4/30/00

This is the standard disclaimer.  They don’t belong to me.  They never have; they never will, more’s the pity and I make absolutely no money off of this story.  And while I have to admit my obnoxious 12 year old isn’t obnoxious all the time, I’m still pretty sure you wouldn’t want him.

This story does not contain discipline, however, it does discuss the matter in some detail.

Also, please don’t write to tell me The Stepford Wives didn’t come out until 1976.  I know that.  I just needed the scariest movie I could think of... and believe me The Stepford Wives IS one of the scariest movies of all times.  If you don’t believe me, see it for yourself.

Once again, I need to dedicate this story to my friend, Molly Moon.  She not only designed this beautiful web page, she has encouraged me way above and beyond the call of friendship.  And that’s what you are, Molly, a true friend.

I’d also like to thank all you wonderful people who wrote to me, telling me you liked my first story.  It really means a lot and keeps me enthusiastic.

The next story in the series is coming... eventually.  It’s called The Joys of Parenthood.

One other thing, do a monthly breast exam and get a yearly mammogram.  Take it from me, ignoring a lump does not make it go away.

I hope you enjoy the story.

Feedback is always welcome at [email protected]

Of course, there were a lot of things about his life he didn't understand right now.  For instance, why did he HAVE to live with the stern, somewhat-cold police detective, Jim Ellison?  Why did Ellison HAVE to have so many rules?  Why did he HAVE to work on the "chain gang" until he worked off his forty hours of campus service?  Why didn't his mother write and let him know where she was?

He gave a sigh as he realized that was the thing that was really bugging him: his mother, Naomi.

Jim Ellison had been appointed by the court as Blair's temporary guardian after Blair had organized a peaceful demonstration that had escalated into a major riot and had been arrested, by Ellison, no less.

Jim had contacted the authorities in Raipur, India, the last place Naomi had written from, only to discover Naomi had moved on.  It wasn't unusual for Naomi to move around, but ever since Blair had started at Rainier, last fall, she had made it a point to write to her son at least every couple of weeks to let him know where she was and how she could be reached.  He hadn't heard from her for over six weeks now and he was not only worried, he was starting to get angry.

Naomi knew nothing about the trouble Blair had gotten into and how much he needed her right now.  He had been ordered by the court to stay with Ellison until Naomi could be located.

Although that arrangement really wasn't as bad as he had initially thought it was going to be.  Jim could actually loosen up, on occasion, as Blair had discovered over the past two weeks.  They had a mutual love of basketball, the Jags in particular, and to Blair's amazement actually found plenty to talk about.

Blair had also rediscovered how good it felt to have someone to come home to after an eventful day.  Just to have someone to talk with about his day felt pretty good.  Hearing about Jim's cases was a secret thrill, as well.

Jack Pendergrast, Jim's partner, seemed to hang around a lot, too.  Jack's unfailing good humor sometimes helped act as a buffer for Blair and Jim if things heated up between them.  Blair had felt comfortable with the large detective almost from the start, and had even taken to calling him "Bigger", to the puzzlement of Pendergrast, who didn't realize that Blair sometimes called Jim, Big Guy, and since Pendergrast was bigger than Jim, the name Bigger kind of stuck in Blair's mind.

Yes, the past couple of weeks had been a time of discovery for Blair, but unfortunately, not all of his discoveries were positive.

Blair had also discovered, to his detriment, just how seriously Jim Ellison took the rules he had laid out in excruciating detail the night Blair moved into the loft.  Jim had not only laid out the rules, he had also stated what the punishment would be if Blair broke those rules.

Blair really hadn't believed the detective meant it when he had said Blair would be spanked if he broke any of the BIG rules, but he found out later that night, after he had tried to run away and had nearly gotten mugged, that Ellison was a man of his word.

It was just that the man had so MANY rules.  It was really hard to keep track of them all.  Like last night.  Blair had been studying for a history exam at the library and had not only lost all track of time, he had forgotten to leave a message telling Jim where he was.  Ellison expected him to be home by 6:30 or 7:00 every evening unless he called, for God's sakes.  Even if he did call, his curfew was 11:00.  Like he was a kid or something.

It had been after 10:00 and he was sitting by himself at a table in the corner, squinting slightly as he studied his history book.  His concentration was so intense, that it took several minutes before he felt the presence of someone behind him and turned around to see Jim standing there with his arms folded across his chest.  At that moment, he felt his heart leap into his throat.  The man didn't say a single word as he escorted Blair out of the library and to his truck.  Blair had had to do some pretty fast talking to get out of that one, and even then he would probably be doing the dishes for the next ten years.

