A/N: I've spoiled you all with the quick updates. Bad me! Sorry for taking so long on this one. Idea after idea hit me on what I should do, but now I have it figured out so it should be most enjoyable, satisfying all whumping needs.

Part Six

A Man Named Moron

CJ observed, wearing no particular form say for that slight wavering in the air too easy to miss unless one knew where to look. The Stargate was lit up like a Las Vega sign (at least in CJ's opinion) with the symbols flashing as Atlantis' visitors dialed in. The crystal liquid congealed, exploded, then congealed again to form the perfect rippling puddle that laughed in the face of that space/time continuum deal physical beings were so fond of.

'Take that light-years. Hah!'

CJ knew he must have been heard when Rodney glanced over his shoulder, searching the room. CJ tended to project thoughts when he was agitated, and had he been wearing a face would have winced.

Beckett, Weir, Ronon, Teyla, and a couple of military men were present as protocol dictated. They could play happy, congenial host all they wanted, but not a single soul on Atlantis trusted that Moranga man. CJ was actually excited about finding out why, hoping to see something that could be used to keep Moranga away from John's presence. It was hard enough helping John to keep his sanity with Carson and Rodney in sight. Moranga was going to propel John off the deep end.

The first form to step through was that of the tall, blond barbarian John despised just as much as Moranga. Then came the red-head, whose initial attractive lure was marred by John's distaste for her indifference.

Again, had CJ been wearing a face, he would have narrowed his eyes suspiciously. That didn't stop him from being suspicious, however. He wasn't picking up much on the mental wave from either of the two. Their emotions betrayed their mild dislike at being back on Atlantis, but their very thoughts were a blank to CJ.

Only people who suffered mind-wipes were ever blank slates, but were either overwhelmed by emotions or felt nothing at all. These two felt, they just didn't 'think'. It made absolutely no sense to the entity.

Finally, Ilian stepped through, and CJ prepared for a quick dive into his mentality.

" Welcome back to Atlanits," Weir said, rippling with distrust, " Ilian Moranga."

Ilian inclined his head in greeting, and CJ reeled back in shock, emitting that shock in a wave that made everyone in the room flinch – say for the three stepping from the gate.

CJ couldn't find a single thought in Ilian's head. The emotion of curiosity was buzzing all around CJ, there were just no mental articulations to go with it, much like a movie with the sound going but no picture. There was something there – there had to be since the man was feeling – CJ just couldn't figure out how to bring it up.

Ilian smiled a flat smile. " Thank you, Madame Weir. Now what is this I hear about a fallen comrade being plagued by an alien infection?"

Beckett stepped up to fill him in. " The Lt. Colonel John Sheppard seems to have come down with somethin' we've never encountered before."

Slight annoyance at the mention of John, and that was it.

'What the hell!'

Rodney did another double-take over his shoulder, and Carson faltered in his explanation.

" We... um... we think it might have been contracted in the lab you've been analyzin'."

" What are the basis for your suspicions?" Ilian asked.

" Well, he didn't start manifestin' symptoms until some time after his visitation to the lab. We were wonderin' if you might know somethin' about it."

Ilian nodded. " What are his symptoms?"

" High fever, lack of a proper appetite, congestion, possible skeletal deterioration, and mental deterioration."

Ilian cocked an eyebrow at this, and CJ wanted to scream. He was getting nothing off the little fat man.

Ilian replied. " Really? May I see him?"

At this, Rodney and Carson exchanged troubled looks. " Uh, that may not be a wise thing to do," Carson said. " Mentally he's highly unstable, and the presence of others upsets him. We're tryin' to keep him calm so he doesn't end up hurtin' himself."

Ilian narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to the doctor. Carson was taller than Ilian by a head, but size did nothing to deter the little man. He stared Carson right in the eye as though Carson were nothing more than a little child.

" Young man. This is not the time to placate the needs of an invalid. You asked if I might know something about it? Well, I may indeed, for what you have described to me is most familiar. And if I am right, then you all may be in grave danger."

" But I've tested the virus," Carson countered, taking a step back to regain personal space. " It only attacks those whose gene has a strong presence, like in Sheppard."

" And you think others in your city do not? If this is the virus I know of, it will no longer matter who has the gene and who does not. The virus will mutate to accommodate itself for whatever host it takes. If you do not act quickly, you may have a plague on your hands. Now allow me to visit your patient."

CJ really needed to take a form so he could grind his teeth. He couldn't tell truth from lies. He couldn't even tell what the man's favorite color was. The whole situation was off, and the degree to which it was off made CJ want to pull hair that didn't exist.

