Tangled Up In Life

"Okay. Thanks. Goodbye." Blair hung up the telephone and turned to face the two far too handsome men standing next to him. "There was a flood in the hotel. Something about someone using a water sprinkler as a sex toy...I do *not* get that. Anyway, the conference has been canceled. Guess I'm not going anywhere."

"Let me get this straight, boss." Blair grinned at Montana's nickname for him. "You didn't go to Chicago because of plane trouble. Now the whole conference is canceled because...because of a sex-induced flood?"

"Yeah. Does sound like greater forces are at work here. Had any visions lately, Jim?"

Jim stood there silently.

"Tiger?" Montana stepped closer to him. "What's going on? Jim?" He touched Jim's shoulder. "Boss, what's wrong?"

"I don't know." Blair moved to Jim's other side. He wasn't blinking, but it didn't feel like a zone. "Jim. Jim. Listen to my voice, Jim. Feel my hand. Montana, stroke his arm. That's right. We're both here, Jim. Jim, follow my voice, follow Montana's touch."

Jim blinked. "Wha...Chief...I..."

Blair gestured to the couch with his head as Jim sagged in their arms. They set him down gently, with Blair at his head and Montana at his feet. "Jim, where were you? Do you remember at all?"

"It's...I don't know. That conference...you... us...all of us. I just saw the jaguar. The panther. He...morphed into me and smiled when you said something about a higher power. Then he disappeared and I heard you." Jim smiled and touched Blair's face. "I guess maybe you're right, Chief."

Blair shivered at his touch. Had they only made love together for the first time that morning? He bent to kiss his cheek. "You okay, Jim?"

Jim shook his head, smiled and reached out a hand to Montana. "I need to get used to this. But anything that brought you into our lives, babe, has to be a good thing."

"That's what I think, tiger." Montana took Jim's hand and held it as if it were something precious. "No matter what happens."

This was all very nice, but it wasn't getting what they needed done. And those two would moon at each other forever if he let them. Well, he'd be happy staring at them, too. "Okay, do you remember *when* the panther showed up? Not when it changed but when it appeared?"'

"Chief, do we have to do this now?"

Montana grinned at him. "Why even bother arguing, Jim?"

"Form's sake. Can't let him *know* where he's got us."

Blair had to laugh. "Okay, okay. Sooner we get this done, sooner we can...well, anyway, let's get this done. When did you see the jaguar?"

"As soon as you picked up the phone to call the conference. When you were going to change your schedule so you could come home sooner. It just strolled in and took a seat...right here on this couch, actually."

"Jim...you weren't looking at the couch."

Jim couldn't shrug with his hands occupied, but he looked like he wanted to.

"That's what I saw, Chief. I could hear your conversation with the guy in Chitown. God, those two were idiots. 'Get a clue' should be a safeword. But I couldn't move or say anything. Just stare at the jaguar like an idiot until you guys brought me out."

"I guess he just wanted to know if I were going or not." Blair grinned.

"Yeah, well...let's hope he doesn't come back while I'm in the middle of a gun fight."

"He won't."

"You sound certain, Chief."

Blair blinked. "I am. He's your spirit guide. He's supposed to help you, and getting you killed won't help you."

"Got a point there. Think he'll save us from Simon again?"

Jim gave Blair another kiss and sat up.

"Simon? Oh, Jim's captain. Why does he have to know anything?" Montana stood up and got himself another cup of coffee.

"He's also our friend, babe. He's going to notice another person living here."

"Good point."

"And he's bound to notice something's up between Blair and me. The man *was* a detective before someone tied him to a desk."

"Uh, Jim." Blair grinned at him.

"Chief?"

"There was a pool on us. And nobody guessed today or this morning."

"No?"

"No. Because the latest date was two years ago. I think they put the pool money in escrow or something. I overheard Rafe and Henri talking about in the men's room."

Montana was doubled over in laughter. "I guess you don't have to worry about coming out *there*."

Jim just shook his head. "I'm heading out for the station. Chief, why don't you help Montana get settled or something and we'll meet for lunch? I'll drag Simon with me."

"Sounds good to me, Jim. I'm off for the week anyway." Blair pulled Jim's head down for as deep a kiss as he could manage. Montana sobered enough to do the same, although he could just pull Jim close. Blair licked his lips as he watched his two men kiss. Two pairs of muscular arms wound around their equally muscular torsos as their lips met.

Blair knew these men intimately. He'd touched their bodies and their souls and knew them for his own last night and this morning. To his own surprise, he knew Montana as well as he knew Jim...and in some ways, he knew Jim as poorly as he knew Montana. And right now, he knew them both as beautiful and more so in each other's arms.

Then the two men parted. Blair suppressed a sigh of regret as Jim stroked his curls one more time, smiled at Montana and left the loft.

Montana collapsed in one of the chairs with a happy grin on his face. "You know, that man is the best pick up I've ever made."

"Right, Dr. Jones. Mine, too. What do you want to do now?"

"I don't know, boss. Jim's gone. We're alone. Why don't you have your way with me?" Montana's grin grew to enormous proportions as he grabbed Blair and pulled him onto his lap.

"I thought I did that already...oh, yeah..."

"I only got to watch this morning."

"Pouting is so not a good look for you, man." Blair grinned as he reached up to kiss that very same pout.

