Beta thanks go to my new chum, Allison, without whom you'd be subject to who-knows-what kind of abuse, and to Heather-Anne, goddess of punctuation. :)

Summary: Blair prepares a special anniversary surprise for Jim, and both get more than they bargained for.

Warnings: Mild spoilers for "Warriors."

MIGA III: MARK OF THE SHAMAN
by Natalie L
June 2000

The smells wafting down the hallway from his loft apartment made Jim Ellison's stomach rumble. He quickened his step, reaching the door and opening it to ... darkness. Candles flickered throughout the loft, decorating every available surface with their golden light. The fireplace crackled cheerfully.

"Hey, Jim!" Blair greeted his roommate warmly from the kitchen. "Make yourself comfortable. Dinner's almost ready."

Jim noted his soul-mate was dressed for a special occasion. He loved it when Blair let his hair hang loose, the dark curls softening the planes of his strong, square jaw. In typical Blair fashion, his clothing reflected his individualistic personality. Flowing down from his shoulders, the gold and brown batik-printed caftan had a distinctly African feel.

The table was set formally, with candles and flowers. "What's going on here?" Jim eyed the younger man suspiciously.

Blair turned from the stove, casserole dish between oven-mitted hands. "It's our one-month anniversary of becoming an official 'couple,'" he explained. He set the dish on the table and turned to fetch the rest of their dinner.

As he placed the serving dishes next to the casserole, Jim's stomach rumbled again. Smiling, he began dishing up dinner. Handing Jim a plate, he chuckled. "Eat up. I want you strong and able for the rest of the evening."

"Oh yeah? What have you got in mind?"

Blair just smiled enigmatically and sat down to his meal.

Jim ate enthusiastically, enjoying the mild curry that managed to just tingle his senses, without overloading them. Blair had the perfect touch for spices where his Sentinel was concerned. Finally sated, he pushed back from the table and stood. He began clearing the dishes, when a soft hand on his arm stayed his progress.

"That can wait," Blair told him. "I'll take care of it later." He took hold of his Sentinel's hand, pulling him toward the stairs to their bedroom. "For now, let me guide you." His voice dropped to a seductive whisper.

*

Much to Jim's surprise, lightly fragranced candles lit their bedroom, as well. Blair led Jim over to the bed, pushing on his shoulders to make him sit on the mattress. He then stood directly in front of his lover, looking down into curious blue eyes. His hair hung loose around his face, soft and sensual.

Jim looked up into Blair's smoldering gaze. "You are so beautiful, Love." Reaching up, he brushed the long curls away from Blair's cheeks, tucking loose strands behind his ears. Large hands brushed down along graceful shoulders until reaching the ties to the flowing garment his lover wore. Teasing the knot free, he loosened the cords that bound the caftan closed. Pushing gently against the fabric, he watched at it cleared Blair's shoulders, slithering gracefully to the floor. Jim's gaze drank in the body of his lover, naked and aroused.

"Do I please you?" Blair teased.

"Very much," Jim whispered, brushing fingertips lightly down the length of Blair's erection.

His penis twitched in response to the feather touch, and straddling Jim's lap, he sat down. A playful smile tugged at his lips, as a moan of pleasure escaped on an exhalation of breath. Leaning in, Blair captured his lover's mouth in a passionate kiss. Tongues danced and explored, each tasting the sweetness of the other.

Blair's weight pressed Jim down against the mattress as his kiss continued to steal his lover's breath. Finally, he sat up, grinning down at the captive Sentinel. "Don't you think you're a little
overdressed for this party?" he asked, his voice a sensual purr.

Nimble fingers began to slowly unbutton Jim's shirt, exposing bare skin to the cool air. Tugging the shirt tails from the older man's waistband, Blair finished his task, laying bare the vast expanse of well-muscled chest. Hands caressed the smooth skin, brushing lightly over sensitive nipples, teasing them.

Bending over, Blair licked one dark pink nub, then blew a puff of air, watching as it tightened almost painfully, eliciting a small gasp of surprise from his lover.

Jim squirmed underneath him as Blair unbuckled his belt and unzipped the fly of his jeans, releasing the pressure on his growing hardness. Standing to tug off the offending clothing, Blair finished exposing his prize. His satisfied smirk was quickly replaced with startled surprise as the Sentinel suddenly sat up, wrapping his arms around the smaller man's chest, pinning his hands to his sides.

"What did I do to deserve you?" Jim's voice was an aroused growl.

"What makes you think you deserve me?" Blair teased.

"Because I *own* you!" Jim snapped back, flipping the smaller man onto the bed and pinning him there.

