Disclaimer: Not mine, blah, blah, blah.
Three days later.
True to his word, Adam refused to allow Jesse to play any part in the care of Shalimar. He would not even allow the younger man to be left alone with her. Baby Shalimar had been supplied with a little bracelet, which functioned in a similar fashion to her older teammates' com-rings, allowing Adam to monitor her movements. Unless he, Brennan or Emma were within a short distance of Shalimar, or if Shalimar left Sanctuary, an alarm sounded from Adam's ring. If, for whatever reason, Brennan and Emma had to leave, Adam would swoop down to carry Shalimar off with him, completely ignoring Jesse's presence.
Emma had tried to convince Adam that such precautions were completely unnecessary, that Jesse would never let anyone hurt Shalimar again, but as Adam was still furious with her for not telling him that Jesse had taken Shalimar out, her arguments failed to sway him.
Jesse, while he understood Adam's initial anger, was both bewildered and hurt by his mentor's continued mistrust. He played with baby Shalimar whenever Brennan or Emma were there and continued to record her activities on camera. If Adam happened to walk in to see the molecular holding Shalimar, he would always take her from him, as though Jesse's touch was going to hurt or contaminate her. Only his respect for the leader of Mutant X and his own sense of guilt prevented Jesse from punching Adam, as he was sorely tempted to.
Brennan didn't like to admit it, but he had been almost out of his mind with panic when the GSA agent had snatched Shalimar out of Jesse's arms. He didn't know what he would have done if anything had happened to her. With Jesse forbidden to go near her and Adam immersed in his work during the day, the bulk of the babysitting fell on his and Emma's shoulders. He still was not comfortable around his little teammate and poor Emma ended up on what the team had dubbed 'baby detail' most of the time that Adam was working. He felt guilty for shirking his share of the responsibility, but his attraction to Shalimar meant that interacting with her infant self was a decidedly unnerving experience. He spent a lot of time sparring with Jesse on the dojo, trying to take the other man's mind off his problems with Adam, but he rarely succeeded in cheering Jesse up.
As for the person at the centre of the affair, baby Shalimar was finding the constant supervision a great source of irritation. Apart from her naps, there was always someone else within a few feet of her, keeping a sharp eye on her activities and thwarting her attempts at getting into mischief when they had barely begun. She could also sense the tension in the Sanctuary atmosphere. Their conflicts both puzzled and frightened her and she could sense that she was the cause. Adam had treated her injuries as soon as they returned to Sanctuary, so there were no physical reminders of their encounter with the GSA but it was far from forgotten. As always, it was left to Shalimar to take matters into her own hands and solve the problem.
* * *
Shalimar was unusually quiet and well behaved when Emma was feeding her her lunch.
Brennan and Jesse were sparring on the dojo and the sound of their battle occupied baby Shalimar's attention. She listened intently, straining to try to catch a glimpse of them, opening her mouth whenever Emma asked her to. Pleasantly surprised by such good behaviour, Emma was too naïve to realise that Shalimar was merely luring her into a false sense of security.
After clearing away Shalimar's plate and cutlery and wiping away the splotches of shepherd's pie from her face, Emma lifted the miniature feral from her highchair and settled her on her hip.
"Down!" Shalimar demanded, starting to wriggle in Emma's arms. "Down, Em!"
Emma, smiling, gently set Shalimar down on the ground.
Baby Shalimar took off.
* * *
For a one year old, Shalimar was fast. Crawling rapidly out of the kitchen, she made her way over to the steps leading to the dojo, Emma chasing after her.
"Shal! No!" Emma's horrified exclamation dragged the guys' attention from their mock fight. Baby Shalimar was making her way steadily up the dojo steps, climbing as fast as she could to escape Emma.
The steps were steep, without any kind of railing or support. Emma and the guys held their breath, willing Shalimar not to fall, afraid to approach her for fear of making her panic and fall.
When she reached the dojo, the three older mutants each let out a breath they hadn't known they'd been holding.
The tiny cause of their panic beamed up at them as soon as she sat down on the floor of the dojo. "Hiya!"
"Hiya?" Emma scooped baby Shalimar up. "Hiya? You scare us half to death and all you can say is 'hiya'?" She scolded gently. "Were you trying to give us heart attacks?"
"Ess."
Shalimar gave Emma and the guys an indignant, reproachful look when the three of them burst out laughing at her solemn answer.
"Why did you run off, Shal?" Emma bounced Shalimar in her arms as she asked the question, not expecting a response.
"Des-see." Baby Shalimar pointed at Jesse and Brennan. "Wan' Des-see an' Nan."
Brennan felt a brief pang of regret that she had mentioned Jesse's name first.
