“Oh Jim, I love you so much,” Lisa said as they made love for the third time that night.
Jim didn’t answer, because he felt that a month was too short a time to know if you really loved someone or not. Lisa had been telling Jim this since the first week they dated. She didn’t seem to even notice when he didn’t reply.
“I can’t wait for us to start a family,” Lisa said.
Jim pulled away from her and said, “Whoa! I don’t want to start a family yet. I’m not ready for that. I thought you understood that when we discussed it a month ago.”
“Oh never mind me, I just like to plan ahead. You know the planner in me. Just ignore what I said,” Lisa said as she calmed Jim back down.
“In a few years, we’ll discuss it, not now,” Jim explained once more.
“I understand, but honestly, I think I might need to move on. It’s been nice, but I want a family,” Lisa said.
Jim looked at her like she was insane and said, “Lisa, we had this discussion. Why would you think it had changed?”
Lisa got up and began to get dressed. Jim watched her and realized for the first time in their relationship, he didn’t know where in the hell they stood.
He continued to watch her until she was fully dressed and finally asked, “So you’re leaving? Just like that?”
“Yes…” Lisa walked out the front door and didn’t look back.
Jim shook his head and wondered if she was mentally unbalanced. She had just said she loved him and wanted children and then left, just because Jim wasn’t ready. Sometimes things happen for a good reason, Ellison.
Jim didn’t give it any more thought, and like that, Lisa was completely out of his life. He knew he would think of her now and then, but he would never look for her. She knew where he was if she wanted to get into contact with him.
*
As Lisa drove away, she rubbed her flat tummy and said aloud, “Don’t you worry, little one. I’ll give you a good life. We don’t need him at all.”
She smiled all the way to her apartment. She packed and moved within two days. She didn’t want anything to do with a man that didn’t want to have his own baby. Some day, he would be very sorry.
*
“Jim, do you want to have lunch today near the university?” Blair called out from the bathroom, as he brushed his wild, untamed hair.
Jim started down the stairs from the loft bedroom and smiled. “Sure, that sounds good. Do you want to meet somewhere, or do you want me to bring food to you?”
“I’d sort of like to get out. What about Quizno’s at 1:00?” Blair asked.
“Perfect, see you at one. I have to get to the station now. Talk to you later. Have a good day, Chief,” Jim said as he leaned in for a warm kiss goodbye.
Blair loved Jim kisses, so he pulled him back for one more.
“Oh no you don’t, you get my motor running a little too fast, mister. Now, get to the university. I’ll see you at one.”
Blair slapped Jim’s ass as he walked out the door, smiling the entire time. Blair was wild about Jim and Jim was wild about Blair. Now, if they could just tell people, Blair would be happier about their relationship. As it was, Blair still had to keep his room in the office like his old room because everyone came over for poker games once every two weeks. Jim didn’t want anyone to know. Blair sighed as he thought about the many discussions they had had about that. Oh well, at least he loves you. A lot of people don’t even have that.
*
Simon stood in his doorway of his office and said, “Ellison, my office, now.”
Connor smiled and asked, “What did you do this time, Jimbo?”
“Oh shut up with the Jimbo, nonsense. I didn’t do anything. He probably wants to tell me what a good job I do all the time,” Jim said.
Connor burst out laughing and said, “Yeah, just keep dreaming, Jimbo.”
Jim walked up to Simon’s office and knocked on the door. He stood there until he heard, “Come on in, Jim.”
“Hi Simon, how are things this morning?”
Simon handed a cup of fresh coffee to Jim and told him, “Sit down. I want to talk to you about something.”
“What? I have a feeling it’s nothing good,” Jim whined.
“Actually, it’s not bad. The commissioner wants to pay Sandburg for being an observer. He would get an hourly amount and insurance. Do you think he would be interested in that?”
“Are you kidding? This is great news. Blair would be thrilled. He needs the extra money and as long as we can work around his teaching schedule, we’ve got it made. He would love having the insurance. When does this start?” Jim asked.
“As of tomorrow. I need Sandburg to come in, sign the papers and we can go from there. You want to call him, or do you want me to?”
“I’m going to have lunch with him at one, so I can tell him then. He can stop by after classes today and sign all of the paperwork. This is such great news, Simon, thank you.”
“Go ahead and leave a little early for lunch. Then you’ll have enough time to talk to him about it. See you later, Jim.”
Jim walked out of the door smiling and Connor wondered if Simon had told him he was doing well. He never calls me into his office for anything.
*
Jim did indeed leave early for lunch and decided he would stop at the flower store downstairs and get some fresh flowers for Blair’s office.
While Jim was looking at some lovely flower arrangements, he heard a voice from his past say, “Jim Ellison, is that you?”
Still holding the flowers Jim smiled and said, “It’s good to see you, Lisa. How are you?”
“What’s it been, like ten years?” Lisa asked.
“Something like that. I hate to cut this short, but I have lunch plans and I don’t want to keep him waiting. I hope to see you again, soon,” Jim said as he went to pay for the flowers.
Lisa was fuming inside, but on the outside, she smiled and said, “It sure was good seeing you.” And just like that, she was gone.
Jim didn’t really give it much thought because he had the news to tell Blair and wanted to take the flowers to his office first. Jim paid for them and began his trip to the university. He wasn’t paying attention to anything else, or he would have known that Lisa was following him.
*
Lisa watched from across the street from Quizo’s and was shocked when she saw Jim kiss a man. When had this happened? Jim had looked around first to be sure no one saw them before he kissed him, so Lisa was certain that he was probably ashamed of the relationship.
She was going to have to follow this young man. He looked like he had his claws into Jim fairly deeply and Lisa knew that she might have trouble winning Jim back. But it was the only thing she could do. Lisa felt like she and Jim belonged together, always did and always would.
She went back to watching the two men and had to almost smile at the animation the small man had with the conversation. His arms were going like crazy and his mouth was moving just as fast. Lisa could understand how Jim had been swayed by the young man, but it was her job to be sure that Jim came back to her, not this young man.
When lunch was over, Jim let the man off at the university and drove off. Lisa parked and followed the man into the building. She kept fairly close to him, but didn’t want to chase him off, so she kept a good distance so as to not scare him. When he walked into the office, she saw his name for the first time. Blair Sandburg had a nice ring to it, but that didn’t mean he belonged with Jim. No, Jim belonged to Lisa and no one else. She was going to have to find a way to get close to him without Jim knowing what was going on. She walked up to the smiling girl by Blair Sandburg’s office and asked, “Do you know Mr. Sandburg well?”
