Somewhere to Be

Fanfiction
Title:	Somewhere to Be
Author(s):	arrow (esteefee)
Date(s):	12 July 2007
Length:	31837 words
Genre(s):	Slash, AU, First Time
Fandom(s):	Sentinel
Relationship(s):	Jim/Blair
External Links:	online here
Podfic cover art by laurie_ky (2013)
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Somewhere to Be is a Sentinel story by arrow (esteefee). It was originally posted on LiveJournal and 852 Prospect, which was later imported to AO3.

A podfic was recorded by laurie_ky and offered as part of the 2012 Moonridge Charity Auction (on AO3, on audiofic).

Reactions and Reviews

First a long fic I had the pleasure of reading first betaing arrow00 Somewhere To Be Jim/Blair NC17. Beautifully written AU that's really not so far off canon as it could have been if the show had taken it another way. The relationship between Jim and Blair develops slowly, naturally and Jim's problems with the senses are explored with a realism that really works. There's a solid plot, some great secondary characters and really, shoo, go, read, because so very good.

Just finished re-reading this and wanted to comment. Going down this alternate path to canon is so realistic -- in Peru in the pilot ep, the guy obviously thought Jim wasn't quite right and Brackett alludes to the unusual debriefing. It would be so easy to tuck the "hero" away in a VA hospital after the news coverage dies down, drug him up to deal with PTSD and then release him to be one of the many forgotten vets.

Your original characters were great -- everyone was there for a purpose and no one stole the show. I also liked the way the canon characters were just a bit different -- Henri dresses sharply and Rafe running his mouth about bowling? Funny. It was also nice to see a slightly tweaked Jim -- his appreciation of "there but for the grace of God" making him more willing to work on his senses, and having an immediate appreciation for their potential, once they stop being such a barrier. Very nice.

Any story where Jim suffers from his senses without meeting Blair is good. Well, as long as he eventually meets Blair. In this case, Jim's senses don't go dormant after his return from Peru. Arrow's summary says, Two years later, Jim is a burned out vet working in a soup kitchen. A certain grad student shows up to do research on a paper about homeless culture.

Arrow's writes with a light, realistic touch, capturing the voices of the characters perfectly. This story is long and meaty, even having a crime story that Jim helps solve, despite his not being a cop.

Unable to deal with his senses, Jim lives in a homeless shelter where he works in the kitchen. Oridinary sounds and sights plague him, from the loud garbage trucks to the smell of food cooking. He has a small room, where he's installed room darkening blinds to help keep out the light. The story opens the day he got bad news from the doctor following his latest round of tests. Since the V.A. doctors can't figure out what's wrong and medication doesn't help, they suggest electroshock therapy and while the idea is repellant to Jim, he's actually starting to consider it.

Then, some volunteers from the university come to help serve dinner at the shelter that evening. One of them is Blair Sandburg, overly friendly to the point of being pesky and pushy. He notices Jim's senses seem "enhanced" and Jim growls that they are out of control. Knowing something about enhanced senses, Sandburg keeps at Jim until he can begin to help him with his out of control senses.

The POV switches between Jim and Blair from scene to scene and there is also an array of original characters that are as real as the canonical ones, homeless people, other vets and victims of the violence that has begun to affect the entire neighborhood. We also meet the detectives from Major Crime, Simon Banks, Henri and Rafe. Jim begins to help them as they investigate the murders and muggings. It's my favorite kind of AU, with recognizable characters and situations that could have been if just one thing happened differently than in canon.

Blair starts helping Jim and he starts feeling as though he's getting his life back. Eventually they become friends and more. Everything about this story satisfies, especially since Jim is moving toward becoming the detective we know him to be from the series.

Man, I never get tired of alternate meetings. You've created a very well-built world of a caring community taking care of its own and a desperate man who finds his salvation in a hairy, beautiful grad student. You've brought our guys together in a very believable way. It's a fascinating postulation on what might have happened if Jim never went dormant and then re-emerged as a Sentinal. No hospital visit to alert Blair. No chance to built a career as a cop. Just fascinating tangents. Glad they were able to find each other through this story and start to build a life together. You've written a wonderful "what-if" and I'm glad I found it to read it. :)