"Des-see - I mean Jesse," Emma quickly corrected herself. Baby talk was catching. "And Brennan are busy now, Shal. They'll play with you later. Do you want to come with me to the rec room and play with your toys?"
"No!" Shalimar growled, flashing her eyes feral in preparation for a full temper tantrum if she was thwarted. "Wan' Des-see an' Nan!"
Even as an infant, Shalimar Fox could still beat any challenger in a battle of wills.
"Emma sighed in defeat. "All right, Shal, we'll stay here, but Brennan and Jesse want to practice. You'll have to sit quietly, okay?"
"Ess."
Moving as close to the edge as she dared, Emma sat down with Shalimar in her lap, throwing the guys an apologetic glance. "Sorry about this."
"Not a problem." Jesse reassured her.
"Can we get back to sparring?" Brennan asked impatiently, uncomfortably conscious of Shalimar's eyes tracking his movements.
Settling herself comfortably in Emma's lap, baby Shalimar clapped her hands in anticipation as Brennan and Jesse faced off.
"Is it just me?" Brennan asked his teammate through gritted teeth. "Or do you feel like we're part of a circus show?"
* * *
It was after eight o'clock when Adam finally called an end to his day's work.
His team were watching a movie in the rec room - at least, Emma was watching a movie. Brennan was sitting on the floor opposite Shalimar, trying to persuade her to stop chewing on his book of poetry. Shalimar was stubbornly resisting his pleas and Jesse was filming the whole thing, trying not to laugh at the anguished look on Brennan's face as he tried to decide which was the better course of action; let Shalimar destroy the book or get into a scrap with a baby, while the whole thing was caught on camera.
He was spared the task of making such an agonizing decision when Adam entered, saw what Shalimar was up to and gently took the book out of her mouth.
"That's dirty, sweetheart, don't eat it." Adam reprimanded her gently, handing Brennan the drool-covered book.
"My book isn't dirty!" Brennan exclaimed indignantly. "At least, it wasn't." He amended; looking at the state Shalimar had left the book in.
Adam lifted Shalimar up off the floor and carried her over to the couch. He sat down and settled her in his lap. "Did you have fun today, darling?" Adam asked tenderly. "Were you a good girl for Emma and Brennan?"
"Ess."
Emma, Jesse and Brennan all choked on suppressed laughs.
Baby Shalimar frowned reprovingly at them, then yawned.
"Oh, you're tired, sweetheart." Adam exclaimed. "I'll put her to bed." He told the other three, standing up.
"No!" Shalimar had other ideas.
"What's wrong?" Adam tried to stop her escaping his arms, bewildered. Shalimar had never made a fuss when he was putting her to bed before.
"Wan' Des-see!" Shalimar insisted, struggling to go to Jesse.
"Jesse's busy." Adam lied through his teeth. "I'll put you to bed."
"No! Des-see!" Shalimar was on the verge of a screaming fit if she didn't get her way.
Torn between his anger at Jesse and his inability to deny Shalimar anything she wanted, Adam eventually admitted defeat and handed her to the younger man, who carried her off for her bath without a backward glance.
* * *
Once she was bathed, dressed in footie pyjamas - primrose yellow this time - and supplied with a bottle of warm milk, Shalimar settled down in her crib without and fuss.
By the time Adam arrived to check on her, she was fast asleep, clinging tightly to Jesse's hand.
"Was she any trouble?" Adam asked, sotto voice.
"No." Jesse whispered. "She was an angel."
Adam smiled, gently stroking Shalimar's silky curls. "She is, isn't she?"
Jesse looked up at the man, who, since his early teens, had cared for him like a father. "Adam, I'm sorry I took her off without telling you. I didn't think. It was stupid of me."
"Yes." Adam did not bend. "Yes it was." Jesse gave him a 'Come on' look. "But I was wrong to treat you the way I did. I'm sorry."
"I understand why you were angry - you and Shal have always been very close, seeing her like this, so small and so helpless, must be hard for you."
"It is. I can't stop thinking about what will happen if I can't work out a cure. Will she have to live her whole life all over again?"
"Don't think like that, Adam." Jesse counselled. "In all the years I've known you, you have never once given up. You'll figure this out. We'll have our Shal back in no time."
"Thanks." Adam smiled. He looked down at the slumbering infant. "She's fast asleep. Shall we return to the rec room before Brennan and Emma give us up for dead?"
"Yeah." Jesse nodded.
Before following the younger man out of the room, Adam bent over the crib to kiss baby Shalimar's sleep-flushed cheek.
He could have sworn that she gave him a small, satisfied smile before rolling over, as if pleased with herself for successfully restoring peace to Sanctuary.
TBC.
Author's Note: I couldn't leave poor Jesse in the doghouse any longer. I felt sorry for him. Thanks for the reviews.
