DISCLAIMER – Stargate: Atlantis is not mine. It is the intellectual property of MGM/UA and associates. I am writing this story for fun and personal enjoyment, and I am receiving no compensation, monetary or otherwise, for its creation. No copyright infringement is intended.

Shadow, Dr. Kadan Morin, Zora Kovac and Dr. Itzhak Perlman are my original characters. If you want to use them, ask me. I will most likely say yes.

RATING – This story is rated T

ARCHIVE – Feel free to archive this story if you'd like. Please, just tell me where you're putting it. Thanks!

A/N – First off, my apologies… this update was a bit longer in coming than I'd anticipated. I got side-tracked by another story, and I've been rather busy offline as well. Big thank you to all who replied to the last chapter. I really do appreciate all those replies and comments from you!

Anyway, here is Chapter 26 for you. Again, I've got sort of an extraneous scene in the middle because, as it turns out, Dr. Perlman isn't the only scene-stealing OC in this story. Zora is rather persistent, too, so she popped up in the middle of this chapter, mischievous as ever. (The problem I've got now is trying to figure out what to do with her later… hehe) Well, I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter!

I have no beta. You can blame any mistakes on me.


The Song Of Silent Rivers

26. Children

Sometimes, Carson wondered why he bothered trying to sleep in his quarters at all. It would be more convenient in some instances if he just camped out on one of the Infirmary beds. He'd been known to do that occasionally, but tonight he'd allowed Itzhak to talk him into going home for the night. Itzhak had assured him that all would be well, everything was under control, and there was nothing Itzhak, Dr. Biro and the nurses couldn't handle. Carson wondered if he was the only one who saw the irony in the fact that the same person who'd guaranteed him a complete night's rest was the one who'd appeared at his door at 0300 hours.

Of course, Carson's mild irritation at having been wakened in the middle of the night hadn't lasted long when he learned the reason Itzhak had come to wake him. He'd dressed quickly while Itzhak waited, and then the two of them had hurried back to the Infirmary together to check the progress their unique patient.

Carson was further reminded why he liked to be around to supervise things himself when he and Itzhak arrived to discover Shadow was not alone in her room. He felt annoyance of a different sort when he spotted Radek Zelenka on the wrong side of the glass barrier that separated Shadow's room from the one next to it.

"What's he doing in there?" Carson demanded, before he could catch himself.

"I have no idea," Itzhak said.

"Did you—" Carson began, but he took a deep breath and let the question die unfinished. One look at Itzhak told him the Israeli doctor would never have allowed anyone unauthorized into the room. Itzhak was nearly as meticulous as Carson himself when it came to following procedure.

"I told him to keep an eye on her. I didn't mean for him to watch her from that side of the window," Itzhak said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't really expect you'd mean that," Carson said. He took a step toward the door. "He's got to come out of there straight away."

"No," said Itzhak, and placed a gently restraining hand on Carson's arm. "Just give him a few minutes with her. They both need that."

"He's not supposed to be in there," Carson said. "I can't believe he'd just walk right in. He knows he's not supposed to be in there."

"Don't tell me this surprises you."

"I didn't think he'd be the sort that'd defy protocol," said Carson.

"You obviously don't understand fatherhood."

"Fatherhood?"

Itzhak clasped his hands behind his back and gazed through the window at Radek and Shadow. "Fatherhood," he repeated. "You know, I think I'd try to move Heaven and Earth for my boys. I sure as hell wouldn't let protocol stand in my way."

"I didn't know you had children, Itzhak."

"You never asked," Itzhak said. "I've got three boys. Elijah is seventeen. Samuel and Nathan are twins, and they're fifteen."

"You left your family to come here?"

Itzhak sighed. "Naomi and I divorced when the twins were ten. We haven't been a family for a while. She took them back to Israel," he said. "That's part of the reason I decided to accept the offer of a place on this expedition."

"I'm sorry," Carson said. "I didn't know."

"I don't talk about it much. It's not something I like to bring up in casual conversation."

"No, I can imagine not."

Itzhak was silent for a long time, gazing through the transparent barrier at the scene on the other side. Carson studied his friend. He'd never seen this contemplative side of Itzhak's personality before. Itzhak always seemed carefree and undaunted by life, the universe and everything. Carson would never have guessed what his friend and colleague kept quietly tucked away in his mind. It just went to prove that people were enigmas, Carson decided, living puzzles every one.

"You know," Itzhak said at length. "Shadow kind of reminds me of my twins."

"How's that?"

