Animal Instincts
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in this story, apart from those not in the show.
Author's note: I'm here again, but this time with a different story. I've got to admit, it was because of something I read in the reviews to my other story "Firefly" that I decided to write this one. I know there are lots of people out there who really don't believe that Jesse and Shalimar can have a relationship other than a brother/sister relationship, but I took on board what the minority said and I decided to see if I could make it work. So this one's for all you S/J guys out there.
Chapter 1
A room, bare apart from a bed and a window, wide open. The night air is warm and the full moon's white rays embrace the silent town below. A slight summer breeze caresses the thin curtains as they drift into the room. On the bed a young woman in her mid twenties lies sleeping. The sheets are strewn and twisted around her legs, as if she's been tossing and turning in her dreams. Her face is coated with a thin layer of perspiration, and her long silver hair forms damp whorls on her cheek. Something drags her out of her fitful slumber and her eyes snap open. Her body curls up into a defensive pose and she snarls. Her head snaps round towards the window, and a look of panic clouds her amber eyes.
She should have realised. She should have taken better precautions. She scrabbled up towards the head of the bed, desperate to get out of the way, but nothing can slow down the inevitable. The pain begins in her chest as it tightens, making her gasp for breath. Then the tightness and prickling feeling spreads throughout her whole body, as if her skin were too small for her. The agony is prolonged further as her muscles contract and arch her back. The stretching continues, as if her body was being pulled in four different directions, and she falls to the floor, writhing with the pain, begging to be released from it, knowing there is nothing she can do.
Ten minutes later, it is all over. She opens her eyes, but everything looks different. She raises her head to sniff the night air. Blood. The pungent red smell of blood makes her mouth water, filling her with an insatiable hunger. She creeps out through the window and drops down onto the silent street below with barely a sound. Her mind is fixed only on one thing at the moment, and that's fresh, warm blood.
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The wildcat woman flew towards the man, her eyes feral-yellow, but he refused to budge, and simply grinned at her. As she jumped up to kick a heel into his chest, he became as insubstantial as the air itself and she fell through him onto the floor. She picked herself up and shook the long blonde hair out of her face.
"Come on, Shal," he said with a grin. "I'll get you a long cold drink and you can put your feet up old lady."
Shalimar crouched on the floor with a glint in her eye. "You're gonna live to regret ever calling me old, Jess," she grinned back at him.
"That's the third time I've been able to anticipate your moves. You just can't get one over on me," he continued teasing.
She swung her outstretched leg around to sweep his feet from under him, and as he fell to the floor heavily, she pounced on him, pinning him to the floor. "You take that back right now, or..."
"Or what?" he asked. "You'll make me pay?"
"Where did you learn to be so cheeky?" she asked.
"That's why you love me," he returned with another cheeky grin as he put his arms around her waist and drew her in for a kiss.
A cough from behind made them turn around guiltily.
"Don't mind me, guys," muttered Brennan. "Just thought I could do with a bit of a workout, but I can wait."
"No, that's OK Bren. I need a shower anyway," Shalimar explained as she scrambled up.
"You OK bro?" asked Jesse on his way out.
"Great Jess. Just great," he replied morosely. "And no, I don't want to talk about it," he continued. "Just wanna work off some energy."
"Whatever you say," he returned warily as he followed Shalimar out of the dojo.
"What's up with Brennan these days?" asked Shal as she looped her arm round his waist.
"I don't know, but I've got the feeling that it's going to take more than a session at the dojo to sort him out."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Adam sat at his chair, idly flicking through reports, checking each for suspected mutant activity. Things had been quiet for a while, and that worried him.
A lot worried him. Generally he worried about his children, as he thought about them. He knew that they looked up at him as they would a father, especially since none of them had a responsible father figure to look up to prior to him.
Recently, this had been worrying him more than usual. He had always known that the feelings he felt towards them were strictly paternal, but now he was doubting himself. Every time he looked at Emma, the surge of love and the pain in his heart, like shards of glass, when he thought of anything happening to her seemed more forceful.
He wondered whether she'd picked up on this already. He was uneasy with the thought that she already knew. He hadn't quite figured out how he felt about her, and the last thing he wanted was for her to know about his feelings before he'd had the chance to work them out for himself.
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut. If he didn't start concentrating soon, the whole team would start getting suspicious, and the last thing he needed was all of them on his back.
He opened his eyes and tried to focus once again on the screen in front of him. He managed to get through another couple of reports before his gaze slipped away towards the red head bent over the poetry book. If only he could see into that head, see whether she felt remotely the same way as him. See whether the idea of seeing him as anything other than a father figure repulsed her.
He shook his head and admonished himself to stop being so stupid. Of course she would feel disgusted if she could read his thoughts towards her now. He was so much older than her after all, and she had the pick of young men who would come running to her at the blink of her blue eye.
