Chapter three

A/N: sorry about the two really short chapters lately folks! It's kinda hard for me to start a new story and have it flow really nicelyon the first couple of chapter. Anywho! Onward story cometh!

Disclaimers: I own the ideas behind this unique love story and Briana Sheppard, cousin to John Sheppard of Atlantis.

When Reed's hand landed on Briana's mouth, she was stunned for a couple of seconds, but after that she was one hellcat. Wiggling and turning, Briana tried to get the man to stop holding her. Nothing worked, in fact Malcolm just tighted his arm around her chest and wouldn't let Briana tug free of him.

Sagging in defeat, Briana gave into the man holding her. Reed noticing that Briana had quit struggling to get free, loosened his hold onto her.

Briana stomped on his foot and thrust her elbow backwards, letting her escape past the startled guards, while Reed frantically rubbed his somanche, where the spit-fire had knocked the air out of him. Exiting the Imfirmary, Briana took down the hallway at a dead run. Spotting a corner up ahead, She slid around it, hearing people's boots on the hard deck plating.

Briana skidded around into a corridor leading off of the main one, and saw someone up ahead. Windmilling her arms, Briana tried to stay up right and turn at the same time, while her long hair flew in every direction, creating a black cloud in the middle of the corridoor.

*)_(*

Malcolm Reed had to hand it his prisoner, not only had she escaped him and three guards, but she was a dang good runner to boot. The security detail had a hard time keeping up with the wild haired woman. Spottting her up a head, Malcolm put a burst of speed that he didn't know he had in him.

Looking into Briana's wide eyes, he could tell that the woman wasn't thinking, she was having a classic fight or flight instinct. So Reed, hosltered his weapon and held his arms out, slowly moving towards her and speaking softly.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Major. I just obeying orders. The Captain doesn't want you wondering around the ship, you could get lost." He said, gradually getting closer to the brown eyed beauty.

With each step Malcolm took, Briana took three backwards.

*)_(*

Briana couldn't understand this place which she found herself in. The people around her, were mostly humans, but that doctor was clearly alien. The brown haired security officer was cute, if she had time to actually dwell on that instead of trying to get back home.

She kept backing up, until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her once more. Briana fought like a wild animal to get loose, not only were there people in front of her but there was someone behind her also that had gotten her.

"Whoa! I'm not gonna hurt ya, lady. Malcolm here just needs to make sure you're in a safe place." A thick Texan accent spoke behind her.

Briana sagged, it hitting her like a ton of bricks that wherever she was, there was no way home to Atlantis.

"Malcolm, you've got one hell of a wildcat on your hands." Trip's texan accent reminded Briana of her mother's family, whenever they visited them in Texas.

"Well considering that she got away from me twice in a day, Commander, I'll not reply to that comment." Reed's face was dead serious, but if you looked closer you could tell that he was joking.

"I really am in the future aren't I?" she whispered to the air, not noticing how the humans around her were looking at her funnily.

*)_(*

The she-cat on Enterprise was as tame as ever, Malcolm thought wirily, and it only took one Texas accent talking Engineer chief to do it. Ever since she punched him on his rear, Malcolm couldn't understand why he was so curious about her. It had been several days since Briana had excepted that she was years in the future. Captain Archer had been kind enough to offer Sheppard quarters aboard the Enterprise. In return she tried to help out in any way possible. But explosives had progressed years ahead than what she knew about.

Hurring to the armoury, Briana wanted to talk to Malcolm about letting her help out there. She was useless in Science, Engineering, and several other ocupations, but tatical was her strong point. And how much couldn that change in a hundred and fifty-eight years? Briana hoped that Malcolm would let her join the sercurity teams, after learning what she did on Atlantis.

Entering the door leading into the Amoury, Briana found Malcolm trying to upgrade the weapons targeting systems. "You do know that it's easier to target using the old fashion way right?" She asked, sliding down the ladder to reach the deck below her.

"If I can get this to be at a hundered and fifty percent targeting efficantce, Major, I won't use the old fashion way, you so claim." Malcolm told her stiffly, not bothering to look into Briana's brown gaze.

"I came to ask you if I could help around the armoury. If I don't do anything soon, I'm going to throw myself out of an airlock." She stood at attention, asking him to give her a job.

"Armoury is off limits to civilians." Maloclm automaticatilly replied to her question, not bothering to notice the glint in her eye, while she thought about it.

"I'm no more a civilan than you are, Commander. And I'll even prove it to you." Stuffing her hands in her pockets, She smiled an almost feral grin. "What say you to a combat excrise between the two of us, when the next training exercise rolls around."

"You're on." Malcolm argreed, finally turning to face her. Something about the way Briana was standing had him a little confused. It reminded him of the time that he was an agent for Section 31.