Not mine. Never will be. No copyright infringement was intended. No money made.

I think Lola helped me beta this, but I've reedited it several times since then. Anyway, it never hurts to thank a great beta!! Thanks, hon!

Aly challenge us to write a snippet using the ten most beautiful words in the English language: Chimes, dawn, golden, hush, lullaby, luminous, melody,
mist, murmuring, and tranquil. This is what I came up with.

"Sandburg. Wake up, Sandburg!"

Blair blinked awake, aware of his roommate standing over his bed.

"'im?"

"Yeah, it's me. Watch your eyes."

Blair raised his hand over his face and closed his eyes momentarily as Jim flicked on the overhead light.

"What...what's going on?"

"I need you to come with me."

Blair whimpered low in his throat when he looked at the clock. "Jim, I just went to sleep two hours ago."

"I know. I'm sorry, but I really need to do this now." Jim moved around his room and tossed a pair of blue jeans on the bed, along with a tan Henley and a blue flannel shirt.

"Can't it wait a couple of hours?" Blair hated the fact he was whining.

"No, Chief, I don't think it can."

"Okay," Blair whispered as he sat up in bed and put his feet on the floor.

"That-a-boy, Chief." Jim patted his arm and moved past the curtained doorway.

Blair dressed quickly then moved into the bathroom for his morning ablutions.

"Coffee?" he asked hopefully as he emerged from the bathroom.

Jim shook his head. "Sorry, Chief. I'm afraid that might invalidate the experiment."

"Experiment? What?"

Jim handed him his coat. "Come on, let's get going."

Blair slipped his corduroy coat on and let his sentinel guide him from the loft and into the elevator.

"It's not even dawn yet, Jim," he observed, looking up into the night sky as they emerged from their building.

Jim opened the driver's side door. "I know."

Blair climbed into the Ford and pulled on his seat belt while Jim started the engine. He zoned briefly as he watched the truck plunge through the mist rolling inland off the bay. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"Is it a case?"

"No."

"Is it a sentinel thing?"

"Not really."

Jim pulled the truck into a parking spot.

"We're at the park."

"Very good, Professor."

"Why did we just drive three blocks, Jim?" Blair asked, shaking his head, trying to clear the cobwebs from his sleep-deprived brain.

"Because I didn't think you'd appreciate the walk this early in the morning." Jim got out of the truck. "Come on, Chief."

Blair wanted to protest, but Jim's answer actually made sense. He wouldn't have appreciated the walk. But why did they have to walk at all?

Blair climbed out of the Ford and watched Jim pull a picnic basket out of the back of the truck. He blinked, trying to integrate the action with the time of day. Jim smiled at him, walked around the truck, took his hand and led him to a picnic table at the top of a small hill. The waterfront park was dark, being too small for the city to consider the expense of lighting it. There were a few lights in the distance, but nothing close. Blair could see Jim's general form, but none of the details. He wanted to ask a hundred questions, but didn't know where to begin, afraid he'd sound like an idiot.

Jim gently pushed him back onto the table top. "How long have we been partners, Sandburg?" the sentinel asked, setting the basket behind Blair on the table.

"Something like six months, right?"

"Close enough. And in those six months how many experiments have you conducted on me?"

Blair blinked. "I don't know."

"There have been fifteen experiments in the lab, fifty-eight home experiments, and thirty-two experiments in the field or at work. That's not including all the 'Hey, Jim, what are they saying?' or 'What does this taste like?' or all the 'Can you sees?'."

Blair swallowed hard, hurt. He knew Jim hated being treated like a lab rat, but he had been unable to come up with any other way to chart Jim's baseline responses. "I'm sorry," he murmured, not sure what else to say.

"No, Chief," Jim said quietly, gently running his hands over Blair's cheeks and cupping his chin. "I know they're necessary and I know I would've been lost if you hadn't found me when you did."

"Then what are we doing here?" Blair asked plaintively, breaking the silence of the tranquil night surrounding them.

"You've said on more than one occasion you wished you could experience what I go through."

"Because I see your abilities as a gift, man, not as a curse."

"I know, and you've been more than patient with my grumpiness."

"Then I don't understand why we're here, Jim. Are you saying I make you feel bad with the tests?"

"No. I understand you need a baseline measurement. I understand you need to chart my progress. While I do grouse, I must admit that my level of comfort with my senses is because of your hard work." Jim rummaged in the basket behind him.

Blair was aware of his breathing growing more rapid as his frustration grew. Why had Jim dragged him out of bed to talk to him about experiments he apparently understood?

"I want to give you a baseline, sort to speak."

"What? Is this about payback? I told you, Jim, I'm not trying to make you feel like a lab -"

"Hush," Jim said quietly, placing one finger over Blair's lips. "This is not about payback." Jim moved back a step. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course, I do," Blair snapped.

