Chapter 68

2008

"Where's Johnson?" Evan whispered in the cool semi-darkness as soon as the steps had receded. Alex hadn't even noticed she wasn't there anymore. But neither were Sheppard, McKay or Ronon, and that was what terrified her. Somewhere on the way to the pick-up point from where they'd been scooped up by a Wraith dart, she'd lost track of them. That steadying hand on her shoulder had just disappeared.

This was the first time she was trapped on a Hive, and it just told her that her life on Atlantis hadn't been half as risky as her work for the SGC had been. The atmosphere within, the chilly air which was the complete opposite from the heat streaming off the strangely elastic floor made her feel sick. Evan had caught her when they'd been released on the vast Dart Bay and she'd lost her balance when a wave of nausea hit her. But he'd been there just like he always had been.

"Not here," Ba'al said loftily, sitting down on the only bench in their little cell with a smug self-importance which made Alex want to strangle him.

"Funny," she shot back with a derisive undertone, "how much you apparently care about your mate." She'd never understand these Goa'uld. But she doubted Ba'al cared about anything but his power. Well, that was certainly lost. Especially with the people who had fought his battles for him turning on him merely a year after first making an appearance in Pegasus.

"I do not believe her whereabouts concern you. "

He doesn't know either. With a snort, she leaned against the wall behind her and recoiled at once. It wasn't solid. Far from it: the dark blue structure had given way like actual tissue! Shuddering, she took a step back and sat down on the floor, ignoring the soft warmth still rising from the elastic ground. Living organisms, she told herself. These Wraith ships were just that. But her feet were aching and so was her back. Standing up long periods of time was slowly but surely getting more difficult. She refused to think about the fact that she might not have to worry about that anymore for long.

"Well, it does," Evan said quietly, as he turned away from the web-like cell door, his voice full of hatred, his hands balled into fists. And Alex got it. She really did. Ba'al was talking about someone who wasn't, who really couldn't be nobody to either of them.

Not entirely, no matter how often they called her Johnson. "Not that thing you put inside her, but the host. And you know it, or you wouldn't have chosen her."

Ba'al raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Don't worry, she's not the only one."

Without another word Evan lunged himself at him, grabbing him by the collar and throwing him to the ground. She'd never seen him like that. Had never seen him lose control this way and it took her a moment to react and move away, as Evan leaned over Ba'al, holding him tight, his face white with rage. "I'm going to kill you," he breathed through gritted teeth. "A thousand times over if need be. I just hope there are enough of you."

Ba'al lay frozen, his eyes widened in shock, his hands on Evan's wrists. A soft thud echoed through the cell as Evan let him go and Ba'al's head hit the ground.

After that, Ba'al held his tongue.


Alex watched on as Evan was bent low over their daughter, wet wipe discarded on the floor. He held Nora's feet in one hand and was pushing the nappy under her bottom with the other. He has his tongue between his teeth as he frowned at what his hands were doing. She'd rarely seen him this focused. Well, when he'd been whittling, he'd sometimes put his tongue between his teeth, or when he was drawing something particularly tricky, but this he couldn't fling to the side when he didn't succeed. Not that he'd ever done much of that.

She hadn't even tried it yet. So far, she'd only held their daughter. So far, she'd fed her, but she still felt like Nora wasn't really theirs. It'd come too suddenly and it would take a while to get used to. And yet, she still felt like she'd never seen anything more beautiful in her life.

Slowly she walked closer and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

He let out a long breath. "Do you think this is okay?"

"Looks okay," she said, looking down at their daughter as she lay on the changing table, cooing and stretching all fours away from her and Alex's heart skipped a beat.

Could she love this child?

No doubt about it. She was already starting to, no matter how strange it felt to have her in their house. This was what they'd been fighting for. This was what these past weeks had been about. And yet… living here, living here with Evan was strange to say the least. The routine was so different from what it had been on Larsa. There were so many things here; items and appliances she'd longed for but had made do without. Could their relationship survive this new environment? Was Nora being back with them the key to that? Or was it the reason for them being together in the first place? Would things change? If so, how fast? And how long would it take for them to fall apart again because they weren't strong enough?

Evan put a hand on both of hers, his fingertips stroking her skin. "Do you want me to cook something?"

"Of course I do," she smiled, pushing away her doubts and her fears. She'd missed him. On Larsa she'd relied on him. In Trier, she'd been longing for him. She loved him now and there was just no use worrying about that moment when things might fall apart. Because, for once, things might just be alright. Things might just be good and stay that way.


"McKay is here," Evan said quietly. He was sitting on the ground next to Alex, their legs touching, while Ba'al was lying on the bench, his back turned to them as he pouted silently at the wall. Evan was sure he should regret his action. A professional shouldn't lose their head the way he had, but Ba'al tended to bring out the worst in him.

Alex nodded. "Sheppard and Ronon too."

"I figured as much. But I haven't seen them since we were on that planet."

"What do you think happened?"

He tenderly put a hand on her knee and shook his head. "I can't be sure."

"If your friends are here, then they must have stowed away on my ship," Ba'al said, his face still turned to the wall. The voice made Evan's insides clench.

"Your new Jaffa armour hid them well enough."

Ba'al scoffed, but didn't turn around. "They're not Jaffa."

"Because you don't trust that system anymore, we get that." Alex put her hand on Evan's and squeezed his fingers. They were dry and warm. She was still afraid, but the appearance of Sheppard must have given her hope. It'd had the same effect on Evan, too.

