The Right Answers--Sentinel Slash Fiction

[pattrose]

Summary: Blair gets a new part time job and finds out that sometimes he does know the answers and other times, he's got to rely on someone else.
Warnings: Slash
Word Count: 11,372
Beta: Kelly (Thank you, thank you, thank you)
Email: PattRose1@aol.com


The Right Answers
By Patt


Blair was hired in about two seconds for the Gay and Lesbian Crisis hotline. Blair was just going to do it part time, because he felt like he wanted to be there for someone that was confused. Like me? Blair wondered.

The University had told him about the job, and he needed the extra hours to help pay for his tuition. Living with Jim was pretty inexpensive, but not free. He paid utilities and bought some groceries. Things were going to be tight, helping Jim and Jim wasn’t going to be that understanding. Blair already knew that.

When he got home that night he knew he was going to have to tell Jim he was going to be around a lesser amount of time.

“Hey Chief, you’re home sort of early. Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, I needed to get home so I could tell you my big news. I got a new part time job to help pay for school. So I’m going to be around less and hope you understand,” Blair blurted it all out in one gulp of air.

“Where is the job?” Jim asked.

“It’s for the college. It’s a Gay and Lesbian Crisis hotline. I’m going to work Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening of every week. Other than that, I’ll be at your beck and call,” Blair explained.

“Chief, that’s great. Confused people need someone to talk to now and then, I’m glad that you’re taking the job. Will you still be able to work with me on the days you’re not working there?”

“Yeah, Jim, I just told you I’d be your beck and call guy,” Blair teased.

“Wow, I’ve never had a beck and call guy before. What do I do with you?” Jim joked back.

“Just don’t kill me when you need me and I can’t be there,” Blair said honestly.

“Blair, I know that you’ve had a hard time with tuition, so stop worrying. It’ll work out just fine. When do you start?” Jim asked.

I get the phone installed tomorrow and then I start tomorrow night,” Blair said quickly.

“You have to work here at the loft?” Jim wondered.

“Yes, is that a problem?” Blair asked.

Jim sighed and asked, “So I can’t make any noise while you’re on the phone?”

“Jim, I’m going to be in my room with the door shut from 6:00 until 11:00 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night. You can make all the noise you want,” Blair said smiling.

“Okay, that works. Besides who am I to stand in the way of you helping someone that needs assistance?” Jim inquired.

“Thank you for being so accepting, Jim. You’re the best.”

“I thought you have class tomorrow? If you have a class, how are you going to get the phone installed?” Jim questioned.

“Oh shit. I forgot about my class I’m teaching for Robin. Damn it. I’ll have to start later next week, I guess,” Blair said irritably.

“I’m off tomorrow. I can let them in, Chief.”

“That would be fantastic. Thank you, Jim. Don’t worry about my nights off, the phone line will go to the next person on those nights, so it won’t ring and bother you for any reason.”

“Thanks, Chief.”

“Are those files I see sitting on the table?” Blair asked.

“As a matter of fact, I was hoping that a certain someone could help me finish all of my paperwork tonight, so all I have to do is type it in tomorrow,” Jim answered.

“Bring it on, Jim.”

The two men sat side by side at the table and finished all of the files that Jim had brought home. Jim was almost giddy with happiness. He hated paperwork and Blair was a natural at it.

“Thank you for helping me, Blair.”

“You are most welcome. How are you going to put them in the computer if you aren’t there tomorrow?” Blair asked.

Jim sighed and said, “Well, I’ll do it as soon as the phone gets installed.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Blair wondered once again.

“Yes, it’s fine. I can even do it tomorrow night while you take calls. So it’s not a biggy. Don’t worry so much, Chief.”

“I better study up on what I’m supposed to talk about to these people,” Blair said grabbing the bag he had brought in the door with him.

“Is that full of books?” Jim inquired.

“That it is. Now, I’m going to retire so I can read in my room. Thanks again for everything you do for me, Jim.”

“See you tomorrow, Chief.”

Blair walked into his room and shut the door. He knew most of the stuff in the books, because he was bisexual. Jim didn’t know that, because Blair hadn’t dated a guy since he moved into the loft. But he had been confused on more than one occasion and had called a hotline once or twice himself. Now he wished he could call and ask questions about being in love with your roommate that is totally, totally straight. Blair lay down on his futon and picked up the first book and began to read.

Jim looked at Blair’s light under the door at 1:00 in the morning. Jim just shook his head and wondered how the man did it. He never seemed tired. Jim rinsed his beer bottle out and went through his nightly routine before bed. Once upstairs he wondered if he could call that hotline and talk to Blair without Blair knowing it was him. Jim had nice sexy thoughts about Blair for the last six months and didn’t know what to do with them. He knew that he couldn’t tell Blair. Blair was too into babes. Jim wondered when he was going to have time to date with this new job and suddenly that seemed like a good thing. Blair would be dating less. Maybe he’ll notice me. Maybe pigs will fly tomorrow. Jim smacked himself in the forehead and got into bed.

~~~~~

The phone company showed up at 9:00 in the morning, so Jim showed them where he wanted the line and they installed it fairly quickly. After they left, Jim took off for the station to put the files into the computer.

~~~~~

Blair got home about 4:00 that afternoon and found himself a little bit nervous about answering a hotline for someone that might really need help and not having the right answers. He should have remembered that it was his first day and nothing was going to be easy the first day.

At 6:00 the first call came through and Blair answered as he had been taught, “Rainier Gay and Lesbian Crisis Hotline, may I help you?”

“Oh my god, Blair, is that you?” the young voice asked.

“Daryl, is that you?” Blair asked back.

“Oh god, this is so embarrassing. I should have just hung up,” Daryl said.

“Daryl, this isn’t embarrassing at all. Talk to me like I’m a perfect stranger. Tell me what’s going on,” Blair began.

“I think I’m in love with my roommate,” Daryl said sorrowfully.

Blair almost snickered at the way their lives were so much a like, but he didn’t. “Daryl, have you thought about talking to him about it?”

“He’s a football player, he would probably kick my ass,” Daryl said sadly, “what should I do, Blair?”

“You should come to terms with it and realize that you’re never going to get anywhere and let life go on as it should,” Blair said.

“Just forget him?”

“No, don’t forget him, but realize that you don’t want the crap kicked out of you and there are things you can’t do in a certain situation. Like talk to him. I know what it’s like, Daryl.”

“You don’t know anything about it, Blair.”

“I know more than you would ever guess,” Blair said before he thought about it.

“Oh my god, you’re in love with Jim. You can’t talk to him either can you?” Daryl asked.

“Daryl, I’m supposed to be listening to you and talking to you. Not the other way around. Let’s get this focus off of me,” Blair advised.

