** Author's Note: I wanted to give thanks to Carolyn, Jess and Laura for all their help on this story.
Atlantis had finally come home, safe and sound to their previous home planet. The return trip from the Milky Way was a rough one and Mr. Woolsey wanted to give Sheppard and his team something that should be simple, but he thought necessary. He called John and his team, except for Rodney to the conference room.
"Ok," Woolsey began and he pulled out a paper folder and opened it up. "I have a mission I'd like for your team to go on."
John was puzzled as he looked around the room, "What about McKay? He's part of my team."
"Unfortunately for him, I have him and Dr. Zelanka continuing their diagnostic of the city. I want to make sure that after the virus and the fight with the Wraith that there isn't anything else that could go wrong," Woolsey replied.
"Well, at least we're not in space any more where we could lose life support, shields and all that," John said with a lighter attitude than Woolsey's.
"Yes, I am extremely glad of that. It's good to be… in a sense, home," Woolsey said with a more relaxing tone to his voice.
"So, why are we here?" Ronon asked dryly.
"Ah, yes. Well as you may remember, we obtained information about other civilizations that seem to be highly advanced and somehow evaded the Wraith."
"You mean the information that we got from Elizabeth… F.R.A.N.... you know what I mean," John interjected, still feeling some regrets about the Replicator that had Elizabeth's mind, but the body of F.R.A.N.
"Yes, I would like to start finding some of these places and perhaps form alliances. Who knows, maybe they have defenses that can help us defeat the Wraith," Woolsey informed them.
"Do you have a place in mind?" Teyla asked.
"Yes," Woolsey answered as he turned the page in his folder. "It's planet, MZ4-PLR. It's just a scouting mission, nothing more and it's about ten hours or more to get there…"
"I'm not going," Ronon interrupted, as he leaned back in his chair.
"Excuse me?" Woolsey replied, almost offended by Ronon's directness.
"There is no reason for me to go," Ronon simply debated.
Woolsey sighed as he sat up and leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table, "Well. I was hoping this would be a simple assignment that you might like to do, given what we have been through lately…"
"Colonel Sheppard and I will go," Teyla reassured him.
John slowly turned his head to look at her and gave her a look as if to say, 'Really?'
She in return raised her eyebrow.
John looked back at Woolsey. "Yeah, of course we will," he said nonchalantly.
----------
Rodney was finished with the diagnostics early and decided to go to the control room. He was there for a good hour or so and keeping in communication with John and Teyla via long range communications.
"Now, don't forget that we will most likely lose communication, since you're ten hours away…" Rodney began to tell John with a worrisome tone.
"I know, Rodney," John interrupted with a grumble, rolling his eyes for Teyla's benefit. "You've already said it like five times already."
"I'm sorry. I can't help it. I'm a bit nervous and excited. Imagine having to find another race that is not… not so primitive. If I didn't have to stay behind to babysit Zelanka while doing the city wide diagnostics, I would've come."
"That's not what I heard," John said as he rolled his head towards Teyla and donning a boyish grin.
"What?" Rodney verbalized with a pitch to his voice.
John rolled his eyes again while Teyla let out a small chuckle.
"Oh nice. Very funny," Rodney sarcastically responded. "You're thousands of miles away and you're still insulting me. This is why we need to find more advanced people. So, I can have someone else understand my brilliance."
"Ok. What about the Travelers? They're advanced," John pointed out in a mischievous way.
Rodney's voice hitched a bit, "Are you kidding me? They are a bunch of pirates. They may be able to fly various ships they've been able to steal or salvage, but I wouldn't call them advanced."
John smiled proudly for getting Rodney riled up and winked at Teyla. She quietly laughed at his amusement.
"The Wraith are far from… primitive and many worlds are only so lacking in technology because of them," Teyla added, diplomatically.
"Yes, that maybe true, but their technology is far more disgusting than anyone else's," he continued to whine and contorted his face with the thought of it.
"Okay, Rodney, that's enough… Are you sure this the right place?" John asked as he observed the vast greenery and lack of buildings.
"Yes, of course I'm right. Why?"
"Well, there's nothing here but trees and water, nothing else to suggest an advanced group of people ever lived here," John answered, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.
Rodney sighed, "Really?"
"Yep, there's nothing…." John began but a beep on the console cut him off. "Wait. Sensors are picking up an energy reading…" He studied the display before him, watching the fluctuating readings. "Oh Crap!"
Rodney sat up excitedly and leaned towards his laptop. "What kind of energy reading?" Rodney asked, but there was no response. "Sheppard? Sheppard! Teyla, can you hear me?"
Just then, Ronon and Woolsey walked into the control room.
"What's going on?" Ronon asked, as he stood over him like a tower.
Rodney sighed in frustration, "Sheppard said there was an energy reading before we lost communication."
Woolsey saw the worried look on Rodney's face and tried to reassure him, "But you said that would happen. Isn't it possible that they have reached that point?"
"It's possible," Rodney sighed, "But what are the chances they pick up an energy reading and then seconds later, we lose communication? Something must have happened." He flustered.
"What sorta problems?" Ronon questioned.
"Because there was an energy reading just before communications were cut off and the fact that Sheppard said, 'Oh crap!'" Rodney barked back with an attitude. "What other reason does there need to be?"
They made it to the staircase before Woolsey called out to them. "Um, that won't be necessary," Woolsey interjected, they both turned to look at Woolsey, almost identical looks of incredulity on their faces.
Rodney looked at Woolsey with a confused look as Ronon turned his head around and his brow furls.
"Why not?" Rodney demanded.
"Because the Daedalus should be here within the hour," Woolsey answered "They'll be able to reach the co-ordinates much quicker than you could in the Jumper. Rodney and Ronon frowned at the mention of the Daedalus and Woolsey sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Since we never returned to Earth, the IOA are sending someone to do a review of the Medical department." Rodney hated the idea of the Medical Review Board but shook it off. "They'll drop off the representative and you can beam up and go to the Colonel's last known co-ordinates."
He began to walk towards his office, "Hopefully, Colonel Sheppard and Teyla will be able to contact us before then, but I think we should contact Colonel Caldwell and inform him of the situation."
