A/N: This is for Lau120 who wanted to see a little more off world action. I apologise for the long delay it's been a hectic week but as usual, thank you to those who read and review and to others, review and enjoy.
Chapter 21
Linda sighed as April repeated her same question once more. "Did you hit him?"
"No. We're on speaking terms nutcase, now drop it."
April huffed and Linda moved her work a few inches closer just in case. "You should be pissed at him, I would be."
Linda rose her eyebrows at her and shook her head with a smirk, "Well I'm not you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some practice at the firing range to do."
The Linguist laughed as April growled, knowing that her friend had to go to a debriefing about the mission she had just returned from. The Lieutenant had taken ten minutes to interrogate her friend and in Linda's opinion, get almost nowhere. "I'll see you later," April said as she scurried off to the transporters while Linda went in the opposite direction.
She was getting in some quick practice before her mission to M1B-129 with Major Leonard's team. It had been a while since she had been off world so the practice was necessary.
When she reached the firing range, she spotted Largent already there along with a few others she didn't recognise. Nodding to the man, she picked a P-90 and handgun from the armoury and made her way to the end stall, a set of earmuffs waiting.
Halfway through her second magazine she felt someone watching her and paused to glance back, spotting John stood there with his arms folded and a quirk of his mouth forming a smile on his face. She couldn't help the smile that formed and put the gun down to pull the earmuffs off. "Can I help you Colonel?"
He appeared next to her in a second, leaning a hand onto the small bench in front of her. "Just came by to see how you're doing. Heard you're going off world and wanted to make sure you'd be fine." His eyes moved to the target ahead of them, bullet holes concentrated in the centre of the target. "I think it was a half wasted journey though."
Smirking, she leaned against the bench, her back to the range and tilted her head at him, "And the not half wasted journey?"
He wrapped a hand around her waist and dragged her closer, crashing his lips to hers for a deep long touch. When they pulled apart he was grinning and she smirked up at him, "That. Be safe," he whispered, touching her lips again and running a hand up her back before pulling away.
"Will do John." He nodded, pecked her lips again and answered the call on his radio.
SGASGASGASGA
A deep pit in his stomach boiled up and riled his insides. They had found a large trail of bodies including some of their men and he prayed that Linda wasn't lying face down on the ground dead with bullets…. He shook his head to clear those thoughts as McKay played back the recording on the camera. He watched as the camera swooped down to show the bodies inside the cave that they had found.
John felt a wave of hope flood through him as Linda appeared on screen, her gaze fixed on the Wraith like tower they had found earlier on, her hands running along it with grimace. "Definitely Wraith," she muttered. Largent fixed himself on her, watching as she searched around the column until gunfire was heard outside of the cave.
"Who's that?" Largent's voice asked and John watched as Linda advanced to the entrance of the cave, arm up in a signal he knew to be 'stay down and behind me' or 'stop'. He pushed that thought out of his mind and focused his eyes on the screen as it jerked around, Largent obviously running away from someone. There was another of their men in front of him and when he squinted he could see another figure running further ahead, "We're not going to make it," Largent said.
The figure out far in front stopped and aimed their gun back, "Move it! Go, go, go! Frank!" John back-pedalled as he recognised Linda's voice. She was ordering soldiers about, soldiers she had no command over, that she wouldn't need to order about. His mind puzzled over the name - Frank - as far as he knew, there was no one on Major Leonard's team called Frank.
McKay switched the camera off after Largent had fallen to the ground and he knew everyone was thinking the same thing; that for some strange reason, Major Leonard tried to kill or did kill his own men.
Grinding his teeth, his eyes canvassed the area, wanting to do nothing more but to search for both Linda and Leonard, to throttle one and to hold the other close to know she was still alive and safe. He felt someone clap him on the shoulder and turned to see Ronan, his face firm, nod. "We need to get the dead back first. We can look for her later."
He nodded absently, knowing that the Satedan was right and he tried not to let the way he said her sway his decision.
SGASGASGASGA
Linda frowned as she heard gunfire and raced towards it. As she pushed through a bush she stopped, taking in the run down buildings around her and the eerie creepy feeling it left in the pit of her stomach. Looking down, she took note of the light coloured floor and was dragged back to the large hut in front of her, gunfire exploding inside of it.
Rushing forward, she stepped through the door and stopped to see fresh red stains on the walls. She pinched her eyes shut for a moment of respect and pushed forward. Just as she rounded the corner of the hallway, she spotted an enemy trooper sneak out from a wall, gun raised to the back of one her team mates dressed in light cameos.
