Chapter 8: Where are John and Dave?
Dave watched in horror as Klull stunned John and his brother crumpled to the floor. That's got to hurt, he thought as he watched John fall heavily on his right shoulder again. His first reaction was to punch Klull in the face, which wasn't a good idea, because in a split second one of Klull's men was holding a gun to John's head and it wasn't a stunner.
"I think I've had enough of this, I will return your men, but I'm taking the kid and his Dad," Klull growled and it was clear that he'd lost his patience.
For the first time Dave began to sense that these men were in fact dangerous and they wouldn't hesitate to kill him or John if they didn't get what they wanted.
"You!" Klull barked, just before Dave felt a gun pressed to his head, "pick up the brat and come with me!"
"Klull do not take John, we can discuss this like adults without having to involve a child?" Woolsey pleaded and Dave could see the worry in his eyes.
"I'll go with you, but please don't hurt John or anyone else." Dave implored.
"I will not harm anyone, if you come with us," Klull told Dave before turning to Woolsey, "and if you give us what we want you will get the kid and his Dad back. I will give you two of your days."
Klull started to walk towards the gate and Dave quickly followed with John in his arms, he was glad that John was unconscious, because if he'd been awake, he would have been horrified to find that he was cradled in his brothers arms like a baby.
Dave looked around at the gateroom floor and realised that everyone except for him and Woolsey were stunned and tied up, so there was absolutely no chance for them to escape. Knowing that Rodney and the others were trying to mount a rescue, made him smile, but it was definitely going to come too late for him and John. Taking comfort in the fact that Major Lorne and Woolsey would stop at nothing to get them back, he followed Klull through the wormhole, resigned to the fact that there was nothing he could do help John or himself for now.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Rodney was ready to lift the lockdown as soon as John gave the signal to drop it and Major Teldy was ready to send the troops through, so all he could now was wait. But he didn't want to wait in the gym by himself, so he headed to the door of the control room and waited with Ronon, Teyla, Teldy and the troops.
"Have you heard anything Dr McKay?" Teyla asked him as he approached.
"No nothing, but I am ready to lift the lockdown as soon as Sheppard gives the word."
A few minutes later the door automatically opened, and the lockdown was lifted. This clearly took everyone by surprise. Had John and the others overpowered the hostiles or had something dreadful happened? Rodney thought the latter, because this was Sheppard they were talking about, nothing was ever that simple where he was concerned.
The answer as to what happened came when Woolsey approached the door, "the hostiles have gone, but they have taken John and Dave with them. Meet me in my office in half an hour and I will fill you in. In' the meantime, get Drs Keller and Beckett in here to check everyone out. I believe that they have only been stunned, but I just want to make sure."
"Is John alright?" Teyla asked and it was obvious that she was beyond concerned.
"He was stunned when Klull took him, but that is all I know. Please come to my office in half an hour's time and I will discuss the situation with you, hopefully Major Lorne will have awoken by then. In case he isn't I would like you to join the meeting Major Teldy and I'd like you there as well Ronon. We definitely need to come up with a plan of attack to work out how to get John and Dave back."
"I am ready now Mr Woolsey and I believe that Ronon and Rodney are also ready!" Teyla said forcefully.
Woolsey stared at them for a few seconds and then he conceded with a nod of his head before he walked to his office.
Ronon and Teyla were quick to follow and Rodney wasted no time in following them. He had no idea what the Henperians wanted with John and Dave, other than what Woolsey had already told them. One thing he knew for sure though, was that he needed to get back to the ancient database as soon as possible. There had to be a way to turn Sheppard back into an adult and he knew that he was the one to find out how.
Arriving in Woolsey's office, he immediately sat down in the nearest chair and he was surprised to see that Major Lorne was there instead of Major Teldy.
Rodney looked at him and tried to ascertain whether he should be in the infirmary or not, "are you supposed to be here Lorne?"
