Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: Thank you everyone so much for your support! It means the world to me! Melodie, Kerry, Regan, Fiery Feral, Blackpanther, I'm so glad you're liking the cliffhangers and emotion! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! Koala Tangerine, thank you! I'm so glad to know you're still here! :) Lucy, your review touched me, thank you! Catjerica--welcome back! Glad to know you're enjoying the newest cliffhangers! Hope you had a great vacation! I leave for vacation in three weeks, can't wait! Mayra, just wait! Remember, not all is what it seems... Thank you again everyone! In this chapter, I decided to give Bren and Shal a bit of a break from the drama, but not for long. :)

Things More Beautiful—Chapter Nine

She sat with face upturned, catching the last bit of the sun's rays as it began to sink low in the sky. The day had gone by uneventfully; so uneventfully that she found herself holding her breath, awaiting the next disaster. But it never came. All day, it had been quiet. Even the rumbles sounded less threatening, less ominous as they seemed to fade gently away into the evening.

He watched her as she lay with her head in his lap, staring up at the fading light. They were sitting outside the old maintenance sheds, resting in a small grove of palms, backs turned to the devastated building and smoking volcanoes. Instead, they were facing the outskirts of the surrounding jungle; facing the way that would lead them home.

Her face turned into the light and for the first time, Brennan noticed a faint bruise on her cheek. His eyes darkened in shame as he traced a finger along its outline. She watched him silently.

"I did that," He finally whispered brokenly, unable to meet her eyes.

"Brennan." She twisted up into a sitting position, hand reaching out and forcing his chin up, overwhelmed by the grief etched on his face. "I understand. It was an extreme situation, and I was hysterical." She shook her head. "I could have gotten us both killed."

"No, Shal."

"Yeah." Her hand caressed his cheek. "You saved my life."

He closed his eyes as she pressed a gentle kiss on his mouth.

"Just don't ever do it again." She heard him suck in a deep breath, eyes widening in shock and her lips curved upward into a teasing smile, chuckling at his expression.

He finally gave his head a wry shake, eyes creased in tenderness. "I promise." His thumb brushed against her chin, tilting her head up and capturing her lips in a slow, deep kiss.

The sun had fully disappeared before they finally stood up, reluctant to leave their little haven amongst the palms. The maintenance sheds were crowded with Dominion agents, and they were loathe to spend more time with them than was necessary.

Shalimar chuckled as they both struggled to their feet. Stiffness had set in and just moving was a difficult task.

"How's the shoulder?" Shalimar asked as he held his arm against his stomach.

"It aches, but I'll live." He stopped walking and raised his hand to his chin, looking at her enquiringly. "How bad's my sunburn?"

She smiled, "I think we've both looked better."

"Hey, speak for yourself."

She laughed at his roguish grin, slapping him lightly on the chest. His hand rose up and captured hers. She tried to hide it, but he noticed her slight wince as his fingers closed around hers.

"Shal?"

"It's fine." She pulled her hand away from his.

"Shalimar—let me see."

There was an edge to his voice, and she remembered her previous promise. She held out her hand. Two blisters had broken on her thumb. She was ashamed at the mess her hand was in. The blisters lay over older scars that had turned smooth skin into stiff ridges. Jesse had assured her the scars from the knife would fade eventually, but for now, they stood out stark white. Her fingers curled in an unconscious attempt to hide them.

He looked up, his gaze holding hers. The seriousness never left his eyes, but a smile appeared. He gently cupped his hand around hers again. "Battle scars don't bother me." He tugged at the hem of her shirt. "Any of them. I've got a few of my own, you know. In rather embarrassing places."

He was doing it again, putting a line of humor under what was very serious. "Do you?"

"I sat on a broken bottle once."

Her lips twitched. "I wondered what that was."

Their eyes met, and they laughed. He tugged her hand, turning it over and kissing the back where the scars marred her skin.

"What was that for?"

"To kiss it better," he said matter-of-factly, "You hide your hand, now you don't have to."

"Brennan—"

He quirked an eyebrow when she struggled with words.

She finally offered him a smile. "Come on." She wrapped her hand around his arm, leaning her head on his shoulder as they continued walking. "You know what I'd really love to do right now?"

