"Where are my clothes?  Oh, man, I have gotta get to work.  I'm late and I'm  gonna get fired.  I need this job.  Wake up, man, you gotta find my clothes."   Blair shook the big guy's shoulder.  *Jim's shoulder.*  "Come on, man, help  find my clothes.  I can't wear this to work."

Jim opened his eyes to see the kid  *Blair, his name is Blair* standing over  him.  It took him a few seconds to absorb what the kid was saying.  Pulling  the afghan from his shoulders, he sat up and stretched.

"Hold it, Chief.  Give me a second here.  What are you talking about?"

"Work, man.  You know a job, money, that stuff that let's me eat and pay rent  and all that good stuff.  I've gotta get to work and to get to work I've  gotta have my clothes.  Come on, man, get with the program."  Blair's sarcasm  came through pretty clear.

"You better can that attitude pretty quick, Chief.  You don't want to mess  with me before I've had my coffee."  Jim stood up and stretched again.  That chair was just as uncomfortable to sleep in as he thought it would be.  Seeing the look on the kid's face, he decided maybe a softer approach would work better.

"Where do you work?  Why don't you call them and let them know you won't be in today.  With that blow to your head yesterday, you don't need to work today, anyway."

"What?!!  My head is fine.  Look, I need the money, man.  My rent's due in a couple of weeks and the cupboard is bare.  And there's this book I need and it costs a small fortune.  I can't afford to miss a day."

"Well, whether you can afford to or not, you are missing a day.  We've got to get your stuff moved in and that's probably going to take a while.  Just call them now and tell them you won't be in today."

"What the fuck are you talking about?  Moving in?  What's that about.  I'm not moving in here!  Look man, I appreciate your taking care of me last night.  I was pretty out of it, but that doesn't mean you can take over.  I've got a life, ya know?  I've got shit to do!"

"What you have to do, Chief, is watch your language.  Maybe you don't remember me telling you last night, but I don't like to hear that kind of talk coming from a kid.  So just watch it.  As far as you moving in, that's a done deal.  By order of the court.  I was appointed your temporary guardian.  Do you remember anything about what happened in court?  What you said?  What
the judge said?"

Having a sudden very clear recollection, Blair slumped down on the sofa and leaning forward holding his head in his hands, he moaned.  "Did I say that you were my father?  Did I really say that?  Tell me, that's not what I said.  Tell me I dreamed that."

Before Jim could answer, Blair jumped up.  "Look man, I was really out of it last night.  I mean, you're not my father.  You couldn't be.  Naomi said even she wasn't sure, and no offense man, but you are NOT somebody Naomi would
have hooked up with, even during her wild days."

"None taken.  Mind telling me who Naomi is?"

"My mom.  And let me tell you, there is no way you are my father!"

"You call your mom by her first name.  Well, that explains a lot.  And since I'm only 30 and according to what you said last night, you're 15, I would have to say you're correct.  I'm not your father.  But I was appointed by ole hang ‘em high... uh, Judge Harrigan, to be your temporary guardian until I can track down your family.  You have some pretty strong charges to answer to, Chief, and you're going to need not just a lawyer, but someone in your family to help you.  But before we get into all that, why don't you call your boss and tell him you won't be in to work today.  I'm going to take a shower. Make a fresh pot of coffee after you make your call."

"But... but... hey, we're not done here!"  Jim walked off, leaving the kid sputtering behind him.

And watching from upstairs, Jack Pendergrast grinned and mentally rubbed his hands together.  *This is coming together just fine.  I can't wait to tell J.P. I was right.  They are going to be so good for each other.*

Jack gave it a couple of minutes for the kid to make his call in private and came downstairs just in time to see Blair angrily hang up.  "Great, just fucking great.  I hope he's satisfied.  Now I don't have a job at all."

"Problem, kid?"

"Yeah, Mr. macho know it all pi... cop just fucked up my whole life.  He told me I couldn't work today and made me call my boss to tell him, which I just did, and now I don't have a job at all.  I just got fired.  The boss said if he couldn't rely on me, he'd have to get someone he could rely on.  Just fucking great.  I mean it was a shit job, but it paid the rent, ya know?  And
what's all this shit about me moving in.  I mean, couldn't he just TELL the judge I was living here.  Who's going to know?  It's not like the judge is going to be watching."

Jack started making the coffee.  *Closer than you and Jim realize, kid.*  "Tough break, kid.  But maybe you should try and cut Jim some slack.  He's caught up in this, too, you know.  He didn't ask to be your guardian.  He was ordered to.  He's just trying to do the job right.  You should try to remember he's new at this, too."

"Well maybe, but he sure does give a lot of orders.  Watch your language... what kind of shit is that?  What century does he think he's in anyway?  Make the coffee.  He didn't even ask.  Just gives orders."

"That might have something to do with his time in the Army.  He was in charge of a lot of young men then and taking and giving orders was the way things were.  Now he's a cop and giving orders just kind of follows along with the job.  As far as your language goes, Jim doesn't swear all that much and I know it kind of bugs him to hear it from other people, especially kids.  You might want to tone it down some, for your own good.  You may not have noticed, but Jim doesn't have a whole lot of patience."

"Boy, have I noticed!  What is it with him, anyway.  I mean he doesn't have what you'd call a warm and fuzzy personality."

Jack roared with laughter.  *God, this kid's got Jim nailed already.*  "No, warm and fuzzy will never be used to describe Jim Ellison."  Then he got serious.  "But what he does have is a very strong sense of honor.  Jim believes that as a cop he can make a difference.  He will go to the wall to protect the innocent, the victims."  Jack took a deep breath.  "You can
always count on him, kid, no matter what.  Keep that in mind."  Another deep breath.  "Now are you hungry?  Ready for breakfast?"

Blair nodded.  Jack had given him a lot to think about.

After a nearly silent breakfast, as the two men were cleaning up and Blair was changing, Jack brought up the sleeping arrangements.

"Jim, he might be here for 60 days.  You can't make him sleep on the sofa the whole time, especially when you've got the spare room down here.  While you take him to get his stuff, I'll get the room arranged for him.  You don't have an extra bed, but I've got something in mind that might work.  And no, it won't cost too much."  Jack chuckled.  Jim was notorious for being
somewhat tightfisted.

Jim didn't much relish the thought of getting a room fixed up for the kid, but Jack was right.  He couldn't make the kid sleep on the sofa for the whole time he was here.  Jim had spent a night or two sleeping on it before he and Carolyn had split and he knew how uncomfortable it could be.

"Okay," he said reluctantly.  "But don't spend too much on whatever you've got in mind.  Remember this is only temporary.  I've got plans for that room after the kid's gone."

"Great.  Where do you want me to put the stuff that's stored in there?"

"In the basement.  There's nothing in there that's important, so it doesn't matter... Actually, you can just throw most of it all out.  Except for the one box of pictures.  Put that in my storage area in the basement."

Jim figured since Jack was offering, he better make the most of it.  He'd been meaning to get that stuff thrown out before and just hadn't gotten around to it.  He might as well take advantage of Jack's help.  After all the guy owed him one for his helpful suggestion to the judge last night.  Come to think of it Jack was going to owe him BIG for a long time.  How exactly had Jack had an opportunity to talk to ole hang ‘em high, anyway?  Before he could ask, the kid came in and they got ready to leave.

Jim thought Blair had made a mistake when he gave him the address of where he lived, and he was sure of it when he drove into the vacant lot in front of the warehouse.  "You have got to be kidding.  THIS is where you've been living?"

"Don't start, man.  This is all I could afford."

"Why weren't you staying in one of the dorms?  At your age, I would have thought that's where you'd... where they'd insist you live."

"I was at first, but it was so expensive and I couldn't afford it, and it was so noisy, and I couldn't study, and there were these jocks who thought it was a big joke, me going to school there, and a lot of other things, so I told them Naomi was here and I'd be living with her.  It worked.  They never checked it out.  Do you know how much apartments go for here?  At least this
place is cheap and up until today I had a second job that paid the rent here, so it worked out."  Blair was still pretty pissed and continued to blame Jim for losing his job.  "I've got a work study job at school that's great, but it doesn't bring in enough to cover all my expenses and the second job paid the rent and bought extras, like books and stuff and now I don't even have
that."

Jim's jaw tightened as he listened to the kid going on and on and on, getting himself in deeper with every word.  *This kid has been on his own for way too long and that needs to be changed, starting now.*  "Come on, Chief, let's get your things and get out of here."  With that he got out of the truck, leaving Blair to follow.

Once Jim got a good look at the inside, where the kid had actually been living, if you could call it that, his mood turned even darker.  "You actually thought I'd let you stay here?  Were you afraid you'd miss the rats?  Or maybe the moldy mattress is good for your health, is that it?  How did you even stay warm here?"  Jim was getting seriously angry.  "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN THINKING?  DOES YOUR MOTHER EVEN KNOW ABOUT THIS PLACE?"

Blair looked around and saw his home, for the first time, through someone else's eyes.  *It was pretty bad.*  He watched the older man cautiously.  "Um, no, she thinks I still live in the dorm.  I kept a mail box there so she could still contact me.  I check it once a week.  I don't think she'd really be bothered though.  I mean, it's cheaper and money is kind of tight....  Hey
man, at least it's mine."  Seeing the look on Jim's face, Blair decided now would probably be a good time to shut up.  *I wonder how he can clench his jaw so tight and not break a tooth.*

"Get your things gathered up."  Seeing Blair hesitate, "NOW!"  Blair jumped and started getting his meager possessions together quickly and quietly.

