by Carol Roi
Blair stared at him a moment, surprised, then said softly, "Thanks."
The open emotion in the younger man's eyes made Ellison uneasy, and he changed the subject before things got too mushy. "Are you ready to get busy?" Blair's answer was a swift nod as he followed his friend out of ICU.
MacLeod detached himself from the shadows and trailed after them.
Part 2
Diandra flung some bills at the cab driver and leapt onto the sidewalk, her anxiety turning to full-blown panic at the number of fire trucks and ambulances parked in front of the police station. Goddess no! She couldn't be too late.
She would know, she would feel it if something had happened to him, wouldn't she?
Unable to wait for the elevator, she darted through the stairway door and sprinted up the steps. The worst her imagination was able to conjure up did not prepare her for the sight that met her eyes as she exited onto the sixth floor.
Broken glass and splintered wood were everywhere. The acrid smell of cordite and the metallic tang of blood assaulted her nose, and she dialed back her senses hastily. She entered the Major Crimes bullpen, her eyes taking in the bullet riddled room, the emergency personnel working on injured people, and Ellison, sitting on a desk as an EMT bandaged his leg.
She was asking questions before she even reached his side. "Ellison! Where's Blair? What in the hell happened here?"
Wincing as the medic poked at his leg, the sentinel replied, "Zeller happened. He's dead. Blair's fine." The EMT murmured something about being right back with a gurney. Jim lowered his voice as the man left. "He's with MacLeod. They took Rafe to get cleaned up. He 'died'."
Diandra swore softly in Gaelic, then switched to English. "Damn it. Now is not a good time for that to happen." Ellison appraised her quickly. She was as close to unnerved as he'd ever seen her. She shook herself, the warrior's mask falling into place. "Where are they?"
He shrugged. "Locker room, maybe? When you find them, tell Sandburg if I'm not here when he gets back, I'm at the hospital."
She looked down at his knee, as if seeing it for the first time. "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want me to…." She wiggled her fingers.
"I'll pass, thanks. Too many people have seen me."
"Right." Turning on her heel, Dee went in search of Blair, her gut instinct telling her this day was going to get worse before it got better. Entering the hallway, she saw the trio getting off the elevator.
As Blair caught sight of her, his eyes widened in surprise, then he found himself swept up in a crushing hug. "Oh, Lobo, you're okay, you're okay!"
He squeezed back a little uncertainly, unsure if this meant she was still mad at him but was letting it slide for the moment. "Dee! What are you doing back here? I thought you were in DC; I thought--"
She captured his face in her hands, her touch infinitely gentle. "I saw you on the news. I had to be here, Lobo. I love you."
She loved him. In spite of everything, she loved him. He pulled her closer, burying his face in her neck as he felt her fingers tangle in his hair. Someone cleared his throat loudly behind him.
"This is all very touching, but right now we have a little problem that could use your attention, Diandra."
Letting go of Blair, she ran her gaze over MacLeod, who had his hand wrapped securely around Rafe's bicep. Somehow she didn't think that was the only reason for the uptight look on the detective's face. She glanced at Blair. "Is there somewhere around here we can talk?"
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The door of the interrogation room slammed shut as Rafe stormed out. It took some begging, but Dee convinced Duncan to go after him, since the new immortal blamed her for his situation.
Once again the door opened and closed. Diandra turned to Blair, who was perched on the edge of the table, his eyes on his feet as they swung back and forth. "We screwed up."
She slid her arms loosely around his neck. "Yeah, we did. But it'll be okay, Duncan will talk some sense into him." She pressed a kiss to the top of his head.
He leaned forward, and she stepped between his legs, feeling his arms go around her. They remained like that for several minutes, until Blair finally said, "I'm so sorry, angel. I was wrong. I may not need you to hold my hand, but I sure as hell wanted you here this afternoon. Can you forgive me?"
"Of course, if you can forgive me for losing my temper, and running away instead of trying to work things out."
He raised his head so his eyes met hers. "I forgive you." Sliding his hand behind her neck, he tilted her head down, his mouth meeting hers in a tender kiss.
When they parted, she moved back to let him hop off the table. "Come on, let's get out of here. Jim's probably wondering what happened to us, and I need to see Megan."
"What about Rafe?"
She gave him a smile as they exited the interrogation room, her arm going around his waist. "Duncan will let us know what happens. Hopefully Rafe will realize we're only trying to help him."
"I hope so. Do you know what hospital they were taking Jim to?" Diandra's answer was cut off as the elevator doors closed.
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Dee leaned against the doorjamb of her companion's room, tired eyes taking in the IV line and the bandage peeking above the collar of her hospital gown. The invisible weight on her shoulders increased a fraction, then the champion shook herself. This was not her fault, she knew in her head, but her heart had a different opinion. Pushing its annoying little voice into the background, she turned her full attention on Megan. Her eyes were closed and her breathing relaxed, but her heart beat a little too rapidly for deep sleep. "Pajara, you awake?" Dee entered the room as her friend started out of her half sleep.