"Sam and Nathan were premature. They're congenitally deaf."

"Both of them?"

"Hmm…" Itzhak said. "We were living in the States when they were born. Naomi and I had to learn to sign, so we could teach it to the boys. Raising two deaf kids was a pretty big challenge."

"I should expect raising twins would be a challenge even if they weren't deaf."

"You can't really know unless you've been there," Itzhak said. All of a sudden, his usual grin was back in place. "I could tell you stories, but they'd just scare you."

"No doubt." Carson said. He let his gaze stray back to the window. "I think we've left them alone long enough in there, don't you? We'd better—"

Itzhak held up a hand. "I'll go first," he said.

"All right," Carson agreed. He'd been about to protest, but something he'd seen in his friend's expression made him change his mind. You can't really know unless you've been there, Itzhak had said. Carson had seen a lot of parents and children together, yet he had no practical knowledge of parenting. Perhaps, he decided, some situations were best handled by people who really understood.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Why is it that I'm always finding you in places you aren't supposed to be?"

Radek looked over his shoulder to discover a masked and gloved Itzhak Perlman leaning casually against the closed door. Above the mask, Itzhak's eyes held a look of tolerant indulgence. Radek would have been reassured by that if he hadn't seen past Itzhak to where a very serious-looking Carson Beckett stood behind the window. Radek had the feeling Carson wouldn't be nearly as understanding as Itzhak about finding him in a place he shouldn't be.

He had weighed the consequences of entering the room without permission against some new instinct that had lately awakened in him. In the end, his innate feelings had won over his better judgment. Continuing to watch Shadow through the window had been much too difficult. Walking through the door had been easy, once he'd decided to do it. He should have been worried about the consequences, but he was not, and that surprised him. Just being near Shadow and being able to see she was doing better filled him with reassurance that overrode nearly everything else.

"I'm sorry," he said to Itzhak. "I can leave. I only wanted—"

Itzhak held up a hand. "I know. You don't have to explain."

"Carson is annoyed, isn't he?"

"He was a little startled, but I think I talked him out of being mad."

"What did you say to him?"

"Played the parenthood card, actually," said Itzhak. "I told him protocol wouldn't mean a damn thing to me if it happened to be one of my kids in here. I meant it, too."

"Thank you," Radek said. He looked down at Shadow, smiling as he brushed his fingertips over her forehead.

Itzhak cleared his throat quietly. "I hate to do this, Radek, but you really do have to leave, now."

"I know," Radek said.

'I might be able to convince Dr. Beckett to let you visit again tomorrow."

"Really?"

"No promises," said Itzhak. "Say goodnight, okay? You've got to go."

Radek didn't want to leave, but he realized he had little choice at that point. He leaned close and whispered goodnight to the young woman who refused to look away from him. "I know you can't hear me, but I am going to tell you anyway," he said quietly to her. "You are very important to your father and to me. Your father loves you very much, and I…I…"

The words he wanted to say got caught somewhere between his heart and his mind, and he allowed the thought to drift, incomplete, into the relative silence of the room. He wished he could gather Shadow in his arms and sing to her as he'd done before. She'd seemed calmer, less afraid, then.

Radek felt Itzhak's hand come to rest on his shoulder. Fortunately, Itzhak said nothing to him as he turned him around gently and led him toward the door. Radek had to resist the impulse to look back, because he knew if he did, leaving would be exponentially harder than it already was.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It occurred to Elizabeth that she'd been visiting the Infirmary a lot during the past week. In fact, in the two years since their arrival in Atlantis, she'd probably visited more hospitalized people than she'd visited in her entire life before the Pegasus galaxy. It was part of her job, and not a part that she particularly liked, but she didn't consider it a burden. It was her responsibility, her duty, to see that they were all right. Elizabeth took her responsibilities seriously.

She had more than one person to check on, today. She needed to ask Carson about both Shadow and Morin, but she decided to look in on Radek, first.

When she discovered Radek sound asleep, she thought it would be best not to disturb him. She stood watching him for a minute. Curled on his side and hugging his pillow, he reminded her of a small child.

She was always amazed at how ingenuous people looked in repose. All traces of their waking cares seemed to vanish when they surrendered to the calm of sleep. Elizabeth had long since lost count of how many times she'd seen one of her people asleep in the Infirmary. Her feelings when she watched them ran through the spectrum from fear to worry to relief, yet one thing always remained constant. No matter who she happened to be watching over, she could not deny the presence of a sense of protectiveness. All the personnel in Atlantis were her people, and she was concerned for the welfare of every one of them. She smiled to herself as she wondered whether this was some manifestation of the maternal instinct. Kate Heightmeyer would probably have a field day trying to analyze that, Elizabeth thought.

