"Dah doo-ay wah!"

"SANBURG!!"

"Dah lee-koo wah!"

Blair hugged the little fuzzy object to his chest, stroking it lovingly and talking softly to it. Then he looked up and scolded the sentinel. "Jim! Must you shout? You scared Loo-na."

Jim pursed his lips and just gave Blair a glare of irritation. "It's a piece of plastic and fur! It doesn't HAVE feelings! Just a knack of pissing me off!"

Blair's face etched into shock and cradled the Furby even closer to his chest, as if protecting it from the sentinel's fury. "Shhh!! She'll hear you!" he hissed.

The detective looked at Blair as if he'd grown an extra head. "She'll hear...." he said incredulously.

"Besides, Jim, you'd like her once you get to know her. She's intelligent, inquisitive, playful..."

"Thought that's what you said about last night's date, Chief."

Now it was Blair's turn to glare. Then he held out the Furby to the older man. "Here, hold it. You'll like it."

Jim held his hands up and shook his head. "No. No way do I wanna hold that thing."

"C'mon, Jim..."

"No."

"What's the matter? Big bad sentinel afraid of a little bitty Furby?"

Jim saw the challenge in his partner's eyes and sighed. "All right, if it gets you AND it to shut up and gives me a moment's peace..." He held out his hand to take the fuzzy toy.

When Blair conceded the animated object, Jim turned it upside down to see how it operated.

"Hey boo loo-loo."

'What?' Jim right sided the Furby and looked it in the eye.

"It doesn't like to be held upside down," Blair explained.

"Kah toh-loo may-tah"

Jim looked to Sandburg for translation. "What the hell did it just say?"

Blair obliged. "Loo-na said she could see you."

Jim frowned. So what if the thing could see him? 'Observant little lump of fur,' he thought sarcastically as he continued to study the electronic gadget.

The texture of the fur was soft against the sensitive fingers of the Sentinel. Brushing his fingers across its stomach panel, he was startled to hear it speak again.

"Hee hee. Nee-tye kah"

Curious, he repeated his gesture. The Furby giggled again.

Blair watched the spectacle in silent amusement as the other man continued to explore the different nuances to the little piece of technology.

Jim rested his hand on the Furby's head and patted it, looking for any other switch. Again, the Furby responded.

"Ah-may koh koh"

Jim gave a small smile and repeated the gesture.

"Kah mee mee noo-loo wah"

"Careful, Jim," Blair teased. "One might think you were getting attached to it." He grinned.

Jim hugged the little toy to his chest, forgetting for a moment that his roommate was still there. Looking back down at the Furby in his hands, he knew he didn't need too much of a translation when he heard the next words--

"Kah may-may u-nye"

"I think she likes you, Jim."

Jim just glared and started walking away, Furby cuddled protectively to his chest. "Of course she does," he replied over his shoulder as he headed towards his bedroom. "She's got taste."

"Hey!"

Jim looked for a suitable place for the Furby, someplace comfortable for the tiny thing. In the background, Blair was calling him.

"Umm, Jim...." Blair called out. "Can I have Loo-na back, please?"

Jim just smiled and said softly to the Furby, "I dunno....what do you think, Loo-na?"

"Dah doo-ay"

"Jim?"

The Sentinel chuckled softly to himself. 'Let him squirm a bit.' Then he busied himself in paying attention to the Furby.

"Ah-may koh koh"

Sounds of giggling and unique conversations were heard in the loft bedroom, much to the chagrine of the apartment's anthropologist. "Jim?"

After a few moments, Jim came downstairs. "Shh..Loo-na's gone to sleep. She yawned, said "Kah way-loh" then shut down."

Blair grinned and gave a small chuckle. "So much for Steel-jawed Jim Ellison, huh?" He just had enough time to yelp as Jim grabbed him in a headlock and proceeded to give him a noogie.

The last thing that could be heard that night was a plaintitive plea.

"Not the hair! Maaaan...."

End

Translations:

"Dah doo-ay wah!" = Big Fun! (which is what this was)

"Dah lee-koo wah!" = Loud Sound!

"Hey boo loo-loo." = Hey, no jokes.

"Kah toh-loo may-tah" = I see you

"Hee hee. Nee-tye kah" = *laughing* Tickle me

"Ah-may koh koh" = Pet me more

"Kah mee mee noo-loo wah" = I'm very happy

"Kah may-may u-nye" = I love you

"Kah way-loh" = I'm sleeping