The Jamie Series #13

Bond.

by Gillian

Blair looked up from his books, instinctively sensing a change in the room's atmosphere. Jim was sitting in his favorite lounge chair with a book in his hand, but he was no longer reading it. Instead he was frowning over at Jamie's play corner, and Blair tracked his gaze, drawing in a startled breath when he saw his son. Jamie was sitting slumped over his building blocks, his small dimpled hands laying slack in his lap and his face expressionless, eyes glazed.

"Oh, no," Blair breathed, quietly pushing away from the table. "He hasn't done this for so long, I hoped he'd grown out of it."

Jim stood up too and padded over to the play corner, stepping through the open gate into the cushioned area. "I should have been watching him," Jim said softly. "I don't even know how long he's been like this."

"Not long," Blair decided, joining Jim, kneeling by his son's side. His instincts were telling him to snatch the boy up and clutch him close, to protect him from whatever had driven the life from his eyes, but he knew they could not act hastily. "I can tell that much."

Jim met his eyes for a moment and then nodded, trusting Blair's pronouncement. "I can't hear anything," he said, sitting cross legged next to the boy. "I can't tell what he's zoning on," he continued, his voice growing exasperated as he tracked his eyes around the room.

"Slow down," Blair counseled. "Look at it from his point of view."

Jim visibly tried to relax, closing his eyes and growing still as he focused. Blair clenched his hands, his mind telling him that Jim needed to do this, that they needed to know what the boy was zoning on. But his heart was screaming at him not to let his lover follow their son into whatever trap had him snared. Jim opened his eyes a moment later and Blair breathed a sigh of relief. Of course Jim had to follow Jamie, Blair lectured himself. He himself would do no less if he had the ability. All the same it was difficult sometimes, observing the bond they shared that he could never truly be a part of.

"Nothing," Jim said, meeting Blair's eyes soberly.

"We have to try to bring him out of it," Blair decided. "I don't want to wait any longer."

Jim nodded his agreement, and Blair carefully leaned over, stroking one gentle finger over Jamie's hands. "Jamie? Daddy's here, Jamie. Come back now."

Jim sat back and watched as Blair increased his touches, raising his voice until it was at normal level in the silent room.

"Papa esta aqui, Jamie. Daddy's here." Blair held his breath as the toddler's hands clenched under his stroking fingers, and then awareness was coming back to Jamie's face and he looked up at his father, a heart-breaking confusion in his eyes. Suddenly tears sprang into his eyes and he started to cry, loud wailing sobs that tore at Blair's heart like claws.

"Oh, baby," Blair exclaimed, scooping his son up and cuddling him close. Jim was exclaiming in dismay, and Blair felt his arms come around both of them as he rocked their sobbing son.

"It's all right, Jamie," Blair soothed, turning to look at Jim in concern. "He's never done this before," he said to his lover in concern.

"I know," Jim said, looking helpless as he rubbed comforting hands on his son's heaving back. "It's okay, Jamie, your daddies are here."

"What's the matter, piglet, hmm?" Blair said as the baby's wails decreased in volume.

"Baby Sean," Jamie sobbed, his words becoming more intelligible. "Baby Sean."

Baby Sean?" Jim said in puzzlement.

"Baby Sean is fine, Jamie," Blair said firmly, tilting Jamie's chin and gazing into his flushed face. "He's home with his mommy and daddy, and he's fine."

"No, no," Jamie sobbed, his wails dissolving to miserable tears as Blair rocked him helplessly.

000

Finally Jamie cried himself to sleep and Blair was able to carry him into his room and lay him on his bed. He carefully tucked the quilt around him and dropped a long kiss on his forehead.

Jim leaned over next, stroking one dimpled cheek tenderly. "Love you," he whispered.

They tiptoed from the room and turned into each others arms without a word, holding each other tightly.

"That was scary," Blair mumbled, pressing himself tightly to Jim.

"Maybe he was having a nightmare," Jim suggested.

"In a zone-out?" Blair asked, pulling back and looking at Jim curiously. "Have you ever done that?"

"No," Jim admitted. "But it is very disorientating. And that must be scary for Jamie."

"I guess," Blair agreed. He let Jim lead him to the couch and they cuddled up next to one another. "That doesn't explain the reference to Baby Sean though."

"No," Jim agreed, his expression closing off a little.

"Jim?" Blair pressed. "Tell me what you're thinking?"

Jim shrugged and Blair shook his head in exasperation. "I was just wondering if you've seen what I have," the anthropologist posed carefully. "This… bond between Jamie and Sean."

"Sean is a tiny baby," Jim said reasonably, pulling away from Blair and leaning back. "How could there be a bond there?"

"I suppose there couldn't," Blair agreed reluctantly. "I guess I put it badly. I just mean that Jamie seems very attached to Sean already."

