Continued from Left Behind Parts 1 to 3 This story is set in AU

Ellison listened to those last, barely audible words. 'I got my Mom killed'. Blair shifted on the rickety cot, Jim hearing every rustle of cloth as he moved, and every grunt of discomfort, the rapid heart beat, the uneven breathing. As Blair fell silent, Jim mulled over the young man's story. Kid feels left out by his mentor for this expedition and stows away, but gets caught. Ends up actually helping everyone as he turns out to be their only translator, really becomes an asset. Stoddard wires his Mom, his Mom ends up with them in Laos and because of whatever happened in that last village, his Mom and mentor are killed and now Blair blames himself. He's blames himself because if he hadn't stowed away to make the trip with Dr. Stoddard his Mom wouldn't have been there. What a mess! He was startled from his thoughts when Blair asked him, "So now you know what kind of person I am, huh Jim?" The voice was thick with self-loathing. "Bet you wish you'd just left me where you found me? Then you'd be with your outfit, safe back at camp or wherever."

"Just hold it right there Chief. I am glad that we found you when we did and managed to get you away from those sadistic SOB's and I am very glad we brought you with us. No, I do not know what kind of person you are, not entirely, but I think you are someone that I will be very glad to get to know." A look of disbelief replaced the shame on Blair's face with those words. "I know that's not the end of your story and I think you need to finish telling everything that happened before we found you. Think you can do that Chief?"

"Yeah, I, uh, well, if you're sure you want to hear the whole sorry mess."

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't. Take a few minutes and get yourself settled. You need to rest; don't be jarring those ribs any more than absolutely necessary." Ellison listened as Blair shifted into a more comfortable position, then moved to the young man's side to replace the jacket that had slipped off and resumed his uncomfortable seat on the crate. His patience was rewarded a few minutes later when Blair spoke up.

"I was really excited about the last village we were going to study. Rumors in the area led us, well, me that is, to suspect that the tribal guardian they spoke of was a real, live Sentinel! The only one in the entire area that we knew of! Man, I just knew it was gonna be Holy Grail time! On the way there I was already working on chapters for my Master's thesis, the outline, everything. Dr. Stoddard kept laughing at me, said I was wound up tighter than a spring. Well, we get there, arrange with the elders to let us set up camp and start our research. We were there for three weeks before the Guardian showed up. That's the only name I ever heard anyone call him, Guardian. At least that's how I translated the name they called him. He was about, oh 40 or so, somewhat taller than anyone else in the village. He'd been out, checking the area because of all the fighting going on here in 'Nam. They were so close to the border that it spilled over a lot of times. And it didn't seem to matter if they were Laotian or not. If they didn't look like a westerner, they got shot!"

Jim shifted uneasily on the crate. He had heard of patrols following VC past the borders and attacking the villages where the VC had holed up. Many locals had been killed or injured badly during these firefights, both by the American forces and the VC. He knew they were dangerously close to the border right now; crossing the Laotian border was not sanctioned, but the higher ups generally tended to turn a blind eye when that happened. After all, innocents, 'friendlies', were all too often left in harm's way by both armies. Armies, huh! This is, after all, only a 'police action'. Right. Police action my aunt fanny! Maybe we shouldn't be here after all. Maybe the people here should be allowed to settle this themselves. God knows we did, north and south, all those lives lost! But, when the Russians stuck their Communist noses in here, we had to do something to stop them! Didn't we? Knowing that his thoughts would turn to the same circular arguments he had had with himself before and not wanting the usual headache that followed, he shook his head vigorously and prompted, "Yeah Chief. We've heard about all that too. What happened then?"

"Things were going great. Dr. Stoddard was amazed by the amount of data we were gathering, my Mom was having a great time, seems she was learning more meditation techniques from the Buddhist Monk than she had learned in years! I was working with the Guardian, but he wasn't a Sentinel though. He only had three enhanced senses, taste, hearing and smell. But it was enough to help the village stay away from the worst of the troubles. They had a tunnel system kinda like this one, for emergencies. We were due to pack up and leave by October; even then we'd still be late getting back for the fall semester, but no one in the group wanted to leave. I was doing some tests with Guardian, you know, trying to test the limits on his senses, but it was hard, even with his Guide helping."

"His what? His Guide?"

"Yeah, Guide, companion, depended on who you talked to. Cam was kinda like Tonto to the Lone Ranger. He helped Guardian focus his enhanced senses without zoning."

"Zoning. You have lost me here Chief. Care to enlighten me?"

"Well, according to Burton if a Sentinel focused on one sense too much, he would lose himself in that sense, become oblivious to everything else other than what his sense was locked on. Burton called this a 'zone out'. He didn't go into great detail, but Cam told me when Guardian first became aware of his enhanced senses he would go into a zone out trying to listen to something far away and it would take him a really long time, like hours to get him back. His breathing would slow way down, his heart rate too and he'd be weak and exhausted when he came out of it."

Jim became more and more alarmed as Blair explained the 'zone outs' this Guardian had experienced. He's describing these 'fugues' that I fall into sometimes. I didn't realize before that was what caused them. I would be trying to hear something or smell something! But he said this Guardian only had three enhanced senses! God! I'm one of these 'Sentinels' he keeps talking about. Maybe he knows how I can get rid of this! I just want to be normal! I hate feeling like a freak! He realized he had missed part of Blair's story.

