Dear Jennifer,

Lieutenant Adams will no longer be a bother to you. I've seen to it.

Yours forever,

A friend

Her hand flew over her mouth, silencing a scream she made after reading the words. Sending the envelope sailing to the ground, she dropped the letter and moved to her communicator.

"Rodney, this is Dr. Keller. Open a private channel to Sheppard and Lorne." She tried to speak in even tones, but her heart was racing in fear.

After a moment, Rodney's voice came through. "All set."

"Keller, what's the problem?" Sheppard said slightly winded. She realized he must still be going through the city. Evan came through as well, sounding surprised to hear from her.

"Get to my room. Immediately." She took off the communicator without saying anything else and ran over to her dresser. Faintly through the communicator, she could hear Evan shouting her name. Opening the note she had put aside from earlier, she quickly scanned the message.

Dear Jennifer,

I watched you tonight. It disappoints me that men continue to surround you.
You didn't seem bothered by the attention. What does that say about us?
I'm sure you're fast asleep now. The temptation of letting myself inside your room
so that we can finally be together is overpowering, but I know it's not the time yet.

I hope in the future to see you back in the infirmary and out of the gazes of other men.

All my love,

A friend

Evan tore through the hallways, retracing his steps back to Jennifer's room. When he got there, he half expected her to be battling someone in her room. He had the code memorized, since Rodney had given it to him a few seconds ago. Instead, her communicator lay on her bed as she clutched a piece of paper near the corner of her room.

"Why did you end the transmission? Do you think I want to have a heart attack?" He grabbed her, making sure she was okay. To his surprise, she stepped into his arms and clung to him.

"Ev, it's all happening because of me," she said, shaking like a leaf. "The notes. I should've told someone sooner."

Sheppard came running through the door, Ronon a step behind him. Trying to figure out what was going on, he looked at Evan confused. "Is she okay?"

Evan pulled her back. Sitting her on the bed, he knelt in front of her. "Tell us what happened, Jen."

Jennifer took a deep breath. "I've been getting letters from someone," she looked up at them. "For a few weeks. There's been four of them, two of which I just found now."

Reaching over to her dresser, she grabbed the first two and placed them in order. "The first two were a little creepy, but I just didn't think anything of them. And then today happened. When you left," she said to Evan, "I found another one in my bed. And then I remembered the other one that you found this morning before we left. He must've left it last night sometime but I didn't see it this morning before I went to the infirmary to meet with Marie."

The three men stood and went through the messages. Sheppard swore, Ronon's jaw clenched, and Evan just looked at her.

"The fourth one. You said you found it in your bed?"

Jennifer nodded. "Under the comforter." She looked up at them. "He's been in my room. I don't know how. No one knows my password. Except maybe Rodney."

"But why Adams?" Ronon asked. "Why'd he go after him? Jen hangs more around us than him."

Evan sat down. "Because she asked him to walk her back last night after the party," he said. "And probably because he knows we're just friends with her."

Her stomach began to churn. She stood up, swaying. "I'm going to be sick," she whispered, running into the bathroom.

The three men watched helplessly as she shut the door, hearing her empty her stomach. Evan fisted his hand. Looking at the two men he trusted with his life, he turned to them.

"She's in trouble," he said, needlessly, but needing to speak aloud. "We need to place her on 24 hour guard."

Sheppard agreed. "With men we trust."

"Suddenly I'm not sure who to trust around here," Ronon growled. "I left a few marines in the infirmary to watch Adams. They've been with Sheppard since the beginning, but..."

"My team can be trusted. Anderson and Miller. They're solid. And neither of them have ever hinted at feelings for her." Evan walked over to Jennifer as she emerged from the bathroom. Walking her to the chair, he sat her down. "This is not your fault. Do you understand, Jen?"

"We're dealing with someone with a severe psychological problem," Sheppard chimed in. "And unless Adams can name his attacker, we're not letting you out of our sight until he's found."

"So what's the plan? Keep me in my room until we figure this all out?" Jennifer asked.

