Chapter 12

Legal Disclaimer-The rights belong to others. I am just blowing off steam. Toot. Toot.

Authors Note- Work's insane, so forgive my time 'tween chapters. To say that I love all of my reviewers would be an understatement. You have kept me going when I thought the well was dry. Thank you more than you know.

Laily, Mkfgnst, Animiga, Aniki, gelf, katknits, this is for you guys...and yes goldie, even you too!

Here you go...Many angst moments to come.

Emma Kilmartin sat in the back of Adam Kane's jeep shaking. The mere thought of them under attack brought back memories that she hoped only to see in nightmares. Then realizing that Jesse wasn't by her side frightened her even more. Her powers were still as strong as ever, but she had the instinct to run, run far from the scene that just happened and go back to the life before Jesse had knocked on her door. Instinct had her blast him. She blasted innocent Jesse, not realizing that he felt the same way about the constant attacks on them for being different. She had the adrenaline rush that she remembered, but the sudden disconnect from Jesse just about sent her over the edge. When he went down, her hope of keeping a handle on the emotions around her went with him. She felt so alone.

Shalimar grabbed her hand. She remembered this look from long ago.

"What is it? Jesse?" she asked softly, "You okay?"

"He's been hurt and it's bad Shal," Emma replied, "Adam, Bren, we have got to go back there."

"Emma, I want to, but we can't get them without a plan," Adam replied, pushing the jeep into overdrive, "I'm taking you guys to where I planned, we'll get what we need and then we'll go in and get them."

For Jesse Kilmartin, he was on his back, in a nice peaceful setting. He smelled flowers. Nothing hurt, he was relaxed, and he felt like nothing in the world could bother him. He opened his eyes to discover he was in a meadow, covered in the flowers he smelled, and the sky was a perfect, brilliant blue.

"Jesse?" the voice calling his name sounded vaguely familiar.

He turned his head filling his vision with the eyes of his wife. Her blue eyes were full of pain.

"Emma? Why are you so sad?"

His own voice sounded raspy to him.

"Because you have to wake up, and it's going to hurt," she said to him, her fingers reaching out to touch his face, "I'm so sorry."

Jesse closed his eyes as the pain raged like fire down his spine. It brought him out of the meadow and into the badly lit realm of consciousness he now knew was reality. He felt a hand brush the hair out of his face and with his right hand he reached for it. That was probably the worst thing to do since the fire now raged to his fingertips.

"Damn, now that was a bad idea," he said, his voice raspy, "what the hell happened?"

"Jesse, oh god, I'm glad you're still with me," Lexa said.

Her face came into focus. They were both on the floor of a dank cell, barely lit. Using his other hand, Jesse felt the edge of a subdermal governor attached to the back of his neck. This was not good. He put a hand to his right shoulder and it came away covered in what he knew was blood. By the sticky feel on his back, he knew it had gone through his shoulder.

"Not leaving yet, although I wish this tape would stop with the replay," he said, looking at Lexa, "Any idea of where we are?"

"Probably the new headquarters of the Dominion," she said, looking around, "I was knocked out soon after you were..."

"And our friend in the chair?" Jesse asked.

Lexa's eyes told him the whole story. She never showed fear to any of them unless it affected her deeply. They had killed the older man in front of her.

"Your friend in the chair," a voice called out from the darkness, "Is no longer with us. Traitor that he was, he was executed like one."

Jesse closed his eyes. His shoulder hurt, it hurt horribly. Concentration would help the pain lessen, but the realization of the past few minutes blew that concept out of the water.

"The Creator, I presume," he said aloud, "What do you want with us?"

"It should be obvious to you, Mr. Kilmartin," the voice continued, "You and Ms. Pierce are bait. I want my successor back, and both of you are the way to that end."

"It's not going to help if he's dead," Lexa yelled into the darkness, "He was shot at the diner."

"A most unfortunate bit of damage that I intend to repair," the voice replied, "Don't fight the guards coming into the cell, but say goodbye to Mr. Kilmartin, Ms. Pierce. It's for his own good."

Jesse looked at her in shock. They were going to be separated. The thought of medical attention, while he was in so much pain wasn't a bad idea, but he didn't want this guy touching him. He grabbed his bad hand and palmed his wedding ring, which they had left on him.

"I'm sorry, Jess," she said, as the guards came into the cell, "You know I never wanted to hurt you."

Jesse nodded. This was an unexpected confession. The guards grabbed him gently, and carried him out of the cell. He didn't fight them, it hurt too much to.

"Don't tell them anything," he said, his eyes locking with hers, "And I know."

He reached out to grab her hand. She grabbed his and tried to fight the man who separated them. The guard succeeded, she let go of his hand, but she got what he passed to her. His wedding ring. She put it on so that she wouldn't lose it. She fully intended to give it back to him in person.

