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

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

[continued from here]

It was a pleasant surprise to glance over and see Todd asleep on the bed, relaxed and peaceful. He can't have gotten much quality rest the night before propped up in the chair as he had been, certainly not when he'd been woken by her nightmare. She hoped that didn't happen again tonight, he had important things to take care of tomorrow; she didn't know all of the details, but with a civil war going on between his people, he needed his wits about him.

To that end, Rogue forced herself to stay awake for hours into the night, eating the dinner he'd brought for her and looking through one of the books from the collection he'd shown her before their sparring session. She didn't recognize anything on the pages, but it gave her a topic for conversation with the voices in her head, providing ample entertainment to pass the time. Eventually she fell asleep herself, the book held carefully to her chest as she curled up in the armchair, her boots set on the floor beside it. It was a fairly deep sleep, and she didn't dream for one of the first times in many weeks, something she was eternally grateful for when she awoke.

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Having a silent Sheppard beside her was something Rogue had never thought she'd experience. It was strange, unnatural, and uncomfortable. But it was better than it was Sheppard and not any of the others.

She nodded at Beckett's question, followed by a wince at the motion. "Do you happen to have anything for migraines?"

The doctor frowned at the question, having expected to offer her the usual strong Tylenol dosage. "On a scale of 1 to 10, just how bad is the pain?" He could see that she was paler than usual, and the way she held herself was different enough to be worrying.

"It's getting close to a 7," she answered quietly, causing Sheppard to frown and move a little closer to her. He'd never have guessed she was in that much pain, but he believed her self-assessment.

So did Beckett. Gesturing to a nearby empty bed, he instructed, "You have a seat here, love, and I'll see what I can find to help with that."

The Scot returned a few minutes later with a small glass bottle and syringe that he filled at her bedside. "Sumatriptan," he explained when she frowned at the bottle. "It's the best we've got." Pulling on a pair of sterile gloves, he gently pushed up Rogue's sleeve and swabbed a bit of disinfectant over her skin before administering the injection.

As Keller drew a second syringe of enzyme, he wondered if Rogue got headaches every time she touched someone like she had Adams.

When the doctor finished with him, he slid his arm back in his sleeve and looked to Keller, who was looking at the enzyme she'd drawn from him. "A little at a time." he advised, and she nodded, the pair going over to the prone marine, Sheppard stayed near Rogue, but watched Keller tend to the man under his command.

Beckett finished giving Rogue the Sumatriptan and pat her shoulder to have her lay back and let the drug do its work. Keller hesitated another moment before giving Adams one Cc of the enzyme, the smallest amount to start with.

Nothing.

Two...three...four...his heart rate was going up slowly but steadily. After she gave him five Ccs, they waited.

Still nothing.

As Keller sighed and shook her head, Todd was about to tell her to give him the rest of the syringe full when Adams stirred and opened his eyes.

"Bloody hell it worked..." Beckett said

It worked.

The relief Rogue felt at those two words was overwhelming. He was awake. He was going to be okay. She hadn't caused him irreparable harm through stupid negligence that should always have been avoided.

"Oh thank god," she breathed, pressing a hand to her mouth as she turned on her side in the bed, trying to hide from anyone who might look her way. Because in that moment, she wanted nothing more than to disappear.

At least the Tony Adams in her mind was finally beginning to calm down a little, now that they both knew his physical self was alright. That helped a little.

Keller was surprised, but pleased by the outcome.

"Adams, can you hear me?" She asked

"Y-Yea doc...what happened?" he asked

"Rogue accidentally touched you, but you're going to be alright now. How do you feel?" Sheppard answered, hardly believing it himself, and glancing to Todd.

"Ache all over..." he answered and Keller set about checking his vitals.

Todd however went over to Rogue and touched her shoulder. "You handled that well, all things considered." he said to her quietly.

She looked up at Todd when he touched her shoulder and tried to give him a smile. It wasn't too successful.

