Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: Ok, this is it! This chapter finally reveals the plot for you. :) I've really enjoyed all your guesses and insights, I tried to add enough twists so it wouldn't be too obvious, so I hope I was able to accomplish that for you. There are still a few questions left, they will be answered in the next chapter. Thank you so much to those that keep me going. Thank you to Jessica, Meg, Mfkngst (for both chapters, lol! I got your review right after I uploaded the next chapter, sorry about that! Thank you though!), Mayra, Fiery Feral, CatJerica (Very cute idea!), KT (Hmm, wonder if you suspected this chapter or not?! :) Thank you!).This chapter, along with the final two, are long, over 4000 words each, so almost twice the length of my normal chapters! I've been working on the final chapter, and I also just made my third video clip! It's on my little site and is called Breathless. I am having fun learning to make them! :) Sorry if the spacing is off lately, ever since the QuickEdit function was updated, it's been eating spaces and running words together. But back to the story, here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy the outcome. Thank you!

All Things—Chapter Fifteen

He was starting to lose track of the number of times the world had tried to black out on him in the past few days. Brennan groaned, holding his head as he waited out the inevitable nausea that seemed to accompany him lately. The walls danced and spinned as he squinted across the room, trying to remember what happened. He froze as he saw Shalimar's feet backing slowly away from him.

It's not me.

Cold fear washed down his spine as her chilling words came back to him in a sudden rush. He gasped and rapidly blinked, trying to clear his hazy eyesight. The blunt end of the hypo-spray sprang sharply into focus, and he stared at it, realizing he was lying on the hard floor of the lab, and that Shalimar was again becoming lost to him. Tired eyes slammed shut as he struggled to find the strength from somewhere within his hurting body to rise up one more time. It was for Shalimar. He had no other choice.

Papers fluttered from her numb fingers, hitting the manila envelope they had been pulled from and scattering across the desk. Lexasank into the chair, covering her face with both hands. Her head was starting to throb, raw splitting pain that ran from her temple and down her neck. Memory was coming back in startling bits, confirmed by the news given her by her informant and by the papers inside the envelope. She had been after additional serum, or more precisely, she had been trying to find the agents involved in the original project to recreate it. And Shalimar had been a threat because she had seen too much. There was an order to have her eliminated. Lexa shuddered. The order had come from her, not from the Dominion. To protect her craving for the serum, she had been planning to kill Shalimar. Her pulse began to throb.

The sound of rushing footprints caught her attention, and she shoved the evidence back into the envelope, stuffing it into her jacket as she peered out the door. Shalimar was backing out of lab, staring back into it for a moment before she tore off down the hallway in the opposite direction. She frowned suspiciously. What was the feral up to now? She glanced both ways down the hallway before trailing slowly after the disappearing blonde, pausing to glance into the lab. Her heart stopped. Brennan lay unmoving on the floor. Shalimar had attacked him again? She grasped her temple as it began to pound in earnest. What was going on around here? Footsteps again sounded, this time from the direction of her office, and she pressed her arm against her jacket, feeling the slight bulge of the envelope. Jesse was coming; she recognized his step and his off beat whistle. Eyes darted between the lab and the hall.

"Lexa?" Jesse paused as he saw her backing away from the lab, startled by the crazed look in her eyes. Dread filled him at the now familiar look. He hurried up to her, freezing as he noticed Brennan's still figure on the ground. "Lexa?" His voice rose sharply as his head whipped back toward her again.

She gasped, taking another step back. He thinks I did it. She watched as he hurried to Brennan's side, feeling for a pulse, looking back up at her with anger and accusation. Escape. Betrayal. She turned and ran.

Jesse jumped in surprise when Brennan's body gave a great shuddering heave and sat up with a wheezing groan. He clenched his jaw as he saw Lexa run away, turning his attention back to Brennan as he stared up at him in confusion.

"Jesse?" Brennan blinked tiredly; sure the other man hadn't been there a moment ago when he opened his eyes the first time.

"Yeah, I'm here." Jesse braced his shoulder against Brennan's, helping him stand and walk over to a med bed.

"I'm getting tired of these beds, Jess," Brennan grumbled as he leaned his elbows against it, refusing to lie down.

"Yeah, I know." Jesse clapped his shoulder in sympathy before walking over to the discarded hypo-spray. "What happened?"

