Archive of Our Own ^beta

Author's homepage: http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/brett/283/index.html

Notes: Ok guys, here�s the one to make up for Cypher <g>  hope you like!  Oh yeah, all those who wanted the sequel to �A Blessed Event� with a pregnant Jim?  WRITE IT YOURSELVES!! hee hee.

Special thanks to shanny for helping me out, encouragement, and a nice chat.

Not mine.  No money.  If you sue, you'll only get some half dead bric-a-brac

Jim wriggled his nose and gave an experimental cough.  Seemed all clear.  The cold was finally gone.

Yippee.

Maybe now he could get Sandburg off his back.  The thought of Sandburg on his back invoked a whole range of different places where he would like Sandburg to be, and Jim had to take a few minutes time-out before he could think rationally again.

Who would have thought the kid had such a maternal streak? Truth be told, he had kinda enjoyed it.  He was even thinking of setting himself up for a prime, bed-hovering, mothering session (Maybe some good ol' fashioned Doctors and Nurses) with Sandburg, when the case came up.  Although he could have done without the floor-cleaning solution.  Jim's nose twitched at the memory.  The kid had proved a veritable fountain of herbal remedies and new age garbage.  Thankfully, he had proven a veritable fountain of tissues as well.

A grin tweaked the Sentinel's lips as a sneeze boomed from the lower bedroom.  All the paranoia, dodging sneezes and trying to keep a wide amount of personal space had failed.

Blair had caught his cold.

Jim gave in and chuckled as another three sneezes went off in quick succession, trotting downstairs to look in at his partner.  He felt the heat emanating from the smaller body three feet from the door.

What the hell?  He pushed the curtain aside and hurried in.  Blair was hunched over his desk, papers clutched in one hand, tissues in the other, comforter wrapped around both him and the chair.

"Hi Jim," Blair croaked, sneezing again, then adding a cough for good measure.  He went to wipe his nose with the pile of papers and stopped himself halfway, giving the sheaf a puzzled look before dropping it absent-mindedly onto the desk and turning back to his laptop.  "S'rry.  Din't mean to wake you," he snuffled. "I jus' wan'ed to .." he started to topple and Jim grabbed his partner before he slammed his head on the keyboard.

"Come on Chief, back to bed.." He eased Sandburg across the minuscule space to collapse on the bed.  Blair shivered and tugged on the edges of the comforter, pulling them tight across his chest.  "Jim, man, I'm fre'zing" he mumbled. "Turn the heat up..?"

Shaking his head a little in concern, the Sentinel grabbed some more blankets from the hall cupboard, wrapping them around the shivering figure.  �Better?�

�Hmmm....� Blair dozed off, wheezing slightly.

Jim brushed a hand over the smaller man�s forehead, testing his temperature at around 101. High, but not too high.  Definitely needed keeping an eye on.  With a sigh, Ellison settled back to watch the younger man sleep.

The fever boosted higher as the night went on.  Worried, Jim called the doctor.  The man made a thorough examination of his listless partner, Jim resisting every step the urge to beat the man who dared touch his Guide with such equanimity.  Diagnosis?  Flu, brought on most probably by stress and not eating properly.  The doctor shot him a look of reproof, pointing out the way Blair's ribs skimmed close to the skin as he gave him an antibiotic shot.

Jim clenched his jaw, took in the list of instructions and silently vowed to take care of his partner, ignoring his own needs.  Jesus, the kid had been running himself ragged for his Sentinel, and how had Jim thanked him?    By giving him his cold, which - thanks to Jim himself and his ever-present demands - had spiralled into a real, good, old-fashioned sickness.

Worse, the fever mixed Blair's mind up.  Past and present passed guilessly through his lips, then jammed firmly in the past.

The past with Lash, to be precise.

It had happened suddenly - one minute Jim had been gently cajoling his partner into taking some much-needed liquids, then the cup had been knocked across the room in blind terror as Sandburg tried to struggle to his feet.

"No. No. JIM!"

