Mrs. Blair Sandburg

Danae

Disclaimer: not mine, etc.

Notes: Don't Panic! Just read it. Not betaed yet. I dug this thing out of old, unfinished stories. I reworked it and finished it.

She was one of those exotic looking creatures that graced the pages of travel magazines that made men want to jet off to whatever place the magazine had featured just to hunt her down. Everyone noticed her as she entered the bullpen. Well, almost everyone. Jim glanced at his unofficial partner. Blair had his back to the door and had not seen her yet. If he had, Jim had no doubt he would have been falling over himself to get to her like most of the other men in the room.

The woman, on the other hand, seemed to ignore everyone in the bullpen, her eyes fixed—well, apparently on him. Jim looked behind him and then silently berated himself for being stupid. There was a freaking wall behind him! He put a smile on his face and sat up a little straighter. He debated getting Sandburg's attention, but knowing Blair he'd just swoop in and charm her right off her feet. No, he wanted the first shot.

"Hello, I'm Detective Jim Ellison. Can I help you?" he asked, even as he stood and offered his hand to her. Blair only glanced up at him then went back to the exam he was grading.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Mrs. Blair Sandburg," she announced as her eyes dropped to stare at the back of Blair's head.

Jim blinked. Surely, he had heard her wrong. "Um, uh, what?"

The exam fell to the floor, as his guide seemed to stop breathing.

She swung heavy black hair over her shoulder and repeated her introduction. "I'm Mrs. Blair Sandburg. And he had better get up out of that chair and talk to me."

A crowd was gathering. Jim looked at his coworkers as they all gravitated toward the scene that was unfolding.

Blair's hard swallow was audible to Jim's sensitive hearing. Then he sighed and stood up slowly. He turned and lifted his eyes to hers. "Hello, Layla."

"Hello, Blair."

Jim could have heard a pin drop in the room without sentinel senses. Blair was breathing again, but everyone else had stopped, including Jim. This was unbelievable. Blair was married? Blair was married.

"Um, I thought—" Blair started, only to have her cut him off.

"You thought wrong."

"Oh, my God." He started to sink down as though he intended to sit back down, but the chair was turned the wrong way. Jim grabbed his arm instinctively, even as Simon, whom Jim had not realized had joined the onlookers, swung the chair around. Together, they managed to keep Sandburg from hitting the floor.

"Well, you don't have to act like it's the end of the world," she snapped.

"How did you—" he mumbled. Blair was white as a sheet, and Jim was getting annoyed.

"Find you? It wasn't that hard, Blair. I knew where you went to school. I just called Rainier and asked if they had a forwarding address for you. Imagine my surprise to find that you had never left. They were quite shocked to find out you were married. I wouldn't ask the girl in the Registrar's office out again for a while if I were you. I believe her words were 'lying, scheming, two-timing bastard.'"

"I hate to interrupt this—whatever, but Chief, how about an explanation?" Jim did not know whether to be angry or worried. Blair was not denying her claim. That meant that they were married. So, angry that Blair never mentioned he had a wife? Or worried that Blair never mentioned he had a wife? This was just too confusing.

"I have to go." Blair was out of the chair and shoving his way toward the exit before Jim had a chance to process the blurted words for meaning.

"Damn it, Blair!" he shouted even as the bullpen door swung wide and Blair disappeared through it. He started after him, but a small, soft hand on his arm stopped him. He looked down at Blair's wife. Blair's wife, for god's sake!

"Let him go, Detective Ellison." The smug look was gone from her face.

"I want a fucking explanation, lady!" Everyone backed up a step, which made Jim just that much angrier. "Don't you people have anything better to do?!" he yelled. They scattered, but Jim knew they would still have one ear turned to his desk for this. He sighed and sat down in the chair that Blair had been sitting in.

"It's a long story. We were—very young. I think I've made a mistake. Is there somewhere we can go to talk privately?"