Rodney agreed and began contacting the Daedalus.
----------
Teyla woke up and found herself laying in an infirmary bed. The room was stark white and felt extremely sterile. Wireless monitors were displaying her vitals on a screen above where her head was resting, she noticed that John was nowhere in sight. Her breath hitched as her heart rate picked up, concern for John alarming her body into awareness, and despite the pain she was feeling from the crash she forced herself sit up and attempted to get out of her bed to look for him.
A very tall, young man with fair skin and light colored hair entered the room. Teyla watched pity flash across his face as she watched him; she flinched away from it as he saw her struggle to get up.
"Please, you should remain in your bed. You are not quite healed yet," the young man murmured in a tone that attempted to be forceful. "I am Aric. I am here to make sure that you get well."
He gave her a gentle smile to reassure her that he is not there to harm her in any way and she politely smiled back. She was not comfortable without knowing where John was, but she was in no condition to fight either.
"I need to find my friend. He was in the ship with me when we crashed. Please, I must find him," she fought to keep her voice from begging.
Aric's head hung slightly low when she mentioned John. Teyla could see the worry in his eyes.
"He was injured a great deal more than you were," he paused briefly. "I will show you, but then you must return to finish your recovery."
Teyla never verbally agreed, but she gave him a slight nod of her head. He retrieved a swish wheelchair, the likes of which she'd never seen before, and wheeled her into another room. It was as white as the room she left, but it had several beds with elongated domes covering them; similar to the stasis pods she once saw on the ancient ship, Aurora.
He led her to the pod with John in and carefully helped her to stand to see him better. She gasped at the bruises marring the skin of his face, which was puffy and hard from swelling. They had him in new clothes, almost like the scrub they had on Atlantis and she could see blood seeping from a wound in his side and another in his leg. She was speechless as she looked over the various flashing lights and buttons.
She carefully placed her hand on the dome, "John, I am here." Anguish filled her heart. She had never seen him this badly injured before.
"We had to put him here because it was the only way for us to save him. It is complicated to explain, but this will help heal him and keep him…. stable," he said in a soft voice.
Teyla tried not to choke as she held back any fear, "How… how much longer will he need to be in there?"
"We are not completely sure since we have never encountered his species before, but his anatomy is similar to most. We fear that he may have some internal bleeding, broken bones and maybe some damaged organs."
"That is..." She trailed off thinking of the prognosis Dr Keller would be telling her now. "Are you not going to do surgery on him to fix the bleeding and anything else that he may need repaired?" she asked.
"No, we do not do such evasive techniques like that. The pod will heal him," he simply answered.
He saw her confused look and also the pain in her eyes. He wasn't sure if it was because she herself was in pain or the sight of seeing John that way was causing it.
Teyla sighed in frustration, "I do not know how your technology works, but I need to contact our people. They know exactly how to mend his wounds. The sooner I contact them the sooner they can get here. It took us many hours, hours that he may not have."
He motioned her to sit back down in the chair, but she refused, "Please, I will let our Elders know about your wish to contact your people and I will also explain how the chamber will help him, but you must sit and I must return you to your room." She was about to debate, but he interrupted. "Be reassured that he is stable and recovering. I will return you to him at a later time."
And at that, Teyla agreed. He got her to her bed and made her comfortable. Well, as comfortable she could be under the circumstances. He pulled up a chair next there and got ready to explain the process of the chambers.
"Many centuries ago, we were allies with another world who helped build the "healing chambers". A war was coming with the Wraith and we wanted to be prepared. We knew the anatomy of our people, and theirs, but there were other ally worlds that we knew little about. The chambers were designed to patients' mind and extract information about themselves so the chamber would know what to heal and quickly."
Aric got up from his chair when he heard his companions enter the room, "Please forgive me Alina and Rafe... I was only explaining..."
"Do not worry, Aric. You did perfectly fine for your first patient. You cared for her needs and explained what her friend is going through as well. Well done," said Rafe, who was just as tall as Aric but much older.
Alina approached Teyla, "I am Alina and this is our leader, Rafe. We are so please to see you up and somewhat about."
"Please forgive our rudeness of entering while Aric was explaining our healing chambers," Rafe said to Teyla. He turned to Aric. "Please continue."
"Thank you, sir," Aric smiled. "The most wonderful part of the chamber… is that it allows you to live your life in a pleasant way."
"Like a dream?" Teyla asked.
"Almost," Rafe interjected. "But the patient does not realize that they are in a dream state. They would simply go on as if their life would normally do."
----------
Rodney headed to the infirmary to look for Carson, but ran into Jennifer first.
"Hey, I hear the medical review starts today. Maybe they'll give you a big raise," Rodney jested.
Jennifer rolled her head, not feeling as optimistic as him, "That would be nice."
"Do you know much about the person leading the evaluation?" Rodney questioned.
Jennifer shook her head, "Nope, I just know that it's someone from the medical board." She smiled at Rodney. "It was nice of you to come and support me though."
Rodney fidgeted and was slightly nervous, "Actually, I was looking for Carson. I knew that you would be busy once they came, so I thought Carson should come, just in case Sheppard or Teyla are injured."
Jennifer was disappointed, but didn't let it show, "Oh, well he's just around the corner." There was a brief awkward silence. "Well, I have a lot to do before the Daedalus shows up. I'll give you the update on my evaluation later."
Rodney grinned and wrung his hands a bit, "That sounds great."
Rodney found Carson already ahead of him, grabbing various supplies to take with him.
"You do know that the Daedalus has extensive medical supplies on board," Rodney criticized.
"Aye, but I still like to be prepared. I just hope that it is not serious, otherwise…." Carson began.
Rodney looked somber. "Yeah," he murmured, not daring to imagine what Carson was thinking.
----------
John groaned as he lifted his head off the damaged control panel of the jumper. Glass was shattered everywhere and branches from the trees had crashed in, invading much of the cockpit. His head was pounding with pain. It was hard for him to think.
