DISCLAIMER: Pet Fly and Paramount own the copyright to The Sentinel and its characters. This piece of fan fiction was written solely for the love of the characters and to share freely with other fans. No profit is being made from the posting of this story.

Category: Humor, First times

Rating: NC-17

Summary: A weekend seminar in Las Vegas ends with Blair wanting to prove himself to be one of the gang. It's a weekend he and Jim aren't likely to forget. Included: a few too many drinks, Blair in drag, a wedding chapel and compromising positions. Oh, and did I mention dares . . . ?

Warnings: I was told to include a "no eating or drinking at your computer" warning. Extreme silliness ahead.

Notes: Thanks to Terri for recommendations, plot bunnies and one-liners, and to Allison, Heather-Anne, and Sensor for the great betas.

This extended version was previously published in "Whispers of the Heart 6" published by AngelWings Press.

"Your assignment, gentlemen, should you decide to accept it," Simon looked at the small group assembled in his office, "is to attend a forensics seminar in Las Vegas this coming weekend."

"Does this mean we have a choice?" Jim Ellison asked, relatively certain he already knew the answer.

"No, of course not," Simon confirmed. "Sandburg is the only one who has any say in the matter."

"Will the Department pick up my expenses?" Blair asked.

"Yes. You'd be going as an official consultant to the PD, and as such, your expenses would be covered."

Blair's face split in a wide grin. "Count me in!"

"Sandburg," Henri Brown growled, "you do realize this is a seminar? We're not going to be able to spend our days in the casinos."

"That's okay." Blair's smile brightened. "I think forensics is a fascinating field."

Jim shook his head and grinned, then turned to Simon. "When do we leave?"

"Here are your tickets," the Captain said, handing out the packets. "Your flight is Friday afternoon. You'll have time to settle in, join the Friday evening mixer and be at the seminar first thing Saturday morning. Your return flight is set for Sunday afternoon." He looked around at his shell-shocked crew. "Dismissed, gentlemen," he said, shooing them out of his office.

"Think we'll have any free time?" Henri wondered.

Looking up from studying the seminar's brochure, Rafe grinned. "Yeah. The thing gets out at four o'clock in the afternoon. That should give us some time to hit the casinos and bars." He eyed the young anthropologist in their midst. "Are you as good with Vegas card games as you are with the ponies?"

Blair just smirked, ducked his head and walked swiftly toward the doors to Major Crime.

"Hey, nice digs!" Blair looked around the hotel room he was sharing with Jim. A large suite, it included two queen beds, a small bar and a big-screen TV. "I wouldn't have to leave the room! Do they have room service, too?" He wandered over to the table and looked at the brochures and menus scattered there for the guests' convenience.

"Does it matter? You're not going to get to spend much time here. We've been ordered to mingle," Jim replied. He began unpacking, hanging up suits and casual clothes in the small armoire in the corner.

Blair dusted the creases from the one suit he had brought along, hanging it beside Jim's clothes. He didn't bother with the t-shirts and jeans, leaving them neatly folded in his suitcase. "Do we have any time to look around before we go to the mixer?"

"Yeah, I think we can check out the facilities in the hotel, maybe even drop a few quarters in the slots before we have to go."

"Great! We can scope things out now, then break loose on Saturday night. Las Vegas really swings on the weekends."

"And you'd know this . . . how?" Jim wondered.

"Hey, I'm a world traveler, man! I know of what I speak."

"Say what?" Jim chuckled, bemused by his partner's sometimes twisted speech patterns. Blair just glowered at him.

"Do we have time for a little room service before we go?" Blair asked. "I'm famished! They don't feed you on those planes anymore!"

"Make it quick. I'm going to take a shower."

Blair picked up the phone, placed an order, then turned on the TV. By the time Jim walked out of the shower, he was munching on a roast beef sandwich and Caesar salad. He motioned to the burger and fries he'd ordered for Jim, earning himself an approving grin from the older man.

By the time Rafe and Brown stopped by to pick them up, Jim and Blair were showered and fed, and ready to face the crowd at the mixer.

"Whew, can things get any more boring than this?" Henri leaned over to whisper to Rafe. The young detective shook his head in dismay, trying to stifle a yawn.

"I think it's fascinating . . ." Blair whispered over his shoulder to the two detectives sitting behind him, "that you can tell how long a body's been dead by the life cycle of the maggot."

Rafe crinkled his nose in disgust and gestured for Blair to mind his own business.

The anthropologist turned his attention back to the lecturer, and busily scribbled some notes. Jim turned to give him a tolerant smile, then went back to pretending to listen.

By the time four o'clock rolled around, the three detectives were more than ready to make a beeline to the casino. They exited the lecture hall and stopped to look for the quickest escape route.

"Hold it a minute, guys." Jim stopped the exodus abruptly. "Blair's not here."

"Blair's not here?" Henri looked around. "Where the hell is he? He couldn't have gotten far."

"I don't think he 'got' at all," Jim mused, pushing his way back through the doors they'd just fled through.

Sure enough, the anthropologist was chatting up the lecturer, a pretty young redhead. "Hey there, Chief," Jim got the younger man's attention. "Time to vamoose . . . get the hell out of Dodge. . . . The guys are waiting," he emphasized.

"Guess I have to go," Blair apologized. "It was great talking with you."

Before the young lady could reply, Jim grabbed the sociable consultant by the elbow and began to drag him toward the door.

"You didn't have to be so rude, Jim!" Blair protested when the detective finally let go of his arm in the hallway. "I would have come, if you'd asked nicely."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to break up your little liaison there, but the rest of us would like a little dinner . . ."

"Very little dinner," Rafe amended, still looking a bit pale.

". . . before we start to do the town," Jim finished.

Switching gears with a lightning speed that amazed the senior detective, Blair declared, "Great! I'm famished!" and started down the concourse to the hotel's restaurant district.

Over a light dinner of pasta at Marie's, an in-house Italian restaurant, they discussed the evening's plans.

"There's an interesting looking bar in the east wing, goes by the name of 'The Four Queens'," Henri suggested.

"Yeah, H, I saw an ad for that one in the hotel brochures," Blair said, his face lighting up. "They've got a hypnotist there I'd really like to see. He calls himself 'Dr. Indecent', and the show's supposed to be X-rated."

"Sounds like a winner," Jim agreed, a predatory gleam in his eye. "I love to watch those hypnotists make fools of themselves. How about we spend a little time at the tables, and meet at the bar around eight o'clock for drinks and the show?"

The evening's plans agreed upon, the four dispersed throughout the casino to try their luck with the cards and dice.

Henri nursed his second whiskey sour of the evening, eyeing his friends around the table with relief. "Man, I am so glad that seminar is finally over! I thought I might just die from boredom!"

"What's the matter?" quipped Blair as he sipped a rum and coke. "You don't enjoy lectures on forensic evidence?"

"Not just before dinner!" commiserated a still queasy Rafe.

"Well, I think it's fascinating," the grad student replied. "It's not that different from what anthropologists do on a dig--take a few bones and other bits of evidence at the site, and reconstruct a life." He took another sip of his drink, feeling lightheaded, as he usually did whenever he drank anything stronger than beer.

"I don't believe the three of you," Jim chuckled. "Here we are, in Las Vegas of all places, and all you can do is gripe about how we got here. You should be grateful Simon decided to send us all here. We've got the whole night to enjoy ourselves before our flight home tomorrow."

"I'm not griping," Blair declared. "I intend to have a good time. Heck, these 'women' serving us are even starting to look good." He took another sip of his drink, smiling
conspiratorially.

Rafe and Brown looked appreciatively at the tall, shapely women working the tables.

"Too bad they're not really women," Blair continued.

"What do you mean?" Two heads snapped back to look at him.

"Oh, come on, guys," Blair teased. "There's a reason they call this place 'The Four Queens', you know, and it doesn't have anything to do with cards." He paused to look around the table, then to eye the young woman heading toward them to refresh their drinks. "These women are all men."

