"I'm sorry, Jim. I just have no appetite today."
"It's okay. It was pretty rough. No matter what happens, out there, in the station, I love you. Just know that."
"I do know, Jim. That's what I held on to all day." Blair got up from the table and wrapped his arms around his lover, standing behind him. Jim reached a hand to touch Blair's face, accidentally hitting the new bruises.
He felt Blair wince.
"I *will* kill them." Jim could feel the anger tighten in his heart.
"No. We'll find some other way of dealing with it."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Yet another lovely day in Cascade, where the coffee flows like the very rain from the sky."
"You're in a good mood, Chief."
"Why not? We have no cases pending, the sky is a lovely shade of gray and I just had the best sex of my life. Why shouldn't I be happy?"
"Because we are about to enter the police station."
"So?"
"So do you want to give the game away?"
"One last kiss, okay? Then I'll be good."
Blair snuggled up to Jim in the truck, who laughed and pulled him into his arms.
Surrendering, he captured Blair's mouth in a searing kiss that he hoped would satisfy him for the whole day.
He concentrated his will on that kiss.
So much so that he ignored all the rest that was going on in the garage.
Jim could feel Blair's arousal, as strong as his, as Blair climbed on top of him and ground their bodies together.
Neither was able to notice through the building orgasm and the resultant explosion, and the hurried clean-up, that someone was watching.
"Thank God you keep baby wipes in the truck, Jim."
Jim shrugged.
They made their way up to Major Crimes, carefully touching *just* enough to throw off all suspicion. They knew if they stopped totally, someone would notice.
It wasn't easy. They were at the stage in their relationship when the slightest touch would create instant readiness. Blair had taken to wearing his loosest pants and longest shirts. He'd have worn Jim's shirts, but that would have given the game away. Or so he said to Jim.
There were some comments around the station, but most of it centered around the fact that Blair had stopped hitting on anything in a skirt. Blair pled finals and dissertation and it *seemed* like they bought it.
The morning passed. It was too dreary out for most of Cascade's worst, so Jim and Blair caught up with paperwork. Even Simon seemed relaxed that morning.
"Jim, Blair...nothing's going on here. Why don't we go someplace decent for lunch before you take Sandburg out to the university?"
"Sounds good to me, Captain. You up for lunch, Chief?"
Blair looked up from the paper he'd been grading and put down his third coffee of the morning.
"Just let me stop off in the little observer's room, okay?"
"Don't take too long, Sandburg. I think Simon's hungry."
Blair grinned and disappeared down the hall.
"So, Wonderburger, Jim?"
"Actually, there's this veggie place that Blair likes that serves a decent garden burger."
"That boy is corrupting you, Ellison."
Jim grinned, remembering who came on to whom their first night.
"So, Simon, how about them Jaguars?"
"Yeah, how about them? When are they going to win a game? Those new guys..."
As they chatted, time passed. Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen...too long.
"Is he doing his hair in there?"
"I don't know, Simon." Jim closed his eyes and focused his hearing on the men's room. All he could hear was a low moan, faintly echoed by the tiles.
"Blair's hurt!" Damn! Why did he take his ears off him?
The two men, followed by half of Major Crimes, dashed down the hallway and burst into the bathroom.
Blair was nowhere to be seen, but there was blood on the floor. Jim motioned them all to silence. There was that moan again. It was clearly Blair in one of the stalls.
Jim knew that this stall had a broken latch. He opened the door to find Blair huddled on the floor next to the toilet. His nose was bleeding, and his face showed the beginnings of a nasty bruise.
His pants were down around his ankles and he was holding his knees with his hands, trying to preserve some sort of modesty at the onslaught of curious eyes.
He was shivering, and his eyes were wild under the bruises, while tears mixed with the blood on his face.
Jim knelt next to him and gathered him in his arms, mindless of any witnesses. His Blair had been hurt. That's all he cared about right then.
"It's all right, Blair. They're gone. I'm here." Blair sobbed into his shirt.
"Oh, God. I never saw them. Never saw them at all. I was just, you know...and then they were here."
