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B.J Sandburg Part Twenty-Eight.
"Well you're healing remarkably," Paul said, pulling down the front of Blair's nightshirt. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore," Blair remarked. "It hurts to move, it hurts to turn over, and you don't even want to know how it feels to go to the bathroom."
"I've heard it all before," Paul said, unimpressed. He made a notation in Blair's chart. "Now, what's all this I hear about you wanting to be released tomorrow?"
Jim exchanged a look with Blair. "You always knew we were on a timetable here, Paul," he said carefully.
The doctor looked at them shrewdly. "And the twins early birth hasn't changed that?"
"It's given us a bit more time than we thought we had," Blair said quietly. "But no, it hasn't changed matters."
Paul sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm not going to lie to you two. I don't approve of B.J leaving the hospital so early."
"We're only going to be at the hotel in town," Jim explained. "We'll be in every day to see the twins."
"You'll be sick of the sight of us," Blair joked weakly.
Paul shook his head and stood. "I'll clear you, but I'm not a happy doctor." He looked sharply at Blair. "The slightest hint of trouble you come racing back here, young lady, understood?"
"Understood," Blair said meekly.
Paul nodded to his ears. "Nice earings," he complimented. "But you might be more comfortable if Jim holds onto them for you. Hospital policy..."
"I was just wearing them for Jim's dad's visit," Blair explained, taking the sapphire studs out and handing them to Jim.
Jim slipped them into his jacket pocket as Paul left the room.
Blair blew out a sigh of frustration. "This is gonna be tough," he warned. "When B.J disappears he might cause trouble."
"I'll get Simon to talk to him," Jim nodded. "We have three more days before the change." He studied his partner with concern. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore," Blair said again. He shrugged. "And scared and worried. Explaining my absence is gonna be tough."
Jim sighed. "I know. But inventing a heart attack for your non-existent mother will delay things for a while. You and I will take the babies back to Cascade and finally explain that B.J couldn't handle the stress or something." He patted Blair's hand sympathetically. "I know it's gonna be tough on you."
"All my friends," Blair lamented. Then he shook his head. "I can't worry about that now."
"Hey," Jim murmured. "This'll all be over soon, and we can take the girls back home."
"Home," Blair sighed nostalgically. "Mom's right you know. We have to come up with some names for them."
Jim picked up the baby name book from the bedside table and began flicking through it. "How hard can it be?" he asked.
Blair chuckled. "That's what I said about pregnancy."
********
Jim stirred and woke, laying with his eyes half closed and listening to the wind picking up outside. It whipped past the hospital, tugging at the tree leaves and sending trash skittering down the street. It whistled eerily between the buildings, and Jim climbed out of his cot-bed, casting a glance at his sleeping partner. Going to the window he peered out through the heavy drapes, watching the odd wind bend and whip the trees, noting that even the few cars on the road at this time of night had slowed and were waiting out the freak gale.
In the darkened window Jim could see his own breath misting against the reflective blackness, and he blew on the glass, watching the mist form and fade to blue.
Blue?
Whipping his head around before the thought could form Jim caught the dull gleam of blue light as it surrounded his sleeping partner, hanging for a moment and then draping itself on his recumbent form.
Breath frozen in his throat Jim took one step, and then another, unable to make a sound as he approached the bed. The light was changing, glowing, throbbing like a heartbeat, and with a growing sense of wonder Jim watched as beneath its light Blair began to change.
There was no fear inside him as he watched, rather a growing sense of awe as the miracle that had become common place to them over the last year began to reverse itself.
Blair was changing back.
It only took a few moments in real time, but later Jim was able to describe every tiny shift as Blair's pointed little chin reshaped itself into a male firmness, as his dimples turned back into creases, as his brow broadened. His nose and eyes hardly seemed to change, more a subtle shift as the contours of his face relearned themselves.
"Blair," Jim breathed.
And then the blue light was fading, and Jim might have believed it was a reflection from the moon, except it left a very different form lying where moments before a young woman had slept.
Outside the wind died as suddenly as it had begun, leaving behind an eerie emptiness.
"Blair?" Jim whispered again, kneeling on the edge of the bed and venturing to touch. With wondering fingers he gripped the covers and tugged them back, revealing the familiar Jags t-shirt, now covering broad shoulders and a firm masculine chest.
Unexpected gladness filled Jim as he beheld his partner, snuffling and snorting a little as the cool air from the lifted covers teased around him.
"Welcome back, Blair," Jim whispered, tracing and relearning with his eyes that familiar form. Then on impulse he leaned over and laid a kiss on lips that didn't seem to have changed much at all.
"Mm," Blair purred awake. "What was that... for?" He trailed away, hand lifting to his throat, eyes flying open. "Jim?" he gasped.
"Hi, Blair," Jim murmured, gazing into his lover's familiar blue eyes.
Blair looked down at his hands in stunned shock, then raised them to his face, tracing high cheekbones and strong chin. "I'm back," he whispered. He pushed himself up hastily, looking down at his body. "Am I... back?" he gasped out.