"No, he's not, he should be in the infirmary given the amount of time he spent unconscious," Carson grumbled from across the room.
"Don't sweat it Doc, I'll head to the infirmary once this meeting is over, but I'm definitely going to be on any rescue team that goes through the gate." Lorne told Carson firmly and Rodney didn't miss the roll of Lorne's eyes.
"Now that we're all here, let's call these meeting to order," Woolsey stated, before turning to Lorne, "Major Lorne, can you tell me what happened on the planet?"
"We were exploring the planet when we came across a small settlement. We were cautious when we approached to village, following every protocol that Colonel Sheppard has set in place, for situations such as these," he paused and looked at Rodney before continuing, "what the hell happened to Colonel Sheppard anyway, why does he look like a child?"
Before Rodney had a chance to answer him, Woolsey interrupted," we will discuss that later Major Lorne, for now I want to know what happened on that planet!?" And Rodney could tell that he was far from pleased, but then who could blame him, he wasn't happy himself.
"Well, when we approached the village, we found the Henperians and they invited us for a meal and remembering that Teyla had mentioned that they were trading partners of the Athosians, we accepted. That's when things began to go wrong, they asked us to leave our weapons outside of the meeting tent, all of the visible weapons anyway. We complied with their wishes and went in for a meal and that is when we found a gun to our heads. Stevens and Smith attempted to fight back but were very quickly subdued when they were stunned. That's when Klull told us what he wanted and led me back here and you know the rest." Lorne took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm sorry Mr Woolsey this never should have happened, I was stupid to let my guard down and as it is my team is still missing."
"I'm not willing to play the blame game right now Major and as soon as we are able, we will send a team back for your men that's if they don't come back on their own." Woolsey said before turning to Teyla, "have you heard of a man named Klull before?"
"Yes, he used to be well respected by the Henperian council, until the Genii killed his entire family, his wife, his children and his mother. After that all he seemed to want was revenge for what had happened. The last time I spoke to the council, Klull had made no attempt to exact revenge on the Genii though."
"Well, I guess that explains why he wanted the weapons and explosives." Rodney muttered to himself.
"Well, we now have a fair idea of why he did what he did, but the real question is how do we get Colonel Sheppard and his brother back?" Woolsey asked.
It was Lorne who answered the question, "well I don't believe he'd be stupid enough to take him back to the settlement we met the Henperians in, which obviously isn't their village. They would have obviously taken them to another world."
"I can check with the Henperian council to see if they have any idea," Teyla suggested, with a worried look in her eyes.
Woolsey nodded, "can you please contact them Teyla, and Ronon I want you to take a team of Marines and go to the planet that Lorne was on, what did we call it?"
"WVE-580," Lorne supplied.
"Right WVE-580," Woolsey continued, "Rodney I want you to go and check out the last fifty gates addresses dialed from that planet to see if you can find anything helpful."
Rodney nodded before Woolsey brought the meeting to a close. "If everyone knows what they have to do, you're dismissed, and Lorne I believe that Dr Beckett wants you in the infirmary. I will keep you apprised of what is going on and you will be the first to know when we mount a rescue mission, for Colonel Sheppard and his brother."
Once Rodney was sure that Woolsey was finished, he left the control room and headed straight for his lab. He would ask Zelenka to check the DHD on WVE-580 for any useful information, because he really needed to get on with the task of finding a way to fix Sheppard when they finally got him back.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
The pins and needles in his arms and legs were enough to let John know what had happened the next time he awoke, but the question was, who had stunned him and why?
Slowly opening his eyes, it didn't take him long to realise that he wasn't on Atlantis any longer. Looking around, he found that he was in a small stone room with a log fire burning across the room from the small comfortable bed he was lying on, there was a small window on one of the walls and under that was a small table with two chairs. On the table was a pitcher of water and on one of the chairs was Dave, who appeared to be asleep sitting up.