“Just tell me why you don’t talk to Jim,” Daryl asked.

“Because he would probably pound me into the ground for even suggesting it,” Blair finally admitted.

“Jim would never hurt you,” Daryl reminded Blair.

“Maybe not, but he would break my heart when he said no. Now let’s get this back on track, Daryl.”

“I couldn’t take anything you say seriously, Blair. You’re being a chicken and I don’t look up to you anymore. I can’t believe you have the same problem I do and you’re not doing anything about it either. I don’t want to talk to you any more.”

Just like that Daryl hung up the phone. Blair was heartbroken, but realized that Daryl was right. How could he help anyone when he couldn’t even help himself?

The phone didn’t ring for the next hour and Blair was glad. Then he heard Jim come home. Oh shit…I need to talk to him.

“Hey Jim, how are things going tonight?” Blair asked nervously.

“Up until now, they have been fine. What are you going to do to change that?” Jim teased.

Blair said, “I got the oddest call tonight and I have to talk to you about it. It has to do with me and you.”

“You got a call about me and you?” Jim asked.

“Let me just tell you what happened,” Blair began and then continued to tell Jim exactly what happened and watched as Jim smiled as the conversation went on. Blair wondered what was so fucking funny that was making him smile. “So that’s what happened and he hung up on me.”

“You know, Daryl is absolutely right. If you have problems in your life you shouldn’t be giving out advice about the same thing. Now is there something you would like to ask me?” Jim inquired.

“Jesus, Jim, why are you so calm? Would you like to go out on a date with me tomorrow night?” Blair asked Sentinel soft.

“I’m usually calm and yes, I would love to go out tomorrow night for dinner and much more. I’ve had you in mind for a long while, but thought you were just into babes. I haven’t seen you date any men,” Jim stated.

“I was hiding,” Blair admitted.

“No need to hide anymore, Blair. Where are we going tomorrow night?”

“Your choice,” Blair answered.

“I’d like you to cook stir fry chicken here at the loft and then we can make out on the sofa until we burst,” Jim kidded.

“Are you serious? We’re just going to stay here?” Blair asked.

“I don’t want to share you with anyone else, especially strangers. Blair, I’m crazy about you and I’d love to make out on the sofa with you tomorrow night.”

“It’s a date.” Blair got up when the phone rang in his bedroom. He shut the door and answered as he was supposed to.

“Blair, it’s Daryl. I’m sorry I hung up on you. I had no right to do say that stuff to you. I had to call four times before I got you.”

“Daryl, it’s the best thing that ever happened to me in my life. I talked to Jim and we’re going on a date tomorrow night. So your advice worked. You should be working for this hotline too.”

“Do you think it would work in my case?” Daryl asked.

“Do you know him really well? Do you know if he would hurt you or shun you if he wasn’t interested? You have to take all of that into consideration. Is he a nice guy?” Blair questioned.

“He’s really nice. We help each other with homework almost every night. He doesn’t date that I know of and he’s always hanging around the room. What do you think?”

“Do you think he would get physical if you asked him something that he didn’t like?” Blair wondered.

“I don’t think so. He doesn’t remind me of the type of guy that would hurt me on purpose. Blair, I don’t know what to do.”

“Think on it for a few more days before acting. In the mean time, I think you should put in for a job doing this. You’re a great listener and you would totally understand where most of these people are coming from. In fact, you could tell your roommate that you’re thinking of doing it and see what his reaction is. If he treats you chilly, you’ll know not to say a word. If he looks understanding and thinks it’s a good idea, than maybe you could talk to him. Try not to decide right this moment,” Blair advised.

“Okay, I’ll do just what you said. I’ll call you later and tell you what happens. Thank you, Blair.”

“You are most welcome; Daryl and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for what you did to help Jim and me.”

“Tell Jim I said hello,” Daryl said before he hung up the phone.

Blair stuck his head out of the room and said, “That was Daryl and he felt bad for hanging up on me. We had a good talk and he’s going to consider talking to his roommate about things. But I told him to take his time and not jump into it. His roommate might not be aggressive usually, but he could become that way easily and I don’t want Daryl hurt.”

“Did you tell him we talked?” Jim asked.

“Of course I did. He said to say hello and he wishes us luck,” Blair said before the phone rang again. He shut his door and answered again. This went on all night long until about ten minutes to eleven. Blair felt like he had helped quite a few people and hoped somehow he would hear the result. There was nothing in the book about telling them to call you back. Blair wished he could say that, so that he would actually know what happened.

When he walked out of his room, Jim was already upstairs. Blair was disappointed.

Jim called down the stairs, “I’m still awake if you want to talk to me.”

Blair rushed up the stairs and said, “I just wanted to tell you how great this job is. I think I really helped a couple of people. Some of them weren’t really listening to what I had to say. The couple that did listen acted like I had the right answers for them. It made me feel good. I also wanted to tell you that I would be at the station tomorrow at 2:00, if it’s all right with you.”

“That’s great, Blair. I’m so glad that the job is working out. There are going to be times that it won’t be so great, so remember these good times when that happens. Two o’clock tomorrow sounds good. You can help me question a new witness that I might have by then. I’m looking forward to working with you. I’m looking more forward to making out on the sofa.”

“Goodnight, Jim.” Blair said softly, trying to ignore the remark about sex.

“Goodnight, Blair.” Jim knew this wasn’t the time to push Blair.

Blair walked down the stairs and felt like a million bucks. Jim was going to be his. He still couldn’t believe it.

