Cam cursed under his breath as John ordered him gone but he waited anyway until he could see the helicopter taking off. He knew the other man had a point; it wasn't Amy in the back seat, it was a Goa'uld who wouldn't stay stunned for long. If they woke up, they could easily kill Cam even if the back controls were disabled. He swung the 302 around and made for the atmosphere.

'Odyssey, Mitchell. My ETA is five minutes.'

'Mitchell, Morrow. The bay doors will be open for you.' Morrow sounded grudging as though allowing Cam on board was a privilege he was unwilling to grant. The man was an idiot, Cam thought tiredly. Maybe he'd been good out in Iraq but Morrow lacked the flexibility and adaptability required for the Stargate programme. But on the Odyssey Morrow had seniority, Cam reminded himself. He couldn't allow Morrow to get to him; there was still John to recover.

He cleared Earth's atmosphere and made for the Odyssey. He wished he had time to enjoy the flight but he was only too aware that he needed Amy secured.

'Crap.' John's voice sounded over the headset.

'What?' Rodney asked the question before Cam could.

'They've sent the other helicopter after me.' John said shortly.

'I'm coming back.' Cam said immediately.

'I can take of it.' John said confidently. And he could, Cam told himself. John was an excellent pilot; good instincts. He'd be OK.

He had to be OK.

'We can target it.' Rodney said abruptly. 'With a drone and…'

'We do not have authorisation.' Morrow stated over him.

'You…' Rodney's protest was cut off by John.

'It's OK, Rodney. I've got this.' John sounded curt but Cam figured he was busy flying, weaving across the ocean and the ice to get away from the pursuing helicopter.

Cam spied the open bay door of the Odyssey and made for it with alacrity. He had to get up onto the Odyssey bridge. Maybe he could convince Morrow in person to assist John more directly. He slowed the 302 as it entered the bay, manoeuvred it slowly down and brought it to a halt. He took off his headset, rooted around in his pocket and put his earpiece back in, changing the channel again to pick up on the communications.

'Sheppard, you still there?' Cam asked, unfastening the straps and opening the cover. He could see Teal'c running toward him; Daniel and Vala on his heels. A crowd of engineers and 302 pilots were beginning to fill the bay.

'I'm a little busy right now, Mitchell.' John replied tersely.

'Right. I'm on the Odyssey.' Cam informed him. He waited for the ladder and stepped out before reaching into the back seat to lift Amy free.

Teal'c was suddenly beside him helping and Cam let him take over. He was tired; his entire body ached and his knees were on fire. Daniel reached out to steady him as Cam stumbled down the stairs.

'Amy needs to be secured. She's a Goa'uld.' Cam told the approaching SFs as he reached safe ground.

Teal'c nodded and handed Amy over to the medical team.

The doctor nodded. 'I'll take her to the infirmary and arrange for her to be placed in restraints.'

'Thanks.'

He'd look in on her later; apologise. Wait with her for the Tok'ra to free her. It was the least he could do, Cam thought wearily. But first…the bridge and John.

'It is good to have you back, Colonel Mitchell.' Teal'c said, his eyes warming with affection as Vala hugged Cam hard.

'Ow.' Cam said immediately, hugging her back. 'I'm a little beaten up.'

Daniel pulled Vala away and gave Mitchell a gentler hug. 'It's good to see you in one piece.'

Cam patted one of Teal'c's large biceps. 'It's good to be back. But…'

'Let's get back to the bridge,' agreed Daniel.

Cam set his teeth and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. The others slowed to accommodate his slow pace.

Teal'c frowned heavily. 'Perhaps we should take you to the infirmary.'

'No,' Cam argued, 'not while John's out there.' He tapped his earpiece again. 'Sheppard.'

'Still here. The other helicopter decided to go for a swim.' There was a breathless quality to John's voice; one that told Cam John was in pain.

'What's your situation?' Cam asked.

There was a pause and Cam knew – he knew – that something was wrong and John was considering how to tell them.

'My chopper's damaged. The tail is unbalanced; I took some fire in the exchange with the other chopper and I'm leaking fuel. I'm over land but this part of the ice isn't safe to put down on; I could easily end up falling through into a crevasse.' John reported briskly. 'I could really do with that beam out.'

