Disclaimers: They aren't mine. No sex, sorry. Just smarm and cuddles.

This is an exercise to try and help me over my killer writer's block. I'll be trying to post one of these little bits now and then, just so I remember how to write.

"This... wasn't like a... typical day for you, was it?"

Ellison looked down into the blue eyes of his new partner and cocked his head, pondering Blair's words. Typical day? He'd just risked his life in rather a foolhardy way, clinging to the rail of a helicopter as it flew across Cascade. And why? Because Sandburg had been a hostage inside, kidnapped by Kincaid as a last minute source of protection.

Jim still couldn't quite believe what he'd done. All he remembered was coming up the stairs, hearing Blair pleading with Kincaid, trying to convince the terrorist to release him. The Sentinel's heart had filled with a mixture of rage and fear; rage against Kincaid and fear for his new young comrade's life.

There had been no question in his mind as he burst through the door and saw the yellow copter lift off. He had to stop Kincaid. Whatever it took, the man could not be allowed to escape with Blair. Once Kincaid reached safety, the student's life would be worth nothing to the evil bastard. Sandburg's first day at the precinct was not going to be his last, Jim had vowed as he raced across the tarmac.

Now it was over, and he was only just beginning to wind down from the treacherous ride over the city. He glanced down at Blair, who gave him a nod, coaxing a reply out of him. With a diabolical grin, Jim just chuckled quietly and pushed past the young man.

Blair stared as the Sentinel stepped by him and headed for the door leading downstairs. He gazed after the big man for a moment, hands spread as he realized he was not going to be answered. "Well is it?" he called, realizing it was futile. "Come on!" the student called once more across the roof, then galloped after his larger associate. He caught up with Ellison at the door, trying to meet the big man's eyes to see if he was being played with. The older man skillfully avoided his gaze. With a sigh and a shrug, Blair followed him into the building.

A scuffle behind Blair caught his attention, and he turned to see Kincaid still struggling against the officers trying to restrain him. The terrorist leader looked up for a moment, and for just an instant, made eye contact with him. The young man's heart skipped a little at the look of hatred on Kincaid's face. He had a feeling he had not seen the last of this individual.

Ellison was halfway down the first flight of stairs when he heard Blair's heart begin to race. He stopped and turned, looking back up at the young man. He watched as Sandburg stared out onto the roof for a moment longer, then turned and started down the stairs. The anthropologist glanced up and faltered as he met Jim's eyes.

"Oh, hi," Blair said weakly.

Jim looked him over as he came down to his step. "Hi yourself," he murmured, scanning the anthropologist with his senses, looking for any more signs of distress. The kid's heart was still beating like a trip-hammer, but otherwise he seemed fine. Thus reassured, Jim turned and started down the stairs again.

Blair's mind was in turmoil, going over and over the past events. In a rush, he suddenly realized how close he had come to death today. At any point during his desperate game of cat and mouse with Kincaid's goons, he might have slipped up and been discovered. What if he had been found by someone with less restraint than the two men who trapped him on the scaffold? He got a sudden, unwelcome image of himself, lying on the floor in the break room with a bullet hole leaking blood from his forehead.

"Oh God...,"

Jim heard the whispered oath and turned just in time to catch Sandburg. The young man slumped, gravity taking him down the angle of the few remaining steps and straight into Jim's embrace. Alarmed, the Sentinel swung the limp figure into his arms and hurried down onto the next landing, where he gently laid Blair down on the floor. Then he went to work, checking for a pulse, listening to the respiration of his partner.

"Sandburg?" Jim said gently, reaching down to softly pat a pale cheek. He held his palm to the smooth brow, and winced at the cold clamminess of the skin, recognizing shock. He straightened and quickly shrugged out of his Kevlar vest, laid it aside, and followed suit with his shirt. Clad in his undershirt, he gently draped the dark cotton T-shirt over Blair's chest, and cradled him.

"Jim?"

Ellison looked up at the familiar voice. Simon was coming up the steps, his dark, handsome face careworn and tired-looking. As he brown eyes settled on the limp young man in Jim's arms, he charged up the remaining steps at a run.

"Jesus, Ellsion!" Simon said sharply as he knelt beside the two men. "What happened? Is he hurt?"

Jim shook his head. "I don't think so, sir," he said. "Looks like he's just fainted." Ellison looked down and breathed a sigh of relief as Blair's eyes fluttered open. "Hey there, shorty," the detective said with a gentle smile. "You had captain Banks scared there for a moment." He helped Blair sit up, but didn't move his arms from around the thin body. A flicker of warmth coursed through his body as Blair nestled against him, one small, slender hand reaching up to settle on his chest.

"S... sorry sir," Blair said hoarsely. He turned his head to look into the big Captain's eyes. "I just... I was a little... I felt...," He stopped babbling when Simon raised a hand.

"It's OK," the big man said softly. He almost smiled as Blair sighed and gave him grateful look. Giving the student's bony shoulder a fatherly pat, Banks got to his feet and turned, leaving his detective to tend to the young man. He suddenly had an overwhelming urge to hold his son again.

Jim waited until the captain's footsteps faded, then turned his gaze onto the young man trembling in his arms. "You gonna make it?" he asked softly. At Blair's nod, Ellsion got awkwardly to his feet, and offered the student a hand up. When they were both standing, he laid his hand on Blair's shoulder. "Let's go down and take care of your report, shall we?"

