "I know what guys like this do. He could be grooming any number of kids, even have them lined up for when he's finished in Cascade."
"I'm well aware of that detective." he growled, "however I have to be sure that you won't be putting yourself at more risk than is neccessary." She was right though, the suspect could have more kids lined up to be his next victim. He had to weigh that fact against the possible danger that she could find herself facing if he let her go ahead with the meeting.
"I've faced worse than him on my own. Taken them down as well," Ria said."I can do this if you give me the chance."
"What if something goes wrong?" Simon asked. He would be the one who had to explain why he'd let the meeting go ahead. "Can you promise me that it won't?" he added.
"Nobody can do that, Sir, and if they did they'd be lying," she replied. "I really want to get this son of a bitch, Sir."
"Why?" he asked, sensing that there was another reason apart from her wanting to do her job for her determination to do this.
"Adam Frost," Ria replied. "We were in school together. He disappeared after walking home from little league practice. I went left, he went right and... They still don't know what happened to him."
"The suspect was questioned about it, wasn't he?" Simon asked. Before he nade a desicion as to whether the meeting went ahead or not he had to know everything including how the detective involved felt.
"Probably, I mean he was on base at the time," Ria admitted, "After Adam went missing my dad wouldn't let me go anywhere on my own. It was the first time I realised that my dad could get scared."
"If I decide that you should go ahead with the meeting I don't want your personal feelings getting the way, is that clear." he said although it would be difficult for anyone not to have feelings about the subject. But she had a job to do and he didn't want any defense lawyer claiming that their client had been roughed up by an overzealous detective.
"I'll do my best not to let them, Sir." she said.
"I don't want you taking any unneccessary risks, either." he growled.
"Yes, Sir." she smiled.
"As well as your partner being in the van, Ellison and Sandburg will act as back up." he said. Why did he get the feeling that he might end up regretting this.
"Anything you say, Sir," Ria said. "Is there anything else that I need to know?"
"Not at the moment." he replied.
"I'll go back to my desk then." she said leaving his office.
"Joel, keep a close eye on her," Simon said. "At the first sign of trouble I want her out of there."
"Don't worry she will be." Joel assured him.
**************
To say that Robert had been scared after Adam Frost had gone missing was an understatement, Jim thought, watching Ria go back to her desk. He'd been terrified. So had he along with every other parent on base. After that Ria had always been taken and picked up from wherever she had to go. He could still remember trying to to explain to her that it hadn't been her fault that someone had taken Adam away. That she hadn't done anything wrong by going to the base store instead of walking all the way home with him.
Considering what had happened he'd felt guilty at being relieved that, for once, she hadn't listened to them about being home on time. The chances were that if she'd done as she'd been told that day she would have disappeared along with Adam.
It wasn't going to be easy for her to keep her personal feelings out of this case. All cops faced a case like that from time to time. How you handled it showed just what sort of person you were. He'd be there backing her up, helping her as much as he could afterwards and so help that son of a bitch if he laid so much as a finger on her. If he'd had Robert's phone number he would have called him to let him know what Ria was facing, or rather who. Then again causing Robert to worry wouldn't do any good. Still, when he went over there tonight he'd suggest that he keep a close eye on her; just like he would be doing during the meeting between her and the suspect.
**************
"Blair, Jim?" Naomi called on entering the loft, using the key she'd had made during a previous visit. Good, they were both out, she thought, closing the door behind her, that meant that there was no one around to stop her from looking around properly. What they didn't know couldn't possibly harm them. Besides, Blair would be so pleased when she gave him something to use against that woman Jim was seeing. Of course, she wouldn't be able to tell him where she'd gotten the information in the first place. At times, her son was a little too moral for his own good. Sometimes you had to break the rules to make sure that people didn't take advantage of you. She'd not only bent the rules but broken them over the years to make sure that Blair had never gone without while they'd travelled around, not that he knew anything about those times.
After marching up the stairs which led to Jim's bedroom, Naomi stopped at the top of the stairs and peered in. It was a little spartan for her tastes but it suited a man like Jim perfectly. Without giving it a second thought, she entered the bedroom and headed straight for the chest of drawers . An obvious place to start looking, probably too obvious. If you wanted to hide something you wouldn't pick the first place you knew people would look. Still, she had to check the drawers just in case there was anything useful in them. Besides, there was always a chance that Jim hadn't put things away quite as carefully as he thought he had.
**************
Now would be as good a time as any to talk to the woman who seemed to have captitvated his partner so thoroughly, Blair thought, as Jim left the Bullpen. He had to keep things friendly so that she couldn't turn around and go to Jim and tell him that he'd been nasty to her. Not that he would have been anyway but giving her any ammunition to use against him with Jim as the last thing that he wanted to do right now. As it was, she probably had Jim wrapped around her little finger.
Maybe there was was something going on with Jim's senses that he didn't know about,he thought, following Ria into the breakroom as casually as he could. Despite all his research there was still a great deal that he didn't know about Sentinels and how they reacted to certain stimuli. It could come down to be the perfume she was wearing or the pheromones she produced. After all, what better way to catch a Sentinel than by using their own senses against them.
"Hi." he said.
"Hi," ria replied. "If you want coffee, you're going to have to wait, I've just made a fresh pot."
"It's okay," Bliar said. "So, how are you and Joel getting along?"
"Fine," she said. "He's way better than my last partner. He was a total asshole."
"Joel's a good guy." he said.
"Look, if there's something you want to know, just ask," she said, "because I don't have time to waste today."
"Hey, I was just trying to be friendly." Blair said holding his hands up.
"Friendly as in..." Ria began.
"I've known Jim for three years. I just thought that we could be friends as well." he said. He'd made the offer, not without an ulterior motive though. If they were friends then she might be more willing to tell him what was going on than if they weren't. Besides, it was for Jim's benefit that he was doing this. There was a saying which he'd never paid all the much attention to until now, "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer" At this moment in time he didn't know which she was but he was going to stay close to her until he did.
"Friends it is, then." she smiled.
**************

"Joel, Robert was always very careful about who he let look after her," Jim said. "He didn't just dump her on anyone when he was working away." They'd been the best parents they could considering the fact that neither of them had come from happy families. His father had been an uncaring workoholic and Robert's was an alcoholic. Whatever mistakes that their parents had made they'd tried to avoid with Ria. He knew that he couldn't take the credit for the young woman she'd become but having been her parent for fourteen years had to have some effect on the way she'd turned out.
*

