The Vet Series
Part 12
Something Borrowed
All
the usual disclaimers. Spoilers for Sentinel Too. There is another spoiler for
an episode, but if I tell you now it will spoil
the surprise. If you just have to know, I put it at the end. <g>
Many
thanks to everyone who has given feedback on this series. It's sort of taken on
a life of its own. I especially want to thank Cheryl for her character
contributions and many, many suggestions, ideas, plot bunnies and betaing.
Oh
yeah, warnings: a bit of bad language, but nothing you don't hear on prime time
everyday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jim
sighed happily, throwing his arm over Blair's shoulders as they made their way
toward the building. He grinned as he picked up not the expected two, but four
heartbeats in the lofts. Three of them were very familiar to the Sentinel by
now. The fourth was a more recent addition, but becoming just as dear.
Funny never thought I'd feel
that way about another Sentinel. Jim shook his head.
"What's
up, big guy?" Blair asked opening the door for his partner.
"I
think we should have brought reinforcements, Chief," Jim replied with a
grin. "Our ladies have company."
"Megan
and Mike?" Blair guessed. Jim nodded as a wide grin split his brother's
face. "Jim, we could have brought Simon, Daryl, Joel, H, Rafe, your dad
and Steven and still been out numbered by those four."
Jim
chuckled. His partner was right about that. They seemed to have been blessed,
or was it cursed, with two very intelligent fiancés. Add Detective and Sentinel
Michelle "Mike" Jackson and her Guide Inspector Megan Connor to that
and the four women were a force to be reckoned with. Just ask Scott Bruenell,
Tommy Brandon, the
They
entered the main door to their combined lofts to find the doors to both wide
open. The sound of female laughter echoed out of 307.
Blair
grinned at his partner again. "This could be a paper all by itself,
Jim," he said as they walked into Jim's half of the loft. "The
bonding rituals of 21st century women preparing for a wedding."
Elise
came up off the couch and caught Blair in a hug. She then kissed him soundly
before staring him in the eye. "That's my topic," she said sternly,
"find your own."
Jim
and the other ladies laughed while Blair tried to kiss El into submission.
Jenny
stood and tapped Jim on the shoulder then crossed her arms and waited, trying
vainly to keep a smile off her face. Jim raised an eyebrow and pretended to try
and figure out what she wanted. Finally, after a few short seconds, he just
couldn't stand it any longer himself. Jim wrapped his fiancé in his arms and
kissed her breathless.
Megan
and Mike rolled their eyes at each other grinning. It was good to see their
four friends so happy.
Once
the love fest settled down to a dull roar, Jen and El pulled their respective
men over to sit with them on the couch.
"Jim,
I want to see what you think about these invitations," Jenny said, handing
him an open book and pointing out a design.
Jim
was dumbfounded. "Well, I…"
Jen
nodded. "That's what I thought, how about this one?" She flipped to
another marked page.
Jim
stared at her for a second before glancing at the design then he looked back at
Jenny. "You really want my opinion?"
Jenny
nodded watching the page with a frown. "Not that one either, huh?"
She reached to turn the page again. Jim caught her hand in his. Jen met his
eyes a little confused.
"There
are a lot of choices Jim," she started, Jim shook his head.
"It's
not that," he said a bit ruefully. "I just sort of expected that
you'd handle everything yourself. I didn't think you'd want my opinion."
Jenny
blinked. "Why ever not, Jim? It's your wedding too?" She frowned.
"Don't you want to have a say in these things?" Jen asked, waving her
hand to indicate the books and magazines scattered across the coffee table.
Jim
nodded. "Sure. Of course I want to help. I just didn't expect you to want
me to."
"Why?"
Jenny asked simply, completely focused on her fiancé.
Jim
scrubbed his hand through his short dark hair as he considered his words.
"Well, it's just that Carolyn did all of this herself. She never asked
what I wanted." He trailed off seeing the dismay in Jenny's eyes.
She
looked around and discovered that their friends had made themselves scarce at
some point during the conversation. The door to the loft was even shut for
privacy. Jen turned back to Jim and captured his hands in hers.
"Jim.
I want to share my life with you. That means everything, starting with planning
our wedding."
Jim
smiled and lifted her hands to his lips. He placed a kiss on each knuckle then
one on her lips. Jenny smiled. "Okay," Jim said, releasing one of her
hands to grab the book of invitations, "which ones did you like
again?"
Jenny
snuggled down beside him and together they chose the design for their wedding
invitations.
*****
Later that night after
dinner
"So,
I think they expected me to stay," Megan said as she and Mike and Jenny
worked to clean up the dinner dishes, since Jim, Blair and El had cooked.
Mike
placed a tentative hand on Megan's shoulder, still not entirely comfortable
with her need to comfort the other woman. "We could always transfer to
Megan
shook her head. "Cascade is our home now, Shellie.
Even Jimbo acknowledges that you belong here."
"Besides,"
Jenny said with a grin, "who else is Jim going to trust with Cascade while
we're on our honeymoon?"
They
all laughed at that.
"I'm
still a little confused by the fact that you don't have a problem with Mike in
your territory, Jim," Blair said, watching his Sentinel closely.
Jim
sat beside Jen with his arm draped comfortably over her shoulder. He shrugged.
"Maybe it's because she's a cop, one of the 'good guys.' Or because she's
like a sister to Jenny." Jim shrugged again. "I don't understand it
either. I can tell when you're near," he said, meeting Mike's steady gaze,
"but it doesn't bother me like it did with Barnes."
Megan
and Blair both shivered at the mention of that name, receiving instant comfort
from Mike and Elise.
"Who
was Barnes?" Mike asked, pulling Megan close in a sideways hug.
"Another
Sentinel," Jim almost spat.
Blair
dragged El with him and sat on the other side of Jim. "Easy, big guy. She
can't hurt us anymore."
Mike,
Jenny and Elise watched the obviously upset Sentinel and Guide. Jenny had heard
Barnes' name before, but not the whole story.
"This
sounds like something we need to know," Jenny said, her tone reminding the
pair of their promise of full disclosure.
Jim's
haunted eyes met Jenny's. He nodded, surprised by how deeply the memories of
that time still affected him. And evidently Blair as well, his Guide was
trembling. "Alex Barnes was a Sentinel. She was also a thief and a
murderer. Blair discovered her at the PD. She'd wrecked her car and was
complaining about bright lights and her clothes hurting her skin.
I
had been having dreams about hunting a wolf in the jungle. In the dreams I shot
the wolf and it would change before my eyes into Blair." He grasped his
Guide's wrist finding Blair's pulse before he continued.
"Blair
tried to tell me about Alex being a Sentinel, but the dreams and the sense that
something was not right made me irritable and uncommunicative."
Blair
snorted and gave Jim a small grin as the older man continued.
"We
figured out that Alex was involved in a series of thefts. I felt betrayed by
Blair because he hadn't told me about her and threw him out."
"Jim
was reacting to several things," Blair explained. "An evil Sentinel
in his territory and the fact that he could smell her scent on his Guide. I had
been helping Alex up to the point where we figured out she was the thief. She
hadn't known she was a Sentinel and had been having a bad time with her senses.
Anytime she tried to use them Alex got blinding headaches." The Guide
tilted his head contritely. "I thought I could help her, I didn't
know…"
"It
wasn't your fault, Chief," Jim interrupted, pulling his friend to him with
one arm. "We didn't know. Now we do and it's over. I'm sorry, Blair."
Jim ducked his head, burying his face in Sandburg's hair.
Megan
took over the story, her gaze resting sadly on the other Sentinel and Guide.
"Barnes stole some nerve gas. We thought she was on her way to
The
Aussie paused and took a deep breath. "Alex went to
Jenny
and Elise were on either side of Jim and Blair, offering quiet support to the
men who seemed lost in the memory. Jenny suspected they'd slipped into a light
bonding session.
"What
happened then?" Mike asked.
"Jim
raced up the stairs to Hargrove Hall then suddenly turned to face the
fountain," Megan continued. "That's when we all saw Blair face down
in the fountain."
Elise
gasped and Jen stretched across Jim and Blair to squeeze her hand. El returned
the squeeze then wrapped her arms around Blair as best she could.
A hawk swooped down and
landed beside the wolf and panther. The Golden Retriever was watching them from
nearby. Blair lifted his head and looked at the hawk.
"El?" he asked.
Jim considered the hawk for
a moment then shrugged. "I was wondering when her spirit guide would make
an appearance."
Blair looked at Jim.
"Did you know what it was?"
The Sentinel shook his head.
"I think we should go back. I didn't mean to pull us into a bonding
session."
The Guide grinned ruefully.
"Me either. I hadn't realized how much that all still bothers me."
"Me, too," Jim
admitted pulling his brother in for another hug. "But maybe we should save
this for another session, huh?"
"Yeah, guess it is
kinda rude," Blair grinned with one more look at the hawk.
The
Sentinel and Guide rejoined the real world and met the other's eyes
apologetically.
"Sorry,"
Jim said softly.
"That
hit us unexpectedly," Blair explained, then smiled at his bride-to-be.
"But we found out what your spirit guide is."
El
blinked, surprised by the turn of conversation. "Really?"
*******
Later that week
Jenny
gasped and sat up in bed surprised to see Mike sitting beside her.
"That
was some dream," Mike said quietly. "You're heart is going a million
miles a minute."
Jen
pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them. "My nightmares seem to
have taken on a whole new dimension lately," she admitted, still shaking
off the last vestiges of the dream.
"I've
only been staying here for a couple of weeks, Jen," Mike replied,
sprawling on her side to make herself more comfortable on the bed. "At
least half of those nights I've heard you wake up. What was this last
one?"
With
a deep sigh, Jenny thought about the nightmare she'd just woken from.
"They're mostly flashes of things that have happened," she shrugged,
knowing that Mike could see her quite well even in the dark room. "Tommy
going after you, after Blair, taunting me… then there's
She
got off the bed and turned on the overhead light. "Now I've got other
people to worry about besides you," Jen said scooping up Grey for a good
snuggle. "My nightmares center more and more on Jim. I guess that's only
reasonable, but…" she trailed off stroking the cat for comfort.
"Have
you told Jim about your fears?" Mike asked patting the bed.
Her
friend sat beside her. "No. Not really. It just doesn't seem fair to
burden him. I knew what I was getting into." Jenny held Grey closer taking
comfort from the deep purr. "He's just had so many things happen to him
since I've known him. I'm scared of losing him."
Mike
sighed. "I think it would be better, and maybe easier on you, to tell Jim
about your nightmares and how scared you are for him. Together you might be
able to find a way to deal with them. If you try to hide things from him… Jim's
not the type that wants to be protected from anything, he prefers to face life
head on." Mike smiled. "Besides, don’t you think he's having the same
concerns for you?"
Jenny
sent an amazed look at her almost sister. "It's astonishing how well you
know my fiancé," she teased.
Mike
grinned. "Not really. We're a lot alike, Jim and me. Sentinels, cops, we
both love you." She shrugged. "I just put myself in his place and 'ta
da' instant advice."
Jen
chuckled and set Grey on the bed. "Okay, I'll talk to him. Now will you
please talk to Megan about the house?"
The
Sentinel rolled her eyes.
"I
mean it, Mikey. There is no reason the two of you shouldn't live here after the
wedding. I'll be moving into the loft anyway and I know how much it helps Jim
to have Blair near and vice versa, so I think it's the perfect solution for you
two."
"I
don't know, Jen…"
"Look,
you'll be doing me a favor. If you don't move in, the house will just sit
empty. It's paid for, but you can pay me a modest rent and keep up the
utilities. Besides, it'll give me peace of mind to know I have on site security
for the clinic after hours," Jen grinned.
Mike
snorted. "I knew you had an ulterior motive. Okay, okay. I'll talk to
Megan. She asked if I wanted to share an apartment, but I'm really comfortable
here. And besides, Boo likes it." Mike shrugged then grinned. "This
place would give us the advantage of living together, but still offer plenty of
privacy."
Jenny
nodded happily.
"Are
you sure though that you and Jim won't move in here?"
The
vet shook her head. "I just don't see that happening, Mikey. Besides, I
like the loft and with four of us sharing the space, I'm pretty sure I can get
away without cooking very often," Jen waggled her eyebrows.
"All
right, kouyuu" Mike replied, grinning at her friend. She knew how much Jen
hated to cook. Well, not hated, but just downright didn't care to cook when
there were other options. "I hope Jim knows he'll be the main provider of
sustenance in your family."
Jenny
smiled widely. "Hey, I can dial a mean pizza to go, if needed." She
sniffed reflectively. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he knows by now, but I'll be
sure to bring up my fear of cooking too."
Mike
chuckled and got up off the bed. "I'm going back to sleep now. Are you
okay?"
