Chapter 14

'Why did you leave without saying anything?'

Sheppard couldn't help but flinch as Jemma jumped toward him, grasping his forearms. She looked less feral and more pitiful as her damp hair clung to her scalp and shoulders, dark wet stains soaking into her freshly acquired Birajan tunic.

'I was scared. I thought you'd left me behind!'

The pale beige of the tunic cloth made her looked washed-out if not down-right sickly. Her palms were cold and clammy on his skin, her glare intense with accusation. This was becoming seriously creepy. He tried to pull his arms free, but she only tightened her grasp on him.

'Promise me you won't do that again!' she insisted.

He stared into her wild eyes, misty grey eyes and realised he needed to set some boundaries. 'Let go of me or we're going to have a problem.' He kept his gaze fixed on hers, not angry, just steady and determined. He wanted it to be absolutely clear that she needed to back up and he was serious about this being an issue for him if she didn't. She was already leaving bruises every time she grabbed at him.

After a few more tense seconds passed she apparently got the message and let go, taking a few steps back while hunching over in shame. She reminded him a little of Gollum right at that moment, which was a pretty unfortunate comparison. 'I'm sorry…I was just so scared.'

'I told you he wouldn't be long,' Mehra grouched from her bed, where she sat cross legged and clearly pissed. Then she suddenly perked up, noticing the tac-vest and holster he both wore and carried for her. 'Hey, where'd you find our gear?'

'Rodney and the Kheprians found it in the ruins over at Phylacos.' She jumped up, taking possession of her vest first, then once that was on, she buckled on her holster. 'There's a crate full of our stuff on Hakkar's ship. They're going to bring it back here later.'

'Nice…nice…oh, my P-90 too,' she grinned, taking it as he held it out to her. 'This'll show those Reliquiae bitches if they come looking for trouble again.'

'Even better than that, they found the jumper, so no more taxi service will be required from the locals. And once we find Teyla we can take it back home with us on the Kheprian harvester.'

'Home?' Jemma sounded instantly alarmed again, and Sheppard sensed her agitation rising once more.

'Yeah, back to Earth…back to your own time,' Mehra explained. 'That's what we're working on. You'll be able to see your family again. Won't that be great?'

Jemma's jaw hung slack. The wildness returned to her eyes, reminding him of a cornered rat, ready to lash out because it knew this was life or death. That was when it occurred to him that Jemma might not simply be screwed up because of Phylacos. What if life back on Earth had been somehow even worse for her?

'Or not…' Mehra seemed to make the same assessment, her gaze sliding wordlessly to his, with just the merest twitch of her eyebrow asking, 'What the hell?'

Slowly, Jemma began to shake her head. 'No…no…I don't want to go to Earth. I need to stay…stay here…with you.' Now she was looking straight at Sheppard again.

'But we're not staying here,' Mehra reminded her. 'So, if you want to stay, you'll be on your own, kid.'

Sheppard winced and cast Mehra a shrivelling look. Diplomacy wasn't her strong point, but that had been clumsy, even for her. The result was instant and predictable.

'No! You can't leave me here alone!' Jemma rushed forward again before he could stop her, wrapping her arms around Sheppard's waist so tight she practically crushed the air out of him.

'We need to have a serious conversation about respecting personal space,' he wheezed, trying to extricate himself, but once again finding the tiny girl surprisingly strong.

Mehra loaned her support, trying to guide Jemma away from him. 'Now, c'mon. You can't go grabbing onto people like that,' she chastised, attempting to pry her hands away from him.

'No…You'll leave me…you'll all leave me!' the girl wailed, reluctant to let go.

'No one's going anywhere yet,' Sheppard assured her, the two of them eventually peeling Jemma off of him. But the separation seemed to just upset her more, leaving her quivering. 'And when we do go…you're coming with us.'

'You're lying…lying to me to make me trust you. But I see through you. You don't like me. None of you do. You wish you hadn't rescued me.'

