AN: Hey guys, I'm so sorry for neglecting you guys. I had it finished, then went back to rewrite. The rewrite kept making me unhappy, so finally I left it alone. To be honest, what with the other stories I'm writing, I kinda forgot about it until now. I reread what I originally had written and now, for the life of me, can't remember why it was that I was rewriting this story. Plus, it's been a pretty hectic couple of months. Two jobs, 60 hours a week. Friends, family, writing, total chaos. By the way, I'm ENGAGED!

Chapter 7-

Finally it was Skyler's fourth birthday. Adam called Emma on their COMs and both disappeared to the lab. Adam went to the computer, shutting off the sedative flow. "Do you want me to let him continue to sleep or do you want me to give him the stimulant to wake him up now?"

"This is the first birthday Skye will ever have that his father could actually be there. Give him the drug and we'll take him to Skye so that Skye can heal him."

Adam nodded and unloaded adrenaline into the IV tube. The liquid entered Jesse's bloodstream and Jesse jerked awake. His eyes blinked and he smiled tiredly as he caught sight of Emma's face. Emma moved the glass top of the pod and reached in, pulling Jesse's frail and shivering body against her own. "Hey there my love." She murmured, stroking a hand through his hair.

Adam came over, helping Emma haul Jesse to his feet. "Okay, Jesse, you know the drill."

"Skye?"

"It's his birthday, Jesse. I thought that there would never be a birthday present that he would love more than his daddy being there with him."

Jesse nodded and leaned against Emma as she helped him limp to the scanning chair. "Water?" he whispered; his voice was hoarse from the two years of nonuse.

"Sure thing, Jesse. Let me go get you some. I'll be right back." Emma said, leaning down and kissing Jesse's placid lips passionately.

Jesse watched her as she ran from the lab. He blinked slowly, the fatigue starting to roll off of him. "Why am I so tired?"

"You've been asleep for two years. It's normal to be so tired. Give the adrenaline another couple minutes to work. If it hasn't kicked in completely before the hour is up, we'll give you some more."

Jesse nodded, leaning back as blood samples were taken, and scans were performed. "Are you okay Jess?"

Jesse nodded, sighing slightly. He was watching his mentor quietly, noticing that he seemed happier, lighter. "What's up Adam? Do you have a love life now?"

"That is none of your business, Jesse."

"So you do. That's interesting. How's Emma?"

"She's fine. As are your children. Skyler misses you dreadfully, and Dai is already well acquainted with you. Nyght will be the only one to really worry about."

Jesse nodded, fighting his weak body to prop himself up on his elbows as Emma came back with a glass of water. "Thanks." He whispered, as she held the glass for him to drink.

Emma tipped the glass up, letting Jesse drink as much as he wanted. Jesse finally finished off the water and flopped back onto the padded chair. "Can I see my son?" he asked quietly.

"Of course. Let me go get Skye. The twins are asleep. But you'll see them soon. I'm sure that Skyler wants to claim your complete attention for the moment however."

"I'm sure." Jesse chuckled quietly. He was still tired, but the adrenaline was starting to permeate his system, waking him up completely.

Emma smiled and kissed him hard before leaving to retrieve her oldest. A minute later, she came back with a much bigger, and four-year-old Skyler Kilmartin in her arms. "Daddy!" Skyler laughed, lunging out of his mother's arms and into his father's.

Jesse caught the little boy easily and held him tightly. "Hey there, Skye. How's Daddy's little man?"

"I'm good. I've missed you. Uncle Leo and Uncle Brennan play with me, but I miss playing with you." He said, reaching out and placing his tiny hands on his father's bare chest.

Jesse tilted his head, looking down in time to see his son's hands glow with a golden light. Skyler's forehead creased, his features locked in a look of concentration. Jesse's head fell back as he felt warm, healing energy sweep throughout his body. Finally Skyler laughed and drew back. "All better," came the little boy's gleeful chuckle as he clapped his hands together.

Jesse hugged the boy tightly and then handed him to Emma, swinging his legs over the sides of the scan chair. Waving away Adam's helping hand, Jesse put all of his weight on his legs for the first time in nearly two years. Holding out his hand where he could see it, he phased it, watching the normally solid flesh and muscle go misty. Turning to the chair behind him, he phased the chair.

His body protested, causing his knees to go weak and he collapsed, Emma catching him in her arms just in time. "Easy Jesse. Work back up to full strength. You're better, not back at 100 power. Think of yourself as a battery. You need to recharge before you start to phase in and out again." Adam admonished, helping the blond molecular stand again. "Back up on the chair. I want to run a scan."

Jesse grimaced and Emma laughed, happy to see her Jesse back. "Oh it's good to have you back, baby." She murmured in his ear, squeezing his hand tightly before letting go and stepping back.

Jesse looked dolefully up at the scanning device, but laid still as the yellow light swept up and down again, taking it's readings. "Am I done?"

"Yeah, go on. Get out of here and get dressed. The rest of the team will be awake in a couple hours. It's only about four o'clock. If you want to surprise them, be in the common room with Emma and the children when they come out of their rooms."

Jesse nodded, wrapping an arm around Emma's shoulders, his free arm holding his 4-year-old son tightly against his chest. Emma leaned her head against his chest as they walked, happy to have him back. Jesse walked toward her room, but Emma shook her head outside his room. "My room got transformed into the nursery for the kids. Skye, could you be a big boy for momma and get dressed and then you can show daddy how you tie your shoes, okay?"

