Sorry its taken so long to update. Schoolwork and life have been getting in the way a little more than planned but isn't that always the way. I'm on holiday from school now though so I should in theory be able to get a bit more done so updates should come a little faster. Thank you all for being so patient and for the reviews. I always love to hear what you think so keep them coming.
***
Brennan woke as a scream sent shivers down his spine. He raised his head to try and make out anything in the dark but it obscured his vision too much. He knew the scream had issued from Lexa's mouth and he wanted to help her but he had no idea how. He didn't even know where he was or what he was doing there. His head ached so much he could barely think. It must have been the crash of the Helix that had caused it but he couldn't feel pain anywhere else. He rolled onto his side and peered further into the darkness. He could make out the door frame, shining like a beacon. He pushed himself up till he was resting on his forearms. Nothing else seemed to hurt, which was weird considering how quickly the Helix had been descending. He listened closer as the screaming which had been a constant pain to his ears stopped. The chilling noise was replaced by a soft whimpering sound. Footsteps came down the hall and stopped outside his door. He could make out two sets of feet from the crack underneath it and he backed against the wall, wanting to avoid any kind of confrontation until he knew who or what he was facing. The whimpering had increased in volume as the footsteps had and as the door opened the clarity of the sound became all the clearer. Brennan blinked and squinted into the light, unable to make out anything for a few seconds atleast. He eventually became accustomed to the brightness and looked toward the people standing in the doorway.
His eyes widened as he saw the state of Lexa. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and dripping off of her chin onto the concrete floor causing dark splotches on the pale ground. A deep purple bruise was beginning to form on one side of her face but that was all the physical damage he could make out. The two men who were with her were supporting her under her arms but her knees dragged against the floor even then. They walked in and without even noticing that Brennan was there unceremoniously dumped her onto the floor in the corner. Brennan winced as he heard the thump of her arm connecting with the hard stone. The men turned and walked out of the room slamming the door behind them as they went.
Brennan crawled across the floor in the vague direction of Lexa, feeling with his hands for her body. Eventually he found her and he leaned against the wall next to her. She was breathing deeply, the whimpering halted for the moment. Brennan reached out for her hand and as he found it he clasped it tightly in his own.
***
She sniffed the night air. The day had presented no cloud cover to block out the sun but now the dark was cold and fresh and invigorating. Shalimar could feel it all seeping in through her thick clothes, cooling her warm skin. She pulled her collar up around her neck and walked along the beach. Her boots left footprints behind which were instantly erased by the incoming tide. She looked up, out towards the horizon and watched as the moon shimmered off of the water's surface. She had forgotten quite how wonderful the outside world could be, having not visited it in some time.
She walked slowly, picking her way through the occasional strand of seaweed. She reached a group of rocks which blocked her from the second stretch of golden sand. She pushed her hair out of her way and drew her hands from her deep pockets. She grabbed hold of a rock and pulled herself up onto the grouping. She looked around her. One of the things Mutant X had taught her was that even if you thought you were alone, chances were you were being watched. And even if you weren't you should always check. She remembered becoming so bored of that lesson when Adam had been teaching it, but it had been a valuable one and she appreciated that now. In the world in which Mutant X operated it wasn't called paranoia, it was called safety first. She sat down and drew her legs into her chest, wrapping her arms around them and hugging herself.
It had been a long time since she had been alone, truly by herself. With everything going on over the past couple of weeks she hadn't really had the opportunity to think things through, atleast not properly. Her dad was dead, so was Lucy, Mutant X had finally broken away from the Dominion. A lot of bad things had happened but they had suprisingly led to some good things too. She hadn't really been missing her dad since he had officially gone from her life. She did regret not having been given the chance to hear him say that he was sorry, an emotion that she knew he had been experiencing at the time of his death. And she was regretful that the Dominion had gotten rid of one of the people who could have aided in the battle against them. But, when she really thought about it she had never truly known her father. They had never been close, she had never been daddy's little girl. There had always been tension between them and Shalimar had always valued Adam more than she did Nicholas. Him being gone forever just closed a chapter in her life where she had been plagued by the idea that he might come back. But she would have loved for Adam to have been there to guide her, to tell her what she had to do. Things would have been so much easier.