"..wondered if a Sentinel stayed in a zone too long he would fall into a coma or, even worse, die. You know heart and lungs eventually shut down or something? One night we were working on Guardian's sense of hearing, having him adjust it up and down, so that ordinary sounds in the village wouldn't hurt him like it did at times. He had just been out for a week, checking the surrounding area for any sign of trouble and he was very tired. Everything in the village was overwhelming his hearing and his sense of smell. We'd gotten his sense of smell adjusted way down first. It took a while, but finally got his hearing adjusted, then he had a sensory spike. Two hours later, we finally helped him get the hearing down, almost down to zero. We decided to take a break, go get some sleep and check on things in the morning. Next day, his hearing was like stuck! Guardian couldn't get his hearing readjusted and everything, I mean everything was like it was muffled or underwater. We had to shout to get him to understand us. We tried everything! Cam was ready to pull his hair out! And Guardian? He was like majorly pissed! My Mom suggested meditating to get Guardian settled, refocused and centered. Good thing she was there, at least for that. The meditating helped and hours later Guardian's hearing came back full strength. But by then it was too late, way too damn late man!"

"What do you mean Chief? It sounds to me like you were helping the man. Didn't he want to get his hearing back?" Ellison wondered if the man was upset because the enhanced hearing was more of a burden than anything else.

"No, he wanted his enhanced hearing back. But he needed it back, like, the day before. The VC had heard the same rumors about the man that could hear people talking a mile away and smell the enemy half a day's march from his position. And they wanted him, bad! While Guardian's hearing was affected, an entire company had almost surrounded the village. That was the first thing Guardian heard when his hearing returned to normal, well, normal for him, anyway. We got all the kids and the women down into the tunnel before they stormed in. The colonel in charge didn't waste any time either. He wanted Guardian and every time he asked where Guardian was and no one answered, he killed a villager. I couldn't believe it! He could have killed the very man he was looking for, but it was like he didn't care. Guardian wanted to tell them after the first man was murdered, but the council elders stopped him. But when the colonel killed a second man, they couldn't stop him. The colonel had just killed Guardian's father and he went after him. I thought the colonel was going to kill Guardian and before I knew what I was doing I was shouting at him, "Don't. Don't kill him. That's Guardian!" I knew I had screwed up bad man when the colonel had his men line up the villagers, Dr. Stoddard, the rest of us students, everyone! They ordered us to kneel and the soldiers stood behind us."

Ellison heard the young man's heart rate escalate once again, heard the breathing come in short, irregular, rapid pants. "Chief, calm down. You're almost hyperventilating. Come on now. Slow down your breathing, slow it down." He saw the dark blue eyes widen in panic, if anything his breathing was getting worse. Shit! He's having a panic attack. I need something for him to breathe into before he passes out. He had nothing even resembling a paper bag for the kid to breathe into. "Please kid, don't do this. Listen to me. Are you listening?" He saw the pale, bruised face staring up at him, saw the barely perceptible nod, "Okay then. Breathe slowly, inhale on one.hold.now exhale. Again, breathe, inhale and hold..now exhale." This continued for several minutes. When Blair began to breathe more normally, Jim realized the kid had a death grip on his forearms. Gonna have some bruises of my own from this. Kid's stronger than he looks. "You better now Chief? Maybe you better just get some rest now. No more talking tonight."

"No, Jim! Please! I need, I have to finish this. You have to know everything!" The punishing grip on Jim's arms intensified. "There's not much more to tell anyway." The shame and self-loathing were back in the raspy voice, "Just let me finish, 'kay?"

"Sure Blair. Just take it easy on yourself. Don't think those ribs are gonna like another round like that last one." The curly head nodded agreement.

"So, there we all were, on our knees, Dr. Stoddard was talking to the students, trying to calm them down, like that was possible. Some of the villagers were praying, one old man was cursing the soldiers, I mean cursing them with every kind of vile plague and affliction you could think of. I could see that some of the soldiers understood what he was saying and doing and they were really nervous, like they were ready to run or something. Guardian was yelling, trying to tell the colonel not to murder any more of his people, that he would go along with him and do what he wanted. Cam was struggling with two of the soldiers, trying to get back to Guardian and one of them cracked his head open with the butt of his rifle. Guardian started shouting at them and I tried to get to Cam, I was so scared they'd killed him, his head was bleeding, there was so much blood man, then women started screaming; they'd come up out of the tunnel when the men didn't join them and when they saw what was happening, they ran toward the soldiers yelling and crying and, and.."

Shit! He's gonna go right back into another panic attack at this rate! Jim shifted until he was sitting beside the young man on the flimsy cot, running his hand up and down the kid's arm, feeling the tremors running through the young man's body. His other hand stroked softly across Blair's forehead, feeling the heat of fever through the cold sweat accumulated there. The comforting motions eventually calmed the young man. He took a shaky breath, then another, struggling again with his emotions brought on by his story.

"Sorry, man, I'm so sorry, but it, it's like it's happening all over again when I'm telling you. Anyway, it was just total chaos for a few minutes. The soldiers didn't seem to know what to do with all these women rushing at them. I ran over to Cam and felt for a pulse and god, he was still breathing but there was all that blood on his head and his face and then the soldiers pulled me away. And then I heard Naomi yelling at them, yelling "you get away from my son you jackbooted bastards", then Dr. Stoddard was up on his feet and yelling and suddenly the soldiers started shooting, they started shooting everyone! Two of them were still holding me and others were fighting with Guardian and they were shooting and killing the women and the old men and then the younger ones who tried to stop them and Dr. Stoddard pushed Naomi down and soldiers were shooting at them and the blood..the blood." Tear filled ears looked up at Jim, eyes dark with remorse and shame, begging for Jim, someone, anyone to forgive him. "I got them all killed Jim. If I hadn't interfered with Guardian and Cam and tried all those tests, Guardian's hearing wouldn't have been so screwed up and he would have heard all those soldiers coming and he could have gotten them all to safety! It was my fault, all my fault!"

