If You Wanna Stay

Summary: What if the comlink rings ceremony didn't go as it did? (I guess that makes it A/U, right?)

Couple: Emma / Brennan, Emma / Adam (not romantic)

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: MUTANT X is copyright 2001, Tribune Entertainment Co. So the characters do not belong to me. Also, I am not making any money out of this story, I'm just giving the Emma / Brennan fans out there a little more to feed on.   The title of this fan fiction and of this chapter are  from the song 'If You Wanna Stay' by Keith Urban on his 1999 US debut CD 'keith urban' so copyrights apply to whoever owns them for that song as well.

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Chapter 3

'Baby tryin' to figure you out could make a man go insane…'

Shaking his head to clear his mind from the confusion Shalimar's revelations had created, Brennan walked into his bedroom.

'What a mess!', he thought, removing his shirt and throwing it on the bed. Thinking a shower would help him sort throughout the day's events, he stepped into the adjacent bathroom.

As he turned on the water and stripped from his clothes, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen next. It seems like within the past few days his life went into a whirlwind, making him lose any control he ever had on deciding what he'll do next.  In a matter of hours, he went from being a small crook/car thief to being chased through town by a bunch of crazy GSA maniacs wanting to control his power. Then he was rescued by another bunch of crazy people, this time wanting him to join them in their fight against the GSA. And now, this curious twist of fate revealed by Shalimar… No wonder  he felt so stressed out.

Ignoring the hot water running down his body, Brennan remembered the frightened look on Emma's face when she had asked him to help her, back at the club that first night. What would he give to be able to go back in time, to pull her in his arms and never let go, keeping her safe from any harm. He knew he probably wouldn't have been of much help anyway, not knowing how easily the GSA agents had captured him. But the thought of holding her close to his heart when she needed someone made him feel less guilty somehow.

Why had she refused to become a member of Mutant X? It still didn't make any sense to him; all he knew was that he had to talk to her, to try and convince her to stay.   It had taken him years to find her. The one who made his world stop and turn at the same time. The one who turned night into day and day into night. The one who shook his life with one single stare, who made everything right and wrong at the same time. 

'This is ridiculous', he thought, turning his face toward the water. 'One moment I'm living my life quietly, without asking anything to anyone and the next, I can't get her out of my mind. If it hadn't been for her, I would probably have refused to join Mutant X anyway. Being the hero of the day just ain't my style. But if I want to keep her in my life, I thought joining them was the only way. And now..'

His mind made up, Brennan turned off the water. "I hope it's not too late", he said.

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Tossing and turning, Emma couldn't manage to find sleep. 'This is ridiculous, tomorrow I'll be far from here and it will all be a bad dream', she thought as she once again re-arranged the pillow under her head before lying down to stare at the ceiling.

"Well maybe not all of it", she whispered remembering the dark eyed man whose image kept creeping back into her mind. Stubborn and proud, with this incredible grinning smile…

"Oh snap out of it, Em!" she scolded herself.

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Restless, Adam kept pacing his lab back and forth. Maybe he should have listened to Shalimar, maybe he should have told Emma the truth. But how could he do that? How  could he find the words needed to make her understand his reasons? And how could he ever make it up to her ?

Running his hand through his hair, Adam went back to look once again at the DNA models on his monitor. There was no mistake this time.. besides, he didn't need them to know, one look at those blue eyes had already confirmed it the minute he first saw her. Emma, the unknown reason why Mutant X was created in the first place.  And now she was leaving in the morning… leaving him just has he had left her so many years ago.

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Brennan paused, unsure if he could do it. Shalimar had told him that Emma couldn't read minds, just feel emotions. As long as he kept Adam's secret in the far back of his mind and didn't let his feelings about it take over him, she wouldn't know. 'It would be much simpler if he just told her', he thought. Taking a deep breath to clear his mind, he knocked lightly at the door.

"Emma?", he called softly. "Emma it's me, Brennan.  Can I talk to you?"

He heard her move inside the room and tried not to smile at the though of her getting out of bed. Suddenly, the door opened and he was somewhat disappointed: she was fully dressed.

"Yeah, I didn't have time to pack my negligés', she said sarcastically.

"Uh.. sorry.. say, can I talk to you?" he replied, embarrassed.

Emma stepped aside to let him in then closed the door behind him.

"Look, if you are here to try and talk me out of leaving, you're wasting your time", she told him as she walked to the bed and sat down.

'Damn, she's good..', he thought.  Brennan sat down beside her and looked at his hands, not knowing where to start.

"Look Emma, you can't just quit like this.."

"Quit? Quit what?", exclaimed Emma. "I never joined in the first place, so there is nothing for me to quit."

