A Bridge to Sight and Sound by Sammi M.It had been a long night for Brenda, Blair and Jim. With the discovery of Schuyler's condition, an air of fear had settled in the room and only the older woman's arrival had seemed to dispel it. The guys looked like the walking wounded and only after she demanded they head downstairs for something did they seem to revive a little.
Through some simple tests, Brenda was able to prove the detective's assumption. What she couldn't figure out was whether this was an end-product of Telly's drug, a result of the interaction between her drug and the drug they'd come up with at the lab or Schuy's senses giving up the ghost and leaving her in a purgatory of nothing. She didn't know if this was a temporary situation or a permanent one, but the longer it lasted, the longer she was inclined to believe it was the latter.
Though Schuyler was still agitated and scared, Jim had shown the other woman the trick with letting the girl feel her handler's heartbeat. It had worked and Bren was able to draw blood and do some preliminary tests with little or no fuss. She had called for one of the guys at the lab to pick up the sample and told him to rush it like his life depended on it and then she'd given him the 'look' that told him his life *did* depend on it.
By eleven the next morning, the results were back and they were all encouraged to know most of the deceased woman's drug was inert. Three sighs of relief and a couple of heavenly thank-yous were offered up, as it became apparent this was more a last hurrah of the drug than a permanent malady.
The boys, as Bren had affectionately dubbed, were downstairs while she was seeing to Schuy when she heard a horrendous crash and Jim's startled, "Blair!" Checking to make sure the girl was still blessedly oblivious, she closed the door to the room and hurried down with medical bag in hand. She looked around quickly and soon found them in the study. One look at the older man holding his younger, paler partner was enough to have her racing across the floor to them.
"What happened?"
Forlorn eyes turned to her and begged for more of her help. "I brought some snacks into the room and put the tray on the table while I closed the door. I was only turned for a moment, but I guess he decided to bring it the rest of the way in. Next thing I knew, everything was flying and he had the oddest look on his face while he collapsed." The stuff from the last few days had weighed heavily on the detective and he looked and sounded like this was the last straw. "Why did he try that? He knows he's not completely well and the tray was too heavy. What was he thinking?"
While he'd been talking, the woman had been checking the younger man's vitals and such and she had noticed he was slowly coming around. "Why don't we just ask him?" When his eyes fluttered open, she smiled and patted his cheek. "Okay, Sandburg, how are you feeling?"
"L-like I just wrestled with Devon and Patrick and lost."
"That bad, huh?" She watched as the cop shot them both a confused look. "Devon and Patrick are two of my sons that Blair used to play with. They both outweighed him by fifty pounds, but he loved to wrestle with them." Bren motioned toward the sofa. "I think he'll be a little bit more comfortable up there, don't you?" When Jim only nodded and lifted his friend to the sofa, she became more worried about him than his charge. "He's going to be fine don't worry." Turning to Blair. "When was the last time you ate?"
A sheepish grin. "This week?"
The doctor sighed and shook her head. "What good do you think you're going to do your sister if you're passing out from lack of food and rest. I'm sure, knowing you, you're not taking any of the medicines your doctor prescribed." He blushed and a choking sound came from Jim. "How do you expect to get better when you don't take care of yourself? Your loyalty to Schuy is commendable, but I'm sure she'd hate it if she knew you were sacrificing yourself for her. And what about poor Jim? You didn't see his face when you collapsed, but I did. It's not something I want to see again."
The young observer looked suitably abashed and turned his sorrowful eyes towards his now silent friend. "Sorry, Jim. I've just been really focused on Schuyler, I "
"I hate to break this up right now, but I need to go and fix some more food for both of you and return to my other patient." She sat the older man next to the younger one and wagged her finger. "The two of you sit and talk and nothing else. I'll be back in about thirty."
Neither spoke for a few minutes after she left. Blair was ashamed and for some reason Jim was looking everywhere but at his guide. Finally, the anthropologist couldn't stand it, "I really am sorry. I wasn't thinking how hard it would be for you to have to deal with two sick people. I "
"Shut up!" Jim cried as he stood abruptly.
Blair was stunned. "What?"