The girl smiled and said, “We all call him Blair. And everyone knows him and likes him. Are you thinking of taking one of his classes?”
“Does he have any openings this late in the year?” Lisa asked.
“Oh my, yes. His fall classes have just started,” the young girl added.
“Could you tell me how to sign up, I’m afraid I’m totally out of my league?”
“Let me walk you up to admissions and I’ll help you get started. Let me just tell Marsha where I’ll be,” the pretty blonde said, still smiling. “My name is Susan, if you need me for anything after this.”
“Thank you, Susan. You’ve been a big help already,” Lisa said.
Susan got Lisa all signed up for Blair’s class and she realized she had to be there that afternoon. She wasn’t really in the mood, but she knew she had to get close to him.
*
Blair was getting ready to walk to his class when Susan walked up to him. “I think you have an admirer, Blair. Just be careful.”
“Who?” Blair asked as he looked around quickly.
“Her name is Lisa Walker and she has a thing for you, so I’m just giving you a small warning,” Susan answered.
“Thank you. I’m not up to anyone having a thing for me this year. I’ve run out of patience,” Blair teased.
“What is your class about today?” Susan asked.
“The Urarina tribe in Peru. Very interesting reading and hopefully they’ll want to go and see the Peruvian Museum after the class is over. It makes it twice as fun to read and learn about when you can see things from the actual tribe. There are some actual skulls and everything on display here in Cascade.”
“Blair, you always make everything interesting, so I’m sure they’ll all go and check out the museum,” Susan said.
“I better go, or one of the kids is going to have to teach it,” Blair joked as he took off rushing down the hall.
As he came swooping into the room, he was amazed at how packed the room was. This made his heart feel good. There were people that actually cared about learning about other cultures. He walked up to his podium and said, “Good afternoon, class, my name is Blair Sandburg. You can just call me Blair. Classes are Tuesday and Thursday from one until three. My office is open on Wednesday from 8:00 until 2:00 for any questions or problems. My door is always open for you. Now, I need to find out what you’re here for. You’re going to take turns telling me what you hope to get out of this class and what you hope to walk away from it with. Let’s start up in front and we’ll work our way to the back. Tell me your name and then what you’re looking for in this class,” Blair said.
The students took turns, just as Blair had asked them to, and explained what they wanted out of the class and why. When the class was done, Blair realized he didn’t notice anyone named Lisa in his class.
But suddenly, he knew who she was. She had beautiful eyes, brown with speckles of green throughout and they were so focused on him, that it was almost scary. She never took her eyes off of him once, during the entire lecture. Yes, he was an interesting teacher, but not that interesting. Blair had a feeling that this might not be a good thing.
He finished up the lecture with questions and everyone was dying to answer things except, Lisa Walker. She just continued to stare at him and not notice anything or anyone else.
Blair could only hope for the best, but for right now, he was just going to teach the class and not worry so much.
*
Jim got home that evening before Blair, for a change and started dinner. There was hamburger in the fridge, so he hoped meatloaf sounded good to Blair. It sure sounded good to him. As he cooked, he cleaned up all of his messes until everything was ready to go into the oven. You would never have known he had just made a nice dinner it was so clean. Just the way Jim liked things.
Once it was all in the oven, he grabbed the paper and sat down in the living room to see what was new in the world. He hadn’t been reading long when he heard Blair’s Volvo outside in the parking lot. Jim really concentrated his senses and he could hear Blair humming a little tune. This made Jim smile. God, he loved this man so much. Jim listened as Blair came up on the elevator, singing now. By the time Blair walked into the loft, Jim was grinning ear to ear. Sometimes, having Sentinel senses were a fantastic thing. Today was one of those days.
“Hey Chief, how was your day?”
“It was great. The new class started today and it was full. I mean, no seats left, full. They honestly seemed to be paying attention too, which made it really nice. I think one girl has designs on me, but don’t you worry about it, my ass will always belong to you,” Blair said as he leaned down to give Jim a kiss.
Jim pulled him down onto his lap and they began to make out like crazy. “Do you know how wild you make me, Jim?”
“Would you like to show me?” Jim asked.
“How long do we have before dinner?”
Jim smiled. “About twenty minutes. A quicky?”
“Race you upstairs,” Blair said as he laughed and took off running up the stairs, Jim right behind him.
*
“So, Chief, what is the girl’s name that has designs on you?” Jim asked, as casually as he could. He grabbed two beers out of the fridge and took the tops off and headed into the living room.
“Not that it matters, but her name is Lisa Walker. She has the most beautiful eyes and she never took her eyes off of me during the entire class. You’d have to see it to understand how freaky it was. I found it a tad unnerving.”
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but it gets freakier. She’s an old girlfriend of mine and she just showed up today at the flower shop while I was getting your flowers. What are the odds that she would be in your class, today of all days? She’s sort of odd, so watch out for her, okay?” Jim asked.
“I’ll be careful, but I think she just has a thing for me,” Blair boasted teasingly.
“Chief, she was giving me the same looks at the flower shop. So don’t trust her for a moment. In fact, I don’t know how I feel about her being in your class,” Jim said.
“You don’t really have much say in that, big guy. She’s my student, not yours. Everything will be fine.”
“Did you get all of your paperwork signed at the PD? “ Jim asked.
“I sure did. As of tomorrow, I am a Cascade Police Paid Consultant. Woo Hoo. I’m super surprised and excited about it,” Blair rambled.
“Congratulations again, Chief. I know it’ll help with your loans at school and things like that. I don’t know why you don’t let me help you,” Jim grumbled.
“I don’t want to be taken care of, Jim. I can take care of myself. Now, are we going to watch the game tonight or what?”
Jim went and turned on the television and put the hockey game on. “We need to get season tickets to the college hockey games. I hear they’re quite entertaining. It couldn’t hurt, do you think?”
“I would love to go to the hockey games with you. I love you and hockey, so talk about your perfect date,” Blair joked.
They both sat down and began to watch the game. And as much as Jim tried to watch the game, Blair wasn’t letting him. He had Jim stripped and naked in no time, and then it was his turn. They stood holding on to each other kissing and touching and suddenly Jim pulled away. “Someone just took a picture of us. I saw the flash.”
