Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or concepts of the Sentinel

---------------
Believe In You
by M
---------------

Blair sneezed and reached for another tissue.

"I hade bein' sick." He grumbled.

"Sorry, Chief." Jim apologized for what seemed to be the hundredth time. "I told
you if you kept fussing over me you'd catch it." His tone was more than amused.

Blair could definitely detect the, barely restrained, laughter. "Id's nod funny,
Jib..." he grumbled. "I'm 'tick!"

"Yeah, 'tick in the head." Jim grinned, then looked apologetic. "Listen, I've
got to go down to Major Crime. I promised Simon, I'd go over the evidence
for the Sanger trial. I should only be a couple of hours. I've got that list of
herbal stuff you wanted. Anything else you need me to do?"

"Where's dhe pordable radio?" Blair queried. "Bring id over here and pud id on
dhe coffee dable."

"Sure, Chief." Jim walked into the kitchen and returned with the portable CD
player/Radio they kept in the kitchen for when they were cooking, or cleaning
up, and wanted some tunes. "Here you go." He set it down on the corner of the
coffee table, where he could reach it easily. He then laid a hand on the
younger man's forehead, frowning at the elevated temperature. "Hmm...I think
I'll add Aspirin to that list." He noted.

"Ged goin'." Blair grumbled. "Oderwise Simon'll finish me off."

He chuckled but left nonetheless.

With a yawn, Blair burrowed down on the couch, drawing the thick quilt up around
his neck.

Reaching out, he turned on the radio.

Relaxing, into the cushions, he closed his eyes and relaxed into the music.

The first two songs he barely heard, but for some reason, the intro music of the
third grabbed him.

Thinking quickly, he remembered the blank tape, they kept in the player's
recorder, and hit record.

If the music had grabbed him, then the words rivetted him.

----------

'Somewhere there's a river
Lookin' for a stream.
Somewhere there's a dreamer
Lookin' for a dream
Somewhere there's a drifter
Trying to find his way
Somewhere, someone's waitin'
To hear somebody say...'

----------

Amazing how one verse in a song could sum up his life before Jim.

The daily search for Sentinels. For just one to prove to all his colleagues
who'd laughed at his subject. Who'd believed Sentinels were a fairytale dreamt
up, by Sir Richard Burton, and nothing more.

The search for proof so that someone, anyone would say...

He blinked when the song completed his thought for him.

-----------

'I believe in you
I can't even count the ways
That I believe in you
And all I want to do
Is help you to believe in you.'

------------

Jim had one that. Without even realizing it, the detective had bolstered Blair's
self-confidence to the point Blair'd almost hugged him.

The knowledge that he had been right. All those years, searching, hoping,
believing.

He'd been right.

Sentinels existed.

There was something deeply affirming about knowing that. Knowing that they were
out there, trying to follow their instincts to protect and serve their tribes.
It felt good.

It felt right.

-------------

'Somewhere someone's reachin'
Tryin' to grab that ring
Somewhere there's a silent voice
Learning how to sing
Some of us can't move ahead
We're paralyzed with fear
Everybody's listening
Cause we all need to hear

--------------

Now that verse, that summed them both up.

Blair smiled wryly.

The ring.

The Brass ring.

The very thing he'd spent most of his life chasing.

He'd caught a ring all right. But not the brass one. Nope. The ring he'd caught
was a lot more valuable than one made of simple brass.

The ring he'd caught was pure and solid gold.

Instead of a dissertation he'd gotten a life. A sense of purpose that hadn't
been there before. A feeling of rightness in his life.

He'd found who he was meant to be.

Blair Sandburg, Guide.

Had a much better ring to it than Blair Sandburg, PhD. Oh, it would have been
nice to have that too. But even without it was good. A Guide did make a more
valuable contribution to society as a whole. What was better? Writing about
Sentinels, so that the world of academia could debate their validity...or to
Guide a Sentinel, knowing every criminal they caught meant another person,
perhaps several people, safe.

Blair definitely believed the latter to be more important and more fulfilling
than the former. He'd had both for a while and he definitely preferred the
duties of a Guide.

He grinned. Who'd've ever thought his destiny was to end up the Shaman of the
Great City and the Guide to a Sentinel?

Naomi.

Sure, she hadn't known exactly what her little boy had been headed for. But,
she'd known it was important. Known that her baby Blair would make an impact in
a lot of lives.

And she'd been right too.

Blair smiled, letting his thoughts drift back to the verse.

A silent voice, learning to sing? That was Jim, definitely. And the song? The
Song of the Sentinel.

Blair's smile turned fond as he remembered Jim's fierce determination to 'get
the whole Sentinel thing right!'.

And he had done that in spades. In Blair's eyes, Jim was the best Sentinel
ever. Not that he was biassed or anything.

Paralyzed with fear. Yeah, he'd say Jim was pretty scared when they'd first met.

Who wouldn't be? Faced with what seemed like the onset of insanity. Senses
spiralling out of control.

Blair would have been terrified, faced with something that crazy.

But Jim hadn't rolled over and let fear win. Nope. He'd sought out help.
He'd been visibly relieved when he'd found out he wasn't going crazy. He
remembered that.

Granted, Jim hadn't been the most receptive of the people Blair had met. But, he
hadn't missed the tiny flicker of relief that had appeared in James Ellison's
eyes when Blair'd explained Sentinels to him.

-----------------
I believe in you
I can't even count the ways that
I believe in you
All I want to do is help you to
Believe in you
-----------------

He nodded. How many times, in a thousand subtle ways, had Jim said that to him?

He grinned, remembering their conversation a few months earlier, after Jim had first
seen Molly.

He had tried to explain it away but, like always, Blair had argued to the contrary.

Instead of pushing him away, Jim had just looked at him and said, "Well, that's
your right."

His right. Blair had felt a little flash of satisfaction at that. When it came
to the life and experiences of Jim Ellison, he, Blair Sandburg, had a right.

A right he would honour till the end of his days.

-------------
I will hold you up
I will help you stand
I will comfort you
When you need a friend
I will be the voice that's calling...
-------------

Blair stared at the ceiling, silently swearing that he would be there to be the
one that held Jim up, to support the Sentinel when he couldn't support himself.
He'd be the one Jim could count on.

--------------
I believe in you
I can't even count the ways
I believe in you
All I want to show you
I believe in you
And there are just so many ways
That I believe in you
Baby, what else can I do
But believe in you
---------------


'What else indeed?' Blair mused. 'After all we've been through together, it's
the least I can do.'

---------------
I believe in you
All I want to know is you believe
Believe in you'
---------------

'You'd better believe in yourself, James Ellison.' Blair thought sleepily,
reaching out to stop the tape. 'Cause I do. And I know you believe in me' He
yawned.

'We believe in each other.' He decided firmly. 'And that's all we need.'

Finis


Finis.
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