Disclaimer: “The Sentinel”and all things pertaining to belong to Pet Fly Productions. No copy write violation intended. Don’t sue me, I ain’t got any money anyway.

Jay, thanks for introducing me to this amazing show and its fandom. Once again, I’m obsessed, and it’s all your fault. Hahah.

Thanks to Bethy for all the encouragement, and to Krissi, for laughing at my jokes.

The creation of Daniel was my idea.

Lyrics in text belong to Savage Garden.

Rating: R, language, violence, implied non-con, m/m. Feedback is great, flamers go home.

By Black Raven

In the darkened presentation room at Rainier University, a slim shadow stood next the overhead projector. The room’s seats were filled with people waiting to listen to this young man. He took a deep breath, and began.

“Thank you all for coming.” His voice was a musical tenor, a voice that caught up a listener and carried them along.. “I’d love to use some flowery language to begin with, but I was never very good at making speeches. I’m giving a presentation, not trying to give people a reason to presume that I’m trying to go into politics.”

An appreciative laugh spread through the room, and the young man in shadow hid a smile. Already, the audience was in his hands. It was one of his specialties, to keep and hold an audience. Now was the time to begin slowly, be calm, rational and competent while he performed the largest piece of spin-doctoring Rainier had ever seen.

And they’d never even know they’d been spun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


This was one of those nights when Jim Ellison wished he wasn’t still on leave from the Cascade Police Department. It wasn’t that he was bored, he was just missing being at work. He wasn’t all that thrilled about going out, there wasn’t much around the loft that needed fixing, he’d read through all his books, and there was only a finite time he could spend watching television without wanting to smash the set with a baseball bat. Except, of course, when there was a good game on.

Although sometimes it nice just to sit here, Jim thought looking down, where the body of Blair Sandburg, his friend, Guide, partner and lover was curled against Jim’s side, napping. Jim could just sit for hours and watch Blair. It was his favorite hobby, even though a lot of people professed to liking Sandburg best when he was sleeping.

All this leave time, after Sandburg had ditched his dissertation and declared it false, and Jim recovered from getting shot, had given them both time to truly enjoy each other, to learn more small intimacies that made their relationship grow closer than ever, things they‘d never had time for before this.

Ellison was actually dreading, a little, going back to work. What if Blair really took up the offer of going to the Police Academy? If Blair didn’t go, what if Simon didn’t want Blair riding with Jim anymore? What would Jim do without that familiar, loving presence in the seat next to him?

Something from the low murmur of the television caught Jim’s attention, and dialed up his hearing. He’d turned the set’s volume down when Blair had gone to dreamland. There was a newsbreak between shows, and Jim listened.

“Repeating, this is breaking news, happening this moment. At Rainier University, young genius Daniel Anderson is giving a lecture over what he calls ‘faulty data’ in the case of local anthropologist Blair Sandburg’s paper on so-called ‘Sentinels’.” The news guy had perfect hair, perfect clothes, and a perfect smile. Jim had a burning wish to decimate all that perfect-ness.

“What the hell…” Jim burst out, which woke Blair from his snoozing. Jim’s partner yawned loudly, and smiled that adorable ‘I just woke up’ smile.

“What’s the damage, oh my Protector?” Blair asked, rubbing his eyes.

Jim was nearly shaking in fury as he repeated what the newsbreak reporter had said. To Jim’s utter amazement, Blair started laughing. “It’s about time,” he chortled merrily. “We talked about this nearly a month ago. I was beginning to wonder if he’d forgotten about it.”

“Wait, you knew this was gonna happen and you didn’t tell me?” Jim asked, feeling hurt. He and Blair never kept secrets from each other.

Blair held up his hands. “Dan and I weren’t sure if he’d even get a chance to do this, and we still don’t know if it’ll actually succeed. We didn’t want to get your hopes up. Although it should; Daniel is good enough to charm the birds from the trees. This is the first step of the plan: to completely ‘debunk’ my theory so that people will ultimately forget about it, forget it ever existed at all. The name ‘Daniel Anderson‘ will make absolutely everyone forget about me.”

“What about the Academy?”

“Jim, I’ve thought about it… I just don’t think I’m cut out for it. I love being your partner, but I’d rather be your partner without the badge.”

“So, this whole thing is a plan?” Jim’s eyes narrowed. He felt an irrational stab of jealousy. “And just who is this ‘Daniel’ anyway?”

“An Internet friend from New Orleans.” Blair sat up and leaned against Jim, getting more comfy. “He’s absolutely brilliant, maybe even smarter than me. An educational wunderkind, double majoring in computer science and anthropology. He’s twenty-four and already going for his doctorates. A mutual friend on the Net introduced us. We’ve been talking to each other for, oh, seven years or so.”

Internet friend. Not friend-friend. That relieved Jim. He even began to see, around the edges, the plan that Sandburg and Anderson had come up with. “So, the next logical step will be to sit back and see what rewards are reaped from tonight’s plotting.”

Blair grinned, trailing a finger over Jim’s cheek. “That’s the plan. We see what move to make next once the dust settles.”

Jim laughed. “You are so devious!”

“Call Daniel devious; he’s the one who came up with most of it, and he’s the one who has stand in the limelight.”

“And may be the one who takes the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune if the plan backfires,” Jim said thoughtfully. “That’s one gutsy kid.”

“Yeah,” Blair agreed softly. “But he knew what he was getting into.”

Jim could see it on Blair’s face, there was something more. “Spit it out, Chief.”

“Well… Dan wanted one little favor in return for his help…”

“And what’s that?”

“He wants a chance to observe us for a while, a Sentinel and his Guide. Daniel believes, Jim. He’s sworn to me, even put it into notarized writing that I have upstairs in my desk right now, that whatever he learns from his observations, he will never publish it, talk about it with anyone who isn’t in the loop, or in any way reveal that there is real truth in the existence of Sentinels.”

Jim grimaced, but thought about it. A promise in writing that no harm would come from observation. “Is he as chatty-annoying as you can be?” Jim smirked.

Blair gave Jim a half-hearted thump with a throw pillow. “We’ve talked on the phone. He’s actually a really quiet person.”

“Good. I don’t think I could survive another round of ‘Torture by Sandburg‘.”

Blair grabbed Jim and pulled him to the floor. In few moments, Jim lost all thought about everything except the feeling of holding Blair in his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, when the Dynamic Duo came home from food shopping, there was a moving van in front of their building. “Looks like someone rented the apartment under ours,” Blair observed as he loaded his arms with grocery bags.

“Looks like,” Jim agreed, taking his share and relieving Blair of a few before he could get overloaded and trip or something.

The steady flow of the moving crew kept up for half the day. Jim and Blair ignored it, going about their business as usual. They figured they’d meet the new neighbor when the new neighbor felt like coming up to introduce him/herself.

Jim was thinking about ordering out for dinner when the doorbell rang. Sandburg was immersed in reading, so Jim said, “I’ll get it,” and went to open the door.