His attention once again returned to the screen, determined to keep his feelings to himself and do his job thoroughly in order to keep them all safe.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Emma raised her head thoughtfully, tearing her attention away from her poetry book. Something had caught her attention, but she could quite tell what. An itch at the back of her mind told her that someone had been sending out powerful emotions, but she had been too caught up in her book to be able to grasp who it had been.
Her eyes softened as she focused on Adam. Their protector and their confidant. Always working to protect them, and others like them, from people like Eckhart and the GSA.
She watched him for a while as his eyes scanned the screen in front of him, and had to fight back the urge to stroke a stray curl away from his face. She had come to realise during the past few weeks that what she felt for him was something more than platonic. She knew that there were a lot of men out there whose emotions were based on lust and were only interested in her for one thing. Instinctively she knew that Adam would not be like them.
Usually she would have been able to figure out how men felt about her by reading them, but she was getting conflicting and confusing emotions from Adam. She put this down to the fact hat her own emotions were clouding her judgement in this particular case, and it bothered her.
She had always thought that she would only be able to fall in love with another psionic, but Adam was unwittingly changing her mind. She couldn't even put her finger on what it was about him that attracted her. His strength of character, his intelligence, his sense of justice, his almost telepathic ability to sense what she was thinking, knowing exactly when she needed his shoulder to cry on, and when she needed to be left alone. Whatever it was, it was driving her slowly crazy. She knew how he felt towards his team, and that it wasn't remotely like the way she was feeling towards him.
She raised her eyes from the page she had been blankly staring at for the past ten minutes and looked over in Adam's direction. To her embarrassment, he was already looking her way, and their eyes met before they both whipped their gaze away again. Her face was engulfed with the warmth of awkwardness as the pinkness crept up her cheeks.
An urgent beeping distracted her attention from the as yet unread page and she glanced up again. Adam's brow was furrowed as he read the information on the screen.
"Adam?" she asked him softly.
"I'm getting a report about some violent killings. This smells of rogue mutant to me," he replied worriedly.
Emma walked softly towards him and looked at the screen over his shoulder. Her hair fell gently forwards and brushed his cheek. He felt his heart jump as her hair stroked his skin, and smelt her favourite scent. It was as if he had turned into an awkward teenager in the space of a second. His palms were clammy and he felt tongue-tied.
He mentally shook his head and managed to express, "I think we should check this out."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
So what do you think so far? Does it work? R&R please, because I think I'll drop it immediately if it really doesn't work out.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in this story, apart from those not in the show.
Author's note: I'm here again, but this time with a different story. I've got to admit, it was because of something I read in the reviews to my other story "Firefly" that I decided to write this one. I know there are lots of people out there who really don't believe that Jesse and Shalimar can have a relationship other than a brother/sister relationship, but I took on board what the minority said and I decided to see if I could make it work. So this one's for all you S/J guys out there.
Chapter 1
A room, bare apart from a bed and a window, wide open. The night air is warm and the full moon's white rays embrace the silent town below. A slight summer breeze caresses the thin curtains as they drift into the room. On the bed a young woman in her mid twenties lies sleeping. The sheets are strewn and twisted around her legs, as if she's been tossing and turning in her dreams. Her face is coated with a thin layer of perspiration, and her long silver hair forms damp whorls on her cheek. Something drags her out of her fitful slumber and her eyes snap open. Her body curls up into a defensive pose and she snarls. Her head snaps round towards the window, and a look of panic clouds her amber eyes.
She should have realised. She should have taken better precautions. She scrabbled up towards the head of the bed, desperate to get out of the way, but nothing can slow down the inevitable. The pain begins in her chest as it tightens, making her gasp for breath. Then the tightness and prickling feeling spreads throughout her whole body, as if her skin were too small for her. The agony is prolonged further as her muscles contract and arch her back. The stretching continues, as if her body was being pulled in four different directions, and she falls to the floor, writhing with the pain, begging to be released from it, knowing there is nothing she can do.
Ten minutes later, it is all over. She opens her eyes, but everything looks different. She raises her head to sniff the night air. Blood. The pungent red smell of blood makes her mouth water, filling her with an insatiable hunger. She creeps out through the window and drops down onto the silent street below with barely a sound. Her mind is fixed only on one thing at the moment, and that's fresh, warm blood.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The wildcat woman flew towards the man, her eyes feral-yellow, but he refused to budge, and simply grinned at her. As she jumped up to kick a heel into his chest, he became as insubstantial as the air itself and she fell through him onto the floor. She picked herself up and shook the long blonde hair out of her face.
"Come on, Shal," he said with a grin. "I'll get you a long cold drink and you can put your feet up old lady."
Shalimar crouched on the floor with a glint in her eye. "You're gonna live to regret ever calling me old, Jess," she grinned back at him.
"That's the third time I've been able to anticipate your moves. You just can't get one over on me," he continued teasing.
