Back to Part 1 SVS-20: Lightning Strikes Twice by Rogue, Part 2 "Marty, what good is this going to do?" Jane asked with a sigh. "You're early visiting the PD. And Ellison might not even be here!" Marty shivered. She was starting to get a feeling of impending doom. "He's here, lass. Let's just grasp the nettle and dive in." "Do what?" Jane asked blankly. "I believe you Yanks say 'take the bull by the horns.' Meaning, let's do this and get it over with," Marty replied. "Right." Sighing, Jane pulled into the PD's underground garage and looked for a place to park. She hadn't gotten far before a tall man with a murderous look on his face raced through a door off to her left and halted directly in front of her car. She hit the brakes with a gasp and shivered hard, then carefully shifted into Park in case he intended to force her from the car. No point in getting her vehicle damaged, after all. "Bloody buggerin' hell!" Marty hissed, and slowly began opening the folder on her lap. Standing in front of the car, Jim glared even more fiercely as he noted the slow movements. Yanking out his gun, he aimed it at the darker-haired woman sitting in the passenger seat, ignoring the frightened whimper from the blonde behind the wheel. He began moving around to the passenger side when the dark-haired woman lifted a piece of paper, then pressed it against her window. Walking slowly, Jim maneuvered until he was facing the document, his gun trained on the woman's forehead. Aware of Blair hurrying to join him and Simon reaching back and slowly removing his own weapon, Jim felt safe enough to focus his sentinel sight on the document. MacLachlan, Martise L.; Inspector, Edinburgh Constabulary Surprised, Jim still kept his gun trained on her, shifting his gaze to her face. Well aware of the fact that this man was a sentinel; obviously armed; and clearly very, very, very, very, very pissed off; Marty tried to act as non-harmful as possible. Crooning softly, she said, "Janey, lass, calm down. If he shoots anyone, it'll be me. You're safe." Turning her attention back to the man outside, she said, "I know you can hear me, Detective Ellison. I know you're a... sentinel, that's the word. I'm one, as well. I'm guessing that's why you're in a dreadful wax. I promise, I'm not here to cause trouble. I need help, please. Everything hurts; I don't know what to do. Please, help me?" Jim felt a pang of sympathy in his heart. He understood what this young woman was going through and felt for her. She wasn't like Barnes -- this woman was a cop, like him. Her senses must be making it difficult for her to do her duty. When he felt Blair's hand on his arm, he turned his head slightly to see his partner out of the corner of his eye. "Jim? Man, what's going on?" Sandburg asked quietly as he eyed the two women in the car. "She's a sentinel. She says she needs help because everything hurts. She's also the Scottish Inspector we were expecting tomorrow," Jim growled, letting his gun drop. Simon immediately holstered his own gun and came forward, although he was by no means happy. "A what? No! Jim, you can't be serious! She's a sentinel?" All three men watched the woman nod fervently. Jim sighed and nodded, too. "That's what she says. Her name is Martise MacLachlan, according to those official documents, and she says she knows what I am and wants me to help." "For the love of Pete!" the captain snarled, rubbing briskly at his aching temples. Suddenly, he noticed the uniforms coming out of the building, their hands on their service weapons as they moved towards the car. Realizing that the security cameras must have picked up the confrontation, he waved at them and called back, "Never mind! False alarm! Get back on duty!" Giving the car and its occupants searching looks, the uniformed cops slowly turned and went back inside. Turning back to face the others, Simon glowered at his team and absolutely glared at MacLachlan. "I'll be up in my office. I'll expect all of you sometime within the next ten minutes. Is that clear?" "Very good, sir," Jim replied stoically as Blair nodded. With a last glare, Simon turned and stomped into the building. Jim turned his attention back to the new sentinel. Dispassionately, he gestured towards the blonde woman. "If you can get her to snap out of it, have her park over there." He gestured to an empty parking space about a hundred yards away. "Then we'll escort you both upstairs to Major Crime, got that?" Marty nodded and turned to face her cousin. "Janey, Detective Ellison wants you to calm down and go park over there. Everything's fine for right now, okay? He's not going to hurt us. He's not going to hurt you. So calm down and park, okay?" Jane tore her eyes from the two men standing off to the side of her car, glanced over at her cousin, and gulped hard before she said, "Are you crazy? He is clearly pissed off enough to murder us both, even if he is a cop! No way in hell am I getting out of this car! In fact, we're leaving! We're not staying another -- Marty!" Marty calmly folded her fist around the keys she had removed from the ignition. "You're welcome to try, lass. But right now, running is the absolute worst thing you can do. And I can't leave. I'm not here for my senses only, Janey, remember? MacLeod is still on the loose. Please, cuz, trust me? Give it a chance." Jane glowered at the other woman for a long moment, then sighed. "All right. Give me my keys and we'll get this whole thing sorted out." "That's my girl," MacLachlan said with a grin, and handed over the keys. Quickly, the smaller woman restarted her SUV and drove to the indicated parking space. The two of them gathered their various things and got out, securing the car before joining the two men who were watching them intently. Blair shivered slightly and stood a little closer to his sentinel. He knew the taller woman was the Scottish cop they were expecting, but she was still a sentinel and he'd had more than enough situations with another female sentinel. Blair felt Jim stiffen beside him and knew the bigger man was reacting to his nervousness. Forcing himself to calm slightly, Blair began rubbing soothing circles on Jim's back. Jim unconsciously leaned into the touch even as he glared at the two women who stood before him and his partner. "Who is she?" he indicated with a jerk of his chin. "My cousin, Jane Eleanor Leighton. She... seems to be involved in this sentinel business, too. We both had the same dream last night," Marty said quietly. "That's rather unusual, wouldn't you say?" Jim gave a visible start at that information, but it was Blair who answered. "Not