Author's webpage: http://www.catmoran.com/warning.htm

Author's disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I don't own the canon characters or concept; I do own this story.

Author's notes: Spoilers for TSbyBS.

A Promise
By CatMoran : catmoran@catmoran.com

-On a rainy highway east of Cascade-

I hate visiting him. I'm not sure why I bother; it's not like I care.

Strike that, I know why I bother. It's because of that damned promise I made to Sandburg. But for the life of me, I can't understand why he still cared.

I was frankly shocked when Sandburg agreed to be Jim's permanent partner. I saw how he acted toward Jim when they visited me in the hospital, he hated the man. I don't think anyone else noticed that soon; Blair did a good job of masking that hatred in public. Jim was more transparent, but it took a while for some folks to figure out why he was treating Sandburg with such deference. It was fear, plain and simple.

I think just about everyone knew the score by the time Sam returned from Tacoma. She'd left the department to work on her Master's. When she rejoined the Cascade PD, I guess she figured the only thing she lacked was Blair. A few people tried to warn her off, but she's the type who thinks that mind-games are the same as affection. The game was a little different this time though. This time, she was the pawn, and Sandburg was playing games with Jim.

I pulled Blair into my office once, asked him just what the hell he thought he was doing. Naturally, he told me that his personal life was none of the department's business. He finally told me why he was doing it. I'm sure he thought it was a perfectly adequate explanation, but I never understood the kid. I mean, it's pretty obvious that it would make Jim jealous; but he told me that he needed Jim's jealousy to fuel his hatred. Like I said, I don't understand it.

I guess it didn't work out the way Sandburg expected. He ended up in the hospital, but he didn't hate Jim. Far from it, he was upset with the doctors for reporting the attack to the department. I never saw the point in telling him that Jim had turned himself in.

Blair didn't blame the PD or the District Attorney for any of it. He said it wasn't our fault that he had perfect impressions of Jim's teeth in the wounds across his body and on his throat. Or that the DNA test from the sexual assault also matched Jim.

Between the evidence and Jim's confession, it was open and shut. The only thing to determine was the prison sentence. Because they're both cops, the judge decided to throw the book at Jim. Life, no chance for parole for 30 years. They sent him across the state to a prison near Spokane and placed him in solitary for his protection.

Blair followed him.

Before he left, he tried to explain to me that it was his fault, that he should have been able to guide Jim without needing his trust. I figure it was the usual battered spouse reaction. Especially when he told me that the real cause of the vicious assault was that he'd accidentally 'refused' Jim.

He never was able to convince me that it was all just a misunderstanding between sentinel and guide. Not that it matters. Whatever the reason, Jim is still guilty of rape and attempted murder. And I still made a promise to Sandburg that if anything happened to him, I'd watch out for Jim.

I shouldn't have made that promise, but I honestly thought it would never come up. Sandburg was only 31, and I'm a good 15 years older. But, he was a detective working on the streets, and most of my work is at a desk, now. According to his Captain in Spokane, he was one of their best. I'm not surprised, I always knew he'd make a good cop if he settled down a little.

Maybe I don't have to actually see Jim. Maybe I can just check with the warden, pull a few strings if he's not getting anything he needs. That should appease Blair's spirit, wherever he is.

After all, Jim probably won't know or care that I'm there. The last time I came to visit, to tell him that Sandburg had been killed, he barely noticed me. And according to the reports I get, he's pretty happy in solitary. He spends all of his time talking to an imaginary friend. That he calls Blair.

The End
(c) CatMoran 2000