Disclaimers: Unfortunately, these characters don't belong to me. Jim, Blair, Simon, and Brown belong to Pet Fly Productions and Paramount Television. I am using them without permission. I mean you no harm. Please don't sue me. Warning: Spoilers for Sentinel Too. Note: Sentinel Too hit me rather hard. However, I have several people to thank for helping me through the initial rough patch: Carol, Miriam, Marnee, Sherri, Liz, Kelly, and Vicky. Thanks. In addition to offering encouragement and support, Miriam, Sherri, and Marnee also beta-read this story for me. If there are any errors to be found, they are my fault, not theirs. Summary: The way I envision the start of Sentinel Too, Part Two. I am not too proud to beg for feedback. Please send any comments to me at RCalkins27@aol.com. Thank you. Now enjoy the story!! ***** Heartbeat by Ruth Calkins "Let it go, baby, let it go." Jim knew Brown meant well. Truly he did. But letting go was simply *not* an option. Not even close. Simon's arms were tight on Jim's shoulders, but Jim's need to get to his Guide, his partner, his best friend, was much stronger. He struggled out of the Captain's hold and dropped to his knees at Blair's side. When no one reached to pull him away, Jim focused his attention solely on the still body in front of him. Jim couldn't remember a time he'd ever seen Blair so still. When he was awake, he was a vibrant bundle of energy, perpetual motion live and in person. Sleep curtailed that somewhat, but never completely. Even then, the kid tossed and turned and muttered thoughts from a brain unable to totally shut down. This, though...this was horrifying. Jim didn't know what was worse, the slack hands on either side of Blair's hips, the chest unmoving under the damp blue shirt, or the unnatural pallor of the younger man's face. Resting his hand gently on Blair's chest, the Sentinel cranked up his hearing to the maximum. The EMTs had to be wrong. Simon had to be wrong. Blair couldn't just be *gone*. The concept was completely unacceptable. Then, all of a sudden, there it was. It was faint. Barely perceptible. But it was *there*. A heartbeat. A blessedly familiar heartbeat. Jim instantly lifted his hand to rest on Blair's pale, damp forehead and brush back a few limp curls. He didn't bother to check the tears coursing down his cheeks as he began a litany of pleas. "Come on, Chief. Come back. You can do it, buddy. Come on back." The heartbeat grew no stronger, but neither did it grow worse, so Jim kept up his words of encouragement. "I'm right here, Sandburg. I'm not giving up on you. Come on. Come back." This time the heartbeat's intensity increased, then wavered, so Jim decided to take a step up from motivation and move right on into demanding. "Don't do this to me, Chief. Don't you *dare* try to leave. You're not done here yet. Not by a long shot. Come *on*, Blair. Breathe, damnit! God, Chief, I can't do this without you." At this point, Jim paused to plan his next line of attack. As he did so, the heartbeat which had become his entire world jumped and started to pick up a steadier rhythm. Ecstatic with this progress, Jim moved a hand to the back of Blair's neck and lifted it slightly, to clear Blair's airway. A moment later, Jim bore witness to the most blessed sound he'd ever heard. From the depths of Blair's chest came a cough. His body convulsed as the cough metamorphosed into a breath. Jim wasted no time in helping Blair turn his head to expel the water which had collected in his lungs. "Easy, buddy, easy. You're okay," he soothed as the younger man pulled in deep, ragged breaths. After a moment, Blair finally opened his eyes and locked his gaze almost instantly on Jim's. A rough whisper followed. "What...what happened?" Jim took a few seconds to pull in some of his own deep breaths, then he declared, "You scared me half to death, that's what happened." Blair's face contorted in confusion. Jim shook his head comfortingly. "It's okay, Chief, I'll explain later. You just keep breathing." "Breathing?" Blair repeated hoarsely. "Okay, I think I can do that." Blair closed his eyes, then, to concentrate on filling his lungs with air before exhaling. Jim watched for a few seconds-- deeply thankful that he was being allowed this vision at all-- then bent down to drop a kiss on his partner's forehead. When Blair opened surprised eyes, Jim warmly told him, "Thanks, Chief." "For what?" Jim grinned. *This* he could explain now. "Thanks for coming back." Blair's mouth curved in a gentle smile at the older man's words, then his eyes drifted shut once more, the trauma of the last several minutes finally catching up with him. Jim even thought he might fall asleep. But Blair had other ideas. With an obvious effort, he reopened his eyes and sought out Jim's face. "Jim?" he croaked. "What, pal?" Blair swallowed and cleared his throat, then whispered, "Thanks for asking me to come back." Jim's grin grew wider. "Anytime, Chief. Anytime." *THE END*