The Replacement Friend
Patt Paulos-Darrow
Simon walked into the bullpen and told everyone he had someone new he
wanted to introduce. In walks a tall handsome man, built a lot like Jim,
and Simon introduced him as Zach Taylor. Everyone shook hands with him and
he was welcomed into the family of Major Crime.
Zach was 32 and very handsome. Same size as Jim, built a little bigger,
with gorgeous hair. Blair was watching him as he talked to Jim most of the
afternoon. Blair suddenly had this feeling that Zach wanted more than friendship
from Jim. Blair could tell. He was acting like Blair would be acting if he
had enough nerve. Well, he’s not going to get very much farther, that's for
sure, thought Blair.
Zach walked over to Blair and said, “I hear you're the other new person.
Glad to meet you, Sandburg.”
Blair answered, “It's very nice to meet you, Taylor. I’m not exactly a
new person here. I have been Jim’s partner for four years now. Who are you
going to be partnering with? I didn’t even think they had any openings right
now.”
Taylor said, “The Captain told me I was going to be riding with you and
Ellison for about three weeks. Just until I get my footing.”
Simon glanced over at Blair at this very moment and if looks could kill,
Simon would need Dan Wolfe. Simon yelled, “Sandburg, my office, now.”
Blair walked into his office and shut the door and said, “What can I
do you for, Simon?”
Simon said, “Quit the crap, Sandburg, I can see you don’t like the new
guy. I don’t know what it is, but get over it. I want you all to get along.
This isn’t high school. This guy has a great record. He is only a few
points below Jim in marksmanship. His arrest record is magnificent. He ought
to fit right in. I want him to have the best training. That would be with
you and Jim. Understood?”
Blair stared angrily at him and answered, “Understood, sir. Now can I
go and finish my paperwork so we can get some work done?”
Simon heaved a sigh, and said, “Good idea, Sandburg. Get to work.”
Blair needed to try and make things work out because Jim acted as though
this guy was acceptable. Sandburg figured he was just jealous. Why would I
be jealous of someone at work, Sandburg thought.
The next few days flew by as they worked on cases that kept them all
very busy. That morning, Jim shouted out, “Taylor, Sandburg, come on, get
the lead out, we have a murder to investigate.”
Blair and Taylor both jumped up and took off for the elevator and hopped
on before Jim took off without them. When they got to the parking garage,
they headed over to Jim’s pickup. Blair intended to get in the middle, but
Taylor moved right on in. Jim looked at him oddly but seemed all right with
it. If pissed was a country, Blair would be North America right now.
Once they got to the site, Jim was looking for clues. Dan Wolfe was there
and Blair got to talking with him and wasn’t watching Jim. He had no idea
that Jim went into a zone.
All of a sudden Dan said, "Blair, I think Jim is having one of those
zone things. He seems pretty out of it." Blair had felt the need to fill
Dan in on Jim once during a case. They knew they could trust him. He was
not only a good friend, but also a doctor they knew and trusted for Jim’s
senses.
Blair ran over to where Jim was, but Taylor was already there talking
to Jim. Blair watched with his mouth hanging open as Taylor talked him out
of his zone. Jim came out of it and said, “Thanks, Taylor.” Then he looked
over at Blair, as if to say, where in the hell were you?
Taylor was asking, “Ellison, what the hell was going on with you? It was
like you were totally out there.”
Blair said, “Taylor, Jim has had some allergies and one of the side effects
is causing him to daze off like he's in his own world. He won’t be taking
it at work anymore. Right, Jim?”
Jim answered back, “Yes, sorry, Chief. I wasn’t thinking.”
When they got to the parking garage, they headed for the elevators. Blair
headed for the stairs and Jim said, “Chief, where are you going? This is
the way up.”
Taylor started laughing and said, “Come on, Sandburg, you are holding
our car up.”
Blair refrained from smacking this guy as he said, “Well, it just so happens
that starting today I am only taking the stairs. I need the exercise and I
want to get my lungs in great shape for chasing those bad guys.”
