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betaed by Cheryl R.
Hole In My Heart All The Way To China
Jim grinned behind his superior’s back. He was quite sure that Simon hadn’t come by the loft to discuss a case with him; at least, that wasn’t the only reason. The big, gruff captain wanted to see how their favourite observer was doing. Not that Simon would ever admit that he missed the anthropologist. But the sentinel knew his friend.
Jim opened the door and frowned. He hadn’t extended his senses, but he already knew that Blair wasn’t at home. Dammit! Couldn’t the kid once do as he was told? He had asked his roommate, okay, ordered him to stay home and get his rest. Jim knew that Blair was not really a morning person, but he must have understood his sentinel’s words. What was left to misunderstand at the words ‘Stay at home, better yet, stay in bed, Sandburg!’? The man was a graduate student; he had to have a rudimentary understanding of the English language. So much for that. If the little dweeb had gone to the university, he would rip him a new one when he came home.
He dialled his senses up anyway, and checked the apartment. His first impression had been right, nobody at home.
”So, Jim, where is your roommate? Didn’t you tell me he would be staying at home?”
Jim growled into the direction of his captain. “He should be. Wait, there’s a note on the table.” He went over and scanned the letter.
”Listen to this: ‘Dear Jim, need a bit quiet. Am camping. Usual spot. Come and get me, if you want. Blair’. Did you get that? He can’t even eat solid food yet and goes camping? Is he completely out of his mind? ‘Come and get me, if you want.’ He can bet his skinny little ass that I want! And I will! Drag him physically home if necessary!”
Jim paced the living room while his grinning friend watched him. Suddenly, Simon sobered.
”Are you sure it is his handwriting?”
Jim froze in place. Again, he checked the scanty note. He dialled his sight and smell up.
”Yes, he wrote it alright. God, Simon, you scared me. No, he will only wish he was kidnapped when I’m through with him.”
The big black man relaxed visibly. Simon removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.
”Well, if we leave now, we could be back in about five hours, with one extra passenger on board.”
Jim looked at his superior thankfully. “You don’t need to come with me. I’m sure you had plans for the evening. It could take longer if he managed to find trouble.”
”If?” Simon grinned at his detective. “This is Sandburg we’re talking about. Trouble is the kid’s middle name. Anyway, I have no plans for the evening and if it takes longer, well, all I wanted to do over the weekend is paint the window frames. That will go much faster with both of you helping me, if you get my drift.”
Jim grinned and nodded. Slaving for Simon was a fair prize and he would make sure that junior would do his share.
=<>=<>=<>=
Blair swallowed and looked down at his leg. From this angle he wasn’t able to see the sharp, barbed stick imbedded in his right thigh, but he could take a guess at what it looked like from the ones around him. Jim would kill him. First, the sentinel would nurse him back to health, and then the older man would kill him slowly, with pleasure.
The trapped man sighed and looked at the dark shape beside him. If the bear hadn’t fallen into the hole before, Blair would be lying there now, as dead as the big animal. If the bear’s body hadn’t cushioned his fall, there would be more than the one skewer penetrating his body.
God, he had been so stupid. Talking off in itself had been a bad idea, but doing so without Jim had been a pure act of suicide. Hopefully, that wouldn’t matter much longer; his sentinel would come and get him out. His note would have pissed off Jim, but surely not enough to leave him hanging here? No, no, Jim was forgiving, caring, and a protector. He would come, he had to come.
Blair scanned his surroundings again. The hole wasn’t that deep, but climbing out was out of question. There was no way he could get what felt like a whole tree out of his leg without the barb ripping his leg into shreds. Okay. One way. He had his Swiss Army knife and, well, he could try to cut the barb out. But he would most likely bleed to death during the attempt. He wasn’t ready to consider that option yet. If his knight in shiny truck wasn’t here by tomorrow, then maybe he would. Maybe not.
He squinted at one of the sharp sticks, looming up just inches beside his chest. Even without the glasses, which he had lost when he fell, he could see how nasty these things were. And this one especially was much too close for his liking. One different twist during his fall, and it would have killed him for sure. Blair didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but the tip with the big barb looked not only truly frightening, but it appeared to be covered in old, dried blood. He shuddered and took a hissed breath when the movement aggravated his injury. To imagine that a thing like that was spearing his leg! If he survived this, and that was a big if, who knew what kind of diseases he could get from that thing?
Blair opened his backpack to retrieve one of his water bottles. It had been an incredibly slow and painful affair to get it off his back. Every movement had hurt enough to drive tears into his eyes. He had blinked the wetness back, not ready to give up precious moisture. Even opening the pack was painful. But he knew he needed water in order to survive. He didn’t think that the wound was bleeding much with the ‘tree’ still in place, but there was no point in taking risks. With a wound as big and as deep as that, it was entirely possible that he would loose his higher reasoning due to the pain and blood-loss. No, he’d better be overly careful.
