The Comforts of Home Page 2

“It’s okay, Chief.” He rubbed his eyes, thinking. “Are you alone in there?” he asked, needing to get as clear a picture of his guide’s current predicament as he could.

  Blair let out a long, shaky breath. “Yes. And the emergency lights didn’t come on. Or there aren’t any. I don’t know which.”

  Jim’s heart sped up in his chest. “You’re in the dark?” And in that instant, he could see Blair in his mind’s eye, trapped in the small car, unable to even see his hand in front of his face. He was amazed the kid had managed to stay as calm as he was. “Sandburg, listen, I’m going to hang up this phone but I’ll call you right back on my cell phone. I want to go out in the hall and check things out but I can’t do that with this phone. Oh and I should call down to maintenance too, see if I can get Pete up here to help me. You going to be okay for a few minutes while I do that?”

  “Yeah, man, I’m fine,” he said, but Jim could hear the strain behind the words, knew Blair was anything but fine. “Do what you have to do,” he added. “And Jim? I’m sorry about this. I should have just carried the stuff up.”

  “Don’t worry about that now, Sandburg. Let’s just concentrate on getting you out of there.” He hung up and crossed to his coat to retrieve his other phone.

  /

  /

  /

  Blair shivered as the cold air of the empty elevator drifted over him. He’d gotten soaked carrying in his stuff. He shook his head as he thought about the boxes scattered around his feet, boxes he’d already tripped over twice in the dark.

  I should have just left it all at school and gone back to Rainier tomorrow morning. But he hadn’t wanted to go back. He had the weekend off and he wanted to spend it at home not stuck in his office alone, sorting through a bunch of files that were ultimately just going to end up in storage.

  “I should have left them in the car,” he muttered. But he’d wanted to get started tonight, get the job out of the way as quickly as possible. Now instead of enjoying his night, sorting through his files while the Jags game was on, he was stuck in a cold, dark elevator waiting for his partner to call him back and tell him when he would get out of here, trying not to think about the last time he was stuck like this.

  I’m fine. This car is not going to fall. I’m fine. He repeated the words over and over in his mind, sure that eventually they would sink in and the worry in his gut would subside.

  It hadn’t worked yet.

  He bit his lip and stared down at the lit dial of his cell phone, his hands shaking slightly. It was the only thing he could see in the small car, the only source of light he had. “Come on, Jim. Come on.” As if hearing his soft plea, the phone rang, the sudden sound making him jump slightly. He punched the “receive” button and put the small device to his ear. “Jim?”

  “Okay, Sandburg, I’m in the hallway standing outside the doors of the elevator.”

  Blair looked up even though there was nothing to see. “Did you get through to maintenance?”

  “Just rings. Pete must be helping somebody else out in the building.”

  “Great.” He ran a nervous hand through his wet hair, pushing it back from his face.

  “I called the power company too, got the automated system and reported the problem.” He paused briefly. When he spoke again, there was a hesitancy to his words that could not be missed. “Chief, the recording didn’t say anything definite about when things would be restored.”

  And Blair received the message loud and clear. “So I could be down here a while. Man, Jim, this is not good.” He fell back against the wall behind him and slid down to the floor. Not for the first time, his gaze shifted around him, searching for something, anything in the inky blackness that would get him out of here. His breath came in short gasps as he realized there was nothing.

  “Sandburg, your heart is going to pound out of your chest. Just calm down.”

  Blair pulled his knees up close, wrapping his free arm around them, and squeezed his eyes shut. “I know, Jim. I’m trying. I really am. It’s just…” His voice trailed off. He licked his trembling lips. “If I could just see something,” he finished softly. “If I just had some light. It’s freaking me out being in this total darkness.”

  “Listen, Blair, I’m going to try and get a light down to you.”

  “How are you going to do that?” He looked up again, knowing Jim was only a few feet above him, the idea of his partner so close calming him somewhat.

