The wind was, once again, knocked out of Sheppard as he was thrown to the floor.

"Four to three," Cooper said, kneeling next to him. "Sir."

"I even saw that one coming," he coughed, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Water?"

"Yes, sir." She stood and retrieved the bottle, then handed it down to him. "Need any help?"

"You're hilarious." He took a long drink, then got to his feet. He checked his watch
for good measure. "You gonna be in here during the visit?"

"No, actually, Dr. Weir just asked if I could be there," she said, picking up her own water bottle. "Pretty last minute. She's having Teyla and Ronon go, too. Something about wanting extra security."

"Really?" he asked. Maybe Elizabeth had taken him more seriously than he thought. "Then we'd better get a move on if we're gonna be cleaned up by then."

"Yes, sir."

. . .

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Lieutenant..."

She looked uncomfortable enough, but as CO, he needed to reprimand her. "I couldn't find my uniform shirt, sir," she said stiffly.

"I'll have you court marshalled."

"You say that a lot, sir."

Lorne looked over at her, brow furrowed. "Is this a lieutenant thing? I remember Ford doing it a lot."

"Teyla does it, too," Ronon said, gesturing to the Athosian's bare arms.

"Can we make a rule? No tank-tops while on active duty," Sheppard said. "I don't know why you'd wear them, anyway. I'd feel naked."

"Trust me, sir, we don't ever want you to feel that way."

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm serious, Cooper. Court marshalled. Your future."

The chevrons of the Gate began locking into place, and the wormhole opened up. Elizabeth stepped down the stairs with a few scientists at her back, a smile on her face. Elderly people in colorful robes stepped into the room, a group of khaki-clad guards at their back. Sheppard forced himself to relax. Elizabeth sealed off the Gate room, so there would be no incidents.

"Greetings, Magtok," Elizabeth said warmly. "We welcome you to Atlantis."

"Thank you, Dr. Weir," he replied. "You did not lie when you said your city was beautiful."

"That is very kind of you. May we conduct-"

"Sir, get behind me!" called one of the guards.

Sheppard stared, having only enough time to think, No, when a bullet came flying past his face. It missed, thankfully, and he was just about to calm the soldiers down when he heard something heavy hit the floor.

"MJ!" Teyla cried, kneeling beside the fallen lieutenant.

"No!" Sheppard barked. "This wasn't supposed to happen! We fixed it!"

"Sir, what are you talking about?" Lorne demanded. "Do we return fire?"

He stared at the body on the floor. The bullet had gone through her throat, killing her almost instantly. Oh, how he wanted to return fire, kill the sonofabitch that had murdered Cooper twice now.

He never got the chance.

. . .

Teyla looked at the colonel warily, slowly sliding down from her perch on the table. "John, are you alright?"

He looked at her. "No. I'm not."

"What's the matter, sir?" Cooper asked as she seated herself across from him.

He flinched. Seeing her was still a surprise. "It's not a vision. It's the same day."

The girls shared a look, then focused on Sheppard. "Are you not feeling well?" Teyla asked hesitantly.

They weren't going to understand. They hadn't experienced it. "No, I'm saying that this is the third time we've repeated the same day."

"I didn't know you were one to dislike the routine," Cooper said.

"No, no, I'm not talking about routine. It's the same exact day. Right down to my sore shoulder and Elizabeth wanting to see me." He jabbed a finger at Teyla. "Don't say booty call."

Now they were staring at him like he was a lunatic. "Perhaps you should go back to your quarters," she suggested carefully. "I will inform Elizabeth that you are unwell, and-"

"No. No, it's Elizabeth I need to talk to." He stood up so fast he almost knocked his chair over, but hardly cared. He needed to stop the Aoran visit from happening. Maybe if Cooper didn't die, this nightmare would end.

It was lucky that this time he forgot the coffee.

"Dammit, Rodney!" Sheppard snapped, hauling the scientist up by the back of his jacket.

"Well, excuse me for being a little distracted!" he snapped. "I've had a terrible day - two days - I don't even know! Just let me get back to work."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said, holding up a hand. "You've been repeating days, too?"

Rodney paused. "This one specifically, yes. You... you have?"

"Yeah. This is the third time, and let me tell you, I'm starting to get a little annoyed," he said testily.

"Believe me, I know what you mean," Rodney said. "Every day, Zelenka tries to convince me that we can synthesize antimatter, and it almost makes me feel sorry for him that the one day he's most off his game is the day we keep repeating-"

"Rodney," Sheppard interrupted, trying to remind himself that the man couldn't possibly know. "Cooper has died every day before everything reset."

He frowned, paling slightly. "Does - does she die in different ways, accidents, or-"

"The Aorans," he replied. "I don't know, the first time I thought it was a mistake, but now I think they're targeting her."

"Then we need to tell Elizabeth."

"I was just on my way to do that."