Jen
nodded. "Thanks, sis."
"Ki
ni shinai," the Sentinel replied with a slight bow.
*****
Jenny
snuggled into the chair in Blair's half of the loft to go through the stack of
mail she'd brought from the clinic. Elise sat on the couch with papers
scattered all around as she graded them. Jim and Blair were making dinner in
the kitchen.
Jen
shared a quick grin with El then started opening the mail. Most of them were
bills, a few reports on patients she had referred to a specialist in
She
read the letter through once and couldn't help but smile as she perused it a
second time.
A
loud 'whoop!' from the living room area got everyone's attention. Jim and Blair
turned to see Jenny hop up out of the chair with a letter in her hand. Jim
smiled at the contagious grin on his fiancé's face.
Jenny
waved the letter in the air as they all gathered around. "This is a letter
from the Cascade Zoo asking me to help them set up a habitat for the Giant
Panda that will be part of the Chinese Zoological Exchange Program in a few
months." She grinned at them proudly.
"Um,
Jen," Blair said, smiling but confused. "I don't mean this
negatively, but why did they ask you?"
The
veterinarian didn't miss a beat or lose a bit of her enthusiasm at the
question. "I did a research project as an undergrad on creating
appropriate zoo habitats for Giant Pandas. The paper was published in several
of the big vet journals. They want my input to make sure the panda's stay is
comfortable."
"Why
the Giant Panda?" El asked taking a seat at the table. Jen joined her,
Blair and Jim returned to cooking as they listened.
"At
the time there was a big movement to renovate zoo displays to be more 'natural'
to help keep the animals healthy mentally as well as physically. Wild animals
are not meant to be kept in cages without stimulation." Jen took a breath
and continued.
Jim
and Blair grinned at each other. This was a side of Jen that few people saw.
She tended to present herself as a quiet, intelligent business-like person most
of the time. But get onto one of her 'topics' and you'd better stand back.
Animal
behavior was one of those topics.
Elise
listened raptly as Jenny explained the advances in zoo habitat design and what
she planned to recommend for the visiting panda.
Dinner
was served and they all sat down as Jenny continued to talk.
"I'm
glad they didn't wait any longer to ask me, though," Jen said taking a
bite and chewing thoughtfully.
"Why's
that?" Jim asked.
Jen
finished chewing. "Well, it's going to take a few weeks to get the plants
in that we need. I don't think there's a local supply of adult bamboo and then
we'll need to set up the display…"
Jim
frowned. "When exactly is this panda arriving?"
Jenny
opened her mouth to reply then closed it when she realized what the dates
corresponded to. "Oh."
Blair
grabbed the corner of the letter, pulled it to him and found the dates for the
exhibit. The Chinese Zoological Exchange Program was scheduled to arrive on the
first of December. Jim and Jenny's wedding was scheduled for December ninth.
"Well,"
Blair drawled, "most of the work is going to be done before they even
arrive, right?"
Jen
nodded hopefully.
"Then
I don't see what the problem is," he said.
Jenny
sighed and shook her head. "No, Jim's right." She rolled her eyes.
"Do you know how many people are coming from out of state for this? I may
not have any siblings, but there are plenty of aunts and uncles and
cousins…" Jen put her elbows on the table and buried her face in her
hands. "The plans are coming along, but between the clinic, the wedding and
flyball, the little free time I have left is 'Jim time.'" She raised her
head, blushing lightly but continued obstinately. "I am not going to give
up our time together."
Jim
frowned. He hadn't meant that Jenny shouldn't do the project, it was obviously
very important. "Jen," he said waiting for her to look at him.
"I just wanted to know what kind of time commitment they would need from
you. We'll figure something out for the wedding plans. I'll help, and I'm sure
we can find a few other volunteers," Jim concluded with a lopsided grin.
"Are
you sure?" Jen asked wide-eyed. "There's still so much to do and this
project is going to take quite a bit of time. I may even have to hire a relief
vet to cover at the clinic."
"Hey,"
Jim replied, "this is important to you and your career. You need to do it.
Everything will work out, you'll see."
Jim
was rewarded with a mega-watt smile from his bride-to-be.
******
The next week
Major Crimes
Mike
walked up to Captain Banks' door and started to knock only to stop as she
realized someone was already in with him. She focused her hearing just enough
to determine that it was Blair. The Sentinel sighed and turned to Rhonda.
"Can
you let me know when the Captain's free, please?"
"Sure,
Mike," Rhonda replied.
"Thanks,"
Mike said heading back to her desk. I can
work on the Kowalski report while I'm waiting.
A
little later Rhonda called her name and Mike made a beeline for Simon's office.
The report she had for him wasn't that important in the big scheme of things,
but it was time sensitive.
"What
can I do for you Detective?" Banks asked as Mike entered the room.
"I
have the Stevens case report ready and if we can get it processed today it
would really help the family," Mike replied, handing Simon the folder.
"Right,
the Stevens case. What a mess," he said opening the folder and glancing
through the report. "Poor people. I'll read through it and get it back to
you ASAP." Simon looked up and met
"Can
I help you with something, Captain?" she asked.
"I'm
having a little scheduling problem," Simon admitted. "With both
Ellison and Sandburg getting married and wanting time off for their honeymoons,
I'm at a loss as to who to put with Ellison." Simon leaned his elbows on his
desk.
"Sandburg
is easy, I'll just assign one of the newer detectives to him. He's good at
showing them the ropes and making sure the paperwork end is explained properly.
But Jim… I guess I'll just ride with him while Blair and Elise are gone,"
he concluded dejectedly.
"Is
he that hard to work with?" Mike asked with an evil grin.
Simon
glared at her but shook his head. "No, and ordinarily I'd love the chance
to get out from behind this desk. But you have to understand that Jim without
Sandburg for two weeks is going to be grouchy and just downright
unpleasant."
"What
about Joel? They've worked together before haven't they?" Mike asked
wondering if there would come a time when Simon said the same thing about her
and Megan. And how would Jim be on his own honeymoon with two weeks away from
his Guide? Would Jenny have to deal with a grumpy husband?
"Joel's
going to be at a seminar for part of the time and then working with the bomb
squad on special training once he gets back," Simon rubbed his hand over his
face. "Ah, well, I'll figure something out. Get back to work,
"Thank
you, Sir," Mike replied as she left.
******
Jenny's house several days
later
Mike
came out of the kitchen and almost ran over Elise.
The
English professor juggled the stack of magazines and just managed to keep them
from falling. "Oh, I'm sorry Mike," she said as they made room for
each other. El headed into the kitchen as she continued to talk. "Jen and
I are going to go through some of these wedding magazines tonight, I didn't
realize you were home already."
Elise
dumped the stack onto the table and started sorting them into categories.
"Oh,
Megan and I have the tail end of a stake out tonight, so I came by to grab a
bite to eat and a cat nap," Mike said with a grin.
The
other woman smiled back but quickly returned her attention to the magazines.
"What
are these for?" Mike asked, waving a hand over the tabletop, which had
disappeared under the wedding plans. She eyed the mess, her fingers twitching
as she mentally calculated the best way to organize the magazines.
"Well,
even though Blair and I set our date in January, that still puts us on a tight
time schedule. I suppose we could have done it earlier like Jen and Jim,"
she sighed, "but Blair felt so bad about the way his proposal upstaged
Jim's." Elise shook her head. "We just felt it would be appropriate
to wait until after Jim and Jen's wedding to have ours. But the timing really
couldn't be worse."
"How
do you mean?"
"Well,
the new semester will have just gotten started, so I'll be taking off right
before my students’ first big paper will be due. Plus my family will have the
same problem taking off for the wedding. My nieces and nephews will have to
miss some school," Elise sighed again. "I just wish we could do it
sooner."
Mike
listened sympathetically wondering if she should suggest a solution.
******
One week later
The bullpen
"What
do you mean it's not available?" Jim growled into the phone. "I just
spoke with you not twenty minutes ago and you said you would hold it for me if
I called back before ten tomorrow morning!"
Mike
lifted her head catching the irritated tone of Jim's voice. She focused on the
conversation for a moment inadvertently picking up the voice on the other end
as well.
"Mr. Ellison, that's a
busy time of the year, the large rooms are in high demand. Another party
offered a cash advance when they called…"
Mike
winced at the volume of Ellison's reply.
"I
DON'T GIVE A DAMN! This is no way to run a business. You can be sure that I'll
be letting my friends know what kind of shoddy service you offer. In case you
didn't recognize the name, it's Ellison, as in Ellison Enterprises."
Mike
coughed to cover her laughter at the indignant splutter that came from the
other end of the phone line.
Jim
slammed the phone down and slumped back into his chair. "Damn," he
whispered.
Mike
got up and went over to Jim's desk. "Having a little problem?"
Ellison
glared then rolled his eyes. "I've been trying to find a room for the
rehearsal dinner. This guy said he'd hold the room for me, I just wanted to
check with Jenny before booking it and the ass rented it right out from under
us." He ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
"At
this rate we may end up having the dinner in the park, or
"I
thought you and your dad were on good terms now."
"Oh,
we are. I just hate to sink to name dropping," Jim said dejectedly.
Blair
stalked into the bullpen at that moment and plopped into his chair. "We're
going to elope," he declared.
Jim
and Mike stared at him in surprise. Blair raked his hand through his hair and
sighed.
"I've
been trying to book a church, but you won't believe the hassle they're making
us go through! Elise's church won't let us use the chapel unless I convert, and
all the others I've spoken to want us to be members or pay a huge fee and they won't let us bring in
our own minister or priest for the service. Geez! It gives organized religion a
bad name, man."
Jim
nodded sympathetically. He and Jen had been fortunate enough to not have the
church problem, but there were other logistical problems to overcome.
Mike
watched the two of them wallowing in self-pity and exhaled in disgust.
"Why don't you just have a double wedding? It would save time and effort
in preparation for the wedding and then you wouldn't have to worry about who
would cover for you while you were on your honeymoons. I'm sure Captain Banks
would be willing to go along with that."
"Go
along with what?" Simon asked as he approached the three detectives. He'd
noticed
Mike
straightened to attention. Shimatta! I
should have heard him coming. "I just suggested that they would do
better having a double wedding. They could share the wedding preparations, cut
the time involved in half and if they both took time off for the honeymoons at
the same time it would save you from trying to find a temporary partner for
each of them."
Simon
frowned, staring first at
Jim
blinked and looked at his partner. A
double wedding? Wonder why we didn't think of that? Especially considering the
timing of our engagements. "What do you think, Chief?"
Blair
raised his eyebrows. "I'm game if the ladies are." He grinned.
"I can't believe we didn't think
of this."
*****
Jenny
hurried out of the Cascade Zoo admin. office juggling the folders as she headed
for her truck. She was running late again, but the planning meetings seemed to
be hitting every possible snag. Jim had called earlier saying he and Blair had
a suggestion they wanted to run by her and El. She was heading to the loft now
to meet with the others.
Jen
didn't notice the man across the parking lot taking pictures.
*****
So that's Ellison's
bride-to-be. Little thing isn't she. Cute though. Not his usual type. The man smiled to himself
as he put away his camera and surveyed the entrance to the zoo again. Won't Jimbo be surprised to see me again?
*****
Later at the loft
Jenny
stared at El in disbelief. "That's crazy!"
"I
know," El agreed, "but that's the church policy." She grinned
evilly. "Blair said he's ready to elope."
Jen
laughed. "I know how he feels. It would take less effort. The caterer wanted
the number of guests confirmed two months in advance." She shook her head.
"Too
bad we can't just combine everything…" El offered half joking.
"You
mean a double wedding?"
El
shrugged. "Well… Yeah."
The
two women stared at each other and slow grins formed on their faces. Jen
grabbed a pad of paper off the counter and they sat down at the table side by
side as they started conspiring.
About
fifteen minutes later, Jim and Blair came in. Jen and Elise flipped the papers
over and turned to greet their fiancés.
"What
are you two up to?" Jim asked his eyes narrowing suspiciously as he
focused on the papers.
"Wedding
plans," El answered honestly.
"Good,"
Blair replied. "We have a suggestion to make." He and Jim sat on the
other side of the table. Blair shared a look with Jim then turned his attention
to the ladies. "El, how would you feel about a double wedding with Jim and
Jen?"
El
shot a look at Jenny who frowned.
"Were you listening to us as you came up, Jim?" Jen asked
suspiciously.
Jim
frowned. "No. Should I have been?"
Jenny
shook her head and grinned. "No, it's just that we had come to the
conclusion that a double wedding would make our lives so much easier." She
turned their notes back over and showed the men.
Blair
sat back in his chair, shook his head and chuckled. "I told you, Jim. They
are always one step ahead of us, man."
