Doe, John Doe - PR1

Black and white, light so intense that it hurts the eyes, and the cold.

These are John Doe's first memories of his life. How would you feel if you didn't remember anything about yourself (and yet would know everything else)?

John knows everything, I mean, everything, from how many taxis there are in the Stockholm area to the population of China in the year 1900. John's mission is to find out if he's an alien, or the participant of some secret government test, or something else.

John stood next to the computer at the police station and called out to his friend, "Frank, did you know that we have a new guest?"

"Yup, Detective Jim Ellison, just brought him from Cascade. He'll stay the two days for the hearing and then leave." Frank Hayes was his best friend and co-worker.

"Frank, Detective Ellison is almost ready if you and John would take him to get a hotel room," Lieutenant Jamie Avery said.

"Sure, that's fine," Frank said as they got closer to the doorway. Then John stopped dead in his tracks. He normally could only see black and white, but yet, this man in front of him was in color.

Detective Jim Ellison looked up and took two steps back. "What the fuck?"

"Ellison, what's wrong?" Frank asked.

John walked closer to Jim and Jim yelled out, "Stay the fuck away from me." And just like that he passed out.

Avery walked up to John and said, "Do you know this man?"

"No, but he's in color," John said softly so no one else would hear.

"Should we call an ambulance?" Frank asked.

John looked at the man lying on the floor and noticed his eyes were wide open. Almost like he was having a zone out. "Can we take him to my place? I have the spare room."

"But John, he didn't want you to come close to him," Avery said.

"Frank could be there, too. That would make him calmer. What if he saw something on me. What if he's an answer to my past." John was pleading by this time.

"Lieutenant, why don't you let me help Doe take him to his apartment and we'll see what happens?" Frank hoped she would let this slide by.

"Frank, what if he's ill? We can't send him home without being checked out by a doctor," the woman stated clearly.

"Lieutenant, I promise I'll see to his every need. You know that I know a lot about medical treatment. I need to check this out further." John wasn't above begging.

The two men carried him out to John's car and they took him to John's apartment. Once they got him upstairs and in the spare room, Frank said, "I'm going to see if he's got a contact number."

"Good thinking, Frank."

Frank found Blair's cell phone number and dialed it.

"Sandburg."

"Detective Sandburg?"

"Yes. Who is this?" Blair could see it was from Jim's phone.

"I'm a Detective in Seattle, my name is Frank Hayes. Mr. Ellison passed out with his eyes open and we're hoping that you might know what to do."

"Frank, who is with him right now?"

"His name is John. Would you like to speak to him?" Frank handed the phone over when Blair told him yes.

"Hello?"

"John, what is he doing right now?" Blair asked quickly and quietly.

"He's barely breathing. Tell me what to do."

"Rub his face softly and put the phone up to his ear so I can speak to him. He'll wake up that way."

John did just what Blair said and sure enough Jim woke up but he was scared of John. Jim took hold of the phone and said, "Chief, please come and get me?"

"I'm coming right away. Now let me talk to John again." Blair missed him already.

Jim handed the phone back to John.

"Yes?"

"John, he seems to be nervous about being with you. Is there anyone else there?"

"Yes, Blair. I've got my friend here. You talked to him," John answered.

"I'll be there in about two hours, tops. In the meantime, please don't be alone with him. Now," Blair said firmly, "where are you?"

~~~~~

John walked into the bedroom with a tray of food and Jim moved away from him.

"Tell me why I'm scaring you, Jim," John asked.

"I'm not scared of you," Jim growled.

"Yes, Jim, you are." And then John went off in long lecture about what causes people to be scared and what doesn't. Also what signs they show to others that they are.

Jim stared at him and realized the man hardly took a breath. This man was faster than Blair, which Jim never thought he would admit to.

"I saw that on the Learning Channel. Do you watch?" John asked as he got close enough to give the tray to Jim.

"No, not usually. But my roommate does. He watches anything that will stimulate his brain. I'm not complaining, mind you." Jim started eating and realized he was almost getting used to seeing this guy without color.

"Why are you staring at me, Jim?"

"Because you're black and white. You have no color at all. It's like something from the twilight zone." Jim said, finishing his lunch.

"Jim, I only see black and white. But you're in color. Don't you find that odd?" John hoped that Jim would see it might be important.

For the next two and a half hours Jim and John talked about Jim's life growing up. They had nothing in common. Or that John could remember anyhow. Then Jim talked about his time in the service, Peru and the police department. When he looked up, John was in color, and had tears running down his face.

"What's the matter?" Jim asked simply.

"You're black and white again. It was just a weird coincidence," John said sadly.

"It might have been my senses being out of whack." Jim was trying to make him feel better.

"You're a Sentinel, then?"

"How do you know that?" Jim was alarmed.

"I've read all of Sir Richard Burton's work. And when I saw how you reacted today, I knew you were a Sentinel." John then started to tell him all he had learned about Sentinels.

When Blair arrived, Jim and John were talking like mad. He turned to Frank and said, "Blair Sandburg. I take it they're getting along?"

"Good to meet you, Blair. I'll break this up. They've been at it for hours." Frank got them both and they walked out of the room.

John looked at Blair and he was in color. "Blair, do you see me in color?"

"Trick question? Yes, I see you in color. Hi, Jim."

Jim leaned down and kissed him, figuring he didn't have to hide it here. No one knew them.

Jim turned to John and said, "Are you seeing him in color?"

"Yes, I am. But it's already fading," John again said sadly.

"He's my guide, so that might be what it is," Jim offered.

For the next four hours, Frank, John and Jim explained everything to Blair. When they were done, Blair said, "Jim, we've got a week off, so why not stay here and we'll do some studies with John."

Everyone agreed that it was a perfect idea. Jim and John were becoming good friends, while Blair and Frank discussed how it was to be the sidekick.

Both John and Jim said at exactly the same moment, "Very funny."

"They even talk at the same time," Blair teased.

Jim was afraid he wouldn't be able to help John find out anything about his past, but was sure John's future would include Jim and Blair.

Sometimes you didn't always get what you wanted in life, but at least most of them knew where they came from. Jim vowed to try and help whenever he could. John needed to know where he came from. Who he was.

He heard John say, "I get so tired sometimes. They all say, what's your name? I answer, it's Doe, John Doe, and they crack up laughing. If only it were a joke."

Yes, he was going to do whatever he could. This man deserved a real name.

The End.

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Acknowledgments: Thank you to Mary for the beta job.