Unexpected by Oparu
Author's Chapter Notes: Elizabeth fits in a long overdue appointment. John wakes up to an angry Carson. Ronon decides to go after Teyla even as she falls deeper into her new life as a Wraith.
eighty-four days after Earth
Day 148
The morning's always smelled the same on Ceol. It reminded him vaguely of the countryside of Sateda. Ronon Dex had never spent much time in the country, aside from training missions, but the crisp scent of dew leaving the trees was familiar to him. After a few days, he had become fond of it. He left his bed in the barn with the other Atlantis Marines. Some of them grunted their good mornings, and most of them got up to run with the sunrise, just as he did.
The sun rose into the sky as sweat ran down his back. Ronon felt the ground fall behind him as he ran around the refugee camp. Three of the farms on the edge of the city had been taken over by the new Lantians. Most of the humans from Earth were adapting fairly well. Some of them had lived in the country before, and somehow living in shacks on the edge of the woods was much more comfortable to them than Atlantis.
He stopped on the edge of a nearly frozen stream and splashed the sweat from his face. It would snow soon, he could smell that in the air. Ronon tied his hair tighter behind his head and started running again. His chest rose and fell, filling his lungs with air as he strained his body. The burning of his muscles woke up his mind and helped him focus.
He ate with a small group of Marines, watching the children run through the Great Hall food was served in. One of the women smiled at him, gracing him with a view of her ample cleavage. There were plenty of young, unmarried women, and some of the Marines were already making their acquaintance. Daniel Jackson and Vala joined his table and Ronon nodded in his direction.
"The castle hasn't heard anything from Atlantis," Daniel began as he reached for the steaming pot of tea in the center of the sturdy wooden table. "Colonel Caldwell hasn't checked in either."
"Do you think anything happened to them?" Vala asked smearing butter on a piece of dark bread.
"The city was in bad shape," Ronon reminded her as he filled his bowl for a second time. "Even Rodney was having a hard time fixing things."
"The Ancients could leave us a nice manual?" Vala wondered as snuggled closer to Daniel. "Ancient technology for dummies? Repairing your city one-oh-one?"
Daniel smiled indulgently. "Unfortunately not," he added as he drank his tea. "The Ancients didn't intend for us to find their city until we had progressed to a level where we understood it."
Ronon smiled around his spoon. "That wouldn't have stopped any of your people that I've met," he replied gruffly.
"No," Daniel agreed with a laugh. "It really didn't, but I'm sure they never intended for the Wraith or the Replicators to grow so powerful without the Ancients around to protect the galaxy from them."
"Why haven't we talked to them?" Vala asked as she nibbled on piece of dried meat. "Can't we ask them for help?"
"It's not like we can just dial them up on the gate," Daniel reminded her as he watched Ronon smile. "The Ancients believe in keeping their hands-off approach is the only way to let us evolve to what we will eventually become."
"Farmers and hunters?" Ronon asked as he set down his empty bowl. "If we don't get some help repairing the city the only way any of us will be able to live is as the Athosians or these people do, in small enough groups to avoid the Wraith and the Replicators."
"Didn't they both take heavy losses in the Milky Way?" Vala reminded him as she reached for a bite of fruit on Daniel's plate. "Maybe they'll be busy for awhile."
"As far as we know both sides took a beating fighting each other over Earth," Daniel replied calmly. He folded his hands on the table and met Ronon's steely eyes. "It's ironic really. They did more damage to each other than either of us ever could have done."
"Maybe we'll have time to get better before they get better..." Vala hoped as the two men looked at each other grimly.
"The Asgard are our best hope," Daniel said finally watching as Vala wrapped her hands around his arm and rested her head on his shoulder.
"What about her?" Ronon asked pointing up as Queen Mab entered the front of the hall. She floated in alone, without of the aides around her Daniel was used to seeing surround royalty. "She's not just human."
"No," Daniel agreed with him again. "The few times we've spoken she's been polite but mysterious. I'd say she knows more then she's letting on. She's both the political and religious leader of all the scattered people of this planet, and as far as I can tell there hasn't been another."
"Sheppard's team met an Ancient who ruled a planet," Ronon added in. "The report said she couldn't help us."
"Chaya was an Ancient who helped her people under strict guidelines," Daniel clarified for Vala. "She took human form to keep her planet safe but was unable to help anyone else without upsetting the rules of Ascended beings."
"I don't get that from her," Ronon said as he gestured towards the Queen as she took her throne at the head of the room. "She doesn't seem to be that worried about anyone looking over her shoulder."
Her grey and black hair cascaded down her shoulders onto a gold-threaded, dark purple gown. Impossibly black eyes surveyed the room and landed on Daniel. Her lips curled into a smile as she stood.
"Forgive us for interrupting your breakfast," she began calmly. "We've received more guests from Atlantis," she said as she waved towards the door facing her. Doctor Beckett led a group into the hall made up of more exhausted expedition personnel. "Your ship Artemis arrived a few moments ago and beamed these ones down."
Daniel stood to see over the crowd of people. Sam and Jack were in the back of the group, holding hands as they looked over the faces around them. Leaving Vala at the table he cut through refugees as he made his way to them. Sam's face burst into a smile when he saw them. Jack reached out to pat his shoulder in a partial hug.
"Daniel," Jack acknowledge as he wrapped his arm around Sam's back. "How's the refugee camp?"
"Not bad actually," Daniel offered in return as he reached out to hug Sam to his chest. "Teal'c?"
"Taking the Hera to the Milky Way," Jack explained as he followed Daniel back to the table. "The bug guy knows some Jaffa must have made it through the Replicator and Wraith invasions and he wants to collect some intel. See who's coming out on top."
"How's Atlantis?" Ronon asked as Jack and Sam slid on to the bench next to him.
"It's not good," Jack offered as he reached for the tea. "Fell out of hyperspace."
"Rodney and I rigged up a cloaking device," Sam added as she looked over the food with mild chagrin. She didn't take anything and only watched as her husband loaded up his plate. "it should be hidden until we can get back from Orilla," she finished hopefully.
"You should try this," Jack suggested as he offered his plate towards Sam.
She shook her head and continued her explanation. "If we push the Artemis we should be able to make it to Orilla and back in less than three weeks. The Asgard should know enough about Ancient technology to repair the city and we should be able to get it working again."
"Don't mention she said 'should' three times," Jack teased as he swallowed a piece of bacon. "The food's really not bad."
Daniel nodded to him quickly. "Elizabeth? Colonel Sheppard?"
"They're still in the infirmary," Sam answered softly. "John was in the chair when we pushed past the limit. He's still recovering but his prognosis is good."
"Recovering?" Ronon pressed as he traced his hand with his knife against the table.
"He tried to beat the Atlantan control systems at their own game," Jack clarified as he watched Ronon's blade. "Beating computer's into submission isn't always the best way to go about things. Elizabeth's with him."
Ronon's teeth flashed white in a quick smile. "Good," he offered as he tucked his knife away. "Are you in charge?"
Jack shrugged and set down his fork. "You want to go after Teyla Emmagen?"
"The Marines and I aren't needed here..." Ronon admitted as he flashed his teeth in a more predatory grin.
