Boys
will be boys
This
is a very late May 2005 themefic for the SA list. The challenge was from
>I want kiddie-fics. Jim
and/or Blair as kids, Jim and Blair with kids or, (and I know this has been
done before, but I still like it) let's whack them over the head and they
regress to their child-personality.
Well,
I’d been toying around with this idea for a while, but needed some inspiration
and this challenge gave me that.
No warnings that I can think of. Maybe a little language.
Simon angst <G>.
Disclaimers: They don’t belong to me, but I don’t let that stop me.
Feedback
is always appreciated.
************************************************************
“Stay
behind me,” Jim Ellison warned his partner as he slipped in the side door to
the warehouse.
“Stuck
like glue, man,” Blair Sandburg whispered back, shadowing the larger man like,
well, a shadow.
They
had followed a known drug dealer to this warehouse and seen him enter. After
determining that the dealer’s supplier was inside and that the side door was
open, Jim, or rather, Blair had called for backup. Then, to make sure the
property was secure, because the door should have been locked at this time of
night, er morning, they headed in.
Simon
had been particularly pleased to get their call. Not because it was two in the
morning, but because this particular drug lord was manufacturing a new blend of
joy for the kids of Cascade. The drug, aptly called “Happy,” was a mixture of
things, that so far hadn’t killed anyone, but the powers that be wanted the
stuff off the streets.
The
problem with Happy was that the ingredients were common chemicals, all legally
sold over the counter and thus difficult to trace to the source. Tonight, Jim
and Blair had caught a break.
They
hid behind several large plastic barrels as Jim focused on the conversation
across the warehouse.
“What
do you hear, Jim?” Blair asked, barely above a whisper.
“Shhh,”
Jim replied with a slight shake of his head.
Sandburg
sighed and contented himself with a peek around his barrel. He could see the
man they’d followed and one other. He thought there might be a third person
over there too, out of his line of sight.
Suddenly
Jim flinched and covered his ears. Blair grabbed his arm. “Dial it down,” he
whispered.
Another
man came running into the warehouse. “Cops!” he shouted. “I hear sirens.”
Blair
lifted his head to see the dealers scrambling to pack up and head out. Jim
shook his head to clear it and caught a piece of Sandburg’s jacket in his hand.
“Let’s
get out of here, Chief, before they spot us,” he said, squinting against the
pain of the spike. Blair nodded and the two men started to make their way back
to the exit.
From
out of nowhere, over a dozen people suddenly appeared to help load and move the
product out of the warehouse.
Jim
dragged Blair back behind a crate just in time to miss being seen by one of the
new players.
“Geez,
Jim,” Blair whispered, “where’d they all come from?”
“I
don’t know,” Jim said grimly, trying to find a clear way out. He looked up
sharply, just in time to see a barrel tip over. He lunged for Blair, but it was
too late, they both were drenched by the liquid that poured over the side.
“Run,” Jim shouted.
“Hey!
There’s someone in here!” “Cops!” “Stop them!” and “Get outta here!” were only
some of the shouts that echoed around the warehouse as Jim and Blair raced for
their exit. Unfortunately the chemical they had been soaked with was very
slippery and they had a hard time keeping to their feet. They were also
hindered by the continued efforts of the guys on the floor above who opened and
dumped barrel after barrel, aiming for the Sentinel and his Guide.
Just
as quickly, the place was swarming with backup. The bad guys were corralled and
Simon Banks headed for the pair and some answers. Blair pushed past Simon
dragging Jim with him.
“Where
are you going Sandburg?” Simon growled as he followed his two men outside.
“I
thought I saw a water hose out here earlier,” Blair replied distractedly, as he
led an already wobbly Jim to the side of the warehouse. “I’ve got to get this
stuff off him,” he muttered.
Sure
enough there was a hose around the corner. Blair turned on the faucet and
started to rinse the chemicals off his Sentinel.
“That’s
ccccold,
“I
know, man,” Blair replied, “but we’ve got to get this crap off you. Who knows
what the hell it’ll do to you.” He turned Jim around and continued to let the
water run over the older man’s head and shoulders. “Simon, could you grab the
bag from the truck. It’s got a spare set of clothes in it. I need to get all
the chemicals away from Jim and his clothes are saturated with this stuff.”
“Sure,”
Simon muttered under his breath as he turned to jog toward the pickup truck.
“Now I’m a valet too,” but he knew better than to argue with Sandburg when it
came to Jim’s safety and the disgruntlement was just for show. He returned only
minutes later to a slightly different scene.
“Jim,”
Blair whined, “gimme the hose, man.”
Ellison
chuckled. “Nuh uh. If I gotta get rinsed off, so do you, Chief,” he said with
an evil grin as he played the water over Sandburg’s head, just as Blair had
done to him.
Sandburg
glowered at his partner, but stood still as Simon approached the pair. Then
with a quick move Blair poked Jim in the ribs with his finger and wrested the
hose back from the Sentinel. Blair quickly turned the spray toward Jim with a
gleeful laugh.
Jim
growled and tried to approach, but every move was met with more water.
Banks
sighed. “If you two will quit acting like six year olds,” he grumbled, “I’ve
got the spare clothes you asked for, Sandburg.”
Blair
turned his head toward Simon and grinned wickedly.
Simon
glared. “Don’t even think…” he spluttered, unable to finish his sentence as the
water hit him in the face. “Sandburg!” Banks bellowed.
Blair
straightened to a perfect military attention pose, spoiled only by the flowing
water hose he held in one hand. “Yes, Sir!” he snapped off with a brisk salute,
unfortunately with the hand holding the hose. Water splashed over his face
causing the younger man to splutter indignantly.
Ellison
stifled a giggle.
Joel
Taggert walked up at that moment. “Need a hand Simon?”
Simon
sighed. “Yeah, help me get these two into the ambulance would you? I think
they’ve been exposed to Happy.”
Joel’s
eyes widened fearfully as he looked at Jim and Blair. They were leaning on each
other chuckling madly. He could make out intermittent words as the two men
parodied the previous conversation.
“Sandburg!”
Blair shouted suddenly, sounding a lot like Simon.
“Yes,
Sir!” Jim snapped to attention with a smart salute. They both then crumbled
into snorts of laughter.
Simon
shook his head. “You take Sandburg, I’ll get Ellison.”
*******
Simon
strolled down the corridor looking for Joel. He’d had to stay at the scene and
had sent the other captain to keep an eye on Ellison and Sandburg. Banks
finally spotted his friend and nodded as he caught Joel’s eye.
“How
are they?”
Joel
stood. “According to Doctor Toren, they’re fine at the moment. They’re
definitely suffering from exposure to something. I called Serena, her team is
supposed to get samples and bring them in for the doctor to analyze. He wants
to keep them here at least over night for observation.”
“Have
you seen them yet?” Simon asked.
“No,”
Joel replied. “Toren said they’d let me know when Jim and Blair were set up in
a room. He was still waiting for the results of their blood tests when he
updated me last.”
Simon
nodded. “Want some coffee?”
“Sure,”
Joel said.
“I’ll
be right back.”
~~~~
About
thirty minutes later the doctor approached the captains. “Captain Banks,
Captain Taggert,” he said cordially. “We’ve gotten Detective Ellison and Mr.
Sandburg cleaned up and situated in a room for the night. Your people have sent
over quite a number of samples. Were they really exposed to all of them?” Dr.
Toren asked concerned.
Simon
shrugged. “When we got there, Sandburg was trying to get Jim to the hose to
rinse off. They were both already soaked. Inside the warehouse,” he stopped and
shook his head, “there were over a dozen barrels dumped over, empty. Hazmat
shooed us all out as soon as they got there.”
The
doctor nodded. “Well, our lab is working on it, as well as your Ms. Chang. Once
we have an analysis back, we’ll have a better idea of possible side effects,
but I’ll tell you now, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of such a mix before.”
“We’re
pretty sure they were manufacturing a drug called Happy,” Joel supplied.