Jumping to conclusions part 3

2009-01-16T14:04:03Z

"So..." Ria began.
"So what?" Robert asked.
"What do I tell Jimmy?" she said. "Will you meet him for a coffee? The three of us could get together for lunch."
"Ria, I need time to think about this." he replied. A lot of time, even then he wasn't likely to give her the answer that she was hoping for.
"Why do you?" she asked. "Wouldn't it be a lot better to tell him now rather than let him get his hopes up? After all, you've always told me to be straight with people."
"You're not going to stop pestering me until I talk to him, are you?" he asked.
"Nope," she smiled. "I'll even pay for lunch."
"I'll see him on one condition," Robert replied, "you're not there." He didn't want her there in case they started arguing. It wouldn't do her any good to get caught in the crossfire between him and Jimmy.
"But..." Ria began.
"There are things that we need to talk about. It'll be a lot easier to do that if you're not there," he said. "I don't have to see him again but you're going to be working with him every day." He didn't want to be the cause of any problems between her and Jimmy at work.
"Dad, I don't work with him," she said. "I have a partner named Joel."
"You know what I mean." he said.
"Trust me, there aren't going to be any problems between us at work," Ria assured him. "I've worked too hard to let that happen."
"I know and I'm very proud of you." Robert smiled. She really had worked hard to get where she was. For a long time she'd worked long hours, every hour she could. There'd even been times when he hadn't seen her for days while she'd been following up some lead or other. He had to admit that he didn't know that much about police work but he'd always thought that they had some sort of partner to back them up when they did things like that.
"Well, I'd better go," she said pushing her plate away and standing up.
"I'll tell Jimmy that you'll meet him for lunch at Wonderburger around one."
"Fine," he replied. "But I don't want to see you anywhere near there. Is that clear."
"Yes, Dad." she sighed.
*********************
Maybe his mom was right and there was only one way that he was going to find out what was really going on with Jim, Blair thought. But there was no way that he could betray Jim's trust in him by deliberately going through his things. If, on the other hand, Jim accidently left something out then that would be a totally different matter. Of course, there was always the extreme possibility that Jim had been telling the truth. Yeah, right. There was more chance of his mom having steak for lunch than that being the case.
If he'd thought for one moment that his mom could have been trusted not to go through Jim's things the minute he left the loft, he would have gone into the station see if he couldn't talk to Detective O'Brien and find out what was going on. He didn't want to see Jim getting hurt even if it meant that he ended up homeless. Jim wasn't going to want him hanging around if things got serious between him and Detective O'Brien, and he wouldn't want to.
"Sweetie, you and Jim need to talk," Naomi said handing him a mug of tea. "I know that he doesn't want to but..."
"Mom, you don't know Jim." he said. Maybe he didn't either.
"If you're friends you should be able to talk about this," she said, "You have a right to know whether his relationship with this woman is going to affect you."
"It's not as if living here was ever meant to be permanant," Blair said.
One week had turned into nearly three years so maybe it was time to think about moving on.
"Staying in one place for too long isn't good," Naomi said. "Just think about all the new experiences you're denying yourself by staying here."
"Jim needs me." he said. At least, he hoped that he still did.
"Does he?" she asked.
******************
At least, they hadn't turned up together, Joel thought, when he saw Jim enter the Bullpen. If they had it would have only served to fuel the rumours that were already starting to circulate around the station. Not that he believed them but there were going to be some people who would. Some people would believe anything no matter how ridiculous it was and it was only a matter of time before the Chief heard the rumours.
"Jim," he said. "I think that we need to talk about my new partner." If he kept it casual, then hopefully, there wouldn't be any bad feelings between them afterwards.
"What about her?" Jim asked.
"Some of the guys have been talking..." Joel began.
"Didn't take them long did it?" Jim said, "so, what are they saying?"
"That the two of you are having some sort of romantic relationship," he replied. "It's none of my business but..."
"We're not," Jim assured him. "You do a favour for an old army buddy and..."
"Favour?" Joel asked.
"Yeah, I told her dad that I'd keep an eye on her for her first couple of days here. Make sure that she settled in okay," Jim replied. "Maybe you could tell the guys that." He then walked off towards his desk.
*****************
The only reason why he'd agreed to see Jimmy was because Ria wouldn't let the subject drop until he had. She was right though, it would be better to set him straight now rather than later. If she wanted to have a relationship with him then he wasn't going to stop her unless he saw that she was going to get hurt. Jimmy might think that he could use Ria to get to him but it wasn't going to work. There was absolutely no reason or excuse that Jimmy could come up with that would make him forgive him. However, he would be civil to him for Ria's sake. There was no reason why she should have to deal with their problems. They'd always kept her out of them before so it wasn't going to be any different now.
His and Jimmy's relationship hadn't been perfect by any means, but then nobody's was. Like all couples they'd had their rough patches. The fact that they'd had to keep their relationship a secret had been an added stress factor. They'd done it though by hanging out in all the usual places where single military guys could be found. Nobody had thought twice about Jimmy crashing at his place, especially after Ria had come into their lives. After all, he could hardly have left her alone while he was working. Not that there'd been any shortage of people willing to look after her for him. They were her parents though so it had been their responisbility to make sure that she was looked after properly.
*****************
Jimmy was going to be so pleased when she told him that her dad had agreed to have lunch with him. The condition that her dad had laid down was really unfair though. She'd wanted to be there when they met. Still, if things went okay the maybe next time she could join them. This could be the start of her family getting back together. She knew that it wasn't going to happen overnight but with a few nudges from her anything was possible.
"Morning," she smiled at Joel as she sat down at her desk. "I meant to ask you yesterday what do you like being called."
"Joel is fine," he replied. "Jim told me about the favour he's doing your dad."
"Yeah, well, you know what dad's can be like." Ria said hoping that she was saying the right thing.
"They must have been pretty good friends for Jim to do it." he said.
"They were," she replied. "Jim stayed with us a couple of times while he was on leave." And when he wasn't, not that she could say that at the moment without a lot of questions being asked that she couldn't answer without telling some pretty big lies.
"I don't suppose that was much fun." Joel said.
"It had it's moments." she admitted. especially, when her dad had been away. Jimmy might look like a big tough guy to the outside world but she knew differently. He'd totally spoiled her everytime her dad had been away. Her dad hadn't always been pleased when he got back to find that her collection of stuffed animals had grown considerably. At Christmas, there'd always been a huge pile of presents under the tree for her.
**************
Just because Blair had stopped her from going through Jim's things it didn't mean thst she couldn't still try and find out what was going on. Of course, it would be a lot harder without some sort of clue to help her. But, that had never stopped her in the past and it wasn't going to do so now. She had a few contacts that she could call on to find out more about this woman that Jim was involved with. Once she had that information, she would know exactly what was going on, then she'd be able not only to confront Jim but tell Blair everything. Even better would be if she could meet this woman because within five minutes she'd have the whole story out of her.
"Sweetie, I'm going out for a while," she said. "I thought I might pick up a few things from the health food store. Do you want me to bring you anything back?"
"Some chamomile tea," Blair replied, "we're nearly out."
"Maybe you should meditate while I'm gone," she suggested. "It always used to help you to relax." Besides if he meditated he wouldn't realise just how long she'd been gone.
"Mom, you're not planning to drop by the station and talk to Jim, are you?" he asked.
"Of course not." Naomi assured him. She then headed out of the loft.
***************
He remembered the Christmas Ria was telling Joel about, Jim thought. Only not the way she was telling it. Still, she could hardly tell Joel the truth. Lying was wrong. That was something that both he and Robert had repeatedly told her while she'd been growing up. It was ironic because now she was lying in order to protect him. She probably didn't like lying any more than he liked her doing it. Things would be a lot easier if they could both tell the truth but that wasn't possible. At least, not until after he'd talked to Robert. Even then it was going to be difficult, being a gay cop wasn't easy. At times, it could even be dangerous. He was prepared to accept the risk that he might not get back up in time if he came out but he wasn't prepared to put both Ria and Blair in the firing line as well. They hadn't done anything wrong so why should they have to take the flak for his choice of lifestyle and it had been a choice.
He'd always been attracted to men, but until he'd met Robert, he'd never done anything about it. They'd started off as friends and things had rapidly gone from there. Being with Robert had made him feel loved for the first time in his life. When Robert had called him Jimmy it hadn't been a put down but a term of affection. Being with Robert had been the happiest time of his life. Finding Ria had only made things even better for the both of them.
Despite everything that he'd told Blair he had gone to see his dad while he'd been in the army. Robert had been away so he'd taken Ria with him. It had been a mistake. His dad had hit the roof about her. He should have known that he wouldn't be pleased at suddenly being presented with a grandaughter.
Still, he had given him an oppertunity to get to know her. His dad had really lost out because Ria would have brought him so much love and happiness, just like she had to him and Robert. But he'd thrown that happiness away by being a selfish son of a bitch. If he was lucky enough to be given a second chance, he was going to grab hold of it with both hands.
**************
He hated crimes involving children, Simon thought, putting the case file he'd just read down on his desk. Under normal circumstances he would never have assigned it to an officer who'd only been in his department for a short time but she was the only one who fit the profile of the victims. She was small enough and looked young enough to pass as a teenager. From her record he knew that she'd worked very successfully undercover in Seattle. The only problem that he could see with her physical appearance were her eyes. They were a very distinctive colour. Still, if she wore sunglasses during the meeting it wouldn't be that much of a problem.
Standing up he then walked over to his office door, opened it and bellowed.
"Taggart, O'Brien, my office now." He then went and sat back down and waited for the summoned officers.
***************
"You wanted to see us." Joel said when he and Ria entered the office.
"Close the door and sit down." Simon said.
"If this is about the rumours Sir..." Ria began, as she closed the door.
"That's not why I called you in here," he assured her. "I understand that you've done a lot of undercover work."
"Yes, Sir," she replied, "I'm not going to have to play a hooker again, am I?"
"Not this time," Simon replied. "You'll be going undercover as a teenage boy. It's part of an internet peodophile sting operation. The officer due to play the role was involved in an accident. I'll understand if you need time to think about it." Not that he could give her much time having only just been informed of it himself.
"When do I start?" Ria asked.
"This afternoon," he said. "All you have to do is meet the suspect and talk to him. You'll be wired with full back up. You are aware of the rules concerning entrapment, aren't you?" He didn't want the suspect escaping because of some technicality.
"Yes, Sir. I let him bring the subject up first," she replied, "then I do as little talking as possible and only agree to anything when really pushed."
"With any luck you won't have to spend too much time with him," Simon said. "If, at any time, you feel threatened then make your excuses and walk away. We can pick him up another time."
"There's very little that makes me feel threatened," Ria admitted, "and I know how to handle difficult suspects."
"I'll be there backing you up the whole time." Joel said.
"It would probably be a good idea if you wore sunglasses," Simon suggested."Your eyes..."
"I have coloured contact lenses at home, Sir," she said. "Just tell me when and where I have to be."
"The suspect will be flying in from Boston on the two thirty five flight.You're to meet him in the snack bar at the airport," he replied. "All the information on the case so far and a description of the suspect are in here." He then handed her the case file that was on his desk.
"I won't let you down, Sir." Ria promised.
"I know you won't, Detective." Simon said. If her record from Seattle was anything to go by she'd be giving Jim a run for his money when it came time for Officer of the Year to be awarded.
************
"I'd better call my dad," Ria said as she and Joel left Simon's office. "Get him to bring my bag from home." No doubt he'd think that it was some sort of ploy by her so that he and Jim could meet with her there.
"I'm sure that Simon wouldn't mind if you went home to get it yourself." Joel said.
"I need all the prep time I can get on this," she said. "As it is it's going to be a rush." If there was one thing that you couldn't skimp on when going undercover that was preparation because there could come a time when that was the only thing that came between you making it out okay or ending up dead.
"How many times have you been undercover?" Joel asked.
"A lot," Ria replied. "Don't worry I know what I'm doing. Compared to somethings I've had to do this is going to be a piece of cake." All she had to di was sit in a public place and let some pervert talk himself into what would hopefully be a long jail sentence.
"Just remember that you're going to have a lot of backup." Joel said.
************
With his mom out, it was probably safe to leave the loft and go to the station, Blair thought. Maybe he could talk to Detective O'Brien and find out what her intentions were regarding Jim. Of course, he knew that women found his partner attractive, but at the same time he couldn't help but be curious as to why someone as young as her would want to date his partner, especially, when there was probably a long line of younger guys just waiting to ask her out. Maybe this was all some sort of game to her. In his time he'd dated more than a few women who like to play head games with the men that they dated.
Despite his size and gruff exterior Jim was just as, if not more, vulnerable than the next guy when it came to getting emotionally hurt. A major emotional upset could play havoc with his senses. If that happened when he was on the streets then he could get seriously injured. What if she'd found out what Jim was and this was some sort of ploy to take him out of the picture, or even worse, cause him to end up in some lab for the rest of his life. There was no way that he could let that happen to his best friend. Even if Jim didn't want to talk about this he was going to make him while they still had a chance to put a stop to whatever she was up to.
**************
He knew that going undercover was a part of her job, Robert thought, entering the lobby of Cascade's central police station, but he really wished that she didn't have to. Anything could happen to her while she was out there alone, not to mention the effect that it had on her when she got home. The last time she'd gone undercover she'd come home in a terrible state because it had gone wrong. It was at times like these that he really wished she'd decided to pursue some other career, something that didn't involved guns and criminals. Still, at least with him taking her bag to work, he'd get to see the people who were supposed to look out for her. While she'd been working in Seattle she'd kept him as far away from her work as possible, rarely mentioned it unless he'd pushed her . Even then what she'd told him had hardly filled him with confidence that if anything did go wrong there's be other people there to sort it out.
If he ran into Jimmy, and he was likely to, he thought, he'd be civil to him, but that was all. The middle of a police department was hardly the place for them to have any sort of serious discussion about why he hadn't come back to him and Ria after Peru. Besides, he didn't know whether Jimmy was out or not. Ria had told him what happened to cops who were out. He might not be happy about the fact that Jimmy was a part of Ria's working life but that didn't mean that he was going to do anything that would make life difficult for him because it was likely to rebound on Ria. No matter what his personal feelings towards Jim were he wasn't going to do anything that would upset his daughter.
****************
"Hold the lift." Blair shouted, dashing for it as the doors started closing. He skidded to a halt inside just before they did. "Thanks." he grinned at the other occupant of the lift.
"What floor?" he asked.
"Sixth." Blair replied. He just hoped that Jim was there so that he could talk to him.
"Same as me." Robert smiled.
"You're a detective?" Blair asked studying the man closely.
"No, my daughter is," he replied. "I'm just dropping something off for her. She only started working here yesterday."
"What department?" Blair said because he knew most of the women who worked in the station. Something that made him the butt of a lot of jokes. It wasn't his fault that women liked him because he listened to what they had to say.
"Major Crimes." he replied.
"You're Detective O'Brien's dad!" Blair exclaimed.
"Yeah, my names Robert." Robert said.
"I'm Blair Sandburg, an observer with the department," Blair said. "I work with Jim Ellison."
"Ria mentioned that she was in the same department as Jim." he said.
"You know Jim?" Blair asked. Maybe he'd been wrong to doubt the veracity of Jim's story. Still, if there was anything going on between Jim and Detective O'Brien, her dad was likely to know.
"A long time ago I did," Robert replied, "haven't seen him in almost a decade."
"He's going to be surprised to see you then." Blair grinned. This could turn out to be very interesting. Especially, when her dad realised that there was something going on between her and Jim.
***********
This could be awkward, Jim thought when he heard who Blair was talking to as the lift doors opened. He knew that Ria had called Robert and asked him to bring her bag in; he just hadn't expected him to arrive so soon. If he'd had more warning he could have gone into the breakroom and stayed there until he'd left. Doing that now would make it look as if he was deliberately trying to avoid Robert which was likely to upset him and that was the last thing he wanted to do. The way that he acted around both Robert and Ria was going to be closely watched by Blair. The best thing he could do was act as casually as he could, and offer Robert a coffee. Maybe suggest that they get together and catch up on old times later. What if Robert totally ignored him though? He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle that. No, Robert probably wouldn't do that as it would upset Ria. She might not be a little girl anymore but Robert would still go out of his way to avoid upsetting her, especially in the place that she worked.
He looked good, he thought, as Robert entered the Bullpen with Blair. Green had always been Robert's colour and it still was. Even with a few streaks of grey in his hair Robert was still a very attractive man. Ria had said that he wasn't involved with anyone, that there hadn't been anyone since he'd walked out of their lives. That didn't mean that Robert would even consider them making some sort of fresh start. He'd been an idiot to throw away what he'd had with him. There hadn't been a single time since then that he'd even come close to being as happy as he had been with Robert. No matter what it took, even if it meant getting down on his knees and begging for forgiveness, he wanted to feel that way again.
Taking a deep breath he stood up and started walking towards Ria's desk.
******************
"Dad! I wasn't expecting you to get here so soon." Ria said standing up.
"It sounded important so I thought I'd better bring your bag straight here," Robert replied, handing her the bag that he was holding. "I'm sure that you'll make a very convincing boy."
"I've had enough practice," she smiled. "Did you want something, Blair?"
"No," Blair replied. "Jim, you know Detective O'Brien's dad, don't you?"
"Yeah," Jim replied. "Robert, it's been a long time. How are you doing?"
"Fine," Robert replied. "I just dropped by to give Ria her bag." How are you doing? That was pretty lame. Still, he wasn't sure what Jimmy would say to him or even if he'd say anything at all.
"You don't have to rush off, do you?" Jim asked.
"I do have to be somewhere." Robert said.
"Where?" Ria asked. "Nowhere important, right? I mean, you haven't met my partner yet."
"I suppose that I could stay until I meet him." Robert said. He might feel a little better about her going undercover once he'd met the man who would be looking out for her while she was.
"You're going undercover?" Blair asked.
"Yeah," Ria replied. "I'm the only one who can do it. It's going to be a piece of cake."
"How about a coffee?" Jim asked. "It's not much but..."
"Coffee would be fine," Robert replied. "White..."
"Two sugars." Jim smiled.
"Yeah." he said. He hadn't expected him to remember that after all this time. Most people couldn't remember how he took his coffee a week later. But then, Jimmy wasn't most people. When you lived with someone as long as he and Jimmy had lived together you knew how they liked their coffee, which side of the bed that they preferred sleeping on, things like that. Not that they'd done a lot of sleeping at times. Before they'd found Ria they'd spent most of their leaves locked in a hotel room only answering the door to room service.
"I won't be long." Jim said heading towards the break room.
****************
Something really weird was going on, Blair thought when Jim returned with Robert's coffee. To begin with he was virtually ignoring Detective O'Brien. All his attention was focused on her dad. Of course, he could be ignoring her so that it looked like there was nothing going on between them but Jim wasn't usually as subtle as that. No, there had to be more to it than that. It was just a matter of finding out what and doing something about it before it was too late.
Detective O'Brien didn't seem to mind at all though. In fact, she seemed happy about all the attention that Jim was paying her dad. A total stranger looking at the scene might have jumped to the conclusion that Jim was flirting with the guy but he knew that wasn't possible. Jim was as straight as they came. Surely he would have noticed if Jim dated guys as well as women. Not that it would have bothered him if he had. His mom had raised him to accept other people's lifestyle choices. He could hardly come out and ask Jim because he was likely to end up flat on his back if he did.
"So, how long have you know Jim?" he asked looking at Robert.
"About twenty six years," Robert replied, "that was when I first met him."
"We lost touch about a decade ago," Jim said. "After Peru I walked away from everyone that I knew. It was a mistake. One I've regretted for a long time."
"Everyone makes mistakes," Ria said. "It's admitting them that's hard."
*************
It had been a complete waste of time trying to find something on the woman that Jim was seeing, Naomi thought, because there wasn't anything to find. At least, nothing that would be of any use to Blair. The only thing of significance was the fact that she was adopted; not that there were many details about it. She was just going to have do a lot more digging if she wanted to find something solid on this woman. Blair was relying on her to help him so that he could help Jim, and she wasn't going to let him down. She knew that a lot of people took one look at her and dismissed her as nothing more than an aging hippy. She used that to her advantage when she wanted people to tell her things that they'd never consdier telling anyone else.
Her best hope of getting anything good was by talking to this woman. The only problem was that she was going to have to do that when neither Jim nor Blair were around. That ruled out the possibility of her going to the station. That wouldn't have been the ideal place to talk to her anyway. No, she needed to get her somewhere quiet and where she would feel comfortable about talking to a total stranger. So far she hadn't met anyone that she couldn't put at ease within five minutes of her meeting them.
****************
"Ria, as much as I'd like to stay here until your partner gets back, I can't," Robert said apologetically, "I have things to do and I'm sure that you need to get ready for..."
"Yeah, I do," she admitted. This wasn't working out the way she'd hoped it might. She knew that her dad couldn't be too obvious but ignoring Jimmy wasn't going to do him any good. She wasn't going to let him drop the subject. Jimmy wasn't helping his case by just standing there. If he didn't do something before her dad left he was going to blow his chance and he might not get another one.
"Maybe we could go for a beer," Jim suggested. "catch up on old times."
"I'm going to be busy for the next couple of days." Robert replied.
"You'll be at home tonight, won't you?" Ria asked. He'd said that he would meet with Jimmy so that he could listen to his explanation and now he was coming up with some lame excuse about being busy to try and get out of it. She knew that it couldn't have been easy for Jimmy to have asked him.
"You know I will." he said.
"Good, you can pick up some beer on your way home and be ready for when Jim comes over tonight." Ria said.
"What time?" Jim asked.
"Seven," she replied. After Jimmy had been there for a while she'd make her excuses so that they could talk. Hopefully, they'd get some sort of rapport going. Okay, so maybe she was getting her hopes up, but if she could get them alone in the same room one of them was going to have to say something eventually even if it was just leave.
"Seven it is, then." Robert said reluctantly.
"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on her this afternoon." Jim assured him.
"I can take care of myself you know," she said. "I wouldn't have agreed to do this if I'd had any doubts about it."
"Just be very careful. There are a lot of very sick people out there." Robert said. "I don't want to get a phone call saying that something's happened to you."
"You won't," she promised him. "The first sign of trouble and I'm out of there." Not that she was expecting any sort of trouble. Still, if anything did go wrong, she could handle it.
"Call me when it's over." he said. He then left the Bullpen.
"I'd better go and get changed," Ria said. "If Joel comes back tell him that I won't be long."
"Sure." Jim grinned as he headed back towards his desk followed by Blair.
****************
Tonight could be the only chance that he got to explain everything to Robert, Jim thought, making a half hearted attempt to sort through the paperwork on his desk. He knew that he'd only gotten this chance because Ria had backed Robert into a corner. She was obviously on his side when it came to getting Robert to listen to what he had to say. That didn't mean that he was willing to let her ruin her relationship with Robert because of him. After all, Robert was the one who'd had to pick up the pieces when he'd walked out of their lives. The one who'd had to sit up at night waiting for her to come home after dates. At least, he assumed that she'd gone on dates.
