"Blair? C'mon kid, wake up now," Jim held the cool, damp cloth against Blair's brow with one hand, tenderly stroking his cheek with the other. He glanced at the clock on the wall and frowned; Blair had been out for nearly half an hour now. Jim had barely been able to catch his young love, to keep him from striking the floor. He had eased Blair down onto the couch and then rushed to get a cold compress, relieved that he still had the ability to physically touch things. Danny had explained to him that it wasn't always so.

"Is he OK?" a voice asked behind Jim.

Jim turned to see Danny standing over him, looking in concern at Blair, who was still blotto on the couch. "So," Jim muttered, "are you going to appear whenever I think about you? You never said anything about that!" Jim turned back to Blair, reaching to feel his pulse. Steady and growing stronger; he was waking up.

Danny chuckled. "No man, that's not part of my job." Danny touched the fabric of Jim's long coat. "What's with the clothes, man? He's the only one who can see you, remember? And I thought you two were...," Danny bobbed his eyebrows suggestively.

Jim smirked at the young man. "Barely," he replied. "We had only just figured it out when...," Jim sighed, still checking Blair's pulse. "I know he's the only one who can see me," Jim added testily. "But the... you know," he gestured with a thumb at the bulge on his back under the raincoat. "I don't want to scare him."

"Too late," Danny snorted, as he knelt and studied the young man on the couch. "You really should've been more careful about revealing yourself to him, you know?" Danny chastised Jim, patting the big man on the shoulder. "If he dies of heart failure now, you'll have failed your mission before it even began!" Danny grinned as Jim turned and fixed him with a nasty look.

"Oh, so I'm supposed to be an expert already? Give me a break! I've been dead all of what..., ten days?" Jim sighed as he stroked Blair's forehead, Sentinel ears picking up a faint moan. "You guys should consider offering a training course or something. Maybe Afterlife 101?" Jim smiled as Danny burst out laughing.

"How about an instructional video?" Danny giggled. "I bet we could get George Burns to...," Danny broke off as Blair moaned, and shifted on the couch.

Jim laid the compress aside, and laid his hand on Blair's forehead. "Blair? That's it, come on," He leaned closer as Blair's blue eyes slowly fluttered open. Jim turned to tell Danny he'd best get out of sight, but the young Asian man was already gone.

Blair tried to focus. What had happened? He felt so strange, like he'd been asleep for days. The face in front of him solidified, and Blair gasped. "Jim?" he whispered, eyes wide.

Jim smiled tenderly at him. "Yeah Chief, it's me," he said gently, running the back of his hand down Blair's cheek. He was surprised when the young man suddenly sat up and flung his arms around Jim's neck.

"Oh geez, Jim!" Blair cried, clinging to his friend. "I had the worst nightmare!" He pulled back to look into Jim's eyes. "You were dead..., and then you came back, and...," Blair's voice trailed off as he caught sight of the cardboard boxes still waiting to go to Goodwill. He looked again into Jim's eyes, and began to tremble.

Jim saw the fear building back up in his love's face. "Now Blair, stay calm, OK?" he said, reaching to take hold of the young man's hands. "I have a lot to tell you, but...,"

Blair pulled his hands away and sprang off the couch away from Jim. The big man took a step toward him and Blair whimpered. He fully expected now that he had gone insane.

Jim stopped, then moved away from Blair. His closeness seemed to make the young man nervous. Jim walked over and sat down on the arm of the yellow chair as he said, "Blair, you aren't crazy," he noted the faint look of relief that passed over his friend's face, and continued. "You're going to have to bear with me here, OK? I know this is strange, but believe me, you can't possibly be more afraid than I am." Jim ran a hand over his close-cropped hair with a sigh, wondering where to begin.

"Just answer me this?" Blair asked, still trembling.

"Yes?"

Blair took a deep breath. "You are... dead? I mean, I didn't imagine that?"

Jim smiled sadly. "No Blair, you didn't. I am dead," Jim watched Blair's face for a reaction. The young man seemed to think about it, then nodded a little.

"So.. you're a ghost?" Blair whispered, nervously studying Jim sitting there in his raincoat and jeans, as natural as could be.

"No, no, no," Jim said waving his hand. "Nothing like that." He eyed Blair curiously, then realization hit him. "Oh you mean the juice glass and everything?" he asked.

A nod from Blair.

Jim pursed his lips. "Yeah... well... I've already been informed that I could've gone about that better." Jim shrugged, and looked to Blair for a response.

Blair moved a little closer, becoming more comfortable with Jim's presence. He watched Jim stand up to begin to pace around the living room. "So... why are you here?" Blair asked. "Can you walk through walls? Can you move stuff with your mind? How about teleportation, mind travel... Oh MAN! Do you still have your Sentinel abilities?" Blair fired the questions faster than an Uzi spitting bullets, hands in constant motion as he spoke. Now that his fear had abated, somewhat, his trademark curiosity flared up. "What are your senses like now?" he asked breathlessly

After each question, Jim tried to jump in and answer, only to be buried by another question, and another. Finally he held up his hands in a 'Timeout" gesture, and waited for Blair to calm down for a moment. When his Guide seemed to have reined in his hunger for knowledge, Jim began to speak.