Leaving Radek to the rest he obviously needed, Elizabeth went in search of the Chief Medical Officer of Atlantis. She found him in his office. He was studying his computer screen intently. When Elizabeth looked over his shoulder, she saw some text in Ancient scrolling down the left side of the screen, while text in English scrolled down the right side. At first, she thought it might be something from the Ancient database, but then another idea occurred to her.

Sometime during the wee hours of the night, Rodney had evidently figured out how to activate the tablet device John's team had found on M4X-382. Elizabeth didn't necessarily condone Rodney's tendency to work until three in the morning, but in this case, the Canadian's diligence had paid off. When Elizabeth had met with Rodney – much later than 0300 hours – he'd told her the device had been used primarily for recording information. It was, in itself, essentially a small database. Rodney hadn't read much of the information the tablet contained, but he'd skimmed some of it, and had been able to conclude the bulk of the text was written in Ancient. He'd also surmised the tablet device belonged to Morin.

Rodney had said one of the files on the tablet was labelled 'experiments'. He'd wanted to look at that, himself. Elizabeth had suggested that he should show it to Carson and Dr. Perlman, too. Perhaps that was the information Carson was examining now.

Carson seemed intent on what he was doing. Elizabeth didn't want to startle the doctor, so she knocked lightly on the edge of the door.

Carson looked up from his computer. "Elizabeth," he said. "How are you? Has Rodney shown you any of this? It's fascinating."

Well, that confirmed her guess about the information being from Morin's tablet device. She said, 'I haven't had much of a chance to look at it, yet. Are you finding anything useful?"

"This man's knowledge of genetic manipulation is…" Carson waved a hand at the laptop, apparently at a loss for words. "It's truly remarkable."

Elizabeth smiled. "That really is the word of the week."

"Aye, I expect it is, but I can't think of another one. Can you?"

"No," Elizabeth said.

"Itzhak Perlman's going to have a grand time with these data."

"I have a suspicion both of you are going to have a grand time with it," Elizabeth said. "I don't like to interrupt your fascinating research, but I just came to see how our visitors from M4X-382 are doing. Do you think you could—"

"Oh, yes, of course," Carson said. He closed his laptop. "Shadow's doing a wee bit better. Her fever's gone down quite a bit since last night, though she's still in a critical condition, in my opinion. Dr. Perlman seems to think the immune enhancing drugs are starting to have an effect."

"That's good to hear," Elizabeth said. "What about Dr. Morin? How is he?"

"Morin is a different story altogether." Carson sighed. "I'm not as optimistic about his chances of survival."

"Are you saying he's dying?"

"Aye, I'm afraid so. Honestly, I'm surprised he's lived this long. We know most people don't survive being fed on by the Wraith. The ones that do live through the actual experience of a Wraith feeding usually die anyway, eventually. Their body systems simply begin to shut down, one by one."

"And that's what's happening to Morin?"

"We think so," Carson said.

Elizabeth let out her breath slowly. "Okay," she said at last. "I'll let you get back to your work. Keep me informed if anything changes."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Radek awoke to a light touch on his arm, and opened his eyes to the sight of Zora Kovac's likeable, smiling face. In the agreeably comfortable state between sleep and full wakefulness, most of his current fears and concerns hadn't yet resurfaced, and he gave in easily to his pleasure at seeing Zora again. It felt good to smile, and so he did, hoping to share in whatever unspoken humour was causing Zora to look so mischievous. He recalled Itzhak's warning of the night before, about Zora Kovac being a rascal. He told himself he should probably heed his friend's words of caution about the Croatian nurse, but somehow his resolve to withstand her charismatic presence was practically non-existent.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Zora said.

Radek couldn't help being amused at the familiarity of her tone. He guessed her greeting wasn't exactly professional, but happily decided it didn't matter to him one bit.

"Why do I get the feeling it's not morning?" he said.

"Because it isn't, actually," said Zora. "It's afternoon. Here, I've got a surprise for you. Liquid wake-up call."

Radek sat up. Zora was offering him a cup that gave off a decidedly inviting aroma. He could feel his smile widening as he accepted it. "Coffee," he said, pleased. "Thank you."

"Guaranteed to cure everything." Zora put her finger to her lips. "Don't tell Dr. Perlman."

"He will never know," Radek assured her.