He couldn't focus on any one thing for too long, his thoughts were everywhere. He tried to sit up and groaned in pain, feeling the muscles in his back and neck spasm as he shifted. He glanced to the seat beside him in search of Teyla but the seat was empty.
"Teyla!"
He looked frantically around the Jumper but couldn't see anything. Concentrating, he remembered that he had ordered her to dive onto the floor board just before they crashed, but all he could see was a massive branch that had rammed through the windshield and covered the area she was supposed to be.
"Teyla!" He yelled again as he used all his strength to move the debris. Pain screamed through his body, but he ignored it and as he heard a faint moan he doubled his efforts to find her. The leaves and branches were shrouding her and he could barely see her.
Blood trickled down his forehead, his head was throbbing in pain and every bit of his body wanted to just lie down and go to sleep. He knew he had a concussion and he didn't know how much longer he could hold it off. So, he worked quickly to remove all the obstacles in his way in order to get her out.
His chest heaved relief when he finally reached her. He checked over her injuries. She was fading in and out of consciousness and her pulse was weak. He looked around for the first aid kit.
"Teyla? Can you hear me?" he asked, trying to remain calm.
She feebly nodded her head and he began to move some of the loose branches out of the way.
"John, I think… I broke some ribs… and I'm having trouble...breathing," Teyla struggled to speak and was barely audible.
"Don't worry. I'll get you out," his said, this time not bothering to hide the distress he was feeling.
A final large branch remained in his way; he cringed as she screamed in agony while he removed it.
"Teyla?!" John's feared he missed something while he was looking her over. His mind wasn't clear and it was getting harder and harder to concentrate.
Teyla gritted her teeth, "My side."
He wanted to stop and check on her, but he also knew he had to get her out of there. He started to panic but his brain fought to keep him calm. He was feeling weaker and didn't know how much longer he could hold the large branch up. He did the best he could and leaned it up against the jumper wall.
"Can you move?" he asked.
She tried, but it only brought searing pain to every part of her body and she froze, her breath stopping as she tried to hold in the scream of pain.
"Okay. I got you," he said softly as he carefully pulled her to the back of the jumper. He could see the medical kit and he immediately grabbed some gauze and applied pressure to the side of her abdomen, where a deep gash had formed.
Fear started to wash over him as he could feel himself feeling more fatigue than before. His eyes were getting heavy and he closed them for a moment, but they wanted to stay shut. Teyla was fading in and out of consciousness.
"Teyla, you hang in there. Do you hear me?" John said sternly as he forced himself to stay awake.
"Tired… cold," were the only words John could understand between her moaning in pain and he knew she was going into shock.
"Colonel Sheppard, this is the Daedalus. Do you read me?" Caldwell boomed into his ear comm.
John was startled. "Colonel Caldwell?" he said with a sigh of relief.
"How did you know we were here?" John questioned.
"Atlantis informed us that they lost contact with you over an hour ago and we got here as soon as we could," the Colonel answered. "How are you and Teyla?"
"Teyla is seriously injured. I can't stop her bleeding, her breathing is weak and I think she's going into shock," he spoke as loud as he physically could. He could feel the room spin and his head pound.
Teyla whispered John's name before her eyes rolled back into her head and her body went limp, "Teyla!?"
John quickly checked for a pulse, but couldn't find one and she had stopped breathing.
"What's going on, Sheppard?"
John scrambled to find the defibrillator, "Not now, Colonel."
Finally, John found the defibrillator. He cautiously charged the machine and waited for the thud to jump through her body. Once it had released he reached down to give her mouth to mouth.
"I'm beaming a medical team to assist you," the Colonel announced.
"Negative, sir. There's no room in here." John said as he cut open Teyla's shirt.
"Very well," the Colonel responded.
John quickly grabbed the paddles shocked her chest. Checking her pulse and continuing the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
"Dammit, Teyla! Come on!" John yelled; as if to order her awake.
He saw a breath on her chest and felt it brush his cheek. Relief and adrenaline surged through his body, but before he beamed up to the Daedalus, everything faded to black.
----------
An alarm went off startling Teyla; she looked around the room to see her companions equally as startled.
"It is from the chamber room," Rafe declared with utmost concern.
"What is happening?! Tell me!" Teyla demanded. She looked at Aric.
"Take me to him now. Take me to John," she commanded him firmly.
Alina and Rafe quickly went to the other room as Aric aided Teyla into the chair again. Rafe and Alina franticly pressed several buttons on John's pod as they began to shout at each other.
"We're losing him!" Alina exclaimed.
"This is most unusual," Rafe began, "Adjust the frequency of the simulation mode. He must have been dreaming something that was upsetting him. We can't allow that to happen." He continued to firmly shout out his orders.
"But I do not understand," Alina looked puzzled, "They were to only have pleasant thoughts."
"Perhaps he is remembering the crash, whatever unpleasant thoughts he's remembering we need to stop it before it kills him," Rafe continued to press various buttons and controls.
"There is no way for us to know what this man has been through or what may haunt him," Rafe continued to explain to Alina.
"Obviously the chamber is only used to our people's peaceful minds. Either way we need to keep a closer eye on him to see this doesn't happen again," Rafe suggested in a calmer tone. Alina agreed.
By the time Aric wheeled Teyla to the chamber, the alarm was off and John was stable again.
Rafe was distracted by new statistical readings that came across the chamber's monitor and didn't hear them come in. "Impossible," Rafe said to himself.
Teyla's eyes were wide with worry, "What has happened."
Rafe snapped back to awareness when he heard Teyla's voice and before Alina could answer Teyla's question, Rafe jumped in, "We are not entirely sure, but he is stable once more and we will let you know if things change."
Alina gave Rafe a curious glance, but he didn't pay attention. He turned his attention to Aric instead, "Please see that your patient gets her rest please."
"Yes, sir," Aric complied.
"No, I am staying here and I need to talk to someone that can help me contact our people," Teyla demanded.
"I am sure that you do, but I assure you that we are doing our best to take care of your friend," Rafe paused. "I am sure that your friend would want us to take care of you, if he was awake to say so."
Teyla was still not comfortable with leaving John alone, but she submitted and allowed Aric to return her to her bed.