Blair shut his mind down until he got to the marina. He pulled the Volvo into a parking space in a lot that overlooked the water and got out. He climbed onto the warm hood of the car and finally let his mind examine the memories and the feelings of that long ago summer. He dropped his head into his hands and sighed. He had never wanted to leave. He had loved her so much. She had been so beautiful. She was beautiful still. Seeing her made his heart ache for things that could have been. He tried to imagine what it could have been like. A mountain cabin, filled with children, a life with Layla; it was perfect in the picture in his imagination. But it hadn't been perfect. It had been an unmitigated disaster.

He loved mornings in the mountains. The air was crisp and clean here. Dr. Meeks and the others were still asleep, but he could not miss the beauty of a single North Carolina sunrise. He breathed in deeply and let the sweet smell of honeysuckle wake his senses. It was good to be alive.

The research group was scheduled to meet with the tribal council today, but that should not take all day. After the meeting, he would have the rest of the day free. Free to spend with Karina WaLayla Lone Tree.

Even her name was beautiful. The first time he had laid eyes on her, his heart had stopped for a few beats. When it had started again, Blair was in love. The Cherokee girl was his destiny, he decided, and he set about winning her heart.

And apparently, he had succeeded. Of course, if Dr. Meeks found out, he'd be quite distressed. The last thing he needed was one of his students going native on him. Not to mention the lecture he'd get about being too young to be so serious about someone. He'd never received that lecture personally, but he had overheard Sherry getting that lecture back at Rainier before they left for this trip. And Blair, at twenty, was even younger than Sherry.

But Sherry's case was different. Her boyfriend was a jerk, and Sherry could do better. Blair had found the love of his life. She was the most incredible, perfect woman in the world.

There was just one problem. They were leaving in six days. The project was almost over. Blair felt anxiety creep into his brain, his heart sped up and his breath quickened. He had been ignoring the situation because he didn't know what he could do about it. But the simple truth was that if Blair didn't come up with a plan soon, he might never see Layla again.

Then again, there was no need for an elaborate plan. He wanted to kick himself for being so dense. Why hadn't he thought of this before? He was twenty; she was eighteen. They loved each other. Two adults who loved each other just got married.

Okay, unless one was a Sandburg, according to his mother. But what she didn't know couldn't hurt him, and by the time she found out, it would be too late!

There was still Dr. Meeks to deal with though. If they kept it a secret until after the study was published though… that could work.

His mind was made up. He would ask her tonight.

She should have never left that note. It was too late to stop the wedding, but as Blair sank to the steps of the courthouse, leaving the screaming and cursing above him, he realized that perhaps this was not going to be as simple as he had hoped.

They had had to drive to South Carolina to get married. South Carolina didn't have a waiting period. They had gotten the blood tests, the license and had just finished the quick ceremony with the Justice of the Peace when the pack of wolves descended on them.

Her parents had called Dr. Meeks too, so Layla's entire family and Dr. Meeks had been coming up the steps as he and Layla were coming down. Over half of the screaming was not even in English, but in Cherokee, which he knew precious little of, so he just resigned himself to being ripped to pieces and not even knowing most of the reasons why.

Layla was screaming right along with them. Also in Cherokee, damn it. Only Dr. Meeks was saying anything that he could catch, and he seemed to be of two minds. On the one hand, he was mad as hell at Blair for what he'd done. On the other, he seemed to be taking up for Blair with Layla's parents. Evidently, they were not thrilled to have a new son-in-law.

Two days later, he, Layla, Layla's family, Dr. Meeks and even his mother were before the tribal council. His mother, for god's sake! How had Dr. Meeks even found her?

And man, was she pissed! Naomi had barely spoken to him when she arrived, and now she just sat there glaring at him. He looked down at his feet, then over to Layla. But her father sat up and blocked his view quite purposefully.

The old chief cleared his throat and everyone's attention turned to him. "The marriage is quite legal, but it has not been consummated, correct?"

"It better damn not have been consummated!" her father yelled, and Blair flinched, feeling the dark, angry eyes of Thomas Lone Tree burn into him.

"Mr. Sandburg?"

