Author's disclaimer: not mine, boohoo.

Author's notes: Started as a little acorn, could be a giant oak...Okay Aly, you can send Jim and Blair over now:-) Thanks Jai for the quick beta.

Sense of the Heart
Ceares@yahoo.com

Jim felt his stomach turn over when he saw the sign. Hot pink and bright blue for the love of Pete, with various sized hearts cascading over the name "Senses of the Heart".

As they passed the sign, the theme from the Love Boat suddenly wafted from a hidden speaker, and Jim stopped in his tracks. Enough was enough.

"I'm going home."

Stephen tightened his grip on his brother's arm, and proceeded, practically dragging Jim towards the heart festooned double doors. "Come on Jim, I know it's um...cheesy, but it's deliberate, you know, kind of tongue in cheek. At least I hope it was deliberate." The last was said under his breath, but of course Jim heard him.

With these damn senses, he could hear everything. He 'd only been 'online' as they called it, for six months. Six hellish months in which he'd isolated himself from the world to prevent sensory overload.

If it hadn't been for the cabin in the mountains that he and Stephen owned, he probably would have gone insane but as much as he wanted control of his senses, he hated the idea of having a Guide. There was no way that Simon would let him back on the street without one.

To his mind, the whole set up was little more than a marriage of convenience. He'd already had one sucky marriage; he didn't need another one. At least he and Carolyn had been in love, had shared more than a freaky genetic connection.

"Good morning Gentlemen." The perky blonde sitting behind the reception desk was dressed in the same screaming colors that permeated the dcor.

Stephen's flirtatious grin to the receptionist was a direct counter to his brother's unfriendly glare. They both ignored him, as Stephen leaned over the desk. "We'd like to register please."

"Of course, if you'll just fill out these forms."

Jim folded his arms and stared at the hot pink ceiling, knowing he was acting like a five-year-old, and not particularly caring. Stephen took the clipboard with an apologetic shrug.

Stephen handed the paperwork to Jim who handed it right back. "Since we meaning you, wanted them, why don't we, also you, fill them out."

"That was the royal we big brother, as in you are being a royal pain in the ass."

Jim shrugged. "Whatever little brother."

With an exasperated sigh, Stephen took the nearest chair and began filling out the application. Bored after a few minutes of trying to glare a hole in his brother's head, Jim picked up one of the agency's brochures.

He idly flipped it open, and froze. His heart started to thud, and his legs got weak. The feeling passed in a few seconds, and Jim strode back to the receptionist's desk.

"I want him." His tone was emphatic as he dropped the brochure in front of her.

"Excuse me?"

He opened to the picture that had changed his world. A group of people sat outside in an informal circle around a man that seemed caught in mid motion. He was gesturing to the book in his hand, wide grin splitting full lips, blue eyes sparkling, and long curls turning gold in the waning rays of the sun.

"Him. I want him."

"Sir, I'm sorry, that's not possible."

Stephen had gotten up by now, and was peering over Jim's shoulder down at the brochure.

"Why? He's a guide isn't he?" Jim was leaning over the desk now, and the receptionist was practically on the other side of her chair.

"Well, yes, but Dr. Sandburg..."

"Is he matched?"

"No, but you don't understand. That's not the way things work. We have a careful selection of criteria that establish a match, and even so, Dr. Sandburg teaches here, he's not one of the candidates."

Her voice had risen, and a door opened behind her, drawing everyone's attention. A slender redhead with a calm smile eyed them curiously.

"Is there a problem Lisa?"

"Oh, Ms. Sandburg." Lisa's voice was filled with relief. "This gentleman wants to meet Dr. Sandburg, and I was trying to explain to him that that's not possible."

Piercing eyes stared at Jim, seeming to look past the surface, into his soul. She studied him for a long moment, and then a radiant smile graced her face. "Lisa, I think we may have to make it possible."

Naomi Sandburg stepped from around Lisa's desk and slid her arm through Jim's. "Come with me Mister...4?"

"Ellison." He stared down at her in slight bemusement as he was led into her office.

