SWEET BABY JAMES
Author's Notes: Thanks to Kyanoswolf for the link to the lyrics. I've adjusted them somewhat. Thanks also to my betas, Rose & Arianna. Any mistakes are mine.
Sequel to Hunter & Rite of
Passage
Jim Ellison took a long deep breath. As he slowly exhaled, he felt his entire
body start to relax. It had been far too long since he'd smelled anything other
than the dirt, dust, and contamination of the city...saw anything other than
stone and glass buildings blocking what little sunlight shone upon
Cascade...heard anything other than sirens, horns, and loud angry voices.
Jim gratefully extended his senses. It was at times like this that he did
enjoy being a Sentinel and pitied those who couldn't enjoy the world with the
same depth of perception.
Sense of smell. Evergreen from the trees around them. Wood smoke from the
campfire behind him. Pure clean fresh air that gently brushed his cheeks.
Sense of hearing. Gurgling water rushing over the rocks in the nearby stream.
Quiet chittering of a couple of nearby curious squirrels. The sizzle of freshly
caught trout in the frying pan.
Sense of sight. Glittering blues and whites from tumbling water in the nearby
stream. Soothing greens and browns of the surrounding trees. Bold reds and
blacks from his partner's flannel shirt.
'Three senses out of five are happy. Two left to go.'
But Jim was saving touch and taste for later. And as much as his mouth was
starting to water in anticipation of the trout dinner being prepared, he was
really looking forward to nibbling on a well-seasoned Sandburg.
Three weeks ago, Blair had graduated the Cascade Police Academy. At a party
that evening, some members of the Vice Squad had deliberately gotten him drunk.
Blair had subsequently crawled into Jim's bed and professed his love and lust.
Whereupon Jim had reciprocated.
The next day, Jim had been thoroughly amused when Blair struggled past his
hangover to accept what had been said. But the best laid plans of a Sentinel
wanting his Guide went to hell in a hand basket when they wound up knee-deep in
more than the usual crime that occurred in Cascade. Twelve, fourteen, and
sixteen hour days for all the detectives in Major Crime had become the norm as
they'd encountered a rash of bank robberies, two terrorist bombings, and the
kidnapping of the infant granddaughter of a bank president.
Everyone in Major Crime had worked themselves into exhaustion. Simon couldn't justify giving only Ellison and Sandburg some down-time. Then one morning Simon had taken a good long look at his exhausted detectives and decided he'd let things go longer than he should have.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Listen up, people!" Simon announced, setting a shoebox on Rhonda's desk. He waited until he had everyone's attention. "We've all worked ourselves into the ground lately. So, everybody gets four days off." He raised his hands to silence their happy responses. "Downtime will be taken by partners in rotation. And to keep things perfectly fair, the senior partner in each team will draw lots." He grabbed the shoebox and held it above his head. "And nobody looks at their number until all the lots are drawn," he ordered.
Once the shoebox was empty, Simon put it back onto Rhonda's desk and folded his arms. "Look."
"Second!" Henri quickly shouted with glee. He looked around. "Who got first?"
Blair, looking at the piece of paper in Jim's hands, eagerly raised his hand.
"There is a God," Rafe muttered.
"Thank you, Lord, for having mercy on us all," Joel whispered.
"Captain, let someone else…OWW!" Jim limped a couple of steps away from his partner and glared angrily at him.
"Sorry," Blair innocently apologized. "Must have been a muscle spasm. I didn't hurt your shin, did I?"
"Sandburg," Ellison growled.
Blair took three steps and got into his partner's face. "Ellison!" he growled even louder and lower in tone.
"I suggest you two clear your desks by this evening," Simon firmly advised. "You're got four days. Do not…I repeat DO NOT get into any trouble and get back here on time so the next group can go."
"Yeah," Henri solemnly nodded.
"Everyone give your numbers to Rhonda who will post the schedules," Simon ordered. "Let's get back to work, shall we?" Turning, he went back into his office and firmly shut the door.
Everyone watched as Jim and Blair stood glaring at each other. Finally, Megan sighed and walked over to them. "So…what can we do to help get you two out of here on time?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So here they were...deep in the Cascade
National Forest with four days off.
