Cascade Range Police Academy, Six Weeks Later

As strange as it was to believe, the weather was cooperating to give the graduating members of the Cascade Range Police Academy, their friends, family members and fellow officers a beautiful day full of sunshine and a comfortable temperature. Twenty member of the graduating class sat in the first row of the chairs facing the stage, their attention resting solely on the speaker on the platform.

Sergeant Blanchard paused in his speech, looking carefully over at the large group of uniformed officers that made up a large portion of the audience. One female with the group was in a foreign uniform but was clearly an accepted member. It had been a while since the Major Crime division of the Cascade P.D. had accepted a detective straight from the academy and they were going to welcome the rookie properly.

"And so, in conclusion, it is my extreme pleasure to present the future of the Cascade police force. Ladies and gentlemen, fellow officers, please joined me in congratulating class 99-3 of the Cascade Range Police Academy." At that announcement, the 20 former cadets, now all dressed in regulation midnight blue uniforms, stood and turned to the clapping and cheering audience.

Detective Blair Sandburg gave an embarrassed but pleased grin at the extra loud noise that came from his friends. In the midst of the group from Major Crime, Connor and Rafe were trying to out whistle each other while Brown was waving a fist over his head and making a 'whoo, whoo' sound. Banks and Taggart were clapping and leaning towards each other talking and laughing together. Then Blair found and locked his eyes on the one person he was especially happy to see.

Jim Ellison sat slightly apart of the group of cheering detectives. He had a broad, proud smile stretching across his face that spoke volumes about how he felt. His eyes almost glowed at the young man standing in the front. He never would have thought that over four years ago a long- haired, hippie, witch doctor punk by the name of Blair Sandburg would now be a member of this ceremony and officially named as his partner.

Without thinking, Ellison stood up from his chair, mouthed 'way to go, Chief,' and continued to clap. Almost immediately, the rest of the group joined him, making Blair blush harder in pleased embarrassment.

At the almost unheard announcement of 'class dismissed,' the new officers broke rank and scattered towards their groups of family and friends. Blair removed the hat he'd been wearing for the ceremony, shifted around the crowd and eventually made it towards his people. His hand was shaken and his back slapped by the different officers and detectives he knew, and some he didn't know, that showed up to represent the many departments of the Cascade P.D.

When he finally made it to the group he worked with the most, Banks' secretary, Rhonda, immediately hugged him. As soon as she released him, Connor stepped up and also gave him a hug but followed it with a quick kiss that startled him. He looked into her shining eyes with surprise but quickly hid his expression at the quick wink she gave him.

"I never thought I would see this day, Sandburg," Banks voice boomed over the sound of the crowd bringing Blair's attention back to his surroundings.

"I don't think any of us did, Simon. Way to go, Blair," Taggart exclaimed, throwing an arm around Sandburg's shoulders and giving him a comradely hug. "You're one of the few who has earned the title of Distinguished Graduate as well as Marksman."

"How did you end up with a marksman pin, Sandburg?" Rafe asked, eyeing the subject piece of metal proclaiming the honor.

"Yeah, Hairboy," Brown chimed in rubbing the wild curls that covered Blair's head. "We all know how you feel about guns. How'd you do it?"

Smacking at Brown's hand to make him stop, Sandburg ran his fingers through the mass to try to get some semblance of order. It didn't work. "I said that I didn't like guns and have a definite opinion on their usage, but I didn't ever say that I couldn't use one." His statement caused the group around him to break into laughter.

"Speaking of hair, aren't you a little out of regulation Detective Sandburg?" Simon asked eyeing the newest member of his command.

"Well, Captain..." Ellison jumped in to defend his partner but stopped when Sandburg stepped forward and placed his hand lightly on the larger man's arm. Seeing the determination on Blair's face, Jim closed his mouth and stepped to the side.

At the raised eyebrow look he received from Banks, Sandburg pulled himself up to his full height and looked resolutely at the black Captain. "Captain, I went through the academy, taken the weapons training and have done everything required to become a detective. But I hope you weren't expecting me to join the Stepford Detectives and look like the rest of the clones in the office. Someone around here has to look like something that doesn't scream 'cop' when an undercover assignment requires it."

The group suddenly became silent, looking at the pair to see if the Captain was going to explode like they expected. They were wrong.

Banks suddenly laughed and clapped Sandburg on the shoulder hard enough to make the shorter man shift to the side and bump his partner. "You're probably going to make your partner regret that statement, Blair. I'll see you at the party." Banks then drew a cigar out of his breast pocket, plopped it into his mouth and wandered off the field chuckling.

At that statement, the observing group relaxed. Giving final congratulations and handshakes, they all started to wander away until the only ones left were Ellison and Sandburg.

"Glad it's over, Chief?" Ellison asked as the two started walking towards the parking lot.

"More than you know. These last weeks were almost as bad as the first three, what with all the investigations going on. I think Sgt. Blanchard is one of the few staff members left after the house cleaning was done. I understand there were several resignations and early retirements." Blair placed his hat under one arm and started to remove the white gloves he had to wear for the ceremony.

"You uncovered a potentially dangerous situation that could have had some bad repercussions. Internal Affairs is going to have to keep watch for anyone that might have connections to the WFF. And not just graduates from this academy either. I think the Governor is going to request inquiries be initiated by all the police departments."

"Man. I never thought this would be the result of a little case of harassment."

Ellison stopped and turned his partner to face him. "I'm still a little angry that you allowed that situation to go as far as it did, Chief. Next time you tell me. Okay? Partners take care of each other."

Blair looked solemnly up into Jim's face and saw the silent communication the man was sending him. "You got it, man."

Throwing his arm around his friend's shoulder, Ellison started guiding him again towards the parking lot. "Let's go home, Chief. We've got a celebration in your honor to attend."

Smiling broadly, Blair swung his arm up across Jim's back and the two left the field.

Stay tuned next week as Blair makes his first solo arrest when a bumbling bank robber stumbles into his path. However, things turn serious when the man's brother comes to town, bent on revenge in "NOW he's a cop" an all new The Sentinel.

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