Once they got back to the bullpen, Jim was typing up the report and Blair
asked if he could talk to him. He said, sure and they headed to the break
room.
“Jim,” Blair said, “don’t you find it odd that this Taylor guy can talk
you out of a zone? Why is it he, all of a sudden, seems so chummy?”
Jim just looked at Blair strangely, as he said, “Blair, don’t you think
you are a little bit old to be jealous of the new kid? He is doing a good
job. He hasn’t made any mistakes, so cut him some slack.”
Blair said, “Fine, sorry. I won’t bring it up again.” He left the room
and started to go down to see if Dan Wolfe had any results. He went out into
the stairwell and took one step, slipped on something and went flying into
the air and slammed down. As he hit, Blair heard something crack. He just
lay there in pain, and no one came. So, he had to call out for Jim.
“Hey, Jim, can you come out to the stairwell, I think I might have broken
my arm.”
The door came flying open and Jim was there by his side, almost before
Blair had closed his mouth. Sure enough, Blair had broken his arm in two places.
Jim yelled, “Who the hell poured this slimy stuff on the stairs. Sandburg
could have been killed.” No one said a word, so Jim helped Blair up
and told Simon he would take him to the hospital. A very angry Jim told
Simon, “I plan on finding out where that came from when I get back for the
ER.”
Taylor came up and said, “Need any help, Jim? I don’t mind going with
you guys.”
Jim said, “No, that’s okay. We’ll see you when we get back. Just be sure
that no one touches the stuff in the stairwell. I want to take a look at it
when I get back.”
Once in the truck, Jim put Blair’s seatbelt on and got in on his side
and put his on. As he put the key in the ignition, he looked at Blair with
misery on his face and said, “Chief, I’m so sorry for arguing with you before
you left. That's probably one of the reasons you fell; you weren’t looking
on the floor and slipped. Chief, I’m going to find out who dropped whatever
that was and they will have to answer to both of us.”
Blair looked over at Jim and said, “Jim, it isn’t your fault, so don’t
make it that way. Please. It was just an accident and I'll just have to be
more careful from now on. Sorry I was such a klutz. Now, let’s drop it, all
right?
The ride to the hospital was pretty quiet. Jim knew that Blair was in
a lot of pain. There was nothing he could do for that but he would be there
to help him at home. As they drove up to the Emergency Room door, Jim noticed
his partner getting nervous. “Hey, Chief,” Jim said, “things will be just
fine. I won’t leave you until you want me to.”
The doctor told Jim to leave them alone while he got Blair’s cast all
set. Jim was sitting in the waiting room and the doctor came out and said,
“Detective Ellison, I need to keep your partner for a few days. There were
two major breaks in his arm, but there is one slight fracture in the shoulder
area. I just feel like we need to have him watched for a short time. It will
be at least three or four days. Now your partner is fighting this, so I need
you to go and tell him you’ll make it without him for two days, at least.
Do we have a deal?”
Jim just looked at the doctor in shock and said, “Yes, I'll go and tell
him right now. Thanks for taking such good care of him, Doc.”
The doctor smiled and said, “Jim, he's one of my favorite patients. Just
be sure to take good care of him when he finally does get to go home. He
won’t be able to dress or bathe himself for six weeks. You might want to
consider calling in a nurse.”
“I'll see what Sandburg wants first, Doc,” said Jim.
“Fair enough,” answered the doctor.
When Jim entered the room they had transferred Sandburg to, he was shocked.
He looked so darn pale and weak. Guilt was setting in again but he tried for
a smile as he walked over to the bed. “Hey, Chief,” Jim said, “you know, if
you want some time off you don’t need to go through all this. I hear you're
out of commission for the next few days.”
Blair looked at Jim pleadingly, and said, “Please don’t make me stay here,
man. You know how much I hate hospitals. I'll behave if I go to the loft.
You can talk the doctor into it. I know you can.”
Jim gazed at his partner and knew he would have a fight on his hands.
