Disclaimer: I don’t own anything except my brand new computer, and I sure as hell don’t WANT to own MX!  I never wrote a fanfic, especially not in English, so we’ll see if it is “good home” material enough. Summary: well, it starts at the end of the last ep of season 2, mostly Bren POV Rating: PG-13 Pain.  All he could feel was pain.  A throbbing headache was bringing him to consciousness.  Where in hell was he?  What happened?  Where were the others?  The explosion!  As he remembered what happened, he tried to open his eyes but to no avail.  The pain was too much.  He could hear sounds around him, slow beats that were starting to speed.  The more he focused on it and regaining consciousness, the more he panicked and the louder and quicker the sound became.  He then felt a hand on his shoulder. "Brennan!  Brennan, do you hear me?  Calm down, I’m here, you’re safe." This voice.  He knew the voice, but in his fogged mind and panic, he couldn’t understand what was said to him.  The hand started to push his chest gently but firmly back on the bed when he didn’t even know he changed position.  What the hell was happening! "What’s happening?  Where am I?" The more he gained consciousness, the less he could feel the pain on his head but the more he realised a terrifying thing.  He couldn’t see.  During his trashing movements, he had opened his eyes without even realising it, and he didn’t see a single thing.  Not a light, not a shadow, not even some shades of black to say it was the night.  Just darkness.  That’s when he stopped all movements.  He was an elemental mutant, he could make electricity, he was tall, strong, and here he was, blind.  The name was hard on him.  His stillness worried the person next to him that started to touch his arm gently and speak softly. "Bren, it’s gonna be okay.  It’s me, Jess.  Do you hear me?" "Jess?  My God, what happened?  What is going on? Why can’t I see?" He was getting frustrated not knowing, and terribly scared. "Hold on, I’ll check on you, just try to relax, okay?" "How the hell do you want me to relax?  What’s going on, man?!" "Bren, I..." "No, Jess!" interrupted the agitated elemental.  "I want to know what’s happening.  I NEED to know." It was the begging and tone of voice that did it, that made Jesse cave. "Alright, I’ll tell you.  You were in a coma for weeks.  We actually thought we had lost you a couple of times, but you always came back," said Jesse in a sombre tone. "I was in a coma?" repeated the young man, stunned. "Yeah, it was touch and go, we all stayed with you at any time of day and night.  We already…"  But Jesse couldn’t finish the sentence as tears began to form in his eyes and his throat tightened. "Jess, what exactly happened?" pleaded Brennan.  "I remember the explosion, and then I saw Emma starting to fall…  Oh my God!  Emma!  Is she alright?!  What happened, Jess?  Tell me she is okay!"   Upon seeing him like that, the blond man tried to choke back on his tears and gain a little composure before answering.  "You saved her, Bren.  I don’t know how exactly, but you did it." "I remember her falling," he said in a faraway voice, as if reliving the moment.  "I couldn’t let it happen, not to her." The slip didn’t go unnoticed by his friend.  For months he wondered what was going on with his friends, even though he was suspicious.  But now wasn’t the time for this kind of thought. "I remember jumping after her," continued Brennan, "and holding her as we fell.  She was so scared, and so was I but I couldn’t let her see it.  I remember trying to use my power to slow down our fall, and that’s about it.  What happened then, Jess?" His hold on the sheet was tightening with each minute that went by.  Jesse couldn’t really look him in the eye, but he had to know. "She is okay.  The land was rough, but she only got scraps and bruises." "That’s good," answered the taller man, pondering where that left him.  All that really mattered was her. "You hit your head pretty hard during the fall, Bren.  That’s what caused the coma, and maybe your vision problem." "Maybe Adam can check it out, maybe it is not permanent?  Where is he?" "Bren, Adam was burnt pretty badly during the explosion." Jesse was hoping to no avail that he wouldn’t be the one to tell his friend how bad it was.  Bad for all of them.  As he pondered which kind of future they would now have, he saw nothing, so how could he say that to his friend?  To his brother? As he watched emotions cross over his friend’s face, from anger to despair, he knew he had to tell him everything. "Adam was burnt and lost part of his face, Bren.  We were all in the hospital for weeks, and when he decided he felt better, he just kind of left." "What do you mean he left?" "He said he couldn’t see us suffer like that, that it was his fault." "The arrogant SOB!  Of course it is his fault, just as it is ours!  For God’s sake, we are not kids, we knew what we were going into!  How could he abandon us like that?!  Please Jess, tell me it’s not true!" "Em and I will take care of you, Bren.  We’ll take care of each other.  We’re a family, right, bro!"  The hopeful tone in Jesse’s voice almost made Bren miss what he was trying not to say. "Jesse, what about Shalimar?" "She didn’t make it.  A…"  Trying for the 100th time to gain his composure, he squared his shoulders, held his head high and tightened his jaw.  "She was crushed by the building when it fell apart." "Man, Shal, and Adam…  Tell me at least you and Emma are okay, I don’t care if I’m not able to see for the rest of my life, please tell me this nightmare has an end and you are both okay," he pleaded. As Jesse looked at his position in the wheelchair, he couldn’t tell him.  Not yet.  When he was better, he would tell him, but for the time being, he would spare him. "We’re good, Bren.  Emma is just resting.  I know she will stop by later to know how you are.  Those past few months took their toll on her.  I will let you rest also, you need it." As he started to leave, Brennan’s voice stopped him.  "Wait!  You just said months, but before you told me weeks.  Jesse, how long was I passed out?" "Four months, Bren." He then left the room, letting his friend get used to his new situation, both wondering what the future would bring, or if hell wasn’t that far from where they were now.