"Uhh, there's some stuff that I can't tell you," Jim said, "mainly because I don't quite understand it myself." Jim said. He wandered around the room for a minute, then turned to look evenly into his love's eyes. "Maybe I should just start at the beginning?" he asked, spreading his hands.

Blair nodded. "Maybe so," he replied.

Jim studied him. "And maybe you should sit down," he added.

Blair nodded as he sank down into the couch cushions. "Yeah.. I think so."

"Guardian Angel?" Blair asked, giving Jim a look that said 'You're kidding, right?' Blair shook his head, holding up his hands. "I'm sorry, man, but this is just a little too Twilight Zone for me." He sat back against the couch cushions and rubbed his face.

"Blair please, I'm only telling you what Danny told me," Jim began. Blair held up a hand to stop him.

"Let me get this straight," Blair said. "You've been sent back here on a mission, right?" When Jim nodded, Blair continued, "You're supposed to help me put away the man who killed you?"

"That's only part of it, Blair. I'm also here to protect you," Jim said. "I've been assigned to keep you safe until Wallace is behind bars."

"Right, right," Blair said. "And I'm the only one who can see you?" he asked.

"Oh hear me," Jim added, nodding. "It's one of the rules."

"Rules," Blair snorted, went into the kitchen for a glass of water. "They still have rules, even in Heaven?" he muttered over his shoulder to Jim. "I thought that was the whole idea behind Heaven; a place for the people who already knew how to follow the rules," Blair mumbled as he drew a glass of water from the tap.

Jim followed him into the kitchen. He started to hop up to sit on the counter, then remembered his new physical attributes, and contented himself with leaning against the island in the center of the kitchen. "Heaven," Jim repeated. He pulled a face and tilted his head a little, pursing his lips. "You know, they don't really have a name for it Chief. That's something the living came up with to call it. Heaven, Nirvana, The Elision Fields... it's all the same... everyone's in the same place." Jim smiled at the look of disbelief that crossed Blair's face.

"Then all these studies I've done about different cultural beliefs about the afterlife.... They're all moot?!" Blair sputtered, eyes wide. He huffed again and ran a hand through his hair. "I should've gone into Accounting...," Blair's voice trailed off as he noticed Jim grinning at him. "What's so funny?" he asked, moving to stand before the big man.

Jim took a deep breath and just smiled down at Blair, brushing the curly hair out of his love's eyes. "I just...," he sighed. "You can't imagine what it's like to be with you again," he said quietly. Then he began to chuckle. "You should've seen your face, when you saw me before," he giggled. "Nolan Ryan on LSD!" Jim briefly imitated Blair's bat-wielding stance, letting his eyes and mouth hang open.

Blair rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, you come face to face with someone you buried a week ago, and see what kind of a reaction YOU have!" He began to drink his glass of water, then glanced thoughtfully at Jim. Without warning, Blair tossed the water at him.

"Hey!" Jim yelled, as he was soaked. "What did you do THAT for?"

Blair held up his hands. "I'm sorry man, just doing an experiment." Blair bit back a giggle at the annoyed look on Jim's face. "So, I take it you can be affected by physical things?" Blair stated as he tossed Jim a dish towel, setting the now-empty glass in the sink.

Jim caught the towel and rubbed at the liquid soaking his face and chest. "Yes, Chief, I can still be affected by physical things." he threw the towel back at Blair, and chuckled as it wrapped itself around the young man's head. "In fact, according to Danny, I can actually be killed... again." Jim grinned as Blair tossed the towel aside and stared at him.

"Killed?" Blair murmured. He shook his head. This was too weird. "But you're already dead."

Jim sighed in irritation. "I know, I know, would you stop reminding me? You think this an easy thing to be going through?" he snapped. Then he saw the hurt look on Blair's face, and moved forward with his arms out. "I'm sorry," he said, pulling Blair into an embrace. "You didn't deserve that.... I'm just... this is so... so...,"

"Surreal?" Blair mumbled into Jim's chest.

Jim chuckled. "Yeah, that's a good way to describe it." He was quiet then, just holding Blair, feeling the warmth of the young man's breath against his bare chest. Jim bowed his head to gently kiss the top of Blair's head, and sighed as he felt the anthropologist's arms tighten around him. After a moment, Jim heard a sniffle, and felt hot tears on his chest. He drew back quickly and reached one hand to raise Blair's face. "Blair?" he said softly.

Blair looked into Jim's eyes, tears streaming down his face. He shook his head sadly as he gazed up at his love. "It's not fair, Jim," he said softly, voice cracking with emotion. "We didn't have any time! I'd only just realized that I loved you, and then you were...," the rest of Blair's sentence was lost as Jim pressed his face into his chest again.

"Shh," Jim breathed, reaching one hand to fondle Blair's long curls. "I know, baby, I know," He gently kissed Blair's hair again. Jim sighed, feeling his own eyes beginning to fill up. He held Blair tightly to him, trying to fight down his tears. They clung together like that for a long time, just holding on to each other. Jim had to agree with Blair; it wasn't fair. It would've been so much easier on both of them if they had been parted as just friends. Instead, the Higher Powers had decided to let them declare their feelings just in time for Jim to be ripped away from the one he loved. It was a hard thing to understand.

After awhile, Blair let go and pulled back to look up into his love's face. "So," he began uncertainly, "I hate to sound negative... but what happens if you fail?"

