Count On It, a Mutant X story by Glacis. Rated NC17, no copyright infringement intended. Spoilers for "Blood Ties." Sequel to Friendship but can stand alone.

Jesse hadn't been too sure when Brennan suggested a night out dancing, without the girls. For a wild instant, he'd thought Bren actually wanted to go out dancing with him, and he wasn't sure he was quite ready to be that out about their relationship. Then they'd ended up at Dingo's. Brennan started dancing while Jesse went to the bar.

The rest of the evening went pretty much that way. A few girls came up and tried to get Jess to dance, but he was much more interested in watching Bren. Knowing Bren knew he was watching. He grinned into his glass. Foreplay, Brennan Mulwray-style. Jess could get into watching a hell of a lot more than he could into dancing.

Besides, he knew when the night was over, Bren would be coming home with him. Later, coming home in him. So Bren could get wild and sweaty out on the dance floor, and Jesse could watch, and the girls could get a little whirl, and later on the boys would reap the benefit.

As usual, he was ready to leave before Brennan. The adrenaline and arousal built up in his system, in an odd way that made him sympathize with Bren, because it felt like there was a charge building up under his skin and he would go up in a ball of flame at any moment if he didn't get some relief. Paying the tab, he pushed off from the bar, shrugged into his leather coat and walked purposefully outside.

Brennan, of course, was chatting up yet another brunette. Jesse half-grinned, knowing Bren knew he was right behind him, and cleared his throat. "I'm calling it a night. Coming home?"

Bright brown eyes twinkled at him, and Jess grinned back involuntarily. Brennan was so damned cute when he played the tease.

"After I walk Dana to her car," he answered, just enough of a pause before the girl's name to make it blindingly clear she was only an excuse to tease Jess a little longer.

With a knowing look, Jess told him, "See you soon."

"Not too soon, I hope!" Bren shot back. Jesse shook his head.

They both knew better.

Walking down through the parking garage below the club, his instincts began to sound the alarm. Somebody was following him. Whoever it was knew what he was doing, but Jess had training, paranoia and practice on his side, and the stalker had no chance. De-massing until he could step back through the wall, Jess waited until the follower passed the place where he'd changed form, then re-massed to normal density and called out a challenge.

"Who the hell are you and why are you following me?"

The face that turned to meet his froze him in shock.

"It's me, Jess."

"I can't believe it!" It had literally been years. Jesse was stunned. The man stepped forward, eyeing him appraisingly.

"Hey, you're getting bigger. Hitting the gym, huh?" He enveloped Jesse in a warm bearhug. "Oh, it's great to see you."

Likewise, Jesse thought, but what he said was, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm on an undercover assignment. It's gotten kind of ugly."

For some reason, that didn't surprise Jesse in the least. Before he could press for details he heard the whine and concussion of shots fired at them. They both ran instinctively for cover.

"What's going on?" Jesse gave a quick glance around the corner, ducking back behind the cement as another spray of bullets came his way.

With a wry grin, the man admitted, "I'm in a little bit of trouble."

Talk about stating the obvious. Jesse asked, "Who are these guys?" The black sedans looked familiar, but he didn't recognize any of the shooters.

"Nexxogen security. We've got to get out of here."

Sounded like a plan. Jesse might get answers that made more sense once they were out of the line of fire. As they wove back behind some cars, a woman's voice rang out.

"You can't keep running, Noah. Give it up!"

She sounded mean and angry, a bad combination in anyone, but particularly bad when dealing with the minions of quasi-governmental omni-corporations like Nexxogen. Jesse'd learned that the hard way dealing with Genomex. There wasn't much to choose between the two organizations. Before he could go any further, the man broke cover and took off. One of the sedans came tearing after him, tires squealing, echoing against the walls. Jesse bit off a curse and threw himself after the man.

"Noah! Get out of the way!"

As Noah scrambled away in front of the car, Jesse placed his body between the fleeing man and the oncoming sedan. Timing it perfectly, he massed solid a moment before the car hit him. When the sedan hit his solid frame, it crumpled like aluminum. The thugs inside staggered out.

"He's one of Eckhart's new mutants!" the woman shrieked. Heeding her call, the thugs scattered and retreated. Jesse de-massed back to normal and looked around.

He was all alone in the parking garage. "Noah?" Seeing a cell phone, he picked it up. The digital readout said 'I'LL CALL YOU'. He grinned and headed toward his car. Brennan rounded the corner, looking concerned.

"Hey, you okay?" He glanced around at the skid marks, the destroyed car, and Jesse, walking away from it with a bemused grin on his face. "What the hell happened here?"

Jess shrugged, continuing toward the car, knowing Bren would follow. "My dad showed up."

It was a quick ride back to Sanctuary. Brennan kept looking at him, expecting Jesse to say something, anything, about his adventures while Bren was smooching Dana goodnight. Jesse grinned and kept his mouth shut, knowing it would drive Brennan nuts. Besides, he wasn't quite sure what to tell Bren, because he had very little clue to what actually had happened. His dad showed up, people tried to kill him, he'd disappeared. Telling Brennan that would only prompt more questions, and he had no answers. Wouldn't have any answers until his dad called and answered some of Jesse's own questions.

Once back home, Jesse headed for his bedroom. Brennan paused in the hallway, and Jess glanced back over his shoulder as if to ask him what his problem was. Bren grinned, shook his head, and followed Jesse into the darkened room. Without bothering with the lights, Jesse gave into the adrenaline rushing through him from watching Bren dance then saving his dad's life. Shrugging out of his jacket, toeing off his boots, he turned and pushed Brennan against the door, kissing him before any of the questions bubbling on his tongue could escape.

He tasted great, like tonic and vodka and peppermint gum, over a taste that was distinctly Brennan. As soon as Jesse's mouth clamped over his, Brennan opened his own, and Jess swore he could feel little fingers of electricity dancing along his tongue where they touched. It was always like this with Brennan, a tiny charge running all over him, and whenever Jesse touched him it was like being wrapped up in miniature lightning. Made his skin tingle, his blood race, his cock sit up and beg.

Brennan unwrapped his hands from Jesse's head, running them down over his shoulders and along his sides before clamping them on his ass. The tiny jolts of energy flowed through the touch, and Jesse whimpered and humped up against Brennan helplessly. He forced his hands away from Brennan long enough to tear at his own clothes, separating just enough for Brennan to get the hint and start stripping. Never being slow on the uptake, particularly when it came to sex, Brennan was barely a beat behind him.

Tossing the last of their clothing out of the way, leaning against Bren to kick off his jeans and rubbing his chest against Brennan's like a cat stropping itself, Jesse began muttering encouragement. Not that Brennan needed any. As soon as he got his shorts dropped to the side and was as naked as Jesse, he wrapped his arms around Jess and turned him until he was the one up against the wall. Jesse's hands found their way into Brennan's hair as Bren kissed his way from Jesse's neck down his chest and stomach, a direct line down his groin, bypassing his leaking cock to home in on his balls and start licking them.

