"Then?" Demanded Brennan. "It happened then and you didn't tell us?" His voice was slightly resentful that she had not thought him trustworthy enough to confide in.

"You guys were already arguing about how you were going to baby sit me for the rest of the night. I didn't want to tell you guys anything that would up the parental concern." She retorted.

"We're just trying to protect you." He argued.

"I don't need your protection." She nearly yelled, hating the fact that she sounded very much like a petulant child. "When will you understand that I can take care of myself."

"When you understand that we just don't want you to get hurt." He nearly yelled back, fear for what could have happened to her making him slightly unreasonable. No one needed Emma's empathic powers to feel the anger emanating from Brennan.

Before the argument could continued, Adam sighed and motioned for everyone but Emma to leave his room. "Why don't you guys give me a second with Emma." Brennan was about to protest when Shalimar grabbed his hand and started to drag him

out. Shooting Emma an understanding smile, she glared at a sulking Brennan. Reluctantly he let Shalimar lead him out of Adam's room.

"We'll be waiting in the main room." Brennan called out before he stepped out through the door. Emma shuddered with dread at the thought of being ambushed by them after her talk with Adam.

"Emma, we need to talk."

Slowly she turned her head from the door to Adam's expectant face.

~~~~~

"You need to calm down." Shalimar shot out at Brennan after she had dragged him to the main room and he had been pacing about furiously for several minutes.

"She lied to us." He protested.

"No, she didn't inform us of her incident with Gabriel." Shalimar corrected, while Jesse stood silent, his hands shoved in his pockets, deep in thought.

"She should have."

"Yeah." Shalimar agreed. "She should have, but she didn't. Now you need to ask yourself why she didn't tell us."

"What?" Brennan looked at her in disbelief. "Are you saying this is my fault?"

Leaning casually against the wall with her arms crossed, she patiently tried to explain. "No, but I do believe that if you two would stop treating her like a breakable, she would have been more open with her encounter."

"We're just trying to pro-"

"Protect her." Shalimar smoothly cut in. "Yeah, I know." Sighing she walked towards Brennan and placed a comforting hand on his forearm. "She's not a child and you can't go around fighting all of her battles for her."

"I can try." Brennan replied stubbornly.

"Stop being so pigheaded."

Brennan's jaw clenched in determination. "The last time I left her on her own she met Caleb, and we all know how that turned out."

"It wasn't your fault."

"I was the one that took her to the club. I was there when he approached her and I did nothing. When they went on the dance floor I knew something seemed off but I let her go anyway."

Shalimar raised an eyebrow as Brennan used the word let. "You let her? She's a big girl. She gets to make her own decisions."

"She's only twenty one." Brennan argued.

"Jesse is only a year older."

"Jesse can take care of himself."


"So can she."

Jesse had been listening carefully to their conversation, letting them duke it out when he realized the point Shalimar was trying to get across. Speaking up, he eased himself into the conversation.

"It doesn't matter if she can or can't, the point is she didn't tell us about Gabriel. And from the looks of it, we have more to worry about then her lack of enthusiasm for her mock parents."

Glaring at Jesse, Brennan ran Jesse's words through his head. "Wait a minute, what are you talking about?"

"She's been having nightmares."

"And?"

"And they're real."

Shalimar's eyes narrowed as she looked at Jesse questioningly. "What do you mean they're real."

"I mean she wakes up with bruises from events that happened in her dream."

"That's not possible." Shalimar answered, her tone clearly stating her disbelief.

"I know." Jesse answered, "But it's happening."

"How the hell do you know all of this?" Brennan demanded, angry that Jesse had known before him.

Quickly assessing the situation as tenuous, Shalimar tried to ease the tension by changing the subject to more important matters. "It's Gabriel that's been hurting Emma in her dreams?" Her voice cut in.

"Is she alright?" Brennan asked, concern for her washing out any anger that he had been feeling.

Jesse shrugged. "She keeps telling me she is…" He let his sentence linger in the air.

"But you think she's hiding something?" Shalimar finished.

"It's possible. She's been holding out."

"I don't understand why she won't just tell us." Brennan asked, frustrated with the helplessness he felt.

"Because," Shalimar stated the obvious. "She doesn't want to be seen as weak."

~~~~~

At the same time, several rooms away, Adam and Emma were having a similar conversation.

"I understand you don't want to appear helpless." Adam looked at her, his tone solemn, "But you need to

tell us right away when things like this happen."

"I know, I know." She replied. "I just thought, that since nothing that bad happened and I wasn't harmed- I didn't want to make a big deal out of it."

"Gabriel is extremely dangerous." Adam answered with intense seriousness. "Anything concerning him is a very big deal."

"I'm sorry Adam." She replied sincerely, truly regretful that she had disappointed Adam.

Adam took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Don't be sorry. Just try to be more open with us. Let us worry every once in a while. We only do so because we care."

