DISCLAIMER: Pet Fly and Paramount own the copyright to The Sentinel and its characters. This piece of fan fiction was written solely for the love of the characters and to share freely with other fans. No profit is being made from the posting of this story..
NOTES: I've just returned from vacation with the family to Disneyland. After having been there many times before, this trip held no charm for me. This story is my way of venting a bit. Normally, I relate more to Blair than I do to Jim, but in the case of this story, Blair represents my family, and I'm Jim. Well, I wasn't quite as bad as Jim, but you get the picture. {g}
SUMMARY: Jim and Blair visit the Land of the Mouse. (A personal rant.)
July, 2000
"You're going to love it, man!"
"Yeah, sure I am," came the reluctant answer.
"Don't be such a wet blanket. This is the 'Happiest Place on Earth'!" Blair bounced on the balls of his feet as he stood in line to enter the park. "It's going to be great fun! You'll see!"
The pair filed through the line, and into the park. Wandering through the gates, the whole world of Walt Disney opened before them.
"Hey, Jim! Look!" Blair was pointing excitedly to something a short distance away. Slowly, and without a lot of enthusiasm, Jim turned to look. Standing not a hundred feet away were Pooh and Tigger, two Disney employees dressed in costume. "C'mon!" Blair was tugging at his sleeve now. Jim reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged across the town square.
"This is great! Isn't this great, Jim?" Blair was bouncing again. Jim smiled despite himself as his excited colleague shoved a camera in his hands. "Take our picture, okay?" Blair situated himself between the characters, hamming it up for the camera.
Jim snapped the picture quickly.
"Now it's your turn." Blair bounded across the intervening space, grabbing the camera and shoving Jim toward the characters.
"Oh no you don't, Chief. I took your picture. That's good enough."
"Get with it, man! Have some fun. C'mon. You can do it!" Blair's enthusiastic cheerleading almost elicited a smile from the somber Sentinel. He settled himself between Pooh and Tigger, managing to plaster a crooked grin on his face as Blair snapped the picture.
They finally had started up the street, when Jim felt the camera once again being pressed into his hands. This time Blair simply walked off without explanation. Jim soon noticed why, as his friend stopped in front of "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast. The pretty, dark-haired girl was dressed in the elaborate yellow ball gown from the animated film.
Blair bowed deeply before her and took her hand, lifting it to his lips for a kiss. Before the startled Belle realized what was happening, she was swept into an impromptu waltz in the street.
Jim stood, shaking his head at the antics of his irrepressible partner and friend. Loath to lose the moment, he snapped several pictures before Blair returned, slightly breathless and flushed with excitement. "You just can't contain the Sandburg charm, can you?" he teased.
Blair had the courtesy to blush slightly before pushing Jim toward one of the horse-drawn trolley cars. They boarded, and rode down to the central plaza.
Disembarking, Blair tugged on Jim's sleeve once again. "Let's head over to Critter Country and get a Fastpass for Splash Mountain." With that statement, he was off, slipping through the crowds to an area on the far side of the park.
Jim followed, using his enhanced sight to keep track of his exuberant partner as he threaded his way through the throngs of people. He finally arrived at their destination, several minutes behind Blair.
"We can come back between 2:10 and 3:10, and get right on the ride!" Blair exclaimed triumphantly, holding up the Fastpass tickets.
"So what do we do until then?" Jim had a strange feeling he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.
"Let's start with Tomorrowland and work our way back here." And Blair was off again, leaving his friend to shake his head in defeat.
"Do you have to walk so fast?" Jim asked, catching up, finally, back at the central plaza.
"Do you have to walk so slow?" came the retort. Blair grinned. "I'm usually the one having to jog to keep up with you!"
"Oh, you're just a barrel of laughs, Chuckles," Jim mumbled.
Tugging at Jim's sleeve, Blair pointed to a commanding, futuristic-looking structure. "Let's ride Space Mountain!"
Jim noted that the wait in line was only forty minutes. Only. He sighed and followed Blair to the line.
When they finally boarded the ride, Blair turned to the Sentinel. "Better dial down the hearing," he suggested. "It gets pretty loud on these rides."
"Thanks, Chief." Jim concentrated on turning down his hearing as the car started up the steep ascent to the start of the ride. He barely had a chance to prepare himself before he was thrown into "space" on the wild rollercoaster ride.
Beside him, Blair was yelling and throwing his arms into the air as the car dipped and turned with reckless speed. Hanging on for dear life, Jim allowed a slight smile to curve his lips.
"Wasn't that great?" Blair was nearly breathless as they disembarked the ride a few, short, minutes later.
"Yeah, Chief. It was ... exhilarating."
"Wanna go again?"
Jim shook his head. "How about we find something to eat? I'm starved." He steered his partner toward Redd Rockett's Pizza Port. Going through the cafeteria-style line, he picked up a huge slice of pepperoni pizza and a cola.
