Disclaimer: I own nothing. 'Cept Shane, who I don't particularly like, but think that's sorta the point, yeah? Not to like the evil dude?
A/N: Yay! New chapter! Okay, no more blackmail. I'm proud of my fic whether you guys review for me or not. Though I do very much appreciate it. So, please continue reviewing, it makes me very happy and proud that my writing is appreciated. So, thank you all.
A minute later, maybe less, Jesse and Lexa appeared on the roof. "Oh my God," Jesse gasped and ran to Shalimar's side, followed quickly by Lexa. Brennan gritted his teeth against the pain in his shoulder, but said nothing, though he could feel the blood soaking his shirt. He heard a noise to his right and looked up to see Shane raising himself up onto his elbow. The scruffy man laughed wickedly. Brennan laid Shalimar in Lexa's gentle arms.
"I killed the cat," Shane cackled. Brennan roared in anger as he stood and advanced upon the man. "I killed the cat." He repeated insanely.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Brennan screamed, forming a huge ball of electricity between his hands. He split the ball in two and threw one at Shane as hard as he could, hitting him square in the chest. Shane went down hard. He didn't get back up. Brennan growled again and prepared to throw the second electricity ball, knowing that it would kill the convict. Just as he was about to let it fly, a strong hand grabbed his arm, stopping him.
"Brennan, no!" Jesse exclaimed. Brennan whirled on him angrily.
"Why the hell did you stop me?! I'm gonna kill him, Jess! I'm gonna fucking kill him!" Brennan strained against the hand still on his arm.
"No Brennan! If you do, you'll be just like him!" Brennan still looked about ready to rip the guys' throat open with his teeth (A/N: Nice mental picture there, huh?). Jesse tried a different angle. "And when Shalimar pulls through this I don't want to have to tell her that you were executed for killing that jackass!" He exclaimed, pointed a finger at Shane. That got through to him. Brennan froze and let the electricity fade out of his hand.
"Shal," he whispered, his voice broke and tears ran down his cheeks. Jesse pulled him into a tight hug as his body shook with grief and tears stung his eyes. Brennan sank to the ground; between the pain in his shoulder and the pain in his heart, he couldn't hold himself up anymore. Jesse knelt by Brennan, his arms still around him as he cried. "She can't die Jess. I can't watch her die too." Brennan sobbed quietly.
"She's not gonna die Brennan.' Jesse said kind of harshly, as if trying to convince himself.
"Hello?" A voice called from the general direction of the stairs.
"C'mon, we have to get Shal help." Jesse helped Brennan up, calling out to the EMTs as to their whereabouts.
The EMTs knelt by Shalimar's side, her body, cradled in Lexa's arms, was surrounded by blood, her breathing coming out in shallow gasps. Several police men ran over to them. "What the hell happened here?" One of them asked, a burly, middle-aged man.
"The guy," Lexa gestured, "Over there. His name is Shane Taylor. He escaped from jail a few days ago. He shot her." The cop ran over to the place Lexa indicated, cuffing the still-unconscious man. Brennan's eyes flared with anger and he tried to go after him again, but Jesse restrained him.
"No Brennan, no!" He said calmingly. The other police man looked at him oddly.
"Why's he want at that guy so bad?" The second cop asked curiously.
"They're in love." Jesse said honestly, looking at Shalimar's limp form on the gravel. The cop nodded in understanding and didn't press the matter further. Shane was half-dragged, semi- conscious down the stairs by the first cop. They lifted the stretcher bearing Shalimar quickly down the stairs and onto the elevator. They went down, through the lobby, and into the ambulance. Shane was led away to a waiting police car.
"Why'd he shoot her?" The cop asked as they filed in beside the stretcher.
"To get revenge on me." Brennan said hoarsely.
"What do you mean?"
"I put him away the first time. He swore to get back at me. He was supposed to go away for life but you INCOMPETANT MORONS who call themselves COPS, let him escape!" Brennan raged through his tears, then cried out in pain, grasping at his shoulder. He hunched over, gasping.
"Brennan?" Jesse asked in concern. "Brennan, are you okay?" Jesse laid a hand across his chest to help him sit back up. His hand landed in something wet and warm. He pulled his hand away, looking at the crimson blood that shone there. "Oh God, Brennan, you're hurt." Lexa leaned over to give him a worried look.
