Author's disclaimer: This story contains recreational drug use. If you don't think you'll like a story where Blair willingly takes illegal drugs, then you might not want to read this story.

Author's notes: This is my first fictional story, and I have to admit that I'm rather nervous about posting it to the list. I'd like to thank my beta readers Michelle, JudySue and Myrna. They made this story better than it was. Any mistakes are mine and shouldn't be attributed to them. Feedback is always appreciated. Constructive criticism will be welcomed.

"We're what?"

"You heard me. We're getting a second observer."

Jim shook his head in disbelief. "What do you mean we're getting a second observer? Blair's doing just fine all by himself. We don't need anyone else tagging along."

Simon looked at his best detective standing before him and sighed the sigh of the long suffering. "We don't really have much say in it, Jim. Blair's done such a wonderful job 'observing' the department that the Chief has decided the more observers the better. Her name is Mavis Scott; she's doing her doctorate in criminology at Rainier, and she'll be in sometime tomorrow. The Chief suggested that she work with you and Blair; you know, let Blair show her around, teach her the ropes, that kind of thing."

"But..."

"No buts on this one Jim. It's out of my hands. Just tell Blair that he's expected to be in tomorrow."

Jim Ellison hated her.

It wasn't that she was as smart as a whip and could match Blair in a duel of competing theories that made his head spin just listening to them. It was no problem for him to tune the two of them out and just concentrate on the tone of their voices, tuning back in when it sounded like they were asking him a question.

It wasn't that Blair's eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas as soon as he saw her. Jim was used to that. Blair's eyes lit up when any woman under the age of 80 walked into his line of sight.

It wasn't that she took one look at his partner and everyone in a twenty foot radius knew that unless Blair was criminally stupid, he'd be getting some that evening.

It wasn't the obscene amount of metal flashing in her body: ears, eyebrows, tongue, cheek, below her lip and a plethora of other rings and bars that he could see outlined against the material of her clothing. Jim was silently amazed when she got through the metal detectors without setting them off.

It wasn't the tattoos. Although Jim could see more than one and could smell enough ink in her body to make his nose twitch whenever she got near him.

It wasn't even because of her hair. Jim liked red hair; it was a bit wild, a bit untamed; but Jim didn't think he'd ever seen this particular shade of red occurring naturally. The easiest way to describe it was neon. Long bright neon red-orange strands of hair massed around her head in a dizzying array of directions until Jim longed to hold her down and brush some semblance of order into it.

No. It wasn't because of any one of these things. It was because of something else. Something that he couldn't deny, but was terrible none the less. She thought he was old.

[One hour earlier]

At first Jim didn't understand why the desk officer seemed so amused when he called up to tell Jim to expect a visitor. Jim and Blair had discussed her arrival extensively the night before. Jim still couldn't believe it when Blair had seemed excited about her arrival instead of taking Jim's position that one observer was enough.

//But Jim, this is a great opportunity for her. I mean I'm not actually studying the police and already I've learned so much. Just think what she can learn if she's actually there to study you guys. Think about what she could offer you if you just gave her a chance.//

Jim still didn't agree. One person studying him was enough in his books. The last thing he needed was another person poking and prodding into his actions. He just hoped that after Blair got her settled and on her observer's feet, she'd toddle off somewhere else and spend her time looking over someone else's shoulder.

With a slight flourish, Jim signed the last piece of paperwork needed on the Peterson case, dropped it into Simon's box and looked up, searching for his new observer. He figured that with a name like Mavis, she'd probably look like someone's maiden aunt. Someone's timid maiden aunt. Sighing and rubbing briefly at his eyes, Jim prayed that she'd have at least enough spunk to be able to hold her own in the sometimes crude environment of Major Crimes. Sure they'd cleaned things up a bit since Megan joined the team, but there was still a prevailing undercurrent of testosterone that often coloured the language of the men working around him.

When the door opened and Mavis first walked in, Jim thought that somehow a mistake had been made. Who was this strange creature standing before him? Where was the maiden aunt?

Mavis had made an obvious attempt to tone herself down for her first day at the precinct, dressing in a pair of fitted black pants that came down to her mid calf, a rich purple silk blouse cut in a slightly Chinese style and a pair of black, high soled, clunky dress shoes. But really there was no way to hide the wildly coloured hair and the multitude of rings and studs that adorned her face and ears. To Jim's shocked gaze, she looked like nothing more than some sort of a 50's housewife... on acid.

