A/N - Here is the final chapter - 9 months after I started posting here, and 5 years after I originally came up with the idea and started writing it. It feels like the end of an era! But hopefully there will be many more to come!
This chapter has no spoilers
Blair sat slumped at his desk in his office at Rainier, painstakingly grading papers. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes wearily, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to relieve the sore muscles there. Another month had passed since his eventful two days in the wilderness. He had spent a few days in the hospital, recovering from the injuries he had sustained, and then he had spent another week at home recovering before his self appointed body guard had allowed him to leave the loft long enough to go to work. He had been taking it as easy as possible since then, and now he was nearly completely healed.
This was a very good thing, because the semester was rapidly nearing an end, and he had a lot of work to make up. Several of his fellow TAs had taken turns filling in for him as guest lecturers, but he could hardly ask them to also grade all the term papers and final exams. He had been sitting here for more than three hours, wading through the accumulated papers on his desk.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts, and he gratefully lifted his head. "Come in!"
The door opened, and Angie Lorenzo poked her head into the room. "How's it going, Blair? Is there anything I can do to help you?"
"You've been a huge help already!" Blair protested. Angie had been one of his most frequent guest lecturers. Although she was not in the Anthropology department, she had minored in the subject and had more than a passing knowledge of what went on in Blair's classes.
The brunette grinned at him, easing the rest of herself into the room. "Come on, Blair. You would have done the same for me, right?" She perched happily on the chair across from Blair's desk. "I just worry, with all you've been through. How are you feeling?"
Sandburg grinned back. "Oh, I'm great. Just a few sore muscles in my neck, that's all. I've been crouched over my desk for so long, I just need to get up and stretch."
Angie perked up. "Or I could give you a neck massa . . " She trailed off uncertainly, obviously remembering what had happened the last time she gave Blair a neck massage.
Blair was hesitant, too, but he took a deep breath and smiled. "They tell me I'm cured. Massage away! It shouldn't hurt anything."
"Are you sure?" Angie rose slowly, still tentative about her next course of action.
Blair nodded, forcing a smile gamely. "Go for it."
*****
"Ellison!"
Jim's head came up sharply at Simon's roar. He stood and walked briskly into the captain's office. "Sir?"
"Where's Sandburg? I thought you said he was coming in this afternoon. It's almost five o'clock."
Ellison was startled to realize that he had lost track of time. Blair should have been here several hours ago. "I don't know! I'll call him. He should have been here long ago." He headed back toward his desk but stopped when he heard Blair's distinctive heart beat coming from the elevator. "Never mind. He just got here."
Both men headed toward the elevator, watching curiously as Blair stepped out and hurried toward them. "Sorry I'm late, guys!"
"What happened?" Ellison noticed that Blair's heart rate was slightly elevated, and his face seemed a bit flushed.
Blair's face reddened even more. "Well, you remember Angie?" When both men nodded, he continued his story. "She came in to see if she could help me with anything, and my neck was sore . . . "
Jim groaned. "So she offered to give you a massage. Blair, didn't you remember what happened the last time she did that? You ended up in the ER!"
"Yeah, I know." Blair looked at the floor. "But I'm supposed to be cured, so I told her to go ahead."
"And?" Simon prompted. "Did the same thing happen again? How are you feeling?"
Blair grinned sheepishly. "Actually, I feel great. She gave me a neck massage and I even let her put a hot towel on my neck like that other time. She stayed with me to make sure I was okay, we got to talking, and well . . ."
Jim laughed out loud. "You ended up on a date," he guessed.
Blair smirked. "Yeah, we did. We ended up at the coffee shop on campus, and I completely lost track of time. We're going to meet for dinner tomorrow night."
Simon shook his head incredulously. "Well, it was nice of you to join us, Sandburg. Do you think you could spare some time from your busy social life to do a little work now?"
Blair blushed harder. "Oh . . . uh . . . sure, Simon. Sorry." He hurried over to Jim's desk and sat down, immediately getting busy with the reports there.
Simon chuckled once he was sure Blair was no longer paying attention. "I guess the kid's back, Jim."
Ellison's grin nearly split his face. "Yeah, I guess he is. That's the best news I've had in a long time." Still grinning, he headed over to his desk to join his now healthy partner.
Simon watched the two together for a moment, and then headed back to his office, satisfied that the Sentinel of the City and his Guide were finally back to full strength.
Finis
Thanks so much for sticking with me throughout this story, even when it got away from me and got much bigger than I had ever planned! Your reviews have kept me motivated, even when I got hung up with RL and some writer's block. You are wonderful!
