DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from 'Mutant X'. They're not
my property. They belong to Tribune Entertainment.
***
*********
His ears could detect nothing except the cold silence; as he swallowed he could still sense that the night hadn't lifted itself which made his eyelids to press harder on his covered eyes. Opening his mouth slightly he then heard a quiet barking of a dog coming from the empty streets outside. He imagined that it must have been cold outside. It had been perhaps the hard surface behind his back which alarmed his body that this had not been a comfortable place to sleep on: the side of the couch. "Ah damn it... should've known better." He had to open his eyes otherwise he would only torture his body for positions which it simply was not comfortable with. Shalimar was left to sleep on the couch as she hadn't felt well enough to move so the Molecular simply slid down on the floor, falling asleep, only inches away from her face.
Leaning his head forward, Jesse uncovered his eyes and saw the magazine thrown on the floor, barely visible because of the existing darkness. "How I wish I had Shal's senses right now," he told himself and stood up. The most crucial parts of the path before him were still visible, just enough so he wouldn't end up with a big red bump on his head before even reaching the bedroom; that was where he found out that all the sheets and covers were kept and right now his body was crying out for some comfort. Still adjusting his eyes to the darkness to get at least a tiny amount of visibility, Jesse yawned. Walking in the hallway, he placed his hand on the roughly painted wall and moved it there so he would have better orientation; the lights were avoided for the fear that they would only awake the sleeping Feral when she appeared in much more than desired need of a long and comfortable slumber. As he moved his hand, he felt a lights switch, some walls, and a door frame and once again the rugged walls. He was getting close.
Soon his foot was stopped by what appeared to be the wooden closed door of the bedroom. Moving his hand down, his fingers got a good grip around the cold metal handle as he turned it and the door open. "Just some light," he whispered, again with the wish of having at least the feline genes which would give him better movement in the dark. Stepping inside he closed the door behind him quietly and finding the switch on the right side of the wall, he turned it on and the light appeared suddenly causing Jesse to shut his eyes while they absorbed the sudden change.
When they finally could open, he came across the same view from earlier when he had entered here to acquire some sheets and pillows for Shalimar. There was the double bed with the red covers and pillows of the same colors with the Feral had, no doubt, arranged the previous morning as one could not expect such duty from Brennan nor Jesse unless there was to be held a gun to their heads. The entire room appeared quite plain, which would be much of a disappointed to those who knew Brennan and Shalimar's natures, but the previous year had still made some adjustments difficult for them so they had withheld any major decorations for a while.
On the right side stood the large windows, all three closed and the shades still lifted. Jesse approached the third window and opened it. Cool breeze rushed inside, filling the room which had appeared somewhat dull before. Turning around he saw the large bright blue, a color which even surprised him, closet at the other end of the room. Circling the bed on the spiky carpet, he soon came in front of the wooden door and taking the handle he slid it slowly to the right. He glanced at his wristwatch: Four and thirty two morning. "Damn," he sighed and ran both hands through his longer blond hair. He had taken a shower two days earlier but somehow his locks were in need for soaking. "Maybe..." he glanced at the door and then back at the stuffed shelves in front of him. It hadn't been a bad idea and he could still feel the awkward smell from the alley's dirty ground which by now had been well absorbed by his clothing. "Ah, it stinks horribly!" he said after smelling his shirt which had probably taken in some of the smell from Shalimar unfortunately.
Pulling out a large crème duvet and a pillow, he then closed the door and threw the things on the bed. Putting his hands on his waist, he watched the bed for a while and took another glance at the door. "Why not," he said and walked over to the door when he heard another one close. Opening the bedroom door he saw light coming out of the tiny horizontal opening at the bottom of the bathroom door. He heard a female sigh and smiled. So she gathered enough strength to take a shower at least, despite the lateness. Keeping the bedroom door open, he took the duvet and pillow and turned off the lights switch before exiting the bedroom and returning to the living room where he found the couch unsurprisingly empty. Dropping the weight off him, Jesse reached for the lamp close to the couch and turned it on. He would take the shower later.