“You’re kidding me, man,” Blair said, pulling his clothes on as quickly as he had taken them off.
“Maybe it was something else,” Jim said, trying to calm Blair down.
“Jim, what if those pictures go public? It would ruin my ride along and the paid status,” Blair said, dreading the answer.
“Let’s not worry about it yet, Chief. Let’s wait and see what this person wants. Maybe it’s someone that didn’t like being arrested. Shit, we need to start shutting the drapes and curtains.”
Blair walked over and shut the drapes right then. It was too late, but it made him feel better about the entire situation. Then he hugged Jim and Jim hugged him back. “I’m sorry, Chief. I should have been paying more attention.”
They watched the rest of the game, but their hearts just weren’t in it. They finally went up and went to bed at about 9:30 and both pretended to go right to sleep. Jim knew that Blair wasn’t really sleeping and Blair knew that Jim wasn’t either. It was going to be a long night.
*
The next day, Jim was sitting at his desk when Simon bellowed, “Ellison, my office!”
Connor smiled at Jim and said, “Still think he’s going to say what a good job you’re doing?”
Jim stuck his tongue out at her and both of them laughed as he walked to Simon’s office. He knocked and walked in.
“Shut the door, Jim.”
Jim shut it and looked like he was going to sit down. “Don’t bother sitting down yet. I have something to show you. You’re going to want to be standing for this,” Simon barked.
Jim knew immediately what Simon had. It would be he and Blair, in a compromising position. Jim blushed before Simon even opened his mouth.
“Jim, I don’t know what to say. I had no idea that you and Sandburg were involved. I think you should have told me, at least,” Simon stated. Simon handed the picture over to Jim to see what they were dealing with.
“Simon, we didn’t tell anyone. We’re still working out all of the kinks in our relationship and I didn’t want anyone interfering with it. I hope you’ll keep this between the two of us. Sandburg doesn’t even have to know, does he?”
“Jim, normally I would agree with you, but the commissioner got a copy too. He’s not a happy camper. He doesn’t want that type of thing in his station house and all that. He’s taking back Blair’s paid consultant job and he’ll no longer be able to ride along with you at all.”
Jim pulled out his gun and his badge and put them both on Simon’s desk. “I resign, sir. That’s shitty to take away something from Blair just because of a picture. I won’t work somewhere where the commissioner calls all of the shots and has all of the power. I expected more from your corner. Good working with you, see you,” Jim said as he walked out the door.
Connor caught up to him and said, “Did I see you giving him your gun and badge?”
“Mind your own fucking business, Connor. Leave me alone,” Jim said angrily as he stormed off towards the elevator.
Jim Ellison never talked to her like that, so she knew he was very upset and she intended to find out what caused this. She needed to call Sandy, and head Jim off at the pass.
Connor sat down at her desk and called Sandy’s cell phone and when he answered, he was happy and she could tell he was smiling.
“Hey Connor, what’s new?”
“I just wanted to give you the heads up. Jim just turned in his gun and badge to Simon. I don’t know where he was headed, but figured you would want to know about it,” she said as softly as she could. She sure didn’t want anyone else to know what was going on.
“Oh my God, I wonder what happened. Should I come down and talk to Simon?” Blair wondered aloud.
“No, talk to Jim, first. Where does he go when he’s really upset?” Connor asked.
“To the pub, I’ll go and find him. Thanks for calling me, Connor.”
“No problems, Sandy. Find out what’s going on and take care of business as fast as you can,” Connor ordered, softly. She then hung up her phone and was dying to talk to Simon, but knew she couldn’t. Could she?
*
When Blair walked into O’Malley’s Bar and Grill, Jim was indeed there and was already on his way to being drunk.
Jim saw Blair walk up to him and he glared at him. “Who told you? Big mouth, Connor?”
“It wouldn’t matter who told me, Jim. You should have told me. Why would you be down here drinking all by yourself?” Blair asked gently. He knew that Jim was more upset than he’d ever seen him and that was saying something.
Jim passed him the picture of the two of them and he said, “The commissioner said he was taking back your job and pulling your observer’s pass. He didn’t want this in his station house.”
Blair looked down at the picture and almost smiled. It was a lovely shot of the two of them, too bad they hadn’t asked to have it taken. “Jim, there is nothing wrong with this picture. It’s two men showing love for each other. It’s none of their business. And if the commissioner wants to fight it, we’ll fight it and it’ll be good and ugly by then. I’m not leaving my observing status for anyone. He’s a jerk and he’ll back down as soon as Simon tells him as much.”
“That’s just it, Chief, Simon didn’t go to bat for us. He was embarrassed about the picture, about our lifestyle and was disappointed that we hadn’t come to him before he found out like that. Not that it would have made any difference, he still would have hated the entire thing. He’s not going to go to bat for us.”
“Who would want to take us down so badly?” Blair wondered.
“I have no idea, but they did a fine job,” Jim answered.
Blair dialed Simon’s number and heard, “Banks…”
“Simon, this is Blair, I just wanted to let you know that we’re getting a lawyer, we’ll be fighting this and I know you don’t approve of us, but hopefully you’ll see that this is going to get very public and very ugly. That’s all right with us. You can tell the commissioner this is going to be the sorriest day of his life.”
“Now just a damn minute, Sandburg,” Simon started to say.
“I don’t want to hear it. You didn’t even go to bat for us, you jerk, so I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. Just give the commissioner our message,” Blair said quickly and then hung up.
“Chief, you shouldn’t have hung up on him. He hates to be hung up on,” Jim advised him.
Blair’s cell went off and he answered and then hung up again. Jim started to laugh and said, “You’re going to make it the sorriest day of Simon’s life too.”
“I’m going to try. Now, let’s figure out who wants us out so badly,” Blair said as he pushed Jim out of the booth. He helped Jim out of the front door and to his car so he could drive Jim home.
*
Simon stormed out of his office and asked Rhonda if she saw who brought the package for him that day and Rhonda gave a description, with Simon writing it all down. Blair was right. He had just let it go and didn’t fight for his men at all. When he got back into his office, he called the commissioner and told him what Blair had said and he backed right down.
“We don’t want this to become public, Simon.”
“No, we don’t, sir.”