His language was another problem.  Naomi had always encouraged him to express himself openly, meaning she rarely corrected him when he swore, and he was having a difficult time reigning himself in.  He hadn't had his mouth washed out with soap yet, another promised punishment, but he had come pretty close a time or two in the past couple of weeks.

"Are we keeping you awake, Mr. Sandburg?"  Professor Smith's voice broke into his musings.

Blair always thought it was appropriate that someone with the boring name of Smith should be teaching a boring subject like Intro to Algebra.

"Uh, no, sir.  I mean, yes, sir..."  The class broke into loud laughter.  "I mean, I'm sorry, sir...."  The bell ringing at that point saved him from further humiliation.

As he exited the classroom, he decided that since he didn't have any more classes for the day and he wasn't expected on the "chain gang" for another hour, now would be a perfect time to pick up that new book on the sentinels of Africa that the library was holding for him.  Between studying and Jim's unexpected arrival at the library last night, he had forgotten to pick it up.

He was really looking forward to reading it.  Hopefully, it wouldn't just be a re-hash of the other books he'd read on the subject.

Blair walked into the library, crossed to the check out desk and waited patiently to be helped.  He saw two young women standing off to the side, looking at him.  He knew they worked there and was wondering why one of them wasn't coming to wait on him when the older of the two spoke.

"You have to ring the bell."

"Huh?"

"You have to ring the bell before we can wait on you."

Blair looked at the counter and sure enough there was an old, hotel-type bell by a box of pencils.  He shrugged and tapped lightly on the bell, at which point the one who had spoken to him came over to wait on him.

"It's a new policy.  All customers have to ring the bell before we can wait on them," she said almost in a monotone.

Blair burst out laughing and saw an answering twinkle in the woman's eyes, indicating that she knew exactly how ludicrous the new policy was.  He continued to chuckle as he told her what he wanted.  Bureaucracy at its finest.

Jack Pendergrast was sitting at his desk as he watched his partner, Jim Ellison, talking on the phone.  Jack felt the kind of deep satisfaction that only comes from a job well done.  When Jack had "arranged" for Blair Sandburg to be placed in Detective Jim Ellison's care, he knew he was taking a chance, on both the kid and the detective.  Although they had gotten off to a rocky start, the unorthodox relationship was working out even better than Jack had expected.

Oh, there had been a few disagreements between the two in the past couple of weeks, but that was to be expected with any new relationship; be it friendship, marriage, or adoption.

Jack recalled Ellison's first day back to work after taking charge of the kid.  Jim had just come from the hearing at Rainier University to determine whether Blair would be allowed to remain there as a student.  Even though the hearing had worked out favorably and Blair was allowed to continue as a student, he had objected to Jim's interference that caused him to have to work off forty hours of campus service, or as the kid called it, the "chain gang."  The two had had a minor disagreement about it just before Jim left the kid on campus, and he was still irritated when he had gotten to the station.

Jim's patience was even more strained when he saw Carolyn, his soon to be ex-wife, waiting by his desk when he arrived.

Since Jack had been sitting at his own desk, which was right next to Ellison's, he had been privy to the entire conversation.

"Jim, I need to talk to you," she said urgently.

"Carolyn, I think we've already done all the talking that's necessary.  I'll have to say the process server was a nice touch, though.  Having me served here, at work, was way out of line, don't you think?"  Jim's voice managed to combine sarcasm and ice.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about.  Jim, I didn't have anything to do with that."

Jim gave a snort of disbelief.

"No, really.  I didn't find out what happened until after you'd left for the day.  I called my attorney as soon as I heard about it and gave him hell.  He said there was some kind of mix up.  The PI had been given two sets of papers to serve that day; you and some jerk who abused his wife and his kids.  The PI got confused and thought you were the abuser.  He decided to serve you as publicly as possible to embarrass you.  I'm really sorry, Jim.  I certainly never meant for that to happen.  You were supposed to be served at home."

Her voice softened.  "Jim, what we had together may be over, but I still care about you very much.  You should know I would never intentionally do something like that... something that would hurt or embarrass you."

His jaw relaxed and he even managed a slight smile.  "Okay, I believe you.  We'll let it go."

"I do still want us to be friends."

"Carolyn, that may take some time.  I think maybe it would be a good idea if we both move on with our own lives.  Let's just try to avoid one another for a while... until things settle down some."

"All right.  If that's how you really feel, I'll go along with that, for now... but I'm still hoping we can be friends again, someday."  With a sad smile she left the bullpen.

Between the conversation with Carolyn and the disagreement with the kid, Jim had been irritable for most of the day.

Jack's musings were interrupted by the dulcet tones of Captain Simon Banks.

"Pendergrast, when Ellison gets off the phone come to my office."

