Disclaimer: Stargate: Atlantis and all related characters are the property of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc, the Syfy Channel, World Gekko Corp, Double Secret Productions, and Acme Shark. No copyright infringement is intended or profit being made. This story is for entertainment purposes only.

Category: Friendship, (a teeny bit of)Hurt/(mostly)Comfort, with a smidgen of JE

Timeline/Details: Immediately after the events in Commodity, One-shot

A/N: My first sequel… and first post in years! Started this back in 2005 but never quite got around finishing it then. Hope it doesn't disappoint.

Dedicated to SKRoberts, Sheppardster, meldames, Merlin71, LTwill, DM, Marlab, highonscifi, Drakcir, trecebo, sandpiper764, denise_42, LdyAnne, Shakia, and corkieshome – thanks for the encouraging reviews for Commodity.

As usual, italics denote either flashbacks or thoughts, and any similarity in plot, characters, etc, is purely coincidental and entirely by chance. Special hugs to the amazing sHoT for the beta!

"Carson! Quick! Get over here! His fingers just twitched. I think he's coming around…"

"Calm down, Rodney… and move over. I can't work with you hoverin' about–"

"Excuse me, but I don't hover…! Who told you that? Was it Richardson–?"

"Rodney! Will you please move aside…?"

"Oh. Sorry, Carson…"

The buzz in his ears slowly morphed into words and Major John Sheppard allowed a soft moan to escape him as the pounding in his skull made its agonising presence known. He would have raised a hand to his aching head, but since it required energy he didn't have, he settled for squeezing his eyes shut against the pain instead.

"I've informed Elizabeth… Is he going to be okay?"

"Patience, Rodney. Give the man some time to wake up and adjust… Major? Can you open your eyes for me? There you go, good lad…"

Gradually, and with some effort, John managed to focus on the concerned faces of Dr Carson Beckett, who gave him a sympathetic look in return, and Dr Rodney McKay, who was hovering behind Atlantis' CMO, a half-eaten power bar gripped in one hand.

"Hey…" John rasped, blinking slowly against the drowsiness and pain.

"Welcome back, Major."

"Thanks…" John grimaced, his head pounding anew, as the Scot gently propped him into a half-reclining position with the help of several pillows.

"Headache?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"Right, let's have a quick look here then, shall we…?"

Despite being prepared for what was coming next, John jerked his head away in automatic response when Carson shone the penlight into his right eye. Biting back a groan, and with both eyes now only slits due to the sudden flare of white-hot pain in his head, he batted away the hand. "Doc…"

"Sorry, lad, had to be done," the doctor murmured apologetically before repeating the action with John's left eye, his actions swift and light to avoid causing the Major any more unnecessary discomfort. "Good, pupils appear normal and reactive. Any nausea?"

"Some, but nothing I can't handle." Accepting a glass of water and a couple of Tylenol from the doctor with a grateful look, John quickly swallowed the pills. "So when can I get out of here?"

Carson shook his head as he took a step back and stuck both hands into his coat pockets. "Sorry, Major. You've had two doses of a sedative local to the planet, not to mention another shot of a foreign counteragent, so you'll need to stay here till the drugs leave your system. Don't worry, lad," he quickly added at the crestfallen look on his patient's face. "Any side effects you're feelin' should be gone within the next 48 hours or so."

John sighed but indicated his agreement with a slow nod, mindful of his throbbing head. Two days – he could handle that… he hoped.

"Any other aches or pains that I should know 'bout?"

John mentally took stock of himself. Aside from his killer headache and an overall feeling of lethargy, only his wrists hurt, where the rope had rubbed his skin raw during his efforts to get loose. He wiggled his toes on both feet for good measure and then squinted up at the physician, "No… I'm good."

Carson nodded at the simple answer but made a note to himself to keep a close eye on the air force officer as the man had a tendency to over-simplify his injuries, especially if it gave him the opportunity to leave the infirmary.

"Well, what's the verdict? Is he functional?" Rodney's voice cut into his musings and Carson looked over his shoulder at the other man.

"The Major needs plenty o' rest for the next couple o' days but he should be just fine," the doctor responded, raising a hand to forestall any comments from either man. "And that includes rest from activatin' any Ancient devices, regardless of its size."

"Really? But–"

"No Ancient devices, Rodney, not even wee ones," Carson repeated sternly. "I mean it."

"All right, all right… Fine." With some reluctance, Rodney stuffed the small gadget he'd just taken out back into his jacket pocket. Picking up his laptop, he grabbed a chair, dragged it nearer to John's bed, and sat down. "This was planned for next week anyway."

"Glad to know that you care, McKay," John commented dryly as he watched Rodney open his laptop and began tapping on the keyboard.

The typing stopped abruptly and a pair of blank blue eyes met tired, red-rimmed hazel ones. "Huh?"