Blair was the one to break him out of his trance, jostling his arm as he walked forward to greet Mavis. "Hi. I'm Blair Sandburg. You must be Mavis Scott. The captain, told us to expect you."

Mavis smiled as she took his hand, and Jim's eye was caught by the diamond stud flashing in the crease of her cheek- sitting right where Marilyn Monroe had her famous beauty mark. //How the hell do you pierce that?// Smiling weakly, Jim stepped forward to take her hand in greeting.

After Mavis was ushered into Simon's office to be given the official speech from Simon and introduced around to the rest of the stunned members of Major Crimes, Blair had ushered her off to get her official credentials.

As she'd walked out, Jim could hear her voice trailing behind her, "That Jim guy you work with. He's pretty hot...for an old guy at least."

Subtlety did not seem to be a concept Mavis was familiar with.

While Jim had prayed that he was the only one who'd heard Mavis' commentSentinel senses being locked on his partner and all that- that particular dream was not to be. He'd had to grin and laugh through an entire afternoon filled with jokes about his age, his receding hairline and his sexual prowess, or lack there of. That night after work, Jim wanted to do nothing more than sit quietly on the couch, drink a couple of beers with Blair and try to relax.

Listening to his partner shift and scuffle around in his room, Jim figured he was getting ready to go out- although at 10:00, it seemed a little bit late to be doing anything. They hadn't talked about it, but basing his guess Blair's previous track record, Jim figured Blair hadn't wasted any time asking her out.

Jim didn't even really mind. He'd come to terms long ago that when it came to the romance department he wasn't exciting enough to attract the attention of his roommate. Blair was a great guy who'd done a lot for Jim. He'd pretty much put his entire academic career on hold for him and Jim appreciated it. In a lot of ways, the two of them were closer than most married couples, but when it came down to the people Blair liked to get naked with, Jim just wasn't it. It wasn't that he was a man- Jim learned early on in their relationship that gender, besides being in Blair's vocabulary, had no meaning to the younger man. It wasn't even that he was a cop. Jim had caught Blair checking out enough of his fellow officers, to know that his career choice wasn't an obstacle. No, it was the fact that anyone who'd managed to attract the attention of his roommate was about ten time more outgoing than Jim and about a hundred times more flashy.

As much as Jim loved Blair, he recognized that in a lot of ways Blair was a lot like a small child or a puppy. Wave something bright and shiny in front of him and in a flash he was off chasing it down and giving it all his attention until something else all bright and shiny caught his attention and he was off again. And while in the dark of the darkest night, Jim might wish in his heart that he could somehow draw the attention of his gregarious roommate, generally he was pretty happy with their relationship as it was. Oh sure, back when Jim first realized that he was holding a bit of a torch for his partner, he considered doing something to get his attention. Repierce his ear or change his style of dressing, but in the long run he'd decided against it, figuring that he'd just feel stupid and self-conscious. So he'd just let his hair grow out a bit and while he certainly didn't hide his obvious liking of the younger man, he didn't do anything obvert either.

Hearing someone approaching the door and recognizing Mavis' unique scent, Jim called out to his missing roommate. "Blair. Shake a leg, Mavis is here."

"Oh hey man. Can you get the door? I'm not quite finished dressing yet." Blair's voice sounded hassled and Jim could almost picture him running his hand through his hair in distress.

Groaning slightly as he pushed himself out of the comfort of the couch, he opened the door just as a knock sounded out.

"Hey Jim." Mavis didn't sound at all surprised to see him, and for some reason that irritated Jim, "Blair said you guys lived together. Cool apartment." Walking into the loft, she strolled around the perimeter as Jim checked out her latest outfit.

Her hair was the same disordered mess as before, but now she was dressed in flaring dark blue jeans with a matching short tight blue T-shirt adorned with the single word, 'play' stitched in white across her breasts. The cropped nature of the shirt gave him a close look at both the piercing in her navel and the Celtic tattoo around it. Her skin on her face and body sparkled with little flecks of glitter and seemed to be adorned with a complicated pattern of white dots. A light sweater was tied loosely around her waist and thick soled running shoes were on her feet.

Before Jim could ask her where they were going, Blair came out of his room. His hair was down and he was dressed in a simple outfit of jeans and a tight black T-shirt lined in white. His eyes lit up when he saw Mavis. "Mavis. Great outfit man. Those white dots will really stand out in the black lighting. I wish I'd thought of that."

"No problem Blair. I've got the paint in the car, you can decorate yourself as I drive. Ready to go?" She started towards the door, obviously anxious to get going.

