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"Hey! Wait!" Brennan rushed towards her, managing to grab Emma's arm before she went through the door.
"What??" Emma sounded annoyed.
"You can't go out!" he told her.
"Why the hell not?"
"Because it's not safe! The virus is still active and you know that it might be like that for two more days."
"What virus?" Emma gazed at him with the question marks never once disappearing from her face.
"You've no idea about that either?"
"No!"
Brennan's grip loosened. "It's this mutated virus only lethal to mutants that's been going through this city for a day now."
"How?? How did it happen?"
"We don't know."
"… well can it be stopped?"
Brennan nodded. "There's a way to control it and it's going to be taken care of in a couple of days, but until then all mutants can't go out on those streets."
"You're sure?"
"Yes!"
He was telling the truth. Emma glanced at the side. "So, it's happening again, then," she thought. "So…we're stuck here for now?" she asked him.
"Yeah."
"Great," Emma groaned and walked away but stopped in front of the stairs. She looked up; the setting seemed different. "Green walls?!" she thought almost choked on it. Instead of going up, she circled the stairs and continued forward hoping to see the small Japanese meditation garden and even the dojo while she was at it. "Ok, this is still here…" Emma nodded when noticing the garden… only it was bigger and there were a couple of strange green plants surrounding it even two smaller palm trees. Slowly stepping on the platform, Emma placed her hands on her waist and observed the tiny area. She felt the floor being warm which appeared odd to her. Glancing down, Emma caught her feet with her eyes: she still hadn't put anything on them. No wonder they were getting the cruel treatment of the constant cold-warm change.
Lifting her head up, Emma noticed that amazingly the dojo was there after all. Looking in front of her, Emma came to the edge of the platform and glanced at the water. There were perhaps a dozen colorful fish swimming in it. "Hmm…" Turning around, Emma saw that there were four waterfalls. "This is not Sanctuary…" she told herself.
"Going down memory lane?" his voice soon made the Psionic to spin around and catch him standing closely to the platform with his thumbs in his pockets; it was then that Emma noticed just how differently this man was dressed than from the last time she saw him… in her reality. White loose pants and bloody red sweater with some black lines drawn on the front. Although she was still exploring the, for her, strange surrounding, for a moment it paused as her eyes stopped on his face.
Shaking her head, she touched it as the feeling of a headache appeared for a couple of seconds, causing her to close her eyes. "Yeah," she replied and opened her blues.
"Wanna go up?" he asked and pointed to the dojo.
Emma took a glimpse of the destination. "Um, why?" she asked.
"Maybe to help you 'refresh' your memory?" he offered.
"Aha… really…" looking now back at him, Emma bit her lip. "Um," she got down and closer to the Elemental, "ok," she replied with hesitancy.
Brennan took her hand and led her up the stairs. His hand was warm. Emma glanced at his scar; she had to ask about that later. But she suddenly stopped him: "No. It's ok. Not… today," she responded.
Brennan turned to her. "Do you know which program I was going to activate?"
Emma shook her head; she truly had no idea, much like for everything else. "Can I ask, um…" she swallowed, "what did we do last night?" Emma was going to give into that notion that she might have been there and did have a short memory loss because the curiosity, especially when her eyes landed on his face when she stood on the garden platform, got the best of her… as usual. The look she got from Brennan as a response was not only astonished but it had ounces of small disappointment which despite that it truly shouldn't, reached Emma inside.
"We had sex," he replied shortly and in an instant Emma received those images which almost threw her back; tossed sheets, sweating bodies, loud moans, fingers traveling everywhere and like a thick sweet river, a feeling from those moments flowed into her and filled parts of her consciousness. The Psionic took a step back and let go of Brennan's arm; the feeling affected her temperature and even the rhythm of her heart as they rose up for two intense seconds. "Oh," Emma rubbed her arms, looking on the side. Because of the effect the feeling had on her, she now hoped this really was another reality otherwise she would curse herself for not remembering that night, and with Brennan out of all people. Her eyes returned to him. "Ok," she quietly responded and went down the stairs. If this was a different reality, shouldn't she encounter herself? Heaven forbid she could've actually traveled forward into the future. Whatever it was, if she did travel somewhere, exactly how did she get here?
Emma journeyed with her gaze in front of her and heard Brennan's quiet footsteps behind her. "This is a dream," she thought, "screw the intense reality of it all, it has to be a dream!" and sighed. Except for those changes which the Psionic saw earlier, everything else seemed the same. "But it's not Sanctuary… it can't be. How did I get here? What am I doing her?" Her thinking was then interrupted with Brennan's touch on her left arm. "Would you like to eat something?" he asked softly.
