In The Company of Men - Patt

Seattle:

Leo Miller was getting ready for the time of his life. For eight months now, Jim Ellison had been coming up to Seattle for one weekend a month. Jim took Leo dancing and out to eat and the rest of the time was spent in Jim’s hotel room. They had met at the Seattle PD where Leo was a Homicide Detective. They had a lot in common and sparks flew from the very first time they met. Leo knew that Jim was special and he hoped he could get some type of commitment out of him this time. But Jim kept putting him off because he was in love with someone else. Why couldn’t it be him? Leo looked in the mirror to see what Jim saw when he looked at him. He was 5’ 8” tall, long wavy hair and bright green eyes. He always had a five o’clock shadow which Jim seemed to love for some strange reason. He looked good and he knew it. Why couldn’t Jim see the same thing? He wasn’t going to give up because he was in love with one Jim Ellison and he was going to be his forever some day.

Wouldn’t it be nice if he could transfer up here to the Seattle PD and then we could buy a house together. It could work out beautifully. Now I just need to talk Jim into it.

Cascade:

Blair wondered what was wrong with Jim lately. It wasn’t because he wasn’t getting laid. After all, once a month, Jim was gone an entire weekend and wouldn’t tell Blair anything about it. He saw Jim coming into the kitchen and decided to see if there was something bothering him.

“Hey Jim, is something up? You act like something is bothering you lately. Anything I can do to help?”

“There’s nothing bothering me, Chief. Thanks for the offer but everything is great. I’m going to be gone this weekend. I’m leaving tonight and won’t be back until Sunday night. You have the place to yourself. Enjoy.”

“Where are you going, man?”

“Blair, some things are personal and this is one of them. My lady friend doesn’t want anyone to know. So let’s leave it at that.”

Blair smiled and said, “Whoa, that’s the first time you called her your lady friend, it must be serious, huh?” Blair suddenly stopped smiling when he realized that he might lose his roommate over this lady friend.

Jim puts his fears to rest when he said, “Nah… We’re just friends, but very good friends.”

“Well, as long as you’re having fun and playing safe. You are right?”

Jim mussed up Blair’s hair and said, “I’m having fun and being safe, you can stop worrying now.”

That day went quickly at the station, and Blair found himself being sad at the prospect of being alone all weekend. He missed Jim that once a month. Maybe it was because he was Jim’s official partner at work now and they spent so much time together between work and home. Or maybe it was because Blair knew he was in love with his roommate and couldn’t say anything to him.

As the two men were finishing up filing the cases they had worked on Blair said, “Jim, why don’t you take off for the weekend. I can handle the paperwork. I’ll see you on Sunday.”

“Are you sure, Sandburg? Because I don’t mind going a little later.” Jim thought this was one of the nicest things Blair had ever done and it was making him feel guilty.

“No, you go on and have a good time. I’ll finish filing the reports and see you on Sunday.” Blair hated being noble. Why couldn’t I ask him to stay home with me instead?Sighing, Blair watched Jim get his things together and they said their goodbyes as Jim walked to the elevator.

No one was in the bullpen so Blair said quietly, “I’m going to find out who it is if it kills me… or if he kills me.”

Friday night, Seattle:

Jim was settled into the room for the night. He decided that he and Leo would have room service and then just spend the night fucking.

Jim had wanted to tell Blair about Leo but the whole reason he decided to start up an affair in Seattle was to keep it a secret. The Cascade Police Department wasn’t tolerant of gays. Jim also worried about what his friends would say, especially Blair.

He would move out so quickly my head would spin. I’m doing the right thing keeping this a secret.

Jim had met Leo at the Seattle PD about eight months before and they had hit it off right away. Jim needed someone and Leo seemed to fit the bill. He was up front with Leo and told him he was in love with someone and this wasn’t permanent. Leo seemed okay with it but, sometimes, Jim got the feeling that Leo wanted more.

Jim jumped off of the bed and went to open the door for Leo. His friend’s smile made Jim instantly hard. “Hi Leo.”

“Hi, Jim. Dinner first, or did you want something else? Leo was looking down at the bulge in Jim’s pants and laughed when Jim shut the door and pushed Leo over to the bed.

The two men began to make out like crazy and before long they were both naked on the bed. Jim kissed him longingly, trying to keep a certain person’s face out of his mind and keep his mind on the business at hand. He was with Leo, not Blair.

“Hey Jim, how about a nice blow job?” Leo asked in between kisses.

Jim stopped kissing him and said, “I don’t do blow jobs.”

“You could start.” Leo suggested sweetly.

“I just don’t like giving them. I’m sorry. Now can we go back to this?” Jim asked as he reached for the lube and condom.

“Jim, can I be on top tonight?” Leo figured it was time to ask. For eight months he had been nothing but the bottom.

“I don’t do that either. Sorry. Is this a problem?” Jim started to move away from Leo, but Leo pulled him back down and said, “No, no problem. Fuck me.”

And fuck him, Jim did. He never looked at Leo’s face while he fucked him because he had someone else in his mind and didn’t want to ruin it.

When they were done, they ordered room service and ate while they made plans for Saturday and Sunday. Jim and Leo had a lot in common; they were going to do some fun things that both men enjoyed.

Jim was almost asleep and Leo asked, “Do you think you would ever move up here?”

Jim quietly answered, “No.”

Leo was heartbroken, but knew that Jim had told him up front that there was someone else. Where in the hell was the someone else? Was he married? Was he in a coma? Was he straight? Oh fuck, he’s in love with a straight man and doesn’t know what to do about it. There might be a chance for me after all.

Leo snuggled up closer to Jim and heard Jim say, “Blair.” Now Leo knew the person’s name. As he fell asleep, he was making plans on how to make Jim Ellison fall in love with him.

Saturday, Cascade:

Conner met Blair at The Golden Dragon for lunch. She got into the booth across from him and said, “I hope you know Ellison is going to be pissed at me for this.”

“He’ll never find out that you put an APB out for him. Who would tell him anyhow? No one called in?” Blair wondered aloud.

“No, no one called in and we can’t find him anywhere. Do you suppose he’s out of the city?”

Blair thought on that idea for a moment and said, “Where would he go once a month?”

“Why don’t you just ask him?” Conner believed that would be easier than all of this cloak and dagger routine.

“I did ask him and he won’t tell me who it is. Doesn’t that seem odd to you?”

“Maybe he just wants to have a life that isn’t under a microscope.” Conner explained as nicely as she could.

“Hey, I don’t put him under a microscope. I just wonder where in the hell he goes once a month. It’s just plain weird.”

“Sandy, why don’t you just tell him how you feel about him?”

“Oh yeah, that would go over well with his new girlfriend, whom he doesn’t want to talk about.”

“So follow him.” Conner suggested.

Blair thought on that for a minute and said, “I’d get caught and he would never forgive me.”

“Well, I have to get back to work so just sit here and be sad all day long instead of outdoors enjoying the beautiful weather.” She laughed as she got up and hugged him quickly before she left. She loved Sandy, but he was dense most of the time.

Saturday, Seattle

Leo had gotten up first thing in the morning and called room service for a nice breakfast for two. He set everything out on the patio off the suite. He then woke Jim up for a nice meal.

“Where are we going today?” Jim asked as he ate some of the breakfast.

“A 60’s car show, I got the tickets for it about three weeks ago. I knew you would love it.” Leo leaned across the table and kissed Jim.

Jim smiled at him and said, “Sounds great to me. Any plans for tomorrow morning?”

“I’d like you to meet my brother and sister for breakfast. I haven’t called them yet, I wanted to ask you first.”

