AN: Posting a little early today, since something came up and I've got to go. I've gotten some great comments and reviews that have helped me a lot in my stories, and I was planning on responding to them in this chapter, but that will have to wait for tomorrow.
Chapter 17
The rest of breakfast had been eaten in silence. After the dishes had been cleared, they headed back to The Cave to resume their work. Shalimar and Brennan went to work taking care of some odds and ends, and finally settled in to work on the errant electrical system. Katie had brought a box of her own work with her. She was already attached to the members of Mutant X. After having them in the house with her, she found that she missed them when they were away for most of the day. Bringing her laptop and some of the legal documents she still had to review with her allowed her to surround herself with the homey feel that the others generated. She liked the feeling and found that it existed even in times when they were stressed.
Jesse led Lexa to the medbay and spent the next several hours showing her the data from his investigation. He patiently and forlornly outlined his research process, detailing his across the board comparisons. She found no fault with his method of analysis. If Adam had found a cure, she thought, it would have to have been one of these 51 tests. Unfortunately, just as Jesse said, none of the tests indicated that they could stabilize their genetic structures. In fact, just from her cursory examination of the results, it seemed that they were lucky that the only side effect had been an increase in Jesse's powers.
Lexa sat back in her seat, which she had dragged next to Jesse's. "I understand how you found the prosoletine, but how are you going to find out which way you healed your structure?"
Jesse was silent for a moment, but then sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "To tell you the truth I don't even know if it's possible. The best option would be to go over every single kilobyte of my medical records." He shifted his hands to his pockets. "I might get lucky and be able to determine the timetable for the stabilization, but the records are erratic and infrequent. It's a crapshoot."
"What do you think the chances are?"
"I don't know." Jesse put the tips of his fingers together, then tapped them against his chin. He started to pace back and forth, but then returned to one of the three terminals he had been working from.
Lexa watched as he began to mumble to himself as he scanned through the files. He was trying to estimate the number of times he'd had medical treatment or procedures since his new power developed. She turned her attention to another computer, letting Jesse do his own thing. He'd be incoherent until he found an answer. Glancing at the icons on the screen, she found one that caught her attention. She opened the file, scanning its contents. When she realized what she was looking at, her blood began to boil. He'd known! He'd known and he hadn't told them! Oh, she was going to give him a piece of her mind. She turned to him, infuriated.
"I'll give you 48 hours to see what you can do. After that, you've got to try it, whether you're ready or not."
Jesse froze in mid-keystroke. "What did you say?" he asked disbelievingly.
"You heard me. Forty-eight hours then you've got to give it a shot."
"Lexa…"
"You knew!" she shouted, anger and accusation lacing her voice. "You knew the dates and didn't bother to tell us! What, you didn't think they were important?!"
"Lexa…"
"You didn't think that I would want to know that I'm going to die in three days?!"
"Lexa! We don't know that the expiry dates are accurate. Mine was the first and I passed it. It may not have mattered that I healed my genetic structure. We don't know what exactly will happen when an unstabilized mutant passes their expiry date."
"I saw the list." She gestured to the file that was now showing on the screen of the first terminal. "There are dozens of mutants between my date and yours. Maybe we should ask them!"
"Damn it, Lexa!" Jesse found his voice was rising to meet hers. "Half of those mutants died before their date for one reason or another. The other half are either in the mutant underground or God only knows were. Either way, there's no way for us to know if they're still alive, let alone ask them! We have to assume they're alive!"
"You bastard." Her voice was down to a whisper now, but she was still spitting fire. "We don't have to assume anything. You've got two days. Then you'll do it." She turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.
"Lexa!" he called to her retreating back. He followed her out of medbay and into the main room. "Don't ask me do this. Don't ask me to kill you!"
Shalimar, Brennan and Katie, who were all working in the main room, looked up at the commotion. They stilled in their work when they heard Jesse shout the frightful words.
"Hey, what's going on, guys?" Brennan put down the conduit he was trying to rewire.
Lexa turned, but didn't stop. Walking backwards, she said vehemently, "Ask Mr. Calendar here." She turned back around and left the room.
