It'd been a long time since Logan had been in such a fierce fire-fight as the one she and her team were engaged in now. They hadn't expected to encounter the Wraith on P2X-755, yet another Ancient City they'd discovered. They had been sent on a simple recon mission to determine the condition of the Ancient City and the viability of setting up another base. There had been no sign of the Wraith when they'd first sent the MALP through three days earlier, nor in the days since. Yet, here they were.
Had it not been for the personal shield devices McKay had perfected and given them for testing, Logan and her team would be Wraith-fodder right now. The stunner blasts had come unexpectedly out of nowhere, and they'd been forced to take cover before they could reach the control room.
She'd counted ten Wraith, so far, and could only hope there weren't more once they got the upper hand against these. They'd taken out four already, so that made the odds a little better. THAT and the fact that they were wearing personal shields, which would prevent any real injury should the Wraith actually get their hands on them.
Their ammo supply was depleting pretty rapidly since it took so much to bring down a single Wraith and keep him down. They couldn't call for back up, since the gate had already shut down and there was no way for them to reach the DHD at the moment, so they had no choice but to continue to fight and hope they didn't run out. Three more went down at once, and Logan ordered her team to press their advantage so they could reach the control room.
Two more went down as they mounted the stairs, leaving only a single Wraith in their way. She saw him lunge at Bates with enough force to knock him backwards off the balcony, but she knew the inertial dampeners would keep Bates from even feeling the fall. Logan emptied the rest of her P-90 clip into the Wraith as he turned to come for her next. He finally went down when he came within two feet of her, and Bates, having charged back up the stairs, pumped a few more rounds into him just to make sure he was gone.
"Dial the gate!" Logan ordered.
Bates went to the DHD and dialed home. As soon as the event horizon established, Logan keyed her mike. "Atlantis, this is Devane. We need backup, NOW, to search and secure the city, as well as more ammo."
"What's your situation, Colonel?" asked Caldwell.
"There were Wraith here, sir. We took out ten of them just to get to the control room, but we don't know if there are any more elsewhere in the city. Our ammo is seriously depleted, but thanks to the shield devices, my team is unharmed. We could use that back up now, sir," she finished breathlessly.
"Understood, they're on their way. Caldwell out."
Bates shut down the gate, and they all took up defensive positions around the control room, watching and waiting for another attack. Within three minutes, an incoming wormhole was established and five SG teams poured through from Atlantis, including Sheppard's team. After supplying them with fresh ammo, and a quick discussion of strategy, the six teams set about searching and securing the city. The gate was left open for as long as possible, so additional teams could be sent through at a moment's notice, if needed, and so Caldwell and Weir could hear everything that was going on.
After several hours, their search was almost complete. This was a much smaller city than any of the others, so it didn't take nearly as long to search it as it had the others. They didn't encounter any other Wraith until they'd reached the fourth and final level of the city. Logan pulled Sheppard out of the way and stepped directly into the blast of a stunner weapon she'd seen fired from down the hall. She was protected by a personal shield, whereas Sheppard was not, she reminded him when he glared at her reproachfully.
What appeared to be a single Wraith kept firing continuous blasts with his stunner, trying to keep them pinned back.
"I get the feeling he doesn't want us to come down there and see what he's been up to!" Sheppard shouted.
"I think you're right!" Logan replied.
"So, you know this means we HAVE to, right?" he arched an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah... Me first!" she shouted and then darted down the hall, firing her own weapon at him.
The Wraith retreated behind a column to avoid her shots, allowing Sheppard and Ronon to follow her without fear of being stunned. When they drew closer, the Wraith lunged out from behind the column and was immediately hit by shots from all three weapons. He went down, but continued to struggle to get back to his feet. Ronon emptied his gun into the Wraith's head until he stopped moving for good.
Once the noise died down, they could all hear the distinct sound of a baby crying.
"What the hell...?" Sheppard murmured.
The three of them ran to a door at the end of the hall and skidded to a halt in front of what could only be described as an incubator. Inside, there was a tiny, squirming bundle wrapped in blankets and crying at the top of its lungs. Sheppard nudged Logan toward it first.
"Why me?" she glowered at him.
"You're better with babies than we are," he grinned slyly.
"Liar!" she snorted.
Nevertheless, she stepped forward and reached down to pick up the screaming infant. As she lifted it, the blanket shifted and she caught a glimpse of its face and gasped out loud.