He faltered, wondering if she could somehow read minds because that was exactly what he'd been thinking right at that moment. Not that he would ever admit that or change what they'd done. Saving her from that meat market had been the right thing to do…they just needed to iron out a few wrinkles in her thinking and everything would be fine.

'What is all the noise?' he heard Mishta's voice ask from behind him, her attention apparently caught by the commotion. 'Why is the child upset now?'

'It's no business of yours, half-breed,' Jemma spat at her, taking them all by surprise with the vehemence of her outburst.

Mishta paused a second, blinked at her, then said calmly, 'Still yourself or we will have to sedate you.'

'Now, I'm sure there's no need for that,' Sheppard intervened, trying to diffuse the situation, but Mishta was having none of Jemma's hysterics.

'There is if she doesn't keep her voice down. She'll lead the Reliquiae right to us at this rate.'

Sheppard forced on a smile and turned back to Jemma, finally prising the girl's arms from around him. 'I'll be one minute…maybe two. Mehra will be right here with you so you'll be fine.'

He grabbed Mishta's elbow and steered her back out of the doorway, much to her obvious chagrin.

'Mishta…the kid's obviously screwed up and we have no idea exactly what she's been through since the explosion. So maybe…just maybe…threatening her isn't the best way to go about getting her to calm down.'

She snatched her arm free and planted her feet, refusing to take another step. 'Do you think the way she spoke to me is acceptable?' she demanded, arms folded tight across her as she awaited his answer.

'No…of course it isn't. I'm just asking you to cut her some slack considering everything we know she's been through, not to mention what we don't know.'

Sighing theatrically, Mishta gave her sullen agreement. 'Fine, but she needs to learn to be quiet. She can't go with you if she's going to perform like that all the time.'

'I know…I know…' He ran a hand back through his hair, lifting his eyes to the rocky ceiling in hope of finding inspiration. 'I just need to figure out a way to make her trust us more.'

'Like you said, she'd be better off on Balsandar where she can be away from anyone who would want to harm her.'

'Try telling her that. She freaks out if I'm away from her for ten minutes,' he snapped, immediately regretting it as the hurt registered momentarily on Mishta's face. 'Sorry…I'm sorry…this isn't your fault…I shouldn't have yelled at you.'

'No…you shouldn't have,' she agreed, no doubt hoping her bravado covered her injured feelings. Then her expression softened, and she asked, 'Are you feeling all right? I imagine this is all an added strain you can well do without.'

'I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me,' he lied, avoiding eye-contact. 'Anyway…I should get back in there before her abandonment issues kick in again. I don't think Mehra can handle another of her meltdowns.'

'It's odd that she's already so attached to you, don't you think?' Mishta said as he turned to leave. 'She doesn't know you any better than any of the others, yet she thinks of you as her protector. A logical mind should think Ronon would be much more…effective.'

He turned her way and arched an eyebrow, feigning hurt. 'Are you suggesting I'm weak?'

'No…well, perhaps in comparison to Ronon. I simply think you should consider that there's more to this neediness than her looking for defence.'

Someone else who could read minds, because he'd been thinking that same thing himself. 'Hopefully, she just needs time to adjust,' he told her, wondering exactly which of the two of them he'd been hoping to convince with that platitude. He sure as hell wasn't persuaded by it.

'She's very odd, your little friend,' Mishta added, her chin angled in a way that was just asking him to challenge her insight. 'So terrified, and yet the way she spoke to me…those were not the words of a frightened child. Why do you suppose she would insult me that way?'

Mishta had a point, and again it was a thought that had been niggling at the back of his mind too. Jemma was just a little too prickly for his liking. Something didn't sit right, but he hated to judge her so quickly. He had a horrible feeling she was a spy…maybe someone projecting an image like Teyla's kidnapper. But if he challenged her and he was wrong, it could do untold damage to her psyche. 'I…' he began, trying to think up some excuse before deciding he didn't have the energy to follow through. 'I don't know. I'll make sure she doesn't do it again, okay?'

'It is not what she said that concerns me, but rather why,' Mishta retorted, catching his wrist as he made to return to the chamber. 'Be careful around her. Don't assume anything. The most troubled souls can also be the most dangerous.'