Jesse didn't know whether to pull Brennan's head up to his waiting, aching cock, lean back and enjoy what that talented tongue was doing to his balls, or give up and die of frustration. A whine escaped and he felt as much as heard Brennan chuckle. The vibration around his balls nearly made him come right there.

"God, Bren, please," he whispered, prying his eyes open and staring needfully down at Brennan. Wicked dark eyes gleamed up at him, and he whimpered again. "Not gonna last long, babe," he managed to force through a throat gone tight and a mouth gone desert-dry.

The bright eyes softened, and Brennan had mercy on him, drawing up and away far enough to take Jesse's cock in his mouth. He spent a long time licking and sucking at the tip, until Jess was humping back and forth hard enough to shake the door. Then he wrapped his arms around Jesse's hips and held him still as he swallowed until his nose was pressed into the wiry brown curls at the base of Jesse's cock.

Once there, he started humming and swallowing around Jesse at the same time. On top of the prolonged build-up, it was too much, and Jesse wrenched one hand away from Brennan's head, stuffing it in his mouth so he didn't bring the whole team down on their heads with his scream. His head swam and it felt like his entire groin was electrified, the incredible heat zapping down his cock to his balls then exploding out along his spine until he half-expected to see fire shooting out of his fingertips and toes. Through it all, Brennan sucked and swallowed, his appreciative moans, muffled as they were, a delightful counterpoint to the muffled scream Jesse couldn't hold back.

As he came down from his climax, Jesse's knees gave, and the strong arms wrapped around his hips slid up to cradle his shoulders, warm hands curving along the back of his head, holding him steady for a long, deep kiss, salty and tender. Jesse kissed back blindly, tongue seeking, lips open and hungry. He felt himself pulled forward then turned, and when he got enough of his brain back in working order to figure out what had happened, he discovered he was on his back with Brennan kneeling between his spread thighs. His legs were draped over Bren's shoulders and his ass cradled against Bren's pelvis as he worked his own leaking cock deep into Jesse.

The first slow thrust pulled a groan from Jess as Brennan slid home, and his earlier thought returned to him. Coming home with Bren, having Bren come home within him. It didn't get any better than it was right that very second. Brennan leaned forward, letting Jesse's legs slip down so they were draped over his bent arms, and he kissed Jesse again, sliding in deeply, then back out, hard and slow, as he did. Jesse's head was swimming again by the time the kiss ended, but it didn't matter.

All that mattered was the way Brennan leaned back, arched over him, drove into him. The sweat trickling down Bren's chest, turning the hair there into a mat of shining curls, easing the friction between them as Brennan slapped into him. The way Bren's eyes closed, and his mouth fell open, and the muscles in his arms clenched, and the way his throat flushed as he came.

The feel of him lying against Jesse afterward, breath panting out, ruffling Jesse's own sweat-damped hair, and the warmth of him pressing against the full length of Jesse's body, covering and keeping him like no one ever had, or ever would again.

They barely made it to the bed, not wanting to untangle and too exhausted for anything like coordination, but they eventually did. Pulling the sheets out of the way and falling into bed, curling up against Brennan's side and nestling his head into the damp scented heat of Bren's neck, Jesse smiled to himself.

His dad was back. Bren was his. All was right in the world. The questions could wait until later. All the questions. Brennan's. His dad's. Jesse's own.

He dreamed that night, unusual for him. His dreams were chaotic, full of images that made no sense, soundless, slow-motion, clashes of color ringing of loss and confusion. He woke early, to find Brennan wrapped around him like an octopus. Ignoring the needs of his bladder and the slight headache from too much club atmosphere the night before, Jesse stared down at the tousled dark head and the relaxed face, looking so much younger and innocent than it ever would when Bren was awake. He wondered what his dad was up to, and how Bren would react to meeting him, and thought about how much he hoped the two would along.

Twenty minutes passed, and the urge to go pushed at him, not just for the toilet but with an overall need to move. Pressing a light kiss against Brennan's mouth, grinning when he got no response at all from the deeply-asleep man, Jesse carefully slipped out of bed. Bren grumbled but didn't wake, automatically pulling Jesse's pillow over and clutching it to his chest before settling back down.

A quick shower and shave later, Jesse dressed. Brennan still hadn't stirred. Looking for more alert company than his unconscious mate, Jesse wandered down to the kitchen and caught up with Emma just as she was firing up the latte machine.

"One for me, too?" he begged nicely. She grinned, gave him an appraising look that told him clearly she knew precisely what he'd been up to lately and wholeheartedly approved, then nodded him out the door as she gathered up the cups.

"So, what's caused the extra glow this morning, Jesse? Brennan's good, but he's not usually this good."

Not quite able to control his blush, Jesse changed the subject. "Well, we went out to Dingo's. It was fun."

"Pushkin's playing?"

"Nah, it was the Hoppers, but it was still pretty good. Bren danced and I drank --"

"The usual!" she teased. He grinned back at her.

"Started out that way, but it had a bang-up ending! I headed off to get the car, and got the surprise of my life. Somebody was following me, so I turned up behind him and called him on it. Turns out it was my father. He turned around and all the sudden, bam! There he was standing right in front of me. It was great."

Emma shook her head and mused, "I've never heard you talk about your dad before."

Jess shrugged. "That's 'cause I don't get to see him very much. He's a covert operative, so he's always away on assignment." She handed him one of the lattes and grinned at him again. "Thanks." He couldn't read her expression. "What?"

"It's just that I've never seen you this happy before. Or this wired."

"It's great to see him again!" Not to mention the fact that he and Brennan'd had some of the best sex ever, and he could still feel aftershocks from the lightning between them. But she was right, it was bumping into his dad that had him more hyped than usual. There were so many questions ... "But, uhm, I am a little concerned with what's happening with him."

She put on her 'understanding' face. "Who did you say was after him?"

Before Jesse could answer, Adam came up from the other direction and joined the conversation. "Nexxogen. It's a bio-engineering firm specializing in the genetic replication of protoplasm."

What a mouthful. Jesse gave him a slightly confused look. "You mean cloning?"

"In a way." Jesse wondered what way that was, but before he could ask Adam went on. "And it seems likely that Genomex has had something to do with them in the past."

"Outsourcing?" Emma asked.

Adam didn't answer directly, but then he seldom did. He often said he preferred to get the team thinking for themselves. Jesse thought he just liked to confuse people. Tuning back into the conversation he heard Adam say, "Remember, we heard about Nexxogen last year; they had an industrial accident outside the city of Martes."

It made the papers. Jesse remembered reading about it. "Yeah, big fire outside their facility."

"Didn't they blame that on a gas leak or something?" Emma sounded like she didn't believe it.

"Yeah." Neither did Adam.

At least it was a possible explanation for why Noah had suddenly shown up. "Hey, maybe my dad's investigating it," Jess offered.

"He could be. Have you heard from him again?" Adam had a weird look, more watchful than Jesse expected.

"No, not yet. Why?"

Once again Adam gave him a non-answer. "Let me know the minute he calls. Maybe we can do something to help."

