Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: I'm home sick with the flu today, so figured I might as well use the time to post an update. Thank goodness for laptops and wireless connections! But anyway, thank you so very much to everyone who is reading and supporting this story. As hinted in the previous chapter, one part of this story is revealed for you in this chapter. I know this idea has been done before, but please bear with me, I have my own larger plot twists planned, so I hope to make it original. I'll do my best! Thank you Kerry, blackpanther, hi again, mxfan214, Farah, MariShal, Mayra, Alias-fan-mutant-kitty, AussieMXfan (Thank you! Maybe someday you'll share yours!), Marie (don't worry, I will never leave a story unfinished!), Kaela. Your comments are so encouraging! SithelfJen, to answer your question, Of Wind and Wood is the sequel to House of Dreams and While All Was Still. Thank you! Rain, I thought you might like that sentence. :) I've been holding onto that one for a while, waiting for the right place to use it, lol. Thank you! Donna Lynn, thank you! I too wish more people wrote B/S! CatJerica, don't worry, in case you haven't figured out by now, I'm a hopeless romantic. :) I'm now working on chapter six, so it's slowly getting written. Here's the next chapter for you in the meantime, I hope you enjoy it!

Traveling Souls—Chapter Three

His stomach dropped nervously when she suddenly ran towards the man. It tightened with fear when she flung herself into his arms. And it twisted with jealousy when she lifted her face to his and whispered his name with joy, tears brimming in her beautiful eyes.

The sparks dancing on his fingers flickered and died.

"Shalimar," Brennan finally found his voice as the man's hand tenderly cupped her cheek. It came out harsher than he intended. He cleared his throat, trying again. "Shal."

She finally turned towards him, blinking as if she had forgotten he was even there. The muscle in his jaw flexed.

"What's going on, Shal?" Brennan's eyes darted past hers to narrow in on the man behind her. "Who is he?"

"A ghost." She murmured cryptically, already turning back toward the man.

Ghost? Brennan's eyebrows shot up. "Shalimar," He took a step forward, grasping her elbow. "Talk to me, what's going on?"

"I don't know, Brennan." She shook her head, lost, as she turned, hands tentatively reaching out, pausing. She gasped slightly as strong, warm fingers she hadn't felt in years closed around hers and piercing brown eyes searched hers. He looked just as she remembered him, and she melted into his gaze.

Brennan's hand fell limply from her elbow.

"You—You died." Her fingers shook as they pulled from his and framed his face gently, voice cracking. "I saw you, I couldn't save you."

"No, Shalimar," He spoke her name with a caress, pulling her against his strong chest in a soothing gesture.

Brennan frowned heavily, arms crossing.

She pulled back after a moment, brows creased. "I don't understand. You-you can't be here." She trembled on her feet.

"I'm here, I'm right here." He smiled familiarly, full of warmth and love. "But I didn't expect to see you here."

She smiled tumultuously back, and Brennan's heart lurched with a cold thud. He narrowed his eyes, sparks again flaring from his fingertips. "Let her go."

It took a moment for his words to register, and then she turned around in surprise. "Brennan, what are you doing?" She took a step towards him.

"Come over here, Shal."

"Why?"

He took a step closer, voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Shalimar, think about it. We're called here for a meet only to find your long, lost—whatever." Brennan gestured angrily at the silent man who stood watching. "It's too convenient, we're being set up."

"No—"

"You just said yourself that you saw him die."

She bit her lip, turning anguished eyes back on the other man. "Alex?" Her eyes latched onto his face, taking in each feature. His dark, messy hair, his deep eyes, so soft and yet so dark. Everything was just as she remembered, and the feelings of warm and comfort she always felt with him came rushing back. "Is it you?"

"Yeah." Alex said softly, lips curving into a smile that brought an ache to her heart. He again clasped her hands in his, pressing a kiss against her shaking palm. "Hi." His eyes were infinitely tender.

"I said, let—her—go." Brennan strode forward, voice demanding, lips pressed into a flat, determined line. His hand dropped onto Shalimar's shoulder.

