Chapter 26

Mishta lounged back in her seat and sipped from her flask as she watched the primary sun slowly moving east across the cloudless sky. It was hot and mind-blowingly boring, and she battled hard with the desire to jump out of the craft and run to the boundary of Phylacos to see what was going on there. Waiting with no news was agony, an agony she wasn't sure she could endure. She was gradually losing her mind with every passing second.

Sheppard hadn't been gone for long, but his absence had already gouged a huge void in her life. She told herself she was being ridiculous. How could he have made such an impact on her in such a short time? She'd never allowed anything to affect her the way he did. And she'd tried not to like him, she really had, but the man had worked his way under her skin and into her heart like no other. Now it felt like he'd torn the heart right out of her. It wasn't a good feeling. It was worse than any illness she'd ever suffered. And she doubted there was a cure other than his safe return. But then what? Even if he came back alive it didn't change their cirumstances. She was promised to another, and he…he was a creature out of his timeline who would be forever forced to hide from the dangers of the galaxy. They could never have a normal life.

Lansha, Juroah, and Goronak sat talking quietly together on the ground a short distance away from the craft, but she didn't feel like joining them. She wanted time to straighten out her thoughts and feelings, but those stupid drugs her brother insisted she should take were making her head woolly and confused. If that poison wasn't raging through her system, all of this would make more sense. Instead of this anguish she would be furious, and rightly so. Akalus had taken everything from her…her home, her sense of safety, her place in the local Birajan community…and now the man that she loved.

She sat bolt upright, her face flushing with heat, and looked across at the others as if that thought had been so huge and profound there was no way they couldn't have felt it. But they continued with their quiet conversation, oblivious to her startling personal revelation. She relaxed back into her seat and put her feet up on the one in front of her, keeping her head down low. Tears pricked at her eyes and she told herself to stop being foolish and wallowing in self-pity. John was gone…nothing barring the kind of miracle she didn't believe in would bring him back to her. But she would play her role, and then she would know there was nothing more she could have done. Today he might become the hero instead of the villain. Today his death might save them all. And if it did that fact would help her to move on…she hoped

Sipping at her water again, she looked over at the seat beside her. The disrupter sat there, harmless and inactive. She tipped it a little, testing its weight. It felt substantial enough; she supposed it might do the job they'd purchased it for, but it was hard to imagine a small box like this could cause chaos throughout the Phylacos compound. But Lansha insisted it worked. He'd supposedly had the Gavallans turn it on briefly before handing over his credits. Not that it had been tested for it's desired purpose. All they knew was that they could switch it on and off. If it failed to disrupt the power in Phylacos, John stood no chance at all.

She checked her own timepiece. There was still so much time before they needed to activate the disrupter and hopefully help John to get out of Akalus' lair. Why did time move so much slower when she was waiting for something to happen? Or, perhaps that was just another tedious and unbearable side effect of the medication she'd taken that morning.

Making herself more comfortable, she wrapped her arms around herself and tried to get some sleep while she waited for the deployment to roll around…

At shortly before ten on Lansha's pocket watch, Juroah crept their craft silently to within a few hundred yards of Phylacos' perimeter. He killed the engine; they couldn't leave it running when they set the device off or it, too, would cease to function.

Lansha sat with the disrupter on his knees, ready to trigger it, pocket watch in hand. Mishta leaned over his shoulder, watching the second hand make three rotations of the face, and when it came to the figure representing the number twelve for the third time, he hit the switch, triggering the device.

In an instant, all the lights around Phylacos failed and they heard the distant sound of doors opening, their locking mechanisms no longer functioning.

'Yes!' Lansha hissed, punching the air. 'Come on, John. The rest is up to you.'

Restless, and unable to hold back, Mishta jumped over the side of the craft and darted toward the perimeter wall, ignoring the protests of her three companions. She figured everyone inside Phylacos would be busy with other matters and wouldn't notice her approaching anyway.

Skulking across the last few yards bent over to keep below the height of the wall, she wedged herself against it and peeked over, hoping to see the beginnings of the mass exodus.

There was only noise at first. Shouting. Birajans, Kheprians, and then finally humans, their voices growing steadily louder. She heard anger and she heard fear, but most of all she heard determination.

Eventually, the first few human faces appeared through the outer door, and though the Kheprians tried to halt some of them, their sheer numbers meant that they couldn't stop them all.

