Back to Part 3

A Bridge to Sight and Sound
by Sammi M.

He watched her for a few minutes more, but, finally, he couldn't stand her agitated movements. As quietly as he could, he moved to the bed and sat beside her. Remembering some of the things his Guide had done for him when the outside forces had grown to excruciating levels, he angled towards her and gently caressed her warm forehead. Tortured eyes opened and he covered his flinch at the pain visible in their grey depths with a small smile. Keeping his voice low, he tried to soothe her, "Hey, Precious. How ya holdin' up?"

Schuy attempted a grin, but the slight gasps and the unshed tears diminished the effect. "Last time … I hu-hurt … this bad, … Blair w-was trying to master the vi-violin." The tears broke free. "It hu-hurts, Jim."

"I know it does. I wish there was something more I could do." Nodding towards his partner. "You want me to wake up the expert? He might be able to help you more than me."

"N-no. Let … him rest. He needs it and th-there's not really a-anything … h-he can do."

"Thanks for selling me short, Sis. Besides, I slept last Thursday. I'm not due for another four hours for another few days," the tired voice mumbled beside her. "You never know what I might have in my bag of tricks." He carefully turned on the side facing her and adopted his best "Guide-tone". "What we need is for you to find the dials. I know it's going to be hard because they're so buried, but they *are* there. Focus your mind and let it lead you to the dials. Ignore everythi…"

"They aren't there!" The girl cried. Her thrashing increased and Jim pulled her closer to him. "It's all so loud. Make it stop! Please!"

As Blair sat stunned trying to think of something to help, the older man took his hands and covered her ears trying to keep the noise out – knowing it wasn't much, but it was something. Without thought, he started whispering nonsense phrases to her and hoped he wasn't doing more harm than good. Slowly, the movements dwindled to the tiniest shivers and his pressure on her ears eased. "That's my girl. Ignore everything else and just hear my voice. That's all you hear is my voice."

The younger man matched his voice to that of his friend and tried another tactic. "Schuy, do you remember when I had to go back to the hospital and they drew blood and gave me shots all the time?" She cautiously nodded. "Remember I told you how much it hurt and I tried not to cry so it wouldn't scare you and Naomi." Another nod. "The shots and the medicines were so bad and all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and never come out. Naomi tried everything she could think of, but nothing stopped the pain. She went to pick you up from Uncle Darrin's house and against the doctors' wishes, brought you in to me." He wiped at the tears on her face and smiled. "You were a feisty little thing and you kept asking Mom to let you go to your 'Brair', but she wouldn't put you down. I remember you started crying and I hated whenever you cried, so I turned over and reached out my hand."

"Even … with m-me being a li-little kid, I … knew you were hu-hurting. I wa-wanted to-to help … you."

Blair nodded. "Mom took that as a sign I wanted you beside me and she let you crawl up next to me. You were so-o-o-o careful; it was like you knew the tiniest movement would hurt." Grinning at Jim who had lowered his hands completely. "Do you know what she did then? She asked me where it hurt and when I said all over, she started kissing me to…"

"To make it better," The Sentinel finished. "I am familiar with the concept, Chief."

"Yeah, but do you know that wherever she kissed, it felt tons better. It was like 'Schuyler Magic' and I felt so great, I fell asleep," he giggled quietly. "Mom was so amazed, she talked to my head doctor and counsellor and convinced them *my* baby was good for me and they let her sleep next to me every night." Shaking his head. "Sometimes, the only thing holding the pain away was those tiny kisses and those little three-year-old arms trying to hold me even though I was bigger than her." He noticed her eyes drooping and he leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Just returning the favour, Snip."

As she drifted off to a welcomed sleep, Jim added his own kiss. "Every cop knows a little backup never hurt."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"They're all off, Precious," Jim whispered trying to get through to her. "Blair turned them off when he went downstairs to let Brenda in."

