John Sheppard, Lt. Colonel...he could hardly believe it. Two years ago he had been a Major, stationed in the Antarctic, which he kind of liked, quiet, peaceful and oh so white and clean. Until the Ancient's chair had been discovered. He had piloted the helicopter for General Jack O'Neil, been shot at by alien missiles, discovered he had the Ancient gene and then...she had asked him to join the team. She, her...he referred to her in his thoughts as everything but her name, never her name. When he spoke to her, he used her name. It was safe somehow, to speak it out but not think it, and yet it was she who had insisted he be promoted, she who supported him when he came up against the higher military brass and she who was increasingly invading his thoughts.
He knew she would not entertain such thoughts about him. She took her leadership very seriously, knowing that it wouldn't take a lot for the OIA to replace her, to put a military leader in charge and he didn't want that. He didn't want that for a number of reasons. Lt Colonel, again the title ran through his mind and he found himself smiling. Life sure had changed.
"Colonel Sheppard to the Control room please, Colonel Sheppard to the Control room."
He swung himself off his bed, answering, "Sheppard here, on my way."
The Control room was buzzing. Zelenka and McKay were bending over the console, chattering excitedly. Elizabeth stood a little way off in her usual posture: left hand supporting her right elbow, which was bent, her right palm cupped her chin, and her head was at a slight angle. She was dressed in grey slacks and red jumper, hair, longer now, curling past her shoulders. God she was beautiful! Sheppard! He remonstrated to himself, she's the boss!
Sensing he was there, Elizabeth turned. He was looking at her again, and she wished he wouldn't...not like that anyway. He thought she didn't see the expression, but she did. And if she did then others might and if others might then others might talk and the result? She would lose Atlantis as sure as the Ancients had! She was not prepared to do that. Not for him, not for anyone. And yet...
"Elizabeth,"
"John."
"What's up?"
"Rodney and Radek think they have located at least one ZPM-"
"Maybe more!" Dr Rodney McKay interrupted.
"Well definitely one, anyway," she answered, turning her gaze back to him. His eyes were resting on her, and for a moment she felt embarrassed, like she was completely unclothed. Then she stirred herself and said, "Colonel, I would like you to go with Rodney and take a look. Take Ronan and Teyla, too, and be careful, there have been signs of Wraith activity, even though according to the Ancient databases there aren't any human settlements."
"OK," he answered. "Rodney, one hour." Taking his radio, he said, "Ronan, Teyla, offworld in one hour."
Rodney groaned softly, "Yes boss!" he replied sarcastically. John raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Elizabeth was looking at him again with those clear green eyes which seemed to bore into his very soul.
"Be careful," she said softly.
"We'll be fine," he responded in a careless drawl, which made him sound the way he didn't feel. He had first hand experience of the Wraith, sucking his very life from him until there was no life left and then, in an act of unheard of compassion, having it returned to him. It hadn't been compassion, he'd reasoned with himself, the Wraith owed him one! Owed him one or not, he was not prepared to go through that again for anything.
Elizabeth turned looked at Rodney and said, "Keep me posted." She did not turn back to John.
He sighed. He didn't know how to be with her, didn't know what was acceptable, and as a result stuffed it up time and time again.
Sheppard! silently he threatened himself again, then said, "Rodney, one hour!" and walked away.
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An hour later Teyla, Ronan, McKay and Sheppard waited while the gate address was dialled. Loaded with the usual armoury of P90s, 9 millimetres and flack jackets they moved through the gate disappearing in the event horizon, and emerged in an open meadow, yellow flowers scattered amid the lush greenery. The sun shone in a blue sky with very little cloud and a soft warm breeze blew the grass in waves at their feet. Sheppard stood still, sniffing the air like a tracker dog, his P90 resting in the crook of his arm, the breeze fanning his face. He thought of Elizabeth and wished he could be here with her, alone, with no fear of Wraith or Genii coming between them. He would pick her a bunch of the wild flowers and present them to her with a flourish and she would laugh and give a little mock curtsey as she received them. He sighed. She wasn't here, she would never be here or any place else with him and suddenly the wind stung his face instead of caressing it and in his mind her hand struck him for his insolence.
