Date : 18.05.2009
Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate
Author : ElaineDex
Chapter : 5 of ?
Rating : M
Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC
Major Evan Lorne/OC
Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.
Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.
Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Lorne, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.
Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU J
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Do you think that Rodney would consider swapping teams with me?" Ellie asked of Teyla as she pushed her laptop into her backpack and Teyla pursed her lips as though she was seriously considering the question.
"Ahh…no," came her response a few seconds later and Ellie grumbled unhappily, making Teyla smile.
"You like Major Statham really," she chided but Ellie snorted sarcastically,
"Oh yeah, I love him to bits," and Teyla frowned.
"Well, you'll get a short reprieve this afternoon when you accompany us wont you," she said and Ellie nodded.
"I guess so and I am really looking forward to it. It seems like forever since I went off world with you guys."
Teyla's smile returned and she touched Ellie's arm briefly before heading for the door.
"I will see you at the jumper bay later," she said before she disappeared and Ellie raised a hand before continuing to pack what things she would need for the mission.
She was going along with SGA-1 to predominantly help McKay and she marvelled at how Sheppard saw fit to let his scientist go back to the planets that he wanted to, but how Statham wouldn't let her go back to the ones that she wanted to re-visit.
"He's a jerk, that's why. Evan always listened to me…he valued my opinions…" she mumbled to herself, then stopped as a wave of longing for her husband washed over her and she straightened and gripped the work bench in front of her.
She missed Evan like crazy. She missed talking to him, sharing a private joke and a laugh with him, she missed watching him paint - the concentration on his face when he'd been mixing colours on his pallet had always made her smile…but most of all she missed being in his arms, making love with him, their closeness had meant everything to her and she felt so alone now.
Sighing heavily, she zipped up her backpack and headed off to get her boots and tac vest. She needn't worry about disapproving stares from Major Statham today with regard to her pale yellow sundress as she knew that Sheppard wouldn't mind what she wore.
OOOOO
Statham threw down his pen and picked up his coffee cup before leaning back in his chair. He groaned as he stretched out his stiff muscles.
With his team grounded in Ellie's absence he had decided to catch up on some paperwork.
He raised the cup to his lips and tried to shake off the uneasy feeling in his stomach, the one he'd had since she and Sheppard's team had disappeared through the gate earlier.
He had just put his cup back down on the desk-top when his ear-piece buzzed.
It was Woolsey.
"Major I need you and the rest of your team ready to go off-world and in the gate room immediately," he said and Statham stood and shoved his chair back.
As he headed for the door he said,
"What's going on?"
"SGA-1 are under heavy Wraith attack and they need back up. SGA-3 and 5 will accompany you," Woolsey replied and Statham's mouth tightened, his stomach knotting as he raced to the armoury.
He'd known that something wasn't quite right all afternoon and he made a mental note to never ignore his gut feeling if he ever got the sensation again.
Lt. Franks and Lyssa joined him as he collected a P-90 and once they had theirs and some spare ammo they all ran to the gate room, arriving at the same time as the other two teams.
As Chuck dialled up the gate, Statham tried not to think about what was happening on the other side and he wanted to thump Woolsey when he approached and said,
"You should know that on their last transmission McKay said that Sheppard and Ronon had been wounded."
Lyssa stiffened at the news, her heart filling with even more dread at what they would find once they arrived to help their friends.
Finally the gate whooshed into life and they were given the go ahead to go through.
They raced head first into the chaos that was reigning on the planet and as Statham and the others began to shoot at the Wraith that were currently outnumbering their colleagues, Statham unconsciously began to search out Ellie.
She was a pain in the ass, but she was his pain in the ass and he wanted her safe.
His anxiety grew when he couldn't see any sign of her and he swung around, his eyes scanning the area as his instincts told him to hurry, the deafening sounds of gunfire erupting all around him.
A wraith self-detonated near by him and he grimaced and ran toward an area where the grass was longer. He passed Teyla fighting with a leather coat-clad wraith but she seemed to be holding her own and so he continued on.
