Strange Bedfellows

A/N: As promised, a better chapter... :)

Ashkash: Read the spoiler, too. Oh the horror! spoiler ahead But I like the idea of the new character, we'll all have to wait and see how it turns out.

Sabrina: Thankies! I think Teyla's character is underused in the show so I wanted to do something with it here.

Joey's girl:I think you're lying, lol. Thanks. :)

Moi: I wonder why they would think that...? ;)

highonscifi: I already have it all worked out in my head, more or less, including the end. You'll just have to wait and see. I'm evil, what can I say?

dark faith5: They ARE really hard to write! Thanks for the compliment!

Chapter 7: Theories and Revelations

The first thing Elizabeth noticed was the smell. Rotting flesh. Thankfully, it was dark so she couldn't see the source of the acrid stench, but she had a pretty good guess that it was human.

She had awoken to pitch black and silence and had immediately panicked. She began to hyperventilate as she scurried like a scared animal into one of the corners of the cell she was in. It was small, she guessed, but she couldn't be sure; she couldn't make out anything past three feet in front of her.

In through the nose, out through the mouth.... In through the nose, out through the mouth.... Elizabeth repeated her mantra over and over again in her mind, hoping it would calm her down. It seemed to work and soon her breathing became normalized.

Elizabeth strained her eyes to see past the gloom. After several minutes of adjustment, she could now make out her half of the cell and the immediate are beyond. For the moment, she was alone -- or at least she hoped she was. Who knew when the Wraith would show?

Her thoughts quickly shifted to John. Where is he? The last thing she remembered was the Dart's white beam engulfing her and John standing beside her... Oh no. He was taken, too... which means he's here. Somewhere....

Since her eyesight was all but useless, so she decided to rely on her hearing. Elizabeth sat still and tried not to breath, listening for any clues as to the whereabouts of John. Nothing, just silence. Wait¼she listened harder. Was that... breathing? Yes, she definitely heard someone breathing -- slow, heavy breathing -- across the hall. Another cell maybe?

"John?" she whispered softly. There was no answer. She guessed he was still unconscious, but what if he was hurt?

"John?" She tried a second time, a little louder. Elizabeth inched up from the back corner of the cell to the front, hoping to catch a glance of the Major. She was barely able to discern a dark form obscured in the shadows several feet across the hall -- the source of the breathing. Her heart nearly stopped when she realized the figure wasn't moving; it had stopped breathing as well.

"John! Come on, answer me John!" She was panicking again, her voice rising an octave or two. Elizabeth took a look around her cell, hoping against hope there was an exit of some sort, or at least a loose branch-thing the Wraith used in place of prison bars. No such luck.

When she returned her gaze to the hallway, the figure was gone. Placing her hands on the branches, she tried to crane her neck and peer down the passageway. Seeing nothing, she started to turn her head the other direction when the individual suddenly and unexpectedly reappeared, nearly an in inch in front of her face. It lunged at her, thrusting its arm between several of the branches.

Elizabeth scrambled backward, more from sheer terror than from quick reflexes, and fell to the floor. She continued to retreat, putting as much distance between herself and her aggressor, until she could go no further. She stared at the attacker in terror and dread.

It was a Wraith.

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John awoke with a start. The first thing he did was sharply suck in a lungful of air, and he immediately wished he hadn't. He sat up quickly. What is that smell? he wondered.

As he waited for his head to stop spinning, Major Sheppard began the process of figuring out exactly where he was. All he knew was that he couldn't see a damn thing and it reeked liked hell. His hand instinctively moved to his thigh, and he was more than a little worried to find his 9mm holster empty. He then checked his sheath on his ankle, only to find his knife missing as well, along with his radio and IDC device. Shit. He didn't like these circumstances at all: he was alone, unarmed, and had no information on his surroundings. Not the ideal situation to be in.

Years of training kicked in and kept the Major calm. He was known for keeping a cool head in tight spots, but this was pushing it even for him. Focus... as soon as I figure out where I am, I can figure out a way to get out of here. Okay, the last thing I remember is... Elizabeth. Shit, where is she? This was the second time in one hour he had woken up, not knowing where neither he nor Elizabeth was. He hoped it wasn't becoming a habit.