"mmmm. It worked, didn't it?" Blair jumped as Montana put his hand directly on him. "And it seems to be working for you, too, boss. Looks like having your way with Jim wasn't quite enough for you."

"I guess not." Blair kissed him again. Then he slipped beside Montana in the chair and began to take off the other man's shirt. Montana squirmed enough to help him and then settled back, which permitted Blair to nuzzle his chest. Like Jim's, it was smooth and hairless and wonderfully firm, and quite delicious to play with.

Unlike Jim, he wasn't supersensitive, but that was fine. Blair had a lot of fun watching him jump in the chair as he took delicate bites at his nipples. "Oh, God, Blair...easy...oh..."

Blair just grinned and worked his way down to his jeans, which looked painfully tight. So, he *had* to remove them, didn't he? Of course he did. It took some work, but the reward...Montana Jones reclining naked on the chair, nipples and penis fully erect and aroused...was sufficient.

Blair rearranged him tastefully, spreading his legs to expose him properly. Since he was already kneeling, he simply bent forward and took him in his mouth, sucking up the pre-cum that was already leaking.

Montana was a mouthful indeed, but Blair could handle that. He put his tongue and his hands to use, leaving no portion of Montana's anatomy unlicked or stroked. He even pulled gently on individual hairs on his testicles. Montana made wonderful little sounds when Blair did that.

He made a bigger sound when Blair pulled off, not that Blair didn't want to continue, but..."We have to go upstairs. It'll be more fun on a bed, and anyway...Jim's sort of anal."

"Please, boss. You have to..."

Blair looked at those beautiful eyes, pleading with him. And took him back into his mouth again. He would have smiled if his mouth had not been so beautifully filled.

It took a little effort to bring Montana back up to speed, but judging from his sounds, it was worth it. Blair could feel his orgasm growing...hell, he could feel his *own* orgasm growing and no one had touched him yet. And there it was as Montana cried out wordlessly and poured himself down Blair's throat.

Blair made certain there would be no stains left on the furniture by inhaling all that Montana had to give him. Then he climbed back up that mountain of man and kissed him hard and deep. He reveled in those moans as well. Then he pulled free. "Now we go upstairs."

It seemed all Montana could do was nod. He quite docilely preceded Blair up to the bedroom, which meant Blair had one of the finer views he could imagine. And it was all his, or would be very soon.

As soon as Blair stepped into the loft, Montana, his lassitude left behind, grabbed him. "This may take some time, boss, but I'm going on a dig through your clothes to find *you*."

Blair grinned. He wasn't wearing *that* many layers - only three or four. He also actively cooperated in the "dig", lifting his arms and moving his hips as necessary.

But when he was naked, his clothes a pile near the bed, he wriggled from Montana's grasp, pushed him on his back and straddled him.

He was about to bend to kiss him when Montana began to stroke his chest, playing with the little curls and tweaking his nipples. He alternated that with running his fingers up and down Blair's sides, making him shiver with desire. The arousal that had wilted while he had undressed came back, harder than ever, but every time Blair tried to touch himself, Montana would smile and gently move his hands away. Then he'd return to his subtle torture.

Blair permitted Montana to continue for a while, until he could stand it no more. Then he pushed away those hands and covered him with his body. His mouth was even with Montana's throat, so he nuzzled it, gently nipping at his Adam's apple.

Montana began to make those wonderful noises again. This time Blair could feel them vibrating against his mouth, and then all the way down to his groin. He began to play with Montana's nipples again, this time gently, respecting their sensitivity. Ah, more groans, and yes, he was coming to life again. Blair suppressed a giggle. This was so not the right time for a laugh.

When he sensed the moment had arrived, he slid down the bed until his mouth was even with Montana's crotch. He gently kissed his testicles, just to see him jump again.

Montana obligingly bent his knees and spread his legs wide, displaying himself joyfully, a tremendous grin on his face. Was it only a couple of hours ago that Jim had been in nearly that identical position?

Jim had leaned back against the pillows in the same way, exposing his most vulnerable areas to Blair, all under Montana's watching eyes.

But there the resemblance ended. Montana was playing. Jim had given himself to Blair in a moment of sweet and calm surrender. Blair would never in his life forget the look of pure joy radiating from Jim's face as he finally entered him - a joy that went beyond mere sexual pleasure. A joy that said that he was where he wanted to be, where he belonged.

But that was then. Now he wanted to play with his other new toy. He picked up the lube from a fold in the blanket with a grin that matched Montana's.

He glanced around for the package of condoms he'd used earlier...there it was. Jim had put one on him that morning, but Montana was in no position to do the same. He tore open a packet and rolled the contents over his erection. Then he looked at the lube in his hand and decided he needed to make Montana howl some more.

He crawled between those nicely-spread legs and began to kiss and nibble his way down to Montana's anus. As soon as his tongue touched the muscle there, Montana let out a yelp that was pure music to his ears. He was soon doing more than yelping. He emitted little moans and groans as Blair licked and probed and made himself totally familiar with this particular piece of territory.

Those moans changed tempo and pitch to tell him it was time to move on to the next step. He pulled out and took another look at the man in Jim's bed. The playfulness was gone. Montana's grey eyes were filled with pure passion as he grasped his own weeping member. He was enticing as hell.

