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Chapter Two

Teyla sat stunned after Michael stormed away from her. His words had stung and even now rang in the silence that surrounded her. She could feel his anger and pain, which only added to her own. Her son kicked and moved within as if sensing his mother’s anguish. She looked down and rubbed her hands across her belly soothingly as her tears began to fall.

What had she done to anger Michael so? She felt a surge of regret, though she was not sure what she had done to hurt him. She needed to speak with him. She had so many questions that he alone could answer. Had he been as human as he was now when they had created this child? Would her son look human? Or would he look more like his father did now?

She loved this baby more than she ever thought it possible to love another being. She did not care what his appearance would be. He was her son. A shiver of dread and fear ran up her spine. She would accept and love him unconditionally, but would her friends ever accept him when they learned who his father was? After Michael had kidnapped her people, would they? Could any of them welcome her and her son back into the fold knowing that she had willingly made love to he who they considered an evil enemy? Would they refuse to believe that she had been a willing participant in the conception of her son? Or would they choose to believe that she had been tricked or forced?

Every fiber of her being rebelled at the thought. As many complications and as much pain as the knowledge of her son’s true parentage was sure to cause, she could not bring herself to regret what she had done. When they had joined bodies, minds, and souls, she had felt just how much he loved and adored her. Her baby was a product of that love. Michael had done many things that she found reprehensible, but she would force all of them to accept that she had not been violated. Even if it meant banishment from all those she loved and held dear.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael quickly made his way back to his observation room after his disastrous conversation with Teyla. Things had mostly definitely not gone the way he’d planned. He could feel her regret, pain, and anguish. He focused on her pain for a moment making sure it was emotional, not physical. He wasn’t ready for her to give birth. Not on the ship. They were headed to one of his outposts where he had prepared a birthing room. He’d actually ordered several to be made on different worlds. It was safer this way, just in case one of his enemies discovered one of his bases and he needed to quickly relocate Teyla.

Satisfied that she was not in labor, he sat in front of the monitor to watch her. He blocked her emotions, not wanting to feel how much she regretted that her child was his. Part of him longed to enter her mind to find out exactly what she was thinking. Perhaps her pain was caused by his words. Maybe he really had not imagined the hurt look on her face after his outburst.

Another part of him, however, was afraid that his worst fears would be confirmed. He told himself that he didn’t want to invade her privacy. He snorted at the thought. Watching her every move wasn’t a violation of her privacy? Pushing away that thought, he told himself that he needed to watch her to make sure that she and the baby were alright.

Michael watched as she cried silently while rubbing her belly. He felt tears burn his own eyes as he convinced himself that she cried because of what she had done with him. He felt nothing but hate for everyone else, except his baby. Their baby. He already loved that tiny creature within her, though he’d never met it. He cursed his weakness where Teyla was concerned. What had she done to cause him to feel so much for her? Why could she not bring herself to feel just as much for him?

Anger once again flared within him like a raging fire. If she wanted Kanaan so badly, then he would show her what he’d turned him into. He would show her how much power he had when Teyla saw her beloved Kanaan as nothing more than his mindless puppet.

He telepathically ordered Kanaan to her cell. Rising, he began to make his way back to her to watch her reaction in person. He felt a tiny twinge of pleasure because he was about to hurt her as much as she’d hurt him. The feeling sickened him, but he pushed it away, concentrating only on his anger.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Teyla sat, eyes closed, trying desperately to meditate. She urgently needed the calming quiet of a deep meditative state. Her emotions hurt her with their intensity, and her thoughts raced through her mind with a dizzying speed. She knew that the stress she felt was not good for her or her child, but she could not empty her mind, no matter how hard she tried. What would her friends think of her? Especially Ronon and John? What would her people think? Would they all be afraid of her son?

She heard approaching footsteps and opened her eyes. Moving as quickly as she could, she peered out of her cell, hoping it was Michael. If he had calmed down perhaps he would be willing to answer some of the questions that plagued her.

Waves of shock and surprise hit her hard, knocking the breath from her when Kanaan came into view. She was not sure how long she stood staring at his drastically changed appearance before she found her voice.

“Kanaan, what has he done to you?” He looked at her blankly, as though he had not heard her speak. “Kanaan,” she said louder, trying to get through to him, “where are our people? Do you know?” He still continued to stare at her without responding. She was feeling increasingly desperate. She longed to slap him, wanting to force him from his trance so that he would answer her.

“Do not bother asking him anything.” Michael stepped around Kanaan and into her sight. “I’ve turned your precious lover into one of my hybrids.