“Leave things the way they are and we’ll all act like it never happened. Just tell them to keep their drapes closed at night,” the commissioner said helpfully.
“I’ll tell them, sir.” Simon got off that call and called Jim’s line.
“Ellison.”
“Jim, things are back to normal. Blair was right. I didn’t fight for you two at all and I’m sorry. It’s all taken care of. Things are the way they were yesterday,” Simon stated.
“We’re trying to figure out who would have done this to us, Simon.”
“It’s a woman. She’s quite pretty from what I hear, very short, has piercing eyes, long flowing blonde hair and a cold smile. I got that from Rhonda. She said she didn’t like her at all. There was something odd about her.”
“Simon, would you run a check on Lisa Walker. She used to live in Cascade, but she’s been gone for about ten years. She used to be an old flame of mine and she was a little odd back then. But I ran into her yesterday and she was in Blair’s class that afternoon. We thought that was pretty strange, don’t you?”
“I’ll run it right now and try and get some information. I’ll call you back. Tell Sandburg, I’m sorry, okay?”
“Sure, I will. Talk to you soon,” Jim said as he closed his cell.
“What’s up?” Blair asked. He hated that he couldn’t hear what other people were talking about.
“First of all, Simon said he’s sorry. Next, everything is back to normal at the station and next, it might be Lisa Walker that gave them the picture. I’m in shock. I mean, I haven’t heard from her in ten years or so.”
“Why did you break up?” Blair asked.
“I didn’t want to have children.”
“Maybe she just left to have a family with someone else. I have no idea. Are you sure that it was as simple as that?” Blair questioned.
Jim touched Blair’s cheek and said, “I love you so much, Chief. If you want to be out at the station, that’s fine with me.”
“We’ll discuss that later on, Jim. Right now, we need to figure out what Lisa wants with you,” Blair said.
“We’ll figure this all out and get to the bottom of it. Simon will call soon. Let’s just go home and relax until we hear from him,” Jim suggested.
“That’s fine as long as we have the shades drawn,” Blair teased, with good reason.
*
Simon found some interesting things on Lisa Walker. First of all, she had a baby girl that was stillborn ten years ago and had a nervous breakdown while at the hospital. She spent the next five years in the mental facility. She had just gotten out of the rehab facility before that. Simon called the mental facility and asked questions and Mrs. Murphy was very helpful.
“Do you know where she is now?” Simon asked Mrs. Murphy.
“She was going to be with her husband in Cascade. They got back together and decided to have another child after all these years. Isn’t that good news? Poor little girl, she was always so lost and lonely without her Jim. And we don’t even want to mention the child that was stillborn. She can’t hear about it without getting hysterical. Have you been in touch with her?” Mrs. Murphy asked.
“No, we haven’t found her yet. She’s not with Jim Ellison. They were never married and never had a child together. She just thinks they did, evidentially,” Simon stated.
“Oh no, she had a stillborn child. She was named Jillian Ellison. It was a sad story. Come to find out, Jim had deserted her, but at the end he came to her.”
“Jim Ellison had no children. She moved away without a word to him, if she was pregnant, Jim sure as heck didn’t know about it. And how does one put someone else’s name on a birth certificate if the person wasn’t the true father. We don’t know that Jim was,” Simon said.
“Oh, she wouldn’t make it up. Everyone here called her the poor little girl. She was so sad and lonely without her Jim and Jillian. She’ll be better when she’s back with him again.”
Simon rolled his eyes and frowned. “Do you have an address for her?”
“Yes, she lives at 900 West 58th Street. Apartment D. She called and said she saw Jim and it was like they had never been apart. You’re saying that he doesn’t feel this way about her?” Mrs. Murphy asked.
Simon wrote down the address and said, “No, Jim doesn’t feel for her at all. In fact he lives with someone and they’re quite serious.”
“She just called us today and said that any day now, they were going to be moving in together. Perhaps she should be seen by her doctor, do you suppose?”
Simon sighed. “Yes, I suppose. I’ll call someone and have them see her directly. Thank you for all of the information.”
“Call us if you need any more help. She’s always been a favorite client,” Mrs. Murphy said before she hung up.
Simon called Jim as soon as he got off the phone. “Jim, she had a stillborn child after she left you and told everyone at the mental facility that she was your baby. Her name is Jillian Ellison and she’s buried in Seattle.”
“Jesus, I had no clue. She never said a word. I didn’t know, Simon, I swear.”
“I believe you, Jim. She put your name and everything on the birth certificate and everyone believed her story, so she’s been known as the poor little girl and you’re known as the beast that almost destroyed her.”
“I feel horrible,” Jim confessed.
“Of course you do. Anyone would. It’s not her fault that she couldn’t take the strain of losing a child,” Simon said.
“I’ve got to go and tell Blair what’s going on,” Jim said before he hung up the phone.
Jim told Blair everything that Simon had told him and they both just sat there quietly until Blair finally said, “We’ve got to find her before she hurts someone or herself.”
“I would have had a little girl. I just don’t know how I feel about that,” Jim admitted.
“Well, you won’t have to think about that now, instead let’s focus on finding Lisa and figuring out what we’re going to do. She’s got to go back to the mental hospital, but couldn’t she believe that you’re going to wait for her or something?” Blair suggested.
“That’s a good idea, Blair. You’re always so thoughtful. Leave it to you to come up with an idea or two,” Jim said.
Blair smiled at the compliment and said, “First we have to find her and I don’t think she’s done with me by a long shot.”
“I really feel bad for her, Chief, but she had better not hurt you, that’s all I have to say.”
“Same goes for you, Jim. But I don’t think she’ll hurt anyone. She’s just lost.”
*
Lisa Walker moved into her new two bedroom apartment and started to arrange everything she would need. Her grandmother had died and left her a very large sum of money, so she was able to pay a year’s rent on the apartment and the man that rented it to her knew her as Lisa Williams. That was her grandmother’s last name. She didn’t want that Sandburg fellow finding her before she had the apartment ready. She was going to go shopping for baby furniture that afternoon and evening. Everything had to be perfect when she and Jim had their wonderful new baby girl. Lisa knew that Jim would love her, just like she would. He couldn’t really love that Blair Sandburg and that’s all there was to it. She needed to change her driver’s license, so that no one would know where to look for her and Jim. But first things first. She had shopping to do. She took a cab everywhere she went, so they wouldn’t find her in her car. Lisa couldn’t understand why Jim’s friends were all against Jim and her. Didn’t they know that they were going to be a perfect family? She sighed and called the cab. She was so excited to get the apartment ready for the big day. She didn’t know how she was going to get Jim over there without that Sandburg fellow, but she had to think of something.