“I’m
familiar with that one,” Toren grimaced. “As far as I know there haven’t been
any serious side effects reported, yet. But we’re talking about an
unprecedented amount of exposure as well as Ellison’s known sensitivity to
certain drugs.” He sighed. “I’m concerned about Sandburg’s response too.”
“When
will we know something?” Simon asked somberly.
“We’re
going to keep a close eye on them tonight and see how they’re doing in the
morning. I won’t release them if they are still showing signs of intoxication.”
“Intoxication?”
Joel asked.
Dr.
Toren smiled wearily. “They were acting like two very happy drunks when they
got here. The paramedics said they had to threaten to tie them down to keep
your men from ‘investigating’ the back of the ambulance.” He snorted. “I heard
one of the nurses say they were worse than children.”
Simon
shared a grin with Joel. “And that’s when they’re sober, doctor,” Banks
chuckled.
“Well,”
the doctor drawled, “I hope all they come away with is a hangover. But we’ll
have to wait and see. If you want to see them, they’re in room 202. Then I
suggest you two go home and get a few hours sleep before the sun comes up.
We’ll notify you if anything changes.”
“Thank
you, doctor,” Simon said as the man walked away. “Come on, Joel, let’s go make
sure they’re tucked in then go home and get some shut eye.”
Taggert
nodded and followed his friend to the elevator.
They
peeked into room 202, unsure of what they would find. They found Ellison and
Sandburg sound asleep, in side by side beds, snoring loud enough to wake the
dead.
The
captains grinned fondly and quietly closed the door as they left the room.
*******
“Good
morning, Captain,” Dr. Toren greeted as he approached.
“Don’t
you ever go home?” Simon teased.
“Home?”
Toren asked with a frown. “I remember that word, from school I think.” He
grinned. “I was just going to check on your men before I leave.”
“How
are they?” Simon asked, serious once again.
“The
last report said they were still asleep.” He lifted the file he was carrying.
“Blood tests show minimal traces of various chemicals still in their systems.”
Toren shrugged. “Not surprising considering the dousing they took. None of the
chemicals is toxic at those levels individually,” he clarified. “But as I said,
I’ve never seen quite this mix before.”
“So
what now?” Simon asked, resigned to the fact that nothing could ever be easy
for Cascade’s Sentinel and Guide.
“Why
don’t we go see if they’re awake?” the doctor suggested.
~~~~~~
Room 202
Blair
sat up in the bed and looked around as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t
recognize where he was, but it kind of looked like a hospital or hotel room. He
saw that he had a roommate who was watching him with pale blue eyes. Blair
pushed his hair back from his face and smiled. “Hi, who are you?” he asked.
“Jimmy.
Who are you?”
“My
name’s Blair,” he replied.
“That’s a girl’s name,” Jimmy sneered.
”Is not,” Blair frowned.
“Is
too,” Jimmy argued.
“Not,”
Blair insisted as he jumped down off his bed.
“Too,”
Jimmy grinned down at the glaring, dark blue eyes.
“Take
it back,” Blair demanded.
“Won’t,
cause it is a girl’s name,” Jimmy said shaking his head.
Blair
bounced up onto Jimmy’s bed and pushed ineffectually at the bigger guy’s chest.
“Take it back.”
Jimmy
grinned. “Nope.”
“You’re
askin’ for it,” Blair threatened.
“I
won’t, I won’t, I won’t,” Jimmy chanted.
Blair
lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers. “This is your last chance, Crew cut.”
“Crew
cut?” Jimmy scoffed. “I wouldn’t be talking if I were you, Goldilocks,” he said
flicking a lock of Blair’s hair with his finger.
“Oooo,”
Blair growled launching himself at Jimmy and attacking his ribs with quick,
feathery tickles.
Jimmy
squirmed and tried to get away, but Blair pushed him onto his back as Jimmy
laughed uncontrollably. Blair straddled the older boy and continued to tickle
his ribs.
“Take
it back,” Blair said again.
“Okay,
okay,” Jimmy gasped. “Stop. It’s not a girl’s name.”
Blair
withdrew his fingers from Jimmy’s ribs, grinning in triumph.
“It’s
a very weird boy’s name,” Jimmy added with a smile.
“That’s
better,” Blair grinned back.
“What
the hell?” a deep, commanding voice shouted from the doorway.
Jimmy
pushed Blair off him, slid to the floor and stood at attention. “Sorry, sir,”
he said softly, gazing at the floor.
Blair
sat up from where he’d tumbled onto the mattress. “We didn’t do nothin’ wrong,”
he said, lifting big, blue, puppy dog eyes to meet the confused gaze of the
big, black man in the doorway. “We were just playing.”
Another
man in a white coat pushed his way into the room. His eyes narrowed briefly
then he smiled. “My name is Dr. Toren. Can you tell me your names?”
“I’m
Blair and this is Jimmy. Is my Mom gonna be here soon?” Blair asked bouncing up
to sit on his knees on the bed.
“Your
Mom?” Simon squeaked.
Blair
nodded. “Naomi Sandburg is her name. I know she’ll be looking for me. I wasn’t
s’posed to leave the library alone.” He stopped bouncing, a worried look on his
face. “Hope she won’t be mad at me,” he whispered.
Jimmy
turned around and patted Blair awkwardly on the knee. “She won’t be, Blair.
Something must have happened to you and you were brought here for the doctor to
check you out.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “Isn’t that right sir?” he
asked politely.
“That’s
right, Jimmy,” Dr. Toren replied. “Do you remember what happened to you, son?”
Jimmy
frowned and shook his head. “No sir. Is my father coming?”
Dr.
Toren shared a look with Captain Banks who shook his head infinitesimally.
“We’re still trying to contact your parents. For now, you will be staying
here.” He moved in closer to the two men. “Why don’t you hop up on the bed and
let me take a quick look at you then we’ll see about getting you both something
to eat.”
Blair
scooted over a bit and Jimmy boosted himself up onto the bed beside his new
friend. Dr. Toren did a quick physical on each of them asking questions as he
worked.
“So
Jimmy, how old are you?”
“Six.
I’ll be seven in June.”
“Wow,”
Toren said. “That’s pretty grown up.”
“I’m
six too,” Blair said. He noticed the big black man’s frown and lifted his chin.
“I am. Naomi gave me a big party last year. All my friends came. The cake had
six candles and I blew them all out. And I got what I wished for too,” he
concluded with a decisive nod.
“What
did you wish for?” Jimmy asked in a hushed voice.
Blair
ducked his head. “A bicycle,” he mumbled. “But we had to leave it when we
moved.” He rubbed his nose with the back of his hand then looked up defiantly.
“Naomi said I’d get another one though once we got to our new home.”
“You
can use my old bike,” Jimmy offered. “Stevie can’t ride it yet anyway, he’s too
little.”
“Thanks!”
Blair smiled, kicking his feet against the edge of the bed while the doctor
listened to his chest.
“Okay,”
Toren said finally. “You both seem pretty healthy to me.” He caught the boys’
eyes. “I do need to get some blood samples from you both. Will you be brave and
let the nurse do that?”
Both
Jimmy and Blair swallowed hard. They looked at each other then back at the
doctor and nodded solemnly.
Toren
grinned. “Good. After that she’ll bring you something to eat. I think Nurse
Jody is on duty this morning, so you stay put and she’ll be right in.” He
turned, gathered Simon and ushered him out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~
Simon
faced the doctor. “I assume you can explain what the hell just happened in
there!”
Dr.
Toren sighed. “It appears we’ve discovered one of the side effects of their
exposure.”
“Well?
Don’t keep me in suspense, doctor. What I saw just now scared the crap out of
me,” Simon admitted shakily.
“I
understand, Captain. All I can tell you for sure is that Jim and Blair seem to
think they are six years old and seem to have no memories beyond that. Whether
the condition is temporary and will dissipate when they are free of the
chemicals in their systems,” he shrugged, “I can’t really say.”
“You
can’t say,” Simon repeated dully. “Any guesses? Come on, doc. Give me
something. Those two men are my friends.”
