by Carol Roi
"What? Dee, what's wrong?" Gazing at her face, he could see she was somewhere inside herself, then she came back to him. "Is it another Immortal?"
She nodded, a broad smile on her face. "It's a friend, a good friend." Turning in her chair, she watched the door until a petite redhead followed by a tall dark haired man entered Major Crimes. Blair's jaw dropped in surprise; the woman was the twin of the Companion he'd seen in his dream.
The man inclined his head toward her in way of greeting, and the woman gave Dee a thousand-watt smile. Then they were all business as they surveyed the bullpen. "Which one of you is Captain Banks?" the man finally asked.
Both Simon and Jim had left the office when they had noticed the arrival of the two strangers. "I am," Banks said, stepping forward. "And you are?"
"Agent Fox Mulder, FBI," the man replied, producing a badge. "This is my partner, Agent Scully. We understand you apprehended an escapee from a federal prison, one Evan Kendall." His hazel eyes looked at Banks expectantly.
"Actually," Jim said, "Kendall is in the morgue."
"And you are?" Agent Scully asked.
"Detective Jim Ellison. We spoke on the phone a month and a half ago."
She graced him with the slightest of smiles. "Ah, yes, I remember that conversation well. Did you ever find the information you were looking for?"
"Not exactly," Ellison muttered.
Mulder cleared his throat. "About Mr. Kendall, was he killed trying to resist arrest?"
"Not quite," Simon said. "He kidnapped Detective Ellison, and was killed during a rescue attempt."
Mulder shook his head and tch'd tch'd with his tongue. "Too bad. Of course, seeing as Kendall was a federal fugitive at the time of his death, I'd say the Bureau has jurisdiction in the investigation."
Scully produced a sheaf of papers from her briefcase. "These are orders from the Assistant Director of the FBI, ordering you to turn over all evidence and paperwork regarding Kendall to us. This of course, includes any suspects."
Simon knew an end run when he saw it. "Brown!" he barked. "Get me all the evidence and files in the Kendall case. Your suspect is over there, Agents." Turning on his heel, he stalked into his office, and closed the door forcefully.
Mulder stepped over to Ellison, and extended his hand. "Nice to finally meet you, Detective. Didn't take my advice, did you? Couldn't resist opening Pandora's box."
"Unfortunately not," Jim sighed. He knew Simon was angry, but in a way he was glad Diandra's friends had come through for her. It would save Sandburg and himself from making fools of themselves on the witness stand.
Scully moved to Dee's side, giving Blair a curious glance, then examining the handcuffs on Dee. "Anyone got a key for these?" Megan moved forward and dropped the key into her hand.
Once the cuffs were removed, Dee stood and pulled the smaller woman into an embrace. "Dana, Estrellita, it is so good to see you. I take it Joe called you?"
Scully stepped back, gazing into the other Immortal's face. "Yes, we were finishing up a case in Portland, so were able to get here fairly quickly. Mulder was really ticked when he heard you'd gotten yourself arrested. Expect a lecture."
Dee laughed, then reaching behind her, she grasped Blair's hand and pulled him up to stand beside her. "Dana Scully, I want you to meet Blair Sandburg. Blair, this is my student, Dana."
He held out his hand, and she took it, finding his grasp firm. Mulder came up at that moment, and he, too, was introduced to Blair. The two men eyed each other for a moment, current lover sizing up the former.
Dee left them to get acquainted, and walked over to Jim's desk. "Ellison," she said, as he looked up at her. "I owe you an explanation, but not here. We have a lot to discuss, and I'd like to do it on neutral ground. You okay for a drive to Seacouver?" Her eyes flicked quickly to his injured side, then back to his face.
Jim shot a glance at Blair, who was in the midst of an animated discussion with the two FBI agents, complete with hand gestures. "If this is about who gets to be Sentinel of the Great City, I'm not up to a winner takes all fight."
Dee shook her head. "No, this about who I am, and where we go from here. Despite what I said in the heat of battle, I can't really be Cascade's Champion. That position is already filled." The corners of her lips turned up in a wistful smile, and for a brief moment, Jim caught a glimpse of the woman beneath the warrior's exterior.
"Let me go talk to Simon, and I'll be back."
An hour later, they were piled into two cars, on the way to Seacouver. Blair rode with Mulder in the FBI agent's rental car, and Dee, Dana, and Jim took Dee's Cherokee. Dee was silent for most of the drive, relying on Dana to entertain Ellison. That she did, engaging him in shoptalk, discovering that they both had their share of strange and unusual cases. Dee kept one ear tuned to the conversation in the other car, a little worried about how Blair would get along with Mulder, but her fears were unfounded. Upon finding out Blair was an anthropologist with expertise in South American cultures, Mulder had began quizzing him about the theory of the ancient Mayans as space travelers.
Once they reached Joe's they were welcomed warmly by the Watcher, who gave both Dee and Dana a hug, and shook Jim's hand firmly as he was introduced. The group took a table upstairs, giving them some privacy. After dinner, Blair and Mulder went downstairs to talk with Joe, and Scully cornered Adam at the bar, catching up on what had been happening with the older Immortal. That left Diandra alone with Jim.
