Note: Thanks to those of you still reading and reviewing. You make our hearts sing. Just a few more chapters in the mega-story. There actually is and end to this baby, I promise.

Silent Sacrifice – Chapter 30

John moaned softly as he brought his hand up to the side of his head. He felt like someone had stabbed him in the temple and he was checking to see if he felt blood. He was relieved when dry skin and hair met his fingertips. Okay, so he hadn't been stabbed. Shaking his hand to help relieve the tingling sensation, he moved it around to his face and rubbed his eyes, trying to help them open. The buzzing in his ears was beginning to try his patience.

"What is that? Someone make it stop before my head explodes," he pleaded. He dropped his hand to find Rodney leaning over him, looking worried.

"Stop what?"

John lifted his head a bit to look around and immediately regretted it as flashing spots filled his vision. He eased his head down and closed his eyes again. "What is that buzzing noise? It sounds like a huge mosquito is trapped in my ear."

When Rodney didn't answer, John opened his eyes and looked back up at the scientist. "McKay?"

Rodney smiled weakly. "No one else can hear the buzzing noise. It's in your head."

John looked confused for a second. "What, the mosquito?"

Rodney swallowed hard and frowned. "Uh, there is no mosquito. I meant the buzzing. Look, just stay still, Carson's on the way."

"What? Rodney . . . I don't have time for this." John struggled to sit up, pushing against Rodney's hands as they tried to make him stay down. He leaned his aching back against the wall for support as he grit his teeth against the ensuing dizziness. He really didn't have time for this.

"Rodney, you must stop breaking colonel."

John smiled at the voice, realizing that Zelenka and the others had been released from the room. "Hey, Dr. Z. Glad to see you're okay."

"We are fine, colonel, but sad you get blasted."

"Oh, I'm fine. Just need a minute to collect my thoughts." John turned back to Rodney. "We need to get back to work on figuring this out and getting the city fixed. Where's my radio?" he asked as he searched the floor around him.

Zelenka leaned down to pick Sheppard's radio up from the floor and handed it to the pilot.

"Thanks, Dr. Z," said John, taking the radio and putting it on his head. "Carson, this is Sheppard. I don't know what McKay told you, but I'm fine."

"I'll be the judge of that."

John cocked his head at Rodney, thinking the Scottish doctor's voice had sounded strange, even taking the buzzing into account. As those around them turned to look down the hall, he realized it was because Carson was not answering from the radio, but as he approached them.

Rodney moved out of the way to allow Carson to kneel beside John. "I'm glad to see you're conscious, Colonel." Carson immediately began shining the penlight in John's eyes.

"I'm fine, really. Look, we need to do this later so Rodney and I can get back to the control room." John blinked heavily, trying to rid his vision of the afterimages of the penlight.

Carson ignored his protesting patient as he began feeling around the back of John's head, checking for signs of injury. When his fingers found the bump, John winced and pulled away. "Sorry, Colonel. Looks like you've got a nasty bump back there." He turned back to Rodney. "How long was he unconscious?"

Rodney shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I wasn't timing him. Maybe . . . five or six minutes. And he keeps complaining about a buzzing noise."

Carson turned back to John. "What other symptoms do you have, besides the obvious headache?"

John sighed, figuring he wasn't going to get very far until he cooperated for at least a few minutes. "Arm's a little tingly."

oOo

Elizabeth looked forlornly over to Teyla, their eyes meeting in utter despair. The sad thing was that under different circumstances, like they weren't being held hostage and all these excess people would go away, this would be an enjoyable experience. They each sat in large sunken bathtub filled with a bubble bath that was the perfect temperature. She had no idea what they had put in the water, but it made her skin feel like silk and had a subtle, but very pleasant scent.

The problem was that they had each been assigned two girls to bathe them. They were not allowed to bathe themselves. Elizabeth found it extremely embarrassing to have these people she didn't know washing her entire body, even if they were very gentle and acted as though they were used to such things.

When they were finally finished, Allana, who had been supervising, waved her hands at the attendants. "You must get out and be dried now." She waved her hand upward, indicating that they should get up.

