Thanks for all the support with this story so far. I still haven't finished the last two chapters; I appear to be suffering from a case of writers block so it could take a while but I will try and update soon.

'Why am I on window cleaning duty?' Shalimar asked indignantly.

'Because you're the only person who can get up that high without dropping right back down again,' Lexa replied.

'This is all just because you don't like me,' Shalimar answered mockingly.

'That too, honey,' Lexa called over her shoulder. Being back in Sanctuary had restored old relationships to their former glory, particularly that between Shalimar and Lexa. They were back to being as bitchy as ever, in the nicest possible way.

Shalimar picked the bucket of water up and climbed the spiral staircase to the upper level. She looked down at the ground below. It had already been swept free of any dust, of which there had been a lot and Jesse was now cleaning it thoroughly. The computers hadn't been put back on line yet but Brennan was taking care of that particular electrical problem. The last time Shalimar had seen him he had been in the process of fixing the lighting and Taylor was helping him. Or at least Brennan was trying to get the job finished and Taylor was chattering nervously, more to herself than anyone else. Shalimar really didn't give a damn where Daveigh was. She had been reluctant to bring the woman back to Sanctuary anyway but apparently there was nowhere else to leave her. Shalimar had suggested that the wonderful crew at the Dominion would be happy to have her but her idea had been rebuffed by everyone but Brennan. They all appeared to have discovered their inner conscience.

She bent her legs and jumped from the ground to the wide window sill. She placed the bucket on the ledge next to her and made sure that she was perfectly balanced. She started cleaning and was blinded by the sudden rush of light into the building for her trouble. She blinked before continuing. The soapy water ran down her arm, slowly soaking through the material of her top and she muttered something under her breath.

'You need some help?'

She jumped at the interruption. She hadn't realised anyone was there and felt her balance drifting away from her. She swayed dangerously on the window sill before steadying herself. Turning she jumped off the edge and landed on the metal gangway. She stood up, prepared to give whoever it was a damn good telling off but rethought her actions as she saw who was standing in front of her.

'As you can see, I'm fine,' she replied, laughing quietly as she thought about what a complete mess she must be.

Her cheeks were flushed, her hair scraped away from her face in a messy bun and her left arm was dripping slightly, the sleeve of her t-shirt damp as the water soaked in. He had never seen her looking quite so gorgeous. Domestic necessities suited her.

'Sorry about that,' he replied, his tone suitably repentant.

'I see you got the lighting fixed,' she said, looking around her at the overheads. She hadn't noticed that the entire room had been illuminated thanks to her temporary loss of eyesight due to the sun.

As the words left her mouth however the lights flickered, once, twice and then cut out all together. The pair were left in the bold light of the sun.

Seconds later they were both enshrouded in darkness and gloom, Shalimar with her back against the wall, trying desperately not to moan at the feel of Brennan's lips against hers. His hands ran across her face and sent shivers throughout her body. Her hands wrapped around his back, pulling him closer, their bodies slamming against each other. Eventually they pulled apart, their lungs urgent need for oxygen being the only thing that stopped them from continuing. She closed her eyes, relishing the feel of his breath against her face and the touch of his hands as they moved across her cheeks. He was staring intently at her, she could tell even without seeing him. She could sense his eyes travelling across her skin, taking in everything as though he were attempting to memorise her every feature.

When she opened her eyes she found herself looking into his. The warm chocolate tones were comforting. She blinked, trying to rid her eyes of the tears that she was ashamed of. She didn't know why she was crying and it seemed beyond stupid to not have a reason.

'Hey,' he said, concern evident. 'What's the matter?'

'I don't know,' she replied, her voice hinting at a whine.

At the sight of Brennan's amused smile she pulled herself together and managed to form a decent enough glare, complete with the glow of feral eyes.

He leaned forward and, wrapping his hand around the back of her head placed a kiss on her forehead. He leant into her, enjoying the warmth that came from her small form.

'We have to talk.'

Her voice was muffled against his chest but he caught the meaning and his heart dropped at the thought that that moment had come. He knew it would, but denial had always been a particular forte of his. He had tried avoiding the entire issue of him and Shalimar but seeing her, illuminated by sunlight he had been unable to control himself. It was like she bought out his wild side to match her own.

'I know,' he replied.

'Where the hell are Brennan and Shalimar?' Lexa asked, unable to hide her frustration. She knew they had both been through a lot in the past few days but the lights were currently out and only one of Sanctuary's many windows was showing any sign of being any cleaner than it had been when they arrived.

'I think they went to do that thing,' Jesse replied cryptically, his face showing signs of his own unease.

'What thing?' Lexa answered.

'You know, that thing they had to do,' Jesse repeated, his point becoming less vague to the brunette by the obvious over pronunciation of every word.

'Oh, that thing,' she said, getting his point and glancing as subtly as she could at Taylor who was sitting a few feet from them.

Taylor looked up, watching the faces of the two other members of Mutant X. She giggled. 'They're talking,' she said.

Lexa smiled and raised her eyebrows. The girl was a lot quicker than Lexa had ever supposed a four year old could be.

