"Sir?" Jim Ellison, tall, in slacks and a sweater, wearing suede shoes, was standing at parade rest in Banks' office now, while Sandburg, long locks barely held back by a rubber band, perched himself on the edge of his desk - some things never changed, not even with a rank and some weeks of police training.

"Your program to help beaten women to escape from domestic abuse has been acknowledged not only by Cascade's Mayor..."

"No wonder", Blair interrupted, mumbling, "got him reelected..." but Banks was not phased and continued as if he hadn't heard the sarcastic remark:

"we have also received a request to elaborate our way of dealing with the problems of domestic abuse to a foreign police association, thanks to UPA."

Blair raised an eyebrow questioningly, his sneakered leg dangling as he sat more comfortably on Simon's desk, and James answered his unspoken question: "UPA, United Police Association. I didn't know any of us was a member, Sir?"

"Well, we aren't - but we are some kind of show-off police station thanks to the program that you, Sandburg, have launched - and by the way, would you just sit on a chair. Thank you. Anyway: colleagues in Vienna invited you over to lecture on your crisis-center. You are leaving tomorrow in the morning. Go pack."

Simon handed Blair,who was standing closer, an envelope over Ellison's softly objecting: "But it's a conference. We did the last one, too. Can't Rafe go?" Sandburg, though, was already one step ahead. Before Banks could say anything in reply to Jim's whining plea, he stuffed airplane tickets and other information back into the envelope and shoved at his partner to get him out of the office:

"Simon, we're already on our way. Thank you and see you in a week."

"But, Blair, it's a conference...."

"Jim, man, shut up, it's in Vienna. Like in EUROPE!"

Banks grinned at the younger man's enthusiasm. It was good to see him bounce again - and he wouldn't have thought that he would actually admit that, but he had missed this enthusiasm during the last months while Sandburg had been at the academy.

It seemed Ellison had missed it too, because the tall half of the Dynamic Duo was grinning now, too, shutting down the computer, already saying taunting goodbyes to Rafe and H Brown as he left with Sandburg.

"Won't your numerous girlfriends miss you while you're away, Chief?" They were packing their suitcases with shirts, pants, underwear and their paperwork on the crisis-center. Sandburg did not even look up from the chaos that was his bed in his small room.

"I don't think so. It's funny, man, but I lost most of my .. I dunno, you'd call 'em love-interests, probably, while I was at the Academy - or maybe because I was there." He added another sweater to the growing pile of need-to-pack, then continued: "What's left are a few good friends I'll mail before leaving." There was no remorse in his voice as he added his computer with inbuilt modem to the pile.

For a moment it was quiet outside, then Ellison coughed. Jim still felt guilty that his damned senses, his being a Sentinel and the desperate need to hide this condition had forced Blair to finally claim to be a fraud and to take on a different career than he had had in mind in the first place. Sandburg seemed to notice his guilt though. Peeking through the open door of his cubicle he grinned: "It's the good friends that are left, man. Wanna order takeout?"

Relieved and a bit ashamed of his relief Jim smiled: "Nah, I'll cook. How about chicken with mushrooms and onions?"

"With tomato-sauce and garlic? Chicken ala Sentinel?? OhMan, I'll do the dishes afterwards!"

Their flights were uneventful, yet long, first an hour to Washington, seven hours to London, and two boring movies and a cardbord meal later two hours to Vienna, where they arrived at eleven in the morning. Ellison, exhausted from too many hours in too thin airplane air, had problems with the noise in the cramped airport and was leaning tiredly against the trolly, waiting for their luggage to pass by. He jerked when he felt Sandburg's hand on his back, then settled again, the warm presence a comfort. Relaxing even more his breathing evened out and the headache subsided when Blair started to rub his back in soothing circles.

"I dunno how you do it, Sandburg, but I feel better already." He turned, smiling at the smaller man, who whispered, smirking:

"It comes with the job-description, you know. Guides have to have magical fingers to help their sentinels out."