Jack nodded to Simon and gave a silent sigh.  Just two more months and he would be officially retired.  The honorable J.P. Harrigan, or as he was better known, "ol' hang em high Harrigan," his co-conspirator in getting Ellison and the kid together, as well as his lover for over ten years, had also announced his retirement last week.

They were planning to travel all over the world together for the first year of their retirement.  Thanks to some sound investments, they could both afford to visit every place they wanted to see.  After they were done traveling they were then going to settle down.  Someplace where they could openly live their lives together in peace.  Someplace where they didn't have to hide who and what they were to each other.  Someplace where they could get in a lot of fishing.

As Jack was silently picturing this perfect Shangri La, Jim's voice interrupted him.

"The captain wanted to see us?"

Jack smiled.  "Yep, let's go partner.  Got to earn that paycheck."

After a day spent mostly on the more mundane aspects of police work, Jim Ellison was looking forward to getting home, grabbing a beer and, metaphorically speaking, putting his feet up.  As he was pondering the joys of doing nothing but catching a baseball game on the tube, it suddenly occurred to him that he might be getting old before his time.  A quiet evening at home was fine for old folks, but hey, he was only thirty.

Jim had checked the kid's schedule before he left the station and decided he could probably catch Blair at the dorm.  He knew the kid went there everyday to check his mailbox before he left campus.  He'd pick Blair up and take him out to eat.  No sense in sitting home on a Friday night.

Besides now would be an ideal time to take the kid to the optometrist at the mall to get him checked out.  Jim had noticed that Blair did a lot of squinting when he was on his computer, but until last night when he was watching him in the library, he hadn't realized how much the kid squinted when he was reading.  He knew Blair needed glasses and was sorry the boy hadn't said something about it to him, but since he hadn't mentioned it, Jim decided he would have to take matters into his own hands.  He figured going to the mall on a Friday night wouldn't be nearly as bad as going on Saturday.

Besides, since this Saturday was Blair's sixteenth birthday, Jim had plans for the day, which didn't include a trip to the mall.

After they got Blair's glasses ordered, they could hit the pizza place and then take in a movie.  All at the same location.  He gave a chuckle.  One stop shopping at its best.

Blair stood before the bank of mailboxes in the dorm, took a deep breath, silently said a quick calming mantra and put in his combination.  He opened the door and took out the mail that had accumulated since he had last checked the box.

When he realized, once again, that there was still no letter from Naomi, he felt an almost crushing disappointment, followed immediately by a surge of anger.  Where the hell was she?  Why hadn't she written to him to let him know where she was, or at least to find out how he was?  How could she do this to him?

"Hey, Blair baby.  Where's your bodyguard, or should I say your jailer?  You know, I really get a kick out of watching you clean up around campus these days.  I think maintenance is really your field of expertise."

Blair groaned as he heard Brad Johanson's voice.  The star wrestler at Rainier had made Blair's life miserable since the first day of classes.  And lately, Johanson had delighted in taunting Blair every time he had seen him working around campus with the maintenance department.

Although he had seen Johanson hanging around the lobby of the dorm nearly every time he checked his mail, this was the first time Johanson had bothered Blair there, at least since the time Jim had caught him trying to rough Blair up and had threatened the wrestler with jail time if he ever did it again.

"Lay off, Brad.  I'm not in the mood for this shit, okay?"

"What's the matter, Blair baby?  Still haven't heard from Mommy?"

When Blair turned around to face Johanson he glanced over Brad's shoulder and saw the Resident Assistant, Mike Chapel, standing behind the desk looking worried and almost wringing his hands.  It finally clicked together for him.

"How do you know I haven't heard from Naomi?  You said something about it before, but I didn't put it together until now."  Blair dropped his backpack and advanced on the larger man.

"Just who did you pay to take my mail, huh?  Did you pay them, bribe them or just threaten them?  Huh?  WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?"

Blair pushed Johanson into the bank of mailboxes, his anger giving him the strength to hold the much larger man there.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE MY LETTERS?"

At that moment, Johanson, who was only wearing tube socks on his feet, felt them suddenly slide out from under him on the tile floor, and to his, and Blair's, amazement he landed on his ass.

As Blair stood there in shock, with his mouth slightly open, he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him and felt an equally familiar hand on his shoulder.

"Take it easy, Chief."

Blair found his voice and his anger at the same instant.  "Did you hear?  Do you know what this jerk did?  He's been taking my letters from my mom.  He's the reason I DON'T KNOW WHERE NAOMI IS!"

With that Blair lost all self-control and started after Johanson again.  Jim grabbed the boy under his arms and around his chest to hold him away from Johanson.  The kid had been in enough trouble lately and certainly didn't need an assault charge lodged against him.

Chapel appeared from behind Ellison and tried to help Johanson up as Jim wrestled the kid away from the man on the floor.  Johanson irritably shrugged off the resident assistant.  Put down by a kid.  He knew he would never live this episode down once it got out.

