Friday Afternoon

Blair carefully sat down on the picnic table bench, wincing as the slightest movement pulled at the muscles in his shoulder. The doctors had warned him that it was going to be several months before he could move his arm and shoulder without feeling some residual pain and he would have to go through physical therapy to make sure he got back his full range of motion. All in all he was not looking forward to it.

"You alright, Chief? Want your pain meds?"

"No, I'm fine, Jim. It's still in the manageable range."

"If you're sure? Don't..."

"I'm fine, big guy. You'll know if it's too much. I'm fine."

Jim relented with a nod so Blair turned to Ezra and Vin who were watching with amusement. "And that, folks, is what we call Sentinel Blessed Protector mode or serious mother-henning. Alright, I'm not entirely sure where exactly to begin. I'm by no means an expert but I guess I'm the closest thing we've got. Vin is the third full Sentinel I've met while you're only the second Guide that I know of, Ezra."

"I thought all Sentinels had to have a Guide. To prevent those black outs," Vin said, confused.

"Zone outs," Blair corrected, "and you're right. A Sentinel does need a Guide mostly for that reason. Alex, Alexandra Barnes didn't have a Guide. Her senses had only recently been fully activated. I tried to help her but I wouldn't, couldn't be her full-time Guide. I was Jim's, though we weren't fully-bonded yet, and when I refused she killed me."

This drew startled looks from Vin and Ezra while Jim just glowered at the table top.

"You seem to have recovered remarkably well from it," Ezra finally broke the silence. "Might I inquire as to how you did? It might come in handy to know how to cheat Death."

That startled a laugh from Blair. "I don't think it would work a second time or on a bullet. She drowned me. When the paramedics pronounced me dead Jim refused to accept it. I'm still not entirely sure how he did it but our Spirit Animals merged for a few moments, long enough to bring me back."

"That is something to be grateful for. What did you mean by fully-bonded? According to your thesis..."

"My thesis is not entirely correct. It was written based on some assumptions that I have since found out were wrong. For a Sentinel and Guide to be a true working pair they need to be fully-bonded. And get your mind out of the gutter, it doesn't involve sex though most aboriginal tribes don't have the same social taboos we do about same-sex pairings. Anyway, any Guide can pull a Sentinel from a minor zone out, as can close friends and/or family. That's why Chris was able to work with you a little, Vin, but not when it came to your major zone out. But eventually without being fully-bonded a Sentinel will eventually slip into a major zone out that only their bonded Guide would be able to pull them out of. Jim and I were able to work together as long as we did without completely bonding because we lived together and had formed a sort of half-bond. Unfortunately it also led to Jim being extremely territorial putting his modern sensibilities at war with his Sentinel instincts. It was sooo not fun, let me tell you."

"If it is not sexual then how do we 'fully-bond'?" Ezra asked. "And what would happen to Vin if we did not? Could one of these zone outs kill him?"

"Yes, very easily if they happened at the wrong moment." Blair glanced at Jim. "Our first meeting, well second really, didn't go so great and Jim walked away. As he was crossing the street the bright color of a frisbee being tossed caught his attention and caused him to totally zone. If I hadn't pushed him down he would have been hit by a garbage truck and never even realized it. A major zone out can also kill a Sentinel in and of itself. When a Sentinel zones out everything else but the one sense they're focused on disappears. It's like going into a coma like state. Eventually their body will simply shut down and die."

"But you said that even without fully-bonding you were able to bring the Captain out of a zone."

"Yes, but it was getting harder as time went on. I didn't know how to fix the problem and the whole thesis mess happened. After that we took a leave of absence and traveled to Peru and the tribe that had taken Jim in when he'd been on that last mission. While Incacha, the shaman who'd helped Jim was dead, I figured his apprentice who was the new shaman would be able to help us and he did." Blair gratefully took a sip from the bottle of water Jim handed him before he continued speaking.

"In most tribes Sentinels and their Guides were identified long before they reached puberty. A Sentinel is usually identified whie still in infancy since they are usually born with their senses 'online'. A Guide takes a little longer because there is no definitive quality that makes a Guide and a Sentinel might go through a couple candidates before finding the right one. Once they've both been identified and reach puberty they would be sent out on a weeklong Vision Quest. The important part was that they were alone together without any distractions outside of the natural world. Jim and I did one when we went to Peru. Until then neither of us had realized how much was missing from our bond. Not to mention how much more stable it is now."

