Rodney was pacing. And wringing his hands. His eyes were glued to the curtained area where Dr. Beckett and his team were working over Major Sheppard. Rodney had long ago lost track of time, but he knew one thing, it was taking way too long to find out if Sheppard would be okay. So Rodney kept pacing, feeling Weir's eyes on him. He didn't look at her.

She touched his arm. "You should be resting, Rodney. You've been through one hell of an ordeal and Carson wants you to take it easy."

"I'm fine!" Rodney snapped, and instantly regretted it. "Sorry." He knew she was worried about the major too. As were Teyla and Ford, who were hovering nearby. Everyone was worried. And curious. Rodney had killed the creature that had trapped him and taken on his identity, all of which he explained to Weir and Beckett in a garbled bunch of run-on sentences. He hadn't needed to add John's request. Weir had immediately realized that Major Sheppard had been telling them all the truth and that he wasn't crazy. Rodney hoped the major would wake up soon so they could apologize to him. He deserved a big apology, and Rodney planned on thanking him again, right after he yelled at him for being a damn fool. For playing hero again. He was grateful, but he was also scared. They couldn't lose Sheppard. Atlantis needed him. Hell...Rodney needed him. Sheppard was the only person on the base Rodney could snark with who could keep up and snark back. And he was the person who had saved his ass.

The curtain shifted and Beckett appeared. He looked worried. "He's still unconscious," he stated, eyeing the group who gathered before him. "An almost catatonic state. But his vitals are good...stable. So right now all we can do is wait."

Rodney couldn't accept that. "Are you kidding?" He glared at Beckett. "There has to be something more you can do. That...that...Creature...did something to him. Cut the damn thing open and figure out what and fix it!"

"Rodney." Weir's voice was soft, but commanding, as she touched his arm. "Dr. Beckett will do everything he can for the major. You know that."

"Yeah...right." Rodney did know but he was too wound up to admit it. He'd apologize for his behavior later. Maybe. He glared at Beckett again. "Can I see him?" He asked as a courtesy. No way was anyone keeping him away.

Carson nodded. "Yes...but first I'd like to hear what happened. Everything you know, Rodney. It might help me with the major."

So Rodney told him the story, again. But starting with the bright light that knocked him and Ford out in the corridor. Then Rodney had come back to awareness, trapped in his own body. He shuddered as he spoke of it and jumped when Teyla's hand settled on his shoulder. He appreciated the comfort she meant to offer, but shrugged her off and resumed pacing. "Anyway," Rodney continued. "I kept trying to call for help...in my head. I knew that I was only screaming in my head." Another pause to shudder and clear his throat. "But no one could hear me. No one but the major. When I came back to consciousness he told me he heard me."

"Why John?" Weir spoke out loud, but almost to herself. She looked at everyone. "Why could he see the creature and the rest of us couldn't?"

"That...creature...it kept coming to the chamber and rambling on." Rodney stopped pacing as his mind clicked from thought to thought. He hadn't let himself processes the whys of what had happened. Until now. "It would talk about the major being a pure blood."

That made Beckett frown. "He had to be talking about Major Sheppard and the gene."

Rodney shook his head. "He made it sound like something different. Some things are kind of foggy...but I remember thinking that the major didn't want that thing to die. He was going to bond with it...to save me." The last bit made Rodney choke a bit. Only now was it kicking in what the major had been willing to do. Trade his own life to save Rodney's. Rodney's knees buckled and he dropped down into a nearby chair.

"It seems we will have to wait until Major Sheppard awakens to fully understand what happened," Teyla interjected.

"I guess so," Beckett replied, as he ran a hand over his face. "In the mean time I'm going to study his bloodwork." He shooed everyone to the door. "I'll let you know if there are any changes."

Rodney remained behind and managed to stand up, although his legs felt shaky. "Can I see him now?"

Beckett nodded. "If anything happens with the major...anything at all...give me a yell."

"You'll hear me," Rodney assured him then he stepped around the doctor and headed for the curtain. He pushed it aside then focused on the figure lying on the bed. Grabbing a stool, Rodney pulled it close and sat down before he fell down. He was still shaking. He stared at the major. He couldn't remember ever seeing Sheppard look so pale or be so still. Even when he wasn't moving, the major was a body in motion. As if he were pure energy held in stasis for short moments, but still humming with power. But now that energy was neutralized and Rodney felt a sense of panic. "You have to wake up, major," he hissed at the still figure.

Sheppard didn't move. Didn't even twitch. So Rodney closed his eyes and did something he hadn't even attempted since he was five years old. He prayed.

