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.

Acknowledgments: With much appreciation to Mary, Lyn, and B, whose comments always make my stories better. Thanks, gals!

Rating: FRM (R)

Warnings: For low-carb dieters and diabetics -- high sugar content ahead! ::g::

Category: Song fic -- Let's Make Love, Performed by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill; lyrics at the end of the story.

Summary: Jim and Blair reflect on each other, and on making love.

Comments welcome and appreciated!

Blair sat at his desk in his office at Hargrove Hall staring out the window. He had exams to write, papers to grade, but he couldn't keep his mind on his work. It was finals week, and the extra load it put on the T.A. had kept Blair from assisting Jim down at the station for the past four days.

Worse, he hadn't seen Jim for the past four days. The detective -- his partner, his lover -- had been working a high profile drug case. Between Jim's schedule and his own, the two men had kept passing each other like ships in the night, never to meet for longer than a rushed kiss as one was coming and the other going.

Their relationship was so new, so fragile. Had it only been Thanksgiving that the two had professed their love? It seemed like an eternity ago, and yet, no more than an instant. Now, it was December and they hadn't made love for almost a week.

God, Jim... all I can think about is holding you. I want to be near you, working with you, being your guide in all things. Blair sighed, shuffling through the papers on his desk. I can't concentrate. I need to work, to finish grading these papers, but you're the only thing on my mind. I want so much to touch you, to make love to you.

Blair picked up the phone, his finger hesitating over the buttons before he finally punched in Jim's number.

"Ellison," the detective answered succinctly.

Blair's breath caught in his throat at the sound of Jim's voice and, for a moment, he was speechless. "Jim?" Blair's voice quavered with need and his heart thundered.

"Blair?" Jim sounded worried. "Are you all right? Do you need me to come down there? Where are you... at the university?"

"I-I'm fine," Blair stuttered. "It's just that, well... I can't stop thinking about you. I miss you."

"I miss you, too," Jim responded, with feeling. "Just a few more days, and this will all be over."

"Jim, where are you?" asked Blair, his heart fluttering with hope that his lover was alone.

"I'm in the truck on a stake-out."

"Are you alone?"

"Yes..." Jim answered softly.

"Come home tonight; I'll be waiting. I want to make love to you --" Blair's voice was slightly breathless as his rebellious cock swelled inside his tight jeans at the thought. "I want to feel you holding me, touching me.... I want to make love to you all night long." He paused, waiting for a response. "Jim?"

When the detective answered, his voice was hushed. "God, Blair... Do you have any idea what you do to me? How much I've missed seeing you, being with you? I want you, need you -- I love you so much, baby."

"Tonight." With the one softly spoken word, Blair broke the connection.

~*~*~*~

December in Cascade -- it was cold; cold and lonely. Jim sat in the truck with the heater going, watching the warehouse that they suspected housed a major meth lab. He had been working this case since just after Thanksgiving, but the past four days had been hell.

He found it hard to keep his mind on the case. His thoughts kept drifting back to that moment barely two weeks ago when he and Blair had finally spoken the words they had carried in their hearts for months.

<=====>

"You cooked, I'll clean up," Blair said, picking up the serving platters and heading back toward the kitchen.

"You can hardly call ordering a ready-made turkey dinner from the local supermarket 'cooking'," Jim protested lightly. "But thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"It's the thought that counts," Blair insisted, coming over to pick up another pile of dishes to take into the kitchen.

Jim reached out to cover Blair's hand with his own and looked up into the questioning blue eyes. "I enjoy thinking up ways to make you happy. After everything you've done for me, it's the least I can do."

Blair chuckled uneasily and slipped his hand free, taking the dishes he'd gathered into the kitchen. "I haven't done anything," he said modestly, blushing slightly at the feelings Jim's words had evoked. He busied himself with scraping and rinsing the plates, and putting them in the dishwasher.

"Are you kidding?" Jim had gotten up from the table and come into the kitchen. Standing behind Blair, he hesitantly reached out to wrap his arms around the slender waist. "Without you, I'd be in a nuthouse somewhere -- a head case that no one would know how to deal with. You taught me to control my senses, to harness them for my benefit. How can I ever repay that?"

Blair dried his hands and turned around, still encircled by Jim's arms, and smiled. "You gave me a roof over my head when I needed it," he replied. "You've put up with my tests and endless questions. You've tolerated me as a ride-along... isn't that enough?"

No, not nearly enough, Jim thought, wondering how to proceed. He looked into the trusting face -- the clear, blue eyes, the pixie nose, the lush lips -- and made his decision. Knowing what he risked, he bent down and captured those lips with his mouth, kissing Blair with all the passion that had been building inside him for weeks. To his delight, Blair opened to him, allowing Jim's tongue to sweep his mouth, tasting him. Blair's body stopped resisting the embrace and became pliant and willing in Jim's arms. Through the thick denim of their jeans, their hard cocks rubbed together...

<=====>

Jim groaned and rubbed ineffectually at the bulge in his pants. He was distracted momentarily by the ringing of his cell phone. "Ellison," he answered crisply, trying to shake away the cobwebs of his reminiscence.

"Jim?" The detective could hear the quaver in his lover's voice, could hear the frantic beating of that most beloved heart. Fear flared in his chest.

