Disclaimer: I only own Dr Alison Madison. I don't own Stargate Atlantis or it's characters unfortunately. If I did John and Elizabeth would be ducking into closets all over the city. Ronon and Teyla would have done more than give each other those smouldering looks. And Rodney would so get some action. After all, you got to love that brain of his. Plus there would be lots of scenes where alien influences causes many of the men in the city to take off their shirts or risk death.

AN: I was reading some fan fics the other day and I stumbled across Orangeswirl's story Trespasser (really good story by the way). I noticed the similarity in the name I've used in this story to the name used in that one. This was of course unintentional, but thought I'd clarify anyway.

Some feedback would be very much appreciated.

Spoilers: Season 2 up to Coup D'Etat.

Summary: "It was only now in the privacy of her own room she allowed herself to mourn the fact that she would never again see the annoyingly endearing smile of one Major Marcus Lorne." Based on the episode Coup D'Etat. Lorne/OC.

Part: 2/3

Those Left Behind

Caged

This was not high up on his list of priorities. No sir, getting captured and held hostage in some dank prison cell by a gang Genii rebels was in fact pretty low down the list. Perhaps somewhere below being teamed with McKay once again or crossing path with an Unas, they still kind of creeped him out, (not to mention that he could live without the memory of his emptying his stomach in front of members of SG-1, kind of embarrassing for an air force major, even if it had been for a good reason). But then again, back to priorities, this whole situation was still above torturous and impeding death at the hands of the Wraith; if only just.

So far they could find no way and out and any plan formulated seemed like it had zero chance of actually working. For a brief second, and he couldn't stress the brief enough, he wished McKay had actually been with them. He may be a royal pain in the ass for sure, but he was definitely a genius. They could probably use a genius about now. Maybe he should have paid more attention in school. Then again, he was unsure how paying attention in Biology, rather than making little paper airplanes would really help at this precise moment. Hmm, maybe he should have paid more attention but they hadn't really taught a class on how to get your ass out of prison when ambushed in another galaxy. Perhaps they should, because apparently everything he had learnt in the academy or during his stint at the SGC and in Atlantis, was not helping one little bit.

Leaning heavily against the wall of the cell, Lorne sighed and without much else to do he let his mind wonder. He speculated whether being kidnapped, forced through the Stargate onto another planet, God only knows where, and locked up meant he was still on duty. Well, he hadn't had a vacation in a while. He just hadn't thought his company would be all male and the accommodation would be worse than his dorm first year at the academy. Plus there was the whole danger thing and the fact it was against his will. Ok, maybe he had been locked up a little too long; he was starting to sound a little irrational; nothing could be worse than that dorm!

Was it stupid for him to consider getting captured a blow to his ego? Even in his head it sounded stupid, but he was responsible for the team. Did it say something about his leadership as they sat in a prisoner cell thousands of light years (well he assumed it was thousands) away from Atlantis? He should have seen that ambush coming. It was his job after all, and it wasn't some job where you just fired for making a mistake. People died if he didn't get it right. Or if he got himself captured by a group who had at one time tried to take his city by force. Yep, so not a good situation to be in right now.

Then again, he wasn't any worse than Colonel Sheppard on the capture stakes and he still considered him to be a good CO. Though it seemed on the 'getting your ass out of the fire stakes', he was somewhat behind. He was really starting to get tired of staring at these bars.

Someone on Atlantis would figure out what had happened. Even faster if Dr Lindsay had made it, she would have radioed for backup even if had been too late to stop the capture. He had been involved in too many rescue missions, usually these involved going in after his CO, to believe that they weren't coming for them. He was after all an optimist, definitely a half full glass kind of guy. But as he rubbed his neck slightly, very aware of his absent dog tags, he had a good idea of what they may have been taken for. Still, Weir could be a pit bull when her people were missing and the combined IQ of the expedition was so ridiculous someone would realise what had actually happened. And like that the glass was half full again.

He wondered if Alison would be worried about him. Of course she would, he told himself, you don't just stop caring about someone because of a stupid fight. A nagging part of his brain told him that maybe she didn't care as much as he thought she had. After all, he hadn't thought it had been an unreasonable suggestion. The two of them had been together for many months now, so the suggestion that they share a room didn't seem like too much of leap. Ok, so it was the Atlantis equivalent of moving in together, but it's not like others hadn't already done it. He had heard a few of the scientist were adjusting to domestic bliss very well. The fact was that they seemed to spend most nights together anyway, when he wasn't off world, so it seemed practical to have a space that was theirs, with their stuff. When he came back from a mission he wanted to be able to shower and just slip into bed next to her, without having to traipse half way across the city first so he could dump his gear and get a clean change of clothes; he only had so many shirts he could leave at hers and sometimes using her shampoo caused a few comments and ribbings from his team mates, who claimed that smelling of strawberries was fine by them if it made him happy. They had of course remained quiet after he had suggested they might fancy a little time in the Brig, but those smirks were a lot harder to get rid of. Maybe in the end he just wanted to come back to her, rather his cold and empty room. She hadn't been so enthusiastic about the idea. She claimed it was too fast and they needed their own space. Space smace, he just needed to be with her, he got enough space travelling through the Stargate for days on end. He, in contrast, hadn't felt like it was too fast. They had never actually said those three little words to each other, but he had been sure they both felt them. From where he was sitting their relationship already seemed pretty darn serious, but her reluctance had given him doubts. Was he just entertainment, an ongoing fling whilst they were away from Earth? Something to fill the void, the loneliness? Because in a job like this it sure could get lonely. Would things have been different if they had been on Earth? Maybe if they had met at the SGC?

