WARNING: M Rating is for coarse language, though not frequent. Some violence. And, yes, there is one sex scene that I don't feel was too graphic. If anyone reading this feels that one scene is inappropriate, please msg me or leave a review and I will edit it out.

A/N: So this little plot bunny took up residence in my head somewhere around ten years ago or so after seeing the Season 3 Episode 7: "Common Ground". It's a what-if scenario that just wouldn't go away.

So, here I am a decade later working on a NaNoWriMo 2016 project, and I suddenly realize that it parallels this idea and, yes, even the damn characters modeled themselves after SGA characters. Well damn. So, I gave up pretending to be original and just transitioned it over to SGA fanfiction. A few rewrites of a handful of scenes, dialogues, and character descriptions and—voilà!—an SGA fic is produced.

That being said, I admit I've gone over this and the entire SGA series a second, third, and even fourth time to ensure I've kept the characters in character. Yes, I am that afraid of screwing this up. I didn't do this one years and years ago because I didn't feel I could do it justice. I despise taking a character out of character as much as I despise Mary Sues. Given that I'm juggling both of those possibilities in this one fic, I am flat out terrified. So, I am very, very open to feedback, here. I'm not afraid of constructive criticism and I would like everyone reading this to please bear in mind this is a first draft. Revisions and additional chapters may be included later as needed.

On a final and more personal note, I would like to mention that Alex isn't just a character that popped out of nowhere. Her evolution in my mind was spawned by the outbreak of hate crimes that have occurred here in the US since the election of President Elect Donald Trump. I really believe that that was what pushed me to not only start this, but see it through to the end. So, no, after extensive testing she did not come out a Mary Sue in my opinion. But, again, this is where I need readership help. If you feel she is a Mary Sue, please let me know so that I can further revise this.

This one is for you, Nic. Goodbye.

Chapter One

Somewhere in the great pantheon of the multiverse United States Air Force Major General John Sheppard of the Western Allied Forces stood above a lone monitor. The pale light illuminated the grim features and the scar that had taken him out of active field duty in what seemed another lifetime. It had finally come down to this. One last stand. And then all of the remaining European and American forces would be spent. There would be no going back.

He had known this day would come. He and all the other military commanders had known since the day North and South Korea joined with China in a mutual desire to develop nuclear weapons. The threat had been too great, to the eyes of the Western Nations. They had done all they could to deter them. Even as a young Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard stationed in Pakistan watched in grim acceptance, the first blows were struck.

The world had gone mad. In the days since the first strike two nuclear bombs had been dropped. Los Angeles and Seattle were no more. Since then Sheppard had risen through the ranks quickly, as more and more men were needed to replace leaders taken out in combat. And, time and time again Sheppard had proven himself lucky beyond believability. His tactics were virtually flawless, and his ability to survive the impossible had made him something of a hero of the Western Allied Forces.

Today this hero watched through a lone, pale monitor in a dark room as the last of his forces were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the Asian Alliance and their weaponry. The scar that crossed from his left temple down to the right side of his chin seemed to be chiseled in granite. Having done his duty to watch and record this last act of defiance against the Asian forces, he stood from his chair. Alone in a world gone mad, he saluted the fallen.

~o~o~o~

In another universe, a very different John Sheppard tossed his surfboard onto the hot sand and flopped next to his current girlfriend. Smiling jauntily, he rolled onto his back and let the sun dry his wet skin. Yes, Australia had definitely been the right choice. Hawaii was just too crowded with idiot tourists.

After a "stunt" in Afghanistan involving disobeying direct orders, his career had tanked. He knew he was on his way to a position in the frozen hell of McMurdo before long. Instead, he got out. And it had been the best choice he'd ever made. Following his father's instructions and dabbling in some business deals, he was again reminded of his total lack of desire to be a successful businessman. But, in his father's eyes, he had tried, and that was enough. When his father died in a car accident soon after, he had left both his sons hefty inheritances with investments meant to last them a lifetime. Sheppard would never have to work again.