The RA turned to Jim, who was still holding a furious Sandburg, and said.  "I'm really sorry.  I didn't realize what he was doing until this morning.  Several weeks ago, he offered to help me put out the mail and it kind of got to be a habit to let him help.  It wasn't until this morning that I realized what he was doing.  It's not just you, Blair.  He's been checking out everyone else's mail, too.  I don't know what he's done with all the letters, but...."

With that, Blair turned into a human cyclone.  His arms were flailing wildly and he twisted his body every which way trying to loosen the hold Jim had on him.  He had an advantage over Jim, however, since he was so angry he didn't care who he hurt, while Jim was trying desperately to hold onto the boy without doing any damage to him.  It was at that moment that a feminine voice was heard from across the room.

"What in the world are you doing?  Take your hands off him!  Blair, sweetie, what's going on?"  To Jim, "I said LET HIM GO!"

Blair raised his head, looked at Naomi Sandburg standing by the door and said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Naomi, you cut your hair."

Jim watched impassively as the elusive Naomi Sandburg held her son tightly in her arms.  She looked nothing at all like the Medusa image Jim had built up in his mind after hearing her described by others.  She was not only
substantially younger than he had pictured, but she seemed very... almost fragile.  She was a very attractive woman who was somewhat taller than Blair.  Her hair was a light auburn and only her blue eyes gave any hint to the relationship between herself and the boy she was holding so closely.

Jim decided to give them some privacy while he dealt with the other pending matters.

He turned to Mike Chapel.  "Call the campus police.  You'll need to give a statement."  He grabbed Johanson's arm as he was trying to ease out of the lobby.

"Hold it right there. You may not realize it, but tampering with mail is a federal offense.  You're in big trouble here.  You'd better plan on getting yourself a good lawyer."

He looked back at Chapel.  "You'll have to explain why you didn't report him to the police this morning, if you discovered what he was doing then."  Chapel swallowed hard and gave a slight nod.

An hour later Jim rubbed the back of his neck as he watched the uniformed officers escort a crying Johanson, in cuffs, to the waiting squad car.  It had taken that long to deal with the various campus authorities who agreed
that this was, indeed, a police matter.  As soon as Johanson was transported to headquarters, the appropriate federal agencies would be notified and they would take it from there.  It was a sure bet, though, that Johanson would not be allowed back as a student at Rainier, star athlete or not.

It looked like Chapel was only going to receive a reprimand.  As it turned out, he had tried to reach the dorm director, who hadn't been available today, to turn the matter over to him.  It hadn't occurred to Chapel to notify the campus police; he thought it was only a dorm problem.  Chapel was only guilty of using poor judgment.

Jim looked around the room until he spotted Blair sitting with Naomi on a sofa in the corner of the lobby.  He walked over in time to hear Naomi saying, "Sweetie, I don't understand why we can't just go to your room to
talk.  The other problem seems to be taken care of and we have a lot to discuss and I'd like to talk to... I need to talk to you privately."

"Ms. Sandburg, I'm afraid that's impossible."  Jim joined the conversation.  "Blair doesn't have a room in this dorm.  He moved out of here months ago."

At the stunned look on Naomi's face, Blair jumped in.  "Jim, please.  Let me handle this. Okay?"

"No, Chief, I think we ALL need to be in on this little conversation.  But your Mom's right.  We should be discussing this privately."

"Who are YOU and just what do you have to do with my son?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Sandburg, I should have introduced myself.  I'm Detective Jim Ellison with the Cascade PD and I'm looking after Blair... at least until we could locate you.  He got into some trouble a couple of weeks ago and that's why the court appointed me as his temporary legal guardian."

Naomi's eyes widened.  " A pig?"

Blair shot a quick look at Jim and took immediate action to head off trouble.  "Uh, Naomi, Jim really doesn't like to be called that..."

"I see.  I'll try to contain myself.  You're right, Detective Ellison, we ALL need to discuss this... privately."

"Let me get your bags and we'll be on our way."

"Where are we going?"

"My place....  That is..."  With a glance at Blair.  "OUR place."

"Oh.  This is all going to take some time to process," she said faintly.

The ride to the loft was accomplished in total silence.  Each passenger was involved in their own myriad thoughts.

Naomi was, indeed, trying to process all the information that the somewhat overbearing detective had given her; although she suspected there was much more to the story than she had heard so far.  How could this have happened?

When she had reluctantly left Blair here last fall, she had convinced herself she was doing the right thing.  This was Washington State, surely Blair couldn't be found here.  Here he was just one out of a thousand other students.  She had left him living in a secure place, with a job for spending money.  He had never written to tell her that anything was wrong.  When and where had he moved?  His work study job didn't pay nearly enough for an apartment.  Why had he left the dorm?   She was determined to get the answers, either before or after she removed her son from the influence of this pig.

