A/N: Hi there! Thanks for the wonderful reviews. So I guess you could call this chapter a cross-over. I've tried to delicately weave Olivia's plotline in with that of the SG-1 episode 'The Pegasus Project'. I couldn't resist writing Daniel. And I also figured it was time for a little Lorne whump. Relax, read and enjoy!

Olivia was sitting alone in the mess hall, her entire table covered in papers and books. One hand was typing away furiously at her laptop as the other shovelled mac and cheese into her mouth. Stopping for lunch wasn't an option today. There was too much to get done and the Odyssey was getting closer.

"You do realise you aren't in your lab, Doc."

Olivia looked up at Stackhouse, a forkful of pasta suspended in mid-air. "I'm very busy, Sergeant. I have to get this done before Dr Jackson arrives, so if it's all the same to you, I'd like to eat alone today."

Stackhouse just frowned down at her. "I wasn't coming to join you. Why would I want to do that?"

"What do you want then?"

"Reed says he's been keeping you updated on the Odyssey's progress?"

Olivia grew impatient and turned back to her laptop and continued typing with one hand, her mac and cheese forgotten for the moment. "Yeah, he has. What of it?"

"He went off-world this morning."

"And?"

"He asked me to keep you updated while he was away."

"And?"

"And the Odyssey's touching down in about fifteen minutes."

Olivia dropped her fork, sending pasta spraying everywhere. "Shit, Stackhouse! You couldn't have just said that in the first place?"

"I could just as easily not have told you at all," he pointed out sharply. "I'm not your errand boy, Meyers."

Olivia didn't register what he said, only that the front of her uniform was now covered in elbow macaroni. "Double shit! Now I have to go and change first. Daniel's gonna regret ever sending me here."

Stackhouse folded his arms and sighed. An uncharacteristic look of pity appeared to soften his features momentarily. "Look, you go change and I'll take all this crap back to your lab."

Olivia clasped her hands together and looked up at him with wide, grateful eyes. "You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah but don't go making a big deal out of it," he replied roughly. "Go put on a new uniform and by the time you get to the Gateroom, your boss will probably already be there being greeted by all the senior staff."

"Actually, McKay's still my boss for another twenty-three days," Olivia said darkly, scowling as she picked macaroni from her clothes. "Daniel's the whole reason I'm here though. So if I do something stupid it reflects badly on him."

"Then don't show up with your lunch all over you. Go!" Stackhouse snapped.

Olivia jumped to her feet at the order. "Thank you! I owe you one, Sergeant."

Stackhouse just rolled his eyes and began to gather up the papers strewn all over the table. Olivia slapped him on the shoulder and made for the door at a run. She'd have just enough time to put on a fresh uniform then make her way to the Gateroom to witness the arrival of SG-1 on Atlantis. The whole base had been buzzing for days. SG-1 had legendary status in the Program and their visit had been greatly anticipated by everyone.

Olivia had been excited to see Daniel and show him around Atlantis. That was until he had emailed ahead and asked her to gather together all the information she could find to do with two planets named Castiana and Sahal. She had come up with absolutely nothing. She was supposed to be the resident expert on the Ancients and their database and she had managed to be of no use at all to Daniel.

Ducking into a transporter, Olivia attempted to smooth her hair down a little. She knew she looked tired and unkempt at the moment, mainly because Reed kept informing her of the fact. She'd been too excited and busy to get much sleep over the last two weeks. She wanted to be able to show Daniel that her time on Atlantis hadn't been wasted.

Olivia exited the transporter and ran down the corridor towards her room. Word seemed to have spread that SG-1's arrival was imminent because everyone she passed was chatting excitedly and heading in the opposite direction. Olivia swiped her hand over the access panel to her room and almost tripped in her haste to get inside. She immediately shrugged off her jacket and began to unbuckle her belt.

Luckily she realised the door was still open before she actually dropped her pants. The door slid shut and she shimmied out of her pants and hopped over to grab another pair from her dresser. She didn't have any other clean jackets handy so she was just going to have to make do with her blue t-shirt.

Once her new uniform pants were on, Olivia snatched up her brush and pulled it through her hair haphazardly. If anything it only made her curls look wilder. But she didn't have time to worry about that. The Odyssey would have docked by now and her passengers would be disembarking.

Olivia couldn't resist a grin. Daniel was going to love Atlantis, that much she was sure of. She couldn't wait to show the city off to him and point out all the features she had discovered on her travels around the place. Not to mention the database. He was going to love the database. She felt like a kid at Christmas and she had a sneaking suspicion that Daniel would be feeling exactly the same way.

"Olivia? Where are you?" a voice in her earpiece enquired.

"I'm just leaving my quarters, Em. I'm on my way to the Gateroom now. Are they there yet?"

"Not yet," her friend answered, "but there's a crowd building."

"I'm on my way!"

Olivia burst out of her room and shut the door behind herself. She merged in with the flow of personnel and ended up jammed into a transporter with five other people. The group emerged into one of the corridors off the Gateroom. Olivia could hear voices and made her way towards them.

The Gateroom was pretty full. Everyone was milling around, eager to catch a glimpse of the visitors. Dr Weir stood at the top of the stairs with Sheppard and McKay a few feet behind her. Someone grabbed Olivia's hand and she spun to see Emma grinning excitedly.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't you?" she asked.

"I had a macaroni mishap," Olivia answered. "Have they arrived?"

Emma nodded. "Dr Weir just told us they're making their way here now. Nervous?"

"A little bit. It's been a long time since I saw Dr Jackson and I can't help but worry that he's going to be disappointed with the lack of progress I've made."

"You've done your best," Emma said, giving her a reassuring pat on the arm.

"Sophie didn't want to come and greet the team?"

"I couldn't drag her out of the lab, as usual. I wouldn't miss this for the world though."

Olivia smiled knowingly. "You've come along just to check out Colonel Mitchell."

Emma feigned a look of surprise. "Colonel Mitchell, you say? Oh, is he a good looking man? I wasn't even aware of that."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. Just remember that if you do anything embarrassing I'm going to pretend that I don't know you."

