Author's Notes: Thank you once again to my lovely beta, Alauralen. I failed to mention in the first chapter's notes that she is the one who came up with the summary for this story. I'm forever grateful to her since I'm terrible with summaries.

On that note, I should also let you all know she had the chapter to me yesterday, but I failed to update. Sorry!

Disclaimer: I'm not making any money off this fic as Stargate Atlantis doesn't belong to me. More's the pity.

The Distant Journey

Chapter Three

Nia wasn't sure how many hours she lay in the bed, immobilized by terror. Her breathing had finally evened out, and her heart no longer clenched painfully in her chest. She didn't know what had come over her. What had she been thinking, smacking a Wraith?

When Todd had dropped into a crouch, growling furiously at her, she'd been sure her life was over. The anger she'd seen in his stance and eyes was the most frightening thing she'd ever witnessed.

As she lay, recalling the ordeal, guilt whelmed from nowhere. Despite Todd's willingness to embarrass her and put her in uncomfortable situations, he had protected her more than once at his own risk. He'd even slept on the floor, giving her the bed.

Even so, he was still a Wraith. He'd been the one who ordered the attack on her planet. She didn't know who had been culled and who had escaped. Everyone she loved could be dead—on his order.

The truth was, she didn't know how to feel about the Wraith. She had seen the bestiality in his eyes as he stared into hers after forcing her on the bed. He'd touched her in ways no one had ever touched her before. She could still feel his breath and lips on her throat. The feel of his rigid body over hers was seared into her memory. He'd acted out of pure instinct but had the restraint and self-control to master his own aggression. She didn't know whether to hate and fear him or admire and respect him.

She hadn't resolved her feelings when Amyrra entered the room without knocking. The woman must have known Todd wasn't there, or she would never have entered so freely.

"In bed again? You're the laziest, most pitiful slave I've ever seen. I will never know what the Master sees in you." Amyrra picked up the breakfast tray, slamming the lunch tray on the table, spilling the drink over Nia's food.

Nia's anger welled within her, but she simply didn't have the energy to fight with the woman. Even still, she felt boneless after her encounter with Todd. Rather than say anything, she rolled over with her back to Amyrra.

This served to make the worshipper angrier than she had been before. "Don't turn your back to me, Slave." She grabbed Nia's wrist, jerking her around. "Were it up to me, I'd have you put to death immediately."

"But it's not up to you, is it?"

Amyrra snapped upright, alarm on her face. "Master. I—"

"Don't give me any excuses for your behavior, Amyrra. I saw everything. You may leave. I will deal with your insolence later." He crossed his arms over his chest.

Amyrra bowed, nearly running from the room.

Nia sat up, heart beating erratically. She had no idea what to expect. Todd sat on the end of the bed, and she flinched, pulling her legs under her. He sighed heavily.

"Nia, you have nothing to fear from me."

She said nothing, merely raising her eyebrows. Did he expect her to believe that after what had happened? Raising her hand, she placed her fingertips on the exact spot his lips had rested.

He looked at her hand fixedly. She was unable to read his look and had no idea what he might be thinking. Swallowing hard, she said, "I shouldn't have slapped you."

He nodded in agreement. "And I..." His words trailed off, and he shook his head. "I don't often lose control like that."

Nia took in his serious countenance. In his way, he was apologizing. She felt like she needed to say something, but she wasn't sure what. She was forced to admit to herself she had behaved poorly, too. Had she kept her temper, he never would have lost his.

She took a deep breath and leaned forward. Thrusting her fear of Wraith back, she placed her hand gently on the cheek she'd smacked. "We're both to blame." Her hand lingered on his cheek for a moment longer before she dropped her hand.

Todd nodded, smiling slightly. "This situation is not easy on either of us. With time, we will become more accustomed to each other." He rose and walked out the door.

--

The days passed as usual, aside from the fact that Todd and Nia spoke infrequently. Their relationship was uneasy, at best. Though Nia hated the way Todd had regularly embarrassed her, she missed it in a way. At least he had been talking to her.

Amyrra hadn't returned after Todd witnessed her treatment of Nia. She wasn't sure what Todd had said or done, but another woman had taken Amyrra's place—one who didn't care for Nia anymore than Amyrra had. Nia suspected they were friends. But, she, at least, didn't attack Nia at every opportunity.

