New
Arrivals
Author-Lorelie
Titles
The Path of Friendship
by Lorelie
This is my reply to the Sentinel smarm fanfic challenge. It is absolutely, completely AU. Nothing that takes place in this story will pertain to any other pieces of fanfic I may write.
Disclaimer: The Sentinel and all related characters are the property of PetFly Productions.
Jim Ellison turned to look at his partner as he fidgeted next to him. He put a supportive hand on Blair's shoulder and patted it.
A cool breeze wafted over him. Jim turned to look toward the Pacific Ocean, spreading blue away from the bluff they were standing on. He looked around at the lushly manicured grounds toward the large house. This was probably one of the most beautiful estates he had even seen.
Jim gave Blair's shoulder another pat, and Blair turned to look up at him, giving him an appreciative grin. Jim could tell that he was nervous. No wonder. In twenty-four hours, Blair would be married to Carrie Miller, the young woman who had inherited this house when her parents had been killed several years ago.
He still remembered the first time Blair had introduced him to Carrie. They looked so right together. She was a petite woman, with long brunette hair and sparkling hazel eyes. The two had meet on campus, where Carrie was teaching an elective art appreciation class. She owned her own gallery, where she specialized in local artists, including herself. She and Blair had dated for a year or so, before deciding to marry. Blair telling Jim he wanted to make sure that this was a sure thing before they did anything official. His childhood, moving from place to place had left him a little scarred, and he wanted to make sure that this was for real.
Jim liked Carrie, she was good for Blair. He had never seen him happier, at peace with himself. And she seemed to understand the relationship that existed between Jim and Blair, between Sentinel and Guide. He knew that Blair would never betray his confidence, never tell Carrie anything about Jim's senses, not without Jim's consent. But somehow, Carrie seemed to know that there was something that bound the two men together, and she just accepted that, never questioning it.
A sense of pride came over Jim as he looked at Sandburg. The kid, no, not kid, he corrected himself, man. Blair hadn't actually been a kid when Jim had first met him, but to Jim, it seemed that he had grown up to become a man in the five years that he had known him. Blair had done a lot in those five years. He had succeeded in getting his thesis published, a feat he accomplished without revealing any pertinent information about Jim. In a few weeks, Blair would finally receive his doctorate. He had accepted a position teaching at the University, and would also be teaching some courses at the Cascade Police Academy, something Simon had engineered.
And Blair had insisted on remaining Jim's partner also. Just in case Jim needed him, to control his senses. Jim knew that he wouldn't need him for that, he had come to control his senses pretty well, mostly because of Blair. But Jim still needed him, to be there, to bounce ideas off, to come up with some bizarre theory that probably was right, to come through for him when the chips were down. Blair did that, Blair had always done that. He had always been there for Jim, since day one. It had taken a while for Jim to accept that, he wasn't a man to let people get too close to him. Never had been. His father had instilled the belief in him years ago, that friendship, brotherhood, was a competition, not a privilege. Somehow, Blair had managed to transform that belief, into the belief that it was okay to let someone close to you, into your heart. It was okay to care for someone so deeply that that you would lay down your life for him. Not out of a sense of duty, like in the Army, but out a sense of responsibility, because this person, this friend, had complete and utter faith in you.
Another feeling came over Jim, one of jealousy, replaced quickly by a feeling of guilt. One thing Jim Ellison did not like was change. And that was exactly what was happening, Blair's life was changing, so along with it, Jim's was changing also. Jim sighed. No that wasn't fair. Blair hadn't agreed to put his life on hold forever when he had decided to help Jim understand his senses. And he had done that. Jim had gone over a year now without a serious zone out. He had known that Blair would eventually move on. And it wasn't that bad, really. It wasn't like Blair was going to Africa or South America. He was only moving across town. They'd still see each other. Still, it meant change, and that was something that Jim was still trying to get used to.
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Blair carefully wrapped the newspaper around the small statue and placed it in the packing box. He looked around the room, that was the last of it. He smiled. He remembered the first time had seen this room, when Jim had offered to let him stay here, temporarily, after the warehouse he was living in had gone up in flames. He had been touched, the fact that someone cared enough to offer their home to him, even for a short while had meant a lot to him. He had never had many friends as a child. Growing up with Naomi, the eternal flower child, had meant moving around, from town to town, sometimes country to country. He didn't regret his childhood. Hell, he had seen more cities of the world by the time he was fifteen that some people saw in their whole lifetime.
And he knew that his upbringing had been one of the things that had instilled his interest in anthropology. He had spent a lot of time, even as a child, observing the differences, and similarities of different cultures.
