p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Heart's second awakening was similar to her first, with sound being the first sense to break through the darkness in her mind. A faint, steady beep grew louder as she came to. She was lying down on a soft surface, arms at her sides. Eyes slowly cracked open as she tried to make sense of her surroundings./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"When bright light once again burned her eyes, Heart groaned and tried to raise a hand to shield her gaze but found her limb unable to move. Memories rushed back to her and her eyes widened, heedless of the light. She tried to move and realized that her arms and legs were tightly restrained, leaving just her head free to rise a few inches so she could look around. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Brown walls and two men dressed in green at one corner met her frightened gaze, and she heard the beeping that had awoken her speed up. She looked away from the humans, one of which seemed to be talking quietly while holding his ear, and spotted a machine next to her bed, with wires that stretched from it to her chest. The machine displayed what was obviously her heartrate, which, at the moment, was fast and erratic. Glancing down at herself, she saw that her dark leather clothing had been replaced with a thin white top and matching pants. A bandage peeked from under the short sleeve on her right shoulder./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Lying her head back down, Heart took a few slow breaths before jerking her limbs as hard as she could to try and free herself. The effort proved useless, however, and she relaxed again, biting her lip as she contemplated her situation. Without any other recourse, she found herself staring unblinkingly at the ceiling, trying to slow her breathing and pulse as she berated her inability to hide her fear./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"She heard a quiet whoosh and looked back towards the human guards. The woman that had been dressed in white before walked through the now open door, holding a small tray. Her hair was still pulled back, but she was no longer wearing the mask over her mouth and nose, and she had changed into a dark long-sleeved shirt and pants. She nodded at the guards and then walked towards the bed, smiling. The door slid shut behind her and Heart watched the woman approach with distrust./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""You're awake! I thought you might want some food." The woman gestured to the tray in her hands as she set it down on a small table near Heart's bed. She moved to step closer but stopped as the young wraith gave a small growl, shifting on the small bed and pulling uselessly at her restraints. The men stepped away from their post causing the woman to turn and acknowledge them. "It's alright." They stopped, but remained where they were, ready to intervene if needed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"The woman turned back, kind smile still in place. "My name is Dr. Keller. I'm going to sit you up so I can check your shoulder." She spoke calmly and soothingly, and the girl watched her warily, but remained silent as the doctor moved to the side of the bed and pressed a button that slowly raised the front half of the bed; within a minute, the wraith was moved into a sitting position. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Heart kept still, her muscles tense as the doctor moved to her once-injured shoulder and pushed up the sleeve of her shirt. The tape holding the bandage in place was carefully removed, revealing smooth, pale flesh beneath. She heard the human give a chuckle and she glanced up, surprised./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""I'm sorry. It just amazes me how quickly wraith can heal," Dr. Keller said, answering the unasked question. The young wraith looked down, not sure how she was supposed to react to that. She listened as the woman walked around the bed, but didn't look up. "So, we ran some tests while you were...sleeping, and it looks like your body can still process regular food?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"The last bit was posed as a question, and Heart looked up at the tray of food now being offered to her, then into the eyes of Dr. Keller. She bit her lip, but before she could decide if she should respond, the aroma of the food reached her nostrils, and her stomach gave a small growl of its own. She flushed and nodded slowly as the doctor's grin returned. She didn't move as the tray was set in her lap. The doctor then moved to the restraint on the girl's left wrist-her non-feeding hand, she noticed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""Now, if I let your hand free to eat, you won't attack me, right?" Her tone held a hint of uncertainty, causing Heart to look at the doctor again, then at the two guards by the door, both tense as they watched the interaction. The young wraith sullenly knew that she would be shot again before she had the chance to do anything, like free herself, and shook her head. The doctor nodded before she slowly undid the clasp and loosened the strap before stepping back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Heart cautiously pulled her hand free and studied the food in front of her, not recognizing all of it, but able to deduce what she was being offered. She glanced at Dr. Keller, who nodded encouragingly, and carefully picked up a piece of pale bread. Taking a bite, she slowly chewed and swallowed, watching the kind-seeming doctor out of the corner of her eye. /spanspan style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"As she finished the bread and picked up a thin strip of meat, Dr. Keller retreated a few steps and began typing something into a datapad./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Heart allowed her eyes to roam the room, taking in more than just bare details. The walls of the room were some type of brown metal, broken up with odd patterns of tan and blue rectangles and squares. Directly in front of her and several feet off the ground was a large