It's Not A Family
Debbie
Blair Sandburg finished the last of the essays and placed the grade in the upper right hand corner of the paper. He posted the grade in the computer and put the paper in the pile with the others. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He could feel the tightness in his neck and shoulders. He really needed to go see a massage therapist. He had been before, but it had been some time. Shirley, the woman he usually went to, had told him he should get massages on a regular basis. But he didn't have the money to go regularly. Now, though, he was thinking he'd splurge and get a massage. He could work it in at the end of the week.
He leaned forward and opened his eyes. He shut down his computer and slowly got to his feet. He picked up the pile of essays and placed them in the top drawer of his desk. He got out his keys and locked the drawer. He moved over towards the door, getting his coat off the hook there and putting it on. He walked back over to his desk and grabbed the phone. He punched in the numbers for the station, deciding to inform Jim that he was on his way home and to find out when Jim would be coming home.
"Major Crimes. Ellison."
"Hey, Jim. You sound excited. What's going on?"
"Nothing, Sandburg. What do you need?"
"Why do you automatically think I need something?"
"You always need something, Sandburg. What is it?"
"I just wanted to call and let you know that I'm finished and I'm heading home. What time will you be home?"
"Ah...about that. I'm going out with the guys tonight. We're celebrating Henri's birthday."
"Henri's birthday? I didn't know it was his birthday."
"No reason why you should."
"Oh, really?" Blair sounded disappointed. "I thought I was part of the family."
"Family? It's not a family, Sandburg."
"Okay. My mistake. I'll see you later then." Jim's words surprised Blair somewhat.
"Yeah. Later."
Blair hung up the phone and grabbed his backpack, getting ready to leave his office. He was still thinking about his conversation with Jim as he walked to his car. He realized that, other than Jim's birthday, he didn't know any of the other guy's birthdays. Or even Simon's birthday. He had hooked up with Jim almost a year ago now and still he hadn't been able to breech the inner sanctum of Major Crimes. And from his conversation with Jim, it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Fine. He didn't need Jim Ellison and his macho detectives to have a good time. He had plenty of other distractions to keep him occupied.
Blair got in his car and drove away from the university. He would go home to the loft and finish the article he was writing for publication. The deadline was next week. If he got it finished early, he could send it in early.
He pulled up in front of the apartment building about twenty minutes later. He grabbed his backpack and got out of his car. He walked towards the apartment building and inside the lobby. He grabbed the mail that was there and took the stairs up to the third floor. As he got to the second floor landing, he heard the stomping on the steps above him. Suddenly, a young man fleeing down the stairs ran into Blair. Blair fell backwards and banged his head on the landing. He was momentarily stunned and out of breath. He lay still for a few minutes. Then, all of a sudden, he heard a weak scream. He got to his feet, ignoring his own pain, and limped upstairs to the third floor. He saw their neighbor, Patrice Carlton coming out of her apartment, blood covering her left arm.
"Patrice? What happened?" Blair was by her side immediately, trying to stem the flow of blood.
"Blair! It was my boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, Carl Warren. He was upset that I cut it off with him. Did he hurt you?"
"No. He just knocked my over. I'm going to call the police and an ambulance. Let's get you back inside your apartment."
Blair helped Patrice back inside her apartment and got her to sit down in a chair. He grabbed the phone and called 9-1-1, asking for the police and an ambulance ASAP. Then he turned his attention back to Patrice. He went into her bathroom and found a first aid kit. He came back out with that and a washcloth. He started to clean the blood from her arm.
"It doesn't look too deep. When the police get here, you have to give them a description of Carl. They have to catch this guy. Usually, ex-boyfriends don't stop with just one attack."
"How would you know?" She was curious how Blair would have knowledge of such things.
"It's what I've seen since I've started working with Jim. He's a detective with the police department."
"Oh. I'm so glad you were here, Blair." She seemed to relax in Blair's presence.
At that time, Blair could hear the sirens approaching the building. Any plans he had for a quiet evening of working at home were gone. The police arrived first, followed by the paramedics. They noticed blood on both people there. One came over to Blair while the other went over to Patrice.
"No. I'm fine. It's her blood. I was treating the wound."