He had three bottles of water. If Jim didn’t come for him by tomorrow morning, he would start to ration his stock. But his roommate would most likely come much sooner. If he only could be sure that the detective had come home at his regular time. Then he should already be on the road to retrieve his runaway guide.
Blair sighed again. What was worse, staying here or facing Jim? Tough decision. No, not really, if he was honest with himself. What was taking Jim so long?
Suddenly, he froze. From the corner of his eye he saw a movement behind the massive body of the dead animal. It couldn’t be the bear, he was cold already.
In one moment he switched from depression to sheer panic. Damn, was there another predator trapped with him? Shit, shit, shit.
Blair tried to suppress his trembling. Every movement could draw the animal attention to his presence, and it hurt really bad, too. Fat chance that the beast hadn’t noticed him already! He shouldn’t have taken the backpack off. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He forced himself to breathe shallow and, hopefully, silently. His stomach twisted in painful knots. No wonder. He had just gotten over a nasty stomach infection. Only to end here as a snack for some wild animal. Now Jim wouldn’t have to bother killing him. His hands started to shake worse. Damn! Pull yourself together! You have to stay calm if you want to survive!
The movement came nearer. Shit! Jim, where are you?
=<>=<>=<>=
Jim fidgeted in the passenger seat of his truck. Why the hell wouldn’t Simon let him drive? It was his truck after all! Okay, so Simon thought that he wasn’t one of the best drivers. A matter of opinion. He was convinced that he was a damn good driver; his captain just didn’t appreciate his abilities. He had always reached his destination, or at least most of the times.
Sandburg would pay for this. Dearly. He would make the little slob clean the whole loft, including the windows. And he wouldn’t let him get away with paying professionals, either. No, every window, including the skylights, would be hand-cleaned and polished by the student. And if he found only one tiny speck of dirt… And he was going to look, really look. Even if Sandburg argued that the dirt wasn’t visible to normal eyesight, he would clean until the last trace would be gone. He chuckled briefly.
”What will you make him do? Write your reports for the next two years?”
Jim only nodded and added it to his mental list of punishments. It was frightening how well his captain knew him, to the point that he seemed to read his mind. But back to his favourite thoughts. Punishments for his runaway guide. When he was through with Sandburg, the kid would wish never to have barrelled into his hospital room.
Dammit, why didn’t Simon drive faster? The street was empty; there was no use of crawling down the road that slowly.
”Maybe I should drive for a while? Give you a little rest?”
”Dream on, Ellison! Not in this life. I value my health too much for that. So, be a nice little passenger and shut up.”
Jim clenched his jaw. This day was so not fun. But Sandburg would pay for Banks’ attitude, too. What else could he do to the student? Bungee jumping or paragliding came to mind. Something very far from solid ground. And it had to be in Cascade, on a rainy day. A cold and rainy day. Oh yes! That was something to look forward to. Payback!
=<>=<>=<>=
Blair felt his pulse speed up. The movement was much nearer now, entirely too close.
Dammit, Jim, come on! I know how you drive! You should be here by now. What if… Jim didn’t come? What if his friend had decided to grant him the quiet he had asked for? Jim, now is not the right moment to better yourself! Now is the time to come and get your pathetically whining roommate!
A little whimper escaped his tightly closed lips.
Shit! Shut up, Sandburg, be quiet or you’re dead!
There was the movement again. A dark shadow, so much closer now.
Jim, I’m really sorry! I will do everything you tell me, never try to escape again if only you come and get me NOW! Please, Jim, you’re my Blessed Protector, so come and protect me already!
A strange noise accompanied the jerky movements of the dark form.
God, I wish I could talk to Jim and mom for a last time. Tell them how much they mean to me. Now they’ll never find me, my body, and they’ll have to live without the knowledge what happened to me. And I’ll die here without even a decent last meal.
He squinted his eyes in the dim light. The shadow was so close now that he could see a mouth, full of big, sharp teeth. He could smell the foul breath of the beast, feel it on his skin.
”JIM!”
=<>=<>=<>=
Jim jumped out of the truck as soon as it was standing beside Sandburg’s car. The tent was set up not far from it.
”Chief! - Sandburg?”
No answer. Simon left the car and looked around. Jim dialled his senses up and scanned the surroundings. He could see minute disturbances of the forest floor and followed the trail he hoped was left behind by his roommate. Simon followed without questioning him. The sentinel kept his eyes on the ground so that he wouldn’t miss a single clue as to what had happened to his friend. Everything else became distant and blurred. Only the little testaments of Blair’s passing, which he detected on the ground, mattered to him. He ignored everything else. He didn’t even care whether his captain was still following him.
