A/N: WOW!! You guys are amazing! THANK YOU! All of your reviews meant so much to me. I really needed them after the day I had...You guys are the best! Also, Isobel Kelte, thanks for proof reading the story :D

David wandered aimlessly around the city. He had needed to get away for a bit to collect himself and just stretch his legs, which had become all too accustomed to sitting in the infirmary. As he meandered, his mind was once again filled with awe at the city and the fact it was his brother's home. Finally, his steps brought him towards the mess hall and to his surprise he saw all of Sheppard's team seated at a table. His heart rate began to skyrocket; he knew that they had planned on having someone with John at all times, and this was the first time he had seen all of them together outside of the infirmary. He feared the worst.

He made his way slowly over to them, delaying the inevitable question; however, he never had to ask it. Teyla noticed his approach and realized what David must be thinking.

"John is still with us," she said with a small smile, "Keller simply made all of us leave to rest together for a few hours while she sat with him."

David nodded, nearly floored by the relief that knowledge gave him.

"Please sit and join us. We were just speaking of past missions," she continued.

David sat and soon was enthralled by the tales they told.

"Well, you see, when we first arrived the city was underwater. The power required was enormous, so we were all afraid the city would flood. Yet there was a failsafe that caused the city to rise to the surface. That was just the first of many times were we thought we would lose this city. In fact, it was only a few months later, that we thought a massive storm would demolish it," explained Rodney.

"Yes," continued Teyla. "Almost everyone was evacuated as well, while Rodney tried to finish the plan to save the city."

"Of course, the Genii had to show up and try to take the city while everyone was gone," Rodney bitterly muttered, still remembering his first encounter with torture.

"John's ingenuity did stop them though."

"Yes, but it was my brilliance that saved the city from the storm."

Ronon and Teyla glanced at each other, amused. Rodney never turned down an opportunity to point out that said "brilliance".

Rodney then told David of the time that an ascended "Ancient" came to Atlantis because she was interested in John, which caused Teyla to remind Rodney of the woman from the planet Dagan with the Brotherhood and the scientist from the city built on a super volcano. In retaliation, Rodney brought up the world that had wanted to make John king, offering the princess to him as a bride, all because of his super gene.

"What about the time Lt. Cadman was in your mind with you?" Ronon said with an evil grin.

"What…no…we said we would never talk about that again!"

Ronon just smirked at Rodney, so in an attempt to change the topic from an obviously sore subject for him, Rodney brought up the first thing that popped in his mind: a man named Lucius who had infected the entire expedition, minus John, with a drug that made them adore this said Lucius. Teyla remarked that even though the man was amazingly annoying and caused all sorts of trouble, especially for John, John had risked his life to save Lucius after Koyla tried to blow him up.

David then asked who Koyla was, and to his surprise the table fell silent for a moment. Then Rodney spoke up.

"Remember the Genii we told you about earlier? Well, the one leading the strike force was named Koyla. Koyla and John sort of became archenemies. Even though Sheppard spared Koyla's life, Koyla captured him and…had a wraith feed on him. He broadcast the videos of the feeding to Atlantis to get us to hand over the new Genii leader, Ladon Radim."

David was silent for a moment as his brain tried to take in what they were saying. "…But I thought the wraith sucked the life out of people!"

Ronon broke in, "They do. After the last video we all thought John was dead."

Teyla smiled, though. "Yet, even though we gave up all hope on John, when we found him the wraith had given him all his life back. If John survived that situation, it is most certain that he can survive now!"

The conversation again switched to more lighthearted topics, but David's mind was stuck on the videos of his brother's torture. David knew that the torture John faced then was not the same as what he faced with Bric'ien, but David couldn't help but wonder if he faced it in the same way. He wondered if watching those videos, and seeing how John handled it, would help him understand his brother more. Maybe it would help him reach John and draw him out of his depression.

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"I heard there were videos of his torture with Koyla…" David looked at Colonel Carter for confirmation, demanding an honest answer with the desperation in his eyes.

Seeing that he did not want the truth sugar-coated, she nodded.

"Are they on file? Can I watch them? I need to see what he went through!"

On the verge of denying his request, she looked deeply in his eyes and saw the same resolve that John Sheppard often revealed; she could not refuse him.

"They are horrible to watch, but if you feel you must, go to Zelenka. I will let him know to give you access to them. He can also give you the mission reports of the incident."

David thanked her quietly and left, seeking to mentally prepare himself for viewing his brother being fed on by a wraith. He knew it would be a horrible thing to see, yet he felt as if he would not be able to live with himself if he did not watch it. David had realized he knew so little about John compared to the other people on Atlantis, and he saw these videos as a way to ascertain who is brother is.

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David sat alone in his guest quarters, going over the past few hours in his mind. He had started by reading John's mission report. It had been succinct and to the point, yet it also had a detached air about it as if the person writing it had had no connection to the person being tortured. The other reports had been harder to read. Though they were professionally written with all the facts, there was no way to escape the fact that the writers had been desperately concerned for and worried about John.

The report by Dr. Beckett had been the most difficult. It had explained that, in his professional opinion, he saw no chance that John would survive after the last feeding. Though David knew there were many times he had come close to losing John since he had come to this galaxy, this was the first time it was spelled out so clearly. Even this time they continued to tell him there was hope; that time, the doctor had explained how he saw no way that John could survived what he had suffered, yet he had survived. He had found common ground with his enemy, and his enemy had returned the life he had taken.

After reading the mission reports, David clicked on the video and watched each video with growing horror. In the first, he saw his brother order them to not give into Koyla's demands, even though he knew he might be tortured. When the wraith entered the room John had begun to breathe heavily, and David wished that the outcome of what he knew was about to take place had been different.

The wraith began to feed and John shook in agony as his head rolled back. Then the wraith was pulled off, leaving John panting to recover his breath. David saw John's head slowly drop to his chest, and he wondered if he was even still conscious at that point.

In the next video, David watched with both awe and pride as even after the pain he had already suffered, John held his head high and faced what was coming head-on. He saw him nod at Weir's decision to not trade for him, and questioned where John found the strength to suffer such pain with such defiance. Was that how he faced Bric'ien as well?

This time after the feeding, John was clearly older, with his hair was turning white. David wondered how horrible it must have been to grow old in just a few moments: to know that you had just had years of life sucked away.

The last video was the worst. He felt his heart almost stop as he heard Koyla say, "Take your fill." The pain on his brother's face made his stomach clench. When the wraith stopped feeding, David saw that his brother soon lost consciousness and looked old, frail, and weak.

He knew from the reports, however, that even in that condition he had managed to escape with the wraith's help. How he managed to do that was beyond David. David realized as he looked at the frozen image of his brother that John had a reserve of strength David never had.

It made David understand that whether John was facing Koyla or Bric'ien, John would fight to his dying breath. Yet now, John's personal demons were causing him to give up. David took a deep breath and promised himself that he would continue to do all in his power to get John fighting again.

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To be continued...

A/N: Let me know what you think!! Please, please, please review...begging worked so well last time I'm trying it again...:D