"What?" Sheppard asked, stepping forward to see.
Logan held on to the infant, but looked decidedly uncomfortable as she turned the protesting baby toward Sheppard and Ronon. Both men stopped in their tracks and looked at each other uncertainly.
"It's a..." Sheppard trailed off.
"Wraith!" Dex finished for him.
"Oh my God..." Logan muttered, wanting to put the infant down but somehow unwilling to.
A moment later Teyla, Bates and Lorne came running down the hall and into the room.
"What is happening...?" Teyla began.
"A baby?!" Bates asked.
Lorne froze, the first of them to notice the infant's unmistakeable lineage. "A WRAITH baby."
No one had offered to take the child from Logan's arms, so she continued to hold the wailing, squirming infant.
"Uh... Okay..." keying his mike. "Atlantis, this is Sheppard..."
A moment later they heard Caldwell's voice respond.
"We uh...we need Beckett here to... make some assessments..."
"Do you have injured?" he asked.
"No sir...we have...that is we FOUND...something..."
Caldwell looked over at Weir. "Is it just me or does he sound a little freaked out?"
"No, he does..." Weir replied.
"What is it, Colonel?" Caldwell asked.
"Well, sir... It's a... baby," Sheppard stammered a reply.
Caldwell and Weir exchanged shocked glances. "Say again?" Weir asked.
"A baby," Sheppard repeated.
"Can't you just bring it back to Atlantis?" she asked.
"Negative... At least not until Beckett sees it and...clears it..."
"What's wrong with it?" Caldwell asked, wondering to himself why they didn't refer to the baby as a him or her.
"It's a... Wraith baby, sir..." Sheppard replied.
"We'll send him right out," Caldwell responded.
"Oh and sir?"
"Yes, Colonel?"
"Could you maybe have him bring some formula or something... I think it's... hungry."
Everyone who heard that cringed.
"Understood."
Beckett arrived five minutes later, baby formula in tow. Rather than take the infant from Logan, he simply stuck a baby bottle in her hand and began pulling out his instruments.
"Go ahead Luv, I'll have an easier time examining the child if it's not squirming about," he smiled encouragingly.
Logan shrugged, knowing no one was about to trade places with her, and took a seat in a nearby chair. She pulled the child closer and placed the tip of the bottle near its mouth. After a few seconds, the child caught on and greedily latched onto the bottle and began eating voraciously. It settled in calmly, molding itself comfortably into Logan's arms. Beckett waited a moment and then cautiously started loosening the blankets around it so he could begin his examination. The child didn't fuss or even raise an eyebrow as Beckett poked and prodded, content to lay in Logan's arms and eat.
"Well, we can stop calling it an *it* and start calling her a girl..." he announced.
"A girl..." Sheppard muttered.
"Come on now, all of you...We know from past experience that the wee ones don't feed on humans, so we're all perfectly safe." Beckett scolded.
"Still..." Sheppard began warily.
"What the hell were they doing with a baby... here?" Lorne asked.
"Good question," Sheppard agreed.
"We have found no others within the city... They were, perhaps, a family group?" Teyla offered.
"There were no females... OTHER females," Bates pointed out.
The baby finished off the bottle and began crying for more.
"Hungry little thing..." Logan observed.
Beckett reached into his bag and pulled out a second bottle, handing it to Logan. She immediately put the bottle to the infant's mouth and she began hungrily draining that one immediately.
"What do we do now?" Lorne asked.
None of them appeared very comfortable with the notion of having a Wraith in Atlantis, albeit a very small Wraith, but they couldn't very well leave the infant alone somewhere.
"Well, we're going to have to take her back with us," Beckett announced.
"You better clear that with Caldwell, Doc." Sheppard advised him.
"Why don't you go clear it with him, while I finish checking her over?" Beckett countered.
He looked down at Logan, who appeared more comfortable now. She nodded and smiled to assure him that she was fine. Sheppard, Bates, Teyla, Lorne and Dex left them there and went about their duties.
THE FOLLOWING DAY
"She needs a name," Logan announced.
"Oh God, you're bonding with it," Sheppard groaned.
"I am not!" she protested. "But we can't keep calling her 'she' or 'her' or 'it'... Besides, YOU'RE the one always naming the Wraith we've captured!"
"Three! I've named three!"
"Because you needed to call them SOMETHING... We need to call HER something."
