Summary: Major Lorne and the Second compare notes on what it's like to work under Sheppard and Todd.

The grinding bite of broken bones dragged Evan from sleep. It took considerable effort to lift his head up off his chest and, for a moment, his vision danced with stars. How long had he been out?

The fire had burned down considerably but seemed to be warding off any inquisitive nocturnal creatures; if there were any. The planet was about as barren as it gets, leaving them with little more than dried shrubs to feed the meagre fire, which struggled to keep away the chilly night air. He'd have to ask Kenny - uh, the Second - to help him move into the jumper if the temperature dropped much further. It wouldn't be comfortable within the overturned vessel, but it would be warm enough.

Getting there would prove to be problematic; Evan could barely move without pain shooting through his side, causing his vision to white out. Ha. As if his vision was any use now anyway.

As long as Evan sat perfectly still and took shallow breaths, his pain remained a dull throbbing ache.

Evan couldn't quite believe that he had told the wraith about his eyes. But he had probably needed to tell someone, to get those fears off his chest. He'd watched his mother sink into a deep depression as her eyesight failed. She had mourned the loss of her sight like a grieving widow; paints drying out, brushes lying abandoned, sheets shrouding her work.

He couldn't bear to imagine himself wasting away as she did. Like the wraith will...

Evan glanced over and was relieved to find the Second still sitting on the First Aid case. At least he could keep an eye on the Wraith's condition. He was looking a bit too pale and sort of… drier... than usual. The Second kept glancing at him from the corner of those watchful yellow eyes.

Sitting within reach of an injured wraith should have been a cause for alarm but he'd always felt, well, not comfortable exactly, but not uncomfortable around him either. The knowledge that the Second could no longer feed, an injury sustained while protecting him during the crash, gnawed away at Evan.

Soft hues of yellow and orange danced over green marbled skin and silky white hair. In the pale moonlight, those dark veins appeared as tiny cracks in delicate porcelain. The image struck his inner artist and his fingers twitched, longing to grab up a pencil and sketchbook. He made do instead with outlining the striking form in the ashy dirt beside him. The regal pose and perfect fall of hair, chiseled alien features… but the eyes were vacant, staring at the fire but not seeing. Evan noticed how those long green fingers of the wraith's offhand were absently playing with locks of his hair, tightly winding the ends and tugging...

"Hey, um, Second?" The fingers froze, hair taut. Mistrustful eyes flicked his way. Okay, now what? "Uh… how long have you served as an XO? What's it like?"

In order to look at him, the wraith turned his whole upper body, twisting at the waist as though to avoid aggravating a sore neck. Evan vaguely wondered if a wraith's mobility was more limited than a human's. And, for that matter, whether the odd, almost bird-like head tilt aided their sight or hearing or something.

When the wraith simply stared at him, Evan felt compelled to explain himself. "I mean, y'know, we're both second-in-command and our commanding officers are somewhat… unorthodox."

The wraith huffed a small laugh at that. "I must agree with your assessment. The Commander may be the oldest of my hivemates, but his impatience and impulsive nature are reminiscent of a wraithling."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Oh, yesss." The Second shifted around on the first aid box so that he could comfortably face him. "The Commander likes to… wander. His roamings almost always bear reward, much to the excitement of our younger officers."

Evan wondered what kinds of weird and wonderful objects Todd had looted from around the galaxy. An absurd vision of glass-fronted cabinets full of curiosities lining the wily wraith's quarters sprung to mind. His drug-addled brain took the idea one step too far, depicting Todd in a black velvet smoking jacket and nursing a pipe. Okay...

"Yeah, I know a thing or two about impulsive COs," he replied. "Colonel Sheppard has a pretty impressive record. He's actually a bit of a legend back at the SGC."

"The Colonel is something of a 'legend' in this galaxy as well. But…," the wraith began, uncertain of himself all of a sudden. The Second towards him, a pale spectre looming in the dark. His lip curled to reveal a few teeth and he dropped his voice down low, "it can be tiresome to step into command in their absence, is it not?"

As the Second hovered there expectantly, Evan was struck by the realisation that the wraith was confiding in him, sharing a conspiratorial moment from one XO to another. Feeling encouraged by their candid chat, Evan explained, "y'know, technically Sheppard's not supposed to go offworld so often, or even be on a gate team. But try reminding him of that and-"

"You are told to go and lie with the vulpex?" The Second guessed, lip curling in disgust.

"If vulpex is a wraith curse word then, yeah, that's about the gist of it."

"The Commander also does not like being reminded of such trivial things as rules. I often wonder where he gets such insouciance. It is unusual for a wraith."

"Insouciance is… one way to put it. Sometimes Sheppard's so insouciant it's like he's on vacation. My guess?" Evan asked. The Second nodded his encouragement. "It's the hair."

For a moment, the wraith looked confused before realisation dawned. They shared a knowing look and Evan grinned. The Second smiled back, genuine and unguarded, and it completely transformed his stern features. Those yellow eyes sparkled and his nose wrinkled a little. The impish expression revealed deep smile lines and a slightly crooked smirk. In the firelight, he looked unusually… playful.