"Okay."

Why would Adam be suspicious? Jesse turned the question over in his mind as Adam walked out the door heading for his lab. Brennan, looking deliciously half-awake and rumpled, wandered in the other door. Emma gave them both a knowing grin and ducked out after Adam. Jesse grinned after her departing back and put thoughts of Adam's motivations away to ponder later. Brennan planted himself in front of Jesse and wound his arms around Jesse's waist.

"Hey, you," he whispered.

So damned sexy. Jesse shivered at the greeting and reached up to run his hands through Bren's thick hair, using it as a handle to get that smiling mouth within kissing range. Hands roamed over his body, pressing them together, as they stood there leaning against one another and kissed for a long time that wasn't nearly long enough.

Because as soon as Brennan's mouth disengaged from Jesse's it became obvious his brain was awake again, and he had questions. All the questions Jesse couldn't answer yet.

"So what's up with your dad?" Dark eyes a little too penetrating, as if Jesse was trying to hide something, when he honestly didn't know.

Trying to shrug it off, he ran inquisitive fingers down Bren's chest and played with his waistband, but Brennan wasn't going to be sidetracked. Chuckling a little, he caught Jesse's hand in his own and brought it up to his mouth for a quick kiss. The tenderness in the gesture made Jesse's breath catch in his throat.

"C'mon, you can tell me. What's going on, Jess?"

"I don't know," he tried, but Bren gave him a sideways look that plainly said he didn't believe him. That, combined with lingering frustration at his own ignorance, caused Jesse's temper to flash. Not wanting to land it on Brennan, Jesse gave him a tight smile and a quick kiss. "I'm off to work out. Wanna join me?"

Brennan's hands dropped away reluctantly, and he gave Jesse a measuring look. "Nah, that's okay. I'll catch up with you later."

Jesse nodded and turned to go, half-disappointed Bren wasn't going with him and half-relieved to escape cross-examination, because he knew Brennan wasn't going to let it drop. An hour later, kicking the crap out of holographic GS agents, some of the excess energy crawling through him finally began to dissipate.

He'd worked up quite a sweat, if he hadn't exactly beaten his demons, when Shalimar climbed the stairs and sat down to watch. He tossed her a smile, ducked an incoming fist and kicked the holographic thug in the gut.

"How ya doin'?" she asked too brightly. He contained a grimace at her transparency, wondered how long it had taken Emma to spill, and dodged a kick aimed at his head. Taking hold of the foot as it whizzed past him, he used it as a lever to toss his opponent over his shoulder, taking him out with a palm to the throat when he was down. The holograph disappeared.

"I'll be doing a lot better when my dad calls." Another enemy took the last one's place, and Jesse twisted to get out of the way of a chop, punching the thug in the face and belly with a one-two combination. He continued to fight as Shalimar did her best to approach the subject delicately.

"Saw the picture of the two of you in your room." With all the tact of a raging elephant, she let him know she'd looked for him there earlier when he was making out with Brennan elsewhere. He grinned, threw a body-block at the hologram and followed it up with a fist to the diaphragm. It disappeared, vanquished.

"Yeah, the father-son martial arts tournament." Another GS agent appeared, and Jesse, bored now, put it down quickly with a roundhouse punch and a body slam. The hologram landed at Shalimar's side, unconscious, then disappeared. Jesse wiped the sweat from his face and sat down on the step above Shalimar. She obviously wanted to talk, and he'd try to oblige her. Talking about himself never came easy, but for her he was willing to give it a shot. "We went every year until my parents split up. Then my dad's job with the Feds took him undercover and overseas."

"Is that why I never met him?" She sounded avidly curious. He grinned. If it would be interesting introducing Bren to Noah, it could be dangerous introducing Shalimar. His surrogate big sister took her role seriously.

"Yeah. I haven't even seen him since he went off to Europe." I missed him, he didn't say. She heard anyway.

"You okay? You look a little worried about him." Her voice was soft, like the rumble of a cat curled up close in the middle of the night, and it calmed him in much the same way. He shrugged at her question.

"The guy is a decorated hero. I mean, he's been on a lot of assignments. But something's different." He'd worried about Noah before, but this time ... he didn't know quite what to think.

"Well, if you need any of us to jump in and help, you just say the word." As if she'd needed to say it. He knew. Still, it was good to hear.

"Thank you." He smiled sweetly at her and pushed himself off the step, glancing over his shoulder as she activated the program he'd been using and started kicking holographic GS ass with gusto. He was still smiling when he stripped off and stepped under the shower spray a few minutes later.

The smile got hotter when he felt a big warm body step up behind him.

"Conservation is a good thing," Brennan purred in his ear. Long fingers took the soap from Jesse's hand and began to rub it slowly over his body. The combination of steam, pleasant tiredness from the workout, and the stimulation he always felt up-close and naked to Brennan had Jesse both relaxed and hard as a rock in no time.

Leaning back against Bren's chest, Jess luxuriated in the care Brennan took cleaning him, taking his time, running his soapy hands all over Jesse's body from his scalp to his calves. Kneeling behind him, running his palms up between Jesse's legs, Brennan leaned forward and buried his face in the curve of Jesse's ass. The quick flick of a hot tongue at his center nearly made Jesse's knees buckle.

Putting his arms out quickly, bracing himself against the slippery tiles, Jesse hung his head and bit his lip to keep from moaning loudly as Brennan licked him thoroughly, inside and out. Bren's hands clenched around his ass cheeks, pulling them apart so he could get closer, and Jesse started whimpering again, trying his damnedest to keep the noise to a minimum. He didn't want company to come see 'how he was doing' until he'd been thoroughly fucked. But there was nothing he could do about the way his hips jerked back against Brennan's hold, or the way his cock dribbled, hardening until it stood straight out from his body. He didn't dare touch it, or he'd come right away, and he wanted to come with Brennan inside him.

"Please," he muttered, gasping for breath as Brennan's chin moved against the thin skin below his hole and that wicked tongue delved deeply within. "God, Bren, babe, fuck me, now, please, touch me." He was babbling, and he knew it, but there wasn't a thing he could do about it. Happily, Brennan got the hint that he was close to meltdown. When that wonderful mouth went away, Jesse cried out quietly at the loss.

"Ssh, it's okay, Jess, I've got you," Bren murmured in his ear, then he did indeed get him, pushing all the way inside with a single stroke. Jesse's voice broke. Brennan gave an evil little laugh before reaching around and wrapping his hand around Jesse's straining cock.

That was all it took, the pressure of Brennan's cock stretching his ass and Brennan's fingers milking his own cock. Jesse came all over the wall, body convulsing, fucking himself on Brennan as he jerked and shivered. Bren stood still, holding him through it, moaning quietly as he fought to keep from coming himself. When Jess finally finished, he hung there, shivering, in Brennan's arms.