The loss of Lucy had been a little more difficult to deal with. Shalimar had been plagued by images of that day and she had the distinct feeling that Brennan had too. But she didn't know how to broach the subject with him. How was she supposed to start that conversation? She knew that if they talked about it with each other it might help ease the pain but she didn't want to have that talk yet, she wasn't ready for it.
The sky gradually grew lighter in the distance and Shalimar could feel the morning growing ever closer. She could sense it through her skin. A feeling of tiredness filled her, the exhilaration produced by the night disappearing with the dark. She pushed herself up from the rocks and jumped lightly off of them onto the hard sand below. She walked slowly back along the long expanse of beach towards Sanctuary.
***
She woke with a start. She had been lost in a dream, one where everything was completely skewed and surreal. Although looking back on the past couple of hours she wasn't sure she had even been asleep. At first she couldn't see a thing in the black but gradually her eyes got adjusted to the shadows and she could make out vague shapes. Unfortunately there weren't any vague shapes for her to see. There was nothing in the room except her, Brennan and a whole lot of dirt. Every part of her head was aching and when she moved she could feel sharp jolts of pain running through her nerves.
She sat up a little and turned towards Brennan. His hand and hers were still linked, it had been the one thing that had stopped her from giving up on everything, it was the one thing which had helped her to finally fall asleep. She heard his clothes rustle slightly as he stirred into wakefulness. His breathing shortened as he realised where he was and his hand slipped from her grip. She reached out to him and finally found his arm. She grasped it and tried to reassure him by squeezing slightly.
'Brennan,' she whispered into the darkness, not sure if he was even listening.
After a few moments pause she heard the muttered reply of her name and felt his muscles relax slightly beneath her palm.
They were silent for a little while, both lost in thought about what had happened in the past few hours.
'Are you okay?' Brennan asked. He remembered her being carried in but he also remembered that he hadn't even checked on her. He knew she appreciated the holding hands thing but for him it had been kinda selfish. He had needed to feel someone, had needed to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone else was there.
'I will be,' she replied. She had lost consciousness atleast five times while they had been interrogating her. She hadn't recognized any of her captors. The man she did know had gone to deal with something else and hadn't shown up to see her suffer though she had no doubt that he knew.
'Do you know who's holding us?'
She breathed in. She didn't even want to think about who it was but she knew that Brennan deserved to know. She couldn't always keep her secrets to herself, not while she was a member of a team atleast.
'The Dominion,' she replied. 'More specifically a guy called Charles Handon.'
'A guy from your past?'
'I guess he just wanted to catch up,' she said wryly. There was a lot of history between her and Handon. At that moment too much to talk about.
***
She looked at the sleeping form in front of her as she removed her thick coat. Jesse had been up for a long time, working on the computers, drinking lots of coffee, presumably thinking about Lexa for some of it atleast. Shalimar knew him well enough to know that once he started on a project he wasn't likely to stop for anything, even his eyes drifting closed. She knew how long he could keep going. He wasn't the sort to distinguish between a very important task and a more mediocre one. In his mind every job had a purpose and needed to be done. It was one of the things Shalimar most admired about him. He made it seem almost effortless, his capacity to care about something seemed endless. Granted she had taught him a lot of the more fundamental things about the network and computers in general but he was much better at it all than she was. He was constantly searching for answers and if they didn't appear to be there he would look harder. Shalimar didn't have the patience to search for long unless she knew she was getting somewhere.
But finally sleep had caught up with him and with his head resting on his forearm, his blonde hair covering his eyes he had drifted off. Shalimar was glad. He would need the rest if they were intending to keep the Dominion on their toes.
She walked through the building quietly, hoping that Jesse would remain out of it for just a short while longer. She made her way towards her bedroom and her thoughts drifted towards Brennan. She didn't like when he wasn't there. She missed him even when he was only gone for a few minutes. She had never felt that way about anyone. She chuckled to herself as she realised that the one guy she could truly fall in love with was the one it was most inconvenient to be with. They both knew what kind of strain their relationship could place on the team and vice versa but Shalimar didn't want to stop being with him. It was like he completed her. She sat down in a chair in the corner of her room and smiled. How had she managed to make the transition from being cynical to being a complete believer in the 'power of love' within just a few days? She had no idea and she wasn't going to question it. Everything was going so perfectly that she didn't want to be the one to jinx it.
