Chapter 10

Carson, along with a small medical team and a gurney, was already in attendance in the jumper bay when Elizabeth returned with their missing military commander. As the rear hatch of the jumper carrying Major Sheppard lowered to the floor, he waited as patiently as he could, keen though he was to make sure the man was still in one piece. The last time he'd seen Sheppard after an encounter with Sarayah, he'd spent several hours in surgery pinning and stitching him back together. This time he was glad to see Sheppard was on his feet before the hatch had even stopped dropping.

As the major stepped out, Carson moved forward to meet him. 'Good to have you back, Major. I take it the gurney I called for won't be necessary?'

'No,' Sheppard snapped, walking right past him and heading out of the jumper bay. 'Where's Rodney?'

Carson glanced back at Elizabeth, who gave him a confused shrug and took off after the major.

Carson ran to catch up to them, spotting the blood soaking through the back of the borrowed jacket. 'He's in the infirmary, which is where you need to be by the looks of you. Perhaps you should let us take you there.'

'Heading that way now, Doc,' Sheppard told him, his pace never slowing.

There were several clear and obvious injuries to the major's face and neck, not to mention any other wounds those clothes might be hiding. Carson suspected only stubbornness was keeping him upright, and feared that might not be enough to sustain him for the entire journey, especially at this speed. He could sense real anger bubbling within the normally easy going major, and did what he could to diffuse it. 'I expect you've had quite the time of it on Medulsa. We were all very anxious when everyone was found but you.'

'Well, I'm here now so you can stop worrying,' Sheppard grunted, darting into the nearest transporter and activating it so quickly that Elizabeth and Carson only just managed to jump in there with him before the doors snapped shut.

'In a wee bit of a hurry, are we?' the Scot asked with a nervous chuckle, taking in the major's flushed face and the thin line he'd pressed his lips into. 'I only mention it because you're not usually so desperate to get to your post mission check-up.'

'I'm not having the check-up yet,' he responded, still not looking at him. 'I need to talk to Rodney first.'

Carson looked to Elizabeth, silently pleading for her help. He really didn't want Sheppard going to see Rodney in this heightened emotional state, and Elizabeth was the one person he hoped the major might listen to.

'I really think you should let Carson look you over first, John. Rodney can answer any questions you have after that.'

Sheppard snapped his head Elizabeth's way now. 'With all due respect, Elizabeth, I need to talk to Rodney first. It's important.'

He looked away from her before she could answer him, cutting her dead. It seemed he wasn't in the mood for negotiation on that point, and even Elizabeth, the most persuasive person he knew, seemed to understand to try again was utterly futile. Carson only hoped Sheppard wasn't about to take his foul mood out on the scientist's hide and get himself in more trouble.

The transporter opened straight outside the infirmary, where Rodney's whining could immediately be heard over the general thrum of the ward.

'I swear the food gets worse every time I come here,' McKay complained from somewhere further into the room. 'How's a person supposed to get better eating slop like this? It looks like someone digested it once already!'

Sheppard honed in on the voice like a heat seeking missile, and Carson ran to keep up with him again as his pace increased, desperate to stop the impending confrontation from becoming physical.

'Major!'

Rodney was already looking their way as Sheppard rounded the corner to his bay, with Carson just on his heels and Elizabeth a few steps behind them.

'Oh, hey, Sheppard. You're back!' the scientist grinned. 'And not looking too bad for the experience, if I do say so myself.'

'Ripples, Rodney,' the major blurted out. 'You said there might be ripples. You didn't say anything about freakin' great riptides!'

'Ah, yes.' For once, McKay actually had the good grace to look shame-faced, something Carson was sure would help calm the major down a fraction. 'I admit I may have underestimated the effects Sarayah's trip back to Earth might have had on our timeline.'

'Ya think!'

'I'm sure Rodney is sorry that things didn't go quite how you were expecting them to,' Carson added, hoping to cool the broiling atmosphere between the two men. 'Why don't you come and sit down on a bed and let me examine you, Major?'

'Not yet, Carson,' Sheppard growled, not even looking at him as he said it.

