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The "NATURE" series by Francesca.
This is my   Series Page   for Francesca's Nature Series, mostly because I wanted to do the stories justice, in terms of recommendation, and there wasn't room for that on my Recs page.
I'm happy to supply a copy of any story that has no link supplied - by email on request.
Blair/Jim.
The "Nature" series is deservedly on almost every "must read" list of Sentinel fiction you're ever likely to come across.  There are 29 stories in the series and I've numbered them for easy reference.  Francesca has divided them into 3 main arcs: Nature Versus Culture to Nature's Celebrations comprise the first arc, nature's Reversals tp Nature's Conferences comprise the second arc, and Natures Correspondence to Nature's Blindness comprise the third arc.  Francesca has advised that a fourth arc was planned but was never started.
Date added: 01/03/04.
FIRST ARC:
Nature 01: Nature Vs Culture.
Blair takes Jim out for a very special birthday treat but when Blair mistakes Jim's gratitude for something more, he's unprepared for Jims extreme reaction.
Blair Sandburg lay on his side in the narrow hospital bed, staring blankly at the whitewashed wall just a few feet away. His eyes were glassy and unfocused, his face expressionless; his thoughts circled round and round, cutting painful patterns into his brain. <I'm an anthropologist,> he thought ruefully, and an empty smile suddenly curled one corner of his mouth. The smile contrasted harshly with the hurt in his eyes. <I should have known better. Should know better.> A brief rasp of a laugh seared his throat and the jerking movement made his side ache; Blair screwed his eyes shut hoping to block out the pain in his head, his side, and his heart.
This remains my favourite of all the Nature stories and I think what I love most is the way it starts, with Blair ruminating on the differences between nature and nurture.  It's a great hook for a Sentinel story and Francesca handles it with her customary flair and skill.   It's also very sweet.  Amazingly, I believe this is Francesca's first ever fan story - if only we could all write this well!
Nature 02: Nature's Surprises.
Blair and Jim find more unexpected results of their new bond.
"Of all the stupid, arrogant, dumb-assed, half-witted, self-important, mis-guided, foolhardy, blockheaded, harebrained, pretentious damn-fool things to do!"
Jim winced as he changed into a clean shirt. God, when that mouth applied itself to terms of derision. "What?" he asked, glancing over the balcony.
"YOU KNOW WHAT," yelled Sandburg from the kitchen. Jim heard Blair pop the top off a beer and hurl the cap to the floor. "Don't you get all coy with ME, James Ellison! You heard the message--you can hear the message like a THOUSAND MILES AWAY, underwater, wearing headphones playing Kate Smith singing the Star Spangled FRIGGING BANNER--I KNOW you can, I've tested it myself!"
I don't like this one quite as much as the first in the series but it's still an excellent story, full of Francesca's trade-mark humour and pithy dialogue.
Nature 03: Nature's Fireworks - A 4th July Story.
A baseball game and a talk  with Simon.
"Where was I?"
"You were making fun of me," said Simon.
"Oh, yeah," said Jim. "Come on, O'Hara," he called, "Hit the damn ball, will you?" Jim grabbed a beer out of the cooler next to him, popped the top off, and turned to look at Simon. "He's also Jewish, you know, but I suppose I'd be willing to convert for the sake of the children," Jim deadpanned.
"All right, all right, stop it," said Simon.
"I mean, just as long as you and Mom accept us."
"Fuck you," said Simon, earnestly.
Gotta love Francesca's take on Simon - he's cool.
Nature 04: Nature's Visions.
Blair is having premonitions and he freaks.
Jim Ellison opened his eyes, instantly awake, and looked at his lover.
Who was sitting straight up in bed, dark curls wild around his head, heart pounding.
"Blair?"
Blair Sandburg slowly turned to look at him, wide eyes revealing dilated pupils, and whispered one word into the darkened room: "Fire."
Nature 05: Nature's Sacrifices.
Blair and Jim have to host their first poker night as a couple - which means facing coming out to their friends.