"Blair? Are you all right?" Jim asked, needing to be assured of his partner's safety. "Do you need me to come down there? Where are you... at the university?"

"I-I'm fine." Jim sighed with relief at Blair's words. His lover continued, "It's just that, well... I can't stop thinking about you. I miss you."

"I miss you, too," Jim responded, with feeling. "Just a few more days, and this will all be over."

"Jim, where are you?"

Jim smiled at the hesitant question, wondering why Blair might ask. "I'm in the truck on a stake-out."

"Are you alone?"

"Yes..." Jim answered softly, feeling a renewed ache in his groin.

"Come home tonight; I'll be waiting. I want to make love to you --" Blair's voice was slightly breathless. "I want to feel you holding me, touching me.... I want to make love to you all night long." There was a pause. Jim's mind went numb at Blair's words. "Jim?"

The detective shook himself out of his stupor, his voice husky as he answered softly, "God, Blair... Do you have any idea what you do to me? How much I've missed seeing you, being with you? I want you, need you -- I love you so much, baby."

"Tonight." With that one word of promise, the connection was broken, leaving Jim sitting in the truck, his pants soaked with the aftermath of his orgasm.

~*~*~*~

Exhausted from a fruitless day on stake-out, and happy to turn the duty over to Brown and Rafe, Jim dragged himself through the loft's door prepared to crash on the couch for a couple of hours before heading to bed.

He was greeted by the welcoming scents of homemade soup and freshly baked bread -- and Blair, wearing nothing but Jim's gray bathrobe.

"Hey, Jim. Thought you might be hungry," Blair greeted the weary detective, wrapping his arms around Jim's waist and stretching up to place a welcoming kiss on the waiting lips.

Jim melted into his lover's embrace, but when the kiss broke, he shook his head. "I'm too tired to eat," he groaned, making his way over to the couch.

Blair followed him, perching on the arm of the sofa next to Jim. "You've got to have something," he insisted. "You're going to need your strength." A wicked little smile curved the full lips.

Looking up, Jim found himself getting lost in the blue depths of his lover's eyes. He nodded, feeling a renewed stirring of desire at the sight of the angelic face with the incongruously impish grin.

Blair got up and soon returned with a steaming mug of soup and a fresh roll. "I got the bread from the bakery barely a half-hour ago," he said, returning to his perch on the couch's arm. "And the soup is from that batch we made last weekend. Beef-vegetable always gets better with age. I added a little barley to thicken it," Blair commented as Jim sipped at the chunky mixture.

"It's good," Jim agreed, setting down the mug to bite into a fresh roll. "Aren't you eating?"

"Couldn't wait," Blair answered with a chuckle. "I finished up before you got home. I was hoping you'd get off a little earlier."

"Yeah, me too." Jim finished his roll and picked up the warm soup once more. "We were hoping the case would break today, but when it didn't, I had to call in Rafe and Brown to take over the stake-out."

"I'm just glad you're home," said Blair. "It's been four long days since we've seen more of each other than just a brief passing. I couldn't concentrate on my work today. All I could do was think about you -- about wanting you, needing you..." He leaned over to place a kiss against Jim's temple.

Jim turned to get a good look at his partner. The robe Blair was wearing had parted slightly with his movements and the head of his erect penis was peeking through the opening. The sight sent a thrill of arousal through Jim, who began to feel the weariness of the day slip away as a familiar ache began in his groin. Setting the empty soup mug on the coffee table, he stood and took Blair's hand, pulling the younger man to his feet.

"I think it's about time we made up for the time we've lost," Jim said, heading for the stairs to their bedroom.

~*~*~*~

Blair lay in the circle of Jim's arms, his head resting against Jim's chest. The weak sun of the late fall dawn was filtering through a layer of clouds to light the bedroom with a soft glow.

"God, Jim, that was incredible," Blair said softly, his voice hardly more than a whisper. "I'm wiped. I don't think I could move if the building was on fire."

"It's a good thing I told Simon last night before leaving the stake-out that I wasn't coming in until afternoon," Jim replied equally soft. "I love you, baby. Sleep now." He placed a kiss on top of the mop of curls beneath his chin.

Blair tilted his head up to smile at Jim. "We're one soul in two bodies. I feel it with every fiber of my being. I love you, Jim. I love you so much."

Jim wrapped his arms around Blair determined to hold on tight, to never let go of this precious moment, this precious love as both men drifted into an exhausted sleep.

Hold on tight; just let go
I want to feel you in my soul...
Until the sun comes up
Let's make love.

~ finis ~

Let's Make Love

Blair:
Baby, I've been drifting away
Dreaming all day
Of holding you
Touching you
The only thing I want to do
Is be with you
As close to you
As I can be

Let's make love
All night long
Until all our strength is gone
Hold on tight
Just let go
I want to feel you in my soul
Until the sun comes up
Let's make love
Oh, baby

Jim:
Do you know what you do to me
Everything inside of me
Is wanting you
And needing you
I'm so in love with you
Look in my eyes
Let's get lost tonight
In each other

Let's make love
All night long
Until all our strength is gone
Hold on tight
Just let go
I want to feel you in my soul
Until the sun comes up
Oh, until the sun comes up
Let's make love

Both:
Oh baby, let's make love
All night long
Let's make love