Epilogue

After the events of the previous couple of days, the quiet in Sharon's loft seemed almost unnerving. Simon had volunteered to stay behind at the station and clean up the paperwork surrounding the case, so Kermit had driven the exhausted agent home to get some rest. Stumbling out of the elevator, she dropped her keys on the table and settled in, stripping off her jacket as she went. Taking the roast out of the refrigerator and shoving it in the oven, she had almost made it to collapse on the bed when she discovered that Jim and Blair had gotten there before her.

Sighing, she leaned against the doorframe, too tired to try and find another resting-place just yet. She noticed that Blair was still fully clothed, but Jim had been stripped down to his boxers. Holding hands, the two men were sleeping peacefully. When she realized it looked like a big brother that had come in to comfort his sick little brother after a nightmare, she smiled. This time, Blair was the one who got to be the big brother.

She felt Kermit come up behind her, so, not taking her eyes off the pair, she commented in a quiet voice, "Thank God he's okay."

"Yeah," Kermit sighed. Bringing an arm around his friend so she could see the note, Kermit informed her, "Peter wrote me this note just before he went to sleep himself. He says that the longer Jim and Blair are asleep, the better it will be for Jim, so don't try to wake them up. Jim's going to be fine."

"Okay." Sharon was curious as to why it was so important for -both- of them to rest, but she had learned long ago not to question these things. Still feeling Kermit's hand on her shoulder, she took the opportunity to ask, "Did you really mean what you said before? To Kun Tsin?"

Kermit let out a small chuckle. Apparently, they had been apart too long. "Share, do I ever say things I don't mean?"

"Do you -really- want me to answer that question?"

Letting out another small chuckle, Kermit replied, "No, I guess not. And yes, I did mean those things I said earlier."

"Do you consider Jim to be one of those friends now?"

Kermit dropped his hand from Sharon's shoulder and let out a deep sigh. Leaning against the opposite doorframe, he considered his answer to the question carefully. "He's a good man, Tiger. He always was."

"He's scared, you know. Of what you'll do."

"You mean now that I know he's a Sentinel?"

Sharon nodded. "-Does- he have anything to fear from you?"

Looking over at the pair sleeping on the bed, Kermit let out another deep sigh. "Nah. He never really did. I have a feeling that, in another time, we might have become good friends. But now..."

"Now what, Kermit?"

"When I look at him, he reminds me too much of another time. When I was a very different man."

"You were both different men, Kermit. That's what the business does to you."

"You're right."

Crossing the space between them, Sharon reached out to embrace her old friend. Once Kermit returned the embrace, Sharon asked him, "Just promise me that you'll try, Kermit? You'll probably find that the two of you have a lot in common."

Pulling back from the embrace, Kermit pushed a stray lock of hair away from Sharon's face. "I promise, kiddo. I'll try." Leading her by the hand, Kermit pulled her away from the bedroom so he could get her settled in on the empty couch. "Now, c'mon. Captain Banks is going to be here in an hour or so. You need to get some rest..."

On the bed, eyes closed, Jim Ellison resisted the urge to smile or let anyone on that he had heard most of the conversation. His heart, though, whispered back to Kermit, [I promise I'll try to be friends, too.]

By the time Simon made it to the loft, Caine, Peter and Sharon were all awake, enjoying a quick snack to curb their hunger from the smell of the roast. Sharon briefly informed the captain of how Jim was doing, careful to keep quiet lest she wake the sleeping Sentinel. The pair was still sleeping even after everyone had finished eating, so they all looked at each other questioningly, wondering what to do next. Finally, they settled on the one activity a police captain, an FBI agent, an ex-mercenary, a police detective and a Shaolin priest could agree on.

An hour later, Simon looked over to Kermit, who was at a definite advantage with his dark glasses, and offered, "I'll see your ten, and raise you another twenty."

Looking at his cards, Kermit realized that even -he- would have a tough time bluffing down a man who was that confident. "I'll call it - I have a full house."

Sharon threw down her cards in frustration. "Only two pair. Man, that's thirty-five I've lost in the last half hour!"

Simon took one look at his cards and smiled. Chomping on his unlit cigar, he exclaimed, "Straight flush. Man, life is good!"

Peter had already called out of the game, so Simon simply assumed he could collect his winnings when he felt the Shaolin priest's hand on his. Looking up into Caine's peaceful gaze, he gawked as the older man simply declared, "I believe I have what is called a Royal Flush?" and took the winnings from an astounded Simon, smiling broadly the whole time.

By this point, everyone else at the table was howling with laughter over the way Simon's face went from ecstasy to total disappointment in a heartbeat. So, since the captain was the only one not laughing -and- the closest one to the bed, he was the first to hear a couple of raspy voices call out, "Hey, can you deal me into the next hand?" "Yeah, me too."

Simon nearly fell off the chair in his haste to get to his friends' side. "Blair? Jim? You're awake! How are you feeling?"

Both men looked at each other, vague recollections of the jungle confrontation floating through their minds and they both admitted, at the same time, "Like we've been through a war."

Peter and Caine couldn't help it, and they chuckled lightly at the comment. Peter responded, "You have. Good thing you won."

Confused, but wanting to join in the conversation anyway, Sharon commented, "Man, if you two are this bad off, I'd hate to see the other guy."

Hearing his girlfriend's voice, Blair responded, "Oh, you wouldn't have liked him, Share. He was huge! This -big- ugly thing, twice as big as Jim, and gray like an elephant, with horns like..." He tried to lift his arms to improve on his point, only to start wincing as overexerted muscles started to complain about actual movement.

It was at that point that Jim realized that he, too, was not only exhausted and sore, but hungry as well. Stopping his guide, he turned to ask Sharon, "Whoa, Chief, before you launch into the whole story, I'm starved. Share, do we have any leftovers of that roast you made last night?"