"That stuff's going to kill you," Blair commented, settling for a large chicken Caesar salad and an ice tea.
"But I'll die happy," Jim retorted, settling at a table and digging into the greasy pizza with gusto.
"We'd better try something a little quieter until that lunch has settled," Blair announced, leading Jim through the crowds of New Orleans Square. "How about the Haunted Mansion?"
"Do we have to?" Jim muttered under his breath, but Blair was once again tugging him into line.
He sat quietly through most of the ride, listening to his partner's endless prattle, but found another smile gracing his lips near the end when a holographic spectre appeared in the seat between them.
Blair turned in surprise when he heard a chuckle from the seat beside him. "Having fun yet?"
"Not that I'd admit to you," he said, grinning. The remark earned him a slap on the shoulder.
"You feel up to Splash Mountain? It's time to get over there."
"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Jim fell in line as Blair led the way back to Critter Country.
"That lunch of yours settled yet?"
"I'm fine, Davy Crockett. Let's go."
Entering through the Fastpass entrance, the pair found themselves quickly boarding one of log boats and heading out on the ride. A series of short flumes set the riders at ease. Blair really got into the spirit, throwing his hands in the air and yelling at each wet dip. Jim was beginning to wonder if this was such a wise idea, as long, soft curls kept whipping into his face.
A quiet trip through the Brier Patch, with cute animatronic characters, relaxed the younger riders on the boat, but set Jim's teeth on edge.
All too soon, the boat ratcheted into a slow, steep climb. Blair looked over his shoulder, delight sparkling in his eyes. "Here we go!"
There was a brief pause at the top before the boat plunged at a forty-five degree angle for five stories. Blair was screaming at the top of his lungs, hands flung in the air, loose hair whipping into Jim's face. Jim, for his part, gritted his teeth and hung on for dear life. Short seconds later, the stomach-wrenching drop was over and they were once again floating through animatronic hell.
"Oh, God!" Jim murmured as they disembarked. "I'm going to have 'Zip-a-dee-do-da' going through my head the rest of the day...."
As they walked through the exit, Jim felt another tug at his sleeve. "I'm going to buy a picture."
"You're what?" Jim looked horrified.
"We have to have proof, don't we?"
"Proof that we look like a couple of idiots?"
Laughter erupted from deep within Blair's chest. "Proof that we had fun, man!"
"If you say so."
"I do," Blair stated defiantly, going to stand in line for a copy of the picture automatically taken of the passengers just as the boat begins its death-defying plunge.
Jim waited impatiently as his friend stood in line, aching feet and nowhere to sit beginning to wear on his frazzled nerves.
Ten minutes later, Blair shoved the picture, proudly proclaiming "I survived Splash Mountain", into Jim's hands. "For you."
"Gee, thanks. Can we find somewhere to sit, please? My feet are killing me and it's hotter than Hades out here."
"Wanna go on Splash Mountain again? That'll cool you off."
"Uh-uh. No way! I am not listening to 'Zip-a-dee-do-da' again."
"I know what'll take care of that!" Blair began pulling on him once again.
Jim followed blindly, aware only of how tired he was getting. He wasn't even paying attention as he was pulled through the crowds past New Orleans Square, through Frontierland and Fantasyland, to the very foot of "It's a Small World."
"Nooooooooo...!" His groan echoed as the cheery tune floated across the artificial river to assault his sensitive hearing.
Hours. How many hours had it been? His blisters had blisters. He'd have sworn they'd ridden every ride, even the Teacups in Fantasyland. Just how much longer could Sandburg's energy last, anyway? He sank down on a bench back at the town square. Blair had wandered off to do some souvenir shopping for the gang back in Cascade and had left him here to rest.
A crowd was beginning to fill Main Street when Blair returned. The sun had set, and a blessed breeze caressed lightly sunburned skin. He barely noticed the announcement as all the lights began to dim, until a whisper in his ear warned him to turn down his senses again.
Glancing next to him, he saw his partner's face turned upwards, looking in the direction of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Soon, the magnificent fireworks display began. Every night, at the cost of $41,000 per show, the rockets went off, exhorting everyone to believe in magic.
He felt an arm slip around his waist, and a pleasant weight as Blair leaned against him. Wrapping his own arm around his friend's shoulders, he allowed a smile to play across his features, a sigh to escape his lips.
"Isn't it beautiful, man?"
"Yeah," Jim had to admit, "it is."
As reds and greens and golds played across the sky in sparkling tribute, Blair turned and looked up into the Sentinel's face, a question written across his expressive features.
"Yes, I had a good time. Really." Jim smiled and ruffled the hair of the younger man.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Blair rested his head against the Sentinel's shoulder. Maybe dreams really could come true. He smiled.
THE END
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