"What do you mean, Chief?" Jim asked. He let go of Blair, and the young man moved to sit on the countertop.

"What if Wallace kills me before we can put him away?" Blair asked. "Will...," he gestured toward the ceiling, "...THEY give you a new assignment, or is this like a one-shot thing?" Blair cocked his head at Jim, raising his eyebrows.

Jim sighed. "That's the unpleasant part," he said softly. At Blair's concerned gaze, he explained, "If I fail... I... lose my soul." Jim looked at the floor, eyes far away.

Blair got to his feet and came to stand before Jim. "Lose your soul? As in... eternal damnation?"

Jim nodded, not looking at him.

"The 'H' word?!" Blair asked, voice rising.

Another nod from Ellison. Blair huffed, running both hands through his curls. "That... that's... I mean...," He stared at Jim again. "That SUCKS man! Why should you be punished if Wallace... AUGH!" Blair ended the phrase with short sound of disgust before turning to stalk around the living room.

"Blair," Jim began, getting to his feet to approach the young man.

Blair turned to him again. "Why you, Jim?" he demanded. "Why did it have to be you? I mean, I'm sure they had other... candidates they could've sent." Blair's whole face was a question mark.

Jim sighed, spreading his arms and shrugging a bit, gently. "I volunteered, Chief," he said softly.

Blair stared. "You did?"

Jim nodded. "Yes Blair, I did," he said in the same gentle tone. "They explained to me that you were in danger, and then told me they were planning to send you a protector." Jim reached up a hand to cup the side of Blair's face. "I asked them to let me do it." He grinned as he added, "They thought it was a great idea. After all, I have occupational experience, right?" He smiled down at his beautiful Guide.

Blair nodded, understanding. "Blessed Protector," he said softly, smiling. He felt his heart begin to pound as the implications of what Jim was telling him began to sink in. "Jim, you were in Heaven, correct?" Blair asked, taking a step back from Jim.

"Yes," Jim said, nodding. "But please don't ask me what it was like; I'm not allowed to tell you much," he added quickly.

Blair continued, not hearing, "You were in Heaven. You were in the one place where all believing people yearn to go." Blair was looking inward as he spoke, trying to grasp what was going on as he crossed the room again. "You had 'Made It'...," Blair said, turning to look deeply into Jim's eyes. "And you came back... for me?" Blair's voice had become so faint that only a Sentinel could hear it.

Jim slowly moved to stand before Blair. He smiled gently, reaching down to frame his Guide's face in his big hands. "Yes, I did," he said tenderly.

Blair felt tears filling his eyes again. "Why?" he whispered. The look of adoration that crossed Jim's features melted Blair's heart.

"Because," Jim said, leaning down to kiss the corner of Blair's mouth, "I considered the threat of burning in Hell a nominal risk, if it meant I could be with you again, even for five seconds." Jim closed his eyes and captured Blair's lips with his own, gently, delicately. "I love you, Blair," he whispered.

Blair closed his eyes as Jim's lips touched his, then trailed down to his throat. "Ohhh gawd...." He shivered as he felt the big hands creep up his back and pull him tighter against his love's body. Blair's own hands rose to stroke though the short brown hair, trailing down to caress the powerful neck. He shivered as he felt Jim's hands move to unbutton his shirt. "Ohhh yes...," Blair moaned softly. He had been aching for Jim's touch ever since he'd left for Japan. Now he relaxed, totally compliant, eager as he felt the air touch his chest as his lover slowly liberated him from his shirt.

Jim opened Blair's shirt, and slipped his warm fingers inside. He ran his fingertips through the dark mat of hair on Blair's chest, seeking out his nipples. When he found what he was looking for, Jim bowed his head to take one of the warm, velvety little buds gently between his teeth. He grazed his teeth lightly over the nub, and followed by circling the aureole with his tongue. He grinned as he felt the nipple hardening, tightening under his lips as he gently suckled. As Jim's mouth played with Blair's right nipple, he moved his rough fingertips to tickle the left. His Sentinel sense of touch registered the difference in the pebbly texture of the sides and center of the aureole as he traced one fingertip in a slow, lazy circle around it. He scraped his thumbnail across the tip, before turning his head to flick his tongue over the bud. He felt the rumbling within the chest in front of his face as Blair moaned, and felt the slender hands gripping his scalp, pulling his head closer. Jim closed his eyes, feeling waves of pleasure wash over him as he devoured his Guide. Making love to Blair was turning out to be every bit as exquisite as Jim had dreamed it would be, and he directed a silent thank-you to the Higher Power that had given him this second chance.

Blair's head was arched back, mouth open as he panted, face flushed with desire. Jim continued to tease his sensitive nipples, applying his fingertips, tongue, lips and teeth with the singular purpose, it seemed, of driving Blair mad with sensation. Blair closed his eyes and moaned as Jim began to tug at the tiny hairs surrounding his nipple, one by one. Then the rough fingers were moving again, slipping down to caress his sides, then back up under the shirt to stroke over the smooth skin of his back. Jim's mouth resumed its attack on his left nipple, tongue swirling and nudging the hard little bud. Blair wrapped his arms around Jim's neck as he felt one hand snake around his ribcage to scurry down his stomach, as the other hand scraped its fingernails up and down the sensitive skin of his shoulder blades.