Jim reached over and flicked on the lamp.
Squinting against the light Blair gazed down at his hairy arms in wonder. Then he looked up at Jim in dazed disbelief. "I am back!" he said jubilantly. He threw his arms around Jim and Jim hugged him back, hard, smiling at the exultant joy in Blair's face.
Pulling back, Blair kicked away the remaining covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed.
"Careful," Jim warned.
"I just have to check," Blair mumbled, scooting off the edge of the bed and lifting his t-shirt. With a chuckle Jim shook his head as Blair gazed down for long moments. "Boy, did I miss you," he said under his breath.
Suddenly he looked up at Jim, dropping the hem of the shirt. "But why has this happened now?" he beseeched.
Jim shook his head, still taking in the new/old face before him. "Maybe you miscounted?"
"Please," Blair said in disgust. "I think I can count three hundred and sixty four days, Jim." His eyes widened. "What if this had happened last week? When I was still..."
Jim cut him off. "But it didn't," he said firmly.
Blair sat back down shakily. "Nothing has happened the way it was meant to," he complained unsteadily. "This whole year has been one fright after another."
"But it's over now," Jim said gently.
"Yeah," Blair breathed softly. "For better or worse it's over now." He looked around him. "But this leaves us with a mess, Jim. B.J hasn't checked out yet, and I don't even have any clothes to wear to get out of here. What are we gonna do?" he appealed.
"We get you outta here now," Jim decided. "I'll go get your bag from the car, we'll get you into some real clothes and I'll drop you back at the hotel." He tousled Blair's hair fondly. "This is no big deal, babe. We'll manage."
Blair gazed up at him, eyes still blank with shock. "You kissed me," he recalled.
"I watched you change," Jim confessed, the moments of wonder still with him.
Blair's brow creased. "You watched?"
"It was incredible," Jim said in awe. He lifted a hand and touched Blair's cheek, already feeling the slight buzz of stubble beneath his sensitive fingers. "You changed, and yet you hardly seemed to change at all." He skimmed his thumb over soft lips.
Blair shifted beneath his hand, subtly shifting away. "Can you get my clothes from the car?" he asked. "I feel really... exposed right now."
Jim stepped back, putting some space between them, wondering what was going on in his partner's head.
"I'm sorry," Blair apologised awkwardly. "I just feel..."
"Of course you do," Jim realised. He reached out to stroke a wing of hair back and then changed his mind. Blair was understandably still in a daze from this unexpected development. He just needed a little time. "I'll be right back," he said, pulling his slacks on over his shorts and grabbing his jacket. "You'll feel better in pants," he half joked.
Outside the room Jim stopped and leaned against the wall, breathing deeply.
********
Blair covered his face with his hands, feeling the trembling throughout his body. Everything was getting away from him, and as usual he felt like he was two steps behind and rushing to catch up.
Why had this happened now? So many details about The Curse were vague, obscured by family myth and history, but this, this had always been something he could be sure of.
Three hundred and sixty-four days. Eleven lunar months.
Blair couldn't shake the feeling something was very wrong.
Jim's footsteps sounded in the quiet hallway and Blair straightened, not wanting to show a frightened face to his partner. Jim would need all his strength to cope with his own feelings about this change.
Jim pushed the door open and entered the room, closing it behind him and leaning against it. "We might have trouble," he said quietly.
Blair blinked in surprise. Had Jim done some quick thinking already? How could he come to that conclusion so fast? The least he could do was give them some time. Blair opened his mouth to make an indignant comment but was forestalled by Jim's next words.
"There was someone outside watching me," he said crossing to the window and peering out through the blinds.
"What?" Blair said in confusion, shaking his head to clear it.
"I think it was Drew," Jim said deeply, turning to look back at him.
"What?" Blair exclaimed, pushing off the bed and landing on his feet with a jolt that shook him with pain. He ignored it. "Drew? Did you see him?"
Jim shook his head, pulling out his phone. He tossed Blair's duffel bag on the bed and dialed a number. "Put some jeans on," he ordered. "And grab your wallet and ID. You need to be prepared with a story when the cops arrive."
Blair unlaced the bag with hasty fingers, rifling through until he found a pair of jeans. He carefully slipped them on while Jim talked earnestly down the phone to whoever was on duty at the local police station. He knew Jim had contacted them when they'd first arrived in town, reporting who he was and informing them of the whole Nelson Drew problem.
Ouching under his breath as he pulled the jeans over his hips Blair was confronted with the problem of not being able to button the damn things. His stomach was still pretty puffy. He settled for pulling the large Jag shirt he'd been using as a nightshirt over the gaping fly and slipping his feet into moccasins.
"They're on their way," Jim reported.
"Jim," Blair said urgently. "What about the twins?"
