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shanachie_quillCharacters: Evan Lorne/Aiden Bancroft-Lorne, Jonas MacFadden, Deke Zulu, Murray, Wall, Megan Reeves, Don Eppes, Charlie Eppes, David Sinclair, Colby Granger/Meredy Eppes-Granger
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis, Numb3rs
Chapter: Chiller’s Bend
Written For: Gommeroi (originally my co-author, now I’m finishing this for her)
Prompt:
Summary: Past and Present collide when Lorne and Aiden travel to LA to track down a goa'uld and meet with the Numb3rs team. Can everyone put their personal issues aside to find the bad guy in time?
Rating: PG-13 to NC-17
Spoilers: anything aired is fair game, but we went a bit AU; especially since we started writing this before everything had aired, we didn’t like all of the things that were going on and well, things just kinda got Jossed all around
Warnings: swearing, violence (although not worse than what was on the show), hey Aiden’s here of course there’s swearing, just general about what you’d see on the show, Marine shenanigans
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me; Meredy doesn’t belong to me either. Not making any money off of this.
While they were changing in the locker room Evan spoke to Aiden. "What's wrong, Doll?" he asked her, worriedly.
"I'm not sure. I just feel uneasy about this whole case and I don't want to be separated from you," she answered honestly.
"Okay," Evan said, giving her a gentle, reassuring kiss on the forehead. She shook her head at him and finished getting dressed.
Meredy snuck her hand into Colby's pocket and pulled out his keys while they were waiting for their new friends. "I'm driving," she exclaimed triumphantly, dangling the keys in front of Colby's face as David sauntered down the hallway to join them. He grinned at his co-worker's antics.
"What the fuck?!" Colby exclaimed.
"I never get to drive anymore. It's either you or David! You guys conspire to not let me drive. Anyone would think you two don't like my driving," she complained.
"All right, you can drive," Colby said reluctantly, not bothering starting a fight over it with her.
"Thanks." Meredy beamed at him.
The three Agents heard an almighty scream from the locker room. Colby kicked the door open and they all rushed in to see what was wrong. The three Agents were alarmed to see Lieutenant Colonel Lorne freaking out over something and the linguist laughing at him. Colby took closer look and saw that two furry little spiders had been dumped unceremoniously on the bench.
Colby was grateful to see both their guests were dressed in jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. He turned and faced Meredy, giving her a stern stare. "Meredith, what were Itchy and Scratchy doing in Evan's coat?" Colby demanded.
Meredy gave him a sheepish grin. Too be honest she'd forgotten that she'd put them there. Evan had taken off his jacket in the warm war room and placed it over a chair and forgotten about it. That had made it an opportunity she couldn't resist at the time. "I have no idea how they turned up in Evan's jacket, Colby," she said, trying to keep a straight face. Aiden laughing didn't help her pretense of innocence and neither did David grinning at her like the Cheshire cat.
"Mer, Itchy and Scratchy don't just turn up anywhere. What the hell were you thinking?" Colby said, crossly. He'd hoped they'd make a good impression on their visitors, though he wasn't actually keen to have outside help. It didn't look good with the prank Meredy had pulled.
"It's not my fault no one has a sense of humor," Meredy growled. She stalked out of the locker room and off towards the car with David hot on her heels.
"Shut up, Aiden," Evan grumbled at the linguist who was still giggling intermittently.
"What? I think it's terrific a federal agent has such a great sense of humor!" Aiden replied. "Goddess knows none of the IOA does."
"Don't encourage her, Aiden. Meredith doesn't need it when it comes to her and her pets," Colby warned her. Aiden laughed some more as she watched Evan's face turn several shades of red as he realized he might be the butt of more jokes. "Meredy's an amazing agent and excellent at her job. Otherwise she wouldn't be on Don's team. She just likes to play practical jokes on unsuspecting people, mainly us guys. You're a new shiny toy for her to play with I'm afraid, Evan," Colby explained.
"It's not a problem, Colby," Evan assured the agent. "Forewarned is forearmed. I command Marines. I suppose she can't be any worse than them."