"Dave," he whispered hoarsely, finding that his throat felt incredibly dry.
Luckily, that was enough to get Dave's attention and he watched as his brother slowly awoke.
"John are you alright?" Dave asked rushing to his side.
John remembered that Dave was supposed to be his Dad, so he'd better call him that in case anyone was watching them, "I have a headache and an incredibly sore throat," he answered with a whisper.
"I'll get you some water," Dave offered, and he was relieved when Dave helped him sit up and gave him a drink.
"What happened Dad, why am I here?" John asked remembering to play the part of a child, since he had no idea who might be watching.
"You seemed to hit a nerve with Klull when you told him he was a bitter old man, he then proceeded to stun you and he brought us here."
"Did anyone on Atlantis get hurt," John asked, and he flinched when he realised that his shoulder was aching again.
"Is you shoulder alright John?"
"Yeah, the shoulder's a bit sore, it probably has something to do with the fact that I keep landing on it. Anyway, can you answer my question, was anyone hurt on Atlantis?"
"Other than all of the men being stunned, I don't think that there were any other injuries."
Although John was relieved that his men were alright, he was incredulous as to why Woolsey had let them be taken, "that's good to know, the question is why did Woolsey let them take us? You're a civilian, he should have done more to protect you."
"Woolsey and I were the only ones conscious, so there was nothing he or I could do to stop it from happening and believe me Woolsey tried."
John sighed, "I guess your right, but right now I really can't think straight, if I had been, I would never had let Klull and his buddies through in the first place. I went against my better judgement and look what happened, I ended up getting you kidnapped."
"Well, what were you supposed to do, Klull could have killed Lorne, if you hadn't let him through the gate?"
John found himself becoming angry that he'd found himself in this situation, "yeah, and what the hell was Lorne thinking bringing him to Atlantis like that!?" He took a deep breath trying to calm down, before he continued, "I'm going to have to discuss security protocols with him, when I look like and adult again."
"John don't forget that at the moment you are supposed to be a child, so for the moment perhaps you should act that way and see if you can use your natural charm and get us out of this place."
You're and idiot John, he chastised himself, someone could be watching, so I should be acting like a child who has been kidnapped along with his father.
Looking at Dave, he put a scared look on his face and did his best to cry, "Dad, I'm scared, why did the nasty man take us and where is Puss?"
A meow from under the be answered his question, "Puss you're here!" John exclaimed as the cat jumped on the bed with him.
A look of relief crossed Dave's face, "I have no idea where he came from, he must have followed us through the gate."
"Well at least he's here and every kid feels better when they have their pet with them." John whispered to Dave.
Before they had a chance to say anything else the door opened and Klull and one of his friends came into the small room.
Klull looked at him and smiled, which made John shudder. "Ah… kid you're awake and I see you've got your pet with you."
"Why am I here?" He asked, doing his best to sound scared.
Klull answered him with a surprisingly gentle tone," I do not intend to harm you or your father, but you will be my guest until Woolsey gives me what I have asked for."
John sat on the bed with his back against the wall, wishing that he could get farther away from Klull, "I'm scared." He stated softly, taking some comfort from the fact that Dave was sitting next to him on the bed.
"Do not be afraid, I will not harm you. I have brought you something to eat." Klull said sounding almost genial.
"Why did you stun me and bring me here then, not to mention that you threw me down the stairs?!" John ranted sounding more like an angry adult than a child.
A look of Pain crossed Klull's face and there was something else there possibly regret, but it was gone when he spoke again, "if you stop being such a brat, I will not harm you again."
"Thank you, now if we have to be here, I would like to be left alone with my son that is if you're not spying on us." Dave said in a matter-of-fact tone, before he stood up and went across to the table.
"I will leave you alone for the moment and I have no reason to spy on a man and his son," Klull said backing out of the room, with his friend following."
