Hello All! I hope you are doing well! Things in Minnesota have been pretty intense the last few days. I hope everyone is safe and well.
Happy Reading!
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Misbegotten
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Kai woke a few hours later. Her muscles had tensed up from sleeping sitting up. She grunted and shifted trying to alleviate some of the discomfort, but she was too content leaning against John's chest to want to move. These quiet moments had been rare over the last couple weeks. If she was honest, it was primarily her fault. She had blamed John, and the female scientist for the distance between them, but it had been her own insecurities holding her back. Even now it was hard to trust. It wasn't that she didn't trust John, but she was a realist. With the Bond between them it was hard to resist the feelings it stirred, but Kai was hesitant to blindly follow those feelings. They both lived in the real world and their positions made things complicated.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but as she strained her senses she could tell everyone in the next hallway was still resting. It had been risky going off by themselves and could possibly raise a few questions. But only Ronon had seen them, and she was confident Ronon wouldn't think anything of it.
John's arm tightened around her for a moment before she felt him wake. He pinched his eyes closed tightly and held her against him. "Tell me the whole wraith alliance, broken Daedalus, Wraith ship thing was a bad dream," he murmured against her hair. "And when I open my eyes we're going to be back on Atlantis."
"I feel like if we were, we would be somewhere more comfortable. I doubt we would be sleeping on the floor in a hallway."
John chuckled and his eyes opened so he could look down at Kai who was staring up into his face impishly. "Why Kai what are you suggesting?" John teased gently.
Kai's eyes widened as she woke more fully and realized her implication. A blush climbed her neck and warmed her cheeks.
"Did you sleep?" He asked. His other hand came up and touched her face. He loved it when she blushed but now that he was looking closer he could see the bags under her eyes looked like bruises against her pale skin.
"Enough," she said, though she yawned again.
"Right..." John drug off his tone laced with his disbelief. John glanced down at his watch. "You could catch a few more hours..."
Kai reached down and turned his wrist so she could see the watch face then groaned. "No, I better get back to work." She climbed to her feet with a groan and offered him a hand up. John stood and stretched.
The two of them moved back down the hall towards the bridge. John hesitated, conscious of the fact that it might look suspicious for them both to return at the same moment. Or maybe he was just feeling guilty. He knew better than to take such a sloppy risk when Caldwell was here. He needed to have a conversation with Elizabeth before Caldwell reported him.
"I'm going to go check on Lorne," John said motioning over his shoulder.
Kai nodded and continued to the bridge. The Hive had been severely damaged during the fight. While they had managed to make the necessary repairs to fly back to Atlantis, many of the systems were badly damaged and with almost twenty-four hours left before they arrived home, Kai decided to get to work.
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The crew of the Daedalus and the expedition members from Atlantis were all running on empty. They had run out of food and water twelve hours before, and most hadn't slept beyond a couple hours' combat nap in the last forty-eight.
Kai hadn't slept at all in the last twenty-four since she had rested with John. She was pushing her body to the limits, but the Hive had been so damaged in its fight against the Daedalus she spent the whole trip with systems going down and breaking faster than she and McKay could fix them.
She was on the bridge working on the sensors when Michael cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
"We are approaching Atlantis," the wraith informed them. Michael hadn't rested since they took control of the Hive. With no one else to pilot the ship he had pushed himself to the limits of a wraiths endurance and it showed. He was looking haggard and worn but he hadn't complained once. Kai begrudgingly admired the Wraith's survival instincts. He seemed to have a knack for it and had made a point to be helpful and not draw unnecessary attention to himself.
It hadn't stopped Caldwell from rotating his men in to stand guard and watch Michael, but after over a day together everyone seemed to relax a modicum in his presence. Kai, Ronon and Sheppard however weren't likely to forget his past betrayals any time soon. At all times one of them was keeping at least half an eye on Michael.
Kai turned to face the viewer as John and Ronon stepped up beside her. Michael's hands slid over the controls and the ship dropped out of the hyperdrive window more abruptly than they were all prepared for. Kai stumbled forward, catching herself on the edge of the control as John and Ronon fought to keep their feet.
They shot angry looks back at Michael.
"That was not me," he said quickly.
McKay looked sheepish for a moment. "Apologies, still some glitches in the inertial dampener repairs," he cleared his throat and turned to Michael. "Send a transmission immediately," McKay ordered Michael.