With a playful growl, his girlfriend pounced on him, rolling his wet body into the sand. Knowing how much this would annoy him, she ran down toward the water for safety. His features alight in mischievousness, he gave chase. Yes, Australia had definitely been the right choice.

~o~o~o~

In still another universe a Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard contemplated his current circumstances. Which, at the moment, brought to mind a quote that so aptly described days such as this. "There are days when you hate life. Then there are days life decides to hate you back."

Sheppard awoke wondering which one it was going to be this time. As he and his team had found themselves early in the mission being ambushed by Genii. They had barely been on that planet more than a few minutes when the shooting began. Sheppard was just glad his team had managed to make it through the gate. He, meanwhile, had been hit on the head with something that now left him wishing they had just shot him and got it over with. But, knowing the Genii as he did, he wasn't expecting them to be easy on him in any case.

What came next was the stuff of nightmares, for him and many others. As he woke to find himself in a cell with two Genii guards, he knew who was most likely behind this. The only Genii at this point willing to openly take on Atlantis was Kolya. The damnable man was at it again. Feeling betrayed by his own people as well as thwarted multiple times by the Atlanteans, he was more than ready for a bit of delightful revenge as well as getting the Jumpers and explosives he had been after for two long years. Not to mention he was going to get his hands on Ladon Radim, if all went well. But his personal revenge on Colonel John Sheppard was going to be the best part.

Not one to sit idle when there was annoying to be done, Sheppard started shouting through the bars. He was just contemplating what fate Kolya had in mind and how he could find a way out of it when a female voice came from the next cell.

"You're wasting your breath."

"I didn't know I had company down here," Sheppard mumbled as he turned to the trapezoidal cutout between the two cells that separated them with yet more rusty bars.

"There is no escape," rambled the forlorn female voice from the deepest shadows of the next cell.

Not able to penetrate the darkness of the shadows well enough to see, Sheppard rattled off a mindless reply, "Yeah, well, prisons are like that. Never stopped me before. How long have you been down here?"

"Many years," came the vague reply from the darkness.

"How many is 'many'? Five? Ten?"

"It no longer matters," she replied, not bothering to satisfy his curiosity by stirring from the darkness.

"That many, huh? What did you do to get here?" he asked in idle curiosity, turning his attention away from the shadows.

"I merely allowed myself to be captured alive."

"Same here," he replied, turning to pace the confines of the empty cell. "Look, I've got people looking for me. When they find me, maybe we can both—"

At that moment a nearby door opened interrupting his next obvious, yet overly hopeful comment. It was only a matter of moments before a trio of Genii guards appeared to whisk him off to wherever Kolya wished. In his usual flippant manner, Sheppard complied unwillingly. Of course, he couldn't do so without a token effort at escape; if for no other reason than to prove he was not cowed. Before long they had him in a new chamber with what appeared to be an antiquated camera on a stand as they strapped him tightly to a chair. Kolya's grin as this was setup was nothing short of sadistic. After the usual banter between enemies, the activities commenced.

Kolya used the camera to provide a live feed of Sheppard to Atlantis through a nearby open gate. While issuing his demands to the Atlanteans, he brought in a live Wraith queen. She was in quite pitiful shape as she appeared gaunt, filthy, and nearly insane in her rage. Her feeding hand and arm up to the elbow had been encased in a rusting iron sleeve that they removed clearly on camera. Despite her blazing hatred and feeble attempts to resist, she obeyed as she was given leave to feed on Sheppard as a torture tactic. After issuing his final demands and a reminder that this performance will be repeated every so often until they comply or Sheppard is dead, Kolya ends the feed and has Sheppard returned to his cell a bit worse for the wear.

The woman in the cell beside his decides to begin a conversation shortly after his return to his cell. "They called you Sheppard."

"Yeah, that's my name. Pleased to meet ya," from his position slouched against the rear wall of the cell.

"You are in pain."

"Well, I just got fed on by a Wraith. What do you think?"

"I would not know," she replied, sounding almost amused.