Evan felt silly and embarrassed that he had squealed like a girl. He was supposed to be a Lieutenant Colonel in the USAF. He'd fought against the Goa'uld and the Milky Way Replicators. He was now in Atlantis, the Lost City of the Ancients, fighting Wraith – a Vampirish like species that ate by sucking the life out of you with their hand and the Pegasus Galaxy's version of the Replicators. Why would two fake spiders freak the hell out of him? Damn them! It didn't help that Aiden was laughing her ass off over him for it and would rib it for him later. Even more embarrassing was that the three agents had practically broken down the door to see what was wrong.
"It sounds like you've been the target of her jokes?" Evan queried as they walked out of the locker room and headed towards the car.
"Yes I have, well, we all have. They're harmless though. Anyway, she means them to be. I once found a fly in my soup when we all went out to dinner when I first joined the team. David, Meredy, and I were at a nice restaurant and I thought the fly was real. I kept reordering my soup, but didn't realized what was going on until I figured out David and Meredy were laughing at me. It's kind of her way of welcoming you to the team." Aiden and Evan laughed. Colby told them a few stories as they walked towards the car.
"Maybe she might allow me to take some of her pets back for a few people we work with," Aiden said, chuckling. "I can think of a few that could use a little loosening up."
Evan looked horrified as he realized who she meant. "Aid, no," he protested. "You'll start World War Three. If McKay doesn't kill you, Sheppard will for annoying his scientist."
Colby realized Evan must be talking about people they worked with. "I doubt very much that Meredy would allow you take any of her pets, but she would be happy to help you start your own collection," Colby told Aiden, ignoring the mention of the other people. "You're lucky that you didn't meet Oliver."
"Oliver?" Evan repeated.
"A small, green snake that she named after Jamie Oliver, a chef that she likes. Her family owns a chain of restaurants around town and she used to help out a bit growing up. Itchy and Scratchy she got from the Simpsons – one of her favorite shows."
Aiden nodded. "I know the Simpsons. General O'Neill likes them and makes a friend of mine watch it. Daniel says he can feel his IQ dropping as he sits there."
Meredy was in the driver's seat and David sitting in the passenger seat behind her when they all arrived at the car. Colby got into the front passenger seat, while Aiden sat in the middle and Evan on the left.
"Sorry, I got mad at you back there," Colby apologized in Spanish. "You've just got to be careful where you put itchy and Scratchy. I warned them about Oliver. This Lieutenant Colonel Lorne sounds like someone important and high up the chain of command where they're stationed," Colby said softly, continuing in Spanish.
"I promise to never use them again against him!" she told him vehemently in reply.
Colby sighed and rested his hand on her leg as she started the car. Meredy didn't say another word until they reached the scene. By the time they arrived at the scene it was already flooded with people. Meredy got out of the car, exchanged glances with Colby, and headed over to where a young police officer was guarding the entrance to the building that had a yellow crime scene strip across it.
She held up her shield as she approached as did the two men. "I'm Special Agent Meredy Granger and these are my partners, Special Agent Colby Granger, and Special Agent David Sinclair. With us are Lieutenant Colonel Lorne and Doctor Aiden Lorne, they both have full clearance to be here. If they need assistance, they should be given it automatically. Are Agent Eppes and Agent Reeves inside?" Meredy questioned.
"Both Agents are inside waiting for your arrival, Agent Granger. He also has Professor Eppes and Professor Ramajaun with him," the young officer informed her.
Meredy smiled broadly, happy to see both of her brothers. Aiden was impressed with how professional Meredy was and that she could pull rank when she needed to. She got things done quickly and proficiently. Aiden shared a glance with Evan and could see that he was impressed to. "She could have made it in the Air Force," he whispered to Aiden. "Even our boys would snap to for her."
"Okay, Aiden and Evan, it isn't going to be pretty in here. Those photos only give you half the picture and idea. What you will experience in there won't be pleasant and I have no way of shielding either of you from this stuff. I don't know what you've both seen, but these scenes can make a even hardened agent's stomach turn," Meredy said softly.
Aiden and Evan exchanged glances, his questioning. She shrugged in response. She wouldn't know if she could handle it until she got inside and saw it. Her experience with bodies tended to be with ten thousand year old ones, but they had gotten a little more recent lately. Evan, being military, had plenty of experience with torture and mutilation; this one might actually be easier since it was someone he didn't know. "We'll deal," he told the agents. "Aiden's never been a desk bound translator."
Aiden snorted as she tried not to laugh. "Understatement," she chided him. She motioned towards the interior. "Once more into the breech?"
