A Gentle Touch

"Hey, Jim, how's it..." Blair looked up from his laptop, cheery greeting dying on his lips at the haggard expression on Jim's face. Pulling his glasses off, he watched as Jim reached into the fridge, grabbed a beer and collapsed down on the couch, flicking through the TV channels.

"What happened?" Blair asked as he sat down beside his partner.

"We were too late." Jim's voce was haunted, lace with pain and anger. "We didn't get there in time, and he killed her."

Blair rested his elbows on his knees, hands covering his face. He sat that way for a couple of minutes, silence reigning. He turned his head to look at Jim, fingers tangling in his hair. "I'm sorry." There was nothing else that could be said.

"Sorry isn't going to bring that little girl back." Jim's hands balled into fists and he punched the arm of the couch. Blair placed a comforting hand on Jim's forearm.

"Man, you are really tense."

"Yeah? I wonder why..." Jim shot back sarcastically.

Blair automatically raised his hands, palms out, in a defensive, calming gesture. "Hey, hey. Don't go off on me, Jim. I'm only trying to help. We need to calm you down, relax you."

"And just how are you planning on doing that, Chief?"

"I know it hurts, Jim. But you gotta work with me on this one, please?" Blair waited until Jim acknowledged his request with a single nod. "It's not going to be easy, but we need to relax you. When your emotions are high and you're stressed, your senses go wacky. We need you fully online to catch this bastard, and then we go back over every little detail, everything, to find whatever it was we missed, and then we nail him. We couldn't save this kid, but he damn well ain't gonna kill again."

Jim nodded, unable to help the small smile he felt his lips pulling into; he might be the Sentinel with the protective instincts, but his Guide wasn't exactly lacking - especially not when children were in danger. "OK, so how are we going to do this?"

Blair jumped to his feet, all but running across the room, skidding to a stop outside his door. "You are going to take a shower - spend as long as you need in there, and as much hot water as you like. I need to get some stuff from in here. I'll meet you upstairs in a while." Blair spun into his room, curls flying out behind him.

Jim sat unmoving for long minutes before heaving himself out of the chair and slowly making his way to the bathroom. Not bothering to lock the door, he ran the shower, getting the right temperature, then methodically stripped and folded his clothes, placing them on the toilet seat. Stepping under the hot spray, he let the water cascade down over him, lifting his face into it. The dirt and grime of the day was washed away, his skin pinking under the heat of the water. He could hear Blair moving around and could smell some peculiar scents, but they were concentrated around his Guide. They didn't signal danger, so he ignored them as the water pounded down his back, easing some of the tension from his muscles.

Towelling himself dry, he extended his hearing to Blair. Upstairs. The loft was dark, but Jim's Sentinel vision compensated, his pupils widening, letting in more light. Climbing the stairs, he almost dropped the towel in surprise.

His bed was illuminated by the dozens of candles that surrounded it. Lavender, Jim's sense of smell told him. His sheets had been changed. Running his hand over the material, Jim wasn't sure what it was, but it felt luxuriatingly soft. Blair was sat on the bed, strangely still, trying to gauge his reaction.

With a soft smile Jim turned to his partner. "What is this, Sandburg? A seduction?" he joked.

"Do I need one?" Blair shot back, grinning at the faint blush he couldn't see, but knew all the same was spreading over Jim's cheeks. "Come on, lie down." Blair held out his hand. Jim took the hand, lying down on the bed, indulgent sigh at the feel of the sheets. "Roll over onto your stomach," Blair instructed him, grabbing a bottle of oil off the bedside cupboard. Jim raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment, trusting the younger man implicitly.

Blair moved to sit on the tops of Jim's thighs. "Is that OK?" Jim nodded. Uncapping the bottle, he warmed a drop of it in his hands. Jim sniffed as the scent reached him, frowning in concentration.

"Blair, what's in that?"

"Lavender, Patchouli, Geranium and Rosemary. I added some Orange oil to make it a smoother scent."

"Sandburg." There was a hit of a warning growl in Jim's tone. "I'm going to smell like a girl!"

"No you're not," Blair laughed. "And besides, you can always have another shower in the morning. Now shut up and relax."

The warmed oil coating his hands, Blair started gently rubbing Jim's back in upward strokes, the oils soaking into his skin. Jim's shoulder and back muscles were solid under his skin, but slowly, under Blair's ministrations, the knots started easing, soft "hmm's" of appreciation coming from his partner.

Jim's head was pillowed on folded arms, his head rolling to one side as he started relaxing; eyelids sliding shut as the tension left his body. He could feel himself falling asleep and didn't fight the welcoming darkness, just allowed Blair's hands to guide him there.

Blair could feel Jim start to drift, and continued massaging until the first soft snores reached his ears. He slid off Jim and extinguished all the candles, curling up next to him.

Gently moonlight bathed the room as the Guide guarded his sleeping Sentinel.