“Leo, this isn’t going to work, I should think about leaving right now.” Jim got up from the table having lost his appetite.

“No… You’re right, I’m pushing you too hard and I’m sorry. We’ll go to watch the boats tomorrow morning and just walk up and down the docks. Does that work for you?”

“That works for me. I’m sorry, Leo, but I don’t want this to get serious and I wonder sometimes if you shouldn’t give up on me now and find yourself someone nice.” Jim was trying to be noble.

“I like being with you, I’ll take as much as you can give me. I’m sorry for pushing you, it won’t happen again.”

They showered together and began their day. It would go fine as long as Leo didn’t push him any longer. Jim couldn’t give up on Blair because someday he might have enough courage to ask him out.

Saturday, Cascade:

Blair figured he would at least do Jim’s laundry while he was doing his and maybe he could find something in the pockets while he was emptying them out. While he was upstairs in Jim’s room, he found a business card for a restaurant in Seattle along with a receipt for dinner on Jim’s dresser. Seattle? When did Jim go to Seattle?

Blair threw everything in the washer downstairs and began to pace. So that’s where he’s been going once a month? Why Seattle? What’s the big secret?

Blair decided to have a beer while he waited for the laundry and try and think why Jim would be seeing someone in Seattle. Could it be because he wanted to move and just didn’t know how to tell his partner yet? He finished up the laundry, put everything away and sat down with another beer. By the time the evening ended, he had six beers in him and was now officially drunk.

As he sat there, he got more pissed off by the moment. Why was Jim lying about a woman in town when she is clearly out of town? Maybe I should call and ask him what he’s up to?

He dialed Jim’s cell phone and heard a breathless voice say, “Ellison.”

“Hey Jim, whatcha doing, man?”

“Chief? What’s wrong? You sound funny.” Jim could clearly tell that Blair was drunker than a skunk. Just how drunk is a skunk, anyhow?

“I was having a party all by myself and missed you. Whatcha doin’?" Blair mumbled into the phone.

“I’m a little busy right now, Chief, can I call you back?”

“Oh man, I called you while you were with her. Sorry. I won’t call again.“ Blair hung up the phone and almost started crying except that he was still pissed off about not knowing anything.

About an hour later the phone rang and Blair yelled at it. “I’m not picking you up, so ring all night if you want to.”

Finally the answering machine came on and said, “Ellison and Sandburg residence, leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. Beep.”

“Chief, it’s me. Pick up so I can talk to you.”

Blair threw himself on top of the phone and picked it up. “Hey Jim… what cha calling for?”

“You called me, remember?” Jim had a smile in his voice as he talked. Blair made a very cute drunk. But then again, there wasn’t a time that Jim didn’t find Blair cute.

“I did? What did I want?”

“I don’t know, Chief, that’s why I called you back.”

“Are you getting serious about that woman?” Blair blurted out.

“No, I’m not getting serious, Blair. Don’t worry okay?”

“Oh I’m not worried, I just wondered if I should find a new place to live.”

“No one is moving. Just don’t worry about anything, all right?” Jim hoped that he could calm his friend down.

“You promise?” Blair pleaded.

“I promise I’m not serious and I won’t move anywhere.”

“Not even if there was some nice woman that tried to talk you into moving to another city?”

“Not even then, Chief. I would tell you anyhow, so stop worrying.”

“Okay, you go back and have fun. I’ve got to lie down.” Blair hung up the phone and did just that. He was going to be so sorry in the morning.

Saturday night, Seattle:

“Who was that, like I don’t already know?” Leo asked with an irritated tone in his voice.

“Don’t start now, Leo. It was my friend, Blair, and he’s drunk. He was worried that I was moving and leaving the station house. I had to calm him down.”

“So, is that who you’re in love with? Are you going to wait around forever for the straight roommate?”

“It’s none of your business, Leo. I think I’m going to check out now and go home.” Jim got off the bed and started to pack his bag.

Leo stopped him by grabbing his arms. “I’m sorry. I’m a little jealous of the guy who you do love. Please stay so we can go to the docks tomorrow and look at all of the boats.”

“All right. But no more talk about jealousy; I explained all of this to you before we started sleeping together. “

“I understand, Jim. Now come back to bed and we’ll talk about something more interesting.” Leo went down on Jim and gave him the best blowjob he had ever gotten in his life. I wonder if someday I could do this to Blair?

Sunday, Cascade:

Conner used her spare key on Sunday morning because Blair wasn’t answering the door. They were supposed to go out for breakfast, and Blair was never late for Sunday breakfast. She looked around the loft and saw the mess and knew her friend had probably gotten himself good and drunk. Sure enough, there were six empty beer bottles on the coffee table. She glanced into his room and saw him sprawled out all over the bed. She smiled and decided she would give him a couple more hours and she would clean up for him while she waited. Jim would have a cow if he came home to that mess.

She finished cleaning the entire loft and sat down and read a magazine when Blair came walking out of his room. “Conner, what are you doing here and why do I have a brain tumor sized headache?”

She couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. “You had a little bit too much fun last night all by yourself. Is something wrong?”

“I called Jim last night and made a fool out of myself.” Blair just hung his head in shame.

“So, it’s nothing out of the ordinary, right?” Conner loved teasing her friend.

“I asked him if he was getting serious.”

“Oh, what did he say?” Conner got up and pushed Blair over to the table for some coffee.

He said he wasn’t serious and that he didn’t plan on leaving Cascade, but I know he is.” Blair lay his head down on the table and just hoped his head would stop pounding.

“How do you know that he’s moving out of town?”

“I decided to do laundry and while I was upstairs sorting through his dirty clothes, I found a credit card receipt and a business card for a restaurant in Seattle on his dresser and I think he’s dating someone there. What do you think?” Blair looked up pitifully and waited for her reply.

Conner thought a moment and said, “I think you might be right, but all the more reason for you to follow him up there. See what type of competition you have going. You’ve got three weeks to plan. Look in the paper and see if there is anything going on in Seattle that you would like to go see and we’ll go up together.”

“Conner, that’s a great idea.” He looked in the paper that Conner had brought over and saw something immediately. “Look, there is an art show that I wanted to see while it was here in Cascade, but I missed it. Now I could see it there. But I want to go alone; I don’t want Jim to think everyone is in his business.”

“But, Sandy, everyone is.” They both laughed and Blair decided that he would shower and they could go out for brunch. It was going to be a nice day after all.

Sunday, late afternoon, Seattle:

“Did you have a good time at the Marina, Jim?”

“I had a wonderful time. I need to get back home though. I’ll see you in four weeks, all right? If anything comes up, just let me know and I’ll change the date.”

“Well, as a matter of fact, I have a wedding to go to in three weeks and I was hoping we could go together. No strings, Jim. Just my friend.”

“I guess I could do that. It’s not a family wedding, is it?” Jim needed to know that first.

Leo smiled and answered, “Nah. It’s my friend Todd’s wedding and his wife is a guy, so it’s not a real wedding, just a nice civil ceremony. ”

“Okay, I’ll come up in three weeks then. I’ll see you on that Friday night.” Jim leaned down and kissed Leo softly and said, “Goodbye.”

Leo grabbed him back down and kissed him with all he had to make him miss him while Jim was gone. Jim turned and walked to his truck and just like that he was gone again. Leo was sad, but knew this is the way it had to be. And he only had three weeks to wait for the next visit. Leo had plans on making Jim never want to leave next time.

Sunday evening, Cascade

By the time Jim got home early that evening Blair had a nice dinner made and the loft looked perfect. As he walked in the front door he called out, “Hey Chief, something sure smells good.”

