TITLE: Wait Until Dark
AUTHOR: Susan Zell
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Gekko and Sci-Fi and to those luckier than I. All I know is that they aren't mine so no profit has been made by this venture.
SUMMARY: Nightmares and paranoia plague Major Sheppard and his team must determine why before he sinks so deep that there may be no returning.
SPOILERS: Everything up until after "Childhood's End."
RATINGS: PG-13
TYPE: Drama mainly and some minor hurt/comfort; also some very minor 'shipping though I haven't made my decision between the ShepWeir or the Sheyla camps. So I'm keeping both ends open for now. I always try to follow show canon so I'll leave that decision up to them.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: My first Stargate Atlantis fic so be gentle. If it goes well, I may write another.

Chapter Eight
"Setbacks"

Only seconds seemed to have passed when suddenly Major Sheppard jerked awake as something reached out to him and clutched his throat. It was more distant but still recognizable as the touch of something evil and cold.

Suddenly, McKay was looking down at him.

"Major"

"Crap" Sheppard muttered. He felt aching and tired. His chest hurt and his head buzzed and stabbed like a migraine.

"He's still there, isn't he"

McKay sounded like he was talking to him from miles away. "Wha" Sheppard tried to shove past the man. There was another voice there too. Female. But he couldn't concentrate of what she was saying.

"Major, are you listening? He's disoriented. Speech is slurred."

McKay again.

"Is that normal"

Sheppard finally recognized Teyla's voice.

"Yes. Unfortunately. Sleep deprivation can be very debilitating if left unchecked. Damn, I thought we were out far enough. The range on that Wraith is extreme."

"Major! Wake up"

"All right. Stop shouting, will you? I hear ya." His tongue felt huge and unwieldy. God, his head hurt. It seemed to take forever to collect his thoughts.

"Did you have a nightmare" Teyla asked anxiously.

"Wha? I don't know." He couldn't remember. "Maybe."

"Easy, Major. You had another episode."

McKay's hand was on his shoulder. Was that concern on the scientist's face"I didn't have an episode" he groused irritably. "I have a headache. Shut up and get me some aspirin."

He struggled to sit up, his hand to his head. "Where are we? Where's the gate" He couldn't remember the mission they were on.

McKay exchanged worried glances with Teyla.

"We are on the mainland, Major Sheppard. Remember? We went surfing." Teyla handed him the aspirin and helped him take a swig from the canteen.

"Surf...oh, that's right." He fumbled to swallow the pills.

"I think we should get him back to Atlantis." McKay suggested.

"What? Why" insisted Sheppard. "So that bastard can have at me some more"

"You mean Dr. Beckett"

"No, damn it! Steve."

"Steve" McKay glanced over at Teyla. "I think he's delusional."

"The Wraith. I meant the Wraith."

"You said Steve."

"It's just his name."

"The Wraith's name is Steve? Please. Seems a little too conventional seeing that we're in another galaxy and he's a completely different homicidal species."

Sheppard sighed and held his head. "Just stop talking, McKay. My head hurts too much."

"Get Ford. We're heading back."

Teyla rose and moved toward the beach.

"We don't have to do this." Sheppard struggled to stand.

"Yeah, I think we do" said McKay, helping him upright.

Sheppard was silent for a few moments as tried to subdue the pounding that was echoing in his head. "All right."

McKay stared at him. The Major's amenable nature worried him.

"Have you found a way to stop him from getting in"

For the first time, McKay seemed genuinely sorry. "No, not yet. But there's still a chance I missed something."

"It's okay. We'll work out something."

Again there was that unflagging faith that people had in him. McKay shifted uncomfortably. What if he couldn't pull off a miracle? He knew that in time he probably would find something, but what if it wasn't in time?

McKay assisted Sheppard the rest of the way to his feet as Ford and Teyla came running up.

"How is he" Ford asked, worried.

"I'm fine" Sheppard insisted.

"He's not fine." McKay was annoyed by Sheppard's irrational claims, but then he realized it was just another symptom of sleep deprivation. The sooner they got him back to Atlantis and under Carson's care, the better he'd feel. Meaning Rodney would feel better. Probably not Sheppard, he mused distractedly.

"Come, Major" Teyla coaxed, taking him by the elbow. He was staring out at the sea.

It took several seconds, and the repetition of his name, before he turned toward her. His face was slack and his eyelids barely open. "What" he asked distracted, not really interested but listening finally because years of his mother's training bade him to.

"We are leaving now" Teyla told him.

"Leaving? Why"

Teyla looked back in confusion at McKay. Had Sheppard just not agreed they should go back?

"Memory and concentration are affected" he explained to her.

Teyla tried again. "We are going back to Atlantis" she explained gently.

Sheppard's eye's narrowed at her as he assimilated this information. Then his gaze drifted again toward the sea. "The surf's improving."

"We will come back." It wasn't a lie. Sometime in the future they would return to surf again. That she knew without a doubt.

