Early the next morning, Shalimar descended the stairs and found Adam, Brennan, and Emma in the kitchen, waiting anxiously for a report.
"How's Jesse?" Brennan was the one to finally ask the burning question.
"HE'S fine. Taking a shower." Shalimar collapsed into the chair and raked a hand through her tousled blonde hair before gratefully accepting a cup of coffee from the elemental. "He doesn't have a clue about what's going on. I'M the one who's a wreck!"
Brennan moved to stand behind her and began gently massaging her shoulders. Shalimar rolled her head from side to side, stretching her neck and allowing him better access to the knotted muscles. She moaned in pleasure as he charged his hands with the slightest, warming electrical current and began working on a particularly tense area. Closing her eyes, she set her coffee cup aside, folded her arms on the table and lowered her head to rest upon them.
"So, what's the plan, Adam?" Brennan asked, never ceasing his tender ministrations.
"I'm afraid there's only one thing we CAN do."
"Either I remove the mental block or it disintegrates on its own," Emma continued the explanation. "Either way, Jesse is going to have to face whatever this is and conquer it."
Shalimar gave a dry chuckle then sighed in resignation.
Brennan finished the massage with a firm, reassuring squeeze to her shoulders and took his place in the chair beside her. "Shal, maybe if you told us what it was..."
"No!" Though muffled, the word carried a definite tone of finality.
"Shalimar, listen to me," Emma pleaded.
"I said no!" The feral's head snapped up and her eyes flashed in warning. She closed them and took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. When her eyes reopened, they had returned to normal. "I made him a promise."
"And we'll respect that." Adam looked to the other two, silently instructing them to drop that particular subject. "But whatever this is, it's obviously very traumatic for him. We can't afford for Jesse to be out on a mission when his memory suddenly returns. When he comes downstairs, we're going to explain everything to him and then, if he agrees, Emma is going to remove the block. I want as much control over the situation as we can get and I want to make this as easy as possible on Jesse." He waited until all three gave nods of agreement.
"Make what easy on me?"
"Jesse!" Shalimar almost squeaked, surprised that he had managed to approach without her sensing it.
Jesse winced. "Please keep it down to a low roar. I've got a killer headache."
"I'm sorry."
"Oh yes, Emma. You should be sorry," he said sarcastically as he crossed the room to the refrigerator and retrieved an orange juice. "We all know that you're to blame for my having a headache." The smile that graced his features during the light-hearted teasing instantly vanished when he turned around to see that Emma's face had lost all color and there were tears shining in her green eyes. Three long strides brought him to her side. "Emma, what's wrong?" he asked, taking one of her hands in his own.
"Jesse," Adam gained the young man's attention. "Sit down. There's something we need to discuss with you."
Jesse listened attentively as Adam explained the events that had transpired in Kovakhstan. Emma was reluctant to speak, providing the minimum amount of words needed to answer when Adam called on her. When her eyes were not downcast, she focused on anything and everything but Jesse.
For the most part, Jesse listened to the tale with a strange sense of detachment. It was if the team was discussing the latest science fiction movie instead of a chapter from his own life. It wasn't until Adam mentioned the need to return the mystery memory that Jesse seemed to snap out of his stupor.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! From the sounds of it, I don't think I want to remember this...this...whatever it is. Why can't we just let it be?"
"I'm afraid it's not as simple as that," Adam explained. "In a short time, whether you want it or not, the memory will return. The headache you're experiencing right now is probably the result of your mind's battle against Emma's barrier. It's up to you, but I would prefer to have you in a controlled environment when the memories are returned."
Jesse looked to each of his friends in turn before finally allowing his eyes to rest on Shalimar. He saw the usual myriad of emotions: compassion, support, strength, determination, concern, and even a touch of admiration, however, there was a new addition to the mix. Something that he thought he would never see. Fear. It was so subtle that he didn't think anyone else could have noticed it, but it was there and its mere presence froze him in place.
Shalimar gave a tight smile, breaking the trance. 'Message received and understood, Shal,' Jesse thought. "Okay, Adam. What do we need to do?" he asked, never breaking eye contact with Shalimar. He could see her admiration for him raise a notch. Unfortunately, the fear increased as well.
Adam closed his eyes and sighed. "If you're sure that you're ready, let's go to the med lab."
