Pet Fly owns them. I just lease them on odd Sundays. No money or profit being made here.

It had been so damn close, so fucking damn close. Jim held Blair closely, grounding each of his senses in him and surreptitiously checking to make sure the blood on his roommate wasn't his own. Abruptly Jim released Blair and called out to the captain.

"Hey, Simon."

"Jim?" Simon walked over to his best cop and pointed to the destruction. "One bank in pieces, several cars in pieces; why do you do this to Cascade?"

"Simon, I need some time off. Blair says I have to do some sentinel crap with him."

Simon got that uneasy look on his face whenever Jim brought up the sentinel thing. It was one thing to use it but quite another to have it pushed into his face as a topic for discussion.

"How much time?"

"Two weeks."

"What?" Simon was surprised. "What the heck could take that long? I don't leave my car in the shop for that long."

"I need this, Simon."

Maybe it was the tinge of desperation in Jim's tone that convinced Simon, because after a long considering look at his detective's grimy face he consented. "Two weeks, Jim, then I need you and Sandburg back in Cascade, preferably undamaged."

Less than 24 hours later, Blair was mirroring Simon's uneasy look as he observed his pacing Sentinel.

"What's this all about Jim?"

Running his hand through his hair, Jim sighed and answered, "We've a real problem here, Chief."

Blair's heart began racing when he heard those words. It had finally happened. Jim was going to ditch him. Blair had known something was wrong when Jim had hustled him to the truck last night and asked him if it were possible to arrange his schedule so that he would be free for the next few days. And all through the numerous phone calls, Jim had been blank. Not blank, Blair amended internally, but it was as if he had crawled into himself.

"Is it your senses, man?"

"Why do you do it, Blair?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you follow me into danger? I know the reason you gave the last time I asked, but that won't wash anymore."

Blair looked, truly looked at his sentinel with assessing eyes. Two days ago, heck two hours ago, he would not have told Jim the truth, but there was something shining through the desperation in Jim's eyes.

Letting his own defenses drop, he said calmly, "Because I love you, Jim."

"Damn," Jim gasped, "Me too, me too."

The End

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