***************
3"So..." Ria began.
"So what?" Robert asked.
"What do I tell Jimmy?" she said. "Will you meet him for a coffee? The three of us could get together for lunch."
"Ria, I need time to think about this." he replied. A lot of time, even then he wasn't likely to give her the answer that she was hoping for.
"Why do you?" she asked. "Wouldn't it be a lot better to tell him now rather than let him get his hopes up? After all, you've always told me to be straight with people."
"You're not going to stop pestering me until I talk to him, are you?" he asked.
"Nope," she smiled. "I'll even pay for lunch."
"I'll see him on one condition," Robert replied, "you're not there." He didn't want her there in case they started arguing. It wouldn't do her any good to get caught in the crossfire between him and Jimmy.
"But..." Ria began.
"There are things that we need to talk about. It'll be a lot easier to do that if you're not there," he said. "I don't have to see him again but you're going to be working with him every day." He didn't want to be the cause of any problems between her and Jimmy at work.
"Dad, I don't work with him," she said. "I have a partner named Joel."
"You know what I mean." he said.
"Trust me, there aren't going to be any problems between us at work," Ria assured him. "I've worked too hard to let that happen."
"I know and I'm very proud of you." Robert smiled. She really had worked hard to get where she was. For a long time she'd worked long hours, every hour she could. There'd even been times when he hadn't seen her for days while she'd been following up some lead or other. He had to admit that he didn't know that much about police work but he'd always thought that they had some sort of partner to back them up when they did things like that.
"Well, I'd better go," she said pushing her plate away and standing up.
"I'll tell Jimmy that you'll meet him for lunch at Wonderburger around one."
"Fine," he replied. "But I don't want to see you anywhere near there. Is that clear."
"Yes, Dad." she sighed.
*********************
Maybe his mom was right and there was only one way that he was going to find out what was really going on with Jim, Blair thought. But there was no way that he could betray Jim's trust in him by deliberately going through his things. If, on the other hand, Jim accidently left something out then that would be a totally different matter. Of course, there was always the extreme possibility that Jim had been telling the truth. Yeah, right. There was more chance of his mom having steak for lunch than that being the case.
If he'd thought for one moment that his mom could have been trusted not to go through Jim's things the minute he left the loft, he would have gone into the station see if he couldn't talk to Detective O'Brien and find out what was going on. He didn't want to see Jim getting hurt even if it meant that he ended up homeless. Jim wasn't going to want him hanging around if things got serious between him and Detective O'Brien, and he wouldn't want to.
"Sweetie, you and Jim need to talk," Naomi said handing him a mug of tea. "I know that he doesn't want to but..."
"Mom, you don't know Jim." he said. Maybe he didn't either.
"If you're friends you should be able to talk about this," she said, "You have a right to know whether his relationship with this woman is going to affect you."
"It's not as if living here was ever meant to be permanant," Blair said.
One week had turned into nearly three years so maybe it was time to think about moving on.
"Staying in one place for too long isn't good," Naomi said. "Just think about all the new experiences you're denying yourself by staying here."
"Jim needs me." he said. At least, he hoped that he still did.
"Does he?" she asked.
******************
At least, they hadn't turned up together, Joel thought, when he saw Jim enter the Bullpen. If they had it would have only served to fuel the rumours that were already starting to circulate around the station. Not that he believed them but there were going to be some people who would. Some people would believe anything no matter how ridiculous it was and it was only a matter of time before the Chief heard the rumours.
"Jim," he said. "I think that we need to talk about my new partner." If he kept it casual, then hopefully, there wouldn't be any bad feelings between them afterwards.
"What about her?" Jim asked.
"Some of the guys have been talking..." Joel began.
"Didn't take them long did it?" Jim said, "so, what are they saying?"
"That the two of you are having some sort of romantic relationship," he replied. "It's none of my business but..."
"We're not," Jim assured him. "You do a favour for an old army buddy and..."
"Favour?" Joel asked.
"Yeah, I told her dad that I'd keep an eye on her for her first couple of days here. Make sure that she settled in okay," Jim replied. "Maybe you could tell the guys that." He then walked off towards his desk.
*****************
The only reason why he'd agreed to see Jimmy was because Ria wouldn't let the subject drop until he had. She was right though, it would be better to set him straight now rather than later. If she wanted to have a relationship with him then he wasn't going to stop her unless he saw that she was going to get hurt. Jimmy might think that he could use Ria to get to him but it wasn't going to work. There was absolutely no reason or excuse that Jimmy could come up with that would make him forgive him. However, he would be civil to him for Ria's sake. There was no reason why she should have to deal with their problems. They'd always kept her out of them before so it wasn't going to be any different now.
His and Jimmy's relationship hadn't been perfect by any means, but then nobody's was. Like all couples they'd had their rough patches. The fact that they'd had to keep their relationship a secret had been an added stress factor. They'd done it though by hanging out in all the usual places where single military guys could be found. Nobody had thought twice about Jimmy crashing at his place, especially after Ria had come into their lives. After all, he could hardly have left her alone while he was working. Not that there'd been any shortage of people willing to look after her for him. They were her parents though so it had been their responisbility to make sure that she was looked after properly.
*****************
Jimmy was going to be so pleased when she told him that her dad had agreed to have lunch with him. The condition that her dad had laid down was really unfair though. She'd wanted to be there when they met. Still, if things went okay the maybe next time she could join them. This could be the start of her family getting back together. She knew that it wasn't going to happen overnight but with a few nudges from her anything was possible.
"Morning," she smiled at Joel as she sat down at her desk. "I meant to ask you yesterday what do you like being called."
"Joel is fine," he replied. "Jim told me about the favour he's doing your dad."
"Yeah, well, you know what dad's can be like." Ria said hoping that she was saying the right thing.
"They must have been pretty good friends for Jim to do it." he said.
"They were," she replied. "Jim stayed with us a couple of times while he was on leave." And when he wasn't, not that she could say that at the moment without a lot of questions being asked that she couldn't answer without telling some pretty big lies.
"I don't suppose that was much fun." Joel said.
"It had it's moments." she admitted. especially, when her dad had been away. Jimmy might look like a big tough guy to the outside world but she knew differently. He'd totally spoiled her everytime her dad had been away. Her dad hadn't always been pleased when he got back to find that her collection of stuffed animals had grown considerably. At Christmas, there'd always been a huge pile of presents under the tree for her.
**************
Just because Blair had stopped her from going through Jim's things it didn't mean thst she couldn't still try and find out what was going on. Of course, it would be a lot harder without some sort of clue to help her. But, that had never stopped her in the past and it wasn't going to do so now. She had a few contacts that she could call on to find out more about this woman that Jim was involved with. Once she had that information, she would know exactly what was going on, then she'd be able not only to confront Jim but tell Blair everything. Even better would be if she could meet this woman because within five minutes she'd have the whole story out of her.
"Sweetie, I'm going out for a while," she said. "I thought I might pick up a few things from the health food store. Do you want me to bring you anything back?"
"Some chamomile tea," Blair replied, "we're nearly out."
"Maybe you should meditate while I'm gone," she suggested. "It always used to help you to relax." Besides if he meditated he wouldn't realise just how long she'd been gone.
"Mom, you're not planning to drop by the station and talk to Jim, are you?" he asked.
"Of course not." Naomi assured him. She then headed out of the loft.
***************
He remembered the Christmas Ria was telling Joel about, Jim thought. Only not the way she was telling it. Still, she could hardly tell Joel the truth. Lying was wrong. That was something that both he and Robert had repeatedly told her while she'd been growing up. It was ironic because now she was lying in order to protect him. She probably didn't like lying any more than he liked her doing it. Things would be a lot easier if they could both tell the truth but that wasn't possible. At least, not until after he'd talked to Robert. Even then it was going to be difficult, being a gay cop wasn't easy. At times, it could even be dangerous. He was prepared to accept the risk that he might not get back up in time if he came out but he wasn't prepared to put both Ria and Blair in the firing line as well. They hadn't done anything wrong so why should they have to take the flak for his choice of lifestyle and it had been a choice.
He'd always been attracted to men, but until he'd met Robert, he'd never done anything about it. They'd started off as friends and things had rapidly gone from there. Being with Robert had made him feel loved for the first time in his life. When Robert had called him Jimmy it hadn't been a put down but a term of affection. Being with Robert had been the happiest time of his life. Finding Ria had only made things even better for the both of them.
Despite everything that he'd told Blair he had gone to see his dad while he'd been in the army. Robert had been away so he'd taken Ria with him. It had been a mistake. His dad had hit the roof about her. He should have known that he wouldn't be pleased at suddenly being presented with a grandaughter.
Still, he had given him an oppertunity to get to know her. His dad had really lost out because Ria would have brought him so much love and happiness, just like she had to him and Robert. But he'd thrown that happiness away by being a selfish son of a bitch. If he was lucky enough to be given a second chance, he was going to grab hold of it with both hands.
**************
He hated crimes involving children, Simon thought, putting the case file he'd just read down on his desk. Under normal circumstances he would never have assigned it to an officer who'd only been in his department for a short time but she was the only one who fit the profile of the victims. She was small enough and looked young enough to pass as a teenager. From her record he knew that she'd worked very successfully undercover in Seattle. The only problem that he could see with her physical appearance were her eyes. They were a very distinctive colour. Still, if she wore sunglasses during the meeting it wouldn't be that much of a problem.
Standing up he then walked over to his office door, opened it and bellowed.
"Taggart, O'Brien, my office now." He then went and sat back down and waited for the summoned officers.
***************
"You wanted to see us." Joel said when he and Ria entered the office.
"Close the door and sit down." Simon said.
"If this is about the rumours Sir..." Ria began, as she closed the door.
"That's not why I called you in here," he assured her. "I understand that you've done a lot of undercover work."
"Yes, Sir," she replied, "I'm not going to have to play a hooker again, am I?"
"Not this time," Simon replied. "You'll be going undercover as a teenage boy. It's part of an internet peodophile sting operation. The officer due to play the role was involved in an accident. I'll understand if you need time to think about it." Not that he could give her much time having only just been informed of it himself.
"When do I start?" Ria asked.
"This afternoon," he said. "All you have to do is meet the suspect and talk to him. You'll be wired with full back up. You are aware of the rules concerning entrapment, aren't you?" He didn't want the suspect escaping because of some technicality.
"Yes, Sir. I let him bring the subject up first," she replied, "then I do as little talking as possible and only agree to anything when really pushed."
"With any luck you won't have to spend too much time with him," Simon said. "If, at any time, you feel threatened then make your excuses and walk away. We can pick him up another time."
"There's very little that makes me feel threatened," Ria admitted, "and I know how to handle difficult suspects."
"I'll be there backing you up the whole time." Joel said.
"It would probably be a good idea if you wore sunglasses," Simon suggested."Your eyes..."
"I have coloured contact lenses at home, Sir," she said. "Just tell me when and where I have to be."
"The suspect will be flying in from Boston on the two thirty five flight.You're to meet him in the snack bar at the airport," he replied. "All the information on the case so far and a description of the suspect are in here." He then handed her the case file that was on his desk.
"I won't let you down, Sir." Ria promised.
"I know you won't, Detective." Simon said. If her record from Seattle was anything to go by she'd be giving Jim a run for his money when it came time for Officer of the Year to be awarded.
************
"I'd better call my dad," Ria said as she and Joel left Simon's office. "Get him to bring my bag from home." No doubt he'd think that it was some sort of ploy by her so that he and Jim could meet with her there.
"I'm sure that Simon wouldn't mind if you went home to get it yourself." Joel said.
"I need all the prep time I can get on this," she said. "As it is it's going to be a rush." If there was one thing that you couldn't skimp on when going undercover that was preparation because there could come a time when that was the only thing that came between you making it out okay or ending up dead.
"How many times have you been undercover?" Joel asked.
"A lot," Ria replied. "Don't worry I know what I'm doing. Compared to somethings I've had to do this is going to be a piece of cake." All she had to di was sit in a public place and let some pervert talk himself into what would hopefully be a long jail sentence.
"Just remember that you're going to have a lot of backup." Joel said.
************
With his mom out, it was probably safe to leave the loft and go to the station, Blair thought. Maybe he could talk to Detective O'Brien and find out what her intentions were regarding Jim. Of course, he knew that women found his partner attractive, but at the same time he couldn't help but be curious as to why someone as young as her would want to date his partner, especially, when there was probably a long line of younger guys just waiting to ask her out. Maybe this was all some sort of game to her. In his time he'd dated more than a few women who like to play head games with the men that they dated.
Despite his size and gruff exterior Jim was just as, if not more, vulnerable than the next guy when it came to getting emotionally hurt. A major emotional upset could play havoc with his senses. If that happened when he was on the streets then he could get seriously injured. What if she'd found out what Jim was and this was some sort of ploy to take him out of the picture, or even worse, cause him to end up in some lab for the rest of his life. There was no way that he could let that happen to his best friend. Even if Jim didn't want to talk about this he was going to make him while they still had a chance to put a stop to whatever she was up to.
**************
He knew that going undercover was a part of her job, Robert thought, entering the lobby of Cascade's central police station, but he really wished that she didn't have to. Anything could happen to her while she was out there alone, not to mention the effect that it had on her when she got home. The last time she'd gone undercover she'd come home in a terrible state because it had gone wrong. It was at times like these that he really wished she'd decided to pursue some other career, something that didn't involved guns and criminals. Still, at least with him taking her bag to work, he'd get to see the people who were supposed to look out for her. While she'd been working in Seattle she'd kept him as far away from her work as possible, rarely mentioned it unless he'd pushed her . Even then what she'd told him had hardly filled him with confidence that if anything did go wrong there's be other people there to sort it out.
If he ran into Jimmy, and he was likely to, he thought, he'd be civil to him, but that was all. The middle of a police department was hardly the place for them to have any sort of serious discussion about why he hadn't come back to him and Ria after Peru. Besides, he didn't know whether Jimmy was out or not. Ria had told him what happened to cops who were out. He might not be happy about the fact that Jimmy was a part of Ria's working life but that didn't mean that he was going to do anything that would make life difficult for him because it was likely to rebound on Ria. No matter what his personal feelings towards Jim were he wasn't going to do anything that would upset his daughter.
****************
"Hold the lift." Blair shouted, dashing for it as the doors started closing. He skidded to a halt inside just before they did. "Thanks." he grinned at the other occupant of the lift.
"What floor?" he asked.
"Sixth." Blair replied. He just hoped that Jim was there so that he could talk to him.
"Same as me." Robert smiled.
"You're a detective?" Blair asked studying the man closely.
"No, my daughter is," he replied. "I'm just dropping something off for her. She only started working here yesterday."
"What department?" Blair said because he knew most of the women who worked in the station. Something that made him the butt of a lot of jokes. It wasn't his fault that women liked him because he listened to what they had to say.
"Major Crimes." he replied.
"You're Detective O'Brien's dad!" Blair exclaimed.
"Yeah, my names Robert." Robert said.
"I'm Blair Sandburg, an observer with the department," Blair said. "I work with Jim Ellison."
"Ria mentioned that she was in the same department as Jim." he said.
"You know Jim?" Blair asked. Maybe he'd been wrong to doubt the veracity of Jim's story. Still, if there was anything going on between Jim and Detective O'Brien, her dad was likely to know.
"A long time ago I did," Robert replied, "haven't seen him in almost a decade."
"He's going to be surprised to see you then." Blair grinned. This could turn out to be very interesting. Especially, when her dad realised that there was something going on between her and Jim.
***********
This could be awkward, Jim thought when he heard who Blair was talking to as the lift doors opened. He knew that Ria had called Robert and asked him to bring her bag in; he just hadn't expected him to arrive so soon. If he'd had more warning he could have gone into the breakroom and stayed there until he'd left. Doing that now would make it look as if he was deliberately trying to avoid Robert which was likely to upset him and that was the last thing he wanted to do. The way that he acted around both Robert and Ria was going to be closely watched by Blair. The best thing he could do was act as casually as he could, and offer Robert a coffee. Maybe suggest that they get together and catch up on old times later. What if Robert totally ignored him though? He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle that. No, Robert probably wouldn't do that as it would upset Ria. She might not be a little girl anymore but Robert would still go out of his way to avoid upsetting her, especially in the place that she worked.
He looked good, he thought, as Robert entered the Bullpen with Blair. Green had always been Robert's colour and it still was. Even with a few streaks of grey in his hair Robert was still a very attractive man. Ria had said that he wasn't involved with anyone, that there hadn't been anyone since he'd walked out of their lives. That didn't mean that Robert would even consider them making some sort of fresh start. He'd been an idiot to throw away what he'd had with him. There hadn't been a single time since then that he'd even come close to being as happy as he had been with Robert. No matter what it took, even if it meant getting down on his knees and begging for forgiveness, he wanted to feel that way again.
Taking a deep breath he stood up and started walking towards Ria's desk.
******************
"Dad! I wasn't expecting you to get here so soon." Ria said standing up.
"It sounded important so I thought I'd better bring your bag straight here," Robert replied, handing her the bag that he was holding. "I'm sure that you'll make a very convincing boy."
"I've had enough practice," she smiled. "Did you want something, Blair?"
"No," Blair replied. "Jim, you know Detective O'Brien's dad, don't you?"
"Yeah," Jim replied. "Robert, it's been a long time. How are you doing?"
"Fine," Robert replied. "I just dropped by to give Ria her bag." How are you doing? That was pretty lame. Still, he wasn't sure what Jimmy would say to him or even if he'd say anything at all.
"You don't have to rush off, do you?" Jim asked.
"I do have to be somewhere." Robert said.
"Where?" Ria asked. "Nowhere important, right? I mean, you haven't met my partner yet."
"I suppose that I could stay until I meet him." Robert said. He might feel a little better about her going undercover once he'd met the man who would be looking out for her while she was.
"You're going undercover?" Blair asked.
"Yeah," Ria replied. "I'm the only one who can do it. It's going to be a piece of cake."
"How about a coffee?" Jim asked. "It's not much but..."
"Coffee would be fine," Robert replied. "White..."
"Two sugars." Jim smiled.
"Yeah." he said. He hadn't expected him to remember that after all this time. Most people couldn't remember how he took his coffee a week later. But then, Jimmy wasn't most people. When you lived with someone as long as he and Jimmy had lived together you knew how they liked their coffee, which side of the bed that they preferred sleeping on, things like that. Not that they'd done a lot of sleeping at times. Before they'd found Ria they'd spent most of their leaves locked in a hotel room only answering the door to room service.
"I won't be long." Jim said heading towards the break room.
****************
Something really weird was going on, Blair thought when Jim returned with Robert's coffee. To begin with he was virtually ignoring Detective O'Brien. All his attention was focused on her dad. Of course, he could be ignoring her so that it looked like there was nothing going on between them but Jim wasn't usually as subtle as that. No, there had to be more to it than that. It was just a matter of finding out what and doing something about it before it was too late.
Detective O'Brien didn't seem to mind at all though. In fact, she seemed happy about all the attention that Jim was paying her dad. A total stranger looking at the scene might have jumped to the conclusion that Jim was flirting with the guy but he knew that wasn't possible. Jim was as straight as they came. Surely he would have noticed if Jim dated guys as well as women. Not that it would have bothered him if he had. His mom had raised him to accept other people's lifestyle choices. He could hardly come out and ask Jim because he was likely to end up flat on his back if he did.
"So, how long have you know Jim?" he asked looking at Robert.
"About twenty six years," Robert replied, "that was when I first met him."
"We lost touch about a decade ago," Jim said. "After Peru I walked away from everyone that I knew. It was a mistake. One I've regretted for a long time."
"Everyone makes mistakes," Ria said. "It's admitting them that's hard."
*************
It had been a complete waste of time trying to find something on the woman that Jim was seeing, Naomi thought, because there wasn't anything to find. At least, nothing that would be of any use to Blair. The only thing of significance was the fact that she was adopted; not that there were many details about it. She was just going to have do a lot more digging if she wanted to find something solid on this woman. Blair was relying on her to help him so that he could help Jim, and she wasn't going to let him down. She knew that a lot of people took one look at her and dismissed her as nothing more than an aging hippy. She used that to her advantage when she wanted people to tell her things that they'd never consdier telling anyone else.
Her best hope of getting anything good was by talking to this woman. The only problem was that she was going to have to do that when neither Jim nor Blair were around. That ruled out the possibility of her going to the station. That wouldn't have been the ideal place to talk to her anyway. No, she needed to get her somewhere quiet and where she would feel comfortable about talking to a total stranger. So far she hadn't met anyone that she couldn't put at ease within five minutes of her meeting them.
****************
"Ria, as much as I'd like to stay here until your partner gets back, I can't," Robert said apologetically, "I have things to do and I'm sure that you need to get ready for..."
"Yeah, I do," she admitted. This wasn't working out the way she'd hoped it might. She knew that her dad couldn't be too obvious but ignoring Jimmy wasn't going to do him any good. She wasn't going to let him drop the subject. Jimmy wasn't helping his case by just standing there. If he didn't do something before her dad left he was going to blow his chance and he might not get another one.
"Maybe we could go for a beer," Jim suggested. "catch up on old times."
"I'm going to be busy for the next couple of days." Robert replied.
"You'll be at home tonight, won't you?" Ria asked. He'd said that he would meet with Jimmy so that he could listen to his explanation and now he was coming up with some lame excuse about being busy to try and get out of it. She knew that it couldn't have been easy for Jimmy to have asked him.
"You know I will." he said.
"Good, you can pick up some beer on your way home and be ready for when Jim comes over tonight." Ria said.
"What time?" Jim asked.
"Seven," she replied. After Jimmy had been there for a while she'd make her excuses so that they could talk. Hopefully, they'd get some sort of rapport going. Okay, so maybe she was getting her hopes up, but if she could get them alone in the same room one of them was going to have to say something eventually even if it was just leave.
"Seven it is, then." Robert said reluctantly.
"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on her this afternoon." Jim assured him.
"I can take care of myself you know," she said. "I wouldn't have agreed to do this if I'd had any doubts about it."
"Just be very careful. There are a lot of very sick people out there." Robert said. "I don't want to get a phone call saying that something's happened to you."
"You won't," she promised him. "The first sign of trouble and I'm out of there." Not that she was expecting any sort of trouble. Still, if anything did go wrong, she could handle it.
"Call me when it's over." he said. He then left the Bullpen.
"I'd better go and get changed," Ria said. "If Joel comes back tell him that I won't be long."
"Sure." Jim grinned as he headed back towards his desk followed by Blair.
****************
Tonight could be the only chance that he got to explain everything to Robert, Jim thought, making a half hearted attempt to sort through the paperwork on his desk. He knew that he'd only gotten this chance because Ria had backed Robert into a corner. She was obviously on his side when it came to getting Robert to listen to what he had to say. That didn't mean that he was willing to let her ruin her relationship with Robert because of him. After all, Robert was the one who'd had to pick up the pieces when he'd walked out of their lives. The one who'd had to sit up at night waiting for her to come home after dates. At least, he assumed that she'd gone on dates.
***************