"I don't want to hear it." Seeing his friend's heartbroken face. "Oh no, Blair, not in that way. What I meant was you have nothing to apologize for. Everything that's happened from the time we found Schuy in the loft to your collapsing has been my fault." He sighed in exasperation and ran his fingers through his hair. "From the beginning, my instincts told me to trust Schuy and you, but I didn't and I ended up hurting you and helping a madman. Then at the hospital, every part of my body screamed at me something wasn't right, but I didn't listen. Schuyler was pretty much poisoned and that added more on to you when you weren't up to it." Sitting almost as abruptly as he stood. "I let you down even more when I didn't monitor your medicines and your sleeping and your eating. I'm supposed to watch over you protect you." Barely whispering. "What kind of Blessed Protector does that make me?"
"You know, sometimes I really hate mentioning that to you. Not because you don't take good care of me, but because of the burden it placed you under." Turning his friend's face towards him. "Every time something bad happens to me, you feel this horrible guilt. I hate that. There have been so many times you've been the only thing that's kept me alive and yet, you don't see any of them.
"So you ignored your instincts it happened and you got past it enough to help us in the end." Pointing a finger in his roommate's face. "You did not help a madman; Schuy and I both heard Telly admit she told him days before about the codes. The woman hated my sister and no matter what, she would have found some way to get at her. The injection wasn't your fault; there was nothing more you could have done." Exasperated. "And, as for me, I'm an adult. I'm supposed to be responsible for taking my meds and eating and sleeping and not using my arm.
"You've done the only thing I ever expected from you you've been here beside me. You've been my friend and my confidante and my family and my strength and my support *and* my protector. Since I've known you, I haven't *needed* for anything. Wanted is a different story, but never needed.
"Just know you've never let me down and I know you never will."
It seemed his little speech had tired Sandburg out because as soon as he finished, he fell back on the cushions exhausted. Jim reached his hand out and squeezed Blair's and they both sat there with little contented smiles on their faces. It was a start.
Brenda bustled in after a while and sensing the peace in the room, smiled. "Okay, now that the air is clear and the love's been shown, time for lunch and then a nap. Name your spot, Blair."
"Umm, I think I'd do better back with Schuy. When this stuff finally breaks, I want to be as close to her as I can." Seeing the looks directed towards him. "I promise I'll take my medicine like a good little boy and sleep, okay?"
Jim smirked, "You better or I'll knock you cold and you'll have no choice but to rest."
"Good. Now that that's all cleared up, would you mind helping me get him upstairs, Detective?"
Together, they managed to drag the fatigued body up to the room and onto the bed beside his still sleeping sister. Jim stood watch over his friend while he ate and Bren checked the girl to make sure she was comfortable. Only after the plate was cleaned and one Sandburg was wrapped around the other in slumbered bliss did the others leave and head down for their own meals.
As they finished off what essentially had been a rather large lunch, Jim leaned back in his chair. "You're really good with them and they're pretty comfortable with you."
The older woman laughed, "They should be. I kept them more times than I can count and I love them like my own." She winked at him. "The same can be said for you. They adore you and that's not easy for either one of them. It's easier to see it with Schuyler, but Blair doesn't just open up to anyone either.
"I knew you were something special when Blair first told me about you when he came to me after my second husband, Darrin's, funeral. The way his eyes lit up and those hands kept going a million miles per second, I saw in him how my younger children would talk about their older siblings." She placed her hand on his. "That's a very special look I've only seen him use with Kay."
His hand squeezed hers. "Thank you for telling me that." He moved the empty dishes out of his way. "Ever since you said you knew them when they were little, I've been dying to ask you for 'Blair' and 'Blair and Schuyler' stories. Naomi told me some cute ones about when he was little, but I could tell she was holding out on me." His eyes twinkled. "I don't think I have to worry about that from you."
"Ohhhh, the stories I *could* tell. That boy was a mess and the stories - the stories *he* would come up with. He was always smart, up there in genius level, and the way his mind worked had a lot of us baffled and we were his teachers!"
"You taught him?"
