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 Nine
"Drastic Measures"

"Kill the Wraith" demanded Teyla.

Doctor Weir sat in her glass walled office and regarded steadily. She nodded gently. "It is a proposal on the table, Teyla, and one that is being seriously considered."

"Enough consideration! The Wraith is killing Major Sheppard."

Ford coughed. "I have to agree with Teyla. The Major is getting weaker. We can't let this go on."

"It's not. Rodney and Doctor Zelenka have till the end of the day to come up with a viable solution to the problem. If they can't I've already taken steps to have Sgt. Bates carry out the task." Her expression was dour as if the taste of execution was leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. This was new ground for her. Back on Earth her duties were merely negotiating and finding diplomatic solutions, but here as a governing leader suddenly it was much more. She wasn't just commanding a base like General Hammond in Cheyenne Mountain. He was still answerable to the President of the United States. But that was not the case here in Atlantis. Here it was her decision alone on how to best run this small colony. And each decision was even more difficult than the last.

"I'll do it if it needs doing" Ford said.

Her eyes darted to the thin framed Lieutenant before her. He was stiff backed and straight lipped with determination. It was obvious he felt it was his duty to protect his friend and commanding officer. But she couldn't bring herself to let him undertake such an act. Bates was more than capable, eager even in some ways, since this Wraith was partially responsible for Colonel Sumner's death. The soldier had stepped up to the task and had not said another word about it.

"That won't be necessary. Your job is to assist Major Sheppard. Sergeant Bates will take care of the Wraith. It's his prerogative."

Immediately Ford understood. He nodded abruptly. Weir was a commendable negotiator. Each man looks out for his own team. Sheppard was his concern and Bates was having his revenge for his late commanding officer. He understood Bates' loss; he felt it himself. Before he was assigned to Sheppard's team he had served under Colonel Sumner. But it had only been for a few months; Bates had been with Sumner for years. Their connection was stronger.

"Go back to the infirmary" suggested Weir gently. "I'll let you know when the time comes."

Teyla and Ford left Weir's office, but Teyla was still concerned.

"One way or another, the Major will come out of this" Ford consoled his teammate just outside. The Athosian remained silent for a bit contemplating the events.

It was interesting to him to watch Teyla and Weir. Both were leaders in their own right. Both handled stress differently. Elizabeth Weir had been schooled in dialogue and debate. She saw all sides and addressed each side with utter calmness and confidence, whether she felt it or not. There were times Ford couldn't tell which side she really believed in. She exuded assurance on every perspective, which was why she was successful in handling negotiations. It had been enough to catch the eye of the United Nations and the President of the United States and give her first crack at the expedition to Atlantis.

Teyla, on the other hand, was a leader of action and spontaneity. Her people respected her because she was one of them. She never failed to take them into account when making a decision. She was like that with the SGA team as well. Immediately she became one of them because she never once treated any of them less important than herself. In every battle she gave her all and would not leave a man behind. She worked until they were all safe. Even now, she would not rest until Major Sheppard was well. Though waiting apparently was not her strong suit.

A few hours later, the boardroom was a quiet somber place. In it were Doctor Weir, Doctor Beckett, and the members of SGA-1, all save Major Sheppard.

"You all know why were here" Weir began. "Any luck, Rodney, in finding another solution" She hated seeing the failure in the man's stance.

"No" McKay murmured. He was in a state of shock. This had never happened to him before. He had never failed to solve a dilemma. It struck him to the core. The fact that there was another solution, a final solution didn't matter. It was one that made him as a scientist ill. Murder or execution, whatever it was called did not sit well with him. Nor he could see did it sit well with Weir. She was about to make one of the hardest decisions yet in her time as leader of this expedition.

There was no other civilizations they had come across that were capable of confining a Wraith and it was too dangerous to leave it on another planet where it might be able to feed or contact other members of its race.

"Then we have no other recourse." Weir reached a hand for the intercom but before she could contact Bates, the door slid open.

"You're holding a secret meeting without me" chided Sheppard as he entered the room.

"Major"

"Major Sheppard what are you doing out of the infirmary" Beckett was on his feet and coming toward him.

Sheppard waved him off. "I'm fine. Slept like a baby after you gave me that nice little knockout shot."

"It was for your own good, Major" assured Beckett.

"I guess. I feel better." He slouched in the nearest seat, between Ford and Teyla and across from McKay. The scientist could barely meet the Major's gaze. "Look, I know this meeting is about me, or rather about that thing we have in the cell." "You don't have to be a part of this, John" Weir said.

"But I am, you see." He regarded her with tired eyes. "I'm the one he's targeting."

"All the more reason to put a stop to it."

"I won't let you commit an execution. Not because of me."