Finally he saw a flash of yellow up ahead and his jaw stiffened as he saw Ellie, a wraith towering above her, his hands around her throat.
ooo
Ellie felt like she'd been kicking and fighting forever. Her throat felt raw from screaming so much and she felt exhausted.
Lights began to pop in front of her eyes and she felt her limbs beginning to grow heavy.
Suddenly she dropped to her knees as her attacker released her but she barely registered the wraith's cries as he was riddled with bullets from Statham's P-90.
Ellie fell forward, resting her weight on her hands as she dragged oxygen back into her lungs. She felt dizzy and although she had heard gunfire close by, she couldn't understand why the wraith had let her go.
Just then she was grabbed again and forced back into a kneeling position and, assuming that it was the wraith again she reached up and began to fight, her fists pelting his chest as she cried out wildly.
"Shush, Ellie its me, Frank," Statham said, gripping her chin. He angled her head so that she had to look at his face as he knelt on one knee before her.
"Stop fighting me," he added.
Through the haze of panic his words finally registered and Ellie let her fists uncurl and she flattened her palms against him instead. She stared at him, breathing heavily and Statham cupped her face.
"Come on, we have to move," he said gruffly. "Take a deep breath," he added, his voice sounding oddly gentle compared to the menacing look upon his face.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked, his hands moving to her bare arms as he dragged her to her feet and he took in the blood stains on the front of her dress.
"Ellie! Tell me you're alright?" he shouted at her when she didn't reply to him straight away.
The fear in his voice finally brought her to her senses and she nodded,
"I'm okay," she croaked, blinking as he fired off a couple of shots at a passing wraith over her shoulder before turning his attention back to her.
"The blood…?" he said and Ellie looked down at her dress, tears blurring her eyes as she replied,
"John's…"
Statham grimaced.
"Come on, we have to get back toward the gate. Do you have any ammo left?" he said and Ellie shook her head, her eyes straying to the devastation around them.
"Here, take this," he said, shoving his hand-gun into her numb hands.
"Stay close and watch my back," he instructed and Ellie forced herself to concentrate as Statham dragged her along behind him, back toward the fray.
Ellie went onto auto-pilot as they re-entered the fight, helping to reduce the already dwindling number of wraiths as they made their way back to the gate.
When they reached it, Statham shoved Ellie through it and then turned to see if he could assist any one else.
Ronon passed him carrying an unconscious Sheppard and then he heard Teyla yelling for someone to help her as Lyssa was down.
As he raced toward them, Lt. Franks passed him helping a hobbling McKay.
As Statham picked up Lyssa, Teyla followed covering them and he offered up a prayer that Lyssa wasn't too badly hurt and that the others would be alright too.
OoOoOo
Much later Statham, Ellie, Teyla, Lt. Franks, SGA-3 and three members of SGA-5 sat listening to Woolsey rant on about how they must find out what had prompted such a frenzied wraith attack and why this one had been so different from the others. By all accounts the creatures had seemed to want to kill in normal battle style as opposed to sucking the life from their enemies and that was not normal.
He then went on to inform the group that Ronon was injured, but was eager to leave the infirmary, McKay had a twisted ankle and that Sheppard was more seriously wounded and had almost lost his life due to the amount of blood he had lost.
Ellie glanced down at her stained dress as Woolsey went on to describe how Dr Keller had needed to give him a transfusion and Statham watched her closely from across the table.
He felt his gut twist at the look of misery upon her face and he wanted to reach out and touch her. He wanted to know what she was thinking even though he guessed it was something to do with the day Major Lorne had lost his life to the wraith. He felt like he needed to see her smile that 'pretty' smile of hers and he wanted to chase away the dark circles from beneath her eyes, a tell-tale sign that she wasn't sleeping properly.
But then the moment was gone as he heard Lyssa's name and his head snapped back to Woolsey.