Brennan dropped his head. "Shalimar."

Jesse's eyebrows rose in surprise, but he didn't comment. He crossed back over to the bed. "Looks like she gave you a mild sedative."

Brennan grunted, but didn't lift his head.

"I'm surprised you're even standing right now," Jesse shook his head as he appraised Brennan's condition. "I suppose it would be wasting my breath to tell you to lie down."

"Yeah." Brennan's fingers tightened their hold against the bed.

"Yeah." Jesse sighed in resignation. "There's more, Brennan."

"What could be worse than this, Jesse?" Brennan's eyes were closed as he concentrated on taking deep breaths.

"It's spreading."

Brennan's eyes flew open, staring at Jesse with growing dread. "No."

"Yeah," Jesse's shoulders shrugged, eyes showing pain. "I think Lexa's got it now too."

"Damn it." Brennan's whisper broke the silence between them.

Yeah. Jesse huffed. That about said it all.

There was a great battle warring in her mind. One moment, instinct told Shalimar to run, fearing the hunter shadows that hovered mockingly on the edges of her sight, and the next it told her to turn and fight, to rail against that which threatened to take away what was hers. The desire to protect, to defend was as natural as the animalistic fear that echoed through her bones, demanding she escape. Survival. What would ensure survival? The feral snarled, stopping short as she suddenly came face to face with her enemy.

Lexa.

Steven was nowhere in sight. But Lexa was working with him. "I know what you're doing." She held her ground, lifting her chin.

Lexa narrowed her eyes at the angry woman in front of her, the envelope burning in her pocket. "What am I doing?" Her voice was deadly calm, falling easily back into her years of training.

"You won't get away with it." Shalimar raised an eyebrow. "I will stop you."

She knew. Lexa crossed her arms in mutual defiance. She was after all of them. "First Brennan, now me?"

Brennan! It was bad enough they were trying to control him. Her heart hammered in her throat, eyes flaring in protective fury. "Leave him out of this!"

"Oh I think you've already ensured that," Lexa gritted, head starting to throb with greater urgency. She suddenly lashed out, fingers falling together as she aimed a bright laser at Shalimar.

Shalimar screamed, diving to the side and landing in a ready crouch, eyes glowing. Lexa attacked a second time, and Shalimar rolled again, knowing she needed to bring the fight up close. She jumped straight up, disappearing into the ceiling rafters for a brief moment before flying back down, landing on Lexa's back.

Lexa howled in anger as her legs crumbled beneath her, breath hitching as strong arms wrapped like tight iron bands around her neck. She arched her back, bucking desperately to throw the weight off, but the feral clung tightly. Spots danced before her eyes. Betrayal. She was being betrayed again. No! She wrenched abruptly to the side, slamming Shalimar into the rock wall. For a brief moment, fingers loosened, and she gasped greedily for air, crying in outrage as hands fumbled, then clenched down again.

Pain. Pain ran up and down Shalimar's body as tender tissue ripped open on the bottom of her feet and her head pulsated with a thunderous roar. Fight. She had to fight. The enemy was trying to destroy everything she loved. Why? Her heart cried out as she felt herself being slammed into rock again and again. Her fingers tightened further, legs wrapping around and tangling with Lexa's in a choke hold.

"I trusted you!"

Both women screamed at the same time, suddenly stilling as each other's words echoed throughout Sanctuary. Shalimar gasped, abruptly releasing her hold and springing to her feet as Lexa pushed up on her hands and knees, coughing harshly.

"Lexa! Shalimar!" Jesse's yell sounded from the end of the hallway, and Shalimar whirled to see Jesse at a dead run towards them, Brennan staggering behind him. Her eyes darted to him, seeing his fear and confusion right before light exploded behind her eyes and she was hit from behind. She screamed, fighting the nausea as she fell, twisting mid-air to bring Lexa down again with sweeping kick.

"Stop! Stop it!" She faintly heard voices screaming at them, but she focused solely on the glaring eyes in front of her. She tensed her body, about to spring again.

"No!"

Blue electricity crackled through the air, and she heard the sound seconds before it struck. She watched, fascinated as almost in slow motion, Lexa stumbled and fell, shaking as sparks singed the air around her.

And then it struck her next.

Her body collapsed almost from within, pain widening from her stomach and spreading rapidly up her limbs as she hit the ground. She screamed, curling into a fetal position for a moment as unbearable terror rained upon her. Fear. Deja vu. She whimpered. "Brennan?"

