Chapter 7

Home Is Where…

Rodney struggled with Neanderthal and Cro Magnon in front of the succubus of a chair. Even the choke hold on Elizabeth was not enough to keep him from trying to break their iron clad grip on him. He had been cooperative until his eyes actually fell on the damn thing.

The two predecessors of mankind forcibly stripped the rest of his uniform off of him. Normally, being naked in front of someone- say the leader of the expedition- would make him redder than a beet. At this particular moment, he could give a rat's ass about the state of his dress or undress. Staying out of the chair was where his energy was directed as it should be- in his opinion.

Drones appeared and finished the task with such ease it was disturbing, frightening and ego crushing. His ass hit the chair and mesh held him fast. He knew the next step. God, he did not want the next step. It happened all the same. The probes inserted up his spine with nerve searing accuracy.

Wait for it…Ice pick, base of the skull, nothing but gray matter.

He shrieked as the little tendrils slithered inside his skull. When they finished, a current crackled through out his muscles and nerves. How had Sheppard withstood this so stoically and for so long? That's right, he didn't. The colonel was at the end of his endurance when they escaped.

Another sensation entered his stressed out and over stimulated body. Soothingly forceful, it wound its way through his brain. "I am friendly," it cooed. "Relax, I am here to help." It promised an end to this if he would only have a nice chat about things in general.

"Show me the way to go home. I'm tired and I want to go to bed…"

No, not friendly. Not friendly at all. He looked around the room the best he could. The Queen stood next to Elizabeth. When did she get here?

"Tell me trickster. What galaxy are you from?" She asked with the tranquility of a conversation at the water cooler.

Watch the game last night? Whatchya doing this weekend? Betray your people lately?

"No," he answered hoping he channeled some of that tranquility.

She just smiled in return and nodded to the male at the accursed console. That was the last he saw, heard or said during his session. Sight, hearing and speech were removed from him. He felt the friendly nudge again.

"Show me the way to go home…Then you can rest."

No, he thought as the theme music from Jaws played in his head- a warning to all those swimming in the predator infested waters.

The intricate dance began.

"What is you favorite thing in the whole wide world?" A toe-headed little girl asked him. She looked all of five years old. Eyes of blue with yellow rims around the pupils bored into his skull.

Rodney shifted uncomfortably as he sat on a park bench near his apartment. "My cat," he answered the little girl sitting next to him. She scooted closer. He scooted farther away. It was a well known fact kids made him nervous. This one in particular put him on edge.

"Where's your cat now?" She waited patiently, too patiently for a five year old.

"At home."

"Where's home?"

"That's why I don't like kids. You ask too many questions that're none of your business."

The little girl grew up. The bright sunlight darkened into strobe lights and cigarette smoke. The bench turned into a barstool.

"Want to go back to your place?" She yelled over the music in the club. The speakers emitting the band's electronic mayhem made his chest hurt. The smoke made his eyes water.

He looked at the seductive blond woman in front of him. Hell yeah, he wanted to go back to his place… "But let's make it yours," he said with a grin. The beat vibrated right through him. It was becoming more and more painful as a tingle behind his eyes made him squint.

She put a pout on her face. "I have a roommate."

"That's alright!" He yelled waggling his eyebrows. Two could play this game.

Her clothes went from tramp to student as she flicked the pencil against her temple. He waited for the girl to form a question in her insipid head.

"Dr. McKay, Earth's position in the…"

McKay stared nonplussed at the young female student. Why did he always get the dumb blonds in his lectures?

"…solar system is…" she ground out flipping through her notes.

He bobbed his head up and down waiting for her to finish her vacuous thought processes. His arm made hurry-up motions because he was one step away from banging his head on his desk. Oh screw this, he couldn't wait…

"Third from the sun you little twit!"

She returned his look with contempt. "I know that, but our galaxy…"

"…the Milky Way…" he said with all the knowledge he possessed at his fingertips. If only his peers would appreciate that knowledge like this dumb blond did. If only…

She smiled back.

…he would think before he spoke.

"What's your address?" The grown-up little girl asked as the music thrummed through him.

"Address?" He yelled back.

"Yes silly, how can I visit if you don't give me your address?" She smiled so sweetly. He figured she used it all the time on dorks like him to get her way.

"I can't tell you that!" He looked around the club. He never really liked places like this. Why was he here? More importantly, why was she hitting on him anyway? Damn, the music was making his head throb. The drink was making him sick to his stomach. Do not even get him started on the smoke and the effects on his lungs.

"Just write it down here," she pleaded sticking out her bottom lip while sliding a napkin and pen over to him. Her other hand rested on his knee and moved up his thigh.

He grabbed the pen and wrote his apartment address.

She frowned at him.

"Show me the way to go home. I'm tired and I want to go to bed. I had a drink just on hour ago and it went right to my head…" played over the club's sound system making his head throb.

"Let's dance," she said holding out her hand.

He took it.

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The Queen was smug. She grinned at a helpless and twitching Rodney.