Blair smiled and began to coat his fingers with the lube. He applied them to Montana, who thrust himself on them, swallowing them up. Blair considered, took out his fingers, applied more gel to both himself and Montana and sheathed himself in Montana's body.

And then all thoughts, evil or otherwise, shut down. All there was in the universe was the joining of their two bodies in an embrace of pure fire. Blair could barely sense himself moving, or the way Montana answered. He just...burned. And when release came, it came for both of them with the screams of a hawk and the howls of a wolf echoing with their own voices across the loft.

Blair stayed there as long as he could, until all was finished and he could send messages to his body again. Then, pausing only to remove the condom and wipe himself clean, he crawled up Montana's length until he was high enough to kiss him. Montana sighed, gathered Blair into his arms and rolled to his side. They lay like that for a long time, the stillness broken only by occasional small kisses in odd places. Eventually, they slept.

*********************

He was alone. He was in Jim's bed in the loft - okay, maybe it was supposed to be *their* bed but that had happened like less than a day ago and he wasn't used to thinking like that - and he was wrapped up in Jim's blanket, which was good because he was naked, and he was alone.

Which meant that Montana had gotten up first and decided to do...something. But had at least thought to wrap him up. Blair listened for a moment. Yes, he was downstairs, and something was wrong. He could hear a murmured one-way conversation, but it was more than that. Blair could not put his finger on it.

He dressed quickly and walked down the stairs. Montana had just put his own cellphone away. Blair took one look at him, with his eyes darting back and forth and his hands shaking and ran to where he was standing.

Blair guided him to one of the couches. When he had him seated, he gathered him into his arms. Immediately, Montana began to take deep sobbing breaths and clung to him tightly. Blair could feel the man shiver and hear his heart beat far too quickly.

For a long time, all Blair could do was stroke his back and murmur to him. Eventually, the only thing keeping him from panicking himself was the need to take care of Montana. As if sensing this, the man in his arms began to calm down until he could pull away slightly and look at Blair with dull dry eyes.

"Ready to talk now?" Blair answered that gaze with his own, never taking his arms away.

He stared off into the distance. "What am I doing, boss? What the hell am I doing?" His voice was edged by sobs.

"You tell me." Blair stroked his hair.

"I...I loved my life in New York. I loved the university and my co-op and all the friends I had there. And...my daughter is there. And...I just met you guys."

"Yeah." Blair told his stomach to stop fluttering. It would be fine. "I know."

"And all I can think of is how soon can I get rid of all of that...except Sarah. What am I doing? How can I do this? I mean, how can I fall in love with Jim and with you so fast?"

"Same way we fell in love with you? You aren't going to leave us?"

"I...I don't know. I can't. I don't know if it's fate or our genes or the spirit world run amuck, but I can't. But...my *life*...I'm forty-five years old. I've been a married man, a divorced man. Ten years ago, I realized I was gay and had a daughter anyway. How many times can I start over?"

"Just once more, man." Blair tried to keep the pleading out of his voice.

"No warning. I...was talking to Denise...my ex. She thinks I'm insane and she's worried about me. And she's right. Boss, what am I supposed to do?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't know! I knew it this morning. I knew it twenty minutes ago. I don't know now."

"You could go ho...go back. Think about it there."

Blair could not believe those words could hurt so much.

"Leave you? I'd feel like my heart was being torn out of my chest. Even the thought...oh, God, I am insane. I *never* felt this way about Denise, and I did love her. Do love her."

"Okay. Nothing has to be permanent. You could rent out your co-op, couldn't you? And take a leave from NYU? Like you said, you can do lectures at Rainier with no problems."

"I know. But all of a sudden it's hit me. I'm not going back. I picked up a guy at an airport and I'm not going back home."

"You *are* home, man. Everything else will work out." Blair put all the confidence he could dredge up in his voice.

"I don't know. I *need* to know."

Blair nodded. "Okay. I know what to do. I wish I had music or candles, but I'm not letting you go."

"What...what do you mean?"

"Just...breathe. Just make your breaths even." Blair demonstrated. Montana looked confused but followed along. Gradually, Blair deepened and slowed his breathing. Montana did the same, relaxing in Blair's arms.

"Okay. Now let your mind go. You're...someplace wild and free. Just listen to my voice and follow me there. Can you see it...can you see where you are?"

"Yeah." His voice was full of wonder. "It's beautiful."

"What do you see?" Blair was surprised that it was that easy.

"I'm in a clearing of a forest. It's...a northern type, the kind you see here. But there's a cat, a black jaguar. He's prowling the edges. And now...oh, so beautiful. It's a wolf. Clearly an alpha, strong and confident. And his eyes...so blue. And a hawk, now. Graceful, free. It's landed on the wolf. Its eyes are grey. It's looking at me."

"Is it just looking?"

"It's changing. It's...it's Pop. No...it's me..." His voice faded out and he became very still. Blair just held him. Minutes went by before Montana slowly opened his eyes again. This time they were clear and filled with tears.

"What is it, Montana?"

"They said I'd already made my choice. And I had. There were two paths, but one was closed. And when I saw that, all I felt was joy. The other way was death, madness. Loneliness. You were right. This *is* home. Where you are is home."

"It always will be. I love you." He had to whisper.