Blair got ready and went to bed, where he tossed and turned all night long with dreams of making out on the sofa with Jim. He kept punching his pillow and hoped that it was going to be as fun as he dreamed it would be.

~~~~~

The next day Blair went to the station and worked along side Jim and had a most excellent day. He was having a hard time concentrating with Jim sitting so close to him.

Simon opened up his door and said, “Sandburg, my office, now.”

Jim looked at him questionably and Blair shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea what he did wrong.

Blair walked in and said, “Sir, did you need me for something?”

“I wondered if you would talk to Daryl for me. He’s been really quiet lately and won’t talk to me or his mother about it. I know he talks to you all the time, so would you do that for me?” Simon asked.

Blair sighed and said, “No sir, I can’t. If I asked him something and he told me, I wouldn’t be able to tell you anyhow. I would suggest you talking to him again and seeing if you can’t get further this time. Try not to be so intimidating. You scare the crap out of people, including your son. Let him know that you’ll love him no matter what he comes to you with.”

“Have you talked to him recently?” Simon asked.

“Just the other night, he called to see how Jim and I were doing. Now I have a ton of work to get done before we leave tonight, if that’s all, I’m going to get to it,” Blair said opening up the door.

“Sandburg, he told you something didn’t he?”

“No, Simon, he didn’t tell me anything, he gave me some advice on something I had on my mind, but we didn’t discuss him. Try talking to him again. He’s a really good listener and he’s a good talker too.”

“Okay, I’ll try talking to him again. Joan and I are just worried about him with this being his first year in college,” Simon remarked.

“Like I said, talk to the guy. He’s easy to talk to,” Blair assured Simon.

“What did he end up helping you with?” Simon asked.

“It’s pretty personal, Simon, I’d rather not discuss it here,” Blair admitted.

“Okay, well if you ever need another set of ears to listen, I have them too.”

“Thanks, Simon. I’ll talk to you later.”

Blair walked out of Simon’s office and felt like he was going to give something away. But Simon bought what he said, so that worked out well.

Blair went back to his desk and started typing again and Jim didn’t ask a thing. Blair knew that Jim had listened and knew what was going on.

“I really hate when you listen in on conversations,” Blair whispered.

“Sorry, I thought he was going to yell at you and I thought I might have to go in and save the day. But you proved once again that you can handle Simon well,” Jim teased.

“I’m serious, Jim. Stop listening in.”

“Okay, I won’t from now on. You’re on your own,” Jim said angrily and walked to the break room.

Blair sighed and went back to work again. There was nothing more to say or do. I suppose our date for making out is off now.

~~~~~

Jim went out on a call with Rafe and they were gone until after Blair got off. Blair was disgusted with how the day had turned out, but he felt like he really needed to tell Jim about listening in on other people’s conversations.

Blair let Simon know he was leaving and went down to the garage parking lot. Jim’s truck was parked there, so Blair figured they must have taken Rafe’s car. Blair found that odd in itself, because Jim didn’t like anyone else driving when he was with them. Then Blair saw Rafe’s car and wondered what was going on.

Joel walked up and said, “Hey Blair, are you going over to the pub? Everyone is over there already.”

“No, I have work to do at home. I’ll talk to you in a couple of days,” Blair said as he got into his car.

As Blair drove off, Joel wondered what he had missed.

~~~~~

Jim was having a drink and talking to Henri and Rafe. “Do you believe how stupid the suspect was? I mean, he gave up right away. We didn’t even have to question him or chase him.” They all started laughing and patted Joel on the back when he walked in.

“Jim, I just saw Blair in the parking lot and he looked like he had lost his best friend. Is something going on between you two?” Joel asked.

“I’m just tired of being around him all the time. He gets sort of bossy now and then,” Jim confessed.

“Boy, don’t you know it?” Rafe added.

Conner walked over and said, “I don’t suppose it occurred to any of you to invite him over here did it?”

They all looked at each other and Jim finally said, “He’s a big boy, he knows how to get over here.”

Joel glared at Jim and said, “He might be a big boy, but he gets his feelings hurt just like everyone else. I think you were all rude to him.” Joel got up and walked out of the pub.

“Geeze, what’s his problem?” Rafe asked.

Conner said, “He’s right, we should have invited him. He acted funny all day long, like he was waiting for something bad to happen. Early today, he looked so happy and then it went down hill as the day progressed. Anyone know what happened to him?”

They all shook their heads in unison. Conner just walked out of the pub too.

“Do you suppose we should have asked him along?” Brown inquired.

“No one asked me, I just came over,” Rafe said.

“See, he didn’t have to be asked. Besides, he’s not a real cop,” Jim said.

Rafe and Brown looked at him oddly and Brown said, “All right, what’s going on? You never say that about Hairboy. You always include him in everything cop like. What happened today?”

“We had an argument, big deal.” Jim drank the rest of his beer and then paid his tab. “I need to go home.”

“You better be nice to Hairboy, because he does most of your paperwork,” Rafe said.

Jim just shrugged them off and walked to his truck. He had only one beer, so he wasn’t drunk and was able to drive. Jim knew he was acting like a five year old and would talk to Blair about it when he got home.

As he was driving, he remembered that they were supposed to make out on the sofa all night long. Jim couldn’t believe he had forgotten all about it. He tried to hurry without speeding so that he could get home and kiss butt big time.

~~~~~

Blair got dressed up and decided he was going out. He didn’t have to stay home and wait on Jim Ellison. Jim made it perfectly clear that he wasn’t interested in making out that night and Blair wanted to make out with someone. He decided that he would be more thoughtful than Jim, he left a note.

Jim,

I’m out dancing. I know you aren’t interested in anything we talked about last night, so let’s just forget about it. Let’s start all over again and just be friends.

Blair

Blair walked out the front door and couldn’t wait to get out of the area. He was getting depressed just thinking about Jim blowing him off.

~~~~~

Jim got home and saw that Blair’s car wasn’t there. He went upstairs and found the note. He decided to call Conner and ask her if she knew where Blair went dancing.

“Conner.”

“Do you happen to know where Blair goes dancing?” Jim asked.

Conner started laughing and said, “I knew he was going to be pissed off at you. Yeah, he goes to Barney’s on Speedway and 30th. Good luck with finding him and getting him home without having to kiss ass.”

“Thanks, Conner,” Jim said before he hung up. She was right, he was going to have to kiss ass big time.

~~~~~

Barney's had great dancing. Men danced with men, women danced with women and no one seemed to care. Blair got asked to dance as soon as he walked in the door of the establishment. The man was Jim’s size and very nice looking. So Blair figured, what the hell?

They were slow dancing when Jim came in and found them. He tapped on the guy’s shoulder and said, “You really should stay away from my property.” Jim started to pull Blair out of the other guy’s arms.

“He looks like he’s his own man tonight, mister. Better luck next time,” the man said angrily as he pulled Blair away from Jim.

Jim shoved the man and the man shoved back. Before long, they were shoving each other again and Jim looked up once and saw Blair leaving the bar. Fuck…

The bouncer came up and broke up the beginnings of a fight and Jim started out to the parking lot. Blair was standing by his car waiting.

“Was that fun, Jim?” Blair asked.

“What were you doing with him? You’re supposed to be with me.”

“You weren’t interested in me earlier, so I decided to go elsewhere. It’s a free country, Ellison.”

“Don’t call me Ellison when we’re fighting. That makes it even worse,” Jim said.

“I’ll call you whatever I damn well please. Jim, that was embarrassing. I’m not something you fight over. You could have waited until I was done dancing and asked me to dance. I would have done it.”

“Blair, I’m sorry. I’ve been fucking up all day long. Don’t you think I know you were pissed off at me earlier?”

“What did you do? You went to a bar with your friends instead of keeping a promise you made to me last night. You proved to me exactly how much I meant to you.”