Jim
grunted his agreement as he scanned the notes.
******
Later that night
"Mom?"
El said into the phone.
"What's
wrong dear?" Tanya Browning asked.
"Well,
nothing's wrong really," Elise replied quickly, "but we've decided to
move up the wedding and have a double ceremony with Jenny and Jim. Do you think
we'll have time to get Blair's gift done by then?" she asked frantically.
"What's
the new date, Elise?" her mom asked sensibly.
"December
ninth."
"Hmm.
Well, your father is done with the table. I've got a few pretty good size areas
to stitch, but I believe it's doable. I could certainly use your help
though."
"Oh,
thank goodness, Mom. No problem, I'll just plan to be over there during my free
time." Elise sighed with relief. "Thanks again, Mom."
******
Several days later
"Thanks
for coming with me, Jim," Jenny said, leading her fiancé into the Panda
House. "I need an objective opinion."
"No
problem Jen," Jim replied, amused by Jenny's nervousness. She seemed
anxious for him to approve of the display.
They
entered the building and Jim whistled in admiration. The center of the large
room contained a huge glassed-in habitat that while still empty of plants was
already terra-formed to simulate the panda's natural terrain. But the thing
that caught Jim's eye was the life-like mural on the outer walls.
Jim
moved over to the glass partition and turned around to view them better. Care
had been taken to create a three-dimensional illusion. From Jim's viewpoint he
could almost imagine that he was on a hillside in
Jenny
smiled at the look of awe on Jim's face and went to him. She tucked her arm
around his waist. "Once the display is finished and we add a few strategic
potted plants, I hope it will give enough of an illusion to make the panda
comfortable. They don't have good eyesight anyway, but with the odors from the
live plants and the natural day and night rhythms from the skylights," she
pointed at the huge paned windows in the ceiling, "I think it will provide
as 'natural' a surrounding as possible."
"It's
incredible, Jen. I can't wait to see it finished." Jim draped his arm over
Jen's shoulder and gave her a squeeze.
"You really like it?"
Jim
smiled. "It almost fooled me, Jen. I think a near-sighted panda will be in
panda heaven."
Jenny
grinned. "Come on, let me show you the educational displays they've got
set up in the next building." She led him out the door and toward another
building.
Jim
stopped suddenly and scanned the area.
"What's wrong, Jim?" Jenny asked recognizing that look. The Sentinel
was working.
"I'm
not sure, I sensed something…"
Jen
put her hand on Jim's arm. He turned sharply to the left and focused his sight
on a tall building about a mile away. Suddenly a flash of light blinded him and
Jim closed his eyes desperately dialing back his sight.
"Are
you okay?" Jen asked softly, rubbing his arm.
"Yeah,"
Jim replied, blinking to clear the flashes in his vision. "I thought I saw
someone, but then the sunlight reflected off of something…"
"Do
you need Blair?" she asked, concerned by the pain she'd seen in Jim's
eyes.
He
shook his head with a small smile. "No. I'll be fine. Let's go see this
display," Jim assured her, taking a last glance at the building before
following his fiancé.
******
"Well,
well, well, Jimbo, aren't you full of surprises. You seem to have progressed
quite nicely with your senses. And your little fiancé knows about them? And
seems to be able to help you with them too. Interesting." The man tapped
his fingers thoughtfully against the mirror he had used to distract the
Sentinel.
*****
Jim
knocked on the door to Simon's office and waited a bit nervously to be let in.
Simon's "Come," sounded loud and clear through the door, but Jim
paused and took a breath before going in.
Banks
glanced up. "Hey, Jim," he said looking back down at his screen.
"What can I do for you?"
"Well,"
Jim said slowly, "actually, I… I was wondering if…"
Simon
frowned and looked up at his detective. "What's wrong Jim?"
Ellison
shook his head and sighed. "Nothing, Simon. I just," he stopped and
took a deep breath. "Would you be my best man?"
A
slow, pleased smile formed on Simon's face as he stood and went around the desk
to face his friend. "I'd be honored Jim," he said holding out his
hand.
Jim
sighed, returning the smile and shaking Simon's hand. "Thanks, Simon. This
really means a lot to me."
"You're
welcome, Jim." Simon shrugged. "I guess I just assumed Blair would
fill that spot."
"Well,
with a double ceremony," Jim tilted his head not denying the truth. "But
you've been my friend and stuck by me through all this," he waved his hand
in the air. "I truly value your friendship, Simon."
Simon
smiled. "And I yours, Jim." He patted the groom-to-be on the back.
"So, what kind of bachelor party did you want?"
Jim
groaned and hung his head. Simon just chuckled.
********
Jenny
locked the door to the clinic and headed into the house. I hope Mike's home. I really need to ask her tonight. I don't know
what I was thinking. She opened the door. "Mike?"
"Up
here, Jen," the Sentinel shouted.
Jen
found her sister sitting on a chair in the room Mike was using. She had a leg
weight around her ankle and was doing lifts. From the sweat on her T-shirt, the
Sentinel had been at it for some time.
"Aren't
you supposed to work that leg slowly, Mikey?" Jen asked, catching Mike's
foot in mid lift and removing the weight.
"I
am," Mike protested. "It's only a five pound weight."
"Yeah,
but how many lifts have you done?" Jen demanded.
Mike
ducked her head and winced as Jen lowered the leg slowly to the floor.
"That's
what I thought." Jenny sat on the bed playing with the leg weight.
"Mikey, I need to ask you something."
"What's
that?" Mike replied, lifting her head.
"I'd
really like it if you'd be my maid of honor."
Mike
grinned. "Well, of course. What, did you think I'd say, no?"
Jen
lifted one shoulder as she shook her head. "No, I just sorta forgot that I
should ask you and not assume that you'd do it." She gave her sister a
chagrined smile.
Mike
patted her on the leg. "Never fear. I would have shown up for your big day
any way, but this way you get to choose what I wear," she teased.
Jenny
chuckled. "Well, I don't care, but we are going for a bit of class, so
maybe we should pick out something appropriate. And we really should coordinate
with El and her maid of honor." The women grinned at each other.
*****
"Hey,
Joel," Blair called to the big detective as he entered the bullpen.
"Can I talk to you privately for a minute?"
"Sure,
Blair," Joel replied following the younger man into the hall to the break
room. "What can I do for you, Blair?" Joel asked trying to decide if
there was a problem.
Blair
smiled at the older man. "Joel, we've always had a pretty close
friendship, right?"
Joel
nodded frowning slightly.
"I
look to you as a sort of father figure. You know I never knew my biological
father," Blair shrugged suddenly. "Anyway, I was wondering if you
would do me the honor of being my best man?"
Taggert
regarded his friend for a moment and Blair shifted anxiously. "You know
Blair, I've always thought of you as a son."
Blair's
eyes widened a bit.
"I'd
be honored to stand up for you."
Blair
grinned, his eyes suspiciously moist. "Thanks, man," he said hugging
the bigger man.
Joel
returned the hug. "You're quite welcome, son."
******
"Okay," Jenny said, checking off names on the guest list
for the caterer, "so we've got Will, Sally, Steven and his girlfriend,
Nancy," she lifted her head to look at Blair. "Any word on Naomi
yet?"
Blair sighed and shook his head. "No one's heard from her in
months."
Jen frowned sympathetically. "Well, we'll set a place for her
just in case. Is she likely to bring a friend?"
Jim snorted. "Make it two places," he said ducking
Blair's swat to the back of his head. "I only meant that Naomi has a lot of friends, Chief," Jim
clarified with a grin.
"You know, Jim, if you're going to be that way, Jen and I can
do this by ourselves," Blair replied heatedly.
"Chief?" Jim said, concerned by his brother's
uncharacteristic anger.
"Ah, man. I'm sorry, Jim, I'm just worried, you know?"
Blair stood up and started to pace. "I know Naomi has disappeared like
this before, but, well, I'd hate for her to miss my wedding." He met his
Sentinel's eyes. "It's not like I plan on doing this again."
Jim nodded. "I'm sorry, Chief. Maybe I can put the word out
with some of my old contacts, see if they can turn anything up."
"Would you?"
"Sure, Chief. I can't imagine our wedding without
Naomi," Jim smirked.
"Oh, that was bad, Jim," Blair groaned, glancing at Jenny
for some help. Jenny just rolled her eyes.
Elise came through the door to Blair's loft at that moment holding
a stack of mail. "They were just delivering the mail when I got in so I
brought yours up Blair," she said, handing it off to him before she dumped
her bag of books in the corner. "I didn't think I'd ever get away."
"Thanks, El," Blair replied, landing a quick kiss on
El's lips. He then started flipping through the letters.
"Okay, El," Jen said, "we were just making sure we
had the guest list covered for the rehearsal dinner. At the head table we've
got the four of us, Simon, Mike, Joel and El’s maid of honor, Brenda. Then
we'll put my parents, Will, Steven, Nancy, Sally, the minister and his wife
together… Naomi and guest, your parents Elise as well as your sister Kathryn
and her husband and your brother Phil and his wife," she looked up at
Elise. "Right?"
El grinned and nodded.
Jen nodded and looked at the list. She sighed and continued.
"Okay. Then we've got the rest of the crew from Major Crimes. Joel's wife
Jim put his hand on Jenny's shoulder. "I'm sure Rafe will
understand."
His fiancé took a breath and exhaled noisily. "This is
getting a bit out of hand I think," Jen said looking at the number of
names still left on the list. "I guess with four of us it's only to be
expected, but…This is just the rehearsal dinner. I always thought the reception was supposed
to be the big one."
"True," El replied, "but since we have early planes
to catch it just works better for us to invite most of the people to the
rehearsal dinner and have the reception be really informal."
Jenny rolled her head against the stiffness in her neck. Jim stood
behind her and gently massaged the tense muscles. Jen tilted her head back and
offered a soft smile. "It was really nice of your dad to let us change it
around like that. I know that it would
have been hard for my family and El’s to cover the cost of a huge sit down
reception dinner, even if we had the time."
Jim grinned. "Dad was happy to do it. Gave him the excuse he
needed to invite some old business buddies and the upper crust of
Cascade."
"Jim!" Jenny admonished.
He chuckled and gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Actually, I
think he just wants to show off his new daughter-in-law. Dad's awfully fond of
you, Jen."
Jenny looked up at Jim with affectionate amusement on her face.
"Well, I'm rather fond of Will, too. I'm just grateful he's willing to
foot the bill," she grimaced as she waved the list in the air. "On
top of our immediate family and close personal friends, there are my friends
from flyball, my staff, El's friends, and the few other friends you and Blair
want to invite…" Jen frowned down at the list. "Well damn!"
"What?" Jim asked peering over her shoulder.
"Daryl should be with Megan and the others," Jen said,
groaning as she flicked the list out of her hand and let it flutter down to
land on the table.
"Oh, man!" Blair exclaimed.
El picked up the paper and scanned the names. "Oh, it's not
that big of a deal, Blair. We can fix it."
Blair shook his head. "No, it's not that," he said
staring at a postcard. "This is from Naomi. I can't believe…"
"What's wrong, Blair?" Elise asked, moving to put her
arm around Blair's waist.
"She went to visit Sheik Rahjid," he answered
dispiritedly.
Jim's eyebrows rose. "Who?"
Blair met his friend's eyes and sighed. "Sheik Rahjid. He's a
Bedouin prince from a nomadic tribe
on the Saudi Arabian peninsula. We met him in
"She didn't realize that he wanted her to become his wife.
His fourth wife," Blair rolled his eyes. "After four or five months
of living with his tribe, Naomi got bored. She told Rahjid we needed to leave.
He countered with a marriage proposal. Three months later, Rahjid relented and
sent us back to one of the port cities with a paid flight back to
"How old were you?" Jim asked.
"Oh, five or six," Blair grinned. "It was a great
experience, and we even met up with Rahjid a few other times, when he was
conducting business overseas. I don't think he ever got over Naomi's
rejection." He sighed. "He seems to have enticed her back to
"Well," Elise said slowly, "when is the
wedding?"
Blair shook his head. "She doesn't say, just that she'll be
out of touch until after the wedding and will come visit as soon as she's back
Stateside. The postmark is almost three weeks ago."
"Blair," Jenny comforted, "there's plenty of time
for her to get back. Don't worry, I'm sure Naomi will be here for the
wedding."
"You don't know Rahjid, Jen," Blair replied forlornly.
"He'll probably convince her to stay a while."
"Is there any way to contact them, Chief?" Jim asked.
"Other than sending someone overland by camel?" Blair
retorted then shook his head. "Nope."
Elise, Jen and Jim exchanged looks while Blair continued to stare
at the postcard.
"Know any camel jockeys?" El asked, looking pointedly at
Jim.