"No way, Sandburg!" Brown protested, watching appreciatively as one of the long-legged waitresses shimmied up to their table.

"Yes, way!" Blair retorted, trying hard not to laugh as Brown and Rafe stared openly.

"Another round," Jim told their waitress, while his friends argued.

"You bet, Sugar," she purred, turning on a spiked heel to walk away, an exaggerated wiggle to her hips.

"I tell you," Blair continued, "they're all men. Every last one."

"With those boobs?" Rafe asked, incredulous.

"Silicon," the young man informed them.

"No way," Henri Brown repeated, shaking his head.

Blair turned to his partner with a patented "help me out here" look. Jim just shrugged and smiled. "Not my argument, Chief."

Grunting, Blair returned his attention to his drink. If the Neanderthals at his table couldn't see it, he wasn't going to burst their bubble. They'd find out soon enough.

Several drinks later into the evening, the men at the Cascade PD table no longer cared whether the lovely ladies were actually ladies or not. Even Jim "Someone's Gotta Stay Sober" Ellison wasn't feeling any pain.

Brown squinted at Sandburg across the table, eyeing him with alcohol-blurred vision. "You know," he commented, "Blair would look pretty damn good as a woman."

"Sandburg looks pretty damn good just the way he is," retorted Ellison, wrapping a protective arm around his friend and pulling him in toward his chest. He gave Blair a good hug before letting the young man breathe again.

"Yeah, yeah . . . thanks, but no thanks, guys." Blair held his hands up in a warding off gesture.

"Aw, come on," slurred Rafe, trying hard to focus on the grad student. "I'll bet you don't have the guts to do it."

"Do what?" Blair asked, incredulous. "Dress up like a woman? Are you kidding?" He laughed, then hiccuped. "I've done worse."

"Oh, yeah?" Brown challenged. "Prove it. I dare you to go backstage and dress up like one of these 'ladies'."

"You think I won't?" Blair challenged.

"Sandburg. . . ? Chief. . . ?" Jim fought to get his Guide's attention. "I don't think this is such a good idea," he whispered into Blair's ear.

"Why not?" his partner answered, loud enough to be heard two tables away in the noisy room. "These two goons are besmirching my honor here."

"Who you calling 'goons'?" Rafe shouted over the din.

"What honor?" Jim smirked. "Blair, I. . . ." But his partner was no longer paying attention to any of them.

Snagging the nearest waitress, Blair motioned her to bend down so he could whisper in her ear.

"Sure thing, Honey," she drawled, taking his hand as he stood and guiding him away from the table.

Blair turned long enough to wave good-bye to his drinking buddies, then turned his attention back to putting one foot in front of the other.

"What do you suppose is taking so long?" Brown wondered.

Ow, dammit! That hurts! Hey! OWWWWW!!!

Jim cringed in sympathy at the pained voice of his Guide coming from somewhere backstage. What were they doing to the poor boy back there? What could be so painful about putting on a dress and a little makeup?

"I don't know," the Sentinel replied, "but whatever it is, I hope it's worth it."

"Do we have to?" Blair asked, his eyes large with trepidation. "This isn't exactly what I signed up for. I thought all that was involved was a little makeup and a dress."

"Honey, you're the hairiest boy I've had to work with in a while." Angelina, the wardrobe 'mistress', applied another layer of hot wax to Blair's leg, preparatory to ripping every hair out by its follicle.

"I'm not a boy!" Blair's voice hitched up a notch as he hissed through gritted teeth. "I'm a man, and I don't have to put up with this shit if I don't want to. It was only a stupid dare, after all!"

"Nothing personal, Sweetcakes," Angelina smiled. "But we've come this far. You're not going to back out now, are you?" With a quick pull, Blair's leg was stripped clean.

"Ow, dammit! That hurts! Hey! OWWWWW!!!" the anthropologist yelled in protest. "You bet your sweet ass! I'm outta here!" Blair stood up and grabbed his pants, hopping from one foot to the other as he pulled them back on. Charging through the door, he made his way back out to the crowded bar.

"Oh, seeing Blair in drag is going to be worth it!" snickered Rafe, tipping back a club soda. He'd had enough alcohol for the evening, and was now cutting back to lessen his morning-after headache.

"Yeah. This should be a real hoot!" Brown agreed.

Jim shifted uncomfortably in his seat, cocking his head slightly in a listening pose. No more screams of pain were issuing from the dressing room, so he felt relatively confident things were going smoothly. If only Blair would come back.

The young man in question returned sooner than expected. Jim looked on in amazement as Hurricane Sandburg stormed back to their table. "What happened?

"I agreed to get dressed up, not tortured!" Blair spat, pulling out his chair and sitting down. Picking up the drink in front of him, he tossed back the rest of his rum and coke in one quick draught, slamming the empty glass back down on the table.

"I didn't think you'd go through with it," Rafe teased.

"Yeah, it takes a real man to dress up like a woman!" Brown laughed. "Guess you just don't have it in you, Hairboy."

Blair turned to scowl at the pair. It wasn't often Sandburg lost his temper. The look on his face was enough to silence the two detectives.

A soft voice issued from somewhere off to his left. "Come on, Chief, you're not going to let them win this, are you?" Jim turned his most charming smile on the irate young man. "They'll never let you live this down if you give in now."

"They'll never let me live it down if I go through with it," Blair argued.

"Damned if you do and damned if you don't. Why don't you show them what you're made of?"

The young man sighed and looked at the two inebriated smirks flashed at him from across the table. If he was ever going to prove himself to Jim's friends in the department, he had to go through with this. Pushing himself back to his feet, he snagged a drink off the tray of a passing waitress as he made his way back through the crowd to the dressing room.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to get your butt back here." Angelina grinned widely at the young man in front of her. "Here," she said, handing him a razor. "We need a nice, close shave."

Reluctantly, Blair took the instrument and walked over to the sink. Lathering his face generously with the shaving cream provided, he began to scratch away at his afternoon's growth. When he was finished, Angelina led him back to the makeup table. There, she began by applying a foundation of stage makeup to cover the heavy shadow left by the young man's beard.

"Now, look up and don't blink," Angelina instructed, as she began applying a thick coat of black mascara to Blair's already generous lashes. A touch of eyeliner and a dash of pearl
eyeshadow accentuated the blue of their owner's eyes. Lipstick and blush followed.

Angelina pulled out scarlet acrylic nails and adhesive. Blair looked at them, and a sigh issued from between his lips. "Is that really necessary?"

"Honey, you clip your nails too short. If you're going to doll up, might as well go all the way."

"I suppose." Blair held out a hand with an air of resignation.

While Angelina worked on his nails, a hairstylist began damage control on his unruly mane of curls. When she was finished, Blair sported a stylish French roll with a few soft ringlets falling delicately around his face.

Face and hair finally completed, Angelina pulled Blair over to a rack of dresses. "Let's find you something pretty to wear, Sweetcakes." Sorting through the mass of clothing, she pulled out and rejected outfit after outfit. Finally, she settled on a sapphire blue gown of sequins and satin. "This will bring out the blue of your eyes, Sugar." Her own eyes twinkled with amusement at the look on the young man's face. She handed him the gown, which was designed for a very buxom woman.

"Ah . . . I dunno," Blair said, eyeing the dress doubtfully. In direct contrast to the fullness of the bustline, the slinky dress was form-fitting, with a slit up the side that went to mid-thigh.

Angelina held the dress in front of Blair, sizing him up. "You'll need to be a bit taller," she decided. Tossing the gown over the back of a chair, she began rummaging through a shoe rack. With a crow of triumph, she held out her prize--a pair of platform shoes with six-inch soles. The clear acrylic shoes looked like a Frankenstein's monster version of Cinderella's glass slippers.

"Strip, Sweetie," Angelina ordered. When Blair hesitated, she smiled. "Believe me, Sweetcakes, you haven't got a thing I don't see a dozen times over every night!"

As the young man began to disrobe, Angelina brought over a small, beige garment.

