Despite her weariness, it took Heart awhile to fall asleep; the unfamiliar sounds and movements of the infirmary kept her on edge along with the discomfort of the raised bed. Eventually though, she succumbed and dozed off, falling into a deep sleep thanks to days of restless naps and a finally full stomach. She slept so well, in fact, that when she finally felt herself waking up, she didn't remember where she was. When she opened her eyes, the sight of a female human leaning over her brought an instant reaction from Heart.
With a snarl of surprise, the young wraith pushed herself away from the human, propelling herself from the bed to the floor with a crash from the medical equipment that was still attached to her and landing hard on the palm of her hand. The human let out a shocked cry at the movement, backing away herself. As Heart scrambled to her feet she looked around, her startled gaze taking in the sight of guards moving towards her, weapons raised, and memories flooded through her mind.
She froze, hands and body pressed to the wall behind her, various cords dangling from her shirt and arm.
"How did she get loose?" a dark voice thundered, and she tensed as the tall man who had shot her twice, Ronon, she recalled, ran into the infirmary, gun in hand.
"What's going on?" yelled Colonel Sheppard as he and Teyla entered on Ronon's heels. In that second, Heart glanced over to the woman that had startled her in the first place, finally recognizing her as Dr. Keller. Ronon followed her gaze and, seeing the doctor who still had a hand to her chest in surprise, his glare turned even darker as he stalked towards the young wraith.
"What did you do to her?" He demanded, and Heart backed along the wall, pushing a bed out of her way as she tried to stay out of reach of the man, her lip curling into a defensive growl. Dr. Keller moved to intercept him, grabbing his arm.
"She didn't do anything! Ronon, stop!" The man halted, not taking his murderous gaze from the wraith in front of him.
"What happened?" Colonel Sheppard asked, looking between the doctor and Heart in suspicion. Heart opened her mouth to defend herself, not sure what she was going to say that didn't sound like 'I got scared', when Dr. Keller spoke again.
"She just got spooked. She was sleeping, and I startled her. She didn't do anything to me. Ronon, put your gun down-you're scaring her!" The man gave a dark smirk at her words but didn't lower his weapon. Colonel Sheppard turned to the guards for confirmation of the doctor's story.
Both nodded, one adding "Affirmative, sir. It-She made no physical contact with the doctor. We were just going to order her back to the bed." With that, the colonel looked back at Heart. Her initial panic had faded, and now she just waited, not sure if this was going to land her back in her cell, or worse, tied to the gurney.
"Alright, stand down; it was just a misunderstanding. Ronon, let her get back to her bed," he ordered. The guards immediately lowered their weapons and returned to their post at the door. Ronon lowered his gun more slowly and stepped back, grabbing the doctor's arm as she started to move past him towards Heart.
"What are you doing?" He looked from the doctor to Heart, then glanced at the bed and the obviously unused straps. "You left her unrestrained?" he asked in disbelief, looking back at the colonel and Teyla.
"Nothing happened, Ronon. She didn't do anything. Now let me go help my patient," Dr. Keller stated firmly, glaring at the taller man. He met her gaze for a moment, then glared at Heart, who hadn't moved and was watching him warily. He finally released the doctor's arm, and she slowly stepped forward, reaching out a hand invitingly.
Heart cautiously moved away from the wall, barely glancing at the doctor before returning her golden gaze to Ronon. Dr. Keller put a hand on her shoulder and guided her to sit down while apologizing for scaring her. Heart wasn't sure how to respond to the apology, so remained silent, but kept her gaze locked with the man she still considered a threat. Ronon had put away his weapon but stood at the end of her bed, arms crossed as he glared, daring her to try something.
"So we're just trusting her?" he asked sarcastically, his mouth twisted into a hateful sneer. "Just gonna let her walk around freely?" Heart bristled at his tone.
"Ronon, she's still under guard! She needed medical attention, and she promised not to cause any trouble." Colonel Sheppard sounded exasperated, as if expecting this reaction. This confused Heart-that he was tolerating the insubordination and even indulging it by providing an explanation. Another example of the differences between wraith and human societies, she supposed.
"She promised? You think that just because she's young that she's not a threat-that you can believe anything she says? She's a wraith!" He spat out the word as a curse and Heart stood up again, trying to appear imposing despite her mere five-foot-two frame, while meeting Ronon's glare. The sudden move caused the guards, Sheppard and Teyla to step forward, while Ronon merely waited, a smirk forming at her action.
