Jim was deep in thought as he gazed out the window of the plane. He took a long swallow of his complimentary soft drink and looked over as a weight settled on his right shoulder.

In the seat beside him, Blair was hunched down, fast asleep. The young anthropologist had shifted in his slumber, his head coming to rest on Jim's shoulder.

With a tender smile, Jim reached over and snagged the edge of the thin airline blanket, tugging it up to cover more of his sleeping guide. Then he wrapped his arm around Blair's shoulders, pulling him close and tucking his friend's head under his chin. He let his fingers weave gentle patterns through the long, dark curls.

In his sleep, Blair sighed in contentment and snuggled closer to the warm body beside him.

Jim continued to stroke his sleeping loft mate's hair as his mind ran over the events of the past hours. After their jump from Zeller's plane, he and Blair had landed less than two miles from a small town in southern Alaska.

The walk to the town, led by Jim's detection of the smoke produced by several wood-burning stoves, was blissfully uneventful. Even Mother Nature seemed to take pity on them for a change; they'd just begun their trek when sun came out, warming the air to a more bearable level, even for Sandburg.

Jim looked down again as the compact body beside him shifted. He sat up a little and took hold of Blair's shoulders. Carefully, so as not to wake the exhausted young man, he eased Blair down onto his side.

"Lift your legs up, buddy," he said softly. He smiled as Sandburg moaned, and stiffly raised his feet to curl his legs up on the empty seat on the aisle. Jim took the tiny pillow from behind his back and placed it in his lap. Then he settled Blair's head in his lap, the young man moaning faintly once more before falling deeply into sleep again. Once he felt his friend was comfortable, Jim resumed the soothing motion of stroking his fingers through his guide's hair. The poor kid was worn out, and it was going to be a long flight home.

The cabin of the plane was somewhat cool, and the sentinel motioned to a passing stewardess, asking for another blanket to drape over Blair. She shook her head sadly and informed him that there were none left. Jim nodded his thanks, and began to carefully shrug out of his coat, trying not to jostle the curly head in his lap.

The stewardess leaned across the seats and helped Jim out of his coat. Between them, they got the garment off, and Ellison draped it gently over Blair's upper body. The young man pulled the jacket around himself him, sighed happily, and settled once more. Jim smiled, his heart warmed with the simple knowledge that he had made his partner that much more comfortable.

Once the stewardess had left, Jim's thoughts retuned to the recent past. Upon his and Blair's arrival in the tiny Alaskan town, the rural people living there immediately pitied them. They were given hot food, water, and clean, dry clothes to wear. The tiny local Sheriff's office had a radio that Jim used to call the Cascade Police Department, and also to report Zeller and the stolen plane.

Blair had argued with Jim about returning to the village of the Metlakatla to say good-bye to the kindly people who had welcomed him into their camp and their lives, but Jim had insisted upon their return to Cascade. They had both been through a lot, he pointed out, and it was time for some rest back home in the warmth of the loft. At Jim's words, Blair immediately remembered in all-too-clear detail the picture of his friend freezing to death in the broken ice. Could it have been less than forty-eight hours before? Jim would never admit it, but Blair knew his friend must be exhausted. Home it was.

Their decision made, Jim and Blair had been escorted to the nearest airport, where they caught a plane to Anchorage, two tickets wired to them from the Chief of the Cascade PD himself. There they had caught a larger plane, on which they were now on their way to Cascade.

Jim gave a satisfied sigh, and sat back in his seat, the soothing sound of Blair's breathing and heartbeat lulling him to sleep. The last thought that crossed his mind before succumbing to slumber was the regret that they'd been unable to recapture Zeller.

* * * *

"Ellison!"

Jim looked up at the sound of his name, and smiled at the sight of Captain Simon Banks striding across the airport waiting area toward them. The big man's eyes lost their look of concern when Jim stepped aside to reveal Blair standing just behind him.

No sooner had Blair smiled and raised a hand in greeting to Banks, when he was grabbed up in a bear hug. Uncertain, the anthropologist wrapped his arms around Simon as the big man lifted him off his feet, half-crushing the smaller man in his embrace.

Jim watched in disbelief as the gruff Captain pulled Blair into his arms and hugged him, right in the middle of the airport for all to see. He had to fight down a laugh at the bewildered expression on Blair's face. The embrace only lasted a few seconds before Simon set Blair down, and grabbed his shoulders.

"Sandburg, are you all right?" Simon demanded, looking sternly down his nose at the young man.

"Y-yes Cap... Sim... Captain," Blair stammered, still a little thrown by the uncharacteristic show of affection from Banks.

Simon and Jim both laughed at Blair's stutter. "Pick one and stay with it, kid," Banks said kindly. His smile widened as Blair grinned.

"Listen Sandburg," Simon began, his voice returning to its familiar growl. "Don't ever pull something like this again, will you? The productivity of the entire Major Crimes division has gone right down the toilet since you disappeared." Simon gently shook Blair by the shoulders as he spoke. "Not to mention the hell you put your partner through. He needs you, kid." Brown eyes bored into blue with the importance of those last words.

