Chapter Four
The group moved quickly out a darkened back entrance. As they stepped out near the helix, three men moved swiftly towards them. Shalimar shifted Emma to one arm and jumped in the air quickly kicking two of the men to the ground. She grabbed a stun gun from one and took out the third as he was about to attack the doctor. She stunned the other two men who lay motionless on the ground for good measure and uncloaked the helix. "Wow," was all the doctor could mutter.
Emma smiled at being in the presence of her friend again. She had missed them all but Shalimar the most. She and Shalimar grew close very fast; they confided in each other about most things and fought along side each other for many missions. When Emma lie in the dark room her captors had placed her in, she just knew Shalimar would come to save her. When the doctor rescued her, she still knew Shalimar would come to her aid soon. That is the one thing Emma knew she could always count on, for whatever her need was, the feral would be there. This was a great comfort to the psionic through many nights of pain and sorrow over the last several months. "Hurry up," Shalimar barked at the doctor who was standing there in awe of the helix.
She got Emma buckled in and then punched in the coordinates of Sanctuary. "You speak highly of Lexa Pierce," Shalimar said to the doctor. "I'm going to contact her so she can get us in with invisibility for you and Emma. I don't want to hash all of this out tonight."
-- - - - - - - - -
Lexa slipped out of bed being careful not to wake Jesse. She made herself invisible and moved towards the hanger where the helix would soon be arriving. She was awakened by a beeping sound on her comlink. She was certain Brennan would pick up the signal easily but she knew this was her signal to phone Shalimar, which she did.
As the helix was brought in, Lexa wondered why Shal made this request of her and whom the other two people were that needed hid for the move inside sanctuary. "Lex," the feral spoke in a rushed tone. "I'm going to go head off Brennan as I'm sure he's awake waiting for me. I want you to get the doctor in your room for the night since you rarely use it and Emma in mine."
"Emma?" Lexa questioned with wide eyes as she looked into the blue eyes of the beloved Emma Delauro. She noticed the scars, the extremely short hair and the fact that Shalimar held the woman up. She gathered from the lightening look of the scars, that someone had been working on the woman. "Lex please, don't ask now. We don't have time, will you trust me please?"
Lexa turned her gaze to the begging face of the feral. She felt pleased inside that Shal had chose her rather than one of the guys, sure, she was the only one who could get them in unseen, but telling one of the guys would have prevented the need of invisibility. "Sure thing Shal," she said and instructed the doctor to pick up Emma then stay close to her.
Trusting Emma and the doctor were safe with Lexa, Shalimar headed towards the kitchen of sanctuary. She knew Brennan would be there waiting. "Shal!" He got to his feet inspecting the feral. "Where were you? Why didn't you call in, why did you send a beeping signal to someone other than me?"
The feral gave him an indignant look as she laughed. "First of all, I'm an adult and do not answer to you. Secondly, you are not God so I do not have to speak to you before anyone else! Thirdly, you are not my boyfriend so do not need to be notified of my comings and goings, as if you would even if you were."
"Shal, I worry about you is all." Brennan said softly as he rubbed his thumb across her cheek gently. "I was sort of hoping that we could have watched a movie, relaxed in the pool and whatever else came along tonight."
"Bren, I told you before that I'm not interested. If you need to know where I was, I went to a dance club to relax. Now, I'm going to bed because I'm tired. I'm sorry for snapping at you also." Shalimar gave him a fake smile and quick hug then went to her room.
-- - - - - -
Lexa had gone back to Shalimar's room to wait with Emma after showing the doctor to her room. She sat in silence seeing the deep in thought look on Emma's face. She had many questions as to how this woman was alive and who this doctor was but knew better than to ask the psionic. Shalimar had a very protective tense look on her face when Lexa spoke with her, which helped Lexa decide to wait on the feral's cue before getting answers. "Hey Lex, thanks for waiting with Emma." The feral said as she entered the room.
"Not a problem Shal," Lexa said as she stood from the chair in front of Shalimar's desk. "I'll make a call in the morning to get a chair picked up for her also. If there is anything else you need," Lexa gave a nod to indicate that she would help and left the room.
"Em," the feral said softly as she pulled a large leather bag from her closet. "I kept a lot of your things, the things I knew you liked the best. How long can you stand on your own?"
Emma gave the feral a half smile. "I can stand still for a couple of minutes and walk on my own a few steps." The psionic replied sadly. "I wonder if I'll ever be me Shal. I have no powers, am loaded with scars and can't even walk."
A hint of anger flashed in the psionic's voice as the feral quickly moved to hug her. "Em, we will get your powers back once that governor is removed. As for the rest of you," Shal placed a finger on the left side of her face, which was the worst. "All of the battle scars may not totally go away but I think the doctor is giving them a good battle." Emma smiled at the Feral and felt relaxed in her embrace. "Now, let's get you washed up and into something to sleep in. We can tackle the shower tomorrow."
Shalimar eased Emma to her feet and kept her steady as they made their way into the bathroom that adjoined her old room with the feral's. "Shal," Emma spoke tentatively as the feral helped her to sit on the edge of the tub. "I'm not ready for," Emma dropped her eyes to the floor in sadness.