But if Moranga was telling the truth, then the Atlantis crew didn't have much of a choice. As much as CJ hated it, he couldn't risk a whole city just to save the mind of one man.

' I really don't like it, doc. I can't get into this guy's head. You need to keep an eye on him. Get ready to stun the SOB and his goons if they try anything.'

Carson gave a small tweak of a nod more for CJ's benefit than Ilian's.

" All – all right. But let me go in first, try and prepare him."

Beckett turned stiffly to lead the way, and the others all followed.

' Hey, Rodney, a word? Just speak your mind and try not to shout.'

What!

' I said no shouting! Listen, I can't read Ilian's thoughts.'

What? How? Why?

' Well, gee Rodney, if I knew that then we wouldn't be having this conversation now would we? It's like trying to read white noise, it just ain't coming through. I don't know if it's some kind of Jedi/Vulcan mind-meld wannabe parlor trick or if some kind of device or something is involved. I'm getting small snippets of emotion but they're more like teasers. I can't crack this guy's skull – as much as I want to. You know how weird it is not being able to read a mind on a whim? It sucks! And it's making me nervous. You need to watch him, and don't leave him or his goons alone with John.'

All right, all right! Rodney's fear – normally already verging on a high level – was about to shoot through the roof.

' Sorry, Rod. You're gonna have to play protector for Johnny boy. You and Carson. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just go prepare John for the insanity that's forth coming.'

SGA

Rodney's heart felt like it was trying to clamor out of his chest. So Ilian had been hiding something after all... and not even CJ could tell what it was. That in itself was far-more nerve-rattling than if CJ had found out something more specific. A man who could hide his very thoughts had a lot to hide. But hide from who? Beings like CJ? Or perhaps the wraith? The wraith sounded more plausible. Much of Ilian's technology and inventions were centered around avoidance of the wraith. The ability to shield the mind would do wonders against wraith illusions.

If that were the case, then Rodney – and CJ included – were jumping to conclusions. If anything Rodney needed to find a way to subtly question Ilian about this mind-block method. But first thing first, and that was Colonel Sheppard. Advanced technology could wait.

Wow, I really am worried.

The moment they reached the infirmary, Beckett whirled around to face the assemblage, his visage all doctor. " Rodney, I may need your help. Dr. Moranga, you and your assistants may enter, but I ask that you be the only one to see him. Everyone else must wait out here. I don't want the Colonel overwhelmed."

Please have him ready you freaky spook, Rodney pleaded.

Beckett led the way into the infirmary, with Ilian and his little zombie cult following. Rodney followed after, pausing to flash Weir an apologetic, abashed smile.

" If you hear John scream, it's to be expected. If you hear me or Beckett scream, start to worry."

Weir's brow wrinkled. " What?"

Rodney grimaced and shook his head. " Nothing... just – being paranoid." He stepped through the door before Weir could ask anything further. Inside the infirmary. Beckett was talking to Moranga as his two assistants glanced around wearing unreadable expressions. The red head then began to wander in the direction of John's little nook. Rodney's heart shot into his mouth and he nearly tripped over his own feet rushing to grab her arm.

" Um, little premature to be going over there. Just... um... stay here. I need to check something."

He pulled her back a ways, then slowly crept into John's line of sight. His heart did another mad scramble into his mouth on seeing John sitting up and wedged into his corner, panting as though he'd just finished the fifty-yard dash. John tried to push himself even farther into the corner on seeing Rodney, and adjusted his grip on the saw.

The wildly vicious look of desperate self-preservation, sunken and bloodshot eyes, pale and sweaty face, and visible tension making John twitch and shiver caused Rodney's guts to do a series of back-flips. The man looked ready to kill, brittle bones or not. CJ, sitting on the corner of the mattress in John's healthy form, shrugged helplessly.

" I tried. At least we know his back can still support him."

Rodney raised both his hands. " Oh, yeah, that's real reassuring. Just means he won't be paralyzed gutting me or Ilian."

CJ shrugged again. " John has no qualms about gutting Ilian." Then grinned. " But he's hesitant to attack you."

" Lucky me," Rodney mumbled. " Listen, John," he said, daring to move a few inches closer. " We just brought Ilian in to help. He just wants to have a look at you, see if he recognizes the disease, then that's it. He's gone. No sticking you into devices or any crap like that. Just a quick peek and he's outta here."

" Like hell," John practically snarled. " Why'd you bring him here, Rodney?"