Blair turned towards the officers that had arrived. He recognized both of them. Blair had discovered that most of the uniformed officers wanted nothing to do with him. Normally, he didn't let that bother him. It's just that now he discovered that Major Crimes, other than Jim, also didn't want to have anything to do with him. That thought did bother Blair somewhat, but he was sure he'd get over it.
Blair gave his account to the two officers of what happened to him and how he found Patrice. He stayed and told Patrice that he'd lock up her apartment when it was determined she had to go to the hospital.
"Thank you, Blair. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Don't worry about things, Patrice. I'll be by tomorrow to see how you're doing."
The officers finished things and left, followed a short time later by the paramedics, taking Patrice to the hospital. Blair closed and locked Patrice's door. He then went down to the second floor landing, picked up his backpack and walked back up to the third floor and down the hall to #307. He unlocked the door to the loft and walked inside, still feeling a little stiff from when Warren knocked him down. He dropped his backpack by the door and shrugged out of his coat. He saw the blood on his shirt and went towards his bedroom to change into something else. He put on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and brought the shirt into the bathroom. He placed the shirt to soak in cold water, hoping the bloodstains came out. He left the bathroom and walked towards the kitchen, getting a bottle of beer out of the refrigerator.
About five minutes later, the phone rang. Blair picked it up after the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Sandburg? Are you okay?" Jim sounded frantic.
"I'm fine, Jim. Calm down. How'd you find out?"
"Any time the police are called out to the address of another officer, the supervisor is notified. Simon got a call at the restaurant. What happened?"
"You know Patrice Carlton, down the hall? Her boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, Carl Warren, was upset that Patrice broke off their relationship. He attacked her with a knife. He practically ran me over running down the stairs. But I'm fine, Jim. Go back to your celebration."
"What about Patrice?" There was still a frantic tone to Jim's voice.
"Why don't you just read the report, Jim? I've got things I have to do." Blair's patience was running thin.
"Why are you so snippy?"
"It's been a long day, Jim. Go celebrate."
Blair hung up the phone without saying goodbye to Jim. It was his way of showing his displeasure at not being included with the rest of Major Crimes. But when they thought he had done something wrong, there was an immediate phone call. Blair finished drinking his beer and went back to the refrigerator for another one. He drank half of that one before he decided he needed something to eat. He looked in the refrigerator again and saw the spaghetti Jim had made the other night. He got out the container, not caring that Jim had placed it in his Tupperware container. Blair emptied out the spaghetti onto a microwave plate and placed it in the microwave to warm up. When it was warm, he sat down and ate it all within minutes. He placed the container and the plate in the sink, defying one of Jim's most important rules - don't leave any dishes sitting in the sink without washing them. But at the moment, Blair really didn't care. He finished his second beer and grabbed another one out of the refrigerator. He walked over to the door, grabbed his backpack and walked towards the living room. He set up his laptop on the table there and sat down on the floor. He powered up his computer and drank half the bottle of beer while waiting. He pulled up the file where he had the rough first draft of his article. He started working on it, forgetting about Patrice, Carl, Jim and the rest of the Cascade police department.
It was late when Jim got home. He was still pissed off at Sandburg for hanging up without a goodbye. It was just rude. He didn't know what Sandburg's problem was. Maybe Warren had hurt Sandburg more than he wanted to admit. Jim controlled himself enough not to run home to the loft to check on his roommate. When Simon had told him about the phone call he received from dispatch that both officers and an ambulance were sent to 852 Prospect and that the person on the 9-1-1 call was Blair Sandburg, Jim had automatically assumed the worse. However, Blair had sounded okay, just mad, for some reason.
Now it was past midnight when Jim walked into the loft. He had determined Blair was either sleeping or sitting quietly. He saw the closed doors to Blair's room. Jim walked over to the kitchen and got out a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He spotted the five empty beer bottles there. Yeah, something had upset Blair. Jim spotted the dishes in the sink, unwashed. All of a sudden, a faint odor of blood came to Jim's nose. He followed the smell into the bathroom. He saw one of Blair's shirts soaking in the sink full of water. Jim picked up the shirt. The bloodstain had faded somewhat. It would still need more cleaning. Jim drained the red colored water and hung the shirt up so that it dripped into the shower. Jim came out of the bathroom and walked over to stand in front of the doors to Blair's room. Five beer bottles. Something definitely was up with Blair. Jim resisted the urge to wake Sandburg up and demand an explanation.