"Listen, that's not why I was calling." He lowered his voice, watching as everyone in the bullpen pretended to be busy. "I'm at work, they want us to host poker night tonight."
"Oh," said Blair, thinking of the bedroom that was now, too obviously, an office.
"Yeah, exactly," said Jim. "What do you think?"
"Hell, I don't know," sighed Blair.
"Thing is, we haven't done it in a while."
"Tell me about it," said Blair. "And this morning didn't help none."
"Sandburg--" Jim warned.
"Okay, okay, all right, we'll host. We have to sometime, I guess. And they're supposed to be our friends."
This is an interesting story, not least because Megan steps forward and takes a bigger part in the action.
Nature 06: Nature's Training.
Blair learns to fire a gun and he hates it.
"Okay, then, look, Sandburg," said Jim Ellison wearily, taking the gun out of Blair's hands, "the first rule is that you can't scream and wince every time you pull the trigger, okay? Screaming and wincing is considered extremely bad form. You're pulling the trigger, you shouldn't be so damn surprised when the gun goes off."
I like this one a lot, especially all the teasing that goes on between the guys, despite the seriousness of Blair's feelings.
Nature 07: Nature's Trials.
Jim gets an unexpected call from Carolyn and he and Blair argue about life insurance.
"Blair, if something happened to me, I would want you to be happy," said Jim.
"Would you be happy?" asked Blair, exasperatedly, staring at him. "Okay, then," he said, pushing past him to the stove, turning it on again. "So shut up."
"But Blair--"
"Okay, okay, I'll be happy! I'll have a party, in fact!" said Blair, throwing his hands up in the air. "With BALLOONS! A big bowl of punch. Maybe a clown, how would you like that?" He grinned as Jim burst out laughing, pleased that he had finally gotten Jim to lighten up. "I could invite the neighborhood children," he added wistfully. "We'll play games and sing songs. I'll put Simon in a paper hat."
"He'll look good in a paper hat," said Jim, leaning against the kitchen wall, trying to breathe.
"Oh, absolutely! And then I'll marry some curvaceous blonde named Lola. And we'll have fourteen children. All named Jim--even the girls. And at night, when I tuck Jim and Jim and Jim and Jim and all the other Jims into their own beds in their own rooms in my huge house, courtesy of your insurance money, I'll make sure to tell each of them a good-night story about how there once was a Sentinel and I used to be his Guide, and how much happier I am now! How's that, would you like that?"
This story rocks - I love the dialogue especially - and I always love stories in which the guys are outed to Carolyn.
Nature 08: Nature's Celebrations.
Blair freaks about wearing the uniform on graduation from the Police Academy and he's a victim of an attack.    Jim buys him a special graduation present.
"Aaaaagggh," said Blair, torn between laughter and anger. "They're giving me an award for my shooting, can you imagine?"
Jim's eyebrows shot up. "Blair--that's great. I mean--" he fumbled.
"Yeah, it's great, Jim, it's really great," spat Blair irritably. "It's just great being a pod person--it's just great to sell out--I mean, if you're gonna do it, do it right, you know? I mean, don't just flirt with the Establishment--get right in there! Really go for it! I know--why don't we make sure to get a picture of me, in my uniform, accepting my award for Most Likely To Blow Someone's Head Off and send it to my mother, framed? Make her really really proud of me! Or, on the other hand, we could just do it the easy way--we could take a wooden stake and drive it through her heart with a mallet. Or I could just blow her head off myself--kill my mother and prove my marksmanship at the same time. Maybe I can get another award for that! Maybe I'll get a promotion!"
This is a feel-good story, despite the attack on Blair, and I enjoy it very much.
This is the end of the first arc.



SECOND ARC:

Nature 09: Nature's Reversals.
Blair comes across a rape in progress on the campus and shoots his first perp - with the inevitable results.  As if that wasn't enough to deal with, Naomi is on her way to visit.
"I can't believe we're doing this," said Blair. "This is seriously childish."
"When the going gets tough, man..." grinned Jim, heading out of the city, heading for the open road.