For a wonderful, delicious moment Ellison thought he heard some double meaning in the words regarding fingers and helping out, but then their luggage came by and he was busy collecting their suitcases and struggling with their stubborn trolly and the moment to maybe find out more was gone.

And then they were walking out into the airport's foyer, where a tall, wiry man with too tired eyes and a reddish moustache was holding a sheet of paper, saying: "Ellison/Sandburg".

"That's us!" Blair was grinning, shaking hands, while their one-man-welcome-committee grinned toothily, getting rid of the ridiculous poster and smoothing his too long hair behing his ears:

"Welcome to Vienna! I'm Major Georg Raven. You can call me George. Let me guess - you are Sandburg, and you are Ellison. I heard you are ex-military." Raven had been right with guessing who was who. His gray eyes were sharp even though he seemed to have had too little sleep for a while.

"We are taking my car, is that all your luggage?"

In no time they were on their way to the city, speeding over the highway, taking turns and finally finding secret routes that took them into town fast. When they came to a screeching halt in front of the hotel Blair chuckled from his perch in the back seat:

"He's driving like you, Jim,man!"

Raven bellowed, the sound almost a laugh: "And I guess that's not a compliment?"

"He totalled three, or was it four, cars these last years."

"Oh, really?" The Viennese policeman wasn't impressed. "I do not wreck my cars." Then he added with gleeful pride: "I just drown them."

Ellison started to like the man. They were probably the same age, he assumed. "Drown them?"

"Yeah. On one nightshift me and my partner decided to take our break at a quiet place, you know. So I parked my car in the dry riverbed of this small rivulet close to Schoenbrunn Castle with the police radio on high in case anyone needed us. An hour later we woke, because we were wet. Some miles upstream there had been a thunderstorm and the dry riverbed was suddenly full of water, a raging stream. We barely made it out of the car in time." They were still laughing when they entered the hotel-lobby. Checking in to two adjourning rooms took only some minutes and then they were in Raven's car again, driving to the station to meet with the Major's colleague: "Just for a coffee and some swiss rolls - that is in fact a Viennese speciality. My wife outdid herself and I had to hide the rolls from my little daughter; she loves them. Tomorrow you are going to meet the higher ups - and do your lecture, but today you're free - you could do a little sightseeing if you are up to it." They were already stopping in front of the station and Blair loosened his deathgrip on the front seat to open the seatbelt. James just grinned, getting out of the car.

"Coffee would be good. And swiss rolls sound terrific. Homemade!" He cast a glance at Sandburg who said:

"Just watch what you eat", which made Raven huff that barking laugh again.

"THIS is coffee?" Ellison had sipped and was now able to feel his blood pressure rise from the strong, rich brew that smelled like heaven. Blair drank with closed eyes, nodding absentmindedly while savoring the taste:

"We gotta bring some for Simon or he'll never talk to us again."

"Are you hungry after all the airplane food?" After an hour of talking and translating for their US-guests Raven could use a little more than cakes and coffee to hold out.

"Sure," Ellison was going for brownie-points with Sandburg when he ventured: "maybe something local, a speciality?" And indeed Blair was smiling, pleased surprise coloring his smokeyblue eyes.

"Take them to the italian place across the street...."

"Nahh, the chinese place next door.."

"What about Subway?..."

Raven shook his head: "Now, if anyone of you suggests McDonald's I'm gonna be really ..." what he really was, was drowned out by laughter that echoed still when they were walking down the stairs.

"There's a small restaurant right across the street,"

"Next to the italian place?" Blair chuckled and Raven nodded.

"I know the owners, so we can go into their kitchen and you can taste what they cook." Blair looked as if he was going to blind the world with his smile and Ellison basked in the warmth of the younger man's enthusiasm.

"This smells terrific!" Blair was tying his hair back, then bent over a large pot where meat was boiling in a rich sauce.

"It's Beuschel served with breaddumplings." Raven ladled something onto a small plate and offered it to his guests but Jim declined. His sensitive nose had made out some of the ingredients, but Raven was already explaining: "It's made of liver, spleen, kidneys and esophagus." Blair hearing that, immediately remembered a day when his Sentinel had tasted tongue for the first time, sitting on his bed with his own beautiful mother, joking about having esophagus for dinner next time.