Jim held on as sobs racked the young man, stealing his breath. Scraped fingers taloned in his t-shirt as Blair pulled himself closer to the Ranger, seeking solace, absolution from his perceived failings. Jim rocked him gently, hand running over the curly head, carding his fingers through long snarled curls. Gradually the sobs diminished, turning into quiet tears, breath hitching in the aftermath of the anguished sobs. He held on, listening as the breathing quieted and later became the deeper, slower breathing of sleep. Instead of easing the sleeping man down onto the cot, he braced himself against the wall of the tunnel, holding him cradled against his chest. Ellison couldn't understand why he did it, he only knew he had to, had to protect Blair, no matter what. And if holding him through the night helped the kid sleep, made him feel safe, then that's what Jim Ellison intended to do.

Ellison snorted and jerked his head up. He had fallen asleep a couple of hours before, finding that the soft snoring from the young man in his arms was almost soothing, the rise and fall of the chest under his arm comforting. He hadn't slept so well or deeply in months. He could tell the sun was up with the increase of the light filtering through from the side shafts. He hated to wake the kid, but they needed to get moving, they were almost out of water and food, if you could call army rations food. He studied Blair's face for a minute; pale, swollen and discolored with bruises, lip swollen and split, dark, heavy beard, ridiculously long eyelashes almost hidden against the dark circles under his eyes. Broad forehead, straight almost pug nose, stubborn chin, high cheekbones, long auburn tinted curly brown hair. Shit! No wonder we mistook him for a girl when he first came stumbling out that door. I've seen a helluva lot of women who aren't as pretty as this kid! Whoa! Where did that come from? Ellison, you've been out in the bush too long! Kid would probably clean your clock if you'd said anything like to him. He chuckled silently, smiled down as sleepy blue eyes opened and looked at him in momentary confusion. Blair suddenly realized what constituted his 'pillow' and tried to sit up, blushing profusely.

"Oh man I'm like so sorry!" started the rapid-fire apology. "I can't believe I fell asleep on you!" Memory of last night returned and he turned even redder. "Bet you never thought you'd end up having to baby-sit me like this." He was still trying to sit up, but the arm across his chest tightened a bit and he looked up and realized he could actually make out Ellison's face, his hugely grinning face.

"Chief, did you know you snore? A lot? And I wasn't babysitting. You were simply worn out and just fell asleep where you were. And it wasn't uncomfortable, well maybe my lower back will argue with me about that later, but it was no big deal." A look that clearly said 'I don't buy that for a minute' crossed the expressive face and Jim found himself laughing and shifting them both upright. "But we do need to get a move on. We need more water and something besides these rations would be a very nice change. So, you need to visit the 'little boys latrine' or something? Then we'll have a lovely breakfast of said rations and head out." Blair rolled his eyes at the latrine remark and shuddered at the offer of breakfast.

"Yeah, man, nature's banging away at my bladder right now. If you can help me get on my feet, I think I can handle it from here." Jim maneuvered them to their feet and Blair did a weird shuffle/hop to the designated bathroom area. A few minutes later he returned, fumbling to fasten his belt on pants far too loose on his slender hips. Kid's lost way too much weight in the past few weeks from the look of those jeans. Have to work on that once we get back. He helped Blair settle back onto the cot and handed over the canteen. Rummaging in his backpack, he found some of the barely palatable rations and handed half to Blair. The young man accepted them with a grimace and wry grin. "Gee, thanks Jim. My stomach thanks you, but my intestinal tract is withholding judgement for a couple of hours."

"Save the jokes Chief and eat up. You'll need to save that sense of humor for later in the day. We need to check this tunnel further, in case it's discovered by the wrong returning patrol, if you catch my drift. You think you'll be up to that?" He paused as he noticed the smile fade from Blair's face.

"I'll do my best to keep up with you man, but I need you to know that I really appreciate all you've done for me, including the food. Guess I've been coming across as a real ungrateful putz, but I.."the words stuttering to a halt as Jim held up his hand.

"You have not been ungrateful, putz or otherwise. Shit Chief, I know soldiers who think they're real tough who haven't been through what you have. Now, eat up and we'll get started."

Jim had noted that the tunnel had begun to narrow about an hour ago, the workmanship seeming shoddy as though the workers had rushed to finish. The floor was rougher and seemed to be angling back toward the surface. Blair stumbled more while trying to take it easy on his ankle and ribs, sharp hisses of pain sometimes escaping tightly clenched teeth. Jim kept a strong arm around the narrow waist for support and balance. He was focused ahead on the dim passageway, straining to see further. His vision suddenly zoomed onto a 90-degree turn over a hundred yards away. He could see the water trickling down the wall of the tunnel, then heard voices, voices that were too far away for anyone to actually hear, but heard clearly by one Lt. James J. Ellison.

