AN: It's been a while, blame it on life.

Part II

Lorne strode into Todd's cell with five soldiers at his back. They were going to take the Wraith and scare some answers out of the other two civilians. He was a little surprised Sheppard had allowed him to do it but he wasn't going to question his reasons.

He stopped abruptly, stared into the cell hoping something was terribly wrong with his eyes-

"Evan?"

The soldiers frowned, furtively glanced at each other wondering how she'd know his name. The expression on Lorne was comical enough but they held in their snickers.

"What are you doing here?" Lorne had to clear his throat and stop that forward step towards her.

Sawyer stood, brown eyes glaring at him. Ignoring the black clad soldiers at his back as she took in his own uniform and the weapon he held.

"What are you doing here?" she echoed, hands on her hips. She almost added 'alien spaceship' but managed to bite the words back and then she wondered what kind of luck the Lady was giving her.

"Krap." Lorne sighed, closing his eyes.

SGA

Sheppard, Teyla, Rodney and Mr. Woolsey stared at Lorne.

"You know her." John repeated again.

"Yes sir." Lorne nodded. He'd been forced to admit knowing Sawyer but he wasn't saying anything about their relationship.

"How- yeah, how?" Rodney demanded leaning towards the Lt.

"Through her brother." Lorne answered after a moment. "He was part of the SGC, a member of SG-9. We went through basic training together." He explained keeping himself stiff and at attention. The less he said, the less they'd ask him and the file on Axell would give them information, as well.

"Her brother was SGC?" John questioned thinking it could only get worse. Not only was she a civilian but now she also had ties to the SGC and the entire program.

"Was, so he isn't anymore?" Rodney asked.

"He died off world." Lorne replied tightly. The news had reached him months later and there had been no way to send his condolences to Sawyer. He'd spent a lot of time with the siblings and had been a bit envious of their closeness. Loosing Axell would have been a harsh blow for Sawyer to withstand and apparently she was focusing on being angry with the military. She hadn't responded to his email, or his letter and Lorne had figured it was better to leave her alone. He knew her well enough to know that after the way they'd ended things, nothing was going to change. Sawyer would just ask him more questions and this time she'd have no reason to hold back if he didn't tell her what Axell did in the mountain.

"You believe she's here because of her brother?" Teyla asked glancing at Mr. Woolsey. "That she somehow learned-."

"That's not possible." Rodney cut in. "Nobody knows we're here! Not the regular people, anyway." He amended shifting uncomfortably and glancing around the conference room.

"Be that as it may. The fact remains there are four unauthorized civilians on Atlantis." Mr. Woolsey said. "I think we should find out more about this girl and her conspirators."

SGA

Lorne strode into the holding cell behind Sheppard. Their presence barely registered to the young woman sitting on the floor. Eyes firmly staring at a spot between her feet while the buzz of music sounded from the plugs in her ears. Her head nodded slightly in beat to what she heard and Lorne wondered if she really didn't know they were there.

The shield dropped allowing John to enter but even as his feet intruded her line of sight she didn't acknowledge them. John frowned; he was more than just a little annoyed civilians had snuck onto Atlantis, on his watch. He was still blaming it on Rodney- him and Zelenka both for playing with the city's sensors which is why he was standing in the cell they'd put the girl in, or rather the one she'd put herself into. The other one was still out cold, Dr. Keller said it might be a few hours still and the other two- well one just had to be a conspiracy nut, the little one just blubbered.

Nobody was supposed to know Atlantis was sitting in the San Francisco Bay, yet here was this girl-.

'Nope, a young woman, not a girl- even though she looks it.'

His eyes traveled over her again, the faded bluish-gray military styled jacket, a turquoise zippered hoodie beneath it covering the blue plaid shirt she was wearing. Her black pants were slim fitting; the material had a soft shine to it. John cleared his throat loudly but the young woman was stubborn. Finally, he tapped the white tipped sneaker with his standard issue boot. She raised her eyes glaring at him through the inky strands not pinned away from her face. He didn't see where she got off being angry at them; they hadn't snuck into their space ship. Of course if she had one then it would most likely get confiscated by the US government…

Sawyer clenched her teeth. No matter what, she wouldn't say a word. Not one word, she vowed.

