AN: Not much Sheppard in this one...for those worried by the characters, who probably seem to just be getting more OOC, I DO have a plan. /grins/ Please R&R!

Nothing's Ever Easy

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Ford's eyes darted back and forth across the surface of the ocean. If there were sharks, he'd scream like a little girl—and in front of Teyla, yet! In fact, the tension had grown considerably amongst their little group after Sheppard had muttered those terrifying words—or at least it had grown among those from Earth.

Sora, attempting to break the solemn atmosphere, at last asked, "What exactly are these 'sharks' the Major spoke of?" The silence stretched, until at last Weir took pity on her.

"They are salt-water animals that live on earth—"

"They're not animals," Ford interrupted.

"And some live in fresh-water," McKay interjected simultaneously.

"Yes. Well."

"They sound like fish," Teyla frowned.

"Oh, don't you wish!" McKay smiled hollowly. "No, sharks aren't like fish. Sharks eat people! Sharks have big sharp teeth, and big fins—"

"And are huge! And those rows of teeth—"

"And the Jaws music—"

"Come up from underneath—"

"Bite out of your leg—"

"Rodney! A grip on yourself, please! You too, Aiden!" Weir frowned, her voice overriding that of the two men who were working themselves up into a panic. There was another long silence.

"They sound most unpleasant," Sora frowned at last. The others silently agreed.

"Really, really sharp teeth…" McKay continued softly.

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"You, ah, have flown one of these before, haven't you?" one of the guards asked Beckett hesitantly as the Puddle Jumper slowly rose. The doctor didn't dare take his eyes from the screen in front of him, hands clutching the controls in a death grip.

"Don't be daft, lad, of course I have!" he barked, striving for confidence. To himself, he added, "Successfully, now, is another matter…"

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"Are you kidding me? What about that girl in the beginning of Jaws? Maybe panic would have helped her, huh Elizabeth?" McKay half-yelled at Weir. She opened her mouth to respond in like fashion.

"Can we not talk about the sharks?" Ford yelled, voice edged with panic. Weir looked back at him, and then nodded slowly.

"Of course," she replied, and the group fell silent.

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Two hundred feet away, a drop of blood had drifted close enough to ensnare something's attention. The smell was tantalizing…and elusive.

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"I just don't understand…no one's thought about mapping the ocean's?" Ford snapped at last, trying desperately not to fidget. McKay—on whom the silence had been hardest—glared.

"In case you haven't noticed, we've been a tad busy!"

"The food situation alone should have warranted—"

"At the time," Weir interrupted calmly, "It made far more sense to commit our full resources to fighting the Wraith, and trade for food."

"But to not even scan—"

"We scanned the damn ocean!" McKay yelled at Ford. "We're just not positive if there are sharks, okay? We didn't look at the sea life! Will you drop it?"

"We're going to get eaten and—"

"Aiden!" Teyla cut in, frowning. "Are these sharks worse than Wraith?"

"Taking into account our current situation, you mean?" Ford half-growled.

"Stop arguing!" Sora ordered, at last entering the conversation. "Sheppard is severely injured, we're floating in the ocean, and our radios won't work. But just because you feel helpless, and can't fix Sheppard, or fix the situation, doesn't mean you need to tear each other apart!"

There was an uneasy silence as her words sunk in, and then Weir looked at the others with a frown.

"What the hell is going on with us?"

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"Dr. Beckett, can you use that life-signs…thing to find them?" a guard asked hesitantly. Beckett frowned, knowing the guard had a name but unable to remember it. Suddenly the words "Frank Nemez" appeared on the screen in front of him. The guard gave a startled gasp, and Beckett was hard put to control his growing frustration.

"Bloody technology, such bloody improvements," he mocked in a high-pitched voice. "Not much bloody help now!"

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The currents shifted, and the smell of the blood began to fade away. Could it, it would have growled. The feeling was certainly there.

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Sheppard shifted uneasily in Ford's arms, and began mumbling things under his breath. However, he remained unnoticed by the others, who were either contemplating their impending death or puzzling out their suddenly irrational actions, until his eyes snapped open and he barked, in a breathless sort of manner, "Fuck off!" to an invisible enemy. And then he took a swing at McKay. Hell breaking loose isn't nearly as fun as it sounds.

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"That's them!" Beckett yelled exultantly, having at last brought up the life-signs indicator. The small circle of life signs at the base of the tower collapsed in on itself mere seconds after his delighted declaration.

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And the tides shifted again.

On the inside, it smiled.