“Blair, I’m sorry. Let’s start over again. Can we go home and talk about this?”

“No, now leave me alone. I’m going to go dancing and I don’t want it to be with you any longer. Just leave. Go hang out with your friends,” Blair said angrily.

“Blair, please come home with me?” Jim pleaded.

“Go home, Jim,” Blair said as he entered the establishment once again.

Jim decided he would wait in the parking lot and see if he could talk to Blair when he came out of the place. While he was waiting, he decided to call that hotline and see if they had any answers for him. Thankfully, he remembered the number that Blair had told him for it. He had an awful lot of questions. He needed some real answers.

The voice answered, “Rainier Gay and Lesbian Crisis Hotline, may I help you?”

“I’m confused and have some questions that need answers to,” Jim began.

“Jim, is this you?” Daryl asked.

“Daryl, why are you answering this line?” Jim asked.

“It’s my new part-time job and I like the idea of helping people. What did you already do to Blair?”

Jim explained that he followed Blair to the bar and was waiting outside for Blair to come out.

“First of all, leave. Don’t let him see you checking up on him. He’ll come home tonight, I promise you. He’s so into you that he’s just trying to get you upset over all of this. He needs positive attention, Jim, not someone following him and stalking him.”

“Why am I listening to a 19 year old?” Jim asked.

“Because I talked to Blair and I know how he feels about you. Try not to fuck this one up, Jim.”

Jim hung up the phone and drove home and decided to wait for Blair to get back. He was going to talk to Blair if it killed both of them.

~~~~~

Blair left the bar not long after Jim did and was honestly, just a little disappointed to see that Jim had gone home like he had asked. He drove home safely because he had only had soft drinks to drink that night. The guy that had the altercation with Jim didn’t ask him to dance again and it looked like Blair was being ignored more or less. That worked out fine, because he wanted to be with Jim anyhow. He was just a little angry at the big guy right at that moment.

~~~~~

Okay, if he’s not home within the next half hour, I’m going looking for him.

Jim was pacing on the balcony when he saw Blair pull into the parking lot. Daryl had been right, Blair did come home and he was alone. Thank god.

Blair looked up and saw Jim standing there and waved. Jim took this as a good sign and waved back.

Jim walked into the house and waited for Blair to come through the front door.

Blair unlocked the front door and walked in. “Hi Jim.”

“Hi Blair.”

“You didn’t have to wait up for me,” Blair stated coldly.

“I wanted to apologize to you for all of the trouble I caused today. I was being immature as usual and took it out on you. I’m truly sorry and I’d like to give us a second chance,” Jim said.

“It’s too late to make out on the sofa. I want a real date out of this,” Blair stated.

“Blair, you name the day and time and I’ll be here for you. I promise I won’t be acting stupid like I was today.”

“How about Saturday night? We’re both off and I want to go out dancing,” Blair suggested.

“You got it. We’re on for Saturday,” Jim agreed.

Blair looked over at Jim and saw the sadness there and said, “Go to bed and think about everything you did today. See if you can come up with the reason for it all.”

“I already know the answer to that. I didn’t like that you yelled at me about listening and I acted like a five year old. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Or hopefully I won’t do it again.”

Blair smiled and said, “We’ll see you tomorrow morning. Sleep well.” Blair then went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Jim sighed and walked up the stairs. He had hoped that somehow Blair would have forgiven him and they would end up sleeping together in the big bed. Jim was actually going to have to work at this relationship. He wasn’t used to doing that much work on anything, as of late.

Jim tossed and turned in bed until about 2:00 a.m. and Blair did much of the same. It was going to be a long fucking night for both men.

~~~~~

The next morning, Blair got up and made breakfast for the two of them, packed his in his lunch box and left for the day. He hated leaving Jim without talking to him, but it couldn’t be helped. Blair had an early class to teach and wanted to actually be there before the kids.

He wouldn’t be working with Jim that night because it was Friday, and he had to answer his calls. He found himself looking forward to it.

On the drive over, Blair found himself thinking about a naked Jim Ellison and just shook his head and hoped he wasn’t going to be doing that all day long. He didn’t have time for this crap. Not to mention walking around with a hard-on behind your zipper sucked.

~~~~~

Jim woke up to an empty loft and didn’t like the feeling at all. Why couldn’t Blair have woken him up before he left for classes? Jim walked downstairs and found a nice breakfast on the table, waiting for him. This made Jim smile big time. He loved bacon and eggs, but Blair didn’t let him have them that often.

Jim ate breakfast, cleaned up, put everything away and then showered and changed for work. Only one day until Saturday. This pleased Jim a great deal and gave him hope.

~~~~~

Daryl Banks got up that morning and dressed as if it was a normal day, but it really wasn’t. He was going to tell his roommate about his new part time job and wanted to see how he reacted to that. Troy seemed to be open minded about things, but this wasn’t enough for Daryl to take a chance on. He needed to find out how he felt about things before he opened up his big mouth.

Troy was sitting at his desk doing more homework when Daryl said, “I got a new part time job, if you wonder where I am in the evenings on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays. I work from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. It’s a great job, I answer phones all night long.”

“Wow, that’s the type of job I wish I could get. Where do you work?” Troy asked.

Daryl smiled and calmly said, “It’s on campus. It’s the Rainier Gay and Lesbian Crisis Hotline. I’m just there for someone that is having a crisis and try to help them.”

Troy looked shocked and then it turned to disgust. “Shit, dude, they’re going to think you’re gay. I can’t have a gay roommate.”

Daryl sighed and answered, “You can find another roommate if you need to. I really like the job, so I’m going to stay with it.”

“Aren’t you afraid of what people will say about you?” Troy asked.

“Not in the least. If they’re worried about me being gay, that’s their problem, not mine. I can live with it. I’m sorry that it’s going to bust our friendship up though,” Daryl said sadly.

“Me too, I can’t have someone that deals with fags as a roommate. I’m a football player,” Troy explained.

“I’d like you to find another room as soon as possible,” Daryl said as he walked out the door.

As Daryl walked to his class he thought about stopping at Blair’s class and seeing if he could talk to him for a short while, but then realized, he was an adult now. He needed to take care of his own problems. He had so hoped that his situation would turn out like Jim and Blair’s. Daryl headed to his first class and got his mind off of everything but the class. He was taking a test today and he needed to be at the top of his game.

~~~~~

Jim told everyone at the station about Blair’s new job and no one seemed adverse to it. Rafe said that he knew two gay officers that had questions all the time and was going to give them Blair’s number. Jim passed out his card with Blair’s phone line number on it, to hand out to anyone that would need it.