She didn't hear him as her tears fell in rivers down her face. Not even the blindfold was working. "It's too much. I don't want them back anymore. If you'll stop it from hurting, they can go away forever. I don't care; I just want it to stop."

Blair and Brenda hurried into the room and the younger man helped hold the girl from the other side. "Schuy, Brenda's here and she and the guys came up with something to help you. We need you to hold as still as you can so she can give it to you."

"Kay," Brenda knelt beside her and whispered, "The guys worked all night on this and it should help you rest better." She nodded towards the guys and they held her a little tighter, but just as carefully. "I know this is going to be hard, but I need you to relax a bit so this can work faster. Do you understand, Kay?"

While the older woman was trying to pull a response from the girl, Jim could feel the slight relaxing of the muscles beneath his hands and he could hear the almost painful gritting of her teeth. "Bren, if you're gonna do it, do it now. She's probably as relaxed as she's gonna get."

Almost before the detective was finished speaking, the doctor had made her point and was applying the bandage. "All set, Kay. Now you just lay back and let the stuff work. It shouldn't put you to sleep, but it will dull everything around you."

"How long before it takes affect?" Blair couldn't help himself; he was worried. To him, it felt like they were just pumping his sister with chemicals and he wasn't too sure how trustworthy the guys were. If Telly could slip past the security … well, he just hoped they were really good guys.

"Instantaneous reactions only happen in the movies and television. This is real life – we're looking at a twenty-forty minute wait, so you might as well get comfortable."

They each settled in their spots with Jim and Blair continuing to hold Schuyler as she struggled against the pain and Brenda sitting guard in a chair beside them. After about forty-five minutes, the movements slowed and a lot of the tension eased in the petite body. Both men relaxed and watched as the girl closed her eyes. They were almost hopeful for a bit of peace, but that was dashed as Brenda let out a rather nasty, "Damn!"

She motioned for them to join her in the hall and they did after they were sure Schuyler was breathing fine. Once outside, Jim turned concerned eyes to the woman and asked, "What was that about?"

"The guys figured the drug would kick in after twenty minutes tops. She was in pain for almost an hour and that's too long! Either Telly's drug has a bit more kick to it than we thought or Kay's reactions are screwed completely because her senses have been off-line for so long. Neither option bodes well for us."

Blair noticed Jim's shock and jumped in to explain. "Brenda and Telly were the only ones who knew about Schuy's senses. Telly had to know because she functioned as her personal physician and Brenda figured something wasn't right and she remembered things from when we were little."

"You've known them for that long?"

Brenda snorted, "Darling, I was the first person to hold Blair after he was born. Naomi's been one of my closest friends from the time she left her parents' place to 'go see the world'. We travelled together for years and I remember about half of them." She smiled. "When Kay took over at Symmonds, it felt like we were back in old times – complete with Kay doing her little how-did-she-hear-or-see-that routine she liked to pull on me when she was little. A couple of times, she let her guard down completely and I caught her in a couple of situations she couldn't explain without the Master of Obfuscation over there beside her. She broke down and told me what was what and, after I accepted she wasn't trying to pull another one over on me, I promised I wouldn't tell her secret."

Jim shook his head, "Is there ever a simple story with you people?"

This time it was Blair who snorted. "Wait until you find out about the first time Schuy met Richard when she was fifteen. It'll have you rolling."

Glancing at her watch, the older woman sobered. "I've really got to get back to the lab and check the latest results, but I wanted to let you know what we've found." She reached into her bag and pulled out a couple of vials and syringes and handed them to the taller man. "She's going to need one of these every eight hours until she can handle things on her own. We were very careful, but thorough, in finding something that wouldn't react with Telly's drug. Thank goodness she left all of her research in her computer – all it took was five minutes with Everman and we had all of her data." She sighed. "Which brings me to our other problem. Telly's drug isn't dissipating in Kay's system. Normal drugs enter the system, run their course and then are expunged as waste; this one isn't doing that. It's almost like it's hiding in certain areas of her body – going through normal procedures up to a point but then just sitting there … like it's waiting. The last blood sample I ran clearly shows it's still there though more parts have gone inert, but Kay's not expelling it."