By now, Teyla and Ford had overheard the discussion and had hopped of their infirmary beds to join them. Neither of them spoke as they watched the argument brew, the pair of them clearly happy to have their team leader home, but fully aware of the furious mood he was currently gripped by.

'I'm sorry, Sheppard. If it's any consolation, I was just as surprised as you were that they were expecting us,' Rodney whimpered.

Behind Rodney, Carson saw Ford roll his eyes. That was obviously a sore point between him and McKay.

Sheppard glared at McKay. 'It isn't. You told me we would have an advantage this time round.'

'And we do,' Rodney smirked, 'at least over the previous run through this time-line. We can save much more of the data on the experimental 'gate this time – once we find out the 'gate address for Guedeseo...'

'Screw the damn 'gate, McKay,' Sheppard vented, planting his hands on his hips. 'I'm talking about that psycho we just ran into. She knows everything, Rodney. EVERYTHING!'

'Everything?' Rodney repeated, his voice suddenly weaker.

'Yes, Rodney. Everything. And not only does she know everything that's going to happen, but she's known it all since the day she was born. I'd say that blows any advantage we think we might have right out of the water, wouldn't you?'

McKay's face slackened with shock. 'Since she was born? Really?'

'Yeah, really. Apparently, Sarayah has been waiting for me to appear on Medulsa all her life...hence the nice little trap she laid for us.'

McKay stared back at the major, jaw hanging, while the rest of them shared shocked glances. Carson felt a shudder run the entire length of his spine at the thought of Sarayah plotting to get her hands on Sheppard for all that time. It really didn't bear thinking about.

Finally, the doctor watched McKay's mouth curl up into a huge smile, giving him the distinct feeling the next thing he said would be far from helpful in terms of calming the major down.

'This is AMAZING!' he gushed, eyes darting as he no doubt ran through the complicated physics involved in what Sheppard had just told them. 'You know what this means? No, of course you don't, what was I thinking? This is evidence that she not only acted as a conduit between you and your future self when she absorbed that Stargate, but also between herself and her backwoods counterpart on Medulsa.'

There was a distinctly angry tilt to the way Sheppard now held his head. 'You don't say.'

'Yes, and not only that, but because she was a Stargate, in a manner of speaking, she was clearly able to operate outside the normal constraints of time and space and connect with herself at all points in time and, who knows, maybe in every alternate universe too. Right now, she might be beating the crap out of you in numerous other realities and in more ways than you can even begin to imagine.'

'Really? That's very comforting,' Sheppard ground out through clenched teeth.

'Well, it should be because it looks as if you got off pretty lightly this time...wait a second...is that a hickey?'

'Rodney!' Carson, Teyla and Elizabeth all gasped at once. Carson had been thinking the very same thing, but he'd had the tact not to mention it so publicly.

He watched the flush of annoyance immediately give way to the pallor of mortification as Sheppard self-consciously tried to cover the singularly deep bruise on his neck. 'Uh, I don't...'

'Oh, that's just typical,' Rodney ranted, folding his arms and glaring at Sheppard over them. 'The rest of us get thrown into prison camps while you make out with your hot alien kidnapper. You are such a Kirk!'

'Right,' Carson interrupted, clapping his hands together and rubbing them enthusiastically. 'How about that post mission check-up then, Major?'

But the major wasn't about to be interrupted before he'd had his say. 'That's right, Rodney,' Sheppard seethed. 'While you were languishing in the Medulsan prison camp, I was living the high life as Sarayah's pet. It was great...really. I had my own bed –'

'John,' Elizabeth said calmly, reaching up to put a steadying hand on his shoulder. He immediately shrugged it off.

'My very own personalised restraint system...state of the art for Medulsa, I imagine, but you would probably have called it prehistoric.'

Rodney's face fell with every word, and Carson felt his own embarrassment mounting. Rodney could be insensitive at the best of times, but could he really not figure out what kind of a mood the major was in? 'Perhaps we should have this conversation later...after your check-up?' he ventured again, but to no avail.

'Oh yeah, and to add to that, I had my very own collar and leash. You can imagine how delighted I was with all that special treatment.'

