Author's Note: As always all mistakes are of my own making and will hopefully be forgiven as hopefully will be my repeated tardiness in updating this story. It will be finished. Now onto revising the next Chapter. And thanks to those that left an anonymous review. Everyone else I'll get back to you shortly.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Stargate Atlantis or the characters. The only things that are mine are any original thoughts or characters that you may find here.

Chapter 36

Teyla stepped into the front of the jumper and glanced through the viewport into the darkness.

"How much further?" she asked.

"Not far. Couple minutes maybe. How is he doing?" asked Peters.

"He is still unconscious." Teyla paused before continuing. "Have you been able to contact Sergeant Franklin yet?"

"No, ma'am. Could be just his comms on the fritz."

"The fritz?" Teyla raised her eyebrows at the curious phrase.

"Broken."

"I hope you are right, Sergeant. "

An image appeared on the HUD. She recognised the symbol marking the location of the stargate and frowned as she studied the positions of the life signs There were fewer than before but they were no longer stretched out in two lines leading up to the gate. Now the few that remained seemed to be congregated around the front of the gate.

She spun to face Peters and asked, "Can we not go any faster?"

"No but we should be just within dialling range. If they have any sense they'll scatter when the gate starts up."

"Let us hope so, Sergeant."

Peters punched in the sequence for Atlantis. Teyla kept her eyes on the HUD and sighed when the life signs shifted to the sides. She held no real desire to kill the Dalerians but she would kill if necessary to protect her own.

"Atlantis, Jumper Three returning. Requesting a med team to meet us." Peters glanced over at her and continued. "You might want to sit down, ma'am. This could get a bit rough."

Teyla sat in the empty co-pilot seat and watched their approach. The gate was clearly visible through the viewport and growing larger with every moment. Something looked odd though. She leaned forward to get a better view. Something was definitely different but she had no idea what it was.

A flare of light flashed up from below the gate followed by a dull boom. Whatever it was did not hit the ship and they continued on their path. Another flash of light lit up the night sky close to the position of the first one.

"Shit! The gate. It's moving."

Teyla stared at the gate. The sergeant was right. The gate was moving. It was falling towards them.

"Can you get us through?"

"Uh…Yes I think so. Hang on."

Peters pushed the jumper forwards and changed its angle at the last moment tilting the nose upwards to meet the event horizon as it fell towards them. Teyla hoped it was enough as her mind flashed back to being on a jumper wedged in the gate and the desperate battle to break free. The Colonel's life had been in danger that time too as it seemed to be all too frequently.

The jumper shuddered as a horrible grinding sound reverberated just as the nose of the jumper entered the event horizon. She prayed that they would make it through just before the gate swallowed her.

ooOoo

Time no longer held any meaning for Sheppard. There was no sense of its passage other than the steady sounds as the animals they rode carried them further into the tunnel. It had been dark before but at least they had had the subtle light from the stars and the small moon to guide them when they were above ground. It hadn't been much but at least he could make out the vague features of the captors and more importantly, so much more importantly, he had been able to see how Elizabeth was doing. Now he couldn't even make out his hands or the pommel they were tied to. He could feel them though. He could feel them with every step the beasts made. The jarring motion rubbed the ropes against his already injured skin. He could deal with the pain. It was something familiar. It was not knowing about Elizabeth and how she was holding up that was eating away at him. Her welfare had always been important to him. Ever since he'd joined the expedition team at her request and O'Neill's insistence. He'd always been willing to put her safety before his own even before he'd fallen for her hook, line and sinker.

Sheppard sighed. Worrying about Elizabeth wouldn't get them out of this. He needed to pull himself together before they got to where they were going and come up with a plan if he was going to have any chance of keeping her safe. He assumed that they were headed towards the Ancient site. How long it would take to get there he could only guess at and given his current inability to judge the passage of time knowing the answer would be of little use. He assumed that they were using the tunnel to avoid detection by his people but how had the Dalerians learnt of the tunnel? He had no answer and again it really wasn't important. There was only one matter that was and that was the reason he was here. Elizabeth. No doubt his team would have noticed his absence by now even if Ronon was still unconscious somewhere. He just didn't want to think of any other possibility for his friend. His team would be searching for him as soon as they could but that might not be soon enough. It might still be up to him to get Elizabeth out of this situation and he was willing to do anything, even give his life, to make that happen. He could only hope that he would get the chance to try again. So far his attempts had proven fruitless. He couldn't afford to fail again. The stakes were too high for failure.

ooOoo

Major Henderson was grateful to step through the gate back into the warm, dry gate room. He'd never been a fan of rain and heavy rain at that. He looked forward to getting out of his wet clothes and into something dry before hunting down a strong coffee to help thaw out his insides.

He looked up to the control room expecting to see his CO leaning on the railing and was a little surprised when he wasn't there. Maybe he shouldn't be so surprised. Sheppard had a habit of pushing himself harder than anyone else. Doctor Beckett wouldn't tolerate that for long given his CO was still recovering from his time-travel exploits.

Henderson changed direction and made his way up the stairs just as the gate started up again behind him. He thought back over the gate schedule and figured that it must be Doctor Weir's expedition returning a little earlier than expected. He frowned a little at that. Had something gone wrong on Daleria? If that was the case then why wasn't his CO in the control room. There was no way that he'd stay away if there was a problem with Doctor Weir's mission.