"What's that?" Blair looked suspiciously at what appeared to be a not-very-large elastic band.

"It's a girdle, Hon. With that dress, you won't want any unsightly bulges spoiling the effect. Besides, it'll do wonders for that tight little butt of yours." She handed the torture device to the reluctant man.

Blair tugged along the edges of the waistband. "No way I'm fitting into this!" He shook his head in dismay.

"Look, Sweetie, we all wear them. If you're going to impersonate a female impersonator, you have to hide your male assets. This is one way of doing it. There's an alternative, but I don't think you'd like it."

"Yeah, what makes you think I wouldn't like something better than this?" he asked sarcastically, holding up the girdle and shaking it passionately.

"Well," Angelina continued with a sly look on her face, "some of the men tie their genitals between their legs." She watched as Blair's face blanched, and he made a genuine effort to struggle into the girdle. "Thought that might be your choice," she chuckled.

"I can't breathe!" Blair gasped, once the restrictive garment was in place.

"Take shallow breaths, from the upper half of your lungs. It's more feminine-looking, anyway. You'll survive. Now these," she said, tossing a pair of stockings his way.

Deft fingers snatched the hosiery out of mid-air. "How, exactly, do I get these things on?"

Shaking her head, Angelina pushed Blair into the nearest chair. "Haven't you ever undressed a lady before, Sweetcakes?" Rolling one leg of the hose up until only the toe was exposed, she bent over. "Point," she commanded. When the bewildered anthropologist looked at her in confusion, she clarified. "Your toes, Sweetie. Point your toes. Like this." She stuck out a foot to demonstrate.

Anxious to put an end to this and get out quickly, he pointed his toes and allowed Angelina to roll the hose up his freshly-waxed leg. She fastened the top of the stocking to the little clips that hung from the girdle, then repeated the process with the other stocking before standing up.

Picking the gown off the chair, Angelina helped Blair slide it over his head, tugging it into place. Before zipping it closed, she stuffed two "D" cup falsies into the bustline of the dress. The high collar dusted his chin while long sleeves reached to his wrists, ending in little points over the backs of his hands, renaissance-style. The slit up the side showed off a shapely leg, while the tight fit accented Blair's girdled buttocks. The hem dragged a bit, until Angelina urged him into the shoes.

Teetering on the platforms, Blair saw the world from the lofty height of six feet one-and-a-half inches. He smiled drunkenly at the thought of finally being able to look Jim Ellison in the eye without getting a crick in his neck.

Rhinestone drop earrings were clipped to his lobes before Angelina led the tottering man toward the door. With a few whispered suggestions, she coaxed her reluctant charge back out into the bar.

"Think he's ever coming back out, or do we have to launch a rescue mission here?" Rafe asked.

"I dunno, and I dun care," slurred a tipsy Brown. "Look whaz comin'!" He pointed to a tall, leggy vision in blue who had just appeared and seemed to be making her way over to their table. The comely creature was occasionally slowed by the physical admiration of the customers she passed. The poor girl's butt was going to be black and blue come morning from all the pinches she endured, Brown noted to himself.

As the young woman passed the table in front of theirs, a portly gentleman reached out, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his lap. She struggled, obviously rejecting the pass as the man tried to steal a kiss. Large blue eyes stared out at Jim from beneath long dark lashes, imploring him to help.

Rising, Jim strode purposely toward the neighboring table. "The lady isn't interested," he stated flatly, reaching for the young woman's hand.

The heavy-set man just guffawed, ignoring the irritating intrusion and concentrating on wooing his prize. His "prize," however, had other ideas. Whipping her head back sharply, the woman cracked her skull against her captor's nose, loosing a few more tendrils of soft mahogany curls from her French roll in the process.

Howling, the injured man released her. Jim took her hand, steadying her as she rose to her feet, teetering atop a pair of pretty amazing platform shoes.

"You all right?" Jim asked solicitously.

The young woman nodded.

Jim was about to release her, when he caught her eye again. Cerulean blue stared back at him as the woman chewed self-consciously on the fullness of a ruby-red lip. "Sandburg?" Jim leaned in closer.

"No way!" Brown asserted, eyeing the shapely vision in sequins and satin. "That one's for real!" He smiled wolfishly at the young lady.

"No. No. This is Sandburg," Jim insisted, recognizing the distinctive scent of his Guide, if not his appearance.

"Blair?" Rafe tried to reconcile the foxy vision in front of his eyes to the short, hairy partner of Detective Ellison.

"Oh, God. Can I sit down now, please?" Blair begged.

"I don't know," Jim replied with a sparkle in his eye. "Can you sit wearing that dress?"

"Give it up, Ellison, and help me here!" The typical Sandburgian irritation in his voice left no doubt in the minds of Rafe and Brown that Jim had been right; this was their wayward anthropologist.

Jim pulled out a chair and helped ease Blair down into it. The young man sighed with relief. "Man, these shoes were not meant for walking!" He tried to toe off the offending footwear, but they were strapped on tight. After an abortive move to bend over to remove them, Blair gave up in disgust. "Satisfied?" he asked the detectives.

"Oh, yeah," chuckled Brown. "You're quite a sight, Sandburg!"

"Shut up, H," Blair snapped.

"You look good as a woman, Sandburg, but I'll bet you couldn't pull it off outside this bar," Rafe commented, a hint of another dare in his voice.

"And why would I want to, Rafe?" Blair took a long swig of the drink Jim had set in front of him. "Isn't this humiliation enough?"

"Aw, come on, Blair. Be a sport!" Rafe wheedled. "You did a pretty good impression walking out here, but everyone knows the women in this bar aren't women."

"You didn't," the vision in blue reminded him.

"You had me fooled," Brown smiled.

"Like that's hard," Blair snorted. "Jim, step in here, will ya? Help me out?"

"What's the matter? I thought you were fearless when it came to taking on challenges like this." Jim grinned at his partner, not willing to let him off the hook too easily.

Blair sighed. "I did my part in this little dare," he protested. "Can I get out of this outfit now? I don't have to prove anything else to this pair of dorks." Using the table to steady himself, he tried to rise, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"The show's about to start," Jim told him. "Can't it wait a few minutes? I thought you wanted to see this guy."

Settling back into his chair a bit grudgingly, Blair murmured his agreement. He turned his attention to the stage as the evening's act, Dr. Indecent, the X-rated hypnotist, was being announced.

The man made his entrance in with a cliché swirl of black and red cape over a gaudy tuxedo with a red cummerbund. "Ladies and gentlemen," he began, "could I have a volunteer from the audience?"

A young woman, coaxed by her escort, stood and raised her hand.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Please come right on up, little lady. Have a seat." The sweet young thing perched herself on the stool provided and looked at the hypnotist nervously.

"There's no need to be nervous," Dr. Indecent assured her. "And your name is. . . ?"

"Patty."

"Well, Patty, this won't hurt a bit," the hypnotist grinned as the audience chuckled.

"What a bunch of crock!" Jim sneered quietly, watching as the young woman was put into a hypnotic trance.

Dr. Indecent made the suggestion that she was a stripper. She began to disrobe, the audience hooting and clapping appreciatively. She unhooked the fastenings on her black lace bra, dropping it to the floor with the rest of her clothing. Topless, she danced seductively for a few moments before Dr. Indecent brought her out of the trance.

She yelped in surprise at her state of undress and covered herself, running off stage to the safety of the curtains.

"She was a plant." Jim was confident.

"If you think it's such a charade, why don't you volunteer to be hypnotized?" Brown suggested.

"I can't be hypnotized," Jim insisted.

"All the more reason to volunteer and prove what a charlatan the guy is!" Rafe insisted.

"Sure, Jim," Blair chimed in. "It's your turn to make a fool of yourself tonight. Go show us what you're made of!"

"Who will be my next volunteer?" Dr. Indecent asked the audience.

At that moment, Jim chose to bat his partner upside the head for his previous comment. The hypnotist took the raised hand to mean Ellison was volunteering.

