Anna followed Evan from the briefing room, wondering if it was possible for Atlantis's transporters to beam her into an unused section of the city for the foreseeable future. Not that she'd want to be trapped like that forever. However, she did want some time to live down the embarrassment of Colonel Caldwell's teasing comment.

Evan didn't speak as they entered the transporter, and Anna frowned. Had Caldwell angered him as much as he had embarrassed Anna? She didn't think so. The dark look on Evan's face wasn't due to a teasing comment. He was capable of holding his own in any kind of argument. This went deeper.

Rather than telling her what it was about, he began gathering lunch items and stuffing them into a box. She stopped him. "The mess hall is fine."

He looked around and shook his head. "No, it's not. We need to talk."

"Oh." Anna let him finish what he was doing and followed him from the mess hall. He was angry at her. What had she done wrong? For the first time in their relationship, she caught a glimpse of his darker side. By the time they gained a private balcony, her stomach had managed to produce so many knots that she was no longer hungry.

Evan whirled as soon as he set down the box with their lunch. "Just what were you thinking?"

She blinked. "About what?"

"Nephthys and the ATA gene."

"I know taking the gene from Brandt isn't the ideal solution, but it's all we've got. After all, Brandt knows about Atlantis and knows our location." She shrugged. "I'm sorry it has to come at the expense of one of your men."

"I'm not talking about taking the gene from Brandt." He drew himself up to his full height, and Anna suddenly realized what his subordinate officers felt when faced by Major Lorne. He wasn't the biggest guy on Atlantis, only five-feet-nine inches tall. But, he knew how to project an air of intimidation, and he was the second highest ranking military officer on Atlantis. That spoke loudly about his military career. Standing with his hands on his hips, he continued, "What possessed you to volunteer for such a dangerous mission as delivering the ATA retrovirus-or whatever- to Nephthys? Don't you understand the implications if you fail?"

"Better than you do." She suddenly found herself growing angry at him. "You weren't the one who lived with her in your head for a year. I was. I know and understand what she can do to me if she ever gets in my head again. Give me a little credit for having thought this through!"

"Did you think this through? Because it seemed rather impulsive to me."

"And just what do you know about what I've done with my day?" Anna folded her arms across her chest. "I have been up since two a.m. working on this retrovirus, as you call it. I spent six hours at my desk before you showed up! I had plenty of time to think about all the implications of this plan. All the implications. Nephthys is obsessed, and she'll do anything to get her hands on the ATA gene. It's her way to a hok'taur, an advanced host. If you or anyone else with the gene gets close to her before we're able to deliver the retrovirus, she'll jump. And I can't stand the thought that she might. . . ." Her voice trailed off as she realized what she'd been about to say. She cleared her throat. "I can't ask you to do that."

Evan softened visibly. He dropped his hands from his hips and rubbed his eyes. "You don't have to put your life on the line to protect me."

"Isn't that what you do every day?" Anna asked softly.

The words found their mark. He narrowed his eyes briefly, and then he stepped closer to her. He touched her face, his fingers tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "Just don't forget that you have people here who care about you."

Anna smiled and found that she couldn't hold his gaze any longer. Evan may have been a master at controlling his expression, but he was intense when he let those guards down. She looked down and let out a grateful sigh of relief when he moved to pull their lunch from the box. She needed the distance. Jim Barringer hadn't stirred such emotions in her. He had made her feel special only when he wanted something from her, but he had not made her feel priceless in his anger. When he became angry, she normally left and didn't talk to him for several days. Then, once he'd recovered from his anger, he often left her with the feeling that it had been her fault. Of course, Nephthys had controlled him, but that didn't matter. The only real relationship she'd had with a man had been with Jim.

Evan was different. Anna knew this the moment he sat beside her in that cave. She'd been slightly intrigued by his silence and the fact that he never asked her any questions. Now, his anger intrigued her, primarily because he cared enough to be concerned about her safety.

Anna took her lunch and settled into a corner of the balcony. Evan had chosen an isolated location, and she was grateful for that as well. She didn't want anyone to interrupt this time. After making sure she had everything she needed, Evan settled next to her. She grinned and leaned her shoulder against his. "Thanks."

He looked at her, surprised. "Why?"

"For being upset at me."

His expression went from surprised to confused. "You're glad I was upset at you?"

"It means you care." She worked to keep the blush from her face and didn't quite succeed.

He leaned toward her, invading her personal space with a grin. "You look great in that color."

The comment only served to deepen the blush, and Evan laughed. As he went back to studying the horizon and eating lunch, Anna also grinned. He might be overprotective of her, but it was worth it. Yes, she thought, this is nice. I could get used to this. As they ate in silence, she decided that she wanted this relationship with Evan Lorne to last.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

It took a month to perfect the ATA retrovirus. Beckett was the first person that Anna recruited for the task, and he objected to her use of the word "retrovirus." After all, that wasn't the appropriate term. When he discovered that Major Lorne had named it, the title stuck. Rodney tried to argue, but Beckett overrode him.

During that month, Anna barely saw her quarters. She spent so much time in her lab that Evan began showing up to take her to dinner. They always sat in the mess hall, but the truth was out. They were officially considered a couple now. Rachel Harrison glared at her for a week and then settled into her role of assistant. Anna understood. If she'd been in the other woman's shoes, she would have done the same thing.

For his part, Evan spent the month going out on almost nonstop missions. He always found Anna as soon as he got back to let her know he was okay. At first, the post-mission visit to her lab had embarrassed her, but Rachel quickly put her at ease. The other scientist had commented that it must be nice to have someone like the major checking in when he got home. Anna didn't try to reason out just what that meant for the future. She resigned herself to enjoying this wonderful new habit.