And she still had to tell Blair about what was going on with her.  But not yet.  Not when her baby was turning sixteen.  She had to keep that from him until after this weekend.

As the sudden sharp pain hit, she gave a small gasp and immediately started the mantra she had recently learned.  She knew she needed to hold on to as much control over her body as she could.  She didn't want the authorities in general, and this pig, in particular, to have any clue to her condition, since that might allow them to try and stop her from taking Blair with her when she left.

Jim was holding onto his temper by a thread.  He did not want to tell Ms. Sandburg exactly how he rated her parenting skills in front of her son.  He also strongly suspected there might be a fight to keep the boy with him.  He knew the kid would never forgive him if he arrested her, although that was just what he wanted to do.  Just how far would he have to go to keep her from taking Blair?

Jim caught himself.  Wait a minute.  When did this happen?  When did he decide to make this boy a part of his life?  Was he nuts?  It was his job to make sure that the kid would be properly taken care of, but that didn't mean he, Jim Ellison, was the only one capable of looking after Blair.  To be fair, the boy would probably be better off with his mother.  He only knew Naomi Sandburg was going to have to work very hard to convince him that she was capable of taking care of this kid, Blair's mother or not.

Blair was just now realizing that even with his mom here, there were still a lot of questions to be answered.  He had been so focused on actually locating Naomi that he had forgotten that she would expect some answers about his living arrangements.  He knew Jim didn't fully appreciate the subtle differences between lying and obfuscation and would demand nothing less than the whole truth, when Blair explained all the whys and wherefores to Naomi.  He also knew that all the calming mantras in the world weren't going to change the fact that Naomi was going to be royally pissed when she heard what he had done.

Then, of course, there were all the other problems.  Could he go with his mom now or would he still have to stay with Jim?  Would he still have to go to court?  And if he could go with Naomi, where would they stay until he finished school?  Would he be able to not only finish the semester, would he, barring further problems, be able to graduate?

Just when he had been settling into a somewhat uneasy routine with Jim, life had suddenly spun out of control... again.  Instead of solving his problems, Naomi's sudden appearance seemed to raise a whole new set.

Life just got a whole lot more complicated for all three of them.

The silence carried the three from the truck and into the loft.  Blair, in his typical fashion, decided to take charge before there was a fireworks display.

"Hey, Naomi, are you hungry?"  Before she could answer, he continued, "Jim, why don't we order Chinese tonight?  I know everyone here likes it, and I know, I know, it's my turn to cook, but this will be better, don't you think?"  Blair was desperate to get an added touch of normalcy to the situation, and what was more normal than dinner?

Jim looked thoughtfully at him and said, "Good idea, Chief, but why don't you go down to the place on the corner and pick it up?  You always get better service and fewer mistakes with the order if you go in person. Here's the money.  Take your time.  Your mom and I have some things to talk about while your gone."

"Uh, Jim, that's not what I had in mind.  I mean we can just call it in and they'll deliver.  I don't need to go.  Besides I should be here when you and Naomi talk.  I mean this is my life you're going to be talking about, right?"

"Sweetie, I think maybe Mr., uh, Detective Ellison's right.  I hear you, but he and I need to talk and then, I promise, you can talk to your heart's content.  But we need to get some things out of the way first."

Blair looked at the two of them thoughtfully.  He just knew this was a HUGE mistake.  "Well, okay, but I really think you need me to interpret for you.  I mean, it's not like you two even speak the same language."  After he took the money from Jim, he whispered something in Naomi's ear, grinned and left.

"What was that about?"  Jim reluctantly asked.

Naomi gave a small smile, "he was just reminding me that I should only use the word ‘pig’ to refer to fat, smelly animals and to please refrain from using it in the normal context."

"Normal context?  Never mind, I really don't want to get into that.  I think we have more important things to discuss."

"You're right, we do.  You go first.  Please explain to me how a police detective met up with a fifteen-year-old college student.  Especially one who has never had any problems with the p.. law before."

"All right.  Blair organized a demonstration that developed into a riot.  He was hurt.  I found him, after the Cascade PD was called in to help the campus police.  I took him to the hospital to get checked out.  I arrested him.  I took him to court, where he informed the judge that he was fifteen, didn't know where you were and that I might be his father.  Although to be fair, he was on some pretty strong pain meds when he said that.  The judge decided that since he was underage and without parental supervision, I would be the perfect man to take charge of him.  Otherwise he would be turned over to the juvenile authorities and probably placed in foster care.  I moved him out of the rat-infested warehouse where he was living, if you could call it that, and into this place.  I was with him at the hearing when he was faced with expulsion from school.  I have spent every spare minute in the past two weeks trying to track you down.  That's the abridged version.  Now do you have any more questions?"

