Protect the Guide.... Protect the Guide.... Protect the Guide....

"Jim?"

Escape.... Safety.... Higher ground.... Protect....

"Jim.... Please, buddy.... You're really scaring me, here!" Blair reached one hand up to slap Jim's shoulder as the Sentinel moved quickly down the hall. Jim was still carrying Blair in his arms, and every time Blair tried to struggle free he was painfully reminded of the large hole in his belly. Jim's shirt was becoming soaked with Blair's blood, but the big man seemed oblivious.

Blair gave up struggling and wrapped his arms around Jim's neck. He tried to relax, to keep calm. This was Jim, after all. His Blessed Protector, the man who would gladly give his own life to keep him from harm. There was no safer place in the world for Blair than in Jim's arms.

"Detective Ellison!"

Blair winced in pain as Jim whirled with him to face the owner of the voice. Tyler, a young rookie officer was coming slowly down the hall toward them, flanked by two more uniformed officers. Tyler held his hands up in a gesture of peace as he moved toward Jim and his helpless passenger.

Jim was staring at the three invaders, nostrils flaring with each breath, hair standing on end as he steeled himself up to attack.

Only the Guide matters.... Protect the Guide.... Destroy the enemy....

"Detec... Jim," Tyler continued, smiling gently. "Jim, Blair's hurt. He needs a doctor." Tyler paused, holding his men back as Jim growled.

Blair looked up in horror at the animal-like sound emanating from his partner's throat. The Sentinel's eyes were glazed over, pupils retracted to tiny pinpricks. The big man was huffing like a locomotive, and Blair could feel the great heart pounding against his side through the broad chest.

"Jim," Blair began uncertainly. "Jim, I don't understand exactly what's happening to you, but you need to calm down, now, OK?" Blair shifted a little, using the arms around Jim's neck to pull himself up so that they were eye to eye.

"Please Jim.... Listen to Tyler," Blair pleaded. "They aren't going to hurt me. They just want to help us..., JIM!!!" Blair shrieked in alarm as Jim suddenly lowered his head and charged at the three officers.

"Look out!" Tyler warned, pushing his men aside. He turned back to Jim just as the huge head connected with his solar plexus. Tyler gasped for air, clutching his midsection as he sank to the ground. He looked up helplessly as Jim came to stand over him, still carrying Sandburg. Ellison raised a booted foot and prepared to bring it down on Tyler's throat, going for the kill.

"NO, JIM!!!" Blair wailed. In a last desperate attempt to save Tyler, the anthropologist turned his head and sank his teeth into Jim's shoulder. Tears filled his eyes as Jim bellowed in pain. I'm sorry, big guy! Blair thought. Then pain ripped through his body as Jim dropped him. Blair winced, biting back a scream as he hit the floor, then stared up in terror as Jim eyes fixed on him in rage.

Jim reached up slowly to grip his shoulder where Blair had bitten him. The rugged face remained blank as Jim lifted his hand to his face, studying the traces of blood. A slow growl built in his chest as he moved toward Blair.

Hurt....

Blair raised an arm to protect himself as Ellison towered over him. He'd always been so sure that Jim would never hurt him, but the look of hatred on his friend's face now said otherwise.

Attack....

Tyler struggled to his feet, with his men's help, and stared in horror as Ellison stalked to stand over Sandburg. The young man was cringing in horror, trying to scramble backwards. His sneakers squeaked on the linoleum floor, one bloodied hand clutching at the wound in his belly.

"Jim...," Blair gasped, as Ellison approached him. "Jim, please.... I'm sorry!" Blair covered his head with his hands and curled into a ball, crying out in terror as Jim grabbed his shoulders.

Destroy....

"Come on!" Tyler shouted, charging.

Blair opened his eyes to see Jim's face inches from his own, blank and emotionless. The rough hands moved to Blair's throat. The anthropologist's eyes widened, and he prepared to die. But before Jim could apply pressure, Tyler jumped onto the Sentinel's back.

"Take him down!" Tyler bellowed, clutching at Jim's shoulders a the big man tried to reach back for him. He saw his men moving to grab Jim's arms, and breathed a sigh of relief as they were able to move the huge detective away from Blair.

"Sandburg, run!" shouted Tyler, just as Jim flung him off his back.

Holding a hand to his belly, Blair scrambled to his feet. He leaned heavily against the wall as he lurched down the hall, thanking the Goddess Adrenaline. He was gasping in pain with every step. At the door to the stairwell, he turned back to see Jim tossing off the uniformed officers. The anthropologist winced as Tyler's body was slammed against the wall like a rag doll.

Jim tended to the last of the uniformed officers and straightened. The pain in his shoulder had faded, and thus the urge to kill in self-defense was gone. Now the Sentinel's mind resumed its endless demand.

Protect the Guide.... Protect the Guide.... Protect the Guide....

