I felt bad that had you all waiting so long for the last chapter so I decided to try and make it up to you.

Chapter 18

(McDonalds)

Shalimar and Richard had ordered their food and decided instead of just taking the food back to Sanctuary to eat there. They picked out a table in the back of the restaurant near a window with an amazing view.

Shalimar sat at the table remembering the night where she knew Brennan was the only person in the world that could make her feel better when times were at there worst. Not even Emma her best friend could do that, telempathy and all.

"Okay Shal please tell me what's wrong, you've barely touched your food and you said you were hungry?"

"What I loose my appetite and something has to be wrong?"

"No it's not your lose of appetite it's that look on your face, a couple minutes ago you were all smiling, and happy, and it just breaks my heart to see you looking so heart. So please make me feel better and tell me what's going on, so that I can help you."

"I just don't think you want to hear about it that's all." Shalimar said backing off a little seeing as though Richard was only tring to help her out.

"If my Mutant X code talk is up to speed that means it's about Brennan." Shalimar said nothing but Richard knew from the look on her face that it was about Brennan. "No I do want to hear it. That is if you want to talk about, it can't be easy keeping all your emotions to yourself all of the time."

"Doctor Saunders is back I see." Shalimar said jokingly.

"Yeah I guess you could say that. So you gonna tell me what's wrong?"

"Well I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"So did you guys have like your first date her or something?"

"Nah, Brennan has, had more class than that."

"So what is it then?"

"After you died I basically locked myself in my room, and blocked everyone else out for like a couple of weeks." "That's not like you to block everyone out, I mean for that long."

"I was heartbroken and devastated, I had never felt that for someone before. Besides everyone acted all weird around me like they didn't know what to say or how to say it so it all came out wrong. Everytime they tried to talk to me or something every two minutes it was like so how are you doing, it just got so damn annoying."

"I can only imagine, that would get on my nerves to, hell I think it would ge ton everyones nerves."

"You know, anyway the only person I could stand t be around was,"

"Oh let me guess, Brennan."

"Bingo. He didn't ask me a million times how I was doing, and didn't bring up the subject of you unless I wanted to talk about."

"So you two were close before, I wasn't aware of that."

"Yeah we were friends, and team mates, and he had been through the same thing I was going through when Becky left him, even though she didn't die. He also went through it when his mom died."

"So you went to him and?"

"It was like two in the morning and he looked as though he hadn't slept in years."

"So in another words he looked like crap."

"No not crap just tired his face anyway. He was just sitting in his room, and the door was open a bit, so I decided to wait for a minutes before I knocked on the door just so that I didn't interupt something important. Then out of no where he goes 'I wish I could help her' or something along those lines."

"He was referring to you of course?"

"Of course who else. So I just decided to walk in. He was so shocked to see me that his mouth like fell to the floor. I told him he if that if he wanted to help he could take me to get something to eat."

"At two in the morning?"

"Yeah, I was hungrier than hell, and I needed to eat something, anything. So he agreed, and we ended up getting McDonalds."

"Let me guess again since I'm on a roll, this was the McDonalds you guys came too." "You got it. The only difference was that we just went through the drive through because I didn't want to get out of the car."

"I'm so sorry Shal if I knew I wouldn't have come here."

"Okay so what is it that has you puzzled?" Shal asked lookig at Richards somewhat confused face.

"I just don't understand why this place means so much I mean you guys didn't even come inside."

"It was that night, or rather morning I realised that if I was finally starting to move on with my life, and I knew that was what you would have wanted for me."

"What else?"

"I had this feeling telling me that Brennan and I could continue where we left off before you came along."

"Oh I see." Richard said as he and Shal got up to leave.

"No you don't you big fibber." Shal said as they got into the car.

"What do you where you guys left off?" Richard was now uterly confused and what Shal had just told him.

