Their walk to the briefing room was uneventful, though the ride on the transporter had been interesting; Sheppard had sent two guards, Heart and Keller through first, then followed with Todd and last two guards. They walked into the large round room to find everyone from the day before already seated and chatting with each other, though they went silent when the wraith entered. Heart and Todd were motioned to a pair of seats next to each other, directly across from Colonel Carter, who gave them a nod in greeting.

"It's good to see you're feeling better," Carter said to Heart, who flushed, but nodded in acknowledgement. "I don't know if Colonel Sheppard has told you or not, but Atlantis is overseen by a civilian organization called the IOA. After reading the report I sent them on Heart, they have requested that she remain in the city, and we would grant her refugee status since her own hive was destroyed. That would mean-"

"Sheppard claimed you were given an order, not a 'request'," Todd growled, causing Carter to raise a brow at the other colonel, who scoffed.

"You know that's what they meant. The IOA doesn't make 'suggestions' and not expect them to be followed," he declared defensively. Heart shifted in her chair.

"What if I decided I didn't want to stay?" she asked, wanting to hear how Carter's response would compare to Sheppard's. Next to her, Todd was tense in his chair. The colonel took a breath, and looked at Dr. Keller, who nodded.

"Well, if Dr. Keller's test results show a match with Todd, we could look at releasing you into his care. Other than that, you are what we would call a 'minor'; someone who is considered too young to be on their own. Until we know for sure you can handle yourself, your only two real options would be to stay here or go with Todd," Carter answered, and Heart nodded slowly.

"How can we trust that the results of this 'test' will be accurate?" Todd demanded shortly. "There are advantages you could gain by keeping her here."

"What-you think we'd fake the test?" Dr. McKay sounded offended by the insinuation.

"I don't know about the wraith, but we aren't in the habit of taking advantage of children," Sheppard said hotly.

"If the paternity test came back negative, but Heart still wanted to go with you, I'm sure we could work something out," Colonel Carter stated, the first word emphasized to stop anyone else from speaking.

"Then why insist on this 'paternity test' in the first place?" Todd asked with a sneer. "Why keep delaying our departure if you don't have other plans for her?" Heart could feel his anger and impatience growing, and reached out telepathically to offer him reassurance. He had a point, but she still trusted the Lantean people to an extent.

"Because fate had us meet for a reason," Teyla declared, leaning forward. "I do not believe it was mere coincidence that we decided to board the very hive that kept her hostage, which you claim is an unheard of occurrence, unless we were meant to rescue her. We cannot simply trust her to your care based on your claim of being her father without knowing that she will be safe."

"I'm not entirely sure she'll be safe either way," Colonel Sheppard said. His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied Todd with his arms crossed. "From what it sounds like, Queens don't tolerate each other very well, so she won't really be welcome aboard your hive. Unless you plan to use Heart to usurp the Queen's place, which is even more dangerous for her; or-" Here the colonel leaned forward. "your Queen is already dead, and you want to put Heart on the throne and take control of the hive through her." He paused, taking in Todd's murderous glare. Heart considered touching her father's arm in an attempt to calm him as anger and indignation practically radiated from him.

"Come on, Todd!" Sheppard continued after a moment of tense silence, rolling his eyes. "You always have an angle going that you don't tell us about. We're just trying to look after the kid."

"The hive already follows him-their Queen was killed in battle," Heart jumped in, trying to take some of the heat off her father. She was also beginning to feel irritated herself at the continuing argument about her own future.

"He will act as my advisor until I am older."

.*They do not need to know this!* Todd hissed angrily in her mind, and Heart glanced over at him, feeling a little hurt and confused by his admonishment. *Do not give them any information that makes you look weak!*

"So your presence would give his voice more authority," Teyla said as a look of understanding passed between the humans.

"It-it would, but only until I am ready to lead on my own," Heart said, a little thrown off as she weighed in her mind what to say, Todd's words ringing in her ears.

"So you do want to go with him, regardless of what Dr. Keller's test results say?" Colonel Carter asked, and Heart paused for a moment before nodding, uncertainty bubbling in her stomach.

"So you see, your 'concerns' are pointless," Todd sneered, having taken a breath to rein in his emotions. "There is no reason to keep her here any longer." Todd started to rise from his chair, but was stopped by Dr. Keller.

"Um," she began, her tone nervous as she looked from the angry elder wraith to Heart, then to Colonel Carter. "I'm still not ready to release Heart medically." Heart was confused and even Carter tilted her head. Todd didn't even try to restrain his growl of displeasure. The doctor cleared her throat, then spoke.

"Normally after a suicide attempt, we would have her evaluated by a psychiatrist to make sure she isn't a risk to herself or others. Since we don't have a psychiatrist, I think it would be best if she and I had a few more counseling sessions. We can even schedule them so that Heart can come back to Atlantis for the sessions, instead of her staying here the whole time." Todd's expression remained unchanged as he glared at the doctor.

"Do you really think that is necessary in this case, doctor?" Colonel Carter asked, and Dr. Keller gave a short nod.

