TITLE: Wait Until Dark
AUTHOR: Susan Zell
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Gekko and Sci-Fi and to those luckier than I. All I know is that they aren't mine so no profit has been made by this venture.
SUMMARY: Nightmares and paranoia plague Major Sheppard and his team must determine why before he sinks so deep that there may be no returning.
SPOILERS: Everything up until after "Childhood's End."
RATINGS: PG-13
TYPE: Drama mainly and some minor hurt/comfort; also some very minor 'shipping though I haven't made my decision between the ShepWeir or the Sheyla camps. So I'm keeping both ends open for now. I always try to follow show canon so I'll leave that decision up to them.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: My first Stargate Atlantis fic so be gentle. If it goes well, I may write another.

Chapter Ten
"A Deal with the Devil"

The guard at the detention cell was surprised to see her enter. It was evening and the base's sleep cycle was about to begin. He was even more surprised to see her carrying the Wraith weapon. But to his credit, he remained silent and at attention.

Weir gripped the strange weapon tighter and stepped into the room. The guard merely turned his back and made sure no one disturbed them.

The Wraith had the audacity to smile at her from inside the cell. Weir lifted the weapon up and was about to lower the shield when she paused.

"Before we knock you out again, let's talk a minute." But the weapon did not lower. "For all your posturing and midnight mental excursions, you have no power to do any real physical harm. I figure if you could do that you would have by now. All you have the power to do is interrupt Major Sheppard's sleep which isn't really doing you any good and it's just annoying him." She hoped the Wraith was listening otherwise this bluff wouldn't work. "You know we can do this all day, and we will if that's what it takes because you will not win this way. Here people stick together and because of that you'll have to fight us all to get to even one of us. You're not getting any strength out of this game because you look terrible. You're starving so this is just a battle of wills and not much else. Major Sheppard is losing some sleep but you're losing much more than that. And each time we shoot you, you lose even more strength."

"Your point" hissed the creature.

Weir inwardly smiled. She had its attention and that was the hardest part of negotiating. It pleased her to note that the smirk was off the Wraith's face. She had its full attention. Now she had to bluff like no tomorrow. Her game face on she gently shook the weapon letting the muzzle drop a bit. "How much of a charge you think is left in here? I'm betting that it's got a lot more power in it than you." The Wraith stalked back and forth in front of Weir, its eyes locked on the armament in her hands.

Her eyes rose to meet the creature's. "Now you want to keep on haunting my people, I'll keep shooting you unconscious. At the moment we won't kill you because we want to study you for a bit. But why would any intelligent Wraith want to waste even more precious energy is beyond me. Now if I were an intelligent Wraith, I'd be conserving what strength I had on the chance that I could escape or be rescued. And then you can kill us all horribly. You? You're just digging yourself an early grave." She stepped closer to the cell till they were standing toe to toe with only the shield between them. She portrayed no fear, only strength of conviction. "And when you do expire, we'll just weight you down and roll you into the ocean where you'll find little to eat in the deepest part of a black sea. I don't suppose you know how to swim, by the way"

There was sudden fear in the Wraith's eyes that surprised her. Especially since she put it there. She played the advantage. The weapon muzzle lifted again. The Wraith stepped back.

"No" it hissed.

"No, what? 'No, don't shoot me' or 'no, I don't know how to swim'? One I'm interested in and the other I'm not."

"I will not invade the man's mind again" it promised.

"Now we're getting somewhere."

"But I will kill him one day" the Wraith promised. "I will kill all of you."

"You hold on to that. See how far you get. But if I ever catch you in anyone's head again, I will order your execution and I won't lose a wink of sleep doing it. Understand"

There was no answer. "Do you understand" It was a shout now. With a wave of her thumb the Wraith weapon hummed into life.

The Wraith cocked his head, its eyes wide. "Yes."

"Good. Glad we got that settled." "It is settled. For now."

She walked with a stiff spine through the door and only when it slid shut behind her did she collapse out of sight against the wall. The guard moved toward her but she shook her head and slowly straightened. "I just negotiated with the devil."

"Lucifer himself, ma'am" was the guard's answered. "The Major gonna get a good night's sleep tonight"

"With any luck, tonight and every night. And that goes for all of us."

The guard nodded and resumed his position.

