Reunion Blair glanced at the paper in his hand then looked at the cluster of buildings in confusion. "Excuse me" he stepped in front of a couple of larger boys, "Could you tell me..." "Outta my way shrimp" One of them pushed him back roughly "Jeeze" Blair heard as they walked by "Now they're letting babies into college.." A heartfelt sigh escaped him. He had known it wouldn't be easy starting college so young, but somehow he hadn't expected to be ridiculed because of his age. Squaring his shoulders he decided to try again. "Excuse me..." It was almost an hour before he finally was directed to Building H. At least it was easy to locate room 124 after that. He knocked softly and was rewarded with a muffled " Come in" "Hi" he greeted hesitantly, "I have an appointment with my peer advisor. I'm really sorry I'm late." "It's ok. Its a little hard finding your way around here at first. You'll get used to it soon." Blair grinned, relieved to finally find a friendly face. He looked up curiously into a pair of brillant blue eyes. "Thanks, man, I was really starting to think I may have made a major mistake coming here." A mischevious grin answered him. " A mistake coming to my office or a mistake coming to college?" "Either or, take your pick. Some folks aren't exactly thrilled to see me here for some reason." He held out his hand and the other man shook it briefly. "Hi, I'm Blair...Blair Sandburg." The brown-haired man in front of him looked startled. "Blair? It's me Danny. Do you remember? We met at the Adam's house a few years ago." " Adams? You mean the family who...Danny!" Daniel Jackson!! Of course I remember you. You've just changed. It's really good to see you man!" He pulled Daniel into a quick hug. Daniel grinned and ruffled Blair's chestnut curls. "So, what have you been up to Squirt?" "Just traveling man. We never really settled down. Got a scholorship to here, but I think I'm having second thoughts." " Why? I suppose it's hard starting so early, but you've always been smart Blair. It'll all work out. Where are you staying?" Blair grinned sheepishly "Well, that's one of the problems. Seems someone booked three of us in a double room at the dorms. The other two guys were already roomies so that left me the odd man out." Daniel shook his head sympathically, "And the dorms are really overbooked this semester. I can definately see the problem there." "yeah, well I did find a little motel room down on central and 3rd that I'm staying at for now. I'm hoping something opens up soon." Danny frowned "That's a lousy area of town Blair. IS your Mom with you?" "I've mostly been taking care of myself for awhile now Danny. I'm on the waiting list for a dorm room." A flush of anger colored Daniel's face. "You can't stay there alone Blair. Its a dangerous place. You're what. . .sixteen? You shouldn't be on your own." Blair looked upset as he mistook his friend's anger. "It'll be ok Danny.I can take care of myself. Mom would help if she could..." Daniel threw an arm around his young friend. He hadn't meant to upset him."I'm sorry Blair, I just know what its like. Hey...how would you feel about sharing a room with me?" Blair's eyes lit up excitedly. "Really? That'd be great. DO you have room? How much?" Daniel held up his hands,"Whoa...slow down there Squirt. Its not much really. I have a little two bedroom off campus. I've been using the other room for a study, but I'm sure I can squeeze you in if you'd like." "Like? It's perfect. How big? Maybe I can get a futon or something." "I just hope you don't snore too loud. The walls are pretty thin." "What?! Me snore?!" Blair's smile lit the room. "You want to talk about snoring. Why I remember..." Blair droppped his backpack to the floor with a sigh of relief. His first couple of weeks of college life had been rough. He laid down on the futon Danny had bought him, planning to catch a quick nap. It was a couple of hours before he awakened again. For a moment he laid quietly , then a wonderful aroma filled his senses. He sniffed appreciatively and got up to follow the tempting odors. "Hey Danny, whats cooking? Smells pretty good." Daniel walked into the living room with a couple of plates. He handed one to Blair and sat beside him on the small sofa. "Thought you might be hungry. Besides, you cooked all last week. I found this new chicken stir-fry at the store today and thought I'd give it a try." He smiled as he watched Blair tear into the food. "It's great Danny, thanks." "You're welcome." They finished eating in a companionable silence. They both sat back with a sigh as they finished and pushed the lates away. "Hey, I hear you aced another Anthro test today. That's great, Dr. Peters can be pretty