Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: I'm now finishing up chapter eight, so am just a few chapters ahead of what I'm posting! The one nice thing about writing the story as I post is that I can try to fit in any requests. I wasn't planning on doing a side story with J/E, but I got several requests, so have added a small part with them as well. So please let me know if you have any other requests that you'd like to see. I can't guarantee I'll fit it in as I still have to follow my outline, but I will see what I can do :) Thank you SithelfJen, ebony, Mayra, Kerry, hi again, FireFeral, goldilocks, MariShal. Thank you! Rain, I try. :) Hope this makes it even better! Thank you! CatJerica, I had the same problem with my bookmark as well. :) You're the first to comment on the point of view, thank you for noticing! Thank you everyone for all your encouragement! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Traveling Souls—Chapter Five

Brennan awoke to a chirping bird outside his tent. The morning was a brilliant white light, and a cool mountain breeze swept through the canvas flaps. But he was warm snuggled in bed, body curved around human warmth. Where am I? His sleep-muddled brain fought to remember, recalling after a brief moment he was in a tent with Jesse. Jesse! Brennan's eyes flew open, about to shove the warm body aside, when soft curves next registered in his brain. He was tired, but awake enough to know it definitely wasn't Jesse's bony butt he was hugging. Tired eyes focused on the figure next to him, and he couldn't help but smile. Most definitely not Jesse. He relaxed again, still half-asleep, enjoying the feeling of holding Shalimar. If this is a dream, don't wake me up. His cheek, he slowly came to realize, was pressed against the flat of her stomach; her shirt had ridden up during the night. His head gently rose and fell as she breathed. His right arm was snaked over her thigh and rear, and her left knee was bent, fitting snugly under his arm. Previous anger forgotten, he stared in fascination at the sight of her bared stomach, her skin unbelievably soft beneath his cheek. He blinked and found a new source of wonderment, fingers rising and softly circling around her belly button.

Shalimar woke with a start. Something was definitely out of place. She blinked, and instantly knew what it was. Oh god. Her stomach clenched involuntarily, and she found her voice.

"Brennan! What the hell are you doing in my bed?"

His dark head froze, then slowly turned towards hers. Her eyes widened at the lazy smile sprawled across his face.

He contemplated for her for a moment. "This is my bed, Shal."

Her head shot up, eyes searching the tent, seeing Brennan's backpack and Jesse's wet socks. Large boots were propped against the canvas door. Her bag was nowhere to be seen. "Oh." This was bad. She swallowed hard, searching for words. "How-how did I?"

"I don't know." Brennan's tone was much too cheery for her liking. "I woke up and found us this way."

"Oh."

Neither of them moved for a long moment.

Shalimar couldn't remember. Everything seemed so far away. Well, except Brennan. She hissed as he shifted his cheek, stubble brushing against her sensitive skin. "Uhh—" She fought to focus. "Adam!"

"You're thinking about Adam right now?" Brennan's eyebrows rose in tender amusement.

"No!" She gasped slightly as his breath puffed against her stomach, distractedly trying to remember. Adam's drug. Her foot. She rolled her eyes as it all came back. Oh yeah. "Uh, Adam probably wants to get moving soon. We should, ah, should get up now."

"Ok."

Stilll, neither of them moved.

Finally, Brennan's head turned back towards hers. "Shal, I—"

"Rise and shine, Brennan! You overslept—"

Shalimar gasped as the canvas doors whipped back, and Alex's shocked face met hers.

"Oh, ah sorry." He stammered, words falling over themselves. "I ah, I didn't—didn't know."

Brennan's arms tightened slightly, stilling Shalimar as she tensed and started to move. His eyes calmly stared back into Alex's dark, unreadable ones. "You were looking for me?"

"Yeah." Alex's mouth tightened. "I was just coming to wake you up."

"We're awake." Brennan smiled slightly, cutting Shalimar off as she opened her mouth to speak, fingers stroking her stomach possessively.

Alex backed out without another word.

"Brennan!" Shalimar pushed him off her. "What the hell was that about? What'll he think?"

"Who cares what he thinks." Shrugging, Brennan yawned.

Shalimar stared at him in disbelief, her disheveled hair falling into her eyes as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "You're jealous."

"So what if I am." Brennan whispered, combing her hair back behind her ears for her.

She froze as his hands continued from her ears down to her neck and shoulders. She wasn't ready for this conversation. "But Alex—"

"Alex." Brennan abruptly dropped his hands. "I'm sick of hearing his name."