Elizabeth agreed with him, she hated the Wraith. He was also right: the sadistic best was underneath.

Schooling her emotions, Elizabeth watched as scenarios and scenes played out on the holographic monitor over the console. Appealing scenarios. Innocuous scenarios. A classroom environment, a club scene or even a park enticed him into revealing Earth's coordinates in the Universe.

It was working.

"You see human, the chair knows how to seduce those that sit in it." The Queen stepped away from Elizabeth to stand beside the chair. She ran her hand across Rodney's cheek, caressing it. She looked Elizabeth right in the face. "You will be the witness to our ordained crusade. You will testify to your people of our righteous need. We will feed. I am the beacon for the prosperity of my kind. If you don't, it doesn't matter. We will take what is our right. The Great Awakening is here. Only we were wrong. It is not just the waking up, but the discovery of a more plentiful feeding ground, a chance to expand our nets."

Elizabeth swallowed and stood tall. She wanted to quake with fear, but this negotiation or bluff was the most important one she had made in a while. "We'll fight you. We have resources to stop you."

"I'm sure you do. That will be the next round of questions." The Queen sniffed the air around Rodney and closed her eyes. "I'm patient."

Another classroom scene played out. Elizabeth's heart plummeted as he wrote the address on the white board while arguing with Dr. Jackson. As she watched, she noticed the address was not quite in the right order. Her heart applauded. He was still trying to evade. He would break, but he was making a show of it.

They already had the Milky Way galaxy and that the Earth was the third rock from the sun. The Gate address would give them coordinates to extrapolate from. She wanted to scream. She wanted to help him in anyway. All she could do was stand there and witness.

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Damn, he felt good. Good, as in nothing could bring him down good.

Sheppard let the feeling sink in and enjoyed it until he woke up in the Munster's telephone booth. One of the males was adjusting the controls next to his little corner of the Universe. His euphoria from whatever the they had done to him still flooded his system. He really should have been a tad more nervous or even scared. Instead, naming the Wraith seemed more important.

I dub you R.O.Y. (Rest of You), he thought humorously to himself. I really am a very clever guy.

As much fun as it was staring at a Roy, he figured he might as well check out the surroundings. The way his head was tilted; the three cocoons opposite him were within his view. A woman was in the one to his right. She was completely covered in the membranes. One entire side of her face encrusted with an organic pulsating mass of Wraith goo. The one straight across from him appeared empty. The one to his left held a very large, familiar looking man. He could have sworn the occupant resembled Bose.

He hated Bose, even after all this time. He still would not wish this on the bastard. What were the odds of that being him though? Where was McKay when he needed him to tell him how wrong he was?

Sheppard's gaze resettled back on the center alcove and tracked down towards the floor. It was not as empty as he first thought. However, it was the one sight that could send him over the edge. It was the one thing that was worse than seeing a friend trapped in one these nightmare inducing alcoves. It drained the euphoria out of him as a pang of adrenaline replaced it.

It was a child.

They had been lucky so far in their dealings with Hive ships and cocooned humans. Usually, they found adults- if you called that luck- trapped to await feeding time. However, they were people who had a chance to live some sort of life. But kids…

Reason left as Sheppard thrashed in his little phone booth on Mockingbird Lane. He had to get the child out of here. Eight or nine year old kids with curly black hair did not belong here. Shit, he did not belong here, but the kid deserved this even less. He had saved an entire planet of kids. What was one little kid in a Wraith held facility? He had to do this.

The greenness of Roy's skin mocked him. Roy hissed at him and another Jason appeared in front to block his view. He wanted to yell at the masked, slasher flick drop-out that he was not going to allow them to suck a kid dry. But, he could not even crack a wiseass comment. His mouth was sealed with more organic matter and a tube was going down his throat. Now that he noticed it, he choked on it. He thrashed even more as his panic peaked because of the situation as a whole.

He hated it when he could only scream in his head.

To his chagrin, the alcove itself restrained his useless movements and Jason placed a heavy hand on his upper chest to further quell his unrest. Roy continued his adjustments until warmth, security and the absolute, incontrovertible need to sleep overtook him.

He tried to fight it.

Roy and Jason watched him. Roy moved his head back and forth like a cobra.

No, I have to do something…I must…I must…

Roy hissed one last warning.

Shit, I'll get to it later.

Jason let go.

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It was like waiting for that girl you met at the party to call. The uncertainty, the suspense, the cold sweat trickling down your back, except this had none of the thrill. Thank God, it was only Ford after all.

Jumper Four's mission to the address was a bust. It must have been a decoy site. Dart dials in, flies to the planet and dials out to the real destination -- a quick turn-around station. Something they had even employed on occasion. The Jumper flew multiple passes around the planet- nothing, no hive, no signs of life, no team. The Jumper took a look at neighboring planets- nada, zilch, the big goose egg. A major disappointment and set back.

