The Ancient Factor An itch you can't scratch, a stargate: atlantis fanfic

The Ancient Factor

Author: ShaViva

Rating: T+

Season: Season 2

Summary: Finding out he had the ATA gene and getting sent to Atlantis put Major Lorne's career on an exciting new path, until he arrived in the city and realised it was a lot more complicated than it sounded. This is another Lornecentric story, set just before Runner. Lorne/Keller pre-ship. GW Team Flyboy prompt challenge response.

Classifications: Romance/Adventure

Pairings: Lorne/Keller

Spoilers for: Nothing specific, season 2 general events mostly.

Disclaimer: I am unfortunately not associated in any way with the creators, owners, or producers of Stargate or any of its media franchises - if I was Lorne would have had episodes that were all about him! All publicly recognizable characters, settings, equipment, etc are the property of whoever owns them. Any original characters, plot, settings, and anything else I made up are the property of me, the author. No copyright infringement is intended.

Acknowledgments: I used www dot medicinenet dot com for information about causes, symptoms and treatment for hypothermia.

Authors Note:

This story is my response to the Gateworld Team Flyboy thread challenge prompts for the episode 'Hide and Seek'. The prompt I chose was 'ATA' (thanks Brn!) because it occurred to me that maybe not everyone with the gene had a smooth transition to living on Atlantis – maybe tapping into something previously dormant isn't always easy. It was going to be a one shot deal but when I wasn't looking it turned into a short story. Hope you enjoy!

"Sooner or later something seems to call us onto a particular path ...
this is what I must do, this is what I've got to have. This is who I am."
James Hillman

Chapter 1: An itch you can't scratch

"Well this is just great," Lorne muttered, squinting into the darkness.

"No it's not," Doctor Jennifer Keller returned, her voice shaking a little with nerves. "This is the complete opposite of great Major."

"Never heard of sarcasm Doc?" Evan queried absently, shifting forward slowly and cautiously as he felt for the nearest wall. Whoever first described something as pitch black must have had his current situation in mind because he couldn't see a thing. "I don't suppose you've got a torch stashed somewhere in that bag of yours?" he asked hopefully, wishing he was wearing his tac vest, or at the very least that he'd picked a P-90 with its flashlight attachment instead of the 9 mil.

"I do but it's too dark for me to see where I put my bag," Jennifer replied. "I think I dropped it by the door when the lights went off." That would be the door that was now closed that he hadn't been able to open, no matter how hard he thought at the damn thing. "Don't you have some of those fluoro stick things?" Her voice had an even more pronounced shiver in it that got his attention.

"I left them in my other pants," Evan joked. "You okay Doc?" he asked, gentling his voice.

"Yes, of course – I'm just cold," Keller insisted. "Haven't you noticed how much the temperature's dropped since we got stuck in here?"

"Yeah, but I was kind of hoping you hadn't," Lorne murmured mostly under his breath. If it got any colder he was going to have to take action that wouldn't be comfortable for either of them. "I'm really sorry about this Doc," he said.

"It's not your fault Major," Jennifer excused generously.

"Ah, actually yeah, it is," Evan returned. And sadly he wasn't just taking responsibility for the situation because he was 'in charge'. He hadn't been thinking – it was the only explanation for why, with his new 'abilities', he'd inadvertently set off something and gotten them both sealed in.

When he'd been tested for the Ancient Technology Activation gene along with the rest of the SGC personnel he'd actually been excited to learn that he was one of the rare few to have a naturally occurring gene. All the way to the Pegasus galaxy on the Daedalus he'd looked forward to seeing how he could make using the gene a part of his service to Stargate command.

And then he'd been transported down to the city and everything had gone screwy. It had been a couple of weeks and he was still struggling to find his feet … and some measure of comfort in his new home.

"We're still researching the ATA gene," Jennifer said earnestly. "I'm not privy to everything that goes on around here but I do know that you're not the only one to activate things without meaning to." Evan could hear the smile in her voice as she continued. "When Doctor Beckett was trying to convince me that coming here and running the night shift was a good idea he told me about the first time he met Colonel Sheppard."