“Hi Jim, you’re early, I didn’t get the biscuits made yet. Give me about fifteen minutes and dinner will be ready. Did you have a good time?”

Jim was a little confused at how chipper Blair was. Something was going on and Jim was certain he probably wouldn’t like it. “What’s going on, Chief? Why are you in such a good mood?”

“Well, I spent the day with Conner today, we had a great brunch and then we went to an art gallery and then we ended up seeing a movie. We saw Ice Age 2: The Meltdown. It was so damn cute that I want to take you this week, okay?” Blair was almost bouncing as he talked.

“Sure, that sounds good. I liked the first one, so I’m sure I’ll like the second one. Are you and Conner dating?” Jim sounded a little funny when he asked Blair this.

Blair burst out laughing and said, “Nope, she’s dating a really nice dude in Vice. But he didn’t have the day off like we did. So we just spent the day together and we had a blast. Ready for dinner?”

“What are we having, Chief?”

“Beef stew and baking powder biscuits, so I hope you’re hungry.” Blair dished up Jim’s plate and Jim sat down to eat. Jim was suddenly sad thinking about this type of life happening all the time, except he knew it wouldn’t work. Blair loved women. Jim knew that for a fact. He forced himself to eat everything on his plate so as to not hurt Blair’s feelings.

The evening was filled with eating, talking and cleaning up after dinner. Before long they sat in the living room watching Cold Case and remarking on everything that was wrong with the episode. It was just like old times. Jim kept looking over at Blair and Blair would smile and look back at the television. Jim was beginning to wonder if he imagined the entire phone call. Blair certainly didn’t seem upset about it now.

The next three weeks flew by. Jim and Blair worked with the FBI helping to solve a serial murder case. Things were going very smoothly until a certain Friday afternoon. “Chief, I’m going to be gone this weekend; I just wanted to let you know ahead of time.”

“I thought it was next weekend that you were going?” Blair said trying not to panic.

“Something came up, but it’s nothing bad. I’ll be back on Sunday night again.”

“Sure, no problem, I had plans for the weekend also.”

“Good, I’m glad you’re not going to be staying home alone.” Jim sounded relieved. “Since we’re caught up, I’m going to ask Simon if I can take off early today. Is that all right with you?”

“Sure, who am I to stop true love?”

“I told you it wasn’t love, Chief. I’ll check with Simon and be out of your hair soon.” Jim went off to ask Simon and Blair stuck his tongue out at Jim’s back making Conner burst out laughing.

“What’s going on, mate?”

“I’ll tell you as soon as he leaves.” Blair whispered.

Jim walked through and said, “See you both when I get back.”

“Have fun, Jimbo.” Conner called out and got a kick in the shin for saying it.

“See you on Sunday, Jim.”

Jim smiled at both of his friends as he got on the elevator. Once it was shut, Conner said, “Spill.”

“Do you have a damn newspaper? I have to find something to do in Seattle this weekend. It might be too late.”

“He’s going this weekend? Well damn him… that blows all of your plans. How about the Seattle Art Museum?”

“What’s going to be there?” Blair asked hopefully.

“Some guest speaker named Bob Billings, do you know him?”

“Oh dear lord, I can’t go for Bob Billings. Jim will know that I would never go listen to that doofus talk.” Blair looked defeated.

“I have an idea.”

“What?” Blair hopefully asked.

“You can say that I have reservations at that restaurant and my boyfriend stood me up because of work, so I asked you to go with me. We heard it was a great restaurant. What do you think?”

“I’ll take it. I’ll pay for the hotel, okay?”

“I’ll let you. We better get done and make reservations at the hotel and the restaurant.“ Conner hurried with her work so they could get started.

Conner called Sean to tell him they were going to be in Seattle.

“Sean Cason, may I help you?”

“Why yes, young man, I’d like to fuck you senseless but I have to go to Seattle for tonight and tomorrow night, so can you live without me for two nights?”

“Who is this?” Sean asked laughing.

“Sandy and I are going up to spy on Ellison.”

“Meggie, that isn’t a good idea. He might get really pissed off and what if Jim is doing something he doesn’t want Blair to know about?” Sean suggested.

“Like what? What could he be doing?”

“What if he’s with a guy and doesn’t want Sandburg to know he’s gay.” Sean said very seriously. “Don’t you find it odd that Ellison is going out of the city once a month?”

“Have you heard he was gay?” Conner asked quietly.

“I’ve heard some things, yes. And maybe he doesn’t want Sandburg to find out.”

“But Sean, he wants Jim, so this would be perfect.” Conner reminded him.

“Not if Ellison is with someone he really loves being with. Think how badly Sandburg would be hurt then.” Leave it to Sean to point out the obvious.

“We’ll be careful, I promise. So I won’t be back until Sunday night, unless this whole thing goes sour and we’ll be back on Saturday night.”

“Be careful doing this, Meggie, Sandburg could be really hurt from it.” Sean warned one last time.

“We’ll be careful, I promise. Now you take care and remember that I love you.”

“I love you too, Meggie. Drive carefully.” Sean said before he hung up the phone. He really wondered if the rumors were true about Jim being gay because if they were, he might have someone he really loves up in Seattle and that would leave Meggie to handle the mess with Sandburg afterwards. He picked up the phone and called Conner.

“Megan Conner, may I help you?”

“How about if I get the time off and we go together? That way if something happens I can drive and you can handle Sandburg.”

“That would be nice, but how would we explain you at the restaurant?” Conner needed help with this one.

“I’ll come in later and say I took a plane up to catch you, and I’ll be about thirty minutes late, how does that sound?” Sean even thought that sounded all right.

“Sounds like a plan, Stan. See if you can get off because we’re leaving tonight.” Conner bossed her love and smiled while doing it.

“If I don’t call you back, we’re on. We’ll meet at my place. Pick Sandburg up and then we’ll go in my SUV. Okay?”

“Perfect, Sean. Thank you for being such a good friend to Sandy.”

“See you later tonight.” Sean hung up and went to see if he could have family time off. Meggie was his family, so it wasn’t really a lie.

@@@

After Conner made all of the plans she helped Sandy pack his bag and they were off. Blair wasn’t really feeling that great about having Sean go with them, but he couldn’t say too much since Conner was helping him out.

They arrived in Seattle and Blair got his own room because he didn’t want to share one with Sean and Conner. Blair really liked Sean, he was very nice to Conner and he was nice to her friends also.

Once they got changed, they walked to the restaurant for the first night’s reservations. After all, they weren’t sure if he would be there either night, so they had to play it by ear. The plan was Sean would come in 20 minutes later and join them for dinner. So they were supposed to goof off for the first 20 minutes and go from there.

They walked into the restaurant and gave their names. They were taken immediately to a table and Conner took a moment to look around and sure enough Jim was there with a guy. Conner got up and walked over to their table and said, “Jim? Jim Ellison, is that you?”

Jim snarled as he answered, “Of course it’s me; you’re standing right next to me. You trying to tell me you don’t know what I look like? What do you want, Conner?”

“Sandy and I were going to have dinner tonight. Sean had to work late and Sandy said he would go with me. Do you mind if we join you?” Conner glared at the man with him.

“Sure…” Jim didn’t sound sure, but he said it anyhow. Leo kicked him under the table. Jim looked over at him and Leo said, “You’ll pay for this later, Ellison.”

Blair came walking over and said, “Jim, what are you doing here?”

“Same thing you are, Sandburg. We were going to have dinner. This is an old friend of mine, Leo Miller. Leo, this is Megan Conner and Blair Sandburg.” Jim made the introductions and watched Leo look with pure hatred at Blair.