The sight awaiting him on the other side of the door was quite an exotic one. Well, in a way, exotic. The fellow was dressed in ordinary clothing, age-faded jeans and a hoody, with white socks and gym shoes. His body had the build of an acrobat, and he was rather short, only about 5’4’’ or so.

What made the young man seem exotic was the fact that his hair was baby-fine, its color was white-blond, and it was so long that, in a braid, it fell to his knees. The shape of his jaw just barely saved his face from looking effeminate, and his eyes were the most amazing shade of violet-blue that Jim had ever seen. Temporarily, Jim was totally at a loss as to what to say, or do, or anything.

The kid smiled slightly, and revealed another surprise when he opened his mouth to speak. “I’m looking for Blair Sandburg,” he said. His voice was a good-as-gold pure musical tenor, the kind of voice that could give someone the good shivers.

Before Jim could reply, there was a loud whoop from the other room and Blair came running out. “Daniel!” he cried, sweeping his friend up in a hug. “I should have known you’d come! It’s so good to finally meet you!” Jim noted in amusement that Sandburg was tall enough to sweep Daniel right off his feet.

Daniel laughed. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away, Sandburg! And what’s more, I’ll be here a while. I’m the one who’s moved into the apartment below yours. And I’ve transferred to Rainier. Whether or not this pans out, I’m taking a change of venue.”

Despite the fact that Jim knew that Daniel was from New Orleans, the kid only had a bare touch of a Southern accent; just a sprinkle of warm honey across that rich voice. “Well, once Sandburg decides to stop holding you hostage, come in,” Jim invited.

“Aw, can’t I keep him?” Blair asked.

“Absolutely not,” Daniel laughed, and, with a twist and a wriggle, slipped free of the bear hug. “The novelty would wear off quickly, and I’d be turned out like a stray pet.”

“Never!” Blair protested.

Jim grinned. “Welcome to Cascade, Mr. Anderson.”

Dan gave him a deadpan look. “Never ask me to take the blue pill.”

Sandburg giggled. “And never ask how far down the rabbit hole goes.”

Daniel and Blair glanced at each other, and broke down into howling laughter at the utterly blank look of incomprehension on Jim’s face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over pizza and breadsticks and beer, Dan gave a report on how things had gone after his presentation. “I tell ya, Fuzzball, I had ‘em all right here,” Daniel said, holding out a sauce-smeared hand. “I coulda convinced some of ‘em to buy pictures of la chupecabra by the time I was done. They‘ll beg you to come back with groveling apologies.”

“You seem pretty damned confident, Blondie.” Blair retorted the “Fuzzball” remark handily.

“La chupe-what?” Jim blinked.

“Cow exsanguinations occurring periodically in South America.” Blair held up a hand. “You don’t really wanna know, Jim.”

“I feel like I’ve got a pair of grownups talking over my head,” Jim huffed.

“Anyway,” Daniel said to override anymore teasing and rebuttals, “the point is, it all looks like it’s working, and working well. I predict a day or two, and Rainier will be begging you to come back, Blair. Rainier wasn‘t at all displeased with the fact that I just signed a massive check that they can use for more research grants, provided that they can see their way clear to forgive you for your previous problems. You’ll have to come up with a new doctoral thesis, of course, but that’ll be a breeze for you. I’ve already picked mine: Pagan religions that survived Christian conversion, and how computers are a humungous help in crime fighting these days. ”

Jim snorted, and Blair laughed. “Don’t be so skeptical, Jim. You’re sitting across the table from the man who invented the advanced algorithms that revolutionized the systems at the Pentagon. Now just about every Alphabet Agency is using them, and paying the huge royalties negotiated from the contracting.”

“Ah. A self-made man. I like that,” Jim nodded.

“Self-made, self-invented, and very uniquely me.” Dan saluted the partners with his beer bottle, and both of them returned the toast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the next weeks unfolded, Daniel was proven right. Rainier invited Blair back, with apologies. He’d lost his teaching fellowship, but he could take classes again and get started on a new doctoral thesis. Blair and Jim spent a long and very satisfying night of lovemaking to celebrate.

Daniel shrugged and waved it off when they tried thank him. He mostly stayed in his apartment, arranging everything the way he liked . His taste ran to air colors, blues and greens, with an occasional touch of red or yellow. One thing he did every night was to take out his acoustic guitar and play, often running the range from rock to rockabilly. One night, while Jim and Blair were making out on the couch, the strains of Ravel‘s “Bolero” wafted on the air, and Blair nearly choked laughing.

Jim found himself liking Daniel more and more. For his quiet but razorblade wit, his slow smile. The way Blair and Daniel would rough-house sometimes. It would start out with a poke or a shove but would soon escalate into a full-fledged rough-and-tumble wrestling match. Inevitably, because of his weight and muscle advantage, Blair would win, then sit on Dan, pinning him down while tickling till Dan howled for mercy. Those matches always made Jim laugh because Dan and Blair looked like a pair of romping kittens.

Jim and Blair invited Daniel to come up to breakfast in the mornings. Dan was incoherent till after his first cup of coffee, which made Blair take to brushing out that extraordinarily long hair and plaiting it back up for him so it’d take Daniel less time to get ready for school. Unbound, the hair almost touched the floor. Jim took on the duty once himself, and marveled at it; it was like running his hands through the softest bright silk. Daniel didn’t mind the brushing and braiding. He just laughed and said he only had to do it once a day by himself instead of twice and that was fine with him.

Dan had an incredibly quick mind. All Jim could do was sit and watch as Dan and Blair talked about things that flew over Jim’s head, but he didn’t mind if they did. There was something fascinating about watching the pair sit close, eyes locked on each other, their faces animated and vibrant as they talked together.

Blair would drive Dan to school, and Jim would do things to keep himself busy till they got home. When they got back, Daniel would absently wave hi to Jim while heading to his apartment, eyes distant and far away. Blair explained to Jim that was what happened when Daniel’s mind was intensely focused on something he was thinking about. Sort of an academic zone-out.

All in all, those weeks were idyllic as everyone settled into new friendship.

Sandburg and Ellison should have known it couldn’t always be so calm. Sooner or later, a storm would break.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jim’s truck came peeling to a stop in front of the university. He was glad to see Blair and Daniel were already on their way out, walking together and talking about something animatedly. Curiously, Jim never felt jealous about the deep friendship that existed between his Guide and Dan. It was like getting jealous would be stupid and silly. Besides, Jim felt just as strong a friendship bond to Dan as Blair did.

But right now, all that was the furthest thing from his mind. He blew the horn and stuck his head out the window. “Hey, Chief, come on! We gotta roll!”

Blair and Daniel trotted quickly to the truck. “You got a call while you’re still on leave?” Blair asked.