“You see, not only was I able to change my own DNA to suit my needs, I was able to adapt the retrovirus to turn humans into hybrids as well. Kanaan is now nothing but a mindless puppet, and I hold his strings,” he said vindictively.

Teyla felt a wave of nausea hit her and took a few deep breaths trying to fight it back. When she felt she could speak without being sick, she looked up into Michael’s eyes.

“How could you do this to my people? How many have you changed? They have never done anything to you!” Her voice shook with the weight of her emotions. She had never felt rage and betrayal before.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael watched Teyla pale considerably after he told her what he’d done to Kanaan. She looked as though she may be ill and he instantly felt a great amount of guilt. However, when she looked at him with such betrayal and anger, he couldn’t help but get angry in return. If she and the Lanteans hadn’t changed him and then betrayed him, then neither of them would be in the positions they were now in.

“It is quite simple, really. I knew that if you possessed Wraith DNA, then it was very likely that others from you planet may also carry it. I needed samples from those who had Wraith genes to complete the retrovirus with which I’ve been able to turn humans into hybrids. I’ve built up an army of them. I will use them to destroy the Wraith once and for all.” His eyes gleamed with foreseen victory.

“How many of my people have you changed?” Teyla emphasized every word and, even though he was still attempting to block out her emotions, her anger, pain, and despair wrapped around him.

“I have only changed as many as I needed. I told you that your people were safe. I may have used some, like Kanaan,” Michael glanced at him with disgust, “however, many of them are safe. I’ve seen to their every need.”

She looked at him in wide-eyed disbelief. “You call being trapped, the Ancestors only know where, for months while someone you have never seen before takes your own away randomly to experiment on as ‘seeing to their every need?’ What about their need to be free? What about their mental well being?”

“‘Their need to be free? What about their mental well being?’” He stepped toward her, seething. “Did the Lanteans think about my mental well being? Did they consider that I wanted to remain free?”

Guilt mixed with the anger on her face. “Michael, I had nothing to do with the decision to use the retrovirus on you. I strongly protested the testing of it. They would not listen to me. There was nothing I could do to stop them.”

“When you knew how much trouble I was having adjusting, you could have told me the truth. When you knew that I knew that something was wrong with me and that I didn’t fit in, you could have told me. You claimed to be my friend and yet allowed them…” He looked over to Kanaan who was emotionlessly standing there like nothing more than a lifeless statue. “Go back to your station,” he ordered. Kanaan immediately left.

He turned back to Teyla who gave Kanaan a fleeting glance before turning back to him. She looked at him desperately, her voice pleading for understanding. “I was under orders to tell you nothing. It broke my heart. I once again voiced my concerns that the experiment was wrong. So did Ronon. I told them that I did not know how I could go on lying to you. They did not give me a choice. If the retrovirus had worked as it was meant to, it could have been a peaceful end to the Wraith. They did not go out with the intention of hurting you or ruining your life.”

“Didn’t they?” he asked her bitterly. “They did not care about their test subject. All they cared about were the results that their experiment would yield. You claimed to be my friend. If you had truly cared anything for me, you would have defied the others and told me the truth when I begged for it. What has happened to your people and all the others I’ve experimented on is on your head, as much as it is on the heads of the Lanteans.” He felt the pain of her betrayal all over again. The pain of it caused tears to once again burn his eyes. He longed to say more to her, to say everything he was feeling, to force her to tell him what she had been thinking. He shook his head, deciding that he would talk to her again when he was not feeling so lost. Turning, he left her to herself and her own misery.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The pain and bitterness on Michael’s face pierced her heart. He looked as though he would cry. Instead, after shaking his head, he turned and once again walked rapidly away from her. She longed to call him back to her. She still had questions about her child and she needed him to understand why she had done what she had done to him. She knew instinctively that he would not come to her, no matter how much she pleaded for him to.

Feeling drained and defeated and more helpless than she ever had in her life, Teyla turned and walked back to her bed. She still felt quite sick to her stomach. She tried to quell the feeling, but it persisted, getting worse with each passing thought. Michael was right, what happened to her people was her fault. Though, she did not believe that it was for the reasons he gave. If she had just told him that she knew it was him when they made love. If she had confessed how much she felt for him, she may have been able to stop him from doing what he had done since then. She may have been able to change his mind and the course of action which he had chosen. Why had she not told him? What had made her go into such complete denial? Teyla leaned back against the wall as tears began to fall freely. She rubbed her belly as that was the only comfort she had at the moment.