Emma nodded. "I just wish they'd see I'm as capable as they are."

"They know it, they just have trouble turning off their over protective instincts." Discreetly Adam took note of the bruises on her neck and arm. "Let's go out and face those three. We have some things we should discuss."

Emma saw him try to look at her bruise without being too obvious and sighed in defeat. "Alright. Let's go."

~~~~~

"Emma's not weak." Brennan looked at Shalimar in confusion. "She has one of the stronger new mutant abilities."

"But?"

"But none of us are a match to Gabriel." He answered in exasperation. "She should know that."

"I know." A voice called out. They all turned their heads to the approaching figure that gave them a repentant smile. "And I'm sorry."

Adam nodded his head and with the efficiency of a well trained surgeon, he cut straight to the point.

"We all now know that Gabriel has established contact with Emma." The other members nodded and listened intently as Adam continued. "And we know that his powers doesn't seem to affect her and vice versa."

Shalimar glanced at Emma in wonder, the reality of the strength of Gabriel's powers very real to her. Before Gabriel kissed her she had felt nothing but contempt for him, but afterwards… She was just glad that Emma had been able to snap her out of it before she did something she would have really regretted.

"What we don't know is why. I suggest we get a good nights rest and tackle this problem in the morning."

"But-"

Adam held up his hand at the protest. "Right now the threat to Emma is not immediate. It would be better for us to research and decide what to do while our brains are sharp and we're on the balls of our feet. That's not going to happen when you guys are sleep deprived."

"What about the dreams?" Emma's eyes nervously darted about, her voice hesitant as she glanced towards Brennan who's eyes seemed glued to a point beyond her head. "They're getting worse and after Jesse woke me up I had these bruises." She saw Brennan's head rise sharply, his eyes landing on her arm.

"We'll take turns keeping watch of you, and at the first sign of a nightmare we'll wake you up." Adam looked at Emma with regret. "At the moment this is the best I can come up with." Giving him a weak smile she gave him a nonchalant shrug.

Walking towards Emma, Jesse placed his hand at her elbow. "I'll watch over her tonight."

"I'll do it." A voice declared. Shalimar looked at Jesse and Brennan in bafflement, while they eyed each other for a minute before they looked to Emma to see what it was she wanted. Letting his arm drop, Jesse shoved both hands in his pocket and took a step back, his eyes burning holes in the floor below him.

Brennan eyed Emma's pale face and the dark circles beneath her eyes. Silently he cursed at himself, wondering how he could have missed all the signs that said she wasn't okay. For weeks she had become silent and withdrawn and whenever she did join in the group her laughter always seemed off; her eyes to bright or her smile to wide.

Fidgeting under Brennan's intense scrutiny, Emma's face was anxious as she waited for him to say something. Unable to help himself he gave her a small smile and held out his hands. Her face lighted up with relief as she realized that she was forgiven and she threw herself in his arms.

"You should have told me." He gently chastised her, his hands enveloped her waist in a tight protective embrace.

"I know." Her voice was muffled from his shirt, "But you need to stop taking the role big brother to heart." In response Brennan just squeezed her tighter and Emma began to let the weeks of stress wash away in his soothing arms. She knew she didn't want to guarded at all times, but for the moment she was content with the security she felt when he held her. It was a promise to protect her from the world and all the evil baddies in it, and she believed in him.

Jesse watched the interaction between the two, envious at the ease in which Brennan held her in his arms and comforted her. Unbeknownst to Jesse, Shalimar watched him perched from her seat, understanding dawning on her face as she watched him watch them.

~~~~~

Sitting in her bed with the covers over her lap and up to her waist, Emma watched Brennan pace around her room.

"Do you need anything? A glass of water? A book?"

"I'm fine." She answered bemusedly, as he continued to try and cater to her needs. "Look, there's nothing wrong with me that a little sleep won't fix. A sleep without him in it." She added the last sentence under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing." Emma gave Brennan a cheerful smile. "I just need some sleep."

"You want me to turn off the lights?" He asked, his eyes filled with worry as he look at her tired figure.

"You know, you don't have to stay here. I can be by myself."

Brennan gave her a look. "You don't mean that."

"I know." She cheekily answered, "I knew you wouldn't leave and I thought know would be a good time to pretend to be thoughtful and considerate to your needs."

Smiling at her, he made he was to her bed and sat on the ledge beside her. "Why don't you lie down and get some sleep."

"Yes daddy." Emma replied happily, glad to have Brennan close by. Lying down she snuggled under her covers and rolled her eyes as he tucked her in.

"I'm worried about you." Brennan spoke up. Placing his hand on top of hers, he began to stroke the palm of her hand with his thumb. "I don't want to lose you."

Looking up at him she linked her fingers in his and brought the back of his hand to her lips. "I will do whatever possible to make sure we all make it out of this okay." She replied earnestly.

