Thanks for all the reviews. You guys are really getting me pumped up. I'm sorry for the delay. Bit of a crisis at home and grades are due Monday and I still have one class of insect collections to grade (that's about as much fun as it sounds).

nitpicker - I see you have discovered that spelling and grammar are not my forte. I'm sure those were not my first mistakes. I'm equally sure they will not be my last. I think I have both errors corrected. I have heard voila a lot, but I guess I never noticed how it was spelled. And I definitely never took French. I did, however, know what a viola was. Anyway, thanks for setting me straight and I'm glad I could give you a laugh. At least my ignorance has a useful purpose - entertainment! (LOL)

Chapter Three

Sheppard realized he was dragging his feet down the hall, but he really didn't care. He was almost there. He was going to bed this time come hell or high water.

"Colonel Sheppard?"

He cringed, recognizing the voice. He stopped and turned slowly to see Kate Heightmeyer approaching him. She looked somewhat surprised when he turned around, reminding him of how rough he probably looked.

Kate gasped slightly at the sight of Sheppard. She had noticed him shuffling down the corridor, but was still unprepared for his haggard appearance. She noted how rumpled and dirty his clothes were.

"Colonel...I was just concerned that you missed your appointment yesterday to discuss the loss of one of your men."

"I was off world yesterday. We've been running from the wraith for four days and the only thing I feel like doing is going to bed. So, unless you want me sleeping in your office, we'll have to do it another time."

Any other time, she would have thought he was just putting her off, but she could see the exhaustion in his face. "Okay...just check with me when you've had a chance to rest and we'll reschedule."

"Fine," he said, too tired to argue. He turned and quickly rounded the corner, afraid Heightmeyer would change her mind. He almost ran headlong into Carson Beckett.

"Colonel! What are you doin' out here? I thought I told you to get some rest hours ago." He was obviously annoyed.

"I'm trying," Sheppard said defensively. "Suddenly everyone in Atlantis needs me to do something for them right now. Believe me...all I want to do is crawl into bed."

"Well, see to it that you do, Colonel. I'd hate to have to hunt you down and sedate you. Have you ever thought of just telling these people no? Sometimes you have to just take care of yourself."

"Say no, huh? Interesting thought. I may just try that, doc. Now...if I could please just get to my quarters."

Beckett nodded. "Good idea, son. I think I'll walk with you to make sure you don't get side-tracked again."

"Suit yourself." Sheppard was too tired to care that he was being escorted to his quarters like a disobedient child to his room. He honestly thought he was going to fall on his face if he didn't get to sleep soon. He tilted his head to one side, rubbing his neck, which was beginning to feel a little stiff. He wondered if you really could give yourself whiplash jerking your head up like he had.

"Is there a problem, Colonel?" asked Beckett, watching him massage his aching neck muscles.

Sheppard put his arm down. There was no way he was admitting what he had just been thinking. "No...no problem. Just tired and stiff and sore...you know." Sheppard reinforced his case with a smile that seemed to satisfy Beckett. They continued walking in silence.

"Colonel?" Sheppard turned to look at Beckett. "We're here." Sheppard realized he had been about to walk right past his door.

"Oh...right," he said blankly. He opened the door, saying "Thanks," to Beckett as the door swooshed shut behind him. He stood in the middle of the room a minute, trying to decide if he had the energy to shower. He really felt gritty and could almost smell the dirt and sweat. He opted for a short shower.

He stripped, climbed in the shower, and let the hot water spray over him, relaxing the sore, tense muscles as it washed away four days worth of grime. When he finally felt clean again, he stepped out of the shower, dried off, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

He looked at the developing beard in the mirror. Shaving could wait until after he had slept a while. He walked back into his room to find some clean clothes and heard the radio filled with chatter. Something was definitely going on. He stared at it a minute, willing himself not to touch it. "Don't even think about it, Sheppard," he said out loud. In the end, he lost. He couldn't ignore a possible crisis any more than McKay could ignore unattended food. He clipped the radio on his ear and listened for several minutes. He quickly figured out that Dr. Zelenka had been helping explore one of the uninhabited regions of the city when he had disappeared. It sounded like he had been missing almost an hour. Sheppard finally clicked in.

"Elizabeth, this is John. What area of the city were they exploring?"

There was a brief pause and he wondered if she had heard him. "John...I thought you were supposed to be sleeping."

"Well, I'm not. Where did Zelenka go missing?"