Sheppard looked at her, trying to gauge any unspoken feelings she might be developing for the infant they'd found. "She's not like Sammy, you know?" he said seriously.
"I know that. But she IS just a baby... Right now she's completely innocent."
Sheppard winced at that. Even if she were just an infant, he had a hard time reconciling the words Wraith and innocence in the same sentence.
"Come on, John, I know you have more compassion than that. She can't help her bloodlines any more than you or I can. And maybe, just maybe, we'll have a chance to keep her from becoming like the others of her kind."
"If Beckett's suspicions turn out to be right, maybe we can. But that's a BIG maybe, sweetheart."
"I realize that. But if he's right, then we have real hope for turning things around, don't we?"
"Maybe, but that's not likely in our lifetime," he reminded her.
"But our kids... Assuming that when we have kids we'll all be allowed to stay here in Pegasus, of course."
Sheppard smiled at the thought. He'd always wanted kids, but had never given much serious thought to it before he and Logan got together. He'd never tried to picture, before, what they might be like, or look like... Now it was easy for him to picture them. (Yes, he wanted more than one.) In his mind, they all had Logan's looks, in one way or another. He prayed that none of them would be "blessed" with his hair. They would all love sports and flying, of course, as well as surfing, just like their parents. None of them, however, looked anything like the tiny Wraith girl they brought back and who was now sleeping in a crib in the infirmary.
Yes, he felt compassion for the little orphan. He agreed with Logan that it wasn't her fault that she'd been born of the Wraith. He'd come to trust that she was far too young to display any of her Wraith tendencies yet, and could even admit that the child was rather sweet, except when she was hungry; and she had a voracious appetite for an infant. Otherwise, she was at least as enchanting as any human baby tended to be. There would come a time, someday, when her Wraith lineage would take over and she would become just like the others of her race; feeding on humans.
"Admit it, you think she's kinda cute," Logan demanded.
"Sure she is... She's helpless right now. Just give her a few years..." he trailed off meaningfully.
Logan thwacked him playfully. "You're not nearly as gruff as you like people to believe!"
A sudden knock at the door prevented him from doing what he wanted to do; which was pick her up, throw her down on the bed and have his wicked way with her. Logan smiled, recognizing the gleam in his eye. "Later," she whispered as she went to answer the door.
"Oh good, you're both here!" Beckett said as he and Fraser walked in.
"What did you find?" she asked.
"Carson was right... All the tests confirmed it..." Fraser replied.
"So what can we do about it?" Sheppard asked.
"We're not entirely sure... But it does give us some interesting possibilities."
"We can't even be sure that this isn't how all of them start out, initially, but I'm thinking not... The others we've tested have all had very little human DNA in them. While that could be from age..." he shook his head. "No, I definitely think this wee one is different. She has so MUCH human DNA in her... too much, I think for the Wraith DNA to overcome."
"So you still think they were experimenting on human women?" Sheppard asked, clearly sickened at the thought.
"Much as I hate to think about that... Yes, I do." Beckett admitted.
LATER
"That much?" Weir asked.
"That much," Beckett replied.
"Why would they do that?" Caldwell asked.
"It may have been unintentional on their part, or it could be what they were going for all along. We can never know for sure, since there's no one left to question."
"They hardly gave us a choice, Carson," Logan said defensively.
"I know that Luv, I'm not criticizing. I just hope we can find something they might have left behind that might give us some answers. Any information on their experiments, what they were trying to accomplish... Anything."
"And, as of right now, you have no way of knowing for sure whether or not her DNA will... mutate... whether the Wraith part will take over?" Caldwell asked.
"No way of knowing for sure, no... But if I were a betting man, I'd say it's not likely. The child is about 90% human, after all... The odds that only 10% of her DNA can overcome that...?" he shrugged and shook his head.
"Well, has there been any sign that the Wraith have tried to get back into the new city?" Weir asked, glancing at Logan.
"None so far. The shields are now up and running, Carter and McKay are going through the Ancient database there, and we haven't found anything left behind by the Wraith, except for the baby and her incubator; which is still there by the way."
"Maybe there's something in that incubator..." Caldwell ventured.
"I'll have McKay check it out," Logan said.
"What do we do about the baby? I understand we're having a problem finding a permanent nanny?" Weir asked.