“You guys want to join us?” Blair sweetly asked.

“No, Conner already invited you both over here.” Jim grumbled.

“Are you sure you don’t mind, man?” Blair asked and took a good hard look at the competition, and Blair knew that’s exactly what it was. This was no old friend, this was a fuck buddy and Blair was going to have to win Jim somehow.

“No, sit down and stop standing in the way of the waiter’s.” Jim growled.

“So, Leo, how long have you known Jim?” Blair decided to break the ice.

“About eight months, I see him once a month.”

Blair looked at him and then looked at Jim and said, “Oh man, do you want us to leave you alone?”

Jim finally smiled and said, “No, they gave your table to someone else.”

They all laughed, well, no… not everyone. Leo wasn’t a happy camper. He knew that this was the man that Jim loved. And he wasn’t going to give his Jim up without a fight.

The waiter came over and gave them all menus and said he would be right back with their drinks.

Blair decided to start the ball rolling, “We’re staying at the Hilton right across the street. Where are you two staying?”

A somewhat shocked Jim said, “I’m staying at the same hotel.”

Blair smiled at the way he said I instead of we and asked, “Do you want to share your room? I could give up mine.”

Before Jim could answer Leo said, “No, he’s going to need the room tonight, aren’t you, Jim?”

“I sort of have plans, Chief.”

“We have plans, Jim. Don’t forget I’m with you.” Leo was getting pissed off and Blair hadn’t said hardly anything.

“Sorry… I didn’t mean to cause trouble. Maybe we should leave.” Blair offered and this time he meant it.

“No, Chief, the food is great here; you and Conner will love it.”

The waiter came back and told them the specials for the night and all four of them decided to get one.

Blair decided to make nice and asked, “So, Leo, what do you do for a living?”

“Same thing as Jim, I’m a cop.” Leo said nastily.

“I met Leo about eight months ago when Simon sent me up to help with a case.” Jim explained.

Leo decided to go for broke, “And we’ve been together ever since. “

Jim had just taken a drink of his water and choked on it, causing both Blair and Leo to pound on his back.

Jim waved them both off and said, “Thanks, I’ll be all right.” Then he glared at Leo. For the first time that evening, Leo felt like he had already lost but he wasn’t giving up that easily.

Jim was watching the front door and saw Sean Cason walk in. “Conner, Sean is here.”

“You’re kidding? Isn’t he the sweetest boyfriend in the world? Do we have enough room here for Sean or do we need to get another table?” Conner said quickly.

“I thought he wasn’t coming, Conner.” Jim stated.

“He said he had to work and I said I was keeping the reservation and bringing Blair. Maybe he was jealous, I don’t know.”

Sean walked over to the table and said, “Room for the late guy?”

They all made room for another chair and Sean sat down to look at a menu. “What are you having, babe? This place is great. I’m sorry you had to drive yourself up here. I took the quickest flight I could get. Am I rambling?”

They all smiled when he asked that and Jim said, “So what flight did you come in on, Cason?”

Sean was ready, “I just got in on the 1045, and it was really bumpy, so I might not eat all of my food.”

Conner kissed his cheek and said, “You poor baby. Do you want to head back to the hotel?”

“No, we’re here; I want you to enjoy this restaurant. In fact, let me grab the waiter so I can order so that my dinner will come at the same time as yours.” Sean ordered his meal and then continued what he had to say, “I love this place, I’ve been here five or six times while working. Haven’t you, Ellison? And before I forget… who is this guy sitting here. You people are all rude.” Sean was smiling but he didn’t like the looks of Leo one bit.

“Sorry, Cason, this is Leo Miller, he’s a cop for SPD. Leo, this is Sean Cason, who is dating Megan Conner. Now is anyone else coming?” Jim asked.

“Hey, I know when I’m not wanted.” Blair got up and started towards the front of the restaurant. Jim got up and followed him and said, “Sorry, Chief. I wasn’t expecting to see anyone I knew tonight and I had planned on talking to you about this before you found out about him.”

“This is the man you’re in love with?” Blair asked almost fearfully.

“I told you I don’t love him, Blair. Now come on and join us for dinner. This place really is good.”

“Are you sure? Because I don’t think he much likes me.” Blair looked sad.

“I don’t much care, Blair. Now come on, let’s sit down, they’re bringing out the first course.”

“Thank god, I’m starving.”

Jim started laughing as they walked back to the table. Leo leaned into him and kissed him on the ear.

Jim blushed and whispered, “Knock it off, Leo.”

They ate their salads quietly until Conner couldn’t stand it any longer. “After dinner we were going to go dancing at the club two doors down, would you and Leo like to join the three of us?”

“I don’t think so, Conner.” Jim answered quickly making Leo smile, which pissed Blair off.

“Come on, Jim, it’ll be fun. We don’t get to go out to clubs in Seattle very often. Think about it while you’re eating, okay?” Blair said in a very persuasive tone.

“Leo, why don’t we go to the club for a couple of drinks, what could it hurt?” Jim hoped that Leo would say no so he wouldn’t have to drag this night out anymore.

“If you want to dance, that’s fine with me.” Leo answered.

Blair said, “If I had someone like Jim to dance with I would be going to dance clubs all the time.”

Again, Jim was taking a drink when Blair said this and he began to choke. Sean stood up and asked, “Do I need to call someone.”

Jim put his hand up to calm everyone and said, “Sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me tonight.” Jim glanced at Blair and could tell that Blair was flirting with him. Since when does Blair do guys?

Leo knew that he had his hands full and said, “I love dancing with Jim. He’s a very sexy man.”

“Leo, knock it off.” Jim growled.

“I can tell them, they’re your friends, right? They can tell that we’re more than just friends.“ Leo looked at Blair with delight when he saw the hurt look on Blair’s face.

Sean said, “Oh look, I think it’s our dinner.” And sure enough, it was.

Blair was eating his meal like he hadn’t seen food in a month. “God, this is good food. You weren’t kidding when you told Conner about it, Cason.”

The rest of the meal was actually painless because no one spoke. They were too busy eating. When everything was said and done the waiter brought the check over and asked who wanted it. Jim said, “I’ll take it.”

He handed it to Jim and smiled as he walked off. Leo wasn’t a happy camper at all. “Jim, why don’t we all pay for ourselves?”

“No, this is easier. I’ll just put it on my card, not a big deal at all. I had a great time tonight.”

Blair smiled over at Jim with his best fuck me smile and said, “I had a great time too, Jim.”

Conner and Sean almost burst out laughing. Thankfully, Jim hadn’t taken a drink so he wasn’t choking. He had seen a lot of fuck me smiles on different people’s faces, but Blair’s was by far the best he had ever seen. And he wanted to do just that. He wanted Blair so badly that he would leave Leo in a heartbeat if Blair said something.

“Jim, I get the first dance at the club.” Blair said quickly while still wearing that same fuck me smile.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t like Jim dancing with anyone else.” Leo said angrily.

“Excuse me? I can dance with whomever I want to dance with, Leo. This is a free country after all.” Jim wasn’t happy.

“I just got a little jealous is all, but I’m sure that Blair just wants a quick friendly dance. I’m sorry, Blair.” Leo hated Blair Sandburg more than anyone could ever know.

“Yeah, I like things quick and friendly.” Blair was wearing a new fuck me smile that was even better than the last one.

Jim blushed and looked over at Leo who was ready to punch Sandburg’s lights out.

They were waiting for the receipt to come back when Blair whispered, “God, I hope he dances as good as he looks.”