Jim ran his fingers down the flat muscular plane of Blair's stomach, feeling the abs twitch and flinch under his fingertips. He fingered the tapering trail of hair downward, pausing to stroke his thumb over the perfect belly-button. Jim began to nibble gently on the nipple between his lips as his fingers drifted down to Blair's jeans, one hand still brushing the smooth skin of Blair's back. He popped the button of Blair's jeans open, and slid the zipper down. Then he moved both hands to Blair's waist to lift him up onto the kitchen table.

Blair felt Jim undo his pants, and his heartrate increased. Jim seized Blair's slender waist in his big hands and lifted him effortlessly onto the flat surface of the table. As Jim settled him on the table, Blair captured his mouth in a deep, passionate kiss. Their tongues swirled over each other, probing, exploring, fighting for dominance. Blair's fingers clutched at Jim's hair as he surrendered himself to his lover. Then he arched as Jim began kissing down his body. As Jim's lips brushed down the center of his chest, the rough hands at Blair's waist slid up to encircle his ribcage. Blair relaxed as Jim began to ease him back to lay down on the table. He started to comply, then suddenly halted as he caught a glimpse of the kitchen clock. His anthropology class! It began in 20 minutes! As much as he hated to interrupt the sensation of Jim covering his stomach with butterfly kisses, Blair knew he had to go to the University.

"Jim...," Blair mumbled, moving his hands to Jim's shoulders. The big man was now rubbing his face in the soft hair below Blair's belly-button. "Jim... Jiiiim," Blair moaned persistently. "Hey.. time out, big guy.... Let me... ungh! JIM!" As a last resort, Blair grabbed Jim's ears in both hands and forcibly pulled the big man's face away from his skin. Blair bit back a grin at the pained look on his lover's face.

"What's wrong?" Jim panted, face flushed with arousal. His eyes suddenly widened. "Oh God! Am I hurting you?" Jim stood up and removed his hands from Blair's body, face lined with worry. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, "I tried to be gentle...," Jim trailed off as Blair reached up to stroke his face, a look of intense regret on the expressive features. "What's wrong, baby?" Jim asked, laying a hand on his love's shoulder.

Blair sighed, and reached up to press his lips to Jim's. "I'm sorry... I have a class, Jim," Blair said softly. He moaned as Jim's arms slipped around him again, fingers gently stroking his sides. "Jim... please... I have to go," Blair said.

"Call in... sick," Jim murmured against Blair's mouth, running his tongue over the full lower lip.

"I'm not sick... Jim.... Oh gaaaawd," Blair moaned as Jim's hands slid down his body to cup his bottom, lifting him off the table. Blair wrapped his legs around Jim's waist.

Jim grinned at the moan. Just another minute or two, and all thoughts of the University would be vanquished from his beloved's mind. "Call in horny, then," he mumbled, lowering his head to nibble the cleft of Blair's chin, hands kneading the firm muscles of the young man's ass.

"I can't...," Blair groaned. "Midterms... coming up.... Review... ohhhh Jim....please," Blair realized he was going to give in if he didn't get away from Jim's touch. With a burst of energy, he managed to scramble out of Jim's arms, trying to ignore the pitiful, disappointed groans of his Angel. "I'm sorry, big guy. But I have to go...." Blair was able to fend off the groping fingers long enough to bolt into the bathroom. He locked the door against Jim, grinning at the growl of frustration that came from the other side of the wood barrier. Blair stripped and stepped into the shower.

Jim listened to the sound of cloth against skin as Blair stripped, feeling his erection pressing tighter against his jeans.An Angel with a boner... who would've thought..., Jim thought to himself. He leaned against the door as he heard Blair turn on the water.

"Jim, could you get me a change of clothes please?" Blair called as he soaped his body. He showered as quickly as he could, then rinsed, and reached through the curtains for a towel. He yelped in surprise as his wrist was seized, and he was pulled out of the stall. "Hey!" He said in astonishment as he looked into the twinkling blue eyes of his lover. "How'd you get in here?"

Jim smiled as he leaned down to kiss Blair's wet face. "One of the nice things about being an Angel, Chief," he said. "Locked doors aren't much of a problem." Jim demonstrated by promptly vanishing from Blair's sight.

Blair gave a cry of surprise as Jim disappeared before his eyes. No sooner had the big man vanished, when there was a knock on the bathroom door. Blair unlocked the door and stared at his love, grinning at him, holding out the clothes.

"Your clothes, sir," Jim said with a stuffy British accent, bowing. He laughed as Blair swatted him on the arm and snatched the clothes from his hands.

"Oh, this is gonna be SO much fun...," Blair mumbled, as he pulled on his boxers.

* * * * * *

The drive to the University was uneventful, except for the disconcerting fact that Jim insisted on sitting atop the back of the passenger seat of the Corvair. It was 'More comfortable' for him than sitting in the seat, he said. Every time Blair glanced in his direction, he got an eye-level view of Jim muscular thigh, clad in tight, black denim. The big man was still going shirtless, wearing only the jeans and the long coat. Despite the flashes of heat striking through his groin with every glance to his right, Blair was able to get to Rainer without a wreck.