The day went fairly quickly. Jim knew that Blair wasn’t going to be coming in that day because he was giving two finals. Then at 6:00 he was on call for his phone line. Jim missed him when he wasn’t at the station, but knew that Blair was doing something he needed to do and it was as uncomplicated as that.

Jim went on two calls with Joel and then typed up his reports and left the station at about 7:00 p.m. Jim hoped that Blair didn’t get a lot of calls that night and maybe they could talk and have dinner together.

Jim called and Blair didn’t answer his cell phone, so he figured he was already busy. Jim stopped at Subway and got two footlongs to go. Jim was starving and hoped that Blair was too. He got them each a bag of chips and a soda to go along with it.

The drive home was without incident. He arrived at the loft and saw the door closed to Blair’s room. Jim wrote a quick note and pushed it under the door, telling Blair that dinner was there for him whenever he got a chance.

Jim heard Blair hang up and open his door.

“Man, you are a life saver. I’m starving and this is the first chance I’ve had to breathe, let alone eat.” Blair sat down and sighed.

Jim got up and got his sandwich and his soda and put them in front of him.

“Thanks, man. You don’t have to wait on me, you know?”

“Maybe I like waiting on you, did you ever think about that?” Jim inquired.

“That makes sense. I know I liked making breakfast for you this morning,” Blair admitted.

Jim smiled and answered, “I loved breakfast. Thank you for doing that.”

“How was work?” Blair questioned.

Jim was just about to answer when Blair’s phone rang.

“Sorry, man, I’ll talk to you at 11:00,” Blair said as he grabbed his food and drink and rushed into his room, slamming the door with his foot.

Jim just grinned. Blair was always like this, full of activity and passion. Jim treasured that about him. Jim finished eating and then sat down and watched television until it was 11:00. He could hardly wait to talk to Blair.

~~~~~

Blair was in his room, seething with anger. He hoped Jim wouldn’t pick up on his frame of mind, because this was his job after all. There were going to be good nights and terrible nights. Daryl had just called him and told him his roommate moved out when he found out about the new job Daryl had. Blair felt so awful for him. They had talked for about an hour and no one else had called the line, so he gave all of his attention to Daryl. Blair hoped that Daryl would have a word with his dad about his life choices, but he knew that would be futile to even bring it up.

Blair calmed his breathing down and walked out into the living room. He stopped and tossed his trash on his way. “Hey Jim. Watching the news?”

“Wow, Chief, you’re like a detective or something. How did you ever figure that out?” Jim teased.

Blair laughed and said, “Okay, let me reword it. What’s new on the news tonight?” Blair plopped down on the sofa next to Jim and smiled at him.

Jim knew that something was wrong right away. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“It’s Daryl. He wouldn’t mind if I told you. He knows I tell you everything, but we can’t say anything to Simon.” Blair said and then went on to tell Jim about all that had happened on campus.

Jim frowned and then took a deep breath. “It astounds me that people are so close minded and pathetic. He couldn’t even stick up for a friend? He ought to have the same treatment come his way some day. You know that little one bedroom apartment on the fourth floor, upstairs, that was for sale? Well, I bought it. I had the money and I figured that some day we might need it for your mom or something. But maybe it would be better to suggest it to Daryl. He wouldn’t have to share a room with anyone, the rent would be so inexpensive he won’t believe it and he’d be close to us if he needed us for anything. Simon would save a bundle having to only pay half of whatever he pays now.”

“You bought the apartment upstairs? When were you going to tell me about it?” Blair asked.

“This weekend when I asked you to help me paint it and get it neat and clean,” Jim kidded.

“Seriously, you just bought it?” Blair inquired.

“Blair why are you so focused on the apartment?”

“Jim, maybe you were buying it for me? Maybe you wanted your place to yourself again,” Blair said dejectedly.

“You are so off base it isn’t even funny. I want to turn your room into our office and I want you to move into my room. So that’s the only changes I want to see happen in this loft.”

Blair smiled a crooked little smile and then leaned into Jim and kissed his lips tenderly. Jim met those wonderful lips and kissed him back, just as affectionately.

Jim pulled back and said, “Okay, you’re getting my motor running too fast, so let’s put the brakes on right now.”

Blair laughed and replied, “If you insist.”

“You didn’t mention about tonight if you were able to help anyone. Was it a good night?” Jim asked, trying to get the focus off his hard dick.

“Yes, I helped three people, two women and a man. It was good talking to someone that actually listens to you and wants to learn from what you say. I feel like it turned out to be a good night, except for Daryl. That was the only heartbreaking part because I knew I couldn’t help him in the least. But they told us that in this job, there are many nights where you can’t help someone. This is just the beginning.”

“I’m glad it was a decent night except for Daryl. Why don’t you call Daryl and ask him if he’d like to help paint and clean his new apartment tomorrow,” Jim suggested.

“I will. I’ll be right back,” Blair said as he rushed into his room for his cell phone.

“Hello?” Daryl said into the phone, sounding lost and sad.

“Hey, Jim came up with a wonderful idea and we thought we would run it by you. How much do you have to pay for the semi-private dorm room with no bathroom?”

“I can’t afford my own place, Blair, I’m fairly poor.”

“How much, Daryl?”

“My dad pays $600.00 a month for this place,” Daryl explained.

“How do you think he would feel about you having your own small apartment, one bedroom and one bath for a lot cheaper than you pay right now?” Blair asked.

“I think he would jump at the chance, why?” Daryl was interested now.

“Jim bought the apartment on the fourth floor of this building and was willing to rent it to you for half of what your dad pays right now. Why don’t you think it over, talk to your dad and let us know. But if you are interested, you have to come over tomorrow and Sunday and help paint and clean up the place and get it in order.”

“I’m going to call dad and see what he says and I’ll call you right back,” Daryl said before he hung up the phone.

Blair walked back out to the living room and said, “Someone is excited.”

“Is he going to talk it over with Simon and call us back?” Jim questioned.

Blair smirked and said, “Like you weren’t listening to the entire thing.”

Blair’s cell went off before Jim had a chance to defend his honor.

“Hi Daryl.”

“My dad said if it’s half of what we pay now, I should take you up on it. He wonders how come it’s so cheap, but I told him to not look a gift horse in the mouth,” Daryl said happily.

“Okay, we’ll tell your dad when to send the checks. Are you coming tomorrow to paint and clean?” Blair asked.

“I’ll be there by eight tomorrow morning. See you then. Blair will you tell Jim thank you for me?” Daryl inquired.

“I’ll tell him thank you and we’ll see you in the morning. Night, Daryl.”

“Goodnight, Blair. Thanks again for everything.”

They both closed their cells and Blair just beamed with happiness.

“I guess we’ll have a new neighbor living in the building,” Blair teased.

“I’m glad that Simon took us up on it. Simon is strapped trying to pay for everything these days,” Jim stated.

“I can’t wait to have him move in. Oh man, he doesn’t have any furniture. That’s going to be expensive for Simon.”

“Blair, I forgot to mention its semi furnished. It has a refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, sofa and chair, dresser and bed, and lastly, a dining room table. So he’ll be set. Everything just needs a good cleaning.”

“We can get him a comforter set for his bedroom as a moving in present. Maybe a set of dishes too,” Blair remarked.

“Sounds good to me. I’ve got to go to bed, this has been a long, long night. Do you believe that Daryl called his dad at 11:00 at night?” Jim asked.

“He was excited and Simon will probably sleep better knowing that Daryl will be close to us. Not to mention how inexpensive it’s going to be. Now back to us, can I have a kiss before bed?” Blair asked.

Jim leaned in for a kiss and they kissed for some time. Jim finally pulled away and said, “This is going to be so good.”

“I agree. Goodnight, Jim.”

“Goodnight, Blair.”

Both men went through their nightly routines, with a hard on, but knew that their date wasn’t for another night. Besides they had to get ready to clean the apartment in the morning. They needed to be rested.