"Hopefully you'll never have to find out," Sheppard replied, with a sincerity that surprised even him. Grunting, he forced himself to sit a bit more upright. "I didn't think anything could hurt that much."

"You're still alive," she commented with the kind of inflection that leaves one wondering if it's mocking or hopeful.

"Yeah, well, I don't know how many years the damn thing took off my life, but I'll tell you this: If Kolya's men hadn't pulled the damn thing off, I'd be dust in a flak jacket."

Now clear amusement in her voice she asked, "Do you blame the Wraith or the master?"

"I'm going to go with both," he grumped, not pleased with her tone.

Now her tone became serious in a way that caught his undivided attention. "There is a difference. The Wraith must feed in order to live. For Wraith, hunger burns like a fire. Tell me, Sheppard, if you found yourself burning alive, would you settle for just one drop of water?"

By this point the growing feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach had urged him to his feet as he approached the trapezoidal opening between cells.

"Or would you take more?" she finished.

"Where did you hear them call me Sheppard?" he asked, suspicion clear in his voice.

Finally she stepped out of the shadows and into the light just the other side of the barred trapezoidal window, "Just before I started to feed."

Sheppard's reaction was swift and violent. He only barely resisted reaching through the bars to pull the Wraith queen into them by her hair. Instead he turned and paced away from the window.

"Your anger will only serve to weaken you," she stated.

"I don't think so."

"You realize he is torturing both of us?"

His anger clear in his voice, mixed with something that almost bordered on betrayal he shot back, "Oh yeah? What did he do to you?"

"He stopped me."

"Really? And how is that torture?" he shouted, turning back toward the opening between the cells.

"Have you ever known starvation, Sheppard?" She paused. Seeing no forthcoming response, she continued, "The few years I took from you are barely enough to keep me alive. The strength I gained from you is already fading."

"I don't really give a damn!"

"You pace in your cell, cursing that I took years from you. I stand here cursing that I was not allowed them all! Each in our own way, we suffer," she stated emphatically.

His temper no longer entirely under his control, Sheppard put his face right up against the bars glaring hate at the Wraith queen. "This might come as a surprise to you, but I'm not really in the mood for conversation. So why don't you just do me a favor and shut the hell up!"

Her own temper cracking, she attempted to reach through the bars with her iron encased feeding arm, causing him to twitch backward as it was stopped by the bars. Seeing she had his attention, she held his gaze.

"These are your last hours, Sheppard. If you wish to spend them in silence, then so be it."

"No. I'm getting outta here. I've got a life to go back to, and I'm damn well going back to it."

"You're sure of that?" she queried with no little amusement.

"Yeah, I got friends," he huffed, his energy spent as he resumed his slouched seat against the far wall. "And they're gonna come for me."

"I hope you continue to believe that," she said, rage barely contained behind her façade of calm, "the next time I feed."

~o~o~o~

As promised, three hours later Kolya dragged Sheppard out of his cell for the second display of torture for his Atlanteans friends. This time the Wraith queen wasted no energy on a show of defiance. Her hunger burned in her expression as they removed the iron sleeve to free her feeding hand. Once given the visual queue to feed, she lunged forward eagerly. But as her eyes met Sheppard's, she could not help but hesitate. For that one, brief moment, Sheppard could have sworn he saw something in those alien features other than rage and hunger. And then his world exploded in agony unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

The agony went on forever, before the sound of the Wraith queen screaming was followed by a cessation of the pain. Slowly reality began go coalesce once again as Sheppard found himself tossed unceremoniously back into his cell. The Wraith queen awaited his return at the window between their cells.

"Where are you friends?" she asked, mockingly.

"They'll be here," he assured, weakly, leaning against the nearby wall.

"You still believe that?"

"Yeah, I do. They just need more time," he said, almost to himself.

"No one has ever left this place alive," she challenged.

"Yeah, well, I'm going to," he shot back with some of his previous enthusiasm.

"Kolya will kill you before your friends have a chance to reach these cells."

