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Legal Disclaimer-To satisfy the lawyers, the following work of fanfiction is just that, fan fiction. The rights of Tribune Entertainment, Fireworks, and the rest of the gang who owns these characters are still theirs. I am just playing in the creative driveway, hoping that they don't pull the SUV out.

Author's Note-Oh man. You guys must hate me for taking so long, but at least I can say the following-I AM OKAY! Health issues had me sidelined, mental state had me nowhere near writing. So, please accept my apologies. Also, started this as another chapter and hated it, so I rewrote it. Surprisingly enough, it came out much better and I like it. I hope you guys do as well. Also, if you haven't supported ADV films lately, do. Season 3 is out on DVD. I wish to hades there had been a season 4.

Chapter 16

The dust was thicker than sand in the Sahara. Shalimar went in first, trying desperately to find an easy route for her non-feral friends as she surveyed the damage that was once a place they all called home. Sanctuary had to be blown up to save their lives, keep their secret, and in turn gave them their new lives. Now after all the secrecy, they had come full circle and back to their first real home.

The only trouble was that with great power comes great responsibility. They all had their own ability, they had saved the world a number of times, they still had troubles with the simple act of living a normal life. Some dealt, others resented it.

Shalimar climbed several rocks then knelt. If Brennan could blow the rock she stood on apart, she knew that they could get into the old lab. It would have been easier to get into the lab with Jesse's powers, but with his current state, that was a certain death knell. They had to have Jesse calm, Emma was working on that, and Brennan was working out his frustrations on the rocks that lined the base of their old landing bay. Getting the generators up and running would be another challenge, but between Jesse's knowledge and Brennan's electric personality, she knew they would get it working. They had to get the spike out of Jesse. They had to find Lexa and keep her from killing the President, and they had no time for either.

She grunted and found a path to the lab under an easy series of rocks for Brennan to destroy. She raised a hand to her dust covered face, thumbing her comm. ring at the same time.

"Come on in guys, the dust up here is good, and I think I found a way in," she said, "Brennan, you better be ready to bust rocks."

Brennan laughed from their location in the old entry bay into Sanctuary. He had landed the Strand near the foot of the mountain base. Their climb had been slow, but, they had made it to the outset of rock that everyone remembered from their entry and exit to the mountain. It looked the same, it was once you stepped into the cave that they once flew out of, it was a disaster. The explosion took out the ceiling. It was all over the bay's smooth floor, but it was ruined. They wouldn't be able to fly anything out of there again.

"Keep coming guys," Shalimar shouted, "You can make it another couple of feet till it gets really hard."

"That gives us what, a few feet Shal?" Jesse yelled back, taking Pierce's hand as they headed down the edge of the ruined hanger, "Damned ferals."

"I heard that, you should be okay Jess," she yelled back, "Come on guys, you're almost here."

"Jesse, what is this place?" Pierce asked.

At first, Jesse didn't want to bring Pierce here, but there was no one to watch him back at Haven. He knelt down to meet his son's eyes, then pulled him up onto his back, piggy back style. He really wanted to put him on his shoulders, but he knew that would bring up too many questions about what was on his neck. He continued down the hanger, acting as a tour guide the whole way.

"This is where we all used to live, Pierce," Emma answered for him, "Uncle Adam was forced to blow it up a while back."

"Wow," Pierce said, "It's a big place."

"Yep," Jesse replied.

He had grown silent, not wanting his thoughts to broadcast to his wife and son, but the rooms gave him the creeps. It was almost like he had walked into a picture of his old life and nothing was as he remembered it. Pale blue eyes scanned the walls as his memories shattered. The high ceilings of the dojo were gone, caved in with the initial explosion. He walked toward the bedrooms, putting Pierce down to let the boy follow him, but he felt sorrow at the state of a place that was once the only home he knew and loved.

Emma had done the same. She watched Jesse as he walked, reading his body movements as his emotions were screaming at her. She tuned the emotions out, letting Jesse have his sorrow and pain at the sight of what once was. She felt the same way, and the emotions playing off the rest of the group were equal to Jesse's. If she let herself feed on them she would be overcome by them. The groups sadness started to wane, the mission taking over their mindset. They were there to help Jesse.