She took a sip of her mineral water, wondering where to begin. Finally, she said, "I guess most of your questions can be answered with two words: I'm immortal."
Jim stared at her, his beer bottle paused a few inches from his lips. Slowly, he set it down on the table. "You're what?"
Dee sucked an ice cube out of her drink and crunched it. "I'm immortal. I can't be killed by ordinary means, like falling off the top of a lighthouse." She gave him a wry smile, "Or drowning, or being shot, or stabbed, or hit by a car. Can't even burn to death, though it hurts like hell." He continued to stare, his mind not grasping the concept. "Here, let me give you a demonstration." She picked up one of the steak knives left over from dinner, and ran it across the palm of her hand, then held it up for his inspection.
Blood oozed out of the cut, pooling in her cupped palm. As he watched, the edges of the cut pulled together, tiny blue sparks dancing back and forth across the small gap. In a few seconds, the cut was completely gone, and she wiped her hand on a napkin, then offered it to him. Examining it closely, even his sentinel sight could detect no sign of injury. "Okay," he finally said, "I'll take your word for it. But that doesn't explain your senses."
"In a way it does," she said, leaning forward in her chair, resting her elbows on the table and propping her chin on her hands. "I was a champion, or sentinel, almost three millennia ago. My companion, however, was human. She was killed in battle, and as a result of the psychic trauma, I repressed my senses for thousands of years. I'm not really sure what brought them back, but Blair's theory is as good as any. He thinks it was being around him, around a guide that did it. Personally, I lean toward the idea of fate. Do you believe in karma, Ellison?" At his shrug, she continued, "After all I've been through in my life, I find I have to. Too much of it has been one big coincidence for me to discount the idea that there isn't some cosmic force guiding it. Think of it this way, if something hadn't called me to Cascade, I never would have run into Blair, and that night two months ago he would have gone to the market and been killed."
Jim felt a cold chill run down his spine at her words. He hadn't been there, hadn't been able to protect his guide.
"He came to me in the next few days, and took me up on my offer to teach him." At Ellison's surprised look, she said, "What did you think we were doing all that time we spent together? No, don't answer that. I was teaching him martial arts." Turning in her chair, she gazed over the railing at the anthropologist, who was leaning forward in his seat, listening intently to some point Mulder was making. "He's quite the t
enacious fighter, you know. Took to kick boxing like a duck to water, and staff, goddess, he beats me most of the time now." Looking up, she saw Jim's eyes were troubled. "He's still Lobo, Ellison. Learning to protect himself, learning to protect you, hasn't changed him. He made me swear not to put a sword in his hand, and I haven't. He doesn't have the killing instinct, not the way we do. I hope he never feels that rage."
Dee turned her attention back to Blair. "Maybe we can give you a demonstration tomorrow."
Jim didn't know how he felt about that. Part of him was in favor of anything that would keep his partner safe, and part of him felt that Blair's relationship with him had brought about the loss of his innocence. Changing the subject, he said, " Why did you confront Kendall with a sword? I'm assuming he was immortal, like you."
With a small sigh, she said, "There's only one way to kill an immortal, by cutting off his head. Immortals spend a good deal of their lives training for and participating in the Game, which is one on one combat to the death. The winner gets the loser's Quickening, or life force. That was the electrical storm you witnessed when I killed Kendall." At his horrified look, she said, "It's barbaric, I know, but it's our way. Most of us try not to involve mortals in our Game, but sometimes it can't be helped, and sometimes mortals choose to involve themselves, like Joe. He's a Watcher, one who watches and records the lives of Immortals, so that when we are all gone, there is some record that we existed."
Blair's laughter floated up towards them, and Dee smiled. A glance at Ellison confirmed a smile on his face as well. "I can see that's one thing we have in common, detective. Blair is incredibly important to both of us. But he is your Guide. He pinch hit for me yesterday, and I am alive because of it. If he had not known to be there when I needed him... " She shook her head. "We would all be dead. Kendall would have taken my head and then killed the both of you. I am very glad that didn't happen."
She toyed with her glass again, pushing the lime to the bottom and watching it float to the surface. "I would like us to be able to co-exist peacefully, detective. I know just sitting here talking to me is probably driving you crazy."
"Actually, it's not so bad," he said. "You might have hit on something with the neutral ground thing."
"Too bad we can't bottle it and take it with us." She crunched another piece of ice, knowing where the conversation had to go next, not sure how to approach it, or how Ellison would take it. "About last night, the things you said at the hospital... "
Jim cut her off. "They were inexcusable, I know. I've apologized to Blair. I just... " He couldn't voice his feelings of betrayal and inadequacy.
