fateandfortune | Just two vampires, traveling the galaxy... [For Todd the Wraith]

Rogue's eyes widened slightly at Todd's words, but she didn't let her reaction show beyond that. She wasn't sure he had remembered what he'd agreed to help her with should Atlantis reject her completely, as they hadn't spoken of it in weeks. It was a comfort now that he had, and that he would honor that agreement by taking her back with him before finding somewhere for her to go.

"Thank you for the consideration, Colonel Sheppard," she said in an even tone, managing a small, diplomatic smile. "I understand Mr. Woolsey's concerns completely, I've dealt with them all my life. I don't take it personally."

In reality, it was taking all of her self-control to not cry and scream and completely lose it at that very moment. This had been her last shot, her chance to somehow eke out some semblance of a life in this galaxy. If Atlantis wouldn't accept her, none of the other humans would, that was certain. So she would have to go with the fallback plan, then. A life of solitude on a strange, deserted world.

But at least she wouldn't be helping to condemn her friends to death. That would be the consolation that would see her through this.

Turning slightly toward Todd, she quietly prompted, "You were going to update them about the situation with the other hives, weren't you?" Now that things had been decided, she saw no reason for the topic of conversation to linger on her, though she could see that McKay was practically salivating to ask her questions.

Unknown to her at the moment, he wasn't going to honor that deal. When they had a moment to themselves, he'd offer her a place on the hive. It would be years before his queen-if she chose him-could take the throne on his hive. Until then, Rogue could live as a cook, and in between that and sparring, they could try and control her powers. Woolsey was not a young man, his days as head of Atlantis were most likely numbered, and he'd already been head of the ancient city for some years, a record compared to his predecessors. Perhaps when Rogue had mastered her power-for Todd was certain she could with the right training-they'd return and she could live and work here on Atlantis.

But, yes, there were other things that needed to be discussed and Woolsey seemed to agree with Rogue on that at least.

Todd told them how things had gone poorly with the wraith he'd talked to as well as the better news from the other commanders and their queens, as well as the gain of a possible queen somewhere down the line for his hive. The serum thus far had been successful and he'd distributed the rest of his supply to the other hive commanders, but more was needed.

"Jennifer and Carson are working on reproducing it as fast as possible" McKay chimed in.

"I have a question." Sheppard said "Where are you getting all your...new food?"

"We've found that we've only needed to eat once a day, compared to humans and their three meals, so that cut down on how much of our stores were affected. At first, we ate the meals ready to eat you gave us, but as its been a few months since our last meeting...we had to find another source of food. We turned to our worshipers for the answer."

"Thought you no longer had them." Ronon said

"We do." Todd answered, glancing to him, then back to Sheppard. "But no longer on our hive ships as the temptation to feed upon them became too great for many wraith. All those in the alliance had their worshipers removed and set upon a rich world to live on."

"A world of worshipers?" McKay said, pulling a face.

"Correct. They gave us all they could spare of their harvests and the like, but also made us realize we'd have to sustain ourselves. So on the same planet, but another continent, we've started our own farming and herding. Drones make the perfect workers, which is why we need a serum that rids them of the need to feed."

"You're in luck, didn't Keller manage a breakthrough with that?" Sheppard asked Rodney who confirmed.

"The continent doesn't have the right climate for some of the spices we've been using in cooking, though," Rogue added, having had this very discussion with Todd not two days ago.

Rodney held up a hand to stop whatever else she was going to say. "Wait, the Wraith are cooking? As in, chopping and boiling and stirring? With stoves and pans and- and spatulas?"

She smirked at his complete disbelief of the idea. "Yes, that kind of cooking," she confirmed. "They're quick studies."

Teyla was the one to chime in next. "You've been teaching them?" she clarified, having just as much trouble picturing the possibility as Rodney.

Rogue just shrugged. If they couldn't even grasp the concept, there was no way they'd understand that she had enjoyed it, so it wasn't worth the effort of trying to explain.

Sheppard just shook his head and let out a whooshing breath. "I'd pay good money to see that," he muttered mostly to himself, but everyone heard and it made Rogue smile.

Todd however must have missed something. While he had to admit, a human teaching wraith cooking was strange, he wasn't quite sure why it seemed amusing, apart from the obvious. Even to Woolsey who was trying to hide a smile as he looked down at his paperwork. But Todd moved on.