*
Jim and Blair both went into the station house and tried to track down Lisa. She no longer lived at the apartment that the hospital had the information about, so they all knew she had changed apartments, now they just needed to find out where.
Blair was on the phone most of the morning and part of the afternoon trying to locate her. He tried almost everything he could think of and then realized he hadn’t thought of one thing. Her name. She might have changed it.
He turned to Jim and asked, “Do you know any of her family members?”
“No, I didn’t know her long enough for that, why?” Jim asked.
“She has to have changed her name and it makes sense that she would change it to someone or something she knew and was close to. Let’s look up her family history again and see if any of those names ring a bell.”
“Good idea, Chief. I’ll tell everyone we’re looking for a second name,” Jim got up and told everyone in the bullpen that was helping with this and then told Simon.
A delivery person showed up at 3:00 and asked for Blair Sandburg. Jim grabbed him and said, “Where did you get this from?”
“My office, dude. I just pick them up, I don’t mail them. Now, where is Blair Sandburg?”
Jim took the package and said, “Get out of here.”
“Nice tip, mister,” the man yelled over his shoulder.
Blair walked over to Jim’s desk and said, “What do you think it is?”
Jim took a deep whiff of it and said, “It’s from Lisa.”
Jim opened up the box, carefully and found a small statue-like skull with a note.
You’ll look just like this skull if you don’t leave Jim Ellison alone. He belongs to me and no one else. Stay away from him and you won’t get hurt.
“I’m not surprised that she sent it. She’s desperate to have that child with you,-,she can’t if I’m in the picture. Maybe I should move out for right now,” Blair suggested.
Jim looked disgusted. “No one is moving anywhere.”
“Jimbo, he can move over to my place for a week or so. Just so he’s out of danger. We don’t know what she’s thinking about doing to him. Think of Blair for a moment,” Connor said.
Simon was standing there nodding and said, “I agree with Connor. Move Blair out tonight. She might even be watching. Maybe we’ll see her and be able to arrest her.”
Joel looked thoughtful and said, “Is anyone going to explain to us what this girl has done and what we’re doing with her?”
Jim decided there was no time like the present to out them.
“Okay, is everyone ready? I’m only going to say this once. Lisa and I were an item about ten years ago. She was pregnant when she left me and went off to have the child, I told her I didn’t want one, not knowing she was pregnant. She delivered a stillborn baby nine months later and totally lost it. She cracked in two and was in a mental hospital for the next five years. She lived to find me again and try this once more. She wants the child that she never got. She got to Cascade to find me again and found out that Blair lives with me and that we’re a couple. Yes, we’re a couple. She wasn’t happy about it and now she wants Blair out of our lives. She’s somewhere, planning on either getting together with me, or hurting Blair. I’m not going to settle for either. So for right now, it looks like Blair will be moving over to Connor’s apartment. Does anyone have any questions?” Jim wondered.
Brown said, “Congratulations on being a couple, it’s about time.”
Simon frowned. “We don’t have time for this discussion. We need to put all of us on watching his house as Blair moves tonight and I bet you we’ll see her and be able to get her back into the hospital.”
“Let me just say, I’m not happy about moving over to Connor’s apartment. Is someone going to be watching Jim all the time?” Blair asked.
Simon answered, “Yes, we’ll have at least one car on the street at all times even when Jim isn’t there. We’re going to find her, Sandburg, don’t you worry.”
“I’m not that worried about Lisa hurting Jim. She loves him and wants a family with him, so I think we need to focus on her being mentally unbalanced. She needs help, not to be hunted like some animal. She really is a sad case and needs lots of help,” Blair said.
“Oh Sandy, you are always thinking of the other person. We’ll all be careful with her,” Connor stated.
Simon set up the evening’s watch. Rafe and Brown were going to be on one side of the street, while Joel and Simon were on the other. Connor was in charge of helping Blair move out, in case Lisa was watching. Jim was in charge of staging a fight in the parking lot of the loft. Everyone had their game plan and were all set for the evening.
*
The drive home from the station was pretty quiet for Jim and Blair. Blair was doing a lot of thinking and Jim was upset about Blair leaving, even if it was only for a few days.
“I hate this,” Jim growled.
“Jim, it’s one way to draw her out and get her to believe that we’re not a couple anymore. It’ll work. I feel it in my bones. We’ll only be apart for a short time. I’ll miss you too.”
“I hate sleeping alone,” Jim confessed, which shocked both of them when he said it.
“I didn’t know that,” Blair said happily.
“You don’t have to look so darn happy about it, Chief.”
“I love that you’re going to miss me and you need me that much. It makes me feel great. You don’t say that much about us, so I was just guessing about how you really felt about me,” Blair said.
“I adore you. I thought you knew that. I love you more than you’ll ever know. I’m sorry I’m not that demonstrative in our relationship. I’ll try and work on it from here on out,” Jim said, sadly.
“Jim, I know you love me. You make me feel like I’m loved all the time. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Things are going to be fine when this is all over with. Just you wait and see.”
Jim stopped at the red light and leaned over and kissed Blair, softly. “I really do love you, Blair.”
“No more displays of affection, she could be anywhere,” Blair reminded Jim.
“You’re right, as always, Chief.”
*
That night, everyone was where they were supposed to be. Blair and Jim walked out to the parking lot, arguing and Blair carrying his duffle bag and backpack. Connor drove up, found them yelling at each other and helped Blair get everything in her car. She even yelled at Jim too, just for good measure. Then they drove off. Jim walked back into the building and up into his home. Finally the phone rang and it was Simon.
“We didn’t see her anywhere. This might have been for nothing.”
“Just wait and see. Sometimes things work out if you’ll just be patient,” Jim said.
“Whoa! You sounded just like Sandburg for a moment. That was scary.”
Jim laughed and then hung up the phone. There was a Jags game on television that night and he dreaded watching it alone. He made up a small dinner for himself and ate alone at the table. He didn’t like that either. Jim Ellison realized he needed Blair more than he ever could have imagined. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing to happen. He was learning things about himself and that never hurt. He never told Blair how much he meant to him. He never liked to admit to anything mushy, but Jim realized that he might have to change his ways.