Blair parked in front of the Anthropology building, and hopped out of the car. Neither he nor Jim noticed the big black car that pulled up a few spaces behind them. A large man in his late forties got out of the passenger side door of the car, eyes on the young, curly-haired man moving toward the front doors of the building. The mysterious man wore a long black coat, and had one hand concealed within its folds as he moved quickly to the side door of the building, and stealthily entered.

"So how long is this class?" Jim asked, following Blair up the walk toward the front doors of the anthropology building.

"Not long," Blair mumbled trying not to move his lips. He didn't want the few students hanging around to think their Teaching Fellow had gone nuts, talking to thin air. "An hour and fifteen minutes, tops."

Jim nodded. "Good, good. As soon as we get home I want to get to work on our plan to catch Wallace, OK?" Jim opened the door for Blair, then stepped through himself. He didn't realize what he'd done until he saw the surprised look on the face of a male student walking toward them.

"Hey," the student exclaimed. "When did they get automatic doors installed?"

"Dunno, Pete," Blair replied, directing a sidelong glare at his invisible Angel. "I didn't realize they had!" He laughed and quickly hurried up the stairs toward his classroom.

Jim looked back, grimacing as Pete promptly walked into the door. "Whoops," muttered the detective.

The class went by quickly, and Blair was very pleased with his students. It seemed they had a pretty good grasp of what they'd been taught for the past three months, for a change. Blair covered all the material in about 45 minutes, and dismissed the class early. He stood at the front of the lecture hall as the students filed out, fixing a glare on the raincoated figure that lay snoring across one of the long tables near the back of the room. Blair waited for the last student to close the door behind her, then climbed up the steps to stand over the sleeping figure. Blair was relieved that he was the only one who could hear the window-rattling snores of his Angel during the lecture. He nudged the prone form. "Hey... Sleeping Beauty... we're done."

Jim moaned and stretched as well as he could on the narrow table. He looked up sleepily at his love, who was smiling down at him. "What?" Jim asked with a grin.

Blair shook his head. "You just look so... angelic when you sleep," he said softly. He leaned down to kiss Jim's cheek. "Wanna go home and finish what we started?" he asked, bobbing his eyebrows. He laughed as Jim scrambled quickly off the table, grabbed Blair's wrist, and ran with him down to the door of the classroom. "Whoa... easy there, big guy, you'll pull my arm off!" Blair chuckled, carefully removing his hand from Jim's grasp.

"Sorry," Jim said with a smile. He pressed his lips to Blair's in a brief, hard kiss before allowing the anthropologist to exit the classroom. Jim followed, managing to keep his hands to himself as he and his love moved down the hall and out of the building. He stood beside Blair, bouncing with eagerness as Blair fumbled in his pockets for the car keys. "Come on, come on," he urged, reaching out to run a hand over the curve of Blair's ass.

Blair grinned and turned away as he continued to search for his keys. He jumped a little as Jim's arms snaked around him from behind. "Will you get it under control man?" Blair muttered through his teeth. Blair finally found the keys, but dropped them as Jim's hands suddenly crawled up under his shirt. "Jim...," Blair warned, leaning forward to grab the side of the car as the warm fingers stroked his stomach. Thankfully, he noticed, there weren't many students around to wonder about the strange actions of their teacher. "Tell me Jim, are all Guardian Angels like you? Do they all have out-of-control sex drives?" Blair gasped as Jim's hand moved down to cup him through his jeans.

Jim grinned, leaning forward to kiss the side of Blair's neck. "I doubt it Chief," he said. "They don't have YOU." Jim nuzzled Blair's neck, then froze as his Sentinel ears picked up the familiar sound of a bullet being loaded into the chamber of a rifle. Instantly he scanned in the direction of the sound, as spotted a figure in black on the rooftop of the anthropology building. He stared in horror as the ski-masked figure took aim at Sandburg.

"You know, I look pretty stupid talking to no one, Jim," Blair mumbled out of the corner of his mouth, trying to avoid notice by the students walking past. "Is there any way you could... Umph!" Blair gasped as Jim suddenly knocked him to the ground beside the Corvair. He stared up at the sight of the neat bullet hole that now pierced the driver's side door of the car, right where he'd been standing a moment before. He hadn't heard a thing; the gun must have had a silencer.

Jim held Blair down, wincing as he scraped both the knees out of his jeans. He spread his body out over the young man, one arm wrapped protectively around the curly head. Jim's mind began to race. The sniper couldn't see Jim, so it would look as though Sandburg was just lying there helpless, unprotected. Jim closed his eyes as his Sentinel ears told him the sniper was reloading. The next shot at Sandburg would hit Jim first, and probably end his existence on Earth. Jim closed his eyes as he pictured what Hell would be like, but he did not move from his position of shielding Blair. This was his duty. He would gladly sacrifice himself to save his love. Jim heard the next shot, even through the silencer, and bit back a scream of agony as he felt the bullet lodge near his shoulder. Through the pain, he realized that his shoulder was covering Blair's heart; the intended target.

"Jim!" Blair cried, hearing his love's pained sound. He tried feebly to move, only to be seized tighter by his Angel.

