Author's Note: So, originally, this was going to be the final chapter... but it's not anymore! Re-reading it, I realized that it left too many things unsolved, which I usually berate the show for, even though they never seem to hear me... So, stress less, cause there's at least two more chapters to go!

Chapter 13: Home

They were almost at the Temple when, instincts astute as usual, Ronon threw out his arm to stop the other two from walking onto the open plateau. Ducking down once more, he got out his gun, made sure it was set to kill, and took aim.

The red light darted across the plateau, and they all heard the sharp grunt as it his something. Something as in a Wraith. A second later, the plateau was lit with the beams of stunners, and the three of them ducked behind trees.

Moving around to fire her weapon, Teyla felt like screaming with the frustration. She hit one, two Wraith before ducking back around, but still the stunners kept coming.

And they were running out of time. McKay's, and possibly Sheppard's, time.

As if right on cue, three drones, exactly like the ones at Atlantis, shoot out from the top of the mountain, heading straight up and up, until they couldn't even see the lights anymore.

And then an explosion ripped across the sky, lighting the world like day. Holding their breath, the three of them watched as more explosions followed, and then, suddenly the darkness was back, hard to get used to after the sudden brightness.

"What the hell was that?" Lorne wondered out loud, and Ronon shook his head.

"Someone's firing drones," the big guy supplied, and then grinned. "And seeing as only our people can use Ancient weapons, that had to be the Hive ship."

Teyla shook her head, eyes dark. "Unless… the villagers said the man who crashed lost his memory. Who knows what he believes now."

The two men digested that suggestion for a moment, before Lorne got to his feet. "We won't find out here. Come on, we're almost there."

And springing to his feet, he let rip with the P-90, hitting the stunned Wraith before they had a chance to recover from the explosion in the sky. He was joined a second later by Teyla and Ronon, and after only a minute, silence reigned on the plateau.

Giving a feral grin, Ronon looked at his comrades. "Come on, let's go find our guys."

They heard the second explosion in the Temple as well, and as it passed, Sheppard grinned to himself, and opened his eyes, losing touch with the chair and turning it off. He sat up to admire the effects of his handiwork.

The lead Wraith was looking sick. And angry. Really angry. But shocked as well, and that was what he had been going for.

Taking the opportunity – and still moving purely on instinct – he lunged out of the chair, grabbing the stunner from the belt of the nearest Wraith. Firing the weapon as soon as it was out of its holster, he spun, knowing he didn't have to worry about that Wraith, not after stunning it from point blank range.

Aim steady, and true, he fired at one of the Wraith holding McKay, knocking it out, before the leader pounced on him.

Apparently it didn't need a weapon to take down a fully grown man.

Grunting as his back hit the chair platform, the impact made him drop the stunner and sent a spark of pain down his spine, Sheppard grabbed onto the Wraith's wrist to stop it from pressing its mutated hand onto his still bleeding chest. But the damn thing was strong, and he had been in a freaking crash not a week before. The battle was kind of one sided.

Its hand touched his skin, and a thrill of terror surged through him, because this time there was no way it would give him his years back. The thing grinned down at him, its breath hot against his cheek as it prepared to feed.

Two sharp screeches filled the air, and suddenly the Wraith went limp.

Heaving a sigh of relief, and unashamed to do so, Sheppard shoved the unconscious Wraith off of him, leaving it to flop on the ground. He stared up at McKay, who was still holding the stolen stunner, the second guard unconscious beside the other.

"Nice timing, McKay," Sheppard told him, groaning as he got to his feet.

"What the hell just happened?" McKay demanded, knowing what it felt like to the one out of the loop for the first time that day. John grinned at the unconscious Wraith.

"I just blew up the Hive ship orbiting this planet," he told the scientist. "It had no hope. You okay?"

The scientist poked his head out from behind the Wraith. "Are you kidding me? You just gave me a freaking heart attack. I thought you were actually firing-."

"So you're fine then," Sheppard interrupted, rolling his eyes. McKay nodded quickly.

"Yeah, all good. Ready to get out of here."

"Sounds like a plan," John said, picking up the dropped stunner. McKay grabbed the same weapon from the second fallen guard.

They moved to the door, peering out into the corridor, trying to see if there were any more Wraith about. The corridor was empty.

"They're probably in the Gate room," Sheppard said, locking the door before moving out. "Trying to figure out what I did."

"What did you do?" McKay asked, still really wanting to know exactly what his friend had done. But Sheppard snorted.

"McKay, I'm still trying to figure it out. This way."

The turned down another corridor, and then up some stairs, taking it slow, weapons up and aimed. Thinking fast, or at least, fast-ish, he gave Sheppard the second weapon, shrugging when the man frowned at him.

"You're a better shot," he explained, before being shushed. They could hear footsteps.

"I think someone else noticed I blew up the Hive," Sheppard whispered, moving to lean against the wall, waiting for the Wraith to appear, both stunners up.

Sudden gunfire made them both duck, covering their heads. But the bullets weren't close, and they gave each other a look, McKay smiling with relief, suddenly sure the whole ordeal was over. Because gunfire could only mean one thing.

"It's about time they got here. Come on, Sheppard, I'll introduce you to your own friends."

He took point, and suddenly nervous, John followed, keeping the stunners in hand in case the guns hadn't taken out all the Wraith.