Hopefully, I'll be able to update again in a couple of days.
Three days later.
True to his word, Adam refused to allow Jesse to play any part in the care of Shalimar. He would not even allow the younger man to be left alone with her. Baby Shalimar had been supplied with a little bracelet, which functioned in a similar fashion to her older teammates' com-rings, allowing Adam to monitor her movements. Unless he, Brennan or Emma were within a short distance of Shalimar, or if Shalimar left Sanctuary, an alarm sounded from Adam's ring. If, for whatever reason, Brennan and Emma had to leave, Adam would swoop down to carry Shalimar off with him, completely ignoring Jesse's presence.
Emma had tried to convince Adam that such precautions were completely unnecessary, that Jesse would never let anyone hurt Shalimar again, but as Adam was still furious with her for not telling him that Jesse had taken Shalimar out, her arguments failed to sway him.
Jesse, while he understood Adam's initial anger, was both bewildered and hurt by his mentor's continued mistrust. He played with baby Shalimar whenever Brennan or Emma were there and continued to record her activities on camera. If Adam happened to walk in to see the molecular holding Shalimar, he would always take her from him, as though Jesse's touch was going to hurt or contaminate her. Only his respect for the leader of Mutant X and his own sense of guilt prevented Jesse from punching Adam, as he was sorely tempted to.
Brennan didn't like to admit it, but he had been almost out of his mind with panic when the GSA agent had snatched Shalimar out of Jesse's arms. He didn't know what he would have done if anything had happened to her. With Jesse forbidden to go near her and Adam immersed in his work during the day, the bulk of the babysitting fell on his and Emma's shoulders. He still was not comfortable around his little teammate and poor Emma ended up on what the team had dubbed 'baby detail' most of the time that Adam was working. He felt guilty for shirking his share of the responsibility, but his attraction to Shalimar meant that interacting with her infant self was a decidedly unnerving experience. He spent a lot of time sparring with Jesse on the dojo, trying to take the other man's mind off his problems with Adam, but he rarely succeeded in cheering Jesse up.
As for the person at the centre of the affair, baby Shalimar was finding the constant supervision a great source of irritation. Apart from her naps, there was always someone else within a few feet of her, keeping a sharp eye on her activities and thwarting her attempts at getting into mischief when they had barely begun. She could also sense the tension in the Sanctuary atmosphere. Their conflicts both puzzled and frightened her and she could sense that she was the cause. Adam had treated her injuries as soon as they returned to Sanctuary, so there were no physical reminders of their encounter with the GSA but it was far from forgotten. As always, it was left to Shalimar to take matters into her own hands and solve the problem.
* * *
Shalimar was unusually quiet and well behaved when Emma was feeding her her lunch.
Brennan and Jesse were sparring on the dojo and the sound of their battle occupied baby Shalimar's attention. She listened intently, straining to try to catch a glimpse of them, opening her mouth whenever Emma asked her to. Pleasantly surprised by such good behaviour, Emma was too naïve to realise that Shalimar was merely luring her into a false sense of security.
After clearing away Shalimar's plate and cutlery and wiping away the splotches of shepherd's pie from her face, Emma lifted the miniature feral from her highchair and settled her on her hip.
"Down!" Shalimar demanded, starting to wriggle in Emma's arms. "Down, Em!"
Emma, smiling, gently set Shalimar down on the ground.
Baby Shalimar took off.
* * *
For a one year old, Shalimar was fast. Crawling rapidly out of the kitchen, she made her way over to the steps leading to the dojo, Emma chasing after her.
"Shal! No!" Emma's horrified exclamation dragged the guys' attention from their mock fight. Baby Shalimar was making her way steadily up the dojo steps, climbing as fast as she could to escape Emma.
The steps were steep, without any kind of railing or support. Emma and the guys held their breath, willing Shalimar not to fall, afraid to approach her for fear of making her panic and fall.
When she reached the dojo, the three older mutants each let out a breath they hadn't known they'd been holding.
The tiny cause of their panic beamed up at them as soon as she sat down on the floor of the dojo. "Hiya!"
"Hiya?" Emma scooped baby Shalimar up. "Hiya? You scare us half to death and all you can say is 'hiya'?" She scolded gently. "Were you trying to give us heart attacks?"
"Ess."
Shalimar gave Emma and the guys an indignant, reproachful look when the three of them burst out laughing at her solemn answer.
"Why did you run off, Shal?" Emma bounced Shalimar in her arms as she asked the question, not expecting a response.
"Des-see." Baby Shalimar pointed at Jesse and Brennan. "Wan' Des-see an' Nan."
Brennan felt a brief pang of regret that she had mentioned Jesse's name first.
"Des-see - I mean Jesse," Emma quickly corrected herself. Baby talk was catching. "And Brennan are busy now, Shal. They'll play with you later. Do you want to come with me to the rec room and play with your toys?"