He groaned deeply, anguish ripping across his face as her eyes searched for his. "Shal--"

She cowered, snarling as he reached out a hand, and he froze. She pressed trembling hands into the ground, pushing herself back to a standing position. "Stay away from me!" She gripped her head, backing away as Brennan and Jesse stared at her. Jesse's eyes darted between hers and Lexa's still body, and she could see the torment in his eyes. Escape. She had to escape. She was being betrayed by her family. Again.Instinct shifted from fight to flight mode, and her eyes flashed, daring them to follow as she took two more shaky steps backward and then turned and ran.

"Shalimar!"

Brennan called after her, gasping and holding his side as he made to follow, wincing as Jesse's hand shot out and locked onto his arm, pulling him to an abrupt stop.

"No."

"Let go of me!" Brennan struggled to free himself of Jesse's grip.

"Brennan, stop!" Jesse forced the other man to look at him. "Now is not the time. You can barely walk, and Shalimar's obviously not herself right now. Whatever this thing is, we know it can come and go. Let her calm down again, and then we find her."

"No!" Brennan shook off Jesse's hand.

"Brennan, listen to me!" Jesse again grabbed him. "Right now we can do more good by staying here."

"What do you mean?" Brennan finally stopped fighting him and looked down at him.

"Shalimar's still got her ring on, we can track her. In the meantime, we've got Lexa." He nodded down to the unconscious woman. "We need to examine her, look for anything similar between their scans. We've got to figure this out, once and for all."

Brennan's shoulders sagged in weary defeat, knowing that Jesse was right. Shalimar. He bit his lip, looking down the hallway one final time before nodding reluctantly.

Lexa surged upward as consciousness returned, growling as restraints immediately dug into her skin, holding her down.

"Hey."

She twisted her head at the soft voice, eyes glaring as Jesse's face swarmed into view.

"How are you feeling?" He tried to run a hand through her hair, but she jerked her head back, away from his touch.

His gaze looked back at her sadly, but she stared back defiantly, eyes shifting as protective walls fell back into place. She had been foolish to trust again. She knew better. Never again. She was alone, just as it had always been since Leo's death. She lifted her chin, eyes flashing before deliberately turning her head away, pain slashing through her temple at the movement. It was better this way.

Brennan stared at his hands, barely noticing when Jesse came back over to him.

"She's awake."

He nodded slightly at Jesse's tone, understanding his pain and frustration. "What are we going to do, Jesse?"

"We're going to figure this thing out." Jesse sat back down at the computer in determination.

"What are we missing?" Brennan clenched his jaw as he forced tired knees to bend, moving to stand behind Jesse and staring at the computer screen. "I keep thinking it's got to be somehow tied to the serum. It's the only thing they've had in common."

"I know." Jesse pressed his lips together, not looking up as his fingers flew over the keys.

"Shal was convinced she saw Steven, but I don't know--" Brennan's voice trailed away in thought.

Jesse nodded, wheeling his chair over a few feet to another monitor that was tracking Shalimar. The little dot blinked back at them reassuringly, and they both blew out a breath of relief. At least she was staying in Sanctuary. Jesse wheeled back to the other computer.

"We've got to think here, Jess." Brennan pinched his nose in frustration. "She was having trouble sleeping, nightmares." His hand ticked off the list. "Mood swings, fear, anger. Her feral side even took over at times." He glanced over at Lexa who was struggling silently against her restraints. She stopped as soon as she noticed him watching. Brennan shook his head, turning back to Jesse. "What's the connection in all of this?"

Jesse swore, banging his hands on the computer screen as he again came up empty. "I don't know, Brennan." He pushed back in anger, standing up and pacing around the room. "The only unusual thing I can find in common between them is high blood pressure, but what does that mean?" He raked his hands through his hair, groaning as Lexa glared at him when he paused by her bed. His foot swung out, kicking the legs of the bed before turning and pacing the other direction.

Despite himself, Brennan almost chuckled at the expression on Lexa's face when Jesse kicked her bed. The laughter died in his throat though when he saw her face twist with emotion the moment Jesse turned his back to her. He knew that look. Grief…or betrayal. He straightened in sudden recognition. "Jesse!"

"What?"