'We're working on it.' Rodney said.

There was a strange double feed as Cam walked onto the bridge and heard Rodney speak both through the ear piece and in person. Rodney was working furiously on the console at the side of the bridge; Teyla and Ronon hovered beside him anxiously. Cam tapped the earpiece channel closed, realising John was being piped through the main audio system on the bridge. He nodded an acknowledgement to Morrow sat in the command chair. Morrow looked back at him sourly.

'Work faster.' John said and gave a gasp.

'Sheppard?' Cam asked worriedly.

Another long silence.

'I may have gotten shot on the way out.' John finally admitted.

Rodney stilled for a moment before he started working again. He darted a look toward Cam. Teyla moved forward but Rodney shrugged her off, unwilling to be comforted or soothed.

Cam's jaw clenched uneasily. 'How bad?'

'Shoulder.' John said. 'It's…I might have lost some blood.'

Cam leaned against the pilot's chair, knowing Marks wouldn't mind. 'Just keep her in the air, John.' He signalled to the technician to cut audio their side. 'McKay, how long?'

Rodney looked up at him frantically. 'I…too long. There's too much to do and…' he looked defeated but he continued working anyway. 'Another twenty minutes? Maybe half an hour?'

'We don't have that.' Cam said tightly. 'He doesn't have that.'

'Don't you think I don't know that?' Rodney yelled back. He was panicked; red faced, his short thinning hair wild about head, and still he continued to work on fixing the beaming technology.

Teyla's eyes met Cam's across the bridge; hers accusing. 'Rodney is doing his best.'

Ronon nodded.

Cam grimaced as his knees protested at him standing; he thought desperately trying to find another solution. It came to him in a flash of memory; Sam in a space suit and the Odyssey going to get her. 'We can take the Odyssey down and pick him up.'

'Yes!' Rodney said delighted, snapping his fingers loudly. 'We…'

'No.' Morrow stood up. 'It's out of the question, Colonel Mitchell.'

Cam stared at him in shock. 'What do you mean it's out of the question?'

Daniel's hand rested on his shoulder; it was a warning to be careful coupled with a nudge of support.

'I mean that it's against my standing orders. The Odyssey is in patrol of Earth's atmosphere; we are not cleared to go into Earth's atmosphere especially when we're not cloaked and could reveal ourselves to the public.'

'It's Antarctica?' Rodney argued. 'Who's going to notice? The penguins?'

'I do not have orders to assist in this rescue.' Morrow thundered out.

'Then let's call Sam and get her to clear it.' Cam said angrily.

'Uh, not to bother you guys or anything but what's happening up there?' John's voice stopped Morrow from immediately answering.

Morrow folded his arms. 'I take my orders from O'Neill or Vidrine.'

Cam could have hit him. 'Get O'Neill.' He ordered the tech at the comms position.

'Belay that order!' Morrow blustered. 'This is my ship and I will not have you coming in and taking over!'

'One of our people is down there and needs our help!' Cam snapped back. 'We are wasting time arguing about this; we need to get him back safely now!'

'Uh, guys? Rodney? Mitchell? Anyone there?' John sounded pained.

'If you can't accept my authority, you can leave my bridge.' Morrow said stonily.

Cam glowered at him before shooting a quick look around his team. Teal'c's nod was imperceptible; Vala smiled back at him; Daniel's nose wrinkled in agreement. A second later they all moved in perfect synchronicity.

Cam brought out the zat he had placed in the pocket of the oversize coat he still wore; Teal'c's was out of his holster in an instant as were the zats of Vala and Daniel. Ronon didn't hesitate to follow their example.

Cam shot Morrow before the other Colonel could do anything more than look horrified at them; he fell back into his seat, unconscious. Ronon and the rest of SG1 turned the weapons on the SFs by the door and covered the Odyssey personnel on the bridge.

'Do we need to zat anyone else?' Cam asked mildly. He didn't think so from the relieved and grateful expressions; most of the personnel were old timers who knew the first law of the programme; don't leave anyone behind.

There were numerous shakes of heads. Rodney looked at him approvingly.

'OK, so we're going to just keep the zats on everybody.' Daniel said in a conversational tone. 'That way you can all honestly say you were coerced. Is that OK with everyone?'