  The silence stretched out into minutes as he waited for an answer. Finally… “Jim? You still there?” he asked, trying and failing to keep the desperation from his voice. No answer. His hand tightened around the phone. He pushed to his feet. “Jim? Jim!”

  Something dropped heavily onto the ceiling of the elevator car. Blair’s heart lodged in his throat as he fell back against the wall again. It’s not falling. It’s not falling. It’s not-

  “Sandburg? You still in there?”

  Blair let out a pent up breath as he listened to Jim chuckle at his own lame joke. Seconds later, the trapdoor on the ceiling swung downward and light shined in through the small opening.

  /

  /

  /

  Jim stared down at Blair, watching as his guide shielded his eyes against the sudden brightness. “Sorry Chief.” He shifted the light away. “Happy to see me?”

  “Happy to see you!” Blair bit out, squinting up at the sentinel. “Jim, are you crazy? You could have gotten killed doing that!”

  “I’m trying to help you and this is how you act?”

  “How would getting yourself killed help me?”

  Jim’s jaw clenched. “Sandburg, I did not come down here to argue with you so shut up and take the damn flashlight.”

  Blair rolled his eyes in exasperation but did as his partner asked, reaching up on tip toes to accept the light Jim held down to him.

  “Okay, make room. I’m coming down.”

  Blair backed up against the wall, shoving some of his boxes out of the way with his feet, clearing a space under the trapdoor.

  Jim pulled himself back up, kneeling on the top of the elevator car. He had thought Blair would be grateful to him for coming down here like this. Instead, he’d lectured him about his reckless behavior. He glanced above him, up the darkened shaft he’d just climbed down. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t his most brilliant move. The climb had been tricky...even for him and he’d thought he was going to drop the pack he’d slung over his shoulder more than once. But he couldn’t just leave Blair down here alone in the dark.

  He dropped the pack he’d brought over the edge then followed it with himself. He landed easily, his gaze sweeping the small car. Boxes were stacked on either side of him, the tops as soaked as his partner who stood against the back wall dripping.

  “Sandburg, what is all this crap?” he asked, indicating the boxes.

  “Files. I’m supposed to go through them, organize them and then put them in storage. I didn’t want to be stuck at school all weekend doing it so I brought them home. I thought I could just do it all here and then take it back.” He shrugged one shoulder. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  “Why didn’t you call me when you got home? I would have come down and helped you carry it all in. Maybe then you wouldn’t be so drenched.”

  “No, if I had called you then we’d both be soaked...and trapped.”

  “No, we’d be sitting in the loft right now because we would have gotten done quicker and already been upstairs when the power went out and neither one of us would be here now.”

  Blair raised one eyebrow. “Jim, did you come down here to help me or harass me?”

  “Both,” the sentinel answered lightly. “But mostly help you.” He scooped up the pack he’d brought and tossed it at Blair. “Brought you some supplies.”

  “Supplies?” Blair looked down at the pack then back up to the open trapdoor. “I thought we would just climb out.”

  “Your shoes are wet and it’s too damn dark for you to see. You real
ly want to climb up almost a flight with slippery soles and no light?”

  Blair swallowed hard at the description. “No,” he admitted softly. “That really doesn’t sound like a good idea.” He sighed resolutely. “So what did you bring?” Sitting cross-legged on the floor, he set the flashlight beside him and opened the bag. Reaching in, fishing around, he pulled out... “Cheese Whiz? You brought me Cheese Whiz?”

  Jim crossed to him and sat down beside him. “No,” he said, grabbing the can. “I brought me Cheese Whiz. I brought you trail mix.” He nodded toward the bag again. “Should be some water and crackers in there too. And extra batteries for the flashlight.”

  Blair fished in the bag again, handing Jim the rest of his food, smiling as he found his own snack. “Hey, thanks, man.” But the smile faded as he pulled out a lone pair of socks. He held them up toward Jim. “And this?”

  “I figured you might need those. You know, since you were out in the rain.” He covered the top of a cracker with processed cheese and popped it into his mouth.