Emma looked at him; from the moment she woke up, she never heard that tone change, at least for her; when he would talk with the others it was slightly crude. "Please let this not be real…" she begged inside. "He isn't my husband." But she then nodded. "Sure," she agreed, deciding to play along; perhaps she would learn more this way... and besides, she did feel hungry.
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Sitting on the "red?" table, Emma looked over at Shalimar who had been sitting on the opposite side, feeding her daughter. The site seemed very heartwarming to the Psionic; the way the Feral was being attentive towards her child gave the picture of a true mother, both human and feline, being true to her maternal instincts. "She would make a good mum," Emma thought to herself. "She's really adorable," she then said loudly.
Shalimar glanced at Emma and smiled. "Oh she's the most beautiful little girl in the whole…" and then the child spread her arms "The whoooole…" Mona joined in. "Whole world," both mutants spoke those two words at the same time and giggled.
This strangely brought a smile to the Psionic's face. Mona had her mother's exact lips and nose. "Who's her father anyway?" Emma asked herself. She wanted to pop up this question but somehow she didn't feel that it was appropriate at this moment. "Yes, she is," instead she agreed with Shalimar and Mona. Shortly afterwards, Brennan sat next to her. Looking at her plate, Emma noticed vegetables… strange; she noticed vegetables on every dish. "Is this a vegetarian thing?" she asked.
Brennan handed her the chopsticks. "It's been that way since the first day here, honey," he responded.
"That pet name again," Emma shivered for a moment. Taking the sticks, she glanced over at her 'husband'. "Brennan, could you please not use that name?" she asked.
Another strange look as his movements slowed down, "Ok…" he responded and quickly before even Emma could back away, kissed her head.
Emma touched that spot and returned to her food. "What's happening here???" she screamed for an answer inside.
"What did Adam say?" when finally managing to give herself a break from playing with Mona, Shalimar asked.
"She has probably hit her head," Brennan responded and took a piece of food in his mouth.
This made Emma to almost stare at his face due to that answer.
"Aww, so you are suffering a memory loss, Emma?" Shalimar looked over at her.
"Well Adam couldn't find anything…" Emma responded, "but that's 'cause…."
"It can't be detected, it's probably some telempathic thing," Brennan finished for her even though that wasn't the answer which the Psionic was planning on giving.
"Ah ok. So you don't remember much?" the Feral asked.
"I don't remember because I don't seem to belong here," Emma said.
"That does happen when you forget things," Brennan told her.
The Psionic gave him a weak look and then returned to Shalimar. "No, this can't be my home. So much is different here. The garden, the dojo, this table, the rooms…"
"Did Adam do a double check on you?" Shalimar asked.
"Yes! This isn't the place where I live."
Shalimar smiled. "It'll come back to you, Emma, don't worry," and returned her attention to her daughter.
Emma felt that the Feral didn't believe her. It would've been useless to continue with her arguments – another thing which she felt. She then glanced at Brennan who was eating and sighed, looking back at her own meal. "I might as well put something in me…" she thought and began eating as well.
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"Ok now, we're done," Shalimar said and got up. "See you two later."
"Yeah." Brennan smiled and took in the last piece of food.
Watching them leave, Emma squeezed her chopsticks and returned to her tray. Putting the chopsticks down, she stared at her plate and placed her hands between her knees. "Who's Mona's father?" she finally asked and glanced over at Brennan. "Please let it not be you!" she hoped inside.
"John."
"Sorry?"
"John… ah I never could remember his last name. He was a Feral just like Shalimar."
"Where is he now?"
Brennan kept quiet for a while. "He's dead," he replied.
"Oh…" Emma looked down. "How did he die?"
"He and Shalimar went on an assignment. He got stabbed… badly."
Turning her gaze towards the direction where the Feral and her daughter had disappeared, she suddenly felt bad for her … friend. "How long has it been?" she asked.
"Four years. Mona was only a month old when it happened."
Feeling the strange tears flowing down through her body, Emma clenched her fists and then slowly released them, putting her hands on the table. "Were they married?" she returned her eyes to Brennan.
"No, they thought it was too soon with those three years."
"Ok… how… was he like?"
"Um, hon-… I mean, Em, you better talk with Shalimar about that. She can give you more information than me," he told her.
Emma then felt something strange in him. "Why were you jealous?" despite not being the right situation, the Psionic wasn't saved from a weak smile.
Brennan stared at his wife for a while as he had hoped she wouldn't ask him about that. "Telempaths!" he chuckled. "I guess it's good that you don't remember that. When we met him, he started coming on to you for a while. And that was not easy for me."