Jim also knew that he had to set the rules, not Sandburg. Jim said, “Chief,
I can’t take you home for two or three days. You're being watched for infections
and drug reactions. It's part of their job, Chief, and I'm not going to call
them on doing it right. Besides, I have a heavy caseload right now; this
will give me a few days to catch up before you come home. The doctor says
you're going to need a lot of help because of the way your arm is broken.
You won’t be able to do a lot of things for yourself. We need to discuss
letting a nurse come in. What do you think of that idea, Chief?”
Blair just looked at him like he was insane and answered, “Jim, please,
don’t make me get a nurse. That would be like totally embarrassing. Couldn’t
you just help me get my clothes on in the morning? I promise I'll do everything
you say and about you catching up before I come back, will you ask Simon to
call me about being your back up? “
Jim said, “Chief, don’t worry about asking Simon, I’ll do just fine with
Zach. I’ll just have him help me with all the cases. We’ll catch up and you
won’t come back to a desk full of case files.”
Blair got this really sad look on his face and said, “Fine, Jim. Whatever.
You had better get back to work. I’ll ask for a magazine or something.”
Jim said, “Chief, don’t act like this. I don’t want to leave, but I have
to finish the cases. Don’t be upset with me, okay?”
Blair answered, “Jim, really, don’t worry about it. No problem. I’m really
tired anyhow. Talk to you tonight. Call, okay?”
Jim smiled as he said, “You are a nut job. I plan on coming up to see
you tonight. What did you think; I would just forget about you as soon as
I leave here?”
Both men started laughing and said their goodbyes. Jim rushed to get
back to work.
As soon as Jim left the room, Blair picked up the phone and dialed the
bullpen. He asked for Conner. When she came on, he said, “Conner, this is
Sandburg.”
Megan jumped up from her desk hearing his voice and said, “Sandy, how
are you doing? Is everything all right? When are you coming back?”
Blair smiling said, “Conner, slow down. First, I’m doing pretty well,
considering. I broke my arm in two places and fractured my shoulder, so they
want to keep me here for a few days and watch me. No worries, Megan, no
worries. As for when I'm coming back, I don’t know yet. I have to talk to
the doctor. He won’t release me for anything but desk duty I'm sure. The
main reason I am calling is; I’m concerned about Jim. I really wish you
would hang with Jim and Zach. For some reason that guy bugs me. I don’t know
why. Could you talk to Simon about being the third person?”
Megan smiled and answered, “Sandy, I can tell you why it bothers you.
You're jealous. You’ve got this major thing for Jim. Only you and Jim can’t
seem to get on the clue bus. What’s up with you two? I’m not going to watch
Jim and Zach. Jim's a big boy. He knows what he’s doing.”
“Fine, Conner, just don’t ask me to do any favors for you when I get
back, “ said Blair angrily.
Conner said, “Sandy, do you mind if I come and visit you tonight? We
could have a few games of cards. Oh that would take two hands. Sorry. Well
then, let's see, we could work on some of the files, oh, that would take
your right hand. Damn, sorry about that. Well, we’ll figure out something
to do.” Conner was laughing her ass off.
Blair snorted into the phone and said, “Thanks for all your support,
Conner, and I would love for you to come up tonight. Watch out for Jim, okay?
Promise?”
Conner answered quickly, “Would I do any less for a friend? I’ll see
you tonight, Sandy. Take care.”
When Blair’s doctor walked in the door, he asked, “And how are we feeling
now?”
Blair glared at him and said, “We didn’t break our arm, did we? I did.
So I'm feeling pretty shitty while you, on the other hand, probably feel
just dandy. “
The doctor smiled as he said, “Blair, you'll be out if a few days. It
isn’t the end of the world. I’ll check back in on you tonight.”
Blair muttered under his breath, “Well, it might not be the end of your
world, but it might be mine. Something is up with this Zach guy. I don’t trust
him at all.” Blair laid back on the bed to rest a little and the next
thing he knew he was sound asleep.