"For two years. I was his science and math teacher at our little private school a couple of us ran. He and Kay were some of our brightest students and also our most mischievous. Why once, he "
When he had calmed down enough, they went upstairs to check on their wards and found Blair wrapped in Schuyler's arms. Jim was amazed at how close they were even in sleep that it could break past the barriers her senses had erected. He turned awed eyes toward the doctor and she motioned for them to return to their previous spots to continue their talk.
"For a long time, there were only two things they feared more than anything else. For Blair, it was that through some fault of his he'd lose her forever. For Kay, it was that Blair would stop loving her and not want her around anymore."
"I could understand Blair's fears I have them about him but there's no way Schuy's could happen. He's devoted to her."
Sadly, "There was one time he wasn't."
~~*~~"Mommy, why aren't girls as smart as boys?" The seven-year-old Schuyler asked her mother as they fixed dinner.
"Where on earth did you come up with something like that?"
"Mrs. Burner said next week the boys in our class are going to start taking different classes for arith-metic and science because they're smarter."
Naomi was outraged! "When did she say that, Schuyler?"
"This morning. She and Dr. Gardner came to our class and told us. But they promised it would only be for those two classes because several of us got upset. Danny's my best friend and I like sitting with him at school." The child noticed her mother's fury and shrank. "I'm sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean to say anything bad."
Her mother realized what she was doing and pulled the small body into her lap and started to rock her. "You didn't say anything wrong, Baby. Mommy's not angry at you; she's angry at Mrs. Burner and Dr. Gardner. They were wrong to say that because it's not true. Girls are just as smart as boys and they can do as much as them. Tomorrow, Mommy's going to make an appointment to see them and have them explain themselves, okay?" The small head nodded and she kissed the curls she'd prayed for years would come in. "Why don't you go call your brother and we'll let him set the table."
"Okay!" The happy child raced out of the room and could be heard yelling for her brother.
"Mommy's definitely going to take care of this."
~*~"I apologize for Dr. Gardner not being able to attend, but he's preparing for a field trip some of our students will be taking next week." She gave the red-haired woman a placating smile. "How may *I* help you?"
"Well, I was talking to my daughter Schuyler last night and something she said *you* said really disturbed me. Do you really believe that boys are smarter than girls?"
"Not only do I believe it, but there have been substantial scientific tests that have proven it. Boys have more aptitude for the sciences and maths than girls, so that puts them on a higher level than their female counterparts." Her voice dropped to a condescending tone. "If you don't believe me, I can show you the studies."
"I don't want to see your damn studies! I want to know what right you have to destroy little seven-year old girls' minds? That's middle ages crap. When I look at my children, I see as much potential in my daughter as I do in my son and I hate the doubt that you put in her."
The smile was gone. "I'm sorry you see what we said as wrong, but it is the truth. Of course, I'm sure you don't recognize that your 'daughter' is hindered by other things as well."
Naomi's eyes flashed as she glared at the woman. "What *other* things?"
"It is a proven fact that children of Negro backgrounds are well behind the learning standards of other children. With Schuyler being of mixed background, the mixture helps her, but I'm sure it is not enough."
The younger woman stood and leaned over the desk causing the older woman to flinch back. "No, what is enough is what I've heard today. My daughter is neither hindered or held back by what she is. If you would open up your closed mind, you'd see the great little mind *she* has. Since I don't believe that's possible, I want you to gather my children's records and remove them from your rosters. There is no way I'm going to let them be taught any of the filth you believe."
~*~Blair bounded into the room and stopped before his mother with a smile as big as Texas. "Guess what, Mom? I got picked to go to the State Science Tournament next week. Only four other guys in the whole eighth grade class were chosen and I had the highest score out of all of them. Isn't that great?"
"That's wonderful, Baby. I'm very proud of you." She pulled him close to her. "But, you're not going to be able to go."
The boy pulled away and looked at his mother like she'd suddenly grown two heads. "Why? If it's because of money, you don't have to worry about that. The school's paying for most of it and the rest I can take out of my stash."
"Sweetie, it's not a question of money. If that were all it was, I'd gladly give you ten times the amount, but it's not."
"Then what? Why are you taking this away from me?"
Naomi stood and moved to the kitchen door and closed it. She then turned to her son and squared her shoulders like she was preparing for battle. "Blair, I found out that your school makes differences between girls and boys and minorities. I withdrew you and Schuyler this afternoon."