"Well like I said we were friends, and team mates but we had flirted constantly, and neither of us made anything of it until Ashlocke took me. Brennan blamed himself, and when I got back even though it had only been a couple of hours, the both of us realised what the other meant. So I was walking down the hall near the lab, and Brennan comes out of his room, and calls me. We talked, and joked for a minute then he gave me a hug."

"Like a welcome back hug."

"Yup, and then when we pulled away there was this moment, I couldn't tare my eyes of him, and he the same."

"Oh my god did you guys kiss?" Richard asked as he pulled up to a red light.

"Almost, we were less than an inch apart and little miss Emma called us to come look at something. So he apologized, and we went to see what Emma was up too. Then a couple days later I met you, and the rest is history."

"Oh my god!"

"I told you, you wouldn't want to hear this. What is it though?" "Nothing I just realised I have to do something."

"Okay, where do you have to do this something?" Shal asked thinking that Richard was talking about the park, but it was only seven thirty.

"It's nothing real important just something in the lab that I was supposed to do for Adam, that I completely forgot about."

"Well we should be back at Sanctuary in no time, and if Adam says anything to you just tell him he can deal with me."

(Sanctuary)

Shalimar and Richard pulled back into Sanctuary ten minutes later.

"See I told ya, back in no time."

Richard laughed, and then went to walk out of the garage when he suddenly turned back.

"Hey you coming?"

"Um, you know what I think I'm going to take my bike out for a little spin, I've been mistreating it lately."

"Alrigt, I'll tell Adam for then."

"Thanks, and Richard just not for telling Adam Adam that I'm going out but for listening to me blabber about Brennan."

"Hey it was nothing, besides I like the sound of your voice."

Shalimar gave a slight chuckle, and then spoke. "Really it can't be easy for you with me always talking about Brennan."

"The healing process, its' a wonderful thing that I'm glad to help you with, and it makes me feel good knowing you can talk to me."

Shalimar walked over to Richard and gave him a hug, and a kiss on the cheek.

"See ya soon." Shal said as Richard watched her get on her bike, and head out of Sanctuary.

(On the Road)

Shalimar had been driving around wondering what Richard was planning, and also wanting to know how he knew about that park. It was pretty secluded, so you just wouldn't drive by it, and ' hey that's a nice park'. She decided to put that out of her mind as it only made her think more about Brennan.

It hadn't taken her this long to get over Richard, maybe because she believed he was dead, and that she more or less watched him die. With Brennan she didn't have that proof and for some reason she still felt as though he was living but Adam wouldn't let her go find him. Oh so many nights she wanted to just go out and find him, and not go back to Sanctuary until she did.

Shalimar just drove around town, looking at all the Christmas lights, and happy couples walk down the street hand in hand.

//Such a happy time of year, I wish that my dream would come true but I know that that'll never happen.//

When Shalimar stopped at a red light she checked her watch. She had been driving around longer than she had thought. She had only fifteen minutes to get to the park, and she was on the other side of town.

(The Park)

Brennan had parked his Navigator about a block away from the park, and put Fox on his leash so he wou;dn't go on the road. Even though the he knew Fox wouldn't do that, the dog was still young, and still some more training. Brennan had trained him a lot while he was help up in Alaska.

When Brennan arrived at the park it was nine o'clock exactly. He looked around for Shalimar but didn't see her anywhere. He wasn't sure she whether or not she was going to come.

He set a blanket down on the bleachers, and took Fox of the leash and let him run around. Fox came back from his little run with a tennis bath in his mouth and dropped it at Brennan's feet.

"Hey where'd you find this?" Brennan asked the dog. As a response the dog gave a little bark.

Brennan played fetch with Fox for about ten minutes before he checked his watch.

//Maybe she's just running late. She more than likely had a hard time getting Adam to let her out of Sanctuary that's all// He thought to himself as he continued to play with Fox.

Shalimar pulled her bike into the parking lot about a block away from the park, the same parking lot Brennan had parked in.

//Nice truck, someone has some money, and good taste.// Shalimar thought as she passed by the Navigator.