He finally nodded and his shoulders slumped with sudden weariness. "I am beat."

"No, not yet. We will find a solution, Major."

Suddenly he regarded her and he then smiled as if he remembered everything.

Beckett approached Weir as she stood just inside the infirmary doors.

"How is he"

"He's holding on. There are moments of lucidity, but his condition is just going to continue to degrade. We're running out of time."

"Rodney still hasn't come up with anything"

Beckett scrubbed at his face in frustration. "I don't think he's going to be able to and we'll have to pick up the pieces of that later."

She knew exactly what he meant by that. Sheppard couldn't die because Rodney had failed. The scientist would never accept that.

Beckett stared at Sheppard who was lying in one of the infirmary beds, shifting position restlessly. As if he was almost asleep and then would jerk back awake immediately. A man as denied of sleep as he was would normally immediately fall asleep, especially while laying prone. But the Wraith was obviously not permitting that, not even with the heavy sedative they were administering.

"I can't stand to watch this" Weir said. She fingered the com in her ear. "Bates."

"Yes, Doctor Weir" The Chief of Security sounded hard and cold.

"Stun the prisoner."

"Yes, sir."

Was it her imagination or did he sound pleased all of a sudden?

She turned back to Doctor Beckett and was surprised to see the approval on his face. It was the only thing she could think of in order to ease the Major's suffering. Within minutes she saw Sheppard's body stop thrashing about and sink into a deep sleep.

Weir closed her eyes in relief and lifted her head in silent prayer. She felt a hand on her shoulder as Doctor Beckett spoke.

"It will be good for him. A few solid hours and we'll have more time."

"He can't go on like this." Her voice was low and laced with frustration.

"No."

She knew what was the only solution left to her. The Wraith was giving her no choice. "I'll be in my office. I need to consider some important things."

Beckett nodded. He knew what it was that she was deciding, even now. It couldn't be easy for her. "Yes, I'm sure you do."

Weir took one last lingering look at Sheppard, whose haggard face was turned toward her, his face slack with fatigue and shadowed eyes that made her heart ache. She drew a deep breath that practically shuddered when she exhaled. It was frightening her in so many ways when she saw him like this. He was the backbone of this expedition. Without his strength to draw from she was only a figurehead. She seemed to rely on him far more than she ever imagined. His easy grin and adventurous spirit energized her. It was as if his energy sparked her own determination. She would not lose this man. That she promised silently. He was depending on her. On all of them. She turned and left the infirmary.

Later, Ford and Telya lurked outside the infirmary. Finally it was Teyla who entered and inquired after Major Sheppard.

Beckett offered her an encouraging smile. "Resting peacefully for now." He looked beyond her and saw the young lieutenant just inside the doorway. "Where's Rodney"

"Working with Doctor Zelenka. They are hoping there is still time to find a solution."

"If there is one, Rodney will find it."

Her eyes darted to the sleeping figure of her teammate. His serene features comforted her. To see him so drawn and pale was a hard thing. This was the second time he was in peril and she found she did not like it. She knew she was developing feelings for him, but she still wasn't sure it was anything more than friendship. But nor could she determine why it was so distressing to see him as a child in the bed, sick and frail. She did not seem to react so when Doctor McKay was in peril. In fact, it was almost the opposite when he had mistakenly attached the personal shield device to him. It was only when he had ran down the steps into the shadowy depths of the creature that she had even felt anxiety. And even then it quickly dissipated.

Yet with Major Sheppard it seemed like it was a constant thing, that anxiety twisting inside her stomach like a living thing. She wanted him to wake and smile at her with eyes that danced with mischief and exploration. He was the first human she had ever met and immediately she had liked him. He saw her as an equal and a leader in her own right. He turned to her for answers and he had stood beside her when her loyalty was in doubt. Was that friendship or something more? She wasn't sure which she'd prefer. But she wanted the opportunity to find out. As Doctor Beckett left to converse with Lieutenant Ford, she stepped closer to the bed and reached out a hand to rest upon his arm. The doctor had put in one of the clear tubes that brought medicine into his arm. She hoped it would help him. Major Sheppard shifted for a moment under her hand and she thought he would wake, but he only offered a small moan and slipped back into slumber.

Was the Wraith awake now and continuing his attack? The warrior in her bade her to pick up a weapon and destroy the creature. A part of her wasn't sure why they hadn't already. She had heard the Major refuse such an extreme measure but surely he would rather the Wraith perish than he. They would find another way to design a weapon to defeat their enemy. If they captured one, they could capture another. Never before had she known a race that could accomplish even that feat. The humans were much more resourceful than anyone that had come through the gate before them. She had faith that they would find another way. She felt determined to point this fact out to Doctor Weir. As a leader, she had to see the reason behind this logic. No tool was worth the price of a fellow being. So convinced in this train of thought that Teyla marched out of the infirmary heading for the gateroom.

Ford saw her quick departure and with a shrug at the doctor he ran after the Athosian.

tbc