Where Angels Tread Pt 2

WHERE ANGELS TREAD
© January 2003 by Charlotte Frost

PART TWO

Blair took his shade-covered eyes off the gray highway to momentary glance in the sideview mirror. He felt great satisfaction in seeing the length of the RV stretched out behind him on the isolated road. He could imagine what Freud would say.

"You get us lost yet, Darwin?" Jim asked as he appeared at Blair's side and handed him a carton of juice.

Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, Blair accepted the juice with the other. "Not hardly. We've got another hundred miles of this one road, my friend."

Jim sat in the passenger seat and squinted at the sky. "All this sun. It almost seems unreal."

Blair chuckled. "Maybe to you, living in rainy Cascade most of your life." He jerked his thumb at himself. "But this man has seen many a desert and, all in all, I prefer it." As Jim put on sunglasses, Blair glanced down at his short-sleeved shirt and jeans. "It's great wearing just one layer."

Jim himself was sporting an undershirt and casual slacks. It was early March, but it was over seventy degrees here in the desert of New Mexico. They'd flown into Albuquerque last night and stayed at a motel. This morning, they rented an RV for their travels, which were planned only loosely. They were guaranteed one week of vacation. Blair had sworn on a Bible in Simon's office that, in exchange for his refusal to check messages while they were away, he would call Simon directly after one week. If Simon thought he could handle another week without them, then they could have that additional week of vacation. But if Simon said they were needed back, they would be expected to report for work within twenty-four hours.

Jim took the map from the dashboard. "What's the last sign you saw?" he asked as he studied it.

"Something about some town being fifty miles away."

Jim turned the map over. "Tres Legunas?"

"Yeah, that was it."

"Looks like that's the last one before our turn-off."

Blair grinned, feeling a sense of adventure. Their turn-off would take them out to the middle of nowhere.

It was nearly three in the afternoon when they had parked the RV near a small hill out in the middle of the desert, some five miles from the nearest paved road. They had spent an hour securing the RV as a camper. Most prominent was an awning that stretched out eight feet from the side of the vehicle. Beneath it, they'd unfolded a small picnic table and some lawn chairs.

There wasn't a soul in sight, although a couple of hawks circled overhead, and a few roadrunners could be seen in the distance. The breeze was moderate and warm.

Blair moved one of the lawn chairs to the edge of the shade provided by the awning. It faced out in the distance, toward a mountain range, away from the RV and the sun. "All right, Jim, sit here and let's get you acclimated."

Jim, wearing his Jags cap, sat in the chair and closed his eyes, letting his hands rest palm-down on his thighs, his feet flat against the ground. His back was straight, allowing his chakras to line up.

"Good," Blair approved, squatting beside the chair. Over time, in helping Jim with his senses, he had taught Jim some basic meditation techniques. Blair had never called it that, because the term made Jim bristle since he rejected the idea of being any kind of believer in New Age ideals. Instead, Blair simply directed Jim on what to do, and Jim did it. He suspected that Jim did know that he was learning mediation skills, but as long as a label wasn't put on the process, Jim seemed okay with it.

"Okay," Blair said in a calm, even voice, "let's go inside to where your senses converge. Focus on that. Take a deeeep breath." He watched Jim obey. "We're going to start with sight. Open your eyes and block out the sharp rays of the sun." He watched Jim's eyes stare straight ahead. "Good." Blair put a steadying hand on Jim's knee. "Go out as far as you're comfortable with." He waited a few moments. "What do you see?"

"A rabbit," Jim replied. "He's eating the shrubbery."

"Good, good," Blair said softly, watching Jim. "How far away, do you think?"

"Maybe half a mile. There's a bird eating part of a cactus."

"A cactus wren," Blair supplied automatically.

"The rabbit is darting off, because a fox is coming near."

When Jim didn't say anything for a few moments, Blair said, "Let's draw back closer to home base, maybe a quarter mile out. What do you see?"

"A snake," Jim said after a moment. "A rattler." Jim blinked. "He just grabbed some sort of lizard."

Blair grinned. "Great. At least he'll be full for a while." He hesitated. "Do a slow, peripheral search, so we can make sure there isn't a rattler's pit or something close to us." He watched Jim's head turn slowly to the left, until he was twisting in his chair. Then, he came back around to the right. After another minute, he said, "I don't see anything."

"What about anything else that could be a threat to us?" Blair asked.

"No."

"Good. Now raise your sight up. Look up into the sky and tell me what you see."

Jim's face tilted up. After a long moment, he smiled. "A hawk is carrying a snake."

"What can you see of the hawk? How much detail?" Blair enjoyed Jim's smile.

"Dark red. The outline of his wings. The snake isn't a rattler. Something not poisonous. I can tell by the shape of its head." Then, hopefully, "Do you see the hawk?"

Blair looked off into the distance. While hawks had been flying closer a little earlier, all he could see now was a speck in the distance. "Just enough to know there's a bird in the sky. High enough that it's probably hawk, but that's about it."

Jim didn't react, but his expression looked amazed.

Blair prompted, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"It's so free," Jim marveled. "Its wing span is so large."

Thank you, God, Blair said silently. Jim's senses were such a marvel. It was only right that Jim be able to enjoy himself with them, instead of using them to only for delving into the ugliness of humanity.

Blair squeezed Jim's knee. "Go with it as long as you want. I'm right here."

It lasted only a moment later, then Jim shook his head. "It disappeared behind a cliff."

Blair massaged Jim's knee. "Okay, let's give your eyes a rest. Close them." He waited. "Take another deep breath and let it go." Blair shifted to rest his butt on the ground, his hand moving to clasp Jim's ankle. "Let's move to hearing. Extend your hearing out, blocking out the wind." He guided Jim through an exercise with sound.

Abruptly, Jim said, "I hear rattlers. Lots of them."

"How far out, do you think?"

Jim listened a while longer. "More than a quarter mile."

Blair nodded. "Good. I don't think they'll be any trouble to us. We just need to be alert for any hiding places around us, such as beneath the RV." He said, "Pull your hearing closer. Can you hear them?"

After a long moment, Jim shook his head. "No."

"Good. But keep that sound in mind." Blair got an idea. "Jim, I want you to imagine your spirit animal, the black jaguar. Let me know when you have him in your mind's eye."

Blair half-expected Jim to protest, but his sentinel nodded.

"Ask him to tell you if any rattlers come close enough to be a danger. Ask him to alert you with a growl."

Finally, a grimace from Jim. This wasn't the kind of stuff he felt comfortable doing.

"You don't have to say anything out loud," Blair assured, knowing Jim would feel foolish doing so. "Just, within your mind, ask for his assistance."

Jim quickly nodded, obviously wanting to move on.

They went through smell, which Jim found difficult to put into words; and touch, Blair asking Jim to recognize the arid air around his body, the heat of the sun upon his skin. There wasn't any point in doing taste, since they weren't planning on ingesting anything from their surroundings.

"Take a deep, relaxing breath," Blair instructed in closing. "Let yourself sit very still. Let yourself relax and just be for a few moments." He waited for the minute slumping of the white-clad shoulders. "Let sound and smell and touch come to you; don't reach for them."

