Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Stargate Atlantis or the awesome characters.
Spoilers: season 4
I appreciate your reviews. Any type of criticism is helpful.
A/N: Thank you so much to Vana1970 for your excellent beta skills! You've made me a better writer. And to bailey1ak for all your help and encouragement … thanks for pushing me out of my comfort zone on this one!
Chapter 1
It was 3:00 in the morning, when most people should be sound asleep. Well … on Earth maybe. But on Atlantis, there were a lot of people who spent those early hours of the morning chasing away nightmares and Jennifer was part of that distinct group. Dr. Keller could remember a time in her life when a herd of stallions racing through her bedroom wouldn't have woken her but these past years in the Pegasus galaxy had changed all that. Nightmares were becoming a part of her nightly routine and tonight was no exception.
Usually the dreams came only when she was exhausted, which was pretty funny considering she was usually in a perpetual state of exhaustion. Even on vacation it usually took a good week for her to relax enough to sleep well at night. Yet Jennifer had decided that living on Atlantis was worth the few nights a week she'd spend chasing away the bad guys in the middle of the night. She loved this life she was living, the people, the work, even this crazy world so far away from Earth and it was worth a few sleepless nights. Atlantis was home and the nightmares were just an uncontrolled part of the whole package.
Sometimes it was hard to remember all the good qualities surrounding her when she woke up screaming, sweating and gasping for breath … like now. The dream was really vivid tonight and she couldn't stop shaking. She was looking into the eyes of her Wraith attacker as he drew his hand back preparing to attach himself to her chest. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, looking into his eyes there was nothing there. As the hand began its downward thrust toward her body, she awoke … again. This was not the first time she'd dreamt of the same Wraith warrior sucking the life out of her body. At least tonight she woke before he started his feeding.
Jennifer threw herself out of bed and began pacing the room. She was too tired to go for a run but didn't think she could stay in her room. She needed a relaxing escape. Putting on her running clothes to look presentable, she headed toward the mess hall. At least it would be well lit and there was usually a cook or two in the back working on breakfast or putting out food for returning teams.
Jennifer mixed herself a cup of cocoa and found a table off in the corner next to the tall glass windows. She turned her chair around so she faced the windows watching the city lights as she sipped on her drink. Scooting her chair closer to the window ledge, she propped her feet up finding more comfort.
"Hey Doc," Colonel Sheppard greeted as he approached. "Want some company?" he asked as he grabbed a chair and placed it next to her.
"Sure, what brings you here this time of night?" Jennifer asked smiling as she watched him prop his feet on the sill. They both knew the kitchen staff didn't like this practice but late at night they were a little more lenient or maybe it was a matter of whose feet they were. Even the kitchen staff had their favorites.
"Need a little pick me up," Sheppard answered holding up his coffee cup. "I've been catching up on the dreaded paperwork. I get more done when everyone's asleep."
"What about you?" Sheppard asked in turn.
"Needed a well lit place to settle my nerves… nightmares," Jennifer explained holding up her free hand to show the slight tremors that remained.
"Ah, yes … I come here for that a lot myself. So, what has you tonight? Chased by weird creatures, Wraith attack, kidnapping or could it possibly be clowns?" Sheppard asked as he raised one eyebrow.
"Clowns?" Jennifer smirked.
"Yes, clowns can be very scary and a personal favorite of my own." Sheppard responded pretending to be offended.
"Sorry Colonel, I'm sure in certain situations clowns can indeed be very scary," Jennifer joked trying to keep from laughing. "Tonight it was a Wraith feeding and I was on the menu," Jennifer added frowning.
"Wish I could say you won't have another one like that but I'm sure you will," Sheppard said nodding as he thought of the intensity that a Wraith feeding had on nightmares having experienced and dreamt such a thing a few times himself.
"I usually go for a run when this happens but just didn't have the energy tonight. It's hard for me to stay in my room after a bad dream but there aren't too many places on base one can escape to at this time of night," Jennifer confided.
"I've always found the mess hall to be comforting until around 0430 hours when they start baking the bread and biscuits for breakfast. Hard to go back to sleep when your stomach's rumbling," Sheppard said with a grin.
"I love that smell. It always reminds me of a bakery I walked past every day on my way to work when I was doing my residency. I'm surprised I didn't gain 50 lbs during those years." Jennifer shared.
"Good times?" John asked.
"Not really," she smiled tightly, "but I loved the smell of that bakery."
John wondered why her residency had been so bad and logged it away in his mind to revisit if the situation ever presented itself. Turning he saw SGA-6 coming into the mess hall having returned from their mission.
"I guess I best see how their mission went," Sheppard said as he rose and put his chair back. "Have a more peaceful morning, Doc, and feel free to stay as long as you need."