"So what are you suggesting? We journey to the wilds of Peru and meditate for a week?" Ezra asked, his skepticism and distate for the idea clear in equal parts.

"No nothing quite that extreme." Blair hastened to assure him. "Take a week and go on a camping trip in the mountains or something like that. The main thing is being and working together somewhere that there are no distractions. No other people, which means your friends can't go with you. No cell phones either. Meditate if you want. But work as a team together and help Vin learn to control and use his senses. One of the worst things that could happen to a Sentinel is for him to become afraid of his senses. I'm trying to scare you or anything but learning how to control your senses is important and just suppressing them isn't the answer. They will eventually come back."

Ezra and Vin looked at each other for a long moment.

"We could use that old line shack on the back end of Chris' property. The one I told you about."

"I suppose that would be adequate. It certainly would be out of the way in the wilds of Mother Nature."

"Yep. Takes near a day just to reach it. The boys wouldn't make that trip without good reason, specially if we tell them why we're going."

"True. It also has the added benefit that should we not arrive back aftr the allotted time Mr. Larabee would know exactly where we were supposed to be.”

“Isn’t that a bit pessimistic?” Jim asked, eyebrow raised.

“Simply realistic. While I trust Vin and his knowledge of the wilderness implicitly, I am not so trusting of Mother Nature.”

Jim nodded his head in agreement. Nature could be a tricky thing.

“Is there anything else we should know?” Ezra asked turning back to Blair.

“I think that’s pretty much it. Like I said, every pairing is different. There are no hard and fast rules beyond trusting each other and working together which does mean learning to compromise. Oh! Uh,” Blair glanced at Jim then back at Ezra and Vin, “I’m going to assume you guys don’t live together.”

“Of course not. Why?” Ezra asked suspiciously.

“Like I said, every…”

“Pairing is different. Yes, Mr. Sandburg, you’ve repeated this many times. What does this have to do with our living arrangements?”

“It’s… Historically all Sentinel/Guide pairs have lived together. It was unheard of to separate them because a Guide is their Sentinel’s anchor. Without them they would be lost. It was never really an issue for us because soon after we met I…uh, kinda became homeless and Jim offered the extra room in his loft. I’m not really sure how you two living separately is going to affect your bond.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment contemplating the ramifications of Ezra and Vin not living together. It was Ezra that broke the silence.

“So what you are trying to tell us, Mr. Sandburg, is now that Vin is wholly aware of his senses and more inclined to use them to the fullness of his abilities and once we are ‘bound’ that I must give up my privacy and most likely I will have to give up undercover work, something I am very very good at and without which the ATF will most likely see no need for me to continue working with them and therefore send me back to the FBI who don’t trust me thanks to the machinations of my dear sainted mother, which will mean that not only will I have lost everything I have worked for in Denver, a job I love, but I will also probably be transferred to the ass-end of nowhere and still be separated from Vin. How do you possibly expect me to do that? I have no objections to being Vin’s Guide, we work very well together, but he cannot possibly go with me on every undercover assignment, people *will* start to notice!”

Blair was slightly taken aback by Ezra’s vehemence and a little surprised that Vin was simply quietly observing this outburst without showing any concern. “I-I’m not sure. Every pair…”

“If you finish that sentence, Mr. Sandburg, you will not like the consequences,” Ezra growled.

“Is that a threat?” Jim growled back.

Before Ezra could say anything in response Vin put a hand on his arm. “Go take a walk, Ez.”

For a minute it looked as if Ezra was going to ignore him but finally he got to his feet and stalked away. Vin watched after him a moment then turned to look at Jim and Blair. “He’ll cool off in a minute. He knows this ain’t your fault but he’s got some issues with trust and privacy.”

“Yeah, I kind of noticed that,” Jim said drily.