Then she let go of him and headed out of the area.

Nice and ominous, he thought. Not worrying at all. And yet he couldn't fault her logic.

Mehra had managed to get Jemma to sit down on his bedroll by the time Sheppard returned to them, Mishta's warning still clear in his mind.

The girl started to rise, but he gestured that she should stay put. 'Okay, Jemma, if you're going to hang around with us, we need to set down some ground rules.'

The girl appeared baffled by his statement, as if she'd never heard the term before. Perhaps she hadn't. 'What did that half-breed say about me? She hates me, doesn't she?' she growled.

He held up a silencing hand. 'And that's one of the things we're not doing any more. Mishta and her people are a big part of why you're no longer a prisoner in Phylacos. Without her and her friends, Phylacos would still be standing and you would still be a sample donor for Akalus' crazy experiments.'

For just a fleeting second and eerie darkness settled on the girl's expression, then it was gone. 'I…I didn't realise.'

'So, name calling any of the Birajans is a no-no, right?' he clarified.

She nodded, dropping her gaze to her hands which lay knitted together in her lap. 'I'll try.'

'And this panicking every time I'm out of sight has to stop, okay?'

Her eyes flicked briefly up to his before drooping again. She gave a weak nod of agreement, but said nothing.

'Mehra, Ronon, hell, even our friend Rodney will look out for you. No one is going to leave you behind. We will do what we think is best for you. For now, that's staying with us. And that means moving tomorrow.'

'Moving…moving where?' she asked, suddenly alarmed again.

'Not far. Just a little way from here. The Birajans are putting themselves at risk looking out for us. The Reliquiae are hunting me, and all the time I'm with them it puts them in danger.'

'And you too,' Mehra butted in. 'They're real mean and they eat humans which is why…when you're ready…it would be better if you moved off-world to Balsandar where the other humans from Phylacos are. It's sa –'

'I don't want to go with them!' she blurted, panicking again, her eyes locked on his. 'I want to stay with you. I don't care about the Reliquiae –'

'You don't care about man-eating aliens?' Mehra asked in disbelief.

'Maybe we could focus on something else?' Sheppard suggested, raising his voice over theirs. 'The place we're going to…hopefully we can be safe there for now. But a friend of ours is missing, and we have to look for her so we can take her back home with us. And that means there may be times you can't come along with us. Do you understand?'

'But…what will I do while you're gone. Who will make sure I'm safe?'

Her panic was peaking again. Mehra and Mishta were right. This wasn't going to work. He started wondering if there was some way they could drug her and put her on a ship to Balsandar. Then he felt bad for thinking that at all.

'We'll figure something out,' he replied, aware that his answer was too vague to be of any real comfort. But he didn't have a better answer right at this moment, so it would have to do.

'So…are you and Mishta cool now, Sir?' Mehra asked, changing the subject. 'Seemed like the two of you were a little…chilly on the way to market earlier.' She twitched her eyebrows, letting him know she remembered what she'd seen down at the pool that morning.

He felt a little heat warm his face. 'Uh, yeah…yeah…she wasn't too happy about us leaving, but she's come around to the idea now.'

'That fella of hers…Marmotah. Why's she thinking about hitching herself to him? Seems like they don't even get on that well.'

He shrugged and sighed, wishing she'd found some other direction to steer the conversation in. 'Her brother promised her to him. It's some Birajan tradition or something…'

'Promised her to him?' Mehra repeated, the disgust evident in her tone. 'Screw that. The guy's a creep.'

'Is he the one from the pool?' Jemma asked.

Mehra pressed her lips together and gave Jemma a tight smile, suggesting that Jemma had said something to displease her. 'He was the mouthy one of 'em, yeah,' Mehra replied, scowling at some unpleasant memory that had just popped into her head. 'Jerk.'

Sheppard's hackles immediately raised. 'You had a run in with him? Why am I just hearing about this now?' he demanded, bristling at the thought that Marmotah had crossed one of his team.

