DISCLAIMER: The Sentinel does not belong to me. It belongs to PetFly Productions and the people who make the show. I just like to take the boys out for a run once in awhile. Enjoy.

Summary: AU: A young boy named Blair Sandburg is taken away from his mother Naomi, and is forced to go to a military boarding school. He must find his destiny and happiness but must go through some obstacles to get there first.

Ok guys! This popped into my head one night totally out of the blue and I stayed up nights after night just writing this!! I'm making this into a series too cuz there are just so many idea's floating around in my head about one of my own character's and cuz of Blair's background in this one! Just read it and you'll understand! ;) I'd like to thank my wonderful beta reader's StarGazer and Shay!! You guys are such the best! Thank you so so much for the ideas and encouragement. The title is a Stevie Nicks song, Edge of 17 off of her Belladonna cd. The title just seemed to kinda fit. ;) All mistakes are mine.... now, on with the story!!!

The Edge of Seventeen

Fourteen-year-old Blair Sandburg sat beside the fire pit talking with his friends on a starry night. His girlfriend, Krissy, snuggled next to him staring into the golden flames of the fire. Late in the night, the group parted after making sure the fire was securely put out. Blair walked Krissy home and headed back to the latest place he and Naomi were staying. Sometimes Blair could not understand his mom, she was against war and fighting, yet they were stuck in the middle of a small town on the outskirts of a military base.

The next morning Blair got up and dressed for school not surprised to see Naomi gone. Blair wondered idly, while he threw his books into his bookbag, if she had even come home at all during the night.

"Hey, Krissy. How you doing this morning?" Blair asked as they walked to school.

"Ah, okay, Blair. My dad had a fit because he saw me come home with you last night."

"Oh... well, I hope he gets over it soon cuz I think Naomi wants to stay put for awhile."

"Yeah, well, my dad's just pissed cuz he wants me to go out with Andy Bowman. A Captain's daughter in the United States Army should not be seen with some hippie-freak," Krissy said, mocking her father.

Blair sat in the school library, mesmerized by a text written by Sir Richard Burton, as he listened to Guns N Roses on his Walkman. He hummed 'Welcome to the Jungle' as he fantasized of knowing a real life sentinel. He wondered what it would be like to have all of his senses enhanced: smell, touch, taste, hearing, and sight.

He got so lost in his musings he didn't hear the Librarian tell him the period was over until she pulled off the head phones and got in his face. Blair nodded, smiled sheepishly, checked out the book, and skipped the rest of his classes for the day going to his favorite spot in the woods.

Later that day, Blair came home, plopped himself down on the couch, and soon fell asleep watching Motley Crue and Led Zepplin on MTV. A banging sound startled him awake and he stumbled to the door to get it.

"Yeah, whaddya want?" Blair asked, opening the door, yawning.

"Are you Blair Sandburg?" asked the blonde haired man with passionless brown eyes and a short cropped haircut.

"Yeah. Who wants to know mister military?"

"Ha ha, very funny," stated the burly Military Police, eyeing Blair up and down. "I've come to tell you to get your belongings together. You're going on a trip."

"No way, man. Sorry, my mom will be back soon so...." Blair said as he stared angrily back at the man.

"No, she won't, kid. She's under military arrest."

"Great. What in the world did she do now?!" Blair asked worried about his mother.

"She was found sneaking into a top secret operation on the base. She's going to be under arrest for a long time pending an investigation, if she's convicted, she's going to be in jail for awhile," the man said as he stepped into the small apartment.

"What's going to happen to me?" Blair asked as he tried to visualize if he had enough room to run past this guy and out the front door.

"Well, I'm going to take you down to Manning Base where you will stay until further notice. Since what your mother did was a military issue you are now military concern," the MP said as he looked at Blair feeling rather sorry for the boy.

"Aw, shit. Uh... OK, just let me go get packed," Blair said as he walked into his bedroom, slammed and locked the door behind him. He looked around frantically, grabbed the runaway bag he always had packed in case he and Naomi got into a fight or one of her boyfriends decided to beat on him. He scooted out the window only to find an MP blocking his way and holding a gun on him.

"Man... don't you guys have anything better to do?" Blair said as he threw his hands up in the air.

"Nope, we don't, you little hippie shit." The MP smiled evilly as the he grabbed Blair and dragged him into a waiting car.

Blair watched the trees whiz by and recognized the way to the military base. He tried to think of a way to get out of this mess but nothing came to him by the time the MPs dragged him into Captain Scott's office.