“You haven’t seen anything,” Vin shook his head. “Him being pissed isn’t an act but it’s only part of how he feels. I ‘spect that by the time he comes back he’ll have a way figured out for us to move in together without no one taking any kind of exception to it. Problem is the undercover work. He really is the best damn undercover agent there is. I could never ask him to give that up, but from what you’re saying that’s exactly what he’s going to have to do and that will open up a whole can of worms that will either force him to leave the ATF and/or the FBI, possibly force me to leave the ATF, or separate us. Not exactly pleasant choices any of them.”

“No, there aren’t,” Blair agreed heavily. He thought about it a couple of minutes. “I’m not saying this could definitely work, but taking into consideration the fact that you guys have lived apart for this long, plus he’s been undercover for long periods of time since you’ve met, well, I think with a few precautions Ezra should probably be able to continue going undercover. I wouldn’t recommend huge periods of time, say, over 3 months without any contact, but it should be doable.”

“What would be doable?” Ezra asked resuming his seat at the table. “I apologize for my outburst.”

“Apology accepted. I was just telling Vin that I think you should still be able to do your undercover work just not for months at a time without any contact.”

“And how do you believe this is possible?”

“Well, you guys spend a lot of time separate now, but you’re not fully bonded which does make a difference, but I think if you were to live together and for when you have to leave you made recordings of things like your heartbeat, your voice, maybe the two combined, uhm, maybe a recording of your voice when you’re bringing Vin out of a zone or even just working with him. I’ve been told that my voice takes on a specific tone and pitch during those times so it would stand to reason that yours would too. Maybe make a copy for Chris or the others to have handy if something should happen while you’re not around, though I’m pretty sure Chris is Vin’s secondary Guide. Not quite as good as his full Guide, he won’t be able to help Vin all the time like you can, but he could probably do in a pinch. I think it could work though.”

“That is good news to hear.”

Vin nudged Ezra. “You figure it out?”

Ezra rolled his eyes. “Actually yes, Mr. Tanner, I believe I have come up with a suitable cover story to explain why we are living together and to perhaps even put some money in our pockets in the long run.”

“Knew you’d find a way to make a profit out of this.”

“Just because some of us can see the grander scheme in life and know how to beat the system at it’s own game…”

“So that’s what ya call it.”

“Insufferable, Mr. Tanner. You are truly insufferable.”

“Uh, how are you going to make money from this? The whole fiasco with my thesis should be big enough proof that going public is a really bad idea.”

“I’m insulted. I would never subject Mr. Tanner to something such as that. No, I was talking about our cover story. I do have a good deal of money thanks to my inheritance from my father and a bequest from husband number 3 or was it 4? No, husband number 4 was the oil tycoon who preferred to shipped me off to boarding school in Switzerland so that he could pretend I didn’t exist. Husband number 3 was the banker who enjoyed having such an apt pupil. He died when I was in college from a severe heart attack.”

“Wait a minute. When the Fibbies accused you of being on the take why didn’t you just tell them it was your money? That you’d inherited it?” Vin asked.

“They never asked,” Ezra replied with a shrug. “They simply accused me, I told them to prove it which they couldn’t, and when I said it was my money they chose not to believe me. Getting back to the subject at hand, I have some money and an eye for decorating, you have at least some rudimentary carpentry skills. It would not be entirely out of character for us to consider going into the home remodeling business. We find a ‘fixer-upper’, purchase it, work on renovating and then decorating it, then sell it or should we find that we like it the way it is, given enough time that it took us to do the work no one would be likely to consider it amiss should we simply not move.”

Vin nodded his head in agreement while Jim and Blair stared in surprise.

“Sounds like a good plan. Always thought about doing something like that but I never could seem to find anything that was structurally sound without still being out of the range I was looking to pay. And I do have some money of my own. Hazard pay for Black Ops is pretty good and I wasn’t hunting bounty for pocket change. Only ever went after ones that were 500 grand or more. Told ya he’d have a plan by the time he came back.”

“That you did, Runt. That you did,” Jim shook his head in amazement.

Blair shook his head as well and grinned. “Something tells me you guys are going to do just fine. Since I can’t think of anything else that doesn’t involve more testing of Vin’s senses how about we go get some lunch? There’s a great barbecue place not too far from here.”