John raised his hands motioning to his ears that she should remove the headphones. An annoyed glare from the pretty brown eyes encompassed them both but she plucked out the ear buds.

"Sawyer Guerra, age 24. Graduated high school at 16 and earned a full ride. Minored in Computer Science, got your Masters in Languages and a Doctorate in Archeology." John said without preamble. It got her to stand up, brown eyes flashing anger that turned to accuse Lorne.

"Axell Guerra, Captain in the US AirForce-."

"Yeah, you got some information. Great, whoopdi-doo." Sawyer snapped sarcastically, unable to keep silent. "Google could've answered you just as well as Evan." Her accusing gaze rested on him but Lorne kept silent and stiff. She knew they both worked in the mountain. Knew they kept it from her because it had to have been very important-top-secret-spy-shit. Here was the proof! And she was angry with them both; with Evan and her dead brother. Because Sawyer had a pretty good fucking idea how Axell had died.

"What are you doing here?" Sheppard asked crossing his arms.

"Sitting in a cell." Sawyer replied. "Can't you tell?" she turned her glare on Evan once again and then began to pace.

Sheppard was not amused by her smart ass remarks and he was getting tired of it. He wondered what it was about smart people that made them such pains in the asses. John grumbled inwardly because apparently his intimidating stare wasn't going to cut it with her.

"Sawyer-."

"Traitor." She snapped at Lorne moving away from them both. She'd told herself not to say a word and there she was…

"You screwed up." Lorne stated, his tone a lot more serious than Sawyer had ever heard it. She hesitated only a moment, enough for John and Lorne to take note.

"So, what? You're going to pretend my cousin never set foot on this ship?" she turned her angry glare on Evan. "You obviously know what's left of our family won't be asking questions about us disappearing." She looked at Sheppard, anger boiling in her gut at her own stupidity, for following Judson and letting him go along with the stupid conspiracy nut. "Figures I'd end up in a box."

John felt just a little guilt eat away at his annoyance for keeping her in the dark. They'd already figured out they weren't working for the NID as they'd first assumed. Neither of them worked for anyone. It was just a bunch of people on a little adventure. One that just happened to be true…

"Your cousin is fine." Sheppard stated dropping his crossed arms. "He should be awake soon. You can speak to him then."

John could see from her expression what he'd read about her was true. Even if her attitude hadn't been clear about her dislike for anything military. He wondered if it were because of her brother's death. The file with her name had contained a stack of letters, each one a little less polite than its predecessor until she fell just short of an actual '...or else…' She wanted answers only it was all classified, need-to-know and above her pay grade, as in she had none. That had been her choice. John had been more surprised to know she'd been contacted by MENSA and she'd turned them down as well. She'd been offered a position at the Smithsonian which she turned down. There was interest in her from various private funders to head up a couple archeological sites and she turned them down too. John didn't get it. The woman had the experience for any of those positions but she… what the hell were her reasons?

"What are you doing here?" John asked yet again. He really couldn't understand what she'd been thinking to turn down- hell, she'd thrown away a brilliant career even before she'd started.

"Twirling my thumbs." Sawyer retorted.

'Great. Another smart ass.' John noted.

"You took some military technology." He snapped. "I want it back."

Sawyer reached into her jacket, the personal shield glowing in her palm, waiting for him to take it. John's eyes locked on it wanting badly for the girl-the woman, for the woman to hand it over.

"Well…" she said, an inky eyebrow arching- almost mocking, when he didn't take it from her outstretched hand. She shrugged and slipped it back into her jacket pocket.

John grit his teeth, his jaw clenching with annoyance. She'd obviously figured out they couldn't take it from her.

Evan hadn't taken his eyes off her from the moment he walked into the cell. He could tell she was angry, the slight twist of her lips, the flush in her cheeks … "You don't understand-."

"Oh, I think I do." Sawyer cut Evan off, turning hard brown eyes on her brother's so called friend. She hadn't forgotten the absent faces at her brother's gravesite and 'secret mission status' was NOT an excuse she would ever accept. She hadn't responded to the letter or email and short of Evan finally telling her the truth about that mountain… Sawyer didn't see any reason they would have to talk. They'd left that sun set hike with nothing left to say.

"You're not leaving here with it." John stated. The only response was the slight narrowing of her eyes.

