Disclaimer: mutant x doesn't belong to me.  Melody however does!

A/N: sorry for it taking so long but I had some major writer's block!!!!  I'm past it now (hopefully) so the next chapter shouldn't be that long of a wait!  Here's…

Chapter 5

The next morning at Sanctuary

Brennan tried to eat his cereal, but he couldn't.  Instead his mind wandered over to Jesse and Emma.  They were at the resort by now, and there was no doubt in Brennan's mind that Jesse was putting the moves on Emma.  *Jesse better not hurt her.  They're supposed to be helping a new mutant, but why is it going to be three days long?  When they come back, Jesse will find some other girl and break Emma's heart.*  Brennan was so involved in his thoughts, he didn't notice Shalimar sat down next to him.

"Good morning," Shalimar kissed him on the cheek.  When Brennan didn't respond, she shook him gently, "Earth to Brennan."

He snapped out of it and looked at her, "What is it Shal?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm just worried about Emma being alone with Jesse.  I don't want her to fall for Jesse, only to have him dump her and move onto the next girl he sees."

Shalimar gave him a dirty look, "Jesse's not like that.  In fact his last girlfriend was killed and that's why he's no longer with her.  How could you think he would do something like that?"

"I can't help it.  Emma's the sister that I never had Shal, and I don't want to see her get hurt.  Why is she setting herself up for more pain?"

Shalimar stroked Brennan's arm, "She'll be fine Brennan.  Emma's not setting herself up for more pain; she's trying to love again.  I know Jesse better than you do, trust me; he's not going to hurt her.  Now why don't you forget about them and spar with me?  Loser buys dinner," Shalimar smiled.

"Okay," Brennan agreed.  He didn't want Shalimar to get mad because he was thinking about the other two more than her, but he couldn't stop worrying about Emma.  Together they left for the dojo.

The same time at Snow Summit

Jesse brushed a stray hair from Emma's face and said softly, "Emma, it's time to get up.  We have to be downstairs in an hour."

"We can still lay here for fifteen more minutes," Emma said sleepily.  "After we talk to Melody, do you want to go snowboarding?"

"Sounds good to me.  I'll take my shower now so you can lay down until I get out."

Jesse knew that she had trouble sleeping the night before.  Emma had been tossing and turning in her sleep, as well as mumbling things Jesse could barely make out.  A few times Emma woke up sobbing, but Jesse spoke softly to her and she would drift off into sleep.  Each time she woke up, Jesse didn't ask her about her dreams, he already knew what they were; instead he held her in a comforting embrace.

An hour later

Jesse and Emma walked into the dinning room of the lodge.  Melody waved to them and they walked over and sat down. 

"Did you guys sleep well last night?"

"Yeah," Emma lied with a smile on her face.

"I'm starved," Jesse exclaimed and Emma burst out laughing.

After they ordered breakfast, Melody began telling them why she asked for help.  "I need a safe place to stay until the next winter season.  Whenever the season ends, I would go stay with my friends, but the last time I stayed…I accidentally froze one.  By the time I figured out how to reverse it, her heart stopped beating.  I was kicked out of the apartment.  With no where else to go, I came back here.  Since this is a winter ski resort, I had no money to buy food or supplies.  There's stuff here now, but it would only last three months.  One of my guests told me about the underground.  That's why I contacted Adam.  I was told I would be safe, and among other mutants.  Maybe even get help with controlling my power.  My resort closes in two more days, but I was hoping you could take me with you and put me in the underground."

Emma looked at Melody, "That's why we're here.  Don't worry; we'll take care of you.  Once we put you in the underground, I'm sure there'll be some mutants who can help you with your powers as well."

Melody looked from one to the other, "Thank you both."

Their food arrived and they all ate quickly.

"Are you guys going skiing today?"

Jesse nodded, "We're going snowboarding."

"Tell the people at the rental desk that I said you're equipment is free.  It's the least I can do since you guys are helping me out."

"Thanks," Emma smiled.

Melody excused herself and went back to the desk to answer the phone.  Jesse looked over at Emma, "Ready to go have some fun?"

"Yeah let's go," Emma put on her jacket and Jesse did the same.  Then they headed towards the rental shack.

After obtaining the snowboarding gear they headed for the lifts.  Jesse saw a sign to the right of the ski lifts.  "Hey Emma, why don't we try this one?"  The sign indicated that it was a beginner's slope.

"Okay," Emma positioned herself before the slope.

Jesse moved next to her, "Race you to the bottom!"

