Disclaimers: Not getting any money, Standard Dress of Characters is not mine, but still love it anyway.
Special Thanks: Especially to my fantastic beta Zoe, whose gift for grammar is beyond anyone that I know. God loves you and so do I. Also, a warm thanks to wolfpup for giving my work a cozy home.
Warnings: Blair H/C, language. PG-13.
Spoilers: Survival
Special Notes: This is part of a Christmas present for my Beta. On the fourth day of Christmas my true friend gave to me: four days of suffering, three vicious killers, two screwed cops and a fanfic with Blair in agony.
UNDER THE WEATHER
Sam Mallory
Blair turned back to the class five minutes before the horn sounded to end his classes for the day. "Okay, you'll need to read Chapters 15-17 on the Mayans for Monday and turn in your project outlines by 5PM today. I'll be in my office until then, so don't hesitate to stop by if you need to talk about your projects. See you Monday!" he finished just before the horn sounded.
The class filtered out of the room while Blair packed up his texts and started to head toward the door. One of his students was putting away her things hesitantly, watching him as he packed his things.
"Melissa, did you need to talk to me?" Blair asked before heading back toward his office.
Melissa jumped at the mention of her name. "I know you're busy, Mr. Sandburg. It... can wait until your office hours," she said never making eye contact.
"Do you have a class to get to?" She shook her head negatively. "Well then, I was heading to my office now. Why don't you walk with me?"
They walked across campus in relative silence and slowly made their way up the stairs to Hargrove Hall and his office in the dungeon. He actually liked his office. It was comfortable and was home to numerous anthropological discoveries, including one somewhat overworked anthropologist. He smiled at the thought.
Opening his office door and ushering the freshman into the office, he gestured for her to sit, leaving the office door ajar a bit as was university policy. He crossed to his desk and downed a couple of aspirin to keep the headache he'd been fighting against for days at bay.
"Okay, Melissa, how can I help you?" he asked, his smile lighting up the room if not quite his eyes.
She hesitated, not quite sure where to begin. "Well, sir," she began, "I'm... s-sorry, but I need to d-drop you class," she stuttered out hurriedly.
This wasn't the first conversation that Blair had been party to of this nature, but it was surely the first time that one of his top students had to quit. He was concerned. "Melissa, if you need an extension on some of the work, we can work out a schedule for you. I hate to see such a gifted student drop out of a class that she is doing so well in," Blair finished.
"Mr. Sandburg, I'm sorry, I love your class. It's my favorite, but I have to drop all my classes. I'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning."
"Can you talk about it?" Blair asked gently in an effort to get her to talk to him.
She shook her head. "It's personal," Melissa whispered, ashamed.
"If you need someone to talk to, I'll be here," he paused to dig something out of his desk drawer and passed her one of his cards. Looking back at his student, he could see the fear in her eyes. What was this kid afraid of? he thought sadly.
"Thanks," Melissa whispered with a sad smile as she accepted the card and left the office.
Blair sighed as he cleared his throat a couple of times. He hoped he wasn't coming down with anything.
Jim sighed as he placed the phone back on the charger. Blair, hearing the heavy sigh as he walked through the loft door, heaved a sigh of his own. He had hoped Jim would be having a good day. It was Jim's night to cook and on especially hard days for his partner, he would order pizza or suggest Wonder Burger, and Blair didn't feel up to that kind of gastronomical challenge.
"What's up?" Blair asked with concern.
Jim's jaw clenched as he squeezed the bridge of his nose.
"Come on, buddy. You're scaring me here," Blair begged quietly.
Jim trembled as the words of the conversation came back to him.
Blair shook off his shock and steered his Sentinel to the couch where Jim settled heavily.
Jim took a few deep, calming breaths before beginning his explanation.
"I have to go to San Francisco for a few days. I'll leave right after dinner. That was Wendy, Carolyn's sister. Carolyn and her fiance were in an accident..." Jim faded losing his focus.
"Fiance? I didn't know Carolyn was getting married," Blair blurted out in surprise.
"Neither did I," Jim replied morosely. "She's left me several messages over the past couple weeks, but I've been so busy I didn't have the chance..."
"Is she okay?" Blair led, hoping to gain more information.
