A/N: Chapter 13 Beta'd by Angw

A/N: I do appreciate reviews. (Thanks Jordayna, Linsul, dragonfairymaiden, Jules47, Strawberry Cupcake, Wella, and whoever is "...") Seriously, I thought no one was reading it... my mistake. Glad it appeals to a variety of people. And I broke my record for reviews and story length.

3 Days Later

John was about to consider possible escape plans when Carson finally released him from the infirmary. John was still sore, but the pain wasn't enough to bother him. Teyla hadn't left his side for more than an hour the entire time. Elizabeth and Rodney had been in and out whenever they had the chance.

He had asked Elizabeth about performing the ceremony on Atlantis. Elizabeth had agreed whole heartedly. Teyla had agreed on a small wedding with only a handful of good friends. They weren't following Athosian or Earth customs, but simply making a commitment to each other.

He had only gotten three steps down the hall before Teyla had found him. "Hey Teyla." He said.

"Elizabeth has agreed to perform the wedding now." Teyla replied, a smile on her face.

"Okay, don't we have to dress up." John desperately wanted to take a shower.

Teyla wouldn't wait. "Please John."

When she asked like that, he couldn't refuse. "Okay, but don't say anything about how I smell."

Teyla led him to the balcony behind the control room. Elizabeth, Rodney, Zelenka, and Carson were already there. They were standing off to the side. John and Teyla stood near the edge of the balcony. Elizabeth approached them, a bible in her hand.

"I never thought this would be one of my duties on Atlantis." Elizabeth said. "However, I think it's one of the happiest I've ever been asked to do."

"Even though it's marred by Eric the Viking down in our holding cell." Rodney smirked.

John laughed at the new nickname for Ronon. "Nice one Rodney."

"Oh, he's also yelled that he'll kill you several times."

"Okay, that's not even remotely funny anymore Rodney. I think we're going to have to send him somewhere."

"Let's forget about Ronon." Elizabeth said diplomatically. "We're here to celebrate John and Teyla's marriage. I don't have a marriage license... but as commander of Atlantis I can..."

"Am I interrupting?" Colonel Steven Caldwell stepped onto the balcony.

"Colonel." Elizabeth said, slightly flustered. "What are you doing here?"

"Witnessing the union of the Colonel Sheppard and Ms. Emmagen."

"Really?" John replied, raising an eyebrow. "I'd thought you would do everything to stop me."

"If Mr. Dex couldn't stop you. I don't think I'd stand much of a chance."

"Okay... so that means your fine with it."

Caldwell nodded, then stood next to Carson. Elizabeth shook her head and continued. "As the commander of Atlantis, I can make certain things happen. Do you, John Sheppard, take Teyla Emmagen as your wife?"

"I do." John replied.

"Do you, Teyla Emmagen, take John Sheppard as your husband?"

"I do." Teyla replied.

"Then by my status as the commander of Atlantis, I pronounce you husband and wife." She turned to John. "You may kiss the bride."

John placed his arms on Teyla's shoulders, and drew her into a gentle kiss. He hadn't intended to kiss her for long, but she deepened it drawing him in. They kissed for seconds, or for hours. For them, time seemed to stand still. This was the beginning of their life together, they both wanted to enjoy it.

XXX

John spent the next several hours moving both his and Teyla belongings into a bigger room. Their room was in the former Athosian sector now. The reason being was that the rooms there had double beds and were designed for families. He sat down on the bed as he finished dragging his laptop up to the room.

The room had its own balcony. He stepped out onto it. He'd never been happier in his life, but he knew that he couldn't relax just yet. He'd have to speak to the old man. There was nothing in the universe he wanted more than for it to be safe for Teyla and any children they might have.

Teyla slid in next to him. He put his arm around her. "I need to speak to the old man." He said.

"I know." She replied, placing her arm around his waist.

"There's just so many unanswered questions about the order of time. The super wraith that we encountered was the real leader of the order of time. He was supposedly above feeding. The city said that he didn't need to feed, but was sustained by another method."

"I did not think that it was possible for the wraith to not feed."

"There's more to the story. He assumed leadership by carefully eliminating the real leaders of the order of time. He was the most senior member of the order at the end of the first war with the wraith. The order tried to stop the war with the wraith. They failed."

"Then this old man, is little more than the last surviving member of that order."

"That's what I think. I really think we should at least hear his side of the story. The city says I hold the key to finally defeating the wraith. If there's even a chance... I have to take it."

"No." Teyla locked eyes with him. "We have to take the chance."

"I don't know where this could take us."

"Then we'll find out together."

"Okay, I'll go talk to Elizabeth, meet me in the armory." He embraced her before she left. He then walked down the hall and into the transporter. He took it up to the control room. Elizabeth was in her office. He poked his head around the corner. "Elizabeth." He said. "I have to go back to the planet where I met the old man."

"I guessed you would." Elizabeth stood. "Are you taking Teyla with you?"

"Do you think I'd have a choice?"

Elizabeth smiled. "No, but you married her. You'd better get used to it."

"So we have a go?"

"Take Rodney with you."

John stepped back out into the control room. He tapped Rodney on the shoulder. "Rodney, let's go."

"Go, go where?" Rodney asked incredulously.

"To find the order of time."

"Great." Rodney's voice dripped with sarcasm.

John grabbed Rodney, hauling him up from his seat. "Let's go."

XXX

The planet hadn't changed since their last visit. The grass was just as dry, the barren, leafless trees where still the only thing visible for miles. The only difference was that Teyla was at his side, Rodney was only a step behind.

He pulled out his Atlantian compass and headed off towards the same ruins they'd been to. Again, the trip took them ten minutes. The ruins were the same as when they'd left them. "Stay close." He said to Teyla and Rodney.