"I'll talk it over with Elizabeth, but I don't see how a few carefully executed recognizance missions would be a problem." Jack looked over the giant across from him and squeezed his wife's hand gratefully. A small twist of fate could have had him searching for her, or burying her body instead of taking it to bed; he wasn't about to forget that.
Teyla let the body of her victim drop to the floor and let the feeling of satiation run through her limbs. Today it had only taken three humans to quench her hunger, but she thought it was still early. She'd lost track of her time. All around her the Wraith on countless planets whispered in her mind. Giving her pieces of their experiences and feelings.
Michael's hands ran hot over the naked skin of her back before his lips whispered in her ear. It didn't matter what he said, her body already knew what it wanted. She turned around and grabbed his head, bringing his face to hers she drew blood on his cheek with a nail before she kissed him. Her heart pounded hot and desperate in her chest and all the desire of the Wraith filled her like a rush of fire across dry grasses.
She hadn't felt before she'd become queen. Her senses had been so pathetic she hadn't even known she was stumbling deaf in the darkness. Now she could feel the life in Michael's body rise towards her. Sexual desire won over the terrible hunger no amount of corpses at her feet could ever stop.
His hand ran over her chest, stopping just over her heart. He started to share, opening the most vulnerable part of his body and placing his life force in her control. Teyla devoured it, letting everything that was him add to the raging heat within her. When he was nearly empty, she gave it back. Pouring the concentrated life force of the Queen Mother into him until his orgasm exploded down deep in the wetness of her body.
Teyla licked the blood from the regenerated wound on his cheek and followed the trail of sweat of blood down over his chest. She could feel the change in her womb beginning already. Her daughters would be the queens of new hives. New drones would spring from them and feed on anything that stood in their way.
Wrapping her legs around Michael's waist she knocked him to the platform in the middle of her chamber and pulled him inside of her again. Filling him with her desire and her strength to carry through on it she felt him harden and grow desperate beneath her touch.
Leaning back, she screamed her victory to the space above her ship. All around the great hive of the Queen Mother of all Wraith, all the molecules of the galaxy that heard her began to know fear.
Elizabeth turned when the hand landed on her shoulder. "Simon?" she asked in surprise.
He looked over John's sleeping form and then up at the scanner above him. "He's doing very well," he assured her before he smiled. "You don't have to stay, I'm sure someone here could find you some quarters nearby."
"They've have, and the room's fine," she insisted as she folded her feet under her again as she tried to find a more comfortable position. "But I'd rather be..." she didn't need to finish.
"Lower back hurts?" Simon asked as he knelt in front of her chair.
"Feels like I've knocked everything there out of place," she admitted shyly as she forced herself to meet his eyes. "It's just going to get worse though, isn't it?"
"Being pregnant isn't known for being comfortable," Simon agreed with her as he tried to avoid touching her arm on the chair. "But you're doing all right aren't you? The baby's not keeping you up all night or anything?"
"Keeping me up?" she asked naively. Elizabeth fought the feeling of failure down into her stomach. "I don't know what you mean."
"Some women have trouble with fetal movement at night," he explained for her, keeping his smile even. "I guess you're not one of them."
"No," she answered quickly looking away while her mind tried to process. "Am I supposed to be?"
"Every situation, every woman and every child is different," Simon promised with absolute certainty. "There's no real way you're 'supposed' to be feeling." He stood and brushed his hands against his black pants thoughtfully. "You've been keeping up with your examinations?"
"Mostly," she tore her eyes off of John's peacefully sleeping face and made herself look at Simon's eyes. "I get a little busy sometimes."
"Do you want me to see if someone can fit you in?" he asked gently. "Since you're going to be here for awhile." For a moment she remembered the warmth in his eyes when he used to look at her.
"Might as well," she agreed as she swallowed the acid taste in her mouth. Elizabeth sighed and switched her feet again as she watched him walk away. She hadn't asked him to make sure it wasn't him who examined her. She'd just have to trust that he would be that tactful.
John's hands slipped into hers when she lifted them from the bed into her own. "If you wake up soon you can watch the baby on the scanner with me," she teased and felt the rough skin of his hands against her cheek. "Actually, I might skip that part if you're not awake yet. i don't think I've told you, but I'm a little apprehensive of that. I usually try to avoid seeing any part of my body on the scanner and this is a bit..." she trailed off and looked away long enough to find the words she wanted.
"I'm sure you'd say something sweet," Elizabeth told him. "I'm surprised your ex-wife managed to let you go, some of the things you can come up with to say to me." She wrinkled her nose for a moment before dropping her head to his chest. "I'm glad she did," she sighed as her eyes shut. "Although, if she hadn't, I'm certain I'd still be able to see all of my feet and I wouldn't be wearing borrowed bras."
His shirt bunched beneath her fingers and she felt the flesh beneath comfort her. "I love you, and I know I've told you before, but I've been meaning to tell you it's not necessary that you keep letting me get away without telling you. It doesn't have to be this secret understanding between us. I can..." she paused and dragged her eyes up from his stomach to look at his eyelids. "...I love you," she repeated firmly. "And I'm not, I mean, I can be strong and say 'I love you' at the same time."
"Can't I?" she asked herself as she set his hands back down on his chest. "I've written nuclear treaties for goodness sake..."
"Doctor Weir?" Doctor Keller's small voice startled her out of her thoughts. "Doctor Wallace said you thought you were getting behind on your monthly exams?"
Elizabeth stood and grabbed the chair to steady herself until her feet were sure. "I'm not sure when the last one was," she admitted as she watched the younger woman look over her records on the computer in her hands.
"It looks like the last entry was almost fifty days ago," Keller pointed out apologetically. "I'm really sorry, it's kind of a mess with all the different ships and their computers and trying to keep everything in order."
"Not your fault," Elizabeth reminded her as she looked back at John. "See you in a little while," she promised cheerfully and reached for his foot before she got out of reach. "Don't go anywhere."
"He's okay," Keller promised nervously hoping to ease Elizabeth's mind.
"I know," Elizabeth sighed as she followed Keller over to the side. "I just...I need to be here," she decided finally.
"Okay, well, if you just lie down here I'll get this over with as soon as possible," Keller looked down at her instruments, much more comfortable with Ancient technology than other people.
"You requested to stay onboard?" Elizabeth asked to break the silence as she watched the screen initialize over her head. Her bones filled in green and she watched in amazement as a tiny green skeleton materialized on the screen just above her hips.
"Yes," Keller replied quickly. "I'm sorry," she apologized as she tried not to blush. "I know we need people on the planet, I just like being here better."
"It's quiet?" Elizabeth offered simply as she tried to remember how to speak. The tiny curled bones of the baby grew on the screen as Keller zoomed in. Organs filled in red and pink against the blackness and she suddenly felt cold.
"I don't think I'm cut out for the farm life," Keller explained sheepishly. "I'm afraid of cows and I don't know how to cook anything..."
Elizabeth lost what the other woman was saying as the chill feeling crept out from her bones and overtook her flesh. What was she supposed to be feeling? Wasn't she supposed to be happy? Her hands started to sweat and she pressed them tightly against her thighs. Watching hurt somehow, as if she was losing herself to the creature inside of her. Its heart beat quickly on the monitor and numbers fluctuated beneath the ones that were her vital signs. Two sets, two lives, two minds; she shivered and closed her eyes.