Brennan turned to her. "Oh no? Then why were you there today at the Genomex complex?" , he asked her.

Emma didn't reply, refusing to look back at him. She wasn't a fool, she wasn't gonna tell him the only reason was a foolish wish that he could care for her the same way she did for him.  Seeing she wouldn't give him an answer, he decided to try something else.

"And what about Adam and the others? They helped you when you were in troubles", he asked her.

"So, what about them?"

"Well, don't you think it's a little unfair for you to treat them like this? Adam seems to think very highly of you", he added carefully.

Emma froze.  There was something different, a slight change in her reading of Brennan's emotions as he mentioned Adam for the second time this evening. 'He's hiding something from me… but what? Oh I wish I could control those powers!', she thought.

"Unfair?", she exploded, facing to him. "Unfair? And what about turning my life upside down, how unfair is that? I never asked for all of this, for.. for them to turn me into a freak and then come and ask my help! Besides, I don't owe them anything anymore, I helped them get you and the others out of Genomex, didn't I? We're even, I want my life back now."

Hearing Emma's words, Brennan felt as though his life was being shattered into a million of pieces. He cursed himself for being a fool.

"So, that's why you were there today? So you could repay your debt to them?", he asked her in a whisper.

As he spoke, Emma realized what she had just said. And the look on Brennan's face echoed the pain that was shouting to her.

"Oh Brennan, no… I'm sorry, it's not what I meant, not like this..I.. ". She stopped, unable to find the words.

Brennan sighed.  This was getting them no where. Kneeling down in front of her, he took her hands in his and look deep into her eyes.

"Then why Emma? Why are you leaving?"

Emma felt her heart melt. There was such an intensity, an honest need to know in his eyes.

"I can't do it, Bren.  I'm no super hero, I wouldn't even know what to do", she told him. "I can't fight. I can't even control my power, I wouldn't be of much help. You guys would be better off without me."

Brennan smiled. Was that it? Was she scared she'd failed them? He squeezed her hands gently.

"It's okay to be scared, Emma", he told her gently. "But you wouldn't be on your own, we'd all be there. Me, Shalimar, Jesse, Adam.. We'd all be there with you, to help you. Adam said that you've only started to tap into your powers and in time that you'd learn how to control them."

There it was again, that strange shift in his emotions she was feeling. And just like before it happened when he mentioned Adam. What was going on?

She shook her head. "Maybe but until then, there's no telling what can happen. I don't have Shalimar's strength in fights, or Jesse's abilities, or yours. All I can do is send pretty pictures in someone else's mind and even that I can't do when I get stressed. You saw what happened the other day. "

"Emma, I promise you I won't let anything, anything happen to you. I'll always be there and I'll kick as many bad guys sorry asses as needed in order to keep my promise."

"Even if I decided to stay, Adam would probably want me to stay behind while I learn to master my powers, right?"

"Maybe, but you don't know..."

Emma cut him off.

"And how do you think I'd feel while you guys were out there, facing God knows what,  unable to help you or not knowing what was going on?", she asked him with tears in her eyes. 'Not knowing if YOU were okay' she added in her mind.

Brennan could hear the despair in her voice. He decided it was time to play his last card. And if that didn't work…

"Tell you what", he suggested. "Why don't you consider this just like any new job?"

Puzzled, she stared at him. "Like any new job? Are you out of your mind?"

"Let me finish", he insisted. "Like I said, consider this like any new job. You know how when you start a new job they usually give you a period to adapt, something like three months or so? Then they review your work and decide wether they are gonna keep you or not?"

Emma nodded.

"Well why don't you just do that? Give them.. I mean us.. a trial period. Then you can decide wether or not you're gonna keep us in your life. That way at least Adam would be able to help you learn more about your powers. "

Looking into her eyes, Brennan mentally crossed his fingers. This was his only chance to keep it all. If she refused, he'd have to decide between the Mutant X team or following her.

"Three months?", she asked him.

He smiled. "Three months. And if you decide to leave after it, then we'll take it from there."

'We?', she asked herself. 'Does he mean..?'

Smiling back at him, she knew she had changed her mind. "Alright then… three months then we'll take it from there."

Brennan lifted her hands and kissed her fingers softly before standing up. "Welcome to Mutant X. Should we go tell the others? I think Adam is still in the lab."

'And I hope he won't ruin this second chance he's got now', he thought as they walked out of the room.

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I just want to take a moment to thank you all for the great reviews I've received so far. I'm going to do my best to keep updating this story as fast as I can, but working full time might make it a bit harder at times, so I hope you'll understand.  –  Amazon-Orithia