Emma, Brennan and Shalimar were amazed at how Adam had turned a large abandoned warehouse into yet another version of Sanctuary. From the outside, it looked like the edge of an abandoned mine, the outer buildings looking like they had not been touched since the 70's. As Adam drove up, he hit what to the normal eye looked like a key fob for a keyless entry and doors opened on what looked like rock. He drove into one of the larger warehouses and stopped the jeep.

"I had hoped to show this to you in a much happier way, but time is of the essence, I am afraid," he began, helping Emma out of the cramped back seat, "You guys should find many of the same things in the same places."

He walked forward into the warehouse and clapped his hands. The lights came on slowly to a room full of equipment, furniture and a large living area.

"No place like home," Brennan said, whistling through his teeth, "Okay, what do you know about this new version of the Dominion and do you have any idea of where they have Jesse and Lexa?"

Adam nodded, heading for the large computer monitor. Shalimar followed him, heading for a computer so that she could look up the area that they were in. Emma found a chair in the room and sat. She needed a moment to gather her thoughts and try to push Jesse's pain out of her mind. It wasn't easy.

"From what I remember and the places I was allowed to go, the main base for these guys is in upstate Pennsylvania," Adam began, "Turns out the creator was friendly with the Amish in the area and they tended to large pieces of land for him. They still do, calling him the only good son of the English."

"If they only knew him," Shalimar said, "Adam, how are we going to get them out? If Jesse's been hurt."

"He's been hurt Shalimar," Emma interrupted, "Shot, I do believe and they have a governor on him."

Brennan knelt next to her and put a hand on hers.

"How bad?" he asked, her eyes meeting his.

"I think he was hit in the shoulder, and he's very scared, but determined," she said, her voice going distant, "He's separated from Lexa."

Shalimar stared at Emma. This was a new power she had never demonstrated.

"After being with him, Shalimar, we have gotten very good at communicating," Emma said, answering their unanswered question, "He's unconscious again. That actually makes it easier for him."

Adam nodded.

"I have to admit I'm not surprised, he's always been intuitive that way," he said, "If you get anything more off of him, let me know."

Emma nodded. It hurt to be away from him. He was the first person who really knew her. She ran her hands through her hair. She looked at her hand and at her wedding ring. The diamonds encrusted in an old commring made her heart and mind jump at once. What if...

"Jesse?" she asked aloud softly, thumbing her ring.

It crackled at the touch.

"Emma? Oh my god, thank god it's you," Lexa's voice came through the decoy commring, "Are you with the others?"

Emma stared at her hand, stunned. Jesse had never told her that he had made them work. He had helped make the original ones, but she was surprised that it worked. Reality hit her that he didn't have the DNA sequencer to add into the rings construction, so it would more than likely work for anyone wearing it, if they knew what it was.

"Yes, yes she is," Adam said, a smile growing on his face, "Where are you Lexa?"

"Best I can tell you, somewhere in the new Dominion," Lexa said in the darkness, "We're being monitored, I believe."

Adam typed several keys in. They weren't being monitored. It wasn't possible the way that the signal was shielded. Jesse was very good at that.

"You're so clear," Shalimar said, "Where's Jesse, Lexa?"

"Guards took him away since he was hurt, I'm sorry Emma, he was shot," Lexa continued, "He handed me his ring on the way out."

'Typical Jesse,' Emma thought to herself. They were separated though, because of how he showed Lexa to her. The image of her picture at the end of a long hallway. He was getting very good at images, but the feeling of fire running up her spine was very uncomfortable. She knew he was trying to block it in his own way and she appreciated it, but it made her realize how badly he was hurt. She wanted nothing more than to go in, blast the living hell out of the dominion and get her husband back.

"I know Lexa, are you okay?" she asked.

"I am, but when you guys can, get us out of here, it's the Creator's work that we are here," Lexa continued, "He wants to use us as bait."

"I figured that," Adam replied, "Hold tight. We'll get to you when we can, and keep asking about Jesse. If he's hurt, he's probably going to try and help him medically. Maybe our friend in the wheelchair can help him there."

"You think so?" Shalimar asked.

"Adam, he won't be able to," Lexa said flatly.

Adam closed his eyes. The man who had helped him escape was dead. It was now even more important to rescue the living.

"Jesse's a genetic creation, he's more than likely interested in seeing how he's constructed, so, he's probably going to run a battery of tests on him," Adam glanced at Emma, "Hopefully we can get you guys out soon."

"Thanks," Lexa said.

Adam nodded and Emma cut off the communication. While it was a miracle that the com rings worked, having them discovered would be disastrous.

"Adam, we have to get them out of there, now," Brennan began, "We're very lucky that Jesse had the forethought to make their rings work. But if the creator has taken Jesse..."

"Like I said, he's a creation, he's more than likely going to take care of the wound, then study him. I don't like it either Brennan, but I think I am beginning to know this guy, he's a scientist at heart," Adam paced, then punched some keys on his keyboard, "Shalimar, this is the main map to the compound that the creator is at, have any ideas?"

Shalimar stared at the map then back at Brennan.

"Brennan, come help me plan this, so we can get them out," she said, putting her hand out to him, "If we work as a team, we can do anything."