'Set after No Man Left Behind'
Emma deLauro sat on her own in her room, staring at the bare floor, a river of thoughts coursing through her mind. She tried to filter them, but her own thoughts were mingling in with them so much that she found it too much of a task to decipher which ones were her own, and which ones were not.
With a heavy sigh, and a hanging of her head, she closed her eyes, and managed to shut out all of the thoughts altogether. It was a technique she had learned to master a while ago now, with the help of Adam Kane. She didn't like to think about what would have happened to her without Adam, and Shalimar Fox. and Jesse Kilmartin. They had rescued her in her most desperate time of need. She had been terrified, and alone. But not anymore. Thanks to them.
She knew she shouldn't count out the heroic achievements of Brennan Mulwray, but out of the team, she had known him the least amount of time, and even though she felt she knew him better than the others, mentally, in reality, she was as truly distant from them as she had been with her parents.
Emma sniffed, and wiped the back of her hand gently across her eye, smothering the tear that had threatened to tumble so freely down her cheek.
And it was at that moment, in a sudden and unexpected flash of memory, that she recalled the look of terror of poor Jesse's face when she had sent out her psychic wave to frighten off those rebel soldiers.
She shook her head. He had been so shocked. he had had no idea she was capable. and thanks to her again, he still didn't know.
What had she done? How could she have violated his trust like that?
She had taken that memory away from him, invaded his thoughts, and stolen something she had created in the first place.
In truth, she was frightened of her own power, and that thought alone was enough to make her shy away from others. especially since their evolutionary burst recently, and the events with Gabriel Ashlocke.
That man had been an enigma. Emma hated feeling what he had been thinking, and knowing what he was planning. But she hadn't shared everything with her team. There had been things she had kept hidden within herself, locked tightly away in the back of her tormented mind.
It had just been so chaotic, she hadn't been able to process it all at once, and when she had, things were in such a state of disarray already, she didn't want to make that worse.
Drawing her knees up to her chest on her comfortable warm armchair, she let her head sink to rest on them, and covered her head with her arms, as if to protect herself from some invisible evil.
What was she so afraid of all of a sudden? Was it the power? Or the responsibility?
She didn't have a clue. but she knew she needed to talk to someone.
And she knew immediately who that someone was.
With a determined expression, she stood from her chair, and walked from her room, her feet covered in soft socks to protect the soles of her feet. She didn't want to bother fussing over shoes. they weren't necessary. She was only going down the hall.
Walking from her room, she noted the silence that had fallen over Sanctuary, and it seemed to find a way into her, and it was eerie, so quiet, and lonely. The silence was something she didn't like. Emma had been used to noise her whole life.
Drawing to a halt outside of the door, she braced herself, steeling her resolves, and knocked on the door quietly, a gentle rapping of the knuckles that was just loud enough to draw attention from the person inside.
Within a short time, she heard a small voice grant her entrance, muffled by the door itself.
She entered, hesitantly at first, but then a little more confidently, striding a short way into the room, and closing the door silently behind her.
Jesse Kilmartin looked up from his book, and smiled warmly in a friendly manner. "Hey, Emma. How's it goin'?"
She sighed. "Not so good."
At this point, Jesse lowered the book, closing it and setting it on a nearby tabletop, his interest in its contents having vanished with those three words she had muttered. He was immediately concerned, that natural instinct he had kicking in at once at the first sign of trouble. He loved them all in his own sweet and caring way, and for that, Emma was truly thankful. She really needed his guidance right now. and, if he would offer it, his forgiveness.
She felt very small all of a sudden, and cold. She stood in the middle of the room, about ten feet from Jesse, her arms hugged tightly around her bare arms. Her vest top did very little to keep out the cold. She shifted a little on her feet.
"Jesse, you remember when we were in the woods, looking for that weapon, and Brennan got caught?"
He nodded, standing from the chair. His white clothing gave him an angelic appearance, one that almost made Emma smile. She had always thought of him as a sort of guardian, she supposed.
"Well, do you remember when the soldiers were closing in on us?"
"Yeah, we had to take off pretty fast," Jesse recalled, nodding his head, and speaking slowly, as he usually did, so that no one would confuse his words or meaning.
"No, the other time. The one before."
It was then that the confusion crept over his features, and Emma bowed her head slightly.
Preparing herself, she moved up to him, placed a palm to the side of his head, and gave Jesse back the memory she had stolen from him. In a flash, she had returned it, and broken contact.
Jesse stumbled back for a moment, using the chair behind him as support, before he regained his balance. He stared at her in shock as the memory of that moment flowed back to him, and his thoughts, feelings, and actions.
"What. what's going on?" he asked in a shaken voice. He looked at her warily, as though frightened for the first time since they had met.
That was enough to make Emma's eyes swell with tears once again. "I'm sorry, Jesse."
