Atreu and his fellow Ethurians had disappeared into their hut with the intention of deciding what they should do with Sheppard. Mckay had suggested they let him go, then he would be far away from them, but they feared Sheppard's reaction maybe due to more than illness.

Mckay was sitting outside the branched cell, his legs pulled up to his chest. It had grown dark and cold since Teyla had left and his breath came out in a mist. He'd probably get a cold now and spend the next few days blowing his nose and coughing.

He kept his eyes on Sheppard's still form watching for signs of life. Small puffs of cold mist escaped from between his lips telling the scientist that he was still at least amongst the land of the living. He hadn't moved since being dropped into the cell and that worried Mckay. He only hoped that Teyla would bring back help in time.

He looked over to the hut where one of the Ethurians was peering out of the door. When he saw Mckay he slammed it shut and Mckay sighed. "Don't worry about me," he said.

A moan from within the cell had him jumping up onto his knees, "Major?" he said quietly.

Another groan and Sheppard's head lolled to the side.

"Major?" Mckay hissed.

"Please tell me I'm not in the infirmary," said Sheppard, not opening his eyes and not moving.

"No you're not," said Mckay and he watched as Sheppard's eyes opened, "but you're in a cell, in the middle of the village in the freezing dead of night. Did I mention it's freezing?"

Sheppard groaned again and turned his head to look at Mckay. He didn't have the strength nor the inclination to move at this point.

He bought his hand up to his face and examined the swollen, bleeding mess he presented himself with, "What happened?" he asked as he flexed his fingers.

Mckay sat back against the cell and rubbed at his chin, "You kind of zoned out on us," said Mckay, "It looked like you were hallucinating and we couldn't get you to calm down so-," he paused.

"Rodney?"

"You pulled out your gun and fired off a shot before the Ethurians took you down."

Sheppard raised his head from the hard floor, "Did I hurt anyone?"

Mckay sighed, "No, you didn't."

"I think they broke my fingers," said Sheppard pushing himself up with weakened limbs and trying to keep himself semi upright.

"I sent Teyla to get help," said Mckay looking back over his shoulder.

"Good," said Sheppard. He flexed his fingers and pulled a face when they hurt.

Mckay watched as he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out some tape, he then proceeded to wrap his fingers together for support.

"How are you feeling at the moment?" asked Mckay.

Sheppard looked up at him and raised his eyebrows, "Right now, tired," he admitted.

"Don't you have anymore of your pills?" asked Mckay hopefully.

Sheppard felt around his pockets and came up empty, "I wasn't expecting to stay here overnight. They're on my side table in my quarters."

"Oh right, you want me to just go get them," snarked Mckay.

"I'm telling you, even fate doesn't want me to get back into that chair," said Sheppard. He was slurring his words a bit and he didn't know why.

"Don't start this again."

"I'm just saying. Don't you find this strange?"

Mckay laughed, "With you around, No. Doesn't this always happen?"

Sheppard shrugged, "Guess so."

His fingers securely taped he looked at his handiwork and smiled.

"So, whilst you're in there and I'm out here and we have nothing to do but wait, you wanna talk?"

"About?" asked Sheppard looking around the cell for a possible way out. He managed to push himself up and he walked over to one of the branches and gave it a tug. Nothing happened.

"Fine, be evasive," said Mckay.

Sheppard looked down at him and kicked at the branches. They didn't move, "I think we found ourselves a super tree," said Sheppard.

Mckay stood up now to join him, "You should sit down and not exert yourself."

"What am I pregnant all of a sudden?" asked Sheppard, "Leave me alone, I'm trapped in a cell, I have a headache from hell and I want to walk around." He looked over to Mckay.

"A headache?" he asked.

"Yes, a headache."

"What kind of headache?" He crossed his arms.

"A Mckay is talking to me headache," snapped Sheppard.

"Oh because I thought it might be a just before a brain damaging seizure headache," he smiled.

Sheppard stood across from him and both men were trying to outstare each other, "Where the hell is Atreu? I want to talk to him."