'I figured you had enough on your mind, so I told her not to mention it,' Mehra shrugged, sending a pointed look Jemma's way. The girl didn't appear to notice. 'Besides, I handled it.'

Riled by this new information, Sheppard tried his best to keep calm. 'Tell me what happened,' he said softly, but somehow his voice took on the dangerous edge he'd been hoping to avoid anyway.

'It was nothing –' Mehra insisted, lolling back on her bedroll as if she thought that would somehow end the conversation.

'Why don't you let me be the judge of that?' he countered, his hands clamping onto his hips as he assumed an imposed kind of composure.

Mehra hesitated, most likely because he was doing such a poor job of hiding his anger. Then she propped herself up on her elbow and told her tale. 'We spoke to the Birajans about clothes and stuff for getting cleaned up, and they kitted us out with everything we needed. They told me to leave my boots at the opening to the pool cavern…that's the agreed sign that whoever's in there doesn't want company, by the way. You might want to remember that…'

He quirked an eyebrow, ignoring the insinuation, 'And?'

'And… apparently Marmotah and his cronies didn't get the memo, so they came waltzing in anyway.'

Teeth grinding, Sheppard forced himself to stay put and listen to the rest. 'Go on,' he grunted, his imagination already filling in some gaps in ways he seriously hoped were wrong.

She shrugged. 'He started mouthing off, saying something about me giving Mishta a run for her money and how I'd make a good partner if anything ever happened to her. I wasn't really listening. I was too busy telling him to go...' she paused as if selecting her words carefully. '…procreate with himself. Jemma was in the pool getting cleaned up and I really didn't…Sir?'

He heard that final word as he spun and stomped his way out of the doorway. 'Stay here,' was all he said in response.

He found Marmotah out at his craft. He and his friends were sitting in it laughing about something…whether or not it was their encounter with Mehra and the girl he didn't know, but the sound of their laughter after what they'd done immediately gave fuel to his already raging anger.

One of Marmotah's friends spotted him approaching, the smile sliding of his face as he began to rise, but not before Sheppard grabbed Marmotah by the scruff of his jacket and hoisted him out of the craft and onto the floor.

'What is wrong with you, Human?' Marmotah protested, scrambling to his feet. 'How dare you treat me this way?'

'I dare because you dared to walk in on my friends while they were in the bathing pool and made a pain in the ass of yourself.'

'I wanted to get clean…it was an honest mistake,' Marmotah sneered, puffing out his chest as he straightened out his clothing, his arrogance returning as his friends gathered at his shoulders. 'You imply something more?'

'Her boots were at the entrance,' Sheppard growled.

Again, Marmotah brushed off his accusation with a sickening smirk. 'Really? I didn't notice.'

Sheppard squared up to him, adrenaline pumping him full of energy he'd found it hard to muster of late. 'You're a real piece of crap, you know that?'

There was a shift in the atmosphere, a sense of menace settling over the trio. 'Walk away, Human. You don't have what it takes to take us all on,' Marmotah warned him.

Sheppard's gaze flicked to the other two Birajan's, who both fixed him with cool glares that said he should leave well alone. But he'd never been one to walk away from a challenge and he wasn't about to start now. 'Well, my argument isn't with your friends. Why drag them into it?'

'They choose to be here.'

'Fine. They can watch, but you need to apologise to my friends, and you need to do it now,' Sheppard insisted, peering down on Marmotah as he closed the space between them.

Marmotah chose instead to shove him back. 'I said, walk aw—'

That physical contact was what Sheppard had been waiting for. He'd had one hell of a crappy day, and all he wanted was someone to take it all out on. He swung a right that floored Marmotah in an instant, then fixed the Birajan's friends with an icy glare. 'Who's next?'

They both jumped for him at the same time, but a boot to the one on the right's stomach stopped him, leaving only one to land a blow, which he did. Winded, Sheppard handed him an uppercut that knocked him back against the craft he'd just exited and he slumped to the ground, gasping.