"...the tough go camping," finished Blair, smiling back. "And I thought you were the brave one. Army Ranger and all that."
"You know," said Jim, "there's brave and there's stupid."
"I hear that," said Blair.
"There's a time to stay and fight, and there's a time to run like hell," said Jim, prosaically.
"We're going to have to tell her," said Blair, reasonably. "We're going to have to explain--"
"Who's we, kimosabi?"
This one has it all: drama, angst, humour, hot sex and some lovely Sentinel spiritual stuff.
Nature 10: Nature's Relations.
Jim and Blair come out to Naomi and Blair is embarrassed by his mother's reaction.  Then Naomi tells Jim's father!
"What? asked Blair. "What the hell's so fucking funny?"
"He said---he said--" sputtered Jim, and then he launched into an imitation. "'Jimmy,'" he began--and then broke up laughing, clutching his stomach tighter, sucking for air. "'Jimmy,'" he began again, mimicking his father's precise, clipped WASPy speech, "'some crazy woman's called and--'" and again he broke up, and he let himself fall over sideways on the sofa, absolutely shaking with laughter.
"Crazy woman?" repeated Blair, and then his eyes widened, and he said, "Oh no..."
"Jimmy, some crazy woman's called--and she said--she said--"
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," pleaded Blair, half-laughing, half-shuddering with dread.
"--she said that you'd taken that boy to bed!'"
Blair's hands flew up to cover his face.
"'Taken that boy to bed!'" hooted Jim. "Trust my father to make it sound--god, colonial!" Jim blurted, almost giggling. "Like--like it's a plantation, and I'm bedding one of my slaves! Oh--oh--oh god, can't breathe!"
I thought this one was just pretty fucking hilarious.
Nature 11: Nature's Visitations.
Jim and Blair have Sunday lunch with Jim's father but it's a disaster.
"What have I got?" repeated Bill Ellison, smiling, rubbing his palms together. "What haven't I got? Come here, look at this," and Blair obligingly followed the older man over to a large, cherry wood sideboard. Ellison Sr. manipulated the top, and it slid open to reveal an impressive array of bottles and mixers. He reached down and slid the side door open, and inside were glasses of every imaginable size and shape.
"Wow," said Blair, gamely.
"A beauty, huh?" said Ellison Sr., looking at it affectionately. "Completely stocked--as good as any bar in the world. So. What's your pleasure?"
I'd like to run screaming from here to Canada, thought Blair.
This story handles Jim's relationship with his father very well.  There's no fake sentimentality about it and Francesca doesn't brush over the unpleasant aspects.  And she doesn't treat Jim's father as if he were one step away from being Lucifer himself, as a lot of fanfiction does, but presents him as just an ordinary man who's made mistakes and now wants a relationship with his son.
Nature 12: Nature's Breakdowns.
A run in with a kidnapper who can't be pushed makes Blair crazy - and he freaks out big time.
He turned around and saw that Blair was sitting at the foot of the bed in the dim room, still wearing his jacket, and Jim could read exhaustion and dejection in his slumped posture. He adjusted his eyes to take in the rust-colored bedspread, the heavy, lined matching curtains covering the windows, the worn green rug...and then blinked as he noticed that Blair Sandburg had his gun in his hands.
"Blair..." he said nervously, stepping forward.
Blair looked up at him, then looked down at his gun, then looked up at him again and what he said was totally unexpected.
"Golden fire people," Blair said.
"What?" Jim hissed.
Bit depressing this one, but interesting premise.
Nature 13: Nature's Return.
Blair loses his libido for a while, much to Jim's chagrin but at last he comes to terms with his ability.
"I mean, with this Guide thing--all of a sudden I can discriminate. Its like having another sense. It's like there's another color in the world now--a sort of moral color, I can't explain it any better than that. But it feels like--like I've been thrown out of Paradise," said Blair, ruefully. "You touched me, and now I have knowledge of good and evil. I feel like Adam."
"So does that make me Eve?" asked Jim.
Another story chock full of pathos and interesting ideas.
Nature 14: Nature's Boundaries.
