He was up late that night.
When the sky darkened, Atlantis barely noticed. There was too much to do, and even when that was done, no one wanted to be just . . . waiting.
So when he felt the need for air, he went. Well within the approved habitat area was a small balcony which faced out over the sea. It was to this place that he retreated, sitting back in the dark and staring out at unfamiliar stars. More than anything else, the night sky of Atlantis reminded him that he was no longer on Earth.
The bite on his arm was nearly gone, reduced to only a dark scab and an angry bruise. Gabriel's mortal incarnation was not the same as being mortal; he was the Left Hand of God, one of the first of His sons. It meant that though he could live as a human on Earth, he was never quite the same as the younger children of God. He was mortal, in one sense – but he was also other.
It also meant that he did not need as long to heal, which was something he had been occasionally grateful for, down the years. His mind wandered these paths, turning over several millennia's worth of remembrances from Earth as his consciousness moved toward sleep.
He had been there for some hours, drifting in and out of a light doze, when the sudden opening of the door had him starting upright. A shaft of dim light, broken by a faint shadow, threw itself out into the night.
A figure, dressed in loose sleep clothing, padded out into the breeze with a sigh. Gabriel recognized her. She moved to the railing, long curls winding down her back, and rested her arms on it as she stared out to sea.
He cleared his throat softly, and Teyla whirled, a knife in hand. Gabe raised his hands slowly, standing and squinting as he moved into the light, letting her see him.
Recognition dawned on her face slowly. "Gabriel Venner," she acknowledged him.
He smiled. "Teyla Emmagan."
She nodded.
"It's just Gabe," he told her. Slowly, he moved to the railing not far from her, looking out over the sea.
"Why are you not asleep at this hour?" she asked him softly.
Gabe smiled a little. "I wanted to think. You look as if you've just woken up," he commented, turning the conversation from himself with ease.
Her smile faded. "Yes. I was asleep. But I have been having . . . strange dreams."
"Nightmares?"
She shot him a look. "Why do you think that?"
He reached out a hand, and rested it gently on the knife she was still tightly gripping. White knuckles eased, and he carefully took the weapon from her. It glinted in the light of strange stars as he examined it, mute testimony to her distress.
"I dream," she said lowly, staring at the knife. "The wraith. They are there, and those I care for have died."
"Awful dreams," he agreed softly. The edge of the knife was razor-sharp, and he kept well away from it.
Teyla smiled tightly. "I had none such as these before the wraith awoke."
Gabe frowned. "Is there anyone among your people that you could speak with?" he asked gently. "Someone who would know how to help you?" He really didn't want to send her to the Atlantis psychologist. Teyla was a very down-to-earth woman, practical and not given to whimsical fear.
A memory, not quite grasped, flashed in his mind's eye. Pain, so great as to tear his soul from its moorings. The power he kept tucked down deep, far from mortal eyes, burst into beauteous life, burning away the solidly evil presence that clutched at him. A moment in its mind, filled with whispered screams that clogged breath in the throat. And a vision of the thousands, felt and heard and thought, treading on one another's minds behind this one, impatiently waiting . . .
Gabe blinked. He hadn't realized that there would be anything to remember after the wraith had tried to kill him – and so he hadn't sought after the errant recollections. Without prompting, they had risen from the depths of his mind to aid him. And now he was certain that there was more going on here than met the eye.
"Charin," Teyla said, jolting him from his thoughts.
"I'm sorry?"
"Charin is an elder of my people. A mother to many, even those not of her flesh. I would speak with her."
"I'm glad," Gabe smiled. He thought for a moment and then said slowly, "Talk to Sheppard as well."
"Major Sheppard?" Teyla's confusion was palpable.
Gabe nodded, his eyes on the whitecaps shimmering in the moonlight. "He's your team leader," he argued, softly persuasive. "He could help you, and he needs to know, especially if you're -"
"Distracted?" Teyla asked wryly. She too was looking out to sea, but she seemed to be content with the distant horizon, knowing that over it was the land on which her people now lived.
Gabe nodded. "Just so," he murmured quietly.
The two stood, leaning on the railing in amiable silence as the night deepened. Teyla's breathing, ragged from the dream, slowly subsided as the soothing breeze played over her skin. The man next to her was the epitome of calm, strangely alert for the hour and completely focused on the waves.
"Goodnight." Gabriel wished her pleasant dreams, feeling his weariness swell in a rising tide. Much was to be done on the morrow, he thought as he left the balcony for the privacy of his rooms.
The hours of sleep he got did him well, but he later learned that Teyla had not been so lucky.