"Okay?" Bren asked with some difficulty, and Jesse nodded his head, completely incapable of forming coherent speech. At his signal, Brennan sighed and cut loose, holding Jesse's hips and pistoning in and out of him hard. Jesse laid his head against his now-folded arms and concentrated on the tingling all through his body from his orgasm, the way his ass clenched and released around Brennan's bulk, and the length pounding into him. He was still partially hard, and with each stroke in, a little more fluid dribbled out of his cock, as if his climax just kept going. It felt incredibly good.

It always did, with Brennan.

Feeling the movement behind him speed up, Jesse worked his ass deliberately, milking Brennan until Bren came with a scream muffled against Jesse's neck. Arms tightened around him like steel bands, and Jesse groaned appreciatively, then Brennan relaxed against him, nearly pulling them both down as all the strength went from his legs. Laughing under his breath, Jesse wriggled until Bren's cock slipped completely from him, then turned in Bren's arms. Reaching over for the soap, he leaned Brennan up against the wall and proceeded to wash him, returning the favor that had started their most recent bout of lovemaking.

About the time Jesse got to Brennan's knees, Bren's brain must have woken up, because he said, with a determined tone, "Jesse, about your dad ..."

Before he could finish the question, Jesse leaned forward and deep-throated the soft cock dangling in front of his face. By the time he finished, pushing Brennan's feet apart so he could kneel between them, sliding two slick fingers up Bren's ass to stroke over his prostate, and sucking as hard as he could, Brennan completely forgot what he was going to ask. Dropping his hand to his own renewed erection, Jess pumped himself, timing it so that when Bren came again, so did he, splattering Brennan's legs with come as Jess swallowed everything he was given.

Climbing up Brennan's body, slumped against the wall, Jesse planted a deep, fast kiss on his mouth. Staring up into the unfocused brown eyes, he grinned.

"Gotta run, babe. See you later."

He was out of the shower, dried, dressed and gone before Brennan got it together enough to try to follow. Avoiding his room, the common area and the kitchen, he went to the library and started doing some background searching on Nexxogen. If they were after his dad, Jesse wanted to know as much as he could about them.

Not much that he found made sense, but the feeling that there was more to the story than what he could see lingered as he paced outside the library. The cell phone ringing in his pocket startled him. Pulling it out, he answered as quietly as he could, instinctively not wanting to be overheard by anyone.

"Dad?"

Noah sounded the way he always did. A little mysterious, a little imperious. "Sorry 'bout last night, Jesse. Didn't mean to run out on you and leave you in the lurch like that."

"You all right?"

"Oh, I'll live. But I didn't want to get you involved in all this. I just had no idea where else to turn."

That didn't sound promising. Jesse's worry ratcheted up a notch. "Forget about it," he reassured Noah. "We're family. Let me come get you?"

"No. The situation is kind of dangerous right now."

No shit. "All the more reason why we should be handling this together," Jess said as reasonably as he could.

"All right. But you have to come alone. And you have to promise not to tell anybody about this."

Jess looked through the spaces between the steps in the circular stairwell at Brennan and Adam talking quietly to one another. They looked worried. Their voices carried on the still air.

"Think he'll be up for it?" Adam asked. Bren shrugged.

"You want me to talk to him?"

Jesse winced. He had to be the 'him' Bren meant.

Adam looked resolved, if unhappy. "Yeah."

Noah's voice brought him back to the telephone conversation. "Jess? You still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here, dad." He didn't want to make that promise. "But --"

"There's no buts." Noah interrupted him sternly.

Jesse sighed silently. He was very reluctant about keeping all this secret, not wanting to keep things from Brennan nor to break his implicit word to Adam to let him know when Noah called. But in the face of his dad's insistence, he didn't know what else to do. "Okay. I won't tell anyone."

"That's my boy. Knew I could count on you."

Holding back a second, more exasperated sigh, Jesse tried once more to reason with Noah. "I still think we're taking a big chance here."

Without a bit of hesitation his dad informed him, "And it's a chance we have to take."

Jesse gave up, for the moment. "If you say so. Now where are you?"

"Okay, I'll be in the courtyard of the Fairview Complex."

His dad sounded a lot more relaxed, even if Jess himself was very much on edge with having to keep this from his team. Deciding to play it as it came, Jess said, "I'm on my way."

He didn't make it out the door before Brennan caught up with him. Jesse bit his tongue, fighting the urge to tell Bren what was going on.

"Hey." Nice and low-key, that was Brennan. Jesse saw right through him.

"Hey," he answered, giving nothing away.

"Is it just me, or have you been a little AWOL since your dad popped up?"

Aside from the sex, Jesse had been careful to keep himself out of sight. Still, he figured it wouldn't do any harm to toss the ball into Brennan's court. Maybe confuse the issue long enough to allow Jess to escape. "Nah, I've been around. I just figure you've been busy."

Brennan gave a sarcastic, "Oh, yeah" that Jesse knew he deserved, since it was Jess who'd been conspicuously absent, not Bren. Still, he didn't take the bait, continuing toward the door. Brennan followed on his heels.

" So, Adam and I've been doing a little research on Nexxogen. Sounds like your dad had a pretty rough time."

He was fishing. Jesse once again shrugged off his discomfort at not coming clean with Brennan and told him, "You might say that. After all, they did try to run the guy over with a car."

"Does that happen a lot?"

Fishing with explosives. Obvious, even from Bren. Jesse started to get irritated at Brennan's pushing. "Does what happen a lot?" Make him get it out in the open.

"Your dad showing up out of nowhere with a bunch of guys with guns chasing him?"

Since Brennan wasn't backing down, Jesse tried to play it cool. "Well, you never really know quite what to expect with him. I mean, he has had quite an amazing life."

"Oh, no kidding." Bren didn't sound impressed. "Not your average guy, huh?"

"No." Jesse clamped down on his temper, threatening to go off from the pressure and the worry. He defended Noah the best he could, wondering even as he did it why he bothered. "He's never been what you could call a stay-at-home dad, but he's always been there for me."

Brennan still wouldn't let it rest. "I'm just saying --"

Jess broke in, having had enough questioning and wanting to get away so he could find Noah and try to discover what the hell was happening. "I know exactly what you're saying, and you're wrong."

Changing tack abruptly, Brennan went for the confidant role. "Jesse, my father wasn't exactly the perfect--"

Not a game Jess was in the mood to play. "Brennan, please, don't start the whole your-childhood, my-childhood competition thing now, okay? Look, I've got to go." A thought struck him, and he added with an edge, knowing it would shut Brennan up and willing to worry about damage control later, "I've got a date. I'll see you."

"Yeah." Brennan's voice was quiet. "Be careful, huh?"

Jesse waved a casual goodbye and tried not to feel guilty as he drove over to Fairview. It bothered him, this situation and the promise his father had extracted from him. He wished he could tell his lover or his mentor or his surrogate big sister what was going on in his life. Maybe they could help. They usually did.

Still, once given, he kept his word. Pulling up at the complex, he looked around. The area was suspiciously empty. Climbing out of the car, instincts screaming, he looked around.

"Noah?" The cell phone rang and he pulled it out, bringing it to his ear. "Dad?"