*
“Sandy, what would you like for dinner tonight?” Megan Connor asked sweetly.
“Jim?”
“Other than Jim,” she added with a big smile on her face.
“Why don’t you let me make dinner? It’ll give me something to do,” Blair suggested.
“Oh, wow. I love that idea. I have chicken out, make it any way you like,” Connor said.
The two of them talked about anything and everything while Blair made dinner. She was very curious about Jim and Blair’s relationship, so they had plenty to talk about. She was hoping that talking about Jim, didn’t make him long for him more.
“So, Sandy, how long have you and Jim been together?”
“About six months. Did you have a clue?” Blair asked.
“No, I was clueless. It was a wonderful surprise. I mean, everyone knows what great friends you are, but it never dawned on me that you were anything more. Like I said, clueless. Not so good when you’re a detective for Major Crimes.”
“Keep in mind, Connor, this isn’t a major crime.”
Both of them laughed.
“Are you really as okay with this Lisa person as you seem?” Connor asked.
“Yes, she’s a poor lost soul that needs love and medical attention. She doesn’t need to be arrested. We’ll need to keep her calm and call in the doctor she was so fond of. That’s the best way. Jim feels the same way too. He didn’t dislike her, but he never would have probably planned a family with her. She couldn’t live with that knowledge so she lost it and her poor mind couldn’t take it.”
“You and Jimbo are really nice guys. I’m going to have to remind you of that now and then,” Connor joked.
“How would you feel if you found out you were pregnant and you mentioned something to the man you loved about having a family and he said he didn’t want one? You would have been devastated. Then she went the entire nine months on her own without family or friends, knowing that she would have this precious baby in the end and come to find out there was no baby in the end. She was instead stillborn. I can’t even imagine the pain and agony she went through. It’s no wonder she cracked in half. Part of her stayed the lover of Jim Ellison and the other half was the mother of the poor lost baby. Our hearts break for her. We’ve had many discussions about this very thing. Jim suffers a great deal of guilt over this. First of all, he should have been more careful while making love. Next, he could have checked into where she had gone. He just wrote her off. It’s a shame she was all alone. But as sorry as I am for her, I won’t give up my man, totally. We have decided that Jim could tell her that he would be waiting for her to get out. It’s something, even if it’s a lie. We’ll see what the doctor says.”
“As I said before, Sandy, you and Jimbo are excellent men.”
They continued to talk while Blair cooked away the evening. Blair realized at ten, he hadn’t thought about Jim except in good way for most of the evening apart.
*
On the fourth day that Jim and Blair were separated, Blair was teaching his class and in walked Lisa. Blair wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. He smiled at her and went on with his lecture and watched her go to her seat. She took notes and seemed to be interested in his class. Blair didn’t know what she was up to, but he would wait and see what Jim said to do about it. Blair had a feeling that Lisa was going to be going to Jim sooner than anyone thought.
When the class was over, Blair called Lisa to his desk. She walked up smiling and said, “Yes?”
“I missed you at last week during class. Are you all right?” Blair asked kindly.
“I’m doing just fine now, Blair. I needed to take care of some business and now that it’s taken care of, I can be with my boyfriend again. It’s been awhile and he’s really looking forward to it.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it, Lisa. Have fun with your report,” Blair said as she was leaving the room.
“Oh, I plan on it. It’s so interesting. Thank you for being such a good teacher, Blair.”
“You are most welcome, Lisa. Go, start your work early,” Blair advised, smiling.
Lisa hummed as she walked out of the room and Blair knew how utterly sad she was. Poor little thing, didn’t have a clue as to how gone she was.
*
Blair called Jim as soon as he saw her walk out of the building.
“Ellison.”
“Jim, I have a feeling Lisa will be showing up tonight,” Blair said quietly and quickly.
“She came to class?” Jim asked, somewhat shocked.
“She did and she was nice as can be to me. It was like I was never in the picture at all. She talked about you and how happy you were. So try and act nice and happy for her. Okay?”
“You know I will, Chief. Hopefully, this will all be over soon. The doctor from the hospital in Seattle is here already. He wants to be on call for her. So, it’s all taken care of. Now we just need Lisa. Why didn’t you call and let me know she was there?” Jim asked.
“She seemed calm and serene. So I figured why mess with her now. Instead we’ll wait for her to come to you. Did you find out any names to look for other than Walker?”
“Yes, her grandmother from Seattle died and left her a bunch of money. Her last name was Williams so we’re looking that up now.”
“Good luck, Jim. Man, do I miss you like you wouldn’t believe? Not that I don’t appreciate Connor’s help, but she talks too much,” Blair rambled.
Jim burst out laughing and said, “I gotta go. Talk to you later tonight. I’ll call you at Connor’s apartment.”
“I love you, Jim.”
“I love you, back. We’re going to have lots of time to show each other how much once this is all said and done.”
Blair closed his cell, sadly and realized he missed Jim more than he missed his mother. Was this a good thing, or a bad thing? He wasn’t sure. Nah, it was a good thing, he was certain of that. He smiled all the way to his office and didn’t give Jim or Lisa another thought. He was busy, busy, busy.
*
“What do you mean, she was at the college? He didn’t call?” Simon barked.
“She wasn’t hurting anything and he felt like it would make matters worse if we had her dragged off from the campus. I agree with him. She’ll come to me. Probably tonight. Blair said she was very happy. Let’s hope we’re going to be done with these double shifts,” Jim said.
Joel said, “I didn’t mind helping at all. I feel bad for the young girl. She’s such a tiny little thing. It’s no wonder she was so fragile.”
Jim looked over at Joel oddly and said, “How do you know she’s a tiny little thing?”
“The doctor showed us pictures of her through the years. She’s a beautiful lost soul,” Joel said.
“Heads up everyone. This might be our lucky night, so keep your eyes open,” Simon ordered.
They all went back to their paperwork and knew that two hours from then, they would be back in Jim’s neighborhood again.
*
Jim got home and did the same thing he did every night in the last four, he made dinner for just him and ate all alone. While he was doing dishes the phone rang.
“Ellison.”
“Honey, do you need me to pick anything up before I come home?” Lisa asked happily.