Her gun clicked and she stared down at it. It was empty. Frowning, she dropped it and ran forward, tackling the man to the ground and knocking the gun out of his hands. She received a sharp jab to the face along with a knee to the ribs, making her curl up as footsteps rushed past her and away.
When she opened her eyes again the forest was back and she winced as she crawled onto her hands and knees. Her head drooped and she scoured the sandy floor, spotting her downed rifle a few feet away and scooped it up, quickly checked the barrel, fired a round off and smiled.
Linda got to her feet and looked around the tightly spaced corridor. Gunfire entered her ears and she sighed, cautiously stepping forward.
SGASGASGASGA
Teyla only hoped that McKay got the generator off in time before either Ronan killed them or John killed Ronan. She winced as they carried on walking, John still muttering about someone called Holland and buying rounds. She's just glad that he hasn't decided she is a threat.
After ten minutes of limping she stopped to regain some of her strength, her eyes widening as Linda walked into view. "Doctor Parsons," Teyla called.
The woman in question turned, gun raised high and her finger around the trigger. Teyla jumped as John raised his own gun to the woman. "I will shoot to kill," he warned her.
"John no! Linda, it is me, Teyla and John? What you are seeing is not real!"
"Where are they?" Linda demanded, gun still pointed at them.
"If you don't move, I will have to shoot you," John ordered, his finger wrapping itself around the trigger.
Linda seemed to hesitate and Teyla held her breath as the two of them stared at each other. "Give me one good reason why I don't kill you."
The Athosian sighed and tried once more to get through to either person, "John, Linda. You are friends! Whatever it is you are feeling it isn't real, you don't want to shoot the other person!"
"He's not my friend."
"Good," John replied, "I didn't want to be yours either." In the next instant shots rang out and Teyla jumped, too shocked to say anything as John dragged her away from Linda, collapsed on the floor with her hand on her side.
When they stopped again she was stunned once more as he shot Rodney in the side. Taking her chances, she decided to almost play along with whatever fantasy John was having.
SGASGASGASGA
Linda gritted her teeth, pressed the dressing to her side and hobbled along. She stumbled a few feet later and let out a groan, her hands going to grip her side in agony. Gripping the radio, she stared up at the blue sky. A plane flew overhead and she pressed the button, "Delta squad this is Parsons of Truefly nine, I need medical help, I repeat delta squad, need medical assistance."
She let go and settled herself against a rock, leaning her head back and closing her eyes, her gun gripped tightly in one hand.
The radio crackled and she opened her eyes, peering around at the overturned cars, remains of buildings and other wreckage. She pulled the gun closer, the sound of engines ringing in her ears and she dropped the radio.
A moment later the forest returned and she frowned. It took her a minute to realise that she wasn't on Earth but a different galaxy altogether. Patting herself down she winced when she reached her wound and searched for a radio, "This is Doctor Parsons, anyone there?"
"Linda?" John's voice replied and she sat up in her seat, wincing at the flare of pain in her side.
"John. Care to give a woman a hand? Someone shot me, please tell me you brought medical assistance with you."
"Beckett's with us. What's your position?"
She paused and took a look around. It all looked the same. Sighing, she looked at her gun, aimed it up and fired off a few rounds. "That tell you?"
"I'm on my way, don't move." She sighed and dropped the radio, resting her eyes. As if I can move.
SGASGASGASGA
John kept asking Linda for brief hints into her location and when he finally reached her he stopped. There was a bloodied dressing on her side and her face was already starting to pale. He knelt down next to her and inspected her wound, "You okay?"
She half shrugged her shoulders and he held his arms out, waiting as she threw one around his neck, "Been better."
"Yeah," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "I think we all have." She offered him a small chuckle and limped to her feet. "How bad is it?"
"Meh," she said, pushing her weight onto him, "I think I'll live."
He nodded and they limped through the forest. "Sorry, by the way."
He felt her turn her head to face him, "You shoot me?" John nodded and lifted her over a fallen log, earning a whimper from her as he set her back down. "Look, John. Our minds were screwed with, we didn't know what was real, what wasn't. Hell, I thought I was back on Earth."
"Me too."
Silence filled the air until they got back to the camp that had been set up with the others. He eased her down against a tree next to McKay and Carson and stepped back, allowing the medic to treat her wounds.
SGASGASGASGA
"You shot me!" Rodney said for the second time and Linda rolled her eyes.
"He shot me too, I'm not complaining."
"You shot me too," Ronan added.
"I'm sorry for shooting everyone!" John shouted and Linda, smirked, earning a small grin from John. He nodded to her as he sat himself down next to Linda, ordering everyone to get some rest until the Daedalus arrived. Ronan trudged off to sit with Teyla and John shuffled closer to Linda, laying a hand on the small of her back as she allowed Carson to examine her wound.