By this time Marmotah had rallied and was back on his feet. He lunged for Sheppard, driving his head into his midriff and tackling him to the ground. The back of Sheppard's skull cracked hard on the cave floor, causing brilliant pin pricks of light to flash in his vision as pain lanced through his brain. For a second he was too stunned to react, but a punch to his kidney helped him to focus and throw the brawling little Birajan off of him.

Sheppard rolled onto his knees and bounced up, swaying but refusing to drop. He absolutely would not show weakness in front of this idiot. Unfortunately, when the three of them pounced as one, his body had little choice but to succumb to their combined weight. They all rained blows on him, but sheer stubbornness forced him on, and he managed to scramble from under their bodies and rise once more.

This time, as Marmotah stood, his hand twitched toward the weapon at his hip. Sheppard, always a quick draw, snatched his gun from its holster and pressed the barrel to Marmotah's forehead before he had a chance to raise his own sidearm.

'Don't. Move,' Sheppard growled, unflinching.

No one did.

'You wouldn't dare,' Marmotah challenged, but there was a definite quake in his voice that betrayed his underlying doubts.

'You want to test that theory?' Sheppard smirked, enjoying his sudden sense of power…perhaps a little too much. He would have felt bad, but there was absolutely no one who deserved this more.

'Stop!'

Mishta's voice cut through the silent tension, echoing back from the stone walls all around them. Resisting the urge to look at her, Sheppard held steady, his arm locked, finger resting on the trigger while he disengaged the weapon's safety catch.

Mishta hurried to his side. 'John…lower the gun…please.'

'Not while he's still holding his,' he told her, his gaze still fixed on the visibly shaken Birajan.

She switched her attention to Marmotah. 'Marmotah, please, let go of your weapon,' she begged. The fear in her voice almost made Sheppard back down. Almost. But he wasn't ready to give ground just yet. Not if he could work his current advantage to his favour.

'I'm not afraid, Mishta,' Marmotah sneered, adding cocky to his mix of asinine behavioural traits. 'Don't embarrass yourself on my account.'

So, he saw compassion as embarrassing? That explained a lot.

Mishta pushed as far in front of Sheppard as she could given the circumstances, making him look at her. 'How big a hole will it make exactly?'

Looking back at Marmotah, Sheppard saw the Birajan's confidence suddenly fading. That was when he realised why Mishta had asked the question. She wanted Marmotah to be the one to concede. He shrugged. 'Not too big at the front here…can't say the same for the back,' he drawled. Marmotah's complexion took on a decidedly green tinge. 'Don't worry, you won't know anything about it,' Sheppard assured him. 'And I'm sure your friends will pick up all the pieces to give you a proper funeral.'

Marmotah still didn't remove his hand from the butt of his weapon, despite his obvious fear. But Mishta gently slid her hand over his, giving it a tug to encourage him to let go. After a moment's delay, he allowed her to guide his hand away.

Sheppard flicked his safety back on and lowered his gun.

'Get out of here. Go,' Mishta told Marmotah, pushing him back toward the internal caverns.

'We'll pick this up another time, Human,' he threatened, pushing past Sheppard, his cronies trailing out behind him.

'No, you won't,' Mishta yelled at his retreating back.

With the adrenalin rush now over, Sheppard began to physically flag as Mishta rounded on him, her violet eyes ablaze with fury and confusion. 'Why? Why would you do that after telling me you want no trouble from him?'

'Because he made trouble with my people. I'm not going sit back and let him do that,' he yelled at her, before rubbing his temples to ease the throbbing headache his eruption awoke.

She stared at him a while, as if having trouble comprehending what he'd just said. 'Your people?'

'He walked in on Mehra and Jemma at the bathing pool.'

'Did they not leave their boots –'

'In the passageway, yes, they did. Just like they were told to.' She fell silent, her gaze dropping to the ground as she thought that over. 'He propositioned Mehra. Said if anything happened to you, she would be a good match for him.'

Now Mishta's eyes darted up to his, puzzled…angry. 'He dishonoured me?'

'If creeping on Mehra dishonours you, then yeah, he did.'