Ba'al didn't answer at first, but after a moment he sat up and turned around to look at them again. "A Jaffa army is difficult to maintain without a constant supply of Goa'uld larva."

"Don't you have enough clones?" Evan scowled at him.

The mocking smile was just a paper thin façade. This must be unnerving to him. First he'd lost most of his domain in the Milky Way galaxy and now his followers in Pegasus had deserted him to rejoin an enemy so much more powerful than he was. "You may recall that the Goa'uld population is not growing anymore."

"That's why you needed Astarte," Alex said quietly her hands balled into fists. "Why you needed a host for her."

He'd figured as much too. Astarte was a Goa'uld queen, capable of producing the prim'ta. Ba'al had wanted a host possessing the ATA gene naturally in order to pass on that particular genetic material to the offspring she would then produce and which Ba'al could then manipulate even more. "I'm surprised you thought of this yourself."

Ba'al grunted.

"He didn't," Alex said, her eyes fixed on the former System Lord. "Apophis thought of it first."

Evan stared at her for a moment, caught by surprise by her words. And then it clicked and he remembered his first few months at the SGC and the first of SG-1's mission reports he'd read. They were searching for the child the System Lord Apophis had fathered. The child who possessed all the knowledge of the Goa'uld, because he was born to two Goa'uld hosts. Evan felt bile rising in his throat and he was almost relieved to hear footsteps approaching again.

Almost. Because he knew what they meant. He got to his feet and, without asking, pulled Alex with him, pushing her behind him, knowing full well there was precious little he could do to protect her. But at least the time of sitting around, of waiting and listening to Ba'al was over. "Alex, whatever happens-" he whispered and she nudged him in the ribs, telling him to be quiet. And she was right. There was nothing to be said that hadn't be said a thousand times. No touches to be exchanged that could stop either of them being terrified. And yet he still felt her hand on his shoulder, her breath on his neck.

And then the floor shook beneath them and in the distance he heard the familiar rumbling sound of explosions.


She was standing in her office, staring blankly at the black screen of her computer.

Daniel was dead.

After returning from a mission with her team, she'd heard about the accident on Kelowna and immediately she'd gone to see him. And she was glad she had, if only to say goodbye.

Her eyes were burning as the futility of it all hit her again.

Gone.

Just gone.

In the blink of an eye, like his life was meant end like this all along. Like a surprising full stop at the end of a sentence that was too short. After all he'd done for the people of this planet. After all he'd been through.

The pain in her chest was almost unbearable as she sat down on her chair, unable to keep standing anymore.

She knew next to nothing about what had happened on that planet, but she was sure Balinsky would tell her soon enough. He'd been there through the whole ordeal. He'd left about three minutes ago after telling her that Daniel had died. Died… or ascended. Whatever difference that could possibly make.

Alex found herself staring at her notebooks and the post-it on top of the stack closest to the edge of her desk. The energetic strokes of a practiced hand, which made reading a real task for anyone not used to it. Daniel's handwriting. Swallowing hard, she picked up the post-it.

Thanks! I made a copy. Let's talk when you're back! Daniel

Well, she was back.

But he was gone.

She carefully picked up the Sellotape and stuck the note to the frame of her computer, feeling like she was already giving in to the news.

The burning sensation in her eyes made her shut them immediately and she wrapped her arms around her torso, wishing for someone to talk to. Wishing there was somebody in this room with her who would know how she felt. How helpless and useless she was. Because, really, what would the Stargate Program be, what would this whole place be without Daniel in it?

But there was nobody. Going to talk to Carter was out of the question. Bothering her wasn't her place and she wasn't close either with her, or with Balinsky… she was alone… and there was only one person she wanted to talk to right now, but Evan was off-world, and he wouldn't be back for another day at least.

Alex took a hiccupping breath, wiped her eyes and made for the door. She was done in here for the day.


Evan's broad shoulders shielded her view. She could feel the tension in his muscles as he took a step back from the cell door and reached behind him. The back of his hand grazed her belly and as soon as he touched her, she could feel their son kicking, as though in fear. Tears shot into her eyes. The distant explosions were ringing in her ears, almost like they were right beside them.

She heard a shuffling of clothes as Ba'al got to his feet. But this wasn't about him anymore. They might be in this situation because of him, but that was about it. Right now, at this very moment, all that mattered was Evan and their child and that all of it was lost if those explosions weren't happening because of Sheppard's team.

The pace of the approaching footsteps picked up and the gentle stroke of Evan's thumb over her belly was like a friendly reminder that their time was up and he dropped his hand. She still felt it when the Wraith appeared and the door slid open.

"What?" Ba'al said, stepping forward just as the Wraith who had captured them motioned for the drones to wait outside in the corridor. Two of them. Tall and muscular and their appearance enough to have Alex shaking from head to foot.

"How did your friends get on board?" The Wraith hissed, his eyes flashing dangerously in the dark.

"Where is-" Ba'al began, but he was pushed to the side with a single sweep of the Wraith's hand. He hit the wall, gasping for breath and clutching his throat where the Wraith had hit him.

"I am asking the questions, human!"

Evan straightened his shoulders but didn't speak. It was them then. Sheppard and his team had managed to sneak onboard. "Who's saying you're getting answers?"

The Wraith's head snapped around towards him and Alex barely had time to move forward, as its feeding hand shot forward, pushing Evan back as he hit him squarely in the chest.


A/N: Again, sorry this took so long, but typing is a bit difficult at the moment. I cut my finger, you see? I'm ok though, and it's healing rather nicely. Also, I intended this chapter to be longer, but I figured this was a good moment to leave you wanting more. 😊