'I...I'm sorry...I didn't know,' McKay muttered, dropping his gaze. 'I didn't think –'

'No, Rodney, that's right,' Sheppard snapped. 'You didn't think!'

And with that the major spun and stalked away, leaving them all speechless in his wake.

As he was about to disappear out of the door, Carson came to his senses and called after him, 'What about that check-up, Major?'

'After I've taken a shower,' was the reply Sheppard fired back at him, his tone leaving no doubt that he didn't intend to discuss the matter any further. And then he was gone.

After a brief pause, Carson looked around at Sheppard's team, his brows knitted. 'Right, well, I suppose I'll see him later then. Back to your beds for now, you two.'

'Nice going, McKay,' Ford grunted, scooting back over to his infirmary bed. Teyla just sighed and returned to her own bay.

'Is Sheppard really mad with me?' McKay asked rather more timidly than was usual for him.

'Aye, Son,' Carson sighed. 'I think he may be a wee bit scunnered.'

'I thought...I thought he'd be happy she didn't get time to shred him to pieces this run through,' he whimpered, looking puzzled.

'Rodney, I'm sure John just needs some time to adjust to the new circumstances we all find ourselves in,' Elizabeth told him. 'He thought he knew what was coming, but she took him by surprise. He'll come round.'

Rodney nodded, still looking mildly alarmed.

'Of course, if you try to show a little more compassion for the emotional upheaval the major's going through rather than getting over excited about the scientific ins and outs of how all this went so terribly wrong it might help,' Carson added.

'What?'

'He means try not to geek out so much,' Elizabeth clarified.

'Oh, right. But it really is amazing.'

'Yes, Rodney. I've no doubt it is,' Carson sighed, checking his watch. 'Now, I have other patients to check on before Major Sheppard comes in, so try not to upset anyone else while I'm gone.'

'And once he's been checked and given the all clear I want you all to report to my office for a briefing about fixing that Ancient defence system on Medulsa,' Elizabeth called, loud enough for them all to hear.

'We're still doing that? Rodney asked, looking surprised.

'Yes, Rodney. We're still doing that. From what I can make out most of the women on that planet are guilty of little more than being duped by Sarayah. I have faith that they can still be made to see the error of their ways and release the men and boys from their prison camps. I'm not ready to feed them all to the Wraith just yet.'

'I'll join you for that meeting if I may...and might I suggest we have Dr Heightmeyer sit in, too?' Carson added. 'I think her insight into the psychological effects all this might be having on Sarayah herself could prove invaluable.'

'Good idea,' Elizabeth nodded. 'And if Major Sheppard doesn't turn up within the next half hour let me know. I'll see what I can do about rounding him up for you.'

'Will do.'

He watched her leave, turning to look at Rodney once again. 'Remember, no upsetting any more of my patients,' he warned with a theatrical wag of his finger.

'Yes, Dad,' McKay grumbled, sinking down on the bed and ramming his head back against the pillows.

Carson left him to it, knowing McKay would figure out what he'd done wrong if given enough time alone to think it through.

Now he just had to be patient and wait for Major Sheppard to simmer down so he could find out the extent of his injuries. Judging by his mood, he doubted the major had got off quite as lightly as Rodney had assumed.

oooOOOooo

After a lengthy and very hot shower Sheppard now sat on his bed and tied up his boots, shirt off to allow his body to cool and let the stinging settle. It had been the wrong thing to do, and he knew by rights he should be getting cleaned up more carefully by the infirmary team, but he'd needed to divest himself of any reminders of Sarayah he could actually scrub away. Getting rid of the mixture of blood, dirt and saliva from his skin had made him feel a whole lot better than he had on arriving back in Atlantis despite the pain that shower had caused, but he still couldn't shut the humiliation of those final few moments alone in the hole with Sarayah from his mind. His stomach lurched as the recalled sensations popped back into his head and a shiver passed through him. He already had enough bad memories in his life to contend with; he didn't need to add to them.