'Uh, guys?' John interrupted the rush of nods.

Cam gestured at the comms technician who smiled and connected them. 'Sorry, Sheppard. We had a small glitch.' He nudged Marks out of his seat and shook his head when Marks made to protest.

Marks sidled out and Cam slipped into the pilot's chair. 'We're coming to get you in the Odyssey. The bay doors will be open for you; you can fly in.'

'OK.' John said, relief evident in the single word. 'Good plan.'

'We're still not at plan F, Sheppard.' Cam joked, trying to lighten the tension as he tapped in the commands to send the Odyssey on a path to intercept John.

'How are you feeling, John?' Teyla asked.

'I'm fine.' John answered immediately. 'Just…you know; hurry.'

'We're on our way.' Rodney said. He was continuing to work on the beaming technology, Cam realised. Just in case…

'Keep talking to me, OK?' John asked, his voice echoing on the bridge. 'You guys scared me there for a minute.'

'Actually, you should keep talking to us.' Rodney argued. 'That way we know you haven't plunged to your death.'

'Thanks for the visual, Rodney, and what do you want me to talk about?'

That was a leading question, Cam thought with amusement. 'How about a story?' He suggested instead.

'A story?' John questioned him incredulously. 'Like for our competition story?'

'Yeah,' Cam replied, changing the angle of descent, 'I told you one about Antarctica so you can tell me one.'

'That's…' John's voice gave away on a gasp.

'Sheppard! John!' Rodney called out to him worriedly.

'It's fine. Just…a twinge really.' John shrugged off their concern. 'So, my Antarctica story I guess starts with turning up for work and being told I'm transporting important cargo out to the new very secret science base.' He paused for a moment and they heard the pained breaths he took.

'Important cargo?' Daniel stepped in to fill the silence. 'Wasn't your cargo Jack?'

'It was the General.' John agreed. 'He said he didn't like Antarctica.'

'It's not his favourite continent.' Daniel agreed cheerfully.

'So, we're flying along to this secret base and out of nowhere this drone appears. Only I don't know it's a drone because I've never seen one up close before.'

'Carson.' Rodney interjected. 'He couldn't control it.'

'And it's got a lock on us.' John continued. 'I'm…' he stopped and gasped again, 'I'm trying to fly and General O'Neill is giving me instructions and I'm ignoring them because, well…'

'That's you all over.' Rodney snarked.

'Do you want to tell the story?' John shot back.

'No, no. You tell it.' Rodney backed off.

Cam hid his smile.

'Where was I?' John asked.

'Dodging the drone.' Cam supplied helpfully. He checked the sensor readings. John was still too far out. They needed more speed.

'So, I'm weaving all over the sky and finally we manage to get rid of it to land and it still comes for us! It lands nearby and I'm thinking, what the hell is that?'

John gave a strangled cry. He was obviously trying to hide that he was in severe pain. Cam saw Teyla reach out for Ronon who put his free hand on her shoulder. Teyla clasped the hand tightly.

'Anyway, the General is grateful so he allows me into the top secret hush-hush base and tells me not to touch anything.' John continued after a long moment of silence. 'I'm curious and I meet Carson who apologises for almost shooting me out of the sky.' He cleared his throat. 'And he takes me to the chair.'

Cam adjusted his heading. 'The Ancient chair?'

'Yeah, and he's explaining about Ancient tech and how it all links to the gene and I go to sit in the chair and he goes to stop me but I say what's the likelihood that I have the gene and then I'm in the chair and…God,' John sighed heavily, 'it was the most incredible thing.'

Most of the bridge had stopped to listen, Cam realised. They were all waiting for John to continue the story.

'It's like nothing you've ever experienced,' John continued, 'your whole body is buzzing with power and there's this connection in your head and you're flying without flying but there's this sense of…peace like…'

'Sitting on top of a Ferris wheel looking out at the world.' Rodney suggested quietly.

'Yeah, exactly like that.' John's voice had softened. 'So, I'm sat in the chair and I'm OK with the chair because she and I are getting along great because it's like she's in my head asking me what I want and I'm telling her I have no idea but please don't blow anything up…and I'm thinking I'm going to be in trouble because O'Neill specifically told me not to touch anything and here I am…majorly touching something.'