"Yes, may I have a glass of water, please?"

Jim had been watching Naomi closely for her reactions to his recitation and was alarmed at how pale she had become.  He quickly led her to the sofa, helped her sit down and got her a glass of water.

As he handed it to her he asked, "Would you like anything stronger?"

"No, thank you, water's fine."  Naomi wondered how she was going to slip the pill she needed past the sharp-eyed detective.  The opportunity arose when he went back to the kitchen for a beer for himself.  She took a few moments to collect herself before she plunged in with her questions.

"I'm trying to put this all together.  I can understand how Blair could organize a demonstration, what was it for by the way?"

"He was trying to keep a park on campus from being turned into parking lot."

"Yes, of course, that would be very important to him.  How badly was he hurt?"

"It's a little late for that, don't you think."

"A little late for what?"

"The motherly bit.  You're really not going to impress me with your concern.  If you really gave a damn about that boy, you would have been in touch with him."

"It's not a bit.  I AM his mother.  I'm not trying to ‘impress’ you detective, but of course, I give a damn about him."  She took a deep breath.

"I was in touch with Blair.  I've written to him every two weeks since he started school.  I let him know where I was and how he could contact me if he needed to....  Very good, detective.  You know you could patent that if you wanted to."

"Patent what?"

"That look of disbelief on your face.  I'm sure it would make you a fortune if you marketed it just right.  Especially if you sold it to others in your line of work.  Now I'll ask you again, how badly was Blair hurt?"

"A mild headache, nothing more.  Don't you want to know anything else?  Like where he was living?"

"You said something about a warehouse?"

"No, what I said was a rat-infested warehouse.  Over near the docks.  No heat.  He used a couple of space heaters to keep the sleeping area warm.  No bathing facilities. Dangerous neighborhood.  Lots of company, though, of the four-legged variety.  The bus stopped several blocks away and he had a habit of walking by himself at 1:00 in the morning.  He seemed to think that you wouldn't mind, though, since it was cheaper than living in the dorm."

"How could he believe that?  I would never condone him living in such a place.  How could he afford it, anyway?  He only had a work study job that couldn't possibly have paid for it."

"He had another job that he worked part time.  He was running from school to his campus job to this outside job to tutoring a couple of students.  From what I gather, he was sleeping on the side.  The outside job is finished.  He lost it when I made him call in the day he moved in here.  It's just as well.  I found out later, he was cleaning up at a skin joint.  Do you know what that is?"

"Of course I know what that is.  Kindly do not patronize me, detective.  You said something about expulsion from school?"

"The school administrators were less than thrilled with the riot.  They found out Blair was the person who organized the demonstration and he was nearly expelled.  Instead of expulsion, they agreed to let Blair pay for a damaged tux and do forty hours of campus service.  He has about five hours left to serve."

"What about the park he was trying to save?"

"They decided it would better serve the campus community to put the parking lot somewhere else."

"I'm sure that made Blair very happy."

"I don't know if he's had time to pay too much attention to it.  He's been busy working off his campus service, his work study job, his tutoring, studying and worrying about finding you.  Not to mention that he's working
off the cost of the tux by doing extras here."

"Extras?  Like what?"

"He does the laundry, the dishes and most of the cooking, since, for the most part, he doesn't like what I fix.  He also does the cleaning, although you don't want to see what he considers clean in his room."

"I'm his mother.  I've lived with him for most of his life.  I know what he considers clean in his personal space."

There was a long pause as Naomi considered all Jim had told her, but before she could comment, Jim decided it was his turn to ask some questions.

"Now I have some questions for you."

"Go ahead."

But before Jim could start his interrogation, the door burst open to reveal Blair juggling several bags and boxes.  As Jim walked over to give the kid a hand, he realized his answers were going to have to wait.

Dinner was a very enlightening experience for Naomi.  She was able to observe, first hand, exactly how the detective and her son interacted.  What she saw confused her tremendously.

Even though Blair had spent most of his childhood surrounded by both men and women, he had just seemed to naturally gravitate towards the women in any group they had stayed with over the years.  He hadn’t really paid too much attention to many of the men, much less allowed any of them to get close enough to develop a relationship with him, although Naomi had always suspected that there had been a healthy dose of jealousy involved there, and he certainly had never allowed any man to become an authority figure.  That role had always been her sole responsibility.

Now, Blair, her very independent son, the boy who had questioned everything and everybody from the time he could talk, did exactly what Jim told him to without any argument whatsoever.  When he started to get out a soda for himself and Jim instructed him to pour himself a glass of milk instead, he did it immediately.  From the time Blair was five, Naomi had had to either coax or bribe her son to drink milk in any form and she was amazed to see Blair not only pour it, but drink it down completely.