Elizabeth grimaced, but stood up and allowed herself to be helped up the slippery steps and out of the tub. She had never felt more vulnerable as she stood naked and shivering, sweet-smelling bubbles sliding down her skin. The two girls who had bathed her began gently drying her with big, soft towels. She kept her eyes on the floor, not wanting to embarrass Teyla or see who might be looking at her. She just kept telling herself it would be over soon, over and over again.

When she was dry, the girls moved away with the towels, leaving her standing there exposed. "Uh, Allana . . . can we have some clothes . . . or even a towel to cover ourselves?"

"Not yet, but soon . . . if you cooperate." Allana walked around Elizabeth and then around Teyla. Elizabeth carefully glanced at Teyla's face about the time the Athosian risked looking at her. Teyla nodded, saying volumes with her expression. It told Elizabeth that she was just as uncomfortable with the situation, but saw no other recourse for the present.

"Very good, ladies. You are ready." Allana nodded and seemed pleased. "Come forward with me."

"What are we ready for?" asked Elizabeth nervously as they followed Allana forward to the center of the room. Allana clapped her hands and the attendants came back across the room, one on each side of Elizabeth and the other two flanking Teyla.

"What is happening?" asked Teyla, an edge to her voice that Elizabeth had never heard before.

Allana nodded to the girls, who each took an arm and held it out away from the Lanteans' bodies. As Allana turned and went toward the door, both women tried to pull their arms loose. One of the women holding Teyla's arm whispered loud enough for both women to hear. "You must not struggle or the king will be angry and have you beaten, possibly killed. You must remain quiet and still if we are to survive."

"What do you mean we?" asked Elizabeth quietly.

"If you create a disturbance that angers the king, your attendants are punished with the same punishment you receive for not doing our duty." The girl's eyes were wide in fear and the girl on Elizabeth's arm nodded in agreement.

"Please, we do not want to die."

Elizabeth stopped struggling and noticed that Teyla had too. They would just have to figure out a way out of this tonight, before they had a chance to be married or executed. She turned her head at the sound of approaching footsteps. She could feel the color creeping up her neck and heating her face as she stood there naked, her arms held out to her sides as the king strode in the room.

He was in his late forties or early fifties, but he wasn't soft. He had the hardened muscles and face of a warrior. His hair and beard were trimmed short, brown just barely frosted with gray. He smiled at the sight of the women before him and nodded his approval. "Nice, Allana, very nice." He proceeded to walk around each woman as they kept their eyes staring straight ahead, their faces expressionless.

He walked up to Elizabeth and stood so close she could feel his breath. She set her jaw when she saw him looking down at her breasts and then below that. It was all she could do not to pull her arm loose and slap him or tell him to put his eyes back in his head. She would not be responsible for the girls around her being whipped or killed, however, so she held her tongue. She half expected him to grab her, the way he was leering, but he didn't. She watched as he did the same thing to Teyla. She calmed herself by imagining Teyla beating him senseless with her fighting sticks . . . clothed of course.

The king finally stepped back, still staring at the two women. "They will be fine, Allana. I sense a fire in them both that I have not seen in a while, I can feel it. They will fight at first and that will make conquering them all the sweeter. I will wed them both tomorrow and they may take turns pleasuring me tomorrow night. Make the preparations." The king abruptly turned and left.

As soon as the door closed, the women released Elizabeth and Teyla's arms. The girl who had warned them bowed. "Thank you for not making trouble. I am deeply grateful."

"You're welcome," said Elizabeth. Now can we have some clothes?"

Allana nodded. "Yes." She nodded at the women, who went off to get clothes for the two prisoners. "We will return you to your room and bring food and then you must get a good night's rest. After your morning meal tomorrow, we will bathe you again and dress you for the wedding. I will tell you of what you must do at that time. It is not hard."