Alex's eyes flickered from Brennan's hand and then back to Shalimar's face.

"No."

Brennan surged forward, but Shalimar was faster, stopping him with a firm hand on his chest. He silently acquiesced, but didn't step back. Shalimar could feel the warmth of his body against her back, and it felt strangely comforting as she turned her eyes back to Alex's face. "How?" The word came out a whisper.

"I can explain everything, Shalimar, but not right now." He made to touch her again, but Brennan's growl gave him pause. He smiled slightly in acknowledgement.

"Are you really here?" Shalimar was too distracted to notice the tension. "You're alive?"

"I am."

"And you're looking for Adam?"

His eyes darkened even more. "Yes."

Brennan opened his mouth to retort, but his words were never heard.

One minute they were standing, the next they were knocked flat to the ground.

Brick and mortar crumbled around them, dust instantly billowing up in dangerous clouds. Brennan immediately started coughing, choking on the chalky dust as he pushed himself off the ground and up onto his hands and knees. Through the sudden chaos, he saw a new figure standing, arms braced against the crumbling wall. He felt a shiver pass through him as the man suddenly turned his head and met his eyes. Soulless. The word echoed through his mind even as he heard Shalimar suck in a deep breath from where she had landed on the ground beside him, and he caught a brief glimpse of her flinging herself up and over his body. Her foot caught him squarely in the back of the shoulder, and he was simultaneously pushed forward even as she used his back for a launching pad. Reflexively, he fell into a forward roll, landing on his knees, groaning as chunks of falling brick struck his shoulders. He grunted in pain even as he whipped around, searching through the blinding dust, panicked. He couldn't see her.

"Shalimar!"

There was the sound of more scuffling and then he heard a familiar growl. He leapt forward at the sound, almost crashing into another bulk that he immediately recognized as Alex. They glanced in annoyance at each other, hands quickly swirling as they gathered energy, and lightening and fire danced side by side as they surged forward.

They staggered to a stop a few steps later.

The man lay sprawled on his back, the palm of Shalimar's hand pressed into his throat with fury. There was dead silence as they all stared at each other, and then the man curiously smiled again.

"Shalimar?" Brennan called to her again, eyes roving for any more surprises.

"He's a geological," She answered him calmly, eyes never leaving the man on the floor. "He was bringing the building down around us." She slammed his head against the ground, ignoring the eerie grin. "Why?"

The man didn't answer, but blinked slowly, lazily.

The sound of Alex clearing his throat was loud in the darkness. "Shalimar, you need to get back, very slowly."

"I've got him." She pressed her hand down more firmly for good measure.

"Shalimar, please." She paused at the desperate twinge to his voice, but did not move, light brown eyes appraising the man beneath her.

"You shouldn't do that." The man finally spoke, his voice as lifeless as his eyes. Before anyone could react, Shalimar was sprawled on her back, under a precariously balanced section of roof. The man's hands were on the ground as he stared at her, eyes unreadable as a pale red glow began to spread down his arms.

Brennan cursed, running forward. Through the pounding of his own pulse, he heard again the roar of falling brick as the earth ferociously shook. "No!" He struck out, lightening crackling, but it was too late. The man was gone.

He swore again, stumbling over fallen debris as he staggered in the direction he had seen Shalimar fall. "Shalimar! Shalimar, talk to me!"

"I've got her."

Alex's deep voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

Shalimar still lay on her back where she had fallen, face slightly pale as she stared straight up. Alex was stretched above her, face inches from hers, dark eyes staring back at her. He was massed, or at least part of him was, Brennan dimly noticed, his body bearing the brunt of the collapsed ceiling above them.

He had saved her.

"I've got her." Alex softly repeated his words, still staring at Shalimar. Neither of them looked at him, and Brennan's stomach soured as fading adrenaline mixed with fear and relief. He rested his hands on his knees, taking a deep breath, glancing up at the other man in near frustration. "You're a molecular too?" He was being irrational, he knew it. The man just had saved Shalimar's life, but he couldn't quite keep the irritation out of his voice. He shifted his feet uneasily, ignoring the frown Shalimar shot at him as she crawled out from under the man. Alex took a deep breath, brick flying as he heaved upward and landed on his feet.

