Title: Blue Jungle ch 2

A/N: Chapter 1 (with headings and other pertinent information) can be found here: http://willow-fae-20.livejournal.com/17199.html



“What are you working on Blair?” Miss Jinny, one of the Day-Care monitors asked coming over to his art station.

“It’s a picture for Jim. See this is me, and Pup, but I can’t do the panther right, I don’t remember what he looked like. And this is Jim; did you know that he went to the jungle?” Blair said excitement making him bounce a little in his chair. He thought about putting No’mi in the picture, but she wouldn’t fit. This was a picture of the Blue Jungle, it was Blair’s favorite place (besides Jim’s ‘partment), he’d never told No’mi about it. So no, he wouldn’t put her in this picture. Maybe he’d draw another one for her.

“Who is Jim?” Jinny asked, her curiosity peaked.

“He’s a policeman, and my friend. He lives in the ‘partment upstairs. He buyed us a pizza one day when No’mi and,” Blair stopped here for a second, he couldn’t call him Jerkface here, one of the other Day-Care ladies was related to him. So he had to say his name right. “And Uncle Dave went to a party. So I wanted to draw a picture for him. Do you think the panther looks right?” Blair asked, grinning up at the lady who had bought him Pup.

“Yes Blair, I think the panther looks perfect. I’m surprised you put it in the picture though; isn’t that the one that scared you at the zoo?” Jinny asked, she had minored in child psychology and wanted to understand what this precious boy was trying to say with his picture.

“Oh no, the one that scared me at the zoo was yellow with spots. The black panther yelled at that one for scaring me. So we are all going to the temple, but I haven’t drawed that in yet,” Blair said pointing to the spot off to the left of the page that the temple would occupy. He was very proud of his picture and couldn’t wait to show it to Jim.

“It’s a very nice picture Blair. I’ll be back around when it’s time to clean up and get ready for snack. You can keep coloring until then, maybe you’ll get the temple done and be able to take it home with you.” Jinny said stepping away from the table, her mind buzzing with the implications of that picture. It really was amazing the way Blair’s mind worked, he had put the concept of the protective panther together with the policeman whose job it was to protect people.

As the Day-Care van pulled up to the curb in front of 852 Prospect Blair noticed that Jim’s truck was there. That was weird, Blair almost always got home from Day-Care before Jim. Blair said goodbye to Miss Linda (that was the lady Jerkface was related to) and the van driver as he bounced out of the van onto the curb. He made it look like he was going inside the building, but after the van pulled away he went back to the truck. Jim was sitting inside staring out the front window at nothing. Blair set his back pack on the ground and knocked on the door. Jim didn’t turn and look at him or anything. Blair was really getting scared now. It was just like when he first met Jim; the policeman had blanked out then too. Blair ran around the front of the truck to the passenger side and hoped that the door was unlocked. Fate was on his side (at least that’s what No’mi would have said), so Blair scrambled into the truck and shut the door. He leaned over the arm rest and grabbed Jim’s arm shaking it and calling.

“Jim, come on, it’s time to wake up now.” Even though Blair knew he wasn’t sleeping ‘cause his eyes were open; but that’s what No’mi always said when he was ‘day-dreaming’ so maybe it would work on Jim. “I drawed you a picture in Day-Care today and you gotta wake up and look at it. It’s got me and you, and Pup and even the panther. Did you know that panthers are cats? So I think I might call the black panther Kitty. Even though he’s too big to really be a kitty. But since I call my wolf Pup and he’s really a full grown wolf, it works. So now you gotta wake up and look at my picture and tell me that you like it. Please Jim.” Blair was near tears because it hadn’t taken this much to wake Jim up last time, and he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to wake him this time. Suddenly Jim took a deep breath, blinked and turned to look at the boy that was shaking his arm. Blair had once again pulled him back from the edge.

“Hey chief, calm down. It’s ok, I’m awake now.” Jim said covering both of Blair’s much smaller hands with one of his own. “I guess I got stuck in my own world again. But see I’m ok now, you helped me.” Jim glanced at his watch quickly; he’d been out of it for 20 minutes. Once again he didn’t feel shaky or nauseous, he figured it had to have something to do with Blair; but he just didn’t know what.

Blair quickly scrubbed his free hand across his face, getting rid of the tears that had fallen. “I’m glad you’re ok. I was really scared. But now you can look at the picture I drawed for you.” Blair was reaching for the door handle when it hit him that Jim might have been going somewhere. “Unless you gotta be somewhere, I guess you can look at it another time.”