"No!" Shalimar growled, flashing her eyes feral in preparation for a full temper tantrum if she was thwarted. "Wan' Des-see an' Nan!"
Even as an infant, Shalimar Fox could still beat any challenger in a battle of wills.
"Emma sighed in defeat. "All right, Shal, we'll stay here, but Brennan and Jesse want to practice. You'll have to sit quietly, okay?"
"Ess."
Moving as close to the edge as she dared, Emma sat down with Shalimar in her lap, throwing the guys an apologetic glance. "Sorry about this."
"Not a problem." Jesse reassured her.
"Can we get back to sparring?" Brennan asked impatiently, uncomfortably conscious of Shalimar's eyes tracking his movements.
Settling herself comfortably in Emma's lap, baby Shalimar clapped her hands in anticipation as Brennan and Jesse faced off.
"Is it just me?" Brennan asked his teammate through gritted teeth. "Or do you feel like we're part of a circus show?"
* * *
It was after eight o'clock when Adam finally called an end to his day's work.
His team were watching a movie in the rec room - at least, Emma was watching a movie. Brennan was sitting on the floor opposite Shalimar, trying to persuade her to stop chewing on his book of poetry. Shalimar was stubbornly resisting his pleas and Jesse was filming the whole thing, trying not to laugh at the anguished look on Brennan's face as he tried to decide which was the better course of action; let Shalimar destroy the book or get into a scrap with a baby, while the whole thing was caught on camera.
He was spared the task of making such an agonizing decision when Adam entered, saw what Shalimar was up to and gently took the book out of her mouth.
"That's dirty, sweetheart, don't eat it." Adam reprimanded her gently, handing Brennan the drool-covered book.
"My book isn't dirty!" Brennan exclaimed indignantly. "At least, it wasn't." He amended; looking at the state Shalimar had left the book in.
Adam lifted Shalimar up off the floor and carried her over to the couch. He sat down and settled her in his lap. "Did you have fun today, darling?" Adam asked tenderly. "Were you a good girl for Emma and Brennan?"
"Ess."
Emma, Jesse and Brennan all choked on suppressed laughs.
Baby Shalimar frowned reprovingly at them, then yawned.
"Oh, you're tired, sweetheart." Adam exclaimed. "I'll put her to bed." He told the other three, standing up.
"No!" Shalimar had other ideas.
"What's wrong?" Adam tried to stop her escaping his arms, bewildered. Shalimar had never made a fuss when he was putting her to bed before.
"Wan' Des-see!" Shalimar insisted, struggling to go to Jesse.
"Jesse's busy." Adam lied through his teeth. "I'll put you to bed."
"No! Des-see!" Shalimar was on the verge of a screaming fit if she didn't get her way.
Torn between his anger at Jesse and his inability to deny Shalimar anything she wanted, Adam eventually admitted defeat and handed her to the younger man, who carried her off for her bath without a backward glance.
* * *
Once she was bathed, dressed in footie pyjamas - primrose yellow this time - and supplied with a bottle of warm milk, Shalimar settled down in her crib without and fuss.
By the time Adam arrived to check on her, she was fast asleep, clinging tightly to Jesse's hand.
"Was she any trouble?" Adam asked, sotto voice.
"No." Jesse whispered. "She was an angel."
Adam smiled, gently stroking Shalimar's silky curls. "She is, isn't she?"
Jesse looked up at the man, who, since his early teens, had cared for him like a father. "Adam, I'm sorry I took her off without telling you. I didn't think. It was stupid of me."
"Yes." Adam did not bend. "Yes it was." Jesse gave him a 'Come on' look. "But I was wrong to treat you the way I did. I'm sorry."
"I understand why you were angry - you and Shal have always been very close, seeing her like this, so small and so helpless, must be hard for you."
"It is. I can't stop thinking about what will happen if I can't work out a cure. Will she have to live her whole life all over again?"
"Don't think like that, Adam." Jesse counselled. "In all the years I've known you, you have never once given up. You'll figure this out. We'll have our Shal back in no time."
"Thanks." Adam smiled. He looked down at the slumbering infant. "She's fast asleep. Shall we return to the rec room before Brennan and Emma give us up for dead?"
"Yeah." Jesse nodded.
Before following the younger man out of the room, Adam bent over the crib to kiss baby Shalimar's sleep-flushed cheek.
He could have sworn that she gave him a small, satisfied smile before rolling over, as if pleased with herself for successfully restoring peace to Sanctuary.
TBC.
Author's Note: I couldn't leave poor Jesse in the doghouse any longer. I felt sorry for him. Thanks for the reviews.
Hopefully, I'll be able to update again in a couple of days.