"Sawyer," Lorne drew her attention. "That's not a toy."

She pursed her lips and they both knew she was close to an eye roll. Instead, Sawyer Guerra retrieved a small brown plastic bag from the other pocket. As far as she was concerned they had nothing important to say or worth the effort it would take for her to process the words coming out of their mouths…

"That's an advanced piece of technology-." John and Lorne watched as she popped a gummy bear into her mouth and chewed.

"How did you do that?" Lorne questioned stepping around John. Both soldiers were looking at her as though she'd just sprouted a third eye. Sawyer put another gummy bear into her mouth and chewed. "How-."

"So you're blind now?" Sawyer retorted.

That was the other interesting thing in her file. One of the reasons Capt. Guerra had been requested for the Atlantis expedition, the fact he carried the ATA gene. But the offer had been turned down. John wondered again what it was with the siblings. Because turning down government job offers couldn't be smart career moves.

"Don't mess around, Sawyer." Evan warned. She took a step towards them, too close and Sheppard gripped his weapon while Lorne frowned at her. "Now take it off and hand it over."

"Make me." Sawyer demanded softly, dark eyes locked with his as she dared him to try. He knew, first hand, she could take care of herself. After all, he'd taken part in some of her training the year they'd been together.

"What, are we five years old now?" Sheppard scowled. "You are in plenty of trouble already so make things easier by-."

"Here's what I know." Sawyer cut him off, eyeing them both as she counted on her fingers. "One, I'm on a spaceship." She shook her head at John's slightly open mouth because no excuse was going to make it any less true, let alone convince her otherwise. "Two, I've been shot at by US soldiers with laser guns. That big- whoever- shot my cousin and until I see him I'm not buying your BS, Evan." She held up both hands stalling whatever they were about to say. "Three, this 'toy' is going to protect me from your trigger happy soldier boys. And, since you obviously didn't take it when I held it out for you, means you can't."

'Why do I always have to deal with the smart ass brainiacs?' John glared annoyed and frustrated.

"So, you're going to keep me locked in because you think you can." Sawyer wasn't sure how she'd be getting herself out of the cell but making them think she could was a plus. She focused on John. "I want my cousin. Here. Maybe then I'll think of giving up your toy."

Lorne went stiff hearing the taunting tone in her voice. He noticed the assessing look she passed over them, lingering on their weapons just a little too long. He remembered teaching her how to shoot the last time they'd all gone camping. She was a quick study and they'd teased her about being a good soldier already, which had earned them glowering looks until she threatened to plug them with extra holes. Axell had warned Evan she was close to doing it, noting the look in her brown eyes.

"Look, it's a dangerous piece of technology." John growled taking another step towards her.

"Whatever you say." Sawyer shrugged and backed up. She leaned on the wall before sliding down to sit on the floor. They watched her put the earphones in and the music started to hiss.

Sheppard glared down at her, his hands twitched, wanting to grab the damn things out of her ears and make her listen to reason. Instead, he did an about face and stomped off with Lorne following a moment later.

SGA

"She couldn't!" Rodney exclaimed. His eyes flicked wildly about the room, from each person sitting around the table. "That's not possible!"

"She ate a gummy bear." John repeated through clenched teeth. He was beyond irritated with the woman. Hell, he was downright pissed by her attitude and the apparent unconcern for the seriousness of her situation.

"But… well, how?" Radek questioned. All eyes wandered to Rodney whose face had gone a deep red. They remembered clearly his inability to eat or drink while in possession of the shield and had it not been for the entity that drained its power Rodney would likely have died.

"We know she has the ATA gene. So does the unconscious male." Dr. Keller flicked her glance from Woolsey to Sheppard and back.

"With her background and her brother already part of the SGC why isn't she part of it?" Radek questioned, his brow furrowed.

"She refused." Mr. Woolsey answered drawing everyone's attention.

"Excuse me." Rodney stiffened in his chair. "Refused? As in she said 'No'?"

"That's what refused means." Sheppard grumbled though he was curious as to her reasons and maybe Woolsey would have the answer. "Why did she?"

"Uh ,well, apparently she found it…uh, distasteful." Woolsey said. "Her brother had recently died when we approached her with the offer. Bad timing." He looked rather uncomfortable. "In any event, the IOA has, uh, asked that I present the offer again."

