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Rating: K+
Spoilers up to Season 3. This will be an AU fic due to events in the latter part of S3
BROTHERS IN ARMS
Chapter 1"The finest kind of friendship is between people who expect a great deal of each other but never ask it"
Heading off into space, the jumper vibrated slightly. Not that everyone could sense it. Sheppard believed he could feel the motions because of the gene he possessed. He looked up from the base of the ship to see if anyone else had noticed, but they hadn't. It seemed, to John anyway that all their focus was on him. It wasn't surprising given just what had happened, but still, it made him uneasy – all that attention on him was making him nervous.
So far, he'd been able to keep it together, but he wondered for how long. One thing was certain, as he looked across towards the other side of the ship towards the Wraith slumped unconscious, it would soon be over - maybe. As the ship descended towards the planet, John wasn't sure what he planned to say, but he knew that he had to say something. This man…Wraith…thing, hell, he didn't even know how to describe him now, was, in a sense just like him - his 'Brother in Arms' so to speak. A prisoner of Kolya; tortured, abused and kept against his will in a cold and barren environment, with little chance of escape. The act of inhumanity that had possessed Kolya had even surprised him, and he wondered how many other people had suffered at Kolya's hands, and as a consequence the Wraiths. How many people had died? Did the Wraith save them, as he had ultimately done with him? Or had fate decreed that he be the only one to survive the nightmare. In truth, he didn't know. In reality he couldn't even think about that right now. So he did the only thing he could; push the thought to the very furthest and darkest part of his mind, and lock it away. Trouble was, now the Wraith wasn't just a nameless enemy anymore. Things had changed on the planet, and in the jail cell. Things he doubted he would ever be able to explain to any of his team, or even fully understand himself.
As the jumper landed smoothly, John smiled inwardly at Rodney's ever improving flying skills. Privately he thought there were a few changes since his capture, even though he knew instinctively he hadn't been gone that long. But, certain things felt different. Then again, maybe it wasn't them. Maybe it was him who was different? Either way, it was soon to be over, at least that's what he kept telling himself over and over since his rescue.
His team had been uncharacteristically quiet since they'd seen the transformation, but none more so than Rodney, who continued to mutter incoherently under his breath. Beckett though as always, fussed. John assumed that there was a fine print into the Doc's personal Hippocratic Oath that he took when he became a doctor. The whole, 'I will do no harm', was as always to be maintained, followed by what must be Beckett's personal addendum of 'always disregard what your patients say, particularly in the case of Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard'. He'd always maintained that he was fine in the past, even when his own blood was dripping off his forearm. At the time, the Doc's concerns for him had always been warranted, and no doubt this was a time where it was also justified. Nevertheless, he didn't want it. He just wanted things back to normal, if that was at all remotely possible.
Ronon, rising from his seat walked towards the unconscious shackled prisoner, his weapon aimed directly at him. John saw ain intensity in the man's eyes - a look of pure hatred. Burning like an open campfire; his face contorted with anger at the thought of a Wraith sitting before him. So far he'd been able to keep his temper under wraps, but not any more. The whirring sound of the weapon charged as Ronon's finger clasped the trigger.
"No!" John shouted directly at Ronon and almost too loudly. He watched as Ronon turned to look directly at him. A thousand questions burned in his friend's hatred filled eyes; he didn't understand. If truth were told, he didn't know if any of them would after this, but it wasn't up to them.
"He deserves it!" The statement spat from Ronon's lips, and his brow furrowed. He couldn't understand after everything his friend had gone through, why he was allowing this 'thing' to live. The number of people they had slaughtered and fed on; women - innocent children who had lost their lives at their kinds hands, maybe even his. But it wasn't just that, this animal had fed on Sheppard over and over again. Seeing how his friend had suffered repeatedly enraged him, yet Sheppard was letting him go. None of it made sense.
"I made a deal!" John shouted, defending what appeared to them to be an unjustifiable act. Even if the Wraith had given him back his life, his friends would never be able to understand or forgive the Wraith for all the pain it had caused him up to that point.