The others turned their attention to Jesse. "What's she talking about, Jess." Shalimar's voice was soft.
Jesse said nothing for a few moments. Then he let out a ragged breath and tried to run his fingers through his hair, once again thwarted by the shorter length. "I'm going for a walk." He left the room in the opposite direction. A few moments later, they heard the clang of the metal catwalks as he thundered up the stairs and down the hall.
Katie stood, turned to Shalimar, silently seeking advice. "Should I go after him?"
For a moment, Shalimar's lips pursed in thought. "No. Jesse's had outbursts like that before. He just needs some time. He'll calm down. It's actually Lexa I'm worried about. She's never blown up like that at Jesse."
"Do you mind if I…" Katie gestured in the direction Lexa had gone.
"No, go ahead." Shalimar watched Katie disappear down the hall.
Brennan looked down at Shalimar. "What do you suppose that was all about?"
"My guess is Lexa pushed Jesse to work on her genetic structure. But why would she do that? I thought she and Jesse were…you know."
"I don't know." Brennan moved into the medbay. A half second later, Shalimar followed. "Ah, that's why." He sat down and began to scroll through the file.
Shalimar appeared over his shoulder. "What is it?"
"It's Adam's list of our expiry dates. Jesse never told us he found this. Lexa's is in three days. That's probably why she was all angry."
"What are you doing now?"
"Looking for ours. Adam never told us he knew. Jesse didn't tell us. This might be our only chance to find out."
"Do we want to know, though? What if Jesse can't help us? We'd spend what's left of our lives worried about that day."
"Shal, if I only have a few days left, I want to make each one count." He tugged her down into his lap and wrapped his arm around her waist. He trailed his hand up to the back of her neck and pulled her down for a kiss. Several moments later, he pulled away, giving her a half smile before turning his attention back to the computer. "Ah, here you are. Shalimar Danielle Fox, DSO-5837. Danielle, huh?" He smiled at her. "Your date's not for another 5 ½ years. It doesn't matter if Jesse can heal us or not. That's plenty of time for him and Adam to find another way."
She smiled at him. A small shadow cast itself over her eyes then. "What about you?"
He turned back to the screen, scrolled through the list some more. "Brennan Alexander Mulwray, GKL-5592. Seventy-nine days from now."
He looked up into Shalimar's eyes. He was moderately surprised to find them glistening with unshed tears. "Hey, hey," he soothed. He ran his thumb across her cheek. "It's OK. That's still enough time."
"I know, but…it just…" A single tear escaped and ran down her cheek. Brennan wiped it away with his thumb. She looked up to the ceiling and blinked, willing the tears to fade. She twisted in his lap and looked back to his face. Suddenly, fiercely, she swooped down, capturing his lips with hers. She pulled him tightly against her. She kissed him, angling her head, using her tongue, her lips, as if trying to get all of him at once.
Brennan, sensing and identifying with her desperation, allowed the kiss to consume him for a moment, but then pulled back. He ran his hand along her spine, feeling her bare skin exposed by the small shirt she was wearing. "It just what, Shal?"
She looked down, her gaze focusing on his chest. "It feels like I just found you. I don't want to lose you." More tears escaped, running down to her chin, as she looked back to his face.
"Oh, Shal, baby." Brennan's hand flitted across the planes of her face. He wanted to touch her, to comfort her with his presence, but didn't know were to start. "I will spend every single one of my 79 days by your side, loving you. I love you, Shalimar Fox, for the next 79 days and beyond, whether that be in life or in death. We will find Adam, and we will find that cure. And we'll both live until we're old and gray. Okay?"
She nodded. "I love you," she whispered.
He kissed her then, infusing it with his love, his concern, his hope and his desperation. He could feel her hands tightening across the back of his neck and over his shoulder. His own hands moved over her body, one settling on her breast and the other running up her leg, from her calf to her thigh. He broke the kiss for a moment. "Not here," was the throaty whisper. "Your room."
Her room was the only one that had been finished. He led here there, never taking his hands off her. They fell onto the bed, touching and loving each other, each comforting and giving hope to the other.