Title: Soulmates
Author: Mrs. Fish
Fandom: The Sentinel
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Rating: NC-17
Warning: Graphic m/m sex
Status: Completed
Date: 6/12/98
E-mail address for feedback: mrs_fish@hotmail.com
Summary: Love can overcome anything, even death.

Disclaimer: This story is written for the private entertainment of fans. No infringement of any copyrights held by UPN, Pet Fly Productions, or others is intended. This story is not published for profit, and the author does not give permission for this story to be reproduced for profit. The author makes no claims on the characters or their portrayal by the creation of this story.

Notes: This originally appeared in the zine Missing Links #2, distributed by The Presses.

He was floating in a sea of darkness, calm and restful. A place without pain or fear or rejection; a comforting cocoon of black to wrap himself in and forget.

How long he'd been in this place he didn't know. Not that it mattered. All he cared about were the feelings of safety and love which surrounded him like a warm blanket; feelings which had been missing from his existence for far too long.

A sound caught his attention. It was faint and far away and he strained to hear it. A voice. It was a voice calling to him, urgent and insistent, trying to drag him from the velvet night.

Gradually other sounds began filtering through the emptiness. The wind rustling through leaves; insects and birds—their voices a cacophony in his once silent world; the long mournful howl of a wolf which made him want to join its song; a growl, low and deadly; so close he could feel the animal's breath against his skin.

Eyes flew open and lungs filled with air as he exploded from the vortex into awareness. He blinked into the bright sunlight filtering through the trees and inhaled the rich scents of damp earth and ... musk.

Another sound close to him—a rich, deep rumbling—caught his attention, and he slowly turned to meet aquamarine eyes. He didn't fear the big cat. Instead he instinctively drew closer to it, smiling as its purring grew louder.

He rolled on his side and closed his eyes—pillowing his head against his arms—and drifted back into the blackness with the comforting warmth of the panther against his back.

"No! Let me go! He's alive ... he's alive, dammit!" Detective James Ellison struggled ineffectively against the iron grips of the two men clutching his arms, as he desperately tried to reach the body of his friend.

Tamping down his own pain, Captain Simon Banks attempted to calm his overwrought officer. "Jim, he's gone. There's nothing more you can do."

"Let it go, baby." Detective Henri Brown added softly.

Jim watched helplessly as the EMTs positioned the gurney next to his roommate, then gently lifted him and covered him with a blanket. "Sandburg!" With a determined lunge, the detective broke free of his co-workers and threw himself over the stretcher.

He ripped the blanket away and caressed the younger man's face. "Chief ... Blair, don't leave me. Please ... I need you. I know you can hear me. Please come back, Blair. Please ... You have to come back. A sentinel needs a guide. Isn't that what you said, Chief? How can I be a sentinel without you? How ... how can I live without you?"

Several pairs of hands wrenched him away and pinned the detective to the ground. One of the EMTs quickly filled a hypodermic and injected the clear fluid into Ellison, ignoring his screams of protest. A few moments later the detective quieted as the drug coursed through his system, sending him into blissful unconsciousness.

The heat and humidity were oppressive as he took in his surroundings. He was standing in a small clearing, surrounded on all sides by thick, tropical jungle. Beads of sweat rolled down his back and pooled at the base of his spine, soaking his shirt. Before him was a stone structure, intricately carved, and well worn with age. He moved forward and ran his hand over the smooth surface; its coolness a welcome relief from the sweltering temperature.

A low growl from behind stopped his movement, and when he turned he found himself staring into the face of an enormous black panther. The animal's gaze moved slowly over him from head to toe, as if appraising, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.

But the big cat made no move against him. It merely stepped aside to reveal his friend's unconscious form.

"Blair!" He moved forward, gathered the limp body against his chest and held it close. Fingers trailed over his guide's skin, searching for injuries, and finding none.

He looked questioningly toward the sleek jungle cat and pleaded, "How do I help him? How do I bring him back?"

Suddenly the clearing was filled with a high pitched howl. The panther raised its head and growled in response, flattening its ears and flicking its tail angrily.

A noise to his left drew his attention. The vines parted and a large wolf stepped through them. It moved gracefully toward the panther, rubbing itself against the large cat before settling comfortably next to it.

He watched in amazement as the feline licked the wolf's muzzle and ears, then continued down the rest of its body. It used its large paws to turn the lupine over, continuing to assault the soft underbelly and genitals with its tongue.

As he stared, the animals morphed into the likenesses of the two men. Their movements were urgent as they frantically sought each others body, then joined and moved together in an age old rhythm.

Understanding dawned within the sentinel. He stroked the young man's face and whispered, "I love you" before bringing their lips together in a sensuous kiss. He felt the smaller body move against him, trying for more contact. Blair's arms wrapped around him and he returned the kiss passionately, pressing his body into Ellison's and moaning with pleasure.

It was Jim who pulled away, eliciting another moan from Blair—this one of disappointment. "So this is what's been missing; what I've been seaching for my entire life."

"Sentinel and Guide, Jim. Bonded for life and beyond."

"Joined body and soul."

"Exactly."

Neither man spoke for several minutes, each content to just stare into the other's eyes. Blair finally pulled Jim back down to him for another kiss, opening his mouth and willingly offering it to the other man.

The gift was gratefully accepted as Jim's tongue danced lightly over Sandburg's teeth and palate. He rubbed their groins together, drawing yet another moan from Blair, then broke the kiss—moving his mouth to lick his way down the younger man's neck.

"Oh, Jim ... Jim ..."