“Nope, I don’t have to be anywhere. I’d like to see this picture.” Jim said as he turned to open his own door. Blair had jumped out of the truck, grabbed his backpack and was inside the building before Jim had even stepped away from the vehicle. Jim just shook his head and chuckled quietly, the boy had too much energy. Blair talked about his day the whole way up the steps, not even thinking about stopping in and letting his mom know he was home. She probably wasn’t there anyway. When they got to #307 Blair made a bee-line for the sofa not even bothering to take his coat off.

“Hey buddy, how about you give me your jacket and I’ll hang it up here with mine?” Jim asked tossing his keys at the basket that sat on the bookshelf next to the door. Once both coats were hung up Blair went back to the sofa and Jim headed into the kitchen where he grabbed a beer for himself and a cup of juice for Blair. Making his own way over to the seating area Jim placed his bottle in front of him and the Juice closer to the center of the table so Blair wouldn’t knock it over. Blair eyed the dark bottle wearily for a moment hoping he’d be able to keep Jim from drinking more then just one. Jim noticed the look cast at the drink and stored it with several other small facts that were starting to form a distinctly unsettling image in his mind.

“… and this is you and Kitty. ‘Cept I don’t think it looks right, but Tommy Jordan had the big cats book while I was drawing, so I couldn’t look at it.” Blair finished his explanation of the picture with a bright smile. He slid the heavy paper over to Jim so he could get a better look at all the details. Jim looked at the drawing and was transported to a similar jungle from five years ago, his 18 month stay in Peru. He heard the voice of Incacha telling him he’d found his guide, and that he was to protect the boy from evils that would harm him. What the hell was that supposed to mean Jim wondered shaking himself out of the fog of not-memory. He took a long refreshing sip from the bottle and leaned back into the sofa letting the voice of his ‘guide’ sooth his frayed senses.

“Oh, I should probably go home, No’mi’s gonna wonder where I am.” Blair said putting the crayon back in the box and returning the box to his backpack. It had taken lots of concentration but Blair had written on the back of his picture. He was the only four year old at the Day-Care that could write his letters and numbers. He just had to think about it a little. Miss Jinny said he was the smartest kid she knew.

“Don’t forget your picture chief.” Jim said standing and grabbing the paper off the coffee table.

“I drawed it for you. So you can keep it.” Blair said trying to reach the sleeve of his jacket. Jim, seeing his difficulty, pulled the jacket off the hook and handed it to the boy.

“Thank you. It’s a really good picture. I’m going to hang it on the fridge, so that anyone that comes over can see it.” Jim said opening the door and watching Blair walk to the steps. Just before he went around the corner Blair waved. About halfway down Jim heard him whisper ‘I hope Jerkface isn’t there. I don’t wanna get smacked for not coming straight home.’ Jim had to stop himself from following the boy just to make sure nothing happened. His baser instinct won out and he was out the door and down the steps before he thought about it. Jim stood on the stair side of the doorway and listened as Blair knocked on the door to #205. Several tense seconds later the door was answered.

“What the hell do you want?” The gruff voice belonged to Dave ‘Jerkface’ Jeffries

“Um, well I was just won’ering if my mom’s here?” Blair said in the smallest voice that Jim had ever heard.

“Yeah she is, but we’re getting ready to go out. So go play, and we’ll be back later.” Jim heard the door start to close, and then come back open again; and something metallic thudded against the carpeted hallway. “You lose that key and I’ll kick your ass so hard you won’t want to sit for a week.” The door slammed shut; if Blair had been standing any closer it would have hit him in the face. Jim took several deep breaths and quickly made his way back to his apartment wondering if the kid would prefer Wonderburger or Chinese. He waited until he heard Jeffries’ car pull away from the building; then grabbing his jacket and keys went in search of Blair. He wasn’t too hard to find sitting in the stairwell as he was want to do; again as per usual talking to Pup about one thing or another.

“Where ya goin’?” Blair perked up and asked from his spot on the steps. If he listened hard enough Jim could probably hear the wheels spinning in Blair’s brain trying to figure out where Jim the Cop was off to.