Jim looked over and saw Blair staring at him, smiling. The smile said many things to Jim, all of them making him hard as a rock.

Once the check was taken care of, they all walked over to the dance club and Blair was walking alone. Conner put her arm around him and said, “We can’t have you back here all alone.”

“Why not?” Leo said sharply.

Jim glared at Leo and said, “They’re my friends, be cool.” Jim realized that he had just said something that Blair would have said. He spent way too much time with him.

As soon as they walked into the club, Blair said, “First slow dance is mine.”

“I don’t fast dance, so that works for me.” Jim answered and Leo was holding Jim’s hand tighter and tighter.

“Ow… You’re hurting my hand, Leo.”

“Sorry, but I didn’t even know if you knew I was here.” Leo pouted with the best of them. Jim had chosen him because he reminded him of Blair, and he certainly pouted just like Blair did.

A slow dance started and Blair grabbed Jim and pushed him onto the dance floor. Blair got as close to Jim as he could without being inside him and they began to sway to the music. Blair started to sniff Jim’s neck and moved even closer as the music picked up. Jim couldn’t believe what was happening, it was his dream come true, but not with Leo there.

“Blair, I came with Leo.”

Jim could feel how hard Blair was up against his upper leg. Jim wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted Blair, but not like this.

“I know it’s only a dance Jim. You have to go back to Leo when it’s done. But I wanted this one dance, okay?” Blair pulled Jim down for a kiss as the music ended. “Thank you, this made my night.” Blair walked away from Jim and out the front door. Jim started after him but Leo grabbed him. “No way. He knows it was wrong and he’s guilty now. Come and dance with me, my love.”

Jim was led back to the dance floor and saw Conner looking wildly around for Blair. “Let me tell Conner where Blair is.”

“Let her find out for herself. Jim, they ruined our night and we have plans for this evening. In fact, let’s go back to the hotel right now.” Leo grabbed Jim’s hand and pulled him towards the front door.

Conner caught up with them and said, “Have you seen Sandy?”

“Why the fuck do you call him Sandy?” Leo shouted.

Sean stood up next to him and said, “Don’t shout at her again, you fucker.”

“Blair left about ten minutes ago. He probably went back to the hotel.”

Conner looked at Jim and then at Leo and asked, “So which one of you said something shitty to him?”

“It wasn’t me.” Leo said.

They all looked at Jim and he said, “I just told him I was here with Leo.”

“Ellison, you have no idea what you just did.” Conner shouted over the music.

“He told Sandburg where he stood, that took guts, because as you could all see, he was throwing himself all over Jim all night long." Leo was very pleased with himself.

“Fuck you both.” Conner said as she pulled Sean away from Jim and Leo. Jim was totally clueless as usual and didn’t know what to do. The two men walked back to the hotel and as soon as they were in the room Leo started to undress Jim. Jim stopped him and said, “I’m confused right now. I don’t think I want to do anything.”

“You can think all you want, all I want is for you to fuck me. Show me how hard you can fuck me with this hard cock.” Leo ran his hand across Jim’s hard cock and for a moment Jim was taken in. But then just as quickly he came to his senses and said, “I don’t want to fuck you. I want to fuck Blair.”

“You’re going to dump me after eight months of waiting around for you? I can’t believe this. He was rude, Jim, and he probably hasn’t been with a guy before, so it won’t last anyhow. He’s straight and just thinks he wants to try you out. He’s using you, man.”

“So, that’s up to him. I want to at least try. I’m sorry, Leo, but I need to find Blair.”

“You are a lousy fuck anyhow. Who ever heard of a gay man that doesn’t give blowjobs or bottom?”

“Maybe I was saving myself for Blair, did you ever consider that?” Jim blurted out before he actually thought about it.

Before Jim could think, Leo hit him right in the stomach. Then he hit him again. “You lousy fuck, I can’t believe you used me all of this time and you’re going to give him whatever he wants. You’re such an asshole, Ellison, I hate you.”

“Yes, I am an asshole, but I didn’t mean to hurt you, Leo. I have to leave now. I’m sorry.” Jim grabbed his bag and left for the front desk. He decided he would call Blair and tell him they could talk tonight. He asked the girl at the desk if she could ring Blair Sandburg’s room and she informed him that Blair had already checked out. So then he asked for Cason’s room and found out they had checked out and Jim knew what he had to do. If he hurried, he could catch him at the loft before he did something stupid like pack or something.

Jim left the hotel, because it was in Leo’s name that night and drove as fast as he could. He knew he had to have a game plan when he got there. I mean, how long had Blair been attracted to him, or did he find out about Leo and then become attracted? Jim didn’t want him just because Blair didn’t want him to be with another man. No, Jim couldn’t believe that Blair would ever do anything like that.

Cascade

When he got to the loft after the speedy ride home, he saw Blair’s car and saw a light on in his room. So Jim knew he had to hurry.

He walked in the front door and could hear Blair packing some boxes while talking. “This is a new low, Sandburg. You went up there to offer yourself to Jim and you gave up before it even started. Why would Jim want you?”

“Because he’s in love with you.” Jim said quietly.

Blair jumped and said, “For crying out loud, give some warning, will ya? You scared the crap out of me. You love me?”

“Yes, I love you. I tried to hide my gay lifestyle from you so that you wouldn’t be freaked out and leave. I had no idea that you had feelings for me, too. How long, Chief?”

“Since the first day I met you I’ve been in love with you. I knew it at the hospital, but you didn’t seem like the type that would let a gay guy hang out with him, so I changed my lifestyle somewhat. I like women too, so it wasn’t hard to do.”

“We wasted the last four years for nothing. I was afraid you would move and you thought I wouldn’t accept you. Are we both dumb or what?” Jim smiled over at his new love.

“Yes, we’re both dumb. But not anymore Jim, we have to agree to a few things first.” Blair ordered.

“No one else will ever be in my bed, Blair.”

“Wow! That was nice. Actually, I was going to tell you that you can’t ever go and see Leo again. I don’t like him and I know he loved you, so he’s dangerous. Promise that you’ll never see him again?”

“I promise. I promise to never see anyone again except you. I love you, Blair, and I want only you. I’ve been saving myself for you, too.”

“I don’t understand.” Blair looked confused.

“As in I’ve never bottomed in my life and I want to with you and also I haven’t given a blowjob since I met you. I only wanted you in my mouth.”

“You’re making me almost come by talking, man. This is so not good, or maybe on second thought, it is.”

“Would you like to go upstairs and have your way with me, Blair?”

“I would love to… for the rest of my life. I love you, Jim Ellison.”

“And I love you, Blair Sandburg.”

They held hands as they walked up the stairs to start their new life. Jim had a few things on his mind considering he knew that Blair was right about Leo loving him, so he might cause trouble. Jim was going to have to be careful and so was Blair. But for right now, Jim could only think about Blair fucking him.

Both men got undressed and lay down on the bed naked. They began to make-out like teens and both men were as hard as they could get.

“Jim, I think we should do something to calm us down first. How about a 69 and then later on I’ll gladly fuck you?”

Jim said nothing but flipped over as fast as he could. He took Blair’s cock into his mouth like it ‘totally’ belonged there. Blair took Jim into his mouth and loved the taste instantly. For some reason Jim tasted better than anyone else had.

Jim slid two fingers into his wet mouth and got them good and slick as he slid them into Blair’s hole. Blair moaned around Jim’s cock and shot his come down Jim’s throat just like that. So Blair decided not to be outdone, he slid two slick fingers into Jim’s hole and began to search for his love spot and Jim came quickly into Blair’s mouth.