Blair returns from a trip and things happen - and the guys discover a few relationship boundaries.
"You've got a point there," said Jim. "I suppose we could pool our resources and get a better car," he added as an afterthought.
"Jim, I'll share a house with you, I'll share my body with you, but I am not sharing car insurance with you," said Blair firmly.
"I'm hurt," said Jim.
"Yeah, well," snorted Blair. "Every good relationship has boundaries."
This story is full of humour, as if to make up for the seriousness of the last two instalments!
Nature 15: Nature's Strategies.
Jim and Blair look for a house in the country but they aren't prepared for what happens on the way home.
And then there was another hand on his face, and this time it was Blair's, he knew it was Blair's hand, and it occurred to him that he could be dead for ten thousand years and still know the touch of Blair's hand. And the hand touched his cheek, and then he felt the warm, soft pressure of it against his face, and then Blair's lips were on his face, and he wanted to tell Blair how much he liked that, how very much he liked it, except he was too tired, too damn tired, way too damn tired now...
More interesting developments and more William Ellison.
Nature 16: Nature's Momentum.
If it isn't one thing, it's another.  Blair goes on a very unexpected journey.
Except, it wasn't okay--because suddenly Blair's head lolled backwards and his eyes rolled upward into his head, and he was falling, and Jim was so fucking surprised that it took a second or two for him to realize that Blair was going down and that he'd better catch him before he hit the concrete floor.
"Shit!" Jim grabbed Blair under the armpits and heaved him up and thrust him backwards against the car. But Blair was gone, he had split, he was outtathere.
"Blair?" Jim said nervously, shaking him a little. "Sandburg?" Shit, he'd broken him! He'd fucked up somehow--hell, this Guide stuff wasn't as easy as Blair made it look!
"Sandburg, cut it out, dammit!" Jim yelled. "That's too far down! You hear me? Too far down! "
But Blair was deadweight in his arms. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. God, was this what zones were like? Shit. Okay, so Blair was right--it wasn't any fun on the other side, either.
"Cut it out already," Jim said, shaking Blair again. "Dial up--wake up--come on already!" Blair's vitals were strong--powerfully strong, even--so he was alive, he was okay, he just wasn't, well, home.
Goddammit. If it wasn't one thing, it was another!
A very mystical instalment of this series and full of Francesca's tade-mark humour to offset the drama.
Nature 17: Nature's Outing.
At the latest baseball game, Jim runs into Carolyn in the park.
"So why are you so shitty?" Sarah asked.
Blair made a face. "Because Jim's over there with his ex-wife."
Sarah's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"
"Yeah," Megan confirmed. "Over by the picnic tables," and Sarah craned her neck to look.
"How long have they been talking?" Sarah asked.
Blair glanced at his watch. "Thirty-two minutes, 41 seconds," he replied, and Sarah smiled.
"Not that you've been paying attention or anything," Sarah said.
"Hardly noticed," Blair replied, stretching out backwards in the grass.
There's a lot of humour in this one - especially the scene with Megan and Sarah - but there's a lot of nastiness, too, when Carolyn rips both Blair and Jim a new one.  This vitriolic Carolyn was a bit of a disapointment to me - the bitchy ex is such a cliche in fanfiction that it's become boring, IMO.
Nature 18: Nature's Conferences.
Jim wants to go to Blair's anthropology conference in Chicago with him.
Simon still didn't say anything, and so Blair decided to unleash the big guns. "Look, Simon," he said, fixing the Captain in his chair with his eye, "I just lost my precious classic 1966 Chevrolet Corvair  convertible over this case," and Simon groaned softly, perhaps sensing all was lost. "That car was three years older than I am, Simon," Blair continued relentlessly. "I've had that car for seven years, Simon. That car survived four years of Jim, Simon."
"Oh, god..." Simon closed his eyes.
"I loved that car, Simon," Blair said passionately. " I mean, I loved that car--"
"Okay, okay, okay!" Simon exclaimed. Jim rubbed at his face, hiding a smile behind his hand. "I surrender! Take a long weekend ! Hell--take the week--I'm sorry about your car! Jesus!"
