Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: There is a slight reference to episode 204, Whose Woods These Are, in this chapter. Thank you so much to Mfkngst (pieces will slowly be revealed for you!), Quadrantje, Jessica, CatJerica, Melodie568, Rain (you must be a writer, lol!), Fiery Feral, Mayra, Mxfan214. I wish I could better say how much it means that you're sticking with me through this story, even through the confusing parts. :) This story has been challenging for me, and I have loved working on it. Thank you for all your encouragement! I started writing this chapter at 2am and finished its outline at 6am! Amazing how much you can accomplish if you don't sleep! :)

All Things—Chapter Twelve

He didn't know how long they stayed that way, wrapped in each other's arms under the rocky ledge, but they found themselves drifting off as the sound of the wind howled with distant strength. Under the little ledge, they were decently sheltered, wrapped in a comforting pocket of warmth. She slowly relaxed, lost in the rhythm of his heartbeat. Lulled by the familiar sound of her breathing, Brennan also allowed his body to relax. He knew time was of the essence, that he needed to get her back to Sanctuary, but he lingered, afraid to let go just yet. He tightened his grip, willing time to stop for just a few more minutes, willing the shadows away for just a little while longer. However, exhaustion was fast setting in, pain and stiffness now becoming a familiar feel. The intra-muscle stimulant Jesse had given him was wearing off, and he knew his body couldn't endure much more. He sighed, lifting his chin off her head and tilting his head down to hers.

"Hey, Shal." He gently roused her.

She didn't respond.

"Shalimar?" His voice rose with alarm, relief slamming his heart into his throat when she mumbled something, head sliding forward. "Come on, Shal, open your eyes for me." He shook her a little harder, cursing his carelessness at almost letting her fall asleep. "Time to wake up now." He spoke briskly, rubbing his hands up and down her arms until her eyes fluttered open. Tired confusion surfaced, but they were still clear, and he pulled her back against his chest for one more hug. While her arms didn't circle around him this time, she didn't pull away, and he found comfort in the fact she wasn't fighting him. He bent his knees and in one smooth motion, picked her up. She protested even as her head lolled against his shoulder.

"Yeah, I know," He cheerfully agreed with her mild objections. "You're still mad at me. Tell you what, once I get you safe and warm, you can scream at me all you want."

She mustered the strength to glare at him, but he only chuckled, so relieved to have her with him, in his arms, and consciously aware of her surroundings. An angry, disoriented Shalimar he could handle; the one who had looked at him with blank, empty eyes terrified him. His stomach lurched at the thought, and he quickened his step, ignoring the stabs of pain running down his neck. He had a feeling they would both be stuck in the lab for a while once Jesse got his hands on them. His eyes scanned the thick tree cover stretching above them, frowning in annoyance. There was no place for the helix to land; Adam had chosen Sanctuary's location wisely, it's steep mountainous terrain and mature forests giving natural protection. But it made for a hell of a walk, he muttered darkly to himself, frustrated at the slow pace he was forced to keep. Although Shalimar's weight was slight, it was just enough additional that his every step broke through the encrusted snow, sending his feet deep into the banks and causing snow to spill over the edges of his boots and fall inside, hitting his bare feet. He grimaced, but refused to stop or even to complain as he remembered the condition of Shalimar's feet. Even if she had strength left to walk, he doubted she even could. Frost bite. He forced another step.

She was starting to drift off again, so he jostled her, hitching her higher in his arms. "Hey Shal." He spoke loudly in her ear until her eyes again glared up at him.

"What do you think was worse?" He jabbered about the first thing to come to his mind, trying to keep her awake. "Running down that volcano for hours on end in stifling heat and burning ash or walking down this mountain in freezing winds and deep snow?"

"Hmm." Her voice hummed flatly in the back of her throat.

He jostled her again. "I don't know about you, but that heat is starting to sound pretty good right about now, don't you think?"

"Booyg ivr." She mumbled, face squashed against his chest.

"What?" He threw her a quick glance, not quite able to see her face in the darkness.

"Boiling river." She uttered, mouth shifting slightly away from his downy jacket. He could feel her slight shudder even through all the layers.

"Ah yes," He smiled in memory, "How could I forget. Maybe the snow is better after all."

"Humph." She snorted at his words.

He took another step, gasping as in a split second, he realized the deep snow had hidden a steep drop off and there was nothing but air beneath him. One moment he was standing, the next he was falling, sliding downward in a confusing tumble of sky and snow. He heard Shalimar scream and then she was ripped from his arms.
"Shalimar!"

He lost her, choking on heavy snow as it was flung into his mouth, realizing with some distant part of his mind he was rolling.

"Shalimar!"

Two more somersaults and then he slid to a stop, a sheet of snow landing on top him, taking his breath away as it compressed his chest.