The blatant tone of accusation made McKay swallow nervously. " T-to help, that's all. We won't let him hurt you, John."

John's eyes darted from McKay to look beyond him, and the Colonel managed to dredge up the energy to straighten a little more, bringing the saw up to hold it out before him in a trembling hand. The vicious look of defense flashed into a wide-eyed expression of utter, crippling terror. Rodney glanced over his shoulder to see Ilian standing just to the right, then looked back at John.

The Lt. Colonel was gradually shrinking against the wall – part out of terror and part out of increasing weakness and the pain he was trying not to express. The man looked helpless, absolutely helpless, and it made Rodney physically ill. This was John Sheppard he was looking at, a man who on any other day was about as helpless as a raging bull or hunting lion. The man that held more concern for his team than whether a tick was sucking the life out of him or a wraith was smashing his ribs while pressing its hand in to feed.

If John was ever helpless, then they were all screwed.

It came to Rodney like a smash in the face just how much they relied on this one man to protect their collective butts. One measly, fragile, mouthy human who would toss his life away on a whim if it meant the survival of the rest of the Atlantis masses. His job may have forced such actions on him, but the fact that he acted without a second thought for himself – more as though it were an instinct than an order given by authorities billions of light-years away – told of a passion the man possessed that McKay had never fully realized until now - not even when John had darted off on his suicide run - and it amazed Rodney.

John cared on the most deep and most remarkable level McKay could imagine, a caring that verged very much along the lines of love. It wasn't the love that most tended to focus on these days – the man-woman, couple, partner, let's kiss/make-out whatever crap – but the love most tended not to express. The love of friendship, of denying the self to insure the happiness or survival of the other. Brotherly love, sisterly love, love for one's fellow man – Sheppard had it all. John was just a fountain of love beneath his cool, laid-back, sarcastic, fly-boy, militeristic exterior.

Now what was he? A turned-table. The flip-side of what he had always been before – self-sacrificing and selfless, concentrating only on the other. He was fighting for survival, but the man no longer had the means to protect even himself.

' What did I say, Rod? You're the guardian now.'

McKay's eyes flicked to where CJ was sitting. The entity was staring at him hard, warningly.

Don't want to run the risk of you talking out loud and making Moron here think you're sick or something,' He explained.

" The virus seems to be progressing rapidly," Ilian said. " As is the subject's deterioration."

McKay whirled around and glared threateningly as possible at the small scientist.

" Subject? That subject is the Lt. Colonel Sheppard who happens to be a friend of mine. This isn't some stupid science experiment, the man is sick. We brought you here to help us heal him, not study him." McKay moved himself so that he was standing between Moranga and John, blocking the terrified John from Moranga's sights. It came to Rodney that it wasn't Moranga's body-building assistant he had to worry about, but Moranga's icy indifference toward Sheppard.

Moranga sighed. " You must understand, Dr. McKay. The more this virus advances, the more dangerous it becomes. There is a certain level at which the virus is at its strongest and thus becomes highly contagious. The Colonel is nearing that level now. The physical manifestations and his apparent agitation tell me this. You must quarantine him, and quickly. In fact, it would be far more wise if you took him from this base, away from so many. The ancient facility has a quarantine zone that is operational..."

" No!" John shouted.

McKay spun around. " John!"

John hadn't moved; he hadn't even lowered his arm despite the effort it took to keep it raised, but the wild animal resolve of self-preservation had returned. " I'm not going back to that freakin' place! I'm not going back with him!"

" Come now," Ilian said, and McKay turned back. The little man was looking ever so slightly perturbed. " We have no time for this, Dr. McKay. Just have him pinned and sedated, then bring him to facility. I will be able to help him more effectively there."

" We can't!" McKay barked though it came out as more of a whine. " Holding him down in the state he's in will probably, very likely, and most definitely result in having every bone in his body broken..."

" I'm not going back, McKay!"

McKay let out an exasperated breath. " I know, John. You're not. I told you, know one's going to hurt you."

" He wants to take me back! I won't go back!"

" John!" McKay shouted. Ilian's coldness, John's hysteria, and all the noise in general, was shredding Rodney's nerves into confetti. John kept shouting, over and over, how he wouldn't go back, and Ilian simply shook his head impatiently. Carson came in to join the lovely little fray, shouting over John's cries, asking what was going on.

" Get him the hell away from me!" John screamed.

Rodney barely caught it in time. An imperceptible flick of Ilian's wrist, and John's rants died as though someone had pressed mute. McKay did another sudden turn to see John's head hanging limply from his neck and his body slumped like a rag doll.

