Cooper slammed his wrist into the floor, her knee digging into his back. "Go again, sir?" she asked breathlessly.

He groaned into the mat. "Yeah. One more time. Let me up first."

She stood, allowing him to stretch and rub his sore arm. "Didn't have to pin me so hard," he complained.

She smirked. "Your shoulder still bothering you?"

"Not any more. Now the rest of me hurts." But it was a good kind of hurt. As much as he liked sparring with Teyla, Sheppard felt on a more level playing field when he fought with Cooper. So far today, they were three to three, and he was determined to break the tie.

She stood on the other side of the room, getting herself into a ready stance. Then they circled each other, looking for an opening. He swung first, and she ducked. Then he threw another punch with a following undercut, but she saw it coming and grabbed his wrist. This was real sparring. A constant dance of attack and deflect, neither getting many solid hits in. With Teyla, he was constantly on the defense and lost almost every time. Today, Cooper was tiring just as quickly as he was.

The round ended when he threw a heavy punch and she ducked, twirled underneath, grabbed his arm with her right and pushed his chest with her left. The momentum and force combined sent him to the floor, knocking the wind out of him.

"Four to three," she panted, kneeling next to his head. "Sir."

"Shut up," he gasped, still attempting to get his breath back. "Water."

"Yes, sir." A moment later, she returned to his side with his water bottle. "Need any help?"

"I've got it," he snapped, grabbing it out of her hand and sitting up. "You've been working with Teyla."

"Here and there," she said, the smirk still on her face.

"Well, you've been practicing, at least." He got to his feet, rubbing his back. Then he checked his watch and sighed. "We need to change. The Aorans will be here soon."

"I'm not on the welcoming committee," she told him, picking up her own water bottle. "Elizabeth just wanted you, Lorne, and some of the Marines. No need to let them know we're nervous."

"So what are you gonna do?"

She shrugged. "I think I'll spend some more time here. Haven't had much of a day off in a while, so a little controlled physical activity will do me some good."
He took another swig of water and grabbed his gym bag. "Then I'll see you later."

. . .

Sheppard stood at the ready next to Lorne in the Gate room. He was in a freshly-cleaned uniform and his tac vest, imposing but not threatening. He wasn't expecting a visit from some dignitaries on a slightly-better-than-backwater planet to be anything less than dry, but then...

He had this feeling that wouldn't go away. It had been slowly building all day, maybe due to paranoia over the visit. It was just a bad feeling in the back of his mind that was getting more annoying by the minute, sort of like the buzzing in his room. Remembering the noise distracted him for a moment. He still hadn't figured out what the hell it was, and Rodney was being way less than helpful on that front. Maybe Zelenka would take a look at it. The Czech was always more interested in little problems around the city than Rodney.

"I heard it was only going to be a party of ten," Lorne muttered as they waited for the Stargate to open.

Sheppard snorted. "Could have just stationed you, let the rest of us get some actual work done."

"You saying I'm lazy, sir?"

"Not lazy. Just... not productive."

Lorne smirked. "Maybe I should ask you for more training sessions."

"Not what I meant, Major."

The Gate's chevrons started locking into place and the Marines tensed. "Relax, guys," Sheppard murmured. "Don't start anything. Just be ready."

The wormhole opened up, and out stepped several elderly people dressed in colorful robes. Behind them was a personal guard, dressed in khaki and wielding what looked like low-tech guns.

"Greetings, Magtok," Elizabeth said with a wide smile, stepping down to meet them. "We welcome you to Atlantis."

"Thank you, Dr. Weir," he said, not smiling but with a pleased air about his words. "You did not lie when you said your city was beautiful."

As they exchanged pleasantries, Major Lorne surreptitiously bumped his arm. "Should we redirect her?" he murmured.

Sheppard glanced over to see Cooper heading back through the room, having just finished her work out. She was still dressed in a tank-top and sweats, and was curiously looking over at the meeting on the Gate room floor. He was sorely tempted to roll his eyes, but gave a slight shake of his head instead. "Nah. She'll leave soon, and I don't think they noticed-"

"Sir, get behind me!" barked one of the Aoran guards, stepping forward.

Then everything happened in slow motion. Before anyone could move, the guard fired his weapon. The Marines instantly had their guns at the ready and two of them fired. Sheppard only had time to think, Wrong, so he pushed the Marines back, calling, "Stop, stop! Stay calm!"

"Colonel!" Lorne shouted. He grabbed Sheppard by the shoulder and turned him to face the stairs.

His heart stopped. Cooper was lying there, blood pooling on the floor from an open wound in her stomach. Without a word, the colonel abandoned the soldiers and ran up the steps to her side. "Cooper?" he said quietly, his hands hovering for a moment before deciding to put them on the wound, to stop the bleeding. "Cooper, can you hear me?" She didn't respond and he felt a shot of panic go through him. "Talk to me, Lieutenant, that's an order!"

"I hear you... sir," she grunted, staring vacantly at the ceiling.

"You're gonna be fine, alright?" He turned around, looking at the shocked faces below. "Get Dr. Beckett in here!"

"He's already been called," Elizabeth said, hurrying up the stairs.

"Get Lorne to detain the Aorans," he said quickly, quietly. His hands were slick, soaked in Cooper's blood. "Don't let them out of your sight, take their weapons, do-"

"John," she said firmly. "Lorne has them surrounded, please try to stay calm."

Calm? he wanted to shout. He was supposed to be calm while his lieutenant bled out on the floor? She let out a cry of pain and he looked down, entirely focused on her. "Beckett's almost here, Cooper, you'll be fine. Just hang on. Don't let a damn piece of lead cut you down."

She didn't reply. As he watched, her shallow breathing slowed to a stop, and beneath his hands, she stilled.