Both of them took off down the slope.  When they got a third of the way down, the snow gave away beneath them and they fell.  Jesse massed and hit the bottom of the icy cavern without a scratch.  Emma landed on her wrist and heard a sickening snap.  A sharp pain ran through her wrist to her shoulder and she cried out in pain.  In seconds Jesse was at her side, "What happened?"

Emma cradled her injured arm, "I think I broke my wrist."  Turning her eyes upward she noticed that they fell twenty feet; she was lucky that's all she broke.  After unhooking the snowboard from her feet (A/N: I've never been snowboarding and have no idea as to how the board stays on your feet…), she stood up.

"We need to find a way out of here.  This whole cavern is ice, and even though we're wearing jackets we could still freeze down here."  Jesse grabbed Emma's hand and they started searching the various caverns for an exit.

Sanctuary

Shalimar looked down at Brennan with a smile; she had won.  "You'd better take me somewhere nice.  After dinner, we can come back here for desert."  Leaning down, Shalimar kissed him deeply to give him an idea of what she had in mind.  Then she left the room to take a shower.

Brennan watched her leave and smiled.  Maybe it was a good thing that Adam sent the other two, because that meant being alone with Shalimar.  Well not completely alone, but Adam rarely ever left the lab.  After taking a drink of water, Brennan headed out towards his shower as well.

The ice cavern

Two hours had passed by since Jesse and Emma fell into the vast ice cavern, and they didn't find a way out.  All of the caverns were dead ends.  The cold air seeped through their jackets as if they were wearing nothing.

"We're going to die down here aren't we," Emma asked.  She was so cold she could hardly speak.

"No, we're going to make it.  There's got to be a way out of here.  There are a few caverns we didn't explore yet."  Jesse put his arm around Emma's shoulders to offer her more warmth.  "How's your arm?"

"It hurts like hell," Emma said flatly.

"I should take a look at it.  I might need to set it."  They stopped walking and Jesse helped her out of her jacket.  The cold air made Emma tremble violently as Jesse gently rolled up the sleeve of her sweater.  Emma drew in a sharp breath as he gingerly touched the broken wrist.  "Let me see your scarf.  I'll use it as a sling for your arm."

Emma took off her scarf with her good hand and Jesse quickly tied it into a sling.  With Emma's arm taken care of, Jesse put her jacket onto her shoulders and they continued into the next cavern.

"Is it me or is it getting warmer," Emma asked.

"You're right.  There's something up there."  Jesse and Emma walked forward until they saw the source of the heat.

Pools of hot springs were spotted on the ground.  Each was about five feet wide and five feet deep.  In one of the pools, there was an edge to sit on, like a Jacuzzi. 

Jesse left Emma's side and walked to the edge.

"Jesse, it might be really hot.  Or acid water or something."

Jesse turned to look at her, "If we don't warm our bodies up soon, we'll freeze to death.  So me sticking a finger to test the water doesn't seem to be that dangerous."  Dipping his finger in the water, he was relieved to discover that it wasn't boiling hot or acid water.  *The ice in the cave probably prevents it from boiling.*

"The water's fine.  I think our best bet is to get in and warm ourselves up," Jesse reasoned.

"But when we get out our clothes will be wet.  Even if we went in our underwear like before, they'll be ice cold as soon as we step out.  Not to mention we have nothing to dry us off with, so the water alone will freeze us when we get out," Emma pointed out.

"We'll out our clothes right next to the edge, including the sling for your arm.  I'm not saying we won't freeze when we get out, but we need to bring our body temperature up."

"So what are you suggesting we do then?"

Jesse could feel heat rising to his face as he blushed, "I'm suggesting…that we go in naked.  It's the best bet we have to staying as warm as possible.  It'll be cold when we get out but at least our clothes will be dry."  Jesse saw that Emma was hesitating so he added, "You go in first and I'll turn around.  Let me know when you're done and then I'll climb in.  The steam is thick enough so we can't see through the water."

"Okay.  I guess we don't have much choice."

Jesse helped Emma remove the sling and then he turned around and stared at the wall.

"Um…Jess," Emma asked nervously.

He turned around and looked at Emma, who was blushing furiously, "Yeah?"

"I…um…can you help me out of my clothes?  With my wrist broken I can't get out of my sweater, unhook my bra, unzip my pants, or take off my shoes," Emma was looking anywhere but in Jesse's eyes.

Jesse's own face turned a bit pink, "Yeah, I'll help you."  First he took off her shoes and socks.  Then quickly began to remove her other clothes as well so she could get in the hot water.