"I'm keeping an ear on the hospital lobby," Jim said grimly. "But I'd feel better if you'd go up to Maternity, stay with them." He pulled a small caliber pistol from his boot. "Glad I had this in the trunk," he said, holding it out.
Blair surveyed it with loathing, hating the thought of taking the ugly little weapon anywhere near his sleeping children. But then he thought of Nelson Drew, knuckles sliding over the swollen mound of his belly. With resolve he took the gun and checked the safety before slipping it in his pocket.
"We just can't get a break, can we?" Jim said, half smiling.
Blair gazed into those blue eyes, seeing all the love in them he'd come to expect over the last months, and finding it all seemed new and unexpected again. Tears prickled his eyes and his vision blurred as he took in his lover, his partner, the father of his children. "Keep safe, Jim," he whispered. Then he reached out and wrapped his arms around him, holding him close.
"You too, Chief," Jim said thickly. He drew back, and stroked a curl back from Blair's forehead, in a move that bought a pang to the young man's heart. Jim cleared his throat. "Take the bag," he ordered. "I don't even know how I'm gonna explain B.J's absence, let alone explain why you arrived now of all times."
Blair gathered up his duffel and began the long walk to the elevators. He'd exercised faithfully every day, but he was still in some pain as he paced the quiet floors to the elevator.
Maternity was quiet, only a lady in a blue apron mopping unenthusiastically at the floor and a night nurse who looked up in surprise as he exited the elevator. "May I help you?" she asked suspiciously.
"I'm Blair Sandburg," he said, for the first time in a very long time. He laid his bag on the counter and pulled out his Cascade Police I.D "Jim Ellison sent me up here, he's afraid his children might be in danger."
The nurse lifted a hand to her throat, the other hand dropping automatically to the phone. "Danger?"
"Please call hospital security," Blair advised. "And tell them Jim believes an escaped killer has tracked us to the hospital. Tell them I'm up here with the Ellison twins, but that I'd appreciate some back-up." With that he began walking to where the babies slept.
"Mr, er, Sir?" the nurse called.
"I know the way," Blair called back, pushing open the outer door and walking into the inner room. Because they'd been so early the twins were still constantly monitored, although they weren't in ICU any more. Crossing to their little plastic cribs Blair gazed down at them, unable to stop himself smiling, despite his worry.
The girls are safe, Jim, he thought. The rest's up to you.
********
The door was pushed open violently and a security guard stood framed in the doorway, hand on his gun menacingly. "Please step away from the cribs," he ordered.
Hands up Blair did as ordered. "My name is Blair Sandburg," he said clearly. "The babies father sent me up here to look after them."
"So the nurse said," the guard nodded watchfully as Blair stepped to the other side of the room. "But since no-one can find Mr. Ellison to ask him that, you'll understand why I'd rather be safe than sorry."
"What?" Blair blurted out. "I just left him downstairs!"
The guard nodded to the nurse behind him and Blair watched in frustration as she wheeled the twins out of the room.
"I have to watch over them," he said desperately. "Please can I show you my I.D? I work with Detective Ellison for the Cascade P.D."
The security guard blinked in surprise. "Detective Ellison?" he repeated.
Blair bit off a curse, lowering his arms. "Yes," he confirmed as patiently as he could. "May I show you the I.D?"
The guard nodded cautiously and Blair fished out his I.D and handed it over. The man scrutinised it carefully.
"I wish someone would tell me what's going on," he complained.
Blair edged to the door and glanced out, seeing the twins with two nurses in the next room. "Jim Ellison is a detective with the Cascade P.D," he explained. "He and... his wife were threatened by an escaped murderer named Nelson Drew."
"I read about him in the papers," the guard exclaimed.
"Yes," Blair seized gratefully. "I arrived here to visit the Ellisons and Jim thinks he spotted Drew outside. Now please, tell me, what's happened to Jim?"
"Well, I hate to tell you this," the guard said awkwardly. "But Mr. Ellison seems to have disappeared. And so has his wife."
"How can he have disappeared?" Blair asked desperately. "I was with him ten minutes ago!"
"The police were arriving as I was coming up here," the guard began. His radio crackled and he grimaced and lifted it to his mouth. "Hanson here."
Blair looked over at the twins again, torn between the need to protect them and his need to be by his partner's side.
"What's the situation up there?" a crackling voice asked.
"Detective Ellison's partner is guarding the children," Hanson said with a nod to Blair. "Any sign of the Ellisons yet?"
"No sign," the voice reported. "Of either of them."
Blair's heart sank. "Jim... Jim might be pursuing Drew," he said weakly, leaning back against the wall for support.
"Are you all right?" the guard asked in concern.
"I'm fine," Blair bit out. "Did you hear me? He's probably gone after Drew."
"And taken his wife with him?" the guard said sceptically.
Blair clenched his fists in frustration. Dammit, would anyone even go looking for Jim? He bit his lips. There was nothing he could say that would convince anyone to stop looking for B.J. His job now was to guard their children.
"I'll stay up here with you," the guard offered. "I'm sure they'll turn up."