He shrugged the thoughts aside and said, "Move out." The four of them walked in a line, McKay one side of him, Teyla, the other, stepping through the ankle length grass. McKay consulted his energy recorder, his face contorted in ecstasy one moment, anguish the next. Finally he shouted, "Wait up!!"
His three companions came to a sudden halt. "What's up Rodney?" Sheppard asked, looking back at the doctor, whose face now carried a puzzled expression.
"The ZPM – it just vanished," McKay said as he pushed a few more buttons on the instrument. "One minute it was there, then poof gone!"
"Poof gone?" Ronan asked, eyebrows raised, his weapon resting on a broad shoulder.
"Don't ask," Sheppard responded. "Rodney?"
"I don't know, I don't know, give me a minute." He moved away from the group, fingers frantically pressing buttons on the instrument. "Oh no!"
"Oh no? Rodney, WHAT?"
McKay spun around. "Teyla!" he cried, "do you sense anything?"
"Sense anything, you mean Wraith?" Teyla frowned, closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. Finally she answered, "No, nothing."
"RODNEY!" Again Sheppard's voice sounded, "What's going on?"
"I don't know, the ZPM was registering then it disappeared then I started reading life signs, but then they faded in and out and .." his voice trailed off, "I got the feeling we're not alone," he added softly.
Ronan immediately cocked his weapon; Teyla too brought her P90 up, aiming at what ever may appear. Sheppard turned slowly in a small circle, observing the trees on the meadows edge, there appeared to be nothing there and yet...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
He opened his eyes and crap, did they ever hurt! His head ached, and his body was numb. He tried to move, but although not bound, he was unable to even wiggle a toe. He recognised the numbing tingling feeling, he had experienced it before: the effects of a Wraith stun weapon. He looked around. He appeared to be alone, no sign of Teyla, Ronan or Rodney, and a wave of fear and loathing swept over him. He hated the Wraith.
"John." The voice was almost a whisper. He peered into the gloom, and saw to his horror, a small, prone figure lying in the corner of the cell. She was injured and he couldn't move.
"Teyla," he spoke, his voice cracking with thirst, "Teyla, are you ok?"
"I can't move," she whispered again. "I can't feel my legs."
"You will," he assured her, "it's the effects of their stun guns."
"Why didn't I sense them?" she asked her voice tiny, not sounding at all like the Teyla Emmagan he knew.
"I don't know, maybe some kind of shield," he responded absently as he tried to wiggle his toes again and found he was able to move them, his ankles too, but his legs would not respond. He moved his hands and arms and slowly pulled himself into a sitting position. Teyla lay with her back to him, curled unto a foetal position, her pulled back hair escaping its clasp.
"Ronan and Rodney?" she asked softly.
"I don't know," he said again. "Maybe they got away."
"I don't think so, John," and in her quiet whisper Teyla confirmed his nightmare and he was powerless, literally, at present to do a thing about it.
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Rodney McKay opened his eyes, and saw absolutely nothing! "Oh great!" he muttered, "Now what?"
"You OK, McKay?" Ronan's voice boomed in his ear.
"What do you think?" he demanded. "I can't see anything, is it dark in here or have I gone blind?"
"It's dark."
"Where are we?"
"Some sort of cave"
"How did ...oh never mind...Teyla, Sheppard?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know much do you, what are we going to do? Oh don't tell me, you don't know that either!"
"If you stop talking I might be able to think!"
Rodney bit his tongue and closed his mouth. He knew that the big man was his only chance of getting out. This was not the first time this had happened, but on the bright side this was not a hive ship! Ronan was moving around. Rodney could hear him pacing and whispered, "What are you doing?"
"Looking for a way out what do you think I'm doing?"
"Okay, okay, I only asked." Rodney closed his mouth again. His brain working over time, he hated being helpless and at the mercy of another, unless it was Sheppard...he wondered where he was, if he was OK, Teyla too. He liked her, and she at least tolerated him.
