Note: This ficlet was written for the Cascade Times “Secret Santa” exchange. I was challenged to write something Christmas related that was “true to the show.” I, too, like things that remain canon-based. That’s why it seemed strange to me that the muses kept insisting I write something post TSbBS. Nonetheless, I think what those muses gave me might still meet the challenge -- I hope my “Secret Santa” recipient will agree. In my scenario, Blair’s academic credibility has been restored, though he has also attended the police academy. He has found the ‘best of both worlds’ as a full-time detective and part-time academic, performing lectures at the university when contracted to do so.
The Magic in a Moment
by Freya-Kendra
Except for Jim Ellison, Captain Banks was the last to leave the bullpen on
Christmas Eve. At precisely
six-o-clock, he stepped out of his office and slipped into his winter coat.
”Hey, Jim.” He greeted
as he stopped by Ellison’s desk.
“I hope things are quiet around here for you tomorrow.”
”I hope so too, sir. But
we’ll handle whatever comes.”
”I know. You won’t miss
me, that’s for sure. Nothing
short of a --“
“Ah, ah.”
Jim held up a hand to silence his captain. “Don’t jinx yourself by
saying it.”
Simon gave him a wary look.
“Jinx?” Then he
shook his head, chuckling softly.
“That’s not good, Jim.
Sandburg’s wearing off on you.”
Jim’s responding smile gave no hint of offense. “Maybe that’s not such a bad
thing.”
”Yeah?” Simon seemed to
consider his statement.
“Hmm. Maybe
you’re right,” he answered finally. “You have been a lot more ... Let’s just say I don’t have
to take near as many antacids as I used to.”
”Oh? I must be slipping. Sorry, Simon. I’ll make up for it next
year.”
”Don’t even think about it.” But the threat was lost in hushed
laughter. “Well, I do hope
you have a quiet day tomorrow. I
know I’ve worked my fair share of holidays. They tend to be a good time to catch up
on paperwork.”
”No problem there, Simon.
That’s what I’ve got a partner for.”
”Where is Sandburg, anyway?”
”He’s meeting with someone about those lectures he’s signed
up to do next semester.”
Simon smiled. “It’s
funny, isn’t it? I thought it
would be good to finally have him here full time. But now I have to admit I’m glad
things worked out for him at the university.”
”Best of both worlds for him.”
And it was. Blair Sandburg
had truly found his niche, miraculously able to balance being both a full-time
cop and a part-time academic.
After all the lawyers had been finished discrediting Naomi’s shifty
editor friend for releasing Blair’s dissertation without his consent,
they had cleared the way for the university to help restore Sandburg’s
own credibility. It took a ton of
focused attention, but Blair was able to reconstruct his research using Alex
Barnes as his principle subject, while references to Jim were based on ‘what if’ scenarios, giving
consideration to how her skills might work in the opposite vein if such
capabilities could be applied to a police detective. Jim was pleased with the result. The university quietly accepted the
revised dissertation, and Blair graduated without ceremony. In the end, Blair gained the credentials
he had worked so hard to obtain, allowing him to maintain some academic
exposure through the lecture circuit.
Yet what pleased Jim the most was the fact that Blair went on to attend
the police academy. When given a
choice between academia and police work, Blair Sandburg had chosen the later.
’There was no real choice to make,
Jim,’ he had said at the time.
‘How else could I continue
being your partner?’
“Jim?” Simon snapped his fingers in front of
Ellison’s face.
”Sorry, Simon. I was just
thinking.”
”Not zoning, I hope. I
don’t need you to start zoning on me now when I’m supposed to be on
my way to the airport.”
”Go on. I’m fine. There’s no need to miss your
flight.”
”You’re sure?”
”I’m fine, Simon.
Besides, Sandburg will be back any minute now.”
Simon glanced at the door, and into the empty hallway beyond. ”I wish I could wait. You will tell him ‘Merry
Christmas’ for me?”
”I’ll tell him. Now
go. Get out of here. And tell your cousin ‘Merry
Christmas’ from everyone here at Major Crimes.”
”Yeah. Sure.” Simon
moved away. “Oh, and
Jim?” He said then, pausing
at the threshold. “Merry
Christmas.”