Jesse rose from his chair. "There's no time like the present," he said with a nervous smile. The rest of the team joined him as he proceeded out of the room towards the med lab.
"That's the spirit, bro." Brennan clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"After all," the younger man continued, "this is me we're talking about here. What kind of big, scary secret could I possibly have? It can't be too bad, can it?"
Shalimar's step faltered and she emitted something that sounded like a cross between a cough and a sob. She recovered quickly and when Jessie looked to her, the gentle, but forced, smile was back.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Unsure of what to expect, Adam had prepared for a number of medical possibilities, not the least of which was mental shock. Emma had requested a degree of privacy for the 'procedure', so Adam had allowed her and Jesse to situate themselves in a small room and the rest of the team would be able watch through a large observation window.
When the proper monitoring equipment had been set up and Emma had received approval from Adam, she turned to Jesse. "Are you ready?"
"Uh," his eyes darted nervously between her and Shalimar before finally settling on her. "Yeah. Let's do it."
The edge of determination in his voice flowed directly to Emma's heart. They would be alright. Emma smiled, stepped closer to him, and placed her hands on either side of his head. She closed her eyes in concentration as she projected herself into her friend's mind.
Slowly and oh so carefully, she waded through his memories. It was a much different place than the last time she had been there. Before, his mind had been cloaked in an all-encompassing darkness. Pain, fear, confusion, and disgust had been overwhelming as they all battled for supremacy. This time, however, the dominant memories were all pleasant: his mother, various childhood joys, his friends at Mutant X, and... Emma chuckled and made herself a mental note to ask about whoever this woman was.
Emma smiled to herself as she thought of how much she could tease Jesse over that particular memory, but the smile faded when she realized that she was allowing herself to become distracted so easily. She'd never realized how very little she knew about Jesse's past, and now that she had his permission to enter his mind, the temptation to explore a little was almost too much to resist.
She pulled herself together and faced the task at hand with renewed determination. In no time, she found the mental box, still tucked into a far corner of Jesse's mind. Its condition was actually far worse than she'd expected. It was crumbling before her eyes.
Emma gently reached out for the box, intending only to move it closer for examination, but the instant she came into contact with it, the box completely disintegrated and the trapped memories escaped.
"How's Jesse?" Brennan was the one to finally ask the burning question.
"HE'S fine. Taking a shower." Shalimar collapsed into the chair and raked a hand through her tousled blonde hair before gratefully accepting a cup of coffee from the elemental. "He doesn't have a clue about what's going on. I'M the one who's a wreck!"
Brennan moved to stand behind her and began gently massaging her shoulders. Shalimar rolled her head from side to side, stretching her neck and allowing him better access to the knotted muscles. She moaned in pleasure as he charged his hands with the slightest, warming electrical current and began working on a particularly tense area. Closing her eyes, she set her coffee cup aside, folded her arms on the table and lowered her head to rest upon them.
"So, what's the plan, Adam?" Brennan asked, never ceasing his tender ministrations.
"I'm afraid there's only one thing we CAN do."
"Either I remove the mental block or it disintegrates on its own," Emma continued the explanation. "Either way, Jesse is going to have to face whatever this is and conquer it."
Shalimar gave a dry chuckle then sighed in resignation.
Brennan finished the massage with a firm, reassuring squeeze to her shoulders and took his place in the chair beside her. "Shal, maybe if you told us what it was..."
"No!" Though muffled, the word carried a definite tone of finality.
"Shalimar, listen to me," Emma pleaded.
"I said no!" The feral's head snapped up and her eyes flashed in warning. She closed them and took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. When her eyes reopened, they had returned to normal. "I made him a promise."
"And we'll respect that." Adam looked to the other two, silently instructing them to drop that particular subject. "But whatever this is, it's obviously very traumatic for him. We can't afford for Jesse to be out on a mission when his memory suddenly returns. When he comes downstairs, we're going to explain everything to him and then, if he agrees, Emma is going to remove the block. I want as much control over the situation as we can get and I want to make this as easy as possible on Jesse." He waited until all three gave nods of agreement.
"Make what easy on me?"
"Jesse!" Shalimar almost squeaked, surprised that he had managed to approach without her sensing it.
Jesse winced. "Please keep it down to a low roar. I've got a killer headache."
"I'm sorry."
