Sorry its been so long. I've got deadlines at school etc. but I promise that after next week everything should become a lot more regular and I'll be able to write and update more. Thank you for all the reviews and please, as always take the time to review this chapter.
***
Jesse closed his eyes and listened to the buzz of the air conditioning. He had been working all morning and most of the afternoon and he was just about ready to throw the computer monitor against the wall. His eyes were starting to go blurry on him, everything around him becoming distorted for seconds at a time. He slid off of his chair in search of some sort of caffeine. He walked past Shalimar who had picked the job of reading and filing all the paperwork. She was curled up on the sofa working her way through a stack of paper. She was highlighting any relevant information in a bright pink pen - her way of making the day that little bit more interesting - and was then splitting them up into two piles; ones with stuff they needed and ones with stuff they didn't. She looked tired as well but that was probably more from the night before than any effort she was exerting doing the work.
Shalimar looked up as the sound of Jesse's feet dragging along the carpet alerted her to his presence.
'You were busy last night?' she said with a smile.
Jesse stopped dead in his tracks. He had assumed that Brennan and Shalimar knew nothing of himself and Lexa, especially not from last night. They had both come in too late, he had heard the giggling and by that point Lexa was sleeping in his arms and his head was lying on the pillow next to hers. He turned to face her.
'Yeah,' he answered guardedly.
'You need to get away from those computers occasionally,' she said.
Jesse chuckled as he realised that Shalimar didn't know anything. She would probably find out soon but for now he was very happy to leave her hanging.
'Yeah,' he repeated with an open smile. He turned back around to walk away.
'I'm very happy for you and Lexa.' Her voice rang out across Sanctuary and Jesse knew he hadn't mistaken the words. He rolled his eyes. Shalimar usually managed to convince him that she knew less than she really did and everytime he fell for her dumb blonde act.
'Really?' he asked, doubting that Shalimar was being all that genuine considering her feelings towards Lexa.
She placed the pile of papers that had been on her lap on the floor next to the couch and walked over to the blonde man, who still had his back to her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder.
'Yes,' she said as sincerely as she could, hoping to get the message across. Lexa had grown on her over the past few months and Shalimar would even go so far as to call her a friend. She was definitely not going to begrudge Jesse for having a relationship with the woman. Trust was still an issue between them but a lot had happened, too much for Shalimar to be completely suspicious of Lexa. She would talk to the woman when she and Brennan got back from the safehouses. She couldn't guarantee that there wouldn't be some warnings thrown around as to what would happen to anyone who screwed Jesse over but she would atleast put some effort into playing nice.
'Thank you,' Jesse replied, glad that everything seemed to be working out okay, for him and Lexa and for the team in general. Everything was starting to become more normal, as normal as it ever was when you were a new mutant whose day job was to save the world.
***
Lexa's eyes snapped open. She looked around her but the room was dark and her eyes still weren't capable of focusing. The eeriness of the room crept up on her and she felt a shiver run all the way down her spine. There was nothing in it, atleast as far as she could tell but she wasn't prepared to get up and wander around in order to find out. She had no idea how she had gotten there. But she could remember what had happened right before she blacked out. The Helix had been descending way too fast out of the sky and Brennan and herself had been left to face the ground and the ton of pain it brought with it.
She stood up, testing out each of her limbs as she did so. Nothing hurt except her head but that was pounding enough for her. A thin sliver of light was illuminating a rectangular shape and Lexa made her way towards it assuming that it was a door and the beginning of her escape route. Just as she reached it she heard steady footsteps coming from the other side. She ran quickly and quietly back to the spot on the floor where she had been lying before and lay down, slowing her breathing till even she couldn't hear it anymore. She closed her eyes as the door opened and the room was illuminated with light.
'There she is,' came a male voice. It landed on her ears and she struggled to hold back the gasp that so desperately wanted to come out. She recognised the voice instantly, the voice representing everything that was wrong with her past.
'Lexa Pierce. You've done well.' The second voice, also male sounded older. Lexa didn't know it but it could have been anyone. When she had known the first guy he had had a lot of contacts, ones she wasn't privy to. 'And now, we should talk about your payment?'
'I want to be here when she wakes up,' the first voice replied. Lexa stifled a shudder. She wanted him to leave but there was no chance of that now. Her mind zipped through some of the options she was now presented with. She could try and escape while the door was open but she knew better than that. The first guy would take her out within seconds. Or she could bide her time, wait until she was presented with a less risky opportunity.
'Done,' the second voice said. She heard their receding footsteps and the bang of the door as it closed behind them leaving her in the dark alone.
***
'They've been gone a while,' Shalimar said nonchalantly as she leaned back in her chair. 'You think we should check on them?' She turned to look at Jesse and raised her eyebrows. Her eyes flitted across to one of the windows. The light had gradually been fading and now she could see the first few stars shining in the cloudless sky as dusk transformed into night. Shalimar could feel herself becoming more awake than she had been all day, she felt more alive, more connected to the world outside the rock. The pull was becoming stronger and more natural. Every night she felt more like she should be outside Sanctuary, more like she needed to be. In the past it had been a case of wanting to go outside, she had chosen to do so. But now there was a lot less free will involved.
