Title: The Time Has Come
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Mutant X characters, and may occasionally
include a few of my own as the work progresses. All but the characters in the
show are mine.
Feedback: Guys, I really appreciate your feedback and all of the reviews. This
is my first fanfic, and it's been interesting to see it unfold. I hope you guys
enjoy it. I really look forward to your comments. Thank you Ambrosia, Megara,
Chic, Cand, and the rest of you for reading it and taking the time to share
your thoughts on it. I hope you guys aren't disappointed with the ending. : )
Chapter 2: Night Discoveries
"Hey Guys!" Shalimar practically purred as she walked up to the couch where Emma was reading a book. As Jesse sunk one more basketball into the hoop, Brennan let loose with a string of expletives and walked towards both women in the other room. Not one to gloat too much, and understanding well that in his current mood Brennan would be no fun to tease, Jesse shrugged off his second victory for that day and followed Brennan. Curious, Emma looked up from her book and watched the guys hound Shalimar about her good mood. Everyone knew she had gone to talk to Adam about tonight. Hoping they could have a night off, no one dared to get their hopes up until they heard Shalimar's voice.
"Okay, okay, guys. Calm down. Adam said that he hasn't heard anything about suspicious activities tonight. Which means, we can go out as long as we keep our COM rings on. He'll contact us if he needs too." Shalimar grinned, her beautiful smile encouraging the others to relax and get excited about tonight as well. Smiling, Brennan started suggesting places they could check out. He had heard of a couple new clubs that sounded fun. While he and Shalimar compared notes, Jesse looked at the small smile beginning to form on Emma's face. It had been a while since the group had gone out to just have fun, and they were all looking forward to doing something normal for a change.
"Well? What do you say?" Jesse asked, wearing his usual crooked smile.
Her excitement full blown by now, Emma began grinning mischievously. Standing up, she looked over to Shalimar and winked. "I say… it's time to meet some men!" Shalimar laughed, happy to see her friends as excited as herself. Skirting past Brennan and walking over to Emma, Shalimar grabbed Emma's arm and pulled her towards her room.
"I know exactly what you should wear!" Shalimar exclaimed, eliciting a giggle from her younger friend. As the two women disappeared into no man's land to pick out outfits for tonight, Jesse and Brennan each in turn stared after them. Lost in their thoughts, they continued to stare until Adam walked into the room.
"Hey Guys, shouldn't you guys be getting ready to go out? Or have you not seen Shalimar yet?" Adam asked while walking past them towards the computer, not commenting on the red cheeks and quick but awkward answers. Once again lost in research, Adam didn't notice the guys leave to get ready for tonight.
"Hmm, I don't know Shalimar. It's…" Emma hesitated, looking at the black satin shirt with short sleeves and the deep v neckline showing off her cleavage. It matched her snug black skirt well, but she was getting worried about the attention it might draw.
"It's perfect! Come on Emma! We're gonna have fun tonight!" Shalimar exclaimed, eager to check out her own tight fitting and carefully chosen outfit in the mirror. Running her fingers through her golden locks, Shalimar purred as Emma gave in. Grabbing Emma's arm, Shalimar dragged her friend out into the common room.
"Okay, but…" Emma stopped, the gleam in Jesse's eyes making her forget herself this one night. Jesse slowly smiled as he admired Emma from top to bottom. As a delicate blush traveled warmly up her neck before reaching her face, Emma smiled in return. Noticing the exchange, Shalimar and Brennan both smiled. After a few seconds passed, Brennan began focusing his attention on Shalimar and began to whistle.
"We're gonna have fun tonight!" Brennan exclaimed, unable to move his eyes from the feral. Smiling, Shalimar piped up with a "You better believe it!" before grabbing Emma and heading out. Both men stood for a second watching the women, noticing the individual movements of their hips before running to catch up.
After everyone piled into the Audi, Shalimar headed off to what she had heard was the hottest club in the area. The fact that it was new made it even more exciting, since there would be a whole new scene for them to check out.
Thirty minutes later, the group parked in a dimly lit lot outside the Falcon's Claw club. Turning around, Jesse noticed the noise coming from the concrete building and the line standing outside of it. Grimacing, he turned to look at the others.