When Jim got back to the precinct, he went right up the stairs to get
a sample of the liquid that was on the staircase to have the lab analyze
it. He didn’t think that it was done out of spite, but his guide was acting
mighty strange. He went into the stairway and there was no spot. Nothing
to even show that there had been anything there. A very pissed off Ellison
entered the bullpen. He walked up to Taylor and said, “Taylor, I thought I
asked you to not let anyone near that slime in the stairwell. I just went
to check it out and it's all cleaned up. Not a trace of whatever it was is
there any longer. Who cleaned that up?”
Taylor’s face got red as he said, “Hey, Ellison, I’m so sorry. I thought
you meant you didn’t want anyone else to fall on it so I got some good cleaner
from the janitor and cleaned it up so that we didn’t have to worry about
it again. I didn’t understand. I see that I’ll be regretting this move soon.”
Jim calmed down and said, “Taylor, I was overreacting. I’m a little on
edge right now. Sandburg has been my partner for a long time. I was just really
upset that anyone could leave something like that on the floor. I didn’t
mean to snap your head off.”
Taylor answered with his head down, “I won’t let something like this
happen again, Ellison. I mean it. I’ll pay closer attention to what you say
to me from here on in.”
Jim said, “Well, why don’t we get this paper work caught up. Then we can
have dinner and I can go by the hospital. I thought I would take some of Sandburg’s
things to him.”
Taylor said, “Do you mind if I tag along? I feel really bad and would
like to see that he is doing well. I’d like to take him a book or a magazine
to keep him busy while he is lying there. What does he read?”
Jim laughed as he said, “Anything that has to do with history or Anthropology.
He can’t read enough of that.”
The rest of the day went fairly quickly as they both did paper work.
Taylor asked Jim for help from time to time but other than that, there wasn’t
much talking between them. As the day came to an end, Jim got up and said,
“So do you want to go and have some dinner? Then we can stop by the loft
and get Sandburg’s things and go visit with him. Sound all right to you,
Taylor?”
Conner walked up and said, “Mind if I join you two? I‘d like to go and
see Sandy, too. My car is acting like Sandy’s. I can’t seem to get it running
right. If you two had plans already, it’s all right.”
Jim smiled and said, “That’s fine Conner. The more the merrier.” He cuffed
her on top of the head and whispered, “Very sneaky, Conner. I take it Sandburg
called you?”
Conner just looked at him and smiled. She was certainly pleased that
he wasn’t angry. But then again, who could stay angry with Sandy? No one
she knew. She glanced over at Taylor and got a funny feeling run down her
spine. He was glaring at her. She got the distinct impression that Jim was
supposed to be his for the night. Now she knew what Sandy had been talking
about. He wasn’t imagining it at all. This guy really was an odd duck.
The three of them got into the elevator and Taylor said, “Conner, I can
fix your car right now. I'm very handy with cars. Let's go have a look and
we can take care of it.”
Conner just glared back at him and said, “No thanks, I don’t need it done
right now. I wanted to go to the hospital anyhow. Might as well hitch a ride
with Jim. He said he didn’t mind. Am I right, Jim?”
Jim looked at the two of them and wondered what he had missed. He said,
“Yeah, I said it was fine. Now if you two don’t mind, I would like to eat
before tomorrow.”
Conner thought to herself, Jim is a dunce sometimes. He hasn’t a clue
as to what this guy is wanting. But I know and I’ll be watching out for that,
too.
They all got into the truck and headed to the diner. Dinner was pretty
quiet with Zach and Jim exchanging a few words in between bites of food.
Conner was very quiet. She was just watching and seeing what was going to
happen. As she was thinking this, she noticed Zach brush his hand against
Jim’s arm. Jim looked at him kind of oddly but didn’t say anything. Then
Conner noticed that every time Zach had a chance, he was touching Jim. Something
like what Jim always did with Sandburg. It was beginning to bother her. So,
she said, “Jim, are we going to goof off all night or are we going to go
and visit Sandy?”
Jim immediately got a guilty look on his face and said, “You’re right,
Conner. Let's get the bill paid and get out of here. We both know Sandburg,
he’ll be chomping at the bit to have someone come up to visit.”
As they were heading out to the truck, Taylor gave Conner such a dirty
look, that it gave her the willies. He was a very odd duck indeed. She planned
on talking to Jim about him as soon as possible.
