Anna woke suddenly, as if she'd heard something that opened her eyes without warning. She pulled the blanket that had come off of her shoulders back up to her neck and rolled over. The clock said it was two in the morning. A few more hours of sleep shouldn't be impossible.

Memories of the dream returned, and Anna sat up with a sigh. Sleep would be impossible after that. Rather than complain, she rose and grabbed the robe that lay over the foot of her bed. She had dreamed of her time with Nephthys, but something else stuck in her mind. Something that could possibly help them. Sitting at her computer, she accessed the city's mainframe and began typing. Moments later, information cycled down the screen.

Anna hadn't read these files since coming to Atlantis. After getting settled, she had ended up in the cave with Lorne and his men, and the memories became too strong to risk studying this information. Now, however, she needed to. Time slipped away as she worked, and she was surprised when an entry request sounded.

Anna frowned as she went to answer the door. When had the sun risen? She hadn't been working all that long.

When she opened the door, Evan blinked at her. His gaze dropped to her attire, and Anna suddenly realized that she still wore the nightgown and robe from the night before. To his credit, Evan didn't stare long. "Ahh, you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you didn't show up to run, and you were supposed to be in a briefing ten minutes ago." He looked away from her, clearly not comfortable with her appearance. "We tried to radio you, but. . . ."

"Briefing?" Anna turned to look at the clock and stifled a curse. "Oh, great! Sorry. Just. . . Give me a few minutes." She left Lorne standing in the open door and grabbed a uniform from the closet. Then, she ducked into the bathroom to change.

How had she forgotten to put her radio on? Anna berated herself as she quickly changed into her Atlantis uniform and brushed her hair. She didn't like to go to work with her hair around her shoulders, so she braided it down her back. It would work. After running a quick brush over her teeth, she returned to the main room of her quarters to find Evan standing at the window. He seemed so natural there, and his face relaxed slightly when she appeared. She began talking as soon as she saw him. "I'm so sorry. I was working and just lost track of time. But I think I have an idea that will work. I hope so, anyway."

He grinned and held up a hand to stop the flood of apologies. "You got me out of hearing McKay and Zelenka argue over the best way to keep Brandt out of Atlantis. I should be thanking you."

Anna grinned at him. Somehow, he put her at ease even though she knew arriving to a briefing late was not fashionable. She saved the information she'd been working on to a file on her laptop and headed out the door with the computer under her arm. Lorne walked beside her and touched her back when they came to the transporter. Anna's smile widened. The small gesture warmed her heart even though she knew it was probably habit.

McKay could be heard from the control room. "Oh, you think so? Hmmm?"

"Yes, I do." Zelenka gave as good as he got. "You just don't want to listen to anyone other than yourself for two seconds."

Anna stepped into the briefing room and looked around. Weir, Sheppard, Caldwell, Ronon, and Teyla all listened wearily as the two scientists argued. Evan returned to the chair he'd recently vacated, leaving Anna to take one across the room.

Weir turned to her. "Dr. Travis, I hope you are okay."

Anna flushed and slipped around McKay to settle next to Caldwell. "I'm fine. I was working and lost track of time. But, I think I have a solution."

Weir turned all of her attention toward Anna, clearly tired of the argument between McKay and Zelenka. "Tell us about it."

"I came to Atlantis to study the ATA gene and how to make it more widely available to our personnel." She glanced to where McKay and Zelenka took a seat rather sheepishly. "But, since Nephthys is obsessed with it and already has a host with the ATA gene, she's going to be even more dangerous."

McKay leaned forward. "We've already established that, and we've taken precautions. The city is cloaked, and we've locked Brandt's IDT from the system."

Anna moved slightly and met McKay's eyes. "And I'm not saying that you shouldn't have done that. But, think about something: All Nephthys has to do is get her-his hands on an Ancient ship, and then she-he'll be able to come to Atlantis. With the ATA gene from Brandt, the technology won't be difficult to operate. Brandt's knowledge of Atlantis' location will keep her from being fooled by the city's cloak." She turned back to Weir. "No, we have to find a way to disable Nephthys's ability to use Ancient technology."

McKay piped up. "That's what we were discussing when you so rudely interrupted. See, I think we can write a program that would lock out Brandt's genetic code from accessing Atlantis's computer systems."

Anna shook her head. "That's where you're wrong. Yes, you could lock Brandt's genetic code out of Atlantis's computer systems. But what if we free him from Nephthys? What then? You'll have to write a computer program to reverse it. The solution is much simpler and still leaves Captain Brandt able to remain on Atlantis."

"Oh, yeah? And what is that?" McKay had obviously had enough with people contradicting his work.

Anna smiled at him. "We disable his ATA gene. It's why Nephthys took him in the first place. If we take away his ability to use Ancient technology, then we not only protect Atlantis. We prevent him from using any kind of Ancient tech, and that includes ships."