"Get in the car," Noah ordered him abruptly.

"Where are you?"

"Just get in the car!" A small swarm of thugs, no doubt GS agents judging by the ill-fitting suits, came out of a nearby building. Noah's voice grated, "These guys aren't going to take no for an answer."

"I'm not leaving without you."

"Well, that's not going to happen." For some reason, his dad sounded amused. Not knowing what else to do, Jesse followed directions. He got in the car just as the agents converged on it. Slamming the door, he revved the engine.

Noah popped up in the back seat, nearly giving him heart failure. He was bruised and scraped, with blood running from a cut on his forehead.

"What are you waiting for?" his dad barked. "Go!"

Jesse didn't need to be told twice. He stomped down on the accelerator, GS agents scattering like birds out of the way as he sped through them. Running on automatic, Jesse headed for a Mutant Underground safehouse. It was his favorite bolt-hole when he needed private time with Brennan, because no one else used it on a regular basis. Nearly there, trying to figure out how to ask his dad what had happened in a way that would actually get an answer, Noah interrupted his thoughts.

"Did you tell anybody?" he asked suddenly.

Shaking his head 'no' Jess reassured him, "I gave you my promise. I don't think it's a good idea--"

"Please, Jess." His dad sounded tired. "Trust me on this. No one else must know."

Biting his tongue again, Jess changed the subject. "What happened to your face? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Noah brushed off his injuries. "Some GS guys got me, roughed me up a little bit, but I gave them the slip."

Jess looked at his dad's battered face, but his expression was perfectly calm, and he looked like he was telling the truth. Wondering why his instincts had such a hard time buying his dad's story, Jesse drove the rest of the way to the safehouse in silence.

Once there, he unlocked the door and gestured for Noah to precede him. Noah gave his surroundings an interested look. "What's this place s'posed to be?"

"It's supposed to be a New Mutant safehouse." His dad shot him an inquisitive look. "I'll explain later." Waving down the stairs, he said, "Why don't you go on down and I'll patch you up."

"Oh, come on, Jess. I'm fine."

He sounded the same as always. Jesse snorted with disbelief. "Yeah."

"Y'know, you're just like your mom," Noah teased him. "Always trying to take care of things."

"That's funny," Jesse teased right back. "She was always saying I was just like you because I was always acting up. Guess I got a foot in both camps, huh?"

Noah agreed affectionately, "Yeah."

Digging out medical supplies, Jess tried to find an easy way to broach the subject, finally giving up and diving in when he couldn't think of any other way to say it. "You want to tell me why those guys were chasing you?"

To his relief, his dad didn't seem to mind. "Well, I was doing pretty good at this job, until I got ... downsized. That's when I went to Nexxogen. I stumbled across this company scandal involving New Mutants."

Taking a shot in the dark, Jess asked, "Have anything to do with the Martes incident?"

His dad gave him an odd look. "What do you know about that?"

Jesse had to look away, not knowing what his eyes might say. "Just what was in the news," he lied casually.

"It was all a cover-up. If the real truth came out, heads would roll."

"Let me guess," Jess probed lightly. "Your head'd be first on the chopping block, huh?" He grinned to take the sting from the words. Noah grinned wryly back at him.

"You got that right." He chuckled, then sobered. "When I realized what had happened I knew there was no turning back. So I downloaded everything about the incident. As insurance."

"Where's the file?" Jesse looked searchingly at his dad. Noah looked innocently back.

"I put it on a disk ... which I slipped into your coat pocket last night."

That startled him. Jesse gave a disbelieving laugh. "What?!"

Noah hastened to explain. "I was afraid they'd take it away from me. Well, I knew they wouldn't take it away from you."

"Glad you trusted me, dad." It came out a little more dryly than he meant. Jesse licked his lips, and tried one last time, as delicately as he could, to convince his dad to let Jesse bring in the team. "In fact, I have some pretty powerful friends who I trust, who I think might be able to help us."

"I can't let you do that." Noah rose to his feet, looking alarmed. "These people are willing to kill to keep this secret."

"Yeah, but you don't understand -- " It's my lover. My mentor. My team. I trust them! He didn't get the chance to say it before Noah butted in.

"I feel bad enough drawing you into it. I don't want to risk anyone else. We handle this ... my way." He sounded very final.

Jesse felt trapped. "All right, dad." He had the feeling if he said anything else, Noah would disappear, and Jesse wouldn't be able to help at all.

"Okay." The alarm faded, and he reached up to hug Jesse.

Dropping it for the moment, determined to try later when Noah wasn't quite so upset, Jesse cleaned up the cuts on his dad's face and fixed some lunch. Noah talked as Jesse worked, the easy give and take they always had when they were together, as if the years apart had been only days. Noah told a few tall tales of faraway places, and Jesse dropped hints about his family of friends, the special person in his life, the woman who was close as a sister, the man who'd taught him so much, hoping to soften Noah's stance on non-involvement.

By the time they sat down to eat some of the stress Jesse'd felt since finding his dad again had started to ease. At his first bite, he grimaced. Not being the best cook in the world, the sandwiches he came up with were on the dry side, and he mentally kicked himself for not coming up with something better.

"It's terrible, huh?" He looked over to see Noah biting into the dry sandwich like it was manna from heaven.

"No, it's great. I was starving. You know, I think I may be getting too old for this kind of work."

Jesse shook his head. "Oh, shut up," he chided with great affection. "You're not old, and you're going to be around for a long time, dad."

Noah gave him a sideways grin. "Nah, you may have to take over for your old man. From what I hear, sounds like you already have."

Thinking this might be his opening, Jesse asked, "What do you mean?"

"I know about you and your team. Mutant X?"

Part of him was pleased, but another part was disappointed. If his dad knew about them, then why hadn't he wanted the team's help? Jesse blushed a little at the proud look on his dad's face, wondering if Noah had put together what he knew about Mutant X with what Jesse'd been saying about his family of friends. "How?"

"I have my sources." Jesse gave him a look. Noah shrugged. "Hey, c'mon, I've been in covert ops my entire adult life. I know what's happening. Particularly when it concerns my own son. I'm proud of you, Jess. It's great work you're doing."

That was nice to hear, but it confirmed for Jesse that Noah had caught his earlier hints and rejected them out of hand. Not knowing what else to say, Jesse said quietly, "Thank you." Noah shifted on his stool and winced slightly. "Dad?"

"I'm okay."

He didn't look it. Jesse rose, deciding to go get some supplies in and leave his dad to get some sleep. "You look beat. Why don't you get some rest? I'll go get you some clean clothes and some real food."

"No, I've got some work to do."

Stubborn bastard, Jesse thought with a suppressed grin. "Well, I'll help you with that when I get back, okay?"

"What about --"

Stubborn bastard with a one-track mind. "I'll get the disk. Don't worry about it. Get some rest. There's a cot right there. I'll be back soon."