Suddenly a large hand grabbed his arm, hauled him to his feet, and dragged him backwards. Stumbling, he muttered, "Geez, Ronan, you almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Shh!" Ronan hissed in his ear, "someone's coming."
Together they hid away in the darkness, Rodney's ears finally catching the sound of footsteps, moving fast. A dull light entered the room, lighting up the main chamber of the cave, but leaving MacKay and Ronan hidden. Rodney felt his heart lurch, and Ronan's hand on his arm tighten as they saw two shadowy figures move quietly into the lighted cavern.
Wraith! Rodney's heart beat so hard, he was sure they would hear. Ronan drew him harder up against the cave wall, and he closed his eyes tight waiting for the axe to fall.
Suddenly the light was gone and the cave settled back into darkness. Rodney released his breath slowly for fear of coughing, and gradually Ronan released his grip on his arm. Whispering in his ear he said, "Come on we gotta get outta here."
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Slowly, slowly John Sheppard's body had regained feeling, and he was now able to make his way to Teyla who was still lying prone on the floor. She had replied to his voice, but not moved her position. He gingerly stepped over her and stooping down he looked at her. She wasn't bleeding and showed no signs of injury, but Teyla had been injured in another way. She looked up at her commanding officer and whispered, "They read my mind, they know we are here for the ZPM, they tricked us John, they knew we would come looking for it."
"You mean they set us up!"
She nodded her head slowly and repeated, "They knew we would come."
"It's okay," he whispered, "can you move?"
She pulled herself up and looked at him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay; leastways I haven't had my life sucked out of me yet!" He lowered himself to the ground beside her, his legs stretched in front of him and said, "The ZPM was bait, a trap."
"Yes, it would seem that way." Teyla passed her had over her eyes, her head ached, but the life was returning slowly to the rest of her body, and her mind turned to Ronan. He would find them; she knew that, if they ever got out of this, she would tell him how much he meant to her.
"Why?"
"Why?" she asked, "I do not know, I could try to connect to them."
"No" he said, "I don't want you doing that, besides it might bring them here double quick time, and I'm not ready for that yet."
Teyla bowed her head in acquiescence, "As you wish."
Assured she was not injured he stood to his feet and began pacing. He could think better when he moved around, unless he was thinking about Elizabeth, then he just sort of came to a grinding halt. He did not have the luxury of time to think about her right now. He was sure she would have tried to check in with him, and when she found no response she would have assembled a back up team. His radio was gone.
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Elizabeth Weir sat at her desk staring at the computer screen. The Ancient script before her had been puzzling her for a while, and then quite suddenly she had the strangest feeling. "John." His name came involuntarily from her lips. "John," she said again this time a strange urgency making itself felt.
She got to her feet and walked rapidly to the gate room, fear attempting to stake a claim on her and almost screamed at Chuck. "Has Colonel Sheppard called in?"
"No," Chuck replied, looking up at her. "Should I call him?"
"Yes," she responded, "he's overdue, they should have only been gone a couple of hours."
"Colonel Sheppard, this is Atlantis come in." Silence.
"Colonel Sheppard, this is Atlantis come in," Elizabeth barked into the radio. "John! Major Lorne, assemble a team together to leave ASAP."
"Yes Ma'am" Lorne's voice echoed back.
Within the hour Lorne's team was ready and Chuck dialled the gate. "Be careful Major," Elizabeth said steadily, "we have no idea what you may encounter."
"Yes, ma'am" Lorne replied and turning to his team he barked, "Head out!"
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Ronan and McKay edged their way through a system of tunnels before reaching daylight. They had been moving in an upward direction before Ronan eventually poked his nose through the opening and below him Rodney shouted, "Where are we?"
Ronan turned and hissed, "Shut up, McKay, you're gonna get us killed!"
He looked quickly around and saw they had come up in the meadowed area. After slowly pulling himself out, keeping one eye on the surroundings, he reached down a hand to Rodney and with one yank landed him on the surface.
"You nearly wrenched my arm off!" McKay complained, rubbing his shoulder with his other hand.
