DISCLAIMER – I do not own Stargate: Atlantis. It is the intellectual property of MGM/UA and associates. I am writing this story for fun and personal enjoyment, and I am not receiving compensation in any form, from any source, for the creation of this story.

Shadow, Zora Kovac, and Dr. Itzhak Perlman are my original characters. If you'd like to play with them, ask me nicely. I'm good at sharing. (and these are very playful OCs!)

RATING – This story is rated T

ARCHIVE – Feel free to archive, but please let me know where. Thanks!

A/N – Thank you all so much for the replies to Chapter 27! I'm so happy that people are replying! I got even more excited when I looked at the number of hits. I mean…wow. Thank you!

Here is Chapter 28 for you. It's a short one, but I don't think it needs any extra stuff to fill it out. The title is "Aftershock" and I think that pretty much sums it up. Meh...still have to figure out what to do with Zora Kovac. She won't go away, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep her. lol! (Actually I might let someone else keep her ;) but we'll see…) Anyway, if anyone's got any suggestions, I accept them. Enjoy the chapter!

Translations for anything in Czech are at the end of the chapter.


The Song Of Silent Rivers

28. Aftershock

When the sun rose, Radek was sitting alone at a table in the mess hall. At that hour of the morning, the mess hall was nearly empty. The room's only other occupants were a pair of Marines at a table near the door who were peering sleepily at their breakfasts and not saying a word to each other.

Radek was tired. He'd slept fitfully during the night. His dreams had been filled with images of his father, of Shadow and Morin, of Zora and Elizabeth. When he'd awakened from a particularly vivid dream at 0400 hours, he decided he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again any time soon. He'd left his quarters and roamed the city, and finally ended up here.

He thought about the conversation he'd had with Morin the previous evening. He was certain he'd relived the moment a hundred times in his head since it had happened, hearing the old scientist speak the words that were destined to change Radek's life in a way he'd never imagined.

Now she is your daughter.

The impact of those five words was overwhelming. Radek didn't know whether he should be overjoyed or terrified at the prospect of being Shadow's guardian. Shadow wasn't exactly a typical child, but that didn't negate the fact that she needed someone to look after her. Radek wanted the responsibility, but he wasn't sure he was prepared for it. He'd spent most of his life avoiding children and ignoring any notions of parenthood, so how could he possibly be ready now?

Yet, Morin had trusted him. The old scientist must have seen something in him that Radek did not see in himself. He wouldn't have asked Radek to take care of Shadow, otherwise. The finality, the resoluteness of Morin's trust was what had amazed him; the old scientist's certainty in telling him that Shadow was now his daughter. Morin wanted him to do more than just care for her. Radek and Shadow belonged to each other now.

He couldn't help wondering what Shadow herself would think when he explained all this to her. Would she even want him to be her guardian? He felt amost certain she would, but almost certain left room for little seeds of doubt to take root in his heart. What if she didn't want him to take care of her? What would happen to her then?

She couldn't go back to her homeworld. The place was a ghostly wasteland. She might be happy living on the mainland with the Athosians, but someone would still have to look out for her and make sure she was all right.

Radek didn't want to think about that. He tried to turn his thoughts to something else, but the only other image that would come to his mind when he wasn't contemplating Shadow or Morin was a picture of himself sitting in the aft section of a 'jumper with Zora Kovac. He could almost hear Zora's low, melodious voice telling him she wanted to take care of him, and he could see her easy, friendly smile. He had experienced a kind of audacious pleasure in her presence, but now he felt like a traitor for it. What would Elizabeth say if she knew? He was infinitely glad she didn't know, and that she could not see into his thoughts to find out. He would never be able to explain himself if she could.

Elizabeth. He wasn't sure how to approach her any more. After the night they'd spent sitting together by Shadow's bed in the Infirmary, he'd sensed something had changed about their relationship. That night, he'd been very close to telling Elizabeth he loved her, but in hindsight, he was relieved not to have committed himself that way. He knew he did love Elizabeth, but he also knew any relationship they might have would be full of political and ethical complications as long as she was the expedition leader. He was, as his Uncle Jaromir used to say, playing with fire, and that was something he should not do if he did not want to be burned.

Radek was so immersed in his own inner dialogue that he'd almost forgotten about the two Marines across the room. When he heard one of them say good morning to somebody, he looked up in surprise. His stomach fluttered with apprehension when he saw who had just entered the mess hall, and he lowered his gaze just as quickly as he'd looked up. Elizabeth greeted the two Marines, but did not stop to chat with them. She was walking straight to the corner where Radek sat. Chance was a dreadful thing, Radek mused. It seemed that just by thinking about Elizabeth, he had summoned her, and if he'd been a superstitious man, he probably would have believed that wholeheartedly.

