by LD Steen (Chilipepperz)
Jim hefted the box up to the table, wincing slightly
at his partner's wet cough.
"Maybe you should go into the bedroom while I unpack
the rest of this stuff."
Blair shook his head.
"I told you there's no need for this Jim. I can get it
later. Maybe I'll just put most of it into storage,
then it won't be cluttering up your place."
A pang of fear tugged at Jim's heart. It had taken
alot of fast talking to get Blair to return to the
loft after they had gotten back from Sierra Verde? Now
it seemed that his roommate was in no mood to make the
move back into a permanent one.
"Our place Chief." Jim murmured softly as he pulled a
small hand carved box out. He turned it over in his
hands, certain he hadn't ever noticed it before. He
started to lay it on the table when it slipped from
his hands. It fell to the table with a loud clatter,
spilling out the contents. Jim hurriedly stuffed
things back into the box, barely noticing the odd
array of items until his hands brushed across
something soft and fuzzy. He picked it up gingerly,
holding it by a purple...tail?
"Sandburg, why do you own a furry purple mouse?'
Blair's brows arched up and the first real smile Jim
had seen in a week crossed his face. He took the toy
from Jim's hands almost reverently.
"Hey, I didn't know I had this."
"It's a purple mouse."
"I...I thought it was destroyed when the warehouse
blew up a few years ago. It must have been in one of
the boxes I never unpacked when I moved here." He ran
a finger lovingly over the soft fur covered toy. Jim
could see the sadness in his friend's eyes.
"Where did it come from Chief?"
Blair smiled again, but it didn't quite reach his
eyes.
"It was Coon's favorite toy."
"Coon?"
"Yeah, he...he was the only real pet I've ever had. I
found him under my car one day.I had just gotten in
and was going to drive away when I heard something. At
first I thought my engine was acting up, but I found
him when I looked under the car."
"Let me guess, Coon was a raccoon?"
Blair laughed and Jim smiled as the sound filled the
loft.
'No, not quite. Coon was a kitten. A little Siamese
mix, but not with normal markings. He had a gorgeous
face with these huge black circles around his eyes. I
thought he looked like a little racoon so...well,
that's where his name came from."
He rummaged around in the box and handed a picture to
Jim. Jim grinned at the little face staring back at
him with the same big blue eyes as his friend. Sure
enough, the little creature looked a bit like his
namesake.
"He's adorable Chief."
"And smart too. " Blair grinned. Jim's expression
lifted as his friend showed the first real emotion he
had in a long while.
"Smart? How?"
"Well, it started off with him opening and closing
doors, especially the one on my little fridge. Then a
few days after I got him, I discovered his love of
playing fetch."
"A cat that played fetch?"
"Oh yeah, for hours on end if I'd let him. That was
before I moved into the warehouse and I was still
living in my office."
"You lived in your office?"
"I didn't have much money and there was a sofa there.
It was good enough." Blair murmured softly. "Anyhow,
Coon just kinda moved in with me. He'd go with me to
classes, usually hiding in my backpack. After a few
days, my students started noticing his little head
peeking out of the pack. Then one day he just came out
and joined the rest of us."
"I'm sure that went over well with the
administration."
"They didn't find out for quite awhile. Coon just
became my office cat, then the class cat. It was
funny, I had several students who were allergic to
cats, but Coon never bothered them. I think it was
because of the showered."
Jim was confused. "Showers?"
"Yeah, every morning I'd shower in the gym. For the
first few days Coon watched from my pack, then one day
he tested the water and decided he liked it. He seemed
to love the water. It just fascinated him." he
chuckled softly "He even had to wash all of his toys
before he'd play with them."
"So your cat was a little oddball."
"Oh yes, my students always said he couldn't decide
whether to come back in this life as a cat, a raccoon
or a dog so he just rolled them all into one little
bundle. the students loved him. He was spoiled rotten.
