Joined Soul and Body

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Blair Sandburg slammed his hand against the steering wheel of Jim Ellison's truck in frustration. He should be out there with Jim.

Okay, calm down, he took a deep breath, he was supposed to be trying to help focus his Sentinel from a distance. Blair took a deep breath, knowing Jim could hear him and started talking.

"Okay, Jim, this is nothing you haven't done before. Should be a piece of cake. You know what the chemicals making up the bomb smell like. Take a deep breath and relax. Filter out the smells around you until you find what you're looking for. That's it, nice and easy."

Jim followed his Guide's voice. They knew there was a bomb in the warehouse, and knew they had a time limit. Blair's idea of using Jim to pinpoint the exact location without anyone having to go in seemed like a long shot, but they'd done stranger things.

The Sentinel took a deep, cleansing breath and filtered out the smell of the men and women around him. Simon with his faint cigar smell, Rafe's new leather shoes, H's cologne. Next was the smell of gasoline, damp grass, the salty sea air. He focused in on the warehouse itself and could smell the rust on the metal framed building, and pigeons roosting in the rafters. There! A mixture of plastique and TNT. This guy didn't fool around. Jim nodded his head to let his Guide know he had the scent.

"Good, Jim," Blair said seeing the nod. "Now this will be a little different than piggy-backing your sight to your hearing. Since you can't actually see into the building," all the windows were covered, "you're going to have to follow your sense of smell with your hearing and gauge the location by that. You smell where the bomb is, right?"

Jim nodded. "Okay, piggy-back your hearing. Do you hear a timer?"

Jim tilted his head. Blair's heart leapt into his throat as the Sentinel's arms fell to his side. Jim was zoning.

Damn, damn, damn. Blair thought as he jumped out of the truck and headed for his partner. The powers that be in the upper echelons of the Cascade PD had not wanted Blair involved with any more cases until he completed his time at the Academy. According to what Simon had been told and passed on to his best team, Blair wasn't even supposed to be anywhere near a crime scene.

Blair had been furious and frightened. Ranting, bullying and pleading with Simon to try and continue his ride-alongs at least on cases where they knew Jim might need his senses.

Which was all of them. But Simon and Jim had stood their ground, wanting to get Blair through the Academy with as little friction as possible. And Blair had stayed behind. Megan had stepped in and with guidance from Blair, she managed to keep the Sentinel from a major zone.

Which was what was happening right now. Thankfully, Jim had accepted Blair's panicked, but brief description of the nightmare that had haunted him the last few nights. Blair had kept the details to a minimum, not wanting to alarm Jim, but needing to be with him to prevent disaster. They both had a hefty respect for these dreams by now. After the fountain.

Jim had relented and said Blair could come as long as he stayed in the truck. Yeah, right!

Blair slid to a stop on the gravel in front of Jim. He placed his hands on his friend's shoulders. "Hey, Jim, come on back, buddy. Listen to my voice and follow it back to me." I should have known better, Blair chastised himself, even as he continued the quiet mantra to his Sentinel. With something this new, this difficult, Jim needed physical contact to ground him. I know that! Blair raged inside. Outwardly, his calm voice was beginning to reach the zoned man.

The explosion knocked everyone off of their feet.

Captain Simon Banks rose shakily to his knees. Getting his feet under him, he grabbed his phone and hit the speed dial for dispatch. "This is Captain Banks! Roll emergency teams to the warehouse at 5^th and Grant ASAP! There's been an explosion. We have people down!"

Simon shoved the phone into his coat pocket as he looked around. He assumed someone was hurt, but couldn't see much through the settling dust. "Ellison! Sandburg?" He knew where they had been at the time of the explosion, but couldn't see five feet in front of him. Banks started toward where he'd last seen Jim and the kid. Joel shouted instructions to the others behind him.

Damn Sandburg anyway! Why couldn't the kid just stay put like he was told? Simon sighed, blinking dust out of his eyes as he worked his way across the debris littering the ground. Oh, I know why! he admitted to himself. Can't expect the Guide to stand on the sidelines when his Sentinel was in trouble. But dammit, why do they always have to be the ones getting hurt? Simon moved slowly, stumbling over a piece of metal siding that hadn't been there five minutes earlier.

"Jim? Blair? Answer me!" He heard his other detectives behind him trying to organize the chaos. Sirens were closing on the area. Simon concentrated on finding his friends.

