Stargate Atlantis

by Forestmoon

"Noura"

Chapter 11 – Coming Home

"Leah!"

"John!"

They reached out and their hands met.

"I am so sorry." John confessed.

"For what?" She asked. Surely he did not blame himself for this as well.

John squeezed her hand. "Well, for everything."

Their cages sat beside each other and Sheppard's head was throbbing with pain from the tranquilizer dart. He did not let go of her hand as he looked around the open area for the others.

"They had to put Ronon down again." Leah explained softly and eyed the two guards nearby who were hovering around a fire for warmth paying them no attention.

"Figures."

He spotted Dr. West and Lee cuddled together in a larger cage a few feet away and Ronon in his cage alone, in the opposite corner—unconscious. In the cage with Leah was Lt. Smithy McTaggard who also lay unconscious.

"What happened to him?" Sheppard asked.

"He got on my nerves." She explained with a wicked smile. "So…"

"So." He repeated and it suddenly dawned on them that they were still holding hands. Awkwardly they let go and settled in as near to each other as they could get still being separated by the wooden bars on their primitive cages.

"Did they hurt you?" He enquired with a whisper as it was never wise to draw attention to yourself when you were at a disadvantage.

"No, we're all fine. They took our equipment and everything, stashed them in that tent." She pointed. "The wood on these cages is not very strong. I was going to attempt an escape before dawn when there's a little more light out."

"Well if we can get to our equipment I can get us back to the jumper in the dark."

They sat in silence for a moment contemplating an escape plan.

"Won't Atlantis come looking for you if you do not return soon?" Leah enquired knowing how protocol usually works.

"Technically yes. However," he paused.

Leah gave him a concerned look. "However what?"

"We were going to stop off by Teyla before we headed back. You know, check in on her and bring them some medical supplies, Jennifer insisted." He frowned making a mental note to inform Dr. Keller of her bad idea. "That, and I really don't like waiting." He admitted.

Leah shook her head, of course something like this would happen. It's never easy. "I don't like waiting either, shall we?"

"Let's." Sheppard agreed and was of the same opinion. "Do you know what they want with us?"

"No. Far as I can tell, it was a rival village and we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's most likely why they have not killed us yet. Probably not sure what to do with us, trying to figure out if we are of some value to them."

"Yeah, that's pretty much what Ronon and I thought."

"So what's your plan?" She asked hoping he had a better plan than hers.

He looked around and tested some of his bars. One of the bars was already damaged and could easily come loose with little effort. Leah caught on fast and began testing her bars as well.

"There's only two of them." Sheppard noted.

"Yes, but there are several more just around the corner in that hut. However, I am sure we can catch them by surprise and reach our weapons in the tent before any of the others realise what has happened."

Sheppard nodded and began removing the bar, Leah kept an eye out but it seemed like the two guards were more interested in their warm fire than anything else. They turned to look back once but Sheppard and Turner quickly pretended to be asleep.

The one guard lay down and relaxed while the other guard began cooking a pheasant of some kind over the fire. This was Sheppard's chance to make his move. He slid the broken piece away and forced the other half out trying his best not to make a sound.

The gap was barely wide enough for him to squeeze through but with determination he eventually managed. Meanwhile Leah continued to work on her already weakened bar. It was apparent that the cages where not meant to house people, mere animals—and they smelt like it too.

They did not have much time and had to move quickly or risk being discovered. Once Leah was free from her cage they removed their jackets and with a little ingenuity and a few small rocks, they managed to make it look like they were sleeping in the cage.

Just in time. The guard cooking his diner looked around briefly to check on the prisoners. Luckily Leah and John were able to find limited cover behind a tree at a tight squeeze. Leah peeked around the tree and noticed that the guards' diner was burning so he was quickly attended the fire and his soon to be burnt meal.

"Mind getting off my foot?" John whispered.

"Oh, sorry." She apologised and then they wasted no time executing their silent plan.

Both trained in the art of hand to hand combat and silent manoeuvres, it was easy to communicate using just hand signals and they were adept in being sneaky. It was not long before they circled around and hid close to the two guards at the camp fire.

Upon circling they managed to assess that the other tribesmen were all inside a hut and that judging but the size of the hut, there could not be too many. They had to take the two guards down quietly before anyone noticed.

Just as they were about to strike, another two men approached the fire. John and Leah had to disappear again. The two new men were there to relieve the previous guards as their shift was over.

Leah and John waited patiently and nervously for the exchange to take place. This would not change their plan, only delay it somewhat. It seemed to take longer than expected. The guards spoke for a awhile and bickered over the half burnt meal before going their separate ways.

John watched the two original guards walk off and once they were safely far enough away and in the hut, he indicated to Leah the all clear. She acknowledged and almost stepped out of her hiding spot when one of the new guards stood up.

He was not satisfied and decided to go check on the prisoners. His first stop was Ronon's cage. John signalled again indicating to strike now!

Leah did not hesitate and briskly shuffled over to the camp fire. At the same time John moved with stealth up behind the walking guard. Almost simultaneously, the both acted catching the two men off guard.

