See part 1 for disclaimer and warning
Part 3
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Somewhere Between

Blair thought it was confusing before, but that was nothing compared to this. Before, he was always in the same room for either reality, or at least one so close to the same that you couldn't really tell the difference, but now he was in two different places. In one reality he would be in one place, like his hospital room, while in the other he would be somewhere like the CAT scan room. Then it would flip flop. He just wished they would put him back and leave him alone.

It didn't take long for Sandburg to notice that no one could understand him, but that was alright for now. Until he could figure out the rest of this, he didn't care if they could understand him or not. Well, except for Jim. He wanted nothing more to talk to his friend and confirm that he was alright. Blair could still feel, see, and smell the blood that had covered him and the loft. The image of Jim's accusing eyes was forever burnt into his memory. 

He could see cops outside his door, but he really didn't know from what reality they came from, because he had yet to see either Jim or Simon interact with them. He only hoped that they weren't from a third, unknown reality, but he figured that was unlikely. Another thing was the handcuff around his wrist. He knew from which reality that came from, but it was still weird. It was like it was there, but, at the same time, it wasn't. The doctors in the reality with Jim tried to get him to lift that arm, but he couldn't lift it past the limit of the handcuffs. Blair had the feeling that this was as confusing as everything else was.

Sandburg had a good laugh though at one point. The doctors in Jim's reality figured that if he could only lift that extremity that much, that maybe the others were affected also. So they lifted one of his legs. Well, the leg went up in both realities and the doctor in the reality with Simon got a foot in the mouth. Then his other leg went up, hitting another doctor under the chin. After that, they restrained him. That got the other reality's attention. Even Jim had tried to lift Blair's arms and legs, but they wouldn't move. Blair was more than enjoying the look of confusion on everyone's faces. Luckily, them moving him side to side, from bed to bed didn't 
show up in the other reality, because if they had, they might decided an exorcist was needed, not a doctor.

However, he was slowly tiring of this and of all the doctors and their tests. Everyone wanted his attention, but Blair had decided not to talk since he couldn't be understood. Instead, he tried to concentrate on what happened in each reality to get him here. He knew that, in one reality, he had killed Jim, even though didn't understand why or even remember doing it. The other reality was a complete blank other then the fact that he had come home and gone into his room. 

Both realities were the exactly the same until the point right after he left the bullpen. In the reality with a dead Jim, he had gone to the 
University and then home. He had then gone promptly to bed, not wanting to deal with anything. He woke up to a dead body. In the reality with a live Jim, he could remember leaving the bullpen and going straight home. He wondered if what had happened next had caused this split for him. Maybe if he could figure out what happened, he could figure out what to do.

Then there was the case that they had been working on in both realities. It had started out with the body of a 15-year-old boy being found, stabbed to death, on a soccer field. Then, two days later, an 8-year-old girl was found, also stabbed, hanging from a swing of her school playground. At that point, the mayor had asked Jim be put on the case. No one wanted anymore dead children found, but in spite of their wish, five more children had been found, every other day. The public outrage had forced the Chief of Police to
beef up security around schools. Both Jim and Blair had found themselves working day and night to catch the killer. It was so bad that Blair had asked for time off at the University so he could work with Jim.

The Sentinel was driven to find this person, but on the second day of the case, he had started to zone. The thing is, he didn't just zone when they were working on the case, which was most of the time, but at home when he was supposed to be resting, not that either of them got a lot of rest. Blair figured he got more sleep during finals week, and Jim always complained that he didn't sleep during finals week. All in all, it had been a stressful two weeks. Then, halfway into the investigation the FBI had taken it over, then 
dropped the case back into Cascade PD's lap; guess they didn't want to look back if it never got solved. Then, to top it off, Seattle called saying they had had a similar killing. Blair thought it couldn't get any worse. He guessed he was wrong.

Nothing really made any sense to Blair. He couldn't understand why this had happened. Could one of these realities be a possibility of the future? Does that mean that somewhere in the future, he might kill Jim or at least be responsible for Jim's death? Was there any way he could avoid that future or was he totally off base? Blair just didn't know. He also had no way of communicating this to anyone else. He could only hope that Jim would figure out what had happened, no matter how slim the chances of that were.

Blair suddenly felt kind of cold and hot at the same time. The two realities were fluctuating and one would become clear and the other almost disappeared. Then it would reverse and one would come clear while the other disappeared. As this was happening he saw Jim rushing to his side in a panic, but then sort of fade out and Simon would be there fighting with the doctors. He could understand some of what they were saying, but not everything. Before he could say anything, both realities faded out and he lost consciousness.