“I
know, Captain. I wish I could give you a definite answer. It all depends on how
the chemicals they were exposed to affected them. If it’s strictly due to the
levels in their bodies, we should see improvement as the chemicals are flushed
out. If it’s caused by some sort of permanent physical damage, worse case
scenario, they don’t regain any of their memories and progress from here.”
Banks
ran a trembling hand over his face. “How long until we know something?”
“I’d
give it at least forty-eight hours, maybe as long as a week.” Dr. Toren
shrugged again. “It will depend on where the chemicals are stored in their
bodies and how they are eliminated.”
“Okay,”
Simon said. “What should I do for now?”
“For
now, we’ll go with the story that we are trying to contact their parents.
They’ll stay here for a few days until we see what happens.” Toren patted the
big captain on the back. “I’m going to get the nurse to draw those samples and
get them some food. Why don’t you come back later this afternoon?”
Simon
nodded. “But I think first I should go in and introduce myself, don’t you?”
Toren
frowned then nodded. “That’s a good idea. I’ll talk to you later.”
Simon
took a deep breath as the doctor walked away. He looked at the door to 202 and
sighed, taking another deep breath before going through.
Blair
and Jim were still sitting on Jim’s bed talking quietly. Both men stopped and
turned to stare at him as Simon entered. Simon plastered what he hoped was a
friendly smile on his face and moved to sit on Blair’s bed across from the
boys.
“Hi.
I’m Captain Simon Banks. I’m with the Cascade Police Department.”
Blair’s
eyes widened. “Are we in trouble?” he asked in a hushed whisper.
Jim
nudged him with his shoulder. “We’re just kids, stupid.” He looked at Simon.
“Is something wrong with my Mom and Dad?”
Simon
shook his head. “No son. We’re trying to contact them. Until we do, you both
have to stay here. I just wanted to let you know that everything is going to be
okay. If you need anything, tell the nurse to tell me, okay?”
Jim
and Blair both nodded solemnly, looking like a pair of scared six year olds.
Banks
frowned briefly then smiled. “You know, I have a son. He’s a few years older
than you two. His name is Daryl.”
Blair’s
eyes lit up. “Can he come play with us?”
“Well,”
Simon hedged, “I’m not sure he’ll be able to. We’ll see. Do you want me to
bring you anything to… to play with?” he said stumbling over the words.
Both
boys just shrugged.
“Okay,
well, you think about it,” Simon said, standing to leave, “and I’ll be back to
check on you later.”
“Bye
Simon,” Blair chirped.
“Good-bye
Captain,” Jim said quietly.
**********
Blair
turned to Jimmy once the big policeman left. “Are you sure we’re not in
trouble? Naomi says the pigs are always picking on people for no good reason.”
Jimmy
rolled his eyes. “It’s not polite to call them pigs. They’re cops or
policemen,” he paused, “or officers, not pigs. Besides my Mom and Dad always
told me to go to the cops if I was in trouble.”
“Really?”
Blair asked.
“Yep.”
“Huh,”
Blair replied as he started to bounce on the bed. “There’s nothin’ to do around
here.”
Jimmy
looked around the room and spotted the television on the wall. “We could watch
TV,” he suggested.
“Cool,”
Blair said, jumping off the bed to go turn it on. He reached up, but couldn’t
touch the set. He tossed a frustrated look back at Jimmy. “But how are we
supposed to turn it on?”
“Maybe
we can stand on a chair,” Jimmy said hopping off the bed.
Together
they moved one of the visitors chairs under the wall-mounted TV.
Jimmy
put his hand on Blair’s shoulder as the younger boy started to climb onto the
chair. “Let me. I’m a little taller.” He climbed up and turned on the
television. “Tell me what channel to stop on,” Jimmy instructed as he started
flipping channels.
They
finally settled on a cartoon show and lay on their stomachs, side by side on
Jimmy’s bed to watch. That’s how the nurse found them when she came in to draw
their samples.
*******
Simon
stood looking through the window into the children’s ward. Jim and Blair were
sitting on the floor with half a dozen kids building some huge structure out of
blocks and any thing else that got in the way.
He
had to grin at the sight. Jim and Blair were both wearing sweatpants and a
t-shirt along with slippers that Simon had brought them from home the day
before. Needless to say, he’d been a bit surprised to find a pair of fuzzy gray
‘clawed’ slippers in Blair’s room, but not as surprised as when he found a very
similar pair of black ones in Jim’s room. Simon hoped he’d be able to hear the
story behind the slippers soon.
“Ah,”
Dr. Toren said as he approached, “I see that you found them.” He stopped beside
Simon and looked into the ward with a smile. “They were bored in their room. I
figured it couldn’t hurt anything.”
Simon
shook his head. “The nurse told me where they were.” He watched silently for a
moment. “It looks like they’re having fun.”
Toren
nodded, and then motioned for Simon to follow him. “I got the reports back from
the lab.” He took a seat and waited for Simon to sit as well before he
continued. “As I said before, the individual chemicals they were exposed to
shouldn’t have had any long term affects on their systems. But I had the lab
cook up a concoction that included all of the chemicals and analyze that.”
Simon
nodded. “What did they find?”
“Well,
nothing familiar, it didn’t even match the chemical makeup of Happy. However
there were portions that are similar to other drugs,” Toren said.
“What
drugs?”
“I
guess I should have said ‘classes’ of drugs. Some of the structure resembles
hallucinogens like LSD, but it also has components that are seen in drugs like
rhohypnol.” Toren shook his head and sighed. “As I said, it’s not like anything
I’ve ever seen before. Our best guess is that this combination of chemicals
produced a drug that left them highly susceptible to suggestion and caused this
very strange form of retrograde amnesia.”
“So
what you’re saying is that exposure to these chemicals left them open to a…
what? A post-hypnotic suggestion?” Simon asked incredulously.
“Essentially,”
Toren replied. “Do you recall what might have been said right after they were
exposed?”
Simon
frowned thoughtfully and related the information softly as he recalled it.
“Sandburg was already dragging Ellison outside to rinse off when I showed up.
He asked me to get the bag of spare clothes out of the truck. When I got back
to them,” Simon’s eyes widened and he met Dr. Toren’s gaze. “Jim was playing
keep away with the hose and drenching Blair, only Blair managed to get it back
and then turned the hose on me. I made some comment about acting your age, or
not acting like children…”
Dr.
Toren regarded him sympathetically. “That might have been enough. Although from
their behavior before you got back to them, the suggestion may have only
reinforced what was already going on.”
Simon
leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face with both
hands. “So what now? It’s been almost forty-eight hours. Have they shown any
signs of improvement?”
“Their
blood tests are almost clean. But as you saw, their behavior is the same.”
Toren looked toward the children’s ward. “It’s rather odd, but neither of them
has asked about their parents since that first time.”
Simon
leaned back in his chair. “Not really. Not considering how they both relate to
their parents now.” He sighed. “So, again, what now?”
“I’d
still like to keep them for a few more days. If there isn’t any improvement by
then,” Toren met Simon’s eyes regretfully, “you may want to look into some type
of long term care facility.”
“What?
No way,” Simon said vehemently.
“Captain
Banks,” Toren said sadly, “we don’t know for sure if they will progress from
where they are now. Mentally, they may always be six years old.”
“And
if they do ‘progress,’ then how will being in a facility do them any good?”
Simon argued. “They should be around family and friends who care about them.”
Dr.
Toren sighed. “There are too many things we don’t know about what is happening
to them right now. Hopefully, in a few days we’ll know more and their families
can make an informed decision.” He stood and offered his hand. “I’ll keep you
up-to-date, Captain,” he said as they shook hands.
“Thank
you,” Simon said softly. He went over to the window and leaned against the edge
as he watched two of his best friends playing like they didn’t have a care in
the world. “What am I supposed to do, guys?” he whispered.
******
Four days later
Simon
looked around at the people he considered family. Joel,
Rhonda, Henri, Rafe, Megan and, of course Daryl. They had to be told if
he had a chance in hell of making this work.
