Here's Chapter 2; I hope you all enjoy it! A special thanks goes out to Hysink for her delightful review! Thanks again and please R&R at the end!!

Chapter 2—Shocking Developments

Brennan rolled onto his side and unconsciously searched for his wife on her side of the bed. When his hand only encountered cool sheets his eyes slowly opened and he glanced around the nearly pitch black room; he propped himself up on his elbow, looked at the Kathleen's crib and found it empty. The elemental dropped onto his back and groaned before rising, putting on a pair of plaid pajama pants and exiting the bedroom.

He padded gently down the hallway noting that everyone else in Sanctuary was fast asleep; he passed through the kitchen, grabbing a snack before searching the rest of the vast home.

His heart rate picked up when he realized that neither his wife nor daughter was inside; Brennan knew it was beyond brainless to be worrying since no one knew where they lived and Shalimar would fight to the death to defend her offspring but panic still clawed up his chest; clenching his heart and making it a little harder for him to breathe.

The tall man exited the carnivorous home and took a moment to enjoy the feeling of the warm summer air against his skin. He began to walk down a dirt path into the nearby forest, "Shal?" he whispered knowing she would hear him if she was anywhere nearby. He took another step forward when she gently dropped from a giant oak tree ten feet in front of him with their ever-growing daughter nestled into her neck.

"What are you doing all the way up there?!" he squeaked in outrage, "You could have dropped her!"

The ferals eyes glowed in the dark, "Pardon me?"

Brennan opened his mouth before realizing who he was talking to. Shal was more likely to cause the Apocalypse or sit at home knitting baby clothes all day than endanger their child. "Wow! That was stupid…"

"You're telling me," she quietly chuckled.

"When did she wake up?"

"An hour ago. I tried to get her to go back down but lately it's as if her feral side is becoming more predominant. She sleeps throughout some of the day and she's up most of the night."

"Why didn't you tell me? I would have gotten up."

"I know, but I was already up and I wanted to come outside too."

"Why were you up in a tree?" he wondered out loud.

"The air up there is less…muddled with animal scents, the cars and the Helix. It's purer."

Brennan gave her a strange look and she smirked, "It's kind of hard to explain. I'll have to take you up sometime, but I don't know if you'll be able to notice a difference."

"Hey!" he whispered.

"Brennan, I love you more than almost anything but you probably wouldn't notice a difference."

"Yes, I would. I have a great sense of smell," he said indignantly.

"Bren, you didn't notice that rabbit that's running behind me—"

"It's dark."

"Or the squirrel running up the tree beside you, or the owl sitting in that tree over there or—"

"Okay, okay! I surrender to your mighty feral senses!" he laughed softly as he mock bowed to her.

"That's more like it," she giggled.

Kathleen squirmed in her mother's arms as her eyes illuminated. She held her chubby little hands out and grunted. Brennan stepped closer and scooped her into his arms, "She's only four months old and she's already a daddy's girl."

"Bren, she's been a daddy's girl from the day she was born."

The man gently cradled his daughter close to him as she nuzzled her head into his bare chest, "You need to go to sleep, little one." The baby grunted her disapproval before becoming silent once again.

"She's listening to your heartbeat," Shal marveled.

"Uh huh," said in disbelief.

"That's what I do when I'm lying with you. It's a very comforting sound."

"Huh," he took a long look at Kathleen, studying her features; memorizing them at that exact moment. "Let's get her back to bed. We're both going to be exhausted in the morning."

"Yeah, let's go."

Together the trio headed back into Sanctuary; once in their room Brennan made sure the infant was actually sleeping before placing her back in her bassinet. He silently got back into bed and Shalimar curled up beside him with her head on his chest. She let the steady rhythm of his heartbeat help her drift off to sleep.

~*~Early the next morning~*~

Emma was meditating by the pond before everyone else got up and she was bombarded by their various emotions. She found this was one of her favourite times of the day because it was so quiet and peaceful. She fully opened her mind; releasing the guards that protected her from the full spectrum of the others' emotions around her and she felt so free. She hadn't realized how much she had needed to do this after their latest mission; it had been heartbreaking to say the least.

Half an hour later she giggled quietly to herself; Jesse was waking up and he was hungry, 'surprise, surprise' she thought to herself before making her way to the kitchen to put on the pot of coffee that her family would definitely need.

A few minutes later Jesse stumbled into the room and wordlessly made his way over to the coffee pot, pouring himself a large mug of the russet liquid before taking a big gulp; closing his eyes and sighing in contentment. He opened his eyes to see his wife smirking at him, "Mornin'" he greeted, his voice still gravelly from sleep.

"Hi," she whispered before capturing his lips in a passionate kiss.

"Mmm, I could get used to this," he chuckled.

