I believe SyFy Channel owns Boa versus Python and some of these characters.

A/N: This is loosely based on Boa versus Python, but enough so that I'm publishing it in FanFiction. For my SGA fans, sorry to pull you into the world of snakes, but I love David Hewlett and will obviously follow him anywhere. This is not an endorsement of the movie.

Many kudos to my beta BetherdyBabe and for IceMenace's inspiration to salvage this movie.

Doctor Beth Springer looked out the rear passenger window of the rental SUV as it turned down a dirt road next to a sign that said Fountain Hills Herpetological Institute. The sign was adorned with pictures of snakes that caused her to shudder. They had gotten off of Route 87 outside of Phoenix, Arizona, and Beth thought they were heading toward Fort McDowell, but then they turned toward Fountain Hills.

"You guys were serious about the snakes?" Beth asked in shock. She swore she was not talking to the jerks in the front seat after all the humiliation they put her through the last week of their collaborative effort between the FBI and her company, Med Sensor Tech, but the manners her family instilled in her got the best of her once again.

The bookish, nerdy physicist tried to always be polite in a field dominated by obnoxious, boorish men, who had no sense of social skills. Being a young, blond woman in the physics department at MIT caused her to be the center of attention at first. Until she began to outshine the men in her classes and then the competitive nature of academics at the world-renowned school got the best of them and their swooning was replaced by hostility. It was the story of my life.

"We are always serious, Doctor Springer," Agent Preston Sharp said with an edge to his voice.

Preston had been the one to escort her from Woods Hole, Massachusetts, to Naples, Florida. Her work involved the development of a sensor system that tied into the visual region of an animal's brain to capture what they saw and projected it onto a computer. The Navy used it to modify their existing equipment for mine detection by dolphins and it was being modified to fit onto seals to look at shipwrecks off the Massachusetts coast, which was what she was doing the last nine months after receiving her doctorate. Several agents, including Agent Walters, who was driving, were sent by her boss to borrow her for an important project that would involve a top-secret assignment.

"When the US government comes calling, you jump," Ed Nolan, her boss, said to her on the brief conference call notifying her of the sudden change of assignments. "We want more government work and you have top level clearance. Besides, you're my best, so show them what you've got." Doctor Nolan, whose sole purpose in life was to die the richest man in the world, had been interested in the best and the brightest for MST, which is why he recruited her.

It made her feel proud at first, but after a day it became the same routine. They thought she was pretty with blond hair, big brown eyes and a pixie-like face, but when they found out how intelligent and uninterested in their pick-up lines she was, she became an icy cold bitch in their eyes.

The briefing she got related to her modifying the sensors to take feed from a cold-blooded animal. Since she never did the surgery to attach the equipment and only monitored the data, it did not really matter what the creature was if she got the correct vital signs for it. When she was in Florida for the past week, she modified it to fit on an alligator.

Snakes never crossed her mind. Primarily because she was absolutely terrified of them; she had no reason to be, but she was. As a genius according to IQ charts, she knew it was irrational, but it never hid the fact that she could not see one without being afraid. It was so bad if they showed up in a magazine or on the TV, she had to turn away. Stopped watching Discovery Channel because of too many Snake Week commercials.

"My equipment is too big for a snake, you know," she said trying not to let the panic come through in her voice. They approached two structures lit by outdoor lights, which did little to cut into the dark that was settling in now that the sun had gone down. Snakes at night, gotta love this assignment.

"Not to worry, Doctor Springer, not to worry," Sharp said with a chuckle that Agent Walters mimicked.

"I don't need to really see the animals, you know. I just need some basic biological information," Beth said as the car stopped in front of a large L-shaped building on the right and a two-story house on the left. Next to the house was parked a Jeep and a motorcycle, but no other vehicles or people were around.

"Trust me, you'll want to see this animal," Sharp said unbuckling his seat belt.

Beth felt familiar waves of panic grip her. She could defend a thesis in front of arrogant jerks at MIT without getting nervous because it was her research and she knew it hands down. The prospect of meeting some snake doctor and discussing a creature she hated, not to mention the possibility of seeing the creature, had her stomach in knots. "Oh, I doubt it."