"I tried to talk to him," said Mckay, "He didn't want to listen."

"You told him I was sick right?" asked Sheppard walking over to the other side of the cell and pacing like a caged animal.

"Of course I told him."

"Right," said Sheppard sitting down again, "I'll just wait here then."

Mckay was watching him again.

"Would you quit that?" he snapped.

"You're like a ticking time bomb at the moment," said Mckay. "Who knows when you might-" Mckay swivelled his head quickly when he heard the door to the hut swing open and Atreu walked over to them cautiously. All the while his eyes were trained on Sheppard.

"Please tell me you're going to let him go," said Mckay with the briefest of smiles.

Atreu shook his head, "We are going to discuss this matter in the morning," he said bowing his head.

"What?" Mckay looked over to Sheppard and let out a strangled laugh, "He might be dead tomorrow morning."

This got Sheppard's attention and he said, "Thanks for the vote of confidence there buddy."

Mckay gave him a withering look, "You know what I mean," and then he was reaching out for Atreu's arm, "Please."

"You must leave," said Atreu calmly.

"I'm not going anywhere," said Mckay crossing his arms in an act of brainless defiance.

"The only way you can stay is to reside with him," said Atreu pointing a finger in the direction of the cell.

"Fine," said Mckay, "Then that's what I'll do."

------------

Both men were now sat at opposite sides of the cell and Sheppard for the umpteenth time since Mckay had been thrust into the cell sighed, "You had to get put in the cell," he shook his head and bought his hands up to his head to rub at the headache forming there.

"If I left I wouldn't be of any help," said Mckay wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to generate some body heat.

"You're not helping now," said Sheppard. He was cross legged in the cell and he was leaning on his elbows, massaging his temples and trying to get rid of the vestiges of tiredness and illness.

"Well at least you have company."

He watched as Sheppard continued to knead his head and he had noticed the Major's face was pale again. He seemed to be in quite some pain, though he would never admit that information voluntarily.

"Yeah company," said Sheppard looking up and smiling. It was then his nose started to bleed and cursing he reached a hand up slowly to try and stop the blood.

Mckay scrambled up onto all fours and moved over to him, reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief he had and passed it to Sheppard.

"You're kidding me right?" said Sheppard putting it up to his nose, "I thought only old men carried these."

Mckay narrowed his eyes, "Now I won't tell you if it was clean or not."

Sheppard passed it over to him and looked at it in disgust, "I think Id rather bleed all over myself."
"It's clean," said Mckay grabbing it and shoving it at Sheppard's face.

If it was at all possible his face was going even paler, "You okay?" Mckay asked.

Sheppard shook his head, "No."

"Did you just say..no?"

Sheppard looked up at him with tired, blood shot eyes and forced a smile, "The pills I've been taking made me feel worse."

"You're such an idiot," said Mckay.

Sheppard seemed to lose the battle with staying upright and it was a blur between the time he actually started to sway and fall and Mckay laying him on the floor and putting his jacket under his head.

"You're going to freeze," said Sheppard. His teeth were chattering.

"No I'm not," said Mckay, "I put your jacket under your head."

Sheppard looked at his bare arms and nodded, "So you did."

Mckay got the picture and pulled his own jacket off and laid it over Sheppard.

"You know," said Sheppard, "If you told me something about yourself, It might make getting into that chair worth it."

"You're actually going to get in the chair?"

Sheppard closed his eyes against a distant ripple in his leg. It felt like a mini convulsion but he tried to ignore it, "Yes."

Mckay patted his shoulder. "This is good."

"So……a secret Mckay. Come on. You owe me that much."

"How do you figure that?"

Sheppard shrugged, "Because.." He didn't have an answer, because it was he who was so insistent on sitting in that damn chair.

"Okay," said Mckay rubbing his arms to keep himself warm, "Okay, a secret….uh okay, when I was twelve I"

"No," groaned Sheppard, "Not a childhood secret. Something relevant to now."