"We'll talk tomorrow, Chief."
Jim went back to the kitchen, washed up the dishes, noting Blair had eaten all the leftover spaghetti leftover in Jim's Tupperware container. Not that Jim cared if Blair ate the spaghetti. Jim dried the dishes and put them away. He made sure to lock and secure everything and then walked upstairs to his bedroom. He was tired.
Blair woke up in the middle of the night. He looked over at his clock and saw it was 2:30 AM. He had to go to the bathroom. He stumbled out of his bed, discovering he had stiffened up even more since Carl Warren had run him over. He knew that he couldn't let Jim know that. Jim would have him in the ER for X-Rays before he could tell them his name. Not that he was planning to spend a lot of time around Jim anytime soon. Blair had decided to become scarce around the station for a while. Obviously, they didn't feel the same way Blair did about things.
Blair made it into the bathroom, did his business, and came back out, returning to his bedroom. He sat down on the edge of his bed, but didn't lie down. He unconsciously rubbed his right thigh, trying to loosen up the muscles there. He definitely needed to arrange to receive a massage after the incident on the stairway. He let out a small sigh and then put his hand over his mouth. He didn't need Jim waking up and getting on his case. He lay back down in his bed and was able to drift off asleep again.
Jim was the first one up the next morning - at around 5:45 AM. He came downstairs and made a pot of coffee. Then he went into the bathroom to take his shower. He knew Blair wouldn't be up for at least another hour.
Blair heard the shower start and knew Jim was up. He looked over at his clock. It read 6:00 AM. Blair got out of bed and left his bedroom. Jim had already started coffee. Blair would fix breakfast. He noticed that Jim had washed, dried and put away the dishes he had left last night.
Jim came out of the bathroom about ten minutes later. He could smell the breakfast cooking. Then he saw Blair standing in the kitchen, cooking the bacon and eggs.
"Morning, Chief."
Blair didn't turn to face Jim. "Hey, Jim. Did you have a good time last night?"
"It was fine." Jim paused, wondering if he should ask Blair about last night. He decided to go ahead and ask. "Sandburg, is there something wrong?"
"What could possibly be wrong, Jim?"
"Well, I noticed there were five empty beer bottles when I came in last night. You usually don't drink that much."
"I was celebrating myself. Is that okay with you? After all, I'm a grown man, with a mind of my own." There was a definite hint of sarcasm in Blair's voice.
"It's fine. As long as you replace the beer." Jim was really starting to worry now.
"Sure, Jim. I'll replace the beer." Blair was keeping his back to Jim as he was making breakfast.
"Oh, and by the way, your shirt is going to have to be sent to the cleaners to see if they can get the bloodstain and odor out of it completely."
"Oh. I'm sorry I left that in the sink. I just sort of went to bed and forgot about it."
"It's no problem. I assume that was Patrice's blood?"
"Yeah. I gave her first aid before the paramedics arrived. You taught me well."
"Apparently not well enough. You left dirty dishes in the sink also."
Blair abruptly turned to face Jim, the anger clear on his face. "Yeah? Well, sue me okay? I obviously can't compare to the great Jim Ellison. Or anyone else in the Cascade Police Department." He threw down the spatula he was using to turn the eggs. "Enjoy your breakfast, Jim! I've got classes to teach and a paper to submit!"
Blair had enough. He left the kitchen, going over to the door, grabbing his coat, keys and backpack. He left the loft before Jim could say a word in response.
Jim could only stare at the door after Blair left, wondering what had just happened. Jim walked over to the stove, dished up the eggs and bacon onto a plate and took it over to the table. He sat down, deciding to eat breakfast first and then think of a way to broach Blair's problem. As he ate, Jim decided to give Blair most of the day at the university to calm down and maybe the younger man would realize that his anger was misplaced.
Jim also tried to think of a reason why Blair was so angry. He remembered Blair calling him at the station and how discouraged he sounded after being informed that it was Henri's birthday and he wasn't invited to the party. It was just for Major Crime. Blair had the mistaken idea that they were a family. Hardly. They were all detectives with a job to do and Blair was only there to observe Jim, not get involved in the station and make new friends.