Jim smirked then looked thoughtfully down at his unhappy brother.
******
"I'll get the list to the caterers," Jen said juggling
the phone as she tried to fix her breakfast and organize the papers on the
table at the same time.
"Are you sure you have time?" Jim asked, hearing the
frustration in Jen's voice even through the phone line.
"Yeah, we have to get them the numbers today. Are you sure
that we need three hundred for the buffet, Jim?" Jenny asked feeling a bit
overwhelmed by the number.
"Well, we did send a blanket invitation to the rest of the
Cascade PD, plus the faculty at
"Okay, okay," Jen sighed. "You think three hundred
will be enough?"
"God, I hope so," Jim replied with an exaggerated groan.
Jenny laughed. "All right. I'll see you tonight. I love
you."
"Love you too," Jim answered.
~~~~~
Jenny
looked into the man's brown eyes with a frown. "Are you sure Fredrick's
not available? He's the one I've been dealing with."
"No,"
the blonde man responded sympathetically, "I'm sorry, he had to attend to
a scheduling problem with another client, but," he smiled disarmingly,
"I promise you, he will get this list and everything will go just as
planned."
Jen
licked her lips and sighed. "All right. But please, have him call me when
he gets this. I want to be sure there are no misunderstandings. I can't have
three hundred people going hungry."
"Yes
ma'am," the man replied. "Don't worry about a thing."
He
watched her leave then flipped through to the order sheet. He copied down the
address for the event, then wrote a quick note asking Fredrick to contact Dr.
Watkins before he removed the jacket bearing the caterer's logo and left the
building.
"Don't
worry, Dr. Watkins. Everything will go just as I planned," he grinned to
himself as he got into his car.
******
"I
can't decide where we should go?" Jim said, handing Blair a beer as he sat
beside him on the couch. They were spending a quite evening alone.
"Don't
look at me Jim," Blair grinned.
"What?"
Jim asked confused.
"Don't
get me wrong, Jim. I love you, man, but I do not want to spend my honeymoon
with you, so I'm not going to tell you where I'm taking Elise."
Jim
stared at his friend, his brother, his Guide and started to laugh.
"What?"
Blair asked. "What's so funny?"
Jim
continued to laugh. In fact, he was laughing so hard that he'd started to slide
down on the couch trying to keep his beer from spilling and hold his sides at
the same time.
"Jim!
What?"
His
brother waved a hand and took a deep breath, managing to get the laughter down
to a few hearty chuckles. Jim wiped the tears from his eyes and met Blair's
gaze.
"Sorry,
Chief," he chuckled again. "It was just… chuckle… the thought of us
taking our honeymoons together never crossed my mind." Jim pulled himself
back up into a straighter position on the couch grinning madly. "I can
just see the looks on everyone's faces if we did."
Blair
grinned back. "So you're okay with not knowing where we'll be?"
"As
long as you don't mind me not telling you either, Casanova," Jim smirked
back. "But we should both let Simon know, just in case."
Blair
rolled his eyes. "Let's not even go
there, Jim."
Jim
grinned. "I agree," he said holding out his beer bottle for Blair to
clink with his.
******
Jenny's house
"So,
Jen," Elise said. "How are things going at the zoo?"
Jenny
nodded as she continued to work on the table decorations. They'd decided to
save a little money by making the decorations themselves. "Good. We should
have everything set up at least a week before Mei Ling, the panda," she
qualified with a grin, "and the other animals get here."
"Other
animals?" Megan asked, fumbling with the flower arrangement. She looked
up, met Jenny's amused glance and rolled her eyes. "I told you I'm no good
at this kind of thing."
Jenny,
El and Mike grinned.
"That's
okay, Megs," Jen replied with a smile. "It's the thought that
counts." She took the silk flowers from the Aussie woman and handed her
the ribbon. "Just cut off two-foot lengths of this for me." Megan
nodded and took the scissors while Jenny explained. "The exhibit is for
endangered Chinese wildlife. Mei Ling is a female Giant Panda that's been
retired from their breeding program due to her age. We would never risk these
endangered species by putting stress on the breeding pairs. All of the animals
that will be on display are past their prime, but still quite healthy samples
of the species." Jenny finished the arrangement she was working on and
regarded it critically as she continued. "The zoo called in other experts
for those exhibits." The women continued to work in silence for a few
minutes.
"So,"
El paused dramatically, "I hesitate to even say this, but we appear to be
on schedule."
The
three other women groaned. El grinned.
"You
just had to go and jinx everything," Mike teased.
"Sorry,"
El replied unrepentant. She turned to Jen. "Do you have any idea where
Jim's taking you on your honeymoon?"
Jenny
grinned and shook her head. "He's being very secretive about the whole
thing. It's kind of cute actually."
Elise
returned the grin. "Blair, too."
Megan
snorted. "Half the station is betting that you're all going on your
honeymoon together."
Mike
chuckled at the surprised looks on Jen and El's faces. "It's true. Then
there's a group that figures you'll stumble into some sort of crime in
progress."
Megan
continued with a wide smile. "Actually there are a number of different
scenarios that people have put money on. I think there's even one that has both
of you heading back to Cascade in a snit because the boys are all wrapped up in
a case."
Jenny
regarded the detectives with a concerned frown. "Is there any way…"
she shot a quick look at Elise, "do you think we could get in on this
pool?"
Mike
and Megan stared at her as if she'd grown a second head.
Elise
nodded and spoke just as seriously as Jen. "Yeah, I want to put some money
down too."
They
were met with astonished silence. Jenny and El shared another look before they
cracked up laughing.
******
Jim
hummed to himself as he walked into the station. He heard Blair talking to
Riley in the lobby and grinned.
"Hey,
Chief," he called out as he neared the two men. "I got them." He
patted his breast pocket.
"The
tickets?" Blair asked.
"Yep.
Two weeks alone with my new bride," Jim grinned.
Blair
smiled. "I picked ours up yesterday."
Sgt.
Riley chuckled. "Still not telling each other where you're going?"
Jim and Blair shook their heads. Riley shook his too. "You two are too
much, you know that?"
The
partners just grinned.
"See
ya, Pat," Blair said as he and Jim headed for the elevator. Once inside he
met Jim's eyes. "They don't believe us," he said, amusement twinkling
in his eyes.
Jim
just smiled. As they got off the elevator on the sixth floor, Jim tilted his
head catching part of a conversation in the bullpen.
"Oh come on H, it'd be
like separating George and Gracie. Fred and Ginger," Rafe said.
"Abbott and
Costello," H chimed in sarcastically.
Several other voices joined
in their laughter.
"I know what they've
been saying," Megan said, "but I have a hard time believing they're
going to separate places. Two weeks?"
"What
is it Jim?" Blair asked putting his hand on Jim's back.
Jim
grimaced. "There seems to be a pool on whether or not we are going to be
honeymooning together."
Blair
rolled his eyes and the two men went to beard the lions.
"We
are not going to honeymoon together," Jim said adamantly as they entered
the bullpen. "Sandburg won't even tell me where he's taking Elise."
Blair
nodded. "That's way too much togetherness, even for us," he agreed.
H,
Rafe, Simon and Megan looked up guiltily. Rhonda and Joel chuckled.
"I
told you, Babe," H said holding out his hand. Rafe grimaced as he slapped
a five into his partner's palm.
Behind
them, Simon held out his hand and Megan bit back a rueful grin as she paid off
her debt as well.
******
Opening night for the
Chinese Zoological Exchange Exhibit
Jenny's house
Jim
waited downstairs while Jenny finished getting ready. Her parents were keeping
him company.
"I'm
so glad we were able to get into town a bit early," Doranne Watkins said.
"Jenny's been so excited about this exhibit."
Jim
nodded. "She's done a great job with it, Mrs. Watkins and I know she's
glad you could be here for the opening."
"Please,
Jim," Doranne said, "call me Doranne, or Anne. We are going to be
family in a few days," she grinned and glanced at her husband, elbowing
him gently in the side.
Frank
Watkins shared a glance with his daughter's fiancé. "Of course, dear. Jim
should call us whatever he's comfortable with."
Jim
smiled. "Thank you. You'll get a chance to meet my family tonight
too." Jim tilted his head slightly.
"We'll be down in a
minute, Jim," Jen's voice caught his ear.
"I hope they aren't boring you with stories from my childhood. It's really
great that they could be here for the opening though."
Jim grinned, and blinked focusing back on the Watkins. Fortunately
they hadn't noticed his momentary lapse. He and Jen had decided not to tell her
parents about his abilities just yet. It was a matter of too much too soon.
"Jim,"
Mike's
voice caught his attention from upstairs,
"you have to ask them why Jenny keeps her hair short."
"Mikey!
Don't you dare!" Jen's mortified response had Jim grinning.
Doranne and Frank gave him a strange look. Jim straightened his
face raising his eyebrows in feigned curiosity.
Mike's laughter tickled his hearing and Jim took a sip from his
glass of water to hide his smile.
"Really,
Jim, you have to get them to tell you about it. I'll never forget the sight of
Jenny being dragged across the barn floor by her hair."
"Mikey!"
Jim snorted and ended up with water up his nose. He grabbed a
napkin and made apologetic sounds to his fiancé's parents as he wiped his face.
"Poor cow
was traumatized when she realized it wasn't hay in her mouth…"
Jim coughed into the napkin. "Sorry…" he said to Jen's
parents as he pounded on his chest. "Went down the wrong way. Excuse
me," he stood and headed for the downstairs bathroom. "I'll get you
for that
******
Cascade Zoo -
Chinese Exhibit Opening
He mingled with the other guests making note of the security
precautions and location of each exhibit. Nice.
He stared into the glassed in display for the Giant Panda and grinned. Well done, Dr. Watkins. Keep them all happy
and healthy for me. He turned and watched the good doctor chatting with
Ellison and several of the Chinese delegates. His grin turned feral. Yep, I really appreciate everything you've
done so far. I'm sure you won't disappoint me next week either.
~~~
The exhibit was a huge success. The opening night had been
prefaced with a dinner to help raise donations for the zoo.
Jim smiled as he made eye contact with his father. William and
Jenny were talking to her parents about the rehearsal dinner. He scanned the
room once again, noticing that the party was beginning to wind down. Those
still in attendance were directly related to the exhibit in some fashion.
Jenny slipped her arm around his waist and Jim finally felt the
last of his tension disperse. He'd felt eyes on them all evening, but had been
unable to track the source of his unease. Probably
just imagining things. After all, Jen is the star tonight. Why wouldn't people
be looking at her?
*****
Several days later
“I hate having to throw things together at the last minute,"
Mike fumed to Megan as she flipped through the yellow pages. “I know we thought that it would be nice to
wait until El and Jen’s families got into town to have the party. But, I can’t believe that the restaurant
caught on fire yesterday. Who wants to
burn down a salad bar any way?" Megan snorted. Mike rolled her eyes in
exasperation. "Now we're going to be lucky if we don’t have to hold the
party in some honky tonk bar."
"I don't think Cascade has a honky tonk bar, Shellie,"
Megan said, finding the whole thing rather amusing. Considering the fact that
this was an Ellison-Sandburg affair, they were lucky it was only the restaurant
that had burned down. At least it had been after hours and no one had been
hurt. "Could be worse, you know," the Aussie said slyly.
"How's that?" Mike asked suspiciously.
"Could have been arson instead of an accident," Megan
smirked.
The Sentinel groaned dropping her head onto the open phone book.
"Why me?"
********
The rehearsal
dinner
The best men made their toasts, the maids of honor told stories
about the brides, and various family members had offered congratulations and
best wishes. They ate dinner and drank to the couples and finally dessert was
brought out. Then they began opening the gifts, which ranged from the practical
to practical jokes.
Jim handed Jenny a small jewelry box. She smiled shyly as she took
it and opened the lid. Inside a gold necklace rested on black velvet. Jen's
eyes widened. She lifted the delicate box chain and examined the pendant that
slid smoothly along the necklace.
"I hope," Jim said softly, "that when you wear it
you'll think of me."
Jenny looked up from the gold jaguar pendant into shining blue
eyes. "Always, Jim. Thank you, it's beautiful."
Blair cleared his throat and grinned as he handed Elise her box.
"Well, mine's a bit more practical, but I think you'll like it just the
same."
El grinned back and quickly removed the lid to the oblong box. She
laughed and picked up the object resting on the cotton cushion. "It's a
Swiss army knife." One side had an enameled finish with a life-like
picture of a hawk in flight. The other side bore an inscription. "El, you
captured my heart. Love always, Blair." Elise smiled at Blair. "It's
perfect," she said kissing him soundly.
"Well, keep it handy," Blair replied still grinning,
"just in case."
