Thank you Angela! I don't know where John would be without you...ok...probably in the same situation but heck, it wouldn't be as neatly written that's for sure!

Many thanks to anyone who reads and everyone who reviews :) It's always nice to know people care...oh look at that, I'm getting all teary eyed :) I hope you will enjoy this chapter!

Doubt

"Ow"

First thought, pain. The headache of the century. He pushed himself to a sitting position slowly opening his eyes. No bright lights assaulted him, for which he was grateful. He leaned against a wall and took in his surroundings. A room, small and sparingly furnished. He sat on a long, wide cushion placed on the floor in a corner. There was a small wooden table and a chair across the room, a bucket in the opposite corner.

The room was naturally lighted. A large glassless window stretched above him letting the sunlight in. He closed his eyes a moment and massaged his temples in an attempt to soothe his throbbing head. Hearing footsteps, he stood as fast as his sluggish body would allow.

A woman entered the room. She wore a cloak of green gauzy material that covered her from neck to toes. Fiery red hair cascaded down her back. She walked slowly, cautiously, eyeing John as he eyed her.

"You have awakened. I am pleased"

"Yes, I have… but…I'm not exactly sure why I was sleeping here…"

She smiled sweetly at his inquiringly lifted eyebrow. "No, I suppose you are not. It must be a great surprise!"

She fell silent. Great, a deliberately obtuse…keeper? He wasn't sure. Was he a prisoner? There were no guards, no restraints, not even a door to this room, only a door shaped hole in the wall near the bucket.

"What am I doing here?" He adopted a deceivingly nonchalant pose, leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

"You belong here," she answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Of course, he belonged here, that made complete sense! Yes! On a strange planet, in a strange galaxy, this was where he was meant to be. Not in Atlantis, not with his team. His stomach plummeted as he remembered the predicament in which they had been. Last thing he remembered was Rodney saying it had to be a dream whilst they lay on a platform, nearing death from being barbecued by his evil twin.

Affected nonchalance gave way to intense scrutiny. "Where's my team?"

The woman sat on the chair by the desk. She'd removed her cloak, uncovering a leather dress. It reminded John of the long leather skirt Teyla often wore, the one with slits down its side. Without the long part. The woman reclined in the chair, crossing her legs. John gave an idle thought to Sharon Stone and the miracles of little white dresses in 90's thrillers before stopping himself. This was not a good time to think of murderous seductresses.

"Your…companions are well; there is no cause for worry."

How he hated people who said that. It was always done in the hopes of bringing a false sense of security to the situation. Here he was, in a strange place, with a strange woman, without his team and there was no cause for worry?

"I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you on that. Seems I've been abducted and lost my team. That, to me, is a cause for worry. It wouldn't be so bad if you could just tell me why I'm here and what or where this place is."

The woman looked positively confused. She got up and walked over to where John tensely stood. She laid a hand on his arm and looked up to meet his eyes.

"This is your home! You belong here!"

One crazy alien woman, coming right up! Maybe it was his ancient gene, maybe he gave off some kind of 'I'm yours for the taking' vibe that made women insane. He hoped Rodney would never hear of this, he'd have a field day! When he got out of here and reunited with his team, he would lie! Lie through his teeth! Say he'd been taken by big hairy men who wanted to enslave him! Oh…what if that's what the woman meant! He needed to get her to talk. Crazy or not, she probably had a few answers for him.

"I belong here?"

She took a step closer and fitted her body closely to his. He backed up a step and hit the wall. She raised a hand to stroke his cheek.

"I have found you…" Her green eyes shone brightly.

"That you have. Why were you looking for me?"

She pouted prettily and scooted closer to him. "I have never stopped looking for you, not since the moment you were made to leave. I told you I would find a way. You doubted me didn't you? You never truly had faith in my abilities!"

She turned away from him, hands on hips. When he made no move towards her she turned back, pout firmly in place.

"Don't you have anything to say?"

Did he ever! "I don't know what this is about but I've never, seen you, before." Oh no, oh no, wrong thing to say, wrong thing to say! Panic! Strategic retreat would be ideal right about now! He'd seen that look on many girlfriends before. The one that said he was screwed. The eyes narrowed, the lips went further into pouting mode and a hand came to rest upon a canted hip while the other lifted a pointed finger.

"After all this time, all my efforts you still cannot be a gentleman! I don't know why I waste my time on you!" With those words, the woman spun around and left, forgetting the cloak that lay on the desk. John was left to ponder upon this strange encounter.

He walked to the door, intent on following the woman and asking for some sort of explanation but quickly realised this wasn't feasible as he took a step outside and encountered only air. Lunging backwards, he made a timely grab of the doorway saving himself from a deathly plunge.

The room stood a long way above ground. He could see the woman exiting from some sort of elevator down below. He watched her walk until she disappeared in a thickly forested area then turned back to evaluate his chance of escape.

He took inventory of the items available to him and came up quite short of the desired James Bond paraphernalia. He had a bucket, a chair, a table, and a cushion. McKay's voice echoed in his mind 'what am I, McGyver'. To his credit, after speaking those words, McKay had in fact found them a way home.

"As long as I can breathe…" John spoke his credo aloud in the hopes of encouraging himself. He'd always managed to escape difficult situation; there was no reason why he couldn't do it now. He was not burning and that was a good thing…right?

His chest tightened. What if this was death? What if they'd all died on that platform and this was…Heaven? He snorted in self-disgust. Highly unlikely, he'd probably end up in Hell with all the things he had done. Going from the basis that they were all alive and well, John decided he needed a plan since, according to his count, it was his turn to save the day. Apparently, he and Rodney had this 'thing' going on where each had his turn at being the hero. He'd been quite surprised when he heard of this from Teyla after their trek in the virtual reality, virtual environment, on the Aurora but now he was glad he knew. Saving himself was never as big of an incentive as saving his people.

"Hey, whatever works" he said to the empty room as he shrugged in apparent carelessness. "That's right, keep up the appearance; you might just convince yourself you're that much of a bad-ass, John!"

He ran a hand through his hair, taking a moment to push away the helplessness he felt. Raising his head and squaring his shoulders in a defiant stance, he moved throughout the room, looking for something, anything that would permit him to make sense of the situation.