"I just want to make sure she has the support she needs-"

"I can give her that support," Todd snarled. Heart was uncertain; she felt fine now-if irritated at how they insisted on talking about her like she was a helpless child-but still, not as upset or hopeless as she had felt before. Then again, she thought she had put her mother's death behind her long before now. She certainly didn't want to have another meltdown in front of anyone else. It also frightened her a little at how quickly she had made up her mind to try to kill herself.

"How long will it take?" Heart asked, ignoring her father's silent request to let him handle it.

"That kind of depends on you," Dr. Keller answered, looking away from Todd, her cheeks flushed. "We can start with once a week for a month or so, then decide from there if more counseling is needed."

"And you think this will help me control my emotions?" The doctor nodded.

.*You cannot gain the respect of the others if they believe you to be weak. These 'visits' will not be seen as acceptable by the hive* Todd warned Heart. She glanced up at him.

"The others don't need to know why I'm coming here," Heart replied, purposely answering aloud. "I will tell them that…that I am working with the Lanteans to find a better future for the hive." As she finished, color filled her cheeks, the words sounding a little more silly than she'd imagined.

"What do you mean by 'a better future'?" Colonel Carter asked. Heart cleared her throat, nervous about voicing her ideas in front of them all when she had only just thought them up the night before. Taking a breath, she sat up a little straighter.

"I believe we need to change if we are going to gain an advantage over rival hives-"

"You need to establish your place as Queen before you can think about making any…changes," Todd interrupted, and Heart felt her anger spark.

"I am aware of that," she growled in irritation. "You said yourself that I will have to grow quickly. If Dr. Keller can help me learn to control my emotions, it can only help me become stronger. Then I can begin work on my plans for the future." Todd still looked unconvinced by her argument, and her irritation grew. "How can I ask the hive to respect my decisions when you will not?" She demanded, putting some mental energy behind her words. Todd raised a brow and leaned back a little. After a few seconds, his chin tipped down as he accepted the rebuke.

"Very well," he grumbled, shifting and looking back to the humans, who were watching the exchange with expressions ranging from amused to awed.

"You're gonna have your hands full with her," Colonel Sheppard smirked, earning a glare from the elder wraith. Otherwise ignoring the remark, Todd leaned forward.

"The hive will deliver her here for her 'sessions', and await her return in orbit," he conceded, silently reminding Heart that, as Queen of the hive, her protection was of utmost importance. Knowing he was right, Heart didn't argue and looked to Colonel Carter to see what she would say. The colonel shared a look with Colonel Sheppard, who shrugged, and nodded.

"Those are acceptable terms. I'll leave it up to Dr. Keller to set up a schedule. We will allow Heart to have two unarmed guards, and we will assign a 6-man security detail to escort them-" Todd opened his mouth to say something, but Carter didn't give him the chance. "-armed with stun weapons only." Todd closed his mouth, considering.

.*That seems to be fair* Heart said to him, and she felt his reluctant agreement. Finally, Todd nodded. A noise from Dr. Keller's tablet drew the room's attention. She spent a few seconds tapping the screen and staring at it, before looking up at the two wraith, then around the room.

"Well, the paternity test is complete. It shows that Todd is Heart's biological father." Heart felt Todd's smug satisfaction at the news, and she herself felt glad that her trust in the humans' honesty hadn't been in vain. But still, she was curious…

"May I see?" she asked, and the doctor looked up in surprise. She glanced at Colonel Carter, as if asking permission, then nodded with a smile.

"This shows the breakdown of yours and Todd's DNA, side by side," Keller explained, pushing the tablet towards Heart. The young wraith looked at the four columns of numbers on the screen, with a line in the middle dividing them into two sets of two. "Yours is on the left, and Todd's is on the right. See, the numbers represent the sizes of the different alleles that make up your DNA. You get half from your mother, and half from your father.

"If you look at Todd's, you'll see that the circled numbers are where you and he share alleles; and since half of them match up, it proves that he is your father." Heart didn't understand all the words that the doctor used, but it seemed to make sense with what she was looking at. After a moment, she nodded and handed the tablet back. She looked at Colonel Carter.

"So you'll let me-you'll agree to release me to my father?" Heart asked, changing her phrasing midsentence to make it sound like less of a request and more like a consensus between two equal parties. The colonel gave her a nod, smiling.

"Of course. Once you've worked out a schedule with Dr. Keller, I see no reason to keep you here any longer." Outwardly, Todd's expression didn't change, but Heart felt his relief.

...

It took no time at all to plan her first four therapy sessions with the doctor, and then the two wraith were escorted to the stargate. Heart stood next to her father, trying not to fidget. She took a deep breath, and Todd send her a mental hug of comfort, which she accepted gratefully.

As the wormhole established, Heart felt anxious and excited. She had a place where she was wanted and needed, she had a direction for her life to go, and once again, she had family. Looking back at the Lanteans and giving them a nod of gratitude, she then stepped forward, ready to begin her new life.