Mckay looked away and seemed to be taking the request seriously, "I guess….I guess I'm mean to people around me because.." he stopped and licked his lips, "Don't laugh but, I think I have to be mean to people because it stops them from finding out the real me and finding out that they still don't like me."

Sheppard looked up at the scientist and tried to think of something to say that would comfort him, instead he went the opposite way and said, "People like you?"
"Ha, very funny."

------

When Beckett approached the village with Teyla at his side and Major Lorne to the rear he found himself cursing.

"Are you okay Doctor?" asked Teyla. She shone her flashlight in front of them to cut a clear path in the dark.

"Three hours of bloody walking," he said with a sigh, "Three hours. You said it was just a wee walk and now my feet hurt and I'm sweating and…" he stopped, "Bloody gate travel."

Teyla smiled and gave Beckett a comforting squeeze of the arm before looking back to Lorne.

"I'm not so sure I'll be good at negotiating," he said suddenly.

Lorne walked up beside them both, "Don't worry about that. I'm sure you'll be a natural."

Beckett snorted, "I just hope we're not too late," he said as they finally entered the village boundaries.

When they were in the centre of the village they heard somebody calling out to them and it was then that they could see a figure in a branched cell waving his arms furiously. They all walked over and could see it was Mckay.

"Rodney, what are you doing behind there?" asked Beckett instantly looking passed him and to the prone figure on the ground.

"Oh well I thought it looked so cosy in here I'd make it a holiday home," he panted, "You need to get us out of here. Sheppard's' been getting worse. He's already had a seizure since Teyla left. I held him down," he rubbed his arms and paced, "I think I did it right. So, we should hurry, right?"

Beckett nodded and he could see that Mckay was panicked and clearly shaken by the whole experience, "Is he conscious?"

"I hear you Doc," he heard the raspy voice say.

"I hear you're not feeling too well Major?"

Sheppard groaned, "That's the understatement of the century."

"You missed your last dose?" he asked.

Sheppard pushed himself up onto his elbows to the face the man, "Yeah, threw it up after that," he shuddered, "Kolas." He looked over to the others, "Oh hey Lorne, Teyla," and gave them a truly pathetic wave.

"Who are you?" The voice behind them made them all turn in unison.

Major Lorne stepped forwards, "Hi there, we're friends of Major Sheppard. We heard you had some..trouble earlier?"

Atreu looked at them warily and his eyes seemed to focus on their weapons. Once he had seen their weapons as a measure to help protect them, but now they seemed more dangerous in the Atlanteans hands, "Major Sheppard fired his weapon at my people."

"Not intentionally," McKay's voice called from between the bars.

Beckett took a step forward, "Atreu is it? I'm Doctor Beckett. I was wondering if I could have a word with you about Major Sheppard's condition."

Atreu seemed to tire of the conversation," We will talk tomorrow. As I told.."

"Major Sheppard is very sick and he needs to get back to Atlantis." He paused, "He has a condition which can change rapidly. The visual disturbance he had earlier was most likely the result of his weakening neurological status."

"His mind?"

"Yes, " said Beckett hefting the big medical case down onto the floor, "He has been taking drugs to stop his body from having seizures. When he missed that dose his brain chemistry will have changed significantly enough to start the seizures. He really is very ill and," he walked over to Atreu and whispered, "He could die if we leave him here another second."
Atreu's eyes widened, "We do not wish him to die, merely to contemplate what he did. He nearly injured my people."

It was Teyla's turn to step forward now in a show of her support, "You have spent many an eve with Major Sheppard discussing the negotiations. You know what kind of a man he is. He would never intentionally hurt your people and you have to trust that it is his illness which made him do so."

Atreu rubbed at his head, but took a moment to look to Sheppard. The man looked terrible and was lying awkwardly trying to listen to the conversation but also obviously trying to stave off unconsciousness.

"Please, come inside. Drink and you can explain this..illness."

Beckett nodded and said to the others, "I guess I'll see you in a while."

"Don't be long," said Lorne.