Blair tuned him out, walking painfully over to the twins, still fast asleep under the nurses watchful eyes.
"You really don't look so good," the guard said again.
Seizing a chair, Blair collapsed gratefully, putting his head in his hands.
Where was Jim?
********
Jim kept all his senses trained on the man ahead of him, now absolutely sure it was Nelson Drew. The escaped convict was running flat out, dodging though alleyways and pulling trash cans over behind him.
Jim pursued doggedly, his superior vision allowing him to dodge obstacles and clear puddles and potholes easily. Drew was panting now, shoes slapping heavily against the dirty pavement.
Finally he swung into an alley that had no end and triumphantly Jim skidded to a halt behind him.
He didn't have time to enjoy his triumph, because even as he leveled his pistol his Sentinel sight could make out the gloating satisfaction in Drew's flat eyes.
A trap! Jim realised in alarm, just as movement and sound exploded next to him. His last thought was that he'd been right all along.
Drew had an accomplice.
********
Blair lifted his head at the sound of a familiar voice outside the room.
"Paul," he whispered. The nurses were feeding the twins but he couldn't spare them more than a glance as he groped his way to his feet and stumbled down the hall.
Dr Paul Hoffman was standing by the elevator, conferring grimly with the guard.
"Dr Hoffman," Blair called.
"That's him," the security guard pointed out.
Carefully Blair walked down the hall. "Dr Hoffman, may I speak with you?"
Paul studied him suspiciously. "Blair Sandburg?"
Blair nodded.
"I have to speak to the police," Paul said brusquely. "Perhaps we can talk later."
"Now, please," Blair insisted. His pain-killers had worn off, and every muscle in his body throbbed with pain, but he couldn't let Paul speak to the police without knowing what he was going to say.
"Fine," Paul sighed. He gestured to a pair of couches, but Blair shook his head, leading him instead to the empty room.
"You haven't spoken to the police yet?" Blair said urgently.
"I wanted to check on the babies," Paul said coldly. "I don't appreciate Ellison bringing his troubles to my door, but I won't stand still while they risk these children's lives."
"That's not going to happen," Blair vowed. "This trouble is not Jim's fault," he continued earnestly. "This is about Nelson Drew. I- I know B.J told you about him."
"B.J told me a lot of things," Paul nodded grimly. "But now B.J's missing. She didn't tell me about that."
Blair rubbed his brow. "Please," he said desperately. "You can't tell the police about what B.J and Jim asked you to do. It has nothing to do with what's happening now, and would only cloud the issue."
"You know what my issue is, Blair Sandburg?" Paul said ominously, stepping closer. "My issue is the night I told Jim Ellison his daughter was going to survive, his first thoughts were of you. Not his wife, but you. I have a feeling I've been set up somehow, and that B.J Ellison's life is in danger. Now I'm going to tell the police everything I know!"
"B.J is gone!" Blair hissed, throwing himself bodily in front of Paul as he moved to the door. "Neither you nor anyone else will ever see her again."
Paul froze. "What did you do to her?" he whispered.
"This," Blair said, lifting his t-shirt and grasping the open waist of his jeans.
"For god's sake," the doctor gasped in disgust, turning his head away.
"Look!" Blair ordered, peeling back the snowy white plaster low on his belly. With a grimace the doctor looked, then his eyes widened with shock.
"What?" He fumbled for his glasses, pushing them onto his face as he studied the small red line. "It's not possible," he gasped.
"And this," Blair continued, tugging down his pants to expose his thigh. "You saw this scar a dozen times when you examined me. You asked me about it and I told you I was shot helping Jim, right?"
Paul didn't answer, he reached out with trembling fingers and traced the distinctive gun shot scar.
"Well that was true, but it wasn't as B.J I was shot, it was as Blair. That's a matter of public record."
Paul's gaze rocketed back and forth between the scars and Blair let him look his fill, swaying with worry and exhaustion.
"You wanted to know why we needed those babies delivered early," he continued lowly. "Well, this is it. I was running out of time and now that time is gone. I'm Blair again."
Paul lifted his searching gaze to Blair's face, studying it with a surgeon's exactitude.
"If I believe this..." he began slowly.
Blair tugged his pants back up, never taking his eyes from Paul's, silently willing him to believe the unbelievable.
"If I believe this," Paul said with tears in his eyes. "I'm admitting that everything I know, everything I believed in was a lie."
"No!" Blair protested. "You'll be admitting what man has had to face for centuries. That there are things he just doesn't know yet." He stepped closer. "Please, Paul. You trusted Simon. You've trusted Jim and I up to now. Trust us just this little bit longer."
"I trust the evidence of my own senses," Paul said faintly. "Until I can figure out a good enough reason to do otherwise." His voice strengthened. "What am I supposed to do now?"
Blair went limp with relief, only realising his legs had collapsed underneath him when he felt Paul's strong grip under his arms.
"You need pain killers," Paul said more gently.