Figuring that since his back was still bleeding he'd better go show his face in the infirmary, he decided to take a quick look at himself before letting the medical staff catalogue his injuries. So he headed into his bathroom and turned his back to the mirror, catching sight of the now livid bruising developing from his beating with the chain, and four obvious slices from Kaymah's whip, two of which had cut quite deeply and still oozed fresh blood. He supposed McKay was right; he had gotten off relatively lightly this time in terms of physical punishment, but it still hurt like hell, and in terms of mental impact it had been way more disturbing than he wanted to admit even to himself.

Facing the mirror now he examined the hickey on his neck. There was no way he was going to be able to lie about it. It was what it was. Everyone was going to know she'd tried it on with him. He pinched the bridge of his nose and forced the images out of his mind again. Not that he had any real images, just blackness and sensations that made him feel sick now on recollection. He'd thought facing her as a human would be easy in comparison to his encounters with her in Afghanistan, but he'd been wrong. All that horror and hatred still ate at him every day, and it coloured how he viewed everything, not just how he saw her. He might have been willing to bury his feelings and laugh it off along with the others the first time he'd returned from Medulsa, but this time he felt rocked to his very core. This wasn't funny, no matter which way you looked at it. The woman was crazier than ever, and all that "crazy" was aimed at him.

Along with the hickey he had a distinct red welt around his neck, an unwelcome reminder of the collar she'd had waiting for him and the rant he'd just got into with McKay. He hadn't really been mad with his friend, just mad in general. The mission to Medulsa had gone to hell in a handbasket, and he had no idea how were they going to fix things. Yelling had been his way of venting all the anger and fear that had been pummelling away at his insides for days, nothing more. So now, to add to all the other bad feelings, he had guilt gnawing away at him too. He'd have to apologise when he next saw him. Maybe that would alleviate some of the weight burdening him.

Further down from his neck he spotted a nice collection of bruises and scrapes courtesy of the batterings he'd taken from the collective womenfolk and his departure from the moving cart. He tried hard to think about that objectively, to pin the blame on Sarayah who had them fearful for their lives, but he knew they were still guilty of crimes against their men and boys. And now, thanks to Sarayah, he hadn't been able to free those abused souls. That was something he had to fix no matter how much the little voice in his head was telling him not to go back.

As he hitched his waistband up a little higher on his hips he felt a twinge and looked down to see the nail marks gouged there. Now that was going to take some explaining. Carson would have a field day making a mountain out of a molehill when he saw them...not that he didn't realise how lucky he was the whole event had amounted to no more than a molehill. He shuddered again, then told himself to get over it. He was a military officer now, not a kid caught in a compromising situation. So she'd touched him up a little...again. She hadn't really got anywhere and besides, he was a guy...he was supposed to like that kind of thing...wasn't he? Perhaps he should just laugh it off again like they all had the first time round; it was easier than analysing how the encounter had truly left him feeling.

With a deep sigh he slipped his black t-shirt on, gritting his teeth through the worst of the pain it cuased. He swayed a little, then took a moment to regain his balance. He couldn't look weak now, there was still work to do on Medulsa. So, once he was sure he could make the journey, he took himself back to the infirmary to face the inevitable barrage of questions.

oooOOOooo

Later, with his check-up complete and his body patched up, Sheppard headed to the conference room with the rest of his team and Carson in tow. The doctor had insisted on a few stitches in the worst of his lashes, plus a large dose of antibiotics delivered from the biggest needle Sheppard had ever seen, but his other injuries simply needed time and rest, something he was looking forward to once this final phase of the mission was complete. He'd made the medic promise not to tell Elizabeth how deeply the lashes had cut into him. Everyone knew it was essential he return to Medulsa and he didn't think it necessary to worry her any more than was entirely necessary. Carson hadn't been entirely pleased with the deceit, but he understood the importance of freeing the men and Sheppard's role in it. The doctor had agreed on the proviso he returned straight to the infirmary once it was done, something Sheppard had gladly promised so they could get things underway.

Elizabeth was already there waiting when they all arrived, Dr Heightmeyer sitting beside her with a number of files neatly piled on the table in front of her.