She also saw the way the two kidded with each other, about basketball of all things.  Naomi wasn’t aware that her son even liked basketball, or any sport for that matter.  It was clear that, in some strange way, Blair was comfortable with the detective, and though she knew it must have made it easier for her son to adjust to his current living arrangements, she couldn’t bring herself to approve.  She also found herself left out of a lot of what they were discussing.  It was some kind of “guy speak” that she just couldn’t follow.

Blair spent the meal desperately trying to figure out first, how to get the most important person in his life to relax in an atmosphere that was totally foreign to her, and second, how to keep the person who had stood by him the past few weeks and who he was starting to count on in many ways, from alienating the most important person in his life.  Although he knew it was highly unlikely, he really wanted these two people to, if not actually like each other, at least learn to tolerate each other.

He was also dealing with a strange mixture of confusion and anger.  He’d spent the past few weeks not only wondering where Naomi was and how to contact her, but also worrying if she was okay.  These emotions were in addition to the strain of being arrested, losing the privacy of the warehouse, the school hearing, the hours of campus service, not to mention the drastic change of moving in with a strong male authority figure.

Although he loved and had missed his mom desperately, he was also starting to not just accept, but also, in a weird way, kind of rely on the rules Ellison had laid down for him.  He was actually starting to get comfortable with the routine of his life and was very confused about the changes Naomi’s unexpected appearance might trigger.  Although he hadn’t planned on living with Jim for long, he also didn’t know if he wanted to live with his mom and her peripatetic lifestyle again.  He loved going to college; the challenges and the successes; he didn’t want to lose that and he knew he would if he went back to living and traveling with Naomi.  Besides he had barely started to get the information he needed about sentinels.  He had so much more to do there.  But she was his MOM, for God’s sake.  He knew he owed her his first loyalty.

All these confusing emotions were churning around inside him, but he somehow managed to maintain his facade of good humor.  He tried to keep things as light as he could because he just wasn’t ready to deal with all the major issues that were looming on his horizon.

As Blair was clearing the table after the meal, he asked, “So Naomi, you never did say why you cut your hair?”

“I was just ready for a change.”

“But you always said you would never cut your hair!  Jim, you should have seen it.  It was way down past her waist and really wavy.  God, Naomi, it was beautiful.  Why’d you do it?”

“Like I said, I was ready for a change.  It was a lot of work and since the stars were in the right alignment for a minor change in my life, that was the thing I changed.”  Naomi’s voice was starting to get a little tight, telling Blair to back off.  Blair took the hint.

“Besides, I think we have more important things to discuss than my hair, don’t you agree, detective?”

“Yes, Ms. Sandburg, I do.  I still have some questions I’d like answered.”

“I’m aware of that, but first I’d like to hear what Blair has to say about all this.”

Jim decided it was his turn to sit back and observe mother and son.  He was aware that Naomi had been closely watching how he and Blair interacted and he was interested in seeing them in action, as well.  It was very eye opening.  He couldn’t help but be a little impressed with the fact that Naomi never raised her voice, but still managed to let Blair know he had made some pretty stupid, not to mention dangerous, choices in the past few months.

Former flower child or not, she was also pretty astute.  She wondered why Blair hadn’t bothered to contact Geraldine Two Crow, the person named in the letter she had left for him, along with the thousand-dollar cashier’s check and his passport.  He had been told Geri would know how to contact her in any emergency.  Why hadn’t he called Geri?  Jim wondered the same thing.

The answer was a trip into what Jim was now calling the Sandburg zone.  A lot of confusing rhetoric, but it finally boiled down to Blair thinking that he was only supposed to contact Geri if he needed to leave Cascade secretly, for any reason, and since he didn’t need to leave... at that he shot a desperate look at Jim, silently begging him not to tell Naomi about his unsuccessful attempt to run away.  This was not something his mom needed to know, besides it was sooo embarrassing.  Blair wanted to keep all the details of that night just between the two of them.  Jim nodded to him, silently telling the boy he wouldn’t say anything, yet.  He would tell Blair privately that he expected him to tell his mother about that night.

She was also less than impressed with Blair’s answers regarding his decision to move out of the dorm.  Once again, without raising her voice she made her displeasure with that situation very clear to the kid.  He had been in contact with her when the situation first arose and hadn’t bothered to tell her anything about Johanson or his decision to move out of the dorm and where he was moving to.

As for his second job, well, considering the circumstances, she understood the necessity of taking another job, but how could he bring himself to work in a place that was so sexist... that treated women as nothing more than objects and objects that had no value, at that?