"Dee! What are you doing here?" She took a closer look at her roommate. "You look like you went a couple rounds with a mad kangaroo. That fugitive give you that much trouble?"
Shaking her head, the immortal dropped into the chair next to the bed. "Far as I know, she's still on the loose. I caught Lobo's press conference on TV. I hopped the first plane back." She ran a hand through her dark hair, pushing it out of her face wearily. "If you haven't heard, Zeller's dead. I sent Joe home."
Megan blinked. "Zeller's dead?"
"Yeah. Jim got shot in the leg, and Rafe 'died'."
"Rafe died!" The Aussie's dark eyes began to fill with tears.
Realizing her mistake, Dee hastily said, "No, no, not 'dead' died. First death died. Come back and find your whole perception of your life turned upside down, died. He's immortal, Pajara, though right now he thinks of it as more of a curse than a gift, and that's my fault. I thought I would have more time to prepare him. Like just about everything else I've done lately, I screwed that up too." She sighed. "I should never have gone to DC, not with everything as chaotic as it was." Her hand reached for Megan's, being careful of the IV. "I've fucked up left and right. I let you down, and Blair, and Jim, and Rafe, and by extension Captain Banks, and--"
"Dee, you don't know that. You being here might not have changed anything." She squeezed the older woman's hand. "You can't blame yourself."
"But I do. I knew Blair was hurting and Jim was being an ass. If I'd stayed, maybe we could have all sat down and talked it out, found a better solution than Blair giving up the past 14 years of his life."
"That wasn't your decision to make. It was Sandy's, and he made it of his own free will. He thinks he's the one who buggered everything up. And if you ask Jim, I'm sure he'd say it was all his fault. So quit beating yourself up about it. It's done, it's in the past, and it can't do any more damage."
Diandra chewed her lip. If only you knew, Pajara. The past never really goes away, it just hibernates, waiting for the worst possible time to awaken and destroy everything you hold dear. Artemis' words came back to her. "The time has come for you to atone for your error in judgement." Was this what she meant? Was it starting now? She shook herself. Sleep, she j
ust needed sleep.
"Dee, you look exhausted. Go home, go to bed. Do you have to go back to DC?"
Shrugging, Dee replied, "I don't know. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll catch her while I'm gone. But I gave my word I would help, so…." She didn't finish the sentence.
Megan gave her a smile. "Well, with any luck, things will be pretty quiet around here for a while, what with Jim, Simon and me all here in hospital."
"Maybe so, or at least we can hope." Getting to her feet, she leaned over and planted a kiss on top of her companion's head. "If you need me, I'll be at my place here in Cascade."
"Goodnight, Dee. I don't want to see you before at least 10 AM."
Giving Megan a little smile and a wave, Dee went in search of Blair.
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"Chief, come on in," Jim called to his partner, who stood uncertainly in the doorway of the detective's hospital room. Crossing the space between them, Blair eased into the chair next to the bed. "This is a switch, huh?" Jim continued with a smile. "For once a dangerous case has wrapped up, and you're the only one without a scratch."
You're wrong, Jim. It's just that my wounds are on the inside. But he didn't voice his thoughts out loud. Instead he asked about the doctor's diagnosis.
Jim gave him another loopy grin. They must have him on some pretty good stuff, Blair realized. "The inside of my knee is pretty well shredded, but nothing a round of arthroscopic surgery and rest won't cure, or at least that's what he says." He changed the subject. "Did you patch things up with Dee?"
"Yeah, I think so." Jim had read his mind. Blair would much rather discuss his love life than rehash the press conference thing, at least until he had a better idea of what he was going to do with the rest of his life. I'll think about that tomorrow, or maybe a week from now.
"She going back to Washington?"
Blair shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. We haven't gotten that far. First we had a disastrous talk with Rafe, then came straight here."
Jim frowned. "Rafe not taking his new life well?"
He laughed, a sharp mirthless bark. "You could say that. Mac's going to try to talk some sense into him, but…."
"I know what you mean. Rafe can be quite stubborn. Kind of like someone else I know." Once again Jim switched gears, as if he was deliberately leading up to something. "You know, since I'm going to be in here a while, it's going to be kind of hard for me to get into trouble. Maybe you should go with Dee to Washington."
It was all Blair could do to keep his mouth from dropping open. Man, those were some good drugs! "Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Jim Ellison?"
Chuckling, Jim shook his head. "No, no, hear me out. I think a change of scenery would do you good, and get whatever media's left off your back. Besides, I think she could use your help, what with Megan stuck here, she's without a guide. And if you haven't noticed, there's something going on with her. I don't know if it's a Sentinel thing, or an Immortal thing, or a woman thing, but when she came rushing into the station earlier, I got the feeling she was barely holding it together."