  “A pair of socks?” Blair stared at him, then looked down at himself. “Jim, I’m soaked from head to toe and you bring me a pair of socks?”

  “I thought your feet might be cold.”

  “Yeah, Jim, they are cold. But so is the rest of me. You could have brought a towel or a new shirt or something that would dry more than one small part of my body.”

  Jim shook his head, leaning casually against the wall behind him. “You are so ungrateful. I bring you food, water, light and all you do is complain.” He covered another cracker with cheese and popped it into his mouth. “I was trying to hurry,” he said as he chewed.

  “You remembered your Cheese Whiz,” Blair grumbled.

  Jim took a long drink of water, watching as Blair pulled off his shoes and wet socks and put on the ones Jim had brought. Sighing, his guide settled back against the wall right next to Jim and wiggled his now dry toes.

  “Better?” Jim asked, popping another cracker in his mouth.

  “Yes,” Blair answered with more than a little reluctance. “I’m glad you brought them.” He grabbed up his bag of trail mix and stuffed a handful in his mouth. “And the food,” he said munching happily.

  “I was in covert ops. I do know how to pack for survival.”

  Blair nodded. “True, so true.”

  They sat for several seconds, both men happily eating their food, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Blair broke the silence.

  “Jim?” he asked quietly. “How long do you think we’ll be stuck in here?”

  Jim shrugged one shoulder, glad most of the tension seemed to have drained from Blair. The kid was still nervous but coping well. “Don’t know,” he answered truthfully then held the Cheese Whiz can toward his partner. “But don’t think for a minute that I’m sharing any of this with you.”

  Blair snorted. “You think I’d ever willingly put that orange plastic goop into my body? Not likely.”

  “Yeah, you’ll be singing a different tune when we’re still in here tomorrow.”

  "We’re still in here tomorrow and I’ll call out for a pizza.” He eyed his cell phone. “You think they’d deliver down here?”

  Jim stared down at the smaller man beside him, raising one eyebrow. “Why didn’t you think of that before I came down here, Chief? I could’ve had one delivered and carried it down. We could be feasting right now.”

  “Hey, man, you did the Batman thing before I knew what was happening.”

  Jim cuffed him on the side of the head. “That’s Spiderman, Sandburg. I like Spiderman.”

  Blair shoved more trail mix into his mouth, chuckling softly. “I stand corrected.”

  852 Prospect stood dark...except for one small corner that glowed with the soft light of laugher and friendship.

  The end.

  #3: A Deeper Understanding

  for Sandy

  Rain tapped lightly against the large windows of the loft. Jim Ellison looked up from the television, watching the water slide in haphazard patterns against the glass. He sighed, shifting slightly where he sat on the couch, feeling completely comfortable in the jeans and light sweater he’d changed into since arriving home from work an hour earlier. The rain always made him feel lazy and tonight was no exception.

  He blinked hard as a blinding flash of lightning lit the sky. Automatically, he turned down his hearing before the inevitable crash of thunder shook through the loft. He smiled, enjoying the show mother nature was putting on, only wishing Blair were home to enjoy it with him.

  Glancing at his watch, he frowned. Where was Sandburg? He should have been home by now. Worry crept over Jim as his gaze turned back to the storm. I should have picked him up from school. He knew how unreliable the Volvo could be in this kind of weather. But Blair had insisted that he would be okay. That he’d just had the car worked on last week.

  Five minutes ticked by. The sky outside grew darker. Jim stood and crossed to the phone.

  Dialing Blair’s cell phone number, he waited, his fingers nervously tapping against the counter top. Jim’s hand tightened around the receiver as the phone rang a fourth and then a fifth time. Dammit, Sandburg! Where are you? He should be in his car, on his way home. He was just getting ready to hang up when the line was answered.

  “Hello?” Blair said, slightly breathless.

  "Sandburg,” Jim said, relief washing through him. “Where the hell are you? You should have been home by now.”

  Blair sighed heavily. “I got a flat tire. I’ve been trying to change it but I can’t get one of the lug nuts off.”