"Blair freeze!" Jim yelled, realizing no one else could hear him. He had an idea. "Play dead!" He felt Blair's body go limp. Jim held his breath, and waited. After a minute he heard the scrape of gravel from the roof as the sniper stood up. Jim turned his head to look, telling Blair to keep perfectly still. Jim watched as the sniper peered down at Blair, then shouldered the rifle and moved away across the roof. Jim sighed in relief. It worked. Since the sniper couldn't see Jim, it stood to reason that he would think his last shot had hit its mark. Blair was wearing a dark-colored shirt, so any blood from a chest wound would not be visible from the rooftop.

Blair was still pretending to be dead, when he felt Jim's hand gently shake his shoulder. He raised his head and gasped at the sight of blood soaking the raincoat. Jim allowed Blair to help him get shakily to his feet, keeping one supporting hand on his arm. There were several students around who now came running over to their beloved teacher.

"Mr. Sandburg! Are you OK?" asked a young woman. She reached out to hold Blair's shoulders as he slumped back weakly against the car, holding up his invisible friend. "You passed out there, for a moment!" Her worried green eyes searched Blair's face. "Are you feeling all right?"

"They didn't hear the shots," Jim said simply, clutching his bleeding shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Blair said, looking anxiously at Jim. Blair gestured discreetly at the Corvair, and Jim nodded, moving to climb carefully over the door and into the back seat. "I guess I shouldn't have skipped breakfast this morning, huh?" Blair casually guided his frightened students away from the car so they wouldn't notice it bouncing as Jim got in. He tried to sound lighthearted as he added, "A fine example I make for my students, eh? Passing out in the parking lot from malnutrition?" He smiled as the small group laughed; he knew he was considered the most health-conscious teaching fellow on the campus.

Neither Jim nor Blair noticed the black-clad man who emerged from the side door of the anthropology building. Derek Wallace turned and stared at Sandburg in shock. He'd been sure his last bullet had found its mark yet there stood his target, alive and well. Derek's hand tightened on the rifle he had concealed under his long coat, but he did nothing. It was too risky with the small crowd gathered around the young man now. Too many witnesses. With a soft curse, Derek hurried away unseen.

"Blair," Jim called weakly. He was laying on his side across the huge back seat of the Corvair.

Blair turned, and said a quick good-bye to his group of students, reminding them of the test next week. Then he turned and hopped quickly into the car. Once they were on their way down the street, Blair's fear kicked in.

"Jim! Oh no no no Jim, this is... this is.... WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?" Blair was having trouble keeping the car on the road, as he kept looking back over his shoulder to check on his Guardian Angel. Jim had just saved his life, again. "Jim, what should I do? It's not like I can take you to a hospital...," Blair's voice was cracking as his fear increased.

"Shh, it's not as bad as it looks, Blair," Jim said quietly. He moaned a little as he shifted. "You still have... antiseptic... and gauze back at the loft, right?" he asked.

Blair nodded, looking back over the seat at Jim. The car careened into the other lane.

"Blair," Jim pointed through the windshield. Once Blair had corrected his course, Jim said, "Calm down, baby... I'll be all right. Just get us home in one piece." Jim closed his eyes, and turned down the pain dial in his mind, as Blair had taught him a year ago. He must have drifted off for a few minutes, because the next time he opened his eyes, the Corvair was pulling into a parking space in front of 852 Prospect. Jim struggled to sit up as Blair quickly turned off the ignition and hopped out.

Blair opened the back door of the car and, after looking around for any signs of people, slipped his hands under Jim's arms and helped the wounded Angel sit up. Then he guided Jim out of the car, and took one of the big man's arms across his shoulders, supporting him. "How do you feel, Jim?" he asked anxiously, as they made their way into the building.

"I feel fine Chief," Jim said reassuringly. "I heal very quickly, now." Jim glanced down at his young friend as they climbed the stairs to the third floor. "One of the perks of the job," he joked.

Blair didn't get the joke, or at least didn't acknowledge it. "Where are you hit, Jim? In the shoulder?" Blair asked, as he unlocked the door. He guided Jim over to the couch, and tried to ease him down, but Jim resisted, holding up a hand.

"No, Chief... not my shoulder." Jim started to take his coat off and paused, looking down into the concerned blue eyes of his love. It looked like the time had come for Blair to see the whole picture of Jim Ellison: Guardian Angel. "Why don't you go into the bathroom and get the gauze and stuff. You're gonna have to play doctor for me; I can't see the wound." Jim motioned for Blair to go get the medical supplies as he continued to work his shoulders out of the coat.

Blair rummaged in the medicine cabinet until he found everything he was looking for. Tweezers, gauze, antiseptic, and sterile tape. He looked around for something to give Jim for the pain, but didn't see anything, not even aspirin. Blair sighed as he remembered he'd been plagued with stress headaches after Jim's death, and had exhausted the loft's supply of painkillers. He hadn't had a chance to go shopping since then.

Blair came out of the bathroom with the armload of supplies just as Jim was tossing his ruined jeans onto the couch alongside the coat. Blair's jaw dropped at he got his first look at his naked lover, the supplies slowly slipping from his hands to scatter on the floor. "Jim," Blair breathed, not quite believing his eyes.

"What's wrong Chief?" Jim asked, grinning despite his pain, at the look on his adored's face.

"Jim... they're... GIGANTIC!" Blair couldn't tear his eyes away. He stared at Jim, mesmerized. "I mean...," he sputtered, kneeling to blindly gather up the medical supplies, never taking his eyes off his lover. "I mean... how can you even walk upright... with THOSE attached to your body?" Blair walked up to Jim and laid the supplies on the coffee table. He reached toward Jim, then hesitated. "Can I touch them?" he whispered softly, looking into Jim's blue eyes.