"How are you feeling, right now?"

"What do you mean 'How am I feeling'? How the hell do you expect me to feel?"

Jim stepped back into Blair's personal space, allowing Blair to vaguely see the details of his face, and placed a hand on Blair's knee. "Is it safe to say that you're tired, confused and a bit scared, overwhelmed by the unknown?"

Blair nodded, not sure what Jim wanted him to say.

Jim smiled, his eyes large and luminous in the moonlight. "Will you let me conduct an experiment or two, Chief?"

"I suppose," Blair growled.

Jim gently touched his face in approval. "I'm going to put a blindfold on you."

Blair sighed heavily then nodded.

Jim brought out a black piece of cloth and secured it around Blair's eyes.

"Can you see anything?"

"I couldn't see anything before you put the blindfold on," he groused.

Jim chuckled and Blair felt the corner of his own lips pull upward.

"Okay, I want you to stand."

Blair sighed again, wondering why Jim couldn't have had him stand up first then put on the blindfold. Never-the-less, he did as he was requested.

"I want you to take six steps forward."

Blair gulped hard.

"Don't worry, Chief. I won't let you fall."

Blair nodded and slowly complied.

"Very good," Jim's disembodied voice said from off to his right. "Okay, now I want you to listen and tell me what you hear."

Blair shrugged and strained to hear the sounds around him.

"Not so hard, Chief. Just let the sounds come to you naturally."

Blair nodded and cocked his head to one side. "I hear...chimes... like windchimes. They're probably Mrs. Chen's."

"Very good, Chief. What else?"

Blair concentrated for several moments. "I hear someone singing... like a melody...or ...a lullaby.. like a mom...singing her baby to sleep."

"Excellent."

Blair smiled, warmed by the praise.

"What else?"

Blair turned slightly, straining to hear a noise right at the edge of his awareness. "Murmuring."

"What sort of murmuring?"

"Voices. Loud voices, then softer...like...like... a television set!"

"Exactly! You're doing great, Chief. Anything else?"

Blair stood still. "A boat horn in the harbor."

"And?"

"You moving around me. You're behind me now."

Jim touched his back. "You're right." Blair felt Jim's finger move slowly around his body to his chest.

"So what do you feel?"

"Your finger." Blair grinned. "The dampness of the mist. The chill of the night."

"Anything else?"

Blair turned slightly. "You," he whispered.

"Me?"

"Yes. You're inside my personal space. It's as if my whole body is aware of you."

"Very good." Jim said, pride seeming to reverberate from him. "And how are you feeling now?"

Blair considered the question for a moment. "Better."

"Not so scared?"

"No, not at all."

"Even though I had you walk several steps from the safety of the park bench?"

"Yeah."

"Why's that, do you suppose?" Jim asked softly.

"Because I trusted you when you said you wouldn't let me fall."

"And what do you think about your abilities?"

Blair grinned. "Well, sound seems to be carrying a good distance, probably because the rest of the world isn't up yet."

"You still did a pretty good job of isolating them."

"Thanks."

"You can take the blindfold off now, Chief."

Blair lifted his arms and untied the cloth from his head, blinking as the first golden rays of sunlight started to peak over the horizon.

"Do you know why I've let you conduct over one hundred and five experiments on me, Chief?" Jim asked from his side.

Blair took a step back. "Because you can see the results of what I'm asking you to do?"

Jim smiled and took another step forward. "That's part of it. But why do you think I listen to you when I'm tired, confused and more than a touch cranky?"

Blair swallowed hard. "Because you trust me."

"Very good." Jim smiled, and Blair felt a little foolish moving back as Jim moved forward. "And why do I trust you?"

"Because you know I would never purposefully hurt you."

"That's one of the reasons."

"Because it's about friendship." Blair eeped just a little bit as he backed into the picnic table.

"That's a large portion of it."

Blair looked up into Jim's face and into the eyes that seemed to burn him with their intensity. With incredible slowness, Jim lowered his head, giving Blair plenty of time to escape, but Blair found himself not wanting to retreat any further. He raised his head and parted his lips slightly, waiting for Jim. The sentinel growled with approval as he took Blair's mouth, his arms wrapping firmly around Blair's body, lifting him up onto the table again. Blair moaned softly as Jim separated his knees and stepped between his legs; moving closer, as if trying to climb into Blair's skin.

When they parted for air, Blair looked up into his sentinel's gentle blue eyes and tender smile, and suddenly knew what baseline Jim had been trying to show him.

"I was wrong. It's not about friendship. It's about love."

--End--

End Baseline by Dolimir: Dolimir@aol.com

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