"Hey man, what's going on.." Blair stopped speaking as Ellison held up a warning hand. The big Ranger's head was tilted, an intense look of concentration on his face, as if he were listening to something or someone. Blair stilled and listened, but heard nothing but his own harsh breathing. He focused on Ellison's face, watching as the brow furrowed in frustration. He whispered, "Jim, what are you hearing? Close your eyes and focus on your hearing." As he spoke, he gently gripped the big man's forearm.

Ellison's sky blue eyes glanced down at him before closing. The brow smoothed a bit; the jaw unclenched slightly, the look of concentration intensifying without the underlying frustration. The voices he had heard became clearer, seemed closer. His eyes snapped open, "Chief, there are VC soldiers in that deserted village. I don't understand what they're saying, but I say it's a safe bet that they're looking for us. I need to find a side shaft that leads to the surface because if they find this tunnel, and I won't bank on the chance that they couldn't, we'll be easy targets."

"Then you leave me here and get out! I'll be damned if I'm responsible for one more death! You get the hell out of here now!" Blair was pushing Ellison, pushing him away, away from the responsibility of keeping one Blair Sandburg alive. Jim looked down at the earnest face, seeing the fear in the wide blue eyes, fear that Jim Ellison would be hurt or killed because of him. A gentle smile crossed his face as he caught the frantic hands, stilling the agitated motions. Blair looked up, confused, at Ellison's actions. "Jim, you know I can't possibly keep up with you. You have to get out of here now! Please! I don't..I can't be..please.."

"I'm going to get both of us out of here. Captain Banks and the others should be on their way back here for us. We weren't too far from our designated LZ when we split off to find this tunnel. Right now, I need you to stay put while I check ahead for a way out. Just stay out of sight and stay quiet, can you do that Chief?" Overly bright blue eyes locked onto his, searching his for.. What are you looking for Chief? Truth, am I coming back or am I simply leaving you to fend for yourself? Or are you looking into my very soul here? "I will be back, for you and then we're getting out of here. You trust me on this. I will be back here. I only need thirty minutes, forty five tops to check this out." Those blue eyes blinked and Jim was amazed at the trust shining in their clear depths.

Ellison checked yet another shaft, searching for an exit from this never-ending tunnel. He had checked three and was resigned that this side shaft was another dead end. He stopped, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He thought of how clear his sense of hearing had become while listening to Blair's voice, how warm the hand had been on his arm. His thoughts cleared of all else and he lifted his head as the odor of wood smoke filled his sense of smell. Turning, keeping his eyes essentially closed, he followed the smell. Minutes later he found a narrow crevice, not much of an opening at all. Looking up he found, to his relief, broken shafts of sunlight filtering down. He had found a way to the surface at last. Now to get the kid and get us out of here!

He broke into a fast trot, covering ground quickly. He cast his hearing ahead, moving faster, alarmed at how loud the voices of the VC soldiers sounded. Damn it! They must have found the tunnel entrance! He raced around the 90-degree turn, almost running Sandburg over. Jim shook his head as Blair opened his mouth to speak. Holding a finger against his lips, he listened for the enemy. The soldiers were inside the tunnel, but were still a long way from their location. He visually checked the young man, noting the tight lines of pain around the eyes, the arm clutched around the injured ribs, listing to the right to keep weight off the battered ankle. He bent, lips almost touching Blair's ear and whispered, "I found a way back to the surface. We have to be quick and quiet. Understand?" The curly head nodded quickly, eyes darting back down the tunnel in the direction of the entrance. "They aren't close at all, but I'm not taking any chances, okay Chief?" The head nodded again. Jim shifted the kid closer to his side and they headed for safety.

Blair had waited, for an eternity is seemed, before his imagination began to take over. He imagined Jim falling down in a trap left behind by other VC, tripping a wire attached to a grenade or something. No, I would have heard something if that had happened. But what if something has happened to him? What if he was listening to or for something and zoned? Wait a minute! Zoned? Where did that come from? God Sandburg, you must really be tired! But he did say he heard the soldiers, but how? Ohmygosh! What if he has enhanced hearing? And, and, he was able to see in the tunnel last night and I couldn't see my hand in front of my face! Night vision, good night vision he said. Enhanced hearing and sight.wonder if his sense of smell or touch. Could he be? Nah! But I do need to find him, make sure he's okay. Blair pushed himself upright with his good leg, paused for a minute for his ribs to stop protesting and his vision to clear, then set off to find his rescuer. His progress was slow, slugs and turtles would have left him in their dust, but he didn't stop, determined to find Ellison. Hours later, well it seemed like hours, he reached the 90-degree turn, and found Ellison barreling around the corner. His ribs ached like a son of a gun, his ankle, well cutting if off wouldn't have hurt any more, his head was pounding and he had never seen a prettier sight. Ellison let him catch his breath and they were off.

Blair looked at the narrow opening in dismay, knowing he could never make his way up to the surface, not in the shape he was in. But he wouldn't let Ellison know that. He needed to find a way to get Ellison to go up first and then he'd head off and find a hiding place, hopefully a wonderful, never to be found hiding place, at least until Ellison and Banks and the cavalry came to the rescue once again. Jim was removing essential gear from his sorely depleted backpack, stuffing them into the pockets of his fatigue pants. The trusty backpack would be buried; Jim couldn't climb with it and couldn't risk the VC finding it. He turned to Blair, "Okay Chief, I'm going to climb part way up this and check it out, make sure it's safe. You just wait here. And I do mean wait here, no moving around because I didn't check the tunnel any further for surprises."