Aside from his few clothes and numerous books, the only thing Blair was really concerned about was his laptop computer.  He smiled as he remembered how Naomi had somehow scraped together the money for it when they learned he
was accepted at Rainier.  It was her way of showing him how proud she was of him and how she would support his decision.  He knew she hadn't really wanted him to go away to college, how hard it had been for her to let go, but she
had pulled through like a trouper.  Even going so far as to obtain a phony birth certificate for him so he could attend a year earlier.  It had bumped his birth date back 6 months, which was why he had been so confused when the judge asked him how old he was.  He couldn't remember his phony birth date that said he was 16 rather than 15.  Oh well, he was almost 16 for real
anyway.  After that, he could legally stay at Rainier with no problem.

Jim watched the kid disconnect the fancy laptop computer and gently put it in his backpack and quietly said, "That looks like it's pretty special, Chief.  Why don't we put the pack on top of this box so we can make sure it'll be okay?"  *God, I hope the thing isn't stolen.*

"Sure.  I don't want to take any chances with this baby.  It's got most of my life on it."  Blair wanted to get Jim in a better mood, so he was eager to agree.  *He probably thinks it's stolen or something.  God, don't let him yell anymore, my head's starting to hurt again.*

It didn't take the two very long to gather up what was worth keeping and getting out of there.  Jim took one last look at this pit and vowed that he would never allow the kid to get into something like this again.  Blair took one last look and thought *oh well, it was nice while it lasted.*  The truck pulled out of the lot.

Blair hesitantly asked Jim to stop by the university on the way back to the loft.  "I need to check my box at the dorm.  I haven't had time for the past couple of weeks and I might have something from Naomi.  Do you mind?"

"Not at all.  We need to track her down pretty quickly.  I meant what I said earlier, Chief, you've got some pretty serious charges against you and you're going to need all the help you can get.  By the way, do you have a car or something.  How have you been getting back and forth to the campus?"

"No man, I don't have a car or anything.  What I have is a bus pass.  It's been kind of a hassle though.  The bus only runs till 1:00 and it stops about a half mile from the warehouse.  If I had to work late or forgot the time or something, I'd have to walk it in the dark.  It was really a pain, specially when it's raining.  Not to mention what a crimp it put in my love life, ya
know?"

Jim snorted.  *Love life.  The kid should be so lucky.*  "You actually walked in that neighborhood at 1:00 in the morning?"  Before he could get too worked up over the idea, Blair interrupted.

"Uh, about these charges, how much trouble am I in really?"  Jim shot him a quick glance.  The kid did look scared.

"Pretty serious, Chief.  Unless, of course, Rennick decides not to press charges.  Though, the inciting a riot charge might be kind of hard to avoid.  But with your age, being a minor and all, you might get a reduced sentence.  I don't know.  We'll have to talk to a lawyer about it."

"Great! How do I afford that?  They cost like $1,000 to shake their hand, don't they?  Where am I going to get the money?"  Blair was starting to realize that he didn't have a lot of options.  His life was going straight downhill fast.  Before a full blown panic attack could set in, Jim pulled into a parking slot in front of the dorm.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  Let's just go in and check your mail, okay?"

"Uh, Jim, would you mind waiting out here?  I mean most of those jerks already think I'm a kid and don't take me seriously, ya know?  I don't need a babysitter or bodyguard or something with me to prove it to them.  Just wait out here, okay?  I'll be right back, I promise."  Blair tried to look as sincere as he could.  He did not want to be totally embarrassed by this guy.

"You are a kid.  Okay, just make it fast.  I'm starting to get hungry."

Blair hopped out of the truck before Jim could change his mind and entered the building.  *God, I hope Naomi has written to let me know where she is.*  He walked over to the bank of mail boxes, put in his combination and opened the door.  He eagerly looked through his mail, but there was nothing from Naomi.  However, there was an ominous looking letter with an official Rainier return address and no post mark.  It had obviously not been mailed, but put in his box.  Before he could tear it open, he heard a voice that he had often heard in his nightmares.

"Hey, look guys, it's little Blair baby, come to pay us a visit.  He just can't stay away, can he?"

Blair looked up to see Brad Johanson looming over him.  Johanson was 6'1", weighed in at 200 pounds and was the star wrestler at Rainier.  He had made Blair's life difficult from the first day of classes, when Blair had corrected him in front of the whole Anthropology 101 class.  Brad couldn't stand the fact that Blair was not only brighter than he was, but also more
popular with the instructors, as well as most of the female students.  It didn't matter that since they were so much older than Blair, they mostly wanted to "mother" him.  Johanson had gone out of his way to make sure Blair's life was not only difficult, but downright painful, if he could get away with it.  He became even worse, when his girlfriend made the comment that she thought Blair was "cute."

From that point on it was Brad's mission in life to get Blair any way he could.  Be it physical or emotional.  He took to calling him "Blair baby" as loudly and in front of as many people as he could.  While Blair was still living at the dorm, he had had papers mysteriously disappear, messages that were not delivered, and once when he was coming in late from the library, he
had been pushed down the stairs in the dark.  That was when Blair decided maybe Brad wasn't quite all there and it would be a wise idea to get out while the getting was good.  He tried to make a point to check his mail when he knew Brad was not around, but today, of course, he had had no choice.

Before Blair realized what was happening, Brad grabbed his mail from his hands flipping it on the floor as he said,  "What do we have here?  Any letters from Mommy?  Maybe she's coming for a visit?  Wonder what she'll say when she finds out what you've been up to, huh?  I heard all about your little ‘peaceful' demonstration.  Word is, you're out ‘Blair baby.'  You're
going to be kicked out on your ass and none too soon as far as I can see.  This school doesn't need someone like you smelling up the place."  Brad was not only large, he was none too bright and not very original, for that matter.  With that Brad gave Blair a shove that drove him into the bank of mailboxes.  His head hit hard enough for him to see stars.

*Perfect.  Just what I need, a knot on this side to match the other one.*  Brad grabbed the front of Blair's shirt and pulled him up onto his toes.  "We don't need your kind here, Sandburg.  If I see your face here again, I'll make sure it isn't so ‘cute' anymore.  Get the message?"  Brad watched a lot of old gangster films and it showed.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!"  Jim practically roared when he saw this behemoth's hands on Blair.  *This guy makes three of the kid.*

As for Blair, he had never been happier to hear Jim yelling.  At least this time it wasn't at him.  When Brad heard Ellison's yell, he immediately let go of Blair and backed off.  Like most bullies, he backed down when faced with someone larger, and angrier.  "Hey no problem.  The kid and I were just talking, okay?"

"If I ever hear of you putting your hands on this kid again you will find yourself locked up with as many large bikers as I can find, you got that?"  Ellison got right into Brad's face and spoke so softly, so chillingly, that Brad almost pissed his pants right then and there.  "I think they'd get a real charge out of your company.  Do YOU get the message?"

Brad got it.  He turned and ran as fast as a man his size could run out of the lobby, and the crowd that had gathered eased away as quietly and as quickly as possible.

Before Blair could say anything, Jim was looking at his head.  "Are you okay?  How many fingers?"

"Twelve.  Just kidding.  I'm fine."  Bending down to pick up his mail, "let's just get out of here, okay?"

Blair was stunned.  He had never in his whole life had someone come to his rescue before.  He either talked his way out of trouble or he got the shit kicked out of him.  Any way it went, he had always been on his own.  He remembered Jack telling him he would always be able to count on Jim.  Maybe Jack was right.  Yeah, maybe.

Once they were back in the truck Blair examined his mail closely.  He had the requisite junk mail, to be trashed later, since even if he wanted anything they were advertising, he couldn't afford it, the ominous envelope from Rainier and a message from Professor Stoddard, his advisor, his mentor and his boss in the work study program.  He had really lucked out there.  Getting
to work for someone in your major field of study was pretty unusual for a freshman.  Of course, Blair didn't know that Stoddard had requested that Blair be assigned to him, after he had met this bright young anthropologist to be.  The message from Stoddard asked Blair to meet him in his office by 2:00.  "What time is it?"  Blair didn't have a watch.

Jim glanced at his watch.  "A little after 1:00, why?"

"I need to make one more stop.  My boss, uh Professor Stoddard, he's my advisor, too, wants me to meet him at his office before 2:00.  Is that okay with you?"

"I guess I can wait a little longer to eat.  Where to?"

After Blair gave Jim directions to Hargrove Hall, he took a deep breath and opened the envelope with the Rainier return address.  Enclosed was a curt letter notifying him of a hearing at 8:00 on Monday morning.  The hearing was
to determine whether he would be allowed to remain a student at Rainier.  His attendance was mandatory.  If he failed to appear to answer the charges he would be immediately expelled.  Blair turned even paler than he already was
after his second bump on the head in less than 24 hours, folded the envelope and put it in his pack.

"What's that?  Is it from your mom?"  Jim had heard the small hitch in his breath as Blair read the letter, and wondered if he had received bad news.

"Uh, no.  I didn't have anything from Naomi.  It's nothing.  I'll deal with it.  You can park right here.  I shouldn't be too long."

"No, Chief, I think I'll come with you this time."  Jim's tone said he would brook no argument.

"Sure man, whatever."  Blair led the way into Hargrove Hall wondering if Professor Stoddard was going to kick him out of the anthropology program before he was formally kicked out of school.  *Hell, that would really make this day perfect.*

Blair knocked on the professor's office door, waited a moment and walked in.  Jim following closely behind.