He
cleared his throat. “I wanted to discuss what’s going on with Jim and Blair.”
“They
aren’t any better?” Joel asked, concerned.
“Physically,
they’re fine, Joel,” Simon answered. “However, they both still think that they
are only six years old.”
“That’s
weird,” Daryl whispered.
“Hmph.
If you think it sounds weird, wait until you see them,” he shook his head. “The
doctor suggests we have them committed to a long term care facility.”
“What?”
H exclaimed.
“No
way!” Rafe chimed in.
“That’s
what I said,” Simon agreed. “But he does have a point. They are grown men with
the mentality of children. They, especially Jim, could hurt themselves or
someone else if they aren’t careful. How do you explain to a six year old that
they can’t rough house with the other kids?” Simon paused to let that sink in.
“However, there is something that Dr. Toren doesn’t know that is important. If
they were committed, they would most likely be separated at some point, either
by family or the facility staff, and I can’t allow that.”
“Does
this have something to do with why Blair has had the longest ride along in
history?” Joel asked.
Simon
nodded. “Jim is what Sandburg calls a Sentinel. All five of his senses are
naturally enhanced. He can see and hear further than we can, smell and taste
things that we couldn’t detect and his sense of touch is also extremely
sensitive. Blair acts as Jim’s guide, for want of a better word. He helps
ground Jim while he uses his senses and works with Jim to improve his control.”
“Wow,”
Rhonda said. “I knew there was something special going on there, but I never
would have guessed…”
“That’s
because you don’t get to see them in the field,” H said. “This Sentinel thing…
that explains a lot.”
“Yeah,”
Rafe agreed. “But why can’t they be separated? I mean, it’s not like Blair’s
always around when Jim’s working.”
“True,”
Simon supplied, “but as much as I hate to admit it, I think they are linked
somehow. Jim certainly relies on Blair when he uses his senses, and I think
somehow, Blair needs Jim too. I can’t really explain it…” He looked at the
faces around him then glanced at Megan for help. The Aussie just shrugged.
Simon rolled his eyes forged ahead. “When Jim first told me about his problem,
during the Switchman case, he thought he was going crazy. Then he shows up with
this neo-hippy flower child in tow and everything’s hunky dory. And you’ve all
seen how Jim gets when Sandburg’s in trouble.”
“And
vice versa,” Joel added.
Simon
nodded. “I can’t let them be committed. I don’t know if Jim’s senses are still
online, but if they are… If there’s even a chance that those two will be
separated…” He looked around meeting each pair of eyes briefly. “I’m going to
bring them home.”
“Here?”
Daryl squeaked.
His
father nodded, watching for his son’s reaction.
Daryl
held his gaze for a long moment then smiled. “Cool.”
Simon
grinned and ruffled his son’s hair then looked back at the others. “I was
hoping I could depend on your support in this.”
“Of
course, Simon,” Joel answered. The others responded similarly with nods or
words.
~~~~~
Joel
stuck around after everyone else left and Daryl had gone to bed. He watched his
friend slump tiredly onto the sofa. “What are you going to do about their
families, Simon? I mean, it’s a noble thought wanting to keep them together,
but if they don’t improve…”
Simon
pulled his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t think about
that right now, Joel. They trusted me with this whole Sentinel thing,” he met
the other man’s concerned brown eyes. “I’ve got to give them a chance to heal.”
He shrugged. “If the worst case scenario comes to pass… I’ll, I’ll deal with it
then. For now, I’m just going to take one day at a time.”
********
Simon
brought Joel to meet Jim and Blair the next day and over the next several days
introduced his other helpers as well. He explained to Jimmy and Blair that they
would be staying at his house for a while and was a bit surprised that neither
of them questioned the decision. They didn’t ask about their parents’
whereabouts or when they would come for them, just quietly accepted the new
arrangements before starting a pillow fight.
********
Blair
woke up to find it was still dark. The night light that Captain Joel had given
them broke through the shadows. In the morning he and Jimmy were supposed to be
moving in with Simon and Daryl. Blair yawned and rolled over then heard the
sound that had woken him again.
“No,
please,” Jimmy moaned softly. “Stop. It hurts.”
Blair
crawled off his bed and went to stand by Jimmy’s. The bigger boy had curled up
into a ball with his hands over his ears. “Jimmy?” Blair asked softly.
“Too
loud,” Jimmy whispered.
“What’s
too loud?” Blair asked, instinctively putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“Noise…
please…” the Sentinel whimpered.
“It’s
okay, Jimmy,” Blair comforted as he climbed up beside Jimmy and rubbed his
back. “Take a deep breath and release it slowly. Naomi calls this meditating
and it helps her calm down and feel better. Breathe again. Yeah, that’s it.”
Blair continued to rub small circles on Jimmy’s back as he talked. “Tell me
what you hear?”
Jimmy
took another deep, shuddering breath then spoke softly. “People talking and
crying. Machines. All different kinds of sounds. Thumps and swishes and and…
it’s all too loud.”
“Breathe,
Jimmy,” Blair replied calmly. “Just concentrate on what you can hear in this
room, block everything else out, okay?”
The
other boy nodded and a frown of concentration creased his brow. Finally Jimmy’s
tension eased and he sat up. “It’s better,” he said with surprise. “Now I hear
the bed squeaking and the air whooshing out of the vent,” Jimmy said glancing
up at the ceiling. “There’s a drip in the bathroom and a thumping…” he trailed
off as he tried to find the source. His hand raised and it landed on Blair’s
chest. Jimmy’s eyes widened as the sound corresponded to the beat under his
hand. “It’s your heart,” he exclaimed in a loud whisper.
“Really?”
Blair asked looking down at his chest and Jimmy’s hand. “How can you hear it
without a ste.. a sheth… uh, that thing the doctor uses?”
Jimmy
dropped his hand and shrugged. “I don’t know,” he replied, trying to hide his
fear.
“Too
cool!” Blair said bouncing on the mattress. “What else can you hear? Can you
hear the nurses in the hall talking?”
Jimmy
frowned. “I don’t know. Besides it’s rude to easedrop. My dad said so.”
Blair
frowned. “Man! You are so boring,” he huffed as he hopped off the bed. He
turned back with his hands on his hips. “All you ever do is spout off rules
your dad made up. Your dad’s not here. Why not have a little fun?”
“I…”
Jimmy ducked his head. “It hurt before. I don’t want to,” he mumbled.
Blair
dropped his hands and moved slowly back toward his friend. “I’m sorry Jimmy. I
don’t want you to hurt.”
“S’okay,”
Jimmy answered softly, still not looking up.
“Is
the noise still hurting you?” Blair whispered.
“A
little,” Jimmy admitted. “It was better when you were near me.”
Blair
nodded decisively. “Scoot over,” he said grabbing a pillow off his own bed
before climbing back onto Jimmy’s and making himself comfortable. “Just don’t
hog the covers,” he ordered.
Jimmy
grinned and scooted back down to lie on his side. They were both soon fast
asleep.
********
Simon
paused briefly at the door. He looked to his left, then his right to see Jim
and Blair on either side watching him expectantly. Well, here we go. “Come on guys, let’s go home.” He led them
through the automatic exit doors and into the sunshine. They were each carrying
a duffle bag with the clothes and things they’d used at the hospital.
Simon
paused again at the edge of the sidewalk wondering if he should have left the
car idling at the exit instead of parking it in the lot. A hand caught onto his
left one. Simon jerked his hand out of Blair’s. “What the hell?”
“I’m
not allowed to cross the street alone,” Blair said quietly, gazing up with wide
blue eyes.
Simon
stared down at the man… boy. Oh God. What
am I getting myself into? They really do believe they’re only six years old.
Babies. Just babies. Simon swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Blair,” he said
putting a gentle hand on Blair’s shoulder. “You just caught me by surprise.
It’s been a long time since Daryl had to hold my hand to cross the street.” He
held his hand out to his friend and clasped it firmly when Blair returned the
gesture. Then Simon turned to Jim and held his hand out to him as well. “Come
on then Jimmy, we’ve got places to go, things to do…” Simon grinned as Jimmy
switched his bag to his other hand and took Simon’s hand.