Gabe was back in the infirmary, working under Beckett's supervision, when later the following day Dr. McKay barged in. He noted Gabe's presence, for Sheppard had brought the errant private to heel, depositing him in McKay's care for the time being. But the soldier was ignored as the scientist grabbed Beckett's full attention with the data he had dumped onto his laptop from a recorder Teyla found. The entire story came out in a rush – Teyla's nightmare and her visit with Dr. Heightmeyer, the Atlantis psychologist. The trip to the planet, and the strange chamber that Teyla alone could enter.
It was then that the most disturbing information of all was revealed. Gabe surreptitiously made his way closer, until he was practically peering over Beckett's shoulder to see the screen. Wraiths had evolved after the Ancients arrived in the Pegasus galaxy; their DNA was a strange combination of human, and the parasitic insect which had nearly ended Major Sheppard's life not long ago. Their language was even a dialect of Ancient.
Gabriel stared at the screen, turning over this new information. It made sense, given that the wraiths appeared vaguely human, and yet reeked of some sort of twisted evil. He felt a momentary pang of sorrow for how far the creatures had fallen, how far they had strayed from their original path. They had ceased to be human, and were now a scourge throughout this galaxy. With that thought, his pity dried up and was replaced with impassive determination and acceptance for the role he would need to play.
"Look at that," Beckett breathed, drawing Gabriel's attention back to the screen. They were now viewing the log of a wraith who was conducting experiments on humans. Gabe's face twisted, and he could not completely contain a soft noise of disgust.
McKay turned at the sound, and saw him looking over their shoulders. A scowl darkened his face and he opened his mouth to object to Gabe's presence. But scientist did not have the time to say anything, for at that moment, several people strode into Dr. Beckett's realm. Teyla and Dr. Heightmeyer were foremost, with Sheppard, Ford and Weir bringing up the rear. Apparently, McKay and Weir had gone over the information before McKay went to Beckett; they had discovered the reason why the wraith forbade their scientist from continuing his experiments.
"And you want to try to tap into this – psychic network," Beckett said dubiously as the plan was explained.
"I would like to try." Teyla was calm, but she looked as if she had gotten no sleep the previous night. Gabriel, hovering mostly unnoticed in the background, frowned at this. Weir noted his presence, and her eyes flicked to Beckett. The doctor nodded very slightly, and Weir relaxed. She obviously had been informed about the wraith in the city several days ago, but had not had the time to fully debrief Gabe. Sheppard was as yet unaware that anything had been amiss; his attention was firmly on Teyla and Dr. Heightmeyer.
The hunter waited silently near the back of the room as Teyla was prepped for the hypnosis. Dr. Heightmeyer, blonde and confident, began to speak in a low, soothing voice. Teyla's eyes gradually closed, and in a soft, dreamlike voice she began to speak.
As she did, Gabe could feel the stench of wraith begin to fill the room, shadowing the sunlight before his eyes. It scraped at his senses and he muffled a sneeze. His hair stood on end and he tensed for a fight – but there was no wraith present.
"I'm . . . feeding," Teyla sobbed, her voice breaking into his focus and drawing his attention to the physical world.
The Scot, who had been unhappy with this idea from the start, lost his temper at this point. Beckett immediately pulled the Athosian out of the hypnosis. Shuddering and gasping, Teyla opened her eyes. Her team moved in, with reassurance and words of comfort, and Gabriel frowned. As Teyla had been linked with the wraith, the presence of wraith had grown. There was something going on here – beyond Teyla tapping into the psychic network. He shifted uneasily, leaning against the wall.
The expected words were not long in coming. Teyla was a strong woman, and her desire to defeat the wraith and help her people was so much a part of who she was, it was nearly embedded in her bones. She was resolutely working past the idea that the enemy she so loathed was a part of her, in the very cellular writing that composed what she was. Teyla insisted on trying again.
This time, however, Gabe straightened and moved to the bed where she was lying, nearly as soon as contact had been established. He was only a mere pace away when she bolted up from the bed, her face contorted in a wicked smile. "You will all die," the wraith hissed the promise, using the Athosian's body with practiced ease. Then the wraith behind her eyes found Gabe, and the orbs opened wide in surprise. "You," it gargled, filled with hate.
At that moment, however, Teyla was yanked unceremoniously from the hypnosis.
Beckett looked to Gabe, and the hunter met his eyes; he could see a question there, and understanding. He moved back, but not before more eyes had followed Teyla's gaze to find him. Weir looked at him with every question he had seen in Beckett's eyes, and none of the understanding. Ford spared him no more than a curious glance, but Sheppard's eyes narrowed on seeing him there.
"Private Venner," he snapped.
Venner stood straight, saluted, and said nothing.
"What are you doing here?" Sheppard demanded.
Beckett cut in quickly. "I scheduled him for a series of tests to determine if he's ready to return to duty. That was before I knew what you wanted to do here today."