"Speak to the police first," Blair ordered weakly, letting Paul help him to the couch.
"They can wait," Paul said firmly. He lifted Blair's shirt and pressed gently around the red wound. "What's happening inside you?" he said in wonder. "I sewed up organs you don't even have any more."
"I don't know," Blair admitted.
"Can you change back?"
Blair laughed weakly. "Doesn't work that way, Doc."
"You could be bleeding internally," Paul said sharply.
"I know," Blair said simply. "And I'd really appreciate your help. But for now the police are gonna want to hear what you know."
Paul studied him grimly. "I don't know anything," he said quietly. "Anything I didn't read in the papers."
Blair closed his eyes in relief. "Thank you," he whispered.
Paul straightened. "Look after your children," he ordered. "I'll be back to take care of you soon."
********
"What do you mean she wasn't there?" a voice hissed. Jim's brow creased and he tried to open his eyes, aware that it was very important. "The plan was for me to draw Ellison out and for you to grab his bitch!"
"I looked for her," a light female voice said. "I even went up to the Maternity Ward. She wasn't there."
Maternity. Realisation flooded through Jim and the last vestiges of his drug-induced paralysis ebbed away. He kept his eyes closed and his neck limp, aware he might be able to use the element of surprise here. Drugs affected him differently as a Sentinel, and Drew and his accomplice might not be expecting him to awaken so soon.
He tested his bonds, exploring further with his senses.
His sense of hearing told him they were in a large place, a garage or a warehouse to judge by the echoes.
His sense of smell detected the scent of burned oil nearby, and his sense of touch felt slight heat emanating towards him. He was near a car that had recently been driven. This jelled with his internal time-clock that told him he hadn't been out long.
"We can't do this without her," Drew hissed.
"Sure we can, baby," the woman said reassuringly. "We kill Ellison now and we can track his bitch and their litter down any time."
Jim's heart froze.
"No!" Drew yelled. "It has to be now! They have to be together!"
"All right, baby," the woman soothed. "Whatever you say. I'll go back to the hospital in the morning, and see the way the land lies. No one ever notices the cleaning staff, as long as I'm pushing a mop in front of me I can go where I like."
"Okay," Drew said, sounding placated. "Ellison should sleep till nine at least. Gag him, and we'll go get his woman."
Jim concentrated on staying limp as a rough rag was wrapped around his face, cutting into the corners of his mouth as it was tightened. The car doors slammed and they were leaving.
Jim scanned with his hearing, detecting the sound of a large door swinging shut and the two heartbeats of his assailants driving away. Finally he could open his eyes and look around.
His eyes easily adjusted to the dim light, making out the contours of a loading bay, the concrete stained with years of oil and grease. Then his gaze sharpened and with a pang of real fear he took in the incendiary device on the concrete wall level with his head. The same device Drew had set in the basement of his house five years before to murder his wife. Jim didn't need to be a Sentinel to know it was packed with a violent accelerant that would burn at an intense heat.
He tugged at his bonds again, feeling no give in the tight ropes.
Blair, he thought. Take care, my love.
********
Blair shivered, eyes half closed as the pain-killer kicked in. Paul taped the bandage down and tugged at the hem of his shirt.
"We have to watch you closely," he advised. "The least sign of a problem and I'm opening you back up to see what the hell your insides look like."
Blair shook his head. "We can't worry about that now," he insisted. "What about Jim? Any word?"
Paul shook his head. "The cops are treating this like a double kidnapping, and they've already contacted the FBI. Someone called Simon before I could too, he was enroute when I reached him on his cell phone."
"As long as they don't find... Jim's body," Blair stuttered. "Then there's a chance he's alive. He turned his gaze on Paul. "When Simon arrives I need to go out there and look for him."
"You're not going anywhere," Paul said firmly. "What do you think you can do that Feds and cops can't? You're recovering from major abdominal surgery, B.J. I mean Blair." Paul shook his head. "How the hell has Simon lived with this knowledge?"
"Pretty much as you are now," Blair half smiled. His brow creased again as his thoughts spiraled back to Jim. "Where could he be? Where would Drew take him?"
"And why?" Paul asked. "I thought this guy wanted him dead?"
"He wanted us both dead last tine I saw him," Blair said absently. Then his brow cleared. "Maybe that's it," he realised. "Drew wants both of us."
"Well he's not gonna find B.J," Paul said wryly.
"And that might keep Jim alive," Blair said solemnly. "At least for a while."
********
"Sandburg?" A voice roused Blair and he shot to a sitting position, memory flooding back over him.
"Jim?"
"Just Simon," Banks said, sitting down next to him on the couch. "No news about Jim yet."
"The twins!" Blair realised. "I was supposed to be watching them!"
"They're fine," Simon soothed, pushing him back. "Two cops, two feds, and now Rafe and Brown are guarding them."
"Rafe and Brown?" Blair repeated, rubbing his eyes and glancing at his watch. It was only eight-thirty in the morning.