Blair watched until Jim was very still. Content that Jim was in his own meditation - even if he'd never call it that - Blair got up and quietly went inside the RV. He brought out some blankets and other supplies. He spread the blanket out beneath the awning and held down the corners with books, as the occasional wind gusts threatened to lift it.

He had thought that taking a vacation from their routine life would also mean taking a vacation from sex. But now, he felt that he wanted to pleasure Jim while here in the stillness of nowhere.

"Jim, come out of it whenever you're ready." Blair undressed, careful to put his clothing under the RV to protect it from the wind.

He suspected Jim was listening for the right moment. As soon as Blair was naked, he knelt beside Jim's chair, and Jim at that moment opened his eyes and looked down at him.

Blair grinned and reached for Jim, ready to receive him as Jim collapsed from the chair into his arms, their mouths locking together.

They hiked away from the RV in the coolness of dusk. The sun was a bright ball as it sank into the horizon.

Blair's eyes squinted as he took in the scruff vegetation of the land before them.

Jim grabbed his arm. "Shh," he cautioned.

Blair looked at him, curbing the instinct to ask what?

"Snake," Jim whispered, his eyes scanning the ground ahead of them. "A rattler."

Blair listened. Softly, he said, "I don't hear anything."

Jim's gaze changed to a stare. He raised his hand and pointed. "It's over there. It's not rattling."

Blair relaxed. "That means it doesn't feel threatened. Let's just give it a wide berth." Still he was curious and craned his neck in the indicated direction, while Jim started to guide him past the area.

Blair caught a glimpse of thick, greenish-brown strip that blended in with the small plants around it. "I see it," he whispered, pausing to enjoy the sight. It had been years since he'd seen a real, live rattler. But if it wasn't rattling....

He looked up at Jim. "How did you know to look for it, if it wasn't making any noise?"

Jim shrugged. "I just did."

Blair had studied Jim so long that he was well versed in reading every nuance of his partner's expression. He broke into a huge grin. "Your spirit animal warned you, didn't it?" he asked excitedly. "You heard him growl."

Jim didn't reply.

Blair shook his head at Jim's stubbornness and they continued on.

They had traveled nearly a mile when they came upon a ridge that bordered an oasis-like canyon. There was a small stream of water dripping from the side across from them, and larger and greener plants within the canyon itself.

It looked so cool and relaxing and inviting.

Very inviting.

Jim started to step away, but Blair briefly gripped his arm to get his attention. "Jim?"

Jim paused. Blair could see a thin film of sweat on his forehead. He was aware of the sweat on his own body, despite the coolness of the evening. Never underestimate the power of the sun.

Blair cleared his throat. "I would like to come here tomorrow. Alone. And spend all day meditating." He felt bad about that - leaving Jim alone for a day on their vacation - but the urge was strong. He knew, at least, what would set his partner's mind at ease. "Can you scan down there and see if you detect any danger?"

Jim went to work, his concentration deep as his eyes scanned the canyon below, while his head tilted, listening.

After a long moment, Jim relaxed. "There's some deer down there. Some lizard - salamander or something. It should be fine."

"You'll be okay if I leave you alone all day?"

Jim's mouth corner twitched. "I brought a book and I can hopefully pick up something on the TV. I'll be fine. Be good to get away from you for a change." He slapped Blair's cheek with the back of his hand. "Just make sure you dress appropriately. The sun can fool you in this kind of climate."

Blair nodded. "We should probably head back. I'll want to get an early start tomorrow."

Jim laid the novel aside. He was up to page seventeen and he couldn't say what the story was about. He couldn't focus. Couldn't concentrate.

Naked - since there was no need for clothes -- he got up and paced around the small confines of the RV.

This was just rich. What the hell had happened to him? He used to love solitude. Now he had an RV all to himself, out in the peaceful middle of nowhere, and he couldn't get rid of his restless energy. Every once in a while he extended his senses out in the direction of the canyon, but the only data that came back to him was Blair's contented stillness.

Damn.

He had even gone outside earlier and tried to do his own meditation - lining up his chakras like Blair had taught him, and doing his breathing - but he was unable to focus without Blair's voice to guide him along. Besides, he'd felt just plain silly.

Time to try the TV again. A prior effort had revealed all the channels to have too much snow to be viewable without getting a headache. Maybe if he spent more time playing with the rabbit ears....

After twenty minutes, he was successful, but it was a hollow victory. The two local channels he'd managed to pick up were consumed with a story on a five-year-old girl lost in a campground somewhere. Nothing else was being aired.

Jim sighed pitifully.

Eat. Then nap.

Then maybe he'd be able to enjoy his novel.

It was smell that first alerted him of Blair's return.

Jim got up from the bed, where he'd been browsing through some military magazines. He sniffed the air, a feeling of anticipation coming over him. Blair was sweating heavily, but his stride was steady and determined. Jim dialed up sight and piggy-backed it onto smell - just briefly, because Blair didn't want him to do that without his guide handy - and picked up the sunburn on the top of Blair's shoulders, despite the t-shirt he wore. Jim also detected the peaceful expression on Blair's face as he walked.

The odor Blair gave off became stronger as he approached the RV in the late afternoon heat. Jim flung open the RV's door to greet him, aware of the physical weight of his desire.

Blair smiled through a reddened face. "Hey."

Jim's nose sniffed the air over and over. He grabbed Blair and helped him step up into the vehicle.

"Ah, man," Blair said with an airy, satisfied sigh, "do I ever need a cold shower."

No. Jim kept his grip and continued to sniff at Blair as he grabbed the water bottle from Blair's hand, the bandanna from his hair, and tossed them aside. He took the small knapsack from Blair's other hand and flung it to the ground.

"Easy," Blair said softly. He bent to pull the shirt off his back.

Jim was waiting. As soon as Blair's upper body was bare - the redness of his shoulders all the more prominent against the rest of his pale skin - he knelt just enough to press his face against the wetness of a hairy armpit and inhaled the powerful scent.

His cock was leaking.

"Jim," Blair muttered, working with his shorts, "I've got to have a shower, man. I'm burning up."

Jim helped Blair pull down his shorts and underwear. Then he pressed his face against the area of his crotch and inhaled.

He was almost zoning on the rich scent when gentle hands cupped his face.

"Hey," Blair soothed. "Let me catch a shower and you can have me. Take my clothes in the meantime." Blair shifted to step out of them.

Jim didn't want him to shower. He wanted to fuck all those secretions that carried Blair's mysteries.

Scent-drenched clothes were shoved into his hands. Blair turned to the small shower stall and stepped inside.

Jim carried the clothes to their bed. He sat down and brought the bundle to his face, filling his nostrils with their smells. Sweat, dirt, a dabble of urine....

Blair had said he could "have him". That was code for letting Jim do whatever he wanted.

Jim knew exactly what he wanted: to plunge his cock into Blair and be a part of all that communication with God, or whatever the hell it was that Blair did while out meditating by himself.

"Hey."