Lorne had read the report so he knew the basics but was interested in Beckett's perspective – Doctor Keller's version of it anyway. "What did he say happened?"

"That he almost blew up a General," Jennifer replied, "which is certainly nothing to laugh about, except the way Carson told it, it was amusing. He managed to deactivate the drone he accidentally launched – with not a moment to spare – and hasn't let Doctor McKay forget that it only happened because he insisted Carson sit in the command chair." She chuckled. "It took him a few hours to realise he had valuable firsthand experience in understanding how the gene works."

"And what did he say about that?" Lorne queried blandly even though he was very interested in the answer.

"That it's different for each person," Jennifer said promptly, "and that it's possible to improve what you can do with concentration and repeated exposure."

"Good to know," Lorne muttered.

"You're having trouble controlling your gene Major?" Jennifer asked, her tone shifting somehow and sounding more 'professional'.

He hadn't forgotten she was a medical doctor – not that he'd seen her in action in that role personally so far. She'd been in the city only as long as he had, coming in on the same Daedalus run, and had immediately taken over running the infirmary's second shift. All Evan's first day checks had been done by Carson Beckett and aside from reviewing all the personnel he'd had little to do with the night shift staff. In fact, the only reason he was talking to Doctor Keller now was because he'd put himself on second shift as well – because he'd needed some space and a break from prying eyes while he tried to find some equilibrium. Colonel Sheppard protested initially until Lorne convinced him that if he was going to be an effective 2IC he needed to understand the issues faced by all their staff.

After a couple of nights with nothing of interest to report Lorne was regretting his decision, particularly since he hadn't made any progress with his 'problem' either. And then Keller called the control room requesting an escort to a remote section of the city – one of the scientists decided to pull an all-nighter, tripped, cracked their head on a console and called the infirmary for assistance. He'd been so eager for something to do he'd decided to take the call himself.

Thinking now about her question, he hesitated in deciding how to answer it.

"Major?" Jennifer persisted, but not in a way that put him off.

"It's not the control so much," his eyes narrowed in the darkness as he tried to find a way to explain. "I don't know what I was expecting – before I got here I'd never even been in the same room with a piece of ancient tech. I'd never noticed this ATA gene thing before and I thought …," he trailed off with a shrug.

"and you thought it would be the same once you got here – that you wouldn't notice anything different," Jennifer concluded thoughtfully. "But it wasn't the same?"

"Ah … no, not really," Lorne took a deep breath and then let it out in a tired sigh. "It's really distracting Doc … like when your hearing shifts tone only it's happening all the time and you never get used to it, you never stop noticing that you can hear what's essentially 'nothing'." He gave a sudden harsh chuckle. "I'm not explaining it very well … I just … I don't know how else to describe it."

"You can hear the ancient tech?" Keller sounded intrigued and for a moment Lorne wondered if he'd just made himself a 'lab rat' for her to research. He could think of plenty of things he'd rather do … although, if he was honest, now that he'd spent some time talking to her, Jennifer Keller was a lot more … compelling than he'd have given her credit for. He'd noticed her of course, but only in that way a man notices a pretty girl outside his own sphere of influence.

"I can't hear anything," he shook his head, frustrated with himself more than her question. It was because he couldn't get a handle on the what that he was struggling with working out how to counter the effects. "I can't see it and I can't feel it either, but at the same time I know it's there – like an itch you can't scratch or … or that feeling you get when you know something bad is about to happen."

"Have you mentioned any of this to Doctor Beckett or Colonel Sheppard?"

"You're joking right?" Lorne laughed. "I can just see Colonel Sheppard's expression after he finds out his new second in command is hearing things that aren't there." He shook his head even though she couldn't see him in the darkness. "Forget it Doc – I'll work out how to handle this one on my own."

