Raindrops 
[A 'Sentinel' Story] 

{by: Holly Lyn}


"Sandburg, you here?" Detective James Ellison called out as he hung his jacket 
on the rack in the kitchen. He frowned when there was no answer from inside the 
loft. Blair's jacket was hanging next to his and the Corvair was parked in its 
usual spot. It was also pouring down rain outside; no weather for anyone to be 
out in. But his keys were missing from their usual spot in the basket by the 
door. Maybe he just stepped out to visit with one of their neighbors. He'd been 
a little down in the dumps earlier in the day after finding out that one of his 
brightest students was having to drop out of school when she couldn't afford the 
University's tuition fees any more. Jim had sent him home early from the 
precinct at Simon's request.

The sound of footsteps squelching down the hallway had Jim turning to face the 
door as Blair flung it open and bopped inside. He was soaking wet and had a huge 
smile on his face. "Hey, Jim! I didn't expect you home so early."

Ellison could only gape at the change in his roommate and the puddle he was 
leaving just inside the front door. "What the hell has gotten into you, 
Sandburg? Didn't your mother ever tell you to put a coat on when you go out in 
weather like this?"

"There is nothing wrong with this weather, man! It's glorious! I love walking in 
the rain!" Stepping over to the sink, Blair caught his hair up in a pony tail 
and squeezed the excess water down the drain, letting his damp curls hair settle 
on his shoulders and fall down his back. "Want some coffee?" he asked and fired 
the pot up.

"I don't understand what's going on here, Chief," Jim shook his head. "When you 
left the station, I was certain I'd come home to find you moping around trying 
to find a way to help out, what's her name... The girl from the University."

Blair sighed. "Yeah, well. I don't know what I can do for her. Sometimes it's 
just not meant to be. But for Helen it's such a shame. She had a real passion 
for the field."

"Isn't there some way she can get help from the school?" Happy that Blair was 
able to talk about his problem without letting it bring him back down, Jim was 
willing to toss around ideas that might possibly help the anthropologist and his 
student.

"It's not just the finances, Jim. I called one of the administrators after I got 
home this afternoon. Helen's father is in the hospital and her mother is with 
him full-time learning how to take care of him for when he's released. The only 
money that's coming into the family right now is what Helen makes at her job. 
The doctors can't guarantee that Mr. Anderson will ever be able to go back to 
work again but until his disability payments kick in Helen is the sole support 
for the three of them. Even the money from the state won't be much help when it 
comes to paying off his medical bills."

"That's too bad," Jim acknowledged.

"Yeah. But if she can manage to get her act back together, I can put in a good 
word with the Board and she shouldn't lose any of the credit for the work she's 
already done." The coffee was ready and Blair poured out generous mugs full and 
handed one to his partner.

"Trying to be a knight in shining armor, Chief?" Ellison's tone was teasing as 
he took his first sip of the warming beverage.

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black, tough guy?" Blair wrapped his 
hands around his own coffee cup and let the steam caress his face as he leaned 
against the counter. "So how about you explain how you went from concerned, 
depressed teacher to drowned rat, happy roommate in one easy step?"

Blair grinned. "I told you. It's the rain, man."

"Uh huh."

"You know Naomi and I moved around a lot when I was a kid. Whenever she would 
hook up with the new man in her life we'd follow him where ever he needed to be 
until they went their separate ways and she hooked up with the next 'Mr. Right'. 
Or the next 'Mr. Right Now'."

"That's pretty cynical of you, Chief," Ellison frowned.

Blair shrugged, his expression solemn. "Cynical or not, it's the truth. There 
was this one guy, I called him Uncle Mike. I was sure he was the one who was 
going to make us a real family. He and Naomi actually made plans to settle down 
together but he got killed in an accident on the construction site he was 
working on. After that, Naomi had us packed and moving again within a week. All 
the guys who came after Mike were a poor substitute but at least they loved 
Naomi. *Everyone* loved Naomi they just didn't want the extra baggage of a snot-
nosed ten year old with an over active imagination."

"Wasn't that kind of rough on you?" Jim was fascinated by the story his friend 
was telling him.

"I guess I was used to it. I never had any real friends because we moved around 
so much. I just invented adventures and companions to keep myself occupied and 
out of the way of the grown- ups."

"And this has what exactly to do with the way you feel about rain storms?" Jim 
finished his coffee and set the cup in the sink.

Blair chuckled. "I was a big movie buff even back then. What better way to get 
rid of me then give me some money and send me to the local movie theater, huh? I 
saw everything from the newest releases to the old classics depending on what 
theater they dropped me off at and my favorite movie was - and still is - 
'Singing In The Rain'. I just love the scene where Gene Kelly is dancing around 
the street in that down pour. Everyone is looking at him funny as he splashes in 
the puddles and stuff but he doesn't care because he's happy and singing and 
dancing in the rain. I've seen that flick over a hundred times, man!"

Jim smiled. "I never would have guessed."

"You gotta try it some time, Jim," Blair's eyes were sparkling. "Everything is 
so fresh and clean and if you're really lucky you get to see the most amazing 
rainbows when the storm eases up!"

"Sometimes I don't know about you, Chief," Jim shook his head and ruffled his 
loftmate's drying locks.

"Your loss, man," Blair muttered and went in search of a towel to dry himself 
and the puddles he'd left on the floor.