"Come on Doctor Springer, be a good sport," Walters said as he got out. The older agent seldom spoke and always repeated whatever Sharp said when he did.

Gripping her computer bag like a lifeline, she unbuckled her belt. Mentally telling herself to breathe and not look at anything that didn't have legs, the terrified woman stepped out of the vehicle. She was petite in stature and had to jump down a bit from the SUV they rented. You can do this. You can do this. Deep breathes.

She slowly walked across the sandy yard behind the FBI agents, glancing around looking for something in the sand slithering toward her. Snakes won't be out at night. They won't be out at night. Her mind was racing with all the odd facts she knew about them.

The sound of pounding on the door caused her to jump. Looking at a somewhat rusty door, she wondered if anyone ever came here besides the freaks who enjoyed working with snakes.

After a few minutes, a young woman with a white lab coat, black tights and black knee-high boots on opened the door. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, we are here to speak with Doctor Emmett," Sharp said as he flashed his badge. "FBI."

"Uh… Hang on," the girl in black said as she turned inside. "Hey Rusty, the FBI's here so you might want to hide the weed."

Beth, even in her terror, managed to laugh at the woman's comment. As she looked closely at this scientist, she noticed the woman was similar to her age. Her obviously dyed hair was as black as her boots and a nose ring could be seen in the dim light from inside.

"FBI? Are you on something Heather!" a voice called back. "What the hell is the FBI doing here?"

"Ask our boss. They said they're here to talk to Emmett," she said, obviously not letting them in until they figured out what was going on.

Beth noticed Sharp put his hands on his hip, brushing his jacket aside to show the sidearm he was wearing. She saw him do it to people before and it worked, but this woman was not buying it. I like her already, but doubt she'll like me, though. Never make friends easily and can't seem to keep them either.

"Emmett!" Rusty yelled as his voice receded from them.

"So, you three are all FBI?" Heather asked as she stepped fully into the doorway and leaned on the door jam crossing her arms.

"It's late and your boss is expecting us, so why don't you move out of the way, missy," Sharp said.

"Yeah, move along and help your boyfriend flush his dope down the toilet," Walters said.

"Dope?" Heather asked raising a perfectly shaped black eyebrow. "How old are you? Do not try to sound hip, because it makes you sound ridiculous. Nobody uses that word anymore."

"One call and I'll have the DEA…"

"It was a joke. No one is going to say something like that in front of federal agents," Beth cut off Sharp because it was late, she was hungry and wanted to find a hotel bed to crawl into and tremble in fear from the snakes she was going to see shortly.

"Yeah, don't you guys have a sense of humor?" Heather said smiling at Beth as she looked her up and down.

The blue business suit, complete with dark blue flats to match was going to pin her as a conservative, preppy nerd and relegate her to the unimportant list. It was her only suit and she was told to look professional. I wish I had some sense of style, but khaki pants and polo shirts are all I wear normally.

"Special Agent Walters and I are with the FBI, Doctor Springer is a consultant," Sharp said glaring at the woman blocking the door.

"Damn. I did tell them they could come, but forgot. I gotta use that calendar program one of these days," a loud voice could be heard coming up behind Heather.

"So I should let them in?" Heather asked turning around.

"I'll deal with them. You and Rusty can head out whenever," the voice said as it approached the door.

"We've only got one more to do," Heather said and stepped back to reveal the man Beth assumed was Doctor Emmett. Yup, he looks like a snake doctor, hair to the top of his collar, stubble on his face, an untucked t-shirt, faded jeans and hiking boots. He could star in Snake Week.

At the thought of the snakes in the building, she felt queasy and had a strong desire to run back to the truck. Gripping the strap on her bag tighter, she stared at the men in front of her.

"Doctor Emmett, I presume?" Sharp said.

"Yes, now what does the FBI want with my anti-venom research?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest and looking from the two men to Beth.