They
walked hand in hand to the car, Simon’s heart crumbling the entire way. He
helped them open the back doors when it seemed they were too heavy for the boys
and showed them how to buckle the seat belts.
“I
don’t have to wear a seat belt in Naomi’s car,” Blair protested.
“Well,”
Simon responded calmly, “this is my car. And everyone has to wear a seat belt. Including me.”
Simon
buckled his own seat belt and looked in the rear view mirror at his friends in
the back seat. He sighed and started the car then pulled out of the parking
lot.
Jim
and Blair were silent for a few minutes, both looking out their windows. Simon
knew it wouldn’t last. And sure enough, a long, loud sigh from Sandburg was
followed by a question.
“Is this a cop car?” Blair asked.
“Yes,”
Simon answered.
“Do
you chase bad guys in it?”
“Sometimes,”
the captain replied.
“Does
it have a light and sirens?” Blair continued, leaning forward as far as his
seatbelt would allow trying to see into the front seat.
“Yes,
it does,” Simon said. “Sit back, Blair.”
Blair
slumped back against the seat and stretched his legs out until he could tap his
toes on the seat in front of him. That being the driver’s seat. “Can you turn
them on?” he asked hopefully.
Simon
shook his head. “Only for police business. Please stop kicking my seat, Blair.”
“Okay,”
Blair said sighing again as he shifted slightly and turned to look out the
window. “I’m bored.”
Simon
grinned and shot a glance at Jim through the rear view mirror, but the other
man was staring out the window. Simon shook his head. “We’ll be home soon. Jim?
Are you all right?” he asked wondering if the Sentinel had zoned on something.
Jim
faced Simon. “Yes, sir,” he replied quietly.
“I
hope you guys like chili,” Simon said turning his attention back to the road.
“Is
Daryl at your house?” Blair asked. Daryl’s visit to the hospital had been a
great hit with both Jim and Blair.
Simon
grimaced. He and Joan had argued over this at length. She had finally won and
Daryl would not be staying at his house while Jim and Blair were. He could
visit during the day, but not sleep over. “I’m afraid not today. He’s at his
mother’s house, but will come over on Saturday. I thought we could all go to
the zoo.”
Blair
and Jimmy exchanged a confused look. “His mom doesn’t live with you?” Jimmy
asked hesitantly.
“No.
We’re divorced,” Simon answered trying not to let his frustration with Joan
enter his voice.
“My
dad doesn’t live with us,” Blair piped up.
“Why
not?” Jimmy asked innocently. His parents might not always get along, but at
least they lived together with him and Stevie.
“I
don’t know,” Blair shrugged. “I don’t know where he is.”
Simon
listened curiously from the front seat thinking he might inadvertently learn a
few things about his friends.
“But
you get to see him, right?” Jimmy asked. “On weekends and holidays and stuff?”
Blair
frowned. “No. I don’t think so,” he said with an unconcerned shake of his head.
“I’ve never met him.”
Jimmy’s
eyes widened. “You don’t know your own dad?”
Blair
shrugged. “My mom says family comes in all sizes. Some have moms and dads and
kids, others have moms and kids and some only have dads and kids. She says it
doesn’t matter as long as the people in each family love each other,” Blair
said firmly with a decisive nod of his head.
Simon
smiled softly. “She’s absolutely right, Blair. Your mom’s a smart lady.”
“Yep,”
Blair replied turning to look out the window again.
Jimmy
pursed his lips thoughtfully.
The
rest of the ride passed in silence as all three of them pondered Naomi’s
wisdom.
*********
Simon
peeked into Daryl’s room to check on the boys. He hadn’t been privy to the
conversation in which the two had decided who got the bed and who got the cot,
but he wasn’t really surprised by the results.
Jim
lay sprawled on his stomach in his boxers, arms tucked under his pillow and
legs stretched out the length of the bed. The top sheet had been kicked to the
floor and sat in a pile beside the t-shirt that Jim had initially crawled into
bed wearing.
Blair
was on the cot they’d set up on the opposite side of Daryl’s bed. All Simon
could see was a tuft of dark curls poking out above the covers. Blair seemed to
be curled up beneath them.
Simon
grinned and backed out of the room, quietly pulling the door closed. Both boys
had become more animated and open as they neared his house. Even Jim had
started asking questions and responding to comments made by both Blair and
Simon.
The
captain sat down at his kitchen table and dragged a pad of paper over from the
pile on the corner. He needed a plan of action to get him through tomorrow. But where to start? It hadn’t seemed
like it would be too difficult to take care of Jim and Blair while they were
still at the hospital, but now that they were here, Simon felt a little
overwhelmed. What first?
Okay, well, breakfast. Yeah, that’s a good
place to start. Get them cleaned up and dressed. Dressed? Well, shit. Guess we
need to take a trip to the loft. Uh uh, bad idea, too many questions if they
see pictures of themselves. Send someone else to the loft for clothes, etc.
I’ll call Joel in a bit. Okay, breakfast, dressed… then what? That will only
take maybe a couple of hours. It won’t be time for lunch yet. Simon rolled
his eyes. Breathe, calm, okay. I’ll just
ask them what they’d like to do. Hopefully we can find something we all agree
on that won’t cost me and arm and a leg.
Ah, yeah, I need to check with Jim and
Blair’s lawyer about getting access to their accounts. I’ll need to take care
of their bills and things while… Simon lowered his head to the table and
sat there with his eyes closed for a moment. He took a deep breath and sat up.
‘Talk to the lawyer,’ he wrote below ‘Ask the boys.’
*********
They
ended up spending the next day at home. Simon had been busy the last week.
Between the office and being short handed and then visiting Jim and Blair at
the hospital, he hadn’t had time for much housework. After breakfast he set the
boys down in front of the television with an age appropriate movie while Simon
started to clean. He soon found himself with two helpers who were, to quote
‘bored and wanted to help.’
Between
the three of them the house was dusted, floors were swept and mopped, carpets
were vacuumed and laundry and dishes were washed in record time. They even
managed to get the bathrooms scrubbed. So, Simon took them all out for dinner
as a treat for being so much help.
He
put them to bed that night, grateful that both boys fell right to sleep.
Now what do we do tomorrow?
*********
Simon
opened his door the next morning surprised to see Brian Rafe standing on the
porch in the most casual clothes he’d ever seen on the man. Jeans that looked
brand new, a pair of leather loafers and a button down shirt, sans tie. The
captain blinked, but the view didn’t change. “Uh, good morning, Rafe,” he said,
at a loss for words.
“Morning,
Captain,” Brian replied with a grin. “Joel said he needed you in the office for
a while and since it’s my day off I thought I’d come see if you needed someone
to stay with Jim and Blair.”
Simon
stared at Rafe still trying to reconcile the man on his porch with the
detective they called GQ. “Oh,” he replied suavely. “Uh, sure, come on in.
Brian.” He backed into the entry way to let Rafe in.
Brian
stepped in and looked around. “Are they up?”
“They’re
getting dressed,” Simon said, giving himself a mental shake. “Want some
coffee?” he offered leading the way to the kitchen.
“Thanks,”
Brian replied. He settled into one of the kitchen chairs at Simon’s invitation.
“So. Any change?” Rafe asked hopefully.
Simon
shook his head as he poured a cup of coffee.
Just
then Blair came into the kitchen. He stumbled to a stop as he saw Rafe. “Hi,”
he said shyly.
“Hi
Blair,” Brian said with a smile.
Simon
motioned for Blair to take a seat as he handed Brian the coffee cup. “You
remember Detective Rafe, don’t you Blair?”
Blair
nodded, his damp curls bouncing.
“Well,”
Simon continued, “I have to go into the office for a few hours and he’s going
to stay here with you guys.” Simon’s eyes narrowed as he watched Blair glance
back toward the door. “Is that okay with you?”