Putting the last piece of underwear in the washing machine, Shalimar stepped inside the bathtub. Soaking her hair as the water was rushing down on it and continuing on the rest of her body, Shalimar closed her eyes, throwing her head back, enjoying the coolness of the drops, despite the bandages on her head which isolated the skin beneath them from feeling the same enjoyment. Jesse must have done a good job with the first aid as the covered wounds were not reached by a single drop. She avoided her forehead having learned that lesson twice before and very painfully. Her body had barely regained strength for her to drag herself over to the bathroom when she failed to find Jesse... not that she would have nagged him.
Moving her hands down, sliding slowly to her waist, her thumb had suddenly touched a spot which sent a sharp sting through her body. "Ouch!" she pressed her teeth. Looking down, on the left side of her slim skin waist, she noticed a smaller roughly shaped circle wound with four short scratch marks above it; touching the first line she felt another sting only less painful than the one from the lower wound. "When did this..." she wondered, while observing the mark. Shalimar remembered one of the attackers had sharper and rather strong fingernails which left deep marks on the Feral's body... perhaps these four reminders were also from the same person. She should put something on them before they would get worse which she highly hoped they haven't started to become that. Shalimar then turned to the other part of her waist to search for more wounds she hadn't been aware of before. Moving her gaze to her legs, there was only a small scratch on her right knee which had previously dried blood but nothing else was detected much to her relief until she rubbed her left arm and noticed a tiny bump just above her elbow. It looked like a mosquito bite only slightly larger. Her fingers touched it but it did not emit any pain to her surprise. "Huh, must've been some little bug," she lowered her defense and brought her attention back to her previous wound. "Those... those monsters..." she hissed and looked up at the tiled wall. Turning her gaze toward the door she removed her head from the shower and paved her wet hair. "Damn it," she cursed because of the lowered amount of strength which she had; feeling the effects especially on her arms how they felt like dropping on the floor after a small action no longer than ten seconds. Her legs had been more resilient but even they were begging her to sit or lie down and give them rest. If she could lie down and fall asleep in this bathtub she would have had. Shalimar returned her head beneath the shower, closing her eyes, letting the stink be washed away.
*********
She wanted to tighten the robe around her waist but the pain advised her otherwise. Opening the door she slowly walked over to the living room, her bare feet feeling the soft surface of the carpet. Shalimar saw the picture which the faint glowing light was showing of Jesse sitting on the couch, with his right hand which supported his chin, being held by his knee. When the Molecular noticed her, he quickly stood up with eyes which nearly shouted insane worry.
His expression forced a smile out of her; he appeared like a small boy. "Well," she lifted her hand close to her neck, "I took a shower," and walked over to the couch.
"Yeah, I heard you. How do you feel?" he tried to conceal his rising worry despite his knowing that she could easily tell.
That triggered something inside her. "For god's sake, Jesse, you're acting like I'm damn pregnant!" she suddenly snapped back at him, an action which even surprised her. With the immediate need to remove the trace of her undesired reaction she hid her face with her hands and took a deep sigh. Her tiredness had hardly begun to disappear; it grew rather than faint and she felt it uneasily. "I'm sorry... I'm still just so tired."
Jesse tilted his head and placed his hands on her elbows. "Come here..." he whispered and absorbed the Feral in his embrace, giving her a temporarily safe and warm comfort.
He had imagined the shower would relax her along with her sleep but that had done little it appeared. Rubbing her back softly, he looked up at the ceiling. "Do you feel better?" he whispered, wanting for it to be done closer to her ear but somehow the moment had little appropriation for it.
She sighed. "No... well, I can stand up and walk which is I guess an improvement... but I..." her knees unpredictably turned from bone to jelly as she fell deeper into Jesse's chest not being able to stand any longer.
