Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate: Atlantis, only the main plot and Emerald (along with some of the worlds).

Heart of Emeralds

Fifteen years ago

"Emerald, will you please stop fooling around and get back to work?" Daniel Jackson asked the young girl that sat across from him. She was currently playing with a deck of cards, blatantly ignoring the work in front of her.

Emerald looked up, her bright emerald green eyes looking upon Daniel happily. "Just because I told Sarah I would copperate does not necessarily mean that I will actually work with you," she said with a grin.

Daniel looked at her with a blank expression for a few moments before grumbling incoherently and returning to looking through the many books. "You know, for a twelve year old genius, you are quite annoying."

Emerald beamed and returned to her cards.

After a few moments of conversation less quiet Emerald hopped down from her seat and started walking for the door.

Daniel looked up at her. "And where do you think you're going?"

Emerald looked over her shoulder at the older man. "I'm going to the restroom, thank you very much." She looked ahead and walked out of the room quickly.

Daniel shook his head and went back to work. All was silent for a a good amount of time and after a good twenty minutes went by, Daniel frowned and looked up. Emerald had still not returned. He stood and exited the room, "Emerald, it shouldn't take you that long to go to the restroom." Daniel continued to walk around, starting to get worried as he could not find Sarah's little cousin. He finally got to the bathroom to find that the door was open only a few inches.

Daniel slowly opened the door and looked inside only to find that the room was empty. He turned quickly and frantically searched for the young girl. His results were fruitless.

Present

Lt. Col. John Sheppard and his team were on their way back to Atlantis from a successful trade agreement with the Cyrilltans.

"Well they seem nice," John said as Rodney walked ahead slightly to get to the DHD.

"Yes, they seem like a kind people," Teyla agreed.

Ronon said nothing, his eyes scanning the forest around them. He could feel something watching them, feel it creeping closer.

Just a few feet from the DHD, something small and fast whizzed past Rodney's face causing him to stumble back with a gasp.

"Down!" John called as he and Teyla went to the ground, the guns aimed to the the right. Ronon fired his gun into the trees.

The group of four heard nothing for a moment as they waited to see if their attacker would make a move. Four more small fast objects whizzed by their heads. Teyla looked back to see that the objects were knives, five lodged into the trees behind them. Ronon and John fired openly at the trees in front of them.

"Rodney, dial the gate," John ordered once everything was silent once more.

Teyla looked into the forest and then at John. "John, I do not believe they are trying to kill us. If they were, they would have done so already. The knives have come close to hitting us, but they have not."

Ronon only glanced at Teyla before a movement caught his eye ten feet away. He fired quickly to only see that he missed.

"We have a problem here!" Rodney called back as John was about to answer Teyla.

The three looked at their scientist to see that he had a horrified look on his face, a woman standing on the other side of the DHD, a mask covering the bottom half of her mouth. She wore a white blouse under a long black jacket that was buttoned just under her full breasts. A pair of tight black pants adorned her legs, a pair of brown lace up boots covering the pants up to her knees. Her hair was a deep brown that fell down in waives past her breasts, red highlights blending in perfectly. Her bright green eyes shown with mischief as she looked at the group. Two swords were strapped to her back, two guns exactly like Ronon's holstered at both her hips.

The woman was holding up a few crystals in her fingers.

Ronon growled and fired at the woman. She gracefully twirled out of the way, a gun pointed at Ronon as she stopped.

The woman clicked her tongue at him, "I don't think you should do that. Not unless you want to get home. Shoot me you loose these."

John and Teyla stood. "Ronon, lower your gun," John told his Satedan friend.

All was quiet as the five people stood in their places. Ronon finally started to lower his weapon, the woman following suit. She lowered it quickly though and put it back into its place.

"Good. Now, all I wish to know is where you come from. You... Your weapons are familiar," she said looking only at John, changing her mind on how much she wanted to tell them at that moment.

Rodney looked at John, his eyes protesting.

"Who wants to know?" John asked, not relaxing in the least.

The woman laughed softly, the sound catching the group off guard. The sound was sweet and angelic. "I am a traveler, but my blood is human." She paused and studied them closely. After a few moments she reached up and lowered the mask. "If I am seeing right, the two of you are not from this galaxy," she said pointing to Rodney and nodding at John.