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Reality 1

Simon had just gotten back to Blair's floor when he ran into the doctor that was treating him. The doctor looked more confused then ever. He led Simon to his office where they could talk in private. They needed to decide where to go, in terms of Blair's treatment. The doctor had also told the DA that his patient couldn't be moved and was not, at this point, competent to stand 
trial.

"We had to put him in full restraints," the doctor started out, as he handed Simon a cup of coffee.

"Why?" Simon sipped his coffee and waited for the next shoe to drop.

"He kicked two of the doctors working on him and then we think he laughed, but we aren't sure. As you know, everything he says is beyond comprehension. That would seem to include laughing. At this point, we believe he's had a complete break from reality. We, are however still waiting on the drug test and the last CAT and MRI scans. At this point, we might find out we are wrong, but the chances are, he has lost all touch with reality."

"Is there any way that he'll improve?" Simon didn't know what was worse; Blair in jail on death row or him committed for the rest of his life.

"At this point, it's hard to tell. There might be some improvement, but I wouldn't expect a lot. At some point, he might be able to talk reasonably clear, but there's no telling. He could simply just slip farther away. Our staff psychiatrist and I have already talked to the DA and informed her that he would not be able to stand trial. I truly doubt that he will ever be able to."

"What's going to happen to him now?" Simon set his cup of coffee down and pinned the doctor with one of his normal glares usually reserved for the people under his command.

"We are going to continue to evaluate him here, but after that, it will be up to the state to decide where he goes. I'm not above ruling out that he is a danger to himself and others. Even in this state, he could be capable of hurting and even killing a person."

Simon felt his mouth actually drop open in surprise at the doctor's words. Blair wasn't capable of killing anyone, but all he had to do was remember Jim's body and know it was true. "Thank you doctor. I want to go check on him, if you don't mind."

"We've agreed that a friendly face might do him some good. But don't release the restraints on him no matter what. You might be a friend, but that didn't seem to stop him last time."

All Simon could do was nod his head. The shock of everything was finally hitting him and all Simon wanted to do was go home and pretend this day never happened. The count was in and it was one dead and the other insane. His best team reduced to nothing in the matter of a day. Now he had the unpleasant job of informing the rest of Major Crimes about Blair's diagnosis. All he had to do was pick up the pay phone or go outside and use his cell-phone. Neither sounded too appealing.

He wasn't given any choice when alarms from Blair's room started going off, but somehow Simon had made it all the way there without realizing it. Banks pushed his way passed the doctors and nurses to see what was happening with Blair. He didn't like what he found. Blair, who was still strapped down to the bed, was having some type of seizure. The doctors were giving orders for
medicine to be administered. Simon rushed in, demanding to know what was happening. Why was this happening if all Blair had was a break from reality? The doctors had no answers to give him even as Blair fell limp and unconscious to the bed.

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Reality 2

Jim had been allowed back into Blair's room when they were finished. Dr. Walker told him that they would have to wait for the test results before she could tell him anything. That left Jim feeling really nervous. He suspected that they knew more, but didn't want to tell him. He had already found out that demanding answers didn't get him anywhere. Then on top of that, Jim still had guilt over what had happened. If he had only fixed the shelves in Blair's room, none of this would have happened. But no, he had to put it off. Not that this line of thinking helped. Both Simon and Dr. Walker said that this was nothing, but a stupid accident and blaming himself 
wouldn't help Blair.

"You know what Chief? If you wake up alright, I'll do the paper work for a month. You can also pick where we eat for lunch for that month. And let's see, you can... just wake up from this. I don't like the quiet. I'm used to you carrying on a conversation for the both of us, but now I have to do that and you know how much I hate being put on the spot." Jim waited for Blair to respond, but the young Guide hadn't tried to say a thing since those first few words. However, he was staring at Jim intently.

"I wish I knew if you were hearing me or not. The doc says you can, but if you are hearing me, does that mean you can't understand me? I'm not sure what's worse. I can see the spark in your eyes, so I know you're in there somewhere thinking about something. I was afraid that when you did wake up, the spark would be gone. I never imagined something like this." Jim reached a hand out and grabbed Blair's. The doctors weren't sure why Blair couldn't move his limbs, or for that matter, why they couldn't move them either, but Jim had the feeling that Blair knew.

