Here's chapter 7.

im stood in front of the picture window, silently watching the colors explode across the snow as the sun began to set. He heard soft footsteps behind him, so he was prepared when Simon spoke.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? I never get tired of seeing it."

"Yeah. It's Blair's favorite time of day." Jim clenched his fists. "Simon, we have got to figure something out here. But to be honest, my head hurts and the bruises on my legs are throbbing. It's hard to think of anything when I'm trying to handle the pain dials without Blair."

"Is there anything I can do?" Simon rested a hand lightly on Jim's shoulder.

"No." Jim closed his eyes. "No, I need to concentrate on him right now. Any problems I have will just have to wait." He took one more look at the shimmering reds and golds of the sunset splashed across the sparkling snow, then turned and headed back for the couch and his partner.

*****

"J'm?" Ellison jerked upright at the mumbled name. He had been dozing in an armchair beside Blair's couch.

"Yeah, I'm here. How ya doing, Chief?"

Blair squinted, making an obvious effort to focus on his partner. Ignoring Jim's question, he posed his own. "You okay?" He gave up on focusing and closed his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm going to be just fine." Jim squeezed Blair's good shoulder.

"Lyin'."

Simon, sitting in a chair on the other side of the room, attempted unsuccessfully to suppress a snort of laughter. Jim scowled at him, then looked back at Blair.

"Hey, don't worry about me. I just have a little bit of a headache and some bruises. I told you, I'll be fine."

"Dial down."

Jim was a bit concerned to see that Blair was having this entire conversation with his eyes closed. "I tried. The dials aren't working too well right now."

He was gratified to see Blair's eyes fly open again. The younger man glanced across at Jim, trying once more to focus on his partner. "Wha's wrong?"

Jim was torn between keeping his partner calm and keeping his partner awake. Maybe helping Jim would give Blair something to focus on...something to buy them some time.

"I don't know. I keep trying to dial it down, and I just can't seem to do it."

"C'mere."

Jim pushed himself to his feet, suppressing a moan as the pressure on his legs caused a spike in the pain. Simon was immediately at his side, helping him to move the armchair closer to Blair. As soon as the chair was up against the side of the sofa, Jim sat back down. "Okay, I'm here. Now what?"

"G've me y'r hand." Blair held out a shaky hand toward his partner.

Jim studied Blair carefully. He actually seemed more alert now than he had since the avalanche. Ellison obediently held out his hand. He wasn't sure where Blair was going with this, but the younger man apparently had a plan.

Blair grasped Jim's hand, turning it palm down, and pulled it down onto his own chest. "Focus."

Suddenly Jim understood. Blair wanted him to focus on another sense in order to be able to control the dials. Closing his eyes, he focused both his sense of touch and his sense of hearing on Blair's heartbeat. Once he had both senses firmly centered on his partner's vital signs, he tentatively tried to dial down the pain again. Amazingly, this time it worked.

"Hey, Chief, that's great! It worked!" Jim began to remove his hand from Blair's chest, but he suddenly realized that his partner seemed calmer and more focused with the contact between the two men. He returned his hand to its former position over Blair's heart. "But I think I might just need to stay here for a while, if that's okay with you?"

Blair grunted assent, one corner of his mouth turning up in a semblance of a smile. Then he relaxed, eyes closing again. Jim quickly checked his friend's vitals, but Blair appeared no worse.

"Is he all right?" Simon hovered anxiously at Jim's shoulder.

"I think he's sleeping. His vitals seem okay." Jim looked up at Simon. "Even when he's so injured that he's not really alert, he still works his magic. It's amazing how much that helped."

Simon grinned ruefully. "Another one of those Sentinel things that I don't want to know about, huh?"

Jim grinned back. "Yes, Sir, I guess it is." Then he turned serious. "I just wish we could get help up here."

Simon's smile disappeared abruptly. "Yeah. I know what you mean. I ... wait a minute. Jim, I may have another idea!" He straightened quickly. "We didn't try my police radio. It couldn't hurt, right? Maybe there's something close enough that I can get through. You stay right where you are. I'll go check it out."

Jim nodded, relaxing in the armchair, one hand still on Blair's chest. He closed his eyes, concentrating on Blair's heartbeat. At least it was still strong, still fairly even. In fact, if he really listened, it seemed to get louder... until it drowned out all of the other sounds in the room....

"Jim! Jim! Can you hear me?" Simon's frantic voice brought him back. "Jim, come on. Don't do this now. Sandburg needs you!"

Jim took a deep breath and opened his eyes slowly. "Simon? What...? Did I zone?"

"You scared me there, Jim. You were out for at least fifteen minutes before I could get you back. And I have no idea how long you were out before I came back inside. Are you okay?"

Jim scrubbed his free hand through his hair. "How long were you gone? Did it work?"

Simon sat down on the floor with a thump, unzipping his coat. Jim belatedly noticed that Simon was still dressed for the outdoors in his heavy coat and one glove. He had apparently taken the other one off while trying to break the zone.

"I don't know how long I was gone... maybe half an hour. And no, it didn't work. I'm sorry, Jim. It looks like we're on our own until someone discovers we're gone."

"Yeah. When's that likely to happen? Nobody will miss Blair and me until we don't show up for work on Monday morning."

"Well, I did have a little bit sooner than that in mind. I found this in the back seat." Simon held up a notebook. "It's Daryl's. And if I'm not mistaken, this is the report he was telling me about that's due Monday. My best guess is that he'll be trying to get it back at least by tomorrow. And I told him before we left that I would be home by tomorrow night at six at the latest. When we don't show up, he'll be worried. I hope that's enough."

"So all we have to do is hold out for another...." Jim looked at his watch. "another fourteen hours? Do you think Blair'll last that long?" He looked down at his sleeping partner mournfully.

"He'll have to," Simon said simply. "We don't have a choice. I think we should take turns sleeping, so one of us is watching him all the time. We should wake him every couple of hours and pray he's strong enough to make it."

Jim's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We don't have a choice. Well, I'll take the first watch."

"No, you won't. You're almost out on your feet. You need the rest as badly as he does. You stay where you are and sleep. I'll keep an eye on him for a while." Simon used his sternest captain's voice.

"Okay."

"What -- no argument?" Simon was stunned.

"Not this time, Simon. I'm pretty comfortable where I am, and I really need some sleep. Just wake me in a few hours, all right, Sir?" Jim closed his eyes, almost instantly asleep.

Simon shook his head, unable to control a brief smile. "Sure, Jim. In the meantime I'll just keep an eye on Blair.....keep an eye on *both* of you." He fiddled with the fire for a few minutes, then settled back in his chair with a magazine, preparing for his lonely vigil.

Chapter 8 coming soon to a computer screen near you! Thanks for reading and for the great reviews!