“No, everything is here,” Jim replied.
“I have a surprise for you,” Lisa said.
“What is that?” Jim asked.
“I want you to meet me at 700 West Kolb Street, apartment 403 and you’ll see the surprise,” Lisa said.
“So you want me to come to that address right now?” Jim wondered aloud.
“Yes, hurry, darling. I’m waiting. This is going to make you very happy,” Lisa said before she hung up the phone.
Simon called and said, “We’ve got the address. Do you feel all right going in alone?”
“Simon, she’s not going to hurt me. She loves me. She wants a baby. She wouldn’t touch a hair on my head,” Jim said.
“I hope to hell you’re right, Jim.”
“I’ve got to go, Simon. I’ll see you all over there. I have my wire on, so don’t worry, dad.”
“It’s nothing to tease about, Jim. She is insane after all,” Simon stated.
“I’ll be very careful, sir.”
“You do that, Ellison.”
*
Lisa was sprucing up the place even more, even though it didn’t need any sprucing. The place looked lovely and she knew that Jim would love it as soon as he saw the rooms.
The artwork was all from Peru. She knew he had spent time in Peru and liked the jungle theme, so that’s what she did in the living room. In the bedroom, she had pictures of Jim and herself photo-maniped into a family picture. They covered the walls. Then in the baby room, she had pictures of a beautiful little blonde baby girl. They were all over the room, also. She was ready for Jim to get there and see what she had done.
Jim rang the doorbell and waited, listening for her heartbeat and found it instantly. She was calm and serene, Blair had been right.
Without a second thought, Lisa opened the door without checking.
Jim said, “You should have looked out the peep hole first, Lisa. I could have been some freak.”
“I knew you were coming home, darling. What do you think of the place? This is our new home.” She had a way of only hearing what she wanted to hear.
Jim looked around and saw that Lisa had put a great deal of thought, energy and love into this place, so he had to be very careful what he said.
“I love the Peruvian pictures you put up, Lisa. You picked out great ones for each wall. Thank you. The furniture is all very tasteful and not flashy at all. The place looks great. I love it.”
Lisa beamed with happiness at making her beloved so happy. She grabbed his hand and said, “Come and see the bedroom, its lovely.”
Jim walked in and realized how off kilter she was when he saw all of the photo shop pictures done of the two of them. “What do you think, sweetheart?”
“I think you did an excellent job on this room too. I don’t remember this picture here. When was this?” Jim pointed to one of them standing in front of a Christmas tree.
“Oh you silly, that was our last Christmas together. You looked so handsome in that sweater. You told me you loved that I picked it out special for you and the color was so great with your eyes,” Lisa said happily.
Jim looked at the sweater and realized it was only his head that had been put in the picture, not the body at all. So needless to say he didn’t have the sweater.
They were just getting ready to see the nursery when there was a knock at the door.
“Who could that be at this time, honey?” Lisa asked.
“Let’s answer it and see,” Jim replied.
Lisa opened the door to Doctor Hanson and smiled at him immediately. “Why Doctor Hanson, it’s wonderful to see you. This is my fiancé, Jim.”
The doctor took Jim’s hand and shook it. “Lisa, remember how we talked about this while you were in Seattle? Jim has another life here in Cascade. It doesn’t include you.”
Lisa looked shocked, then angry. “It does include me. He just got done telling me what a lovely job I did on the apartment. Didn’t you, darling?”
“Jim, you need to tell her the truth about you and Blair. Lies will only make it worse. Tell her,” Doctor Hanson said.
“Let’s sit down in the living room, Lisa,” Jim said as he tried to guide her into the living room.
“Oh my God, I was so blind. I believed you. You lied to me, didn’t you? You’re going back with that man aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m going back with Blair, Lisa. I’m in love with him and have been for a very long time. I was hoping you would understand and we could all be friends. We would like to see you up in Seattle from time to time.”
Lisa calmed instantly and asked, “You and Blair would come and visit me in Seattle? Like we were friends?”
“Yes, like we were friends. Blair had that idea at the very start,” Jim said.
Lisa looked very sad as she said, “He probably knew that something was wrong with me. Doctor Hanson tried, but I just can’t seem to get past you, Jim.”
“I’m sorry, Lisa. I’m sorry about the baby we had and lost. It’s something terrible I will have to deal with all of my life. I’m sorry I wasn’t with you during that trying time, but now I’m with Blair. It’s only right that I stay with him instead of treating him badly, like I did you, years ago.”
She started crying softly and Doctor Hanson said, “Lisa, let’s get a bag packed and we’ll head back to the hospital. Everyone has missed you. Things will get better, I swear to you.”
They walked into the bedroom and Jim could hear them packing her things and Lisa was crying the entire time.
When she came out, she had finally finished her crying jag and put on a brave front for Jim’s sake. “I’m sorry Jim. I get a little confused sometimes and let my thoughts take over my life. I’m just so sorry that you got caught up in it. Doctor Hanson is so good; he’ll have me better in no time. Thank you for being so kind to me.”
“Blair and I would like to become friends with you, if you can accept us together,” Jim said kindly.
“It’s going to take some time, Jim, but I hope not too long. I’ll miss you,” Lisa said as they got ready to walk out the door.
Doctor Hanson said, “We’ll have everything packed and shipped to Seattle, Lisa. It’s time we got on the road,” Doctor Hanson said as he gently steered her in the right direction.
Jim watched sadly at the woman who had never gotten a fair shake in life and hoped that this time she would get it. He walked downstairs with the two of them and helped them get in the car. He waved goodbye as she drove off and he was saddened.
Connor drove up at that moment and Blair jumped out and said, “How are you doing, partner?”
Jim pulled Blair into his arms and just held on tight. “She’s so sad, Chief. It broke my heart.”
“Let’s go home, Jim,” Blair said as he headed for Jim’s truck. “Thanks for the bed, Connor. I’ll never forget it.”
As soon as they were on the road, Simon called and said they would finish all the paperwork up at the station. He told Jim and Blair to stay away for the next week.
Jim got off the phone and said, “We have a week off.” Jim pulled all of the listening equipment off him so they would have privacy.
“Good, I think we should make a quick trip up to see how Lisa is doing. She needs to see us as a couple, Jim. At first I thought it would be okay to lie to her about us, but the Doctor said it’s never okay to pretend with someone who isn’t up to speed.”