"Well—"

"Besides that."

He smirked as they shared a secret smile.

"Ok, what would you really like to do?"

"Take a bath. A nice, long soothing bath." Her nose wrinkled. "The only showers burned down, the pool is full of dead bugs, and we are getting ripe."

Brennan laughed. "Maybe there's some more of those artesian wells around here."

Shalimar brightened at the suggestion. "Luka said the one we saw was the only one, but there's got to be other streams around here. Want to explore?"

They didn't have to walk very far until Shalimar could feel the pull of water, almost calling to her, and she grinned triumphantly as she led them to a stream that pooled amongst some rocks. It was small, but it was secluded with large tree ferns offering natural protection. It looked almost magical as the full moon reflected bright in the slight ripples.

"Did I tell you how much I love the fact you're a feral?" Brennan grinned as he pulled his shirt over his head.

The water was brackish and smelled slightly of sulphur, but was wonderfully refreshing. Shalimar shrieked as Brennan grabbed her foot and pulled her under the water, arms flailing and throwing water everywhere. She came up sputtering and laughing, and looking for revenge. She slammed her hand down against the water, throwing a big spray at Brennan. Water arced through the air, sparkling in the moonlight and then drenching Brennan. He blinked, and then came after her with a roar. Laughter rose up and circled in the air around them, seemingly mingling in the water spray and casting them into a safe haven.

Though he was sore, and he cradled his arm against his stomach still, the water felt good against his tight, fire-burned skin and it was a relief to see Shalimar smile again. She had already been through so much, and she deserved so much better. He watched her, sitting on the edge of the natural pool, his feet skimming the water. He didn't like to stay wet for long, and right now he needed to conserve his strength; they weren't off the island yet.

Even in water, she moved with fluid grace, and he marveled at her ability to recover and heal. She felt his eyes and smiled beguilingly. His heart skipped a beat as she rose up and out of the water and started towards him.

He reached a hand out to her, pulling her down onto his lap, wordlessly leaning in against her, invading her space, before kissing her, taking his time to purposefully driver her crazy.

It started out small, a faint trembling, only visible in the shivering of palm fronds and in the rippling of the water. Shalimar's ears again detected the faint din, and she pulled back, startled as a hidden flock of birds suddenly broke the stillness of the place, rising as one great mass high into the air and calling back and forth with frightening urgency. Her heart thudded in her chest as the land suddenly again fell quiet, and she held her breath, feeling as if something more sinister was coming. Time seemed to freeze, and then the bushes across the way began to move again. She tensed; waiting.

"Arphf! Arphf!" A little brown body came leaping toward them.

"Chester!" Shalimar felt her breath leave her as her shoulders slumped in relief.

Brennan shot her a puzzled look as he bent down and scooped up the small dog; he hadn't even noticed it she realized.

Leaves rustled again, and she shivered. Their little haven didn't seem so comforting anymore.

"Brennan," She called, eyes roaming the jungle. "Let's go."

"Ok." He set the dog down with a final pat and waited for her to catch up with him. "You ok, Shal?"

"Yeah." She pushed up under his arm, liking the heavy weight of it draped around her shoulders. "Let's just go."

The shed was dark and quiet as they slept. They had finally fallen into a restless sleep late in the night after making arrangements to leave the following morning. With Luka dead and his research destroyed, their services were no longer needed, and while they were injured, both were anxious to get home.

A frantic pounding woke them up.

"Brennan! Shalimar! Are you awake?!" Without warning, the flimsy shed door was flung open and Jimmy, one of Luka's lab assistants, came flying in.

Brennan shot straight up into a sitting position as Shalimar gasped and clutched the blanket against her chest.

"What's wrong?" Brennan's voice was sharp in the darkness.

Shalimar relaxed her hold on the blanket as she realized the man couldn't even see them. "What time is it?" She yawned tiredly, lying back down.

"It's nine o'clock in the morning." Jimmy's voice came back at them.

"But it's still dark," Brennan protested.

"Exactly." He grimly replied. His feet shuffled against the ground as he turned to walk out of the room. "You two better get dressed and meet us outside." The door closed softly behind him.