As Blair made a slight detour to the fridge, he turned to Jim, "Oh yeah Jim. Don't expect me back until sometime Sunday. We're going to that 'Mountain Madness' rave. It should go all weekend, although I might be back sooner if I find I can't handle dancing all weekend." Pulling out two large bottles of water, he tossed them to Mavis and turned back to the fridge to grab two more. "Will we be able to get back to the car Mavis? Should I be bringing more water?"

"This is fine Blair. We can always fill them up when we're there. Let's get going. It's still a two hour drive from here."

Tossing one last grin and a waved hand over his shoulder, Blair tucked his wallet and keys into his back pocket and followed Mavis out the door.

Watching the two leave, for the first time Jim suddenly felt his age.

Two days later they dragged themselves back to the loft looking like hell and reeking of sweat and unwashed bodies. Jim could smell the faint bitter traces of E and Speed working itself through their systems, but since neither one seemed to have any on them, he decided to let it go with a talking to, once they'd gotten some rest. Sure it was stupid for them to have taken drugs, and if it showed up in any on the job testing, he'd be the first one to bust them, but after he'd heard where they were going, he'd had all weekend to resign himself to the thought that drugs would probably be consumed by the two youngsters. After grunting unintelligibly at Jim and taking a brief shower together, they retired to Blair's room where they quickly dropped into a deep sleep, not waking until it was time for them to go to the precinct.

After the first week working with Blair and Jim, Mavis began wandering the precinct by herself, talking with other officers and generally making herself scarce around Jim and Blair. Blair didn't seem to mind her absence, talking and laughing with Jim, as usual.

Every evening after working all day with Jim or teaching classes and doing work at the University, Blair would rush home to get changed to go out somewhere with Mavis.

One night, wearing a brown suit, silk shirt, dress shoes and a fedora, hair tied back in a low ponytail, Blair claimed he was going out swing dancing at Babalu's. The next, they were off to see a Hitchcock movie marathon. The night after that, they spent debating post-structuralism in a small caf near the university.

Every evening it was something different, something exciting. Watching his friend go as if he was living on a diet of caffeine pills, Jim envied him his energy and felt old just watching the two of them together.

As the weeks went by, Jim found himself sitting alone at home missing his partner. Now it seemed that the only times Blair was home was when he was changing after work, or coming in at some ungodly hour of the morning. Often Blair wouldn't come home at all, slipping into Major Crimes the next morning, smelling of strange shampoo and wearing the outfit Jim knew he carried in the trunk of his car for emergencies.

At first he was glad for the quiet. As much as he liked having Blair around, sometimes it was nice to just be alone. To sit in peace and read a book or watch the TV without having to worry about being interrupted every ten minutes was a luxury he hadn't been able to indulge in since Blair moved in with him. After the first couple of weeks though, Jim found himself hoping that Blair might take the evening off from going out and just sit on the couch and chat with him. It wasn't like Jim sat at home alone and pined for Blair. He still went out with the guys when they gathered at the bar and one memorable night he cleaned out Simon, Joel, H. and Rafe at the monthly poker game.

As the weeks turned into a month, Jim began to get worried. What if this was the one? What if Blair never came home again? Jim knew that Blair needed excitement in his romantic relationships and it looked like Mavis was more than able to give him what he needed. If the bags under Blair's eyes and the satisfied look on his face every morning was any indication to go by, he'd yet to lose interest in the other observer.

And then one day, without warning it stopped.

Standing in the kitchen, trying to figure out what he was going to make for dinner, Jim was surprised to find Blair sitting quietly at the kitchen table.

"Chief. Where's Mavis taking you tonight?"

Picking slightly at a spot on the table, Blair took a moment to answer. "I thought I'd stay home tonight. You don't mind, do you Jim?"

Turning towards Blair, Jim found himself pinned by the blue of his friend's eyes. Surprised by this change, Jim was quick to offer reassurances. "Sure Chief. No problem. Truth be told, I've kind of missed you these past couple of weeks. I never realized how quiet the loft can be when you're not around." Moving forward and brushing awkwardly at his friend's arm, he smiled broadly at the younger man. "You hungry? How does stir fry sound to you?"

Smiling shyly, Blair's eyes lit up. "Stir fry's great." There was a brief pause before he continued, "so Jim. Do you think you could tell what temperature the oil is in the pan just by smelling it?"

Dinner passed quickly, with both men finding lots to talk about. Retiring to the couch after dinner, they fell into a companionable silence as they watched the Jags get wiped all over the court by the visiting Bulls.