On the way to the hospital, they stopped at the loft to pick up Sandburg’s
things. While they were there, Conner picked out some of his favorite reading
material. Then after a short conversation about how great the loft was, by
Taylor, they climbed into the elevator and got on their way to the hospital.
When they got to the hospital, they parked and got out and headed up
to see Sandburg. Lagging a little bit behind, Taylor had a look on his face
that bothered Jim. He fell back a few paces and said, “Taylor, is everything
all right? Anything you need to talk about?”
Taylor said, “Yeah, I really wanted to talk to you, but not in front
of Conner. Do you think you could get her to head up without us for a few
minutes? Then you and I could talk.”
Jim said, “Sure, I'll tell her.” He ran and caught up with Conner and
said, “Conner, could you go up and visit alone for a few minutes? Taylor
wants to ask a few questions and wants to do it in private.”
Conner just stared at him and said, “Jim, he has a thing for you. Are
you that dense that you don’t see it?”
Jim looked at her angrily and said, “Conner, don’t be ridiculous. We're
new partners. Why are you acting like some jealous girlfriend? We both
know you never were and won’t be. Is there something else bothering you?”
Conner just sighed and said, “Fine, just ignore what I say. I don’t care.
I’m going up to see my friend. If you were any type of good friend you would
be up there, too. You jerk.”
As she took off, Jim just stood there with his mouth hanging open. He
suddenly felt like he had left this world and was in a new dimension. Something
a lot like Rod Serling would surely love. He looked over and saw that Taylor
was waiting patiently for Jim to go back over there and talk to him. He walked
over and sat down in the waiting room with Taylor and decided he would see
what was so urgent.
“Jim,” Taylor said, “I don’t know where to start. Conner's right. I do
have a thing for you. I’m sorry. I know you don’t go for guys. I could tell.
I was hoping that maybe you found something as attractive about me as I did
you. It’s okay. I’m very embarrassed. Please don’t tell anyone.” Then he lowered
his head and one tear dropped down his face.
Jim sat there just looking at him with shock on his face and in his mind
but at the same time he found something about this man very alluring. He
reached over and wiped the single tear from his face and told him, “Zach,
don’t worry about it. We don’t need to think about it right this moment.
You’re right, I’ve never been with a man, but that doesn’t mean I never would.
I just haven’t had a reason.” As he looked over at Taylor, Jim smiled.
Taylor smiled back and said, “Jim, do you think I could take you out?
Maybe we could give this a try? I won’t be your permanent partner, so I don’t
see that it would be a problem. You could just give it some thought.”
Jim said, “Taylor, let's both sleep on it and talk about it tomorrow.
How does that sound?”
Taylor smiled and touched Jim’s hand and rubbed it very slowly and said,
“That sounds just great, Jim. I would really like to kiss you. What would
you think of that? There is no one here to see us. Every time I look at you,
I want to take you in my arms. I can’t help it.”
Jim just sat there and said, “Might not be too bad of an idea. I’ve been
having these feelings lately and didn’t know what to do with them. We could
try it.” With that being said, Taylor leaned over and put his lips on Jim’s.
The kiss was soft, light and tender. Everything Jim had hoped it would be.
Taylor tasted like he thought he would, which was not a bad thing.
Taylor drew away from Jim and said, “Well, we better get upstairs or
your partner's going to be angry with both of us.”
Neither Jim nor Taylor knew that Conner had come down to get something
and saw them kissing. She was like totally blown away by this. How
could he do that, she thought. Sandy is so in love with him.
How could he not know? She turned around and stormed up the stairs.
When Jim and Taylor got upstairs, they found a fairly quiet Sandburg
and an absolutely silent Conner. Jim kept eyeing her wondering what was going
on. He had a feeling that she saw something that maybe she shouldn’t have.
He stood up and said, “Hey, partner, do you mind if I borrow Conner for
a second? I need to talk to her about something that happened at the office
today. We’ll be right back.”
Blair smiled and said, “Hey, no problem. Just don’t leave, I missed having
you around all day long.”