"Every time I look at you, I see something working behind those eyes. It's like you're trying to work out some puzzle, but you keep getting frustrated. At the same time, it feels like you're trying to communicate with me. What do you need to tell me, buddy, because I would sure like to hear your voice right now." Jim stopped talking when there was a knock on the door. He gave Blair's hand a tight squeeze before letting go. Jim opened the door to Blair 's hospital room, but before walking out, Ellison turned and looked 
at his Guide.

Blair was looking out the window, seemingly oblivious to everything going on around him. However, a small movement caught Jim's eye and he realized that even though Blair couldn't move his arms and legs, his fingers were twitching. He could only hope that it was a good sign.

Ellison walked out and nearly collided with Rafe. The younger detective was standing there, looking down at the floor with a brown paper bag in his grip. Jim could smell a Wonderburger and French-fries inside the bag. At the same time, his stomach let anyone in ear-shot know that it was hungry.

"Simon thought you could use this," Rafe smiled. "I know that Blair would hate me bringing you a Wonderburger, but it was the only place open this time of morning that was fast." Rafe held out the bag to Jim. "Is Blair going to be all right?"

Jim grabbed the bag and peeked inside before answering Rafe. "The doctors don't know anything and won't until the tests come back. Even then, I think there won't be much news. Dr. Walker will be back later this morning and will talk to me then. Now I'm stuck waiting." Jim reached in and grabbed a few fries and started munching on them. One of the nurses on the floor chose that moment to walk by. She was snickering all the way down the hall, commenting on the detective who ate like a kid. Jim wasn't sure what she meant by that. So he had a few fries hanging out of his mouth. He was hungry, tried, and worried, so he figured he deserved some slack. "How did Seattle go?"

"It was a waste of time. Yes, a child was found stabbed to death on a school playground," Rafe said when he saw the confused look on Jim's face. "There were no similarities after that. The first thing we noticed is that the child had been murdered on the playground. There was blood spread from where he was initially attacked to where the kid died. From what I read about our 
attacks, the children's bodies were only dumped on the playground after they were killed. Anyhow, half an hour later, they had the killer. The boy's younger sister had gotten mad at him and decided to teach him a lesson. She didn't know it would kill him, because, and I quote `the cartoon characters on TV are always fine.' The poor girl just shut down when she realized what
happened. Anyway, we stayed around for a bit and then headed back here. Simon was still at the station when we got back this morning and told us what happened." Rafe remembered the look on Simon's face when he told them about the accident. Both detectives knew that it had to be bad.

"It was one of those damn shelves that I was supposed to fix. God, I don't even what to guess how much it weighed. The only good news was that there isn't any skull fracture." Jim took a seat in the waiting room. Somehow, without noticing, he had led Rafe there. He then pulled out the Wonderburger and took a bite.

"Is there anything we can do? I mean, if there's anything you need, all you need to do is call me or Henri."

"Thanks Brian, but at the moment, there isn't a lot anyone, including me, can do. We've just got to..." Jim trailed off as his head shot up and he looked towards Sandburg's room. Moments later he shot out of his seat, dropping the burger, and ran to Blair's room.

Rafe was close behind him, wondering what was going on. Right before they got to Blair's room, an alarm sounded at the nurse's station and Rafe was shoved out of the way by a nurse as he tried to enter the room. The young detective didn't let them slow him down, however, and he entered right after the nurse. He was stunned by what he saw. Blair was lying in the bed, convulsing.

"Chief, can you hear me?" Jim was yelling. He watched as Blair focused on him, then faded out only to focus on him again, a few seconds later. Jim felt himself pushed out of the way by a nurse. "What's going on?" he demanded. The nurse didn't seem to be paying him any attention however. "I asked you what's happening?" This time Jim reached out and grabbed her.

"Detective, I suggest you leave," someone said from the doorway. One of the doctors that had been consulting on Blair's case was standing there. "I said, leave Detective." He grabbed Jim by the arm and pushed him towards the door before turning his attention to Blair.

Jim wasn't about to leave, but he did stand back out of their way. He watched as the doctor called out orders and administered medication. The most frightening moment was when Blair just collapsed on the bed unconscious. For a second Jim was afraid that his Guide was dead, but the reassuring sound of Blair's heartbeat reached him before he could start panicking anymore. "What happened?" Jim demanded an answer but when he looked in the doctors' eyes, he realized that they didn't know either.

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