  “You’re changing your tire in this storm?” Jim’s gaze shifted to the glass again as another flash of lightning lit up the sky. In that instant, he could see Blair sitting in his car on the side of the road, shivering as the cold rainwater dripped from his hair and soaked through his clothes. “Why didn’t you call road service? Or me?”

  “My road service card expired last month and I didn’t have the cash to renew it.”

  Jim shook his head. He should have known. The kid’s been more broke than usual the last few weeks, his teaching schedule cut back dramatically because of his work with Jim. He rubbed a hand across his forehead. “Then why didn’t you call me?”

  Jim waited but the only sound coming through the line was the rain echoing off the top of the Volvo and the occasional crash of thunder. Then finally, “I didn’t want to bother you.” The words were spoken softly, hesitantly.

  Jim frowned. Didn’t want to bother me? What the hell...? But then he remembered. This morning, he’d laid into Blair when he’d called to ask him for a favor about school. Jim hadn’t even let the kid ask, he’d simply ranted at him, telling him that he didn’t have time to bother with his school projects and where was he suppose to find the time because didn’t Sandburg realize he had a real job that took most of his free time already?

  Jim closed his eyes against the memory. Damn. He hadn’t even been angry at Blair. He’d been pissed off because Larry Bellows, the assistant district attorney, had managed to lose a case that should have been open and shut. A case Jim had worked on for weeks. But since he couldn’t take out his frustration on Bellows, he’d taken it out on Blair instead.

  And the kid had taken it to heart. Was now sitting on the side of the road, alone, trying to change his tire. Hadn’t called Jim for help when he obviously needed it because he didn’t want to risk pissing him off again.

  “Where are you, Chief?”

  “Jim’s I’m fine. I don’t need--”

  “Where are you?” he said more forcefully. “I’m starving and it’s your turn to cook dinner so let me just come and help you so we can eat.”

  Blair sighed resolutely. “I’m on Welton just north of Trendall.”

  “I’m on my way. Just stay in your car until I get there.”

  “Jim, I can fix my own tire.”

  “Just stay in your car!” Jim slammed down the phone, grabbed his jacket and his Jags cap and left the loft.


  /

  /

  /

  Blair sat behind the wheel of his car, shivering. He sneezed and found himself once again staring at his gas gauge. Dammit! If he’d just filled up his car, then he’d have enough gas to leave it running while he waited, that way he could at least run the heat. But he hadn’t had the money to fill the tank and the battery would drain quickly if he ran the heat on just that.

  “This sucks,” he muttered, not for the first time and hunched down lower in his seat, hugging his arms tightly around himself. He’d thought about trying once again to get that last lug nut off his wheel. But if he managed to actually change the tire before Jim arrived, making his trip out here pointless...well, Blair wasn’t exactly in the mood to be screamed at again.

  He closed his eyes, dropping his head back against the seat as the phone conversation he’d had with Jim this morning came back to him. Blair suspected that Jim hadn’t really been angry at him, that something at work had probably upset him, that he just happened to be the most convenient target. And he’d allowed his partner to vent because Jim was his friend and he sensed he needed the release.

  But it had still hurt. And that hurt had kept him from calling Jim this afternoon.

  He glanced in his rearview mirror as headlights swept over his car. Jim’s truck pulled up behind the Volvo and stopped. Seconds later, Jim was out his door and crossing to the passenger side of the small car. He slipped inside, his large frame slightly cramped in the compact front seat.

  They sat for a few moments in uncomfortable silence, both men staring out the rain-washed windshield.

  “Thanks for coming,” Blair said finally.

  Jim nodded. “I just wish you had called me. This isn’t exactly the best area to be stuck in.”

  Blair dropped his gaze to his lap, shrugging one shoulder. “Who’s going to mug me in this rain?”

  “You’d be surprised.” Reaching out, Jim dropped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed slightly. “Come on, Chief. Let’s get your tire changed so you can get home and get dry.”

  The two men stepped out of the car and back into the pouring rain.

  /

  /