A/N: Once again, I find myself writing while about to fall asleep, so I'm sure there's typos somewhere in here...anyway, enjoy a semi-twist in the plotline!

In his quarters, Bonewhite paced repeatedly around the small fountain adorning the center of the room. Something in the Hive's atmosphere had changed, rippling through him like the water before him, and its presence was unwelcome and unsettling. Guide's mistake was plain to see, and despite the fact that the lower members of the Hive's hierarchy would not feel this pulse of energy as Bonewhite did, there were still several who would. They wouldn't necessarily understand the reasons for it—something which worked in both Guide's and Bonewhite's favor—but the unrest would be there all the same. Bonewhite halted and turned to stare down into the water.

Bonewhite knew Guide's attention to the needs of the Hive and the Wraith in general had been broken by the human female. Now he had taken it upon himself to even dress her as a Wraith female would dress. It was only a matter of time before the commander's poor decisions led to an equally poor conclusion. The Second didn't want to usurp Guide's control of the Hive—at least, not yet—but the further his...affinity...for humanity went, the less certain the Hive's future became. Bowing his head, the Wraith knew he had to take action, but he also knew his own abilities to lead the others on board would be sorely lacking compared to Guide's. Mutiny was not an option for him. He would have to find another way to return Guide's mind to the way it had been before the attack on Atlantis. Before the doctor had joined them. Were he to successfully remove her from the equation, there would be nothing left to distract the Commander from his duties.

Back in the lab, Jennifer's fingers moved swiftly across the keys of the old laptop. Guide had given her access to several new archives regarding the Wraith research into alternative food sources he had mentioned finding that short time after their initial conversation on the subject. The information was hardly groundbreaking, but there were at least two lists of foreign lifeforms that had proven toxic to the Wraith. Among them was included the description of an animal sounding very much like the one that had attacked Jennifer herself.

"Anlos," the doctor muttered to no one in particular, but Bonewhite appeared beside her at a moment's notice. The woman jumped when she caught his presence out of the corner of her eye. He glowered down at her from his great height, apparently wondering what she had said. Without having to hear him ask the question, Jennifer explained, "It's the species designation given by your kind to the animal in the quarantine room."

"I see," Bonewhite responded, seeming bored. He made no move to leave Jennifer's space, and it left the woman on-edge. While she doubted Bonewhite would ever make an attempt on her life, that she couldn't read him as easily as Guide was unnerving. Then his hand reached out and closed tightly around her wrist.

"I wonder, Doctor Keller," he began, the words slithering from his lips like a serpent from its den, "how it is you expect to fit in with the Wraith when your choice of words consistently to set our two species apart." His teeth were very slightly bared as his eyes locked upon her own, the yellow hue somehow very different from Guide's in spite of appearing the same at a distance.

Though she wanted to withdraw, to flee and cower at this strange show of dominance by Guide's second-in-command, Jennifer knew she couldn't. Instead, she quickly flipped the position of her hand so that her grip was now upon Bonewhite's own wrist, and in her free hand materialized the blade Guide had provided to her as a means of defense should there be any future animal attacks. She pressed the blade against the black leather of his abdomen, staring up into his eyes in challenge. "Fitting in does not mean forgetting who I am, Bonewhite," she whispered calmly, remaining in her seat at the table. "I merely prefer to celebrate our cultural differences."

The Wraith Second stared at her for another tense moment and then grinned.

"Guide has told me that you and I may not be so dissimilar as you want to believe," Bonewhite continued, releasing her and watching her as she did the same. "I am told that you yourself bear the DNA of the Wraith. Tell me, Doctor Keller, are you aware that one of the reasons so few Wraithkin like yourself exist today is because they are no longer Wraithkin, but Wraith?"

Jennifer let the blade fall away from him, her eyes narrowed while she shook her head.

Grinning to expose his sharp teeth, the Second explained.

"Just as your Doctor Beckett attempted to reactivate the human portions of Wraith, my kind has successfully deactivated those same portions in Wraithkin like yourself."

"You mean you've turned humans into Wraith?"

"My my, aren't we clever." He raised his faint white eyebrows.

"I was not born with this DNA, so I wouldn't be too sure such an experiment would work in my case," Jennifer retorted, standing up now to put some distance between the two of them.

"Quite the contrary," Bonewhite countered, still grinning. "In fact, I took part in a procedure with another whose situation was almost identical to your own several decades ago, and it went very well. She was left with no recollection of her previous state of existence and, unlike Carson's creation, she never gained it back since our therapies are permanent and she was not required to receive daily injections to maintain her new form." As Jennifer paced the room, Bonewhite's eyes followed her. "Of course, there are other ways of completing such a task that don't cause memory loss, but they are much more...taxing...to the human individual."

"Taxing...?"

"Clearly you are not familiar with Wraith reproductive capabilities."

Mortified, Jennifer attempted to respond, but she could only sputter. The Second, irritated, rolled his eyes at her and continued on.

"Surely Guide has mentioned to you the instabilities in the process of Wraith-human copulation...after all, you are well on your way to reaching that point, are you not?" A lopsided grin came to his features. Without a second thought, Jennifer punched him, hard, in the chin.

Staggering backwards, Bonewhite's hand flew to his bloodied jawbone and gasped.

"Clearly you are not familiar with human reproductive dignity," the woman snapped, and she whirled away from him. Bonewhite, still gasping and bleeding, caught her by the shoulder, spun her around again, and slammed her up against the wall.

"I am educated enough to understand what I see in the exchanges happening between my commander and his human pet," the Second hissed, his body pressed completely against hers with her arms held above her head. "But I do hope you take heed of my warning that your practices are not only unwise for you both, but in your case, your very existence is at stake."

"Why should I believe you?" Jennifer snarled, her voice low..

"Because I am not the one courting you for the sole purpose of turning you into this Hive's newest Wraith Queen."

As she continued to stare into Bonewhite's hard, yellow eyes, Jennifer felt her stomach drop. Was he telling her the truth? Was Guide's ultimate goal to utilize her Wraith DNA to gain a Queen for the Hive? They had been Queen-less for many years—perhaps he finally needed one.

Bonewhite leaned back somewhat, only his abdomen and arms keeping her to the wall.

"There are far more uses for that big brain of yours than to learn the role of a Queen, Doctor Keller, I assure you. Let Guide teach you, but do not engage with him in any way. The closer the two of you become, the greater your own danger. And I, for one, don't want to see that sharp mind of yours fall victim to something so unsatisfying as the life of a Wraith Queen."

Jennifer's breathing was still rapid as she took in the Second's words. When he finally released her, her jello-legs could not support her, and she collapsed. Swiftly, Bonewhite caught and steadied her. She looked into his eyes again, calculating and uncertain. Then, she dipped her head in respect, and when she looked up again, those eyes were suddenly alive with the fires of ambition.

"What would you have me do, Bonewhite?"