“That would be nice. We could go in two days. No classes, right?”
“No classes. I’m done for two weeks. I’m all yours,” Blair joked.
“I’m so glad you’re mine, Blair. This has been a horrible day, but the thing that kept me going was I would see you in the end or at least talk to you on the phone. Thank you for putting up with my crap all the time and making me a very happy person,” Jim confessed.
“I’m more than happy to take on this job. I love you so much, man.”
“Good, because I love you too.”
*
Connor walked by Jim’s desk and said, “So how was the trip up to Seattle?”
“It was great. Lisa is doing great. It’s going to be awhile before they let her out of there, but she’s doing quite well if you ask me. She seems stronger every day and I do believe that Blair has a lot to do with that,” Jim said.
Connor smiled and said, “That’s our Sandy. Always working. I’m glad it all worked out in the end. How are you blokes doing?”
“We’re doing great, Connor, thank you for asking. Being out at the station hasn’t been as difficult as I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong we take our share of shit, but for the most part, everyone is quite accepting. Are you coming to the poker game on Saturday night?”
“I’m sorry you have to take any shit, Jimbo. But it’s life. If you ever need help with anyone or anything, say the word, I’m there. And as far as poker, I’m there too.”
“Thank you, Connor. You’re a good friend. Now, I better get busy and get this work done before it’s time to leave for the day.”
Jim finished his work and had time to order some flowers to be delivered to the loft that night. It was their year anniversary and he was sure that Blair figured he forgot. Jim didn’t forget. He had a wonderful dinner planned and there were going to watch a DVD and just relax for the evening. And even the DVD was picked with Blair in mind. He got an old classic and knew it would make Blair very happy. His favorite movie was To Kill a Mockingbird so Jim would sit through it again and do some making out and groping while doing it.
*
When Jim arrived home that evening, he started shrimp and chicken shish-ka-bobs for dinner. He got them all made up, got the sweet potatoes cleaned and ready to bake and then did the asparagus. The secret to cooking it was trimming the outer shell off of the stem. That way when it cooked it was nice and tender. Blair loved this meal and knew that he would get perfect sex that night and that’s what Jim wanted.
He started cooking the meat ka-bobs on the grill and had the potatoes cooking when Blair came walking through the front door. “What are you making?”
“You don’t smell it?” Jim asked.
“No, oh great Sentinel. Not all of us know what everyone is doing all the time. Now, again, what are we having?” Blair teased.
Jim went on to tell him the dinner menu and Blair licked his lips making Jim even hornier then he was before. There was a knock at the door and Blair went and answered it. The delivery man was right on time. He handed Blair two dozen long stemmed roses and waited for his tip. Jim reached out with a ten dollar bill and said, “Thank you.” Then he shut the door and looked at Blair.
“You remembered. I can’t believe it. God, I love you.”
“Chief, there aren’t many things about you that I don’t remember. One of them is this special day. I count this as our anniversary not because it was the first time we slept together but it was the first time that we kissed and knew we were going to be together from then on.”
Blair was putting all of the roses into two vases. “Oh goody, one for the dining room and one for the living room. Thank you, oh sneaky one.”
“Hey, what can I say? You’re worth remembering,” Jim kidded.
“You say the nicest things. Now, I have a surprise for you, would you like to guess?” Blair asked.
“I don’t need to guess, I smelled them out in the hall as soon as you came home. I’ll take one before dinner,” Jim said sniffing the air.
“You smelled chocolate truffles out in the hallway?” Blair asked, looking very much surprised.
“Yes, I smelled them and you took your time telling me so I could have one,” Jim joked again.
Blair went and got the truffles from the hallway and noticed that the bag was open. That damn delivery guy must have taken some out.
“There were more of them, but the delivery man helped himself to some of them. Sorry about that,” Blair said.
Jim popped a truffle into his mouth and let it melt. He moaned in happiness and Blair almost laughed. “I swear, you like them better than sex.”
“Not better than, but they are right up there with sex.” Jim pulled Blair in for a big kiss and then hugged him properly. “I have a card for you too.”
Blair went and got Jim’s card while Jim got Blair’s. They handed each other the card and then burst out laughing. They had bought the same card for each other.
“I wonder if this says something about us?” Blair wondered.
“I hope it says that we both are in love and have good taste in cards and men,” Jim said smiling.
Jim began cooking like mad so they could eat sometime that night. Once it was done, they sat down to dinner and ate happily while talking to each other about their day. Before long it was time for dessert and Blair was shocked to see that Jim had made a wonderful fresh fruit salad for dessert. When they were done, they about exploded.
Jim said, “I got To Kill a Mockingbird for us to watch tonight.”
“You’ll do the same thing you do every time you watch it. You start out well and then you start making out with me and before long you’re fucking me. We never see the end of it,” Blair complained.
“Blair, you’ve seen the damn movie like 20 times.”
“But you keep making me miss the ending and I love the ending,” Blair explained.
“Okay, tonight you get to see the ending,” Jim promised.
The two men did the dishes, put them away and then went in to watch the movie. Jim did as promised. He didn’t touch Blair all during the movie. At the very end, Blair jumped into Jim’s lap and said, “Okay, now I’m happy. I saw the ending and I need you right away.”
Jim had planned a wonderful night of passion, but instead it was a night of urgency and lust. Neither of them lasted long and came panting out each other’s names.
They fell asleep in each other’s arms and all that could be heard throughout the loft was soft snoring from both men.
*
The next day, Jim was ready for work and Blair was ready for his class. Jim said, “Do you want to go up to Seattle this weekend?”
“That would be good. We could tell Lisa how we celebrated our first anniversary. She’s doing so well and I’d like to share,” Blair said.
“Just the basics. I don’t want to be embarrassed by what you tell her. Sometimes you get a little carried away,” Jim pointed out.
“It’s hard to believe that Lisa is the same girl that we saw six months ago. She’s getting so strong and capable of many things. She’s no longer the nurse’s Poor Little Girl,” Blair said.
“Yes, life is good, Chief. Have I mentioned how much I love you today?”
“No, as a matter of fact, you haven’t. I love you, back.”
They kissed each other and went in their separate vehicles. Jim was thinking of the night before with Blair. Blair was thinking of what he wanted to do with Jim that night. Basically they were very, very happy.