Once Teyla and Aric were out of earshot, Alina stopped Rafe before he walked away, with a hand on his forearm.
"Is there something else that you are not saying that I need to know?" she asked quietly.
"I am not sure yet, but his readings are similar to those of a race that has not been around for many generations. I would like to runs some more test, but quietly. I do not want to alarm his friend. Maybe it could help us understand to help him better."
Alina smiled, "Very well. Tell me what you need me to do."
----------
Colonel Caldwell arrived at Atlantis earlier than they had planned when he heard about Sheppard and Teyla.
"Mr. Woolsey, have you heard from Sheppard yet?" the Colonel asked over the intercom.
"Unfortunately, we have not," Woolsey responded, tiredly.
"Are your men ready?" Caldwell asked.
"Yes, Colonel they are. I have Ronon, Dr. McKay, Dr. Beckett, Major Lorne and his team standing by."
"Very well then, I'll beam them up and leave Dr. Parker and Dr. Weiss with you, Caldwell out."
Woolsey was shocked to hear another doctor's name, but before he could stammer any words out of his mouth, the team was beamed away and two middle aged women arrived in front of him. Woolsey tried to hide his surprise as he extended his hand to greet them both.
"Welcome to Atlantis, Dr…" he paused, not know which doctor was which.
Dr. Weiss smiled with amusement, "This is Dr. Alison Parker and I am Michelle Weiss."
Dr. Parker was of average height, fair skin and short dark hair and Dr. Weiss was slightly taller and somewhat stout, with long light brown hair that was pulled back in a barrette.
Woolsey smiled politely, "I'm Richard Woolsey and it's a pleasure to meet you both…" He started to look confused, "But I have to admit I am curious. Why two doctors? We were only informed about Dr. Parker's arrival."
"We can explain everything shortly, but for now is there a place where I can set up for interviews for Dr. Keller and her staff?" Parker asked pleasantly.
Woolsey pondered for a moment, "If you need a quiet place, you can set up in our conference room."
They smiled at his response and he was pleased with himself, "We would greatly appreciate it. Is it possible to start now?" Dr. Parker asked.
Woolsey was slightly taken back, thinking that they'd want to settle in first, but valued their enthusiasm for their work. "Why of course. Is there anyone particular that you would like to start with?
"Yes, I would like to speak with both Dr. Keller and Dr. Beckett," Parker replied. "And I would like you to sit in for the first meeting as well, while I explain the process,"
"I can get you Dr. Keller, but Dr. Beckett has left to on an off world mission… You actually just missed each other. While you were being beamed down…" Woolsey began to ramble.
"I'm sure it's an interesting story, but we would really like to get started," Parker interrupted, showing that she wasn't interested.
"Do you know how long Dr. Beckett will be gone?" Weiss asked.
"With any luck, he'll be back later today," he replied in a somber tone.
He led Dr. Parker to the conference room where they immediately started to pull out various folders, "Thank you very much for your generosity, Mr. Woolsey."
"No, no. It is not a trouble at all Please, take your time," He said a bit nervously, but completely accommodating.
----------
John could hear beeping in the background. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was back at Atlantis and in the infirmary. He looked around and didn't see anyone around and the bed next to him was empty too. He frowned and wondered where Teyla could be.
Fearing the worst, his heart rate sped up, not knowing the fate of what happened to Teyla. He pulled the sheets back and swung his legs over the side of the bed. As he tried to stand up, his legs buckled from under him. His head was throbbing and he was feeling woozy as he leaned back onto the edge of his bed. He waited a moment so he could gradually regain his stability.
He slowly walked through the infirmary, grabbing onto the next bed to help keep him upright. He was still feeling weak, but he didn't see her. As he continued on he accidentally knocked over a medical tray. Dr. Keller turned around and saw him roaming the infirmary.
"Colonel Sheppard! What are you doing? You need to get back in bed. You shouldn't be up and around yet."
She called for some assistance and they help him walk back to his bed.
"Teyla. Where is she? She's… she's not…"
"Oh! Oh no," Keller interrupted. "She's fine. She left the infirmary several days ago."
John was completely confused, "Days?"
"Oh. Um…" she began apologetically and nervously. "You were hurt pretty bad. You had been unconscious for nearly two weeks. We weren't sure if you were going to make it."
John was shocked, "Two weeks?"
"Yep. You started to come out of it yesterday. Ronon and Rodney just left to get something to eat. I'm sure they will come back soon. They stayed with you and Teyla every day," Keller said with a warm smile. "You really should get back into bed."
John grumbled but complied, allowing her to usher him towards the bed he'd only just escaped from, but he was relieved once he got back. He leaned his head onto the pillow, feeling winded and exhausted. He turned to Keller.
She paused to gather her thoughts but smiled at him eventually. "You know, she's lucky. You saved her life."
John brushed if off as no big deal.
"She's all right, though?" he asked.
Keller nodded.
"They had to do emergency surgery to stop the internal bleeding on the Daedalus, but she's fine now."
John smiled weakly.
"I'll let her know that you're awake and wondering about her. I'm sure Kanaan can watch Torren while she visits," she continued.
"Kanaan? He's back? I thought they…." John started.
"Yeah, I guess news got to him and he rushed back here. He never left her side and promised to be more supportive," Keller interjected.
John was confused and surprised when he heard of Kanaan's return. He wasn't sure how to feel about it.
"That's good," he said softly, nodding his head slowly. "That's good."
----------
Alina found Rafe in the corridor, just outside of the chamber room, she pulled him aside to talk privately, "I did those tests that you wanted and I found something interesting. He has some genetic marker of the Lantians."
"Are you sure?" Rafe was pleased. "I thought there was something about his reading that looked familiar."
Memories began to come to the surface, "I remember my grandfather showing me different readings of various species before they discontinued them in trainings, when his grandfather was a child. He said that they felt it was no longer necessary to continue the teaching after they made the shield to protect us from an awful and dangerous enemy."
"The Wraith?" said Alina.
"Yes, I am sure that they no longer exist, but our government is still concerned that there are others that might try and find us. Others like them," Rafe responded, his voice firm and controlled.