That was exactly what the three men in front of her wanted. Judging from their faces, they all were thinking the same thing.

"No, I refuse to be a prisoner. Not only that, we're short-handed in the infirmary right now. Sheppard," she said, turning toward him. "You know as well as I that we need another option."

Sheppard nodded. "Okay, Lorne says Anderson and Miller can be trusted. Let's post them both at your door every night until we find this creep. One of the three of us will be with you at all times. Jennifer, you're about to find out what having brothers is like."

"Lovely," she responded.

Anderson and Miller arrived. Sheppard briefed them out in the hallway while Ronon returned to the infirmary to stand guard over Adams. Evan was tempted to figure out an excuse to stay with her, but his priority needed to be assisting Sheppard in finding this man.

"You can trust them," Evan said, glancing in the direction of his men. "They're good guys."

"I know, Ev," she said quietly, sitting on her bed. "I'll be fine. Tonight I'm just going to try and sleep a little and then they can bring me back to the infirmary, where they plus Ronon can follow my every shadow."

The tension in the air wasn't just due to the current situation in the city. Too many moments in the past few weeks were transforming their relationship. Neither had any idea how it happened or what to do about it.

Evan's way of dealing with it was to make sure Jennifer was as secure as possible for the night. He made sure her communicator was working, left his knife on her nightstand, as well as checked and rechecked the immediate area of her room with Sheppard. Shutting her door, he let Sheppard walk ahead of him as his CO organized over the radio another group of military members to assemble a search party for the second time that night.

Evan turned to his men. Both were still in shock in finding their newest addition to their team almost beat to death in his room. Neither showed signs of anything but the seriousness of the situation. Somehow, he knew he didn't have to tell them how much danger Jennifer was in. But still, he found himself struggling with some form of parting words to them both.

Miller recognized his CO's attempt at giving them final orders. "Sir," he said, locking eyes with him. "We know. No one is getting past us."

Seeing them both understanding how much Jennifer meant to him, and to them, he tightened his lips. "Thank you."

"She's special to us too, Lorne," Anderson said. "Don't worry about her and go catch this guy. And if you find him..." he nodded at Miller. "We'd both like a shot at him."

Eyes determined, Evan glanced away but not before his men could see their superior officer's face hardening. "You'll have to get in line."

He found himself roaming the city for her a few days later. The usual spots— the mess hall, infirmary, and her quarters, turned up empty. Evan was finally going to give up and ask McKay to locate her when he found her in the weight room, with the rest of his team.

Sheppard said that Anderson and Miller volunteered to take the night shifts and part of the morning hours watching over Jen. He had a rough night watching over Adams' still form that he forgot about the arrangement. It'd been his third night sitting up with the captain, despite the doctors telling him that he didn't need to stay. Adams has improved greatly since that first night. Ronon had posted as guard just inside the infirmary doors 12-16 hours a day, while Sheppard relieved him while he slept.

Trying to stay undetected, he watched from the doorway as Anderson explained to her something about the weights she was about to use. Jennifer made the man laugh about something. It didn't surprise him that his team had grown closer than ever to Jennifer in the last few days.

"So answer us the age-old question, Keller," Miller called over as he benched a fair amount of weight. "What do women really want?"

She laughed, completing her reps. "You're really asking me? A doctor, who skipped grades in high school and has only one relationship that I could seriously count as my only experience with men," she laughed. "Come on, haven't you seen the movie with Mel Gibson? Shouldn't that explain everything?"

"Since when did a movie explain anything about life? Especially with Gibson in it?" Anderson grunted. "If you ask me, the answer is simply this. Women don't know what they want. And I don't mean that in a negative way, so no jumping down my throat here. It's just that every woman is different, so every woman either wants something different or hasn't figured out what they want yet."

Miller dropped his weights, staring at his friend. "Man, that's pretty deep. And profound."

Considering his words, Jennifer agreed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think you nailed it."