”Merry Christmas, Simon.”
Already in good spirits, Jim’s smile widened as he watched his captain
head off -- like his other colleagues and friends had already done -- toward a
special holiday celebration. Rafe
had gone to
Jim was still thinking about how good it had been to watch Blair grow into his
new, ‘best of both worlds’ life when Sandburg rushed breathlessly
back into the bullpen.
”I am *so* sorry, Jim,”
he said, falling into the seat at his own desk. “I had no idea it would take so
long to work out the details.”
”No problem.”
Blair gave him an odd look.
”You okay, Jim?”
”Fine. Why?”
”I don’t know. You just
seem so ....” Blair shrugged,
and then added, “Happy.”
”And that’s a problem?”
”No, man. No problem. It’s just ... not quite what
I’m used to.”
Now it was Jim’s turn to shrug.
“Good. I like to keep
you off your guard.”
”Well, it’s working.”
”Perfect. You have that
report finished yet?”
”Report? What--“ Blair’s desk phone prevented him
from finishing.
“Sandburg,” he answered.
Watching as his partner’s expression turned grim, Jim’s happiness
ebbed considerably.
”Got it.” Blair slammed down the phone and finished jotting down
some notes. An instant later he
bounced back out of his seat.
“Uniforms found a body down at the waterfront.”
* * *
Detective Blair Sandburg rose from where he had been studying the victim. “It looks like an execution,
Jim. Shot once in the head, close
range. Not here though. His body had to have been dumped. He....” Blair clenched his teeth and shook his
head, looking away.
”Sandburg? You
okay?” Jim asked, concerned.
”How could anyone do something like this on Christmas Eve, man? It’s *Christmas Eve,* Jim!
This guy has a family somewhere that’s thinking about presents and
parties and all this good, cheerful stuff, and we’ve got to tear it away
from them by telling them he’s dead.”
“Hey, hold it together, Chief.” Jim wrapped his arm around his
partner’s shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. “To the lowlifes of society it’s
just another day on the calendar.”
”Yeah.” Blair sank into
the half-embrace rather than pulling away.
“A day when depression soars, stress mounts, and all you really
have after everything’s said and done is a pile of crumpled paper and
ribbons to toss in the trash.”
”When did you get to be so cynical?”
Blair sighed. “I don’t
know, man. Maybe I should never
have taken this job.”
”No way, Sandburg.
You’re too damn good to second guess yourself like that.”
”What?” Blair gave him
a suspicious glare.
”I’m serious. You
provide a certain insight I’ve never seen before in a detective. Even Simon has been impressed.”
”Come on, Jim. You
don’t need to--“
”I told you I’m being serious, here. You know yourself how your unique spin
on things brought down Brett Sampson when he wasn’t even on our
radar.”
”I didn’t bring him down, Jim.
Maybe I helped, but all I did was connect the dots. You and Simon would have gotten him
eventually; don’t tell me you wouldn’t.”
”Maybe. But you did more than
just connect the dots. You brought
a whole new set of dots into the equation.
And that’s not the only time you’ve done that.”
”Don’t. Just stop this,
okay? It’s like you’re
trying to make me out to be some kind of hero, super-cop here, and we both know
that’s far from the truth.
We’re a good team; I will admit that. But if anyone’s a super-cop
it’s you.”
”Not by a long shot, Chief.
But thanks for the compliment.”
”It wasn’t a compliment.”
”It wasn’t?”
”No, Jim. It’s the
truth, and you know it. The way you
can hone in on evidence is far superior to anyone else on the force, probably
anyone else on *any* police force,
for that matter.”
”Being a sentinel doesn’t automatically register me as a
super-cop. But I think you hit the
nail on the head, anyway.
We’re a good team, good partners -- *equal* partners.”
Blair’s wary gaze eased noticeably at Jim’s words. “Thanks, Jim. I don’t ... I don’t know
what to say.”
Jim gave his shoulder another squeeze, and then released him so they could
stand face-to-face. ”Say you
trust me.”
”You know I trust you, Jim.”
”Good. Then trust what
I’m about to tell you. Look,
Sandburg, in our jobs we see the worst of society.”