Jim, Jenny and the rest of the Major Crimes people chuckled at the
inside joke. The gift exchange continued while El's family badgered those
around them to find out what was so funny. Elise slipped the knife into her
pants pocket.
"Look under the cotton," Blair added.
She lifted the cotton and found a ticket book. El opened the cover
and gasped in surprise. "Season tickets to the Cascade Jaguar games?
Blair, you shouldn't have!"
Blair's jaw dropped slightly, then he saw the teasing twinkle in
El's eyes and he laughed. "Well, if that's what you'd rather have…"
he threatened.
Elise hugged the booklet to her and shook her head vehemently.
"Oh, no you don't! I'd kill to get these seats at the Review," she
said with a smile.
"Careful El," Jim teased, "there are cops all
around us."
El just chuckled. "Yeah, and some of them would kill for
these tickets too."
The crowd laughed at that. The Review was an exclusive theater.
Their plays were off-Broadway, usually controversial, and always sold out.
Season tickets cost a small fortune and were almost impossible to get.
"So," El asked Blair slyly, "who'd you have to kill
to get them?"
Blair grinned. "I'll never tell."
Jim chuckled. "Sometimes it pays to have friends in low
places, eh Chief?"
His partner only nodded as Jenny gave Jim a small box.
She watched a bit anxiously as he opened it. Jim frowned somewhat
confused as he held up the key. "Did you get me a car?"
"No," she said shaking her head. "I… well, Jim, you
already have the key to my heart, my house, the clinic," she paused
blushing, "I wanted to show you that I trust you with everything I am and
everything I have." Jen looked into his eyes hoping this wasn't as corny
as it now felt. "It's the key to my truck."
Sappy 'ah's' and 'oh's' and a few 'you'll be sorry's' from the
audience went unnoticed by the couple.
Jim stared into Jenny's eyes. He closed his fingers over the key
and slowly pulled Jenny into a hug. God I
love this woman. How could she know exactly the right thing to do and say? I
don't care if I ever drive her damn truck. Yeah, it may seem like a joke to
everyone else, but I understand exactly what she's offering me.
"I love you, Jennifer Watkins," Jim whispered into her
ear. "Be my wife, be with me always."
Jenny smiled against Jim's neck. "I will. I love you, Jim.
Always." She continued shyly, "I got you something a little more
tangible too, but you have to wait until the honeymoon to see it.”
Jim grinned, feeling a slight blush on Jenny's cheek against his
skin. "I can hardly wait," he growled softly. Jenny giggled and they
shared a brief kiss.
Next to them at the table, Elise handed Blair an envelope then
glanced over at her parents and nodded.
"I wanted to get you something special, Blair," she
said. "It's a bit too much to bring here tonight, so I just brought part
of it," Elise stood and took the bulky, tissue wrapped object from her
father smiling her thanks as she did.
Blair opened the envelope and found a picture of a low wooden
table. It had several tiered shelves with lit candles on them. A floor pillow
rested in front of the table along with a quilt. He switched his attention to
the card and read the inscription.
I hope this
meditation table will bring you peace or at least the answers you seek. No
matter how far away your meditations take you, Blair, know that my heart is
with you and let my love guide you home. Love forever, Elise.
He smiled and stood to open the package that El placed on the
table in front of him. She helped him spread the quilt open so he could see it.
One side was a beautiful patchwork of blues with words embroidered in gold.
"Remember that all the answers you seek can be found around you in your
friends and family," Blair read aloud.
"Turn it over," Elise prompted.
The other side of the quilt was a mosaic of snapshots that had
been transferred to fabric. Pictures of Blair's friends and family were
surrounded by embroidered pictures of various animals and symbols.
He chuckled as he recognized tiny silver badges interspersed with
the Chopec eye, black panthers, wolves, and the other spirit guides he and Jim
had told Jenny and Elise about. El's hawk, Jenny's Retriever, Simon's
grizzly, Megan's kookaburra, Mike's ocelot and all the others could be found
near the corresponding photo square.
Blair turned to Elise and captured her hands. "It's
beautiful. When did you have time to do all this?"
"Well, I didn't," El confessed with a pleased smile. She
shared a quick glance with her parents. "Mom and Dad did most of the work
and I had a lot of help from everyone in collecting the pictures."
"It's perfect, El," Blair said pulling her to him.
"Thank you," he said kissing her soundly.
Henri called out from his table. "I don't suppose you two
could finish that up later, some of us would like to get on with the
party," he teased.
Blair and El locked lips again grinning madly as groans and false
protests filled the room. Finally they gave in and the couples finished opening
their gifts.
******
About
Jim
and Jenny walked arm in arm enjoying the unusually warm night air. The party
could continue without them. This would be their last time together as an
unmarried couple. Tomorrow would start a whole new chapter in their lives.
They
stopped at the corner to wait for traffic then stepped back in surprise when a
van pulled up in front of them. The side door opened to reveal a man with a
gun.
"Brackett?"
Jim spluttered, pushing Jen behind him and reaching for a weapon that wasn't
there.
"Hey,
Jimbo. Aren't you going to introduce me to your lovely fiancé?"
Jim
growled, taking a step forward.
"Uh,
uh, uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Brackett admonished, waving the
gun. "Get in the van."
"Why
should we?" Jim demanded.
"Because
I have your Guide and his bride hooked up to a bomb. It's on a timer and if we
don't disarm it by
"You
son of a bitch!" Jim snarled.
"Wait,"
Jen interrupted, stepping out from behind Jim just enough to get a good look at
the ex-CIA man. Her eyes widened with recognition and Jenny scowled at the
blond man. "How do we know you have Blair and El?"
Brackett
tossed a zip-lock bag at them, which Jim caught automatically. It contained
three Polaroids of Blair and El tied back to back with a dangerous looking
packaged strapped to them.
"Proof
enough?" he smirked.
Jen
looked up and met Jim's eyes. From the story he'd told her about the E-bola
virus she knew Brackett was deadly serious.
"Fine,"
Jim snapped. "I'll go with you, but leave Jen out of this."
"Sorry,
no can do. I need her expertise on this project, not yours." Brackett's
expression became serious. "Get in. Now," he demanded.
Jim
helped Jenny into the van keeping himself between her and Brackett's gun.
Lee
closed the door. "Take off," he told the driver, turning the
passenger seat to face the back and his hostages.
"What
do you want with me?" Jenny asked, her voice amazingly calm.
"Well,
my dear," Brackett raised an eyebrow at Jim's low growl, "I need you
to help me steal some of our visiting Chinese dignitaries."
Jen
frowned and shook her head. "What?"
Lee
rolled his eyes. "The panda and a few other animals in the Chinese
Zoological display are quite rare and will fetch a high price on the black
market, dead or alive."
Jenny
gasped then glared at the man.
"Don’t
look so offended, Doctor. I'd prefer to take them alive, it's more profitable
for me. That's why I need you."
Jim
eyed Brackett. "Money isn't the only reason you're doing this."
"No,
Jim. You're right," Brackett agreed amiably. "But it's the only
reason I care about." He grinned. "Just so you don't get any ideas,
let me explain. My employer hired me to kill the animals, thus causing a
diplomatic rift between the
"I'm
getting paid either way, getting the animals out alive will be a big
bonus." He smiled. "And I'm sure it's the outcome you'd rather see as
well, Dr. Watkins." Brackett ran a finger lightly over the barrel of his
gun. "Once I made the connection between you and Ellison," he tilted
his head, "well, I just couldn't resist going up against you again,
Jimbo."
"You
have a short memory, Brackett," Jim reminded him. "Last time you
lost. What makes you think you'll get away this time?"
Brackett
pursed his lips and nodded. "True. I didn't quite take into account the
edge your abilities would give you. That and the fact that Sandburg proved to
be a formidable foe himself, but now I have three aces to your Sentinel."
Lee let his eyes track over to Jenny and back to Jim to make his point.
"I
think you'll cooperate. And I know Dr. Watkins would hate to see innocent
animals suffer."
Jenny
scowled at Brackett. "Just how do you expect to steal these animals?
They're not domesticated. You can't just pick them up and put them in a box to
ship where ever you please." She waved her hands in frustration.
"They need special care, food, and temperature control or they'll become
ill. They won't be any good to your buyers dead."
Brackett
grinned at Jen then turned to Jim. "You've got yourself quite a smart
little cookie here, Jim." He met Jen's gaze. "You are going to sedate
the animals for me so they can be put safely into cages and moved to my buyers'
transport."
Jim
refrained from asking about Blair and Elise's release. He knew Brackett's
response would be the same as before. The Sentinel could only hope that Blair
was working on his own escape.
******
Back at the party
Mike
scanned the room. Where are you? She
frowned, located Jenny's parents and went over to them. The Watkins were
talking to Mr. Ellison and Captain Banks.
"Excuse
me," she interrupted. "Have any of you seen Jenny? It's about time
for me to whisk her off for the night," Mike said jokingly as she met
Captain Banks' eyes.
Simon
frowned. "Last I saw her, she was with Jim. They said something about
taking a walk." He glanced at his watch. "I'm sure they'll be back
soon," he said catching his detective's eye.
Mike
smiled. "You're probably right. I'll just make sure the caterer is still
keeping everyone well supplied."
"Thank
you, Mike," Jen's mom said putting her hand on the Sentinel's arm. "I
know how much it means to Jenny that you moved up here. And you've been a great
help with all the wedding plans."
Mike
gave the woman a hug. Jenny's parents had taken her in while the pair was in
college. With Mike's dad often out of the country, she'd spent many a holiday
with Jen and her family. "You're welcome, Doranne. I'll see you
later."
Simon
watched her leave then turned to the parents of one of the couples set to be
married in the morning. "I really need to check in at the station,"
he obfuscated with a grin. "With most of my people here celebrating, there
are only a few officers watching the store."
The
Watkins chuckled at his joke, but William Ellison only smiled, a smile that did
not make it to his eyes. He nodded slightly at the Captain as he said his
good-byes, then looked around the room wondering what trouble his eldest son
could have possibly gotten into right before his own wedding. And Blair was no
where to be seen either.
Simon
caught up to Mike. "What's going on, Detective?"
"I'm
not sure, Sir, but I've got a bad feeling," Mike replied. "I can't
find any of them."
"Blair
and Elise are gone?" Banks asked as Megan joined them.
Mike
nodded.
"Blair
and El took off a few hours ago," Megan said with a lascivious grin.
"Maybe Jim and Jen wanted some time together too."
"There
is no way Jenny would stay out with Jim all night the day before the wedding.
Especially with her family in town," Mike stated. "Blair and El,
maybe, but not Jenny."
"That
doesn't mean that they aren't just out for a walk and lost track of time,"
Simon emphasized.
"Yeah,"
Mike acknowledged, "but…"
"What
is it Shellie?" Megan asked going into Guide mode.
"Another
vision?" Simon asked reluctantly.
Mike
shook her head. "No, just… something doesn't feel right."
Simon
frowned. "Well, ask around, discreetly, and see what you can find out. I'm
not ready to call out the search dogs until we have some concrete evidence that
they are missing."
"Yes,
Sir," Mike and Megan replied.
******
The van
"Don't
worry, Jen," Jim said softly, pulling her closer to him. "Brackett's
not going to get away with this."
Jen
nodded, already trying to figure out a way to keep the animals safe. She
glanced at Jim. "I saw him before," she admitted glumly, "he was
at the caterers when I took in the list." Jen sighed. "At least he
kept his word.
Jim
frowned. "He'll have been planning this for some time. I guess maybe I
should brief you on some of the more notable scum bags in my life."
Jenny
grinned. "That isn't such a bad idea."
"Hey
you two," Brackett interrupted. "Keep it quiet."
The
couple exchanged another grin but fell silent as requested.
******
Mike prowled around the street corner sniffing the air and
visually scouring the ground for the least trace of Jenny and Jim. She shook
her head and looked up at her Guide. "It's no good. I can tell that they
were here, but then there's no trace of where they went. They must have gotten
into a vehicle of some kind."
Megan nodded thoughtfully. "Who?" she mumbled to
herself, nibbling on her lower lip.
"If we knew that, we'd know 'how,' 'why,' 'where,' and what
to do next," Mike grumbled as she pulled out her cell to update the
Captain.
*******
Cascade Zoo
The driver took the van through the gate as it opened. Jenny
frowned. He must have people on the
inside. No one should be able to get in without authorization.
Brackett stood as the van stopped in front of the zoo infirmary.
"Get up Jim, turn around with your hands behind your back," he
instructed holding up a pair of handcuffs with his free hand.
Jim glared at Brackett defiantly. Lee simply grinned and aimed his
gun at Jenny's leg. "She can put together the appropriate sedatives with a
wounded leg, Jimbo."