Jumping to conclusions part 2

2009-01-16T14:03:01Z

Jim had always struck her as being a very honest person, even if he was pig, Naomi thought, as Blair drove them to the loft. So how could he lie to her baby about not knowing some woman when he did. Maybe it was a none too subtle hint that it was time for Blair to move on.
Personally, she'd been hoping that he wouldn't carry on living with and working with Jim for much longer. It wasn't good to put down too many roots in one place. Still, there were a lot better ways to go about it such as asking Blair to leave.
******************
Robert had done one hell of a job raising her, Jim thought, watching Ria drive away. He knew that it couldn't have been easy for him, for both of them. She was the type of young woman any man would be proud to say was his daughter. Only he couldn't, because not only had he given up all rights to her the day he'd walked away from her and Robert, but because people would ask questions. Questions that he wouldn't be able to answer without outing both him and Robert.
Maybe it was time that he stopped hiding from the past and faced it head on. That would mean telling Blair though. How could he possibly tell his guide, best friend and partner that there was a side to him that he'd kept hidden for the past decade. He should call Robert first and see if he was willing to talk to him in person. Ria had seemed to understand why he'd needed to get away after Peru. Robert was going to take a lot more convincing. Even if he was able to convince him that he truly regretted leaving him it didn't mean that Robert was going to be able to forgive him.
***************
"O'Brien," Ria said, answering her cell phone as soon as it rang as she drove back to the station. "Dad! Everything's fine, I just wasn't expecting to hear from you today." Oh god, if she wasn't careful she'd end up telling him everything. "I'm just going back to the station. I had lunch in the park," she said, "Jim! Yeah, I've seen him around. He's looking pretty good.
No. I haven't had much chance to yet. Look I'd better go before I get a ticket. I'll see you tonight. Love you." She then closed the phone. He'd asked about Jim which was a surprise. Still, he'd known that she'd be more than likely to bump into him working in the same station let alone in the same department.
Lying to her dad wasn't something that she liked doing. It always made her feel like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. He wasn't an idiot and he wasn't going to be too pleased when he found out that she'd lied to him. He could even think that Jim had put her up to it.
*******************
"So what's she like?" Joel asked. Not having met his partner yet he wanted some idea what to expect.
"Beautiful." Rafe replied.
"Didn't make much of an impression on Hairboy though." H said.
"Jim, he..." Rafe began.
"He what?" Joel asked.
"Asked her out to lunch," Rafe replied, "The minute Blair was gone they were out of here."
"He was not happy to find that out when he dropped by with his mom," H said. "Not to mention what's going to happen when Simon finds out."
"Don't you think you're jumping to conclusions?" Joel asked. "It could just be a coincidence." Like his bumping into Jim and that young woman in the park. Still, if Jim knew her dad from his time in the military like he'd said, there wasn't any real harm being done. It wasn't as if Jim was married or anything. He'd have a quiet word with his new partner and explain the department's policy on fraternisation. There was no point in storing up problems for the future, he thought.
*************
"Sweetie, why don't you sit down so that we can talk about this." Naomi suggested, watching her son pacing up and down in the living area of the loft. He'd feel a lot better after he'd talked things through with her.
"There's nothing to talk about," he replied. "Jim can go out to lunch with whoever he likes."
"He has different standards than us," she said. "I mean..." stopping she saw the look on her son's face.
"You didn't see the way he was watching her," Blair said. "If he knows her, why didn't he just come out and tell me that he does."
"Sweetie, nobody likes secrets," Naomi said. "But people are entitled to have them." Jim had never really struck her as the sort of man who would reveal his secrets to anyone. If Jim wanted to keep something from Blair he was perfectly entitled to, not that she would approve of something like that though.
"It's just that Jim usually tells me what's going on," Blair said. "I thought he trusted me."
"Blair, you don't know all that much about Jim's background." she said. A man like Jim probably had an entire graveyard of skeletons hidden in his closet. She wasn't going to just stand by and watch her son get hurt.
"You know, she's young enough to be his daughter." Blair said.
"We'll all have a nice talk about this when Jim gets home." She said. And she wasn't going to let the subject drop until she'd got the truth out of Jim.
******************
She hadn't really lied, Ria thought, entering the Bullpen and seeing her partner sitting at his desk. No, it was more like not telling the whole truth. Jim could have introduced her as Detective O'Brien if he'd wanted to, only he hadn't. Why she didn't know, but it had seemed easier to go along with him than correct him. She'd done it in the past to protect both him and her dad. As far as everyone back then was concerned her dad and Jim had just been good buddies. She'd always known differently though, to her there'd never been anything strange about her having two dads where as everyone else had a mom and dad.
Walking over to her desk she smiled at her partner before sitting down opposite him.
"Hi," she said. "About the park..."
"What you do in your lunch hour is your business," Joel said, "but the department does have a no fraternisation policy."
"We weren't..." Ria said. "He and my dad were best friends at one point."
She felt like she owed him some sort of apology.
"You don't have to explain." he said.
"I really want to," she said. "We were just catching up on old times." She wasn't telling him anything that he couldn't find out from Jim if he asked him and it was bound to come out at some point that her dad and Jim knew each other. Besides if she was honest about that from the beginning then nobody would think twice about her spending time with Jim.
*************
He was going to have to tell Blair something, Jim thought, entering the Bullpen and looking across at where Ria was sitting. Until he'd talked to Robert telling him the truth wasn't possible. This was one time he had to put someone else before his guide. The 'She's the daughter of an old army buddy' explanation might keep Blair happy for a while but, eventually he would start to ask questions that he wouldn't be able to answer. When people did find out the truth, and they were bound to, there were going to be problems. He couldn't see Simon being too happy about it. There were regulations in place to stop family members from serving in the same department. Although there wasn't a blood tie between them he'd been her dad for a large part of her life. As the junior officer she'd be the one who'd have to change departments. At least, while she was in Major Crimes he'd be able to keep an eye on her, make sure that she didn't get in over her head on any of the cases she worked. Joel was a good detective but Robert would never forgive him if he let anything happen to her.
At some point he knew that he was going to have to call Robert and talk to him but maybe it would be better if he waited until after Ria had had a chance to talk to him. He'd find out from her how he felt about talking to him. Not that he was expecting to be welcomed back into Robert's life with open arms. Too much time had passed for that to happen. They were going to have to have some sort of contact because of Ria though.
**************
Considering it had been her first day it hadn't gone that badly, Ria thought, tidying up her desk before leaving for the night. Right now she was really looking forward to going home and having dinner with her dad. With any luck he'd have cooked her favourite meal. They were going to have to talk about Jim though. It was a subject that she could hardly avoid with her working in the same department as him. Her dad wasn't going to be at all happy about her having lunch with Jim. At least, now she'd heard some sort of explanation from Jim as to why he hadn't come back to them after Peru.
She wasn't entirely sure that she believed him though.
If he'd loved them as much as he'd always said he had then he had to have known that they would have stood by him no matter what. It's what he would have done if their situations had been reversed. She knew that it couldn't have been easy for him after Peru, it certainly hadn't been for her and her dad. The eighteen months he'd been reported as missing, presumed dead, had been a living nightmare for them, not knowing whether they'd even have a funeral to go to or not. When he'd been found she'd thought that the nightmare was over, that in a couple of weeks he'd be back home where he belonged. Only he'd never come home to them.
****************
"Chief," Jim said when there was an answer on the other end of the phone, "No, nothing's wrong. Look, I'm going to be late so why don't you and your mom start dinner without me. It's just some paperwork. No, I don't need any help with it." He then put the phone down before Blair could say anything else. He hated lying to Blair, but he had a lot to think about and he couldn't do that at the loft with Naomi there. Even at the best of times she tested his patience to it's limits and now was not a good time for him to have to deal with her.
What he needed to do was go somewhere quiet and try and work through what the hell he was going to say to Robert, if Robert agreed to talk to him.
After ten years absence, a simple apology wasn't going to cut it and he wasn't sure that he'd ever be able to explain why he'd done what he had. All he knew was that he hadn't meant to hurt them the way he had. And how could he even start to explain the whole Sentinel thing. It was just one more secret he had to keep. Sometimes he wished that he could just be honest about everything but being honest could get him killed put the people he loved in danger.
**************
Jim had lied to him, Blair thought, pushing his food around his plate. He knew for a fact that there wasn't any paperwork for Jim to catch up on because he'd done it all. If Jim had asked Detective O'Brien out to dinner then he should have just come out and told him that he had instead of coming up with some cock and bull story about paperwork.
"I'm not hungry." he said, pushing his plate away from him.
"Sweetie..." Naomi began.
"Mom, don't." he warned her. He knew that his mother meant well but she just didn't understand the special nature of his and Jim's friendship. A friendship that he'd always thought was pretty solid. Sure, they'd had their ups and downs but then everyone did from time to time. Only now something had changed. Whatever it was, it had to be serious in order for Jim to lie to him.
"Blair, honey, all I was going to say was would you like me to do the dishes." she said.
"It's okay, I'll do them later." he replied. He might even leave them piled up in the sink for Jim to find. That would really piss him off, show him that he couldn't lie to him and expect to get away with it.
**************
"Calling it a night?" Jim asked casually stopping by Ria's desk.
"Yeah," she smiled, "I'm having dinner with my dad. Sort of a celebration thing." She really wished that she could invite him to join her and her dad but for the time being she couldn't. Maybe once she'd talked to her dad and seen how the land laid as far as Jim was concerned she could. It would be nice to have Jim as part of the family again, although at the moment, she wasn't entirely sure what part he could play. Friends was just about the only thing that they could be to the outside world. She knew how dangerous it could be on the streets for gay cops, especially if they were out. The last thing she wanted to do was put Jim in danger.
"Well, say hi to him from me okay." he said.
"I will," Ria replied, "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah and be careful driving home." Jim said.
"I always am." she said. It was nice to know that he still worried about her. She supposed that she shouldn't really be all that surprised that he did. After all, when he'd been her dad, he'd start worrying if she was more than five minutes late home from school. He'd even taught her self defense so that she could take care of herself. Not that she'd ever really needed to during her time at school. It was only during her time on the beat that everything he'd taught her had been of any practical use, and even now, she still practiced twice a day like he'd told her to.
*************8
There was definitely a lot more going on other than her being the daughter of an old army buddy of Jim's, Joel thought, seeing Jim leaning on Ria's desk. If they weren't careful Simon would find out, that was if he hadn't already noticed. The pair of them were going to end up being called into his office for a lecture on fraternization. Of course, it went on despite the official line of it not being allowed, but people were discreet about it, a hell of a lot more than they were being.
Normally, the only person Jim acted so relaxed around was Blair. That was someone else who he couldn't see being too happy about this. Then again, it could all be perfectly innocent. In which case there were going to be a lot of red faces in the department.
*************
Maybe if he hurried he could he could get to the bank before it closed, Jim thought getting into his truck. If he did he could get those photos out of the safety deposit box. Maybe looking at them would help him to work out what he was going to say to Robert. There was no denying that they'd had a lot of good times, even before Ria had come along to bring yet more happiness into their lives. Even now, he could still remember the first time he'd seen her. She'd been such a sick and tiny baby, malnourished and abandoned. If he and Robert hadn't saved her she would have been dead within a few days. They'd had to break just about every rule in the book to get her out of that hell hole of an orphanage. It had all been worth it the first time her little face had lit up with a smile though.
From the moment she'd started talking Robert had always been Da Da. Still, that had probably been for the best because if he'd been listed as her dad she could have ended up in some foster home or other when he'd gone missing in Peru. That wouldn't have been any sort of life for her. It would have broken Robert's heart to have lost her. There'd been time thought, while he'd been in Peru, that he'd thought about her and how she was doing. Then he'd stopped because the memories had gotten too painful. All he could do now was try and make up for all the pain and hurt he'd caused them. That wasn't going to be easy. He knew that Ria hadn't really believed his explanation. He was going to have to do a lot better with Robert to even stand a chance of his forgiving him. Even if he did, this was always going to be in the background.
*************
She'd spoken to Jimmy, Robert thought when he saw the look on his daughter's face as she entered the kitchen. He wasn't going to tell her that he knew she had because she would tell him when she was ready to.
"So how did it go?" he asked.
"Fine," Ria replied, "They seem a nice bunch of guys."
"Better than Seattle?" he asked.
"Yeah, the only coffee I had to make was my own. I really think that I'm going to fit in here." she said.
"That's good," he smiled, "I thought you might be hungry so I made you all your favourites for dinner." They'd talk over dinner and she'd tell him everything that had gone on between her and Jimmy. He wasn't going to listen to any of the excuses that Jimmy had fed her about why he hadn't come back after Peru though. Why should he? Jimmy had just walked away from them leaving him to explain to Ria why he wasn't coming back. He was the one who'd had to deal with her when she'd gone through her rebellious stage.
Being stranded in Peru had to have been a picnic compared to everything that he'd gone through in the past decade.
"Thanks Dad." she smiled.
"My little princess deserves the best." Rober replied. He'd always done his best to make sure that she'd gotten it as well. Not that it had always been easy to. There'd been times when he'd struggled, especially after leaving the service, but he could proudly say that Ria had never gone without. Not that he'd ever let her become spoiled. Spoiling her had been Jimmy's favourite past time. She only had to pout at Jimmy and he'd buy her anything she wanted.
"Dad, we both know that I talked to Jimmy today." Ria said.
"If you want to talk to him that's up to you, but you know how I feel about him." he said.
"Dad, he's sorry for what he did," she said. "All he wants is..."
"What he wants isn't important," Robert snapped. "He can't just walk out of our lives and expect to walk back into them a decade later." If Jimmy thought that he could do that then he was going to be very disappointed.
"Won't you at least listen to what he has to say?" she asked.
"No," he replied firmly, "I know that you want to believe that Jimmy's sorry but the only person he feels sorry for is himself. He threw his family away and he's not going to get it back.
***************
He'd always been honest with Jim, well nearly always, Blair thought and he'd thought that Jim would be the same. Obviously, he'd been mistaken. Living with someone, working with them for nealy three years, should have given him some insight into Jim. He was now finding out that Jim didn't trust him enough to tell him that he had a date. So, maybe in the past Jim's romantic life hadn't been so great. That didn't mean that he had to keep any future dates from him.
How was he supposed to help Jim with his senses when he didn't have the whole picture as to what was going on with him. What if he zoned, or had a reaction to something he ate. She was a detective, she was bound to notice if Jim just sat there staring into space. Didn't Jim realise just how dangerous that could be. It wasn't as if they knew much aobut this woman.
She was a total stranger and this just wasn't the sort of behaviour anyone would normally associate with Jim Ellison. It was as if Jim had become a totally different person to the one he thought he'd come to know over the past three years.
****************
She should have expected her dad to react like that, Ria thought, putting her gun away. Jimmy was going to be very disappointed when she told him that her dad didn't want to have anything to do with him. Maybe if she worked on her dad, she could get him to come round and at least get him to think about seeing Jimmy, just to listen to what he had to say. It wasn't as if she was suggesting that he took him back with open arms. Although it would be nice if they did get back together again. She really missed having Jimmy as part of the family. There'd been times when she would have felt a lot more comfortable talking to Jimmy about things than she had her dad.
The two of them had always been close. It was Jimmy who'd been the one who'd spoiled her the most, made sure that she did all her homework and most of the time, he'd been the one to go to school events with her. It just wasn't fair that the only role he'd been allowed to play outside their home was that of doting adopted uncle. At times, it had been really hard for her not to call him dad when there were other people around.
****************
"Hey Chief," Jim said, entering the loft, "Sorry I missed having dinner with you and your mom." Not that he was entirely sorry that he had. He could think of a lot better ways of spending an evening than having Naomi Sandburg preach about the benefits of meditation and the damage being done to his karma because he was a cop.
"It's okay," Blair muttered, "We dropped by the station at lunchtime."
"I decided to go out for lunch." he replied.
"The guys said you had," Blair said, "so, did you go anywhere nice?"
"Just the park. Thought I'd take advantage of the weather." Blair knew he thought, at least he knew something. He was going to have to try and bluff his way out of this. Lying to Blair wasn't something that he really wanted to do but at the moment, he didn't have any other options open to him. "I bumped into Joel and his new partner while I was there." he added sitting down next to Blair on the sofa. Well, he had bumped into Joel so it wasn't too far from the truth.
"So what's she like?" Blair asked too casually.
"Can't really say," he admitted, "but if she wasn't good Simon wouldn't have taken her on." She had to be good to have gotten her gold shield so young. They didn't just hand them out to anyone who wanted one.
"So, you'd never met her before today?" Blair asked.
"What is this Chief, the spanish inquisistion?" Jim asked. What was he supposed to say? That he'd known her since she'd been a baby. That the guy everyone thought was a hard ass cop used to pace the floor at night singing her lullabies when she couldn't sleep. Even Blair would be shocked to discover that he knew all the words to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
"Just curious." Blair replied.
"I knew her a long time ago when she was still just a kid," he said. "Her dad was in the military. It was before I went to Peru, haven't seen either of them since." Which was the truth. He'd wasted the past decade by pretending to be someone he wasn't. All those years he'd spent alone he could have spent with Robert and Ria.
**********************
"What are you looking at?" Robert asked joining his daughter on the sofa.
"Memories." Ria replied. It wasn't very often that she looked at the photos from when her family had been intact. But, maybe looking at them would help her dad remember all the good times they'd had.
"I thought I'd thrown them out." he said.
"You did. I rescued them." she said. After Jim hadn't come back he'd thrown just about all of Jim's stuff into the trash and she'd gone and gotten it all out. She'd always known one day that she might need them. "Maybe you could tell me about some of the photos." she suggested.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea." he said.
"What about this one?" she asked, pointing to the first photo in the album. "I don't remember that one being taken."
"You wouldn't," Robert replied, "that was taken the day we got you. We didn't have a clue how to be parents, didn't have a thing for you. Until we got back to the states you were wrapped up in one of Jimmy's shirts."
"You know he still looks like that," Ria said, "A little less hair but he's still in great shape." A lot of guys would have let themselves go over the years. Jim hadn't though and neither had her dad.
"We're supposed to be looking at the photos," he reminded her, "I don't want to know how Jimmy's doing."
"All I was saying was..." she began.
"I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work," Robert replied, "there's too much water gone under the bridge for us to go back."
"Dad, what harm could there be in giving him five minutes to explain?" she asked. That was all she was asking for on Jim's behalf.
"What so that he can tell me some pack of lies that he's had the past decade to perfect," he snapped, "and in case you hadn't noticed, he's married."
"Actually, he's divorced," Ria said, "he's not involved with anyone. Have a beer with him, a cup of coffee. I'll even act as referee." If she was there then hopefully they wouldn't fight and if they did she would be there to stop them.
"I'll think about it," he said, "but I'm not going to make you any promises."
***************
Something was very wrong, Naomi thought, coming out of Blair's room the following morning. Whenever she'd stayed at the loft before there'd always been some sort of friendly banter going on. This morning, however, there was none. From the look on her son's face she could tell that he wasn't at all happy. She had to assume that he'd tried talking to Jim about that woman only to find that Jim wouldn't tell him what he wanted to know.
"Good morning, Sweetie," she said, "Jim."
"Naomi." Jim said politely.
"Blair told me that you have a new detective at work, a woman." she said. There was no point in being subtle with a man like Jim Ellison. With someone like that, you had to go straight for the throat and hope you didn't get mauled in the process.
"Yeah." Jim replied.
"Her dad was in the military with Jim." Blair said.
"That's nice." Naomi smiled. Not exactly what she'd been expecting and she didn't believe it for a minute. There was obviously a lot more going on than Jim was willing to say. Still, between her and Blair, they would get to the bottom of what was going on. When they did, she was going to give Jim hell for upsetting her baby like this. Nobody upset Naomi Sandburg's little boy and got away with it scot free.
*****************
"Ria, if you don't get a move on you're going to be late." Robert called from the bottom of the stairs. His daughter might be a lot of things but a morning person wasn't one of them. Working strange hours didn't help. Still, she'd always had problems sleeping normal hours like everyone else. When she'd been a baby he and Jimmy had spent hours walking around with her in their arms trying to get her off to sleep.
"I'm coming," she shouted, coming down the stairs, "and I'm not going to be late."
"You will be if you take too long over your breakfast." he replied.
"Dad, I don't eat breakfast anymore," she said, "I usually grab a donut and coffee at work."
"Well, this morning you're having breakfast," Robert said. "How do you expect to catch criminals on an empty stomach?" Although he wished that she wouldn't catch them or have anything else to do with them. Being a cop certainly hadn't been high on his list of preferred careers for her. Still, she was very good at what she did and she was happy. He couldn't help but worry everytime she went to work though. So far, she'd been lucky and hadn't been seriously hurt, but it was only a matter of time before her luck ran out.
"Do you know how many calories there are in one of your breakfasts?" she asked.
"You need to eat something." he said. In his opinion, she never ate enough or the right things. The blame for that could be laid squarely at Jimmy's feet. He'd always let her eat too much junk food. "You don't need to worry about your weight." he added. If anything she was too thin, she always had been, and a lot smaller than other kids her age. Still, that was probably due to the fact that she'd been a very sick baby. If he and Jimmy hadn't gotten her out of that hell hole of an orphange, she would have died within a few days. Until he and Jimmy had found her the only future facing her had been one in an unmarked grave.
***************
"Mom, what are you doing up there?" Blair demanded to know when he caught Naomi at the top of the stairs which led up to Jim's room. "You..." Jim was going to go ballistic when he found out that Naomi had been snooping around in his things.
"Sweetie, if you want to know just how well Jim knows this woman there's only one way to find out if he won't tell you." Naomi said.
"No way," he protested. "Trust me, Jim will find out if anyone goes through his things." As it was he would know that Naomi had been up there. It was just going to make Jim even less willing to tell him what was going on between him and Detective O'Brien.
"Blair, this is the only way you're going to find out." she said making her way down the stairs.
"I can't betray Jim's trust like that," he said, "if he wants me to know, he'll tell me." Although at the moment that wasn't looking very likely. Still, if he pushed the subject he'd never find out. So, for the time being the best thing he could do was stand back and do what he did best... observe. Sooner or later Jim would let something slip and he'd be there to pounce on it. After all, how long could Jim keep a secret like this for?
**************
Blair hadn't believed the story he'd told him last night, Jim thought, driving towards the station. It was only a matter of time before either he or Ria said something and Blair picked up on it. He wasn't going to start ignoring her just because he was worried that Blair might jump to the wrong conclusion. Hell, the rumors had probably started after Rafe had walked into the breakroom and found him and Ria talking. As it was, Joel had already gotten the wrong idea completely. If he wasn't careful, Ria could end up with a reputation at the station. Once she had one it would be hard for her to get rid of it.
If he talked to Joel and set the record straight the rest of the guys would soon find out from Joel then no-one would think anything was going on if he spent time making sure that she was doing okay. Who was he trying to kid? By now, everyone in the station would be talking about the affair he was supposed to having with someone young enough to be his daughter. He could hardly turn round and say that she was because no-one would believe him. What he needed was proof that her dad and he had been in the military together. Unfortunately, the photos he had either had Ria in them or weren't the sort of photos that he could just show anyone.