Blair shook his head. "She's just exhausted, man. And everything that's been going on has upset her. I…." He paused in mid-sentence, realization overtaking him. Their bond, the one between the four of them, she was the glue that held it all together. She had been bombarded with all of it, the hell he had been going through, and everything Jim had been feeling, along with Megan's and her own tangled emotions. No wonder she was on the edge. He quickly made up his mind. "You know, you're right, Jim. Dee does need someone to watch her back. Besides, with me along, we should catch that fugitive right away, seeing as I'm a psycho magnet." Going with her would also mean he could put off making any decisions about his future.
"Okay, then, it's settled. I expect you to keep me updated, though. I want to hear from you at least once a day." Jim gave him a grin.
All those happy faces were a little unsettling, but Jim seemed pretty lucid. "Okay, 'Mom'. I'll keep you posted. Now shouldn't you be getting some rest?"
Jim yawned and nodded. "I am getting kind of tired. Hey, Chief, find out what they've got me on. I want to request it next time I'm in here." Leaning back against the pillows, he closed his eyes.
Taking that as his cue, Blair left quietly, turning his friend's sudden change of heart toward his lover over in his mind. Maybe it was his way of trying to make up for what had happened. Since his involvement with the Sentinel had cost Blair one thing he had held dear, Jim was making sure it wouldn't cause him to lose anything else important to him. He shook his head. If he had had any doubts before, they were gone now. He had made the right decision.
Blair met up with Dee at the intersection of the hallways. She looked about dead on her feet. "Take me home, Lobo," she said huskily.
He wound an arm around her waist. "Sure, angel. Home it is."
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The Phoenix sat patiently in her SUV outside Cascade General. She'd parked on the opposite side of the building from where Sandburg had left his car, so the chance of Pallas catching wind of her was slight. While she waited, she'd been planning, jotting down notes, trying to keep track of the present and future movements of the players. So far, on her sheet of paper, she had Ellison and Connor listed under the heading "Hospital", and Sandburg and Pallas under "Cascade", with an arrow going from their names to the word "Washington". MacLeod seemed to be out of the picture, which was just as well.
All this waiting and running around after them was increasing her taste for blood. Patience, she told herself, patience. The waiting would only make the end that much sweeter. She had come to the conclusion that taking them out one by one would not be as satisfying as having them all in her grasp, helpless to escape, unable to stop each other's suffering, knowing that their torture was punishment for all the pain they had inflicted on her. She ran her tongue slowly over her lips. That would be worth all the waiting and hard work a plan of this magnitude would require.
She turned to a clean page in her notebook. Still, it wouldn't hurt to keep them off balance while she set things in motion. She knew just the person to call to stir things up. Putting pen to paper once again, she scrawled Diandra's name. She knew the Immortal wouldn't kill her, but beating the shit out of her was another story. So, first of all, the Phoenix needed a way to contain those warrior tendencies. And what better way to cripple an Immortal than to hold them the one place it was forbidden for them to fight? She smiled to herself, baring her teeth in an almost snarl. The library might still be open, time for a little research. Turning the car on, she pulled away from the hospital. She hadn't really wanted to listen to Sandburg and Pallas' version of domestic bliss again anyway.
***
Hooves pounded on the grassy plain, the black mare running flat out, nostrils flaring, lungs heaving, straining to keep ahead of the wall of flame that raced behind her. She could hear the jaguar screaming, but there was nothing she could do, nothing but run.
Without warning, the Shaman appeared in front of her, his staff held firmly in both hands, his face impassive. //RUN!// She mentally screamed at him, not slowing her pace. Instead, he thrust his staff low and to the side as she passed him, catching her forelegs, making her stumble. He was shifting into wolf form before she even hit the ground, his strong jaws fastening on her throat, crushing her windpipe. The mare staggered drunkenly, but the wolf hung on. Unable to shake him loose, she crashed to the earth, her blue eyes meeting those of the silver wolf, silently asking //Why?// She hadn't received an answer by the time darkness swallowed her.
***
A sudden blow to the stomach woke Blair. He sat up rapidly, disoriented, then the moon shining through the skylight over the bed illuminated the room, and he realized he was in Dee's loft. A strangled cry from his lover focused his attention on her. She was writhing on the mattress, clutching her throat, her breathing labored.
Nightmare, his mind automatically supplied. "Dee, angel, it's just a bad dream. It's time to wake up now." Leaning over her, he grasped her hands, pulling them forcibly down. "You're okay, take a deep breath. Come back to me."
After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably no more than a couple seconds, Dee inhaled and her eyes snapped open. "Hey, baby, it's okay, it's okay." Her gaze focused on him, and in her eyes he could see raw terror, terror of him. Jerking out of his grasp, she backed against the headboard, wrapping her arms around herself, breathing heavily. She continued to stare, not at him, Blair realized, but at whatever images still played across her mind's eye.
Raising up on his knees on the mattress, he began to speak to her gently. "Dee, sweetheart, it's okay, it was just a dream, you're safe." When she showed no improvement after a few minutes of steady talking, he cautiously ran his fingers lightly up and down her arm. Gasping, she blinked several times, then turned her face toward him.