"That's your chance, tough guy",he whispered, knowing that Ellison would remember too. They were both chuckling and Raven frowned, thinking that he probably missed out on a joke because he didn't understand enough english. So he went over to the next dish, "gulyas, this is only beef with onions and dried red peppers. Or liver, fried with breadcrumbs. Or Schnitzel, looks like the liver but is made from either calf or pork."

Both men looked at each other then Ellison said: "How about Mc Donalds?" and Raven laughed, leading them outside again:

"Better have Vienna's McDonald's then, Sausages - served grilled or boiled, with mustard and breadrolls. You'll love it."

Sandburg was still muttering about junkfood when they were stopping at a small snackstand next to the driveway. There was the strong smell of the hot broth in which the sausages were steaming as well as the spicy tang of different mustards and pickled cucumbers, and the sizzling scent of grilled sausages that lured the Sentinel closer. When Blair tried to hold him back, he threw the younger man a glance that clearly said: don'T get between me and lunch and noone gets hurt. Sandburg stepped back, when Raven said with a glance at the young American:

"Or if you don't want sausages you could have Leberkaese. It's like very smooth meat loaf. Tastes great."

"Leber..." Sandburg was not convinced. "As in liver?"

"No, it's just a name, promise." Raven was grinning.

"You don't have any vegetables at this kind of places, do you?" Sandburg tried negotiation but Raven shook his head friendly.

"Not that much, no. But I could take you to some of Vienna's open markets,..."

"Sandburg, you'll love it, it's like hotdogs, just spicyer." Jim had already carefully sniffed at the paper-plate another customer had been eating from and now grinned at the clerk, pointing at Leberkaese and one of the sausages, ordering bread with it and a coke without needing to talk in a foreign language.

Stunned that they were supposed to eat what the clerk had cut for them with wooden toothpicks Sandburg carefully took a bite from Ellison's plate. Both other men watched him as he munched, then frowned, and took another bite, munched again and finally grabbed the paper plate, pulling it closer.

Ellison smiled: "I take it he approves."

"Finicky eater?" Raven ordered for himself and Ellison, taking a long swig of his soda.

"Sometimes - loves tongue." Blair coughed, an honest to god blush staining his cheeks at Jim's innocent remark and the Sentinel bit down on his smile when he got his double entendre while he ate his Leberkaese. Raven gave them a frown but didn't catch the joke. And then his walkie talkie beeped, a case calling him back to the station. He shrugged:

"Guys, I'm sure you know how this works - shall I take you back to the hotel or are you up for some sightseeing? This streetcar", he pointed at rails and a tram-stop nearby "takes you downtown and stops practically in front of your hotel. I'm sorry - obviously we'll have to postpone our visit at a Heurigen till tomorrow."

They decided to go downtown, after a brief history on Heurigen which seemed to be some kind of open-air pub.

"This map says that if we stay on public transportation we can go round the inner city and see a lot of sights, too!" Ellison was pointing at the map Raven had given him, then yanked Sandburg - who had turned left - back to go right - "Over there..."

Passing the University, Burgtheater, Rathaus, Hofburg and the two museums of nature history and fine arts, they finally made it to Oper and Kaerntner Strasse, bustling with people that were window shopping, the most fancy shops invitingly open.

"I'll never be able to buy something for Naomi here." Blair shook his head at the prices, but got distracted when he saw the large cathedral at the end of the expensive shopping mile. St.Stephen's cathedral, in all its medieval beauty, commanded the small square. Suddenly Sandburg stopped: "God, look at this, it's still there!"

