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A few days later John was alone in the east section putting in some training hours in the gym; there was no one with him as sometimes he just liked to be by himself. He was gathering his stuff to leave when he was suddenly being pulled towards the pier, as if an invisible hand had taken hold of his arm and was urging him that way. He quickly realized why he felt drawn there as he found a familiar brunette sitting on the edge of the pier singing a haunting ballad to herself.

He knew that he should turn away and head back to the city rapidly, knowing that her voice had the power to enslave him; but it was too late as he had already been snared by her beautiful melody. He smiled as he walked towards her, observing how she seemed very much at home in her new environment; but his smile dissipated as he listened to her sorrow filled words.

You never said I'm leaving

You never said goodbye

You were gone before I knew it

Only the Gods know why

A million times I've needed you

A million times I've cried

If love alone could have saved you

You never would have died

In life I loved you dearly

In death I love you still

In my heart you hold a place

That no one will ever fill

It broke my heart to lose you

But you didn't go alone

A part of me went with you

The day the ocean took you home

The moment she stopped singing John felt the pull over himself vanish, clearing his throat he stepped closer to her. Her head snapped rapidly towards him, her aqua eyes wide as she realized that she was not alone.

"John, what are you doing here?" She questioned in a panicked tone.

He hooked a thumb over his back pointing back towards the city, "I was working out in the gym. I heard you singing and…" He said with a shrug of his shoulders as he sat down beside her; he didn't need to explain it to her, the look in her eyes told him that she knew.

"Oh. I'm so sorry, John. I didn't think anybody was near me, I thought I was alone. I promise I wasn't trying to hurt anyone…"

"Hey, hey, hey." He said gently taking one of her hands into his. "It's okay. You didn't hurt me, I'm fine."

He could see the clear distress on her face, the thought of hurting anyone brought great pain and suffering to her. He noticed how it dulled her bright eyes, the sparkle usually in them disappearing and it caused his own heart to ache.

"So, uh…" He cleared his throat again, trying to change the topic to something happier. "…that song, I'm guessing it was for your family."

A sad smile crossed her lips as she stared out over the ocean. "Yes. It was passed down through my people, an ode to those we have lost." She turned to him with a sigh. "I know I promised that I would not use my voice, but to a Siren, singing is like breathing. It is a part of us."

John shook his head, "You promised not to use your voice to hurt anyone, and you haven't. Everyone has their own way of coping with loss, or expressing themselves. For you it's singing. And trust me, there is nothing evil about your voice."

His words which were chosen very carefully had the effect he had hoped that they would, as he saw her eyes brighten just a little. "So, tell me about Arcadia. What was it like?"

Rayne smiled fondly as she thought of her home, memories flashing through her mind as though it were a lifetime ago. "It was a lot like Atlantis. Our palace sat at the center of the city, reaching hundreds of feet above the seafloor. We had a grand ballroom where everyone would gather to celebrate, our "parties" I believe you call them, stretched long into the night and some lasting until the next sunrise."

"How did you light it up? I mean, electricity and water don't really mix."

Rayne giggled, "No they don't. We had our own form of electricity, powered by the water currents. When things live at such a deep depth, where light does not touch, they develop their own forms of light. We managed to harness bioluminescence, using it to bring light into our world. Everything glowed with an almost other-worldly essence."

"Like your eyes." John said with a smile drawing a curious look from Rayne which made him chuckle. "That's what Ronon said the first time he saw your eyes."

Hearing her saviors name served to bring a genuine smile to her lips, something that didn't escape John, but also brought a pang of jealousy into his gut. Shoving it down knowing that he had no claim to her, he changed the subject once more. "What about your family? What were they like?"

"They were kind and gentle. My father was king, he was a fair and just ruler. He cared more about his people than treasure. He used to tell us that his family was his wealth and that was all he needed. My brothers were typical boys, roughhousing, getting into all sorts of trouble. But they were also our best warriors, skilled fighters who would give their lives to protect our home."

"And your mother?" John asked very eager to learn all that he could about his mysterious new friend.

"My mother… she was the greatest Queen that Arcadia ever had. But more than that she was a great woman. She taught me how to sing, how to fight, to cook. She took care of every child as if they were her own. Our doors were always open to our people. My parents taught me what it was to be a great ruler. To always put your people before yourself. No one was ever beneath us. We were taught to treat everyone like they were our family."

"They sound like great people. I'm sure they would be very proud of you."

"I don't know that they would be proud of the things I have done to survive; but I hope one day to make them proud of the woman I have become."

John smiled as he squeezed her hand, "I'm sure they already are." With a nod he stood up and turned to go, but paused a moment as a thought came to him. "Rayne."

He waited until she had caught his eyes before he spoke. "Just for the record, your smile and your eyes enchant me more than your voice ever could."