"I can help you back down if you'd like!" Ronan responded, making a threatening gesture with his fist and Rodney getting the message replied, sheepishly, "No, its OK, thanks."
Getting to his feet Ronan, surveyed the meadow. Nothing had changed. They were not far from the gate, in fact not far from the exact place they had been when the attack had occurred. A Wraith dart had appeared from nowhere and immediately scooped up Sheppard and Teyla. Ronan had turned and run, closely followed by MacKay who, having seen Sheppard disappear, figured his best bet was to stick as close to the big guy as he possibly could. What happened after that was still a bit vague but it appeared that he had, closely followed by Rodney, fallen down a hole which led to the cavern via the tunnels.
"Come on," he said, "we have to find Sheppard and Teyla."
"What?" Rodney squeaked, "The DHD is there why can't we go back and get reinforcements?"
Ronan turned and looked down at him, "Hasn't being with Sheppard taught you anything?"
"What?"
"We don't leave a man behind."
"Oh yeah, of course." Rodney replied softly... "Do you think they went through the gate?"
Ronan shrugged. "I don't know, come on."
Suddenly the gate started dialling and Ronan, quick as a cat, fell to the ground, dragging McKay down beside him. The final chevron locked and the kawoosh blew out and back to form the entrance to the event horizon. Ronan raised his head slightly, looked at the incoming and let out a whoop as he recognised Major Lorne and half a dozen other marines stepping through the gate.
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The thing that Sheppard feared had come upon him and he was strapped to a chair in a large room. So far he was alone, but it didn't take a genius to work out that pretty soon the interrogation/feeding would begin. He would not willingly tell them about Atlantis or Earth, for they had learned awhile ago that the Wraith were not particularly interested in Atlantis, but in Earth as a new feeding ground. However, he had no control over what was taken from him. He looked about him and noticed that there wasn't really any way out. It seemed to be a small dark chamber with no natural daylight, just a strip light, resembling one of the old neon lights from home, overhead. It was possible he was underground, and the thought, although he was not claustrophobic, sent panic waves through his body and he gasped for breath. There had to be a way out though, or he couldn't have been put there in the first place. With that thought he could breathe, deep, deep breaths and with that realisation his spirits lifted a little.
He thought about Teyla, Ronan and Rodney, wondered where they were and were they safe. He thought about Elizabeth, knowing she would be worried, and wishing he could see her face one more time before facing the horrible death he knew awaited him. He knew that wouldn't happen unless he got his ass in gear and tried to escape!
He turned this over in his mind, OK Sheppard, he thought, his own voice ringing in his head, think!
He looked around again, there was definitely no way out except for one small door way. He imagined the Wraith bent double to come through and he smiled stupidly. If he could only get out of these straps he would really enjoy kicking their heads in as they bent to come into the room! He wriggled and squirmed in the chair, chafing his wrists against the bands but to no avail and for a moment he sat still. Then coming in the distance he heard the sound of rapidly moving feet. He held his breath and waited and a lone Wraith bent and swept into the room.
Sheppard felt his body revolt in disgust, the tremors sweeping through him. He scowled at the tall slim figure, which in turn moved around him, head bent first one way then the other, examining its prey, its food, before coming to a stand still in front of him.
"Ahhhhhhhhh, Colonel Sheppard," it rasped, its voice a hissing snarl, "we have heard much about you. You are famous among the Wraith."
"Well whaddya know," Sheppard replied with a bravado he didn't feel, "a fan club!"
The Wraith circled him, looking him up and down and with a wave of a long almost elegant hand, unleashed the bonds that held him. Sheppard looked in puzzlement from one exposed wrist to the other, and then looked up at the Wraith who spoke again in a low hiss. "Stand up Colonel Sheppard."
He hesitated, his eyes on those of the Wraith, and with a shudder suddenly realised this was a female. His body quivered, it had been a female Wraith who had sucked the life from Colonel Sumner, the military commander in Atlantis when the expedition had first arrived. They were known to be particularly vicious in their interrogation, unfeeling, uncaring, and exceptionally cruel.
