The Return of Alex Barnes

Part 1

By EJKatz

By the time the klaxon sounded, it was too late. The figure slipped through the hole cut in the chain link fence and raced into the night. The sky was dark with too much cloud cover to allow the moon or stars to offer their light to see by, so no one saw who it was. The lateness of the hour and the manpower problems within the complex meant that it would be hours before the final head count would be completed so the identity of the escapee could be determined. By that time, plans would already in motion, and it would be too late to stop that either. The whole thing had been well executed.

The guards had been assembled quickly and dispatched into the search, but the figure was long gone. A silver four-door sedan stopped briefly at the end of the road leading away from the cluster of buildings. No one saw the unknown fugitive jump in just before the car turned out of sight of the hospital.

*****

“Hey, Man. I’m sorry, I won’t be able to go with you today. I have just too much to catch up on at the university. I won’t be home until late. Are you sure you’ll be okay without me?” The whirlwind known fondly by Detective Jim Ellison as Chief blew into the kitchen.

“Yeah. Simon or Megan will be with me. I’ll be fine.” Ellison turned away to grab the pot of coffee and refill his cup. He held it out in offering to his partner. Blair shook his head in refusal with a grin. He took one last swallow of the cooling liquid in his own cup. “Thanks, but I can’t. I gotta go now, or I’ll be late for the department meeting. I’ll try and call later, if I get the chance.”

He rinsed his cup out and placed it in the drain rack before grabbing his coat and pack from the floor by the door. Reaching for his keys, he said his goodbyes and left.

The Sentinel followed his Guide with his hearing, grinning as he listened to the mild curses as Blair juggled his baggage to get the keys into the car door and get it open. Finally, that done, he listened as the Volvo started up, moved out, and disappeared in the distance. Only then did Jim gather his own things. He locked the loft door on his way out to his truck.

He thought back over the last couple of months, remembering how hard it had been. Not just on himself, but mostly on Blair. Jim had said and done things, which had effected the young man deeply. It hadn’t been enough for the Sentinel to kick Blair out of the loft with some lame excuse about needing his space, but he went even further, telling his best friend that he didn’t need him in his life either. What was with that?

Jim still didn’t remember the exact details, but the evidence had been there and enough of their friends had told him in no uncertain terms how much he had hurt Blair. They had not been pleased with Jim in the least and let him know it, too. The display of loyalty towards the police observer had touched Jim’s heart. He was pleased to find exactly how well Blair fit in with this tough crowd of men and women.

As for Blair and himself, they were both working very hard to come to terms with the whole thing, though there was something still tense between them. Blair had said he understood what went wrong and explained to Jim what that was to the best of his ability.

He had explained that by not talking to his Guide, Jim had allowed himself to fall into the old patterns of his former life where everything he did was about control and the friendship part had fallen out of sight. To make matters worse, Blair had not seen what was happening until it was too late and even then he was too busy being hurt to want to stop it, even if he had said as much. Sandburg seemed to understand that it had been an instinctual manuveur on the Sentinel’s part, and he no longer blamed him even if Jim still blamed himself, but that had not stopped the hurt and had only eased it fractionally.

It wasn’t just the kicking him out of the loft that bothered Blair. The final, hardest hurt had been when Jim had kicked him out of his life, his position as Guide. That was what had cut deepest and when Ellison had come back to himself, he had been hurt most by what he had done that day in the bullpen as well. It had left his Guide open to attack by another Sentinel, Alex Barnes and Blair had paid for that with his life. It had only been a miracle that had brought him back. It had been that last act and the remembrance of it that kept Jim working at their renewed and growing bond. He was still coming to terms with the whole affair himself, but he was willing to do anything in his power to make sure it never happened again.

Jim knew that as far as Blair was concerned, the instinctual bond between the two was now stronger than ever. They may have to live with the consequences of not having talked about things before they got out of hand, but at least they were trying and to Jim, that meant more than anything in the world.