He pointed at a graffity on the front of the large cathedral and Ellison shook his head, for a moment assuming that some punks had deliberately been destroying the beautiful church. But Sandburg quietly explained: "During world war II people of the resistance were using an inconspicious shorthand to point out that they were fighting for freedom. This graffity - the letter O and the number 5 - is an example of the fight of my people against the nazis. The number 5 stands for the fifth letter in the alphabet - O5 means Österreich with an Umlaut. Naomi told me about it, we had some very distant relatives here. And now I am standing in front of it." He seemed shaken up a little and Ellison, not sure what he was supposed to say, just tugged the young man closer, his arm around Blair's shoulder to give support, comfort, protection, whatever the smaller man needed right now he was ready to offer. He was so ready to offer...

They were walking through the small lanes of downtown Vienna for hours, enjoying architectural gems as well as some icecream - italian - and some chocolates, tiny pieces of art, their different fillings a burst of taste on Blair's tongue, an orgasm of taste for the Sentinel. Finally on their way back to the tram-station they passed Kapuzinergruft - a small monastery that served as the burial place for the most famous empirial family of Austria's history. "Picture this, Jim: For centuries each member of the Habsburg family has been buried here, Empress Maria Theresia among them."

"You want to take a look? Isn't that rather morbid, Chief?" But the young man just shrugged, his eyes suddenly begging:

"You're not too tired yet?" So they went down the few stairs, cold, damp air surrounding them as they passed iron coffins, sealed against the time's passing. And then they were standing in the main chamber, where a monumental double coffin was protecting the eternal sleep of Empress Maria Theresia and her husband. But the most amazing detail were the two statues resting on top of the enormous coffin: A beautiful woman and a handsome man, amidst pillows, were looking at each other and there was no mistaking in their faces' expressions.

"They look like lovers, there's no grief here, only joy." Ellison was amazed and Sandburg, rapidly reading the paragraph in his tourguide, explained hushed:

"It says, that the Empress was deeply in love with her husband. And even though he was not always true to her, she not only gave him 16 children that survived but also came to visit his grave every day after he had died, even though she was rather heavy when she grew older. One day the elevator she used to use broke just before she wanted to leave and she said: 'he does not want to let me go.' She died the next morning." He stopped to swallow around the lump in his throat. "True love surviving death."

Again, Jim embraced the younger man, not caring if anybody saw them. He remembered only too clearly when he himself had desperately tried to fight death - not for his own life but for the life of his best friend. Since that day he had been restless. When the panther had merged with the wolf in a blinding flash of light he had seen feelings, tasted smells, smelled a restlessness so much like his own in the other man's being. They had never talked about what had happened while Blair had been dead though. And when Ellison finally had sorted through his own doubts and insecurities, Sandburg had been off to the academy, the time for this particular heart-to-heart definitely gone. But the softly spoken words brought back memories - and the knowledge, that sometimes love indeed was stronger than death. Even in these modern times.

Blair seemed to know what Jim was thinking - a trait that made Ellison nervous at times and comforted him at others. The young man leaned against him unashamedly,soaking up the warmth of Jim's tall body. He was convinced that love had brought him back from the dead once before. And it had not been the brotherly kind, he was convinced of that too. For weeks after what he only called the incident he had waited for Jim to say something, anything, had been so sure that the other man had felt it too. For a while it had seemed as if Jim would make up his mind and talk, but then there was the shootout at the station, and everybody except himself got hurt - and what a surprise it had been that he was uninjured and Jim walking with a cane. His need had taken a backseat to more basic problems, the academy had efficiently prevented any progress and now he was working at his partners side just like all those years before - the only difference was his monthly paycheck.

They still hadn't talked about the incident.

Sighing, Sandburg finally turned: "Guess jetlag's catching up with me. Waddaya think, let's get back to our hotel."

The Sentinel felt his Guide's weariness. Maybe now - not now now, but some time in the near future - was the time to talk. "Yeah, buddy, bed's calling." He was too tired himself all of a sudden to catch the subtle shift in Blair's body.

Their lecture went fine - police brass was impressed by both the program they had founded in Cascade and the way they executed it. The decrease of domestic violence and the high number of cases that actually made it to court - if you can protect the women and children without making them feel being incarcerated or on the run, they won't get as intimidated and were more likely to stick to the police's reports. They answered questions, already designed to smooth the way for a similar program in Vienna.