"Blair, my boy, come in."  Professor Eli Stoddard was a tall, extremely thin, slightly stoop shouldered man in his early 60s.  His physic belied his energy when he was out in the field, or in the classroom for that matter.  His hair was gray and thinning and the eyes behind the wire-framed glasses were a vivid gray.  While Stoddard might look like everyone's idea of the perfect
absent-minded professor, behind that facade lurked a quick and slightly quirky mind.  Not much got past the professor, either in the classroom or in life.  He knew that after receiving his summons, Blair was probably expecting the worst, and he had absolutely no intention of giving it to him.  Blair was his favorite student and probably, if the truth were known, the best student
he had ever had.  He had no intention of letting the boy down.  He spotted the large man standing immediately behind Blair, almost protectively.  *Um, this requires investigation.*

"And who's this, my boy?  Introduce us, won't you?"

Before Blair could answer Jim stepped forward.  "I'm Jim Ellison."

"And are you a friend of our Mr. Sandburg?"

Blair started to look panicky.  He didn't want his favorite teacher to find out about his problems with the law, so Blair did what he did best.  He obfuscated.  Before Jim could answer, he leaped into the conversation.  "Uh, Professor, Jim's a friend of Naomi's.  He just found out I'm in town and..."  Blair saw Jim's jaw tighten.  He was afraid the big guy wasn't going to back
him up on this and sure enough, he was right.

"I'm afraid Blair's stretching the truth somewhat."  *If not outright lying.  I hope this isn't a habit with him.*  "Blair got into a little trouble yesterday and I guess I should have been a little more clear about the situation; I'm Detective Ellison.  I was appointed to look after Blair until his mother can be located."  *Hell, the kid must be rubbing off on me.  A LITTLE trouble?*

"Good, good.  I was hoping he would have someone else with him at the hearing on Monday.  Of course, I'll be there, but he needs as many people on his side as possible.  I've spoken with some of your other instructors and Blair, I'm sorry, most of them don't want to get involved.  They don't want to rock any boats that might tip them into deep water.  Of course, I've always enjoyed swimming."  Professor Stoddard grinned at them both.

"Excuse me, professor, what hearing?  Blair hasn't got a hearing date yet.  Judge Harrigan has given me 60 days to locate his family before he goes back to court."

"I'm sorry, I seem to be a little confused.  Blair haven't you received the notification of the hearing on Monday?  I assumed since you had obviously received my note that you had received the notice from the panel."  Stoddard turned to Jim.  "This is the hearing to determine whether Blair can remain a student here."

"Yes, sir.  I got it today."  Blair answered softly.

The dark look Jim threw at Blair told him they would discuss this later, at length.  Stoddard caught the look and immediately decided he needed some time alone with the big detective.

"Blair, since you're here, would you mind running down to the storage room?  I need the small Egyptian burial urn for my lecture on Monday.  My arthritis has been acting up today and..."

"Sure, Professor.  Be glad to."  Blair was more than eager to leave the office and the conversation that was making him so uncomfortable.  *The big guy looks like he wants to smack me.*  Blair remembered the smack on the ass
Jim had given him the night before and certainly didn't relish the idea of a repeat performance.  Especially not in front of his mentor.

After Blair left, Stoddard turned to Jim.  "How well do you know young Mr. Sandburg?"

"Not well at all.  I was the one who arrested him at the demonstration yesterday.  It was a fluke, actually a very weird order from the judge that put me in charge of the kid.  I really know very little about him."

"Why don't you let me fill you in a little, then.  Although Blair is, as I'm sure you already know by now, only sixteen, his SATs were among the highest ever recorded by an incoming student here at Rainier.  He is an anthropology major and my best and brightest student.  He confided in me that he has been fascinated with anthropology for years; that he was given a book on the
watchmen of South America as a boy and has dreamed of finding a modern day version to study.  Not a very realistic goal, I'm afraid, but that doesn't change the fact that, I believe, he is destined to do very great things in the field.  He has consistently maintained a 4.0 average, and that's with holding down two jobs.  Even at his young age, he has been an excellent tutor
for some of the students who needed extra assistance.  I believe, once he has some field work experience, he will be one of the best teachers to come along in many, many years.  That's the academic portion of his life."  Stoddard took a breath.

"From what little information I've been able to gather on his childhood, well, I'm afraid it was somewhat unorthodox.  You've probably heard him speak of his mother?"

Jim nodded.  The professor was an absolute gold mine of helpful information.

"Well, she's a former ‘flower child' from the 60s and raised the boy alone.  She apparently never lost the ‘peace and love' concept and has only increased her repertoire with every new age belief that's come along, and passed it all onto her son.  I'm under the impression that a great deal of his youth was spent traveling from place to place.  As a matter of fact, he commented to me just recently that when he finishes the semester here,  it will be the longest time he has ever spent in the same place.  While those of us with the more ‘traditional' upbringing might find that a little sad; after spending a great deal of time with Blair, I've come to the conclusion that all of this has had a very positive impact on the delightful individual that he is.  He has, not just a willingness, but a boundless enthusiasm to learn about anything and everything, that is enviable.  He also has the kindest heart of anyone I have every known, and a generosity of spirit that I have not seen in modern society in a very long time.  However, he's also genuinely surprised when people like him.  It's a very interesting dichotomy."  Stoddard's voice trailed off seeing the look on Jim's face.

"I suppose I get carried away, but I hope that you will take all of this into account when you are dealing with his less admirable qualities.  I've told you of some of his better characteristics, but I'm afraid Blair has, as do all people, a somewhat darker side.  He can be extremely stubborn, which has caused him a few problems, from time to time.  And, of course, you will have
noticed he has a rather colorful vocabulary."  Stoddard chuckled.  He had heard more colorful expressions from young Mr. Sandburg than he had heard in any of his numerous travels around the world.

Once again, Jim could only nod.  "Believe me, that's something I've noticed and I'm already starting to work on correcting the problem.  Professor Stoddard, do you have any idea how to contact Blair's mother?  It's very important that she be here before his case goes before the judge."

"I believe Blair said she was in India, or was it Kathmandu?  I'm really not sure.  It's been some time since he's heard from her, I'm afraid."

Jim heard Blair coming down the hall.  "Professor, you've been very helpful.  I'll keep in mind all you've told me, while I'm dealing with this situation."

"One more thing, detective...  Will you be with Blair at his hearing on Monday?"

Before Jim could answer, Blair came in the door.  "Professor, I'm sorry, I couldn't find the burial urn.  I looked in both storage rooms and it's not there.  Maybe Professor Randal has it, but he's not in his office right now.  If you want, I could stay and check out a couple of other places.  I'm sure Jim won't mind if I stay."  Blair had come to the conclusion that a nice long
delay before he and Jim had their talk would only be beneficial.  And since he really couldn't find the burial urn Professor Stoddard wanted, he decided this would be a perfect excuse to ditch the detective for a while.  Fate (and Professor Stoddard) had other ideas, however.

"Blair, I'm so sorry.  I forgot that I brought it up to my office yesterday.  Here it is.  I'm sorry you had to waste your time like that."  Jim gave a rare grin as Stoddard passed him a sly wink.  "Now why don't you two run along.  I'm sure you have important things to do.  And Blair?  Try not to worry too much about the hearing on Monday.  I'm sure things will work out
just fine."

Both men, young and older had a lot to consider.
 

Jim was trying to process all the information that Stoddard had given him.  The professor was obviously concerned about his student, especially due to his youth, but even Stoddard didn't realize exactly how young the kid was.

From what Jim gathered by all that had happened today, Blair Sandburg had been running loose for nearly a year.  No parental supervision; no parental help or even....  Dammit, his mother wasn't even aware of where he had been living.  And that jerk at the dorm, how long had the kid been putting up with that abuse?  Jim came to the conclusion that Naomi Sandburg had a lot to
answer for when it came to the welfare of her son.  Blair might be super intelligent, and be able to handle college on an intellectual level, but that didn't change the fact that emotionally he was still a child.  And a child needed rules; guidelines laid out for them; parameters they had to adhere to; and someone they could count on to be there for them in times of trouble.
Jim decided he was just the man to lay out those rules, guidelines and parameters and, he vowed, he would be there.   Blair Sandburg's life was about to change drastically.

When they arrived back at the loft, they silently unloaded the truck and carried the first load up.  Pendergrast met them at the door with a huge smile.  He was very proud of all he had accomplished while they were gone.  His smile faded somewhat when he saw the grim look on Ellison's face and when he started to ask, Jim shook his head.  They would talk later, privately.

"Well, kid, welcome home.  Bring that on in here.  Now if you want to change anything, feel free.  It won't hurt my feelings."

Blair vaguely heard the big man explaining to Jim where he had gotten the desk and futon, but didn't pay much attention to the conversation going on behind him.  He took a good look at the room that he would call home for the next couple of months.  He was stunned.  He had assumed he would be sleeping on the sofa, since he hadn't realized this was an extra room.  Between being angry with Jim over his job and trying to process the information Jack had given him, he really hadn't looked around the loft too much before they left that morning.

"This is great.  Thank you."  He turned to Jack.

"Don't thank me, kid.  I'm just the work horse.  This was Jim's idea."  Jack didn't hesitate to stretch the truth on occasion, himself.

Blair reluctantly turned to Jim.  "Thanks, man.  I don't know what to say.  I never expected this...."

"Don't worry about it, Chief.  The room was already there, you're just putting it to good use."  Jim didn't feel like he should take the credit, but didn't want to make Jack out to be a liar in front of the kid either.  The kid seemed to have enough trouble distinguishing truth from lies as it was.  He decided to change the subject.

"Judging by that mildew smell, I'd say all your clothes could stand to be washed.  I'll show you where the laundry room is and while you get started on that Jack and I'll finish unloading the truck. "

After getting Blair situated in the laundry room, Jim, with Jack's help, brought up what was left of Blair's things.

"He doesn't have much to show for himself, does he?  Most kids his age have stereos, cd players, video games, what have you, coming out the wazoo."