"Everything looks good," Keller started to recap what she'd noted in Elizabeth's medical report.
"Great," Elizabeth forced a smile that nearly broke her heart. Why couldn't John be awake? She thought he might have actually appreciated what she couldn't force herself to watch. "I can go now?"
Keller stopped short and recovered without revealing too much of her confusion. She couldn't decide if Doctor Weir was just as too much of a workaholic to spend any more time than necessary, or if she honestly couldn't handle being pregnant. She bit her lip and put her hands behind her back. Hiding the scanner pictures seemed like the safest course of action. "Yeah, you're fine, the baby's fine," she promised quickly. "Not that you should stop being careful, you're a little run down."
"I think we all are," Elizabeth replied as she smiled again. Her face seemed too tight. "I'll take care," she reassured the other woman as she started to flee the table. It was too much, and she'd gotten too used to John handling the hard parts. He told her when she wasn't sleeping enough and ate with her so she'd remember.
"If there's anything you're worried about," Keller interrupted bravely hoping she was doing the right thing. "Or if you want to know the sex..."
Elizabeth felt herself stiffen as her hands became damp again. Crossing them over her chest she forced herself to appear relaxed. "Thank you doctor," she finished and reminded herself not to be rude. "I appreciate it."
"Doctor Weir?" Zelenka's voice cut over her comm, reminding her that she was never really free of any of her responsibilities. "Chuck radioed up from the planet's surface and there's a priest or minister or something who wants to know when you'll be arriving..."
"Guess I wasn't supposed to fight it?" John wondered through dry lips as he opened an eye towards Carson.
"No," the Scottish doctor insisted firmly as he patted John's shoulder for emphasis. "You're not supposed to argue with ancient computers, they're a bit set in their ways." He settled into a chair and smiled down gently. "When the bloody computer tries to do something, you're supposed to let it."
John closed his eyes again and toyed with the dry skin on the rough of his mouth. His tongue felt too big for his throat, and the prickly feeling behind his eyes was probably a side effect of the miraculous medication suspending his headache. Moving a hand finally, he waved it weakly in the general direction of Carson's voice. "I'm okay?" he wondered quietly.
"You're okay," Carson confirmed warmly taking the hand and squeezing it for a moment. "Give poor Elizabeth a bit of a scare though."
"Elizabeth?" John demanded as he started to sit up. His arms moved but they didn't have the strength too get him farther than his elbows. When his eyes focused past Carson, the blue glow of the lighting made him realize he must be on the Artemis.
"Down on the planet," Carson reassured him as he watched John's struggle to sit up. "Making things right with the locals before we completely invade them."
"Am I?" John started to ask as he tried again to sit up. This time he found the white wall behind him and stayed up against it.
"You're staying on the planet," Carson interrupted in explanation. "And, before you ask, Elizabeth will be there."
Too tired to wince, John let Carson shine a bright light into his eyes without complaint.
"The queen asked for her," the doctor continued with a soft smile, "else she'd still be with you."
"We're in orbit already?" John wondered as he stared at his numb feet. Wiggling his toes took a moment's concentration but they moved. Carson distracted him with a plastic cup of water. The water inside tasted slightly of earth and he wondered if it had been brought up from the planet in preparation for the journey to Asgard space.
"We've lost Atlantis for the moment," Carson offered as he watched John take another drink. "The planet's supporting us completely until we can get the city on her feet again."
"Good to know someone's worse off than me I guess," John joked as he mastered his feet and swung them towards the edge of the bed. "How are we compensating the planet for their crowd of refugees?"
"Elizabeth has an arrangement," Carson enlightened him as he kept an arm out to steady his friend. "I'm not partial to the details, but the queen's been quite reasonable."
"How do I get to the planet?" John wondered as his feet steadied beneath him. He was still wearing the white scrubs of the infirmary as he stretched his back muscles experimentally. Sighing as everything stiffened beneath his skin, he tried to shake it out of his muscles.
"I fly you down in a jumper," Carson insisted firmly grabbing John's shoulder. "I'm putting you on restricted duty, no Ancient tech for a few days and I want you to give your mind a rest."
"I think some would argue that's an entirely unnecessary request," John deadpanned as he watched Carson remove his folded clothes from the cabinet.
"I'm only giving you these if you promise to behave yourself," Carson demanded gently staring down his friend. "You could have seriously damaged the nerves in your brain, and believe it or not, your brain is a valuable resource."
"Tell that to McKay for me," John teased as he reached for his clothing. His uniform smelled faintly of stale sweat and he wondered how much time he'd spent unconscious as he started ripping off his scrubs. Leaving the whites in a neat pile at the base of the bed, he wondered for a moment if there were showers on Ceol. "So have you met her," he asked curiously as he pulled his pants up over his black boxer-briefs. "This queen, what's she like?" he continued as he yanked his shirt over his head.
"Queen Mab?" Carson replied as he looked over John's bran scans one more time. "Seems all right, more than willing to help." He didn't understand what it was in the name that made him panic, but the colonel was suddenly directly behind him.
"We need to go down to the planet," John insisted as he headed for the door. "Right now."
Carson started to protest, but John didn't leave him any room to argue as he nearly pushed him towards the jumpers. "Queen Mab's not what she appears, she's an Ancient of some kind..."
"Aye, we know," Carson offered as he tried to keep from running into people in the hallway. He turned back and stared at Sheppard. "Rodney said it was like Chaya, she has Ancient systems in place that protect the city from the Wraith..."
"She is not like Chaya," John contradicted firmly as he watched with frustration as Carson brought the jumper to life instead of him. "Just trust me," he ordered as he fidgeted in his seat and finished putting on the boots he hadn't bothered to wear before. "We need to get down there."
Elizabeth followed Ceol's second minister up the timeworn steps to the castle. The architecture was strange, medieval and worn, but still in daily use. Her stomach tightened and her hand went immediately to it. Doctor Keller's calm assurances rang in her head, but she couldn't relax. John was still unconscious, the city was barely functioning and her people were living in crude canvas tents. Beneath her hand her child remained still. She wondered if it shared her apprehension, or even had developed an emotional state yet. How much should she be thinking about it?
Ducking around a hanging tapestry, she raised her head against just in time to see the minister's hand urge her to curtsy. Making the gesture slowly, she realized it was harder then before and wondering in futility if it would be any harder in a few more weeks. The queen's soft voice bid her to rise and she obeyed politely.
"Welcome my dear," Mab murmured as she waved the minister out of her throne room. "You've returned."
Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock, instead of the kindly older woman she'd expected it was Mab, the barely human creature that haunted her hallucinations. She backed up immediately, retreating before the pain could start.
"I won't hurt you child," Mab assured her as she stood from her throne. "I'm flesh..." she began as she extended a hand to brush Elizabeth's cheek, "....and bone and I'm no danger to anyone in this state," she finished as she started down the steps from her throne. Her heavy brocade dress hissed against the stone as she walked. "Come with me," she requested with a wave of a jeweled hand. "Please," she offered as an afterthought.
She felt normal, Elizabeth realized with surprise. The heady feeling of heat was absent this time and she took stock of her body before she followed.
"You are well," Mab remarked as she moved down a small hallway. "Yet you worry," she continued as she turned a stone in the wall to reveal a metallic switch.
