Thanks again for your comments. Nearly complete. Section 4;
Sheppard escorted Wallace to Lab 17 where the Wraith was waiting. He wanted to ensure Wallace would not change his mind on route.
Sheppard used his access card hesitantly, it was accepted. The nugget of information that Landry had not suspected his plan B was worth squirreling away. He entered with Wallace, dismissing the military escort and indicating the nurses and gurney to wait outside.
The two soldiers still stood at their posts in the corner of the room, P90's trained on the weakened wraith, who sat at one of the desks. Sheppard closed the door behind them and stood infront of Wallace who seemed transfixed by the wraith.
"I want to thank you" Sheppard said quietly, and Wallace turned to look at him. "I know you can't comprehend this now but Rodney helps protect this planet. By giving your life here today, you now help protect this planet. What you do today means more than you can comprehend". Inside himself Sheppard added silently "Forgive me but I could not allow this to go any other way"
Wallace watched Sheppard's face as he spoke. He seemed to steel himself, although he remained paled and watery eyed. He nodded to Sheppard and moved around the table to he stood next to the wraith, chin defiant, staring the wraith full in the face and Sheppard again saw the similarities between Rodney and Wallace.
Sheppard indicated towards Wallace, "You can feed on him freely, take what you need to complete the work"
The wraith looked between Sheppard and Wallace trying to understand the catch and then looked at Sheppard, "You said you would never supply food" the wraith rasped.
"Some things are worth going to hell for" Sheppard said quietly. Rodney's worth this he thought quietly to himself.
He saw Wallace flick to look at him in the face, seeing something there that Sheppard had not hidden well enough. He understands Sheppard thought to himself, he knows. "This is a one time offer, and it has a time limit" Sheppard nodded to one of the guards who unlocked the wraiths cuffs and stood back, P90's trained on the wraith. Sheppard had spoken to the guards before, trying to explain what would happen. If he could have spared them this as well he would have but a recently fed wraith was too dangerous to allow it.
The wraith stood and ripped open Wallace's shirt and holding one hand behind his neck to hold him in place, in a disturbingly intimate hold, and then he placed the other on his chest and started to feed.
Sheppard unconsciously lifted a hand to his chest where his own feeding scar remained. He saw the horror and disgust on the soldiers faces, saw them glancing at him, hoping he would call it off. Sheppard wanted to look away, but forced himself to watch Wallace sacrifice himself for Rodney, saw the pain and horror pass over his face. He kept having to fight the urge to intervene as he watched Wallace age and watched as Wallace start to change his mind as the pain arched through his body and he started to fight just before he became to weak to do more than die.
He walked over to the door in silence, feeling the wraith watching him. He opened the door and let in the nurses with the gurney and closed the door after them. As they moved over to the body he watched disgust register on their faces and saw the accusing glances at him.
He could hear Rodney outside but wanted Wallace in the bag before he let him in. He did not want Rodney to see the physical sight of what he had done and he knew if Rodney took any of the guilt from this himself then it would be less haunting if he did not see the face of Wallace's final agony, an image that would always stay with Sheppard. When Wallace was bagged, one of the nurses moved to open the door as the other started to strap him to the gurney. Sheppard felt the dread in his stomach, he didn't want this conversation to happen and would stall as long as he could. He heard Rodney trail off in mid rant trying to figure out why Sheppard was stood in front of him.
"Let him in" Sheppard indicated to the soldier outside and Rodney walked into the lab in a daze. Sheppard glanced at Rodney and away again. In his head he saw shock and disgust at what he had done but when he glanced into Rodney's eyes all he saw was confusion.
"What?…." Rodney trailed off indicating the body bag being wheeled out.
"I was showing Wallace the labs and the wraith got the upper hand. That's what the official reports are going to say" He glanced at Rodney again and saw the confusion starting to fade and saw the penny starting to drop. He prayed that Rodney would understand, but Rodney was not a true soldier, he was still untainted and innocent inside and that's part of what Sheppard strove to protect and ironically that was the part that might not be able to forgive him for this.
"You" Rodney started to say but this was the conversation Sheppard wanted to avoid at all costs. He swallowed and interrupted "Come on, you've got work to do" he said as he nodded towards the wraith knowing when Rodney worked all else faded from his mind. Sheppard was mindful that if Rodney did not understand then this could be the last time they stood together. He knew it wouldn't be long before Rodney figured it out, but he didn't know how long he had. He tried to take in as much as he could.
"No he does not, I've completed the reprogramming" the wraith rasped.
Sheppard turned to the wraith to see he had completed it and as he turned back to Rodney he saw him walking past, "that was quick, we will get it uploaded" he said, his eyes distant, surroundings already fading from his mind as it turned to the more internal technical matters. Sheppard used this moment to look at his face as he walked past. To capture the depth of blue of his eyes, the lines that marked his face, the essence that was Rodney.
Sheppard started walking towards the door. "I can't help with the rest, I'll go find Ronnon and tell him the news, keep me posted". Rodney, merely nodded in agreement as Sheppard left the labs with a final look at Rodney as he left.
Section 5 to follow.