Emma rolled her eyes, "I'm going to make myself some eggs, do you want some?"

"Yeah, sure. Are you going to be making some bacon?"

"I don't know if there's any left. Check the fridge and if there is some I'll throw it on."

~*~Brennan & Shalimar's Room~*~

"Shal?"

No response.

"Shal?" he said a little louder.

Still no sign of life from the slumbering feral.

"Shalimar, you've gotta get up. Adam needs us down in the lab in twenty minutes," he gently reminded her before sighing, knowing she wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. Brennan walked over to the crib and scooped up his daughter who had instantly awoken at the sound of his voice, "If only it was as easy to wake up Mama as it is to wake you up," he whispered.

Kathleen looked over to her mother's form under the covers and grunted. Brennan grinned and said, "Let's wake up Mama together." They walked over to the bed and Brennan grasped the duvet before swiftly ripping it off the bed.

Shalimar growled and her eyes began to glow under the hair that was strewn across her face, "I swear to God—"

"Here," he said, ignoring the somewhat empty threat and handing her their daughter, "Don't forget we need to be in the lab in fifteen minutes for Kat's check up."

"You're going to get yours, Brennan Mulwray!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he agreed as he left the room adding, "I'll go make some tea and get us something to eat."

Once Brennan had left the room Shalimar looked down to see her daughter studying her, "What are you looking at Kat? Hmm? Are you looking at Mama?" The infant cooed before giggling as Shalimar blew raspberries on Kathleen's stomach. Shalimar had to stop a few minutes later because she was laughing too hard to continue; as the two ferals calmed down Shalimar began to dress her daughter, "You're going to have a bath tonight," she informed the little one whose smile grew as her eyes began to glow, "Yeah, you like the water, don't you Kat? I do too. There," she said as she lifted the baby onto her feet and held her there. Her jaw nearly hit the floor when Kat bent her knees and stood back up again on fairly steady legs. The child cocked her head to the side and put one foot forward, slowly placing her weight on it; testing to see if it would hold her up. It did. A delighted snort of laughter burst from her small lips and she grinned up at her mother.

Shalimar stood there in shock; her face pale, her breathing shallow as tears blurred her vision. She brought her com ring to her lips as she took off towards the lab with her child clutched to her chest, rasping, "Brennan! Adam! Meet me in the lab now! It's Kat!"

Shalimar made it to the lab in record time, almost crashing into Adam who had started to approach her with a gravely concerned face. Brennan was only a few seconds behind them and was barely able to stay on his feet when he came skidding to a sudden halt, grabbing the doorframe to stop himself from falling, "Wh—what's wrong?!" he gasped.

"Sh—she j-just," Shalimar stuttered.

Adam firmly grabbed her shoulders and used his 'commanding leader voice', "Shalimar! Calm down and tell us what's wrong!"

That seemed to shake her out of her stupor as Emma rushed into the room with Jesse on her tail, "What's wrong? I'm feeling all kinds of panic…"

"It's Kat, she…"

"She what?" Brennan prompted as he hovered around his only child; terror plain on his handsome face.

"Watch," she advised as she brought the infant to a counter and put her on her feet, loosely holding onto Kathleen's sides. The tiny feral giggled before duplicating her previous performance; when she was done the room was completely silent and the child grunted angrily before repeating her latest trick.

"Oh my god," Brennan breathed before breaking out in a smirk, "She's already standing and walking!! She's a genius!!" He fist pumped the air.

"Absolutely remarkable!" Adam exclaimed.

Kathleen felt the mood in the room shift from fear to elation and she broke out in a grin while studying all the faces of her family. Her gaze came to rest on Shalimar's shocked expression and she frowned, holding her chubby hands out for her mother.

"Adam," Shalimar began in a whisper, "Is this normal? She shouldn't be doing this yet!"

"Shalimar, she is the first of her kind: a born mutant with two mutations. Let me run a quick scan and I'll let you know what I find but I think she's perfectly healthy." He took the pintsized child and put her on the med chair as Shalimar held her daughter's hand. He took a moment to read the results before facing the group, "It's just as I thought; she's perfectly healthy. Right now her feral side is dominant and her elemental side is recessive. Her feral side is accelerating her physical development."

"So she's—" Shalimar began.

"Perfect," Adam finished.

Shalimar scooped up her daughter as a burst of laughter flowed from her mouth and seemed to fill the room, "Look at you, my love! You're so strong! Standing and walking all by yourself!"

Kathleen erupted in a fit of giggles at her mother's palpable joy.

That's it for this chapter =) The action is coming (I promise!) so please be patient while I lay out the back story for all of you! Please don't forget to R&R and let me know what you think! Thanks!!

~*~FiestyFeral~*~