Making You Better

Making You Better Chapter 8

After a slow journey through the outpost, which resulted in the deaths of most of Michael's hybrids, John and the rest were safe on Todd's hive. They'd made an attempt at shooting Michael's hive out of the sky, but it had escaped into hyperspace along with the few remaining hybrids on board.

John was taken to the queen's chambers, at the behest of the wraith on board. Todd blamed that on the pheromones John was giving off. The smell of a queen was wreaking havoc with the wraith's instincts. After learning of Michael's crimes, the wraith on the hive had been all too happy to lock the hybrid up in the most uncomfortably small cell the hive ship had to offer.

Carson was currently taking blood samples from John and asking him some general questions. When Todd finally left the room, Carson sat beside John, who was sitting curled up in a ball, hugging his knees to his chest.

“John, I need to ask you some uncomfortable questions,” Carson said, fidgeting with a pair of exam gloves.

“Do you need to ask them now?” John asked, looking at the clean exam gloves. “I know what you want to know. I'm pretty sure you already know the answers to most of them.”

Carson sighed. “But I need to hear the answers in your words. Let's make it simpler and you just tell me what happened?” he asked.

“From start to finish? Or do you just want to know how many times Michael violated me?” John responded, anger bubbling under his tone. He wasn't angry at Carson, he was just angry at the situation as a whole. “Should I tell you that I now have female parts down there right behind my male ones?”

“Would you mind if I did an exam?” Carson asked. “I need to check you for injury. And I need to tell me if you're in any pain and where it hurts. It could help me understand how to fix this, John, or I wouldn't ask.”

John tensed up, curling up tighter and resting his chin on his knees. “Maybe not right this minute. Can I work up to it?”

“Okay,” Carson said, putting the gloves aside. “Will you at least tell me if he hurt you, beyond the obvious?”

“I'm fine, Carson,” John said, a sense of defeat settling over the room. “He's beaten my pride to a pulp, but otherwise, I'm okay.”

“I will want a more thorough check when we get back,” Carson informed. “I at least need to do a scan, John. Standard procedure.”

“Admit it, Carson,” John said with a wry smile. “You're just fascinated by this whole thing.”

Carson smiled back. “Maybe a little, but I am concerned about you as well, John. You're my friend and my patient.”

“Thank you, Carson,” John replied softly.

“We're all worried about you,” the doctor added.

Todd walked back into the room a few minutes later. John was still curled up on the bed and Carson was just keeping him company, at least until John was ready to let him do an examination.

“Michael is awake,” the wraith said, scorn coloring his voice.

John tensed. He was getting tired of reacting to Michael that way. The hybrid had really gotten under his skin and it was pissing him off. John silently fumed, while Todd watched him.

“You've developed telepathic abilities,” Todd commented.

John looked at him a frown. “How do you know that?” he asked.

“I can feel you,” Todd said mildly.

John simply stared at the wraith for a long moment before looking away.

“Truly?” Carson asked John. “You can connect to the wraith telepathically?”

“Yeah,” John said. “I can poke around human brains too.”

Todd smiled. “Like a true queen,” he said, earning himself a glare from the former human.

“I'm a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force,” John growled. “I am not some wraith queen!”

They stared at one another for a silent moment; Todd smiling and John glaring venomously.

"You don't have to go back to being a human, John," Todd offered. "The crew of this hive have already shown a preference for having you stay. It's not every day a new queen comes along." He only won a sharper glare from the man-turned-hermaphrodite. "Just an option," the wraith added.

Carson looked back and forth between the two of them. “No one would begrudge you, if you wanted to stay here and not go through the long and likely painful process it's going to be to change you back, in as much as I'll be able to,” he said to John.

John glanced at them both. “I'm already pretty sure I want to go back to my job in Atlantis, but I'll think about it.”

Todd smiled wider. “Perhaps we should take this opportunity to show you what it would be like to be wraith queen?”

“You mean being served hand and foot? Sitting in my quarters bearing children, while everyone else lives full lives around me? Or worse, doing the work of a bureaucrat?” John ranted, voice steadily getting louder. “No thanks!”

“There's much more to it than that, Sheppard,” Todd said lightly.

“I'm sure,” John said sarcastically, glowering.

“Do you object to the idea of bearing wraith or hybrid children?” Todd asked, suddenly changing the subject.

“It's not exactly my life's ambition,” John drawled.

"Well, then I suggest you start thinking about what you would do in such a case," Todd advised.

“Why?” John asked, frowning in confusion.

“Because you are with child,” Todd said, his face and voice losing any levity it may have had.

John's jaw dropped, as did Carson's.

“You can't know that!” John gasped, silently begging the wraith with his eyes to be kidding, to take it back.

“Your smell is reminiscent to that of a pregnant queen getting ready to lay her eggs,” Todd said. “There's something different about it, though. No doubt having to do with your human DNA.”

“Oh boy,” Carson breathed, just before John slumped sideways, unconscious.

To be continued.