After a moment of silence, Sheppard asked, "How well do you know the layout of this place?"

"Well enough to know what they would be up against."

An insane plan beginning to form from the fog of his thoughts, Sheppard pulled himself to his feet to face her. His much, aged face held an intensity she had not expected.

"What about us?" he asked. "Do you know enough about this place to get us out?"

"You and me?" she asked, incredulously, but not entirely without hope.

"What? Are they gonna let you go after I'm dead?" he shot back with some of his usual sarcasm.

"No."

"Then what have you got to lose?"

"My life."

"Oh, well, yeah, you've got it great down here."

Her hunger and anger flaring again, she hissed at him in response. Before she could say anything, however, Sheppard continued, "Listen. It make sense. We have a common goal."

"As I said before, there is no escape," she growled in defeat, walking away.

"Oh, what?" Sheppard shot back. "You think I'll kill you once we're out of here? Fine. I promise not to kill you until we've at least gotten off this planet."

Her dark chuckle caught him off guard. "Very generous of you. I'll give you credit for honesty. But what, then? You just let me go on my way only to one day reappear to feed on you and your friends?"

"Okay," Sheppard said, contemplating this issue. "A truce, then? We work together to get out of here. Then, we go our separate ways. But if we ever cross paths, all bets are off."

"All bets are off? Meaning, you'll kill me the instant you see me?"

"Yeah, something like that."

For a moment she locked eyes with him. Sheppard felt as if she were staring through him with her alien yellow eyes as she contemplated him and his offer. "You're not like other humans. Where are you from, Sheppard?"

Not sure how much she already knew but knowing for certain he was walking a fine line of trust here, Sheppard decided to respond honestly. "Atlantis."

"Ah, so the great city has been reawakened. I had heard rumors among the Genii," she seemed to be talking more to herself. Then her eyes took on a penetrating glare. "I was there, thousands of years ago, when they were forced to submerge the city. And you believe you and your friends can fight the Wraith? Perhaps even defeat us where those who came before you failed?"

"Yeah," he shot back with more confidence than he felt under that stare.

The silence stretched out as she contemplated this. Finally, "I believe you think you can."

Sensing there was more coming, Sheppard stayed at the barred window as she paced away. After a few seconds, his hunch paid off.

"I wish to join you in destroying the Wraith, if it is possible."

Thinking he had finally lost his mind, Sheppard shook his head in confusion. "What?!"

Still facing away from him, she continued, "I am not like other Wraith. The Genii captured me many, many years ago. Too long to remember, now. They caught me because I destroyed my hive, and yet somehow survived."

Too shocked to respond, Sheppard only stared in confusion, still thinking he was hallucinating what he was hearing. She turned to face him, as if daring him to speak against her next claim. "I never wanted to be a Wraith. As a child, I ate real food. What you consider food. Only when I grew older was I do learn that to survive, I must feed on the life of other sentient beings. It sickens me. You are not food. You are not mindless animals. You are alive, as alive as I am; and as aware."

"What are you getting at?" he finally asked, too shocked to really put it all together.

"First, a truce. Then I help you escape. When you friends come for you, will you allow me to help you fight the Wraith to their ultimate destruction?"

Still not entirely believing what he was hearing, Sheppard turned away to contemplate this revelation. A Wraith that did not want to be a Wraith; and a queen! Shaking his head, he tried to make sense of all this. She stood patiently at the bars between their cells, giving him time to digest this.

"No," he finally shook his head, a thought coming to him. "Aside from the obvious fact that this could be a ploy of Kolya's, or even some twisted plot on your part, it's too dangerous. You must be delirious from hunger if you think for even one second that I would agree to something that insane."

Not seeming surprised in the least, she nodded. "Very well, then. Hang on to the hope of rescue, Sheppard. It may be all you have."

Walking away, she returned to her corner shrouded in darkness.

Sheppard, still in something of a shock and not entirely disbelieving, turned away to resume a seat against the nearby wall.

Is it really possible? he wondered silently to himself.

