II.

"Jim!" Blair bounded through the door and tossed his jacket at the rack, completely ignoring it as it missed and dropped to the floor. "The most fantastic thing happened today."

Detective Jim Ellison had been enjoying the quiet. The afternoon sun coming through the patio doors cast a calming glow over the loft. He'd had a rough day at the station, and Blair had been absent for much of it, attending to university duties. All he had wanted when he got home was a chance to snag a cold beer and read the newspaper without interruption.

Not that he hadn't had plenty of warning that his peace would be shattered. He'd heard Blair's Volvo pull to a stop in front of the building five minutes ago. Even while reading, one part of him was listening to Blair shuffle through papers and gather his belongings, then climb the stairs two at a time, by-passing the elevator. Blair's rush to get to the loft informed Jim that his friend was excited about something. Jim had already begun to fold up his paper in resignation when Blair burst through the door. He debated on commenting about the heap of jacket on the floor, but decided that now was not the time for another lecture on the house rules.

"What's up, Chief?"

Blair, always in motion, went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of mineral water, then came over and plopped down on the chair. He gestured as he spoke, drawing an errant length of brown curls behind his ear. "I think I've got a lead on more sentinel references! A professor of mine told me about a private foundation that has a huge library of ancient texts and manuscripts. He swears he saw sentinels mentioned in at least one of them. The place is called the Luna Foundation. I phoned them up today and they said I could come out for the weekend to use their library."

"That's an odd name. What do they do?"

"Professor White said it's a philanthropic organization."

"Sounds harmless enough." Though with Blair involved, Jim thought, it was hard to tell.

"Ever heard of the Winston Rayne Hall of Antiquities?"

Jim shook his head.

"The man who runs the Foundation, Derek Rayne, created it." A wide grin appeared on the anthropologist's face. "This is so completely awesome, man. The books in this library are really old. If I can find something that predates Burton..." Blair grinned and jumped up, pacing back and forth. "Oh, man, I can barely stand it. Waiting two days to go out there is going to drive me nuts."

Blair's smile was contagious. "You won't have far to go."

The barb had absolutely no effect on his friend. He was beyond hyper today. Jim listened, trying to understand as Blair explained the implications of his search. It took a while before the other implication sank in. "So, you're going to be gone this weekend?"

"Oh, yeah. Leaving Friday afternoon and I'll be back Monday night. Only morning classes Friday, so I'm cool. I got a good deal on plane tickets." Blair looked at Jim a moment and then slapped his forehead. "The Jags game! I'm sorry, man. I totally forgot."

"No problem. I'm sure one of the guys at the station will be more than happy to take your place."

Jim's smile faltered. He hadn't intended to cause the pained look that crossed Blair's face. The innocent comment apparently struck a deep fear in Blair that had little to do with doubts about the strength of their friendship and everything to do with doubts about the permanency of their partnership. He had a very reasonable concern that some day Jim would be in control enough that he wouldn't need Blair to help him with his senses anymore.

Blair had once told him that he feared the end of their partnership because he couldn't imagine going back to the safe and dull world of academia after what he'd experienced working with Jim. At the time, Jim had thought Blair was referring to the excitement and adrenaline rushes he had experienced, but once he'd had a chance to consider it, he'd realized it was deeper than that.

Police work was a dangerous job, but combined with the unpredictability of Jim's senses, it created an interdependence between Jim and Blair that was far beyond that of normal partners. It had created a bond of trust and respect that was as strong as iron and a friendship as intense as any he'd ever experienced. Jim didn't blame Blair for being afraid of losing that intensity, but he didn't share that fear. He knew that no matter what happened in the future, they'd find a way to keep their partnership, and their friendship, intact.

The cloud passed over Blair's face so quickly that only Jim would have noticed it. Blair shifted gears into what Jim thought of as 'Mother Mode'.

"You aren't going to be doing anything I should be worried about this weekend are you? I don't want you zoning out while I'm not here."

Jim smirked. "I've got a date with Mary on Saturday, but I don't think I'm going to need your help with that."

Blair raised his eyebrows. "Mary, huh? You two are getting to be something of an item."

Jim grinned enigmatically. "Time will tell."

III.