"Jack, you should have seen where the kid was living!"  Jim burst out.  "It was a warehouse!  It was a damp, moldy, filthy, rat-infested, warehouse.  And he's been living there for months!  He's never bothered to tell his mother where he was living, but he casually explained he didn't think she'd mind because money was tight and this place was cheaper.  What kind of woman is
she to let her son think he doesn't deserve any more than that?"  Jim took a deep breath, trying to get his anger under control.  "And when I took him to school to check his mailbox there was this Neanderthal who seemed to think it
was perfectly okay to rough the kid up, just because he's smaller and younger and couldn't defend himself."  The deep breaths didn't seem to be working.  "And after a talk with his professor, I find out he's got a hearing at school on Monday morning where they're going to decide if he's going to be dismissed.  Of course, I had to find it out from his teacher, not him.  The
kid has obviously been on his own so long, he doesn't even know how to ask for help."  Jim was getting more and more worked up as he went along.  "He's had no rules, no supervision, no help.  How has he survived for as long as he
has?"

"As far as I can tell, that's what you're here for, Jim."  Jack was serious for the first time since Jim had become Blair's guardian.  "You're here not only to find the kid's mother, but to be the supervision, lay down the rules and give him the help he needs.  I just hope you're up to it.  It sounds like this situation has gone on far too long.  My last suggestion before I leave you two alone, is you'd better get the rules straight with the kid pretty quick.  He seems to be a good kid, but any kid needs firm guidelines to go by.  Knowing you, I don't imagine you'll have any trouble coming up with a few ground rules, just to get started."  Jack chuckled as he grabbed his jacket and opened the door.  (He was unaware he was only reinforcing what Jim
had decided on the way home.)  "One other thing, Jim.  You'd better be prepared to back up those rules with the appropriate punishment if they're broken.  They don't work if there's nothing behind them but talk.  We've both seen too many kids ruined by parents who don't enforce any rules for their kids."  He paused, "You know, my old man, who raised eight boys who all
turned out pretty much okay, always said ‘you spank ‘em when they're bad and hug ‘em when they're good.'  I think he might have had the right idea."

With that parting comment, Jack was out the door and Jim was left wondering if he could actually punish the kid if he had to.  He knew he was probably going to find out pretty quickly.  Blair didn't seem the type of kid to just accept new rules in his life without testing to see how much he could get away with.  Jim knew no threat on his part could be an idle one; he would
have to be prepared to follow through.  Oh well, no use asking for trouble.  It would undoubtedly find him soon enough.

Blair spent the remainder of the day getting his laundry done and settling in.  He found a place for his books and of course, his computer went on the desk.  He cleaned out his backpack looking for his last letter from Naomi, but couldn't locate it.  He hoped he hadn't lost it; it was the last address he had for her.  He was pretty sure he hadn't thrown it away.  He kept all
her letters in the intricately carved wooden box he had picked up in Mexico, that was currently holding a place of honor on his desk.  He knew it really wasn't his desk, but he could kind of pretend for a while.  It sure beat what he had been using at the warehouse; a short sheet of plywood over a couple of cinder blocks.  At least now he knew he wouldn't get splinters in his hands every time he sat down to study.

His musings were interrupted by Jim calling him for dinner.  He realized he was hungry for the first time since before the protest and went eagerly into the kitchen.

Jim decided it would be a good idea to wait to "lay down the law" until after they had eaten.  He had too many unpleasant memories of his father reading the riot act to him and Stephen during dinner, when they were kids.  He
remembered how his stomach would knot up and his appetite faded into nothing when his father was really on a roll.  He didn't want that to happen to the kid.  *He's too thin already.  I don't need to do anything to curb his appetite.*

Jack had generously started a pot roast with carrots and potatoes before they got home and it smelled delicious as Jim set it on the table.  *Isn't there anything that guy can't do.  He scrounged up the futon and desk for only fifty bucks, besides cleaning out the room and he started the best meal I've seen since before Carolyn left.  I'm going to have to come up with some way
to thank him... wait a minute he's the one who got me into this fix.  He owes me.*

Jim noticed Blair didn't have a whole lot to say during the meal, although he had tried his best to draw the boy out.  By the time they were finished Blair was eager to get things cleaned up so he could head back to his room.  He jumped up and started clearing the table while Jim started the dishes.  They worked companionably for the next half hour until the kitchen was cleaned up to Jim's satisfaction.  As Blair started towards his room, Jim stopped him.

"Hold up, Chief, we've got some things to talk about before you turn in for the night.  Let's  get comfortable in the living room."

Once the two were seated, Jim on the chair and Blair on the sofa, Jim began.  "I know this living arrangement isn't exactly what you wanted, but I think the best thing we can do is make the most of it for the time you're here.  To make things easier for the both of us, I think we should set out some ground rules... so you'll know what's expected of you for the next couple of months."

"What about rules for you?  Do I have any say in the matter?"  As Jim had expected, Blair was starting to become belligerent.

"We'll get to that.  I'll give my rules, what I expect, what I DEMAND from you, and then you can tell me what you think you need from me."  To give himself credit, he was trying to be reasonable.  He took a calming breath.

"There will be no drugs, no alcohol and no more trouble with the law.  I expect you to tell me when you're leaving, where you're going, how I can reach you if I need to, and when you'll be back.  I'll need a copy of your class and working schedule so I'll know where you are at all times.  I'll make sure you have my number at work as well as my cell phone, so you should
be able to reach me anytime.  If, for any reason, you can't reach me by phone, you can leave a message for me at work or even a note here, but you WILL let me know where you are.  You're a minor, so you will be expected to be home by a reasonable time.  Curfew for kids under sixteen is 11:00 and that's when I expect you to be here."

"I've never done drugs and I'll be sixteen in two weeks,” Blair broke in.

"I'm glad to hear it, but I'll still expect you to be home by 11:00.  You're already in trouble and you don't need to look for anymore right now."  Now came the hard part.

"If you break any of these rules, you will be punished.  If I come home and you're not here and you haven't left a message or there's no note letting me know where you are, I can guarantee you that when I get my hands on you, you
will not be sitting comfortably for a while."

"You've got to be kidding!"  Blair was outraged.  He had never been spanked in his life and he certainly wasn't going to let this big jerk lay a hand on him.  Blair knew he'd probably get the shit kicked out of him if he tried to fight, but he would never allow this man to treat him like he was a little kid.

"I'm not kidding, Chief.  I promise you that I will turn you over my knee if you disobey me on any of these things."

Blair angrily started to get up and leave the room, when Jim's voice stopped him cold.

"Hold it right there.  I'm not finished.  I don't want you to think this is something I want to do or look forward to doing.  I won't enjoy it, but I WILL do it if you force me to.  You've been running wild for far too long and it's time you realized that most kids your age are not allowed to do the things you've taken for granted."

"You mean freedom.  My rights as a citizen..."  Blair's voice trailed off at the set look on Jim's face.

Jim decided to ignore his little outburst and finish this up as quickly as possible.  He also decided that maybe he should cut his father some slack.  This parenthood business was tougher than he had realized.

"Now we've got the big rules out of the way.  We need to go over the house rules.  I expect you to clean up after yourself.  I know you're not a little kid, so I don't expect to be tripping over things you've left laying around.  Dirty clothes go in the hamper in the bathroom and wipe down the sink when you're finished.  We'll discuss cleaning chores later.  If you're hungry, I
expect you to help yourself.  I'm not much of a cook, so don't expect too many meals like we had tonight, in the future.  These are just the basics, we'll add on to them as needed."

Jim paused to allow the kid to absorb what he had heard.

"Now it's your turn.  Do you have anything you need or want me to do?"

"You mean besides go fuck yourself?  I don't have to take this shit."  *You left yourself open for that one, Ellison.*

"I guess there's one more thing I neglected to tell you.  If you don't clean up your mouth, you can expect to have it washed out with soap every time I hear you swear.  I've told you before I don't like it and starting now it will not be tolerated.  I don't mind a damn or hell, occasionally, when the situation calls for it, but I will not listen to this kind of talk from you."

"Can I say this blows, man.  Am I allowed to say that?"

"You can say whatever you want, as long as you're willing to take the consequences.  I'm not trying to take any ‘rights' away from you, I'm just setting out the rules you will live by as long as you live with me."  Damn, he really hated this.

"If you need some time before you decide on what you need from me, we can finish this up tomorrow.  I know I've given you a lot to think about."

"You bet your as... yeah, man, tomorrow."  Blair went to his room as quickly as he could before he blew up completely.

Jim's conversation with Simon was very enlightening.  After Simon listened to Jim's explanation of all that had transpired that day and evening, he exploded.  "You did what?  Don't you know you can't just lay down the law.  Not with teenagers.  Yes, you set some basic rules, but you also have to praise them as well.  It's the old carrot and stick routine.  I'm not saying
you shouldn't punish him if he screws up, but you also have to praise him when he does something good, too.  Okay, just give the kid some time to settle down tonight.  Talk to him again tomorrow.  Tell him that you respect all he's accomplished on his own.  Oh, and it wouldn't hurt to say thank you once in a while.  You can do that, can't you, Ellison?  He sounds like a pretty
unusual kid.  Not many kids his age could have handled the situation he's had, at least not as responsibly.  You should acknowledge that.  And you should assure him that you'll be with him at that hearing on Monday.  I shouldn't have to remind you how scared he probably is."

Simon took a deep breath.  "Look Jim, I know this is all new to you and you certainly didn't ask for this responsibility, but you're just going to have to make the best of it.  You know, aside from maybe Jack, I can't think of anyone else who could handle this situation.  Keep me posted."  A chuckle.  "Welcome to parenthood, Jim."  With that last remark, he hung up, leaving Jim to wonder if he had royally screwed up.