His world of smelling Blair was interrupted as he looked up.

Blair's deep blue eyes were smiling at him. "The real thing is right here. All nice and clean for you."

And naked.

Jim growled as he flung the clothing to the floor. He grabbed Blair's hand and yanked him onto the mattress. He stretched out on top of him and claimed his mouth.

So perfect to kiss, Blair was. Jim indulged, his hand going to the semi-erect phallus that waited. He grabbed it, the sense of touch dialing up in his hand as he fondled the flesh, already well familiar with various nerves and what they enjoyed the most.

Blair gasped into Jim's mouth. Jim always made Blair gasp, especially when he was allowed to take charge of their activities.

Jim broke away, listening to Blair reclaim his breath, and moved down his body. He wanted something specifically and these were all preliminaries leading to the main goal. His actions were precise. Once he'd moved back far enough, he placed his mouth over the upper half of Blair's cock.

He sucked eagerly. The flavor it emitted, especially on the underside where the thick vein was, satisfied his dialed-up taste buds.

Blair's gasps melted into groans.

Jim's tongue felt the phallus swell as semen raced up the barrel. Blair's muscles tensed as a hitch developed in his breathing, and then the fluid was on Jim's tongue. The taste buds there had already been dialed back, so the flavor of the emission wasn't too intense. He swallowed it more for tidiness than a desire for the taste.

A quivering groan went through Blair's body. Jim rubbed Blair's belly, his dialed-up touch enjoying the texture of the sparse hairs against his hand. He could feel the relaxation of Blair's whole body as he allowed himself a lengthy exhalation.

Jim turned Blair over.

His sensitive fingers felt the outline of muscles as they handled Blair. He growled as he was forced to pause and reach for a pillow to place underneath his feast. Then he parted the raised globes of flesh and stuck his tongue into the depression within. He was met with the taste of Blair and mild soap.

His hands stayed busy with squeezing while his tongue impatiently prepared the opening. He loved tasting where he was going to fuck Blair. He wished he could taste Blair after he fucked him, but even the edible lube they'd once tried was too nauseating for his enhanced taste buds. Turning down the sense of taste would defeat the whole purpose, so he'd never done a post-coital ass eating. But he still wished he could. Taste himself inside of Blair....

His dialed-up hearing was picking up sounds outside. Desert noises. Night creatures emerging as darkness fell.

Blair's excited heartbeat was familiar background noise, as was his breath from his open mouth. No vocal sounds though. Once they'd learned all about pleasing each other, they'd gone silent, except for gasps and groans, in their bedroom activities.

Feeling Blair's anal nerves with his tongue was all Jim needed to know he was doing a good job at pleasing his mate. Now the sphincter muscle flexed and opened for him. Jim shoved his tongue inside, his dialed-up cock flaring its demand to take its turn. His taste buds found comfort in the familiar flavors here. But his cock's urges were overtaking the pleasure of his other senses.

Jim straightened. He grabbed the lube from the small nightstand and squirted a generous helping across a pair of fingers. As much as he wanted to do only what was necessary, his compassion rose as he pulled the left buttock aside. His right hand gently probed at the opening with the lubed fingers. He stroked the wrinkled skin with his index finger, waiting to feel the extra relaxation of the delicate flesh. Then he pushed the finger in.

Blair shifted. Just a little. Spreading his legs more, propping himself up on his forearms. The muscle gripped Jim's finger, then relaxed. It flexed again and again. Grip. Relax. Grip. Relax. Jim's finger moved to accommodate the preparation, providing a fucking motion. His cock strained, wanting its turn, as his fingers felt Blair relax even more.

Jim placed his other hand on Blair's ass to hold him still while he worked in his middle finger to join the first. Then more finger fucking. More gripping by muscles happy to be stimulated. Jim felt for Blair's prostate and applied pressure.

Blair groaned, the sound deep and vibrating to Jim's enhanced hearing. He pushed himself back, then forward - creating his own fucking motion.

Jim growled and withdrew his fingers. He pulled at Blair's waist to lift him, then tossed aside the pillow.

Pre-cum dripped from his cock as he watched Blair get on his knees, his ready ass in the air, shifting so he could stretch his arms out in front of him. His upper body was lowered to the mattress, his legs spread wide.

This was how Jim most enjoyed fucking him - Blair completely submissive to the demands of his cock.

Jim's breath was heavy as he pulled Blair's butt cheek aside once again, this time bringing his cock up to the opening. He placed the head against the lubed depression, and pressed as gently as he could manage. The smooth, baby skin of his erection felt the entrance expand as Blair deliberately opened the muscle.

Jim pushed in.

There was always the shock to Blair's nerves at the sheer girth of Jim's intrusion. A little noise from Blair. Then a long, slowly released breath as all the fight went out of his body.

Acceptance.

Jim's cock seemed to fall the rest of the way into Blair's body of its own accord.

Always so good, being up Blair's ass.

Jim collapsed atop Blair's back, reaching to grab his forward-stretched hands and lean part of his weight against them, holding Blair down.

Jim could hear Blair's heart accelerate. Blair always loved being held down and made to take his fucking.

Jim obliged. He pumped rapidly, back and forth, and all he knew was how good his cock felt, the big vein beneath, the friction between his flesh and Blair's anal walls, the blood traveling through the veins of Blair's hands where Jim held them.

The perfection his whole body felt as his cock drowned in pleasure.

"Reach out," came the gasping whisper. Then, as Jim plunged into Blair yet again, a jostled, "It's safe. Reach out."

His cock had never been happier - at least not since they'd last fucked - but Jim obeyed that voice.

A coyote was trotting out in the distance. Snakes were slithering about. Some predator had caught its prey and Jim could smell the blood of the kill.

Then taste. Via his cock, he could taste the inside of Blair's ass as he fucked him.

He orgasmed. Screamed primitively as the most intense of all sensations overcame the male organs within his body.

He shuddered and shook as the sweat poured down his brow, along the sides of his face.

His senses pulled back as the sensation in his loins began to wane.

He collapsed on his elbows, which were on either side of Blair. He rested his sweating forehead against Blair's back, feeling where the sunburn ended.

He silently swore as his shrunken cock slipped out of its haven. Despite feeling only drained at the moment - and no desire - he didn't want this to end. He shifted and licked his own sweat mingled with that along Blair's back. Then he gasped, "I want to fuck you again."

"However you want me," Blair assured from where his mouth was buried in the mattress.

Jim took him at his word, but he could sense how tired Blair was. He sat up and took Blair's arms and brought them back to his sides. He pressed on Blair's lower back until his whole body was against the mattress, and felt a deep sense of satisfaction when the weary muscles relaxed.

Jim reached between Blair's legs and felt his dick. It was half hard. He squeezed it, testing to see if it was feeling neglected.

It responded and Jim squeezed some more, loving how the sensitivity in his hands made him better at masturbating Blair than Blair himself had ever been. He'd learned quickly where all the right pressure points were. He stuck the fingers of his left hand into Blair's lax ass and massaged his prostate again. With his right, he manipulated Blair's cock, feeling it grow completely hard in just a few seconds.