Given the obvious dislike the worshippers had for her, Nia worked out her own schedule. Despite her fear of the Wraith, she knew they wouldn't harm her without reason, and she couldn't stand to stay in the room day after day. So, after breakfast—the only meal Nia didn't prepare for herself—she started her morning routine with laundry. At first, she'd simply done her own, but she had decided it was silly to take all her laundry and leave Todd's for the worshipper to collect. In doing his laundry herself, she saw less of the unpleasant woman in private.

After completing the laundry, Nia made her way to the kitchens and prepared her lunch. When finished eating her midday meal, she reported to a male worshipper named Drin. Drin was far more pleasant than the female worshippers. When Nia had expressed her interest in the defensive training he provided field operatives, he'd offered to teach her. With her days being long and lonely, she had jumped at the opportunity and now spent two hours daily working with a staff.

After sparring with Drin or his students, Nia bathed. She'd taken to napping in the afternoon, but occasionally she sat by the small window in Todd's room, watching the stars. Finally, she prepared her dinner. By the time she was done with that, Todd was usually finished with his day's duties, so she returned to the room. She'd once briefly considered making her way to a ship and escaping, but she gave the idea up very quickly. Not only did she have no idea how to fly a ship, but there were hundreds of Wraith on the hive between her and any ship.

With a routine in place, it was only a matter of time before Nia ran into Veritus. She didn't range far from the Wraith quarters, but a few of the halls she used to get to the kitchen, training, and laundry rooms took her through work areas.

A month after her confrontation with Todd, Veritus appeared before her in the hall as she made her way back to the room after dinner. She recognized him immediately. Panic shot through her when he blocked the hall as she tried to maneuver around him.

"You will bow your head and stand aside to allow me passage, Slave. You would do well to remember who your masters are." He chuckled unpleasantly.

"Forgive me," she said, unable to bring herself to call him master. Moving aside, she stood against the wall with her head bowed, hoping he would just move on.

He took a menacing step toward her. "You will address me as Master, Slave."

"My master is the commander," she said softly, knowing it was sheer stupidity to push him.

With her head bowed, Nia had no warning about the backhand Veritus suddenly delivered. She slammed against the wall, falling to her knees before him. "All Wraith are your masters, Slave."

Raising her hand to her cheek, she realized the rings he wore on his fingers had cut her cheek badly. Blood gushed from the facial wound, and her teeth ached from the impact. Tears fell from her eyes despite trying to hold them back.

Veritus laughed loudly, hauling her to her feet. "You will learn to respect your superiors." Balling his hand, he slammed his fist into her ribs.

Breath knocked away by the impact, Nia fell to her knees again, wheezing desperately. The lack of oxygen and the amount of blood falling from her cheek made her head woozy. She barely registered the pain when Veritus grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to her feet once more.

He dragged her down the hall, hair gripped firmly in his fist. Todd was just arriving at his room when Veritus dragged her around the corner. Slinging her at Todd, he said, "Your slave needs to mind her manners."

Nia barely registered Todd lifting her in his arms and taking her into the room. Her ribs shifted painfully as he laid her on the bed. Her vision grew fuzzy, and she lost consciousness as Todd gazed down at her in concern.

--

Nia felt almost weightless in his arms as Todd carried her quickly to their room. Laying her on the bed, he took in her wounds as she passed out. The facial lacerations were the most obvious; however, it was her torso that held his primary concern. Veritus' last slave had died from internal bleeding. Unwilling to waste precious time to remove her dress properly, Todd pulled the knife at his waist out, cutting it down the front.

Once the dress lay open, he noted several crushed ribs under her skin. It was very likely there was, indeed, internal damage. Knowing she would die otherwise, Todd raised his hand. The Gift of Life was her only chance. Not every immune human was able to accept the Gift of Life. Some possessed a resistance to both.

"You had better not be one of those, Nia," he whispered, seating the palm of his right hand firmly against her chest.

Her sudden intake of breath and the healing of her cheek let Todd know it was working. He held on until he was sure she was completely healed. Letting go, he leaned over her on the bed, drained to exhaustion. Her breathing was no longer labored, and he knew she would live. Closing he eyes, he succumbed to sleep.

--

Nia stirred, trying to motivate herself to wake. A pleasant tingling sensation ran through her body, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd been so comfortable. The vague sense something should be wrong lingered, but she couldn't bring herself to care. The warm, pleasurable feeling whirled through her, and she felt as if she were floating on a cloud.