”The dark underbelly, man. I
don’t need to trust you to know that.”
”Let me finish.”
Blair raised his hands in mock surrender.
”We see what the best of society doesn’t have to see. Because we do what we do, they can wake
up tomorrow and smile and laugh and open presents and create piles of wrapping
paper trash.”
Blair grimaced. ”Jim, I
don’t know what--“
”I said let me finish.”
”Okay, man. Sorry.”
”When we got Sampson, there were still four names on his revenge
list. That’s four people he
did not get around to killing. You
saved four lives, Blair. And three
of those people were parents.”
”Jim, I--“
”Ah, ah!” Jim wagged a finger at him.
”Okay. Okay. Finish already.”
”Blair, because you did what you did by turning us onto Sampson *when* you did, there are half a dozen
kids out there who are going to wake up in a few hours and still be able to
believe in magic -- because their parents are still alive.” Jim’s eyes bore deep into his
partner’s. “You
didn’t just save four lives, Blair.
You saved Christmas for four families. And if you count all the other crimes
you have had a part in solving -- a very *large*
part in solving -- you’ve saved Christmas for a whole lot more
families. Every minute you invest
in this dark underbelly comes back a hundred-fold in the lives of the people
you are able to protect.”
”When did you get to be such an optimist? I’ve always thought of you as the
‘glass is half empty’ sort.”
Jim smiled. ”I guess some of
that unique insight of yours is starting to rub off on me.” Then, as quickly as it had come, the
smile died. “Just don’t
let my ‘glass is half empty’ bit rub off on you. It doesn’t suit you. I don’t want this job to eat you
alive. I know it can. I know it has, for a lot of good cops. And I don’t want to see that
happen to you. But at the same
time, I don’t want to see you give up on the job too easily. You’re a good cop, Sandburg, and
an even better detective.
You’re good for Cascade.
You’re good for me.”
”Jim, I .... I’m
speechless, man.” Blair shook
his head, seeming both confused and comforted.
Yet apparently the comfort did not last.
“Damn you, Jim!”
He shouted a moment later, the vehemence in his tone catching his
partner off guard. “You have
no idea what you’ve just done, do you?” Blair’s voice started to
break. “You just gave me the
best Christmas gift I’ve ever received, man. The best gift I could ever hope to
receive. Calling me a good cop, an
equal ... and filling my head with these cozy, little images of kids on
Christmas morning. I think you just
saved Christmas for me, Jim. And
all I got for you is--“
”Ah, ah!” Jim
scolded. “Don’t tell
me. You’ll ruin the
surprise!”
Of course, nothing was ruined, nothing at all. In fact, this might just be the best
Christmas gift Jim had ever received as well. He was able not only to find, but also
to share a ‘peace on earth, goodwill to men’ sort of moment. It was a thing that could never be
wrapped in colorful paper and tied with shiny ribbons. It was an instant that could never be
captured on film. It was better
than that. This was just one of
those quiet, little moments that slip into life, the kind you never can forget
-- the kind you never *want* to
forget.
Still smiling, he turned back to Cascade’s latest crime statistic. Even then, he let the smile linger for a
moment before giving himself back to the task at hand. ”Come on, Sandburg,” he said. “You ready to put on that
super-cop costume of yours and help me find the scum that let some of that dark
underbelly creep into Christmas?”
”Yeah. Yeah, I guess I
am.” Taking a deep breath,
Blair clearly steeled himself to face the worst. But some of that ‘best’ must
have found footing in his soul, thanks to Jim’s words. “Here I come, to save the
day,” he sang softly, his tone subdued rather than mocking.
* * *
Hours later, as the sun began to rise and the kids of
Cascade began to wake to find stacks of presents under Christmas trees of all
shapes and sizes, two detectives prepared to celebrate by putting in just
another day at the office.
”Okay, Sandburg,” Jim shouted from the loft’s main door. “It’s time to hit the
road.”
”Lighten up, Jim,” Blair peeked out from behind the doorjamb in his
room. “Don’t tell me
you’re worried about being late.
I mean, come on! Who will
even notice?”