The one thing that they hadn't noticed was that Pierce had wandered away from them in the wreckage.

"Uncle Adam?" Pierce's voice broke her concentration.

She hadn't noticed that the little boy was nowhere to be seen. Shalimar's eyes grew golden as she heard his voice. Brennan wasn't far from them, leaning against the edge of the wall of the hangar.

"Yes, Pierce?" Adam replied, looking in the direction the voice came from.

"Is this the lab you're looking for?" he asked, his voice coming from behind a series of rocks that were against a wall.

"Where are you Pierce?" Jesse asked, "We can't find you."

"Come on, it's easy," Pierce said, his voice impatient, "I walked through that rock in front of you, Jesse."

Jesse's mouth fell open. At Pierce's age, it was surprising that he could do what he said he did, but for him to be as open as he was about was shocking. It made perfect sense since he was as mutant as Jesse was.

"Pierce, can you show me?" Jesse asked, "We need to know which rock to walk through."

The large boulder in front of him separated as Pierce phased through it. Adam smiled at the boy who now was looking at his adopted parents, who seemed both shocked and proud of his accomplishment.

"I thought you might want me to go this way," Pierce began, "It's a big room on the other side and it doesn't look like all of these rooms."

"Really?" Adam asked, "Can you get us in there?"

Pierce nodded and took Adam's hand. The other hand he put on the boulder, phased it and took them through. Adam marveled at the little boy's strength and skill. The ability was off the charts and part of Adam's scientific mind wished to see the boy's brainwave activity, the other half marveled at how this ability didn't affect him.

Then they rematerialized. Pierce had brought him into the lab he knew from five years ago. In a way he was home. It was dark, it smelled horrible, but he was home. He walked up to a dusty keyboard, blew the dust off of it, and looked at the monitor beyond it. The lab was intact.

"Guys, if you can, get in here," he yelled, "Pierce, do what you can to get Brennan in here, we need to power this up."

The little boy nodded and walked through the wall.

One touch from Brennan and the lab, in all its former glory, came back to life. The computers were all showing errors, but they worked and that was the start that Adam was looking for. The scanners seemed to work, but Adam ran every diagnostic he could think of to make it all work.

Jesse sat by himself while Brennan worked on generating power to the computers that Adam was using. One large tesla coil brought him the computers, the next brought the lights to life.

The lab unfortunately was still very warm to work in. Pierce, who had shown so much energy in brining the adults through the boulders that surrounded the entrance, napped on the edge of the medical bed that dominated the room. Emma watched him sleep as Shalimar walked up to and sat next to Jesse.

"You're distant," she began, "You okay?"

Jesse looked at her. Part of him wanted to scream, rip the devices out of his neck, pray for his own death and be done with what was going on. The other part of him was calmer, focused more on the mission ahead than with his life.

"No," he replied, "How the hell did we get back here Shal?"

"I was thinking the same thing," Shalimar replied, "I'm just happy we did. You did realize that for the first time in years we're all a team."

Jesse shrugged then nodded. He had missed that.

"You also have a hell of a son, Jess," she continued, "We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. You have powers then?"

"Not that I remember," he replied, "I don't think he realizes what he's done, it's not easy to reach in and…"

He stopped mid sentence. He stood up and headed over to Adam, who was deep into the program he was trying to bring up.

"Adam, what if Pierce can phase this out of me?" he asked quickly, his thoughts catching up with his voice.

Kane stopped typing and looked at the younger man. The look in Jesse's eyes was chilling. Shalimar also stopped, the thought had crossed her mind, but she had dismissed it.

"Pierce's doing that could kill you," Adam said softly, "I did think of it."

"You could have mentioned it," Jesse said, "I know you don't want me dead, neither does Pierce."

"I know, Jesse," Adam replied after a few moments, "Do you really want to put him through that?"