A few giggles, chuckles and snorts sounded around the bridge.

Cam could see the ice ahead. They were almost there.

'And everyone comes running up including this very irate, pissed off looking scientist in a huge orange sweater and he asks me…' John's voice cut out again on a pained gasp.

'I ask you to think about where you are in the solar system and you do and…I was so jealous.' Rodney supplied. His anxious gaze met Cam's.

'This is when you met.' Teyla realised.

'Yeah,' John said with a light laugh, 'my first meeting with Rodney.' He stopped again with another choked gasp.

'Hold on, Sheppard.' Cam ordered him. 'We're almost there.'

'It's just…' John's voice broke. 'I'm so goddamned tired, Mitchell.'

Cam's heart lurched in his chest at the admission because he knew it wasn't just an admission about that moment; it was an admission about John's entire state of being.

'You have to hold on.' Cam instructed him. 'I've got you in sight. We'll be in there in a minute.'

'I'm…Lovell didn't make it; she took a bullet for me, actually more than one. You have to tell Stanley…'

'You can tell him yourself.' Cam said briskly, trying to tamp down on the concern that was bubbling up. John sounded at the very end of his rope; like everything he had to keep himself going was gone.

'And you need…to tell Dave…'

Rodney's eyes flew to Cam's again in alarm.

'No!' Cam snapped, punching in the commands to clear the bay and open the doors ready to receive the helicopter they were moving over. 'You are not giving up, Sheppard. We're right here. You just have to come inside.'

'You're here.' John sounded disbelieving. 'You're not cloaked.'

'Can't pick you up if we're cloaked.' Cam said mildly.

John's team were already moving; heading out of the bridge to the 302 bay. Cam held the Odyssey steady and monitored John's approach.

'You might want to clear the bay.' John suggested. 'This isn't going to be one of my better landings.'

'On it.' Cam looked over to the comms tech who was already relaying the order. He noted the moment when the helicopter cleared the bay doors.

'I'm down.' John said.

'Welcome back.' Cam replied. 'I'll be there in a minute.'

The comms tech looked back at him. 'I've got a medic team on the way.'

Cam nodded gratefully. Marks tapped his shoulder. 'I can take over from here, Colonel.'

'Yes, you can.' Cam glanced at Morrow's slumped form. 'You're in charge, Marks.'

'Yes, sir.' Marks smiled as they exchanged seats. 'I trust you and the rest of SG1 will find your way to the infirmary? Colonel Morrow is probably going to want you in the brig.'

Cam winced and Marks took pity on him.

'I'll call Colonel Carter.'

Cam patted his shoulder. 'Good man.' He limped off the bridge, Teal'c falling in beside him, Vala and Daniel behind.

'How much trouble do you think we're in?' Cam asked idly as they made their way back to the 302 bay.

'Sam will sort it out.' Daniel said dismissing Cam's worry with a brisk hand wave.

Teal'c smiled. 'Indeed.'

OK, Cam thought; that meant they were in serious trouble.

They walked through the doors of the bay and pushed past a number of people stood around hovering. Cam got annoyed quickly and was pleased when Teal'c cleared the way. John was being carried out of the helicopter by Ronon and placed on a waiting gurney. The medics were already surrounding him. Cam hobbled over anyway, trying to hurry despite the pain.

Rodney was already at his friend's side. 'Hey.'

'They shot up my plane, Rodney!' John said.

'I'll fix it.' Rodney promised, his hand closing over John's forearm.

Cam could see John as he got closer; John's skin was pale and clammy. There was a horrendous patch of red on his flight suit that the medics were peeling back.

'Sheppard.' Cam said, softly drawing John's attention away from his team.

'Mitchell.' John's pain-glazed eyes met his. 'Thanks for the save.'

'Same back.' Cam said seriously.

The doctor looked up from his cursory examination and yelled for the medics to move. There was no way that Cam could keep up as the gurney was pushed forward at a run. He sighed with frustration.

Vala looped her arm around his. 'He'll be fine.'

'Yeah.' Cam felt Daniel move to stand beside him on his other side; Teal'c's steady presence behind him. John would be fine…and so would Cam.