Yessssss it HAS been ages since I've submitted a story my fellow SGA fans! :P But life (and the plot bunnies) have shoved me back in front of the writing machine once again with this little Evan/Jen pre-ship story! It's been a while since I've written so please ignore any spelling/grammar mistakes. I haven't had to beta myself in quite a while. To all my R/K shippers, don't worry - GLENN (the plot bunnies known as the Giant Lop Ears of North Nagook) have also seeded another great R/K adventure - but only if I promised to send you this one first.

So without any more preamble, I give you "Cold Snap"!

(PS I own nothing but my love of the show)

- Nika

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COLD SNAP

CHAPTER ONE

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Jennifer Keller tilted her chin and let her attention drift to the midnight sky. Tiny reflections—millions of stars, suns, planets and moons—sparkled and winked against the inky backdrop. It was beautiful. And very bright. Other than the trio of small moons hovering just over the horizon, there was no ambient light to dull the view, making it seem even more intense.

Then, true to Pegasus style, the calm quiet was rudely interrupted by a long, lumbering roll of thunder that built to a drawn out, grumbling rumble before fading once again.

For a moment Jen wondered if she would ever get used to the random weather occurrences on this side of the universe.

If what was happening could be considered weather—a summer storm in dead calm weather, with not a cloud in sight.

Yep. Definitely something wrong with this planet.

And of course, being Pegasus, the thunder wasn't just thunder.

Knowing she was about to be hit by what followed the rolling grumble, she hurried off the path to stand behind a large tree. Leaning into the prickly trunk, she braced herself against what was coming—a blasting gust of absolutely frigid, icy cold, wintry air.

Since she'd stepped through the gate she'd been forewarned that the weather was volatile. She hadn't really taken them seriously… until after the first blast of wind had knocked her to her knees. Volatile was definitely one word for it… but frightening may have been more appropriate.

Stupid Pegasus.

The approaching wind hissed its arrival through the tree tops. She took a deep breath and hunched her shoulders.

Someone moved to stand beside her. The flighty butterfly in her stomach announced who it was before Jen confirmed with a quick glance.

Evan Lorne.

The solid weight of his arm draping across her shoulders grounded her. Jen buried the burning thoughts of embarrassment in place of the welcome stability. This wasn't the time or place to analyze why her stomach was executing excited little flip-flops. Normally she would be fighting to talk herself out of the nauseous spin that accompanied her whenever she went off world, not sorting through spastic twitters that made no sense.

Not that the little twitters were new.

She'd had them pretty much every time she saw, bumped into, met with, talked with, or had any kind of contact with the man.

Jen supposed eventually she was going to have to sit down and try to figure it out.

Just… not now.

The distant rustling quickly worked its way up to a raucous roar of bending branches and tearing leaves. Dirt and twigs swirled and danced in twirling cyclones down the bare path they'd followed from the gate.

"Brace yourself," Lieutenant Ellis yelled over the increasing roar. He bumped against her other side, dug his heels into the soft ground and wedged her firmly between his back, Evan's front, and the tree.

Giving up on the pretence of pretending to be strong enough to stand on her own, Jen threw her arms around Evan's waist, squeezed her eyes shut, and buried her face against his shoulder.

The wind surge hit them hard. It pushed and shoved, yanked and pressed, alternating between trying to mash her further against Evan and ripping her away. It slapped her pony tail around her head, stinging her cheeks and making her eyes water behind her tightly closed lids. Compressed between the three points keeping her upright, she held on and rode it out.

Then, just as it had each time before, the gust waned, dropped, then stopped completely leaving them surrounded once again by the quiet stillness of the late night hour.

Heavy, humid air draped down around them like a blanket, triggering some of the night creatures to resume a tentative, cricket-like chirruping.

Jen opened her eyes and glanced up into the shadowed form of the man who's body she was tucked against. She briefly hoped it was the humidity that was making her skin warmer than it should be.

Thank god it was dark and he couldn't see how red her face must be.

Evan slid his hands up her arms as she straightened away. His fingers lingered on her shoulders for a brief moment before he stepped back, leaving her standing on her own. "You know Doc, next time you want to dance, you can just ask."

Jen couldn't help but laugh, relieved to have an escape from the embarrassing spin of her thoughts. Their flirty banter was safe. It was normal. It was conversation that didn't mean anything.

"Okay, but next time I get to pick the music," she countered.

"Don't do it, Doc," Ellis leaned closer and stage whispered. "Unless you want your toes crushed."

"I'll have you know I'm an excellent dancer," Evan retorted.

"Did he just call that spastic thing he does with his arms, dancing?" Browne asked, stepping out of the trees on the far side of the path.

"He did," Ellis agreed.

"Ignore them," Evan grinned at Jen.

"I don't know," Jen shook her head slowly. "I kind of like my toes."

"Ouch," Evan tapped his fist against his chest. "Wounded."

"You'll live," Jen countered. "I'm a doctor. I know about these things."

Evan shook his head with a laugh then turned to Sanchez. "Get anything?"

The captain was staring at the screen on an Ancient scanner. "The temperature's still dropping," he frowned. "But it didn't last long enough to get a full reading. If Zelenka's modification works the way he said it should, we need a couple more blasts to have the location pinpointed."

Browne handed Jen her rucksack which had blown into the undergrowth. She shrugged her shoulders under the straps and turned back towards the path, following Sanchez and Browne onto the hard packed trail.

"Pinpoint what location?" Jen glanced at Evan, who fell into step beside her.

"This entire planet is one big, round glacier," Evan answered as they walked. "It's completely frozen, with the exception of this island."

"Glacier?" Jen glanced around at the lush vegetation surrounding them. "How?"

"Zelenka seems to think it's some kind of ancient experiment in terraforming," he replied.