Irritation flared. "What's the matter, Brennan? Can't handle a little competition? You seem to have no problem flaunting your ex's in my face."

Brennan's eyes narrowed. "I'll ask you again, who is he to you, Shalimar?"

"None of your business!" She snatched up one of her shoes, yanking it on.

"Do you love him?" Brennan wouldn't give up.

She yanked on her other shoe, hissing at the sudden pain. She had forgotten about her wound. She closed her eyes, head down, breathing through the shooting pain.

"Do you love him?" Brennan grasped her arms.

"Yes." She opened her eyes, daring him to ask anything more, heart flinching at the sudden pain in his eyes. She lifted her chin anyway.

He released her, looking away. "Then go to him."

She hesitated. "I have to explain to him what he saw."

Brennan's head lifted, looking her straight in the eyes, expression hard. "And what did he see?"

She stared back, breathing deeply, searching his face, but finding no answers. Her jaw clenched. "Nothing."

She was gone before he could reply.

The makeshift camp was almost packed back up by the time Brennan emerged from his tent. He nodded moodily to Emma as she came up next to him, handing him a cup of coffee. Despite himself, he smiled appreciatively as the smell wafted into his nostrils, and he took a deep drink.

"Ow, hot," He quickly spit the brew back out at Emma's feet.

Emma grimaced, rolling her eyes. "You're supposed to sip it, not inhale it."

"Sorry." Brennan mumbled around his burnt tongue.

"It's ok." Emma smiled, touching his arm gently. "Everything alright, Brennan?"

"Yeah, just wonderful." Brennan sarcastically muttered, taking another swig of the bitter drink. He cautiously rolled the hot liquid around his mouth for a moment before swallowing, glancing down at Emma with a sigh. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just not having a good morning."

"You need to tell her how you feel, Brennan."

"What?" His mug stopped halfway to his mouth.

She smiled slightly, bumping him with her shoulder. "Just tell her."

He frowned as she pointedly raised her eyebrows. "We're not on the best of speaking terms right now, Emma." He gestured angrily as Shalimar stood next to Alex across the small clearing. "Besides she's too busy with—with him at the moment."

"That's not true, and you know it."

"Yeah?" Brennan angrily shook his head. "I couldn't even get her to leave his side long enough to collect firewood last night, and first thing this morning, there she is, right next to him yet again."

"She hurt her foot, Brennan."

"What?" Emma's soft voice interrupted his tirade.

"She wouldn't collect firewood with you last night because she couldn't. She cut her foot bad on a rock, saving me." Emma turned to look over at the feral. "It was already infected by the time she let Adam take care of it. He had to give her some pretty strong medicine last night."

"She didn't tell me." About a lot of things.

"Come on, Brennan." Emma turned back to look at him. "You know Shalimar better than any of us. She's the most proud and independent person I've ever met." She laid a hand on his arm. "You can't force her to open up to you; you have to earn her trust."

Brennan swallowed convulsively at the gentle reprimand, cursing his own stupidity. Emma was right; he should have known that better than anyone. "Thanks, Em." He nodded to her, eyes already searching out Shalimar. She was sitting by herself, leaning against a tree, eyes closed. Alex was nowhere in sight. An odd pang went through him as he saw her shoulders slump slightly in weariness. He made his way toward her, glancing down at her outstretched feet. He grunted when he saw a red smudge staining one socked foot. Blood. He covered the remaining distance with two long strides, stopping short when she looked wearily up at him. He was beginning to read the language of her eyes, and with a pang, he recognized this one. Pain. He knelt down in front of her, trying to understand.

"Let me see your foot." He spoke softly.

She looked away at his words. "It's fine."

"Shal, please—"

"No."

He bit back an impatient reply, astonished she could send his emotions flying from one direction to the next so quickly. He took a deep breath. "Please, Shal, trust me enough to let me help you."

Startled, she glanced up at his words, finally nodding.

He bent his dark head over her foot, gently grasping her ankle and placing her leg across his lap. Her foot curled in slightly as he began to unwrap it. "Oh Shal." He winced at the angry red cut slashing across the bottom of her foot.

She frowned, drawing her leg back. "Adam already looked at it, I'm fine."

He narrowed his eyes, praying for patience. "Fine. But I'm still going to help you as well." He stood to his feet, trotting over to Adam's bag, grabbing it without asking, ignoring the curious glances of the others as they continued to pack up their supplies. He knelt back down beside Shalimar, holding fresh bandages. She was silent as he gently swabbed the wound with disinfectant, stoically watching him work.