"Hey, Jim! The trout's almost ready!" Blair cheerfully called. "Come and get
it!"
'That's not all I plan to come and get.' Smiling, Jim reached down into
the cold rushing water where he'd stashed their beer. Grabbing a couple of
cans, he returned to the campsite and sat next to the fire. "Smells good,
Chief."
"You are going to absolutely enjoy this. I bet not even you can pick out all
the herbs." Blair quickly filled Jim's plate and passed it over.
Jim set the plate aside and opened both cans of beer, passing one to Blair and
setting the other next to him. He waited until Blair had filled his own plate
and had settled in across the fire from him. Then he took his plate and used a
fork to cut off a piece of the fish.
Aware of Blair's eager anticipation of his response to the grilled trout, he
carefully raised the fork to his lips. He slowly licked the juices before
easing the piece of fish into his mouth.
Jim half-closed his eyes in pleasure as his sense of taste rose two notches on
his inner dial. "Mmmmm..." Swallowing, he opened his eyes and slowly licked
his lips. "Great, Chief. Just great." He heard Blair's ragged breathing and
saw his partner's eyes were rounder than he'd ever seen them...including the
"pleading puppy dog look" Blair had perfected.
Startled, Blair quickly nodded and bent his head to concentrate on eating.
Jim smiled to himself and cut off another piece of trout.
'Oh, yeah. Time to have some fun.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After eating, Jim told himself he wasn't
deliberately posing. That would be vain. But he
knew he looked good stretched out close to the campfire. Lazily, he crossed his
long legs at the ankles. And if Sandburg's quick glances in his directions and
mutterings were any indication, his Guide was ready to crack.
"Best be careful what you ask for man and you're asking oh man are you asking
for it and I'm just the man to give it to you don't you think I'm not either."
Wondering if Blair had momentarily forgotten that Jim could hear every word, Jim
glanced across the fire at the younger man. "You doing okay over there,
Chief?" He was rewarded with an exasperated glare.
Leaving his task, Blair moved to sit close to Jim, crossing his legs
tailor-fashion. "Jim, what you do want?"
Jim shrugged as he stared into the flickering fire. "World peace. An end to
hunger. Diseases eliminated. Jags championship."
Blair snorted. "Let's try to lower our expectations a little, okay? I was
talking about us."
Jim looked at the younger man, then seriously spoke. "I don't what to be the
reason you wake up in the morning. I want to be the reason you want to
wake up in the morning…because you can't wait to be with me. I want to wrap all
that I am around you until I can't tell where I stop and you start. I want your
eyes to light up like fireworks when you see me and know that I won't ever like
being apart from you. I want you to need me just as badly when I'm 90 as you
need me now and know that I'll never stop needing you just as much as I've
always needed you. I want your name to be the first thing I say in the morning
and the last word I'll ever say in this world. I want you to know that you're
the most important, precious person in this world to me...and you'll always be
the most important, precious person in this world to me."
'Breathe, Sandburg! You have to breathe!' Blair quickly blinked the
slight moisture from his eyes. "Ditto," he finally managed to croak.
"Ditto?" Jim raised his eyebrows. "I bare my heart and soul and all you can
say is 'ditto'?" He sat up and leaned closer to the quiet man next to him.
"Yeah," Blair nodded with a deep breath. "Ditto."
Jim lazily smiled, amused by Blair's speechlessness. "Ditto." Slowly he
brought his head closer to Blair's. After a momentary hesitation when he saw
the depth of love in Blair's eyes, he gently brushed Blair's lips with his.
Blair closed his eyes and brought his mouth closer to Jim's. Feeling Jim's lips open, he slid his tongue into Jim's mouth and gently explored. He moaned softly as Jim wrapped his arms around him. The one part of his brain that could still process thought confirmed that the brief stolen kisses of the past few weeks were nothing compared to this kiss.
Slowly Jim pulled back. Seeing Blair's dazed expression, he grinned. "Let's get in the tent, Blair. Much as I enjoy the outdoors, I think I'd like this party to be private. We've waited long enough."
"Yeah." Blair briefly touched his tingling lips and nodded. "No sense traumatizing the squirrels."
