The Jamie Series #16

Gifts.

by Gillian

"Now that's more like it!" Jim said in awe, his nose pressed against the toy shop window.

Blair looked from his partner's shining eyes to the colorful array of toys in the display.

Jim whistled. "Look at the red Corvette." He pointed gleefully at the miniature car. "Can't you just see Jamie riding around the loft in that?"

"Uh uh," Blair said, shaking his head. "No way. No more toys."

Jim turned shocked eyes on him. "But, Blair, it's Christmas!"

"I don't care," Blair said ruthlessly. "That child has an obscene amount of toys, Jim. It's embarrassing."

"But... Christmas..." Jim said pitifully.

Blair narrowed his eyes against Jim's blatant attempts at manipulation. "I need coffee," he said, walking away. He followed his nose to the nearest cafe, confident that Jim would be behind him.

A few minutes later he was settled with a latte. He took a sip with a sigh of pleasure.

Jim settled opposite him with a steaming mug and giant cookie on a plate.

"So," he said around a bite of chocolate chips. "Christmas?"

"Jamie has boxes of toys, Jim," Blair began. "He has a box full he's already too old for that he has barely even played with. It's too much."

"Little children have toys, Chief," Jim pointed out.

"Yeah, but I don't want my son to grow up with an acquisitive nature," Blair said firmly. "He already has a problem with sharing at Day Care. That worries me."

"That's because he's an only child," Jim dismissed.

"It's because he has a kingdom full of toys, and serfs who are quite happy to keep him supplied with more." Blair sipped his coffee. "Jim, you know I am not a fan of Christmas. I have nothing against anyone's religious holidays, but I have grave objections to the commercialization of those holidays."

"So do I."

"I celebrate Christmas because you do. You don't want Jamie to grow up thinking it's all about take-take-take, do you?"

"Of course not. How about this then?" Jim said thoughtfully. " You say he has heaps of toys he doesn't use? Well, why don't we sit down together with him and sort through those toys. Pack them up and tell him we are donating them to little children who don't have any toys."

Blair thought about it for a second. "Really?"

"We could make it a family thing. Jamie might not understand right away, but he will get it eventually."

"I like it," Blair said in delight.

"And then there's that Christmas toy drive they are running at the station," Jim continued, warming to his theme. He groped in his jacket pocket and pulled out a cardboard star with a name on it. "You take a card with a child's name and age on it and buy them a toy. Then you put it under the tree."

Blair grinned and tugged an identical star out of his own pocket.

Jim raised his eyebrows and then grinned back.

"I suggest we go with Jamie and let him pick out another one. Then take him shopping. Like I said, he might not understand now, but if we make it a annual tradition, he will get it eventually."

Blair studied Jim with admiring eyes. "You making this up as you go?"

"Right off the top of my head," Jim said proudly.

"You're getting pretty good at this parenting thing."

"You think so?"

"I do."

Jim looked cunning. "So, can I buy him the Corvette?"

"No!" Blair tossed a wadded up paper napkin at him. "No Corvette!"

"Spoilsport."

000

"He checked behind the stove, and sure enough, there was a bag of cocaine," Jim said, pushing open the door to the bullpen.

"So what was the problem?" Blair coaxed, sensing a punch line.

"The fact that he had personally checked behind the stove ten minutes before and came up empty."

Blair whistled. "So, someone planted it?"

"Looks like."

Brown hurried towards them. "Bozos in suits at twelve o'clock," he hissed as he passed them.

Jim did a 180 degree turn and headed for the door. "I think I forgot something in the truck," he said quickly.

"Ellison!" Simon bellowed from his door.

"Too late," Blair chuckled. Jim assumed a hang dog expression and turned.

"Please don't let it be Feds," he muttered.

Blair followed Jim through the door into Simon's office. Two men in suits sat at the conference table. They stood up with their hands out as Jim approached them.

"Edwards and Rodrigo," The taller man said. "NSA."

"Ellison and Sandburg," Jim returned.