"My nursing staff is far too busy to care for her full-time, they've been taking turns, and everyone else works... I thought maybe someone from the mainland, but..."
"They're afraid of her," Logan finished for him.
"I'm afraid so," Beckett confirmed. "Dr. Fraser wanted to take her, but she's as busy as the rest of us," he added.
"Maybe we need to have someone sent from Earth?" Weir ventured.
"That might not be a bad idea. Someone with the proper training, and who won't want to cut her open and see what she's made of," Beckett interjected.
"We really should name her, you know," Logan groused.
"Teyla had a thought about that," Beckett said.
"What is it?" Weir asked.
"Hope."
"It's certainly fitting," Weir said.
"I like it... I mean, that IS what she represents, in one form or another, right?" Logan pointed out.
"Fine with me," Caldwell said.
"Hope it is, then," Beckett grinned.
"Who's with her now?" Logan asked.
"Teyla. She's been spending a lot of time with her," Beckett replied.
As soon as the meeting broke up, Logan first went to the control room to contact McKay. Once she'd communicated what she wanted him to look for, and where, she went to the infirmary to check on Hope. She stood in the doorway, watching Teyla with the baby. She was a natural, Logan thought. The fierce warrior had developed quite a soft spot for little Hope, and the infant seemed to return her affection. Teyla suddenly turned in her direction, sensing someone's eyes upon her, and smiled warmly.
"Hi Teyla," Logan greeted her.
"Hello Logan," she replied.
"I understand this little one has you to thank for her new name?"
"It seemed to fit," Teyla shrugged.
"It does at that. How's she doing?"
"She is doing very well. She certainly has a healthy appetite," Teyla chuckled. "She usually downs two bottles before she begins to feel satisfied."
"That's amazing," Logan agreed.
"Would you care to hold her?"
"Sure, thank you."
Teyla stood up and reliquished the rocker to Logan, gently placing the baby in her arms once she sat down. Logan kept rocking as they talked for a while before Teyla excused herself to take a break. She softly sang a little to Hope, who genuinely appeared to enjoy it. Her eyes always seemed to focus in on Logan's, as though she could understand her words and thoughts. There was something in Hope's eyes that screamed "old soul" to Logan. There was a wisdom behind those eyes that couldn't possibly be there, at least not yet. She started as Teal'c came in behind her and cleared his throat.
"I believe it is my turn, Logan Devane," he said with a smile.
Logan graciously relinquished Hope into Teal'c's arms. It was both touching and amusing to see the giant Jaffa cuddling the tiny infant girl. He seemed as smitten with Hope as Teyla was. Probably a good thing, she thought, given that Teyla had taken to spending almost every free moment with her. Logan chatted with Teal'c for a while longer, then excused herself to go and check on McKay's progress in the new city.
When she arrived, she found McKay and Carter enjoying a private joke together. Carter looked somewhat guilty and even blushed a little when she saw Logan come in, as though Logan had caught them in the middle of something very private. She had to stifle a grin, since it seemed like Carter was the only one who believed that her burgeoning romance with McKay was in any way a secret to the rest of them.
"How's it going kids?" she chirped in very O'Neill-like fashion.
"Great!" answered McKay.
"What have you found?"
"More of the usual. But... I did find something in that Wraith incubator thing..." holding up a Wraith data device.
"Fabulous!"
"We're still working on deciphering everything, but there's a lot of information on the data device regarding the experiment this particular group was conducting... on Wraith-Human reproduction," Carter informed her.
"That's what we were hoping to find. What have you learned so far?"
"Not a lot... Apparently this group was trying to incorporate more human traits into the Wraith line... Not sure WHY that is, but they used as many as ten human women, so far, to experiment on, trying to bring about a more Human-looking, or acting, Wraith species."
"I'm not sure if that would be good or bad," Logan admitted.
"It could go either way," Carter said. "If they wanted to do this to more easily infiltrate human wolds without detection that would be bad... If they were actually doing it to change their ways, their feeding habits..."
"One could only hope!" Logan interjected.
"Right... We'll know more as we get through deciphering the rest of the data."
"I can't wait," she snarked. "I'm going to go take a look around while you two get back to work."
"See you later!" McKay waved.