“Um,
sure Simon,” Blair answered. Jim came in at that moment and Blair turned a much
more relaxed grin toward Rafe. “Hey Jimmy, Detective Rafe’s gonna stay here
while Simon goes to work.”
Jim
darted a nervous look at Simon. “Why do you have to go to work? I thought you
had the week off?” he asked, his tone just shy of a whine.
Simon
frowned. “I’m the captain. Sometimes things happen that only I can take care
of.” He moved over to Jim and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be back. Maybe
you can convince Rafe to make you some pancakes for breakfast. I hear he has a
special recipe.” Simon grinned at Brian who rolled his eyes.
“Sure
guys,” Brian agreed. “It’s a secret Rafe family recipe, but if you promise not
to tell anyone, I might be persuaded to share.”
Jimmy
and Blair shared a quick look before turning back to the adults. “Okay,” Blair
replied with a bounce. “But I want strawberry jam on mine.”
Simon
met Jim’s still worried gaze. “Are you all right with that, Jim?”
Jim
just nodded.
Banks
sighed. “Okay, why don’t you two set the table while I talk to Brian.” He
jerked his head toward the living room indicating for Rafe to follow.
Once
they were alone, Simon spoke softly. “I haven’t seen any signs that Jim’s
senses are online, but he’s been… I’m not sure how to describe it without…” he
sighed again. “I keep forgetting that they’re only six,” he tapped his temple,
“up here. Blair seems to be handling the lack of his normal routine fairly
well. But Jim, I think he’s sort of latched onto me as a father figure,” Simon
admitted wearily.
Brian
suppressed a smile. “He’ll be okay, Captain. Blair’s here and we’ll figure out
something to keep us all occupied.” He patted Simon on the back. “Don’t worry.
I’ve had lots of practice with kids. I may have been the youngest child in my
family by ten years, but that meant I had lots of nieces and nephews to help
raise. We’ll be fine.”
Simon
snorted. “Okay, okay. Let me just say good-bye and I’ll be off.
*******
Simon
frowned as he opened the door. Rafe’s car was sitting in the driveway but all
the lights in the house were off. “Hello?” he called out. His voice echoed
through the house. Simon flipped on a light and headed for the phone. “Maybe they
left a message,” he muttered to himself, unable to keep from thinking of the
numerous possible disasters that might have befallen his two charges.
No
message on the answering machine and no note to explain where they’d gone or
why. “I thought you said you had experience babysitting Rafe!” Simon growled
out loud. “If you did, you’d know better than to leave the house with out
leaving a note.”
Simon
raised his arms in frustration, dropping both hands to rest on top of his head
as he scanned the living area again for any sign of where they might be. He
lowered his arms suddenly and grabbed his cell phone. “Maybe he called my cell
and left a message.”
Just
as he started to dial, the front door opened and the three missing persons
tumbled in.
“Just
where the… heck have you been?” Simon yelled, pausing only long enough to tame
down his language. “I’ve been worried sick!”
Blair
and Jim stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the floor.
Rafe
frowned. “We left a note in case you got back before us.”
“Where?”
Simon asked spreading his arms sarcastically.
“On
the phone pad in the kitchen,” Rafe replied. “That’s where you had left a
grocery list and an old note for Daryl. We just assumed…”
Simon
let his head drop back as he stared at the ceiling, relief warring with
self-castigation. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I just didn’t expect you guys to
figure that out.” He lowered his chin. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at
you.”
Jim
and Blair glanced up at Simon.
“We’re
not in trouble?” Jim asked.
“No
son,” Simon said shaking his head. “I’m the one in trouble here. Will you guys
forgive me?”
Rafe
grinned conspiratorially dropping an arm around each of the boy’s shoulders.
“What do you say guys? Think we can let him off the hook?”
Blair
nibbled his lower lip for a second. “Okay,” he said softly, “but only if you
don’t do it again. Naomi says it’s not nice to yell at people.”
“Jim?”
Rafe prodded.
“Well,”
Jim said, drawing the word out. “Okay, I suppose…”
“Jim?”
Simon asked, wondering what was bothering the taller man.
Jimmy
shrugged. “Maybe Captain Simon should do something to show he really is sorry.”
The boy kept his gaze leveled at the floor.
Rafe
frowned. “Like what, Jimmy?”
Jim
glanced at Blair who grinned and bounced as he waited for his friend to finish.
“Maybe he should buyusallicecream,” he said in a rush.
Simon
and Rafe stared at Jim for a moment then shifted their gaze to each other
briefly before laughing out loud. Jim looked up with a shy grin on his face
while Blair giggled beside him.
After
a few moments, Simon and Rafe managed to get themselves under control. Simon
smiled at the boys. “I think you are absolutely right Jim. But, only after you
two tell me what you’ve been doing all day and after we have supper. Okay?”
“Okay!”
Jim and Blair replied eagerly.
*******
The
next several days went by uneventfully. Simon took the boys grocery shopping
with him using a list purloined from Sandburg’s Sentinel notes so that they
could avoid Jim’s sensitivities. Even though Simon had yet to see a sign of
heightened senses, he couldn’t help but be cautious. Without Sandburg’s
knowledge of all things Sentinel and his ability as a Guide, Simon wasn’t sure
what would happen if Jim zoned or had an allergic reaction to something. It
wasn’t an experience he wanted to go through.
********
Simon
Banks loved to swim. All through high school and college people had suggested
he play basketball because of his height, or football because of his size, but
Simon loved swimming. Rossburg High didn’t have a swim team, so Simon joined
the debate team, the chess club and ran for student council. During the summer
he tried out for and made the YMCA local swim team and won medals in the
backstroke and butterfly. In college Simon also made the swim team earning
medals in the 200 meter butterfly four years running.
Since
he’d become captain, Simon’s swim time had dwindled to a few hours every week
at a gym close to the station. He usually went during his lunch break. If
asked, he would have said that only Rhonda and Joel knew of his lunch time
activity. He would have been wrong.
********
“All
right guys,” Simon warned, “remember to stay in the shallow end. I’m going to
do a few laps.” He looked at Jim and Blair then glanced at the life guard. He
turned back to the boys. “You’re sure you know how to swim?” Simon asked with a
frown.
Jim
nodded with a frown of his own.
“Oh
yeah!” Blair replied. “Naomi taught me when we were in
“Okay,”
Simon replied hesitantly. “Put your towels and stuff on a chair while I talk to
the life guard.” He watched them do as he said then headed over to the life
guard chair to let the man know what to expect from his wards.
“Come
on, Jimmy,” Blair encouraged. “Let’s go.”
Jim
shook his head, wrinkling his nose. “No. It smells funny.”
Blair
sighed. “Fine. You stay here. I’m going in.” He tugged his t-shirt off over his
head and toed off his shoes dropping them all in a pile on the floor beside the
chair. Blair moved quickly to the edge of the pool, remembering not to run and
then jumped in cannonball style.
Simon
turned to see the end of Blair’s splash and held his breath until the younger
man broke the surface. Blair shook his head sending water and his dark curls in
all direction. Simon exhaled with relief, but couldn’t help but smile at the
grin on Blair’s face. The captain looked over at Jim and saw he was still standing
beside the chairs.
He
walked back over to Jim. “Hey, kiddo, you going to go in?”
Jim
just stared at the water mumbling something so softly that Simon couldn’t hear
it until he got closer.
“No.
He’s not dead. Don’t do this Chief. Oh God no,” Jim whispered, anguish clear on
his face and in his voice.
Simon
inhaled sharply as he made out what Jim was saying. He grabbed Jim by the arm.
“Jim!” he said softly, but firmly. “Blair’s fine. Everything’s okay. See? He’s
right there. Blair’s alive.”
Jim
frowned and turned his attention to the pool. He tilted his head and Simon
sighed with relief to see that sign of concentration. It was short lived relief
though for Jim’s face suddenly went slack as he slipped into a zone.