"Yeah, Jim. I hear you. You go ahead and climb, I'm not going any farther right now."

The tone of voice was all wrong. The words sounded right in answer to his order, but the tone, it sounded like the kid was giving up. He's exhausted, he's hurting, of course he sounds off. Quit reading more into it than there is and get moving soldier. Blair moved to sit down and Jim stopped his mental debate as he helped Blair ease down to the dirt floor. He placed a full canteen next to the student; "You're still dehydrated there Chief. Try to get some of this down while I'm checking this out. I'll be back as soon as I can." Blair nodded once, fatigue weighing him down. He slumped down, using the canteen as a pillow and closed his eyes. Jim watched as the ragged breathing evened out as Blair fell asleep in seconds. Yeah, I was right. Poor kid's worn out. He's tough though; I'll give him that. He'll make it out of here. We'll both make it out. Ellison squared his shoulders and started climbing.

The shaft he was negotiating was natural, seemingly missed by the tunnel's builders. It narrowed and broadened haphazardly, but he had no problem find a foot or hand hold when needed. The shaft did not go straight up, it dipped and twisted, and Ellison wondered if Blair really could make the climb. If it had gone straight out, it would have only been a 30 to 40 foot climb at best. He stretched his hearing behind him automatically, checking on Blair, listening to the slow, even breathing of the sleeping man. The soft rhythm was gratifying, he knew the kid needed all the rest he could possibly get. He stretched further, listening to the deep breaths, not noticing as his breathing begin to match that of the sleeper, falling into the rhythm. As he pushed his hearing, he heard noted other sounds; harsh, grating sounds. He pulled back to himself as he realized the VC were moving rapidly through the tunnel now, much too close to Blair for comfort. He moved swiftly down the shaft, recklessly bypassing hand holds, foot rests, in his haste to get back to Sandburg. He pushed out of the shaft, lost his balance and rolled to a stop. He heard the trip wire snap. He whirled with a snarl of frustration on his lips as the booby trap exploded. The flash burned into his eyes; the explosion and concussion battered his ears. Most of the shrapnel flew over his head. Fortunately the trap had been set for a person on their feet, but Ellison felt several fragments cut into his shoulders and back. The pain sent him reeling; it felt as though hot knives were cutting all the way through to his chest. He couldn't catch his breath, couldn't see anything, couldn't hear a goddamned thing! All his senses were spiraling out of control, sending him into a pain filled, silent, black nightmare!

Blair Sandburg had never, ever come awake so fast in his entire, short, life. He had never, ever come so close to messing his pants. His ears were ringing; clouds of dust made it hard to breathe, well harder, what with his cracked ribs. Rocks and dirt were shaken loose from the roof of the tunnel by the explosion adding to his collection of bruises and cuts. He struggled to his feet, blinking rapidly, trying to figure out what had caused it all. He looked around in the feeble light and saw the still, sprawled figure. Oh god Jim! What the hell happened? Nonono! You were supposed to get out of here! Great Sandburg! You fall asleep when you're supposed to be getting yourself out of the way and see what happens? Please be alive, please? The young man stumbled over to Ellison's side and placed a shaking hand to the pulse point on Jim's neck, finding a strong, regular pulse. Expelling his held breath in relief, he gently began checking the Lieutenant for injuries, dismayed to find the multiple cuts and bleeding caused by the grenade's shrapnel. Minutes later a low groan announced Ellison's return to consciousness.

"Jim? Jim! Can you hear me? What the hell happened?" He abruptly shut up when Ellison's hands flew to his ears as if in pain. He watched as Jim shifted around to sit with his back against the tunnel wall, never moving his hands from his head. The big man sat hunched over for a few minutes before finally, hesitantly moving his hands away. The blue eyes opened to bare slits then snapped wide open. Ellison looked around wildly, a low keening sound coming from the usually stoic, in control soldier.

"Jim," Blair whispered, "can you tell me what's wrong?"

Jim's head whipped around and he stared in the direction of the whispered question. "Blair, is that you? Chief?"

"Jim, I'm right here. Tell me what's going on with you." Blair kept his voice down, suspecting that speaking any louder caused Jim pain.

Jim stretched out a dirty, bloody hand. Blair took it without pause, moving closer to sit beside the scared man. Ellison shifted closer still until he practically surrounded the younger man. "The explosion Chief, it was as if I was right on top of it. My eyes, the flash burned into my eyes. I can't see! I can't see you; I can't see anything at all! And my ears! Everything is so loud! I can hear your hair moving against the jacket you're wearing. Your breathing is so loud, and the dirt falling from the ceiling is like boulders crashing down a mountainside. My own voice hurts my ears! I don't know what's happening to me!!

Blair caught his split lip between his teeth. His first reaction was to rejoice that his suspicions were not unfounded. Ellison did indeed have enhanced senses, at least his hearing. But how to help him right now?

"Jim, I need you to listen to me. I think I can help with this." Still talking in hushed, soothing tones, Blair brought Jim's hand to his chest. "Can you feel my heart beating?" A tense nod answered him. "Okay. Now I want you to focus on my heart beat. Got it?" Another curt nod. "Jim, I want you to imagine a radio and that the radio has different dials. One of the dials is the control for your hearing. Do you understand? Can you see the dial?"

"Yeah Chief, I can see it."

