Jim Ellison, as Blair had predicted, was royally pissed off. He stalked about their loft like an offended cat, muttering direly to himself about what he was going to do when he got his hands on his troublesome roommate.

He wouldn't admit to himself that Blair's absence stung. That Blair had felt it necessary to sneak out behind his back was bringing up questions for which he didn't have answers. Plus, the loft felt strangely empty.

Jim found himself in Blair's room, with the vague notion that he would try to find any clues. What was he even looking for? A letter, or a journal entry, or anything that might give a hint to where he was, why he had left, was he in danger...

This is ridiculous, Jim thought, forcing himself to sit still on the bed and think. Blair's not in danger. He said so himself, in his note. Simon said he'd requested this leave almost a month ago, so it's not as if someone is blackmailing him. Or using him as bait. Needing something to keep his hands occupied, Jim grabbed one of Blair's pillows and hugged it to himself, resting his chin on it and kneading it with his fingers. He breathed in Blair's scent, relaxing slightly.

So why did he leave? Where would he go? A friend's, his mother's? Jim blew out a frustrated breath, letting himself fall back on the bed, pillow still clutched in his arms. Did he need to get away from the city? From work? From his upcoming academy training?

He couldn't bring himself to think that maybe Blair had needed to get away from him.

He was running through the forest, reveling in the power his jaguar form granted him, breeze in his fur and the scent of his prey in his nostrils. As the smell became stronger, the jaguar slowed, stalking through the underbrush. He crouched, slowly padding forward to peer between the bushes.

Resting in a small clearing were a pair of wolves, one grey and one black. They were twined around each other, sleeping nestled together for warmth, each resting their head on the other's hip like a canine yin-yang. On the other side of the clearing, perched in a tree, a large hawk regarded him with piercing brown eyes. He flattened his ears in warning, moving one huge paw to step into the clearing.

At once both wolves awoke. The grey lifted his head off his companion's rump to stare into the jaguar's eyes. At the same time, the black looked up at the hawk. Time seemed to stop.

Four men came awake at once.

Jim opened his eyes and gasped, taking in his surroundings. He'd fallen asleep on Blair's bed, still clutching his pillow.

I've been sleeping surrounded by his scent, he thought. No wonder I'm dreaming about him.

Jim had had dreams about the jaguar and the wolf before, and he knew from experience that his mind sometimes represented Blair as a grey wolf. But other than one other occasion, no other animals had ever been involved in his spirit guide dreams. The presence of the black wolf and the hawk bothered them. Did they represent real people, or possibly just ideas? Why was Blair's wolf, the grey, snuggled so close to the black? Jim couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed by that. And the hawk...the hawk, just sitting there in the tree, watching them...And then the other wolf had looked at it, just as Blair was looking at him. He couldn't imagine what it meant, but he had yet to have one of these dreams that didn't mean something. Something was up.

Jim made his way slowly into his room, his mind going a mile a minute, and laid awake in his bed for quite a while, worrying.

Jack splashed cold water on his face, trying to shake off the funny feeling the dream had left when he awoke. He'd seen – been – that hawk before, in his dreams. Those beautiful dreams of flying had been a major catalyst in his decision to join the Air Force, after all. He'd seen the black wolf just once before...the night Daniel died of radiation poisoning. The wolf had been running in the forest below, and he, as a hawk, had been trying (and failing) to catch up. Jack had suspected at the time that Daniel had had something to do with that dream.

It was no longer a suspicion; when the wolf had looked up at him its eyes were blue. That same electric blue that he saw every day.

Christ, Danny, you haven't been away for more than twelve hours yet and I'm already dreaming about you.

The presence of the other two animals – the grey wolf and the jaguar – bothered him. The way the two wolves were twined around each other had tugged at his heart, and he'd felt compelled to protect them. Both of them. And the jaguar, well...what was a honkin' big cat like that doing in a pine forest, anyway? That was his territory, his and the wolves'. No cats allowed. Jack had never liked cats much anyway.

He looked at himself in the mirror. His skin was pale, his eyes hooded, his hair sticking up all over. He was a mess. He needed to go back to bed.

But something told him he wouldn't be going fishing this vacation. No, he'd stick around the mountain...just in case.

Daniel and Blair came awake at the exact same time, opening shocked eyes wide to peer into the blue depths of the other's. They stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"Bad dream?" Blair whispered. Daniel gave him a half-smile.

"Not so bad. Weird."

Blair nodded. "Want to talk about it?"

Daniel sighed. "In the morning. Just..." He stopped, wordlessly reaching out. Blair immediately cuddled close, wiggling into Daniel's embrace and sleepily nosing the side of his neck, for all the world like an affectionate dog. Daniel chuckled and stroked Blair's hair, and before they had even fully awakened they were asleep again.