Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X.
Chapter 2- Nightmares
A knock on his door woke him from his night of intermittent cat naps. His first reaction was to glare at the door. His glare quickly turned into a smile when he thought of all the times Shalimar must have reacted in much the same way when he would awaken her. Compassionate now, he was glad it hadn't had to happen too often. He missed her terribly. He missed them all. This past year was very hard for him. Though he watched over them and finally got the chance to reveal himself to them, he still felt lonely without the daily interaction they used to share. Another soft knock jarred him from his thoughts. He moved to sit up on the bed and straightened his disheveled shirt. "Come in," he grumbled.
When the door opened he saw Natasha walk in slowly holding a neatly folded pile of clothes in her hand. He immediately stood to greet her. "I'm sorry. I should have remembered you were coming back."
"It's all right," she smiled slightly. "I don't imagine you slept very well after all that happened yesterday."
"No, you're right."
"I brought you some clothes that were ordered for you. More will arrive, today. I thought you would like to freshen up before breakfast." She placed the clothes on the desk at her side and pointed to the bathroom door. "Your bathroom should be well stocked. I don't think I missed anything but if you find there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you, I'm sure it will be fine."
"I'll be back in 20 minutes, if that's ok?"
"Yes, thank you." He watched as she turned and left his room.
20 minutes later he was showered, shaved and dressed when she again knocked on the door. This time he silently opened it for her.
"You look a bit more rested, Dr. Kane. I hope everything was satisfactory."
"Yes, it was. Please, Dr. Stanos, it seems we'll be working together quite a bit. Will you call me Adam?"
She looked away shyly then slowly met his eyes again. "All right, Adam. Will you please follow me?" She led him to breakfast and served as the men exchanged awkward morning pleasantries.
After breakfast, the Creator began by showing Adam some of his files. Immediately, Adam's mind was consumed with all the information he was being given. Some was old news, some familiar research and some amazing revelation. The Creator smiled at his success as he watched Adam immerse himself in the work much the same way he had. They were only interrupted once by a messenger carrying a report from the leader.
Adam was fascinated by everything he was being given but the reality of his captivity and worry for his team came crashing back when he saw the messenger and armed guard speaking to the Creator.
The smell of lunch made Adam realize that he had once again lost all track of time because of his focus on his work. Living alone this past year, he was used to working and skipping meals until his body insisted on nourishment. This, however, reminded him of times past when Emma would make lunch and have to bring it to him because he would forget to stop and join the team in the kitchen. His heart began to ache for them. The hurt of Emma's death and the fear for the rest came to the fore of his mind. He stood staring at the computer console when he felt a soft hand on his arm.
"Adam, are you alright?" Natasha looked at him concerned.
He stood straighter and smiled at her. "I'm fine, Dr. Stanos, thank you."
"Come," the Creator called. "Let us have lunch." He extended his hand for Natasha as he dismissed the messenger and guard.
She walked over to him but stepped behind him and lowered her head.
Adam watched her carefully and when he looked at the guard, he saw the vulgarity being silently sent through this man's eyes. Anger flared and he stepped up to her. When the door was closed, Adam gently put his hand to her elbow.
Natasha hated the way the guards made her feel. She felt a light touch on her arm and looked up into the eyes of the man she had just recently met. They were kind and caring. She was drawn to them for a moment and then saw that they were also sad. She looked away quickly when she realized that they were sad for her. He knew.
After lunch, Adam resumed his work and questioned the Creator more. He found that he was beginning to understand the man's reasoning. He agreed with his logic. It was his methods he was having a hard time reconciling. The Creator's ultimate motivation in all his work seemed to be to help mankind. Adam's motivation was to help people, individually. He cared one person at a time. To the Creator, loss of life was expected and considered acceptable if it was able to be used to help others. To Adam, each life was precious and each life lost was a failure of his work. He wondered if, as he got older, he would really become like the man before him.