"Good, that's good. Now, I want you to turn it down. It must be way up right now, say at 9 or 10. Now, slowly turn it down and as you turn down the dial, your hearing is gonna turn itself down. Slowly, slowly, down to 7, then 6, now 5, on down to 4. Stop at 3. How does that feel?" The young man stopped, anxiously watching Ellison's face.

Ellison first thought the kid was losing it, talking about radios and dials. How the hell is that supposed to help me? My head is killing me here! Every word, every sound is like someone's stabbing my head with a knife. But the low, compelling tones of the young man's voice helped him focus and he found he could see the radio and the dial. As Blair talked him through it, the low voice became more soothing and sounds faded to what seemed more and more normal. As Blair stopped him at 3 on the imaginary dial, the pounding in his head and the shrill ringing in his ears receded. He felt some of the tension drain from his shoulders. He realized he had an arm tightly locked around the kid's narrow shoulders as though afraid Blair might leave him. He swiftly released the young man, pressing back against the dirt wall. He gave a start of surprise when Blair followed him, staying close.

"Jim? Did it help? Oh, god, what made me think I could help? I'm useless, worse than useless! Think Sandburg, think!! Use some of that gray matter you're supposed to have so much of!!"

"Blair!" The kid jumped at the sharpness of tone when Jim barked his name. Jim silently chastised himself. "I just want you to stop beating up on yourself. My hearing is much better. Thank you." The tense body next to him relaxed. "But I don't think my vision is gonna be fixed so easily." He felt the curly hair move against his arm as the kid turned to him. "No, Chief, listen to me. The flash from the explosion has affected my eyes. I know this from my medic training. It's gonna take at least 24 hours or more for the optic nerves to start to recover." If they recover, damnit! I need to see in order to get us out of here! Shit! I can't see, but I can still hear! God what was I thinking? He pictured Blair's radio dial and cautiously turned it back up to 5, then 6. He groaned as he listened to the sounds of the VC digging their way through a fortunate, for us!, cave in a few hundred yards away.

"Get on your feet Chief. We've got company. They've got some work ahead of them, thanks to a minor cave in, but it's not gonna slow them up much longer. You're the eyes of this team now. We get out of here together, right?"

The student held on to Ellison as they helped each other to their feet. Blair studied the soldier holding onto his arms. Blood streamed from a dozen or more vicious looking cuts on Jim's back. He was essentially blind. Blair wasn't in much better shape, maybe worse. His ankle was practically useless and his ribs ached with each breath. But he could see, well sort of, in the dim tunnel. And Jim could hear the movements of the enemy behind them. We can do this! I have to do this! I will not let this man down! With more determination than ability, Blair squared his shoulders, drew Ellison's arm across them and announced, "Right, Lieutenant, sir! Together!"

Blair sank to his knees listing to his right as his injured ankle protested with sharp pains shooting up his leg. Ellison was right behind him; hands locked onto his shoulders. They had only been traveling maybe twenty minutes when they stumbled around a sharp corner. He stared in defeat at the obstacle facing them. A wide rift in the tunnel floor separated them from the rest of the tunnel, the rift four to five feet in width. On the other side Blair could make out a makeshift bridge. Evidently the villagers didn't want anyone following them as they made their escape. He knew there was absolutely no way he could get across it, he could scarcely hobble on his ankle, much less try a jump like that. Jim could make it, but with his vision gone right now, would he even try? I could talk him through it I bet! Convince him Sandburg. He could hug the tunnel wall until he finds the exit. It could work!

Jim leaned forward, listening to the abrupt changes in the younger man's breathing. "What is it Chief? What's holding us up?" The shoulders beneath his hands that had sagged when they first stopped were straightening with determination. He felt Blair turn to face him and wished, not for the first time, he could see the younger man, read the emotions that flashed across that face so openly and swiftly.

"There's a, a split or chasm in the floor of the tunnel. There was some kind of bridge across it, but it's been pulled to the far side and there's about five feet of black pit between us and the other side. But, if you'll listen to me, I know I can get you across. I'll walk you through it a couple of times, then one big leap and you're across."

Ellison heard the plea in the earnest voice. "I know you can Blair, but what about you? Oh, I get it. I get across and then push that bridge back across for you."

"No, no, no Jim. I mean, we get you across and then you head on out of here. You can't push that by yourself. Besides, it would probably fall down into that damned hole before you shoved it back to this side. Come on, man. Let's get you familiar with the distance on this side and get you gone from here!"

Blair wearily pushed himself to his feet once more, tugging on Ellison's arm. The big man didn't move. "Jim? Come on! Can you get up? What's wrong, are you hurt somewhere I didn't see? Jim?" The voice rose sharply as Ellison continued to just sit there. He moved around behind him, eyes following his hands as they brushed across the broad shoulders, searching for injuries he might have missed. Ellison turned and caught those gentle hands.

"I'm not hurt anywhere else Chief. I just wanted to sit here and think for a minute. Yes, I think you can talk me through this and I probably could jump far enough to clear the rift to the far side. But there's one huge problem with this plan of yours. I'm not leaving you." He heard Blair's sudden intake of breath in prelude to launching his argument and held up a hand to interrupt the rapid stream of words he knew was coming. "I told you from the start of this, I will not leave you behind. We're in this together and that's that. As long as I have anything to say about it or can do anything to prevent it, you will not be left behind, ever again."

Blair felt tears well up again and angrily swiped his hand across his face, wincing as the rough action scraped his battered lip. They didn't have time for this; he had to get Jim across that damned hole and on his way to safety! But the softly spoken words struck deep and in that instant he knew no amount of arguing, cajoling, logic, nothing would sway the soldier. And Blair couldn't deny the feeling of warmth that filled his chest those words caused.

