The Friend in Jim
by Annabelle Leigh

Periodically, the debate will arise about whether or not Jim is a
good friend to Blair, usually in the context of discussing SenToo or
Jim's weirdness with Alex in S2P2 or his doubt and fear that Blair
might actually have sold him out for the money and the glory in
TSbyBS. More than a few people seem willing to write Jim off as a
mistrustful ingrate who doesn't deserve Blair in his life.

And this makes me sad.

To me, Jim takes friendship incredibly seriously, with a deep sense
of honor.  He is willing to make sacrifices for the people he cares
about and has done so many times over the years. He dropped
everything to find Simon and Daryl in Peru. It devastated him that
he couldn't save Lila. He went undercover in prison to find out
what happened to a friend. He buried his men in Peru. He ignored
the law to help the Chopec when they came to Cascade. He risked
his career and his life to prove that his former partner was not a
criminal. 

He's made any number of sacrifices in the name of friendship.
We've never seen a situation on the show in which he is called
upon to make such a significant sacrifice for Blair. But given his
track record and what I perceive as his very real love for Blair, I
have no doubt that if Blair really needed him he'd be there for him,
the tragedy of SenToo not withstanding. And even then, ultimately,
in the eleventh hour, he *was* there. He just had to work through
his stupidity first, something that happens in the course of human
life. 

People have different strengths and different styles of friendship. 
Jim is supportive in the way that many men are, in the way that he
*can* be--he *does* things for his friends. He made Blair noodles
after Maya, defended him to Simon during the Lash case, waited
up for him when Blair was upset in "Sweet Science," bandaged his
ribs when he was shot by Zoeller, saved him from the thugs Brad
Ventriss hired to beat the shit out of him. Hell, he gave him a home
for *three* years, quite possibly rent free. He obviously cares about
Blair's well-being.

Jim's not always emotionally supportive of Blair, but then again,
he's not really emotionally supportive of himself. He lacks skills in
this area, not surprising from what we've seen of his family life.
Jim's just never going to be gushy. But I hate to think that
somehow this cancels out all the care and assistance we've seen
him provide Blair during their friendship. I'm *positive* it doesn't
do that for Blair. He knows how to read Jim. He knows what it
means in Flight when Jim says: "I'm glad you came."

I'm not saying that Jim hasn't made some terrible mistakes, that he
hasn't been insensitive at times. He was a freaked out mess in
SenToo. He lashed out in fear and anger in TsbyBS, accusing Blair
of things he *knew* were not true. He needs to learn to use the
phrase "thank you" more often.

But in the end, I judge Jim the way I judge the people in my own
life. The ones I trust, the ones I hold onto the tightest are the ones I
know deep in my gut will be there when I really, really need them. 

To my mind, when it comes right down to it, Jim *is* that person
for Blair.