***
Brennan woke as a scream sent shivers down his spine. He raised his head to try and make out anything in the dark but it obscured his vision too much. He knew the scream had issued from Lexa's mouth and he wanted to help her but he had no idea how. He didn't even know where he was or what he was doing there. His head ached so much he could barely think. It must have been the crash of the Helix that had caused it but he couldn't feel pain anywhere else. He rolled onto his side and peered further into the darkness. He could make out the door frame, shining like a beacon. He pushed himself up till he was resting on his forearms. Nothing else seemed to hurt, which was weird considering how quickly the Helix had been descending. He listened closer as the screaming which had been a constant pain to his ears stopped. The chilling noise was replaced by a soft whimpering sound. Footsteps came down the hall and stopped outside his door. He could make out two sets of feet from the crack underneath it and he backed against the wall, wanting to avoid any kind of confrontation until he knew who or what he was facing. The whimpering had increased in volume as the footsteps had and as the door opened the clarity of the sound became all the clearer. Brennan blinked and squinted into the light, unable to make out anything for a few seconds atleast. He eventually became accustomed to the brightness and looked toward the people standing in the doorway.
His eyes widened as he saw the state of Lexa. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and dripping off of her chin onto the concrete floor causing dark splotches on the pale ground. A deep purple bruise was beginning to form on one side of her face but that was all the physical damage he could make out. The two men who were with her were supporting her under her arms but her knees dragged against the floor even then. They walked in and without even noticing that Brennan was there unceremoniously dumped her onto the floor in the corner. Brennan winced as he heard the thump of her arm connecting with the hard stone. The men turned and walked out of the room slamming the door behind them as they went.
Brennan crawled across the floor in the vague direction of Lexa, feeling with his hands for her body. Eventually he found her and he leaned against the wall next to her. She was breathing deeply, the whimpering halted for the moment. Brennan reached out for her hand and as he found it he clasped it tightly in his own.
***
She sniffed the night air. The day had presented no cloud cover to block out the sun but now the dark was cold and fresh and invigorating. Shalimar could feel it all seeping in through her thick clothes, cooling her warm skin. She pulled her collar up around her neck and walked along the beach. Her boots left footprints behind which were instantly erased by the incoming tide. She looked up, out towards the horizon and watched as the moon shimmered off of the water's surface. She had forgotten quite how wonderful the outside world could be, having not visited it in some time.
She walked slowly, picking her way through the occasional strand of seaweed. She reached a group of rocks which blocked her from the second stretch of golden sand. She pushed her hair out of her way and drew her hands from her deep pockets. She grabbed hold of a rock and pulled herself up onto the grouping. She looked around her. One of the things Mutant X had taught her was that even if you thought you were alone, chances were you were being watched. And even if you weren't you should always check. She remembered becoming so bored of that lesson when Adam had been teaching it, but it had been a valuable one and she appreciated that now. In the world in which Mutant X operated it wasn't called paranoia, it was called safety first. She sat down and drew her legs into her chest, wrapping her arms around them and hugging herself.
It had been a long time since she had been alone, truly by herself. With everything going on over the past couple of weeks she hadn't really had the opportunity to think things through, atleast not properly. Her dad was dead, so was Lucy, Mutant X had finally broken away from the Dominion. A lot of bad things had happened but they had suprisingly led to some good things too. She hadn't really been missing her dad since he had officially gone from her life. She did regret not having been given the chance to hear him say that he was sorry, an emotion that she knew he had been experiencing at the time of his death. And she was regretful that the Dominion had gotten rid of one of the people who could have aided in the battle against them. But, when she really thought about it she had never truly known her father. They had never been close, she had never been daddy's little girl. There had always been tension between them and Shalimar had always valued Adam more than she did Nicholas. Him being gone forever just closed a chapter in her life where she had been plagued by the idea that he might come back. But she would have loved for Adam to have been there to guide her, to tell her what she had to do. Things would have been so much easier.