"What's up Chuck? Where's Sheppard?" asked Henderson as he approached.

"Hopefully-" started Chuck as he monitored the laptop for an IDC code.

"Atlantis, Jumper Three returning. Requesting a med team to meet us."

"Understood Peters," replied Chuck.

Henderson hit his radio before Chuck had a chance to. "Med team to the jumper bay. Injuries unknown." He then turned his attention back to the gate as the returning jumper materialised. He could make out Teyla and Peters in the cockpit but that was all. What the hell had happened? When he'd left Doctor Weir was due to leave for Daleria and Teyla was supposed to be helping Sheppard so he wouldn't overdo things.

"Care to bring me up to speed, Chuck?"

ooOoo

Teyla blinked at the sudden brightness of the gate room.

"We made it."

She smiled despite her worry for her friends. "Yes we did, Sergeant." Peters had done well to get them through the falling gate but with the Colonel and Elizabeth still trapped on the planet they would need to find another way to return to the planet. She tapped her ear piece. "Doctor McKay?"

"Teyla?"

"Rodney we have a problem. I need you to meet me in the jumper bay."

ooOoo

Rodney paced back and forth as Franklin, Simmons and Harvey loaded extra munitions onto the jumper. Patience was never his strong point and even the short wait for Jumper Three to dock in the jumper bay took more patience than he had at the moment. The arrival of another med team did nothing to ease his nerves as he waited. Teyla would've told him if she and Ronon had managed to rescue Elizabeth and Sheppard. So that meant only more bad news which was pretty much the standard for anything and everything in the Pegasus galaxy.

As the jumper settled into its slot he noticed the scrape marks on the side. They didn't look like weapons fire but then who knew what weapons the Dalerians really had. The sound of the hatch opening brought his attention back to Teyla. What could possibly have happened in the hour he'd been back on Atlantis. The med team entered to treat their patient and Rodney followed them pausing at the top of the ramp. All he saw of the person being tended was a pair of large feet clad in non-regulation leather boots. That was enough. He didn't need to see his friend's face to know that it was Ronon. The unrushed movements of the med team told him the rest. His friend was injured but not seriously hurt. His quick scan of those present also confirmed his original theory. Elizabeth and Sheppard were still on Daleria.

Rodney stepped around the med team and joined Teyla as she watched her team mate being wheeled out of the jumper on a gurney.

"What was so urgent? I was about to go back through the gate with another team."

"You cannot Rodney," replied Teyla.

"What? Why not? We need to go back and get Sheppard and Doctor Weir before Sheppard decides he needs to make a hero of himself again."

"We cannot. The Dalerians have destroyed their gate. We were lucky to make it back through."

"What? Are you sure?" asked Rodney.

"I am sure," replied Teyla.

Sergeant Peters added," The Dalerians used explosives to destroy the gate platform. The gate was falling as we flew through it."

"The scrapes on the side," muttered Rodney. "Which way did it fall? Forward or backward."

"What does it matter?" asked Teyla.

"If it fell backwards then we can still access their gate," replied Rdney.

"It fell forwards," replied Teyla. The look of helplessness on Rodney's face matched her own feelings.

Rodney wasn't prepared to give up on his friends just yet. He didn't have so many that he could afford to lose any. He quickly considered what options he had left. The Daedulus was still too far out from Atlantis to be of much use – unless. He tapped his radio. "Zelenka I need you to start a search…"

ooOoo

"What just happened?" asked Peters.

Teyla looked across at him and saw the confused look on his face. She smiled. It was a look she saw frequently around Doctor McKay. "I believe that Doctor McKay has an idea on how we may get back to Daleria." She hoped he was right. She had already lost too many of the people she cared for. She didn't want to lose two more.

Teyla left the jumper bay and made her way to the infirmary. There was one friend here that she could check up on and she intended to do just that. The effects of the stun should be wearing off by now and if she knew Ronon he would be making things difficult for the medical staff. Once he was able to start moving he would not want to be left out of any new rescue team and nor would she stop him if he was truly fit enough. But she knew Ronon was much like the Colonel and would put his own health at risk to help a friend. It would be up to her to make sure that did not happen.

She entered the infirmary and glanced around for her friend. She finally spotted him in the far corner and smiled when she saw that his eyes were open. It was a good sign even if he did not look happy.

"How is he?" asked Teyla as she approached Ronon's bed.

The doctor looked up from his patient and replied, "The temporary paralysis is beginning to wear off but as you can see it still has a way to go. At the moment he still can't speak which given the dagger looks he's been giving me is just as well. It also means that he is forced to rest, another good thing since he obviously took at least one knock to the head at some stage. He has a mild concussion but he should be fine."

Teyla released a sigh. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," replied the doctor before leaving her alone with Ronon.

Teyla moved closer to her friend and rested a hand on his arm. His eyes focused on her and she sensed the questions they held. She hitched one hip up onto the bed and started to fill him in on the latest events.

TBC

A/N: Seems Pegasus is really out to get them this time. Good news about Ronon though. I doubt that even wild equines could keep him from another rescue attempt. Hopefully Rodney can come up with a solution so he gets the chance before it is too late for Sheppard and Weir.