Title: James Elison: Robocop

Author: vashsunglasses

Rating: M

Fandom: The Sentinel/Robocop

Disclaimer: Neither "The Sentinel" or "Robocop" belong to me and I make no money off of this homage to two very amazing works of fiction.

Summary: AU. Before Blair could meet Jim, Jim was brutally murdered in the line of duty and reborn as Robocop. Will finding his Guide help Jim reclaim his humanity?

Metallic hands steadied him, and then pulled him to his feet once his stomach had settled, closing firmly around his upper arms. Blair vaguely mused at how strange it was that the tight hold actually made him feel safer instead of trapped. He subconsciously leaned back against the metal breastplate behind him as he spoke, "You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?" he asked softly.

"Negative," Robo replied somewhere a little above the top of his head.

He could have been imagining it, but Blair thought that, just for a second, he could hear genuine emotion in Robocop's voice. It was tantalizing, and the anthropologist in him had to know more…

"Tell you what," Blair said slyly as an idea began to grow in his mind, "Let's make a deal. I'll quit trying to run away and I'll submit to medical treatment… But you have to promise to visit me in the hospital at least once."

Robocop was so silent and motionless in his stance behind Blair that Blair worried that he wasn't listening to him. Perhaps he had imagined that small hint of humanity…

"Affirmative," Robocop said suddenly, breaking his silence.

Blair twisted as far as he could in Robocop's tight grip and gave the cyborg his fullest grin, "Sweet! Thanks man, I promise you totally won't regret it." He could hear the unmistakable sound of an ambulance in the distance and thought mournfully of the damage this little trip would do to his pocketbook. 'But don't forget,' he thought to himself, 'it's a small price to pay if I'm able to pull this off. I know people who would kill to be in the position that I'm in now, and I'm not going to let it go to waste!'

"So you came after all!" Blair said from his hospital bed. He had been diagnosed with a concussion and the beginnings of a viral infection and was thus forced into staying for at least 48 hours.

Robocop continued to stand in the doorway and said, "We made a deal."

"Well, what took you so long?" Blair said, "Did you have to go fight crime someplace else between then and now?"

"The warehouse where you were living was not registered in the database under your name. I therefore had to go to the archives in order to ascertain your identity-"

"Oh jeeze!" Blair said, slapping the uninjured side of his forehead, "I didn't tell you my name did I? I am so, so sorry man! Here I twist your arm to get you to come visit me, and then I make you run all over the place trying to find out my name!"

"Apology accepted, Blair Sandburg," Robocop replied.

"Cool. Now quit looming in my doorway like that, it's creeping me out. Come in already, and shut the door behind you." Blair said.

Robocop did so, shutting the door and walking forward so that he was standing about a foot away from Blair's right left hand.

Blair reached his right hand across his body and held it towards Robocop, "We haven't introduced ourselves properly. I'm Blair Sandburg…" he paused and looked from his still empty hand to the motionless Robocop, "…and I'm kind of waiting for you to shake my hand. You know, handshake?"

There was a momentary pause, then Robocop slowly reached forward and took Blair's hand in a slow but firm handshake.

Blair grinned and pulled his hand out of the cyborg's grip, "Nice grip big guy! So do you have a name, or is it just Robocop?"

Robocop froze, his hand still dangling over Blair's body. A long minute went by, with an increasingly worried Blair anxiously counting the possible damages he could be charged for breaking the most advanced human/cybernetic hybrid in the world.

"I…I do not know," Robocop said suddenly, haltingly. "I do not remember…" He turned and began to walk towards the exit.

Blair panicked, "Wait! Don't leave yet!" He dove out of bed and latched onto Robocop's arm frantically. Robocop stopped and looked down at him coldly.

"The visit isn't over yet!" Blair panted dizzily, "You promised a whole visit and it isn't done yet!"

Robocop dislodged Blair's grip from his arm, giving him a considering look as Blair leaned against the doorframe for support, "…I will make you a deal," he said finally, mimicking Blair's own previous words.

Blair stared up at him in astonishment.

Robocop continued, "If you will go back to your bed and continue your treatment without protest, I will visit you a second time."

Blair gaped at him. This was even better than he had imagined… Robocop was so much more than he had imagined, "Ok," he said finally, "You've got a deal."

Immediately Robocop turned away and began walking down the hallway towards the elevators. Blair watched him go.

"Wait! At least tell me where you're going!" Blair cried out.

Robocop replied without stopping, "I am going to the archives in search of my name."

Blair had a dream. He found himself standing in a deep blue jungle, so thick with life he could almost feel it pushing against his skin. A gray wolf stood before him and their eyes met. "Go," it said without words. "Follow," it said without sound. "Seek," it said without breath.

"Who do I Go to?" Blair asked. "Who do I Follow?" Blair asked. "Who do I Seek?" Blair asked.

Again the gray wolf met his eyes, "Go to the one who Needs you," it said without words. "Follow the one who Leads you," it said without sound. "Seek the one who Seeks you," it said without breath.

"Who is the one who Needs me?" Blair asked. "Who is the one who Leads me?" Blair asked. "Who is the one who Seeks me?" Blair asked.

The gray wolf directed it's gaze to a barely discernable, overgrown path leading into the jungle. "Go," it said without words. "Follow," it said without sound. "Seek," it said without breath.

And so Blair ran from the clearing onto the path.

Blair woke up in his hospital bed. For a moment he had a sense of being in two places at once. Of running through the jungle and resting in a bed. But then the feeling faded, and with it the dream faded as well. He looked at the clock on the wall and realized he had been asleep for several hours. He pushed the button to bring the bed up to a sitting position and used the remote to turn on the television attached to the opposite wall. He hoped that Robocop would return soon, they had so much to discuss.