"I know. I love you, too, Blair. I...ca...oh, God!" Montana pressed his face into Blair's shoulder. Blair held him tightly and let him cry himself out. Everything would be fine.

Blair pressed small kisses on his head and stroked his back. Eventually - an endless time later - Montana looked up. "How do you stand it, boss? Doesn't this genetic imperative bother you?"

"It took over my life a long time ago - the day I met Jim. One minute, I was just another grad student, you know? And then, bam! everything was about him, and I *knew* I was in love. So, everything you're going through, I've *been* through. Besides, I think it's more than genetic. There's a major spiritual connection here."

Montana pulled away from him and looked him in the eye. "You really believe that?"

Before Blair could answer him, the phone rang.

He shot Montana an amused look and reached for the cordless phone on the coffee table. "Sandburg."

"Chief, is everything all right?" Jim sounded worried.

"Why are you asking?"

"Look, just *tell* me, okay? Is everything all right, or do I have to jump in the truck and get out there?"

"Everything is *fine*, Jim. Now, tell me what's going on."

He could hear him collapse in relief. "Thank God. All I could think for the past twenty minutes was 'Something's wrong at home.' You sure? Montana's all right? I kept seeing Montana and that hawk."

Blair couldn't help it. Maybe it was all the tension earlier or the concern in Jim's voice. Maybe it was Montana's confused look. Whatever it was, Blair could not help laughing out loud.

And when both Jim and Montana squawked at him, he just laughed louder.

"Sandburg! What the hell's so funny?"

"Boss, what the hell is going on?"

That was just the icing on the cake.

Finally, unable to stand the stereo scolding and equally unable to either breathe or talk coherently, he gave the phone to Montana and wiped at his eyes.

"No, tiger. I do not have a clue why he's like that. What did you say to him?...oh. I guess he was right. Yeah, I know. He's always right. How do you stand it? Yeah, he is cute. Especially when he writhes on the floor."

Blair shot him an outraged look...from the floor where he was indeed writhing.

Montana just grinned at him. "What, Jim? Actually, yeah. I was upset. It's...yeah. Exactly. No, I don't. I'll adjust. Seriously. You want to come home?" Blair, who was beginning to calm down, shook his head. "It's nearly lunch time. We'll meet you there. Besides, I have to meet this boss of yours. Okay. Love you, tiger. Yeah, I'll tell him."

"Tell me what?" Blair, still fighting the occasional giggle, stood up and dusted himself off.

"That he's going to kill you and that he loves you, too."

Blair grinned. "Okay. How do you want to do the shower thing? Concurrently or seriatim?"

Montana grinned and pretended to consider, while Blair indulged in a quick fantasy involving a wall of muscle. "Concurrently is more... environmentally sound, don't you think?"

"Absolutely, man."

****************

"You two are fifteen minutes late." Jim's broad smile took the place of the hug he couldn't give them in public.

"Sorry, Jim. We got...distracted." Blair knew he sounded anything but apologetic, and Montana looked decidedly smug. "What's going on?"

"Not much. The bombers took the day off. You guys probably saw more action." He gave both of them a searing look that caused even Blair's sated body to react. He was grateful for loose pants and untucked shirts.

"Hey, Ellison, who's your new friend?" Henri and Rafe walked in, carrying a deli bag.

"Guys, this is Professor Montana Jones. He's going to be staying with Blair and me, indefinitely."

"You really got a thing for eggheads, Jim. First Sandburg and now this guy." Henri nudged Rafe in the ribs. "Is he going to be your partner, too?"

Jim glared at them. "He's a friend."

"Sure." Henri's grin grew wider.

"Of course, Jim. A friend. Just like Blair." Rafe winked. "Have you told the captain yet?"

"You guys have filthy minds."

Blair could feel himself turning red with the effort not to laugh. He admired Jim's perfectly composed facade - and he didn't dare look at Montana.

Rafe nodded at Jim's comment. "That's why we're such good detectives. We think only the best of people. C'mon, H. Let's do lunch in the breakroom."

"That was interesting, tiger. How come you dropped it on them like that?" Montana looked at Jim.

Jim shrugged. "You're going to be hanging around a lot, babe. This way, they'll get all the jokes out of the way *now*. Besides, they've had the wrong idea about Blair and me for years now."

Blair coughed.

"Well, it was wrong until yesterday, okay, Chief?"

"What was wrong until yesterday? And who's your new friend, Jim?"

Simon Banks strode into the room, taking it over by his sheer presence, as usual.

Blair could see Montana's eyes widen as he bent to whisper in Blair's ear. "*That's* Jim's boss? Oh, my."

Blair shook his head. "He's straight, and you, my love, are *taken*."

"If I'm taken, it doesn't matter what *he* likes. And I can still look."

Blair just chuckled.

"What do you mean, indefinitely?"

"Meaning he'll be around for a while, Captain. He's...part of the Sentinel thing."

"Blair, is this true?"

"Yeah. Meet our Hunter, although we're not altogether sure what that means here."

Simon looked at Montana carefully. "You're the one going to do the day to day stuff, professor? Taking care of my boys here?"

Blair watched the two big men size each other up. "Something like what you do here at work, captain."

"Good. They both need it."

"Simon, we've managed fine for years." Jim sounded hurt.