Jennifer was silent for a moment. "I could help you," she offered hesitantly.

"How?" Lorne shot back. "You said it yourself – we don't know enough about how the gene works. Maybe it's just a matter of acclimating myself – maybe a couple of weeks isn't long enough."

"And maybe there's a reason for what you're going through," Jennifer retorted impatiently. "If you'll allow me to run a few tests instead of being a stubborn … man, what we learn could help other new arrivals to the city too."

Lorne's brow shot up – at the gumption he hadn't suspected she possessed as well as her approach. She was trying to guilt him into helping, and damn it, it was working. He couldn't in good conscience say no because she was right – he probably wasn't the only one to struggle with the ATA gene and if his experience could help someone else then he had to go along.

"Fine," he said, letting some irritation leak into his voice too. "You can test me – after we get out of here."

"How long until they expect us to check i-in?" Jennifer gave an audible shiver into the persistent darkness.

Evan glanced at the luminous dials on his watch. "We're past our scheduled radio contact," he said simply. "If your patient hasn't already raised the alarm, they definitely know something's gone wrong now." He continued in an undertone "and if they can't locate us with an internal scan this is going to get grim."

"Grim?" Jennifer sounded worried.

"Oh, sorry Doc, not 'grim' grim," Lorne hastened to explain. "I'm guessing, because we couldn't raise anyone on the radio either, that this room is shielded. That means they won't detect us even though we're the only two life signs together this far out."

When Jennifer was silent he felt the need to expand. "They'll have to send a search party out to look for us on foot … all the relevant department heads will have to be notified."

"You mean Doctor Beckett?" Keller asked in a low tone.

"Yeah, and Colonel Sheppard," Lorne confirmed. "Probably Doctor Weir too."

"Well, that sucks," Jennifer said succinctly.

Evan laughed. "That it does Doc."

They fell to silence for a few moments before Jennifer let out a sigh. "I hope it doesn't take too long."

"How long would be too long?" Lorne returned. Neither of them pretended not to know that it was the cold they should be worried about. The temperature had continued to drop and if he could detect anything more than an inch in front of himself he knew he'd see his breath floating in the air every time he spoke.

"That depends on how cold it gets in here," Jennifer replied, rubbing her hands together to warm them. "If it gets below freezing then an hour could be too long."

"Right, of course," Lorne agreed. He knew from a survival point of view what you were supposed to do to prevent hypothermia – he'd just never considered he'd need any of that while walking around inside a large Ancient city. And why the hell was it so cold in here anyway? They had environmental controls to stop this kind of thing, didn't they?

"What are you wearing Major?" Jennifer asked abruptly.

"I'm sorry?" Evan frowned in confusion.

"Your clothing Major Lorne," Jennifer sounded exasperated. "Are you appropriately dressed?"

"For duty around the city, yeah, sure," Evan thought about the black t-shirt he had on under his standard issue jacket. "For sub zero temperatures, not so much. You?"

"The same," Jennifer admitted weakly.

"Control room, this is Major Lorne, are you reading me?" Evan decided trying the radio again couldn't hurt, even though it hadn't worked the first few times. With any luck they were already trying to fix the communications problem ... "or maybe not," he thought when there was no response. "Nothing," he announced grimly.

Evan thought for a moment, trying to decide on a course of action. They had two options – try to feel their way around the room to see if they could work out the problem and maybe get themselves out. Or dig in and do what they had to do to stay warm while they waited for the search party to find them.

"Stay where you are Doc," he ordered, shifting forward in what he hoped was right direction to take him to the centre of the room. He'd lost his bearings a little because the systems hadn't shut down immediately upon them entering the room. They'd both taken a few steps – he'd have to guess how many.

"What are you d-d-doing?" Jennifer asked. The shiver in her voice concerned Lorne – because that wasn't nerves anymore, that was the first stages of hypothermia.

"Trying to find the console I caught a glimpse of before the doors closed and the lights went off," Lorne replied. "Keep moving Doc – jump up and down on the spot or something."