"Good," Zora said. She perched on the edge of his bed. "So, now that you're awake and you've got coffee, how do you feel?"

"Better. Has Itzhak been here?"

"He came by to check on you earlier, but he decided to let you sleep. I'm supposed to let him know when you're awake. Finish your coffee first, and then I'll go and get him."

"You don't believe in strictly following protocol, do you?"

Zora laughed outright at that. "That is the crow calling the raven black," she said. "I heard you were busy violating a few protocols yourself last night."

"I got the idea from you," Radek told her. "You are bad influence, or so Itzhak says."

"You don't think so?"

"I think I shouldn't answer that question."

Zora looked amused. "I have to say I like you, Radek. I really do. I should have more patients like you." Her tone became more conversational as she continued, "You know, the real reason I'm still hanging around here is because I wanted to tell you that you've slept through the most exciting part of the day."

Radek peered at her over the rim of the coffee cup. "What did I miss?"

"Dr. Beckett and Dr. Perlman were very excited about Dr. McKay's latest discovery this morning."

"What did Rodney discover that would make the doctors get excited?"

"Apparently, Morin was keeping a journal," Zora said. "From what I heard, it seems Dr. McKay figured out how turn on the tablet device your team found on Morin's planet. He found all sorts of interesting things in there, or so I understand."

"What interesting things?"

"Lab notes and things," Zora said. "You know, I'm a nurse, not a secret agent. I didn't find out anything specific."

"I think you would make good secret agent."

"Should I be flattered?"

Radek gave her what he hoped was an enigmatic smile. It occurred to him in an abstracted kind of way that he was flirting with Zora, but there was something about her that made him unable to resist. Very strange, he thought, that Zora should have such an effect on him. He hardly knew her, after all, and he was certain his true affection was already invested elsewhere, as fruitless as that relationship was doomed to be. The human psyche was a puzzling thing.

He said, "I think I should speak with Rodney about what he discovered."

"Well, you can as soon as Dr. Perlman lets you leave."

"Do you know when Dr. Perlman is going to let me leave?"

"I might tell him I want to keep you," Zora said.

"Please don't," said Radek.

Zora laughed. "I understand the appeal of freedom, so I won't take your eagerness to leave too personally." She stood up and brushed some imaginary dust from her uniform. "I'll go and find Dr. Perlman for you, okay? Don't go away."

"Zora, wait."

"What is it?"

"Since we are…bending protocol today, can you wait a little longer to tell Itzhak I'm awake?"

"I can wait as long as you like," Zora said. "Why do you want me to wait?"

"I promised Dr. Morin I'd come and see him again today," Radek said. He'd only just remembered he'd made that promise to the old scientist. "The day is half over. I don't want him to think I am not coming to see him after all. He had something to tell me about Shadow, and I'm interested to know what it is."

"I'd be interested to know what he has to say, too," said Zora. "There's been an air of mystery about the Infirmary lately, and I like nothing better than uncovering a good mystery."

"You are secret agent."

"The name is Kovac. Zora Kovac," Zora said, in the worst imitation of an English accent Radek had ever heard. She winked at him, and laughed. "Go and see Morin. If Dr. Perlman happens to show up looking for you while you're gone, I'll tell him you're on a top-secret mission."

"Thank you. After this, I will owe you."

Zora grinned at him. "I'll remember that."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Radek was glad to find Morin awake when he stepped past the curtain that sheltered the old scientist's bed from the rest of the Infirmary. Morin was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, just as he'd been doing last night. The old man looked as if he were deep in thought. Radek studied Morin in profile for a moment before the old scientist noticed him, and he was unsettled to see just how pale and fragile Morin was. He seemed more frail even than he'd been last night, if that was possible. As morbid as the thought was, Radek could not help wondering how much longer the old man might live. He could continue for weeks, or mere hours. The sight of Morin reinforced why the Wraith were so fearsome an enemy. If they could reduce a healthy, vital person to the state in which Morin was, they held both physical and psychological power. The knowledge of one's own mortality was a powerful force.

"Dr. Morin," Radek said quietly, not wishing to startle the old man.

Morin turned his head. "Hello," he said. "You came."

"I promised I would."

"I thought you might not be coming."

"I was indisposed," Radek said, as he settled into the chair next to Morin's bed. "How are you feeling today?"

"Weak," Morin said.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Have you seen Jana?"

"Yes. She's doing better."

"Good," Morin said. He closed his eyes for a moment. "I have been thinking about the things I wish to tell you."

"Last night, you said you wanted to tell me about Jana," said Radek.