A low moan ahead and to the left urged the Captain to increase his speed. He stopped suddenly as they came into focus. Jim lay on his back, flat on the ground and Blair lay on top of him. Neither one moved, nor did Simon think they would be able too, even if they were conscious. He closed his eyes and caught his breath in pain, the two men - soul-mates - were joined emotionally and spiritually by the Sentinel/Guide bond they shared. Banks opened his eyes hoping his sight had deceived him.

Now, the two men seemed to be physically joined by a long metal rod that pierced Blair through the right shoulder and pinned him to Jim. Although Simon could not see exactly where the metal shard had hit Jim, a guess from Sandburg's position put the rod through his left chest, well below the shoulder.

After what seemed an eternity, Simon dragged air into his lungs and went to kneel beside his friends. Thank God! They were both breathing.

Jim's eyes were closed tightly, still locked in a zone out. Blair's head rested on Jim's chest facing away from Simon. "I need those medics over here NOW!" the Captain bellowed.

Rafe, H and the others all turned at the sound, fear echoing in their ears and hearts. Someone was badly hurt - again.

The ambulance was turning onto the street Simon noted grimly laying a hand on Jim's shoulder. "Jim, come on back, man. Blair needs you to come out of it."

Somehow, he had said exactly the right thing. Jim's eyes fluttered open and he moaned again. "That's it, Jim. Don't move, lie still."

"Help me, Simon," Jim croaked out, he tried to raise his head and started coughing.

"Easy, man, you need to stay still." Simon moved around until he was kneeling behind Jim's head and placed a hand on each shoulder to keep him down.

Jim hurt badly, every breath stabbed at his chest and the coughing felt like it would rip him apart. He turned the dial down on the pain and took a very slow breath, almost gagging at the smell of blood. His own and Blair's.

"Simon!" Jim yelled hoarsely trying to rise again. Why couldn't he get up?

"Jim! Listen to me, Blair is right here. He's alive, just unconscious, but you have to stay still man." He kept both of Jim's shoulders pinned to the ground, fearing that any movement would cause irreparable damage.

Simon's firm words calmed the Sentinel a little. "Where is he, Simon?" Jim pleaded.

"Jim," Banks sighed, this was going to be a long night. "Don't move your head, just look down with your eyes. Blair is on top of you…"

Jim glanced down and saw the familiar dark curls. He stretched out with his hearing and the strong, steady heartbeat calmed the Sentinel a little more. Blair was alive, unconscious, but alive.

"Jim, listen to me, don't zone, buddy. Sandburg needs you awake. Jim?"

"Yeah, Simon. What's going on?" Jim had to dial down the pain a little more as he found himself trying to breathe in rhythm with his partner.

"The explosion threw a lot of debris. A long piece of metal hit Blair," Simon paused, meeting Jim's shocked eyes. Simon shook his head, indicating that wasn't all. "I can't tell for sure, but I think the rod went all the way through his shoulder and has him… pinned to you, Jim. Can you tell, without opening yourself to the pain that much?"

Jim swallowed. The pain in his chest was barely controlled, but he didn't have to check, he knew Simon was right. He could feel Sandburg's blood running down the rod and mixing with his own. A true blood brother now, eh? Jim grimaced. "Yeah, Simon, you're right."

The dust was settling, covering everyone and everything with a fine white powder. The ambulance pulled up and slammed on the brakes, paramedics rushed over to the trio, eyes wide as they took in the scene.

"Stay put, be ready if Sandburg wakes up to keep him still," Simon squeezed Jim's shoulders and stood up to talk to the paramedics and fire rescue team that had just joined them. He filled them in on the situation and the teams started to work, checking the pair's vitals and trying to decide the best way to move them or separate them.

Jim ignored the people around them and slowly raised both arms to rest around Blair. His heart rate had started to increase and Jim didn't want him to move when consciousness returned.

"Blair," he said quietly. "I know you can hear me, buddy. You need to stay still and listen to me for once." Jim continued his own mantra now. Urging the Guide to hear him and not jerk awake and away.

Blair's mind gradually began to register sound around him. The first was a thump thump, thump thump in his left ear. It sounded very familiar and comforting. The next sound was a voice, again familiar. It was calm and full of love and concern and a warning. What? He couldn't quite process it just yet.

Jim felt more than heard Blair's heartbeat do a double thump and increase dramatically. "Easy, Chief. I'm right here. Don't move, please don't move."