He rose to his feet, throwing caution out the window and opting to find a solution to their predicament instead. John tested the strength of the branches to the cell entrance and found them immovable. Pacing around the small perimeter of the chamber soon revealed there were no other exits either.

Sheppard stopped mid-stride when he thought he heard a noise. Breathing, was it? He craned his neck, as if that would help at all, and listened. Definitely breathing, he decided. He was about to call out Elizabeth's name, but that familiar shiver down his spine once again made its presence know. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end also.

John darted for the back corner of the cell, hoping it would conceal him somewhat from the impending threat, although why he didn't know. He was being held on a Wraith ship, so they already knew he was here. Major Sheppard now heard approaching footsteps, heavy and striding purposefully -- in his direction. Damn, I wish I had a weapon....

And there, several seconds later and standing in front of the cell, was the biggest Wraith John Sheppard had ever seen.

"Aw, crap...."

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Elizabeth was escorted, or rather driven ahead by the Wraith she had encountered in her cell. Instead of draining the life out of her, as she had expected, it had grabbed her and was now taking her to another location. They walked the dark and sinister halls of what she could only assume to be a Hive Ship. Despite the countless number of mission reports she had read involving teams' visits to Hive Ships, she wasn't prepared for the utter... lifelessness of the entire place. It was cold, gloomy, and downright terrifying.

After an innumerable amount of twists and turns, they arrived at their destination: a larger holding cell bounded on three sides by sheer rock walls. The entire third side was constructed of more of those branch-things. This room looked as if it could hold several dozen people. Elizabeth guessed that was in fact its purpose: to contain the Wraith's food until their appetite came calling. She noticed the cell was empty and prayed that didn't mean they were hungry.

Her Wraith shoved her roughly into the cell, causing her to lose her footing and fall face first into the floor. Not uttering one word but simply glaring at her, he turned and walked away. The branches closed behind him, leaving Elizabeth once again alone.

She sat in silence for several minutes until she heard more footsteps. She counted two pair, and noticed one was heavier than the other. They grew louder until the source was standing in front of her. It was John, and he was practically tossed in to cell by the largest Wraith Elizabeth could have imagined. The Wraith then exited and stood guard in the hallway.

"Hey there," he greeted, attempting to sound relaxed -- and not entirely succeeding -- as he got off the ground. He was glad to see Elizabeth in one piece and not... aged.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she approached him, putting a hand on his arm. She thanked her lucky stars he was alive and well... as well as one can be when one is trapped aboard a Wraith ship.

"Oh, you know... just some minor cuts and bruises from back on Klaan. What about you? Did they hurt you?" He asked the last question angrily as the thought of what could have happened entered his mind. John once again lifted her chin gently and examined her.

Despite their dire predicament, she had to hide a smile. "No, I'm fine."

"How's your knee?"

"What?"

"Your knee. How is it?" he asked again.

Through all of the chaos and horror she had completely forgot. Frankly, she was amazed at how he had remembered through everything that had happened. Then she recalled; my knee, the reason why we're both here. Still, it seemed trivial to be worrying about something like that when they were facing almost certain death, if not something worse. "Oh, it's fine," she replied.

He merely cocked an eyebrow at her in disbelief.

Elizabeth sighed. Damn him. "Okay, it hurts like hell. Happy?"

He threw her one of his wry, half smiles. "Then keep off it. Here, sit down," he said, pointing to the back wall.

She reluctantly allowed him to help her over to the wall and lower her down to the cold floor. It wasn't comfortable at all, but it blissfully took the weight off her aching joint. He joined her on the floor soon after inspecting the room.

"I don't suppose you still have your radio on you," he asked, studying the Wraith guard.

"No, unfortunately. They apparently took it from me, along with anything else that could have been of use."

"Yeah, same here."

Silence settled between them, not like the awkward silences of the days past, but a comfortable one, each person understanding and sharing in the other's fear. Elizabeth studied John, who was still watching the mammoth Wraith. He seemed so cool and collected; how does he do it? she wondered. But she then saw his eyes, and in them she noticed worry. Elizabeth was glad; he would have to be insane to not be worried.

"John?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm… I'm sorry for getting you into this. You shouldn't have stopped and waited for me back there on Klaan. You should have left me," she murmured. It was the truth, and as much as it hurt her to say it, she had to apologize to him. If not for her and her stupid knee, and injury she got in college, at least one of them would still be safe and sound. She felt selfish for being thankful that John was her with her. What kind of disgusting monster am I for thinking that?