necessarily. She may be your guide." Marty regarded the young man with a confused expression. "My what?" "Guide. See, every sentinel has this person, this back-up. To help, see?" Both Jane and Marty opened their mouths to comment, but Jim interrupted. "Look, we can talk about all this later, but right now, we're expected upstairs. We have a killer to catch." Marty looked at her cousin, shrugged and nodded. Jane had no choice but to follow her cousin, who in turn followed after Blair, with Ellison walking where he could keep an eye on everyone. Shivering, she reached out and lightly took hold of the back of Marty's jacket, feeling a need to be close to her. Jim felt an easing of his tension as he noted the action with slightly amused recognition. After a quick stop in the lobby to get visitor passes for the two women, the group headed up to Major Crime. As the elevator made its way upward, Blair didn't miss the fact that MacLachlan had her eyes narrowed and her mouth had tightened into a thin line, indicative of sentinel pain and stress. Forgetting his unease, he moved slowly to her side and asked gently, "Your ears hurt?" As Marty turned to look at him, Blair felt Jim reach up to rest a hand on one of his shoulders and squeeze his approval. Marty nodded and Blair said, "Okay. There's a trick we know that can help you. You willing to try?" "Anything. I'll try anything." Smiling reassuringly at both women, Blair went on. "Okay then. This is how it works; picture some radio dials in your head and label one of them hearing. Can you see it yet?" At her nod, he continued. "Bet that dial is pretty high right now, uh?" Another nod -- and dropping his voice even lower, Blair said, "All right. Picture that dial moving slowly and carefully down until it reaches number five." Marty closed her eyes, struggling for a moment to maintain the picture and her control on it, then smiled when the dial did move down to five. Suddenly the loud noises that had been assaulting her ears lessened to a tolerable level. Opening her eyes, she grinned at him delightedly. "It worked! Thank you, Mr. Sandburg." He grinned back. "You're welcome." The elevator dinged and they exited the car. Blair led the way to Simon's office, where the big man waited impatiently by his desk. "You are the Scottish Inspector we were expecting, right?" "Aye, sir," Marty replied. "Martise MacLachlan, Inspector from Edinburgh. I'd prefer being called Marty, though, sir. I'm here to track down MacLeod, with your help." "Officially, that's why you're here, maybe," Banks agreed. "But you're early. Why?" Marty took a deep breath and began. "For a month now I've been experiencing heightened senses, ever since I took part in a search for a missing girl deep in the hills near my home. "I don't know how to control this, and I'm in a fair amount of pain and completely exhausted. I arrived ahead of schedule in an attempt to rest and visit my cousin, Jane Leighton, before our meeting. I'm also staying with her." Seeing the question remaining in the Captain's eyes, she added, "This morning, after breakfast, I was looking for something to read and happened to spot some old newspapers, one of which had a front page story of Detective Ellison being a sentinel. Jane told me that Mr. Sandburg later denied his thesis, that he had falsified his information, but I'm exhibiting those same symptoms of heightened senses! I didn't know whom else to come to for help. I'm hoping that you'll help me gain some control so I can stop living in pain." The three men were silent for a moment and then Jim said, "You mentioned that you both had the same dream last night. Tell us about it." Jane and Marty exchanged glances. "Are you sure? I still can't believe it happened --" Jane began, but Marty interrupted her with a nod. "We weren't together in our dream, but we experienced nearly the same thing. We both were animals, both searching for something in a jungle, that, oddly enough, was tinted blue. "We each made our way to an old stone temple where a jungle native waited for us. He wore body paint, a sarong, feathers, and was carrying a spear. He looked at me and asked 'Who are you?' He asked the same thing of Janey." Jim and Blair exchanged glances. So far, the description of the surroundings and the Spirit Guide were similar to what they had both experienced. Jim found himself relaxing even further -- it seemed that Marty's guide was indeed her cousin, which meant the Scot would probably have no inclination to attempt taking his away from him. Blair looked at the two women curiously. "What animal forms did you take?" he asked. "I was a white tiger. Jane says she was an Arctic fox," Marty replied. "Hmmm. I wonder if all sentinels are part of the cat family when it comes to their Spirit Guides. After all, Jim has the black jaguar, Alex had the spotted jaguar, and now you have the white tiger..." Sandburg muttered. Marty blinked. "Alex?" she asked. "Was he another sentinel?" "Not a 'he,' a 'she,'" Simon corrected. "And she was a murdering psycho who managed to kill Blair, and then later kidnap him. She's presumed dead, but we've never been able to recover the body." Both Jane and Marty looked at the younger man with horrified expressions. "You were dead?" Jane squeaked. Blair nodded and -- reluctant to relive it -- simply said, "About a year ago. But Jim managed to revive me after the paramedics gave up." Smiling at his partner, he added, "He brought me back." Puzzled, Marty asked, "Why then did she kidnap you later?" Jim, his voice hard, answered. "She wanted a guide. Needed a guide. She tried to take mine." Jane turned a frightened eye on Blair. "She wanted a guide that badly? At any cost?" As she spoke, she moved slightly behind Marty. Sandburg nodded. "She wasn't exactly right in the head, Miss Leighton. From all of my research, and a little help from Sir Richard Burton --" Jim interjected with a smile, "The explorer, not the actor." "-- Sentinels are supposed to protect the tribe, not attempt to murder its members. For Jim, his tribe is Cascade. Marty, you're a cop, too. You want to protect, right?" "Very much so. That's why I'm an inspector." "This is all well and good, but where do I fit in?" Jane asked. "Not to sound selfish, but it sounds as though I have a stake in this and I'd like to know what it is!" "Well, as I said, you're Marty's back-up, her guide, like me. It's kind of your responsibility to take care of her. Help her control her senses, figure out how to use them, keep them honed, and generally -- help her. But Miss Leighton, it's very much a two-way street. For all that you'll be helping her, Marty