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 is   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. The title of this chapter is from the song "Don't Go" by Keith Urban on his 1991 Australian CD 'Keith Urban' so copyrights apply to whoever owns them for that song as well.

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Chapter 4

And take everything as it comes for today is the first day of the rest of your life

Yawning loudly, Jesse walked out of his bedroom rubbing his sleepy eyes. That's when he saw something he had never thought possible: Shalimar was up, getting out of her own room and it wasn't even 7:30 a.m.! Lifting his hand, he shook his watch next to his ear. No, it was working fine and it really was that early.

"Huh Shal, everything okay?" he asked the blond woman, noticing the tired look on her face.

She smiled weakly. "Yeah, just didn't get much sleep that's all."

"You too, huh? Well, I knew there had to be a reason for you to be up this early", he added with a grin. Teasing the feral before breakfast was a dangerous thing but he could feel the tension in the air and had to do something about it.

Just as he finished his sentence, a loud growling noise came from his own stomach and Shalimar burst out laughing.

"Yep, and I can hear yours loud and clear.", she said.  Taking the young molecular's arm, she pulled him gently. "Come on, let's get you something to eat before you wake everyone up."

Letting out a sigh, Jesse followed her. "This isn't gonna be a fun day."

"I know, especially for Adam," she replied sadly.

"Why won't he just tell her?" he asked. "If I were him, I would have done it the minute I found out."

Shalimar shook her head. "It's his decision, Jess, and we have to trust him that it's for the best."

Stopping, Jesse turned to look at her. "You're worried about him, aren't you?"

"Yes," she sighed. "It was hard enough for him when he found out about Sheila, I'm afraid this time around he won't be able to handle it. He's gonna need us more than ever after Emma leaves."

Jesse nodded as they made their way toward the kitchen. He remembered how devastated Adam had been a year ago, how he had locked himself up in the lab for days, without eating or sleeping, searching frantically every database the Sanctuary computers held.  'Shal's right,' he thought, 'Adam's gonna need us now more than he ever did.'

"Adam??"

Shalimar's voice brought him back to reality and he froze at the kitchen doorstep. 'Oh my god, he's lost it already' he panicked. Adam was standing by the stove plaque, wearing that silly flowered apron Jesse had given Shalimar as a joke a couple of months ago.

"Good morning!", Adam told them with a big smile. "You two sit down, breakfast will be ready in a minute."

Shalimar being up that early was already a shock, but seeing Adam cooking breakfast was even more unbelievable. He usually just settled for a cup of coffee he would sip while working at his computer. Exchanging a concerned look, the two young mutants sat down then kept starring at him in silence.

"What, what's wrong? Do I have flour on my nose?", joked their mentor as he returned his attention to the frying pan.

'He's definitly lost it', they both thought at the same time.

"Huh Adam, is everything okay?", asked Shalimar with concern in her eyes.

"Of course, why wouldn't things be okay?" he asked her back with the same joyful tone of voice he had greeted them with.

"Well…", started Shalimar, unable to finish her thought.

Uneasy, Jesse looked at the table. "Well, you cooking breakfast is kind of unusual, ya know.."

Adam laughed as he brought them their plates. "I agree this isn't exactly my style of clothing", he said, referring to the apron. "But today is a special day and I wanted to start it in a special way. "

Shalimar put her hand on his arm. "Adam, you don't have to pretend in front of Jesse and I", she told him softly.

Adam simply smiled at them with twinkles in his eyes and went back to the stove. Jesse and Shalimar looked at each other again and Shalimar mouthed  'What's going on?'.  Jesse shrugged his shoulders.

"Good morning guys', said Brennan as he walked into the room. "Hey it smells good in here," he added as he sat down beside Jesse.

"Good morning Brennan', answered Adam. "Do you know if Emma is up yet?", he asked as he brought him his plate.

"Thanks… I think she's on her way', answered Brennan with a wink that brought a bigger smile on Adam's face.

'Okay, there IS something going on here', thought Jesse.

"Say, this looks really good. If this is the usual breakfast around here, I should have joined years ago", added Brennan with a grin.

Shalimar and Adam laughed. "Hey Jess, looks like you've got competition now when it comes to eating", she said.

"Funny, very funny', grinned Jesse.

"What's so funny? I could hear you guys laughing from my room", asked a woman's voice behind them.

All heads turned toward the door. Emma was dressed in a black skirt and a light blue tank top that made her eyes even brighter than they normally were, her hair flowing loose around her face.  'God she's beautiful', thought Brennan. Feeling his thoughts, Emma smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back.

Adam looked at her, then at Brennan and smiled. "Good morning Emma, how did you sleep?", he asked.

Before Emma could reply, Shalimar had jumped out of her seat and was hugging Emma so tightly the young telempath could barely breathe.

"EMMA!!! Oh my God, you've decided to stay!!", she exclaimed, holding up Emma's right hand. There it was, the comlink ring Emma had refused the night before. "Why didn't you tell us, Adam?"

Laughing, Emma tried to pull herself free from the feral's embrace. "It's my fault, I asked him not to. I wanted to tell you guys myself."

Jesse stood up, walked to the two women and hugged them both at the same time. "Wow! I'm so glad you're staying" , he said.

"What made you changed your mind?!", he asked  with a quick glance in Adam's direction, the unspoken question clear in his eyes. Adam shook his head slightly. Shalimar saw this brief exchange. 'Oh, he didn't tell her..'

Not noticing what had just happened between the three of them, Emma smiled at her new friends. "Let's just say someone convinced me in giving you guys a trial period." At this, Brennan started laughing.

"Huh?" Shal and Jesse just looked at them, confused.

"Come on guys, let Emma sit down and have something to eat. Otherwise, she might very well give you two some bad ratings in her review", grinned Brennan.

Emma laughed and went to sit at the table, leaving the two mutants wondering what they had missed. But the happy look on Adam's face told them there was nothing to worry about, at least for now.

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