The darker man shook his head when Blair held out a hand. "Sorry," he said firmly. "Our business is with you, Detective."

Jim made himself comfortable at the table. "Blair is my partner," he said amiably. "He stays."

Edwards turned to Simon. "Captain Banks, we were assured of your co-operation in this matter."

"And you have it," Simon affirmed, joining Jim and Blair at the table. "Shall we begin?"

Edwards exchanged a look with Rodrigo who shook his head stubbornly.

Jim stood up. "You can look at it this way, gentlemen. This is an either/or situation. Either my partner stays or we both walk."

Rodrigo opened his mouth to speak but Edwards held up his hand. "Fine," he said impatiently. "But he stays for the briefing only, understood?"

"Be still my beating heart," Blair muttered.

Jim sat down.

Edwards opened a file and slid a large black and white photograph across the desk. "Look familiar?"

Blair felt Jim stiffen behind him. He reached out one hand and straightened the picture up. "Stone," he said tonelessly.

Blair peered curiously at the photograph. It was an army picture of a young man in a uniform. "Who is he?" he asked curiously.

"Samuel Stone," Jim returned. "He was stationed at the military base at Tingo Maria. Ten years ago I was in charge of an investigation dealing with drug smuggling at the base. Stone became a suspect and I had him under close surveillance." Jim broke off, staring hard at the picture.

Under the table, Blair laid a hand on his partner's thigh in a gesture of comfort.

"That wasn't your brief, was it, Jim?" Simon asked in puzzled tones.

"It was an internal matter, sir, I was asked to handle it. One night Stone murdered two members of the surveillance team and fled the country." Jim continued evenly. He flicked the picture across the shiny surface of the table. "Last I heard he pissed off the wrong person in Columbia and got his throat cut."

"Occupational hazard in Columbia," Rodrigo grinned.

"We thought the same thing," Edwards interjected. "Until this showed up in a routine surveillance four days ago."

Another picture was pushed across the table. This one was clearly a surveillance photograph, grainy and yellow. Stone was climbing into the back of a car, his face instantly recognizable.

"Where was this taken?" Jim asked with deadly force.

"Lima airport," Edward answered.

"Who was the surveillance on?" Blair asked curiously. He received a dirty look from Rodrigo, which he returned blandly.

Edwards pulled out more pictures and pushed them across the table. Jim studied them one by one, finally focusing on one with a dark-haired man shaking Stone's hand.

"I know this guy," he said slowly.

Edwards and Rodrigo exchanged quick glances. "You do?"

"Not his name," Jim said, concentrating. "But during my surveillance of Stone he met with this guy several times. We could never get a lead on him." He looked up. "Who is he?"

Edwards got up and stood behind Jim. "Do you recognize any of the others?" he asked urgently, ignoring the question.

Jim shook his head firmly. "No. Who is he?"

Edwards clenched his jaw. "That's need-to-know, Detective. But you've demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the suspects to warrant us drafting you to our team for a while."

Rodrigo began to pack the photographs in the folder and Edwards pulled out a printed sheet. "These are the flight details, we are leaving for Peru in two hours, and you will be with us."

"The hell I will!"

"Now hold on a minute here!" Simon's voice overlaid Jim's protest. "This department agreed to co-operate with the NSA," he said. "But co-operation only goes so far."

"About this far," Jim confirmed, pointing at himself. "I'm not in the military any more, gentlemen. The last place I am going now is Peru."

"This is a waste of time," Rodrigo said in disgust, slamming the file in his briefcase and shutting the lid with a snap.

"Detective," Edwards said patiently. "There are matters of national security at stake here. Now, you might have nothing to do but sit in the background and read the local newspaper. But you just might provide a key piece of information at the right time. I want you on my team."

Blair stared from the NSA guy to Jim, his mind processing this development, racing ahead to figure out details. "Then you better tell us a hell of a lot more than just 'need to know'," the young man said quietly.

Rodrigo snorted in disgust.