John didn't say anything. His eyes remained fixed on the Wraith. What, Elizabeth thought, could possibly be so interesting--

"I'd do it again," he said softly, still not looking at her. Instead his eyes were now on the ground, almost as if he was embarrassed about something.

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

He finally met her gaze. "I said I'd do it again. I wasn't going to leave you, Liz."

Silence was her only answer. Apparently, she had misjudged him. Elizabeth felt mortified that she was actually going to suspend him for doing his job. But she was also touched that someone would care enough about her to put her safety before his. And how did I repay him? she thought. By dragging him into this mess, too. "Look, John… as much as I am grateful for what you did, for saving my life… just… please don't do it again. I can't have you risking your life for me, because if anything were to happen to you on my account…." She struggled to find the words. "I just don't want that on my conscience, alright?" she finished, her voice level dropping. Now it was her turn to look at the floor.

"I can't promise that," he told her bluntly. Never would he abandon a teammate, and he especially would never have deserted Elizabeth on the road like she was some sort of piece of trash. And if that meant putting his life on the line, so be it. But he did feel guilty once again for not being able to grant Elizabeth her wish, nor would he ever be able to.

She simply stared back at him until she could look at him no longer, a deep sadness and disappointment in her eyes. Again came those mixed feelings of gratitude and betrayal she got from John. She wondered if that was wrong; if she was honestly that callous to mistake his fidelity for betrayal. Elizabeth contemplated whether his loyalty to her and his teammates was the military in him or simply his nature. Never in her life had she met someone with such fierce devotion. She found it odd how the same man could have complete disloyalty for the chain of command and military bureaucracy in general.

They sat side by side for the next few hours, pondering what was to be their fate. Brutal images would surface in their minds of Wraith cullings and feedings. Sheppard could not help but think of Colonel Sumner and his excruciating death. He hoped Ford and the others would find them before it came to that.

Speaking of Ford and the others, he thought.

"Hey, Elizabeth," he asked, lines of puzzlement creasing his face. "Don't you find it...weird that the Wraith only took us?"

Elizabeth really didn't want to talk about this right now. Living through the experience was bad enough, but talking about it, essentially re-living it, was worse. Still, she needed to talk about something, to get her mind off the omnipresent press of mortality. It seemed to her death was practically on their doorstep and the Wraith guard outside their entrance constantly reminded her of that.

"What do you mean?" She answered his question with one of her own.

"Look," he explained. "The Darts must have taken, what: four, maybe five passes?"

She shrugged, not following him.

He continued, his voice escalating and his hands gesticulating dramatically. He was in his element, and he was onto something. "I've been going over it again and again in my head. The first and second time the Darts passed overhead, they fired at the ground and at the nearby trees, but not at us. Now why would they do that?" he prompted.

She shrugged once more, not knowing. His theory is intriguing, I'll give that much. "To scare us to death?" And it worked, too, she added to herself.

He looked at her patiently, smiling at her quip. Her answer was correct, just not the one he was looking for. "Think tactically."

Tactical operations were not her forté, they were his, but she tried anyway. Okay, I remember being fired at on their first pass, and on the second one, too. After that John and I hit the deck… while Teyla, Rodney, and Ford were able to run for the bushes… we were separated from the others…. Her jaw dropped as realization dawned on her.

"Exactly," John said, reading her face. "They wanted to herd us away from the rest of the group. And they did a damn good job of it," he added bitterly. "Now on the third pass, the two Darts closed in from opposite direction, pinning us in the middle. They continued firing to keep us isolated from Ford and the others so that it would be easier for them to capture us. They laid down just enough fire to keep Ford from coming to our aid."

Elizabeth marveled at his attentiveness. She found his theory improbable, however; it was most likely by chance that she and John were the ones taken. It could have just as easily been Teyla or Rodney or Ford. But still… She found herself being pulled in as he continued to explain.

"And did you notice they never fired at the others, even as they were laying down cover fire for us? Not once? No, they wanted us; the Wraith didn't care about them. I was wondering why the Darts were ignoring the rest of the team. At the time I thought it was because they were concealed well enough under the bush, or that I simply had the worst luck known to mankind, which may be true…"

This drew a small smile from Elizabeth.