She swung her outstretched leg around to sweep his feet from under him, and as he fell to the floor heavily, she pounced on him, pinning him to the floor. "You take that back right now, or..."
"Or what?" he asked. "You'll make me pay?"
"Where did you learn to be so cheeky?" she asked.
"That's why you love me," he returned with another cheeky grin as he put his arms around her waist and drew her in for a kiss.
A cough from behind made them turn around guiltily.
"Don't mind me, guys," muttered Brennan. "Just thought I could do with a bit of a workout, but I can wait."
"No, that's OK Bren. I need a shower anyway," Shalimar explained as she scrambled up.
"You OK bro?" asked Jesse on his way out.
"Great Jess. Just great," he replied morosely. "And no, I don't want to talk about it," he continued. "Just wanna work off some energy."
"Whatever you say," he returned warily as he followed Shalimar out of the dojo.
"What's up with Brennan these days?" asked Shal as she looped her arm round his waist.
"I don't know, but I've got the feeling that it's going to take more than a session at the dojo to sort him out."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Adam sat at his chair, idly flicking through reports, checking each for suspected mutant activity. Things had been quiet for a while, and that worried him.
A lot worried him. Generally he worried about his children, as he thought about them. He knew that they looked up at him as they would a father, especially since none of them had a responsible father figure to look up to prior to him.
Recently, this had been worrying him more than usual. He had always known that the feelings he felt towards them were strictly paternal, but now he was doubting himself. Every time he looked at Emma, the surge of love and the pain in his heart, like shards of glass, when he thought of anything happening to her seemed more forceful.
He wondered whether she'd picked up on this already. He was uneasy with the thought that she already knew. He hadn't quite figured out how he felt about her, and the last thing he wanted was for her to know about his feelings before he'd had the chance to work them out for himself.
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut. If he didn't start concentrating soon, the whole team would start getting suspicious, and the last thing he needed was all of them on his back.
He opened his eyes and tried to focus once again on the screen in front of him. He managed to get through another couple of reports before his gaze slipped away towards the red head bent over the poetry book. If only he could see into that head, see whether she felt remotely the same way as him. See whether the idea of seeing him as anything other than a father figure repulsed her.
He shook his head and admonished himself to stop being so stupid. Of course she would feel disgusted if she could read his thoughts towards her now. He was so much older than her after all, and she had the pick of young men who would come running to her at the blink of her blue eye.
His attention once again returned to the screen, determined to keep his feelings to himself and do his job thoroughly in order to keep them all safe.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Emma raised her head thoughtfully, tearing her attention away from her poetry book. Something had caught her attention, but she could quite tell what. An itch at the back of her mind told her that someone had been sending out powerful emotions, but she had been too caught up in her book to be able to grasp who it had been.
Her eyes softened as she focused on Adam. Their protector and their confidant. Always working to protect them, and others like them, from people like Eckhart and the GSA.
She watched him for a while as his eyes scanned the screen in front of him, and had to fight back the urge to stroke a stray curl away from his face. She had come to realise during the past few weeks that what she felt for him was something more than platonic. She knew that there were a lot of men out there whose emotions were based on lust and were only interested in her for one thing. Instinctively she knew that Adam would not be like them.
Usually she would have been able to figure out how men felt about her by reading them, but she was getting conflicting and confusing emotions from Adam. She put this down to the fact hat her own emotions were clouding her judgement in this particular case, and it bothered her.
She had always thought that she would only be able to fall in love with another psionic, but Adam was unwittingly changing her mind. She couldn't even put her finger on what it was about him that attracted her. His strength of character, his intelligence, his sense of justice, his almost telepathic ability to sense what she was thinking, knowing exactly when she needed his shoulder to cry on, and when she needed to be left alone. Whatever it was, it was driving her slowly crazy. She knew how he felt towards his team, and that it wasn't remotely like the way she was feeling towards him.
She raised her eyes from the page she had been blankly staring at for the past ten minutes and looked over in Adam's direction. To her embarrassment, he was already looking her way, and their eyes met before they both whipped their gaze away again. Her face was engulfed with the warmth of awkwardness as the pinkness crept up her cheeks.
An urgent beeping distracted her attention from the as yet unread page and she glanced up again. Adam's brow was furrowed as he read the information on the screen.
"Adam?" she asked him softly.
"I'm getting a report about some violent killings. This smells of rogue mutant to me," he replied worriedly.
Emma walked softly towards him and looked at the screen over his shoulder. Her hair fell gently forwards and brushed his cheek. He felt his heart jump as her hair stroked his skin, and smelt her favourite scent. It was as if he had turned into an awkward teenager in the space of a second. His palms were clammy and he felt tongue-tied.
He mentally shook his head and managed to express, "I think we should check this out."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
So what do you think so far? Does it work? R&R please, because I think I'll drop it immediately if it really doesn't work out.