Pleased with themselves they finally went over to Raven who had been translating: "You impressed them. Definitely earned that visit at the Heurigen. You up to it?"

Hungry and thursty they nodded and were on their way to the suburbs and up a hill, through the woods until Major Raven parked the car next to a fire-station. They found seats on wooden benches, getting salads and a spicey cream-cheese - "it's called Liptauer, yet another piece of our hungarian heritage" their host referred to the historical fact that Austria had once been united with Hungary - and a dry white wine that was cool and fresh and making them feel alive while they were enjoying the view: Vienna was stretched out at their feet in the late afternoon sun, church towers glinting, while the smell of jasmine was heavy in the air.

"That was beautiful, wasn't it?" Ellison spoke up so that Blair was able to hear him in the next room with the connecting door open. Both men were still sober enough, having been at the Heurigen not long enough to get drunk at all.

"Yeah, man," Blair answered quietly, knowing that the Sentinel would pick up his words easily. "They've got some amazing places. Hey, wanna see Schoenbrunn tomorrow?"

"And the place where Raven drowned his car?"

Chuckling answered Jim's joke and Blair came in, dressed in a too large robe: "Why not. And afterwards we could go downtown again - we gotta leave Sunday afternoon after all - should soak up the city while we're here."

Jim peeked out of his bathroom, a towel around his hips, another one around his damp shoulders. "Great idea! We should have more conferences like that!" Then he saw the sudden hunger in Sandburg's eyes, the longing the young man had tried to hide for so long. His first ridiculous impuls was to cover himself more properly, then Jim straightened, deliberately showing off his body before slowly turning back into the bathroom, to don some sweats. Decently dressed he swayed into his room, where Blair was still standing, staring. Coughing the young man finally pulled himself back:

"Yeah, man. Far away from home and not constantly surrounded by other cops."

Jim cocked his head while sitting down on his bed, relaxing a little now that his cock deflated at the prospect of more talk instead of some action. "You mean you don't like cops?" The hidden question being of course: you don't like to be a cop? With baited breath he waited for the young man's answer.

Sandburg treaded carefully - his steps slowly as he ventured deeper into the room, wording his thoughts carefully, too - as he answered: "I admit I wouldn't have considered it a way of making a living before I met you. But over the time we were together, got to know each other, I guess my horizon broadened. I see more colors now, metaphorically speaking of course - you're the Sentinel who actually sees more than anyone else. Now I can't envision a life without the force. What we do is important, it helps people more than any of my anthropological findings would ever help." He sat down at Jim's feet on the floor, somberly trying to make a point that obviously was important to him.

Ellison sighed - they were going to have the dreaded talk now, he could feel it in his bones and not only did he NOT want to have this discussion now - or at any other time - he also knew he could not just run from it. Defeated he looked down at the young man's bent head, the damp locks even more curled than usual.

"You know, I never said it, but..." he hated this and had to deliberately uncleanch his fists before he was able to talk again: "I can't envision a life without..." the last word was mumbled so low noone would have been able to hear it, but then Blair really did not need to actually hear it. He knew what his sentinel was trying to say...

"I know." He said it soothingly, not daring to look up. As long as he did not make eye contact with his Sentinel, they were somehow suspended in space and time, a magical moment where they were able to say the truth without the fear of being rejected. The light was suddenly turned down with a low click of the lamp as Jim turned the switch. The darkness was finally allowing Blair to whisper:

"I am only able to envision life because of you. I was gone for good already once. All I remember about it is the pain and a terrifying darkness. I was so alone." He shuddered at the memory. When he softly continued talking, Jim's hand was in his hair, and even though the tall man hadn't said a word, the gesture meant compassion and love. "There was light all of a sudden - and I went towards it, away from the darkness. I sought peace of mind but found only more loneliness. Until the panther came. I turned around and there was the black beast, strong, determined and yet vulnerable and ... sad because a deep void separated us. I wanted nothing more than the permission to love it. But the panther seemed to offer something even better: itself. The beast jumped and so did I. There was a splitsecond of joy..." For the first time Blair looked up, into the clouded eyes of his Sentinel that were fixed on him - he had felt the other man's gaze locked on him. "A splitsecond that promised so much more. And then it was over and the pain was back, with reinforcements." He grinned or tried to and Jim, whose hand had rested on the younger man's shoulder, gently stroked over Blair's cheek with one finger.