“Damn
it Jim!” Simon cursed under his breath. “Don’t do this to me.” He pinched the
Sentinel’s arm and gave him a little shake as he spoke trying to reassure Jim
that everything was fine. After a few moments, Simon had to admit that he
wasn’t getting through. He took Jim by the shoulders and maneuvered him into
the closest chair then went to the edge of the pool to get Blair.
“Blair,”
he called. “I need your help with something, please.”
“Ah,
Simon,” Blair whined, “I want to stay. We were playing,” he said indicating a
couple of preteens in the shallow end.
Simon
nodded. “I’m sorry. But Jim… It’s really important Blair.”
Blair’s
shoulders slumped. “Okay,” he said slowly walking across the shallow end of the
pool dragging his arms through the water. He climbed up the ladder and shuffled
over to Simon squeezing the water out of his hair as he went. “What do you
want?” he asked a bit sullenly.
“Jim
needs your help,” Simon answered putting a hand on Blair’s shoulder and
steering him toward Jim.
“With
what? He didn’t want to swim.”
“He’s,
uh,” Simon didn’t get to finish because as soon as Blair caught a glimpse of
Jim’s face he hurried the rest of the way to his friend.
“Jimmy?
Jim. What’s wrong? Jimmy? Wake up Jimmy,” Blair urged anxiously. He grabbed
Jim’s forearm and shook him. “Come on, buddy.”
Jim
blinked and slowly focused on his partner. “Chief?” he whispered hoarsely.
“Hey
Jimmy,” Blair said with a smile. “What happened? You were, like, gone, man.”
“Blair?”
Jim asked frowning. He looked up at Simon. “Captain Simon? What?”
Simon
took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It’s okay guys. Let’s pack up and go
home and I’ll explain everything, all right?”
Jim
and Blair nodded, confused but willing to accept Simon’s suggestion.
**********
Simon
turned the beer bottle slowly between his fingers. Rhonda had come over to stay
with Jim and Blair while he and Joel went out for a while. Simon needed to
talk, but he didn’t want to leave his Sentinel and Guide for too long.
“I
really thought Jim remembered,” Simon said for the fourth time.
Joel
nodded. His friend wasn’t drunk. Simon hadn’t even finished his first beer yet.
“He
called Blair Chief. I just knew… but then… Damn. Damn,” he said leaning his
elbows on the table and resting his forehead against the bottle in his hand.
“But
that’s got to be a good sign Simon,” Joel encouraged. “The memories are there,
right? It’ll come back. We just have to give them some time.”
“Yeah.
Right. Time.” Simon met Joel’s gaze. “We just have to give them some time.”
*********
Two weeks later
Simon
parked the car and turned to look at his two passengers. He was already giving
second thoughts to this field trip. “Okay boys,” he said, one part of his brain
making note of how easily he’d slipped into thinking of these two grown men as
children. “I want to lay down a few rules before we go in.”
Jim
and Blair nodded solemnly.
“First,
don’t run off. You need to stay within sight of me at all times, okay?”
More
nods.
Simon
sighed. “And if you do get separated for some reason, you go up to one of the
shops and ask an employee to have me paged. Got it?”
“Yes,
sir,” Jimmy replied.
“Yes,
Simon,” Blair answered, glancing eagerly out the window. “Can we go in now?”
“All
right,” Simon said with a smile. He led his friends up to the ticket booth and
paid for their entry to the zoo. Once inside, they all three examined the park
map.
Blair
scanned it quickly then held his map up to Simon pointing out a location with
his finger as he spoke. “I want to see the tigers. Here’s their habi… hab…
habtat. Can we go? Please?”
Simon
gazed at his own map. The tiger habitat was clear in the back of the park.
“We’ll see them, Blair, but why don’t we check out some of the closer exhibits
first?” He looked at Jim. “Anything in particular you want to see, Jim?”
Jimmy
nodded. “The wolves.”
“Okay,”
Simon said with a sad smile. “It looks like we have two main paths leading back
to those exhibits. Which way do you two want to go?”
Jim
and Blair huddled over their maps talking softly to each other for a few
minutes. Finally, Jim looked up at Simon. “Is there anything you want to see,
Captain?”
Simon
grinned at the boys. “I’ve always been rather partial to the alligators.”
The
boys turned to look at each other with wide eyes. “Alligators,” they said in
unison, then ducked their heads to check the maps again.
“Okay,
here’s what we’ll do,” Jimmy announced, tracing out the route as he explained.
“We’ll take the road to the right. We can see the monkey house and alligator
pond. Then the bears and some deer,” he shrugged as if to indicate that since
they were passing by, they might as well see the boring herbivores. “Right
after that is the wolf pack and other big cats, including the tigers.” He
looked up from the map. “Then we can come back down the other path and see
whatever we want on that side. Okay?”
“Sounds
like a plan to me, Jim,” Simon grinned. “What do you think, Blair?”
The
younger man nodded vigorously. “Can we go now?”
“Okay,
okay,” Simon chuckled as he nodded. Blair took off at a jog, but he stopped
before he was too far away and turned to wait impatiently for the others to
catch up.
Jimmy
shook his head. “He’s acting like Stevie,” he muttered softly. “And he’s only three.”
Simon
choked down a laugh. He put a hand on Jim’s shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.
****
Joel
met them at the door to Simon’s house at the end of the day. Simon smiled
gratefully at his friend. He definitely needed some relief after riding herd on
the two grown six year olds all day at the zoo.
“Captain
Joel!” Blair exclaimed as he ran up the sidewalk and threw his arms around the
surprised man for a hug. “Guess what we did? We went to the zoo and saw the
tigers and lions and bears and monkeys and the wolves and…”
Joel
did a slight double take then grinned down at Blair who had yet to take a
breath. Simon opened the front door and shared a look with Joel that said ‘it’s
been like this ALL day.’ Joel clapped a sympathetic hand on Simon’s back and
followed the trio inside.
Blair
dragged Joel over to the couch while Jim sat down in one of the other chairs.
Blair continued to rattle on.
“And
Simon wanted to see the alligators…”
“I’m
going to start dinner,” Simon proclaimed as he headed for the kitchen leaving
Joel in charge.
Joel
watched Blair describing the day at the zoo for a moment then glanced at Jim.
“I
just wanted to see the wolves,” Jim said softly. “There was this cub in the
back. No one else could see him, but I did…”
“And
I asked the zoo keeper why the lions wouldn’t roar…” Blair continued.
“I
wanted to stay and see if it would come out, but Blair wanted to go see the
tigers,” Jim added, not even trying to compete with Blair’s exuberant
explanation. “He kept pulling on Captain Simon’s sleeve until we finally had to
go.”
Joel
stifled a chuckle.
“And
we got to see the alligators get fed,” Blair said bouncing on the couch. “Right
Jimmy?” he looked at his friend for confirmation. “It was so cool!”
Jim
nodded. “They fed them dead chickens. The whole thing!” he added.
“It
sounds like you two had a lot of fun,” Joel commented, finally able to get in a
word edgewise.
Two
head bobbed up and down enthusiastically.
Then
Blair grabbed the bag beside him. “You want to see what I got?” he asked as he
reached into the bag.
“Me
too?” Jimmy said jumping up and moving over to paw through the bag as well.
“Okay,”
Joel grinned.
Blair
stopped suddenly and looked Joel in the eye. “Simon bought them for us,” he
said seriously.
“That
was very nice of him,” Joel said equally serious.
Jim
nodded and pulled out a cardboard tube. He opened it and unrolled the poster
while Blair handed Joel a box.
“It’s
bookends shaped like a black jaguar,” Blair said with a smile. “Simon said I
can use them to keep my books from falling over.
Joel
dutifully examined the bookends, pretending to weigh them in each hand before
giving them back to Blair. “I think they’re great Blair, should do the job very
well.”
Blair
grinned and nodded.
“See?”
Jimmy said holding the poster open for Joel to see. “It’s a wolf pack. I’m
gonna put it on my wall. Captain Simon said he would help me find a frame for
it.”
“That’s
beautiful Jimmy,” Joel said sincerely. “Did you two pick them out?”
