Author's note: This is not my first fan-fiction but it is the first one published on here. I'm not a best-seller novelist but I do enjoy writing. Critique is definitely welcome. I'm also looking for a beta and am unsure how to go about locating one. If you have any information in that regard, please let me know.

The pairing is out of character for John, I know and I forgot to mention that but this is purely for my enjoyment but I'll try to keep it minimal and partially believable.

Also, the OC is based off of a woman I met last week (she is merely an acquaintance) who was a marine on leave. When I discovered her personality, I instantly paired her up with Sheppard and Atlantis. Therefore, this character is based off of her.

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate: Atlantis or any of the characters. I am just having a little fun with them and promise to return them all in one piece...more or less.

John Sheppard was getting his ass kicked.

But this wasn't just any ordinary ass-kicking. No, he had never once before gotten it kicked by a Marine Lieutenant. To add insult to injury, he was getting beat up by a girl.

"What's wrong, colonel?" she teased. "Not feeling up to your own challenge?"

He groaned from his position – face down on the tiled floor of the southwest pier – remembering that he himself instigating this torture. Of course, he had no idea what he was in for. "You're good. Who was your drill sergeant?" he asked as he forced himself to his feet, moaning as he felt the bruises beginning to take position on various parts of his body.

"Sergeant Williamson," she replied briskly, keeping her block position steady as he rose. He couldn't distract her even if he tried.

"Williamson…" he looked off to his left in thought. "David Williamson?"

Another punch - right to the unguarded abdomen.

"Yes, why?" she smirked as he covered his recently struck area.

"I think…" he paused to catch the air that was knocked out of him, "I grew up with him. I remember the day he left to be a jarhead. We'd graduated together."

She grinned as she backed up to take a look at his face. "Well, then that was quite a while ago wasn't it?"

"Watch yourself, Lieutenant," he warned, putting on his commanding officer tone, "you may be able to kick my ass but I'm still in charge of your duty roster."

She laughed freely, obviously not fazed at all by his warning. Keeping her fists up, she moved around his crouched body in a circling fashion. "So," she sighed, staking position at his ten o'clock, "how does it feel to hit the big four-oh, sir?"

John's head snapped to her face, and she couldn't resist cracking a smile. "Who told you?" he demanded, the blood draining from his face.

Shrugging, the Lieutenant began to bounce playfully on her feet, causing her long brown curls to spring gracefully around her back and shoulders. "It's not that big of a secret, Colonel."

"Rodney," he said almost immediately, rising to his full height in anger. "He just couldn't resist could –

Without warning, the Lieutenant had attacked him, quickly lifting her leg to deliver a perfected kick to the chest area.

It was a miracle that Sheppard had seen it at all. In the nick of time, he grabbed the leg, and used his body weight combined with hers to knock her to the ground, his face inches from hers.

Her heavy breathing from surprise blew onto his face, and he smiled widely. "You got me worked up, but it backfired, didn't it?"

She smiled faintly. "I guess so. Still, I'm surprised someone your age could move so quickly…"

"Oh, enough already with the age," he rolled his eyes and released his grip on her, standing up and scratching the back of his head. "You can't be too much younger anyway…"

"Twenty-nine sir," she replied. He spun around to see she had recovered quickly, and was standing casually with her hands on her hips.

"You're a liar," he accused uncertainly, searching her hazel eyes from some indication of a joke.

She chuckled, and shook her head. "No, sir. But thanks for letting me know that I don't look as young as I am…"

He pursed his lips, and returned his gaze to the only window in the room. "I'm losing my touch," he said sorrowfully.

The Lieutenant began feeling guilty for her merciless jabs and sighed in defeat. "Hardly, sir. You sure thought fast on that last move. I didn't stand a chance."

He shrugged, ignoring her backpedaling and continuing on. "Figures. I guess I'd lost track of the years once I was where I wanted to be."

"Which was where exactly?"

