Chapter 9

"Hell of a day," Jim remarked, sitting on the edge of Blair's bed as the younger cop got ready for bed.

"Just like old times, huh?"

"Not like old times," Jim countered. "Maria actually seems to enjoy all your little tests." He smiled. "Still, love the way you made them kid-friendly. Three grains of Kool-Aid in a glass of water, now tell me which flavor it was. That was pretty inspired, Chief."

Blair sat down next to him. "Did you notice?"

"Notice what?"

"That she was better at the taste-test than you were."

"In my defense, it's been a long time since I've had Kool-Aid. Couldn't even remember what all the flavors were, let alone tell which was which."

"Don't know, Jim. I think she might just be better than you."

"Hmm," Jim answered, looking thoughtful. "So, what do you and Helen have planned for tomorrow?"

"Well, we've already done taste and smell. Tomorrow Helen has some tests worked out to quantify her visual and auditory acuity."

"Exciting," Jim muttered. "You do realize that, at this point, she's moved beyond the 'helping' phase and into the 'studying us like animals' phase?"

"You're overreacting," Blair told him. "Besides, how can you complain if it helps future Sentinels avoid the problems you had to deal with?"

"It's not that I'm unsympathetic…"

"You are, Jim. You really are," he sighed, shaking his head. "She's a doctor. She needs to establish a baseline or she's never going to recognize new symptoms, let alone understanding what they entail. It's just how doctors operate."

"But that's the problem!" Jim shook his head. "It's not a disease. It shouldn't take a doctor to deal with it."

"Jim, you've got to get this chip off your shoulder. You aren't a freak and no one who counts thinks you are. So why can't you just…"

"You wouldn't understand, Chief." He shook his head. "You're normal."

"That's not what Helen says."

Jim frowned at him. "What?"

"She figures I must have some wiring issues to do what I do." Blair stared at him. "And I don't have a problem with the idea." He grasped Jim's shoulder. "Because who I am is the direct reason that I am where I am now. And this is a good place."

"Not everyone's that comfortable in their own skin," Jim pointed out.

"You think it's a bad place we're in?"

"Never said that. I love having you as a partner."

"Think about that," Blair advised. "I never would have come to this life if you hadn't been different."

Jim considered this. "Chief…"

"I don't know about you, Jim, but I don't have any regrets. It's been a wild ride, but an important, meaningful one."

"I'm not saying I would change anything. I wouldn't. But that doesn't automatically make any of this easy."

"Greatness is never easy." Blair shrugged.

"Greatness?" Jim scoffed.

"Oh, come on. Don't get me started. Think about the things you've done, the wrongs you've righted, the lives you've saved. You're way beyond the realm of us ordinary cops."

Jim threw an arm around Blair's shoulder and pointed out, "It's not like I don't have help."

Blair smiled at him. "We do make a pretty good team."

"We have our moments," Jim agreed, nodding.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Blair told him, "I'm going to let her do some brain-scans on me."

"Blair!" he protested.

"She's not going to learn anything about you by studying me. There's no reason to go burning bridges, and a friendship with these people could prove valuable in the future."

"I don't like it," he grumbled.

"You're not my father."

"How do you know?"

Blair sniggered. "I knew there was a reason I never dated older guys…"

Jim swatted him on the back of his head, climbing to his feet. "Get some sleep, Blair. And don't let Mrs. Frankenstein do that brain scan."

"She wants to do two sets, actually," Blair told him. "One set when you're present and one when you're not."

Jim frowned down at him, his expression curious. "What's that supposed to prove?"

"The nature of the bond between us."

"You really want to lay that bare for some scientist to scrutinize?"

"You say 'scientist' like it's a bad word. I used to be one myself," he pointed out.

Jim shifted uneasily. "What we have is special. I just don't want an outsider involved."

"Putting a name to it doesn't invalidate it, Jim. Stop being so insecure. It's time you realized that nothing can change what we've got."

"Don't know. Guess it's seemed metaphysical to me for so long now…"

"The scientific and the spiritual don't exist in two separate realms, man," Blair told him. "Nothing's one or the other. Everything's both at once. Quantifying the amazing doesn't make it less amazing. If anything, it makes you appreciate it that much more. Think about it, Jim."

Jim reached out and ruffled his hair. "Night, Chief."

"Night. Wake me up if you need to talk or anything."

"Will do. Thanks. Night."

Blair watched him go with a sigh, shaking his head and picking up his phone. He dialed quickly.

"Yeah, Helen, I didn't wake you, did I? No, that's good. Uh, look, about those brain scans. I may not be able to after all…"

0101010

"Cute, aren't they?" Ashley Magnus asked, walking up to where Jim stood in front of the glass-enclosed cage on the basement level.

"They look like furbies," he answered. "You're telling me those things occur in nature?"

"Freaky, huh?" she answered. "Oh, and I wouldn't stand that close. Breathing the same air as them has some… interesting side-effects."

Jim took a quick step backwards.

"This place freaks you out, doesn't it?" she asked, smiling at his discomfort.

"You could say that. How's the stomach?"

"Hurts like a mother," she answered, shrugging. "Mom would pitch a fit if she knew I was out of bed."

"Then why are you? You really should be on your back."

"I was visiting the little guys." She gestured towards the cage.

"I thought you said they were dangerous."

"Oh, absolutely deadly. You should see them in action." She shrugged. "But they're still adorable."

"Come on. I'll walk you back to the med bay."

"Or you could walk me to my room."

Jim considered this, smiling reflectively. It had been some time.

"Whatever you're thinking, it's them, not you," she told him. "I think I might have mentioned that they have some interesting side-effects." She walked over to the cage, lifting her fingers to the glass and making some cooing noises at the creatures within. A few stirred, but none reacted more strongly than that.

"Maybe you should step away from them?" he suggested.

"Yeah," she sighed, moving back. "Drawback of being as hard-nosed as I am. Closest you ever come to getting any is huffing Nubbin hormones."

Jim decided to pretend she had not just said that. Which was difficult. Weird little creatures. Weird little lady…

"Do I even want to know what else is down here?" he asked her.

She grinned and shook her head, taking his arm and steering him away. "It's one wild adventure after another. A lot of people can't handle it. Most don't even try. A lot of the people who come to us, they come 'cause they're desperate. And they do a great job convincing themselves that it's just them and the staff. Because even if they have to face the truth about themselves, they don't want to face the truth about the rest of our world."

"What about you? How do you cope?"

She shrugged. "I grew up with this. Mom pretty much raised Henry, so it's not like my exposure to non-humans was ever limited. In fact," she grinned up at him. "You're pretty much the most normal guy I've met in this place."

"Not sure if I should be comforted by that…"

She laughed. "I talked with your friend Blair for awhile last night."

"He mentioned it. Guns, mostly, wasn't it?"

"We both have this insane weapon/love parallel that we draw that would make your average Freudian's head explode," she told him as they entered the elevator.

He frowned. "Wasn't aware Blair was particularly fond of weapons."

She smiled up at him. "Target practice makes him feel loved," she told him. Peering keenly up at him, she added, "Wonder why that would be the case?"

He cleared his throat. "I can't imagine."

"I'm sure you can't."

Jim smiled.

"Here's my door," she told him, opening it. "Thanks, Jim. Night."

"Good night, Ashley. Where's a person go around here to clear their head?"

"Well, at this hour, there are probably still patients in the garden, so your best best's probably going to be the roof. You can usually be alone up there."

"Thanks."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Jim?"

"Yeah?"

She smiled. "Welcome to the Sanctuary. Night."