'Did he touch her?'

That brought a smirk to his face. 'He still has both his arms, doesn't he?'

Apparently, Mishta found no humour in the situation though. She paced in front of him, her hands balling up into fists. 'This is his revenge. He thinks I am getting too close to you and he wants to show me there are others that catch his eye, also.'

Sheppard watched her, the movement leaving his head swimming as he tried to track her. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to clear his head. 'Can't imagine where he gets that idea.'

'This is bad,' she murmured, thankfully stopping and turning her back on him as she looked out to the treeline beyond the cave mouth. 'Things will escalate.'

'We're leaving tomorrow. They'll have to escalate fast.'

She shook her head. 'That's not what I mean.'

'So what do –' His question was cut short by a bout of bone rattling coughing that took the breath right out of him. When he stopped, the hand he'd covered his mouth with was once again caked with blood.

He tried unsuccessfully to hide it, but Mishta grabbed his wrist and turned the palm upward where she could see the evidence. 'You're hurt!' She caught hold of his chin. 'Open your mouth. Let me see what he's done to you.'

Sheppard flinched away from her touch. 'No. Stop…I'm fine.'

'No, you're not,' she insisted, trying to turn his face to hers again. 'Let me see.'

'I'm not hurt,' he snapped, grasping her wrists to stop her harassing him. 'That's not what this is.'

As his eyes locked onto hers, he saw the recognition dawn on her. 'This is the sickness?' she said softly, her voice barely above a whispered. She seemed to shrink before him, all of her bravado gone in an instant.

He nodded, letting go. Her arms fell slack at her sides, her left wrist stained with his blood. 'I'm sorry…I didn't want you to find out like this, but yeah. it's getting worse.'

The colour drained from her cheeks and she took a step back as if to steady herself. 'How…how long do you have?'

That was the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question. The truth was he didn't know. The sickness was progressing way faster this time, as if the enzyme had given him an artificial boost that, now it was all spent, was slipping away and returning him to his former state. It could be a week…or it could be merely days. He was honestly trying not to think too much about it.

'I'm not going anywhere just yet,' he smirked, his heart sinking as his attempt to lighten the mood only resulted to bringing tears to her eyes. 'Hey…no…don't do that…'

In an instant she folded, pulling him into a stifling hug. 'I won't let you die. I'll fix it…' she sobbed, as she buried her face into his chest. 'Your friends should have kept some of the enzyme for you!'

'They didn't know…I hadn't told anyone,' he said, stroking her hair and relaxing into the embrace. It was the first time he'd really allowed himself to feel her presence; the warmth of her body against his, the softness of her auburn strands as he stroked them, the faint aroma of soap and other floral scents that adorned her tanned skin. He made no attempt to pull back. What was the worst that could happen? Marmotah would beat the crap out of him? Or kill him? It wasn't like he wasn't going to die anyway. A thought popped into his head. 'I need you to promise me something.'

She lifted her head, her eyes glistening with sorrow and pain. 'What is it?'

'If I die…' He felt her shudder and wrapped her a little tighter in his arms as he continued, 'it's going to hit my friends hard. But I need them to stay focused on finding Teyla. They have to get her home. Will you make sure they do that?' He wanted to give her this task, something to aim for if she lost him. He hoped it might help her cope in some way.

She swallowed hard, and after a moment of hesitation gave a quick nod. 'No child should grow up without his mother.'

That hit him harder than he thought it would, bringing back feelings he'd long ago buried. The driving force behind his promise to Teyla - his own unmanaged grief at losing his mother. 'No…no they shouldn't.'

Blinking back tears, she raised her chin and set her expression into one of grim resolution. 'I promise,' she assured him. Then added, 'But I won't need to, because you will be here to see it happen.'

Now he was the one who had to choke back his emotions as she laid her head on his chest again. 'I hope so,' he whispered, pressing his cheek to the top of her head. 'I really hope so.'

A/N: Yay for Sheppard getting some revenge on Marmotah. Boo for the sickness! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you think.