"Lyssa has serious injuries to her chest and arms but as you all know, she is a faster healer with that DNA of hers and so Dr Keller is optimistic that the wounds will sort themselves out quickly with her assistance and that Lyssa will make a full recovery, she is stable at the moment."
Ellie heaved a ragged sigh of relief at this news and clasped her hands together in her lap to stop them shaking.
"Unfortunately Lt. Atherton of SGA-5 lost his life today and…" Woolsey's voice faded from Ellie's mind as her eyes turned to the leader of SGA-5.
The man looked ready to murder someone, but behind his anger she could see the devastation and her heart went out to him.
She hadn't really known Lt. Atherton but there was no doubt that he would have had family or a loved one who would now have to mourn his loss besides his team and other colleagues.
She swiped at her eyes as Woolsey's words filtered back through and she heard him saying,
"I want statements from you all and then you should all get checked out in the infirmary…following that you are released from duty for the rest of the day."
The group stayed around the table to write out their statements and it was almost as if they didn't want to be separated.
Finally though, the members of SGA's 3 and 5 left the room followed by Lt. Franks.
Statham hovered, not sure if to wait for Ellie or not, but then Teyla stood and Ellie followed suit and so he instead went around the table and collected everyone's statements, giving the two women enough time to leave together.
Ellie and Teyla went immediately to the infirmary to see their friends.
Ellie hovered by Lyssa's bedside, finding her friend asleep.
'That's good,' she told herself firmly. 'Lyssa heals very quickly if she sleeps more.'
She stood for a few moments more, her eyes glued to Lyssa's face before a nurse approached her and said that Keller wanted to see her now.
After being given the all-clear save for some bruising and scratches, Keller let her go and she headed to her room to shower and change.
She had been assured that should Lyssa awaken or ask for her then she would be notified immediately and this made her feel a little better about leaving her friend in the infirmary.
Unable to stay in her room alone, she decided to head for the mess hall. Not for food as she couldn't have stomached a thing, in fact it was just for the feeling of not being alone.
She stood by the level-changers' doors and when they opened she barely acknowledged Statham who was already inside.
Statham felt his chest tighten at the sight of the bruising that was beginning to appear around Ellie's neck and he cleared his throat gruffly before saying,
"Did you get checked out in the infirmary?"
Ellie nodded. "Did you?" she asked but Statham shook his head.
"There's nothing wrong with me and I didn't want to waste their time, they have enough to deal with."
Ellie nodded again, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves.
Statham was never normally wary around women, but he worried his bottom lip for a moment before saying,
"Look, I have some whisky in my room, you look like you could do with a shot…" he trailed off, expecting Ellie to decline and so was shocked when she nodded.
"That sounds good."
They went back to the quarters level and Ellie followed Statham to his door.
Once inside, he poured them both a shot and he handed one to her, noting that she looked like she didn't want to be alone.
Truth be told, neither did he, but he found it highly ironic that two people who couldn't normally stand being in the same room together had now chosen to share a drink together alone and in somewhere as private as his quarters.
After taking a couple of sips, Ellie moved wordlessly to his balcony and stepped out through the already open doors.
The fresh air hit her face and she could smell the salt of the ocean as the breeze whipped her hair back.
Statham followed her but stood in the doorway merely watching her as he took another swallow of his whiskey.
Suddenly Ellie raised a hand to her mouth and tried to stifle the sobs that were building inside of her.
Statham put down his glass and approached her from behind.
He reached around her and took her glass, placing it on the table that was out there.
"Go ahead and let it out Ellie, its okay," he told her, placing a hand on her shoulder and that seemed to be her undoing.
She began to cry in earnest and his own chest heaved as he turned her and pulled her close to him.
The days events had took their toll and as she sobbed he murmured soft comforting words and stroked her back, his fingers eventually finding their way into her long hair.
He tenderly tucked it behind her ears as she pulled back from him slightly and looked up into his eyes. He could see that she was fighting to stop her tears and he offered her a tentative smile.