"Mr. Ellison, I think we should get to know each other a little better. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other." She pushed him through the door then turned back to Lisa. "Sweetie, would you call my son and ask him to come over? Tell him I have a special case I need his help with."

Stephen and Lisa were silent a moment as the door closed on the other two.

"Whew, she's something isn't she?"

Lisa nodded. "Oh yes she's amazing. Ms. Sandburg founded Senses of the Heart, and her son is considered an expert in the field of Sentinel studies. He teaches a course at the University."

"And he's an unmatched Guide?"

"Yes. Even though his abilities were discovered ten years ago, he hasn't found his Sentinel yet."

()()()()()()()()()()

Blair heard his mother's tinkling laugh and an answering one in baritone as soon as he stepped into the outer office. He grimaced slightly as his eyes took in the dcor. He'd be glad when it was time for the color wheels to come out again. It was Naomi's habit to spin two color wheels, and whatever came up, she combined to decorate with. So far there'd been nothing hideous, but certainly some rather unsettling combinations.

Lisa was perched on her desk, giggling with a tall dark haired man. He sighed and cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Oh Dr. Sandburg, you're here. Your mother said for you to go right in." She turned her attention back to the man, who was staring at him rather intently. He directed a polite smile his way, and opened the door. He heard the phone ring behind him.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" The man's voice was mildly curious.

Blair shook his head with a small smile as he heard Lisa give her standard answer, the one that explained why she worked for his softhearted mother, and not somewhere else.

"Oh, I couldn't, it would mess up my hair." The machine picked up then, and he directed his attention towards his mother, and then straight past her, to the man sitting with her.

There was a dull roar in his ears as his eyes met ice blue ones. He shook his head, trying to clear the sensation, as his mother came towards him, enveloping him in a warm hug.

"Honey, you're finally here." She took his hand and led him over to her guest. Blair knew she must have led him, because he didn't remember walking over on his own.

"Detective Ellison, this is my son Blair." Naomi looked back and forth between them, anticipation in her eyes. "Blair, Jim Ellison."

Strong fingers and a warm palm engulfed his hand, and Blair just resisted the urge to yank his hand away from the touch as if it burned, which it did. Down to the soles of his feet. He eased his hand away from one that seemed reluctant to let it go.

"Ah, nice to meet you. If you'll excuse us a minute." He grabbed his mother's elbow. "Naomi, can I talk to you?"

Since the outer office was occupied, that only left Naomi's bathroom, and he dragged her in there, closing the door with a firm snap. "Naomi you promised me you wouldn't do this anymore."

"I know honey, but this is different. He's the one. I know it."

He sighed, and sat down on the toilet, letting his head fall into his hands. "It doesn't matter Naomi. I've given up on that. I'm not going to bond with a Sentinel."

Naomi knelt in front of him, resting her hands on his knees. "Sweetie, I started this place because it broke my heart to see you so disappointed everytime you didn't find your Sentinel. I wanted to help people like you, and I hoped that one day, we'd be lucky and your match would walk through the door, and now he has."

"Yeah, now he has. Where was he all those years ago when I needed him?" He couldn't keep the bitterness from his voice as he thought of the years of searching, only to ultimately give up hope.

"He only came online six months ago honey. Blair remember I told you nothing happens in the universe without a reason. Baby, ten years ago, you were only sixteen. Think of all you've accomplished, all the traveling you've done, all the Sentinel and Guide pairs you've helped. None of that would have happened if you'd bonded when you first realized you had the ability."

"Its too late Mom."

Naomi stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Blair Sandburg! I never thought I'd see the day when a child of mine gave up on anything he wanted. You get up and march out there right now young man, and you get to know your Sentinel!"

She grabbed him by the tip of his ear the way she used to when he was a little boy, and it still hurt just as much. He stood up and let himself be pushed out of the door reluctantly, only now realizing it was possible the man had heard the entire conversation.

"Look I..." His apology was cut short by an empty room. For a moment, a sharp pang of disappointment surfaced, but he quickly squashed it.

Naomi stepped out behind him. "Now see what you've done." She walked over to her desk and hit the intercom button. "Lisa, I need an address and phone number for Detective Ellison."