“Not a chance, partner,” Jim called over his shoulder as he left the
room with Conner.
Once out in the hallway, Jim turned to Conner and said, “Just spit it
out, Conner. Does it bother you?”
Conner just looked at him with shock and said, “Does it bother me that
you were putting the lip lock on that ass in the waiting room of the hospital
where your partner just happens to be. And that said partner happens to be
crazy about you. You are such a fucking jerk, Ellison, I don’t believe you're
even asking this?” With that said, she got tears in her eyes and started
walking down the hallway.
Jim caught up with her, touched her arm and turned her towards him. He
said, “Conner, Sandburg doesn’t feel anything towards me. I've asked different
things and he never answers them as a man that could go for another man.
I asked because I was interested. I tried, but he continued to go out with
the same long list of women, so I knew that he didn’t feel the same way about
me. You’re confusing his need to be my guide with what you think is love.
It isn’t. Does it bother you to see me with a guy, Conner?”
Conner said, rather quickly, “Fuck you, Ellison. Of course it doesn’t
bother me. I wanted you to be with Sandy, that's all. I am sorry I said all
that to you. I really am. I don’t have a problem with two men at all but please,
promise me that you'll talk to Sandy first before you do anything. Do you
promise?”
Jim shook his head and said, “Conner, I don’t see why I have to clear
it with Sandburg to go on a date. I am talking about a date. Not sleeping
with someone. But if it makes you feel better, yes, I will talk to Sandburg
first. Happy now?
Conner answered, “Yes, Jim. I'm very happy. Just remember to keep that
promise.”
They both headed back to the room and they sat and talked with Sandburg
for about two more hours. When Blair yawned, Jim took this as his cue to
get everyone home. He said, “Well, Chief, it's time for you to get some sleep.
I’ll talk to you in the morning. If things don’t get to crazy for lunch,
I’ll come by and have lunch with you. How does that sound?”
Blair smiled up at him and said, “Sounds great, Jim. Drive carefully
and sleep well.” With that said, he laid his head on the pillow and was out
like a light.
Jim, Taylor and Conner all made their way out to the truck. Jim decided
to take Taylor home first. He didn’t want to have to deal with any of those
feelings or thoughts tonight. He dropped Taylor off and then told him he
would see him in the morning. As they were driving off, Conner said, “Jim,
I know you think I am being a ninny, but Sandy really is in love with you.
He called me about it this very morning. I’m not making it up. He is just
nervous about taking that step.”
Jim questioned, “So you think he already has feelings for me? Why didn’t
he come to me then? Why did he call you? I don’t understand this at all,
Conner. Think you could fill me in on some of it?”
“Yes, Jim I can answer some of those questions,” Conner said. “First
of all, he's afraid that you're too macho for him and is afraid of rejection.
He only has so much self-esteem. When he saw how Taylor was looking at you,
he got crazy with jealousy. I've never seen Sandy like this. He's in love
with you. No doubt about it.”
Jim smiled over at Conner and said, “Conner, I need to tell you about
that kiss. I know it took you off guard. Believe it or not, that was my first
male kiss. I've been having dreams about Blair lately, along with those feelings
that I can’t seem to stop. I asked Blair some questions but he never answered
them as a man that would be interested would. Do you see what I am talking
about?”
Conner looked at him with such pity and said, “You are such a dope at
times, Jim. First of all, he's as dopey as you. He thinks he's the only one
in love. Of course he isn’t going to tell you what he feels. He doesn’t want
his face rearranged. I know you would never hurt Sandy, and I think he does
too, but he still doesn’t know how you feel. Did you ever say, Blair, would
you like to go out for dinner? As in a date?”
Jim sat with his mouth hanging open and finally answered. “No, I never
had the nerve to come right out and say that.”
Conner slapped him on the back and said, “Well, Jim, I would suggest you
do. By the way, I need to sleep at your loft tonight if you don’t mind. I
promised Sandy I would stay over till he gets home.”
Jim just stared at her and said, “Come on, Conner, I'm an adult. I think
I can take care of myself. You don’t have to stay at the loft.”