“Seems like Simon’s decided we’ve had enough down time. There was a body found in the National Park, at the bottom of Widow’s Peak.” He frowned a little at Daniel. “Uh…”

“Aw Jim, we can’t just leave him stranded! Besides, he’s already applied for the same status as me in the department. Simon won’t mind if he’s there.”

Jim wasn’t so sure of that, but he couldn’t resist the Patented Sandburg Large Puppy Eyes. “All right… But you’re taking the heat if Simon gets mad, Sandburg.”

Blair winced a bit, but he didn’t back down. “Come on, Dan.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The drive up to the park wasn’t terribly far, and before long, Jim was pulling the truck in alongside a couple of black-and-whites. He got out of the truck, and Blair was at his side a few heartbeats later. Dan hung back by the truck. They walked the short way to the bottom of the peak. Widow’s Peak was well-named; there had been many climbers who’d lost their lives to that hunk of rock.

“Hey Roy,” Jim greeted one of the officers, and Blair just waved a little. “What have we got?”

“Hey Ellison, Sandburg,” the officer replied. “Looks like your basic accident. Dunno why they sent you Major Crimes guys up here.”

Overhead, the sky was getting overcast, and a slight wind had picked up. “Maybe someone thought I was getting fat and bored,” Jim suggested with a grin. Roy laughed.

Jim looked at the body closely. It was lying on its side, back to him, and there was blood splatter, but something didn’t seem quite right. The man’s backbone seemed almost twisted. Jim looked up, focusing his eyesight. There were anchoring brackets and safety line nearly to the top. What had caused the fall? A faulty brake? A bad slip? He looked back to man’s spine again. His nose told him nothing except there had been blood spilled here, and there were enough people and cars here to cover anything more subtle.

“So, think it was an accident?” Roy asked, like there was only one possible answer.

“No.”

Everyone there turned to look at Daniel, who had come up behind the group. It wasn’t often that someone was soft-footed enough to walk up undetected on Ellison. Jim and Blair were astonished, the uniforms were puzzled and wondering if this stranger was supposed to be here, but Daniel’s eyes were on the body, and that misty, far-away look was in his eyes. He took perhaps a half-step closer than the rest, then stopped.

“Daniel?” Jim prompted, wondering what the he was seeing. Daniel was quiet for a few moments, and Jim realized that it was getting chillier and his young friend didn‘t have a jacket on. Jim pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around him..

Dan smiled vaguely at Jim in thanks, and looked back to the scene. “This was a murder, Jim,” he said. His eyes were going distant again. It’s a defense mechanism, Jim thought. He’s pulling his feelings back and keeping everything on an intellectual level to protect the rest of himself from this…

“What makes yah think so, kid?” Roy asked.

Daniel really did look like a kid standing there, too small inside Jim’s coat, those big eyes open wide, the wind making his braid wave. But he took no offense at the ‘kid’ comment. “One of the few references to human sacrifice in Icelandic literature occurs in chapter 10 of the Eyrbyggja Saga. During the 10^th century, a holy site where men met in Assembly was defiled by a skirmish between two families, in which blood was spilled. As a result, the site of the regional assembly was moved. The narrator of the saga (writing in the 13^th century) described the new site, saying, ‘The circle where the court used to sentence people to be sacrificed can still be seen, with Þór's Stone inside it, on which the victims' backs were broken, and you can still see the blood on the stone‘.”

Most of the people on the scene looked blank, except for Blair. “Right!” Blair said, kneeling close to the crime tape. “This definitely looks like it was ritually done, and not the result of a fall…”

“And if the guy fell from the height the safety line is tied at, there’d be a whole hell of a lot more splatter.” Daniel said, almost dispassionately. “In fact, he’d be a smear.”

There was silence for a moment. Then one of the uniforms said, “Shit, Sandburg cloned himself and made the clone a pretty-boy.”

“Who says I’m the pretty one?” Daniel drawled, then walked back toward the truck, a definite sway of the hips in his walk.

Jim was smothering a laugh, when he heard a piercing cry that belonged to a bird-of-prey. But when his eyes scanned the sky, he couldn’t see anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the station house, Simon was waiting for Jim and Sandburg with barely contained patience. Jim entered the room first, followed by Blair, and Dan was bringing up the rear, half-hiding behind Blair. Not that Daniel was scared, but he wanted to keep out of the way. Jim stopped in front of his Captain’s desk, standing at attention, Blair slouching behind him, and Dan was just behind Blair.

Simon noticed, as Jim had known he would. Simon pointed at Daniel and said, “Come up here.”

Daniel squared his shoulders and walked up to the desk, looking Banks squarely in the eye. For a instant, they studied each other. The tall, powerful black man towered over the short, slightly-tanned white kid, and it appeared that the situation was at an impasse.

Daniel broke the ice first, extending a hand to shake. “It’s an honor to meet you, Captain Banks,” Daniel said, and surprised flickered in Simon’s eyes for a moment. Jim was sure it was startlement at hearing the voice.

Banks shook Daniel’s hand. “I’d hardly call it an honor,” Banks said deprecatingly, shrugging a bit, the way he always did when he was feeling flattered.

Daniel smiled in pleasure. “I made special trip just to hear one of your lectures once. The jokes fell a little flat, but your eloquence on the subject of what it’s like to maintain good relations between yourself and your officers, yet command the proper respect and dignity of your rank… It was truly inspiring, Captain, and very well done.”

“Thank you,” Simon said, and the tension was gone. “Officer Roy told me that you were a great help at the crime scene, Mr. Anderson.”

“Please, call me Daniel,” he requested, wincing, and Jim heard Blair repress a giggle.

“Daniel,” Banks complied with the request. “You weren’t officially at the scene… understand? You didn’t have clearance to be there, and there’d be a big stink about it all. Just this one time, let people think Sandburg came up with the theory.”

“I have no problem with that, sir,” Dan answered with a firm nod.

“And stop with the ‘sirs’ and ‘Captains’, my name is Simon.”

“Yes, Simon.”

Jim was relieved that two of them had hit it off right away. The transition had been a little rough when Sandburg had first come here. A little rough? That was like saying that the iceberg the Titanic hit was a little inconvenient!

Banks opened one of his desk drawers and passed Daniel a clip-on, laminated card. “There’s your clearance to accompany Jim and Sandburg. Please try not to get into as much trouble as Blair does!”

Daniel grinned broadly. “I’ll do my best, Simon.”

Jim got the feeling that Daniel meant what he said. Thank God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later, there was another murder. Simon called Jim and asked him to bring Blair and Daniel. Asking no questions, Jim picked up Blair and Daniel from Rainier. Blair, of course, had a million questions and Jim was hard-pressed to answer them as best he could. Daniel sat silently in the middle seat, staring out the windshield.

The body was in an alley next to a hairdresser’s. The owner’s daughter had found it and let out a shriek that woke the whole neighborhood. That meant that the gawkers were out in full force and Jim had to drive very carefully to reach the cordoned-off area. Jim got out, and Dan got out on Jim’s side. Blair made his way around and both of them walked with Daniel just ahead, shielding the younger man from the onlookers and numerous snapping cameras.