"Never mind…"

With a shrug, Rodney turned back to his laptop while John exchanged a wry look with Atlantis' CMO.

"McKay…?"

"Hmm…?"

"Not that I don't appreciate the company and all but… why are you still here?"

Rodney paused in mid-type and looked up at his team leader in surprise. "I didn't tell you? You sure? Maybe I did and you weren't listening – not that that's anything new…"

John stifled the urge to reach over and shake the other man as he rambled on. Leaning back against his pillow and closing his eyes, John had almost tuned him out when Rodney suddenly stopped in mid-sentence. He opened his eyes to see Rodney turning towards Carson, who had moved to the foot of the bed.

"Did you check him for – oh, I don't know – brain damage, maybe? You know, because of the drugs?"

"McKay…" John said wearily before the medical doctor could answer. "Tell me what?"

"Tell you–? Oh, it's nothing. I'm just waiting for Elizabeth."

Now it was John's turn to be perplexed. "Why?"

Rodney shot him a look, which clearly said that he was speaking to an idiot. "Because she was the one who–"

Carson cleared his throat loudly. "Rodney! Like you said, perhaps we should wait for Elizabeth…?"

"Oh... right, right." The scientist gave the room a once-over. "Um… I'll just be here then…"

John's confusion was promptly replaced by unease when Rodney peered into his computer screen for a moment and then continued tapping on his keyboard. He glanced up at Carson but the doctor was also studiously avoiding his gaze. His apprehension grew. Elizabeth was the one who… what? What did she do? Did something happen when he was out cold?

His worry must have shown on his face because Carson suddenly moved towards him.

"Major? Are you all right?" Despite John's quick nod, Carson persisted, "Are you sure, son? You went a tad white just now."

"I'm good," John answered with an absent wave of his hand. Whatever happened must not have been too bad, or they would have told him about it by now… right? "Hey, Doc?"

"Yes, Major?"

"Uhm… everyone's okay…? No one else is hurt?"

Carson smiled. "Everyone's fine, son. It's just you this time."

Relaxing a little at Carson's answer, John visibly perked up when the remaining members of his team appeared at the infirmary door. "Hey, guys."

"John," Teyla Emmagan greeted with a smile. "It is indeed wonderful to have you awake and well."

"Thanks, Teyla."

"How are you feeling, Sir?" Lieutenant Aiden Ford asked.

"He has a headache," Rodney piped up from his position by the bed before John could answer. His eyes still glued to his computer screen, the physicist added, "A bad one. He took pills from Carson without any argument."

John resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I'll live."

"That's good to hear," Aiden replied with a grin. "We were a little worried when we heard you singing…"

John stared at his second-in-command, aghast. Singing?

"Uhm…" Eyes widening at his commanding officer's reaction, Aiden quickly backtracked. "I mean… it didn't last very long and you were quite good, the part we heard anyway, and… uh…"

John ran a shaky hand through his hair with a sigh, making it even messier than usual, when the younger man trailed off in mid-sentence. He was beginning to wonder if he wanted to know what happened while he was out.

"Do you remember what happened on P5X-672 after we lost radio contact with you the first time?" Teyla asked, filling in the sudden silence.

John's brow furrowed. "I was on my way to the Jumper to get the scanners that McKay forgot…"

"I did not forget those scanners…!" Rodney grumbled. "I'll have you know that I left them behind on purpose…"

Ignoring the interruption, John went on, "There was a device blocking the trail so I headed towards the Stargate instead as it was only a couple of kliks away…"

"Ford, McKay… do you read me?"

John frowned when all he could raise over the radio was static. Now he was sure that something was definitely blocking the radio signal. His instincts on high alert, he moved cautiously through the dense forest, trying every now and then, but without any luck, to radio his team. When he reached the Stargate, he found another alien device jamming the DHD, and realised after examining it that dialing the Gate would be a two-man job.

Heading back towards the village and his team, John became increasingly uneasy when he came across the third trap, cleverly hidden in the dense foliage. Was someone after them? As far as he knew, this was supposed to be a peaceful planet, one that they'd hope to establish as a trade partner. With what he'd found so far, he was beginning to wonder. Carefully avoiding the latest trap as he did the earlier ones, John moved forward and was almost at the edge of the village when a soft cry caught his attention. Following the sound, he came to a deep pit. In it was a little boy, sobbing his heart out.

"I managed to get the kid out of the hole and he ran back towards to village…" He rubbed the back of his neck, his movements uncharacteristically sluggish. "That was when that crazy woman shot me… with her dart thingy…"

"Crazy woman?" Carson queried with raised brows.

"Dart thingy?" Rodney muttered at the same time.

"She said something about a collection…" John grimaced at the memory. He looked towards Rodney and Carson. "I heard you two on the radio before she cut all communications and knocked me out. Whatever she used, it gave me the weirdest dream – there were all these women around in a market place and I thought I saw…" he trailed off with a frown.