"We were on a stake out," Simon explained. "When the call came in we abandoned it and raced up here in my car."
"Thank you, Simon," Blair said gratefully.
"There are a dozen cops and Feds down there," Simon said lowly. "Looking for a police detective and his wife who's just given birth to twins. The press will be on this story in no time, and I don't know what to tell them."
"You can't tell them anything," Blair said urgently.
"Do you think I don't know that?" Simon said in disgust. "How sure was Jim that this was Nelson Drew?"
"As sure as Jim is about anything," Blair returned. "Who else could it be?" Blair confided his theory about Drew wanting both of them and Simon heard him out.
"It's a moot point," he shrugged. "As there's no B.J to even draw him out any more."
"What will he do when he hears that he's supposed to have kidnapped her as well?" Blair asked fearfully.
There was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal Henry Brown. "Blair!" he exclaimed in surprise. "When did you get here?"
"Never mind that," Simon dismissed. "What's up?"
Henry's face turned grim. "They found Jim's gun, in an alley on the outskirts of town. There was a can of some kind of gas nearby. Forensic is all over it."
Simon nodded. "Thanks."
"Nice to see you, Blair," H called as Simon shut the door.
"That's how they got him," Blair said grimly. "Lured him out and then trapped him." Blair frowned. "I can't believe Jim let Drew get the drop on him like that."
"If he had gas," Simon broached.
"Or that accomplice Jim's been talking about," Blair said excitedly.
Simon shook his head but Blair persisted.
"Come on, Simon, we don't have anything else."
"I'll broach the idea downstairs," Simon agreed. "You stay here and get some rest, okay?"
Blair lay back meekly. "Okay."
"Oh, and Sandburg," Simon said, turning at the door. "Like H said. It's nice to see you."
"Thanks, Simon," Blair said, waiting until the captain was gone before climbing to his feet. He still ached all over, but the pain-killers were doing their job. He pocketed the bottle Paul had bought up, then crossed to the door, opening it and looking out.
"Blair!" Rafe greeted from down the hall, and Blair sketched a wave.
"Forgot to tell Simon something," Blair called back before the detective could walk over to him. He hurried to the stairs and pushed the door open, escaping the floor. The clinic wasn't large, so there was only one flight down to the ground floor.
He pushed open the ground floor door and looked around. Men in suits leaned over the reception desk barking into the phones. A woman in a dark suit was studying a map, and another taller man was standing next to her, nodding his head. Blair pushed open the door and turned towards the emergency section, where he knew there was an exit.
He had no idea where he would go from here, he just knew he had to follow his instincts and look for his partner. The twins were in safe hands, now it was his mate who needed help.
Outside the emergency room was a low wall and Blair sat down for a moment behind the cover of some trees, catching his breath. At this time of the morning the area was deserted, and he sat for a moment in the morning sun, weighing up his options.
Someone pushed open the same door he'd exited from and Blair sank back into the shadow of the overhanging bow, not wanting to be seen or questioned. It was just a cleaning lady, mop and bucket in hand. Blair relaxed, watching absently as she pushed the wheeled bucket to a corner and then abandoned it.
Attention caught, Blair watched as she stripped off the blue apron and crumpled it in her fist. He studied her face for the first time and with a frisson of shock he recognised her from the night before on the Maternity Ward.
She's just finishing her shift, Blair told himself, heart beginning to beat.
All the same, he climbed to his feet and dogged her footsteps as she followed the concrete path around to the back of the hospitals. That fitted with her cleaning lady image, around the back were the kitchens and the service entry.
And there, parked behind a closed service door was a red convertible, and with a contemptuous flick the woman flung the apron in the back seat and vaulted into the car.
Blair had only seconds to memorise the license tag before she was starting the car, revving it with a twist.
Then he turned his back, running as fast as he could manage around the building. She'd have to follow the service road around the back of the clinic and emerge out the front gate. If he could get there in time he could warn someone, hijack a car, follow her.
Anything.
But his body let him down as he reached the parking lot, and he collapsed against a wall, sobbing with pain and frustration.
"Godammit!" he seethed, tears trickling from his eyes.
And then he heard the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard in his life, save for the first cries of his children.
"Sandy?"
He looked up and there was Megan Connor, idling next to him in a rented car.
"What are you doing out here?" Megan was asking incredulously.
Blair stumbled to the car and climbed in the passenger side.
"Red convertible," he wheezed, pointing to the car disappearing around the corner. "For god's sake, Megan, just follow it, please."
Megan's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline, but she obediently put the car in gear and began following.
"Good to see you too, Sandy," she said mildly. She shot him a glance. "You look like shit by the way."
Blair laughed shortly, eyes on the convertible as they rounded the corner and caught sight of it again. "I've felt better," he confessed. "Jim's been kidnapped."
"Bugger me!" Megan exclaimed.
Blair huffed a laugh, pressing his hand to his belly in pain. "God, I've missed you!" he exclaimed.