Jim understood why Blair would get the wrong impression from the way everyone in Major Crime treated him as if he was some kind of kid brother. But that was because he was a major trouble magnet and always seemed to find adversity in the calmest of circumstances. They were just trying to avoid filling out reams of paper on reports that would occur if something serious happened to Blair. Jim would help Sandburg understand and tell him that it was nothing personal against him.
A man with a gun greeted Blair the minute he opened the door to his office.
"Damn, not again," said Blair as he raised his hands, looking the young man over. "What is it this time?"
"Get in here and close the door behind you." The man waved the gun slightly.
Blair did as instructed. "So, who are you? What's your connection to Jim Ellison?" Blair moved over to his desk to drop his backpack on the floor.
Blair knew there had to be a connection to Jim. There was always a connection to Jim. Since his hook up with Jim, there were all kinds of crazies that seemed to be attracted to Blair, either as a result of the police department or because of Jim's prior attachment to the Army. Right at this moment, Blair was starting to question whether he wanted to remain affiliated with Jim and the police department. Of course, it would all depend upon what this man wanted.
"Ellison put my brother in prison. Garrett Kincaid. He told me that if I grabbed and held you, that Ellison would move heaven and earth to get you back. I'm just hoping that he'll get Garrett released from prison in exchange for your safe release."
Blair actually laughed in the face of this latest danger to his well-being. "Sorry about that, man. It's not going to work. Jim Ellison will not release your brother from prison in exchange for me. The police under any circumstance do not do it. If it was, it would be a common occurrence and no one would stay in prison. There has to be a line drawn somewhere and this is it. No exchanges."
"I have to try. Garrett doesn't deserve to be in prison."
"He threatened the entire police department, crippling them to the point of not being able to do their jobs and several police officers were killed for no other reason than your brother wanted his men released. He held hostages for hours and you are no better than he is."
"It will work or else Ellison will get your dead body delivered to him. Now, we need to leave here and I don't want you to try anything or I won't hesitate to kill you right here."
Jim returned to his desk after the daily meeting with Simon to go over current cases. He saw there was a message on his phone. He listened to it. It was a professor from Rainier, wondering if Jim had any idea where Blair was. Apparently, the young man had missed his first teaching class that morning and still had yet to show up for his second, which started at 10:00 AM.
Jim tried to control the rising feeling of worry that was growing in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't like Blair to shirk or slack off on his responsibilities to the university. Even if there were other problems going on his life. His commitment to the university was unwavering. He was proudest of his abilities to teach and impart wisdom to others.
Jim called Blair's office at the university and got his voice mail. Obviously, Blair wasn't holed up in his office. Next, Jim tried Blair's cell phone. It also went to voice mail. Jim left a message.
"You've got the university worried, Chief. You missed your first two classes this morning. That's not like you. Call me when you get this. At least inform the university that you're okay. We're going to have a long discussion about this, Blair."
Jim hung up the phone and felt he needed to do more. He got to his feet and walked over to Simon's office, knocked on the door and stuck his head inside when Simon said 'enter'.
"I've got to take off for a while, Simon. I just got a call from a professor at the university. Blair missed his teaching classes this morning. When he left the loft, he told me he was on his way to the university. I just want to check out things for myself."
Simon looked at Jim standing there, noting the worried look on his face. "Go, Jim. If you need any help, call in. I hope it's just an overreaction."
"It doesn't sound like it, sir. But I'll call if I need assistance. Thanks."
Jim left the station, resisting the urge to use lights and siren on the trip to Rainier. He tried Blair's office and cell phone numbers once again with the same result - no answer.
He reached Rainier about fifteen minutes later, finding a parking spot near Hargrove Hall. He jumped out of his truck and jogged up the stairs and inside the building, making his way to Blair's office. Jim found the door unlocked and immediately pulled out his gun as a precaution. The sentinel extended out his senses to try to determine if there was anything amiss or out of the ordinary inside the office. There didn't seem to be anything unusual inside.
Jim cautiously opened the door and walked inside. No one was inside the office. But Jim did spot Blair's backpack on the floor beside his desk. Was it possible that Blair was on the university grounds and no one knew he was here?
Jim examined the office carefully, looking for any signs of a scuffle or altercation, but there wasn't anything obvious. Jim had spotted Blair's car in the parking lot when he arrived so Blair hadn't left the university by that route. Jim left the office, wondering where Blair had disappeared to now. He walked outside of Hargrove Hall and looked around the campus. It was too big an area to check alone. He debated about calling Simon and asking for reinforcements to help with the search, but he didn't want to upset Blair further. Maybe he'd wait a while and hope Blair showed up either at the university or at the loft later.
