Sorry this took so long – I've been awayand have had problems uploading documents since I got back!

Part four

Using the distraction caused by the rock-fall to press home their advantage, the better-trained personnel from Atlantis were able to disable and disarm their attackers before they had chance to regroup. Leaving the captives to be returned to their own planet by four of his men making use of one of the 'jumpers, Lorne quickly returned to the cave where Sheppard, Teyla and Mya had been left, followed by Ronon and the rest of his team, coming to an abrupt standstill as he surveyed the devastation in front of him.

The dust was beginning to settle revealing a newly-formed barrier against the far wall where Sheppard had been, and as there was no sign of either Teyla or Mya, where they most likely were as well.

'Colonel Sheppard? Teyla?' Lorne called loudly from where he stood just outside the cave opening, not daring to go in just yet. His caution was well founded as the sound of his voice caused a further shower of small rocks and debris that had been loosened by the previous fall but also producing a yelp from somewhere on the right-hand side of the cave, just in front of the rock-fall.

'Colonel? Teyla?' Lorne repeated, this time into his radio, and breathed a sigh of relief when nothing further fell, his relief turning to irritation as Ronon pushed past him, racing towards the location of the noise. 'Ronon what are you doing?' He hissed. 'We don't know if it's safe to go in there.'

Ignoring Lorne for the moment, Ronon was hidden from view for a few moments as he bent down behind a large rock. He reappeared almost immediately carrying a small, wriggling object covered in dust and grit.

'It's safe,' Ronon grinned as he returned to the entrance, handing over his burden to Lorne with relief.

Taken by surprise, Lorne set Mya on her feet and crouched in front of her. 'Do you know where Colonel Sheppard and Teyla are?' He asked her gently. Mya stared at him, her eyes filled with tears before she turned and pointed at the pile of rocks, confirming his suspicions. He stood up again and nodded at one of his team with the most field-medic experience to check her over. As soon as he approached however, Mya retreated behind Lorne and grabbed hold of one of his arms tightly, refusing to allow anyone else near her. Lorne waved the medic away and turned his focus back to Ronon.

'Any chance they're alive?'

'Hard to say,' Ronon shrugged. To an outside observer he appeared unconcerned at the possibility that Sheppard and Teyla were dead, but to those who knew him, the expression in his eyes revealed his true feelings of the situation. 'The rocks have only come down from the roof in one spot so it's possible they may have survived. Only one way to find out.'

Entering the area more cautiously this time, Ronon kept a watchful eye on the damaged ceiling, aiming his flashlight on to the area to determine its stability.

'Looks alright for now,' Ronon tossed back to the men still waiting. 'Better not make too much noise though – the gun fire probably brought this lot down in the first place.'

Satisfied with Ronon's assessment, Lorne gave the order to begin the search while he focussed on Mya.

'Are you hurt?' He asked, quickly checking for any cuts or broken bones. She shook her head, her eyes and face full of fear. 'We're looking for them now, we'll do everything we can to get them out of there.' Pulling out a cloth, he poured some water on it and began to wipe away the dust and dirt from her face and hands, more than half his attention on the progress being made inside the cave.

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John woke half-expecting to find himself in the infirmary. Instead, he was lying on the ground in the pitch black with something soft, warm and unmoving half-covering him. Wincing as he released his arm from underneath whoever was lying on top of him, he found another arm and started shaking it.

'Colonel!' Teyla exclaimed as she carefully rolled away from him, sitting up with a grunt and switching on the light from her P90 to provide some illumination, making John wince at the sudden brightness.

'Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?' John asked as patiently as he could. 'I'm assuming we're still in the cave?'

'Yes,' Teyla confirmed then attempted to make contact with the rescue party. 'Major Lorne? Ronon? This is Teyla, I'm with Colonel Sheppard. Can anyone hear me?' Teyla looked at John with a concerned frown before responding to his earlier question. 'There was a cave-in while you were unconscious. I was attempting to protect you and we were cut off from the rest of our people.'

'I see.' John considered the information for a moment then tried to sit up to relieve some of the discomfort caused by lying scrunched up on his injured side, gratefully accepting assistance from Teyla. Moving awkwardly and taking a lot of deep breaths to manage the pain, John was able to find a reasonably comfortable sitting position, leaning back against the wall of the cave and closing his eyes as he waited for the waves of dizziness and nausea to subside, trying to ignore the warm stickiness that was spreading down his side that told him his wound had started to bleed again.

'What's wrong with your arm?' John asked bluntly as he began to feel a little more in control. In spite of his own pain, he hadn't been oblivious to the awkward way in which Teyla had moved when helping him.

'It is no matter.' Teyla tried to make light of it, but was unable to avoid John's steady gaze that demanded a truthful answer. 'I have injured my arm, I believe it is just a sprain.'

'Let me have a look.' John examined the offending limb, agreeing with Teyla's self-diagnosis. 'I think you're right. It might be as well to strap it up though, got your med-kit?'

'I am sorry, I gave my pack to Mya…'

'Mya!' John suddenly recalled that he hadn't seen or heard her and started looking wildly around the small, enclosed space. 'Where is she? Is she alright?'

'I do not know where she is,' Teyla told him, her voice full of concern. 'She was at the other side of the cave putting your equipment into my pack, but I believe she will be fine, the rocks were not falling near her. Major Lorne and the others will no doubt have taken her to safety.'

John fell silent, considering that the effort Mya's father had made to get her to safety may have been wasted after all.

While he was distracted, Teyla studied him, observing as he shifted to try to find a more comfortable position.

'How are you feeling?' She asked abruptly, startling him out of his silence.

'Apart from having been shot and sustaining a few new bumps and bruises, I'm just peachy.'

'John?' Teyla's voice told him she knew something was wrong and he gave in.

'Ok, ok. I think my side's bleeding again, but there's not much you can do about it so let's just work on how we're going to get out of here.'

Teyla swept her flashlight over the barrier shutting them off from the rest of the cave, both of them looking for any way in which they could help themselves.

'I guess we'll just have to sit back and wait for the rescue party,' John sighed at last, reluctant to do nothing.

'I am afraid there is little else we can do,' Teyla agreed.

'We could be here a while.' John grimaced as he tried to make himself comfortable. 'Or not, ' he added as a worrying quantity of small rocks and rubble began to shower down from the barrier in front of them. 'What the hell are they trying to do – finish us off?'

Curling up close to the wall and protecting themselves as best they could from falling debris, John and Teyla fell silent as the rocks continued to come down.

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To be continued…

The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author