"John," Elizabeth began as she watched the wall slide open in a flash of the blue light Ancients used for their technology. It led into a laboratory much like those on Atlantis, some of the equipment looked familiar but she lacked the knowledge to know for sure what it was.
"Is coming," Mab promised as she removed the heavy overdress and pulled a lab coat on over her thin black shift. With the dress and crown missing, she looked like one of the scientists she'd seen in the database. When Mab closed her eyes and thought for a moment, Elizabeth felt the sharp pain she'd experienced the last time she'd met the queen. The air grew hot and heavy with the scent of strange incense.
When Mab's eyes opened they burned from within, glowing red-gold in the white light of the lab. Sweat started in Elizabeth's hair and began to run down her face. "He fears letting you face me alone," Mab realized as her eyes softened and returned to black.
Elizabeth shook the pain out of her mind but her breath was still coming too fast.
Mab turned in her chair, watching Elizabeth's face curiously. "Are you all right?"
"When your eyes..." Elizabeth started as she tried to understand. She took her hand away from console she'd been using for support and wiped sweat from her face on the sleeve of her jacket.
"Whenever I tap into my ascended form in proximity to you I speed production of the virus," Mab explained with an apologetic smile. "Come, sit, let me explain." She offered a chair by one of the consoles and a smile that struck Elizabeth as truly concerned. "I'm sure your scientists have discovered it by now, but a fortunate side-effect of your pregnancy was the development of a virus."
She tied her hair neatly on top of her head and extended a hand towards Elizabeth with a medical instrument in her fingers. "May I take a sample of your blood?"
Elizabeth removed her jacket slowly, still trying to decide what was going on. "You're ascended," she accused as she debated how far she could trust this woman.
"In a fairly ineffective way," Mab admitted with a heavy sigh. "When my people ascended I resisted, I was too far into my studies and too determined to find the answers I was looking for. My mind ended up caught between worlds, and my body with it."
Elizabeth handed over her arm and considered the face of the other woman. "What happens when your eyes change?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Mab admitted as she collected a small sample of Elizabeth's blood. "I have to confess I've existed like this for thousands of years and I understand very little about myself. There comes a point where the insane can no longer admit to themselves that they're out of their minds."
She released the blood into her computer and started a molecular analysis. "I can talk to you," Mab began with a sigh. "I can work in my lab and sit here like nothing has changed, but I lose time, weeks will go by when I'm in a partially ascended state and I've done nothing to further my research or protect my people."
"It isn't quite correct of you to let them treat you as their queen," Elizabeth reprimanded as she watched the Ancient computer spin data from her blood. "I thought your people were committed to non-interference."
"They are my burden as much as my responsibility," Mab lowered her eyes to the floor before she raised her head sadly. "I brought them here in my ascended state and I keep them safe from the Wraith. It is a difficult thing to not to know what you have done. To fall from infinite knowledge to the tiny mind of a human body and know that everything that was in my grasp is beyond me now."
"They lead good lives," she promised Elizabeth as she watched the disapproval in her face. "They have freedom and good health on this planet. All they know is that their queen is unchanged by time, and they are mostly content to live in my shadow."
"But you experimented on them," Elizabeth realized angrily as she watched the computer come to conclusions about her blood. "On me, on John you..."
"I nudged you where you were headed anyway," Mab corrected as she read the results in amazement. "You went to bed with him without my urging soon after you returned to this galaxy. He is in your bed, and your mind as we speak."
The air in the room began to warm, as if a fire had started somewhere. Mab shook her head and tried to stop her transformation. "The device you encountered is old even for my people," she explained as she pointed to the chalice in the corner of her lab. "It was once used in marriage rites. It decreases the inhibitions of those who touch it, letting them do as their bodies will."
"You told me you did something to me," Elizabeth interrogated as she left her chair. The pain was started, growing inside of her as the heat in the room increased. "That you made this child through other means."
"I'm afraid I'm not entirely honest when I rise beyond this form," Mab stored the data in her computer and removed her coat. She could feel the uncontrollable change within her. She'd become too excited by her data, too involved in her research and she'd lost control. The fire was taking over. "You and your John conceived your child in a perfectly normal fashion. The virus now in your blood was my only contribution to your condition. For thousands of years, tens of generations, I've tried to bring back LK476 into the population base." Excitement flashed orange in her eyes and she started to rise.
"Elizabeth!" John's voice rang through the corridor with the sound of running feet and a moment later he rounded the corner into the laboratory. He felt the heat as soon as he entered, the lab was easily ten degrees warmer than the hall. Beckett was behind him, breathing a little harder than the colonel.
"John," she called back as she started to smile in relief. "John, it's all right."
"Did she hurt you?" John demanded as he leveled his pistol at the queen.
"What the hell are you doing?" Beckett asked as he watched the queen smile sheepishly at the gun. "You can't just point those things at people."
"She's not exactly," John started to explain but Elizabeth stopped his hand and nodded for him to lower the gun.
"It's all right John," she assured him with her own thoughtful smile. "She's really quite tame at the moment."
"How did she get this?" Beckett asked as he passed them all and stared at the data on the screen. "My Ancient's not very good, but I'm fairly certain this is a complete genetic sequence of the virus floating around in your bloodstream Elizabeth." The good doctor scratched around the edge of the black patch he used to cover his blind eye before turning to Mab curiously. "A better one than I've managed so far."
"You have to know how to look," Mab acknowledged with a small smile in his direction. "It's far more impressive than I thought, it's even reaching the point where it could become effective on a larger scale."
"You intend to use this to spread the Ancient gene?" Carson whistled as he reached for the controls. "Mind if I?"
The queen walked to his side slowly, amused by his zeal. "You are a medical doctor," she mused as the temperature began to lower. "You understand."
"I understand the basics of what we've done, but it's far more complex then I could ever hope to grasp," Carson admitted shyly as she took his hands and placed them on the controls.
"Perhaps you'll let me explain it to you?" Mab offered as she pulled a chair up alongside the one she'd left to him.
"Oh I'd be delighted," Carson agreed as he forgot John and Elizabeth were there.
"The two of you are welcome as well," Mab called over her shoulder.
Elizabeth had her arm firmly around John's back and he was started to put the gun aside. "I think we'll pass on the genetics lesson," John decided for both of them. He'd forgotten how good it felt to have her hands on his body. Her hair tickled his cheek and he let her pull him closer.
"You came riding in on a white jumper to rescue me, didn't you?" Elizabeth teased as she watched the fear drain from his eyes.
Shrugging innocently, John tried to play off his heroics. "It's hard to tell with you," he replied calmly as they started down out of the castle. "You don't follow the ordinary rules of a damsel in distress."
"My distresses are too common?" Elizabeth wondered as she slipped her hand into his.
"They're too quiet," John interpreted for her as he looked over the grand throne room. "So she's really just a scientist?"
"It's not really as simple as that," Elizabeth clarified as she shuddered slightly. "I don't know enough about ascension to be sure without looking at the database on Atlantis..."
"...keep your fingers crossed that we'll get that working again," John interrupted as he nodded to the minister on their way down to the city below.
"Yes," she agreed as she raised an eyebrow at him. "She's something else, caught between worlds and trapped in her own mind. It's really rather sad."