Evan shook his head as they entered. "I need to start vetting your movie nights with the boys," he complained. When the agents looked at him, he waved it off, explaining, "The rest of our team is normally referred to as 'the boys' and they all get together once a week to watch movies. I don't go so they don't have a senior officer looking over their shoulder. Aid's not an officer."
When the group entered the premises Aiden watched David and Colby go off and speak with a tall woman with light brown hair, while Meredy went off to see another group of people. Meredy's group consisted of two men and a woman. Both men had black hair; one was curly and longish, while the other one's was short, and both men had brown eyes. They had similar features and stances. Aiden wondered if they were related. The young woman with them had long black hair and brown eyes and looked to be of Indian descent. When Meredy stood close with the group Aiden could see that she looked like the men she was talking with. Aiden wondered if Meredy was related to them and how the other woman fitted into the group. Aiden guessed that the two men must be Agent and Professor Eppes. She wasn't sure who the two new women were, but figured sooner or later she would be introduced to them if she needed to be.
"So that's our experts?" Don asked Meredy as he looked over at them.
"Yup. Lieutenant Colonel Evan Lorne and Doctor Aiden Lorne," Meredy replied.
"A doctor of what exactly?" Charlie asked excitedly.
"Of languages, Charlie. Don't get too excited! She's not a math geek. I think she might an archaeologist as well."
"Well, they use numbers in archeology!" Charlie protested.
"Of course they do. They use numbers in everything!" Meredy teased him.
"They do!" Charlie grouched.
"You two knock it off," Don said, running his fingers through his hair. "I guess we should go introduce ourselves."
"You know Meredy only does it to tease you, Charlie," Amita said grinning.
"Yes, that would be a good idea," Meredy agreed with her boss. The group made their way over to where Aiden and Evan were standing just inside the door waiting for directions.
"I'm Agent Don Eppes and this is my brother, Doctor Charlie Eppes. His friend and assistant, Professor Amita Ramajaun. The agent over there with David and Colby is Megan Reeves," Don introduced himself and the rest of the team.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Evan Lone and this Doctor Aiden Lorne," Evan introduced them both. Everyone shook hands, causing confusion for a moment as they all tried to shake everyone else's hand. Evan kept an eye on Aiden, but she only tensed as everyone else touched her.
"I hope Meredy didn't give you any trouble," Don joked, trying to break the tension he could see in the linguist.
"Evan met Itchy and Scratchy," Aiden said, smiling.
Don gave Meredy one of his looks. "Oh, don't you start on me! Colby already said something," Meredy said defensively.
"It's okay really. Don't be hard on Agent Granger. No hard evidence and no harm done," Evan said smoothly, well used to smoothing over incidents that Sheppard and his own team had been involved in.
Don sighed and shook his head. The officer seemed very forgiving. He had known the warnings to Meredy wouldn't stick, but he had hoped.
"How do you help your brother, Professor Eppes?" Evan inquired, changing the subject.
"Please, call me Charlie. I use math to help solves crime," Charlie explained.
"How's Adina and Mitchell?" Meredy queried, trying her own distraction techniques.
"They're fine. Adina's been really busy with her law practice," Don replied, but glared at his sister since he knew what she was doing. He turned his attention to the two experts and motioned towards the scene. "Looks like the photographers are done. Maybe our experts should see the body now."
When Aiden saw the body it shocked her to the core. It was a young white woman; scantily clad and innocuously still wearing a black cowboy hat. The woman's body was cut up similar to the one in the photos and arranged the same way. Aiden could see more Goa'uld symbols around the body and then a pentagon symbol etched into the woman's chest.
Aiden could see the same colored fabrics from the photos she had studied hanging on the surrounding walls with the pentagon symbol on them. The smell and sight overwhelmed her. Bile rose in Aiden's throat and she felt like vomiting. She put her hand over her mouth, and ran outside, just making it before she spewed everywhere. Evan hurried after her to check on her and offer moral support.
"Are you okay, Doll?" he asked as he came up behind her. He watched helplessly as Aiden threw up again. Evan held her as she vomited again and murmured nonsense words in French to her, knowing that she would be comforted by his voice and not the words. They both glanced up when they heard someone approach them. It was Meredy carrying something in her hand.