Inside the cordoned area it was no less crowded, but at least the bustle was productive and not useless standing around. Blair held back, but Daniel stayed near Jim as the cop approached the body, as if Dan felt he had to go.

There was glass everywhere. It looked this woman had been pushed out a plate glass window, cut to death.

Dan gasped, a deep inrush of air, and his hand closed over Jim’s forearm like a vice. Jim looked down in concern. His face was pale and slightly green. “Are you all right? Do you need to sit down? I’m sorry, maybe you shouldn’t be seeing all these dead bodies…”

“Seen plen’y of ‘em b’fore,” Daniel answered. His Southern accent deepened with that sentence, softly blurred by something else. A touch of Cajun?

Daniel was breathing slowly. In moments, his color was back and that defensive distance was back. He let go of Jim’s arm and looked at the body longer.

“Again, it appears that death was nothing extraordinary, just an accident, or perhaps done with a push in a moment of anger, but it’s not.” The voice was back to its normal cadence. Daniel’s eyes were narrowed. “This is a ritual called The Death Of A Thousand Cuts, a Hindu rite devoted to Kali Durga, a death goddess, also known as a goddess of life and renovation, and known by many names; Uma, Gauri, Haimavati…

“Anyway, back to the murder… Each cut precisely placed, the only ones out of place are the ones caused by the glass, those are ragged. It took this woman a very, very long time to die, Jim. To her, an eternity.”

Jim felt sick to his stomach, and he took Daniel’s arm to lead him away from the scene. Dan went quietly, even put a hand over the hand that held his arm. Jim could hear Daniel’s heartbeat, racing slightly, but not tripping out. He’s calm… mostly. That’s… strange.

As Jim had heard back at the murder site at Widow’s Peak, Jim again heard the shrill of some kind of hunting bird. And, as before, he didn’t see anything when he looked up. More than strange.

Dan explained everything to Simon, whose brow furrowed in confusion. “A serial killer?”

Jim, Blair, and Daniel all shook the heads at once. “Maybe the same people did these things, Simon,” Jim said, “but not like serial killers. There‘s no pattern.”

“The things they did, the rituals, are worlds apart in culture and significance.” Blair added.

“This is a white woman from the USA,” Daniel added in. “Devotees of Kali Durga wouldn’t waste their time with a heretic, unless she, personally, had done a terrible wrong against the people of India, or people devoted to the Goddess. Besides,” he added in a musing tone, “this all seems… like it’s a vendetta, with strange things added in to confuse and misdirect the authorities.”

Simon huffed. “Well, they are doing that!” He looked tired as he ran a hand over his head. “I’m gonna put the boys in the bullpen to work on finding some sort of connection between these murders besides the extremely strange ways the victims died. Jim, you three can go back to what you’re doing. I just wanted Dan’s opinion, or Blair‘s if Dan couldn‘t see anything…”

“Sure, fine,” Jim said. He’d be glad to get away from this horror. Just when he thought he was jaded enough to have seen it all, life surprised him by showing him something worse.

Blair had moved up on Daniel’s other side and was holding his hand. The boy walked as if he were floating through a dream, quiescent under the hands of Sentinel and Guide as they walked back to the truck. Dan was obviously very lost in his own thoughts, only responding to questions or comments with vague noises of agreement or disagreement.

Once they were back home, Dan shrugged off Sandburg’s offer of dinner and a movie, went into his apartment, and shut the door firmly, practically in Jim and Blair’s faces. The pair continued up to the loft.

“He spends so much time alone…” Blair said quietly while they were making dinner.

“He seems to prefer it, Chief.” Although Jim was vaguely disturbed about it, there was nothing he could do unless he was invited to help. He didn’t want to be intrusive. “It can’t be good for him, but what can we do? Truss him up and keep him here?

“Once he got loose he’d knock us both out, shave my head bald, and tattoo a dirty limerick on your butt.”

“That would be bad,” Jim said. “I like your head just the way it is, and I‘d look silly with a tattoo on my ass.”

Blair grinned at Jim, and turned the burners under the pans on the stove off. “This’ll keep well enough for a while,” Blair announced, sliding his arms around his lover. “I’m suddenly hungry for something besides food.”

“You’re insatiable.”

“And don’t ever forget it!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Downstairs, Daniel was sitting cross-legged on his living room floor, guitar in his lap. He could sit like that for hours, fingers gliding over the strings, remembering Louisiana, New Orleans, Market Street, Festival, endless stretches of bayou country where one could find a place of solitude, and never see another human being for as long as one wanted to not be found…

His eyes glanced to the ceiling when he heard a thump, and then a muted but still audible sound of a cry of passion.

“Rabbits. Those two are like rabbits,” he mumbled to himself, telling himself that he was just joking. Lying to himself. Ignoring the feeling of longing that flooded him, shutting out emotions and putting up a wall around his heart.

Moments later, the bluegrass melody of “A Man Of Constant Sorrow” drowned out any sound from upstairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was some news the next day when Jim and Sandburg went into the station. Blair had allowed Daniel to take his car over to Rainier, after Daniel promised a million times that he’d be very, very careful with the Volvo.

“Both victims, Kevin Vincent and Natalie Barnes, were ex-military,” Simon told his best team as they sat down. “Both retired, and both with black blots on their records that signifies classified material.”

“Special ops,” Jim nodded. “Finally, a connection.”

“But that’s the only one we have. Vincent and Barnes were in different branches of the service, came from very different backgrounds, and never, as far my military contacts could tell me, even met each other unless it was by accident here in Cascade.”

Ellison and Sandburg exchanged a mystified look. Someone was using weird ways to kill ex-military personnel. It was mind-boggling. “Well, Simon, I guess that means I’ll have to get in contact with my contacts in the military,” Jim said. “Even one connection is better than none.”

“Good luck,” Simon murmured, getting out a cigar. “You’ll probably need it.”

“Gee, thanks, boss.”

“No charge.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel was singing along to a Savage Garden song on the radio as he pulled the Volvo into its parking spot. There. Not so much as a scratch. I told you so, Sandburg. I said nothing would happen to your precious little baby, and I meant it. He took out the keys and put them in his pocket, then gathered his book bag and hopped out of the car, still singing. “I’ll love you more with every breath, truly madly deeply do…

He was interrupted when his cell phone rang. Always happened; just when he was really getting into good voice… He juggled the phone out of his pocket as he opened the building’s front door. He flipped the phone open and hit the answer button as the door swung shut behind him. “Anderson.”

“Hi, Dan, it’s Jim.” Ellison’s voice sounded grim.

“Hey Jim. What’s wrong?”

Daniel’s stomach fell to his shoes. He eschewed the elevator in favor of the stairs. “What was it?”

“Ever heard of the Rite of Xipe-Totec?”