Blair groaned as he felt the moist warmth of his conqueror's mouth engulf the glans of his turgid penis. Soft lips suckled, while an adroit tongue traced the contours and ridges. With maddening
slowness, he felt himself being pulled in, until his entire length was buried in that eager throat. Then his lover pulled back, scraping sensitive skin with his teeth, eliciting moans and struggles from the captive. The suckling began again, and Blair bit his lip, willing himself not to come. "No!" he gasped. "No, Jim." Finding the strength somewhere within himself, he pulled away. "Tonight, I own *you*."

Jim could hardly contain his delight at the prospect of his normally submissive Blair becoming the dominant partner. A tremor of expectation threaded its way through his body as the man who had captured his heart reached across to the nightstand to snag the tube of K-Y Jelly.

"Kneel!" One brief moment of hesitation swept through Jim at that command. "Down on all fours!" The hand gently pressing against his back trembled slightly. His lover was as nervous as he at this turn in their relationship. He smiled and complied with the command, resting on knees and elbows.

Kneeling beside his lover, Blair coated one finger with the lube.

"I love you, man," he whispered, leaning in to kiss Jim tenderly. As he coaxed Jim's lips open to admit his tongue, he slid his finger past the tight sphincter muscle of his lover's rectum. Jim's gasp at the intrusion nearly sucked the air from Blair's lungs. He broke the kiss to murmur into one perfectly shaped ear, "Relax. Let go, man. Just relax."

Jim tried to do as he was told, feeling a second finger, and then a third slide in to join the first. With slow, careful thrusts, the Guide prepared his Sentinel for the ultimate sensory experience.
"You're doing great, man," Blair purred, nibbling on an earlobe, then down his lover's neck to his shoulder.

Jim felt the fingers slide out and emitted an audible sigh of regret over the loss. Almost immediately, he felt a new pressure against his rectum. With great care, Blair pushed his aching erection against the stretched muscle. Slowly, he felt Jim open for him, and he gently pushed inside, allowing Jim the time he needed to get used to the new sensation.

Moaning with the pleasure of being completely filled, Jim laid his head down on his hands, angling his buttocks for easier penetration by his smaller partner. Strong fingers wrapped around his flagging erection, stroking in time with the internal thrusts. It was all he could manage to hold still and let his partner bring him to climax. He felt himself climbing nearer to that precipice with each pounding thrust and accompanying stroke.

Just when he was certain he'd explode if something didn't happen soon, Blair changed the angle of his thrusts just enough to hit Jim's sensitive prostate. Both men came explosively with simultaneous orgasms. Panting slightly, Blair collapsed on top of his lover, pinning him to the bed.

Jim rolled slowly onto his side, careful not to dislodge Blair, whose softening erection was still buried deeply within his body. Blair draped an arm around Jim's chest, sighing contentedly as he
snuggled against the larger man's back.

Jim was about to drift into satiated sleep, when he felt the slight tremors running through his lover's body. "Blair?" No response. He spoke a little louder, "Blair? You all right?" When he still got no response, he pulled himself away from the comfortable embrace, turning to give his Guide a long, hard look. What he saw nearly stopped his heart.

Blair's eyes had rolled up, unseeing. Totally unresponsive to Jim's attempts to rouse him, the Sentinel watched helplessly as the tremors increased to full-fledged convulsions.

When the shaking finally subsided, Jim pulled the blankets up over the cooling body of his lover, brushing stray strands of wild curls from Blair's face.

"You awake yet, Chief?" he whispered. "C'mon, buddy. Time to wake up. It's okay. You're going to be okay." He kept up the quiet chatter until Blair's eyelids fluttered open. "You scared me there, Babe. What happened?"

"Shit!" Blair closed his eyes again, shutting out the frightened look of his lover. "Damn!"

"Well, that's all very descriptive, but it doesn't tell me what just happened. You had a seizure. You *are* taking the Klonopin, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I'm taking the damn Klonopin. Hell, Jim ... you *watch* me take it three times a day!" He tried sitting up, but a wave of dizziness laid him out flat on his back. "But this ... this was
weird."

"Weird? How?" Jim rolled his lover onto his side and began massaging his back with a comforting, circular motion. He felt some of the tenseness drain from the smaller man's body and color return to pale cheeks.

"I had a vision, or something...."

"A vision? During the seizure?" Jim tried to comprehend, but was failing miserably. "What, exactly, did you see?"

"That was the really weird part," Blair said thoughtfully. "I was in a jungle, and I was running. But I wasn't me. I-I was a w-wolf."

"A wolf?"

"Yeah. And I heard something in the bushes ahead of me. A panther ran out. We were headed right for each other." Blair paused and turned wide, blue eyes on his Sentinel. "We both leapt at once ... and merged in this blinding flash of white light. That was it. I woke up after that. Weird, huh?"

Jim looked thoughtful. "You dreamed of the jungle?"

"Yeah. So? Any special meaning there?"

"Well, it's just that when I have *my* visions, I'm in the jungle...."

"You know, Jim, in some tribal cultures epilepsy is considered the mark of a shaman. Of course, they don't call it that. They think the person is possessed by spirits. But...."