"It's okay."
"They grabbed me. Pulled down my pants. Started hitting me. Called me a fag, a fairy...said if I stayed here, they'd get me again." He buried his face in Jim's shirt. "They saw us this morning, Jim. They said so."
"We'll find them, Blair. I promise you that. Let's get you cleaned up, okay?"
Blair nodded. Jim closed the bathroom stall and helped Blair to stand and cover himself. Then he led Blair out of the bathroom and into the unit.
"Take him into my office, Jim. He doesn't need to sit out there right now."
"Good idea." Jim felt like he was running a gauntlet. All the eyes were on him and his partner. He had no idea how he, or, more importantly, Blair, was going to face them all after this. Blair was the main thing now.
Simon handed Blair a wet handkerchief as Jim gently lowered his partner to a chair. Blair pressed the handkerchief to his still-bleeding nose. Jim stood behind him, with his hands on Blair's shoulders. Blair began to reach up a hand, but put it down again. Jim thought for less than a second and took it.
Simon looked at them, a pained expression on his face.
"Simon...about..."
"Stow it, Jim. You guys lost me a lot of money a few weeks ago, when you came in and so studiously acted normal."
"Captain, I don't...There was a pool?"
"Yes, there was a pool."
"When Blair and I would sleep together?" Jim fought to control his outrage.
Simon grinned for a moment, and then looked at Blair again. "No. That pool dried up a long time ago. The current bet was when you *had*. *My* money was on a year ago."
Jim had to laugh. They'd been so careful those past weeks, and for nothing.
"So this isn't a problem?"
"Look at your partner, Jim. It obviously *is* a problem. It's just not one in *this* unit. We've had time to get used to the idea."
"Simon...how long?" Blair's voice was hoarse.
"The rumors started as soon as you joined Jim at the hip, Blair. What took you guys so long? Don't answer that."
"So it probably wasn't anyone from Major Crimes. Blair would have recognized their voices, anyway."
"It had to be someone from the PD. Who else has access to the parking garage?" Blair sounded unhappy.
"What is this about a parking garage? Or do I want to know?"
Jim felt like blushing. How could they have been so *stupid*? "We...got a little carried away this morning. The place was empty. And dark."
"How can *anyone* sneak up on you, Jim? Couldn't you hear?...You were distracted."
Jim nodded. And now he *was* blushing.
"I don't want to know. Sandburg, do you remember anything about those guys?"
Blair brushed sweat-matted hair out of his face.
"They never let me see them. Even when they got my nose, they made sure I didn't see them. They used a nightstick. It...doesn't feel broken, so I guess they knew what they were doing. It can't be easy to hit a guy with a nightstick and not break his nose."
"Nightstick. Uniforms. Blair was beaten up by uniforms."
Jim could feel his blood begin to pump. He was going to go on a uniform hunt.
"Hold it right there, Ellison. Let's find the right uniforms, so I can personally boot them from this department." Simon smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "*Nobody* does that to one of my people."
"Simon? I'm one of your people?"
"Yeah. You have been for years. And, if you go out there, you'll find a group of guys who are ready to take on whoever got you."
"Oh, my God. There goes the second dissertation."
"Excuse me, Sandburg?"
"Captain, I screwed up the one on Jim when I fell in love with him. Now it looks like I've seriously gone native here, and that screws up the closed society...no it doesn't. I can make this work. I just need to talk to my advisors...Simon, can I use your phone?" Blair jumped out of the chair, wincing painfully as he ignored the blood and the bruises.
Jim looked at Simon and grinned.
"Isn't he cute like this, Simon?"
Simon glared. "Keep it on your own time."
Blair sat back down. "He's not in. I made an appointment."
He captured Jim's hand again.
"Is there anything else you can remember? So I have something to go on?"
"One guy had...a faint accent. I think. He could have been putting it on, but there was something in his vowels...Eastern, I think."
"Eastern is pretty big, Blair." Simon was growling.
"North. New York, I think."