"Actually, no. But you guys were out for three hours, so I was able to put in a whole new one. It's ready now, so when you feel up to it, we'll heat it up again and you can eat."

Blair asked, "Did you get a chance to talk to the guy in Seattle?"

Simon looked to Sharon who looked to Kermit, trying to decide if any of them should say anything, and if so, who should speak first. Finally, Sharon smiled and tousled Blair's hair, replying, "It's a long story, honey. Help Jim get dressed. We'll tell it to you over dinner."

"...And then Sharon stomped her feet like a little kid and whined, 'But I wanted to be able to shoot him at least once!'"

Dinner finished, everyone got a chance to laugh at Sharon's unusual behavior earlier in the day. Kermit, Sharon and Simon had just finished telling the others about the final death of Martin Cho, each person trying to get in their side of the story-sometimes all at once. When the laughter calmed down, Jim asked the question that had been on his mind since he had overheard Kermit's conversation with Sharon. "So how -did- you get out of the business, Kermit? I figured you'd stay 'til you ended up in a body bag."

Bringing their drinks to the couches to relax, Kermit replied, "I probably would have, if Paul Blaisdell hadn't gotten out before me."

Sharon hadn't heard this story before, so she asked him, "Okay, I'll bite. Who's Paul Blaisdell?"

"One of the few friends I had when I was in the business. He met this girl named Annie, and he loved her so much that he didn't want to expose her to the game. So he got out, got married, had a couple of girls and became a cop. Eventually I visited him so much that he finally helped me realize I didn't want to stay in the business forever. So I got out, he got me a job with the Sloanville PD, and I became a full-time cop and full-time Uncle Kermit."

Even though she knew the answer to this question, Sharon asked, "So was it worth it?"

Kermit broke into a million-dollar smile. "Oh yeah."

Taking a slow drink of his beer, Jim then glanced over at his three best friends and smiled. Sharon was right-he and Kermit did have a lot in common.

Blair returned Jim's smile, grateful to see that both of them had made it out of yet another crisis relatively intact. Jim, in fact, seemed positively better for having had the experience, as did Simon. Memories of Simon's deference to Caine earlier flooded back into his mind, and he realized how unusual it had been for the captain to turn them over so easily to a man he had only met once. "Simon?"

"Yeah, Blair?"

"Why were you so willing to let Caine take charge when you found out Jim was sick? I thought you would have been the one to force us to go to the hospital."

Simon smiled. "After our meeting yesterday I called up the 101st in Sloanville, and got to talk to several of the detectives there. They all agreed that Caine was the expert on all things mystical, so when Jim started showing symptoms of being hit by the 'curse', it made sense for him to take charge." Turning to Caine he commented, "Apparently a certain detective Skelaney thinks very highly of you, Master Caine."

Caine smiled and blushed, causing Peter and Sharon to laugh a little. Jim could tell that there was more definitely to the relationship between Caine and this Skelaney than just mutual admiration and respect.

When the laughter died down, Caine then turned to the young Shaman."You have many more questions, do you not?"

Blair nodded, unsure of what to say or how to say it. The memories of healing Jim were still fresh in his mind, haunting him. He knew -what- he had done, he just had no idea -how- he had done it. And that scared the hell out of him.

Seeing the fear and confusion in the young man's eyes, Caine sat down next to him and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He then offered, "Come and spend a few days with me. I promise you will get all your questions answered."

Blair couldn't believe it. Ever since Incacha's death, he always had a nagging curiosity in the back of his mind. What was this 'Way of the Shaman' he had just been given? Was there more he should be doing with it? And now he could get those questions answered? This was fantastic. For the first time that evening, Blair broke into a wide grin, answering, "I think I would like that."

Caine grinned back in response. "It is settled then. As soon as you can both get away, we will make the arrangements."

Now Jim was confused. "Wait a minute, you want both of us to come?"

[Amazing. Even after all they have been through, they still do not fully understand the bond between them.] Confused, Caine replied, "You do not think I would separate the Guide from his Sentinel, do you? It would be dangerous for you, and he would learn far less than he would if you were around."

Thinking about it, Jim realized the wisdom in training them -together-. "No, I suppose not."

Simon was dumbfounded. It had taken Jim weeks to admit to him about his heightened senses, but after three days or so, these guys -knew-? And what were these questions that Caine was being so cryptic about? Rubbing his temples with both hands, he had a feeling he didn't want to know.

Kermit could only think of one thing to do at this point. The same thing he always did when a conversation went -way- over his head. Change the subject. "You coming with them, Share?"

Sharon shook her head. "I don't think so, Kermit. I've still got a lot of work to do on the album. But you're all welcome to spend another couple of days here if you like. Take in the less dangerous side of Cascade."

Blair muttered under his breath, "If there is such a thing..." Although no one else could hear what Blair had said, Jim heard him, and broke out into quiet laughter. Kermit looked at the two of them, once again, confused. When Jim noticed that, once again, they had been sharing a Sentinel-Guide moment in public, Jim simply shrugged and apologized, "Sorry. Inside joke."

Kermit sighed. Slapping his hands against the top of his legs, he got up from the table and stretched, yawning loudly. In a loud, fake Southern accent he joked, "Well, I don't know about you young folks, but I's all tuckered out." In his regular voice he told the group, "Now that everyone's safe and sound in the city of Cascade, I'm going to turn in for the night. Good night, everyone."

Blair and Jim looked at each other, their eyes hitting instant silent agreement. Smiling broadly, the two men then turned, looked at Kermit and called out in girlish falsetto voices, "Goodnight, *Kermie*..."

-end-