A Consuming Fire
Lexa discovers some disturbing facts about the woman she replaced.
Lexa jolted awake and was running for the door before she had a clear idea of what had awakened her. In the hallway she saw Brennan and Shalimar running to Jesse’s room. She realized that what had awakened her was the sound of someone screaming.
Lexa paused in the doorway; Shalimar was leading a retching Jesse to the bathroom while Brennan stripped the sweat soaked sheets from the bed.
The elemental scowled at her as he pulled fresh linens from the closet.
"Why is Jesse sick?" she asked, seeing the young man crouching in front of the toilet vomiting. Shalimar knelt beside him, rubbing his back.
"We’ve got it covered," Brennan’s voice was cold as he pushed past her, "Why don’t you go back to bed?"
"What’s your problem?" Lexa growled as he disappeared downstairs. She went into the bathroom, Shal was helping Jesse to stand up, he was shivering and a thin trail of blood tracked down his chin from his nose.
Lexa grabbed a washcloth, wet it under the tap and handed it to Shalimar who took it with a grateful smile.
Together they got Jesse back into bed. Shalimar washed his face with the cool damp cloth and tucked the blankets around him.
"Can you stay with him for a little bit?" Shal asked, eyes pleading. "Just until he goes back to sleep." She stood up, looking toward the door as the sounds of Brennan striking the wall echoed down the hallway. "I need to go calm Brennan down."
Lexa settled down on the bed beside Jesse. "What’s going on?"
Shalimar closed her eyes for moment, pain flicking across her face. "I’ll tell you later, just please, stay with Jess?"
Lexa nodded and Shalimar moved quickly out into the hall. Lexa could hear Shal’s calm voice and Brennan’s angry replies but not well enough to make out what they were saying.
"I’m sorry." Jesse whimpered and Lexa focused her attention on him.
"Shhh." She stroked his face and he flinched away.
"I won’t do it anymore, I promise."
"It’s okay Jess, a little lost sleep isn’t going to kill me."
"Don’ t…" Tears leaked from his tightly clenched eyes, "Don’t hurt me anymore, please." He begged.
Lexa frowned, realizing that he wasn’t responding to her but trapped in some nightmare. "No one is going to hurt you Jesse. You’re safe now."
Jesse moved restlessly, his breathing rapid and shallow. Lexa retrieved the washcloth and tried to hold it against his upper lip as blood began to stream down his cheeks, mixing with the tears.
"Shhh." She tried to calm him. The more she tried to hold him the harder he struggled to get away.
"Help him sit up." Shalimar appeared silently startling Lexa.
"Come on Jess, wake up baby. It’s okay, it’s just a bad dream." the feral whispered.
Once Jesse was sitting up Shalimar massaged the back of his neck. Jesse’s eyes opened and he began to cough.
"It’s okay." Shalimar breathed, "Just a dream."
"I’m sorry I woke you up." His eyes were wide and frightened as he looked warily at Lexa, "I’m fine you can go back to bed."
Shalimar smiled at him, took the cloth from Lexa and cleaned his face, "It’s okay we’ll go and let you get back to sleep."
Jesse looked relived as they got up to leave. "Thanks Shal." His eyes dropped, "Lexa…"
"Hey everyone has bad dreams sometimes." she smiled, "even me."
~^~
"She used him. Emma used Jesse as a test subject in order to hone her powers." Shalimar paced back and forth, hands clenched into fists.
"We didn’t know what she was doing to him. After one of our missions Jesse started having headaches, nightmares, we thought it was just stress. Emma took over taking care of him when he’d wake up screaming and we let her, we had no idea she was the cause of it all along. Later I started to smell her on him; her scent was all over him every morning. I asked him and he freaked on me he denied it and so did she. He was getting better but he was changing, getting colder and distant. After she died the nightmares and headaches came back and it was then that we found out what she’d been doing."
"He told you she messed with his mind?" Lexa asked.
"Not in so many words, we pieced it together from things he’s said while he’s half out of it." explained Shalimar.
"And you believe him?"
"Why would he lie?" Shalimar demanded angrily. "He trusted her, we all trusted her and she hurt Jesse. Sometimes he trusts the wrong people and sometimes he gets hurt. If you hurt him you won’t live very long. Understand me?"
Lexa understood the fire in the other woman’s eyes and she nodded. "Why is Brennan so bent out of shape about this?"
"Brennan blames himself, he’s the one who brought Emma in, convinced her to be one of us."
"Plus he’s got the whole big brother complex with Jesse?"
"Something like that yeah. He feels like he should have known what Emma was doing to Jesse that he should have protected him. Jesse protected us, shielded us whenever we went out but now he can’t control his powers and that’s Emma fault Jesse protected us and all the while we were letting him be hurt by someone we all trusted. Emma did things to Jesse he won’t talk about and I can’t imagine anything worse than what we already know."