"Well... I see you're our new recruit, Sandburg. First of all, you are going to get a haircut and new clothes. You will receive your schedule for schooling and training. You will not be allowed to leave the campus unless you have permission, and then you will have an MP with you until you get settled. That will be all." Captain Scott looked Blair over shaking his head slightly.

"A haircut! No way man... puleaze!! Not a hair cut.... I'll do anything...but DON'T cut my hair!!!" Blair yelled as the MP dragged him across the street to the barber shop.

Captain Scott listened to the young man yelling about a haircut and wondered if this hippie-kid was going to be much of a problem. He called Captain Johannes, who was in charge of training the kids, to tell him he had another trainee who would probably be a problem.

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A few months later Blair was granted leave from the base without the MPs following and he went over to Krissy's house to see how she was doing. As Blair waited for the door to open, he began to get nervous. He hoped Captain Johannes wouldn't answer the door. He looked down at his black, ugly army-style boots and cringed. He looked up as the door opened and blanched when he saw Captain Johannes staring at him.

"Ah, Sandburg." The bald man said as he opened his door looking at him, still wishing his daughter would go out with someone else.

"Captain Johannes, sir," Blair said as he saluted goofing it up on purpose his eyes shining with mischief.

"At ease. Krissy will be down in a minute," sighed the Captain.

"Thank you, sir!"

"Hi ya, Blair. I haven't seen you in awhile."

"Hey, Krissy. I missed ya," Blair said as he smiled and dragged her out of her house. They headed to their old secret spot in the woods.

"Blair... it's been a long time since we... you know."

"Ah, I don't know, I could get into a lot of trouble from your dad."

"Yeah... so could I." Krissy said as she inched towards Blair and kissed him passionately.

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Two years later, just before his 16th birthday, Blair sat doing his homework and trying to figure out how to get kicked out of the base because he wasn't happy. He always had to salute and be on his best behavior or else he'd pay for his mistakes by being assigned more cleaning duties, hard core training sessions or his monthly leave was taken away from him. He looked forward to the latter and didn't want to screw that up! His light was blocked by a large shadow and he looked up to see Captain Johannes watching him with an angry scowl on his face.

"Captain, Sir!" Blair said as he flew off his bed and saluted.

"You screwed my daughter. Was it fun, Sandburg? Did you have a good time?"

"Captain, Sir!?" Blair said his voice wavering.

"How long has this been going on? It's been going on for about two years now, hasn't it? Why you! You're a bastard! No clue who your father is and your momma is a whore who'd fuck anyone in town!! You're nothing but a low-down, good for nothing bastard! I wonder how many other bratty bastards she has hanging around the way she puts out for anybody and everybody!"

"Please, do not talk about my mother that way sir!" implored theheartsick Blair, trying to maintain his straight military-style stance, but wishing to shrink into the ground and never be seen again.

"You little....!!" Captain Johannes lunged for Blair, knocking him against the wall beating him relentlessly. Blair tried to fend off the blows but was unsuccessful and the Captain hit Blair harder causing him to cry out in pain as his world exploded into stars. He slid down the wall, semi-conscious, wondering when the Captain would stop pummeling him.

A passing private who was stationed there to help with the kids and teach them how to be a better soldier heard the commotion from down the hall and came to see what was up. He ran in and pulled Captain Johannes off Blair.

"What's going on here?!" The private yelled, watched Blair slowly stand, wipe blood off his face and stare at the floor. He could tell Blair was trying to avoid calling any more attention to himself than necessary.

"Nothing, private," Captain Johannes said looking at Blair, semi proud and yet appalled at what he had just done.

"Hey kid, do you wanna press charges?" the Private asked, running his hands through his short cropped brown hair and looking at the beaten boy.

"No Sir, I would like to be transferred out of the boarding school and maybe like go to a public school," Blair said as he tried not to wince since each breath he took hurt.

"Captain, Sir?" the private asked as he glared daggers at his superior officer. He just couldn't help feeling he wanted to break this guy into two pieces for harming the kid.

"Granted. Whatever you wanna do is fine with me... just stay away from my daughter." The Captain scowled staring cold lasers into Blair and shaking his finger at him.

"Last I heard, my mom was in Cascade..... I want to go there," Blair said firmly.

"You got it, you little hippie freak!" Captain Johannes called over his shoulder as he stormed out of the dorms to process Blair's release papers.

"You sure you're OK, kid?" The private asked, his blue eyes looking Blair over before staring into his eyes. He shook his head as he saw an ancient wisdom in those eyes... and he felt a connection form. He pushed it aside and concentrated on what the kid was saying.