"Okay Jim. What do we do? If we don't go forward, then what? Those soldiers are still behind us and I don't think they're coming after us just to invite us to tea." He waited for Ellison's answer, knowing he'd do whatever Jim asked of him.

"We go back to where I was checking out this natural shaft. We can both fit in there and if we're lucky, can hide from the VC until my Captain gets back here. I know you're in no shape to climb Chief, but we only need to get in far enough to hide. What say we give it a try?"

"I say time's a wasting man! Let's go!"

They moved as fast as either of them could and still move with a minimum of noise. Jim extended his hearing as far as he dared. Blair's arm was around his waist now, steering him around debris, guiding him. The warmth of that arm kept him focused and he listened as the enemy soldiers moved cautiously past the cleared cave in. It would be close, but Jim chose to believe they would make it in time to climb into that narrow shaft and wait for rescue. Blair had his hand clenched in Jim's t-shirt; lips clamped shut, not allowing any sounds to pain to escape his throat. His ribs were aching fiercely and his ankle, well, it was still attached to his leg and the pain was still building. He glanced at Jim, noting the sheen of sweat on the taut face. He knew some of the shrapnel cuts were still bleeding sullenly and wondered at the pain that the big man seemed to be ignoring. Man are we a pair or what? We both need to be in a hospital, but that ain't gonna be happening any time soon! They were staggering when they finally reached their destination.

"I'm going to lift you up into the shaft Chief. The first hand holds are above my head and there's no way you can climb that far with your ankle. We don't have time for you to argue about this, so turn around," Jim whispered into the curl covered ear and a single nod answered. Blair turned and rested all his weight on his good ankle and gave a little jump as Ellison lifted. His hands scrabbled around until he found the hand holds Jim had told him about. Jim had him by the lower legs now and Blair did his best to pull himself up as Jim pushed. The pain in his ribs stole his breath, vicious stabs of pain robbing him of what little strength and energy he had left. He found a foot hold with his right foot and hung on for dear life. He heard Ellison climb up behind him, holding him against the wall. "I know you're hurting right now Blair, but we have got to climb higher. Rest for a minute, then we move. Okay?" Blair nodded numbly, fighting the pain, blinking to clear his fuzzy vision. He wondered again at the strength of Jim Ellison. He knew the man was in pain, had been on the go and carrying Blair most of the way for days. Yet, here he was, urging Blair on, still carrying him, keeping him, keeping them both, safe. Blair rested his head against the stone, striving to clear his head. A large, warm hand rested briefly on his forehead then patted his shoulder. "Okay Chief. Tell me what you see."

Blair peered up the narrow shaft, checking the wall for the protrusions that would help them climb higher. "There's a narrow ledge about three feet above me and to the right. I don't see anything other than that Jim."

"Right. After that, there should be finger and toe holds along the wall above that. I'll lift you until you can reach the ledge, then you'll have to climb from there yourself. Ready on three. One, two, three." Strong hands lifted him once again. Blair grabbed onto the ledge and painfully pulled up. Holding his left arm across the ledge, panting, he looked up and saw the niches Jim said would be there. Long minutes later he was about ten feet higher than his last stop. He looked down to see Jim moving smoothly upward, amazed at how effortlessly the soldier was moving. It's like he can see the face of this shaft with his fingers! Maybe his sense of touch is enhanced, now even more without his vision. Blair shook his head at the turn his thoughts had taken. Oh, man. Even with all that's going on and I'm still trying to make this guy into a Sentinel. Come on Sandburg! Stay with the program! As Ellison reached his side, Blair grinned. "I gotta tell ya, it's like being in here with Spiderman or something! How do you do that!?"

A small smile teased the edges of Ellison's mouth. "Spiderman Chief? You must've read way too many comic books when you were a kid. Oh wait, that wasn't so long ago, now, was it?"

"I told you I'm not a kid, Ellison. I'm nineteen and I'd appreciate it ..." Blair stuttered to a halt at the huge grin that spread across Ellison's face. "Okay man, you got me. So, what do we do from here Spidey? The shaft angles off to the right again about six feet from here."

"If memory serves, the shaft parallels the floor of the tunnel for about seven or eight feet. Once we get to that part, we can stop and wait for Banks and the others." Jim suddenly tilted his head and groaned. "They've found this shaft Blair. We're outta time. Get moving!" Ignoring every aching, hurting part, Blair pushed upward. Now he could hear the voices below them in the tunnel. He jammed his hand into a shallow crack and pulled up; the awkward position was his undoing. The damaged ribs cracked further and he couldn't have stopped the short scream of pain from escaping no matter what he'd tried. Jim caught him as he started to tumble down, a strong arm around his chest, pressing in on those same ribs. Stars danced in front of his eyes just before blackness claimed him.

Jim hung on desperately. Blair was dead weight and Jim felt his fingers slipping from his tenuous handhold. He had both feet wedged in solidly, but knew it was only a matter of time before Blair's weight would pull him loose. The VC had heard Blair scream and they were moving closer to them. He saw a rifle barrel move just below them and a bullet sang past his ear. The gunshot almost deafened him as he fumbled for the dial to adjust his hearing. More shots rang out, bullets ricocheting through the narrow chamber. He heard voices shouting and suddenly realized that some of the shouts were in English! He pushed the dial up a fraction, listening again and smiled. Banks could still bellow with the best of them! The VC soldier closest to him heard the commotion out in the tunnel, but was determined to do away with at least this one arrogant American. He carefully took aim and fired.