"Yes, and we know just how great they are at keeping to their end of the bargain, don't we?" Rodney protested. "You do remember what happened the last time we made a deal, don't you? Betrayal. Near death. Trapped in a cocoon, weapons flying overhead," Rodney gesticulated with his hands flying, in essence to show just how ridiculous his friend was being. "The whole 'I'm going to feed on you' scenario…"
That was the point where he snapped. "Don't go there Rodney." It was a warning to his friend to back off; he didn't think he could cope with McKay just now on top of everything else. He knew only too well the consequences of what could happen here on the planet surrounded by Wraith darts flying overhead. The last thing he wanted was the team to fall apart while they were in potential mortal danger by landing - albeit cloaked, on a Wraith infested planet. But, he had to repay the debt, it was important to him. And who knew, this one act of trust might not make a difference in the grand scheme of things, but like it or not, he owed the Wraith, at least in some nonsensical way. Simply he told them, "I have my reasons." John watched each of them carefully for some kind of response. Teyla looked away slightly, knowing that Rodney had not surprisingly, hit a raw nerve. Beckett, refused to look at anyone but Rodney, silently pleading with him to just get 'this' over and done with so that they could all head back to Atlantis. Ronon lowered his weapon as a gesture to his friend. Rodney though, not usually offended by arguments appeared hurt by John's words and turned his back on his friend, walking towards the cockpit, without so much as a backward glance. The SF's new better than to countermand their superiors' orders and simply nodded. "Good. Now that that's settled, someone give me a hand to get him out of the jumper."
As they lowered their still unconscious prisoner to the ground, John ushered his comrades back into the jumper. After slight protesting from Ronon, they agreed once more to abide to his request, still not understanding why Sheppard was behaving so humanely towards the Wraith; particularly given what they had witnessed in the control room.
Instinctively John surveyed his surroundings, noting that the only real source of light emanated from the Stargate as it shimmered brightly in the distance. But he wasn't prepared to take any chances. Keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of enemy activity, he waited alone outside the jumper. In the cold night air he exhaled slowly watching his breath slowly evaporate in the darkness.
He shivered.
He wasn't sure if it was the drop in temperature or the fact that the adrenaline in his body was beginning to dissipate, but he ignored it anyway. For the next few minutes he waited patiently for the Wraith to stir - his weapon twitching restlessly against his thigh, waiting for something. Truth be told, he didn't know what to expect. Now that they were free, would things be different between them? He remembered back to his conversation with the Wraith on the planet as they fled for their lives, each making clear what would happen when each of them returned home. The answer echoed in his ears, 'all bets are off'. He reminded himself that it had to be this way, there was no way he could ever be a friend with a Wraith – it was absurd, wasn't it?
Inside the jumper his team watched cautiously, ready to take on the Wraith prisoner if need be. The tension in the jumper was becoming unbearable, lifted only slightly by Teyla speaking softly to Doctor Beckett. Not wanting the Colonel to hear her concerns she asked, "Do you think he is alright?" They all knew that the words held several meanings.
Carson looked at her, his shoulders shrugging in response to a question he didn't have the faintest clue of how to answer. "In all honesty, I don't know. There's so much we don't know about the feeding process. Have you ever seen this before?" he questioned her, hoping that she would have an answer for him. But, recalling the surprised expression on her face when they had realised what the Wraith had done in restoring the colonel to health, he didn't expect it.
Teyla shook her head as she tried to bring to mind a memory or a rumour about the Wraiths still unknown abilities. As far as she was concerned, this was incomprehensible. In all the years that she had watched family, friends and neighbours culled, never had she heard of such an intervention. The only response she could utter was, "Never."
Ronon clenched his fists in frustration. His voice edged with anger echoed in the stillness of the night, "He should've let me kill that thing on sight."
"Ronon! Lower your voice." Teyla admonished, warning him that the colonel would be able to hear him outside. "Look, I know you are upset, we all are. But shouting is not going to solve anything."
"No, but killing him would!" Ronon countered angrily pointing to the supine figure lying on the dusty ground.
"That is not our decision. The colonel has the right to deal with the Wraith as he sees fit. It is not for us to question his actions," she continued trying to reason with him, but knew full well it was a futile gesture. Ronon's feelings surrounding the Wraith were evident to everyone, never more so than recently when he was forced to become their runner once more. The emotions surrounding that event were still clearly in the forefront of his mind, and although she understood his animosity towards the Wraith, he needed to be reminded that it wasn't up to him to decide on the best course of action, not this time.
"Isn't it?" An uncharacteristically quite voice stated softly from the front of the jumper. Rodney's head lowered slowly to the ground as if unsure where to look. As the group turned to look at him, Rodney continued with caution. "Look, all I'm saying is we don't know what happened when he was – well, you know what I mean," he finished hesitantly. Before deciding that he hadn't finished what he wanted to say, he continued, "What if something happened to his brain? What if the Wraith is doing some mind control thing on him like they did with Teyla a few years ago?"
"Look, lets not get ahead of ourselves shall we? Once the colonel has done what he needs to do, and I get him back to the medical bay, then we'll know more. There's no point in jumping to conclusions before we have all the facts," Carson tried reassuring them, and hoped that in the process he could reassure himself. This was way out of his level of understanding, even with all the research he'd done on Wraith physiology. Problem was, all those that had suffered at the hands of the Wraith had either died painfully or had lost their minds. And that was a certainty. Like all of them sat before him, he didn't have the answers and in truth he wasn't sure if he ever would. But, what he did know was, there was a young man standing afore him, that was going to need him, whether he realised it or not.