“Uh
huh,” Blair answered as he carefully closed the box with the bookends in it.
“We got one for Simon too.”
“Oh?
What did you get?”
“Well,”
Jimmy said, “we thought he might want something with an alligator on it, ‘cause
he said he likes alligators, but Blair said he needed something with a grizzly
bear on it.”
Blair
nodded solemnly and dug into the bag one more time. “He doesn’t know what we
got yet, we asked could we have money to buy him something and he gave us
some.”
Joel’s
lips twitched, but he managed to control his urge to chuckle aloud.
“You
want to see?” Jim whispered as he looked over his shoulder toward the kitchen.
“Sure
thing,” Joel answered.
“I
hope he likes it,” Blair said opening a long flat box to reveal a silk tie with
a grizzly bear on it. It was standing on its rear legs with its mouth opened
roaring a challenge. The colors were different rich shades of brown with a
little dark green for the trees. The tie was gorgeous.
“Oh,
I can guarantee he’ll love it,” Joel assured with a smile. “Why don’t you put
it up and give it to him after dinner?”
The
boys nodded. Blair put the tie back in the bag.
“Dinner’s
almost ready,” Simon called from the other room. “Go wash up.”
Jim
and Blair grabbed their prizes and raced up the stairs.
“No
running in the house!” Simon roared from the kitchen.
Giggles
drifted down the stairs, followed by slower footsteps as they walked down the
hall.
Joel
laughed then sobered and ran his hands over his face. God he missed those two.
~~~~
After
dinner Jim and Blair gave Simon the tie, which he really did love. He let them
watch a little television and then sent them to get ready for bed.
“Will
you come read us a story?” Blair asked hopefully.
Simon
smiled. “Once you get changed and have brushed your teeth.”
Blair
nodded and scampered up the stairs after Jim.
Simon
sighed and felt his control weaken as he met Joel’s eyes.
“No
signs of improvement at all?” Joel asked.
“No.”
Simon rubbed a hand over the top of his head. “It’s… God, Joel this is killing
me. I mean, they’re great. They stay out of trouble and listen to what I tell
them, but…” he trailed off.
Joel
sat forward leaning his elbows on his knees. “You told the doctor about Jim’s
flashback, right? Did the doctor say any thing?”
“He
didn’t really know if it was significant or not, Joel. All he could do was
offer an educated guess that it might be a sign of improvement. But there hasn’t
been anything else that I know of.” Simon shook his head. “The doctors didn’t
have a clue what that combination of chemicals could do, let alone if the
affects would be permanent.” Simon paused then continued with an air of defeat.
“I wonder if it’s time to notify Ms. Sandburg and Mr. Ellison?”
“I
thought you wanted to avoid that as long as possible?”
“Hmph!
I do, but they are their blood relatives. Do I have the right to make these
decisions for them over a long term?” Simon asked sadly.
“Don’t
they both have you listed as having power of attorney in case of emergency?”
Joel asked.
“Yeah.”
“Do
they have their parents listed?”
Simon
shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“Well
then,” Joel said sitting back, “there’s your answer. Jim and Blair trusted you
to make these decisions. Not their parents. Even if you contact them, you still
have the final responsibility.”
“I
suppose so. I just wish I knew how long I should keep hoping for them to get
back to normal. If I knew they weren’t going to recover, at least then we could
move on.”
Joel
nodded. “I know what you mean, Simon. But can we set a dead line? If they
haven’t improved in one month, then we know they won’t? What if it just takes
six weeks? Or six months?”
Simon
stood up and started to pace. “I know, I know. I just wish…”
“Simon!”
Blair shouted from upstairs. “We’re ready for our story.”
Simon
stopped. “Be right there,” he replied then turned back to Joel. “Thanks for
coming over tonight.”
“I
can wait until you’re done if you want to talk some more, Simon. You know we
are all here for you, and Jim and Blair.”
Simon
smiled and nodded. “Thanks. I’ll be down shortly.”
Joel
watched his friend climb the stairs. He heard a giant roar followed by
delighted shrieks of laughter and couldn’t help but laugh himself. It didn’t
last long though as his throat thickened with unshed tears.
******
Simon
opened the trunk, pulled out a bag and handed it to Jim. “Help me take these
inside then you can play in the backyard while I make dinner.”
“Okay
sir,” Jim said nudging Blair with his elbow. “Take this one it’s
lighter. I’ll get the next one.”
Blair
rolled his eyes but took the bag. Simon chuckled and gave Jim another bag then
grabbed the last one himself.
The
boys waited at the door for Simon and the keys.
Jim
turned to look down the street as Simon reached them. He tilted his head and
frowned. “What’s that noise?” he asked Simon.
“What
noise?” Simon asked as he opened the door.
“Sounded
like ‘shuk chuk,’” he
demonstrated watching an approaching car with extreme interest. “It came from
that car,” Jim said pointing at a black sedan that started to slow as its
passenger window rolled down.
Simon
turned to look at the car. “Inside! Now!” he shouted.
He dropped the grocery bag as he spun. He shoved both men toward the door just
as gunfire erupted from the sedan. Bullets sprayed over their heads as Simon
tackled his friends from behind taking them all to the floor.
“Move! Hurry!” he urged crawling and trying to push the
younger men forward at the same time. Gun fire continued to bounce off the
front of the house shattering windows and allowing the taunting yells from the
perpetrators to be heard.
“I’ll
get you Banks! Die pig!” a voice yelled from outside.
Simon
scrambled to his knees and urged Jim and Blair through the living room into the
kitchen. “Stay low,” he ordered ushering them into the far corner of the
kitchen. Simon turned to sit with his back against the wall. He winced as he
leaned forward to reach for the gun in the holster at the small of his back.
“Simon!”
Blair exclaimed. “You’re bleeding.” The younger man scrabbled across the floor
to grab the dish towel from the counter.
Simon
swallowed hard and blinked to clear his suddenly blurry vision. “It’s okay,” he
assured, his voice sounding much weaker than he wanted it too. “Call 911 and
tell them what’s happening.” He stopped and shook his head but that only made
him dizzy. “Stay low.”
Jim
took the dish towel from Blair and pressed it to the wound in Simon’s side.
“He’s losing blood fast, Chief,” Simon heard him say just before he blacked
out.
**********
Familiar
voices teased his hearing. Simon let them wash over him as he regained
consciousness and then decided that maybe, if he didn’t wake up, it would allow
him to maintain the fantasy that everything was back to normal.
“I
know you’re awake, Simon.”
“Let
the man rest Jim. He’s got to be tired after dealing with you for so long.”
“Me?
What about you? I can’t even imagine what kind of questions you must have asked
at that age.”
“Curiosity
should be encouraged in children Jim. It’s the way we learn.”
“Yeah,
but you know what they say…”
“Don’t.
Besides, you’re the one with the cat, not me.”
“True,
but…”
“Boys!”
Simon interrupted with a yell that only reached one quarter his normal volume.
“Enough. I’m trying to sleep.”
“Boys?”
Blair asked grinning broadly as Simon opened his eyes.
“If
the name fits,” he replied weakly. “Should I assume you remember…”
“Everything,”
Jim interrupted with a wry grin.
Simon
frowned slightly. “Even…”
Blair
nodded. “Yeah, even the last few weeks. It’s kind of weird.”
“So
what else is new?” Simon asked.
“We
caught
“
“It
doesn’t matter, sir. He’s off the street for good,” Jim said as Simon sighed
and closed his eyes.
Jim
and Blair exchanged a look and stood to leave.
“We’ll
be back later, Simon,” Jim said softly as they headed for the door.
“Welcome
back, guys,” Simon murmured with heartfelt relief.
The
partners stopped and faced their friend with matching smiles.
“Thank
you, Simon,” Blair replied softly.
“For
everything,” Jim added.
“Yeah,”
Blair said. “You’re a great dad.” Jim rolled his eyes at Blair’s grin.
As
they left Simon allowed a small, fond smile to grace his lips.
The
end
Yes,
I do like feedback. Please encourage the muse. Judy