A/N: Huge apologies for the delay in getting this chapter to you! I couldn't believe it when I realized that it had been FIVE months since my last chapter! My RL has exploded, and I have been doing a lot of traveling and working insane hours, but I also got stuck on this chapter. This particular chapter has been planned from the very beginning, almost 5 years ago, and for some reason I had planned it so much I couldn't seem to write it. But the words finally flowed today, so here it is.

WARNING: MAJOR spoilers for pretty much the entire episode 2:22 Survival. You have been warned!!

Blair had been home from the hospital for a week before he went back to work at Rainier. Jim wanted him to still take it easy, but when Blair showed up at the station after his classes were done for the day, he just sighed and offered some reports for the younger man to type up.

Blair grinned and dug into the reports with gusto. He was so thrilled to be doing something, he didn't even care that he was actually doing Jim's job. "Hey, man. Take advantage of it while I'm feeling generous!"

Simon, heading toward the desk, chuckled. "Good to have you back, Sandburg. Your partner's been impossible to work with for the last week."

Blair rolled his eyes. "Yeah, tell me about it. He's been calling me every hour or so. I figured I might as well come in so he can just ask me in person how I'm feeling every hour."

"I see how it is. You show some concern for a friend, and everybody busts on you." Jim shook his head, the twinkle in his eye belying the frown on his face. "From now on I don't care how you're feeling."

Simon shook his head, turning back toward his office. "You're not fooling anybody, Ellison. Get back to work."

*****

Ellison sighed and ran a hand through his hair. How had things gone so wrong so quickly? Blair had been back to work for almost three weeks, and Jim could tell he was starting to get antsy about getting back out into the field. He had stopped taking the Rythmol a few days ago, and Jim was very pleased with the steady beating of the younger man's heart. After months on end of worrying about his partner's health, things finally seemed to be back to normal.

However, when Simon had come to him the previous morning to ask for his help with the escort detail for Dawson Quinn, Jim had been less than pleased. He hated Quinn for what he had done to young officer Brody, and he wanted nothing to do with this job. But Simon had finally persuaded him to take the rear of the convoy so that he would have no contact with Quinn. Simon had also ordered Jim to bring Sandburg along to keep him company, and Jim wished now that he had disobeyed that order.

It hadn't taken long for the easy assignment to go horribly wrong. They had been ambushed by Quinn's girlfriend and another gunman. While escaping in a helicopter, Simon had been taken hostage. Jim and Blair had followed as quickly as they could, but the chopper had crashed, killing the pilot and putting Simon, Quinn and his girlfriend Lisa on the ground in the wilderness.

Jim had tried to talk Blair into going back to town, not wanting him to be involved so soon after his recovery. He shook his head ruefully. That had not gone well.

"Look, Chief, I think I want you to take a squad car back into town, okay?" Jim had actually known when he said it that he was fighting a losing battle, but he had to try.

Predictably, Blair had shaken his head stubbornly. "Come on, Jim, you can't do this alone. I'm your backup. You need me. And besides, I'm not a novice at this wilderness thing, all right?"

And Jim had given in, partly because he was in a hurry to get to Simon, and partly because he had known that Blair would never have gone home willingly. He had bitten his lip to keep his mouth shut when Blair's next question was which way was North, completely negating his claims of experience in the wilderness. He had thought that as long as he had Blair in sight, he could keep him safe and monitor his heart rate at the same time.

That had proved to be a false assumption when they had literally been chased off a cliff by a couple of new players after Quinn's money. Jim had been right there with Blair and had still not been able to keep him from a terrifying leap off the cliff and from hitting his head on a rock in the river. He hadn't even realized Blair had been injured until the younger man stumbled and clutched his head.

"Jim! Hey, buddy, hang on, man. I need a couple minutes. My head is killing me, man."

Jim had quickly spotted the bump on Blair's head. "What's going on? Is your vision okay?" Jim gently touched the bump. "Ooh, yeah, you got pretty well banged up there. All right, this is a good place. It's good shelter. I'm gonna see if I can get back on their trail. And I'm gonna double back for you in a little while."

"All right. Are you going to think less of me if I actually take you up on that offer?"

Ellison had to admit that he was deeply disturbed by how quickly Blair had taken him up on his offer to rest while Jim went on alone, but he hid his concern, smirking at the younger man. "I'll probably think of you as some self-serving, spineless goober."

Blair had smirked back. "I can live with that."

Jim had grinned, tossing back a quick reminder to stay awake and not light any fires, Blair's response floating after him as he loped off after Simon and Quinn. He tried not to chuckle at Blair's parting complaint. "Cold and wet is my world!" He was just relieved that Blair would stay stationary and safe while Jim continued the search.