Outside, John waited patiently before he glimpsed a small movement on the ground that caught his vision. Within seconds a long drawn out growl echoed in the stillness of the night as the Wraith became aware of his surroundings. Instinctively and partly out of fear of the unknown, John raised his weapon towards the man on the ground. Unexpectedly though, the Wraith appeared to relax slightly at the vision before him, and John wondered what was going on in the Wraith's mind. Due to the unnatural situation that they had both been placed in by Kolya, was it possible that they had built up more than just a necessary alliance?
"Ah, Sheppard." The Wraith growled huskily, his voice reverberating in the quiet night air. Checking to his believed injuries, he patted himself down. It surprised him to find that he had sustained no further injuries other than those that had been inflicted on him at the hands of the Genii soldiers. "I thought you…" he continued rising quickly, before standing face to face with his companion.
Sheppard, lowering his weapon, and with an unspoken understanding that the Wraith would not hurt him interjected, "There's a lot you don't know about humans." His face was stoic, no trace of fear or hatred for the creature that stood before him.
"Ah, I see." The Wraith nodded in comprehension while stealing a look at his surroundings. For a brief moment in time the only sound that could be heard was the gentle flickering of the event horizon emanating from within the Stargate. The silence ensued for a few moments more as each of them watched the other - neither one of them sure what to say. The Wraith, looking directly into Sheppard's eyes broke their silent reverie, telling him, "Next time we meet…"
Remaining stoic in his stance, he looked deeply into the eyes of the man that had almost killed him before restoring his life. And without even blinking, John replied honestly, "All bets are off." Inwardly though, he didn't know if he could honour that agreement. And his sense was, coming from the man that stood directly in front of him, that he couldn't either. Ultimately though this was how it had to be. A niggling doubt crept into his thoughts – does it really have to be this way?
A dart flew overhead, and the Wraith looked up into the twinkling stars of the night sky, watching as the craft whizzed past their location; relief washed over him. After what seemed like an eternity, was now not just a hopeless dream that he'd longed for in the dark, dank prison; it was finally a reality. He was going home. When he turned back, Sheppard was gone. The only sensation that remained was from the gust of wind that crossed his face as the cloaked puddle jumper flew into the air. "Next time we meet…" The Wraith stated aloud, his sentence left unfinished.
Teyla was the first to greet him inside the jumper as she watched the unusual exchange that had just taken place. "Ready?" her voice questioned as Sheppard continued to stare at the standing figure. Turning to finally face her, he saw a depth of understanding at what he had achieved behind her caring chocolate brown eyes. A simple nod was enough to convey that he was ready, and she laid a gentle hand on the back of his shoulder, directing him to a seat where the others continued to watch his actions. No other words were necessary at the moment.
Sheppard knew what they were thinking as he played with his thumbs. If he were in their place, he would be wondering the same thing. Irrespective of his reasons behind doing what he did, he couldn't shake the feeling that something important had taken place during the last…however long it had been since his incarceration.
"We've contacted Atlantis, and let everyone know you're okay," Carson assured him, carefully placing his words. "I'll need you to come to the infirmary for a check up, but I'll try not to keep you too long."
"Doc…" John started, but never got finished.
"Aye, I know. You're fine, there's nothing to worry about, there's nothing wrong with you. But, you forget that I've seen and heard it all before. Look, colonel, we don't know what the effects of this will be. And I don't want a repetition of the you know what." Carson ended cryptically.
Sheppard looked at him quizzically, not knowing what the 'you know what' actually was. "What?"
"The thing you told me never to mention again?" Carson replied elusively, trying to psychically pass the information on without actually sayings the words.
"What?" He still didn't have the faintest clue what Carson was referring to, or maybe he was just too tired to care.
"Bug Man," Rodney supplied helpfully, not meeting his friend's gaze.
"Oh! That," John nodded finally comprehending what he meant. Shaking off the image from his last bout with the Wraith, he scrunched his face at the memory, "I thought we weren't going to mention that again, Rodney."
"But you…you…oh never mind" Rodney stuttered back at him exasperated, before ultimately deciding that it wasn't a good day, and closed his eyes in defeat. In doing so, though, he'd missed the slight smile from his friend to show that there were no hard feelings.
That small gesture he hoped was enough, for now at least, to convince everyone that he was okay, and he hadn't suffered any mild altering effects at the hand of the Wraith or Kolya. Looking towards Teyla, he saw a hint of a smile playing in her eyes, while Carson rolled his in desperation. Ronon and Rodney, he thought might need a bit more convincing though. John knew it would only be a matter of time and that their feelings were brought on by concern, and he appreciated it. He just wasn't any good at conveying it.
End of part 1