There. A partial foot print. He knew that design, in fact, he had argued with Sandburg for half an hour when the student had insisted that he couldn’t see any dirty footprints in the apartment. This was the first real indication that he was following the right track. He quickened his stride, but kept it slow enough not to miss any trace of Blair’s movements.
He was so focussed on his task that he didn’t see the huge hole in the ground until he was standing immediately in front of it. One step more and he would have fallen. He looked into the dim pit. Damned! It looked like Sandburg hadn’t been able to stop in time.
His vision was dialled up too far to get the whole picture, so he returned it to normal. He gasped at the sight.
His friend was lying there, partly on top of a huge dead bear, surrounded by nasty looking, barbed sticks, looming up from the ground. In his arms was a bear cub, and both of them were fast asleep.
The sentinel was unable to tear his gaze from that picture and gestured over his shoulder for Simon to step closer. Jim knew that his captain had seen it when he heard a gasp beside him, similar to the one he had uttered before. He wished he had a camera right now.
Jim frowned. Something was disturbing the peaceful picture. He needed a minute to recognize it. The smell of blood .The bear, which had bled to death, had to be the source of that. At least he hoped so. He checked his partner over. Blair was pale and there were pain-lines around his eyes, visible even while he was asleep. Jim crouched down and called out to his friend.
”Blair? Chief, wake up!”
Sandburg slept on, but the bear cub in his arms woke up. The animal stirred and turned its head to look at the detective.
”Hey, teddy, wake Blair for me, will you?”
The cub turned its head back toward the anthropologist and butted its nose against Blair’s.
”Wha…? Blair mumbled into the cub’s fur, squinting his eyes at his sleep-mate.
”China, why did you wake me up? I’m still tired!”
”Maybe your teddy bear wanted to tell you that you’ve got company!” Jim couldn’t keep the smile out of his words.
”Jim! Man, am I glad to see you! What took you so long?” Blair blinked in Jim’s direction.
”Are you sure you do see me?”
”Not funny, man, I can’t see a thing against the light. So, do you intend to stay up there all day or are you going to help me get out of here?”
Simon chuckled from Jim’s left.
”He sure is grumpy when he wakes up.”
Jim grinned back.
”Yeah, and usually he’s not glad to see me. Now you know a little bit of the burden I have to carry.”
Blair briefly considered gnawing his leg off to escape from the two men’s bad jokes. Then he decided on another course of action and moaned pitifully. Jim’s attention was on him in a flash.
”What’s wrong, Chief, are you hurt?”
God, Jim was so easy. Blair made his most miserable face and squinted up at the detective.
”One of these things… In my leg.” He pointed vaguely toward his injured limb. “It hurts.”
Now Simon’s smile was gone, too. Jim turned to his captain.
”Call rescue. I don’t think we could or should even try to do it on our own. I won’t take the risk unless we have no other option left.”
Simon only nodded and took out his cell phone while Jim searched for a safe way to climb down.
”I’ll go back to the car and get a rope. I’ll be back in a second.”
He hurried back to his truck, all the time listening to his superior’s phone conversation. He was glad to hear that the rescue would only take a short while to arrive. After grabbing the rope, he took a bottle of water and hurried back. Blair would surely be thirsty after spending so much time trapped in that damn pit. Jim wondered exactly how long Sandburg had been lying in there, injured and helpless. Back beside the hole in the ground, he tied the rope around a sturdy tree.
”Careful, Chief, I’m coming down!”
”Okay. Be careful yourself, Jim. These stakes are nasty.”
”Don’t worry, Chief. Not everyone is as clumsy as you.”
”Funny, old man, really funny.”
Jim climbed down, very slow and careful. For all the joking, the stakes scared the heck out of him and he intended to avoid closer acquaintance with them. It was hard to find a place to stand at the bottom of the trap. Everywhere these goddamn barbed stakes! Finally, he found space for his feet, turned around and bent down to get a closer look at his guide. When he tried to touch his friend though, the little bear snapped at him.
”Whoa! So little and so vicious!” Jim jerked away from the cute and aggressive animal. Blair grabbed the cub’s head and forced it around to face him.
”No, China, no biting unless I tell you to. You can have your taste later if he continues to annoy me.” The student grinned brilliantly at the detective, waiting for a reaction.
”Cute, Chief. Remember that you need me to get out of here!”
Jim bent down again to check Blair’s legs. Wordlessly, the student pointed toward his right thigh. Jim bent down further, trying to look beneath the leg, but the angle was wrong.
”This stake seems to be shorter that the others. You were lucky; otherwise it would have gone right through.”
”If it had gotten through I could have cut the barb off and could have freed myself hours ago.”
