The Alliance Bride

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis or any of its characters.

Welcome to Atlantis

Sgt. Chris Bates had a headache by the time he reached the infirmary on Atlantis to find it mostly empty, the only people there were Dr. Michael Corrigan who was just finishing up his post mission physical which was being preformed by Dr. Carson Beckett the base CMO. Chris had found quarters for the newest member of the expedition who by all intents and purposes was his wife, the circumstances leading to him suddenly having a wife was the main reason for his current headache, not to mention that he could hear people whispering in the hallways as he passed, 'good God gossip travels fast around this place, we haven't even been back for an hour and I bet over half of the base knows of my new marital status by now,' he thought to himself.

As Chris enters the infirmary he was greeted by a warm smile from the Doc and a playful smirk from Mike his team's resident Linguist/Archeologist.

Dr. Beckett looks at him and tries to sound sincere as he says in that Scottish brogue of his, "I hear that congratulations are in order."

Chris is trying to see the humor in the situation giving the Doc a half smile, "yeah well I wouldn't start breaking out the cigars just yet… I know almost nothing about the woman; this whole thing is probably a disaster just waiting to happen." Chris starts looking around, "speaking of which, where is she?"

Mike takes the opportunity to speak up, "oh Sam and Will took her to the mess hall to get something to eat, I was going to head down there myself when I was done but I'll wait for you."

Fourty-five minutes and 1000mg of Tylenol later Chris and Mike were headed to the mess hall, to hook up with there team mates and apparently with Chris's new wife, 'oh yeah that thought is surreal, I wonder how Dr. Jackson handled being married to a woman he had never met before, to bad he's not here to ask for advice' he thought as he and Mike walked to the mess hall.

Suddenly Mike hits Chris on the arm, "hey look," pointing over to the table where Mili was sitting with Lt. Sam Jordan, Dr. Will Stevens and about half of the Linguists and Archeologists in Atlantis, "I guess word travels fast, we'd probably better get our food and see if Jordan or Mili need rescuing from them."

For a few moments Chris just stood there staring at Mili, their first meeting had been so brief and he had been so upset about the whole marriage situation he hadn't taken the time to really look at her but now he found himself unable to tear his eyes from her, 'my God she is beautiful, how did I not notice it before, ah yes I was busy freaking out,' he thinks to himself, suddenly feeling completely panicked at the idea of facing Mili for the first time in such a public place.

Chris looks over at Mike who is currently following his line of sight to Mili, "hey Mike you know what I'm not really that hungry, I think I'll just go make sure that Mili's new quarters are in order… could you bring her there when you're finished eating."

Mike didn't argue with him like Chris had been expecting instead Mike just clapped him on the shoulder, "sure Chris but… you know you're going to have to face her eventually."

Chris looked at his friend solemnly, "I know it's just… I'm not ready yet, I haven't really worked out how I feel about any of this, you understand right."

Mike nods at him, "it's ok man, I'll take care of her for you, don't worry." Chris smiles uneasily, "thanks Mike… I'll see you later,"

Chris glances back at the table for a moment before leaving, Mili seemed to be having an in depth conversation with one of the linguists.

Little did Chris know but Mili had seen him standing by the door of the mess hall talking with Mike, but had been asked a question by one of the linguists and had missed Chris's hasty retreat. When she looked back she saw that neither Mike or Chris were by the door anymore and her eyes went to the food line where she saw Mike but not Chris, 'he left, he's avoiding me, maybe it's for the best I don't know if I could face him yet any way,' she thought to herself.

"Oh can I ask you another question, in your culture do your people trace their lineage through your mother or your fathers line?" said a man across from her, Dr. Suarez she believed he said his name was, it seemed like everyone she was meeting here seemed to be a doctor of something or other, 'doesn't that ever get confusing,' she thought to herself.

Thankfully Mike arrived just at that moment, rescuing Mili from answering yet another question, "hey you guys think you could give the lady some breathing room… besides I'm sure you all have work to be doing."

The other linguists and archeologists grumbled as they stood and said their goodbyes to Mili, she thanked them for the company as they filed away from the table.

Mike took the seat across from her that had just been vacated by Dr. Suarez, Mike looks over at Sam and Will and says, "hey guys why don't you go get cleaned up."

They took the hint that Mike actually wanted to speak with Mili alone for a little while, "sure Mike, bye Mili," "we'll catch you both later" they said as they left.

After they were gone Mili decided to address Mike with a questions of her own, "will my husband not be joining us?" Unfortunately Mike had chosen that moment to put a fork full of food in his mouth that he promptly began choking on slightly, but recovered after a short coughing fit. As he looked up he saw that Mili had a slightly concerned look on her face, "are you alright?" she asked when his coughing subsided.

Mike gave her a slight smile, "yeah I'm fine… no, Chris went back to your quarters to make sure that everything was in order for you."

