For each question
Got an answer.
Spinning 'round and 'round-
Go faster!
Hey, man, you wouldn't want the ride to stop!
I've been shot at, beaten, drowned--
That's both in and out of town--
And all I ever hear's "You're not a cop!"
Man, when are you going to listen?
No, when are you gonna hear?
I could never leave you here and still be whole.
You avoid me when I talk;
Always sure I'm gonna walk.
Did you forget you've got half of my soul?
I could have left after the station,
Just turned around and went.
'Cause let me tell you, man,
I had my doubts.
I could have left you after Brackett;
That was not a lot of fun
I would have left you after LASH
If I'd an out.
But it was way too late by then,
And I think I knew it, man,
And when Borneo flew by, well, no regrets.
My career just didn't matter
And soon, neither did the dis.
It was over, I just didn't know it yet.
And we faltered,
In came Alex,
And the fountain, and the dreams,
And we both screwed up, and then I wound up dead.
Even though I wasn't breathing
Man, I STILL refused to go.
I couldn't leave you, get it through your head!
Then I got published.
I got famous.
I got all my goals come true.
I had it all, and it was ashes
'Cause I'd be sacrificing you.
It was hard and it was easy,
Could have done it in my sleep.
Told the world I was a liar, then crawled off somewhere to weep.
Then the world turned upside down
And when the noise had blown
Over at last, you finally seemed to care.
So here comes the Academy,
The gun and shield and me,
And now you know, man, I'm not going anywhere.
 

Sentinel's Song

Sound of the rain on a summer night,
Flicker of a bird in the pale moonlight,
Something on the breeze that there shouldn't be,
And I ask for the hundredth time, why me?
Why can I see what others don't?
Why will I hear what the others won't?
Why was I chosen? I don't understand.
Destiny or not, I am just one man.
And trouble seems to follow
In my wake, can't leave me be.
It'll be at my door tomorrow,
And I ask for the hundredth time--
Why me?
He found me when I was lower than low,
And stays here for reasons I may never know.
He's been beaten, shot, and jerked around,
And one cold day, he wound up drowned.
It started with a paper, to make his name,
And I needed help, so we played the game.
Somewhere along the line, I felt it change,
Who knew the world was so rich and strange?
How can the light still be there,
With all the dark he's had to see?
Through all the pain, how can he care?
And I ask for the hundredth time--
Why me?
It's peaceful out in the city tonight,
For once, there's no villain that we have to fight.
Just listening to his breathing and the wand'ring breeze
And the rain over Cascade's million trees.
How in the world did I let him in?
How did this healing in my heart begin?
How did I wind up blessed like this?
So rare to know the meaning of purest bliss.
Turn my gaze above me,
I repeat my constant plea.
What did I do for him to love me?
And I ask for the hundredth time--
Why me?
 

Interior Design

White walls.
That's all they ever have
In these places.
Or beige, sometimes.
Occasionally a grey-blue.
Something restful.
Nothing to hold a man's attention
When he's trying not to think
About whether his unit
Is going to come up two men short.
Too familiar, these thoughts,
Paths worn in my brain
From constant passage.
I am tired of the worry,
I'm fed up with the fear,
And I am so damn sick
Of white walls.
 

Major Crimes Waltz

All:
Duck and cover,
Call it in.
Sit and marvel--
It's them again!
Ellison and Sandburg--
What have they got to hide?
Who cares? Let's just be thankful
Those two are on our side.

Henri:
We figured the kid'd last
A week, at the most.
That riding with Jim,
He'd give up the ghost.
Rafe:
Instead he decided
That he'd hang around!
Despite all the psychos
And trouble he found.
Megan:
Stuck on a case?
Can't find a clue?
Call in the experts!
You know which two.
Joel:
The kid is a genius,
And Jim, he just KNOWS,
And together there isn't
A case they can't close.

All:
Duck and cover,
Call it in.
Sit and marvel--
It's them again!
Ellison and Sandburg--
What have they got to hide?
Who cares? Let's just be thankful
Those two are on our side.