"I'd go with creepy," John disagreed as he pointed down the dirt road towards the great hall and dinner. "Can I talk you into buying me dinner?" he teased easily. "I've slept all day and I'm starving."
Day 148
The morning's always smelled the same on Ceol. It reminded him vaguely of the countryside of Sateda. Ronon Dex had never spent much time in the country, aside from training missions, but the crisp scent of dew leaving the trees was familiar to him. After a few days, he had become fond of it. He left his bed in the barn with the other Atlantis Marines. Some of them grunted their good mornings, and most of them got up to run with the sunrise, just as he did.
The sun rose into the sky as sweat ran down his back. Ronon felt the ground fall behind him as he ran around the refugee camp. Three of the farms on the edge of the city had been taken over by the new Lantians. Most of the humans from Earth were adapting fairly well. Some of them had lived in the country before, and somehow living in shacks on the edge of the woods was much more comfortable to them than Atlantis.
He stopped on the edge of a nearly frozen stream and splashed the sweat from his face. It would snow soon, he could smell that in the air. Ronon tied his hair tighter behind his head and started running again. His chest rose and fell, filling his lungs with air as he strained his body. The burning of his muscles woke up his mind and helped him focus.
He ate with a small group of Marines, watching the children run through the Great Hall food was served in. One of the women smiled at him, gracing him with a view of her ample cleavage. There were plenty of young, unmarried women, and some of the Marines were already making their acquaintance. Daniel Jackson and Vala joined his table and Ronon nodded in his direction.
"The castle hasn't heard anything from Atlantis," Daniel began as he reached for the steaming pot of tea in the center of the sturdy wooden table. "Colonel Caldwell hasn't checked in either."
"Do you think anything happened to them?" Vala asked smearing butter on a piece of dark bread.
"The city was in bad shape," Ronon reminded her as he filled his bowl for a second time. "Even Rodney was having a hard time fixing things."
"The Ancients could leave us a nice manual?" Vala wondered as snuggled closer to Daniel. "Ancient technology for dummies? Repairing your city one-oh-one?"
Daniel smiled indulgently. "Unfortunately not," he added as he drank his tea. "The Ancients didn't intend for us to find their city until we had progressed to a level where we understood it."
Ronon smiled around his spoon. "That wouldn't have stopped any of your people that I've met," he replied gruffly.
"No," Daniel agreed with a laugh. "It really didn't, but I'm sure they never intended for the Wraith or the Replicators to grow so powerful without the Ancients around to protect the galaxy from them."
"Why haven't we talked to them?" Vala asked as she nibbled on piece of dried meat. "Can't we ask them for help?"
"It's not like we can just dial them up on the gate," Daniel reminded her as he watched Ronon smile. "The Ancients believe in keeping their hands-off approach is the only way to let us evolve to what we will eventually become."
"Farmers and hunters?" Ronon asked as he set down his empty bowl. "If we don't get some help repairing the city the only way any of us will be able to live is as the Athosians or these people do, in small enough groups to avoid the Wraith and the Replicators."
"Didn't they both take heavy losses in the Milky Way?" Vala reminded him as she reached for a bite of fruit on Daniel's plate. "Maybe they'll be busy for awhile."
"As far as we know both sides took a beating fighting each other over Earth," Daniel replied calmly. He folded his hands on the table and met Ronon's steely eyes. "It's ironic really. They did more damage to each other than either of us ever could have done."
"Maybe we'll have time to get better before they get better..." Vala hoped as the two men looked at each other grimly.
"The Asgard are our best hope," Daniel said finally watching as Vala wrapped her hands around his arm and rested her head on his shoulder.
"What about her?" Ronon asked pointing up as Queen Mab entered the front of the hall. She floated in alone, without of the aides around her Daniel was used to seeing surround royalty. "She's not just human."
"No," Daniel agreed with him again. "The few times we've spoken she's been polite but mysterious. I'd say she knows more then she's letting on. She's both the political and religious leader of all the scattered people of this planet, and as far as I can tell there hasn't been another."
"Sheppard's team met an Ancient who ruled a planet," Ronon added in. "The report said she couldn't help us."
"Chaya was an Ancient who helped her people under strict guidelines," Daniel clarified for Vala. "She took human form to keep her planet safe but was unable to help anyone else without upsetting the rules of Ascended beings."
"I don't get that from her," Ronon said as he gestured towards the Queen as she took her throne at the head of the room. "She doesn't seem to be that worried about anyone looking over her shoulder."
Her grey and black hair cascaded down her shoulders onto a gold-threaded, dark purple gown. Impossibly black eyes surveyed the room and landed on Daniel. Her lips curled into a smile as she stood.
"Forgive us for interrupting your breakfast," she began calmly. "We've received more guests from Atlantis," she said as she waved towards the door facing her. Doctor Beckett led a group into the hall made up of more exhausted expedition personnel. "Your ship Artemis arrived a few moments ago and beamed these ones down."
Daniel stood to see over the crowd of people. Sam and Jack were in the back of the group, holding hands as they looked over the faces around them. Leaving Vala at the table he cut through refugees as he made his way to them. Sam's face burst into a smile when he saw them. Jack reached out to pat his shoulder in a partial hug.
"Daniel," Jack acknowledge as he wrapped his arm around Sam's back. "How's the refugee camp?"
"Not bad actually," Daniel offered in return as he reached out to hug Sam to his chest. "Teal'c?"
"Taking the Hera to the Milky Way," Jack explained as he followed Daniel back to the table. "The bug guy knows some Jaffa must have made it through the Replicator and Wraith invasions and he wants to collect some intel. See who's coming out on top."
"How's Atlantis?" Ronon asked as Jack and Sam slid on to the bench next to him.
"It's not good," Jack offered as he reached for the tea. "Fell out of hyperspace."
"Rodney and I rigged up a cloaking device," Sam added as she looked over the food with mild chagrin. She didn't take anything and only watched as her husband loaded up his plate. "it should be hidden until we can get back from Orilla," she finished hopefully.
"You should try this," Jack suggested as he offered his plate towards Sam.
She shook her head and continued her explanation. "If we push the Artemis we should be able to make it to Orilla and back in less than three weeks. The Asgard should know enough about Ancient technology to repair the city and we should be able to get it working again."
"Don't mention she said 'should' three times," Jack teased as he swallowed a piece of bacon. "The food's really not bad."
Daniel nodded to him quickly. "Elizabeth? Colonel Sheppard?"
"They're still in the infirmary," Sam answered softly. "John was in the chair when we pushed past the limit. He's still recovering but his prognosis is good."
"Recovering?" Ronon pressed as he traced his hand with his knife against the table.
"He tried to beat the Atlantan control systems at their own game," Jack clarified as he watched Ronon's blade. "Beating computer's into submission isn't always the best way to go about things. Elizabeth's with him."
Ronon's teeth flashed white in a quick smile. "Good," he offered as he tucked his knife away. "Are you in charge?"
Jack shrugged and set down his fork. "You want to go after Teyla Emmagen?"
"The Marines and I aren't needed here..." Ronon admitted as he flashed his teeth in a more predatory grin.
"I'll talk it over with Elizabeth, but I don't see how a few carefully executed recognizance missions would be a problem." Jack looked over the giant across from him and squeezed his wife's hand gratefully. A small twist of fate could have had him searching for her, or burying her body instead of taking it to bed; he wasn't about to forget that.