" What the bloody hell!" Beckett cried, and ran over to John. He gently eased the Colonel's inert frame onto the mattress, then felt his neck for a pulse.

" He's alive," he said with a strained voice. He then pulled out his light pen and pulled John's eye-lids apart, flashing the light into the pupils. " I think he's sedated."

" Of course he is," Ilian said. " I merely incapacitated him in order to silence him."

Rodney gaped. Beckett checked John over, starting with his neck, and pulled out what appeared to be a small electronic dart from his neck. He held it up, turning it in the light. It was silver, with a small, pulsating blue light and a thin needle on the tip. Rodney snapped back to reality, hurried over to Beckett, and took the dart from his fingers. He looked down at the unconscious John lying in a boneless heap on the bed.

At least he's getting some rest now.

Rodney looked at CJ. CJ looked pissed, and since he was wearing John's face, it caused cold to creep down Rodney's spine. There was no saying how to feel around an angered, mind-reading entity, but worried sounded about right.

' Really worried if that Moron freak could see me. But I doubt he can.'

Rodney looked at Ilian, but the man was his usual emotionless self if a little impatient.

" If you're not going to bring him," Ilian said, " then I will have it done myself. You are wasting valuable time. Jy, come here please."

The blonde man sauntered in, insentient as his boss, and went straight for Sheppard. Rodney stood, and McKay turned, lifting his chin in as much defiance as he could gather.

" What do you think you're doing?" he asked, trying to sound as cool and detached as Ilian.

The response was Jy shoving passed the two, then crouching to grab John's wrist. He began to drag John from the mattress like a kid dragging his favorite stuffed animal, and the horror of it caused Rodney to choke on his own words.

" Wha... son of a... Stop that!" He then tapped the radio in his ear. " We need security in here now!"

Beckett was already trying to pry Jy's fingers from John's wrist, but the bigger man shoved him aside like he was a pesky rat terrier. The doors slid open, and three armed soldiers rushed in with their guns trained on Jy. Jy stopped and looked to Ilian for what to do next. Ilian simply rolled his eyes.

" Drop the Colonel!" one of the soldiers shouted. Ilian shrugged, and Jy let go. Beckett rushed over and felt John's shoulder and along his arm for any breaks.

" Again, you are wasting valuable time, gentlemen," Ilian said.

" What do we do, sir?" the soldier asked Rodney. Rodney moved himself between the Colonel and the towering, blond Fabio-wannabe, but reserved his withering stare for Ilian.

" If Sheppard wasn't sinking into mental and physical hell, I'd have your asses thrown into the brig. But the fact that we need your help and that you know this virus remains, so I guess luck's still on your side. Fine, we'll bring him to your precious facility, right now, while he's under. But he'll need to stay under while he's there. And if there really is a way to remedy this, then you remedy it and we're gone. You don't touch him, handle him, or any other crap like that. You want something from him – blood, urine, whatever – you ask Dr. Beckett, not one of your cronies. We will transport him to your facility by our own means that does not involve dragging his body through half of Atlantis. So just give us a moment to get ready and we'll be along shortly."

It was hard not to slug the man. Ilian looked down at Sheppard with a wrinkled noise as though John were nothing more than roadkill that was starting to rot.

" Of course," he said after a moment. " I would be honored to have the doctor and you pay another visit. But you only."

Rodney shook his head. " No, Teyla too. She'll want to come."

' Good call, Rod,' CJ said. ' She could take blondie in a heartbeat if it ever came to it.'

" Fine. But no more. I've barely room in my home to accommodate... soldiers. And I loathe having armed men in my house."

Now it was McKay who rolled his eyes. " Whatever. Just meet us by the gate. Will you three play escort and ensure they arrive all right?"

I.E. make sure they don't touch anything.

As Ilian, followed by his assistants, moved to exit the infirmary with the soldiers surrounding them, CJ appeared behind Ilian and leaned in close to his ear.

" Can't hide that melon forever little man." He then looked over his shoulder at Rodney and winked. " I'll keep an eye on them."

On leaving, Weir, Teyla, and Ronon stepped in – Weir and Teyla drawn with concern, and Ronon looking ready to literally rip off a few heads.

" What happened?" Weir asked, her eyes going straight to an unconscious John. " What's going on?"

Rodney crouched to help Becket carefully roll John onto his back by keeping his head and neck immobile. " Let's just say... John really knows who to hate when it comes to hating anyone."