"Okay. So we need to find at least one cop, possibly a uniform, who came from New York recently?"
"Not recently...it was not that strong. Maybe a year or so ago."
"Even better." Simon sighed.
"Okay. We'll consider this to be your official statement. Jim, take your partner and get him checked out."
"I want to be on this, Simon."
"You have to be kidding. Out!"
"But Capt..."
"Out...idiot thinks I'd let him...kill the suspect...want that for..." Jim could hear Simon's mumbles as they closed the door behind them.
They ran the gauntlet again. This time Jim noticed that everyone was looking at them with worry and anger, but there was no sign of disgust or prejudice.
Henri stopped them before they left. "We'll find those bastards, Blair. You know we will."
"Yeah."
"And then we'll throw you guys a bachelor party. 'Bout time you came clean."
Jim shook his head in amazement. "Can't keep one secret around here, can I?"
Henri grinned. "That's okay. Just get the kid to the hospital, and let us clear this mess up. There won't be anything left for IA to do."
"I'll hold you to that, H. And we will talk about that bachelor's party."
Jim shook Henri's hand. Blair looked thoughtful. Jim wondered why he was so quiet. He was probably hurting more than he let on.
Blair maintained his silence all the way to the hospital. He just kept holding Simon's handkerchief to his nose. The only noise he made was when the truck bounced - a soft moan.
Jim was worried. Usually when Blair hurt, he complained loudly. Either something else was wrong, or this was a level of pain beyond even when Quinn shot him, when he never shut up.
The world became surreal. The emergency department at Cascade General was surprisingly empty
When Jim mentioned this to the triage nurse, she shrugged. "Business can be slow noon on Wednesdays."
That didn't mean they didn't have to wait, of course. There were some cut fingers ahead of them. Jim fumed silently as Blair leaned on his arm and breathed shallowly.
"Blair...buddy? How bad is it?"
"It's not the nose, although right now it feels bigger than Little Stogie. It's...I didn't know those guys. I didn't recognize a voice or anything. They didn't know *me*. I never felt so alone."
Blair pulled away from Jim and buried his face in his hands. He was breathing heavily. Jim looked around at the nurses and the cut fingers and decided 'To hell with it', and gathered Blair in his arms.
He could feel the sweat soaking his shirt as Blair struggled with both his emotions and his breathing. He stroked the tangled, matted curls and murmured the things everyone says, even if they weren't true.
"It's all right, Chief. It will be okay. I'm here. I'll always be here. Always. I love you." At least *those* words were true.
Blair just clung tighter. He looked up at Jim. "Oh, God. You know I'm not like this, Jim. I just feel...who can I trust...I mean, besides you? And that's not me."
Jim didn't know what to say. He could lie his way through any undercover assignment, but talk about real things with most important person in his life? He might as well have never learned to talk at all.
So he just held Blair and said the only words he had. "I love you. I will always love you. No matter what else happens. I'm just sorry I didn't take care of you."
Blair pulled away again, and looked at him. His eyes were swollen and surrounded by bruises, all the beauty hidden by pain. "It's not your fault. Never think it's your fault. Maybe I should have watched my back better."
"No. You were in the station. Why the hell should you have worried about other cops? I should have been there, but it's not *your* fault. That belongs to the bastards who beat you up."
"I never should have told you that you were my blessed protector." Blair actually chuckled. He kissed Jim's hand.
One of the cut fingers glared at them, but the nurses were visibly melting at the sight.
"Face it, Chief. We made a big mistake this morning. What I don't understand is how the guys in the unit are reacting."
"You mean like I'm one of them?"
Jim smiled, and stroked Blair's hair. "No. Like they knew about us before we did. It just doesn't make sense."
"Jim...I have something to tell you..."
"Miss Sandburg? Miss Blair Sandburg?"
"That's *Mr.* Sandburg." Jim stood up, and tried to be at his most menacing.
"You're Mr. Sandburg?"
"Do I look like I was beaten up? This is my partner. *Mr.* Sandburg."
The nurse peered at Blair and brushed away the knotted curls. He nodded.