will also be helping you." "Can't be all that if you still ended up dead," she snapped, then paled when Jim let loose with a low snarl and moved to stand in front of Blair. Blair reached up and grabbed Jim's shoulder, trying to haul him back. "Jim! Jim, man, it's all right. She didn't mean anything by it! Calm down, man, okay? She's nervous about this whole thing; just cut her some slack." Ellison turned and stared hard at his partner. He said nothing, but after a moment he turned again and went to stand in a far corner where he could watch the proceedings. Sandburg didn't have to be a genius to see the flash of guilt that had been in Jim's eyes. He sighed quietly, then turned his attention back to Jane. "Look, Jane -- can I call you Jane? -- thanks. Being a guide is a responsibility, but it's a challenge too. And rewarding. You'll be the anchor that will keep Marty sane. Without you, she could overload some day and wind up a mindless shell in a psych ward somewhere." "Uh-huh. How long would I have to do my 'duty'?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself. Blair glanced over at Jim, then back to her. "Jane, it's a choice. You don't have to be Marty's guide. That might, in fact, be what the native was telling you, see? He asked, Who are you? But once you decide -- well, it's my lifelong commitment." Puzzled and only slightly mollified, Jane asked, "But she lives in Scotland. I live here." He sighed. "True. And if you both, I mean, if the decision is that you two partner, well, obviously one of you is going to have to pull up roots and move." Jane's eyes darkened as she glanced at her cousin. "You're telling me that I have to give up everything I've worked for over here in order to become something that maybe I don't want to be in the first place?!" Jim started to say something, but Blair was the quicker. "Jane, again, it's a choice. Right now, today, Marty needs you and you're it. There isn't time to go searching for a guide. Your dreams were pretty specific." Jim stepped forward and, in a voice surprisingly gentle, said, "I bet Marty would get rid of these senses if she could." "You'd lose, buster. All she could talk about after she told me about them was learning control so she could use them more effectively. She wants these things, right, Marty?" When the Scot didn't reply, everyone looked at her, only to find her staring out the office window, her expression blank, her only movement the soft rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. "Oh, no, not again!" Jane gasped, and moved to stand next to her cousin. "Again? She's done this before around you?" Blair asked as he hurried over, Jim following closely. Simon moved to watch from the side. Jane nodded in answer to Blair's question. "Last night. I'm a glass artist, and I made a mobile that hangs from my kitchen window. She just... zombied on the moonlight coming through the glass." "Hmm. Well, what she's doing is known as a 'zone-out.' She's concentrating too much on one of her senses to the point that everything else has faded out of her awareness. This is one of the reasons that a sentinel needs a guide; zone-outs can be dangerous, especially if they last too long. How did you get her out of the last one?" "I had to hit her. She wasn't responding to anything else," Leighton said, worry etching her face. "There might be a better way to handle it, Jane. Why don't you watch me try, okay? With Marty being her only concern, Jane nodded. "Please." Taking one of Marty's hands in his, Blair pushed up her jacket and shirt sleeve to lightly stroke the skin of her inner wrist. In a low, inaudible tone -- at least to those watching -- he began murmuring her name and talking to her, asking her to come out of it. A few moments later, Jane and Simon flinched when Marty suddenly jerked back, her hands flying to her ears as she glared at Sandburg and hissed, "Bollocks, man! You don't have to shout at me!" Blair sighed and caught her hands, pulling them from her ears. Ignoring her grimace of pain, he continued murmuring sub-vocally. "I'm not shouting, Marty. You've lost control on your hearing dial. Remember that? Close your eyes and find it again; bring your hearing back down." Doing as he asked, Marty closed her eyes and pictured the dial, yanking it down from ten to five once more. "Ahhh, much better," she sighed. "Thank you.." "What did you zone on, Marty?" "What do you mean, Jane? What did I what on?" she asked, puzzled. "Um, these spells of yours, where you do the zombie thing, they're called zone-outs, apparently. So, what caused you to zone?" "Oh! I was looking out the window. Saw something blue go flashing by. Think it was a bird." "Probably a bluejay," Simon said. "But you don't see many of them in the city." "No, it wasn't in the city. It was..." Marty began, then paled. "It was...?" Jim prompted. "There. Over in that green area," she said, pointing. They all crowded around the window and glanced out to see the outer limits of the city she'd been referring to, where the suburbs began -- an area of town more than two miles away. Blair glanced over at Marty and grinned. "Wow. Good range. Right up there with Jim. And your hearing, too, evidently. Man, I need to run some tests on you..." "Chief, don't you think she's going through enough torture right now?" Jim quipped, then snickered when his partner elbowed him. Simon sighed and shook his head. He walked over to his desk and reached into a drawer to pull out a cigar. He couldn't light it in the building -- especially not with two hypersensitive noses in the vicinity now -- but he needed the comfort of chewing on it. "All right, here's the deal," he said, and the two pairs moved to stand before his desk. He grinned, liking the way they were all lined up attentively, awaiting his instructions. "MacLachlan, you're here to find MacLeod, and we're going to help you. But you won't be much good to us if you're out of control with your sentinel senses. Therefore, Sandburg and Ellison will help you gain sufficient discipline over those senses so you won't whack-out on us. "I realize we're supposed to have officially started working together tomorrow, but I've been around these two long enough to know that one day isn't going to provide you with enough practice to get hold of things. That being said, Ellison, Sandburg, you two have the rest of the day off. Help these two with whatever they need to know. Let me know if you can make it in tomorrow or not." "Very good, sir. I'll put the word out with my snitches to keep their eyes and ears open," Jim replied. "Good. I'll tell some of the others to have