With the city fully secured, and the shields fully operational, there was little for Logan to do, security-wise. She took advantage of the free time to fully look at each room. She was in the middle of reading through some info she found in one of the labs when Mitchell walked into the room, startling her. They hadn't really had a chance to talk, on a personal level, since she'd gotten her memory back. Her face flushed at Mitchell's expression of yearning. Even though she hadn't known at the time, she felt so guilty for leading him on the way she had, before Sheppard told her the truth about them.
"Logan," he grinned tentatively.
He'd known something had changed between them, though they hadn't had a chance to talk yet, even before she'd gotten her memory back.
"Hi Cam," she smiled warmly.
"I...uh... I heard you got your memory back," he eyed her curiously.
"I did."
"You must be relieved."
"I am," she smiled happily.
"So... now you remember why we... you... why you only wanted to be friends," he stammered.
Her face flushed again as she thought back to the kiss they'd shared. "It isn't as cut and dried as that, Cam."
"No?"
"No."
Mitchell stepped forward and stood before her. "Tell me then... Please, Logan... I'm usually pretty good at recognizing when someone returns my affection and I... Was I wrong?"
Logan shook her head negatively. "No, you weren't wrong... Not really."
"What does that mean?" he prodded.
"I... Cam... Damn... You are unbelievably attractive..." he smiled broadly at that. "I... You know why I... the first time... why I was uncomfortable with the... you know... getting romantically involved with you. It had nothing to do with YOU as a person, right?"
"I remember," he nodded.
"The whole 'It's not you, it's me' thing seems a bit convenient, but it really is true. I wasn't in a place where *I* felt comfortable being in a relationship with anybody, much less someone who could hurt me as much as you could..."
"You were afraid I would hurt you? Logan, I would never..."
She held up a hand to stop him. "I know you wouldn't intentionally hurt me, Cam. I just... I was still dealing with some residual Daniel-stuff, and then there was that whole being-held-hostage-for-a-year-stuff I was trying to put behind me... I needed time to just be... ME... I guess. I couldn't handle being part of an 'US' at that time..."
"I see."
"I'm not trying to make excuses, feeble as my reasoning might sound," she assured him.
"I don't think your reasons are feeble. At least you're being honest, that's all I ask."
"Always," she assured him.
"So... You WERE attracted to me?" he flashed her a wicked grin.
"Of course, I'm only human."
"Careful," he grinned. "I may try to put some moves on you for that!" he teased.
"I stand warned, Colonel."
"And now... You were attracted to me... that day...?"
Logan blushed. "I.. Yes," she admitted.
"Buuuuut...?" he prodded.
"I..." she turned away and took a deep breath.
"There's someone else now, isn't there?"
Logan whipped around to look up into his eyes. "Yes... I'm sorry, Cam... How did you know?"
"I wasn't absolutely sure, but there's something in your eyes... Regret maybe? Over letting me kiss you?"
"Guilt, regret, embarrassment... Take your pick!" she chuckled nervously.
"That bad, eh?" he teased.
"I would never want to hurt you for anything, I swear to you... I never meant to lead you on."
"Hey," he reached out and took her hands in his. "I know that, Logan. You don't have it in you."
"I'm so sorry," she said, her eyes brimming with tears.
"We all take risks, Lo. I took a chance that all your reasons for not wanting to be with me before didn't matter anymore. I wanted you enough to take that chance... I knew it might not happen, but it was worth the risk."
"You're sure about that now?"
"As sure as when I decided to pursue you again, and I'm not sorry I did... Except for the obvious pain it caused you..."
"It's not like that..."
"Just tell me this: If it weren't for this other guy, would we have had a chance?"
"Are you sure you want me to answer that?" she arched an eyebrow at him.
He smiled and physically braced himself. "Yes."
She looked him right in the eye, squeezing his hands as she replied: "You bet your ass we could have had a chance."
He smiled broadly at that. "Well then... any chance you might be dumping this other guy in the near future?"
She continued to look him in the eye. "No, Cam... I'm sorry, but I don't see that ever happening."
"It's that serious?" he gaped at her.
"It is."
"Wow," he shook his head but didn't walk away. "Should I be pricing wedding gifts?" he joked.
"For an old military broad like me? Nah!"
"Well... He better keep treating you like a queen..."
"Cam... No one else knows about this. We'd like to keep things... private."
"I wasn't going to ask..."
"I know. But others would, if they knew I was seeing someone."
"Well, they won't hear it from me. I just... I want you to be happy."
"I am... And I want YOU to be happy, too."
Mitchell nodded. "Thanks. I will be."