"This is Vicks and it will help with the smell. Put a little under your nose. Don't feel embarrassed about throwing up. I did the same when I saw my first body. We'll be inside when you are ready, Aiden," she said kindly, handing the Vicks to the linguist and then disappearing back inside.
"That was nice of Meredy," Evan said as he watched Aiden use the Vicks. He rubbed her back gently as she tried to pull herself together.
"Yes, it was," Aiden said appreciatively. "I'm glad I'm not the only who throws up at the sight of a fresh body."
"I'm sure you aren't the first or the last one to do that. We'll go inside when you're ready, Doll," he said softly as he looked at her with concern. He didn't care about the body or the job; his main concern was Aiden. Something was really wrong. She had seen bodies before, maybe not this bad, but she had seen bodies and she had never reacted this way.
"Thanks for being there for me, grá," she said quietly. Aiden sat down for a few minutes and waited for her stomach to settle. Evan sat next to her with his arm around her shoulders. She soaked up the comfort his closeness gave her. So often in the field they were unable to even touch each other or do more than exchange glances. It was nice he felt relaxed enough to comfort her and hold her.
Meredy was examining the body when Aiden and Evan walked back in. She wondered if there was more to the throwing up then just the dead body upsetting Aiden. She made a mental note to ask Aiden about it in private and went back to work.
Aiden walked over and took note of the symbols while she watched Meredy work. Meredy wandered around close to the body lifting things up trying to find clues. She moved and shifted things and then kicked something out of the way in frustration. Meredy was sure that Aiden and Evan knew more then what they were letting on and hiding behind some bureaucratic crap they were a part of. She didn't like being left in the dark when it came to crimes like this.
Meredy's eyes caught something glittering in the light. She got out some gloves and picked it up. A frown formed across her face since she had no idea what it was. It had been near the box she'd kicked over in anger.
"What the fuck is this?" Meredy swore, holding it up for Aiden to see.
Aiden's mouth dropped open when she saw Meredy holding a ribbon device used by the Goa'uld. It seemed to be the only piece of evidence left at the scene. Photos and samples had been taken from the body and from around the area, and most of the evidence had been bagged and tagged, but this had been under the box that Meredy had just kicked.
"It's a..." Aiden started, then looked panicked. "It's classified. Bag it for me and then hand it to Evan?" She indicated her hands, which were gloveless. "I don't want to touch it."
"So you're still hiding behind the 'I can't tell you' crap? I thought you were supposed to be experts helping us. You know it's a federal offense to withhold information about a crime scene?" Meredy said furiously as she tossed the alien device into a bag.
Colby hurried over to the irate Meredy while Evan went over to Aiden to see if she was okay. "We can't tell them until they get clearance, grá," she said in French to Evan.
"I know, but seeing that ribbon device confirms that the Goa'uld are involved," he answered her in the same language.
"Just not which one," Aiden pointed out.
After going over the scene and only finding the mysterious device they called it quits for the time being. They'd go over the photos and look at the device when they got back to the office.
"Head back to the office, guys, and we'll meet you there," Don told Meredy. "See what you can do back there."
"The same as what we were doing before," Meredy muttered. Colby squeezed her hand in sympathy.
David was walking past Aiden when she remembered the question she wanted to ask someone about the two Eppes brothers and Meredy. "David, is Meredy related to Charlie and Don?" Aiden asked. Evan stared open-mouthed at her question.
"How did you figure that out?" David said calmly. Evan's eyes went wide and he glanced quickly over at Meredy who was walking with Don on her right and Charlie next to Don. Colby was on her other side with Megan on his left and Amita was to the right of Charlie. David knew Meredy would shoot him for saying something, but Aiden did ask.
"Just that she looks like them. She has similar features and gestures," Aiden explained. She shrugged. "Anthropologist. I observe people out of habit even when I'm not studying them." She nudged Evan who still had a shocked look at his face. "Close your mouth, grá, you won't like the taste of flies."
"Yes, they are brothers and sister, but it isn't my story to tell," David answered. "Come on, we better catch up with the others. Don't mind Meredy's temper its nothing personnel against you guys. This case is frustrating for all of us."
"We'd like to answer your questions, David," Evan said as they started walking. "We're just unable to at this point in time."
They met Colby and Meredy at the car and hopped in. Meredy drove them back to the station. Once back there, they realized there wasn't anything they could do at the moment.
http://shanachie-quill.livejournal.com/241597.html
