Todd smelled something. The food aroma was stronger than usual, so he suspected they had moved to their mess hall. He smiled and made his way toward the gate room.

He entered silently, looking around for people. He saw one man, but nobody else. He fired once with the P-90, making the man topple out of his seat. As he moved over to the dialing device, he heard the alarms sound. He uttered a hiss as he turned to the man just in time to see his hand slipping from the console.

Ella slipped off her heels as soon as she sat down. They were atrocious at best. She took a bite of the food and smiled. Earth food at it's best was amazing. Gourmet was the word, if she remembered correctly. Her fork dropped to the table with a clatter and her chair flew backwards as the alarms went off. Her instinct took her to the gateroom.

Her bare feet slapped the metal floor as she ran, and a shot ringing out made her run faster. She arrived just in time to see a wormhole stabilizing. Positioning herself in front of it, she came face to face with Todd when he jumped the balcony.

It was her. Of course, it had to be her. He closed off the gateroom and jumped off the balcony. He saw the fierce determination in her eyes, and he feared one of them wouldn't make it.

Why was he worried about this human's wellbeing? Why did she shake him? He frowned and looked into her eyes.

"Move or be moved, Ella Dex."

She shook her head, and he heard her braid against her back.

"No, Todd. You're not leaving."

He raised the P-90, and she drew her gun. The defiance in her eyes dared him to fire, but the stone in the pit of his stomach wouldn't let his finger budge. He threw the gun to the side and used that moment of distraction to bat Ella's out of her hand and grab her wrists.

Ella gasped as he grabbed her wrists. The roughness of his 'mouth' against her skin was strange, and her eyes darted from her wrists to Todd's amber eyes. She expected pain. She wasn't sure if wraiths could feed anywhere, but she was certain she didn't want to find out. She tried to pull her hands away, but his grasp was too strong. She looked into his eyes, trying to look defiant, but she was sure that it was fright that was there instead.

Todd looked into Ella's eyes. She looked so terrified. The warrior who had helped him escape the hive ship was now bare foot and helpless. He released her hands and sighed. As his hands dropped to his side, he felt a sharp blow to his cheek. Wiping away the blood, he looked up to see Ella gone. He darted for the gate, but something made him turn around, and he saw her staring at him from the top of the staircase. He sighed and turned away, taking a breath before stepping through.

Ella sighed and walked to the control room. She nudged Chuck to make sure he was still alive, then opened the doors. Sam, Jack, Daniel, and her team came flooding in, looking around in horror. She walked down the stairs slowly and soberly, heading to retrieve her gun. Daniel grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Ella, what happened?"

Ella swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the dry lump in her throat.

"I couldn't stop him."

Daniel's brow wrinkled and he looked into her eyes as she avoided his. He grabbed her wrsit firmly but gently, trying to turn her towards him.

"There's something else."

Ella shook her head and gently pulled out of his grasp, giving Ronon a quick, encouraging smile before she grabbed her gun and headed down the hallway.

Todd stepped out on the other side of the gate and activated his long range scanner. There were always hives in this area, so he was certain he'd be found by the wraith before Atlantis could find him. He sighed and sat down on a rock, then chuckled to himself. Since when did he sigh? He was spending far too much time with the humans.

He stood and began to pace. He was tempted to go back. Surely he was losing his mind. Ella Dex would never feel anything for him, and he did not feel anything for her. End of story. As Todd heard the familiar buzzing overhead he nodded to himself with resolution. Then he stepped out into the clearing and waited for the beam.

The security team was sweeping the area, Sheppard had moved up into the control room with Sam to do damage control, and Daniel was positive that Jack had slipped off to finish his food. He knew he ought to help, or at least move, but he was glued to his spot, watching the hallway Ella had disappeared down. He knew her now, and he knew there was something she was not telling him. However, Ronon was still standing in the gateroom and Daniel didn't want to upset him again. That was a mistake that he didn't want to make again. Although he had thought he would've had a while longer before he died again too. He braved a look around and found Ronon staring at him. He watched as the large man sauntered over to him casually.

"I can be there for her, but I've never been too great at fixing her. You are."

Ronon simply stared at him after that, and Daniel assumed it was permission to go. He bolted down the hallway towards Ella's room, but she wasn't there. Daniel stopped and thought for a minute, then headed towards the sparring room.

Ella threw another punch at the air, then another. She was about to throw another when she saw movement at the door out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see Kavanaugh leaning against the doorway. Her lip involuntarily wrinkled as she turned to face him.

"What do you want?"

Kavanaugh stepped forward and tried to smile, but it ended up looking sinister.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Ella rolled her eyes and flashed an overly sarcastic smile.

"I am fine. Thanks for coming. Goodbye."

She waved him away and turned back to her invisible foe, only to turn back and find him a foot away. She glared at him, trying to get it through his thick skull that she wanted him to leave. He returned her glare with another misshapen smile, and Ella finally had enough. She pulled her hand back and punched his nose hard enough to send him to the ground. Wiping her hand on her sweat cloth, she stepped over the man and radioed the infirmary.

She turned down the hall to go find another hiding spot only to collide with a full speed Daniel. She rolled out from under him before they hit the ground and landed beside him. He moaned before pushing himself into a sitting position and turning to her.

"Hey, just the person I wanted to see."

Ella laughed and sat up also, rubbing her sore back and raising an eyebrow.

"Really, and why is that?"

Daniel sighed and scooted against the wall. Ella followed him and looked at him curiously.

"Daniel?"

"Well, you seemed, it seemed, I thought that something else was wrong."

Ella sighed and scooted closer to Daniel, as if to brace herself.

"You know what you said about making Todd a better being? I couldn't do it. I couldn't stop him from leaving."
Daniel let out a hmm noise as his eyebrows wrinkled.

"You know, you don't seem to have a single scratch or bruise on you. Did he even touch you?"

Ella pulled her legs to her body, revealing the fact that she had put pants on underneath. She let out a shuddering sigh.

"I put myself between him and the gate. He had a P-90 pointed at me, but he didn't shoot. He grabbed my wrists, but he-" She hesitated a moment and took a quivering breath, trying to brace herself. The memory made her rub her wrist thoughtfully. "He didn't do anything. His eyes, they were almost compassionate. Almost. He could have ended it then and there, but it was almost like he cared about me. I don't understand it."

Ella rubbed her head and sighed. Daniel smiled down at her and placed his arm around her shoulders.

"I do. You did make him a better being." He squeezed her shoulders and shook a little to get her to look at him. When she did he smiled, genuine and huge. "You did it."

Ella sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Ronon sauntered into the infirmary and found Jennifer muttering to herself. He smiled with amusement, wrinkling the corners of his eyes and making his brown eyes glitter. He tapped her gently on the shoulder and watched her jump. When she turned around there was a large red smear down the front of her dress and an exasperated look on her face.

Jennifer whirled around and came face-to-chest, until she looked up, with Ronon. The ketchup that had fallen from the ceiling forgotten, her mouth drooped open and a blush creeped into her cheeks. She saw Ronon's smile grow larger, and it became infectious. She smiled back, but she wasn't sure how to break the awkward silence. It was Ronon, however, that spoke first.

"You wanna go get something to eat?"

Jennifer smiled and nodded. As Ronon slipped his hand around hers, she was sure it was miracles like this that made her believe in God. She said a silent thank you as she let Ronon pull her to the mess hall.

A/N: Well, there it is. I'm working on part three for me and those of you who are still reading this. It means so much! 'Survival' is up next as part three!