******************
2Jim had always struck her as being a very honest person, even if he was pig, Naomi thought, as Blair drove them to the loft. So how could he lie to her baby about not knowing some woman when he did. Maybe it was a none too subtle hint that it was time for Blair to move on.
Personally, she'd been hoping that he wouldn't carry on living with and working with Jim for much longer. It wasn't good to put down too many roots in one place. Still, there were a lot better ways to go about it such as asking Blair to leave.
******************
Robert had done one hell of a job raising her, Jim thought, watching Ria drive away. He knew that it couldn't have been easy for him, for both of them. She was the type of young woman any man would be proud to say was his daughter. Only he couldn't, because not only had he given up all rights to her the day he'd walked away from her and Robert, but because people would ask questions. Questions that he wouldn't be able to answer without outing both him and Robert.
Maybe it was time that he stopped hiding from the past and faced it head on. That would mean telling Blair though. How could he possibly tell his guide, best friend and partner that there was a side to him that he'd kept hidden for the past decade. He should call Robert first and see if he was willing to talk to him in person. Ria had seemed to understand why he'd needed to get away after Peru. Robert was going to take a lot more convincing. Even if he was able to convince him that he truly regretted leaving him it didn't mean that Robert was going to be able to forgive him.
***************
"O'Brien," Ria said, answering her cell phone as soon as it rang as she drove back to the station. "Dad! Everything's fine, I just wasn't expecting to hear from you today." Oh god, if she wasn't careful she'd end up telling him everything. "I'm just going back to the station. I had lunch in the park," she said, "Jim! Yeah, I've seen him around. He's looking pretty good.
No. I haven't had much chance to yet. Look I'd better go before I get a ticket. I'll see you tonight. Love you." She then closed the phone. He'd asked about Jim which was a surprise. Still, he'd known that she'd be more than likely to bump into him working in the same station let alone in the same department.
Lying to her dad wasn't something that she liked doing. It always made her feel like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. He wasn't an idiot and he wasn't going to be too pleased when he found out that she'd lied to him. He could even think that Jim had put her up to it.
*******************
"So what's she like?" Joel asked. Not having met his partner yet he wanted some idea what to expect.
"Beautiful." Rafe replied.
"Didn't make much of an impression on Hairboy though." H said.
"Jim, he..." Rafe began.
"He what?" Joel asked.
"Asked her out to lunch," Rafe replied, "The minute Blair was gone they were out of here."
"He was not happy to find that out when he dropped by with his mom," H said. "Not to mention what's going to happen when Simon finds out."
"Don't you think you're jumping to conclusions?" Joel asked. "It could just be a coincidence." Like his bumping into Jim and that young woman in the park. Still, if Jim knew her dad from his time in the military like he'd said, there wasn't any real harm being done. It wasn't as if Jim was married or anything. He'd have a quiet word with his new partner and explain the department's policy on fraternisation. There was no point in storing up problems for the future, he thought.
*************
"Sweetie, why don't you sit down so that we can talk about this." Naomi suggested, watching her son pacing up and down in the living area of the loft. He'd feel a lot better after he'd talked things through with her.
"There's nothing to talk about," he replied. "Jim can go out to lunch with whoever he likes."
"He has different standards than us," she said. "I mean..." stopping she saw the look on her son's face.
"You didn't see the way he was watching her," Blair said. "If he knows her, why didn't he just come out and tell me that he does."
"Sweetie, nobody likes secrets," Naomi said. "But people are entitled to have them." Jim had never really struck her as the sort of man who would reveal his secrets to anyone. If Jim wanted to keep something from Blair he was perfectly entitled to, not that she would approve of something like that though.
"It's just that Jim usually tells me what's going on," Blair said. "I thought he trusted me."
"Blair, you don't know all that much about Jim's background." she said. A man like Jim probably had an entire graveyard of skeletons hidden in his closet. She wasn't going to just stand by and watch her son get hurt.
"You know, she's young enough to be his daughter." Blair said.
"We'll all have a nice talk about this when Jim gets home." She said. And she wasn't going to let the subject drop until she'd got the truth out of Jim.
******************
She hadn't really lied, Ria thought, entering the Bullpen and seeing her partner sitting at his desk. No, it was more like not telling the whole truth. Jim could have introduced her as Detective O'Brien if he'd wanted to, only he hadn't. Why she didn't know, but it had seemed easier to go along with him than correct him. She'd done it in the past to protect both him and her dad. As far as everyone back then was concerned her dad and Jim had just been good buddies. She'd always known differently though, to her there'd never been anything strange about her having two dads where as everyone else had a mom and dad.
Walking over to her desk she smiled at her partner before sitting down opposite him.
"Hi," she said. "About the park..."
"What you do in your lunch hour is your business," Joel said, "but the department does have a no fraternisation policy."
"We weren't..." Ria said. "He and my dad were best friends at one point."
She felt like she owed him some sort of apology.
"You don't have to explain." he said.
"I really want to," she said. "We were just catching up on old times." She wasn't telling him anything that he couldn't find out from Jim if he asked him and it was bound to come out at some point that her dad and Jim knew each other. Besides if she was honest about that from the beginning then nobody would think twice about her spending time with Jim.
*************
He was going to have to tell Blair something, Jim thought, entering the Bullpen and looking across at where Ria was sitting. Until he'd talked to Robert telling him the truth wasn't possible. This was one time he had to put someone else before his guide. The 'She's the daughter of an old army buddy' explanation might keep Blair happy for a while but, eventually he would start to ask questions that he wouldn't be able to answer. When people did find out the truth, and they were bound to, there were going to be problems. He couldn't see Simon being too happy about it. There were regulations in place to stop family members from serving in the same department. Although there wasn't a blood tie between them he'd been her dad for a large part of her life. As the junior officer she'd be the one who'd have to change departments. At least, while she was in Major Crimes he'd be able to keep an eye on her, make sure that she didn't get in over her head on any of the cases she worked. Joel was a good detective but Robert would never forgive him if he let anything happen to her.
At some point he knew that he was going to have to call Robert and talk to him but maybe it would be better if he waited until after Ria had had a chance to talk to him. He'd find out from her how he felt about talking to him. Not that he was expecting to be welcomed back into Robert's life with open arms. Too much time had passed for that to happen. They were going to have to have some sort of contact because of Ria though.
**************
Considering it had been her first day it hadn't gone that badly, Ria thought, tidying up her desk before leaving for the night. Right now she was really looking forward to going home and having dinner with her dad. With any luck he'd have cooked her favourite meal. They were going to have to talk about Jim though. It was a subject that she could hardly avoid with her working in the same department as him. Her dad wasn't going to be at all happy about her having lunch with Jim. At least, now she'd heard some sort of explanation from Jim as to why he hadn't come back to them after Peru.
She wasn't entirely sure that she believed him though.
If he'd loved them as much as he'd always said he had then he had to have known that they would have stood by him no matter what. It's what he would have done if their situations had been reversed. She knew that it couldn't have been easy for him after Peru, it certainly hadn't been for her and her dad. The eighteen months he'd been reported as missing, presumed dead, had been a living nightmare for them, not knowing whether they'd even have a funeral to go to or not. When he'd been found she'd thought that the nightmare was over, that in a couple of weeks he'd be back home where he belonged. Only he'd never come home to them.
****************
"Chief," Jim said when there was an answer on the other end of the phone, "No, nothing's wrong. Look, I'm going to be late so why don't you and your mom start dinner without me. It's just some paperwork. No, I don't need any help with it." He then put the phone down before Blair could say anything else. He hated lying to Blair, but he had a lot to think about and he couldn't do that at the loft with Naomi there. Even at the best of times she tested his patience to it's limits and now was not a good time for him to have to deal with her.
What he needed to do was go somewhere quiet and try and work through what the hell he was going to say to Robert, if Robert agreed to talk to him.
After ten years absence, a simple apology wasn't going to cut it and he wasn't sure that he'd ever be able to explain why he'd done what he had. All he knew was that he hadn't meant to hurt them the way he had. And how could he even start to explain the whole Sentinel thing. It was just one more secret he had to keep. Sometimes he wished that he could just be honest about everything but being honest could get him killed put the people he loved in danger.
**************
Jim had lied to him, Blair thought, pushing his food around his plate. He knew for a fact that there wasn't any paperwork for Jim to catch up on because he'd done it all. If Jim had asked Detective O'Brien out to dinner then he should have just come out and told him that he had instead of coming up with some cock and bull story about paperwork.
"I'm not hungry." he said, pushing his plate away from him.
"Sweetie..." Naomi began.
"Mom, don't." he warned her. He knew that his mother meant well but she just didn't understand the special nature of his and Jim's friendship. A friendship that he'd always thought was pretty solid. Sure, they'd had their ups and downs but then everyone did from time to time. Only now something had changed. Whatever it was, it had to be serious in order for Jim to lie to him.
"Blair, honey, all I was going to say was would you like me to do the dishes." she said.
"It's okay, I'll do them later." he replied. He might even leave them piled up in the sink for Jim to find. That would really piss him off, show him that he couldn't lie to him and expect to get away with it.
**************
"Calling it a night?" Jim asked casually stopping by Ria's desk.
"Yeah," she smiled, "I'm having dinner with my dad. Sort of a celebration thing." She really wished that she could invite him to join her and her dad but for the time being she couldn't. Maybe once she'd talked to her dad and seen how the land laid as far as Jim was concerned she could. It would be nice to have Jim as part of the family again, although at the moment, she wasn't entirely sure what part he could play. Friends was just about the only thing that they could be to the outside world. She knew how dangerous it could be on the streets for gay cops, especially if they were out. The last thing she wanted to do was put Jim in danger.
"Well, say hi to him from me okay." he said.
"I will," Ria replied, "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah and be careful driving home." Jim said.
"I always am." she said. It was nice to know that he still worried about her. She supposed that she shouldn't really be all that surprised that he did. After all, when he'd been her dad, he'd start worrying if she was more than five minutes late home from school. He'd even taught her self defense so that she could take care of herself. Not that she'd ever really needed to during her time at school. It was only during her time on the beat that everything he'd taught her had been of any practical use, and even now, she still practiced twice a day like he'd told her to.
*************8
There was definitely a lot more going on other than her being the daughter of an old army buddy of Jim's, Joel thought, seeing Jim leaning on Ria's desk. If they weren't careful Simon would find out, that was if he hadn't already noticed. The pair of them were going to end up being called into his office for a lecture on fraternization. Of course, it went on despite the official line of it not being allowed, but people were discreet about it, a hell of a lot more than they were being.
Normally, the only person Jim acted so relaxed around was Blair. That was someone else who he couldn't see being too happy about this. Then again, it could all be perfectly innocent. In which case there were going to be a lot of red faces in the department.
*************
Maybe if he hurried he could he could get to the bank before it closed, Jim thought getting into his truck. If he did he could get those photos out of the safety deposit box. Maybe looking at them would help him to work out what he was going to say to Robert. There was no denying that they'd had a lot of good times, even before Ria had come along to bring yet more happiness into their lives. Even now, he could still remember the first time he'd seen her. She'd been such a sick and tiny baby, malnourished and abandoned. If he and Robert hadn't saved her she would have been dead within a few days. They'd had to break just about every rule in the book to get her out of that hell hole of an orphanage. It had all been worth it the first time her little face had lit up with a smile though.
From the moment she'd started talking Robert had always been Da Da. Still, that had probably been for the best because if he'd been listed as her dad she could have ended up in some foster home or other when he'd gone missing in Peru. That wouldn't have been any sort of life for her. It would have broken Robert's heart to have lost her. There'd been time thought, while he'd been in Peru, that he'd thought about her and how she was doing. Then he'd stopped because the memories had gotten too painful. All he could do now was try and make up for all the pain and hurt he'd caused them. That wasn't going to be easy. He knew that Ria hadn't really believed his explanation. He was going to have to do a lot better with Robert to even stand a chance of his forgiving him. Even if he did, this was always going to be in the background.
*************
She'd spoken to Jimmy, Robert thought when he saw the look on his daughter's face as she entered the kitchen. He wasn't going to tell her that he knew she had because she would tell him when she was ready to.
"So how did it go?" he asked.
"Fine," Ria replied, "They seem a nice bunch of guys."
"Better than Seattle?" he asked.
"Yeah, the only coffee I had to make was my own. I really think that I'm going to fit in here." she said.
"That's good," he smiled, "I thought you might be hungry so I made you all your favourites for dinner." They'd talk over dinner and she'd tell him everything that had gone on between her and Jimmy. He wasn't going to listen to any of the excuses that Jimmy had fed her about why he hadn't come back after Peru though. Why should he? Jimmy had just walked away from them leaving him to explain to Ria why he wasn't coming back. He was the one who'd had to deal with her when she'd gone through her rebellious stage.
Being stranded in Peru had to have been a picnic compared to everything that he'd gone through in the past decade.
"Thanks Dad." she smiled.
"My little princess deserves the best." Rober replied. He'd always done his best to make sure that she'd gotten it as well. Not that it had always been easy to. There'd been times when he'd struggled, especially after leaving the service, but he could proudly say that Ria had never gone without. Not that he'd ever let her become spoiled. Spoiling her had been Jimmy's favourite past time. She only had to pout at Jimmy and he'd buy her anything she wanted.
"Dad, we both know that I talked to Jimmy today." Ria said.
"If you want to talk to him that's up to you, but you know how I feel about him." he said.
"Dad, he's sorry for what he did," she said. "All he wants is..."
"What he wants isn't important," Robert snapped. "He can't just walk out of our lives and expect to walk back into them a decade later." If Jimmy thought that he could do that then he was going to be very disappointed.
"Won't you at least listen to what he has to say?" she asked.
"No," he replied firmly, "I know that you want to believe that Jimmy's sorry but the only person he feels sorry for is himself. He threw his family away and he's not going to get it back.
***************
He'd always been honest with Jim, well nearly always, Blair thought and he'd thought that Jim would be the same. Obviously, he'd been mistaken. Living with someone, working with them for nealy three years, should have given him some insight into Jim. He was now finding out that Jim didn't trust him enough to tell him that he had a date. So, maybe in the past Jim's romantic life hadn't been so great. That didn't mean that he had to keep any future dates from him.
How was he supposed to help Jim with his senses when he didn't have the whole picture as to what was going on with him. What if he zoned, or had a reaction to something he ate. She was a detective, she was bound to notice if Jim just sat there staring into space. Didn't Jim realise just how dangerous that could be. It wasn't as if they knew much aobut this woman.
She was a total stranger and this just wasn't the sort of behaviour anyone would normally associate with Jim Ellison. It was as if Jim had become a totally different person to the one he thought he'd come to know over the past three years.
****************
She should have expected her dad to react like that, Ria thought, putting her gun away. Jimmy was going to be very disappointed when she told him that her dad didn't want to have anything to do with him. Maybe if she worked on her dad, she could get him to come round and at least get him to think about seeing Jimmy, just to listen to what he had to say. It wasn't as if she was suggesting that he took him back with open arms. Although it would be nice if they did get back together again. She really missed having Jimmy as part of the family. There'd been times when she would have felt a lot more comfortable talking to Jimmy about things than she had her dad.
The two of them had always been close. It was Jimmy who'd been the one who'd spoiled her the most, made sure that she did all her homework and most of the time, he'd been the one to go to school events with her. It just wasn't fair that the only role he'd been allowed to play outside their home was that of doting adopted uncle. At times, it had been really hard for her not to call him dad when there were other people around.
****************
"Hey Chief," Jim said, entering the loft, "Sorry I missed having dinner with you and your mom." Not that he was entirely sorry that he had. He could think of a lot better ways of spending an evening than having Naomi Sandburg preach about the benefits of meditation and the damage being done to his karma because he was a cop.
"It's okay," Blair muttered, "We dropped by the station at lunchtime."
"I decided to go out for lunch." he replied.
"The guys said you had," Blair said, "so, did you go anywhere nice?"
"Just the park. Thought I'd take advantage of the weather." Blair knew he thought, at least he knew something. He was going to have to try and bluff his way out of this. Lying to Blair wasn't something that he really wanted to do but at the moment, he didn't have any other options open to him. "I bumped into Joel and his new partner while I was there." he added sitting down next to Blair on the sofa. Well, he had bumped into Joel so it wasn't too far from the truth.
"So what's she like?" Blair asked too casually.
"Can't really say," he admitted, "but if she wasn't good Simon wouldn't have taken her on." She had to be good to have gotten her gold shield so young. They didn't just hand them out to anyone who wanted one.
"So, you'd never met her before today?" Blair asked.
"What is this Chief, the spanish inquisistion?" Jim asked. What was he supposed to say? That he'd known her since she'd been a baby. That the guy everyone thought was a hard ass cop used to pace the floor at night singing her lullabies when she couldn't sleep. Even Blair would be shocked to discover that he knew all the words to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
"Just curious." Blair replied.
"I knew her a long time ago when she was still just a kid," he said. "Her dad was in the military. It was before I went to Peru, haven't seen either of them since." Which was the truth. He'd wasted the past decade by pretending to be someone he wasn't. All those years he'd spent alone he could have spent with Robert and Ria.
**********************
"What are you looking at?" Robert asked joining his daughter on the sofa.
"Memories." Ria replied. It wasn't very often that she looked at the photos from when her family had been intact. But, maybe looking at them would help her dad remember all the good times they'd had.
"I thought I'd thrown them out." he said.
"You did. I rescued them." she said. After Jim hadn't come back he'd thrown just about all of Jim's stuff into the trash and she'd gone and gotten it all out. She'd always known one day that she might need them. "Maybe you could tell me about some of the photos." she suggested.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea." he said.
"What about this one?" she asked, pointing to the first photo in the album. "I don't remember that one being taken."
"You wouldn't," Robert replied, "that was taken the day we got you. We didn't have a clue how to be parents, didn't have a thing for you. Until we got back to the states you were wrapped up in one of Jimmy's shirts."
"You know he still looks like that," Ria said, "A little less hair but he's still in great shape." A lot of guys would have let themselves go over the years. Jim hadn't though and neither had her dad.
"We're supposed to be looking at the photos," he reminded her, "I don't want to know how Jimmy's doing."
"All I was saying was..." she began.
"I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work," Robert replied, "there's too much water gone under the bridge for us to go back."
"Dad, what harm could there be in giving him five minutes to explain?" she asked. That was all she was asking for on Jim's behalf.
"What so that he can tell me some pack of lies that he's had the past decade to perfect," he snapped, "and in case you hadn't noticed, he's married."
"Actually, he's divorced," Ria said, "he's not involved with anyone. Have a beer with him, a cup of coffee. I'll even act as referee." If she was there then hopefully they wouldn't fight and if they did she would be there to stop them.
"I'll think about it," he said, "but I'm not going to make you any promises."
***************
Something was very wrong, Naomi thought, coming out of Blair's room the following morning. Whenever she'd stayed at the loft before there'd always been some sort of friendly banter going on. This morning, however, there was none. From the look on her son's face she could tell that he wasn't at all happy. She had to assume that he'd tried talking to Jim about that woman only to find that Jim wouldn't tell him what he wanted to know.
"Good morning, Sweetie," she said, "Jim."
"Naomi." Jim said politely.
"Blair told me that you have a new detective at work, a woman." she said. There was no point in being subtle with a man like Jim Ellison. With someone like that, you had to go straight for the throat and hope you didn't get mauled in the process.
"Yeah." Jim replied.
"Her dad was in the military with Jim." Blair said.
"That's nice." Naomi smiled. Not exactly what she'd been expecting and she didn't believe it for a minute. There was obviously a lot more going on than Jim was willing to say. Still, between her and Blair, they would get to the bottom of what was going on. When they did, she was going to give Jim hell for upsetting her baby like this. Nobody upset Naomi Sandburg's little boy and got away with it scot free.
*****************
"Ria, if you don't get a move on you're going to be late." Robert called from the bottom of the stairs. His daughter might be a lot of things but a morning person wasn't one of them. Working strange hours didn't help. Still, she'd always had problems sleeping normal hours like everyone else. When she'd been a baby he and Jimmy had spent hours walking around with her in their arms trying to get her off to sleep.
"I'm coming," she shouted, coming down the stairs, "and I'm not going to be late."
"You will be if you take too long over your breakfast." he replied.
"Dad, I don't eat breakfast anymore," she said, "I usually grab a donut and coffee at work."
"Well, this morning you're having breakfast," Robert said. "How do you expect to catch criminals on an empty stomach?" Although he wished that she wouldn't catch them or have anything else to do with them. Being a cop certainly hadn't been high on his list of preferred careers for her. Still, she was very good at what she did and she was happy. He couldn't help but worry everytime she went to work though. So far, she'd been lucky and hadn't been seriously hurt, but it was only a matter of time before her luck ran out.
"Do you know how many calories there are in one of your breakfasts?" she asked.
"You need to eat something." he said. In his opinion, she never ate enough or the right things. The blame for that could be laid squarely at Jimmy's feet. He'd always let her eat too much junk food. "You don't need to worry about your weight." he added. If anything she was too thin, she always had been, and a lot smaller than other kids her age. Still, that was probably due to the fact that she'd been a very sick baby. If he and Jimmy hadn't gotten her out of that hell hole of an orphange, she would have died within a few days. Until he and Jimmy had found her the only future facing her had been one in an unmarked grave.
***************
"Mom, what are you doing up there?" Blair demanded to know when he caught Naomi at the top of the stairs which led up to Jim's room. "You..." Jim was going to go ballistic when he found out that Naomi had been snooping around in his things.
"Sweetie, if you want to know just how well Jim knows this woman there's only one way to find out if he won't tell you." Naomi said.
"No way," he protested. "Trust me, Jim will find out if anyone goes through his things." As it was he would know that Naomi had been up there. It was just going to make Jim even less willing to tell him what was going on between him and Detective O'Brien.
"Blair, this is the only way you're going to find out." she said making her way down the stairs.
"I can't betray Jim's trust like that," he said, "if he wants me to know, he'll tell me." Although at the moment that wasn't looking very likely. Still, if he pushed the subject he'd never find out. So, for the time being the best thing he could do was stand back and do what he did best... observe. Sooner or later Jim would let something slip and he'd be there to pounce on it. After all, how long could Jim keep a secret like this for?
**************
Blair hadn't believed the story he'd told him last night, Jim thought, driving towards the station. It was only a matter of time before either he or Ria said something and Blair picked up on it. He wasn't going to start ignoring her just because he was worried that Blair might jump to the wrong conclusion. Hell, the rumors had probably started after Rafe had walked into the breakroom and found him and Ria talking. As it was, Joel had already gotten the wrong idea completely. If he wasn't careful, Ria could end up with a reputation at the station. Once she had one it would be hard for her to get rid of it.
If he talked to Joel and set the record straight the rest of the guys would soon find out from Joel then no-one would think anything was going on if he spent time making sure that she was doing okay. Who was he trying to kid? By now, everyone in the station would be talking about the affair he was supposed to having with someone young enough to be his daughter. He could hardly turn round and say that she was because no-one would believe him. What he needed was proof that her dad and he had been in the military together. Unfortunately, the photos he had either had Ria in them or weren't the sort of photos that he could just show anyone.
******************