Before he could answer, there was an urgent cry on the PA system. "Colonel Sheppard, please report to the control room immediately."

It was Dr. Weir. This had to be important.

Sheppard nodded to the Lieutenant. "This was fun. We should do it again sometime." The first part was a joke; the second was a half-truth. He was willing to do it again as long as his age wasn't brought up again.

"Anytime you feel up to it, sir." she smiled politely as he nabbed a towel from the nearby rack to wipe the beads of sweat off his face before rushing out of the doors and down the corridor.

X

The colonel was still in his gym outfit when he arrived in the control room and he tossed the damp towel on the ground carelessly. He looked to see Elizabeth standing in front of one of the computers, looking over the shoulder of its hastily tapping technician.

She looked up to see him just in time. "Colonel Sheppard, we've received a rather disturbing transmission from a new planet."

"How would they know where we are if we've never even been to the planet?" he asked, looking over to the screen as well.

Instead of answering, she instructed Chuck, who was hovering over the keyboard to play the transmission. With one tap, the screen filled with a frightening familiar face who held a look of urgency on it. "Colonel Sheppard, if you're out there, I need help. Please. I've run low on rations…and the enzyme…I'm feeling…please, I – "

The message cut off and the dark face was replaced with a static image and nothing but a buzzing noise emanating from audio.

"Ford," John remarked steadily, trying to assess the situation with caution. "What could he possibly want?"

"Help, apparently," Dr. Weir looked towards him in surprise. She had expected Colonel Sheppard to be on board with this as soon as he heard the message, but obviously he wasn't feeling the same way she was. They all missed Ford desperately, though his actions in the past had been less than friendly, but he had made an obvious choice to not return to Atlantis. Still, John had been one of the most adamant in the mission to get him to return and to get off the addictive enzyme that was driving his mind to produce all sorts of idiotic plans that they often got roped into.

Sheppard shook his head. "It's a trick." He said simply, glancing toward her momentarily. "We can't go down there. Besides, my team's not even here. Ronan, Teyla and McKay are on the mainland doing whatever it is McKay wanted to investigate."

"Colonel," Weir shifted her position. "I haven't even said anything."

He placed his hands on his hips defiantly. "Yes, but I know you well enough to know exactly what you were going to."

"He needs our help," she said firmly, skipping ahead to the argument that both he and she knew would ensue.

"You don't know that," the Colonel objected, raising his voice slightly – something he tended to do when getting into a heated argument he was losing, "for all you know, he just wants to drug us again and – "

"I thought you didn't leave men behind," she raised an eyebrow at him, obviously striking a nerve. No matter how much Sheppard was trying to defend his choice to not go, she knew how much Aiden Ford had meant to him. It didn't take a genius to see the strong friendship the two shared or the absolute admiration the he had for the Colonel – whom took the respect with pride and responsibility. It was almost like a father-son relationship and she knew that deep down, John wanted to rescue Ford as much as she did, but he was being cautious – something uncommon in his nature.

He looked away from her. "As I said before, I don't have my team and by the time they get back, it'll be too late for Ford. Besides, he's no longer one of my men."

"Take a marine and Beckett. You'll want to take Ford off the enzyme as soon as possible."

"Take a marine?!" he repeated in shocked question. "Elizabeth, we're not going to a party. This man is dangerous! Didn't you hear him say how much he was craving that enzyme?"

"Chances are he's already unconscious and sensors show no other life on the planet. Besides, I'm sure he'd be easy to deal with without his drug." She replied quickly, though her logic wasn't sounding as well as it did in her head. She was acting purely on emotion, something that irritating Kavanagh had accused her of doing periodically, though this was the only time she could and would ever recount on doing so.

She could feel his glare on her as she turned her face towards the stargate rather than at him. "Fine," he said tersely. "But I want a second team of marines standing by the moment there's sign of trouble, got it?"

Elizabeth nodded and smiled at him. He didn't return the smile, but quickly left the room to gather his team. And he knew just who that marine would be.