”And would have bled to death within minutes. So, while we have to wait for the cavalry, why don’t you tell me everything that happened since you decided to pull this insane stunt and especially, why!”
Blair studied the cub’s fur very intently, slowly stroking the animal lying on his chest.
”Blair? I’m waiting!”
The student looked up defiantly.
”I just couldn’t stand it any longer, staying in the loft, drinking this nasty slimy stuff that claims to be my food; I just had enough!”
”So you decided to take off.” Jim’s voice was low and devoid of any emotion, a dangerous warning sign for those who knew him. Blair did and recognized the impending doom.
”Yes, so I decided to take off. In hindsight, not my best idea.”
The young man swallowed and Jim remembered the bottle of water he had stuffed into his jacket pocket. He handed it to his roommate, who refused to take it and produced a bottle of his own.
”Go on, Chief.”
”I was taking a walk and there was this strange noise and I looked around and… well, then I was falling. That’s it, basically.”
Jim lifted his eyebrows.
”Very basically. How did teddy bear there become your watchdog?”
Blair looked uncomfortable for a moment and averted his gaze. The sentinel was prepared for another round of obfuscations when his friend faced him again.
”She was trapped for some time and when I fed her she decided to adopt me.”
”Fed? With what?”
”You remember this disgusting stuff you keep on feeding me? Well, she likes it. Remember Brown’s oh-so-funny joke? The baby bottle was still in my backpack. Who knew that H’s infantilism could be useful sometimes?”
”You do remember that the doctor told you to drink that regularly, don’t you?”
”Yeah, but I couldn’t. I nearly puked when I poured it into the baby bottle. And I had to do it three times! How they can call stuff like that food is beyond me. And I’m tired of all the jokes, too.”
”So, I take it you didn’t think Brown’s joke was funny?”
Blair looked exasperated.
”Jim, I feel terrible all the time, all I get to eat is this slimy stuff and Brown compares me to a bottle-fed baby! No, I didn’t think it was funny!”
Blair huffed and started to pet the cub again. Jim nodded. He shouldn’t have let his partner’s laughter fool him. Blair always made a friendly face when he was teased. And he never seemed to mind the jokes at his expense. The detective suspected that his little observer was much better at hiding his true emotions than himself.
”Okay, now you’re her mother. How did you know it was a ‘her’?”
”I didn’t. You mean I was right? She is actually female?”
”Yes, Chief, she is. But who else would throw themselves at your hero’s breast than a girl!” Both of them chuckled.
”Drink some water, Chief; you need to keep your fluid level up.”
The student complied.
”How do you feel, Blair?”
”Not too bad. I’m kinda used to the pain by now.”
Jim nodded and settled down to wait for the arrival of help.
”So, Chief. Why China?”
”Just came to my mind. The Cindy Lauper song from that strange movie, with the hole and China, you know?”
”I don’t remember a film about China.” His roommate’s mind was sure strange sometimes.
”Not the film, the song. The film was about some paranormals chasing after a glowing pyramid.”
Jim shook his head.
”You know, Chief, you’re seriously weird.”
”But you love me anyway.”
”I plead the fifth.”
=<>=<>=<>=
Getting the anthropologist out of the pit proved to be a difficult enterprise. The cub painfully refused to be separated from her step ‘mom’. After about twenty minutes and several claw and bite marks later, the rescue workers were able to remove the cub from the man. The next problem was the wooden stake imbedded in Blair’s thigh proved to be harder to sever than anticipated. The student attempted to appear as stoic as Jim at his best, but the clenched jaw and the tears that escaped the corners of his eyes were a dead giveaway to the amount of pain he was in. The local anaesthesia was not working.
Finally, Sandburg was lifted out of the pit, unconscious. That left Jim with the decision of what to do with little China. The rescue workers didn’t have the means to take responsibility for the bear cub, so the detective decided to find a place to stay for her before following Blair to the hospital.
That task proved to be more difficult and time-consuming that he had anticipated. Everyone he asked stated the cub had to be put to sleep. He finally found a veterinarian who agreed to take care of China for a few days. Jim even considered briefly having her put to sleep while Sandburg was in the hospital. It would spare the young man a lot grief. One thing had become quite obvious: nobody wanted to have anything to do with an animal as young as China. She was too dependent on her mother to survive on her own. The sentinel didn’t want his wounded friend to have to face the same difficulties and negative attitude he’d had trying to find a temporary home for the bear cub. But, Jim decided that Blair should be able to make the decision himself.
Now that the animal was taken care for, he could go to the hospital. While Jim had run himself ragged, the student had been through surgery and recovery, and was now settled into a private room. At least one good outcome of his busy day. The sentinel had been spared the endless pacing in the waiting room, the annoyed looks of the nurses when he asked them for the tenth time about news on his friend and Simon’s threats to cuff him to a chair.