"Jamie is just curious about such a little baby, that's all," Jim said.

"You think?"

"Yeah," Jim said, snagging an arm back around Blair and settling him next to him. "I do."

"But don't you find it curious…" Blair began, and Jim held up one hand.

"No, I don't," he said matter-of-factly. "We just have to face that there is some stuff Jamie might go through that we don't understand. We have to try to be here for him."

"We are here for him," Blair defended. "But at the same time we have an obligation to find out what this is all about." The younger man studied his lover's face. "Don't we?"

Jim sighed and nodded. "Yes," he said finally. "But I don't want to over play this thing with Sean."

"You admit there is something then?" Blair pounced.

"No, I don't," Jim said, shaking his head in amused exasperation. "What I think is that Jamie is a normal little boy with enhanced senses, and we have to treat him that way. We can't attribute every little thing he does to his senses, Blair."

Blair frowned thoughtfully, weighing up what Jim was saying.

"If he didn't have these senses would you be worried about his attachment to Sean?" Jim challenged.

"I don't know," Blair admitted slowly. "I would probably think it was cute."

"It is cute," Jim said with a smile.

"And what happened tonight?"

"We'll figure it out," Jim shrugged. "Now I need sleep, I'm exhausted."

000

Blair hurried through his morning routine, keeping one eye on the clock as usual. Jamie was sitting in his high chair, munching on a piece of toast. The little boy was quieter than usual this morning, although other than that he seemed fine.

Jim was shaving when the phone rang and Blair answered it absently, still absorbed in his worry over Jamie's behavior the night before.

"Blair?" Joel's voice answered his greeting.

"Hi, Joel," Blair said, focusing quickly on the conversation as he noted the exhaustion in the other man's voice. "What's up?"

"I'm at the hospital, Blair. Sean went into convulsions last night."

"Oh, my god," Blair said anxiously. "Is he okay?"

"Yes," Joel confirmed wearily. "He was running a high fever for a while, but the doctor says he's out of the woods."

"Thank god," Blair said, turning to Jim as his lover emerged from the bathroom, towel around his waist. Obviously tuning in on the conversation Jim stepped closer and laid a comforting hand on Blair's shoulder.

"Can we do anything to help, Joel?"

"Thanks, Blair," Joel said gratefully. "But I think we have everything covered. Thank god Letty is still staying with us, the girls are with her. Could you ask Jim to tell Simon? I don't know when I'll get into work."

"Don't worry about it, Joel," Blair assured him. "You know Simon will tell you to take as much time as you need. Kiss Angela for us, okay? And Baby Sean."

"I will," Joel promised, and then rang off.

"I started listening when I heard your voice," Jim explained, wrapping an arm around Blair in comfort. Blair leaned against him gratefully.

"He's okay. Thank god."

Blair looked up and met Jamie's somber little face across the kitchen table. Jim followed his gaze and cursed quietly under his breath before crossing the kitchen and scooping his son up, holding him close.

"Baby Sean is okay, Jamie," he assured the toddler. "He's gonna be just fine."

Jamie didn't answer, leaning his head on his father's shoulder and gazing at Blair.

Blair laid his hand on his son's back. "You were right about Baby Sean, Jamie," he said quietly, never taking his eyes from the child's somber gaze. "We understand now."

Jamie sighed and closed his eyes, snuggling against Jim's broad shoulder.

"Poor little boy," Jim commiserated. "This must be confusing for you."

Blair shook his head. "Oh no," he disagreed. "I think it's all very clear for Jamie, Jim. We're the ones feeling our way through all this in the dark. Jamie knows just what's going on, don't you piglet?"

The boy opened his eyes and smiled at his father, pearly white teeth gleaming. Blair sighed in relief at the familiar mischievous smile.

"Wish he was old enough to explain it to us," Jim grumbled, blowing a raspberry into the boy's tempting neck and smiling when Jamie giggled and squirmed in his arms.

"I have the feeling we will figure it out," Blair said, suddenly feeling completely overwhelmed by what they were facing. "I'm not so sure Angela and Joel will take it so well."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Jim ordered, depositing Jamie back into his high chair, and smiling as the toddler voraciously attacked his piece of toast. "This is probably just something he'll grow out of."

"You think?" Blair said skeptically.

"Sure," Jim said, avoiding Blair's eyes. "Don't go making mountains out of mole hills. Really, how serious could it all be?"

Blair studied Jamie in his high chair, buttery cheeks creasing as he happily crunched on his toast, dimpled hands crushing the crusts into crumbs. The toddler grinned toothily at him and Blair felt his spirits rise at the happy innocent face.

"You're right," he agreed with his lover. "How serious could it be?"

The End.

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