By EJKatz
Part 2
Simon sat with his young charge for several more hours
until the doctors told him to go home.
He had refused until Joel had followed in on the doctor’s heels and
promised to stay with Blair until the Captain’s return. He hated the idea of leaving Blair alone to
face this trauma but he did need sleep.
It had been too days since the grad student had been brought in with
exhaustion warring with shock in his body.
Two days of feverish delirium and nightmares that only one man would
have been able to soothe if he were alive.
Not realizing where he was going, Simon soon found
himself in the trauma room of the ER.
An ambulance had just arrived so doctor and nurses swarmed the area as a
new patient was brought in. Vaguely he
listened to the call for blood pressure, respiration. The order for a warm saline drip and treatment room for
hypothermia.
“Where did you say this patient was found?” A doctor asked the EMT as they pushed past
Simon. Banks glanced at the body of the
man on the gurney. A man so tightly
wrapped in blankets that only his eyes and nose were visible. But they were the eyes and nose of a man he
knew very well.
Simon straightened and followed the gurney.
“Doctor. Wait,
where was this man found?” He demanded
as the gurney slowed to allow him to catch up.
It was the EMT who responded to both the doctor's and
Simon's question. “Ten miles south on
the beach at Jefferson Park. Some early
morning fishermen found him. Looked
like he’s been in the water for a while.
Severe hypothermia, unresponsive to all attempts to revive him. His heart rate is irregular and his blood
pressure keeps dropping.”
“Do you know him, sir?” The doctor asked.
“He had no id on him when he was found.” The EMT threw in.
“Yes, that is Detective James Ellison. He was caught in a boat explosion three days
ago. He’s been presumed dead.”
“Well, we need to get him stable. I will let you know the minute I know
anything about his condition.” The doctor and the gurney vanished behind doors,
which were guarded by a ferocious ER nurse who was adept at keeping out
unwanted Police Captains.
Simon turned to the paramedic once more. "Was there evidence of the explosion,
cuts, burns?”
“No. There was
one cut on the left side of his head but nothing other than the exposure. I hope your man is okay, Captain. I have to get back to work.”
“Thanks.” The
usually gruff Captain could say no more without getting emotional. He had to try and figure out how to inform
Sandburg that his Sentinel was still alive.
Or should he wait until they had concrete news one way or the
other? He made his way weakly to the
waiting room.
~*~*~*~
“Captain Banks?”
A voice broke through his slumber and he raised bleary eyes towards the
voice of Blair’s doctor.
“Doctor Richards.
How is Blair?”
“He’s fine, but I thought I sent you home. You won’t be any help to your friend if you
become ill too.”
“Yeah, thanks.
I was going home but they found Ellison.”
“Mr. Sandburg’s friend. The officer who supposedly died in the boat accident.” Dr. Richards frowned slightly as he tried to
remember details of the earlier news broadcasts and what he’d been told by the
Captain when they’d first brought in the observer.
“Yes. I don’t
have the whole story but he is in ICU suffering from hypothermia and
exposure. I couldn’t go home until I
have news of his condition.”
"Let me see if I can’t find out something.” Dr. Richards graciously offered. Simon thanked him and watched as the man
entered the doors behind which his best detective lay. Richards returned almost half an hour later.
"They had him settled and are preparing a room
for him. It took a while to get him
stabilized but it appears that he is going to be fine. He needs a few days to recover and will be
off work for a while longer but he should be fine. His doctor will be out shortly to fill you in with more details
once he is settled."
"Actually Doc.
Do you think it would be possible to put him in the same room as
Sandburg? They will both recovered
faster if they are together and know the other is all right."
Dr. Richards smiled.
He knew how partners felt about each other. His brother was a police officer in Tacoma and he and his partner
were tight also.
“I’ll see what I can arrange.”
“Thanks.”
Banks began to settle into the chair once more before deciding he had
better go and warn Joel before Jim was transferred. ‘Don’t want Taggart having a heart attack over this.’
Simon found Joel sitting next to Blair’s bed with a
book open on his lap but the former bomb squad leader was sound asleep. Sandburg was also soundly out of it.
“Joel,” Simon called out in a hushed voice. He shook the big man lightly.
“Simon?” Joel woke instantly. “I thought you went home?”
“They found Jim.”
He said with a smile that he couldn’t keep hidden if he’d tried. “They’re going to bring him up here in a few
minutes. I thought I should warn you.”
Joel stared at Simon for a long moment before jumping
to his feet and ushering the taller man out the door to the corridor.