"No, the hard part comes after the wedding," said Elizabeth sarcastically. She wanted to say more, like what kind of bad B movie had they wandered into, but the look Teyla was giving her warned her to wait until they were alone. She decided right then and there that if she ever got back to Atlantis, she was never taking another vacation, and she was firmly smacking anyone who even suggested it.

oOo

"Colonel Sheppard?"

John reached up to key his radio. "This is Sheppard."

"I'm trying to examine you," complained Beckett. Sheppard just shook his head and waved him off.

"We have an incoming wormhole with Major Lorne's IDC."

"I'll be right there," replied Sheppard, already pushing himself to his feet.

"Wait a second, Colonel," objected Beckett. "You have a possible concussion and you received quite a shock, from what Rodney's described. I need you in the infirmary."

John was on his feet by then, leaning against the wall as his vision fogged over for a second. "Not happening, Doc. I'll check in with you later, but I've got to talk to Lorne right now and find out about Elizabeth and Teyla. I'll owe you a visit." He pushed away from the wall and past Beckett, not giving the doctor a chance to stop him.

Rodney patted Beckett on the shoulder. "I'll keep an eye on him," he said as he hurried after Sheppard.

Beckett just let his head fall forward and sighed. "Oh, I feel so much better now," he said sarcastically.

oOo

John and Rodney rushed into the jumper bay as Lorne, Ronon, and the others emerged from the back on the ship. They were disappointed that there was no sign of the two women they went to rescue.

"Lorne, there better be a good reason why you don't have Dr. Weir and Teyla with you."

Lorne nodded. "They weren't on the planet any longer."

John's heart dropped to his feet. "Not on the planet?"

Ronon stepped forward and grinned, his eyes twinkling dangerously. "No, but we know where they are being held."

Ten minutes later, they were seated in the conference room. John barely waited until everyone was seated. "Okay, I want to know what's going on."

Ronon nodded to Lorne that he should explain and Lorne leaned forward, anxious to share what they knew. "We met with the people of Ylia and, although they didn't see the attack, when we told them what we knew of it, they recognized the pattern. It seems a King Theron has this harem of wives, but he periodically gets tired of them and sends his men out to fetch him a few new ones. The Ylians have had several women taken by him over the years."

John frowned. "Do they know where this Theron guy is?"

Ronon nodded. "Yes, they were quite happy to give us the gate address."

John rubbed his forehead and wondered if the knock he took earlier was affecting his thinking. This didn't make any sense. At least the buzzing had gone down a few decibels, making it easier to hear the conversation. "I don't get it. If they know the address and this guy has taken their women, why didn't they just go after them?"

Lorne sighed. "They did send some people after the first kidnapping, but only one made it back. Since then, they just have their women stick close to town and never travel alone. They're afraid of the guy."

"Well, I'm not," said John enthusiastically. "We need to go get them and we need to do it before this guy . . . marries them and rolls out the official welcome mat to his bed. I'm thinking now would be good."

"The villagers said if sticks to his normal schedule, the wedding will be tomorrow, so we still have a few hours. It may take us an hour or two to actually find his camp on the planet. By the time we do that, it will be late enough to slip in without stirring up an all out war, at least we hope we can do that." Lorne looked at Sheppard expectantly.

John wanted to go and it was eating at him that he couldn't. Not only would Beckett never sanction it, but he knew he was off enough to possibly jeopardize the mission and he wasn't willing to risk that. Plus, that would leave no one to run Atlantis. No one but Rodney, and that was a scary prospect in itself.

"All right. Take two jumpers and as many men as you need."

Lorne and Ronon were already getting to their feet before John finished his sentence. Ronon paused at the door to look back at Sheppard and McKay, seeing the pain of staying behind on their faces. "We'll bring them home." And then he was gone.

Thirty minutes later, the two friends stood side by side, watching the jumpers lower and then speed through the gate. When the stargate disengaged, John leaned forward on the rail, letting out a deep breath. He had never realized how hard this must be on Elizabeth, to stand and watch them go, hoping they'd come back safe.

"Rodney, I have an idea." He was trying to distract himself.

"What? I should get back to fixing the city."

"I know, that's what it's about. Can the chair help?"