"I was too afraid to act on my promise. The wolf had seemed so sure, so unafraid when it jumped to cross that void. And then you were alive again and asked me to try out the water but my first response was to run." Amazed that he suddenly had found the guts to finally admit his fears, Jim waited for Blair to quote the illfated dissertation - the paragraphs about fearbased responses and how his subject was driven by that fear all his life.

But all Sandburg said was: "I thought so - I understood and still do. But the panther still has not made good on its promise, that there be more." The tension between them changed, the air suddenly charged and sparkling. The Sentinel felt it, too and his heart beat faster, though he didn't know if from anxiety or expectation. Blair did not look away:

"Today is different though, maybe it's this city or the jetlag or even the wine. But maybe you want to test the waters tonight...?" The young man trailed off, waiting for the verdict, for the second time laying his innermost thoughts and feelings open. Somehow, though, he felt as if today the answer would be different from that day in the hospital months back. The day that had stopped all discussions on anything concerning their lives and hearts.

Jim coughed nervously, his blood too loud in his ears, the scent of his Guide the only thing he could smell, which was odd because a few minutes ago the detergent the hotel had been using had been bothering him. He let himself be soothed by the scent, the silken strands of Blair's hair clinging to his hand as he finally plucked up some courage and answered:

"I still am afraid. But I am more afraid of what might happen if I keep the panther from acting on his promise." With that he leaned forward, and Blair stretched upwards, meeting him halfway. The young man did not dare to open his mouth in an invitation to be kissed, not wanting to scare away the skittish sentinel. But Jim was beyond caring. Still scared out of his mind he awkwardly placed a tentative kiss on the younger man's lips.

Lips that were lush and sweet and yielding, the beard stubble rubbing over his sensitive skin so that he would not forget that this was a man he was kissing here. Lips that were shivering at the featherlight touch of his mouth, betraying Blair who was frightened, too. The thought that they were both in the same boat, a little afraid, a lot nervous, helped Jim, as weird as that was. Now he felt as if he was able to protect the younger man again, and he backed away, gently caressing Blair's face.

"The water's fine - you were right about that the whole time long." It made Blair grin and cock his head expectantly. And when Jim bent forward to kiss him again, he did open his lips, their kiss suddenly turning passionate, fiery and smooth. Raising to his knees, Blair inched closer and let Jim embrace him, never losing contact while he leaned in, and was lifted and shoved around until he was lying on top of Ellison who had dropped back onto the mattress, carrying his load with him.

Treasured. Blair felt treasured as Jim kissed him. His mouth was devoured, a hot tongue teasing and caressing his lips until they tingled. He did not even notice at first that the tall man had rolled them around so that they were now resting comfortably side by side on the large kingsized bed. His robe had opened with the movement, though and revealed his excitement. A little embarrassed he tried to cover himself as soon as their kiss broke and his brain registered how exposed he was but Jim stopped his hand. The Sentinel's fingers took the time to tenderly stroke over Sandburg's skin, then Jim slowly reached for the soft belt of his own robe, untieing it, pulling the flaps back. Ellison's own cock was standing at attention, drooling precum already, igniting an equal fire in Blair.

When the younger man's cock jumped, Jim's nostrils flared as he inhaled the heady scent of arousal that made his head swim. His senses were on alert without him even trying so, and he did flinch when Blair reached out, fingers touching his belly gently. But other than he had feared the loving touch of the young man did not hurt him - and even washcloths had been painful on occasions. Blair's touch was fire to his skin, tickling, arousing even though he only petted his belly. When the young man finally closed his fingers around Jim's large, cut cock, the Sentinel bit down on his lips to keep from screaming, from coming too soon.

