A/N: Next chapter! W00t!

Chapter Five – Home Is Where the Heart Is…ish

"What is this place?" O'Neill asked as the heavy doors clanged shut behind them.

"I guess you could call it our home," Tira answered without glancing in his direction. She helped Lonin to one of the low cement benches so she could check his wounds. She slowly began to unwind the torn strip of cloth from around his chest and shoulders, accepting clean bandages and ointment from another teenager who came to assist her.

"We haven't been here for very long," she said, glancing back over her shoulder to let the Colonel know she was addressing him. "Only just over a year. Home used to be an old pre-War sub at the bay, but it became apparent that it was too difficult to defend, and too difficult to escape when cornered." As she spoke, she smoothed a layer of the thick ointment onto the gashes, and then began to wrap the new cloth bandages around his torso. "There are hundreds of tunnels connected to this central location, and all of these tunnels have indirect access to the sewage system, which we use to evade the creatures of the Overlords." She finished winding the gauze, and tied it off in a field dressing that even the Colonel had to admire.

Standing from her crouched position, Tira wiped her hands on her pants and turned to face SG-1 once again.

"So, is there anyone here we can talk to who's…oh I don't know…. older?" Asked Colonel O'Neill.

Taking a step forward, Dr. Jackson quickly cut in, "- I think what Jack– Colonel O'Neill- is saying is that…. Uh… who's in charge here? Are there any adults we can talk to?"

Tira grinned bemusedly. "Scoggs!" She called, catching the attention of a 13-year-old boy passing by. "Would you please take the visitors to see Shade?"

The boy simply stared at the members of SG-1 in what appeared to be shock. "They're…. old." He whispered.

"Hey!" O'Neill exclaimed, somewhat offended.

"Scoggs!" Tira admonished, with a slight grin. She turned to address Colonel O'Neill. "Sorry, but we're not really used to… never mind. I should let Shade explain. In fact, if you give me a second, I'll take you myself. I need to give him a report anyway."

Walking over to a rather large basin she turned a knob on the wall and thrust her hands under the cool rush of water that poured out of the metal spout attached to the wall. With no pretense at modesty she stripped out of the tattered mess of her shirt, leaving her only in a black bra, only a few shades darker than a pattern of bruises that decorated the lower 2/3 of her back. Dipping her hands back into the water, she ran them over her arms and abdomen, cleaning off the blood and ichor that had dried into a clotted mess on her skin. She reached out her arm to catch the towel that someone tossed at her, and dried her now-clean skin. She threw the towel to another teenager, who exchanged it for a plain black t-shirt.

"Okay, let's go," she said pulling on the new shirt and indicating that they should follow her.

"Uh…. I'm no doctor…" stated O'Neill, "but shouldn't you disinfect those wounds?"

Tira shot him a bemused look and said simply, "I heal." At his incredulous, and slightly confused look, she simply smiled and said, "Now, if you'll please follow me, I'll take you to meet Shade."

"Yeah, about this…. Shade." said Daniel. "Who exactly is he?"

A/N: I shall now take a moment to recognize my wonderful reviewers. You guys rock!

Cari: As always, thank you for all your help and constant support. By tolerating all my nagging questions, you make the process so much easier… : )

JediPadfoot: Have I ever mentioned that I absolutely love your name? The perfect mix of two of my favorite things. : ) Anyway, thank you for reading. As always, I hope you enjoyed it and will be coming back for more… whenever I write more that is. : ) And I'm glad you liked the sword sequence. I was actually worried that the imagery wouldn't properly convey what I had going in my head, and that readers would just be confused. : )

Until next time everyone!

-Ember