“Dinner, you wanna come?” And the kid’s face lights up. Then almost as quickly it dimmed. “Go ask your mom if it’s ok. I’ll wait.” Jim wondered briefly if it would work. Would the kid be willing to lie about talking to his mom to get a decent meal? He’s up in a flash grabbing the wolf and his backpack and heading for his apartment. Jim can hear him talking to ‘Pup’ as he gets the key in the lock. ‘I’m a big boy now Pup, I got’s a key to the ‘partment.’ It makes Jim smile. He tracks the veritable ball of energy through his apartment listening as the backpack is unzipped several things removed and a couple shoved in. Jim could tell it was going to be an interesting evening. Blair came out of the apartment several minutes later with his backpack slung over one shoulder and carrying something bulky in his small arms.

“What’s that?” Jim asked eyeing the plastic and fabric contraption with malice.

“It’s my booster seat. I need it ‘cause I’m not tall enough to wear a normal seatbelt. It’s real easy to put in. You just put the seatbelt through the bottom and hook it. Then this part… You know it’ll be easier if I just put it in when we get to your truck. That is if you still want me to go with you.” Blair finished his explanation pulling his lower lip between his teeth in worry. If he was too much hassle Jim might not want to bother with him. He was sure there was a can of soup or something he could heat up in the microwave.

“Let’s get a move on chief; I can hear Wonderburger calling my name.” Jim said taking the booster seat from the boy and heading down the steps.

“Wonderburger, No’mi never goes to Wonderburger, she says their food’ll kill ya. I don’t want you to die Jim.” Blair said, and Jim could feel the fear rolling off the boy in waves. So Wonderburger was out of the question. With the booster seat firmly belted and Blair safely strapped in Jim quickly rounded the front of the truck and got himself situated. Jim made a quick mental list of their remaining options for dinner; and chose the lesser of evils, Jade Garden. It had been a while since he’d had Chinese, and the buffet would offer choices enough for even the pickiest of eaters. As they pulled into the parking lot Blair was practically bouncing in his seat. Jim mentally patted himself on the back for making the right choice.

“So Chinese is ok then?” He received a beatific smile in reply.

“No’mi brung me here once before she met Jerkface, I like their noodles.” Blair said jumping down from the cab of the truck. Jim made it roughly four steps away from the vehicle before he realized that Blair wasn’t with him. Looking back the boy was safely next to the front bumper holding his hand out. “I’m not ‘posed to cross parking lots without holding a hand.” He offered in way of an explanation.

‘Hell’ Jim thought to himself, ‘at least his mother taught him that much.’ Making his way back to the boy Jim crouched in front of him facing the restaurant. “Will a piggy-back ride do?” He asked heaving a put upon sigh. Blair made quick work of slinging his backpack over his own shoulder before wrapping his arms around Jim’s neck, laughing softly as he was lifted into the air when Jim stood. An interesting evening indeed. Jim was amazed at the fact that he could eat Kung Pao Chicken, when not two months ago he’d thought a little paprika was going to kill him. It was like having Blair around allowed him some amount of freedom. He could use his senses and not fear blanking out. Jim stood in front of the sushi counter inhaling all the different ingredients. A tug at his wrist brought him around.

“What’re ya doin’ Jim. I thought we was aposed to be eatin’?” Blair asked cocking his head to the side as if the new angle would give him a greater understanding.

“Yeah chief, we’ll get more food in just a second; I just have to talk to the chef.” Turning to the man behind the counter Jim spoke quietly not wanting to alert any other patrons that may be nearby. “I just thought you should know that the eel is right on the edge of being bad. Honestly what would Mr. Osakawa think if he knew you were serving bad sushi?” Jim had hated invoking the name of the man who’d opened this restaurant some 20 years ago; he’d passed away several months back from a heart attack. But if that’s what it took to keep the place open that Jim would do it. The man behind the counter looked dumbstruck for a minute then came back to himself and looked at then felt the food in question noting the changes that told him it was in fact about to spoil. Jim shook his head when the man was about to question his knowledge and picked Blair up swinging him around to sit on his shoulders. Paying more attention to the food he piled on his and Blair’s plates, Jim noted that everything else seemed ok. It was just that one inconsistency. They were back at the table and digging into their food when Blair’s curiosity again got the better of him.

“Jim, how’d you know the eel was goin’ bad?” He asked popping a fried wonton into his mouth and chewing loudly.

“I don’t know. I could just smell it, I guess. Now eat up or you won’t get any ice cream.” Jim cut off any more questions the boy would have thrown at him. Blair looked longingly at the soft serve machine at the far end of the buffet area and wisely didn’t ask the other questions that were right on the tip of his tongue.