AN: Woot! I'm really on a roll this time:D Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you know I live for you guys:D Rock on, and thanks so much! Hope you enjoy this one:D

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Brennan urged himself on, though the sharp pain in his lungs that increased with every step he took pleaded for him to stop. The tunnel he was trapped inside had been going on forever, and Brennan desired nothing more than to take a break; but he was racing against time, and time took no breaks.

Finally Brennan saw a small circle of light at a distance. Filled with new hope, Brennan felt a small burst of energy and he pushed himself to run faster. He smiled as the circle began to grow bigger and bigger, as he drew nearer and nearer to the end of the dreaded tunnel of darkness.

Finally, Brennan thought as he burst through the circle of light. A smile lit up on his sweat-filled face; he had made it.

"Brennan..."

Brennan whirled to see Adam approaching, a grave look haunting his features. Brennan failed to notice this, however; he immediately dove into the back pocket of his jeans and withrew a vial filled with a strange purple liquid.

"Adam, I got it!"

Adam sighed and took the vial from Brennan's outstretched hand. To Brennan's amazement, Adam did not rush back to the lab after obtaining the vial; instead, he remained still, staring at the strange bottle.

"Adam, go save Shal..." Brennan began, but a horrible feeling sank in as he came to realize the grave look that had befallen Adam's face. Brennan felt his heart skip a beat as a terrible realization came over him.

"That's right," Adam muttered. "This antidote is useless." Sighing, Adam reached his arm out to hand the vial back to Brennan. He looked up into Brennan's eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry, Brennan. You're too late."

Brennan gawked at Adam, stupefied. He shook his head defiantly. "No. No, Adam, you're WRONG!" Snatching the antidote from Adam's hand, Brennan took off at a speed he didn't know was possible to run at. He screeched to a halt in front of the lab doors and dived through the doorway as they opened.

"I'm here-" He began, but was once again cut short at the sight of two other grave faces: Emma and Jesse. Emma's eyes were red with tears, Jesse's face contorted in pain as he fought desperately not to cry in front of Emma.

"She's gone," Emma cried softly, and a whole new wave of tears came over her as she began to sob uncontrollably. Jesse sighed and brought Emma into his arms, whispering to her soflty in an attempt to calm her down.

Brennan fought to control the urge to break down and cry himself. He slowly made his way over to the chair in the middle of the lab where a body lay covered in a single, white sheet. Brennan cautiously began to lift the sheet, half expecting Shalimar to jump out at him and reveal that this was all just a prank.

But she didn't jump out at him. She didn't even move. She simply lay there, motionless, unaware of him; lifeless.

"Shal?" Brennan whispered as he bent forward to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He shivered at the cold touch of her skin, but somehow couldn't bring himself to remove his hand from her cheek.

"Brennan," Jesse murmured, "There was nothing you could have done."

"No," Brennan gasped, finding it suddenly hard to breathe. "It's... It's all my fault, I was too slow..."

Emma let out a shaky sigh. "Don't say that, Brennan. I guess it was just her time to go..."

"No," Brennan cried, tears spilling out of his eyes and rolling down his face. "No, no, no... Shal, you can't leave me, don't leave me Shal! Please! Shalimar! Come back, I need you, I... I love you, don't leave me, SHAL!"

Brennan sat bolt upright, eyes wide open. His eyes adjusted to the darkness as he felt the rapid beating of his heart.

"What..." Brennan breathed, overwhelmed with confusion. It took him a moment to calm down, but finally he realized that he was back in his room in Sanctuary.

It was all just a dream, Brennan thought, and relief flooded over him. He breathed a huge sigh of relief and went to stand up, but froze as light suddenly burst into the room.

"Ahh!" Brennan exlaimed, shielding his eyes from the brightness. Squinting, Brennan looked through his fingers towards his door and saw Emma standing in the doorway, arms folded across her chest.

"Emma?" Brennan asked, still groggy from sleep. "What're you doing in my room?"

"Listening to you."

"Wha?" Brennan rubbed the sleep from his eyes and shook his head. "You were what?"

Sighing, Emma came into Brennan's room and headed over to his bed. She motioned for him to sit, and once he had taken his seat, she took hers beside him.

"I woke up for some reason and couldn't fall back to sleep," she explained. "So I went for a small walk around Sanctuary, and as I passed by your room, I heard you screaming..."

The color faded from Brennan's face as Emma's voice trailed off. He went to stand up, but Emma latched onto his hand and pulled him back down.

"Brennan, you can't keep running away from this!" Emma exclaimed, staring into his eyes. "Whatever this is, you have to confront it sooner or later."

Brennan shrugged Emma off and bowed his head, staring at the carpet below his feet. He sighed heavily. There was no way to avoid it this time.

"How much did you hear?" he asked softly, hoping against hope that she hadn't heard too much; but his hopes were crushed as Emma responded to his question.

"Enough to know why you've wanted to keep this a secret."

"Oh." Brennan sighed and ran a hand through his hair, failing to realize how fast he was breathing or the color that flushed his cheeks. So she knows, he thought gloomily. I wonder how long it'll be before everyone else does too

"Brennan, I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

Brennan looked at her in amazement, but remembered that she was a telempath, and could therefore read his emotions and thoughts.

Smiling, Emma said, "Yeah, you guys always seem to forget about that one. It comes in handy sometimes!"

Brennan smiled at her attempt at humor, but the smile quickly vanished as the dread of his situation washed over him once more. He put his head in his hands and moaned, unable to figure a way out of his predicament.

"Brennan," Emma said softly, "Have you ever considered telling Shal how you really feel about her?"

"Of course not," Brennan retorted. "How can I? What if she doesn't return my feelings? That would not only ruin our friendship, but it would also compensate the team. I can't let that happen, Emma. Besides..." He sighed and looked up at Emma. "Being no more than friends with her is better than not being friends with her at all."

Emma let out a small sigh and couldn't help but smile. "Well, you should have thought more about giving her a chance. For all you know, she could return the feelings you have for her."

"I've thought about that," Brennan explained. "But the risk of her not returning them was too great a chance for me to take. I just couldn't risk screwing up our friendship."

Emma nodded to show she understood. She smiled and got to her feet. "You should tell her, Brennan. It would take a load off your mind as well."

"Yeah, but how do I do it?" Brennan asked. "I can't just go up to her and say, 'Hey Shal, I love you, do you love me too?' That would put her in an awkward position if she doesn't return my feelings."

Emma shrugged. "Say what comes from your heart. I know it sounds cliché, but it always works."

Brennan nodded and smiled. "Alright, I'll give it a shot the next time I see her. Good night, Emma... and thanks."

Emma frowned, puzzled. "Hey, don't go back to sleep. Why not go tell her how you feel right now?"

Brennan shook his head. "Nah, are you kidding? Wake her up just for that?"

"She's already awake."

"What?" Brennan's eyebrows arched in confusion. Emma smiled.

"I said, she's already awake. Actually, she's standing right outside your door."