Making eye contact with him, Beth saw that his eyes were blue and hers widened as she noticed how brilliant a shade it was. Swallowing suddenly, her heart ratcheted up, but not because of fear. Emmett's eyes were following a path up and down her like so many men in the past only this time, she didn't have the desire to slap him. His eyes are beautiful. Never thought a guy's eyes could be so beautiful.

"We're interested in one of your specimens, a Scarlett boa," Sharp said cocking his head.

"How do you know about Betty?" Emmett asked looking away from Beth and back to Sharp.

Beth was stunned at the intensity of the look from this stranger. Men had looked her over for years, but she never felt warm afterward. The sensations were similar to her panic attack that was brewing, but felt pleasant not terrifying. Since she had been absorbed in school and research so far in her life, the young physicist never took time for boyfriends or friendships, for that matter. Is this how you feel when you're attracted to someone? That's ridiculous; you just saw him and haven't even been introduced.

"Can we go inside?" Sharp asked.

"Sure, come in," Emmett said stepping back to hold the door open.

Oh no! The snakes are in there. Beth could not move. The smiling gaze of Doctor Emmett was once again directed at her, but she could not take a step.

"Are you okay…" he paused and leaned slightly toward her allowing her another view of his bright eyes.

"Oh, Doctor Springer is not fond of snakes," Sharp said and Walters could be heard laughing.

Realizing they were embarrassing her once again and that she was staring at this stranger, she held her shoulders high, smiled at Emmett and stepped inside. "Thank you for holding the door. I was lost in thought."

Don't look at anything. Stare at their backs while they look at this… Betty. You can do this. Finally moving her feet, she walked past the doctor. She exhaled loudly as she found herself in a lobby area. There was a desk with a computer and a few chairs for people to sit on. Not even a poster of a snake. You were being such an idiot.

"Doctor Springer, what are you a doctor of?" Emmett asked as he closed the door behind them.

"Wha… Oh, physics," she said, forcing a smile and trying to calm herself now that she was inside without pictures of striking snakes on the walls.

"Physics? Please don't take offense, but what would you possibly want with Betty?" Emmett asked as he stepped closer to her.

The blue eyes were focused on her again and it caused a wave of heat to rise up her neck and push down through her torso. Glad for the dim lights to hide her blushing, but desperate to get a grip on her suddenly out of control body, she asked quickly, "Is there a ladies room?"

"Of course, there's one here in the lobby," Emmett said pointing to a door clearly marked Restroom. "I apologize ahead of time for the cleanliness. There's a bathroom in the labs that Heather uses, and she doesn't let us guys use. Now that I think about it, you should wait and use that one."

"No, it's fine. I grew up with my dad and two older brothers, so I'll deal," she said, rushing past him into the bathroom.

Once in the security of the cool space, she leaned against the door and took several deep breaths only to want to gag at the smell of disinfectant. Someone must have just cleaned. Looking critically at the door of the single stall, she decided she only needed to escape the men and prepare for the snakes; she took a moment to look in the mirror.

The face reflected back made her cringe. No wonder he was staring, I have hair all over the place from the wind, my lips are swollen from chewing on them in fear because of their wild driving and I'm red from embarrassment. Why didn't I just stay in the car?

Doing her best to get her hair back in the single ponytail that she favored, she straightened her jacket, reached down to pick up her computer bag and prepared to face her fate. One worse than death.

When Beth returned, she saw only Doctor Emmett and the two agents. The men all smiled at her as she came into the lobby and a strange premonition worked its way through her mind. A memory of her brother Kyle and his friends during a sleepover in the backyard came to mind when she was eleven and he was thirteen.

The boys had snuck into her bedroom to put a snake under the door. It was a tiny garter snake, but the terror it inflicted on her when she saw it slither under her door could still wake her from sleep to this day.

The punishment he got from her father was enormous, but not as bad as what Patrick, who was fifteen, did to the middle brother. Beth smiled as she thought of what her oldest brother would do to these assholes or any of the men who treated her poorly over the years if he was around. But he wasn't around. Neither was Kyle. They both deployed in 2001 and have only been home periodically since the war in Afghanistan began. Both of them, like their father, always wanted to be soldiers; Kyle was a Marine, Patrick a Navy Seal and her father a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer.