He focused his attention to finding his parking space in the station’s underground garage and making his way upstairs to Major Crimes. By the time he reached the bullpen his thoughts had turned to his case. It involved two burglaries, both in high-class neighborhoods. The MO’s for both cases had appeared to be the same, but it wasn’t turning out that way. In fact, nothing much was happening and that was frustrating. There were no leads on whoever had pulled either heist. He had no suspects and all leads had dried up, leaving him with no where to go for now.

Captain Simon Banks was on the phone when Ellison entered the bullpen. He dropped off his coat, picked up his messages and saw the top one was for him to join Simon when he arrived. He looked up to meet his Captain’s eye. Simon waved him over and nodded towards the coffee machine. He covered the phone,. “Help yourself,” he mouthed. He returned to his phone call.

“Yes sir. I know that, but…. No sir, I wasn’t aware of that, but surely…Yes sir. I’ll be there.” He hung up. “Damn it.”

Jim remained silent for a moment until finally Simon looked up, and their eyes met. He let loose a deep sigh.

“That bad, eh?”

“The mayor. Has a problem with one thing after another and nothing seems to make him happy. Now it is a problem with the budget. Through no fault of our own…well you probably don’t want to hear it anyway.”

“Not really, I was just being polite,” Jim teased back. The two men sat for a moment in companionable silence, drinking their coffee. “So what did you want to see me about, Simon?”

“I want to check and see how things were coming on the Henderson Heist.”

“Nothing new. Everything seems to be a dead-end. None of the leads panned out, and there’s nothing else to go on. As much as I hate to admit it I’m stumped.”

“Nothing, even with those senses of yours?”

“Nothing, sir. Sandburg and I went over everything again last night, but he is so exhausted between school and working here that he can barely string together two sentences, and I am not much better. Even between the two of us, we came up empty.”

“Well, put it to one side. Megan needs help on the string of nightclub hold ups. There was another hit last night. If Sandburg is going to be out for the next couple of days, help her out. Maybe something new will come up later and Megan can help you with that. Go see her and she can explain what is going on.”

“Sure. No problem. Thanks.” Jim rose, taking his cup with him. Megan was at her desk, head in her hands, a look of complete frustration on her face.

“Hey, Bright Eyes, why the long face?” he ribbed the Australian inspector. He couldn’t resist. Since they had gotten back from Mexico, things between the two had become better, they had become friends, good friends. She was a buffer that both he and Blair needed on occasion. It also helped greatly that she knew their secret. She helped keep both of them steady when they faltered.

“Hey, Jim. Just frustrating is all. The Northwest Stampers club was hit just before closing last night. Same MO, but no clues. How can three masked men waltz into a nightclub, hold up the manager at gunpoint and make off with over twenty thousand in cash with no one to witness it?”

“The others happened the same way?”

“Yeah. This time it was the Stampers Club to be hit. The one before this was the Hitech Club on Sherwood by the Bay. Both clubs lost the entire nights receipts, which had just been taken to the manager. The men walked right in, through the club to the back office where they enter, take the money and leave by the back way. The manager doesn’t seem to even try to stop them. Only after they are gone do they call for help.”

“Kind of makes you wonder if it is an inside job?”

“But for what reason? None of the clubs have the same owner. The managers are different. It just makes no sense.”

“Let’s go talk to the managers again. Maybe I can pick something up.” Jim offered her his hand to help her up, which she accepted with a smile.

“Thanks. Where’s Sandy today?” She asked suddenly realizing that the young grad student wasn’t shadowing his partner.

“At the university. He has to play catch up today. I guess I’ve been keeping him pretty busy.” He punched the button to call for the elevator. There was silence while they waited, but once they were inside and the doors closed Megan spoke again.

“Everything okay between you?” The question was cautiously asked.

Jim smiled briefly before nodding. “Yeah, everything is fine. We’ve talked, some. We’re working things out, though I think it is going to take time.”