tough." "Nah, he's all bark. The test wasn't that bad." Danny looked thoughtfully at his friend. "You know, I've got a full load this semester, plus I'm doing TA work." "Yeah, you've been going non-stop ever since I got here. I don't see how you do it." "They finally approved me for an assistant today." "Really, an assistant huh? That's great. You could really use the help." "Yeah, so I was just wondering if you'd like the job." Blair looked at him hesitantly. "Me? You want me? Are you sure? Daniel nodded, "Of course I'm sure. I can't think of anyone better. So do you want the job or what?" He was rewarded by the huge smile that flashed across Blair's face."Of course I want it. Thanks!" "It doesn't pay much Blair, but it would give you a little spending money." "Thanks Danny" Blair hugged him briefly. " I really appreciate it." Daniel juggled a stack of books with one arm while he fumbled for his office keys with the other. He froze as he heard a racket inside. "Stop please guys" he heard Blair's voice clearly on the other side of the door. The kid sounded panicked. The books shifted and the keys fell from Daniel's fingers. He heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh then Blair's soft cry of pain. He dropped the books and kicked open the door as something fell heavily to the floor. As the door flew open two huge boys pushed past him. Daniel saw Blair unconscious on the floor and hurried to his side. He grabbed some tissues off his desk and held them to a bloody cut above Blair's eye. Blair moaned softly as consciousness returned. "Danny?" "What the hell happened here? Why did Phillip Henshaw and Tom Bradley attack you?" Blair winced as he struggled to sit up. Daniel helped him into the office chair. "They got a little upset when I wouldn't give them the answers to the test you're giving tomorrow. Blair groaned. "Awww, Jeeze Blair. I'm sorry. I should have warned you about those two. They're about to lose their football scholorships because they're failing most of their classes. I guess they figure you were an easy target." He reached into his desk for a bottle of Ibuprofen and shook a couple out. Blair accepted them gratefully. Then Daniel brought him a glass of water. A gasp of pain escaped Blair as Daniel brushed his fingers lightly over a bruise already coloring Blair's cheek. "You're going to have quite a shiner there kiddo. I think you should go over to the clinic." "Do I have to? I'm ok really. Just a little sore and dizzy." "At least let me call campus security. You can't just let them get away with this." "That you can do. I'm not real fond of being used as a punching bag." A few hours later, Daniel watched as Blair slept on his futon. Danny felt a familar surge of protectiveness for his "little brother". He gently shook Blair awake. "Time for your two hour check, Squirt." Blair groaned. "I'm fine Danny, really." "You know the Doc said to wake you every couple of hours. You do have a concussion you know." "Yeah, I know, but I don't have to like it. Have you heard anything from security yet?" "Yeah, they caught them. Unfortunately they're covering for each other. They're out of school now though. The dean called a little while ago and told me to tell you that. He's worried about you too." "I just wish security hadn't insisted I go to the hospital. I can't afford..." "Don't worry abut it Blair. Your student insurance covered most of it and I paid your deductable." "No Danny, you can't do that..." "Sure I can Kid. It isn't that much. You've been a huge help this semester and I really do appreciate it." He smiled as he watched Blair yawn. "Get some sleep, ok. I'll wake you in a couple more hours." Blair groaned as he pulled the covers over his head. "You are a truly sick man Daniel Jackson." he murmured "You really are enjoying this aren't you." "Go to sleep Blair" Daniel grinned as he pulled the door closed. Daniel looked up at the clock as his students filed past him. Yep, Blair was late. He eyed the stack of test papers in his hands. Since the attack a few weeks ago, Blair was a little withdrawn. Not badly, Daniel noted, but still not the bouncy young man he'd grown used to. Plus Daniel had woken him up out of more than one nightmare. His attackers had been released from police custody and hadn't been heard from since. A few if Daniel's friends had taken to looking after Blair too. One had even given the young man an old mountain bike to ride around since he couldn't afford a car yet. Yes, Daniel thought to himself, BLair was definately a social creature who made friends with almost everyone he met. "Probably found himself a date" Daniel muttered as he opened his office door. He laid the tests down and