The loss of Lucy had been a little more difficult to deal with. Shalimar had been plagued by images of that day and she had the distinct feeling that Brennan had too. But she didn't know how to broach the subject with him. How was she supposed to start that conversation? She knew that if they talked about it with each other it might help ease the pain but she didn't want to have that talk yet, she wasn't ready for it.
The sky gradually grew lighter in the distance and Shalimar could feel the morning growing ever closer. She could sense it through her skin. A feeling of tiredness filled her, the exhilaration produced by the night disappearing with the dark. She pushed herself up from the rocks and jumped lightly off of them onto the hard sand below. She walked slowly back along the long expanse of beach towards Sanctuary.
***
She woke with a start. She had been lost in a dream, one where everything was completely skewed and surreal. Although looking back on the past couple of hours she wasn't sure she had even been asleep. At first she couldn't see a thing in the black but gradually her eyes got adjusted to the shadows and she could make out vague shapes. Unfortunately there weren't any vague shapes for her to see. There was nothing in the room except her, Brennan and a whole lot of dirt. Every part of her head was aching and when she moved she could feel sharp jolts of pain running through her nerves.
She sat up a little and turned towards Brennan. His hand and hers were still linked, it had been the one thing that had stopped her from giving up on everything, it was the one thing which had helped her to finally fall asleep. She heard his clothes rustle slightly as he stirred into wakefulness. His breathing shortened as he realised where he was and his hand slipped from her grip. She reached out to him and finally found his arm. She grasped it and tried to reassure him by squeezing slightly.
'Brennan,' she whispered into the darkness, not sure if he was even listening.
After a few moments pause she heard the muttered reply of her name and felt his muscles relax slightly beneath her palm.
They were silent for a little while, both lost in thought about what had happened in the past few hours.
'Are you okay?' Brennan asked. He remembered her being carried in but he also remembered that he hadn't even checked on her. He knew she appreciated the holding hands thing but for him it had been kinda selfish. He had needed to feel someone, had needed to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone else was there.
'I will be,' she replied. She had lost consciousness atleast five times while they had been interrogating her. She hadn't recognized any of her captors. The man she did know had gone to deal with something else and hadn't shown up to see her suffer though she had no doubt that he knew.
'Do you know who's holding us?'
She breathed in. She didn't even want to think about who it was but she knew that Brennan deserved to know. She couldn't always keep her secrets to herself, not while she was a member of a team atleast.
'The Dominion,' she replied. 'More specifically a guy called Charles Handon.'
'A guy from your past?'
'I guess he just wanted to catch up,' she said wryly. There was a lot of history between her and Handon. At that moment too much to talk about.
***
She looked at the sleeping form in front of her as she removed her thick coat. Jesse had been up for a long time, working on the computers, drinking lots of coffee, presumably thinking about Lexa for some of it atleast. Shalimar knew him well enough to know that once he started on a project he wasn't likely to stop for anything, even his eyes drifting closed. She knew how long he could keep going. He wasn't the sort to distinguish between a very important task and a more mediocre one. In his mind every job had a purpose and needed to be done. It was one of the things Shalimar most admired about him. He made it seem almost effortless, his capacity to care about something seemed endless. Granted she had taught him a lot of the more fundamental things about the network and computers in general but he was much better at it all than she was. He was constantly searching for answers and if they didn't appear to be there he would look harder. Shalimar didn't have the patience to search for long unless she knew she was getting somewhere.
But finally sleep had caught up with him and with his head resting on his forearm, his blonde hair covering his eyes he had drifted off. Shalimar was glad. He would need the rest if they were intending to keep the Dominion on their toes.
She walked through the building quietly, hoping that Jesse would remain out of it for just a short while longer. She made her way towards her bedroom and her thoughts drifted towards Brennan. She didn't like when he wasn't there. She missed him even when he was only gone for a few minutes. She had never felt that way about anyone. She chuckled to herself as she realised that the one guy she could truly fall in love with was the one it was most inconvenient to be with. They both knew what kind of strain their relationship could place on the team and vice versa but Shalimar didn't want to stop being with him. It was like he completed her. She sat down in a chair in the corner of her room and smiled. How had she managed to make the transition from being cynical to being a complete believer in the 'power of love' within just a few days? She had no idea and she wasn't going to question it. Everything was going so perfectly that she didn't want to be the one to jinx it.