Lacrimosa

AT-13 had fallen under an attack. Darts were scurrying over the rainy sky as Major Mirkwood and her team was running towards the Gate. Lieutenant Evans was already dialing the address. Captain Irons was covering for Doctors Cruz and Eaton as two scientists were running for their lives. Major was fallowing her men when a Dart screeched over their heads and took her.

“Major!” screamed Captain Irons and then yelled at others to get to the Gate.

AT-13 came in hot. The shield was raised on the last moment when Captain Irons ordered to do so. Doctor Weir was rushing down the stairs and stared at the team. Doctor Cruz was injured; Lieutenant Evans sported some bruises and the archeologist and the Captain looked thoroughly rattled. Doctor Beckett stormed in and started to shout orders to medics.

“Where is Major Mirkwood?” asked Weir and looked at the still active Gate.

“Dart took her,” said Captain Evans breathlessly.

“What?” exclaimed Weir in a bit of a shock. The most valuable asset had been taken.

“There’s a Hiveship on the orbit of that planet. The culling had just started a day ago,” explained Captain and noticed highly shaken Colonel Sheppard step into the Gateroom.

“Liz, I’m going after her,” he said in a low tone. Weir turned around and eyed him cautiously.

“John, why not…” she started to offer a new batch of marines for the rescue but Sheppard almost stared cruelly at her.

“I said,” he hissed, “I’m going after her.”

“Then I’m coming with you,” said Ronon, walking out of the shadows.

“And as I,” said Teyla entering from another doorway.

“From where do you people pop out like that? Never mind,” he uttered and looked at his teammates. “Anyone else?”

Captain Irons wanted to join but Doctor Beckett ordered him into the Infirmary with the rest of AT-13. Suddenly McKay emerged from nowhere with his datapad and looked up to him.

“So, when do we leave?”
***
Mirkwood lay on the floor before Hivequeen’s feet. She was stunned and drowsy. Hivequeen with long blood red hair looked down on her and hissed, showing her sharp teeth.

“Great Mirkwood,” she hissed and kicked her with her boot. Mirkwood rolled over to her back but stayed sluggish.

“I have heard about you. It is said no Wraith can feed upon you,” she said and crouched down to look at her. Major stared back with dull eyes. She really didn’t care anymore. “We’ll just see about that.” The Hivequeen rose and ordered her to take away.
***
Colonel Sheppard did something he would have never done before. He had taken the Jumper, cloaked it and flown right into a Hiveship. McKay had started to fret and Ronon seemed to get angrier every minute.

“Teyla, can you listen in on Wraiths thoughts and find out where they are keeping her?” Sheppard asked as he was working on a plan.

“Yes-yes, so could you,” said McKay suddenly and snapped his fingers.

“What?” asked Sheppard, thinking he was kidding.

“You have a ATA-gene and studying Ancients, they also communicated telepathically! So, try to find contact with Mirkwood just like you do with the Jumper,” explained the scientist and grinned widely as he discovered how smart he was.

“So why don’t you try that?” asked Sheppard.

“I am not a natural carrier, remember?”

“Ah,” made Sheppard and cursed himself for not listening more of his babblings.

“She’s in Hivequeen’s quarters!” yelped Teyla and felt very tired.

“Oh, good. See, that was easy,” said Sheppard and grabbed his weapons.

“Um, I’ll stay here with Teyla,” said McKay, finding an excuse to stay behind and take care of Teyla who barely could keep her eyes open. Sheppard looked at Teyla and then at McKay and nodded.

“Keep us posted if some Wraith should sneak upon us,” he said and exited with Ronon through the rear hatch.
***
Air Force Major Mirkwood struggled in her restrains in vain. The physical pain didn’t bother her but the emotional one did. Hiveqeen had found a new way to torture her and it was an odd way indeed. She let her men feast on captured humans and then come to her and feast on her. But the process had been diverted. Instead of sucking the life out of her, they gave it to her with all the emotions it had came from the victims. The fear, panic, hate, despair… It all was injected into her all at once. It was maddening to feel all of those emotions screaming in her head.

“Why can’t you be fed upon?” asked the Hivequeen and looked at her more closely.

“I have no soul to take or a heart to break,” she answered and collapsed under the turmoil of agony.
***
“Oh my God,” Sheppard gasped as he stopped in his tracks.

