This is the last chapter of the story. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it. Thank you to Courtney, Viviana, mfkngst, MXfan214, hi/hi again/hi...AGAIN, aniki19, prin69, shonnia, AussieMXfan, Xfan, bren88, Marie Crosby, MXGurl, Kiki-0400, Shal fan,12345 and ali09 for all your reviews. I really do appreciate the support and the reminders that there are people out there reading my stuff is great motivation. A special thank you to Steph (LoveConquers). You always see the things that I never even nearly notice and you find ways to make my writing better and to inspire me. You never fail to make my day with your emails so thank you for the time and effort you put into it. You're absolutely right: some people will never know how much a labour of love writing really is but you're definitely not one of them. Thanks to all of you and I hope you enjoy the last chapter.

She looked over the city at the incredible and vast skyline that faced her. She had, regardless of how she felt about her so-called normal life, missed her roof garden. The smell of night phlox and evening primrose filled the air, the sweet scents of each combining in the atmosphere around her. She could feel the air almost crackling with the anticipation of the night but it didn't excite her as it usually would. Her mind was on other things.

Watching her from his vantage point he could see the troubled expression on her face, lit up by glow of the streetlights below, the tension in her back and shoulders painfully obvious. She brushed her hair back from her face, a weary movement which only served to heighten the anguish she appeared to be suffering through.

He walked forward, quietly, his feet barely making a sound on the floor. As he reached her he brought his hand up to rest on her shoulder. She jumped a little, turning with surprise to see him.

'Well, that's a first,' he said, concern etched across his features.

'Yeah,' she replied in a whisper, turning back to the cityscape, leaning her back against his chest, enjoying the gentle rise and fall as he breathed in and out, the rhythmic beat of his heart. The normalcy of their current situation made her smile. In the midst of it all they were always striving for normal, a term they couldn't even adequately define. It was this abstract concept to them but it was what they had always wanted. It suddenly made no sense. Why would she so desperately want something that she didn't even fully understand?

Her eyes slowly closed, the tears slipping easily from beneath the lids. Difficult decisions were part of living her life, she had come to accept them as the price she paid for being her. But the first time she did this it had almost killed her. Leaving her family behind had made her life unbearable to the point where she didn't want to live it. She couldn't do it again, couldn't leave it all behind. Her normal life hadn't turned out so great and it seemed like the only place she would ever fit in was inside a mountain.

But she had more than just herself to consider. This time she wasn't being picked off the street by a guy offering her a whole new life, with actual food and a bed, two things she definitely hadn't owned at that point in her life. This time she couldn't make a life altering decision based solely on what she wanted, based entirely on what would make her happy. Se had to think about Taylor, had to think about what she needed. Shalimar couldn't possibly force her to live the life that she had fought against for so long. It wouldn't be fair to ask her to give up normalcy. It was the mother who was supposed to sacrifice everything for her child, not the other way around.

She opened her eyes, tears obscuring her vision, causing lights to blur into one. It was her home now. She would continue to live on the edge of it all, walking the line between one world and the next, trying never to stray too far into one more than the other, creating and maintaining balance, attempting to be a freak and a mother. She sighed deeply, her thoughts skipping between those she considered family, the only people she would give her life to save.

'Taylor!'

Her shout echoed across the school yard, mingling with the gentle calls of all the other parents. Shalimar's eyes darted through the crowds of children, eagerly searching. Her mouth broke into a wide smile as she saw the mess of blonde hair come racing towards her. She reached down and pulled the young girl to her, breathing in her scent, before standing up, grabbing the folder that Taylor shoved at her and taking her hand in her free one. They walked together towards the car, Taylor waving occasionally to people that she knew.

A click sounded as the car doors opened and Taylor scrambled in, throwing her school bag onto the seat next to her, as if without a care in the world. Shalimar waited until she had settled in before strapping the seat belt around her. She slammed the door closed, walking around the car and getting in herself.

'So, what did you do at school today?'

'I made a picture for you,' came the reply, quiet as Taylor became distracted by the changing landscape. She turned her head fully so she could look out of the window, the world passing by in a blur. They passed other cars, parents taking their kids home from school; children of all ages walking home, the sunlight seemingly putting a spring in their step. Gradually the houses of suburbia disappeared, larger mansions taking their place as they reached the edge of town. Luscious green replaced the grey of concrete, both of which had been warmed by the glow of the late afternoon sunshine. Over the edges of white stone buildings the delicious blue of the ocean could be seen, light twinkling from the tips of the gentle waves which moved slowly across it.

Shalimar took the opportunity that an empty road presented her and looked around, enjoying the beautiful views afforded her. This was always her favourite part of the day. She picked Taylor up and took her home, the little girl contentedly tired from a day at school, the mother worn out from a day at work. But it didn't matter how tired Shalimar became throughout the course of the day. Everything led up to this moment, this one perfect moment was where everything culminated. It was the one occasion where she always managed to be completely at ease. It was the favourite part of her day.

She dragged herself from her thoughts, turning instinctually to look at Taylor in the back seat. Shalimar had always been a protective mother, knowing what was out there, knowing what kinds of people lived in the world. She had never wanted her daughter to encounter those people, but Taylor had. She had been held hostage by them. Shalimar wasn't naïve enough to think that that was the end of the matter, that she and Taylor would be left in peace to live their lives. The bad people would keep on coming, but Shalimar would be watching. She would wait for however long it took, she would continue to be aware of where her family was at every moment. And she would take more drastic measures when necessary.

