"Oh, God. Not again."
Blair shivered as he climbed the stairs to the loft, hearing Jim's screams all the way up. Jim was on his bed, huddled in the corner, shaking and screaming as he had every night these past few days. All Blair could do was watch and wish that he could hold his partner without setting off more terrors.
It had all started when they began this new case.
******
"Ellison, Sandburg, in my office NOW!" Blair and Jim looked at each other. They hadn't done anything that would get them in trouble, at least not yet.
Simon was waiting for them with someone else, a tall man in a suit.
"This is School Commissioner Minton. Commissioner, this is Detective Ellison and his partner, Blair Sandburg."
"What's going on, Captain?"
"There have been several incidents at one of the local high schools that I want you and Sandburg to look into."
Blair looked interested. "Incidents? What sort of incidents?"
Minton took off his glasses for a moment. "Several of the young men in the high school have been beaten up very severely by what we assume are their peers."
"Surely that's not a matter for Major Crimes, sir? Fights are a fact of life for high school boys."
"Ellison, just listen for a change."
"Thank you, Captain. Some of those boys were injured severely. One is in a coma. That takes it out of normal range."
To Blair's surprise, Jim still looked stubborn. "I can understand that - you probably have a number of irate parents. Even so, why involve Major Crimes?"
Blair placed a quelling hand on Jim's arm. "Sir...why are those boys being beaten up? You haven't said."
"It's not easy. I pride myself that we in Cascade are among the leaders in educating for tolerance. We have had no racial incidents at all in recent years, for example." He took a deep breath. "We believe it was gay bashing."
Blair could feel Jim stiffen and then pull his arm away.
"Do you have any evidence of that?" Even Jim's voice was stiff.
"Nothing direct, Detective. Only rumors. And parents who won't let us look any closer."
Blair wasn't surprised at that. Even his own mother...
Simon spoke up. "The commissioner want us to look into this as quietly as possible. The attacks are escalating. The last boy is in a coma. The next boy may be killed. We need to find out who's doing this and stop them."
"So, Simon, what do you want Sandburg and me to do?"
"I'll let you two figure it out. Find some way to get into the school and get the ears of the kids."
Blair sat for a moment. "Substitute teachers make sense."
"Are either of you qualified?"
"Yes, sir. I'm a teaching fellow at Rainier. Anthropology."
"I thought you were a police officer?"
"He's a consultant to the department, and the best person for the job."
The commissioner looked dubious but nodded. "What about Detective Ellison?"
"Where Blair goes, I go."
"I suppose you could coach basketball or something."
"I could also teach a class or two. I did go to college."
The commissioner blinked. "Er...yes. I'll see what I can do. I assume you want to teach in your specialty, Mr. Sandburg?"
"I can teach anything, sir."
The commissioner nodded. "I'll get something set up for tomorrow at Cascade South High School. That's where the last two bashings occurred."
The commissioner was as good as his word. The next morning, Cascade South High School had a new history teacher/assistant basketball coach and a new general substitute, presently sitting in for Mrs. Smith, the freshman English teacher.
Blair noticed the looks as he walked into his first class, tossed his hair back and wrote "Mr. Sandburg" on the board.
He didn't need to be Jim to hear the whispers.
"Oh, he's so *cuute*!"
"Dude, look at that hair!"
"He can't be old enough to teach!"
He could ignore those. He'd heard them at the beginning of every semester since he'd gotten his BA.
There were others he couldn't ignore.
"Hey, Billy, you think he's a fag?"
"Yeah, Billy? You want him?"
"C'mon, all the other girrrls do."
Billy was a tall, skinny, fair skinned boy who looked at his interrogators with panic.
'It can't be this easy.' The interrogators were what he thought of as "football" types - pretty much what he thought Jim must have looked like at that age. The type of guys who'd made his own life miserable in the various secondary schools he'd attended. But they'd only used words, not actions. It was the quiet ones who'd caught him after school.
"Hi. I'm Blair Sandburg, and I'll be taking over for Mrs. Smith. I know you guys are doing _Flowers for Algernon_ right now. This is cool because it's one of my favorite books. If someone would pass out an attendance and the rest of you take out your books, we'll begin. And, yes, this is going to count."
He ignored the groans, but found himself wishing for his university freshmen again. At least they *wanted* to be in his classes.
By the time his (well, Mrs. Smith's) free period rolled around, he'd gotten into the very different rhythms of her classes. He found himself enjoying the kids, despite the loving stares all the girls were giving him.
As he sat down with a cup of coffee and nodded to the other teachers in the break room, Jim came staggering in.
He grabbed a cup for himself and dumped his load of books on the table.
"I hated high school the first time around, and I'm no happier with it now."
"They're only kids, Jim. Walking hormone factories. You have to adjust for that."
"They are not kids. They're monsters. The girls are always *looking* at me and the boys are all acting like I'm invading their territory. And not one of them believes that Gerald Ford was ever president or that we ever put a man on the moon."
"It's way before their time, Jim. Ancient history. Go with it."
"How the hell am I going to get the kids to say anything to me when they don't bother listening? I'm supposed to be a permanent teacher here, not a sub."
"Look, I'll help you with lesson plans tonight, after we finish our coaching. That's when we'll learn something."
Jim shook his head. "Homework. I'm too old for homework."
"So, you two know each other?"
She was tall and blonde and seemed curious about the two new men in the school. Not too long ago, Blair would have tried to date her.