“What?”

Sheppard looked at Ronon with terror in his eyes.

“I felt her. She was in so much pain and then she was gone… They killed her!” He started to run in the direction he had felt her. Ronon rushed after him. Colonel just ran and took shortcuts here and there with Ronon closely behind him, not letting him out of his sight. He had his gun set to kill and he wasn’t afraid to use it if necessary. And then they were discovered. McKay started to shout where all the Wraiths were and barked them to move faster. McKay had located the Hivequeen’s quarters and was directing them towards it. Ronon itched to go into a fight but Sheppard had to get Mirkwood.
***
She stood alone in knee-high sea of blood. Corpses drifted by as she looked at the black sun go down. She no longer heard the screams or felt the knives piercing the bodies. The blood around her was ice-cold. It always had been. She had never let it to warm up.

‘Ilmatar,’ she heard someone calling for her but it sounded so far away. A dead body floated past her and she recognized Captain Isaacs who she had lost in Iraq before she joined SGC. Guilt and despair gnawed at her again as she tried to shut it all down.

‘Ilmatar,’ she heard his voice again a bit closer. She turned around but didn’t see anyone. Just the bloody sea filled with corpses.
***
Sheppard just kept shooting his way through Wraiths and Ronon was on his side getting the taste of killing each Wraith in revenge for what they did to him and to all others.

“You are almost there,” said McKay in their headsets.

“Yes, I can see that,” muttered Sheppard as he took down another wave of Wraiths. And then they were in. Ronon was the first to shoot the Hivequeen. She fell down and Sheppard emptied his clip on her. Ronon stepped to the table on what Major Mirkwood was tied up. She was pale but beautiful like Arwen, who was called Undómiel, for she was the Evenstar of her people. Her face was peaceful and serene and Ronon feared the worst. He touched her cheek and it was cold like ice.

“Sheppard,” he whispered and looked at him with an apologetic look. Sheppard stepped next to him and slithered his hand over her neck. He didn’t feel the pulse. Cool satin skin under his hand made him consider some possibilities but he didn’t want to think about them. He undid the restraints and gathered her into his arms.

“We got her,” he told to McKay and asked Ronon to cover them as they rushed away from there.

Back on the Jumper Sheppard cuddled her in his lap and ordered McKay to fly the Jumper back to Atlantis. He constantly looked for some signs of life while he hugged her to his chest and stroked her loose hair. Teyla cast him a remorseful look and dialed home.
***
For the next seven days Sheppard rarely left the Infirmary. Beckett tried to order him out of there to get some rest but he didn’t budge. Not even Weir could trick him out of there.

The wounds of the torturing had healed but she was still in coma and Beckett didn’t know when she could wake up. It was hard to predict but Sheppard wanted to be there when she woke up.

“He really loves her, doesn’t he?” asked Elizabeth as she looked over the Mess Hall at Colonel eating alone. There was a bitter ring in her voice as she turned to gaze at Teyla, Kate and Laura.

“He does care about her,” said Teyla.

“There’s one thing I don’t get – Mirkwood is a cruel bitch, so why he likes her?” asked Laura bluntly.

“She is hard to get and men like challenges,” said Kate and everyone stared at her, “Well, and there might be that issue that they both are natural ATA-gene carriers and so she might draw others of her kind. That’s just a theory!”

“She is the henchman of the Senator AND an Ancient! What more could you want?” blurted Laura. “Oh my God, Carson!”

“Honey, don’t worry your head over Carson. Ilmatar wouldn’t steal him from you,” said Elizabeth and then remembered they had broke up.

“But Liz, how about you? We all know how fond you are of John,” asked Kate and glanced at Sheppard who was wolfing down his food.

“Mm, but our relationship would have never work,” said Elizabeth, “He’s cute like a puppy but I believed for a very long time that he was a gay.”

“What?! Why?” asked the girls in shock and then started to snicker.

“Well,” and she blushed, “He sometimes acted very feminine and he only flirts but never dates with women, so I just started to think… Ahhem, anyway I guess I was wrong.”

“Gay?” giggled Laura and looked at puzzled Teyla, “You know – guy loves a guy.”

“Oh,” said Teyla.