Teyla let the body of her victim drop to the floor and let the feeling of satiation run through her limbs. Today it had only taken three humans to quench her hunger, but she thought it was still early. She'd lost track of her time. All around her the Wraith on countless planets whispered in her mind. Giving her pieces of their experiences and feelings.
Michael's hands ran hot over the naked skin of her back before his lips whispered in her ear. It didn't matter what he said, her body already knew what it wanted. She turned around and grabbed his head, bringing his face to hers she drew blood on his cheek with a nail before she kissed him. Her heart pounded hot and desperate in her chest and all the desire of the Wraith filled her like a rush of fire across dry grasses.
She hadn't felt before she'd become queen. Her senses had been so pathetic she hadn't even known she was stumbling deaf in the darkness. Now she could feel the life in Michael's body rise towards her. Sexual desire won over the terrible hunger no amount of corpses at her feet could ever stop.
His hand ran over her chest, stopping just over her heart. He started to share, opening the most vulnerable part of his body and placing his life force in her control. Teyla devoured it, letting everything that was him add to the raging heat within her. When he was nearly empty, she gave it back. Pouring the concentrated life force of the Queen Mother into him until his orgasm exploded down deep in the wetness of her body.
Teyla licked the blood from the regenerated wound on his cheek and followed the trail of sweat of blood down over his chest. She could feel the change in her womb beginning already. Her daughters would be the queens of new hives. New drones would spring from them and feed on anything that stood in their way.
Wrapping her legs around Michael's waist she knocked him to the platform in the middle of her chamber and pulled him inside of her again. Filling him with her desire and her strength to carry through on it she felt him harden and grow desperate beneath her touch.
Leaning back, she screamed her victory to the space above her ship. All around the great hive of the Queen Mother of all Wraith, all the molecules of the galaxy that heard her began to know fear.
Elizabeth turned when the hand landed on her shoulder. "Simon?" she asked in surprise.
He looked over John's sleeping form and then up at the scanner above him. "He's doing very well," he assured her before he smiled. "You don't have to stay, I'm sure someone here could find you some quarters nearby."
"They've have, and the room's fine," she insisted as she folded her feet under her again as she tried to find a more comfortable position. "But I'd rather be..." she didn't need to finish.
"Lower back hurts?" Simon asked as he knelt in front of her chair.
"Feels like I've knocked everything there out of place," she admitted shyly as she forced herself to meet his eyes. "It's just going to get worse though, isn't it?"
"Being pregnant isn't known for being comfortable," Simon agreed with her as he tried to avoid touching her arm on the chair. "But you're doing all right aren't you? The baby's not keeping you up all night or anything?"
"Keeping me up?" she asked naively. Elizabeth fought the feeling of failure down into her stomach. "I don't know what you mean."
"Some women have trouble with fetal movement at night," he explained for her, keeping his smile even. "I guess you're not one of them."
"No," she answered quickly looking away while her mind tried to process. "Am I supposed to be?"
"Every situation, every woman and every child is different," Simon promised with absolute certainty. "There's no real way you're 'supposed' to be feeling." He stood and brushed his hands against his black pants thoughtfully. "You've been keeping up with your examinations?"
"Mostly," she tore her eyes off of John's peacefully sleeping face and made herself look at Simon's eyes. "I get a little busy sometimes."
"Do you want me to see if someone can fit you in?" he asked gently. "Since you're going to be here for awhile." For a moment she remembered the warmth in his eyes when he used to look at her.
"Might as well," she agreed as she swallowed the acid taste in her mouth. Elizabeth sighed and switched her feet again as she watched him walk away. She hadn't asked him to make sure it wasn't him who examined her. She'd just have to trust that he would be that tactful.
John's hands slipped into hers when she lifted them from the bed into her own. "If you wake up soon you can watch the baby on the scanner with me," she teased and felt the rough skin of his hands against her cheek. "Actually, I might skip that part if you're not awake yet. i don't think I've told you, but I'm a little apprehensive of that. I usually try to avoid seeing any part of my body on the scanner and this is a bit..." she trailed off and looked away long enough to find the words she wanted.
"I'm sure you'd say something sweet," Elizabeth told him. "I'm surprised your ex-wife managed to let you go, some of the things you can come up with to say to me." She wrinkled her nose for a moment before dropping her head to his chest. "I'm glad she did," she sighed as her eyes shut. "Although, if she hadn't, I'm certain I'd still be able to see all of my feet and I wouldn't be wearing borrowed bras."
His shirt bunched beneath her fingers and she felt the flesh beneath comfort her. "I love you, and I know I've told you before, but I've been meaning to tell you it's not necessary that you keep letting me get away without telling you. It doesn't have to be this secret understanding between us. I can..." she paused and dragged her eyes up from his stomach to look at his eyelids. "...I love you," she repeated firmly. "And I'm not, I mean, I can be strong and say 'I love you' at the same time."
"Can't I?" she asked herself as she set his hands back down on his chest. "I've written nuclear treaties for goodness sake..."
"Doctor Weir?" Doctor Keller's small voice startled her out of her thoughts. "Doctor Wallace said you thought you were getting behind on your monthly exams?"
Elizabeth stood and grabbed the chair to steady herself until her feet were sure. "I'm not sure when the last one was," she admitted as she watched the younger woman look over her records on the computer in her hands.
"It looks like the last entry was almost fifty days ago," Keller pointed out apologetically. "I'm really sorry, it's kind of a mess with all the different ships and their computers and trying to keep everything in order."
"Not your fault," Elizabeth reminded her as she looked back at John. "See you in a little while," she promised cheerfully and reached for his foot before she got out of reach. "Don't go anywhere."
"He's okay," Keller promised nervously hoping to ease Elizabeth's mind.
"I know," Elizabeth sighed as she followed Keller over to the side. "I just...I need to be here," she decided finally.
"Okay, well, if you just lie down here I'll get this over with as soon as possible," Keller looked down at her instruments, much more comfortable with Ancient technology than other people.
"You requested to stay onboard?" Elizabeth asked to break the silence as she watched the screen initialize over her head. Her bones filled in green and she watched in amazement as a tiny green skeleton materialized on the screen just above her hips.
"Yes," Keller replied quickly. "I'm sorry," she apologized as she tried not to blush. "I know we need people on the planet, I just like being here better."
"It's quiet?" Elizabeth offered simply as she tried to remember how to speak. The tiny curled bones of the baby grew on the screen as Keller zoomed in. Organs filled in red and pink against the blackness and she suddenly felt cold.
"I don't think I'm cut out for the farm life," Keller explained sheepishly. "I'm afraid of cows and I don't know how to cook anything..."
Elizabeth lost what the other woman was saying as the chill feeling crept out from her bones and overtook her flesh. What was she supposed to be feeling? Wasn't she supposed to be happy? Her hands started to sweat and she pressed them tightly against her thighs. Watching hurt somehow, as if she was losing herself to the creature inside of her. Its heart beat quickly on the monitor and numbers fluctuated beneath the ones that were her vital signs. Two sets, two lives, two minds; she shivered and closed her eyes.
"Everything looks good," Keller started to recap what she'd noted in Elizabeth's medical report.