Dan had to stop and swallow, hard. Thank goodness he hadn’t been there to see that. He felt a wave of concern and commiseration for Blair. “Old Toltec rite, part of a series of rituals that invoke the god Tezcatlipoca, otherwise known as Smoking Mirror. The victim is flayed alive.”

“That’s the one,” Jim confirmed. “Sandburg managed to gasp it out before he had to make a run for the bushes. This is getting really ugly, each death worse than the last.”

Dan continued his climb up the stairs. “Tell me about it,” he replied with an edge of sarcasm. “You really don’t want to know how much uglier these execution rites can get.”

“I’m sure I don’t want to know,“ Jim replied wryly. “I just called to give you an update, and to let you know what we’re doing. Didn’t want you to worry if we were out late.”

Daniel smiled. That was very sweet. He felt his heart warm up considerably. Blair and Jim were always so good to him. “Thanks, Jim, I appreciate tha-”

He couldn’t finish what he was saying, because a huge hand came from behind him and swatted the phone out of his hand. Dan let out a startled yelp, which was cut off when the opposite hand clamped a damp rag over his nose and mouth. A sickly-sweet smell overwhelmed him. He tried to struggle, but a vice-like grip held his arms to his sides. All he could do was kick at his attacker, who seemed to not notice.

A slow blackness crept over his vision; he couldn’t breath…

Then he knew nothing at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Dan?” Jim spoke into his phone anxiously. “Daniel? DANIEL!“

Sandburg appeared at Jim’s side, appearing not-so-ill now. “What’s the matter, Jim?”

“I was talking to Dan, telling him what we were up to. There was a sound like he’d dropped the phone, but then I heard a struggle. Heavy footsteps, then nothing. Now it’s just dead air.” Jim’s Sentinel instincts were roaring in with a vengeance, nearly making him vibrate. Dan was a helpless innocent, damn it!

“We gotta go!” Blair exclaimed in alarm.

Jim agreed immediately, feeling very anxious. What had happed to Daniel, and why? Why would anyone take an interest in a kid like Dan? Because he’s a genius who runs around with cops, he answered his own question, feeling his stomach tie itself in knots. He felt almost as if it were Blair who was in trouble. How many times had Blair been in danger because he was hanging out with cops? Too damned many. And that wasn’t counting the death and revival.

“Rafe!” he called to his fellow detective. “You’re taking over. Blair and I have to go, now. Dan’s in trouble.”

Rafe nodded at once. “I like the little guy, hope he’s okay… I’ll let Simon know,” he promised. “But not too soon.“ Translation, I’ll let you get out of sight before I call.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel slowly woke up, badly disoriented. What happened? he wondered, trying to sit up.

He couldn’t move. Cold metal encircled his wrists, which were bound behind his back, and his legs were bound together. He briefly tested those bonds before giving up the effort for the moment.

Daniel realized he couldn’t see; everything was dark. There was a brief surge of panic before he felt his eyelashes touch something, the feel of fabric across his face. It was just a blindfold. The surface under him was soft and yielding; a bed.

And there was someone sitting next to him, sitting there and running a large hand over Dan’s head and down his hair, which had been unbound. Instinctively, Daniel’s body went stiff and still. He took a deep breath, and tasted the last remnants of the chloroform that had put him under. His mind started reeling again, and his stomach churned.

“We won’t hurt you,” a very deep male voice said in reassurance.

Daniel wasn’t interested in reassurances at the moment. He managed to regain the use of his voice long enough to say “I’m going to be sick.”

He was immediately (and very easily) lifted from the bed, was carried a short distance, then was gently set down to kneel on a hard, cool surface which had to be tile. Those large hands lifted Dan’s hair out of his face, out of the way.

After Daniel was finished throwing up, those hands wiped his face with a cool wet cloth, held a tissue for him to blow his nose, helped him sip water to wash the foul taste from his mouth, then carried him back to the bed. Dan was almost grateful for the considerate treatment. Almost. None of this would have happened if the big ape hadn’t kidnapped him!

Dan started as a door opened, crashing into the wall. Man, I gotta get a better handle on my nerve! Of course, his nerves had good reason to rattled.

Footsteps approached. There was a pause, and a disgusted male voice asked, “Damn it, do I have to do everything myself? That’s the wrong guy, Leon.” This voice was tenor and sort of whiny.

Well, now he had a name to go along with the very deep bass voice and the gentle hands.

“You told me to go to 852 Prospect and grab the guy with long hair, Ted,” Leon said defensively. “If you’d been more specific there wouldn’t be a mistake!”

“I wanted the guy who lives with Ellison! What am I gonna do with this punk kid?”

“What do you want with Jim?” he demanded, feeling cold that these people had been after Blair. He felt as protective about Jim and Blair as they were with each other.

“You know Ellison?” “Ted” asked, walking closer. There was a rustle of sound, then Dan felt something cold and heavy press against his temple. He froze, hardly daring to breath. It’d been quite a long time since he’d last had a gun pointed at him. “Come on, speak up!”

Daniel was starting to panic. He really hated having guns pointed at him, and the blindfold was starting to give him a fit of claustrophobia. But then he heard his Uncle Will’s voice in his mind. “Remember dis, boy. When ye in a tight corner an’ back agains’ t’ wall, ye run de grift and ye run it well, ‘cause it’ll be th’ life o’ death o’ ye. Talk fast, an‘ playact whateveh ye need t’ playact.”

Daniel recalled that advice and calmed, somewhat. He made himself shiver, and let his voice waver. “Yes, I do! I know Jim Ellison, he’s a friend, I live in the apartment right below his!” He spoke a bit fast, as though he were afraid his life balanced on that answer.

His Uncle Will was a master of “The Grift”, which meant running a well-talked and completely reasonable scam, and had taught the art to his nephew. Although everything Dan had said was truth, every move and word projected the proper amount of terror an Everyday-Joe would display in the same position.

“Well, good then. You’ll do. If Ellison gives a damn about your girly hide, he’ll get drawn in.” The pressure of the gun was gone.

“What do you want with Jim?” he asked again.

“To execute him as a traitor,” Ted spat out. “Him and those others, they should have been doing what was needed to protect their country, not settled down with Godless heathens and joined them!”

Dan lay there in silent disbelief, curled up on his side. Jim is a traitor because he helped and protected an Indian tribe in Peru? Shit, I’m in the hands of madmen… That meant that those people, the ones already dead, had to have performed good deeds while in the service, too.

Leon’s hand was stroking Daniel’s hair again. “You know, Ted, I think I might keep this one a while.”

“Aw hell, don’t get attached, Leon, you’ll still have to kill him later!”

“I know… But I’d like to keep him a little while…”

Keep him? His trembling was now real.

Oh, HELL no! Dan squeezed his eyes shut and kept his mouth closed tight, lest a scream emerge. He knew exactly what Leon meant by “keeping” him. Unlike most red-blooded American males, he’d always known that rape could be a possibility. He’d been groped on enough buses, had heard too many whispered suggestions in his ear, to deny the reality of it.