Sandburg didn't like what he was hearing. "So, what does that mean? What's going to happen to her?"

"Honestly, we don't know. We hoped there'd be some indication of progression in Telly's notes, but … this stuff was just as much a mystery to her as it is to us. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry! No. I won't accept your apologies; I want answers and solutions. I want you to tell me Schuy's not going to become some walking time bomb. There's got to be more you can do! I mean, what is she paying you all that money for?"

"Blair, I promise you we're doing everything we can and then some, but we can't figure out something that's a scientific mystery in a few hours. We need time. The only reason we made it this far is because we got Telly's notes. The guys and I are working around the clock, but, for now, our hands are just as tied as the hospital's was." She reached out for him. "I'm sorry, Baby."

The young man pulled away before her hand could touch him. "This sucks so incredibly bad. I just…" Knowing he couldn't finish his thoughts, he headed back into the room without looking back.

Jim saw the tears that glistened in Brenda's eyes and he placed his hand on her shoulder. "He didn't mean any of that; he's just upset. He'll be really apologetic next time you come by."

She nodded. "I know. He's always been so protective of her." She snorted. "They're so protective of each other it's amazing they let anyone in to see this." She turned to him. "Take care of them. They're both *so* tired and they need someone strong who loves them to be there for them. We don't know what to expect, but something tells me it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better."

The man took her words to heart and grimly acknowledged them. "I'll do whatever I can." He noticed her looking at her watch again. "I know you need to be heading back. Let me show you out." As he turned to leave, a thought occurred to him. "Where's Naomi while you're doing all of this? I can't believe she's not demanding to join you or worse … following you here."

Brenda smiled a wise-woman smile and winked. "I knew she'd probably try something like that, so I called all of her old friends and let slip she's in town. The results have kept her quite busy. Last time I checked, she had five marriage proposals, two offers of affairs and one promise that if she'd have him back, he'd leave the monastery. Needless to say, she's got her hands full."

Jim couldn't help himself and laughed. "You are one wicked woman."

"Of course I am. I've had years of practice. Now, you go back in there and watch them and keep me informed of what's going on. I can see my own self out."

The detective watched her head for the stairs and turned back to the room where two heartbeats waited patiently for him. As he walked in, he heard Blair whispering to Schuy another story. He joined them on the bed and relaxed a bit when the young woman snuggled closer to him. Jim felt relieved when she turned blindfolded eyes and a tentative smile towards him. "H.B. was telling me about the first day I came home after the accident."

"Oh, really. I hope it's an interesting one, Chief, because I like to be entertained."

Blair shot his friend an apologetic look for earlier and smiled. "Aren't all my stories interesting?" Seeing the other man about to comment. "Don't answer that! I don't think my ego could handle it right now." He waited while his partner got comfortable. "As I was saying before I was interrupted, Naomi had told me all about how we were getting a baby and so I asked if she was pregnant…."

"And you were *how* old, Darwin?"

"About six, but I grew up around all of her friends so I was pretty advanced for my age. Anyway, she told me no and then asked me if I remembered Leigh and Kael. I told her I did and she proceeded to let me know they had gone on to the next level and had left their baby to be taken care of by us. I was ecstatic! I didn't care how we were getting one; I just wanted one."

"You make her sound like a dog."

The anthropologist glared at the other man. "Do you mind? I'm trying to tell a beautiful story here. So, I wanted to know when I was going to get my baby and she told me in a few weeks cause she was still in the hospital. That was perfect! I had plans to make and I wanted everything to be just right for her when she got home. I helped Mom fix up some things and we painted – well, she painted the room and I painted me – and I even went with her to see the judge to tell him how much I wanted my baby. He told me because I was such a good boy and he knew I'd take really good care of her, he'd decided to give her to me…"

Schuyler made a rather indelicate sound and pseudo-whispered to Jim, "Didn't hurt that Mom was seeing him at the time either. The social worker didn't find out until after everything was final and she was so pissed."