"Stand up!" she ordered, "Or I will make you stand"
Slowly he stood and she came and stood in front of him, so close he could feel her breath. He turned his head away, but she brought his face back to look at her with her long index finger, slowly running it down his cheek. Instantly his mind turned to Elizabeth. He imagined her fingers stroking his cheek, her warm breath on his face. Through the daydream going on in his head he heard the creature speaking again. "We knew the artefact would bring you here, we knew you would come. We have a mission for you Colonel Sheppard."
"Like hell!" he answered, his face twisting away from her caressing fingers.
"Oh, but you will, Colonel Sheppard, if you want to see the creature Teyla Emmagen alive again, you will. We know there were others with you, we will find them."
John's heart soared. They didn't have Rodney and Ronan, they didn't even know where they were. If they could some how get back to Atlantis...Elizabeth would not let him down, she would have sent Lorne by now and at least a dozen good marines through the gate to stage a rescue.
Elizabeth...god he loved her, he wasn't going to deny it any longer, if he got back - when he got back he would tell her and to hell with the consequences!
"What do you want me to do?" his hazel eyes never leaving the cold black eyes, his skin crawling under her touch.
"The creature you call," she paused and hissed loudly, "Michael."
She moved away from him, circled him, looked at him, and Sheppard could have swore she undressed him with her eyes. He shuddered.
"What about him?" he asked, his eyes watching her, as her eyes watched him.
"I want him," she hissed again, moving in closely and running the back of her index finger down across his jaw line. "He is ... interesting to me."
"Why don't you go and find him, I don't know where he is."
"Then," she snarled, "you will find him, or know the death of your comrades was at your hand."
Sheppard looked at her and the hatred shone from his eyes, she saw it there and responded, "The hatred I see in your eyes burns in my heart for him."
He shrugged, "So?"
"So," she replied, "you will find him for me and I will spare your lives."
Sheppard's mind raced. He had no idea where Michael was, he hadn't seen him since the incident with the giant bugs and he had hoped he wouldn't have too, but now it looked as though he had no choice. Teyla's life, and his own, depended on it.
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At Ronan's whoop, Major Lorne and his marines turned as one, weapons aimed at the Satedan as he bounded toward them. "Lower your weapons" he commanded, "Ronan, are you alright?"
"Yeah, we're okay, McKay, you can come out now!"
Rodney staggered to his feet and stumbled his way towards the group, "You have no idea how glad I am to see you," he glanced at Ronan, "we are – to see you."
"What happened?" Lorne asked, his P90 resting in the crook of his arm.
McKay began the tale, explaining in great detail about the ZPM until Ronan interrupted him. "Sheppard and Teyla were scooped up into a Wraith ship."
"The Wraith? Here?" Lorne consulted his life-signs detector.
"Trust me," McKay answered, "they were here."
"Are here," Ronan corrected. "We saw them in the cavern."
"Are here," Rodney said, casting a sidelong glance at the big man, "satisfied?"
Ronan glared at him, and then turning to Lorne said, "We have to find Sheppard and Teyla. The Wraith could be holding them in the cavern."
"How do we know they haven't - you know."
"Because I do!" Ronan snapped. Turning to Lorne he said, "We have to find them!"
"I know, I hear you," Lorne replied. "That's what we're here for." Turning to the marines around him, he barked, "Move out!"
"The caverns are over here," Ronan said, pointing in the direction they had just come, "that could be the easiest way in."
"Oh yes it could," McKay whined, "it could even be the easiest way to getting caught!"
Ronan turned angrily, "You got any other ideas?"
Rodney retreated back a few steps, his face contorted in fear, "Er, well, er, no," he admitted, "as a matter of fact I, er, don't."
"Then stop your whining and move!" Ronan spat. "We're wasting valuable time here."
Lorne and Ronan moved off with Rodney bringing up the rear with the marines. He didn't mean to whine, he just couldn't help himself. He didn't handle doom well and now, he felt they were doomed. He always felt a sense of panic when Sheppard wasn't leading the team, and yet he knew Ronan would do all he could to save his sorry ass.