Jim's eyes bore into Brackett at the threat to Jenny. The spy was
lucky that those ice blue orbs weren't deadly. Ellison stood and turned putting
his hands behind his back for Brackett to cuff him.
Once that was done, Brackett opened the door and got out,
motioning for the couple to follow him.
"First we're going to pickup a few tranquilizer pistols and
you, Dr. Watkins will prepare the appropriate dosages for each of my
prizes."
Inside the infirmary, Jenny waited for Brackett to tell her what
he wanted. She'd decided to stall him as long as possible. Brackett led them
into the treatment area and tilted his head toward the locked drug safe.
"I need appropriate sedatives for the panda, the snow
leopard, the golden monkey and the crested ibis," Brackett demanded.
Jen shook her head. "I refuse to sedate the bird. It's too
tricky, she might die."
Brackett nodded. "Fine, I expected that. But get the others
ready now."
She stared at him and shrugged with a benign smile. "I don't
know where everything is kept here. I've only been here to consult on the
exhibit."
Jim smirked at Brackett, but the spy simply called to one of his
men. "Show the good doctor where everything is Stewards."
Stewards nodded and retrieved the keys for the safe. He opened the
safe and pulled out several different vials as well as a case which he handed
to Brackett.
"Thanks," Brackett said looking at Jenny. "You can
try and stall all you want, but I already know where things are and even
approximately what dose to give each animal. You're just insurance, Doc. I want
the merchandise healthy for my buyers." He narrowed his eyes. "But push
come to shove, I'll take my chances." He thrust the case and vials toward
her. "Now fill the darts with the appropriate doses."
Brackett turned to Stewards. "Tell the men to go ahead and
load the bird and the feed for all the animals. Make sure they are ready to go
when we get the others sedated."
"Yes, sir," Stewards replied as he left.
Jim watched the entire room. Jenny had turned to put the case and
vials on the counter. Brackett was currently watching her. Of the other three
that were left, two flanked him and the third one stood a few feet from Jen.
All were armed.
Jenny opened the case and looked at the darts inside. She faced
Bracket defiantly. "These are loaded for animals much larger than the ones
you want. I'll have to prepare new darts."
"Fine, get on with it," Brackett replied.
"I need current weights on all the animals," she
insisted. "Their records are kept with each exhibit."
Again, Brackett just smiled. He pulled a folded piece of paper out
of his pocket and tossed it onto the counter. Jenny sighed as she read the
information she needed from the paper. She faced the counter again and pulled
out several darts from one of the cabinets ignoring Brackett's snort as she
clearly displayed knowledge of the facility.
"Jim," Jen
whispered Sentinel soft, barely daring to move her lips, "I need a distraction."
Jim's eyes narrowed as he watched the guard next to Jenny.
"What are you looking at?" he snarled at the man taking a step toward
him.
The guard spun to face Ellison shocked by the venom in the
detective's question.
"She's mine," Jim growled softly, "keep your beady
little eyes to yourself," he insisted, taking another step forward.
The other two guards grabbed his arms and Jim started to struggle
with them yelling obscenities and getting in a couple of good hits to each of
them.
"Subdue him!" Brackett commanded, glaring at the third
guard.
The man closed on Jim. The other two held him still while the
third one landed several blows to Jim's stomach.
Jenny whirled around, clumsily knocking the box containing the
original darts off the counter, sending them scattering across the floor.
"Stop!" she cried as the guard punched Jim in the jaw.
"Stop!" Brackett shouted over the hubbub catching
Jenny's arm to prevent her from going to Jim. "This man has to sit for
wedding pictures in a few hours. Don't mess up the face, okay?"
The three goons nodded watching Brackett expectantly. Jim glared
up at the spy. "Two more for good measure, boys," Brackett said with
a satisfied smile. "I owe you one, Jimbo."
Jenny struggled against Brackett's hold as the guards followed
orders. She elbowed him in the stomach and tried to pull away. He yanked Jen
around to face him and gave her a hard shake. "I don't like to hit
women," he said calmly, "so if you don't get back to work there, I'll
have my boys work Jim over some more." He shoved her back toward the
counter. "Hurry up. We don't have all day."
Jen caught herself on the counter top and took a deep breath
thankful that Brackett didn't seem the least bit interested in picking up the
fallen darts. Hopefully she'd get a chance to use the two in her coat pocket.
*******
At the party
Brown came up to Simon his frown giving the captain the
information he needed. "No sign of them?" Banks asked.
"No, sir," H replied. "Mike and Megan are checking
the loft and Jenny's place. Joel and Rafe went to El's apartment. But there's
no sign of them. They aren't answering any of the cell phones either."
Simon chomped down on his cigar and gazed around the room. Most of
the guests had left. The only people still hanging around were the families of
the brides and grooms. Well, except for Naomi, she was still MIA herself.
"The natives are starting to get restless, sir," Brown
said, his eyes darting toward the others. Banks nodded as they both watched
William Ellison heading their way.
"Looks like it's time to fess up," Simon said softly,
offering Mr. Ellison a warm smile.
William did not return the smile. "What's going on,
Captain?" he asked once he reached the officers. "I haven't seen Jim,
Jen, Blair or Elise in several hours," his sharp eyes studied Simon.
"The vehicles they came in are still out front."
Simon nodded. "We suspect something has happened, sir, but we
don't have any proof as of yet." He looked beyond William to the rest of
the family. "I'd like to keep the worry to a minimum until we know for
sure." Simon met Will's gaze. "Could you help us with a cover
story?"
Ellison considered him for a moment then smiled broadly. "Oh,
that's right. How could I have forgotten that," he said loudly enough for
the others to hear. "Please keep me up to date," he added softly,
then turned back to the rest of the family saying, "Thank you, Captain
Banks."
When William reached Steven, Sally and El and Jen's parents he
'reminded' them that Jenny had to transfer her pets back to the house so that
Mike and Megan could take care of them for the next two weeks. The others
nodded and it was decided that they should all head home and get some rest.
Ellison shot a pointed look over his shoulder at Banks as he
escorted everyone out. Simon nodded then turned to Brown. "Get me a status
report now!" Henri had his cell phone out before the last word left
Simon's mouth.
********
The zoo
Jenny covered her grin with one hand as she watched the men trying
to corral the golden monkey. For some unknown reason, none of the darts were
working. Brackett had checked the dosages himself after the three hour fight to
get the snow leopard loaded. But Jenny had done as he asked and put the proper
amount in each dart.
She couldn't be held responsible if the tips of the darts were
blocked up.
The veterinarian flicked a quick glance at her fiancé and
whispered into her hand. "Jim, I have two full strength darts in my right
coat pocket."
Jim blinked, but that was all the indication she got that he might
have heard her.
Brackett was cussing up a storm as his men tried to capture the
monkey with a net. With the trees and bushes in the exhibit, they were having
more luck catching the net on the flora. He spun, stomped over to Jenny,
grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a good shake ignoring Jim's warning
growl.
"What did you do? Why aren't the darts working?" he
asked, punctuating each word with a shake.
"I don't know," Jenny shouted back.
"Leave her alone, Brackett," Jim interrupted. "It's
not her fault you're a lousy shot."
"You stay out of this, Ellison," Brackett snarled.
"We're going back to the infirmary and you're going to confirm the doses
while I load the darts." He grabbed Jen lower down on the arm and dragged
her behind him.
Jim and the three goons followed.
*********
Cascade PD
Joel knocked on Simon's door and entered without waiting.
"Here's that list, Simon." He shook his head. "As usual, it's
fairly substantial, but we're already over halfway through checking it."
Simon perused the list. Something they'd put together and kept
updated since the last time Sandburg went missing, a list of perps with a
grudge. Of course the last time was when Blair and Jenny were kidnapped by Tom
Brandon.
Simon sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I thought Sandburg
performed that ancient protection ritual to prevent this sort of thing from
happening," he said half joking.
Joel snorted. "You really think that would have done any good
with those two?"
Banks chuckled briefly and shook his head. "But it's not just
Jim and Blair, you know, there's some weird mojo with those four."
"Don’t forget Mike. Maybe it's a Sentinel thing, Simon,"
Joel suggested, too tired to care how silly their conversation might sound.
"Hmm. Could be," Simon agreed with a yawn. He glanced at
the clock and then down at his suit. "The ceremony's supposed to be at
Joel laughed. "You know that Blair would say we should think
positive."
"Hmph," Banks replied. "I know where they're going
for their honeymoons," he said with an evil grin, "I know there's
someone out there with a sense of humor." Simon stood and ushered Joel
out. "Let's get changed and check up on the rest of the wedding
party."
*********
The zoo
Jim nudged Jenny with his elbow while Brackett took aim at the
panda. All the other animals were loaded. Once he'd switched darts, the process
had gone fairly smoothly.
Jen looked up and saw Jim mouth the word 'darts." She nodded
slightly and slipped her hand into her pocket to retrieve the two darts she'd
pocketed earlier. Jim tilted his head at the guard on her right and slammed
himself into the man on his left. Jen stabbed her guard as he pushed past her
to help control Jim. The man stumbled back and pulled the dart out of his thigh
then crumpled to the floor.
Jenny picked up the net that had been abandoned outside the
enclosure and tossed it with all her might at Brackett as he turned toward the
ruckus. She didn't even wait to see if he was entangled. Jen was already aiming
her last dart at the second goon on Jim. The man had his arm around Jim's neck
while the first guard tried to get close enough to help, however Jim's feet
kept getting in the way. The Sentinel managed to land several kicks before the
man backed off. Jen plunged the dart into the goon's buttock and backed away.
The guard quickly brought one hand down at the stabbing pain and
lost his hold on Jim. Ellison pulled away and charged the man in front of him.
They crashed into the wall knocking the guard out.
Jen raced over to Jim and helped him regain his balance before
they sprinted for the exit door.
Brackett finally managed to get out of the net as the men who had
been in with the panda joined him outside the glassed-in display. "Find
them!" Brackett snarled. "Get the others and find them!"
*********
Somewhere across town
Blair
glared across the room at the small table that now held his pocketknife and
other personal belongings. They were finally alone. The last of Brackett's men
had taken off, leaving him and El to fend for themselves. Brackett had checked
Blair thoroughly and removed any items that might help them escape. He and
Elise were tied back to back with a metal pole between them and a bomb strapped
around them. The ticking of the timer was about to drive Blair mad.
"He
could have used a digital timer," Blair grumbled as he pulled against the
ropes again.
El
grunted at the pressure.
"Sorry,
El."
"So,
this one counts for real, right?" El asked as she did her own wiggling to
try and loosen the ropes. "I mean, Brackett said he wanted both of us, so
this is an official kidnapping for me."
"What?"
Blair exclaimed, shaking his head in amazement.
Elise
chuckled. "Sorry. I'm just trying to keep my cool here and joking about
the situation seemed better than panicking."
Blair
sighed. "Too right. I guess maybe I have been in too many of these
situations. Especially if I'm becoming accustomed to it." He chuckled.
"This is so not what I had planned for last night, El."
They
both laughed, but sobered quickly. "Any ideas on how we get out of
here?" Elise asked.
"Well,
Brackett took my knife and my keys," Blair said.
Elise
smiled and turned her head toward Blair as much as she could. "He didn't
take mine."
"Your
what?"
"My
knife. It's in my pocket," she tilted her head toward her left pant
pocket. "I put it in there after I used it to open that last
present."
Blair
grinned. "I love you, Elise. I really, truly love you."
El
chuckled. "Can you reach it?"
"I
think so," Blair replied, bending his knees to get a better position.
After
several minutes of contortions on both their parts, Blair was able to get the
knife and cut the ropes binding his and El's hands. He then carefully sliced
the duct tape holding the bomb to them and handed it to El while he removed the
ropes that tied them to the pole.
Elise
quickly handed the bomb back to him once they were free. Her hands were
shaking. "Here, you take it."
Blair
grinned, then bit his lip as he cautiously took the bomb to the far side of the
room and set it on the floor. Elise had already gone over to the table and
pulled her cell phone out of her purse.
"Who should I call?" she asked.
"Wait until we get outside first," he said as he checked
the door. It was unlocked. Blair led Elise out of the room. "Sometimes
cell phones can trigger bombs." He sent a wry grin at his bride-to-be.
"Don’t you love how much bomb trivia I’ve picked up through the years?"
Elise rolled her eyes. They found their way out of the building
easily enough and Blair nodded to El before he turned to scan the street.
"Now you can call Simon," he told her. "He'll rally the
troops." Blair frowned thoughtfully. "What was it that Brackett said?
Something about Chinese to go…"
El nodded. "Simon?" she said into the phone. "Yes,
we're fine, but Lee Brackett's got Jim and Jenny… No I don't know why, but he
snatched us to keep them in line… She did? Okay… Well, here, talk to
Blair," she held out the phone to her fiancé. "Mike noticed something
was off and is already trying to find Jim and Jenny."