"Through what?" Brennan asked, turning the corner to check on Adam's progress with getting the computers running.

"He can phase, Bren," Jesse said, meeting his friend's eyes, "Why not have him phase this out of my neck?"

Brennan stopped for a moment. The look of desperation in his friend's eyes spoke volumes.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" he asked, "What if he hurts you more than the spike, Jess?"

"We don't have the time to worry about if it will work, do we Adam?" Jesse asked, "You got us up here because you knew how bad it would be if this didn't work. You remember how it was for Lexa, right?"

Kane nodded. The young woman suffered from the implant that one day almost killed them all. She couldn't control herself when the switch was pulled. The look of fear that Kane saw in her eyes was now mirrored in Kilmartin.

"Let me get the x-ray programs running at least, Jesse," Adam said, "Let him nap a little more, then we'll get him up and see if he's willing to pull something from you, okay?"

"Thank you," Jesse replied.

His message got through.

She sat staring at the words on the walls, wondering what they went through when they were placed there. It was a precision carving, the words in stone, names of two very alive people at a time when they were thought to be dead.

The years had passed. The pain was still there, the shock of losing two of them was never healed, and she knew it. The emotions of the rocks said it all. This was a place where everyone rekindled after a great loss. She liked it here, the view was amazing, but she knew immediately she wasn't alone.

"I used to come here when I thought you were dead," Jesse began.

"I know," Emma's reply was barely audible, "The rocks told me. You and Shalimar. Brennan suffered in his own way."

"That's Brennan," Jesse continued, "I know you heard what I suggested."

"Yes, I did," her answer was muffled as she sat down on the edge of the rocks, "You are putting him through too much."

Jesse stopped. He had gotten used to Emma's mind reading without protesting it, but she knew what he was thinking before he even said it. She was also telling him gently that he was wrong in asking Pierce to do something that could wind up killing him. The scars he would give his own child would last a lifetime.

"We're between a rock and a hard place, Em," Jesse continued, "You don't understand how bad this is. I spent days trying to figure out how to get this out of Lexa, and it took Adam's help to get it out of her."

"I know," Emma said, "You understand that Pierce might just be able to do it, but you couldn't phase it out of Lexa, could you?"

She was right.

"No," Jesse's soft reply hurt Emma to the core, "I couldn't. But, I had to try everything. I don't want someone controlling me, Emma. I also need to be in control of myself. The only way that can happen is by getting this damn thing out of me."

She turned to the tears she expected welling up in his eyes. He had been so strong and together inside, but out here, where it was just the two of them, he was so lost. Putting a hand to the side of his face, she looked into his eyes. The pain had a metallic taste to it. He was hurting, but he was also very scared.

"So do I," she said, "If Pierce has to do it, we'll help him through."

Hours later, with a few helpful boosts from Brennan, the computer system at Sanctuary was up and running on generator power. Adam typed till his fingers nearly bled, but he managed to bring the entire system in the medical lab operational. Jesse had napped during his conversation with Emma and the cheers of joy he heard from the lab. He had to admit, the emotion of Sanctuary had him exhausted.

When he slept, he dreamed. He dreamed he was walking through Sanctuary, but it was intact, everyone was together, and everyone was happy. It felt surprising normal. The only strange factor was Lexa sitting in the dining room, eating and enjoying the meal that Adam had prepared, her eyes normal and her laughter joining Emma's at another joke of Brennan's. It didn't seem right.

Lexa turned her head and stared at him.

"It's not right," she said, her stare making him cringe, "You need to remember this…proton coupling."

Jesse's eyes grew clearer as she said it. Two words that harkened back to the days when Dr. Harrison worked on him in Genomex. Harrison was involved. This was going to get even uglier.

He woke up in a cold sweat. The thought that Harrison was after them was something that he lived with since he was shot, but this time bothered him more. They had broken him, but he was still able to come after them.

How did Lexa get the message to him, and why not earlier, he thought to himself.

Fear was the answer that replied. The voice wasn't Emma's, it wasn't Lexa's. It was his own.