The month wasn't without its hardships. Once, Sheppard's team got pinned down, and Sheppard and McKay were captured. Evan was pulled away from a rare evening with Anna to rescue them. Ronon and Teyla accompanied his team, and they arrived just before Nephthys's forces. As they left the prison area, Nephthys appeared and ordered his Jaffa to search the woods for the prisoners. The two teams barely made it back through the gate, and the sound of Jaffa bouncing off of the gate shield caused one of the new control techs to pale. Chuck just shut down the gate with a jaded expression. He'd seen it happen too many times.

Finally, Beckett and Anna ran enough simulations to call a briefing. Caldwell, who was out on assignment, appeared via video link. Everyone else, however, made their way to the briefing room.

Anna stood nervously at the front of the room. Beckett insisted that she give the briefing, and she wasn't sure she was ready for this. The retrovirus was untested, and they had no idea how it would react to widespread use. After everyone settled in their seat, Anna began. "Thanks for coming."

Sheppard grinned at her. "Wouldn't be anywhere else."

Rather than giving him a smart remark about his obvious dislike of briefings, she shared an amused look with Evan and turned to Weir and Caldwell. "Dr. Beckett and I have finalized our retrovirus, and we believe it's ready for human testing."

McKay groaned. "Again with the retrovirus."

Anna ignored him. "As you know, there's only so much that a computer simulation can tell us. But, after all this time, we've managed to come up with something that works ninety-five percent of the time."

Weir leaned forward. "And the other five percent of the time?"

"It kills the patient." Anna shrugged. "The ATA gene therapy wasn't created to be undone, and Dr. Beckett did a wonderful job. But, there's a risk involved no matter how it reacts to Captain Brandt's nervous system."

Evan stirred, having stayed a little more involved in the retrovirus development than the rest of them. "There's another problem. We have to find an opening in Nephthys's armor. By this time, he knows someone out there is after him, and he's taken all those precautions. He may not even come to the planet we sent the retrovirus to."

Anna nodded. "Which is why we have to deliver it to him." After a month, she'd finally become accustomed to the idea that Nephthys lived in a man's body.

Caldwell finished signing a report someone on his ship gave him and turned back to the screen. "And how would you propose doing that, Dr. Travis? Like Major Lorne said, Nephthys has fortified himself now."

"We send someone in." Anna said it as if she'd given this the greatest amount of thought. And she had. During the last month, while her relationship with Evan continued to deepen, she never lost sight of her willingness to protect him with whatever she had at her fingertips. "As I said a month ago, I'll go. I'm attractive bait for Nephthys given my knowledge of genetics. Not to mention the retribution. I'm the one that got away."

True to form, Evan began to scowl. "What happens if he captures you? Then we'd have two of Atlantis's personnel in the hands of a Goa'uld."

"He's right, Doctor," Caldwell agreed. "We can't let anyone, especially not you, fall into the hands of that snake. You know too much about the ATA gene."

Anna stared at Caldwell and then at Evan. She'd expected Evan's objections, but she hadn't expected Caldwell to agree with him. In the last month, Caldwell had become something of a father figure to her. She respected him for his position in the Air Force and his command of the Daedalus. She liked him because he understood what she went through with Nephthys. Having Caldwell disagree with her took some of her bravado away. She shrugged. "Then, you make sure I don't get captured. Not in the sense you think. I might have to be captured in order to deliver the retrovirus. But, we can have men available to get me and a team out."

Sheppard raised his eyebrows. "A team?"

"Yes, Sir." Anna heard Evan's influence on her in that statement and buried a grin. "If Nephthys thinks I'm vulnerable, he will try to take me. As Colonel Caldwell said, I'm too valuable to him. So, we make sure that a team of Marines without the ATA gene are with me, and trick Nephthys into thinking I'm not as protected as I could be. There are any number of suitable worlds where we could set up a research station."

"You're a geneticist," Sheppard pointed out. "Not a botanist or archaeologist. You have to have a good enough reason to get off world before I'll agree."

"Bringing down Nephthys isn't a good enough reason?" Beckett asked. "Colonel, we have a number of planets where we lend a hand monthly. I have two planets that I need to head out to just to check and make sure the people there are healthy."

Sheppard held up a hand. "I am not authorizing this galaxy's two experts on the ATA gene for this mission."

"I understand that," Beckett continued. "But, Anna is a geneticist. She understands enough to get by as a doctor checking these people. She lent a hand often enough in the infirmary. And, besides, these check-ins are to make sure everyone is healthy. Not to treat the sick. We only need a ruse, not a viable reason."

Sheppard fell silent as he thought about it, and Anna held her breath as she waited. She knew Evan would blast her for what she'd just done, but she needed to do this. She'd put off confronting Nephthys long enough. Finally, she couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Sir, please."

Sheppard looked at Weir. "Elizabeth?"

"I see both sides," Weir said. "I understand your objections, Major Lorne, but we need to take Nephthys out. None of our intelligence indicates that we'll get an opportunity without a ruse of some kind. And Dr. Travis knows this particular enemy. Better than any of us, no matter the strategies we study. If I were to send someone into a stronghold, I'd send the person who knows the enemy the most. And, for this mission, that's Dr. Travis.

"However," she continued, "we need to make sure Dr. Travis comes back. John, that'll be your job. Decide on the Marines she'll take with her and then follow them discreetly." She sat back. "Alright. You have a go."

~TBC~