"Yes, some spices and herbs do not apparently grow well where we've chosen to farm."

"Make a grocery list, we'll see what we can do." Sheppard said.

Rogue nodded and gave Sheppard a smile. "I can do that. Thank you," she told him, feeling confident enough to express gratitude on behalf of the others. "It makes all the difference."

Rodney, being Rodney and therefore not known for letting a subject easily drop, took the opportunity of the closing of one topic to bring up another. "So if you can't stay here," he asked, his eyes firmly focused on Rogue, "and you can't stay on the hive, where are you gonna go?"

Everyone's gaze seemed to slide to the woman in question and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I'll figure something out," she said simply, dismissively.

Woolsey at least had the decency to look a little uncomfortable himself at that.

Todd glanced to Rogue when Rodney questioned her further but was glad she brushed it off.

"I think that will be all for today." Woolsey said "Doctors Beckett and Keller will want to go over the serum with you."

The wraith nodded and slowly stood up. Sudden moves meant Ronon put a gun to his face so he tried to avoid it.

"I'll take them down." Sheppard volunteered, getting up and the trio left the meeting room, whose doors opened when Sheppard approached.

Once they were beyond hearing range of the rest of the group, Rogue turned the charm back on, determined to make the rest of this 'visit' as pleasant as possible. "This place is incredible," she said to Sheppard, gesturing broadly. "I've never seen anything like it. It must be exciting to live here."

Sheppard chuckled quietly and shook his head. "Exciting is definitely the word for it," he remarked before his expression turned serious. "Look, I'm sorry about how that went back there. We don't-"

Rogue interrupted before he could get too far into the explanation she already knew was coming. "It's okay, I get it. Really. Not everyone can be as charming as you." She ended the last with a flirtatious smirk that Sheppard didn't seem to quite know what to do with, other than smile in return.

They stepped back in the teleporter-Todd between them-and were whisked off to the hospital.

Since fifteen wraith were too many to stick into the few beds, they'd set up a line of chairs in the hallway leading up to the hospital for them to sit in and wait their turn.

Kenny was just coming down to his seat when the trio arrived.

"Commander" he greeted

"How many have they gotten to?" Todd asked.

"About half sir." Kenny replied.

"Good, when they're all finished return to the hive, I'll let you know when we can start inoculating the rest." Todd replied. Sheppard agreeing to have marines escort them when they were done.

The hospital was busy. Keller and Beckett were doing the exams while the other doctors and nurses checked the wraith's blood work and scans.

Doctor Keller was the first to greet them. "Hey, how's my first patient?" she said to Todd

"Fine, but I suppose that's not enough" the commander replied.

Keller shrugged, "Sorry, gotta check you too."

Todd sighed then grunted, "Very well." and followed her to one of the curtained off portions of the hospital, leaving Rogue and the colonel alone.

The wraith undressed and let the doctor examine and pose the usual questions. Aches, burning, fever, etc.

Sheppard watched Todd go and glanced at the other Wraith before jerking his head to the side, signalling for Rogue to follow him a bit further down the hall. She did so and they stopped near a window overlooking the city and the ocean beyond.

"Are you okay?" he asked suddenly, looking both concerned and uncomfortable, which was a fairly typical combination for men. "Living up there on the hive ship with all of them, you're okay?" It was like he couldn't actually believe it, despite asking for confirmation.

She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, looking full-on at Sheppard. "I feel safer with Todd on his hive ship than I did in that room with all of you," she told him honestly, which made him flinch slightly. "We trust each other, and that goes a long way towards everything."

Sheppard just looked at her for a long moment, debating whether he should say anything further. Finally, he nodded and joined her in leaning and waiting. "So, parallel Earth, huh? Who won the last Super Bowl?"

"So, who's the girlfriend?" Keller asked as she examined Todd's hands and claws.

"Not a couple." He chuffed "She saved my life, I have a debt to pay to her."

"Like a escape out of prison with Sheppard sort of debt?" She asked, dropping his hands and then feeling the thyroids in his neck.

Another noise of affirmation. "Something like that, yes."

Keller had him sit down so that she could check his eyes and ears next. "How goes the search for a queen?"

"Possible choice, though she's too young, it'll be some time before she can take the throne." He answered.

