DISCLAIMER I do not own any of the canon characters in this story, only Anna who is my own creation. All other rights belong to the creators of Stargate.
Chapter One
Dr Elizabeth Weir stood in the gate room, anxiously awaiting the return of Colonel Sheppard's team. They were four hours overdue from their recon mission and had only just radioed back in the last hour saying they had come under heavy fire from the locals and, having repelled them successfully, were making their way back to the gate.
Elizabeth frowned slightly when she recalled Sheppard's last words.
"We've found a girl, wounded, looks like they were keeping her prisoner for some reason. We're bringing her back through the gate, have Dr Beckett standing by."
He'd radioed off at this point and no less than twenty minutes later, an incoming wormhole had been established and Sheppard's security code confirmed.
The team entered the gate room, looking dishevelled but no worse for wear.
"A few more patch up jobs I see?" said a thick Scottish accent by her ear.
Dr Weir looked into the slightly weathered face of their on-site Doctor and general miracle worker, Dr Beckett.
"Sheppard insisted they were fine but apparently they found an injured girl. He's bringing her back here for treatment. Is your team standing by?"
Dr Beckett nodded and grinned sheepishly. "First Teyla and now this? Can't that man go anywhere without finding a girl?" he joked. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, giving her face the sharp focused look everyone was accustomed to.
"I don't think this one is in any shape to take advantage of Colonel Sheppard's charms but we shall see," she mused airily and turned back to the gate as the team approached her. Ronon supported Teyla as she limped, an obvious sprain in her right ankle. Sheppard carried a limp figure in his strong arms, covered by his jacket.
"Over here Colonel," Dr Beckett ordered, taking charge of the situation immediately.
A medical team were standing by with a wheeled bed and Sheppard carefully laid his new found charge on the white sheets. Her face was dirty and scratched, a cut on her temple still sticky with blood, her dark honey coloured hair was tangled and knotted and her clothes were torn and stained. She lay before them, a bedraggled dirty mess whilst Dr Beckett quickly examined her.
"She seems to just be unconscious, I'll know more when we get her to the infirmary and I can do some proper scans," he stated briskly, nodding briefly to Sheppard and Dr Weir before he and his team began to wheel her bed towards the elevator.
Sheppard gave a sigh and turned to Dr Weir.
"Well Colonel, " she began, a small smile tickling the corners of her mouth as she thought of Dr Beckett's remark, "It seems you've brought back a souvenir. You can explain what happened when we debrief."
Turning to Teyla, her eyes softened a little. "Teyla, go straight to the infirmary and have Dr Beckett check you over and see to that ankle. The rest of you, " she turned back to Sheppard, Ronon and McKay, "We'll debrief at 17:00 hours. Welcome back." She gave her customary smile and nod before moving to the staircase and ascending to her office.
Colonel Sheppard turned back to his team and nodded to them before heading to the elevator himself to get to his quarters. He needed a good wash and a clean change of clothes. Then he'd visit the infirmary and find out how the girl was doing.
She'd been in a cell when they'd ducked into the prison building for cover. Sheppard had taken one look at the state of her and anger swelled in his gut. She'd barely been conscious as he looked at her but she still had the strength to raise her hand slightly and a soft, croaky, "help," had escaped her parched lips before her strength gave out completely.
Whilst Teyla and McKay kept watch at the door, Ronon and Sheppard used their muscle to bust open the simple door to her cage. Sheppard had stepped in and picked her up, alarmed at how frail and listless her body was.
Back in his quarters, Sheppard washed and changed and headed back out to the infirmary.
As he rode the elevator once more, a million questions buzzed inside his head and he found himself wondering how she had got there, where she had come from…..did she like ice cream? He chuckled to himself as this last question danced around his brain and he left the elevator, hurrying along the corridor to the infirmary.
The sight that greeted him was a little better than the one he had previously seen.
The girl was lying in one of the infirmary beds, her face clean and her hair tied back so that he could see her properly for the first time. Her skin was fair, aside from the bruises and cuts and her cupid-bow lips were faintly pink.
"Hey Doc, how is she?" he announced himself, pulling a nearby stool up to her bedside and looking her over.
Dr Beckett checked his notes on a clipboard and adjusted the drip that was attached to her arm. Nearby, a heart monitor kept in time with her pulse rate.
"Well there's no lasting damage, although the poor wee thing's been a through a lot by the look of her. She's undernourished and taken a battering or two over the past few weeks. It'll take a while to get her back on her feet properly. Any idea who she is?"
Sheppard shook his head and instinctively, gave her hand a warm squeeze.
"No why?"
"Well just take a look at this."
Dr Beckett leaned over the girl's still form and gently lifted one of her eyelids. Sheppard leaned over as well to take a look and his mouth dropped open slightly.
Dr Beckett smiled and lowered her eyelid again.
"Have you ever seen blue eyes so strong in colour? They almost shine, the colour is that rich."
Sheppard felt taken aback. Her eyes were a deep, shimmering sapphire colour, as multi-faceted at the precious stone itself.
"I don't know who she is Doc, but I sure do wanna find out."
Dr Beckett smiled again and turned back to some test results he was examining.
Sheppard took up his seat again and looked carefully over her delicate features.
"I wonder what your name is," he mused softly to himself.
Her warm breath bathed his arm as she gave a small sigh in her sleep, a word escaping from her lips.
"Anna."