Blair headed for his room and barely kept himself from slamming the door.  *That would probably get me killed, judging by all THE RULES this guy has.  What the hell is going on here?  Less that 48 hours ago, I was living my life just fine.  Okay so I didn't have everything under control, but I had enough to get by.  Now, on the whim of some insane judge who has decided I need the babysitter from hell, I've lost almost everything I had.*  When Blair furiously picked up the nearest book and threw it against the wall a page fell out.  There on the floor was his last letter from Naomi.  Blair actually started to show it to Jim before he recalled how angry he was with him.  He sat down to reread it instead.

She WAS in India.  She was in a small village not too far from Raipur.  She went into great detail describing the meditation instructions she was receiving from the maharishi; how she was learning much greater control than she had ever achieved before.  *Um, I wonder why she's so into control, right now?  I'll have to remember to ask her.*  She hoped everything was going all right with him and he could expect to hear from her before he finished the semester.  *That doesn't help much, it's a whole month away.  How the hell am I supposed to handle it here for a whole month?*

Just rereading Naomi's letter reminded him how beneficial meditating was and how much it had helped him in the past to control his stress.  He dug out his candles, placed them in the proper formation, lit them, and went into the
standard yoga position.  He took several deep breaths and tried to find his center.  It took some doing, but after an hour had passed he was in a much better frame of mind.  He had released a lot of his anger and he was sure he
would be able to sleep after his shower.

Jim was relieved not to hear any more thumps coming from the kid's room, and then a while later took it as a good sign to hear the shower start downstairs.  He thought about approaching the kid when he finished, but decided it made more sense to let matters lie until morning.  They would both be more reasonable after a good night’s sleep.

An hour later, Blair decided maybe he shouldn't have had the shower tonight.  It seemed to have woken him up, rather than relaxed him.  Thoughts of the day, everything that had happened, went through his mind.  The fight with Johanson and the way Jim had come to his rescue.  He just couldn't get a handle on the big guy.  First, he had seemed so concerned about Blair; where he was living, what he had had to do to get by.   Then the surprise of this room and the great meal and everything, and then he suddenly changed.  He came on like some kind of Nazi with his rules and his threat of a....  Blair did not EVEN want to go there.

He guessed Naomi was right, you should always make sure you don't get too attached to places or people.  He sat up in bed as he suddenly remembered his emergency stash.  When Naomi had brought him to Rainier, she had given him an
envelope that contained his passport, a letter and a certified check for $1,000.  She had instructed him to keep it with him always.  If he ever got into trouble or just needed to get away quickly, the letter contained an address he should go to and the money was for him to get there.  She told him not to put it in a safety deposit box or anything.  He should keep it with
him.

Although he had never looked at the letter, over the past few months, when money was tight, he had been very tempted to cash the check, but he had always managed to restrain himself.  He knew he would never be able to replace it once it was gone.  He also knew it was too dangerous to carry it around with him, and had kept it well hidden in his dorm room until he moved
out.  When he moved into the warehouse, the first thing he did was search until he found a secure hiding spot for it, although he'd had to place it in a metal box to keep the rats from getting into it.

Now, he realized, this was his way out.  There didn't seem to be much point in bothering to go through the university hearing on Monday.  Aside from Professor Stoddard, there was no one who would stand by him.  Of course, now he would probably never be able to find his dream; his sentinel, but Professor Stoddard didn't think that was going to happen, anyway.  And if he
hung around to go to the court hearing, they'd probably just throw his ass in jail until he either died or turned eighteen.  Besides, he certainly didn't want to hang around here for the next 60 days, with Ellison just waiting for him to screw up and break one of THE RULES.  Blair decided his best option was to get out now, before anything else could go wrong.  Unfortunately, the
box was still in its hiding place in the warehouse.  He had forgotten all about it when they had picked up his things this morning.  Tonight, after he was sure Jim was asleep, he would go pick it up.  He'd cash the check tomorrow and head out to wherever Naomi's letter said he should go.  Now all he had to do was wait until he was sure Jim was asleep.

Blair quietly packed his backpack, putting in his computer, only one change of clothes and his book on the watchmen of South America.  Everything else would have to be left behind.  He hadn't heard any sounds from the bedroom upstairs for quite some time, so he assumed Jim was asleep.  He checked his wallet and was dismayed to see he only had $13.  He had planned to walk until he found a pay phone and call a cab to the warehouse, but now he would just have to have the cab drop him off before the money ran out.

He cautiously made his way to the door of the loft, carefully opened it and before he left gave one last slightly regretful look around.  He found himself wishing it could have been different.  He closed the door behind him.

Jim was never sure what made him wake at that point.  He had been thinking about everything Simon had said, as well as examining his own feelings about the kid, when he had fallen asleep, fully dressed, on top of his bed.  The
next thing he knew he was wide awake, knowing instinctively that something was wrong.  He immediately got up to investigate.

After looking in Blair's room and seeing it empty, Jim let loose with a curse that would have had Blair's mouth immediately washed out with soap if the kid had said it.  He had the presence of mind to grab his keys and his jacket before he went out the door.  He was grateful that he didn't have to take the time to put on his shoes since he knew the kid had a head start and time was of the essence if he was going to catch up with him.

He ran out of the building and started to jumped in his truck before he realized he had no idea which direction to head in.  He looked up and down the quiet street.  *Think, Ellison, which way would he go?*  Obviously he would need transportation if he was going any distance at all, so it made sense to head towards the main thoroughfare.

As he stood there, he heard a sound that he identified as footsteps on pavement.  Looking up the dark street, he saw a figure carrying a backpack just turning onto the well-lit, busy cross-street, two blocks away.  He knew immediately it was Blair.  He got back in his truck, made a quick u-turn and sped up Prospect to 23rd Street, where he got stopped at the light before he
could make his turn.  He looked down 23rd Street just in time to see the kid get into the back of a cab and take off, heading west towards the warehouse district.  Jim now knew where the kid was heading, but couldn't understand why.  *We got everything out today.  What's he doing going back there this late?*  Rather than stop the cab, he decided to follow.

Jim was even more puzzled when the cab stopped about three quarters of a mile away from the warehouse.  When he saw Blair get out and start walking, he decided to leave the truck and follow on foot, keeping close enough to hear and see where the kid was going, but able to avoid being seen himself.  As he followed the kid deeper into the very dangerous neighborhood, Jim was thankful that he had automatically grabbed his holster and weapon when he grabbed his jacket.  He had a feeling it was going to come in very handy.

Blair was congratulating himself on his very smooth escape from the loft, although he was disappointed his money hadn't gotten him closer to the warehouse, when he heard a noise coming from an alley to his left.  Probably just a cat, he assured himself.  After all, how many times before had he traveled this same street, even later than it was now, with no problem?
Jim's comments from earlier today just had him spooked, that's all, seeing and hearing things that weren't there.  Even as he assured himself that there wasn't anything wrong, he picked up his pace.

Blair was just inside the lot in front of the warehouse when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps running up behind him.  His heart was in his throat as he started to turn to face what was coming, but before he could fully complete the turn, he was grabbed around the  torso and felt a sharp point digging into his throat.  The most terrifying voice he had ever heard
whispered, "What's in the pack, kid?"

At that moment, when Blair was absolutely certain he was going to die, he heard the most wonderful voice in the world growl, "Get your hands off him."

Blair felt the knife ease down, away from his throat, and the arm around his torso give way.  Before he could even take a breath, he was roughly pushed to the ground.  It took him a moment to get turned around enough to look up and see Jim standing behind the mugger, his left arm around the guy's throat and holding a gun to his temple.  What he didn't know was due the angle of where Jim was standing he couldn't see the knife in the mugger's hand.

Blair watched in horror as the man suddenly reached up and sliced Jim's left arm with the knife he was holding.  Startled, Jim stepped back, dropping his gun in order to grab his arm.  Seeing the mugger was entirely focused on Jim, Blair jumped up and swung his pack at the man's head, knocking him out cold.

Blair stood looking down at the unconscious mugger and thought he was going to lose his dinner.

Instead he swallowed hard, looked at Jim, who bent to pick up his gun, and said hysterically, "Wow, man, thanks.  I thought I was dead for sure.  You saved my life.  You know, in certain cultures, they say if you save someone you are responsible for them.  You become their blessed protector."  A nervous laugh, "I guess you didn't realize what you were getting into when
you....  You're hurt!  Let me see."

He gently took Jim's arm and turned it into the feeble light from the street. "You're bleeding!  Here."  With that he dropped his pack to the ground, pulled his shirt off and began wrapping it around Jim's arm to control the bleeding.  He was starting to worry.  Aside from telling the mugger to let him go, Jim hadn't spoken a word.  "Talk to me, man.  Tell me if this will
hold till we get you to a hospital."

Jim's voice was just this side of arctic.  "I don't need a hospital.  The cut's not that deep.  It just caught me by surprise.  What I do need is an explanation for this.  What the HELL are you doing out here?  Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

Jim took a deep breath and suddenly pulled Blair close, his large hand holding the curly head to his chest.  For the first time since Naomi had left, Blair felt caring arms around him.  Without warning, the floodgates opened and he found himself sobbing into Jim's chest.  His own arms wrapped tight around the big man holding him so securely.   Several minutes passed,
before the boy's crying slowed down and with a hitch, finally stopped.

Both of them were so caught up in their bonding that they failed to notice the mugger coming to and silently stealing off into the night.

Jim gently eased Blair back as soon as the boy stopped crying and took a look at him.  "Are you okay?  He didn't cut you?"  He knew the boy would probably be embarrassed by his emotional display and would want to get back to normal
quickly.  Oddly enough, he hadn't been even the slightest bit uncomfortable by either the physical closeness or the tears.  With anyone else, he would have been, but not with the kid.  It had felt right, somehow.