It was hard to speak, but he managed to mumble, "No, sir. Not exactly."

"What the hell do you mean, not exactly?!" Lone Tree was up from his chair, and the room exploded with sound. The normally melodic Cherokee language did not sound quite so pretty and interesting when it was being shouted to the rooftops and probably demanding his head on a silver platter. With his luck, it probably wasn't the head on his shoulders that they wanted either.

Above it all, he heard his mother scream, "You will speak in a language I can understand, damn it!"

The Chief banged a gavel, and the shouting finally subsided. "Everyone, just settle down. This is getting us nowhere. The fact is, I can't dissolve this marriage. It's not a tribal marriage. It will have to be done in court with an annulment."

"I will not have my daughter married to that!"

That hurt. His eyes were burning, and he closed them. Something warm slid down his face, and he swiped at it impatiently.

Naomi shrieked indignantly and stood up. "How dare you! My son is a brilliant young man! He will make a difference in this world. That is as long as he's not tied down to YOUR daughter! You think I'm any happier about this than you? I won't have my son married, period!'

"Yes, I understand you do have an aversion to the wedding vows!" Lone Tree snapped.

"Wait a minute!" That brought Blair out of his depression. "Insult me all you like, but leave my mother out of this."

An old man in the corner stood, and all eyes turned to him. He said something in Cherokee and sat back down. For one moment, a stunned silence held court in the room, as Blair became the center of attention. Even Layla stared at him with her mouth open.

Then Naomi broke the silence. "I said, speak English!"

But they didn't. Unknown words were flung about again as chaos erupted. Blair sat down and propped his head on the palm of his hand. He was getting a headache. A touch on his back made him look up again. Dr. Meeks smiled a little at him before standing up and holding up his hands. He made shushing gestures until enough of the noise had died for him to be heard. He was still talking over a few people when he started, but they fell silent as he raised his voice over them.

"Okay, okay. I think we are all in agreement here that this marriage is not exactly—I'm sorry, Blair—the best idea. However, we cannot do anything about it now. It's done. Barring Blair and Layla changing their minds, they are married. Mr. Windwalker has said that he supports the marriage. He must have his reasons. He's a venerated shaman, right? Can we just assume that he might know something that we don't know? Maybe this was meant to be."

Oh, that didn't go over well, Blair thought. He stopped listening. He glanced over to Layla, but she was looking at the floor. He willed her to look up, but she didn't. Was she giving up on them? He put his head on the table in front of him and tried not to cry.

"Mr. Sandburg? Mr. Sandburg, did you hear me?"

"Sit up, Blair," Dr. Meeks whispered very close to his ear, even as someone poked him in the ribs on the other side. He looked up. It was Naomi. She was looking much calmer, and he wondered why.

"With us, now?" the chief asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, this really isn't tribal jurisdiction so no one here can tell you what to do. And you're both adults so your parents can't make you do this either. However, Layla has had a change of heart. With a signature, Mr. Sandburg, we can make this whole thing go away."

He was shocked. Layla had changed her mind? His heart shattered. If she didn't love him, if she didn't want to be his wife, then why fight them?

Layla Sandburg put down the coffee cup and sighed. Layla Sandburg, how strange was that? Jim watched her closely. He didn't like her very much. The story she had told him was horrible. Blair had to have been heart-broken, and she had been so cruel in the bullpen. Didn't she realize what she had done?

"I was still angry with him," she admitted. "I really should have handled this differently, but I was still so mad. I mean, he signed the annulment papers without a fight and let his mother drag him out of there."

"But you said that you had already signed them."

"I know! I know it was unfair of me to blame him. I let my parents pressure me into signing. I was too weak to fight them. I wanted him to be the strong one. I wanted him to fight for me. And I wanted him to come back to me. That's why I took the papers and refused to file them. That's why we're still married. I thought if I never filed them, then he'd come back to me one day. But he never did. Guess I found my backbone a little too late. Then it wasn't waiting for him to come back that stopped me from filing the papers, but revenge. He could never marry if he was still married to me. If he did, I could just show up and ruin his life. I even hoped that I would get here and find out that he had married. Then there was that little measure of revenge I could get against my parents. They made him go, but I was still his wife. They hated that. I vowed never to get it annulled and never to get remarried because of what they did to me."

