Chapter 2: Assessments

They had been stumbling blindly through the forest for more than an hour and the strain was taking its toll on Elizabeth. John still couldn't remember how they came to end up in the clearing and it bugged the hell out of him. However his primarily concern was finding a clean water source to prevent her head wound from getting infected.

A wave of nausea blasted over her and Elizabeth couldn't help but flinch. Seeking someway to steady herself, she leaned further into John's body and rested her head on his shoulder. She was deeply grateful when he stopped and merely watched her with concern filled eyes as she attempted to still the spinning world.

"You alright?" He asked her tentatively and subconsciously tightened his hold on her and pulled her closer to him.

When the world has stopped moving and she can tell which way is which she answers "Been better." An honest response if not a deflective one. Still she can't hide her pain and discomfort from him. They have become so close that it's a little disconcerting that they can have whole conversations pass between them without uttering a word. Most of the time it's an invaluable thing they share but right now it's showing her weakness.

He knows she is being strong and trying not to cause him any undue worry but that's his job. As the military commander of Atlantis it his duty to ensure the safety of everyone on the Expedition, and that goes double for her. She's the leader of the entire city and therefore more valuable than anyone else. He's not sure the city could survive losing her and there's a part of him deep down that fears he wouldn't be able to either.

Instead of dwelling on a future that he will ensure never comes to pass he forces himself back into the here and now. Scanning the immediate area all he can see is trees stretching as far as the eye can see. So then he listens and tries his best to block out Elizabeth's ragged breathing. He can hear birds chirping in the distance, and bugs that sounds remarkably like crickets. He's about to give up when he hears it, the faint distinctive sound of water splashing.

"Just a little further Elizabeth, I promise." His voice is gruff with determination and when he sees her merely nod at him he once again begins their awkward walk in the direction of the water.

It's a little farther than he would have liked to make her walk but he wasn't comfortable leaving her alone and bringing the water to her. The sound of running water gets louder and as they make their way through some thick bushes they eventually find themselves at the edge of a stream that forms a shallow pool at the bottom.

There isn't much cover and so after a quick gleam over the area. John helps Elizabeth sit down on the undergrowth with her back propped up against a fallen tree trunk. Without hesitation John unclips his P-90 and places it down next to her. Hurriedly searching his tac vest pockets he finds the small cloth that he always keeps on hand in case he travels to a hot planet and needs to swipe the sweat off of his brow.

He dunks it in the cool clear stream water, before wringing out the excess and kneels down in front of Elizabeth. Her eyes are wary and he can tell that she's having a hard time focusing on anything for too long. He places his right hand to cup her cheek and slowly raises the wet cloth in his other hand to the nasty looking gash on her temple.

"This is going to sting." He warns her and without hesitation he places the cool wet cloth against the broken flesh.

She hisses and instinctively tries to move her head away from him but she can't. His hand on her cheek keeps her in place and so she just closes her eyes and surrenders to his work. He's trying to be as gentle as possible as he starts to move the cloth down. Wiping away the dried blood and specs of dirt that got in there when she was lying down in the clearing.

When the cloth becomes full with her blood and dirt he goes and rinses it clean in the stream before returning and continuing the process again. He does this several times before finally becoming satisfied that the wound is clean and she's in no danger of getting an infection. He would have bandaged it up but he didn't have anything like that on him.

He pulls back from her and sits down on his bottom as he takes in her appearance. Her dark curls are scruffy, she's a little pale and slightly dirty in places but at least her breathing has settled into a normal steady rise and fall. If it wasn't for that cut on her head then she would have looked peaceful. He notices her body begin to relax and knows that she's drifting off.

Despite there not being much cover for them to hide should they need it. John figures that she could really do with the rest and seeing as he didn't have a clue where they were there wasn't much point wondering around making themselves tired.

Picking up his P-90 again he grips it as a firm reassurance that he is ready for anything out there, should he need to be. He decides to use this time to try and recall the events that led them here and so starts with the things he definitely remembers.

His team had travelled to a planet that had some ruins that looked Ancient in origin. McKay was having trouble translating the text and so they had requested Weir. John hadn't liked the idea of bringing her off-world but they had thoroughly searched the ruins and found that there weren't any traces of anything suspicious.

The images are just flashes in his mind, going too fast to truly focus on. But something gets activated as Elizabeth traces her fingertips over the worn writing. He rushes towards her trying to get her out of the way. He slams into her though and her head collides with the wall. Then a bright light encompasses them both, his team shouting at them and then everything is gone.

Sheppard shakes his head slightly to bring him back into the present. The small patches of memory that he does have don't give him any leads on how to get back. With his gaze trained back on Elizabeth, he swore that he'd get them out of this.

A/N: Anyway hope you all liked that. Since I got back into Stargate Atlantis, I've got loads of different story ideas running around my head. If I had the resources and technology I'd go back in time and show the writers just how wrong they were with getting rid of Elizabeth Weir. Unfortunately I'll just have to do with writing my day dreams down and sharing with all of you! :)