Two weeks later Rayne was still slowly getting to know her new friends, with the exception of John and Ronon whom she spent most of her time with, who were now her new teammates thanks to Dr. Weir. During their talk Elizabeth had revealed to Rayne that everyone in Colonel Sheppard's A-team, wanted her to stay in Atlantis with them. The Colonel had personally vouched for her to the OSS and Stargate command, telling them that she would be an asset in fighting the Wraith and there was much that she could contribute to the Expedition. And that was what lead to her being added to Colonel Sheppard's team.

So she had spent many hours learning all that she could about Atlantis and Earth from each member of her team. She had daily weapons training with John and Ronon, as well as sparring matches in the gym with the two men and Teyla. She had only sparred with the new Marine recruits once, and after an unfortunate bone-breaking occurrence, Sheppard suggested that she was too much for the soldiers to take on; much to their embarrassment and her enjoyment.

She had allowed Carson to take samples of her blood, as well as genetic samples for his research; and in return she had shared knowledge of many herbs and plants that grow in the water that combat illnesses. Carson also had a large rectangular Plexiglas container set up in the corner of the infirmary and filled with ocean water; he refused to not be able to help her if anything were to happen while she was off-world on missions.

What surprised nearly everyone in Atlantis was her budding friendship with Dr. McKay, despite his always arrogant and condescending personality; never letting a chance to tell everyone how smart he is pass him by. However it seemed as though Rayne brought out a side of Rodney that no one had seen thus far; she revealed that he had a very good sense of humor and the two were constantly laughing about something together.

Rayne had proven on multiple occasions that she could take Rodney's sarcasm in stride, either shrugging it off, or in more amusing times to spectators, she would fire back with her own, consequently shutting him up very quickly.

It didn't take long for the inhabitants of Atlantis to learn that their "Siren" had a fiery temper that you did not want to be on the receiving end of. Although she had one telltale sign that her anger was about to explode, when her eyes began to glow, it was time to run for your life.

But despite her temper, no one had been unwelcoming to her, even those that were wary having heard about what her voice was capable of; she had given them all her word that her voice would never be used to deceive or hurt any of them. Rayne was beginning to feel for the first since the destruction of her world, that she had found a place to call home; and along with that came a group of extraordinary people that helped to fill the void in her heart left by her family's deaths.

Rayne smiled to the people she passed as she walked down the hallway towards the labs, nodding to them in greeting as they all went about their jobs. She paused in the doorway of the lab she had been heading towards, smiling fondly at the man inside, looking as though he was asleep on his feet standing before his desk.

"Good morning, Rodney." She said softly so as not to startle him.

He shook his head as if coming out of a trance then looked over to her, a deep sigh coming from his lips as he saw the containers she held in her hands. "You are no Siren, you my dear are an Angel. Thank you." He said gratefully accepting the large coffee she presented to him.

"You are welcome." She chuckled as she took a seat at the desk opposite him, then looking up at him with admonishment when she saw the communications devices littering the wooden surface. "Have you stayed up all night working on these?"

"Yes I did. You have your first mission coming up soon and I needed to have them done." He said with a shrug, not understanding her reaction.

Rayne huffed in annoyance, "They are not more important than your health, Rodney." Rolling her eyes at his nonchalant attitude she sipped her coffee, looking down at the newly redesigned devices.

"I suppose I have you to thank for this?" Rayne asked with a smile as she entered the armory, showing off the Atlantis jacket with the black military designation panels to Sheppard.

John casually shrugged his broad shoulders as he grinned. "I might have made a suggestion to Dr. Weir about adding a new member to my team."

Rayne shook her head with a light laugh, "Well, I thank you, John, and I am honored to be a part of your team."

"Wonderful, good to have you onboard. Now, let's get you trained in our weapons." He shows her a variety that he has on the table. "This is a P-90. It's a compact, lightweight, incredibly sturdy, fully…"

Rayne picks up the P-90 and fires a barrage at a paper target, all of them clustering in the center of the paper.

Suddenly John flashes back to the day he first showed Ronon how to use their weapons and gets a case of Deja vu. "Good. That's… ahem, good. All right, uh… This is a nine millimeter, semiautomatic…"

Again before he finishes, Rayne picks up the nine millimeter and fires off eight shots at a target, again all of them hitting their mark.

John smiles, "That's good, too. I get the feeling you could shoot anything I put in front of you, couldn't you?"

Rayne smiles slyly, "I have learned much in my travels."

"I can see that. But there is one weapon that you possess that will do more damage to the Wraith's than any of our guns."

"No." Rayne states defiantly, setting down the handgun before crossing her arms.

"Rayne, please."

"No, John. I will not put our team in danger."

"Your scream hurts them, more than our weapons ever could."

"Yes, and it will hurt anyone else around them as well, including you. I am sorry, John, but I will not take the chance of hurting those I have come to care about."

John sighed, he understood how she felt, her voice had been used to hurt so many innocent people, and he could not blame her hesitation to use it against the Wraith now. But just then a thought came to him, "What if we could protect our team?"

Rayne seemed to consider the idea, "How would we do that?"

John's brow furrowed as he pursed his lips, he hadn't thought that far ahead of the conversation. "I don't know." He then snapped his fingers with a smile, "But I'll bet McKay will."