They'd bring him all kinds of stuff. toys, snacks, one
girl even brought him a cat bed, but he always
preferred to sleep on the couch with me."
"Sounds like he was well loved."
"he was my best friend. I swear, class attendance went
to nearly a hundred percent after he joined us. I
worried that he would be a distraction, but he had his
own schedule. He never left my chair until class was
over, then he'd want his attention time." Blair held
the little mouse. "He'd go up to a few students after
class and tap their leg. When he did that it was a
signal that it was playtime. He'd have his mouse and
they were expected to throw it. It was a game that
would last for and hour or more. You know, most of the
students would stay after, hoping he would pick them
for a turn and he always did. It gave a great time for
questions and answer sessions. Grades went through the
roof."
"so what happened to this little wonder?"
"I moved into the warehouse." the smile left Blair's
face. 'the first night I was playing with him like
usual. I threw his mouse and he went after it. I heard
an awful noise and went to see what had happened. I
found him cornered by two huge rats. I got rid of
them, but Coon was terrified. I took him back to the
school, then one of my students found out what had
happened. She talked to her Grandmother who ran a cat
rescue center. Mrs. Wilson was wonderful with him. She
got him through the trauma. There were so many other
cats for him to play with and he was content."
"Did you ever visit him?"
"No, I just...left him. It would have been too hard to
go back." Blair yawned and stood up. "I think I'll go
ahead to bed now. I'm really tired."
Jim watched his roommate drop the little mouse to the
table and walk into his bedroom. the detective picked
up the toy and stroked the soft fur. the little trip
down memory lane had been the first real conversation
Blair had had with him since their return. He missed
the chatter, the discussions. He missed Blair.
****************************************************************************************************************
Blair tossed restlessly in his bed. He was still
plagued by dreams of Alex Barnes and the fountain. He
awoke drenched in sweat with a warm weight on his
chest. He panicked for a moment. His eyes snapped open
and his gaze was met unblinkingly by another pair of
blue eyes. A soft furry paw tapped his face gently.
"Wh...what?" He blinked a few times, but the familiar
little face didn't go away."
"Coon?" he gasped in disbelief."But...how?"
"It took me awhile to track him down Chief." Jim
answered from the doorway. "did you have any idea how
many Wilson's there are in Cascade? 47. It took 30
calls before I found Ms. Leona Wilson."
"You...You found him for me? Why? I thought you didn't
want any pets." Coon's rough tongue swiped away the
tears that fell down Blair's face. A loud rumbling
purr tickled his cheek.
"I never said no pets, just no more apes. Larry was a
bit much."
Blair hugged Coon tightly. Jim felt his own tears
threaten.
"Blair, I know you haven't felt like this was your
home since... since Alex. I want you to know this is
your home too. If Coon helps you with that then
consider it his home too. I want you to stay."
Blair swallowed convulsively. It was rare for Jim to
show his emotions so openly.
"Are you sure Jim? I don't think I can take another
Alex Barnes."
"I'm sure Chief. I've never been so sure of anything
before."
Blair nodded slowly as Coon ran from the room.
"Chief, I'm not good at this talking stuff. I'm sorry
for everything that happened, more sorry than you'll
ever know. I didn't want to listen when you tried to
tell me about the new Sentinel you had found. It cost
you your life. I never want to lose you like that
again. Could you please give me another chance?"
Blair shivered with the memory of the last few weeks.
"I'll stay Jim, until you tell me to go again."
"Then you'll be here a very long time."
Coon ran back into the room with his furry purple
mouse. He dropped the toy at Jim's feet. Both men
chuckled.
"I take it this means he likes it here?"
Jim picked up the toy and tossed it into the living
room. Coon took off after it. He returned a few
seconds later and dropped the toy into Blair's hand.
"This could go on for hours you know." Blair offered
as the threw the toy and watched his cat race after it.
"Good" Jim smiled. "It'll give us time to talk."
The End