Both men lay on the bed waiting to be able to breathe again and smiled at one another. Jim flipped around again and began to kiss Blair like there was no tomorrow.

Both men’s cock’s started to swell and harden. Jim hadn’t ever been able to do it this quickly after sex, so he figured it was a sign. “Blair, I don’t usually get it up this fast afterwards, so it must be you.”

“I would say thank you, but I don’t usually either. I think that we’re just really excited, man.”

Jim sniffed Blair’s neck and took in the scent of his Guide. His Sentinel abilities were online… big time. He could smell better, he could taste better and he could feel like he had never felt before.

“Blair, I think that maybe Guides and Sentinels belong together because everything is better suddenly.”

“It’s better for me, too. Just wait until I fuck you, my main man.” And Blair slid down to Jim’s cock and started to suck on him again. Jim wasn’t very verbal, but he sure squirmed a lot while things were being done to him. Blair asked for the lube and Jim handed it to him. Then Jim handed him the condoms. Jim knew this was going to be good because the blowjob alone was driving him wild. As Blair sucked on Jim’s cock, he started to loosen up Jim’s anus. By the time he had three fingers in it, Jim was moving all over the bed.

“Jim, put your legs around my waist, okay?” Blair pulled Jim’s legs up around his waist and then slid the condom on right before he slid into home. And that’s what Blair thought of when he was fucking Jim, he was home.

Blair started to fuck Jim harder and harder, while Jim fisted his own cock to match the thrusts. Before long Jim said, “I’m ready, Blair.”

Blair went in as deep as he could and Jim came, throwing his head back and yelling with a mighty roar. Blair smiled because he sounded like he was a wild animal. He thrust into Jim four more times and took his turn at throwing back his head and roaring with completion.

As he finally softened and started to fall out of Jim, he said, “I’ll get some wipes.”

Jim pointed to the night stand and said, “There are some in the drawer. No need to leave my side.”

“Thank you for a wonderful night, Jim. I loved it. I’ve never topped before.”

“You’re kidding? You’re a natural, that’s for sure. I think I’m in trouble.” Jim laughed and pulled Blair close to him.

“Wait, I have to get us cleaned up.”

“Hurry up; I want to snuggle up with you.” Jim teased.

“I wouldn’t have taken you for a cuddle bug.” Blair teased back.

“Just don’t call me that at work, that’s all I ask.” Jim finally pulled his love close to him and they cuddled.

“Speaking of work, can we tell anyone?” Blair asked.

“I know this isn’t the time or place, but I think we should tell as many people as we can.”

“Why isn’t this the time or the place?” Blair wondered aloud.

“Because I think that Leo might cause trouble and one of the things might be him outing us at the station. So I just want you to be prepared.” Jim advised.

“That works for me, because I was going to tell Conner tomorrow in any case.”

“Oh, were you?” Jim kissed Blair sweetly and started to drift off to sleep.

“I love you, Jim.”

“I love you, Blair.”

“Oh by the way, Jim, if Leo comes around or bothers us, I just want you to know that I’ll defend what belongs to me. And that is you. If he tries to take what is mine, he’ll not soon forget it. You’re mine and he’ll know it too.”

“I love a primal Blair.”

“It’s just the facts, man. Just the facts. Now go to sleep.”

As Jim started to fall asleep he thought, I’m very glad that Blair decided he liked to be in the company of men. Jim had no idea that soon he would have to have a confrontation with Leo.

Seattle

Leo lay in bed and wondered when and how everything had gone wrong. He knew he could have made Jim fall in love with him if he had had more time. He had asked for a leave of absence for two weeks. Two weeks would be enough time to go and win back his love. He looked at the moon through the window and realized that things just weren’t the same without Jim in his life. He normally found the moon very romantic, but without Jim by his side, it wasn’t the same. He couldn’t wait to see Jim again and he would have to make sure that little bastard, Sandburg, was no where around when they talked.

He had already packed his bags and made his reservations at a hotel not too far from the station. Sandburg was likely to let Jim out of his sight sometime in the next two weeks. And Leo felt like he might have a chance, if he reminded Jim of the good times they had in and out of bed.

He fell asleep, thinking of his wonderfully handsome Jim and how good it would feel to have him in his arms again.

Cascade

First thing in the morning, Blair called Simon.

“Banks.”

“Simon, can you take a meeting with Jim and I this morning? We have some things to talk to you about.”

“Sure, come in an hour early and we’ll have a good talk. See you then.” Simon hung up and smiled. How much does anyone want to bet that Ellison and Sandburg are a friggin’ couple?

Blair got Jim up early so that they could get to the meeting on time. Jim was disappointed that there was no time for sex. They showered, got dressed and had breakfast within an hour.

“I’ll make it up to you tonight, big guy.” Blair said sweetly as he pushed Jim to the front door.

The drive in was quiet for a while and finally Jim broke the silence. “Are you okay with everything, Chief?”

“More than okay. I love you very much, why?”

“You seemed really quiet today and I hoped that you weren’t having second thoughts.” Jim seemed a little nervous.

“No second thoughts, hot shot. I’m not giving you up for anything. Are you okay with everything?” Blair decided he had better ask too.

“Yes, everything is fine and I love you very much too.”

They started talking about the cases they had to work on that day and the drive went rather quickly. Blair was grateful that things had turned out as they did.

When they arrived at the station they went right into Simon’s office after knocking.

“Come.” Simon called out as he poured them each a cup of coffee. “Good morning, men. How are things going?”

“Things are going well, Simon, but we need to tell you something in case something backfires on us.” Jim began explaining.

Blair couldn’t wait any longer and said, “Jim and I are a couple and we needed to tell you in case this man from Seattle decides to tell you for us.”

Simon smiled and asked, “How long has this been going on?”

Jim answered, “One night.”

“What? Are you two a little slow on the uptake or what? We all knew about you two for months.” Simon laughed when he saw the look on both of his men’s faces.

“You’re not upset?” Jim asked quietly.

“Of course not. As I said, we all thought you were already a couple, so this is old news to us. Tell everyone else today so no one is blindsided. Okay?”

Jim stood to leave and said, “We’ll tell everyone that is our friend today. Thank you for being here for us, Simon.”

“You’re most welcome. Now get out of here and get some work done.” Simon shook Jim’s hand and then shook Blair’s.

“Thanks, man. We’ll talk to you later.”

The two men started working on the caseloads they had going until Brown, Rafe, Taggart and Conner walked in. Jim stood up and asked everyone to follow him into the break room. Everyone did and they all had smiles on their faces. Big mouth Conner had already told everyone.

“I just wanted to let you know that Blair and I are a couple now and we hope this doesn’t upset or disturb any of you.” Jim hoped that they would all take it well.

Joel was the first one to give each man a quick hug and say, “Congratulations, Blair and Jim. I wish you the best of luck.”

Rafe and Brown both shook Jim and Blair’s hands and told them congratulations too. Then Conner smiled and said, “I already knew.”

“Smart alec.” Blair teased and then hugged her.

Everyone went back to the bullpen and got down to business. Blair got up and asked, “Jim, do you want some coffee?”

“Yeah, that would be great. Thank you, Chief.” He started filling out the paperwork that needed to be done.

While Blair was in getting the coffee and talking to some other officers, Jim’s phone rang and he answered it, “Detective Ellison, may I help you?”

“Jim, I need to talk to you alone.” Leo said very quietly.

“Leo, why are you calling me? Don’t you understand that it’s over?”