Shalimar was right, Adam had made sure it was free of infection, but Brennan knew it still had to be extremely painful. He examined her foot, distractedly noticing how small and vulnerable it looked. Some naked emotion was etched on her face, and Brennan wondered if she knew it was there. He finished dressing the wound, closing his fingers around her toes and squeezing gently. "All done."

"Thanks." She drew her foot out of his lap, wincing slightly as she pulled her sock back on.

"So, where is he?" Brennan tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"Who?" She didn't look up as she loosely tied her shoe.

"Alex."

Now she did look back up at him, gauging his reaction. "He's scouting around, looking for any signs of the mutant who's after us."

"Did you tell him?"

Her fingers slowed, shoelaces dangling. "Yes."

He snorted bitterly. So now Alex knew there was nothing between them. His temper flared, eyes hard. "Wouldn't want there to be any misunderstandings about us."

"That's not fair, Brennan." She stood up, yanking her arm away when he reached for her. "You don't understand anything."

"How can I?" He spread his arms, yelling after her as she limped away. "When you never tell me anything!"

Her back stiffened, and she stopped, turning back around to face him after a moment. "It goes both ways, Brennan."

They stared at each other until she finally turned back around.

Brennan swore under his breath, hitting his fist against a tree, yelping at the pain. He curled his good hand around his bruised knuckles, blinking rapidly as he stomped through the trees.

"Where are you going?" Jesse turned around as Brennan brushed past him, shaking his head as the elemental didn't answer. He frowned, making eye contact with Emma across the camp.

"I'll go get him." Emma threw her hands into the air, disappearing into the trees.

Adam found Shalimar angrily kicking at a tree stump. "Trying to ruin your other foot as well?"

She whirled around at his words, the fight leaving her and shoulders slumping when she saw his kind eyes. "I'm confused, Adam."

"About Alex?" He raised his brows.

"Alex? No." She huffed wryly, shaking her head. "He's the one still acting normal around here."

"Brennan is confused as well, Shalimar."

She closed her eyes, hiding the moisture welling in them, nodding.

"And it's starting to affect the team."

She dropped her head, turning around at his words. Adam smiled knowingly, taking a step forward and resting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do, Shalimar, I'm just asking that you consider all the possibilities. We can't afford—distractions—when we depend on each other to be there. Lives depend on our being focused."

"What are you saying, Adam?" Shalimar sniffed, turning to face him.

He gave her shoulders a final squeeze. "I'm saying, just be careful, and be sure before you make any decisions about anything…or anyone."

She stared at Adam's back as he walked away, eyes wearily falling shut.

They popped back open at the sound of a scream.

"Emma!" She took off at a dead run, briefly noticing the others staring at her in surprise, her feral hearing allowing her to know what the others didn't. "Emma's in trouble!"

The rest of the team dropped what they were doing, taking after her.

"Where is she?" Jesse yelled after Shalimar, stumbling to run up the steepness of the terrain.

"I can't hear her anymore!" Shalimar stopped in her tracks, pausing to listen, panting for breath in the thin air.

"Spread out!" Brennan and Alex both yelled at once, glancing briefly at each other in surprise.

"Adam, Jesse, go that way," Alex pointed to his left. "I'll circle around behind you from the right." He turned and pointed at Brennan. "And you go—"

"Straight ahead, I know." Brennan finished his sentence. "Already on it."

"She's here somewhere," Shalimar's eyes were closed. "I can feel her, in my head. She's scared." She lifted her head, about to run again, but Alex grasped her arm.

"No, Shalimar, stay here."

"What?" She stared at him in disbelief.

"You're hurt." He gestured to her foot.

"Emma might be as well." She yanked her arm free.

"So let me find her." Alex shook his head, trotting backwards for a few yards before turning around. "Just stay here! Watch her, Brennan!"

Shalimar's eyes flashed in anger, realizing after a moment that Brennan was still standing beside her. "What?" She turned toward him defiantly. "You going to try to tell me to stay here too?"

"No."

Brennan's quiet answer cut her off. She stared up at him in surprise.

He reached out, fingering a strand of hair. "I know you better than that." He smiled at her gaping expression. "Be careful." He took off, glancing back at her once before disappearing through the trees.

She stared after him, fingers playing with the same strand he had just touched, rousing and chiding herself a few beats later, spinning around and running.

"Emma!"

