Summary: After recovering from the injuries he received when the building in Michael's compound collapsed, Major Lorne is sent to Earth on leave; Doctor Keller's orders. His plans are interrupted by a mysterious woman and a very familiar enemy.

Spoilers: Up to and including Season 5: Search and Rescue

Warnings: None

Sunshine and Shadows

Chapter 1

The telephone rang and rang. A hand crept out from under the bed clothes, tapping the bedside table top, before eventually finding the handset and dragging it back. Lorne put it to his ear.

"Urgh." He said as he tried to force his eyelids open.

"Did I wake you?" The voice at the other end asked very sweetly.

"Huh?"

"Sorry. I didn't think you'd be in bed yet."

"It's…..the… middle….. of the night!" He finally managed to form a coherent sentence.

"Really? Never could get this time difference thing down. Just phoned to say I'm not on the plane because the kids have gone down with the flu." The voice said and gave a little cough. "I think I'm coming down with it too."

Oh….. that's not good Sis. I was looking forward to sightseeing with you and the kids."

"Yes, me too. It will have to be some other time." She sneezed and blew her nose.

"I suppose….……… so how are the kids?"

"Apart from this bug they're fine. They miss you…… and your wild stories. Promise me you'll come here next time."

"Yes I will, I promise."

"Well enjoy the galleries. Oh and Evan, you haven't found yourself a girlfriend yet, have you?"

"As if I'd tell you." He smiled to himself as he imagined his sister's face with that extra special inquisitive look she always wore when quizzing him about his love life. Or lack of it.

"Anyhow, look after yourself and ring me before you go back to wherever it is you are stationed."

"I will. Look after yourself too. See you." With the second attempt the handset found its cradle. He groaned, turned over and went straight back to sleep.

The next thing he heard was the sound of laughter in the hallway and feet running down the stairs. He glanced at his watch and, when his eyes eventually focussed, the time said 10.05am and dragging himself out of bed his grogginess was soon washed away in the shower. As always he checked his leg and apart from the operation scar there were no other outward signs of his injuries. Dr. Keller had insisted he carry on with the exercises to help speed his recovery and this he did for thirty minutes every day; today was no exception. Afterwards he dressed in a shirt and jeans before wandering down to the hotel courtyard and found a table which overlooked the river.

The waiter brought him breakfast which he ate while watching the boats pass by and people going about their daily lives. It was good to be reminded of what a normal life was like because he certainly didn't feel as if he had one anymore.

He recalled being stuck in the collapsed building in Michael's compound with a broken leg and some of his team dead. The dust, the pain and the fear. He'd found the death of his men harder to take than his own injuries and it was on the Doc's orders he had taken this trip. Take it easy she'd said. Enjoy some time out. Do something you enjoy. He intended to make the most of it.

ooOoo

A short walk later saw him standing outside the Tate Modern, somewhere he had never visited before, and was eagerly looking forward to the experience. He pulled the information booklet and ticket from his pocket and joined the ever growing queue at the entrance.

A couple of hours later he wandered outside into the summer sun feeling happy, relaxed and altogether much lighter and ready for something else. Checking his map, he decided the quickest route to the British Museum was over the Millennium Bridge and half way over he stopped to admire the view; his artistic eye catching the many possibilities of the river and city skyline. He pulled out his camera intending to take as many photos as possible for his sister and nephews, knowing how disappointed they were to miss their vacation.

Panning the camera around to compose the best shot, his attention was held by two young boys passing in front of him.

"Nah, I don't mean that. It sucked the life right out of 'im!" Said the smaller of the two in a red jacket.

"You mean like this." The boy with the blue baseball cap bared his teeth and growled.

"Nah not like that. Not like in the movies. I saw this ugly lookin' geezer with white hair slap his hand on the old mans chest and kill 'im. Hissing he was. Turned to a skeleton he did. Straight up, just like that!"

The boy pushed his friend. "You're havin' a laugh. Go on show me the body then."

He gave his friend a determined look as he zipped up his jacket. "Alright I will."

ooOoo

Lorne was feeling ridiculous following these boys half way across the city and hiding behind a wall listening to them decide whether they would enter the spooky warehouse. They could be fooling around and probably were. He'd done it himself as a kid, making up stories for fun, but he couldn't resist the lure as he needed to know if the impossible had happened. He had no idea where he was. He'd followed them out of the tourist area and into the more run down old industrial estate down by the river but now regretted walking so far. Leaning against the wall to take the weight of his leg he winced as it began to hurt like hell.

"Go on then you go first." The boy in the red jacket said.

"Chicken." The boy tucked his fists under his arms and flapped his elbows.