Tears ran down the boy's face, but he didn't feel any of them. "But, that's not fair. So what if they make differences! It has nothing to do with u " All the colour drained from his face. "This is about Schuyler, isn't it? You took us out because of what they said about your precious baby."
"I didn't want them filling her head or yours with the nonsense they believe. Even with her being this young, they could damage so much based on things that aren't remotely true."
"But they are true! We have special classes without any girls because they would slow us down. Our class learns so much more without them. The girls aren't interested in learning stuff like us."
"Yes, they are, but they can't do it if narrow-minded people won't let them. This is the eighties, Blair. The people in this hick town are still living in the fifties and their using Nazi scientific rhetoric to stay there. I refuse to let them hinder you like that." She sat down in front of him. "I called Brenda and Darrin and they're upstairs packing for me and we're going to move with them to San Diego. Our friends have an excellent school there and they have places for you and Schuy." Grabbing his hands. "I'm sorry, but I'm trying to do what's best for *both* of you."
The boy glared at her and snatched his hands away. "I hate you!" He ran to the door and found Schuyler on the other side of it. "This is all your fault! Just stay away from me!"
~~*~~Jim was stunned. He shook his head in disbelief. "No way. That is not the same kid I know. He believes in everyone being equal and he'd never do something like that to Schuyler."
"He was hurting. They'd only been there a year and he was finally starting to feel like he fit in with kids who'd gone to school together since pre-k. Making that team was like he'd won the lottery and all the other kids admired him for it."
"So, what happened?"
"They moved to a little house around the corner from us and Blair practically ignored Naomi and Kay. Naomi lost a lot of her glow, and not even meditation could get it back. But Kay that baby was devastated. She thought, because she'd told, her beloved brother hated her. She wouldn't eat or play and she barely talked. If she knew he was supposed to be somewhere, she never got close to the place and she started going to bed a lot earlier so they wouldn't be together at home.
"Blair had started hanging out with Devon and Patrick again and he slowly but surely started realizing his mother might have been right. As he grew in his classes, he found he was often in competition with a lot of the *girls* in the classes." Brenda nibbled on her lip. "I think Blair was coming to the point where he wanted to apologize, but he just wasn't quick enough.
"Somehow, my daughter, Shannon, had been able to convince Kay to play at our house even though Blair was out back wrestling with my boys. The girls were playing tea on the landing when one of Kay's dolls started to fall down the stairs. She tried to grab it, but lost her balance and fell with it. I will never forget the screams of those girls. I rushed in and found Nonie standing over a bleeding and crying Kay and I started checking her out. She hadn't fallen far, but she'd bumped her head on one of the stair edges. I couldn't stop her crying and I was getting worried. I heard this noise behind me and I turned to find Blair standing there with this terrified look. Before I could say a word, he had pushed past me and scooped her up and was holding her and crying and saying how sorry he was and how much he loved her. After a few minutes, her little arms started clutching him and her crying slowed down. Blair told me he was going to take *his* baby home and he'd have Naomi call me later to let me know how she was and then, they were gone.
"Naomi did call and in between her tears she told me how they had cleared the air when he got home and then he'd helped clean Kay up and fallen asleep beside her. Before they fell asleep, he promised them he'd never let anything else come between them, and, as far as I know, he hasn't."
"Oh, man. That explains a lot."
"I thought it might." Brenda took a deep breath and stretched. "So, anything else you want me to clear up for you?"
Jim thought for a minute and he grinned. "Two things. First, why do you constantly call her Kay when you've known her most of her life as Schuyler? And, second, you mentioned other fears that Blair and Schuy have, what are they?"
"You don't ask much now do you?" She steepled her hands and returned the grin, "You're right, I did know her as Schuyler, but when I signed up with Symmonds, I signed the statement like everyone else. It was only right that I adhere to the policy. She told me I didn't have to, but I'm kind of funny about doing what's right.
"As for the second question, on a lesser scale they have the same fears: losing Naomi or their grandparents. But, their biggest fear, besides the ones I told you about, is the same." Her eyes twinkled. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that. Neither of them ever want to be without you."
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