She could hear the others calling in the distance. She could feel her, so strongly, almost as if she could reach out and physically touch her. Even with senses fully opened, she almost missed it. A stirring of air, an earthy scent, and she was knocked backwards, slammed into a tree. She grunted wincing as bark dug sharply into her back, already feeling the bruises forming. She gasped, struggling back to her feet, dropping into a defensive crouch.

"Show yourself," She growled, eyes scanning the surrounding forest; seeing nothing. She took a small step forward. "Emma?"

Still nothing.

She glanced over her shoulder and then back in front. Someone was here, she could feel him, could smell a strange scent mingling with Emma's. She narrowed her eyes, placing it almost immediately.

"What did you do to her?"

The wind stirred, and she desperately scanned around her, head turning, fighting the confusion and fear as still she saw nothing. Wind blew stronger, whipping her hair in tangled chaos around her face. Frustrated, she growled, spitting out stray strands, impatiently pushing her hair out of her eyes.

And then she froze.

Straight in front of her, tall bushes swayed at the base of a large tree. Leafy green reeds bent and parted, but their color stayed where there should have been the brown of bark. She blinked, and like an invisible wall, the mottled green shifted, and the tree trunk magically appeared. She started, pressing her back against the tree behind her.

Blue eyes had suddenly appeared in the middle of the reeds.

It was the mutant.

He had assumed the color of the bush, blending almost perfectly into the earth, like a chameleon of sorts.

Her eyes flashed golden, picking up his heat signature just as he flew at her, slamming her head back against the tree. Black spots danced in her vision, and then her body crumbled into the dirt.

Brennan came upon her moments before Alex did.

"Shalimar!" He slid to his knees, cradling her head into his lap. "Shalimar!" To his immense relief, she groaned, eyes fluttering, and he hugged her to him.

"Let me see her."

Alex's quiet voice startled him. He didn't look up, arms tightening protectively around her. "I've got her."

"You were supposed to be watching her!"

Brennan's eyes flared, glittering with cold anger as he glanced up. "I'm taking care of it."

"Fine job you've done so far."

Furious, Brennan started forward.

"Stop it!"

He paused as a mewing whimper escaped Shalimar's lips. He immediately turned his face back to hers, eyes softening. "Shal?" He brushed her hair off her temple, pressing his lips against a cut above her brow.

"I'm ok." She groaned, struggling to sit up.

Brennan braced her back against his chest, glaring at Alex as he kneeled down in front of them.

"Emma?"

Alex shook his head wordlessly.

Shalimar closed her eyes. "It was him; he's here, still following us."

They both immediately understood who she meant.

"If anything happens to Emma, it's your fault." Brennan's eyes bore into Alex's, not noticing as Shalimar struggled in agitation.

"My fault?" Alex shook his head in disbelief. "It's a good thing I'm here; anyone you care for seems to wind up hurt!"

"Stop it!" Shalimar leapt to her feet, chest heaving as she squared off in front of both of them. "We don't have time for this. Emma is missing, and I don't need either of you to protect me." She jerked free of their grasp. "I'm going to find her." She stalked off, frame lilting jerkily as she fought against limping, reaching out to Jesse and Adam as they melted out of the woods towards her. She met them halfway, dragging them back into the thick forest once more, trees quickly enveloping them.

Brennan and Alex were left alone, glaring at each other.

An eerie laugh sounded behind them. "Keep that up, and you'll both drive her away."

They whirled around, but could see nothing but light and shadow darting amongst the muted greens and browns.

"What do you want?" Electricity flared on Brennan's fingers even as flames danced on Alex's.

The laugh sounded again, further away. "I want the research of course."

Brush stirred, and Brennan spun, lightening surging forth, singeing a swaying branch.

"I think it's dead." Faint laughter cackled as the blackened branch fell to the ground. A wisp of gray smoke curled up from one end.

Alex snorted beside him, grunting as Brennan smacked his shoulder. He wiggled his fingers. "Let me try."

"Are you insane?" Brennan grabbed the other man's arm. "You light a fire out here, we all get burned." His eyes swept the barren timber for emphasis.

"That's not what I was going to do," Alex wrenched free of Brennan's grip, and the two glared at each other in stand-off.

"Just let me handle it," Brennan hissed in irritation, forming a new tesla coil.

"Why? You gonna fry another big, bad branch?" Alex crossed his arms, nodding derisively to the smoking branch.

"You're a pain in the ass, you know that." Brennan rolled his eyes, turning back toward the forest. "I've been doing this long before you ever…"

His voice trailed away as they suddenly realized they were once again alone.

Simultaneously, they turned enraged glares upon the other, speaking as one. "It's all your fault!"

The wind mocked them.