Chapter Fifty Five
I'll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
I'll be there for you
Bon Jovi – I'll Be There For You
It was a stand off just like it had been in Atlantis during the Siege only this time John thought he had the upper hand. The two men were standing apart from each other. John with his back to the forest P90 focused on the young officer and Lieutenant Ford empty handed, standing with his feet apart, inches away from where the Wraith Darts were scanning the surface with their beaming technology.
The situation was escalating more rapidly than John had thought possible. He had hoped they'd be able to snag Ford before the Wraith had made it through the Stargate but that would apparently have been to easy for the powers above.
He took solace in the fact that both Teyla and Cass had made it back to the Jumper and the marines guarding it. If anything were to go wrong here they were in a position to defend themselves and retreat if necessary. Ronon had fulfilled his promise of tracking Ford and in turn saved the McKay from an untimely death at the Lieutenant's hands. There were many a time that John himself had considered shooting McKay more often than not in a bid to get him to shut the hell up but he was never serious, he had never raised a gun to the other man.
That was the indication that things had crossed a line here. Ford was no longer seeing things in black or white, he was simply seeing grey. The strong morale structure his grandparents had instilled when they were raising him had depleted into the most basic of instincts, he was becoming more and more like the Wraith every day. Cold, callous and merciless, there were still traces of Aiden in there, now an then John thought he could glimpse the reminders of the young man struggling to fight through the effects of the drug but they were fleeting and brief.
Too much time alone, too much time spent fight and ingesting more of the Wraith enzyme. They were losing him, John didn't have to be a genius to figure that out. Ford's survival instincts were strong but it left him un-trusting and paranoid. Watching the Lieutenant now was like having a wild animal backed into a corner. He looked vicious and unfocused, there was no fear in his gaze only clinical statement as he surveyed his options before his inky black eye came to rest on John once more. He knew what he was doing, the other man was trying to gauge whether not his former C.O would really put a bullet in him and the answer no matter how much John disliked the possibility was yes.
The plan was wound him, get him back to Atlantis, detox.
Easier said than done from the way things were going down and they were swiftly running out of time. The longer they remained on this planet the worse the risk to his people from the Wraith.
The whistle of Wraith Darts cut through the air, piercing John's ears with that loud wailing shriek. He thought after over a year in the Pegasus Galaxy that he would be used to that noise by now but it still sent shivers of apprehension up his spine, even more so now from his prior experiences with the Wraith.
"We wanna help." John told the younger man from beyond the barrel of his P90.
It was the truth, the time they had spent tracking their friend down was so that they could rid his system of the Wraith drug. John wanted to bring this man home, to restore him to some resemblance of the person he had been. He wanted Ford to be able to go home to Earth and recover the right way with his family around him, loving and caring for him. The younger man deserved that for everything he had done for Atlantis and the galaxy.
Yet what John thought and what Ford wanted were two very different things. Already Ford's fingers were flexing with agitation as his hand dangled precariously close to the holster on his waist. Not long ago John would never have believed that Aiden Ford was capable of killing him but now with that wild, trapped look in his eyes...
John believed that Ford wouldn't think twice.
"Don't do it." John warned the other man, his finger tightening on the trigger.
He really did not want to do this but if he had to...
Ford went for the 9mm at the same time John took aim at his left thigh and fired a single shot. It was a flesh wound, meant to disable the other man so John could get the upper hand and restrain the Lieutenant before dragging him back to the Jumper. Ford flinched but stayed upright, his face contorted in pain at the motion before he rage flickered in his eyes. The 9mm was already in the other man's hand and trained on the Colonel, steady as hell.
John felt the surprise raise up beneath the surface as he kept his weapon firmly locked on Ford. He should have gone down with that shot but it seemed the enzyme seemed to be pumping more adrenaline through his body. At this moment in time he did seem more like a super human instead of the polite soldier John had once knew.
"You are not getting off this planet." John stated as the Wraith Darts flew overhead, their beams skirting over the dense clearing they were in.
They were getting closer, much closer and if this continued John would have to retreat and go about the process of finding Ford all over again. This was his chance, he had the other man trapped, all he had to do was...
"I'll show you." Ford told him resolute. "You'll see."
John had no idea what that meant until the other man hurled himself into the beam of light that had been swarming towards them. Within seconds Lieutenant Aiden Ford had disappeared, sucked up into the depths of a Wraith Dart and there wasn't a damn think Colonel John Sheppard could do about it.
Ronon Dex had been a Satedan before he'd been moulded into a Runner by the Wraith. The people of that planet were a proud race of people who fought and died with honour. They believed in a just cause and Cass commended their bravery and courage. If they had been anything like Ronan then she would have enjoyed meeting them and learning their customs. They were fierce, loyal warriors and a dedicated people. They had also been massacred.
After returning to Atlantis Ronan's hopes for returning home were high and Cass had been happy for him. She couldn't imagine what the years of aloneness must have done to the Satedan. It wasn't a life to live and she had wished that he would have an easy time from now, that God would smile down on him and let him return home and gain some peace from his experiences.