A thought came to him, "Have we done any tests on the young lady?"
"I do not believe so. She is Aric's patient and he might grow suspicion if we stray from our normal procedures?" she answered with concern. "Should we just not ask about his origins from the young lady...Teyla?"
"No, you know that it was forbidden long ago to do tests without permission and if we ask, they may not let us, then we will learn nothing. This is the only way I can think of," Rafe explained, remaining as quiet as he could without having anyone hear. "We should adjust the man's chamber and slow down his healing and also adjust the simulation mode as well," he ordered.
Alina was puzzled, "But why?"
"This will give us time to study him longer. If his friend thinks that he is worse than we first thought, then she will not question anything. Plus, she has nowhere to go. As long as we are not found out… we should be fine."
Alina wasn't comfortable with the idea, but agreed with his demands.
----------
Teyla woke up with a start; she hadn't intended to fall asleep. Aric was nearby and checking her vitals when he saw her jump up.
He was by her side quickly to settle her down, "It is alright." He gave her an apologetic look. "I am sorry. I gave you a tea to help you relax, so you could heal better and not worry about your friend so much."
Teyla knew he meant well, but still wasn't happy about him tricking her. She decided to divert her thoughts back to John, "How is he? Any news on his conditions?"
Aric was about to answer when Alina entered the room. She called him over and they talk softly amongst each other. Teyla could see a grim look on his face as he nodded to Alina's words.
He returned to Teyla's side after Alina left the room and she could tell that the news wasn't good.
"Is it about John?" she asked with urgency.
He hung his head slightly, "Yes, I am afraid so. Alina has told me that they are still struggling to find how to heal your friend."
He pulled up a seat next to Teyla, "Even though the chambers are supposed to automatically adjust due to the patient's memories, she feels that perhaps it has been so long since we have had to use them on another race of people that it is taking longer than usual. I am confident that they are doing the best they can to help him."
"I need to contact my people. They would know how to take care of him," she said with great conviction.
Aric began to get nervous, "I do not know how to do that."
"Please," Teyla pleaded.
"We have never talked to anyone else outside of here. The government is fearful of foes that may come to us if we are found. An ally, a long time ago warned our people and that is why the shield remains up at all times."
Teyla finally realized that was the reason why they crashed; she knew there had to be a way for her to get a hold of Atlantis.
"Is there anyone else I may talk to? Please! My friend's life depends on it," she continued to appeal to him.
"Very well, I will talk to Rafe and see if he can help you," he tried to assure her.
A little smile came across Teyla's face, "Thank you."
----------
"Colonel Caldwell. How much longer do we have before getting to the planet?" Rodney asked as he, Ronon and Carson entered the bridge.
"Major, what is our ETA?" Caldwell asked Major Marks.
"We should be arriving in thirty minutes, sir," the lieutenant answered.
"I hope we're not too late," Carson said with worry.
"We're going as fast as we can, Doctor," Caldwell replied. "We have our engines at maximum speed as it is."
"Aye, I know. I'm just worried," Carson responded, shifting his gaze away from Caldwell.
"I'm sure we all are," Caldwell paused. "Why don't you get the rest of your men ready and I'll inform you as soon as we get there."
"Oh, and you might want to check for any energy readings before sending a 302 down there. I have a feeling it was an electro- magnetic pulse, shield or something that could've make them lose communication… or worse… make them crash," Rodney informed Caldwell.
"Thanks for the information and we'll make sure we'll do that," Caldwell said before return to a comfortable position in his chair.
----------
Dr. Jennifer Keller and Mr. Woolsey walked into the conference room where Dr Parker was waiting for them. Parker motioned Jennifer to sit in the chair in front of her as she opened up a folder in front of her.
Jennifer fidgeted uncomfortably, "A little nervous, my dear."
Keller smiled, "Perhaps a little bit."
"Well, I'm sure that this will all go smoothly," Woolsey said with confidence as he tried to give comfort to Keller.
Parker cleared her throat, getting the attention of everyone, "The IOA requested this review due to some concerns."
"Concerns?" Woolsey asked abruptly. "Like what?"
At this time, I can't say," Parker continued. "Dr Weiss will take over the running of the Medical department while the review is on going."
Keller winced and he eyes screamed to fill up with water, but she kept her composure under control.
"It is just a formality whenever we conduct an investigation," Parker reassured Keller. "The review will take up a fair amount of your time so Dr Weiss will concentrate on taking care of the patients while you deal with other matters."
"Once we reach a conclusion, we will let you know our finding," Parker added. "We will start our interview tomorrow morning."
----------
Rafe had chosen to forget that Teyla asked for help to get in contact with her people, but when Aric asked for his help, he decided that he should visit her.
"I must apologize," Rafe sounded sincere as he walked into Teyla's room. "I have been with your friend for most of the day and completely forgot about your request. You wanted to contact your people. Is this correct?"
"Yes," Teyla answered. "We lost communications with them before we crashed and I'm sure they are on their way to rescue us now, but unless you want them to crash as well, we need to warn them of your shields."
Rafe began to worry, "How long do you think it will be before they arrive?"
"I am uncertain. It took Colonel Sheppard and I ten hours to reach here, but either way, it is urgent I get in contact with them. They may not have the same technology as you and your people have when it comes to medicine and healing, but they have their own methods," Teyla's eyes saddened as she pleaded with him. "Please, we must try."
Ten hours was not long to do the studies that he wanted to do on John. Rafe wasn't sure what to do. He had to stall somehow.
"I will try my best. As I'm sure Aric has told you about our government. They were reluctant to help you, but we could not let you die either." Rafe paused. "I will do my best."
He gave Teyla a comforting smile before he left her room.
----------
"What are you doing?" Ronon scolded.
John grunted in pain as he reloaded his firearm, "Nothing. Just getting some practice in."
Ronon could hear his friend sounding a little winded, "Come on. Let's get out of here and do something else."
"Nope. Rather be here and practice," He paused to catch his breath. "It's either this, the gym or practice my golf swing… I think those would hurt more than this,"
"Why are you doing this?" Ronon asked.
