Title: God, The Sentinel and His Guide
Author/pseudonym: Tinnean
Fandom: The Sentinel
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Petfly and Paramount own them.
I'm just borrowing, I promise! No
money changed hands; they sue and they'll get what
the littlest pig got!
Status: new/complete
Date: 9/00
Series/Sequel: no
Summary: Jim and Blair have an out of body
experience.
Warnings: m/m, AU, language. This is
*not* a death story, no matter how it
might seem.
Notes: This one's for Silk, who said,
"Why not?" and who let me share in her
out-take tapes. And for Gail who showed me you
*can* have fun with God
('scuse me while I duck).
God, The Sentinel and His Guide
If it had been any other day, the outcome might have been
different.
If Jim had stayed behind to clean up the bathroom after
Blair, if they hadn’t quarreled because Blair was out of clean clothes *again*
and had to wear one of Jim’s shirts, if they had finally realized they were in
love with each other and decided to spend the day in bed, exploring that love.
Any one of a dozen things could have delayed them and
altered the course of events.
But none of them did. They left apartment 307 at the same
time, together, but unfortunately, late.
Jim’s baby blue pick-up, a replacement for the sky-blue
pick-up that had been demolished in a run in with some drug dealers, was parked
across from 852 Prospect. When he had gotten home the night before, all the
really good parking spots had been taken, so he had no choice but to leave it
across the street, down the block from the bus stop.
He was about to look both ways before crossing, when Blair
made a remark that almost caused him to fall on his face. His momentum kept him
going forward and he stepped off into the street, the shorter man following,
looking up into frosty blue eyes that had suddenly turned hot.
Neither of them saw the bus careening around the corner,
desperate to maintain its speed over double nickels. There were screams. There
were shouts. There were warning cries. There was no screech of desperately
applied brakes.
Jim grabbed Blair to toss him out of the way.
Blair grabbed Jim, meaning to push him to the curb.
Their actions counteracted each other.
There was a sickening thud.
For a moment the pain was so bad Blair didn’t think he
could survive it. And then it was gone and he felt as if he was floating. He saw
the bright light and wafted towards it gently. But then the closer he got to it,
the greater his speed became.
With a wrenching pop, he emerged on the other side.
Aghast, he stared down at himself, expecting to see blood
and guts. That had been quite a hit he took, he remembered that much!
Umm, why was he wearing in a white dress? No, wait a
minute, not a dress. A robe!
Something brushed against his cheek, and he ran his hand
through his hair in irritation, meaning to thrust it back behind his ear. Only
to discover his hair was still neatly tied back; it wasn’t his hair that was
tickling his jaw.
He gave a sharp tug, and yiped in pain. In his hand was a
long, white feather.
“You really shouldn’t play with your feathers,
Chief.”
“Jim?” Blair was overjoyed. He threw himself into the
older man’s arms, hugging him fiercely. “Man, I am just *so* glad to see
you, big guy!”
He hadn’t minded dying. Well, okay, yeah, he really hated
it like hell. But he figured that if Jim survived, his sacrifice was worth
while.
And now here the Sentinel was, right beside him!
Then he thought about it. “Oh shit, man, you’re dead
too! Ah *fuck*! I am so *fucking* sorry, Jim. I was sure I could save you!”
Jim tenderly stroked Blair’s hair away from his eyes,
those blue eyes that he more and more wanted to lose himself in. “I was trying
to save *you*, Chief. Guess it didn’t work out for either of us!”
“Well, I’ll tell you the truth, Jim: There’s no one
else I’d rather spend eternity with than you!”
“Really?” Jim’s voice rose an octave in surprise.
“You like me that much?”
“Hell, Jim, I ...” Blair felt the color rise in his
cheeks and gave a snort of laughter. “Yeah, I like you that much. What do you
say we find out where we’re supposed to bunk and then grab a bite to eat?”
“Sounds good to me, Chief!”
****
“Ah-hem.”
No response.