Ellie's hands clung to his sides and she was afraid to let go. She hated looking and feeling this vulnerable, especially in front of this particular man but she couldn't seem to be able to bring herself to move away from him, she felt too safe in his arms.
"I thought you were dead when I saw you fall to the ground…" Statham said suddenly and Ellie bit her lip.
"I would have thought that…that you would be pleased about that," she hiccupped, trying to make a joke of his statement but she frowned as she saw concern and not amusement in his eyes.
He moved a hand and trailed a finger gently along her jawbone and Ellie could feel the heat that radiated from his taught muscles and his masculine scent filled her nostrils, igniting her senses.
Unconsciously she leant in closer to him, her hands moving up to his chest where her fingers flexed against the material of his T-shirt and she could feel his heartbeat thundering against her palm.
He was so tall and she felt tiny stood against his strong frame, but she wasn't scared, quite the opposite in fact.
The way he was looking at her made her feel like the one who was in charge of their current situation and it was unexpectedly gratifying to see the confident Major Statham looking so unsure of himself.
She watched the emotions warring within his eyes as he searched her face, for what she wasn't quite sure until he said her name that was.
"Ellie…"
And then she knew.
Her eyes dropped to his mouth and although she missed the flare of heat in his, she did not miss the low growl that sounded in the back of his throat just before he lowered his head and brushed her mouth with his.
Ellie knew that she should have been shocked or incensed by what he was doing, but she wasn't.
She moved her hands and clung onto the corded muscles of his arms, her soft breath whispering across his lips and he couldn't resist sweeping his tongue across her mouth before delving deeper to taste her more fully.
Statham willed himself to pull away but instead, one hand snaked into her hair again whilst his other dragged her tightly to him, pressing her curves into the hard planes of his body.
They somehow seemed to fit perfectly together despite their differences in height and he felt her breasts rising and falling against him as he deepened their kiss.
Desire jolted through him and it seemed to wake him up from the stupor that he had fallen into.
He pulled away from Ellie and all but glared at her.
'What the hell are you doing?' he asked himself angrily.
His breathing sounded raspy in the thick silence that now hung between them and his desire to repeat the mistake of another passionate kiss was so overwhelming that he had to abruptly let go of Ellie and turn his back to her.
Ellie stared at his broad back as she took a couple of steps backwards herself, putting a little distance between them.
Her fingertips brushed her mouth, her lips tingling. She felt dazed, but not disgusted as Statham was imagining her to be.
"I'm sorry," she heard him mutter and she shook her head even though he couldn't see her.
"Why?" she asked, her voice sounding stronger than she actually felt.
Statham turned back to face her at her odd question.
'Had she actually wanted his kiss?' he wondered, trying to read the expression on her face but failing. 'Had she wanted it or had the situation she found herself in simply made her call for comfort from whoever was available at the time?'
'It didn't matter,' he told himself. 'He didn't like Ellie and she didn't like him.'
So why were they staring at one another with barely concealed desire in their eyes?
Suddenly they were back in one another's arms, their mouths kissing and nibbling and driving one another to distraction.
They made their way back inside of Statham's quarters, pulling at one another's clothes as they fell onto his bed.
Statham tried to take a deep breath and slow things down, but he felt out of control and he wanted to take Ellie hard and fast and so far she didn't seem to be objecting.
He had never imagined that she could be so sensuous and passionate and so responsive, to him of all people!
He should learn not to judge a book by its cover!
As he covered himself with the protection he always carried, he looked at her, uncertainty still showing in his eyes as he said,
"Ellie…are you certain that this is what you want?"
Ellie reached up and pulled him down on top of her in response to his question and as he buried himself into her welcoming depths, he nuzzled his face into her neck and murmured,
"You feel so good…"
A self-satisfied smile tipped Ellie's mouth just before she moaned loudly and thrust herself against Statham as he began to bring them both to the climax they craved.
End of Chapter 5