When the medic moved away he pressed his mouth to her jaw and nudged her to lean on his shoulder, "Sorry about shooting you."
She sighed and he felt her roll her eyes, "Enough. I was ready to shoot you too if I remember."
"But you didn't."
"You beat me to it, what can I say?" He turned to look down at her, eyebrows arched and she smirked up at him. "It's fine John, really. I'll get over one gun shot wound."
His lips pulled back into a thin line and his eyes narrowed as a light blue and purple tinge started to darken on the side of her face, stretching down to her jaw. Lifting a hand he gently ran his fingers over the bruise and said, "I didn't do that though."
Linda furrowed her brows at him and lifted her own hand to rub over the spot. "Oh, yeah must've been someone else."
He nodded and ran his fingers over the bruise once more before shuffling in his seat and nudging her back to rest her head on his shoulder. They were in for a long wait until the Daedalus appeared. "How long do we have to sit here?" Rodney complained and John rolled his eyes.
"Until night, just get some rest Rodney." He muffled the Canadian's grumblings out of his mind and settled himself down, closing his eyes. His muscles ached and now was the perfect time to catch some sleep.
SGASGASGASGA
Chris crossed his arms and stared at the Linguist in the bed, eyebrows raised. He knew that she was ready to give in, soon. He uncrossed his arms and sat forward, elbows on knees and tilted his head, face set in a frown. "You okay?"
"Chris, I'm fine. It's a gunshot wound, it'll heal. It's not like I haven't been shot before."
He shrugged his shoulders and simply stared at her. "I'm looking out for you."
She sighed and winced as she threw her legs over the side of the bed, "And I appreciate it, I do. But I'm telling you, I'm fine. Even Carson says so and he's the one with a PhD in medicine."
He relented at that and stood up, sitting himself on the bed next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, laying a kiss to her temple, "You're like my little sister Linny."
"Not if you call me that once more," she quipped, her tone humorous and he heard the smirk in her voice. He chuckled and patted her shoulder, tightening his hold on her once more before letting her go. "Go get some rest. You can send my brother an e-mail tomorrow."
He quirked an eyebrow at her and snorted. "I think the doc' needs to look at your brain if you're saying that."
She bit her bottom lip and threw a punch to his shoulder, wincing with a grin as she grabbed her side. "I'm fine. He'll find out one way or another."
Chris nodded, "Touché. Alright then, you need anything, you call me okay?"
She rolled her eyes and Chris mused her hair up, "That's what I have doctor's and nurses are for."
"And sneaking in burgers and jell-o?"
She considered it for a second before she nodded, "Okay, good point. But I do happen to have other sources."
He narrowed his eyes at her with a smirk and ruffled her hair before bidding her goodnight. "Can you people be any louder!" Rodney's voice shattered her mood and she turned her head to look over her shoulder at the irate physicist.
"We could if you wanted us to be."
"Well don't. Some of us have been shot today."
"Yeah, join the club," she mumbled, wincing as she tucked her feet back into bed. "It's not the worst thing that could happen."
"Name one thing that's worse then being shot by your friend."
She shrugged her shoulders, "Being captured and interrogated by the Goa'uld?"
His sobered at the mention and sat up in his seat. "Really?"
"Who are the Goa'uld?" Teyla asked from Rodney's other side.
Linda nodded and looked at him, "Terrible torture techniques."
"Who's that?" John asked, strolling into view.
"The Goa'uld," Rodney said. At John's blank stare and Teyla's repeated question he sighed and explained that they were parasitic snakes that burrowed into people's brains and took over their bodies.
Linda watched as John's face slowly darkened and grimaced the more that he was told. Giving him a tight smile she shrugged her shoulders, "They think they're Gods and Kali had a thing for me."
"Kali?" John asked.
"Wait a minute," Rodney said, sitting up in his seat, "Isn't she a er, the destroyer? What the hell'd you do to piss her off?"
Linda shrugged again and clasped her hands in her lap, "Destroyed one of her ships and started a rebellion on one of her planets."
Rodney's face scrunched up at that, "Seriously? How?"
"Ever heard of P3X-709?"
He clicked his fingers in her direction, "You're the crazy psychopath they were talking about."
She rolled her eyes and settled down into her bed as John stood next to her, "You're gonna have to tell me about this P3X-709." She agreed and he patted her shoulder, "Listen, I'm sorry, again, for shooting you."
Waving him away she rolled her eyes, "It's fine John. Stop apologising. Go check on your team mates."
He nodded and moved away, leaving her to sit back and shut her eyes, allowing the morphine to sink in and both relieve her pain and her to sleep.