"What!" Rodney exclaimed half rising from his chair. "She broke into Atlantis and now she's being offered a job? A second time!"

"Exactly." Woolsey answered.

SGA

Judson woke to a pounding headache. He slapped both hands onto his head wincing at the contact and cursing the hangover.

"How do you feel?"

Judson sat up, his eyes locking onto the redhead standing within arms reach of his bed.

'Not my bed!' Judson realized with a shock also noticing the unfamiliar surroundings and people-.

"Where the hell am I?" he demanded wincing as his head took up the beating drum again.

"In the infirmary." She answered placing a gentle hand on his arm. "Now, do you feel nauseous?"

"No." Judson replied shortly and clamped his lips shut because he wasn't about to upchuck on the redhead. She was kinda cute…

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two." He bit through clenched teeth.

"Ok." She turned away fiddling with something on the tray. "I'll give you something for the headache."

"No thanks." Judson waved a hand but she ignored him and pressed the little silver gun on his arm. "What…?" he blinked feeling the coolness spread over his skin and disappear. "Huh."

"Much better?" she smiled. Judson nodded realizing his head wasn't beating like a jungle drum anymore.

"Sawyer!" he exclaimed suddenly, remembering the soldiers and the laser guns and the big guy with dreds-. "Where is she? Where's my cousin?" he demanded slipping off the medical bed and towering over the doctor.

"Stand down."

Judson turned to the new voice, a dark haired man with a scowl dressed in black fatigues. And standing next to him, favoring his side was dred head.

"You!" Judson snarled taking a menacing step in his direction.

"Don't make me shoot you." The black clad soldier warned pointing the funky laser gun at him. It stopped Judson. "Good."

"Sawyer." Judson ground past his clenched jaw.

"Is sitting in a cell waiting for you." Was the answer. "I'm Lt. Col. John Sheppard. That's Dr. Jennifer Keller and this Ronon Dex." John made the introductions and slowly lowered his zat.

"I'm gonna kill that asshole." Judson grumbled under his breath. He could almost hear Sawyer telling him Blaine was an idiot and he was no better. All they'd done was get in a shitload of trouble.

"Let's wait on that." Sheppard proposed. "Come on." He stepped aside and let Judson take the lead while Ronon was held back by Jennifer.

SGA

"My brother was part of the StarGate program." Sawyer echoed. They hadn't let her out of her cage and she still had the personal shield. She wasn't sure if this was some new tactic to get her to give it up but she wasn't falling for it. Suspicion was her only ally and weapon at the moment and she wasn't willing to give it up.

"He participated in off-world missions. Travelled to different planets in the galaxy on various assignments." Mr. Woolsey explained. "I apologize for our timing but we were unaware of Captain Guerra's state at the time-."

"Dead." Sawyer snarled. "My brother was dead." She forced her hands to unclench and that little sting of pain was nothing with how angry she felt.

"I apologize."

"Stop with the 'I'm sorry'! I don't need apologies." Sawyer exclaimed. She stood and paced the length of her cage refusing to look at the bald guy offering her a job. A job! One she'd refused already-. What was wrong with them?

'What's wrong with me? Why am I even considering this?'

Because she was. Sawyer was seriously thinking of saying 'Yes', of leaving it all behind to go who knew where for a government that- well, they didn't really give a shit about her, just what she could do for them.

"Ah…" Woolsey stood up as the doors swished open and Sheppard came in with Judson. "I'll leave you to think on it, Ms. Guerra."

"Judson!" Sawyer exclaimed, relief flooded through her followed by an uncontrollable urge to cry. She hadn't really believed Sheppard and even when Lorne had assured her the big dummy wasn't dead she'd doubted.

"I thought you were dead." Judson mumbled into her shoulder as he swept her into a bear hug.

"I thought you were dead." Sawyer scolded smacking her palms on his broad back but he didn't flinch.

"Axell woulda killed me." He breathed in relief setting her down.

John stood back, a frown marring his features as he watched the cousins embrace. She was still in possession of the personal shield. It just proved she was better able to use it than Rodney but still… She'd had no training, hell she didn't even know about Atlantis!

John shook his head grumbling under his breath as he left the brig.

SGA