Blair tried to convince Harold that it was wrong to go through with his plan to hold him hostage until Jim released his brother Garrett Kincaid from prison. However, Blair wasn't having much success with his efforts. He was finding out about how Harold worshipped the ground Garrett walked upon and how close their family had been until their father abandoned them and their mother when Garrett was ten and Harold was three. The brothers banded together to face the world.
Blair wished he had a brother to look up to and someone with which to face the world together. He thought he had that with Jim and by extension, the group in Major Crime, but Jim had shot down that notion yesterday. He could understand Harold's adoration for his brother, even if others looked upon Garrett Kincaid as a terrorist and a killer. There was something about family and little foibles and other family members ignored flaws.
"I keep telling you, Harold. Your plan isn't going to work and all that it is going to accomplish is to get you in a prison cell alongside Garrett. I'd hate to see that happen to you, Harold. You seem like a bright and resourceful guy and becoming a criminal is the wrong path to go."
"I've already kidnapped you from the university, Blair. How can I get out of any charges being levied against me?"
"It will be up to me. If I don't press charges, how can they arrest you? Especially if I'm not hurt and you let me go."
"I really do want my brother released from prison, though. I need his acceptance and he told me that doing this would assure that I got his acceptance."
"It's a misguided acceptance, Harold. You have to see that. Violence is never the answer to anything."
"I don't want to go to prison. I mean, I want me and brother reunited, but not in prison. If I release you, can I ask a favor Blair?"
"What favor, Harold?" Blair was curious as to what this Kincaid wanted from him.
"Can I keep in touch with you? Maybe we could be surrogate brothers or something like that."
Blair mulled over the request. He didn't have any family, other than Naomi and distant cousins. He had wished for Jim and Major Crime and the police department to become part of his family, but that didn't look like it was going to happen. What harm could it be to keep in contact with Harold Kincaid? Blair smiled. There was a lot of harm that could come from keeping in contact with the guy. Especially if Garrett Kincaid or Jim Ellison ever found out. It would be up to Blair to make sure neither of them ever found out.
"Sure, Harold. We can keep in touch. You can write, call or email anytime you want to. You can reach me at the university. Just don't mention it to anyone, especially your brother. I don't think he would like the idea."
"Cool. Thanks, Blair. I didn't think when I started out with this that you could deter me from my goal of getting Garrett released from prison. I have you to thank for making me see how wrong things could have gone. And I'll remember what you said about violence is never the answer to anything."
"Now all you have to do is release me and you can leave before the police show." Blair noticed Harold still had his gun trained on him.
"I'm going to lock you in the basement and then I'll make an anonymous call to the police as to where they can find you. I can't just release you. And if you send the police my way, I'll be back and take care of you."
Harold's meaning was very clear to Blair. He had that same mean streak that Garrett had. It must be a Kincaid thing.
Blair nodded his head. "I totally understand. I'm a man of my word. I won't say a word about you to the police. I do not have a death wish."
Jim, Simon, Henri and Brian were in the conference room trying to decide on the best plan of attack for searching Rainier when Rhonda walked in.
"Jim, you have a call on line three. He says it is regards to Blair."
"Put a trace on the call, Rhonda!" Jim rushed over to the phone in the room. "Ellison."
After a few seconds, he looked over at the others in the room. He replaced the receiver. "It was just a voice, giving me an address. Then he hung up. No chance for a trace."
Simon spoke. "What was the address, Jim? We can flood the place with officers."
"No, Simon. I don't want to flood the place with officers. It could be a ruse or a trap. Just us four. Have the others on standby, if need be."
Simon could hear the urgency of Jim's request. "Okay, Jim. Let's go then. Just the four of us. You're with me, though."
"Of course, sir." Jim couldn't keep the smile from his face. Simon knew him too well.
When they reached the address, Simon had Brown and Rafe take the back while he and Jim stood by the front door. Simon leaned in close to Jim.
"Can you sense anything out of the ordinary, Jim?"