"Wonderful! We have our next vict . . . volunteer right here!" The audience chuckled at the old joke.

"No. Oh, no. No, no, no," Jim insisted as the hypnotist's assistant came to pluck him from the audience.

"Go on, Jim. Prove what a fake the guy is." Blair gave the man a gentle shove to get him out of his seat.

Jim rose, but grumbled back a warning, "I'll get you for this, Sandburg. . . ." as he was led to the stage.

"Just make yourself comfortable," Dr. Indecent instructed. "What is your name, sir?"

"Ellison. Detective James Ellison." Jim perched himself with one foot on the rung of the stool and one foot on the floor. Leaning an arm on his knee, he eyed the hypnotist. "I can't be hypnotized," he stated flatly.

"I get that a lot," Dr. Indecent smiled. "Just relax and concentrate. . . ." His soothing voice droned on as the Sentinel focused on the sound. Slowly, Jim felt his senses slipping away into something resembling a zone-out, helpless to stop the slide.

"Ladies and gentlemen. . ." Dr. Indecent grinned. "Now that we have Detective Ellison's full attention. . ." he paused briefly as the crowd chuckled again, "what shall we have him do for us?" He looked out over the audience.

"Hey, I know!" Brown piped up. "Have Ellison propose marriage to his partner!" He pointed animatedly toward Blair.

"H!!" Blair protested, turning to scowl at the large black man. "Shhh!!" He waved his hands frantically, trying to get the detective to quiet down.

"Go on!" Rafe encouraged. "I dare you to prove you can pull off this female impersonation of yours."

Blair turned his frown on the younger of the two detectives. "And how do you propose I do that?"

"Exactly!" Rafe smiled. "Propose! Let Ellison propose, then go through with the wedding."

"You have got to be kidding! Just how much, exactly, have you been drinking?" Blair's voice had risen a notch in disbelief.

Rafe smirked. "Bet you won't go through with it. You don't have the balls to try something this outlandish. This is beyond even The Sandburg Zone."

"Gentlemen?" Dr. Indecent brought their attention back to the stage.

"Make him propose to me," Blair commanded, turning a smug look on the two startled detectives.

The hypnotist smiled and turned his attention back to his subject. "Detective Ellison?" There was no visible response. "You have fallen deeply in love with the beautiful lady in blue at your table. You will propose marriage to her. If she accepts, you will then take her to a chapel and wed her."

Dr. Indecent turned his attention to Blair. "It's customary to give the subject a trigger phrase, something to bring him out of the trance. As the good detective will be leaving this room, you will have to be the one to break the trance. We need a phrase he's not likely to hear until you say it."

"How about, 'Good morning, Jim'?" Blair suggested.

"Perfect!" The hypnotist returned his attention to his subject. "When you hear the phrase 'Good morning, Jim,' you will come out of the trance and remember everything that's happened to you." Dr. Indecent paused for dramatic effect. "I'm going to count backward from three to one," he continued. "When I reach 'one,' you will wake up, walk over to your table and propose marriage to the lovely lady." He looked at Jim, then began his count with a theatrical wave of his arms. "Three . . . two . . . one!"

Jim opened his eyes, blinking rapidly. He turned and grinned at the hypnotist. "See? I knew you couldn't put me in a trance."

There was a muted chuckle from the audience.

Jim rose to return to the table. He caught Blair's eyes, those liquid pools of blue being all he could see. As he approached the table, he dropped to one knee in front of his partner. Cradling Blair's hand in his own, he looked up with rapture into the young man's face.

"Blair, sweetest, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" The words were whispered almost reverently.

Blair glanced over at Rafe and Brown, a goofy grin plastered on his face. The two detectives nodded enthusiastically. Turning back to the Sentinel, Blair took a deep breath, held it a moment, then expelled it slowly. "Sure. Yeah. I mean, well, okay. I'll marry you."

The answer appeared to please the older man inordinately. He placed a chaste kiss on the back of Blair's hand before rising to lean in for a kiss on the lips. Blair reared back instinctively, trying to avoid the touch of lips on lips. Caught off guard, a none-too-sober Ellison lost his balance, landing in Blair's lap.

Blair's eyes grew wide, and a smile spread slowly across his face. "I knew you had it bad, but you didn't have to fall for me that hard!" A chuckle escaped from behind a muffling hand.

Pulling himself up, Jim looked dreamily at the young man. "What's the matter, Lamb Chop?" Jim crooned, turning Blair's face toward him with a gentle touch of his hand. He leaned forward to attempt the kiss again.

"You smell like a brewery!" Blair complained, turning his head once more.

Jim backed down, looking a bit hurt, but settled for another kiss to the back of the hand he still held.

"Congratulations!" Rafe rose from his chair to slap Ellison on the back and grin widely at the not-so-amused Blair. "Now all we have to do is get you something decent to wear to your wedding."

Dr. Indecent whispered something to his assistant, then turned to the men at the table. "As I have had a hand in this little engagement, allow me help. If you will just follow Krista, she'll take you backstage to find appropriate attire for the evening."

The young woman came and took Jim's hand, leading him, somewhat reluctantly, from the table and his bride-to-be.

Sipping at his recently refreshed drink, Blair eyed Rafe and Brown speculatively. "Satisfied? This what you guys wanted?"

"Oh, this is great, Sandburg! Couldn't be better!" laughed Brown. "I never thought I'd have this much fun in Vegas. This is better than the tables or the slots."

Rafe jumped in, agreeing wholeheartedly. "You bet, Blair! Oh, God . . . you two are never going to live this down!"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Blair murmured into the alcohol.

A few minutes later, Jim appeared back at their table wearing one of Dr. Indecent's spare tuxes. The hypnotist was at least a good three inches shorter than Ellison, so Jim's ever-present white socks showed at the ankles, and the sleeves rode up his arms uncomfortably.

"I don't think any of us are up to driving," Brown said, stating the obvious. It took both himself and Jim to steady Sandburg. With the tottering anthropologist between them, they headed for the door.

"I'll flag down a cab," offered Rafe, holding the door so that the other two detectives could get the plastered Sandburg outside. He then hurried to the curb and held a cab until the other three could make their way across the sidewalk.

Blair all but fell into the cab, followed by an infatuated Ellison. "Scoot over, Blair, Honey," he crooned, sliding in beside the younger man. Rafe shoved his way into the back seat as well, while Brown took the seat up front with the driver.

"Where to?" the cab driver asked.

"We need a wedding chapel," Rafe told him. "One that doesn't ask many questions, and can marry a couple without a lot of prior paperwork. Know a place like that?"

"Oh, sure. No problem. Just leave it to me," the driver assured them, pulling out into the traffic.

He headed out onto Las Vegas Boulevard, driving until he reached the seedier part of town. The casinos had thinned out, and the street was populated more with strip bars and wedding chapels. Finally, he pulled into the parking lot of a small chapel and killed the engine. "This should do you fellas just fine," the driver grinned. "Congrats on the wedding, Cupcake." He turned a lecherous smile on Blair who, even in his inebriated state, had to restrain himself from punching the guy in the nose.

Brown paid the driver, and they all climbed out of the cab. Blair wobbled a bit, so Jim and Rafe flanked him as they walked through the doors of the chapel.

"Welcome to the Little Chapel of the Bells!" the owner of the establishment greeted them as they walked in. "What can I do for you this fine evening?"

"These two want to get married," Brown said, indicating the somber Ellison and tipsy Blair.

"Very good! That's what we're here for, of course! Do you have all the necessary paperwork?"

"Well . . . no," hedged Rafe. "We were told this chapel could marry our friends here, and we could do the actual paperwork later?"

"Ah, I see," the man smiled knowingly. "Get ourselves into a little trouble, did we? Well, no matter. Come right this way." He led the small group into a tiny chapel, bedecked with flowers and tulle. "We'll just fill in the blanks here," he said, standing at the pulpit. "Name of the bride?"

"Blair Sandburg," answered Rafe.

"Groom?"

"James Ellison," piped in Brown.

