Title: The Gift Of Giving
Type: Gen
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,116
Summary: Written for the prompt word “list” for
the TS Secret Santa, but it grew too long for a drabble LOL. Blair finds out
the true meaning of Christmas.
Warnings:
A/N:
“Hi, Blair. Your
appointment’s not for another half hour. You’re early for once.”
Blair smiled at Kate, the doctor’s
receptionist. “Yeah, I know. I’m happy to wait. Now that I’m working part time
at the PD with Jim, I seem to be in the firing line of every flu bug going
around and since my accident at Rainier last year the doc thinks it’s a good
idea for me to have a flu shot.”
“With your record for getting sick and injured,
that’s a great idea,” Kate said with a grin.
Blair walked across to the waiting area and sat
down. He pulled out his Christmas list and crossed off all but one name on the
bottom – Jim’s. He had just enough cash left to buy Jim that fishing rod he’d
been angsting after ever since their last fishing
trip. It’s going to leave him pretty much broke till after the holidays but his
rent was paid and he’d just gassed up the Volvo so there wasn’t much he’d be
needing money for anyway.
“Want to color with
me?”
Blair jumped as the little voice interrupted
his musings. He looked down to his right and smiled at the little girl sitting
there. “Sure,” he said.
“Hannah, don’t bother the gentleman.” A thin,
pale woman with dark circles under her eyes smiled apologetically at Blair
across the top of the child’s head. “Sorry,” she said.
“Oh hey, it’s no bother,” Blair assured her
with a smile. “I love to color. This is for the coloring competition they’re running here for Christmas,
right?” He followed Hannah over to the little table in the corner of the
waiting room that had books and coloring pencils and textas on it and knelt down next to her.
“Yeah,” Hannah said excitedly. “I want to win
that big bike so I can give it to my brother, Jake, for Christmas. He’s ten.
His other bike got stolen.” She lowered her voice to a whisper that Blair had
to lean in to hear above the chatter of the other patients waiting to be seen.
“Mommy can’t buy us any presents this year. Daddy hasn’t got his job anymore
and Mommy’s real sick and it costs lots of money to buy her medicine. “
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Blair said. “Okay,”
he went on, “well, let’s see what we can do to help you win.” They spent the
next fifteen minutes coloring together. Hannah was
pretty good for her age and mostly managed to keep the colors
within the lines. By the time Hannah and her mom had been called into the
doctor’s office the picture was finished and Hannah printed her name on it
proudly and Blair offered to take it up to the desk and hand it to Kate, the
receptionist.
“Thanks, Mister,” Hannah called over her
shoulder as she followed her family into the office, giving Blair a cheery wave
of goodbye.
“it’s such a shame,”
Kate said as she added Hannah’s drawing to the stack of other entries. “I
really wish I could fix the competition and make sure she wins.”
“But you can’t,” Blair replied. “It wouldn’t be
fair on the other kids, would it?”
“Not really,” Kate said.
Blair went back to sit down and waved goodbye
to Hannah as they came out and he was called in. By the time he’d gotten his
shot and was heading home he’d come up with a plan. He swung by the PD and
headed up to Major Crime.
“What are you doing here?” Jim asked when he
saw him. “I thought you were getting that flu shot done today.”
“I’ve been duly punctured,” Blair said with a
grin. “Cross my heart. Hey guys,” he called to the other cops in the room as he
made his way over to Jim’s desk, “you got a minute?”
“For you, Hairboy,
anytime,” H replied.
“More like anything that gets you out of typing
up those reports,” his partner, Rafe, said with a
wink in Blair’s direction as he, H, Megan Conner, and Joel Taggert
made their way across the room and perched on the edges of the desks next to
Jim’s.
“You
know me too well, partner,” H retorted.
Blair
went across and knocked on Simon’s door. “Can I see you out here for a minute,
sir?” he asked, poking his head around the door when Simon called out for him
to enter.
“What now, Sandburg?” Simon groused good-naturedly
as he followed Blair back out to the bullpen. “Who have you pissed off this
time?”
“No one,” Blair said. “Really,” he added as
they all looked at him sceptically. “Look there’s something I want to do but I
need some help.” He told them about Hannah and her family and that he’d really
like to make sure the family had a great Christmas and that he thought they
might like to help him do it. He turned to Jim. “I was going to get you that
new fishing rod you’ve been wanting but it’s about the same cost as a bike for
a ten year old—“
“Buy the kid the bike,” Jim said, standing up
and coming round the desk to stand next to Blair. “I’ve still got my other
fishing rod and it’s still perfectly good.”
“Well, you can’t just buy a bike for the boy,”Rafe said, “we need to get gifts
for all of them, the parents too.”
“I’d be happy to go shopping for Hannah and her
mom,” Megan said. “I love to shop.”
“I’ll go do some food shopping for them,” Joel
put in. “Some stuff for Christmas dinner and some staples to get them through
after for a while as well.”
“Here,” Henri said, pulling out his wallet and
handing Blair a fifty dollar bill, “put this towards it.”
Simon and Jim opened their wallets and shoved a
handful of bills at Blair as well.
“How do we get the stuff to them?” Jim asked. “The
doctor’s office won’t give you their address.”
“I thought maybe we could just take it to the
doctor’s office. Kate will make sure they get it,” Blair replied.
“You’ve got it all worked out, haven’t you,
Chief?” Jim said as the others went back to their desks arguing over what gifts
they should buy for the family. He pulled Blair in for a hug. “You’re good
people, Sandburg,” he added.
“I still feel bad about your gift, Jim,” Blair
said. “I’ve already bought gifts for everyone else. It was only yours I had to
get.”
“I’ve already got mine,” Jim replied, heading
back round his desk to finish up his reports. “The best friend and partner any
Sentinel could ask for.”
The End