Her breath caught and she found herself running simply because she could and the last time she had seen that face she hadn't been able to. Jesse called her name and she stumbled as she fought a battle with herself over whether or not to stop for him. Unable to catch her balance as she tried to run on, she fell, sliding across the slick, well-polished floor. Jesse was at her side, hand on her shoulder as she tried to look behind him to see if the Knife was still there, if he was following. It took her a few minutes to gather herself enough to realise Jesse was talking to her. He slowly helped her to her feet, an arm around her shoulder, holding her close. She took in the worried gazes of several on-lookers, and others who rushed away from the scene she was making, and turned and hid her face in Jesse's chest as he shushed her panicked breaths.

Jesse scanned the crowd, searching for an aggressive face or someone he knew that could prompt such a reaction from the feral. He could see nothing. All the faces around him were sympathetic or worried, those slightly further away looked pitying, one or two looked annoyed at the disturbance to their day, there was an angry face here or there that Shalimar had pushed out of her way in her flight. But all were in response to her current condition, there were no grudges here. He looked back down on the blond as he spotted Emma and Brennan making their way over having seen the disturbance, questions in their eyes.

Those questions were voiced as soon as they were close enough.

"What happened?"

"Is she ok?"

"The Knife, here, found me, he's looking." Shalimar exclaimed as she saw the other two arriving.

"There's no one here looking for you, Shalimar. I can't see anyone here looking for you." Jesse soothed.

"I can't sense any one here who wants to harm you, Shalimar. No one at all."

"He were here. I saw his." Her panic was escalating at the Knife's non-appearance, destroying all her lessons in English.

"If he was here, he isn't here now, Shal. And we're here, OK? We're going to keep you safe." Emma explained, trying to block out the feral's growing panic in her own mind. She looked up at the other two. "Back to the car?"

,,,

Her forehead rested on her knees she stared at her stomach and fought to breathe. With the seatbelt wrapped around her midsection she felt trapped, unable to move. Emma's arm around her shoulders; the men outside shouting. The picture burned into her retina of his face HIS FACE staring at her with pale eyes through the window of his own car. Parked, by chance or mischance, right beside theirs. With him in it.

Her inability to explain, to word her sheer terror, hadn't mattered. As soon as that man had looked across, seen her, his own fear had given him away to the team. Jesse and Brennan had stormed from the car as if the devil himself were behind them, and all but dragged the man from his own.

Risking to open her eyes, she looked out the window and her eyes met those of a boy. No more than ten, he watched her wide-eyed as his father was lifted from the floor by the taller man. His face paled as crackles of blue light started to flicker around Brennan's empty fist. She stepped out of the car.

"Brennan, don't. Look look, there's a little one. A child, Brennan. You can't" Brennan barely spared her a glance.

"How do we know he won't do to this kid, what he did to you. We might be doing him a favour." He growled in response. Jesse looked ready to finish the job if Brennan felt unable, light on his feet as if he were about to go into a fight.

"It's his son, Brennan. His son. He was doing a job, working, being paid. He had to get it right. Had to practice."

"That doesn't explain what he" Jesse stumbled over his words. He hadn't told any one else about the form her delicate scars took. "The picture, Shalimar." She held his eyes for a moment and then turned to the man, still dangling off the floor in Brennan's grip. It took all her strength to look him in the eyes. And a little more; borrowed from her friends around her to ask the question.

"Why?"

"I wanted to make something for myself of myself." The honesty resounded in the answer, choked through Brennan's grip as he was forced to lower him to the ground, his arm tiring, his anger waning from it's original tempest.

"Let's go home." Her voice was quiet, but something had changed within her, in that one truth. She stood a little taller, her face a little calmer, her eyes a little softer. Jesse's hand on Brennan's shoulder drew him away, reluctant, and the man scampered back to his wife and son. Shalimar took her seat again, letting out a soft breath that she didn't intend to be a sigh, smiling softly as Emma rested a hand on hers. A silent reassurance. You did the right thing. Jesse pointed Brennan at the passenger seat and, still fuming silently, he took it as Jesse got in the driver's. Unable to hold his silence longer, Brennan turned in his seatbelt as they drew away from the other car. The man was stood outside of the passenger side door, his wife in his arms, his son at his side.

"Why, Shalimar? Why did you stop me?" She looked at him for a moment, considering.

"Some day, ask Adam why he thought to play god. We don't judge Adam, Brennan."

"This is different. Adam's never hurt us." Shalimar held his gaze, challenging. "OK, he's never physically hurt us in ourselves. He set out to help us originally."

"But do you think that was his original plan, or do you think he was just trying to make a name for himself in the industry. He wasn't so old then, Brennan. Not so world-wise. Just a kid trying to do a job right." Brennan went to retort and stopped short. Jesse was grinning at her in the rear view mirror.

"Shalimar?" He asked. "Are you ok?" Emma was grinning now too, and Brennan was starting to put the pieces together.

"I'm fine. I'm good. I'm I'd like to go home."

"Yes ma'am." Jesse replied.

AND THAT'S A WRAP! Hope you enjoyed the show, ladies and gents. Please come back next time :D If you wouldn't mind leaving a review I'd be very grateful!