~o~o~o~

As expected, just before the three hour mark, Kolya's soldiers reappeared at the cell doors to order both of them out at gunpoint. For one moment, Sheppard turned to the Wraith queen as they shared a look that once again made him wonder if he was making a mistake in not at least pretending to accept her offer. After all, he was the one that suggested it. And, it wasn't like he couldn't kill her after.

Before he could consider this any further, however, the guard shoved him forward and away from the cells. For the third time the process of setting up the camera and strapping him to a chair was repeated. Again Kolya voiced his demands to Atlantis on the other end of the camera feed. This time, though, Kolya as well as his friends on the other end of the camera feed knew Sheppard would not survive this last round. It was a wonder he had survived so much already.

Turning to the Wraith queen and Sheppard, Kolya said, "Take your fill."

Without hesitation she latched on to his chest in the same place she had used before. Her eyes and expression blazing with hunger as she fed. For Sheppard, there was only agony. Unable to stop himself, he screamed into his gag. At least this time he had the comfort of knowing it would be over soon and he would not have to experience this ever again. As expected, consciousness swiftly faded in the waves of agony.

To everyone's surprise, the Wraith queen stopped herself before Sheppard was left to dust.

"Who told you to stop?" Kolya demanded.

"He is near death. Shall I finish him?" she asked, not bothering to conceal her eagerness.

After hesitating only a moment, Kolya took in Sheppard's elderly appearance before commanding in disgust, "Get it out of here."

~o~o~o~

Sometime later Sheppard was surprised to find himself actually returning to consciousness in the now familiar scene of the inside of his prison cell. Hearing the Wraith queen standing at the window nearby, he said weakly, "You know, I could have sworn I was going to wake up dead today."

"You are strong," she replied with no small amount of admiration. "Stronger than any human I have ever fed upon."

"You stopped yourself?" It was the only explanation his mind could come up with since he'd heard Kolya give the order for her to feed until he was dead.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because, the longer I feed, the weaker you become. And, as I said, I have no desire to take your life, even if it means sating my hunger. Besides, you will need what strength you have left to escape."

Huffing a dark laugh, "Now she wants to escape."

"Yes, I agree to your original terms. Truce, we escape, and then we go our separate ways. Agreed?"

For a moment Sheppard was quiet as another thought struck him. The insanity of this whole situation must have finally gotten to him. "You said you don't like feeding. You said you want to destroy Wraith."

"Yes."

"What if you could be human?"

For a moment she was silent, before a rather disturbingly dark laugh erupted from her. "And here I thought you just might survive this. It would appear the feedings have shattered your sanity."

"Listen," Sheppard said, not bothering to conceal his weakness as that would only take more effort than he could afford now. "Doctor Beckett, a scientist and medical doctor in Atlantis has a serum that can turn Wraith into humans. I don't know all the specifics. I leave that to the scientists. But it's something about Wraith being a relative of what we call the iratus bug. It's all complicated DNA stuff, but he says it will work."

"And you offer this to me? In exchange for helping you escape?"

"Yeah. You help me escape, and I'll get Beckett to give you the serum. If you really meant what you said, then this opportunity is one you can't pass up."

"Are you questioning my sincerity?"

"Can you blame me? I'm being fed on a little at a time by a Wraith queen who has probably been here kept on the edge of starvation for centuries and would likely need to buy her way back into the good graces of her fellow Wraith queens by turning over everything she knows about Atlantis and who they're up against. So, forgive me if I'm just a little suspicious."

"Very well. I agree."

"Good, now that that's settled, I'm going to just rest a bit. I'm sure Kolya's boys will have no problem waking me up for our next round. You just be ready."

"Agreed."