There was no thought—just need—as the two men quickly divested each other of clothing. Mouths sucked, tongues dueled, and lips melded as the fires of passion consumed them; each touch hurdling them headlong toward ecstasy's precipice.

A welcomed intrusion, painfully and pleasurably intimate at the same time. Touching, stroking, stretching ... an overwhelming need to be possessed by hot flesh.

Guttural moans expressing need far more than words ever could. Hot, sweat-slicked skin—salty to the taste. The intoxicating scent of musk nestled among darkened curls; fingers running through spun silk. A smorgasbord for the senses.

Union ... a feeling of completeness so strong it threatened madness.

Hard thrusts—advance, retreat.

Ragged breath; joined hands giving pleasure.

A primal scream as reality shattered into a million points of light flowing in and around the emptiness that once was their souls ...

Awareness returned slowly. Jim stirred first, drawing Blair deeper into his embrace and nuzzling the chestnut tresses.

"Chief? ... Blair, you still with me?" He placed several light kisses across his lover's face.

Blair turned and gifted his Sentinel with a brilliant smile. "Jim ... that was the most intense sexual experience I've ever had. I'm still tingling all over, like a bolt of lightning ran through me."

"I feel the same way. What about the light? Did you see a blinding white light just when we ..."

"Came ... Yeah ... Something incredible happened here, Jim. I'm not sure what yet, but I'm positive it has to do with us life bonding or mating or whatever you want to call it."

"Mate ... I like the sound of that, Blair. You're my mate ... my life partner, the other half of my soul." Jim punctuated each endearment with a kiss.

"When the hell did you get so poetic, and so romantic?"

"I've always been that way, Blair. I guess I just needed the right person to bring it out. And it looks like I've found him. God, I love you."

"I love you, too, Jim. Always have and always will."

A snapping twig drew their attention away from each other. The panther and wolf had returned and were watching both men intently. Once again the animals morphed into human shape, but this time they spoke.

With one voice they stated, "The bond has been forged and the circle of power completed. Now you must return and fulfill your destinies."

Returning to their true forms, the animals gave them a final glance before turning and disappearing into the jungle foliage together.

Antiseptic chemical odor hit him full force as consciousness returned. He opened his eyes and was nearly blinded by the bright overhead lights. Sighing deeply, Jim turned all his senses down before attempting anything further.

He knew Simon was in the room with him. The cigar scent clinging to his captain had become as familiar to the sentinel as Sandburg's herbal shampoo. Ellison smiled at that thought, so it was a concerned expression which met his when he opened his eyes fully.

"Jim? Everything okay?"

"Yea, Simon, everything's fine. Just as it was meant to be." Jim extended his hearing until he found the one sound he thought he'd never hear again—his guide's hearbeat. That brought another smile, wider than the first. "When can I see Blair?"

"Bl ... How?" Simon shook his head. "Never mind. I know better than to ask. Sentinel mumbo jumbo again, right?" The captain chuckled softly. "The doctor said Sandburg's gonna be fine. As far as he could tell, there was no brain or organ damage. Wants to keep him a couple days for observation, though, just to be sure."

"When can I see him, Simon?" Jim repeated, a little more strongly.

"Oh ... Whenever you're ready. You're free to go any time."

Jim got up slowly, making sure there were no adverse reactions from the sedative, before he and Simon left the room and made their way to ICU. Ellison went in alone, gathering Blair's hand in his while stroking soft curls with the other.

A whispered sigh escaped slightly parted lips before sapphire blue eyes opened to meet cerulean ones. "Jim ..."

Relief flooded through the detective upon hearing that one word, and his voice was full of emotion as he responded, "Welcome back to the land of the living, Chief."

Sandburg's eyebrows rose and a strange expression crossed his features. He cleared his voice a couple times before answering. "Funny you should mention that. I had the weirdest dream. Or maybe it was a vision. Anyway ... I was in the jungle ..."

"Blair ..." Jim cut him off before he could continue. "I know. I was there too, remember? The bond has been forged and the circle of power completed. That sound familiar?"

"Oh, gods ... it was real?"

"Yea, Chief, it was real. Or as real as things get on the spirit plain." Jim bent down, gently kissed his partner's forehead and whispered, "Your ass is mine now; don't you forget it." The detective added a quick swipe of his tongue against the other man's ear before straightening back up.

For the first time in his life, Sandburg was speechless. But then, this was one time he really didn't need to respond verbally. Mindful of the IV and monitoring equipment, Blair raised his open arms in invitation ... an invitation that Jim quickly accepted.

They parted only because the need for oxygen forced them to. Both men were flushed and panting, and Ellison reluctantly pulled away. "This wasn't a good idea, Chief. You're supposed to be resting. Besides, I don't think these old bones are up to it."

"Really?" Blair glanced at his partner's groin, noting the prominent bulge. "You sure look up to it to me. In fact, you look way more than up to it."

"Sandburg ... As your Blessed Protector, I'm ordering you to get some rest. The faster you get well, the faster I can take you home; and then we can take our time and do this right. No quick fuck, Chief. I want to make slow sweet love to you in our bed."

Blair groaned out "Jesus, James ..." followed by a huge yawn. "That sounds wonderful. And we do have the rest of our lives together."

"That's right, Chief, so you just close your eyes ..." Jim adjusted the covers around his lover before pulling a chair next to the bed and settling into it. "... and I'll stand watch over you."

"Mmmm ... love you, Jim." Sandburg's eyes drifted shut and his breathing slowed and evened out in sleep.

Ellison rested his head against Blair's arm, and as sleep overtook him, he swore he heard a big cat's growl followed by the howl of a single wolf.

The end.

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