"Ellison!"

Simon's roar rang through the bullpen.  Detectives looked down at their desks, concentrating on their paperwork as they watched Jim Ellison surreptitiously from the corners of downcast eyes.  He stood with a sigh and a "why me?" look, then followed Simon's crooked finger.  The door slammed shut, and a sigh of relief sounded among all present.

"Man, I'm glad he didn't want me!" Henri Brown said, shaking his head.  Around him, murmurs of agreement filled the air.

******

"Captain?  What's the problem?"

Banks chomped down on the unlit cigar in his mouth.  His detective wasn't going to like this.  "The Cascade Hospital just called.  Sandburg is..."

"What happened?"  Jim interrupted, his forehead wrinkling in concern.

Simon's voice grew louder, overriding Jim's words.  "Sandburg is at their ER and he needs a ride home."

"Is he okay?  Did they say why?  How long has he been there?"

Shrugging, Simon rounded his desk and sank back into his chair.  "I don't know.  The nurse said that he was fine, it wasn't life threatening, and that he walked in under his own steam.  She's stalling him so he doesn't try to walk home.  The nurses want you to come get him."

"The nurses do?  What about Sandburg?  Why didn't he call?"

Brows lowered threateningly, Simon scowled.  "I don't know.  But the nurse I spoke to said you'd better get your butt down there right away."

"Simon, if Blair hasn't called..."

"Detective, next time you get injured, do you really want to end up in an ER where the nurses are pissed off at you?"  He pointed his cigar at Jim, who had opened his mouth.  "And don't tell me that won't happen, because we both know that isn't true."  Jim's mouth snapped shut.

They sat in silence for a moment, staring at each other.

"Take the rest of the afternoon off," Simon finally said, picking up a folder.

"Thank you, sir."

**********************

Jim pulled his truck into the first open parking spot that he saw.  Yeah, he had to walk across practically the entire parking lot, but Sweetheart would be safe from any dings or scratches.  He took a shortcut, entering through the ambulance garage.  He was pounced on as soon as one of the nurses spotted him.

"Detective!  Over here."

Jim admired the woman's slim form clad in pink scrubs as she approached.  The red hair was an added bonus.  "Why haven't we met before?" he breathed.

She smiled, and dimples flashed.  "Because I'm in pediatrics?  My name is Holly."

"Yeah, I would have remembered if I'd seen you before.  Nice to meet you, Holly."  Jim shook her proffered hand and smiled, keeping her hand clasped in his.

With a giggle, she pulled it back.  "You're as cute as Blair is," she observed, then clapped her hand over her mouth.  "Sorry."

Jim cleared his throat.  "Um, yeah.  Where is Sandburg?  What happened?"

"Follow me."  Beckoning for him to follow, she led him through the double doors into a corridor.

"Is that him?"  A tall nurse with dark hair and a tiny nose stud grinned at Holly.  Since she was wearing scrubs with teddy bears on them, Jim surmised that she must also be stationed in pediatrics.

"Yep," Holly said, walking faster.  "I'm bringing him to Blair now."

"Does he know what happened?"

Holly slowed her steps and turned to frown at Jim.  "Do you?"

Jim shrugged.  "Not a clue.  Someone just called and told me to come get him."

"Oh."

"Maybe you could tell me?"  he suggested.  "I'd like to know what I'm going to find when I get there."

Holly shook her head decisively.  "No, I think Blair should tell you.  Just don't...laugh when you see him.  He's fine."  She tucked her arm through his and patted his arm with her free hand.  "He's so sensitive."

Jim rolled his eyes and wondered what was going on.

***************

Holly led him to a conference room. The door was closed.  Jim focused his hearing and heard Sandburg's heart beating a regular rhythm.  From the sound of it, there were about twenty very excited people in there with him.  Holly tapped on the door before opening it.  "Blair?  Guess who I found?  Your partner!"

"Jim?"  Blair's response sounded...panicked.  The sound of people grew louder.  "How did you find out...  Why are you here?"

Frowning with concern, Ellison answered.  "Someone called the station and said you needed a ride home right away."  Crossing the threshold, he caught his first glimpse of his partner and felt his lips twitch upwards.  Holly poked him with her elbow.

"We called him for you, Blair," she said sweetly.  "Nobody wanted you to have to walk home with your injury."

Blair grimaced.  "Yeah, thanks Holly.  That was very..." he choked.  "Thoughtful."

"We were glad to do it Blair.  You're our favorite patient."  Blair's smile looked a little strained as he acknowledged the compliment.  The silence grew awkward.  Holly looked from one man to the other and cleared her throat.

"Okay, well, I guess we'll let Blair get ready to go," she said brightly.  She clapped her hands.  "Let's go girls, time to move onto our next station.  Say goodbye and thank you to Blair."

From around the room, voices chirped 'thank you, Blair' and 'good-bye'.  Little girls filed past Jim, several of them patting Blair and whispering individual messages to him as they left.  Jim's flushed at the intensity of pre-teen gazes evaluating him; giggles filled the air.  He didn't listen to their comments, not having any desire to know what they were saying.

"Come back soon!" Holly called.  "The girls always enjoy new learning experiences!"  She closed the door firmly behind her.  The sound of giggles echoed faintly.

Silence.  Blair turned red and avoided Jim's eyes.

"So Chief, new look?" Jim asked, casually leaning against the closed door.

Blair pointed a finger at him.  "Don't, man."

"Don't what?"

"Don't start."

"Me?"

"You."