As the game wrapped up and Jim began to make motions towards getting up and going to bed, Blair's quiet voice stopped him.

"Thanks Jim. I missed this."

Startled at Blair's words, Jim turned towards his friend, "So did I Chief. Things just haven't been the same around here without you."

"It was fun with Mavis, but tiring, you know?" Blair's eyes bored into Jim's as though begging that he understand and then dropped back to his hands. "I've spent my whole life looking for someone just like her. Someone open and adventurous and always willing to go off looking behind the next tree, under the next rock." Blair chuckled quietly, "But it's funny. It turns out that when I finally got exactly what I was looking for, that wasn't what I wanted at all."

Jim's heart stopped in his chest and then started up double time.

"Sometimes in the car, or when it was quiet around us, I'd feel a loneliness. An ache for something else. Something more. I mean, I'm not saying I didn't have a good time. I had a great time. But it seemed that we never stopped to sit and savor what was going on around us. It was always a rush to get to the next thing. The next event. The next rock or tree. And I began to wonder if that was all there was? Is that what I really wanted to do? Always be on the run from one thing to another, never stopping to rest or sit and savor what I've done? Always rushing on to the next experience?"

With his next words Blair looked up from his hands and captured Jim's eyes once again. "And then in the middle of all this I started thinking of you. About how you're always there. Calm, steady. Not shiny and exciting like Mavis, but dependable and reliable."

Jim's short laugh cut Blair off before he could continue. "Talk about damning me with faint praise, Chief. If I didn't know you better I'd say you were swearing at me."

Cutting Jim off, Blair reached out and held onto Jim's arm, as if trying to prevent him from leaving. "No. No. You're not listening to me Jim. In the middle of all this excitement, I was yearning for a place that wasn't always concerned with what was going to happen next. I'd always kind of thought that you were boring, in a lovable kind of way. But I saw that I was wrong. You're not boring, far from it. You just don't let yourself be lead by the wind, flitting from place to place. You're not afraid of the quiet, you're not afraid of being alone. And I realize that that's what I want. I'm tired of endless excitement. I want quiet and self-reliance."

Jim didn't know what to say. His mouth had gone dry and his heart was leaping excitedly, but a tiny part of his mind was whispering that Blair didn't really mean it, that he was just tired and when he got his wind back, he'd leave quiet, dependable Jim and start searching for the next thrill.

Looking into Jim's eyes, Blair must have seen his worries, because he blinked quietly and then leaned in towards the larger man. "It's you Jim. I want you." Smiling kind of lopsidedly, Blair closed the distance between them, stopping with his lips almost brushing Jim's. "I've been looking all over, and it turns out that the one I want was right here under my nose all the time. I just had to stop and concentrate and there you were."

Jim froze at the first contact of Blair's lips. Blair, unsure of his welcome, didn't press, but instead, just rested his closed lips against Jim's for a long moment before carefully, tracing their lines with a faint brush of his moist tongue.

Sighing quietly, Jim reached up and ran his hand through Blair's hair and back before pulling him closer and opening his mouth to the gentle inquiry. Taking advantage of the open passage, Blair let his tongue thoroughly explore Jim's mouth before retreating back behind his own lips.

Pulling back, Jim gently rested his head against Blair's forehead. "What am I going to do with you, Blair?"

"Take me upstairs and make love to me?"

Laughing sadly, Jim rubbed the thumb of his hand across Blair's swollen lips. "What about after that? What do I do when you decide that I was just an experiment. Just another tree to look behind, another rock to overturn, and now it's time for you to move on? What do I do then?"

Capturing Jim's hand in his own, he looked quietly into Jim's eyes. "You're still not listening to me, Jim. You're it. You are what I want. There won't be an after. This is it for me. I'm offering you forever if you'll have it." Leaning forward again, he brushed his lips against Jim's. "Please say yes."

Staring deep into the eyes of the man he loved, Jim wondered if he was brave enough to take what was being offered. Did he trust Blair enough to know what he wanted, or was he going to let his fears of Blair someday leaving ruin the opportunity he had before him? Watching the quiet determination in Blair's eyes, Jim knew he really only had one answer to give.

Reaching towards Blair, Jim let his lips brush against the other man's before quietly whispering, "Yes" against the tender flesh. Feeling the wide smile break out underneath his lips, Jim knew that no matter what happened in the future, he would never regret taking the chance on love with this man who held the other half of his soul.