--------

After an hour Beckett was pushed out of the hut but Atreu didn't follow and he moved quickly to the side of the cell to open the door.

"They're letting him go?" asked Lorne, watching as Beckett used some keys to unlock the door.

Beckett fumbled with the keys and nodded, "Aye."

"What did you say to them?" asked Mckay.

"I just mentioned that they might want to let Major Sheppard go because we weren't entirely sure if his condition was contagious." Beckett looked up with a small smile.

"You lied," said Lorne with a bigger smile.

"Contagious?" Mckay asked taking a step away from Sheppard.

"Hey," said Sheppard.

Beckett managed to get the door open, "It's not contagious you idiot."

Beckett knelt down next to Sheppard and started to check over his vitals, "Do you think you can walk?" he asked.

Sheppard nodded and with a little help got to his feet, "Yeah I can walk."

----------

Major Lorne's IDC had just come through and Elizabeth was waiting anxiously at the top of the stairs for her people to come back through.

After a minute five figures appeared, but the gate had barely disengaged when Sheppard crumbled to the floor and started to convulse.

Elizabeth found herself running down the steps, calling for a medical team.

Beckett was already holding Sheppard's arms down to prevent himself from injury but she couldn't watch. To see Sheppard in such a way was too horrific to bare and she looked away.

"Okay," said Beckett as Sheppard's body started to calm down. His leg was still twitching as mini spasms ran the length of it, but at least it was over.

"Is he okay?" asked Elizabeth.

Everyone else in the team had taken a step back to give Sheppard some space and she acknowledged them all before kneeling down next to Sheppard.

Beckett was making his vital checks, "For the most part he's come out of this one alive." He looked up at her, "I'm beginning to think the pills wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway. I mean why would the chair allow for medical intervention. We should have done something about this ages ago."

"Its okay Carson," said Elizabeth calmly.

"We need to get him in that chair."

Elizabeth nodded, "Are you sure…..I mean will it help?"

"He cant keep going on like this," said Beckett.

Just at that moment Sheppard started to stir, his hands flew up and Beckett held them down until Sheppard's eyes had fully opened.

He was disoriented and looked around the room with unfocused eyes, "What…." He said trying to get up.

"Stay down," said Beckett in a low voice.

Sheppard was looking panicked and Elizabeth couldn't explain it. Something looked different within his eyes.

"What's going on?" he asked sitting up and immediately regretting it. He pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his head atop his knees.

Beckett looked over to Elizabeth with a puzzled expression.

"Is he okay?"

"Sir?" Lorne asked. He too was now beginning to catch their infectious worry.

Sheppard's head snapped up at that remark, "Shit, our Commanding Officers around?" and went to get up.

Beckett pulled him back down and he looked to the others.

"Ha ha Sheppard very funny," said Mckay laughing nervously.

Sheppard was looking utterly confused, "Me?" he laughed, "No, that's not." He rubbed at his eyes, "What's going on?"

"John, you are the Commanding Officer of Atlantis." Elizabeth paused.

Beckett was now reaching into his pocket and grabbing the pocket penlight. He tilted Sheppard's head up and tried to look at his pupil reactions all the while Sheppard was trying to move his head around, "They wouldn't make me Commanding Officer of garbage collection," and he let out a pained laugh.

"What's the last thing you remember?" asked Beckett.

Sheppard looked down at the floor and shook his head, "Uh, I'm supposed to be in Antarctica. My new post," he seemed utterly miserable, "But," and he held a finger up, "At least I can still fly."

"Beckett?" Mckay asked.

"The last seizure must have given him some memory loss."

"Can it be restored?" asked Mckay, he was pacing now.

Elizabeth looked to Sheppard and then back to Beckett, "Sheppard was posted to Antarctica after Afghanistan. Could this be related?"

Beckett seemed thoughtful and watched as Sheppard lowered his head to his knees again and started mumbling, "It's highly likely."

"I'll go set up the chair," said Mckay rocking back and forth on his heels.

Elizabeth nodded, "Do it,"

Beckett was now helping Sheppard up into a standing position, "Come on now."