"Great," Elizabeth forced a smile that nearly broke her heart. Why couldn't John be awake? She thought he might have actually appreciated what she couldn't force herself to watch. "I can go now?"
Keller stopped short and recovered without revealing too much of her confusion. She couldn't decide if Doctor Weir was just as too much of a workaholic to spend any more time than necessary, or if she honestly couldn't handle being pregnant. She bit her lip and put her hands behind her back. Hiding the scanner pictures seemed like the safest course of action. "Yeah, you're fine, the baby's fine," she promised quickly. "Not that you should stop being careful, you're a little run down."
"I think we all are," Elizabeth replied as she smiled again. Her face seemed too tight. "I'll take care," she reassured the other woman as she started to flee the table. It was too much, and she'd gotten too used to John handling the hard parts. He told her when she wasn't sleeping enough and ate with her so she'd remember.
"If there's anything you're worried about," Keller interrupted bravely hoping she was doing the right thing. "Or if you want to know the sex..."
Elizabeth felt herself stiffen as her hands became damp again. Crossing them over her chest she forced herself to appear relaxed. "Thank you doctor," she finished and reminded herself not to be rude. "I appreciate it."
"Doctor Weir?" Zelenka's voice cut over her comm, reminding her that she was never really free of any of her responsibilities. "Chuck radioed up from the planet's surface and there's a priest or minister or something who wants to know when you'll be arriving..."
"Guess I wasn't supposed to fight it?" John wondered through dry lips as he opened an eye towards Carson.
"No," the Scottish doctor insisted firmly as he patted John's shoulder for emphasis. "You're not supposed to argue with ancient computers, they're a bit set in their ways." He settled into a chair and smiled down gently. "When the bloody computer tries to do something, you're supposed to let it."
John closed his eyes again and toyed with the dry skin on the rough of his mouth. His tongue felt too big for his throat, and the prickly feeling behind his eyes was probably a side effect of the miraculous medication suspending his headache. Moving a hand finally, he waved it weakly in the general direction of Carson's voice. "I'm okay?" he wondered quietly.
"You're okay," Carson confirmed warmly taking the hand and squeezing it for a moment. "Give poor Elizabeth a bit of a scare though."
"Elizabeth?" John demanded as he started to sit up. His arms moved but they didn't have the strength too get him farther than his elbows. When his eyes focused past Carson, the blue glow of the lighting made him realize he must be on the Artemis.
"Down on the planet," Carson reassured him as he watched John's struggle to sit up. "Making things right with the locals before we completely invade them."
"Am I?" John started to ask as he tried again to sit up. This time he found the white wall behind him and stayed up against it.
"You're staying on the planet," Carson interrupted in explanation. "And, before you ask, Elizabeth will be there."
Too tired to wince, John let Carson shine a bright light into his eyes without complaint.
"The queen asked for her," the doctor continued with a soft smile, "else she'd still be with you."
"We're in orbit already?" John wondered as he stared at his numb feet. Wiggling his toes took a moment's concentration but they moved. Carson distracted him with a plastic cup of water. The water inside tasted slightly of earth and he wondered if it had been brought up from the planet in preparation for the journey to Asgard space.
"We've lost Atlantis for the moment," Carson offered as he watched John take another drink. "The planet's supporting us completely until we can get the city on her feet again."
"Good to know someone's worse off than me I guess," John joked as he mastered his feet and swung them towards the edge of the bed. "How are we compensating the planet for their crowd of refugees?"
"Elizabeth has an arrangement," Carson enlightened him as he kept an arm out to steady his friend. "I'm not partial to the details, but the queen's been quite reasonable."
"How do I get to the planet?" John wondered as his feet steadied beneath him. He was still wearing the white scrubs of the infirmary as he stretched his back muscles experimentally. Sighing as everything stiffened beneath his skin, he tried to shake it out of his muscles.
"I fly you down in a jumper," Carson insisted firmly grabbing John's shoulder. "I'm putting you on restricted duty, no Ancient tech for a few days and I want you to give your mind a rest."
"I think some would argue that's an entirely unnecessary request," John deadpanned as he watched Carson remove his folded clothes from the cabinet.
"I'm only giving you these if you promise to behave yourself," Carson demanded gently staring down his friend. "You could have seriously damaged the nerves in your brain, and believe it or not, your brain is a valuable resource."
"Tell that to McKay for me," John teased as he reached for his clothing. His uniform smelled faintly of stale sweat and he wondered how much time he'd spent unconscious as he started ripping off his scrubs. Leaving the whites in a neat pile at the base of the bed, he wondered for a moment if there were showers on Ceol. "So have you met her," he asked curiously as he pulled his pants up over his black boxer-briefs. "This queen, what's she like?" he continued as he yanked his shirt over his head.
"Queen Mab?" Carson replied as he looked over John's bran scans one more time. "Seems all right, more than willing to help." He didn't understand what it was in the name that made him panic, but the colonel was suddenly directly behind him.
"We need to go down to the planet," John insisted as he headed for the door. "Right now."
Carson started to protest, but John didn't leave him any room to argue as he nearly pushed him towards the jumpers. "Queen Mab's not what she appears, she's an Ancient of some kind..."
"Aye, we know," Carson offered as he tried to keep from running into people in the hallway. He turned back and stared at Sheppard. "Rodney said it was like Chaya, she has Ancient systems in place that protect the city from the Wraith..."
"She is not like Chaya," John contradicted firmly as he watched with frustration as Carson brought the jumper to life instead of him. "Just trust me," he ordered as he fidgeted in his seat and finished putting on the boots he hadn't bothered to wear before. "We need to get down there."
Elizabeth followed Ceol's second minister up the timeworn steps to the castle. The architecture was strange, medieval and worn, but still in daily use. Her stomach tightened and her hand went immediately to it. Doctor Keller's calm assurances rang in her head, but she couldn't relax. John was still unconscious, the city was barely functioning and her people were living in crude canvas tents. Beneath her hand her child remained still. She wondered if it shared her apprehension, or even had developed an emotional state yet. How much should she be thinking about it?
Ducking around a hanging tapestry, she raised her head against just in time to see the minister's hand urge her to curtsy. Making the gesture slowly, she realized it was harder then before and wondering in futility if it would be any harder in a few more weeks. The queen's soft voice bid her to rise and she obeyed politely.
"Welcome my dear," Mab murmured as she waved the minister out of her throne room. "You've returned."
Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock, instead of the kindly older woman she'd expected it was Mab, the barely human creature that haunted her hallucinations. She backed up immediately, retreating before the pain could start.
"I won't hurt you child," Mab assured her as she stood from her throne. "I'm flesh..." she began as she extended a hand to brush Elizabeth's cheek, "....and bone and I'm no danger to anyone in this state," she finished as she started down the steps from her throne. Her heavy brocade dress hissed against the stone as she walked. "Come with me," she requested with a wave of a jeweled hand. "Please," she offered as an afterthought.
She felt normal, Elizabeth realized with surprise. The heady feeling of heat was absent this time and she took stock of her body before she followed.
"You are well," Mab remarked as she moved down a small hallway. "Yet you worry," she continued as she turned a stone in the wall to reveal a metallic switch.
"John," Elizabeth began as she watched the wall slide open in a flash of the blue light Ancients used for their technology. It led into a laboratory much like those on Atlantis, some of the equipment looked familiar but she lacked the knowledge to know for sure what it was.
