Author: Jvantheterrible

Date: May 20^th, 2001

Rating: R (no sex this time…SenToo, during the fountain thing)

Pairing: J/B, Jim's POV this time

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Petfly, Bilson/DeMeo, and Paramount. No monies being made from the posting of this story.

No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Notes: I'll just have to run this storyline into the ground until I'm tired of it. Hopefully, you WON'T get tired of it. If you ARE tired of it, don't read this! This is how I wished the fountain scene had played out.

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I raced as quickly as I could to Rainier - flashing lights and all. My Primal Imperative was being seriously fucked with, and for all the dreams I'd been having lately about Sandburg, I KNEW that something horrible was going down. I had to dial down everything else that was going on…Megan was riding with me, and if she did say anything, I didn't hear a word of it. The only thing I could think was, 'Jesus, Chief, pleasebethere, pleasebetherepleasebethere,', and that's all that I heard the entire fifteen-minute drive to the campus - mixed in, of course, with my own racing thoughts and worst nightmares.

Alex Barnes had exploded into MY territory. She came in with a growl, and apparently was going to go out with nothing less than a roar. I knew that Sandburg had a tendency to get a little carried away with this Sentinel stuff sometimes, but this had gone way above and beyond his frame of knowledge. It didn't help matters any that I had completely freaked out on the kid, kicking him out of the loft in a fit of rage over the introduction to his diss - when he'd politely asked me about fifty times NOT to read it in the first place.

It's not like it wasn't bad enough that I breached HIS trust like that, sneaking into his desk and taking it…but then what did I do? I turned right around and accused him of the same damn thing. I used my size, my words, and my stubbornness to extricate him from my life and OUR home. If I'd been honest with myself from the get-go, it was the dreams that scared the fuck out of me the most. I couldn't get over the idea that I'd hurt him, that he was lying there dying in front of me and there was nothing I could do…but they were just dreams, right?

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The truck tires squealed as I pulled to a sudden halt in front of the Anthropology Department at Rainier, nearly giving both Connor and myself whiplash. I was out of the truck and sprinting up the stairs towards the building, the whole rest of the cavalry behind me, when I suddenly stopped. Something wasn't right. It seemed like it happened in slow motion; me turning around and something catching my line of vision…something out of place…something in the fountain. Not something. SomeONE.

"Oh my God," I gasped, Connor running square into my back, she was following me so closely. "CHIEF," I screamed, and all the rest of the guys stopped dead in their tracks to see what I was looking at. "Sandburg…FUCK," I yelled aloud as I rerouted my energy across the grassy knoll and hopped into the water, grabbing my Guide and pulling him out with H's help. Everyone actually had a hand on him, trying to get him flat on the ground so we could start CPR.

I knew it was bad already, because I could track the kid's heartbeat across the fucking city if I wanted to. There was nothing there, and I panicked. If it hadn't been for the entire Major Crimes Department backing me up, I would've lost it right then and there. Simon was yelling at me, and I was so close to Zoning as I searched for a pulse that it took him five times of screaming my name before I shook it off and whispered, "No, no heartbeat," to my Captain.

Simon started chest compressions once we got Blair's head tilted back…goddammit, he was so fucking pale…lifeless. "Come on, Chief, BREATHE," I said loudly, placing my mouth over his and breathing as much air as I could into his water-laden lungs. We kept it up for what seemed like forever, but had only been five minutes until the paramedics arrived.

Once the EMT's took over, I couldn't do anything but stand there with my hands on my face, practically yelling, "This can't be happening, this can't be happening, this can't be happening," my voice finally leaving me. Simon had a hand on my back trying to steady me, and for many long minutes I just stood there and yelled at Blair, using all of my nicknames for him, trying to scream him back to me. "Come on, Darwin, come back to me." Nothing.

"Come on, Chief, BREATHE Blair…oh my god, FUCK,"I screamed, and Megan and Simon both had a hand on me now, trying to comfort me. Still nothing. Quieted down now, I continued my mantra in my mind, 'thiscan'tbehappeningthiscan'tbehappeningthiscan'tbe…'

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I stood there like a fucking idiot while they worked on my Guide. My best friend. My roommate. My partner. My confidante. My EVERYTHING. I focused in on him, and just waited for him to come back. Blair always came back to me. It was just what he DID. He was like a bad penny; he always turned up. It…this…us…WE could not possibly end this way. I'm sure he had a million more tests that he wanted to run on me. I still had to apologize to him for being such a dick, and help him move his things back in to the loft. He couldn't go without knowing how I really felt about him…I wouldn't LET him go. Not without me - no way in Hell.

Rafe and H and Megan and Simon all stood near me, all of us surrounding Sandburg's lifeless body as it lay on the grass, unmoving, unhearing, un-everything as the EMT's continued to try and revive him. I cursed, I bent down and yelled at him; it was all I could do to not grab the kid by the shoulders and shake him for all I was worth, imploring him to wake up so I could just see those gorgeous baby-blues one…more…time. Still nothing.