Sheppard swayed unsteadily and Beckett held his elbow to keep him steady, "Did I have an accident?" he asked looking bewildered,

"Something like that."
"Right," said Sheppard rubbing at his head, "Where are we going?" he was looking around the gate room now.

"We're going to take you back to the chair," said Beckett unable to think how to describe it any better.

"Right," said Sheppard obviously not really knowing what he was talking about. At least he was going there voluntarily.

--------------

They had managed to get him to the chair and he was now sitting in it without any complaint. Considering he hated the thing, so far it would seem, everything was going to plan.

"So this chair?" asked Sheppard, "What does it do again?"

Beckett sighed, "It'll help you get better." He turned to Mckay, "Are you ready yet?"

Mckay popped up from behind a console with his data pad in hand, "Just say when."

"Okay, " said Beckett and he turned to the various techs in the room aswell as Lorne and Teyla and Elizabeth, "Everybody who is not essential I want you out of here. Mckay obviously stays, Elizabeth, me and I want a crash team just outside the door. Teyla, I must ask you to leave too my dear."

"I will be outside," she said with a nod and then turned to Sheppard, "Good luck."

Sheppard retuned the nod but he still look confused.

"Is this going to work?" asked Elizabeth quietly so that Sheppard wouldn't be able to hear.

"I'm sure."

"Because If we're wrong."

"We wont be wrong," said Mckay, "Look as disturbing as this may be it's the only way."

"Rodney's right," said Beckett, "Think about it. Once the images were extracted from the participants mind the wraith would want them in top condition."

Elizabeth slowly got what he was talking about and put a hand up to her mouth, "They would want them healthy so they could feed off them."

Beckett leant in closer, "We know from experience that the wraith like healthy humans." He was of course referring to when they had captured Steve.

"Ready?" asked Mckay.

Beckett nodded.

Mckay flicked a switch and the chair lit up, reclined slightly and a light beamed out from the view screen and focused directly at Sheppard's head.

"How are you doing?" asked Beckett as he watched as Sheppard's face contorted into confusion and then acceptance.

"I….what happened Doc?" he asked sliding his eyes over to Beckett.

The screen in front of him was beginning to fuzz and an image was appearing.

"John?" asked Elizabeth, realising that he had now returned to his former self.

"Yeah," he said and looked forward at the screen, "What happened?"

"We lost you for a while," said Beckett, "You don't remember?"

Sheppard would have shaken his head but his head was immobilised by the light, "No, you can uh get me out of the chair now," he said hopefully.

Mckay sighed from behind him, "You said you would go in it."

The image was clearer now and Sheppard recognised it as Afghanistan. It was picking up from where it had left off, "I've changed my mind. Please, get me out of this."

"We can't Major, you're going to have to face up to this." Beckett looked apologetic.

Sheppard wanted to close his eyes, wanted to shut out the image in front of him, but he knew he would still be able to hear it. "Look, I've changed my mind." He had finally got to the stage where this memory could not be forgotten.

"I'm sorry Major," Beckett said.

He could feel the relentless ache in his shoulder from the bullet he knew was lodged there. Blood was weighing his uniform down and making his back feel wretched and sticky.

Sheppard in his chair shifted against the sensation. He could feel the pain of that day. His shoulder ached.

"What's wrong?" asked Beckett as he watched the heart rate monitor he had hooked up to Sheppard. His heart was racing.

"Hurts," Sheppard managed to ground out.

Elizabeth was starting to doubt whether they had done the right thing, "Carson?"

He had been shot from behind, that he knew, and he turned and fired behind him at the two foreign soldiers running at him from beside his helicopter.

"Davey!" he shouted and looked over to where he was standing. He was firing at the two Afghan soldiers, intent on his capture, and sending them to the ground in a spray of blood.

He could see even from his position that one of them had a gun in his hand and he fired off a single shot into the Afghan's head before he could shoot his friend.