their own snitches get to work, too. MacLeod's a nasty customer. We don't want him operating in our city -- or anywhere else, for that matter," Banks grumbled. "Aye, sir," Marty said with a smile. "Okay, that's all. When you come back in tomorrow, I'll have your official ID ready for you, Inspector. Unfortunately, I have no good reason to issue a pass for Miss Leighton. You'll have to do without her while you're working with us. What you do on your own time is your business." "Aye, sir. I understand. Thank you." "Dismissed." The four of them left Simon's office, trooped out to the elevator, piled inside, and headed for the garage. "So, what are we going to do?" Marty asked. "Well, it's lunchtime. I don't know about you two, but I'm starving," Jim said. He glanced at Marty and added, "I bet you are, too. You haven't been eating very much lately, have you?" She grimaced. "No. And when I do, it has to be extremely bland." "I know. I went through the same thing when my senses first came on-line. Actually, if you manage to stay away from the really spicy stuff, you can cook with some seasoning and still enjoy the food." "I'm not proficient in that, yet," she said with a grin. "But maybe Janey and I can experiment while I'm here." "Speaking of experiments," Blair began, ignoring Jim's groan, "how about if you guys come over to our place? I'll cook us a nice meal and I can run a few tests on your senses. And explain a few more things about sentinels and guides while we eat. How about it?" "Well... okay by me, if Janey doesn't mind. Do you, lass?" Jane shook her head. "I've got too much going on in my head to work right now. But I need to get home and check my mail real quick and take care of a few things. Where do you live? If you give me your address, we can meet you there." Blair glanced up at Jim, who nodded. "Okay. 852 Prospect, apartment 307." "Ah, yeah. Prospect. It has that really good bakery," Jane said with a grin. "Yeah. Our building is right above it," Jim said, salivating slightly as sense memory brought back to him the smell of that morning's fresh batch of donuts. "Great. So, see you guys in about an hour or so?" "Sounds good." On the drive back to Jane's house, the smaller woman glanced over at her cousin, pleased to see the relaxed smile on Marty's face. "So, how do you feel?" "Wonderful," Marty sighed. "I can't tell you what a relief it is to not hear every sound in the world whether I want to or not. My head doesn't hurt nearly as badly!" "Well, that's good news. Maybe... um, maybe you can use that dial trick for the rest of your senses? It stands to reason that if it works for hearing, it can work for the others." "Aye! That it would. Thanks, lass, that's a wonderful idea. Let me see what I can do." With that, Marty closed her eyes and spent the rest of the trip picturing dials, labeling them to her senses, and playing with them. The ride to the loft didn't take long, but it was a weary, tired pair that walked through the door. After discarding his jacket, Jim headed toward the couch. He heard Blair go into the kitchen to get them a couple of beers as he settled himself comfortably. A moment later, Blair sat down beside him and handed him an open bottle. He took it with a grunt of thanks and simply stared out the balcony doors at the gathering twilight. Long moments later, he turned his attention to Blair, and, noticing the look of deep concentration, he asked, "You're looking forward to this, aren't you?" Blair shrugged and took a sip of his own beer, then replied, "Kinda. But not for the reason you think." "Oh, really? Not because of your Dr. Frankenstein need to experiment on a new patsy?" The smile in his voice assured Blair of the affection behind the words and he chuckled. "No, Jim, not that." "Okay, I'll bite. What?" "Biting for later. And it's the opportunity to study another guide. And... and, well..." "Uh-oh. Don't like the sound of that. Spill, Sandburg." "It's just that -- well, we have another female sentinel, and you're a male sentinel, and..." Blair sighed when Jim's beer bottle slammed onto one of the coasters on the coffee table a bare second later, and he watched as Jim surged to his feet and began pacing back and forth in front of the balcony doors. "Jim --" Ellison glared at his partner and hissed out, "I can't believe you're going there, Sandburg." "Well, why not, man?" "Why not?" The older man was frankly incredulous. "Don't sit there and give me 'why not'! There are plenty of reasons why not!" "Jim, it happened. And while we may think now that it was a test, well, there was an urge. I'm just thinking..." Jim made a choked-off noise and turned his back on Blair. Sighing, Sandburg got to his feet, and, after setting his beer on its own coaster, moved to stand behind his sentinel. Reaching up, he began rubbing soothing circles on Jim's back as he said, "Jim, calm down, will you? Just think for a minute, okay? Thinking it was a test is one thing, but knowing it, well, that's a big difference." Head bowed, Jim whispered, "I didn't know it still bothered you." "Aw, God. No, Jim. That's not it, not at all. I'm thinking of you." Jim went on as if he hadn't heard Blair. "It should still bother you. I wouldn't blame you if it did." Blair moved in front of Jim and fisted his shirt. "God damn it, Jim, listen to me! This is not about that. This is about you, about your ongoing guilt. Just listen to yourself." Wearily, Jim swiped a hand over his face, then said, "So if I don't experience anything with Marty, that's supposed to prove what?" "It will prove that you passed, Jim. That there is no imperative. That your soul is gentle, that you're a warrior, and that not even a busty, beautiful blonde in trouble can sway you from your appointed rounds. You may buckle under sleet and snow, but not a busty blonde in heat." Several emotions played over Jim's tired features, but it was humor that won out. He started laughing. He laughed until tears ran unchecked down his face. Smiling, Blair just let him ride it out. Finally Jim calmed enough to say, "Well, I'm glad you realize that I don't think with my dick twenty-four hours a day. In fact, where you're concerned, I'm usually thinking with my heart, anyw -- what's so funny?" "Nothing. But that was the sweetest thing I've ever heard. Thank you." "Glad you think so, Chief." "Not that thinking with your dick is a bad thing," Blair added, "Oh, no, not at all. Just as long as it's aimed at me." "Well, then here's a news flash. I've already been hanging around Marty for a while now. If I was gonna be feeling any urge to get it on with a woman I don't even