She withdrew and sighed, "You do know for this serum to work we need to try it on a female." She said.

He looked to her, annoyed by this question, asked many times. "Doing what I can."

Sheppard looked more than a little crestfallen when Rogue listed off the most recent winners of the Super Bowl, which of course hadn't even been held since the war began.

"Definitely not my Earth," he decided with finality. "The Packers never would have lost to the Steelers."

She laughed at the typical guy response. "I wouldn't know, football was never really my thing. I only had the answer to your question because someone up here gave it to me."

Sheppard's brow furrowed. "How does that work exactly? I mean, how do you..." He fumbled for the right phrasing, and Rogue decided she liked him enough to come to his rescue.

"Stay sane?" she offered, smirking. "It took me years of training with an extremely powerful telepath to develop a system that works. Most of the time. Some of the feistier ones still give me trouble now and then, and I've got a wonderful assortment of borrowed nightmares to deal with on a regular basis, but there are some friends up here who help out when they can."

John Sheppard had seen a lot of weird things during his time at Atlantis, but this was quickly moving up the ranks to join the weird stuff hall of fame. "So, they can talk to you, and they're just in there with you all the time? That must get pretty distracting." He found it annoying when too many people were on the same comm channel, but with over two hundred, he'd lose his mind.

Rogue just shrugged. "I've gotten used to it, honestly. Most of them are easy to tune out, they're just not that loud and active, and the rest are actually nice to have around. Useful, even. I know diddly squat about football myself, but Remy used to watch it with some of the other guys."

"Remy?" he questioned.

"Remy Etienne LeBeau, also known as Gambit, Prince of the Thieves Guild in New Orleans, and a mutant with the ability to manipulate kinetic energy. The most frustrating man I've ever met, and the absolute love of my life." She smiled fondly at the simple description of the decidedly complex man who had meant the entire world to her. "He was killed about a year ago in the war."

There wasn't much he could say to that, except for, "I'm sorry for your loss." He knew what it was like to lose people. Words like that didn't do anything for the pain, but they were still important to say.

When he'd been poked, prodded, and questioned enough, Keller let him go to move onto the rest of those waiting, giving his blood sample to a nurse before calling over the next wraith.

"Getting along?" he asked Rogue. He didn't seem very happy, but then again, who did after seeing their doctor?

"Splendidly." Sheppard answered "Hungry?"

"Enough to eat Woolsey." Todd grinned

Sheppard pulled a face but led the way to the cafeteria, "So, you taught him how to cook?" he said to Rogue. Clearly this subject would be the talk of amusement for days.

"Is it so hard to believe?" the commander chuffed.

"Just a bit. What did you have them make? Mac and cheese? Chicken parm?" Sheppard asked

Rogue laughed at the suggestions Sheppard posed. "More like ratatouille and moussaka," she clarified. "Supplies were limited, meaning we had to get pretty creative. And we haven't really had noodles on board, so mac and cheese regrettably couldn't make the menu."

Sheppard's jaw dropped slightly as he looked from Rogue to Todd in disbelief. "You've only been eating real food for a few months and your cafeteria is better than ours?" His expression reminded Rogue of a pouting five year old. "Unbelievable," he muttered.

His reaction just made Rogue laugh even more. She really did like this Colonel John Sheppard, she could see why he and Todd had managed to, well, maybe not get along, but to at least work together. Without Sheppard at Atlantis, she was fairly certain Todd would have fed on Woolsey by now and absolutely none of this would have been happening.

Technically Todd had been on the diet for two years, including his time in the hospital here on Atlantis, but he and his crew had been on their own eating for about three months. He said nothing of it, and this only confirmed how much Rogue would mean to be on board the ship. Even with sparse ingredients, she'd created dishes that impressed the colonel who was perfectly able to get three meals a day without lifting a finger here.

For some reason, it was...good to hear Rogue laugh. Perhaps her tension and anxiety had rubbed off on him in the last week.

The wraith that had already been given their physicals had been escorted to the cafeteria already but weren't quite sure what to make of the trays of food they'd been given. And for many reasons, they were drawing eyes from the rest of those here to eat.

Sheppard's team were already at a table, plus one extra, a boy toddler in a highchair obviously gotten from earth because of the Batman print on it. Teyla was trying to get the kid to eat some peas when the three of them arrived.