Practically bounding up the steps, McKay made it a few seconds before Sheppard, and grinned at his friend as he disappeared around the corner. Heart lurching, Sheppard picked up the pace, following and wondering why the hell was he so nervous about this? He had just faced down four Wraith, taken them out, and destroyed a Hive ship with some weird chair thing. And these people were supposed to be friends.

McKay was waiting for him around the corner, and with an encouraging smile, the scientist led the way back to the Gate room, where the last sounds of gunfire were just dying down.

"About time you guys got here," McKay joked as he walked in, before flinching back as three sets of sights were aimed at him. "Jeez, sorry, touchy. It's just, we were having so much fun taking out the Wraith by ourselves."

And then Sheppard walked in, a little surprised to see the place dark after he had turned everything on, taking a deep breath as two lights shone into his face. And then the lights dropped, and the three of them collectively inhaled.

"Oh my God," one of them muttered. "It was you."

"What?" McKay asked, not having expected them to know he was alive.

The other three ignored him, getting over their shock quickly and all but running forward. Sheppard watched them cautiously, worried that none of them seemed to be ringing any bells. He looked at McKay for conformation, and the others noticed.

"You really did lose your memory, didn't you," the big guy realized, and Sheppard looked at him, recognising the voice from the memory-dreams. He frowned.

"Ronon, right?"

The man's face split in a grin. "So we know who you like most," he teased, and John looked at McKay, who rolled his eyes.

Sheppard looked back, and shrugged. "I just remember telling you to leave. And you did."

The guy's face fell, and Sheppard let him wallow in that for a moment before grinning. "Sorry," he said with a half-chuckle. "I uh, know you didn't want to. But I really don't remember much. Just little pieces here and there."

The woman shook her head. "It does not matter," she said, her voice full of emotion. "All that matters is, you are alive."

"Atlantis is going to be so happy for weeks about this," the other man spoke up, before stepping forward. "But I guess that means nothing to you." He offered his hand. "I'm Major Lorne. Basically your 2IC."

Sheppard took the offer, and shook the hand, smiling, thankful he didn't have to ask. The woman stepped forward as well.

"I am Teyla Emmagan," she greeted, before grabbing his shoulders and bowing her head. Unsure what was happening, he looked at McKay, who bowed his own head, and Sheppard got the picture.

The taller man stepped forward, offering his own hand. "Ronon Dex," he greeted as John took the hand. Instantly the guy he had least expected to get emotional pulled him into a bear hug. "And we are glad you aren't dead."

Suddenly Lorne's radio buzzed. "Major Lorne, are you down there?" a voice asked.

Still grinning, the major answered. "Yes sir, Colonel Caldwell. We're all here."

"Are you in need of any assistance, major? Because if the destruction of this Hive ship is any indication, you've got everything under control."

"No sir, we've got most of it all under control. There's a Wraith camp close by that could probably use a bit of your destruction, but they're probably still trying to put the fires out, and they're not going anywhere. And we've secured the Stargate. In fact, this day just keeps getting better and better. Tell Atlantis we've got a present," Lorne added, grinning at Sheppard.

"If it's anything about Colonel Sheppard, you shouldn't keep them in suspense, major."

All four of them frowned. "Does everyone already know?" McKay demanded, obviously having wanted to surprise everyone. Lorne touched his radio again.

"How'd you know he was alive, sir?"

"I didn't, major. But the uninhabited planet he crashed into just turned out to be not so uninhabited. It was a good guess you'd find out something about him."

"We found out more than something about him. He's standing right here with us, sir." Lorne's grin deepened, and Sheppard was finding it contagious.

"Can I speak with him, major?" Caldwell asked, and the major winced.

"You could sir, but it wouldn't do either of you much good. Colonel Sheppard lost his memory in the crash."

There was silence for a moment. "Okay, major, we'll leave it until later. When can Atlantis expect you back?"

Suddenly anxious, McKay clawed at his radio. "Not any time soon, colonel. I really want a look at this planet wide cloaking device."

Lorne glared at him, but said nothing about it. "Tomorrow morning, sir. We've got a few Wraith here to take care of, and I have to pick up my men from the village."

"I'll let Atlantis know, Major Lorne. Caldwell out."

The radio fell silent, and at the same time the Stargate room went quiet, the four of them looking in relief at Sheppard, who was feeling more than a little overwhelmed. Then Ronon clapped him on the shoulder.

"You know the Air Force told your family you were dead," he told the man as he steered him away. "We even held a memorial service for you."

A little worried about that, Sheppard nodded. "So I heard. I hope you said something nice at least."

Ronon grinned. "McKay made everyone cry."

He looked back at the scientist, who had gone bright red. Smiling deeply, Teyla came up on the other side of him.

"Rodney said some beautiful things. I'm sure we have a recording somewhere."

"Oh right, cause that's just what the man needs, a recording of his own funeral," McKay argued. "Give him some space guys, he has no clue who you are."

Hearing them argue, Sheppard couldn't help but smile, a sense of familiarity creeping over him, even though his memories remained hazy. This, he suddenly realized, was what home felt like.

Finally.

Aawwww... See, this would have been a great place to leave this story... if I didn't still have unconscious Wraith locked in the basement.