“Excuse me, Lord?”
“What is it, Ezekiel?” The Lord God snapped. He was
rather cross today. Too many petitions were coming across His desk from Hell,
claiming there had to be some mistake. As if He ever made an error.
Well, all right, there *was* that one time, way back when
He was first starting out, but hey, He had corrected it right away, hadn’t He?
His eyes tracked the lush female figure that was sauntering
across the quadrangle outside His office window.
He *sure* had!
“Ah, I hate to bring this to Your attention, especially
when I know You’re so busy, what with all the God-things You have to do...”
“You’re wasting My time, Ezekiel! Spit it out, man!”
“Well, Sir,” the prophet shuffled from one foot to the
other, “it seems we have a situation here.”
“Where, here?” The Lord God had gotten distracted by a
memo and lost track of the conversation. Lucifer was demanding *what*???
“Here, here, Sir. In Heaven.”
That got the Lord’s attention with a vengeance. “What
in the nine hells of Nergal are you talking about, prophet?”
Ezekiel looked uncomfortable. It always disturbed him when
the Bossman swore. He should be above that, shouldn’t He?
God looked upwards for guidance, then realized He had only
Himself to depend upon. He grumbled a mild swear word under His breath and
glared at Ezekiel. “Tell Me what the problem is!”
“Well, Sir we got two new arrivals this afternoon, and
they just won’t behave with the proper decorum!”
God knew the prophet’s idea of decorum, and felt sorry
for the new comers. He sighed. “What are
they doing?”
“It’s orientation, Sir. Because of conflicting
religions they’re scheduled for different indoctrination, but the younger one
insists on remaining in close proximity with his companion.”
“So? What’s wrong with that?”
“Um, well, his idea of close is, like, mumblemuttergrouse.”
“Say that again, please,” the Lord barked shortly. The
incompetents He was expected to put up with these days!
The uncomfortable prophet spit out the words as fast as he
could. “Hiscockinhisass!”
“Oh, tell Me I did not hear what I think I heard!” God
was *not* pleased.
Ezekiel sighed. “His cock in his ass, Sir. The smaller
one suddenly leaped on the larger man and the next thing we knew...” He held
out his hands to show he was denying all responsibility for the way this had turned out.
“So, what you are trying to tell me is that Blair Jacob
Sandburg has taken James Joseph Ellison.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“For better or worse?”
“It would appear that way, Lord.”
“And you want Me to deal with this matter?”
“Exactly, Sir!” The prophet gave a sigh of relief. *He*
wasn’t the one getting the big
bucks. Let his Superior handle this one!
“Hmmm.” The Lord God appeared to be deep in thought. He
snapped His fingers and a pair of files materialized before Him. He waved a hand
toward His prophet, signaling his dismissal. “Oh, and send them to Me.”
“Yes, Sir! Right away, Sir! As you say, Sir!”
His Son, Mary and Joseph! but God hated toadies!
****
Blair and Jim stood before The Supreme Being, so awash in
their newfound love that they hadn’t the sense to realize they might be in it
up to their wing tips.
God was pleased to see that while the younger of the two
was draped possessively over his companion, he had discretely tucked away his
raging hard-on and was no longer buried in his lover’s snug channel.
“We seem to have a problem, gentlemen.”
“We do, Sir?” Jim was lost in the scent of his
guide’s constant arousal. “Not from where I’m standing!”
“Ahem!”
“Oh. Sorry, Sir! You were saying?”
God was depressed. He hated when He had to make judgment
calls like this. “I’m saying the two of you will have to be separated.”
Two sets of horrified eyes were riveted on Him. “God, no!
Anything but that!”
“I’m sorry, those are the rules!”
“Well Your rules fucking suck!” Blair spat. He was too
much his mother’s child to have respect for anyone in a position of authority.
He *might* make an exception for Lord, but He wouldn’t want to push it.
“There has to be a way around that!” Jim pleaded,
holding tightly to his shorter partner. “If *You* can’t bend the rules, then
who can?”