"Guess what, they got ratatouille for dinner." Sheppard said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at Rogue and Todd.

"Wasn't that a movie about a rat?" McKay said, mouth full of mashed potatoes.

"Doesn't sound very appetizing" Ronon said.

Rodney was living up to his reputation alright. Rogue chuckled quietly and said, "There was a cartoon movie, yes, about a rat who becomes a chef in Paris. The dish, however, is just layered vegetables with seasoning, no rat included."

The little boy at the table gave a sudden squawking almost battle cry and sent a trio of peas flying at Rodney, who flinched and nearly fell out of his chair trying to avoid them.

"I apologize, Rodney," Teyla said, grabbing the small hand that was about to send another green barrage at the scientist.

The man in question just waved it off with a slightly embarrassed look. "It's fine, I'm okay."

Rogue smiled at the easy, family-like exchange between the group. It reminded her so much of the mansion, of how things had been before the war, especially with the little boy. Leaning down to get closer to the tiny warrior, she pointed at the pile of peas on the high chair tray. "Aren't you going to eat those?" she questioned him with a playful air of seriousness. "Because if you're not, I will. I'm really hungry," she exaggerated, then picked up her own trio of peas and popped them in her mouth.

The little boy stared at her with wide eyes, then still uncoordinated hands grabbed two handfuls of peas that he proceeded to stuff into his mouth.

Rogue laughed and told his mother, "Your son is adorable, Teyla."

"Why thank you Rogue." Teyla smiled.

"How is Kanaan? Still not over the flu?" Sheppard asked

"Afraid not, but he's doing better." she said, letting her son have his juice box, but the boy had caught sight of the Wraith and was staring at him with wide eyes.

Todd knew the boy shared his mother's ability, in fact he'd witnessed her control a queen with a boost from him while he was in in the womb. His gift was stronger than his mother's, thanks to his father a having the same gift. He said nothing though as he sensed another mind knocking at the door of his own.

Torren went back to eating his peas before the woman with the duel-colored hair stole them all, and Sheppard, Todd, and Rogue got in line for dinner.

While they waited in line, Sheppard turned to Rogue, saying, "You were great with Torren back there. Have much experience with kids?"

"I used to work at a boarding school for mutants," she explained with an easy smile. "The youngest student we had was eight, but we'd have even younger ones come through while we found new homes for them." At Sheppard's confused look, she added, "Parents didn't always take it very well when they found out their child was a mutant. At least half our kids didn't have anywhere else to go."

He muttered something under his breath and shook his head, seeming completely disgusted at the idea. He didn't say anything more about it as they got their trays of food.

Todd listened as Rogue talked about her time with kids at the mansion.

Wraith may not be affectionate warm puppies but you always looked out for one another, especially before maturity. The idea of kicking out a young male or female from a hive because they were different was unthinkable.

Just went to show that humans could be as equally compassionate as they were cruel.

A shame Woolsey was the way he was, Rogue seemed to be really settling in with Sheppard and his people. So much so, that the commander managed to slip away to sit with the Wraith that had been released from the hospital.

Sheppard saw this but decided it best Todd not sit with his team, though did sit so that he could glance over to the commander and still keep an eye on him as they ate and chatted.

The group talked about everything under the sun during that meal. Rogue asked them questions about Atlantis and their adventures in Pegasus, and they in turn asked about her and life on that alternate Earth. Rodney wanted to know more about the portal she came through, the mutations she'd encountered, whether he'd made any great scientific breakthroughs in that universe and won the Nobel Prize. (She'd just blinked at that one and asked Sheppard how he'd ended up with the Stargate program.) Teyla had asked about her years growing up and learning to deal with her mutation, Sheppard about what it was like to have lived on a Hive ship for a few weeks. Ronon didn't ask anything in particular, but did interject with his own comments now and then.

By the end of the meal, everyone, even Ronon, was at ease with Rogue, though the Satedan and Sheppard were still on alert with the Wraith in the room. Rogue's cheeks actually ached from smiling so much, and she hadn't laughed like this in months, certainly not since Remy died. It was enough to lift her spirits despite the dark cloud hanging over her at the thought of where life would be taking her next.

By the time they finished chatting and eating, the rest of the Wraith had come into the cafeteria. After they'd finished their free meals-with many mutterings that Rogue's cooking was far better-they were escorted back to the pier to go back up to the hive.