"Blair's right," Jim said quietly. "I don't know you guys, and I am not about to fly thousands of miles on your word."

"They do check out, Jim," Simon interjected. "You better believe I have developed the habit of checking credentials pretty damned thoroughly these days."

"We are what we say we are, Detective." Edwards sighed and looked around the office. "Okay," he said finally. "This goes no further than this room. The other man in the picture is well known to us. Until you confirmed it, we didn't know whether he and Stone knew each other before the meeting at Lima airport. He is part of a well known terrorist group. They are wanted in connection with the Trinity railway bombing of '92 and the assassination of a judge in Chile."

"Terrorists," Blair muttered. "Great."

Jim stood and paced to the window, looking out onto the street below.

"I don't see how I can be of any use to you," he said.

"Maybe you won't be," Edwards returned, just as quietly. "But if you can make just the smallest difference, don't you think it's worth your time?"

"Surveillance on terrorists groups sounds like a long term project to me," Blair said grimly. "Just how much time do you expect us to be gone?"

"There's no 'us' here, Sandburg," Rodrigo interrupted. "We are not in the business of shipping Cascade detectives all over the world."

"I'm his partner," Blair said firmly. "I go where he goes."

"No," Edwards corrected. "No way. And I am serious about that," he swung to look at Jim and Simon. "As to the time frame, I wouldn't worry about it. We are on a tight schedule here. I guarantee, one way or another, this will be over in two weeks."

"One way or another," Blair muttered. "I don't like the sound of that."

Jim turned. "I need to speak to my partner in private. Chief?" He led the way to the door without waiting for the NSA agents to speak.

Blair followed Jim down the hall and into one the interview rooms.

"You are not going without me," Blair said as soon as the door closed behind them.

"You heard them, Chief. You are not invited to this party."

"Then you're not going either," Blair said desperately. "I don't trust those guys and I don't like this situation. What do they need you for?"

"I know the type, Blair. They don't take any chances. And I can see the logic. If I have already tied Stone to this terrorist group there may be something else I remember from back then."

"This sucks," Blair said angrily.

"I don't want to go, Blair, but I think it's the right thing to do. And not for Edwards and Rodrigo and their need to know secrets."

Blair studied his partner somberly. "It's about Stone, isn't it?"

"I have buried a lot of my men, Blair," Jim said. "There wasn't a lot I could do for most of them. But if I can help bring Stone down now... I have to try."

"It's Christmas, Jim," Blair said sadly.

"You hate Christmas," Jim pointed put gently, reaching out to haul his lover into his arms.

"But you love it, and I love you."

"There will be other Christmases," Jim whispered, kissing Blair on the temple.

Blair tilted his head and met Jim's lips with his, deepening the kiss until they were both breathless.

"I'll drive you to the airport," Blair said hoarsely.

000

Rosie was an excited ball of fur when they arrived back at the loft. She met them at the door, tail wagging her whole body, tongue lolling happily. Blair scooped her up and watched as Jim climbed the stairs to the second level.

"Grab my shaving gear, Chief?"

Blair cuddled the pup close for long moments before following orders. Within minutes Jim had a duffel bag by the door. He sprinted back up the stairs and came back down with a bag full of brightly wrapped gifts. He took them out of the bag and laid them around the bottom of the tree. Then he stood back surveyed the picture they made.

"Tell Jamie I'm working," he said quietly.

Blair nodded, a lump in his throat.

"To tell you the truth, I'm glad you're staying, Chief."

"I had that feeling."

"I need to know you are here protecting Jamie."

"Who's protecting you?" Blair whispered.

"I can handle surveillance, Chief. I'm sure there will be no danger."

"Yeah, and if you believe that, I have a pyramid to sell you in Peru," Blair muttered.

"Blair," Jim began.

"Never mind," the young man dismissed. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Always."

000

Blair headed straight to the Day Care center once he had seen Jim off at the airport. He still felt as if he were in shock. A few hours earlier it had been a normal working day. And now Jim was flying off to Peru without him, and they were facing at least two weeks apart.