"Is coming," Mab promised as she removed the heavy overdress and pulled a lab coat on over her thin black shift. With the dress and crown missing, she looked like one of the scientists she'd seen in the database. When Mab closed her eyes and thought for a moment, Elizabeth felt the sharp pain she'd experienced the last time she'd met the queen. The air grew hot and heavy with the scent of strange incense.
When Mab's eyes opened they burned from within, glowing red-gold in the white light of the lab. Sweat started in Elizabeth's hair and began to run down her face. "He fears letting you face me alone," Mab realized as her eyes softened and returned to black.
Elizabeth shook the pain out of her mind but her breath was still coming too fast.
Mab turned in her chair, watching Elizabeth's face curiously. "Are you all right?"
"When your eyes..." Elizabeth started as she tried to understand. She took her hand away from console she'd been using for support and wiped sweat from her face on the sleeve of her jacket.
"Whenever I tap into my ascended form in proximity to you I speed production of the virus," Mab explained with an apologetic smile. "Come, sit, let me explain." She offered a chair by one of the consoles and a smile that struck Elizabeth as truly concerned. "I'm sure your scientists have discovered it by now, but a fortunate side-effect of your pregnancy was the development of a virus."
She tied her hair neatly on top of her head and extended a hand towards Elizabeth with a medical instrument in her fingers. "May I take a sample of your blood?"
Elizabeth removed her jacket slowly, still trying to decide what was going on. "You're ascended," she accused as she debated how far she could trust this woman.
"In a fairly ineffective way," Mab admitted with a heavy sigh. "When my people ascended I resisted, I was too far into my studies and too determined to find the answers I was looking for. My mind ended up caught between worlds, and my body with it."
Elizabeth handed over her arm and considered the face of the other woman. "What happens when your eyes change?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Mab admitted as she collected a small sample of Elizabeth's blood. "I have to confess I've existed like this for thousands of years and I understand very little about myself. There comes a point where the insane can no longer admit to themselves that they're out of their minds."
She released the blood into her computer and started a molecular analysis. "I can talk to you," Mab began with a sigh. "I can work in my lab and sit here like nothing has changed, but I lose time, weeks will go by when I'm in a partially ascended state and I've done nothing to further my research or protect my people."
"It isn't quite correct of you to let them treat you as their queen," Elizabeth reprimanded as she watched the Ancient computer spin data from her blood. "I thought your people were committed to non-interference."
"They are my burden as much as my responsibility," Mab lowered her eyes to the floor before she raised her head sadly. "I brought them here in my ascended state and I keep them safe from the Wraith. It is a difficult thing to not to know what you have done. To fall from infinite knowledge to the tiny mind of a human body and know that everything that was in my grasp is beyond me now."
"They lead good lives," she promised Elizabeth as she watched the disapproval in her face. "They have freedom and good health on this planet. All they know is that their queen is unchanged by time, and they are mostly content to live in my shadow."
"But you experimented on them," Elizabeth realized angrily as she watched the computer come to conclusions about her blood. "On me, on John you..."
"I nudged you where you were headed anyway," Mab corrected as she read the results in amazement. "You went to bed with him without my urging soon after you returned to this galaxy. He is in your bed, and your mind as we speak."
The air in the room began to warm, as if a fire had started somewhere. Mab shook her head and tried to stop her transformation. "The device you encountered is old even for my people," she explained as she pointed to the chalice in the corner of her lab. "It was once used in marriage rites. It decreases the inhibitions of those who touch it, letting them do as their bodies will."
"You told me you did something to me," Elizabeth interrogated as she left her chair. The pain was started, growing inside of her as the heat in the room increased. "That you made this child through other means."
"I'm afraid I'm not entirely honest when I rise beyond this form," Mab stored the data in her computer and removed her coat. She could feel the uncontrollable change within her. She'd become too excited by her data, too involved in her research and she'd lost control. The fire was taking over. "You and your John conceived your child in a perfectly normal fashion. The virus now in your blood was my only contribution to your condition. For thousands of years, tens of generations, I've tried to bring back LK476 into the population base." Excitement flashed orange in her eyes and she started to rise.
"Elizabeth!" John's voice rang through the corridor with the sound of running feet and a moment later he rounded the corner into the laboratory. He felt the heat as soon as he entered, the lab was easily ten degrees warmer than the hall. Beckett was behind him, breathing a little harder than the colonel.
"John," she called back as she started to smile in relief. "John, it's all right."
"Did she hurt you?" John demanded as he leveled his pistol at the queen.
"What the hell are you doing?" Beckett asked as he watched the queen smile sheepishly at the gun. "You can't just point those things at people."
"She's not exactly," John started to explain but Elizabeth stopped his hand and nodded for him to lower the gun.
"It's all right John," she assured him with her own thoughtful smile. "She's really quite tame at the moment."
"How did she get this?" Beckett asked as he passed them all and stared at the data on the screen. "My Ancient's not very good, but I'm fairly certain this is a complete genetic sequence of the virus floating around in your bloodstream Elizabeth." The good doctor scratched around the edge of the black patch he used to cover his blind eye before turning to Mab curiously. "A better one than I've managed so far."
"You have to know how to look," Mab acknowledged with a small smile in his direction. "It's far more impressive than I thought, it's even reaching the point where it could become effective on a larger scale."
"You intend to use this to spread the Ancient gene?" Carson whistled as he reached for the controls. "Mind if I?"
The queen walked to his side slowly, amused by his zeal. "You are a medical doctor," she mused as the temperature began to lower. "You understand."
"I understand the basics of what we've done, but it's far more complex then I could ever hope to grasp," Carson admitted shyly as she took his hands and placed them on the controls.
"Perhaps you'll let me explain it to you?" Mab offered as she pulled a chair up alongside the one she'd left to him.
"Oh I'd be delighted," Carson agreed as he forgot John and Elizabeth were there.
"The two of you are welcome as well," Mab called over her shoulder.
Elizabeth had her arm firmly around John's back and he was started to put the gun aside. "I think we'll pass on the genetics lesson," John decided for both of them. He'd forgotten how good it felt to have her hands on his body. Her hair tickled his cheek and he let her pull him closer.
"You came riding in on a white jumper to rescue me, didn't you?" Elizabeth teased as she watched the fear drain from his eyes.
Shrugging innocently, John tried to play off his heroics. "It's hard to tell with you," he replied calmly as they started down out of the castle. "You don't follow the ordinary rules of a damsel in distress."
"My distresses are too common?" Elizabeth wondered as she slipped her hand into his.
"They're too quiet," John interpreted for her as he looked over the grand throne room. "So she's really just a scientist?"
"It's not really as simple as that," Elizabeth clarified as she shuddered slightly. "I don't know enough about ascension to be sure without looking at the database on Atlantis..."
"...keep your fingers crossed that we'll get that working again," John interrupted as he nodded to the minister on their way down to the city below.
"Yes," she agreed as she raised an eyebrow at him. "She's something else, caught between worlds and trapped in her own mind. It's really rather sad."
"I'd go with creepy," John disagreed as he pointed down the dirt road towards the great hall and dinner. "Can I talk you into buying me dinner?" he teased easily. "I've slept all day and I'm starving."