% % % % % % % % % % 

"Thanks for letting me know, Helen. And if you need any help, please call me, 
okay? ... Bye bye."

Jim heard Blair hang up the phone and schooled his face into an interested mask 
before his friend came out of his room. From Blair's end of the conversation he 
knew the phone call hadn't been good news and the look on Blair's face confirmed 
it immediately. "What's up, Sandburg?"

Blair pushed a lock of hair behind his ear. "That was Helen Anderson. You 
remember the student who had to drop out last month when her dad got sick?" Jim 
nodded in response. "He passed away the day before yesterday. I've been keeping 
in touch with the family since then and helping when I can. Helen called to let 
me know the funeral is going to be in a few days and then she and her mom are 
moving back to Connecticut to be closer to Mrs. Anderson's family. This really 
sucks, man."

"Do the Anderson's need any help with the arrangements or anything?" Jim asked.

"Nah. Apparently *his* family are on their way out to help with all of that." 
Blair looked around the room with a helpless expression on his face. "I feel 
like I should be doing something, man." He walked over to the huge windows 
overlooking the Sound and watched the rain trickle down the glass. His heavy 
sigh fogged the view and he turned back around. "I'm going out for a while, 
Jim," he said and grabbed his keys on the way out the door.

"Blair, it's rain..." the door closed before Ellison could finish his sentence, 
"...ing out there." It was Jim's turn to sigh heavily. Sometimes Sandburg took 
more than the weight of the world on his thin shoulders and Jim wasn't sure how 
to deal with the moodiness that would come over him but he hated to see his 
friend like this.

Their conversation of a month ago came back to Ellison and he realized that 
Blair had gone out 'rain-walking' to boost himself out of his funk. It would be 
a real switch for the Sentinel to follow his Guide and do a little research of 
his own. If this rain thing really was everything Blair said it was maybe he'd 
give it a try the next time he was feeling less than chipper himself. Decision 
made, Jim grabbed his jacket and keys and followed his friend out into the 
storm.

Blair hadn't gotten very far yet. He was sauntering out along the edge of the 
Sound looking at the few boats that were braving the weather. Jim stayed well 
back and watched as Blair skipped a few rocks across the surface of the water 
before continuing with his stroll.

A gust of wind brought back a snatch of what sounded like humming and Ellison 
focused his sensitive hearing in. Sure enough, Blair was singing softly to 
himself and to Jim's amusement, the song was 'Singing In The Rain'. As the kid 
hit the second chorus of the song he tipped his head back and flung his arms out 
as he performed a little hop, skip, and jump into a puddle.

Jim was hard pressed not to laugh as Blair kicked up a sheet of water and 
continued jumping in the puddle until he finished the song. A whoop carried 
across the open space and Ellison realized that Blair had effectively managed to 
shake off the moody blues. //Hmm. Maybe there was something to this rain-walking 
after all.//

"Jim! Hey, man what are you doing out here?" Blair dashed across the lot and 
slid to a soggy halt in front of Ellison.

"You were pretty bummed when you left. I wanted to make sure you were going to 
be okay, Chief."

"Thanks, man. You had me worried for a minute when I first saw you, though. I 
thought you flipped and decided to try my cure for the blues yourself!" Blair 
teased.

"I don't know about that, Chief. But I was watching you and it looks like it 
works. Don't you get cold, though? You're not even wearing a jacket." Ellison 
was still trying to be practical about the whole thing.

"Lighten up, man! That's half the fun! You're supposed to get as wet and sloppy 
as you possibly can!" Blair slapped Jim on the back and shook his head spraying 
his partner with drops from his hair.

"And you do this for how long?"

"Until you're done! Come on, Jim. I'll show you..."

"I don't know about this, Sandburg. I don't think Simon will be very happy if 
both of us come down with pneumonia from this. Besides," he said looking up at 
the lightening sky, "I think your storm is letting up."

Blair shaded his eyes as he looked out over the Sound. "Look, man! Isn't it 
wonderful?"

Jim followed his pointing finger and grinned at the intensifying double rainbows 
forming out over the choppy water. It was the first time he'd really looked at a 
rainbow since he noticed his enhanced senses and the effect of the brightening 
colors was ..... magical. "Wow!" he breathed quietly.

Blair snapped into instant Guide mode. "What is it, Jim? Can you describe it to 
me?"

"The spectrum of the colors is unbelievable, Chief. I really wish you could see 
what I'm seeing right now."

The two men continued to watch the rainbows in silence as they hit their maximum 
intensity and finally began to fade away. Jim nodded and broke the spell that 
had fallen over them. "That was really wild. I'm definitely going to have to do 
that again."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Jim," Blair said through chattering teeth. Once 
he had stopped moving the wind cut through him like a knife.

"Come on, Blair. Let's get you inside and warmed up. If you catch a cold and 
give it to me, Simon will have your butt in a sling and with good reason. And I 
don't think you'd want me to have to explain just how we came to catch the cold 
in the first place, would you?" Blair shook his head and Jim put his arm around 
Blair's shoulders to guide him back the way they had come. Even if he didn't get 
into rain-walking for himself Jim decided that he would definitely follow Blair 
a few more times if he could get away with it. The visual of Blair jumping and 
stomping around in the mud puddle would keep him smiling for quite a while and, 
who knew, he may even get another double rainbow treat out of it. 

~~Finis~~