"Move your ass and fuck my hand," Jim whispered. He would be able to get hard faster if he could watch Blair's ass in motion.

Blair raised his hips a little and started fucking. They were quick, brief motions, and Jim squeezed to provide better simulation. His fingers inside Blair kept up with the motion and continued to massage Blair's most sensitive gland.

"Jesus Christ," Blair gasped, just as his cock flared in Jim's hand.

Finally, a surge in Jim's own groin as his inserted finger felt Blair's body ejaculate. His right hand felt the semen rush up through Blair's dick. It wasn't much, but it dribbled into Jim's hand.

Blair went limp, gasping loudly.

Jim rubbed the sticky residue into the back of Blair's thigh.

Waiting to get hard enough to return to Blair's interior, Jim bent down and bit into an enticing ass cheek. He felt satisfaction at holding the mouthful of flesh and bit harder, knowing how much was almost too much.

"Ughhh," Blair groaned. But he was too exhausted to move.

Jim growled and pulled back, slowly releasing the butt cheek from his oral grip. Once his mouth was free, he licked the area lovingly, enjoying the taste and feel of Blair's skin on his tongue. His nostrils flared as he picked up the scent of his own semen from inside Blair's body. He had to once again deny himself the temptation to put his tongue there - and be met with the offensive flavor of the lube.

Now he licked the back of Blair's furry scrotum.

"Mmm," Blair approved, his legs spreading wider.

He wants it again, Jim taunted himself. He straightened and shifted to lie along Blair's back, his enlarging groin against Blair's ass. Now settled almost where he wanted to be, undulating lightly against Blair's backside to tease himself, Jim started washing the back of Blair's burned shoulders with his tongue. He worked his right hand beneath Blair and rubbed at his chest, and then pinched in the vicinity of a nipple.

His senses were dialing up again, his cock engorging. Jim closed his eyes and focused on how welcoming Blair's ass would be this second time, since it had already been fucked. No shocked nerves. Just stretched flesh willing to be pulled taunt again.

Yes.

The desire was there, and his cock had hardened to be equal to the task. Jim found the pillow from before and lifted Blair to place it beneath him. Then he lay on top of Blair, and reached down to place his dick back against the warm, moist place it knew so well. It was awkward because Blair's ass wasn't raised as high as desired, but Jim managed to find the depression and push at the same time.

Yesss. Snug walls clinging to his cock.

He started pumping, knowing it was going to take a lot longer the second time. He closed his eyes and started matching his body to Blair's - his arms on top of Blair's arms, his torso on top of Blair's torso. He had to stay between Blair's legs so his cock could stay in position and keep undulating.

Jim's eyes closed as his brain yielded to the physical pleasure. His senses began to reach out again and he let it happen, knowing Blair wanted that. Only, this time, his senses were staying in the bed. He felt where his flesh was in contact with Blair's flesh, throughout where their bodies touched. His awareness was going beneath skin. The center of his body was still the central point of the poignant pleasure as he fucked Blair, but he was aware that he was feeling beneath skin level. Where his arms lay on top of Blair's arms, he felt - saw - the veins and capillaries beneath. The muscles and bones.

He was inside of Blair. Completely inside of Blair.

His insides were blending with Blair's insides, the epidermal layer disappearing between them.

Just as his brain acknowledged the wonder of that, his senses flew out.

He was the universe, looking down at the earth. The sky was dark and all the stars stretched to eternity. The night creatures of the desert moved about, the essence of life. In the distance were city lights. Civilization. And all was as it should be, the most profound of perfection.

.... and his cock felt so good.

He groaned, acutely aware of the cooling sweat on his body, the heat between where he touched Blair, his eagerness to finish because Blair was going to be sore tomorrow. The wonderful feel of Blair's ass cheeks against his flanks.

It was more relief than pleasure when the peak hit. Jim froze while the sensation overtook him as the substance of life spurted from his body into Blair's. His senses had already pulled back, and it almost felt like a normal orgasm from the Before days, when he and Blair had never fucked.

Jim had just enough awareness to drift to one side as his cock slipped out with a wet noise, relieving Blair of his weight.

Then he was sleep.

When he woke, he was surprised at how rested he felt, even though it was still dark. He was partially under the covers, and just from opening his eyes he could see Blair lying awake. The clock on the small dresser said it was a quarter to six.

Blair looked contemplative. He was often like that when he got back from one of his heavy meditation sessions. Jim almost felt bad that he'd interrupted Blair's post-meditation "down time" with sex. But if Blair hadn't wanted it, he would have said something. He was never shy about what he wanted - or didn't want - where sex was concerned.

Besides, when he'd returned to the RV, he'd smelled so... fuckable.

"Hey, Chief," Jim said softly.

Blair turned his head just enough to look at him. "Hey."

Jim closed his eyes a moment. "How did your meditation go?"

Blair yawned. "Good. Great. Thanks for being okay with me taking the whole day."

"Anything profound happen?" Jim asked conversationally.

Blair turned toward him, his smile full of amusement. "No, Jim. Nothing earth shattering. I wish you could understand that what I experience during meditation isn't very different from what you experience when I guide you through a meditation. It's just that I know what I want from the process, so I get more out of it. There's nothing magical or mystical about what I do. If you'd focus more, you could get the same things out of it that I do."

Uh-huh. "Whatever you say." Jim reached to pat Blair's thigh beneath the covers.

Jim rolled onto his back and was thinking about returning to sleep, but his eyes fell on the window and the rising sun. He decided that he really wasn't that tired - in fact, he was rather hungry and an early, hearty breakfast sounded good - so he flung the covers aside and got out of bed.

It was warm enough that he didn't need his robe. He gazed out the window as the bright ball in the distance grew larger and larger. He knew better than to allow his sight to dial up.

"Jim?"

Jim glanced behind him. Blair was sitting up in bed with his hands behind his head. "Did something happen last night?"

"What do you mean?" Jim asked automatically. Last night was the greatest sex he'd ever known. But then, making love to Blair was always the greatest sex he'd ever known.

Blair placed his feet over the side of his bed and pulled on his blue plaid robe. "I'm not sure." He stood and pulled the sash, grimacing from the burn on his shoulders. He came forward and rested his forehead against Jim's arm. "The second time we did it... I don't know. The intensity - something - it just seemed different. Not anything I can lay my finger on," he quickly amended. "Just that something in the atmosphere around us - I don't know, it just seemed different." He shrugged, watching Jim with that air of expectation that insisted that Jim not hold anything back from him.

Not that I could. He was defenseless against Blair's demands. The days of pretending he could be a sentinel separate from Blair were gone.

Jim took a deep breath, remembering back to last night. "I'm not sure I can describe it either." His gaze returned to the brightening horizon. "I was... enjoying it. Then my senses were reaching out." His brow furrowed, realizing something really had been different last night. He turned to Blair's wide-awake eyes. "The first time, when you told me to 'extend out', I could hear and see and smell what was going on in the desert. The second time, my senses went out on their own. Or, rather, I told them to because I knew you'd want me to. Only where they 'went' was...." Jim shook his head, not sure how to describe it. Instead he said, "It was as though my entire body was inside of yours. I knew you intimately - physically - and there was no skin between us. It wasn't just where my cock was inside you, but my arms and chest - all of me that was touching you. It's like my senses went inside of you. I was inside of you."