John grabbed the man from behind in a choke hold but the man was faster than he appeared and managed to slip loose and swing a punch at him causing Sheppard to stumble back.

Leah also grabbed her man in a choke hold but was more successful and subduing him from his seated position. The man was unable to scream for help however it would take several seconds for him to fall unconscious. Leah held firm and remained focused.

The other man reached for a horn that was tied to his belt in an attempt to alert the others.

"Oh no you don't!" John declared and tackled the man to the ground causing him to let go of the horn. They wrestled for a short time before John was able to get in a lucky punch rendering the man out cold.

By then Leah's victim was also out of it and she removed the man's horn and tossed it into the fire then commandeered his blade. She hurried to John's side and after they both gave each other a reassuring glance, they wasted no time to free the others and retrieve their jackets.

Moments later they managed to liberate the team but struggled to wake Ronon. When McTaggard awoke he immediately made a complaint to Sheppard, the highest ranked officer there, against Leah for striking another officer, namely being him.

"May I remind you McTaggard, that first lieutenant Turner here IS your commanding officer. If you have a problem, take it up with her. And if you don't mind," Sheppard continued beginning to get a little annoyed and understood why Leah would want to punch the guy, "this is not the best time for this."

John then proceeded to ignore Smithy and attempted to wake Ronon. Leah just shrugged and knew she would have to answer for this later, but now is what mattered.

"Huh!?" Ronon gasped as he finally regained consciousness. He held his head for a second obviously in pain however he quickly focused and leaped to his feet ready for anything.

Sheppard had to calm him down. "Easy there."

The group gathered around and Sheppard explained the plan. There was no time to argue or question, simply to get it done. They moved quickly and reached the tent that contained their weapons. It was guarded by one man in the front which Ronon had no trouble taking care of. Swiftly they gathered their gear and weapons and managed to escape without alerting the others.

John was able to lead them back towards the cloaked jumper. Halfway there, they heard a horn in the distance. The natives must have discovered that they were missing and have sounded an alarm. This only urged them to move faster.

Once safely on board Sheppard wasted no time getting them in the air and headed straight for the gate.

"Well that was interesting. Let's not do that again." Sheppard said.

Julia clung to Adam's hand and refused to let go until they reached Atlantis. Adam wanted to speak with Leah but noticed that she and John were smiling at each other and so left it alone.

Smithy was unimpressed with everything especially how close Sheppard and Turner appeared to be. Not to mention Leah's relationship with Carter. It would be his word against hers and that did not seem promising so why bother. Ronon minded his own business but also noticed how chuffed Leah and John now were.

"Dial the gate." John ordered and Leah, being in the co-pilot seat, gladly obliged after confirming that she dial Atlantis and that the trip to Teyla was now delayed.

Back at Atlantis the Stargate activated and they confirmed Sheppard's IDC.

"John you're early what happened?" Carter asked through the gate communication.

"We ran into a bit of trouble but everyone is safe and accounted for. Permission to come home ahead of schedule, I'll explain everything when we get back."

"Permission granted."

A few seconds later the jumper arrived through the gate and made its way to the jumper bay. Carter made her way there as well to greet them and find out what had happened.

The jumper door opened and Samantha stood there glad to see that everyone was alright.

"John."

"Col. Carter." He greeted. "The rest of you to the infirmary and get yourselves checked out."

"That includes you John, you can catch me up to speed on the way." Carter ordered concerned for all of them especially since she was still in the dark about it all.

Later that day after everyone was cleared by Dr. Keller and Carter was satisfied with their reports, Leah found Carter in her office.

"It's late Sam, don't tell me you are still working?" She enquired.

"Hey, no I'm done more or less. What's up?"

Leah closed the door behind her and wondered forward. "There's something I want to tell you."

"Alright, go ahead."

"I punched Lt. McTaggart." She smiled with guilt like a little girl who did something wrong. "And I will take any action you deem fit against me for striking another officer."

"I appreciate you coming forward but he has not lodged a formal complaint."

"Well I thought you should know."

Carter walked around her desk and stood next to Leah. "Thank you. I will talk to him in the morning. You did the right thing coming to me."

They said their good nights but Leah did not feel tired enough to sleep so she headed to her favourite balcony and let her mind wonder as she looked out at the alien stars.

"Thought I might find you here." A voice said from behind.

She did not need to turn around to know it was John Sheppard. He stood beside her and also looked up at the stars. "You did good back there."

Leah did not make eye contact and continued to stare out at the unknown. "Well we make a good team."

"We could use someone like you around here. I will gladly give you a recommendation."

Leah smiled and looked to Sheppard who her met her gaze and smiled back. He could not help but notice her stray stand of hair blowing in the wind or her clear green eyes in the moonlight. John had to break the gaze before he thought or did something stupid.

"Well good night." He bid and made a hastily exit.

"Good night." She said as he walked off then mumbled to herself when he was too far off to hear. "Sweet dreams, John Sheppard."

Disclaimer: Fanfiction. I only own the character(s) I added and created for this story being 1st Lt. Leah Turner, Dr. Adam Lee, Dr. Julia West and Lt. Smithy McTaggard.