Jumping to conclusions part 1

2009-01-08T12:55:17Z

Title: Jumping to Conclusions
Author/pseudonym: Fluffy Rabbit
Fandom: Sentinel, Jim/OMC Blair/OFC
Rating:
Status: New WIP
Archive: To WWOMB, anyone else please ask first
E-mail address for feedback: kevin.schmidt1@ntlworld.com
Series/Sequel:
Other web sites: No
Disclaimers: The Sentinel guys belong to Petfly, the rest are mine.
Warnings: Au, Jim with someone other than Blair
Notes: Unbetaed, anyone willing please let me know.
Summary:
Jumping to Conclusions
by
Fluffy Bunny
It wasn't just by chance that she was here, Ria thought, entering the Bullpen. Everything she'd done in her life had led up to this moment and she wasn't going to waste it. Smiling as she walked past the various desks in the room she made her way to the office at the end of it. Knocking on the door she waited to be told to enter.
"Come." bellowed a deep male voice.
Opening the door she entered the office, and then closed the door behind her.
************
It couldn't have been, Jim thought, looking towards Simon's office. The last time he'd heard she'd still been in school but that had been almost a decade ago. Still the eyes had been the same shade as hers. If it was her, just what the hell was he playing at letting her become a cop. They'd always agreed that she was going to be kept away from guns and violence at all costs.
Perhaps something had happened to him and that was why she'd chosen this career. Either way, she was here and he was going to have to deal with it.
"Jim." Blair said.
"What, Chief?" he replied.
"You okay?" the younger man asked.
"Just thinking," he said. "It's not that often you see violet eyes."
"No it's..." Blair began.
"No lectures." Jim said.
"Sure." he grinned.
*****************
"I understand that you've only been a detective for just over a year." Captain Simon Banks said looking at the file he was holding.
"Yes, Sir." Ria replied.
"You seem to have taken on a lot of difficult cases." he said.
"I like a challenge," she said, "and all those cases were assigned to me because they thought they'd test the rookie." And she'd passed every test they'd set her with flying colours which was why she was being given her shot at the big time. All the long hours she'd put in, tracking down leads that no one else had bothered to check up on had paid off.
"Here we all take our share of difficult cases," Simon said. "If you can't work as part of a team..."
"If other people let me I can." Ria replied. Being as young as she was and a woman were two strikes against her as far as some of her fellow officers were concerned.
"Everyone is treated the same here," he assured her. "Unfortunately, your partner is in court until this afternoon. So I'll introduce you to the rest of the department and then you can have a chance to look round. And remember that my door is always open."
"Yes, Sir." she smiled.
*************
It just wasn't like Jim to be so distracted, Blair thought, when he caught him looking towards Simon's office again. Whatever was going on in there it had certainly attracted Jim's attention. Simon wasn't bellowing so that probably meant no one was in trouble and if it was important Jim would tell him. So why did he have a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
**************
"If I could have some quiet," Simon ordered, coming out of his office, "This is Detective Ria O'Brien, I'm sure that you'll all do your best to help her settle in." Although it looked like one of detectives didn't seem too happy to see her, he thought, when he saw the look on Jim's face.
Whatever the problem was he would soon sort it out as soon as he found out what it was. "Your desk is the one in the corner. If you need anything don't be afraid to ask." he said heading back inside his office leaving Ria standing there.
***************
"Hi, I'm Henri and the fashion model is my partner Rafe." Detective Henri Brown said going up and introducing himself.
"It's nice to meet you." Ria smiled politely.
"So where do you come from?" Henri asked.
"Seattle PD, serial crimes squad." she replied, looking across at where she was getting some very strange looks from a man who looked very familiar to her.
"That's Hairboy and Ellison." Henri said when he saw where she was looking.
"Hairboy?" she asked.
"It's his nickname," Rafe explained smiling at her. "He's a consultant with the department."
"Well, if you gentlemen will excuse me I'll go get settled in at my desk." she said smiling at them both as she headed over to a desk in the corner of the room.
**********
It really was her, Jim thought, watching her walking over to her desk. He was going to have to talk to her because there was no way he could work in the same department as her without doing that. She might have pretended not to recognize him but he knew that she had from the way her heart rate had increased. If she wanted to play it like they were strangers then that was the way it would be. He was going to have to be careful though not to make Blair curious about what was going on. Otherwise he'd end up dragging things out of him that he didn't intend to tell anyone.
As soon as he saw her get up and head towards the break room Jim followed her as discreetly as he could. After making sure that they were alone he closed the door behind him.
"Ria..." he began.
"Uncle Jimmy," she said, "it's been a long time."
"How's your dad?" he asked.
"Fine, he wasn't for a while after... I don't suppose that's why you want to talk to me though, is it?" she asked.
"No," he replied. "How do you want to do this? Pretend we're strangers or..."
"Don't worry. I'm not going to tell anyone if that's what you're worried about," Ria said, "What's past is past, right."
"Yeah," Jim said, "So what does he think to your becoming a cop? We agreed that..."
"You left! That means you gave up all rights to me." she snapped.
"That wasn't my fault..." he began.
"You could have gotten in touch when you got back, sent a card, anything," she said. "We had to find out that you were still alive from the papers. Do you have any idea what we went through?"
"I'm sorry." he said softly.
"We waited and waited for you to come back but you didn't," she said, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "You certainly did a good job of wiping us out of your life, didn't you? Even went so far as to get married. I hope she's worth it."
"It didn't last," Jim replied. "I never meant to stay away for good. It was only supposed to be until I'd got myself together again." But the longer he'd stayed away the harder it had been to go back. Until, finally, he'd convinced himself that his family had moved on.
"In case you're wondering he never found anyone else. Still hasn't," Ria said pouring herself a mug of coffee, "I'd better go back to my desk."
"Maybe we could talk away from work," he suggested, "if you'd like to..."
"Sure I would." giving him a faint smile.
"How about lunch?" he asked. "Dinner?" He wasn't going to take no for an answer. Of course, he was going to have to come up with some reason why Blair couldn't come with him.
"Lunch would be fine," Ria replied. "I won't have to lie to dad about where I'm going then."
"Moppet, I'd never want you to do that." Jim said.
"You haven't called me that in a long time." she said.
"You'll always be Moppet to me..." Jim began, when the door the break room opened.
"I'll see you later." Ria said, picking up her mug as Rafe entered the break room.
"Yeah." he grinned.
**************
Later, Rafe thought as Ria exited the break room. He would never have had Ellison down as such a fast mover. Hairboy definitely. Still, it wasn't every day that they got a detective looking like her joining the department.
"You want something?" Jim growled.
"Just coffee." Rafe replied, sensing that it would be better not to upset him. At the best of times Jim could be grouchy.
*************
Her dad wasn't going to be too happy when she told him that she'd had lunch with Jimmy, Ria thought, sipping her coffee. As it was, he hadn't really wanted her to transfer to Cascade PD because he'd known that, at some point, she was likely to have run into Jimmy. What he didn't know though was that was precisely the reason why she'd transferred.
She knew that despite everything, deep down, her dad was still waiting for some sort of explanation as to why Jimmy hadn't come back after Peru and they both deserved to hear it, even if her dad was reluctant to do so in the beginning. She'd persuade him to though, and maybe once he'd heard it he'd be prepared to forgive Jimmy. It was going to have to be one hell of an explanation though.
***********
Lunch was a start, Jim thought, returning to his desk. It wasn't much of one though. Until she'd walked into the Bullpen and he'd realized that it was her he hadn't realized just how much he'd missed being called Uncle Jimmy. Ria might be prepared to listen to what he had to say but that didn't mean she was going to forgive him. The only thing he could do was hope that she would understand.
There was no possible way that he could talk to Blair about this though. It would totally shatter the image that his friend had of him. An image that he sometimes found a struggle to maintain. Maybe it was time for him to get the photos out from the safety deposit box where they'd been since Blair had moved into the loft.
****************
He'd never thought that luck would take the form of Naomi Sandburg but today it had.
"Before you ask, Chief, I'll be fine. Go pick your mom up." Jim said when Blair put the phone down.
"You're sure?" Blair asked.
"I'm sure," he grinned, "Say hi from me."
"I will." Blair replied more than a little confused by his friend's mood.
"I'll see you at the loft tonight then" Jim said. With Blair safely out of the way he and Ria could have a long talk over lunch.
"No sneaking off to Wonderburger." Blair joked picking up his backpack from the side of Jim's chair.
"I won't." he assured him. For a start, too many people who knew him went in there. If they saw him with Ria word would soon get back to Blair. Then the questions would start. And at the moment even if he wanted to tell him, he didn't have any answers to give him.
Waiting until Blair was at the other end of the office he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number in.
****************
"Detective O'Brien's desk." Ria said, picking up the phone as soon as it rang. "Hi," She smiled when she recognized the voice at the other end, "Sure. I can meet you there. Fifteen minutes." She then put the phone down.
The park was as good as place as any for them to talk, she thought. It was unlikely that anyone from the station would see them together there and rumours were the last thing that either of them needed.
****************
He had every reason to be nervous, Jim thought, waiting in the car park of Cascade's main park. After all, she'd said that she would come but that didn't mean that she wouldn't change her mind on the way over. This could be the only chance he got to explain to her why he'd done what he had after Peru.
The last time he'd been to a park with her had been just before he'd left to go to Peru. She'd been fourteen at the time, too old to go on the swings anymore so they'd gone to the batting cages instead. Maybe they could do that again some time if she was willing to try and rebuild a relationship with him. Of course, he'd understand if she didn't want to.
****************
"Sweetie, is everything all right?" Naomi Sandburg asked when she saw the distracted look on her son's face as he picked her up from outside Cascade's airport. "Has something happened to Jim?" She might not approve of the fact that her son was both living and working with Jim but if something had happened she wanted to know if she could help.
"He's fine, at least, I think he is." Blair replied.
"Either he is or he isn't." she said.
"It's probably nothing." he said.
"If you're sure, Sweetie." Naomi said. He'd never been able to lie to her when something was bothering him.
"There's a new detective in the department," Blair said. "A woman."
"And?" she prompted.
"I think Jim knows her." he replied.
"Has he said that he has?" she asked.
"No, it's just this feeling I have." he said.
"I'm sure that if Jim wants you to know, he'll tell you." Naomi reassured him. "Why don't we drop by to see him before you take me to the loft?"
Perhaps Jim would be more willing to tell her whether he knew this woman than he would Blair.
**************
It was too late to turn back now, Ria thought, when she saw Jim waiting for her. She had to go through with this just so that she could find out why he hadn't come back to them after Peru. Even if she believed what he had to say she wasn't sure what she was going to tell her dad. He'd suffered so much when Jimmy had first been declared dead, then again when he had been found.
The final straw had been when someone had sent him a newspaper cutting about Jimmy's wedding. From that day, until the one she'd applied for her transfer to Cascade and Major Crimes, Jimmy's name had never been mention. Every time she'd tried talking to him about him he'd changed the subject or answered her questions with total silence.
******************
"I wasn't sure that you would come." Jim said as Ria got out of her car.
"How else was I going to find out why you..." she began.
"Why don't we go for a walk and I'll try to explain it to you." he suggested as she locked her car up.
"I need to know one thing first though." she said.
"Ask away." he replied.
"You and Sandburg, are you..." Ria started.
"He's strictly my roommate," Jim assured her. "Since your dad, there hasn't been anyone serious apart from my ex-wife."
"So you didn't leave us for someone else?" she asked.
"No," he replied. "Moppet, I wasn't the same person when I came back. I couldn't inflict him on you."
"We loved you. We would have helped you." she said. What he was saying was just an excuse for running away and leaving them. She should have known better than to think that he would tell her the real reason.
"At the time I didn't want help," Jim said. "I was a mess. I didn't care about anything or one."
"Well, we cared about you," Ria snapped. "Did you even think about us? How we felt being abandoned like that? There was no one we could talk to about you."
****************
"I'm so sorry about that." he said.
"Sorry doesn't even begin to make up for what we went through." she said.
Words couldn't take away the pain, nothing could.
"Moppet, what do you want me to do?" Jim asked.
"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe dad was right. I shouldn't have gotten a transfer." Raking up the past wasn't going to do anyone any good, especially her.
Part two
After being stuck in a stuffy courtroom all morning in was good to be in the fresh air, Joel thought, waiting in line outside the Mr Tube Steak stand at the entrance to Cascade's park. When he got back to the station he was going to meet his partner. The first real partner he'd been assigned since moving to Major Crimes from the Bomb Squad.
Looking around as he waited to be served he spotted a familiar figure in the car park. There was no mistaking the taller figure as anyone other than Jim Ellison. At first, he thought that the smaller was one was his partner Blair then he realised that it couldn't possibly be. Not that it was really any of his business who Jim met during his lunch hour. Still, he couldn't help but be more than a little curious about who it was and why Jim was meeting them in a car park.
*************
"Before you head back to the station why don't I treat you to lunch?" Jim suggested. "They have a Mr Tube Steak stand." She'd always liked junk food in the past.
"With all the works?" Ria asked.
"And soda." he replied.
"I need to grab something to eat anyway, so sure, you can treat me to lunch." she said.
"I'm glad that you still like junk food," he grinned. "You know you haven't told me much about what's happened in your life."
"There's not all that much to tell," she admitted, "I came out top of my class at the Academy, walked a beat for a while then I got picked for Serial Crimes and got my gold shield."
"You must have been good to get picked for that." he said throwing an arm around her shoulders.
"I was the token woman," Ria replied. "Ended up using that to my advantage though."
"So why transfer?" Jim asked sensing that she was starting to relax. "Major Crimes had a better record," she said. "You also played a part in the decision."
"Your dad can't have been too happy about that." he said. Under the circumstances he would have thought that Robert would have wanted her to stay as far away from Cascade and him as possible.
"He wasn't," she admitted. "He still isn't too happy about it. Just like it took him a while to get used to the fact I wanted to be cop. He came around eventually though."
"You were supposed to have been a scientist." he smiled.
"Yeah, well, that didn't work out. Not after I sort of blew up the chemistry lab at school." Ria said.
"You blew it up!" he exclaimed.
"It was an accident, okay?" she said. "I make a lot better cop than I would have a scientist."
"As long as you're happy." Jim said. Not that he could claim he was that she'd become a cop.
"I am." she replied.
***************
It was just a coincidence that both Jim and Detective O'Brien were both absent, Blair thought, when he entered the Bullpen with Naomi. After all, Jim wasn't expecting him to drop by with his mom and it was lunch time.
"He went to the park for lunch." H called.
"Thanks." Blair grinned.
"So did Detective O'Brien." Rafe said.
"They went together?" he asked. Not that it meant anything it they had. Jim could justbe being friendly. Yeah, right! Since when had Jim been friendly with a total stranger.
"He left then she did," Rafe said. "I never had him down for that fast a mover."
"What do you mean?" Blair asked.
"I overheard them talking about meeting up later in the break room." Rafe said.
"Sweetie, I've had a long flight and Jim wasn't expecting us to drop by." Naomi said.
"Sure, Mom." Blair said.
"We'll tell him that you dropped by." H said.
****************
"Hey, Jim," Joel said. "No Blair?" He looked at the young woman who was with Jim.
"He's picking his mom up from the airport." he replied.
"So you thought you'd grab some junk food." Joel laughed.
"Something like that," Jim said. "Joel, this is Ria, Ria, Detective Joel Taggart."
"Detective." Ria said politely. So this was the man who was going to be her partner, she thought, he obviously had no idea who she was. That meant that he could get the wrong idea about what she was doing with Jim.
"I used to serve with Ria's dad in the military." Jim said when he saw the questioning look on Joel's face.
"Quite a coincidence that you both came here for lunch." Joel said.
"When I was a kid my dad brought me here all the time for picnics," she smiled, "I was just looking around when I bumped into Jim." Not that she really expected him to believe such a lame excuse as that.
"Well, I'd better be going." Joel said.
"See you later." Jim grinned.
*****************