Once at the center, Blair crossed through to the back play area and stood in the doorway for long moments, watching the toddlers interacting. He spotted Jamie right away, sitting in the sand pit. The boy was scooping up cups full of sand and tipping them into the breeze, watching the golden grains trickle into a pile.

Fascinated, Blair studied the absorbed child, wondering what difference his childish sentinel abilities made to his play. What did he see in the grains of sand that kept his interest long after a normal 30 month old's attention span should have been exhausted?

"Hey, Blair." Mary-Anne greeted him from the swings and Jamie's head immediately swung around, locating his father instantly across the play area.

"Daddy!" he yelled, scrambling to his feet and clambering towards the edge of the pit. One of the helpers gave him a hand over the low wall, and then he was trotting across the grass. "Hello, Daddy," he beamed.

Blair crouched and gathered the toddler into a hug. "Hello, piglet. "How're you?"

"Good," Jamie said amiably. "Santa brings presents," he informed his father eagerly.

"Does he?" Blair had to grin at Jamie's earnest nod.

"Christmas tree," he added, taking Blair's hand and tugging him along. Blair followed obediently and made appropriate oohing and ahhing noises at the plastic tree decorated with clumsy paper stars and lanterns.

"Early day?" Mary-Anne asked, coming up behind him.

"Jim had to go away on business," Blair informed her, rising to his feet and keeping a firm hold of Jamie's little hand. "Jamie will probably be with me for the next week, so don't expect him in."

"Oh, what a shame," Mary-Anne exclaimed. "I hope Jim will be back before Christmas?"

"Maybe," Blair said noncommittally.

"Just hold on for one second," Mary-Anne said, before slipping out to the back room. She returned in a moment with a paper covered parcel, which she offered to Jamie. The paper had coloured hand prints all over it.

"Don't forget to give this to your dads for Christmas, Jamie," she reminded.

"K'," Jamie agreed.

"Have a Merry Christmas, Blair."

"You too," Blair returned. He gathered Jamie's back pack and led him to the truck. "Well, piglet. It's just you and me for now."

Jamie was absorbed in his parcel. "Christmas present for Jamie," he muttered.

"We'll put it under the tree when we get home."

Once home, Jamie frolicked happily with Rosie while Blair laid the battered parcel beneath the tree. He crouched for a moment, laying his hand on the gifts Jim had placed there hours before.

Jamie came racing up. "Presents for Jamie?" he asked.

"Yes, there's a present for Jamie. Who else gets presents?"

Jamie looked thoughtful. "Daddy?" he ventured, beaming when his dad nodded.

"Who else?"

"Dad," Jamie said with certainty. "And Baby Sean and Rosie."

"Is that all?" Blair smiled.

Jamie shrugged. Apparently that was all he cared about.

"How many more sleeps 'til Christmas?"

This one was a little more difficult and Jamie looked perplexed.

"You don't mind how many days, do you, piglet?" Blair said thoughtfully. "That gives me an idea."

000

Before six that night Simon and Joel had both phoned, inviting Jamie and Blair to their Christmas celebrations. Blair imparted his plans to their friends, along with his thanks. He and Jamie were just sitting down to dinner when the phone rang again.

"Blair?"

"Jim!" Blair greeted his lover with delight.

"I'm sorry, but this was the earliest I could call," Jim said.

"You sound tired," Blair said with sympathy.

"Long flight," Jim sighed. "I miss you already."

"Dad!" Jamie called, his sharp ears picking up his father's voice. Jim's equally sharp ears heard his son's voice.

Blair held the phone to Jamie's ear. "Say hello to Dad," he coaxed.

"Hello," Jamie said cautiously.

"Hi, piglet. How's my boy?"

"Good."

Blair grinned as Jamie listened to his father's questions, nodding as if Jim could see him.

"Santa brings presents," he recalled.

Blair leaned close to the phone. "Say bye-bye."