He led them to the central table. He dusted off the surface of it, revealing the sword. The sword began to glow. He waited patiently. The force field appeared, trapping them all in the center of the ruins. "Wait." He told Teyla and Rodney.

He retrieved the sword from the hidden dome in the table just as he had before. He gripped it in his one free hand. He extended the blade.

The old man appeared. "I feared you wouldn't return."

"Oh my god." Rodney said, shocked.

"You have already begun your first task in your training as an apprentice. I must congratulate you."
"What?" John was shocked.

"You have gathered around you those who will accompany you on the journey. Well, you have... started. There is one more you must bring here."

"Ronon?" Teyla asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No." The old man said. "He is not the one. The one you must retrieve is called Ford."

"How are we supposed to bring him here. He's..." John stifled a tear. "...gone. He's lost himself to the wraith enzyme."

The old man turned around. "Oh dear, that is a problem." The old man began to pace. "I believe I have a solution."

"Aiden is a good man." Teyla said. "He is however, very ill."

The old man reached into his robes and pulled out a very small tube. He reached forward and placed it in John's hand. "This is a counter-agent to the wraith serum. I should restore him to his former self."

"You wouldn't happen to know where he is?" John asked.

The old man walked closer. "I can take you there. For where we are going, it is not a friendly place. I sense your friend is in trouble."

"How can you possibly know that?" Rodney snapped.

"I can see the future. You must prepare yourselves." The old man closed his eyes.

A bright light blinded John. As the light dissipated he realized they were no longer in the ruins. They were standing inside a wraith hive ship. John wasn't surprised to see that they had ended up in one.

The old man turned to him. "I cannot fight. You must rescue him. I will take you back when you return to this place." The old man vanished.

"Anyone think he's in league with the wraith?" Rodney said.

"What are the chances Ford's still on a wraith ship?" John replied. "He was beamed up by a dart."

"Pretty high, but why wouldn't they have feed on him?"
"Perhaps the serum also makes him resistant to feeding." Teyla suggested.

"For now," John began, "let's assume the old man's right. We should head for the cells." John hooked the sword handle onto his belt and set off down the halls. He was at a disadvantage. He didn't have his life signs detector. He walked slowly and carefully, listening for any sound.

Rodney was behind him and Teyla was covering the rear. The halls seemed to stretch out infinitely in all direction. John turned left at the first intersection, trusting his instincts. He'd found the cells on a hive ship before. He stopped before he got to the next corner. He could hear footsteps.

He stopped and held up his hand. He peeked around the corner. He spotted two masked wraith. They were getting closer. He looked at Teyla, making eye contact. He then pointed two fingers around the corner. She nodded and moved forward, around the corner. He followed.

They turned the corner at the exact same instant. They both fired a burst from their weapons. The wraith didn't have a chance to respond, they simply fell over, instantly killed. John set back off. Teyla resumed her former position behind Rodney.

They ducked into an alcove in the next hallway. The hallways were slowly getting more and more populated with wraith. John guessed it was a result of their initial killing two of the wraith. He waited for one patrol of three wraith to pass by before ducking back into the hallway.

They raced down the hallway. They ducked into an alcove at the end, barely avoiding another patrol of wraith. John was desperately scrounging his memory for directions. All the hallways were blurring together. He stopped at the entrance to a larger room.

The door opened and John instantly knew he'd taken a wrong turn. Four unmasked wraith turned to face him, revealing the person they were about to feed on. It was a withered looking Aiden Ford. John instantly opened fire. His first burst hit the wraith closest to Aiden.

It only caused the wraith to stagger. John swore and fired a longer burst. Teyla was already firing at another wraith. Rodney was ducking behind cover, firing an occasional shot at the wraith. None of their weapons were doing much more than causing the wraith to stagger.

Suddenly, Aiden stood up. He reached for the nearest wraith and snapped its neck with a single twist. Aiden grabbed its stunner and fired at another wraith. The wraith collapsed to the floor. John emptied his P90's first clip into the wraith's head and it finally collapsed.

One of the wraith closed the distance between John and himself. The wraith knocked John's weapon out of his hands. John instinctively reached for the sword on his belt. He extended the blade and swung at the wraith.

The sword cleaved the wraith cleaning into two pieces, leaving a bloody mess on the floor. John glanced over at Teyla. She was back stepping to avoid the last wraith. John leaped forward and used his sword to decapitate the wraith in one bloody swipe. He retracted the blade. "You okay?" He asked Teyla.

"I will be fine." She replied.

"What the hell is that?" Rodney asked. "It just effortlessly cleaved..."

"Turned 'em into corpses." Aiden said, retrieving a stunner. "Glad to see you Johnny boy." Aiden playfully made a punching motion. "Now we can all catch up." Aiden moved to grab John's knife. John instead jabbed Aiden with the counter-agent the old man had given him. Aiden stumbled backwards. "What the hell was that?"

"A counter-agent to combat your drug induced super powers." Rodney said. "We need you Ford."

"Aiden, please come with us." Teyla said.

"You don't understand, that was the best thing that ever happened to me." Aiden looked like a child who'd just lost his favorite toy. "I need that. I'm going to die without it."

"You're already clear of it." John said. "That thing that I jabbed you with neutralized all the enzyme in your system. Look at yourself."

"What do you mean? I'm still me."

"But at least your not referring to yourself in the third person anymore." Rodney said.

"Did he really do that?" John whispered to Rodney.

Teyla turned to Aiden. "Aiden, please. Trust us this one last time."

Aiden looked up at Teyla, then back at John. Then he reached for a wraith stunner.

A/N: Don't you just love those cliffhangers. Makes you want to review and tell me to get off my behind and get writing.