"...had to have a way of feeding all their people," Dr. Weir was saying, as Ford helpfully poked Sheppard under the conference table to bring him back to his surroundings. He'd been thinking about Mahread'zhu again. Still. It made the tedious meeting that much less appealing in his mind. He was never a good one for day-to-day operations; his expertise was in tactics and execution of the same. He had risen far and fast, but not as high as he might have, because of that lack. Coupled with a lack of "proper respect for the chain of command," he remembered one report reading.

"Any ideas, people?" Dr. Weir looked expectantly around the room. Sheppard hoped his guilt and cluelessness didn't show on his face.

McKay spoke up. Many eyes started to roll as soon as he started speaking, but everyone listened. "It's possible that they didn't have a food supply," he began. "With the Stargate here, and their power supply, they could simply Gate to another world and trade for the food. It would explain why Teyla's people were so interested in trade."

Dr. Beckett spoke up. "Or there could be an entire hydroponics garden in one of the unexplored locations."

Sheppard shuddered. "Hate to imagine the cleanup in there," he muttered. Being first into a room was sometimes not so much of an advantage.

Weir turned her full gaze upon him. "It might not only be necessary, it might be essential," she reminded him. "We cannot feed ourselves and all the Athosians out of our rations forever. And we can't exactly go to the corner supermarket for a resupply."

Teyla spoke up. "I know the food sources on my world quite well. We could go there and..."

Weir and Sheppard were both shaking their heads. "Absolutely not," Dr. Weir said. "Not until we know the Wraith aren't waiting for us to return there. They're looking for us, now."

"Us, and Earth," Sheppard muttered.

"Earth, and all of the planets in our galaxy that the Ancients settled," McKay reminded them.

"Wonder how the Wraith would like the taste of Goa'uld," Sheppard muttered.

"Since there's usually a person attached to that equation, not well, I hope," Weir remonstrated. He just gave her the Look, and saw the faint hint of an eyeroll and quirk of an almost smile.

"Anyway," she continued, "we do need to start thinking how we're going to feed everyone. We're working with limited supplies here; eventually we'll need replacements."

"What about some of the other worlds we have access to? Could we go there and find food sources?"

"It's a possibility, but we have no assurances that the Wraith won't be there waiting for us no matter where we go. All right." In a lightning decision, one of the things that marked her as an excellent negotiator, Dr. Weir continued. "Major Sheppard, start searching the rest of the city for any signs of a hydroponics or botanical gardens. And see if the Ancients had some way of preserving seeds...or something. If nothing else, we'll consider a visit to one of the other worlds, perhaps one Teyla and the Athosians are familiar with."

Sheppard felt as though he was pushing against his skin, he was so anxious for the meeting to be over. Maybe then he could sort things out, try to figure out what the hell had happened to him this morning.

Ford fell into step beside him. "So...any idea where to search first?"

Sheppard stopped, staring at him. "Search for who?" he asked cautiously.

Ford gave him a curious look. "Sir?"

Sheppard, eyes hooded, returned the look. "Lieutenant?"

Ford cleared his throat. "What meeting were you at, sir?" After a beat, he said, "The search for a hydroponics garden? Someplace to grow food?" Comprehension hit Sheppard's face. "Sir? Permission to speak freely?"

"Always." Sheppard regarded him coolly.

"You...haven't been yourself since you woke up this morning. What's up?"

For a timeless moment, the two men regarded each other. John used the time to try to figure out how to tell the unbelievable to someone under his command. He was still pretty much struggling with it when the words came pouring out.

"Last night...well, I guess it was this morning, really, I woke up with a girl in my room. Only I didn't go to sleep with her there."

Bit by painful bit, he relayed the whole story. At the end of it, Ford looked thoughtful.

"You know what I think? Sir," he added deferentially.

"Ford, you're pretty much my second in command, here, and we're about a bazillion light-years away from anything even remotely resembling a court martial. Never been big on the whole 'proper respect for the chain of command.' If you think it needs saying, say it."

Ford nodded. "I think you need to talk to Teyla, sir."

Sheppard flinched. Ford wasn't telling him anything he hadn't been telling himself. But he was harder to ignore.

Finally, he nodded. "OK," he said, and turned to do just that.