Lexa jolted awake and was running for the door before she had a clear idea of what had awakened her. In the hallway she saw Brennan and Shalimar running to Jesse’s room. She realized that what had awakened her was the sound of someone screaming.
Lexa paused in the doorway; Shalimar was leading a retching Jesse to the bathroom while Brennan stripped the sweat soaked sheets from the bed.
The elemental scowled at her as he pulled fresh linens from the closet.
"Why is Jesse sick?" she asked, seeing the young man crouching in front of the toilet vomiting. Shalimar knelt beside him, rubbing his back.
"We’ve got it covered," Brennan’s voice was cold as he pushed past her, "Why don’t you go back to bed?"
"What’s your problem?" Lexa growled as he disappeared downstairs. She went into the bathroom, Shal was helping Jesse to stand up, he was shivering and a thin trail of blood tracked down his chin from his nose.
Lexa grabbed a washcloth, wet it under the tap and handed it to Shalimar who took it with a grateful smile.
Together they got Jesse back into bed. Shalimar washed his face with the cool damp cloth and tucked the blankets around him.
"Can you stay with him for a little bit?" Shal asked, eyes pleading. "Just until he goes back to sleep." She stood up, looking toward the door as the sounds of Brennan striking the wall echoed down the hallway. "I need to go calm Brennan down."
Lexa settled down on the bed beside Jesse. "What’s going on?"
Shalimar closed her eyes for moment, pain flicking across her face. "I’ll tell you later, just please, stay with Jess?"
Lexa nodded and Shalimar moved quickly out into the hall. Lexa could hear Shal’s calm voice and Brennan’s angry replies but not well enough to make out what they were saying.
"I’m sorry." Jesse whimpered and Lexa focused her attention on him.
"Shhh." She stroked his face and he flinched away.
"I won’t do it anymore, I promise."
"It’s okay Jess, a little lost sleep isn’t going to kill me."
"Don’ t…" Tears leaked from his tightly clenched eyes, "Don’t hurt me anymore, please." He begged.
Lexa frowned, realizing that he wasn’t responding to her but trapped in some nightmare. "No one is going to hurt you Jesse. You’re safe now."
Jesse moved restlessly, his breathing rapid and shallow. Lexa retrieved the washcloth and tried to hold it against his upper lip as blood began to stream down his cheeks, mixing with the tears.
"Shhh." She tried to calm him. The more she tried to hold him the harder he struggled to get away.
"Help him sit up." Shalimar appeared silently startling Lexa.
"Come on Jess, wake up baby. It’s okay, it’s just a bad dream." the feral whispered.
Once Jesse was sitting up Shalimar massaged the back of his neck. Jesse’s eyes opened and he began to cough.
"It’s okay." Shalimar breathed, "Just a dream."
"I’m sorry I woke you up." His eyes were wide and frightened as he looked warily at Lexa, "I’m fine you can go back to bed."
Shalimar smiled at him, took the cloth from Lexa and cleaned his face, "It’s okay we’ll go and let you get back to sleep."
Jesse looked relived as they got up to leave. "Thanks Shal." His eyes dropped, "Lexa…"
"Hey everyone has bad dreams sometimes." she smiled, "even me."
~^~
"She used him. Emma used Jesse as a test subject in order to hone her powers." Shalimar paced back and forth, hands clenched into fists.
"We didn’t know what she was doing to him. After one of our missions Jesse started having headaches, nightmares, we thought it was just stress. Emma took over taking care of him when he’d wake up screaming and we let her, we had no idea she was the cause of it all along. Later I started to smell her on him; her scent was all over him every morning. I asked him and he freaked on me he denied it and so did she. He was getting better but he was changing, getting colder and distant. After she died the nightmares and headaches came back and it was then that we found out what she’d been doing."
"He told you she messed with his mind?" Lexa asked.
"Not in so many words, we pieced it together from things he’s said while he’s half out of it." explained Shalimar.
"And you believe him?"
"Why would he lie?" Shalimar demanded angrily. "He trusted her, we all trusted her and she hurt Jesse. Sometimes he trusts the wrong people and sometimes he gets hurt. If you hurt him you won’t live very long. Understand me?"
Lexa understood the fire in the other woman’s eyes and she nodded. "Why is Brennan so bent out of shape about this?"
"Brennan blames himself, he’s the one who brought Emma in, convinced her to be one of us."
"Plus he’s got the whole big brother complex with Jesse?"
"Something like that yeah. He feels like he should have known what Emma was doing to Jesse that he should have protected him. Jesse protected us, shielded us whenever we went out but now he can’t control his powers and that’s Emma fault Jesse protected us and all the while we were letting him be hurt by someone we all trusted. Emma did things to Jesse he won’t talk about and I can’t imagine anything worse than what we already know."