"I don't care what you say, he gave you to us because *I* was going to be a great big brother. Anyway, I was so hyper the day you were to come home, Naomi had to leave me at the house while she picked you up." He softly chuckled. "I waited in the window for what felt like hours until I saw her car pull up. As soon as I saw her being helped out of the car by Uncle Darrin with you in her arms, I raced to the front door and threw it open." Remembering. "Mom had told me all about how you had been really sick and how you cried horribly whenever someone new would go to pick you up. I knew she was trying to prepare me for you hating the sight of me, but I knew it wasn't going to be like that. She brought you in and all the aunts and uncles stood and kind of surrounded us in this circle. Naomi smiled down at me and she asked if I remembered what we'd talked about before. I nodded and kept trying to strain to see you underneath this humongous baby coat. Finally, she lowered herself and moved the hood away from you." The most beautiful expression lit up Blair's face. "You were beautiful and I fell in love almost instantly. You just looked at me and you cocked your head in that way you still do and I knew I was lost. I started begging Mom to let me hold you and she had one of the aunts to seat me. When I was down and reasonably still, she placed you in my arms and we just sat there staring at each other.

"It seemed like everyone held their breath for those first few moments, but I didn't really care. We kept looking into each other's eyes until finally, you let out this huge sigh and laid your head on my chest and fell asleep."

"Hey, I was pretty advanced for my age as well. I knew I was home and safe, so I could rest." She tried to stifle a yawn, but it broke free. "Just like now. Thank you for my story. Goodnight, guys."

Jim waited until he was sure she was far enough under before he had to ask, "Was that true? Did it really happen like that?"

"Exactly." Seeing the dubious look his friend cast him. "Well, okay, I forgot to add that the sigh heralded her puking on me, but she did fall asleep after that little business."

Chuckling to himself, the older man could only whisper, "Only you, Chief. Only you," before he felt his own spirit and that of his Guide's drifting off to join Schuyler's.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

He saw her eyes were wide open and he could hear tiny whimpers coming from her throat. As he reached over to touch her, she flinched and the whimpers grew louder. Her heart was racing and her breathing was coming in short gasps. Jim hurriedly turned on the light and what he saw almost froze him to the spot. Her eyes had no grey in them – they were totally black.

Trying not to frighten her more, he started talking to her. "It's going to be okay, Schuy. You're going to be fine. Just relax and listen to my voice. Blair and I are here and we're going to make sure nothing happens to you." There was no response. He moved in closer to her ear and whispered directly into it. Still nothing. Finally, he snapped his fingers near the same spot out of concern and a chill went down his spine as no movement registered from the girl. *Oh, God.*

Blair had awakened at this point and he turned curious eyes towards his partner. "What's going on, Jim?"

Using the same tone he'd used with the girl, the older man answered, "Call Brenda right now and tell her it just got worse. Don't ask any questions; just do it!"

More from the urgency he could hear in his Sentinel's voice than the words, the younger man quickly moved to the phone and began to dial. Before long he was talking to someone and getting their assurances they'd be right over. When he was finished, he headed back to the bed and finally noticed how Schuyler was cringing from Jim's touch. "What's wrong?"

Ellison slowly moved closer to the frightened girl until she was in his arms. When his arms reached around her, the agitation increased and she tried to fight him off. He held on and maneuvered her head and she finally subsided with her forehead against the crook in his neck. The steady feel of his heartbeat seemed to calm her and she relaxed. Jim motioned for his friend to join them on the other side and only after he did so, did the older man speak. "I hope to God Brenda makes it here fast because I don't know how serious this is."

"How serious what is? Jim, you're scaring me. What's wrong with Schuyler?"

Jim took his arm and drew the two of them tighter to him and he used his hand to try and soothe his panicked Guide. "I don't think she can hear us or see us, Chief. I think the drug's left her deaf and blind."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

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Sammi