"Do you think you can get the console working?" Jennifer asked hopefully, her voice hitching in a way that suggested she was following his instructions.

"Probably not," Evan admitted. "But if I can find a way to get us some light that would be a good start."

He kept up his slow progress across the room. Even going at that pace it still hurt when his knee caught the edge of something. With a grunt he stopped and felt carefully for whatever had got in his way.

"Are you okay?" Jennifer asked nervously.

"The console jumped out and bit me," Lorne said mock seriously, rewarded for his effort at levity by the Docs quick laugh. "Ok-ay," he murmured, running his hands along the top of the device. He was so far from being an expert in anything to do with the ATA gene that it was laughable, and yet he knew almost immediately that he wouldn't be getting the console to do anything for them. He just wasn't getting anything from it – no sense that there was anything for him to operate, even if he knew what to think at it. "Damn," he muttered, stepping back and putting his hands on his hips.

"No luck?" Doctor Keller asked hopefully.

"Sorry Doc. As far as I can tell this thing is dead," he tried to put reassurance into his voice as he continued. "We're gonna have to wait for the rescue to come to us."

"Okay," Jennifer tried to sound positive but he could hear the nervousness in her voice.

"Keep talking Doc," he requested. "I'm gonna head back in your direction."

"Talk? About what?" Keller queried.

"I don't know, anything, just so I know where you are. In case you haven't noticed Doc, the visibility in here is pretty much zero." Evan shifted to the direction of her voice and began feeling his way across the room.

"Oh … um, okay," Jennifer said hesitantly. "Well … you already know that I'm here … in Pegasus because Doctor Beckett recommended me," she spoke and Evan could tell she wasn't comfortable talking about herself.

"You've know Doctor Beckett for a while?" he asked.

"For years," Evan could hear the smile in her voice now. "He was a guest lecturer when I was studying genetics – what he had to say was so different and interesting and raised so many questions that I ended up corresponding with him throughout the rest of my studies."

"Sounds like you were meant to end up here then." The whole time she'd been speaking he'd carefully made his way forward until he was right beside her. She jumped when he spoke, giving a nervous laugh.

"I suppose that's the kind of thing they teach you in the military," she commented, turning to face him.

"What is?"

"Sneaking," Jennifer elaborated.

"Hey, I don't sneak," Lorne protested. "It's called stealth Doc. Sneaking sounds so dishonest."

"So, what now?" Jennifer asked, jumping right over his attempts to distract her.

"Now?" Lorne winced, glad she couldn't see his expression. Raising his sleeve he clicked the button that would display the time – it wasn't a torch, just a minute or so of illumination that would let Doctor Keller see some of his expression. "The temperature doesn't seem to stabilising," he looked into her pale face, faintly illuminated, their eyes locking. "Moving around isn't going to be enough Doc." He waited, watching to see her make the obvious conclusion.

When his watch light went off, the darkness and her quiet seemed more pronounced. Clicking the display again he put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Doc?"

"You're talking about sharing body heat?" she asked in a small voice, her eyes on his watch instead of his face.

"Ah … yeah, but not ...," he stopped for a moment, "you know …," he waved a hand vaguely. "I was thinking we'd just sit down and ah …," he shook his head, deciding abruptly that he was being ridiculous not speaking plainly. "Listen Doc, we don't know each other very well so this is gonna be awkward. The easiest way to do this is if you just trust me to do only what's necessary, okay?"

"Okay," Jennifer said quietly.

"Thank you," Lorne raised his arm just before the watch light went off again but as he'd concluded early on, the light just wasn't enough to penetrate the darkness even as far as the ground, let alone to the walls. "We'll have to feel our way," he decided. "I'm just going to take your hand okay, so you can follow with me."