"Oh yes, Emma. You should be sorry," he said sarcastically as he crossed the room to the refrigerator and retrieved an orange juice. "We all know that you're to blame for my having a headache." The smile that graced his features during the light-hearted teasing instantly vanished when he turned around to see that Emma's face had lost all color and there were tears shining in her green eyes. Three long strides brought him to her side. "Emma, what's wrong?" he asked, taking one of her hands in his own.
"Jesse," Adam gained the young man's attention. "Sit down. There's something we need to discuss with you."
Jesse listened attentively as Adam explained the events that had transpired in Kovakhstan. Emma was reluctant to speak, providing the minimum amount of words needed to answer when Adam called on her. When her eyes were not downcast, she focused on anything and everything but Jesse.
For the most part, Jesse listened to the tale with a strange sense of detachment. It was if the team was discussing the latest science fiction movie instead of a chapter from his own life. It wasn't until Adam mentioned the need to return the mystery memory that Jesse seemed to snap out of his stupor.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! From the sounds of it, I don't think I want to remember this...this...whatever it is. Why can't we just let it be?"
"I'm afraid it's not as simple as that," Adam explained. "In a short time, whether you want it or not, the memory will return. The headache you're experiencing right now is probably the result of your mind's battle against Emma's barrier. It's up to you, but I would prefer to have you in a controlled environment when the memories are returned."
Jesse looked to each of his friends in turn before finally allowing his eyes to rest on Shalimar. He saw the usual myriad of emotions: compassion, support, strength, determination, concern, and even a touch of admiration, however, there was a new addition to the mix. Something that he thought he would never see. Fear. It was so subtle that he didn't think anyone else could have noticed it, but it was there and its mere presence froze him in place.
Shalimar gave a tight smile, breaking the trance. 'Message received and understood, Shal,' Jesse thought. "Okay, Adam. What do we need to do?" he asked, never breaking eye contact with Shalimar. He could see her admiration for him raise a notch. Unfortunately, the fear increased as well.
Adam closed his eyes and sighed. "If you're sure that you're ready, let's go to the med lab."
Jesse rose from his chair. "There's no time like the present," he said with a nervous smile. The rest of the team joined him as he proceeded out of the room towards the med lab.
"That's the spirit, bro." Brennan clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"After all," the younger man continued, "this is me we're talking about here. What kind of big, scary secret could I possibly have? It can't be too bad, can it?"
Shalimar's step faltered and she emitted something that sounded like a cross between a cough and a sob. She recovered quickly and when Jessie looked to her, the gentle, but forced, smile was back.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Unsure of what to expect, Adam had prepared for a number of medical possibilities, not the least of which was mental shock. Emma had requested a degree of privacy for the 'procedure', so Adam had allowed her and Jesse to situate themselves in a small room and the rest of the team would be able watch through a large observation window.
When the proper monitoring equipment had been set up and Emma had received approval from Adam, she turned to Jesse. "Are you ready?"
"Uh," his eyes darted nervously between her and Shalimar before finally settling on her. "Yeah. Let's do it."
The edge of determination in his voice flowed directly to Emma's heart. They would be alright. Emma smiled, stepped closer to him, and placed her hands on either side of his head. She closed her eyes in concentration as she projected herself into her friend's mind.
Slowly and oh so carefully, she waded through his memories. It was a much different place than the last time she had been there. Before, his mind had been cloaked in an all-encompassing darkness. Pain, fear, confusion, and disgust had been overwhelming as they all battled for supremacy. This time, however, the dominant memories were all pleasant: his mother, various childhood joys, his friends at Mutant X, and... Emma chuckled and made herself a mental note to ask about whoever this woman was.
Emma smiled to herself as she thought of how much she could tease Jesse over that particular memory, but the smile faded when she realized that she was allowing herself to become distracted so easily. She'd never realized how very little she knew about Jesse's past, and now that she had his permission to enter his mind, the temptation to explore a little was almost too much to resist.
She pulled herself together and faced the task at hand with renewed determination. In no time, she found the mental box, still tucked into a far corner of Jesse's mind. Its condition was actually far worse than she'd expected. It was crumbling before her eyes.
Emma gently reached out for the box, intending only to move it closer for examination, but the instant she came into contact with it, the box completely disintegrated and the trapped memories escaped.