A/N:- As always many thanks to those of you who took the time to leave feedback. Now here we go with another shiny new chapter.

Chapter 14

Lost and Found

"Do you think this is it?" asked McKay. Sheppard just stared at the building, swaying slightly, pain written on his face. "Iestyn did say it was very ornate and I think this definitely qualifies." The building sat hollowed into the rock at the end of the wide main street, hewn in to its face were an array of figures; powerful warriors and curvaceous goddesses intertwined together. "It definitely stands out."

Whatever kind of power the flashlights ran on was running low and the light was slowly dimming. They had turned one of the flashlights off in order to preserve power and, viewed under the fading light, the carved figures took on an almost sinister air.

"Let's go take a look." Sheppard's voice was weak and strained. When Rodney went to take his arm, the Colonel didn't hesitate to except the help, leaning heavily on the shorter man, the relief on his face palpable. That in itself worried Rodney, the fact that Sheppard had given up trying to hide his pain, any pretence that he didn't need help had dissipated.

Sheppard's lucidity had improved dramatically; his speech was perhaps a little slower than usual, slurred and hesitant and his sentences shorter and there were often long periods of silence in-between. That wasn't unusual for the Colonel; he could be a man of few words at times, but sometimes walking through the dark it had almost seemed like he wasn't there at all - a ghost in a ghost town.

"What then?" That was the question; what would they do once they'd reached the outside? What could they do?

"We wait."

"And if they don't come?"

"Then I'm screwed."

"We both are," Rodney corrected him. It was that simple. If the Daedalus didn't come soon they were dead. Or at least Sheppard would be soon and the likelihood of an astrophysicist, no matter how brilliant, surviving in the wild for any length of time would be pretty low. Somehow Rodney couldn't imagine himself hunting down wild animals and gathering berries. There was this abandoned part of the city of course, but if the Genii succeeded in taking the Irithian city too then even these deserted streets would be scoured for anyone in hiding and would no longer be safe.

ooOoo

"I'm sorry, Doctor Weir, for everything. I never intended for any of this to happen."

"You should have come to me weeks ago, Ladon. I thought we had come to an arrangement; we have been giving you medical assistance for months, have saved the lives of hundreds of your people, and this is the thanks we get." The two of them stood alone in her office; Lieutenant Edison loitered outside the door watching the man carefully.

"This was Kolya's doing. I had…"

"Nothing to do with it? Yet you've known about it for weeks and did nothing. Did you know they had Colonel Sheppard?"

"No. I admit I suspected that Kolya might have had something to do with his disappearance but…"

"But you never even saw fit to tell us Kolya was still alive. When the Colonel first went missing we came to you and you swore you had nothing to do with it."

"I didn't."

"But you had a good idea who did and you never told us. You could have stopped innocent men and women dying and yet you did nothing."

"I helped you here today, I saved you." Ladon protested.

"We had to hunt you down to a planet where you were hiding from your own people, the same people you are supposed to be leading, and drag you here under threat of violence. Is it any wonder your people looked elsewhere for leadership? Get out of my city, Ladon, and take your people with you."

"Doctor Weir, I…" Elizabeth took a step closer to him; she kept her voice quiet but that only served to make her tone more threatening.

"I said, get the hell out of my city." Edison walked in the door and placed a hand on the Genii's shoulder.

"I think you should come with me, sir." Ladon shrugged the marine off and marched out of the room toward the gate, leaving Elizabeth alone, almost shaking with anger. She felt so powerless. Powerless to get Rodney back, powerless to help the men and women lying in the infirmary. She had stood on the balcony as the body bags containing the three marines who had died in the explosion and the sparse remains of Doctor Benedict were carried to the mortuary; they would join the recovered bodies of Ripley and his team. When she had asked the Irithians about the possibility of Colonel Sheppard and Sergeant McCormack's bodies being returned to them, they had told her that executed prisoners were incinerated.

ooOoo

The narrow iron staircase spiraled up into the blackness. Rodney had no real idea of how deep underground they were but, as best he could see, it was a climb of at least 100 feet, maybe more. He looked at the man at his side. Sheppard had dropped his head and closed his eyes; Rodney felt as much as heard the pilot's heavy sigh.

"I can't do it, McKay." Sheppard swallowed back and his voice faltered. "I'm so tired. I just…I can't." At that moment the Colonel's legs gave way and he crumpled, nearly dragging McKay down with him. Somehow Rodney managed to keep his balance and lowered his friend to the floor. Sheppard breathed in heavily, almost as if he were gasping for air, and a small cry of pain escaped him.