"Good," Blair said taking the phone. "Simon, hang
on a second and I'll tell you where we are, more importantly, where the bomb
is." He jogged down the street a ways to get a good look at the sign on
the corner, El followed him. "Simon, we were in a building at the corner
of
Blair shook his head vigorously. "No, Simon. We're fine, just
send the bomb squad. It's set to go off at ten this morning… No, he didn’t say
where he was going." Sandburg frowned and met El's worried gaze.
"Chinese," he muttered to himself.
Blair saw comprehension in Elise's eyes at the same time he
realized what Brackett meant. "The zoo!" they both exclaimed.
"Simon, I think they're at the zoo, we're headed that way, send
backup." Blair ended the call and grabbed El's hand. "Come on, we've
got to find a ride."
******
The zoo
Jenny and Jim crouched down inside the gardeners' tool shed while
Jen snipped the chain on the handcuffs.
Jim sighed and rubbed his arms. "Thanks." He peeked out
the small window. "Where's the nearest phone?"
"From here? There may be a pay phone along one of the paths.
The closest building is the snake house, I believe there are phones in all the
exhibit buildings," Jen replied, pushing her hair back with one hand.
"All right," Jim said coming up with a plan.
"Here's what we'll do. I just want to avoid any contact with these guys
and get out of the zoo. If we can get to a phone before we get to the exit,
great, but I don't want to get trapped in a building."
Jenny nodded. "Most of them have at least two exits. One for
zoo patrons and another for personnel. Can you hear any one close now?"
Jim concentrated for a second and shook his head. "No, it's
clear. Let's go."
******
The church
"What do you mean they've been kidnapped?" Andrew
Browning asked, standing abruptly. His five-foot five-inch, wiry frame dwarfed
by Simon Banks.
"Please," Simon said, "everyone stay calm." He
caught Mr. Browning's eyes and continued. "Your daughter and Blair are
fine, I just spoke to them, and they are on their way here." With a slight detour.
"What about Jenny?" Mrs. Watkins asked. "And
Jim?"
Simon switched his attention to Jen's parents. "We know where
they are and I have my people heading there as we speak. They will keep us
informed."
William Ellison cleared his throat. "Captain, do you know who
has them and why?"
"Who, yes. A man named Lee Brackett," Simon frowned.
"As to the why, I suspect we'll have to wait until we can talk to Jim and
Jenny. Blair didn't know."
The doors to the church burst open and Naomi Sandburg swirled in
like a small tornado.
"Excuse me! Is this where the Sandburg and Ellison weddings
are taking… Oh, Captain Banks," she interrupted herself gliding down the
aisle to Simon. "I'm so glad I found you. I only got Jim's message five
days ago and then it was a furious trip across the desert by camel, I caught a
prop plane to the main airport and have spent the last two days on a plane or
waiting for one."
She took a breath and Simon tried to say something but wasn't fast
enough.
"Then I raced over to the loft and imagine my surprise that today is the big day. Blair left me a
note with directions. I can only thank whichever benevolent god or goddess
that's looking out for me for getting me here on time. I'd never forgive myself
for missing Blair's wedding." She sent a brilliant smile around the room.
"Of course, not that I believe that marriage is necessary if two people
truly love one another," Naomi frowned and looked around again.
"Where are Jim and Blair? I'm not too late am I?" she
asked with a horrified look back at Simon.
Simon raised his eyebrows and took a breath as he tried to reconcile
everything Naomi had just said. "No, Ms. Sandburg, you haven't missed the
ceremony. We've just had a little snag."
"Snag?" Frank Watkins bellowed. "I don't call
having four people kidnapped right out from under our noses a snag."
"Kidnapped?" Naomi asked turning on Simon demandingly.
Simon sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. Please someone call me with good news. Any
time now. "Yes, Ms. Sandburg, but Blair and Elise are fine. And we're
working on rescuing Jim and Jenny," he said, feeling like a broken record.
Naomi regarded Blair's captain. "I think," she said
slowly, "that I'll go to the loft and change." She sent a commanding
look around the room at the others. "We should be ready for the ceremony.
If I know those boys, they'll move heaven and earth to get here."
*****
Outside the zoo
Blair and Elise jumped out of the cab and raced for the squad cars
parked in front of the entrance to the zoo.
Mike heard them coming and nudged Megan's arm. "Blair! Are
you two all right?"
"We're fine," Blair answered, meeting the Sentinel and
Guide half way. "Any word on Jim and Jenny?"
"Not really," Mike said. "I'm pretty sure they got
away from Brackett and are hiding somewhere inside. Since we arrived the
activity level has become, shall we say a bit panicked?" she grinned.
Blair nodded. "You weren't able to find Jim or Jenny?"
he asked with a frown.
Mike shook her head self-condemnation all over her face. Megan put
her hand on Mike's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
"Come on, Shellie," she reassured her Sentinel.
"There's a lot of strange sensory input in there. Not to mention the fact
that you're worried about Jen."
Blair sighed. "Megan's right, Mike. I think even Jim would have
a tough time with this one and you've had a lot less practice."
Mike looked at him defiantly. "I'm not giving up! I was about
to try again when you got here."
Blair held his hands up in defeat. "Okay. Okay. I'm going to
try talking to Jim, maybe he'll hear me and you two can exchange
information."
The Sentinel nodded, slightly mollified and dragged her Guide away
from the noise of the police line.
*****
Inside the zoo
Jim pulled Jenny down behind a bush and waited for Brackett's men
to pass. Jenny watched him and sighed when he nodded the all clear.
"We're not getting anywhere," she whispered. "He's
got people everywhere."
"I know," Jim sighed. "Why doesn't he just take off
with the animals? He must have the panda loaded by now."
"I don't know," Jenny answered dejectedly.
Jim tilted his head as a familiar but faint sound caught his ear.
"What is it, Jim?" He held up his hand for silence and closed his
eyes as he concentrated.
The Sentinel smiled as his Guide's voice came through loud and
clear. "It's Blair," he said still listening.
"Hey, big
guy," Blair said. "If you can hear me, we just need a little clue as
to…" SCRRREEEEEEEE!!!!!
Jim gasped and clapped his hands over his ears as he lost his
balance and fell onto his knees. Jenny reached for him only to be yanked to her
feet from behind and pulled up against someone's chest. An arm snaked around
her throat and she felt the cold muzzle of a gun against her temple.
"Little problem there, Jimbo?" Brackett sneered as Jim
struggled to get control. "Funny thing how a simple dog whistle can bring
you to your knees."
Jenny grabbed at Brackett's arm and dug her nails in. He pressed
his arm a little tighter against her throat as he gloated at Ellison. Jen
struggled to take a breath.
Jim shook his head, the ringing in his ears made concentration difficult,
but he staggered to his feet and sent his best glare at Brackett. "Let her
go!"
Brackett shook his head. "Sorry, looks like you'll have to
postpone your wedding after all. Somehow your partner and his fiancé got loose
and figured out where we were. Now I need a little travel insurance as well."
"Brackett," Jim growled, his entire body tensing for
action.
"Ellison," Lee replied sarcastically. He pushed the gun
harder against Jen's head until she had to tilt it sideways. "Don't even
think about it, Jim. I'll shoot her, then you and just use her body to get out
of here. They'll never know she was already dead."
Jim met Jenny's eyes. She couldn't hide her fear or worry, but
neither did Jen hide her faith in Jim, her love or her determination that they
both make it out of this alive.
Jen weighed her options then slumped back against Brackett as
though she had fainted. Lee adjusted his grip so that she wouldn't choke. Jenny
grabbed his arm with both hands and bit down hard enough to draw blood. He yelped
and grabbed her by the hair with his gun hand, slamming the weapon into the
back of her head as he yanked his injured arm out of the way of Jenny's teeth.
"You vixen!" he shouted, giving her hair a little shake.
Jim took a step toward them regaining Brackett's attention.
"Uh, uh, uh, Ellison," Lee warned switching hands and aiming the gun
at Jim.
Jenny lifted her foot in a move that Mike had shown her and
brought her heel down hard on top Brackett's foot. At the same time she jerked her
elbow back into his stomach and turned on the heel that was currently getting
better acquainted with the top of the spy's foot.
The
incensed woman drove her fist upward and connected solidly with Brackett's jaw
driving him back. "I prefer BITCH!" she shouted, shaking her sore
fist and rubbing the back of her head at the same time.
Jim
threw a bemused look at his bride-to-be as he jogged past her to finish
subduing Brackett. It didn't take much. A right cross to his already bruised
jaw put the spy on the ground.
"Mind
grabbing me that rope, dear?" Jim asked, flipping Brackett over onto his
stomach and pulling his arms behind his back.
Jenny retrieved the rope that Brackett must have intended for her,
handed it to Jim and stood back to watch.
Jim left Brackett lying on the ground and went to Jenny. She
wrapped her arms around him and they held onto each other tightly for a long
minute before Jim cocked his head again. "It's Mike," he said softly.
"Yeah, Mike, we're okay. We've got Brackett, but I'm not sure we can get
through his men." Jim nodded in reply to something. "Okay, we're by
the snow leopard exhibit. See you soon."
He pulled Jenny closer to him and closed his eyes briefly.
"Blair and El are fine. Mike and Megan are directing the clean up crew.
They'll come get us when the coast is clear."
Jen sighed with relief. "This is getting a bit ridiculous,
don't you think?" Jim frowned not sure exactly what she meant. Jenny
sighed. "How many times can one person be kidnapped anyway?" Jim
snorted, not sure he wanted to answer that question. "What time is
it?" she asked changing the subject.
Jim blinked in surprise and glanced at his watch. "Shit. It's
almost 9:30." Jenny giggled. "What's so funny?" he asked,
pushing her gently away so he could see Jen's face.
"I sort of expected someone to be late for the ceremony, but
all four of us?" Jen smiled and shook her head.
Jim laughed and hugged her again.
And that's how Blair, Mike and Megan found them, in a firm hug and
still chuckling at the predicament with Brackett at their feet.
Blair grinned as he enveloped Jim and Jenny in a hug. "Come
on you two, we've got a wedding to attend."
Mike handed Brackett off to the uniforms. "Last one to the
car is a rotten egg," she teased giving Jen a quick hug then racing off
toward the entrance to the zoo.
"Ooo," Jen replied, "that's cheating. Come on you
guys," she said to Blair, Jim and Megan, "I know a short cut."
******
The loft
Blair and Jim raced up the stairs and through their respective
doors. They had to shower, change and get to the church by eleven. It would be
close, but they could do it, barring any unforeseen accidents, terrorists or
additional kidnappings.
Jim pulled his jacket and shirt off as he headed for the bathroom
dropping the articles on the floor, for once unconcerned with neatness. Only
Blair's startled gasp stopped him. He concentrated on the loft next door. What now?
"Mom!" Blair exclaimed. Jim grinned and toed off his
shoes before continuing to the bathroom.
******
Megan's car
Mike sighed and ended the call. She looked into the back seat at
Jen and El and smiled. "It's okay," she said grabbing hold of the
back of the seat and the door handle as Megan took the corner at high speed.
"The dresses are at the church, they're just waiting for us."
Jenny closed her eyes briefly in thanks to her mom and El's.
"Okay, but I have got to shower," she lifted her arms halfway up to
indicate how bad she smelled. "You and Megs are worse than I am,
Mikey," she said with a grin.
Megan chortled while Mike wrinkled her nose. It was true. They had
cornered a couple of the bad guys in back of the antelope enclosure. Needless
to say it hadn't been fresh hay piled behind the fence where they tackled the
men.
Elise chuckled. "My place is closest to the church."
"True," Jen agreed, "but my house has two
showers."
"It'll be cutting it close," Megan said then grinned
fiercely. "But we can make it," she said pushing her foot to the
floor.
"Ooooh, no!" the other three women exclaimed holding on
for dear life.
*******
The church
Jim's truck and Blair's 4x4 raced into the church parking lot,
brakes squealed and three doors slammed shut as Jim, Blair and Naomi ran into
the building. Thanks to Naomi's calm head, Jim snorted at the thought of Naomi
being the calm one, they had not forgotten anything. The rings were ready to
give to Simon and Joel. The plane tickets were in the appropriate vehicle with
their bags and now the grooms were at the church with ten minutes to spare.
They slowed as they entered the vestibule, straightening collars
and bow ties, smoothing hair and taking deep calming breaths.
Naomi caught Jim's arm and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She
smiled at his surprise then turned to Blair. "I'm going to go inside,
baby." She embraced her son hard and felt his arms return the hug. "I
am so happy for you, Blair. I love you."