"Why the rush?" Caldwell asked.
"Our sensors might be down, but Atlantis' should be working just fine," McKay grumbled.
"They'll have been expecting us for over a day, and with Subspace comms down we had no way of letting them know we're friendly," Sheppard explained.
Caldwell frowned. "Are you saying Atlantis might attack us? How are our shields?" He asked turning to Zelenka.
"Depends how Beckett is doing in the chair," Sheppard said rubbing at the stubble on his cheeks with the backs of his fingers. "Open a channel," he ordered Michael.
The Wraith's jaw tightened but he complied.
"Atlantis this is Sheppard come in."
"John?" Teyla's voice came over the comm in surprise. "Is that you?" She asked in disbelief.
"We're out of food and water, and haven't slept in a few days, but yeah, we made it. So now would not be a good time to fire on us. After all," he said with a cocky grin. "You wouldn't want to damage our new hive ship."
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"Elizabeth is where?" Sheppard demanded for the second time in disbelief.
He had arrived on Atlantis expecting to debrief Weir and finally get some sleep only to find the IOA had summoned her back to earth to reprimand her in the middle of a critical mission leaving only Teyla in charge. John tightened his jaw. He couldn't stand civilian oversight for this very reason. No military leader in their right mind would remove the leader of the expedition when both the ranking Military commanders and remaining senior members of the expedition were off world. With Him, Lorne, McKay and Zelenka gone that left only Beckett and Teyla in charge while Elizabeth tried to lead from the Milkway.
Teyla nodded once calmly as she ignored Sheppard's theatrics. "She has been gone for two days. The next dial in is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon."
John nodded although his frustration was palpable.
"I believe she hoped the Daedalus would be able to return to earth after the altercation so she may have a route home," Teyla continued.
McKay snorted. "Well that's not going to happen any time soon."
Caldwell cleared his throat. "If you don't need anything else, I'm
going to return to my ship and have Hermiod begin repairs. It looks like we'll be grounded for a while."
Sheppard nodded. "We have extra beds for any of your crew whose quarters have been damaged."
Caldwell nodded his thanks. "Any engineers, technicians and scientists you can spare would be appreciated."
McKay looked thoughtful. "I'll put together a list," he agreed. "Zelenka, Kai and I can get started once we get some rest."
Caldwell scowled at the mention of Kai's name. Kai was honesty too tired to care about the other man's bigotry. She had more than proved herself, the fact that he was refusing to budge on his stance of those native to the Pegasus was ridiculous.
John on the other hand was just tired enough for it to rub him the wrong way. He jerked his chin towards Kai. "She's one hell of a mechanic," he pushed, unable to help himself. Challenge glinted in his eyes as he watched and waited for Caldwell to just give him an excuse.
"Pass," Caldwell said through gritted teeth.
John opened his mouth to respond with something he probably shouldn't say but was interrupted by McKay.
"It's going to take an army of mechanics, technicians and scientists to repair all of that damage between the two ships," he huffed impatiently. "She's one of the best we have and we can't get Elizabeth back until the Daedalus is done. So I say who is and is not on my teams."
Caldwell pulled back, his mouth flattening into a grim line.
"Perhaps it's best for everyone to get some rest before we make any hasty decisions," Teyla suggested gently. "Or say anything we will regret," she added, turning a knowing look to Sheppard.
John nodded. "All right. We'll get started in the morning. McKay decide how you want to divvy up the teams between the Hive and the Daedalus. Remember whoever ends up on the Daedalus has to be able to work with Hermiod."
McKay groaned. "No easy feat," he muttered.
"All right thanks everyone. Hit the rack."
John waited until the last of them left the room then he followed, waving a hand over the lights. He hustled down the hall, hoping to catch up to Kai. He could feel her, but he hadn't figured out a way to make that work for him in close proximity. In general it just let him know when they were on the same planet. He didn't need it though. He turned the corner and nearly bumped into her. She was standing outside the doors of one of the balconies looking like she was waiting for him.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hey," Kai responded, feeling a little foolish for waiting around. It felt silly to want to see John again before bed. They had just spent so much time together. Seeing him staring down at her simultaneously made her heart pound and for her to wish the floor would swallow her whole. She had no legitimate reason for staying behind. Her mind raced as she fought to come up with an excuse.
They both stared at one another awkwardly, neither sure what they wanted to do or say.