"Ditto," Megan said complacently, speeding up as she approached a light. She made it through as the light turned red, and then slowed down to a more sedate speed, keeping a good distance between herself and the car. "Now, tell me what's going on?"
"Nelson Drew," Blair said shortly, knowing she'd recognise the name. He'd told her about the attempt on their lives on the phone himself, weeks before.
"That bastard," Megan cursed richly.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Blair asked, beginning to think again.
"Thought I'd surprise Beej and Jim, didn't I?' she said laconically. "When Jim phoned me and told me the good news last week I got a friend to look out a stand by ticket for me. Forty-eight hours and three countries later, here I am." She shot him a quick look. "And still I look better than you," she retorted.
Blair's attention was focused on the red car as it flashed its turning lights and turned down a road into an industrial area. "Careful," Blair warned.
"Hey, I'm the expert," Megan twinkled. "We'll save Jimbo and I can get to hold my godchildren and hug my friend before lunch."
Blair shot her a guilty look then started in surprise. "godchildren?"
"After I save Jim's life?" Megan said incredulously. "Of course they'll ask me to be god mum."
"Save Jim's life and you can be anything you want," Blair said fervently.
Megan pulled out a phone. "About time we called for back-up, I think." She looked around. "Where are we anyway?"
********
"I'm telling, you, Nels! They're looking for her. They're saying you've taken both of them."
Jim tuned into the voices in the next room, still pulling fruitlessly at his bonds. His hands were slick with blood, but his wrists were now swollen, so pulling them free from their bonds was out of the question.
"It's some kind of trick," Drew dismissed.
"I don't think so. Something weird's going on."
"Let's see what Ellison has to say about that."
A door slid open and Jim heard the two of them enter the loading bay, the woman pausing by the door. He debated whether to continue feigning unconsciousness, but a swift kick in the shins from Drew decided him. He opened his eyes and found himself glaring into Drew's muddy gaze.
The man seemed bigger than he remembered, but then Jim had never faced him while tied to a chair before. There was a vicious gleam in that muddy gaze and Jim braced himself, thanking whatever fates had decreed Blair would change back last night. He was safe now.
As if thought alone conjured him up, Jim heard Blair's heartbeat at the same time as a faint footfall reached his sensitive ears. With mounting terror Jim tuned in on Blair's breathing and scent. His partner was just outside.
It was vital he distract Drew now and with a nod Jim gestured behind him with his head. "Who's your accomplice?"
Surprise flared in Drew's eyes.
"I always suspected you had help torching your wife," Jim continued pleasantly, playing for time. "I knew you weren't smart enough to pull off a job like that alone. And there was that accelerant too."
Drew looked over Jim's shoulder and then a woman appeared, stepping into Jim's line of sight. With a thrill of horror he recognised her from the hospital. She was on the cleaning staff, and he'd seen her several times.
"I suppose you saw me when I gassed, you," the woman said pleasantly. Jim studied her curiously. She was an ordinary looking woman about Drew's age. You could pass her on the street and forget her instantly. But her eyes gave away her intelligence. Jim realised he'd been right on the money accusing Drew of not being intelligent enough to pull off his wife's murder. He was looking at the real brains of the outfit right here.
"I can't say it worries me finally being seen," the woman continued conversationally. "It's not like you're going to tell anyone after all."
"Who are you?"
Drew struck out with a meaty fist and Jim's head sang with pain as it connected with his jaw. "None of your business," the large man growled.
"You were right about the accelerant though," the woman replied. "I obtained it. There wasn't a thing tying Nels to the fire, he should never have been under suspicion. If you hadn't disproved his alibi he and I would have retired with a million dollars of insurance money." Her eyes gleamed. "We owe you for that."
"Where's your wife?" Drew said, slapping Jim's face again. The Sentinel shook his head to clear it.
"Where you'll never find her," he said in grim satisfaction.
"Why do the police think we have her?" the woman asked.
Jim stayed silent, tracking his partner's progress outside. He'd already detected Megan with him, and the knowledge did nothing to ease his mind. He liked Connor fine, but she was a hothead, and the thought of her and Blair together out there had him breaking out in a cold sweat.
"The hell with this," the woman pronounced. "Baby, let's just set the fire and leave. In all the confusion over his death, we can track down his wife."
Drew studied Jim's bloody face dispassionately. "I wanted to do both of them," he growled. "But I guess this'll do." He leaned over and breathed sourly into Jim's face. "This is for the five years Sharon and I were apart, you bastard," he hissed. "Hope you kissed that pretty wife of yours good-bye, but if you didn't don't worry about it. You'll see her soon enough."
"It's bad enough I'm gonna have to kill you, Drew," Jim murmured back. "Without having to listen to a lot of stupid talk from you first."
Drew curled his lip and straightened. "Light it," he ordered.
Suddenly the back door was flung open and Megan was rolling in, gun drawn. Blair's voice echoed around in a hoarse shout. "You're surrounded! Put your hands up!"
