When Jennifer awoke, the sight of Atlantea before her helped her relax. The remembered that it was not really Atlantis, but the view was good enough regardless. She saw Guide sitting at a small table he had brought into the room, his eyes pouring over Wraith glyphs she didn't understand. He didn't appear to know she had come to, and a part of her didn't want him to.
She remembered the animal attack in vivid detail—it had been haunting her painful bouts of sleep. Every muscle in her body protested as she tried to sit upright, every bone throbbing at the strain of motion. Her brown eyes squeezed shut in a wince as she sucked in a breath, and when she opened them again, Guide was beside the bed, a small vial of liquid in his hand. He offered it to her, holding it to her lips and tilting her head back with his free hand to help her swallow. She didn't protest. He hadn't killed her yet. At least, not directly.
"This will ease the pain," the commander issued in his raspy voice, and then set the empty vial on the table beside the bed. "Your injuries were substantial, but you will recover. Consider yourself lucky, Doctor Kell-err, that Bonewhite took action when he did. Your decision was asinine, and had I not stepped in, you would most certainly be dead." His hard yellow eyes bore into hers.
Jennifer tried to frown, but the expression was weak.
"Did you get your venom or not?" Her voice was faint and scratchy.
Narrowing his eyes, Guide himself gave a frown.
"At great cost, yes."
His words piqued her interest. What 'great cost' was this he referred to? The words he spoke next seemed to read her mind.
"Thankfully, you are still in the land of the living. But I won't have that over-calculating mind of yours at my disposal again for some time. Your human body still has much to do in the way of repairs. My services can only provide so much help."
Guide rotated now, aiming again for the table, but a feeble tug of his trench coat stopped him. He looked down over his shoulder and saw Jennifer's fingertips clinging to the leather. A strange sort of anger overcame him. He ripped the material away and threw his hands on either side of her shoulders on the bed, bearing down on her.
"This clothing is the most honorable Wraith artifact I possess, Doctor, and you dare to soil it with your human hands?" His hot breath burst from his lungs and Jennifer flinched as it touched the sickly skin of her face. Sharp teeth were bared.
"You didn't have a problem with it when I thanked you for this room..." she murmured, still fatigued, and now slightly tense, which hurt her body even more.
Hissing, Guide slapped the mattress and whirled away, his silvery hair fanning out behind him as he did so. His steps led him to the doorway now, but he held up an arm and leaned against it before he could walk through. From the bed, Jennifer only watched him.
Finally, after several moments, he spoke.
"We will discuss boundaries when you are well again, Doctor Kell-err," the Wraith said sternly. "You would do well in the meantime to mind your tongue—and your touch—and keep your distance from me." Enraged and bitter, Guide stormed from the room.
Bonewhite paced before the desk in his study, feeding hand clenching and unclenching as his analytical mind ran over the events of the past weeks. Something had definitely changed aboard the Hive since the Replicators had obliterated the Ancient city and Guide had returned. Although he didn't like to question Guide's motives, the Wraith Second couldn't ignore the strange behavior he had witnessed in his commander. He had long suspected that human captivity had affected Guide's mental state, but it wasn't until recently that he'd really given serious merit to the possibility.
The commander claimed to have brought the Atlantean doctor on board because she would assist him in continuing the research they had begun in the city, but the way he was treating her suggested otherwise. Bonewhite's insides churned at the thought of the human female. She was despicable, in spite of her high level of intelligence, and her disregard for Wraith order left him highly irritated more often than not. Now and again he could see flashes of what Guide might see in her himself, but they were few and far between. For the most part, Jennifer Keller just made him want to wring her neck or feed.
An alarm rang out nearby, and Bonewhite sighed. The Hive had reached the next stop in its journey to collect new species to serve as potential food sources, and he was due to return to the bridge. In spite of his annoyance with the doctor, he had to admit she was among the bolder of her kind. Working aside beings inclined to feast upon her could not be an easy task, and he actually felt that her suggestions for this study could work. If the Wraith could expand their abilities to feed upon more than just human beings, it could not only cause an influx of new mutations and abilities to appear in the Wraith, but solidify a truce with the humans themselves. Like it or not, even with their crude technology, the sheer volume of human beings was enough to prove a force to reckon with. At this point in time, he would rather have them with him than against.