"God, Jim, you're so hot like this." Blair was panting just from watching the taller man writh on the bed in the throes of passion and Jim held onto the voice of his guide, until he was able to gather enough wits to grasp for the prize - Blair's hard cock. For a moment he spared a thought at what a perfect fit this was: The other man's dick was almost as long as his own, but thicker, hot in his fist and jerking when he slowly started to pump it. Blair made a whiney sound in the back of his throat and the Sentinel immediately stopped what he had been doing, afraid that he had hurt him. But Blair's frustrated huff was enough encouragement, as was the softly whispered: "please, please, please..."

Jim found a rhythm that matched the way his own cock was treated, loving the feel of different fingers handling his cock just when he gave pleasure to another dick than his own. And then his senses turned traiterous on him, overwhelming him with the raw primal satisfaction they could provide. His hips bucked into Blair's tight grip, as he was straining towards orgasm, the overwhelming wave of passion rolling over him, crashing as he came, his cock refusing to deflate.

He had been working Blair's cock all the while, stopping only when his need got to strong, and now the young man whimpered desperately, nudging his hips against the Sentinel's hand, then leaned over the panting man and kissed him with all his pent up love. He was so close, Jim could feel it - the younger man's body was tense, minute shivers playing over sweatslicked skin when he continued to pump Blair's dick, smoothing his thumb over its head to spread precum over the shaft. When his thumb found the small band on the underside of the crown, Blair finally broke the kiss with a moan and buried his face in the crook of Jim's neck.

Pressing himself closer to Jim, rubbing himself over the Sentinel's skin the young man finally shuddered one last time and exploded, his semen coating both men, while Blair relaxed totally, a dead weight on top of the taller man, not that Jim minded. His own dick had never deflated under the onslaught of Sandburg's arousal that had bombarded his senses. Now that the young man was resting, using his body as a mattress, getting his panting under control again, Jim's cock took notice again, and the Sentinel shifted until his cock was rubbing against Blair's skin whenever he moved sensuously.

Opening his senses he let himself be filled with Blair's scent, his touch, his taste still in his mouth from their kiss. And now Blair was moving with him, petting the Sentinel, feathering small kisses over the smooth expanse of Jim's chest. When the young man found one of Jim's tits and suckled on it, the Sentinel arched into the caress, not able to hold back the keening sound that escaped his throat as he came for the second time that night.

When the roar of his own blood in his ears subsided, Jim heard his guide chuckle.

"Whow, big guy, you always have such a short recovery time?"

The Sentinel blushed, relieved that the flush had to be covered by his post coital blush, as he said: "No, that was you. But I am always that fast off the mark the first time." Blair had to strain to hear the whispered words. He frowned, then nodded, his hair teasing Jim's skin as he moved:

"Of course, your senses have to be hell on you. If you want to we can try find a solution. Or we can just enjoy it." He stopped, suddenly terrified that Jim had heard it too: He had just assumed that there would be more nights like this, more lovemaking, more ... relationship, more of everything they had refused to talk about. All they had agreed upon that evening was that they would make good on the promise the panther and the wolf had given each other months ago.

But Jim had of course heard him - he was a Sentinel, after all - and had understood what the young man had let slip - he was a detective, after all. His heart beat faster once again, he was just as frightened by this prospect as Blair was. Blair, who was still lying half on top of him, not daring to move, to draw the Sentinel's attention to him. Taking a deep breath Ellison looked back onto the last couple of hours, the last couple of years, his life. Being honest was not easy, but what he saw made his answer clear, if not easy.

There was this loneliness not even Caroline had been able to ban. He had found friends, but no one to share his innermost thoughts with. And then Sandburg had come and had not been scared away by his attitude or his weird condition, had helped him to deal with his senses, with his life. Caroline had sensed it first - she had been jealous of the young man from the start. It had taken him so much longer to see the love the other man felt for him, and even longer to accept that he was loving him too. And it had taken this setting, neutral grounds, to finally take the scary step forward and fall to surrender to the feelings that had been overwhelmingly strong for the longest time. He found he was glad, ridiculously happy even that Blair was in his arms right now.