"I-"
"We-"
They both started speaking at the same time and both stopped. Kai blushed and looked down as John chuckled and ran a hand over the back of his neck. He glanced over his shoulder down the hall and waved a hand over the door to the balcony. Kai followed without prompting and when the door slid closed behind them, cutting them off from the rest of Atlantis John blew out a sigh.
Kai stepped over to the edge and stared out at the dark ocean as she fought to calm her racing heart. When they were in the thick of things this thing between them never felt awkward or forced. But as soon as they were back on Atlantis everything became so complicated. She wished she knew how to fix it but she was new to this. She had never even considered a relationship before John.
John stepped up beside her, leaning his back against the rail so he could look at her face instead of the ocean. He pressed his lips together for a moment before he spoke. "Caldwell's an asshole," he said honestly trying to break the tension between them.
Kai snorted and looked up at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling in amusement. "He is," she agreed and she rubbed at the side of her face as she bit back a yawn.
"You should get some sleep," John said gently. "You haven't slept since-" he stopped a small frown on his face.
"Since I was with you," Kai finished half under her breath. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had said and she turned her eyes away.
John's hand rose and his fingers glided down the line of her cheek encouraging her to meet his gaze once again. John waited, so patiently for her as she took a deep breath and met his hazel eyes with her own. This was difficult for her, for both of them. Neither trusted easily and this moment of vulnerability felt so much more intense for some reason.
John could see the uncertainty in Kai's eyes and he hated that it was his fault she wasn't sure. He cared for her and he wanted her to know it. He leaned in, moving slow enough she could easily pull back if she wanted. When she didn't, he brushed his lips across hers. She exhaled like she had been holding her breath and leaned into him. John's other hand came up and rested on her hip as he deepened the kiss. Kai made a small sound in the back of her throat that nearly tore apart all of his careful self control.
He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers as they both fought to steady their breath.
"We should get to bed," Kai said breathlessly.
John pulled back a little in surprise, quirking an eyebrow suggestively.
Kai's eyes widened. "I-" she started to stammer and John laughed. He reached up and tucked a piece of hair that had slipped free of her scarf behind her ear. "I didn't-" she started again and stopped, sighing as a blush worked its way up her neck.
John leaned forward and planted an affectionate kiss on her forehead before sauntering towards the door, feeling pretty smug. "I know what you meant," he said with a grin and he winked at her. Sometimes it was nice to know he wasn't the only one who felt this way.
Kai exhaled and rolled her eyes as John headed to the door. It slid open and he moved to step through. He paused and turned back to her. "You know Kai," he said thoughtfully. "We're going to have to talk about this at some point. This isn't casual for me and I don't think it is for you either."
Then the doors slid closed and Kai was left speechless, with only her thoughts and the waves.
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By the time John dialed earth to speak with Elizabeth the next afternoon the two ships had been under repairs for several hours. Long enough for there to already be complications. He stood in the control room just over Chuck's shoulder where he would be visible for the camera.
"Dialing," Chuck told him. Down below the gate activated. A moment later the view screen lit up. "Connection established," Chuck said with a nod.
Elizabeth appeared on screen. Her face was tight and pinched with stress but she looked relieved to see him. "Colonel Sheppard," she greeted formally.
Sheppard frowned but didn't react to the strange formality. "Doctor Weir," he said.
"It's good to see you alive. That wasn't the case the last time I was on Atlantis."
"Well, you know me," John quipped. "I'm tough to get rid of."
Elizabeth's eyes flickered off screen and John knew it meant the call was being monitored. It explained why she looked so tense.
"What is the status of the mission?" Elizabeth asked, choosing to ignore John's teasing.
"Well the status is that the Daedalus caught up to the Hives. McKay, Ronon, Zian and I escaped the Hive we had been captured on with the help of Michael."
"Michael?" Elizabeth asked in surprise.
"Yes ma'am," John replied. "Once back on the Daedalus the first hive was destroyed but both the second hive and the Daedalus were badly damaged. With damaged life support systems the decision was made to send over the gas so we could take the hive and move our people over where there would be oxygen."
Elizabeth's eyes widened but she didn't say anything.
"So that's what we did. We took the hive, killed the wraith who didn't change, put the rest of the crew in stasis and towed the Daedalus home. Here we are," John said flippantly.