“Don’t worry, I’d be gentle with you,” Leon assured him. Dan didn’t trust that assurance.

In the next moment, he was mentally kicking himself in the rear. Get a grip, boy! Quit acting like a dumb blond in a stupid B movie! Keep the genius mind working! Jim and Blair will come, and when they do, you’d better be ready to help them, or everyone dies! Fo’ sure, I done gone an’ got soft! All dis book learnin‘ an’ soft livin’ made ma mind mush!

He grabbed up all that fear and yammering terror that rampaged in his mind, stuffed the emotions away where they couldn’t cloud his judgment, and set himself to planning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jim and Blair had gone back to the apartment building, to see if there were clues. They found Dan’s phone and book bag on the stair landing one floor below Dan’s apartment. Blair stood there, woebegone, as Jim used his heightened senses to look around.

“The kidnapper waited in the alcove next to the door, where Dan wouldn’t see him,” Jim said slowly. “A man who uses Ivory soap and Old Spice deodorant.” He sniffed at the air. “He took the phone away from Dan and used chloroform to subdue him, then carried him down the stairs and must have taken the door to the back lot, where he wasn’t likely to be seen. I don’t see any fingerprints anywhere.”

“Damn,” Sandburg growled angrily.

Jim knelt near the book bag, eyesight zeroing in on the floor. “There’s a shitload of scuff marks. Our Dan put up one hell of a fight before he went under,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice.

Blair smiled faintly. “Yup, that’s our boy. But what do we do now, Jim? By now, the kidnapper has him tucked away somewhere secure, and we don’t have the faintest idea of who the kidnapper could even be!”

Jim walked down to the parking lot, with his partner right behind him. “We put out an ABP on Dan, we get Missing Persons up off their asses, we…”

Jim was interrupted by the fierce cry of a hunting bird. The sound of wings rushed through the air, and then there was a hawk hovering in front of the two men. No, not a hawk, Jim decided, a falcon. A merlin falcon with black and brown plumage and severe yellow eyes. The most uncanny thing about this was that the falcon’s primary wing feathers were tipped with a white-gold color. That, and the fact that the falcon didn’t seem quite… real.

“Jim, that’s a spirit animal,” Blair said softly as he gazed at the falcon in awe. “I’ll bet you next week’s paycheck that it’s Daniel’s spirit animal.”

The falcon screamed, as if in agreement, and began to circle their heads. “And it wants us to follow it,” Jim concluded. “Who am I to argue with a spirit animal? Let’s go!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dan thought he was going to screech if Leon kept petting him. The touching had moved from hair to body, occasionally under his shirt, too damned many times over his ass. Dan kept his teeth clenched and imagined the things he’d do to these men if they dared so much as to hurt one hair on Jim or Blair’s heads. Well, maybe Jim’s hair is receding, but…

The imagined violence gave him something to think about besides how afraid he was. He breathed in and out slowly, half-tranced, to keep emotional control. But the fucking petting was getting really infuriating. Funny, I never minded petting before… Maybe it’s because I’m getting felt up by a crazy ape and wondering if Crazy Ted is going to shoot me just for the hell of it!

And he was going to go stark raving mad if Leon didn’t shut up about what a good life he’d give Dan before the end came! He talks about killing me the same way Martha Stewart talks about making soup! I‘m a fucking person, not a pet, you son of a bitch!

Dan nearly stopped breathing. Had he heard something, through the open window that kept the room more or less cool? There it was again, very distant, barely audible, but it was there. Seconds later Ted burst back into the room.

“Someone’s coming, I heard a car!” Dan was ripped out of Leon’s hands and shaken violently. “Was this all a setup? You wearing a wire?”

Dan‘s teeth were rattling in his head. This isn’t much of an improvement over the petting… “No, I’m not wearing a wire!” he protested, and got slammed back onto the bed, Ted’s hands searching him roughly. OK, much worse than the petting, much worse!

“Leon, up to the roof,” Ted ordered. “I’m going downstairs to cover the entrance. I’m damned sure there’s gonna be company soon.”

Daniel tensed for what he was sure was coming. Ted grabbed him up again by the shirt, and threw a punch. Dan managed to duck his chin and turn his head enough that the blow didn’t do much damage, but it still left his ears ringing. “This is all your fault, you little shit. When we’re outta here, I’m gonna goad Leon into playing a few of his favorite ‘games’. You won’t enjoy how Leon likes to play.”

This time, Ted just dropped him to the floor, and every bit of air was driven out Dan’s body. With the addition of a kick in the side, Ted departed, leaving Dan coughing.

It took Dan what seemed like forever to get his breathing back under control. He was aching, but was nothing he couldn’t ignore. He had to ignore the pain, because he was positive that the people approaching were Jim and Blair. He didn’t know how he knew, he just did. He was not going to let the them get killed!

“Jim, I know it’s you, it has to be, you and Blair. No one else would find me so fast. Listen to me. I’m getting myself loose.” His nimble fingers were already working at the knots on the ropes that tied his ankles together. “Don’t you dare come out from under cover. There are two armed men here, one on the bottom floor, one on the roof. I must be on the second floor. Don’t leave cover, and don’t try any stupid martyr shit like giving up your gun! You and Blair get yourselves dead and I’ll follow just to yell at you both for being putzes!”

Dan grunted as the ropes came loose and his feet went into the painful pins-and-needles of returning blood flow. “Ah fuck, that hurts… I hate being tied up…”

He wriggled his arms under his legs, hissing in hurt as his bruises objected. Finally he got it situated, and his hands were still cuffed, but in front of him. He ripped the blindfold off and waited for the dazzle of sudden light to ease. “I hate handcuffs too.” He looked around quickly. “And nothing in sight to pick them with, damn it!

“OK, Jim, this is the plan. Stick to it or we’re all dead…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The merlin had led they way, taking them out past the city and into the foothills. Jim was nervous; sounds could echo quite a way among hills like this.

The merlin stopped, and Jim halted the truck. The bird circled the truck once, then vanished. “Guess this our stop,” Blair murmured, opening the door so he could get out.

Jim did the same, and winced as the sound of the doors being closed echoed. He paused a moment to call for backup, then looked up the road. “We’d better stick to the woods till we can see where we’re going. No need to give them big fat targets.” He gave Sandburg’s bright red checkered flannel shirt a grimace. “Especially with you wearing that ‘here I am, shoot me!’ shirt.”

“Hey!” Blair looked hurt. Jim tussled his hair but didn’t say anymore.

The partners made their way through the woods, until Jim’s hearing made him stop.

Blair stopped as Jim stopped, and looked at his Sentinel expectantly. Jim stood there for a moment, listening.

“He’s there,” Jim said. “Up ahead, inside a structure. I hear him, I hear his heartbeat; it’s only racing a little, he’s not panicking…”

“Wait wait, you hear his heartbeat from here? You’ve imprinted on him?”