know, wouldn't I have started by now? Trust me here, Sandburg, the only one I want in my bed is you." "I know that, Jim. But you need to know that if there is an urge, well..." "Well what? You'll understand?" "Yeah. And I'll fully expect you to turn that urge around to me, you asshole." He grinned and gave Jim a leer. "Now that I can do." Jim lowered his head and sought his lover's mouth with his own, finding it and kissing softly, yet hungrily, drinking in the love and faith his partner offered him. He held Blair tight against him, hands slipping down to cup and knead the rounded buttocks through the material of his jeans. Blair let loose with a guttural growl and turned their kiss a little wilder. Finally, he pulled back from Jim's mouth far enough to whisper clearly, "Upstairs. Naked. Now." The older man didn't need any more invitation than that. Soon they were upstairs in their bedroom, naked as jaybirds and reclining comfortably and lustfully together on the bed. Jim lay propped above Blair, resting on one elbow; one of his hands lay between them as he brushed his lover's hardened nipple with his thumb, his sensitive skin enjoying the rough texture. Blair's breath came quick and shallow as he stared up at his partner with desire-darkened, love-filled blue eyes. Jim kissed him, a slow and languorous kiss, while he continued stroking the smaller man's body. Heat swept through Blair, and he shuddered as he opened his mouth wider for an even deeper kiss. "Jim," he whispered, "you feel so good. Love you, want you in me..." Ellison smiled. "I love you, too, baby. Just a little longer. I want to taste you." His head dipped, and he took the bud of his lover's tightened nipple into his mouth and sucked firmly enough to provide pleasure without pain. Blair's hands moved up to grasp his partner's head, his fingers tightening in Jim's hair. He gasped and pressed closer. The sentinel's teeth gently toyed with his nipple before laving it with his hot tongue. When Jim lifted his head, smiling at the tiny mewling noises of pleasure Blair was making, the guide considered his lover's moist lips to be too inviting to ignore. He took Jim's lower lip between his teeth and gently tugged on it, teased it with his tongue, and then drew back and smiled. Jim shuddered and heaved himself up so he knelt between Blair's spread legs. Reverently, he reached out and ran his hands down the length of the other man's thighs, enjoying the silken texture of the hair that covered them. As Blair's breathing roughened with need, Jim reached higher and took Blair's straining erection in one hand. With the other, he reached over and withdrew the lube from the bedside table, thumbing it open. He applied some to his fingers as he stroked his lover's cock gently. Sandburg moaned roughly, aching for him. Jim responded to that need, and he bent and swallowed his partner's cock to the root in one stroke. Blair's cry shattered the air around them, and his hips thrust upward instinctively. Ellison gentled him and began to suck and stroke even as his lubricated fingers pressed against Blair's entrance, massaging lightly before pushing inside, first one, then two, and finally three fingers. Plunging Blair's penis deeper into his throat, he stroked firmly over his lover's prostate as he swallowed rhythmically. Blair wailed as he exploded in orgasm, his body shuddering, his hips bucking as he emptied his seed down his lover's throat. Lifting himself off, Jim quickly scooted upwards and covered him with his body. Cradling Blair against him, Jim held his lover until he stopped shuddering and quieted beneath him. Unable to stop touching him, his own need building higher and higher, Jim kissed Blair's ear, teased the ear-ringed lobe with his teeth and nuzzling his neck. Coming out of his orgasmic haze, Blair slowly responded in kind, running his hands up and down Jim's spine. Blair felt so adored, so cherished. He lay beneath his lover, within the protective circle of his arms, and reveled in the languid warmth of new arousal that stirred through him. "I want you in me now, Jim," he whispered fiercely. "Right now. Come into me and fuck me, please." Jim groaned and captured his lover's mouth in a deep, hungry kiss. Rolling so that Blair lay above him, he reached out to fumble for the lube, catching hold of it and bringing it closer. Desperate to feel Jim inside him, Blair took the lube from his lover and thoroughly coated Jim's cock, then flung the tube away. Reaching back, he steadied his partner's erection and then slowly lowered himself, inch by inch, until he sat fully impaled on Jim's turgid cock. They both cried out, hands flailing and reaching for each other, meeting, grasping tightly. Blair shuddered and threw his head back, his hair swinging wildly as Jim pushed farther up into him. The guide responded to his sentinel's carnal act with a deep, intense passion and need that made Jim want to roar with primal triumph and lust. Instead, he let out a low, guttural moan as Blair's thigh muscles tightened and his lover lifted himself up, sliding almost all the way off his dick, and paused at the very tip, almost taunting him. Jim snarled softly and tore his hands free from Blair's, gripped the smaller man's hips firmly, and yanked him back down as he rocked up and plunged back into Blair's body. Blair tightened around him, tensing, flexing, imprisoning Jim's cock in his body as he shouted his pleasure. His strong hands gripped the other man's forearms as he again raised himself up and paused at the tip yet again -- only this time, he slowly swiveled his hips, rotating Jim inside him until Jim was begging him to let him in again, gasping out for more until he gave permission, and again shouted in pleasure when Jim eagerly pulled him down. They moved slow and deep and hard, prolonging their ecstasy until it built too high and Jim pulled Blair down so that they were chest to chest and shuddering hard. The older man wrapped his arms around his lover and braced his feet so he could thrust hard once, twice, three times, nailing Blair's prostate on each stroke. On the fourth and final thrust, they came together. Their voices rose in tandem in an ululating wail of sharp pleasure, calling each other's names as Jim poured his seed and his soul together into his lover. Blair shook hard in Jim's arms as his own liquid warmth spread between them. Then he slowly crumpled down to rest atop the gasping sentinel, feeling Jim's arms wrap tightly around him. For many long moments, they lay together as they calmed, arms wrapped around each other. Finally, Blair lifted his head, and the smile he