“Well,” there was a glint in God’s eyes that boded no
good for someone. “I can see to it that you spend eternity together. But for
that, one of you must go to Hell and complete what would have been his three
score years and ten there!”
The two newest angels both turned pale. “So You’re
saying that if one of us is willing to go to Hell, at the end of that time,
we’ll be together, forever?”
God nodded, satisfied that He had gotten His point across.
Spending any time in Hell was the very devil, and no one who had been in Heaven
had ever been willing to visit the nether regions.
He was always tickled when things worked out the way they
were supposed to. This pair would be separated and matters would proceed
smoothly.
Sandburg and Ellison exchanged horrified glances.
Then Sandburg stepped forward. “I’ll go,” he said.
“What?” God sputtered.
“You can send me down there!”
“NO!” Jim roared. He cast an apologetic glance at the
Lord. “Sorry, Sir. But I’m older than Sandburg. I’ll have less time to
spend in Hell. And I’m tougher than he is!”
“Are you saying I’m a wimp? That I can’t hack it?”
Blair snarled. “I’m just as tough as you are! Aren’t I your guide?”
“And I’m your Blessed Protector! *I* will be the one to
go!”
The lovers squared off, and the Lord God’s shoulders
slumped. It hadn’t worked. He had been so sure that neither one would be
willing to sacrifice the glory of Heaven for the wretchedness of Hell.
He recalled that they had died, each trying to save the
other, and realized that this was one time when He would not bend the rules, but
fracture them into tiny little pieces.
“Gentlemen?”
They paused in the midst of their bickering. “Yes,
Lord?”
God smiled and waved His hand. The two were gone, and He
sighed in relief, pleased that just when He thought humans could get no more
selfish, something would happen to prove Him wrong. Unlike His adversary, He
didn’t mind at all when His creations rose above their baser selves.
He returned to His seat and began studying that memo from
Lucifer. His demands were becoming more and more outrageous. Now he wanted
*arbitration*? He shook His head and began drafting a response.
****
For a moment, the Sentinel and his Guide felt disoriented.
Then the sensation dissipated and
they dismissed it as just one of those things.
Jim’s baby blue pick-up, a replacement for the sky-blue
pick-up that had been demolished in a run in with some drug dealers, was parked
across from 852 Prospect. When he had gotten home the night before, all the
really good parking spots had been taken, so he had no choice but to leave it
across the street, down the block from the bus stop.
He was about to look both ways before crossing, when Blair
made a remark that almost caused him to fall on his face. He drew them both back
onto the sidewalk. “You *what*?”
“I said I love you, man. I don’t know why it took me so
long to realize it, but you mean more to me than anything else in Heaven or
Hell!”
“You mean it, Chief?”
“Yeah, I do. I...I just had to tell you. If you don’t
feel the same way, hey, I’ll deal with it.”
“Are you telling me you’ll get over me?”
“No. I’ll never get over you. But I want you in my
life, and if I can’t have you as my lover, then I’ll have you as my friend.
If you still want to be my friend.”
At that moment a bus came careening around the corner,
desperate to maintain its speed of over fifty-five miles an hour. Blair and Jim
watched in amazement as it took the turn on two wheels, nearly tipping over, and
then righted itself with a bounce.
It disappeared down the block, and the Sentinel and his
Guide watched in mute shock. Blair started across the street to get to Jim’s
pick-up. A long arm grabbed him around the waist and hauled him back into an
encompassing embrace.
Warm lips found and caressed his own. “Let it go, Chief.
That’s a whole ‘nother picture show!”
He dragged Blair back into their building and nuzzled his
ear as they waited for the elevator. “But what about work, Jim?”
His Sentinel looked down at him with eyes that burned with
a blue fire. “I want you now Chief, and I’ve got plenty of personal time.
Fuck work!”
“Oh no, big guy, I’d much rather you fuck me!”
~End~