"Noted."

A ripple of excitement spread through the crowd and Olivia rose up onto her tiptoes to see SG-1 enter the Control Room. Colonels Mitchell and Carter looked out over the crowd and seemed to be startled by the amount of people crammed into the Gateroom to see them. Vala Mal Doran trailed behind them, smiling brightly down at the personnel spread before her.

Daniel was the last to enter. He was staring up at the ceiling, oblivious to the crowd below him, oblivious even to Colonel Carter, who he walked right into.

Mitchell waved at the crowd of onlookers and said, "Hi there, folks."

"Sorry about all the extra attention," Dr Weir spoke up, stepping forward to shake hands with the colonel. "We don't get many distinguished visitors from Earth. The novelty will wear off soon."

"Not a problem, ma'am," Mitchell replied smoothly.

Sheppard stepped forward next and waved a dismissive hand at the Gateroom crowd. "That's enough gawking. Don't you people have important work to do?"

Olivia wasn't going anywhere without speaking to Daniel first. Everyone else reluctantly began to disperse. Emma grumbled and stomped off with the crowd, giving Olivia a clear path towards the steps. Sheppard was briskly handling introductions between the two groups. Daniel was standing off to the side, turning slowly in a circle as he surveyed the chamber with impossibly wide eyes.

Olivia watched him for a second, remembering her own first moments inside Atlantis. She had pretty much done the exact same thing for five minutes, till she got too dizzy and a Marine had to grab hold of her arm to stop her falling over.

"Daniel?"

His eyes reluctantly slid down. It took him a moment to recognise her, then his face broke into a smile. "Olivia! This place!"

Grinning herself, she jogged up the stairs. She inexplicably wanted to hug him, but they didn't have that sort of relationship and Daniel wasn't really a hugger anyway. He'd probably get embarrassed. She settled for shaking his hand enthusiastically. "I know. The spires!"

"Yeah. My God, the stain glass windows!"

Olivia nodded exuberantly. "Better than any church I've ever been in. There's a spectacular one a few levels down. The afternoon sun will be filtering through it in another hour or so."

A siren blared suddenly, drawing both of their attention to the Control Room. "Unscheduled off-world activation," a technician announced.

"Receiving Lieutenant Edison's IDC," another said.

"Lower the shield," Dr Weir said immediately.

Olivia turned back to Daniel, only to find his blue eyes fixed on the glowing Gate. He began to walk down the stairs to get a closer look and Olivia followed after him. "Amazing isn't it?"

"A Pegasus Stargate," Daniel said softly, unable to take his eyes off it. "It's so much more elegant than the Milky Way ones. I need to take photos of this."

Daniel began fishing around in one of his pockets. Olivia pulled him aside just as Lt Edison and his team materialised through the event horizon. The men all gave the pair confused looks then made their way up the stairs to talk to Weir and Sheppard.

"I couldn't find anything about the planets you asked me to research," Olivia said, feeling embarrassed to even admit it.

"That's okay. Dr Weir came up empty handed as well. After the briefing, she's going to take me to use the holo room. Apparently that'll be the best way to access the database on my first foray."

"The holo room?" Olivia repeated, unable to keep the longing out of her voice.

The room was rarely used due to the power required to run the interactive program. Many months ago, she'd put her name down on the waiting list to get access, but just about every other member of the expedition was ahead of her. She wasn't going to get a chance to use it before she left.

Daniel gave her a quick look over his shoulder then began snapping pictures of the Gate. "Yeah. Did you want to tag along? I'd welcome any insight you could give me."

Olivia once again fought the urge to hug him. "I'd be happy to accompany you to the holo room. How long will the briefing take?"

Daniel shrugged. "An hour maybe."

"Jackson!" Colonel Mitchell shouted from the Control Room. "Get back up here. We've got work to do before you can go sightseeing."

Daniel sheepishly returned his camera to his pocket and jogged back up the stairs with Olivia. "Sorry, Cam, I couldn't resist checking out the active Gate."

"Yeah, well Dr Weir wants us to wait in the conference room for her. She's got an issue to deal with then she'll join us."

"All right." Daniel turned to Olivia. "Come back in about an hour and we'll go to the holo room with Dr Weir."

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

Olivia turned and began to head back down the stairs. She'd have a bit of time to get some more work done before she presented anything to Daniel. She was halfway down the stairs when someone called her name.

Surprised, her head whipped around to where Dr Weir was huddled with Sheppard, McKay and Edison. She approached the group tentatively, curious as to why Dr Weir would call her over.

"Dr Meyers, we could use your help with something," she said simply.

"Who knew the historian would actually come in handy?" McKay said, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

Sheppard glared at him then turned to Olivia. "There's a situation off-world."

She blinked at him stupidly. Since when was she in the 'situation' loop on Atlantis. "What do you want from me?"

"It's a delicate matter," Dr Weir answered. "I saw you talking to Dr Jackson and realised you'd probably be the best person to send along to negotiate."

"Negotiate?" Olivia echoed. She didn't have time to negotiate trade agreements today, not when there was an opportunity to use the holo room with Daniel. Besides, she was pretty sure she'd be crap at it.

Sheppard nodded crisply. "Major Lorne's team and one of the scientists have been taken prisoner."

Olivia's stomach dropped to somewhere around her knees. "Prisoner?"

"We need you to go and negotiate their release."

"But I'm not a negotiator!" Olivia said quickly. "Why can't you go, Colonel?"

"I've told the colonel to sit this one out," Dr Weir answered on his behalf. "If Teyla weren't currently off-world visiting our allies I'd send her. From what Lt Edison has reported, it's going to be much better if we send through a team of women only. We're dealing with a matriarchal society this time."

Olivia's eyes widened. As far as she knew the expedition hadn't encountered a matriarchal society in Pegasus so far. "Amazonian?" she asked.

Lt Edison shook his head and stepped forward to speak. "They were more like hippies. But they did have bows and these wicked looking sticks."

