Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Length: 132K
Author on LJ: none
Author Website: none.
Why this must be read: This slowly developing story is told mostly from Jim’s POV as he observes his best friend and, in doing so, he examines himself and what he might want for their life together.
The story starts shortly after the end of the series. Blair has accepted the offer to become a detective, and he’s been Jim’s official partner for a few weeks. They’re drawn into a backwoods manhunt for a Most Wanted felon. With the help of a feral dog who slows the criminal down, Blair and Jim make the capture. Blair feels obligated to help the “hero dog” and her injured companion, a stray cat. Listen in on Jim’s thoughts as he contemplates whether he’ll accept pets for Blair’s sake:
He found himself staring into the mirror. Looking at his own reflection but not seeing it. Thinking about why he was standing here wasting time. Delaying. He knew himself pretty well. He was giving himself more time to think about it.
About cat. And dog. Dog, barking at the closed door, frantic. Wanting her cat. No reason she needed a cat. Except she was lonely and cat...the cat must have chosen to stay with her. Cat had his own needs. Who knows what kept them together. Maybe in the clinic the dog could smell that the cat was near. Maybe that was comforting. Maybe dog fell asleep listening to cat's heartbeat. Maybe cat was coming out from under the anesthetic, woozy, looking for dog. Needing dog because he was hurt and in a strange place.
Huh. There was a word for that. Anthropomorphism?
Same root word as anthropology.
Wolf and panther and Guide and Sentinel. Dog and Cat.
Strange pairs.
This is a story full of beautifully turned phrases and a chance to look into Jim’s head. Fanfic often depicts Jim as rigid. When you view the episodes however, he often opposes an idea initially but will accept it once it makes sense to him. I have a hard time with the term “favorite” but I would describe this as one of my much-loved stories; one that I can read many times and it still touches me. This is Tazy’s only posted story to date (more’s the pity).
Where Friendship Takes You feed the need – send authors feedback! :) 
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