"No, man, he didn't get a chance.  You got here so fast.  How did you know...?"

"We'll go into that later.  Right now we need to get this asshole down to booking..."  Jim's voice trailed off as he finally noticed the mugger was gone.  Not much point in trying to follow him.  He'd just have to make sure he got a description out on him and bump up patrols in the area.  Uncharacteristically, he thought *just as well.  I need to concentrate on the kid right now.*  He saw Blair looking around nervously.

"Don't worry, he won't be back.  Now, once again, mind telling me what the HELL you're doing out here?"

Blair started stammering. "I... I... I forgot something important this morning and I needed to get down here to get it before... you know the vagrants will probably take over... and I needed to get it before... they take over the building?..."  His voice trailed off.

"And you couldn't have asked me to bring you?  You just decided to take a jaunt down here at..." a quick glance at his watch, "2:00 a.m., by yourself?  It couldn't have waited till morning?"  Jim was furious as he picked up the backpack and practically threw it to Blair.  "Okay, Chief.  Let's see what's so important it couldn't wait until daylight."

"But your arm?  Shouldn't you go to the hospital?"

"I told you the arm is fine.  It's stopped bleeding.  Let's go."

They walked towards the warehouse.  When they got to the door, Jim impatiently waited while Blair dug out his key, unlocked the door and turned on the light.  He followed Blair upstairs to the "living area" and watched while the boy walked over to the far wall and started working out a loose block.  When Blair pulled the metal box from its hiding place, Jim took it from his hands, opened it and looked inside.  When he pulled the papers from the envelope, the first thing he saw was the cashier's check for $1,000; then the smaller envelope with "Blair" written in a flowery hand, and then the passport in the name of Blair Sandburg.  Without a word, he put the papers in his pocket and took the backpack from the kid.  He opened it, looked inside
and knew what the boy had been planning.

"You were running away."

"Not exactly running away, but, yeah, I was leaving."

Without another word, Jim took Blair's arm and they walked out of the building.

Thankfully, the walk back to Jim's truck was without incident.  Blair tried to make himself  as small and inconspicuous as possible as he huddled into the corner of the truck during the silent trip back to the loft.  He knew he was in big trouble and didn't want to do anything that might set Jim off.

He was also dealing with an unexpected emotion of his own.  Guilt.  Judging by the look on Jim's face when he had admitted he was leaving, Blair knew he had not only made Jim angry, he had also disappointed him.  Blair didn't like feeling that anyone was disappointed in him.  He had spent a good portion of his life trying to please people; and the thought that this man was
disappointed in him, made him squirm.  This was the one man who, he now realized, had tried to help him.  Granted, he had been ordered by the judge, but even so, this man had actually put his own life on the line to save Blair; and he had been hurt doing it.  That was way beyond what the court ordered him to do.

And the fact that the man hadn't hesitated to comfort him, to hold him when he needed it the most, just made the guilt worse.  How many people had actually cared about him in his life?  He could probably count on one hand the number of people he trusted.  But this man; this loud, imposing, stern man made Blair feel not only safe, but cared for as well.

A sudden thought occurred to him.  What if Jim decided he was too much trouble?  What if he decided to turn him over to the juvenile authorities?  He could do that, couldn't he?  If Blair continued to give him a hard time, he could just turn him over to them, couldn't he?  Would he?  Blair was so involved in his thoughts, he didn't notice when they pulled up in front of
the loft.

"Come on, Chief.  Let's get this over with."

Hearing that statement and the coldness of Jim's voice, Blair was sure Ellison was going to call the judge or the juvenile authorities and turn him over to them.  And really, he couldn't blame the big guy either.  Look at all the trouble he had caused him.  And they had met only a little over 24 hours ago.  That had to be some kind of a record, even for him.

Blair silently got out of the truck and followed the equally-silent Ellison into the loft.  Had Blair actually looked at the big detective, he might have realized that his fears were groundless, and seen what was actually coming in his near future, but he kept his eyes down.

Jim was not looking forward to the next half hour or so.  He was thankful the ride home gave him an opportunity to calm down some before he had to punish the kid.  He couldn't remember ever being so scared before in his life, not even when he had been in Peru, when he had seen Blair being held by that mugger.  And then to find out the kid was planning on taking off alone had almost pushed him over the edge then and there.  He had clamped down on his anger and used the time on the trip home to try and get some control.

He remembered reading somewhere that a parent should never hit their child in anger.  At the time he read that, he had thought it was ridiculous.  Should you wait until you were having a party to belt them?  But now that he was personally faced with it, he realized what good advice it was.  He knew he would have had trouble not killing the kid if he laid into him at the warehouse.  But now that he had calmed down somewhat, he could handle it.

Jim threw his keys in the basket, hung up his jacket and pointed to a kitchen chair.  "Sit.  Stay.  I'll be back in a minute."  Not noticing, and even if he had noticed he wouldn't have cared, that he sounded like he was issuing orders to a dog, he went into the bathroom to clean and bandage his arm.

Without a word, Blair dropped into the chair to wait for him to return, sure that he would be packing up his things for the second time in a day.

When Jim returned several minutes later and Blair saw the bandage on his arm, he nearly started crying for the second time that night.  Jim saw the boy staring at it and said reassuringly, "It's not as bad as it looks.  It's not a deep cut.  My tetanus shot is current, so I just had to clean it out and put an antibiotic cream on it.  Don't worry about it.  I've gotten hurt worse playing basketball."

When Jim pulled a chair out and away from the table and sat down, instead of picking up the phone, Blair was confused.  *Why isn't he calling the authorities?  I know it's late, but he probably wants to get rid of me as soon as possible.*

It was Jim's stern voice that broke into his thoughts.  "Come here."

As soon as Blair looked in Jim's face he realized what was coming.  "Oh no, man.  Not THAT!  You weren't really serious... I mean... no way... hey I'm not a little kid... just chill, man, okay?"  Blair jumped up and began backing away.

"Chief, as the old saying goes, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.  Both are going to be painful, but I guarantee you that the hard way will be more painful.  Let's get this over with."

Seeing that the kid was obviously going to opt for the hard way, and deciding to save his bottom from some extra attention, Jim got up and grabbed Blair by the arm before he could turn to run.  He dragged him back to the chair, took a seat and yanked the boy over his lap.

"Now I told you what you could expect if you broke the rules."  Smack.

"Ow!  Let me go!  You can't do this to me!"

"Oh, yes I can do this to you."  Smack, smack.  Harder.

"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm bigger.  I'm stronger.  And I'm the one in charge."  Smack, smack, smack.  Harder still.

"Owww!  It hurts!  Let me go!"

Blair's legs flailed around as he tried desperately to get away from the man who was spanking him.

"It's supposed to hurt.  That's why it's called punishment."  Jim put his right leg over both of the boy's legs to hold him down.  "Haven't you ever been spanked before?"  Smack, smack, smack.  Harder.

"Owww!  Never!  Naomi would never have hit me and she wouldn't let anyone else ever touch me either."

"Well, that sure does explain a lot.  This is what happens to unruly brats who disobey their parents."  Smack, smack, smack, smack.

"Oww!  You're not my father!  You can't do this!"

"Right now, I'm the closest thing to a father you have and this is what you can expect anytime you disobey me in the future.  I just wish I'd been around when you were younger.  Then this might not be necessary."

What that statement, Jim seriously laid into the boy.  He was determined to make sure that the kid never did anything so dangerous again.  And if this was the only way to make sure it never happened again, so be it.

Blair struggled frantically, furiously yelling the whole time.  He didn't think the big man was ever going to stop spanking him.  His butt felt like it was on fire and he showed no sign of even slowing down, much less stopping.  He was humiliated when he burst into tears, burrowing his head into the man's leg.  And still Jim didn't stop.

Jim heard the boy sobbing against his leg and gave six extremely hard smacks before he finally stopped.  He laid his hand on the boy's butt and could feel the heat emanating from his backside, even through his jeans and figured the kid had had enough.

He gently pulled Blair up, sitting him on his lap, and holding him close as he let the boy cry it out on his shoulder.  He didn't notice the wince the boy gave when his heated bottom came into contact with the man's hard thighs.  When the sobs started easing up somewhat, he pulled him back and looked him in the eye.

"I don't ever want to have to do that again."  Blair frantically shook his head no.  "If this is needed again, I won't just use my hand.  I'll use the hairbrush and I think you can now imagine how much that will hurt.  And kid?  Next time the pants will be down as well."

Blair blushed beet red as he sobbed and buried his face in Jim's shoulder again.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean for you to get hurt."

"You've got this wrong, Chief.  You weren't being punished because I got hurt.  You were being punished because you put yourself in danger by going into that neighborhood alone, this late.  You were being punished because I warned you that you were to always let me know where you were going;  and you were being punished because I told you that you couldn't be out after curfew."

Jim gave a chuckle.  "Pretty impressive, kid.  You managed to break several rules in one go."

His voice hardened again.  "But it had better NEVER happen again, do you understand?"

Blair nodded, not raising his head from Jim's shoulder, as he whispered,  "I thought you were going to turn me over to juvie.  I thought you were going to kick me out."

Jim held the boy close and closed his eyes.  "Not going to happen, junior.  You're here until I find your mom and we go back to court.  And maybe even longer.  It depends on what the judge decides."

He pulled him out to look in his eyes.  "And Blair?  No problem was ever made better by running away.  I know you feel like the whole world is against you right now, but running away is not the answer.  That only brings on a whole new set of problems.  I guess we need to add that to the big rules.  NO running away."  Once again. Blair shook his head.