Ronan gave a small whoop. Now what! McKay thought to himself, but said nothing out loud. "The entrance," Ronan said and McKay thought, Oh great!
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Sheppard was alone. The Wraith queen had left him to think. Think about what, he didn't know. He had no idea where Michael was, even if he had, he had no idea how he would capture him and the thought made him depressed. He didn't know where Teyla was either and he could only hope she was still alive. McKay, Ronan? Elizabeth...No! He couldn't think about her right now, he had to think about escaping, about finding his team. To hell with Michael, nothing but a pain in the ass from the beginning, why the hell should he care if the Wraith queen wanted him?
Lorne and Ronan made their way down the darkened corridor, the marines fanning out behind them and Rodney sandwiched in between. There was no sound, the only light that of the built in flashlights on their weapons which cast eerie shadows. In the gloom Lorne signalled to his men and they moved silently into the entrances of other tunnels and then out again.
Rodney was scared to death. He would dearly like to just huddle up in a corner somewhere and wait for them all to come back for him, but he was too scared to stay. He was not brave, he was not like Sheppard, Teyla and Ronan. He was a scientist, a damn good one, he reminded himself. Now he felt his way along the tunnel wall with two marines behind him and the rest in front, hoping they were going to find Sheppard and Teyla before it was too late.
The marines in front of him stopped suddenly and he almost ran up the back of them.
"Sorry!" he hissed.
"Sh!" Lorne hissed back. "Listen!"
McKay strained his ears and at first could not hear anything. Then suddenly there came the sound of footsteps, long, quick strides which echoed down the corridor toward them. Rodney thought he was going to faint, but he mentally gave himself a slap and pulled himself together. Lorne was making signals again and one of the marines grabbed his arm and drew him into a recess in the corridor wall. They waited and listened.
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The Wraith Queen was angry. The human unsettled her. She wanted to feed on him, to suck the very life from his body, and yet he disturbed her. She had never met a human like him. When they met her other humans begged for their miserable lives, but not him. He had looked at her with pure hatred in his eyes. Cool hazel eyes, she had noticed. She hated him for what he was able to do and yet she could not put into words what he did. She was also hungry and needed to feed. She would do so and then return to Sheppard.
Suddenly she stopped. A strange aroma permeated the air and she lifted her head and sniffed. Humans! She knew the smell of them anywhere! She growled and hissed. The prisoners were not in this part of the cavern, the smell therefore was not theirs. Turning her head this way and that, lifting her face to the ceiling and inhaling, she started on her way cautiously along the tunnel.
Without warning Major Lorne stepped out in front of her and opened fire. The fire power of the P90 echoed down the corridor and almost immediately the sound of running feet came in response. The Wraith queen screamed in rage as her body bucked under the weapon fire and she fell to the floor. Lorne kept firing, his men on guard behind him, Ronan at the rear, his firearm raised and aiming into the darkness. Three Wraith came into view and Ronan fired, sending one of them crumpling to their knees, followed closely by another. The third opened fire with his stun gun just before a barrage of fire from a P90 sent him crashing to the floor.
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Suddenly John heard rapid gunfire and his heart leapt. Had Ronan found him? What about McKay and Teyla? Running feet and more gunfire. He would recognise a P90 anywhere, and then he heard the solid thwack of Ronan's weapon. The cell door was flung open and Major Lorne appeared closely followed by Ronan.
"Well, it's about time!" Sheppard drawled, his relief evident despite the sarcasm. "Rodney?"
"Yeah we got him too," Ronan replied, and McKay poked his head around the door as a marine cut the binding at Sheppard's feet and lifted a limp hand. "Colonel."
"Did you find Teyla?" Sheppard asked and the look on Ronan's face gave him the answer.
"She's not down here," Ronan answered. "There were maybe a dozen Wraith including a queen, but there's no sign of Teyla."
"She has to be here, she was in a cell with me before I was brought here." Sheppard stood up, flexing his wrists as he did so and taking a P90 from one of the marines. Moving to the door he peered around it, saw two marines standing guard and then beckoning the others started off down the dark passage way.