"She's in ICU. Her fiance was killed. It was a drunk driver. They were on their way back from lunch... guy ran a red light... he was drunk," Jim stopped to wipe away the tears forming in his eyes. "God, Blair. I have to go see her. I mean, I know we're divorced but..."
"Of course. I'll call the airlines and get you a flight out while you go pack. We can pick up some dinner on the way to the airport. I wish I could go with you, but I'm so far behind on my grading and I have to have midterm grades posted by 2PM Monday. Sorry, man," Blair apologized dejectedly as he raced to the phone to call Simon and the airlines.
Within an hour they were on their way to the airport. Jim stopped once on the way to his gate to call Rafe and Brown and ask them to keep an eye on the kid while he was gone.
Blair jumped as the ringing penetrated the heavy fog of sleep. Looking at the clock, he sighed, "It's 3AM. Who the hell would be calling at three in the morning?" Trudging from the sofa to answer the phone in case it was Jim, he tripped over his shoes.
"Damnit!" Blair grappled with the phone finally answering. "Jim?" he asked quietly.
"Blair, it's Simon."
Blair shook off the last vestiges of sleep. "Yeah, Simon. Jim's not here. He's in San Francisco."
"Yeah, I know. You called me earlier. Heard anything about Carolyn?" Simon asked coolly.
"Yeah, Jim called about 11PM from the hospital. Said there was no change. Simon, is there a reason you're calling me at three in the morning? I mean other than for my witty and inspiring conversation," Blair requested.
"We've got a DB. She had your card in her pocket. Can you get over here and ID her? She didn't have anything but your card," Simon asked, knowing how difficult this would be for the young man.
Blair hesitated momentarily. "Sure, Simon. I'll be right over. Where are you?"
"11th and Prospect," Simon answered.
Startled by the close proximity of the victim, Blair nearly dropped the phone. This was somebody he probably knew at least well enough to give her one of his cards. He didn't give out a whole lot of them. He pulled on some jeans and a sweatshirt and headed for the door.
Ten minutes later, he flashed his credentials to the officer working the line and went off in search of Simon.
"Blair, you made it," Brown teased as he surveyed the crime scene. "The victim was found in the back of the alley. Simon's back there waiting for ya."
"Thanks, H," Blair spoke softly as he made his way back.
"Blair, thanks for coming. Sorry you have to see this, but she had your card on her with your phone number circled and your address written on the back. You ready for this, kid?" At Blair's affirmative nod, Simon paused and pulled the sheet back slowly.
Blair gasped and paled as he stumbled from the alley.
"Shit!" Simon cursed under his breath and followed the younger man. "Blair, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"
Blair shook his head and leaned against the brick wall for support. "Her name was Melissa Walters. She was a freshman in my Intro class," he paused waiting for some of his strength to return.
"She came to see me today. She was scared, Simon. I should have pushed her harder to tell me what was going on, but she was dropping out of school and I thought if I pushed her too hard, she wouldn't come back. She's a 4.0 student, Simon," Blair finished shakily.
"Thanks for coming to ID the body. I'll walk you to your car," Simon offered.
"I walked. It's only three blocks away, Simon. I got it. I could really use the fresh air right now," Blair managed as he turned and made his way home.
Just outside his building he ran into Todd Phillips, the TA for some of his Intro Anthropology discussion groups. "Hey, Todd, what're you doing in this neck of the woods?"
"I was just in the neighborhood. Thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing. My date cancelled on me tonight, so if you need help with your grading, I'm your man," Todd stated firmly with a sly smile.
"That would be great. My roommate's out of town for a family emergency," Blair replied gratefully. He smiled, thinking how he'd just called Carolyn family and how much he knew he really meant that considering their rocky start. Over the past three years, they had really warmed up toward each other.
Blair shuddered as a vision of Melissa's bloody body passed before his eyes. Stunned, he jumped about a foot.
"What's the matter, Blair?" Todd voiced with concern.
"Nothin'," Blair shrugged it off.
Blair opened the door to the loft and pushed inside with Todd following.
"Can I get you something to drink, Todd?"
"Yeah, a beer would be great. I've had a long day," Todd replied softly.
"Did you know Melissa Walters?" Blair asked as he turned to go get the beer.
"Yeah, she was in my discussion section. Why?" Todd asked tensely.