Instead they had discovered that Sateda had been not only culled by the Wraith but practically obliterated. The city near the Stargate was nothing but a crumbling ruin of buildings, ash coated the pavements and the walk ways like a layer of dust. There hadn't been a person in sight. They had scanned the planet for life signs just to make sure that the city hadn't been abandoned but their effort had proved fruitless. There was no one left on that planet, no living person existed.
Ronon had accepted the news in silence as he reviewed the evidence through a video feed sent through the Stargate by a machine they used called a MALP. The machine helped identify whether it was safe for a team to step into a planet's atmosphere and they had used it as evidence for Ronon to view.
Ronon Dex was the last of his people and he had returned to his guest quarters without uttering a single word. That had been over three hours ago and no one had heard or seen anything of the Satedan since. He was still in his room, Cass knew that from the fact that the guards were still stationed outside of the door. They did this with all visitors to the city just in case of problems, Cass wondered if that would change now that Ronon was considered to be a refugee.
Currently Elizabeth and John were discussing the possibility of Ronon's residency, the Satedan had no home to go back to and he had helped them with their venture. Cass had no idea what the protocols were for situation like this but she knew what it was like to be alone for so long that it ached and stabbed at your soul like red hot knife. Misery was something she had been well rehearsed in over a year ago and she wanted to show Ronon that she wasn't afraid of him and that there was someone there who cared.
There was a white tray of food in her hand piled high with a variation of foods from the Mess Hall. She didn't know when Ronon had last had a decent meal and she wasn't sure if he would be hungry after the news he had received. She nodded at the guards posted outside of his door before swiping her free hand over the panel and entering the room tentatively.
The room was shrouded in darkness and as the doors hissed shut behind her Cass ignored the urge she had to flick on the lights. The fading orange colours from the sunset were filtering through the blinds and casting Ronon's hulking silhouette on the wall across from him. He was sitting on the bed, his back and left side squeezed against the white washed wall, his head resting on it. His left knee was bent, his elbow resting upon on it comfortably. His right leg was stretched out in front of him with his large hand resting upon it.
"I didn't know if you were hungry so I brought you some food." Cass said into the stillness of the room.
Ronon didn't answer, he simply staring at some invisible spot on the wall like she hadn't even spoken. He wasn't with her right now, he was away in some distant place reliving memories and processing through the thoughts that were rattling around his head. She couldn't say she knew what he was going through but she could offer him some human contact. She thought it was invaluable to have someone by your side when you were grieving and she hoped she could bring some reassurance.
"Do you mind if I sit a while?" Cass asked the Satedan respectfully.
Ronan didn't say a word and when she looked into his expressive green eyes she saw nothing. It was like the man was dead inside. The abyss, Cass thought. She had teetered on the edge of this cliff the same way as he was now. She had fallen into the deepest depression after her experience in the Cave, she hadn't been able to save Connors or Rucka from their fate and she didn't understand why she had been one of the survivors.
After Harry had left she'd hidden her agony from Jules for the longest time. It had been a daunting and hellish aftermath, some days she didn't even see the point of getting out of bed but the thought of other people out there going through something worse spurred her on. The laughter of her niece and nephew as she forced herself to engage with them gave her hope and taught her how precious life was once more. Her priorities shifted and afterwards she had found that it didn't hurt as much as it had. Isolation had nearly earned her a death sentence in those early days and that was something that she had never confessed to anybody.
Cass took a seat on the bed alongside the Satedan, close enough so he could feel her presence but not enough to be stifling. She sat with her own legs stretched out, her dainty hands resting on her lap as her head leaned on the wall behind her.
The quiet was oppressing, it hung in the air wrapping Cass up like a blanket and hiding her from the outside world. She wondered how Ronon could stand it, moving from world to world with no connections. It was worse now because there wasn't even an anchor to link him back to the person he had been on Sateda. Cass knew a thing or two about losing your sense of self, it had taken a long time to get it back and even when she did it had taken meeting John to make her feel like a complete person.
"I'm sorry." Cass whispered finally.
Her delicate hand reached out across the barrier between her and Ronon before she clasped his large palm lightly in her own. There was nothing else she could say to sooth the trauma but she would be here ready if he did need her.
They seemed to sit there in the growing darkness for an age, Cass watched as the shadows merged into blackness until there was nothing else left for her to focus on. The tension finally seemed to sag out of Ronan's body as he released one long shuddering sigh before he squeezed her hand in return.
Hey guys, it has been a long, exhausting set of days for me and it's only going to get worse since I am managing the store over the next two weeks. Keep your fingers cross that nothing goes wrong!
Shippo: lol I could imagine John doing his sneaky thing in the undergrowth. He's protective over his team and there wasn't a chance in hell he was leaving his friends alone with a very well trained warrior! Thankies for the review!
BRN: lol some parts of the series I keep the same and some I twist and change. I think there are so many opportunities to raise such hell with what they all go through and endure and we know that it must make longer for them to come back from their experiences. I am so glad your on the edge of your seat. I am really enjoying writing this story and the places it's taking me! Thankies for such a cool review.