Rodney frowned and tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

John turned to look at Rodney. "You remember in Antarctica, how the weapons chair displayed the solar system and those other screens? Does our chair do more than weapons?"

Rodney's eyes lit up. "You know, Radek and I have always suspected that it did, but we never seem to have time to check it out."

John nodded. "Okay, you and I are going there now and let's see if it can tell us what's wrong with the city."

McKay looked doubtful. "I don't know, Colonel, I'm not sure you can use it like that."

"What's the harm in trying?"

McKay just shrugged his shoulders. "None, I guess, unless you count me facing Carson's wrath for not sending you straight to the infirmary."

John was already walking toward the door. "I'm fine, McKay, come on."

oOo

"Okay, I'm hooked up," said McKay.

John sat down in the chair, immediately activating it. He concentrated on asking what was wrong with the city. A few seconds later he felt his body get warm and tingly, causing him to shiver slightly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, feeling the link take hold. He was gliding through the city, being led almost like a child and he felt almost disembodied. "I see it," he said several minutes later.

McKay looked surprised and his stance stiffened in response. "You see it . . . really? What . . . I mean where . . . "

"I know where . . . " John stiffened and arched his back up off the chair, grunting under his breath.

"Colonel," said Rodney in alarm, moving over beside Sheppard just as he relaxed against the chair and it disengaged, moving back to an upright position.

John's eyes blinked several times. "Know where problem is," he slurred as he staggered to his feet only to sink immediately to his knees.

"Whoa, boy, take it easy. Are you okay or should I call Carson again?" He was getting worried at how pale Sheppard looked and his slurred speech.

"No . . . 's okay. Follow me." John used Rodney's arm to pull himself back to his feet. He held onto Rodney for support the first few steps, but eventually let go and walked on his own. Rodney was relieved that his speech had also cleared up by the time they reached their destination. John stopped and led Rodney into a room, glancing around.

"What?" asked Rodney, eyes darting nervously around the dark room.

"This is where the Wraith stunned me right before the big attack on Atlantis. He tried to feed on me right over there," he said, pointing across the room. "If Ford and Teyla hadn't arrived when they did . . . "

Rodney swallowed hard. "This is where he was hiding?"

"Yeah." John turned to look at Rodney. "You know where we are, don't you?"

Rodney nodded. "Yeah, the section with the new labs. Where is this problem you discovered?"

John led Rodney to a control panel in the back of the room. He looked at it a second before continuing down to the end. He pointed to a box about the size of brick with three blinking lights on it attached the side of the console.

Rodney looked at it for a few seconds. "That's Wraith."

John nodded. "I know. I guess our friend left us a present."

"It must not have activated until we started bringing this section on line."

"We need to get it off," said Sheppard, still standing there staring at it. "It's hurting her."

McKay looked at him oddly. "Hurting who?"

"Atlantis," he replied, as if that were a perfectly normal thing to say about a city.

"It's hurting the city of Atlantis?"

"Yes . . . I could feel it. It . . . hurt." John grimaced as he remembered the pain that had coursed briefly through his body. "We have to get if off her."

"Okay," said Rodney, becoming increasingly worried at the way Sheppard was referring to the city as if it were a person. "How can we do that?"

John grabbed the box and pulled before Rodney could react. It came off and the lights slowly flickered out, sparks flashing from the ends of disconnected wires. "Like that."

Rodney stood there staring at John, holding the box and shaking slightly. John finally seemed to shrug off whatever state he was in and set the box down. "It was disrupting her systems, working its way in deeper and deeper. But we still need to repair the damage that's already been done."

Rodney stared vacantly for another few seconds before snapping back to the present. "Right." He tried to work on the console before him, but couldn't get it to do anything for several moments. When it finally lit up, he looked over to see Sheppard with his hands on the top of the panel. "Thanks."

John nodded and turned around. "I'm going to sit down over here while you work. Let me know if you need me."

