Title: Atlantis

Author: Tonia Barone

Rating: Teen

Spoilers: Poisoning the Well

Disclaimer: slumped in her seat, chin on a fist as she watches Carson and Radek, and John and Rodney "play" If I owned them, this would be canon. sighs heavily

Notes: Thanks to jakisbishlygay for the beta.

Summary: The Healer cares for the Children. The Engineer cares for me. I care for the Healer.

Her Favorite Child and his team left through the Doorway a short while ago. She always felt diminished when he was gone. She was certain the Engineer had noticed, even if no one else had. He paid such attention to her and her ways and was always extra attentive during the times her Favorite Child was gone.

One of the thinkers had made note once of how her lights seemed a little more dim than before, shortly after her Favorite Child had gone through the Doorway. Always aware of her, the Engineer had made careful notes when this occurred several more times. After the fifth time, she was pleasantly surprised when he began singing softly in his native tongue. No one else was around the first time he did this and it took until the third time for her to realize he was singing to her.

No one else seemed to understand what he sang, herself included, but she could sense his intentions clearly and was comforted. These were the times she so desperately wished he was one of her True Children, or even one of the Healer's Gifted. For all she loved her Protector, he was almost cold to her and her ways. He saw her as a simple machine, to be used as her programs dictated; most of the Children saw her this way. Her Favorite Child had suspicions about her true self, she knew, but he never spoke of them to the others.

No, the Engineer was alone in his regard for her and she was glad. She would have to see if it was possible to divert enough power to show him where headset her former Children used to communicate with her was. Oh, yes, there was such a device; that, along with an implant, had allowed her to interact with her Children since her birth. Usually one person was deemed the Liaison between herself and the others and it was a life-long post. In the final months of their life, the Liaison would train their replacement and upon their death, the new Liaison would be implanted, given the headset and take over the duties of their predecessor.

At full power, she could communicate with her Liaison anywhere in the galaxy thanks to a transmitter in the implant. That is not to say that her Liaison left her walls often, but sometimes it was needed to repair or build the many Sanctuaries and Outposts her former Children insisted on building.

The Doorway opened just then and she brightened, literally. Her Favorite Child was home. Though not for long, it would see. The people of the planet they had went to were developing a serum to combat the Wraith, but had no test subject or the knowledge to finish it. They required the Healer and the Wraith her Favorite Child had captured. Finally, that filth would be leaving her walls!

She is unsure that they will succeed, for this was one of the solutions her former Children had tried and they, for all their wisdom, were not successful. But, as she has noted previously, perhaps these younger Children could accomplish what their predecessors could not. They could only hope.

She keeps watch over the Engineer as he wanders her halls, partly to keep him safe and partly to while away the hours until her Favorite Child returns with news. She saw the laboratory he was heading towards and lit the way. He wasn't paying much attention to where he was going, so lost in thought he was. She wished she had a more human form so she could smile. Just as she wished she could smile, he briefly caressed her walls in thanks.

When he thanked her, she shifted the power she had used for the lights in that entire wing—which was more or less empty, this close to dinner—to use one of the screens for a message. Knowing that the Engineer wasn't as proficient in her native language, she used one he was familiar with: the language preferred by the new Children. The look of surprise and awe quickly shifted to a pleased smile and she was glad. She wouldn't be able to do that often—it took a bit more power than was normally available—but just this once was worth it.

The Engineer was deep in his work when her Favorite Child came home. Of course he noticed when the lights brightened and began to save his work. She keeps one eye on him as he transverses her corridors to the control tower while another was intent on her Children.

The Healer was heartbroken and she ached to lift his pain. The experimental serum killed a full half of those who took it and despite the Healer's warnings otherwise, the people of the planet thought it a worthy risk to be unpalatable to the Wraith. This went against all he was taught as a healer and, personally, she agreed with him. Life was precious and should not be trifled with in such a manner.

While her Favorite Child, her Protector, the Second and the Warrior recounted what happened on the planet to their Leader, the Healer left to his quarters. He needed time to come to terms with what happened and she was determined to aide him in any way she could. This included sealing his rooms off once he was inside. He needed time to mourn and the last thing he needed was to cater to others. It was a simple matter to silence the door chimes and to lock the door against all entry. It could not remain thus for more than a few hours or the others would begin to worry and take drastic measures, but for now it was all she could do.

They brought the Wraith back into her walls, though it lived no more. She could sense the Healer had plans for the body she would aide him in any way she could. The Wraith had been loose in this galaxy for far too long and if anything could be gleaned from the autopsy he planned to perform, all the better. Her former Children would never consider such an invasive procedure, even if they had ever had a dead Wraith for study. She just hoped it would pan out.