"O-k." He grabbed her even more tightly so she would be safe from falling on the floor. Jesse only heard a quiet moan before her eyes closed themselves and her arms loosened. Lifting her carefully, he wanted to place her back on the couch but his eyes stopped on her now more calm face. His gaze softened. Turning around, he slowly carried himself and Shalimar through the corridor until he reached the door of the bedroom which he luckily did not close as well as he had previously thought. Giving it a soft push with his leg, he then entered inside and placed the Feral on the comfortable, soft surface of the bed.
Immediately she made her head cozy on the soft pillow, giving out a desperately wanting pleasant moan. When she opened her eyes, Jesse was standing above her preparing to reach for the other side of the duvet. "Why do you always..." she swallowed and took a deep breath, giving temporarily darkness for her eyes. "You always fuss so much?" he voice sounded nearly fragile.
His gaze fell on her face. He could see it, beside the absence of the yellow light in the room; the moon had let in enough light to uncover some of Shalimar's face. "You've been hurt pretty bad, Shal..."
"Not just now..." she took in another breath and leaned her arm on his right leg. "Every single time..."
"We're a team," he replied softly. "Of course I'm going to fuss over you... what can I do when I care for you, right?" he shrugged.
Slowly she showed a tiny smile. "Yeah... thanks."
"No need." He leaned down and kissed her cheek.
It began to worry her now. She could tell the relief in his eyes because of her presence but there was still that possessiveness of her health. "Jess... when I was in the shower..." she started.
Crouching, he placed his hands at the edge of the bed. "Yes?"
"I saw... another wound... it's smaller, but..."
The blueness in his eyes intensified. "Where?"
She reached for the upper opening of her robe with her right hand and loosening the belt with her left hand, she uncovered only the small part of her waist where two white large bandages were placed.
Placing his fingers on the cotton fabric, Jesse observed the cover and then glanced at Shalimar. "What kind of wound?" he asked her.
"Like a small um bump..... and... some scratch marks... that's about all..." "Hmm... alright." He stood up and saw her gather the green robe tightly to her body once again. Jesse did not want to leave her, but the rest would be more than welcome for her. "Try to get some sleep... we'll examine this more carefully tomorrow."
"Yeah... ok," she nodded.
He smiled at her and brushed his fingers across her cheek before covering her with the duvet. "Get some sleep," he told her and began walking away.
"Um, Jesse?" she called him.
He stopped and turned to look at her. "Yeah?"
"You too, alright?" she told him.
He smiled once more. "I will." Stepping outside, he took one last glimpse of his friend and then closed the door quietly behind him.
He made his way back to the living room. Noticing the duvet and pillow he had taken earlier, Jesse picked them up and placed them on the couch. He might as well make himself more comfortable. Glancing at the hallway, he had little success with hiding his wish to stay with her tonight even if the thought of the same bed had appeared unsettling. If she were closer to him, he would feel more secure about her wellbeing.
Shaking his head, Jesse threw away those last thoughts. It appeared possessive from him to even dare and entertain that thought. Shalimar would be alright... she simply had that misfortune of running into bad things today which left ugly results. But she will heal quickly. Although his heart wished still, she had been closer to him, like earlier. He sighed. She had been in a worse shape than he had wanted to see... but the wounds had appeared to be taken care of, and he did know a thing or two about first aid and so on.
He was ready to lie down when instead his hands let go of the sheets and he turned off the light. Walking slowly back to the hallway, he placed his hand on the door and took a few short breaths with his eyes gently closed. His heart would continue bugging him the entire night if he had refused to do this. As quietly as he could, Jesse turned the handle, opening the door. One could say that he sneaked inside like a thief in the night. His eyes identified the empty side of the bed and he leaned down, placing his hands on the now uncovered white sheets. He looked over at Shalimar to make sure that the vibrations he began to make were bothering her as little as possible and hopefully, not at all.
Stretching his body on the bed, he turned on the side and felt a warm feeling rush through him as his blues took in the darkened and yet calm face of his sleeping friend. He wanted to place his hand on her stomach but the will to let her sleep more easily overpowered and he simply placed it close to his own belly before closing his eyes and returning to sleep. Emma and Brennan would probably return early tomorrow. the more sleep he would receive, the better. But at least he was with her tonight. alone and it felt good for him. He wanted this.