Blair just bit his lip for a moment, blushing, before hanging his head and nodding. "I'm sorry, sir, " he whispered.

Simon just sighed, and reached down to tousle the long curls. "We'll forgive you this time, kid," he said gently, "Just don't let it happen again. The precinct psychiatrist has been overloaded with heartsick female officers these past few weeks... even a few male ones." Simon chuckled as he gave Blair's shoulders one last pat, then turned to Jim.

"Well, detective," the big man began, "Once again you've found your man. Well done." Banks smile was enormous as he reached out and shook Jim's hand.

"Thank you, sir," Jim replied, grinning at Blair.

"Now for the good news!" Simon said brightly, motioning for Jim and Blair to follow him. "Zeller's plane was located not too long after your call came through. He was forced down and taken into custody again." Simon's eyes sparkled, and he reached into his coat pocket for a cigar as the trio pushed through the doors to the parking lot.

"The officers who took Zeller in told me the first thing he said was something to the effect of," Simon enunciated each word with a little poke of his cigar, "Never wanting to set eyes on Ellison or his partner again." The captain laughed, and placed the stogie between his teeth with a flourish as Blair and Jim both chuckled.

"That's good news, sir," Jim said, smiling as he turned to Blair. The young man looked up at him and returned the smile, before turning his attention on Simon.

"Yeah... great, Simon," Blair repeated. He leaned against the side of Simon's car as the big man fumbled for his keys. "And thanks for being worried about me, sir," Blair added softly.

Simon straightened abruptly and fixed Blair with an icy glare.

Worried about you?" The big captain snickered around his cigar. "I was only concerned with the efficiency of my department, thank you very much." Banks turned away to finish unlocking the door.

Blair and Jim exchanged a knowing look. Then Blair moved past the Captain to hop into the backseat of the sedan, muttering under his breath, "Sure, Simon, whatever you say."

Simon and Jim climbed into the front seat, and the Captain started the car. But before pulling out of the parking space, he turned and hooked an arm over the back of front seat, fixing Blair with an intense stare.

"By the way, kid" the Captain growled, "If you EVER mention that hug to ANYONE..." Simon pointed at Blair with the cigar, letting the warning hang in the air between them with the billowing smoke.

Blair swallowed and cringed back onto the plush seat. "Uhh... right, sir... whatever you say."

Jim just grinned.

* * * * * * *

On the balcony back at the loft, Jim smiled as he looked out over the Cascade skyline at night. The lights of his city sparkled and reflected off the little ripples in the bay, and Jim felt his heart swell with a feeling of home. The feeling increased as he heard Blair humming to himself from his bedroom.

Jim took a deep breath, inhaling his guide's familiar scent, which was on its way to permeating the air of the loft once more. It was a comforting smell, and Jim closed his eyes as he tried to imprint it permanently on his memory.

A crash from Blair's bedroom shattered Jim's calm, and he quickly crossed the living room to the doorway of the small room. He looked in, relaxing when he saw Blair calmly gathering up a stack of books that had apparently dropped from his arms. The young man had been working all evening, and was nearly finished moving back into his room.

"Need any help there, Junior?" Jim asked, knocking his knuckles lightly on the open door.

Blair looked up, blowing his hair out of his eyes as he lugged the pile of books toward the bookshelf. He smiled in gratitude as his roommate took the books from his grasp and placed them on the shelf.

"Thanks, big guy," Blair said softly patting Jim on the back. He started to turn away, but was stopped by Jim's fingers wrapping around his wrist. Blair didn't fight as he was pulled gently into Jim's arms and held.

The sentinel hugged his friend against his chest, laying his cheek on top of the curl-covered head. He felt Blair's arms wrap around him and squeeze, and he smiled as he realized Blair was home at last, back where he belonged.

He sighed, remembering what it was that had made his guide leave. He made a silent vow as Blair patted him on the back and pulled away, to never let such a thing happen again. From now on, he would make it a point to know when Blair was bothered by something. When his young friend had doubts, he would do whatever it took to erase them. Blair was the most important thing in his life, and Jim had no intention of losing him ever again.

Breaking the embrace at last, Blair smiled at his partner, and then moved back to unpacking the final box of his belongings. Picking up the jacket Blair had worn back from Alaska to hang it on the rack, Jim frowned as he felt something heavy in the pocket. Reaching in, he drew out a smooth, long piece of ivory, carefully carved with the three figures - a bear, a watchman, and his guide.

The young anthropologist immediately noticed the object in his stunned partner's hands. "Jim?" he questioned, moving closer and taking the carving to examine it more closely. "Where did you get this?"

Ellison stared at his friend. "Neko... Right after I woke up, he showed it to me. But, he left it in the hut when we went searching for you. We never saw him again after that. The villagers said he had disappeared. So how the hell...?"

Blair looked down at the faces of the watchman and guide, then up into the confused eyes of his own sentinel. "Don't question the ways of the mysterious, man." He grinned widely. "Neko knew my search was coming to an end. I think he gave me this just to remind me of everything I found up there, Jim."

"Your search, Chief?" The sentinel's voice took on a worried tone as he studied his friend's face. Was Blair still searching? For what? Did this mean he could leave again?

