This is the last chapter of this story. This one's set after the events of the first chapter and its very much Shalimar with a little bit of Brennan. I hope you all enjoy it and please review. Warning though, it gets a little sentimental towards the end but someone has just died so I think I'm allowed to write the characters as being a little bit soppy.
***
She looked around her, her mind attempting to process everything that her eyes were seeing. Her vision blurred as the bright lights hit and were absorbed in by her eyes. She closed them shut and squeezed the lids till she saw spots dancing in front of the black. She re-opened her eyes and this time could make out distinct shapes. She felt the hardness of the medical bed against her back and squirmed to try and change her position to a more comfortable one.
At the movement Brennan's eyes shot open. He sat up swiftly and stared at Shalimar's face. She hadn't yet noticed him and was looking around her with a frown marring her features. He sat up on the seat that he had been occupying for the past few hours, ever since Shalimar had been brought into Sanctuary by Jesse after the shooting. Jesse had found Shalimar sitting next to her car. She had been unconscious but shaking, the girls somewhat thin frame in her arms. Jesse had brought them both home in the Helix despite his obvious shock and anxiety.
Brennan could still remember Jesse's voice as it came over the comlinks. He had sounded urgent, desperate and it had chilled Brennan's heart and sent tremors up and down his spine.
When the Helix had landed Brennan had been the first one on. He had ran from the lab as soon as the warning came that the Helix had landed but as soon as Brennan saw Shalimar he had ground to a halt. Everything had stopped working; he couldn't breath, his vision was blurry and his legs refused point blank to support the weight of his body. He was ashamed to admit that it was mostly down to necessity that he had managed to pick Shalimar up in his arms and carry her inside to the lab. He hadn't been thinking about any of it, had switched to auto pilot.
He couldn't even remember looking at the girl. He knew she was there, knew she had been carried in by Jesse, knew she was lying on the medical bed behind him but, either because of preoccupation with Shalimar or because of fear at seeing her he hadn't turned around, hadn't looked at her. He couldn't work himself up to do it.
Shalimar looked at Brennan. His brown eyes were alert and she knew he was watching her closely. She stared into the brown pools, the ones which were so familiar to her, so comforting. Ever since he had joined Mutant X and she had properly looked into his eyes, she had trusted him. She knew that when something was wrong the one place to look to find out what his mood was, were his eyes. Whoever said they were the windows to the soul weren't far off. Shalimar had never claimed to have Emma like skill in that area but once she knew someone, she knew them. No turning back. And with Brennan she hadn't wanted to.
Something beyond Brennan drew her attention and her eyes darted away from his gaze. She saw the girl lying on the bed, her cheeks pale, her lips tinged with blue. She looked like she was made of paper, so fragile, so delicate. Shalimar couldn't quite believe this was the same person. Outside of the bus station she had looked scared, worried but she had a confident air about her, the kind of attitude that only mutants could possibly have. She knew that under most circumstances she could look after herself. Shalimar recognized that in herself except over the years that confidence had grown. Shalimar had beaten the crap out of quite a few people and she believed whole heartedly in her own ability to take down pretty much anyone. She didn't think she was being cocky, just honest.
Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes watched the girl. There was no movement. Her eyes didn't flicker open, her chest didn't move up and down, slowly and rhythmically. Shalimar's chin wobbled even as she told herself to stop being such a wuss. She had no right to cry. She had been there with the girl on the freeway. She should have seen the car, she should have looked more closely, she should have told the girl to move out of the way. But instead she had pushed her sunglasses back onto her eyes, she had told the girl not to worry because they would be picked up soon by the good guys.
Brennan watched as Shalimar's eyes filled with tears. They pooled up on her lower lids, threatening to over spill and make clear rivulets down her cheeks. Brennan moved his hand to touch hers. He felt her warm, smooth skin beneath his fingers and grasped it. He watched as the tears collected before, without warning over flowing. They shot down Shalimar's face and dripped off her chin and as they did Brennan pulled her into a tight embrace. It was for her, and him. She needed the comfort, needed to know that there were people who not only didn't blame her but loved her, and he needed to not see her cry. He couldn't bear that, never had been able to stand seeing her sob her heart out.
Shalimar felt Brennan's arms around her shoulders and she collapsed against his chest. Sobs racked her body and tears spilled from her eyes onto his t-shirt. They formed a relatively large wet patch on the material but neither Shalimar nor Brennan cared.
***
The halls of Sanctuary echoed with the sound of the sliding door and Shalimar looked around her to see if anyone else had heard the noise which was still resonating in her ears. She stepped out into the dim light and made her way silently down the hall.