And that move hadn't worked out for the best either. While they had been separated, Blair had been attacked by the two men following Quinn and knocked unconscious for the second time in only a few hours. He had only escaped this morning when the two thieves had turned on each other. Jim had been so focused on following Quinn and Simon that he hadn't realized Blair was in trouble until he heard a gunshot. He had immediately doubled back, startled when the younger man had collided with him on the path, wild eyed with terror.

"Whoa. Whoa. Easy. Easy. Chief. Chief. It's me. Settle down. I heard a shot. What happened?" Jim grabbed his partner by the shoulders, stabilizing the younger man.

"It's those guys from the river, man, from the river. They shot at us. It's gotta be them. They knocked me out, man. They were going to kill me. But they got in this fight and they were..." Blair rambled on as Jim quickly checked the newest bump on the observer's head.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Shh-shh. They're moving away." Jim had immediately noticed the unfocused look in his partner's eyes, and his unease grew. Blair was having a very hard time of things. He definitely should have insisted the younger man return to the city. The only consolation was that so far Blair's heart rate had stayed relatively stable, although slightly elevated as would be considered normal with his injuries.

And if all of that hadn't been bad enough, when they had finally found Simon, Quinn and Lisa, the remaining would-be thief had opened fire on them. As everyone scurried for cover, Jim and Simon had both observed Blair's grunt and stumble as he was hit in the leg with a bullet. Both men had grabbed the injured man and dragged him to safety inside the mine.

Jim shook his head and ran a hand through his hair distractedly. That pretty well summarized the past 24 hours, and now he needed to somehow defeat Quinn and Lisa, and also get rid of Wade, the surviving thief, while getting Blair and Simon to safety. Blair's heart rate had accelerated, but again it was within reasonable limits for someone who most likely had at least a moderate concussion and had been shot. He cinched his belt tighter around Blair's leg, ignoring the younger man's grunt of pain.

"I can't believe I got shot, man."

Jim patted his shoulder gently. "You're going to be okay. We got to just get the bleeding under control, okay?" He looked at Simon. "Keep an eye on him for a while."

He quickly made his way to the mouth of the mine shaft, listening grimly as Wade and Quinn decided to join forces against the three 'cops' in the mine. His heart sank. An already bad situation was about to get worse.

*****

Jim sat quietly beside his partner, watching in concern as Blair dozed off. Wade was dead, Quinn and Lisa had been neutralized, and they were now waiting for the cavalry. Blair was stretched out against the outer wall of the mine, attempting to rest despite his gunshot wound and now three blows to the head. The shack exploding had not done either Blair or Simon any favors, but at least it had enabled them to be able to get the drop on Quinn and Lisa, ending the frustrating series of events they had endured for the past day and a half.

Blair was hanging in there, and Jim was very proud of his partner. The younger man had taken quite a beating, but he was still stoically waiting for rescue like everyone else. Jim only hoped that help came soon. He didn't want to delay Blair's medical attention too long. If nothing else, he had lost a lot of blood from the leg wound.

Blair jerked awake as Ellison watched. "Ouch. Hey, Jim." Sandburg coughed weakly. "They here yet?"

Jim cocked his head, listening intently. "No, not yet. But they shouldn't be too much longer. You just hang in there, Chief. You're doing great."

Blair nodded his head slightly, but still grimaced. "Remind me not to shake my head for a while!"

Jim smiled gently. "You got it."

Blair groaned. "I can't believe I've only been out of the hospital for a month, and now I'm going to be back there again. I hate that place!"

Simon laughed. "But you are such a good customer there. "

"Shhh." Jim listened again for a moment. "I can hear the chopper. They should be here any minute."

The three men watched silently as a black speck appeared on the horizon and then grew in size until it was recognizable as a helicopter. As it approached, the wind picked up and the sound grew nearly unbearably loud.

It seemed that everything happened at once then. The sheriff's department and FBI arrived at the same time as the medics, and Blair chatted gamely with Mara Cale while he was being loaded up for delivery to the hospital. Jim shook his head in amazement when Sandburg made a date with the pretty agent. Even as injured as he was, the younger man was incorrigible.

Jim made his way over to Blair's gurney, watching as they prepared to evacuate him out below the helicopter. Suddenly Blair's heart picked up speed drastically. He looked up pleadingly at Jim.

"Jim, I'm afraid of heights, man. Help me."

"Nah, you're going to be all right," Jim soothed brusquely.

Blair closed his eyes, chanting quietly to himself. "I'm not afraid."

Jim and Simon watched in amusement as the gurney began to rise into the air. As the helicopter slowly began to move away, Blair's chant continued.

