Emma opened the door to her room quietly. Adam had been working in the lab non-stop for 48 hours. She knew he wanted to help Shalimar but him killing himself with the exhaustion of it all was really not the answer. She had finally persuaded him to get some sleep and didn't want to risk waking him.
She closed the door behind hearing the creak of the hinges and making a mental note to get some oil. She walked down the hall to the kitchen. She couldn't sleep and thought maybe some tea would help, preferably some with as little caffeine as possible.
On her way back she stopped by the lab. Shalimar looked so peaceful, like she was just sleeping. Emma missed her. It wasn't that Brennan and Jesse weren't really good friends, they were the best but Sanctuary and its occupants were lifeless without her wild, impetuous, sarcastic, funny nature. They all missed her.
Adam felt useless, Jesse was worried beyond the telling of it and Brennan…he loved her. He hadn't told anyone but it was obvious to anybody with eyes that he cared about her way more than just a friend. And Emma couldn't do a thing to help. She could sense all their emotions and she could send as many calm thoughts into their minds as she liked but in the end it wasn't going to help any. They would still feel the same towards Shalimar and to tell the truth, Emma wasn't sure she wanted to change that, it would feel too much like manipulation and that was a trait of Gabriel's.
The rain had been falling for the past hour. Shalimar had resigned herself to the fact that she couldn't fight Gabriel. She may have had his powers in the real world for a brief moment but now she was in her world. She didn't even know what was going on let alone how to change it.
'So,' said Gabriel 'if you're not gonna fight me what are you going to do?'
She didn't even bother to open her mouth. There was no point, she had decided to give in. What else could she do?
'You know if you just gave up I could take over and you'd be so much less worthless and pitiful than you are now.'
'I have given in.'
'Then why's it still raining?'
That was actually a good question. If she stopped caring wouldn't the rain stop falling. Presumably this whole world would disappear.
But she did still care. She couldn't help it. She cared if she saw Adam, Jesse, Emma, Brennan (especially Brennan) ever again. Shalimar looked around her. This was all in her head so if she stopped giving a damn it would all go away. She noticed that already, since she had woken up some of the previously impressive skyline had vanished.
'So are you giving in yet Shal? Cos I could do with a new body to kill your friends with.'
As quickly as the thunder and lightning had gone they came back again.
Gabriel flicked his eyes over the landscape. He was worried. She may not have realised it but in here she was all powerful. The minute she got that, he was as dead as his original body.
Shalimar stood up. Now she was pissed. Gabriel could get into her head and he could insult her but when it came to her friends there was no way she was gonna take it!
Adam looked up. He had been monitoring Shalimar's brain since she had gone under. There had been some brain activity a while ago but since then…nothing. But now suddenly something was going on. Adam wasn't sure what but atleast he knew she wasn't completely brain dead. Whatever happened he had to keep her mind alive so that when she wanted to wake up she could. He couldn't lose her. Gabriel had been a sociopath who was trying to kill them and Adam had felt bad enough when he had died. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like if Shal went the same way.