The room fell silent at the implications of that. Finally, Evan stirred. "Is that even possible?"

"For you or Colonel Sheppard, no." Anna had no qualms discussing this here. "You two, along with several other personnel, have the Ancient gene naturally. But Brandt received the gene therapy. And, with that therapy, there may be a way to render that part of his DNA inoperable."

Sheppard held up a hand. "Wait just a minute. What about Brandt? If this works, we're taking away a big portion of why he's on Atlantis."

Next to her, Caldwell shifted. "If it were me, Colonel, I wouldn't care."

"Think about it," Anna continued. "He's currently living as a slave in his own body to a snake who will use his ATA gene to destroy everything he holds dear. I know. I've been there. I can't say exactly how he'll react to losing the ATA gene, but he'll be free and able to make his own decisions. The thing we have to remember is that, while that is Brandt's body and we want to save him, Nephthys is controlling his body and very much a threat to us. We need to do what we can to neutralize the threat while still preserving as much of Captain Brandt as possible."

Weir, who had been listening up until this point, leaned forward. "Assuming you find a way to undo the gene therapy, how would you deliver it?"

"The same way that the original therapy was delivered." Anna met her eyes. "And therein is the danger. In order to deliver the therapy, it will have to be an injection. While Colonel Sheppard or Ev-Major Lorne could deliver it, they would be in even more danger because of their Ancient gene. The person who delivers the therapy will have to be someone without the gene so that Nephthys doesn't leave Brandt dead while she jumps into a more powerful host." As she spoke, she felt her face flush and hoped no one else noticed how she'd slipped in speaking about Evan. Then, she drew a deep breath. "If no one else is available, I'll deliver the injection."

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Lorne sat across from Anna, staring at her as if she'd suddenly gone insane. He knew he had heard her correctly, but he hoped that she would take the words back. She didn't.

From somewhere seemingly far away, Caldwell spoke up. "This is all well and good, but we need some way to combat Nephthys now, not in a month. By then, she'll have gained enough of a foothold to be a major player. We do not need that with the Wraith still around."

Anna sat back in her chair, and Lorne stared at her. Just what was she thinking? Or was she even really thinking at all? Nephthys was her greatest nightmare, and she had just volunteered to face her alone. If Anna had been a suitable host a year ago, what made her think she wouldn't be a suitable host now? She should know better. She should just stay here on Atlantis where she belonged, not off on another planet risking her life to keep him safe.

She suddenly looked across the room at him and met his eyes. Who was he kidding? He more than liked her. He wasn't just a friend to her. Not anymore. They had crossed that line days ago. It was his job to keep her safe, not the other way around.

"My ship took a bit of damage on the way here," Caldwell said as Lorne tuned back in to the conversation. "The repairs are minor, but they'll take time. A trip to Jeneb will be out of the picture for the next week or two."

Lorne blinked. When had the conversation turned to Jeneb? Rather than ask, he sat back in his chair as if he'd been paying attention the entire time. Besides, he needed time to think. Time to ask Anna what she'd been thinking.

Weir nodded at Caldwell's words. "Well, until then, we work the way the SGC did when they first encountered the Goa'uld. Nephthys is still trying to establish her power base. We destroy that and free the people she's implanted with Goa'uld symbiotes. With the knowledge we have now, we shouldn't have as much trouble as the SGC did in the early days." She turned to the men on her right. "Colonel Sheppard, Major Lorne, much of that job is going to fall to you and your teams."

"We can handle it," Sheppard said confidently. "Like you said, we know how they think and act now. We're ahead of the learning curve."

Caldwell opened his mouth as if to say something, but he stopped and looked rather sharply at Anna. On the other side of her, Zelenka also stared. She flushed, and Lorne buried the grin that tried to escape. She looked rather pretty when she flushed, and he wondered what had happened.

"Sorry." She glanced around sheepishly. "I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon. I missed breakfast this morning because I was working."

McKay harrumphed. "That sounds familiar."

Weir nodded sympathetically. "I understand. Is there anything else?"

Everyone stood, anticipating the end of the briefing. When no one else spoke, Caldwell headed for the door. "I'm going to check the status of repairs on Daedalus." He turned with a mischievous expression on his face. "Major Lorne, see that the good doctor gets fed."

Anna buried her face in her hands, but Lorne still saw the red that crept up her neck. Beside him, Sheppard made a noise that sounded like a cross between a cough and a laugh. He ignored his CO and didn't quite bury the grin that crossed is face. "Yes, Sir."

~TBC~

Author's Note: I took a little liberty with the canon here concerning the ATA gene. I've read in several places that Lorne had the gene naturally and that he got the therapy. I'm not really sure which one it is, so I'm saying that he is a natural carrier of the ATA gene for the sake of this story. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and let me know what you think. ~lg