Blair slowly blinked, his mouth having fallen open.

Hopefully, Jim asked, "Did you sense anything like that?"

Blair shook his head, his gaze lowering.

Jim wondered what that would be like - to not know. Sincerely, he asked, "Do you hate me sometimes, because of what I can sense that you can't?"

Blair looked back up at him, his whole face softening. He reached to squeeze Jim's arm. "No, Jim. My God, no. I love that you can experience things that no one else - including me - can experience. That's your gift. Anything wonderful you can have, I want that for you, because the worst thing you've ever said to me in all the time we've spent together is when you haven't wanted your senses, or wished you didn't have them, or were glad that you temporarily didn't have them. In those moments, I always felt that I'd failed you, and that my contribution to what you were meant nothing."

Jim nodded. He didn't want Blair harping on this any longer, because it made him feel too guilty that he'd caused Blair those moments of doubt. Being a sentinel was a great thing - especially when you could use those senses to pleasure the only person in the world who understood what was going on with you.

Blair turned away. "I'll make coffee."

Jim watched him work with the coffeemaker. There was something else that he remembered from last night, though he wasn't sure he hadn't imagined it. But he'd been trained by Blair to report to Blair.

"Blair?"

The coffee now percolating, Blair turned to face him, his hands in the pockets of his robe.

"I remember something else," Jim confessed. "It almost seems like I must have imagined it, but I don't think so."

Blair waited.

Jim stayed by the window. "There was a moment, that second time - when we were in the middle of doing it and I realized that my entire self was inside of your entire self - it's like the moment I recognized that, my senses suddenly went... outward." He didn't know how else to say it. In fact, now saying it out loud, it was all he could do to not feel foolish. But he knew Blair wouldn't mock him. "It seemed like I was in the sky, looking down on the earth. Only, I wasn't just in the sky. It's almost... like I was a part of it." Jim quickly looked back out the window. "For a split second, it's like I was a part of everything."

"While we were still joined?"

"Yes." Jim glanced at Blair to find an open expression of amazement. "Then," he went on, remembering more, "when it was over - just as I came - it's like my senses went normal much faster than usual. In fact, the orgasm itself almost felt like... it used to. Not so intense."

Blair padded the few steps to where Jim was. "What about now?" he demanded, placing his hand at Jim's elbow. "Close your eyes."

Jim obeyed.

Blair's voice softened. "Extend your hearing out, a quarter of a mile, to the north. What do you hear?"

Jim smiled at the early morning chatter. "Birds. They're pecking at the cactus to get the moisture out."

Blair's hand squeezed him. "Good."

Jim opened his eyes. "My senses are normal," he assured, realizing that Blair was afraid, because of what he'd said, that they'd gone away.

Blair moved back to the coffee, grabbing a cup. "Anything else?" He poured.

Jim shook his head. He accepted the cup Blair held out to him. "No. I went to sleep immediately afterwards." Not that there was anything unusual about that. Between the exhaustion of work and sex with Blair, insomnia was rarely a problem.

Blair opened the little refrigerator. "I'll make the eggs. You do the toast."

Yes, Chief, Jim saluted silently, taking time to pull on some underwear. Sometimes he wondered how he'd let Blair end up having so much control of non-sentinel things.

As they worked on their meal, Blair said, "I can't help but wonder at the synchronicity of all of this."

"What do you mean?" Jim asked, putting the countertop oven on "Toast".

"Us talking earlier about my meditation session and me telling you that you could have the same experiences that I do. Then you up and tell about what it was like for you last night and, lo and behold, that's what it sounds like - you had your own profound meditation experience. Only, you weren't exactly meditating." Blair shrugged, looking at Jim. "In a lot of ways they're the same thing - you know, striving to connect with a greater consciousness while operating from your own center."

"I didn't connect with a greater consciousness when it felt like I was part of the sky," Jim pointed out, maintaining his vigil over the slowly browning toast.

Blair had set the table and served them each up a helping of eggs. "Jim?"

Jim looked at where Blair stood next to the table, the empty skillet still in his hand

Blair said, "Jim, maybe you connected with God."

Oh, please. Jim held up a warning hand. "Chief...."

"Or the forces of nature," Blair quickly said. "Or whatever you want to call it. That's what happens with me when I have a really intense meditation session. Not like I'm in the sky like you were, but I have a sense of... being a part of everything. For a moment, I see how everything in life really is all inter-related and there's the incredible, perfect plan to it all." He drew a breath. "But it's not like I can call forth an experience like that at will. Sometimes it just," he shrugged, "happens."

The toast was brown. Jim retrieved the slices and spent a long time buttering them.

"Get the orange juice," Blair said, sitting at the table.

Jim did, grumbling, "What do I look like, the maid?"

Blair grinned, deliberately looking Jim up and down. "Yep. The best-looking maid on the planet."

Jim sat down and they started to eat. After a few bites, Blair said, "I'm guessing that whatever you experienced last night was because we're out here where it's safe to let your senses extend." His eyes held regret. "I'd like to think you could have an experience like that any time, but I bet it's one of those spontaneous things where all the factors have to be in place."

As Jim ate, he was glad that he wasn't expected to participate in Blair's ramblings.

Except Blair asked, "You did like it, right? The moment you felt you were in the sky, it was special, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess." Jim reached for the salt.

"It didn't scare you or anything?" Blair pressed.

"No." Jim pointedly added, "Nor did it give me any kind of profound sense of peace or joy or whatever people say they feel when they have a religious experience."

Blair studied him for a long moment. Then, he asked, "If you could have that sensation again, at will, would you?"

Jim shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. Why would I want to mentally and sensorily go off somewhere else when I'm fucking you?" He looked Blair in the eye.

Blair chewed while considering that. "Because before you went off into space, you said you felt you were completely inside of me. That sounds really intimate." His mouth corner quirked. "I'm not jealous that you took a moment to spend a split second uniting with God."

Jim propped his elbows on the tabletop. Feeling his full stomach twist, he said, "But it wasn't especially intimate for you, even when I was inside of you. I felt that, but you didn't." He was reluctantly back to his old belief that being a sentinel really sucked if you were alone in your sensual experiences.

"But I knew something was different," Blair protested. "I'm even the one who brought it up this morning. Maybe if I'd known specifically what you were feeling, I might have been able to key in on it. Besides, I was exhausted last night by the second time, so I wasn't as aware as I might otherwise have been."

Jim was anxious to change the subject to happier topics. "Exhausted or not, you're great to love."

Blair grinned. "That's because I have the world's greatest lover. Bar none." He stood and started gathering the dishes. "Was there anything in particular you wanted to do today?"

I actually get a choice? "No."

"Good. I was thinking that it would be a great day to laze around in bed. Nap. Read. Watch TV. Suck your cock when my mouth gets bored."