“Jim, you dumped me too quickly. I was good enough to fuck for eight months and then you decide to dump me for your roommate? I don’t think so. I’m not giving up without a fight.”

Blair walked up and set Jim’s cup down on his desk and watched Jim talk on the phone. “Please don’t call again. We’re over and done with. There is nothing to talk about.”

Blair said, “Gimme that phone.”

Jim handed it to him and Blair said, “I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you but Jim is in love with me. So please leave us alone. I don’t want to see you anywhere near him from this moment on.” With that said, Blair hung up the phone.

“Blair, I was handling it well on my own. I didn’t need your help.” Jim sounded a little irritated.

“Sorry, Jim, I was a little jealous. I don’t want him anywhere near you. I saw the way he looked at you and believe me; he’s not going to give up so quickly.”

“I think he got the picture this time, Blair, so stop worrying.” Jim tousled Blair’s hair and got back to work.

“I just hope he doesn’t think he’s going to get you back.” Blair almost whispered.

Jim burst out laughing and said, “No way. It’s never going to happen. Let’s get some work done, Chief.”

They worked until lunch time and Jim said, “How about we meet for lunch in about 20 minutes?”

“You have to go over the budget with Joel?”

“Yeah. It won’t take too long. Save me a seat, eh?” Jim walked toward Joel’s office as Blair walked to the elevator.

There was a great bar and grill across the street from the station, so he went in and got a booth for the two of them. As he was sitting there, Leo popped out of nowhere and sat across from Blair.

“What are you doing here, Miller?” Blair asked as quietly as he could.

“I wanted to talk to you about a few things and then I’ll leave. First of all, did Jim tell you how much he loved fucking me? Because if you asked and he lied, that wouldn’t be good, would it?”

“That was in the past, Miller. It’s time to move on.”

“Don’t you find it odd that Jim kept coming to the same man over and over again? He loved me, Sandburg, whether you want to hear it or not. Just ask him and watch his face when he answers.”

“I don’t need to ask him, he’s with me now and I want you to stay away from him.” Blair was pleased at how calm he was being, especially since he wanted to punch the guy’s lights out.

“If you can live with not knowing, I guess I’ll be able to live with the truth. Nice seeing you, Sandburg.” Just like that he was gone and Blair hadn’t had a chance to say too much.

About five minutes later Jim walked in and sat across from Blair. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong, why do you ask?” Blair replied.

“Something is up; you’re as pale as a ghost.”

“I’m hungry, that’s all, aren’t you?” Blair smiled at his love.

“I’m starved. What are you going to have?” Jim wondered aloud.

“Barbecue ribs. I love them and it’s the only time we have them.”

The waitress came over and took their order and brought them their drinks. As they sat there Blair decided that he would ask Jim a few questions.

“Jim, did you love Leo?”

Jim stared at him oddly and said, “No.”

“Not at all? Why did you stay with him for eight months if you didn’t have any feelings for him?”

“I liked him all right, but no I didn’t love him. I promise you I didn’t love him.” Jim knew something was going on and he didn’t like it. “Are you going to keep throwing him up in my face?” Jim was getting annoyed.

“Jim, he thinks you loved him. If he thinks that, he might try and fight for you.”

“So, you love me, right?”

“You know I do.” Blair said almost smiling.

“Then you won’t let him have me. It’s as simple as that. I belong to you, not him and I don’t ever want to belong to him; I never did.”

“He was here.” Blair finally admitted.

“Here, in the restaurant?”

“Yes, he said he’s here to fight for you. He told me you loved him and loved fucking him.”

“Well, are you going to let him get me?” Jim smiled over at Blair.

“No…”

“Then we don’t have any problems. Here comes our lunch, let’s eat and forget the jerk.”

As soon as the waitress left their food Blair continued, “So did you love fucking him?”

“I suppose I did. But I didn’t love him, I swear.”

“Maybe you did have feelings for him and you’re repressing them.”

“Blair, I had to keep my eyes closed because I kept thinking about your body and your face every time I looked at him. I would never tell him that, but it’s the truth.”

Blair smiled and said, “Okay, that’s good enough for me. I think he might be a problem. He’s in love, so we’re going to have our hands full.”

“What do you plan on doing, partner?” Jim asked casually.

“I’ll fight for you if necessary. I don’t want him around you at any time. Is that all right with you?” Blair asked nervously.

“You don’t have to ask me. As I said before, I belong to you. You do whatever you have to do. I’ll stand behind you.”

“And you would let me punch him out if I had to?” Blair was amazed.

“If you have to punch him, I figure he has it coming. Blair, I’m not going to be with him. You have nothing to worry about. I like this new side to you.”

After they got back to the station, they went out on a call. While they were there Jim saw Leo standing across the street staring at him. Jim just ignored him and started working the crime scene with Blair and the others. He decided that he wouldn’t mention it to Blair right then. But he definitely wanted to mention it sometime before Leo mentioned it to him.

After working the crime scene and figuring out who did what, Jim and Blair drove back to the station. Jim decided that there was no time like the present.

“Chief, if I tell you something, will you promise not to get mad?”

“Depends.”

“You have to promise not to get mad at me.” Jim pleaded.

“Okay, fine. What?”

“Leo was across the street from the crime scene today watching us. I didn’t say anything because I don’t want everyone knowing our business.” Jim hoped that Blair wouldn’t be too angry.

“We might want to watch out for him, he’s stalking you now, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yeah, I think he’s into the stalking stage and we need to keep a closer eye out. When we’re at the loft, I want us to be careful what he sees through any windows.”

“Fuck that, we can show him anything we want. You belong to me and he may as well get used to it.” Blair was close to pounding his fists on his chest.

“You Tarzan, me Jane.” Jim said laughing.

“It’s not a joke, Jim. He might become dangerous, after all you said he has already hit you. Do you think he would hurt you again?”

“I don’t think so, but then, I really didn’t think he would hit me the first time.” Jim admitted.

“What do you mean you don’t know him that well? You’ve been fucking him for eight months; you would think you would know a lot about a person by then.”

“That’s all we were doing, Blair. I was fucking him and I didn’t get to know him very well. He might know me somewhat better because he had feelings for me, where I felt nothing for him.”

“He might give us trouble.” Blair said thoughtfully as he looked out the window.

“Are you mad at me, Chief?” Jim really didn’t want to screw this up.

“No, I’m just confused. Everything will be fine. I have to think on the Leo problem for a while and then we’ll work it out.”

Blair’s phone went off and he answered it, “Sandburg.”

“Did he mention that he saw me today?” Leo asked spitefully.

“As a matter of fact, he did, and we were discussing what to do about your sorry ass. He doesn’t want anything to do with you, why can’t you just accept that and move on.”

“In another month he would have moved to Seattle to be with me, he was in love with me no matter what he tells you. No one can make love like that to someone he didn’t love.”

“Don’t call me again. This is over and if you don’t stay away from Jim, he’ll take a restraining order out on you. You’re stalking him.” Blair hoped that this might do the trick, but doubted it.

“Tell Jim I said hello and that I know he still loves me.” With that said, Leo closed his cell phone.

“Are you angry?” Jim asked worriedly.

“You’re going to file a restraining order when we get to the station.”

“But Chief, then everyone will know.”

“Then everyone will know. Do you want to be with him again? Because he’s not going to stop until you go back to him. He loves you and thinks you love him.”

“Are you still in love with me?” Jim finally got the nerve up to ask.

“Of course I’m in love with you. But I can’t have this idiot following you around telling you he loves you all the time. We’ve got to get this figured out.”

“I’ll file the order when we get back. I’m sorry, Blair.” Jim still hadn’t looked at Blair at all while they were talking.