The Sentinel chased after his partner as he fled into the lounge, finally tackling him and pushing him down onto the couch.  "Sandburg - "

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!"  Blair swung out blindly, fist connecting solidly with Jim's jaw. "You son of a BITCH!! GET AWAY FROM ME!" he struggled off the couch, feet catching in the rug, sending him stumbling into the coffee table before he staggered to the door, hands snatching desperately at the locks. "No nonononono!!! JIIIM!!!"

That scream was all it took for Ellison to shake off the stun the kid's blow had given him. Full of anger and outrage and fear, the overwhelming need in it spurred him to action.  He lunged across the lounge and wrapped himself around the smaller man, capturing the flailing limbs, sinking to the floor and just holding on.  "It's ok, Blair," he soothed. "It's ok, it's me, it's Jim, he's gone, he's gone, I'm here, it's ok..." He cradled the younger man, pulling him to his chest.

"no..."  Blair's struggles grew fainter and fainter as Jim murmured soothingly to him, easing him up into his arms and carrying him back into his room, laying the anthropologist onto the bed.  Finally Blair was lying limp on the mussed covers, breathing regular and slightly laboured.  Jim shook his head, worried at the slight slur of liquid he could hear gurgling in the congested lungs.  Hurrying up to his bedroom, he gathered some pillows off his own bed and brought them down, using them to prop up his partner until he was mostly upright.

With a slight moan, Blair slid off the pillows.

Jim caught him before he hit the floor and propped the smaller man up against his chest while he fussed with the pillows.  Blair curled limply into him, one hand clutching at the hem of the Sentinel's shirt while he muttered half-formed words.  "Don't wanna sleep, mom..."

Shaking his head, Jim gently disentangled the grasping hand, sitting it on the anthropologists' chest as he arranged the smaller man on the pillows.  Satisfied with the younger man's breathing, he patted the curls fondly and left the room.

"Jim?"  The pathetic little cry woke him up from his slumber on the couch. "Jim?  Where are you?" he heard the rustle of covers, then a thump. "Jim??"

With a sigh the Sentinel went off to investigate.  Blair was curled up on the floor, comforter on his head, hands reaching out in a blind sweeping motion.  "What's up, Chief?"

"Jim?"  The mound moved, the area approximating Blair's head facing him.  "Jim, oh god, I'm blind.." he sobbed.

With another put-upon sigh, Jim pulled the covers away, revealing a mussed, rumpled, teary-eyed companion. "Better?"

Blair blinked owlishly up at him, then grinned dopily. "I can see!" he said, as if he had discovered the holy grail.

�That�s right, buddy...� Jim gathered the smaller man up and put him back into bed. Blair�s head rolled listlessly over to face him, cheeks flushed. �Jim?�

�Right here, buddy.�

�Are we at sea?�

Jim blinked. �No.�

�Then why�s the room swaying?�  Blair giggled and shifted from side to side on the pillows.  �Wheeeeeeeee.....� he slid off to one side, heading for the floor again.  Jim lunged forward and caught him, settling the smaller man back on the bed, then moved up to sit on the mattress beside him, holding him against his side as he resituated the damp washcloth on the flushed forehead.  �Take it easy Chief, doc says you got the flu.�

�Oh....goody....� Blair�s head tilted forward, then rolled to the side to rest on his shoulder as he fell asleep.

I�m not awake, I�m not awake..  Blair kept up his little mantra, hoping it might even work someday.

He felt like shit.  A-grade shit.

And Ellison was stroking his hair.

Blair enjoyed the sensation for a moment, hovering somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.  Tender hands slipped through his hair, starting at the scalp, lightly massaging it, then moving down to run through the full length, ending the motion with a soft stroke to his shoulders.

And then the hand started all over again.  He could feel the repetitive motions soothe him, caressing away the ache in his neck, the thudding of the headache threatening behind his eyes.  Blair sighed happily and leaned further into the strong body at his side.  He�d always been a sucker for having his hair played with.  The hands stopped momentarily, then started again, stroking, rubbing, caressing....

Sandburg felt his boxers tent and started to move away.  Ellison wouldn�t...

Or would he?