wore grew to a grin and then laughter when Jim, looking thoroughly, indecently sated, slitted open his eyes and gave a contented sigh that sounded suspiciously like a purr. "Hey, ready to go shower up and then help me get lunch started?" Jim groaned and squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "Do we have to?" he said in what almost sounded like a whine. "Can't we just go out to the deli and pick something up? That'll give us a little longer to fool around and still get cleaned up before they show up." "C'mon, Jim, I promised them a home-cooked meal. Don't make me go back on my word, man." "So? We can tell them that you got home and found you were too tired to actually cook it yourself," Ellison argued. "Jim, she's a sentinel. I'm sure that by now she knows what sex smells like, even if she is untrained." "Yeah? So?" the older man said, then paled as the implication struck home. Even after a thorough washing in the shower, Jim could still smell traces of their semen and pheromones and the heavy scent of sex that permeated them after a round of loving each other brainless. Marty would be able to smell the same thing. Blair grinned as his lover groaned and he heaved himself up with a pat to Jim's chest. "C'mon, up and at 'em. We've gotta get cleaned up and cookin.'" "The things I do for you..." Jim grumbled as he followed the younger man out of bed and down the stairs. Their shower routine took a little longer than it ordinarily would have, as Jim found a soaking wet, sexy Blair still smelling of lovemaking particularly irresistible. He had his way with his lover, which included reducing the younger man to incoherent grunts and mutters as Jim sucked him off, and then indulged himself in washing Blair from head to toe as the guide lounged listlessly against the wall, after-glowing and then some. Twenty minutes later found the two of them clean, damp, and cutting up vegetables and preparing chicken for roasting. When everything was ready and waiting, the two men relaxed on the couch, watching the early-afternoon news. Just as a commercial segment came on, Jim cocked his head slightly and then got up with a small grimace. "They're here, Chief." Blair stood with him and they walked to the door, the guide hanging back as Jim opened it to reveal Marty and Jane standing there, the taller woman grinning, the smaller one looking startled. "Come on in, ladies," Jim said with amusement. They did so as Jane looked up at Marty. "How'd he do that?" she whispered. "Because he's a sentinel, lass, same as me. He heard us coming. Just like he can hear you asking how he did it," Marty replied. Jane went scarlet and glanced up at the grinning Ellison. "Oh, hell. I forgot. This is going to take some getting used to." "Yeah, no kidding," Blair said. "So, hang up your jackets and let's eat, what do you say?" "Yeah!" and "Aye!" the two women chorused, and they removed their jackets, hanging them on the hooks Jim indicated. Blair smiled as they turned back around. "Marty, if you don't mind, I'm going to test your sense of smell. What do you think our lunch is, judging by smell?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "You're kiddin' me, right, lad?" He shook his head, grinning. "Why should I?" she then demanded. "Because he'll never stop hounding you until you give in," Jim replied, straight-faced, and didn't even blink when Blair leaned over to smack his arm. "Besides which, it's... hell, I never thought I'd say this out loud, but it's a good idea to test you. Find out what your range is, how well you can focus and control, that sort of thing. And besides, it'll be fun to watch someone else get put through the paces for a change!" Marty sighed, then closed her eyes and sniffed tentatively. "I smell... roast chicken, green beans, mushrooms, corn, some other kind of beans I don't recognize, peas and carrots. Also cheese -- cheddar, I think -- and a fine wine sitting out..." Her voice trailed off, her face relaxing, and then she slumped, totally still, her head hanging. "Marty!" Jane gasped. "It's all right," Blair assured her, one hand stopping her from grabbing the zoned sentinel. "Marty's in a zone right now. This is kind of good, since I can teach you how to bring her out of it. It's never a good idea to scare a sentinel out of a zone-out, especially one that's been trained to fight." He took Marty's hand and said, "Your best bet is to approach her with a soft hand and voice. Try stroking her skin on her wrist or the back of her hand lightly, like I did earlier. Talk to her in a soft voice; ask her to come back to you. If that doesn't work, wave your fingers under her nose and give her a different scent to pick up on. Go on, try it!" Swallowing hard, Jane reached out, picked up one of her cousin's hands, and began stroking the back of it as she said, "Marty? Cuz, come on out of it, okay? Come on back to me. This zone-out thing is totally freaking me out, all right? Come on, Marty, you need to wake up, right now! Marty? Come on, cuz --" and then she gasped when her cousin suddenly lifted her head, her eyes blinking a couple of times before settling on her. "What happened?" Marty asked, her voice slurred a tiny bit. "You zoned out," Jim said, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder, lending tactile strength to help steady her. "Jane brought you out of it after a few quick tips from Blair. So far, you're both doing okay." "Yeah; and you got the dinner menu right. I'm curious as to what'll happen when you try the dessert," Blair mused. "I'm almost afraid to," Marty muttered. "With good reason," Jim muttered back, his voice dropping to sentinel level. "Every time I try what he's made, I almost zone, despite years of learned control. You're in for a treat." "I'm in for a headache if I zone again," she responded tartly. They both looked around to find Blair and Jane watching them and together, they said, "What? "Nothing. Just standing here and watching the two of you move your mouths without a sound coming out of them. At least, no sounds audible to us," Blair clarified. "Now, are you ready for dinner?" As they ate, Blair went over the history of sentinels a la Richard Burton in greater depth than he had at the station. He also cited incidents from Jim's cases in which his heightened senses had been quite useful, which relieved Marty. In fact, it made her almost giddy that she'd been right in assuming she'd have an edge that could be utilized in a particularly difficult case. She also reported that she and Jane had figured out that dials could work for the rest of her senses and she had been practicing over