Jim had to admit, it was definitely an argument he would never have thought to use.  It was also highly effective, judging by the way Blair reacted.  Blushing in shame, the boy hung his head.

All in all, the conversation was a revealing display of the dynamics of their relationship.

Jim was left wondering if the boy’s father had ever fit in this picture and decided it was time to get some answers of his own.  “Ms. Sandburg, I think Blair has pretty much covered his rationale for his actions.  Now I’d like to get some answers regarding your whereabouts the past few months.  Your last letter said you were in Raipur.  Where did you go from there?”

“Detective Ellison, even though it’s still early, I have had an extremely long and eventful day, I’d like to postpone answering your questions until after tomorrow.  I don’t think it’s really important, but I assure you, I’m not trying to avoid answering your questions.  If you don’t mind, I will answer any questions you have on Sunday.  I plan to spend tomorrow with my son, since it’s his birthday.  Now, Blair, if you’ll get some things together, while I call a cab, we can be on our way.  We’ll see you on Sunday, detective.”

Jim came to the conclusion that Blair came by his avoidance tactics naturally.

“I’m afraid I can’t allow you to take Blair with you, Ms. Sandburg.  Until we go before Judge Harrigan, I’m still Blair’s legal guardian and he stays with me.”  Jim’s voice was implacable.  He had hoped to avoid this scene, but he knew deep down it was inevitable.

Even though Blair had spent the past thirty minutes feeling picked on by Naomi and he wasn’t even sure that he wanted to leave with her, he automatically leaped in,  “What!  Jim, you can’t be serious, man.  I mean, she’s my mom!”

“I’m sorry, Chief, but until we get a formal release from Judge Harrigan, I’m still the one responsible for you.  I know you want to spend time with your mom.  You can spend the day with her tomorrow, but you have to stay here at night.  That’s just the way things are right now.”

A pause as he allowed that to sink in, then he went on, “Ms. Sandburg, I’ll be glad to drive you to your hotel, if that’s where you’re staying?”

She gave a brief nod and as she picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder said coolly, “That’s really not necessary.  If you’ll just call a cab...?”

“Are you sure, I’d be glad to drive you?”

“Yes, thank you.  I can take a cab.”  She took a deep breath.  This wasn’t what she wanted but she could bide her time.  At least he hadn’t made a fuss about tomorrow.  Besides she was too exhausted to argue right now.  The pill she had taken earlier was wearing off and she knew she’d need to be much more alert to handle the coming battle.

“Blair, we’ll spend the day together tomorrow.  I’ll pick you up about 9:00, if that’s all right with you, detective?”  Her voice was just the slightest bit tight as she asked her question.

“That’s fine.  I’ll make sure he’s ready.”

Blair couldn’t believe this!  Naomi hadn’t even put up an argument!  Maybe he had the situation all wrong; maybe she really didn’t want him.  Maybe she liked the freedom to go where she wanted without him tagging along, slowing her down.  Maybe she’d just been biding her time all these years until she could conveniently get rid of him.

And Jim!  Jim was just doing this because of the court order.  He didn’t really care about him.  Blair was just a job to him.  He was just kidding himself that the detective gave a damn about him.

All of the strain of the past few weeks, combined with the tangled emotions the boy had been holding in for so long, exploded out of him.

“That’s just great!  Don’t I have a say in this?  And for your information, Mr. Detective, I can get myself ready.  I think you’ve done enough already.  I don’t believe you, man.  How can you do this?  Do you really think that asshole judge is going to care if I spend the night with my mom?  He’s not even gonna know if you’d just keep your FUCKING MOUTH SHUT!”

“All right, Chief, that’s enough!”

“No, it’s not enough!  I don’t need your help.  I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.  Long before I even came here.  Don’t pretend like you give a damn about me.  I’M JUST ANOTHER GODDAMN JOB TO YOU, RIGHT?”

He turned to Naomi.

“And you!  You’re my mom.  You’re supposed to fight for me.  You’re supposed to be there for me.  You’re not even arguing about this.  IF YOU DON’T CARE, WHY’D YOU EVEN BOTHER TO COME BACK?”

Naomi paled at this accusation.  She desperately wanted to comfort her son, but the roaring in her ears and the dryness of her throat prevented her from saying anything.

Blair stood clenching his fists and was nearly panting with the exertion of letting out everything he was feeling.  For the second time that day he was totally out of control.

“You know, I don’t NEED you.  Either of you.  I DON’T NEED ANYBODY!”

He suddenly whirled around and was out the door, slamming it behind him, before Jim or Naomi could move.

Just as Jim headed for the door to go after the kid and haul him back, he heard a thud behind him.  He turned and saw Naomi out cold on the floor.

He gave a sigh. Going after Blair would have to wait.

  ON TO PART FOUR