"Sorry, guys," the paramedics said finally, looking up at us, "He's gone," they said as they packed up their equipment and radioed for the Coroner. What did they just say? What the FUCK did they just say?

"NO," I bellowed, making everyone jump a little where they stood, flinging myself bodily over Sandburg and pounding on his chest as hard as I could, "THIS ISN'T OVER," I screamed, panic finally setting in. I had never figured that they'd give up. I just knew he would wake up; there was no way it could turn out any other way. Simon and Rafe tried to pull me off of him, and I shoved them away as hard as I could, nearly knocking the Captain down, "SANDBURG, WAKE UP, FOR FUCK'S SAKE, CHIEF," I cried, not even noticing the tears that had started to roll down my face.

"BLAIR…DARWIN…DON'T DO THIS TO ME," I cried, frustrated beyond belief when the guys once again pulled me back, this time succeeding in pulling me off of my Guide's body, "He's not dead! He's still alive, he'snotdeadhe'snotdead…NOOOOOO," I sobbed.

"Let him go, Jim, please…he's gone," Simon said, his own tears falling unchecked. H stood and shook his head, and Megan was crying on Rafe's shoulder, "Oh Sandy," she murmured against Rafe's coat. It was all background noise to me; I couldn't focus on anything other than Blair lying on the ground in front of me. There was nothing else in my world, and I had to bring him back. Letting him go was not an option.

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I pulled myself away from Simon and H's grasp once more, flinging myself bodily on top of Sandburg's lifeless form. He smelled like chlorine, and his curls framed his face in tiny ringlets that also flowed out around the grass surrounding his head. I noticed all of these minute details as I once again started blowing my life's breath into his mouth. I could vaguely hear everyone behind me crying and begging me to get up. They had stopped trying to pull me away from Blair - they didn't all know that I was a Sentinel, but they all DID know how much I loved the kid, and there was no way I was going to let him go. He'd have to take me with him if he was going anywhere.

"Goddamn you Sandburg," I snarled into his ear, straddling his body with my own and not giving a shit what anyone thought of the sight, "Breathe for me, Blair, just one breath, please," I begged him. My tears splashed down onto his pasty cheeks, "Open your eyes, Chief, come on, I KNOW YOU'RE STILL HERE," I shouted at him, once again placing my mouth over his. This time, though, I did something a little different - I slid my tongue into his mouth.

I knew that the rest of the guys just thought I was doing CPR in vain, but I kissed Blair Sandburg with everything in my heart and soul. I gave him more than my breath; I spewed part of my very being into him at that moment, and when I pulled away to start pounding on his chest just one more time, there was a sound from beneath me. I would have missed it completely if I hadn't had my hearing dialed all the way up, but it was there, and I roared his name aloud once more so that he could hear me and follow it home; hell, the whole city probably heard me, and I didn't care. If that was what it took to bring Sandburg back, then so be it.

There was a slight sputter, then a weak cough - and the tiniest bit of water escaped from between his lips. It wasn't enough to clear his lungs, but by GOD it was enough to allow just that much air in, and that's all he needed, all I needed.

I quickly crawled off of him and pulled him into my arms, turning him onto his side so he could spit out more water; Christ, the kid must've drunk half of the fountain for the fucking liquid that was coming out. I spooned around him, his back to my chest, doing everything I could to help him cough it up, trying to warm up his freezing body at the same time.

"Yeah, that's right Chief, come on, come back to me," I whispered in his ear as he puked in my arms, gasping for the oxygen that he'd been denied for God only knew how long. "I love you, Sandburg," I whispered in his ear, sure that no one else could hear - not sure if Blair heard me, but I'd tell him over and over again once he was truly on the mend. "Never let you go, Chief, not EVER again, love you," I murmured into his sopping wet hair, his body warming in my arms as I spoke.

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The paramedics had been awaiting the arrival of the Coroner, and to their shock, they found themselves loading a semi-conscious Blair Sandburg onto a gurney and into the ambulance, scratching their heads as much as everyone else at the scene was. Except for Simon Banks, I noted as I stood up and headed for the emergency vehicle, assured that I would be allowed to ride to Cascade General with my partner.

Placing an arm around my shoulders as he accompanied me to the ambulance, Simon Banks lowered his normally loud and gruff voice to a Sentinel-soft level and said, "Good work, Sentinel of the Great City. Take care of the kid." I looked at my Captain before I climbed in next to my Guide, where I would hold his hand all the way to the hospital and not let go until he could come home with me. "Yes sir," I told him, giving him a small smile before I climbed the steps and sat down next to my Guide. My best friend. My partner. My confidante. Soon to be my lover, if I had anything to say about it.

He looked up at me, opening his eyes for the first time since I'd brought him back, his gaze unfaltering as he whispered, "Love you too, Jim." His eyes closed once more, but I knew that he would be alright. We both would. We wouldn't have it any other way. Not now, and not EVER.

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<DEEP SIGH> The end. Thanks for reading.