Blair looked up at him for a long moment, then nodded faintly. Jim gave his shoulder a squeeze and turned away. He was almost to the next landing when he heard a soft, choking sound. He spun on his heel. Blair was shaking from head to foot, leaning against the wall, tears welling in his eyes. Ellison was at his side in an instant.

"Sandburg, what it is?" Jim demanded. Blair waved him off with one hand and tried to turn away. Ellison seized him by the shoulders and spun him back around, then quickly let go as Blair's hands flew up to shield his face. "Whoa, easy!" Jim said quickly, taking hold of Blair's wrists in a gentler grip. "Blair, I'm not gonna hit you!" Jim lowered his voice, trying to calm the hyperventilating student. "Hey, It's OK."

"He was... gonna kill me," Blair gasped brokenly.

"But he didn't," Jim pointed out, still holding onto the young man. "Come on, deep breaths now. Ease down." Blair was shaking so hard Ellison could hear his teeth rattling.

"But when he took me.... That's what he was planning to...," Blair sputtered, trying to breathe slowly.

"I wouldn't have let that happen, Sandburg," Jim said sternly. "I was ready to do anything to keep that from happening, do you understand? Why do you think I jumped onto the chopper, huh?" Forlorn, Jim gazed into the frightened blue eyes of his young partner, at a loss. He didn't have much skill in the role of comforter. Usually there was another officer around that he could hand an upset civilian to. But there was no one now. He and Blair were alone.

Jim was just trying to come up with the right thing to say to Blair, a way to reassure him that he was safe, and would stay that way, when the young man moved hesitantly into his personal space. The Sentinel stiffened as slim arms wrapped around his middle, and the curly head settled against his chest, snuggling up under this chin. The warm dampness of Blair's breath tickled his neck, the remains of the tears wet against his skin.

He was unsure of how to react to the sudden show of affection. Even his best friends received hugs from him only sparingly, and he barely knew this young man. His brain was screaming at him to push the student away, not to let him in, not to let him get close. Jim tensed, paused, then listened not to his head, but to his heart.

Blair closed his eyes and tried to sink deeper into the warmth of the body against his. He knew he was asking for trouble. Hell, he'd probably just bought himself a one-way ticket back to the doldrums of university life. Jim Ellsion wasn't exactly cuddly. He seemed more the type to take any offer of affection, drop it on the ground, and crush it under his boot. That made what happened next all the more surprising.

At first it was just a soft pat on his back. Then two strong, warm arms slowly crept around his body, tentatively drawing him closer to the broad chest. With a soft whimper of relief, Blair let himself melt into the embrace, tightening his own arms around the sturdy form of Detective James Ellison.

"There now. Shhhh, it's all right."

That tender, softly murmured phrase was all it took, and Blair buried his face against Jim's rock-hard shoulder. All the fear he had been fighting during this day from hell, the helplessness he'd felt as the copter left the roof, it all poured out with his tears. He wound his hand in the soft cotton of Jim's undershirt, and in response felt long fingers begin to softly stroke his hair.

"Shhhhh," Jim breathed into the dark curls under his chin. He closed his eyes as a tingling warmth slowly spread through his body. It started where Blair's chest was pressed to his midsection, and radiated outward. He could almost feel the hard walls around his heart beginning to crumble as he held the young man.

Jim turned his head slightly to rest his cheek against Blair's forehead as the young man snuggled against him. "Shhhh, it's over now. It's all over. Nobody's gonna hurt you, I won't let them." To his surprise, he found that his words weren't just an empty reassurance. He knew now that he would fight to death to protect this young man, this cyclone that had swept into his life and warmed his cold heart. The one who had just saved him from a life of loneliness.

A sound on the stairs above them caught Jim's ears and he glanced up. He scowled as two officers led a cuffed Kincaid between them. He moved himself and Blair to one side as the trio passed, shooting Kincaid a cold look of hatred. The terrorist surged toward him, only to be quickly stopped by the two flanking officers, and herded roughly back down wards. He shouted back at the Sentinel and his partner, face red with rage.

"I'm gonna kill you, Ellison! You and everyone you care about! And you, you little hippie freak! I'll be back for you! Your big buddy won't be able to save you next time!" Kincaid's voice rang up through the stairwell. Blair winced and burrowed into Jim's chest, and the detective responded by pulling him tighter into his embrace. He turned slightly, as if trying to use his own body as shield to protect Sandburg from the hateful words, and cupped a hand against the back of the curly head.

"It's OK. Don't you listen to him, he's just mouthing off," Jim whispered soothingly. "I promise, he won't ever come near you again." He laid his head down, resting his cheek against the anthropologist's curly crown. Blair relaxed against him he gently swayed, rocking the young man.

"Jim?"

Ellison drew back a bit and looked down. "Yes?"

Blair sniffled, looking up at the Sentinel with wide, damp eyes. "I wanna go home," he said softly.

Jim smiled gently, reaching up to lightly brush the tumble of dark tresses back from the tear-stained face. "OK," he replied quietly. He draped an arm around his young companions shoulder, and guided him down the stairs. "Come on, buddy. I'll take you home."