"I thought you had a no loitering rule for the mess hall at night?" Jennifer asked.
"That's mostly for over zealous new recruits who want to impress unsuspecting doctors," Sheppard explained smiling. "I'll add you to our 'exceptions' list. Make yourself at home, Doc – no one will bother you in here."
Sheppard wandered over to check in with Sergeant Rogers and his team. He enjoyed his conversation with Dr. Keller and hoped he'd have an occasion to visit with her again sometime. On his way out of the mess hall he ran into the security team making their nightly rounds and told them to put Dr. Keller on the exceptions list for the mess hall. He also instructed them to keep a protective eye out for her so she wouldn't be bothered in the future. She was right, he thought, there weren't many places you could relax late at night in Atlantis.
Jennifer finished up her second cup of cocoa and stood to leave. Her time with the Colonel was very relaxing and hopefully sleep would come easily when she got back to her room. She knew next time she couldn't sleep she'd probably come back to the mess hall, her new haven from the boogieman.
The Daedalus had just beamed in her last batch of new recruits, as Colonel Sheppard was finishing up his standard 'Welcome to Atlantis' speech with the previous group. Major Lorne was by his side writing down any possible 'problems' worth noting on his small pad of paper. It seemed like lately there ended up being at least one hot head or over confident alpha male in every group.
Sheppard had found that dealing with any problem personnel worked best if handled in the first few days of their arrival. Thankfully most of these cases cleared themselves up before any action needed to be taken.
Colonel Carter was next on the agenda with yet another speech. The welcome committee was thankful the turnaround for the Daedalus was at least 6-8 weeks or the speeches would get really old, really fast. Carter and Sheppard tried to stagger the groups so things wouldn't back up in the infirmary. As they finished up with the last group, Colonel Sheppard sent them off to the mess hall to get a hot meal. Before sitting down for his own meal Sheppard decided to check in with Dr. Keller and see how quickly the recruits were moving through their physicals.
Dr. Keller rubbed her eyes sighing to herself as she grabbed a new chart. This had been a long day and her feet were killing her. Most of her patients had been new scientists and a few of the support staff. She tried to stay away from the military recruits as much as possible. They always tried to hit on her and she never knew how to respond without sounding stupid.
"Sergeant Clark," Jennifer called out ready to examine the next recruit.
"Here," Clark grumbled as he walked over to join Jennifer at the open bed.
"Sergeant, I need you to take your shirt off and sit up on the bed. I'll try to get you out of here as quickly as possible," Jennifer said for what felt like the hundredth time today.
"Can I have a real doctor finish my exam?" Clark asked frowning.
Dr. Keller stopped what she was doing and moved to stand directly in front of the Sergeant. "Excuse me, what did you say?" she asked amazed at his insolence.
"I asked for a real doctor. If that's a problem I'd like to talk to the CMO," Clark demanded. He had no intention of letting this young woman give him any kind of exam. She didn't look old enough to be out on her own let alone in a different galaxy. He wasn't about to let this nurse take over because they were backed up. Sergeant Clark felt he wasn't being shown the respect his rank deserved.
"You've got to be kidding me," Jennifer said sarcastically. She was exhausted and just wanted to sit and put her feet up. Maybe even indulge in a hot meal for once this week.
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Sergeant Clark scowled as he raised his voice.
"Sergeant is it all women you don't feel comfortable around or is it just me?" Jennifer asked having lost all patience with the man.
Ronon walked into the infirmary hunting for Sheppard. Looking around he noticed the Doc in a heated discussion with one of the new Marines and wandered that way.
"Hey Doc, everything okay?" Ronon asked seeing she was upset with the man.
Sergeant Clark was used to bullying everyone around and getting his way. He demanded respect never feeling the need to earn it from any of his peers. Most people just stayed out of his way not wanting the aggravation. It'd been a long three weeks for the Sergeant, he just wanted to be done and get some sleep.
"This is a private conversation," Clark warned, frowning at Ronon. "And no, I like women it's just little girls I have trouble with," Clark said as he scowled at Jennifer.
"Is he talking about you?" Ronon asked as he growled at the recruit.
"'Fraid so, he wants a real doctor," Jennifer explained with a heavy sigh.
"I'm getting tired of your sarcasm," Clark snarled. "I'm tired and would like to get this over with, I have more important things to do than sit here and argue with you and your Neanderthal friend."
Jennifer could hear the low growl emanating from Ronon's chest and immediately grabbed his arm. "Please Ronon, don't do anything, I'm okay and he's not worth it," Jennifer said trying to reason with her friend as he stepped closer to Clark.
"You need to shut-up," Ronon demanded trying to hold his temper in check.
"And you're going to make me?" Sergeant Clark laughed.