"I'm thinking they sound more like a Wiccan coven," Dr Weir said.

Olivia nodded thoughtfully. That would be something she hadn't dealt with before. "What makes you think that?"

"Naked dancing."

Olivia's head snapped back to Sheppard. "Excuse me?"

"That's how the trouble started," he said, a hint of a smile on his face. "The team stumbled upon some sort of ritual that involved women dancing around naked. Somehow the dancers spotted them and took exception to their presence."

"So they're being held prisoner because they got caught spying on naked women?"

"That's about the long and short of it."

Olivia let out a loud breath. "And these women won't release them to us?"

"They're refusing to," Edison said. "They wouldn't even let my team check on them. I get the feeling they really don't like men. I think they're eager to devise their own punishment and carry it out very soon."

"I've radioed the infirmary and Dr Cole is on her way to the Gateroom already," Dr Weir said.

"And I've got three female Marines on their way to the armoury right now," Sheppard added. "I'm going to monitor things from back here. I'll have a few more teams ready to come through if Cadman says the negotiations aren't working."

Olivia's eyes drifted towards the conference room. "Okay. We leave right now?"

"We can't waste any time. If these women are set on punishing the team without any sort of trial then we need to get there ASAP."

"Look, can you bring my people home or not?" Sheppard asked, staring Olivia down from beneath his trademark tousled hair.

Olivia met his gaze steadily. "I can bring your guys back but they could clearly use a class in tact and cultural sensitivity."

"And sexual harassment by the sound of it," McKay piped up.

"We all appreciate your expertise, Dr Meyers," Dr Weir said, giving both men sharp looks. "We have to attend a briefing with SG-1 now, but Lt Edison can give you some more information before the others arrive. Check in with the Control Room every half hour to update Colonel Sheppard on the situation."

"Bring them back in one piece," Sheppard said under his breath as he passed Olivia on his way towards the conference room.

Olivia hadn't been off-world since visiting the earthquake planet with Evan's team a month ago. In the end, Governor Nevin and his people had agreed to relocate after Dr Weir met with him. The eventual outcome had been positive, but the experience left Olivia feeling disheartened. She had opted to take her name out of the off-world rotation, realising that she no longer had a desire to venture into the Pegasus galaxy. It seemed hell-bent on killing her. The planets in the Milky Way had treated her much nicer.

Stepping through the Gate this time was a terrifying experience. As soon as Olivia set foot on the planet, she found a sharp, gleaming arrow aimed at her throat. A row of archers stood around the Gate in a semi-circle, the Marines flanking her raised their guns automatically in response.

"This is a great start to the proceedings," Lt Cadman muttered from beside her.

Olivia tried her best not to look intimidated. "We're not here to harm you," she said loudly and clearly, raising her hands to show she didn't have a weapon. "We know that you're holding four men here and we wish to discuss their possible release. I promise no one will hurt you."

"Then lower your weapons," one of the archers said.

"You first," Cadman retorted, tightening her grip on her P90.

"It's okay," Olivia said, putting a reassuring hand on Cadman's taut forearm. "Lower your guns. They won't hurt us either."

Cadman hesitated then slowly lowered the barrel of the gun and gestured for the other Marines to do the same. Some of the tension eased and Olivia took a careful step forward. "We need you to release our men back to us."

One of the women lowered her bow and stepped forward as well. Olivia could understand Edison's description of them as hippies. The woman was wearing a long pale green dress and had a circlet of wild flowers on her head. She would have looked pretty and ethereal if it wasn't for the scowl on her face.

"Your men broke our laws and therefore they will be punished according to our laws. Return to your home," the woman said firmly. "If you wish, we will send their bodies through to your world once we are done."

Cadman's P90 was back up in a flash. "Whoa, lady! You're going to kill them?"

"No one's going to be killing anyone today," Olivia said quickly, stepping in front of the lieutenant and her gun.

"The Council is still deliberating on their fate," the woman said. "They interfered with a sacred ritual and have shown no remorse for their actions. Putting them to death is the fitting punishment."

"Like hell it is," Cadman growled. "If anything happens to those men you'll regret it."

Olivia could feel the tension ratchet back up a few notches. A twitch of a finger would send arrows and bullets flying thick and fast. She had to do something to move things forward.

"We have been sent to speak to the Council on behalf of the men," she said quickly, thinking on her feet. "They can't be expected to speak in their own defence. They're only men, after all."

The woman narrowed her eyes, clearly evaluating Olivia's sincerity. She seemed to pass the test because the woman nodded. "I will take you to see Mara. Though I doubt it will do your men any good."

"All the same, we appreciate the opportunity to try," Olivia said.

"Right." Cadman finally lowered her weapon and turned to the Marine beside her. "Stay here and keep an eye on the Gate. I'll radio you soon and you'll need to dial home and relay our SITREP. Got it?"

The Marine nodded crisply and stood at attention, her P90 held to her chest. Olivia was immensely relieved to see the archers all lower their arrows to point at the ground. The woman in the green dress started walking away and Olivia, Cadman, Dr Cole and the other Marine followed in her wake.

The village they were walking towards was surprisingly large and well-designed. Perhaps these women weren't as primitive and earthy as they appeared to be. They certainly had a touch of Xena about them though.

"Does it always go like this?" Dr Cole asked softly.

Olivia looked over to see she looked alarmingly pale. "Not usually."

"Don't get off-world much?" Cadman guessed.

"Occasionally. But I've only ever been to clinics we've set up on friendly planets. No one's ever threatened to shoot me."

"Don't worry," Olivia said. "I think I've worked out my angle. I'll play along with the whole men-are-idiots thing they seem to subscribe to around here."

"What do you mean by 'play along'? Men are idiots," Cadman said. "Especially these four. I mean, seriously, who gets caught perving on naked women and thrown in jail for it? Idiots!"