Jim raised his hands in surrender and waited somewhat patiently.  "Er, you want some help with that?" he finally asked.  "It would be nice to get out of here sometime today."

"Fine," Blair said shortly.  "Start unwinding."  He held out his right leg, and Jim began unwrapping the bandage wound around...and around and around and around...it.

"What happened, Chief?" Ellison asked, finally reaching the end, only to discover another wrapping job underneath.

"Ah, man."  Blair stopped working on his arm.  "It was horrible.  Terrible."

"Yeah?  Care to share?"  Instead of a figure eight wrapping, this one looked more like a haphazard job.  No finesse.

Sandburg sighed.  "I was walking across the park this morning.  You know how it was all slippery from the ice storm last night?  Well, I was just minding my own business when suddenly, this...this *hoard* of munchkins ran at me."

"Hoard?"

"There's no other word to describe it, Jim," Blair said with a shudder.  "Anyway, I dodged, and my feet hit a patch of ice.  They flew right out from under me and I landed flat on my face."

Jim winced in sympathy.  "Ow.  Well, that would explain the swollen nose."

"Yeah."  Blair gingerly touched the bridge of the swollen appendage.  "The doctor thinks it's probably not broken, but the nosepiece of my glasses sliced across my nose and cut it, so I was bleeding all over the place."

Jim reached the end of the second bandage and moved on to the ankle wrap on Blair's left leg.  "And?"

"Well, turns out that the hoard was a troop of girl scouts.  They were on a field trip heading here, to earn their first aid badge with nurse Holly."

"Ah."

Blair glared at him.  "Don't 'ah' me, Ellison."

"Just making conversation, Chief."

Blair snorted.  "Yeah, right.  Anyway, they slapped something they called a field dressing on my nose and escorted me here.  While I was in the ER, waiting for the doctor to look at my nose, Holly and Amber..."

"Tall, dark, nose pierced?"

"Yeah.  They asked me if the girls could practice their first aid techniques."  Blair rolled his eyes as he started unwrapping the bandage wound around his head.

"And you said yes?"  Jim's eyebrows practically touched his hairline--not an easy thing.

Blair glared again.  "YOU try saying no to twenty two little girls, Jim.  They were staring at me like I was their own personal ice cream sundae.  Not to mention two beautiful and devious troop leaders," he added gloomily.  "Somehow, they made it sound like it was all my idea.  And that's how I ended up looking like a refuge from 'The Mummy'."  The last white strip fell to the floor, and Jim's mouth dropped open.

"What?" Sandburg said defensively.

"Uh, have you looked at your hair lately?"  Jim asked, a snicker escaping him despite his best intentions.

"No..."  Blair felt what were supposed to be curly locks and blanched.

"So, tell me Mr. Girl Scout.  When did first aid start to include...braiding?"

"Aaaaaaarrrrggghhhhhh!"

*******************

Epilogue

"Holly called me today," Jim said, handing a beer to his roommate.

"Yeah?" absently Blair accepted it, not looking up from his laptop.  "How is she?"

Jim waited with amusement for his words to sink in.  It didn't take long.  Not for the first time, he wished he owned a video camera.  Sandburg's double take should really have been caught on film and preserved for posterity.

"Holly?  As in…Nurse Holly?"

"Yep."  Jim took a sip.

Blair grimaced.  "That's right, she's a redhead.  Anyone ever tell you that you've got a problem, Ellison?"

Jim smirked.  "I can't help it if I know what I like."

"Riiiight,"  Blair drew out the word in patent disbelief.  "So, did she just want to jump your bones, or is there some reason you're sharing?"

"Is that any way to talk about a lady?"

Blair's eyes narrowed.  "What did she want, Jim?"

Jim gave in.  "Her troop is doing a community service badge, and she was hoping we would show them around the police station."

"What?"  Blair buried his head in his hands.   "No way, man."

"Sandburg, they're just little girls."

"Demonic little girls who have waaay too much time on their hands," Blair muttered, his head sinking lower.  He looked up.  "You're not gonna do it, are you?"

Jim smiled.

"Jim?  Please…"

Taking pity on his partner, Jim shook his head.  "Nah.  Would I do that to you?"  He ignored Blair's expression.  "No, I had a better idea.  I arranged for the troop to spend the day with Cassie.  I told Holly that the stuff behind the scenes was much more interesting…and easier to schedule."

"You lied to her and palmed her off on Cassie?"

"Hey, I figure its justice.  That woman let twenty-two munchkins wrap you up like a mummy.  And your hair…"  He stopped at the glare he received.

"Don't go there, man."

"Yeah."  Jim cleared his throat and pressed his lips together, trying to hide the smile threatening to creep out.  "Anyway, knowing what they'd have to work with at the station, I didn't want them anywhere near you again.  At best, you'd probably end up locked in a cell with someone named Bubba."

Blair shuddered in reaction, then forced himself to relax.  He took one sip from his forgotten bottle before straightening in alarm.  "Jim?  Do you know what you've done?"  At the detective's quizzical look, he continued.  "Holly and Cassie…together…with the hoard of twenty-two devious little girls…  at the station?  It's gonna be worse than…"  Blair's imagination boggled as he tried to think of something.  "It's gonna be worse than Kincaid!" he finally finished.

Jim looked remarkably unconcerned.  "Yep."  He patted his partner's curly head.  "And that's why I arranged for it to happen on our day off."

"Ahh…"  Blair grinned.  "That'll work."

"I thought so," Jim answered smugly.

Beer bottles clinked, and both men drank in mutual satisfaction.

Fin