(Park)

Shalimar walked up to the park, and stopped near a massive maple tree. There was no sign of Richard. However using her feral senses she picked up a dog, and someone else, a guy.

Shalimar continued to stand behind the tree not knowing who the guy was since he was to far away to see. All she could see was that he was playing with a dog. It looked as though they were playing fetch.

Brennan started to head back over to the bleachers figuring that Shalimar wasn't going to show up since it was now twenty five after nine, and he knew Shalimar was rarely late. Not to mention he had about an hour drive a head of him.

The guy was getting closer and Shalimar was able to see the dog now.

//That has to be the cutest dog I've ever seen. I guess Richard isn't showing up. I better head back to Sanctuary since it's getting late, and being here only makes me want Brennan back even more.//

Shalimar turne to leave, with her back turned she didn't realise that it was Brennan that she had seen with he dog.

"It's time to go bhome Fox." Brennan told his puppy as he put his leash back on, and picked up the blanket that was sitting on the bleachers. Brennan sounded so defeated like his world had ended before his eyes and there wasn't much he could do to stop it from happening.

Shalimar had been walking slowly since she was a little pissed off that the trip to the park and been a waste of time, and a hard emotional battle. However she wasn't far enough away yet to not hear the guy speak. She turned around suddenly as she heard the mysterious man talk to his dog.

"Brennan, oh my god Brennan." Shalimar said softly not knowing if she was seeing things she wanted to see.

"Shalimar." Brennan could have sworn he heard Shalimar's voice, he knew that voice anywhere. He looked up, and seen a person standing over by the massive maple tree that he and Shal used to sit under when they got a day off. They would just sit there, and talk and sometimes he would read her some poetry.

Shalimar really give it to much more thought, that wsa Brennan, her Brennan, it had to be. She walked towards him to get a better look at his face. When she caught sight of his face she started running.

"Brennan!" She ran faster than she had ever run in her entire life. Withing seconds she was standing face to face with the man of her dreams.

"What no hug?" Brennan asked her.

Shalimar was sure at that moment that her dreams had come true but something felt wrong. Instead of giving Brennan a hug she jumped on him, and wrapped her legs around his waist, and arms around his neck.

Brennan dropped the blanket and Fox's leash and he held onto Shal tighter than ever imagined, kind of like the way she had held him that morning.He flinched a little still sore from all the cuts and bruises on his side.

"I can't believe it, it really is you. You came back to me." Shalimar cried into Brennan's shoulder not letting him go for a split second.

"I could never leave you Shal, not know not ever, I'd walk through a war just to be with you even if only for a few minutes."

Fox started barking, and Brennan put Shalimar down not wanting Fox to wake anybody in the near by neighbourhood since he barked that loud.

Without taking her eyes of Brennan she asked him what the dogs name was.

"His name's Fox."

"Fox huh, and where did you come up with that?" Shaliamr asked still staring at Brennan.

"Um, I don't know it just kind of came to me in a dream." Brennan joked knowing that Shal already had figured out that he had named the dog/puppy after her.

"So it was you this morning in my bed."

"Yeah it was me, I wasn't supposed be at Sanctuary at all but I couldn't help it anyone after what Emma told me." Brennan told her as he scooped her into his arms and kissed her sweetly on the lips, and then sat down on the bleachers with Shalimar still in his arms.

"What Emma knew you were alive and well, and didn't tell me?" Shalimar asked getting very pissed off.

"I told you I'd explain later." "It is later Bren so start talking so that we can go back to Sanctuary." Noticing the expression on Brennan's face, and his body language she spoke once again. " Brennan what's going, and I want to know noe, everything." Shalimar was determined to get to the bottom of all this even if it meant being out in the cold all night with Brennan. Okay so that last part she didn't mind so much since she had him to keep her warm like he promised her he would in Alaska.

TBC

I know I know another cliff hanger but the next chapter is almost done so it shouldbe up tomorrow.

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