"But we're nearly there. We just…" Rodney looked up at the seemingly never-ending staircase. "Maybe if we rest a little while?" Sheppard's head lolled to one side.

"No. You go."

"No, no you don't. I'm not leaving you." Sheppard forced his eyes open and, reaching up his good hand, patted the side of Rodney's face weakly.

"If they come one of us needs to be up there."

"Okay. But I'm coming back. I'll give the Daedalus a little while but if they're not there I'll come back for you. Okay? Maybe after a rest you'll be able to make it." An instant of eye contact was all it took for Rodney to know that Sheppard wasn't going to be getting out of here on his own two legs. The pilot pushed his flashlight the one they had been preserving, into McKay's hands. He balked. "No, you need this more than me."

"I'm just gonna be sitting here. You're climbing…need to be careful." He pushed the flashlight at Rodney again and this time he took it, reluctantly swapping it for the nearly dead one. "S'okay." Sheppard reassured.

"I'll be back soon."

ooOoo

Halfway up the winding stairs McKay stopped for a rest, hanging on to the rail for dear life. His legs felt like lead and even this flashlight was growing dimmer by the minute, though he had to admit that was probably a good thing because it meant that he couldn't see how far up he was; heights weren't really his thing though, thinking about it, none of this was his thing. Somewhere far below him Sheppard sat in the dark, alone; McKay was reminded of something the Colonel had said, about how the Irithians had left him alone like that for weeks, and that was enough to spur Rodney on, forcing his legs to keep moving.

Eventually he reached the top level and there, built into the sloping ceiling, was a large metal hatch. Collapsing against it, he pushed all of his weight into turning the lock and was surprised when it opened more easily that the other one had. Putting his shoulder against it, he pushed and slowly it opened, tearing plants and dirt from the ground where the local flora had hidden the door from the outside world. Fresh air streamed through the open hatch, the smell of earth and water. Tentatively he poked his head out, encouraged by the fact that no one had stuck a gun through the opening yet.

The lake he had seen from the jumper glistened in front of him, looking around he found himself situated on the gently rolling slopes at the base of the mountain which lay half in shade, half in bright, cool sunshine. The exit was concealed at the edge of a small crop of trees, tangled weeds with delicate blue flowers laced across the top of the hatch. It was beautiful. Even if he hadn't have spent several hours in pitch blackness it would have been beautiful and he found himself reminded of Switzerland; it was a comforting thought.

Based on what he'd seen on the way in, the lake was some distance from the gate which was good. Pushing himself up and fully out, he lowered the hatch back down gently and re-covered it with the weeds that he'd disturbed before sneaking out of the copse. There wasn't any sign of any buildings or activity near the lake and he hoped everyone would be busy, what with the city being invaded and things.

Digging into his pocket, he retrieved the radio Iestyn had recovered for him, turning it on and receiving only screeching static in reply; something in the mountain was interfering with the signal. He had to move further away from it. With a glance back at the hatch and a pang at the thought of leaving Sheppard alone for any longer than necessary, he set off down the slope, heading around the lake and toward the valley beyond.

ooOoo

A little while ago John thought he had heard the hatch up above him open and a rush of cool air against his face but perhaps he had just imagined it. Wishful thinking. It felt like his head was splitting open, the pain like ice-cold knives, but this time he was going to fight it all the way. The darkness was closing in on him, but he wouldn't let it win. He wasn't going to die alone in the dark, not now.

ooOoo

It was getting dark; the sun was moving behind another distant mountain range, a pink tinge around its edges, and as the sky darkened a second planet shone in the sky, bright enough to cast shadows. Once again he tried the radio and this time he wasn't met with static; he felt a jolt of excitement in his stomach.

"Daedalus, this is McKay." He waited a second but there was no reply. "I repeat, this is McKay." Nothing. He sat on the ground trying to quell his panic. "Daedalus, please come in." He put his head in his hands. This could not be happening. He'd walked nearly the whole length of the massive lake and now he'd never make it back to Sheppard before sunset, and even if he did the torch would die long before he got back down the staircase. Distant gunshots erupted, making him start. The sounds were faint but whatever was happening down by the gate, it sounded like a pretty vicious firefight. Maybe that meant the Irithians were winning, they were taking back the gate; if that was the case maybe he could find Iestyn. If he could find the commander he would help them escape, send them back through the gate. He wanted to scream in frustration. How many times did he have to say it, this wasn't his thing, he didn't do heroic.

The radio crackled into life in his hand and he nearly dropped it in his surprise. The voice was slightly garbled, cutting in and out.