Grinning with joy she never thought she would feel for these people, Mishta watched them begin to climb the previously perilous fencing without fear of lethal doses of power shocking them. Scrawny fingers clasped the gridding as they pulled themselves up and away even from the reaches of their huge captors.

Mishta began to assist people who were hesitant in their descent, calling to them to move faster, and grasping their lower limbs to guide them to safe footholds. Once they were down she told them to run in the direction of their waiting craft, hoping her brother would take over from there while she helped yet more of the humans to get safely to their freedom.

Time ticked on, and gradually Mishta's initial elation began to turn to trepidation. There had been no sign of John, despite the vast numbers of humans now swarming out of the facility and overwhelming their guards. It occurred to her now that with the power down and the compound in uproar, the one person Akalus would be determined to prevent from escaping was John. What if he was trapped inside? If he was being kept restrained he wasn't going to make it.

And so she began to mount the fence, going up and over and running towards the building against the tidal wave of humans surging in the opposite direction. With huge effort, she forced herself in through the door. 'John!'

A few human males turned her way, confused by the use of their name. Realising that there might be more than one John amongst these people, she repeated her call by using his full name, 'John Sheppard!'

No answer, and no one would slow down long enough to answer her questions so she could find out if anyone had seen him.

Panic swelling, she forged further in, checking the time. She had only ten minutes before the explosives were set to detonate. She had no hope of searching a place this big in so little time.

'John Sheppard!'

'Mishta?'

His voice was faint, but she just heard it over the clamour. 'John! Keep shouting. I'll find you!'

He shouted back, but not to direct her. Time and again he begged her to go, to get out, but all the time she instead tracked the direction of his voice, eventually finding him one floor down.

He was in a dark room, so dark she could barely make him out. He was shackled to a huge iron ring in the ceiling, thick cuffs biting into his wrists. His eyes lefted to meet hers with a look of weary desperation. 'I told you to go, now get out of here!' he yelled at her, his anger not entirely convincing.

She didn't listen, running toward him and pulling at the chains, testing their strength. They held fast, and no amount of tugging on them – even swinging her full weight off them – would budge the metal ring securing him there.

'I've already tried that – I'm stuck,' he told her. 'But you can still get out. Go! Now!'

'Not without you,' she told him, checking the locks on his cuffs and then searching about for something she could try to pick them with. 'I'm duty bound to help you, remember?'

'I don't think that still applies under the current circumstances,' he reasoned. 'Besides, who'd ever know you abandoned your post?'

'I would,' she grunted. Finding a slim metal knife lying on top of a table there in the room, she spun round to return to him, only to find a huge shadowy figure blocking the doorway. Her throat dried. She'd never seen Akalus, had only overheard vague descriptions of him when her father and Lansha had chatted about him when she was young, but she had no doubt who she was looking at.

Her grip on the knife tightened.

'Let her go. I'm the one you need,' John croaked, trying to defend her by turning Akalus' attention to him.

Akalus said nothing, just began moving toward her, slowly, deliberately, seeming to increase in size as he got nearer, filling her view, stealing her air, stealing her light.

She trembled, but stood firm. She knew there could only be moments left, that her life was forfeit, but at least she would die taking Akalus with her. If only she'd come looking for John a few minutes sooner, this might have ended differently.

Beneath them, a crescendo of fire and noise erupted. She closed her eyes and waited for oblivion to claim her…

A tap on her shoulder bought Mishta round. On opening her eyes, she found Juroah leaning on the side of the craft beside her. Shaken, she was relieved to realise it had all been a dream.

'Are you all right, Mishta?' he asked. 'Won't you join us for a drink and something to eat?'

'I'm not hungry.'

'You're very quiet today. Do you feel unwell?' he asked.

'No, I'm fine.'

'Then, you worry for our human friend?' he suggested.

She met his inquisitive gaze, but couldn't hold it as she lied, 'Why should I worry? He's no concern of mine,' feigning indifference.

'Really?' he smirked, leaning his chin in his hand as he watched her. 'Is that why you insisted we go to the Wraith craft this morning to collect enzyme for him? That was quite a risk to take for someone who is no concern of yours.'

She sighed and rolled her eyes. 'I already explained to you that we did that to give him the best chance of success today.'

'So you did,' he nodded, his eyes still twinkling with mischief. 'But that doesn't explain why you insisted on coming here when we already had enough people to fly the craft and activate the disrupter?'