He made good time back to Sanctuary. Perhaps too good, because he hadn't been able to come to any conclusions and was still conflicted when he arrived. Going to his room, he picked through his clothes until he found the jacket he'd worn the previous night. Brennan had dumped it on his bed earlier, with the rest of his clothes, while he'd been out with Noah. The disk was right where his dad said it was. Jesse shook his head, wondering how he'd missed it, not surprised at his dad's sleight-of-hand skills.

On his way to the kitchen, Adam waylaid him. "Jesse."

"Yeah?" Jess tried to keep his voice expressionless, not knowing how to tell Adam he'd promised his dad to keep his mouth shut without admitting there was something to hide.

"You heard from your father?"

About that, at least, Jesse didn't have to lie. "Yeah, actually. I just left him."

"I thought you were going to let me know when he called." Adam's eyes looked right through him. Jess squirmed a little.

So maybe he had to lie after all. "I'm sorry. It must have slipped my mind."

"We could have used your help getting Emma and Shalimar out of Nexxogen."

That surprised him. He glanced sharply at Adam. "What?"

"Yeah, they broke into the databank. They found out why they're after your father."

Jesse didn't want to hear it. He was already caught between his desire to believe his father, confide in his lover, rely on his friends, and trust his instincts. He couldn't handle any more right then. "Yeah. He stole a file with the real story of Martes."

"I'm afraid it goes a little deeper than that." Adam's voice was suspiciously gentle. "Your father stole the file ..." He took a deep breath and turned to face Jesse directly, "to blackmail Nexxogen."

No. Jess glared at Adam. "What?" Hoping he'd heard wrong. Knowing he hadn't.

"Yeah." Still with the gentle voice. The one he only used when he knew he was saying things others didn't want to hear. "Sorry. I know it's hard to hear something like this --"

"Look," Jesse interrupted him. "My dad is the good guy here. Obviously they're trying to frame him." Of course they were.

"I don't think so." Such steady eyes. Jesse wanted to look away, but he couldn't. So he got angry instead.

"Adam, we're talking about my dad here. I think I know him a little better than you do."

"Jesse, just listen. I want you to look at the evidence and you'll see we're not making this up --"

He'd heard more than enough. Raising his hand to stop the flow of words, Jesse turned his back on Adam and walked out the door. His mind raced all the way back to the safehouse. He pushed open the door, determined to get some answers out of Noah.

There was no sign of his father. The safehouse was a wreck, with boxes and supplies, furniture and broken stuff strewn everywhere. Jesse's gut clenched. "Dad? Dad!" He ran lightly down the stairs, poking through the wreckage looking for clues.

He found nothing.

Determined not to let his father down, Jesse pushed all his doubts and conflicts aside and concentrated on trying to find him. The rest of the night passed in a blur as he searched, driving for hours, asking informants, bribing bartenders, streetwalkers, anyone he could find. Dawn broke while he was still searching. Finally, he ran out of places to look. Dispirited, he headed back to Sanctuary.

Shalimar popped out of a side room and accosted him before he made it to his room. He was in no mood to put up with another inquisition, but he stopped when she came up to him.

"Jesse! Where've you been? Adam's been trying to find you all night."

Why wasn't he surprised. "Why?" he asked a shade nastily. "Did he find some more dirt on my dad?"

Hurt eyes looked up at him. "Look, Adam's not the bad guy in all this."

Always defending Adam. He ignored the little voice inside that chimed in with 'usually right, too.' "But my dad is."

"I'm not saying that." Her eyes narrowed. He stood his ground.

"Yeah. You are."

She tried pleading a little. "Jess, c'mon."

Feeling betrayed, knowing it was unfair but unable to stop himself, he struck out. "You're just like everybody else, aren't you?"

"Look, Jesse, I know you love your dad. But you can't ignore what's right in front of you."

Watch him. "Do you know what it's like to see your dad getting shot at? Or find him beat to a pulp?"

"No." She looked taken aback.

"No." Of course not. "Well, I thought that of everybody, you'd be on my side." Not waiting to hear what she had to say to that attack, he left, looking for a dark corner to hide in. The blasted cell phone rang, and after checking to make sure no one could overhear, he answered. "Hold on." Ducking into an empty room, away from the corridor, feeling more than a little paranoid, he brought the phone back up to his ear. "Yeah?"

"Jesse, thank God."

Well, at least he wasn't dead. Jesse cleared his throat. "Dad, we got a whole bunch of documents from Nexxogen that make it look like ..." There was no easy way to say this. Adam was right about that. "Well, they make it look like you're an extortionist.

Immediately, Noah said what Jess expected. "They're trying to frame me. You know that."

Not sure how to answer that, Jesse changed the subject. "What happened at the safehouse?"

"A pack of GS agents tracked me down. I managed to get away."

Damn, how had they found him? "Are you all right?" Looked like the safehouse was far from secure.

"For now. I want you to listen to me carefully, Jess. I need you to take the disk back to the safehouse. I want you to leave it in the first aid kit, then get out of there."

Jesse kept his voice expressionless, knowing if he let any emotion creep in it would probably sound like suspicion, because his instincts were getting harder and harder to ignore. "Why don't I meet you there?"

"Because I don't want anything to happen to you. Now do as I say, Jess. My life is at stake."

Before Jesse could respond, Noah hung up. Jesse listened to the dial tone a moment, then shook his head. Taking the disk, without a word to anyone, he boarded the Double Helix and took off.

He had a lot of thinking to do and not much time to do it. The worst part was trying to balance his desire to believe in his dad with the evidence mounting up against him, particularly since that evidence was supported by his instincts. Bringing up the document database on the shipboard computer, Jesse began to read, seeing now as he refused to see before the evidence of his father's complicity in the death of the New Mutants at Martes. Adam's voice broke into his concentration.

"Jesse ..."

He stared at the words blurring in front of his eyes. It could be a set-up. Really.

"Jesse!"

Unable to ignore the command in Adam's voice, or the concern, Jesse answered quietly, "Yes."

Adam sounded deliberately reasonable. As he usually did when he really wanted to scream at one of them but refused to lose control of his temper. "Where are you going?"

Jesse had no reason not to tell them the truth now. "I'm going to give my dad the disk on the Martes incident."

Brennan's voice came over the link, sounding more than a little pissed off. Jess knew it was because he held out on Bren, and the anger was mixed with a healthy dash of hurt feelings. "What?! Why didn't you tell us you had the disk?"

"I couldn't." He'd made a promise. Much as he hadn't wanted to, he had, and once made, he was bound by it. "I, uh ..."

Thankfully, Emma broke in before Jesse could wind himself in verbal knots. "Jesse, we're all on your side!"

Adam added his voice to hers. "All right, Jesse. I know that this isn't easy, but your dad isn't the man he pretends to be. You have to believe us!"

Staring at the evidence against his dad, Jesse admitted, "I don't know what to believe right now."

"Can't we talk about this?" A long silence followed, while Adam gave Jesse time to respond. Not knowing what to say, he said nothing. Eventually Adam asked gently, "Jesse?"