The whole time Jesse was helping Emma, he was looking anywhere but Emma's body.  She quickly climbed into the hot pool and sat down on the ledge.  The hot water made her feel all tingly as it began to warm her.

A minute later Jesse climbed in and sat next to her.  "Oh this is so nice," he exclaimed as the hot water warmed him up as well.

Emma looked at Jesse, "How are we going to get out of here?  We can't sit here forever."

"I brought my cell with me because I knew we were going to be too far away to use our comlinks.  I know Brennan is already uptight about us being here, so there's no doubt in my mind he'll call.  When I don't answer he'll get more worried and will come looking for us," Jesse said.

"Why is Brennan uptight about us being here?"

"He's not too thrilled that I'm here with you.  Brennan has it set in his mind that I'm going to hurt you.  I told him that I would never hurt you, but he won't listen to me.  He thinks I'm going to break your heart."

Emma started to get mad, "That's just like him!  It's none of his business who I fall in love with, so why does he try to make it his business?  Brennan will never be happy for me no matter who I fall in love with.  He wasn't happy for me when I fell in love with Tyler, and he's still not happy for me now that I fell in love with…" Emma caught herself before she finished her sentence. 

Even though she didn't finish, Jesse knew Emma was talking about him.  *She's in love with me.*  Jesse took Emma's good hand in his and looked into her eyes, "I love you Emma.  I've been wanting to tell you that for a long time now."

 Emma gazed into his crystal blue eyes and her heart was racing, "I love you too Jess."

There was nothing else in the world Jesse wanted to do more than to kiss her, but they were both wearing nothing and he didn't want to rush her into anything she wasn't ready for.  Jesse knew that if he kissed her now, it would not be enough for him.

Sensing this, Emma moved a bit closer to him and kissed him passionately.  Slowly she pulled back and looked at him, as if waiting for an answer.

"Emma, are you sure you want to do this?"

Emma nodded and kissed him again.  Jesse caressed her tongue sweetly with his and then stood up on the bottom of the spring.  Emma stood up as well and walked through the water until she was standing in front of him.  Putting her good arm around his neck, she kissed him again.  Jesse kissed her neck and pushed her up against the wall.

Emma moaned in pleasure when Jesse nibbled on her ear, and she felt his erection rub up against her.  "Oh my God Jesse…"Emma breathed as she neared her peak.

"Say it Em," Jesse started planting kisses on her neck again, while cursing the water that stopped him from doing much else.

"I want you Jess.  I want you now," she said just before he captured her lips again.

Slowly and gently Jesse pushed himself inside of her.  Emma shuddered a bit, and he said, "Are you okay?"

Emma nodded, "Don't stop."

Their hips moved as one and Jesse could feel himself reaching the edge.  "Emma, if I don't stop…Uh, I'm not wearing a condom remember?"  He wanted so bad to release inside of her, but wasn't sure if that would be the smartest thing to do.  The last thing they needed was a baby running around Sanctuary.

Emma looked at him, "I can't get pregnant remember?"  Jesse looked away and started to pull out, thinking she was mad at him and the moment was gone.  In a flash Emma had Jesse pinned to the wall, "I'm not mad Jess."

"I'm sorry," he said just before he captured her lips again.  They continued to move together, faster than before.  Emma reached her peak again and went over the edge as Jesse came inside of her.

Slowly Jesse pulled out of her, and he led her back to the edge to sit down.  Once her breathing slowed down Emma said, "How long should we stay in the water?  It could be hours or days before anyone finds us."

Jesse put his arm around her, "We're going to be fine Em.  As long as we stay in the water we won't freeze.  We'll sit here for another hour and then get out and walk back to where we fell.  When Brennan and Shalimar come here to look for us, our comlinks will work and we'll be able to tell them where we are.  We're going to make it," Jesse reassured her and kissed her temple.

Emma rested her head on Jesse's shoulder and let out a small sigh.  She wished her friends were already on their way.  A sharp throbbing pain was coming from her wrist, so she cradled her arm again.

Jesse noticed her movements and the look of pain on her face, "Let me see your arm."  Carefully she lifted it above the water; it was blue and swollen.  "Put the sling back on, it'll help support your arm.  And when you get out, the cold air will help with the swelling."  Jesse reached behind Emma and grabbed the sling.  Then he carefully set her arm in it again and tied it.

"I don't think I'll ever go snowboarding again."

Jesse laughed and put his arm around her.  They continued to sit in the hot water, waiting to be rescued.

A/N: Next time…they get rescued from their icy prison.  Brennan, Shalimar, and Adam are all invited to stay at the resort too!  And…not everything is as it seems!!!! Please review!!!!