"So, doc," Anderson said, grinning. "What does Jennifer Keller want?"

Interested in hearing her answer, Evan leaned forward. He watched her think for a few moments before turning back to him.

"Guess I fall into the category of women who don't know," she shrugged.

"Ha!" Miller said, moving beside her to stretch on the floor. "See, that gives men no help. Not that I'm hitting on you... rest assured. I'm kinda liking this friendship with a woman thing. Makes me feel like I have an inside edge on the working mind of a woman. And there's the fact that I enjoy my job and don't want Sheppard, Lorne, or Ronon to kick me out of here. But I don't get what's stopping you?"

"What? I had a crappy experience in college and haven't dived back into the dating game yet. And Atlantis is not a friendly place when it comes to dating. Especially for the CMO."

"Come on, Keller," Anderson said, moving toward the weight bench. "You must have some vision of the perfect man. Clue us in as to what a sane woman would want."

"Well," she thought, touching her toes, "I guess most women, myself included, want someone they're comfortable with. Almost like a best friend and more all in one package. Someone who respects and listens to you... who can make you laugh but at the same time comfort you at the end of a hard day. Someone who is loyal, protective but not in a smothering or psychotic way. And he has to smell incredible." She smiled, thinking of Evan.

"So money, power, a high position doesn't matter to women?" Miller said. "I've dated girls who just cared about what career path I was planning in the military so they could brag to their family and friends about it."

She scrunched up her nose. "Miller, you're always going to have twits like that. Money comes and goes. So does power. But who a person is on the inside... that stays, for the most part."

Anderson, who'd noticed his CO standing in the doorway a few minutes ago, grinned. "See, I need to find a woman like you. Pretty, intelligent... easy to talk to. Man, if I didn't see you as a kid sister... and if you didn't have the top military guys in Atlantis surrounding you... it would be a different story. Tell us, doc," he said, pretending he hadn't seen Evan yet, "is there anyone on base you feel like that about?"

She blushed. "No comment."

Both he and Miller just looked at each other, smirking. Before they could say anything more, Evan chose to walk in.

"What's up?" He called over to his men, then nodding to Jennifer.

"Speaking of our fearless leader," Miller muttered under his breath to Anderson, grinning. "Hey, Lorne. We're about ready to eat breakfast and crash. Who's on shift next with our Doc here?"

Evan sat down next to Jennifer, looking down at her. "Me."

"Have you slept?" Jennifer asked, knowing full well that he hadn't.

"I'll sleep later," he brushed off the concern. "Feel like going for a run?"

She nodded and stood. "Sure."

"Don't forget about the touch football game tonight, boss," Anderson reminded him. "It's still on from what Sheppard said earlier. He's refusing to let this guy take everything away from us."

He remembered signing up for the game weeks ago, before this ever started. Thanking his men for pulling a long shift, he told them to get some sleep and be ready to be back outside her door later that evening. Walking over to the groupings of lockers the SGC had sent back after many requests from the men, he grabbed a set of clean work out running clothes and shoes. "Give me a second to change before you leave."

Within a few minutes, Evan and Jen set off to run. The clouds in the sky currently gave a threat of rain, yet both of them ignored them. Evan let Jennifer set the pace as they made their way down the path that many runners in the city took.

"You okay with my guys taking the morning shift?" Evan asked evenly between breaths.

She nodded, pony tail swaying in the breeze. "Of course. You know we get along well."

"How are they dealing with being the ones to find Adams?" Evan asked, surprising her. He caught her look and explained. "Guys don't talk about stuff like that, especially military guys."

Jennifer considered her answer. "They're doing better. At first, I think they both felt guilty about not immediately befriending him. They really didn't connect with him until the mission I went on with you guys."

Evan snorted. "Now they spend every free moment they have, outside of sleeping or guarding you, sitting with him. Marie told them to keep talking to Adams, so they've been planning how they're going to 'pimp' his new room he won at the game night. When I sit with him, I have doctors telling me it's useless staying."