He heard Jim open the refrigerator door, grab a beer and then move out onto the balcony. Nothing he had seen or studied though had prepared him for what he had encountered in Jim Ellison. God, he owed so much to that man. Blair had thought he knew everything about human nature before he met Jim, but that had all changed. Sure originally, Blair had thought of him as a test subject, a true Sentinel. He figured he'd spend a few months around him, observing him, just getting enough information to help him finish his thesis. But a funny thing happened along the way. Jim opened more than his home to him. He opened his heart to him. He taught Blair that it was okay to care, to truly care about someone, because there really was such a thing as permanence. People do really stick around, even when the going gets tough. It was an idea that was foreign to Blair before he met Jim. When he was a kid, if Naomi decided that things were getting to tough, she just left, taking Blair with her. When Blair became an adult, he followed suit, it was the only thing he knew. But Jim had taught him different, that it was sometimes worth sticking around, to work things out. The rewards could be greater than the pain. That was why he knew that this marriage was going to work. As different a background as he and Carrie had, he knew that any problems they may encounter, they would work them out. He owed Jim for that. Actually he owed Jim for most everything he had in his life now. His thesis for one. Not just because Jim had provided pertinent material for the paper. Blair had come to realize that if it wasn't for Jim's stability, his influence on him, that he would probably never have finished it. Now he had published, and would soon receive his Ph.D... And he would soon become a full fledged professor at Rainier, albeit not teaching true anthropology. Instead, he would be teaching a new course load, classes that were a mixture of anthropology, sociology and psychology. Courses that had been his own idea. They would involve the information he had learned while being a police observer, how important teamwork was, how people who worked together became family. And he wouldn't just be teaching at the University either. Simon has asked him to teach several classes at the police academy. Blair had insisted on maintaining his observer status at the station as well. He wanted to remain Jim's partner, if possible. He knew that even though Jim had become very good at controlling his senses, he owed it to him to be there, if he needed him.
Blair scanned the room once more, making sure that he had packed everything. This would be the last night he would spend here, in the room that had become his, in this loft, the first place he had really come to think of as home.
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Jim heard Blair move toward the kitchen and grab a beer, then walk quietly to stand behind the chair where he was sitting on the balcony.
"Everything packed?" He asked Blair.
"Yup, I think so." Blair answered. "After we get back from the honeymoon, I'll come over and get the bed. I'm giving it to a friend at the University." He moved to stand in front of Jim, leaning on the balcony railing.
Blair sighed. "Listen Jim, I just want to thank you for everything. I mean for letting me stay here, for giving me a home for so long. I know I don't say it often enough. But if it wasn't for you, I'm not sure where I'd be right now."
"Blair..."
"No let me finish." Blair was on a roll, and he wanted to finish what he had to say before he chickened out. "You mean the world to me, man. I mean, I've learned so much from you. You're a rock, you have to have been the most stabilizing influence in my life, ever. You're the one who gave me the strength to go on when things got rough. Before I met you, I would have just given up and run away. You taught me that running away isn't the answer. And on top of everything else, you are always there for me, never letting me down. I can't tell you how much that means to me. I've never had anyone else do that. Just be there for me, when I need someone, you're always there."
Blair smiled to himself. "I know this sounds like some type of goodbye speech. But I want you to know that it's not. I'm gonna try to be there for you too, always." He looked down at Jim, "You're the best friend I ever had, and I never want to lose that, I never will lose that, if I can help it."
Blair fell into silence, slightly embarrassed, but feeling better about having said what was on his mind.
"You always have been there for me, Blair."
"What?" Blair started.
"I said you always have been there for me. From day one, when you kept me from being run over by that garbage truck. You have always been there. You're the one who was willing to put your life on the line and follow me in to all kinds of dangerous situations, just to make sure I didn't get myself killed by zoning out. Not a lot of people would have been willing to do that. You followed me to Peru, to rescue Simon and Daryl. You got yourself shot rescuing Simon in the woods. A lot of people would have said no thanks, see you when things get a little safer. But you keep coming back. Even now, when your thesis is done, you could take a nice safe job at the University, but you still insist on working with me, putting yourself on the line. That means a lot to me. To know that someone has put such utter faith in me." Jim continued. "You've taught me a lot too, Blair, you taught me what being a friend is all about, that it doesn't come with strings. That there is such a thing as just being there for someone. That it's okay to open your life and heart and let someone get close to you. I think if I had learned that little lesson years ago, Carolyn and I may have been able to make it work."
Jim sighed, looking at his watch. It was past twelve. "Hey, it's your wedding day. It's probably a good idea if we turn in, Carrie will kill me if you fall asleep in the cake."
He stood, and moved toward the doors. Blair followed him.
Just before he entered the loft, Jim turned to Blair.
"Blair, you're my best friend also, and I want you to know that I never want to lose that friendship. I cherish that more than anything." He sighed. " But it's more than friendship, it's something else. I know that men aren't suppose to be real demonstrative with their feelings, but I want you to know that I consider you my brother, and I love you."
Blair looked at him, at the slightly embarrassed look on his face, and smiled. Brother, he liked the sound of that. "I love you to, my brother." he answered him.
The two men stood looking at each other, each knowing that a hug was in order. Finally, Jim grabbed Blair in a bear hug which Blair returned. Jim let go, then slapped Blair on the back.
"Come on, we'd better get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day."
Finis