She couldn't sleep. That wasn't strictly true. She didn't want to go to sleep. Everytime she closed her eyes she could see flashes of the day; the girl standing outside the bus depot in her big black boots; her standing next to the car looking out on the landscape, barren as it was; her body impacting from the bullets and the force at which they entered and exited. Shalimar couldn't get any of it out of her mind.
Everyone had been so nice to her that night after she had woken up. They had given her some food she couldn't eat, had given her some water that she couldn't drink and had practically forced her to get some sleep that she couldn't face. They had kept on telling her that it wasn't her fault but she wouldn't accept it. There was no doubt in her mind that if she had paid more attention none of this would have happened.
She wasn't quite sure where her feet were taking her but she knew that as long as she kept moving she wasn't going to sleep. She had to stay awake, there was no question about it. If she slept she would relive all the nightmares. She frowned as she realised that maybe that was what she was supposed to do, relive everything that had happened. She didn't deserve to get off scot free, she was the one who had caused the girl to die and she really didn't think she was supposed to just get away with that. She wasn't supposed to end up with the good friends who kept on telling her it wasn't her fault, she didn't deserve to live while the innocent girl died. She didn't deserve anything that remotely seemed like happiness, ever.
She pushed open the door of the lab and looked around her in suprise. She was unsure as to why she had come to be there. The lab was the one place she really didn't want to be. Adam had turned the heating down in the room because of the body. They weren't entirely sure what to do with it, whether to try and get in touch with the girls parents or to organize the burial themselves. Adam wasn't even sure how to get in touch with her family, he didn't even know if she had any and considering that she had felt the need to turn to Mutant X Adam wasn't sure if she would have wanted to be buried by her family anyway. There were probably countless reasons why she felt she couldn't in any way rely on them.
Shalimar's eyes were dragged towards the sheet which covered the still body of the girl. She found herself drawn to it. Maybe it was some kind of morbid thing that she felt she had to do or maybe it was because she wanted to make sure that it wasn't some big huge mistake and the girl wasn't really dead, she was just asleep.
Shalimar knew the answer before she pulled the material back from the girls head. Her eyes were closed and her face was a deathly shade of grey. She looked almost like stone but for the eyelashes and the blue tint around her lips. Shalimar had never seen a dead body. She had seen people killed before, it was kind of in her line of work but she had never seen someone killed right before her eyes while she stood mere feet away and could do nothing to help. Mutant X had always made every attempt to steer away from guns and weapons. They were powerful enough to not need any, but that wasn't really the point. Guns were too harsh. Shalimar could kick a guy in the head and knock him unconscious but guns were so final. The trigger was pulled and then that was it, there was no stopping the bullet from exiting the barrel.
She frowned as she realised that she didn't even know the girls name. Adam hadn't told her before she went to pick her up from the depot and she had forgotten to ask when she met her. She turned and walked quickly to the computers. Her fingers typed swiftly and within seconds she had drawn up the file of the girl. She looked at the picture of her and then scanned to look at her details.
A few minutes passed and Shalimar stood up from the chair she had sat down on. She walked slowly back towards the bed where the girl lay. She reached out her hand and her finger brushed against the girls cheek. She was cold, something Shalimar hadn't been entirely prepared for.
She knew that coma victims could sometimes hear people talking to them, they could recognize familiar voices. Shalimar held no hope with the idea that the same happened for dead people but she hoped that the girl could hear her wherever it was that she had gone.
'Hi,' she said quietly, her voice unfamiliar to her as she hadn't used it in some time.
'I'm sorry you had to go like that,' she continued. 'It must have been painful. I've been shot a couple of times and its hurt like nothing else can. But there were a hell of a lot of bullets so I hope you didn't feel very much for very long.' After a pause Shalimar carried on. 'I should have done more. I should have looked at the car more closely, I should have seen something, I should have jumped in front of you to stop the bullets hitting you at all. I should have fought for you. But I didn't and you paid the price. So if you really want to come back to haunt me I wouldn't blame you.' Shalimar brushed the hair back from her face and readied herself to carry on. 'You were too good for the world, trust me, you're better off out of it.'
Shalimar glanced around her and saw the girls bag. It wasn't very big but when you were living on your own in fear of being caught by a group of psychopaths a lot of stuff wasn't really your main priority. She picked it up and found the girls CD player. She opened it up and saw the CD inside. Her mouth twisted into a smile. The girl had taste.