A groan sounded from somewhere far away. Her brow wrinkled slightly at the invasion of her solitude, and she strove to ignore it. The moan broke into her peacefulness again, finally driving her to a waking state.

Opening her eyes, the recent events slammed into her consciousness. She'd been beaten. The last thing she remembered was Todd standing over her. Todd… That groan was coming from him.

She tried to sit up, but something forced her back. Looking down, she saw Todd. He was laying half on the bed and half over her, immobilizing her. He looked gaunt. It suddenly occurred to her that her dress had been sliced wide open. Todd's hair covered her chest while his head rested on her abdomen. Thankfully her breast wrap was still securely in place. Had she awakened with Todd on her bare breasts…

She interrupted her own thought process wondering why she wasn't dead. She had felt her ribs piercing her insides painfully as she passed out. Todd made another unintelligible noise, driving her attention back to the sleeping Wraith pinning her to the bed. Shimmying carefully, she finally managed to get her arms out from under him. They were asleep, leading her to wonder how long they'd lain together like that—and what had happened.

The sense of peace deep within her soul told her Todd had saved her somehow. Something he had done had pulled her from Death's doorstep. And now he was drained to exhaustion.

Finally, after several long moments, her arms regained their strength, and she gently slid her hands under Todd's head. Raising it slightly, she managed to extract herself from his body's warmth. A part of her mourned separating from him, but she thrust the strange feeling back, concentrating on making him comfortable.

She finally managed to straighten him on the bed, head resting on a clean pillow. After covering him with the blanket, she opened the closet door and looked in the mirror. Dried blood caked in her hair and on the right side of her face. Had her dress not been sliced open to the waist, it would have been ruined from the blood anyway.

She ran her hand over her cheek, distinctly remembering feeling the cuts there. However, there was no trace to be seen in the mirror. She ran her hands lightly over her ribs. Several of them had been broken for sure, but now there was no indication she'd ever been injured.

Turning around, she looked at Todd, still slumbering in the bed. "What did you do?" she whispered.

--

Hunger burned inside, gnawing at his very being. He had to feed soon. Dragging himself out of his already fading dreams, Todd opened his eyes. Nia stood over him, looking down in concern, holding a damp, cool rag across his forehead.

"Shouldn't I be the one caring for you?" he asked.

"Then it wasn't all a dream?" She picked up the rag and pushed it under his neck.

Todd smiled weakly. "No, unfortunately, it wasn't." He struggled to sit up, but Nia placed her hand on his chest, pushing him back down.

"You need to rest," she said. "You look terrible."

Todd shook his head. "I don't need to rest; I need to feed."

Nia fell silent at his words. Pulling the rag from under his neck, she immersed it in a bowl of water, ringing it out. Refusing to meet his eyes, she asked, "What happened?"

"You met Veri—"

"You know what I mean, Todd."

She definitely knew how to get to the point. "I shared the Gift of Life with you."

She stilled, finally looking into his eyes. "The Gift of Life?"

Forcing himself to a sitting position, despite her attempts to stop him, Todd said, "What we take away, we can also give."

"Meaning you don't actually have to kill to survive?" Nia's words were soft, but the edge to them was unmistakable.

"It's more complicated than that. To give life to a single person requires the energy of several. Because I have only taken what I require to sustain myself, I'm weakened. And because it does require so much energy, the Gift of Life is reserved for only the most devout of our worshippers and brethren."

Nia remained silent during his explanation, allowing him to speak without interruption. When he finished, she said, "So healing me has condemned others to death." Tears clouded her eyes, and he could see her fighting to keep them at bay.

Todd said nothing, unable to deny the truth. When she didn't speak again, Todd rose. "I'll be back shortly," he said.

He completed his task as quickly as possible, draining sustenance from three humans to replace what he'd given Nia. He sighed in relief as the energy flowed through his body. The burning sensation had nearly been more than he could stand. Thankfully, the physical discomfort faded quickly. He wasn't sure he could handle the pain in addition to the new problems presenting themselves. Veritus had taken his reprimand of Nia's attitude too far, forcing Todd to drain himself to dangerously low levels. Such disregard for his superiors was a blatant challenge of Todd's leadership. If it was a fight Veritus was looking for, he'd picked the wrong Wraith. One didn't become the commander of such a large number of hives due to a forgiving nature.