"No I'm not. As you're so brave, you go in."

He pulled a face at his friend and pushed the door. It creaked as it slowly opened. The place was dark except for a shaft of light which filtered down through a hole in the roof revealing abandoned desks and an assortment of old rusty machinery.

"Where is it then?" The baseball cap boy whispered.

"I saw it over there in the corner."

The only sound they could hear was their own breathing and the faintest shuffling of their feet on the stone floor.

The scream which came next made Lorne jump and his blood run cold. His hand went immediately to his right leg. No holster, no pistol. No weapons of any sort. Crap. The two boys ran passed him with terror etched on their faces. He took a deep breath and walked to the door, listened, waited and then peered in. He could hear definite signs of movement so he slipped inside and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim light. He picked up a discarded iron bar leaning against the wall.

His eyes scanned the place for any sign of danger and his heart beat faster as the footsteps got closer.

"Who's there?" A soft voice from the shadows asked.

Female and non-threatening he convinced himself and stepped further into the room but still tightly gripped the iron bar with both hands. "My name's Major Lorne."

"Well what do you want?" The voice enquired.

"Well I..… the boys… I followed the boys here."

"Really?" Her voice was smooth but accusing.

"Oh no, nothing like that." He cringed at what it must have looked and sounded like. "It was something they said. A dead body." That hardly sounded any better.

"So, you're the law then?"

"No, United States Air Force."

"So let's get this straight. You're the military, but not from around here: following two boys: poking around hoping to find a dead body. You do realise how that sounds?"

"Well, putting it like that." He thought for a moment but decided he wasn't about to give up. "But if there is a body, I don't suppose you could tell me if it has had the life sucked out of it?" He knew it sounded outrageous so he stared towards the shadow and waited cautiously for an answer.

"Now why would that be of any interest to you?"

"Would you believe a hobby of mine?" He didn't think the truth would be any better.

The mysterious shadow chuckled. "Some hobby." She sighed, "but as you're so interested…….." and came into the light and revealed herself. Even in the dim light Lorne could see that she was tall. Slightly taller than he was and wearing a long black cloak with a hood and military style boots. She flipped back the hood to reveal her black hair which she wore in a knot on the top of her head. Even though her eyes were hidden by a pair of dark glasses, Lorne could tell that she was eyeing the metal bar he had in his hand so he let it fall to the ground with a clank and the sound reverberated around the warehouse. Her head lifted slightly in approval. "Come this way." She turned and walked across the warehouse to a small room which, at some time in the past, had been an office of sorts but now had been turned into something darker. "Is this what you're looking for?"

Lying on a sturdy table was the all too familiar sight of a shrivelled corpse. His face dropped as he whispered, "Wraith."

She looked at him in astonishment. "You know of them on this world?"

Lorne was equally taken unawares. "You know of the Wraith?"

"Yes. I'm afraid so." She said with a hint of bitterness mingled with sadness.

"Okaaay." His mind was racing. What? How? Who the hell is she? But first things first. "Who are you?"

"Everyone calls me Amelia." She walked over and covered the body with a dust sheet. "You are the first person I've come across who knows about the Wraith and what they can do. Care to tell me more?"

"How about you tell me first."

"Oh I can do better than that." She stepped towards him, tapped the metal band on her wrist and grabbed his arm. Lorne tried to pull away but was too late and in an instant they were transported and materialized in an apartment. A very luxurious and spacious apartment. One with stripped pine floors, a large picture window and three large sofas. Contemporary art adorned the walls and at least one original Picasso if he wasn't much mistaken. Lorne immediately snatched his arm away and gave her an icy glare.

"I'm sorry I did that but you intrigue me." She waited for him to speak but he just folded him arms and continued to glare. "But I see you're more annoyed than surprised. Something tells me you've seen this kind of technology before."

Lorne raised his eyebrows. "I really can't say."

"Ah yes. The military. Always so secretive. On this world and many others."

"This world? OK, that's the second time you've said that. A whole lot of meaning in one little sentence." He narrowed his eyes. "You've brought me here for a reason I guess?"

He waited for a reply but she wasn't to be rushed. She unpinned the clasp at her neck and grabbed the cloak as it fell. Lorne watched as she walked gracefully across the room to put the garment on a hanger. Her tall lean frame elegantly dressed in a long red sleeveless dress and the not so elegant military boots. He couldn't quite make out the markings which snaked along her neck and arm but they looked like a continuous tattoo of dark green leaves on a vine, highlighted with an occasional splash of colour. He assumed it continued down her torso and hip because he caught a glimpse of it on her leg as it flashed through the slash in the skirt as she moved. The dark glasses she left in place.

