Disclaimer: Do I have to say it again? They are not mine!!! Author's note: That was easier as I thought! I still don't know, how I will or could let this end. What shall I do with Ezra? I need desperately the help of my Muse! Anybody seen her?

Enjoy now and please leave some Reviews!

Chapter11: Jesse

For a moment, Shalimar couldn't do anything. Even her heart seemed to stop its rapid beating. Taking a deep breath, a sigh closer to a wrenching sob escaped her. Her eyes grew large with terror before a scream filled the silence of the horror movie-like scene in the lab.

"JESSE!"

A few steps brought her to the chair where she almost slipped on the blood covering the floor beside him. Her hand searched for his heartbeat. A small sob rushed out of her.

She'd found it… He breathed on his own… He was alive!

It was now that she looked at Jesse's face. It was a grimace of agony. His blue eyes were open and watching her, enlarged with fear and pain. They looked like pools filled with water, the silvery drops running down and over his cheeks.

He tried to speak but no words came out, his lips not even really moving.

"Sssh, it's all right, I am here. I found you!"

Shalimar wasn't sure what she was saying, she just needed to hear her own voice, calming him and mostly herself down with her words.

She felt, like she was going out of her mind, out of her head with fear. She moved mechanically, taking the surgical gauze and making a compression bandage around his wrists.

The Feral couldn't be sure how long the blood had poured from his wounds or how much actually was on the floor, but this would hold until Adam could come and help him. Or until they could call a doctor. It simply had to…

Jesse's breathing was laboured but not to shallow. Shalimar had calmed down a little when she put the on him EKG and his heartbeat registered on the monitor. It was strong if a bit too fast. Not dangerously high, though. The computer would sound in alarm if anything changed for the worse.

Her hand reached out for Jesse's face, caressing his cheek and wiping the tears away. She tried to smile encouragingly but wasn't too sure it would work.

Still holding his face, she activated her comm-link.

"Emma! Can you hear me Emma?"

Hushed voices and a noise, like someone sitting with great difficulty, filled the air before Emma answered.

"I am hear Shal, I found Brennan…"

Shal cut into her sentence.

"I found Jesse, he is alive but hurt badly. Listen, the guy who took Brennan's shape, now has Jesse's. He must be a shape shifter or something like that. Anyway, he's with Adam right now!"

A surprised and worried sound escaped Emma, Shalimar heard it over their link.

"Do you know where they are right now?"

"I think, they wanted to go to the kitchen but I don't know for sure."

"Ok, we're coming to you. You're in the lab?"

"Yes."

"Stay there, take care of Jesse. We'll be with you in a minute."

Relieved that her friend was taking charge of the situation, Shalimar turned her attention back to the blond Mutant. She was too worried right now to decide what the best course of action would be.

Careful, she bent down to look at Jesse. Tears filled her eyes and she was unable to hold them back.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I am here. I take care of you!"

Jesse closed his eyes as a signal that he understood.

A single tear fell onto his face, leaving a silver drop besides his lips. Softly, Shalimar kissed it away, leaving her lips there a moment longer in order to savour the feeling.

He was alive. Nobody would hurt him again. She'd take care of that.

Tbc.