"I do, but there are other things you should know," Morin said. "I shall tell you of Jana, first, but you must hear the other things as well."

"Of course," Radek said.

"I must tell you of Jana's sisters and brother."

Sisters and brother? Radek had a vivid mental picture of the three perfect little children in the stasis pods. He said, "On your world we found two girls and a boy in stasis. Were they—"

"My children? Yes," Morin said. His mouth twisted in a bitter grimace. "Your Beckett would call them experiments, no doubt. He does not understand as you do."

"I think you underestimate Dr. Beckett."

"Perhaps."

"Tell me about your other children."

"I created Nara and Janaya first," Morin said. "Then Kadan."

Radek smiled. "Kadan was the boy? You named him after yourself."

"A father's pride," said Morin. None of them lived past the age of three seasons. They all had a genetic flaw I could not correct. Their bodies were unable to fight even the least virulent pathogens. Jana had this flaw, too, but for her I was able to develop a treatment. It did not prevent her from becoming ill, but it did prevent common diseases from killing her. She is eleven seasons, now."

"Nineteen," Radek said. "Dr. Beckett thinks she's eighteen or nineteen."

Morin's eyes widened. "No, that is impossible. Jana cannot be nineteen seasons."

"Why not?"

"Because, I…I was in the pod for…for eight seasons? That does not seem possible. And the treatment… Jana could not have lived for eight seasons without it."

"What if she was never exposed to any diseases?"

"She would have to grow up in complete isolation—" Morin began. Radek could see comprehension in the old scientist's expression, and he could also see dread. Morin closed his eyes and rocked his head from side to side on the pillow. "No, no, no… I can't think of that. Eight seasons…alone."

"She isn't alone, now."

"Eight seasons…"

"Dr. Morin, it's all right," Radek said. He put a hand on the old man's forearm. "Be calm…please. Tell me about the treatment you created for Jana. How does it work? Do you think it will help her now?"

"I do not know," Morin whispered. "The information is in my notes, but I…I cannot prepare it now."

"Dr. Beckett might be able to."

"Perhaps." Morin said.

"He is very good at creating things like that. He knows what he is doing."

"He does not possess the knowledge of the Ancestors," Morin said.

"Is that necessary?"

Morin didn't reply for several minutes. He lay so still that Radek thought he'd fallen asleep. When he finally did answer, his voice was drowsy and slurred. "Your people…familiar with… Ascension?"

"Yes," Radek said.

Radek wondered with Ascension had to do with creating a vaccine. It seemed like a non-sequitur. Perhaps Morin had changed the subject so he wouldn't have to debate Carson's ability to synthesize the mysterious drug.

He would have asked Morin what the connection was between Ascension and the drug, if his attention hadn't been drawn away by something else. The monitor that measured Morin's heartbeat had been beeping steadily, but the rhythm began to slow down. Perhaps the old man's heart rate had been decreasing all along, but Radek had failed to notice it until now. He touched Morin's shoulder and said the old scientist's name. Morin didn't respond except to mumble something totally incomprehensible.

Radek wasn't sure what he should do, but after a bit of frantic thought, the rational part of his brain offered up the only logical solution. When in doubt, defer to a greater authority. He stepped out from behind the curtain around Morin's bed, deciding he needed to find one of the doctors, preferably Carson.

He should have been paying better attention to where he was going, because on the way to Carson's office, he found himself colliding, literally, with the impressively tall figure of Zora Kovac, who had been going in the opposite direction.

Zora did not seem perturbed in the slightest by their impromptu meeting. In fact she was laughing. "Radek!" she said. "I like enthusiastic greetings as much as the next girl, but this is a bit extreme, don't you think? Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"We need to find Dr. Beckett," he said.

"Why? What's the—"

Zora's question was interrupted by a disconcertingly insistent alarm sounding from across the Infirmary. Radek didn't have to look in order to know exactly where the noise originated.

"Morin," he said to Zora.

It was shocking how quickly Zora's expression had gone from mildly playful to completely professional. She was all business when she took Radek by the arm and steered him toward the bed he'd occupied less than half an hour before.

"Try to keep out of the way, Radek," she said. "I'll find Dr. Beckett."

TBC
--------------------

A/N #2 - Oo...again with the chapter ending that leaves the plot dangling... Well, I'll try to update a bit sooner next time! Sorry it took so long this time, but I have this other story demanding to be written. I will try to update that one soon, as well.

And...yay! Only 9 more days until Grace comes home! hehe I have new pictures from the breeder as well, which is very exciting.