She turned her eyes back to the dark grey of the road, slowly raising her foot from the accelerator. Gradually the car slowed down and as her destination came into view Shalimar pushed the button that would open the garage doors, manoeuvring the car into the gloom.

Brennan was wandering the halls of the building. He wasn't sure why but he felt so restless and walking had presented itself as a good idea. But as soon as he had stood up he had realised that he had nowhere to walk to. So he had now been wandering around for half an hour. And unfortunately he was no closer to finding a purpose or a destination.

The excitement of the past week had been so much all at once. He had been out of the business for years, had managed to carve out a relatively normal existence for himself. And he had then been presented with the opportunity to rejoin Mutant X, to do some good, to help some people. It had all happened so quickly that he had been thrown off, his usual routines gone, his world turned upside down all over again, just like it had four years before when he had left. Except that way of life now seemed foreign to him.

He leant against a wall, feeling the cool smoothness against his back, through his t-shirt. His head lolled back, eyes closed, an outward façade of exhaustion, boredom when inside he was overwhelming himself with his own thoughts.

The corners of his mouth quirked upwards. He felt disoriented but he had this inherent confidence, something inside of him that assured him that he would be okay, that eventually he would get used to it all again, the shock of the old would no longer be so shocking. He wasn't sure how he knew all of that, but he did. Being in Mutant X had always felt right, and while he was a little off because of all the changes taking place he knew that the old feelings would return. They'd just take some time.

He turned as he heard footsteps, watching as Lexa walked into the room. She stopped in her tracks, looking him, her expression difficult to read as per usual.

'You don't have anything to do,' she said, what should have been a question phrased as a statement.

'Weird, huh?'

'Not really. You're a notorious slacker,' she replied, her eyebrows raising on her forehead, her eyes sparkling. He smiled as he noticed quite how much they had been doing that since she had returned to Sanctuary. There was an excitement in her demeanour that had been sorely lacking during the course of the mission.

'I'll have you know I am extremely hard working,' he said, pushing himself away from the wall and walking with her as she continued on her particular path.

'Oh come on. Take the last mission for example. You freaked out and then disappeared for like, an entire morning. That, as far as I and several important CIA bosses are concerned is slacking. What did you do anyway? Go off for a bagel and a cup of coffee.'

She laughed as he gently elbowed her in the ribs. Despite his protestations she knew that he had missed the banter as much as she had. It was comfortable, familiar.

They both walked towards the computers. Jesse, fitting right back in with no trouble at all was sitting in his usual chair, tapping away on one of the machines. Brennan would never know quite what the blonde man found to do all day, sitting in front of a computer monitor but he had a feeling that the answer would probably be out of his range of understanding. He sat down across from Jesse, leaning back in the chair and watching the couple in front of him exchange some information. He may have been working in Mutant X again, as were they but Mutant X was now a black ops CIA division, a secret organisation keeping an eye on the new mutant population. Without the Dominion funding the building probably would have been closed off to the world again, but the CIA had granted the team quite a budget, one that would service all their needs.

He smiled as Lexa leaned her chin on Jesse's shoulder to read whatever was on the screen. There was a softer side to the brunette woman that Brennan had never noticed before. Or maybe he had been too wrapped up in suspicion towards her that he had neglected to notice how caring she was and how she could, on occasion be the most vulnerable person in the room whilst maintaining the appearance of the strongest. He had a distinct feeling that it had something to do with her relationship with Jesse, the most unexpected relationship but potentially one of the most loving, one of the most stable he had ever seen, or ever would.

He looked over his shoulder, sensing a presence behind him. He saw nothing but knew that he would. The sound of heels clicking on the polished floor was slow to become louder, but there was another noise that caused the smile on his face to transform into a grin. Squeaking trainers and a continuous train of thought being spoken aloud. She rounded the corner, blonde hair, that had only that morning been drawn into a high ponytail messy beyond belief, curls displaced, framing her face. Mere seconds later an older version of the girl walked into view, her hair a little neater. Her face was hidden from view as she paid absolute unadulterated attention to her daughters conversation, one that didn't really require any involvement or input from anybody else.

She raised her head, chocolate brown eyes connecting with his, a contented smile on her face.

'I want a drink.'

Shalimar's expression changed to one of concern. 'Excuse me?'

'I want a drink, please,' replied Taylor, the answer returning the smile to Shalimar's face.

'Go through to the kitchen, get the juice out of the fridge but will you please wait for me before you start pouring it all over the floor…' Shalimar said, her voice fading out as Taylor ran through the room, dropping her things on the way. 'Cos we all know how fun it is to watch you make a mess,' she continued.

Shalimar picked up Taylor's coat and rested it on the back of a chair, placing her bag on the seat. Only once she had tidied up her daughters mess did she make her way over to Brennan, placing a hand on his shoulder and a kiss on his lips. She pulled back, looking him right in the eyes.

'Hi,' she whispered huskily.

'Welcome home,' he replied, both of them understanding the hidden meaning in the simple message.

'You wanna help us pour?' she asked, her tone perfectly serious, before she took his hand and pulled him up from the chair. They both walked through to the kitchen, the sunlight shining through the windows of Sanctuary, the world back the way it should be.

The world was glowing as the sun slowly made its way through the sky, blues and greens mingling with gold. The mountain shone, dotted with shadows caused by outlying boulders, the names of three people now present on the rock, carved there for eternity, the names of people who had sacrificed all they had for a world that would never know who they were, what they did, or how much they should be thanked.

And as the world glowed the team found the one place they could all belong, the group of people they could acknowledge as family. They had all found new lives but the only one that really mattered was the one taking place inside Sanctuary. They were home.