A/N: I know I've taken forever. Don't flame. I won't care. School is stressful, physics is killing me, in all honesty, you may be lucky I've updated at all. So, yay you. I'm sorry if I sound irritated. I'm just BLAH! I haaate physics. It's stressing me out. Okay, so, sorry for not posting. I really am. Also, i'm sorry if my stupid font is screwy, i'm not really sure how to fix it.. Enjoy the chapter, it's pretty long, i think. Love you all! Thanks for reviewing.

Why Does Shal Keep Taking Off

Brennan, with much coaxing from Jesse, had lain back down and drifted into a pained and uneasy sleep. He couldn't get comfortable. No matter which way he turned, his left arm ached and his back throbbed. He could feel the bruised skin on his face stretching and pulling harshly every time he cringed. He couldn't seem to win against he bruising that plagued him. Inwardly, he cursed violently, not just for the pain, but because of everything that had happened since Theodore Neilson had come into their lives. Stupid, God damned, sick, twisted, mother fu-

"Bren?" Jesse's voice interrupted his cussing, as he noticed the darker haired man wincing every few seconds. "Want me to give you something to help dull the pain? Maybe then you could get some rest. 'Cause you know that's the only thing that'll make your back feel better."

"Got some Advil the size of Texas? 'Cause that might just do it. Or perhaps the size of Europe." He chuckled, though he was completely serious.

"Nope. But I do have morphine. That'll do ya just fine, I'm sure."

"Jess, have I told you lately how much you seriously rock?" Brennan grinned and he and Jesse clasped hands briefly, the later chuckling and grinning smugly.

"Yeah, but in a few seconds, all you'll be doing is drooling." He slipped a needle under the skin of Brennan's arm, and within moments, the elemental was blinking and yawning.

"Jess… morphine doesn't make ya sleep, does it?" Brennan asked as his eyelids fluttered.

"No, but the sedative I mixed with it does. Relax, you just need to get some rest, that's all. And that can't happen unless you sleep, so go on, off to dream land with you."

"You said nothing about a sedative," Brennan tried to glare through his drooping lids.

"No, I didn't."

"I'm so kicking your ass for this later…sneaky bastard." And with that, Brennan's head lolled to the side and he fell into a medicinally eased sleep.

"Yeah, you'll be thanking me later, tough guy. I know what you're all about. Softy." Jesse spoke softly, covering Brennan with a thin blanket. Lexa come quietly up behind him, startling him as her arms slipped around his waste.

"Talkin' to yourself, there babe?" She grinned and kissed his shoulder blade. He turned and enveloped her in his arms, kissing her forehead. She smiled and turned her eyes up to his.

"No, talking to Brennan, I'm saying things he won't be able to remember to attack me for tomorrow." Jesse chuckled wryly. Lexa's grin widened, and a mischievous flame alighted in her eyes.

"Not unless I tell him… what was it I heard you call him? Softy? Oh yeah, Brennan'll love to hear that one."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Wouldn't I?" She quirked an amused eyebrow. Jesse raised one right back at her and began tickling her fiercely before she had a chance to flee. The typical Lexa-ish passiveness that normally played about her features fell away to pained laughter and he tickled her so hard that tears sprang into her eyes. She dropped to her knees and curled up as best as she could to shield her ribs from his invasive fingers. Finally, she was laughing so hard she could barely breathe, "Stop, stop!" She panted as he paused in his ministrations. "I give! I give! I won't tell him anything. Just stop."

Jesse grinned an offered a hand down to her, planning to help her to her feet. Lexa, breathing heavily, grinned evilly, snatched his hand and yanked him onto the floor beside her. In an instant, she had him pinned, knees on his arms and hands pressing down on his shoulders. "Not so tough now, now are you?"

"Uhmm… I love you?" Jesse smiled. Lexa's face softened and she leaned down, kissing him gently. Jesse took the opportunity to flip her onto her back and pin her to the floor.

"HEY!" She whined, annoyed. "This is so unfair! I was finally winning!"

"Lexa," Jesse interrupted her. She glowered at him. "Shut up." He bent his head down and brushed his lips over hers. The kiss soon deepened and they broke apart only because their lungs were desperate for oxygen. Lexa pushed up against him and smiled.

"You know…I love it when you top." She whispered hoarsely, tugging at the buttons on his shirt. Jesse took the hint, pulled her to her feet and into his arms, carrying her to his room, her soft giggles stopping short as his door snapped shut behind them.

"Brennan?" Jesse's gently shook him awake several hours late. Brennan started and sprang upright, wincing as vines of pain twisted around his back and torso. "Whoa, whoa," Jesse laid his hands on Brennan's shoulders to steady him as the bigger man slumped forward, angry with himself for being unable to handle the hurt that ran through his body.

Brennan's dark eyes rose to Jesse's tired, thinly stretched features. "What's wrong?" He asked, seeing the lines of stress and worry deepen at those two simple words. "Jesse?"

"We can't find Shalimar. She's not anywhere in here and she's taken her com ring off line. We haven't been able to reach her for the last few hours."

"Say WHAT?" Brennan jumped off of the lab bed and scrambled down the corridor to the room he shared with his feral fiancé. "SHAL! Shalimar! Where are you!"

"Brennan!" Jesse yelled after him. "She's NOT here!" Brennan whirled around, chest heaving after his mad dash around Sanctuary.

"Well, then, where the HELL IS SHE?" He shouted back, balling his fists so tightly that his knuckles grew white. Jesse hung his head.

"I told you, I don't know where she is. She took off her COM ring. We can't even track her until she puts it back on."

"Oh God, oh God, oh God," Brennan mumbled over and over, pacing and frowning, frowning and pacing, lines of unspoken fear and horror etched across his face. Jesse grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

"Bren, we're going to find her. Not finding her isn't an option, okay? She's just stressed, she needed some space, that's all, I'm sure. She'll be fine. Trust me."

"Jess, the last tie Shalimar's com link went offline, she nearly died. We thought she had. I can't go through that again. That was hell for me, and you know it."

"This isn't like last time, Brennan. This is completely different. Last time, she was taken hostage, this time she just took off. She'll be back, no harm, no foul."

"How do you know?" Brennan snapped. "How do you know she didn't leave of her own free will and then something happened to her? You can't tell me, honestly, that the thought hasn't crossed your mind."

"No," Jesse admitted, scuffing the toe of his shoe against the floor. "I can't say that honestly. But I know Shalimar. And I think she's okay. Now breathe, 'cause you really do need to do that, you know." Brennan took a deep breath, and let it out slow.

"You're right. I'm over reacting. I mean, she just got a major bombshell dropped on her. She just needed some time and some space. That's all. I just need to chill. She'll be back when she's ready to talk."

"Who're trying to convince, me… or you?" Jesse asked quietly.

"Both, I think." Brennan shook his head and stepped away from his friend, looking down and his blood stained jeans, and the streaks of dirt and blood that still lingered on his skin. "I'm gonna go shower. If she comes back, Com me."

"In a heartbeat," Jesse promised. With a sigh, Brennan turned from Jesse and shuffled down the hall to his bedroom, back slumped with the weight of emotions that he'd never let anyone see, if he could help it. It just wasn't Brennan's way. He'd fended for himself so long that he had forgotten how it felt to trust people with those emotions. Shalimar had finally broken through that tough exterior and opened his heart, but with everything that had happened lately, it seemed as though Brennan were relaying the bricks of the wall around his heart. Jesse exhaled slowly. He wished, more than anything, that he could just make all of their problems, all of their heartaches, just go away. At least for a little while.