OUT OF MIND

Summary: What happens when Brennan realises that there might be more to her dreams than just simple nightmares.

Rating: PG-13 for possible language, violence and adult situations.

Pairing: Eventually E/B

Disclaimer: I don't own the ideas behind Mutant X etc, (because if I did Emma would still be alive you evil PowersThatBe!) No profit has been made from this story.

Authors note: I miss the original characters, so my stories come from a season 1 point of view. Sorry Lexa fans, but she won't feature in this story. Also, I'm trying to adapt my style of writing to make it easier to read. Let me know how I'm doing, constructive criticism is always welcome : )

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"You're just sulking 'cause you lost!" Jesse goaded his friend, a huge grin spreading across his face.

"I'm not! And besides, you cheated." Brennan glared back at the molecular.

"Aw come on Brennan, that's the first time I've ever really beaten you, you should be proud of my advances."

"And I say again, you cheated! You massed out right when I threw that punch. Trust me Jesse, I know your stomach is not naturally that hard, you don't work out nearly enough."

At that moment, Shalimar appeared jumping lightly down from the ceiling rafters.

"What are you boys fighting over?"

"Brennan's pissed off 'cause I just beat him in the sim."

"Don't listen to him Shal, you know he's lying."

"I don't care who's beaten who, all I care about is that my dinners getting cold and if I don't eat soon, I'm the one who's going to be grouchy. Get to that table and sit down."

The boys followed the feral into the kitchen, Jesse still beaming from his recent victory over Brennan. The elemental in question had seated himself on the opposite side of the table and was currently planning ways to extract his revenge upon his friend. Shaking the rather nasty thoughts out of his mind, Brennan looked up and realized that there was still an empty place at the table.

"Where's Emma?"

"I don't know, she's kind of been spending a lot of time by herself recently." Shalimar replied. In truth, she had noticed that Emma had been avoiding the group lately and appeared tired and withdrawn.

"Yeah, I've noticed." Brennan replied, "I tried to get her to come out with us last night but she refused." He too was worried about the young psionic, she had a knack for getting herself into difficult situations and keeping quiet about them until it was nearly too late. Just at that moment, the object of his musings appeared in the kitchen.

"Hey Emma."

Emma looked up as Brennan spoke, her expression rather glazed.

"Hey guys, I just came to get a glass of water."

"Aren't you going to sit down to dinner with us?" Shalimar looked disappointed.

"Sorry Shal, I'm really not hungry at the moment. You three go ahead, I'll get something later." Brennan looked for a moment as if he were going to say something more to persuade her to stay, but before he had the chance; she had turned and walked out of the kitchen.

"Are you guys coming out tonight?" Shalimar asked, trying to change the slightly sombre mood that seemed to have settled over the dinner table.

"No way, I've had enough rejection for one week. I'll stay and make sure Emma eats something later."

Jesse started laughing but Shalimar just looked confused.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you Shal, Brennan tried it on with this girl the other night, thought he was doing really well too, until he saw her making out with her girl-friend a few minutes later."

"Oh well, guess we'll see you later then." Shalimar said, laughing now as well.

"Ouch," Jesse felt a shock hit his leg under the table, making him jump.

"Sorry, my hand slipped." The elemental didn't look sorry at all.

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Brennan looked over at the clock... it was 2 am, Jesse and Shalimar had still not returned from the club. He wondered for a minute if he should have swallowed his pride and gone with them. No, they'd be okay; they were both more than capable of taking care of themselves. He put down the book he was reading and went for a walk to stretch his legs.

When he entered the main room, he saw Emma asleep on the couch. He had gone to check on her earlier, as he said he would, but she had gotten annoyed with his pestering and told him to leave her alone. Looking at her now, she seemed troubled even in her sleep. Her face seemed thinner, he noticed; he supposed she hadn't eaten anything at all today. Perhaps they should speak to Adam, something might be going wrong in her mutation that was affecting her like this.

As he watched her, he noticed her becoming more restless, tossing and turning on the couch. In a minute she was going to roll right off. Suddenly her body started jerking and Brennan could see he lips moving, as though she was trying to scream. Feeling really concerned now, he bent over her and placed his hand on her shoulder in the hope of waking her out of whatever nightmare she seemed to be having.

The sensation as he touched her was all-consuming. He felt as though someone had punched him in the stomach and knocked the wind out of him. Blinking, he realized he was surrounded by darkness. He could hear a noise getting louder and louder until in a whirl Brennan's ears were assaulted by ear-splitting screams of pain. His heart pounding he looked around trying to see through the pitch. Images started swirling around him. Blood, someone's tears, a knife, bound hands, a pair of blue eyes -wide open in terror, a body writhing in agony as the pain was inflicted upon it.

"Oh my god!" Brennan felt sick, he tried to pull away from the confusion and pain surrounding him, and everything went black again...

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Let me know what you think, love A.