There's an interesting case story in this one but the fun of the conference is the part I liked the most.  I love this story because it's pretty much a light-hearted romp for the guys and it's a joy to read.
End of the second arc.




THIRD ARC:
Nature 19: Nature's Correspondences.
A story made up entirely of emails - and one phone conversation.
Where do you *think* I am--I'm at the roach motel California and I've got a goddamned line outside my office.   All these stupid seminar students who are only thinking about their paper topics *now*.  And who think that these office hours I've got posted on my door are *real*.
You know, in my day, we had 120 person classes and the professors didn't even know our names and goddammit, we *liked* it that way!  All this professorial coddling will lead to nothing but a generation of dependency and the eventual decline of America, you mark my words.
A very funny exchange of pissed off emails from Jim and Blair on a Friday afternoon.
Nature 20: Nature's Failures.
A nightmare hostage scenario leads to conflict between Jim and Blair.

"Don't you dare Detective me! Don't you fucking dare! God, I expect this shit from Simon, but not from you." He paced angrily away, across the hardwood floor, and then wheeled back around, bloody hands flying in the air. "What the fuck was I supposed to do? Just let him die there? "

"What was I supposed to do? Just let him kill you?"
"I was trying to save him!"
"I was trying to save you!" Suddenly he was moving around the kitchen island toward Blair, and Blair was coming toward him, hands clenching with rage. Shit, Jim thought--we're really gonna fight here.
A serious and harsh look at the pressures the guys face.
Nature 21: Nature's Conspiracies I.
This story is the start of a four part sub-section that is a lot darker and more serious than the what has gone before.  In this first part, Blair has been promoted to detective and City Hall calls them down for an interview because of their spectacular 100% closure rate - but why is there an FBI anthropologist on hand at the meeting?  Blair fears the worst.
"Which one you want first?" Simon asked.
"Gimme the good news," Jim said.
Simon gestured toward the PD bulletin board. "The promo list is out. The kid made it."
Jim felt his chest tightening; god, if this was the good news, what the fuck was the bad news? "Oh yeah?" he said, cautiously.
"Yeah. Don't look so thrilled," Simon deadpanned. "Seriously, Jim--the kid's damn lucky after that crap he pulled at the--"
"Yeah, yeah, all right," Jim muttered, waving that away. "So now he's a detective, huh?"
"Effective January 1," Simon said, and then grinned suddenly. "Though this might be one of the seven signs of the apocalypse." He fluttered his fingers mysteriously.
Jim couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, right between the locusts and the frogs."
Simon intoned, "The long-haired one shall cometh and smite down the enemies of the Lord with--"
"--a baseball and a vending machine," Jim finished, wryly. "Yeah, I remember that--that's in Revelations, right?" He sighed and scrubbed at his face. "All right--so what's the bad news?"
There's some humour to start but things get serious very quickly as Blair encounters Agent Paul Ziegler.
Nature 22: Nature's Conspiracies II.
In which both Blair and Jim panic about Ziegler's interest in Jim and try to find a way to neutralise him as a threat.  Then they get home to find their apartment is bugged and that they're being followed.
"I don't have a plan, okay?" Blair yelled. "You wanna know my plan?--my plan is breathing! That's about as far as I've managed to get with my plan! I can't work under these conditions!"
Jim thought about that for a moment and then nodded. "Okay," he said, putting his foot back onto the accelerator as the light turned green. "Okay. Fair enough."
"I mean, excuse me for living ," Blair exploded, "but I can't orchestrate a counterintelligence campaign against the FBI at an intersection in five fucking minutes!!"
To his utter annoyance, Jim grinned at him. "You can't?"
"No!" Blair said petulantly, already starting to feel stupid. "I can't."
"I think I'm disappointed," Jim said, grin growing wider. "I thought you could do anything."
"Sorry to burst your bubble," Blair said, fighting the urge to grin back at him.
"You were my hero."
"Fuck off," Blair said, biting his lip.
"Okay, look," Jim said, "here's the plan."