Beth had too much pride to call in her big brothers to fight her battles, so she soldiered on around all the jerks she met in her life. Smiling at the men, she found her voice and said, "We should not waste Doctor Emmett's time. Let's go."

"After you, Indiana," Sharp said smiling.

Walters laughed. "Sure. After you Doctor Jones."

"Indiana?" Emmett raised an eyebrow as they walked toward a large blue door marked 'AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY'.

"Indiana Jones hated snakes, remember?" Beth said glancing at him only to feel a flush spread over her face. Thankful for the dim lighting in the corridor, she looked back at the door ahead of them.

"We won't be walking through the clean room where we do the bulk of our research, but the general lab area has a lot of sensitive experiments, so I ask that you don't touch anything and that you put on these disposable coats and shoe coverings," Emmett said as he pulled small blue bundles out of a container on the wall outside the door and handed them out. He then turned and took three blue Tyvek coats off the shelf.

"Clean room?" Beth asked as he handed her two coverings to slip over her shoes and hung the coat on the doorknob next to her. She was forced to put her computer bag down to get them on. "What type of research are you doing?"

"We are trying to create an anti-venom to all species of venomous snakes," Emmett said as he took her computer bag. "The less items you bring in the better. I'll put this back in the lobby."

"Anti-venom?" Walters said, finally speaking first. "Don't they have that already?"

"It's species specific for most creatures. If you got bit by a rattlesnake versus a coral snake, you couldn't use the same anti-venom," Beth said. She might hate snakes, but she was not stupid about them.

"That's right," Emmett said with a grin on his face directed at Beth. "If we had a polyvalent anti-venom, you won't have to try to remember what bit you while you were dying."

Beth felt like she did when she had the right answer, which was often, during school. The smile from Emmett is a lot nicer than a good grade, though. Better than a good grade, what's wrong with you? You're not eighteen with a crush on your professor, again.

"Poly what?" Walters asked, straining to get the lab coat over his broad shoulders and sizable belly.

"Polyvalent means many species." Beth pulled the coat around her with plenty of room to spare and took another deep breath. Showtime. You can do this. Just stare at Doctor Emmett.

"I'm impressed, Doctor Springer," Emmett said. "I bet you have a degree in herpetology and you're just here to test me." The smile he shot her caused her knees to weaken and if it were not for the jerks standing close by, she would have looked away with a shy smile.

"Beth, please," she said smiling, only to realize the jerks were looking at her like she grew a second head. She never allowed them to call her Beth since the first evening in Florida.

"Just Emmett," he said.

"No first name?" Beth asked and he smiled, but was interrupted before he could answer.

"Okay, Emmett, let's see this snake," Sharp said with venom in his voice.

Emmett raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "It's Doctor Emmett to you, and you never answered me when I asked how you know about Betty and why a physicist is here?"

"I don't know why I'm here, either," Beth said assuming a similar pose with arms crossed facing the agents.

Since the scientists were in front of the door, the FBI agents could not enter without moving them. Sharp glared between the two of them. "Well, it didn't take the egghead alliance long to form, now did it? For your information, why we are here is classified."

"So is Betty, yet you know about her," Emmett said, his voice taking on a bit of venom as well. "Betty is the culmination of my life's research. She's not a toy for the FBI to play with. Now, why are you here?"

"If you don't show us the snake…" Sharp started as he put his hands on his hips.

"Okay! Enough!" Beth jumped in and stepped between Emmett and Sharp. She had no idea why she did it, but Emmett did not deserve to be treated the way Sharp was treating him. "We are guests in his facility. Now let's get the tour and then you can talk about what's going on."

"Fine," Sharp said crossing his arms. "If Betty is all she's supposed to be, we will continue this discussion, but if it's a pipedream, we are out of here."

Beth heard them speaking in the airport lounge about how they needed to find something and that this research in Arizona could help them. Maybe they want the snake to go down a tunnel or something? My equipment could monitor its progress. But what would they need a snake to find?

TBC

A/N: Please let me know if this sounds interesting and I'll continue.