Simon frowned. "I've thought of you two as unbalanced...not just mentally...for a while now. Something was missing. Montana, welcome to the team."

"Thanks...Simon. I'll do my best. Right now, I think I'd better see about getting these two fed."

"You do that."

******************

They found a secluded table at one of Jim's favorite restaurants. To Blair's amusement, both of his partners ordered slabs of animal flesh and fried starch - steak and potatoes. He thought about lecturing them on cholesterol but decided that today was for celebration.

He just enjoyed his own salmon steak and salad without comment.

"Your Captain Banks sounds like a very tolerant man, tiger." Montana thoughtfully cut into his red-rare beef.

Jim and Blair exchanged glances.

"Simon? Tolerant?" Jim couldn't seem to keep the laughter out of his voice.

"What's so funny, you two? He was perfectly nice."

"We've been wondering where the pod was. That was *not* our Simon." Jim took a mouthful of ketchup drenched fries.

"How do you mean?"

Blair grinned. "We mean that Simon *hates* this Sentinel stuff. He barely accepts me as Jim's partner, and he will only talk about it if he has to. He should not have accepted you so easily."

Montana shrugged. "I wasn't surprised. Tribal chieftains know when something needs to be fixed. You two were, as he put it, unbalanced. Also, Blair as shaman has authority all by himself. I don't."

"I'm an authority?" Blair was incredulous.

"Oh, yeah, boss."

Jim nodded. "Haven't you noticed, Chief?"

"Noticed what?" What was he talking about?

"Everyone does what you tell them. Not just *us*, but Joel and Brown and Rafe. And Simon, for that matter."

"You gotta be making that up, Jim. No way." Blair looked at his partner in disbelief.

"It's true. You make a suggestion and the next thing we know, we're doing it. I'm not saying you throw your weight around, but everyone listens. That has to get Simon's goat."

"You know, Captain Banks really got the short end of things here." Montana took a slow sip of his beer.

Jim's eyes narrowed. "How do you mean, babe?"

"Look at him. He's the *captain*, the tribal chieftain. I mean, the man exudes power. Hell, I could feel it as soon as I saw him. He has his own superior, but in his own domain, he's the man in charge."

Blair nodded. "That's Simon, all right. I don't like using this terminology, but the man is pure alpha."

"Good word, boss. And Jim fits in well enough because you're a warrior-type. You can lead if you have to, but it's easy for you to follow orders. All you need to do is serve and protect." Montana winked.

Jim shot him a look and a grin, and applied himself back to his bleeding hunk of meat.

"So, I'm Jim's partner."

"You're a *shaman*. Simon has physical, temporal authority. You have spiritual authority - and you don't have any superiors to follow. You entered his domain as an authority all your own, *and* he can't fight it because it's not in his realm."

"Oh, man! That makes too much sense." Blair ran the events of the past few years back in his head, and everything Jim and Montana said made sense: the way people listened to him; the way Jim always obeyed him; the sense he had that Simon thought he was being challenged, even though Blair would never dream of challenging him. With a start, Blair realized why. *Oh, God, help me. I've already won. I don't *want* this; I don't *need* this. What do I do now?*

At that moment, two very different but equally strong hands touched him. "It's all right, Chief. It's the way it's supposed to be." Jim stroked his arm.

"How do you know this, Jim? How?" Blair forced himself to stay where he was instead of running out of the restaurant.

"Because he knows, boss. Just like I do. Just like I could feel Simon's power, I could feel your wisdom. Simon obviously cares about you - all of those men do - but he has no place for you in his hierarchy and he knows it."

"I can't wrap my head around this. It's too big. It's bigger than I am." He took a shaky sip of his water.

"No, Chief. It's just your size." Jim's smile was...proud and happy and relieved, as if a puzzle had been solved.

"Yep. As my grandmother used to say, 'God doesn't give us anything more than we can handle.'" Blair looked at the Hunter. That saying was oddly familiar. "So, that explains you. Now we have to figure out why Simon accepted *me* so readily."

"Because you make things work. We need you. Jim's the Sentinel. He's the reason for this group, but he can't do his job alone."

Montana nodded. "Right. You're the Guide, the Shaman. You keep him spiritually centered, make sure he uses his senses the right way. He depends on you to do his job. In return...he gives you emotional grounding, I think, so you can do your *other* tribal job of healing, counseling and teaching. He keeps you tied to the world around you through his senses."

"Blair depends on *me*?" Jim sounded amazed.

"Oh, yeah, man. Much as I love my mom, she's not someone I can lean on all the time. I *know* you're there. I need a center so badly, and you're it for me."

"So, where do you come in, tiger? What is the Hunter?"

"That's harder. In the tribe, it would be easy. The two of you have full-time jobs, so my job would be to take care of the material things, and maybe some physical protection. That's what my pop's paper said."

"We don't need that here, though. Jim's *paid* to be a Sentinel. And I can get by on my grants."

"You shouldn't have to 'get by'. And it's more than money. Just like Jim can get lost in his senses - 'zone out' - you can get lost in *him*. You can get so buried in helping him that you *can't* do your jobs."

"Like a...material center?"

"Yeah. Keeping you guys safe. I bet Simon was always calling you two back to the real world - Blair especially, but Jim, too."

"Simon's a rock. He's very grounded."