Todd and Rogue however would remain on Atlantis as tomorrow the new inoculations would start and there was no sense in traveling back and forth.

The group started to separate for the night, Teyla and Torren had gone a little while prior as he was getting fussy which meant bed time.

Sheppard led the way to the quarters Todd had been given when he'd been on Atlantis before. "I'll have a marine stationed outside your room as usual." he said to Todd, who nodded and went inside to settle down

Sheppard then looked to Rogue, "Let's find you your own room."

Rogue wasn't at all comfortable at being separated from Todd, and it was... stupid. She was being incredibly stupid. There was no reason not to enjoy having her own room for a night, when she would perfectly safe on Atlantis and the same couldn't be said on the Hive ship. Despite knowing that, though, she didn't feel safe when Sheppard dropped her off, briefly explaining things like how to turn the lights off and such.

No marine was left at her door, though she was cautioned not to wander the city alone because it was easy to get lost. And then she was alone. Rogue tried to sleep, curled up in the bed that was foreign but less so than Todd's bed had been, but every sound and shadow haunted her like the nightmares that clung to her consciousness.

An hour passed, then two, and she'd finally had enough. Her nerves were frayed and she was getting dangerously close to losing her mental shields, her stress levels were so high. And it was stupid, she knew it, but she couldn't help it.

The way back to Todd's room had been burned into her mind earlier that night and she found it with little trouble. The marine stationed at the door just watched her as she hesitantly asked, "Is it okay if I..." She gestured at the door and the marine nodded. Rogue was one of the few allowed access to their 'guest', since she was traveling with him.

Exhausted from the day's excitement and the stress of the last few days making sure they weren't followed by non-alliance hives had been the perfect sleep-inducer for the commander and he was out as soon as he laid down. The deedle of someone at the door woke him and he got up, awake and believing the worst had happened.

The blood results had returned and the cancer had returned. Enemy hive had stumbled upon Atlantis...Rogue had touched someone.

Well, he was right about it being Rogue, but the marine outside didn't seem in a panic and Sheppard wasn't here...so obviously no crisis.

"What's the problem?" he asked, but stepped aside to let her in, in case she wanted to keep what she had to say away from Sheppard's people.

She was such an idiot.

He'd been asleep. He was managing to get some much-needed rest and she'd gone and messed it up with her silly panicking, and now she'd made him worry. She could see it in his expression, the assumption that something had happened or was wrong, and she hated that she had done that to him.

Rogue stepped inside and heard the door swoosh shut behind her - she wasn't going to stay, but at least this way her idiocy would only be on display to one person instead of two. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, quickly. "I didn't mean to disturb you, I wasn't thinking. I just couldn't sleep and... Nothing's wrong," she said firmly, though her expression likely said otherwise. "I was just being silly is all. You should go back to bed."

She turned back to the door, ready to make a speedy exit, but she couldn't remember how to open the damn thing.

As she struggled with trying to open the door, he said, "You may stay." He probably wouldn't have slept much longer anyway. While it felt good to be on Atlantis, the dim quiet of a hive ship was home.

"Wave your hand in front of the panel if you want to leave." he said, moving away and sitting on the couch, which he'd turned to the window to look at the sky. The room hadn't been touched in his absence, the book he'd been reading was still sitting where he'd left it, the couch, the same.

It took nearly a full minute of Rogue debating with herself before she finally turned away from the door and moved further into the room, very carefully taking a seat at the other end of the couch. The view of the night sky was stunning and she sat there for a little while in silence, just watching the stars.

Until finally she had to say it. "I couldn't sleep," she said very quietly, "because I don't feel safe here. I know it's stupid. Maybe it's because of all of the military personnel everywhere, but I'm... I was terrified of being in that room by myself."

Soldiers had been the ones to come for her so many times before. The ones who had taken Erik, who controlled the Sentinels that hunted them. She knew these soldiers weren't under those orders, she knew it, but fear could be an incredibly irrational thing.

And Atlantis hadn't accepted her. Despite the warm reception by Sheppard and his team, she was still not welcome here, and that scratched at her thoughts as well, unearthing the instinctive fear that had been her companion since the start of the war.

Just two vampires, traveling the galaxy... [For Todd the Wraith]

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