"I-" Elizabeth started and stopped. "Wow," she said forgetting for a moment to be professional. "Where is Michael now?"
"He's...in one of our guest rooms," John said meaningfully.
Elizabeth nodded, knowing John wouldn't take any chances with Michael. "So the gas worked," she said. "How many wraith in stasis?" She asked.
"Well...that's the problem of the day," John said rubbing at the back of his neck. "Almost two hundred right now, but while repairs are going well on the Hive ship, McKay says they can't sustain the power levels necessary with all of the Wraith in hybernation."
"Okay," Elizabeth said carefully. "So what is your recommendation?" Elizabeth asked.
"They're wraith." He said simply.
"I thought you said they were human?"
John's eyes hardened and he crossed his arms over his chest. He had already had this fight with Carson today, he didn't have the patience to do it again.
"They were made human by the retrovirus," John said carefully.
"The retrovirus we gave them. We are responsible for them. What does Doctor Beckett say?" Elizabeth asked.
"The same thing," John said tightly. "But I can't have two hundred ex-wraith wandering Atlantis even without their memories."
Elizabeth's racing thoughts were all over her face. "Then you set them up a colony. I have faith you can find someplace suitably secure and we figure out where to go from there."
"It's not that simple, with two broken ships we don't have the resources or manpower to sustain this for long."
"I'm sure you'll come up with something," Elizabeth said. "Work with Beckett on what the most feasible story will be to ensure their cooperation."
John blew out a frustrated sigh. "Yes ma'am," he snapped a little sullenly. Babysitting a bunch of wraith turned human was the last thing he needed on his plate today. "In the mean time, repairs on the Daedalus are going as quickly as possible," John said. "But even with the help Hermiod estimates a couple of weeks before she is space worthy."
Elizabeth nodded grimly. "We have an appeal into the Asgardians to see if they can give us a ride home."
"Us?" John asked with a frown.
Elizabeth cleared her throat and the tension around her mouth made it clear she was fighting to control her emotions. "Yes, Mr. Woolsey will be our guest on Atlantis."
"Woolsey...isn't he the-"
Elizabeth cleared her throat and quickly interrupted whatever was about to come out of Sheppard's mouth. "Yes, he is a liaison for the Oversight Committee and will be responsible for conducting interviews to determine if my conduct as leader of the expedition has been appropriate."
John scowled. "And he's coming to Atlantis?"
"Yes."
"Any other good news?" John asked.
"I think that's it. Let's schedule a dial in at the same time tomorrow. I would like a status update on the transitioned wraith."
"You got it," John called flippantly and then cut the transmission. He scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed. He had a lot to do.
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John, Teyla, McKay, Ronon and Kai all met up in the mess at dinner time. They had been running all day. McKay and Kai were working on the ships while John and Ronon worked on finding a place to stick all the wraith and Teyla had been keeping an eye on Michael. They were a little ways into their meal when John told the others about the news that Woolsey would be coming back with Elizabeth.
"Oversight committee?" Kai said thoughtfully as she took a bite of her pasta. "What does that mean?" She asked.
"It means someone is going to be coming to make sure Elizabeth did her job right," McKay grumbled.
Kai's eyes flickered to John. He took a bite before elaborating. "Chances are he will be interviewing everyone under her direct command to see if there was any foul play."
"What happens if they decide there was?" Kai asked, thinking back on the punishments her own people would have used.
John shrugged and focused on his food.
McKay however was all too happy to answer the question. "Then the military will take charge," he said and his eyes flickered to Sheppard. "If that happens, since Elizabeth supported Sheppard so much they will likely name someone else in charge."
"Like who?" Teyla asked.
"Probably Caldwell," McKay said. "He was the first choice before Sheppard."
"If Caldwell takes over..." Kai dragged off.
"What happens to us?" Teyla finished. While Teyla hadn't experienced quite as many problems as Kai had with the Colonel, he had been far from friendly with her.
"We don't need to worry about that," John promised with a wave of his fork. "Elizabeth is going to be fine."
"He'll throw us out," Ronon said through a mouthful.
"I'm not going to let that happen," John snapped, shooting Ronon a glare. He looked over the table and met Kai's gaze resolutely. "Elizabeth will be fine. This will all work out."
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Thank you everyone for all your amazing support!
And thank you especially to @kalniczanka for the amazing new cover!! I LOVE it!!