Henri:
We've seen them through gunshots,
Rafe:
And visions of fire,
And hundreds of times
We were sure they'd expire.
Megan:
And once, Sandy did.
Simon:
Lord, I thought Jim was gone.
Without that kid, I didn't
Think he'd go on.
Megan:
But somehow he came back.
Rafe:
I think that was Jim.
I mean really, could you turn
And walk out on him?
Joel:
Don't ask how it's done.
Henri:
Just phenomenal luck.
Megan:
And never, but NEVER
Make cracks at Jim's truck.

All:
Duck and cover,
Call it in.
Sit and marvel--
It's them again!
Ellison and Sandburg--
What have they got to hide?
Who cares? Let's just be thankful
Those two are on our side.
 

Golden Fire
(A Duet)

They're ashes, man, they're ashes!
But somehow they're burning still!
Come on, Chief, put down the gun.
Then they'll get me, Jim, they will!
Gotta send 'em where they came from,
But they're so damn hard to kill!
Come on, Blair, you gotta guide me
Through this world of Golden light.
Come on, Chief, you've gotta help me,
Everything is so damn bright.
Try that trick, with bats and echoes.
That won't help us win the fight!
Man, I gotta be your eyes!
I'm here!
They get closer, someone dies!
Don't fear.
Stop 'em now, or someone fries!
Chief, you gotta drop the gun for me, things ain't exactly clear!
This isn't working-- Jim, I trust you.
Man, I'm putting down the gun.
Gotta clap my hands-- it's working!
Jim, we've got 'em on the run!
God, I'm tired all'v a sudden...
Just rest, Chief, the battle's done.
 

Water Thoughts

I hate the water,
Hate the rain.
Water just means death.
Three times it's tried to claim him,
Three times now I have failed
To keep him safe from the cold, dark grasp.
Lash and his duck pond-- Five minutes more.
The rig, and that bomb-- one second left.
And that cold fountain-- too damn late.
The first time, I was Blessed Protector,
The second, he named me friend.
The third, I am just a fool
Who let the best thing in his world die.
Three times, he's come back to me
But how much more can we ask?
And he wonders why
I try to keep him dry.
 

Hospital Tales

Once upon a midnight,
While working the ER,
I noticed nurses scattering,
To destinations far.
It didn't take a minute
For my tired eyes to see
The cause of this commotion
Striding straight towards me.
Six foot three and handsome,
And eyes that glare like ice,
It was Ellison the Terrible--
I had to swallow twice.
My traitorous co-workers
Were nowhere to be found.
And since the desk was MY job,
I had to stand my ground.
"You can't see him yet," I told him,
Before he said a word.
"The doctors still are working,
"And I'm afraid that's all I've heard."
He leaned a little closer,
And in a voice so sweet and low,
Said "I want to see my partner.
"Please tell me where to go."
Resisting well temptation-
I didn't say it, thanks-
Instead I turned for help unto
His Captain, Simon Banks.
(And don't you think it ought to cause
The dawning of a light
When the nurses at the hospital
Know you all by sight?)
"Captain Banks, can you convince him
"To just sit down and wait?"
Banks stepped back and shook his head.
He wouldn't take the bait.
My attention was then taken
By a very feral grin.
As Ellison leaned closer,
He said "I'll ask again."
By this time all my entire life
Was flashing past my eyes,
As I prepared to argue
With a man three times my size.
But as I moved to take the next
Steps within our dance,
He cocked his head and blew right by,
I never had a chance.
I don't know how he does it,
But without a backward look
He headed for his partner-
Looked like I was off the hook.
As I slunk back towards the front desk,
Behind me I could hear,
A groggy sort of murmur,
And the reply was oh so clear.
"Yeah, I'm here, Chief," was the answer,
"And you know I'll always be."
And I must admit, they're moving--
When they've not been dumped on me.
 

Another Day at the Station

The station's been held hostage,
An observer's freaking out,
The windows all are rattling
With the captain's every shout.
The motor pool is saying
That they need "Ellison Pay."
There's an angel in the break room,
But it's just another day.
Someone's yelling in Forensics,
Once again at Cassie Welles.
The detectives all are growling
As the paperwork all swells.
There's a 'gator in the building,
And we're booking the DA-
Ellison is self-destructing,
But it's just another day.
Sandburg's back in the hospital-
Another case for Rafe and Brown.
Ellison and Connor try
To shout the whole place down.
The FBI's snooping around
And who called in IA?
Covert Ops is calling
But it's just another day.