'They'll be okay,' Jesse replied. He looked at Shalimar's face as concern grew in her eyes. 'But if it will put your mind at rest...'
A coy smile reappeared on her face. 'Thank you,' she said. She turned back to the computer that she was having trouble focusing on. Her mind kept on drifting to either Brennan or the outside world.
'Brennan, Lexa,' Jesse said in the vague direction of his comlink. There was a long pause in which Shalimar turned around in her chair and a frown appeared on Jesse's face.
'Brennan, Lexa?' he repeated, louder than before.
'Yeah?' came Brennan's voice eventually. Shalimar breathed a silent sigh of relief as she heard his voice. She would never admit it to anyone but she always got scared when she didn't know where Brennan was. She would have liked to have put it down to an overprotective feral thing or even an overprotective girlfriend thing but she knew it was more than that. They had a connection. She could sense him when he was around and even worse for her, she could sense when he wasn't even close.
'Where are you guys?' Jesse said.
'We got chatting to some of the guys at one of the safehouses and then we had a little too much to drink,' Brennan replied. Lexa's giggles interrupted him and Jesse had to smother a laugh. He knew when the two of them were close to being wasted. 'So anyway, we thought we'd stay here for the night and then come back in the morning.'
'Alright,' Jesse said before cutting the link. He knew Shalimar wouldn't be happy with the result but when he turned around he discovered he was wrong. She was smiling to herself.
'What?' he asked.
'Brennan not being here gives me a chance to do the nocturnal thing,' she replied. When Brennan was around she had to force herself to stay inside. She wanted to spend time with him but at the same time the pull from the feral inside of her was something she couldn't ignore. She didn't blame Brennan, it was her own fault that she didn't go out prowling through the night time air, he had a magnetic pull which she gave herself up to.
'You wanna get some pizza first?' Jesse asked.
She smiled in reply before jumping off her chair and walking towards the kitchen with Jesse in hot pursuit.
***
'Very well done,' he said as he walked around the psionic. 'Your abilities are powerful indeed.'
'Thank you sir. I just want to do my bit for the Dominion's cause,' she replied.
'But you have real dedication for it. Making Mulwray and Pierce believe that they were crashing in the Helix was a stroke of genius and allowed our telekinetic full control of the plane. And just now, Kilmartin and Fox sucked up every word.' His compliments weren't completely insincere. He was very impressed by the psionics powers. She was incredibly powerful and he knew would be a very valuable commodity to the upcoming assignment that he had been given from the very pissed off powers above.
***
Jesse closed his eyes and listened to the buzz of the air conditioning. He had been working all morning and most of the afternoon and he was just about ready to throw the computer monitor against the wall. His eyes were starting to go blurry on him, everything around him becoming distorted for seconds at a time. He slid off of his chair in search of some sort of caffeine. He walked past Shalimar who had picked the job of reading and filing all the paperwork. She was curled up on the sofa working her way through a stack of paper. She was highlighting any relevant information in a bright pink pen - her way of making the day that little bit more interesting - and was then splitting them up into two piles; ones with stuff they needed and ones with stuff they didn't. She looked tired as well but that was probably more from the night before than any effort she was exerting doing the work.
Shalimar looked up as the sound of Jesse's feet dragging along the carpet alerted her to his presence.
'You were busy last night?' she said with a smile.
Jesse stopped dead in his tracks. He had assumed that Brennan and Shalimar knew nothing of himself and Lexa, especially not from last night. They had both come in too late, he had heard the giggling and by that point Lexa was sleeping in his arms and his head was lying on the pillow next to hers. He turned to face her.
'Yeah,' he answered guardedly.
'You need to get away from those computers occasionally,' she said.
Jesse chuckled as he realised that Shalimar didn't know anything. She would probably find out soon but for now he was very happy to leave her hanging.
'Yeah,' he repeated with an open smile. He turned back around to walk away.
'I'm very happy for you and Lexa.' Her voice rang out across Sanctuary and Jesse knew he hadn't mistaken the words. He rolled his eyes. Shalimar usually managed to convince him that she knew less than she really did and everytime he fell for her dumb blonde act.
'Really?' he asked, doubting that Shalimar was being all that genuine considering her feelings towards Lexa.
She placed the pile of papers that had been on her lap on the floor next to the couch and walked over to the blonde man, who still had his back to her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder.
'Yes,' she said as sincerely as she could, hoping to get the message across. Lexa had grown on her over the past few months and Shalimar would even go so far as to call her a friend. She was definitely not going to begrudge Jesse for having a relationship with the woman. Trust was still an issue between them but a lot had happened, too much for Shalimar to be completely suspicious of Lexa. She would talk to the woman when she and Brennan got back from the safehouses. She couldn't guarantee that there wouldn't be some warnings thrown around as to what would happen to anyone who screwed Jesse over but she would atleast put some effort into playing nice.