He was sitting at Blair’s bedside now, waiting for the student to wake up. Sandburg wouldn’t be sleeping peacefully if he had an idea of the challenges that awaited him. At least the doctor had been optimistic in his prognosis. No damage to the bone and the torn muscles should heal completely. With rest, pain medication and physical therapy, of course. But how could he convince the stubborn little bastard to take it easy?
Maybe he really should have taken care of the bear. The permanent kind of care. No, he couldn’t do that to his friend. Even if it would’ve spared Blair a lot of worry and trouble. Sandburg would be devastated if he’d be released from the hospital only to find that his little friend had been killed in the meantime. No way could he betray Blair’s trust that way.
Jim could hear the student’s heartbeat quickening, a sign of his imminent awakening. A few moments later, tired blue eyes opened and a groggy anthropologist looked up at him.
”Hi, Jim. Hospital again?”
”Yep.” His little guppy was much too intelligent to do the whole ‘where am I’-routine.
”Do you remembered what happened?”
Sandburg frowned for a short while, then looked at him guiltily.
”Uhm, yeah. Not my brightest decision.”
”You can say that again.” Jim growled at his friend. Then he continued in a gentler tone. “How’s your leg?”
”Don’t feel anything. Where is China?”
”In Asia.” The detective wasn’t able to keep the smile out of his voice. Blair groaned and tapped his fingers on top of the blanket impatiently.
”I found a vet who would take care of her for a few days. Nothing permanent, though. And, no, we can’t keep her!”
Blair laughed out loud.
”Oh, I can so see that, you fighting with a grown bear over the best place on the couch! I wonder who’d win.”
”With you teaching her all your dirty tricks? Her, no doubt.”
Blair looked down uncomfortably.
”I’m sorry, Jim, for taking off like that. I took off because I felt trapped in the loft, but now I know the true meaning of the word. I promised I won’t ever do something like that again.”
”Do you think you’ll escape your punishment this way?”
His only answer was his roommate’s often practised ‘get real’-look.
”Okay, but a guy can have his dreams. But I get a reward for the rescue, right? No more tests for the rest of the month.”
”Deal.”
Blair grimaced, but Jim could see that it wasn’t from pain, but from concentration. He could practically see the wheels turn in this frightening agile brain.
”Jim, do you know where my cell phone is?”
”You have a telephone here, Chief.”
”Nah, I just need a number.”
”Are you saying that you forgot a telephone number? The Blair I know has thousands of numbers stored in his brain!”
Blair grinned.
”And it’s even a girl’s number!”
”God, Chief, let’s call the doctor, you’re seriously ill. You, forgetting a girl’s phone number? How could something that horrible happen?”
”Yeah, laugh it up! So, do you know where my cell phone is or not? I have a call to make.”
”Wait a minute, I’ll go and get it.”
After the detective left the room, Blair lifted the blanket and peered at the bandage around his thigh. Didn’t look too impressive. He wondered how his little teddy bear was faring without her step mom. He needed to hurry and get out of the hospital.
Jim came back into the room and the student released the blanket hurriedly. The sentinel had seen it anyway and chuckled.
”I’m sure the scar will impress the ladies sufficiently. If not, you could always score sympathy points.”
Blair blushed.
”There you go, Casanova. One cell phone, in perfect working order.”
”Thanks, Jim.”
”Should I go outside while you make your call?”
”No need, Jim.”
The anthropologist grabbed the telephone from his night stand and dialled the number with his left hand while he operated the cell phone with his right.
”Battery low again, Chief?”
Sandburg ducked his head, blushed and nodded slightly. Jim shook his head, but didn’t comment. Blair’s expression stated firmly that he knew what he had done wrong. That expression shifted quickly to a broad grin, when his call was answered.
”Holy mother? - Teddy, who else? Listen, I need your help. - Uh huh. – No, not another Josh, I promise. No, a little bear cub. I need a place for her. She lost her mother and needs a place to stay. Something appropriate to the species. – Geeze, Mary, I have no idea. Young. Too young to survive on her own. – Yeah, that sounds good. Wait a moment.”
He put a hand over the mouthpiece and turned back to face Jim.
”Did they tell you when they’re going to release me?”
”Not really. Three days minimum, but open end.”
”Shit! I feel fine, why the hell do they want to keep me?”
”Yeah, right. You can’t eat solid food and have a hole of the size of Miami in your thigh, but you feel fine. Three days, no discussion.”
The student sighed and returned to his phone conversation.
”Vee? I’m unavailable for three days. – No, hospital. What do you think of me, I haven’t been in jail for a long time. – Yeah, I know. My roommate could take you to China. – What? That’s her name, geeze, girl. – Yes, the gorgeous, blue-eyed hunk of a policeman.” Blair smiled and winked at the detective. “Six pm. Wait a minute, I’ll ask him.”