Words

2008-09-03T05:15:37Z

Title:Words
Author:ellisedesade
Characters: Kavanagh, OFC.
Relationships:
Rating:
Warnings:
Spoilers:None
Summary: Unbetaed
Disclaimer: The characters. settings etc are not mine, apart from Meri.

PRompt, Kavanagh wins a noble prize.

    He’d only started writing as a way to pass the time on Midway, mainly because there hadn’t been a great deal else to do, and because it was a hobby that didn’t take up a great deal of space. No one had known what he was doing at the time and if they had then they probably would have made fun of him like they’d always done.
    The fact that he’d got anything published had been by accident. He’d written to complain about the scientific inaccuracies in a book he’d read, and the person who had got his email had told him that if he thought that he could do better to send then something that he’d written, He hadn’t sent anything, but he had been baby sitting Bill Lee’s kids and they had obviously played around with his laptop. The next thing he knew there was a very pretty brunette standing on his doorstep offering him her business card and explaining that while they were just a small publishers they would really like to publish his novel. To begin with it he had thought that it was a joke, especially as her name had been Meredith McKay. As it had turned out she was on the level and he had decided that he might as well let her publish it.
    His first book had been published under a pseudonym just in case it had flopped, and he hadn’t wanted anyone at the SGC to know what he was doing in case they found some reason to stop him. However, it had sold steadily to begin with then one of the various book clubs on TV had chosen it as their must read book. He’d come back from spending a month at Area 51 to find Meri, as he had started to call her, fending off requests for interviews and offers from film companies. He’d also discovered that it was the most requested book on the ship to Atlantis list. A part of him had got a huge kick out of knowing that people who had once looked down on him were now enjoying something that he had come up with. At the point everyone at the SGC had still thought that he was just another scientist, and for some reason they had assumed that Meri was his girlfriend due to the amount of time that they were spending together. Taking her to the annual SGC picnic had probably given them that idea, but it had been the only chance that he’d had to talk about his next book.
    By the time that his next book had come out he and Meri had got married. Bill Lee had been his best man, because he hadn’t known who else to ask. He had sent McKay a slice of wedding cake and a photo of Meri and the house that they had just bought. McKay hadn’t bothered to write back. It was then that he had decided to quit the SGC and concentrate full time on his writing. The first person that he had told of his decision after Meri had been Bill Lee. Still, there had been more than a few surprised people at the SGC when he had given his first public interview. He had only started to relax when he had seen Meri sitting in the front row. Everyone had thought that the story of how they had got together was sweet, and the interviews after that had got easier.
    It was Midway that was responsible for his latest award. He hadn’t even known that he was being nominated for it until he had for a phone call from the head of the judging committee to tell him that he had made the final shortlist. Of course had had always dreamed of winning one, every scientist did. Still, when it came down to it, it really didn’t matter what he won it for, because he had won one before McKay. He could just imagine the look on McKay’s face when he heard the news. He wasn’t supposed to have told anyone outside of his immediate family, but there was no way that he couldn’t have told Bill, the man and his family were his and Meri’s family now. His own family had just sent begging letters, not even bothering to ask how he was. Still, they had never been interested in the fact that he had wanted more out of life than them. He sent regular checks so that his parent’s bills would be paid, but beyond that he stayed as far away from them as possible.
    “Where’s my speech?” he asked, going through his pockets. Meri had told him that he had to wear a suit for this, even though he didn’t wear them any more. The first thing that she had done after they had got married was to go through his wardrobe and throw out all his clothes that she didn’t like, then she’d gone and bought him some that made him look more relaxed.
    “Inside pocket,” Meri replied, “you put it there for safe keeping. Now you had better hurry or you’re going to be late.”
    “I keep thinking that I’m going to wake up and all of this has been a dream,” he said.
    “They’re calling your name,” she said, “and don’t forget to tell them what you’re spending the prize money on.”
    “Are you sure that it’s okay to give it all away?” he asked. They didn’t really need the money, and he did want to do something that would help people.
    “I’m sure,” Meri smiled, “and I still think it’s a wonderful idea.”

    Nervously he stepped out on to the stage with the other recipients, most of whom were scientists. None of them were particularly bright some of their theories were years behind those that he had been working on in Atlantis, but his work there was still classified. Maybe one day he would get another one for that work.
    He’d only come to the actual ceremony because he’d never been to Sweden and this was probably the last overseas trip that he and Meri would be able to take for a while, because they had just found out that they were going to be parents.
    “And this years winner Noble prize for literature is Dr Calvin Kavanagh,” the announcer said.
    He stepped forward making sure that he had his speech ready. To begin with it had run to ten double sided pages, and then Meri had cut it down to one side of A4. All he needed to do was include the most important things, such as who he wanted to thank, and what he was going to do with the money.
    “I would just like to say that this a great honour for me, and I would like to thank my wife for her support, Bill Lee and his family for becoming my family,” he said, “the prize money is being donated to the US Marine Corps family welfare fund. Thank you for this honour.” It hadn’t taken him long to decided where he had wanted to give the prize money. There had been a lot of marines on Atlantis, and surprising he had become friends with some of them, and not all of them had made it back to Earth in one piece.


                      Three weeks later

    “What is all of this?” Rodney demanded to know entering the room where he would be watching the prizes being given out and seeing the bottles of champagne and snacks set out on tables.
    “A special delivery courtesy of a former colleague of yours,” Woolsey replied, “they thought that you might like something other than warm beer and popcorns while you watch them receive their award.”
    “Which former colleague?” he asked. He had been looking forward to this, if only so that he could point out how the stupid the recipients were compared to him. If someone had won a prize using the work that they had been doing in Atlantis then it was going to bring a barrage of complaints from every scientist in the city and he would be at the forefront demanding that his work be declassified.
    “They would prefer to remain nameless for the time being,” Woolsey said, “they believe that it would spoil the surprise.”
    “I hope that there’s no lemon in those snacks,” Rodney said. He couldn’t think of anyone in Atlantis apart from himself who was even remotely capable of winning a prize. Obviously the judges had been more stupid then normal this year.
    “All the snacks have been thoroughly tested,” Woolsey assured him, “now if you would like to take your seat...”

    “This is a big deal on your world?” Ronon asked.
    “For the scientists it is,” Sheppard replied. He’d only come to see Rodney’s reactions as the prizes were handed out. The champagne and decent snacks were a bonus. “Rumour has it that someone who used to work here has won a prize,” he added. He didn’t know who or what for, but it was bound to get a reaction from Rodney.
    “Who?” Ronon asked.
    “No idea,” he admitted, “but McKay’s not going to be happy about it. He really wants to win one.” Of course that wasn’t going to happen until the stargate programme had been declassified.
    “So he’s not going to be happy if someone else has won one,” Ronon said.
    “Definitely not happy,” Sheppard said. Whoever it was would probably be grateful that they were in another galaxy when Rodney found out that they had beaten him to a prize.

    “What’s Kavanagh doing on that stage?” Rodney demanded to know.
    “Perhaps he is collecting an award on behalf of someone else,” Radek suggested.
    “The only reason you wouldn’t collect it yourself was if you were dead,” Rodney said, “and even that wouldn’t stop some people.”
    “He is looking well,” Radek said, “marriage obviously agrees with him.”
    “Who on Earth would be stupid enough to marry Kavanagh?” Rodney asked, “What is she some sort of secretary at the SGC?”
    “HE has not worked there for almost two years,” he said, “he said that he had sent you a letter about it.” He had been surprised when Kavanagh had written to him, but he had assumed that he had merely wanted to keep in touch with a former colleague. The news that Kavanagh had decided to quit the SGC had not come as that big a surprise to him, it had been obvious from his letters that he had not been happy there. “He no longer works as a scientist,” he added.
    “He was never one when he was here,” Rodney said, “he can’t be…”
    “It appears that he is,” he said.
    “It’s not fair, I should have won it,” Rodney protested.
    “It is for literature,” Radek said. Not that that was going to stop Rodney from going one about it for the foreseeable future.
    “How could they let him win before me?” Rodney snapped.
    “You have not written any books,” he replied.
    “Books what books?” Rodney demanded to know.
    “I will lend you mu copies,” Radek assured him.
    “If I’m in them I’m going to sue,” Rodney said.

Naughty or Nice part 5/5

2008-07-05T11:53:33Z

Title:
Author:ellisedesade
Characters: Kavanagh, Lorne, Ronon, OFC.
Relationships: Leading to Kavanagh/Dex eventually.
Rating:Adult in some places
Warnings: Angst
Spoilers:None
Summary: Unbetaed
Disclaimer: The characters. settings etc are not mine, apart frrom Opi, Tali, Sarah and Newton the cat

It looked as if they were going to have their hands full all might, Evan thought, seeing Opi running ahead of Calvin and Ronon. All the squirt had been talking about for the past week was Christmas. Not that he could blame her, Christmas was a pretty big deal in their family, more so than Thanksgiving.
    From the amount of stuff that had been collected by Cal, he had definitely gone overboard. Amongst everything else there had been several dolls, something that he had never seen Opi play with, even back on earth. He suspected that Cal was going to be very disappointed if he was expecting Opi to suddenly become the sort of little girl who liked playing with dolls.
    Gift wise, he’d gone for the safe option of getting things that she could make a mess with, after all he wouldn’t be the one who had to clean up afterwards. He liked being the sort of uncle who did all the fun stuff. Although, there were probably times when Cal wished that he wasn’t. However, Cal was a lot more relaxed than he had been when he had first brought Opi to Atlantis. Ronon had definitely been responsible for that in a big way and so had time. It was like Cal was finally starting to believe the fact that Sarah wasn’t suddenly going to demand that he hand Opi back to her, not that he would have allowed Cal to just hand her back if that did happen.
    “She seems very excited,” Teyla said from beside him.
    “I would be as well if I were her age,” Evan admitted, “she’s going to get a lot of gifts tomorrow, plus there are going to be people dropping by Cal’s all tomorrow.”
    “It is a custom to visit friends on Christmas day?” she asked.
    “Some people do,” he replied, “I’m going to be spending most of the day there.”

    She was going to be the first one for the surprise, Opi thought, looking around and realising that her friends hadn’t arrived yet. The surprise had to be something really special because Tali didn’t know what it was and she knew everything that went on in the city. She knew that there were some things that Tali didn’t tell her, because she didn’t think that she needed to know them yet, like what Santa was going to bring her.
She’d written her letter to Santa weeks ago and Mr Elf had promised to deliver it personally to Santa. Then she had written another letter to Santa which her daddy had sent off for her. One of the things that she had asked for was a puppy. Newton was still going to be her friend, but if she had a puppy then it and Newton could be friends. Daddy had said that they would have to see about a puppy, that she might have to wait until she was older so that she could look after it properly. Santa knew that she was old enough to look after a puppy; after all she did a very good job of taking care of Newton when his daddy was away. Once she’d looked after Newton for a whole week by herself, and his daddy had promised to give her five dollars for doing that, Dr Becky gave her a dollar every time that she helped to clean the special mice out and daddy gave her pocket money every week. There weren’t any shops in Lantis so if you wanted to buy something you had to order it and then wait for it to be delivered. Uncle Evan had helped her to order things for people, but she had wrapped them all by herself. If Santa didn’t take them away while she was at the party then she would take them to people in the morning when daddy and Da were still asleep. People would be happy that she had bought them things. She hadn’t know what to buy Jinto and her other friends from the mainland, so she had got them something that would help them when they were hunting on the mainland. Da had said that he would take her hunting there one day, but she didn’t think that she wanted to kill anything that wasn’t a vampy.

    He was prepared to let a lot of things slide tonight that he normally wouldn’t have done, Calvin thought, putting the small parcels he was holding down on a nearby table. What was inside them he didn’t know, he just hoped that Evan hadn’t allowed Opi to get anything that might be dangerous for her friends.
    “It okay for her to run about like that?” Ronon asked.
    “For now it is,” he replied, “it might help to tire her out.” The tireder she was the later that she would hopefully sleep in the morning. Although, he was expecting to be woken up while it was still dark by Opi jumping up and down on the bed.
    “Told her that she can’t open her gifts until after she’s taken Newton his,” Ronon said, “should buy us an extra half hour in bed.”
    “Probably more,” Calvin said, “she’ll want Newton to open his gift and watch him play with it.” McKay probably wouldn’t be too happy if Opi turned up in the early hours of the morning, but he would humour her. It was strange but she and McKay were friends, and at times it was hard to tell which of them was supposed to be the six year old.

    “Dr McKay,” Miko smiled, “I did not think that you would be coming.” He usually considered parties as being a waste of time.
    “I promised Opi that I would be here,” Rodney replied, “and I wanted to drop her gift off.”
    “An envelope,” she said.
    “It’s not just an envelope,” he protested, “its picture of Tali, something that Opi has wanted for some time now.”
    “It is most fortunate that you were able to find one,” Miko said.
    “I had some help,” Rodney admitted, “once I explained that it was for Opi Tali cooperated.”
    “She is always very accommodating when Opi is involved,” she said. Several times Tali had made relevant material appear for one of her classed. At times it was almost as if she had an extra pupil in class, not that she minded. However, she had insisted that Tali could only help Opi with spelling and nothing else because Dr Kavanagh was concerned that Opi might become too dependant on Tali for help with her school work.
    “She looks a lot like Opi,” he said, “maybe that’s why she chose her to talk to.”
    “Or perhaps we were too busy trying to survive to listen to her,” she suggested, “and Tali is speaking to more people now, but I think that she and Opi will always have a special bond.”

    “What time is it due to arrive?” Sheppard asked, looking at the growing pile of gifts on the table.
    “Any minute now,” weir replied.
    “Any idea who it’s going to be?” he asked. He hoped that it was someone with nerves of steel because they were going to be mobbed by the kids, especially Opi.
    “No,” she replied.
    “You know, Rodney was disappointed that he wasn’t allowed to arrange to phone call for Opi,” he said. Personally he couldn’t see what harm it could have done.
    “I know,” Weir said, “but the IOC decided that it would be too big a security risk, and I’m sure that General Landry did his best to persuade them otherwise.”
    “You’d think that after she was almost killed by the teacher that they sent out here they would owe her something,” Sheppard said, “I mean Kavanagh got to bring her out here after almost being tortured.”
    “He still hasn’t said whether he wants to press charges against Miss Maynard or not,” she said.
    “I think that he and Ronon are still discussing it,” he said.
    “Something else that the IOC aren’t too happy about,” Weir said, “they think that it could be setting the wrong sort of example and that it could cause problems if the programme is ever made public.”
    “They’d better not say that anywhere near Ronon,” he warned her, “and no one has had a problem with their relationship so far.” People were a lot more tolerant that he had expected them to be.