Davey was standing there in obvious shock, the gun in his left hand dropping to the sand, the other flying up to his mouth. He turned away from the bodies and threw up into the sand.

He wanted to tell Davey he would find a way to deal with the death of others, even if they were the enemy, but it could wait till later and he ran as fast as his injury would let him, over to the two Rangers lying sprawled on the ground.

He could hear helicopters in the distance and he realised then he would have to be quick.

The two Rangers were face down in the sand and he used his good arm to turn one of them over. His stomach lurched there when he saw the face of the soldier. He wasn't an American soldier.

He was an Afghan.

"No," he said looking back to where Davey was on his knees and still heaving up his stomach contents.

With a shaking hand he rolled the other Ranger over.

He too was another fellow Afghan.

"What?" They were both wearing the Rangers uniforms.

He could feel bile at the back of his throat but a more pressing instinct drove him up onto his feet.

Keeping his weapon up he ran over to Davey, up a slight incline and with a tentative hand pulled Davey up to his feet, "Don't say it," he said wiping his face with his hand.

Davey shrank out of his grasp and went down to his knees again, "He took my weapon and shot the rangers," he said pointing to the soldiers at his feet through dry heaves, "I thought…shit, I thought he had killed our men so I shot them both."

He was feeling his energy fade away and that sick feeling in his gut increased as Davey started pitiful sobs, "I didn't know," he said as he wiped his eyes with a gritty hand.

He knelt down in front of the two Afghanistan soldiers and rolled one of them over. Then he slowly looked at the face of the other solder, on his back and bleeding profusely from a hideous wound. They were both his fellow American soldiers.

"They switched the uniforms," he said.

Davey nodded, "I just killed our own men."

He was looking at the bullet hole in one of their heads, the one he had just fired on believing he was going to kill Davey. He was merely reaching out for help, "We killed them," he spat onto the floor the acrid bile.

"What are we going to do?" asked Davey.

He was standing now and pacing back and forth. The younger soldier was still on the floor, staring at the bodies and wringing his hands.

He was surprised when Davey stood up, "We should leave them, say we couldn't save them."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing, "No," he said holding out a hand and swaying now against the dizzying pain in his shoulder, "We don't leave men behind. We're taking them back."

Davey was furious, "They'll know," he said and gave him a shove so hard it sent spike of pain through his body which he thought might make him pass out.

"Davey, we're taking them back."

Davey kicked at the sand in frustration, seemed to have an idea and stood still, "We need to strip the bodies," he said.

He was having a hard time swallowing the whole situation and the sound of gun fire and propellers was getting close enough that he didn't have time to think. The real Afghan's would be on top of them in minutes. He was feeling weak from loss of blood and his thoughts felt impaired so he said, "Lets be quick."

Sheppard from the chair let out a groan of despair and he tried to shut his eyes against the onslaught of pain and equally harrowing images. The whole room was silent and the others weren't saying a thing.

"You see," he managed to strangle from his throat, "You see why I didn't want.." his voice broke.

There was a hand on his shoulder which squeezed him tightly and he barely felt it. He felt so detached from reality, "Its okay," he heard a Scottish voice murmur. "The first bullet, Davey's, was to the abdomen. Very painful. Your shot would have been a mercy killing." Beckett's words, although meant to help him, meant nothing to him.

Sheppard watched the screen and he remembered vividly now taking off from that site and hearing Davey's cries from the back of the helicopter and his own inner turmoil at having fired the final shot which sealed a mans death.

"It should turn off," said Beckett and he turned to Mckay.

Mckay was standing looking at Sheppard with a solemn expression, his eyes sad. "Why would they do that?" he murmured and shook his head.

Elizabeth to his right had a hand covering her mouth as she contemplated how traumatic that must have been for Sheppard. It had most certainly been traumatic to watch.

"It won't turn off," said Sheppard, his voice even, "Because there's more." His jaw was set as he waited for the next image to come.

TBC

Yeah there's more pain in store for our Shep. Hope that made sense to you all. Please review so I can hit the 100 mark. Pretty please.