Jim pulled him into the shelter of his arms once more as he took a deep breath.  "One other thing.  If you have a problem, you bring it to me.  I'm new at this parenthood thing, but I'll always be there for you if you need me.  I know I'm not very good at this kind of thing; this emotional crap, but I promise I'll try.  You got that?"

Blair nodded, once again.

With that Jim set him on his feet, and watched with some amusement as the boy rubbed his bottom.

"Now I think you'd better try and get some sleep before the sun rises.  We'll talk more tomorrow."

Blair started for his room, but before he walked in his door he turned.

"Jim?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks.  Uh, I don't mean the spanking.  I mean I really didn't like that.  I am so not into pain.  But for everything else.  Ya know?"

"Yeah, Chief, I understand."

"And Jim?  This emotional crap?  I think you handle it just fine."  With that he went into his room and closed the door, leaving Jim with an unexpected lump in his throat.

Initially, he had some problems trying to sit on the hard desk chair, but a pillow from his bed took care of that little difficulty.  He couldn't believe that Jim had actually spanked him like he was a little kid, but every time he shifted on his chair, the memory came back crystal clear.  He supposed he should be feeling resentful, but every time he started to get upset about it,
he remembered how safe... how cared for he'd felt when Jim had held him in his arms while he cried, both at the warehouse and after the spanking, and he felt warm inside instead.  Besides, there was no point in getting upset about
it now, it was over and done with.  He just hoped it was never repeated and he was going to do his best to see that it wasn't.

Jim, on the other hand, was dealing with entirely different emotions.  The strongest one being anger.  Not with the kid, but with himself.  He had handled the rules situation all wrong and knew that he was the primary reason the boy had felt he had to run away.   He had been much too stern with the kid.  He'd forgotten he wasn't dealing with a perp or one of his subordinates, but with a kid.  A kid who'd been dealing with adult responsibilities at much too young an age.  Every time Jim thought about all
that Blair had had to do to survive, he became furious with his mother, who had, Jim decided, basically abandoned the boy.

He was also confused about his emotional reaction to this kid.  He had never, not in Peru, not in dealing with the most hardened criminal, ever been as scared as he was when he saw Blair in danger.  Jim couldn't understand what it was about this boy that compelled him to not only take care of him, but to NEED to take care of him.  That was what was so confusing.  The need.  He had never felt like this before, not even with his wife.  He knew he would only make himself crazy worrying about it, so he determinedly pushed it out of his mind.

Late in the afternoon, Jim decided a trip to the grocery store was called for.  Since he didn't know what Blair liked to eat, and he hated grocery shopping anyway, he came to the conclusion that it would need to be a two-man operation and called Blair out of his room to go with him.

When they reached the store, Jim grabbed a cart and told Blair to pick out what he wanted.  He was surprised to see the boy immediately head to the generic isle and start picking out the "off" brands of pasta.  He watched silently while Blair picked out the bruised fruit that was marked down.  He said nothing until Blair headed for the day old bread.

"Whoa, Chief, that's where I draw the line."  Jim put the bread back on the rack, while Blair stood in the aisle looking surprised.

"Fresh bread, Chief.  And what's with this junk.  Do you really like this stuff?"

"Not really, but I guess I'm used to buying for me.  A box of mac and cheese can be stretched to two meals, if I'm careful and...."  His voice trailed off.

"Tell you what, Chief, you just tell me what you like and I'll do the rest."

"Really?"  The kid was almost bouncing.  "I'm really not much of a meat eater.  I prefer fresh vegetables.  Naomi's a total vegetarian, but I still like red meat now and then, even though it's like totally bad for you.  Oh, and fresh fruit.  I really like fresh fruit; and good pasta.  I have this recipe for pasta prima vera that will make your mouth water.  Oh yeah, and I have a recipe for stir fry that's totally amazing..."  As Blair rambled on and on, Jim couldn't help but wince.  He had a sinking feeling his diet was about to change drastically.

That evening, after a dinner the kid cooked that was surprisingly good, Jim told Blair he would be attending the hearing at Rainier with him.  He was secretly relieved when the kid looked pleased by the news.  He had been afraid Blair wouldn't want him there, and he had envisioned an argument when he insisted he was going.  He had already informed Simon that he wouldn't be in to work until after the hearing.

The unknown future played a big part in both of their dreams that night.

Monday morning came with a typical Cascade flourish.  Which meant it was not just raining, but pouring.

Jim was somewhat dismayed when he saw what Blair was wearing.  He hadn't thought to ask the kid if he had any pants that didn't have a multitude of holes or was made of any fabric besides denim.  He didn't say anything until he really looked, for the first time, at what passed for a jacket for the kid.

"It's kind of chilly today, Chief, don't you have anything heavier than that to wear?"

"Not really, just my winter coat and it's too warm for that.  This'll be fine.  I'm used to it."

Jim made a mental note to take the kid shopping in the very near future.  Besides a new jacket and a couple of pairs of jeans that didn't look like rats had been at them, it looked like he was going to need some new shoes pretty soon.  He gave a mental sigh as he realized that this parenthood business was not only confusing, it could also be pretty expensive.

They arrived at the administration building well before 8:00 and were ushered into a small waiting room outside the main conference room.  Probably so no one would have to look at him before the hearing, Blair thought glumly.

At precisely 8:00, they were shown into the conference room by a middle-aged woman who, Blair assumed, was one of the assistants to one of the administrators.

"Mr. Sandburg, you need to sit over here."  With that she pointed to the chair next to the head of the table.  "Mr. Ellison, you may sit next to him.  Dean Jeffrey Grisham is handling this matter and he will be here in few Minutes,” and with that she left.

While silence reigned in the conference room, Jim found himself focusing on voices he could clearly hear through the closed door at the opposite end of the room.  There were two male voices; one he recognized as Dr. Stoddard, the other he wasn't familiar with.

"Eli, I understand what you're saying, but I cannot let this incident slide.  He must be punished in such a way that there is no chance that this will happen again.  Not from him and not from anyone else."

"Jeffrey, you simply cannot do this.  This young man's whole life is at stake here.  I agree with you that he should have some form of punishment, but not something this drastic.  He's so young.  His entire future should not be jeopardized for one mistake."

Before Dean Grisham could respond, Jim heard the sound of another door opening and someone new joining the conversation.

"You will not believe this!"  President Lawrence Carie was absolutely ecstatic.  "I have had six calls this morning, alone, from people who wish to donate considerable sums of money to the university; some of them for the first time.  Peter Keller, you remember him? He's the one whose wife always wears a ridiculous mink coat.  He's never bothered to donate any substantial
amount of money to Rainier before.  Well, he called me at home last night and said that after he calmed down, he realized that he, and this is a direct quote, ‘hadn't had so much fun in years' as he had at that demonstration.  He was actually laughing when he talked to me."

"You're right, I don't believe it."  This from Dean Grisham.

"Wonderful.  Now I hope you will see your way to letting young Mr. Sandburg off..."  Stoddard's voice trailed off.

"Eli, right now, there's nothing I would like to do more than give that young man a warning and send him on his way.  However, I don't believe I can talk Gaylord into going along with that.  You saw how upset he was.  You saw his nose and his eyes.  I can't very well force him into letting the boy off."

President Carie's voice deepened warningly.  "Eli, don't look at me like that.  All right, all right, I'll talk to him...."

"Jim... Jim... come on man, talk to me.  Are you okay?  Come on, please talk to me..."

Jim heard Blair's frantic voice and felt him shaking his arm.

"I'm okay, Chief.  Would you quit it?"  He jerked his arm away irritably.

"What happened with you?  It was like you went somewhere else.  I've been calling you for at least five minutes and you acted like you didn't hear me."

Jim decided not to tell the kid that he had heard a conversation in the next room as clearly as he could hear Blair now.

"Let's just say I've had a few minutes to think about this situation and I believe everything will work out just fine."

"Huh?  What the hell... uh heck are you talking about?"  Blair still wasn't sure what constituted "bad language" in Jim's opinion and he didn't want to test his limits now.

The door opened at that moment saving Jim from a lengthy explanation.  "Later."

Blair wasn't surprised to see Dr. Stoddard enter with Dean Grisham, but he was absolutely terrified when he saw the president of Rainier, Lawrence Carie, following behind them.  He leaned over and whispered to Jim.  "What the hell is this?  It's not like I blew up a building or something."  He was so focused on Carie's entrance he forgot entirely about the bad language
rule.  He also failed to notice the frown Jim directed at him.

Although Dean Grisham was officially in charge of the proceedings, he gratefully turned over the responsibility to President Carie.  But before Carie could begin, the door burst open to allow Gaylord Rennick to enter.

"I'm sorry I'm late, but I have something here that will prove that this man assaulted me.  I'm going to show it to you and then I'm going to turn it over to the police."  Rennick's familiar whining voice sounded suspiciously cheerful.  He looked a little the worse for wear, however, since Blair and Jim had last seen him on Friday night.  He was now sporting two, black eyes
that set off his swollen nose to perfection.

"Gaylord, will you settle down.  What is that thing?"  Carie was well used to dealing with Rennick's outbursts, since he had worked with him for over twenty years.

Rennick was waiving a video tape the whole time he spoke.  "I got this from Channel 4 News.  They were there Friday and filmed the entire thing.  This will prove that I'm right.  He not only started the riot, he's the one who assaulted me."

Professor Stoddard wasn't the only one who noticed that Blair had lost all remaining color in his face.  Jim put his hand on the boy's shoulder, leaned down and whispered, "Take it easy, Chief.  Let's see how bad it is before you panic."