"Yeah.... what's your name?"

"Kid, I'm not gonna tell ya and you're not gonna tell me yours. If the brass finds out about this I just wanna say I broke up a fight and that's it," the man said as he looked closely at Blair and saw a fine line of sweat on his brow. The private became concerned and was about to ask if he was OK again but the young man in front of him spoke.

"OK, Sir. Thank you very much, Sir..." Blair said as he passed out from the beating he received. The private quickly moved and caught the young man before he hit the ground and did any more damage. He gently carried the boy to the Medic and asked his friend to watch over the kid. The private left but looked back at the unconscious boy, his friend Max starting to clean the wounds and check for any more damage the boy had received. He left feeling like he was leaving a part of his soul behind him.

A few days later Blair Sandburg left the military boarding school for good and headed to Cascade where his mother was seen last. Blair stood outside the door wondering who would answer it as he knocked.

"Hello?" A woman asked as she opened the door. The woman gasped as she saw the young man standing there with a short military haircut, an army tee-shirt and nice, well-fitting jeans.

"Mom?! Man, it's so good to see you, Naomi!" Blair said exuberantly as he dropped his stuff inside the door and gave his mother a big hug.

"Sweetie... oh honey.... what did they do to your hair?" Naomi asked as she kissed his head lightly.

"Huh? Oh yeah.... they put me in an ARMY boarding school. I'm out now, though. An.... incident brought me here to Cascade."

"What incident?" Naomi asked as she touched her little boy and sat him down on the couch.

"Well.... I uh.... got together with a captain's daughter... we went to my favorite spot in the woods. We had sex.... her father found out....he pummeled me into the ground....and then, in order for me not to press charges, he released me from the school.... and now I'm here," Blair said as he sighed, glad to be back in the real world.

"Oh, Sweetie, I am so sorry I couldn't get you. I asked and asked all around but no one would tell me anything. I didn't know if you were even alive so I did a lot of meditating and moved here to be close to the little family I have contact with."

"It's OK, Naomi. I kept tabs on you the best I could through old friends of yours and a few phone calls to Aunt Lily. I'm just glad to be out of that place. I feel normal again. I gotta buy some new clothes and a backpack before I start Rainier on Monday," Blair told her excited and happy, bouncing a bit on the couch, his eyes shining with glee.

"Rainier? As in the University?"

"Yeah, I was ahead of everyone in my class at the base so they let me graduate early and they set me up to go to Rainier when I got released."

"Oh Blair! That is so great! How are you going to pay for your schooling, honey? I'll buy you some new clothes that you like and you can stay here. I have my little boy back. Oh sweetie.... I love you so much, baby," Naomi said, almost crying as she wrapped her son into a big hug.

"The boarding school set up a scholarship for the first year but after that I have to pay my own way. I figure I will get student loans and a job to pay for them." Blair said, looking around the apartment, biting his lower lip.

He scanned the room he was sitting in and found himself staring at blue eyes shaded by curly brownish reddish hair. The little girl came wobbling into the room with tears streaking down her face.

"Mommy?"

"What's the matter, baby girl?" Naomi asked as she looked at the little girl.

"Bad. Things in my room," the little girl said, wiping tears off her face as she looked at Blair.

"Should we go in there and look?" Naomi asked the little girl.

"No. Wanna stay with you an him," she said as she crawled up by Naomi and cuddled next to her.

"Baby girl, you remember momma telling you a story about your brother Blair, right?"

"Mmm hmm... "

"This is Blair. He came back to us, baby girl."

"Know momma. Seen pictures."

"OK, baby. Get some sleep, OK?"

"Nigh, momma."

"Night, baby girl." Naomi said, gently kissing the little girl's forehead.

After the little girl was asleep, Blair asked the question which was on his mind since the little girl stumbled into the room. "Mom, whose kid is this?" he asked as he looked at the sleeping girl.

"Blair.... this is your sister, Peace Destiny Sandburg."

"OK, why'd you name her Peace Destiny?"

"Well, I like the name and Peace Destiny just seems to fit her."

"Yeah, it does. Hi, Peace," Blair whispered to his sleeping sister, vowing to protect her and help her through life.

"So, do you know who her father is? She's gonna wanna know when she gets older." Blair said, gently stroking Peace's hair.

"Yeah.... her father is a man I had dated for a bit. He's a good person but he didn't tell me he had a wife and kids. When I found out.... I bailed." Naomi said as she smiled sadly.