window; though it was dimly lit, she could see that beyond the glass was some kind of small room-it was probably just to allow those within to look down upon her prison./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Her nose wrinkled at the thought of once again being "studied", pausing midway through her second strip of the crispy meat. Lowering her gaze and trying not to think about the implication of being at the mercy of these humans, Heart at last discreetly glanced over at the doorway, noting its distance from her position, and looking for some kind of mechanism to open it. Completely unfamiliar with human structures and technology, she wasn't able to determine much with just a sideways glance, only that there didn't seem to be a handle on this side of the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Just as she was about to take another bite, Heart's gaze caught that of the doctor's, who was now watching her with clear fascination. She narrowed her cat-like eyes in irritation and glared at the woman, who finally looked away, glancing down at her datapad. Wraith pride and arrogance warred against her fear and uncertainty at being in this strange place. Her only experience with humans, aside from passive worshippers, had been those brought aboard the hive to feed upon, and they had shown nothing but fear towards their captors. She was now at emtheir/em mercy, however much she had been taught that humans were a lesser species./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Her inner struggle was disturbed by the door once again opening, and Heart tensed as Teyla and the shorter man entered. Both wore smiles as they approached, though his was more sarcastic while Teyla wore the same kind expression as before. The girl leaned back against the bed, preparing for the line of questioning they were probably about to initiate as she gazed blankly at the wall, food forgotten./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""How's our 'friend' doing?" the man asked, and Heart felt his gaze boring into her face, but she refused to acknowledge him. Her eyes darted to the heartrate monitor next to her, willing her pulse to remain even and not betray her nervousness. Teyla remained silent beside him, though the wraith felt a tentative telepathic nudge, almost an invitation to open up to the woman. Heart set her jaw and blocked the feeling even as she marveled at a human's ability to attempt such a feat./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""She's completely healed," Dr. Keller answered, looking down at her notes. "And so far, it seems that the scans were correct-her body can still sustain itself through a regular diet, though we'll have to run some more tests this afternoon to be sure." The doctor turned her gaze to her patient, who still refused to look at the trio, though she had dropped the meat she was holding back onto the tray. Heart couldn't help the stab of betrayal she felt towards the doctor, the first being that had shown her any sort of empathy in a long time./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Apparently, the food hadn't been a mere kindness on the humans' part, but simply part of another test she would be forced to endure for curious minds. emHumans will do anything to destroy us and can be as cunning as a wraith, /emshe had been taught-the words hitting her hard. Her hands curled into fists despite her desire to remain calm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""You know, it's kinda rude to ignore your hosts," the man stated, his tone light as if he didn't actually expect a reaction. Heart wasn't about to give him one, and continued to glare at the wall. "Has she said anything? What about a name?" His questions were again aimed at the doctor, who shook her head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""Nothing since she's woken up," Dr. Keller confirmed, frowning. Out of the corner of her eye, the girl saw the man nod, his smirk fading as he considered her. She felt another telepathic touch from Teyla, which she again ignored, determined not to give the humans anything./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""Well, not that we expected her to, but that game emis/em getting a little old. How about we call you…Susan?" He paused, waiting. Heart remained still even as her anger seethed at his cockiness. "No? What about Karen? Or…Subject 24?" Shock shook her as she finally turned to acknowledge him. He grinned triumphantly and nodded at her. "Yeah, we thought that might refer to you…Subject 24," he repeated, his tone mocking. Heart looked directly into his eyes, glaring darkly, which seemed to amuse him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""You see, we managed to download some of the science files from your hive before blowing it out of space, and when our geeks decrypted them, they found an interesting log describing a young wraith who could still eat just like a human, even though she shouldn't be able to, given her age. Is that you, emSubject 24/em?" he asked tauntingly. Despite the young wraith's desire to remain silent, her self-control had reached its limit./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""Don't call me that!" Heart yelled, snarling as she pulled against her restraints, wanting nothing more than to lunge at him. Having only one hand free, however, meant that all she managed to do was throw the tray of food from her lap and nearly flip the gurney. The sight of the guards raising their weapons deterred her from trying again, and she threw herself back against the bed, releasing a roar of frustration. Breathing hard as she tried to regain her self-control, she made no move when the man motioned for the guards to approach her, telling herself the decision to avoid further injury from their weapons was one of strategy and not fear./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""I think we got the information we need for now," he stated, and moved to the wraith's free hand, reapplying the restraint while the guards trained their weapons on her to discourage any resistance. She watched from the corner of her eye as Teyla knelt down to clean up the food she'd thrown to the floor. Still seething, she ignored the humans as all but the two guards left the room./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"When bright light once again burned her eyes, Heart groaned and tried to raise a hand to shield her gaze but found her limb unable to move. Memories rushed back to her and her eyes widened, heedless of the light. She tried to move and realized that her arms and legs were tightly restrained, leaving just her head free to rise a few inches so she could look around. