AN: I decided to use Teyla and Todd's Wraith names from the Legacy Series even though I haven't read them, but Firestar is mine. I hope you enjoyed this Lanten interlude. If you'd like to read about Elizabeth's return set four years after this tale, please see my SG-1 story "For Good to Do Nothing." Since its set at the SGC I posted it there.

The Gift of Name

The Marines hadn't moved from behind the door and immediately restrained their prisoner. "Hey, guys stand down." John ordered as Todd hissed.

"They cannot do that, John, Mr. Woolsey's orders," Teyla soothed. "He is quite concerned over your actions. I managed to convince him to let you remain on the balcony and escort Todd back when you were ready. He wanted to send Ronan fully armed."

"Look, I'm fine. Tell Woolsey I'll explain everything after I get Todd to bed," John sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"John—" Teyla sighed.

"Just trust me and do it, please," John implored.

She reached out and placed a tender hand on his shoulder. "Today is difficult for all of us but do not let it cloud your judgement."

John briefly touched her soft hand and locked his eyes on hers. "I'm not, I swear. Tell Woolsey I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Teyla bowed her head and reluctantly backed away. Before leaving she glared at Todd. "I do not believe you mean any harm but do not betray John's goodwill."

"I don't intend to," he assured.

With a nod she turned back to John. "Fifteen minutes, John. If you do not contact Mr. Woolsey in that time, I will escort you to him myself," she promised with a steely tone.

"Got it," John sighed. "Let's go, Todd."

He endured the walk to the stasis chamber in far less comfort due to his bound arms. He let the fresh air and the visions of the stars calm him and sensed the Marines' aggression ease. "This reminds me of a time during my youth when I returned to my hive after exploring far beyond the boundaries set for me on my home world."

"You blew curfew?" John asked with a smirk.

"In a matter of speaking," he affirmed.

"Well, don't worry, you're already grounded here. Here we are home away from home." Once they entered the chamber John rushed to cut the zip ties binding Todd's hands. "Okay, sleep tight," he encouraged, activating the pod.

"Just one question, Sheppard. How did you lose your Queen?" he asked gently.

"Repilcators," John bit off with a repressed snarl. "This conversation is over, get in the pod."

He stepped in. "Sheppard, please listen just once more."

John considered punching the activation panel and heading to Woolsey but the mournful sound in Todd's voice stopped him. He remembered back in the Genii dungeon before he'd known his companion was a Wraith, that tone had stirred his compassion. Taking a deep breath, he rolled his eyes loosely clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides. "I just know I'm gonna regret being so nice to you. What is it?

He thought through his next words carefully. Despite the young man's insistence on viewing their fledgling partnership as one of adversaries, he knew that one day the humans from Earth would one day hold the key to the survival of Wraith and his home galaxy. "When we were imprisoned together, you lit the flames of hope within me again after centuries in that hole. Because of you, I remembered my purpose. I told Doctors McKay and Keller that a Wraith Queen has the right to any male in her hive and that few males survive refusal."

A jolt of nausea jolted John's stomach. "Gross, thanks for the nightmare fodder, Todd. Do you have a point? I'm on a time limit."

A savage roar tore through his throat. Verbal communication frustrated him, and hunger shredded his patience. Closing his eyes, he forced more words out. "I didn't tell them I am one of those few males who have survived refusing every Queen of my hive since I lost my Queen. No other saw what she saw, no other ever willing to fight for the good of Wraith, no other willing to find a way to unite us. After being captured by the Genii, I tried to kill myself many times. Without being able to fight for my people, to carry out my Queen's dreams I had no reason to exist. Of course, they took measures to keep me 'alive—'" he paused briefly to calm the rage the memories caused. "You've kept every bargain we've made. I trust your word, Sheppard, even if you cannot trust mine. I only wish our Queens could have met."

John swallowed hard his tongue thick and dry, making him wish he'd drunk more than one beer. "How long has it been since she died?" his voice rough and raspy.

He flinched. "She disappeared nine thousand, nine hundred, and fifty years ago. We were betrayed by one of our hive. I barely survived the attack, but I took my vengeance slowly and did my best to keep her plans strong. Then the Genii happened. To say the timetable suffered is an understatement. When I heard what you were doing with the retrovirus and the gene therapy, I finally saw a way to make real progress. Of course, we've both seen the complications and unforeseeable side effects, but the survival of Wraith is all I have left to live for."

Never had John been so grateful for the brevity of human life. The thought of living ten thousand years without the one you love was a worse thought than burning in hell. Woolsey expected him in less than ten minutes so he decided to get one more question in while he could. "The leader I lost; her name was Doctor Elizabeth Weir. Would it be a terrible thing if I asked your Queen's name?"

For a moment he wanted to curl into himself or beg for the pod to be activated. Then the memory of her voice whispered through him urging him to speak. "She was named Firestar by Wraith, but I called her Purity," he sighed a soft mewl coating his words.

"Pretty. I think Elizabeth would have wanted to meet her. Look I got to go, but I'll only wake you again for one of three reasons: the gene therapy, getting back to Pegasus, or an emergency so bad I have no choice," John swore. "I'm not giving up until we get Atlantis back where she belongs."

"I believe you will succeed, John Sheppard, whether I live to see it is another matter," he chuckled.

John shoved his hands in his pockets, shaking his head. "The only way you get to die is if I have to kill you. Now shut up and sleep."

A small smile twitched at the corner of his lips. "Very well. Since we do not know when I will wake, I will leave you with a parting gift as payment for the stars and the beer. When I came to be Wraith gave me the name Guide."

John activated the pod, taking a moment to lean against the wall and rub his tired eyes. "I really wish I didn't know that," he muttered. He let out a long hard breath and trudged to Woolsey's office to take his slap on the wrist.