Blair's blood ran cold as Jim's eyes settled upon him. Hurriedly he ducked into the stairwell, and stumbled up the first flight. He had only gotten to the first landing, when the door below him burst open. Blair glanced back over his shoulder, and yelped as he saw Jim barreling up the stairs after him. Blair tried to move faster, and was rewarded with a wave of searing pain that sent him to the floor, writhing in pain.

Protect....

The Sentinel closed the distance between himself and his target, and ignored the frightened cries as he scooped the struggling young man up in his arms. The big man stood and looked around, deciding on the best path of escape.

"Jim!" Blair shouted as he was lifted again. "Goddammit, Jim, will you snap out of it?!" He beat feebly against Jim's chest, kicking in a futile attempt to get free. It was a lost cause, he knew it; Jim was far too strong. Plus every motion sent throbs of pain through his body. Blair broke into frustrated tears as Jim carried him up the stairs.

Protect the Guide.... Escape.... Higher ground...

"Jim, put me dooown!"

"Tyler!" Simon knelt to help the young officer to his feet. He looked around at the other officers that lay battered, but alive on the floor. Simon nodded at the arriving team of medics, and they got to work on the men.

"Tyler, what happened? Where's Ellison?" Simon demanded.

"Stairwell, " Tyler gasped. "Chasing Blair.... Tried to... kill him...," The young officer's voice trailed off as one of the medics injected him with a sedative.

"Kill him?" Simon asked in horror, turning to Ryf.

Ryf just looked at his Captain, eyes full of concern. "Sir, what's going on here?"

"Damned if I know," Simon muttered. "But I'm beginning to feel that this thing is going to end badly."

"For us, or for Jim?" Ryf asked.

Simon sighed, closing his eyes.

"For everyone."

Huffing, Ellison jogged up another flight of stairs, Blair cradled in his arms. The detective stopped at the landing, spittle running down his chin, mouth open, face red with exertion. He stood unsteadily, teetering a little, gasping for air.

Blair noticed. He'd remained silent and still since Jim had grabbed him the last time, afraid of antagonizing his big friend. But now he had to speak up.

"Jim," Blair said quietly, moving one of his arms from around Jim's neck to gently nudge him in the ribs. "Jim, you need to rest for a moment." Blair winced, hoping his actions wouldn't anger Jim again.

Escape.... Protect.... Protect....

"It's OK, there's nobody around now," Blair continued hopefully, watching Jim's face for some sign that he was hearing him. The big man's eyes were vacant, not even aware of Blair's presence, it seemed. "Come on, big guy.... ease down a little.... We're safe."

Protect.... Protect.... Rest....

Jim slowly dropped to his knees. Compared to his violent actions of the past thirty minutes, he was surprisingly gentle as he carefully eased Blair from his arms to sit against the wall. Then he straightened, and robotically pulled the gun from the holster on his back, and checked it.

Blair scooted backwards as far as he could as his friend gently placed him on the floor, grimacing as another wave of pain shook him. He looked up at Jim stonily handling the weapon, and was afraid. For the first time since he had met Ellison, Blair was afraid of him. True, he'd been surprised when Jim had slammed him against the wall of his office that first day, but that was just shock. Now he was frightened, truly frightened that Jim would hurt him. He could still feel the fingers at his throat.

Sandburg looked down to check his wound, and sighed. It had begun to bleed badly again, and he could now feel the dizziness associated with blood loss beginning to cloud his mind. He shook his head a bit, trying to clear it, and regretted it as the movement got Jim's attention. The Sentinel replaced the readied gun on his back and knelt, crawling close to Blair. Blair shrank back against the wall in terror.

Ellison leaned close to Blair, looking at the young man's face. There was still none of 'Jim' visible in the stony, haggard face of the detective. Only the primal, prehistoric creature that had carried him off...

Prehistoric! Blair gasped as it suddenly sunk in. Jim was a Sentinel, in the anthropologist's own words; a 'Behavioral throwback to an uncivilized breed of man'. Jim's actions began to make sense. Jim had seen that he was in danger, and something had snapped, sending the Sentinel falling back on his most basic primal instincts; to protect.

But no, that didn't make sense, Blair thought. He'd been in danger innumerable times before. Why was this the first time it had happened? Before he could delve further into his theory, Blair jumped as Jim's fingers reached toward him.

Blood.... Hurt.... Protect....

"No," Blair whimpered, trying to press himself tighter against the wall. "No, please.... Jim please...."

Jim stared at the bloody smears on his Guide's shirt. With clumsy, trembling fingers, Jim undid the buttons and opened the garment. His sensitive nose twitched at the nearly overpowering smell of blood.

Blair stared, hardly daring to breathe as Jim peeled open his blood-sodden shirt. He tensed as the big fingers brushed lightly across his belly, following the trail of blood up, then paused over the slit of the knife-wound. To Blair's astonishment, a look of intense regret replaced the void on Jim's face, and tears formed in the Sentinel's eyes.