"Lay it on me, man," Blair said desperately.
"The plan is to get us somewhere safe where we can make a plan."
"I like the plan," Blair said instantly. "Good plan, there."
This second part escalates the tension considerably.  I like the dialogue - funny, despite the tension - and the way William Ellison is incorporated into this story and NOT as a bad guy.
Nature 23: Nature's Conspiracies III.
Jim and Blair flee to their cabin and begin to hatch a plan to deal with Ziegler..
Blair sank back into the buttery leather upholstery, then rolled his head to look at the dim outline of Jim Ellison in the driver's seat. "Smooth escape," Blair said, finally. "Where'd you learn that? Covert ops?"
Jim shot him a glance; he was smirking. "High school."
Blair grinned helplessly. "High school?"
"Yeah, that was how I got in and out of the house after curfew," Jim confessed. "That was my escape window, there."
"You had a curfew?" Blair teased. "How very 1958."
Jim took one hand off the wheel and reached over to smack Blair's forehead. "I wasn't even born in 1958."
Finally, some sex in this little sub-series!  Plus some serious plotting and planning.
Nature 24: Nature's Conspiracies IV.
Jim and Blair prepare to go back to Cascade to face the  music and their plan to get rid of the bugs.  Unfortunately, maybe all their palnning and acting has been in vain.
"I'm just psyching myself up for an evening with my Dad." Jim blew out a breath.
"Hey, he's not such a bad guy," Blair protested. "He's just trying to deal with this stuff--and he's been a real help to me."
Jim snorted. "Yeah, right--all of a sudden he's Grandpa."
Blair blinked. "Grandpa?"
"Yeah. Mr. Sweetness and Light. Cause now he's not directly responsible for me--you've taken that job off his hands. Now he can be Grandpa--all smiles and presents--because if anything fucks up, it's your fault and not his."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait just a fucking minute! Are you implying that--"
"'He's been a real big help to me,'" Jim mimicked. "What the fuck am I--a newborn? Why don't you get him to sit for me on weekends so you can go out and talk to other grownups?"
Blair just stared at him. "Where the hell is this coming from?"
"You know, I was a goddamned army ranger," Jim said, stabbing himself in the chest with his index finger. "I'm a goddamned police detective. I'm gonna turn forty this year."
Blair raised his hands high. "I am not engaging this," he said firmly. "This is not a Sentinel thing, this is a you-needing-therapy thing. You're almost forty, man--so try and act like it, okay? Sheesh." Blair reached for the handle and got out of the car, slamming the door behind him.
Jim sighed and got out, too. "Look, all right, I'm sorry," he called to Blair over the roof of the Mercedes. "It's just that he's got this way of making me feel about ten years old."
"Well, you're not," Blair pointed out. "So get over it, already. Just say 'please' and 'thank you' and 'Merry Christmas', all right?"
"All right," Jim said grudgingly.
Nice interaction with William Ellison again - he comes off as a real person, not just a caricature of a 'bad father'.
Nature 25: Nature's Ascent.
Blair and Jim help Megan move into Sarah's apartment - but find out Ziegler hasn't been exactly idle either.
He was struck, suddenly, by the intimacy between them--the intimacy between him and Blair seemed like a living thing, something tangible that he could reach out and touch. He understood, suddenly, that he had rights to Blair, that Blair had rights to him. Rights to touch in ways that others couldn't touch, access to parts of Blair's body and mind and soul that were marked specifically for him, and him alone.
And Blair had...well, who else would he let get this close to him? outside the loft? in public? in Cascade? Blair was lying back against him like he was that big, ol' purple paisley sofa, and Blair had just settled himself in and made himself comfortable. He'd never, ever let anyone do that before--never thought he could.
He heard Blair's voice in his head--You don't really have any basis for comparison. God, Blair was stupid. He had his entire life for comparison, his entire goddammed life--
There's some lovely stuff here about Jim and Blair's relationship.
Nature 26: Nature's Descent.
Jim's brother suddenly comes to town with some serious questions for Jim.
