I'll go with it being an AU of Xanthe's, but she changed one of the key components of that universe: that people were happy and confident in the system. There is a strong sense of connection between the characters, and that these customs unite them in a positive fashion.

Meanwhile, Helen's whole story is predicated on that *not* being true; her John Sheppard is bucking the system, unhappy, insecure, and alone. The connections made are fumbling near-misses. Neither John nor Rodney is confident in their roles. And while it's great that they work something out in this story, their connection feels tentative and liable to collapse under the ponderous social weight upon it.

Which is why I don't think the two stories particularly co-exist in the same universe all that well. I think that change is so significant that it makes them two distinctly different worlds.