"This could take a while." Jesse said. As Brennan agreed Shalimar smiled, shrugging it off.
"We'll see." Shalimar said, pulling Emma after her as she walked past everyone to the front of the line. The bouncer standing there was going to send them to the back of the line when he noticed the blonde and her brunette friend. Smiling, he looked them over a couple of times before letting them pass. Both women entered the club, leaving Brennan and Jesse outside arguing with the bouncer. Refusing to let them in, the bouncer just growled and ordered them to the back of the line.
"Listen, buddy, I don't think you understand…" Brennan said through gritted teeth, tempted to electrocute the idiot. Grabbing Brennan's arm, Jesse began pulling it back.
"Forget it. Let's go." Jesse said, before dragging his friend to the back of the building. "We can get in this way." Phasing the wall, Jesse pulled Brennan through to the other side. Smoothly landing them in the women's restroom. As screams began resounding off the graffiti covered walls, both men made a hasty retreat. As they exited the restroom, the music began assaulting their ears.
"Let's find the girls." Brennan yelled, pointing to the main area of the club, which contained a dance floor. Walking past several couples making out, the guys finally reached the multi-colored dance floor. Looking around, neither could see their friends.
"I don't see them anywhere." Jesse said, not surprised since the place was packed. Nodding his head, Brennan looked around one more time before giving up.
"Well, we're here to have a good time too. Come on!" Brennan made his way to the bar, followed by Jesse. Walking up and ordering drinks, both guys hardly noticed the quiet brunette sitting at the bar a few seats down from them.
Emma was ignoring the nearly bald middle-aged man coming on to her at her left. She didn't even notice the skanky dressed woman on her right. Concentrating on not letting anyone in, Emma gasped when someone bumped her hard from behind. Almost knocking the breath out of her, it took a few moments for Emma to recover from the unwanted assault.
"Hheeyy! Hoowww'ssss aboutt aa beeerrr ppuurrrrttttttyyyyyy lllaaaddyy?" The bearded man slurred as he put down the drink sloshing in his sweaty hands. Disdainfully looking to her side, Emma could barely breathe as the odor of alcohol, sweat and some other substance she didn't recognize emanated from the man. With broad shoulders and almost black hair, the man looked in excellent condition. In his upper twenties, the man was attractive in his own right. His unkempt appearance and unpleasant smell though ruined whatever might have been appealing to Emma. Physically unable to respond, Emma looked back towards the bar and hoped the man would just go away.
The rucas the man had caused caught Jesse's attention. Feeling sorry for the brunette the man had targeted, he almost turned around to continue looking for the girls when Emma chose that moment to turn around. Recognizing Emma, Jesse stood up to go say hi when he noticed the drunkard still bothering her. Deciding against trying to stay and talk at the bar, Jesse smoothly walked up to Emma and tapped her on the shoulders.
"Would you like to dance?" Jesse asked, successfully placing his body between Emma and her unwanted friend. Turning sharply to respond with a retort, Emma stopped and smiled as she saw Jesse's beautiful smile greet her. Quickly nodding her head, Emma grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the dance floor. The two didn't notice as they moved past Shalimar and Brennan, who had already been on the dance floor for quite a while. Shalimar and Brennan noticed them however, both smiling at the grins plastered on their friends' faces.
Watching from the bar, the smelly drunk took note of where the pretty brunette headed and the guy who had successfully approached her. Not pleased with the brush off, he gulped down the rest of his beer before ordering another one. As the bartender left to fulfill his order, the man started thinking.
As the beat began to slow down, Emma swayed towards Jesse for the slow dance. All but the most die hard of couples began clearing the dance floor, including Shalimar and Brennan. Leaving those couples who had been together the longest and those who had newly formed moving to the slow beat of the popular ballad. Without thinking, Jesse accepted Emma into his arms with a natural fluid movement. Looking at the brunette's haloed face, Jesse couldn't remember the last time he saw her smiling and laughing so much. She looked beautiful, and he didn't understand why he didn't see it before.