Olivia had a sneaking suspicion all wasn't well between Cadman and Dr Beckett but since it was none of her business she didn't pry. Their escort led them towards a small building on the outskirts of the village. She stopped in front of the door and turned back to wait for the group to catch up.

The woman held out her hand towards Cadman. "You will not be allowed to take your weapons into the prison. I must take them from you now."

"Not a chance." Cadman clutched her P90 to her chest defiantly.

"We don't exactly have a choice here," Olivia said out of the corner of her mouth.

"I'm not going to arm these crazies with automatic firearms. Sheppard would lose his shit."

"But then you won't be able to come in with us," Dr Cole said shakily. "I'd really prefer it if you came in with us. Weapons or not."

Cadman groaned impatiently. "Fine. Then Corporal Sloane can stay out here with my weapons as well as her own."

Begrudgingly, she handed over her sidearm, which Sloane slid into the waistband of her pants then she handed over the P90. "You must take that off as well," the hippie woman said, indicating Cadman's TAC vest. The lieutenant glared but obliged by unzipping the vest and shrugging out of it. "Good. You have no other weapons? Because you will be searched once you enter the prison."

Cadman rolled her eyes and stooped down to lift her pant leg. She unclipped a small knife sheath that was attached to her calf. She transferred it to Corporal Sloane's leg then straightened. "There? Happy now?"

The woman knocked sharply on the door then walked away without saying another word. "She was a real ray of sunshine," Cadman mumbled. "Listen up, Sloane. If I give the word, I want you to storm in with your guns blazing. Do the same thing if you don't hear from me every ten minutes, okay."

"Understood."

The door opened in front of them and another hippie woman in a long dress peered out at them curiously. "We've come to speak to Mara about the men being held in this prison," Olivia said.

The woman smiled warmly at them. "Come in, friends. She will be eager to meet you."

Olivia exchanged a glance with Cadman. This was a different reaction. They entered the prison and found little to no furniture in the room. Six women of varying ages sat cross-legged in a circle on the floor. Across the room, two more women armed with long sticks stood beside a door which presumably led to the prison cells.

"We've come to speak to Mara," Cadman said, looking around the circle of women.

Olivia's eyes had settled on the oldest woman and she wasn't surprised to see her stand up and approach them. She looked to be about fifty and her grey-blonde hair cascaded to her lower back. "I am Mara. Welcome to Vastia."

Olivia bowed her head politely. "Thank you for granting us an audience at such short notice. My name is Olivia and this is Laura and Amanda."

"We are always happy to engage with sisters from other worlds. Do you come from Atlantis, as the men say?"

"We do. We've been sent to bring the four men home and apologise for the intrusion on their behalf."

"Your men have not been so quick to apologise for their actions," Mara said gravely.

"They don't know any better. They're our muscle, plain and simple. It's not within them to think before they act and to consider the consequences of their actions. We will take responsibility for them and punish them appropriately back on Atlantis."

"I'm afraid it is not that simple," Mara said, causing Olivia's hopes of a speedy resolution to fade. "They witnessed our annual harvest ceremony, which is forbidden to be viewed by the eyes of men. Our prayers to the Goddess have been desecrated so much so that I fear we will not have a successful harvest this season."

Cadman gave her a sideways glance and Olivia nodded imperceptibly. This was sounding bad. "Can the ceremony not be performed again?" she asked, already fearing what the answer would be.

Mara shook her head. "It must be done today when the sun is at its highest point. That time has now passed and the Goddess has not received our offering of song. I'm afraid the crime is one we cannot overlook. We are discussing a fitting punishment now," she said, gesturing to the women assembled on the floor.

Olivia took a deep breath to calm herself down. The situation sounded fairly straight forward to her. These women believed Evan and his team had deliberately interrupted their important ceremony. They were set on handing out their own punishment, which meant Olivia was out of her league here. Dr Weir would be best to deal with the proceedings.

But she knew she had to at least check on the team before returning to Atlantis.

"Mara, can we be taken to see the prisoners? We need to make sure they're all right. You understand that, don't you?"

Mara nodded after a moment's consideration. "I will let you see them, for what little good it will do. Their fate is already sealed."

Cadman opened her mouth to say something, but Olivia seized hold of her arm quickly. "We understand and thank you for your generosity. All we ask is that you allow us to speak to them one last time. They deserve to know that we came for them."

Mara nodded towards the guards by the door. "You will all be searched before you enter the cells. It is merely a formality, sisters."

The guards both put aside their weapons and advanced on the three outsiders. Cadman bristled and looked as if she was ready to put up a fight, but her common sense won out and she submitted to the search. One of the guards grabbed Dr Cole's medical kit and began rifling through it, removing the needles, scalpels and anything else she perceived to be a threat.

"I might need those instruments," Dr Cole said softly, looking horrified to see her kit being dismantled.

"Let's hope you don't need anything that drastic, Doc."

Olivia nodded in agreement as the hippie guard finished patting down Cadman then moved on to her. It was a very thorough search, which made Olivia grateful that none of them had tried to smuggle in any weapons. Once they were all found to be clean, the remainder of the medical kit was returned to a relieved Dr Cole.

"Come, I will take you through to the cells myself," Mara said, leading them towards the door.

Cadman paused briefly to radio a message through to Corporal Sloane outside. Once the situation was relayed, she joined the group and stepped in front of Olivia to take the lead into the cells.

"I can't believe I was just frisked by a woman wearing a daisy chain," Dr Cole commented.

Cadman tossed her a grin back over her shoulder. "Welcome to Pegasus, Doc."

Olivia hid a smile of her own. It certainly was an interesting galaxy. She was going to miss it.

Mara opened the door and led them into a long corridor. "Your men are well for the moment but once we decide on an appropriate punishment it must be carried out before sun down."

Olivia grimaced. That wasn't a lot of time to go back to Atlantis and bring Dr Weir through to take over negotiations. "That's very quick, Mara. They aren't given a chance to plead their innocence?"

"How can they claim to be innocent? They were captured while watching the ceremony through the trees. That is not in dispute."