In the next moment, those eyes dimmed and Evan noticed he was rubbing his injured feeding hand. Without thinking, he reached out to rest his hand on the wraith's arm, who immediately flinched away. "Sometimes the Commander's absence extends far beyond what is typical. A deep melancholy plagues the hive which can only be remedied by his return."

Evan thought about the times Todd had ended up thrown in the brig and the long months they were all stuck on Earth. "It's weird but Atlantis seems to dim and power down a bit when Sheppard hasn't made it back from a mission. We can keep her running and everything but I think I'm a poor substitute."

"Another thing we have in common, Major," the wraith said softly. "And now we find ourselves marooned here together without any sign of rescue."

Evan lifted his gaze up to the night sky. Too bad he couldn't see the stars. Craning his neck like this was making him giddy and his stomach heaved in agreement.

"Sorry, Second," he sighed.

The wraith was staring at him again, pale eyes unreadable as always. "When I reached the end of my Training, and the time of my First Feeding approached, my brood-kin were taken before a great queen. I was so overwhelmed by the magnitude of her presence that I made a mistake." The wraith hesitated. "I did not accept her offer of a filum, what you might refer to as a mind-link. It was a most grave offence."

The wraith paused again and chuckled bitterly to himself. Despite not understanding the relevance, Evan didn't want to interrupt so he just waited until the Second continued. "Enraged, she forced her way in by tearing at the very fabric of my mind. She stripped me of my shields so that the thoughts of the other Wraith began to roar inside my mind. My desperate protests, my every wretched plea went out across the hivemind as a shrill cry. All around me my fellow young hivemates wailed, clutching at their heads as they tried to flee her throne room. It only ceased when her attack finally rendered me unconscious and..." he spread his arms, palms out, "I awoke on a planet much like this."

"What? But… but that's not right. You were still young… you didn't insult her on purpose." Evan was finding it hard to marry this picture of an exiled and hopeless young wraith with the refined, accomplished creature in front of him. "What did she expect you to do? How did you survive?"

It was the wraith's turn to tilt his head back to gaze up at the heavens. His hair rippled down his back, painted silver by the moonlight. The gilded light of the fire glanced off his sharp features and flickered in his eyes. He brought his injured hand up to his chest and cradled it there.

The wraith darted a look his way. "Once my hunger truly took hold, I would take a life when I could not last any longer and then I would move on. If any hiveships ever came along, I could sense them from many leagues away. I would connect with their hive-mind and simply scream."

Evan frowned and the Second hastened to add, "the humans never knew that the price they paid was given back in kind by deflecting the devastation of a culling."

"I guess…"

"The life or two I would take before moving on is nothing compared to the hundreds that would be culled by a hive." The wraith almost looked… earnest.

Evan reached down and filtered some of the grey dust through his fingers. Instead of answering, he changed the subject. "So what changed?"

A smile played on his green lips, once again scrunching up his nose. "The Commander."

"Todd?"

"Yesss." The wraith sniffed. "Todd. Although he was a mere Excursor then; a scout sent by his Commander to track the rumours of a peculiar howling weapon employed on humans worlds to repel approaching hives. He followed the tales until he found me."

"But how did he get close enough?"

"Simple. The Commander had already fortified his mind with near-impenetrable mental shields. He walked right up to me and told me to do my worst. I did. I tried everything to make him leave, to break him. When I was worn out and gasping, with the Commander just standing there smirking." The wraith's left nostril twitched, revealing his distaste for this element of his story. Evan was gleaning a great deal from the way the Second moved his nose.

"Sounds like Todd alright."

The wraith responded with a delicate snort. "He wanted to know how many minds could I hear and from what distance, how far I could project my internal noise; the questions were endless."

"And what did you say? What could you… hear?" Evan was riveted, hanging off the wraith's every word.

Pale hands balled into fists. "I told him, 'Everything'. I felt all Wraith who ventured within the planetary system. I heard every mind on every hive as they passed through. And they were all... screaming."

Evan rocked back in shock then squeezed his arm against his protesting ribs. What that queen had done to him when he wasn't much more than a defenseless kid... how her act of violence had made the wraith suffer…

"Hmmm," the Second sniffed at the air and hummed in approval. "I sense your horror, human. But it was long ago. The Commander stayed with me for many lunar-cycles; he did not give up and he did not leave me."

Evan thought about Sheppard. "No man left behind."

The Second considered him for a moment before slowly nodding. "I began as his apprentice. My mental deficits were tolerated as long as I kept out of everyone's way."

"Tolerated?"

"Most wraith crave the constant connection to the hivemind, preferably one controlled by a queen. But I had survived without it for so long that it felt... invasive." The wraith shuddered. "You must understand, Major Lorne, that I follow the Commander because he allows me to take what little connection I need from him, but ultimately hold myself outside of the hivemind. It is just… too much."