the last hour or so, which Blair enthusiastically cheered. He then mentioned a few basic tests he wanted Marty to try and she grimaced at that; she didn't like feeling like a lab rat, even if she did want to know how to control her senses. "I know how you feel," Jim said sub-vocally, and lifted his wineglass to her. She grinned back, raising her water glass. She'd already had one glass of wine, but she didn't feel it was safe to push it with her control on her senses so tenuous. "All right, so you want to get Marty into a lab and test her," Jane said, breaking into the conversation. "When? She's here primarily to track down MacLeod so she's going to be spending most of her time doing that. I have work of my own to do; the Cascade Gallery is expecting a shipment of five new pieces from me that I have to get finished, crated up, and shipped off. That's going to take a few days. So when are we supposed to get to a lab?" "She has a point, Blair. It's not like Marty lives here, and in case you haven't noticed, you don't live with her and you don't know her schedule like you know mine. With word hitting the streets as planned, we'll hear something soon, one way or another," Jim said. "Once we've bagged this bastard," he added, "she'll go home." "Although I'm going to have to take a few days off as soon as I can to arrange things," Marty said. "You will? Why? For what?" Jane demanded. Taking a deep breath, Marty said somewhat hesitantly, "Jane, according to Blair, guides should remain with their sentinel most of the time, or at least nearby. Scotland is not near to Cascade at all, darling." She paused, then asked somewhat nervously, "I... was wondering if I might persuade you to move back home with me? And if not, then I'll transfer over here to America. Maybe in Maine, somewhere? It's a lot like Scotland and I would be more comfortable in that environment. I know you like Cascade, but I don't think two sentinels can remain in the same town. My presence seems to irritate Jamie's protective instincts. Jane? What do you say?" The young woman had her head down and was staring at her plate. Finally, she said, "Let me get this straight: you want me to give up my own private home and workshop and move in with you, preferably in Scotland, but somewhere in America in a pinch if I don't want to leave this country? All because he," she pointed at Blair, "says I'm a guide -- a job I don't even want, by the way -- and because he says we have to live together? What's next? We're gonna be told we have to start sleeping together, too?" Jim choked on his wine, coughing and sputtering. Blair leaned over to pat his back as he gaped at Jane. "Why the hell would you think that?" he asked. She glared at him. "Because it doesn't take a genius to see that you two are life partners. You're not just roommates, you're shacked up together!" Jim finished coughing and straightened up in his seat, his ice-blue eyes pinning her with a pointed stare. "You have a problem with that, Miss Leighton?" She rolled her eyes. "No. One of my best friends is queer as a three-dollar bill. Who cares? What I'm worried about is that maybe you're gonna tell me that it's supposedly a sentinel/guide thing, and in case you haven't noticed, we're cousins. Close cousins, at that." "Kissing cousins?" Blair teased, then ducked his head sheepishly at the twin glares he got from both women. "Sorry." "So glad you're enjoying yourself," Jane commented icily. "Hey, I said I was sorry. I'm as new to this as you are." "You've been a guide for a while now." "I meant new to teaching a new pair. In case it slipped your notice, I don't spend most of my time teaching Sentinel 101, you know. And Jane, let me remind you this is a choice. There very well be another person out there for Marty, but right now, and based on matching dreams, I'd say you're it." Marty noticed Jim's grimace at Blair's first words and immediately asked, "What, Jamie?" He sighed. "Suddenly, I realize just how little privacy you've had, Chief," he said to his own guide, then addressed the other sentinel. "It's an old bone of contention with me. About Blair teaching about sentinels. He could have... I mean, because of me, he can't do that now. He was going to, but I fucked things up." Blair's jaw practically hit the table. "Jim? No, you didn't! Why in hell would you even think that?!" "Oh, come on, Blair! Naomi may have goofed by breaking into your computer and sending the file without permission, but she, at least, was ruining your life with the best of intentions! I fucked up your plans by refusing to trust you, by rejecting you, and that pushed you into throwing everything away!" Sandburg was silent for so long that Jim was near to squirming when he demanded, "Well?" Suddenly, Blair gave his partner a small, tender smile. "Aw, Jim, you still don't get it, do you? I wasn't throwing my life away; I was saving it. Or haven't you figured it out yet that you are my life?" "Blair..." Jim breathed, his blue eyes locking onto the smaller man's. They were abruptly brought back to awareness by the sound of two fists knocking on the table. Glancing over, they saw Marty and Jane grinning at them wryly, and blushed. "Not that we don't find this a tender Kodak moment to beat all," Jane said, her tone especially arid, "but we have other things we need to get accomplished. You two can play kissy-face later." Jim glared at her, his cheeks pinking up even further, and dropped his gaze to his plate. Blair grinned sheepishly and glanced over towards the balcony doors. "Okay, so that's all of that." Jane turned to face her cousin and said, "Marty?" "Aye, cuz?" she said, as calmly as she could. "Can I have a few days to think it over? I mean... even if I don't like what's going on, I can't deny that it is happening, and you have a hell of a problem to deal with. I don't want you to deal with it alone, and if all this hocus-pocus malarkey means that maybe I can help you, then fine. But give me some time to think about where I want to live, all right?" Marty's smile was blinding as she replied, "All right, Janey. You can have all the time you need." "Great. Only thing I'm worrying about now is if we're destined to get even 'closer,'" Jane grumbled. Smiling, Blair reassured, "No destiny involved there, Jane." When they glanced at him, he added, "In all my research, I've never found anything that says a sentinel and guide must join physically. The pairing is, more than anything else, a soul bond. Physical relations together are, I believe, by choice, like Jim and me." The two women sighed in relief and laughed at each other. "Well, good," Jane