"Very good. And you two will be the witnesses, I presume?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "Well, let's get started, then. Blair, you stand over here," he said, putting the bride to his right. "And you can stand here," he positioned the groom to his left.

Before the ceremony started, the chapel's secretary came out with a camera and snapped a Polaroid of the happy couple. She handed the picture to Rafe to hold while the film developed. The cagey detective slipped the evidence into his jacket pocket and turned his attention to the ceremony which was just beginning.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered today in the sight of God and these witnesses to join this man and this woman . . ." At this point, Rafe suppressed a snort, and Brown hid a smile behind his hand. Ellison and Sandburg, on the other hand, didn't even seem to notice . . . each for his own reasons. ". . . in holy matrimony.

"Do you, James Ellison, take Blair Sandburg to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?"

Jim looked dreamily at the vision standing next to him and answered sincerely, "I do."

"And do you, Blair Sandburg, take James Ellison to be your lawfully wedded husband--to have and . . ."

"I do . . . I do, okay? Can we get on with it? I'm feeling sick." Blair was, indeed, looking a little nauseous.

The slightly flustered official stuttered, but continued, "Um . . . okay. Are there rings to exchange?" Jim shook his head, but lifted both of Blair's hands in his, holding them as though they were the most precious things in the world. "In that case, I now pronounce you husband and wife." Turning to Jim, he smiled. "You may kiss the bride."

As Jim leaned in to claim his kiss, his bride threw up on his shoes.

Blair continued to retch for a while after emptying the contents of his stomach. He swayed precariously as Rafe and Brown grabbed his waist to steady him. The two detectives led him over to a padded bench and sat him down. Jim came to sit next to his bride, wrapping a concerned arm around Blair's shoulders and crooning soft, comforting sounds.

Rafe and Brown signed the papers, and Rafe put down money for the fee. Thanking the minister, whose name they never actually learned, they flagged down another cab to take the happy couple back to the hotel.

With his arm around Blair's waist, Jim led his inebriated Guide down the hallway toward their room.

"I'm feeling sick again, Jim," came the weak voice beside him.

"Hang on, Blair. We're almost there, just a couple more doors. You can do it."

"No, Jim. I can't." With that simple statement, Blair doubled over, vomiting again in the middle of the hall.

Jim pulled his partner back to his feet, determined to get them back to the room as quickly as possible. Still strapped into the platform-shoes-from-hell, Blair stumbled, twisting his ankle and falling into a heap on the floor. "Shit!" was the only recognizable expletive as Sandburg grumbled under his breath.

"Poor baby," Jim cooed, bending to lift his bride off the floor. Wrinkling his nose at the strong odor of vomit, he scooped Blair up in his arms. He carried his hapless bride down the hallway and across the threshold into their room.

Depositing his burden in one of the two chairs, Jim went to the nearest bed and turned down the bedspread. Turning back to Blair, who was barely conscious, Jim realized he was not going to be able to get ready for bed by himself. Taking pity, he knelt in front of the young man and unstrapped the nightmare platforms. Setting the shoes safely to one side, out of the way, he lifted Sandburg to a standing position.

Blair leaned heavily against his friend, unable to support his own weight because of the injured ankle. "Thanks, man," he mumbled.

Jim wrestled the dead weight over to the bed. Pulling the zipper down the back of the dress, he tugged at the tight garment, eventually deciding it would be easier to peel it off by pulling it up over Blair's head. When the young man was finally free, he tossed the dress over the nearest chair.

He looked down at his partner lying spread-eagle on the bed, naked except for a very snug girdle and a pair of silk stockings. Jim grimaced at the sight, feeling an empathy in his groin for the discomfort Blair had been put through that night for the sake of a joke. Blair's eyes were half closed, and it was obvious even without sentinel senses that the kid was dead drunk and only half conscious.

Blair reeked of vomit, as did Jim's shoes. He had to force himself to dial his sense of smell down almost completely before he could continue. Walking into the bathroom, he got a warm, soapy washcloth and went back out to the bed to wash the worst of the stink from his new bride. Once the smell was under control, Jim considered how to get Blair out of the girdle.

Digging around in Sandburg's duffel bag, Jim extracted a clean t-shirt which he pulled over Blair's head before deciding on his best course of action regarding the confining garment.

First, those stockings had to go. Jim fumbled with the small clips holding the hose to the girdle. Normally deft sentinel fingers felt two sizes too large. He tried pulling. He tried
twisting. He tried pushing. Evidently, that was the right move, because the clip snapped open and released the stocking. One down, three to go. Jim groaned as he moved to the next clip.

Having finished the front, he rolled Blair over to unclip the backs of the stockings. Finally free of the girdle, the silken hose peeled off Sandburg like a snake shedding its skin.

Now he had only the girdle left to consider. Rolling Blair over onto his back once more, he surveyed his semi-comatose Guide. He attempted slipping two fingers between the tight garment and bare flesh. It wasn't easy. He tried tugging and rolling, but the stubborn elastic had become like a second skin. A slight sheen of perspiration coating Sandburg's body didn't help the matter any.

He began to look around the room for some way to cut off the garment. Sinking into the one remaining chair, he considered his predicament. Finally, a thought pierced the alcoholic haze. He looked around the room for Sandburg's clothes, eventually realizing that they had to still be down in the dressing room of the bar.

He picked up the phone to call, talking briefly with Angelina. Shortly thereafter, the clothes were delivered to their room.

Digging through Blair's pants' pockets, he eventually found what he was looking for . . . the kid's Bar Mitzvah gift--a Swiss army knife. Grinning wickedly, he flicked open the largest blade, advancing on the bed and its lone occupant.

Not wanting to do damage to delicate body parts, Jim flipped his complacent partner back onto his stomach. He stood, momentarily mesmerized by the shapely butt presented to him. Spreading Sandburg's legs as far as he could with the confining garment holding him tight, Jim slipped the knife blade beneath the elastic fabric and began a slow, careful cut up the back, stretching the girdle as much as he could to avoid slicing delicate flesh.

When he finally cut through, the elastic snapped, stinging his wrist and making him drop the knife onto the bed. Blair inhaled deeply, as though he hadn't had a decent breath the entire night, which was probably the case. Jim snatched up the knife before Blair could roll over and hurt himself, closing it and placing it on the nightstand.

He pulled Blair to his feet once more. Standing behind the young man with his arms wrapped around Blair's waist, he walked them both into the bathroom. "Pee, Sandburg," he commanded, having maneuvered them in front of the toilet.

"That's 'Sandburg-Ellison'," came the slurred response as the grad student relieved himself of the night's liquid indulgences.

After what seemed like five minutes of continuous urinating, Jim finally led the barely conscious Blair to the bed. Throwing back the blankets, Jim settled his Guide in bed and tucked him in.

Circling to the other side of the bed, Jim sat down, exhausted. He began pulling off the too-small borrowed tuxedo, tossing it onto the chair with Blair's gown. Finally stripped down to his boxers, he climbed into the queen-sized bed, pulling the blankets up under his chin. He didn't realize, or didn't care, that he had settled himself in the same bed with his new bride.

The late morning sun peeked in through a slit in the closed drapes. Jim slowly rose to consciousness, feeling a touch of the fuzziness associated with a morning-after hangover. He tried to roll over, but found he was held in place by the weight of an arm and a leg that didn't belong to him.

"Sandburg?"

"'Mornin', Jim," came the muffled reply.

"Huh?" Apparently the prior night's alcohol consumption had had an effect on the Sentinel's heightened senses.

"I said, 'Good morning, Jim'," Blair repeated, pulling himself off the man and retreating to the far side of the bed to nurse his headache.

"What the HELL!?" His current sleeping arrangement sank in as the hypnotist's trance was finally broken. Jim flung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. "What are you doing in my bed?" he yelled at the cringing anthropologist.

Cowering on the far edge of the bed, Blair tucked his head into his arms, trying to wrap himself away from the wrath of Ellison. "Don't yell," he pleaded. "Wasn't my fault." Rolled into a tight ball, Blair began to rock quietly. "It hurts," he moaned.