~~~~~

At seven the next morning, both men were up and dressed for the day. At 7:30 there was a knock at the door. Blair opened it up and found a smiling Daryl and Simon.

“Come on in,” Blair said as he opened the door wide for both of them.

Simon walked in and said, “Morning, Sandburg, how are you doing this fine morning?”

“Wow, you’re in a good mood. I’m fine, thank you,” Blair answered.

Jim walked up to both of them and said, “Hi Simon, hi Daryl.”

Simon shook Jim’s hand and said, “Thank you so much for doing this for Daryl, Jim. It’s going to save me a fortune and I’ll sleep better knowing he’s close to both of you.”

“It was no problem, Simon. I bought it ages ago and just haven’t done anything with it yet. So you’re here to paint and clean?” Jim asked.

“That’s what I’m here for. I’m rolling up my sleeves and ready to tear into this place. Does it have any furniture?” Simon asked.

Blair smiled and replied, “It’s furnished, Simon.”

Daryl was almost bouncing and said, “Can we start now?”

The next seven hours had all four men painting, cleaning and just getting things arranged. They all stood back that afternoon and saw a wonderful looking apartment.

Blair said, “I’m going shopping for a few things for your place, Daryl, would you like to go with me?”

Daryl smiled and answered, “Yeah, man that would be cool.”

The two of them left Simon and Jim to clean up the painting mess which the two men didn’t mind a bit. They preferred that over shopping any day.

“Jim, this apartment is worth a lot more than you’re going to charge me.”

“Simon, it’s paid for, so stop worrying. This will just be extra money for me. In fact, I’m making it $250.00 a month due each month on the first. How does that sound?”

“That sounds perfect.” Simon pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check to Jim for three months. “Here you go. The first three months are paid for. Daryl will remind me when rents due again.”

They locked up the apartment and walked downstairs to the loft.

Jim made some coffee and poured he and Simon both a cup.

“Jim, I’m so impressed with how great the apartment looks. Daryl is going to be thrilled with it.”

“We’ll be glad to have him close to us. Blair can help him study too, so that works out well. I think this is going to be a good move for him, Simon.”

“Daryl told me about what happened with his roommate and I was surprised that he was such a coward. Why would Daryl’s job affect him in any way whatsoever? Don’t you find it odd?”

“Well, he probably thought that his friends would think he was gay if he hung out with a person that works for the Gay and Lesbian Crisis hotline. Football players are basically insecure,” Jim said.

Simon looked surprised and said, “What are you talking about? Daryl works for the Suicide Help line.”

“Sorry, my mistake, I must have misunderstood him.” Jim back peddled as fast as he could.

“Jim, are you telling me he works for a Gay and Lesbian Hotline?” Simon asked point blank.

“Blair does too and told Daryl about the job. It’s not that big of a deal, Simon.”

“It is a big deal, he’ll be labeled at gay now and his grades will suffer in the end. I can’t believe he lied to me. Maybe he isn’t ready for an apartment,” Simon barked.

“Simon this is why he didn’t tell you the truth from the beginning. You’re not easy to talk to. You intimidated him from day one. Now talk to him and he’ll tell you the truth.”

“Doesn’t it bother you that Sandburg works for that hotline? I mean, people will think he’s gay,” Simon growled.

Jim stood up straight and said, “Do you have a problem with gay people, Simon?”

“Oh for Christ’s sake. You two? You’re a couple? Fuck… I thought you were just friends.”

“Does it matter?” Jim asked.

“No, I guess not. I’m just surprised is all. Oh my god, is Daryl gay?” Simon was freaking out.

“Simon, why not talk to him and see what he has to say.”

The door opened and in walked Blair and Daryl and Simon said, “Daryl I need to talk to you right now.”

Daryl looked at Jim and knew his goose was cooked. “I’m going to wash the bedding for my bedroom and get my new dishes put away. Do you want to help me?” Daryl asked his dad.

“Yeah, then we’ll talk.” The two of them grabbed the bags of goodies and walked out the door.

Jim said, “Daryl, here is the key. I’ll always have a spare one in case you lose yours.”

“Thanks for everything, Jim and Blair,” Daryl said almost sadly. He knew his father wasn’t going to take the news well. He walked out with a completely different attitude as he had when he came home.

As soon as the door was shut, Blair said, “What’s going on?”

Jim explained what had been said and discussed and Blair said, “Well, he didn’t seem to be taking it that badly. Did you think he was?”

“He lied to his dad and Simon feels like he’s not old enough to have his own place,” Jim said.

“How did Simon take the news about us?” Blair asked.

“Very quietly. He was almost too quiet. I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes Daryl move home with him,” Jim stated.

“Oh come on, he wouldn’t do that would he?” Blair asked.

“I don’t know. He seemed freaked out about you and me.”

“Jim, do you feel differently now that he knows about me and you?” Blair asked nervously.

“No, I love you and I want to be with you. It doesn’t matter what Simon thinks about it, but it’ll hurt if he makes Daryl move home.”

“Come and sit on the sofa with me and we’ll talk about our feelings,” Blair suggested, patting the sofa cushion next to him.

“They might come back down, I don’t want to make out with them upstairs,” Jim said.

“Oh for crying out loud. Get over here,” Blair ordered.

Jim sat down and Blair climbed over Jim’s lap. They began to kiss like crazy and there was no discussion about anything, only making out. Jim finally pulled away from him and said, “I’m going to come in my jeans from just kissing.”