With an evil interior grin, Blair shifted closer to the big guy, moaning slightly, ostensibly plagued by fever dreams. He knew, in some part of his mind there was no way in hell he would do this normally.  It had to be the illness driving him a little loopy.

At least that was his excuse.

Blair felt an arm circle his shoulders, squeezing slightly, soft murmured reassurances.

Oh, is this gonna be sweet...

Creeping a hand around, he brought it to rest on the ridged stomach.  Pressing his head into the other man�s side, he snuffled into the boxers, the stretch of skin above, drinking in the scent of his room mate.  Warm and toasty, with a hint of aftershave... he took another sniff, feeling the muscles quiver under his face.  Jovan Musk.  Man, did he love that smell...

Jim caught his breath as Blair nuzzled his side, the warm air from the other man�s mouth raising goosebumps.  He felt lips absently roaming, the little nose burying itself in his hip.  Oh shit.

The hand on his stomach came into play, sliding up and down, each finger playing an individual dance as the Blair snored into his armpit. Up and down, up and down, driving his already sensitised skin out of control.

Ohhh shiiiit...  If this was the way the kid did foreplay, no wonder the women were beating a path to his door.

Blair thought maybe the snore was going a bit overboard, but the big guy seemed to have bought it. Oh, this is so much fun, he thought gleefully as Jim shifted under his caresses.  He smiled around a mouthful of flannel, then quickly swallowed it.  The first instant the older man had even the faintest idea he was awake, or worse, enjoying this, he would be out on the street with a mile-wide strip of rug burn on his ass.

Changing his motions so he was humping Jim's leg, he moaned softly.  "Oh..Sandy..."  He heard a groan, quickly stifled from above.

Jim groaned as Sandburg started on his leg, rubbing his groin up and down along the bare skin.  He jammed his hand into his mouth and bit down hard, tears coming into his eyes as he came close to breaking the skin.

"Oh....Sandy..."

The kid couldn't have dumped a colder bucket of water on his head.  Abruptly, all arousal fled, Mr. Happy drooping sadly back into an abstract banana shape.   With a sigh, he realised he couldn't keep this up.  Pleasurable as it was, Blair was sick, and thought he was someone else.  It wasn't fair.  He started to shift off the bed and Blair clung to him. "No...stay...."  he pillowed his head in the Sentinel's chest, clutching him like a giant teddy bear.

Jim gritted his teeth as the movements started again, feeling the other man�s penis hard against his leg, even between the two layers of flannel boxers.  Up and down, the slight swish of material on flushed skin grating on his hearing, slowly driving him insane. With a strangled growl he snatched a pillow from behind his back, quickly turning and jamming it between the kid�s legs.

Blair grunted as the pillow smacked his groin. Ok, so Jim didn�t want him, that much was clear.  Feeling a strange sadness tear at his heart, he kept up the pretence on the pillow a while longer, puzzling over his feelings.  It was only supposed to be a game, play with Ellison and see what happened.  No earth-shattering revelations, just a bit of fun.

So why did he feel so upset?

Because you fell in love with him, dickhead.

Blair groaned and turned away from the pillow, pressing his face into the mattress. He had fallen in love, in typical Sandburg style, with the most UNattainable man on the planet.  Worse, a man he had to spend thirty-six hours of the day with.  He groaned again, all the frustration and anger and pain roiling out of his throat.

�Blair?�  Jim�s hands were on his back, trying to roll him over. �Come on, buddy...�

�Nnnnn...�  Blair clung to the mattress like a limpet, trying to shake off the other man�s hands.

Jim thought the kid was having a seizure.  One minute he was shagging the bedclothes, then he suddenly rolled over and groaned as if he had been knifed in the heart.  �Blair?�  he tugged on the smaller man�s shoulders, trying to gauge his well-being. The anthropologist�s temperature was still too high, his heart racing out of control.  �Come on, buddy...�

Blair stiffened as his hands touched the bare back, then the kid was shaking against him, twisting and turning while making illegible noises.  Frightened now, the Sentinel bodily hauled the younger man to him, cradling him against his chest.  �Sandburg?� He slapped him across the face.