"He's always yelling at us for taking chances, and making sure that we don't over do things." Jim spoke slowly, carefully. "He's always like that with his people but he's more so with us, especially after my senses came back. He hates the Sentinel stuff but he's always behind us. That's your job, isn't it? No wonder he was so relieved. He can...let someone else do the watching."

Blair nodded. "Makes sense, Jim. But there's more to this. I gotta sit down and figure it out."

"*We* do, boss. And now we have to get Jim back to the PD." Montana pulled out his wallet and dropped some bills on the table. After he put on his fedora, the three of them left the restaurant, almost hand-in-hand.

"Truck is just around this corner, right?"

The restaurant was in an odd part of town - a sort of boundary between a gentrified residential area and the remains of a old immigrant neighborhood. It had abandoned buildings only feet away from nice eateries. The truck was parked in front of one such building.

"Yep, here it is." Jim took out his keys to unlock his door. He paused. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what, man?" Blair started to slip his backpack off his shoulders.

"Sounds like...there's a woman screaming in there!" Jim pulled out his weapon and tossed Montana his cell phone. "Babe, call for back up. Top speed button."

He took off into the building. Blair dropped his pack and ran after him. As he went inside, he could hear Montana haltingly tell the dispatcher what was going on. After this was over...no time to think about it now. He had to keep up with Jim.

Blair found him crouched by a staircase. "I can't hear her anymore, Chief. What do I do?"

"Okay." He took a couple of deep breathes. "We were outside, and a lot of those windows are broken. She was probably clearer there. Just filter everything else out. Listen for her voice and her voice only."

Jim nodded. He stood quietly. His eyes became unfocused so Blair knew he was concentrating. He put a hand on Jim's arm to aid him.

"Got her. Two floors up." Jim began to run. Blair took off after him. They climbed the stairs in breakneck speed. After years of practice, he could keep up with his long-legged partner.

They halted together at the landing two stories up. Even Blair could hear her shouts and tearful pleadings. It was all he could do to stay with Jim, to not rush to her side. *There'll be time enough for that later.*

Jim checked his gun and motioned Blair to go behind him as he opened the door from the stairway. Her voice came from two doors away. The lock there was clearly broken. Blair didn't have to think about what to do at this point. He stood behind as Jim kicked the door open, shouting, "Police!"

At that sound, a man jumped up and ran out of the room, knocking Jim over in his race to get away. Blair got an impression of limp, pale flesh as the guy tried to tuck himself in along the way, but there wasn't time to think about it.

He was vaguely aware of Jim picking himself up as he ran into the room, and sat on the floor to gather the weeping woman in his arms.

************

Montana finally made himself clear to the police dispatcher and shut off the cellphone. What the hell was he doing down here when his two men were in danger? It was *his* job...every muscle in his body was urging him to rush into that building and take care of things. He forced himself to remain quiet. There was nothing he could do. He wasn't even armed, except for Pop's old bullwhip.

Blair wasn't armed either, but Blair had done this before. He'd be fine. Jim would be fine. Montana unhooked the whip from his back pack. Where were those other cops?

Something was happening. He could feel it. He uncoiled the whip. A man ran out of the building, and past him. And right in range. He didn't think. He lashed out, and caught the man, pinning his arms to his waist. And at that moment, he heard the sirens.

Seconds later, the patrol cars pulled next to him and Banks climbed out - just as Jim rushed out the building.

"This him, tiger?"

"You did this?" Jim looked at him. "You'll have to teach me that. Yeah, that's him. Simon, Blair's in there alone. Is there someone from rape services?"

"On her way. Blair's with the victim now?" Simon looked equal parts concerned and resigned. Jim, his face grim, nodded.

"What's wrong? Is Blair in trouble?" Montana retrieved his whip from the uniformed officer who had cuffed the runner.

There was something happening, but he didn't know if it were good or bad. The captain and Jim were clearly worried about something.

"He's...I'll take you up there, Montana. You'll see."

"Jim..."

"Yeah, Simon?"

"Just...if you need me tonight, I'll be home."

Montana looked at both men in confusion. What the hell was going on?

Jim led him up two flights of stairs to a dingy apartment off a filthy hallway. He gestured to the open door.

Montana looked, and found he couldn't move.

Blair was sitting on the dusty floor, holding on to a middle-aged black woman, who was gently sobbing on his shoulder as he stroked her back. Her sweater was torn and her skirt was pushed high enough on her hips that Montana could see where her stockings and underwear had been ripped. He tried to look away, to give her some dignity.

When he did, when he concentrated on Blair's face, he saw something else, or thought he did. Something...moved between his lover and the woman, and as it did, Blair became paler and the woman's sobs became softer and her breathing became steadier.

It was painful to watch but he could not tear his eyes away from the scene. It was as if he'd been given leave to watch something sacred instead of a rumpled man holding a damaged woman on the floor of an empty apartment.

"Yeah, I know, babe." Jim spoke in a whisper, as if he, too, were conscious of some form of holiness.

"What's...what's he doing?"

"Helping. Hurting. Two sides of one coin." There was love and pride and worry in Jim's voice.

Blair murmured something to the woman. She nodded and allowed him to help her to stand, and then let him support her out of the apartment. She shied away from the larger men as they passed them, but Blair soon calmed her again.

