Comments: I am changing the fic slightly, from how it was posted on Beya.

Part: 2

1500 hours

The ground had finally stopped shaking around them; the cloud of dusty from the falling rocks dissipating around them. Ronon joined Rodney who was lifting himself off the ground several yards from the entrance of the tunnel in the mountain.

"Where's Sheppard?" Ronon asked Rodney.

Coughing as he had raise to his feet, Rodney took a moment to respond to Ronon. Looking away from Ronon frowning, Rodney shook his head no. John had been behind him. And he had just barely made it out of the tunnel with his life intact and Rodney feared that John wasn't as fortunate.

Both Ronon and Rodney looked at the tunnel's entrance blocked off by the falling rocks, rocks so large that they looked more like boulders, with concern.

Palz, a villager joined the Ronon and Rodney by the entrance while the rest of the men from his village looked on from a distance. The look of fear still evidence on some of their faces.

"I do not see Colonel Sheppard." Palz said questioningly.

"That's because he's probably trapped back there in one of your tunnels." Rodney snapped at the man. "Or worse." Rodney's voice trailed off.

Ronon gave Rodney a frustrated look. Ronon needed Rodney to be calm and rational not pissing off the very people who's help they were going to need if they wanted to help Sheppard.

Rodney looked at Ronon as if he was going to say something else, but said nothing more.

"McKay we don't know that." Ronon said.

"That right, we don't. But do you honestly believe Sheppard could have survived that?" Rodney turned to point toward the rock covered entrance of the tunnel. "Hello! Am I the only one seeing how royally screw Sheppard is…. here? We're lucky we even made it out alive ourselves. Sheppard could be buried under a piled of rocks for all we know." Rodney said agitatedly.

"Well there is only one way to find out." Ronon looked at the entrance with a determined glare. "We can start by trying to clear the entrance to the tunnel." Ronon replied.

"My people will help. We are very grateful to you (Palz addressed Ronon.) and Dr. McKay (Palz looked hesitantly at Rodney.) and Colonel Sheppard for your assistance today. We could have lost many lives today. I will gather my people. " With that Palz walked away to talk to the other men from his village as Rodney and Ronon watched.

Once Palz was out of hearing distance, Ronon turned on Rodney and gave him a hard look.

"What?" Rodney asked.

Ronon shook his head in disbelief and then started to pull off his long leather coat.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing McKay?"

"Oh… You know I don't think it is going to be that simple." Rodney said looking as Ronon.

"Why?" Ronon asked. Ronon pulled his gun from its holster. Rodney looked panicked for a moment.

"You're not going to try and shoot…"

"No McKay." Ronon said.

Rodney now having gotten over his fear that Ronon was about to shoot his way into the tunnels. "Ah, okay. I, I was about to say we don't know how stable the tunnels are. And we could make matters worse if we are not careful." Rodney turned to looked at the rock covered entrance again, frowning.

"That's why you are going to figure out why the radios are not working or head to the Stargate to contact Atlantis for help." Ronon said.

xxxx

"John, I would like to speak to you in private." Teyla demanded as she approached him and Rodney. She had probably seen him and Rodney walking toward the Mess Hall as she had existed one of the transporters. Even if this opportunity hadn't presented itself, John knew she would have gone in search of him.

John looked at Teyla, his mouth twisting. It wasn't like he didn't kind of expect her to be upset with him or his decision. He had just been hoping to avoid Teyla for as long as possible, until later and apparently his plan hadn't quite worked out the way he had planned.

John looked at Rodney. If he didn't know better, he was starting to think Rodney was avoiding looking him in the eyes. If Rodney would just look at him maybe he would see his plead for some intervention.

But Rodney had seemed to take one look at his and Teyla's standoff before he said, "I, I think I left something in my lab."

John frowned at the shear abandonment by Rodney, rolling his eyes in frustration. Some friend? Rodney quickly turned away, walking away without giving a backward glance at either him or Teyla. As he watched Rodney departing back he thought some things never do change.