”Don’t give me that. We
said we’d work today; so let’s get to it. And besides, we don’t want that
scum’s trail to grow too cold now, do we?”
”It won’t, Jim.”
Blair’s voice called back from somewhere within the confines of
his cluttered space. “But
first thing’s first. It *is* Christmas, after all.” At that, he stepped into the kitchen
holding a present wrapped in sparkling, green foil and tied with a red, velvet
bow. “Merry Christmas,
Jim.”
Jim could not help but smile.
Still, he shook his head, sighing softly. “That’s great, Chief. Thank you. But can’t this wait until
tonight?”
”It could. But why
should it have to?”
”Well, I .... I guess I
don’t really know. Okay. Five minutes; that’s all.”
Blair shrugged. “Five minutes
is all we need.”
”Yeah.” Jim tossed his
keys onto the table and turned away.
”Hey? Where are you
going? Aren’t you going
to--“
”Relax, Sandburg. Christmas
is not a one-sided holiday. I got
you something too. Just give me a
minute to get it.”
”A minute, huh? That’ll
only give you four to open yours.”
”That’s great, Einstein.
I’m glad you’ve got the math all figured out.”
”Cute, Jim,” Blair answered softly. “That’s real cute.”
Before the minute passed, Jim placed another package on the kitchen table, this
one wrapped in multi-colored paper stamped with images of snowmen.
”Okay, then,” Blair said, rubbing his hands together in childish
excitement. “Who’s
first?” Somehow his smile
seemed to reflect all the smiles of all the kids waking to the magic of Christmas.
It was enough to help Jim remember the magic as well. “How about each man for
himself?” Without waiting for
a reply, he pushed Blair aside and made a grab for the green package.
”Hey, no fair!” Blair
complained, pushing his way back to the table and making a lunge for the
snowmen.
It only took a few seconds for those carefully wrapped gifts to devolve into a
pile of torn paper and crumpled ribbon, ready for the trash.
And it only took a few seconds for two detectives, grown weary of seeing the
worst of society, to let the magic of Christmas remind them what the best of
society was all about.
* * *
Epilogue
”Um, Jim?” Blair’s voice was cautious as he held a Jags sweatshirt in front of him. “Do you think maybe we’re spending a little too much time together, lately?”
“What makes you say that?” Jim answered with a shrug as he held up
an identical shirt.
Before their laughter had a chance to subside, Jim noticed that their five
minutes had run out. He laid his
sweatshirt gently across the back of a chair, grabbed for his keys and punched
his partner softly in the arm.
“Time’s up. Come
on, Beav. Let’s roll.”
“Aw, geez, Wally.
Do we have to?”
”Yes, short-stuff. We have
to. Time to clean up that dark
underbelly. Got your cape
handy?”
”Well, I did.” Blair
swept his arm across the debris on the kitchen floor. “But I think we buried it.”
Jim shrugged. “No
problem. I’ve got
extras.”
Yet as he headed out the door, Blair made no move to follow him. “Um, Jim?” he called after
him. “Don’t tell me
you’re just planning to leave this mess like this.”
”It’ll keep.” He
shouted from the corridor.
”It’ll keep?”
Blair grabbed his own coat and keys, and then hurried out to join his
partner. “It’ll
keep?” He repeated as he locked the door behind him. “Is that really Jim Ellison I hear
talking?”
His words had no impact. Jim kept
walking.
“Hold up, Jim.”
Finally, Jim Ellison stopped.
“It’s Christmas morning, right?” He said after turning to face
Blair.
”Ah, yeah.” Blair answered sarcastically.
Jim glanced toward the ceiling before returning to meet Blair’s
questioning gaze. ”Then,”
he started softly, “I think a little wrapping paper on the floor might be
a welcome sight at the end of the day.
You know, after we’re finished facing that dark underbelly and
all. Don’t you?”
”Well, when you put it that way, I guess it would be.”
Jim nodded once, and then started down the stairs.
”Hey, Jim?” Blair called out from the landing, making no move to
follow. He waited until Jim turned
to face him before offering up a truly heartfelt “Merry Christmas.”
Jim’s responding smile was equally genuine. “Merry Christmas,
Blair.”
* * *
<end>
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