said. "Aye, you said it, cuz," Marty agreed. "I'd rather not give up the male population just yet." "Hey, Marty, would you come up to the roof with me for a few minutes? There's something I want you to try out." "More tests, laddie?" she asked with a pained glance. "Yeah, but nothing that will make you zone, I promise." Marty sighed. "All right. Come on, Jane --" "Uh -- just you, please," Blair said quickly. Jim glanced over at his partner and backed down when he saw the look in Blair's eyes. The look that said "everything's cool, just trust me." Ever since the dissertation fiasco, he'd been heeding that look more carefully than before. He nodded his acquiescence and then grinned at Jane. "That means that I can tell you some of what to expect from Marty's behavior and what to look out for while we do the kitchen clean up." "Jim, they're our guests! You shouldn't be making her do --" "He's not making me do a damn thing, Blair," Jane replied calmly. "It's only good manners. Now, you two run along and I'll listen to what Jim has to say. We can have dessert when you get back." Looking doubtful, Marty reluctantly got up from the table and followed Blair to the front door and then through it, heading up to the roof. As they made their way up, she could clearly hear her cousin and Jim gathering up dishes and heading into the kitchen, and then snorted when she heard Jim say, "Jane, first thing you're going to notice is that this sentinel thing is going to make Marty real crotchety." Blair turned to look at the female sentinel as they stepped through the door that led out onto the open area of the roof. "Something funny?" "Jamie's making smart-ass comments to Jane. Apparently, he thinks he's a wise-guy." Sandburg snickered. "Yeah, well, don't knock it. I've spent the last four years working my butt off to help him develop all of his senses, and that includes his sense of humor." Marty giggled and then moved into a full-fledged howl of laughter. "Jamie says to tell you he 'Heared that, Shorty!' And o' course you did, Ellison. Now why don't you turn off your ears, and give the two of us some privacy? I promise, I won't let anything happen to him." Blair glared down at the roof. "I second that motion, Jim. You know by now that she's a 'Blessed Protector' type, too." He glanced over at Marty. She nodded, smiling. "He's agreed. Rather ungraciously, but --" and then the ferry whistle from the harbor blew out and she howled, shuddered as she clapped her hands to her ears, and dropped to the surface of the roof. Immediately, Blair landed on his knees next to her. "Jim? If you're fine and you can hear me, get Jane and come up here, okay?" Less than thirty seconds later, Ellison and Leighton burst out onto the roof. Jane went pale and knelt next to her cousin. "What --" she began in a sharp, panic-stricken tone, but Marty groaned and feebly tried to roll away. Blair shook his head at her. "Whisper only," he said in a very soft tone. "Her hearing was dialed way up when the whistle came. Jane, you're going to have to learn how to help get her senses -- in this case, her hearing -- and her pain under control." He looked at his own sentinel for a moment. "Jim, you're okay? Nothing wrong?" Jim shook his head as he said, "I'm fine; I got my hearing turned down in time. Speaking of dials, we'd better help her get back in touch with hers." Turning to Jane, he said, "Remember what Blair taught you. Go ahead and give it a try. The touch will be more soothing to her right now than you could ever believe." Sandburg nodded and added, "Speak to her gently and use your voice to help her dial her hearing down. Marty, I know you're listening. Once you've got a handle on your hearing, make another dial for your pain, and we'll work on that." Glancing at Jane, he said, "Okay, ball's in your court, Jane." Once again, Jane did as the two men had instructed and began lightly stroking Marty's wrist as she whispered at her cousin to dial it down. A few minutes went by, but finally, the new sentinel's features relaxed somewhat. Taking the initiative, Jane continued. "Marty? Blair mentioned something about a pain dial. It's like the rest of the dials you said you've got situated for your senses, but it will control your pain levels; I want you to do that now. Make one for your pain receptors and start lowering it to a more bearable level." "Hurts. Tough to focus," Marty growled. "I know, Marty, believe me I know," Jim interrupted gently. "But it's only going to get worse. You have to work through the pain and do it. C'mon, you're a cop; you know all about that." Marty snarled something appropriately filthy that made Jane blush, Sandburg blink in awe, and Jim grin with respectful amusement. "Yeah, I know, but I'm only trying to help. Now, come on, MacLachlan; buckle down and picture the dial." "Jim, back off and let Jane take the lead. It's her voice Marty has to get accustomed to, that's why we're coaching her," Blair instructed. Nodding, Jim shut up and glanced over at Jane. Sighing, she said, "It makes sense, cuz. And come on, I know you've done it before. I remember the time when we were kids and my parents and I had come over to visit. You took me rock climbing and fell down the slope and broke your leg. I thought you were gonna pass out because it hurt so bad but you got this weird look on your face, scrunched your eyes shut, and a moment later, you relaxed and said it didn't hurt so bad anymore. Now, if you can do that at seven, why can't you do it now? I know you can. Picture a dial for pain and slam that sucker down to zero -- no, don't do that. If anything goes wrong you won't be able to tell until it's too late. Put it down on two. That ought to do it." Focusing on her cousin's voice, Marty gritted her teeth and did as she was told. She was gratified when, a moment later, the pain dropped to a tolerable level. "Ahhhhhh," she sighed. "That's got it. "Good," Jane said with a grin as she looked down into now-open green eyes. Marty snorted, then closed one eye as she gazed up at the other woman thoughtfully. "You have a very soothin' voice, cuz. I like that." "Yeah, well, I've got a feeling it's gonna come in handy. Are you okay to stay up here?" Marty nodded her head carefully. "Aye. I've got my hearing dialed down. I won't let that happen again. Thanks for comin' up here." "No problem," Jim said as he got to his feet, and he and Sandburg helped Marty to hers. Jim turned to lead the way back downstairs, gesturing at Jane to follow him. After making certain that her cousin was truly all right, Leighton followed quickly, shutting the roof door behind her.