'Thank you,' Jesse replied, glad that everything seemed to be working out okay, for him and Lexa and for the team in general. Everything was starting to become more normal, as normal as it ever was when you were a new mutant whose day job was to save the world.
***
Lexa's eyes snapped open. She looked around her but the room was dark and her eyes still weren't capable of focusing. The eeriness of the room crept up on her and she felt a shiver run all the way down her spine. There was nothing in it, atleast as far as she could tell but she wasn't prepared to get up and wander around in order to find out. She had no idea how she had gotten there. But she could remember what had happened right before she blacked out. The Helix had been descending way too fast out of the sky and Brennan and herself had been left to face the ground and the ton of pain it brought with it.
She stood up, testing out each of her limbs as she did so. Nothing hurt except her head but that was pounding enough for her. A thin sliver of light was illuminating a rectangular shape and Lexa made her way towards it assuming that it was a door and the beginning of her escape route. Just as she reached it she heard steady footsteps coming from the other side. She ran quickly and quietly back to the spot on the floor where she had been lying before and lay down, slowing her breathing till even she couldn't hear it anymore. She closed her eyes as the door opened and the room was illuminated with light.
'There she is,' came a male voice. It landed on her ears and she struggled to hold back the gasp that so desperately wanted to come out. She recognised the voice instantly, the voice representing everything that was wrong with her past.
'Lexa Pierce. You've done well.' The second voice, also male sounded older. Lexa didn't know it but it could have been anyone. When she had known the first guy he had had a lot of contacts, ones she wasn't privy to. 'And now, we should talk about your payment?'
'I want to be here when she wakes up,' the first voice replied. Lexa stifled a shudder. She wanted him to leave but there was no chance of that now. Her mind zipped through some of the options she was now presented with. She could try and escape while the door was open but she knew better than that. The first guy would take her out within seconds. Or she could bide her time, wait until she was presented with a less risky opportunity.
'Done,' the second voice said. She heard their receding footsteps and the bang of the door as it closed behind them leaving her in the dark alone.
***
'They've been gone a while,' Shalimar said nonchalantly as she leaned back in her chair. 'You think we should check on them?' She turned to look at Jesse and raised her eyebrows. Her eyes flitted across to one of the windows. The light had gradually been fading and now she could see the first few stars shining in the cloudless sky as dusk transformed into night. Shalimar could feel herself becoming more awake than she had been all day, she felt more alive, more connected to the world outside the rock. The pull was becoming stronger and more natural. Every night she felt more like she should be outside Sanctuary, more like she needed to be. In the past it had been a case of wanting to go outside, she had chosen to do so. But now there was a lot less free will involved.
'They'll be okay,' Jesse replied. He looked at Shalimar's face as concern grew in her eyes. 'But if it will put your mind at rest...'
A coy smile reappeared on her face. 'Thank you,' she said. She turned back to the computer that she was having trouble focusing on. Her mind kept on drifting to either Brennan or the outside world.
'Brennan, Lexa,' Jesse said in the vague direction of his comlink. There was a long pause in which Shalimar turned around in her chair and a frown appeared on Jesse's face.
'Brennan, Lexa?' he repeated, louder than before.
'Yeah?' came Brennan's voice eventually. Shalimar breathed a silent sigh of relief as she heard his voice. She would never admit it to anyone but she always got scared when she didn't know where Brennan was. She would have liked to have put it down to an overprotective feral thing or even an overprotective girlfriend thing but she knew it was more than that. They had a connection. She could sense him when he was around and even worse for her, she could sense when he wasn't even close.
'Where are you guys?' Jesse said.
'We got chatting to some of the guys at one of the safehouses and then we had a little too much to drink,' Brennan replied. Lexa's giggles interrupted him and Jesse had to smother a laugh. He knew when the two of them were close to being wasted. 'So anyway, we thought we'd stay here for the night and then come back in the morning.'
'Alright,' Jesse said before cutting the link. He knew Shalimar wouldn't be happy with the result but when he turned around he discovered he was wrong. She was smiling to herself.
'What?' he asked.
'Brennan not being here gives me a chance to do the nocturnal thing,' she replied. When Brennan was around she had to force herself to stay inside. She wanted to spend time with him but at the same time the pull from the feral inside of her was something she couldn't ignore. She didn't blame Brennan, it was her own fault that she didn't go out prowling through the night time air, he had a magnetic pull which she gave herself up to.
'You wanna get some pizza first?' Jesse asked.
She smiled in reply before jumping off her chair and walking towards the kitchen with Jesse in hot pursuit.
***
'Very well done,' he said as he walked around the psionic. 'Your abilities are powerful indeed.'
'Thank you sir. I just want to do my bit for the Dominion's cause,' she replied.
'But you have real dedication for it. Making Mulwray and Pierce believe that they were crashing in the Helix was a stroke of genius and allowed our telekinetic full control of the plane. And just now, Kilmartin and Fox sucked up every word.' His compliments weren't completely insincere. He was very impressed by the psionics powers. She was incredibly powerful and he knew would be a very valuable commodity to the upcoming assignment that he had been given from the very pissed off powers above.