Sorry its been a while. Exams are a bitch and while I may only have one to revise for its still pretty much taking up all of my time that isn't already consumed with sleep, food and the kind of work that pays. I still haven't finish the last chapter of this story for the same reason but will try and get it done soon. Thanks for the reviews. I really do appreciate that you take the time out of your lives to give me some feedback.

He watched the couple, both of them so happy and relieved to be, once again in each others arms. Lexa looked tired and the sun was catching in the tears that she was finally letting herself shed. She didn't look hurt but with Jesse's arms wrapped around her in the mother of all bear hugs Brennan couldn't be sure.

He raised his arm, taking in the scraped skin which adorned it and ran his fingers through his hair, blinking as a cloud of dust flew into the atmosphere, grouping around his head before being carried away on the light breeze. The weather, he had to admit was perfect for a triumphant meeting of the heroes. He couldn't remember a more beautiful day.

He glanced over at Shalimar. Her escape had been one of the scariest things he had ever had to face. Her running towards him, the bullets flying through the air, the constant beating of the propellers against the wind. But none of that had mattered when his hand had wrapped itself around her tiny wrist. He had felt as her shoulder was wrenched and he knew it had to have hurt when she swung against the landing gear but knowing that he had a hold of her, knowing that, no matter what he would hang on like a rabid animal, it had made him confident in the fact that she was with him again.

When he had finally managed to drag her into the helicopter she had sat next to him, staring into his eyes, her own filled with the shock of the whole situation. She had ran her shaking fingers across his eyelids, his cheeks, his lips, grazing the still fresh cuts that he had received earlier that day. Her touch was so gentle, her fingers so soft despite everything that had happened to her that he had fallen in love with her all over again. And once she had settled down, been reassured that Jesse was okay and that they were going to pick Lexa up soon her serene smile had calmed his heart.

He looked ahead of him as Jesse and Lexa separated from each other and started walking towards them. He looked across at Shalimar again, his nervous, anxious gaze focused on her face. He knew she didn't like to show when she felt pain but her eyes were always a dead give away, showcasing her soul for the world to see.

Her feet touched solid ground as she slid from the hood of the car. She closed her eyes, silently praying for morphine. She opened them again when she felt his hands on her arms, supporting her, holding her close.

'What hurts?'

'Out of the bullet wound, the broken ribs, and the black eye, I'd have to say the ribs right now.'

'Well, if it's the ribs then you should probably stop talking in such long sentences,' he breathed huskily, his voice sending shivers up her spine, the movement only increasing her pain.

'Then you have to stop doing that,' she replied, their eyes meeting, the looks longing.

He bent down, closing the distance between their faces before pressing a tender kiss onto her dry lips. He pulled away, brushing his hand against her cheek, tracing the outlines of the bruises that marred her skin.

'I look great, huh?'

'You could probably use a little concealer,' he replied, grinning at her.

She gasped, mock horror filling her eyes with a glint. She slapped her hand against his arm, glaring at him when pain shot through her aching muscles.

'That was so not my fault,' he replied, laughing and backing away from Shalimar as her eyes glowed, a broad smile ruining the intimidating stance a little.

'Brennan, Shalimar!'

They both turned at the call, watching as Jesse ran towards them. Shalimar's eyes darted beyond the running figure to Lexa. Her eyes were wide as she talked with an agent, a guy in a dark suit.

'What is it?' Brennan asked as Jesse came closer.

'Its Daveigh.'

'What about her?' Shalimar asked. She may not have cared about Daveigh but the mission was important and as a result so was the woman, regardless of her previous actions.

'She was supposed to have checked in by now,' Jesse replied, a hint of panic in his voice. He knew that checking in didn't necessarily mean anything too serious, she could just be busy or have forgotten but having been in the CIA for four years keeping tabs on people had become a crucial part of his everyday life.

'I'm sure its no reason to start panicking. She's probably just doing something else and we'll hear from her soon,' said Brennan.

They all turned to watch Lexa as she walked towards them, her face wearing an expression that was difficult to read.

'The two agents who were with Daveigh haven't checked in either,' she said as she drew nearer to the group.