*********
***
*********
His ears could detect nothing except the cold silence; as he swallowed he could still sense that the night hadn't lifted itself which made his eyelids to press harder on his covered eyes. Opening his mouth slightly he then heard a quiet barking of a dog coming from the empty streets outside. He imagined that it must have been cold outside. It had been perhaps the hard surface behind his back which alarmed his body that this had not been a comfortable place to sleep on: the side of the couch. "Ah damn it... should've known better." He had to open his eyes otherwise he would only torture his body for positions which it simply was not comfortable with. Shalimar was left to sleep on the couch as she hadn't felt well enough to move so the Molecular simply slid down on the floor, falling asleep, only inches away from her face.
Leaning his head forward, Jesse uncovered his eyes and saw the magazine thrown on the floor, barely visible because of the existing darkness. "How I wish I had Shal's senses right now," he told himself and stood up. The most crucial parts of the path before him were still visible, just enough so he wouldn't end up with a big red bump on his head before even reaching the bedroom; that was where he found out that all the sheets and covers were kept and right now his body was crying out for some comfort. Still adjusting his eyes to the darkness to get at least a tiny amount of visibility, Jesse yawned. Walking in the hallway, he placed his hand on the roughly painted wall and moved it there so he would have better orientation; the lights were avoided for the fear that they would only awake the sleeping Feral when she appeared in much more than desired need of a long and comfortable slumber. As he moved his hand, he felt a lights switch, some walls, and a door frame and once again the rugged walls. He was getting close.
Soon his foot was stopped by what appeared to be the wooden closed door of the bedroom. Moving his hand down, his fingers got a good grip around the cold metal handle as he turned it and the door open. "Just some light," he whispered, again with the wish of having at least the feline genes which would give him better movement in the dark. Stepping inside he closed the door behind him quietly and finding the switch on the right side of the wall, he turned it on and the light appeared suddenly causing Jesse to shut his eyes while they absorbed the sudden change.
When they finally could open, he came across the same view from earlier when he had entered here to acquire some sheets and pillows for Shalimar. There was the double bed with the red covers and pillows of the same colors with the Feral had, no doubt, arranged the previous morning as one could not expect such duty from Brennan nor Jesse unless there was to be held a gun to their heads. The entire room appeared quite plain, which would be much of a disappointed to those who knew Brennan and Shalimar's natures, but the previous year had still made some adjustments difficult for them so they had withheld any major decorations for a while.
On the right side stood the large windows, all three closed and the shades still lifted. Jesse approached the third window and opened it. Cool breeze rushed inside, filling the room which had appeared somewhat dull before. Turning around he saw the large bright blue, a color which even surprised him, closet at the other end of the room. Circling the bed on the spiky carpet, he soon came in front of the wooden door and taking the handle he slid it slowly to the right. He glanced at his wristwatch: Four and thirty two morning. "Damn," he sighed and ran both hands through his longer blond hair. He had taken a shower two days earlier but somehow his locks were in need for soaking. "Maybe..." he glanced at the door and then back at the stuffed shelves in front of him. It hadn't been a bad idea and he could still feel the awkward smell from the alley's dirty ground which by now had been well absorbed by his clothing. "Ah, it stinks horribly!" he said after smelling his shirt which had probably taken in some of the smell from Shalimar unfortunately.
Pulling out a large crème duvet and a pillow, he then closed the door and threw the things on the bed. Putting his hands on his waist, he watched the bed for a while and took another glance at the door. "Why not," he said and walked over to the door when he heard another one close. Opening the bedroom door he saw light coming out of the tiny horizontal opening at the bottom of the bathroom door. He heard a female sigh and smiled. So she gathered enough strength to take a shower at least, despite the lateness. Keeping the bedroom door open, he took the duvet and pillow and turned off the lights switch before exiting the bedroom and returning to the living room where he found the couch unsurprisingly empty. Dropping the weight off him, Jesse reached for the lamp close to the couch and turned it on. He would take the shower later.