"Thanks," she said just as quietly. "I sure don't feel like it." Death was what she felt like, along with immense guilt and anxiety. That she was still among a group of people was only fueling that anxiety, because even though the only skin exposed was her face and neck, she felt like another accident was just waiting to happen.

It was silly, she knew, but logic didn't have much place in her world after what had just happened.

"You'll be all right." he assured her.

Sheppard told Adams to relax and do as Keller and Beckett ordered before coming over to Todd. "Seems like I owe you one."

"Indeed." The wraith answered, looking to him.

"...Did you know if that would cure him?" he asked.

"No, but it stood to reason if we can bring back the recently deceased and give back the life we took from humans, pulling them out of a coma was just another ability." the wraith answered.

Sheppard nodded, "Good point."

"Will we be able to resume the inoculations?" Todd asked.

"Yea, will have a word with Woolsey and we'll continue..." The colonel looked to Rogue then to him. "Keep an eye on her?"

"Of course." the wraith nodded. With that, Sheppard left to talk to Woolsey-as well as the others who'd been waiting outside the infirmary.

Todd looked to Rogue. "We'll be out of here tomorrow." he reminded her. "Keep calm, covered, and in your room once escorted there." he advised.

"That was my plan," she assured him, fully intending to stick to it and not leave her room until they were ready to leave the city. "I might just sleep until tomorrow at this rate." The ordeal had taken a lot of out of her, and the migraine medication was already starting to work, thankfully.

"I'll be so glad to go home," she murmured quietly, tucking her hair back behind her ear and rubbing at her temple, trying to help ease the ache away.

Home. That's what the hive ship was for her now. A place where people weren't afraid of her. Some of them still might look at her as food for a little while, but in the grand scheme of things, she'd much rather be seen as dinner than a monster.

Beckett came back over to check on her then. "Are you starting to feel any difference in the pain?" The drug didn't always work for everyone; sometimes the pain went away entirely, others it only lessened the severity.

Rogue nodded slightly. "It's getting better," she told the doctor, who gave her a quick smile before leaving again.

Once she was feeling up to it, Todd escorted her back to her room. "I'll come by tonight." he said before leaving her to be on her own and rest.

The final group of wraith to be given the serum were allowed in the city and their commander spent a good deal of the day with them when Woolsey approached him a little after lunchtime.

"After talking with General O'Neill, it was decided that in repayment for the supplies, you're to give us as much of the enzyme as you and your crew are willing to provide." he said

The wraith thought something like this would come up, he just didn't expect it so soon.

"I'll have to discuss this with my crew." he said.

So he left Atlantis and spoke with everyone on the hive for the rest of the afternoon. As night fell on the city, Todd instructed that a Puddlejumper and a crew of nurses and doctors be dispatched to carry out the withdrawal of enzyme. His crew had-after some debating-agreed. Beckett led the team and by the time they finished and returned to the city with coolers full of the precious fluid, the supplies had been delivered through the gate, along with a few new appliances, including a new stove for the hive kitchen and a Naquadah generator to power said appliances as getting the organic technology and the electric technology to work together would be too tough.

Todd returned to the city, the palates of supplies brought to the jumper bay and flown up to the hive for the crew to separate and set up before they went on their way tomorrow.

Tired, but accomplished, the commander checked up on the last crew members to be given the gene therapy before going to see how Rogue was doing, and to tell her what had happened after the morning events.

Dizziness had plagued Rogue for most of the day, a side effect of the medication that had cleared up the painful migraine. Dr. Beckett had checked on her once during the afternoon, making sure none of the more severe potential side effects had manifested and bringing her a light lunch. The gesture was appreciated as she hadn't eaten since the night before.

Her dinner was brought by Colonel Sheppard, who had stayed with her while she ate, talking to her about football of all things. It had seemed like a safe subject, distant from everything that happened that morning. His stories revolved around his favorite players, watching the big game at Thanksgiving growing up, even making out with a high school sweetheart under the bleachers. Rogue didn't say much during the exchange, but she thanked him for the company as he left.