"Especially because of you" she insisted leaning forward. "You are vital to this expedition. The Wraith is not."

"You're wrong. He's got answers to questions we haven't even begun to ask. We went through an awful lot to get him."

"Yeah, I took a stunner right in the face" mumbled McKay.

"The point is I'm not willing to lose our opportunity with this thing."

"Surely not at the risk of your health, Major Sheppard" insisted Teyla.

He turned to her. She was struggling to understand why he was doing this. "I've thought long and hard about this, Teyla. If we're ever to defeat the Wraith, we have to know exactly what we're up against and the only way we're going to do that is by studying them. Up close and personal. We cave in now, we lose that chance. We can't let this opportunity slip away. It's my decision here, not anyone else's."

"You're letting your guilt guide your feelings, Major" McKay said quietly. This was something he understood all of a sudden. "You didn't wake the Wraith, we all did."

Sheppard rubbed his face. His thoughts were still muddled and difficult to control. "Maybe, McKay. Maybe I'm being a martyr. But I'm not ready to give in yet. So he's playing head games with me. Trust me, he's not the best. You give me a shot, Doc, and then you stun him and I get a good night sleep. We don't need to do this." He directed the last toward Weir. He didn't want blood on her hands because of him.

"John"

"He's not going to win! We can stun him every night; he's still going to weaken before I am. We need to use this time to learn something! He has a purpose beyond this. I know it"

His face was filled with such fierce determination that Weir believed him. Almost.

If she weren't in a room full of people maybe she would have argued the real reason she didn't want this to continue. It pained her to her very soul to see him in pain, to watch him fade a little bit every day. She had the power to override him. She should. But he was right. They needed information, a lot more information if they were going to win against the Wraith. They were working on precious little as it was. She was sending teams out blindly into conflict with the Wraith and they were lucky they had as few casualties as they've had, but it couldn't last forever.

"Give it another few days" he insisted.

Weir studied him. He truly believed there was another way. It was several minutes before she spoke. "Two more days and that's all."

The room burst into discussion. Ford and Teyla argued on behalf of the Major. Both placed him far above the life of the Wraith. McKay on the other hand tried to assure them all that perhaps the extra time would give Zelenka and himself the opportunity to find a miracle.

She called a halt to it, raising her hand."Please." She looked at each in turn. "There may yet be another way. Give me the time to find it."

Ford and Teyla sat back. Neither were bloodthirsty but merely concerned for their friend. But they both knew it was just as much Sheppard that wanted the delay as Weir. They were willing to concede.

Eventually the room emptied and Weir gathered her courage. She had one last card to play. She was a negotiator. It was time she negotiated.

Sheppard thought he was alone in the conference room. In truth he wasn't aware of anyone leaving but the room had gotten very quiet. So he was surprised when he looked up to see McKay watching him.

"I thought you'd left with the others." Sheppard made the effort to straighten in the chair and shrug off the lingering feeling of lethargy.

"I couldn't find a solution" McKay said quietly.

Sheppard closed his eyes, knowing full well that McKay had taken this as a personal failure. "Don't" was all he could say.

"But you were relying on me."

The Major regarded him and hated seeing the dejected expression on the scientist's face. "I'm relying on a lot of people right now. We're a team, McKay. Don't forget that. You can't be expected to carry the football across the goal every single time."

McKay sighed. "A football reference. I should have known."

"Whatever works."

"Hockey..."

"All right, hockey. You think it's only one man that makes the goal"

McKay was silent for a moment. He knew the illogic of his depression, but he truly felt he had let down Sheppard. He also knew what answer the Major was waiting for. "No."

"That's right. It takes the entire team to get him there. This time you didn't knock it past the goalie. That's okay. You've made a lot of great goals already, McKay. The lodged puddle jumper, Teyla's necklace, and let's not forget the whole black entity thing. You've had your share of Hail Mary's."

"But that's what I'm here for."

"You really think that you're expected to solve all the problems. I make 'em and you fix 'em"

"No, um, that's not it."

"What were you saying to me just a bit ago about not taking all the responsibility about waking up the Wraith"

"That was different."

"Bull" Sheppard shook his head. "Sorry, still grumpy. Look, I promise not to feel completely responsible for that if you stop feeling like you failed here. Deal"

McKay studied the man before him. Sheppard was someone he would have never believed he could call a friend. Under any other circumstances they wouldn't mix. Scientist versus military. It just wasn't natural. But he found himself having an irrational level of loyalty to this man, this complete opposite. Perhaps because he treated him like a human being instead of freakish geek, despite the fact that his intellect could run circles around the quiet Major. Though sometimes he believed the Major painted himself that way when the opposite was true.

Drawing in a deep breath, McKay nodded at the man. "Deal."

to be concluded next chapter