"So," Brennan stared at the destruction around them. "What the hell was that anyway?"

"That," Alex retorted dryly, calmly brushing the dust off his shirt, "Is part of what is after me."

He hated him. In the time that it took them to travel back to Sanctuary, Brennan had already firmly formed an opinion about Alex. The feeling only deepened as he strode down the hallway behind him, glowering as the man's fingers brushed against the small of Shalimar's back, and she threw him a quick smile. Brennan's fists clutched at his side. Oh yeah, he hated him. He refused to think why.

Around the corner, Emma looked up in startled surprise. "Oh my."

Jesse and Adam glanced at her in confusion, but were distracted when Brennan and Shalimar turned the corner, bringing with them a stranger. Adam rose smoothly to his feet, holding out his hand.

"You must be Alex."

"Dr Kane?" Alex countered, accepting the handshake after a moment.

"Adam, please." Adam gestured to them all to sit down. "I have to admit I was rather intrigued by your message."

Emma watched as Shalimar perched on a chair next to the handsome mutant. Brennan stood protectively behind her, hands resting on the back of her chair. She swung an intrigued gaze between the three.

"Message?" Jesse prompted after a moment when Alex stayed silent.

"I recently escaped…capture," Alex finally sighed, leaning to the side to dig in his pants pocket. "The man who helped me died, but asked me to bring this to Adam Kane." He held up a small disk.

Adam accepted the disk, watching the young mutant's face. "Capture?"

"You were podded at Genomex," Emma finally whispered, eyes falling shut at the tortured emotion she felt from him.

Alex shuddered slightly, eyes hooded as his head jerked in a brief nod.

Shalimar sucked in a breath, rising and kneeling before Alex, resting her hands over his. "You didn't tell me."

Brennan dropped his eyes with a twinge of guilt, struggling to understand his feelings. His fingers tightened, turning white as Alex reached out with one hand and tenderly cupped Shalimar's face.

"You two know each other?" Adam voiced his surprise as he intently watched the exchange.

"Yes, very well." Alex didn't take his eyes off Shalimar. "We were inseparable at one time."

Shalimar smiled sadly at him. "Until the day I saw him killed. I couldn't get there fast enough to save him, to stop him from being taken from me." Her voice wavered, and she paused, clearing her throat, looking up at Adam. "It was right before you found me, brought me here."

Adam nodded thoughtfully, remembering the painful and distraught conditions he had found Shalimar. He crossed over to the computer as their voices continued to murmur in conversation.

"I thought you had died, otherwise I would have looked for you."

"Hey, it's ok."

"You spent all these years…in a pod?" She paused. "How—?"

"How did I stay sane? I don't know exactly. I had a friend, a doctor, the man who helped me escape…"

Adam half listened as he opened the disk, quickly scanning the files. There were hundreds of them, several broken and disjointed. It would take him a while to go through them all. He skimmed down the list, freezing as a familiar name jumped out at him.

"Dr Evan Shaw?" Adam read the name, glancing sharply up at Alex.

"Yes, but how—"

"Everyone pack your bags, we're going on a trip." Adam cut the younger man off, paling as his eyes kept reading the screen.

"Adam?" Emma crossed over to him in concern, confused by the feelings rolling off him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Adam shook his head, eyes still locked on the monitor. "Just an unexpected part of the past."

Emma watched him a moment more before turning away.

"Adam?" Brennan spoke up, "You want to tell us where we're going?"

"Wherever it is, I'm coming." Alex stood to his feet.

"I think we've got it covered." Brennan frowned darkly, facing him.

"No, Alex is right, I think he should come along for this one." Adam interjected, barely looking up. "We could use his help. We leave in one hour."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Adam." Brennan didn't want to back down. "He's being followed; he already almost got Shalimar killed."