The previous night's memories came flooding back to the Sentinel as he stood, towering, over his hapless Guide. Blurred a bit by his hangover, Jim wasn't at all sure how much of what he was remembering had really happened. What was obvious was that his Guide and partner was suffering from a massive hangover.

As more memories of the night before began to surface, Jim sank back down on the bed. "Oh, God, Sandburg. Tell me we didn't," he sighed, looking at his half-naked partner.

"Didn't what?" Blair uncurled a bit, turning wide blue eyes on Jim.

"Get married. Sleep in the same bed," he paused. When he resumed, his voice was soft and trembled a bit. "Have sex."

"I think it's pretty obvious that for whatever reason, we did spend the night in the same bed, but have sex? I would remember that . . . wouldn't I? I would, right?"

"I'd think so," Jim ruminated. "I don't remember, either, but we were both pretty drunk."

"I'd remember sex, Jim," Blair assured him. "Besides, you've still got your boxers on."

"And you don't," Jim pointed out.

"Um, yeah. Why's that, Jim?" Blair looked puzzled, apparently not remembering much of the previous night.

"You were too soused to get out of that damn dress. I had to take your clothes off. You didn't have anything on underneath."

"Oh. Why do I have a shirt on, then?"

"You looked cold. Dammit, Sandburg, did we or didn't we?" Exasperation tinged Jim's voice.

"I don't think we did," Blair said. "I would have remembered sex. And please . . . don't yell." He covered his ears with his hands and closed his eyes, looking thoroughly miserable.

Jim looked at the rumpled young man, makeup from the night before smeared beneath his eyes, hair a disheveled French roll with hairpins sticking out every which way. He looked small and vulnerable . . . and totally delectable. Why hadn't he noticed before? Jim crawled across the bed to sit next to his Guide. Pulling Blair's hands away from his ears, the Sentinel whispered, "I'm sorry."

Blair opened his eyes and blinked to focus. Jim had leaned in so close, Blair could feel his breath against the skin of his cheek.

"I'm sorry I yelled." Jim touched his lips gently to Blair's, his hand cupping the back of Blair's head in support. "I'm sorry we didn't have sex," he murmured against soft, full lips.

Blair stared at him dumbly, blindsided by the sudden reversal in the conversation. "We didn't . . ."

"No, but we could correct that little oversight, if you're willing." Jim brushed his lips against Blair's again, offering himself openly.

Hesitating only a moment, Blair made use of the opportunity presenting itself to him. Pressing his body tightly against the Sentinel's, he opened his mouth, inviting Jim to explore. A tentative tongue traced the outline of his mouth before delving deep within the warm, moist cavern, tasting him. He sucked that exploring tongue, claiming it for his own. His hands traced patterns down the well-muscled back, slipping below the elastic waistband of Jim's boxers to caress the velvety soft skin of his partner's finely-chiseled ass.

The kiss broke when both finally had to come up to breathe.

"Jim?" Loath to break the embrace, Blair pulled back slightly. "What's going on here, exactly?"

"Whaddya mean?" Jim mumbled, sucking and nibbling his way down Sandburg's neck to his shoulder, kissing delicately at the hollow below his Adam's apple.

"I mean . . . hey, don't get me wrong, but why? Why now? Is it just our circumstances, last night? Or is it something more? 'Cause, man, I'm not into buddy fucks."

"Me neither," Jim mumbled, obsessed with getting Sandburg's shirt off so he could continue his explorations.

"I mean it, Jim." Blair's voice was firm as he pushed his partner back. "I so do not want to get into this relationship unless there's something more, 'cause . . ." his voice dropped to a
whisper, "I love you."

"Say what?" Jim replied, his head snapping up, now fully alert.

"I love you," Blair answered with a little more conviction. "I didn't want to say anything, because I didn't think you leaned that way, and I wasn't about to screw up a perfectly good friendship."

"Love you, too," Jim said softly. "Have for a long time."

"You do? Why didn't you say something?"

"Because I didn't think you leaned that way," Jim smiled, throwing Sandburg's excuse back at him. "What was I to think, the way you chased every skirt in the precinct?"

"Geez, Jim," Blair sighed. "It was just substitutions. I knew I wasn't going to get what I really wanted, and I needed an outlet, you know?"

"How is it that two guys who live together, work together and vacation together can be so fucked up when it comes to knowing one another?" Jim's hand caressed a morning-stubbled cheek, his thumb brushing lightly over kiss-swollen lips. "I think I knew I loved you back when you turned Stoddard down on that trip to Borneo so that you could come with me to Peru to help Simon and Daryl. Jumping out of that plane pretty much cinched it. You battled one of your greatest fears to be with me then. How could I not love that?"

Blair smiled wistfully. "I think I knew I loved you from the very first day we met. I thought I was just chasing my holy grail, but later I realized it was more than that. I lived to be near you, wanted nothing more than an excuse to be by your side. . . ." His voice trailed off, his focus elsewhere.

Leaning into the Sentinel, Blair began licking his way across the broad expanse of bare chest. His mouth found a tightening bud, and he stopped to suckle. His tongue traced the contours of the hard nub, teeth nipping lightly before lips sealed around the nipple and sucking began in earnest.

Jim moaned, all explanations and excuses forgotten as a jolt of electricity rocketed from the nipple Blair was working, straight to his groin.

Blair's hand trailed down Jim's washboard abs, to come to rest against a hard column of flesh encased in the soft cotton boxers. He stroked the length, feeling the organ react by jumping to his touch. As he continued his explorations of Jim's body with his mouth, his hands eagerly divested the man of the last of his clothing.

Jim lay back, pulling Blair with him. Blanketed by that warm, perspiration-soaked body, he once again sought full lips. He plundered Blair's mouth, hungry for the taste of his Guide. Hands roamed through wild hair, plucking out hairpins and releasing a cloud of curls. He felt a strong hand wrap around his straining erection, sliding up and down its length. He shuddered with pure pleasure at the touch.

The hard column of flesh felt hot in his hand. Blair stroked it gently, coating the shaft with pre-ejaculate that leaked from the tip. He ran a thumb across the head, stroking down the slit and over the hard ridge. He felt the Sentinel shudder beneath his touch and began stroking harder, settling into a steady thrusting motion.

Arms wrapped around him as he felt Jim begin to thrust into his hand. Moans escaped through tightly clenched lips as heightened sensitivity drove the Sentinel to the brink of his orgasm. Blair picked up his pace, matching the man beneath him thrust for thrust.

Jim tilted his head back, straining into the pumping hand. With a cry of completion, hot semen flooded the hand that held him. Blair continued to stroke, slowly and with infinite care as the cock within his grasp began to soften. Then, with an urgency of his own, his hips thrust into the lubricated flesh beneath him.

Grabbing his Guide's hips, Jim pulled the younger man against him, pushing up into Blair's frantic pumping. As Blair's cock slid effortlessly across his stomach, Jim felt a new stirring in his own groin. The prolonged friction aided in a quick resurgence of his erection, and when Blair finally climaxed, calling out his name, Jim came a second time in tandem with his Guide.

Both men collapsed in a warm, sleepy afterglow. Blair dragged his eyes open to stare dreamily at the Sentinel. "Sure a damn fine way to cure a hangover," he chuckled.

Jim mumbled his agreement and rolled over, settling Blair into the circle of his arms. As he moved, something crackled softly beneath his head. Rising up on an elbow, he pulled a piece of paper from under his pillow. "What's this?" He looked at document.

"What is it, Jim?" Blair asked, his curiosity dulled somewhat by his current lethargy.

"It's a marriage certificate. It's been signed, witnessed and notarized." He handed the paper to Blair, who looked it over with interest.

"Cool. But it's not legal, Jim."

"I know that, and you know that, but hangover or not, I do remember something about last night, and I feel married." He turned soft blue eyes on the man next to him. "Can't we just keep this and pretend?"

