Title: Aromatherapy
Disclaimer: The Sentinel belongs to Pet Fly and Paramount, not me. Rats!
Summary: Your Sentinel's in the "zone". What do you do?
A/N: For anyone reading Heart of the Matter, I promise I did not stop working on that to write this. I actually posted this for dues on SentinelAngst a couple of weeks ago - before I started writing new chapters for Heart.
Color. His whole world had become color, in all of its various shades and permutations. Reds morphed into orange and then faded into a soft yellow. Green dissolved into shimmering blues of multiple shades and then on into purple. It was the most beautiful rainbow he had ever seen, but not. He wasn't sure exactly what it was, only that he was mesmerized by the ever changing hues, blocking everything else out in his fascination. This was the only thing that mattered, the only thing that existed. He wasn't even sure if he existed outside this incredible show he was witnessing.
Vaguely, in the back of his mind, he knew that something was not right, but this phenomenal display of color took precedence, more important to him than anything else. Nothing else mattered. Not even the ….Ouch! Something pinched, off in the distance, but he ignored it. It would not matter to him. He wouldn't let it. Focusing back on the glorious sight before him, he again immersed himself in the experience. This was all there was. This was…. Hold on. What was that smell?
Curious now, he allowed himself to be distracted from the colors long enough to try to find the source of that smell. As his concentration waned, he started to notice voices in the distance.
"…..on, Jim. It's time to come back now." The voice was raspy and ragged. "Simon, you shouldn't have waited so long to call me!"
Jim was nearly there, nearly close enough to remember the owner of that voice. Why did he know that voice? Then he heard another voice, deeper and gravelly.
"You're sick, Sandburg. I was trying to get through it without you. You need your rest, and I thought we could handle it on our own."
Sandburg. Jim's partner and roommate. That was the first voice, although he sounded pretty rough right now. And the second one was Simon, his boss and friend. What were they talking about? What had happened? And why was he dripping wet? Jim stirred, lifting a hand to brush the dampness from his face, and suddenly the world snapped back into focus.
He was sitting in the grass beside a large overgrown tangle of shrubs. He could feel the water running down his neck into his shirt collar from the steady rain that was falling from above. Blair Sandburg and Simon Banks were crouched beside him, and Blair looked particularly miserable as he hunched against the cold rain. His long hair hung limp against his face, and he shivered in the cold.
Jim cleared his throat experimentally. "Chief? What's going on? What are you doing here?" His gaze sharpened with concern as he remembered. "Why are you out of bed? You'll never get over that cold if you're running around in the rain like this!"
Sandburg's expression softened in relief. "Hey, Jim! Welcome back! You and Simon were on a stakeout, remember? You've been zoned for almost an hour. Simon couldn't bring you out of it, so he called me. I just got down here a little while ago. Are you alright? What did you zone on?"
Ellison struggled to remember. At first it was all a blank, and then he knew. "It was the sun shining through the raindrops. I was fine until the sun came out, and then it was like every drop of rain turned into a rainbow. I've never seen anything so incredible! I couldn't think about anything else. Sorry if I scared you guys." He frowned at his partner in concern. "Hey, Chief, we need to get you back inside where it's warm! You don't look too good."
Simon chuckled in relief. "You really had me worried, Jim. I've seen Sandburg bring you out of those before, but nothing I tried worked. I tried talking to you, shaking your shoulder; I even tried pinching your arm. But nothing worked until Sandburg showed up. He was only here for a minute. It was amazing!"
Jim smiled back. "Well, I felt the pinch, but it wasn't important enough to come back for. Then I smelled something really good…… Chief, what was that? I can't remember now what it smelled like, but that smell really made me want to come back!"
Blair and Simon both burst out laughing.
"What? Was it something embarrassing? Chief, was it your shampoo or something? What?"
Blair chuckled and pulled his hand out from behind his back, revealing the source of the wonderful smell. In his hand was a crumpled bag from Wonder Burger. Jim could smell it now, the tantalizing aroma of French fries and a burger. Blair looked a little sheepish.
"Simon said you hadn't eaten yet, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone. Here's your dinner. That's what brought you out of your zone!" Handing the bag to a still chuckling Simon, Blair shivered. "And now if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed."
He turned and headed back to his Volvo, parked on the side of the road, stoically ignoring the soft laughter of the two men now watching him leave. His duty was done, his Sentinel was fine, and he was cold and wet, two of his least favorite sensations. It was time to warm up, dry off and get some sleep.
Jim watched him go. "Well, that is kind of embarrassing!" He chuckled again. "But not enough to keep me from enjoying my burger and fries!"
Simon laughed, too. "Toss one over here, Jim," he ordered. "I think they smell good, too!"
Finis
Thanks for reading. Please review and let me know what you thought!