"They can handle it. We have search teams down there now. Get some sleep."

"Elizabeth, do you honestly think I can sleep with a man missing? You can either tell me the location or I'll just contact Sgt. Bates. It doesn't matter to me which way we do it, but I AM going down there."

Another pause. He knew she was thinking. He could almost see the somewhat annoyed expression on her face as she tried to decide what to do with her stubborn second in command. She finally caved in and gave him directions to their location. He quickly dressed in a clean uniform and gathered his gear, the adrenalin once again giving him the energy he needed. He hesitated on the way out, seeing a couple of powerbars on his desk. He realized the few bites he had eaten earlier in the mess hall weren't going to go very far and he was really starting to feel hungry again. As if to emphasize the point, his stomach growled loudly. He grabbed the bars, shoving one in a vest pocket and unwrapping the other to eat on the way. He hoped Zelenka was okay. He really liked the little scientist. He had a lot of fire and was not afraid to take on either McKay and his snark or Kavanagh and his ego. The man could usually hold his own very well against either one of them. In his book, either feat commanded a lot of respect.

By the time he reached the nearest transporter, he had already wolfed down the powerbar. The problem was, he now felt like he had a lump of it in the back of his throat and he was wishing he had grabbed a bottle of water. They had ended up rationing their water supplies over the four days and he was just starting to realize how thirsty he was. No sleep - no water - Beckett was going to be plenty mad at him. He stepped into the transporter, pushed the button, and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes for a minute, wishing the throbbing in his head would go away.

He opened his eyes to see the transporter doors open. That was funny. He barely remembered them closing. He looked down at his watch, somewhat shocked to discover that twenty minutes had passed. He'd apparently dozed off and stood in the transporter all that time. He rubbed his face vigorously, trying to wake himself up. As he hurried down the corridor toward the area where the search was taking place, he reminded himself that Zelenka had been missing quite a while and could be injured. By the time he saw Bates waiting for him in the hall several minutes later, he had himself somewhat energized again.

"Sgt. Bates? Fill me in."

"Sir, we've been exploring this sector of the city most of the day. We were all to meet back at our starting point at 1400 hours. Dr. Zelenka never showed. We've been back through all the rooms and we can't find him. I have one crew researching this area and another expanding into adjacent corridors in case he wandered off."

Sheppard nodded. "Did he have his radio?"

"Yes, sir. It was working earlier in the day, but we haven't been able to raise him since he diappeared."

"Okay. Sounds like you've got it under control. I'm just going to give the place a once-through." He noticed Bates was looking at him funny. "Is there a problem, Sgt.?"

"No, sir...it's just that...we can handle this, sir. I know you just got back from being off world...and, if I can speak freely, sir...you look like crap."

Sheppard smiled. "Yeah, I know. I'd probably scare little kids if we had any around. I'm okay though. Hey, at least I got a shower. I know I have to smell better than I did earlier. I'll feel better if I can just take a look around myself."

Bates nodded. "Okay, sir. I'm going back to the men. You'll probably want to start there," he pointed to the first room in the hall, "and just continue down the corridor."

"Thank you Sgt. Dismissed."

Sheppard searched three rooms before exhaustion once again began to rear its ugly head. On the fourth room, he sat down in a chair and leaned back, closing his eyes. "Just for a minute," he said to himself.

"Colonel." He jerked upright so fast he almost fell out of the chair. The chair teetered dangerously to the left as he slid his foot out trying to regain his balance. After a few seconds of balancing precarilously on two legs, he finally righted the chair.

Sighing with relief, he clicked his radio button. "Sheppard here."

"Sir, this is Bates. We're moving on to the next section. We couldn't find anything here."

"Acknowledged. I'll check in with you later."

"Yes, sir. Bates out."

Sheppard sat for a moment, debating whether to continue searching or just give up and go to bed. And then he saw something.

He got up and walked slowly over to an inset area in the wall. It was almost like a small closet with no door. Just around to the right, was a small piece of fabric, somehow caught in the joint of the back corner. The small piece of fabric did not look like it was 10,000 years old. He leaned against the side of the inset to give himself leverage as he tugged on the fabric. A second later, he was falling through the darkness. He felt his right hip connect with something solid, followed by a sharp, searing pain in his right thigh. Then he hit the ground and the lights really went out.

TBC

This chapter is a little short, but it was such a good place to end, don't you think?