Emma opened her eyes and yawned.  Stretching luxuriously, she sat up and looked around her.  The medical lab was swathed in a dim blue light, making it look peaceful, almost surreal.  Outside the lab, Sanctuary was dark. Emma swung her legs over the edge of the bed and glanced at her watch. Four am.  She had slept for over nine hours.  Emma yawned again, and looked leisurely around the medical lab, at the same time testing her telempathic abilities.  There was still a small amount of sadness – coupled with a large amount of headache.  Emma rubbed her temples, then noticed a dark bundle in one of the chairs.  After a moment, she realized that it was Adam.  He was fast asleep, a book resting on his chest, a small smile on his face.  He had a look of contented peace that Emma rarely saw in his waking hours.  She smiled, then closed her eyes, probing into his dream, searching for whatever was making him so peaceful.  She knew it was wrong to invade someplace so sacred, so private, but she needed to capture some of his contentment, before the sadness threatened to overwhelm her again.

"Emma?  What are you doing?"

Emma jumped guiltily, her eyes flying open.  "Nothing."  After a moment, she sighed.

"You just looked so – peaceful.  I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have invaded you like that."

Adam stood up.  "It's alright.  What happened in there?"

Emma stood up, too, and began to pace the room.  "I'm not – sure, exactly.  All the candles in my room lit, and then I – I heard someone say 'help me' in my mind.  They were filled with so much sadness, Adam, so much pain.  And then – well, let's just say that my migraines won't seem as bad anymore."  Emma gave Adam a flash of a wry smile, then grew solemn again.  "Whoever it was, they're still here, in the back of my mind, like a – a telempathic whisper.  I don't think I can block it."  After a pause, she added, "I'm not sure I want to."

Emma looked at Adam, her eyes pleading.  Whoever it is, I have to help them."

Adam wrapped his arms around Emma, enveloping her in a comforting warmth.  'We'll do anything we can to help."

Emma smiled again.  "In that case, how about some Tylenol, or maybe some hard liquor?"

"Tylenol it is."

"Party pooper."

x X x

"Let me get this straight.  What're you talking about is a new and improved GSA?"

Brennan looked at Jesse skeptically.  "Even I have trouble believing the government's stupid enough to try that again."

Jesse shook his head.  "It's not the government.  This agency is privately owned."

"By who?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," Jesse replied, turning back to the computer.  "These guys keep their computer mainframe pretty locked up."  He cursed quietly as the words 'ACCESS DENIED' flashed across the screen, seeming to almost gloat at him.  "I've been trying to get in for almost two days now."

Brennan grinned.  "Maybe you're getting rusty, Kilmartin."

Jesse glared.  "And maybe you're a moron."  He turned back to the computer.  "I'm going to get in.  And when I do…"  He left the threat unfinished as Emma slowly climbed up the stairs.  "Emma!"

Emma smiled.  "Mornin' all."

Brennan looked at her, a concerned expression on his face.  "How are you feeling?"

"Well, other than the fact that someone keeps playing a steel drum band in my head, peachy."  Emma walked over to the kitchen area.  "That, and I'm starving."  She began to rummage through the cupboards, finally pulling out a box of crackers. "So, what did I miss?"

"Well," Brennan replied slowly,  "Jesse thinks he might have found a privately run version of the GSA."

Emma dropped the box in surprise.  "What?  Does Adam know?"

"Does Adam know what?"  Shalimar asked, sauntering in from the hallway.

"Jesse found another GSA," Emma said quietly, still in a state of shock.

Shalimar stared at Jesse for a moment before speaking.  "You found what?"

"You guys are blowing this way out of proportion," Jesse said, exasperated.  "I'm not even one hundred percent sure yet."

"Sure of what?" Adam asked, coming up from the med-lab.

Brennan, Shalimar and Emma chorused, "Jesse found a new GSA!"

Adam instantly looked concerned.  "I see.  How sure are you?"

Jesse shrugged, shooting glares at his teammates.  "About sixty, until I can get into their mainframe."

Emma listened as Adam and Jesse discussed their problem.  It was all way beyond her comprehension.  Suddenly, she became aware of a weak but insistant presence inside her mind.  Closing her eyes, Emma withdrew inside herself. 

~Hello?~

~Emma – Emma, help me.~

~How?~

~The password – it's control.  Help me.~

Emma could feel the presence – she was certain it was a girl – begin to fade.

~Wait – don't go – who are you?~

~Clara….~

"Emma?  Are you okay?"

Emma jumped, her eyes snapping open, then smiled at Shalimar.  "Yeah, I'm okay."  Seeing the disbelief of everyone's faces, she argued, "I am, really!  And the password is control."

Everyone continued to stare – except for Jesse, who spun towards the computer and began typing furiously.  A moment later, he let out a whoop of triumph. "Go Emma!"

Emma blushed.  "It was Clara – and will you all stop staring at me?  I'm starting to wonder if I've grown a third arm or something."

"Who's Clara?" asked Brennan.

Emma frowned, considering what to say.  If she told her teammates that she was hearing voice, she'd also be hearing teasing for the next two months.  After a moment, she answered, "I'm not sure, exactly.  She's been sending me telempathic messages, asking for my help."

Shalimar frowned.  "Is she the reason you had that – seizure – thing?"

Emma glared at her.  "It wasn't her fault.  I think she was in a large amount of pain, and unintentionally passed it on to me."

"How do you know it wasn't intentional?" Brennan asked suspiciously.

"Well, she didn't do anything to me this time, did she?" Emma retorted.  "Not to mention that she got Jesse into his mainframe.  I'd say she's being pretty helpful."

Brennan raised his hands in defense.  "Hey, I'm just being careful.  You don't have to bite my head off."

Emma glared at him.  "I'm going to help her, and if you wont' help me, I'll do it myself."

Adam grasped Emma firmly but gently by the shoulders.  "Emma, we never said we weren't going to help you.  We just wanted to make sure that this Clara isn't trying to hurt you."

Emma looked at him, then nodded.  "I'm sorry.  It's just – she seems so sad – I think she's in serious trouble."

"You said her name was Clara?"

Emma looked at Jesse in surprise, and nodded.  "Why?"

Jesse gestured to the computer screen.  On it was a picture of a young girl, no more then 12 years old.  "Because she's a prisoner of this GSA."