John, Rodney, and Teyla all exchanged glances. Ronon would not take his narrowed gaze from the woman. There was something that annoyed, angered, and intrigued him.

"How do you know that?" Rodney asked the woman.

"The story is only for those of my planet. Maybe you have heard of it," she said with a smile.

They all stood in silence, the woman looking from one person to the other, obviously expecting something.

"Oh come on! You're not going to even guess?"

The three looked at each other, confusion clear in their expressions.

The woman sighed and shook her head as she looked down, walking towards Rodney. Ronon aimed the gun at her once more. She looked at him from the corner of her eye, "You will not shot, Ronon Dex of Sateda." She looked at Rodney then, handing the crystals to him. "You are from Earth. You may just be my only way to contact Daniel Jackson."

Ronon stood still, not able to comprehend how this woman knew who he was.

John and Rodney looked at each other with shocked expressions. "How do you know all of that?"

Rodney took the crystals and the woman stepped back, bowing to the group. "Edward Gardner, cousin of Sarah Gardner, friend to Daniel Jackson. We must leave now, I was not expecting our time here to be cut short."

Teyla frowned, "What are you talking about?"

Emerald stood and looked at them. "The Wraith are on their way. They will cull this village in... five minutes."

The four looked at each other and John nodded to Teyla. "Go and warn the villagers," he told her.

Rodney was already setting to work on getting the DHD back up.

"They have been warned. The moment you were out of sight of the village I instructed them to go and hide underground. They have tunnels that they use when there's a culling, but only some get to it then. They are all there now."

Ronon growled, "There is no way you can know all of this. You're working with the Wraith." He aimed his gun at her, his finger hovering over the trigger.

Emerald flinched and shook her head, "I am not. Please, I am only wishing to speak with you all in safety. I'm afraid that I am loosing all I have left of the future at a great rate."

John took only a moment to think about their situation. He let out a heavy sigh and nodded to Rodney. The scientist then started to dial the gate to Atlantis.

"You're trusting her?" Ronon growled at John.

Telya walked towards the gate, eyeing Emerald warily. John looked at Ronon for a moment. "None of the Wraith could know about Dr. Jackson. He has only been to Atlantis a couple of times."

The portal opened and Teyla and Rodney walked through. Emerald looked up and cursed, darts were headed straight for them. She looked back at the two men. "We have to go..." she trailed off, her bright green eyes becoming dull before she fell to the ground.

John cursed and ran to her. Ronon followed suit and they ran for the gate, Emerald in between them. They got through just as a dart was attempting to beam them up.

Ronon instantly released the woman upon reaching Atlantis causing her to fall and bring John with her. He was not happy with their situation.

"What's going on? Who is that?" Mr. Woolsey demanded as he made his was down from the control room.

John let the woman lay on the ground as he stood. "Get a medical team in here to help her." He turned to Woolsey and shrugged, "She seems to know of Earth. Says her name is Emerald Gardner, does that ring any bells?"

Woolsey frowned and shook his head. He had a feeling that he did know the name, but nothing was coming to him immediately. "Briefing in one hour," he said as a med team came in with a gurney to take Emerald away.

--

Emerald slowly woke up. She looked around to see that no one was around and she seemed to be in an infirmary. "Hello?" she called out.

Dr. Keller walked into view and smiled at Emerald. "Welcome back Ms. Gardner. Do you remember anything?"

Emerald tried to sit up but found that she was strapped down. She looked at the other woman in confusion.

"Sorry about that. When we were trying to help you, you lashed out at all of us. You did so on a few occasions. We thought it would be best to restrain you," Dr. Keller explained.

Emerald sighed and looked at the ceiling. "I'm sorry. I've been through a lot the past fifteen years."

Dr. Keller went and stood next to the bed. "Want to tell me about it?"