Hurt.... Blood.... Pain....

Blair watched big tears begin to roll slowly down Jim's cheeks. The close-cropped head bowed, and Jim's shoulders began to shake as the big man started to cry. Soon he was rocking, hugging his arms around his drawn up knees, keening in misery.

Blair swallowed his fear and reached out to touch his friend's shoulder. He gasped as the big man flinched at the touch. Blair persisted, letting his fingertips rest lightly on the rock-hard muscle of Jim's shoulder. Once the big man seemed accustomed to the contact, Blair began to stroke soft, comforting circle over the shoulder. Jim continued to sob.

"Easy there, buddy," Blair said softly, fighting back tears of his own. How the hell had they gotten into this mess? Despite the agonizing pain wracking him with every movement, Blair slid closer to Jim. When he was near enough, he reached out and gently wrapped his arms around his Sentinel, and held him.

Pain.... Blood.... Blood....

Touch?... Gentle.... Warm....

"Shhhhh," Blair breathed, reaching one hand to rub the close-cropped head. "Shhh..., there now, everything will be OK." Blair swallowed hard as he felt one of Jim's arms encircle his waist, large hand gently stroking his back. "That's it.... We'll beat this.... We can do this. We can do anything, as long as we're together, right?" Blair smiled as Jim lifted his head to look at him.

There were still no real thoughts going through Ellison's mind. Only the endless driving chant, ordering him to protect his Guide.

Blair studied Jim's face as he continued to hold him. Nothing. The face before him was blank, emotionless except for the last traces of tears. But there had been something there when Jim was examining Blair's injury. That look of guilt and sorrow had been unmistakable. Jim was still in there, somewhere. Blair just had to help him find his way out of the strange mental nightmare he seemed to be trapped within.

"Jim, I know you can hear me," Blair said gently, laying his head on Jim's shoulder. Jim's hand stilled on his back. Blair waited a moment, then continued.

"Do you realize what you've been doing Jim? Do you understand what's happening to you?" Blair lifted his head to look into the glassy blue eyes. He reached up to cup Jim's cheek in his hand, caressing the sharp ridge of Jim's jaw with his thumb. He smiled as Jim's eyelids drooped just a bit.

"You like that don't you?" Blair asked softly, continuing to rub Jim's jaw. He bit down a giggle as Jim tilted his head back slightly, offering his throat. Blair took the invitation and ran his fingers down the sturdy column of Jim's neck. Jim leaned slightly into the caresses.

"You ARE still here, Jim, I know you are," Blair choked as tears threatened again. He continued to stroke his slender fingers up and down Jim's throat. "And I'm going to get us out of this, big guy, I promise." Going with his instincts, Blair cupped Jim's face in his hands and gently kissed the big man's cheek.

"I love you," Blair breathed, leaning to rub his forehead against the spot he'd kissed.

At first, Jim showed no reaction to the kiss. Then, very slowly he lifted his right hand. Blair watched with wide eyes as Jim reached up and brushed his fingertips across his cheek, then across Blair's lips. Ellison turned his head to face Blair and for just an instant, made eye contact.

Blair gasped as Jim looked into his eyes. HIS Jim, not the crazed throwback that had turned the Cascade PD Headquarters on its ear. The blue eyes blinked rapidly a few times, and then the look was gone, replaced again by blankness.

Blair closed his eyes and sat back against the wall. He was about to speak to Jim again, when he felt the Sentinel stiffen. Blair's eyes flew open, and he tensed as Jim quickly scrambled to his feet, apparently sensing something. A moment later, Blair heard the stairwell door two floors below them slam open, and Simon's voice rang out.

"Sandburg? Are you here?"

"Captain! Yeah, I'm here!" Blair tried to scramble to his feet, cried out in pain, and collapsed. Horrified, he saw Jim tense up again, going for the gun strapped to his back.

"No Jim, don't!" Blair cried. "Simon, take cov...!"

The rest of Blair's warning was drowned out by gun fire. Simon ducked under the protection of the metal stairway, pulling Ryf back with him. The Captain winced as the shots echoed painfully in the cramped stairwell, sparking as the bullets struck the metal railings.

Blair screamed up at Jim from the floor, holding his ears. His cries were inaudible over the thundering resonance of the gunshots. Jim's finger jerked on the trigger as he fired blindly in the direction of the intruders.

Enemy.... Protect the Guide.... Destroy the Enemy....

Suddenly there was a click, followed by silence; Jim was out of ammo. Blair breathed a great sigh of relief as Jim calmly laid the gun on the floor. Then he cried out again fearfully as Jim lunged for him.