"For what?" Then he shook his head vigorously for a moment. "No wait, cancel that. What exactly did you do, Emma?"
Swallowing back the tears for a while, Emma continued, her voice small and quiet, "I took your memory, because I didn't want the others to find out about what I could do. If they did, they'd probably be afraid of me. I don't want that."
Jesse blinked once. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if they turn out to be scared. Emma, the sheer power you have. you don't even realise what you could do, do you?"
Feeling the first tear fall, she had to wait before her voice had settled enough so that she could talk stably enough to make sense, "Please don't tell them, Jesse. I'm so sorry for what I did. I never should have." And then she couldn't hold them back anymore, and she cried, softly at first, and then, unable to keep them to herself, simply collapsed to the floor in sobs. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed sincerely.
Jesse was immediately there to comfort her, even after what she had done to him back in that forest. He wrapped his arms around her protectively, and settled his head on hers.
"I never should have done that," she cried pathetically, her voice little more than a whimper.
She could feel the sincere sympathy from Jesse as he comforted her with his words, "It's okay, Emma. You don't have to worry about it. I won't tell Adam and the others. They won't find out, I swear."
"But after what I did." she began, her head rested on his chest. His warmth was so comforting, and she didn't want to leave that right now.
"Forget about it. You were scared. I understand. I get like that sometimes," he told her calmly, rubbing her back soothingly. "I admire the way you came back to me about this. told me everything, and gave me my memory back. That was brave, Emma. If I was you, I probably wouldn't have been able to do that."
She looked up at him, tears slowing, and after a couple of deep breaths, she said, "Thank you, Jesse."
He smiled his acknowledgement, his blue eyes telling her everything she needed.
"Thank you for understanding," she continued. She hugged him then. "I love you."
Jesse was silent for a moment, clearly not quite sure how to respond, before embracing her in return, and saying softly, "I love you too, Emma."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is to follow up on the events that transgressed during the episode 'No Man Left Behind' that recently aired here in the UK. I feel that Emma should not have done what she did to Jesse, and if she carries on the way she's going, we could probably see some nightmare come into existence. Emma could get carried away with her power. I thought I'd express that here, and also add the hint of romance that I feel is always broadcast in a scene between Jesse and Emma. The two have such beautiful chemistry together, and I thought I'd use that to my creative advantage. Feel free to review, or move on without acknowledgement. Thank you.
Emma deLauro sat on her own in her room, staring at the bare floor, a river of thoughts coursing through her mind. She tried to filter them, but her own thoughts were mingling in with them so much that she found it too much of a task to decipher which ones were her own, and which ones were not.
With a heavy sigh, and a hanging of her head, she closed her eyes, and managed to shut out all of the thoughts altogether. It was a technique she had learned to master a while ago now, with the help of Adam Kane. She didn't like to think about what would have happened to her without Adam, and Shalimar Fox. and Jesse Kilmartin. They had rescued her in her most desperate time of need. She had been terrified, and alone. But not anymore. Thanks to them.
She knew she shouldn't count out the heroic achievements of Brennan Mulwray, but out of the team, she had known him the least amount of time, and even though she felt she knew him better than the others, mentally, in reality, she was as truly distant from them as she had been with her parents.
Emma sniffed, and wiped the back of her hand gently across her eye, smothering the tear that had threatened to tumble so freely down her cheek.
And it was at that moment, in a sudden and unexpected flash of memory, that she recalled the look of terror of poor Jesse's face when she had sent out her psychic wave to frighten off those rebel soldiers.
She shook her head. He had been so shocked. he had had no idea she was capable. and thanks to her again, he still didn't know.
What had she done? How could she have violated his trust like that?
She had taken that memory away from him, invaded his thoughts, and stolen something she had created in the first place.
In truth, she was frightened of her own power, and that thought alone was enough to make her shy away from others. especially since their evolutionary burst recently, and the events with Gabriel Ashlocke.
That man had been an enigma. Emma hated feeling what he had been thinking, and knowing what he was planning. But she hadn't shared everything with her team. There had been things she had kept hidden within herself, locked tightly away in the back of her tormented mind.
It had just been so chaotic, she hadn't been able to process it all at once, and when she had, things were in such a state of disarray already, she didn't want to make that worse.
Drawing her knees up to her chest on her comfortable warm armchair, she let her head sink to rest on them, and covered her head with her arms, as if to protect herself from some invisible evil.
What was she so afraid of all of a sudden? Was it the power? Or the responsibility?
She didn't have a clue. but she knew she needed to talk to someone.
And she knew immediately who that someone was.
With a determined expression, she stood from her chair, and walked from her room, her feet covered in soft socks to protect the soles of her feet. She didn't want to bother fussing over shoes. they weren't necessary. She was only going down the hall.