After a late dinner, Adam watched as Natasha lovingly tended to the Creator. He began to wonder about their relationship. When she was ready they left the room and walked toward Adam's room. At the sight of the guard down the hall, Adam moved to her other side so when they passed he would be between them. As they got closer, he noticed Natasha lower her head. He moved his hand to the small of her back and guided her past the guard who just glared at him. When they reached his room, he offered for her to come in.
"No, thank you, Adam. I'm very tired. I just want to turn in."
Looking back into the hall he asked, "Do you have to go far?"
She smiled at his kindness. "No. My room is next to yours." She indicated the door to the left. "Except for the presence of the guards, this floor belongs solely to the Creator. All he needs is here, including us." She smiled again and bid him goodnight.
Adam watched as she walked to her room, entered and closed the door. The last thing he heard before he opened his door was the clanging of metal, effectively locking her safely in.
With the sedative now out of his system for over 24 hours, Adam didn't sleep well. Visions disturbed his sleep. He tossed as he saw his team calling to him. One of their last conversations fueled the nightmares. He saw Jesse kneeling on the floor holding Lexa's dead body. No matter which way he moved he couldn't find a way to get to Jesse. All he wanted to do was comfort his 'son' as he cried for the woman whom he fell in love with the first moment he laid eyes on her. "Jesse, Jess, I'm so sorry. I tried. I didn't get the chance to help her. Please forgive me." Adam mumbled in his sleep as his tossing increased.
Natasha was awakened by the low droning that broke the usual complete silence of the floor. She lay in bed listening and wondering.
Jesse faded from Adam's dreams only to be replaced by the sight of his lab in Sanctuary. As he stood in the doorway he saw Brennan standing with his back to him and leaning over a bio bed. Moving into the lab, Adam saw Shalimar lying on the bed. Brennan was holding her hand and crying. He turned when he saw Adam approach the bed.
'Adam, please, do something. She's dying. Don't let her die.' Brennan whispered through his tears.
Adam moved to her side and touched her hair. Shalimar looked up at him through half lidded eyes. "Shalimar..."
She reached up and grabbed his arm with the last of her feral strength. With a voice that was raspy and broken she pleaded, 'Adam, ... help... me...' Breathing out a last harsh breath her hand dropped and her eyes closed as death took her.
"Shalimar!" Adam screamed. "No, no. Oh God. Shalimar, I'm sorry."
Natasha heard these louder screams and couldn't stay in her room any longer. She quickly put on her robe and took her key. Out in the hall, she ignored the guards insinuating calls as she quickly unlocked and entered Adam's room. She moved to the place she knew the lamp to be and switched it on. Adam was violently tossing as beads of sweat were noticeable over his brow. It pained her to see him like this.
Adam began to cry as he looked at the young woman whom he couldn't have loved more if she were his own daughter. He watched in pain as Brennan, his 'son', cried over his love.
Suddenly, Brennan's head shot up and lightning flashed from his eyes. 'You let her die. You could have helped her like you helped Jesse. Shalimar is DEAD now because of you.' Brennan began to move around the bio bed ready to attack Adam when he grabbed his head and fell to the ground screaming in pain.
Adam moved to his side and tried to touch him. He was literally shocked as electricity began to swirl all around Brennan's body. Adam watched helplessly as Brennan screamed out his name in pain. He stood and could do nothing but watch as Brennan died a painful death before his eyes. "Brennan, NO!" he screamed.
Seeing him crying and screaming in his sleep was more than Natasha could stand. She carefully moved to his side and sat on the edge of his bed. She reached out her hand and tried to touch his face. His head was turning so quickly she rested her hand on his shoulders. "Adam,... Adam, wake up." She watched as he tossed more.
The next thing to assault his mind was a heart wrenching scene. Jesse was crying over the bodies of his teammates all laid out in front of him. Adam saw a man in a black suit raise a gun to the back of Jesse's head. "NO!" Adam screamed trying to warn him.
Natasha tried harder to wake him up. "Adam, please wake up. You're having a nightmare. Wake up!"