Putting action to words, he pressed his watch button a third time and used the small light to pinpoint her position, taking her hand and squeezing reassuringly. Her skin was already icy and his hands felt hot in comparison. Jennifer said nothing, letting him guide her forward slowly until he found the wall he'd targeted. Keeping hold of her hand he lowered himself to sit with his back against the wall, urging her to sit too. Then came the awkward bit – unzipping his jacket he estimated her dimensions based on the hand he still held, braced and then put both hands to her waist, lifting and positioning her to sit on the floor in front of him. That way his legs enclosed hers and he could wrap his jacket around her as well. She let out a small squeak and tensed as soon as she realised how intimate their position was.

"Relax Doc," he said close to her ear, his warm breath ghosting her neck and making her shiver.

"I am relaxed," she insisted, her voice strangled and her spine so stiff and straight he could have used it for a level.

"Right, sure, of course," he said sceptically. He waited a moment and then tightened his arms abruptly, his action surprising her so much she'd settled back against him before she could think about it. "That's better," he said, resting his head back against the wall and directing his eyes to a ceiling he couldn't see. She felt … comfortable in his arms … too comfortable, enough that a part of his brain was distracted with noticing the things a man noticed when this close to an attractive woman. Like the way her hair smelled like vanilla; how slight she was – delicate almost; and how his heart seemed to be beating just a little faster than usual. The darkness encouraged the feeling of intimacy - its anonymity almost urging him to open up and share personal details in the hopes that he'd get a like response from her. 'It's just the circumstances,' he thought firmly. He needed to force his mind in a different direction, before the frustration of wishing he could see her really got to him.

It took a few minutes of silence and shared warmth but eventually Jennifer relaxed for real, melting into his chest with a sigh. "You're so warm," she murmured.

"I get that a lot," he quipped, smiling when she laughed.

They were quiet for a while, as the darkness continued and the room got steadily colder. Trying to run the schematics through his head, he retraced their route from when he'd picked Doctor Keller up in the infirmary to the section of the outer city they'd been heading for. They'd taken what he'd thought would be a short cut through one section to get to the only set of stairs that led down to their scientist and ended up trapped instead. As he pictured the city, Lorne realised they were pretty close to sea level and separated from a very cold and stormy night by a single wall. It was winter on Lantia, and it got as cold here as any place he'd lived in the past. If this was a section that had been breached by the ocean when the shield failed then there were probably fissures in the walls slowly bringing conditions inside the room down to match those on the outside.

Keller shivered in his arms and he readjusted his jacket, trying to close off the front as much as possible.

"You never said why you're here Major, in Pegasus I mean," Keller commented.

Since he knew she was just looking for something to distract her from their circumstances he decided to play along. "I think, given our current situation, that you should call me Evan," he invited.

"Jennifer – or Jenn," she returned, "and you haven't answered my question … Evan."

He smiled, deciding he liked the sound of his name from her lips. "You can probably guess yourself why I'm here Jennifer."

"Because you have the gene?" Jennifer queried. "You didn't get a choice?"

"You join the military, you go where they need you the most," Evan said simply. "Besides, living in an Ancient city a galaxy away, flying puddle jumpers and F302's? Not much to complain about there."

"You don't have a family back home?"

"Do you?" Evan countered.

"Just my Dad," she admitted, shifting a little so that she was resting against him at a different angle. "And I see what you're implying – that everyone has some kind of family they leave behind for a post like this."

"At least we knew going in that we could get home again," Evan pointed out. "Colonel Sheppard and the others came here risking that it was a one way trip." He smiled. "And since you didn't push, I'll tell you that I have my Mom and my sister and her family waiting for when I get leave to go back."

"I always wanted a sister," Jennifer commented wistfully.

"You're not missing much – I had to leave for the academy to stop her from shadowing me and now her main delight seems to be either meddling in my private life or telling anyone who'll listen about every embarrassing thing I did growing up."

Jennifer chuckled. "She sounds wonderful."

"She is," Evan admitted. "But if you ever get the chance to tell her I said that I'll deny it vehemently."