After much fussing with the lights, blinds and vcr, Rennick put in the tape.  Initially he tried to put in backwards and with a pout finally allowed Dean Grisham to correctly insert it into the machine.  They all, even Rennick, sat back to watch in silence.

The tape was very enlightening to Jim.  He, of course, had never seen the "normal" Blair Sandburg.  What he, and the others, saw was a bouncing, friendly, articulate and enthusiastic young man, who believed very strongly, and somewhat naively, in what he was doing.   He spoke from his heart about the importance of the park to the students and faculty.  The interviewer was obviously a seasoned professional who recognized exactly how personable, and how newsworthy, the young man was.

Once the fights started breaking out, the camera, of course, panned to the various disputes, but somehow always seemed to find the boy again in the crowd.  The tape showed his shock and disappointment very clearly.  When he was dragged into the battle, the camera lost him for several minutes, while it picked up the panicked Rennick being swept with the crowd into the park.

The camera had stayed on Rennick, seeming to understand that this individual might be important.  It also inadvertently caught Blair, megaphone in hand, with his back to Rennick, raising his arm to defend himself from a wild punch, and catching Rennick in the nose, who was also ducking a blow.  The camera showed the boy's frantic attempts to help the older man and the panic
on his face when Rennick started screeching at him.

Losing interest in Rennick, the camera panned over to cover the enthusiastic fighting skill of a large tattooed biker and failed to pick up the fist that had knocked Blair on his butt.  It did, however, manage to catch the kick from the biker that knocked the boy out cold.  It also showed, with remarkable clarity, the gentle way the intimidating biker picked the boy up and carried him off.  Shortly after that the screen went blank.

"There was a lot more footage, but this showed exactly what happened.  It showed that... that... hooligan assaulting me."  Rennick whined triumphantly.

Jim couldn't believe what he was hearing.  Was that really all this idiot saw on that tape?  Before he could open his mouth to protest, Stoddard spoke for the first time since entering the room.

"Now, Gaylord, you know that is NOT what that tape showed.  You saw that it was an accident, pure and simple."

As Rennick was opening his mouth to argue the point, Stoddard went on, "Lawrence, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask Mr. Sandburg some questions."

At President Carie's nod, he continued, "Now Blair, we need to know why you organized this demonstration in the first place.  What is so important to you about that park?"

Blair softly answered the professor's question.  "I don't know, really.  I guess it's because of my Mom.  She was always active in protecting the environment.  I can remember going to demonstrations and protests to save forests when I was just a kid."

Carie, Grisham and Ellison all hid a grin at that statement.

"I remember there was this one song.  I don't remember the title or the artist, but I remember riding with Naomi in a car one time and she started crying when that song played.  It said something about paving paradise to put in a parking lot.  I guess it just kinda stayed with me."

Carie and Grisham started to look uncomfortable.  They also remembered that song from when they were oh so much younger.

Blair took a deep breath and continued.  "It's kind of embarrassing, but I don't have a very good sense of direction.  When I came here to start school the park was the first place we saw and Naomi said that this place couldn't be too bad if it could maintain such a beautiful oasis of peace.  The campus was so big, it sort of intimidated me.  Naomi was with me the first day and she helped me get oriented with everything.  We figured out that I could find the places I needed to go to if I used the park as the starting point. "

Blair paused for a moment to catch his breath before continuing.

"After she left, whenever I felt overwhelmed with everything, you know studying and stuff, or if I... I guess if I just really missed her... well, I know it sounds kind of sappy, but if I'd go to the park and sit there I could almost hear her voice and how she sounded when she called it a beautiful oasis of peace...  that's all...."

Professor Stoddard cleared his voice.  "Blair did you intend for that demonstration to become violent?"

"No, sir, not at all.  I just wanted to save the park.  I didn't have any idea it would turn out that way."

He turned to President Carie.  "Sir, I am really sorry about what happened.  I didn't have any idea you had a big party scheduled on Friday.  I never meant to embarrass you or the university."

"So you weren't the one who had the posters printed up that called me a "rapist of the land?”

"No, sir.  The ones I had made up just said ‘Save Our Park.'"

Dean Grisham spoke up.  "What about the others?  The Women Now group, the animal rights activists and the others?  Did you know they were going to participate?"

"Uh, well, I knew some of them were planning to participate, but I didn't know they were just there to draw attention to their own causes.  Not that I don't agree with a lot of them, cause I do, but that's not why I organized this thing."

Professor Stoddard turned to the others.  "Gentlemen, it should be obvious to everyone in this room (with a pointed look at Rennick) that Mr. Sandburg had no intention of causing the riot that broke out.  If anything, the tape only proves that he was, if not innocent, then certainly not responsible.  I believe that he should be given an official reprimand that will go on his
record, but be allowed to continue at Rainier."

Before Rennick could protest, Jim spoke up.  "Professor Stoddard, I'm afraid I disagree."

He ignored the gasp that came from Blair and continued.

"Blair may be young, but he IS at fault for the incident.  He organized the thing and that ultimately makes him the one responsible.  As you said, he obviously didn't intend to cause any damage, but he is to blame and I don't believe a reprimand is sufficient punishment."

Rennick looked smug and Blair was looking at Jim like he'd just kicked his puppy.

"But I don't believe he should be dismissed from school, either."

Rennick lost his smug look and Blair looked relieved.

"I think we should reach some kind of compromise that will satisfy all concerned."  He turned to Rennick and continued.

"Now I know, and you know, that what's on that tape will only exonerate the ‘hooligan' from any assault charges.  But he did cause substantial damage to your tux and I think he should pay for its replacement, as well as your medical bills."  Blair gasped.

"Well... the tuxedo cost me $400 to replace and..."  President Carie pointedly cleared his throat.

A deep sigh.  "My medical bills were covered by insurance, so I suppose there's no charge for that.  But my pain and suffering..."

President Carie spoke up.  "Gaylord, I believe if Mr. Sandburg replaces the cost of the tuxedo, that should be sufficient reparation.  Your nose isn't broken and there's really no permanent damage.  Remember Mr. Sandburg is a student with a limited income.  Settle for the replacement of the tux, all right?"

Jim interrupted.  "Also, Mr. Rennick will need to agree to drop all formal charges against Mr. Sandburg."

"What?!!  Oh... all right."

Jim ignored the relieved sigh from Blair and spoke up again.  "I also believe Blair owes reparation to the university.  In exchange for dropping the inciting a riot charge, I suggest some kind of campus/community service.  I'll leave it up to you to decide a fair number of hours owed."

Now it was Blair's turn to interrupt.  "What?"

Jim grinned.  "Perhaps he could start by helping your maintenance department with the clean up of the park?  Between his classes and his job with Professor Stoddard, he could work a certain number of hours each week, until he's fulfilled his obligation.  I'll leave it up to you to work out the sentence... uh details."

"FORTY HOURS!  Can you believe it?  Thanks a lot, man.  If you'd kept your mouth shut I could have gotten off with a reprimand.  But NOOOO.  You had to open your big mouth.  How am I going to pay for the tux?  Thanks to you I have to work all these extra hours and I won't have time to get another job that pays real money."

Blair was on a rampage as they walked to Jim's truck.  Jim listened to the kid rant until they reached his truck.  He looked around and noticed the lot was empty of any other people.  He'd had just about enough of the kid's whining and decided a little action was called for.

Jim grabbed the boy's shoulders, quickly turning him to face the truck and before Blair knew what was going on Jim landed three hard swats to his backside.

"Ow!"  Blair gave a hurried look around the parking lot, then turned back to face Jim and also to keep his butt out of harms way.  "What the hell was that for?"

"Watch your mouth.   You know, you little brat, you could show a little appreciation for what I did, instead of whining about it.  It could have gone down a lot worse.  You could be a former student, instead of a student who's just going to be doing some clean up work.  I did what I thought was best."

Blair was already blushing from embarrassment over the public swats to his backside, but now he blushed in shame as well, as he realized that Jim was right.  He could have had a lot more to complain about and he knew an immediate apology was in order.

"I'm sorry, Jim.  You're right.  I'm just worried about how I'm going to pay for the tux."

"No problem, Chief.  I'm going to pay for it and you're going to pay me back."

"How?  I told you, I don't have any money."

"A little extra cooking, a little extra cleaning... don't worry, we'll work something out.  By the way, I need your schedule of classes and your work schedule."

"Class... shit!  What time is it?"

"9:15."

"SHIT!  I've got English Lit at 9:00.  I"m late.  Oh man, I HATE to go in late,” he mumbled to himself as he started off.

Jim grabbed his arm.  "Wait a minute, Chief.  I need that schedule."

"Later, man.  I've got to get to class."  Blair stopped when the heavy hand landed on his shoulder.  The look on Jim's face said he wasn't going to budge, and neither was Blair, until he got what he wanted.  Blair sighed as he pulled out a scrap of paper from his backpack and hurriedly wrote down his schedule.

He, once again, started to leave and once again, Jim stopped him.

"What?"

"You said you didn't have any money.  How were you going to eat today and how were you planning on getting home?"

"Home?  Oh.  I don't know... I'll work something out..."  Blair watched in amazement as Jim took out his wallet and handed him a twenty dollar bill.

"How much is a monthly bus pass?"

"Um... forty, I think."

"Okay, we'll see about getting you one tomorrow.  This'll hold you for today.  I'll see you at home this evening.  If anything changes, I'll leave a message on the machine.  Chief, I expect you home by..."  He looked over the schedule, “by 6:30."

"Okay, no problem."

Jim climbed in the truck and as Blair stood, class temporarily forgotten, watching him drive away, the boy only had one thought.

Jim had just told him he had a home and for the first time in his life, Blair felt like he really did have a home.

The series will continue.
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