When Beckett first called, Anna lifted her head and tried to wipe away the tears that wouldn't stop. She'd already soaked Evan's shirt, and she started to apologize. He kept a hold on her shoulders. "Don't."
Anna nodded. "Thanks."
"Let's go." He turned and waited for her to precede him. "The doc said immediately."
She led the way, nearly running in her haste to get to the infirmary. There were very few reasons that Beckett would call her to the infirmary, none of them good. At any rate, she might not be able to keep her secret for much longer. When she reached the door, Lorne touched her shoulder and let her know he was there with her.
Inside, Beckett and a team of medical personnel worked over Ronon. Anna's stomach clenched. She'd seen enough staff weapon wounds to understand the severity of Ronon's condition. She wasn't sure if it was Jaffa weaponry that had caused it, but that didn't matter. The Satedan looked like he'd had a huge chunk of his gut blown away. She walked toward him, steeling herself for what she now knew would happen. "Doctor?"
"I need you, lass." Beckett met her eyes. "He needs you. I can't work as fast as you can. You brought the device, and you can fix him. There's nothing I can do from here. At least, nothing that would ultimately save his life. He's too far gone already."
Anna looked at Evan. He stood with Sheppard, slightly confused at how a situation involving Ronon had suddenly centered around her. She considered his face, his words. Surely he wasn't a man to betray her simply because of her past. Even then, she couldn't let Ronon die. She nodded. "Okay. Let's do this."
Beckett rushed for the device while Anna glanced around. While Evan wasn't armed, he was still very capable of restraining her. That assumed the Marines didn't shoot her on sight. And what about McKay? Sheppard knew her darkest secret, and he'd allowed her to come to Atlantis. Now, it was time to test these people and the strength of their friendships, if she could call them that.
Beckett returned and held the box open for her. Anna reached in and, decision made, slipped the Goa'uld healing device over her hand. The naquadah in her blood stream activated it immediately. Weapons clicked behind her, and she held up her hands. Teyla looked confused, but McKay and the Marines held her at gunpoint. Lorne stepped back, his face closed while his eyes glared at her.
"At ease." Sheppard held out a hand, his voice slightly angry. "Do you think I didn't know about this when she first got to Atlantis? I said, at ease."
The Marines lowered their weapons, and McKay eyed Sheppard. Lorne stayed where he was, not entirely sure if he wanted to approach her. Anna put it out of her mind. She could deal with the rejection later. Once she found that calm place in her mind, she stepped up to Ronon and began to work.
There wasn't much to do with a Goa'uld healing device. It worked very similar to the dermal regenerators from that Star Trek show, mending the torn ligaments and organs. Anna stood over Ronon, concentrating on keeping the device active until he was healed. Beckett kept an eye on Ronon's vitals. When his wounds were healed, Anna slipped the device from her hand, gave it to Beckett, and left the infirmary. No one followed her.
SGA SGA SGA SGA
Lorne stirred as the door closed behind Anna. At first, he'd been horrified when the healing device activated as soon as she touched it. Then, as she worked, reason got the better of him. Of course she wasn't a Goa'uld. The doctors on Earth would have discovered that before she even came to Atlantis. Beckett clearly knew her secret, as did Sheppard. It must have been Anna's request that the knowledge wasn't widely known.
He stepped back as Beckett put Ronon under the scanner. Sheppard would brief him on the situation. Right now, he needed to find Anna. He needed to let her know that he didn't hate her. The initial shock had caused him to step back to a safe distance, and he saw the hurt on her face when he did so. If possible, he needed to rebuild that bridge of friendship.
She wasn't in her room or on the lookout where they met in the mornings. Lorne quietly gathered his painting gear. The urge to paint wasn't as strong, and he knew tomorrow would have a moon rise very similar to tonight's. He carried his gear to his room and left it in a heap on the floor. Then, he began hunting.