Using his other hand to brush the hair out of her eyes, he leaned in and kissed her briefly on the cheek. "I'm supposed to say that to you."

"Yeah, well your girl grew up." She grumbled into his hand. Stifling a yawn, she quickly let her eyes scan to the digital clock on her wall.

"You're sleepy." He observed.

"No I'm- yes I am." She changed her mind. "I haven't been getting that much sleep lately."

"I can tell," He replied, "no offense, but you're not looking your best."

"Gee, thanks."

~~~~~

Jesse silently watched their playful banter from beyond Emma's door. Glowering, he watched the closeness between Emma and Brennan.

"You stare at them like that any longer and you're going to burn a hole in their heads."

Ignoring the voice behind him, Jesse continued to glare at the back of Brennan's head.

"You know, Emma and Brennan see each other as family." Shalimar casually stated as they both watched the two link their fingers together.

"And?" Jesse asked with indifference, refusing to be drawn into a conversation that revolved around Brennan and Emma.

"Brennan is the last person Emma would ever see in a romantic light. He's like her brother." She continued her observations out loud, more so for the benefit of the blond boy suffering from an extreme case of jealousy. "It's obvious they love each other. And a person could easily mistake their friendship as a romantic involvement."

"What does this have to do with me." Jesse asked, pretending to be unaware of the obvious direction Shalimar was point him towards.

Lifting her eyebrows, her arms crossed and her eyes twinkling with amusement, she gave him a shrug. "Just an innocent bystander that's thinking out loud."

Jesse gave her a pained look as she continued with her 'observation'.

"Christ Jesse," Shalimar walked towards the younger man she viewed as a brother and smacked him across the head. "Why don't you just tell her how you feel."

A large groan acknowledged his defeat, and he began to delve into the problem. "Now is not a good time to tell her anything."

"So you admit it." Shalimar declared triumphantly. "You do have a thing for Emma."

"I don't have a thing for her." He shot her a withering glare. "I like her."

"You like her a lot."

Sighing once more, Jesse repeated Shalimar to appease her insatiable lust to tease him. "I like her a lot."

"So?" She prodded him.

"So we've established the fact that I like Emma."

"What are you going to do about it?"
"Honestly, I barely know what I feel. I can't just jump into this without straightening my head out first and finding out what it is I really feel towards her. Besides, now is just not a good time to try and get involved with her. With all the things going on right now, I don't think it's rational to make her life even more complicated."

"Let me tell you one thing I've learned from all of my relationship misses," Shalimar drawled. "Love has little to do with rational thoughts."

"I don't know how she feels." Jesse voiced his true fears.

His female companion effortlessly shrugged. "Then find out."

"It's not that easy." He answered while watching Emma and Brennan, the two seemingly oblivious of the world and people around them. His body tensed as he saw Brennan reach for Emma's face, and gently cup her cheek in his hand. "Somehow, I think you've oversimplified their relationship."

~~~~~

Brennan watched Emma sleep, mindlessly brushing the back of his fingers across her cheek. She had been tired and it had taken her less then ten minutes to fall fast asleep. The hallway's light streamed weakly through her door, lighting the room just enough for him to study her face. Lying in the bed with her eyelids shut tight, long black lashes spilled across her pale skin, Brennan could not stop himself from leaning down in to kiss her on her forehead.

He hovered less then an inch away from her and the connection that had always existed between them seemed stronger. Leaning back in his chair his eyes close and he listened the steady rhythmic sound of her breathing. His mind replayed to the first few times he had met her. He had been selfish all of his life, never cared about those around him unless they were to his benefit. He looked out for himself. That was how it had always been, how he thought it would stay. Yet without a moments thought, he had sacrificed himself to protect her over and again.

In those times of danger, those brief surreal moments, that for an instant all the pieces clicked into place as time seemingly froze and an intense sensation seeped into every fiber of his being. His heart pounding in his ears and adrenaline rushing through his body, one thought prevailed in his mind. He had to protect her. The feelings grew stronger each fight, and he stood by helplessly unable to stop the overwhelming sensation from controlling him.

Opening his eyes and clearing his mind to the present, his eyes immediately searched her out. Looking down at the vulnerable face beneath him, he knew. If it ever came down to it, he would die to protect her, and he wasn't sure why.

~~~~~

Sitting with his legs crossed on the soft carpet in the middle of his room, Jesse closed his eyes and began to even his breathing pattern, focusing all thoughts on the events that were beginning to transpire.

Shalimar and Brennan had been too enraptured with Emma's account of her misadventures with Gabriel to notice Adam's reaction to her words. As expected, Adam's mouth had tightened in a grim line, but something struck Jesse as odd. He felt as though a small detail had escaped his notice, thrown everything askew. Something was wrong with the picture he viewed in his head. He knew he was missing something.

Continuing to recount that scene in his mind over and over again, his gut instinct came to the same conclusion. It seemed Emma wasn't the only one holding out on information.