Jim blinked a few times, then sort of shrugged. “I guess I have…”

Blair started to say something else, but Jim help up a hand. Daniel was talking to him, he needed to listen…

And his mouth dropped open. “He’s giving me a recon report… Oh man. He’s got his own plan for getting out. He’s free to move now, and going up to disarm the guy on the roof; he’ll let me know when the best time to move in is…”

“Then we’d better in place when he gives us the signal!”

“If he gets himself killed, I’ll never forgive myself…” Or him…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel was just as fervently hoping that he wouldn’t get killed as he slipped up the stairs that led to the roof on bare feet. He’d taken his shoes and socks off so he would make absolutely no noise to give him away. His hair was irking him. Unbound, it was constantly getting in the way. My kingdom for a scrunchy…

He got to the door, and crouched before he climbed the last of them. Leon wasn’t in sight from there. Dan stood carefully and took those last few steps. Leaning slightly, he peered left, then right. No sign. Edging around the doorframe, he slowly looked until he could see could see Leon.

Leon was standing a few feet from the low wall at the edge of the roof. Dan took a steadying breath, and stalked forward, slowly speeding up. The final lunge resulted in Dan kicking Leon in the back of the knee.

Leon grunted and dropped the AK-47 he was holding. Dan aimed another kick, but didn’t make it; Leon was very fast. In an eye blink, he swept one arm backward that caught Dan solidly. Dan fell backwards but managed to not take any damage except for a bump to his hip.

“Why’d you have to do that?” Leon asked, stepping forward. The gun was still where it had dropped. The big man loomed over Dan, looking angry. It was the first time Dan had seen his face; thinning blond hair, a middling-handsome face, a generous mouth that was frowning. “Now I’m going to have to knock you out the hard way.”

Dan didn’t let himself think, just react. Swiveling his hips, he braced his right elbow against the roof, pulled up his left leg and kicked, slamming his foot into Leon’s crotch.

Leon made a high-pitched and breathless ‘squeeeee’ noise and fell like a crashing tree. Dan was smiling viciously as he got up and retrieved the gun. “You’re lucky I don’t shoot those particular parts off , bastard,” he growled, dropping to one knee and bracing his arms, holding the gun awkwardly thanks to his cuffed hands. Vindictive, who, me?

“Now, Jim,” he spoke to empty air, knowing there two someones out there who had been waiting for him to say it.

“CASCADE PD!” Jim roared. “Give up your weapons and come out with your hands up!”

Too bad the police always have to yell a warning first, Dan mused, then shook off thought, listening to what went on below.

Ted’s voice replied to Jim’s demand. “Is that you, Ellison? Thank you for coming to us instead of making us find you.”

“Come out of there!” Jim repeated. There was the sound of a shot, and Daniel flinched.

“Naw, Ellison, I think I’ll stay right here. Leon! Wing those two, don’t kill them!”

Of course, there was no answer, and no shots, since Leon was still curled up in the ‘mommy it hurts!’ position.

Dan couldn’t help it, he had to laugh, a laugh that resonated through the surrounding hills. “Sorry!” Dan called down. “The number you have reached is temporarily out of service, please try back later!”

“Daniel!” Sandburg cried out. “Are you all right!”

“Right n’ tight, Fuzzball!” Dan replied.

“Your hostage is free and your backup is down. Drop your weapon and come out!”

There were more cars coming up the dirt road. Jim must have called for backup. Stifling what was left of his laughter, Dan listened, hard, trying to hear what Ted was doing. What he heard was the sound of someone climbing the stairs inside the house.

“Shit,” Dan said emphatically. He got the butt of the assault rifle firmly anchored against the wall, the banana clip braced against his leg, right hand at the trigger and

left hand holding the top of it. Definitely an ungainly setup, but it would have to do.

Ted came hurtling through the upstairs door and around the side of the stairwell house. He was skinny guy with very little gray hair. If Ted were an animal, he’d be a weasel.

Daniel couldn’t sight along the barrel of the gun, but he knew he could hit Ted without trying too hard.

Jim and Blair were moments behind Ted. Their eyes went wide when they saw Dan, and both of them made a fast detour so they wouldn’t be in the way if Dan pulled the rifle’s trigger.

Jim’s gun was out and pointed at Ted, who also held a pistol. “Give it up, man,” Jim warned. “You’re outnumbered and there are more police on the way.”

The hairs on Daniel’s neck prickled in unease as the strangest smile he’d ever seen spread across Ted’s face. “Leon, they’ve got us.” There was a strangled grunt that sounded like an affirmative. “You know what happens now.” Another grunt.

Dan’s ears shut out every sound except Ted’s voice. It seemed preternaturally quiet as Ted spoke for the last time. “Never be captured by the enemy.”

As Dan’s mind was trying to process the meaning of those words, Ted shot Leon in the head, then turned the pistol on himself. Two cracks of a gun, and it was over. Just like that. Dan felt something warm and wet on his skin; blood and bits of Leon…

“Dan? Snap out of it, Daniel, come on.” Blair’s voice was in his ear, and Dan stopped staring at Ted’s body. Jim’s hands were easing the assault rifle out of his grip, and he was more than glad to let go of it.

Then Jim was unlocking the cuffs, and Sandburg was almost strangling Dan in a relieved hug, one that Jim joined in on. Jumbled questions poured out of them, mostly ‘are you all right’ and ‘I’m ok, really’ being repeated in rounds.

The three of them huddled there together as the Cascade Cavalry pulled up to the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was quiet for a while on the drive home, as all three men contemplated what could have happened but didn’t. Both Ellison and Sandburg were casting sideways glanced at Dan, who slumped rather than sat in the middle. The paramedics had cleaned his face and arms and feet of blood, but there was more of it in his hair and on his clothes. He was going to need a good shower.

It was Blair who finally broke the silence. “Dan, you gotta tell me. How’d you put that goon out of commission? You’re so…”

“Short. Little. Tiny fucking Tim.”

“No no, I didn’t mean it that way, man!”

Dan sighed heavily. “Sorry, Blair, I know you didn’t. I’m still irritated at that goon because he wanted to ‘keep’ me. Like I was a fucking dog or something. And all that damned petting! He felt me up so many times I felt like a blow-up sex doll!”

Jim let out a rumble of anger, knuckles cracking as he gripped the steering wheel. Blair was snarling something under his breath.

“Just, never mind that, it‘s done. Y’ see, when I started school, I was sent a school for the gifted. Grandmere and Grandpere, they could see that I was really brainy, especially because I could always beat Grandpere at chess, when I was two years old, and was reading college-level books when the books were almost as big as I was when I was four.

“So, I went to a school where the teachers knew how to deal with kids like me. But my family, we lived a few blocks away from the French Market. I’d get dropped off at the corner, then run a gauntlet home through bullies who knocked me around and tried to steal my books and called me all kinds of names. Not very imaginative names, but still..