“Probably. This thing cut deep on both ends, but Jim, you and Sandy are really great friends. The kind that come around once in a lifetime. It is worth it to try and make this work.”

“I know.” The whisper soft words were almost lost to Megan, but the look that accompanied them was genuine, and it touched her heart. She truly hoped that things would work out. She liked the two men and was honoured that they had at last shared their secret. Of course, it helped that she had figured most of it out on her own. She wasn’t sure whether Sandy had subconsciously left that book on his bench for her to find or it really had been accidental. Either way, she had found it, she had read it, and finally she had understood the strange secret they had been keeping from her and the rest of Major Crimes. What made things even better was that they had still chosen to fill her in on the missing details, showing her that they trusted her. If there was a way she could help them out with this, then she would.

They took Jim’s truck to the Stampers Club. Since it was the most recent hit, hopefully there was more to be learned here. The manager, Tony Wilkes, was waiting for them.

“I figured you’d be back,” he told them with a touch of annoyance in his voice. What do you want from me now?”

“Just to ask a few more questions, Mr. Wilkes. This is Detective Ellison. He is helping me with this investigation. Can you repeat what you told me the other day?”

The manager glared at her briefly. The look quickly became vague as he remembered the other night when three men, all wearing masks had entered his office and held guns on him, demanding the cash receipts from the night. He spoke clearly as he explained what had happened to Ellison. He felt a little intimidated as the man towered over him, listening intently to what he had to say. The dark look that flashed on the taller man’s face scared him just a little, but he finished his tale before answering the detective’s questions.

*****

Blair heaved a relieved sigh as he sank onto his chair. He dropped the notebook on the desktop and grabbed a cup of coffee from the table beside the desk. He leaned back and savoured the rich dark taste and forced the unpleasant meeting that morning from his mind. He had a few papers left to grade that he hadn’t finished last night, then all that was left would be to post them, and spend a few hours on his own work before his office hours started at two. Lots of time.

He put the coffee cup down and grabbed the pile of papers from his pack. Flipping the music on, he settled in to get some work done. Half an hour later, as the CD paused to restart, he realized he had been sitting there lost in thought. Not all were pleasant either. Words, twisted and ugly, floated through his mind. Words that Jim had spoken, but yet had not. At least not the way they sounded now.

“I don’t need you…”

“Find someone else…”

“I just need you to be gone…”

All taken out of context and not completed left the statements cold, unfeeling, which at the time they had been, but the man speaking them had not been in control of himself. The Sentinel instinct had kicked in and driven Jim with an impulse that left him confused and hurting.

Blair understood it; he may not have liked it, but he did understand. He knew that Jim’s solicitous manner told him what words couldn’t. Jim was sorry, more sorry than he knew how to express. Blair had long known that emotional confrontations were not Jim’s bag. Especially the good emotions like love, trust, joy. Anger; now that was one that Jim expressed well. Same with hurt, disapproval, disappointment and even hatred at times.

He remember how over the two weeks in Mexico, Jim had gone out of his way to grant Blair’s every wish, even before he knew it himself. His favourite dishes were ordered for dinner, long easy strolls to places he wanted to go to, and even once, a picnic lunch near the temple where they camped for several days. Jim had set up camp, refusing to allow Blair to help since his ribs were still hurting from the CPR. He had brought enough blankets to create a soft cushion to sleep on and he insisted on helping Blair with the study of the temple. When they were finished, he had taken him home.

The night they left Mexico was still vivid in his mind.

*****

Jim stood in the bathroom doorway, shirtless, wearing only the pale grey khakis he’d worn all day. He watched as Blair packed up his notes, carefully placing them into the well-worn pack.

Seeming to sense his partner’s gaze on him, Blair turned with a faint smile. The nervous tension had worn a light mask of lines on his face, but his smile was genuine.