~o~o~o~

As expected, four of Kolya's men showed up a lot sooner than Sheppard would have liked. But, recovered or not, this was likely to be their last chance to attempt an escape. He lay on the floor letting Kolya's men think him too weak to stand. They stopped outside the cell door while the other two fetched the Wraith queen. The moment she stepped out of the cell door, their eyes met with a tiny nod. Sheppard threw himself backward, slamming both his guards into the bars behind them. Meanwhile, the Wraith queen used her iron-encased arm to crack the skull of one of her guards while she held the other in place with her weight. She began to bash the lock of her metal sleeve against the bars of her cell. In a few hits, the lock practically shattered as it fell away and she rapidly shook off the sleeve.

While Sheppard was struggling with his two opponents, the Wraith's other guard pulled himself out of his stupor long enough to fire off several shots. For a moment, Sheppard thought he was dead before he realized the guard had been shooting at the Wraith queen. Hearing her muffled cries, he realized she had been shot at least four times during the feeding. Grabbing a knife off one of his guards, he landed a lucky shot in the man's throat. Huffing from unexpected exertion, Sheppard grabbed up some guns and a radio as the Wraith finished feeding.

When finished, it was obvious it had not been enough to heal her completely, nor enough to sate her hunger. As she turned with blazing eyes and a nearly rabid expression, it was all he could do to just step out of the way rather than shoot her himself. Not entirely unexpectedly, she fell upon the two unconscious guards he had left lying in front of his cell. Watching the surrounding hallways, he waited while she made quick work of her meals. He almost felt sorry for them. Almost.

Finally she finished. To his surprise, she wobbled slightly and leaned on the bars as she rose. Seeing his suspicion, she explained, "I was wounded five times. Those three were just enough to heal those, but not enough to restore me. But it will have to do. I should have the strength to at least get us out of here."

"Yeah," Sheppard said, somewhat queasy and uncertain about this new alliance, "you do that. Which way?"

Taking the lead, the Wraith moved toward a nearby corridor. As expected, there were three more guards just around the corner. Sheppard silently cursed the fact that they were just spaced out enough to be a problem. He knew firing shots would just draw attention and bring down more guards. Giving a silent nod to the Wraith queen, they both jumped out of the shadows aiming for the two closest guards. Opting for the knife, Sheppard grabbed his from behind and stabbed him in the chest as the Wraith grabbed her chosen target and snapped his neck. The third was stunned into inaction for only a second before raising his gun to take aim on Sheppard. Knowing he wasn't going to get his gun up in time, he still wasn't about to give up without trying. To his surprise, though, the Wraith stepped in front of him as the Genii opened fire taking several bullets before he could fire off a couple of rounds to take out the shooter.

In the resounding silence that followed, Sheppard's exhausted brain finally processed what just happened. Turning to the Wraith, he opened his mouth to speak at the sight of the open wounds still bleeding.

"They will heal," she cut him off. "But I will need to feed soon for them to do so. This way."

Taking the lead once more, she led them through more poorly lit corridors. She was obviously in pain as she took them up a flight of stairs. Knowing there was nothing he could do and not certain he would want to anyway, he ignored it and focused on their upward trek. At least she seemed to be heading in the right direction, for now.

~o~o~o~

It took nearly half an hour before the Wraith led them to a ladder that exited an iron-grilled grate on the surface. Thankfully, they didn't run into anymore Genii on the way. Sheppard wasn't sure how much more his elderly, exhausted body could take. Taking in their surroundings, he was pleased to see they were far from any buildings somewhere in a forest. At least this way they were unlikely to run into anymore of Kolya's men until they were much closer to the gate. Depending on their direction, they might have the element of surprise on their approach, too.

Turning his attention to his guide, he frowned slightly at seeing the Wraith queen stumble as she doubled over in pain due to the still-bleeding gunshot wounds just under her ribs on her right side. Wondering how long the truce would hold with her needing to feed to heal herself, he asked gruffly, "How far is the stargate?"

"It will be guarded," she stated gruffly.

"We've got guns."

"They will be waiting for us," she growled.

"Don't be so negative," he shot back.

At that point the Wraith queen could no longer deny her pain and weakness. With a groan she fell to her knees breathing heavily.

In a voice laces with irritation Sheppard asked, "You think you're gonna make it?"