She narrowed her violet eyes at him, knowing exactly what he was insinuating. 'I wanted to be sure this all went smoothly. I've learned never to leave such things entirely in the hands of males.'

'Is that so?' he said through a suppressed grin. 'Then, we're grateful you spared us your valuable time, Mishta. Whatever would we do without you?'

She huffed a response and turned her back to him, closing her eyes in the hope of finding sleep again.

Giving up on his attempt to draw her out, Juroah wandered back to the others.

She peered back over the side of the craft and watched him slope away, looking a little crestfallen. She felt guilty for not talking more when he had been kind enough to check on her, but she just didn't have the energy to pretend everything was okay and make small talk.

Nothing about this situation was right. All she could hope was that at the end of this horrifying day, Akalus' heart would beat its last.

oooOOOooo

'Is she all right?' Lansha asked as he rejoined them.

Juroah sat down beside him, accepting a cup of shallatus Lansha had warmed for him on their stove. 'She is as always,' he replied. They all understood what that meant. Mishta's petulant moods were nothing short of legendary.

'I should have ordered her to stay behind,' Goronak grumbled, biting into a slice of dried karrik meat. 'There's no need for her to be here. She clearly feels out of place.'

'You could have tried, but once Mishta makes up her mind about something there is little any of us can do to deter her from her course.'

'As long as that is all there is to it,' Goronak muttered, looking over toward where Mishta now shuffled even lower in her seat, the top of her head disappearing from view.

'What are you suggesting?' Juroah asked casually, but the look he gave Lansha showed he knew exactly what the Founder meant.

Goronak shook his head, visibly worried. 'There was talk this morning...many saw her enter the shelter with the human alone last night. You shouldn't have asked her to do that, Lansha.'

Lansha inwardly cursed his sister for pulling him into her deception, but kept up the pretence to protect her. 'I knew there was no chance of impropriety. Besides, since she is in debt to him it felt like the right thing to do.'

'That is not how others saw it…a hybrid alone with a male of a compatible species...Marmotah may have overstepped the mark this morning, but he had every right to voice his concerns. Mishta is distracted by the human, and she risks breaking our traditions if she follows through on her obvious interests. Perhaps it's a good thing that the human will most likely die today.'

Juroah and Lansha exchanged another glance. In truth, they'd both developed a certain affection for the human, albeit somewhat different to that displayed by Mishta. He was a likeable man, and it was hard not to form a bond with him. Neither of them wanted Sheppard to die. It was difficult to listen to Goronak speak of him that way.

'The human isn't dangerous, only his presence here is,' Lansha pointed out. 'He didn't choose to come to our world - neither did he choose his fate. Should we hate him for something beyond his control?'

Goronak fixed him with an iron glare. 'He's dangerous. Whether the fault lies with him or with fate is irrelevant. We should all remember that or we'll lose sight of our goal.'

The old Birajan bit into another strip of meat and aggressively tore part free, chewing it in a way that betrayed his anger. He obviously knew the truth of Mishta's actions last night, but was doing his best to pretend he didn't. He saw the human's death as an easy solution to an otherwise difficult problem he would rather not tackle.

'As you wish,' Juroah said quietly, but the look he gave Lansha made it very clear that he didn't agree.

oooOOOooo

Wanless pushed Sheppard into Akalus' chamber so hard that he barely kept his footing. But keep it he did, turning around and drawing himself up to his full height while facing down the huge bug to show he wasn't afraid.

A noise to his left caught his attention, and he saw a man beginning to stir on the floor. He had his back to him, but the clothing looked familiar, even if the shape of the man wearing them looked somewhat leaner than he recalled. His heart leapt. 'Rodney?'

The shape moved, and lifted its head to peer over its shoulder at him. 'Sheppard…thank God!' he said, his voice weak and raspy.

Wanless prodded Sheppard to silence him, forcing him to advance further into the room. Akalus brought up the rear of their group, and the door closed behind them, sliding into place with an ominously solid clunk of metal on metal.

Sheppard thought about trying to drop another of his concealed incendiaries in here, as they had descended a couple of floors to reach that room, but Wanless' eyes remained fixed on him so relentlessly, he didn't dare try for fear of revealing his tactic.

