AN: Thank you all very much for your encouraging reviews :-))
Enjoy.
Evan's POV
When Evan and his men had arrived at the village, he tried once more to contact the missing team before setting to search the abandoned buildings.
"Colonel Sheppard this is Lorne please come in." Again there was no reply and sighing, Evan began to give his orders.
"Split up but stay close…" He stopped when he noticed that Pvt. Cain was not looking at him but seemed to focus on something else, his head slightly cocked.
"Cain – was is it?" He addressed the private.
"Sir, I think I heard something."
"What was it?" Evan felt the adrenalin rushing through his body. 'Perhaps it was them. Please, let that be John.'
"I'm not quite sure, Sir."
Now everybody was listening intently. 'There! Some distant yelling - wasn't it?'
Without further order the team was cautiously rushing towards the noise and coming nearer Evan clearly heard the voices of his brother, McKay, Teyla and Ronon shouting "Here! We're here!"
Evan came to a sliding stop in front of a hole in the ground.
"John! Thank God!" Evan exclaimed relieved. Peering into the rather deep and wide hole, more than ten feet deep by the look of it he caught the sight of John who looked at him with a raised eyebrow a question evident in his eyes. Trying to cover his slip he corrected himself at once and added, "Colonel glad to see you again." Now he sound much more composed. "What happened?" his voice not portraying more than appropriate concern.
"Well..." Sheppard began "McKay had us summoned here because he thought he had detected some interesting technology..."
"Oh for…" McKay cut in, "How was I to know that there was a pitfall, I wonder?"
Evan could see Teyla looking at McKay decidedly calm, where as Ronon was leaning against the wall a stoic look on his face but giving some rather resentful glances towards McKay, who was clearly animated, while John seemed composed and restless at the same time.
'Surely not being able to get his team out of this mess by himself must have unsettled him.'
"McKay," John addressed his friend annoyed. "I clearly remember asking you if you secured the area..."
"Yeah, well, I thought you were speaking of villagers or wraith and as you can clearly see there are none of those around."
It was obvious what had been going on these last hours Evan chuckled along with his men who were readying themselves to get John and his team out.
"What happened to the radio, sir?" Evan wondered.
"McKay left his on the ground instead of securing it and managed to crush mine during the fall…"
Looking around Evan noticed a radio on a stone nearby. 'So that was how they knew it was us looking for them.'
"I'll have you know Sheppard," McKay huffed. "That given the height of the drop there was no time to influence the outcome of my landing. Everyone capable of basic physics can tell you as much!"
"Rodney!" Teyla cut in. "The colonel was only explaining why the major wasn't able to reach us over the radio." On the continuing banter Ronon's look at McKay seemed to get slightly more irritated.
'I better stop this,' mused Evan. 'before McKay gets strangled.'
"Sir, we'll be right back," he said out loud. "Surely there will be something in this village to get you out of there."
'Just get your brother and the others out. There are no broken bones or sprained angles they could just walk back arriving at Atlantis in time for dinner.' With the knot in his stomach finally gone Evans was in high spirits and with no foe in sight he allowed himself to relax. While they were roaming through the houses he could hear Stackhouse and Cain still sniggering.
"Watch your steps!" Evan pointed out "I wouldn't like it if I had to pull you out of another pothole!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Surely, sir!" They replied struggling to answer while they were laughing.
It didn't take long to find some ropes and they headed back to the others to get them out. First Teyla than McKay, Ronon and finally John.
Evan looked up his brother once more, searching for injuries. John had some bruises, alright, but otherwise he seemed fine. Well, maybe a little embarrassed?
"Did Weir send you?" John asked.
"We were worried because there hadn't been any contact," Evan admitted slipping once more, but this time John didn't seem to notice.
"Well I'm glad. I started to wonder if we'd have to stay the night. I'll have to thank her. I wasn't expecting a search party so soon."
"Weren't you, sir? We knew you sure would've sent one if roles were reversed."
"You know me well, don't you?" John offered one of his rare, shy smiles.
'Not as well as I liked.' Evan thought an ordered himself, 'Now! Do it!'
"I wonder if you'd like to drown today's 'experience' tonight?" he asked.
"A beer tonight? Count me in, Major. Now let's get ready to leave. I'm getting hungry and besides, if I remember correctly, there will be blue Jell-O with the dinner tonight…."
They started gathering all the equipment with McKay frowning at his crushed laptop. "Oh no, look at that. It took me days so configure it as I need it. Now I have to do it all again. Hopefully I'll be able to save the data."
Naturally John felt the need to reply and while this renewed banter amused Evans team it was obvious that Ronon and Teyla had experienced enough of it during the last hours. Smirking Evan bent down to pick of the last piece of equipment from the edge of the pitfall while at the same time McKay took a step backwards, upset by John's last comment on their banter without paying attention to his surroundings.
"McKay!" Snapped John trying to grab his arm to prevent him from running into Even only to get McKay backing away and colliding with Evan.
Evan felt himself plunging head first into the pitfall the alarmed shouts of his comrades ringing in his ears. Reaching the soil much too fast for his liking while oddly enough he thought, 'McKay was right, its basic physics,' and then, 'so much for sharing a beer and getting to know your brother better' before everything went black.