"She was murdered tonight," Blair said distantly as he reached into the fridge to grab a beer.
Todd was standing behind Blair at the breakfast bar waiting for his drink. As Blair turned to hand Todd the beer, he felt a sharp pain in his side. "Yeah, I know," Todd replied coldly as he pushed the blade in a bit further. "I was there. She was coming to see you. You took her away from me! I thought you were my friend!" Todd screamed at the top of his lungs. "Now you can both be together forever!"
Blair gasped as he felt the blade tear through his muscles and tissues. God, that hurts, he thought wildly as he gathered the strength to punch Todd in the face. Blair shoved Todd as far away as possible and turned toward the front door to make his escape. He was only inches from the door, when it slammed open, knocking him to the floor.
"Freeze, Cascade PD," Rafe screamed. "Down on your knees, hands behind your head!" he ordered. Rafe crossed the room gun still at the ready while Brown went to check on Blair.
Shoving the suspect onto his face, Rafe cuffed him and handed him to the uniformed officers that had just arrived. "Good thing you were only a block away when we called for backup," Rafe replied with a huge grin. His grin faded as he saw Blair's crumpled and bleeding form on the floor.
"Oh shit, H. Ellison's gonna kill us. He's gonna tear us into tiny pieces and serve us with his eggs. Damn, H. Why do we always have to watch the trouble magnet when Jim goes out of town?" Rafe vented furiously, mostly worried about the kid, hiding in his tirade.
"I don't know, man, but will you stop freakin' out and call an ambulance?" H demanded.
"NO!" Blair cried out. "No ambulance. Jim will know. He'll smell the attendants when he gets back. You guys will have to take me," Blair reasoned.
They helped Blair up to his feet as he cried out softly with the movement.
"You are crazy if you think we'll lie to Ellison. He would kill us for sure, without mercy," H ranted as he helped Rafe load Blair onto the elevator.
"The stab wound is fairly superficial. While the blade did penetrate fairly deep, it didn't penetrate any vital organs. We stitched him up, good as new," the doctor said with a smile. "He also has two broken fingers and a sprained wrist. He'll be very sore for a few days, but if he has someone to stay with him, he can go home," the doctor informed them disapprovingly.
"So soon?" Simon, Rafe and Brown cried out in unison.
"I would prefer he stay the night, but Mr. Sandburg will have nothing of that. He keeps threatening to walk out as soon as our backs are turned. I told him I would have to inform his superior officer. He said 'Whatever' and started to get dressed. He insisted that he was fine and would not be checked into the hospital under any circumstances. So, he's all yours. He has a script for Demerol to help with the pain. Make sure that he takes them for the first couple days. See that he gets plenty of fluids and rest," the doctor finished abruptly.
The doctor and Major Crimes officers looked up as Blair joined them. "Hey, guys, let's get back to the loft. I'm beat," Blair sighed.
Simon shook his head in disbelief as Brown and Rafe tried to help a very stubborn anthropologist to the car. "Blair, I know you put up a good fight, but how the hell did you manage to break your fingers?"
Blair shrugged and looked at the floor sheepishly. "It happened when the door hit me," he whispered unable to meet their concerned faces.
"Oh shit," H and Rafe gasped at the same time. Rafe started to panic a little. "Ellison's gonna kill us," he cried out.
"Shouldn't we get a wheelchair?" Rafe questioned, trying to calm down a little.
Blair shot him a look that would freeze fire, and Rafe quickened his pace to get the car. "I'll just go get the car," Rafe whispered with a grimace and off he went.
By the time the men of Major Crimes had stepped up to the curb, Rafe had the car out front and ready. He turned the heater up all the way just to ensure that Blair would be warm enough.
Twenty minutes later, they strolled into the loft where Blair wished them well and on their way. The three men of Major Crimes exchanged glances shaking their heads vigorously in a not so positive fashion.
"There is no way we are leaving you by yourself, fully medicated... Oh, speaking of which I filled this at the hospital for you and you need to take it now," Simon ordered.
"Yeah, man. I thought we were friends. We are already in a boatload of trouble with your partner. If we leave you here by yourself, there won't be enough left of any of us to fill a matchbox," H complained, his voice edged with fear.
