* ~ This felt good, this felt right. ~*

Shalimar's perfume . . . (scent?) filled his head. "You taste good."

Shalimar smiled, "So do you, even if you eat peanut butter. In fact, . . . Brennan what's wrong?!"

Brennan sat up, forcing Shalimar to get off him. Something was wrong. He could feel it. He might not be a telempath like Emma, but his instincts screamed at him that something was wrong. It felt like someone had torn out an important part of him. Something was missing and it hurt. Brennan didn't like it, but he didn't know what was wrong.

"Are you alright? Brennan, talk to me."

"Oh, Shalimar . . . yeah, I'm . . . fine."

"You don't look 'fine' to me. Your face has gone pale and . . . your hands are trembling"

"No, really Shalimar. I'm fine . . . It's just a headache. That's all."

"Headache? You were fine a minute ago." Shalimar worriedly looked at Brennan. He didn't seem fine to her. He looked like someone had hit him, hard. Brennan got up from the bed; he had to get out of here.

"Look, Shalimar. I'm sorry. I don't think I am feeling too well right now. I . . ."

*~ Brennan . . . Brennan ~*

"Oh my God, . . . Emma"

"Brennan . . . What's going on?" Shalimar hissed in shock as he turned to face her. It was contorted in pain.

"I . . . I don't . . ." Brennan trailed off. How could he explain what had just happened when he didn't understand himself. "Emma . . . she's in a lot of pain . . . so much pain." Brennan felt himself shudder. Why did he know this? Why did he feel Emma's pain?

"I have to help her. She's . . . she's . . ." Brennan could not continue. He rushed out of Shalimar's room, leaving her staring at the space he was just standing in. She thought for a second and then jumped up to follow him.

x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x

"Emma, open the door. Emma!" Brennan beat the door, hoping against hope that he was mistaken. "Emma, for God's sake, please open the door." She had to be all right, he had to be overreacting.

"Brennan, what's going on? What's wrong with Emma?" Shalimar demanded from behind him.

"I don't know. She's not answering the door."

"She could be sleeping?"

"Not even Emma could sleep through the noise I just made." Brennan tried to lighten the situation but the joke sounded flat to him, even to him.

Something was wrong and he knew it. When he thought of Emma, he usually received some sort of response, a feeling of association. It was as if she acknowledged that he was thinking of her. Now he felt nothing, and that could only mean that she was in trouble.

"Adam, can you give me the override code to Emma's door?" Brennan asked into his com-link.

Sure, but what is wrong?"

Brennan was getting tired of answering this question. He clenched his teeth and almost spat out, "I . . . DON'T . . . KNOW. But I think Emma may be in trouble."

'Okay . . . wait a moment and I will open the lock from here . . .. There!"

With that the door slid open and Brennan rushed in, only to be greeted by the sight of Emma lying senseless on the floor. He worriedly bent down. Maybe he was overreacting. He gently shook her, "Emma, are you alright?" There was no reaction; she didn't even stir at his touch. He tried shaking her harder, but still there was no response.

He looked up to see Shalimar hovering over him, plainly anxious about her friend. "I can't wake her up Shal." Brennan whispered.

"Adam, Emma seems to have fainted."

"Are there any injuries of any sort?" Adam's disembodied voice asked.

Shalimar bent down next to Brennan to make sure. Emma looked pale and she had obviously been crying. Other than that, she looked fine, unharmed.

"No, I don't think so. I can see any obvious injury."

Okay, bring her to the lab and we'll check her out" Adam kept his voice calm, not wanted to aggravate the situation.

x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x

Brennan, Shalimar, and Jesse waited anxiously as Adam examined a still unconscious Emma. It had been two hours since Brennan and Shalimar had found Emma had still not stirred. Adam had put Emma through many tests, and as the rest of the team watched, Adam continued to do so. They were not encouraged by the fact that as time passed the frown on his face deepened.

Finally, he walked out of the lab, head down, an intense frown on his face.

"Is she going to be alright?" Shalimar asked before anyone could say anything.

"I don't know. I can't find anything wrong with her."

"What do you mean you can't find anything wrong with her?! There is obviously something very wrong with her!"

"Calm down Shalimar, I know Adam is doing everything he can." Jesse tried to pacify the irate feral, with little success. She just turned and growled warningly at him. She objectively knew that Adam was working as hard as he could, but Jesse had not seen Emma lying on the floor - senseless and obviously having been in pain.

Throughout this exchange, Brennan remained silent, all his attention concentrated on the still form of his friend. She looked so helpless lying on the examination table. If he hadn't found her . . . but Brennan quickly put that thought out of his mind. Nothing was going to happen to Emma, he would make sure of it. *~ Hang in there Emma, I'm here. I'm here. ~*

" . . . Brennan. Brennan!"

"Wha . . .? Yeah, Adam. Sorry, I wasn't listening." Brennan ran a hand through his hair and tried to concentrate on what the older man was saying.

"So as I was saying, I can't find anything wrong with her. Or more correctly, I can't find anything physically wrong with her." Adam fell silent, not sure how to continue.

"So . . . ?" Jesse quietly prompted.

"So . . ." For a minute Adam didn't reply. "I did find unusually high brain activity. Now because Emma is psionic her brain activity is higher than normal for most other people, but this seems excessive even for her. My guess is, and this is only a guess, is that she blacked out because her brain 'overloaded'." Adam shrugged helplessly, that was the closest he could get to explaining what had happened.

"Is that what you felt Brennan?" Shalimar turned and asked him, when it seemed clear that Adam could add nothing else.

Brennan hesitated for a minute; he was not comfortable with talking about what had happened. That sense of loss was still with him and he was not sure why. He didn't want admit the possibility that it might have something to do with Emma. *~ I'm just concerned about her. That is all. She must have been in pain and randomly called out to me. That is all. That has to be all! ~*

Brennan looked at Shalimar and smiled. At least he understood what he felt for this woman. *~ I hope. ~* "Yeah, she called out like she was in pain. That is how I knew something was wrong."

Shalimar looked at Brennan. He was not telling her something. His concern for Emma was palpable and it was very plausible that he had heard he subliminal cry for help. That didn't explain why he had backed away in pain when they were kissing. Something had happened before he heard Emma, she was sure of it. And she WAS going to find out, but later. Later, when her best friend was better. She turned to watch Emma lying on the table. How could someone so strong and vibrant in life look so weak?

"So now what?" she asked

"We wait and see. That is all we can do!" Adam turned to look at Emma as well. "And pray."

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