"I'm not afraid." Then it changed suddenly. "I'm scared!" This came out in a wail.

Jim grinned. "You're fearless."

Blair ignored him, still wailing. "Jim...Jim! Oh, Jim! Jim, get me down!"

Jim's amusement died abruptly when he realized that Sandburg's heart rate had taken off like a trip hammer again. It was probably the blood loss that had triggered it this time. He turned to Simon as the helicopter drifted out of earshot.

"Simon, we need to get to the hospital as soon as possible. He's having another episode. I knew that ablation was too good to be true. It's probably all the blood he lost that triggered it."

Simon nodded, looking at Mara. "Agent Cale, can you get us to the hospital as soon as possible? We need to check on Sandburg."

Mara nodded. "Of course. It won't be as fast as the chopper, of course, but we will get you out of here as soon as possible."

Jim shook his head again. So much had gone wrong in the past two days he couldn't even wrap his mind around it all. The sooner they got to the hospital to check on Blair the better.

*****

Jim entered the hospital at a brisk walk, heading immediately to the Emergency Room reception desk. "Excuse me, ma'am. We're looking for Blair Sandburg? He was brought in by helicopter a few hours ago."

The young woman behind the desk looked up with a smile. "Yes, sir. Let me see if I can locate him for you." She typed rapidly on her keyboard and then nodded. "He's not here in the ER any more. They've already admitted him. Doctor Hernandez wants to see you before you go visit him." She picked up the telephone and paged the doctor.

Jim and Simon waited impatiently for a few minutes until a middle aged man in a white coat entered the room. The receptionist caught his eye and pointed to the two Major Crimes officers. The doctor immediately changed direction and headed toward them.

"Jim Ellison?" He nodded when Jim acknowledged his greeting. "I wanted to talk to you before you saw Mr. Sandburg because he's resting right now, and I know you want to be informed as soon as possible how he is doing."

Jim nodded grimly. "How bad was his heart this time?"

Hernadez looked at him in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"His heart. Were you able to get it settled down? I knew that ablation was too good to be true. It's just that he seemed to be doing so well."

"Ah." The doctor's face cleared as he suddenly understood what Jim was talking about. "Mr. Ellison, there is nothing wrong with Mr. Sandburg's heart. He is resting comfortably upstairs in room 223. We did have to give him a blood transfusion, and he will be on intravenous antibiotics for a while, but he should make a complete recovery."

"But his heart!" Jim protested. "I h.." He stopped suddenly, appalled at what he had almost said. Normal people didn't hear other people's heart beats. "I . . uh . . felt it before they took him away, and it was really fast, just like before."

Hernandez nodded, his face clouding angrily. "Yes, well, that was because he is apparently terrified of heights. The medical team that brought him in here is going to be severely reprimanded for bringing him in like that. He was in no immediate danger. They should have lifted him all the way into the helicopter, or at the very least sent a medic strapped onto the stretcher with him. When he got here, he was hysterical. We had to sedate him." He shook his head in disgust. "I don't know what they teach those young medics in school these days. Once the sedative had him calmed down and he realized he was safe, his heart rate stabilized. He'll be fine."

Ellison listened to the doctor silently, a sick feeling taking over his being. After all that Blair had been through in the past two days, he and Simon had laughed at the hardest trial of all that the younger man had been forced to endure. He wondered how they would ever be able to make it up to him. Glancing over at Simon, he noticed the same shocked look on the captain's face and knew that Simon was thinking the same thing.

"Thank you, Doctor Hernandez. Can we see him now?"

Hernandez nodded. "Of course. Stay as long as you like. I am sure that some familiar faces will help."

Jim shook hands with the doctor and followed Simon to the elevator. Inside, the two men leaned against the wall. "Simon, we laughed!"

Simon nodded soberly. "I know, Jim. I had no idea that his fear was that bad. It never even occurred to me that his heart speeding up was because of the helicopter."

"Yeah, me either." Jim sighed. "Well, at least his heart is really okay! I really thought he was having a relapse."

The elevator doors opened and the two men stepped out and headed down the hall to find room 223. Blair was the only occupant in the two bed room, sleeping peacefully in the bed by the window. Jim walked quietly to the chair beside his bed and sat down. He would not be leaving any time soon. Blair might need reassurance, and Jim intended to be there in case he was needed. He vaguely noticed Simon pulling the other chair up to the other side of the bed, and the two men began a silent vigil, determined to make it up to their battered friend in the bed.

TBC . . .

There will only be one short chapter left of this monster, and I hope that you have enjoyed the ride as much as I have! I hope to have it posted later tonight or tomorrow. Thank you so much for all of the wonderful feedback and encouragement you have given me! You are all wonderful!