"McK…c……is…Tey… McKay…co…in." Jumping up, he put the radio to his mouth.

"McKay to Teyla, can you hear me?"

"Rodney…whe…you." The relief her voice was tangible even through the mangled radio.

"Um…I'm…uh…okay um, where the hell am I? Where are you?"

"Near…st…gate. Where… you?"

His eyes focused on the lake. "Okay, can you see the big lake?"

"Yes."

"Good, um…there's a…" What the hell was that called? "…um, a thin pointy bit of lake that kind of sticks out toward the gate."

"Wha…"

"I said A THIN POINTY BIT!" He was already on his feet heading back toward the lake, he just had to make it there before dark. "Look, just move toward the lake."

ooOoo

It seemed like hours before he reached the edge of the lake though he'd have to guess it was in reality little more than twenty minutes. He headed down the shore line towards the arm of water that stretched out towards the gate. In the increasingly gloomy light he found himself stumbling on the rocky ground and the lapping waters of the lake that had looked so beautiful earlier took on a sinister air. The radio had packed up several minutes ago but he was confident that Teyla was heading for the same destination as he was. Lactic acid burned in his legs and his lungs seemed to resent every breath he took, but they were so close to home now, he wasn't going to give up.

It was hardly a surprise as he stumbled toward the rendezvous point to find Teyla, Ronon and Frischmann already there; even in the murky blue light Ronon's looming figure was unmistakable. Teyla rushed forward to meet him, relief plastered on her face..

"Rodney, it is good to see you. Are you alright?" Out of breath and exhausted, he nodded, unable to speak until he'd caught his breath. Bending over, hands resting on knees, he gulped back air. Feeling a hand resting on his back, he glanced up to see Frischmann standing next to him, a gentle smile on her face.

"You okay?"

He nodded again. "I'm fine…but we have to keep going. I left him…and he's hurt, we have to go…" His legs felt like jelly but he forced them onward.

"Rodney, where are we going?"

"Back under the mountain…he's there in the dark on his own and he's all busted up and I left him and it's really cold down there…oh my God, it's really cold, why didn't I leave him my jacket? How could I be so stupid? Great, now he's gonna freeze to death, as if he didn't have enough problems." He turned back to his companions. "What are you waiting for? C'mon."

"Who is hurt?" Teyla asked. He looked at her in exasperation.

"Sheppard." Ronon caught up with him in a couple of steps and grabbed him by the arm.

"Sheppard's alive?"

"Isn't that what I just said? He's alive and he's hurt and we don't have time to stand around here talking. Now are you guys coming or not?"

By the time they had retraced his steps and found the entrance to the shaft it was completely dark; the neighbouring planet that had shone so brightly earlier could only just be seen over the top of the mountain range and was disappearing quickly. The only light they had were the thin beams from Teyla and Frischmann's P-90's; they had barely found the hatch before Ronon had pulled it open, one handed McKay was rather irritated to notice, and disappeared into the darkness. Teyla shone the torch from her weapon down after him.

"Ronon, wait, you cannot see. It is dangerous."

"Then you'd better hurry up and join me." She turned back to the others.

"You should both stay here. Guard the entrance in case there are any retreating Genii soldiers. We shall be as quick as possible."

"Shouldn't I come too?"

"Rodney, you are exhausted. Rest; we will return as soon as we can." Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, she smiled at him earnestly before following Ronon down into the pitch black.

ooOoo

Carson had just come out of the operating theatre after five hours of surgery on Corporal Hines. That's when he told her to go get some rest, to sleep if she could, and immediately walked back into the operating room to start on the next patient. On her bedside sat the little bottle of cream coloured pills that Carson had given her to help her sleep; it was so tempting to just go back to her quarters and take one, to go to sleep and wake up when the nightmare was over, but she was stronger than that. She heading back out into the city; she was it's leader and now more than ever she was needed. Maybe she couldn't change anything but she could make her presence felt, she could reassure and support her people.

Most of the civilian contingent were still on the mainland with the Athosians. She had contacted them and told them to stay put for the time being; she wasn't going to risk their safety until every last Irithian was out of Atlantis. Lorne had taken control of the military situation; the Irithians still on Atlantis had been put into holding cells, apart from the two leaders who had been allowed to wait in the conference room. Part of her pitied them, they had been manipulated and lied to, their faith twisted, but at the same time she couldn't bear to have them in her city any longer than necessary and she hoped that the attempt to retake the gate would be not only successful but swift.