She had been curled up in bed again, trying and failing at meditating, when Todd arrived at her door. Still fully covered in her cotton under-uniform and gloves, she let him in with a tired smile before returning to sit on the bed. She probably looked like a wreck, but she couldn't care less.

"How were things today?" she asked him, gesturing for him to have a seat either on the nearby couch or on the bed with her, she didn't care which. "Is the last group doing as well as the rest?" Because despite her own hellish day, she still worried about his crew and how things were going for them.

Todd sat down beside her, though gave her a bit of room before launching into what had happened after he left her in the hospital.

"Woolsey came to me and to repay Stargate Command, we...that is, as many wraith on my crew as possible, gave up their stores of enzyme for command and those here on Atalntia to experiment with." He said. "They'd long since known that wraith processed this "miracle drug" as they call it, but as its in credibly addictive, they were unsure of what it could be used on. And how much. Thanks to Adams, that's changed."

The secret of being able to give back the life one took from a human was known by Sheppard from personal experience, still, it felt as though the best leverage Todd had, had been taken. And would continue to be taken until they could become sel-reliant for food supplies.

"Those last few who were inoculated today are doing well" he added to answer her question from before. He liked being on Atlantis, but perhaps he'd been here too long, he'd be just as glad as Rogue to leave here and resume life on the hive.

It was good to hear that the last wraith were having the same overall successful experience as the previous groups. While it was a better move for their species as a whole, Rogue still hated that they had to spend those first hours suffering as the change took hold.

"They found out the enzyme worked because of what happened," she surmised, leaning back against her pile of propped up pillows. "Because of what I did. I'm sorry." She'd caused problems for him, she could practically hear it in his words, or at least she thought she did.

"Why did you suggest using the enzyme in the first place?" she asked him. "You had to have known something like this would happen once they knew it worked."

"Ever since I was inoculated, they've been experimenting with the enzyme but haven't gotten very far." he answered "The situation was there, so I pushed it. Their dependence on us for it will outlast our need to rely on supplies from them. Eventually they'll have to offer something else up or learn to synthesize it."

Synthesizing something organic took a lot of time. So already they were ahead of Woolsey in the debt race. Always a good place to be.

"You have nothing to apologize for, your run-in with Adams was an accident that was due to happen anyway, and Atlantis was bound to try the enzyme on a sick patient eventually. Sheppard himself, and McKay, know all too well the effects of it. The good and the bad."

Todd got up from the bed. "We'll skip the training tonight I think, you're too exhausted and stressed from the day."

So in the end, it was a good thing that they knew the enzyme treatment could work. The timing could have been better, but eventually things would be in Todd's favor, which of course was how he liked it.

"Wait!" she exclaimed suddenly as he made to leave, leaning forward and almost reaching out to him. "Could you stay just a little longer? Not for training, but just... for company?"

She didn't really feel like she had the right to ask it of him, but she knew that he wouldn't stay if he didn't want to. Todd's presence was a comfort, though, and she could use a little more of it if he was willing to give it to her.

The wraith thought a moment. It was still early in the evening, a little while wouldn't hurt.

He nodded, "Very well" and took a seat in a chair nearby, shifting his gaze out the window. Her view of the city was a little obscured by the nearest tower compared to his, but still, he could hear the sea and see the stars.

Rogue sat back again with a quiet sigh. It was just such a relief to not be alone, and for the other person to be someone she didn't have to be on guard with. She still considered Sheppard a friend, but his position in Atlantis could make some things a little awkward, considering her own tenuous situation in the city. With Todd, she knew where she stood for the most part, and he understood her more than any of the others, even with the cultural barriers between their species.

She was quiet for a moment, and finally asked a question she'd been pondering for some time but simply hadn't had the opportunity to ask. "Do hive ships usually have children on board?"

He looked to her at the odd question, but answered it.