Seeing his concern, Blair smiled up at Jim. "Don't worry, man. I'd just forgotten my place, you know? Where I really belong." He moved in closer and hugged Jim briefly, then pulled back to look into his eyes as he added, "Right here. Beside my watchman. That's what Neko was trying to teach me." He turned and placed the old carving carefully on his dresser.

Jim nodded, suddenly finding that the words would no longer move past the lump in his throat. He watched as Blair put the last of his books back on the shelf, and then stripped off his flannel shirt. The sentinel leaned against the wall and watched Blair get ready for bed, smiling when the young man kicked his dirty clothes into the corner.

"Everything's back to normal," Jim muttered under his breath.

"What was that, Jim?" Blair asked as he climbed into bed. He watched Jim cross the room, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.

Jim just gazed down at his guide as he replied. "Nothing, Chief. Just... thinking about how good it is... to have you back." Jim ducked his head as he felt his eyes begin to mist over a little.

Blair saw the glint of moisture in the blue eyes, and knew his actions were the cause of it. He reached out and laid a reassuring hand on the sentinel's right arm, gently squeezing the rock-hard muscles of Jim's biceps. He kept his hand there until Jim laid his own hand over it, gently patting, signaling that he was all right.

Blair sighed and snuggled down into his bed. It felt so good after sleeping on the sealskin cot for so long. He yawned hugely, then was silent, thinking over the past few weeks. He'd caused a lot of trouble to the people he cared about.

"Chief? Anything wrong?" Jim asked quietly, hearing Blair's heart begin to accelerate a little.

Blair looked at him thoughtfully. "I really caused you a lot of problems, running away like that.... You almost died because of me...." Blair's voice broke, and he looked away again as the awful memory of Jim falling through the ice invaded his mind.

Jim moved closer and took Blair's hand in his own. "Now, don't talk like that," he said kindly. "You can't take the blame for that, it was stupidity on my part. I should've been able to see that the ice wasn't thick enough to hold me."

Blair shook his head on the pillow. "But still, how could I have been so selfish, Jim? I just took off! What if you had zoned out while you were all alone in the woods, man? What if...,"

Jim stopped the litany by laying his fingers lightly over Blair's mouth. He waited for the young man's heart rate to slow before he removed his hand, and reached to brush the riot of curls back from his guide's face.

"Blair, you left because you thought it would be better for me," Jim said softly. "That's not selfish, buddy, not at all. Neko helped me realize exactly how unselfish it actually was, how much you must have cared about me to be able to take that step." Jim sighed, and tousled the curls he'd been smoothing.

"I need you to promise me something," Jim said, leaning down closer to his friend.

"What's that?" Blair asked, eyelids beginning to droop with sleepiness.

Jim smiled gently. "Promise me that if you ever get the urge to take off like that again, you'll talk to me first?"

His guide studied him for a long moment before answering. "I promise." Then, he added, "Promise you'll hear me, man?" The blue eyes never wavered as he waited.

Slowly, Ellison nodded. "I'll hear you, Chief. I'll always hear you."

"Hey, Jim?" Blair sounded sleepy now, his eyes drifting closed, then blinking quickly open again.

Ellison smiled gently. "What, Chief?"

"Thanks."

Ellison looked puzzled. "For what, Sandburg?"

The younger man smiled drowsily. "For coming after me. You always do, right? This time, I even tried to keep you from finding me, and you still came." His sleepy smile widened a little. "Amazing, man."

Jim blinked back the sudden wetness in his eyes. "Yeah, Chief. Amazing."

Blair just gazed up at Jim for a long moment before slowly nodding. His eyes drifted shut, breathing beginning to even out as he neared sleep.

Jim squeezed his loft mate's hand and stood up to leave. As he turned to go, Blair's blue eyes fluttered open.

"Jim?" Blair said quickly, sitting up again.

Jim turned. "Yeah, Chief?"

Blair took a deep breath, concentrating on twisting a corner of the bed sheet between his fingers. When he spoke, his voice was soft, hesitant.

"Uhh, Jim...." Blair swallowed hard, and lifted his head to meet Jim's gaze. "We're still... we're okay..., right?" The blue eyes were wide.

Jim's heart clenched up at the anxiety in his guide's voice. How many people had Blair been discarded by? What had happened in his relatively short lifetime to give him such an inborn belief of inferiority, make him think that something like this could ruin a friendship as strong as theirs?

Jim bit his lip for a moment, trying to steady his voice enough to reply. Blair was watching him with big eyes, waiting, and Jim could hear that he was holding his breath.

"Yeah, Blair," Ellison managed to whisper through the lump in his throat. "We're okay." He smiled reassuringly at his young friend.

Blair let out the breath he'd been holding in a contented sigh and lay back down on the pillows. A few sleepy blinks, and he was out like a light. The young man was oblivious as Jim came back to lean over him, gently tugging the blankets up around his chin.

Ellison finished tucking his friend in, and watched him sleep for a few moments. Then, he leaned down and gently kissed Blair's forehead. The anthropologist smiled a little in his sleep.

"Welcome home buddy," Jim said softly.

THE END?