"Never mind."

"Blair..."

He held up the sheet of paper that had been lying on the desk. It said 852 Prospect, Apt.307. 8:00pm, and nothing else.

()()()()()()()()()()

It didn't matter how many times he swore he wasn't going, his mother was deaf to his protestations. She followed him around the rest of the day, picked out his clothes, and he believed she would have wrestled him into the car and drove him herself if he hadn't finally cave in and agreed.

This would be quick. He'd just explain his position and then he was out of there. He would drive around a while so he didn't get home too early, and then tell his mother that she had been wrong, that this guy wasn't the one either.

The door opened with his hand still raised to knock, and once again Blair felt that electric thrill that ran through him at the sight of the other man. The detective stepped back without saying a word, and he stepped in nervously, moving past the other man and into the center of the room.

He absently noted the large, open space and the scarcity of furniture; his attention mainly focused on the man he turned to face. "Look Detective Ellison. I'm really sorry if my mother led you to believe that I was in the market for a match, because I'm not."

Blair tried to keep his voice firm despite the quiver in his stomach. He still jumped slightly as Ellison closed the door with a solid snick and stalked toward him. And stalk was the right word, as he resembled nothing so much as a jungle cat intent on its prey. He still hadn't said a word, which only increased Blair's nervousness.

"There are lots of excellent Guides registered with us. I'm sure you won't have a problem finding one." The last word came out slightly strangled as Blair's back abruptly came into contact with the wall. He hadn't been aware that he was literally backing himself into a corner while he spoke.

"And that's what you came here for? To tell me that?" The other man had stopped a few feet away, but even that close the current between them made the hair on the back of Blair's neck stand up.

"Not that you feel the same way I do. The same way I did from the second I saw you. Hell, from the second I saw your picture?"

Blair nodded even as his mouth formed the word "No." He braced his hands against the wall. "Look detective..."

"Jim."

"Jim. I'm not interested in finding a Sentinel anymore."

Jim closed the distance between one heartbeat and the next. "You know what? I wasn't exactly gung ho about getting a Guide either. Looks like it's too damn bad for both of us."

With that he leaned over and captured Blair's mouth with his, smothering the words about to be uttered. The current turned into a full fledged lightening storm, and all Blair was able to do was wrap his arms around the man in front of him and hold on.

This. This was what Blair had known was there since he was sixteen. What he'd given up on ever finding. What he wasn't going to be able to let go, no matter what.

Hands tangled in his hair, tight enough to hurt as tongues dueled, fighting for dominance. Jim shifted slightly, and then his leg was pressing against Blair's cock, hard as it had been, since the door opened. Hell, hard as it had been since he'd met blue eyes across his mother's office.

He ground against it, groaning with pleasure at the pressure, even through two layers of denim. He could feel Jim, hot and solid against his hip. He slid one hand between them, and wrapped it around the bulge, squeezing gently, and drawing a moan from the man swallowing his tongue.

Hands were on his shirt, tugging impatiently at the buttons. There was a slight ping as a few went flying, and then it was open, and he was exposed to the ravening mouth of the man who had him trapped against the wall.

"Wait, wait." Blair's hand reluctantly left Jim's cock, and joined with the other in pushing against a rock hard chest.

Jim pulled back, his breath coming in sharp gasps. "I'm sorry. We need to slow down."

"No, we just need a bed, or a sofa, or the floor."

The laugh came out half gasp as Jim nodded. "Yeah, horizontal would be nice."

As Blair lay naked in the big bed upstairs, he thought nice was an understatement. At least, in the time it took Jim to finish undressing and join him. After that he didn't think for a long while, he only felt. Flesh sliding against flesh. Salt sweat, and hard muscle under his mouth. A strong body over him, and under him, seeming to fit against his own perfectly.

Afterward, with a hundred things left to talk about, and a hundred questions left to ask, they lay snuggled contentedly, knowing the most important things didn't need words. Still, Blair, being Blair couldn't help but want the last one. "You're wrong you know."

"Hmm?" It came out sleepy and sated.

"I have a feeling, that this is going to be damn good for both of us."