It took him a moment to realize he was no longer moving.

His neck screamed in pain, and for one horrible moment, he thought he couldn't move again, until he realized he was buried under snow. Panic clawed up his throat, and he couldn't breathe. He didn't want to die, not like this. He fought to move, terrified when he could do little more than wiggle his toes and bend his fingers. Spots danced dizzily before his eyes, and he struggled against the urge to open his mouth and take a deep breath; if he did he would surely suffocate. Already, hard snow shoved up his nose, sucking the breath from him. He heard a whimper, and realized it had come from him. It was dark, and so quiet. Deathly quiet. He frantically strained to move again.

"Brennan!"

Something within her awoke, and she screamed his name, suddenly terrified he was gone from her. White walls. They were trying to take him from her. "No!" The feral arose again, this time in protective fury, and she crawled frantically forward, searching. "No!" She bit back a sob, hands furiously digging. She could smell him. He was here. "Wait for me!" She dug faster, ignoring the tender skin that crumbled and broke away at the abuse, freely bleeding. "Brennan, I'm here!" She found a foot, screaming in frustration as she searched again for his head, digging anew. There! There was his dark hair, matted with ice. She dug faster, sucking in a breath as she cleared his face, brushing snow from his eyes, from his nose, his lips. He was so still. "I'm here," Her voice cracked, and she cradled his head, bending over him.

His body shuddered and groaned, and her head jolted upright at the sound, realizing with a start the rest of his body was still buried. She scrambled around him, hastily digging and tugging, sobbing with relief when he gave a great heave and pulled himself free. He was alive. He was still here. She bent over his head again, running her hands over and over his cheeks, wincing as she saw her blood smeared on his face. She growled protectively, pulling her sleeve down over her hand and tenderly wiping his face clean.

"Shal?"

His weak voice broke her, and she started to cry.

He jerked when he felt wetness fall on his face, surprised to taste saltiness when he licked his chapped lips. Tears. He cranked his eyes open, groaning as every part of him throbbed in protest. He paused, taking mental stock before struggling to sit up.

"Careful!" Her hands were instantly on him, stilling him.

He froze, suddenly remembering through the pain what had happened. She had saved him. Regardless of her feelings of betrayal, of anger, some part of her wouldn't let him go, just as he would never let her go. He grinned.

Taken back, she straightened, suddenly unsure.

He saw the flash of fear, of mistrust, and he sobered, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Shal, don't."

"What?" She crawled back a few feet.

"Don't pull away from me."

He held out his hand, and she trembled violently, waging an inner battle. Tears streaked her face, freezing even as they fell. He closed the slight distance between them, hand reaching out to cup her cheek. Her eyes slid shut at the touch, and he waited, knowing the next move must be hers. His labored breath fogged the air, and she concentrated on the sound, leaning into his touch. This was Brennan. She knew him. She was supposed to trust him forever. She pushed back the lingering shadows in her mind and lifted her arms, threading them around his waist, pressing her ear against his chest, hearing his heartbeat. It was still racing, surging with adrenaline, and she knew it must pain him, forcing tired lungs to take deep shuddering draws. Fear changed to worry, instinct wanting to protect him, and she shook her head at the irrationality of her emotions. She had gone through the gambit of every possible one in the past few hours, and the logical part of her mind knew something was wrong with her. She grasped that thought, clung to it. Maybe Brennan was right about everything, maybe, just maybe…

She lifted her head, hands running down his chest in a soothing gesture until his breathing slowly calmed. "All this time." She finally murmured after a long silence.

"What?" He whispered back, staring at her, afraid to move and ruin the moment. She dropped her eyes, breaking contact. He dipped his head to watch her hands, wincing as it started to pound behind his temple.

Her eyes rose again, watching him carefully, confliction evident on her face. "All this time, my--my fear was of someone using us again, Ashlocke, the Dominion…but I just didn't expect it to come from you." She stared past him, unseeing. "Out of all the possibilities, I never thought you would use me, betray me." She bit her knuckle, pulling her hand abruptly away as she tasted blood.

"I didn't." He spat the words, holding his head, looking up at her through squinted eyes. "I told you the truth about what happened."

She blinked, head tilting to the side, desperately wanting to believe him, fighting the fear that struggled to take hold. "You think I'm sick, that I'm mutating again."

He nodded. "I just want to help you, Shal."

She bit her lip, staring at the ground.

It was silent for long moments, save for their rattling breaths.

"Do you remember Michael?"

Brennan looked back up.

"The feral that was experimented on, trying to be made into a super soldier, but turned wild instead."

He nodded, wondering what she was getting at. "Yeah. We spent days looking for him in the woods. You almost died yourself."