Weir hovered outside Sheppard's quarters. It was still early evening, not even seven yet. It had been two days now and there had been no further attacks on him. The Wraith seemed to be keeping his word. It surprised Weir. But so far it was working. Her logic to the creature was sound. Her point must have gotten across and it would rather conserve its strength than waste it. But still she couldn't suppress the nagging feeling that they had merely gotten a reprieve and that a final confrontation was coming.

She couldn't quell the desire to see if he was sleeping safe and sound. He had been doing a lot of that over the last couple of days. He had a lot to catch up on and she had kept his team off the duty list until he was at a hundred percent again. But still she wanted to know for herself.

She heard footfalls behind her and turned to see the rest of the team. She cocked an eyebrow at them as if to dare them to wonder why she was standing in front of the Major's door.

McKay merely smiled at her. Damn intelligent man, she cursed. He knew. But bless him, Ford didn't.

"How's the Major"

Weir stood up straighter. "I don't know. I was just about to check in on him."

"I see." Teyla was watching her closely. The brown skin woman stepped up beside her. She held up something in her hands. "We have brought movies."

"And popcorn" Ford added.

Weir fought a smile. "Well then, let's check on him together, shall we" She turned back the door and palmed the chime on the side.

It took a few minutes, but a rumpled Sheppard answered the door. He had obviously been asleep but even so it was clear that he was well rested and well on the way to a full recovery.

"We have brought movies" Teyla announced proudly. "If you are awake."

Sheppard's broad grin showed that he didn't mind the interruption at all. He was surprised to see everyone there, especially Weir. He wasn't sure what she had done to give him a reprieve, but his tired aching body appreciated it. "Let me get dressed and I'll meet you in the rec room."

The troop headed for the area Weir had designated for entertainment for the base. Sheppard called after them. "Doctor Weir, a moment"

She paused and cocked his head quizzically, but when his eyebrow rose a bit with a question of his own, she tried to cover. "I just wanted to see how you were" she offered lamely.

Sheppard leaned against the doorframe. "I'm peachy."

His hair stuck up all over in untidy bits. It was difficult to draw her attention from them, but she made the extreme effort.

"Thanks to you" he continued. "I have a feeling you made a deal we might not be able to afford."

"Believe it or not" she said. "I merely pointed out logic and some cold hard facts."

"How cold"

"Let's just say that I can be pretty damn radical when lives are on the line."

Sheppard let his eyes study her a moment. She always held herself regally, never slouching, and her chin always tilted up just a fraction. Though her frame was slender, there was still power there. He knew folks underestimated her and it was her sharp mind and indelible logic that won her the diplomatic reputation that she had garnered throughout her career.

"One day Kavanagh is going to wake up on an ice planet, isn't he"

"I don't know what you mean." She kept her composure through it was difficult. He had been a thorn in both their sides this week.

Sheppard just grinned. "Just make sure I'm there to see it."

She bit her lip and tried not to laugh. It wouldn't be good form to be seen deriding someone even if they did deserve it. "Hurry up, or we'll miss the first movie." "What are we watching"

"Teyla decided on The Thing from Another World."

Sheppard laughed. "Which one"

"The 1951 version, I believe."

"Ah, the good one."

"That's a matter of opinion. I prefer Carpenter's version."

"Oh you liked to be scared. I prefer the Howard Hawk's script in the original. The snappy dialogue will make Teyla's head spin. Love Margaret Sheridan in that movie. She's damn sexy as the fiery, smart female lead."

"Wasn't she the secretary"

"Doctor's assistant" he politely clarified. "And she was smarter than that whole base but together. And she was in love with the captain of the base." He grinned at her.

"Oh, she likes military types"

"She was no fool."

They stood there awkwardly for a few seconds. Then she coughed gently and bobbed her head. "I'll let you get changed."

"Be there in a flash."

She turned to go.

"Um..."

She turned back.

"Thank you. You saved my life."

Weir smiled. "It was my pleasure. Just don't make a habit of it."

"Yes, ma'am."

Weir walked away and her grin lasted all the way to the rec room.

The End

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and encouragements. It's been a godsend these last couple of months. You're the best! The good news is of course that I made it through till the end. Finding time to edit this chapter took fancy hiding and dodging. It's still not where I want it to be but you all have been so patient with me so far. Thanks for everything.