Blair's smile broadened. "Sort of a commitment to each other?" When Jim nodded, Blair lit up. "I like that . . . a committed, monogamous relationship."

"Yup. I guess that makes us Mr. and Mr. Ellison." Jim grinned.

"Sandburg-Ellison," Blair corrected with a grin.

A knock on the door stopped further discussion. Jim rose, pulling on his boxers, and went to look through the peep hole. Rafe and Brown stood outside in the hallway. Opening the door a crack, Jim stuck his head out. "We just woke up, guys," he told the pair. "How about we meet you in the restaurant downstairs in about a half an hour?"

"Sure thing. See you there!" Rafe waved jauntily, far too sober, as the two men walked off down the hallway. Muffled laughter floated across the intervening space, detected by sensitive sentinel ears.

"They gone?" Blair whispered cautiously.

"Yeah, they're gone, Chief, but we need to get up and ready to leave. Why don't you take the first shower? You need to get all that gunk off your face." He smiled at Blair, who still had on the makeup from last night. "Just don't use up all the hot water."

"Why don't we shower together?" the young man asked with a wicked grin. "Then you wouldn't have to worry about the hot water."

"I told Rafe and Brown a half hour," Jim reminded him. "I'm afraid if we showered together, I'd lose track of time."

"Your loss, man," Blair shrugged as he made his way into the bathroom.

Jim eyed the tight, naked ass of his Guide as it disappeared behind the closing door. "Yeah," he sighed dramatically.

Forty-five minutes later, Jim and Blair seated themselves in the booth with Rafe and Brown in the cozy hotel restaurant. The waitress came by to fill all their cups with strong, dark coffee. Wrapping his hands appreciatively around the hot cup, Blair sipped cautiously at the scalding liquid while avoiding the gaze of the two detectives seated across from him.

"So, you guys sleep well last night?" Rafe grinned mischievously.

Jim and Blair exchanged knowing glances. "Yeah," Jim replied. "We did all right. You?"

"Like a baby." Rafe smiled at his friend. "How much of last night do you remember?"

"Enough," Ellison growled. "I remember all of us but you getting drunker than skunks. I remember you daring Blair to cross-dress and me to prove that hypnotist a fraud." He paused significantly. "I remember the wedding ceremony."

Rafe dug into his jacket pocket, tossing a Polaroid across the table to the happy couple. "Proof positive."

"I've got better than that," Jim countered, passing the marriage certificate across the table.

"Whatcha gonna do about that?" Brown wondered, still nursing his hangover with straight caffeine.

"I think we'll just keep it," Jim said, snatching it back before either detective could get his hands on the paper. "We'll call it a souvenir."

"Shouldn't we stop at the chapel and clear up the fact it wasn't a real, legal wedding?" Rafe asked.

"Nah. Let it go on the books. You two can explain it to Captain Banks, if you want."

"Ah, noooo. . . ." Rafe relented. "If you want to leave it be, we'll just forget the whole thing happened."

Jim wrapped an arm around Blair's shoulder. "See that you do."

The cab ride out to the airport was surprisingly quiet. Jim took the opportunity to cuddle with Blair in the tight confines of the back seat. Rafe, seated in back with the happy couple, pointedly ignored the blatant display, figuring his friends were just trying to see how far they could go before he broke and apologized. It wasn't going to happen.

Finally aboard the plane, they were pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't crowded. Jim slid into the window seat, while Blair settled next to him, yawning widely. Once the plane was airborne, Jim stared out the window at the fluffy clouds and patchwork quilt mosaic of the land below him. Blair was sleeping, head pillowed on Jim's shoulder. Tucked safely in an inside jacket pocket were the wedding certificate and Polaroid snapshot. He smiled to himself. Things generally happened for a reason, and he was grateful the events of the past weekend had allowed him to finally share his feelings with his partner. He was even more grateful to find his feelings returned. Life in the Sandburg-Ellison household had only just begun. Jim couldn't remember a time when he had looked forward to returning home with this much enthusiasm. He wrapped an arm around his sleeping partner, kissing the young man affectionately. Life was good, he mused.

It was one of the more pleasant Monday mornings Jim Ellison could remember waking up to. As he climbed slowly toward consciousness, he was aware of the warmth of another body curled next to his, an arm and a leg sprawled, pinning him down.

The room remained in disarray from the night before: tables shoved out of place, clothes tossed on every available surface, condom wrappers and a used tube of lube lying on the floor. Even the bed and its occupants were rumpled.

Jim smiled down on the curly-haired head that lay pillowed on his chest. The dark brown mass of tangled silk completely obscured the face of his new-found lover. No, more than that . . . "lover" seemed too impermanent--life partner, significant other . . . husband. He tried them all on for size. Nothing seemed to quite encompass what he felt for the man lying within the circle of his arms.

The object of his musings stirred, opened his eyes and yawned a jaw-cracking yawn. "Where'm I? Whatcha doin' in m'bed, Jim?"

"Not your bed, Chief . . . ours."

"Ours?" Blair pushed up and looked around. "Kinda a mess, isn't it?" he observed.

Jim chuckled. "Well, yeah. We had other things on our minds last night. Neatness took a back seat."

"To what?" Blair sat up and squinted at the refuse on the floor, trying to bring the events of the past night into focus.

"You don't remember?" Another chuckle slipped out.

Their plane had arrived home at three o'clock yesterday afternoon. The happy couple had hurried home, to land on the couch and neck. The evening had consisted of getting thoroughly soused, waiting for bedtime. They only managed to wait until 8 p.m. Now, it appeared, his hung over bedmate didn't remember the events that transpired after they had literally hit the sheets. "We had sex, Blair. Some of the best, most mind-blowing sex I've ever known."

"I don't remember a hell of a lot about last night," Blair admitted. "I'd remember sex, though . . . wouldn't I?"

"I'd think so." Jim couldn't contain the ear-to-ear grin that threatened to break into another guffaw. "I guess I'd better be careful how much alcohol I let you consume before we go at it."

"I'd say that if I forgot what you describe as 'mind-blowing' sex, then I probably had too much to drink," he agreed. Blair crawled across the bed to hover over his partner. "It was good?"

"Yeah, it was really good." Jim wrapped his arms around Blair's shoulders and pulled him down against his chest.

"I love you." Blair snuggled into the warmth of the embrace.

"Love you more."

"Oh, no. I love you more."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"YES."

"Blair?"

"Yes, Jim?"

"We gotta get up and go to work."

Major Crime seemed abnormally normal: people sat at their desks, working, the donut girl was pushing her cart through the aisles. Jim pulled out his wallet to purchase a glazed donut and a multi-grain bagel with low-fat cream cheese. As he grappled with the bills, half the contents of his loaded billfold fluttered to the floor. As he stooped to gather things up, he bumped into Joel Taggert, who was waiting for his turn at the breakfast cart.

Joel leaned down to help pick up what had scooted between his feet. "What's this?" he asked, examining the Polaroid picture he found. "Foxy lady, Jim. Who is she?"

"Give me that!" Jim made a grab for the picture, but Joel backed up, holding it out of his reach.

Rafe walked over, a smug grin on his face. "Would you believe that's Sandburg?"

"The kid?" Joel stared at the photo. "No way. This can't be Blair."

Brown approached to peer over his shoulder. "Oh, yeah. That's Sandburg, all right. I mean . . . look!" He pointed to the grad student, who had just come back from using the men's room.

Joel glanced up, comparing the outlandish picture to the man who had just walked through the door. "Well, yeah . . . yeah, I can see it, I guess. What's the story? Must be a whopper."

"Rafe . . . Brown . . ." Jim growled as he stared at the two detectives.

"We promised not to tell, Jim, and we didn't. Joel found out on his own," Henri obfuscated.

"Yeah, you can't blame us for the picture falling out of your wallet," Rafe added.

"Come on, Jim, Blair . . . give it up. This has got to be one hell of a story." Joel waved the picture in front of Jim, who snapped it out of his fingers and tucked it into his shirt pocket.