Tease. But Jim didn't give Blair the satisfaction of saying it out loud.

They tended to their morning ablutions, which included Jim rubbing soothing cream on Blair's sunburned areas. They did a little tidying to the trailer, then joined each other in bed in their underwear.

Blair reached for the TV. "I wonder what's on."

"I could only get two channels yesterday, and only one with halfway decent reception."

Blair turned on the TV. A news reporter stood out in a forested area where people were milling about in the background.

"Damn," Jim said, recognizing the scene, "they still haven't found that little girl."

"What little girl?" Blair demanded.

"Some little five-year-old girl got lost yesterday. Both channels were airing it all day long."

"Where?" Blair demanded.

Jim looked over at Blair, not understanding why he was agitated. "I don't know. Some forest somewhere here in New Mexico."

They both continued to watch, and the reporter began to summarize the story, mentioning that they were in Cibola National Forest.

"We've got to go there," Blair announced, jumping from the bed. He moved to the front of the RV and grabbed the map.

"Why?" Jim asked, watching as Blair opened the map while returning to bed. "They've got dozens of law enforcement and civilians combing that place."

Blair pulled the map away from his face and grit his teeth. "They. Aren't. Sentinels."

Jim blinked. Of course. He might be able to help where the others couldn't. Why hadn't he thought of that yesterday when he was so bored that he couldn't figure out what else to do with himself?

Blair was muttering as his finger traced the map. "It's about 150 miles, but we can travel a lot of it on the interstate, so it shouldn't be too bad." He looked up. "Let's go."

It took a half hour before they were dressed and had the RV ready for the road. Blair let Jim do the driving. He was too wired to take the wheel himself, preferring to study the map repeatedly, and pace around the small length of the RV.

He noticed that Jim's jaw had clenched tighter and tighter as he drove in silence. They were now only thirty miles from the interstate.

Blair finally sat down on the edge of the passenger seat, facing his mate. "Jim, man, what's wrong?"

Jim slowly shook his head back and forth. "Why didn't it occur to me to go there and help?" he demanded in a quiet voice. "I saw the news reports off and on all day yesterday."

Jim could do guilt like no one else. Firmly, Blair said, "Jim, the reason you didn't think about it is because that's my responsibility. I'm the one who decides when and how to use your sentinel abilities. That's how we work."

Jim scrunched his face up. "Whose brilliant plan was that?" he demanded. "What, I can't think for myself now?" Then turning to look at Blair directly, he said accusingly, "Just what are you turning me into?"

Blair's stomach twisted. They had to nip this now. "Jim, pull over."

Jim's foot pressed more heavily on the accelerator. "We don't have time."

"This will only take a minute," Blair insisted. Then he yelled, "Pull OVER!"

Jim's hands clenched and unclenched the steering wheel. Then, abruptly, he braked and eased the RV over to the shoulder.

Blair waited until Jim set the parking brake, while keeping the motor running, and grumbled, "Dammit, Jim, you know this is how we've always worked most successfully. It's not your job to decide when and how to use your abilities. Besides, it's not like you could have taken off without me."

"But I could have come and gotten you!" Jim retorted. "You wouldn't have hesitated to come and help."

"No, but Cibola is 150 miles away! There's no reason why you should have assumed we should help!"

"Then why are you assuming it now!" Jim countered.

Blair hesitated. Good question. Somehow, the urgency seemed more important now than it would have yesterday. "If she was easy to find, they would have found her. Now that she's been missing a full day, it's going to be all the harder to find her, and our help is needed all the more." He was aware that he was rationalizing.

Jim slowly shook his head, his expression anguished. "What if we find her dead, because we waited until today to help?"

Blair frantically searched for an argument to that. "Jim, you know how these things go. If she fell off a cliff or something, then she was probably killed instantly and it wouldn't matter how fast we get there." Blair's heart clenched at the thought. "But if she's just... lost... and alive, well... it's not like it was cold last night. We can get to her before the elements do." Now wishing they hadn't stopped, he demanded, "Let's go."

Jim released the brake and eased back onto the road.

Their only remaining conversation concerned the directions to get where they needed to go.

It was just past noon when they turned onto the dirt road that was full of parked cars along the edges. Many of the vehicles were from the news media. They'd been stopped earlier in the park by a state patrolman, who let them through as soon as they showed their Cascade PD badges and said that they'd come to help. He told them to report to a Sheriff Wellington.

The sheriff was manning a post of picnic benches gathered together and where a half dozen men were standing around talking, various radio communications blaring in the background.

Jim and Blair held out their badges and Jim said, "We're from the Cascade PD in Washington state. We're on vacation and heard about this on the news. We're here to help."

There were some quick handshakes, then the sheriff moved aside to give them room around the map. "I think it would be best if you join up with the Yellow Group right here. We've already combed all the areas between here, where the family was having a picnic, and where we now have eight different search groups. We can have someone drive you."

Blair cleared his throat. "Actually, Sheriff, Ellison and I have a great record with finding evidence that others have missed. We'd really prefer to start where she was last seen and go from there."

The sheriff shook his head. "We've already searched those places thoroughly. It would be a waste of time."

"We insist," Blair said. "Please. What can it hurt? We've solved quite a few cases by going back to the beginning."

The sheriff looked from Blair to Jim, as though finding Jim's demeanor more approachable.

Quietly, Jim said, "Please lead us to where she was last seen."

The sheriff sighed and looked at his other men, who shook their heads in annoyance. Wellington grumbled, "Get them a radio."

A man moved off to a police vehicle.

"What was she wearing?" Jim asked.

The sheriff flipped papers on his clipboard, then pulled a sheet from beneath. It had a color photograph of the girl named Kimberly. "This is the same yellow shirt and pants she was wearing yesterday when she disappeared. The parents said they gave all the kids a whistle to blow if they ever got lost, which they wore around their necks."

Jim and Blair exchanged a glance. If the little girl hadn't used her whistle, that didn't bode well for her fate.

Another officer held out a radio and Jim took it. "It's set on our frequency," the man said.

The sheriff moved off. "I'll show you where she was last seen."

It was a ten-minute walk, and then they had to spend a while longer convincing the sheriff that they needed to work alone. They assured Wellington that they would radio in if they found anything; or, if they didn't find anything and were ready to join the Yellow Team.

Blair waited until he was sure they were alone and then turned off the radio so it wouldn't be a distraction. He straightened beside Jim and grasped his forearm. "All right, Jim. Smell is one of your strongest senses, so let's try that first."

Jim looked at him in frustration. "Smell what?"

Blair grimaced. Right, they needed something to key in on. It's not like they had some unwashed clothing of the little girl's available.

But his fast thinking didn't fail him. He squeezed Jim's arm. "If she's been gone this long, she's surely wet her pants, at least. Let's go for urine as we start walking down the path that she probably set out on."

It was an obvious trail that the parents had assumed the little girl took while they were preparing lunch, since she'd said she was going to look for a rabbit that had previously bounded across the path.

They started walking and Blair started guiding. "Okay, Jim, close your eyes and start blocking out the other odors of the forest."