On the other hand, the new mini MALP performed admirably. The terrain was rocky so those six wheels came in handy. Zelenka was as happy as a clam in sauce about that. He sobered when he realized there was nothing there to save though. McKay was a pain in the ass, but the science department wanted him back.

Caldwell creaked the office chair back and clasped his hands across his stomach. Ronon and Lorne were finally coming around and making sense. Only incident to report from that was while the nurse checked the dressings on Lorne's back, she underestimated the teenage libido of a Prom King hidden in an Air Force major. He attempted to leave the dance and to head up to the hotel room with his invisible date. He practically dragged the bed with one remaining restraint, two IV lines and the heart monitor leads about five feet before being caught.

Ronon was having long conversations with dead relatives and friends. He was trying to atone for the sin of being captured by the Wraith and letting them cull Sateda. He also tried to give Biro or someone named Melina a big kiss. The infirmary staff had talked and laughed about that for hours.

Good thing this little bug, or whatever it was, was not contagious. A whole city of amorous, infected, and hallucinating denizens was something he did not want to deal with right now.

Caldwell centered himself. Atlantis was restless. Everyone wanted to do something, anything. There was just nothing to do. It all came back to waiting.

The teams on P51-868 reported only finding waterlogged backpacks and weapons. Sgt. Stackhouse's team (he insisted on going) questioned those in Yarben especially Narmit. Narmit knew the water boy (Te'Jon) only through business relations. They were negotiating an exchange of labor for a part of the crops from his world. Te'Jon's explanation was that his world had been culled and not enough of the workforce remained, thus the need for help. Narmit did not have the address for this world unfortunately. Caldwell had the feeling that, if allowed, the workers Yarben sent would never be heard from again. Instead, it was the Atlanteans that were missing.

Narmit had reluctantly confessed that he had been talking up the negotiations with the Atlanteans. He was so excited that their own local problems were being dealt with and an alliance with a powerful ally was being procured; he thought that maybe the Athosians could help with the harvest. Try to broker a little side deal to cement two relationships. Narmit had unwittingly led the Wraith right to the Atlanteans location and schedule.

Stackhouse reported that the young man prostrated himself in front of him begging for forgiveness. Stackhouse told him he'd think about it and that Narmit would have to take it up with Col. Sheppard upon his return. He said that Narmit would accept whatever Col. Sheppard deemed as punishment. That could be very interesting.

To prove his cooperation, Narmit led them to a house where Te'Jon stayed while in Yarben. He said the owners were old family friends. Upon entering, the house was abandoned. A thorough search was performed and more of the damn wanted posters were found. Stackhouse reported Lorne's were included in this set.

The pictures did not capture their good side.

All joking aside, he did not like taking Wier's office, even if that office's view included the Gate. The city needed the two of them back. The expedition treated him with respect and no animosity, but he was still the interloper in many ways.

He stared out the big window and watched as the Stargate activated. The glowing symbols informed him of an incoming wormhole. It was time to go earn his paycheck because his date was calling back early. The tech was just calling him when Caldwell stepped up behind his seat.

"Report."

The Canadian tech jumped and quickly recovered his composure before speaking.

"It's Ford, sir."

"Well, hey Atlantis! Sheppard and Weir back yet?" The chipper and overly confident voice asked.

"No. You still have to deal with me lieutenant."

"Now there you go again bein' all formal. Just call me Ford, sir. Hey, there I go bein' all formal. Must be rubbing off. But back to the business at hand, I figured they weren't back since McKay and Weir were spotted by my network taking a stroll with some very unsavory characters."

This was good. They had a visual confirmation on part of the team. Dubious confirmation, but it was confirmation none the less.

"Where were they seen?" Caldwell asked calmly.

"Oh no, there you go trying to take control of my mission. See I found this, it's my intel and if I need help, I'll ask for it. Until then, you just sit tight. I've got it covered."

"Lu…Ford, we can help. Add more manpower to help with recon."

"Clever Colonel, but no thanks. As I said, I've got it covered. Just thought I'd let you know that Weir and McKay were alright a few hours ago. I came to this planet for technology and I found a massive plot by the Wraith. I know I'm no longer a member of the expedition in an official capacity, but Earth is still my home. Plus, I've got family there and it's where I keep all my stuff." The mumbling in the back ground reoccurred. "Well, sorry to cut this short, but gotta run. I won't let the soul sucking Nosferatu anywhere near Earth. You can trust me on that. TTFN!"

The puddle vanished leaving Caldwell with an empty feeling in his gut. The silence in the Gate room reaffirmed the emptiness.

"Anyway we can trace the transmission?"

He knew the answer before the technician shook his head.

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A/N: Phew! Doc's been locked in his cabin. The man still thinks he's God's gift to women even at one-hundred. Sent a lot of cookies with him…so…

The bunnies are behaving for now, but they are hyperactive little fuzz balls and can be oh so very fickle. They are on a carrot/cheese cake high. The counter also reports that you are reading. Thank you so much! Hope you are enjoying as well.