John stood up and started to scan the room, trying to determine if the room was bugged in any way, by the time John had finished checking, he was fairly convinced that they were safe, but he knew that he wasn't thinking straight at the moment, so he decided to be cautious anyway.
Sitting back down on the small bed, he indicated to Dave that he should sit next to him, "for a slip second I saw pain and regret in Klull's eyes, so perhaps it's time you used you super negotiating skills and got us out of here," John whispered in Dave's ear.
Dave nodded, before heading to the table and sitting down, "the food looks good."
"I guess I should try and eat something, but I just feel incredibly tired right now. Must be way past my bedtime," John quipped.
"Please try and eat something first John and then you can go to sleep. Hopefully, we won't be here for long and when you get home you can visit Dr McKay and he can make you feel well again."
"Sure Dad, whatever you say," John said with a smirk, as he sat down at the table.
The food was some kind of meat stew with vegetables and it tasted surprisingly good, there was water to drink again and it was cool and refreshing. John only managed a few spoonful's, before a feeling of lethargy came over him and he knew that it was probably time to go to bed.
"I think I'm going to bed Dad," John said before hugging his brother and laying down on the bed.
"I'll put some wood on the fire, as it seems to be getting incredibly cold in here." Dave suggested.
"Really I'm feeling hot." John commented, before closing his eyes.
It had been and incredibly long day and John felt exhausted, it had started with fun and games in Jane and Dave's apartment and ended with him being held hostage off world. The worst thing about it though, was he was still a child and his body was intent on telling him that it was time to sleep. It wasn't long before he gave into his small body's demands and fell into a deep sleep.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Teyla walked into the control room on the evening after John and Dave were taken, she had spent most of the day trying to contact the Henperian council, but for some reason they didn't seem interested in talking. Eventually Halling had gotten through to councillor Friall and he had agreed to talk to her. She was about to head of world with Lorne, Ronon and a squad of Marines to meet with him.
Friall had wanted to come to Atlantis, but after what had happened with Klull, Woolsey and Lorne were doubly cautious. Teyla hadn't missed the guilt in Major Lorne's eyes the last time she spoke to him. It was obvious to her that he felt responsible for Dave and John being taken, and when Rodney had finally told Lorne what had happened to turn into a child, Teyla was convinced that he felt even worse. Lorne's team had come through the gate that afternoon and after a trip to the infirmary, Carson had assured them that they were all unharmed, which appeared to alleviate some of Major Lorne's guilt.
She had her own regrets to deal with in relation to John and the way she had treated him, she felt that she had pushed him away to the point where he'd felt rejected by her. She should never have suggested he stay with Dave and Jane; he should have been allowed to stay in the spare room in his apartment with Torren and her. When he was returned to his adult self, she was going to ask him to undergo the bonding ceremony with her. That was if Rodney could find a way to change him back, no I will not think that she quietly chastisedherself, Rodney will find a way to put it right, he always does.
Arriving in the gate room, she was surprised to find that she was the last one there, "are you alright Teyla?" Lorne asked her with a look of concern.
"Yes, Major I am feeling well considering the circumstances." She looked around the gateroom before continuing, "where is Dr McKay?"
"He's in his lab, he feels that he needs to find a way to fix Sheppard and he refused to leave his lab until he succeeds." Ronon supplied.
Looking at the group of armed men around her, she began to feel a bit apprehensive. What was Friall going to think of so many armed soldiers, when she was only going meet with them because she wanted information. "I hope that you are not all going to accompany me to the village so heavily armed."
Lorne looked at his men and then back at her, "Ronon, Lt Stevens and myself are the only ones who are going to escort you into the village, and we will carry handguns. The other marines will take up locations outside of the settlement or by the gate."
"Well in that case, shall we go then?" Teyla suggested turning around to look at Amelia and giving her the signal to dial the gate.