As Blair talked, he kept his eyes focused on the trail and surrounding areas, hoping to pick up some clue that the other searchers had missed.

Suddenly, Jim gasped and coughed and leaned forward with his hands on his knees.

"Got something?" Blair asked excitedly.

Jim shook his head with a sour expression. "Too strong," he gasped again.

"Damn," Blair realized. "Like maybe an outhouse?"

Jim nodded, taking deep breaths.

"Okay, scratch that. Scratch that." Blair expelled a breath. "We can't use smell. Outhouses are probably all over the park."

Jim's next strongest sense was hearing, but if the little girl had blown the whistle, then the searchers with normal hearing would have heard it.

"Okay," Blair decided, trying not to be discouraged, "we're going to have to go for sight and focus on what the other rescue workers could have missed." He pulled on Jim's arm as he knelt down, bringing Jim down with him. "The parents are pretty sure she started out on this path. So, let's dial up sight and look at things from her perspective. Look for any clues at all that might indicate she went this way, or veered off into the forest. We have to discount any disturbances obviously made by the searchers."

It was slow and painstaking. Blair would face Jim in a certain direction and guide him through slowly extending his eyesight out as far as he could, and then shift to a slightly different direction and repeat the process. When that brought nothing, they moved forward a few paces and started again.

Blair's head hurt and a glance at Jim's watch showed they'd been at it a couple of hours. They'd skipped lunch in their hurry to get here.

"Something," Jim whispered, his gaze on the distance.

Blair turned his attention back to Jim. "You got something?" he asked hopefully.

"Get the picture," Jim said as he started forward in a crouch.

Blair pulled the picture of little Kimberly out from his pocket and unfolded it. Then he followed Jim.

Jim got off the path, pushing branches out of his way as he knelt on the ground. He pointed to a little round button, half buried in the dirt. "Is that hers?"

Blair's heart raced as it threatened to burst with pride at Jim's discovery. He looked from the button to the buttons on the Kimberly's yellow outfit, but the latter was too hard to see clearly. He handed the flyer to Jim. "What do you think?"

Jim stared at the photo a long moment, then at the button in the ground. He released a long breath. "It looks like a match."

Blair's heart raced again. He looked around, wondering what the next step should be. "Okay. Okay. She came this way. She was scurrying around in these bushes here, maybe trying to find the rabbit's hole?"

Jim didn't answer. Instead, from his kneeling position, he was already looking out from their location. Blair laid his hand on his arm to keep him grounded.

After many minutes of slowly turning his head, Jim shook it in his frustration. "Nothing."

"Don't give up," Blair pleaded. He backed up a few steps, then lay on his stomach. "Maybe this perspective will help."

Jim glanced at him and unfolded himself to follow Blair's example.

"Now," Blair said calmly, when Jim was lying beside him, "let's start over. First, let your eyesight extend out, straight ahead."

After over half an hour of not moving, as Jim strained to study every possible branch that might give a clue, Blair had to work on his own inner dialogue to keep his hopes up.

Jim tilted his head, his expression distant.

"What?" Blair wondered.

"Shh!"

Blair hushed. He studied Jim, recognizing his partner's posture as one of picking up sound.

"Whistle," Jim said distantly, then quickly held up his hand, so Blair wouldn't speak.

Whistle? Blair wondered. Why couldn't he hear it? Why wouldn't the other searchers who had already been this way have heard it?

"It's broken or something," Jim muttered. "It just barely makes a sound."

Jim scrambled to his feet, still gesturing for Blair to stay quiet. Then, "She's alive!" He rushed through the brush.

Blair followed, his heart racing with joy.

They stopped in a clearing of sagebrush, Jim holding up his hand again. He turned in a slow circle, listening. "She's crying," he whispered. Then he called, "Kimberly! Kimberly, honey!"

"Kimberly!" Blair added his voice.

"Shh!" Jim admonished. He listened, turning in a slow circle once again.

And then again.

Blair knew that Jim's excitement and his exhausted senses were interfering with his ability to pick the source of the noise. He grasped Jim's arm and softly whispered, "Close your eyes." He watched Jim obey. "Block out the other noises, Jim. Listen for Kimberly's cries." He paused. "Nod when you hear her."

It took a long time, but finally Jim nodded.

Without changing his calm tone, Blair whispered, "Now piggyback sight onto the sound and pinpoint where it is." Blair waited a beat, then encouraged, "You can do this."

Jim was silent for a long time with his eyes closed.

Then he took off running to the left, calling, "Kimberly!"

Blair followed, astonished as Jim fell to his knees amongst more brush. "Kimberly!"

She can't be here, Blair thought. It was too out in the open to hide a little girl.

But he gasped as he heard her muffled crying. "Where is she?" he demanded, dropping to his knees.

"Underground," Jim replied, still moving about the sagebrush. Then he called, "Kimberly, honey, we're almost there! Just hang on."

How can she -- ?

Then Blair spotted it. The hole in the ground that was covered by sagebrush. "Jim!"

Jim spotted it, too. They rushed toward it. It was too large to be a rabbit's hole. Maybe a den for another animal.

Kimberly's dry sobs were heard from the opening.

Jim thrust his arm down. "Kimberly? We're right here, sweetheart. Can you see my hand? Grab my hand, if you can see it."

Blair could only see darkness in the hole, which narrowed as it got deeper. He watched Jim anxiously.

Jim's face broke into a huge grin. "Good girl!" Then he soothed, "Just keep hold of my hand. I know you're scared, but we'll have you out in no time." He looked at Blair. "She's just barely able to grasp my fingers, so it's pretty deep. Call for help."

Blair whipped out his radio and straightened, riding a wave of euphoria. He turned the radio on. "Base come in, please. We found her! Alive!"

"Repeat, please," came a voice over the radio.

"We've found Kimberly in some sort of fox hole, but she's alive and conscious!"

"What's your location?" came the happy voice on the other end.

While Jim continued a stream of reassurances to Kimberly, Blair said, "Uh... we went maybe a half mile north on the trail she disappeared from, then maybe a quarter-mile west. I'll meet you at the trail."

"You're the out of town cops, right?" the voice clarified.

"That's right," Blair said.

"We'll be there shortly," the voice continued happily. "I don't think you'll be able to miss us. We don't have enough manpower at this location to keep the media away."

Blair's euphoria plummeted. Levelly, he said, "Ten-four. Out." His heart pounding with a dreaded sense of deju-vu, he turned to Jim hovering over the hole. "Jim?"

Jim looked up.

"They're coming. The media's going to be with them, man."

Jim gulped as his eyes widened in horror.

Blair also swallowed thickly. It had been less than two years since the media frenzy with his dissertation. The last thing they needed was to be the center of attention again. Finding Kimberly, when the other search crews couldn't, would prove that Jim had special abilities.

"We've got to be low-key," Blair decided. "I've got to meet them at the trail. We've got to keep them all focused on getting Kimberly out. Then we've got to slip away."

Jim nodded. Then he abruptly turned his attention back to the hole and resumed his tender assurances.