SGA

Getting John into the wheelchair was easy enough. Doing it without cracking any bones was the precarious part. Beckett and Teyla took the Colonel by one arm, McKay and Elizabeth by the other, and Ronon was employed in supporting John's back and head as they slowly lifted him into the wheelchair. Beckett had never seen the big man look so nervous in his life. Sweat was actually pouring like rain down his face and neck. They slid the Colonel into the chair, and sat him back when Ronon removed his hand from John's spine while continuing to support his head.

" He feels... lighter," Ronon mumbled, scrunching his brow.

" Aye," Beckett replied as he checked Sheppard over; listening to his heart, flashing the penlight in his eyes, then carefully feeling his arms and neck for signs of breakage. " It's the virus. It's wearin' him down fast. I've never known a virus to work so quickly. Must be all the stress stiflin' his immune system." Beckett took over for Ronon in supporting John's head by letting it rest against his own stomach as he took one handle of the wheelchair with one hand and placed the other on John's chest to keep him upright.

Weir draped a blanket over John from the waist down. It might have been an inferno where they were going, but at the moment he was twitching with what might have been cold.

" Are you sure about this?" Weir asked, adjusting the blanket.

Carson sighed heavily. " Not really. But we've no time to banter with Ilian. If John's body doesn't fight this thing off on its own – and right now he's showin' signs of losin' – then it'll only be a matter of time before it kills him, and in more ways that one. Malnutrition, suffocation from congestion, or even a broken neck just because he wanted to lift his head. And, though I hate to say it, if Ilian's right about the nature of this thing being highly contagious, then we don't want to run the risk of infectin' all of Atlantis."

Teyla placed her hand lightly on John's shoulder. " We will watch out for him."

Weir nodded. " I'd feel even better about the situation if you had back-up... but at least John won't be alone."

Rodney snorted. " Like hell we're leaving him alone with that little freak. Just be ready for any distress calls that may come through."

Ronon eyed Rodney in that knowing, penetrating way of his. " You no longer trust Moranga?"

Rodney shrugged uneasily. He hated when Ronon looked at him like that. " Not any more. He knocked Sheppard out without us realizing it, and personally that ranks high on the 'need to worry' scale."

" Let's just get this over with so we can have the Colonel back," Carson said. He wasn't looking forward to a trip through the gate, and even less to a visit in Ilian's little neck of the woods. He wheeled the still Sheppard from the infirmary with the others following like a mis-matched honor guard. They arrived at the gate to find it dialed and the event horizon rippling. Soldiers were standing guard, and others were watching from the control room.

Ilian was by the gate, waiting, and the moment he saw the others arrive he stepped through the gate, followed by his assistants. CJ was visible in John's healthy form, and it caused a strange sensation of deja vu to wash through Carson. With Teyla and Rodney approaching the gate, it felt reminiscent of any other day when the team was departing off on another mission. Then he looked down at the real Sheppard, and his mind jolted as though waking from a dream.

" No time like today, doc," CJ said, then vanished in a heartbeat. He felt Dr. Weir place a hand on his shoulder, and he looked back out her.

She smiled reassuringly. " Take care of him, and yourselves. I don't think I need to say it."

Carson nodded. " Aye, I know. Be safe."

" And come back."

Carson shuddered. The way everyone was acting, one might think they were walking to their doom.

Oh, now that's just a lovely parting thought. Bloody hell.

Carson walked to the gate and stepped through, sucking in a breath just as he was broken down and sent careening on the ride that made roller-coasters seem like swing sets.

SGA

Elizabeth released the breath she had been holding the moment Carson stepped through the gate. She was highly tempted to send Ronon through to play spy and remain hidden should back-up be needed. Funny how one little action such as Ilian sedating John could make them all so paranoid.

Or was it Ilian's constant cold shoulder toward John that had her tense as a guitar string? She swore the temperature in the room dropped whenever that creepy little man entered it.

Somebody yelped, and that yelp was followed by several shouts when a sleek, golden body bounded quickly through the gate room to leap through the gate. Seconds later, the gate shut down. Elizabeth jerked her head back in alarm, then glanced around questioningly only to find everyone else doing the same.

" What the hell was that!" she demanded. Zelenka came running in, panting heavily.

" A – a rat," he gasped.

" A big damn rat," someone else murmured.

SGA

A/N: Tut tut, Little Jim, what're you up to now? Sorry if this chapter seemed a little shorter than what I've been doing. I'm coming down to the wire, like to save the best for last, so decided to do just that and keep all the good stuff on one chapter.

We've housed, baby-sat, and raised rat terriers. Never again!