Blair O’Lantern
"Whatcha doin’, Chief?" Jim asked as he walked into their loft apartment. The
Sentinel of the Great City was feeling a little tired and gritty from a long
stakeout. The bad guy had been caught, paperwork done and Jim was looking
forward to a few quiet days off starting with a long shower and a hot meal.
Blair on the other hand appeared hard at work but not at making dinner.
"Hi Jim! I’m carving a pumpkin," Blair said cheerfully. His arms were elbow deep
into a very large pumpkin.
"I was kind of hoping you’d be carving a roast. Silly me," Jim groused on his
way up the stairs to the bedroom, shedding dirty clothes along the way.
"Grumpy Sentinel," Blair teased, Sentinel soft, knowing Jim could hear him loud
and clear. "Your roast is in the oven. It’ll be done by the time you finish your
shower. I’m surprised you didn’t smell it."
"Sandburg, all I smell is pumpkin," Jim grumbled.
"Really? I didn’t think the odor of my pumpkin was that strong."
"It’s not. Our perp decided to make a run for it."
"But wasn’t your stakeout near the Lewis Farm?"
"Yup. Our bad guy made a break for it right through the pumpkin patch. When he
found he was surrounded by Cascade’s finest, he then added assault to his B and
E charges."
"He didn’t?" Blair asked as Jim came down the stairs in his boxers, picking up
his discarded clothes to place in the hamper. He was heading for the bathroom.
As he crossed the floor, Blair was able to get a good look at him.
"He did. He backed himself up against a scarecrow, grabbed a few small gourds
off the vine and then bombs away."
Blair stopped his own assault on his pumpkin, quickly wiped off his hands on a
towel then went to Jim who was standing outside the bathroom door. He could see
bits of pumpkin in Jim’s hair. Blair started laughing.
"Not funny, Chief," Jim growled. "Keep that up and you’ll be picking pumpkin
seeds out of your hair," he threatened good naturedly.
"Not the hair, Jim," Blair said in mock horror and with a chaste peck to Jim’s
lips. "Go shower," Blair said with a soft smile. "Dinner will be on the table
when you’re done." Jim smiled back at his lover. Blair always knew how to make
Jim smile.
True to his word, by the time Jim finished his shower and donned his robe,
dinner was on the table, the roast waiting for Jim to carve. Blair had turned
off most of the lights in the loft, a few strategically placed candles were all
the Sentinel needed. Blair’s pumpkin was out on the balcony. The lit candle
within it cast a soft warm glow through the carved pumpkin. They ate in
companionable silence.
"So aren’t you going to lecture me?" Jim asked as they lay together on the
couch. The leftovers were put away; dishes washed, dried and neatly stacked.
"Lecture you?" Blair turned slightly in Jim’s arms to gaze into Jim’s pale blue
eyes.
"Yes, I expected a lecture on the origins of the jack o’lantern and Halloween,"
Jim explained.
"Oohh, that lecture. Considering you’ve been on a stakeout for nearly twelve
hours and your subsequent attack by large orange vegetables, I thought I’d spare
you the lecture."
"Oh," Jim said uncharacteristically disappointed as he fidgeted on the sofa
trying to get more comfortable.
"What’s wrong?" Blair asked.
"Not sure, overtired, maybe," Jim mumbled.
"Hmm. Did you know that the ancient Celts were the first ones to celebrate
Halloween?" Blair said after a few minutes.
"That’s nice, Chief," Jim said as he closed his eyes as his Guide’s voice began
to ‘lecture’ him about Halloween.
"Of course it wasn’t called Halloween back then."
"Mmm," Jim murmured as Blair droned on.
"It was called Samhain, a festival to celebrate the end of the harvest
season...." Blair continued for another fifteen minutes ensuring that his
Sentinel was fast asleep. Blair smiled contentedly to himself as he carefully
reached up to kiss Jim’s jaw. He then settled back down.
"My Blair o’lantern," Blair thought he heard Jim murmur as the Guide fell asleep
secure within his Sentinel’s arms.