"We have a saying back on our world," Cadman said. "Wrong place, wrong time. That's what happened here."

"So you say, but they have not apologised for the intrusion, which leads us to believe it was deliberate on their part. The punishment will be fitting," Mara replied solemnly.

Olivia kept her mouth shut and hoped that Cadman would do the same. Neither of them had the patience and skill to negotiate such delicate territory. If they argued the appropriateness of any punishment, they could very well make the whole situation worse.

The group emerged in front of the prison cell. It was only small and held no furniture except a bench along the back wall. The iron bars made it look like any prison back on Earth. Inside, Coughlin sat on the bench beside a small man Olivia recognised as Dr Singh. For some reason, Evan was lying in the middle of the floor with Reed kneeling beside him.

A guard holding a compact but lethal looking crossbow was aiming it inside the cell. Her arm twitched when Reed leapt to his feet and ran to the bars.

"Thank God!" he said. "It's about damn time. We need to get out of here. Lorne's hurt."

Olivia's heart seized. Her eyes sought out Evan's supine form. His eyes were closed but his chest was rising and falling steadily. "Hurt? Hurt how?"

"He got into a scuffle with one of those psychos. She gave him a good whack on the head with one of those sticks," Reed replied quickly. He turned to Dr Cole. "I'm pretty sure he's got a concussion. The bleeding has stopped but I have no way to dress the wound. They emptied my pockets and took my vest."

Cadman was first to react. She turned and confronted Mara. "What the hell is your problem? This is your idea of well? One of them has a head injury. They are not all well!"

The guard swung the crossbow around to aim it at Cadman's chest. Olivia looked back down at Evan. Now that she looked closely she could see that the jacket he was using as a pillow was stained with blood. Quite a bit of blood.

"He's in and out, Liv. He needs help but they're refusing to give any. We have to get him back to the city," Reed said.

Behind her Mara was defending her actions to an irate Cadman. "He resisted and was dealt with. Any injury he suffered was by his own doing."

Olivia's pulse was thrumming loudly in her ears. Things were moving in slow motion. Reed started talking again. "That's not what happened! The women wanted to kill Dr Singh on the spot and Lorne intervened. No one resisted!"

Olivia's vision was tunnelling. All she could see was Evan lying on the floor. She had heard the term white-hot anger used before but she had never fully appreciated it. Now she understood. There might as well have been molten lava flowing through her veins. Her hands clenched into fists at her side and her jaw became so tight that her teeth started grinding together unpleasantly.

In one swift movement she spun and shoved Cadman aside. She stepped up so she was right in Mara's face. In the background she was vaguely aware of Cadman protesting and the guard now pointing an arrow at her own rampant heart.

"You refused that man medical treatment?" Olivia asked, her voice coming out as a low growl.

"He is a prisoner, not a free villager entitled to care," Mara said simply, not looking as if she was worried about justifying her actions.

"If he dies because you refused him treatment, the retaliation from my people will be swift and brutal," Olivia replied, her eyes blazing. "He's an important man. All of the military forces of Atlantis will be brought to bear on your village. Many more soldiers like Laura will storm through the Gate and overwhelm your own warriors in minutes."

"Actually, Doc, we probably wouldn't need to go to all that trouble," Cadman interrupted. "I'm sure Dr Weir would authorise the use of one of our ships. We could blow the village away from space and be home in time for dinner."

Mara looked between the two women cautiously. She didn't seem convinced yet. Olivia narrowed her eyes threateningly. "Listen carefully. I will say this once and only once. Allow Amanda into the cell or we will be forced to return to Atlantis where your ill treatment of these men will be regarded as an act of aggression."

"I do not want you as an enemy," Mara said sincerely.

"Damn right you don't," Cadman snapped.

"Then open the cell door for us."

Mara hesitated for a moment. Olivia held her ground, her entire body overheated and strained by the sudden rush of anger. If she stopped to consider the best course of action she was worried she'd lose her nerve. There was so much more at stake now. If Evan didn't get back to Atlantis soon…

"Only you and the healer may go in," Mara agreed eventually.

Olivia nodded impatiently and gestured towards the cell door. "Let's hurry it up then."

Mara stuck her hand down the front of her dress and pulled out an iron key on a chain that hung from her neck. She unlocked the door and once Olivia and Dr Cole stepped through she resealed it behind them. Olivia stayed by the door and stared at Evan, not sure how she could help in this situation. Dr Singh seemed to be having the same problem. He didn't move from the bench or even acknowledge the presence of the rescue party.

Coughlin jumped off the bench and rushed to Dr Cole's side. "What are you doing here, Amanda?"

"I wanted to make sure you were all right."

"I'm fine. Lorne's not so good though."

"I'll take a look at him and we'll go from there," Dr Cole said briskly.

She knelt quickly beside Evan and began digging through her bag. Olivia was frozen in place. She was used to seeing Evan calm and steady and in charge. He looked young and vulnerable lying in the middle of the floor.

Reed knelt beside Dr Cole and watched her pull out a small flashlight. "I don't know much about head injuries, Doc. When he's awake he's coherent though, so I figure that's a good sign."

"That is a good sign," she confirmed. She lifted Evan's eyelids in turn and shone the light into his eyes. "His pupils are even and reactive. Another good sign."

The attention caused Evan to groan. He began to stir and Olivia pulled herself together and joined the circle of people around Evan. She crouched by his feet and bit her lip as he groaned again and opened his eyes slowly.

"Welcome back, boss," Coughlin said.

"Ow," was all Evan said. Then his eyes focussed on the face hovering above him. "That you Amanda? Is the cavalry here?"

"It's here," Olivia answered.

The reaction was immediate. Evan tried to sit up to see her. "Olivia?" he hissed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Lie down," Dr Cole ordered. She and Reed both pushed his shoulders back down.

Olivia scooted closer and leant over so that he could see her without sitting up. She smiled reassuringly. "Dr Weir and Colonel Sheppard sent me to get you out of here."

"You're the cavalry?" Evan demanded. "They sent an anthropologist to get us out of here? Just great."