Jesse walked back toward him as Brennan frantically gestured him over. "They both think that we've betrayed them, that they can't trust us or each other any more."

Jesse's brows shot up. "That's crazy."

"Crazy." Brennan snorted at the word. "Shalimar thought she was going crazy at times. It's like she was delusional."

"Or paranoid." Jesse turned to look at Brennan. "I scanned them, but never did a blood test."

"Does that make a difference?" Brennan shook his head. "The scans still show everything."

"Not everything." Jesse hurried to a cupboard, pulling out a syringe and walking up to Lexa. "The serum caused dementia, right?"

"Yeah." Brennan watched as Lexa fought against Jesse as he drew her blood. "But it was permanent. Theirs seems to come and go." He frowned. "Besides, we've checked them over and over again, there is no serum. Even Dr. Marcus gave Shalimar a clean bill of health."

Jesse nodded, working quickly with the sample. "But Brennan, what else did they have in common?"

There was a beat of silence.

"The cure." Brennan paled, looking back at Jesse. "We never even thought--"

"I know." Jesse stopped his work and looked up for a moment. "But think about it. As far as we know, it was never tested on anyone; it was just developed as part of a Dominion project."

"Who knows what side effects there are?" Brennan breathed the words, eyes latching onto Jesse's in fear and hope. They were silent as Jesse worked, turning back to the computer analysis after a few more minutes. Jesse's eyes skimmed the screen, smile growing across his face as he spun in his chair.

"We've got it!"

They both clapped shoulders, turning back to the computer again.

Neither noticed the little dot that represented Shalimar had started moving closer again.

"So? What is it?" Brennan peered impatiently at the computer.

"Neurotransmitters," Jesse's finger stabbed the screen. "They both have elevated Dopamine levels."

Brennan's brows furrowed. "You mean a chemical imbalance?"

"Sort of." Jesse shook his head. "It's so simple; I can't believe I didn't catch it sooner."

"So Steven's really not here?"

"I doubt it." Jesse shook his head. "High Dopamine levels result in paranoia, hallucinations, delusions. Basically it causes psychotic conditions."

"Almost like the serum?" Brennan's eyes narrowed. "Why do I get the feeling the Dominion is somehow involved in all this?"

"Yeah." Jesse's eyes narrowed as he paused to look up at Lexa, who had stilled and was listening to them talk.

"I've got to find Shalimar." Brennan straightened up. "If I can just talk to her, I know I can make her understand."

"Brennan, wait." Jesse again stopped him. "She thinks you've betrayed her. Reasoning isn't going to do a whole lot of good at this point."

"Well, then what do you suggest?" Brennan's voice rose in frustration.

Jesse held out his hands appeasingly. "Remember how we finally stopped Steven?"

"No." Brennan stared at Jesse. "A dart?"

"She's too strong. I don't think we have any choice. We have to shoot her. It's the only way."

A stifled sob froze them both in their steps.

No. Brennan eyes closed as he swore under his breath in disbelief. What else could go wrong lately? He took a deep breath, turning toward the doorway. "Shalimar—"

She flinched when he spoke her name, already backing away, eyes torturous.

His heart stopped, then slammed triplefold in his chest, until he bent over in physical pain. Her eyes. He rested his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths. That look would haunt him the rest of his life.

Lost.

He had seen fingers of it, creeping across her face, welling in her eyes.

Lost hopes.

Lost dreams.

Lost causes.

Without another word to Jesse, he followed after her.

"Shalimar!"

She heard him calling and decided she had had enough of running. She spun around, falling into a neat crouch, waiting.

He faltered to a stop ten feet away from her, peering at her cautiously as she knelt in a shadowy corner.

She held her breath for a long moment, fighting the urge to run past him and disappear. She was so tired of being afraid. She was so tired of hurting. Her chest heaved as she wavered indecisively.

"Shalimar," Brennan struggled for words. "Let me help you." Her shadow took a step to the right. He sidestepped, cutting her off. She blew out a breath of air, moving back to the left. He again followed, at a loss of what to do. "Shal—"

He had her cornered. Her face flinched, eyes wary, staring dully at him as nausea twisted slowly in her stomach. Fear. She fought for control, moving again.

He held his ground as she instinctively took another step toward him. "It's me, Shalimar."

"No." She shook her head, "no, no, no." Her eyes hardened. "I don't know you anymore."