Ellison felt the bullet blaze a path across his left temple. His left arm seemed to lose all strength and fell away from the handhold. His left leg quivered beneath his and Sandburg's combined weight and his foot slipped free. He hugged the young man tightly to his chest as they began to fall..

Captain Simon Jefferson Banks was furious. No, make that beyond furious. He had been held up at HQ for hours. Colonel Travers could not be made to understand that he did not have time to question the prisoners and he did not have time for a de-briefing and he most certainly did not have time to give a full report of the squad's actions. Risking instant court-martial, Banks had heatedly suggested what the colonel could do with his demands, all anatomically impossible of course. That didn't happen. The colonel had simply blinked at his captain for a minute, ordered him to move out on recon, recover his missing Lieutenant and take as many men as Banks deemed necessary.

Banks had pushed his men as hard as he possibly dared. Banks, Taggert, Henri and Rafe all knew the odds for Ellison and the kid of surviving fell with each hour that passed. The other men didn't understand why they were so driven, but after one man had his head bitten off by all four when he dared ask why?, they kept their mouths shut, their eyes open and moved!

Banks looked around the dust filled tunnel. Several VC soldiers were dead; many more were wounded, some seriously. Two of his men had injuries, all minor, thank god! Most of the VC had fled down the tunnel to escape. He had guards posted on either end to make sure there were no surprises. He moved to the base of the narrow shaft where Jim and Blair had been found. Both men were still unconscious; Banks was just thankful they were still alive. Two medics were working on them, treating their injuries as best they could for now. They had had to send Rafe and Brown to the surface to radio for an evac chopper. They still had to get the wounded out of the tunnel and then to the LZ for the transport. Banks wanted nothing more than about twenty hours of sleep right after he finished his last cigar. Right after he smoked his last cigar. The previous cigar had been clamped between his teeth as they left HQ and that cigar lay in shreds along the way as they raced back to the abandoned village. The medics signaled they were finished, the injured men were ready to move. The men were carefully rolled onto stretchers for transport. Banks moved to Ellison's side, checking the man's pulse to reassure himself that the Lieutenant was still with them. He had never, ever seen the man so still, so pale, so vulnerable. As he watched, Jim's eyelashes fluttered, blue eyes gradually opening then filling with panic. Jim's hand flailed the air before Simon caught it in his. "Jim! Jim! Calm down! It's me, Simon. You're going to be okay." The panicked look receded, the frantic movements stilled. "That's better, Lieutenant. You with me now?"

Jim nodded painfully. His head was throbbing, felt like a mule had kicked in the left side just above his ear. He tentatively lifted his shaking hand and felt the thick bandage around his head. "S'mon. Wha happn'd?" He heard his own slurred words as he fought against the growing lethargy.

"You were hit in the head Jim. It's really only a flesh wound, but it sure did bleed a lot. You need to stay quiet, don't move around any more than you have to, okay?"

"S'mon, can't see. 'splosion earlier..eyes burned," Jim managed.

"Explosion? Huh! That explains it." He laughed at the confused look that stole over Ellison's face. "We were searching for the tunnel entrance, when this goshalmighty cloud of smoke came belching up from the ground. We figured it was you sending up a 'smoke signal' and after a little more hunting found it. Good thing too. You and Sandburg would've been goners if we'd gotten there any later."

The mention of the kid's name wiped away any cobwebs from Jim's mind. "Bla.ir! Where? S'mon, he okay? Jim was frustrated by his weakness and at his inability to articulate. "He.alive?" Unseeing eyes looked around frantically, as if by willing them to, he would see the young man in question. Jim didn't hear Simon answering him, telling him Blair was going to be okay. Jim had gone deep inside himself, listening to the student's soothing voice, concentrating all his energy on a single dial, the dial that controlled his vision. He felt along the circuits, finding breaks, repairing them through sheer will, until the dial began to move. He turned the dial from zero, to one, then on to three, then four. The dial refused to budge further. Jim forced himself to open his eyes; still afraid he would only see darkness. He blinked his eyes rapidly, clearing away the tears pooled there. It was as he feared. It only works when Blair is there to guide me through this kind of thing. I need him to help me do this! Okay Ellison, suck it in there soldier and just do it! He closed his eyes once more and refocused, found the damned dial. Minutes later he opened his eyes. Simon's dark, worried face peered down at him, Taggert hovering over his shoulder. Ellison had never seen an uglier sight, squelching the sudden urge to give them both a big wet one! Whoa, are you losing it here Ellison!

"S'mon? Wha'.," he swallowed heavily and tried again, "Where is Blair?" He looked straight at Banks as he asked. Startled by the intensity of those blue eyes, then cognizant that Ellison was looking at him, Banks mouth fell open and he lost his last cigar.

"Jim, can you see me?" The bloody, bandaged head nodded once, a smug look on the man's dirty face. "Just fifteen minutes ago, you told me you couldn't see shit! And now you're telling me you can see!!! What the hell..oh never mind. Can you turn your head to the right just a bit?" Jim slowly, cautiously turned and his eyes fell on Blair's quiet form, and watched as the kid's chest rose and fell with each shallow, even breath. He turned his eyes back to his Captain, "I told him I wouldn't leave him behind, sir."

THE END

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