Olivia rocked back on her heels. That wasn't exactly the reaction she was expecting. Her face burned as everyone stared at her. Dr Cole gave her a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, Olivia. Irritability is a symptom of a concussion. He'll be back to normal soon."

"Irritable and snarky is normal for him," Olivia replied, quickly shrugging off the feeling of rejection. She'd become pretty accustomed to it over the last few months. "Although a little gratitude wouldn't go astray, Major. I did drag my ass all the way out here to rescue you."

"And how are you planning to get us out of here?" Evan asked pointedly, ignoring her initial assessment of his character.

"Just let Dr Cole examine you and leave that up to me," Olivia said briskly. She got to her feet and steeled her expression before turning around to Mara.

"Do you see what I mean?" Mara said, raising a smug eyebrow. "They are showing no remorse whatsoever. How are we supposed to interpret that?"

"So if they apologise you'll let them go?" Olivia asked.

"We didn't do anything to apologise for!" Reed insisted in the background.

"An apology will go some way to lessening the punishment we hand down."

Olivia sighed. Of course it wasn't going to be that easy. "You must at least let the injured man go. He needs to receive medical treatment back at our city."

"I'm not going anywhere without my team," Evan said adamantly from the floor. "We all leave or no one leaves."

"May we speak in the other room, Mara?" Olivia asked politely. Evan and the others were just going to make things worse and she already had her work cut out for her.

The older woman unlocked the door and allowed Olivia to slip back out of the cell. She relocked it and handed the key over to her guard. "Keep a close eye on them, Jana. I will send someone else in here to help you."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Cadman asked, sidling up to Olivia.

"Cadman? Is that you?" Evan called out, trying to sit up once again.

"Yeah, I'm here, sir."

"Good. Please tell me you have enough C4 on you to blow a hole in this place."

"Uh, I'm afraid not, sir."

"I'll be fine on my own," Olivia told the lieutenant. "It'll be better if you stay here and make sure everyone keeps their mouth shut. Come and let my know what Dr Cole finds when she finishes her examination."

Cadman nodded obediently and Olivia followed Mara back out into the main room. Everyone was still where they had been when the group had first left the room. The women seated on the floor looked up at Mara expectantly.

"Olivia wishes to speak on behalf of the prisoners. Sisters, in the spirit of good relations between our people and Atlantis, I have agreed to let her speak to us."

Mara joined the group on the floor and Olivia peered down at them awkwardly. She felt like a teacher addressing a class of kindergarteners. "Well, I also hope to established good relations between my people and yours. I believe we can be of help, but that won't be possible if you do not let the four men go immediately."

"They broke our law."

"I realise that, but they aren't familiar with your laws."

"The blue eyed one suggested that if we didn't want to be watched then we should wear clothes. The Goddess will be unable to hear us if we aren't naked during our ceremony."

Olivia winced. Damn it, Evan. "Okay. Again, he's not familiar with your customs. Naked ceremonies don't tend to happen where we come from."

"The blue eyed one is your lover," Mara said. It was a statement, not a question.

Olivia gaped down at her. "Uh, no, definitely not my lover."

"I saw the way you looked at him. Your concern was obvious."

"We have a friendship, that's all. I don't like to see him in pain. Do you really value none of the men in your village?"

"There are no men at all in our village," Mara answered proudly. "We drove them out long ago."

Olivia frowned. "Then how do you have children? I saw some as I was coming to the prison."

"There are a few worlds we visit. The men there are happy for a brief liaison."

"And what if you have a son?"

"Before our sons become men they are sent away to another world where the Wraith have decimated the population. They have good lives there."

It all sounded very extreme. If there were really no men at all in the village then something had to have gone seriously wrong in the past. "Why did you drive away all the men?" Olivia asked.

Mara hung her head momentarily then looked back up. "There was a time when our foremothers were nothing but slaves. The Wraith cullings devastated so much of our society that women eventually became mere possessions to be swapped and bartered amongst the men of our world. One day the women finally rose up and banished the men from the village."

No wonder they hated men. Olivia swallowed thickly. This was part of her job that she really hated. Even a few societies back on Earth still had the same view of women. "I'm very sorry that your foremothers were treated that way. It was very brave of those women to take a stand. I can certainly understand your reluctance to have men in your midst, but what you're doing here is still wrong."

A few of the women began to talk at once, their voices raised in vehement objection. Mara held up a hand and they fell silent immediately. "Your men are no different to those who would subjugate us, Olivia."

"That's where you're wrong," Olivia said, shaking her head firmly. "I know those men well and they aren't like that. Reed, the young soldier in there, he loves women. I thought at first that he was mistreating them but now I know better. He's always kind and respectful. And the healer we brought along is in a relationship with the other uninjured soldier. She wouldn't come all this way if he wasn't a good man."

"And what of the scared little man with no hair? He stared at us the most," one of the women asked.

Olivia smiled. Dr Singh was an entomologist and they were all a bit weird. Preferring the company of bugs to people often led one to lack a little something in social skills. "He's just a scared little man with no hair. I don't know him very well but I can't really see him trying to enslave anyone. Can you?"

"No," Mara admitted. "And what of the other one, the one who is definitely not your lover? You expect me to believe he is a good man? I heard the way he spoke to you."

"He's angry because he's in pain. And he doesn't like it when he's not in complete control of a situation." Olivia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Look, you're going to have to take my word for it. He's a brave and selfless man. I've seen it over and over again. And he definitely doesn't disrespect women. Anything that happened earlier today was a misunderstanding."

"They may in fact be the greatest men who ever lived, but that does not change the fact that they intruded on a sacred ceremony," one of the women said.

"I realise that. I'm not asking that you let them go in exchange for nothing. Atlantis can help you with resources."

"We do have need of more weapons."

Olivia sighed. Why did the primitive civilisations always ask for weapons first? "We can't give you weapons for obvious reasons. Who would you use them against anyway?"

