Letting him go like that hadn't been easy, although he knew that there were people who had thought otherwise, who obviously thought that he'd thrown the man out, but they hadn't known or understood. Jim shook his head, even he hadn't understood at first why Blair had made the decision to leave but now, two years later, he thought he did. That was why he was still sat at his desk in Major Crimes waiting for his phone to ring or Simon to come back from the personnel meeting he'd been in for most of the day.
"Jim, I'm leaving now." Rhonda's soft voice interrupted his musing. "I called personnel and they said that the meeting was still going on."
"Thanks, Rhonda. Any news?"
Rhonda smiled softly and shook her head. "They're keeping quiet, must have a lot of applications to work through. How did court go today?"
Jim leaned back. "Collins decided to change his plea before I hit the stand. He went down for fifteen years."
Even without Sandburg at his side, Jim still maintained his fearsome reputation as Detective of the Year. At first it had been hard, after the dissertation fiasco, in court. Defense attorneys thought it was a weak spot that they hit at for a long time until they started to realise that every single point in the prosecution's case could be confirmed by evidence found by 'going by the book' detective work or by scientific evidence from the scene of the crime or crimes, so what if he had an extra edge in that he found the scientific evidence or realized when someone was lying or not. Only Jim knew there was something missing, only he knew that cases went on for longer than they should because the person that used to supply the intuitive logic short circuit needed was no longer around.
"So you got some free time?" The trial of the safe cracker had been scheduled to last for several days.
"Technically," commented Jim. He tapped the large pile of files and forms on his desk. "I'll use it to catch up on this."
"Oh, I got an email from Megan today. She's fine and doing well." Rhonda paused and then continued, "She did comment that she hadn't heard from Blair for a few weeks, not since she went back actually."
Jim shrugged his shoulders. "He's been busy, you know how it gets..." Jim met Rhonda's gaze. She, of course, was one of the few who knew. She'd had to deal with the paperwork that had come from New York via personnel. "When he calls next, I'll remind him."
"That's great, Jim. Goodnight."
"Safe journey home, Rhonda."
As Rhonda's footsteps faded as she headed towards the elevator, Jim turned his attention to the same file he'd been looking at for most of the afternoon since he'd returned from the courtroom. Alone in the bullpen, Jim muttered to himself, "It has to be this time, Chief, has to be. You said you'd only be over there as long as it took you to prove that you could make it without me or Simon or anyone standing over you or making your way easy for you. Well, I think becoming the quickest academy graduate to make detective and two mayoral commendations is enough proof."
Jim stretched and sighed. He knew what was making him nervous. Blair had worked on a number of cross jurisdiction cases with the FBI and Federal Agencies; what if they made him an offer he couldn't refuse? Was that the reason Blair hadn't mentioned about applying for a transfer because he wasn't going to come back. Was that the reason the Wolf had disappeared from his dreams despite the animal being a constant companion since the night that Blair had finally made him face that they were more than friends, their bond was more than that?
Rubbing the back of his neck, Jim stood up, time for a comfort break, he really did have to work on this pile of paperwork. He wandered across to the men's bathroom absently saying hello to Rafe and Brown as they passed him in the corridor. Once he'd finished in the bathroom, he decided to get a coffee and some candy from the machine. Occupied with the coffee and chewing on his candy bar, he didn't notice Simon had returned to his office.
"Jim, my office please."
Jerking his head up in surprise as he registered Simon's presence, Jim changed his course across the bullpen and made his way towards the office. Seeing that Simon had stayed on the bullpen side of the door, Jim said, "Collins pleaded guilty after all."
Simon smiled. "Another one for the good guys. Speaking of which, Jim. We've finally appointed a new detective to Major Crimes."
Jim merely inclined his head, "Oh?"
Simon nodded. "It was a shoe in. Outstanding candidate."
"Rhonda said you'd been in personnel all day."
"Yes, actually we wanted to appoint him this morning but ..." Simon finished lamely as Jim pushed past him, "New York were not happy at all about letting him go." Simon followed Jim into the office and said, "Meet your new partner, Detective Blair Sandburg."
Jim stood an arms length away from Blair and said quietly, almost in disbelief, "You came back."
Blair almost as quiet, said, "I told you, once I'd made it somewhere, on my own, I'd be back."
"Welcome back ... partner."
The End.