Blair's eyes popped open and he gasped in pain. His arms automatically pushing down, away to fend off the hurt. Strong arms held him down and the words started to penetrate. "… easy, that's right. I'm not going anywhere without you this time, Chief." Some small amount of humor found its way into the voice.

"Jim?"

"Welcome back, Chief."
"What's goin' on? Why can't we move?" Blair's voice held a tinge of panic, never one to stand still for too long, he needed a good reason not to move.

"Blair, listen to me, just this once, okay?"

"I always listen to you, Jim," came a tart reply, but the heartbeat was calmer.

"That's better, Chief. We need to stay here until the rescue guys can figure out what to do." Jim wasn't quite sure how to explain the situation. He was beginning to feel a little light-headed.

"Jim?" Blair tried to raise just his head to look up at Jim's face. Even that small movement put pressure on the metal shard and Blair almost passed out again.

"Blair! Breathe man, easy does it. That's it, slow and easy," Jim gently and slowly moved his fingers back and forth on Blair's back, trying to ease the pain for the Guide.

"What the hell?" Blair gasped out, once again completely still against his partner.

"We sorta got reamed, kid. The blast sent some shrapnel our way, only this piece was long and pierced right into both of us." There was a long silence. "Blair?"

"You mean we're joined at the hip now?"

"Not exactly the hip, Chief, more like the shoulder." Blair started to chuckle and abruptly stopped.

"Oh, man, it hurts to laugh."

"So quit tellin' jokes." They both smiled painfully.

"Okay, guys," one of the paramedics interrupted them. "Here's the score. We think we can get this bolt cutter between the two of you and cut the rod. I'm not gonna lie to you, it could hurt and bad, but I need your help. Think you can do it?"

"Depends on what you need, man," Blair said trying to keep things light. "I'm not exactly up to running a marathon right now."

The paramedic grinned. "No running, I just need you to brace yourself on the ground. The rod is holding you slightly apart. It's important we don't move the rod until we get you both to the hospital. If any arteries are severed, this piece of metal is all that's keeping you from bleeding out."

Jim grunted. Blair just nodded his head a fraction of an inch.

"All right. Basically, I need you," he touched Blair's arm, "to keep yourself right where you're at. And your partner to help out by supporting you a bit from underneath."

Jim moved his arms down beside him. "What can I do?"

"Just keep your elbows against the ground, bend them and put your hands on his hips. We need to keep him steady and I guarantee the first thing he'll want to do is sag in relief when we cut the rod. Are you ready?"

Jim nodded, "Chief?"

"Yeah, do it," he said through gritted teeth.

A couple more sets of instructions were given and Sandburg felt more hands on him. Someone had a hand on the waist of his jeans and another pair of hands supported his stomach. Blair felt his face go red and would have said something, if it wasn't so obvious they were trying to save his life.

"Easy, Chief," came a quiet rumble from below him.

"I'm okay," he whispered back, only loud enough for the Sentinel to hear.

The paramedic readied his people. "On three. One… two… three!"

The metal rod groaned under the heavy cutters and snapped. Blair tried to support himself, but his arms suddenly seemed like spaghetti. Fortunately, the rescuers had been ready and actually lifted him off of Jim and eased him into a semi-upright position.

Simon's hands once again held Jim's shoulders down. "Stay put, Ellison. They need to check you both out." The sight of the half-inch thick rod sticking up out of Jim's chest wasn't any better than that of the three feet of rod that still protruded from Blair's back.

Jim watched from his prone position as several rescuers held Blair up in a seated position on the ground. Another man grasped the rod near his back while a third held the end. The fourth man applied the clippers to the rod for a second time and snipped it off to a more manageable length. Sandburg passed out.

"Chief!" but didn't have the strength to push up against his Captain's firm hold.

"He's lost a lot of blood, let's get these guys to the hospital pronto," the paramedic in charge directed his men and both Jim and Blair were loaded into the ambulance.

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Captain Banks paced the waiting room. It had been five hours since Jim and Blair had been wheeled into the emergency room and then quickly up to surgery. The nurse had just informed them that both men should be out soon and seemed to be doing fine. Some of the other members of the Major Crimes team were keeping vigil as well.

Actually, they'd all been in for a little while, but crime didn't stop because Ellison and Sandburg weren't available. The Major Crimes people had taken turns dropping by the hospital to check on the injured and make sure the Captain had enough "good" coffee.

Currently, Rafe and H had the front row seats. Banks expected to see Taggert and Connor again soon. They knew the surgeries were supposed to be finished around this time.