Shalimar nodded to herself slowly as she placed the headphones in the girls ears. She hit play and could hear the tinny sound of the music playing itself out. She pulled up a chair and sat down to watch.
'You were too good for the world Amy.'
***
She looked around her, her mind attempting to process everything that her eyes were seeing. Her vision blurred as the bright lights hit and were absorbed in by her eyes. She closed them shut and squeezed the lids till she saw spots dancing in front of the black. She re-opened her eyes and this time could make out distinct shapes. She felt the hardness of the medical bed against her back and squirmed to try and change her position to a more comfortable one.
At the movement Brennan's eyes shot open. He sat up swiftly and stared at Shalimar's face. She hadn't yet noticed him and was looking around her with a frown marring her features. He sat up on the seat that he had been occupying for the past few hours, ever since Shalimar had been brought into Sanctuary by Jesse after the shooting. Jesse had found Shalimar sitting next to her car. She had been unconscious but shaking, the girls somewhat thin frame in her arms. Jesse had brought them both home in the Helix despite his obvious shock and anxiety.
Brennan could still remember Jesse's voice as it came over the comlinks. He had sounded urgent, desperate and it had chilled Brennan's heart and sent tremors up and down his spine.
When the Helix had landed Brennan had been the first one on. He had ran from the lab as soon as the warning came that the Helix had landed but as soon as Brennan saw Shalimar he had ground to a halt. Everything had stopped working; he couldn't breath, his vision was blurry and his legs refused point blank to support the weight of his body. He was ashamed to admit that it was mostly down to necessity that he had managed to pick Shalimar up in his arms and carry her inside to the lab. He hadn't been thinking about any of it, had switched to auto pilot.
He couldn't even remember looking at the girl. He knew she was there, knew she had been carried in by Jesse, knew she was lying on the medical bed behind him but, either because of preoccupation with Shalimar or because of fear at seeing her he hadn't turned around, hadn't looked at her. He couldn't work himself up to do it.
Shalimar looked at Brennan. His brown eyes were alert and she knew he was watching her closely. She stared into the brown pools, the ones which were so familiar to her, so comforting. Ever since he had joined Mutant X and she had properly looked into his eyes, she had trusted him. She knew that when something was wrong the one place to look to find out what his mood was, were his eyes. Whoever said they were the windows to the soul weren't far off. Shalimar had never claimed to have Emma like skill in that area but once she knew someone, she knew them. No turning back. And with Brennan she hadn't wanted to.
Something beyond Brennan drew her attention and her eyes darted away from his gaze. She saw the girl lying on the bed, her cheeks pale, her lips tinged with blue. She looked like she was made of paper, so fragile, so delicate. Shalimar couldn't quite believe this was the same person. Outside of the bus station she had looked scared, worried but she had a confident air about her, the kind of attitude that only mutants could possibly have. She knew that under most circumstances she could look after herself. Shalimar recognized that in herself except over the years that confidence had grown. Shalimar had beaten the crap out of quite a few people and she believed whole heartedly in her own ability to take down pretty much anyone. She didn't think she was being cocky, just honest.
Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes watched the girl. There was no movement. Her eyes didn't flicker open, her chest didn't move up and down, slowly and rhythmically. Shalimar's chin wobbled even as she told herself to stop being such a wuss. She had no right to cry. She had been there with the girl on the freeway. She should have seen the car, she should have looked more closely, she should have told the girl to move out of the way. But instead she had pushed her sunglasses back onto her eyes, she had told the girl not to worry because they would be picked up soon by the good guys.
Brennan watched as Shalimar's eyes filled with tears. They pooled up on her lower lids, threatening to over spill and make clear rivulets down her cheeks. Brennan moved his hand to touch hers. He felt her warm, smooth skin beneath his fingers and grasped it. He watched as the tears collected before, without warning over flowing. They shot down Shalimar's face and dripped off her chin and as they did Brennan pulled her into a tight embrace. It was for her, and him. She needed the comfort, needed to know that there were people who not only didn't blame her but loved her, and he needed to not see her cry. He couldn't bear that, never had been able to stand seeing her sob her heart out.
Shalimar felt Brennan's arms around her shoulders and she collapsed against his chest. Sobs racked her body and tears spilled from her eyes onto his t-shirt. They formed a relatively large wet patch on the material but neither Shalimar nor Brennan cared.
***
The halls of Sanctuary echoed with the sound of the sliding door and Shalimar looked around her to see if anyone else had heard the noise which was still resonating in her ears. She stepped out into the dim light and made her way silently down the hall.