“I’m not mad at you, Jim. I’m mad at him because he thinks you belong to him. Now I just need to prove to him that you belong to me.” Blair explained.

“And how do we do that?”

“I don’t know yet. But we’ll figure out something.” Blair wasn’t going to let that fucker win for anything.

Jim smiled over at Blair as they pulled into the garage. “I’ll go and file the report with Rafe right now. You need to stay out of it, so it doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass.”

“Good choice of words, man.” Blair teased as they walked to the elevator. Both men knew that this wasn’t over, but for right now, it was the calm before the storm.

Once the restraining order was filed, Jim went back to filling out his reports and Blair whispered, “I have an idea.”

Jim whispered back, “What?”

“Let’s get married and invite him to the wedding.” Blair was almost bouncing in his chair.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but we can’t get married.” Jim smiled over at his sweet Guide.

“I just so happen to have a friend that’s a pastor at a church and he’ll do the ceremony for us. We can ask Simon, Rafe, Megan, Brown and Joel to come. And we’ll invite Leo. What do you think?”

“When is this going to happen?” Jim inquired.

“How about Saturday? Does that work for you?” Blair beamed with happiness over the prospect of marrying one Jim Ellison.

“Are you doing this just to get back at Leo?”

“No, I want to marry your ass, so do you want to marry mine?” Blair teased.

“I want to do many things with your ass and marry them would be one of them.”

“Okay, let me talk to my Pastor friend and then we’ll talk to the bullpen gang.” Blair got busy on the phone right away and Jim smiled just thinking about being married to Blair.

Blair got off the phone and said, “How is 2:00 on Saturday?”

“Works for me.” Jim answered.

“I’m not going to let you watch any more Hunter episodes if you keep saying that.”

“Sorry.” Jim said sheepishly.

They sat everyone down in the break room and told them what was going on. They invited them to their wedding and everyone agreed to come. Now they just had to invite Leo.

As they left the break room Jim asked, “How about we go and pick some rings out?”

“Sounds good to me. Are you finished filling out that report for Simon? We could probably get off a little early.” Blair was heading for Simon’s office already.

“Tell him it’s in his in basket.” Jim said smiling.

Blair knocked and Simon said, “Come.”

“Hey Simon, do you mind if Jim and I take off early to find wedding rings?”

“By all means, go find what you need and take tomorrow off and we’ll see you on Saturday.”

“I know this is an odd question, but do we have to work on our wedding day?”

“Of course not, you’ll be taking a week off starting now. Go get your rings taken care of and we’ll see you on Saturday.”

Blair bounced out into the bullpen and said, “We have a week off, should we make plans for our honeymoon?”

Jim waited until they were on the elevator and said, “I think a honeymoon would be great. Where would you like to go?”

“I hear it’s beautiful in Mexico this time of year. It’s cold here, but warm there. How about Cabo San Lucas? Have you ever been?” Blair hoped he would like his idea. He loved Cabo.

“I’ve never been and it sounds like heaven. Let’s call about it when we get home.”

As they doors opened they made their way to the truck to go ring shopping.

Leo was waiting on the street for them to come out. Jim saw him as soon as they pulled out of the station garage. “Leo is behind us. Does it bother you knowing he’ll know we’re shopping for rings?”

“No, it’s perfect. He might even try and talk to us. And I can arrest his damn ass.” Blair smiled evilly.

Jim pulled up in front of the Jewelry store that he used for almost everything and they parked and got out. Jim held Blair’s hand all the way into the store making Blair love him even more. “You’re very romantic, did you know that?” Blair asked him.

“Not really, I just felt like I needed you right now.”

“For whatever reason, it works. I love you, big man.”

“And I love you. Now let’s find our perfect rings.”

Blair found some with a Celtic design that had him foaming at the mouth. So Jim decided that he would let Blair choose them. He looked out the window and saw Leo watching them look at rings looking sad. Jim sighed and said, “He’s watching us, maybe he’s getting the message.”

“I hope so. If not, we’ll just invite him to our wedding and see how that goes.” Blair wasn’t letting anything bother him today. This was like a dream come true for him. He’d always wanted Jim and never expected him to wear a ring or say vows with him. His life was perfect except for Leo.

They picked out the rings and decided to have them engraved, so they would have to pick them up the next day. Both of them put the same thing on their rings. Yours Forever.

As they walked out the door Leo said, “Jim, I really need to talk to you.”

“Miller, Jim filed a restraining order on you and you’re violating it right now. So if you don’t get away from him, I’m going to cuff you and call a black and white to pick you up.” Blair was standing in between Jim and Leo.

In a split second Leo punched Blair, but Blair was ready. And he started hitting Leo right and left showing the man he was much stronger than he looked. Jim had taught him a lot of great moves. Leo fell to the ground and Blair took his cuffs out, put them on the idiot and called for a black and white to take him to the station.

“You’ll be sorry, Jim. I’m going to tell everyone there all about us.”

Before Jim could answer Blair said, “Too bad you’ll be in jail because we were going to invite you to our wedding on Saturday. We’re getting married, honeymoon and all.”

“You can’t marry him, Jim. You’re in love with me.” Leo said sadly.

“I was never in love with you. We were fuck buddies and that’s all. I’m sorry it couldn’t have been more, but I’ve been in love with Blair for about three years now. It’s time for you to move on.” Jim tried to let him down easily, but it’s hard to do that with an idiot.

“You loved fucking me and you know it.” Leo spat out.

Blair kicked him hard in the shin, causing Leo to say, “You little asshole.”

“Who you calling little? We’re the same size. Did it never make you wonder why you have the same type of hair as me, the same build as me and we’re the same height. You even have the same five o’clock shadow as me. Jim was looking for a substitute for me. And he found it in you. The sooner you get over it the better.”

“I was never a substitute. Never.” Leo spat out.

“Yes, you were. That’s why he couldn’t love you because he loved me already. He’s very loyal and can’t love two people at the same time.” Blair hoped he could reason with the idiot.

Suddenly Leo started to cry and said, “Jim, you never loved me?”

Jim finally answered, “No, I’ve always loved Blair.”

“Sandburg, please let me go and I won’t bother you again.”

Blair pulled his cell phone out and called and cancelled the black and white. Then he uncuffed Leo and said, “Now please leave us alone because I won’t let you go twice.”

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out, Jim. I wish you the best of luck.” The defeated man walked away from Jim and Blair.

“Do you think he’ll leave us alone?” Jim asked.

“I think he will. He knows, I could see it in his eyes. He really thought that you might love him. I can understand why he wanted you.”

“Thanks, Chief. I have to tell you that when you were fighting with him, it took everything in me to let you fight your own battles. And I’m glad I did. You fought him just fine. I’m proud of you and it made me a little hard watching you defend me.”

“You’re a sick puppy, Ellison.” Blair didn’t care who was watching, he reached up, pulled Jim’s face down and kissed him long and hard. Jim didn’t pull away which made Blair feel like a million bucks.

“Still want to get married?” Jim asked.

“You better believe it. I don’t want you thinking anyone else can ever have you.” Blair answered.

“I’m yours forever, remember?” Jim spoke of the engraving on their rings and this caused Blair to pull him down for another kiss.

“I love you, Jim Ellison and I can’t wait to go on our honeymoon. This is going to be great.”

“How about we head home and show each other how much we love one another?” Jim asked.

“Works for me.” Blair laughed all the way to the truck.

The End.

[ Email the Author ] [ Back to Index ]

Acknowledgments: Thank you to Mary and to Christina for the great beta.