Startled, Jim laughed. Getting to his knees, he began putting out the campfire. "Get the food containers put away, and we'll go to bed. And do it quick. I really want you inside me tonight."
Blair nearly stumbled as he got to his
feet. "What did you say?"
Puzzled at the younger man's reaction, Jim looked at his partner then slowly
smiled. "You thought it would be the other way?"
"Well…yeah…sorta." Blair looked away as he began stacking the food in containers.
"Why? Because you're younger and smaller? You automatically figured you'd bottom?" Jim guessed.
"You forgot cuter," Blair pointed out with an exaggerated sniff. "I'm also cuter than you."
"I'll give you cute," Jim snorted. "Don't misunderstand me, Sandburg. I want to be inside you, too. I want that badly. But I want you inside me even more." He met Blair's eyes, knowing the younger man was carefully weighing both his words and body language.
Then Blair grinned, his blue eyes dancing with anticipation. "Well, get a move on Ellison! The night's not getting any younger, you know!"
'Well, at least I know what to do to get Sandburg moving quickly.' Amused, Jim watched as the younger man rapidly stored their food away from any potential wandering animals. By the time Jim got the campfire thoroughly extinguished, Blair had already retreated to the tent, mumbling to himself. The Sentinel carefully extended his hearing, then nearly laughed out loud.
"Oh, man…calm down…just calm down. Just because Jim wants me to fuck him…oh man…I'm gonna fuck Jim! Gotta love that man. And just in case you're listening, Ellison…I do love you."
Slowly, Jim got to his feet and took one last look around. Satisfied that he sensed no threat to them, he entered the tent, closing the flap behind him. Kneeling, he smiled at the younger man who sat cross-legged next to the sleeping bags. "Hi."
"Hi." Blair slowly smiled.
"Just in case you're listening…I love you, too." Jim slowly began to undress.
"I…uh…I put the sleeping bags together," Blair softly spoke, suddenly nervous. "Zipped 'em together, I mean."
Jim hesitated. "Blair, are you okay with this?"
Looking up, Blair's blue eyes flickered away. "This…ummm…." He took a deep breath. "This is forever, isn't it? Just you and me?"
"It better be." Jim's eyes narrowed. "As you've pointed out more than once, Sandburg, I tend to be very territorial."
"Oh, God…I'm screwing this…I mean I'm…" He glared at Jim who had started to chuckle. "You're not helping here!"
"Sorry," Jim apologized with a grin. "I love you, Blair. And you love me. I don't want anybody else."
"Not even the squirrels?" Blair teased.
Jim snorted. "Especially the squirrels. Let them find their own nuts."
Blair started giggling, then began laughing. He slowly leaned over until he was lying on his side, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Jim chuckled as he finished undressing and repeated Blair's earlier order. "Get a move on, Sandburg. The night's not getting any younger, you know." Determined to get a little pampering from his lover, he added, "I put some stuff in the brown bag in my pack."
Wiping his eyes, Blair sat up. He quickly found the bag and opened it. "That's my Boy Scout," he praised as he brought out the small bottle of massage oil.
"Eagle Scout," Jim confided as he lay on his stomach, resting his right cheek on folded arms. He watched as Blair eagerly began stripping. 'Sometime soon, we're going to do this long and slow.' He watched as Blair opened the bottle and poured some of the oil into his hand.
Capping the bottle and setting it aside, Blair slowly began rubbing the oil onto Jim's broad back and shoulders.
'Oh yeah…the two of us…my big bed…full moon's a week away. Blair would look awesome…naked in my bed with the moon shining through the skylight.'
Blair smiled at the dreamy expression on Jim's face. "What are you thinking about?" he murmured.
"You. In my bed. Full moon. Skylight."
Blair's smiled widened. "Sounds like a date to me."
Jim chuckled. "Not that I'm criticizing your technique, but you could go a little faster."
"Impatient, are we?" Blair chuckled as he uncapped the bottle and poured more oil into his hand. He began kneading Jim's firm ass, slowly spreading the cheeks as he hummed under his breath.
Jim frowned and looked over his shoulder. "Why are you humming 'It's A Small World'?"
