I hope everyone had a really happy Christmas. I just got back from seeing my mothers side of the family and will be doing my fathers side tomorrow so am updating now for everybody who wants to read over the holidays. Have a great new year and I will try and update as soon as possible. Thanks for the reviews (Viviana, I love that you love the Shal/Brennan thing. As a huge fan of that couple its good to hear that I'm doing something right) and Love Conquers, I promise I will write something soon. And thanks for the picture of Petey…adorable.

Lexa walked into the clothes store. She made her way through the racks of clothing, occasionally stopping to study a particular item. She fingered a camisole top. It wasn't really her style but protocol determined that she had to look at something. It was important so that none of them would be prematurely caught. The morning had already been too difficult without having to help the CIA move its New York headquarters. She looked to one side. Shalimar was absent mindedly holding a hanger with a pair of jeans hanging from them. She had tried her best to remove the smears of dirt from her face but she hadn't managed to do a very good job. Now her face was a mixture of shadows, smudges and red blotches from where she had scrubbed at it with her hand. From where Lexa stood she looked like she was completely out of it but Lexa knew Shaliamr better than that. The feral was as alert as ever. She was listening to the positions of her teammates, making sure that she knew where they were at all times.

Lexa moved her head to the other side and saw Brennan and Jesse, both of them tired and drained of all colour. They had parked the stolen car around the corner from the store, down an alley behind some huge bins. They had then proceeded to split up and enter the shop separately. Lexa caught Jesse's eye and signalled that he wait a few moments while she and Shalimar made their way towards the fitting rooms. She began walking forwards and, making sure that Shaliamr had picked up on the movement began walking faster. She didn't really have time for procedures and regulations and she felt like all they were doing was wasting time, time that would have been better spent searching for Taylor.

She walked through the cloud of perfume which surrounded the make up counters in the centre of the store. She wrinkled her nose as she continued moving. There were so many things that seemed so trivial. Shopping was something she used to take pleasure in. It was an activity that used to, atleast for a short while make her feel happy, as shallow as that might have sounded. But then things had become serious and she had learnt to care a little less about the frivolous aspects of life and had started to take pleasure in the more important things, like still being alive at the end of the day or getting to curl up in bed with a good book, a glass of wine and Jesse's shoulder for her head to rest against.

She walked into the fitting area, some of the curtained cubicles containing squealing girls as they found the perfect dress for a first date, or middle aged women finding an outfit that made them look a little younger than their years. She made her way towards a cubicle at the end of the row and pulled back the curtain. It was off limits to regular customers but she wasn't a regular customer and she leaned against the flimsy wall as she waited for Shalimar to appear in front of her.

Eventually she heard purposeful footsteps and the blonde was standing in front of her. She looked a little bemused and raised her eyebrows at Lexa.

'Now what?' she asked.

'Now we make like Alice and go through the looking glass,' Lexa replied as she pressed her hand against the wall next to the mirror. A faint green light shone and a click sounded, perceptible only to Shalimar. The mirror silently slid across and a long white corridor appeared, a door at the opposite end of it.

Shalimar attempted to appear unimpressed by sudden developments and it wasn't too difficult. She had seen enough in her life to accept a lot of things that seemed impossible but she had to admit, the CIA had done a pretty good job with the whole secret thing. She walked through first, the white slightly blinding as it hit her eyes full on. She heard Lexa follow her and the mirror slide back into place. There was nothing in the room except four cameras, one in each top corner of the hallway. After a pause of a few seconds a door clicked open at the other end of the hallway and Lexa walked past Shalimar and through it. Shalimar followed, the white room a little intimidating as rooms went.

The noise and bustle of the room beyond suprised her. She hadn't been expecting such a busy operation. It was weird that, given the fact she had worked in a secret team with secret abilities for years that she hadn't comprehended that there might be other secret teams who were equally invisible.

She turned around as she saw Jesse and Brennan walk in behind her, the door closing silently behind them. Her eyes met Brennan's gaze head on and the corners of their mouths rose slightly as they acknowledged the bizarre situation they had entered into. They both watched as Lexa and Jesse greeted people and handed out orders, commands coming their way just as often. Everyone seemed to have some kind of purpose and Brennan and Shalimar felt a little superfluous, like they couldn't do anything.

After a few minutes Brennan took Shalimar's hand and guided her towards the quietest corner of the room, the one which didn't contain a computer or a phone or an agent. She leant against the wall sideways, her face turned up towards his. After everything that had happened she couldn't afford to not confront him. Everything that was going on was so difficult to comprehend and if she needed the support of anyone at anytime this was it. It would have been the perfect moment to tell Brennan about Taylor but she was still too nervous for that revelation.

His fingers entwined with hers as he moved closer to her, blocking her from the rest of the room. Noise faded away, they were the only two people in the room, in the world at that moment in time.

'I think we got interrupted,' he said huskily, trying not to sound too much like he was seducing her.