They stood silently as the two of them made their way to the staircase.

"What's going on? Jim, something happened. I *felt* it."

He shook his head. "It's something he does, that he needs to do. And he'll pay for it later."

"How?"

"You'll see, babe. I can't describe it now."

Hand-in-hand, they followed Blair and the woman to the waiting patrol cars. A woman from rape services was there, but the victim would not let Blair go. To Montana's surprise, the rape specialist didn't argue at all. Blair himself looked fine...until he took a look at his eyes.

"Jim, what's wrong? If Sarah's eyes were that bright, I'd be taking her temperature."

"He's not feverish. It's...something else." He blinked. "Come with me to the station and help me put this piece of crap away."

Montana shook his head at the change of subject but allowed Jim to take him back to the truck as Blair drove away in the back seat of the rape counselor's car, still holding the victim.

"Will he be all right with them?" Montana watched the small blue Ford drive off into the distance towards Cascade General.

"It doesn't matter." Jim's knuckles on the steering wheel of the truck were pure white. He was angry at something.

"Babe? What's going on?"

"We have to get this guy processed ASAP so we can get Sandburg." Montana couldn't get another word out of him for the rest of the trip.

********

"I've got him fingerprinted, Jim." The big guy - Taggert - put a sheaf of papers on the desk as he hurried to do yet another piece of processing the perp. "Megan's running them now. Why don't you take him to interrogation?" Jim nodded. Montana, who had finished giving his statement - to the rather nattily dressed "Rafe" - watched as the Major Crimes division of Cascade Police Department worked to get Norris Bertram behind bars as soon as humanly possible without skipping any essential step along the way.

"I'll just get this statement to Captain Banks." Rafe stood up, and squeezed Jim's shoulder as he passed by. He wasn't the only one to do something like that, and he wore the same expression of concern as the rest.

"Babe, do you need me?"

"I'll be done with this guy soon." Jim, his lips pressed together in a thin line, disappeared down the corridor with Bertram.

Someone brought Montana a cup of surprisingly good coffee. When he looked up, it was Captain Banks.

"What's going on?" He cradled the cup, which bore the Cascade PD shield, in his hands. Montana welcomed the heat. He'd been feeling oddly cold.

"What do you mean?"

"Why is everyone so worried about Blair? Jim is jumping out of his skin and I *know* you guys don't normally work like this. That poor guy - Brown? - has been fending off phone calls for the last twenty minutes."

"It's...something that happens." He looked uncomfortable.

Jim came out of the interrogation room with a pad in his hand. He handed it to Banks, who glanced at it and nodded. Jim returned the nod and gathered up Montana with his eyes. As they walked out together, Montana could feel the tempo of the room change.

When five minutes passed before the elevator showed up, Jim took off down the stairs. Montana flew behind him, clutching his fedora. He didn't mind in the slightest. He was, if anything, more nervous than Jim - at least Jim knew what was going on.

Jim used his siren on the way to the hospital. He didn't even wince at the sound.

******

"Where is he?" Jim strode into the Emergency Department as if he owned it, Montana keeping pace with him.

"He's in room four, Detective Ellison." A nurse pointed. "But he's not alone. He's with the victim, and she's being examined."

Montana stared. A rape victim allowing a man to be in the room with her? A *strange* man? Jim just stood there, clenching and unclenching his jaw muscles and his fists.

A middle-aged black man in blue work clothes, the name Evon stenciled over one pocket, walked up to him. "Did the nurse just call you 'detective?'"

Jim gave a little start. "Y-yes, sir. I'm Detective Jim Ellison. This is my...friend, Professor Jones."

"I'm Evon Laurent. Do you know anything about the animal who did that to my wife?"

"Is that your wife in there, Mr. Laurent?" Laurent nodded. "I had the privilege of booking him myself."

"*You* caught him?"

"Actually..." Jim turned to Montana.

"Yes, yes, he did. I was there." Jim wanted to say something, so he went on quickly. "How is she, sir?"

"That young man...who is he?"

"My partner, Blair Sandburg."

"He's an angel sent from God. Lennie, she's been holding on to his hand since they came in, and she's bearing up, and I can tell she's going to be fine. Every time she looks the tiniest bit upset, he just squeezes her hand again and she's back and talking to that lady and to me. God *bless* that boy."

"He's *blessed* all right." Jim sat down heavily on a chair by the door.

"Mr. Laurent, you can come in now." A woman in scrubs poked her head outside the room. Laurent smiled and practically ran in. As he did, Blair left.

Montana could not stop staring at him. His eyes were still fever bright, and they never stopped moving, but his face was pale and drawn, and instead of bouncing, he moved like his limbs were made of lead. Even his hair looked limp.

Jim jumped up and put his arm around Blair's shoulders. "We have to get him home *now*." Montana nodded and moved to Blair's other side. Together, they all but carried him to the truck. He huddled between them on the seat. At first he sat completely and uncharacteristically still, but as they neared the loft, he began to shiver. Jim turned on his siren and broke records at that point.

Blair's shivers were turning into shakes when Jim finally screeched into his parking spot. Not only was he unable to get out by himself, Blair wasn't able to stand. Montana helped Jim carry him into the loft and then up into Jim's bedroom, where Jim gently laid Blair in the center of the bed and began to wrap him in the covers.