"But that was no way to live, Mrs.—God, I am having a very hard time with saying that." Jim rubbed his temples. He was really not liking her, and he did not want to even have to think about her as Blair's wife.

She smiled a little. "I don't actually go by that name, you know. You can call me Layla, if you like. Or Ms. Lone Tree, if you hate me too much. I hurt him today. For a long time, I thought that was what I wanted. To hurt him like I hurt when he left. At first, I guess he was just shocked, but when that faded, I saw that I had succeeded. But it wasn't the victory I had thought it would be." She sighed.

She stared out the window of the coffee shop for a long moment before continuing. "I have lived with this bitterness for so long. John Windwalker, our old shaman, tried to tell me to let it go. He tried to tell me to find Blair and fix what we had broken, but I was too stubborn to listen. He died last year. I was there when he passed. He looked at me and told me that because of my pride, the tribe would not have a shaman."

Jim's heart leapt. "So, he—"

"I told you that he announced his approval of the marriage, right? Well, he also announced that Blair would be a fine shaman someday, and he needed a successor. Talk about stunned, we all had to pick our jaws up off the floor over that one. My father decided that Windwalker was senile though. And you don't seem too shocked. Why is that?"

"An old friend told me Blair was a shaman. Untrained, but a shaman just the same. Tell me something. Why did you come out here now? I mean, it's been how many years?" He was almost afraid to hear the answer. It was going to be bad, he just knew it.

"Too many. Twelve long years. Why now? Well, because all my twisted intentions have bitten me on the ass. I've met someone, and I want to marry him. But I'm already married, and I lost those annulment papers years ago in a fire. I started to just have them rewritten and file them with just my signature. I would have gotten a court date, and when he didn't show for it, I would have been a free woman. But I wasn't free, and I wanted the confrontation that I had been building up in my head for twelve years. I didn't think I would ever feel free unless I made Blair face me. I needed to blame him. I needed to blame anyone, but myself. So, here I am, wishing I could take it back. God, I'm a terrible person!"

"I don't—"

"Don't, Detective. I am. See, I forgot something very important. Blair was only twenty years old. He was as young and scared and hurt as I was back then. That didn't hit me until I saw him almost pass out today. That face—" she sighed, "When he looked back up at me from that chair, it was the same face he wore that day. I'd forgotten that lost look until I saw it again. He was as devastated as I was. And what's more, it's almost like he still is. I resorted to anger, but Blair still hurts after twelve years. John Windwalker was right; I am a blind and bitter person."

What could Jim say? Hell, he wanted to agree. She had mistakenly thought he was going to reassure her when she had interrupted. She was wrong. He was going to tell her to leave, that he didn't want her anywhere near Blair. He was so angry that he wanted to slap the woman's face. To think that he had thought her beautiful. It didn't matter that she had had a change of heart. Blair was still hurt, and he would probably be more hurt when he found out why she was here.

"Do you have new papers?" he asked when he could trust himself not to curse at her.

"Yes."

"Let me have them." He held out his hand.

She dug into her purse and came out with an envelope. She held it out to him, and he forced himself to calmly take it from her.

"I'll have him sign them. Where are you staying?"

"Cascade Crown Hotel."

"I'll bring them to you when they're signed."

"That'll be fine," she said as she got up from the table.

"And Ms. Lone Tree?"

"Yes?"

"Don't ever contact Blair again." It was an order, just as surely as any he had given as a Captain in the Rangers.

She understood. She bit her lip and nodded once before walking away.

Jim pulled the old Ford into the parking lot of the marina. It was where Blair tended to go when he was upset. Jim had figured it out after the last "Maya" incident. At the time, he thought it was odd that Blair would go to the marina since it was the sight of the last "Maya" incident. However, when he asked Blair about it, Blair had told him that the marina had long been a "comfort spot" for him.