"I noticed," Brennan tried to laugh but it came out as a pained wheeze.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Jesse cried out in frustration and concern.
"Because Shalimar needed their undivided attention." He responded, gritting his teeth. An EMT pushed him back up, inspecting the wound.
"You could have died! What would you have expected me to tell Shalimar then, huh?!" Jesse exclaimed. "Like, 'Hey, glad you're alive. Where's Brennan? Oh, gee, sorry, he took a bullet for you and bled to death!' That would kill her Brennan!"
"Sorry," Brennan gasped as the EMT touched a certain spot that sent pain coursing through his body.
"Went almost all the way through," the EMT said. "You can just feel the tip of the bullet through his skin." Jesse looked at the little lump worriedly. The ambulance screeched to a halt in front of the Emergency Room doors. Several doctors were waiting for them. "Tell them to bring another stretcher out here." The EMT told his partner. She nodded and jumped out of the ambulance.
"I can walk." Brennan said stubbornly.
"No you can't. From the looks of that shirt, you've lost way too much blood. We need to get you to the O.R. along with Ms. Fox immediately." The male EMT watched as Shalimar's stretcher was borne towards the hospital, then he and Jesse helped Brennan onto the second stretcher. As they were wheeling him away Brennan grasped for Jesse's hand.
"Don't let them let her die." He blinked feverishly, trying to keep his eyes open.
"I won't." Jesse promised, though he wasn't sure if he could keep it. Brennan's hand went limp as he lost consciousness. Jesse and Lexa headed to the waiting room to await information on their friends.
"Brennan'll never forgive himself for this." Jesse sighed, running his fingers through his tousled blond hair. Lexa put an arm around his shoulder.
"They'll be okay. Both of them." She assured him.
Lexa was resting with her head on Jesse's shoulder and he was thumbing obliviously through an issue of Seventeen magazine, not even knowing that that was what he was looking at, when a tired-looking surgeon came walking over to them. "Lexa," Jesse said softly, shaking her a bit. Lexa mumbled something incoherent before catching sight of the doctor and sitting bolt upright. They greeted him, concerned by the look in his eyes. It had been nearly four hours since their arrival there.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Gordon. I worked on your friends."
"Jesse Kilmartin and Lexa Pierce," Jesse introduced them. "How are they?"
"Mr. Mulwray was moved to a room and is resting. He's expected to make a full recovery. He lost a lot of blood, but not enough to need a transfusion and that bullet missed all major veins and arteries. He was lucky."
"And Shalimar?" Jesse asked, not really sure he really wanted to know the answer. The doctor's face didn't help the growing fear that gripped his heart.
"Her injuries were extensive. As you already know, she took two bullets. One bullet hit a major artery in her arm and she took the second in her side. That one missed her organs, but cracked one of her ribs and came out the other side. The cracked rib pierced her left lung." Jesse's and Lexa's eyes widened in fear. "We pulled the rib out of her lung and set it back in place and stitched up the hole in her lung, stopping all internal bleeding. As it is, she lost a lot of blood. We had to give her two blood transfusions before her condition was stabilized. And she's hooked up to a respirator to help her out while her lung heals. But, she's stable and we expect her to make a full recovery also, but it may take awhile. And I wouldn't expect her to wake up any time soon. A week at least." He smiled a little. "We put both of your friends in the same room to make it easier for you to visit them."
"Thank you," Jesse said, shaking his hand. Lexa just gave him a small smile.
"Can we see them?" She asked.
"Sure, come on, I'll show you where the room is." He led them down a series of hallways and stopped in front of a door leading to a darkened room. "For future reference, it'll be faster to come in through the east entrance."
"Thanks," Jesse said again. They watched the doctor leave before entering the room. Shalimar and Brennan's beds were side by side, with just enough space in between them for a chair. Two heart monitors beeped from either bedside.
"Oh God, Shalimar." Lexa breathed, hurrying over to her bedside, taking her hand. "What kind of person could do this to you?" She whispered hoarsely, voice hindered by the lump in her throat. Jesse placed a gentle arm on her shoulder.
"A murderer," Jesse replied, though he knew that Lexa wasn't really expecting an answer. They heard a pained moan behind them and they whirled around to look at Brennan. The young man stirred, groaning again. Jesse took his hand, squeezing it gently to let him know that they were there. Brennan's eyes opened slowly, "Jess?" he said hoarsely.