Mike was curious as he watched Mili's attitude change when she simply said quietly, "oh." They sat there in silence for several minutes while Mike ate, even though a million questions were running through Mili's mind, she was just feeling so nervous.

Finally Mike broke the silence between them, "Chris asked me to take you to your quarters when we're done here."

Mili simply nods her head, nervousness quickly rising in her stomach, 'this is it, I'm about to lie with a man I know nothing about' she thought to herself, but then decided to be bold, if this was going to happen she needed to know something, anything.

"Mike what is he like?… Chris I mean… he hasn't even talked to me yet and I was just wondering," Mili asks trying to sound calm.

Mike gave her a warm smile, "well Chris is a good guy, he can be a little intense though and he's sort of a suspicious person by nature… you see he is the head of security here so everyone's safety is his responsibility and it's one he takes very seriously… I imagine that is one of the reasons he is freaking out so much since your safety is now his responsibility, and yours would be even more important since you are his um… well his wife."

A slight smile creeps to her mouth, "does he have any other wives?"

Mike blinks a few times, "no we don't do that… we only take one spouse… and this situation is highly unusual because we don't have arranged marriages when we marry it is for love."

At that moment the gravity of the situation began to settle in her mind, "he is only allowed to take one wife?" Mike nods to her question, "and he didn't get to choose… why didn't he just break the agreement with my father and go when he still had the chance?"

Mike half smiled at her, "he found out what would have happened to you had he done that, and he just couldn't, like I said he is a good guy and no matter how difficult the decision was he wouldn't leave you there to suffer needlessly."

Mili's breathing had become a little erratic she almost felt like crying, "that was very… noble of him… it does sound like he is a good man, I am glad to know that," the last part coming out in a whisper.

Mike smiles at her, "that is just the way he is, he always seems to keep up appearances that he is the tough military guy and that nothing get to him." A big smile spreads across Mike's face, "I remember this one time we went to a planet to find people to trade with but when we got there they had just been attacked by the wraith a couple of days earlier and most of their crops had been destroyed so we were going to leave since we couldn't trade with them. But, before we left I caught him giving this little kid and his baby sister all of the rations he had on him and when I asked he just says 'I'm not that hungry', it was then that I realized there was a lot more to him than just Sgt. Bates, there was a genuinely nice person under the soldier, that's when we started to become friends. Don't be surprised if it takes him a while to show you that side of himself, you'll have to be patient with him… he'll come around eventually."

Mili felt better now that she had spoken with Mike, no matter what he showed on the outside, it sounded like her husband was actually a very honorable and kind and she was looking forward to getting to know him.

Mike finished up his food quickly and then took Mili to her quarters, he let her palm open the door herself, "fun, huh," Mike said when he saw the huge smile on her face when the door swished open.

"It is most amazing this technology, I can't wait to learn more about it," Mili said enthusiastically as she stepped inside of the quarters, followed shortly by Mike.

The quarters weren't anything fancy they were pretty much like every other set of quarters on Atlantis. There was a full size bed, a set of drawers, a bathroom and a small couch with a low-lying table in front of it. However, Mike did notice a few things that were very different from other quarters on the little table a few candles had been placed there and on the dresser there was a small potted flowering plant adding color to the otherwise bland room, 'wow Bates knows how to decorate, even when there is almost nothing to work with.'

The sound of Mili's voice snapped Mike out of his current train of thought, "so these are to be my quarters," Mike nods, "will Chris be living here with me as well?" she asks.

Mike felt a little surprised by her question, "oh no… um actually he thought it would be better for the two of you to get to know each other before you… you know…" Mike trailed off hoping she would understand and he wouldn't have to elaborate, but by the blush that stained her cheeks he was sure that he wouldn't.

Mili was definitely beginning to like this man who had so suddenly become her husband, it would seem that he was even more honorable than she had thought. He didn't want to lie with her until they had a chance to know each other, even though he had every right to her. From what Mike had told her she felt as though she could love this man if only he would stop avoiding her, but only time would tell.

Mike decided to change the subject noticing that there were a couple of sets of uniforms on the bed they were the color of a deep blue indicating members of the linguistics department, he couldn't help but think that the color would also enhance the deep blue color of Mili's eyes, just a happy coincidence.

"Well it looks like your official," Mike said making Mili look at him confused, "I mean the uniforms on the bed… you see the blue color indicates someone in the linguistics department. Dr. Weir and I discussed it and we decided that you would be a good addition… actually I needed to speak to you about putting together a list of gate addresses for potential trading partners that you feel you may have some influence with."

Mili looked at him with a small smile, "of course, where would you like to start?"

Almost two hours later Mike finally left Mili's quarters with a rather long list of planets and a new found appreciation for the complication of Mili's rather large family circle. Before he left he also gave her a crash course in how to operate the plumbing in her bathroom.

After a stop at his own quarters to partake in the ritual of bathing himself and putting on a clean uniform Mike headed to the control room to compare the list of planets that Mili had given him to ones that they had visited before.