"He certainly is a mister. I'm sorry. We'll take care of you now." Blair nodded. Jim helped him to his feet. The nurse looked like he was about to tell Jim to stay where he was, but had thought better of it.
The nurse led them into the ER proper. Like the waiting room, it was quiet except for the various cut fingers. Why did people with such minor injuries get in ahead of his partner?
He gestured to a curtained off area and handed Blair a gown. Jim closed the curtains behind them and helped Blair to change. The hardest part was removing his shirts - the buttoned ones weren't bad, but the pullovers had to be carefully stretched over the hurt nose.
"Why do you wear most of your wardrobe every day, Chief?"
"It's a look. Besides, it means I'm always comfortable. Ow! Maybe it is broken after all. Oh, man. I can't believe they broke my nose!"
Jim quietly resolved to break *their* noses - as soon as he found out who they were. He catalogued all the bruises and contusions on his partner for future reference. Meanwhile, he tied the strings at the back of the hospital gown and helped Blair on to the table.
While they waited for the doctor, Jim folded Blair's clothing neatly, separating them by color and if they were clean, bloody or sweat-soaked.
Blair looked at him in loving disbelief. "Why are you doing that?"
"Gotta do something with my hands. I hate this waiting."
"Come here, then. I'm cold." He was shivering. The air in the ER was not chilly, but Jim reasoned that Blair was just not used to one layer. He put down the last shirt unfolded and wrapped his arms around him.
Blair's skin was clammy - colder than the air around them. Jim's medic training took over.
"You're in shock, buddy. This is not good. I don't know why I didn't see this earlier." He picked up a couple of shirts and draped them over Blair. "I'm going to get someone *now*, and at least find you a blanket."
He stormed out of the cubicle. There was no need to keep them waiting this long. Two of the nurses looked up when he approached the main desk.
"Can we help you, sir?"
"My partner is in shock. We've been waiting for over an hour all told and no one has thought to even take his temperature or blood pressure. What do we do we have to do to get treatment around here? Look, if there isn't a doctor in there in the five minutes, I will personally go into a cubicle and drag one out, even if he's in the middle of putting a damned band-aid!"
"Sir, we will take care of things as soon as possible."
Jim restrained himself from grabbing her scrub shirt and shouting in her face. "I told you, he's in shock. His skin is clammy and he's having chills. I was a medic in the army."
She closed her eyes as if looking for patience. "I'll be there right away, sir."
"If you don't..."Jim left it at that and made his way back to his partner.
Blair was still shivering, so he wrapped his arms around him.
Blair snuggled into Jim. "I missed you."
Jim kissed him on the forehead. "I'm not going anywhere, Sandburg."
"Love you, Jim."
Just at that moment, a young person in a white jacket came in.
"Ahem. I hate to interrupt, gentlemen, but I think Mr. Sandburg needs attention."
The person's face looked rather...pinched. Jim sighed and moved away.
"I'm Dr. Peters. I see you've been attacked." Peters turned a page on the clipboard he was carrying. "I also see that we don't have your blood pressure or temperature." He glared at them as if it were their responsibility. "Now, why don't we look at those injuries, hmmm?"
Jim stepped away from the table so that Peters would have room to work.
Peters fastidiously checked Blair over, poking at every bruise and examining his eyes and nose closely. Blair jumped at that last.
"I believe we should X-ray your nose, Mr. Sandburg. It might be broken."
"No, really?" Jim couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
"And *who* are you?"
"I'm his partner."
"Ah. Were you a witness to the altercation, perhaps?"
"No. If I was, there would be a lot more people here." Jim smiled at that pleasant thought.
"Well. Nurse, please take Mr. Sandburg's vitals and give him a heated blanket. I'll write an order for an X-ray, and perhaps an ENT consult. Good day, Mr..."
"Ellison."
"Mr. Ellison. Perhaps you'd prefer to wait outside?"
Jim shook his head. "I'm not leaving him alone any longer than I have to." *If I could, I'd never leave him alone again.*