No, he couldn't be just a fling; she had to care about him. Despite what she may have accused him off, he knew her. He just wished he knew what she was afraid of.

He had claimed that all her arguments against them moving in together had just been excuses. She had claimed that he was acting all gung-ho and he should actually put some thought into it. He had been hurt and she had been defensive and it seemed that hadn't been a very good combination. Before either of them had realised it, their slight disagreement had escalated into a major row, even louder than the rollicking McKay had receive off Weir after he had accidentally destroyed that solar system. Lorne wouldn't have been surprised it the whole of Atlantis had heard the screaming. It vaguely occurred to him to wonder what the rumour mill had been spitting out. He had only just thought about it, but it sure did explain the curious glances his team had sent his way before they had embarked through the gate and why no one had questioned his mood. Their disagreement had ended with her declaring that he was selfish and obviously didn't understand a thing about her and with him storming out of her room after declaring that she really thought highly of him if that had really been what she thought. He had heard the crash as he left but sure as hell wasn't curious enough to see what she had thrown at his retreating back. He had tossed and turned all night, in his own bed, so hadn't been in the best mood the next morning. Still being a mixture of annoyed, hurt and confused he had not sought her out to apologise. After all, he still had some pride. She had been the one to strike him down. The fact that she hadn't sought him out either had made him resist even more. After all, he had made his intentions clear. He didn't know what was going on in that head of hers, but she had to figure it out for herself. They had probably both said some things they didn't mean in the heat of the moment, but that didn't change the fact that this fight had come from somewhere. It was like she had been trying to pick a fight with him and perhaps subconsciously they had both been aware of it. It was this thought that had pushed him through the gate without finding out exactly where they stood even though he had the momentary (and in his opinion irrational) urge to find her and beg for forgiveness. But in his defence he wasn't expecting to be taken prisoner.

Maybe he was dwelling on this too much. He was in charge of these men; he was responsible for their lives. They needed to think of another plan to get the hell out of here. Even if there were only a small chance it would be successful, it would be better than nothing. It would be better than just waiting around. Catching the eye of his second in command he gave the silent order, as he was wary of the armed guard that had just appeared; it was time to put their thinking caps on.

Not much time had passed, when there was a commotion heard in the corridor. The heavy footfalls and strange scraping sound alerted the prisoners before they could see what was actually happening. The mind can process things at an alarming rate and Lorne briefly faced the reality that this could be the end. The numerous armed guards they had expected soon fell in his eye line, causing him to frown, as they appeared to be dragging a group of bodies towards them. All was made clear an instant later, when several men were unceremoniously dumped into the cell with them. It took a moment to realise who they were and when he did his spirits lifted somewhat. When he had wished for McKay's expertise early, however, he had been hoping he would be conscious at the time. Kneeling down quickly he tried to revive him, whilst his team did the same to the others. Oh well, they were still alive and they would come round eventually. On the plus side, where McKay was you could be sure Colonel Sheppard wasn't too far behind. It all seemed to be a matter of waiting now.

The wait was not that long as their captor appeared once more and he wasn't alone.

"Lorne!" He stood as the door was unlocked and his CO stepped through. Ok, so maybe this wasn't going to be quite the rescue operation he had counted on. But, still at least it was something. Sheppard walked into the cell and the door was locked behind him.

"Major." Sheppard directed at him and then quickly took in his team. "Boys."

"Colonel."

"Way to be alive." Well, it was something he was also quite happy about at the moment. But, Lorne couldn't help wondering why he sounded so surprised. This probably wasn't going to be something he would want to hear.

"Thanks, sir! So, uh, have you come to rescue us?"

"Well, until about a moment ago I thought you were dead, but now that I see you speaking and breathing, yeah, I'm thinkin' about it." Oh, great. Everyone thought they were dead. So not a rescue mission like he had first thought, just one hell of a coincidence. Damn, those villagers must have been good. Not surprising really, they had managed to fool them for a long time. He wondered if the reward had been worth it.

"Well, good! Let me know if there's anything we can do to help, huh?" All joking aside Lorne was so very relived to see him. Sure they were all in the same predicament now, but if you were to be trapped with anyone, who better than John Sheppard, he swore that man had at least nine lives. If there was anyone who could get out of impossible situations, Lorne was standing right next to him. Then maybe he could put a stop to this nasty little rumour he was dead.