"Okay, that's good. I think sitting is probably a good idea for you at the moment." He watched John sit against the wall and lean his head back before turning back to the control panel and pulling up a chair. "Let's see what's going on here," he muttered to himself as he dived in.

oOo

Elizabeth looked at Teyla, standing a few feet in front of her, visible only by the moonlight streaming in the window. "I feel ridiculous," she said quietly.

Teyla looked at Elizabeth and then down at herself. They were both dressed in the most beautiful, elegant floor length gowns that she had ever seen. Hardly proper attire for carrying out an escape, but they had taken their usual clothes and this was all they had. "I admit, these dresses will make escape a little more difficult."

Elizabeth nodded as she swirled the large skirt, trying to figure out how to keep from tripping over it. "Yeah, but I guess it beats being naked."

"Definitely," said Teyla firmly, remembering the indignation of their earlier showing. "What is that?" Teyla indicated the object in Elizabeth's hand.

Elizabeth held out the small statue of the king she had grabbed from one of the tables. "It's a statue. I thought I could use it as a weapon."

Teyla frowned and shook her head. "Perhaps we should work together when we return to Atlantis. I could teach you some things. Try one of these." Teyla held out a long wooden object that reminded Elizabeth of the Athosian's fighting sticks. She held another in the other hand.

"What are these?" she asked as she set the statue down and took the stick.

"They were chair legs. I'm borrowing them."

Elizabeth glanced across the room to see a chair on its side and missing two legs. Maybe she should work with Teyla when they returned. Her thoughts were interrupted by a scuffling noise in the hall. Both women backed away from the door, stepping to either side and raising their sticks. Someone fumbled at the door for a few seconds and then opened it. Teyla barely diverted her weapon on its way to crashing into Lorne's head.

"Major!" said Elizabeth, grinning and breathing out with relief. She watched as Ronon and several others came into the room.

"Dr. Weir, are you and Teyla all right?" He was looking somewhat dumbfounded at the way they were dressed.

"We're fine and . . . long story. Let's get out of here."

Teyla grabbed Elizabeth's arm. "Do you think we could release the others?"

Elizabeth nodded. "If we can find them . . . and I may have an idea about that. I think the girls from earlier would help."

As they left the room, Teyla saw Ronon looking at her a little differently than he usually did. "Ronon, what is it?"

"You look different. I . . . like it." Ronon quickly averted his eyes as he realized what he'd just said.

Teyla smiled and blushed slightly. "Thank you, Ronon. We must leave now," she said as she hurried from the room, not sure how to handle the situation.

oOo

Rodney took one last look at his computer screen before activating his radio. "Okay, Radek, try it now."

"Yes, Rodney, it is working. We can finish from here now."

Rodney sighed and let his head fall forward. "Okay, we'll head back to the control room."

Rodney's last sentence somehow perforated the fog that had settled on John's brain. He lifted his head up from the wall, stirring the sharp pain that had subsided for a while. "We done here?"

Rodney began packing his computer up. "Yes, Radek says everything's coming back online now. I need to get back to the control room and help him get everything set back up." He turned to see Sheppard using the wall to pull himself to his feet. He swayed a second before walking forward, rolling his head as he rubbed his neck. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just tired and I think I now have a kink in my neck. Let's get back."

"You know, you could go ahead to the infirmary. I'm a big boy, I can make it back to the control room by myself."

"McKay, don't even start. This is far from over and I'm not going to the infirmary. Let's go." Sheppard walked out of the room and headed for the control room, with Rodney following reluctantly behind.

"Stubborn idiot," Rodney muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I'm right behind you."

"That's what I thought."

oOo

"Incoming wormhole."

After a few hours of answering calls from across the city and running errands for Rodney and Radek, John had sat down for a minute and almost dozed off sitting straight up. The call from the technician made him jump and he'd come close to dumping himself on the floor. Recovering quickly, he got his feet.

"Is it them?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm getting Major Lorne's IDC and a transmission."

"Major Lorne, this is Sheppard. Please tell me you have good news." John unconsciously held his breath, silently thinking please let them be okay.

"Colonel, we have everyone and we're all safe and sound. You might want to roll out the welcome mat for our formal return in about ten minutes."