"Doc said I was going to be out for a few weeks," John began.
"So," Ronon responded with very little emotions. "It's not the first time."
"I… I got bored and needed to do something," John's voice started to pitch higher.
Ronon looked at him skeptically, "It bothers you doesn't it?"
John concentrated on his motions, "I don't know what you mean."
Ronon smirked, "Liar. Don't think I haven't noticed how you are now that Kanaan is back." Ronon paused. "Admit it. It bothers you."
John fired a round into the paper target in front of him, trying to ignore his friend's remarks.
"Sheppard."
"What!" John said as he slammed his gun down on the table in front of him. "What do you want me to say?"
Ronon stood in silence for a moment, "Why don't you tell her?"
John looked at Ronon in disbelief, "And say what?"
John picked up his gun and began to make sure it was empty, over emphasizing everything, from the removing of the clip to slamming it back down on the table.
Ronon shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know."
"This is her family, Ronon." He shook his head, "No. It's better this way."
John grabbed the wounded area around his torso and inhaled deep to absorb the pain before returning to his firing. Ronon could see that John's shirt was wet around that area and there was blood on his hand. John was growing paler and his hand was shaking slightly.
"Dammit, Sheppard," Ronon said as he took the gun away. His face soured in disbelief of how his friend was acting. "Come on. Let's go the infirmary and have Keller look at that."
----------
Aric went to check on John so he could tell Teyla how he was doing. As he looked over his vitals, he noticed some irregularities in the simulation.
"What are you doing?" Rafe asked sternly.
Aric was startled, "I…I was just looking over Colonel Sheppard so I could tell Teyla how his recovery was progressing."
Rafe could see the young man's nervousness, "And…"
"I… I also noticed some abnormalities in the…" Aric continued to stutter.
Rafe looked offended, "Are you questioning me?"
"No, sir"
"And how long have you been doing this?" Rafe queried.
Aric stood silent. Not willing to answer, but he could see Rafe becoming impatient, "Today has been my first day, sir, but…"
"Have you also considered that we had to adjust things because he is not like us?" Rafe continued drilling him.
"No, I did not think of that… I am sorry, sir," Aric apologized.
An alert on John's chamber began to go off. Both Aric and Rafe quickly attend to it.
"He's bleeding again," Aric announced.
"Activate the bio-scanners. See if the chamber will find out where and fix it," Rafe ordered.
"Yes, sir."
Aric and Rafe made the necessary adjustment and John's vitals and readings returned to normal. Aric could see the stress on his boss's face.
"Sir," he began, but paused a moment to collect his words. "I think we need to convince the government that we have to contact his people. Teyla said that they will know how to fix him."
Alina quickly ran up to them, "What happened? I heard the alarm."
"We have it under control," Rafe responded, his tone short and weary.
"Maybe for now, but for how long. It is obvious that we are not able to help him," Aric stressed.
Rafe turned his glare to Aric. It made the young man nervous, but he was compelled to do something.
Aric turned to plead Teyla's case to Alina, "Teyla said her people can help, but we need to contact them…"
"Very well. I will help," she smiled at him. "I will talk to my father. He knows people that might be able to help."
She ushered Aric from the room before purposefully glancing at Rafe. "I will make sure everything works out."
She gave Rafe a look to reassure him and he nodded once to show his agreement. Alina watched as her superior looked over Sheppard's chamber for a long moment before he turned and left the room. Alina took a glance at Sheppard's chamber and followed Aric's steps to Teyla's room.
"We need to get you and your friend out of here," She said to Teyla with great distress. "I will explain later, but now we need you to contact your people and get the shield down. You're friend's life depends on it."
She walked over to a device on the wall and dialed a sequence of numbers. A face soon appeared.
"Father, I need your help," she motioned Teyla to come closer. "Father, this is one of the people we rescued, but she needs our help."
"I do not know how I may help my dear. I have not practiced healing for some time now," The older man replied with a frown.
"We need you to get a hold of someone that can help her contact her people. Her friend is not doing well and she said her people know how to help him. If we do not… he could die," Alina begged her father.
"Oh! Why yes, I will do that right now. Meet me in the Great Hall and I will let you know what we can do."
She smiled brightly, "Thank you, father."
----------
Ronon, Rodney, Carson, Lorne and his team were waiting on the bridge when they arrived on the planet. They did their scans and found that there was a shield with an electro-magnetic field. They also scanned for the Jumper and life signs.
"Find anything, lieutenant?" Caldwell asked.
"Yes, sir. We found the wreckage of the puddle jumper, but there isn't any life signs," the lieutenant reported.
"Can we beam any one to the site?"
An officer adjusted some buttons to get a reading, "Negative, sir. We won't be able to get past the shield."
----------
Teyla, walked into the Great Hall with Aric and Alina, where she was introduced to Alina's father, and an elderly gentleman who was a member of the government.
"Now, what is this all about," the old gentleman asked kindly, as he cast a curious glance at Teyla.
"This is Teyla. She is one of the survivors we found in the wreckage," Alina began.
The gentleman smiled and nodded his head to welcome her.
"She and her friend, Colonel Sheppard are in need of our help. He is not doing well in the chamber and she said if we contact her people they will know what to do," she continued.
The man hesitated, "I do not know. We have protected ourselves from the outsiders for so long." He paused.
Teyla's eyes saddened, "Please, help me contact my people of Atlantis…"
"Atlantis? You are Lantians?" Alina's father asked with amazement.
"No, the Ancestors have long gone, but Colonel Sheppard and his people inhabit the great city now. They have been trustworthy allies against the Wraith and there are many that I call friend."
"Ancestors?" Aric asked.
"Yes, you may recall them as the Lantians, but my people and I know them as the Ancestors," Teyla explained.
"So you are not Lantian?" the gentleman asked with curiosity.
"No, I am Athosian." Teyla answered.
"Extraordinary," Alina's father blurted out with enthusiasm.
"But Colonel Sheppard has the genetic markers of a Lantian," Alina said with confusion.
"How do you know this my dear?" the gentleman asked.