She couldn't sleep. That wasn't strictly true. She didn't want to go to sleep. Everytime she closed her eyes she could see flashes of the day; the girl standing outside the bus depot in her big black boots; her standing next to the car looking out on the landscape, barren as it was; her body impacting from the bullets and the force at which they entered and exited. Shalimar couldn't get any of it out of her mind.
Everyone had been so nice to her that night after she had woken up. They had given her some food she couldn't eat, had given her some water that she couldn't drink and had practically forced her to get some sleep that she couldn't face. They had kept on telling her that it wasn't her fault but she wouldn't accept it. There was no doubt in her mind that if she had paid more attention none of this would have happened.
She wasn't quite sure where her feet were taking her but she knew that as long as she kept moving she wasn't going to sleep. She had to stay awake, there was no question about it. If she slept she would relive all the nightmares. She frowned as she realised that maybe that was what she was supposed to do, relive everything that had happened. She didn't deserve to get off scot free, she was the one who had caused the girl to die and she really didn't think she was supposed to just get away with that. She wasn't supposed to end up with the good friends who kept on telling her it wasn't her fault, she didn't deserve to live while the innocent girl died. She didn't deserve anything that remotely seemed like happiness, ever.
She pushed open the door of the lab and looked around her in suprise. She was unsure as to why she had come to be there. The lab was the one place she really didn't want to be. Adam had turned the heating down in the room because of the body. They weren't entirely sure what to do with it, whether to try and get in touch with the girls parents or to organize the burial themselves. Adam wasn't even sure how to get in touch with her family, he didn't even know if she had any and considering that she had felt the need to turn to Mutant X Adam wasn't sure if she would have wanted to be buried by her family anyway. There were probably countless reasons why she felt she couldn't in any way rely on them.
Shalimar's eyes were dragged towards the sheet which covered the still body of the girl. She found herself drawn to it. Maybe it was some kind of morbid thing that she felt she had to do or maybe it was because she wanted to make sure that it wasn't some big huge mistake and the girl wasn't really dead, she was just asleep.
Shalimar knew the answer before she pulled the material back from the girls head. Her eyes were closed and her face was a deathly shade of grey. She looked almost like stone but for the eyelashes and the blue tint around her lips. Shalimar had never seen a dead body. She had seen people killed before, it was kind of in her line of work but she had never seen someone killed right before her eyes while she stood mere feet away and could do nothing to help. Mutant X had always made every attempt to steer away from guns and weapons. They were powerful enough to not need any, but that wasn't really the point. Guns were too harsh. Shalimar could kick a guy in the head and knock him unconscious but guns were so final. The trigger was pulled and then that was it, there was no stopping the bullet from exiting the barrel.
She frowned as she realised that she didn't even know the girls name. Adam hadn't told her before she went to pick her up from the depot and she had forgotten to ask when she met her. She turned and walked quickly to the computers. Her fingers typed swiftly and within seconds she had drawn up the file of the girl. She looked at the picture of her and then scanned to look at her details.
A few minutes passed and Shalimar stood up from the chair she had sat down on. She walked slowly back towards the bed where the girl lay. She reached out her hand and her finger brushed against the girls cheek. She was cold, something Shalimar hadn't been entirely prepared for.
She knew that coma victims could sometimes hear people talking to them, they could recognize familiar voices. Shalimar held no hope with the idea that the same happened for dead people but she hoped that the girl could hear her wherever it was that she had gone.
'Hi,' she said quietly, her voice unfamiliar to her as she hadn't used it in some time.
'I'm sorry you had to go like that,' she continued. 'It must have been painful. I've been shot a couple of times and its hurt like nothing else can. But there were a hell of a lot of bullets so I hope you didn't feel very much for very long.' After a pause Shalimar carried on. 'I should have done more. I should have looked at the car more closely, I should have seen something, I should have jumped in front of you to stop the bullets hitting you at all. I should have fought for you. But I didn't and you paid the price. So if you really want to come back to haunt me I wouldn't blame you.' Shalimar brushed the hair back from her face and readied herself to carry on. 'You were too good for the world, trust me, you're better off out of it.'
Shalimar glanced around her and saw the girls bag. It wasn't very big but when you were living on your own in fear of being caught by a group of psychopaths a lot of stuff wasn't really your main priority. She picked it up and found the girls CD player. She opened it up and saw the CD inside. Her mouth twisted into a smile. The girl had taste.
Shalimar nodded to herself slowly as she placed the headphones in the girls ears. She hit play and could hear the tinny sound of the music playing itself out. She pulled up a chair and sat down to watch.
'You were too good for the world Amy.'