She smiled in reply, her eyes crinkling in amusement at his attempt at a come on. 'I think we did,' she replied, her hand reaching out to his chest, her fingers drawing patterns on his top, muscles tensing beneath the material.

He lowered his head slowly until it was centimetres away from her face. She closed her eyes and lifted her head, decreasing the distance between them even further. She felt his lips touch hers, gently, lightly and then draw away as quickly. A shiver travelled up her spine and then moved back down again as she reached her hand to touch his cheek. Encouraged by her willingness to connect with him he leant his head again, this time capturing her lips in a kiss which made their hearts jump into their throats. Their breathing increased in pace as they pulled each other closer, the warmth comforting them on so many levels.

'Guys.'

They pulled apart abruptly, both of them smiling wryly at another interruption. Brennan turned and they both came face to face with Lexa. Jesse was standing a few feet behind her, his face showing how happy he was with the newest turn of events. Lexa however was all business and guilt hit Shaliamr with the force of an eighteen wheeler truck. She had completely forgotten about Taylor in everything that had happened. Her own daughter was missing, kidnapped by Dominion operatives and she was making out with the father who didn't, as yet know he was the father. Her life couldn't have been anymore like a soap opera if she was a post op transvestite who was sleeping with her cousin whilst plotting to blow up her entire brother for his oil fortune. She walked forward, eager to hear any information Lexa had with regards to the whereabouts of Taylor, but reluctant to hear anything in case it was bad news.

'We have a location. Its an apartment building in Woburn, just outside of Boston.'

'They took Taylor to Boston,' Brennan replied unbelievingly.

'The Dominion knows about our connection to the CIA. They also know that the city will be crawling with agents looking for Taylor so they took her out of town.'

'So, when are we going to get her?' Shalimar asked, her impatience becoming more obvious.

'Shalimar, we're not even sure that this is the right place. It could be a trap-'

'Well then we walk in with our eyes open. I'm not leaving Taylor with the Dominion longer than I have to,' Shalimar said, her voice rising as panic set in.

'Shal,' Brennan said, quietly as he took her hand in his own, squeezing it in reassurement.

She looked up into his eyes. They were a calming influence. 'So what do we do?' she said.

'The Dominion will make demands. We're not sure when but until they do we can't make a move, not without risking Taylor's life.'

Shalimar leant her forearms against the window sill in front of her. She had needed some air, all the movement inside the CIA headquarters was a little overwhelming and when asked where she could go she was led to a window on the first floor. They were unwilling to let her out of their sight let alone out of the building. She pulled the packet of cigarettes out of her jacket pocket and stuck one in her mouth. She heard the scratching noise and the rush of gas as she lit the lighter. The flame danced in the vague breeze which made its way through the opening. The weather had changed, as it tended to do in New York. The sun was still shining brightly in the sky but there was a chill in the air and Shaliamr could feel goosebumps popping up on her skin. She breathed in the smoke filling her lungs. She hated that she smoked, it wasn't something she had planned to do but what with her intense temper she figured in times of difficulty she needed something to do with her hands. If she didn't have a distraction she would probably have been banged up in jail a long time ago on assault charges, especially working in the bar she did.

She felt him come up behind her, his presence making her legs turn to jelly. He had always been able to do that and it had been all she could do to stop herself from falling over everytime he looked at her with that smouldering gaze that he had mastered over the years.

'Hey,' she said, letting threads of smoke rise from her mouth.

'Its a nasty habit.'

She raised her eyebrows and smirked. 'I didn't think I was going to get a lecture.'

'You're not, I'm just pointing out what you already know,' he replied, leaning against the window sill next to her.

She stared at the smoking stick in her hand and smiled wryly. She didn't need something to do with her hands to stop her from getting angry anymore, she needed to get angry, she needed someone to punch. She checked the street below for people and, when she saw none threw the cigarette onto the ground. It bounced, leaving a trail of sparks before dying.

'That's my girl,' Brennan said, wrapping one arm around Shalimar's shoulders. She leaned into him, feeling the strength of his body against hers. She knew the banter between them would have to stop eventually but she wasn't ready for that to happen. She didn't want to have a serious conversation with him, not at that moment, especially not given what she had done and what she was going to do.

'You're going after her, aren't you?' he asked, his voice echoing in the silence.

She moved away from him and looked straight into his eyes. How did he always know what she was thinking?

Her silence gave him the assent he needed.

'You know the CIA are doing their best, Lexa and Jesse are doing their best.'

'I can't stay here and wait for the Dominion to make their demands, you've worked with me long enough to know that I'm not a patient person. I have to do something Brennan, so please, don't try and stop me.'

He nodded slowly, mulling things over in his head.

'We should probably go then,' he said.

'What?'

'If we're going to get to Boston anytime soon we should probably leave now.'

As he said it he held up a piece of paper with an address written on it. In his other hand were the keys to the car and he jingled them, waiting for her response. He wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing but he couldn't sit around either and he knew that if he didn't go with her, she would go alone.