John raised his eyebrows and looked around to McKay, who was staring at him with his mouth slightly open. He just shook his head and raised his arms in a motion that obviously meant he was just as confused as John.

"Okay . . . we'll see you in ten minutes. Atlantis out."

John called Carson to let him know Lorne's team had found Teyla and Elizabeth and then watched a few minutes later as the jumper came through the gate and rose to the jumper bay. As the second jumper came through safely, he turned to the tech on duty. "I'll be in the jumper bay."

"Yes, sir," said the tech, thinking about how it was usually Dr. Weir saying those same words.

As he rushed to the jumper bay, he discovered Rodney beside him. "I thought you were busy."

"Not that busy," said Rodney as they entered the bay and watched the hatch come down. A couple of soldiers came out of the jumper, followed by Teyla and Elizabeth. John and Rodney both did a double take at the way the women were dressed, both looking very beautiful in their fancy dresses.

"Wow, you guys are hot," said John, thinking about what he said after the words were already out of his mouth. "Uh, that is, you look nice. So did they rescue you or interrupt you?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh this was most definitely a rescue. I wasn't really in the mood to get married, especially to that pig." She shuddered.

John frowned and stepped forward a step. "He didn't hurt you did he?" he asked sharply, anger mounting at the thought of someone forcing himself on either of his friends.

"No, no, nothing like that." Elizabeth looked sheepishly at Teyla and then back to John. "He just . . . creeped me out, that's all. He never laid a hand on us. That was to come after the wedding, which these guys fortunately saved us from."

John relaxed a bit and nodded. "Okay, as long as you're okay."

"We are and we even managed to release the women who didn't want to be there. Some wanted to stay, but the ones that didn't were escorted to the gate and we stood watch while they dialed to their homeworld. I'd say we did our good deed for the day." Elizabeth smiled over at Teyla.

"Yes, I am glad we could release them. I wish we could have spared them the humiliation of what must have come before, but at least they are able to return to their families now." Teyla nodded to Elizabeth and returned her smile.

"What's all this now? I see we have royalty visiting Atlantis."

They all turned to see Carson entering the jumper bay. He was grinning as he approached and winked at the well-dressed ladies.

"Hardly," said Elizabeth. Her expression suddenly sobered. "What about Lt. Cadman?"

Beckett continued to smile. "She's fine, lass, recuperating nicely in the infirmary. And that's where I need you two visions of beauty, the infirmary, so I can check you out."

"Actually, I will be glad to get out of this," said Teyla. "It is beautiful, but not really what I would select to escape an enemy camp. It is very . . . restrictive."

"It might be interesting to stick fight you in that thing," commented John. "Maybe I could actually win."

Teyla glared at him as she walked past. "I highly doubt that."

"So, how did everything go?" asked Elizabeth.

"Oh, you know, the expedition leader kidnapped, all the power shut down, people stuck in rooms all over the city . . . nothing big."

"Well, as long as you didn't have any trouble," said Elizabeth. "You'll have to brief me later, Carson's waving so hard his arm is going to fall off. I'd better get to the infirmary."

"Yeah, I guess. You smell good." John blushed a little as he realized what he'd said. "I mean . . . not that you don't ordinarily smell good, but you just smell extra good today. How come I don't get to come back from being rescued all rested and nicely dressed and smelling good? By the time bad guys are done with me, I'm usually lucky if I have any clothes left at all."

Elizabeth just sighed and raised her nose in the air. "It's in your technique, John. Maybe you should work on that." She managed to keep from laughing until she'd left the room.

John looked at Rodney. "Don't say a word."

Rodney just grinned. "Not saying a word."

Beckett's voice came over the radio in John's ear. "Colonel, I believe you owe me a visit. I'd suggest you make your way down to the infirmary before I send my two biggest orderlies with a gurney and a set of restraints."

John sighed and rubbed his aching head. Maybe he would at least get a couple of Tylenol out of the deal. He hit his radio button. "On my way, Doc. No need to send reinforcements."

TBC