Another alarm, and Bonewhite left his thoughts where they lay, heading grudgingly for the ship's bridge. At least he knew the doctor would not be joining them on this quest.
"We retrieved several new species of quadrupeds from the planet today," Guide spoke matter-of-factly from the seat by the window in Jennifer's updated quarters. "My scientists are classifying them now and attempting to determine whether or not they are poisonous."
Jennifer lowered the book in her hands to her stomach and studied the Wraith who stared out the window into the false image of an evening on the Atlantean ocean. She thought of the time John had recounted the Wraith's words to him after escaping from the Genii, 'if only to see the stars again.' She wondered if he had ever seen the same stars she had from the city.
"How is our first patient doing?" she inquired, her voice still raspy and thin.
As if he thought she might be joking, Guide's head snapped in her direction. When their eyes connected, he let a rare smile slip through his guise.
"Were it not so valuable, it would be long since dead."
"I surmised as much." She lifted the book back upward.
"What are you reading?" Guide had stood up now.
Jennifer sighed, wincing at the ache in her ribs.
"Nothing really. I can't seem to master your language in the way I want to."
"You have only been here a short while. Surely you cannot expect to have mastered such a complex system of written communication as Wraith in such a small span of time." The commander was at her bedside now, looking down upon her. "Perhaps it would be beneficial were I to provide you with a few formal training sessions..." He trailed off now, and then pressed the top of the book until it had been lowered back to her stomach. The weight of the volume made her wince again, and Guide swiftly snatched it away and replaced it with his feeding hand. Jennifer tensed beneath him, looking quickly up into his eyes in an attempt to gauge his intentions.
"What was this discussion of boundaries that you mentioned again?" she managed to snap through her discomfort, bitter. "I might soil your hand as I soiled your clothing."
Calmly, Guide looked away from her and sighed.
"I apologize for my indecent commentary," the alien admitted, almost seeming to hang his head in shame. "Your injuries...disturbed me...and I was not in the right state of mind."
"I thought it was your concern for my well-being that disturbed you, not my injuries."
Guide's feeding hand flexed on her abdomen, his clawed fingertips pressing more firmly through the thin sheet and her layers of clothing.
"Your assumptions are bold, Doctor Kell-err," he warned her, his voice low, but not angry. "But you must understand, I should not be behaving as I have been. As the commander of this Hive, I cannot be seen to put a human's life before the lives of my crew. It will not reflect well. Humans have been like cattle to the Wraith for centuries. They are expendable. The fact that I sacrificed one of my own to save you...it will not be taken lightly. I have already felt the first waves of dissent ripple through the Hive, and I must correct this problem before it snowballs. This is why I wish to place such boundaries between us."
Her heart pounding in her chest as she looked up at him, Jennifer didn't know what to think. On one hand, Guide had finally, albeit indirectly, admitted to her that there was at least some form of intrigue on his part. On the other, he was demanding they avoid furthering the situation and producing additional issues within the ranks. She understood completely, but the sharp knot in her gut told her she was not happy about it.
"You can start by removing your killing hand from my person," she issued coolly.
Acquiescing, his hand withdrew to his side.
"I have told you repeatedly I will not harm you."
"But neither will you protect me from your own kind."
"This Hive is never fully under my control, Doctor Kell-err," Guide rumbled, folding his hands behind his back. "Power changes hands quite regularly in our society. The fact that I have remained in command for so long has little to do with the fact that I am respected and feared, and more to do with the fact that the opportune moment for takeover has not yet risen."
Guide's words frightened Jennifer, but given the nature of their discussion, she knew better than to cling to him for reassurance. In this colony she must stand her ground and hold her head high, or fall. He had told her that on day one. Back when she had been so naïve as to think he might actually someday bring her home.
"Your thoughts are scattered," the Wraith commented softly from where he stood, his eyes squinting slightly and his head tilted to one side. Under his keen observation, Jennifer felt herself shudder and sink lower into the bed.