"Saw what, Sir?" Aiden asked.

"Never mind," John shook his head. "It's not important." Elizabeth… I thought I saw Elizabeth…

Closing his laptop with a snap and putting it aside, Rodney crossed his arms and asked suspiciously, "Are you sure you weren't your usual Kirk self and managed to send this woman a come get me if you can signal somehow…?"

"McKay…" John countered, mild exasperation coating his voice. "Focus."

"Ah! You must have done something. Only you would dream about a bunch of women in the middle of a kidnapping, of all things," came the snarky reply.

John glowered at the other man. "I'm telling you, I didn't do anything…"

"Oh, please… how did you know you didn't do anything?" A beat. "In fact, it wouldn't be the first time that you got yourself–"

"Rodney!" Carson interjected impatiently. "Do you mind…?"

"What?" Rodney protested before pointing at the pilot. "He started it!"

While Carson glared at Rodney in response, Teyla picked up the story, "We tracked your captor to a trade post after speaking to several of the villagers who were familiar with her type of business."

"Type of business?"

"Yes, Kay'le, the woman who took you, deals with the procurement and sale of unique…" Teyla frowned slightly as she searched for the correct term, "…specimens."

"You know, I think she used that word just before…" John pantomimed an injection to his neck. "What was she after? The ATA gene?"

"No, Sir, it was your eyes," Aiden grinned. "We also thought it had something to do with your ATA gene when we first found out that you were taken, since there was a strong rumour going around that we were from what they referred as the City of the Ancestors."

"Whoa whoa whoa… back up," John put up a hand. "It was my what…?"

"To be precise, it was the colour of your eyes," Teyla clarified. "We discovered later that certain variants are highly valued, but only on the men."

"Why?"

"We're not really sure, Sir," Aiden shrugged. "The Kayugans wouldn't give us a straight answer when we asked but I noticed that while there were one or two blue- and grey-eyed women in the village, all the men had dark brown eyes. Maybe they just wanted some… uh… diversity in their tribe?"

With an inward sigh, John scrubbed tiredly at his face. Eye colour… Oy, what next…? Great, now he's channelling General O'Neill…

"John?"

He looked up to catch Teyla's concerned look. "Yeah?"

"Perhaps you should rest? We can finish this at a later time–"

"No, no, I'm good… really," the Major said hurriedly. "Please, continue…"

In her usual calm demeanor, the Athosian regarded her team leader for a few seconds and then dipped her head slightly. "When we arrived at the location provided by one of the villagers, we realised that we were faced with another problem…"

"Did you guys hear that?" Rodney hissed as the three of them crept as close as they could to the trade post without being seen. The sound was faint but unmistakable. "Wait a minute, is that… Sheppard…?" His eyes grew huge. "It is Sheppard!"

Teyla frowned. "He sounds like he is…"

"…singing," Rodney finished, incredulity raising his voice a pitch higher than usual. "He's singing… like it's free karaoke night or something! What's he doing in there? Having a party…? Auditioning for a musical…?"

"Dr McKay, please, keep your voice down," Aiden whispered urgently. "And stay down!"

"What? Oh." Quickly pressing himself lower to the ground, Rodney inched closer to the others and peered over the small hill at the dilapidated building below.

"It's too well guarded," the young Lieutenant commented, looking at the number of men surrounding the hut. "They look like they're expecting trouble."

"According to the villagers, it is customary for guards to be outside during the trade period, just in case there is a renegade on a deal," Teyla remarked from his left. "I do not think we will be able to rescue Major Sheppard by force. We will need to get to him another way."

"No kidding…" Aiden murmured. "Any ideas?"

"Wait, wait…" Rodney said in a low voice, waving a hand around. "I think I may have a way to get to Sheppard without getting us killed…"

So it was all McKay's idea – that certainly helped clear things up a little although he sensed that there was still something that they weren't telling him. John wasn't even sure that he wanted to hear the rest of the story, but since he had to know, he inwardly braced himself for what was coming next and turned towards the physicist at the abrupt end of the narration. "And…?"

"Uh…" Rodney twitched, unnerved by the sudden switch of the Major's attention from Teyla to himself. He opened his mouth to answer only to be interrupted by the appearance of Dr Elizabeth Weir in the infirmary.

"Elizabeth!" Rodney exclaimed loudly, his relief evident. "Look! Sheppard's awake!"

"Yes, Rodney, you told me this earlier." Coming to a stop beside the bed, Elizabeth gave the jumpy scientist a bemused look before turning towards her ranking military officer with a smile. "How are you, John?"

"I'm good. Be better once I have some blanks filled in…"

"Blanks?"

"Yeah, like how I ended back here. And what was McKay's idea anyway?"