Jim knew the reason for the tension. They were returning to Cascade in the morning, and he had yet to ask Blair to come back to the loft. It meant apologizing out loud, but he knew both in his head and in his heart that he wanted to do this.

“Chief.” Jim entered further into the hotel room and sat on the bed opposite his friend. He reached to the open suitcase lying there and retrieved a small manila envelope. “I have something I need to say. Actually, I want to say it, but I need you to just listen first before interrupting. This is hard enough, and I just need to say it, okay?”

Sandburg sat up on the bed watching the Sentinel with a confused, almost frightened, look on his face.

“What is it, Jim?”

“I am so sorry about what happened in Cascade. I know we talked about what happened, but I need you to know how sorry I am. I should never have kicked you out of my life, let alone out of the loft. I want to apologize, and I want you to come back. If you want to that is.” There was trepidation mingled with doubt in the tremulous gaze he cast towards Blair. He held out the envelope with an uncertain smile.

Blair took it curiously and opened it. Inside sat a very official looking document. Pulling it out and opening it reveal a deed. A deed for joint ownership in the loft?

“Jim? What is this?” Blair struggled with the meaning behind the offering. He knew that from Jim’s point of view this gift was his way of trying make things right again, but what exactly that meant he wasn’t sure. Knowing Jim the way he did, Blair was certain that it had probably taken the older man’s entire lifetime reserves of positive emotional energy to make this gesture.

From Blair’s point of view it meant permanence, something that at one time should have terrified him into running just as far as he could. But now, after everything they had been through, after everything they had become, it only meant he was finally home. He looked up to meet Jim’s eyes, listening with his heart and mind to what his Sentinel was saying.

“Proof of my sincerity. Some way to show you that I will never and can never again kick you out. It was so empty with you not there, and I realized that it just isn’t home without you anymore. I’m so sorry I hurt you. I just want …” The iron control broke slightly as a lump formed and his eyes glistened suspiciously. “Please.”

The last word, whispered so faintly that Blair almost didn’t catch it, clinched the matter. He lunged up and wrapped his arms around his best friend in an unaccustomed gesture of emotion. For a moment he feared he had done wrong, but there was no hesitation as strong arms wrapped around his shoulders in return.

Warmth encircled the duo, love bound them together. Both cried tears both of joy and healing, wrapped in friendship, bonded by a destiny they still didn’t understand, but one they had both accepted. Unconditionally.

“I want to,” was all Blair could say past the tears and the smile that lit his face.

That night had been the first without nightmares for either of them. Jim had refused to let Blair go so they had fallen asleep together on the top of Jim’s bed, crushed beside the suitcase, but not caring. The only thing that mattered to each was the warmth of the other’s company.

*****

Blair shook his head to clear the memory. There was still a smile twisting his lips up, making his face almost glow with happiness. He forced himself to focus on the work spread out on the desk before him. There were no further distractions, and when he finally put the last paper on the completed pile and grabbed more coffee, he still had plenty of time. Half an hour later, the grades were posted, and he was ready to finish his own paper. By the time his office hours started, he was ready to print and edit the report before submitting it. He could do that in between student appointments.

There was a knock on the door. A quick glance at his calendar told him that it should be Susan Arnold, a first year Anthropology student. He called for her to enter. A few seconds later the petite brunette sat in the chair before him. He smiled, and they began.

*****

“He’s in there.” The man said as he got back into the car. The pretty red head beside him smiled evilly. “We can grab him when he comes out to go home. It might be late by then?”

“The later the better.” The girl said. “His roommate won’t be expecting him until late, and by the time he realizes that the little twerp didn’t come home, things will already be set in motion.”

“You sure this is the only way to get your senses back?”

“Has to be. They spent two weeks there studying the temple from what you told me. I know that it must have said something about reawakening Sentinel senses. I want mine back. He took them from me. He will give them back to me.

“Then we do this. The house is set up. We finished it this morning.”