Conner shook her head and said, “I don’t want to have to answer to Sandy.
So let's just get this over with. Let me pick up a few things at my place
and then we can get to the loft and go to sleep.”
They stopped off at Conner’s apartment and picked up what she needed
then headed over to the loft. They went in and Conner went into the bathroom
first to get ready for bed. While she was in there, Jim changed the sheets
on Blair's bed. He made sure that Blair’s room was as clean as he could get
it. When Conner walked out, she smiled and said, “Jim, you don’t have to
act like I’m a stranger, I’m family. I can make the bed myself.”
Jim started laughing really hard as he headed into the bathroom. When
he was done, he stood in the doorway of Blair’s room and said, “Goodnight,
Conner.”
She answered, “Goodnight, Ellison.”
Jim headed up the stairs and lay down and went right to sleep. He woke
up to soft knocking at the front door. When he came flying down the stairs
in only his boxers, Conner was standing there in a sleep shirt, both of them
carrying their weapons. He put his fingers up to his lips and went to the
door. He asked, “Yeah, who is it?”
Taylor said, “Jim, it’s just me. I need to talk to you.” Jim opened the
door and Conner stood behind it.
Jim said, “What the hell are you doing here at 3:00 in the morning? I
was sleeping. It’s what you should be doing. Now, please, go home so I can
go back to sleep.”
Before Jim knew what was coming, Taylor was all over Jim. He had his hands
all over him and was kissing his face, his neck and his chest. Jim started
pushing him away. He said, “Taylor, knock it off. I don’t want anything like
this. I’m not ready for this. Go home.”
Taylor shoved Jim into the loft and slammed the door. He smiled wickedly
at Jim and said, “Oh I think you will love the idea when I'm done, big man.
I’ll make you feel so good. You won’t remember anyone or anything from that
point on.”
Jim was trying to push Taylor off of him. He didn’t realize how strong
he was but before anything else could happen, Taylor felt a gun in the back
of his neck. Conner said, “Do you want to explain this to me now or at the
station? You stupid ass, I can’t believe you came in here and tried this
in our home.” She glared at Jim when he raised his eyes.
Taylor hung back and said, “What the hell are you talking about? I know
he isn’t in love with you. I could tell if he was. He might have thought
he was in love with that whore who's his current partner, but not you.”
Suddenly both Jim and Conner had him up against the wall and they were
putting his own cuffs on him. Talk about poetic justice. While Jim quickly
dressed, Conner watched him. Then while Conner got dressed, Jim was shoving
him around the loft.
Raising his voice, Jim said, “I can’t believe you. You are such a fucker.
Are you the one that put that slime on the stairwell so that Sandburg could
fall? Well, you won’t ever be working with us again. I’ll see to that.”
Jim shoved him over to Conner and she shoved him out the front door.
They drove him downtown and booked him on assault on Jim and Conner. They
had to keep from laughing as they heard this tough guy begging them to drop
charges. No way were they dropping any charges.
They got all the paperwork done and Jim smiled at Conner and said, “Thanks,
Partner. I’ll be sure to tell Sandburg what a help you were tonight.”
“Jim,” Conner said, “Will you do me one favor? I want you to run by the
hospital and just sit there with Sandy for a while and if he happens to wake
up. I want you to tell him about this. Then I want you to tell him how you
feel.”
Jim smiled and said, “Sure, I can do that. I’ll drop you home first.”
They left the bullpen and headed down to the parking garage. Getting into
the truck, she smiled at Jim and said, “You and Sandy are a very cute couple.”
Jim couldn't resist, he said, “Couple of what?”
“Very funny.” Conner said as she smacked his shoulder.
The rest of the drive was very quiet. They got to Conner’s apartment
and she got out. Jim got out too and walked her upstairs. She smiled at this.
Jim was such a nice guy. She wouldn’t let that newsflash get around.
Conner said, “Thanks, Ellison. I will see you tomorrow. Say hello to Sandy
for me. “
“Done.” said Jim, on his way down the stairs.