What the fuck? Blair�s eyes flew open at the sting across his cheek. Blue eyes looked concernedly down at him.  �Chief?�

Blair drew in a deep breath, intending to tell the other man exactly what he thought of him when it caught in his throat.  Suddenly he was choking, deep hacking coughs forcing their way out of his throat as he struggled for air.  He felt Jim pulling him upright, hands rubbing gently at his back.  Blair hawked and coughed against the liquid dragging in his chest, then finally spat it up, noticing with some satisfaction that it landed all over his room mate.  Take that, you Alpha Male tease, he thought groggily.

Jim didn�t seem to notice, holding him upright as he raggedly got his breathing under control, then slowly easing him down onto the nest of pillows.  Ignoring the loogy on his shirt, the Sentinel fussed with the blankets and comforter, pulling them up to tuck them around his partner�s shoulders.   �You want some of those weird teas?� he asked gently, smoothing back the damp curls.

Blair looked up at him and resisted the urge to groan again.  With his short, slightly mussed hair, flannel boxers and sputum-covered shirt, the Sentinel looked good enough to eat. �Yeah,� he croaked, thinking through herbal remedies to ease his throat. �Lem�n honey,� he shook his head then regretted the motion as the threatened headache became a real one.  �Forget it.  No lem�ns.�

Jim stood, then quickly took off his shirt, balling it up for the hamper.  Blair�s eyes widened at the smooth expanse of hairless chest revealed and he quickly folded his hands over his lap.  �No problem,� Ellison said casually.  �There�s a twenty-four hour grocery across the street.� He quickly headed upstairs and grabbed some clothes and his wallet. �I�ll be back in five minutes. I want you to stay in bed -� he pointed a finger at Blair�s nose � - and don�t get up.  I don�t want to scrape your face off the floorboards when I get back.�

Didn�t know you cared. Blair sighed and rested back on the pillows. �Jim, you don� have to -�

Jim smiled easily at him. �No problem, Sandburg.  I owe you anyway.�  The smile left his face for a second, replaced by a guilt-ridden introspection, then bounced back up.  �Just try and get some sleep, ok?�

�Yeah..� Blair waited until he heard the door slam, then grabbed a Tshirt off his desk chair.  Pushing down the bedclothes, he wrapped it around his dick and roughly jerked himself off, ruthlessly and efficiently, no pleasure coming from the final release when it left him coughing and wheezing, doubled over in the bed.  He thudded his head back into the pillows, suddenly feeling dazed and confused, head spinning.  Weakly he pulled the Tshirt away, barely having enough strength to stuff it under his bed before he passed out.

�Blair?�  Tender hands were stroking his forehead, pushing back the soaked hair.  Blair blinked open fuzzy eyes as Jim put a cold washcloth on his head.  �How you feeling, Chief?�

�Like shit,� he mumbled, squinting against the morning light cascading through the window.

�I�m not surprised, � Jim shifted by the bed, blocking the light.  �You had a bad fever most of the night.  Looks like you caught my cold.�

�Thanks.� Blair groaned, pulling the wash cloth down to cover his eyes. �Remind me to return the favour sometime,� he mumbled as he slid back into sleep.

Jim chuckled and drew the blinds.  Tucking the covers more firmly around the slumbering figure, he laid a hand against a soft cheek.  The fever was finally falling.  He kept his hand there a moment longer, memorising the feel of the slightly stubbly flesh under his palm.

Extra sensitive touchy-feely?  Blair�s voice mocked him and he drew his hand away.

Turning to leave the room, Jim�s foot scuffed against something tucked partially under the bed.  Drawing the Tshirt out, he felt the familiar musk of arousal tickle his nose, sighting in on the white stains against the black material advertising some band he�d never heard of.

Blair�s He absently folded the Tshirt as he left the room, pushing the curtain aside.  He�d put this in the hamper and get it washed.  Jim turned to the side as he left the lower bedroom, heading up the stairs to his own room.  He�d wash the Tshirt in the morning.  But first...

End Silent Seduction #6 - Night Train.