He looked like a girl.

No getting around it, no denying it, the poor guy had probably been laughed out by his entire unit. However, all Elizabeth Weir could do was thank whatever genetics had made this boy look so feminine. He had come into the room on her orders, responding to her call for any tall, flexible solider in full gear. So he came inside the open doors, calling out her name trying not to sound afraid.

That was why she was standing beside her door, heaviest paper weight she could find in her hand.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, this was by far the stupidest, most impulsive thing she had ever done—and that included those few rebellious moments in her early college years. But standing behind a member of her operation about to knock him unconscious was pushing it for rebellious, passing stupid and going right to insane.

So why was she doing it?

Honestly, it was for the sparks that had been starting inside her whenever John looked at her with that smirk. It was for the late nights when she would be too exhausted to stumble to her room for an hour of sleep and pass out in his bed after his nightmares, to wake with his arms around her and slip out before he could see her. It was for all those little smiles, sarcastic jokes and long glances that the two had shared.

Keeping her eyes open, she drew her hand back and brought the weight down. Not hard enough to kill, but hard enough so he crumpled to the floor, landing squarely on the training mat. Thanking every God she could think of for the soft pads, Elizabeth closed the door and fell to her knees beside him, undoing his cloths with deft fingers.

She knew this was stupid, it was becoming all too clear to her mind. She almost stopped pulling on the vest before the illogical part of her mind took over and forced her arms through the sleeves. Elizabeth was nothing if not determined and right now she was very determined to get through the Gate with Ronon and Teyla. Grabbing the gun she froze, her fingers hesitating against the cold black metal.

"What are you doing?" someone demanded through the door, "Get your act together Dawson, they need you."

She grabbed the gun, her hand locking around the metal as she hefted it up and opened the door, making sure the real Dawson was securely down. With her hat pulled low over her head, she made her way to the Gate room. Ronon was by the Gate, dressed darkly with an even expression on. Teyla had her eyes strait ahead and only another woman would notice the redness around her eyes.

"You're with those three, distracting the Wraith while Teyla and I plant explosives," Ronon said. Elizabeth grunted and nodded. His eyes narrowed slightly but he said nothing, just stepped aside so she and three soldiers could go through.

Which was how Elizabeth Weir found herself being dragged down a cold hallway by two Wraiths, the other three lying dead somewhere behind her. She didn't know why she had not been Fed on, maybe it was when the Wraith ripped back her cap and discovered she was a woman. Not particularly caring due to the growing knot on the back of her head, she could only pray that Ronon and Teyla had managed to keep going.

She was thrown into a Throne Room of sorts. The walls were lit from below with ice blue light, making everything seem colder. The black stone floors did not help matters, nor did the stairs leading up to the throne, wrought of similar black stone so it looked like it was part of the floor rather than a separate entity. Her heart pounded in her chest, the adrenaline blocking out any physical discomfort.

The Queen approaching her was frightening to say the least. She was the most human-looking Wraith Elizabeth had seen, something told her she had Ronon Dex to thank for that. Dressed in flowing black robes, her white hair pouring down her back she smiled cruelly at Elizabeth. She looked at the Wraiths holding her and snapped her fingers.

They had been worried about using a Stargate on the Hive Planet, thinking it would lead the Wraith right to them. However, Rodney had pointed out that if the Wraiths had John Sheppard they were as good as found anyway. So Ronon and Teyla had been given enough explosive devices to destroy a small planet and the orders to do just that.

The Wraiths threw her forward. She landed hard on her side, the stone smacking painfully against her right hip. Furiously she shoved herself up and struggled her knees, her eyes meeting the Queen's defiantly. The two silently glared at each other before the Queen let out a cold laugh and clapped her hands. Elizabeth's anger was stunned into submission as two Wraiths stepped forward with a third between them.

It was John.