"The men who were sent from the village so long ago set up their own settlement a day's walk from here. Some women chose to go with them so their numbers increase all the time. They attempt to raid us on a regular basis and their army becomes stronger and stronger each time," Mara answered.

The were interrupted then by Cadman entering the room. "How's it going in here?" she asked.

Olivia forced a smile. "I think we might be getting somewhere."

"Good. Lorne needs to get out of here now. Amanda thinks he might have a skull fracture."

Olivia had very little medical knowledge, but she knew enough to realise that anything involving the words skull and fracture was a bad sign. "Can we help him out as he is?" Olivia asked.

Cadman shook her head. "We'll need a stretcher. I've radioed a message through to Atlantis to have a medical team ready to come through once we give the word."

"No one is going anywhere," Mara said calmly from the floor.

"Look, I lied to you earlier. We value all people back at our city and those men in there aren't just muscle and they aren't stupid at all. You obviously have a different view and that's fine," Olivia replied mildly. "I wasn't lying about the rest of it though. The man you injured is second in command of our military. Any mistreatment of him is going to bring retaliation and I won't be able to stop it."

"What do you propose we do then?"

"I'm sure we can come up with something," Olivia said, rubbing her hands together and hoping she looked confident. "Laura, just give us a few more minutes please."

"You've got five, Doc. Then I contact Sheppard."

It turned out Olivia only needed four. She was able to broker a tentative deal with the Council. In return for releasing the team, Olivia agreed that Atlantis would provide any expertise available to help the Vastian women defend their village from the raiders. Maybe even a fly-by in a Jumper to intimidate them into ceasing the raids once and for all. Of course, it was all subject to Dr Weir's approval, but Olivia couldn't see her objecting. They would get the team back and helping these women defeat their ancestral tormenters seemed like a just cause.

They were also worried that their interrupted ceremony would see their crops fail and Olivia assured them that if that happened Atlantis would put them in contact with worlds that had food to trade. Everybody got what they wanted.

"Your men are free to go," Mara said, inclining her head and gesturing towards the cells. "But we must ask that they not step foot on our world again. Any men who you send through must be aware of our situation. I can't say that we'll be so lenient next time."

"That's fair," Olivia agreed. "Our leader is a strong and intelligent woman like yourself. I'll speak to her and make sure she handpicks the people we send through to assist you."

Mara led Olivia back into the cells, where everyone looked up at her expectantly. She smiled serenely. "Piece of cake. Everyone's free to go."

"Finally!" Reed shouted. "Nice work, Liv."

Cadman slapped her on the back. "Yeah, nice work. I'll get the medical team sent through."

Cadman turned to radio a message back to the Gate as Mara unlocked the cell and threw the door open. Dr Singh leapt to his feet and bolted through the door first. Olivia smiled and shook her head. She wouldn't be surprised if he didn't go off-world again for a very long time.

"We'll wait with you, sir," Coughlin said.

"No," Evan said immediately. "You and Reed need to go get our weapons and vests back. Make sure everything's accounted for then head straight back to Atlantis. No arguing either."

Reed's mouth snapped shut and he visibly swallowed his protest. "Yes, sir."

The pair reluctantly left the cell and followed Mara out to retrieve their gear. "The team is on their way with a stretcher, sir," Cadman reported.

"Good. I want you to escort Olivia and Amanda back to Atlantis now. I'll be fine here till the medics show up."

Dr Cole bit her lip, looking torn between wanting to get out of there and not abandoning her patient. "I can't just leave you here, Major. I have to overrule you in this case."

"I'll stay with him," Olivia offered immediately. She expected Evan to argue, but he didn't say anything.

"He's stable and I've given him painkillers," Dr Cole said. "You'll just need to keep him awake. Carson will prefer him to be conscious when he's examining him back at the infirmary."

Olivia nodded crisply. "I can do that."

Cadman gave her a speculative look then turned to Dr Cole. "Well, we've got our marching orders, Doc. Let's get out of here."

Olivia waited till both women had left then she lowered herself to the floor beside Evan's head. He looked up at her with glassy eyes. "They gone?" he asked.

"They're gone."

Evan let out a breath and grimaced. Olivia realised he had been holding himself together in front of everyone. Now that it was just the two of them, she could see the strain around his eyes and mouth. "The painkillers haven't kicked in yet?" she asked softly.

"I don't think they're strong enough to even take the edge off," he replied slowly. "Liv, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean it like that. I'm not angry at you for coming here. Weir and Sheppard made the wrong call. Civilians shouldn't be sent to rescue military teams stuck off-world. It's a dangerous situation that you aren't trained for."

"Yeah? I happen to have a doctorate that says otherwise. This is exactly what I'm trained for and Dr Weir knew it. Sure, Sheppard would have preferred to come, but his presence would have just made things worse. I had the best chance of getting through to these women."

"And you did that and I appreciate it, but I still don't like the idea of you being thrown into a volatile situation like this. If I was in charge that wouldn't have happened."

Olivia smiled down at him. "Then I guess it's lucky that Dr Weir's my boss, not you."

"Thanks for coming to get us out. Even after the way I've been lately."

"It's fine. I would never leave you at the mercy of a hoard of angry women."

Evan frowned thoughtfully. "Yeah, why are they so angry?"

"They have a history of being mistreated by men. It's ingrained this hatred in them that's hard for them to overlook. They aren't bad people."

"Well, the one who hit me in the head was pretty vicious."

"Yeah, well if I ever get my hands on her she'll regret hurting you."

Evan managed a half-smile. "That's very chivalrous of you."

"I try my best. I won't be around for much longer though, so you're going to have to keep yourself out of trouble."

"Twenty-three more days, right?"

Olivia blinked down at him in surprise. "Uh, yeah. You're counting?"

"Of course."

Olivia didn't know what to say so she didn't say anything. Evan reached for her and groped around till he caught hold of her hand. "I'm tired, Liv."

She squeezed his hand. "I know. Just stay awake for a few more minutes."

"No, I mean I'm tired of whatever it is that's going on between us."