Now, he and Teyla were facing each other after they both watched Rodney leave.

"Teyla we aren't going to be having this discussion here are we?" John asked. They're we in a busy corridor filled with people constantly walking by. And he certainly didn't want them to be the evening gossip on Atlantis.

"No John we are not." Teyla replied. "I do think we should discuss this matter privately right now though." Teyla said as she gave him a smile. John knew that smile wasn't for him though, it was probably for that scientist who was just walking by them.

John realized him and Teyla were now in the training room where they have had some heated sparring sessions as of late.

"John do you not trust my judgment or fact that I can take care of myself?" Teyla said angrily at him.

"Teyla, com 'on you know you it isn't like that." John voice raised in frustration. " You know I trust your judgment and I know you can take care of yourself. But you're my wife…"

But you're my wife seemed to echoed in John's unconscious. John's eyes fluttered opened the dream he was having about him and Teyla abruptly ending, leaving only the pounding pressure between his brows. In fact, it felt like his whole body hurt. John closed his eyes from the ached of his body, his mouth tightening. As a soldier he was used to having injuries and dealing with those injuries out in the field and this time wouldn't be any different, but the pain at times could be a bitch and this time apparently wasn't any differently. He grimaced. His lips pursing from the pains racked his body as he opened his eyes.

It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the tunnel. The lighting in the tunnels had to be described as dimly lighted as best when he along with the others had entered the maze of tunnels. Lanterns strategically hung from the ceiling had lit the once opened pathways of the tunnels. Now those pathways were all but gone he now figured. Filled with falling debris and fallen rocks from the cave in. Casting most of the pathways in the tunnels into darkness, yet there did seemed to be a small beam of light streaming through a small opening in the rocks a few feet ahead of him, from some kind of entrance or exit outside of the tunnel and maybe a way to the outside world. At least he hoped it was.

John tried to slowly lift himself off the ground, to get a better look at that light and his surrounding, using his underarms he gradually pushed himself off his stomach. But he found his movements were little restricted. Turning his body, slowly, on his side, his back was now more horizontal to the dusty, dirty covered ground. John looked down the length of his body toward his feet. He could now see that one of his foot was pinned in between a couple of the big sizes rocks. John tried to move his foot to see how wedged in his foot was, in between the rocks. It felt like his foot was pretty wedged in. He could hardly move his foot. And trying to move his foot was causing him even more discomfort and pain. John moaned from the pain, biting his down on his lower lip.

John knew the wisest thing to do was probably to assess if he had any other injuries and their severity. Doing a quick evaluations of his aliments, he concluded that the pain from his foot was probably due to an ankle sprain. His joint hurt and it was throbbing. If his foot had been broken, it wouldn't be as painful. So that was something at least.

He didn't think he had broken any other bones or anything of that nature. His chest did feel tight though. And what had him most concern was that he wasn't sure what kind head trauma he'd sustained if any. He had one royal headache that was for sure, but he didn't believe he had any memory loss, but he did lose consciousness there for a while. How long? He wasn't sure. He probably had a few scratches and bruises. His right cheek hurt from the small cut on it. Blood from the cut marring his square jaw slightly.

John had now managed sit up on his buttock, looking around the tunnel. It appeared that he was indeed alone. Maybe Ronon and the other had gotten out unarmed. At least he hoped they did. Damn, it seemed he was hoping for a lot of things right now. He had no way of knowing though. It looked as if he's completely shut off from the others.

They had been evacuating the tunnels when they'd heard the explosion further down in the tunnels. Then suddenly like a cascading effect, the walls and ceiling of the tunnels began to cave in on them. They had try to retreat to the entrance of the tunnel. Ronon had taken point at the front of the group with their guide, Palz , to lead the way out, while he'd remained in the back to make sure all of the Chaldroians had gotten out.

"Ronon!" John muttered.

All John heard was silence in return.

"Hello. Can anyone hear me?" John demanded before he began to coughed.

TBC