Putting the last piece of underwear in the washing machine, Shalimar stepped inside the bathtub. Soaking her hair as the water was rushing down on it and continuing on the rest of her body, Shalimar closed her eyes, throwing her head back, enjoying the coolness of the drops, despite the bandages on her head which isolated the skin beneath them from feeling the same enjoyment. Jesse must have done a good job with the first aid as the covered wounds were not reached by a single drop. She avoided her forehead having learned that lesson twice before and very painfully. Her body had barely regained strength for her to drag herself over to the bathroom when she failed to find Jesse... not that she would have nagged him.
Moving her hands down, sliding slowly to her waist, her thumb had suddenly touched a spot which sent a sharp sting through her body. "Ouch!" she pressed her teeth. Looking down, on the left side of her slim skin waist, she noticed a smaller roughly shaped circle wound with four short scratch marks above it; touching the first line she felt another sting only less painful than the one from the lower wound. "When did this..." she wondered, while observing the mark. Shalimar remembered one of the attackers had sharper and rather strong fingernails which left deep marks on the Feral's body... perhaps these four reminders were also from the same person. She should put something on them before they would get worse which she highly hoped they haven't started to become that. Shalimar then turned to the other part of her waist to search for more wounds she hadn't been aware of before. Moving her gaze to her legs, there was only a small scratch on her right knee which had previously dried blood but nothing else was detected much to her relief until she rubbed her left arm and noticed a tiny bump just above her elbow. It looked like a mosquito bite only slightly larger. Her fingers touched it but it did not emit any pain to her surprise. "Huh, must've been some little bug," she lowered her defense and brought her attention back to her previous wound. "Those... those monsters..." she hissed and looked up at the tiled wall. Turning her gaze toward the door she removed her head from the shower and paved her wet hair. "Damn it," she cursed because of the lowered amount of strength which she had; feeling the effects especially on her arms how they felt like dropping on the floor after a small action no longer than ten seconds. Her legs had been more resilient but even they were begging her to sit or lie down and give them rest. If she could lie down and fall asleep in this bathtub she would have had. Shalimar returned her head beneath the shower, closing her eyes, letting the stink be washed away.
*********
She wanted to tighten the robe around her waist but the pain advised her otherwise. Opening the door she slowly walked over to the living room, her bare feet feeling the soft surface of the carpet. Shalimar saw the picture which the faint glowing light was showing of Jesse sitting on the couch, with his right hand which supported his chin, being held by his knee. When the Molecular noticed her, he quickly stood up with eyes which nearly shouted insane worry.
His expression forced a smile out of her; he appeared like a small boy. "Well," she lifted her hand close to her neck, "I took a shower," and walked over to the couch.
"Yeah, I heard you. How do you feel?" he tried to conceal his rising worry despite his knowing that she could easily tell.
That triggered something inside her. "For god's sake, Jesse, you're acting like I'm damn pregnant!" she suddenly snapped back at him, an action which even surprised her. With the immediate need to remove the trace of her undesired reaction she hid her face with her hands and took a deep sigh. Her tiredness had hardly begun to disappear; it grew rather than faint and she felt it uneasily. "I'm sorry... I'm still just so tired."
Jesse tilted his head and placed his hands on her elbows. "Come here..." he whispered and absorbed the Feral in his embrace, giving her a temporarily safe and warm comfort.
He had imagined the shower would relax her along with her sleep but that had done little it appeared. Rubbing her back softly, he looked up at the ceiling. "Do you feel better?" he whispered, wanting for it to be done closer to her ear but somehow the moment had little appropriation for it.
She sighed. "No... well, I can stand up and walk which is I guess an improvement... but I..." her knees unpredictably turned from bone to jelly as she fell deeper into Jesse's chest not being able to stand any longer.
"O-k." He grabbed her even more tightly so she would be safe from falling on the floor. Jesse only heard a quiet moan before her eyes closed themselves and her arms loosened. Lifting her carefully, he wanted to place her back on the couch but his eyes stopped on her now more calm face. His gaze softened. Turning around, he slowly carried himself and Shalimar through the corridor until he reached the door of the bedroom which he luckily did not close as well as he had previously thought. Giving it a soft push with his leg, he then entered inside and placed the Feral on the comfortable, soft surface of the bed.