"Oh. So am I."

"I want things to go back to the way they were when we first met. I want everything to be easy again."

Olivia's heart began to race. Finally. "So does that mean you forgive me?"

"I will once things go back to the way they were. Back when we were just friends."

That was probably the best she could hope for given the circumstances. "All right. We'll go back to the way things were. I've really missed talking to you."

Footsteps in the corridor signalled the arrival of the medical team. Olivia let go of his hand, knowing that he wouldn't like to be found with her like that. She watched as he gritted his teeth and controlled his expression again. Impulsively, she ducked her head and pressed a quick kiss to his pale, clammy cheek.

The team entered the cell and Olivia backed out to give them room to work. Once they had Evan safely on the stretcher, she led them back out of the prison and towards the Stargate.

An hour after arriving back on Atlantis, Olivia was sitting on an examination table in the infirmary between Coughlin and Reed. On the other side of the room, a privacy curtain had been drawn around the bed where Dr Beckett was still assessing Evan.

"He's got a really hard head," Reed commented.

He'd said that about three times now. After having their own post-mission checkups, the three of them had sat down and refused to leave the infirmary till there was some news on Evan's condition. Olivia was glad to have the others there with her.

As usual, exciting events had taken place while they were gone, which the nurses had been more than happy to fill them in on.

"It's just my luck that an Ascended Ancient shows up when I'm not around," Olivia muttered darkly. "And not just any Ancient either. Morgan Le Fay, for God's sake!"

"Is that name supposed to mean something to me?"

"Jeez, kid, read a book some time."

"You'd have to make it an order, old man."

Olivia smiled to herself. She felt like Evan would be in good hands when she left. His team mates cared about him and would watch his back. She wasn't naïve enough to hope that he'd never be in danger or get injured, but knowing that he had good people around him comforted her.

Sheppard strode into the infirmary and made a beeline for the trio. "What's the word?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Nothing yet, sir," Coughlin answered. "Beckett's still in with him."

"What the hell happened out there?" he demanded, glaring at his men. "Naked women? Are you guys really that hard up for it?"

Reed smirked. "Not particularly, sir."

"Yeah, well we all know you aren't, Reed. How did one of them get the drop on Lorne in the first place?"

"It was Dr Singh, you know, the bug guy. We were all going to back away slowly, but he freaked out and made a noise. Then he fell over."

"They were on us in a few seconds and they wanted to kill Singh right there and then. Lorne stepped in and he got hit from behind. None of us saw it coming, sir."

Sheppard shook his head. "Idiot scientists." He turned to Olivia quickly. "No offence."

"None taken, Colonel."

Sheppard crossed over to Evan's bed and called out to Dr Beckett. He emerged from behind the curtain, stripping off his latex gloves. Dr Cole followed him out and made her way over to the anxious group.

"He has a linear fracture to the left parietal bone," she reported.

The lump in Olivia's throat burned and she whispered, "That sounds bad."

"It's really the best fracture we could have hoped for. It'll heal without the need for surgery and there shouldn't be any lasting damage to his brain or skull."

Reed put his arm around Olivia's shoulders and hugged her to his side. "See, I told you. Really hard head."

"He's going to have to stay here for a few nights though."

"He won't like that," Olivia said, shaking her head fondly as she imagined him grumbling and complaining the whole time.

Dr Cole grinned at her. "I know he won't, but the nurses always seem to enjoy having him around."

"Is he awake?" Reed asked.

"The morphine knocked him out. He'll probably sleep right through the night now. There's not much point hanging around here any longer."

"I could use some food and a long shower," Coughlin said, sliding off the examination table and taking Dr Cole by the hand.

The couple left and Olivia wriggled out from under Reed's arm. "Coming to the mess hall with me?"

Before he could answer, Daniel entered the infirmary with Vala trailing along behind him. Olivia had only met Vala briefly before coming to Atlantis, but she was a pretty memorable woman. The exact nature of her relationship with Daniel intrigued Olivia but she knew better than to ask personal questions.

Daniel gave a relieved sigh upon seeing Olivia and Reed sitting on the table. "Thank God you're still here. I only just heard you got back."

"Is it true?" Olivia asked immediately, jumping off the table as he approached them.

"It was definitely Morgan Le Fay. I've got some new leads. I need information on an Ancient man named Moros."

The name rang a bell with Olivia. "Wasn't he High Councillor when the city was abandoned?"

Behind her, Reed slid smoothly off the examination table and held out his hand to Vala. "Matt Reed. Pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

Vala elbowed Daniel. "Did you hear that? Ma'am!"

Daniel just ignored her as he seemed accustomed to doing. "I need your help getting information from the database. We're only here for another two days. I need to get as much as I can."

"I already have a fair bit on Moros. But I'm sure there's plenty more we can dig up. You want to start tonight?"

"Right away if you're not too tired."

"I'm fine. My lab isn't far from here." Olivia turned to Reed to apologise for skipping dinner, but he appeared to be making friends with Vala already so she turned back to Daniel. "You have to tell me everything, Daniel. I want to know what she was like."

Daniel just shrugged. "She seemed like she wanted to help us. The Others stopped her of course, but I think she was willing to break the rules." Daniel grabbed the back of Vala's jacket and pulled her away from Reed. "We're leaving, Vala. We have work to do."

"But-"

"No, Vala."

"Matt was going to show me-"

"No."

Vala pouted. "I really hate you sometimes, Daniel."

"I think I can live with that," he replied dryly, shoving her towards the door. He and Olivia hurried after her. "For what it's worth, Olivia, I'm sorry you weren't there to see Morgan."

Olivia glanced back over her shoulder at the drawn curtain. "Don't worry. I'm not sorry at all."

A/N: Sorry to bombard you with notes. Just wanted to say that the next chapter will cover Olivia's last few days on Atlantis. It's going to be titled 'Happy ending' and it'll be one hell of a ride. It's not finished yet and I want to make sure I do my best on this one, so it may take longer than a week to complete. But, as always, reviews make me write faster!