Jennifer shifted again, turning her face until her cheek was pressed against his chest. "I'm cold," she murmured, the end of her words muffled by a huge yawn.

Evan tightened his arms, knowing it wouldn't be enough if they had to wait much longer. He didn't have any way to gauge the temperature but having spent time stationed in Italy during winter a few years back, his best guess suggested they'd hit zero very soon if they hadn't already. With proper winter gear on that wouldn't have been a problem, but of course they didn't have the proper gear. Even a hat would have been handy.

"I'm really cold," Jennifer repeated, "and tired."

"I know," he moved quickly, opening his jacket and rearranging their positions so that Jennifer was as good as sitting on his lap, her legs gathered up close to her chest and her side resting against him. He was cradling her in his arms now but the last thing on his mind was how close they were – tugging the edges of his jacket together he settled back, his head against the wall. He'd chosen what he thought was an inner wall but whatever it was made of had long since let go of any warmth it could retain – it wasn't quite like resting against a block of ice, but it was getting there.

"Is it dangerous for you to sleep?" he asked Jenn quietly.

"Um … no," the doctor in her reasoned, "well, potentially yes, if we both fall asleep and miss the rescue party and end up stuck here until after our core body temperatures drop below 82 degrees."

"I'm okay Doc," he reassured her … and it was true. He was cold and he could feel the urge to really shiver hunting him, but he was alert too – no signs of lethargy or confusion. "You can trust me to stay awake."

"I might have to," Jennifer admitted. "I'm not sure how much longer I can stay awake."

"Night shift getting to you?"

"A little," Jennifer shifted until her cheek was resting over his heart. "It's been a few years since I had to work those kinds of hours. Give me another couple of weeks though and I'll be able to give the scientists a run for their money."

"Why would you want to?" Evan laughed. "Those guys are all either already crazy or well on their way to getting there. We're here right now because one of them thought working alone at 1 am was a good idea."

"They're just … dedicated," Jennifer excused, yawning again.

"Okay, enough talk – close your eyes and try to get some sleep," Evan ordered. "I'll wake you when our rescue party gets here."

"All right," Jennifer melted against him with a sigh. "I hope they sent someone else to treat Doctor Hovitas," she muttered after a few moments, naming the scientist who's started their little night time adventure.

"Jenn – sleep," Evan said firmly.

"K," she sighed again and then was silent. When her breathing shifted and he knew she'd fallen asleep he carefully reached up and tapped his radio.

"This is Major Lorne … I don't know if anyone can hear me. Doctor Keller and I are locked inside a room," he continued, stating their location succinctly. "The temperature has dropped to zero and Doctor Keller is showing signs of mild hypothermia. I have attempted to access the control panel from inside the room but there appears to be no power. My attempts to reopen the doors have also been unsuccessful. I don't know how long we have before the temperature becomes a problem, but neither Doctor Keller nor I are dressed for subzero conditions." He finished his report, hoping that even though he wasn't getting any reception, someone looking for them would still be able to pick up his signal. He'd make the same report every half hour until they were found.

Settling back he got into 'guard' mode – a level of awareness he'd perfected in his early career when he'd copped guard duty and had to spend hours manning a post where nothing interesting was likely to happen. Under those circumstances it was hard to maintain focus – even more so here because the dark and the warmth of Jennifer Keller snuggled up on top of him were open invitations for him to do the opposite and drop his guard.

Thinking out his gene reaction to being in the city hadn't helped so far – although that constant 'awareness' was actually helping him to stay alert. Thinking about his unexpected interest in the young doctor sitting on his lap wouldn't do him any favours either, so he resolutely pushed that topic from his mind too. Now that the Daedalus had been permanently assigned to make a regular run between Atlantis and Earth part of Lorne's job would be to create a strategy for resupply and incorporation of turnover in staffing. Closing his eyes he started to make a mental list of everything he needed to do, a part of him still alert for any sounds of rescue while another part of him monitored the sleeping woman in his arms.