Sheppard faltered slightly when he saw the psychologist, wondering if he was about to get press-ganged into some kind of group therapy session. McKay bumped into him as he slowed, knocking him across the threshold whether he wanted to go in there or not. The scientist blurted out an apology, just as he had done in the infirmary when Sheppard had handed himself over to the ministrations of the medical staff at last. Sheppard had graciously accepted and offered up an apology of his own for his bad tempered outburst, then asked Carson for a curtained bay while he carried out his medical checks. True to form, the doctor had easily recognised that not all of Sheppard's injuries had come from beatings and punishments, yet he'd been discreet, simply asking Sheppard if he felt okay after his ordeal and whether he wanted to elaborate on how he'd come by his injures, which he hadn't. Now, seeing Heightmeyer at their meeting, he wondered if Carson's concern had been deeper than he'd articulated at the time.

'Come in all of you,' Elizabeth called to the logjam of bodies building up in the doorway. 'We need to get this meeting concluded quickly so we can return to Medulsa and fix their defences before the Wraith show up.'

They all did as she asked, Sheppard leaving a few seats between himself and the pretty psychologist, as if that might make it harder for her to analyse him. Of course, doing that gave her some material to work on in itself. Maybe he should have sat down beside her like he was totally cool with her being there...but that would be out of character for him and would have set her "shrink radar" on detect. It occurred to him then that he might just be over-thinking all this...

'Okay, since Carson has given you the all clear to return to Medulsa to finish what we started, I thought it best if we discussed what happened and figured out our best approach to get things back on track for their planet.'

'Although it doesn't appear that what happened has done any harm since we're all here having this conversation,' Rodney smirked.

'I think I feel a headache coming on,' Ford muttered from his seat beside Sheppard.

'Yeah, you and me both,' Sheppard agreed. At an annoyed glance from Elizabeth, he then held up his hand in a gesture of surrender. 'Sorry. Go on.'

'Have you figured out what went wrong yet, Rodney? she asked the scientist.

'Well, I have to confess that experimental Stargates aren't my forte, but I suspect that whenever "Super Sarayah" transported, she was able to connect with herself back on Medulsa, and since the Stargate operates outside of the normal laws of space and time she connected with herself through all points of time. That's why she knew we were coming and apparently had done for some time.'

'Okay. And that was how she was able to set up the trap?'

'She'd told the other women that we were coming to destroy their society, which is fundamentally true,' Sheppard drawled. 'It's just that she made it sound like we were gonna kill them rather than restructure them.'

'And because she knew about your coming since childhood that gave her plenty of time to figure out how to do that.'

He nodded. 'She even amended the law that says they have to stop treating the men as slaves if any man is able to fix their defence device. That way, if we escaped and got to the machine, she still wouldn't have to let us go.'

'She's really that desperate to maintain the balance of life just as it is on Medulsa?' Elizabeth asked, her forehead scored with worry lines.

No, she was just determined to keep me there, Sheppard thought, but he didn't voice it.

'Normally, when someone is absolutely set against change there's some underlying reason why,' Heightmeyer interjected. 'Perhaps an insecurity of some kind.'

Sheppaard arched an eyebrow. 'Trust me, there's nothing insecure about that woman.'

Heightmeyer's large blue eyes fixed on him now, and he wished he hadn't drawn attention to himself. 'Insecurities manifest themselves in many ways, Major. Not everyone becomes introverted; sometimes they're quite the opposite, in fact.'

'Yeah, I'd noticed.'

The psychologist pressed on. 'There could be some trauma in her past related to men that makes her feel safer when they're oppressed.'

Sheppard really didn't want to get dragged into this conversation, but since he was the only one with all the information, he felt he had to set her straight on that. 'The men of Medulsa oppressed the women first, but that was way before her time...ancient history...I doubt that's why she's so adamant about it. Thing is, in the first run through she did have a bad experience, but she was able to avoid it because of what happened in Afghanistan. Originally, her mother and grandmother were killed by escaped prisoners, two military men they'd kidnapped and thrown into the prison encampment, and she was...' He stopped short, remembering the terror of the thoughts they'd shared in Greenland. 'Well, she was a fourteen-year-old girl and they were a couple of angry military men looking for revenge. They did some pretty horrific stuff to her, and she was left with no close family to turn to for support.'