"You know nothing about me!" she snarled, Dr. Keller's hand on her arm. She was tempted to shrug out of the woman's grip, but decided against it.
"Heart, sit down!" the colonel ordered as Ronon slowly walked around the bed to stand right in front of Heart, scowling down at her slender form. The wraith ignored the command and met Ronon's gaze, refusing to back down. These humans may have behaved in ways that were alien to her, but this-the challenge building between herself and the tall man-this was familiar to her, and she wasn't going to let him win.
"You may have them fooled, but I know what you are. You're a killer, and nothing you say or do changes that." His words were quiet, his tone intense as he leaned down tauntingly. Heart was tempted to strike out at his accusations, but remained still, shaking with barely restrained anger.
"Ronon, stand down! Kid, get back into that bed right now or I will have you put there!" Fed up with their glaring match, Colonel Sheppard grabbed Ronon's arm and stepped next to him, forcibly pulling the man back, though Heart could tell that Ronon allowed himself to be moved. He glanced at the colonel and back to Dr. Keller before leveling one last scowl at the young wraith, his expression promising harm, and turned on his heel to stride from the infirmary.
Heart watched him leave, fists clenched as she slowly sat back down, feeling a hint of pride that she hadn't been the first to back away. Despite the minor win, his words echoed in her mind; she felt a wave of indignation roll through her and she closed her eyes, trying to calm herself.
"Don't mind Ronon, he's…" Dr. Keller trailed off, unsure of how to defend him against his sworn enemy.
"He knows nothing," Heart repeated angrily, glaring at her lap. She offered no resistance as the doctor began to examine the wires dangling from beneath her shirt.
"His whole world was destroyed by the wraith," Colonel Sheppard explained, arms crossed. "Then they turned him into a Runner-hunted him for seven years until we found him-"
"I had nothing to do with that!" Heart cried indignantly, turning her glare to him. "How dare he judge me based on the actions of others! Should I judge you by his actions?" Heart pushed herself up against the back of the bed, the move disrupting Dr. Keller. She crossed her arms across her chest with a slight wince, preventing the doctor from continuing her work. Sheppard opened his mouth to argue with her, but Teyla placed a hand on his arm to stop him.
"You are right, Heart. You are like no other wraith we have encountered before, and it is unfair that Ronon will not see that. However, our peoples are at war, and our views are colored by our experiences-his more than most. Trust between human and wraith does not come easily." Heart felt slight vindication at her words, but something about Ronon's incrimination still stung.
Then it hit her: he had called her a killer, as if the lives she had taken had meant nothing to her; that she simply killed for killing's sake. She was wraith; she wanted to be seen as powerful-a force feared by her enemies, and beloved by her hive-but through wisdom rather than bloodthirstiness. Her mother had taught her that killing without purpose was a waste; not a common view among her kind, but it was a view that Heart shared. Not that she had much of a chance of becoming a queen anymore, she thought glumly; what with her mother dead and her territory claimed by another.
"Well, he's not here anymore, so you don't have to worry about what he thinks," Dr. Keller said softly, halting Heart's thoughts. "Now, your blood pressure is back to normal, and the rest of your vitals remained stable throughout the night, so I'm going to remove your IV and take those electrodes off of you and you can eat some breakfast," She gestured for the wraith to move her hands. As Heart uncrossed her arms, a throbbing in her right wrist finally took precedence in her mind, and she failed to hide a pained wince and small hiss at the movement, which the doctor immediately noticed.
"What's wrong?" Keller's eyes were drawn to the wraith's slightly swollen wrist, and she grabbed the arm before Heart could resist. "Did this happen when you fell off the bed?"
"It-it's nothing," Heart stammered, pain preventing her from closing her fingers over her feeding organ as her hand was gently turned over. "It's fine," she insisted, trying to pull away. She stopped sullenly when Colonel Sheppard cleared his throat and gave her a pointed look. She winced as her wrist and hand were probed, Dr. Keller taking care to avoid touching the sensitive tissue in the center of her palm.
"It's probably just a sprain, but I'll scan it to make sure you didn't fracture anything." The doctor gestured to one of the nurses, still holding Heart's hand with both of hers. "I'm surprised an injury this minor hasn't healed yet…" as the doctor's voice trailed off, Heart looked up to meet her questioning gaze, and she shrugged uncomfortably, looking away quickly.