Rafe and H stood up suddenly, looking toward the hall. Simon turned to see a doctor come in.

"Captain Banks," Dr. Quintel said smiling tiredly. He nodded to the other detectives and motioned for them all to sit down. "The surgeries went well. Both Jim and Blair seem to be doing fine. Jim's injury was actually more life threatening. The rod punctured his left lung, but we were able to patch it up and reinflate it." He shook his head. "Blair lost a lot of blood and the rod did some damage to his shoulder. Physical therapy should regain almost full motion."

"When can we see them?" Simon asked.

Dr. Quintel looked at his watch. "They're still in recovery. Probably about an hour, we'll get them moved into their room." He smiled, "And, yes, they are in the same room. I know better than to separate those two by now."

The detectives all smiled, thanked the doctor and sat back, relieved, to wait for their friends to be set up in a room.

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The next morning, Jim and Blair were propped up in their respective beds, arguing about the remote when Simon and Megan walked in.

"You two are supposed to be resting," Banks said, glad to see them in good spirits.

"Hey, Simon, tell Jim to share the remote, man!" Jim used said remote to mute the TV.

"Really, I can't believe how childish you two are sometimes," Megan laughed, going over to Blair and squeezing his cheek gently. She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the other cheek. "I'm glad you're going to be all right," she straightened and looked at Jim. "Both of you."

"Thanks Connor. Do I get a kiss too?" Jim asked softly, his wound not quite allowing normal volume.

Megan tilted her head, grinned and looked at Simon. "He's all yours Captain."

Simon let out a belly laugh and both Jim and Blair tried not to follow suit. Blair pressed his right arm closer to his chest and Jim pulled the pillow he'd been holding to his chest closer.

"Oooh, don't make us laugh," Blair pleaded, trying to quell the laughter that threatened to bubble out.

Megan looked instantly contrite. "I'm sorry," she said, placing another kiss on Blair's forehead and moving to give Jim a peck on the cheek, too. "All better?" she grinned impishly.

Blair nodded, vigorously. Jim looked thoughtful and replied. "He got two."

At that Simon just couldn't resist. He came over and before Jim could move, placed a quick kiss on the top of Ellison's head. Blair and Megan started to giggle, although Blair accentuated his laughter with, "Ow, ooh, ow."

Jim flushed bright red. "Aw, Simon, I didn't know you cared."

"Damn, right!" he replied, grinning widely. "I'm getting very tired of visiting you two in the hospital. They're gonna open up the Ellison/Sandburg wing any day now, with beds permanently assigned for you."

"Ah, Simon," Blair said having finally caught his breath. "You know if I don't come in for an oil change every three to four months, I just don't work well."

"Yeah, well, as much blood as they have to pump into you," Jim countered, "I'm not surprised. I think you have a leaky oil pan."

"All right!" Megan interrupted, getting the impression they could go on all day. "You need to rest and I am going to ask you a special favor."

"What's that, Connor?" Jim asked.

"Will you both promise to try to stay out of here for at least six months?"

The two men looked at each other, then back at Connor. "We always try to be safe, Megan," Blair responded, seriously.

"But we promise to try harder," Jim added, just as seriously.

"Good," Simon said, "Cause I need you both, the team needs you, and the Academy is waiting for Sandburg."

Blair rolled his eyes and then covered a yawn with one hand.

"I think visiting hours are over for this morning," Megan said, smiling. "Get some rest," she waved as she left the room.

Simon turned back before he walked through the door. "I talked to the Commissioner and got them to reconsider Blair's ride-along status."

"Thanks, Simon!" Blair said, his eyes bright with appreciation.

"Don't get too excited. They'll allow you two and only two a week, during your off time. And you'd better not fall behind with your studies or they'll yank those privileges."

"Blair? Fall behind in his studies? You forget who your talking about, Simon." Jim scoffed, trying to get more comfortable.

Banks cocked his head in agreement. "Get some rest, guys. We'll see you later."

"Thanks, Simon," "See ya, Captain," they both replied as he left the room.

"I think you're rubbing off on Simon, Chief."

"Whadaya mean?"

"He was never that touchy-feely until you came along."

"Yeah? And who's rubbing off on you, then? Ribbing him back like that?"

Jim grinned and slid down into his pillows just a bit. "Must be you, Chief." He turned the TV volume back up.

Blair grinned back, then sat up suddenly. "Hey, you never did give me that remote!"

END