Blair heard the rescuers coming before he was back at the trail. He kept his head down. Thankfully, he saw enough to identify that law enforcement led the group, with rope, picks and shovels; and paramedics with a basket following behind.

He turned just when they spotted him, and he waved, "This way! This way!" as he started back toward where Jim was.

He kept well ahead of them. When he was back at the foxhole, he called into it, "Help is coming, Kimberly. They'll have you out very soon, and you'll see your Mom and Dad." He wondered where her parents were. They were probably with one of the search teams. Surely they'd heard over the radio that Kimberly had been found.

Jim glanced at Blair. "Letting go of this little girl's hand is going to be hard."

Blair nodded sadly. Jim and Kimberly had obviously bonded in her time of need, but they were going to have to let the others take over so they could get away.

Blair said, "Whatever you do, keep your head down." Then he put his arm back in the air, waving over the crowd approaching. So far, he hadn't identified any particular media people. Maybe the law had managed to keep them back for the time being.

The paramedics with the basket were rushing forward.

"Kimberly," Jim said. "I'm going to let go of your hand, honey. But the doctors and nurses are right here, and your parents should be here soon."

Her sobs became louder.

"I'm sorry," Jim muttered. "It's going to be fine." He pulled his hand out, just as a mass of people swarmed around the hole.

"My God, how did she get herself trapped in here?" someone muttered in amazement.

Blair grabbed Jim's arm - in sympathy now - and encouraged him to stand and step back. They kept stepping back as some fifteen or twenty people, including a man with a camera poised over his shoulder, surrounded the area where the hole was. The paramedics were the ones peering into it and calling reassurances.

As he and Jim continued to step back from the clearing and toward the forest, Blair realized he still had the radio. He thought he should return it. But what if they checked it for fingerprints, trying to find the identities of Kimberly's rescuers?

He hoped he was being ridiculously paranoid, but there was too much at stake to risk it. He tucked the radio into the front of his jeans.

He and Jim turned and started walking into the depths of the forest.

They didn't speak as they made their way to the dirt road that led into the camp area where Kimberly had been lost. Cars still lined both sides of the road, and it was another ten minutes before they made it to their RV.

Blair didn't protest when Jim took the wheel, even though he knew Jim was sensorily exhausted. What they both wanted most was to get out of here and ensure that nobody had recognized them.

They made it almost to the interstate before finding a large rest area to stop at. Jim parked in a spot designated for RVs, then switched off the motor.

Blair turned in his seat to beam at Jim. "We did good, Jim."

Jim nodded, a sadness still hovering about him as he turned to face Blair.

Blair moved the short distance between them and began to straddle Jim's lap, grateful when Jim turned farther to accommodate him.

Blair put his arms around Jim's neck and shoulders, sighing. "We did good," he repeated, his throat feeling tight as his head rested against Jim's hair. "She's with people now who love her."

"I know," Jim admitted, but Blair could see that it was still hard for him to have had to let Kimberly go so quickly into the arms of others. Jim's arms tightened around Blair.

Blair hated to disrupt their closeness, but he said, "We need to eat something and re-energize. Then we need to get out of here. This is an obvious stop for a lot of those cars that were at the campground." He kissed Jim's forehead. "Maybe we can stop at a nice hotel tonight and get a suite with a whirlpool bath. That sound good?"

Jim nodded.

Reluctantly, Blair moved off of Jim's lap. "I'll make some sandwiches."

They ended up in a suite at a Hilton in Albuquerque in time for the local news. They sat in a whirlpool bath, Jim lying back with his head against Blair's chest, as they watched the small TV in the bathroom.

The teaser for the newscast was, "Did angels save little Kimberly?"

"Angels?" Blair muttered while he lovingly massaged Jim upper body with his fingertips. He was relieved that there weren't pictures of himself and Jim plastered all over the TV screen, asking, "Have you seen these men?"

The newscast started with the raw facts of Kimberly's rescue. She was in good condition at the county hospital and expected to be released the next day.

Then a newswoman at the campground gave her on-site report. "The puzzle for many here is who found little Kimberly? Though she'd fallen into an animal's hole less than a mile from where she was last seen yesterday morning, nobody could hear her blow her whistle, because it was packed with dirt from the her fall. Search crews had quickly decided that she must have wandered out much farther than the campground, and their efforts were focused away from the site of her disappearance. But then two men showed up around noon today."

Sheriff Wellington appeared on screen and said, "They identified themselves as out-of-state cops and showed their badges. Said they wanted to help and insisted they wanted to start the search at the beginning." The sheriff hesitated. "We were just glad to have their help, so we didn't bother asking their names."

The camera was back on the reporter. "So, just who were these two men?" she asked rhetorically. "Nobody seems to know."

Now a paramedic appeared on the screen. "They led us to the hole where she fell. Then we were all so focused on getting her out of there that we didn't give the two men another thought. Then when somebody from a news crew asked who specifically had located her... well, it was like those two guys had disappeared into thin air."

The reporter said, "But Kimberly's mother has an idea who the two men were."

Blair stiffened at the threat as he watched a tearful woman in a hospital corridor. Surrounded by microphones, she said, "Jack and I prayed and prayed for God to help us find our little girl. Then He sent two angels who did just that. This is God's work."

The reporter's voice said, "An uncle seems to agree."

Blair relaxed as an older man appeared on the screen. "I've never been much of a believer in God," the man said in a choked voice. "And I always thought all those stories about angels and such were from people who needed their heads examined. But I'm a believer now. There's no other explanation for those two men disappearing into thin air like that."

Now the reporter was again shown in the forest. "Unless the two men step forward to claim responsibility for finding Kimberly, it seems that the community here is content to believe angels were at work. Stephanie Spencer, Channel 8 News."

The screen switched back to the anchor, who concluded, "An incredible story." And then she began reporting on the President's activities.

Jim reached up and clasped Blair's hand. "Guess we know now where angels come from, huh, Chief?" There was gentle humor in his voice. "Just sneaking away into the woods is considered 'disappearing into thin air'."

"Thank God for that," Blair said. He released a heavy sigh, realizing just now how relieved he was that the media wasn't after them. Still.... "I'm sure we told them that we were from the Cascade PD." He gently massaged Jim's shoulders.

"We did," Jim confirmed. "Thankfully, their attention was elsewhere and they weren't really listening."

"That's God's work," Blair said knowingly.

It all made so much sense now. In recent weeks, he'd been feeling that he and Jim should be doing more... somehow offering their services to others. Then came the idea of vacationing in the peaceful southwest. Then seeing the newscast about lost Kimberly. Blair had felt such a sense of urgency then - to do something, to help - even though there were already over a hundred volunteers helping. And he and Jim had succeeded. To top it off, some greater intelligence had made sure that Sheriff Wellington and his people didn't remember that Jim and Blair had identified themselves as being from the Cascade PD.

Sometimes the synchronistic forces of the cosmos made so much sense that Blair couldn't see how anyone could not believe in it.

"Whatever, Chief," Jim murmured. He closed his eyes and relaxed back against Blair.

That night they held each other close as they fell into an exhausted sleep.