Sheppard nodded, appeased, and Gabe frowned. He was unhappy that his presence here had forced Beckett to lie. His debt to the doctor grew.
Dr. Heightmeyer ignored the entire conversation, her focus on Teyla. The Athosian had pulled out of the hypnosis with a horrified gasp, and was slowly calming.
Alarms snapped the tension in the room, an incoming wormhole sending Weir, Ford, Sheppard, Teyla and McKay racing from the room. Gabriel took a deep breath in exasperation, knowing that he should be there with them, but holding himself back. Beckett smiled tightly at him, and Heightmeyer looked curiously at him, wondering at his presence there.
As the alarms died and they waited for news of what was happening at the 'gate, she introduced herself.
"Pleased to meet you," Gabe replied, shaking the proffered hand.
Sharp eyes took in his easy posture, the careless way he leant against the wall. "I don't think I've ever spoken with you," she offered carefully. "In an official setting, I mean."
"I don't believe so," the hunter returned evenly.
The frown was of puzzlement, overlaying but not erasing her cordial smile. "That's unusual. I make it my policy to speak to everyone in the Atlantis crew."
Gabe shrugged. "It's not unusual for one to slip through the cracks."
"I'll have to rectify that," she told him, the smile reemerging.
He didn't tense, or give her any other visual signal to latch onto. "Some other time, perhaps," he returned politely. But his tone was a little too cool for her to think the invitation welcome.
She eyed him then, but saw no sign of resistance or hostility, only more of the carefully constructed façade of carelessness. She began to tell him of her policies, and her methods, searching for a sign of interest.
Unfailingly polite, Gabriel nevertheless grew less vocal as the conversation continued, soon limited to silent nods or hand gestures. He understood the human need to speak out, and confide. He understood the need to treat the heart and mind, as well as the body, against pain and disease. He even shared these needs – but only to a small degree. After thousands of years of living among humanity, there were some areas in which he was more knowledgeable about the human mind than any living; and some he still could not comprehend. He had been examined by psychiatrists, in one form or another, many times over the years. It did him no good; for once he knew how the game was played, it was a simple matter to rig the outcome. He had neither the need nor the desire to speak with yet another psychologist.
Her interest in him was diverted, luckily, by the return of Teyla, Ford, Sheppard and Weir. But the Athosian was once more determined to undergo hypnosis. Explaining her reasons, the most prominent was that she had seen a map – some type of holographic display, from what the hunter could judge. It could contain valuable information, something to make the effort worthwhile.
Given what had happened the last time, Gabriel didn't deem the risk worth it. He sat silently by, however, and did not interfere in the decisions that were made. Sergeant Bates, who had come from the discovered and now-useless Alpha site, was more vocal about his disagreement, but in the end he was overruled.
Disaster did not take long to strike after Teyla was hypnotized for the third time. Wasting no time, the wraith took over her body, and immediately threw Sheppard and Beckett away from it. The doctor, who would be able to bring her out of hypnosis immediately, curtailing the wraith's actions, was knocked unconscious. Sheppard hit the wall hard, dropping with a thud to lie dazed on the floor. Ford was summarily tossed aside, and Gabriel moved forward.
The wraith, seeing him approach, snarled. The expression was a foreign one to see on Teyla's face. With uncanny coordination, it approached him – knowing that Teyla's flesh would protect the monster now ruling her from afar. A fist sped through the air, with enough force to send him flying across the room.
Gabriel spun quickly to the side, and reached out, grabbing her arm in an unyielding grasp. For all its strength, the wraith could not pull free and was, for that one instant, immobilized in shock.
"Teyla," Gabriel called strongly. "Teyla Emmagan."
Light flared – from a stun weapon, the watchers assumed.
The wraith was gone – and Teyla was left blinking at Gabe in confusion. Slowly, the Athosian's knees buckled, and Gabe was able to grab her, easing her way to the floor. Bates, stun weapon raised, was staring in shock and suspicion.
Sheppard rolled to his feet as Bates approached, and Gabe backed carefully away, leaving the two men to stand staring warily down at Teyla. She was half-conscious, and between them, they moved her to a bed. In the meantime, Gabe helped Ford carry the unconscious Dr. Beckett to another bed. He had taken a hard knock, but his lids were fluttering and he squinted up, groaning softly.
"Wha – wha' happened?" the Scot grunted thickly, the words barely decipherable through his accent.
"That," said Sheppard, staring hard at Gabe across the barely-cognizant bodies of Teyla and Beckett, "is what I'd like to know."
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Word to the wary – I'm getting a bit irritated with following along episode for episode. This is AU, dammit, and it's going to start getting even more so from now on. (is growling). And I do apologize, but school starts soon, so updating will return to its usual prolonged and sporadic schedule.