Elizabeth was wearing the diplomat's mask this morning, the mask of the leader. Her expression was carefully neutral. This was the face that made Radek uneasy. Elizabeth could use her meticulously cultivated impassivity like a shield so that others would never know what she might be thinking. She gave very little away with her body language. Radek disliked that she could read him so much better than he could read her. He couldn't help thinking that she held an unfair advantage over him, and that made him feel defensive.

He was not ready for the questions he was certain she wanted to ask, but he could see no way of getting out of answering them. This was another example of the undue influence she had on him, he thought. When she was acting in her capacity as the leader of Atlantis, he felt obligated to do as she asked. She was perceptive enough to know she could wield that power over him any time she chose to. Lately, every time she did so, he grew to resent it more and more.

He'd made himself vulnerable by allowing himself to love her. Now, he chastised himself for not having the foresight to keep that from happening. He ought to have known how futile it would be to let himself develop those feelings for her, but then, he had a history of giving his heart to the wrong people for safekeeping. He gave his head a mental shake. Perhaps he'd never learn.

He wrapped his hands around his cup of coffee and felt the soothing warmth of it against his palms. Think calm thoughts, he told himself. Think calm thoughts. Sometimes that little mantra worked for him, but he suspected this morning wasn't going to be one of those times.

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

Atlantis was never completely silent, but in the early hours of the morning it was relatively quiet. Elizabeth sometimes liked to watch the sunrise from her balcony, and at other times she simply enjoyed walking the corridors, feeling the llving city all around her. This morning she was restless. She had a lot of things to do today, but she could not set her mind on what she should do first. Eventually she knew, she would have to exercise a little self-discipline and go to her office to do her work, but before she did that, she needed to work off some of her nervous energy. A hot drink and a long walk around the city would help with that.

The mess hall was nearly deserted, as it always was at this time of day, though Elizabeth knew it would fill up quickly within the next half-hour. When she walked in, she only noticed three other people. A couple of Marines sat together at a table near the door. At the opposite end of the room from the two soldiers, Radek Zelenka was sitting by himself.

The two soldiers both seemed perfectly relaxed, which was more than could be said for Radek. Elizabeth watched him for a moment from the far side of the room. He looked tired and drawn, hunched in his chair with both hands cradling the mug on the table in front of him. Elizabeth couldn't help being a little worried about him.

One of the Marines greeted Elizabeth as she crossed the room. She said hello to him, but didn't pause for a longer conversation. The second Marine was staring placidly at his cereal and didn't seem to notice her. Radek was pretending not to notice her, either, though Elizabeth knew he'd seen her. He lowered his head a fraction when she approached.

"Hi," she said.

He didn't look at her. "Hello."

"How are you doing?"

He ignored the question. "Did you come looking for me?" he said.

"No. I came in for some tea, and I saw you here." Elizabeth rested her hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"

She felt the muscles in his shoulder grow tense when she touched him there. His entire arm became rigid. She could see his knuckles whiten as he gripped his coffee cup.

"Elizabeth, please don't," he said quietly. "Don't touch me."

She lifted her hand, puzzled and a little hurt by his response to the comfort she wanted to offer him. Personal contact was something he usually seemed more than willing to accept from her. She didn't understand why he refused to let her touch him now.

"Can I sit down?" she said.

Radek shrugged almost imperceptibly. "You're the person in charge. You can do what you like."

"If you'd rather be alone, all you have to do is tell me."

He still didn't look at her, but gestured at the chair across from his. "Sit. This conversation will not become any easier if we wait. I know you want to talk about things."

"I thought you might want to talk," Elizabeth said.

"Jaký pocínovat jářku? What should I tell you?"

"Anything. You know you can tell me anything."

"No, I can't,"

"Radek—"

"I watched a man die, Elizabeth. What do you expect me to tell you? No words will make things different."

"I'm sorry about Morin."

"Are you?" he said quietly. "Do you even know why you are saying that?"

His words stung her more than a physical slap would have done. She made an effort not to let her shock and hurt show on her face. She managed, "What do you mean?"

"You are intelligent person," he said. "You know what it means to be sorry. Why are you sorry Morin is dead?"

"Because…" Elizabeth began.

She realized she truly couldn't give an answer. Of course she was saddened in the abstract way people were at the death of a stranger, but the only real effect Morin's passing had on her was that she now had to deal with the aftermath of it. She would have to speak with Carson and Dr. Biro about the autopsy. She would have to decide what was to be done with the old scientist's remains. She would have to determine what would happen to Shadow, now that the man who'd claimed to be her father was dead.