'I won't introduce you, as I know you've met before,' Akalus quipped, booting Rodney as he passed him. Sheppard tensed, clenching his fists. He wanted to tackle Akalus for that, but there was no way he could win with Wanless there watching over him. He would let that one kick slide for the greater good.

Rodney rolled onto his back and groaned, clutching at his forehead. There was blood oozing out through his fingers, something Sheppard hadn't been able to see before now. He seemed dazed and way too quiet to be his normal self. A quiet Rodney was not a good sign. It was most likely some form of concussion he realised. It was clear he'd taken more than that one kick. 'You okay there, McKay?'

Rodney groaned something incomprehensible in reply.

For a moment, Sheppard forgot his own safety and dashed to his side. His pulse felt strong, but McKay appeared to be slipping into unconsciousness, his face ashen even for the naturally fair Canadian. 'McKay…stay with me. Stay awake.'

Just then, another sound met his ears, muffled and distant, but distinct enough to recognise as a girl crying – pitiful and heart wrenching. Did Akalus have one of the other prisoners up here somewhere? Did he take pleasure in torturing them at his leisure? He lifted his head and tried to identify where the sound was coming from. It seemed to be behind the wall in front of him, but he couldn't see a way through it. Before he could figure it out Sheppard felt the floor begin to tremble beneath his feet, and the next thing he knew he was being ripped from the floor by the back of his shirt and flung across the room.

He collided with Akalus' desk, bouncing off it and collapsing to the floor. With the wind knocked out of him, he remained where he'd landed, gasping and riding out the pain in his side. He'd suffered a few cracked ribs in his time; looked like he was adding at least a couple more to that collection.

A tight grip on his shoulder rolled him so he could look up at Akalus' bulk crouched over him. 'Do you fully understand your importance in the destiny of our universe, Human?' Akalus asked, his voice now actually sounding relatively gentle in comparison to the violence he had just unleashed on him.

'I know what the Birajan prophecy says, yeah.'

'We carry a terrible burden, you and I,' the man mused. 'Our kind did so much damage to this universe in the past that we have no choice but to put it right.'

Sheppard narrowed his eyes at him. Our kind? 'Sorry…I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at.'

'The Ancients as you people call them, those with whom you share a strong lineage. They reached out their hand across this galaxy and tainted everything with their touch…and then, over time, that taint began to destroy everything good and worthy in this universe…everything!'

The whole building seemed to erupt at that point, rattling to the point that showers of dust rained down on them. Sheppard realised something then. This wasn't some kind of insane megalomaniac putting the universe to rights because he wanted to flex his muscles. This was revenge. Pure and simple.

'You lost someone…' he murmured, almost afraid of what the reaction would be. And he had every right to be, as it turned out. Akalus grasped him by the throat and lifted him off the floor.

'This is not about that!' he roared, sending vibrations through Sheppard's body that felt like they might actually shake him apart. 'Many people lost someone. The whole human race was lost. Do you not understand? Do you not care?'

'Of course…I care,' he croaked, trying to loosen off the armoured glove. 'But I…don't see how destroying…the universe will put…anything right?'

Akalus dropped him and he fell into a crumpled heap on the floor, choking in gasps of oh, so welcome air. He'd known the man wouldn't kill him – he still needed him, after all – but he hadn't thought he would get off so lightly.

'Because when I am done, it will be born anew and as it should be.'

Sheppard watched him walk away, his head bowed, not looking at Wanless as he approached the huge bug and stood motionless before him. Sheppard sensed turmoil in Akalus, the kind of madness that was driven by grief. It was the type of pain that could tear a man apart. He knew that; he'd seen his own father's soul destroyed by the death of his mother. All that had been left was a hateful empty shell of a man going through the motions. Perhaps their similarities made Sheppard ideally suited to reach him.

'That won't bring anyone back,' he ventured.

For a moment, it seemed even Akalus was considering his words. His head slowly lifted, as if he was really pondering what Sheppard was trying to say.

'And whoever you miss…I doubt they would want you to do this in their name.'

Akalus remained silent, staring at the back wall beyond where Wanless stood. The Kheprian, tilted his head to look at his master, as if wondering what he was thinking. It seemed even he had sensed a shift in the mood in that room.

And then it all shifted back again…and then some.

'The rebels have tainted you with their ideas. I never want to hear you speak this way again.' The room shook again, first gently, then violently as his anger built. Though he'd thought it impossible, Sheppard found he pitied Akalus. This was a man struggling to deal with painful emotions, not a tyrant in the truest sense.

