A/N: Hopefully this chapter clears some details up...and with a bit of fluff in the process ;)
When Jennifer woke again, she was in a strange room she didn't recognize. Alarmed, she sat up quickly—only to gasp in surprise when she realized she could do so pain-free. She glanced around, confused, and then saw Guide's familiar form seated in a high-back chair near a window with a view she hadn't seen before.
"Guide?" she called, and the Wraith commander stood with the sort of fluidity only he could possess. He strode over to her, reaching out his non-feeding hand to lay it across her forehead. "Where are we?" she asked as he withdrew. "And why am I not hurting anymore?"
Frowning, the tall Wraith looked down at her.
"We are in my private quarters, Jennifer, and tt would appear that at least one Wraith in this Hive knows of our...correspondence," Guide told her, and although his stature was calm, Jennifer could see in the red rims of his eyes that he was more worried than he was letting on. "This does not bode well for the continuation of our research. Where there is one, there will be others. I am doubtful this individual has not yet informed others of the matter as a means of insurance, at the very least."
Stone faced, Jennifer questioned him.
"Even so, that doesn't explain why my injuries are healed."
"Do you not remember what happened when I came to you this morning?" Guide inquired.
"I remember waking up and being in an unthinkable amount of pain, and I remember Bonewhite pulling me out of the bed, but beyond that...no." The brown eyes that looked up into the yellow of the Wraith's were concerned. Guide folded his hands neatly behind his back and began to pace the room.
"Just prior to your incident with the carnivore in the lab, I had a rather disturbing dream in which you were gravely injured and eventually lost to me. While the dream was not spot-on with the events as they unfolded in reality, it was similar enough to strike me as odd. I did not speak of it, for I assumed it had been a warning from my own subconscious."
The woman held his gaze now, perplexed and somehow flattered. Guide continued.
"Last night, I had another dream, in which you were lost to me yet again, albeit in a slightly different manner than in the last. Furthermore, the dream involved my own capture."
"And what exactly does that mean?"
"In certain instances, it is possible for the Wraith to project visions upon others in an effort to achieve a desired outcome. It is less common for Wraith to use this ability upon their own kind, since it is significantly more difficult given our natural abilities to ward off mental intrusion. When it does occur, it is usually at night, during sleep, when the mind is in its most vulnerable state. What was done to me was an attempt to pinpoint any potential weaknesses in me as a leader. What was done to you was an attempt on your life to bring me to my knees. I killed one of my own to save you, Jennifer. Following this second attack, you were healed the moment I took hold of you. This is something that only occurs between a chosen Wraith and his Queen...a survival mechanism, of sorts. The Queen draws strength from her Wraith, even if it means their death, as a means to protect the Hive." He sat down in a nearby chair and looked at Jennifer from across the room.
The woman floundered for the appropriate response, but could find none. All she found were questions.
"But...I am not a Queen, Guide. Nor am I your Queen in the least."
"But, Jenn-i-ferr, you are a Wraithkin, albeit a different breed."
"I don't understand..." the blonde answered, her mind spinning.
Guide looked suddenly more uncomfortable now, shifting his position in the chair and finally raising his eyes to Jennifer's form. The Wraith traced the contours of his human counterpart's face and skimmed swiftly up and down her body and suppressed the urge to move toward her again. Although he had seen many human women unclothed, for some reason, Jennifer's half-clothed body intrigued him more deeply than the others. Her now flawless skin, milky white against the dark brassiere, silently begged for his touch. Shaking his head, he steeled himself and turned his mind to what he could find for her to wear. The shredded Atlantean uniform was hardly appropriate.
As he stood and began to rummage through the armoire beside his bed, Jennifer herself stood upright for the first time in days. He stopped when he felt her presence near to him, his hand freezing on one item of clothing in particular, and only when he was certain he had composed himself did he turn around.
"When your mind was displaced some time ago...into the body of the woman called Neeva...she was a Wraithkin, Jenn-i-ferr. The device behind the whole scenario operates on a molecular level neither the Atlanteans nor my kind fully understood. All we know is that there is always a residual effect on the parties in question when all is said and done. In this case, you gained a very small portion of her Wraith DNA. The DNA does not allow you the same extra-sensory perceptions as Teyla experienced, but it apparently allows your body to utilize mine as would an injured Wraith Queen."
