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 6

"And don't say it's present when it's all in the past"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Italics are relating events from the past.

"But Mr. Eckhart, sir, I… aaawh!"

The pain irradiated again through his entire body and the man couldn't stand it anymore, fainting before his body hit the floor heavily.

"Apologies not accepted, Mr. Dunlop", said the white haired man. "I had told you not to fail me again in locating the whereabouts of Miss DeLauro."

Turning away with disgust, Mason Eckhart walked up to look through the glass wall behind his desk. "Make sure he is 'disposed of' properly", he added to the two guards at the door.

"Right away, Sir", one man said as they picked up the unconscious man and walked out.

Hands locked behind his back, Eckhart kept looking down to the stasis pods station, lost in his thoughts.

'Where are you hiding her now, Adam? It doesn't matter as I will find her again and this time, she will not be denied her destiny.'

Turning around, he reached for a small picture frame hidden in the top drawer of his desk. Even after all those years, one single look at those blue eyes still caused the old pain to resurface. And although the colors had faded with the years, the blue of her eyes still held the same power over him. She had been his other half, that other half keeping his insanity in check, the only one he would allow to stand up to him without consequences. The one who had betrayed him…

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It was early in the morning and Dr.Adam Kane was already up and at his work station in the Genomex lab. The solution had to be in this last genetic strand, he thought to himself. All week long both him and Mason Eckhart had been trying to find out just why the new genetic code would not remain stable. And once they would isolate the wrong component to the vaccine, they would be able to counteract these strange side effects he had noticed earlier. Now if only Mason wouldn't be such a late sleeper, they could get this done much faster.

On the other hand, Adam felt more confident without his friend's constant interruptions. Mason was undoubtedly bright and intelligent but he was no scientist and sometimes it would take Adam a full day of work to reverse some of his wrong doings. But if it hadn't been for Mason, Adam would never have had the opportunity to pursue his research..among other things. Shaking his head, Dr. Kane returned to his DNA testings, wishing the Genomex board had waited for his work to be completed before experimenting on human beings. With these unpredictable side effects, the pressure was even greater on him.

Suddenly, the door to his lab slid open and Mason rushed in, carrying a young woman in his arms.

"Adam!! You have got to help her!", he urged him as he carefully put her down on the lab's table.

"Oh my… what happened?", asked Adam as he reached for her wrist to check on her pulse.

Eckhart ran his hands nervously through his hair.

"I don't know, Adam. We were on our way over here when she suddenly screamed, grabbing her head like it was killing her. Before I could do anything, she fainted. She seemed perfectly fine moments before."

While listening to his explanations, Adam had placed sensors on her temples and was checking her vital signs.

"Her pulse is way too fast and her brain activity is running off the chart. We have to stabilize her before her heart fails."

…..

Hours later, Adam was sitting at his desk, stunned with the results the woman's blood tests had shown. Her DNA was rapidly evolving, getting to a state explainable only by..

"It's impossible", he said out loud. "It can't be. She was never a subject to those tests, Mason would not have allowed it. And neither would I. But how? Unless.."

After a few minutes spent researching desperately the young woman's medical file in the Genomex database, Adam reached for the intercom.

"Mason, you better come down here, I've got something to show you", he said as he looked back into the lab's direction where the young woman's condition was barely stable.

He couldn't stop tears from running down his cheeks. 'It's all my fault..'

…..

"How can it be?", yelled Eckhart. "She was not to be part of this experiment."

"Look, how many times do I have to tell you that I've got NOTHING to do with it", Adam snapped back.

"But the results are there, aren't they? You're telling me that she is  in the same state  as those..  those …guinea pigs over there!"

"Look, I am the last person on this planet who would have wanted this to happen to her. All I know is that somehow she has been administered the vaccine before its completion. When this happened, I have no clue."

Eckhart slowly walked in Adam's direction, his fists clenched.

"I knew you would be troubles the minute you came to work here. And right now,  I am pretty damn sure you are not telling me the entire truth." Lowering his voice, he added: "I swear to God, Adam Kane, if she dies and I find out that you had anything to do with it, I will become your worst enemy."

Adam managed to keep his face straight and simply looked right back at him.

…..

Silence. All around him was nothing but silence. All the other scientists had retired to their quarters for the night, but Adam could not leave her side. In the past hour, her pulse had been so erratic that he knew the end was near. He had lied to Mason, assuring  him she was slowly getting better. He had no choice, he needed whatever little time he could buy for come morning she would be gone. And there was so much to do until the break of day.

Taking her soft hand in his, he held it against his cheek.

"I am so sorry, Maria. It's all my fault," he sobbed quietly.

The young woman's eyes opened  at the sound of his voice.

"No, it's not, you couldn't have known," she whispered softly. "I was in pain, the pregnancy was hard and there was no other way to save the baby. You did what you had to do and…"

Her voice was lost in a coughing fit. At the sight of blood dripping from her lips, Adam's heart sank. No matter what she said, it was still his fault. He caressed her face and she smiled weakly.

"Brianna..promise me you will...", she began before another coughing fit stopped her.

Leaning closer, Adam looked deep into her eyes. They were of the same blue than those of the 2 years old little girl asleep in a room deep within the Genomex Center.

"Don't worry about Brianna, I'll watch over her," he reassured her.

"No!", she cried, grabbing his arm with all the strength she had left in her. "You must… send her away..don't let Mason… he still doesn't know.. and he  can't find out  about what she might become later.."

Her life abandoning her, she looked at Adam one last time, mouthing the words 'Promise me'.

Unable to hold back his tears any longer, Adam softly kissed her eyes closed. "I promise you, Maria. I won't let anything happen to her."

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