Disclaimer: I do not own them.

Sorry that it took so long. PROM was Friday and I was super busy because I was in charge of putting it on. Basically all Thursday and Friday were devoted to PROM set up and last minute details. Anyways enough about me and on with the story. Oh and before I go on. This chapter switches between characters a lot. John starts off the retelling of the past two months. Then Elizabeth fills in. This goes back and forth with commentary from Cameron, Landry, Daniel, and Sam. Enjoy!

The highlight of the evening had been Sheppard's facial expressions as Landry went on and on about protocol and regulations before letting John and Elizabeth speak on their own behalf.

All three of them were enjoying their entertainment, even if it was at Sheppard's expense. From where they were sitting, Sam, Daniel, and Cameron had a clear view of their unexpected visitors. John sat and fidgeted while Elizabeth glared at him, nudging his shoulder every few minutes to get him to stop.

Daniel had wondered what had happened between them to change their relationship. They seemed so much closer. Everything they did – from the whispers in each other's ears to the occasional hand holding was subtle, yet slightly indiscreet. As if they had been hiding their feelings for years and couldn't hold back any longer. He laughed to himself.

"He would get a kick out of this if he was here." Sam barely heard Daniel speak. But his words rang true in her mind. She knew as to whom Daniel was talking about. If Jack were here, he would get a kick out of this.

As she looked across the table at Dr. Weir – a woman whom Sam had been cautious to trust at first and grateful to see leave –she saw for the first time a woman of integrity, a woman of stature. A woman who had saved the world over and over again just as she had. She saw before her a woman torn just like she was a few years ago. It was clear. Elizabeth Weir and John Sheppard were in love.

A diplomatic leader and her officer. Never the less, a man and a woman. Elizabeth was just like Sam in that instance, and for the first time, Sam saw her as a friend and she took sympathy upon her. If there was one thing that Sam wanted for everyone, it was for them to find happiness. And Elizabeth and John were among the most deserving people in the whole galaxy.

"So, now that that's cleared up, I believe you have a story to tell." He looked to Dr. Weir first. "Yes General. It's quite long actually." She looked to John for support. "Should we start from when we got back or do you want to start off with what happened in the infirmary?"

"No, let's just go with the beginning, the day of the ambush. I'll tell them about everything that happened on my end those two months. You tell them what happened on your end. We'll get to the infirmary and Caldwell soon enough." She agreed. It would all be revealed sooner or later anyways, why not just let it all come out now.

"It was a recon mission, about two months ago ..."

Daniel leaned forward in his chair. His full attention of both Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Weir.
"Then when we still hadn't heard from him or found him the people started to get restless. They couldn't handle the uncertainty. So we finally decided that it was time. We had to put John to rest. I didn't want too, but ... Even if there wasn't a body – the mere thought of closure seemed more appealing to most. Then almost a month later ..."
It was amazing to him to think that Sheppard had still pushed on. Never giving up hope. He was stranded without any hope of getting home and still he never gave up.
"I ended up finding a local village, luckily the people were friendly. A man named Curt took me in. He was very kind. I will forever be in debt to him." John looked down for a moment. He still had the address to Curt's planet memorized. He would go back when this was all over and thank him. "He convinced me to dial the gate one last time. If he hadn't pushed me, I probably would have given up hope. After I stepped through the gate I couldn't believe that I had ended back up to where the whole thing had started. It was where we were ambushed. I tried to dial back, but before I could even begin the dialing sequence, I was hit with a tranquilizer. I woke up to Kolya standing over ..."
Cameron knew he hated to Genii. He had read the mission reports about them, had heard of Kolya, and had learned to hate him. But now he really didn't like the Genii.
"A few days from that we found a device attached to the underneath of the main control console. It controlled Atlantis's gate travel. More importantly no one could dial to Atlantis. We had to come up with an alternate route for our off world teams. Then I was contacted by Kolya. He told me he had something that belonged to me and said that I might want it back. That's when he showed us John's body. We were shocked that he was alive. After no news for two months, you can only imagine what we were all thinking. I know that I ... that the expedition was speechless. That's when he gave me an ultimatum. Atlantis or John dies ..."
It was cruel how he had used this woman's emotions to get what he wanted. It made Sam hate Kolya even more than she already did.
He was so excited. There was so much that he wanted to ask. The handhelds, the Genii, the gate controlling device. It was all so amazing what they had been through these past two months.
"There's a saying that we go by in Atlantis." She reached out under the table and placed her hand over his. "No one gets left behind. We had been trying to figure out a way to rescue him without giving up the city. But inevitably came up short. So I decided to do something about it. I couldn't just sit back and let him die again. I couldn't handle that, yet alone forgive myself. So I called on the only person that I knew could help me. Chaya ..."
Holy Hannah!
"The next thing I knew his second in command was helping me escape. When he opened the door to the main control room, I was shocked to see Elizabeth standing near the gate. Immediately Kolya shot Strapp having overheard our plan somehow. He was going to shoot me next ... actually he did shoot me. He turned, aimed, told Elizabeth to say goodbye, and fired. And I waited for the bullet, but it never came. I just opened my eyes and there it was, just frozen in mid air, a few inches from my face. Elizabeth had stopped the bullet ..."
"Most of it's fuzzy, but I remember Kolya firing his gun and I became so angry. I didn't want the bullet to hit John I wanted it to stand still – to stop. I just kept wishing that Kolya would disappear or feel the pain that I had felt for the past two months. Then I remember a warmth building up in the pit of my stomach. After that I fell to my knees and John ran up to me, then there's nothing."
"I carried her to the infirmary. I wanted to stay, but Carson insisted I get checked out. She woke up a while later. That's where it gets a little more complicated." John squeezed her hand. This was it.

"A little more complicated. How can it get any more complicated than that?" Cameron was in shock. In fact they were all in shock. Walking in here, they weren't expecting any of this. At the most they were expecting them to tell them they were stepping down (which wouldn't have been an option. Cameron knew they were both strong, powerful leaders and Atlantis needed them.) But no, first there's an ambush. Then Elizabeth goes ancient. John's abducted. The gate's been tampered with. Elizabeth goes ancient. Now to top it all off, it gets more complicated. How could it possibly get more complicated?

"Well sir, I kissed her."

That was definitely more complicated.

Okay, so what did you think? Please be honest. It's not starting to bore you I hope. Review please.