Jim shook his head. "We met this morning when we signed in. I'm Jim Ellison. I teach history." He gave her that devastating smile.
"I'm Andrea Nox. Math."
She smiled warmly at Jim and wedged herself between him and Blair.
"Hi." Blair felt he should make his presence known.
"Oh, hi. And you are?"
"Blair Sandburg. I'm subbing for Mrs. Smith."
"That's nice. So, Jim, are you here permanently?"
"I hope so. Especially with colleagues like you."
And there was that smile again. Why does he waste it? 'Jim, look at me for a change.'
What was the point? Jim would not notice him with blondie in the room. Blair was trying to keep the jealousy at bay when someone from across the room called "Andrea!"
She looked away from Jim's shoulders and waved at the other teacher.
"I have to go, Jim. Will you miss me?"
"Of course." Jim's eyes followed her across the room.
"What was that about, Jim?"
Jim shrugged. "Just a little bit of fun. She's not my type." Blair rolled his eyes, missing the look Jim gave him completely.
The warning bell rang. "Back to the little monsters."
Jim sounded grumpy and not a little intimidated. He gathered his books and followed Blair out of the room. As they walked through the hallways, various teenage girls approached them.
"Hi, Mr. Sandburg."
"I'm in your next class, Mr. Sandburg."
"Flowers for Algeron is my favorite book, Mr. Sandburg."
"Better keep away from the jailbait, Chief."
Blair just smiled.
Things were better for him in the afternoon. Jim had a knack for coaching sports, and he was in his element for basketball. Blair hung out in the gym to watch. He was impressed.
Jim carefully guided one boy to a better form by the free throw line, first by example and then by positioning. When the boy made the point, he gave him a thumbs up. Blair was reminded of all the times Jim helped him learn a cop's job. There was Jim's endless patience and gentleness.
"Mr. Sandburg?"
It was Billy from his first period class. He looked confused and scared.
"How can I help you, Billy?"
"You remembered my name?...Can I talk to you?"
Blair smiled. "Sure, but wouldn't you rather talk to someone besides a first day sub?"
"N..n..no...Something you said in class..."
"In class?"
"About how Charlie is punished for being different..."
"Yes?"
"Mr. Sandburg, it's not just in books."
"No. It's hard to be different."
"*You're* different."
"Lots of guys have long hair and earrings, Billy."
"Yeah, but you also *like* books."
"It's that what the problem is?"
"Yeah. The other guys...they think I'm some sort of fag 'cause I don't like sports but I like to read."
"They *think* you're gay? Are you?"
"What! Mr. Sandburg! Just 'cause I..."
"Slow down, Billy. I'm just asking."
"Oh. I don't think I am. I mean, like, I like girls. And, I've thought about guys and it's, like, nothing."
"Okay. You're not gay, then. You're a straight guy who likes books."
"Yeah."
"Is that a problem?"
"A couple of guys were beaten up. One's hurt real bad. And everyone thinks it's because he's gay, except he's not."
"How do you know?"
"He's like a friend of mine." Blair's ears picked up.
"You can't tell by looking, you know. Look at Mr. Ellison there."
"*He's* not gay."
'No, he isn't. Too bad for me.' Blair shrugged. "So far as we know."
"People are saying you are."
Blair shrugged. "It's not important."
Billy sat back in shock. "It's *not*?"
"The only thing that matters is if I'm a good teacher or not. Do you think it would make a difference to, say, Mr. Ellison's coaching abilities?"
"Mr. Sandburg, are you saying that Mr. Ellison is..."
"Mr. Ellison and I never taught in the same school before. There's no way I could learn his orientation one way or the other today."
"Oh." Billy took a long look at Jim, whose t-shirt was drenched in sweat, as he towered over the freshman boys.
Blair tried not to notice how it defined Jim's muscles.
"Billy, do you have any idea who beat your friend up?"
'Great going, Sandburg. Just blurt out everything!'
"N..no. Kev wouldn't say."
Jim blew his whistle. "Okay, guys. Practice is over. You, on the bleachers - next time, play or don't show up! I want to see all you guys here on time tomorrow, or the whole team runs laps."
"The whole team, Coach?"
"Yes. That's what a team is for. And do your history homework!"
The boys filed into the locker room, Billy following slowly behind.
When the last boy left the gymnasium, Jim climbed the bleachers to sit next to Blair.
"What was that about, Chief?"
"Billy is getting the 'fag' treatment." Blair shook his head. "Damn, that brings back memories."
Jim looked at him. "Memories? Someone you knew was..."
"Me, Jim. Look, I'm long over it, but I was little and younger than everyone else and my mom was strange and I read. It happens. Billy isn't gay, and knows it, but that doesn't stop anything."
"What about you, Chief?"
"Bullies like that don't care if you are or you aren't, so long as they think you are. The boy in the hospital was a friend of Billy's, and Billy says he's not gay, either."
"Yeah. I figured that out. He wouldn't tell you who did it?"
"Of course not. Jim, I'll meet you back at the loft. You need to clean up and we can't leave together."
---------------------------
"Where can he be? It doesn't take that long to shower and push a bunch of boys into a school bus."
Blair stirred the soup simmering on the stove and looked at the clock again. It had been over an hour. He added yet another cup of water just to keep it liquid. Finally, the door opened. Jim's tie was askew and he looked ready to bite someone.