If you say so

A/N – Set during 'Conversion', and AU in that Sheppard accompanied the team on the initial mission to collect eggs. His transformation has progressed to the stage it was during the follow up mission. There's a reason for it, and it's only a tiny bit of the story, so just go with it!

Chapter 1

Ronon knew from the minute he fired his gun at the Iratus bug hovering over Carson's head, that this mission was futile. There was no way they were going to be able to collect the eggs they needed to cure Sheppard. As he headed towards the mouth of the cave, he could hear Lorne telling them to get out of there. He picked up speed as he heard the Major's cry of 'fire in the hole'… the next thing he knew, their whole party were thrown to the ground in the wake of the explosion.

His ears were still ringing as he listened to Carson protest at Lorne's order to get back to the Gate. He made no such protest himself, knowing that Lorne was right - it's what they had to do, not what they wanted to do that mattered. As he looked between Beckett and McKay, he expected more argument, expected to have to physically move McKay, but thankfully he seemed to be using his over-sized brain to good effect and said nothing. Lorne was Sheppard's XO, and even if Ronon didn't like the orders Lorne gave on occasion, he followed them because it's what soldiers do. He heaved Sheppard onto his shoulders, and set off behind Lorne and headed towards the Gate.

They'd been walking only a couple of minutes when Ronon heard Lorne moaning loudly. He looked over to see the Major staggering slightly as he walked. "Lorne?" he shouted, "You OK?" Startled by Ronon's shout, the Major spun quickly towards Ronon's voice, losing his balance, landing on his hands and knees on the ground with a loud thud.

Carson ran over to him, "Major, what is it?" Swaying on the spot, despite being on all fours, Lorne lifted his head and with a dazed expression on his face, said "Hey Doc, what are you doing here? Is it Thursday already? " Looking concerned, Carson replied, "Major…do you know where you are?"

"Sure I do Doc!" he said with a slight chuckle, which quickly turned to a frown, "Why…don't you?" Kneeling down on the ground Carson placed his hand on Lorne's shoulders and gently eased him into a sitting position. "Major, how are you feeling?"

After looking like he was deep in thought for a few seconds, Lorne announced, "I think I had a few too many beers Doc." He then started chuckling, and a few seconds later, he added "Oops!"

Muttering under his breath, Carson pulled out a small torch from his backpack and lifted it to Lorne's face. "Major I need to look into your eyes with this light."

Lorne looked at Beckett with a confused look on his face. "My eyes are blue, you don't need a light to see that!" he said as he waved a dismissive hand on front of his own face.

"Follow my finger Major" Carson ordered as he held his index finger up a few inches away from Lorne's nose. He watched as Carson moved it in various directions, before closing his eyes and saying "You're giving me a headache Doc."

Ronon laid Sheppard's unconscious – and heavy - form down on the ground as gently as possible, and ordered McKay to watch him, ignoring the protest that he knew was leaving the scientist's lips. He frowned as Carson sighed deeply before looking up at the Satedan. "He has a concussion - we need to get him back to Atlantis so I can treat him. The sooner the better." he added, "The last thing we need is the first and second in command in the Infirmary.

Nodding, Ronon approached the two men as Lorne was pushing Carson's hands away from his head. "Gerroffme Doc" he shouted. Carson raised his voice in an authoritative way.

"Major, listen to me! You have a concussion. I need to see if you have a head wound and stem any bleeding."

"I'm FINE!" Lorne protested, pushing himself up off the ground. He almost made it to an upright position before losing his balance again and falling forward. Ronon was just in time to catch him, and stumbled himself under the sudden weight. Lorne placed his hands on Ronon's chest for support while the Satedan steadied them both.

"Whoa, easy there buddy!" the bigger man said. Lorne looked up at him with a goofy smile,

"Hey Ronon!" he said cheerfully. He then lowered his voice to a whisper, "Think I had a few too many beers!"

Laughing to himself, Ronon said "Something like that, yeah!" He twisted his head to where the rest of his team was. "Hey, Teyla!" he called, and gestured towards Lorne, 'Can you, er, talk to him or something? You two always seem to have things to say to each other." He shifted the Major towards the direction of the Gate as Teyla arrived, then stepped back to allow her smaller frame to move towards Lorne.

"Teyla! Hey there, Teyla!" Lorne shouted, throwing and arm around her shoulder. With the other hand he tugged on Ronon's arm, "Look Ronon, Teyla's here. She's a great gal isn't she?" he beamed.

"Er, yeah… she is." The taller man replied, smirking and winking at Teyla, who simply raised an eyebrow at him. Everyone knew there were rumours that she and Lorne were more than friends, but Ronon never read anything into it. It was their business what they did or didn't get up to in their downtime, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy teasing her. He was about to do just that, when Carson's walkie talkie beeped.

They watched as the doctor unhooked the device from his belt and began his conversation, but didn't get chance to hear any of it due to the fact that Lorne was attempting to wriggle from Teyla's grasp, meaning Ronon had to step in again. The two men were pushing and shoving each other by the time Carson got back to them. Lorne was shoving away from them with choruses of "I can do this myself" and "I'm fine damn it!", though swaying on the spot with each grumble.

Ronon's growls grew louder each time he had to steady Lorne yet again. Ronon rolled his eyes and glared at Lorne, who was now looking blurry eyed, and like he had actually had a few too many beers. The Major's knees seemed to be struggling to hold up his weight, leaving Ronon no choice but to take the strain. Wordlessly, Teyla slipped away and went back to where Sheppard and McKay were.

"Can we go now Doc 'cause we don't know how much longer Sheppard's gonna be out, and I really might have to shoot Lorne if he carries on like this!" Ronon said through gritted teeth. "At this rate we'll have to carry them both, and I'm strong but not that strong" he said, before noticing the worried look on the Scotsman's face. "What is it?"

Carson's brow furrowed and he took a deep breath, so instinctively Ronon knew something was really wrong. "That was Atlantis. Multiple SG teams have been ambushed by what appears to be Genii troops. There's been no deaths that we know of, but it was a co-ordinated attack and they hit hard. They're probably just letting us know they're still around, but until I get back there I won't know serious the extent of the injuries are." He opened his mouth the say more, but was cut off by a strangled cry from McKay.

"He moved!" he cried, pointing at Sheppard, who was still out cold on the ground. "What if he's waking up? What are we going to do with him?" his voice getting steadily higher. Looking between the two injured men, Carson frowned.

"If the Colonel is coming round we need to get him back to the Infirmary where he can be restrained until we get a cure from those stem cells. That's not going to be easy with other casualties to tend to." He looked at his watch, at Sheppard, back to their surroundings, and finally at Lorne before turning back to the Satedan. "Ronon could you…?"

Nodding, the taller man said, "Go, get him back, I'll stay with Lorne until he's safe to move without him falling over. We can't take the chance of having both of them unconscious at once; we'd have no way of defending ourselves if we were to be attacked too."

Carson nodded, "OK thanks, big man. Don't let him fall asleep, and don't give him anything to eat or drink. I'll make sure Elizabeth sends a Jumper as soon as we get back."

TBC...