"As you know of the Wraith I'm guessing that you're not from around here. I'm not either. I arrived about two years ago. The Wraith was a prisoner in my custody; he stole some new technology and escaped here. I followed him but catching the son of a bitch is proving much harder than I first thought." She paused as if deep in thought. "He is very intelligent and resourceful." She prepared herself for any signs of shock, laughter or derision but was relieved when none came. She'd recited that speech a few times before and had previously received those reactions; sometimes all three at once.

"When you say 'not from around here' I'm assuming you don't mean England." Lorne said as he searched her face for clues but found it extremely difficult with the dark glasses shielding her eyes.

"That is correct." She answered as she made herself comfortable on one of the sofas.

"Europe?"

"No."

"America?" She tilted her head in a playful way and looked as if she were enjoying a game.

Lorne sighed. "OK then let me take a leap in the dark. The Pegasus Galaxy!" It was turning into that kind of a day for making wild assumptions.

Amelia's smiled a little. "Yes. I had a feeling you would know ….so as I've been honest with you……. tell me something about yourself."

"My name is Major Lorne of the United Stated Air Force."

"Yes, yes you've told me that." For the first time she sounded irritated and her smile faded. "Tell me how you know about the Wraith. I have absorbed much of the culture of this planet and the space program here is only in its infancy so if you haven't travelled beyond this solar system, how is it possible?"

"Yes that's a good question." He was struggling to find something to say that wouldn't compromise the Stargate program.

So …..how?……" She insisted.

Lorne limped over to the window. The view was stunning and he guessed they were in the penthouse apartment. He knew it was risky and against the rules to give any information to her but before he could say anything he had to sit down and rest his leg. He found the nearest sofa and let out a slight groan as lowered himself onto the soft cushions.

"You have an injury." She said with such sympathy and gentleness that he felt his wariness about her falling away.

"Yes. That's why I'm back here on Earth. Doctors orders. She said I needed more time to fully recover."

Amelia walked over and sat down beside him. She removed her dark glasses and eyed his leg. "A clean break of the left tibia, a bit of damage to the surrounding muscles and ligaments but other than that it's virtually healed."

Lorne's eyes widened.

"That's not all." She shifted her gaze to the rest of him and looked him up and down. "You have quite a few previous traumas I see. A projectile injury to the left shoulder, another to the chest just missing your vital organs and you've also been on the receiving end of many blasts from an electrical disrupter of some kind plus……."

"OK that's enough." Lorne interrupted her in amazement. "Very impressive. How do you know that?"

"Yes, well….. I think I've told you more than my fair share, now it's your turn." She put on her glasses before returning his gaze but not before he noticed the scar which diagonally crossed her right eye. From the quick glimpse he saw he guessed she was in her early thirties. Her face, which once had been extremely attractive, was now strained and drawn. Perhaps he would discover the story which lay behind the brutal scar, but not now. Now he had to decide what he was going to tell her. How much information he should give her and classified information at that.

This would be the first time he had talked to anyone outside of Stargate Command about Atlantis and the expedition. National security a voice in his head reminded him. He hadn't even hinted to his sister and parents about it. So talking about it to an absolute stranger, almost certainly an alien, made him feel more than a bit uncomfortable.

He took a deep breath. "I'm with a military expedition that is based in the Pegasus Galaxy. We travelled there through a device called the Stargate," he paused to see if there was any reaction but she was either extremely good at concealing her feelings or it was a genuine surprise to her and at this point he couldn't tell. "and, as your own studies here have shown, it's not common knowledge to the general public. But my people have had more than a few encounters with the Wraith and we…..I know how they operate and how deadly they can be." He paused again to allow her to speak but she remained frustratingly silent. "I can get help to find this Wraith. It'll be a lot faster that way and much safer."

"No!" He was taken by surprise as Amelia raised her voice. "I need to do this my way; it's a matter of honour." She stood and turned to walk away but stopped as she felt Lorne's hand on her arm.

"Let me help you." He said knowing that he needed to keep an eye on her. "I have one week's leave. I'll do everything to help you find him but I can't make any promises about not telling my superiors after that."

"I am not sure that is what I want."

"So why did you bring me here?"

"Information. You obviously know things."

"How you've managed to survive here on Earth is amazing let alone searching for a life sucking creature. You have to admit you haven't had any luck finding this Wraith so far."

"Oh I've found him a few times but he keeps getting away that's all. I want him alive!"

"Alive huh?"

Amelia gave a nod and sat down beside him seemingly warming to the proposal.

"Very well, alive it is." Lorne agreed and hoped he knew what he was doing.

ooOoo