Freaking out, freaking out. Serious panic attack, here folks. If I 
didn't do this I would have bombed UPN or something and that 
wouldn't have helped our cause.

Disclaimer: The entire thing *is* a disclaimer! Frankly, at this
point, if UPN wants to sue me, go right ahead! I'd love an 
excuse to meet oyu in court!
________

Shock Therapy
or
How the Hell Could They Kill Blair?!?!

Jim Ellison was in an unusually good mood as he stepped into 
the elevator of his home and pressed the button for him floor. 
Juggling the bag of takeout into his other arm he dug his keys 
out of his pocket. A gruesome murder case had finally been 
laid to rest and he now had a long three day weekend coming 
up. Maybe he could talk Blair into a trip to the mountains - the 
spring term was over, the kid should have the time.

Before the door slid open, Jim extended his hearing, searching 
for his Guide's heartbeat and voice. It was a long-standing 
habit, one which had started back with the Lash incident, when 
he'd arrived home to find Blair had been taken. Blair said the 
overprotectiveness drove him nuts, but he'd never asked Jim to 
stop. Jim suspected it soothed Blair as much as it did him.

But his Guide's heartbeat was not the first thing he heard.

Screaming.

Someone was screaming.

For an instant, all Jim felt was panic. Then common sense took 
hold and he realized that  the voice he heard was female. He 
blocked the sound out and looked for the necessary sound of 
Blair's heartbeat, voice, anything.

It was there, and Jim's chest heaved in relief as he finally took a 
breath. Blair's heart was steady, his breathing normal.  He was 
a little upset, but a screaming woman would do that to a guy.

The doors opened and Jim leapt out racing toward the door to 
the loft. He fumbled with the keys and gave up, dropping the 
takeout in his haste to get the door open. He burst into the 
apartment, senses searching for his Guide.

Blair was curled up on the couch, his hands pressed over his 
ears. Jim hurried to his side and reached out, touching him on 
the shoulder. Blair looked up, startled, but relaxed when he 
saw his partner. "Hey, Jim," he said, removing his hands from 
his ears. 

"What's going on here, Chief?" Jim asked worriedly. "Who is 
that?" He tried to find the source of the screaming, but the 
voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. "Have 
you called the police?"

"Won't do any good," Blair said glumly. "It's majik."

"Maj?" Jim asked in alarm. "What's wrong with her? I haven't 
seen her this upset since... Well, it's been a while."

"She read a spoiler on the list this morning," Blair sighed. "It 
upset her."

"So what?" Jim scoffed. "Majik always reads the spoilers. It's like 
a national past time to her. For someone who makes such a 
fuss about hearing how a book or a movie ends-"

"It's not your regular spoiler," Blair interrupted. "It was for the 
season finale."

Jim nodded. "Oh. Was it a good one? Haven't seen it yet."

"Neither have I," Blair admitted ."Not sure I want to, now."

"What happened?" Jim asked warily. He had a bad feeling 
about this.

The screams provided an accurate backdrop to Blair's next 
statement. "It seems like I'm dead."

"WHAT?"

Blair scowled. "Don't yell, please. There's enough of that going 
on around here."

Jim slowly eased himself down onto the couch. "You're dead? 
They killed you off?"

"That's what it looks like. Maj isn't sure yet, you know she has 
to wait to get the tapes, but the senfic list is in a bit of an 
uproar."

Jim snorted. "Well, we always knew the guys at Paramount 
were nuts. This just confirms it."

"Yeah." Blair studied his hands for a moment, then hesitantly 
looked up to meet Jim's eyes. "What does this mean, Jim? If it's 
true?"

"It means nothing."

Jim looked up in surprise. "Majik?"

Angry hazel eyes smiled briefly before hardening again. "It 
means nothing, Blair. Don't doubt it. After all, how many death 
stories have there been out there?"

"This is canon, not fic," Blair pointed out.

"Yeah right," majik said scathingly. "We all know how 
wonderful UPN has been about canon. Blair, trust me. UPN 
gave up exclusive rights to you guys when you became a 
fandom. You exist on your own now, with or without the 
network. UPN can only suggest. Look at how much we twist 
their words around even when we *like* an episode." She 
knelt on the floor before Jim and Blair. "You exist for all of us. 
Never doubt it. UPN, Paramount, even Pet Fly, they can do 
what they want with their contracts and their ratings." She met 
their eyes. "You can sit back and go along with this if you want
- which is essentially useless, because I know that there's at least 
twenty other people out there doing exactly what I'm doing: finding a 
way to keep you alive. In our hearts and minds, Blair, if not on 
the television screen."

Jim wrapped an arm around Blair's shoulders, and pulled him 
close. "It means nothing, Chief," he said softly, echoing majik's 
previous statement. "You are here, with me, and you're staying 
that way. You are my partner, my friend, my Guide. I'm not 
letting you go, little brother. Understand?"

Blair nodded and worked one arm around Jim, reciprocating 
the tight embrace. "I don't want to go anywhere," he assured 
Jim. "So we ignore canon?"

"Pet Fly wrote a story," majik said softly. "At this point, they're 
no different from any other fic writer out there. You two have 
come to exist on a separate plain."

Jim tousled Blair's curls. "Looks like I'm stuck with you."

"For a long time," Blair agreed.

Majik allowed herself a satisfied grin before vanishing as suddenly 
as she had appeared. Jim silently thanked her and held his partner 
tighter. Tomorrow they'd see what damage the Network had wrought.
Tonight it didn't matter.

End


Okay, I feel a little bit better...