Radek finally looked up at her, and his gaze was so penetrating she felt as though he might be trying to look right inside her mind.

"Do you know why I am sorry?" he said.

"No, I don't."

"Dr. Morin was kindred spirit. Have you ever met someone like this? Someone who is your friend the moment you meet them?"

"No," Elizabeth said.

"He trusted me. He barely knew me, but he trusted me with the most important thing in the universe to him."

"What was that?"

"Shadow," Radek said. "His daughter. He wanted me to take care of her."

"Radek, have you thought about that? Have you considered how much responsibility—"

"Do not lecture me. You don't understand."

"Help me understand," Elizabeth said.

"He didn't want me only to look after her," Radek said. "He told me…now Shadow is my daughter."

Elizabeth didn't know what to say. A dozen responses leapt into her mind that ran the spectrum from consternation to disbelief. One part of her wanted to lecture him about accepting obligations he was not prepared for and hadn't given enough thought to, but another voice inside her was equally insistent that she should just walk away, leave him alone until he gained a bit of perspective. In the end, a lecture would probably be pointless and would provoke an argument anyway. There would be time to discuss all of this later. When Radek was a little less upset, they could sit down and calmly, rationally decide what was to be done about Shadow.

"I'm going to see Carson," Elizabeth said.

"About what?"

"Will you be in your lab, later?"

"I go where Rodney asks me to go. Maybe I will be working on 'jumpers or long-range sensors," Radek said. "Call me if you want to find me. Don't sneak up on me like ghost. I don't like that."

"I'm sorry."

Radek smiled thinly, "So you have already said."

"We'll talk later," Elizabeth said.

She reached out to touch him again, and this time he actually pulled away from her. He turned his gaze down toward his coffee.

"Perhaps, yes," he said. "If there is anything more to say, perhaps we will talk later."

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

Carson Beckett leaned against the balcony railing and watched the sun rise bright and beautiful over the Atlantean ocean. The stars and planets never stopped to mourn, Carson thought. The colossal machine that was the universe went on spinning and turning despite tragedies both small and great. Carson was glad for that. The universe was constant. The sun rose and set on Atlantis the same way Sol rose and set on Earth. The greater constancy of those heavenly bodies made up for the turmoil that happened in the relative microcosm that was a civilization on a planet. The universe itself made sense, even if the beings inhabiting it did not.

Carson felt weary. He was not tired in the sense that he needed sleep, because he'd actually been able to get some rest in the quiet hours just before dawn. His weariness was more an ailment of the mind, or perhaps of the soul.

Once again, he'd witnessed death. The man who'd been Kadan Morin had ceased to be.

The old scientist had died with his hand securely held by a man who had called him a friend, a man who'd refused to leave him in his last hour even though there was no real reason to stay. Carson remembered how everything had looked and sounded. He pictured Radek sitting beside the dying old man, talking quietly to him in a comforting voice that flowed like water over smooth stones.

Morin's passing had been peaceful. He had been calm and he hadn't been in a lot of pain. Carson was thankful for those small mercies.

Carson stayed outside until the sun had risen fully above the horizon and had changed the morning sky from multicoloured pink and gold to a soft blue. The day would be warm and lovely. Carson thought he could have spent hours just admiring and enjoying it, but like the planets that never paused in their motion, Carson had tasks that he could not put on hold to satisfy a flight of emotional fancy.

He went inside and returned to the Infirmary. He needed to consult with Dr. Biro about examining Morin's body, but it would be at least another hour before she arrived for her shift.

Carson decided he would check on Shadow, first. She had been improving slowly but steadily, and Carson was a lot more confident about her prognosis than he'd been yesterday. Itzhak, perennial optimist that he was, seemed convinced the immune-enhancing drugs were having a significant positive effect. Shadow was nowhere near perfect health, but she no longer seemed to be in an imminently life-threatening condition, either. Carson, unlike his colleague, thought it best to be cautiously optimistic.

As Carson passed by his office on his way through the Infirmary, he thought he noticed someone in there. He'd told Itzhak it was okay to work in there with his laptop last night, but surely the man wasn't still there? Carson stopped at the door and peered inside.

He almost laughed out loud when he saw that his friend was, in fact, still there. Itzhak was slumped over the desk with his head resting on one forearm. Beside him, his computer was still on, Ancient text displayed on its screen. Carson stepped in the room and over to the desk. He rested a palm on his friend's shoulder.

"Itzhak, wake up."

The Israeli doctor moaned and mumbled something that sounded like, "Go 'way. Sleeping."