He found Anna on a balcony, tucked away from most of the crew quarters and quite a distance from the main tower. She stood with her back to him, her shoulders shaking as she cried. Evan stepped toward her, not sure that she'd heard him enter. She cried so softly that he wasn't sure he truly heard her when she drew in a ragged breath. Rather than speak, he simply touched her shoulder.
She whirled, raising her hands defensively. When she saw him, she calmed a bit.
He smiled gently. "Sorry."
She shrugged and turned back to the view before her. "So, now you know."
"That you were a host to a snake?" He hated how callous that sounded, but it wasn't in his power to be gentle toward the Goa'uld. He moved into position beside her, taking the same stance he had earlier that evening. "Yeah, now I know."
"I thought about telling you." She looked at the sky. "But, when I first came here, everyone I traveled with knew about it. All the scientists knew I'd betrayed them by working among them and selling their secrets to Ba'al. I couldn't let that stop me from working on the ATA gene, but I couldn't find anyone who would understand."
Lorne nodded. "I get that." He turned to face her. "But what you need to get is that those of us that have been on Atlantis for any length of time don't care. Sheppard clearly knew, but Ronon and Teyla won't care. I don't care."
Those words made her cry again. "I dream about it." She glanced at him. "When I do, I'm always a prisoner. Unable to break out of the restraints. That's what I felt like. Then, when I couldn't handle it anymore, I gave in. I quit fighting, and she rewarded me for it. I got addicted to that reward and would do whatever it took to feel that again."
"Like a drug addict."
"Yeah. Only, for me, it was worse. She made me do things that no person should have to do." Anna rolled her head around, the tension in her neck clearly bugging her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
Lorne waved the apology aside. "So, the Tok'ra freed you?"
"Yeah." She let out a deep breath. "Since I wasn't a member of an SG team, I got by without detection for a few months. Then, they needed someone with my experience to head off world. I managed to make it home without being discovered, but the after action physical revealed what had happened. They restrained me and called in the Tok'ra.
"Oddly enough, I was doing okay until that day we got stuck in the cave." She smiled at him, and it touched her eyes this time. "Remember how I thanked you? Well, all of the scientists knew but had been sworn to secrecy by General O'Neill. Having someone sit next to me in the cave and in the Jumper kept me from panicking. When I was taken, my boyfriend took me to a similar cave. I thought it was for a rendezvous, but it wasn't. It was so his symbiote could jump into my body."
Lorne stayed silent. He wasn't sure what to say. In all his time, he hadn't been subjected to being a prisoner in his own body. For her part, Anna went back to studying the sky and its constellations. She seemed to relax now that her secret was out. He wondered how long that would last. With the very public nature of the revelation, the rumor mill would eventually find out. Lorne wished he could silence that as much as he wished he could take all of her pain.
Another thought occurred to him. Goa'uld were known for taking attractive hosts. No wonder the symbiote had jumped into her body. Given Anna's appearance, the snake had most likely used her to grant sexual favors in exchange for men doing its dirty work. That angered him like nothing ever had. He worked to keep the anger from his face and to unclench his fists.
Finally, he touched her arm. "You need to rest."
"I know." She straightened and allowed him to escort her to her quarters. Once there, she faced him. "Thank you."
He smiled at her. Rather than answering, he touched her arm and went his way. He knew he was in over his head concerning her, and he liked it. But he wasn't sure he should allow himself to continue the relationship. Distracted men got themselves killed. He looked around. It wasn't like he was starting a relationship with someone on Earth who would have to live without him for more than a few weeks here and there. This woman lived on Atlantis. She'd survived a Goa'uld living inside her body. She had the strength to go through whatever life handed her.
Lorne shook his head as he made his way to his quarters. Just when did he begin thinking of his friendship with Anna as a long-term relationship? He didn't want to answer that question right then. Instead, he relaxed back on his bed and tried to wrap his mind around the revelation of what she had endured before coming to Atlantis.
~TBC~