And, without thinking, where Montana pushed Jim away from their lover, who was shaking violently. "No! That's wrong!"

"Babe, you don't even know what's going on here. Let me take care of him." He bent to finish his task.

"I can't explain it, but...this is *my* job, tiger. And that's not what Blair needs. Has it worked in the past?"

Jim shook his head. "Nothing really works, but this keeps him still until I can call Simon to help for when the shaking gets worse."

"You'll tell me later. Undress him, and get him under those blankets."

"Are you sure?" Jim stood still.

"No, but it feels right. What's wrong?"

"I've never..." Jim shook his head and began to take off Blair's clothes. As Montana stripped off his own, he wondered at how awkward Jim was, fumbling at the shirts and the jeans. As he tossed his underwear by the bed and went to help Jim, he realized what was going on.

"You've never done this before for him. I'm sorry, Jim...I forgot you two made love for the first time this morning."

"I've undressed him before, but not when he was like this." It was hard...Blair was trying to help, but that only made it worse. Finally, they got him down to skin. Montana even insisted they undo his hair. Then, they got him under the covers and Montana crawled in next to him and gathered him into his arms. Blair was cold but his shakes slowed and he had enough strength to pull himself closer to Montana.

"Babe...should I undress, too?"

"I don't know. What the hell is going on?"

"Damned if I know, and *he* hardly remembers. It happens when we get a severe trauma like a rape or a kidnapping. He...takes care of them and then he gets like this. He just shakes for hours, getting worse and worse. I keep him warm - wrapping him up, you know? And if it gets bad, I call for help. Simon's come, and Taggert, and once we even had Megan. Doctors can't do a thing."

"How bad does it get?"

"He screams. He's had convulsions a couple of times. The worst...the worst was a little girl." Jim sat on the bed and stroked Blair's hair. "She'd been assaulted and watched that animal do the same to her little brother and mother and then he killed them. He was her stepfather. Blair held on to her for almost two days. I was worried sick, and when she finally let him go, when her aunt showed up and I took him home, we needed three men to hold him down."

Blair whimpered, as if he remembered what had to have been two days of hell. Montana pulled him even closer. "Shhh, boss. I'm here. I'm getting a picture here, and I don't like it."

"What? What's going on?" Jim sat up straight.

"He's a shaman. He heals. This doesn't happen all that often, does it?"

"Couple times a year." Jim's voice was bleak. "A couple of times too often. Only when someone else is really badly off. We can't stop him. Hell, we can't make ourselves stop him."

"You can't. He *has* to do this, even if it means his own destruction. It's part of his job description. Did Blair take psych courses in college?"

Jim blinked. "Yeah. That was his minor.... Montana, you're shaking."

"I'll be fine..." It was suddenly hard to speak. "Blair's...taken in all of that woman's hurt and shame and he's overloaded. I'm...taking some off." He could feel those alien emotions pounding into him.

Jim immediately stripped off his own clothing and got into bed on the other side of Blair. He reached an arm over to grasp Montana and the pounding eased.

"Tiger, careful. Not your job."

"*My* job." Blair's voice trembled.

"Boss?"

"Don't let go. Get...help. Jim...knows."

Montana looked over Blair's head towards his lover. "Do you?"

Jim frowned and then his eyes widened. "Yeah. I have to...I'm sorry, babe."

He let go of the two of them. Montana braced himself for the emotional punishment. Through it, he could see Jim sitting cross-legged, his eyes closed. Moments that felt like hours later, he felt presences settling down around them. He could almost see the shapes...the hawk, the wolf and the black jaguar...as they took their places around him and Blair.

And then it all eased. Their bodies stopped shaking and Blair warmed in his arms. Then Blair began to cry - ugly, brutal sobs that were ripped from his throat as he buried his head in Montana's shoulder. Another pair of arms wrapped around both of them, cradling Blair between two bodies. <> Finally, Blair stopped and settled immediately to sleep. Unwilling to leave him alone and almost equally worn out by the emotions of the day, the other two joined him, secure under the watchful eyes of their spirit guides.

*********

Blair took a careful sip of his chamomile tea and honey. "Oh, that's good." His throat hurt and his nose was clogged from all the crying, but at least his mind was clear. He sat up in bed, wrapped in Jim's robe, while the three of them ate a belated supper of soup (frozen left over homemade soup, not canned) and sandwiches.

"You sure you're okay, Chief? It usually takes you a day to recover from one of..."

Jim was cute when he worried. "I'm okay. Montana did his job." He smiled at him. "I don't even remember the other times clearly. This time, I do."

"It won't happen again, boss." Montana's voice was certain.

"Of course it will, babe. Next time someone needs him..."

"Next time, we'll know how to handle it. Next time I'll know what was going on. Why didn't you say so?"

"Because I couldn't describe it. It just... happened, and we knew it had to do with victims but we couldn't figure out why. And Blair was no help."

Montana grasped Jim's shoulder. "I know. He couldn't be. Next time Blair does this, get the wolf at least. And call me. I'll take care of things." Blair nodded.

"Montana?"

"Yeah, tiger?"

"Who's Sarah?"

Blair grinned. Life was going to get even more fun now.

-30-

Copyright 1999 Debra Fran Baker and NightRoads Associates