Even more quietly, Jesse said, "Off." The link went dead. Jesse stared at the words, still running together, still lying to him, still open to any interpretation he cared to give. Noah could be lying. He could be the victim of a frame-up. A damned convincing one. After a few moments, Jesse reactivated the commlink. He was still trying to think of a way to ask for backup without breaking his word to his dad when he heard Adam's voice.

"Do any of you know where Jesse might have stashed his father?"

There was silence for a moment, then the quiet chatter as the girls brainstormed. Jesse opened his mouth to clear up the mystery when Brennan's voice cut through the babble.

"I think I know."

Jesse flashed to a memory of lying in Brennan's arms after making love, one night a week or so earlier. He'd told Brennan then that the safehouse might not be the most comfortable love nest around, but it was the most private place he knew. Smiling slightly despite his pain and confusion, knowing that Bren had his back, he reached over and manually turned off the link.

He arrived at the safehouse half an hour before Noah and his GS escort. Keeping out of sight as they stormed the place, he noticed there was no sign of restraint or coercion between his dad and the head GS thug, a Black agent wearing modified headphones that told Jesse all he needed to know about the man's New Mutant gift. Seeing the obvious lack of duress, Jesse came to the painful conclusion that his dad was, indeed, blackmailing Nexxogen, and probably Genomex. And using Jesse as the tool to do it. He felt sick.

The GS agent, looking around with a fierce frown, growled, "Where the hell is it?"

Noah shrugged, stepping through the debris scattered on the safehouse floor, eyes darting in all directions looking for the disk. "He was supposed to be here. I don't know what happened."

Stepping out into plain sight, Jesse said calmly, "I do. Finally."

His father's eyes nearly popped from his head. "You were supposed to bring the disk here and then leave!"

Jess shrugged, walking casually past him toward the stairs. "Yeah. I lied. You know, like you did, about giving these guys the slip."

Noah sighed. For once, Jess was completely unaffected by his dad's displeasure. "Jesse, give me the disk."

"Everybody told me what was happening," Jesse mused aloud, "but I guess I had to see it for myself."

The GS agent grabbed Noah and put a gun to the side of his head. "Hold it right there, champ," he snarled at Jesse. "Hand over the disk or become an instant orphan."

"Oh, go ahead."

His dad's shocked gasp echoed through the room. "What?!"

"You've been using me all along," Jesse shrugged. He looked at the GS agent. "Go ahead. It's no loss."

As he'd been counting on all along, Brennan suddenly burst through the door and started to rumble with the GS agents up on the catwalk. Jesse took advantage of the distraction to de-mass, going transparent and stepping through the wall to a spot behind the GS agent holding his dad hostage. Re-massing to normal density, he ripped off the agent's headphones, rendering him vulnerable to the noise from the fight, and pulled Noah out of his grasp.

Another GS agent stepped forward, bringing his semi-automatic rifle to bear on them. Jesse sheltered Noah in front of him, massing solid as a shield. Dimly he heard the one whose headphones he'd taken screaming at the other not to shoot, but it was too late. The second agent emptied his magazine in Jesse's direction. The bullets flattened against his dense form and fell to the floor harmlessly.

When the last of the bullets were gone, Jesse de-massed back to normal, took a breath, and waded into the fight. Brennan had already taken down most of the hostile agents, but he and Jesse teamed up to knock down the last one, with Bren smacking him hard to make sure he stayed down once he was on his back. Jesse grinned up at Brennan. Bren smirked back at him, his eyes both watchful and protective. His expression made Jess glow, a lot like the lightning running between them made him feel.

"You followed me." His turn to state the obvious.

"Got that right." Brennan sounded smug. His eyes raked Jess up and down, and Jesse saw both hunger and reassurance in them. "You know who's got your back."

He'd counted on it. That was the reason he'd been able to do what he had to do. Face what he had to face. They clasped hands, a public promise of much more later, when they were somewhere private.

"Thank you," Jesse said softly, leaving a lot unsaid underlying the words, knowing Bren heard him. They turned to leave.

"Jesse?" Noah asked from behind him. Jess paused, turned, and stared at his dad, looking hesitantly at him.

"You know, dad, I hate to break it to you, but the moment they got their hands on that disk you were dead." It wasn't the only thing he had to say, but it was the only thing he wanted to say. The rest hurt too much.

Of course, Noah tried to justify himself. "Look, all I ever wanted was a chance to start over again. I didn't mean to hurt you, Jesse, but I had no choice --"

Jesse cut him off. "No choice! You've always got choices, dad. You just made the wrong one."

"My life wasn't going the way I wanted it to. I wanted to provide for you --"

With a hard grin, Jesse interrupted again. "Don't. Okay? Just ... just don't." The last of his childhood illusions crumbled. Then his dad asked the once question Jesse knew he'd have to ask.

"Do you have the disk?"

The last nail in the coffin of Jesse's trust. Shaking his head, he pulled the disk out of his pocket. Holding it in his fist, he massed solid and closed his granite-hard fingers around the tough plastic. It was no match for his massed strength. It crumpled like foil. Jesse dropped the crushed ball of useless plastic at his father's feet and asked quietly, "Why couldn't you've just come back for me?"

Noah reluctantly pulled his gaze away from the destroyed disk and looked over at Jesse. "I know the kind of father you want. And I'm sorry." He still looked sincere. Hell, maybe he was. "But I'm not that guy."

He was certainly right. Jesse shook his head. "Yeah. I'm sorry, too."

Turning back to Brennan, he walked away without looking back. He didn't know what Noah would do without his 'insurance' and quite frankly he didn't care. On the flight back to Sanctuary aboard the Double Helix, Jesse stared through the port window at the cityscape passing by below them, listening with half his attention as Bren reported in. Adam cleared them to land.

"How's Jesse?" Emma asked. Jess could feel Brennan's eyes on him, but he kept his own gaze locked on the landscape.

"I think he's going to be okay." Then he closed the link and walked over to stand behind Jess.

The warmth coming off him was a comfort even across the inch or so of space Bren left between them. Respecting his distance. Asking to be let in. Jesse leaned back enough to make contact and Brennan's arms immediately lifted to wrap around him.

"Will you be? Okay, I mean?" Brennan whispered against the side of his face. Jesse turned in his arms, following the breath, seeking the lips still forming the question. Unable to find the words, he answered with a kiss.

Their bodies were always more honest than their words, anyway. That, at least, hadn't changed, and Jess relied on it to show Brennan all the things he couldn't say. Things like thanks, and please, and yes, eventually. Brennan answered the unspoken words with some of his own, like always, and yes, and good.

Very good.

By the time they landed, Jess had straddled Brennan and settled against him, Bren's arms wrapped around his back holding him close. They'd kissed for most of the journey back to Sanctuary, not taking it further under the circumstances, but needing the comfort of touch and affection to ground them both. The reconnection eased some of the hurt that had been building since Noah had plowed into their lives. Jesse lost himself in Brennan's arms and tried not to think of how he'd wished the last few days could have gone.

Wishes never worked, anyway, and the reality he had was more than good enough for him.