”Six is okay, Chief.”
”Vee? No problem.” Again he covered the mouthpiece. “Where will you meet her?”
Instead of answering, Jim took the receiver from his friend and arranged the details with her personally. Then he replaced the receiver and glared at the student.
”You know, that conversation was weird, even for your standards. Holy mother? Teddy? And who’s Josh?” He tried to ignore his friends snickering and continued to look sternly at the injured man. “So?”
”Josh was the absolute nightmare student. I asked Virginia to tutor him. She has yet to forgive me for that. Holy mother? What do you expect with a name like Virginia? First she became Virgin Mary and from there to holy mother wasn’t that far. And teddy? Her payback. I give her a nickname, she gives me one. Fair trade. And Teddy Blair isn’t that bad.”
”Yeah, I think you got the better part of the deal, Chief. And you think she can help you with China?”
”If she can’t, nobody can. She’s a biologist, and bears are her speciality. Her grandfather was kind of a hermit who lived deep in the woods. He taught her things about bears nobody else knows. And she’s incredibly smart.”
”So, you and her…?” Jim smiled suggestively.
”We’re friends. You know, I don’t sleep with every woman I meet, Jim.”
””Yeah, I know, only with about half of them. So, what is she like? The geeky type?”
”She’s really funny. I think you’ll like her. She can sit absolutely still for hours when she is bear-watching.”
”We’ll see.” Jim was not convinced.
”And she can spend hours without talking.”
”Really? Maybe you could take lessons from her.”
Blair didn’t answer.
”Just imagine, the heavenly silence in the loft!”
The student kept quiet. Jim studied his partner. Sandburg didn’t look upset about his remark, so maybe he was merely granting him his wish.
”On the other hand, a silent Chief wouldn’t work for me. I’d miss my little chatterbox.”
”Little, who do you call little?” Blair’s smile belied his words. “Let me tell you that my height is perfectly average.”
”That would be the only thing average about you.”
”Thanks, I think.” Blair shot a look full of insecurity at his friend.
”Your welcome. And yes, it was a compliment.”
”Cool!” The insecurity was gone from the young man’s face and had made place for an embarrassed smile.
Jim stayed until a nurse threw him out mid-afternoon, because the student had to see another doctor. Blair chuckled about the picture the two presented. The tiny, fragile looking nurse ushering the big, strong ex-ranger out of the door. But he didn’t have much time to enjoy the moment, since she came back to take him to his appointment.
=<>=<>=<>=
The next morning, Jim was back at the hospital, swooning about the biologist. Blair endured all of his roommate’s vivid descriptions of her beauty, her smarts and her nice personality before he told the sentinel about her equally nice boyfriend, soon-to-be husband. That shut Jim up and he moped for a few minutes. The anthropologist was hysteric over the detective’s expression. Finally, he consoled himself and wiped the tears of mirth from his face.
”So, what did she say about China?”
”She has an idea how to solve the problem, but she has to check something out first. She didn’t tell me exactly what she’s planning; only that it could take a few days. The vet agreed to take care of China until Virginia takes over.”
”That’s good. Maybe they’ll let me out by then and I’ll get a chance to say good-bye to my little teddy bear.”
”Probably. So, how do you feel today?”
”A bit sore. They changed the pain medication and let me tell you, the other stuff was better. But at least I got a halfway decent breakfast today. Finally something to chew, you know? And it really tasted good. Imagine, hospital food that is actually edible!”
Jim chuckled. “Junior, after weeks of liquid food they could have fed you cardboard, you would have liked it!”
”Too dry. But with peanut butter, maybe.” Blair grinned at his friend, but Jim was able to see the pain his friend was trying to suppress. “How’s China doing? She’s eating? Does… does she miss me?”
”Yeah, she does, Chief. I took the shirt you were wearing in that pit with me and left it in her cage. She snuggled right into it. And it did wonders for her appetite. Don’t worry; she will be okay until you get out of here.”
”I hope so.”
”Okay, enough with the sad thoughts! I brought you something to do. So, what do we have here… the newest anthropological journal, a nice thriller, a few letters from the ladies missing you and, best of all, your laptop. Think that will keep you occupied for a few minutes?”
”Well, ten minutes at least. Thanks, Jim.”
”You’re welcome, Chief.”
=<>=<>=<>=
This time, Blair hobbled along on his crutches. After three days of being left at home, Blair had finally convinced his partner to let him come with them. It had already been two weeks since he was released from the hospital, but he was still trying to follow Jim’s wishes. It was a personal record for him, actually attempting to follow orders for fourteen days. It wasn’t half as hard as he’d thought it would be, since the sentinel wasn’t making any unreasonable demands.