"Were we?"
"Involved? Yeah, we were… well, sort of. You and Shalimar did complement the guy on his 'good looks' and well, we were still at the beginning. You and I didn't get deep into our relationship yet but still…"
He didn't have to say it, Emma could sense it very clearly and despite all it give her a sense of flattery. She knew he was possessive but… "You hit him?" a surprised question followed.
"Once." Brennan shrugged. "The thought of zapping him with a bolt felt too brutal so that was a better alternative."
"You got so jealous? Wow, Brennan."
"Yes, I know. But now…" he took the Psionic's hand and kissed it. "It was worth it."
"That's sweet." She nodded and glanced at her left with a sigh. She knew this was weird and not her place but she did get the lingering feeling of liking it. Then the thought of Mona's father lowered her smile as she thought for a while with the silence which appeared, helping.
"I'm going to go back to… our room," she then said and slowly got up before quietly climbing the stairs.
Brennan watched her. "What happened to you Emma?" he wondered watching the tiny Psionic arrive on the other floor. "When did you lose so much of your memory?" A sigh left his lips. Looking down at the empty trays, he stood up and picked them up before getting a short glimpse of her disappearing figure behind the pale shadows of the corridor.
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Arriving inside their room, Emma slowed down her pace. She remembered how much her home had changed. There was another floor. Another floor! And a corridor she had to pass through which had been the possible reason why she hadn't seen all those changes when going to see Adam; Brennan didn't say much during that time. "Brennan…" she breathed out his name as she was certain his concern was growing while they were both walking towards the laboratory. Lowering her head, she gathered her hands, squeezing her thin fingers as much as she could until they almost turned purple, but she pulled back at the last moment when she realized she was in the room where she had awoken this morning.
There was the poster to her right. She walked forward and noticed three larger pictures placed on the soft blue wall in that order as to form a triangle. Her eyes started with the top picture that nearly stunned the Psionic. Two people were on it; Brennan with a soft and one could tell happy smile on his face as a simple white loose shirt and pants were all that covered his body, also a long necklace of red flowers around his neck and resting on his chest; herself… a simple white long dress with spaghetti straps and beautiful wreath on her head with red, yellow and white blooms, a wide smile and long loose hair; their hands joined together with the silver rings showing as they were standing on what appeared to be a beach. "Hawaii?" she asked. His strong arm was wrapped around her waist as only their faces were turned towards the camera. Touching the photo she slightly shivered knowing this might have been… no, this had been their wedding.
Her blues then traveled lower to the left picture. Brennan and Emma again, only this time with Shalimar next to Emma in a short white strapless dress. On the side of Brennan was Jesse with a nice tiny beard and he too was dressed in white, similar to Brennan. "Huh, a white wedding…" she thought and directed her gaze to the final picture on this side of the room. The, no doubt, newlyweds, sitting in a small canoe with Brennan's arms wrapped tightly around her waist as the couple were sharing a tender kiss. This one for some reason, Emma liked the most; it seemed truly romantic and intimate… 'Love', it said; the picture spelled out 'love' in her mind. Emma distanced herself from this wall.
Turning to her left, Emma noticed a few scattered photographs on the top opened drawer. Coming closer, she saw that the pictures were, unsurprisingly, of her and Brennan, taken in this room by only them. One was of the Elemental sleeping on his stomach with his face almost sinking in the pillows giving the photo a funny feature that pulled out a giggle from Emma. Then another one was of her holding a towel in front of her with her hand stretched out towards the camera and her face in shock; he must've captured this one while she had been in the bathroom. The photographs were of amazingly good quality, Emma noticed. Another that caught her attention was of her holding a baby in her arms and along with Brennan nearly melting over the infant. Someone else had taken this. The photo gave her a funny warm feeling inside. Turning the photo, "Bren and Em with the little Mona. Nov. 21st," was written with a red marker and it was her handwriting. "This one's sweet…" she whispered and put the photo down. Then a forth followed: another humorous one with Brennan asleep and Emma with a giggling expression, painting the fingernails on his right toe with a bright pink nail polish. "This one is quite mean," she said and giggled.
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Putting the last black tray in its place, Brennan glanced up.
"Hey, how is she?" Jesse approached him.
"Um, still a little lost." Placing his hands on his waist, the Elemental turned to the Molecular. "I didn't think she could forget so many… important things."
"Like?"
Brennan gave his friend a sharp look. "Well, us for one thing…"
Jesse looked up at the stairs. "Is she upstairs?"