Alina lowered her head in shame, "Rafe, he has been conducting tests on him. To studying him more and he is the reason why Colonel Sheppard is not improving."
Her father was in shock, "And you did not report him?"
Her eyes remained low, "No, father. I was afraid since he was my superior, but I could not continue when I saw him getting worse. I knew getting in touch of their people would be their only hope."
Before more questions could be asked and more explanations could be heard, a young man came running into the Great Hall.
"Sir, I have an urgent message," the young man said breathlessly. "There are reports of a ship orbiting our planet. There's radio message. They seem to be looking for somebody. Their name is Daedalus."
"The Daedalus is one of Colonel Sheppard people's ship. They must be looking for us," Teyla responded, urging them to reply.
The old man made a simple gesture to the younger man and he responded quickly by pushing a button on an intercom on the wall.
"Open communications with the ship!" the old man ordered.
"Yes, sir" was the response from the other end.
The old man motioned Teyla to get closer to the monitor, "Go ahead, my dear."
An image of Colonel Caldwell appeared and Teyla couldn't help but smile.
"Teyla," the Colonel sounded surprised. "Glad to see you're okay. We saw the wreckage of the jumper." He paused for a moment. "Where's Sheppard?"
Teyla's eyes saddened. "He was not so fortunate. He is seriously injured and we need to get him back to Atlantis immediately," she said with great urgency.
"Very well, we'll beam you both directly to the infirmary. Stand by," Caldwell informed her.
"No, wait!" Alina shouted. "If you take him out of the chamber right now, you will kill him. We need to disconnect him from the simulation mode first."
"Fine, but I'm sending Dr. Beckett, McKay and Ronon down. Maybe they can help speed things quicker."
----------
It's been several weeks since the accident and John and Teyla had been cleared for duty a few days now. John and his team had just finished breakfast and were about to join Woolsey for their morning meeting in the conference room when the alarm went off.
"Unscheduled gate activation," Chuck announced.
"Shields up," ordered Woolsey as he rushed towards the control room. "None of our men are off world. Can you tell who it is?" Woolsey asked with great concern.
"We are receiving an audio message," Chuck told him.
John and his team walked into the room just as the message was being heard.
"Atlantis, we need your help," pleaded a man's voice on the other end.
"It sounds like Mican," Teyla spoke up.
Woolsey nodded to Chuck to open communication and then to Teyla to let her speak.
"Mican, what is the wrong?" Teyla questioned.
"Teyla," the man sounded relieved. "We desperately need your help. There is a small band of men that have taken over our village. At first we thought they were just passing by and we gladly fed them and provided a place to sleep, but then they started to violate our women, abusing our children and even killed some of our men."
Everyone looked at each other, flabbergasted by what they had just heard. John looked at Woolsey for permission to go, he dared not voice his request in case his anger burst out of him; he knew the rest were feeling the same. His feet were already in motion to leave the room.
"Go, and be careful," Woolsey said, fearful of what his team might meet up with when they get there.
John nodded. He, Ronon and McKay rushed off to gear up.
"We are on our way," Teyla reassured the man.
"Thank you and please hurry," Mican begged, as Teyla ran to catch up with her teammates.
As they walked through the gate they could see Mican's body lying on the ground by the DHD. Teyla rushed over to check his pulse.
"He is dead," she said with anguish.
Ronon squatted down close to the ground. "There were two other men here. Both wearing heavy boots," Ronon said as he pointed to the footprints.
"You think it's a trap?" John asked him.
"Mostly likely," Ronon answered.
"Everyone, keep your eyes peeled," John ordered.
"We're still going, even though this could be a trap?" Rodney whined.
John shot Rodney a disapproving glare, "Yes."
"It is most likely that Mican was not lying about what these men have been doing to the villagers," Teyla added. "We cannot just stand by and let it happen."
Rodney sighed, knowing she was right.
When they walked into the village, with their weapons ready, they didn't see anyone on the street. The town felt empty.
John silently motioned to keep their eyes peeled and for them to split up. Ronon went with Teyla while McKay stayed with John. It wasn't long after, that Rodney and John heard the distinct whiz of Ronon's gun and the rapid firing of Teyla's P-90.
They rushed to come to their friends' aid. As they came up to the location they heard the gun firing, they found Ronon and Teyla lying on the ground. Rodney bent down, but before they could check their pulse, their unknown assailants fired their stun gun, knocking Rodney and John out cold.
----------
Beckett, McKay and Ronon were beamed down into the Great Hall. Aric, Alina, her father and the Elder were astonished to see the event.
"Amazing," The elderly man squealed in delight.
"Quickly, this way," Aric said as he urged them to follow.
While running through the corridors Carson looked at Teyla, "How bad is he, love?"
"Bad," she answered in anguish. "I have never seen him so badly hurt."
As they got to the chamber room, Rafe was frantic. Alarms were going off and he, along with another assistant were trying to stabilize John. He looked up at Teyla and Alina with great remorse in his eyes.
"What a fool I have been," he expressed disappointment in himself and almost on the brink of a breakdown.
"What did you do?" Alina questioned him accusingly.
"I… I didn't mean to…" He shook his head knowing this was his fault. He hadn't considered Sheppard for a moment, he'd been too curious. "I fear it is too late."
"We need to separate him from the chamber so his people can care for him," Aric stated firmly.
"We can't. He is deep in the stimulation mode. Whatever he is experiencing it is distressing him more," Rafe explained. "I lowered the safety measures too low and by the time I came to my senses, it was too late.
"As long as he's still alive, we have a chance," Carson declared. "Rodney, is there any way for you to disconnect him from this thing?"
"I'm sure I'll find away," Rodney responded as he pulled out this tablet, hooking up various wires to an open panel.
Ronon shoved Rafe against the wall and pulled out his gun, aiming it to the frightened man's head, "If he dies… you die." Alina gasped in horror.
Teyla reached out, pulling Ronon's arm down, "Ronon don't. He said he was sorry and I believe him." Ronon didn't let Rafe go. "Ronon, step away from him… now," Teyla demanded.