But now Jim deemed him healthy enough to accompany the biologist and the detective into the forest. The uneven ground didn’t make it too easy to manoeuvre on his crutches, but Blair took care not to mention that to his overprotective sentinel.
Blair was just happy that Virginia had finally found a solution. It had taken longer than anticipated and the veterinarian had only taken care of China for so long because he knew of Virginia’s extraordinary reputation and trusted her to find a way to help the little bear. When the biologist had explained her plan, Blair had been stunned. It sounded so completely… odd, but workable. She had told him about a wild female adult bear, who was able and willing to adopt China. She had a pretty sad history herself. She had never been able to bear cubs, so she had tried to steal the babies from other mama bears. Naturally, the mothers hadn’t liked that and the poor creature had been wounded more than once. But at the moment, if Virginia’s information was right, she was in top condition and, since she was trapped in a seemingly unending circle of pseudo-pregnancies, she was even producing milk and would be able to feed China. The two bears were perfect for each other. The only problem now was to find the prospective mother. Jim and the biologist had tried for three days already, without seeing any trace of her. The student hoped that they would have success soon. The little animal needed to live her own live, free in the forest and not being kept like a pet. But still, he would miss her once she was gone.
China kept close to him, walking by his side like a well-trained dog. Even though he hadn’t been able to see her for the six days he had to spend in the hospital, she immediately recognized her step-mom and had ignored everyone else whenever he’d been in the room. Now she was walking close to him, occasionally rubbing her side into his leg, almost causing him to stumble every time. Blair ignored Jim’s dirty looks whenever that happened and petted her when she came close enough.
This part of the national forest was beautiful; they should remember it for their next vacation. Maybe they could even see China again. Assuming, they actually found the mama bear.
Virginia and Jim led him to a viewing platform, where Jim helped Blair climb up. China had to stay down, and she protested loudly against this treatment. The biologist smiled at that and said that the noise would probably attract the adult bear. That didn’t make Blair feel any better when he heard the little animal’s cries.
Blair’s anxiety eased over time. It seemed like they wouldn’t have any more luck then Jim and Virginia had for the last three days. The good news was that he could spend some more time with his cuddly teddy bear. The bad news was, every day it would get harder for China to return back into the normal lifestyle of a wild animal.
Three hours after their arrival, Jim helped Blair down to the ground before returning to the platform. The student needed to feed China.
He was greeted enthusiastically, and quickly sat down before she knocked him down. The animal settled down on his legs, pinning him to the ground thoroughly. Jim and Virginia laughed at him, but he just flipped them the bird and fed the bear. He didn’t mind her sitting on his legs. Although she was bigger this time. She wasn’t hurting him and he loved being close to her, maybe for the last time.
While he fed China, the student listened to the conversation going on overhead. The sentinel seemed to be over his crush and told Virginia about his time with the Chopec and the wildlife he had encountered there. She was very interested and asked him a lot of questions. Blair grinned. Those two would’ve made such a cute couple.
Suddenly he heard Jim shouting.
”She’s coming! Blair, get up here!”
Frantically, he tried to comply, but China refused to get off his legs and then the big bear was already there and why the hell hadn’t Jim heard her sooner?
=<>=<>=<>=
Virginia grabbed the back of Jim’s jacket collar and yanked him back when the detective tried to rush down.
Jim turned around and glared at her.
”I have to help Blair!”
”Don’t, Jim. She’s not aggressive, but we have to be as quiet as possible. She could react badly if she thinks we’re a threat to her cub.” Then she leaned over the rim of the platform and called out softly to the terrified man on the ground. “Blair, don’t move! She won’t attack. Just don’t try to get between her and the cub.”
Jim heard his friend’s fast heartbeat and the rapid breathing. Otherwise, the student remained motionless, frozen in terror.
”Virginia, you told me that she fought the mothers for their babies. Why do you think she wouldn’t attack Sandburg?”
”She never attacked. The cub’s mothers attacked her. Relax, she is really friendly.”
His legs were twitching nervously. He needed all his strength to stay where he was and not to jump down to rescue his guide. But at the first sign of animosity coming form the dangerous animal, he would be down in a flash and protect his friend. Virginia might be an expert, but wild animals were unpredictable.
=<>=<>=<>=
The big bear came closer and closer. Blair felt more than uncomfortable, and China seemed to share the sentiment. She moved closer to him, shying away from the approaching adult animal. The big bear stopped and made some soft noises. China started to relax then, and the great beast came a few steps closer.
She was much too close for Blair’s liking. Maybe she would go away if China went with her. He petted the small animal on his lap briefly and bent down to whisper in her ear.
”Good bye, China. Have a long and happy life.”