The Daedalus should have arrived by now and everything had become a waiting game. Her thoughts drifted to Rodney; she wondered where he was, if he was okay. She wasn't sure if she could bear to lose another friend. The thought of Atlantis without both John and Rodney seemed inconceivable.

When the gate finally activated there was a rush of activity toward the control room. Chuck had suffered minor injuries in the explosion so he had been sent to his quarters and, with the other technicians on the mainland, Zelenka had taken his place at the console. He studied it carefully before turning to Elizabeth.

"It's the IDC we gave the Irithians. We have audio feed." The radio message came out over the speakers so everyone in the room could hear it. Lorne had led the two priests in to the control room and they listened to their officer report in.

"We have retaken the gate, but are in desperate need of reinforcements. Please send the rest of the men through quickly. I repeat, we are in need of reinforcements."

Resting her hand on the back of Zelenka's chair, she replied to the message. "The rest of your people will be joining you as soon as possible." Her relief at the prospect of getting rid of the Irithians must have been plain on her face but she didn't care. "Major, get the rest of them up here and through the gate. Return their weapons one at a time as they go and have them heavily guarded at all times."

"Yes, ma'am."

She turned to the priests. "If you need to contact us again you can use the IDC we gave you. We will not be opening the shield for you anytime soon but I think it is within the best interests for both our people if we stay in contact. I honestly hope that you succeed in repelling the Genii invasion force, and perhaps in time we can learn more about one another's people; however, you have murdered innocent men and women in cold blood, and that is not going to be forgotten in a hurry." They all looked round as the first group of soldiers were led into the gate room surrounded by heavily armed and armoured marines. "Now. Please leave."

They inclined their heads toward her and she returned the gesture. She offered her hand to Glahan and he looked at it curiously.

"It is a custom of my people, to shake hands. It is a traditional way of both sealing an agreement and saying goodbye."

"Of course." He held his hand out slightly warily, she took it and gave it a brief firm shake before offering her hand to Arlais and repeating the action. "I know you may find it hard to believe, Doctor, but we are truly sorry for what has happened here."

"We have a saying, Lord Patriarch 'actions speak louder than words'. Perhaps you should bear that in mind."

He smiled ruefully. "It is a wise saying. Goodbye, Doctor." She watched as the two priests joined their troops leaving through the gate; she couldn't wait for Atlantis to be free of them. They were among the last to go, looking wistfully around the gate room before they did, and when the gate finally closed down she breathed a sigh of relief and walked away.

OoOoo

"…John?" Gentle hands touched his face and through his half open eyes he could see lights dancing in front of him. Abruptly pain wrenched through him as he felt himself lifted up from the ground and pulled into a standing position. He cried out and his eyes opened wide with the shock.

"Sorry, Sheppard but we don't have a lot of choice." A gruff voice close to his ear and strong arms holding him up.

"Ronon?"

"Yeah."

"Teyla?" As his eyes began to focus he made out her soft features, barely visible in the murky light. She moved forward, putting her arm around his waist and taking his weight, and he pulled her closer even though it made him wince at the pain. She seemed to understand the gesture.

"I missed you too, John." she whispered.

"McKay?"

"He awaits us on the surface."

"Atlantis? They're attacking…"

"That has been taken care of. Do not worry yourself, all will be well. Now we must get you out of here."

He'd never felt so weak in his life. "I can't…"

"You won't have to."

Ronon bent down and tossed Sheppard over his shoulder. He screamed in pain, feeling like his chest was being crushed; he wanted to throw up but his stomach was already empty. The Satedan clung on to Sheppard's legs with one hand and started up the stairs, Sheppard lolling over his shoulder, and behind them John could see Teyla start to climb, the light from her P-90 dancing back and forth with her movement. The stairs might as well have been a mountain as far as he was concerned, but Teyla and Ronon made light work of them.

As they reached the top and made their way out of the small hatch, Ronon adjusted his hold on him and he felt something shift in his chest and a thin blade of pain shot through him, then everything seemed numb and peaceful as Ronon laid him gently down on the cool grass. He looked up into a velvet sky filled with a million stars, the crisp mountain air washed over him, taking the pain and exhaustion with it; beautiful didn't come close as a description. The moment was somewhat spoiled by the vision of Rodney McKay's face looming above him.

"Are you okay?" The scientist furrowed his brow. "What are you grinning at? Oh great, he's delirious again." The cough racked through him, bringing the pain back tenfold, and he saw McKay back away, a look of horror on his face as the light from the torch caught the mist of blood that he had choked out into the air. Panic erupted around him as the world melted away into nothing.