John knew where he was this time. The moment Tim had touched him he had been hurtled into the past, which was beginning to feel like the present to him now. He thought he understood why. It was his past he was reliving. How or why, he could not begin to understand, but John let himself be in the moment since he had no way of leaving of his own free will.

The enemy was attacking Atlantis, and he could see them clearly this time. They were cloaked and wore face helmets and they attacked with brute strength and deadly precision. But he was ready for them and fought with skill and determination. But it was not enough to save the woman he loved. John watched her fall. He caught her and her blood stained his hands. He kissed her as she took her last breath and then he rose to his feet and went after the one who had ended her life. He was ruthless but the enemy was strong and John fell, but when the enemy loomed over him he lashed out and their blood soon stained the floor.

Rising to his feet, John's chest was heaving as he bent to remove the helmet. He gasped and staggered back to see the creature that lay within the folds of the cloak. It looked like Tim. Which meant that it had taken on the visage of a strong race in order to attempt to defeat the Lanteans.

But the threat to Atlantis was no illusion. And even as that reality hit him, John felt himself falling into darkness.

"Beckett!" Rodney screamed for the doctor as he watched Sheppard's body thrashing on the bed.

Carson ran in and gripped the major's shoulders. "Convulsions. Help me hold him down."

Rodney leaned over the major's legs, but it was hard to keep him pinned. He was about to yell at Beckett to do something more productive when Sheppard went limp. Rodney eased back, carefully. The major was deathly pale and deathly still. "Is he..." Rodney could finish the question.

"He's alive." Carson was checking the major's pulse. "A bit thready but surprisingly strong. I need you leave, Rodney so I can examine him again."

"Right." Rodney left the area, but he didn't leave. And he wouldn't leave. Not until he knew Sheppard would be okay.

John dreamed again but it was different this time. He wasn't trapped in the past or even the present. He wasn't living in the moment this time but seeing something. A vision perhaps and he wondered if this vision would lead him back to his reality.

He watched as the Wraith attacked Atlantis, flying over the city in ships both big and small, firing upon her and others breeching her walls to invade the sanctuary they had created for themselves. He watched the people he knew, his friends, as they fought against the enemy, too many falling and he felt anger burning deep inside him at all those who were lost.

And then he saw himself in a familiar room. The chamber where Tim had kept Rodney only John saw himself lying on the table. He was still but not sleeping or dead. He was focused. John watched and suddenly he was blinded by an intense light and when it faded and he could see again, Atlantis was wrapped in a shimmering dome of energy. A shield. And suddenly John understood. This shield was not like the one that had saved them from the storm. This shield emanated from within Atlantis. It was the essence of the city and he was the medium through which it could form to protect itself and her people.

Darkness swirled over him again and he welcomed it. It was time to rest.

Rodney was pacing again. Beckett had made him leave to eat and sleep and another day had passed before he was awake enough to return to the infirmary. Only to find there was no change. Major Sheppard was still unconscious and Rodney could tell that Beckett was beginning to lose hope. "Wake up, dammit!" Rodney stopped pacing to snarl at Sheppard. "You can sleep later, Major. We need you now. I need you. You're the only one who gets me."

But John didn't stir. He slept on.

Elizabeth watched him sleep. He looked young and peaceful and she was almost envious. Almost. She smiled as she let one hand brush over his cheek and let herself enjoy simply looking at him. He was a beautiful man and she had never been able to ignore that fact, but now she could indulge herself for the moment. There were no walls or boundaries between them right now. Sighing, Elizabeth let her fingers drift into his hair for a moment, letting the spiky, soft, tendril tickle her skin. Then she grabbed the ever present stool and sat down. "I can't do this alone, John," Elizabeth whispered. "I need you the way you need me. We balance each other out, you know. That's what you're good at. Finding the balance with everyone. You and Rodney are like day and night but you understand him and he needs that. And you're teaching me how to accept what my position means. You're guiding me through the tough decisions and you don't let me feel sorry for myself, for which I thank you. But I'd rather do so when you can hear me and smile back in that way you do that makes me think you're never going to grow up. Which isn't a bad thing." Elizabeth broke off as her eyes burned with sudden tears. "Please wake up, John," she whispered. Then she stood up and exited the room as quietly as she had come.

John felt himself slipping out of darkness. He heard the echo of familiar voices and he wanted to reach out to them, but they eluded his grasp and then he was falling into soft shadows that morphed into fragmented memories. And he knew they would lead him home.