Jim smiled. Even though Simon was still skeptical of Jim's sentinel abilities, he witnessed many times how those abilities had come through to solve crimes in the past. Jim concentrated on the house, picking up the heartbeat of his guide almost immediately. There didn't seem to be anyone else in the house with Blair, which Jim found curious.
"Blair's inside, apparently alone. I think it's safe for us to go. I can't sense anything out of the ordinary to impede us."
"Great. Well, let's get inside and see how Sandburg is."
Even though Jim had deemed the area safe, they still used caution as they entered the house, guns drawn and ever alert for anything out of the ordinary. Brown and Rafe entered from the back.
Jim determined Blair was in the basement as they entered the house. It didn't appear as if he was moving around. At least Jim was pleased that it didn't seem as if there was anything seriously wrong with Blair.
Simon followed Jim to the basement, shining a flashlight so he could see where he was going. It was a distinct advantage to having sentinel sight, thought Simon as he bumped into Jim's back as he stopped moving forward.
"Jim? Is something wrong?"
"No, Simon. Shine the flashlight over across the floor. Blair's over in the corner."
Jim moved forward again. Simon shined the flashlight and finally got Blair in the light. He was lying flat on the floor, bound hand and foot and appeared to be unconscious. Jim was already kneeling by his side, releasing the bindings and running his hands over Blair's body.
There was a sudden moan from Blair that seemed to startle both men.
"Is he okay, Jim?"
"I think so. He has a pretty big lump on the back of his head. Someone whacked him hard." Jim turned to Blair, who seemed to be waking up. "Hey, buddy, you waking up?"
"fam…ly?" Blair opened his eyes slightly, wincing from the pain. "Jim?"
"Yeah, Chief. It's me. Just lay still for me, okay? I'll have someone get a paramedic down here shortly."
"What was he saying about family, Jim? Was it someone in his family that did this?" Simon moved the beam of the flashlight from shining directly in Blair's face.
"I'm not sure, Simon. I can't imagine someone in his family doing this to him." Jim turned back to Blair. "Hey, Chief. Can you tell me who did this to you?"
Even with his eyes closed, Jim knew he was awake. "Don't know. He didn't give me a formal introduction."
"Funny, Sandburg." Jim turned to Simon. "Can you get a paramedic down here to evaluate him?"
"Sure, Jim."
As soon as Simon was out of earshot, Jim knelt closer to Blair. "You know that you are my family, right?"
Blair opened his eyes at Jim's declaration. "No, I didn't know that. I thought I would have to find a different angle for my dissertation."
"No chance of that, Chief. I was thinking about what I said and what you said about family. Maybe you are right. Maybe Major Crime is family. A non-traditional family, but sometimes those are the best kind."
"Yeah. Families of our own choosing."
Blair opened the letter and was pleased to read that Harold Kincaid was going back to college to pursue his degree in history. The subject was one that he loved and he even wrote that he was thinking about becoming a teacher. Blair hoped that meant that Harold was going to stay on the straight and narrow and not think about a life of crime like his brother. Blair slipped the letter into the side pocket of his backpack and looked at the time. He was due at the station shortly and knew Jim liked him being punctual.
Blair had given a vague, shady description of what had happened during his abduction, claiming that he didn't remember much after the hit on his head. He didn't know his abductor and there were no clues to track him, even with Jim's sentinel abilities. Of course, Jim worried that whoever it was could come back and try grabbing Blair again, but Blair scoffed at the notion, saying it was an obvious mistake on the kidnapper's part and that he would never try again.
But now, even weeks after the abduction and Blair's release, Jim still kept a close watch on Blair and worried if Blair was late arriving anywhere. The attention to Blair had even extended to the rest of Major Crime and to some extent, the rest of the police department. Everyone suddenly realized what an asset Blair was to the department and the attitude towards him was gradually changing. It wasn't a complete transformation, but there was a definite change.
Blair had even been able to puncture the inner sanctum of Major Crime to some degree. He and Jim had talked more about families of choice. Jim understood why Blair craved the acceptance and explained it to the others. There was a slight camaraderie amongst them all, which included Blair when he was at the station. Simon seemed to tolerate him more, asking for his opinion on certain cases. It was a pleasant surprise to Blair and he smiled to himself, knowing that with his small victory, there would be more to come. He was an acquired taste, he knew and that sometimes, all it took was time. He planned to be a part of the family for a long time.