Colonel Sheppard walked in on the melee catching the last few comments thrown back and forth between the three. He quickly moved to stand between Clark and the certain beating he was about to receive.
"Whoa … everybody take a break. Ronon, stand down," Sheppard barked as he silently demanded him to back up.
Sergeant Clark immediately stood up and saluted his commanding officer. "At ease, Sergeant. I'd appreciate you sitting back down," the Colonel instructed wanting him in a more defensive position.
"Doc, what's going on?" Sheppard asked looking to the young doctor.
"It would seem that Sergeant Clark is not fond of young girls who like to play doctor and would like to speak to the CMO. I'm sorry, Colonel, but I've been at this for nearly 15 hours and my patience left hours ago. So, in this case, I believe I will leave him with you … he's all yours," Jennifer finished waving her hand toward Clark.
"If you all will excuse me, I'll go find a doctor with cold hands to finish up the Sergeant's physical," Jennifer said looking at Sheppard.
"Is this your last patient, Doc?" Sheppard asked.
"Yes," Jennifer sighed.
"Ronon, why don't you take Doc to the mess hall and be sure she gets something to eat," Sheppard instructed making sure Jennifer knew it was more of an order than a suggestion. "I'm sure she hasn't had time to eat anything today."
"Thank you Colonel," Jennifer replied quietly. "Sergeant Clark, I'm sure I'll see you in the infirmary later this week," Jennifer said nodding toward the man as she walked across the room.
Sergeant Clark frowned as he watched the young woman walk away not sure exactly what she meant by her comment. Looking back to Colonel Sheppard and Ronon he became even more confused when he saw the grin on Ronon's face as he turned to follow Jennifer.
"Sergeant, in as few words as possible, what is the problem?" Sheppard sighed running his hand through his hair.
"Colonel, I just requested an actual doctor perform my physical," Clark explained believing Sheppard would understand.
"You what!" Sheppard growled. "Tell me you didn't say that to her," Sheppard said incredulously.
"Yes sir. If I may speak freely, sir, I believe the military should get the same respect the civilian population receives even here in the infirmary.
"That woman has more respect for the military than the military does. And for the record Sergeant, that was your CMO and chief surgeon you were talking so disrespectfully to. She'll be the one to patch up your sorry ass when the enemy gets in a lucky shot," Sheppard ranted hoping Clark wasn't going to be a problem.
"Ah … yes sir … sorry sir," Clark stuttered finding this information unbelievable. "Sir, with your permission I'd like to find the doctor and apologize," Clark was beyond frustrated with his blunder. It had been a long three weeks, he thought to himself.
"I'm sure there'll be time for that later, Sergeant. Get your physical finished and then I suggest you get something to eat before you get some sleep … we start training tomorrow and you'll need to be at your best."
Clark kept his mouth shut for the rest of the exam. He kept kicking himself for the first impression he'd made with his commanding officer. For that matter, the impression he left with the doctor wasn't that good either. It was time to do a little groveling he thought to himself as he left the infirmary. He wanted this assignment more than anything and didn't want to jeopardize it especially with the Daedalus still docked on the east pier.
Ronon walked Jennifer to the mess hall in relative silence. The two had a good friendship that didn't require a lot of useless banter. Jennifer found this soothing especially after a day like today.
"Thanks Ronon, I think I'll step out on the balcony for a few minutes and get some fresh air," Jennifer said squeezing his arm.
"I'll get a tray for you and save you a place at the table," Ronon answered. He enjoyed Jennifer and considered her part of his new family. He always kept a closer eye on her and Teyla.
"Where's the Doc?" Sheppard asked as he put his tray down on the table beside Rodney.
"Getting some air," Ronon answered pointing to the balcony.
"I expect my food to still be here when I get back," Sheppard said looking sternly at Ronon and Rodney before walking out to the balcony.
"Hey, are you okay?" Sheppard asked as he leaned on the railing next to Jennifer.
"Yeah, just releasing the stress from a very long day," Jennifer answered. "Sorry about the situation, I didn't try very hard to diffuse it. I didn't get much sleep last night and I let the guy get to me," Jennifer said apologizing for the confrontation.
"Hey, you kept Ronon from taking his head off so I think you did an amazing job," Sheppard said proud of the young doctor for holding her own.
"I hate recruit day," Jennifer announced.
"You're preaching to the choir," Sheppard agreed. "If it helps any, the Sergeant wanted to come apologize to you but I told him he'd have plenty of time later this week… training sessions start tomorrow," Sheppard explained bringing a smile to Jennifer's face.
"Come on, we need to get in there before Ronon and Rodney pick all the good stuff off our trays," Sheppard joked.
Walking back through the doors to the mess hall Sheppard added, "Doc, try to get some sleep tonight … you look really tired."
"I will … I promise," Jennifer said with a small smile.