Jennifer's eyes lit up, that scientific curiosity of hers revealing itself once more, but Guide shoved a gown into her hands before she could question him further. Holding it out before her and wrinkling her nose slightly, she protested.
"This is a dress!"
"And as such, it is quite fitting for the one whom is to learn to assimilate with my Hive. Female Wraith wear gowns, and so will you. Now, suit up." He respectfully turned his back on her, waiting for her to re-clothe herself.
Although she wanted to protest again, the woman relented, but not before hitting the commander with one last question.
"Guide?" she asked, her voice soft.
The scientist sighed, and turned to her just in time to see her pulling the straps of the dress up over the fine bones of her shoulders. A shudder passed through him, and he approached and then moved behind her. As his clawed fingers moved the zipper on the dress slowly up her back, he thought he heard a quiver in Jennifer's voice as she looked over her shoulder at the floor.
"Why didn't the...insta-heal...work until now?"
Guide tugged a strand of her honey-blonde hair from beneath the rear neckline of the dress.
"Wraith connections are complex and quite unpredictable, Doctor." He rotated her to face him, holding her at arms' length. The human female frowned.
"So are you, Guide."
Chuckling faintly, he trailed the index finger of his feeding hand down her jawline. A blush rose in the woman's cheeks, and she ducked her eyes away from his own. The gesture was short lived, for the Wraith commander soon lifted her chin with the same hand.
"You did not matter to me then, Jennifer, as you matter to me now."
A knot formed in the woman's stomach and she felt her cheeks grow even hotter than before. Ordinarily, she would not have pressed her fortunes, but this day, it seemed worth it.
"And...how is that, Guide?" she purred, raising an eyebrow at him and smiling.
A low growl met her brazen inquiry, and the Wraith dug his claws into her shoulders as he pulled her closer. He towered over her, making Jennifer wonder if she had been right in egging him on with the knowledge that he could in an instant snap her like a twig had he so pleased. Golden eyes raked hungrily over the sight of the skin revealed by the dress, making the Atlantean shiver. The commander leaned close to her now, his hot breath brushing her ear and shifting her hair.
"Do not tempt me, Doctor Kell-err..." he warned, sliding his hands down to grip her by the upper arms now. "Mine is a very dangerous game to play."
A smug, lopsided grin appeared on the woman's visage.
"My cards are on the table."
Hissing, Guide's hands sank to her waist and he jerked her fully against him, eliciting a slight gasp from the good doctor. His feeding hand buried itself in the locks of her honey-toned hair and tugged her head backward, exposing her throat to his hungry lips. In the process of walking her backwards across the room, Guide's serrated teeth nipped at the thin, sensitive white flesh of her jugular. When her back thudded against the wall, his hands roamed over her body for another moment before settling on either side of her head and directing her lips to his.
White-hot electricity coursed through Jennifer's comparatively frail body as she allowed the Wraith's actions to consume her. Guide's tongue plunged into her mouth as he deepened the kiss, his body frantic with want, and Jennifer felt her knees buckle.
Guide followed her to the floor, his larger frame nearly concealing her beneath him completely. For the life of him he could not explain what it was about this human he found so utterly intoxicating, but he didn't care. All that mattered was that she was here, beneath him, a willing participant just as eager as he was. Even so, he knew this was not the time to take things further. Not after such frightening events as those which had occurred only a few hours before.
Finally, for lack of oxygen, they separated.
Breathing hard, Guide shifted until he sat next to her, and Jennifer's head leaned against his strong, inhuman shoulder. He lifted the arm and slid it behind her, pulling her to him again. He breathed in the scent of her and shivered inadvertently. When he had composed himself, he spoke in a low growl, lifting one corner of his lips suggestively.
"Let's take a lesson from those cards of yours, and next time we'll do this on the table."
Jennifer couldn't help it—she burst out laughing, daring to pat his arm in affection.
"Perhaps there are a few things I should teach you about humans while you're teaching me about the Wraith," she chuckled, her spirits strangely lifted by this turn of events. "Namely, you never talk about sex on the first date."
Confused, the commander got to his feet, tugging Jennifer along with him.
"Come," he instructed, all evidence of the previous moments' happenings gone in an instant. "We have work to do."