Of all the things Rodney hated (and there were a lot), near the top of the list would be pissing Teyla off. It was right under "sharing his brain" and right above "citrus."

"You cannot keep him locked up forever," she said firmly.

"I know, I know, but this is for his own good." He hated those words. He'd seen people say it on plenty of TV shows and known they were full of crap. But... this was necessary. "There are other options."

"Colonel Sheppard does not seem to think so," she argued.

"What, so you're lobbying for him to go on a suicide mission? There are always other options. Take it from a man who actually thinks for a living and doesn't just point his gun at the problem."

"Unscheduled off-world activation!" called Chuck.

"Any IDC?" Rodney asked hopefully.

"No, sir."

He frowned. "Shield up."

The prismacolor barrier rose in front of the wormhole, but there were no signs of anything coming through.

"Incoming transmission!" called another technician. "Unknown sender."

He made a face, debating whether or not to accept it. "Scan it, make sure it's clean, then patch it through."

After a minute or two, the screen in the control room turned on to reveal the nauseatingly familiar face of Ex-commander Kolya. "Colonel Sheppard? If you are receiving this message, please respond."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Colonel Sheppard isn't here right now. What do you want?"

The Genii smirked. "Then go get him, Dr. McKay."

"He's busy." He felt Teyla come up behind him, staring at the screen with a mixture of curiosity and hatred. He thought maybe he had the same expression.

"Very well. Then I will allow you to pass on this message." He stepped back from the camera to allow more of the room to be seen, and this revealed Elizabeth strapped to a chair. It was an achingly familiar scene, although this time sans the starving Wraith.

"What's your game now, Kolya?" Rodney asked. "C4 or an angry Iratus bug to the leader?"

Kolya chuckled. "No, no, although if the C4 is available, I will freely accept. I only want Sheppard. I left a trail for him to follow, but he is taking longer than I'd like and I wanted to give a bit of an... incentive."

"You've gone up against him before and lost. Twice," Rodney reminded him. "Why should now be different?"

"Because, Dr. McKay, I've learned that if I hold Dr. Weir in my possession, Colonel Sheppard is always just a little more accommodating."

"Once again, you tried that already, and he ended up shooting you."

"Rodney's got a point, Kolya," Elizabeth taunted from her chair. Kolya turned around and gave a curt nod to one of his men. The Genii held up a long, thin rod and tapped her, instantly causing her to convulse and cry out in pain. The entire control room stiffened. Rodney was again struck by the surrealness of it, as he had been when watching Sheppard get fed upon by a Wraith. Watching this through the screen, it was like a TV show, scripted, safe. But all of it felt so wrong, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"I'm a bit out of shooting range this time, Doctor. Tell Sheppard to come alone, one hour, or Dr. Weir is dead. Wait another hour, and the annoying lieutenant in my cell will follow." The screen went blank, leaving the room feeling cold and deflated.

"We cannot do as he asks," Teyla said.

"Of course we can't, that's exactly what I've been trying to prevent," Rodney shot back. "But you've been spending so much time yelling at me for what I've been doing that I doubt you've got any ideas."

She lifted her chin, jaw tightening. "And have you?"

"Well, not yet. I'm working on it, just give me a little time."

"We do not have much to begin with."

"I'm well aware of that, thank you. Let's call a meeting in the briefing room. I want Ronon, Lorne, you, Zelenka, and..." He huffed. "I guess we should get Sheppard in there, too."

She gave a short nod. "I will gather them."

"Oh, and, see if you can scrounge up any food. Can't be planning on an empty stomach, can we?"

. . .

Daniel entered the solitary confinement room and found pretty much exactly what he'd expected. Colonel Sheppard was pacing in agitation, ignoring the food on the table and the magazine. It made him think of Jack. If Jack had been the one thrown in solitary confinement, he'd have had his heels kicked up on the table and some snarky comment about the temperature of the room or his long wait. Of course, he would have been fuming on the inside, but it was rare that he let that sort of emotion break through his sarcastic exterior.

"You here to let me out?" Sheppard asked.

Daniel shook his head. "Sorry."

He gave a half shrug. "Didn't think so, anyway."

The archeologist looked at him sympathetically, shoving his hands in his pockets. "They're really doing all they can."

"I know that."

"They're just looking at your plan as a... plan B."

"Yeah? And what's plan A?"

He was quiet, and that was answer enough for the colonel. "We don't have time to debate this. Has there been any kind of ransom yet?"

Daniel shook his head again. "Not so far as I know."

"See? We have no idea what he's doing to them." He resumed his pacing, like a tiger in a cage, and equally as dangerous. Daniel noticed they'd let him keep his sidearm.

He watched him for a moment, forming his words carefully. He'd always been the one that was good at this, better than Jack, obviously, and a little more coherent than Teal'c. Sam had sort of been on his level, if a little better. But Sam wasn't here, and the rest of Sheppard's team was putting together a decent plan. It was his job to cool the steaming colonel. "Look... I don't know this Kolya. I've never dealt with the Genii, and, to be honest, I don't know either of those women as well as I'd like. But from what I've seen, your people seem to know what they're doing. I know Dr. Weir has enough backbone to stand up to Kolya long enough to buy you some time, and Cooper has been through enough to not be scared. Out there, in the control room and everywhere else, people are just as worried about them as you are. I think you need to trust them to do their jobs."

Sheppard had stopped pacing, looking at Daniel with an unreadable expression. "You think I don't trust them?"

"I think you believe you know what's best."

The door opened before the colonel could respond and in walked Teyla, her stance resolute. "I apologize if I am interrupting."

"No. I think we were finished, anyway," Daniel said, looking at Sheppard.

"What's up?" he asked, looking at her with some semblance of his usual calm.

"We received a transmission from Kolya," she said carefully. "He does indeed have Dr. Weir and Lieutenant Cooper, and he is using them as bait. Rodney has called a meeting in an effort to create a plan, and he wishes for you to be there, as well."

"About damn time," he said, going for the door.

"John," she said, moving in front of the door to stop him. "We need you. Alive, and in one piece."

He looked at her, then at Daniel. After a moment, he nodded. "I know. Let's make a plan."