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Brown walls and two men dressed in green at one corner met her frightened gaze, and she heard the beeping that had awoken her speed up. She looked away from the humans, one of which seemed to be talking quietly while holding his ear, and spotted a machine next to her bed, with wires that stretched from it to her chest. The machine displayed what was obviously her heartrate, which, at the moment, was fast and erratic. Glancing down at herself, she saw that her dark leather clothing had been replaced with a thin white top and matching pants. A bandage peeked from under the short sleeve on her right shoulder./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Lying her head back down, Heart took a few slow breaths before jerking her limbs as hard as she could to try and free herself. The effort proved useless, however, and she relaxed again, biting her lip as she contemplated her situation. Without any other recourse, she found herself staring unblinkingly at the ceiling, trying to slow her breathing and pulse as she berated her inability to hide her fear./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"She heard a quiet whoosh and looked back towards the human guards. The woman that had been dressed in white before walked through the now open door, holding a small tray. Her hair was still pulled back, but she was no longer wearing the mask over her mouth and nose, and she had changed into a dark long-sleeved shirt and pants. She nodded at the guards and then walked towards the bed, smiling. The door slid shut behind her and Heart watched the woman approach with distrust./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""You're awake! I thought you might want some food." The woman gestured to the tray in her hands as she set it down on a small table near Heart's bed. She moved to step closer but stopped as the young wraith gave a small growl, shifting on the small bed and pulling uselessly at her restraints. The men stepped away from their post causing the woman to turn and acknowledge them. "It's alright." They stopped, but remained where they were, ready to intervene if needed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"The woman turned back, kind smile still in place. "My name is Dr. Keller. I'm going to sit you up so I can check your shoulder." She spoke calmly and soothingly, and the girl watched her warily, but remained silent as the doctor moved to the side of the bed and pressed a button that slowly raised the front half of the bed; within a minute, the wraith was moved into a sitting position. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Heart kept still, her muscles tense as the doctor moved to her once-injured shoulder and pushed up the sleeve of her shirt. The tape holding the bandage in place was carefully removed, revealing smooth, pale flesh beneath. She heard the human give a chuckle and she glanced up, surprised./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""I'm sorry. It just amazes me how quickly wraith can heal," Dr. Keller said, answering the unasked question. The young wraith looked down, not sure how she was supposed to react to that. She listened as the woman walked around the bed, but didn't look up. "So, we ran some tests while you were...sleeping, and it looks like your body can still process regular food?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"The last bit was posed as a question, and Heart looked up at the tray of food now being offered to her, then into the eyes of Dr. Keller. She bit her lip, but before she could decide if she should respond, the aroma of the food reached her nostrils, and her stomach gave a small growl of its own. She flushed and nodded slowly as the doctor's grin returned. She didn't move as the tray was set in her lap. The doctor then moved to the restraint on the girl's left wrist-her non-feeding hand, she noticed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""Now, if I let your hand free to eat, you won't attack me, right?" Her tone held a hint of uncertainty, causing Heart to look at the doctor again, then at the two guards by the door, both tense as they watched the interaction. The young wraith sullenly knew that she would be shot again before she had the chance to do anything, like free herself, and shook her head. The doctor nodded before she slowly undid the clasp and loosened the strap before stepping back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Heart cautiously pulled her hand free and studied the food in front of her, not recognizing all of it, but able to deduce what she was being offered. She glanced at Dr. Keller, who nodded encouragingly, and carefully picked up a piece of pale bread. Taking a bite, she slowly chewed and swallowed, watching the kind-seeming doctor out of the corner of her eye. /spanspan style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"As she finished the bread and picked up a thin strip of meat, Dr. Keller retreated a few steps and began typing something into a datapad./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Heart allowed her eyes to roam the room, taking in more than just bare details. The walls of the room were some type of brown metal, broken up with odd patterns of tan and blue rectangles and squares. Directly in front of her and several feet off the ground was a large window; though it was dimly lit, she could see that beyond the glass was some kind of small room-it was probably just to allow those within to look down upon her prison./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Her