"Well, if you must know," Jim began, "it was those two." He indicated Brown and Rafe. "We were just trying to unwind after the seminar, and those two took advantage of my partner."

"Took advantage of Blair? How?" Joel looked more confused than ever.

"Jim, what's going on here?" Blair looked around at the crowd of amused detectives.

"I'm not so sure you want to know," Jim confessed. "The picture fell out of my wallet. . . ."

"Oh, geez! Guys, it was a dare, okay? Just a stupid dare and I let myself be talked into it."

"That was quite a dare," Joel mused. "I'm still not one hundred percent convinced that's you."

"Oh, it's me, all right," Blair sighed. "And don't blame Jim, either. Rafe got us drunk, then he stopped drinking and started issuing challenges. We weren't entirely in possession of our faculties."

"Since when is that news?" Simon stepped into the crowd. "Isn't it about time we break up this little coffee klatsch?" He paused and turned a stern glance on the hovering detectives. "Don't you all have work to do?"

A scattering of "Yes, sir's" echoed through the room as the group dispersed.

"Ellison, Sandburg . . . my office, please, gentlemen."

Once the door had closed them off from the rest of the bullpen, Simon turned to the two men. "Care to explain what was going on out there?"

"It's nothing, sir," Jim answered.

"Sandburg?" Simon glared at the talkative anthropologist, in hopes of an explanation. Blair hung back, reluctant to speak. "Would one of you please say something?"

"It was a joke, Simon. After the seminar. We went to a bar, got a little drunk . . ." Blair tried to explain.

"A little drunk? Just how drunk, and how much am I going to have to explain to the Chief of Police?" Simon was beginning to get a sinking feeling in his gut.

"It's nothing, sir, really," Jim reiterated. "Blair dressed up, I got hypnotized, we got married . . ."

"Excuse me?" Simon interrupted. "Married?"

"Well, it wasn't legal, sir. It was just part of the dare."

"You got married illegally . . . to Sandburg?"

"Something like that, sir," Jim agreed.

Simon shook his head, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to push back the headache that was threatening to form. "Will this in any way reflect on the department?" his voice held a weary note.

"No, sir, it shouldn't. The seminar was officially over, and we were on our own time," Jim assured him.

"Then, do I really want to know the rest of the details?"

"No, sir, I don't believe you do."

"All right, then. Get back to work." He waved the two men out of his office and slumped in his chair, digging through his desk drawer for the ibuprofen for his headache.

"Think we fooled him?" Blair asked, as they settled back at Jim's desk.

"Not for a minute." Jim shook his head. "Simon's pretty smart. I think he's actually on top of the whole deal."

"The whole deal?" Blair glanced up at the captain's office.

"Yeah, the whole deal," Jim confirmed. "But he won't say anything."

"Thank God." Blair busied himself with Jim's paperwork.

Joel sidled up to Ellison's desk, trying to look like he had business there. "So what's up with the picture?" he whispered.

"Why don't you come over tonight for dinner, Joel?" Blair offered. "We can fill you in there."

As the detective turned to walk off, satisfied for the moment, Jim turned to his partner. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Joel's our friend, a really close friend. He deserves to know, don't you think?" Jim looked skeptical, but Blair plowed onward. "He'll keep the secret."

"Blair, this place is a rumor mill. Nobody can keep a secret very long."

"Is that a problem for you, Jim? We don't have to tell him we're actually together." Blair began to fidget, wondering if he'd made a monumental blunder inviting Taggert to dinner.

"It'll be fine. We'll figure something out." Jim turned back to his workload and sighed.

"You're kidding! They had you in a girdle?" Joel's jaw kept dropping as the story progressed.

Blair smirked at the big detective. "Yeah, and silk hose, falsies that could float a small battleship, and the platform shoes from hell."

"They did such a good job, even I didn't recognize him at first!" Jim laughed. "You can't repress that personality, though. I knew it was Sandburg when he practically broke the nose of the goon who tried to feel him up."

"I didn't almost break his nose," Blair argued. "I just persuaded him to let go."

"By knocking him in the nose with the back of your head!" Jim laughed again, much to Blair's chagrin.

"Well, he let go, anyway," he pouted.

"So then what? How did you end up at the wedding chapel?" Joel shoveled in another mouthful of beef stew as he waited to hear the rest of the story unfold.

It was Blair's turn to laugh. "Rafe dared Jim to be hypnotized by Dr. Indecent. Jim says he can't be hypnotized, but he gave a pretty convincing performance!"

"Yeah, Dr. Decadent . . ."

"Indecent, Jim . . . "

"Yeah, whatever . . . told me to propose to Blair, so I went along with it." He turned and gave his partner a "so there" look.

"He went along with it, all right. Right through the ceremony, into bed and through to the next morning." Blair nearly choked on the water he'd been drinking.

"Into bed?" Joel's eyes widened as he looked from Blair to Jim and back again. "Did you guys, well, you know . . . consummate this union?"

Jim looked Joel straight in the eye. "We may have been drunker than skunks Saturday night, but Sunday morning, well, you could say I saw Blair in a whole new light."

"So, you're really married?" Joel's voice was hushed as he leaned across the table to look more carefully at the pair.

"The marriage is on the books," Blair told him. "I've got one of those transgender names, so as far as the city of Las Vegas is concerned, a female named Blair Sandburg married a man named James Ellison. It isn't strictly legal, but we're not going to mess with it. We feel married, and that's what counts."

Jim wrapped an arm around Blair and pulled him close. "You can't tell anybody, Joel," he insisted. "I'm pretty certain Simon has it figured out, but I can't afford for this to be getting all over the precinct."

"My lips are sealed," Joel said, making a zipping motion across his lips. Staring down into his bowl of stew, he shook his head and muttered, "Well, I'll be damned!"

"I thought he'd never leave!" Jim heaved a sigh of relief as he dried the last of the dishes and put them all away.

"Does this mean you're ready to recreate last night's mind-blowing sex?" Blair bounced eagerly behind the taller man.

"Don't you think it's a little early?" Jim smiled and looked at the clock--8:37 p.m.

"Later than last night," Blair pointed out.

Jim turned to look at him incredulously. "That you remember? But not the sex?"

"Who said I didn't remember the sex?" Blair's eyes got round with feigned innocence.

Using his greater size to intimidate, Jim began to slowly back Blair toward the stairs to the loft bedroom. "You said you didn't remember," he growled.

"I didn't actually say I didn't remember. If I recall correctly I said, 'I would remember sex, wouldn't I?'" Blair continued to back up as the Sentinel advanced upon him.

Jim managed to get close enough to grab a handful of Blair's shirt.

"I wanted to keep you off balance," Blair admitted. He made a grab for Jim's crotch, feeling the hardness through the denim.

The touch sent a bolt of electricity up Jim's spine and he loosened his hold on his Guide. Blair took the opportunity to slip from Jim's grasp and make it to the second stair.

"You did that on purpose!" Jim growled, advancing again.

"Jim, you should know by now that everything I do has a calculated purpose."

"Everything?"

"Pretty much. Well, okay, not everything. Most things. Um, some things. Okay, okay!" He was backing up the stairs while trying to keep an eye on the advancing Sentinel. "That thing, at least."

"You little prick!" Jim pounced, tackling Blair's knees and throwing the startled anthropologist over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "We'll see how calculating you feel when I get through with you!"

The bed was rumpled, as were its occupants. The room was once again in disarray: tables shoved out of place, clothes tossed on every available surface, condom wrappers and a used tube of lube lying on the floor. Blair lay snuggled in the circle of Jim's arms, a satiated smile gracing his full lips.

"I love you," Blair mumbled from the vicinity of Jim's right nipple.

"Love you more," Jim whispered into the tangle of russet curls.

"Oh, no. I love you more."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"YES."

"Blair?"

"Yes, Jim?"

"Shut up." He followed his words with a soul-searing kiss, daring his lover to dispute his words.

For once, Blair didn't rise to the bait, but returned the kiss with equal passion.

THE END

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