'Truth hurts, huh?' he asked, poking at the open wounds of his captor's damaged psyche.

The room vibrated, and Sheppard felt pain building through his body again as his veins bulged. He gritted his teeth against the ache that steadily built into an agonising crescendo of pain and noise, every cell in his body vibrating so hard he felt sure the connections would break and he'd be scattered to the corners of the universe.

Again, though he didn't want to do it, he heard himself beg Akalus to stop. It was all he could do to get those words out between his cries. Akalus released Sheppard from whatever hold he had on his body and he fell forward, grazing up his already raw cheekbone as he hit the floor.

He lay there a while, waiting for the residual pain to die, not daring to move for fear his body might fall apart.

'You will learn to work with me, or you will suffer the consequences,' Akalus rumbled. 'This is our destiny – yours and mine. You cannot fight it, just as you cannot fight me.'

'Can't hurt to try,' Sheppard gasped, half-expecting the pain to start up again.

To his surprise, Akalus didn't resume his onslaught. As if tiring of their conversation, he announced, 'Hakkar, take both the humans away and put them in the cells, since that's what they both apparently want. Some time alone might help them both rethink their situations.'

Though Sheppard still didn't feel ready to move, Wanless grabbed both him and Rodney by an arm and dragged them toward the door.

Thankfully, Sheppard kept the presence of mind to force loose a couple of the patches from his body before he departed.

oooOOOooo

Mehra hurried down silent corridors, her heart pounding against the inside of her ribs so forcefully she thought they might crack. She was used to putting herself into potentially dangerous situations, but doing it in a place where she was completely outnumbered, injured and unarmed was a totally different story. Still, she got a kick out of this kind of thing, there was no point in lying to herself. She was sticking it to the man, and she loved sticking it to the man. It was pretty much what she lived for, whatever form the man took.

The excess of shadows in the poorly lit corridors provided cover whenever she heard voices or movement approaching. Each time, she waited it out until they passed, but couldn't help noticing the urgency in their manner. She got the horrible, creeping feeling they knew she and Teyla were missing, and they weren't likely to let potential profit slip through their fingers too easily.

From ahead, more noises drifted her way, and this time they were uncomfortably close. The shadows wouldn't hide her; she needed to find an empty room she could step into. Hurrying through the darkness, she peered in through cell windows until she located an empty one. Shoving her key card into the slot, the door drew back to grant her access, and closed again before whoever was making the noise made her location. She wedged herself into the corner furthest from the door and waited for whoever was out there to pass.

Only a few seconds later, the door pulled back again and someone stumbled in, hitting the floor hard. The door slid shut again, extinguishing all but the minimum amount of light afforded by the tiny square window it bore.

Mehra pushed herself as far back into the gloomy corner as she could until she could figure out if her new companion was safe to approach or not. The figure whined, lying where he had fallen for a while, but then lifting his head off the floor to look around. She couldn't make out details, but she could tell the figure was male from the build and pitch of the groaning. She hoped the shadows in there were deep enough to hide her. She really didn't need the added hassle of dealing with a screwed-up human if he started freaking out on her. Best case scenario, he would fall asleep soon and she could let herself out of there without ever being discovered.

After a few more minutes the man pushed himself up into a sitting position, sighing and rubbing at his face as if trying to make himself more alert. His hair was collar length and straggly, and in slight silhouette in the light from the door she could make out some beard growth. He was dishevelled enough to suggest he'd been here a while, definitely not someone from her intake. So potentially traumatised…this might be a problem.

To her surprise, the man spoke to himself, and what he said was so easily identifiable she instantly knew who her unexpected cell-mate was.

'We are so screwed.'

Mehra's heart skipped a beat. She knew that mantra. It was a joke on Atlantis just how many times people had heard it and then they'd survived. She got to her feet and stepped forward from the shadows, where despite his scruffy appearance she could see her guess was right.

'Hey, McKay.'

The scientist almost jumped out of his skin, clutching his chest as if having a heart attack. 'Jesus! Who the…oh…I know you. You're…' He started clicking his fingers rapidly. Same old McKay. He couldn't remember her name. 'Masters…no Mercer.'

'Mehra. Dusty Mehra,' she reminded him.

'Yes…yes…that's right,' he squeaked, trying to smile.