"Ouch, that had to hurt, Mom."

"Yeah, it did. I thought he was the one," Naomi said wistfully.

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Blair ran across the commons toward the Anthro building. At 19 years old, Blair lived on his own with a broken alarm clock that never woke him up on time. He looked at his watch and swore. He was late for class and Prof. Sampson didn't like kids who were late.

"Now class.... as we look at Greek Mythology and how it has effected our lives today...." The Professor droned on as Blair slipped into a seat in the very back row of the room.

After the class was over Blair gathered up his things and accidentally dropped his pen on the floor. He reached over to get it but bumped into another hand who already had it.

"Umm.... sorry, I think this is yours?" The young lady said as she held up the pen.

"Uh.... yeah. Thanks," Blair said as she smiled and handed the pen over to him.

"My name is Anna. Do you uh.... umm... never mind," Anna said as she started to walk out of the room.

"Wait! Anna, do you wanna go see a movie on Friday?"

"Well.... yeah. I'd like that."

"Oh, yeah.... I'm Blair Sandburg by the way. Uh, I gotta get to class. I'll pick you up say.... 7:00 pm?"

"Sure... here.... my address," Anna said quickly as she wrote down her address and phone number.

"'Kay. I gotta run though. See you soon," Blair told her as he rushed out the door.

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Blair couldn't help liking the opposite sex, must have come from his mother, knowing her history of love 'em and leave 'em. Could he help it if females of all ages were attracted to him? He wasn't sure of the reason for the attraction - was it his smile, his blue eyes, his personality, or just that he had a wonderfully colorful aura as his mother always told him? He learned at an early age not to fight the opposite gender and how to play it up for all it was worth. He could have as many dates as he wanted - seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, if he let it get out of hand. He shook his head smiling a bit. He looked over at Anna and wondered if she was the one. He grabbed her hand and tried to focus on the movie but found it hard to do.

Blair laughed with Anna as they walked out of the theater talking about the movie. Blair took Anna back to her place and walked her to the door.

"I had a really great time tonight, Blair. Do you ,uh... wanna come up for a cup of coffee?"

"Umm... no, I gotta get going. My mom wants me to go shopping and stop at her place tonight because my little sister is sick. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you in class, Blair," Anna said as she felt disappointment course though her.

"I'll be there," Blair said as he grabbed her hand and smiled as he leaned in and gave her a kiss on the lips.

"Night, Blair," Anna said as she walked backwards into her apartment.

"Night, Anna. See you soon," Blair promised as he walked back to his car.

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Blair walked into the classroom, spotting Anna in the back row. He smiled at her, climbed the stairs and plopped down into the seat next to her.

"How's your sister?" Anna asked as she gave Blair a pen because he was searching for one in his backpack.

"Peace is doing a lot better. She has the flu. Since I picked up some echinacea and golden seal herb for her, she is doing much better," Blair told Anna as the Professor walked in and started to drone on and on.

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One year later, Blair sat across from Anna at his dinner table with candles burning all around illuminating his whole place. The remnants of the spaghetti with French bread and a white wine sat in the middle of the table. Blair sat looking at Anna, at how the flames of the candles all around seemed to sharpen her face, danced all around her, her eyes glowing, making her seem all the more beautiful.

"Blair... um, I have some news. Umm..."

"Anna, whatever it is, just tell me," Blair said gently as he put his hand over hers. He hoped she wasn't about to tell him she was pregnant. He wasn't ready to be a father, but if she was, he would gladly take the role and responsibility.

"I'm leaving," Anna felt Blair's hand twitch over hers and then it was gone, "No, no, Blair, I mean, I received a grant from Rainier for a five year expedition in South America. I'll be coming back and we can write and when there's phone access I can call you," Anna said quickly. She wanted Blair to know that she was coming back to him and she loved him but didn't exactly know how to say it.

"Anna, I-I love you. I understand though. It's a great opportunity. When do you leave?" Blair asked as he tried to keep from crying.

"Next week."

"OK then. Umm... I'll drop you off at the airport," Blair said as he began to clean the table off.

"Yeah, OK. I'll see you later, Blair."

"Aren't you staying?" Blair asked as he looked at her wide eyed.

"No, I have to go get some things in order with my apartment. I figure I'll move out, put all my stuff at my parent's house."