"Experiment?" Jen eyed the overhanging foliage with new found trepidation. She shuddered under the memories of all the problems discovered whenever someone uncovered an Ancient experiment. "What kind of...experiment?"

"The unexplained power source somewhere beneath us kind of experiment," Ellis answered from behind her.

"Beneath us?" Jen glanced down at the dirt beneath her feet.

"According to Dr. Zelenka, it's not dangerous," Sanchez called out over his shoulder.

"Why doesn't that make me feel better?" she muttered, earning her a grin from Evan.

"There's no shield," Evan explained. "So Zelenka believes that the entire island is protected by some kind of Ancient terraforming system that controls the humidity, rain, temperature… a massive climate control. A thermostat."

"A broken thermostat," Ellis added.

Evan looked at the thick forest. "It would seem that whatever is keeping the island alive is loosing its effectiveness. The outer edges are starting to freeze."

"The thunder?" Jen asked.

"Follows right before each blast of cold."

"Right," Jen nodded, wondering if perhaps she should have taken a bit longer to get the full details before she'd stepped through the gate.

The brief explanation she'd received from the security teams had been the quick summary that SGA2 had been sent to confirm the population of the small island had been evacuated. They'd arrived to find the entire settlement was empty, except for one very sick man who'd been left behind.

No one said anything about freaky thunder, insane wind gusts, or a giant thermostat. She expected that kind of forgetfulness from Rodney, but Zelenka was usually more forthcoming with the warnings. She sighed and shook her head. She really shouldn't be surprised. Nothing ever went as planned when she was off world. Ever.

"So, the entire place is empty?" she ventured.

"Total ghost town," Sanchez nodded.

"Seriously creepy. B movie horror scene waiting to happen," Ellis added, hurrying up to Jen's other side as the path left the canopy of trees and opened up to a large field.

"The old man is a nice touch though. Even his voice is all…" he wiggled his fingers and mimicked a low raspy voice "beware…" He shook his head. "The only thing missing is Vincent Price. Totally reminds me of that movie where—"

"What Mr. Pop Culture means to say," Evan interrupted, "is yes. The settlement is completely abandoned."

"Except for Merlin," Browne chimed in.

"Merlin?" Jen blinked. "His name is Merlin?"

"No…" Evan shook his head. "But it should be."

They walked in silence down the slope of the hillside towards the village. Walls and buildings loomed up out of the darkness. Hollow shells, motionless and silent. The main street was small and narrow, its two storey buildings concentrated around a small central square. Doors stood open, shutters were thrown wide.

There was no sound other than their own footsteps.

Despite the light of the three moons now clearly visible over the rooftops, everything seemed darker…gloomier…more sinister than it should have been.

Or maybe she was just picking up on the tension that now surrounded her escorts.

Jen shivered despite the warmth of the evening. "Okay," she whispered, letting the word escape with a long exhale.

"Told ya," Ellis nodded, adjusting his P90. He stepped closer to one of the buildings, switched on his flashlight and directed the beam into an open doorway. "Creepy."

"Just relax," Evan moved forward. "There's no one here."

Jen tried not to let their apprehension affect her own, but found it next to impossible. Her heart added a few extra beats. Yawning doorways. Dark windows. Total silence. The Lieutenant was right. This place was a horror movie waiting to happen. She found herself quite content to be in the company of four armed men as they moved slowly through the center of town.

When they reached the edge of the square, she was led around to the back of the last building.

"In here." Sanchez stepped forward and pushed open a recessed door. A faint flicker of yellowed light escaped, pooling across the cobbled street.

Jen took a deep breath then followed the captain inside.

Lit by the glow of a single candle, the tiny room was completely empty except for a bone-thin man lying on small cot in the far corner.

She was momentarily taken aback by the sight of the white haired, white bearded, white robed individual.

Merlin was definitely an accurate description.

"The only thing missing is the pointy hat," Ellis whispered.

Jen shrugged out of her knapsack and knelt on the floor beside the elderly man. Judging by his waxy pallor he was nearly, if not completely, dead. His skin was cold and rubbery, yet a faint pulse ticked erratically beneath the pads of her fingers.

Suddenly his eyes snapped open, the irises completely clouded over in white.

Jen gasped as his calloused fingers clamped down around her wrist. She jerked back and bumped against Evan's knees. She tugged away from the old man but his grip was strong, pinching her skin.

Evan dropped to a crouch beside her.

"The judgment comes…" the grizzled old man croaked. He exhaled the warning with a raspy cough. "Leave. Leave now…" Then his eyes fluttered closed and with a final wheezing breath, his arm dropped to the floor. He didn't move again.

Hands gripped Jen's upper arms, hauling her to her feet.

"You okay, Doc?" Evan asked, glancing pointedly her arm.

Jen rubbed her wrist, willing away the disturbing resonance of the man's cold, dry skin. "Yes, I'm fine. He just… startled me."

Ellis leaned closer and angled his head. "Is he…"

Jen hesitated briefly, then squatted next to the old man. She returned her fingers to the side of Merlin's neck. He was gone. She pulled the blanket up across the man's face. "I don't think there was anything I could have done at this point."

"You know," Browne muttered as they stepped outside, returning to the darkness. "Just once I'd like to get a leave now that doesn't include the before its too late."

"Actually he did just say leave now," Ellis corrected. "There was no before it's too late."

"There's always a 'before it's too late'," Sanchez added, scanning the rooftops of the buildings down the length of the street.

"What do you think he meant?" Jen asked quietly. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to whisper, but it seemed appropriate.

"The part about judgment coming?" Evan questioned, his voice also low.

Jen nodded, eying the eerily empty buildings.

"No idea," he finally answered. "But I'm not sure we should stick around to find out."

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