Then he shoved her gently, but persistently, off his legs and toward the adult female. China turned around and looked at him, but he bent forward and shoved her again, if only a little bit. She seemed to understand and trotted, very slowly, a little closer to the still beckoning adult.
Blair didn’t dare to take a deeper breath until both animals met, carefully sniffing each other. It seemed to take hours until the two bears finally got together, still too close to the student’s position.
Why the hell didn’t they go? The animals had met, apparently liked each other, so why were they staying there? Blair thought his eyes would bulge out of his head when the big bear turned to him and made the same noises, which had attracted China to her, in his direction. What the hell?
=<>=<>=<>=
Virginia started to giggle. The detective considered briefly to strangle her. What was so funny about this situation? Sandburg was still in danger!
”What’s so funny?” Jim hissed angrily in her direction.
”She wants to adopt Blair too. I always knew he was cute, but that he could instil motherly instincts in a bear…” She started to giggle again.
Jim was still unable to see anything funny in the situation. He grabbed the biologist hard by the upper arm.
”How do we get her to leave?” He shook her slightly to emphasize his point.
”Uh, I’d say you get down and move between Blair and her. I’m sure she’ll leave then.” She was still grinning. God, what did he ever see in this woman?
He went down, slowly, carefully and stepped between the big animal and his partner. Blair’s heartbeat slowed down as soon as the sentinel stepped into his field of vision. The female seemed to get the message. Slowly, she turned, calling out to China, and both of them left. The detective kept his position until they were gone from even the range of his heightened vision. Then he turned around and helped Blair stand up. The student was shaky and swayed, so Jim took him in his arms and hugged him tightly. That had been entirely too close.
=<>=<>=<>=
Blair was half asleep when the detective ushered him into the loft. Unable to coordinate his crutches in his sleepy clumsiness, he had made the way from the truck to the loft supported by the older man’s arm and shoulder. The whole drive over, Jim had told him how disappointed he had been by Virginia’s attitude and the student shared the feeling. Okay, he could see that the situation would be funny for an outsider, but he had thought the biologist cared enough about him not to count as one. Well, obviously not. But Jim’s fierce protectiveness has surprised him. The sentinel had shown more compassion toward the anthropologist than Blair had deemed him able to have. His people skills obviously lacked, to have misjudged both of his friends. But right now he was too tired to care.
Jim half-dragged him into the bathroom and helped him undress. Even though he was likely to drown in his current state, Blair was desperate to get clean. Sitting on a moist forest ground while feeding an animal who wasn’t concerned about her manners made him feel more than a little grimy.
”Sit down on the toilet seat for a moment, Chief.” Jim had already hurried outside, but returned after a short time with a camping chair in his hands. He placed it in the shower, then started the shower, adjusted the temperature and then took Blair’s arm and helped him sitting down under the spray. The camping seat was remarkable comfortable and he was nearly dozing off. The water temperature was perfect.
”Stay awake a little longer, Chief. You’ll feel a hundred times better.” Blair sighed in bliss when the sentinel started to wash his back and groped blindly for the soap to clean the more approachable parts of his anatomy. Jim chuckled from behind him and placed a soaped sponge into his hand. Thanks to the double effort he was clean in no time and thought about washing his hair. Was it dirty enough to be worth the trouble? Again, Jim took the decision out of his hands and washed his hair quickly and efficiently.
”Thanks, Jim. Sorry to be such a bother. I don’t know why I feel so tired.”
”Let me think. Could it be the wound you got before you even recovered completely from your previous illness? Or the pain medication you’re taking? Or the fact that you faced a deadly animal today and the adrenaline is finally wearing off? Or the fact that I kept you inside the loft for the last two weeks and you shouldn’t have started getting on your feet again with a trek through the woods?” With the last words, Jim helped him to stand up again and wrapped him in his robe. Blair hadn’t even noticed that the detective had dried him off during his speech and smiled gratefully at the older man.
”Is your leg hurting?” Jim half-carried him into his room.
”Not much. I’ll take a pill but –“ Blair shut up, his mouth standing open and he stared at his bed. There on his cushion sat a big brown teddy bear, dressed in a yellow silk dress with a straw-hat, both items in Chinese style.
”You need to eat a bite before taking the medication.” Jim finished his roommate’s thought process and pushed the sheet to the side.
”Thanks, Jim. You’re the best friend I ever had.” He let himself be placed on the bed and covered by his friend.
”You too, Chief.” Jim whispered at his sleeping guide and went into the kitchen to prepare a light snack. Blair would grumble when he woke him up in half an hour, but the student needed to eat and take his pills. Sandburg’s thankfulness would be gone by then since an awaking Blair was a study in grumpiness, but he could deal with that.
- END -
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