"I guess I've always preferred to watch my people from a distance. And I like the peace and quiet of living in a mostly empty city. Huh." Evan was surprised to realise just how content he was in his own company. What did that say about him?

"Second?" the Major inquired. "Is that why don't you command your own hive? There are plenty of them in the Alliance now and you've served under Todd for so long… I mean, you have the tattoo… doesn't that signify a Commander?"

The Commander, he… basks in the reverence his officers hold for him and blankets them in the protection of his powerful mind. He meets their need for a Hive-Master as well as standing in for an absent queen. He is a true dominus." A fond look softened the wraith's face. "But I have no interest in leading. I do not wish to connect and care for a hive full of minds."

"I get that," Evan offered. "There really is no one better than Sheppard to help lead Atlantis. He's the best CO I've ever had, actually. He's even put me up for a commendation."

"Mmmm. The Commander honoured me with this mark," the Second explained, long graceful fingers tracing the lines across his right cheek. Evan noted that he used his offhand while the other remained tucked under his arm. "One line for each time I brought down my shields and exercised my… differences."

The Major looked pointedly at the wraith. "Todd got you to use your mind against his enemies."

"Yesssss, and I did it gladly," the wraith hissed, lifting his chin. "It was necessary whenever he had to go before a queen. I would join my mind with his so that he not only remained untouchable but was also ready to emit a crippling strike if necessary."

Crippling. Evan couldn't even imagine wielding that kind of power. "You can… wow. Your crew must find that, um, reassuring? I guess?"

"I am afraid not. I project a false impression of a mind that is empty, bleached and barren, which they can barely tolerate." His lip curled in disgust. "They question whether I should hold such a high rank, why I have an eres marking but do not command. And… why I hold the Commander's favour and receive all the honour of a claimed Consort."

"You've lost me a bit there with the, uh, Consort thing." Evan confessed. He ignored the unexpected flutter of disappointment he felt upon hearing that this wraith was Todd's… something.

The wraith tilted his head to one side, inhaling deeply. "You are… disappointed with my tale? Or with the telling? I have never told this to anyone so you must forgive my poor delivery."

"No, no. Not at all," Evan blurted out, surprised that the wraith was trusting him with his painful past. "Please continue."

"Ah, but we are at the end." The wraith opened the first aid kit and produced an assortment of silver foiled items which he arranged on the lid. Kneeling on the opposite side of his makeshift table, the Wraith lined up two tablets, two bottles of water, and a few MREs before sitting back on his heels and lifting one brow ridge in expectation.

Evan took a water bottle and swallowed his meds, watching as the wraith tipped the second water bottle over his feeding hand, sighing as the liquid cooled his scarlet palm.

"Are you-?"

"Eat, Evan Lorne." The Second prodded the MRE bag toward him with one clawed finger, frowning as it wobbled.

That turned out to be easier said than done and in the end, the Wraith had to rip the bag open and hold it steady on top of the box so Evan could shovel spoonfuls of brown and white gloop into his mouth. He misjudged one mouthful and wound up smearing some down his chin. Before he could wipe it off, a taloned finger swiped at the mess and raised it to a skeptical nose.

"What is this concoction?" A surprisingly pink tongue lapped at the gravy.

"It, uh, it's, um…" C'mon, Evan, it's just a word. You remember words, right? "Pie! It's pie. Shepherd's Pie, to be exact."

The Wraith looked horrified.

"No, no, no! Not Sheppard, shepherd. As in the guy who herds sheep. But- but the guy isn't in the pie, the sheep are. Lamb. It's made with lamb. Or so the SGC tells us. I have my doubts."

The Second resumed licking his finger, not that Evan noticed, busy as he was, staring intently at the MRE packet.

"Uh, here," he offered, blindly handing over the spoon.

"My thanks."

They passed the utensil back and forth while Evan studied his fellow diner. "I didn't think your kind liked meat?"

"We do not." The Wraith scrunched up his nose. "But it is no matter as this meal contains no Sheppard-meat or otherwise."

"I knew it!" He grinned and received a crooked smirk in return. They looked at each other over the near-empty silver pouch and Evan felt his stomach flip. Must be the not-meat.

Drowsiness swamped his brain suddenly; the meds were kicking in, a comfortable warmth spreading out across his battered side and making him feel all foggy. The Wraith was lit by the flickering fire from one side, casting the other in shadow, which almost concealed the way he was digging his thumb into his palm.

Evan tried once more to ask, "Are you-?"

"Hussssh," replied the haunted face, eyes pale and lacking their menacing glow. Was the wraith's hunger doing this? Was it draining the life out of him and leaving him a pale imitation of what he should be? Evan didn't want to think about that or about what would happen if the wraith disappeared entirely.

Instead, he desperately wanted to reach out and take that broken hand in his. But he didn't think his touch would be welcome, so he settled for nudging the final silver-foiled item toward his unlikely dinner guest.

"What is this?"

As he drifted off again, he replied, "Dessert."

He was sure he saw those eyes spark with gold interest but maybe it was just a trick of the dwindling firelight.