"These seizure of yours ... they started up again shortly after Incacha's death, didn't they?"

"Yeah, within a couple of weeks. Man, that is *really* weird!"

Blair swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. "I was so worried when he passed on the 'Way of the Shaman' to me. I didn't feel any different. I didn't know anything more than I had before. This is just so weird," he repeated, shaking his head.

"It might all just be a colossal coincidence, you know," Jim reasoned.

"Yeah, maybe."

"Did you ever have a vision before, during a seizure?"

"Not that I can remember. Well, except maybe, last wee... oops."

"What about last *week*, Sandburg?" The Sentinel turned on his Guide, suddenly very serious. "Have you had other seizures you haven't told me about?" His anger was almost palpable.

"Just a couple," Blair managed to squeak.

"Over the last six weeks you've had two other seizures besides this one ... while taking your medication? And you didn't tell me?" He clutched Blair's shoulders, shaking him a little more roughly than he'd intended, all memory of their recent lovemaking lost in a sea of fear.

The startled Guide looked at him apprehensively. "They've all been within the last week and a half. I didn't want you taking me back to the hospital. It isn't going to help! I'm taking the medication. Doctor Freeman said there was a possibility of seizures even while taking the meds. This isn't that uncommon, Jim!"

The Sentinel shook his head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Help me figure this out?"

"What?"

"The vision. Do you think it means anything?"

"They all mean something," he said, softening his tone and releasing the grip on his Guide's shoulders. "The trick is figuring out *what*."

"I know what it *felt* like...." Blue eyes met blue eyes and locked.

"What did it feel like, Blair?" Jim asked quietly.

"Like we'd become one. One soul in two bodies. Bonded. Bound together for life." He paused, assessing the impact of his words on the man sitting next to him. "It felt like not even death could
separate us."

Jim looked introspective for a moment, then shook it off. "It's sounding a bit too philosophical for me...."

"Yeah. I told you it was weird."

"Well, 'weird' is your middle name, isn't it, Love?"

Blair turned a baleful gaze on the teasing Sentinel and was rewarded with a kiss.

"Sleep now. We'll figure all this out some other time." With that, Jim snuggled under the blankets next to his lover and Guide, eyes drooping shut with exhaustion.

**********

"I can't find anything wrong," Doctor Freeman said, looking over the charts of all the tests Blair had just finished being put through once again. "We can up the dosage of the Klonopin, or try another drug."

Blair groaned. "Must we?"

"Seizures are serious business, young man. If you want to keep your driver's license, you have to prove you have them under control. Until you do, you're suspended."

"Don't take away my wheels, man!"

"Well, then ... we'll increase your dosage. Let's try doubling it to four milligrams, but cutting you down to just twice a day. How does that sound? Then, if that doesn't do it, we'll push you back to three times a day."

"I'm willing to give it a try, I guess." Blair's voice sounded defeated.

The doctor scribbled out two prescriptions, and handed them to his patient. "The first is for the stronger Klonopin," he explained."The other is a mild stimulant, to help counteract the drowsiness." He held up a hand to stall the the protest forming on Blair's lips. "Try it for a week. Let me know how it goes."

"He'll do it, Doc. Don't worry." Jim gave his partner his best no-nonsense stare. Blair stuck out his tongue in response, before hopping off the exam table.

"Thanks, Doc," Jim said as they turned to leave.

"Yeah, thanks," Blair added, an overtone of sarcasm lightly coloring his words.

"Brat," Jim said, once they were safely outside.

"Dictator," Blair replied, arm firmly circling the waist of the larger man.

They climbed into the truck, and Jim headed back to the loft. The silence between the two men was one of comfortable camaraderie.

*

Back at the loft, later that evening:

"He made you Sentinel of the Great City, and me your Shaman," Blair argued. "Maybe there's something more to these seizures than just the epilepsy. I've never had a vision before. That's always been your shtick."

"Be reasonable, Blair," Jim answered, trying unsuccessfully to follow his own advice. "You can't really believe that Incacha is the cause of your seizures coming back."

"I didn't say that. All I'm saying is that there might be some connection between the seizures, the vision and me being a Shaman." Blair paused, running a hand through his unruly hair. "I never felt comfortable with that designation, you know. Too much pressure, and nothing had changed. Now, something has."

"What? That you're scaring me shitless with these seizures? Incacha can just take back his damn 'Way of the Shaman' if this is what it means!"

"Jim, calm down. It's okay, really." He pulled his Sentinel closer, snuggling up against him. "Please don't be upset. Something wonderful happened. I don't quite understand it yet, but I finally feel *important*."

"You were always important to me," Jim whispered a bit unsteadily, "...always the other half of my soul."

In a far corner of the loft, a black panther growled its approval, while the restless gray wolf finally came to curl up at its feet.

THE END