And that was how she came to be sitting in the lab now, having been called by Rodney who said they were nearly ready to test the devices. When Rayne and John had presented him with the idea of using her voice as a weapon, he had immediately caught onto their idea of needing to protect the team from it. Within a few hours he had discovered a new frequency that he could feed continuously through their comms that would shield them from Rayne's scream.

Of course now that they were completed, someone needed to test them, thus came the team meeting to discuss who would be the Guinea pig.

After several minutes of tense argument between the members, John announced that as the leader of the team it would be him that would endure the test. Despite Rayne's vehement refusal to use John as a test dummy, she knew that this needed to be done; John was right, her voice was their greatest weapon against the Wraith right now.

With a deep sigh she took stance inside of the soundproof chamber in the lab, biting her lip as John fit his headset to his ear and took his place across from her.

Rayne gave him a look of pure concern, "If it hurts even slightly—"

"I'll wave you off. I promise."

"I mean even just a pinch—"

"Rayne." Sheppard said sternly, giving her a soft smile. "I'll be fine."

The Siren sighed audibly before acquiescing, placing her comms device into her ear albeit under protest, squaring her shoulders she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Here goes nothing."

Part of John was terrified at this moment, full well knowing in less than a minute he could be deaf or dead; but as Rayne's eyes snapped open all John Sheppard could focus on was how beautiful her eyes were. Shaking off his tunnel-vision John tilted his head to the right, hearing nothing but silence beyond the comms device; then tipping his head to the left he registered nothing but a slight pressure in his eardrum, as if he was changing altitude.

Seconds later his ears were filled with Rayne's sweet voice coming through the comms as she approached him, looking concernedly into his eyes. "Are you all right, John?"

He shot her his patented John Sheppard smirk that never failed to rile the ladies up, and truthfully it had the same effect on Rayne, not that she would let that be known; better to keep that info to herself for the safety of John's ego- and his life should Ronon find out.

"Right as rain, Siren. Nice job, McKay." He said shooting the doctor and the rest of their team members a thumbs-up.

Two days later Rayne was in her quarters, gathering up the weapons that had been signed out to her and securing them to her person. Like Ronon, Rayne had opted not to wear the Atlantis military uniform, instead feeling more confident and at ease in her black stretchy pants, black long-sleeved shirt with an under-bust corset around her torso and black over-the-knee thick-heeled boots.

After securing her hair in a long braid so as to keep it out of her face, she slid the military issue knife onto her belt over her left hip; then strapped on her thigh holster that boasted her energy pistol, much like Ronon's that could be set from "stun" to "kill." Looping the strap of her P-90 over her shoulder, she picked up her Expedition jacket with a frown, forced to wear it as she did not have another.

Swiping her hand over the door panel she waited patiently as the steel slid open, and was pleasantly surprised when she came face-to-chest with her Satedan savior. Her eyes roved over him slowly, taking in his long tan leather duster with fur lined hood, his tan shirt that hung loose on his torso giving him range of movement, as well as his brown leather pants and boots. Couple his outfit with the energy pistol secured to his right thigh and the Wraith blade on his left side, and he was "pure sex" walking.

Rayne could not deny the effect that Ronon had on her and she didn't bother to try, it was clear by the smirk on his face as he looked down at her, he knew what was running through her mind.

"Good morning, Ronon. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Ronon's smirk faltered slightly, replaced by a hesitant smile as he took the Expedition jacket from her and tossed it back onto the couch behind her. "I brought you something."

Lifting up his hands she saw that he held a jacket in them much similar to his own, long dark-gray leather that would just barely brush the floor when she put it on, thick fur around the collar and hood that reminded her of a wolf's color, and three buckles on the front to secure it closed.

"Oh, Ronon, it's beautiful. Thank you." She said softly as she examined the jacket, her fingers running over the impeccable stitching and craftsmanship.

"You're welcome." He stuttered out quickly before he stepped aside and allowed her to leave the room. A pleased smile grew on his face as he watched her put on the jacket as they walked to the gate room.

Rayne was securing one of the jacket's straps under her chest when Teyla sidled up next to her with a knowing smile. "I see Ronon finally gave his gift to you. I was worried he would never believe it was good enough."

The Siren turned toward her friend with a curious gaze, "What do you mean? He made this?"

Teyla nodded, "Yes he did, with the help of a few of the Athosian's. He has been working on it for over a week."

Rayne's gaze moved over to Ronon who stood by the Stargate alongside Sheppard and McKay, her eyes filled with gratitude and adoration as she realized the gravity of what he perceived as a simple gesture.

Ronon could tell by the way Rayne looked at him that Teyla had spilled his secret, and yet despite his body telling him that he should be chagrined for such a silly gesture, all Ronon could feel at that moment was pride. The woman that had slowly broken down the wall around his heart and wrapped herself around him in every way, was wearing something that he had made for her with his bare hands; and without consciously knowing it, he had announced to the whole of Atlantis that Rayne was spoken for.