"… but the bush was thin. The Wraith without a doubt could see right through it and spot the team, yet they never fired at or attempted to capture them," he concluded, looking for a reaction from Elizabeth as what he told her sunk in.

She realized he was right. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. "So what are you saying?" Elizabeth thought she knew what he was implying….

"I'm saying that it was the Wraith's objective to get us all along. For some reason, we were flagged," he said in hushed tones.

"But why? Why us? Do you think maybe it's your ATA gene that they detected somehow and that I had simply been too near to you when they beamed you?"

"I don't know… it's possible…" he contemplated, but his tone indicated he doubted the likelihood.

Before they could mull over this new mystery any further, three new Wraith joined the towering guard who had attentively stood watch the entire time. John stood up defensively and watched as the four of them conversed, with occasional glances thrown their way. He strained to hear the conversation, but the voices were too quiet. He relied on his sight instead, gathering any information he could about his captors. They look like Steve, he thought. Hell, they all look like Steve. He wondered jokingly if that made him a racist.

The largest Wraith -- John had officially dubbed him Tiny -- spread the branches of the entranceway apart and stormed into the cell. He sneered coldly as he spied Elizabeth back as far into the corner as she could. John put a protective hand on her shoulder eyed the approaching Wraith, waiting for it to make a move.

He stood several feet in front of them, appraising them. Or deciding how tasty we look, Elizabeth thought. "Get up," he said finally.

"Not until you tell us--" John was cut off as the Wraith picked him up and threw him across the cell. He hit the opposite wall hard and fell to the ground.

"Get up and come with us. Now." With that, Tiny walked out of the cell and rejoined his comrades outside the entrance.

As soon as Tiny exited the cell, Elizabeth got up and rushed over to the Major. "Jesus… John, are you okay?" she asked, kneeling over him.

Groaning, he sat up and touched a finger to his lip. It was bloody. But other than that, he was no worse for the wear. "I'm fine. Just got the wind knocked out of me, that's all."

"God, John…."

"No, really, I'm fine." He got to his feet. It seems Steve's cousins aren't messing around. "We'd better go with them," he told her. He could see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes.

He smiled and offered her his hand. "Come on, you'll be fine. I promise."

Elizabeth found herself believing him. She took his hand and followed him cautiously out of the cell. Two of the Wraith immediately separated them, one guarding each of them. They pinned their arms tightly behind their backs and pushed Elizabeth and John to wherever they were going. Tiny led the way in front of them while the fourth Wraith followed behind.

Elizabeth was disgusted by the Wraith's touch. It's blue, scaly skin covered her hands. She could feel the mouth-like apparatus on its palm rubbing against her own, and she suddenly felt ill. Concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other was the only way to keep her from becoming sick to her stomach. She glanced over to John who was being escorted next to her. He stared straight ahead, his chin held high. He had once told her "never let the enemy see you sweat." She wished she had the iron will he did.

After several short minutes of walking, they arrived in front of a small room. There was one entrance and no windows. John and Elizabeth were shoved inside and the door was locked behind them.

Elizabeth rubbed her wrists as John circled the room, inspecting it for anything they could use to their advantage. There was a utilitarian, wooden table and two chairs, but nothing more. He frowned in thought. Since when do Wraith have wooden tables and chairs?

He didn't have to wait long to find out. The answer to his question strode freely through the door at that moment with a broad smile on his face, a smile John knew all too well. Only this time it was an arrogant smile, not the friendly one he had come to recognize over the past few days. I always knew there was something up with this bastard. He was way too friendly.

"Major Sheppard, Dr. Weir. How good it is to see you again," Hergon greeted callously.

TBC


Seriously, how many of you didn't see that coming? You knew there was something up with Hergon, but didn't know what, right? Right? Just humor me and say yes. I need to feel like there was an actual twist. It will become clearer in the next chapter. Another long chapter, I know… I was on a roll though! Review please!

Sci-Fi Friday kicks butt!! Isn't this the best lineup ever: Sg-1, Atlantis, and Battlestar Galactica. Plus, they aired 'Behind the Stargate: Secrets Revealed' beforehand, and it was hilarious!