Blair beamed and said, “It’s nice to know I still got it.”

Jim got up and set Blair down on the floor. They walked hand in hand up the stairs and Blair said, “Wait, I didn’t make you dinner first.”

“You want to eat right now?” Jim asked.

“I guess not,” Blair said laughing.

“Good,” Jim said laughing as he pulled Blair up the stairs the rest of the way. Jim and Blair both fell on the bed laughing and things were working out just fine.

~~~~~

“Daryl, why didn’t you tell me the truth to start with?”

“Dad, it’s not like you’re the easiest person in the world to talk to. I didn’t even know where to begin,” Daryl said softly.

“I want you to know that you can come to me with anything. I might not like what you say, but I’m still here to listen,” Simon commented as he hugged his son.

“So you’re not going to disown me?” Daryl asked candidly.

“No, son, I’m not going to disown you. I wish you wouldn’t have made up your mind so quickly about your sexual orientation, but I think you found a good job to help you decide what’s best. I bet you’ll be a great help to someone, too.”

“Do you want to take Jim and Blair out for dinner, dad? I can’t go because I have to work, but you could go with them and thank them again.”

“That’s a good idea, but let’s call first,” Simon answered as he pulled his cell phone out to call Jim’s number at the loft.

The phone rang and Jim answered it, “Hello?”

“I wanted to know if you and Sandburg would like to have dinner with me tonight,” Simon suggested.

“Give us twenty minutes and we’ll meet you at the elevator,” Jim replied.

“Okay, I’ll be there waiting,” Simon answered.

“We’re going somewhere?” Blair asked his naked lover.

“Simon’s taking us out for dinner, we’re going to meet him in twenty minutes,” Jim said before he kissed his lover once more.

“Knock it off, Jim. You know we have to leave in twenty minutes and now I’m hard again,” Blair said sounding irritated.

“Let’s get up and get ready to go,” Jim suggested, almost laughing.

They jumped in the shower as quickly as they could and got dressed and were ready with time to spare.

They walked out of the loft and there stood Simon leaning on the elevator waiting.

“Hey Simon, have you been waiting long?” Blair wondered.

“No, I just got here. I walked Daryl down to his car and came back up. He has to work tonight at the university. He suggested I take the two of you out to thank you once again.”

They all got on the elevator and rode down in silence. Jim wondered if Simon had a talk with Daryl, but didn’t want to bring it up just in case it didn’t go well.

“You two can both stop worrying, I’m not disowning my son because he thinks he’s gay. Next year, he might think he’s something else, am I right?” Simon asked hopefully.

Blair smiled and replied, “You are absolutely right, Simon.” Blair wasn’t going to disagree with this dad for anything.

“You’re taking it rather well,” Jim remarked.

“Nothing else I can do, right?” Simon inquired.

Both men said, “Right.”

They walked to Simon’s car and Blair sat in the backseat by himself. Simon said, “Jim you can sit with Blair if you’d rather.”

“No, the front seat is fine. I would feel like I was in a taxi sitting in the back and as you well know, I hate taxis.”

“Yeah, but you’re crazy about me,” Blair reminded him.

Jim said, “Simon why don’t we meet you there. That way you don’t have to drive all the way back here?”

“Good thinking. We’re going to Olive Garden, I love their food.”

“We’ll meet you there,” Jim answered. He and Blair both got into the truck and began to follow Simon over to Olive Garden.

“Jim does it embarrass you to sit next to me in front of Simon?”

“I knew you were going to think that. No, I just don’t like a driver sitting alone up front, it reminds me of a taxi. I’d prefer to have you in my own vehicle instead, so I can do this.” Jim stopped at the red light and pulled Blair in for a long kiss.

“All right, I’m going to let it drop for now. But I want to know if anything makes you uncomfortable. You’ll tell me right?

Jim smiled at his lover and said, “I promise.”

“That’s all I can ask, Jim.”

Jim parked next to Simon in the parking lot and they walked into the establishment together. There was literally no wait, so they were seated and the waitress took their drink order.

“So Simon, what do you think of Daryl’s new place? Nice digs, eh?” Blair asked.

“I love his new apartment. But more than anything, he loves it there. He was so excited when he left that he looked a little like Blair when he’s happy,” Simon stated. “I think he’ll do much better off campus too, with the whole gay thing. I don’t want someone beating him up or treating him badly.”

“If anything comes up, I’m sure he’ll come to one of us,” Jim said.

They ordered dinner and once it came, they all dug in.

Blair finally came up for air and asked, “So what do you think about Daryl’s life choice?”

“I’m not happy about it. He’s got to decide for himself though. I have to tell you, I never saw it coming. Did either of you?” Simon questioned.

“I never saw it coming,” Jim said.

“So did you tell Daryl that you aren’t happy about him being gay?” Blair asked.

“Not in so many words, no,” Simon answered.

No one talked for a few minutes and finally Simon decided to say something. “I’m hoping that he gets out of this phase soon. But in case he doesn’t I’m going to try and prepare myself for the worst.”

“So you don’t like Jim and me being together either?” Blair inquired.

“Not really. It’s none of my business though. As long as you’re not kissing him in front of me, I’m all right with it. You’re going to keep this out of the workplace, correct?” Simon wondered.

Jim answered quickly, “Our personal life is exactly that. Personal. So it stays with us. I’m sorry that you don’t approve of us.”

“Who needs his approval?” Blair asked.

“There is no need to get defensive, Sandburg,” Simon replied.

“We don’t need your approval, Simon. It’s as simple as that. I’m not being defensive, I’m just stating a fact,” Blair grumbled.

“Can I ask you both to do me a favor?” Simon asked not knowing that it might change everything in all of their lives.

“Depends on the favor,” Jim answered.

“When Daryl is around, would you please not kiss or hold hands or anything demonstrative at all? I’d rather not have him see it up close,” Simon stated.

Blair stood up and said, “I’m so out of here. Jim you’re free to stay with this ass, but I don’t have to put up with it.” Blair stormed out of the restaurant and waited in the parking lot for Jim. He didn’t have to wait long. Jim opened up his side of the truck and kissed him quickly.

“Does he even know why we’re pissed off?” Blair asked.

“I think he knows. Let him sleep on it and get back to us. Thankfully we have another day off before we have to deal with him,” Jim said sadly.

“He’s such a jerk and I feel bad that Daryl will have to hear insults like that his entire life,” Blair said.

“Hopefully he’ll come around and things will change,” Jim trusted.

Blair held Jim’s hand and asked, “Are you sad or mad?”

“Both. I thought he would be more understanding of me and you. I’m not even talking about his son, just me and you. But he didn’t even want to hear it. He might make trouble for us.”

“Jim, if he makes trouble for us, we’ll just have to give him trouble right back. He’d better not mess with either of us,” Blair promised.

“It’ll be good to have you on my side,” Jim said with a smile on his lips.

They parked at the loft and got out. They walked up the stairs, not even looking to see if the elevator was working. Both men had their minds on something else.

They walked into the loft and Blair said, “I hope he’s not hateful to Daryl.”

“Daryl is his son, Blair. I can’t imagine him throwing that away after all of these years of loving him. “

~~~~~

Simon paid for the meal they never finished and walked out to the parking lot. When had things gone so horribly wrong? He needed to talk to a straight person that would help him get his head cleared.