“Are you serious, Simon?” The barely contained glee told Banks that Ellison was no longer
the loner hard ass he’d once been but rather a good friend and brother officer
to the men of Major Crimes
“Very. He was
brought in a few hours ago, found down in Jefferson Park. He must have been in the water all this time
but we’ll have to wait to hear the whole story from Ellison.” At that moment a gurney was brought up with
a couple of attendants who wheeled the unconscious Ellison into the room and
proceeded to settle him into the bed next to Blair. Joel and Simon oversaw this operation while the young observer
slept on unawares.
~*~*~*~
The room was dark when Blair awoke next. His whole body ached with the emotional
strain of the last few days. His
bladder was screaming at him and while he really didn’t feel the inclination to
get up to empty it he did know that he didn’t want to die in wet, stained
sheets.
He gave a snort of disgusted laughter as he slowly,
painfully eased himself out from under the bedclothes and made his way into the
tiny washroom. He didn’t bother with
lights though for a moment he wondered what had happened to his babysitters.
Even that thought was fleeting when his mind rebelled
and the enormity of the loss he’d suffered once more threatened to overwhelm
him. He’d thought he’d cried himself
out but more tears fell unheeded by the miserable man who huddled himself in
the corner of the bathroom until the tears finally faded away, leaving only
more exhaustion.
It took him a while to drag himself off of the floor
to complete his business before slowly making his way back to the room. He paused briefly to note without interest
that they had brought someone else into the room while he’d been sleeping the
sleep of the self-pitying. The figure
vaguely looked like Jim.
“Forget it, Sandburg.
You’ve really lost your mind.
Now you will be seeing Jim everywhere you look.” He started to crawl back on to the stiff
mattress when something made him look once more. His feet, moving of their own accord brought him to the edge of
the bed.
His fingers reached out to touch the still features of
the man he’s thought was dead. The skin
beneath them was cool but not the cold of death. A slight pulse beat a distinctive rhythm against his caress. Life.
Jim was alive!
Tears began anew as that realization settled into the
void that was no longer empty, the Void that normally was filled with
everything that was his friend, his brother.
His blurred vision took in the most wonderful sight he’d ever
beheld. Ignoring the wires and the
tubes present he strove to touch ever part of his Sentinel that he could,
needing to desperately reassure himself that this was real. That Jim was really here, alive, breathing.
“Oh God, Jim.”
The heartfelt whisper was Sentinel soft but Jim was unconscious, he
couldn’t hear it. Hurting for any kind
of contact with this man, Blair carefully climbed up onto the bed, making sure
to avoid the wires and tubes as best as he could. He lay there, his back against his Sentinel’s side. He heard the soft sounds of Jim’s breathing
and could feel the slow rise and fall of his body and the soothing presence of
his Sentinel allowed him the first really restful sleep he’d had since this
whole nightmare began.
~*~*~*~
Simon entered the hospital room the next morning and
stopped short at the sight. The
intimate scene before him rolled him in warmth and let him know that everything
would work out just fine.
Sandburg lay on his side facing the larger, warmer
body of his Sentinel. Jim also lay on
his side, wires and tubes gone now and a blanket covered them both but from the
outline of the two forms, his arms were wrapped tightly around his Guide. As Simon took another step into the room,
two very tired ice blue eyes opened, pinning him with their intensity.
“Morning, Jim. Welcome back.” Simon whisper, knowing
the man would hear him. Jim merely
smiled, tightened his grip around Blair and drifted back into the realms of
sleep.
“It is wonderful isn’t it.” Dr. Richards’ quiet voice came from behind. “I would have kicked him out but I saw the
marked improvement in both of them and decided this was better. Highly irregular but effective.”
Simon turned and saw the grin and the light behind the
brown eyes of the physician. “Kinda
wish you could bottle it, eh. Make a
small fortune.”
“Yeah.”
Richards met Simon’s gaze. “I
have to admit I have never seen anything like it but I think they can both go
home tomorrow. For now, just let them sleep.
That’s all they need right now.”
Simon followed the doctor with one last glance towards
the sleeping duo. “Doctor, you are a
very insightful man. Unusual but insightful.
How about you let me buy you a cup of coffee.”
The sound of soft laughter could be heard as the two
men made their way down the hall, leaving the two men to their healing slumber.
~*~*~*~
“Tonight we
celebrate the return of Detective James Ellison, who only a week ago was missing
and presumed dead in a tragic boating accident while in the pursuit of three
criminals. Cascade’s very own Officer
of the Year was pulled from the Pacific Ocean in a state of severe hypothermia
and brought to Cascade general where he was treated and remained for several
days. Today however, he is recovering
in his own home, surrounded by friends and family. Detective, welcome home.
I’m Don Haas, Channel 3 News.”