A/N: Thanks to Madj, A.C. And Queen of the Elven City for their reviews.

By the mid afternoon, Teyla had regained almost full control of her limbs. She could walk and use her arms, though she still had some difficulty with her fingers and toes. John regarded this as a good sign. He had let the fire die down and had done more exploring of the immediate area.

He had located a large hill nearby, but he hadn't found even the slightest indication of where the star gate was. He was beginning to fear that they were lost. He kept the fear silent though, not making any mention of it. He had deactivated Teyla's locket when she had reminded him just after lunch.

He stood at the entrance to the cave as she approached. "I am ready to head out."

"Good." He replied. "Our best bet is to get on top of that hill." He pointed towards the hill he had found. "I'm hoping we can spot the gate from there."

"That sounds like a plan." She began to fumble with her P90's jacket clip.

John moved to give her a hand. "Let me." He clipped it to her jacket. "Just don't worry about using it."

"Is that a comment about the weapon, or the user." Her eyes pierced straight into him.

"Teyla, you're one of the strongest women I've ever met. This is nothing against you. You're just still having some trouble with your fingers. I don't want you to fire by accident."

"I understand, and thank you for the complement."

"I said it before and I'll say it now. 'I need you.'" He extended a hand. "Coming?"

She took his hand and together they set off stomping through the forest.

Aiden Ford woke to a splintering headache, and pain throughout his body. Standing over him were a pair of marines and Doctor Beckett. Aiden shook his head, trying to clear it. He couldn't... the pain just wouldn't stop.

"Well laddy, how are you doing today?" Carson asked.

"Pain, nothing but pain." Aiden croaked.

"That's actually quite good."

"Good?" Aiden would've laughed, if he could.

"You've just been four hours without any wraith serum."

"Four hours?"

"Your body's beginning to return to normal. With any luck, in about a day or two, you'll be back to your old self, except for that eye."

Aiden winced, he remembered Doctor Weir and Teyla's reactions to seeing his scarred face and non existent eye. "Is there anything you can do about that?"

"Well, I been thinking that I could give you a... well sorta a fake eye."

"A what?"

"Not like that. It'd just be a contact lens that isn't designed to see through. It would look like a normal eye, upon casual inspection. It's easy to match eye colors with that stuff, shouldn't be too hard." Carson glanced over his shoulder. "Doctor Weir wants to see you."

Aiden nodded, not sure what he would say.

"Aiden, how are you feeling?" Elizabeth asked.

"I've felt better, mam."

"Doctor Beckett was worried that you weren't going to be able to feel anything, but I think his rapid treatment is what saved you."

"Mam, there's some apologies I have to make."

"Don't worry about it, you weren't in your right mind."

"If it's all the same, I think I should make them anyway."

"Alright." Elizabeth's tone softened. "I'm listening."

"First, I like to apologize for disobeying your orders. Then, I should apologize for stealing the jumper. On top of that I should apologize to the wounded man I nearly killed, Doctor Zalenka, Doctor Beckett, and Colonel Sheppard and Teyla. I betrayed all of their trust."

"John never gave up on you, neither did any one of us."

"I didn't think about that. All I wanted was to do something, and I was willing to go to far to do it."

"You got us a pair of ZPMs. You've single-handedly did what we couldn't in an entire year."

"But I sold my soul, mam. It's something that's going to haunt me forever. I think it's a fate worse than death."

"What was it like?"

"The serum? It was like being invincible, and being convinced that you were. Wraith stunners, injuries, nothing could slow you down. I was invincible, I killed thousands of Genii to get those ZPMs. I never realized that I couldn't live without it."

"You can Aiden. You are now, Atlantis needs you."
"Thank you, mam."

"Now get some rest." Elizabeth ordered. "When the pain is gone.. we'll talk about you being put back on Colonel Sheppard's team."

John and Teyla reached the top of the hill in only thirty minutes. It provided them a clear view of the entire valley, including the star gate. The sun was merciless, pounding down from above. John was sweating, but he didn't let it show. He surveyed the gate area carefully.

"There are a whole ton of guards." He said at last, turning back to Teyla.

Teyla looked perfectly comfortable, in her usual blue tank top. She was sitting under a tree. "Then are we to get through them?"

"Quick check of what we've got. Two P90s, a handful of clips, three grenades, one dull knife..."

"And one wraith homing device." Teyla pulled her locket from her neck.

"I've got an idea."

"Is it a good idea?"
"Yes, the first one I had was bad." He moved to sit next to her. "We know that it takes the wraith a little while to respond once that's turned on."

"Yes, and that enables it to be used as bait."

"Exactly, which means that we can use it to lure the wraith, so they attack the Genii and allow us to slip through the gate in the chaos." John raised an eyebrow. "Does that qualify as a good plan?"

"I believe it is an adequate plan."

"Good enough." He took the locket. "I'll sneak down there and plant it near the star gate. Once the wraith come, we quickly dial Atlantis and run out."

"Will I be able to get my locket back?"
"Assuming the Genii don't find it, I'll grab it as we go."

"That's acceptable, when will we sneak to the star gate?"

"We're going until we hit that small ditch near the gate, then I'm going to sneak forward and plant it, you're going to wait there."

"Why not go with you?"

"It's easier if I go myself. One person can sneak better than two, not to mention I have a little training in it."

"A little, I hope it is better than your training for our sparring sessions." Teyla smiled.

John laughed. "Definitely more than I train for our sparring sessions."

They reached the ditch without incident. It was a small trench with enough room for them to sit up and still remain unseen in it. John dropped his extra equipment, then put the locket in his pocket.

"Wish me luck." He said, a smile on his face.

"John." Teyla stuttered.

"What?" He turned back towards her.

"I..." Teyla was at a loss for words.

"What's wrong Teyla?" John knelt down beside her.

Without warning, Teyla pulled him into a fierce embrace. "Nothing is wrong now." She said as he placed his arms around her.

John met her eyes. "Okay." He said slowly. "What just happened?"

"John, you said you needed me."
"Sure."

"And I need you."

"You mean..." John let his sentence trail off. He pulled her closer and kissed her.

Teyla let herself be drawn into it, all her strong defenses breaking apart as they kissed for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, they both came up for air. "John... I.."

"I know." John said. "And I do too. What better way to send me off, than to make sure I've got something to come back too." Then he was gone.

John raced for the star gate, crouched low. He was approaching from behind the star gate. Most of the Genii soldiers were patrolling near the gate. He stopped behind a tree only a few meters from the star gate. He tried to control his ragged breathing.

He couldn't. The combined shock of Teyla's revelation and trying to be stealthy were producing a massive adrenaline rush that he couldn't stop. He didn't mind it, it increased his ability to concentrate. On Teyla. He thought to himself. He looked around the tree, saw no Genii and ran to the base of the star gate.

Once there, he pulled the locket from his pocket and placed it on the ground at the base of the star gate. He pressed himself against the base of the gate, praying that he could stay unseen. He couldn't see anyone, he could only hear their gruff footsteps.

After waiting for a few seconds, he looked through the star gate. The Genii weren't looking at the gate. He raced back towards the trench, not stopping to look back.

He caused Teyla to jump as he slid into the trench. "It's planted." He said.

"Now we must wait." Teyla replied.

"Yeah." John muttered. "We wait."