"I miss Rodney," Jennifer blurted out, and then shook her own head in confusion. Guide simply waited for her to elaborate. "He was useless in battle, but he made up for it in other things. He could cook...and he could get us out of almost any doomsday scenario...and he could dance. I miss dancing." She stared down at the bed, somehow ashamed of spilling her thoughts.
Guide felt a strange pang in his abdomen—though it was by no means the first time—at her mention of the quirky little man called McKay. He tried to envision the pair of them standing side by side, but it seemed awkward and ill-advised. Rodney had never seemed the type to win over a female, particularly one like Jennifer, although Guide had never known him as well as he could have. The Wraith shifted uncomfortably as another image appeared in his mind, and he realized that he had in fact witnessed Jennifer and McKay together. Just once, and he had thought nothing of it at the time. It hadn't mattered to him then.
Inwardly, he flinched.
Did it really matter to him now?
His yellow eyes settled on Jennifer who was still staring at her feet under the thin blankets. What was it about this human that caused so much conflict in his system? Why couldn't he seem to meld her back into the ranks of all the other humans he had met in his lifetime? What made her stand out to him so greatly? She was beautiful, yes, and he lusted after her, yes, but he had been the victim of lust enough times to understand it generally meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. But with Jennifer, something was different. With her, it was more than that raw animalistic lechery. She harbored an intelligence he had never before witnessed in a human being—even in Rodney McKay himself—but why did this matter? There were hundreds of female Wraith whose intellect was far superior to that of the lowly human's. When she picked up the book again during the awkward silence, he suddenly understood.
It was her spirit.
The very part of her on which his own survival hinged.
The same spirit that drew him to desire her affections also enticed him in a far more sinister way, and it was this friction that threatened to deprave him. Clearing his throat, Guide was rewarded by Jennifer's instant attention once more, and he grasped at the only thing he could think of that did not unnerve him.
"Perhaps, Doctor Kell-err, it is time I not only teach you the language of the Wraith, but our ways and customs as well."
Jennifer looked at him, curious but concerned. She said nothing and let him continue.
"I do not trust my subordinates to forever obey my every command, as you well know. I cannot say if you will ever leave this Hive, because I simply do not know. Should the day ever come where I am relieved of my control while you are still aboard this vessel, you will fare much better if you have already gained the respect and admiration of the crew."
"So...you're saying you're going to teach me how to assimilate?" Jennifer asked, her curiosity piqued. "I thought that's what you were doing by letting me continue my research here?"
Guide shook his head.
"Not entirely, Jenn-i-ferr...there is more to fitting in among my kind than proving your smarts. And, considering your current state, you've done nothing of that sort anyway."
Offended, Jennifer threw the book at him, and then winced as her injured abdomen flexed. Rolling his eyes, Guide took a step closer to the bed now and stared down at her firmly.
"Remove your blanket."
Jennifer didn't question him.
Guide's feeding hand swiftly slipped beneath the fabric of her shirt, the serrated micro-teeth skimming along her skin and leaving goosebumps in their wake. It settled at a point just below her breast and atop the still-healing wounds over her ribs. Their eyes connecting, Guide curved his fingers so that the tips of his claws pressed into her flesh, and she felt the teeth as they did the same. Although she was quite terrified, she didn't move, choosing to trust him.
Within moments, the worst of the pain in her side was gone. He'd healed her again—well, somewhat, anyway. The hand removed itself and returned to the Wraith's side.
"Sleep, Jenn-i-ferr Kell-err," Guide instructed, his voice almost a growl. "Sleep before the pain comes back and prevents it."
Nodding, Jennifer lowered herself in the bed, turned painfully onto her side, and tried to do as he'd ordered.
A/N: My summer photography season has started up again so I am on a no-days-off-even-weekends stretch until mid-June. That being said, I'm still attempting to write away, as I have some interesting new ideas for this story. Eventually I'll fix the typos I keep getting from writing at 10-11pm every night...in the meantime, enjoy!