    He could have turned down this mission, Caldwell thought, but it would have meant disappointing the children. A part of him did feel bad about having sided with Miss Maynard to begin with, or at least he knew that it might have looked that way to some people. Even if he still didn’t really approve of Dr Kavanagh’s daughter being in Atlantis, she certainly hadn’t deserved to be almost killed by an allergy.
    “What is that?” he asked seeing the box that Novak was holding. There was something alive in it, he thought, and that was not one of the gifts that members of the SGC had donated for the children of Atlantis.
    “Nothing,” Novak replied, “just something that Hermoid would like you to deliver to Opi.”
    “It’s alive,” Caldwell said,
    “Is it?” she asked.
    “Novak, if you don’t tell me what it is I’m not taking it to Atlantis,” he said. It was bad enough that he had to wear this stupid costume and beard without also having to take livestock to Atlantis.
    “A puppy,” Novak replied, “he’s had all his shots.”
    “What sort of dog is it?” he asked. Not that knowing meant that he would be taking it to Atlantis.
    “A giant maso mastiff,” she replied, “it’s a tiny little dog, and no one will even know it’s there.”
    “How did it get a puppy?” Caldwell asked. Obviously Hermoid hadn’t been able to go to a breeders and get one.
    “The internet,” she replied.
    “The internet!” he exclaimed.
    “Hermi’s using it to study human culture,” Novak said.
    “And why isn’t it here?” he asked.
    “He’s bidding for something on EBay,” she admitted.
    “If I take that animal to Atlantis I will be…” Caldwell began.
    “Proving that Santa really does exists to Dr Kavanagh’s daughter,” she said, “and to all the other children in Atlantis.”
    “It is Christmas,” he conceded, and the sooner that he got to Atlantis the sooner that he would be able to change out of this costume.

    “Is the surprise here yet?” Jinto asked.
    “Not yet,” Opi replied, “and Tali still doesn’t know what it is.”
    “Open your present,” he said. She’d told him that you were supposed to open them as soon as you got them.
    “Da says I’m not allowed to until tomorrow,” she said, “or Santa won’t come.”
    “He won’t know,” he said. He didn’t understand why it should matter when she opened them.
    “One shouldn’t matter, should it?” Opi asked.
    “No,” Jinto replied, “and you can tell your Da that I told you to open it. You already have a table full of presents Santa can’t take those away, can he?”
    “I don’t think so,” she replied, as she started to open the gift she was holding.
    “I made them myself,” he said. Opi had often told him that she wished that she had banto sticks like his, so he had made her some.
    “My own fighting sticks,” Opi said excitedly, “thank you,” hugging him.
    “I put a special design on them so you’ll know they’re yours.”
    “I’m going to be the best stick fighter ever with these,” she said, letting go of him.
    “You’ll have to practice a lot to be as good as Teyla,” Jinto said.
    “I will,” Opi said, “I’m going to practice every day now, then I can help Da fight the vampys.”
    “You have to be older to do that,” he said. His father had told him that he would have to wait until he was older before he would be able to fight the wraith, and that fighting wasn’t something to play at.

    “Welcome to Atlantis Santa,” Weir said, struggling to keep a straight face at the sight in front of her.
    “Merry Christmas Dr Weir,” Caldwell said.
    “Your box is leaking,” she said, as a trickle of water landed on the control room floor.
    “I think that I should deliver it and the rest of the gifts as soon as possible,” he said.
    “The children are in the mess hall,” she said, “it’s been quite a struggle to keep your visit here a secret.” From what she had seen in the mess hall the children had no idea what the surprise was. She suspected that Tali had chosen not to reveal it to Opi and she was grateful for that. “They children are all very excited,” she added, “so I would be prepared for that.” She was expecting Opi to lead the rush to get to Santa as soon as he had entered the mess hall.

    “Santa,” Opi screamed excitedly.
    “Calm down,” Evan said, making a mental note never to stand this close to her when she was this excited again.
    “But it’s Santa,” she said.
    “I know,” he grinned. Although, Santa did have more than a passing resemblance to Colonel Caldwell. He couldn’t help but wonder how the Colonel had been persuaded to play Santa.
    “That box is mine,” Opi said.
    “Try not to be too disappointed if it’s not,” Evan said, “and watch your manners.” Most of the time Opi was very polite, but when she was this excited she would probably forget that she was supposed to say thank you when someone gave her something, “and don’t forget that you’re not supposed to open it until the morning,” he added as Opi headed towards where Santa was setting up. Hopefully the other kids would follow her lead, because at the moment it looked as if they didn’t really know what to make of Santa. Still, Christmas wasn’t an Athosian festival so they were bound to be more than a little wary of the stranger who was dressed all in red.

    “Is she gets anything else it’s going to be next Christmas before she’s opened them all,” Calvin said, looking at the table that was almost filled with gifts for Opi. It looked to him as if everyone in the city had got her something. However, he couldn’t help but wonder how many people had got Opi a gift simply because they wanted something from Tali and Opi was the only way that they were going to get it.
    “Don’t think it’ll take her that long,” Ronon said.
    “Maybe not,” he admitted, “but I really hope that big box isn’t for her.” He was starting wish that he hadn’t bought her as much as he had, still, if she did end up with two of something then he could always pass it on, he was certain that people wouldn’t mind if he did that.
    “Why not?” Ronon asked.
    “Because it’s moving,” Calvin replied, “and getting someone a pet for Christmas is a really bad idea.” Besides, he thought that Opi was too young to look after a pet of her own.
    “What are we going to do if it is for her?” Ronon asked.
    “I don’t know,” he replied. If he said that Opi couldn’t have it then he would look as if he was being cruel, but he knew that he would be the one to have to clean up after whatever it was while Opi was at school.
    “Might be good for her to have something to be responsible for,” Ronon said, “she’s done a good job with McKay’s cat.”

    “Hello Santa,” Opi said, looking at the big box on the table. She really hoped that it was for her and that it was what she had asked for on the list that she had given Mr Elf. Daddy wasn’t going to be very happy if it was a puppy, but she would promise to take really good care of it.
    “Hello Opi,” he replied, “have you been a good girl?”
    “I’m always good,” she replied. At least she tried to be. She hadn’t done anything bad for a long time.
    “I’m sure that you have been,” Caldwell smiled, “your friends don’t look happy to see me.”
    “They’ve only just learned about Christmas,” Opi explained, “but they like getting things.”
    “Maybe you could help me,” he suggested, “be my assistant.”
    “Like an elf?” she asked.
    “Exactly like that,” he replied, “it’s a very important job.”
    “I can do important jobs,” Opi said, “I do them all the time in the lab.” Newton’s daddy said that she was the best helper he had ever had. Tali helped her sometimes though, but she didn’t think that she would be able to help her with this.
    “Why don’t you go get your friends,” he suggested, “because I can’t start handing out gifts until they’re all here.”
    “Okay,” Opi said. Jinto and the others would come and see Santa if she asked them to, especially when she told them that Santa wanted to give them something. “I won’t be long,” she added, running over to where Jinto and the others were stood watching what was going on.

    Looked as if Santa’s visit wasn’t going down too well with the Athosian kids, Sheppard thought, watching as Opi tried to persuade them to go and talk to Santa. It was pretty obvious that they didn’t trust the strange man, not that he could blame them. Santa probably looked pretty scary if you’d never seen him before. If Opi couldn’t persuade them then he would try to, because it would be a shame if they missed out on a big part of Christmas because they were afraid.
    He couldn’t help but grin as Opi started to drag Jinto towards where Santa was sitting. He had to give her credit for being so determined, although neither of her dads seemed too pleased about what she was doing. However Jinto didn’t seem to mind, if he had he would have made it clear to her.
    The ice looked as if it had been broken as several of the children followed Jinto over to Santa. Once the first gift had been given out the rest of the children started to crowd around Santa.
    “It looks as if Santa could use some help,” Weir said from behind him, “when he arrived he thought that it would be a good idea if you helped him.”
    “No problem,” Sheppard said. The kids loved him, so stopping them from mobbing Santa or trying to pull his beard off wouldn’t be that hard for him to do.

    “Can I open this now?” Jinto asked looking at the thing he had just been given.
    “Of course you can,” Caldwell replied, “and merry Christmas.”
    “What did you get?” Opi asked as Jinto unwrapped his gift.
    “I don’t know,” he replied, looking at the box.
    “It’s a chess set,” Caldwell explained, “a game.”
    “It’s the game Dr Zelenka plays,” Opi said, “but yours it way better than his.”
    “Why is it?” Jinto asked, wondering why he had got a game that he didn’t know how to play.
    “Yours is a star wars one,” she replied, “so you can play battles with it.”
    “I like playing battles,” he said, and he’d seen star wars, but he didn’t understand why Dr McKay called Opi’s Da Chewie when he looked nothing like the Chewie in the movie.
    “Santa knows things like that,” Opi said confidently, “I bet that everyone gets something they’ll like.”
    “I try and do my best,” Caldwell said, “now who is next on my list?”
    “Wex,” Opi replied.
    “Want to play battles?” Jinto asked.
    “I have to help Santa,” she said, “then I get my gift.”
    “Why don’t I give you it now,” Caldwell suggested, “then you can play with your friend. I’m sure that Colonel Sheppard will make a good stand in elf,” handing Opi the largest box, “be careful not to drop it,” he added.
    “Thank you Santa,” Opi said, struggling to carry the box.
    “What have you got?” Jinto asked.
    “I don’t know,” she replied, “I’ll open it in a minute.”

    He didn’t see why Calvin would have a problem with Opi getting a pet, Ronon thought, as he watched her and Jinto take the box she had been given to a corner of the mess hall. She was old enough to be responsible for taking care of one, and he was more than willing to help her does that. Families on earth had pets and Calvin was always going on about how it was important for Opi to know about earth and how things were done there. Not that his family would be going there any time soon, Atlantis was their home now.
    Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to go and see what was in the box, it didn’t take him long to find out as a bundle of fur ran towards him rapidly followed by both Opi and Jinto. Bending down he picked it up before it could run past him.
    “What is this?” he asked as they skidded to a halt in front of him.
    “My puppy,” Opi replied, “Santa gave him to me.”
    “Your father know?” Ronon asked.
    “No,” she replied, “and I’m not giving him back.”
    “You don’t have to,” he replied. It would be cruel to make her give it back and she would probably cry. He didn’t like it when she cried, not that she cried very often, but he never knew what the right thing to do in order to get her to stop.
    “I’m going to call him Ted after where you come from,” she said, “and he’s going to sleep in my bed.”
    “Your father might have something to say about that,” he said, “and you shouldn’t let him run around, he might get hurt. Think I should hold on to him for now.”
    “But…” Opi began.
    “You can have him back later,” Ronon said, stroking the puppy’s fur. There was something relaxing about it, “and don’t worry about your father.” He added. He could persuade Cal that keeping the puppy would be a good idea, and then he would train it.

    “Thanks for helping me,” Calvin said, as Evan helped him carry some of the gifts that had been left on a table for Opi.
    “Maybe this will convince you that people don’t have a problem with Opi being here,” he said, “one or two of these are for you as well.”
    “They are!” Calvin exclaimed.
    “You don’t still think that people are waiting for you to screw up, do you?” Evan asked. There was no way that Weir would send Cal and Opi back to earth now, not when Opi was Tali’s favourite person to talk to.
    “I don’t know,” Cal admitted.
    “People really like you now,” Evan grinned.
    “You’re sure it’s not just because they’re afraid of Ronon?” Calvin asked.
    “I’m sure,” he replied. While Ronon might step in if anyone was really threatening Cal for the most part he stayed out of arguments Cal was having with people.
    “My mom’s sent some gifts for Ronon,” Calvin said.
    “What’s wrong with that?” Evan asked.
    “She also wants to know when she can meet him,” Calvin said, “How am I supposed to tell her that’s never going to happen.”
    “You never know, it might,” he said, imagining the look on his aunt’s face when she saw Ronon for the first time, “and she is going to love him,” he added, seeing the look on Cal’s face, “she’s finally going to have someone in the family who can eat everything that she puts in front of them. The big problem is going to be my mom.”
    “Why is it?” Calvin asked.
    “She’s going to start asking why I haven’t settled down yet,” Evan replied, “then she’s going to ask Ronon if she can paint him naked.”
    “You’d better not be suggesting anything like that to Opi,” Calvin frowned.
    “It’s strictly landscapes and still life for her,” Evan assured him.

    “What was that for?” Rodney asked after Miko had hugged him. It was totally unlike her to express and sort of outward emotion.
    “Dr Weir has just informed me that that I am going to be in charge of the school for as long as I wish to be,” Miko replied, “the children will be very pleased about that, and it means that Opi will continue to attend.”
    “That is good news,” he admitted. Although, he had been prepared to help Kavanagh teach Opi if Miko had been replaced as the school’s teacher.
    “There is also going to be a proper budget set for the school,” she said, “it will not be a very big one, but it will mean that I no longer have to order supplies through other departments.”
    “It’s about time,” Rodney said. Not that he or anyone else had minded adding a few supplies for the school to their lists. Setting a budget was some thing that he thought should have been done as soon as the school had been set up. Expecting Miko to run the school on the good will of other people had only worker because she had been very good at persuading people to donate things. He had donated a couple of laptops and whatever stationary he had found laying around on Radek’s desk.
    “I am hoping to create a library for the children,” Miko said, “perhaps with books from other worlds. It would be very beneficial for the children to learn more than just fact and figures, languages could be very useful.”
    “Ancient would be very useful,” he said. Then he wouldn’t have to waste so much time trying to translate the database.
    “Yes it would,” Miko agreed, “Opi is already using it for some of her school work and she is very interested in learning other languages.”
    “Don’t forget that science should be her main focus,” Rodney said. He didn’t want her to become sidetracked, not when she was already showing so much promise in the field of science.
    “Opi will decide what she wants to do,” Miko said, “no doubt that will change as she gets older.”

    “That went a lot better than I expected,” Caldwell admitted after all the children had been given their gifts.
    “They’re good kids,” Sheppard said, “Can I ask you why you got her a puppy?”
    “It’s from Hermoid,” he replied, “and in case you hadn’t noticed Colonel, it’s Christmas.” He might have broken a few regulations, but he had also shown that he did have a heart after all.
    “I’d noticed,” Sheppard said, “and it probably pays to keep the city on your side.”
    “I am well aware of what she is capable of,” Caldwell said. By all accounts Miss Maynard was still suffering from the city’s attack on her. The smell was so bad that no one could stand to be in the woman’s presence for long. She had made some threats about suing, but had shut up when she had been warned that Dr Kavanagh could file criminal charges against her if he chose to and that she would probably be found guilty as she had bee told about his daughter’s allergy.
    “I think that what she did to that woman was just a warning,” Sheppard said, “she can tell when someone means to hurt Opi and when they don’t mean it.”
    “How do you know that?” he asked.
    “McKay’s still alive,” Sheppard grinned, “you should see some of the arguments they’ve had. One of them usually storms off when they realise that they’re losing.”
    “She sounds like a very determined child,” he said.
    “She gets that from her father’s,” Sheppard said.
    “They don’t seem to have done her any harm,” Caldwell said.
    “They would never do anything to harm her,” Sheppard said firmly.

    “Please tell me that you didn’t get her that,” Calvin said seeing the puppy that Ronon was holding.
    “Santa gave her it,” Ronon replied, “She’s calling it Teda.”
    “We don’t have anything for a puppy,” he said. It was going to need a bed, toys and food, and it wasn’t as if they could go to the nearest pet store to pick up everything that they needed.
    “I told her that she could keep it,” Ronon said.
    “Of course she can keep it,” he said. He couldn’t very well take away something that Santa had decided to give her.
    “Said I’d help her to take care of it,” Ronon said.
    “Do you have any idea what’s involved in taking care of a puppy?” he asked. Someone was going to have to clean up after it, and make sure that it was taken for a walk everyday. “Having a pet is a very big responsibility,” he added.
    “Figured it would be,” Ronon said, “can’t be any harder than having a child.”
    “You have nine months to get ready for a baby,” Calvin reminded him, “and we have none of the things that you need for a puppy.” Santa obviously hadn’t thought about the chaos a puppy could cause or how they were going to get supplies for it.
    “It’ll be fun,” Ronon said.
    “I’ll remind you of that when you complain about having to clean up after it,” he said. For some reason he had ended up being the serious parent, the one who made sure that the laundry was done and that Opi went to bed at a reasonable time, whereas Ronon got to do the fun things with her. Once Christmas was over he was going to make an effort to do fun things with her as well, but he seriously doubted that he would be able to compete with beating up marines.

    Santa was supposed to be magic, Opi thought, and he only ate cookies, but he was eating chocolate cake. She was starting to think that he wasn’t the real Santa. Still, he had brought her what she had really wanted, so maybe it didn’t matter that he wasn’t the real Santa. The real Santa was probably very busy, there were a lot of children that he had to visit on earth, but it would have been nice if he could have come just for a few minutes. She wasn’t going to tell her friends about it not being the real Santa because she didn’t think that they would understand. Maybe you had to be fast asleep before the real Santa came, so the sooner she went to bed the sooner that he could come and she would get the rest of her gifts.
    “Can we go home now?” she asked, looking as her parents.
    “Tired?” Calvin asked.
    “Teda is,” she replied. He was only little and he was going to need a lot of sleep if he was going to grow up to be a big dog. “And I want Santa to come,” she added.
    “Five more minutes and we’ll take you home,” Calvin said.
    “Can Teda sleep in my bed? Opi asked.
    “We’ll see,” Calvin replied, “You’re going to have to take really good care of him.”
    “I can do that,” she said.
    “Your Da and I will help you,” he said, “we’ll look after him while you’re at school.”

    She was fast asleep, Ronon thought, and so was the puppy. Now he and Calvin had to put out the rest of her gifts ready for the morning. Calvin had already warned him that she was likely to wake up very early and charge into their bedroom to wake them up. He didn’t mind that, it was part of being a parent. He still didn’t understand the whole Christmas thing, but he’d seen how happy she had been to see Santa earlier.
    “She’s asleep,” he said, “puppy’s on the bed.”
    “Probably the best place for it at the moment,” Calvin said.
    “So where are we going to put everything?” he asked, looking at the gifts. There seemed to be a lot more of them now, and they hadn’t got out the ones that Calvin’s family had sent.
    “I have no idea,” Calvin admitted, “but we should sort of bags for the paper and a laptop to make a list of who got her what.”
    “Why do we need to do that?” he asked.
    “For the thank you letters,” Calvin replied.
    “Another earth tradition,” Ronon said. They had a lot of those and not all of them made sense.
    “Not exactly,” Calvin replied, “but it is polite to say thank you when someone gives you a gift.”
    “Thank you,” he said, before kissing Calvin.
    “What was that for?” Calvin asked.
    “For giving me a family,” Ronon replied.