Emerald looked at her, seeing that she could trust the Doctor. She looked back up to the ceiling as she began to tell her story. "I was with my cousins friend, Daniel Jackson. He was working on a translation of the hyroglyphs from a pyramid he had been exploring a month previous. I was there to help him, give any insight that might help. I was twelve then, a genius of my own kind. I knew things that I was to keep secret. My cousin had only asked for Daniel to watch me, but he knew that I was a genius. No one else knew, I didn't want anyone to know. But I had seen what Daniel would become, what he would achieve in the future in a dream and wanted nothing more than to help him. But the day that I was helping him, I went to go to the restroom. I was about to leave the room when suddenly, I was on a space ship. An alien was standing in front of me. He seemed confused that I was there. Everything became dark then.

"I woke up on a forest floor, strange sounds coming from all around me. And then there was screaming, people running. I saw strange ships, a beam of light coming out of it. I was terrified and started running away. I was lost and scared, didn't know where I was and how to get home. I found refuge in some caves and stayed there. I had fallen asleep and woke up within a tent, a fire burning in the center. One of the villagers from the attacked village had found me when they were hunting the next day. The village had taken me in, helping me learn everything they knew. As I grew older I realized that I had to get home, before this awakening the villagers were talking about. I didn't want my people, the people of Earth to face this horror of the Wraith. I left the village knowing that I was always welcome back. It was hard to leave them, they had become like family to me and I didn't want to see them hurt by the Wraith. But I left through the Ancestrial Ring to a world that our village traded with. I was fifteen then and one of the greatest fighters among my new people.

"After I started traveling the worlds, I began to see many things. Most of which was of a great city Atlantis. I saw this great city rise up from the ocean, saw being attacked by the Wraith, saw it fly through space, saw it submerge into the water. I had a feeling that I was to go there, that maybe that city would help me contact Earth and warn them. And then I was seeing the Wraith, they had been awoken by someone, a man that I began to see regularly with the city. There were others with him. And then I started to see the troubles that they went through, that two of them would go through great pain because of the Wraith. And then I started to see the good and bad in people. I became feared among many worlds, no one wished to speak of me. And then when the Wraith were awoken, I knew that it was time I search for Atlantis, that the man that had awoken the Wraith had finally come. But as I searched for the man and his city, I was captured by the Wraith. I was scared, I had not seen them coming and was not able to save myself or the village I had been visiting from the culling. But I was not feed upon. The Wraith had heard of me and saw me as training for others. They made me into a Runner. I was hunted for a year before I finally found my way off of the planet, the hive gone. I had killed every Wraith they sent after me and soon they had to leave to regain their numbers. I had taken that chance to leave. I was only in a village for a few hours, asking only for spare weapons. I ran from the village once I obtained many knives and the two swords I now have. That night I took the transmitter out of my body. It was painful and all I wished was to rest after I dug it out of my back. But I knew that the Wraith would be there soon. I left quickly, going to another planet in hopes of food, shelter, and medical aid.

"I found that help with the Genii. Despite the evil intent I saw with some of them, I stayed. It was during my stay that I saw him, the man that had awoken the Wraith. I was too weak then to ask of his help. I later learned his name and when I was better, I left. I have come across many people that know of John Sheppard and his team. Many helped me and I helped them. It was on one of my return trips to my adopted village that I saw the Wraith would cull my people again. It was there that I saw John Sheppard and the people I wished to help; Teyla Emmagan and Ronon Dex. But my knowledge was fading greatly each minute and I feared for my people and for Atlantis. I wanted to test them as well as keep them from the dialing device for a little while. I had earlier taken the needed crystals to dial the gate and then went to the outskirts of the village to see when Sheppard and his friends left. When they were gone, I went to see my people. They started to welcome me warmly when I warned them of the coming culling. They had built tunnels beneath the village for this very reason. They escaped into the tunnels and I went after the others. I did not think I would be able to talk with them when Ronon Dex fired at me. I was able to get away from the blast in time. I watched as Teyla Emmagan figured out that I did not wish to harm them. It was then that I ran for the device, Ronon attacked again and Sheppard along with him. It was only after they had stopped firing that I went and stood in front of the device and Rodney McKay. When he turned, he announced that I was there, seeing that I had the devices crystals in my hand.