"What H is trying to say is NO WAY, NO HOW, NO CAN DO! We are not leaving until Jim Ellison is back taking Blessed Protector care of you. Got it?" Rafe questioned his voice alarmingly unsteady.
Saturday brought more pain than Blair thought possible. He woke up at three in the morning with tears staining his face. Where are those pain pills? he wondered as he very carefully made his way past the front lines on the sofa to the kitchen table where he'd last seen them.
He slipped by, grabbed the pills and glass of water and downed one in an instant. Nobody stirred as he slipped back into his room and crashed for the night.
The pills kept him pretty well out of it for all of Saturday and Sunday. The guys had spent the better part of those days trying to decide whether they should call Jim and let him know about his partner's condition. Blair, for his part, threatened them all with bodily harm if they took Jim away from Carolyn during her time of need. In the end, Blair won the battle and the war. They took a vote and decided that they would only tell Ellison by phone if he called to extend his trip. Otherwise, they would tell him when they picked him up in the airport after one of them was already driving.
Monday morning, the phone rang and Rafe picked it up without thinking, "Rafe."
"What are you doing over there this time of day? I was calling to leave Blair a message," Jim asked with confusion.
"Oh, here he is," Rafe dodged as he handed the phone to Blair, who was lying on the couch. Rafe ducked as Blair threw a pillow at his head and glared appropriately.
"Hey, Chief. What's Rafe doing there? Is everything okay? Why do I hear Simon in the background? What's going on?" Jim ground out the questions faster than Blair could answer them.
"Hold on a minute there, Jim. You're gonna blow a gasket," Blair teased.
"Not funny, Sandburg. What aren't you telling me? Your heart is pounding a mile a minute," Jim retorted.
"Okay, Jim. There was an incident at the loft, but it's all been taken care of," Blair started.
"That doesn't make me feel any better, Chief. Did you get into an accident?" Jim interrogated.
"No, I wasn't in an accident, Jim. I promise you, man. Now what time will you be back tomorrow?" Blair diverted skillfully.
"About two o'clock, but I'm thinking maybe I should catch the red eye tonight," Jim stated.
"I'm fine, Jim. Look if you don't believe ME, you can ask Simon," Blair said as he handed Simon the phone.
Simon looked at Blair with the 'this isn't the end of this, mister' look and took the phone. "Hey Jim, how's Carolyn doing?" he asked with forced cheerfulness.
"She fine, Simon. She's still pretty shaken, though," Jim finished. "Now stop trying to distract me and tell me what the hell happened to Sandburg!" he demanded.
Simon sighed heavily, before taking a deep breath to come clean with his best detective.
"And remember, Simon, I'll know if you're lying," Jim reminded his superior officer gently.
"You're one hell of a detective, Jim," Simon boasted.
"Stop stalling and get on with it. The kid sounds tired and in pain. Now do I need to catch the red eye back or will he be fine until I get back at two o'clock tomorrow," Jim snapped.
"He'll be fine, Jim. He just got a little banged up. See you tomorrow," Simon said with a smile as he hung up the phone. He grimaced at the looks of shock on the other men's faces. "Hey, survival of the fittest. Besides, it's a Captain's prerogative to hang up first," Simon defended.
"Oh yeah, we believe you."
"Definitely, the right thing to do."
"Of course, Captain."
Jim and Simon entered the loft as quietly as possible to find Blair sleeping in his room and Rafe and Brown resting on the couch in front of the news. Brown turned up the sound.
"Dawson Quinn and Lisa Standish escaped federal custody this morning. Quinn was being held for the murder of Police Officer Gil Brody just two years ago. Both convicts were sentenced to prison after the kidnapping of Captain Simon Banks and the murder of several guards in an escape attempt last year. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of these two criminals please contact your local authorities. Both are to be considered armed and dangerous... In other news..."
"I can't believe it!" Rafe exclaimed, the shock evident on his face.
Simon shook his head sadly. "We'll get them, Jim," he promised.
"Yeah, but not tonight. Now without any fancy tap dancing, you guys are gonna tell me what happened to Blair." He held up his hand before any of them could draw breath. "Right after I check on my partner," Jim said smiling, giving each of the three men the Evil Ellison Eye as he made his way to the french doors and the soothing sound of his Guide's heartbeat.
The End