"You felt Blair betrayed you, because he was helping another sentinel." Jim nodded. "Lobo could never do that to you, Jim," she said gently. "He wanted to tell you as soon as we knew my senses were back, in fact, he tried to tell you Friday night when you called him, but the connection was too bad. He figured it could wait until you got back; we had no way of knowing then about Kendall, or that he would kidnap you in trying to get his revenge on Blair. We did the best we could under the circumstances, and if that hurt you, well, I'm sorry." She took a deep breath, and smoothed the wrinkles out of her napkin. "I want you to know I would never hurt Blair, Jim. I know you've had a bad experience in the past with another sentinel. Blair told me about Alex Barnes. But if you don't know by now if you can trust me or not, then nothing I can say is going to sway you."
Jim looked in to her steady blue gaze, and saw no trace of deceit. He sensed that Blair was safe in her presence, and he was really all that mattered when it came down to it. "I will try to give you the benefit of the doubt," he finally said.
Nodding, she said, "That's all that I ask." The sound of the jazz trio starting up effectively put an end to the conversation. "You like jazz, Ellison?" she asked. "This group is really good."
"I'm a classic rock fan myself, but jazz is all right," he replied, just as Blair came bounding up the stairs.
"You two get everything worked out?" he asked.
"To a certain degree," Jim said.
"We've called a truce," Dee added.
Blair came to stand behind her, his hands on the back of her chair. "You up for some dancing?" he asked her.
"I thought you'd never ask," she said. "You going to be okay here on your own, Ellison?"
"I'm fine," Jim said, "you two go on." He watched as Blair led Dee down the stairs and onto the dance floor, feeling a distinct sense of loss as he watched them jitterbug, laughing and joking together.
Several songs later, Blair felt a tap on his shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?" Mulder asked the anthropologist. Blair glanced at Dee, and at her nod, surrendered her hand to the taller man. Mulder slid his arm around her waist, and they moved silently to the music for a few moments before he broke the silence. "I don't think we ever did this," he said.
"Dance? No, no we never did. Somehow that wasn't very high on our list of priorities," she replied wistfully.
"I always thought we'd have the time, and then... "
"And then I was gone, running away with Dana, disappearing for five months," she said.
Mulder looked pensive for a moment, then said, "I don't think I ever thanked you for that, for taking Scully under your wing, teaching her, making sure she'd survive. So, thank you, Diandra."
Dee gave him a smile. "It's okay, Fox. I don't blame you for what happened between us. It was inevitable, I think. Much as I know you cared for me, I know your heart truly lies with Dana; I knew that the moment I saw the two of you together."
"That obvious, huh?"
"To someone who's been there, yes." She glanced across the dance floor, her eyes meeting Blair's as he danced with Dana. "I know a lot about inevitability."
Mulder's hazel eyes met her blue ones. "Are you talking about us, or about you and Blair?" he asked softly.
She quirked an eyebrow at him in surprise. "Are we that obvious?"
"I love it when you do that eyebrow thing. It reminds me of... Scully," he said with a laugh. "But yes, you are obvious. It's there in your eyes when you look at him. I can tell you're looking at him now, because your eyes are all soft and warm. And he's the same way, when he looks at you, his whole face lights up." Feeling tears well up in her eyes, Dee leaned her forehead against Mulder's shoulder. "Hey, hey, was it something I said?"
"No, no, it's not you, Fox. It's just... I haven't felt this close to someone in a long time, even closer than I felt to you, and I'm afraid it's not going to last."
Mulder tilted her chin up, seeing by her expression that she was really upset. "What? You're afraid he's going to get bored with you and leave? Not on your immortal life, Dee. You should have heard him on the way up here in the car. You were all he could talk about, all he asked me about. He's nuts about you, Dee. He's not going to treat you the way I did. He loves you."
"I know he does, I know. I love him too. I just hope my presence in his life doesn't end up hurting him."
Mulder kissed her forehead tenderly. "That's the real trick, isn't it?" he said, his tone remorseful. "One I've yet to master." The song ended then, and they separated, Mulder heading to the table, and Dee stepping outside for some air.
She stood there in the alley, leaning against the wall, wondering if she was doing the right thing. She'd kept an eye on Jim during the time she and Blair had been dancing, and had gotten the distinct impression he was not as cool with her relationship with Blair as he pretended. The last thing she wanted to do was to come between the two of them, but if Ellison couldn't get over his hang-ups about her, that would be what would happen. She slapped the flat of her hand against the brick in frustration.
"Dee?" came the guide's soft voice from the doorway. "You okay? Mulder didn't say something to upset you, did he?"
"No, Lobo, I'm fine, just thinking." She took in the troubled expression on his face. "I'm sorry if I worried you."
Blair stepped out into the alley to stand in front of the Immortal. "You sure you're okay?" he asked. "Because when you le
ft, all of a sudden I got butterflies in my stomach, and I know they weren't mine." He gave her a grin.
"I love you," she said suddenly, her hands cupping his face. "Don't ever forget that. No matter what happens in your life, I want you to know that you will always be incredibly loved."
"Mm, okay," he replied, confused. "I love you too." He leaned into her then, his hands planted on the wall on either side of her shoulders, his lips teasing hers with a nibbling kiss. She giggled, and he kissed her again, one hand trailing down her side and over her hip. She surprised him by hooking her leg around him, and pulling him up against her.