"Oh, no no no," Rodney cried out in frustration. "Ah, com'on!"
"What?" Carson asked.
"I can't get this to disconnect with him, somehow he's interfaced with it," Rodney briefly explains as he frantically kept working.
Alina looked over John's vitals, "If you don't find a way to do it soon, it will not matter. It will be too late."
----------
John groggily woke up, finding his hands tied behind his back and his teammates lined up on their knees in front of him, also tied up. Armed men stood behind his team, holding guns to their heads.
"Ah, Colonel Sheppard, you are awake," the leader of the group said as he stepped up to John.
"Do I know you? I think I would remember an ugly face like that if I had," John said snidely.
"They're Genii," Ronon spoke up.
"Very good. How did you know?" the leader asked, with a curious smile on his face.
"Same kind of boots…plus you all stink the same," Ronon responded with a smirk.
One of the men was about to hit Ronon, but the leader motioned him not too.
"What do you want?" Rodney snapped.
"Let me guess…guns," John answered with a furled brow.
"Very good, Colonel Sheppard," the leader smiled.
"You're not going to get them," John replied.
"Oh, I think we will. You see I have my men in the village right now, waiting for my orders. If you do not get us what we want, then they will all die," the leader gloated. "You see, you have no choice… Oh and you will be staying here while your teammates retrieve what we want."
The armed men roughly got Teyla, Ronon and Rodney up on their feet. They cut Rodney's binds so he could fly the jumper. Weapons remain pointed at John.
"If you try to pull anything, he dies. If you even try to cloak your ship, he dies," the leader warned them.
John nodded for them to listen and they left. He had a feeling that the villagers were already dead, but he couldn't take the chance.
The jumper climbed higher into the sky and without a warning the ship blew up.
"No!!!" John yelled, tormented by the sudden loss of his team, his friends. His chest felt tight as he cried out profanity to the murderer standing before him with tears welling up in his raging eyes.
----------
Alarms began to go off with more frequency, "We are losing him!" Alina shouted out. Rafe and Aric hurriedly adjusted the controls to try to keep John from crashing.
"McKay!" Ronon barked, hoping it would make him work faster.
"I'm doing the best I can," Rodney squeaked, frantically pressing keys on his tablet. "Oh! I got an idea…Hold on… Yes!"
"Care to share, Rodney," Carson asked.
"These things are similar to the ones in the Aurora and if I can hook this pod up with this adjacent one, we might be able to…. Got it!" Rodney exclaimed with excitement. He looked up from his tablet, "We need someone to go in."
"I will," Teyla volunteered without hesitation.
Ronon stepped in front of her, "No, you're still injured. I'll go."
"I am fine," Teyla said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I want to do this."
Rodney started to give her instructions as she laid down in the chamber, "I'm not sure how long you will have or what you might encounter. Just be careful. If he dies… you might die with him."
"I understand," Teyla said softly.
----------
John's heart raced and his breathing quickened. He was now numb, paralyzed by what he had just witnessed. He looked up at the Genii soldier with questioning eyes. "Why?" was the only word he could get out.
The man crouched down in front of him with a satisfying grin, "Retribution."
"What?" John asked, still in shock.
"Do you think that it has been easy to have a leader like Ladon. A coward that appeases his allies' every whim," the leader angrily answered.
"Like Atlantis," John responded.
"Yes," the man began to pace. He motioned his men to leave. "Kill the rest of the villagers."
"No!" John shouted. "They didn't do anything."
The Genii's eyes narrowed, "They were your allies and that's good enough for me." He raised his gun and aimed it at John. "You killed our leader, Cowan and you killed Kolya. This is your finale judgment."
"Stop!" shouted a voice behind the soldier.
John looked on in disbelief, "Teyla? I… I saw the jumper explode… you, Ronon…"
"It's not real… none of it is," she began to explain.
"Shut up," the man said as he pointed the gun at her, which caused Teyla to step back.
"Please, John. Listen to me. We crashed while on the scouting mission. You are in a medical facility. You are in critical condition and if you don't wake up…" Teyla couldn't finish the statement. She could see the confusion in his eyes, but he listened and everything around him started to fade away.
"So, you're alive?" John asked, still feeling unsure of what was going on but a tingling of hope tugged at him.
"Yes… I will see you when you wake up," she said with a smile.
----------
"It's working," Rafe said excitedly.
"You're a genius, Rodney!" Carson exclaimed.
"I know," Rodney answered, leaving any modesty behind.
Carson was able to lift up the dome on the chamber and access John's condition and stabilize him somewhat before having him beamed to the infirmary on the Daedalus.
Rafe, still feeling guilty stepped away from everyone and sat down, burying his head in his hand.
Teyla walked up to Aric and Alina with a wide smile, "Thank you so much for your help."
"No, there is no need to thank us. We should be the ones apologizing," Alina debated.
Teyla gazed over to Rafe, "What will happen to him?"
"I am sure that he will have consequence for his actions. It will be up to the government," Aric answered.
"I will talk with my father, and the Elder. Perhaps we can form an alliance with our people and yours," Alina added.
"I would very much like to see that," Teyla said as she waved good-bye.
"We're ready, Colonel," Carson informed Caldwell as he clicked on his ear comm..
In an instant, the people of Atlantis were gone.
----------
John could hear beeping in the background. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was back at Atlantis and in the infirmary. He looked and didn't see any one in the bed next to him. The room seemed quiet. He slowly turned his head to look at the bed on right and saw Teyla fast asleep in a chair next to him.
He reached out for her hand that was resting on his bed, hoping that this time everything was real. His touch startled her, which caused him to retract his hand.
"John," Teyla smiled. "It is good to see you awake."
"How long?" John asked in a weak voice.
"Almost a week," Teyla answered. She could see his surprise. "They had to keep you in a medically induced coma until the swelling in your brain went down."
Water began to well up in her eyes. "We almost lost you," she choked back her words.
He placed his hand over hers, "Well, you didn't and it' gonna take more than a little accident to keep me down."
Rodney and Ronon walked into the room, Teyla's smile and John's hand touching hers did not go unnoticed.