Jim frowned as he pulled into the parking space next to the Volvo. Blair did not even move. How many times had he told Blair to be observant when he was alone out here? For an observer, Blair could be pretty damned unobservant when he wanted to be. He got out of the truck, fully prepared to scold his guide again, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Blair spoke.

"Hi, Jim." His friend turned to face him then, and Jim felt like an ass for even thinking of yelling at him. There were tear tracks on Blair's face.

"Hey, Chief." Jim looked down at the envelope in his hand and then lifted it to show it to Blair. "I have something for you."

"They should already be signed," Blair stated flatly before shifting his eyes to the ocean again.

"These are new papers, Blair. She lost the others."

"She still could have gotten it annulled without me. Why weren't the others filed in the first place!? Fuck! I had put her out of my mind, Jim! What did she want from me? She signed the damn papers, man! She gave up on us! What was I supposed to do? I had nearly ruined Dr. Meeks' study; her father threatened to kill me if I ever came back, and my mother was harping at me about detaching with love and how I almost ruined my life! I should be grateful, she said. Well, I wasn't grateful! I was miserable." He got down from the hood of the car and started pacing. "And the papers were never filed apparently! Why? Did you talk to her? Did she say anything?"

"I talked to her, Chief. She didn't file the papers out of spite. For you and her parents."

Blair stopped pacing. "Oh." He looked down at the pavement, and Jim heard a little hitch in his breath. He was crying again.

Jim closed his eyes and swore. Blair had actually been hoping that she had done it out of love for him. He put the papers on the truck and moved to Blair. "Come here, Chief." He pulled his best friend over to the car. Jim put his arm around him and turned him so that both of them were leaning on the car. "She wasn't good enough for you, Chief. You deserve better."

"I wrote her, you know? Asked her to come to Washington, try again with me. She never answered. I was never sure if she got the letter, but she knew where I was. I never heard from her. She could have found me. She did find me, after all. I just thought she decided I wasn't good enough for her, like her father said."

"Her father was a jackass. And as far as I'm concerned, so is she. Like I said, you deserve better."

"It's kind of strange that you should say that. Back then, there was this girl in the research group named Sherry. She was dating this guy who everyone said was a jerk. Even Dr. Meeks tried to talk her out of seeing him. You know, they're still happily married and have two kids. And look at me. I said she deserved better. I thought I had found better. Now, she's happy and I'm still alone. And married to a woman who evidently hates me!"

"Not for long. Besides, you're not alone. I'm not exactly ready to be the mother of your children, Chief, but I can nag with the best of them." Jim hoped his attempt at humor would help. It did.

Blair laughed through his tears and playfully punched Jim in the ribs. "Don't I know it! And you do my laundry."

"If I didn't, you'd be wearing pink and purple underwear."

"Jim, I bought those pink and purple underwear. Those were supposed to be that color. Thanks to you, they're now white."

Jim laughed, but Blair grew quiet again. "I'm sorry, Chief."

"It's okay. It wasn't meant to be, I guess."

"I don't think it was, Blair. But somewhere out there, she's waiting."

"Who?"

"The Real Mrs. Blair Sandburg."

"I hope so, Jim."

"I know so, Chief. Let's go home."

"Wait. Got a pen?"

"Yeah, in the envelope already."

Blair nodded and reached for the envelope on the truck. He opened it, unfolded the papers and quickly signed them. "I'm never going to live this down at the station," he said as he stuffed them back into the envelope.

Jim winced and made a silent vow to visit grievous harm on any person who dared even mentioned this to his guide. "It'll blow over," was all he said aloud.

"Eventually, I guess." Blair looked out at the sunset. When he looked back at Jim, he smiled. "I'm ready to go now."

Jim nodded. Blair would be okay. And Layla Lone Tree would be gone very soon. He wouldn't call her Layla Sandburg. She didn't deserve the name, any more than she deserved the man. Her loss. Jim's gain.

End