"Jesse!" Adam screamed as he saw the gunman pull the trigger.
At the sound of the shot, Adam sat upright in bed and harshly grabbed the arms that were in front of him. His eyes were opened and he was panting heavily. He blinked the tears away as his mind fought to understand the sudden scene change. He turned when he heard whimpering and saw that his grip was hurting Natasha. Quickly lifting his opened hands he met her pained eyes for only a moment before jumping from the bed and rushing to the bathroom. He stood at the sink and splashed ice cold water onto his face several times. Grasping the sink he looked into the mirror as he tried to control his breathing. He took a towel and dried his face and hair then realized his state of undress. Thinking about the girl in his room he was grateful that he wasn't sleeping naked. He was embarrassed enough at his involuntary behavior. Her seeing him in his underwear only added to the feeling. He wrapped a towel around his waist and silently walked to his dresser then pulled out a pair of sweatpants and returned to the bathroom to put them on. When he returned he saw her sitting on his bed in the same spot and holding her arms. "I'm sorry." He walked to the bed and sat facing her. "Let me see them," he gently reached out but stopped when he saw her move slightly. "I didn't mean to harm you."
"I know. I'm ok. You were having a nightmare. I just wanted to wake you. What had you so frightened?" She saw him look down and immediately regretted her question. She stood and moved toward the door. "I'm sorry. I have no right to intrude on you. I'll leave and let you try and go back to sleep."
"Wait." Adam stood and walked closer to her. "You're not intruding." He looked away and lowered his voice. "In the nightmare, I saw my team. They were dying and I couldn't help them." He walked back to the bed and sat putting his head in his hands. "I tried but I just didn't get the chance."
Natasha moved to sit by his side. "It was just a nightmare."
He smiled at her care and concern. "I know. I'm very worried about them. At this point I don't even know if they made it out of the building."
She looked compassionately at him. "What does your heart tell you?"
Adam sat quietly for long moments wondering about this woman and the question she posed. Finally he smiled at her. "They're incredible people. I know they got out." He looked into her eyes and something there pulled on his heart. He cleared his throat and sat straighter. "Thank you, Dr. Stanos."
"Please, I'd prefer you call me Tasha." She shyly looked down.
Adam smiled at her shyness. "I'd like that very much." He watched her for a moment as he remembered the things he'd noticed. "May I ask you a question?" He continued when he saw her look up to him. "Why are you here?"
The question caught her by surprise. Something about this man touched her. She felt the undeniable urge to trust him. "My parents worked for the Dominion in one of the medical research labs. They were working on a very volatile experiment when something went wrong. There was an explosion and the entire building burned." Tasha looked down sadly.
Adam moved his hand over hers on her lap. "Tasha, I'm sorry. You don't have to continue."
"No, it's ok." She looked up into his eyes once again. "I was only 5 years old and in a child care facility in another building. The entire complex was evacuated. By the time all the dust settled my parents and two young assistants were dead."
Adam saw a tear fall and gently squeezed her hands.
"The Creator took pity on me. He adopted me and has taken care of me all these years. He saw to all my comforts and education. He sent me to med school and arranged for my internship. When I was done, I came back to the organization to care for him as he seemed to be getting frailer. Now he likes to believe that we take care of each other but I know that he worries about what will happen to me."
Adam looked at her hands as he picked one up and held it in his. "I've seen the guards."
Tasha looked away but didn't pull away her hand. "I know. Thank you for your gesture of concern in the hall. The guards just enjoy trying to make me squirm. The Creator has strict orders about my treatment by other Dominion employees. They would be 'unemployed' if they really tried anything. I just try to ignore them."
"You're very brave." He lifted her hand and kissed it sweetly.
Suddenly aware of her proximity to this man she stood and stepped away from the bed. "I really think I should leave now." She watched as he stood and walked with her to the door. She marveled at the sight of his muscular chest and shoulders. Catching herself staring she turned out the door. "Goodnight, Adam."
"Sleep well, Tasha."
TBC
