THE BEGINNING OF THE END
"Adam, I just want to get out of Sanctuary. Go shopping, do something, ANYTHING. I'm going crackers here." Adam sighed as he looked up at Shalimar, round in her fifth month and as energetic as ever.
"You're supposed to be tired, you know. It was one of the symptoms you were supposed to expect." She laughed.
"I had way too much energy in the first place, now I just feel good." She leant her chin on his shoulder as he turned back to the computer. "But BORED." She said, pointedly. He laughed.
"Two hours, no longer, OK? And someone's going with you."
"Of course, thank you!"
The town was bustling with summer business. Children newly freed from schools on their holidays scampered around jovially and parents pretended not to see their antics, caught up in their children's joy in the weather and freedom and not truly wanting to spoil their fun. Emma and Shalimar made their way through the crowds slowly, enjoying the chance to be together out of Sanctuary. They had no destination in mind, simply walking the streets and looking in windows as they passed. Occasionally something would catch one of their eyes and they would step into a cool shop, out of the noise and bright sunlight. An hour had been whiled away simply walking around when Shalimar announced that she needed to sit down or her ankles were going to give way. Taking a table outside a sweet little coffee shop they spent a moment simply absorbing the movement and light around them while they waited for a waiter. Eventually a young man appeared, looking very hassled. Taking their order he explained with profuse apologies that they would have quite a wait for their food as there were so many people around during the holiday. Looking around them as they were left alone, Emma spotted a shop that reminded her of her goal for the day. A birthday present for Shalimar. Her birthday was only a few weeks away and Emma had been so caught up with her responsibilities with Mutant X and being around to offer Shalimar her support when she needed it that she hadn't got around to buying her a present. Excusing herself for a moment, Emma left Shalimar with a kiss and wandered over to the tiny jewellers.
It took her only moments to find what she wanted and she re-emerge into the sunlight squinting slightly as she tucked the small jewellery box into her bag where she knew Shalimar wouldn't find it. Knowing the bottomless nature of most of her bags, it was possible that she wouldn't find it again herself. Coming back into view of the café Emma saw a group of people forming in the courtyard outside the coffee shop. Legs shifted and she caught a glimpse of someone lying on the ground. One man split away from the crowd and ran for one of the public phone booths on the corner. Emma's breath caught.
"No." She was walking, jogging, running towards them. "NO!" Pushing through the people she fell to her knees at Shalimar's side, taking hold of her hand. "No, no Shal. You can't do this to me." Shalimar's eyes were closed, her skin pale against the deeply red shirt. Pain creased her forehead though she didn't seem to be conscious. "Shalimar, you're scaring me. You need to open your eyes now. Come on, baby, show me you're OK, please?" She shrugged off a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back and suddenly she was looking up into Jesse's eyes and Adam was at Shalimar's side.
"She called us out." Jesse explained. Looking to Adam for an explanation she found him frowning deeply. Adam met her eyes and her world fell apart.
AN: The song 'No Way Out' belongs to Peter Gabriel. I haven't used it as such in this fic, because I was determined I wasn't going to put any song quotes in, but if you've heard the song you'll know why this is here.