Shalimar's sexiness hit you the moment you saw her, along with her irresistible smile and fiery temper. His attraction to Shalimar was instant, and undeniable from the moment they had met. Emma's quiet struggles with her gifts often overrode her natural sex appeal. Tonight, however, he was seeing it full force. Me. Not Brennan. Not anyone else. But me. She's showing herself to me. The wonder of it brought a smile to Jesse's face. Sensing her partner's emotions, Emma also smiled. All her life she had fought against receiving the feelings men had when they looked at her. Their natural drives scared her sometimes; not that intimacy was new to her, but when men had thoughts along those lines who were her teachers and friends of her parents, it scared her. So she tried to push them aside, and ignored them. But tonight, with Jesse, she found she didn't want to. Not with Jesse. So she just swayed to the music and stayed comfortably safe and happy in his arms.
"Hey Shal, what do think?" Brennan asked the blonde temptress, wondering about her take on Emma and Jesse's relationship. Looking at her two younger friends, Shalimar just smiled. She was naturally very protective of those close to her, and she had known Jesse longer than Emma. Even so, she couldn't bring herself to have mixed feelings about the two. She cared about them both, and wanted them to be happy. If they could be happy together, if they made each other happy, then she was content.
"I think…" Turning around and grabbing Brennan's arm, Shalimar pulled him to the opposite side of the dance floor while saying "we should be dancing!" Laughing, Brennan pulled Shalimar close to him as they finished the slow dance, safely away from their friends. He appreciated the lack of privacy they had sometimes, and didn't mind Shalimar's suggestion to give them this time alone. He and Shalimar needed time alone themselves.
The DJ seemed to have an agenda that night as he followed the slow ballad with another slow song, leaving both couples on the dance floor. After that song finished, Emma and Jesse decided to retire to the bar for some drinks. As they made their way to the bar, the unpleasant drunk from before grabbed Emma's arm.
"Hey, dance with me." The man said, the slur no longer present, as he moved them toward the dance floor. Looking back for Jesse, Emma grimaced when she realized the group of people had swallowed him up. She would have to find him again, but first she needed to get rid of this guy. Placing her hand on his shoulder, Emma poured feelings of humiliation and embarrassment into the man, filling his mind with an image of him naked on the dance floor. Letting go of Emma, the man quickly looked back and forth at the faces around him. Edging away from all the people staring and laughing at him, he made his way to the men's restroom. Hiding in a stall, it took him several minutes to figure out he was fully clothed.
As the man left, Emma smiled. Remembering Jesse, she turned and let out a slight scream. There in front of her, less than six inches away from her face, was Jesse. Looking after the man in dismay, Jesse turned back to her and asked if she was okay. As she nodded, she felt the relief that flooded him. His protective instincts had kicked in full force again. Smiling to calm him, she took his hand and they walked to the bar. Once there, they ordered drinks and began talking. For some reason unknown to her, Emma began sharing the time she came home to find both of her parents packing her clothes. She shared her surprise and hurt when she found them ready to drop her off at the shelter, to never return. Jesse shared his childhood, the lack of a father figure and his loneliness as a child. As the night progressed, Emma and Jesse grew closer together.
Tired, after exhausting themselves on the dance floor, Brennan and Shalimar prepared to go home. Missing their friends, they went in search of them. Seeing Jesse's hand on Emma's shoulder as he related some funny moment from his childhood, apparently a time when he foiled his father's plans to leave immediately on a business trip, they both smiled as Emma and Jesse laughed together.
"Hey guys! Ya'll ready to go? It's late and we're tired. I think the club will be closing soon." Shalimar said, making sure not to startle the two when walking up. Smiling at Shalimar and Brennan, both nodded and got up to leave. Couple after couple piled out of the club, conversations becoming audible over the club's music. Making their ways to the car the group of friends were silent, tired but content. Driving off, no one noticed the angry gold eyes that glared from the back of the parking lot.
Arriving back at Sanctuary, everyone reluctantly separated. Turning back around, Emma walked up to Jesse and shocked him with a quick kiss on the lips. She mumbled good night and headed to her room. Watching her go, Jesse smiled and patiently waited until she disappeared behind closed doors. Hearing whispers of the possibilities and feeling snatches of joy, shyness, and longing, Jesse began walking to his room as he reveled in the emotions Emma unconsciously shared with him.