Teyla stood and watched the chevrons light up on the gate and when the wormhole whooshed to life a minute later, she was only too happy to step through it and she hoped that she would find an answer as to where John was.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Dave watched over his brother as he slept, he looked so peaceful and innocent in sleep, when Klull had taken him he'd had no idea everything that was contained in this child's body. John was a soldier, a fierce warrior, Teyla's partner in life, Torren's Farther, but most of all John was his brother and he was the best brother that anyone could ever hope for. He regrated the fact that he'd wasted years taking his father's side in arguments with John and when John was fully restored to his adult self, he had ever intention of apologising for the years of separation that the two of them had to endure. Although their father had told them that real men don't express their emotions, Dave had decided that perhaps it was time that he and John did. They had when John had been back on earth recovering from various injuries, but they hadn't since then.
A moan from the bed startled him from his contemplations and he was over to his brothers' side in a flash, "John are you alright?" He asked when he noticed that his eyes were open.
"I don't feel so good Dad," John's whispered, his little voice sounding breathless.
Dave could just make out John's features in the firelight and he looked incredibly pale. Placing his hand on his brother's forehead he was surprised to find that he was warm, "John when you say you don't feel too good, what do you mean? Do you feel nauseous, or hot, or is there some other problem?"
"Everything hurts and I feel nauseous."
Dave was about to respond when John rolled on his side and started to gag over the edge of the bed, it wasn't long until he had emptied his stomach contents and then he lay back on the bed and moaned.
Dave had no idea what to do, if it were light enough in the room, he would check John's hand for infection, but Klull's goons hadn't bothered to leave them any light, except for the light of the fire.
Knowing that he had to do something quick, he ripped one of the sleeves off his shirt and doused it in water, he then sat on the bed beside of John and started to wipe down his brow, hoping that it would cool him off enough for him to feel better.
Puss jumped off of John's bed, where he had been sleeping and jumped up onto the chair that Dave had been sitting on, "thanks for hopping off the bed Puss, I really need to get John cooled down and you laying next to him is not going to help at all."
The fire seemed to be dying down, so for now he decided not to put anymore wood on it.
He wondered where Klull was, perhaps if he could find him, he may be able to convince him that John was sick and really needed help. Walking over to the door he tried the door handle and was surprised to find that it opened easily. He stepped through the door into a long narrow passageway with a room on the other side. Checking the room out, he found that there was a bathroom and toilet there. Following the passageway to the end all he found was a brick wall, so he turned around and followed it to the other end and was dismayed when all he found was a locked steel door.
Maybe if he pounded on the door, he could get someone's attention. Oh well, here goes, he thought and then started to pound on the door, "Is there anyone there, my son is sick and really needs a doctor?"
He had absolutely no idea how long he kept bashing on the door, but when he was convinced that no-one was coming, he turned around and headed back to John.
For now, John was quiet and appeared to be asleep, with Puss curled up beside of him fast asleep as well. Feeling his forehead, Dave was relieved to find that he felt much cooler as well.
He did his best to clean up the mess beside the bed and once he had finished, he used the newly discovered bathroom, before sitting in one of the chairs again and drifting off to sleep.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Rodney had spent all day in his lab again and he was really beginning to feel tired. He wondered why Jennifer hadn't come to chase him out again, but maybe she was busy in the infirmary or something.
It had taken him most of the day, but he had finally worked out what the purpose of the device was that had turned John into a child. Apparently if the ancients could become children for a while, they would better be able to understand their children. When they were finished, they would just activate the device and be instantly transformed back to adults. Apparently, the device had different settings, so they could choose how long they wanted to be a child. If he remembered correctly the device was set to two weeks when it malfunctioned.
For the last hour he had been trying to find cases, where the ancient device wasn't used to change people back to their former selves and he hadn't had much luck, until now.
Reading through the file that he'd just found, he became worried, things did not look good for Sheppard, even if they managed to get him back to Atlantis.
Tapping his earpiece, he contacted Woolsey, "Mr Woolsey it's Dr McKay here and we have a big problem."
TBC…