Blair laughed as his finger teased Jim's entrance. "Haven't you ever taken a song and put your own words to it?"
"No. Can't say I have." Jim groaned as Blair's finger slid inside him.
"It's a small hole after all. It's a small hole after all." Blair giggled. "I haven't figured out the rest of the words."
Jim shook his head. "You're weird sometimes. You know that, don't you?"
Blair leaned forward as he slid two fingers into Jim's ass. "But you like it, don't you?" he whispered.
Jim was close to offering Blair the keys to the truck as incentive to get him to hurry. "Oh yeah…weird's good."
Blair gently kissed Jim's shoulder then shifted his position until he was between Jim's spread thighs. Sliding on a condom, he liberally covered his cock with the oil then patted Jim's thigh. "Raise up, okay?"
Jim bent his legs at the knees and arched his ass into the air.
'Shit. Damn. Fuck. Don't you dare lose it now, Sandburg! Damn, but he looks so…so…' Softly groaning, Blair slowly began easing the head of his cock into Jim's ass. The low growl from the man under him made Blair hesitate. "You okay?"
"I swear I'll...I'll…if you stop now…" Jim growled. "Get inside me, Sandburg!"
Blair ran his hands up Jim's oiled back. "Sir, yes sir!" he chuckled.
'God, this is so good…so good to have him inside me…part of me now…no matter what…part of me now…nobody'll ever take this away.' Slowly, Jim began gently thrusting back onto Blair's cock.
Blair moaned when Jim began moving against him. Gripping Jim's hips to hold the other man steady, he began thrusting deeper into Jim. "Ohgodjimloveyouloveyouloveyou."
The two men found a quick rhythm the brought them closer and closer to exploding.
"Wanna make it last," Blair muttered, starting to slow down.
"No…please…God, Blair…c'mon," Jim begged. "I need you…this!"
"Aww…Jim…" Blair began angling his thrusts to hit Jim's prostate. "Whatever you need…always." He grunted as he leaned forward, reaching around Jim's body to reach the Sentinel's cock. His oily fingers began stroking the hard organ.
"Yes…yes…yessssssss!" Jim hissed as his back arched. "BLAIR!"
Jim's orgasm caught the younger man by surprise. He felt Jim's body stiffen, squeezing his cock as it was buried deep inside Jim. "Love you, Jim," he gasped as he came hard.
"Oh, God…" Jim sighed as his bones turned to water. He slumped onto the sleeping bag completely uncaring that he was lying in a wet spot.
Panting, Blair slowly pulled his softening cock from Jim's body. He carefully removed the condom and tied it off. Opening the tent flap, he quickly buried it, intending to dispose of it further the next morning. Closing the tent flap, he chuckled under his breath. 'That outta give the squirrels a cheap thrill.'
Chuckling under his breath, he used his t-shirt to first wipe himself off. Then he nudged Jim until the larger man rolled over. Fondly smiling down at his lover, Blair quickly cleaned the other man and covered the wet spot with another t-shirt. "Scoot over," he muttered.
Sleepily, Jim scooted back until Blair had enough room to join him on the sleeping bag.
Pulling Jim's head onto his shoulder, Blair flipped the ends of the sleeping bag over them and settled down to sleep. "You okay?" he murmured.
"Um-hmmm." Jim nodded. He yawned and slid one arm around Blair's waist. "This is nice."
"Yeah," Blair nodded with a smile. "Sure is." He slowly began stroking Jim's short hair.
'No one will ever take this night…this moment…from me…no matter what.' Jim's eyes slowly closed. "Thank you," he whispered.
"For what?"
"For taking the chance to love me." Jim snuggled closer, his body completely relaxing.
Blair felt his eyes water and quickly blinked to prevent tears from falling. Clearing his throat, he softly began to sing.
"There's a song…I sing when I see you each day
A song that I sing when we take to the…forest
A song that I sing of our home in the sky
…Believe it as you now fall asleep
…Forever is just fine with me
Goodnight my moonlit lover
Rockabye Sweet Baby James
…Blue is the color of your eyes that I see
…Think of me in your dreams
And rockabye Sweet Baby James"
Jim smiled as he fell asleep cradled in Blair's loving arms.
June 2003
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