"Bye."

"Jim?"

"He's all ready for Christmas I see."

"Yeah."

"I want you guys to have good time, Chief, even if I can't be with you."

"It's not a problem, Jim," Blair said calmly. "We've decided to postpone Christmas this year."

"You what?" Jim asked, nonplussed.

"Jamie and I discussed it and we agreed. Without you Christmas is just another day to us. So we can certainly wait to celebrate it with you."

"But what will you do on Christmas day?"

"It's all arranged," Blair assured him. "I called mom, she'll be delighted to see us. She's rented a house on the beach for the holidays, we'll walk in the sand and paddle in the surf and wait for you to get home."

"Blair," Jim began softly, and then broke off.

"I know, Jim," Blair murmured back, hearing everything he needed in that quiet voice. "I know."

000

Monterey was beautiful. The weather was delightfully cool and a little sunny. Naomi greeted them both with open arms, showing them to a small room at the back of the house with a single bed.

"I thought we could pick up a crib for Jamie in town," she suggested, kissing her grandson's cheek. "How does that sound, sweetie?"

Jamie giggled and squirmed. "Good."

"Oh, you are so sweet," Naomi teased. "I could just kiss you all day." She proceeded to prove this by pressing kisses all over his chubby cheeks.

Jamie responded by smacking kisses on his grandmother's nose. "Funny Nomi," he said fondly.

"You ready to go to the beach?"

Blair tossed his backpack on the bed. "Ready when you are."

Jamie was in his element on the sand, running along with a doting Rosie at his heels. He kicked at the approaching waves, squealing when the cold water touched his toes. He plonked himself down next to his father and proceeded to make roads for his endless supply of plastic trucks, vrooming them over the evened out surfaces with low noises under his breath.

Blair rolled over on his side, picking up an abandoned truck in danger of being buried and rolling it's sand clogged wheels absently. He smiled at his son's absorption, and then he grew a little sad.

"Are you okay, honey?" his mom asked, sitting cross-legged beside him.

"Just thinking how much Jim would enjoy this," he said wistfully.

Naomi studied her grandson, now stretched out on his belly in the sand, intent on his miniature road works.

"I feel selfish for being so glad to have you here," she admitted.

"You know we love to spend time with you," Blair smiled, patting her muslin covered leg.

"I guess it's still hard for me to think of you as part of a couple," Naomi continued. She paused for a long moment and then took a deep breath and continued decisively. "Blair. I can't tell you how much I admire you for that. For sticking with a relationship, for struggling to make it work in spite of all the difficulties you guys have faced."

Blair sat up, surprised by his mother's words. "It's nothing heroic, Mom," he said honestly. "It's just the way it has to be. I can't imagine living this life with anyone else but Jim. I don't want to try."

Naomi fixed her gaze on Jamie again. "I suppose I envy you too," she said lowly. "You and Jim have built a life and are raising your lovely boy. I never even got close to that."

"You did okay, Mom," Blair said, wrapping one arm around his mom's shoulders. "You did just fine. I'm the one who is full of respect and admiration for you, if you want the truth."

Naomi turned a surprised gaze on him. "For me?"

"Yes, for you," Blair poked her playfully. "I have been doing this parent thing for nearly two years now and I cannot even begin to imagine how you coped on your own. Just the last two days without Jim have been so rough. Every time Jamie does something cute I turn to share it with him. Last night I turned over and put my hand out and he wasn't there..." Blair trailed off, embarrassed to find himself tearing up. "Sorry."

Now his mom hugged him close. "Two weeks will go by in no time," she said bracingly. "How about Jamie, what does he think of this?"

"He's used to Jim being away the occasional night on stake out," Blair returned. "And Jim has phoned every night and will continue to do so when he can. He's okay."

000

That night, Jamie proved Blair a liar by waking up in the night calling for Jim. "Dad-dad-dad," he sobbed, as he hadn't since he was a baby.