"I love you too, Mom," Blair said, his eyes misting
over. He leaned back to look into her face seeing that she too was teary-eyed.
"I'm so glad you made it."
"I wouldn't have missed this," she insisted with a
fierce smile. "Even if I'd had to swim back."
Blair grinned and kissed her cheek then hugged her again. Naomi
trailed her fingers along his cheek for a moment. "Love you,
sweetie," she said then turned with a sniffle to enter the chapel.
Jim grinned at his brother and received a brilliant smile in
return. "We're really going to do this, Jim."
"Yeah, Chief. We sure are," he replied, unable to tune
down his own smile. It seemed to be permanently fixed on his face.
Blair's smile dimmed a bit. "This isn't going to change us,
right Jim?"
The Sentinel draped his arm over his Guide's shoulder and gave him
a squeeze. "No way, my brother. It's only going to get better," Jim
said, patting Blair on his head, careful not to muss the hair.
"Hey, man," Blair said grinning again, "not…"
"The hair," Jim finished with an equally big grin.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Admit it, Sandburg, you'll miss me. In two weeks,
you'll be begging for me to muss your hair."
Blair chuckled and opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted
by Mike barging through the front doors. She spied them and came at them like a
line backer.
"Get back! Turn around and don't look!" she commanded.
They did as directed, too stunned to ask why before Mike raced
back to the door and hollered, "It's all clear." She glared over her
shoulder at the men. "If you look, I'll roast something very dear to
you."
Jim and Blair exchanged amused looks while they listened to the
sound of female voices giggling as the women rushed past them and into the back
rooms.
"Okay," Mike said as she followed the other. "Give
us ten minutes."
Jim turned toward the hall that Jenny and the others had gone
down. He shook his head and grinned at Blair. "I guess we aren't going to
be stood up at the altar."
Blair grinned back. "Let's go tell everyone we're almost on
time."
********
The chapel
Compared to the last twelve hours, the ceremony was rather
anticlimactic. No one objected, no one stammered over the 'I do's,' and neither
of the rings got stuck on the best man's finger. There was one tense moment
when the doors opened during the final vows, but it was just someone who was a
little early for the next scheduled event.
Although they almost had to call an ambulance for the poor man,
when several dozen officers, including both grooms and most of the wedding
party, pulled weapons on him. The rings were exchanged, the brides were kissed
and the two newly wed couples were presented to the audience.
*****
The reception
hall at the church
Jenny and Jim made their rounds saying thank you and good-bye to
friends and family. Their flight was taking off in a few hours and they had to
leave. Blair and El were doing the same although didn't have to catch their
plane until three.
Jen and El's moms started rounding everyone up so the brides could
toss the bouquets after the couples changed into street clothes for their
trips.
Jim and Blair changed quickly and found themselves alone for the
first time since right before the ceremony.
"Well," Jim said diffidently. "I guess this is
it."
Blair frowned. "It's just two weeks, Jim, it's not the end of
the world."
Jim gave his brother a small smile. "I know Chief. It just
feels strange. I've sort of gotten used to sharing my life with you, the good
and the bad. It'll be weird not having you around…" he trailed off, not
quite sure how to put into words what he was feeling.
"I understand, Jim," Blair smiled, placing his hands on
Jim's shoulders as he continued conspiratorially. "Just remember, this is
for our own good. We can't let them think we needed to spend our honeymoons together, now can we?"
Jim chuckled and wrapped his arms around his friend pulling him in
for a hug. "I'll miss you, Chief."
"Me, too, big guy," Blair replied as they broke the hug.
Jen and Elise came out of the restroom dressed for their trips.
"You ready?" Jenny asked her husband with a sly smile.
Jim grinned. "Ready, willing and able, ma'am," he
replied cockily extending his crooked arm for her to take.
Blair caught El up in a hug and swung her around as Jim and Jenny
walked back down the hall arm in arm. "How about you, Mrs. Sandburg?"
"Me?" El asked. "I'm always ready." She
grinned. "Shall we?" Elise took Blair's arm and they followed their
friends out to the front of the church.
Everyone was waiting and the couples were soon fighting their way
through soap bubbles, laughingly trying to pop them as more were blown their
way.
Once they made it through the crowd, the eligible bachelorettes
were herded to the front. The brides with a quick wink at each other aimed
their bouquets and both hit their target dead on.
Megan juggled both bouquets while Mike just laughed. She'd
deflected the one aimed at her with a quick move at the last minute. Her Guide
grumbled softly about unfaithful Sentinels but followed Mike, Jim and Jen out
to the waiting trucks.
Jenny gave Mike and Megan a hug, then turned to Blair and Elise
while Jim regarded his junior Sentinel.
"What?" Mike asked.
Jim smiled. "I feel like I'm handing over the care of a
child," he said self-consciously.
Mike smiled back. "Don't worry Jim. I promise to keep an eye
on things while you're gone." She shrugged. "It'll probably be dead
quiet until you get back," she teased. "Just don't make me have to
come rescue you two."
Blair chuckled. "Simon knows where we're all going. He's got
the numbers, too, just in case," he glared menacingly at the Sentinel.
"But don't you dare call for at least the first twenty-four hours, you
hear?"
Mike put her hands up and backed away, grinning the whole time.
"Go on, you guys," Megan said pushing Blair and Jim
toward their respective vehicles. "Get. We'll hold down the fort. Have a
good time."
Jim snorted and turned back to Blair. "See ya, Chief."
"Bye, Jim," Blair said with a wave as he climbed into
his truck.
"I told you they couldn't do it," Rafe said loud enough
for all to hear. "I bet they'll be calling Simon tomorrow for the phone
numbers so they can talk."
Laughter followed the two vehicles as they drove away.
*****
Somewhere south of the
border
Jim
and Jenny stepped out of the elevator and followed the bellhop down the hall.
He opened the door and took their bags into the suite while the newly weds
waited in the hall grinning sappily at each other.
When
the bellhop came out of the suite Jim took the key and gave him a tip then
waited until the man was heading back to the elevator to turn and swing his
bride up into his arms.
Jenny
squealed in surprise and wrapped her arms around Jim's neck leaning her head against
his shoulder.
Jim
carried her over the threshold and set her on her feet. He released Jen long
enough to close and lock the door, then he turned back to face his wife.
Jen
stood uncertainly where he had set her down. Jim reached out slowly and caressed
her cheek taking a step to close the distance between them. He kissed her
gently on the lips receiving a quick, tentative peck in return. Jim pulled his
head back and looked into Jen's eyes.
She
met his questioning gaze and swallowed hard. "I'm a little nervous here,
Jim," she whispered.
Jim
smiled. "It's okay. We can go slow." He let his smile slide into a
teasing grin and growled playfully at her.
Jenny
giggled as Jim wiggled his fingers at her. She took a step backward fighting a
grin. "Don't even think about it," she warned, holding her hands up
in defense.
Her
husband advanced slowly in her direction his eyes glinting mischievously. Jim
darted forward and Jen let out a startled shriek as she spun and dashed to the
other side of the bed.
Jim
followed her just ghosting his fingers against her skin, allowing Jen to 'get
away' as their impromptu game of chase progressed. Jenny started laughing after
Jim pretended to trip and sprawled across the bed hard enough to send it
banging up against the wall.
"I'm
going to get you," Jim threatened in his best evil villain imitation.
"Oh
my!" Jenny responded impishly, her hands flying to her cheeks like the
typical damsel in distress. Jim chuckled and rolled off the bed to follow up on
his threat.
He
cornered her in the kitchenette but allowed Jen to escape under his out
stretched arms. Only this time she ran to the bed, hopped on and grabbed a
pillow. She held it out in front of herself defensively.
"Be
careful," Jenny grinned. "I've got a dangerous weapon here."
Jim
stopped at the end of the bed and eyed the deadly pillow. "I can see
that," he said seriously trying to stifle a smile. "Put that pillow
down, missy and give yourself up."
Jenny
shook her head and swung the pillow. Jim managed to dodge the blow then growled
and pounced onto the bed rocking it against the wall again.
"Ah!"
Jenny yelled trying to scoot back on the bed as she continued her pillow
attack.
Jim
fended off the pillow easily by grabbing it and tossing it away. Jen lay back
against the other pillow as Jim leaned over her, both hands pressed to the
mattress to either side of Jenny's shoulders.
"Give
up?" he asked huskily.
Jenny
met his eyes, her own dark blue with emotion. "Only to you," she
replied.
Jim
lowered his head and met his wife's lips with his own.
*****
Somewhere south of the
border
Blair
was pleasantly surprised. They'd been able to get the earlier flight to their
honeymoon spot after all and now had an extra half a day to spend alone
together. He had helped El unpack and then they'd taken a walk on the beach.
El
had suggested they order dinner and have it delivered up to the room. Blair
agreed readily and now they had a little time to kill before dinner arrived.
They
settled onto the couch in their suite with some soft music and low lights.
Elise
snuggled up against her husband. "I can't believe I'm Mrs. Dr.
Sandburg." She smiled at Blair as he chuckled.
"Wouldn't
that be Mrs. Dr. Dr. Detective Sandburg?"
"Oh,
no," El denied in mock horror. "Can't have anyone thinking I married
you to get my MRS.
Blair's
reply was interrupted by a high pitched shriek from the hall. He met El's gaze
and raised his eyebrows. "Honeymooners you think?"
Elise
grinned wickedly. "It is a honeymoon spot," she said suggestively, running
her hands over his chest.
Her
husband grinned back and reached to help her out of her blouse. Just then a
loud thud sounded against the wall from the other room. They both rolled their
eyes but didn't stop what they were working on.
Elise
managed to get Blair's shirt unbuttoned and helped him pull hers off when more
noise from the next suite came through the wall.
Blair
sat up straight and glared at the wall. "This is supposed to be a quality
hotel. You'd think the walls would be thicker."
"We
could call the front desk and complain," El said reluctantly, not really
wanting to start any trouble.
"No,"
Blair said standing. "I'm just going to go next door and ask them to at
least move the bed away from the wall," he grinned evilly. "Maybe we
should do the same."
Elise
returned his grin and fingered the front clasp on her bra. "Hurry
back," she purred.
Blair
groaned. "God, give me strength," he said as he reluctantly headed
out the door.
I don't know… maybe I should
just leave this alone. Blair stood outside the door to the next suite and sighed. I can just see the guys' reaction if I come
home with a black eye because I pissed off some Neanderthal on his honeymoon.
Well, I've already come this far. I'll just pretend I thought I heard something
fall and ask if anyone was hurt. He knocked on the door then stuffed his
hands in his pockets and studied the floor.
Yeah, that's it.
The
door opened and Blair found himself staring at white socks that led up to bare
legs and boxer shorts. Jim has a pair
like that. The thought flashed quickly as he continued to raise his head
and met a pair of shocked blue eyes.
"Jim!?"
"Chief!?"
"What
are you doing here?" and "How did you find us?" they asked at
the same time, each one bristling with indignation.
"Jim?"
Jen called from inside the room.
"Hey,
Jenny," Blair said.
"Blair?" Jenny asked coming to the door wrapped in the comforter from
the bed. "What are you doing here?"
"Trying
to figure out how Jim found out where we were going," Blair said, glaring
at his Sentinel.
Jim
glared back.
Jenny
frowned. "We didn't know where you two were going. How did you find out we
were here?"
Blair's
eyes widened as he shrugged his denial. "I didn't know! I just came next
door to ask our neighbors to keep the
noise down to a dull roar."
Jim
and Jenny looked at each other. Jim grinned slyly while Jenny's cheeks turned
bright pink. She bit her lip and ducked back into the room.
Blair
grabbed Jim's arm in concern. "I didn't mean to embarrass her."
Laughter
floated out to the hall and Blair's concern turned to confusion.
Jim
chuckled. "She's not that shy, Chief. Look, if you and El want to get
together for dinner or something sometime, just leave us a message, okay?"
Blair
nodded speechless his own cheeks a bit pink as Jim's words hit home.
"Good
night, Chief," Jim said, gently pushing Blair back into the hall and
closing the door.
Blair
shook his head and went back to his room a smile slowly forming on his face.
The
end…
#############################################################
…but
the story continues in Part 12A… yes, there is a reason for that. Part 13 is
complete and it just seemed appropriate that it was Part 13. Sorry to tease you <G>… Not!
SPOILER INFORMATION: Yes, the episode was Rogue.
But I didn't want to let you know it was Brackett too soon. <g>
Japanese definitions
Ki ni shinai - Means 'don't worry' or 'no problem'.
Shimatta
- 'damn it'
Kouyuu
- 'friend, schoolmate'
I
really, really, really like feedback, please let me know what you think. See…
here's the e-mail link, right here… Judy