"Blair, what is it?" He dreaded the answer; he braced himself.
Blair turned to look at him, blue eyes wide in the darkness. "I..." Blair stuttered. "I... "
He shook Blair gently, hoping to shake his words loose. They were wasting time, here--they had to get there in time--get somewhere in time..."Blair, what do you see?"
"I don't see. I can't see--can't see anything."
"Then what?" Jim asked softly.
"I feel...cold. I feel...death."
Jim shivered at the word, at the clear, distinct sound of the Guide voice. "Okay," Jim whispered hoarsely; his own voice sounded like sandpaper, felt like sandpaper. "So what do we do to stop it?"
Blue eyes stared at him--blue eyes, dark like the bottomless ocean. "Nothing."
Panic rose in his throat, threatened to choke him. "Nothing?"
"Nothing," Blair confirmed blankly. Slowly he settled back down again, onto his pillow, turning to the side and pulling the covers up around his shoulders. His voice, soft as it was, cut through the gloom of their darkened bedroom. "We die, I guess."
This is the beginning of all the doubt and trouble between the guys that is roughly this series equivalent of the "Sentinel, Too" fiasco in canon.  Very dark.
Nature 27: Nature's Revelations.
Things start to fall apart big time, especially when Alex turns up on a leash held by Ziegler.
"Lady," the EMT said to the nurse, reaching over to light her cigarette. "I advise you to keep your eyes peeled for Napoleon. You ought stay outta his way, you know?"
The nurse took a deep drag and blew out a puff of smoke with her laughter. "We got Napoleon in there?" she asked skeptically, one hand on her hip. "I didn't see no dead French guy come in."
"Ain't Napoleon who's dead," the man said slowly. "Guy's his partner, I think. I jus' drove 'em in --Napoleon nearly took my head off."
The nurse shook her head, full of superior knowledge. "You mean that cop? He ain't dead yet."
"Looked dead," he intoned somberly. "Didn't look alive, anyways."
"Well, what'd Frankie say?" the nurse asked, curious now. "Frankie should know if that cop be dead or not."
"Napoleon don't let Frankie near that damn cop." The EMT lit a cigarette for himself, and then shook out the match and tossed it onto the concrete floor of the alleyway. "That's what I'm trying to tell you. He small, but he bitchy."
VERY depressing section of the story, although it does end on a (somewhat) lighter note.  This is the one that encompasses the famous fountain scene, so be prepared. 


Nature 28: Nature's Recollections.
Blair is in the hospital and Jim runs iinto Ziegler...
What qualities did Blair love in him? Were they the same qualities that drove Blair crazy? He supposed that they were, but he couldn't for the life of him think what they were. Still, it was enough right now to know that Blair loved him. And Blair did love him--he was sure of that. Blair Sandburg loved him, and that was all he had to hold on to while he waited--that and a pane of cold, hard glass.
Lots of lovely relief from all the tension that's been building up to this story as Jim lets fly at Ziegler with both barrels.
Nature 29: Nature's Blindness.
Blair refuses to give evidence against Ziegler and Alex Barnes - and Jim is furious.
"You're looking at this all wrong, you know," Blair said, his voice suddenly gentle. "We haven't lost."
"It sure fucking feels like losing," Jim spat. "I mean--you're wearing a backless nightie, I'm sitting here with my hands tied, and Barnes and Ziegler are probably out having frappaccinos."
Blair shook his head rapidly. "No, no, no--Barnes isn't an issue, and we've come up trumps on Ziegler. We've won, man, believe me--"
"How the fuck have we won?" Jim demanded furiously, sweeping to his feet. "Alex Barnes killed you and you won't even identify her!"
"We only win if I don't identify her," Blair insisted. "Don't you see, Jim--we finally have some leverage to--"
"Fuck leverage!" Jim felt rage welling up inside of him; he felt trapped, utterly bricked in. "What about justice? Where the hell does justice figure into this scenario of yours?"
This is a very interesting look at the psychology of both Blair and Ziegler - plus a hot sex scene doesn't hurt, either. 








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