Todd was prepared for Nia's crying before he reentered their quarters. What he wasn't prepared for was an empty room. He looked around briefly for any clue to her whereabouts. Picking up the bloodied, destroyed dress she worn earlier, he decided she'd probably gone to bathe. His imagination switched on, and he wondered what would happen should Nia encounter Veritus again. The thought was enough to send Todd to the bathing room. Nia would just have to deal with his presence.

No other women were in the room, making locating Nia much easier than it might otherwise have been. Todd walked straight to the corner where he heard movement. Nia laid back peacefully, eyes closed as her hands floated lazily in the water. The water rippled over her breasts and stomach, leaving Todd once again feeling stirrings of desire. Shaking his head free of the mesmerizing image, he cleared this throat.

The reaction was instantaneous and violent. Nia jerked, splashing water over the edge of the basin. As she jumped up and scrambled toward the side, her feet slid, and she fell backwards. Todd stepped forward smoothly, catching her before she hit the floor.

Helping her to steady herself with one hand, he grabbed her towel with the other. When she was stable, he let go, holding to towel open for her with both hands. She had no choice but to allow him to wrap it around her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, voice lowered to a hiss.

"Let me think…" Todd placed his fingers under his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps because you were nearly dead mere hours ago."

"Well, I'm fine now," she said, grabbing her clothes. "I need to dress." She stared at Todd expectantly.

"Dress then," he said after a moment when she made no move to don her clothing. She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up his hand, cutting her off. "It would look strange were I to turn my back. I'm not leaving you alone in light of recent events, so you may as well dress without argument."

"I don't need—"

"I'm not leaving you alone."

Nia stared at him challengingly for a minute longer before dropping her towel and shrugging into her underclothes and nightdress quickly. She followed him silently back to the room when he turned.

"Why did you go by yourself rather than waiting for me?" he asked as soon as the door shut behind them.

Nia sat down on the bed, rubbing her temples. "I couldn't just sit here, wondering how many people were dying, knowing it was my fault."

Todd crossed his arms over his chest. "Did you consider what might have happened if you had run across Veritus again?"

Nia dropped her hands into her lap, sighing heavily. "No, I hadn't."

Todd sat next to her on the bed. "Nia, I need to know exactly what happened between you and Veritus."

--

Nia could feel the warmth and pleasantness her soul had held onto dissipate as she told Todd about her encounter with Veritus. As the peaceful feeling drained out, the fear and pain of the situation wafted through her.

"He beat you for telling him I am your master?" Todd asked, drawing her attention away from the desperation welling inside.

"He said all Wraith are my masters."

Todd stiffened next to her, hands clenching to fists, nostrils flaring. It was perfectly clear how Todd felt about Veritus in that moment. Nia might possibly have pitied any other Wraith, but she only wished Veritus dead.

As the feelings of well-being completely disappeared, the terror of her attack claimed her. Her chest ached, and her head throbbed. She had thought her sense of safety gone completely with her capture, but she realized now that she had grown to trust Todd to keep harm from befalling her. With that trust, she had regained a little bit of confidence that things might get better. Now she had nothing.

Gulping in air, Nia choked back the panic that slammed into her being. Taking breaths that were sending her dangerously close to hyperventilation, she became dizzy. The panic threatened to destroy her completely. She was getting closer and closer to losing herself when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Ripping herself from the mind-numbing horror of what had happened, she looked up into Todd's eyes.

His caring expression brought tears to her eyes. Where she had once seen the face of an enemy, she now saw a friend. Leaning against him, she allowed herself to break down into tears. Todd wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to his side. His other arm encircled her when she lowered her head to his chest, placing her hands on either side of her face.

She wasn't sure how long she clung to him, her tears soaking his jacket. Finally, he murmured she needed sleep. Todd picked her up effortlessly, carefully laying her on the bed.

"Please stay with me. I don't want to be alone." She needed him close, terrified at the prospect of being on her own. Logically she knew he would be in the same room, but that did little to comfort her. Nia needed his solid presence next to her as a reminder she was safe there.

Todd nodded slowly, stripping down to his underwear, as was his nightly habit. Crawling into the bed, he pulled the blanket over them.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Todd looked at her, smiling gently. "You're welcome, Nia."