She stared at the dried blood on her hands for a moment, pushing them into the snow, scrubbing them together. "Well, I don't think that's what's happening to me, mutating. The feeling is different; then we knew I was turning more feral." She shrugged, rubbing her hands against her pant legs. "If what you say is true, I don't know if that's necessarily what's happening."

She fell quiet again.

"Shal?" He gently prompted her after a moment.

She sighed, struggling to find the words swirling in her mind. "It's like it almost comes and goes this time, except for a slight haunting…unease that is always with me, hovering on the edge of consciousness, like a fading dream." She looked at him, confused. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Shalimar, I promise you, I am telling you the truth. I love you." He leaned toward her, hands framing her face. "I want to help you. No matter what, we can figure this out."

Her lips twisted wistfully. "I want to believe you. Part of me always has, but another part…" Fear flashed in her eyes.

"Hey, hey, it's ok." He brushed her tangled hair off her temple, biting his lip as muscles screaming in protest. "Please let me help you."

She clenched her jaw, considering, fighting shadowy doubts that assailed her.

"I told you I would keep the monsters away, didn't I?" He smiled as her head bounced up in surprise. "Please let me in."

Her eyes fell shut at his whispered words, heart thudding in her chest. "I want to."

His voice rasped as he muttered her name, closing the distance and pulling her into his arms. She stayed stiff, but didn't pull away, and he considered it a victory.

"I love you, Shalimar."

After a brief hesitation, her arms rose and squeezed him back.

Found you.

They held each other for long movements, until coldness seeped through the layers, demanding attention.

"We need to go." Brennan gingerly stood to his feet, groaning at the movement.

Shalimar tried to stand, but immediately fell again.

Her feet. Without a word, he bent down, knees cracking, and picked her up again.

She didn't say anything, but her eyes were huge in her pale face as she watched him intensely.

He felt he was somehow under a test. He cleared his throat and began to walk, resuming their conversation as if he had never fallen. "Yep, snow is definitely better than that boiling river." She eventually relaxed, resting her head on his shoulder again. Relieved, he took another step, foot suddenly sinking several feet. "Argh I take that back, the volcano was better." He grunted, struggling to free himself. Finally, with a sucking pop, his foot came free, boot still buried in the snow. At the same time, the wind again picked up and with a whining protest, it began to sleet. He groaned in disbelief. "Oh, of course." He glared first at the sky, then at the offending footwear. "Just my luck, two miserable extremes, yet I still manage to somehow get wet in both of them."

Despite herself, she suppressed a giggle.

"What's so funny?"

Trust Brennan to know when she was smiling in the dark. She shook her head, turning it back into his chest.

He grinned in quick triumph, wincing as he shoved his foot back into the buried boot and finally managed to pull it out. He resumed walking, melting snow squishing between his numb toes, grumbling aloud, but not quite able to wipe away his smile. She had laughed. It was the sound of heaven.

Jesse gritted his teeth in worry as he paused, idling the engine of the snowmobile as he stood up for a moment, squinting through the downpour. Six feet of snow wasn't bad enough, now it had to rain on top of it all. In another hour, the ground would be coated in glare ice. Brennan and Shalimar were out there somewhere. He slammed back into the seat, revving the engine and taking off again. Brennan's footprints had long since been blown away, and he mentally kicked himself for letting him get too far ahead of him. He flicked the headlight to a stronger setting, worry making his movements jerky. He couldn't understand why Brennan hadn't taken the sled in the first place; he was the one who bought it. Secretly, Jesse loathed the stinky, noisy beast, and he swore, jerking to a sharp right as another tree suddenly loomed in his line of sight. It was hard enough to drive on a clear day, let alone up a mountain, in falling sleet, in pitch darkness. The engine sputtered in the cloying mess, and Jesse slammed his hand against the steering column.

"Come on!"

He stopped again, rising up off the seat, suddenly blinking in shocked surprise.

Directly in front of him, stumbling over a sharp rise, appeared Brennan, Shalimar clutched tightly in his arms. He could see their weariness even from afar, could see it in the steep droop of their shoulders, could hear it in their raspy coughs carried in the winter air. Agony etched on both their faces, and Shalimar had a frightening tinge of blue around her pinched mouth, eyes closed. Brennan's normally strong frame shuddered with every step, and Jesse knew he was in intense pain.

Yet he was grinning like an idiot.

Jesse cocked an eyebrow, deciding the man must be delirious. But he couldn't help but grin back as he frantically waved his arms into the air.

They were found.

Soon they would be warm, they would be safe, and they would have each other. Despite all the fears, all the anger, and the unknowns, they would somehow be alright. That was all that mattered. Whatever happened, whatever came out of this situation, they would be alright.

For in the midst of nothing, they had found everything that mattered.