Walking from her room, she noted the silence that had fallen over Sanctuary, and it seemed to find a way into her, and it was eerie, so quiet, and lonely. The silence was something she didn't like. Emma had been used to noise her whole life.
Drawing to a halt outside of the door, she braced herself, steeling her resolves, and knocked on the door quietly, a gentle rapping of the knuckles that was just loud enough to draw attention from the person inside.
Within a short time, she heard a small voice grant her entrance, muffled by the door itself.
She entered, hesitantly at first, but then a little more confidently, striding a short way into the room, and closing the door silently behind her.
Jesse Kilmartin looked up from his book, and smiled warmly in a friendly manner. "Hey, Emma. How's it goin'?"
She sighed. "Not so good."
At this point, Jesse lowered the book, closing it and setting it on a nearby tabletop, his interest in its contents having vanished with those three words she had muttered. He was immediately concerned, that natural instinct he had kicking in at once at the first sign of trouble. He loved them all in his own sweet and caring way, and for that, Emma was truly thankful. She really needed his guidance right now. and, if he would offer it, his forgiveness.
She felt very small all of a sudden, and cold. She stood in the middle of the room, about ten feet from Jesse, her arms hugged tightly around her bare arms. Her vest top did very little to keep out the cold. She shifted a little on her feet.
"Jesse, you remember when we were in the woods, looking for that weapon, and Brennan got caught?"
He nodded, standing from the chair. His white clothing gave him an angelic appearance, one that almost made Emma smile. She had always thought of him as a sort of guardian, she supposed.
"Well, do you remember when the soldiers were closing in on us?"
"Yeah, we had to take off pretty fast," Jesse recalled, nodding his head, and speaking slowly, as he usually did, so that no one would confuse his words or meaning.
"No, the other time. The one before."
It was then that the confusion crept over his features, and Emma bowed her head slightly.
Preparing herself, she moved up to him, placed a palm to the side of his head, and gave Jesse back the memory she had stolen from him. In a flash, she had returned it, and broken contact.
Jesse stumbled back for a moment, using the chair behind him as support, before he regained his balance. He stared at her in shock as the memory of that moment flowed back to him, and his thoughts, feelings, and actions.
"What. what's going on?" he asked in a shaken voice. He looked at her warily, as though frightened for the first time since they had met.
That was enough to make Emma's eyes swell with tears once again. "I'm sorry, Jesse."
"For what?" Then he shook his head vigorously for a moment. "No wait, cancel that. What exactly did you do, Emma?"
Swallowing back the tears for a while, Emma continued, her voice small and quiet, "I took your memory, because I didn't want the others to find out about what I could do. If they did, they'd probably be afraid of me. I don't want that."
Jesse blinked once. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if they turn out to be scared. Emma, the sheer power you have. you don't even realise what you could do, do you?"
Feeling the first tear fall, she had to wait before her voice had settled enough so that she could talk stably enough to make sense, "Please don't tell them, Jesse. I'm so sorry for what I did. I never should have." And then she couldn't hold them back anymore, and she cried, softly at first, and then, unable to keep them to herself, simply collapsed to the floor in sobs. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed sincerely.
Jesse was immediately there to comfort her, even after what she had done to him back in that forest. He wrapped his arms around her protectively, and settled his head on hers.
"I never should have done that," she cried pathetically, her voice little more than a whimper.
She could feel the sincere sympathy from Jesse as he comforted her with his words, "It's okay, Emma. You don't have to worry about it. I won't tell Adam and the others. They won't find out, I swear."
"But after what I did." she began, her head rested on his chest. His warmth was so comforting, and she didn't want to leave that right now.
"Forget about it. You were scared. I understand. I get like that sometimes," he told her calmly, rubbing her back soothingly. "I admire the way you came back to me about this. told me everything, and gave me my memory back. That was brave, Emma. If I was you, I probably wouldn't have been able to do that."
She looked up at him, tears slowing, and after a couple of deep breaths, she said, "Thank you, Jesse."
He smiled his acknowledgement, his blue eyes telling her everything she needed.
"Thank you for understanding," she continued. She hugged him then. "I love you."
Jesse was silent for a moment, clearly not quite sure how to respond, before embracing her in return, and saying softly, "I love you too, Emma."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is to follow up on the events that transgressed during the episode 'No Man Left Behind' that recently aired here in the UK. I feel that Emma should not have done what she did to Jesse, and if she carries on the way she's going, we could probably see some nightmare come into existence. Emma could get carried away with her power. I thought I'd express that here, and also add the hint of romance that I feel is always broadcast in a scene between Jesse and Emma. The two have such beautiful chemistry together, and I thought I'd use that to my creative advantage. Feel free to review, or move on without acknowledgement. Thank you.