"Let's move out!" Simon hissed at Ryf, realizing that Jim was empty. Sandburg's frightened cry reached their ears. Gun drawn, Simon charged up the stairs, followed closely by Ryf.

Protect the Guide.... Escape.... Escape....

Blair threw his arms up to protect himself, closing his eyes as Jim charged toward him. He gasped as Jim's hands slid under him, gathering him up again.

"No Jim, please.... I can't.... I can't go on much longer, buddy," Blair felt a cold rush of dizziness, and knew he was running out of time; he was bleeding to death. He swallowed a sob of despair as Jim scooped him up and prepared to bolt.

"Jim please!" Blair wailed. "Please... put me down.... I don't want to die...," Blair gave up the fight and helplessly wrapped his arms around the muscular neck, pressing his face into Jim's shoulder as the big man turned. Blair lifted his head as Simon and Ryf came around the corner of the stairwell and started up to his and Jim's level.

Simon watched helplessly as Jim fixed them with a contemptuous snarl, before charging up the stairs with Sandburg. The young man's voice echoed in the stairwell.

"No! Please! SIMON!!!! HELP MEEEEEEE!!!!!"

"Taggert to Banks. Captain, are you guys all right? We heard the shots!" Back in the bullpen, Joel and Rhonda hovered over the radio, listening for some news.

"We're fine, Joel," came Ryf's voice. "But Jim's given us the slip again!"

Rhonda sighed in relief as Ryf's voice came through on the radio. He sounded safe, for now. She gave a quiet thank you to the ceiling as Banks' voice filtered through again.

"Taggert, tell Brown and his men that Jim is unarmed. He used up his last round trying to keep us away from Blair. Banks out."

Joel looked up at Rhonda as the radio fell silent, then reached up to give her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"It'll be OK," he said quietly, smiling.

Ryf watched quietly as Simon slumped against the stairwell wall, then pounded the hard surface with his fist.

Dammit, Simon thought. They were running out of time! He'd seen what bad shape Blair was in as Jim carried him up the stairs. He estimated that they had twenty minutes, tops, to rescue the kid and get him to the medics before it was too late.

"We're not going to make it, are we sir?" Ryf was looking sadly at his Captain. "Blair's going to die, isn't he?" The young man's voice held a note of defeat as he watched the look of regret pass over Simon's face.

"I just don't know, Ryf," Simon replied. He shook his head in frustration. "I don't know what to do! Jim won't let us get close enough to help him, and I...."

"Sir?" Ryf prompted.

Banks sighed. "I hate to do it, but...," Simon lifted his radio to his lips and spoke. "Attention all officers. If you come into contact with Ellison again, do what you can to get Sandburg away from him peacefully. But if you can't...," Simon took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Ryf laid a hand on his shoulder.

"If you can't get Ellison to release Sandburg, then... use whatever force is necessary. I am authorizing you to shoot, only if you have to." Simon let the radio drop from his suddenly-limp hand.

Ryf grabbed the radio while keeping a steadying hand on his Captain's shoulder. "Sir, you've just given the order to shoot one of your own officers," he pointed out gently. He drew back a little as Simon's eyes opened and fixed him with a look of anguish.

"Don't you think I know that?" Simon asked sharply. "Jim is my best friend, Ryf," he sighed. "That wasn't an order I gave lightly." Simon turned away from the younger man to head up the stairs, following the trail of Blair's blood.

Ryf ran to keep up, pocketing the radio. "I'm sorry sir, I just...,"

"Please, not now, OK?" Simon pleaded over his shoulder. "At least this way we'll have a chance to save one of them."

"I don't understand," Ryf began.

"If we take Ellison out, we can at least save Blair," Simon explained. "If we don't, Blair will bleed to death, and when Jim realizes what he's done, he'll put a bullet in his own brain. I guarantee you."

Ryf stopped on the stairway as the reality hit him. "My God, you're right," he whispered. "I hadn't thought about it that way." He moved in step behind Banks again.

"Yeah, well," Banks replied, "You don't know them like I do. Their relationship goes much deeper than simply being partners. They're connected, somehow. And if Blair dies, then Jim will...." Simon suddenly trailed off and stopped short on the stairs.

Ryf ran into his Captain. "Captain? What is it?" he asked, concerned.

Simon's eyes were wide, jaw hanging slack. Ryf reached out and shook his arm a little, trying to snap him out of it.

"Captain? Simon? Please, what's wrong?" Ryf was beginning to get worried. He was about to use the radio to call for help, when Simon seemed to remember where he was. He snatched the radio from Ryf's hand and spoke into it again, voice full of confidence.

"This is Captain Banks again, belay that last order. Do not, I repeat, do NOT use deadly force to stop Ellison. Brown, get your men up to meet me at the roof, NOW! And bring the medics!" Simon smiled as he handed the radio back to Ryf.

"Come on Ryf, I think I've got the answer!"

On to Part 3