"We're here, Brennan." Jesse told him, squeezing his hand again.
"Shalimar? Oh God, Jess, where's Shalimar!?" Brennan tried to sit up but he cried out in pain as his head spun and his shoulder throbbed. Jesse pushed him back down gently.
"Don't move Brennan." He said gently, and then his suppressed anger flared up inside him. "How could you do that to us?! You could have died! That was a stupid thing to do, Brennan! You should have told us that you got shot!" Jesse reprimanded him loudly. Brennan looked at him guiltily.
"I'm sorry, Jess. It's just...I didn't want the EMTs to waste their attention on me when Shal needed them more. Now where is she Jess?" Jesse looked away and way silent for a moment, and then moved aside, giving him a clear view of Shalimar's still form. Brennan covered his eyes with his hand. "I told her not to go after him. Why didn't she listen to me? God, this is all my fault." Tears ran down his cheeks. Jesse and Lexa hugged him.
"She didn't listen to you because she's Shalimar. You know how stubborn she is. And it's not your fault. It's that bastard, Shane's fault."
"Which makes it my fault," Brennan replied. "I begged you not to get involved. I knew he'd come after me through the people that I care about. His being here, hurting her, is my fault. He never would have come after her if it weren't for me. God, Shal, I'm so sorry." His voice broke and the tears ran heavier from his closed eyes. Lexa hugged him tighter, careful to avoid his injured shoulder, while Jesse moved over to Shalimar's bed. He took her hand, then Brennan's. He put Shalimar's hand in Brennan's.
"Feel that, Brennan? Feel the warmth in her skin. She's alive, and she's going to be okay, and she's not going to blame you, so you shouldn't either." Jesse told him sternly. Brennan's hand closed around Shalimar's and he opened his red-rimmed eyes slowly.
"Why is she hooked up to that... thing?" He asked, indicating the respirator.
"A broken rib pierced her lung, but they fixed it up. She's only hooked up to that to help her lung out while it heals, not because she needs it to breathe." Brennan didn't look convinced.
"She's so pale," he whispered, rubbing his thumb over her hand.
"She'll look better in a day or so, she lost a lot of blood. Her body needs more time to make new blood cells. She'll be okay, Brennan. Just like I promised." Jesse smiled. Brennan nodded slowly, still looking like he blamed himself. They heard a click as the speakers throughout the hospital buzzed to life.
"Visiting hours are now over. I repeat: visiting hours are now over." A woman's voice rang out over the speakers.
"Okay, then I guess we'll be by tomorrow to visit you," Jesse said, giving him a quick hug; Lexa followed suite, kissing his cheek gently. Jesse turned to Shalimar and kissed her forehead and Lexa squeezed her hand and they headed to the door.
"Bye guys, see you later."
"See you, Brennan."
The next day Jesse and Lexa went back to the hospital to visit their friends. Brennan was resting. They looked over at Shalimar and smiled, she looked much better this morning. Her skin didn't look nearly as pale as it had the previous night.
Jesse took a small needle out of his pocket, slipped it into Shalimar's arm and pushed a greenish liquid substance into her veins.
"What was that?" Brennan asked, startling them.
"It's a special injection," Jesse explained. "We have no way of knowing if those blood transfusions affected her abilities. That mixture will ensure that her mutation wasn't affected by the foreign... human blood. Adam created it." Brennan nodded. He knew Jesse wouldn't do anything to hurt Shalimar.
"How're you feelin' Sparky?" Lexa asked. Brennan smiled.
"Better. Stupid, worthless, and responsible, but better."
"You're not any of those things, Brennan. Especially not worthless. And nobody blames you for what happened." Jesse replied.
"I blame me for what happened." He said bitterly.
"Well don't." Lexa told him.
"Why the hell not?" He snapped.
"Because we don't and neither does Shalimar." Brennan looked at him sharply when Jesse said this.
"How did you-?" He began.
"You weren't the only one listening to what she said on the roof." Jesse smiled, holding up the hand with the COM ring on his finger.
"Eavesdropper," Brennan glared without conviction. "But that does make me any less responsible for what happened."
"You may not think so, but you're not to blame for this. You're not." The room fell silent, save for the beeping of his and Shalimar's heart monitors.
TO BE CONTINUED...
A/N: Next chapter'll be more eventful, I promise. Thanks for reviewing.