Skyler nodded brightly before dashing toward Emma's old room, entering silently so as not to wake the twins. Emma responded to Jesse's bemused and questioning look with a shy grin and a blush, "He's been wanting to show you for a month that he knows how to tie his own shoes and get dressed on his own." Jesse nodded and continued to watch her as she explained why she was staying in his room now. "I moved into your room about three months after you were put into stasis. It was a way to be close to you."

Jesse nodded, watching the door to their room slide open. He stepped inside and looked around. It was the perfect mixture of both his and Emma's personalities. His computer components and other electrical parts were sprawled across his desk, exactly where he'd left them so long ago, while Emma's aromatherapy candles were scattered around the room and her own personal mix of the untamed and serene was visible everywhere he turned. It felt like home.

There were several pictures of him, Emma and Skyler hanging on one wall and a couple of Dai and Nyght as well. The central portrait of that wall however was a picture of him and Emma that had been taken very early in their relationship. Brennan had taken the picture; neither Emma or Jesse had known that he was taking it. The two were seated on the steps of the dojo, Emma between Jesse's legs. Both were laughing, her head tipped back to meet Jesse's disarming grin and laughing eyes.

"It feels like home." Jesse murmured, holding her close.

"I'm glad. Because it has been my home for the last two years. And I don't intend to be leaving it just because you're out of the pod again."

"If you had been entertaining the thought of leaving me in this room alone, I would have set you straight immediately." Jesse laughed, pulling her close and giving her a deep, passionate kiss. Emma returned the kiss with equal fervor. "Mmm," Jesse hummed, before pulling back a little bit, "I have missed kissing you while in physical form. It beats out everything."

Emma laughed, kissing him again before stepping back. "Come on, we need to get dressed and get the twins and Skye."

Jesse nodded and moved to the closet, pushing the door back. He smiled at the sight of his clothes hanging neatly from their hangers. Reaching in, he pulled out a white under-tee and a black over-shirt with a pair of raggedly denim jeans. Emma pulled a summery sundress from the depths of her armoire on the other side of the room, laying it on the desk so that she could undress.

Turning back toward his girlfriend, clothes in hand, Jesse smiled and tossed his clothes onto the desk with hers, before moving to the door. Locking it, he approached her in three long strides and dropped with her to the pillow-top mattress. Leaning down, he kissed her languidly, tilting his head to take her mouth more easily. Emma moaned, arching up against him as his calloused hand reached down and pushed the material up and out of the way, leaving her warmth open to his delightful caresses. Emma's face tilted up and she captured Jesse's lower lip between her teeth. "It's been too long, my love." She whispered into his ear, nibbling on his earlobe.

Jesse shifted back a bit, his free hand fumbling with the scrubs he wore. "I need you. Right now."

Emma smiled, her hands coming down to help him. Jesse's breath rushed out as she took him gently and cradled him in her palm. "I'm yours, Jesse, whenever you want me. Wherever we are."

Jesse groaned, getting up and shucking out of the scrubs. Emma shimmied out of her nightdress and pulled him back down to her. Both let out contented sighs as he slid home. Emma wrapped her arms around him tightly, pulling down to her. "Take me Jesse. Come for me, my love." She whimpered, arching her back against him.

The two were silent as they raced toward the mind-shattering completion that only the other could bring them. Emma gasped as her finish rushed through her veins. Ever in tune with Jesse, she cradled him tightly, urging him to his own satisfying end. Her eyes slid close in rapture as Jesse's orgasm came fast and furious, causing him to slump down onto her form. "I love you." He murmured, pressing a kiss to her breasts before laying his head in the valley between them.

They were still for a long time, both trying to regain their equilibrium. Finally, Emma spoke, "I love you, Jesse Kilmartin." Smiling, she teased, "You look exhausted."

"You tend to wear me out, my dear. And like Adam said, my battery is not yet recharged." Jesse teased, kissing her again. No matter how many times he kissed her, he couldn't get enough of her alluring taste and gentle touch.

Emma laughed and kissed him as she went to retrieve their clothes. "Get dressed and while I'm feeding the twins, you can rest."
Jesse nodded and dressed in his clothes, and took her hand after she finished tying the halter straps of her dress. Both went barefoot, not wanting to hassle with the extra clothing. "You look ravishing, wife."

Emma smiled at the term, before replying, "And you have never been more handsome, husband."

The happy couple entered the nursery. Jesse lifted a still tired Skyler, leaving Emma to gather a twin in each arm. Moving quietly, the two went into the common area that had once housed the bright orange dojo where their first child was conceived. Jesse sank into the comforting depths of the couch, Skyler sprawled across his chest like a tiny tadpole, a trait that had earned the toddler the nickname "Wee Froggy." Emma leaned her back against his right side, the front of her dress undone and one tiny babe at each breast. Jesse grabbed the afghan that was draped over the back of the couch and spread it over her and the children so as to preserve her modesty.

Emma leaned her head back against her boyfriend, closing her eyes in complete happiness. She had three children who were healthy and gifted, and a boyfriend who loved her with his whole self, just as she loved him. Jesse tipped his head down, kissing her forehead fondly, before draping his right arm over her waist. "I never want this moment to end," he murmured into her hair, inhaling the subtle scent of the shampoo she'd used to wash her hair the previous evening.

"Me neither, Jesse, me neither." Emma murmured in reply, tilting her head back to kiss him sweetly.

In the shadows, their mentor stood with a camera. Bringing it up to his face, Adam managed to take the picture just as the couple pulled away and gazed adoringly into each other's eyes. It was the first picture the loving pair had that portrayed them as a complete and happy family.