Everything happened at once. Drew bellowed and rushed towards Megan who coolly took aim and fired. The woman rushed to the device, skidding to a halt behind it. And Jim, fired by the sound of his Guide's voice, finally succeeded in rocking the chair over, rolling, still bound hand and foot behind the car.
"She's lighting the device!" Jim yelled, detecting the tang of lighter fluid.
"Back away or I will!" the woman called. "Nels?"
"He's alive," Jim lied. Nels heart had stopped moments after Megan fired her first shot.
"Liar!" the woman shrieked. "Get everybody out of here or I'll light this thing."
"Then you'll die too, Sharon," Jim coaxed. From the corner of his eye he could see Blair, crouching and crawling painfully towards him. His face was white with pain.
"Do you think I care without Nels?" she yelled.
Blair was behind him now, and Jim heard him begin to saw through the ropes on his ankles.
"Bar Mitzvah gift," Blair muttered.
"Move everybody back!" Megan yelled to the non-existent cops outside.
"They're leaving, Sharon," Jim called back, feeling the bonds loosen and then fall away. Blair collapsed behind him with a grunt of pain.
"Just a little more, Chief," Jim said, wiggling as best he could with his arms still bound. Outside he could hear the distant sound of sirens. Jim judged they were at least five minutes away.
"Nels," Sharon was moaning. "Answer me."
The knife bit though the last of his bonds and Jim reached around and gathered Blair to him, crawling along the length of the car and then making a rush for the door, Guide still hanging limply under his arm.
"God damn you, Ellison!" Sharon suddenly yelled, and, horrified, Jim heard the flick of her lighter.
"Get away!" Jim screamed at Megan moments before the world burst into flames.
"Jim!" Blair coughed, coming to life under his hands.
"I can see the door, Chief," Jim called, keeping low. Smoke choked him and the world dimmed as his eyes teared up. He stumbled, falling hard onto his shoulder, head ringing.
"I've got you," Blair yelled, trying to drag him along. Straining to his knees they crawled to the door, and then Megan was there, jacket over her head, pulling them the rest of the way.
Fierce heat still licked at them, but once clear of the warehouse doors the air was clearer and Jim gulped in huge breath full gratefully.
"Where the hell is that back up?" Megan choked.
Blair was on his knees panting painfully and Jim collapsed next to him. "You saved me, Chief," Jim gasped.
"You're welcome," Megan coughed. "Did that crazy woman just set fire to herself?"
Jim nodded, as a pair of squad cars roared up.
"Well who the hell was she?" Megan said, wiping her sooty face with her arm. "And was that Drew that I just took out?"
Jim bent over Blair in concern. "It was Drew," he confirmed. "But I have a favour to ask you, Megan." He cleared his throat, stroking Blair's hair back tenderly.
A cop skidded over. "Are you guys okay?" he panted, sleeve up against the smoke.
"We could do with a hand here," Jim said, reaching up and taking the young cops arm gratefully. More cars skidded up and in the distance Jim heard the wail of a fire engine.
"We need an ambulance over here!" the cop called. He helped them back against a safe wall and motioned the ambulance over.
"Megan," Jim prompted. "Favour."
"I just saved your life here, Jimbo," Megan said, breathing deeply. "What more can I do for you?"
"Forget you saw a woman here," Jim said seriously.
Megan paused mid choke and stared at him. "What?"
"In fact forget you saw anything here. You and Blair arrived as the place went up and I was crawling to safety."
Megan's eyes were growing wider and wider with each word. "What?" she sputtered.
Blair was reviving, leaning against Jim's shoulder. "It's important, Megan," he coughed.
Megan looked back and forward between them. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not gonna like what I hear next?"
********
"I don't believe this," Megan repeated. Dr Hoffman sat next to her, hands resting on the oxygen cylinder.
"Me either," he said gloomily.
"Now you know how I felt," Simon said wryly.
"I've had to live with this for a year," Jim interjected.
Blair made wide eyes behind his oxygen mask. "Bunch of wimps," he wheezed. "You should have tried it from where I was sitting."
"And now we have to act like B.J is dead?" Megan said dazedly.
Jim's mouth turned down. "We have no choice. B.J is dead."
"Are you fit to answer questions, Jim?" Simon probed.
"I'm gonna take the easy way out," Jim shrugged. "I won't remember a thing. And with the temperatures that fire reached in the warehouse, they'll be lucky to find anything bigger than a chicken bone anyway."
Blair reached out and laid a hand on his, squeezing it tight. Jim returned the pressure.
"This has to be convincing," Blair wheezed. "Our futures depend on it. And the future of the twins."
Megan shook her head, and nodded towards their intertwined hands. "And that's the hardest thing of all to get used to," she said.
Jim smiled. "I would have thought the same thing once. But you know what?" He wrapped his arm around Blair's waist and hauled him close. "It's easiest thing of all."
End of Part Twenty-Eight.
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