"Dad's at work, piglet," Blair soothed, picking the boy up out of his temporary crib and cuddling him close.

"Dad," Jamie cried tiredly, his tears soaking Blair's skin through his sweatshirt. The young father gave up on the crib and carried the little lad to the narrow bed with him, snuggling down with him.

"Bad dream, baby?" he whispered, but Jamie was already nodding off.

Blair lay in the darkness long after his son was a sleeping weight against him, fighting the sudden fear that threatened to overwhelm him. He remembered a dream Jamie had dreamt months before, weeping for new-born Sean Taggert. Later he and Jim had learned baby Sean had been rushed to the hospital and had been close to death.

Had that been a coincidence? Or were their vague suspicions that Jamie and Sean shared some kind of bond closer to the truth?

Just weeks ago Blair had been faced with a similar situation when Jim had gone to face his ex-wife. Jamie had begun squirming and crying for his father, and Blair's first thought had been that his love was hurt. Perhaps even dead.

The next day counted as one of the longest of Blair's life. He attempted to get on with the business of living, trying to not to show his son and his mother his internal disquiet. Naomi obviously sensed his distraction but, to Blair's gratitude she didn't call him on it. Jamie was a little subdued, but soon perked up once he was back on the beach.

It was Christmas Eve.

The phone rang promptly at six and Blair almost sobbed with relief when he heard his beloved's voice on the other end.

"Blair?" Jim asked in concern. "You okay?"

Blair took a deep breath, aware that Jim was listening to every beat of his heart. "Just... Just missing you," he murmured. Naomi patted his shoulder on the way past, carrying Jamie out onto the deck to look at the stars.

"Me too, baby," Jim said tenderly. "Is everything okay?"

Blair dominated the conversation, detailing the tiny minutiae of their day, aware that Jim couldn't discuss his work in Peru. When it was time to hang up Blair found himself clinging to the phone, listening to his lover's breathing down the line.

"Merry Christmas, Blair," Jim whispered.

"No, Jim," Blair said quickly. "Not yet. It's not Christmas until we're together again."

000

The next ten days were a mixture of joy and bone-deep loneliness for Blair. On the one hand he was sharing quality time with his mother and son. On the other hand he was aware on every level that the other half of him was missing.

Christmas passed quietly, uncelebrated by the Sandburgs and little Sandburg-Ellison. While families around them carved turkeys and pulled crackers, Naomi, Blair and Jamie lay on a blanket on the beach, watching the ever changing, ever constant night sky.

Finally the call came that Blair had been holding his breath for. Jim was coming home.

000

Blair put Jamie on full alert and the little sentinel didn't let him down. As soon as he heard his father in the building he began jumping up and down in excitement and Blair could hardly stop himself from doing the same thing. Breathlessly they lined up in the foyer and waited.

Fifteen days after he had flown away, Jim Ellison unlocked the front door to his home and let himself in.

"Merry Christmas!" Blair called.

"Merry Christmas!" Jamie echoed, waving his balloon around in one tightly clenched fist.

Blair fairly leapt across the room into Jim's arms, loving the feel of them wrapping around him and squeezing tight.

"And welcome home," he whispered.

Long minutes later he surfaced from Jim's kiss to find the world spinning around him. Jamie had one arm wrapped around each of their legs and was clinging tightly. Jim reached down and scooped him up, squeezing him between the two of them in a three way hug.

"I missed you guys so much," he said hoarsely, eyes damp.

"We have turkey in the oven and presents around the tree," Blair informed him giddily. "I was planning on roasting chestnuts around an open fire, but they are a bitch to find in January."

Jim tore his eyes away from his family and took in the cozy loft. The tall tree was shining colorfully, and parcels littered its base, all unopened.

Jamie followed his gaze and grinned hugely, showing all his pearly white teeth. "Presents for Jamie," he said gleefully.

"Presents for everyone," Blair said gently.

"I have my presents," Jim finished, and then proceeded to spend some more minutes hugging and kissing his Christmas gifts.

The End.

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