"Human children, no, worshipers who wish to reproduce must leave the ship. Wraith males and females come from the breeding pods about three to five years old at a human age equivalent. The youngest we have on board at the moment is the one Sheppard called Cody. He's an older teenager by our count, but in years he's I'd say in his late forties." he elaborated.

She nodded at his answer, taking it all in. She'd known Cody was the youngest among Todd's crew, but she hadn't been certain whether it was because he'd been without a Queen for some time or if children simply weren't found on hive ships.

"Are wraith very protective of their young?" Something told her the answer would be yes. It would fit with what she knew of wraith, of the structure of their society and how they interacted with each other.

"Depends on what you mean by protective" he answered. "Do we ensure their safety in the event of a crisis? Yes, they are among the first, should the hive become unstable, to be evacuated. Do we carry them about and coddle them? No."

When Cody first came to the hive, Todd suspected he might be his sire, he was just old enough to be after all. But that was quickly dispelled when he found out Cody-who'd transferred from another more populated hive in the alliance-had lived his whole life on that hive, and the one Todd's queen had been on had been destroyed some years ago.

In the end, while it was a nice boost to the ego to know your offspring had grown successful and all that, finding out who was related to who on board a hive was only necessary when it came to the queen to avoid inbreeding.

Wraith children were protected but not doted upon. It fit with everything she knew about the species, and it was... reassuring, in a way. A much better arrangement in some ways than how humans could be with children, that was for certain.

"I'm sorry to ask such out of the blue questions like this," she apologized, fiddling with her gloves instead of looking at him. "It's just, being around Teyla and Torren the past few days, it got me thinking about things."

Todd chuckled, "You used to ask questions all the time." he stated. Not a week ago, but it felt like months now.

"McKay's pestering also get you thinking?" he asked, remembering the conversation he'd broken up between the pair.

He was quite sure that if Rogue could have kids, she would have, but with Remy. She had no wish to get that close to anyone it seemed ever again.

That was true. They used to pass their time by sharing information like this, though her list of questions had held out much longer than his. Now they read and trained.

"Maybe a little," she admitted quietly. "After my mutation manifested, I never even considered having children of my own. I was too wrapped up in trying to figure out who I was among all the other people in my head to think about things like that. And then by the time Remy and I were that close, the war was starting and there just wasn't time."

She sighed and looked toward the window. "Humans can be very cruel to their children. When I became a teacher, the most important thing to me was making sure those kids had the best lives possible, and that they were happy. Because most of the rest of didn't get to have much of that ourselves."

Well, if she remained on board and the new queen accepted her, perhaps she'd get the chance to teach wraith offspring next. Or, if not, be transferred to the worshiper village and live there. Undoubtedly there would be many children for her to spend time with.

Todd returned his gaze out the window, by now most of the city-at least that which could be seen-had gone dark as people stopped working for the night and went to bed.

"He thought I was a wraith," she says suddenly, her thoughts having taken another sharp turn down a different path. "The marine, Tony Adams. When I touched him, that was the last thought in his head."

She looks down at her lap then, turning her right hand up as if she could see through the glove to the feeding slit that wasn't there. "He was so scared, it was the only thing that made sense for why it hurt so much." She wasn't a wraith. She wasn't. She didn't feed on people like that. But his fear and that single thought had still torn through her heart like a knife.

He looked to her again at her sudden blurt of information.

"Makes logical sense, he's likely seen what we can do up close, perhaps even come within inches of being fed upon." he said, getting up and returning to sit beside her.

"We may be changing our diet but the fear will undoubtedly remain for years to come. He most likely associated with you as being a wraith because that's what they primarily fear here."

She glanced up when he sat beside her again, and as much as she hated it, her expression was likely akin to that of a lost child. A little bit frightened, and very lonely.

"They're always going to be afraid of me, even if I can learn to fully control my power," she told him. "Maybe not all of them, but enough. They'll be afraid of what I could do, because I'm like all of you."

It was one of her main fears about being back among humans. That she would become attached, that she would lose people, that they would be frightened of her. She'd lived like that once, she didn't know that she could do that again.

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