“When I was eight, my Uncle Robere came down to New Orleans for a visit. He’s a Marine, permanent staff at Quantico. He saw me come home with a shiner, and proceeded to teach me everything he knew about down-and-dirty fighting. And I never forgot it.”

Dan’s eyes were glassy with weariness and a jumble of emotion. “I never forget anything…” he whispered.

That pretty much killed conversation.

When they reached home, Dan went for the stairs, so Jim and Blair followed him. The three of them trudged upward, until they reached Dan’s landing. Dan retrieved his phone and bag, and turned a brief smile at Jim and Blair. “Thanks for coming after me, guys,” he said.

“We’ll always come for you,” Jim said warmly. “Never doubt that.”

Dan smiled, one of his rare, incredibly sweet smiles that seemed to light up everything around him. “I believe you,” he replied softly.

“Dan, why don’t you come upstairs with us?” Blair urged. “You’ve been through one hell of an ordeal today…”

“I’d rather be alone,” Dan said firmly. “Just sort it all out. I’m taking a good hot shower, and going to bed. You guys just go on, I’ll be fine.”

“But…” Blair tried to say, but Dan was already through the stairwell door. Jim and Blair went the rest of the way to the loft, with Blair angrily commenting the whole way. “I don’t believe him! He’s just been through an experience that would give The Terminator screaming nightmares, but he still wants to be alone!”

Jim unlocked their door and entered the loft, Taking off his coat and shoes at the doors. “Chief, Dan’s a guy who had to spend a lot of his life shrugging off emotion, or hiding it deep down. You’ve heard him talk. He never mentions his parents, who either died or abandoned him. His grandmother and grandfather and uncles gave him love, but when he was away from them he was on his own. And he’s probably worked ten times harder than just about anyone else to prove himself as an equal to people who doubted him because of that pretty face.”

“I wish he’d open up to us,” Blair sighed.

“He will. And probably sooner than you think.”

For Jim could hear Daniel’s heartbeat, could hear the way the beats were irregular and skipping. It wouldn’t be too long…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moment Dan was inside his apartment, he tossed his bag aside and started tearing his clothes off. Everything he’d been wearing went into the trash. He never wanted to wear those clothes again.

Going right for the bathroom, Dan turned the shower on, temperature about two degrees below blistering hot. He washed his hair at least three times, and used soup and a loufa until his skin felt scrubbed raw.

He didn’t know he’d fallen to the bottom of the tub, huddled up with his knees held to his chest, didn’t know that he was in tears, sobbing like a lost soul wandering in the dark.

Didn’t know until the shower curtain was slowly drawn aside. He looked up, and Jim and Blair were there. He couldn’t speak for the harsh sobs that tore at his throat. Talking wasn’t really needed, though. Blair shut the water off, and Jim wrapped Dan in a towel, picking him up and carrying him into the bedroom. All Dan had to do was stay passive, they did everything for him; dried him, brushed his hair free of tangles, and dried it

All Dan could do was passively let them do as they wished, and cry, feeling stupid and weak. Neither of the men commented. Blair would wipe his face off with a soft towel and Jim would hold tissues so he could blow his nose.

Evening was coming on as the fit of hysterics slowly ended, and Daniel really started paying attention to the here-and-now once again. Jim was behind him, protectively spooned around his body, and Blair was in front of him, facing him.

Daniel felt safe. Utterly and completely safe. Held in the warm cocoon that consisted of Sentinel and Guide, he felt like no one and nothing could hurt him ever again. Not ever again.

“Better now?” Jim’s deep, soothing baritone rumbled in his ear. Warm breath tickled his skin, and Dan shivered slightly.

“I think so,” he answered.

“Please, Daniel, don’t hold your feelings inside for so long. They’ll only rip you apart.” Blair’s eyes were so stern, reproachful.

“I’ll try not to, Blair,” he replied wearily. Both men held him closer.

Without warning, Daniel was forcibly reminded, as his brain truly came up to speed, that he was naked, cuddled between the two men he cared for most in the world. His breathing hitched, his heartbeat took off at a gallop, and a deep blush colored his face. Automatic responses were taking over, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it.

Jim’s hand was very still on Dan’s hip, Blair was staring into his eyes. Daniel’s whole body blushed. Surely they’d leave, even though something inside his heart would break beyond repair if they did.

“Are you sure?” Blair whispered.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Dan answered huskily. “I’ve wanted this since we met.”

“How come you never said anything?” Jim asked, stroking Dan’s cheek with a feather-light touch.

“I didn’t want to get in the way, spoil what you two have…” Dan had to swallow down a lump in his throat.

“What makes you think you’d be in the way?” Blair asked, edging even closer. It was like invisible bonds were drawing the three of them closer and closer together. Blair’s leg went over Dan to twine with Jim’s.

Daniel completely forgot how to breathe as Jim’s lips grazed his shoulder; as Blair’s soft lips claimed his.

The next hours were pure, glowing bliss. Heat enough to melt flesh to incandescence,

velvet lips, soft touches, hard breathing, thundering hearts, sweat and tears. Three people moving in perfect unison together. Unbelievable, incredible tension that took them higher than the tallest mountain. When the tension snapped, they soared, locked together in ecstasy.

Coming back down to earth wasn’t a disappointment, it was completion. “Ooooh man, I don’t think I’ll be able to walk tomorrow,” Dan moaned, his head on Blair’s shoulder, while Jim’s rested on his.

“We’ve got the day off tomorrow,” Blair pointed out, snagging a blanket from the floor to toss over the three of them.

“And if you absolutely must move, I’ll be happy to carry you,” Jim said in total seriousness.

Dan giggled. “I think that was a first time for the record books.”

“You’re a virgin?” Blair asked incredulously.

“Was,” Dan corrected him. “And don’t even think about being sorry. I’m not!”

They chuckled together, relaxing. Daniel’s heart spoke to him: This is real, this is right.

He stifled a yawn. “How’d you guys find me, anyway?”

“Your spirit animal led us to you,” Jim replied in all seriousness.

Daniels snorted. “No, I mean, really, how’d you do it?”

“We mean it,” Blair insisted.

“A spirit animal? Come on! I just don’t understand how you guys can fall in with that stuff!” Daniel was very close to being an atheist. “How convenient, an animal leads you to me, and some kind of ghost at that? Blair, you know I don’t believe in anything that has no empirical evidence to support it, you should know better than to try and feed me a story like tha-”

Daniel was cut off by a flash of light. It was the merlin, perched on the bedpost just beyond Daniel’s feet. It gave him the gimlet eye, gave a piercing hunting call, wings mantled. For a moment, the shadows of the wolf and the jaguar were there, then they all vanished together.

“OK, I take that back,” Dan said weakly, as Jim and Blair struggled to keep from breaking down into laughter because of the look on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elsewhere…

{The end… for now.}