TEAM SPIRIT
Part 2
"Shalimar? Have you seen Emma?"
Brennan glanced down from the elevated dojo. Shalimar hadn't moved from her spot beside the pond, although the candles had long since burned up.
"Shal?"
She shifted a little to look up, slowly focusing on his face. Her eyes were red-rimmed with grief and lack of sleep.
"Emma? No." Her head sank back until her cheek rested on her arm and she resumed her silent vigil next to the water.
He watched her for a moment more. It vexed Brennan to see one of his teammates in such pain. Especially since he couldn't do a damn thing about it.
Saunders' death had hit Shalimar pretty hard, harder than any of them had thought possible. But this, this wasn't normal, was it? This sort of depressed state? Brennan made a mental note to check with Adam. Maybe it was a feral thing. Or maybe a woman thing. Perhaps he could ask Emma how to fix things. Once he found her.
Which brought him to his original reason for disturbing Shalimar in the first place. Where was Emma?
The Sanctuary was a large place, but not thát big. He had looked everywhere he could think of. Emma wasn't in her room. She wasn't in the labs either, and obviously she wasn't with Shalimar.
A sudden thought made him check for the car. The silver Audi was missing. Well, that at least explained why he couldn't find Emma within the Sanctuary walls, Brennan decided.
He located Adam where he had expected him to be: tinkering with something or other in the research lab.
"Did Emma tell you where she went?"
Adam looked up. "No. I didn't know she was gone."
"Yup." Brennan picked up a vial with a bright green fluid and held it against the light. Strands of darker green shifted inside. "Took the car, too."
Adam walked around the table and snatched the vial from Brennan's hand. "Maybe she wanted to get away for a bit."
That would make sense. The atmosphere in the Sanctuary had been a bit oppressive lately, to say the least. Brennan assumed that a telempath would be more affected by people's moods than the general population. And Shalimar's mood was bleaker than the Sahara desert.
"Is Shal going to be all right?"
Adam stopped fiddling with the gadget he was working on and thought for a moment before he answered. "Shalimar is a passionate creature, Brennan. She loves with passion, fights with passion. And she mourns with passion. She'll be fine, just give it some time. Now, was there something you wanted to talk to Emma about?"
Yes, Brennan wanted to say. It wasn't like Emma to disappear without letting anyone know. Something was worrying the edge of his mind, like an itch he couldn't scratch.
"No," he found himself saying instead. "It can wait."
If Emma decided she needed some time alone, he was happy to let her have it. He didn't want to give her a reason to get more upset with them than she already was. He knew she felt they deprecated her value to the team. She'd gotten that message across loud and clear when she followed Jesse and him chasing after Donna Morse, one-upping them at every step.
It wasn't true, of course. Emma's input was invaluable in its own way. Her misfortune was, Brennan mused while he wandered back through the quiet Sanctuary hallways, that she possessed a certain innocence, a vulnerability that brought the Galahad in him to the fore.
"Hey, Brennan!" Jesse bounced from a side hallway and smacked his shoulder.
Brennan lashed out, aiming for Jesse's head and connecting only with air.
Jesse laughed. "Want to spar some? Looks like you could use some more practice."
Brennan snorted. He caught Shalimar's prone form beneath the dojo and his expression grew serious once more. "Maybe some other time, eh, Jess."
Jesse followed his gaze. "Yeah. You know what? We should run another scan on the Genomex system. Maybe something comes up. A little bit of action might get Shalimar out of her funk."
Brennan nodded. "Good idea. Lead the way."
He followed Jesse up the stairs to the computer, thoughts of Emma pushed to the back of his mind.
TBC
Part 2
"Shalimar? Have you seen Emma?"
Brennan glanced down from the elevated dojo. Shalimar hadn't moved from her spot beside the pond, although the candles had long since burned up.
"Shal?"
She shifted a little to look up, slowly focusing on his face. Her eyes were red-rimmed with grief and lack of sleep.
"Emma? No." Her head sank back until her cheek rested on her arm and she resumed her silent vigil next to the water.
He watched her for a moment more. It vexed Brennan to see one of his teammates in such pain. Especially since he couldn't do a damn thing about it.
Saunders' death had hit Shalimar pretty hard, harder than any of them had thought possible. But this, this wasn't normal, was it? This sort of depressed state? Brennan made a mental note to check with Adam. Maybe it was a feral thing. Or maybe a woman thing. Perhaps he could ask Emma how to fix things. Once he found her.
Which brought him to his original reason for disturbing Shalimar in the first place. Where was Emma?
The Sanctuary was a large place, but not thát big. He had looked everywhere he could think of. Emma wasn't in her room. She wasn't in the labs either, and obviously she wasn't with Shalimar.
A sudden thought made him check for the car. The silver Audi was missing. Well, that at least explained why he couldn't find Emma within the Sanctuary walls, Brennan decided.
He located Adam where he had expected him to be: tinkering with something or other in the research lab.
"Did Emma tell you where she went?"
Adam looked up. "No. I didn't know she was gone."
"Yup." Brennan picked up a vial with a bright green fluid and held it against the light. Strands of darker green shifted inside. "Took the car, too."
Adam walked around the table and snatched the vial from Brennan's hand. "Maybe she wanted to get away for a bit."
That would make sense. The atmosphere in the Sanctuary had been a bit oppressive lately, to say the least. Brennan assumed that a telempath would be more affected by people's moods than the general population. And Shalimar's mood was bleaker than the Sahara desert.
"Is Shal going to be all right?"
Adam stopped fiddling with the gadget he was working on and thought for a moment before he answered. "Shalimar is a passionate creature, Brennan. She loves with passion, fights with passion. And she mourns with passion. She'll be fine, just give it some time. Now, was there something you wanted to talk to Emma about?"
Yes, Brennan wanted to say. It wasn't like Emma to disappear without letting anyone know. Something was worrying the edge of his mind, like an itch he couldn't scratch.
"No," he found himself saying instead. "It can wait."
If Emma decided she needed some time alone, he was happy to let her have it. He didn't want to give her a reason to get more upset with them than she already was. He knew she felt they deprecated her value to the team. She'd gotten that message across loud and clear when she followed Jesse and him chasing after Donna Morse, one-upping them at every step.
It wasn't true, of course. Emma's input was invaluable in its own way. Her misfortune was, Brennan mused while he wandered back through the quiet Sanctuary hallways, that she possessed a certain innocence, a vulnerability that brought the Galahad in him to the fore.
"Hey, Brennan!" Jesse bounced from a side hallway and smacked his shoulder.
Brennan lashed out, aiming for Jesse's head and connecting only with air.
Jesse laughed. "Want to spar some? Looks like you could use some more practice."
Brennan snorted. He caught Shalimar's prone form beneath the dojo and his expression grew serious once more. "Maybe some other time, eh, Jess."
Jesse followed his gaze. "Yeah. You know what? We should run another scan on the Genomex system. Maybe something comes up. A little bit of action might get Shalimar out of her funk."
Brennan nodded. "Good idea. Lead the way."
He followed Jesse up the stairs to the computer, thoughts of Emma pushed to the back of his mind.
TBC