"Oh, OK. I'll see you tomorrow then." Blair turned away to wipe the countertop, when he heard the door close he sighed heavily and wiped a few stray tears away from his face. He felt like he was breaking in two. He had everything planned for tonight...it was supposed to be perfect. He turned off the overhead light and blew out all the candles, walking into his little room. He laid down on his bed turning on the bedside lamp. He pulled open the drawer and reached into his pocket laying the little ring box inside the drawer. He looked at the box then abruptly slammed the drawer, turning away from the drawer and its contents.

The next week Blair took Anna to the airport. Anna knew he was upset and was trying to pull away so he wouldn't have to get hurt. It was hurting her to leave but she needed this, so she could stop living off of her parent's money and the things they bought her.

"Anna, I am gonna miss you so much, babe," Blair said as he cupped her face playing with a piece of brown hair. "I'm gonna miss you, Blair. Umm... here, I want you to have this. Just,remember me, OK?" Anna said as she pressed a necklace into Blair's palm.

"How can I forget you? I love you too much. You'd better go before you miss your flight."

"Yeah. Blair, I love you. A lot." Anna said as she walked into the terminal looking back once as she disappeared around the corner. Blair stared as the plane took off. He looked down into his hand and saw her favorite piece of jewelry, an ankh, he put it on and walked out of the airport, back to an empty place, the rats, and dirty dishes.

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Blair walked wearily into his warehouse apartment. He looked around, turned on the stereo system, an old Eric Clapton tune boomed out of the speakers. At 21, in his second year of graduate school, Blair was an old pro at writing grants, however he couldn't understand what he had done wrong when the latest grant was refused. He wondered if he was would ever get his doctorate and who would believe his thesis subject, Sentinels. That thought cheered him up a bit, as he thought about the legends that he read. Whenever he would go on an expedition he would ask the local tribe chiefs about them and learn all about the tribe and sentinels.

The Sentinel thought didn't keep him too enthralled this time though, Anna had left on a 5 year expedition to South America and Blair missed her deeply. He sat on his beat up, old, dusty couch that was falling apart. He pulled out his guitar, clicked off the stereo system and he started to play one of his favorite songs, 'Never Going Back' by Fleetwood Mac. Blair didn't hear the knock at his door and when he finished playing, he was scared half to death by his sister and Naomi watching him intently.

"Mom! Squirt!" exclaimed Blair as he nearly dropped his precious guitar. He clutched his heart dramatically, making a face for Peace's sake. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you guys doing here?"

"Blair, can Peace stay with you a bit? I want to go to a meditation retreat and they don't allow children there." Naomi said as she began to fiddle with her hands.

"Yeah, sure. I can do that. You can keep me company, Squirt. How's that sound? I even have a room you can make into your very own." Blair said, tweaking Peace's nose.

"Thank you so much, Sweetie. I'll be back in about 6 weeks. Love you guys," Naomi said quickly as she gave them both big hugs and kisses.

"So, Peace, what do you want to do?"

"Um.... could we go out and get some ice cream?"

"Sure thing, Peace, Love. Let's go, kiddo." Blair said as he got up and grabbed Peace's hand.

The next month went well for Blair. Peace kept him company. He got to know his little sister more and had a lot of fun with her when he drove her to school and basically all the time. When Naomi came back, Blair felt a sense of loss as they left his life until Naomi needed him again. He pulled himself together and went about his daily business never losing hope of finding his sentinel. He knew it was closer with each and every step he took. He kept dreaming about a man whose senses were out of whack and he was always there with the man. He would talk with him and another man, shorter with red and white warpaint on his cheekbones and his chin, he was an Indian, but Blair would always forget the conversations when he woke. He just knew the tall man with the blue eyes was his sentinel. Blair never really saw the him, he would just see the eyes and his feet since he was lost in the shadows. One day, Blair knew he would meet this sentinel and they would be forever bonded. They already were, they just needed to find each other.

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Blair was so ecstatic! He'd found his research subject. He'd found his Sentinel. Blair had known when he walked into the hospital room and saw those blue eyes that this was his sentinel.

Now, all he had to do was convince Detective Jim Ellison that he was a sentinel. He had agreed to talk and so far Blair was doing a pretty good job of convincing him. Blair helped him on his case with the bomber, convinced Captain Banks to let him be an observer and Blair knew he was in the right place, doing what destiny and fate wanted him to do. The next few months went very well, he started a new project, with an ape, then his apartment blew up. Even that went well for him because Blair convinced Ellison to let him stay at the loft.

To this day, that's where you can find one Blair Sandburg, at 852 Prospect Avenue with Detective Jim Ellison, cop, sentinel, and best friend.

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