Alex and Rachel were waiting outside as Nick landed the helicopter. It was a beautiful, sunny day and Kat was picking flowers for their guest. Nick had tried unsuccessfully to persuade Derek not to allow a stranger to come to the house. Too many things had happened lately that had convinced him not to trust anyone but his small circle of friends. Still, there was something almost festive about the atmosphere. Someone was coming here who didn't need help for any dire threat to his life or soul, just a scholar in search of knowledge. It wouldn't even matter if he were the nerdish bookworm Alex was expecting.

When Blair Sandburg stepped out of the helicopter, Alex was shocked. Although Derek had said that he was almost Nick's age, he looked much younger. He stood about 5'7", and was wearing faded blue jeans, hiking boots, and plaid flannel over a dark T-shirt. He looked all of about 16 from this distance. With long, curly brown hair, which the sun highlighted with strands of gold, and a pair of round wire framed sunglasses, he looked like a refugee from a grunge rock band. Underlying all of it was an unexpected aura of strength. In a word, he was beautiful. She nudged Rachel. "Can we keep him?"

Rachel laughed. "You're terrible."

As they walked up to greet him, Alex noticed that the man was pale and slightly shaky.

Rachel's parental instincts kicked in. "Are you all right Mr. Sandburg?"

"Call me Blair. Uh, yeah, I'm fine." He gestured toward the sky. "I've just got this thing about heights."

"You should have told us. You can take the ferry when you go back."

Blair removed his glasses, revealing inquisitive eyes that were the most amazing shade of deep blue. "Oh, no. I'm trying to get over it, actually. Thought I was making progress until recently, but that's a really long story. I'm sure you don't want to hear it."

"We're being rude." Rachel extended her hand. "I'm Rachel Corrigan."

Blair shook her hand firmly and nodded.

"You've met Nick Boyle, of course. This is Alex Moreau."

Alex reached out, smiling brightly and froze as she touched his hand. A flood of images filled her head. Gunfire, shouts, fear and adrenaline, and the feeling of falling from a great height into deep water. "You jumped over a waterfall?"

Blair looked startled and released her grip, eyeing her suspiciously. "Yeah. Good guess."

"Were you hurt?"

As she watched Blair open his mouth to ask her how she knew, she instantly regretted revealing so much to a man she'd only just met. He must have seen it in her face, because he closed his mouth abruptly and answered her question instead.

"Not too badly."

Great, he was staring at her now. The questions would come later, after he'd had time to really work on them.

Kat chose that moment to arrive, bearing flowers, and thankfully diverting Blair's attention. She smiled sweetly at Blair and handed him the blooms. "My name's Kat. Was it scary when you got shot?"

Blair took a step back, the genuine smile on his face briefly faltering, to be replaced by one that was a little less bright, and a lot more cautious.

"So, the Luna Foundation shares space with the Psychic Hotline, right?"

Rachel shook her head. "What are you guys trying to do, scare him away? He just got here."

Alex was chagrined. She didn't know what had possessed her to reveal her vision to him. If Derek had been here he would have read her the riot act, but this guy seemed so open, she couldn't help herself. Still, she shouldn't have said anything, it was obvious she'd opened an old wound.

Blair seemed to have judged Kat a minimal threat and finally smiled again. "Yes, it was scary, but my friends were with me, so it wasn't too bad."

"I'm glad. It's not good to be alone when you're scared."

Blair shuddered visibly, and seemed less cheerful than he had been. "No, it's not."

It was then that Alex realized this man was not just a mild-mannered anthropologist. She wondered, not for the first time, if Derek knew more than he was letting on.

Everyone stood for a moment in awkward silence before Kat took the initiative and grabbed his hand. "C'mon, I'll show you your room." She began pulling him toward the house.

Alex turned to Rachel. "Well, Kat's taken to him. That's always a good sign."

Nick had caught up with them, and asked. "What's this about a waterfall?"

"It was very vivid in his mind. It must have happened recently, and of course the mention of heights brought it to the surface. Something happened to him. I couldn't make it out clearly, but it involved falling and being underwater. Someone was shooting at him, I think. The emotions were pretty intense."

Rachel shook her head. "They'd have to be. I wonder if this has anything to do with the detective he works with."

Nick snorted. "I can't imagine an anthropologist getting into trouble like that any other way, unless he's involved with the Legacy."

Alex watched Blair as he chatted amiably with Kat, who continued to hold tightly to his hand. "He's not what I expected, but I think I like him."