Brennan stared in disbelief around the room, jumping slightly when two golden eyes glowed back at him. It took him a moment to realize Shalimar was handing him his clothes.

They got dressed in quiet and walked outside. The natural light was little better. The sky was a dark gray, the sun completely cut off, the air filled with a fog of fine, thin ash. Shalimar blinked her eyes several times, trying to clear them. As one, they turned their eyes up the height of the mountain. The entire summit was hidden beneath a cloud so dense that it seemed to be made of pitch. Continuous stabs of lightening shot downward, but even these didn't light up the cloud. Thunder was continuous, a muted but fierce roar. Sulphur was strong in the air.

Grim faces greeted them, gray ghosts in the shadows of the jungle.

"It's ash." Jimmy's voice was loud in the eerie stillness. "The volcanoes are awake."

"We need to leave!" A faceless voice called from the group.

"How?!" Another voice rose.

Brennan wrapped his fingers firmly around Shalimar's.

Jimmy gestured them over. "We need to get to the storage shed." He spoke lowly.

"Why?' Shalimar's face turned her face in his direction.

"Right before the fire, I learned that one of Luka's guards was collaborating with one of the released subjects and was sneaking vials of serum to him."

"Riley?"

He nodded. "Yes, but it has turned out to be a good thing." He paused, eyes darting around the group. "The guard stole several vials and was hiding them in the storage shed. They are now the only surviving piece of Luka's work."

Shalimar's fingers tightened on Brennan's. "So the cure hasn't been completely lost after all."

"Exactly." Jimmy nodded. "We need to bring those vials with us."

"We'll go." Brennan took command. "You gather the rest of the group and figure out how many vehicles we have, and we'll meet you back here." The mountain growled louder. "Hurry!"

They slipped away into the grimness of the day and soon found the shed. The vials were there, carefully packed. Brennan slung the bag over his shoulder just as another rumble shook the walls of the old shed.

"Let's go!"

Together they ran back outside just as the earth started shaking, jarring, crashing. Shalimar was immediately thrown to the ground, and for long moments she was so disoriented and dizzy and frightened that she couldn't distinguish which was the earth and which was the sky. Then she felt Brennan's strong hand on her arm, steadying her, but he didn't try to pull her upright. Instead, he slid to a sitting position, pulling her close to him. She buried her face on his wide shoulder and closed her eyes.

And then it was still.

Shrill shouting filtered down to them, and a woman screamed. They jumped to their feet and ran. About twenty agents were rushing the few trucks left in the parking lot. Some of them were climbing in the back, two were fighting to get into the cab, and one was already in the driver's seat fumbling to start the engine.

Jimmy had waded into them, and as Brennan and Shalimar ran toward him, he hit one of the men solidly across the jaw. The man's eyes rolled and he fell to the ground. But two men grabbed Jimmy, agilely pinning his arms behind him while another hit him in the stomach. Jimmy kicked and twisted as Brennan quickly formed a tesla coil and shot one of the men. The other two threw Jimmy to the ground and jumped into the back of the truck as it roared to life and squealed away.

"Hey!" Brennan ran a few paces after it, then turned back to the other truck. One man punched another who was trying to wrench open the passenger door, and the man staggered back, dazed. He fell into another man behind him, who shoved him down and jumped in. Jimmy pushed his way through the crowd as Shalimar ran after him.

He jumped onto the back of the truck as it began to move. "Stop!" He hollered, just as a man came up with a stout stick and screamed, hitting him across the head, right above his ear. He flew out of the truck, hitting the ground with a sickening bone crunch that Shalimar could hear from three feet away. She ran up to him and reached him the same time as Brennan. They knelt down beside him, looking at each other in shock as those left behind milled around, crying and screaming as the ground again shook violently beneath them.

Behind them, above them, and finally surrounding them, came the mountain's voice. It started out as a roar, then grew to deafening thunder, like thousands of guns that kept firing and firing and firing. Everyone turned, and everyone's face, frozen with fear, looked upward.

High up on the mountain, a tower of flame shot into the black cloud, blood-red against night black. Hundreds of feet of liquid crimson spewed triumphantly up, as if to set the sky itself on fire.