When Simon got to his car, he drove over to Conner’s apartment and he called her. “Hello?” she answered.

“Conner, do you mind if I stop by and talk with you about something?” Simon asked.

“Captain Banks?” she replied.

“Simon, call me Simon,” he said.

Conner couldn’t believe he was calling her and wondered what it was in regards to. “Do you know where I live?”

“I’m down in the parking lot right now. Do you mind if I come up?”

“Sure, come on up. I’ll put a pot of coffee on,” Conner answered.

As soon as she turned the machine on, Simon was knocking at the door.

“Come on in, Simon. Sit down and tell me what’s on your mind,” Conner ordered.

“What would you do if you found out your child was gay?” Simon blurted out.

“Oh my… That must have been quite a shock. First of all, you should be encouraging, because he’s probably already mixed up as it is. Next, you should leave the line of communication open so that he knew he could talk to you about anything. And last, just love him and let him know that you’ll love him no matter what.”

“You have no children, so you really don’t know how you would feel,” Simon stated irritably.

“I know something about this, because I have a younger brother who is gay and a nephew who is gay. So don’t tell me I don’t understand. But my older brother, the father of the gay son, disowned him. So did a lot of people in the family. He now lives in the same city as my younger brother who is gay. They look after each other. The family has no idea what they are missing. The boys came to visit me last Christmas and it was so much fun. I love them to death. I would hate for you to lose your son, Simon. You’ve already lost your wife; do you really want to alienate your son too?” Megan inquired.

“No, I don’t want to lose my son,” Simon admitted.

“Then don’t. I’m sure you said something stupid, right?” Megan questioned.

“Not to them, but I insulted Jim and Blair,” Simon confessed.

“Oh my god, they’re a couple?” Conner asked happily.

“Yes, they’re a couple and I said some rude things at the restaurant. They both walked out on dinner with me.”

“Stop by the loft on the way home and fix things. You’ve been friends with Jim too long to let something like this get in the way. I know you hate to admit it, but you like Sandy too. Just talk to them and let them know you’re going to try and understand. That’s all they can really ask, Simon.”

“Okay, I’ll go over now,” Simon remarked as he got up to leave.

“Good luck, Simon.”

“Thank you, Conner,” Simon answered as he walked through the doorway and was on his way to take care of his mission.

~~~~~

The phone rang and Blair answered, “Hello?”

“Hi Sandy, I just wanted to give the two of you a heads up. Simon is on the way over to talk to both of you. He’s come to his senses and feels terrible about what he said to you. Did I need to warn you?” Conner asked evilly.

“As a matter of fact, it would be good if we got dressed, yes. I take it that this doesn’t bother you in the least,” Blair said.

“Not at all, I saw it coming. You two took too long, I was getting bored from waiting,” Conner teased.

“Thanks for the heads up, Conner. We need to get dressed now,” Blair declared.

“Goodnight, Sandy.”

“Goodnight, Conner. Talk to you on Monday,” Blair said before he hung up his cell.

Blair turned to Jim and said, “Simon is on his way over, Conner was giving us a heads up.”

“Maybe I don’t want to talk to Simon. Did you ever think about that?” Jim wondered.

“Oh grow up, he’s coming to apologize to us,” Blair said.

“Serious? I can’t believe anyone was able to talk sense into that man that we had dinner with,” Jim commented in awe.

“It’s Conner. She was the one that talked him into talking to us. She’s thrilled about us, by the way.”

Jim smiled at his lover and said, “Glad to hear that. I know it’s important for you to make Conner happy.”

“It’s not as important as making you happy, Jim.”

“We better get dressed before he gets here, eh?” Jim asked.

The two men threw on their clothing and went down to brush their hair. Blair saw his image in the mirror and thought he looked like Jim had tried to pull his hair out by the ends. “Man, what did you do to my hair?” Blair asked as he laughed and brushed at the same time.

“Are you complaining about my technique?”

“Not at all, Jim. I love everything you do with me.”

Jim tilted his head to the side as he listened to something and said, “He’s here. I’ll get the door.”

“Go, Sentinel man.” Blair joked as he smacked Jim on the ass. Jim growled and tried to just ignore how nice it felt to be smacked by Blair.

Before Simon had a chance to knock, Jim opened up the door, leaving Simon to almost fall into the apartment. “I really hate when you do that, Jim.”

Jim smiled and said, “Come on in.”

Blair joined them and said, “What are you doing out this time of night?”

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing I pissed off two of my good friends. I’m sorry for everything I said. You sort of shocked me tonight and then Daryl shocked me and I went into overload. I’m going to work on my attitude, so if you’ll forgive me and give me time, I’ll accept you as soon as I understand,” Simon stated.

Jim frowned and said, “You might not accept the idea for years. What are we supposed to do in the mean time?”

“I promise I’ll have something to say worthwhile in a couple of days. Just let me sleep on it and get my thoughts together. I seriously think you make a good couple. But it’s the couple part I have to get used to. Please forgive me for the shitty things I said to you,” Simon pleaded.

Blair smiled and answered, “I forgive you already. Just try and understand all of us. That’s all we can ask.”

“Yeah, what he said,” Jim joked.

“I have a lot of questions I need answered from my son in the next few days, but I’m sure he’ll have some good answers for me. As long as they are always truthful answers, they will be the right answers. Thanks once again for renting the apartment out to Daryl. He’s thrilled, I’m thrilled and I imagine you’ll be thrilled too having it rented so quickly,” Simon commented.

Thanks for stopping by, Simon. It’s late, you had better go. We need to retire for the evening,” Jim suggested.

“I can take a hint. Have a good nights sleep guys. We’ll see you on Monday,” Simon said as he walked out the door.

“Thanks, Simon.” Blair called out from where he stood.

“See you on Monday,” Jim said.

As soon as the door was shut and locked, Jim turned to Blair and said, “I’m so glad this is all settled now. I didn’t like where this was going at all. Everyone just needed the right answers. I think that we’ve found all of ours.”

“We sure did, Jim. I love you.”

“I love you, Blair.”

The end