Taylor would desperately have loved to have been a fly on the wall in Shalimar's bedroom. She knew what they were talking about, it had something to do with her but she really needed to know the outcome of the talk. She needed to know what was going to happen to her already screwed up family. She needed to know if she was finally going to have a father. There were so many questions floating around in her mind and it was all she could do to stop them from bursting out. Her calm exterior may have been an accomplished act given her age but it was slowly wearing thin.

Jesse's eyes moved away from the girl. She was currently working her way through a sandwich. They had been forced to buy one for her before leaving the site of the fire, she hadn't eaten in days and, as they had discovered when they reached Sanctuary a lot of the things in the fridge were on their way to being living, moving creatures. He stared at Daveigh. She was sitting not far from the group, but far enough to distance herself. She looked sorry for what had happened but Jesse was of the same mind as Shalimar. He didn't trust her, and he didn't trust the Dominion. In his mind the two things were connected and no matter where she claimed her allegiance lay she had left the CIA because of money, she was a mercenary and a suspicious one at that.

She slowly dragged her finger across the wall of the room. It was all so dusty and the pattern of the bedcovers were barely discernible through it all but, like the rest of Sanctuary, nothing had changed. She was relieved that her room hadn't been turned into a gym for the rest of them. She had always imagined that they would be so furious with her for leaving that they would burn all of her stuff or something. She was extremely glad that they hadn't taken such measures. The room had been her sanctuary within Sanctuary, the one place she could always come to where everything was okay. Every member of Mutant X had been fantastic at denial at some point, they were pros and she could deny that the world existed when she was in her room.

She bit her lip, her mind working out how she could approach the subject of Taylor and the lie that she was so ashamed of. It was difficult to know exactly how to begin. She hadn't informed Brennan of the existence of his daughter in the manner she had wanted to. It had been blunt and she didn't want this conversation to go in the same direction. It was too important, he was too important for that to happen.

'I'm sorry,' she said, turning to look at him.

'I know,' he replied. He shut the door behind him with his heel, ensuring that they wouldn't be interrupted.

'You remember we talked about kids when we were together,' she began, watching as realisation appeared in his eyes. 'You thought it was just another hypothetical talk about things that weren't going to affect you for a while but at the time I was pregnant and when you said you couldn't see yourself as a father I didn't know what to do. And I'm not blaming it all on you,' she covered as a defensive look began to form on Brennan's face. 'I'm the one who did the wrong thing by not telling you and by not sticking around but I panicked and then I ran and then I couldn't come back.' She frowned as she realised that she had been rambling for a good few minutes. Her coherent explanation of her own actions all those years ago was a concept so far away from where her brain was currently at. She wanted to shut up but her mouth wouldn't stop moving. Eventually her voice faded out mid sentence and she looked at the ground, the merest hint of a smile flitting across her face as she waited nervously for him to say something.

After a while the wait became too unbearable and she looked up at his face. He was staring at the wall but wasn't really seeing it. She, for once didn't have a clue what he was thinking. Normally she could read Brennan just like he could read her, the benefit of having worked and lived with someone for three years. But at that moment his thoughts were blocked from her mind.

He was once again finding it so difficult to stay angry at her. He knew he should have shouted and ranted about how she shouldn't have lied to him and how she should have told him the truth, no matter how hard it was. He couldn't even pretend to fully understand what she had been going through but he found himself feeling sorry for her. It was one of the most annoying character traits of Shalimar: her ability to make him love her. And the most annoying part was that she didn't even know she was doing it, it just happened.

She walked to a chair which stood in the corner of the room and perched on the edge, aware of quite how much dust she would be collecting on her ass. She leant forward and, placing her elbows on her legs put her head in her hands. She felt him kneel down in front of her but refused to raise her head to face him. He grabbed her hands in his own and pulled them away from her head, looking into her eyes with all the love he could never hide from anyone.

'This wasn't how my life was supposed to end up,' she said matter of factly.

He laughed openly before turning around and sitting on the floor, leaning against her legs. She bent forward and rested her chin on the top of his head, smelling the smoky mustiness of his hair. None of them had showered yet due to Lexa's hectic cleaning schedule.

'I'm serious,' Shalimar insisted. 'I was supposed to live a normal life, one where the biggest complication was working out whether I was gonna buy sliced bread or the kind where I'd cut it myself.'

'It would obviously be sliced cos you're lazy as hell,' Brennan replied.

He flinched slightly as her hand slapped against his arm. It felt good to have the old banter back. He had missed verbally sparring with her over the smallest of things, they had always been good at it, mostly because it came naturally to them. But then things had become serious and they had both been forced to grow up. It was nice to know that they could still do the mature adult thing without losing what had once been.

'What's up?' Brennan asked, turning around to look at her.

'I was thinking about Taylor, and I also want some toast,' she said with a frown.

'Well the toast issue is easy enough to deal with,' Brennan replied with a smile. The Taylor situation was something that had been bothering him as well. 'Do you think Taylor knows what's going on?'

'Brennan, she's four years old,' Shalimar answered. 'Of course she knows what's going on.'