Instead of answering, she reached out and hand and patted him gently on his left arm. "Perhaps you should rest? You look exhausted. We can talk about it later."

For a moment, John was tempted to agree. He hated to admit it but, while his headache had abated somewhat, he was starting to feel sleepy. The last thing he wanted to do at the moment, however, was to take a nap, not when he still had some unanswered questions. Suppressing yet another yawn, he looked up at the expedition leader through his lashes. "Elizabeth, what happened?"

She met his eyes and sighed inwardly at the pleading look on his face. In her personal, private opinion, this was one of John Sheppard's most lethal weapons; she knew from personal experience how tough it was to say no to that look.

Taking a deep breath, she began, "I had to meet Kay'le at the trade post to secure your release–"

"Hold on… you met up with her? Alone?"

After a brief hesitation, she nodded, and John turned towards his team, narrowed-eyed. It was their, no, his job, to protect her, not the other way around. No wonder he'd sensed some reluctance on their part to tell him what happened. "And you let her do this? She could have been taken, or hurt, or…!"

"John…"

"No, you should have found another way," John interrupted Elizabeth with a low growl. "It was an unnecessary risk."

"Yes, it was a risk," she agreed before adding softly, "but one that had to be taken. John, it was the only way."

"Well, I thought it was a great plan…" Rodney muttered to Carson, who quickly shushed him.

John searched the faces of his friends and silently conceded defeat what he realised that he was the only one who appeared to have an issue with what took place on the planet; everyone else seemed fine with it. Blowing out a breath, he settled his gaze on Elizabeth. "Okay, so you met her, and then what?"

To his surprise, there was a slight tinge of red on her cheeks, catching him off guard. He blinked. Huh? "Elizabeth?"

"Well, the only way I could acquire your release peacefully was to… buy you."

"Yeah, very funny," John retorted with a lopsided smirk, which quickly faded when he saw that no one else was returning his grin. "Wait…you're kidding, right?"

"Sorry."

"That's McKay's great idea?"

"I'm afraid so."

"You bought me…?" John repeated in disbelief. "As in with money?"

There was an unexpected twinkle in Elizabeth's eyes. "Well, I was assured that you were an excellent investment and worth a thousand times the price asked. I could have told her that, but it would have just increased her asking price."

"Asking price?" John knew he should stop parroting Elizabeth, but was unable to help himself. Everything was starting to feel completely surreal. When she nodded, he stared at her for a moment, flabbergasted, before blurting out his next question, "What does this mean? You own me?"

"Well, I had to sign the necessary documents before she would release you to me. They use these papers to avoid disputes in claims of ownership. Would you like to see them?"

John's mouth dropped open. Papers? Claims of ownership? He was dimly aware that the others in the room were now grinning away like idiots, but all his attention was still focused on Elizabeth. He cleared his throat and said hoarsely, "Uhm… papers?"

"Yes, papers of ownership that proved, technically, yes, I do own you…" Elizabeth replied, a small smile tugging at her lips when John's eyes widened. She waited a moment before taking pity on the Major, who continued to gape at her with a dazed look on his handsome face. "That is, of course, if we were still on P5X-672. Apparently, these documents have no validity anywhere else in the Pegasus Galaxy."

"Oh…"

Elizabeth had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing out loud at the look on her ranking military officer's face, but couldn't help teasing him a little, "Would it have been so bad?"

"Hmm? No, that wasn't it…" John blinked in surprise and then shook his head. He was still trying to wrap his brain around the notion that he actually belonged to one Elizabeth Weir in a tiny part of the Pegasus galaxy.

"Oh?" she prompted when John trailed off. "What is it then?"

It was her turn to be surprised when John's ears turned red.

"It's nothing," he replied, refusing to meet her eyes. "Just a little bit of this and that…"

There was a soft snort on her left, and Elizabeth turned in time to see Carson hiding a smile behind one hand, while Rodney just looked completely baffled by the whole exchange. She turned back to John but before she could question him further, Carson spoke up when the clearly exhausted man bit back yet another yawn, "I think that will have to do for now. The Major needs his rest."

"Yes, of course," Elizabeth agreed, making a note to herself to ask the pilot about his cryptic statement when he was better. She was turning to leave with the others when John's drowsy voice stopped her.

"I guess it could have been worse."

"Worse?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah," John murmured as he shifted into a more comfortable position. He'd closed his eyes earlier but now cracked them open to look at her. "McKay could've been the buyer."

The splutter of indignant protest from the man in question drowned out Elizabeth's soft laughter.

"What– how–? Worse? And how is that worse? For your information, Major, I would have made a great owner. More importantly…"

John smiled as the rest of Rodney's objections were lost to him when the physicist was swiftly hustled away from the infirmary by the others. With a contented sigh, he closed his eyes once more and allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

The End