With a quick glance at each other Vin and Ezra nodded. “Sounds good. Should probably call the boys though, see if they want to join us,” Vin suggested.

“Mr. Wilmington will be insufferable if we did not at least give him the option of having barbecue and I refuse to listen to him whine the entire rest of this trip.”

Jim laughed. “Call them then. It’s called Jack’s Place on Brahman Blvd. Find out if Trent and Carlos want to come as well and I’ll call ahead to make sure they can put together a table big enough for us.”

As Ezra flipped open Vin’s cell phone they all headed towards Jim’s truck.

*******

Cascade International Airport
Two Days Later

“Things shouldn’t change too much for you,” Simon commented, looking at Chris over his cup of coffee. They were currently standing by a gourmet coffee kiosk one terminal down from where the rest of Team 7, Jim, Blair, Trent and Carlos were sitting. Somehow the flight to Denver was leaving from the terminal right next to where the flight to Dallas was leaving. It certainly made things easier for everyone.

Chris glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, the bulk of his attention on the group of rambunctious men they supposedly led. “How do you figure that?”

“Well, it seems Standish and Tanner naturally pair up anyway so the extra time they need to spend together won’t seem to abnormal to other people. From what I’ve seen this past week they do seem to know each other best. Unless I’ve misread...”

“No. Vin and Ezra do usually pair up. It’s either them or me with Ez. In case you didn’t notice he can be a stubborn annoying pain in the ass.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

They both grinned.

“Since I prefer not to have one of my guys in jail for killing another I try not to tempt fate.”

This got a chuckle from Simon..

“Don’t get me wrong. Ezra is a good agent. Probably the best undercover agent I’ve ever seen, and if you tell him that I’ll kill you, but.... Between Maude’s ‘training’ since birth and the shit that went down in Atlanta before he joined the team Ezra doesn’t do true personal relationships well. Vin, for some reason somehow, gets him. And I don’t thinks it’s because of this Sentinel...thing.”

“No, it probably isn’t,” Simon agreed. “Although I think Sentinels must have some sort of instinctive patience or something when it comes to dealing with their Guides. Some of the stuff Jim’s put up with dealing with Blair, well. Let’s just say I probably would have strangled the kid a long time ago myself. Not that those two never fight, they’ve had some serious fights and not always about Sentinel stuff either, but they’ve gotten through it.”

“So any advice on how to deal with this? You being the expert on dealing with this shit from an outside perspective.”

Simon snorted. “Expert my ass. Yeah, actually, I do. Give them the time when they need it. A few days off together can do wonders for their dispositions. Unless it looks like it’s going to come to blows don’t get between them in an argument. Hell, even then you’re probably better off staying far away from it. And last but not least, consider taking a creative writing course.”

“What?” Chris turned to frown at Simon who just grinned back.

“Yep. You’re going to need to learn how to write creatively to cover up all the times Vin finds some sort of evidence that no one else could have seen, heard, smelt, or felt.”

“You didn’t include taste.”

“Because I don’t even want to think about what kind of evidence could be collected by tasting it.”

It was Chris’ turn to chuckle at Simon’s look of disgust.

“Covering for Vin shouldn’t be too difficult. A lot of our evidence is paperwork, the actual items that they’re trying to sell or import, and catching them red-handed.”

“Now that’s my favorite kind of evidence,” Simon grinned.

“Mine too,” Chris agreed. “Anyway, covering for Vin won’t be too hard. His eyesight is already legendary in the ATF. He holds the record for distance with both a rifle and a handgun, with and without sights. He’s also known for spotting things other people don’t. He didn’t get the nickname the Tracker because he leaves tracks all over the place.”

“Damn. You sure you don’t have Superman working for you?”

“Vin is too damn ornery to be Superman,” Chris snorted.

::We now ask that all passengers who need assistance or have small children board Flight 107 to Denver, Colorado. We now ask that all passengers who need assistance or have small children board Flight 107 to Denver, Colorado.::

“Guess that’s us. It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Simon, though hopefully the next time we see each other it’s not so exciting.”

“Yeah, I don’t think Cascade would survive having you boys around on a regular basis.”

