A/N: Appreciate the kind words and feedback.

Would also like to thank Everlovin and The Lady Blue for giving me confidence and assistance with planning the series :)

Chapter Three: Reunited

"Rodney?" enquired Sheppard as he stood in the doorway of the conference room, a look of surprise on his face "What..."

"...are you doing here?" Teyla said, finishing his sentence for him whilst wearing the same confused expression on her face. The last they had heard, Rodney had been assigned to lead a project back on Atlantis and given his propensity for not leaving work unfinished, something major had to be wrong for him to even be here. Before they could press him any further on the matter, General O'Neill entered the room, accompanied by General Landry and Daniel Jackson, all of them wearing the same, sombre look.

"Colonel Sheppard, Miss Emmagan. Please, take a seat" offered General O'Neill courteously. They both took the nearest available seats, which just happened to be opposite an exhausted-looking Rodney and Daniel Jackson, who nudged his Canadian colleague to check he was actually still awake. Looking up as if woken from a peaceful slumber, Rodney took a few seconds to process who was sitting in front of him.

"Sheppard? Teyla?" he asked, a mixture of relief and hope clear in his otherwise slightly hoarse voice.

"Yeah, we're here McKay" said Sheppard before turning to General O'Neill "What exactly is going on sir? You mentioned a problem with Atlantis..."

"I was just getting to that...Doctor McKay?" O'Neill said, inviting the scientist to take over.

"Right" said Rodney as he fumbled through the file that lay open before him "Roughly four hours ago, as I was being detained by the IOA delegates in the conference room on Atlantis, Doctor Zelenka was attempting to speed up the decryption of the Atlantis database by using the holographic interface." He paused briefly to allow the others to absorb what exactly he had been doing for the past two months that made him virtually impossible to contact.

"...Anyway, as he powered up the Holographic systems hoping to find something, it seems that he inadvertently activated a hidden fail-safe programme within the Atlantis database. We're not quite sure what the programme was specifically but we hypothesise that it was some kind of redundant executable file within a sub folder tha..."

"Rodney!" Sheppard and General O'Neill said, almost in unison. Teyla smiled at the familiarity of this situation, Rodney focusing on the detail when all Sheppard required was the general gist of the problem.

"Well...Atlantis somehow figured out it was no longer in the Pegasus galaxy and we theorise that's why the fail-safe programme activated when Zelenka powered up the holographic interface. It was probably designed for if the city ever fell into the wrong hands. It's all here in Zelenka's repor.."

"Rodney! What is it?" asked Sheppard with a degree of finality.

"Well, to put it as basically as I can. If Atlantis is not returned to the Pegasus galaxy, then as far as we can tell, the fail-safe programme will initiate a self-destruct sequence that will theoretically be powerful enough to take out most of the solar system."

A stunned silence reverberated around the room as everyone processed what had just been said, even those who had already been briefed on the dire situation they now faced. Sheppard looked at Teyla and saw the exact look of concern his face must have been showing.

"How much time do we have?" asked Daniel Jackson inquisitively.

"Well, if the countdown clock that was activated is accurate, we have about a week before Atlantis goes kaboom" replied Rodney with an element of panic in his voice. He wouldn't tell anyone else, but he felt a small tinge of responsibility for the whole situation, having left Zelenka to power the interface alone whilst he dealt with the politics of command.

The dire situation provided all the encouragement Sheppard needed however. He had seen the selflessness displayed by Teyla and Ronon when his world was in danger. Now he had the perfect opportunity to repay some of the debt he and the rest of humanity owed these people, his people.

Turning to face the most senior officer in the room, Sheppard knew he had to ask the question, regardless of what the answer might be.

"General O'Neill sir. Given the circumstances, am I to understand that Atlantis will be returning to Pegasus?" he asked.

" That's affirmative, Colonel. The President authorised the return of Atlantis immediately. The IOA have agreed under the proviso that Mr Woolsey is reinstated as operational leader of the mission. We're still looking at our options regarding a military lead for this operation..."

"I'd like to volunteer for that assignment sir" replied Sheppard enthusiastically.

"I thought you might say that" replied General O'Neill with a smile on his face. "If General Landry has no objections..."

"None sir. I will regret losing Colonel Sheppard and his team but I can't think of anyone more qualified to take on this role." said General Landry with a hint of affection in his voice.

"Well then Sheppard.." O'Neill continued but was quickly interrupted

"If it is not too much trouble, I would also like to volunteer, General O'Neill" said Teyla, throwing a warm smile in the direction of John.

"I thought that you might say that too" said O'Neill. "Well, if the new military commander of Atlantis has no objections..." he said jokingly, drawing a shake of the head from Sheppard, who took a moment to process the fact that General O'Neill had seemingly accepted his request to rejoin the Atlantis mission.

"Good. Then if there's nothing else, I have to get back to Washington. Those pens won't push themselves" said General O'Neill, the sarcasm masking a genuine dislike of the bureaucratic game he now found himself playing. The whole room shook their heads.

"Well gentleman, ma'am. I think you have some preparations to make. The president expects Atlantis to be ready to get underway within twenty four hours." With that, General O'Neill stood and, after exchanging the customary salutes to his gathered officers, exited the conference room with General Landry still in tow.

"This was nice...but I have to get back to Atlantis and check on things there, hopefully Zelenka hasn't caused some other catastrophe in the time I've been away. It was...it is good to see you both" said Rodney, offering a genuine smile, or at least the closest approximation he could manage. And with that he also exited the room, followed closely by Daniel Jackson, who seemed full of questions, much to Rodney's annoyance.

"Soooo...it seems like you'll be going home after all" said Sheppard, offering a reassuring smile to Teyla.

"It would appear so, though I wish it were under better circumstances" she responded sadly.

"Well, there's a saying on this world. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"

Teyla looked at him curiously, silently encouraging him to clarify what this meant. Again he had forgotten that, despite appearances, Teyla was as much a stranger to his world as he was to hers.

"It means, don't question an opportunity that is presented to you, just take it for what it is"

"I understand. Your world has some most peculiar customs" Teyla said with a warm smile.

"Oh you haven't heard the half of it, remind me to tell you about fraternity pledges sometime."

The two continued to talk for a few moments before a knock at the door drew their attention. A young officer stood there, looking nervous, as if he was aware he was intruding on something private. Sheppard decided it best to cut through the unease of the moment.

"What can I do you for Lieutenant?" he enquired politely.

"Sorry to interrupt sir. But we've received a call from the local police department. It appears that Major Andrews and the rest of your team were involved in an altercation outside a local bar. They've been detained"

"Son of a..." Sheppard said, just a hint of frustration in his voice "Not again..."

"Are they okay?" asked Teyla with more than a little concern

"A few cuts and bruises. Not as bad as the others guys" replied the Lieutenant, now a little more at ease. Sheppard stood up and walked towards the exit, muttering as he did so:

"Well that's good, because I'm going to kill them myself..."