“Did you get rid of Riley?”

“Yeah. Saw him off myself. He won’t be coming back.”

“Good. I want nothing to interfere with our plans.” She leaned forward, gripping his jacket collar in both her hands, pulling him forward. He allowed the movement, and as his lips met hers he reaffirmed his commitment to helping her. His arms wrapped around her supple body, and he brought her into closer contact.

They stayed in the kiss until they both had to come up for air. Breathing heavily, they embraced once more. The man pulled back. “Time for phase two.” He laughed with her.

*****

“Jim, I am still at the University. I am going to be late. Don’t wait for me. Something came up, and I have to finish before I leave. I will see you in the morning. Hopefully.” The machine beeped at the end of the message, and Jim sighed as he erased the tape.

“Don’t be too late, Chief. I know how tired you are, and we both need sleep.” He said out loud, even knowing his Guide wouldn’t be able to hear. He thought briefly about picking up the phone and calling, suddenly feeling the need to confirm that he was fine, however quickly decided against it. He had done enough hovering in the past few weeks since their return from Mexico. Blair was fine physically and the other things would heal in time. Right now, Blair needed his space and Jim could respect that. He might not like it still, he could and would respect it.

He climbed the stairs to his room, feeling the deep weariness right down to his bones. He stripped quickly to his boxers and climbed between the cool sheets. He opened his hearing without thinking, trying to find his partner’s heartbeat.

“I must be more tired than I thought,” he said to himself. “I know he isn’t here and still, I listen for him.”

Thoughts of what they had gone through flickered through his head. He knew, deep in his heart that he had been in the wrong, not Blair. His own insecurities had gotten between them and almost destroyed their friendship. The strange feelings he had experienced when Alex Barnes had first come to Cascade had overwhelmed him, and he didn’t know how to deal with them. Why he hadn’t turned to Blair, he didn’t know, and by the time he thought about it, Blair had started coming home with the same scent on him that caused those same feelings to rise, stronger each time, until it was too late to stop what had happened.

He still couldn’t believe that he had kicked Blair out. Even worse, he could not imagine what had possessed him to tell the kid that he didn’t need him or even want him around anymore. He knew that wasn’t true. He knew he needed Blair more than he had needed anyone, ever.

“Do you understand, Chief?” he whispered into the darkness. “I don’t know how to tell you sometimes. I know I’m not very good with words, not like you are, but I really am lost without you. I can’t do this alone and I don’t want to try. I nearly died that day at the fountain. I would have if Incacha hadn’t appeared to help me bring you back. How do I tell you this? How do I heal this breach between us? God, Chief. I am so sorry.”

A lone tear made its way down his cheek. He made no effort to remove it. The strength of his feelings for his brother in spirit was sometimes overwhelming in their intensity, but he didn’t want to stop them. They made things clearer for him and if listening to them for once helped him to reach his Guide then he was willing to let them surface. At least once in a while.

With that thought in mind, he drifted into an unease sleep filled with dreams of wolf howling in the wilderness, howling as if trying to find something. Maybe something like home.

*****

“Damn Professor Hellinger. Why did he need this done tonight? I’d’ve come in early to work on it, but no, he needs it done now.” Blair grumbled. He glanced at his watch to check the time. One o’clock in the morning. “Damn. I’m sorry, Jim. I’ll try to be quiet when I get in.”

He finished packing his bag and started to take it, but decided against it. He was going home to sleep and would be returning straight here. There was no point in dragging it both ways. He threw it under his desk out of sight, locked his office and headed for the parking lot. “Let’s hope the car starts. That would just make my day if it didn’t…not!”

He pulled his keys out to unlock the door. He was so tired he didn’t hear the two people approaching stealthily until they were right behind him. He started to turn, but his exhaustion made him too slow. Something hard crashed down on his head and he sank to the ground, unconscious.

*****

Part 2

Back to Fiction Page