nose wrinkled at the thought of once again being "studied", pausing midway through her second strip of the crispy meat. Lowering her gaze and trying not to think about the implication of being at the mercy of these humans, Heart at last discreetly glanced over at the doorway, noting its distance from her position, and looking for some kind of mechanism to open it. Completely unfamiliar with human structures and technology, she wasn't able to determine much with just a sideways glance, only that there didn't seem to be a handle on this side of the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Just as she was about to take another bite, Heart's gaze caught that of the doctor's, who was now watching her with clear fascination. She narrowed her cat-like eyes in irritation and glared at the woman, who finally looked away, glancing down at her datapad. Wraith pride and arrogance warred against her fear and uncertainty at being in this strange place. Her only experience with humans, aside from passive worshippers, had been those brought aboard the hive to feed upon, and they had shown nothing but fear towards their captors. She was now at emtheir/em mercy, however much she had been taught that humans were a lesser species./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Her inner struggle was disturbed by the door once again opening, and Heart tensed as Teyla and the shorter man entered. Both wore smiles as they approached, though his was more sarcastic while Teyla wore the same kind expression as before. The girl leaned back against the bed, preparing for the line of questioning they were probably about to initiate as she gazed blankly at the wall, food forgotten./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""How's our 'friend' doing?" the man asked, and Heart felt his gaze boring into her face, but she refused to acknowledge him. Her eyes darted to the heartrate monitor next to her, willing her pulse to remain even and not betray her nervousness. Teyla remained silent beside him, though the wraith felt a tentative telepathic nudge, almost an invitation to open up to the woman. Heart set her jaw and blocked the feeling even as she marveled at a human's ability to attempt such a feat./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""She's completely healed," Dr. Keller answered, looking down at her notes. "And so far, it seems that the scans were correct-her body can still sustain itself through a regular diet, though we'll have to run some more tests this afternoon to be sure." The doctor turned her gaze to her patient, who still refused to look at the trio, though she had dropped the meat she was holding back onto the tray. Heart couldn't help the stab of betrayal she felt towards the doctor, the first being that had shown her any sort of empathy in a long time./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"Apparently, the food hadn't been a mere kindness on the humans' part, but simply part of another test she would be forced to endure for curious minds. emHumans will do anything to destroy us and can be as cunning as a wraith, /emshe had been taught-the words hitting her hard. Her hands curled into fists despite her desire to remain calm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""You know, it's kinda rude to ignore your hosts," the man stated, his tone light as if he didn't actually expect a reaction. Heart wasn't about to give him one, and continued to glare at the wall. "Has she said anything? What about a name?" His questions were again aimed at the doctor, who shook her head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""Nothing since she's woken up," Dr. Keller confirmed, frowning. Out of the corner of her eye, the girl saw the man nod, his smirk fading as he considered her. She felt another telepathic touch from Teyla, which she again ignored, determined not to give the humans anything./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""Well, not that we expected her to, but that game emis/em getting a little old. How about we call you…Susan?" He paused, waiting. Heart remained still even as her anger seethed at his cockiness. "No? What about Karen? Or…Subject 24?" Shock shook her as she finally turned to acknowledge him. He grinned triumphantly and nodded at her. "Yeah, we thought that might refer to you…Subject 24," he repeated, his tone mocking. Heart looked directly into his eyes, glaring darkly, which seemed to amuse him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""You see, we managed to download some of the science files from your hive before blowing it out of space, and when our geeks decrypted them, they found an interesting log describing a young wraith who could still eat just like a human, even though she shouldn't be able to, given her age. Is that you, emSubject 24/em?" he asked tauntingly. Despite the young wraith's desire to remain silent, her self-control had reached its limit./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""Don't call me that!" Heart yelled, snarling as she pulled against her restraints, wanting nothing more than to lunge at him. Having only one hand free, however, meant that all she managed to do was throw the tray of food from her lap and nearly flip the gurney. The sight of the guards raising their weapons deterred her from trying again, and she threw herself back against the bed, releasing a roar of frustration. Breathing hard as she tried to regain her self-control, she made no move when the man motioned for the guards to approach her, telling herself the decision to avoid further injury from their weapons was one of strategy and not fear./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: none;"span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;""I think we got the information we need for now," he stated, and moved to the wraith's free hand, reapplying the restraint while the guards trained their weapons on her to discourage any resistance. She watched from the corner of her eye as Teyla knelt down to clean up the food she'd thrown to the floor. Still seething, she ignored the humans as all but the two guards left the room./span/p