saw the light on his answering machine flashing. "See" he told himself, "He left a message, you probably just missed catching it. He pulled up a chair and pressed play. "This is Dr. Hesselman at County Hospital. I'm looking for a Daniel Jackson in regards to Blair Sandburg. Mr. Jackson, please call me as soon as you receive this message..." Daniel's hands were shaking as he dialed the number. "Mr. Jackson, thank you for coming so quickly." Daniel stood as the tall white-haired doctor shook his hand. "How's Blair?" The doctor waved Daniel to sit down, then joined him on the sofa in the waiting room. "Right now hes in ICU. Right now his worst problem is a punctured lung from a broken rib. He also has some internal injuries we fixed in OR." "What?" Daniel gasped. "What happened? He was fine this morning when we left the apartment." The doctor rubbed his brow as if his head ached. "From what the police said, his bike was run off the road this afternoon. It was a hit and run." "How's Blair? Will he be ok?" "As I told you, he sustained several broken ribs, one of which broke off at the tip and punctured his lung. He also has a compound fracture of his left arm which we worked on while he was in OR. He also has a fairly severe concussion. He'll be in for awhile. I understand he was injured a few weeks ago too." "Yes, beaten up actually. He received a mild concussion then." Daniel looked up at the doctor hopefully. "Will he be alright?" The doctor smiled gently. "I'd venture to say, yes. The head injury did have me worried, but he was conscious when he came in. He was very concerned that you were alright." "Why? I was teaching a class." "I believe it was because he recognized who hit him and was afraid for your safety." Daniel sighed. "May I see him?" "Absolutely. I think your presence would be very helpful to his recovery. He is still asleep from the surgery right now, so don't be worried about his lack of responsiveness." Daniel sat quietly at Blair's bedside as the monitors glowed above him. "How do you keep getting into these things squirt?" He murmured as he brushed a stray curl off an incredibly pale face. Blair still hadn't woke up and the doctors were starting to worry. According to them, he should have awakened within hours of surgery, but now, more than 12 hours later, there was still no signs of awakening. It was almost a full day later before Daniel's bedside vigil ended. He had almost fallen asleep when he felt a gentle squeeze from the hand encased within his won. "That's it Blair. Come on and open those baby blues for me." "Don't wanna..." came the slurred answer from the bed. "What happened?" "Your bike and a car collided...the car won." Blair winced as he tried to sit up. "I remember...it was those football guys from before." "Yeah, the cops found paint from your bike on Phillip Henshaw's car. They picked up him and Tom Bradley just outside of town." He pushed Blair gently down as he tried to sit up even further. "Sorry Kiddo, you aren't ready for that just yet. You had some pretty serious injuries." "When can I get outta here?" Blair slumped back into the bed. "Not for a couple of days at least. You kinda scared them when you wouldn't wake up. They need to be sure you didn't do some serious damage to that hard head of yours." "Funny Danny, very funny." Blair turned to face his friend. "Thanks for staying Danny." "No problem little brother. Now what would you like to do? There's TV, books or you could help me grade..." Blair just groaned. Blair swung his backpack into the passanger seat of the old Corvair he had bought. Most of his things were packed as he readied himself to move into the dorms. "Thanks Danny, for everything." "It was great having you for a roommate again Blair. I've enjoyed this year alot." "I'll miss you Danny. I mean, I'm glad you get to go on the dig in Egypt and all, but I really will miss you." He gave Daniel a cocky grin and a quick hug, "Who knows, maybe you'll finally figure out who really built those pyramids, huh?" "Sure, and maybe you'll find your sentinel. We can always dream." "That's my Danny, always reaching for the stars." Daniel smiled and ruffled Blair's unruly hair. "Don't forget to meet with Dr. Stoddard. I think you'll really like him. He's more into the South American thing like you." "You do too much for me Danny." "You've done alot for me too Kid. Pulled my nose out of my books and showed me how to have fun. You take care now." "You'll be back in a couple of years Danny. We'll get together then." He flashed a brillant smile at his friend. "Keep reaching for those stars Danny. I know you'll get yourself one someday." End |
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