Teyla and Elizabeth looked pained by the thoughts those words conjured up, and he battled with the annoyance their compassion awoke in him. In a sane world, they would be right to sympathise with a child being assaulted that way, but here in the crazy Pegasus Galaxy and knowing what he knew of the woman, he really didn't need anyone on her side, not even for a moment.

'This time she was able to stop it from happening,' he told them all, adding, 'I hate to think what she did to those guys.'

'I see,' Dr Heightmeyer mused, mulling over what he'd said. 'But from what Dr Weir told me about your own memories, if she's been dreaming of the former Sarayah's experiences, the attack might still feel very real to her.'

'I suppose,' he agreed, rubbing the back of his neck, as another recollection of Sarayah's attack on him needled at his memory. 'But that wasn't the impression she gave.'

'So what impression did she give?' she asked, blinking her huge baby blues at him in that "innocent little girl" way she did while no doubt scrutinising his every twitch and intonation.

'Well...' he looked around at everyone gathered there, clearing his throat as the heat in his cheeks built. 'She, uh...she said she felt differently this time because none of that had happened. That I'd saved her from it in some way and so she was grateful.'

'I see,' Heightmeyer said again, falling silent as she processed that.

'Huh, so what happened on Medulsa was her way of saying 'thank you'?' Rodney snorted. 'I'd hate to see what she'd do if you upset her.'

'We did see it, Rodney. You remember Afghanistan, right?' Sheppard growled.

Rodney shrank a little in his seat, for once realising his joke had been in bad taste. 'Yes...yes, of course I remember.'

Sheppard caught Carson and Elizabeth both sending the scientist disparaging glances, and once again felt bad for pulling Rodney up on his flippancy. Making crass comments or spouting technobabble were two ways Rodney coped with stress, that and screaming like a girl, and if he hadn't just been through the mission to Medulsa he would be feeling a lot more tolerant of him. Those were the things that made Rodney "Rodney". You either learned to accept them or shot him, and he'd opted for the first choice since it was less hampering to his career.

'It is possible that she's formed an obsession with you through exposure to the dreams rather than some imprinted desire to punish a fellow military man to avenge the murder of her family,' Heightmeyer piped up now. 'Perhaps she truly did feel gratitude for the fact your interaction with her future self prevented that traumatic event. But the years of exposure to those prophetic dreams may have had an adverse effect, causing her to form an fanatical admiration of you equally as destructive as the overwhelming need for revenge and control.'

'I'm not sure admiration is the right word...' Sheppard mumbled, feeling the heat reach his ears now.

'Then love, perhaps?' she suggested, her face devoid of any emotion while he melted into a puddle of pure embarrassment.

'Love? That's a terrifying thought!' McKay snorted, not helping the matter.

'No, that really isn't the right word either,' Sheppard muttered. 'In fact, I'm not entirely sure there is a word to describe what goes on in Sarayah's head. All I know for sure is that she's crazier now than she was the first time round, and that can't be a good thing.'

'I see,' Heightmeyer murmured.

'Yeah...you said that,' Sheppard pointed out. 'A few times.'

Heightmeyer just blinked back at him a moment before continuing. 'It's actually a fascinating study in nature verses nurture,' she told him, leaning back in her seat and looking wistfully at nothing in particular. 'We assumed Sarayah had violent intentions toward you because of the military men who murdered her family. But since that didn't happen this time, it would suggest violence might be an inherent part of her genetic make-up...although we have to factor in the possibility that those years of prophetic dreams may have had a similarly damaging effect on the balance of her mind as the original assault...'

'Fascinating,' Sheppard drawled, stifling an untimely yawn.

'I wonder if it might be prudent to intervene,' the doctor now suggested, looking to Elizabeth for a go ahead. 'I could offer some therapy sessions to help get her back to some level of normality. It could be that meeting Major Sheppard after dreaming of him all her life has caused some kind of break down, and with counselling we can help restore some equilibrium to her thoughts.'