They both laughed, knowing it was probably the truth. Joining the others at the terminal, they began their own round of goodbyes.

~~~

“It was good seeing you again, Captain, and it was good meeting you, Blair,” Vin said rising to his feet as they started calling boarding for their flight to Denver.

“Same here, man,” Blair smiled shaking Vin’s hand then Ezra’s. “You too, Ezra. If either of you need any help with stuff don’t hesitate to call. We’ll be more than happy to help.”

“I expect you to call just to talk to, Runt.” Jim grinned. They clasped forearms in a warrior’s grip.

“I will, Captain.”

Jim turned to Ezra and shook his hand. “Take care of him, Standish.”

“I fully intend to.” Ezra handed him a business card. “This is our contact information, including email addresses. If someone doesn’t get back to you after a week then you may start to worry.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jim chuckled.

::Now boarding passengers in rows 20 to 28 on Flight 107 to Denver, Colorado. Now boarding passengers in rows 20 to 28 on Flight 107 to Denver, Colorado.::

Vin turned to Carlos and Trent. “You keep an eye on Sensei, Carlos. Try and keep him out of trouble.”

“I’ll do my best,” he grinned ignoring Trent’s indignant look, “but you know how he can be.”

“Yep. He can be a right handful.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“Keep it up and I’ll make you walk home, Carlos. From here.” Trent scowled though it was ruined by the way his lips kept trying to twitch up into a smile.

“You wound me, Trent. You really do.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Trent shoved at his laughing friend. Grinning, he turned to Ezra. “It was a pleasure meeting you though I wish it had been under better circumstances.”

“As do I, Mr. Malloy. It has been an honor meeting the man who helped Mr. Tanner become the formidable opponent that he is during our sparring matches.”

It took Trent a second to translate exactly what Ezra said, then smiled. “Thanks, but all I really did was teach Vin the basics. He did the rest himself.”

“Perhaps, but you put him on that road and gave him the inclination to continue down it.”

“It’s what the Army paid me for.”

“Anyone can teach, Mr. Malloy. Few can teach well and inspire their students to continue learning beyond what they’ve taught them.”

“Uhm, thanks, and now that I’m thoroughly embarrassed. You spar with Vin? What discipline do you practice?”

“A little of this, a little of that.” Ezra shrugged. “I dabble mostly.”

“Not hardly,” Vin snorted. “Ez has black belts in both Tae Kwon Do and Jiu Jitsu.”

“The Jiu Jitsu was only recently acquired,” Ezra said diffidently.

“That’s still impressive. Maybe once my leg is healed you guys could do a long weekend to Dallas or us to you and we could try sparring.”

“That would be cool,” JD interrupted. “We should all get together again. Maybe this summer sometime. We could do it in Denver and have a barbecue out at Chris’ ranch and go riding. It’d be great!” JD stopped at Chris’ raised eyebrow realizing what he’d said. “That is if it’d be alright with you, Chris.”

Chris just shook his head at JD’s enthusiasm. “Yeah, it’d be alright with me.”

“Cool! We should so do it.”

“Hold your horses, kid,” Buck ruffled JD’s hair, who just rolled his eyes at the gesture. “I think maybe we should get home before you start planning our next great adventure. Preferably without the terrorists this time.”

“Well, of course we’d leave them out of it, Buck. I don’t really feel like being kidnapped again.”

::Now boarding passengers in rows 10 to 20 on Flight 107 to Denver Colorado. Now boarding passengers in rows 10 to 20 on Flight 107 to Denver Colorado.::

::Now boarding passengers with small children or who need assistance on Flight 1126 to Dallas, Texas. Now boarding passengers with small children or who need assistance on Flight 1126 to Dallas, Texas.::

“C’mon, boys. That’s us.” Chris picked up his carry-on. “It was good meeting you all. Maybe we’ll see if this idea of JD’s works out. Have safe trips home.”

Slowly Team 7 made their way onto their plane while Trent and Carlos said goodbye to Jim, Blair, and Simon before heading to their own plane. Unbeknownst to them Chris and Simon were thinking the same thing.

Considering the state they’d left Cascade in would Denver survive the group of them?

The End.