The Dancing by Kristine Williams (PG)

[magician113.livejournal.com]

Reaching back into the annals to find another Sentinel classic. . .

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: none
Length: 100K
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: http://fandom.ljsmith.ca/catseye/KrisW/KrisW.shtml

Why this must be read:   Kris Williams is an early Sentinel writer often referred to with reverence by other authors. She got in and out of fanfiction pretty quickly – by 1998 she had changed her focus to original fic. She produced 26 stories in the TS fandom.  She says they should be read in order, but I don’t find it necessary. Although her first story, “A Test”, does a good job addressing the perils of hyper hearing, I like her last story, “The Dancing”, best.

 

Blair is visiting an anthro site in Borneo for a few weeks. Two weeks in, Jim stops by Blair’s office to pick up mail. A professor mentions that the head of the expedition wants Blair to stay on as his new assistant. That’s all it takes for Jim’s “fear-based responses” to kick in and he’s on the next flight to Borneo. Blair is happily surprised to see Jim, and excited at the opportunity to perform new sentinel tests. Until he finds out why Jim *really* came:

 

"The problem is you finding me out of a crowd of people by tuning in to my voice, then turning around and telling me you can't find someone wearing a very distinctive scent." They walked back to Blair's tent.

 

"There was too much going on at once. How was I supposed to get past it all?"

 

"But you did, Jim. You found me easily enough." The map to the caves sat on Blair's desk, along with the small binoculars he wanted to bring. "And you could have found her that way too, if you'd just practice more and let me work with your senses, get them developed further."

 

"They're developed just fine, Chief." Jim fastened his watch and nodded toward the tent flap. "I don't see any need to change what works."

 

Was he born with blinders on? "You know, it's that attitude that makes me wonder why you keep me around." Frustrated, Blair pushed past his friend and went back outside, stuffing the small map into his back pocket. The binoculars clipped easily to his belt as he walked away from the row of tents.

 

"Sandburg, you know full well why I keep you around." Jim was behind him, easily matching the shorter man's pace. "Besides, now that I know you're not skipping out on me, we have time to talk about some of these developments of yours."

 

At first, Blair didn't think he heard Jim correctly. He stopped, glancing at his friend. "What do you mean, now that you know I'm not skipping out?" What the hell was he talking about?

 

Jim sighed, glancing at the blue sky for a moment before replying. "It's nothing. Just a few rumors I heard."

 

 

I like this for a number of reasons. First of all, it’s well written (grammar, plot, layout), which is always a plus for me. Second, it gives us a chance to see Blair’s world, with Jim as the “outsider”. Third, this is a strong Blair – competent enough to be admired by his peers and mentor and confident enough to take Jim to task. And fourth, Jim gets a chance to have some fun with his senses.  Chronologically,  it’s somewhere in the third season, after Warriors. So Jim and Blair are friends, Blair’s mostly over his hero-worship and Jim is comfortable with the status quo.  But they both show the threads of uncertainty that continue to plague them when it comes to the issue of trust.

 

I hope you enjoy!

The Dancing

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