She resisted the urge to point out she didn't need him to tell her she got her own name right, because she could see a stain down the side of his face and realised he was hurt. 'You okay?'

'I've got a headache,' he grumbled, confirming her assessment that it was most likely blood on his head. He touched tentatively at his forehead. 'Huh! I'm bleeding…oh, my God! I'm bleeding!'

'McKay…McKay.' He was beginning to panic so she grabbed his shoulders and spoke a little louder. 'McKay. Cool it! You're okay now. It's just a little blood. You're not gonna die.'

'You don't know that!' he whimpered. 'You shoot people for a living.'

'It's a scratch, that's all,' she lied, hoping the reassurance would calm him down. 'Head wounds always bleed a crapload. Doesn't mean you're gonna die. Now stop fussing.'

When the man had calmed down enough to breath normally rather than someone who'd just run the Boston Marathon, she started asking questions. 'What happened to you?'

'I was trying to find out what Akalus is up to and sabotage his plans. He found out. You can figure out the rest.'

'He's not big on resistance, is he?' she said, pulling the jacket out from her shoulder just far enough to reveal one of her scars.

'Oh, my God!' he gasped. 'How did that happen?'

'I stood up for someone. Apparently, that kind of thing is frowned upon around here. Got skewered for my trouble.'

'This is one seriously messed up world!' McKay squeaked, eyes bulging in horror and fear.

'You got that right,' she grinned, rotating her shoulder to gauge its flexibility and pain levels. Rodney winced for her and looked decidedly nauseous. 'Anyway, can't believe I found you this easily,' she told him, giving him a friendly punch to the arm that had him wincing all over again. 'I came down here looking for Sheppard. I had no idea I'd find you down here, too.'

'Well, you'll be pleased to hear I'm about to make your search even easier. Sheppard's in the cell next door.'

'You're kidding?' she gasped, her grin growing wider.

'No. The Kheprian guard brought us down here together. I saw them push him in there.'

She couldn't believe her luck, finding both of them in the same place. That would save her so much time. 'Great. We can all get out of here and head back to Ronon and Teyla, so we can find a way out of this place.'

'You know where they are?' he almost laughed, not something she expected from him at all. 'I've been looking for data on them since I accessed Akalus' personal files and databases but he doesn't log anyone by their names and all I had to go on was a numbering system. It was taking too long to try to decipher how they related to people to see if there might be some trail I could follow. I didn't know if they were alive or dead. I thought I was the only one of us left…'

His voice trailed off and she thought she could see tears glistening in his eyes, again, not an emotion she'd come to expect from McKay. Feeling uncomfortable, she decided to lighten the atmosphere. 'Well, looks like we both hit the jackpot today. So, how about we go next door, pick up Sheppard, meet up with Ronon and Teyla, and get the hell out of here?'

'And how exactly do you plan to do all that?' Rodney snarked, dabbing at his "scratch" again.

'Thought we might use this,' she grinned, pulling the key card out of her pocket.

His jaw literally dropped at the sight of it. 'You have a key? How did you get that?'

'From Ronon. And no, I don't know how he got it, either, but when we get back to him he can tell you that story himself,' she said, getting to her feet. 'Now, come on. Let's go.'

Suddenly, Rodney reached up and caught hold of her wrist, pressing a finger to his lips, signalling for her to be quiet. She listened. He was right to stop her; there were definite footsteps coming along the corridor outside the cell. He pointed to the back wall, silently suggesting that she lose herself in its shadows again.

Mehra did as he told her, leaning against that cold, slimy surface. Rodney crept up to the door and watched out of the window. Through the set of doors just visible from his cell came Geeja; Mehra recognised her from the cheerful little song she sang. A wonderful aroma wafted through the door as she walked past, making them both salivate.

Food.

Breads and warm meats, if she wasn't mistaken. Freshly cooked and still warm. The sound of a door unlocking and opening followed, and Mehra realised Geeja was taking whatever fantastic sustenance she carried into Sheppard's cell. Her stomach grumbled in protest at its own lack of calories. 'Food as bribery. Little creep's out to win his trust again,' she grouched, resisting the urge to go into Sheppard's cell and beat the snot out of her.

'Lucky bastard,' Rodney muttered, as they heard the cell door next to theirs close, and the mouth-watering smells disappeared.

A/N: I managed to get a chapter out on a Monday at last. Hopefully you enjoy it. Thanks for the reviews. :)