"That working on my senses to find a solution - that might take some time, won't it?" he ventured carefully, trying to lay out a path that would not scare his friend further and give him, heck, give them both an escape route if necessary. He felt the nodding more than he heard the softly whispered: "Probably..." and said, letting out the breath he had been holding: "That's good, then. I'd like to take some time, you know."

Blair relaxed in the bigger man's embrace, relief coloring his voice as he muttered, brattily: "What, no objections against tests all of a sudden? If I'd only known..." and then he yelped when Jim swatted the back of his head gently, immediately rubbing the not even stinging spot soothingly.

Faking a grumble, Ellison added: "Well, but we don't have to start right now, do we."

"Hey, I know I'm dealing with an older man..."

"Whom do you call old, chief..." Jim bumped upwards, his thigh brushing against the lax genitals of the younger man, who snickered, then shivered dramatically.

"The wrong man, obviously... plus I am cold!" So Jim fished for the warm feather-bed and covered them both. Falling asleep like this was the next best thing to making love with this man...

They woke up the next morning with their feet on the pillows in a totally messed up bed, still entangled with one another, sticky and a bit embarrassed about the mussed sheets. And then, when they finally got downstairs to the dining room to get some breakfast - "Oh, you are late, will eggs, rolls and coffee do? We have some cake left, too." - it occurred to Jim: He was not the least bit embarrassed about what had happened last night. Now he just needed a way to tell Blair.

Because Sandburg seemed a little hesitant, carefully avoiding to touch the taller man while they were in the streetcar that brought them to Schoenbrunn, Empress Maria Theresia's so called summer home, its large, trimmed gardens full of roses and jasmine, fake roman ruins artistically spread in the lush undergrowth of a small wood leading to Europe's oldest zoo, that still displayed original cages for architectural purposes but kept the valuable animals in modern pens. Ellison and Sandburg refused to go there, nevertheless, but took some coffee at Gloriette, a building on top of a small hill that looked like an elongated greek temple. It had been used as a ballroom during the reign of the Empress, and was now a Cafeteria providing a breathtaking view over Vienna.

It was already afternoon when they were taking another streetcar to the inner city, the first district. This time though they stumbled into chaos and mayhem. Loud music made the Sentinel cringe, the presence of thousands of people surrounding them overwhelmed his senses and Blair had a hard time to bring Jim back from an insipient zone-out. Laughing men, barely dressed in the hot afternoon sun, but smeared with body paint, were gathering around them, inviting them to join them in their parade, cheering when they realized they were from the US. "It's the rainbow-parade! Once a year, one day - walk with us!"

But Ellison just smiled and waved no, dragging Blair into a small sidestreet out of the oppressing noise. Despite the partly naked partly overdressed crowd marching on Ring, a splendid boulevard, the small street they were hiding in now was almost empty, and the Sentinel leaned against a building, its stone wall cool against his back, and let out a relieved breath.

"I am sorry, I don't think I'll ever want to march in a gay parade, Chief." Blair was still fussing over the taller man, worried that Jim had almost zoned on the noise, smells, colors of the parade. He just nodded at the calm statement, not even disappointed, just not quite sure where they were standing now.

And then, all of a sudden, Jim reached out and embraced the younger man, pulling him close to whisper in Blair's ear, making sure that he listened, that he heard what he had to say: "But I do want to live the promise panther and wolf made to give you a reason to come back to me." Startled, Blair looked into Jim's iceblue eyes that were softly smiling that gentle secretive smile Jim had never given anybody else but him, no longer surprised when he found love shining in them. He saw the kiss coming - Jim devoured his lips, all too soon breaking away again, nervously looking around, but nobody had been paying attention. "And when we're back in Cascade we'll start a whole new life together."

"Man, are we ever! And here I always thought Paris was the city of love..."

fin