Shalimar understood that the psionic must have other scars on her body and was uncomfortable for her to see them. "Em, look at me," Shal tipped Emma's chin up so their eyes met. "I don't care what you look like, you are alive and that is the only thing that matters to me. You're here at sanctuary where you belong, nothing else is important."
As Emma looked into Shalimar's golden brown eyes, she sensed something she'd never felt coming from the feral before. Without her psionic abilities in tact, she couldn't quite make it out. "Well, if these scars don't heal, you will be stuck with me for a long time Shal. Nobody would ever want to be with a disfigured person, even if it is slight disfigurement in areas." Emma said quite certain that her fate was to be alone for the rest of her life.
"Don't be so sure of that Emma," Shal said softly as she began to help the psionic prepare herself for bed.
Shalimar wanted so badly to take her in her arms and kiss her. She wanted to tell the psionic how long and deeply she cared for her; that it didn't matter what healed or didn't heal so long as they were together. She thought against it, knowing they had pressing matters to deal with. She made a vow to herself however, that she would not wait very long before expressing her feelings fully to the psionic. She could only hope Emma wouldn't shy away from her once everything was out on the table.
"Shal?" Emma's soft questioning voice withdrew the feral from her thoughts. "I don't think I can make it all the way back by myself."
"Sorry," the feral smiled as she heavily assisted Emma back to her room. "Do you sleep well at night?"
"Not really," Emma's features darkened. "It was real dark in that place the doctor took me too and I dream of the explosion all too often."
Shalimar stepped in the bathroom for a moment then came back. She slid in the bed next to Emma and pulled her close in a protective manner. "It's all right now Emma. I won't fail you again, I swear." She gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek as she spoke. "No matter who really is or is not involved in this mess, my loyalties lie with you."
Emma felt relaxed for the first time since she could remember. She knew Shal was always there for her and would do everything in her power to keep her safe. She was numb to all the bits of information as to who was and was not involved by this time, having had many sleepless nights of tears over Adam's possible betrayal. "I just hope it isn't true Shal. I know you love him."
"It hurts to think he was on the other side after all Em. If he was on the other team, he wasn't the Adam I grew to love as a father figure so I will get over it. It won't be easy but you always make sad times easier for me." Shal pulled the psionic closer enjoying the contact a little too much. "Em, whatever happens and whoever is not a true friend, we have each other. That is the one thing I'm sure of and it is enough to keep me going."
Emma felt something strange when the feral pulled her closer, she couldn't quite put her finger on the feeling but knew she enjoyed being in the feral's protective arms. "You make it all sound so easy," Emma muttered as Shal gently rubbed her back.
"It will be easy once we get a plan. Now you get a good rest," Shal kissed her friend on the forehead ignoring the aroused sensations being this close to the psionic was giving her.
- - - - - - -
Lexa and Dr. Ellers sat in the lab early that next morning. She had sent Jesse and Brennan on a mission in a safe house. They would be gone until well into the evening and Lexa hoped some things could be resolved by this time. She knew Jesse would be angry with her for keeping this news from him but was not about to cross Shalimar. "This governor is not like mine," Lexa stated lifting her gaze from the computer screen. "There is some sort of chemical solution involved with this one."
"I can't remove it on my own. I was hoping someone could take care of it here." Dr. Ellers said with a frown creasing his face. "You have a vast amount of information at your disposal. Adam left nothing uncovered for sure."
"He was nothing if not thorough. Doctor," Lexa's voice took on a frank tone, as she looked straight at him. "I'm not sure what is on the go here and am willing to wait for Shal before I find out. Let me assure you, if it is anything underhanded on your part, it will not work. If you are on the up and up, I for one will welcome any assistance you would like to give this team."
"I can assure you, I'm on the straight and narrow. I will tell you one thing before the women join us. Emma is the one who contacted me before her untimely tragic event." The doctor returned Lexa's gaze with a smile. "I was very pleased when I learned you had taken over for Adam Ms. Pierce. You were the first patient I dealt with. Naturally I followed your progress and work in the field and am very proud of you."
Lexa studied the man with an intense gaze before turning back towards the computer screen. "We have a lot of work to do." She said somberly and scrutinized the reports of the governor once more.
- - - - - - - -
Shalimar awoke with a peaceful feeling surrounding her for the first time in ages. She looked at the sleeping psionic who was snuggled protectively in her arms. She brushed a few strands of hair away from her face and prepared to awake the psionic. "Em," she said softly as she lightly shook the sleeping woman.
The psionic stretched and rubbed her eyes then looked at Shalimar. "That was the best night's sleep I've had since this all happened."
"Me too," Shal replied and hugged her friend tight. "Em, when you spoke of Adam last night, you said I love him, not loved, is there something to that?"
"I'm alive, he's a clone, chances are he's alive and the creator got him out of dodge so to speak." Emma replied in a matter of fact tone.
Shal processed Emma's very logical theory in her mind then shook her head. "I'm just glad you're here with me."
"I'm glad you found me," Emma replied as each looked into the other's eyes as if basking in the presence of a lifeline that was recently found.
"We'd better get showered and to the lab," Shal said breaking the moment of mental contact between the two women. "Lexa will want answers," She grinned as she helped the psionic slowly to her feet.
A/N thanks for the reviews, keep them coming.