Jim laughed out loud. "Sure Chief, knock yourself out!" He turned his body so Blair had easier access. Jim smiled as he felt the warm slender fingers stroking him. A delicious shudder ran through his big body; he hadn't realized they were quite so... sensitive.

The shudder got Blair's attention, and he pulled his hand away. "I'm sorry, did I hurt..." he broke off as he saw the flushed look of pleasure on his big Angel's face. "I guess not!" he giggled. Blair reached slowly to fondle and caress again, this time moving to the second of the pair. They were perfectly matched, he noticed. "They're so... soft," he breathed, leaning forward to brush his cheek against one.

Jim grinned as his young lover continued to lavish attention on his wings. The big man had to admit, they were incredible, even to himself. When he kept them folded against his back, Jim could easily hide the wings under a long coat. But when fully extended, they stretched about ten feet from wingtip to wingtip. Jim spread them now, and smiled at the look of rapt awe that crossed Blair's features.

"Jim, that's so... so... so COOL!" Blair could barely stand still, he was so excited. He ran around behind Jim to see how the wings attached to his lover's back. There were joints at the base of each wing, not unlike the joint where Blair's thumb met his hand, he noticed. Tentatively, he stretched a hand up to touch one of the joints, and gave a little cry of surprised delight as the wing flapped once, before refolding itself neatly against Jim's back. "Do they work?" Blair asked.

"Work?" Jim replied. "What do you mean, do they work?" Jim smiled lovingly down at Blair as the young man came around to face him again, gazing at him in wonder.

"I mean... can you... can you FLY?" Blair asked breathlessly.

"Of course, Blair!" Jim laughed, "What, do you think they're just for show?" He continued to chuckle as Blair spread his arms in a shrug.

"I dunno, " Blair replied. "I thought maybe they were just like, part of a uniform or something." He stepped forward to examine the wings again. "How high can you go? How fast?" Blair's enthusiasm began to build. "How long can you stay in the air? How...," he was cut off by Jim's lips suddenly sealing over his.

When the kiss ended, Jim framed Blair's face in his hands. "Tell you what, baby," he said softly. "Right now, why don't we just worry about tending to my injury, OK?" He waited for Blair to nod, then added, "Then after I've healed, I promise I'll fly for you." He leaned forward to place a peck on Blair's cheek. "Deal?" he asked.

Blair smiled, and nodded. "Deal," he replied.

Jim gave a final pat to Blair's cheeks, then moved to sit on the edge of the coffee table, and directed Blair's attention to the wound. It was right in the curve at the top of his right wing. The wound wasn't serious, Jim could tell. Not much more than a flesh wound, but even with his increased powers of recovery it would keep him grounded for a day or so.

Blair crossed to the kitchen and got a bowl of hot water and a clean cloth. Then he returned to Jim's side and set to work carefully cleaning away the blood that matted the white feathers. He tried hard to be gentle, but even so Jim hissed sharply in pain a few times. "Sorry," Blair said softly as he dipped the cloth in the bowl again. He dabbed away as much blood as he could, then said, "I can see the bullet Jim." Blair reached for the tweezers, and soaked them in antiseptic. He hesitated as he moved the tool close to the bullet lodged in the fleshy part of Jim's wing.

"What's wrong, Blair?" Jim called back over his shoulder.

Blair sighed. "I don't want to hurt you," he said quietly. "I'm afraid I might do something wrong, Jim. Are you sure you can't do it yourself? I mean, you were a medic, right?" Blair stood up and walked around in front of Jim, holding out the tweezers. Blair's blue eyes were wide and pleading.

Jim sighed. "Blair, I can't do it myself," he said. "I can't see it." He reached out and stroked Blair's cheek. "You can do it baby, I trust you." Jim smiled, but Blair still shook his head.

"How about if you use a mirror?" Blair suggested. He kept talking as Jim stood up and moved toward the bathroom. Blair followed with the tweezers. "Will that work?"

Jim moved to stand in front of the bathroom mirror, and motioned for Blair to come stand beside him. "No Blair, it won't work," he said firmly.

"Why not?" Blair asked, coming to stand beside Jim. He looked as Jim pointed at the mirror.

"THAT'S why not, Chief," Jim muttered. He watched Blair's reflection in the mirror as a look of disbelief passed over the sweet features. Blair's was the only reflection; Jim did not cast one. Jim looked down as Blair turned his head to gaze up at him in confusion. "Don't ask me, kid," Jim said, shrugging. "I'm still new at this too, remember?" He took Blair by the hand and guided the young man back out into the living room.

Blair was a little dazed. "You don't cast any reflection," he said, awestruck. "I don't understand it, Jim. Then how can I see you?" Blair suddenly had a thought, and picked up the jeans Jim had been wearing. "OK, if I hold these up in front of the mirror, they'll reflect, right?" he asked, scientific mind churning.

"I would suspect so, Blair. The jeans aren't dead." Jim's voice was laden with sarcasm.

Blair ignored the tone as he continued. "So if you're wearing the jeans... and you walk in front of a mirror... won't you still be able to see the jeans walking around by themselves?" Blair cocked an eyebrow as Jim chuckled.