With some effort she appeared to regain some control of her breathing, "If I feed."

"Don't look at me."

As she lurched unsteadily to her feet, Sheppard gave in to instinct raising his gun to her. Appearing not surprised in the least, she grinned in amusement. "We had a deal, remember? Would it be in my best interests to kill you?"

"Well no, but I'm just making sure you remember."

Huffing a short, dark laugh, she turned to lead them away from the grate.

~o~o~o~

Nearly two hours later Sheppard and the Wraith queen had spoken not at all as they trekked laboriously through the thick forest.

"I was blindfolded the whole way to the bunker. It wasn't this far."

"If I could just move faster," she mumbled in response, seeming as if in a daze.

As if that was some sort of trigger, her legs finally gave out and she collapsed to her hands and knees. Breathing heavily himself from the unaccustomed exertion on his now greatly aged body, Sheppard stood over her for a moment before stepping away.

"We'll rest here for a few minutes."

He heard her struggling as she attempted to regain her feet. But her next words brought his attention back to her.

"You should go on without me," she growled.

Without hesitation, he replied, "No. The gate's guarded. We've got a better chance of taking out the guards in a crossfire. I still need you," he finished, eyeing her warily as she gave up trying to stand and sat for a moment on her knees.

"Very well," she finally responded, seeming almost disappointed.

Turning his attention back to the night-time forest around them, Sheppard added, "That is, even if we're going in the right direction."

Seeing no response was forthcoming as the Wraith queen focused on her breathing from where she knelt, he turned back to her keeping her distance.

"You have no idea where the stargate is, do you?" he accused openly.

Her entire demeanor wilting in open disappointment. "It was many years ago—"

"Way to go, Sheppard!" he erupted furiously. "Listen to a Wraith!"

Collapsing backward to a full sitting position, she struggled to stay upright obviously exhausted and in pain. "It was not my intention to deceive you, Sheppard," she snapped.

Before he could respond to that the radio he had taken from one of the Genii soldiers suddenly crackled to life.

Our reinforcements have arrived at the Ancestral Ring, Commander, one soldier said.

Kolya's response was swift, as he must have been waiting for this news. Kill the Wraith on sight, but I want Sheppard alive.

Turning back to her, Sheppard said much more calmly than before, "One, he likes me better than you," which set the Wraith queen shaking her head and laughing darkly at his sense of humor. "Two, we probably would've never made it to the stargate anyway."

Flopping onto her back in the leaves thickly covering the forest floor, she grunted painfully, "Then it is over."

"No," he shot back. "My people don't leave each other behind. That's three things you've learned."

With no small amount of amusement she grinned, "You still believe that?"

"Kolya doesn't know where we are. If he's wasting manpower that could be used searching for us to guard the gate, the odds of my people finding us are going up and up."

Her silence was all he got in response. Squatting down next to her to see if she was still conscious, Sheppard jumped slightly as the radio went off again.

Tell Kolya there's no one at the Ancestral Ring, a distorted voice came through.

Seeing that she was still alive and her eyes were once again open, he commented, "Sounds like they're still concentrating their search around the gate. They must think we knew where we were going."

Instead of responding to his jab, she fixed her eyes on the night sky above. There three moons glowed softly in a sky filled with more stars than Sheppard had ever seen on Earth.

"It was worth it," she whispered, as if to herself, "if only to see the sky one more time."

Huffing a dark laugh, Sheppard shot back in a voice laden with sarcasm, "I've got slightly higher expectations."

Not taking her eyes off the sky above, she said, "My wounds are deep. If I do not feed soon, I will die," she confessed.

"Buck up," he shoots back. "We've got a deal, remember? We get out of this together and we'll make you human."

She continued to stare at the sky, not dignifying his repeated promise with a comment. Seeing she wasn't going to be moving from her spot any time soon Sheppard decided here was as good a place to wait as any for their rescue.

"Get some sleep. I'll take first watch."

Without protest she remained where she was as he moved off a few feet to sit up against a tree.