"I saved her." Alex ground out, teeth clenching at Brennan's words.

Brennan's eyes sparked in anger. "She shouldn't have needed saving in the first place."

"Brennan, stop it." Shalimar whipped around, eyes narrowing at him pointedly.

"Fine." Brennan bit out, not moving from his position near Shalimar, his penetrating gaze meeting Alex's. The other man never wavered, and for several tense seconds, they stared at each other. Shalimar watched Brennan, brows creased.

Jesse and Emma exchanged glances at the obvious tension. Jesse shook his head after a moment, leaving the room, Emma trailing after him.

"Shalimar," Adam gestured the feral over to him. She glanced one more time between Brennan and Alex before silently crossing the room toward Adam.

The two men were left alone.

Brennan shuffled his feet, not knowing what to say, struggling to control the warring feelings within.

"How long have you two known each other?" Alex's quiet inquiry brought his head up.

"Over two years." Brennan squared his shoulders, chin lifting in slight challenge.

The other man's brow rose. "I knew her for three."

The air was heavy between them.

"Knew," Brennan flatly stressed, arms crossing tightly across his broad chest.

Alex's mouth quirked, and his head dipped in reply.

"Brennan, you better go pack." Adam's voice broke them apart.

"Fine." Brennan stared at Alex a moment more before striding toward the bedrooms, brushing past Jesse and Emma as they came back in with backpacks. Shalimar was already gone, running a quick errand for Adam.

In the quiet bustle of Sanctuary, no one noticed Adam as he flinched; face pale, eyes darting between the disappearing Brennan and Alex with an inscrutable expression.

Shalimar found Brennan in his shower. There was a startled exclamation from within as she kicked his bathroom door open without hesitation.

"Brennan!"

There was silence, then the sound of water turning off. Brennan stepped around the corner a moment later, towel wrapped around his waist. He slicked his hair back to get the water out of his eyes and looked at her in questioning amusement. "This couldn't wait?"

"No."

His smile dropped at her angry retort. "Ok, Shal, what is it?"

"You want to tell me what the hell that was?" Her arms gestured wildly, jabbing the air behind her.

"What?" Brennan petulantly brushed past her, into his bedroom. He knew exactly what she was talking about; he just didn't want to discuss it.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Brennan flinched as she echoed his thoughts, pacing back and forth in his small room, her pointed heels drumming an angry rhythm. He watched her pace around, finally shrugging and crossing over to his dresser, yanking open a drawer. "I don't feel like doing this right now, Shal."

"Too bad." She swung towards him, eyes sparking a challenge, daring him. "I'm not leaving until we do."

Brennan took the dare.

"Your choice." He shrugged again, dropping the towel.

Shalimar gasped, spinning around. "Brennan!" Her voice quivered with shock and indignation.

He opened his mouth, then clamped it shut again, swallowing back a sarcastic remark. He sighed, reaching for his clean clothes.

Shalimar impatiently tapped her fingers against her leg, listening to the rustle of material sliding against flesh. She flushed, feeling suddenly warm. She waited a moment more, then turned around again. "We need to talk, Brennan."

He glanced at her as he yanked up the zipper on his jeans, propping his hands on his lean hips. "Ok, fine. Tell me about Alex."

"What about him?" She looked defensive, and his irritation flared. She saw it immediately. "Why do you hate him so much?"

He gritted his teeth. "You know why." He set his jaw mutinously, refusing to say it aloud.

Shalimar glared back. "Tell me."

He stepped forward, leaning down, invading her space. "I don't trust him, not with you."

Their eyes met and held for long moments. Something flared between them, and then he jerked upright, looking away. She froze, caught between anger and sudden unease.

"Who was he to you, Shalimar?" Brennan finally spoke, voice quiet and tired.

She sucked in air between her teeth. "Someone I could trust."

Unlike me. Unwittingly, the thought rose bitterly to his tongue, and he swung around at her words, pain slashing across his features, but she was already gone.

His door swung heavy between them.