"No sleeping on the job, son," Carson said, and jostled him gently. "Wake up, now. This isn't the time or place to take a nap."

Itzhak groaned. He raised his head from his bent arm and winced. "Ow…damn…stiff neck," he said. Then, more coherently, "Morning, boss."

"Good morning," Carson said. He couldn't quite suppress his smile at Itzhak's scruffy appearance. "Have you been working here all night?"

Itzhak yawned and rubbed his hands briskly over his face. He gave Carson a rueful grin. "I was working up until the point when my head introduced itself to my keyboard," he said.

"Dare I ask when that was?"

"I'd say about an hour ago," Itzhak said, as he peered at his watch.

Carson shook his head. "What in the world were you doing that kept you awake all night?"

"Research."

"On what?"

"Remember the data Dr. McKay gave us from the tablet device? These are Morin's lab notes. I'm trying to find—" Itzhak's words were interrupted by an extravagant yawn which he didn't bother attempting to conceal behind his hand. "Damn. Sorry. Morin's three other kids died because they had the same immune deficiency as Shadow. I'm trying to find out what's different about—"

"Wait," Carson said. "Morin had other children?"

"Didn't you know? I thought the senior staff members were kept informed about things like that. Don't tell me nobody mentioned it at the post-mission briefing."

"I wasn't at the briefing," Carson said. "I was here. When Dr. Weir came to speak with me, she didn't mention anything about any children."

Itzhak's face scrunched up in a puzzled frown. He waved vaguely at his laptop screen. "That's odd," he said. "Apparently, Morin put all three of them in stasis to preserve their bodies. I don't know why the team wouldn't have encountered them. Of course, I'm assuming all the stasis pods, including Morin's, were in the same place. I suppose I could be wrong about that."

"Not necessarily. Just because nobody mentioned the children to us, that doesn't mean the team didn't find them," said Carson. "Dr. Weir told me what I needed to know at the time. To be honest, I've been a wee bit too preoccupied to inquire about any mission details that didn't have to do with Morin himself."

"That's understandable."

"You said the other three children died because of an immune deficiency."

"Apparently, it was a genetic flaw Morin couldn't correct," Itzhak said. "Two little girls and a boy all died from what were evidently common childhood illnesses. Kadan – the little boy – lived the longest. He was nearly three. From what I can tell, Morin never did figure out how to correct the genetic flaw, but he was working on some kind of immune therapy by the time he'd created Shadow. I see lots of references to it, but I can't find anything specific."

"He must've recorded what he was doing when he was developing the therapy."

"I'm sure he did, but I don't think it's in this file. This one seems to be a journal he was keeping about his children."

"His genetically engineered children," Carson said. "Seems a bit grotesque, doesn't it?"

"It is a little scary, especially when you understand why he was doing it," said Itzhak.

"What do you mean?"

"He was trying to create a child with as much genetic potential as the Ancients."

Carson couldn't help staring at his colleague. "Excuse me?"

Itzhak turned back to his computer and closed the file he'd been reading. He clicked on another filename, and the screen instantly displayed a page of Ancient text with an English translation running down the right-hand side. He said, "This file seems to be Morin's personal journal."

"You read the man's journal?"

"It's hardly a violation of his privacy now, Carson," Itzhak said, though he did look more than a little contrite about having read Morin's private writings. "Look here. Morin might have been the one doing the work, but it certainly wasn't his idea to genetically engineer children with the Ancient gene. He talks about a woman named Danai, who has what he refers to as The Knowledge."

"Shadow talked about The Knowledge," Carson said. "Dr. Weir and I guessed she might've been referring to the gene."

"I'd say that's a pretty good guess," said Itzhak.

"Evidently, she told Dr. Weir her grandmother had The Knowledge, too."

"That's very interesting. You know what I think?"

"What do you think?"

"I think that if we read a little further in Morin's journal, we'd probably learn Shadow and her brother and sisters were created using DNA from both Morin and this woman named Danai. Know what else I think?"

"Tell me."

"I think Danai was an Ancient."

TBC
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Jaký pocínovat jářku? – What can I say?

A/N #2 – I promise I won't keep you all waiting as long for the next bit of the story as I did for this one. Real Life has been especially hectic this week, what with my Dad's upcoming surgery and the arrival of my puppy and everything else that's been going on around here. Yes…yay…Grace is finally here! We picked her up at the airport yesterday. She's such a doll :) She's still not too sure how she feels about the cat, but I think whatever she's feeling, it's mutual. The cat still owns the house, but Grace appears to have the upper hand (paw?) in the yard. lol! Anyhooo…I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!