He got to the hospital with 101 thoughts in his mind. What if Blair was
awake? He didn’t know what to say or what to do. This whole idea was pretty
stupid. God, if he kept this up he would talk himself out of it soon enough.
Then he remembered that he'd promised Conner. He also realized that if Conner
had not been there tonight, it might have gotten ugly. Taylor was the same
size as Jim and he was a lot younger. It could have been bad. Suddenly, Jim
really wanted to see Blair. He started walking faster towards his room. When
he got there, the nurse said visiting hours were over. He pulled out his
ID and they let him go in.
Blair was lying in bed, sound asleep. So Jim pulled up a chair and just
held Blair’s hand. Then as he got tired, he laid his head next to Blair’s
hand and went to sleep.
Blair woke up with a great feeling. He could tell Jim was holding his
hand and was sleeping next to that hand. For some reason, Jim had come back
to the hospital. Why? He’d let Jim sleep some more before he started asking
questions. So he just stayed quiet and stroked Jim’s hair with his other
hand. Jim woke with a start.
“Chief,” he said, “I’m sorry. I was so tired, I just needed to talk to
you so I was waiting for you to wake up.”
Blair smiled and said, “So what's going on, Jim? I know something is
up. Otherwise, you would have waited until today sometime. You wouldn’t
have come in the middle of the night. Right?”
“Chief, you are almost always right.” Jim said, laying his head back
down on the bed.
Now Blair was a little alarmed. Okay, something major was going on here.
Now, if he could just get it out of him, that would be good.
Blair said, “Jim, man I'm really scared here. What happened? I need you
to tell me what is going on. Come on, Jim, look at me and tell me.”
Jim lifted up his head and he had tears in his eyes. He heard Blair’s
heartbeat get downright scary and said, “Chief, nothing happened to anyone,
okay. Everyone's fine. I just need to talk to you.”
Blair looked him in the eye and said, “Jim, I think something happened
to you but I can’t even guess. Now would be a good time to fill me in.”
Jim answered, “Chief, I need to tell you something first. I love you.
I'm in love with you. I want to be with you forever. I want us to be happy.
I want us to share our souls. I need you so badly. I want you to need me
the same way. I want to talk to you about this. I want you to talk to me
about it back. Well, that is most of it. What do you think?”
Blair had big tears in his eyes as he answered, “Jim, I've always loved
you. I've always been ‘in’ love with you. Since day one, I wanted us to share
souls. Since day one, I wanted to talk to you but I never thought you would
feel the same way. God, I love you so much. Why are you telling me now? What
happened last night?”
Jim said with his head hanging low, “Chief, Taylor wanted me. He more
than wanted me. He wanted to be my new friend. He thought he could replace
you. Just like that. He’s the one that hurt you in the stairwell. He wanted
to replace you in all ways. He tried to force himself on me tonight. I have
to tell you, he's a strong man, and I would have had my hands full, if not
for the fact that you asked Conner to stay overnight at the loft. We arrested
him, on multiple charges, and Conner talked me into not waiting until morning.
She felt I needed to be with you right then. She was right. I do need you.
Taylor was so stupid to think that he could ever replace someone I love as
much as you.”
Blair just sat there with his mouth hanging open until he finally said,
“Oh God, Jim. Come here. I want to hold you and I want to love you. Right
now, come here.”
Jim crawled up on the bed and leaned on Blair’s good side and let him
hold him. He was shaking and Blair was stroking his back, telling him that
he would be fine. They stayed this way until Jim fell asleep.
When he woke up an hour later. Blair was still awake and holding on to
Jim like there was no tomorrow. He kissed Jim’s forehead and said, “I love
you, Jim. I will be yours forever. As you will be mine.”
Jim pulled away and said, “I like the idea of waking up to this every
single morning. I’ll talk to the doctor today and see how long it will before
we can do something about these problems we both seem to have.”
Jim and Blair both laughed and hugged and knew that things would be fine.
Life would be great. After all they had good jobs, they had fantastic friends
and now they were a couple. A couple of what, you ask? Why, a couple of men
in love.
The end
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