"No, Chief," the big man laughed. "If that was so, then you would have been walking around the campus at Rainer accompanied by an uninhabited raincoat and jeans." Jim smiled as Blair giggled at the funny mental image. Jim shrugged gracefully. "I really don't understand how it works, Blair," he confessed. "I just do what I'm told and don't ask too many questions." Jim folded his arms and fixed Blair with a stern gaze. "Now... are you going to get this hunk of lead out of my wing, or not?"

Blair sighed, defeated, and moved slowly into position behind Jim again. He moved the tweezers close to the bullet, then retreated several times. After a few minutes of this, Jim called back over his shoulder to him.

"Blair, you do realize you're going to have to actually TOUCH me, right?"

Jim's voice was soft, but Blair could hear the growing irritation. "OK, OK," he said quickly, taking a deep breath to psyche himself up. "Ready?" he asked.

"And waiting," Jim replied tersely.

Blair gently moved the tweezers over the dark spot of lead nestled in Jim's wing. Very carefully, he slid the tweezers into the wound, and winced as Jim bit back a cry of pain. Blair froze.

"No," Jim said through clenched teeth. "No, it's all right... go ahead." He closed his eyes and struggled to turn down his pain dial again.

Slowly, gently, Blair squeezed the bullet with the tweezers. When he felt he had a good grip on the offending object, he splayed his free hand against Jim's wing. "Ready?" he asked softly. When Jim nodded, Blair held his breath, and yanked as hard and fast as he could.

Jim bellowed as the bullet was ripped from his flesh. He bolted to his feet and began to move quickly around the apartment, trying to walk off the pain. He turned to see Blair watching him, white faced and trembling, still clutching the bloody tweezers in his hand. As Jim watched, Blair quickly sat down on the edge of the coffee table, breathing hard. Jim swallowed his pain and came to kneel in front of the young man. "Hey," Jim said softly.

Blair was shaking as he looked at the bloody hunk of lead in the tweezers. He dropped the gory instrument, and waved his hand as if trying to shake something off. Jim seized his hand tightly and clasped it against his broad, bare chest.

"Blair?" Jim said, reaching one hand to cup Blair's chin. There were tears in the blue eyes. Jim quickly pulled the trembling young man into his arms. "You did fine Chief, just fine," he whispered, as he felt Blair's arms wrap around him.

"I'm sorry," Blair whimpered against Jim's neck. "I'm so sorry I hurt you, Jim...,"

"Shhh, it's OK," Jim soothed. "I barely felt it," he smiled as he heard Blair chuckle against his neck. "Well, OK, maybe not barely," Jim relented as he pulled back to look into his love's eyes. He lifted Blair's chin, and placed a tender kiss on the smooth forehead. "But you did fine, baby, no doctor could've done a better job," he added with a grin.

Blair took a deep breath, and reached up to brush the tears from his eyes. He nodded as Jim asked if he was all right, then stood and turned to pick up the bottle of antiseptic. Jim sat on the table again so that Blair could reach the wound. Blair soaked the area with the antiseptic, trying not to notice the way Jim's muscles tensed up in pain. When the wound was clean, Blair carefully bandaged the wing, and fastened it with the sterile tape. "How does that feel?" he asked, patting Jim gently on the back, between the wings.

Jim shrugged, feeling the gauze covering his bullet wound. "Feels weird," he replied truthfully. He gave his wings an experimental flap, and winced. "That was not smart," he growled, trying to reach back to rub the sore spot. Blair caught his hand and pushed it aside, and a moment later Blair's long fingers gently began to knead the muscles of his back. The big man groaned in relief, and leaned back into the massage. "Ohhhhhh that's good," he purred.

Blair smiled at the sounds of pleasure Jim was making. He rotated his thumbs against a knot of muscle in Jim left shoulder, feeling the tough fiber relaxing under his touch. He moved his hands lower, gently squeezing and pressing the muscles of Jim's lower back. "Is that better?" Blair asked, leaning forward to kiss Jim's back.

"Mmmmm," Jim sighed. "Much better, baby." He smiled as Blair came to stand in front of him again. "Got any aspirin?" he asked hopefully, as a fresh twinge shot through his wing.

Blair's face fell. "No," he said regretfully, "I'm afraid not." Blair studied Jim's face for a moment, then turned and crossed to the door of the apartment. "I'll run down to the corner drugstore and pick you up some, OK?" he plucked his keys out of the basket on the table.

"Wait, Blair," Jim called. He jumped up and snatched a fresh pair of jeans from one of the cardboard boxes. "I want to go with you."

Blair shook his head. "No, you should stay here and rest Jim," he said. He held up a hand as Jim started to protest. "I'll be fine, man, it's just three blocks!" He opened the door and headed out, calling back over his shoulder, "You just stay put, Jim, I'll be back in no time!" Blair pulled the door shut.

Jim finished fastening his jeans as he listened to Blair's footsteps moving down the stairs. He sighed, and moved to lay down on the couch. He lay on his side, draping the injured wing across the coffee table, and sighed with relief. The kid would be fine, he reasoned. Jim admitted that he DID need rest, and what could possibly happen to Blair less than three blocks from home? But all the same, Jim trained his hearing on his young love.

Continue on to Part 3