"I was feeling a splitting pain in my head the entire time. It was only when I tried to leave with them that I lost everything; the powers I had to see the future and see the true intent of others. I have lost all of that knowledge, and with it the things I have seen that I still have come to pass."

Emerald now sat within the briefing room. Mr. Woolsey, Rodney, Teyla, John, and Ronon sat before her. Ronon was glaring at her while the others stared either blankly or in disbelief.

"It is almost like you were on the point of ascension and then fell again. Almost like Rodney," Teyla said softly.

Emerald looked down at her clasped hands upon the table. She then looked at Woolsey, her green eyes sparkling with moisture. "Please do not send me away, do not send me to Earth. Even though I am from Earth, I was raised here in this galaxy. My main loyalty lies with my people on Cyrillt, but I will help you with the fight against the Wraith. I had only wanted to send word to Daniel that I was safe, that I was still alive."

All but Ronon seemed to melt at the innocent and helpless look that Emerald had.

"I think we may be able to work something out. If I remember correctly, the records on Earth say that you are dead. I will see what I can do for you, Ms. Gardner," Woolsey said.

"Until then, I can show you around," John suggested with a smile.

Rodney looked at John and frowned. He had clearly been ready to say the exact same thing. Teyla looked at Emerald with a sweet smile. "If you would like, I can show you around. It would be nice to talk with another woman, would it not?"

Emerald smiled slightly, her cheeks turning a soft pink against her tanned skin. "That is very kind of you all to offer," Ronon's jaw tensed, "But I think I will just go back to the room you are letting me stay in. I have relived painful memories more times today then I have wanted to live through in years, I wish to rest."

The four nodded and stood. Ronon slowly stood as he watched Emerald. He knew that something was off, that something was not right with her.

Emerald left quickly, her head down so that her bangs fell around her face. Woolsey went back to his office while Teyla decided to go to her own quarters. Rodney, fighting the urge to go and see if Emerald was alright, decided to go back to his lab. John went with Ronon out of the briefing room, thinking they were going to the gym.

"Why so quiet, Ronon? You should look at least somewhat happy," John said as they walked down the corridor to the transporter.

"And why is that?" Ronon asked his friend.

"Emerald was staring at you a lot. Seems that I don't attract her and a certain Satedan does," John joked.

Ronon stopped and glared at John. He turned and stormed off the other way, leaving John in the middle of the corridor confused.

Ronon went to the room that Emerald was staying in and walked into the room, not paying any mind to the two guards outside of the door. Emerald looked over at him from her place at the window. She turned to him with a bright smile, "Well hello Ronon Dex. Can't say I was expecting you."

Ronon growled and wrapped his right hand around the woman's neck and pushed her against the wall. They were just out of sight of the guards at the glass door. "What are you doing to them?" he demanded, his light eyes filled with anger.

Emerald's sweet smile turned into a sexy grin. "It's called appeal, Ronon. I'm not harming anyone, but maybe we could talk," she said softly, her voice not effected by Ronon's hand on her throat.

Ronon didn't move, his eyes never leaving the green depths of hers. He could feel his anger moving away as he was becoming more intrigued by Emerald. A strange feeling was brewing inside of his stomach. "If you make any wrong move, if you attempt to harm anyone here, I swear I will kill you," he whispered harshly.

Emerald reached up with her right hand and moved her hand lightly from his wrist to his shoulder. "We both know that if I wanted to inflict harm upon these people, I would have." She watched Ronon as she moved her hand over his collar bone and to his chest. She felt his hand tighten slightly and then become loose. She saw the quick flash of lust in his eyes for only a brief moment before it was gone and only his anger was left. "I am dead to those on Earth, I do not need to see the future to know that I am staying here. We will have loads of time to get to know each other and kill Wraith together," she said softly as she trailed a small design on his chest with her finger before dropping her hand.

Ronon growled and released her. "I will have nothing to do with you," he said before leaving the room.

Emerald sank to the floor, her eyes wide as she started to breath heavily. She reached up to her neck with one hand and placed the other over her heart. She was both scared and thrilled with what just happened. She let her head fall back onto the wall as she looked up at the ceiling. "Why oh why am I always going after the dangerous ones?" she asked herself as she closed her eyes.