"Aha."
"Adam was particularly baffled by her behavior."
"Shouldn't that count all of us?"
"Yeah, but the way she was looking at the Devin's gem got his attention."
"What was so strange about it?"
"You know how she and Adam worked almost every night on it?"
"It was odd, yeah."
"He said she had started acting strange lately."
"He told you that now?"
Jesse nodded.
"Huh, I didn't notice anything unusual about her."
"Well you wouldn't. It was only while she was near that blue thing."
"Oh… no wonder she acted somewhat weird two nights ago when I came in to bring her a few snacks, I just thought she was tired."
"Adam thinks it might have something to do with the gem."
"Her behavior?"
"Yep."
"Well if it does shouldn't it have some other effect? I mean, just erasing her memories like that… seems, I don't know, stupid."
"Maybe she does remember but she's not aware?"
"That's pretty naïve. No, she really has no clue, Jesse. You should see her look when you mention something which she obviously should remember… Why would Adam think that the gem could do that?"
"I don't know. Maybe he found something."
"Hm… I'm gonna talk to him." Brennan said and went towards the laboratory.
"Ok." Jesse watched him leave and when the Elemental was gone, he looked back at the stairs again and this time he walked up on the third floor.
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Emma was sitting on the bed going through a diary with dark purple covers that she had found. From the writings inside it had appeared to be hers. "Bren and I had the 'baby talk' again yesterday. I could feel that he was ready this time… to be a dad. It really made me excited; it made us both excited. Can you believe it?? Eight years of being together and now this happening. Wow… I hope we'll manage to make a baby tonight. God, I'm so happy!" Emma stopped. "Baby??" She quickly looked down at her belly and touched it. "Please let this be a damn dream." She shook her head and hesitated for a few moments before she returned her eyes to the black handwriting on the yellow pages of the diary. There was another entry after this one but she decided to go back to the earlier entries.
"February 12th." This one had been written five years before the last one she read. The upper right edge of the page was bent. Straightening it, Emma began to read: "How can you not adore him. We walked by the lake and the little devil wanted to throw me in the water! Clothes and all! Good thing I'm a Telempath though, sometimes it's a real lifesaver; otherwise I don't know what I would've done being stuck in those wet clothes. But we had a pretty enjoyable make-out session behind a tree; it was his way of making up for that thought about the lake. NO complaints, hehe. I had trouble walking afterwards for some minutes. Oh he leaves me drained each time!
We took a walk in the park and the weather was lovely: sunny and everything. Bren and I talked about a second honeymoon. Well, it was his idea and I gotta say I like it. But we're so busy with Mutant X, it keeps our calendar full and sometimes I can sense it from everyone that it's really getting to them. Oh well, for now we'll have to wait. But we thought about the Seychelles; I saw a broacher about them a couple of days ago; they would be perfect.
Then all of a sudden it started to rain! I mean pouring down like crazy! Bren and I ran to the nearest shelter which oddly enough happened to be a toilet! Go figure… anyway, since we were alone…we did get physically carried away once again… mm."
Emma felt embarrassed. "Good thing it ended there." The Psionic went a couple of pages forward.
She stopped at one marked July 15th. "No date…" Emma started reading: "Oh, we saw Mona for the very first time today. She is the cutest thing you've ever seen in your life! Poor Shal, all those hours of labor tired her out, but she's still bursting with energy. I envy her; wish I could be so vital all the time, but that's the genes for you. She handed Mona over for me to hold her. Those pretty little blue eyes. She looked more of Jesse than John! Ok, ok she would kill me if she read this, but good thing she can't, hehe. Mona was so cute! They're so lucky.
Brennan whispered in my ear as I held her: 'Imagine when you become a mum'. He's such a tease. But yeah, I did develop this wish to become a mother, too. It's too soon though. Bren and I are enjoying our time alone for now. There will be enough time to start a family.
John was blooming when we saw him. I honestly haven't seen anyone happier than him and Shal… alright, that's not true… it sort of reminded me of Bren's face on the morning he proposed to me and I said 'yes'… ah his face was unforgettable. I love that man to death. Oh, but I should get back to what I was saying before I get carried away… Brennan does this to me every time! God, if I only didn't love him so much!"
Emma giggled to this. "See, I'm doing it again! Grr… alright, so as I was saying, John and Shal were in heaven. It made us happy just seeing them like that. John's a nice guy; him and Shal are so perfect together and Mona makes it all the more complete..." She stopped. "Poor Shal…" she thought. Closing the diary, Emma looked in front of her. "Um…" she stood up and walked out of the room.
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