'Er...no. I don't think so,' McKay immediately interrupted. 'We need the psycho-stalker just the way she is for this to work.'

'For what to work, McKay?' Sheppard demanded, rounding on him. 'Nothing has gone according to plan so far, and I very much doubt that Sarayah is gonna stick to the original run of things since she knows how it ends for her. Stuck in a box at the SGC is hardly likely to be anyone's destination of choice.'

'Well, she has to go through the 'gate or we wouldn't all be here talking about it,' McKay smirked in his inimitable "I know everything" way that made Sheppard want to slap him upside the head.

'For all we know we could shove her in an Atlantis prison cell and then head on over to Guedeseo at the last minute and kick her ass through it. Destiny fulfilled,' Sheppard pointed out.

'Not really,' McKay countered, 'because she'd be travelling through the 'gate with new experiences and new memories and we'd be handling this differently.'

'Not right now though,' Ford interjected.

'What?' McKay rolled his eyes. 'Oh we're gonna have that argument again, are we?'

'I happen to think I'm right,' Ford grunted, glaring at him.

'I do not understand,' Teyla interrupted, looking puzzled by the whole conversation.

'Ford thinks we'll continue to live in this particular time line until we reach the point at which things actually fail,' McKay clarified, smirking around at everyone as if it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.

'Seems logical,' Elizabeth responded, wiping the smile away with her support of the lieutenant's theory.

'No it doesn't, because if things change in this time line then our past changes and we know nothing about this current timeline,' McKay protested.

'You're wrong,' Sheppard told him definitively.

'I'm wrong,' McKay choked as the words made him laugh. 'You're telling me I'm wrong?'

'Yeah, I am. Because she knows what's going on, she'll always change things and so change the past. We're creating a loop here, and if the past changes every time we send her back we'd be continually in transition, right?'

'Er...right,' McKay stammered, apparently amazed that he'd figured that out.

'So Ford's theory makes more sense,' Sheppard clarified. 'We live this version of events until things loop back...or fail to.'

'If the scenario you present is correct. But we don't actually know what happens in the future...or whether she knows anything beyond the fact you turn up on Medulsa. Maybe she doesn't, and everything else pans out just as it should...'

'She knows everything, Rodney. I already told you that.'

'Well, then maybe we find a way to make her forget...yes...that has to be it. She forgets and we get her through the gate just like we did last time.'

'Or maybe we should let Dr Heightmeyer give her some therapy and straighten her out a little since the fact she's so screwed up this time is down to us,' Sheppard countered.

'Okay, we can sit here and speculate forever on how things will happen...or have happened...' Elizabeth announced, confusing herself judging by the perplexed look on her face. 'Right now we have to focus on putting things right on Medulsa. So if you're all ready to head back, we'll get that defence device fixed and I'll do my best to negotiate the release of the men and boys Major Sheppard instigated the first time around.'

Though returning really wasn't something he felt ready to do, Sheppard nodded, glancing McKay's way and seeing the slightly queasy look on his face. Still, Elizabeth was right. They had to set things straight on Medulsa because it was their fault things had gone awry this time. Their reactivation of the experimental 'gate had set into motion changes that could spiral rapidly out of control if they didn't iron out the kinks. This was a non-negotiable part of their responsibilities to the Pegasus Galaxy.

He looked around at the others, his team and the doctors all gathered there, and saw determination in their expressions. They knew as well as he did that it was their responsibility to fix this before anything else went wrong.

'We're ready,' he told Elizabeth, and they all rose as one to gear-up and finish things.

After taking only one step a wave of dizziness struck. Sheppard steadied himself against the back of his seat, only Ford close enough to notice his momentary weakness.

'Sir?'

Sheppard swallowed down rising bile, and dipped his head in acknowledgement of his young colleague's concern. 'I'm good.'

In truth he was far from good, but he couldn't buckle yet. Too many people were depending on him.

A/N: There you go! I managed two in one week. I'll try to get another chapter ready for the earlier part of next week if I can. Thanks for all the reviews! The more the merrier!