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Teyla sat with her back against the chamber wall. Her whole body ached and her mind raced. Colonel Sheppard had been gone for what seemed a long, long time and she shuddered when she thought of what the Wraith may have already done to him. She dropped her head to her hands and cradled it for a while. It hurt so much but not as much as the pain in her heart when she thought of her friends. It was dark in the chamber for the most part except for a small window letting in a small chink of light, and slowly pulling herself to her feet, she made her way to it, hoping to find some sign of her friends. She heard the gunfire, rapid reaction rifle fire and she froze where she stood. Had Elizabeth sent a team through the gate after them? With the continuing rifle fire and the sound of running feet she knew it had to be a rescue team and she clung to the bars at the window and strained to see out. Then all went quiet for what seemed an age and Teyla's heart pounded in her ears.
"Teyla!"
"John!" she cried, seeing his grim face behind the bars.
"Stand back!" he ordered, and she raced to the other side of the room. With several shots in rapid succession the door caved under the onslaught and swung opened aided by a well-aimed kick from Ronan's boot. Within seconds he was inside, finding her, his hands on her upper arms. "You OK?" he asked and looking up at him she nodded, a small welcome smile on her lips.
"Yes," she responded, "I am well enough."
Moments later they were edging their way back down a dimly lit corridor, then down a warren of tunnels until Ronan led the way back up into the opening and fresh air. Each one hauled themselves up and out into the daylight and Sheppard and Teyla both drew in deep breaths of clean air as they did so. The group hurriedly made its way toward the gate when Teyla froze. "Teyla," Ronan barked, "what's wrong?"
"Teyla?" Sheppard also asked staring at her white face.
"I am sensing – " With that the first Wraith appeared and fired, sending a marine flying through the air, and others emerged out of the trees at the edge of the meadow and began firing. "Get to the gate!" Sheppard shouted. "Rodney, move!"
McKay had frozen to the spot at the sight of the Wraith, but jumped as Sheppard shouted his name and began to run following the first marine to the gate, who promptly fell under the blast of a Wraith weapon. He reached the DHD and began to dial while Sheppard, Lorne and the rest of the team continued to fire, keeping the Wraith at bay while he did so. The gate burst into life and a wormhole was established. Sheppard urged everyone through it and with a final blast dived through himself.
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A week later and Lt Colonel John Sheppard found himself sitting across from Dr Elizabeth Weir in the mess hall. She was taking small sips from a bottle of water, her eyes, green and clear flickering on and off his face.
He took a deep breath and said, "Elizabeth...there is something I need you to know."
She placed the bottle on the table between them, just in front of a plate of uneaten salad and looked at him. "Go on," she said quietly, nerves threatening to get the better of her, overwhelming her.
"I know that –" He hesitated, deep breath, Sheppard, deep breath, "that you make it a rule not to have a relationship with someone you work with." He felt a klutz! Dumb and stupid. Crap this wasn't going the way he'd planned! Over the last week he had run it through his mind, over and over and now he was falling flat on his face. She was still looking at him, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"What are you saying John?" she asked, colour creeping into her face, making her even more beautiful.
He became transfixed by a non-existent spot on the table, his fingers tracing it; he took another deep breath and said, "I wondered if you would consider changing your mind."
"For you?" she asked, her own breath catching in her throat. She was nervous now, no, more than nervous; she was afraid, terribly afraid that she was reading him wrong. But now she had said and there was no taking the words back.
"For me," he answered softly, "No, I guess not, after all why would you I mean, I'm just a Colonel and all not a scientist or a doctor, not..."
"John," she said softly, her usually strong voice trembling as she reached out to touch his fingers. "I would."
"You would?" he responded, unable to help the stupid grin spreading across his.
"Yes, I would," she replied, a smile quirking up one corner of her mouth.
He turned his hand over and caught her fingers before looking up to stare into her captivating green eyes. Her smile was full-fledged now, and for the first time in a long, long time, Lt Colonel Sheppard USAF was at peace.