Immediately she made her head cozy on the soft pillow, giving out a desperately wanting pleasant moan. When she opened her eyes, Jesse was standing above her preparing to reach for the other side of the duvet. "Why do you always..." she swallowed and took a deep breath, giving temporarily darkness for her eyes. "You always fuss so much?" he voice sounded nearly fragile.
His gaze fell on her face. He could see it, beside the absence of the yellow light in the room; the moon had let in enough light to uncover some of Shalimar's face. "You've been hurt pretty bad, Shal..."
"Not just now..." she took in another breath and leaned her arm on his right leg. "Every single time..."
"We're a team," he replied softly. "Of course I'm going to fuss over you... what can I do when I care for you, right?" he shrugged.
Slowly she showed a tiny smile. "Yeah... thanks."
"No need." He leaned down and kissed her cheek.
It began to worry her now. She could tell the relief in his eyes because of her presence but there was still that possessiveness of her health. "Jess... when I was in the shower..." she started.
Crouching, he placed his hands at the edge of the bed. "Yes?"
"I saw... another wound... it's smaller, but..."
The blueness in his eyes intensified. "Where?"
She reached for the upper opening of her robe with her right hand and loosening the belt with her left hand, she uncovered only the small part of her waist where two white large bandages were placed.
Placing his fingers on the cotton fabric, Jesse observed the cover and then glanced at Shalimar. "What kind of wound?" he asked her.
"Like a small um bump..... and... some scratch marks... that's about all..." "Hmm... alright." He stood up and saw her gather the green robe tightly to her body once again. Jesse did not want to leave her, but the rest would be more than welcome for her. "Try to get some sleep... we'll examine this more carefully tomorrow."
"Yeah... ok," she nodded.
He smiled at her and brushed his fingers across her cheek before covering her with the duvet. "Get some sleep," he told her and began walking away.
"Um, Jesse?" she called him.
He stopped and turned to look at her. "Yeah?"
"You too, alright?" she told him.
He smiled once more. "I will." Stepping outside, he took one last glimpse of his friend and then closed the door quietly behind him.
He made his way back to the living room. Noticing the duvet and pillow he had taken earlier, Jesse picked them up and placed them on the couch. He might as well make himself more comfortable. Glancing at the hallway, he had little success with hiding his wish to stay with her tonight even if the thought of the same bed had appeared unsettling. If she were closer to him, he would feel more secure about her wellbeing.
Shaking his head, Jesse threw away those last thoughts. It appeared possessive from him to even dare and entertain that thought. Shalimar would be alright... she simply had that misfortune of running into bad things today which left ugly results. But she will heal quickly. Although his heart wished still, she had been closer to him, like earlier. He sighed. She had been in a worse shape than he had wanted to see... but the wounds had appeared to be taken care of, and he did know a thing or two about first aid and so on.
He was ready to lie down when instead his hands let go of the sheets and he turned off the light. Walking slowly back to the hallway, he placed his hand on the door and took a few short breaths with his eyes gently closed. His heart would continue bugging him the entire night if he had refused to do this. As quietly as he could, Jesse turned the handle, opening the door. One could say that he sneaked inside like a thief in the night. His eyes identified the empty side of the bed and he leaned down, placing his hands on the now uncovered white sheets. He looked over at Shalimar to make sure that the vibrations he began to make were bothering her as little as possible and hopefully, not at all.
Stretching his body on the bed, he turned on the side and felt a warm feeling rush through him as his blues took in the darkened and yet calm face of his sleeping friend. He wanted to place his hand on her stomach but the will to let her sleep more easily overpowered and he simply placed it close to his own belly before closing his eyes and returning to sleep. Emma and Brennan would probably return early tomorrow. the more sleep he would receive, the better. But at least he was with her tonight. alone and it felt good for him. He wanted this.
*********