"Your shoulder didn't heal as fast as it should have, either. If I hadn't removed the bullet, it may have taken days to fully heal. Even then, it took nearly two hours-still faster than a human, but we've seen wraith heal much more quickly. And last night, I was surprised only a couple of days without food would affect you so much…Is this normal for your age?" Heart shifted but didn't respond as a small device was waved over her injured hand, her eyes glued to her feeding slit.
"Heart?" The girl finally looked up, locking eyes with the doctor, and then the colonel and Teyla. She took a breath, not sure how they would react. She assumed most humans would be uncomfortable, if not angry, with a wraith talking about their 'diet'.
"I don't heal as fast when I eat like you," she stated slowly. A small frown crossed Sheppard's face as he considered her words. Dr. Keller "hmmed" softly, regaining Heart's attention when she began wrapping a cloth around the wraith's hand and wrist.
"I was afraid that might be the case. We surmised that wraith healing abilities were tied to their consumption of human life, but I had hoped the two weren't directly linked." Heart gave the doctor a confused look, not understanding the point, and Keller smiled before continuing. "I've been wondering if it's possible to find a way where wraith can eat food instead of needing to feed off humans; maybe we can end cullings and make life better for humans and wraith in this galaxy, but I'm not sure how many wraith will give up their healing in order to eat food again."
Heart shot a look to Colonel Sheppard, suddenly doubting his assertion the night before that they wouldn't experiment on her. "Is that why you haven't killed me yet?"
"What?" Dr. Keller's grip jerked Heart's hand painfully as she looked up from her work, shocked by the question. Heart closed her eyes briefly as her nostrils flared from the sharp pain. The three humans shared a look as she then glanced between them, her words bitter and wary.
"Is that why you brought me here? To be studied and used in your tests?" It made more sense now why they would be trying to gain her trust. Maybe they thought she would willingly submit herself as a test subject if they healed her wounds and offered her some measure of freedom.
"No! We didn't even know you were on that hive!" Colonel Sheppard replied, but Heart wasn't convinced.
"So I am a convenient prisoner then. Were I like any other, you would have interrogated and killed me already," the young wraith assumed, glaring as a spike of hurt ran through her. Again, these humans had tricked her into beginning to trust them. "Are you treating me kindly so that I comply with your experiments?"
"That's enough!" Colonel Sheppard had the same exasperated look on his face that he'd had when arguing with Ronon. "I already told you we weren't going to do anything like that-"
"Anything like what?" interrupted a new voice as a man walked into the infirmary. He had short brown hair and was heavier-set. He paused mid-step upon spotting the group around Heart's bed, surprised when his gaze settled on her. She thought he seemed familiar, but didn't know where she would have seen him before. He didn't look like a guard.
"We were just trying to explain to Heart that we won't use her as a lab rat," Colonel Sheppard explained, frustration clear in his voice. Heart would have crossed her arms again if she could have, irritated that he was still denying her obvious purpose here.
"What, like, uh…oh, nononono! We wouldn't do that, uh, I mean, not after, uh…" Heart watched as the man stuttered, his words almost blending together in his haste to get them out. It seemed he was worse at lying than the colonel, Heart thought, and wondered just what he was trying not to say. Sheppard sighed and winced upon seeing Heart's continued disbelief and he interrupted the man's attempt to convince the wraith.
"What do you want, Rodney?"
"Oh! I, uh, I was on my way to that meeting with Sam and heard you guys were in here, so I decided to pop in," Rodney explained, gesturing vaguely behind him, eyes flickering between Heart and the others. "Is she hurt?"
"Just a sprain," Dr. Keller explained, finally releasing Heart's hand. The young wraith carefully flexed her fingers and wrist, finding that the wrap provided enough resistance to keep her from moving the limb too much and the pressure eased the aching somewhat. She looked up when Colonel Sheppard moved away from her bed, glancing at a small device around his wrist.
"Is it that late already?" With a sigh, he looked back at Heart. "Look, we'll talk about what we're going to do with you later. Just listen to Dr. Keller and don't cause any trouble." With a nod at the guards, he and Teyla left the infirmary with Rodney. Heart watched gloomily as they walked out, but with the continued presence of the guards and her new injury, she knew this wasn't the time to attempt her escape. Especially since they were still allowing her to remain unrestrained, she decided to bide her time.