'They might all be caught up,' Brennan reiterated, trying to cover for the fact that they all knew. Three people, all of them trained CIA agents did not all forget to check in with their headquarters; they wouldn't all be so busy that they couldn't let everyone know they were okay. It could mean only one thing.

He looked around him, his brain trying to process the destruction before his eyes. The charred remains of chairs and desks lay dotted around the room, victims of the blazing inferno that had broken everything in its path. Chunks of plaster were hanging from the walls by the tiniest of threads, the windows were covered in a layer of black, allowing in only the smallest slivers of light. His eyes were unconsciously drawn to the large patch of disintegrating carpet. There were still the tiniest flickers of dying flames despite the many attempts by the firefighters to extinguish them. It appeared that even when she was dead and gone she was still capable of a lot.

He could still remember feeling the intense heat on his back as he ran from the room. He had known what her mutation was, known how powerful she could be and as soon as he had seen the first spark of the fire to come he had turned, sprinting away from the blaze. The door to the room had shielded him and the rest of the building until the sprinklers had activated and the fire brigade had shown up.

As powerful as he had known her to be he had never believed that she would kill herself. Daveigh had always been a reluctant mutant, she had never wanted the abilities given to her through a mixture of science and luck and she had definitely never wanted to fight for good or bad. And yet, despite that reluctance she had given up her life. She had to have been aware of the fact that she was going to die anyway, it was simply a case of her getting there first but it was still a big step to take, a lot to give up.

Movement and bustle continued around him as he turned and walked from the room, leaving behind the mayhem, the legacy of a series of events that were still in progress.

'I dare you to try and stop me,' she bit back. The argument had been going strong for at least five minutes. The decision had been made to send in a team. They would find Daveigh and the agents, dead or alive. If they were alive they would be retrieved and the original mission would continue with different players. If they were all dead then the actions of said players were as yet unknown.

The decision had set off a discussion between Shalimar and every other member of Mutant X about whether or not she was going with the team. Lexa watched on with raised eyebrows as the two men tried to convince Shalimar that she was not going to do herself any good but, clearly she was hearing none of it. It would have been amusing if it weren't for the fact that they were on a seriously tight schedule.

'Shal, you are not well enough for this. You seem to have forgotten that less than 24 hours ago you got your ass kicked,' Brennan said, the exasperation at the ferals temperament becoming more obvious by the minute.

'I may be hurt but you're hardly bouncing off the walls either. And besides, four new mutants have got to be better than three,' she retorted.

'Not if one of the four is struggling to draw breath because of her broken ribs.'

'Excuse me!'

Everybody turned to face Lexa. She looked stern, an expression they all recognised well. But there was something else behind the look.

'Shalimar will come with us,' she said, glaring at Brennan as he sighed and tried to interrupt. 'Sneaking into the building, after the series of attacks this morning will be intensely difficult and so if someone is offering us extra help in that I suggest we take it. And if someone could please remember why we're doing this that would be great. Today we lost three people to the Dominion. Daveigh may not have been well-liked but she never openly questioned what we asked her to do, and she died because of it. So, she gets my respect and gratitude at least.'

Shalimar's eyes focused on the ground a few inches in front of her toes. She couldn't believe that that day of all days they had been arguing. It had been rough on all of them and it was going to get harder but that was no excuse to turn on each other. And Lexa was right about Daveigh. Shalimar couldn't possibly conceive forgiving the woman, but she had died for them, for something that she had been dragged into. She should have been a passive observer like so many other new mutants. The fighting had to be done by those who had accepted and embraced their gift, by people ready to sacrifice all they had.

'No more arguments.' Lexa's voice broke in on her thoughts, almost pleading with them all.

Jesse stepped forward, towards the woman that his heart broke for every minute of the day. She never stopped caring, never stopped being strong and he loved her for that. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders he breathed in deep, enjoying the scent of her hair, loving the warmth of her body against his.

'No more arguments,' he whispered in her ear, the small sentence eliciting a smile.

'We should get going,' Brennan said quietly, his voice having the decency to bear signs of guilt. He didn't mean to make Lexa feel bad about the whole situation. Daveigh had kidnapped his daughter and he was finding it extremely difficult to get past that. But a job still had to be done. The Dominion wasn't finished, not yet and they had to be the ones to finish it all, to make sure that everything was over.