A fission of fear sliced through him, but he forced his shaking legs to stand. He had to get through to her. He took another step closer.

"DON'T"

He froze in mid-step.

Her head snapped back, face furious as she stepped back. "It's not you!" She took another step back, cringing when the roughness of the rocky wall dug into her scraped back. Fight or flight? She wanted to run, to escape, but she had to fight. Pain. Her head throbbed with increasing swells. She was so tired. So confused. She growled lowly in her throat when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jesse stalking closer, gun in his arms. She bared her teeth, eyes darting between the two of them.

Brennan saw her growing agitation as her crazed eyes fixated on a point behind his shoulder. No. He was losing her.

"Jesse," Brennan forced his shaking voice to sound calm, confident. "Back away, now."

"Brennan, I can—"

"No!" Shalimar flinched as his voice raised and he quickly lowered it again. "I need to do this."

"But a tranquilizer is safer—"

"No."

There was a long pause and then a shuffle of steps as Jesse reluctantly eased back. Brennan sighed, watching carefully as her eyes focused back on him. Sweat ran in rivulets down her face, and he longed to reach out, to hold her. She seemed to sense his thoughts and jerked back another step.

A groan escaped her compressed lips as Brennan shifted again and his face disappeared into the shadows. She trembled. Steven…the shadowy monster. Was he here now, hunting her? She swallowed, bile rising in her throat as she pressed her back into the wall. Or was she being betrayed again? She didn't know what was real anymore. Memory and reason twisted together.

"…You have to trust me, Shalimar."

Brennan's voice was a faint din amidst the roar in her ears. Her hands rose, fingers digging into her temple. She didn't know who to trust. Raw pain burned down her neck, and she sobbed, fear overwhelming her as Steven's wavering face suddenly appeared behind Brennan's shoulder. "No." He laughing mockingly, gray eyes piercing her, and she realized she was trapped between the monster and the wall. Déjà vu. She whimpered. White walls. "No!" Her knees collapsed beneath her, and she sank to the floor, screaming, but no sound came out. The edge of reason and reality split open, and suddenly, she was a little girl again, trapped within confining white walls, and her heart raced faster as she cowered beneath the monster hovering over her, claw-like fingers stretching toward her. She could see every detail. His grim smile, the white flecks of his eyes as pupils dilated in hunger. The eyes. The gray eyes wanted to claim her spirit, break her will. They wanted to beat it out of her. She whimpered, not understanding why this was happening. He laughed and reached for her, and she threw her arms over her head.

Suddenly Brennan was there, standing over her, eyes filled with wrath, ready to take the attack in her place.

Her eyes slammed shut.

And then the shakes began. Brennan's voice again called desperately to her, and she screamed again, fighting with her last bit of strength to forcibly wrenching her mind back into conscious awareness.

The roar dissipated.

She opened her eyes and saw that Brennan stood before her, eyes damp, desperate as he repeated her name over and over. Brennan. And suddenly she knew, and suddenly she saw.

It was truth.

It was trust.

It simply was.

She bit back a sob. It was over. It was simply Brennan who stood before her, and she knew him. She trusted him. He saw the shift in her eyes, and dropped to his knees beside her, hands reaching for her. He was so tentative. Her heart throbbed anew, and she lifted her face to him, tears overflowing and spilling down her cheeks as she opened her arms to him. His eyes flickered, and his face twisted almost with pain as he released pent-up breath. The back of her knuckles landed on his face, tracing the firm line of his jaw.

You're really here?

I'm really here.

A relieved sob escaped, and her eyes dropped shut, falling forward as he wrapped his arms around her. His own knees gave way, and they fell backward. She landed on top of him, realizing after a moment she was kissing him, and that the tears fell unabashedly from his eyes as he kissed her back with raw, stark emotion. The remaining edges slammed together, hungry, desperate. They meshed and something clicked from deep within her with a force that almost hurt. Hurt with the desperate, overwhelming relief at the beauty of it all. She pulled back from his kiss, opening her eyes, searching his tender gaze.

It's you?

It's always been me.

She leaned down, tangling their fingers together, pressing soft kisses against his eyes, nose, lips. His strong hands rose to frame her cheeks, and her hands rested against his steady heartbeat, absorbing the sound, the strength of him. Her eyes opened and as he stared at her in wonder, her lips curved into a healing smile.

She was found.