"Doctors differ on their opinions. There has been many documented instances where a person in a coma can recall overheard conversations. Keep talking to him. The medically induced coma is what's preventing him from waking up. We want him to heal as much as possible before he checks back into reality, which doesn't make Woolsey or Sheppard happy. As soon as we lift the coma today, I'm going to have to put Ronon on them both to prevent them from pouncing on the poor kid to see if he saw his attacker's face."

They continued their run, pushing themselves to run farther than the normal set track. Evan guided her to a remote part of the city he enjoyed running in.

"I'll be the first to admit that I'd be right behind them," Evan confided. "For the sake of Adams, you... the rest of the city's safety. We need to find this guy."

Jennifer looked up at the sky, brushing a drop of water off of her face. "Is it-" she stopped as suddenly the rain came down in buckets.

Both of them stopped running, completely shocked at the turn of the weather that quickly.

"Here," Evan pointed towards an overhang. "There's a little protection over there."

They ran to it, getting soaked in the process. There wasn't much room in the small area, forcing Evan to stand practically against Jennifer.

"Well, can't say I'm not shocked," he said, grinning. "I think your luck holds out even when we're not off-world."

"Hey," she said, laughing, "maybe it's not my luck but yours jinxing us this entire time. Ever think about that?"

He laughed as the rain picked up even more, sending Jennifer shrieking against him as a shield.

"I'm soaked!" She yelled, squinting her eyes and ducking her head at the spray.

Evan looked down at her. "I noticed." Guiding her against the wall, he stood so that he took the brunt of the rain that was angling toward them. It was as if the weather was purposely trying to pull them closer together in the tiny space. When he didn't remove his hands around her waist, Jennifer angled her head up at him, all of a sudden becoming serious.

"You know," he said over the sounds of the rain. "This would probably be the perfect opportunity to talk about something that's been on my mind."

Her hands came to his chest, loosely holding on to his shirt for balance. "And what's that?" Jennifer knew full well that he was thinking along the same lines that she was. He reached and pulled a wet strand of hair off of her check, then replacing his hand where the hair had laid, gently caressing her smooth skin.

"You." His eyes became a darker, a more intense blue as he moved his hand to cup the back of her neck.

Deciding to try a hand at flirting, she looked up at him coyly. "And what are you going to do about that, Major?"

Evan broke out in a smile, making her want to melt. "Something I should've done weeks ago." He gently pulled her towards him. Just as her lips were a fraction of an inch away, he heard Ronon calling for them on the radio.

Cursing, he backed away from her. Jennifer, who didn't have hers on, looked at him, confused.

"Ronon," he barked, sending Jennifer a look that he wasn't finished with her. "What do you need?"

"Get back here," Ronon replied. "Doc got another note. This time in the infirmary. It was just lying on her desk."

Evan swore. "Did anyone open it yet?"

"No." Ronon answered.

"We'll be there in ten." Evan cursed their luck, looking down at her. "They found another note."

The reality of the events of the past few days returned to her quickly. Nodding, she backed away from him. And just like that, the moment was over. "Let's go."

Grimly, they made their way back to the city.

"We're stopping at your room so you can change," Evan informed her. "The note's not going anywhere."

"I'm fine," she replied. "I'll dry. And I can always change into some scrubs."

"Negative," he said, then gave her a brief smile. "Trust me on this one. It'll only take a second."

"Why? Just to read the stupid note? I can change afterward."

Evan looked at her, and then down her body. "Jen, you're soaking wet. Need I remind you that 85% of this expedition is male. And currently, each piece of clothing covering you is clinging to every curve of your body." He caught her looking down, then blushing. "And while I don't mind a bit," he had the decency of grinning over at her but keeping his eyes above her neck, "let's keep the reputation of the CMO in tact and swing by your room. And prevent me from shooting anyone who ogles you."

Jennifer looked away, not believing they could joke around at a time like this. "You know, I think I will go change. Now that you mention it, it's a little chilly out."

Evan just laughed, following her down the hall to her room.