Once docked, they straightened their clothes. With one last kiss Bren went off to report. Jesse, not feeling up to facing Adam just yet, wandered toward the Serenity Garden. Shalimar intercepted him before he made it there. She stopped a few inches away from him, staring up at him, affection and concern written all over her face.

"Jess? I heard what happened. You okay?"

No. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You want to talk about it?" Tentative but there, if he wanted it. He wasn't ready for that yet, either.

"No."

"You want me to leave you alone?" Whatever he asked, she'd do it. He loved her as much as she loved him, so much at times it almost hurt.

Times like this. "No."

She gave him a smile and took his arm. They walked the rest of the way to the Serenity Garden in silence, her undemanding company finishing the job Brennan's kisses had started, draining his tension away. Once beside the still water, staring at the floating candles and listening to the quiet, Jesse reached over and gave Shalimar a hug.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. She hugged him in return then sat back and stared a question at him. "For being so mean to you earlier. I know you're on my side."

"You betcha," she told him, smiling up at him. "It's okay, Jess."

And it was. That was the wonderful thing about Shalimar, about the whole team, really. They cared, and fought, and protected, and forgave, like no other people Jess had ever known. Silence fell between them again, and it was fine, easy as it always was. Jesse stared at the ripples in the water, feeling the pain at his father's betrayal begin to mute. It would take a long time to get past it, but with the help of his family of friends, he would.

The scuff of a foot against the step drew him from his thoughts and he looked over to see Shalimar smiling up at Brennan, coming along the walk toward them. Her smile turned a bit wicked as she leaned over and dropped a kiss on Jesse's cheek. "I'll leave you two alone."

He smiled back at her, and Bren gave her a cheery, "Hi, Shalimar, bye, Shalimar!" She shook her head at his silliness and trotted around the corner. Jess heard the door to the Garden lock behind her. He looked up at Brennan, who was staring down at him.

"You look better," Bren told him seriously. Jess shrugged.

"This helps. The water, the company ..."

Brennan lowered himself to sit next to Jesse. The warmth where their thighs touched shot all the way through Jess. Brennan slung an arm around his shoulders and Jesse leaned his head against Bren's chest. Without saying anything, building on the mood, Brennan began to drop feather-light kisses along Jesse's jaw, ruffling his hair and nibbling around his ear before shifting a little so he could nip down the side of his throat.

Turning to face Brennan, Jesse closed his eyes and gave himself up to the feel of Bren's mouth moving over his skin. Hands joined the fray soon after, and he found himself stripped bare, that warm hungry mouth exploring every inch of him as it was exposed. He was aching and needy by the time Brennan moved over him, pushing gently at his thighs to spread them, settling Jesse's ass against him and slowly thrusting into him.

There was a strange lack of urgency about their lovemaking, as if they had all the time in the world and were determined to use every minute of it. The emotions from the last few days had wrung them out, and they took comfort in one another, drawing out the pleasure as long as they could. Brennan lost control first, arching his back and thrusting harder into Jesse, his rhythm going ragged as his need overtook him. Jesse urged him on with hands and legs and ass, voice panting out, "Yeah, yeah, babe, that's it, come for me, do it, babe, now," as Brennan cried out softly and came deep within him.

His body completely relaxed, Bren was easy to move as Jesse shifted out from under him, holding him close and kissing him for long moments until his heart stopped racing. Petting and soothing him, Jesse gently turned him until he was on his side, then spooned up behind him. Wrapping his arms around Bren's body, stroking up along his chest then down to cradle his cock, still half-hard, Jess worked his way into Brennan's relaxed ass. He didn't often do this, preferring to be taken rather than do the taking. But there was a surrender about Brennan that Jesse didn't often see, and he knew when he felt it that Brennan wanted to be fucked. He did his best to oblige.

As close to the edge as he was, he knew it wouldn't last long, but he had a way around that difficulty too. Once buried to the hilt in Bren's body, Jesse rocked back and forth gently, stretching the relaxed muscles until he could move with ease. Then he rounded his hands across the front of Brennan's thighs, rolled them both over so that Bren was sprawled atop him, and sat up with Bren sitting in his lap, resting against his chest, impaled on his cock. With extreme care, Jess massed solid, while still inside Bren, then shifted a minute amount up and down.

Brennan cried out again, as the rock-like cock plowed him, reaching down to pull at his own cock fiercely, almost keening with pleasure. Jess stayed massed as long as he could, then de-massed to normal long enough to take a few huge breaths before massing again. By this time, Brennan was moving, fucking himself on Jesse, writhing against him shamelessly.

Being massed dulled Jesse's ability to feel sensation to the point where he could literally stay hard forever, were it not for the need to breath, and he enjoyed being able to drive Brennan completely insane this way. The only problem with it was that Bren tended to batter himself mindlessly against Jess, and then be too sore to make love for a few days afterward, so they didn't do it very often.

Each time Jesse de-massed to breathe he could feel the heat from Bren's ass and thighs, and he could tell when bruises started to come up. Brennan was panting and moaning continuously, throwing himself down on Jesse then rising up to throw himself down again, nearly delirious, and Jesse knew it was time to bring it to an end. Massing back to normal again, he wound both arms around Brennan's waist and rolled them over until Bren was on his belly, taking control back, driving into Brennan until he came. Brennan's hand didn't stop moving, and he came shortly after Jesse, screaming into the planking beneath his face as he did.

He didn't move for a long moment after his orgasm, and when Jesse got enough strength to pull out of Brennan and gather him up in his arms, he wasn't surprised to see that Bren had passed out. It had been a long and awful few days, and they made love more strenuously than normal by far, so a system-overload wasn't unexpected. Settling himself against the support beam of the deck over the water, Jesse held Brennan close and kissed him softly, snuggling him close until Brennan's eyes fluttered open.

Dazed brown eyes fixed on Jesse and Bren gave him a dreamy smile. Unable to keep from grinning back, Jesse dropped a kiss right on the middle of that smile and waited for the euphoria to calm down a little. When he was sure Brennan could both hear him and understand what he was saying, Jesse whispered, "I'm sorry."

Brennan looked at him like he'd lost his mind. Jesse blushed.

"Uhm, not for the, you know, the sex part." Bren raised an eyebrow. Jesse blushed harder. "I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark. For choosing my dad over you. I was stupid."

A warm mouth stopped his apology in its tracks. When Brennan broke the kiss, he leaned his forehead against Jesse's and told him quietly, "Not stupid. Given an impossible choice, you made the right one."

Jesse smiled at hearing his own words to his father, twisted around, turned back on him. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry you were hurt, Jess," Brennan went on, "both by your dad and by the choice you had to make."

Angling his head to steal another kiss, Jesse then leaned back so he could see Bren's face. "I'll be okay as long as I know I've got you watching my back."

The smile that answered him was breathtaking. "Count on it," Brennan told him, then kissed him sweetly. The best thing to come out of the whole sorry mess was the fact that Jesse knew he could.

And always would.

END