Author's Note: Sorry about that earlier A/N, but I was having a very bad day; hopefully, postingthis one early will make up for it. I hope this chapter makes you happy, Tigger!

Chapter Three - "Tricks and a Mistake (or 'Dupes and Oops')"

"Can't wait 'til they get what they deserve. This time somebody's gettin' hurt. Here comes the next contestant. Is that your hand on my girlfriend? Is that your hand? I wish you'd do it again. I'll watch you leave here limping. I wish you'd do it again. I'll watch you leave here limping. I wish you'd do it again. Each night seems like it's gettin' worse. I wish you'd do it again. This time somebody's gettin' hurt." - Nickelback, "Next Contestant"

"Where are you going?" Evie asked when she saw Sheppard holstering his weapon.

"Marong said that there was a strange temple about a mile away from the city that he thinks I should check out. Care to join me?"

"Sure," she nodded, grabbing her 9 mm from the gear she had laid down and strapping it on. She called to Summer and told her where they were going. Just as she and Sheppard started walking, Evie noticed that her shoelace had come untied and so bent over to remedy the situation. After a few seconds, she noticed that Sheppard was looking her over. "What was that!" she asked, quickly straightening up, the lace snugly tied.

"What was what?" he asked, his face a perfect mask of innocence.

"You were looking!" Evie accused.

"I was not," Sheppard answered indignantly.

"You were totally looking."

"I would never," Sheppard said, defending himself. Evie crossed her arms and frowned slightly. "Okay…maybe I would," he conceded, "but I didn't." Evie faintly raised her eyebrows, still not believing him. "Okay…maybe I did, but only a little," he confessed at last.

Evie sighed, shaking her head. "Men are hopeless."

"Well, you said it yourself, it's men, not just me."

"Are you ready to go, Colonel?" she asked, effectively changing the subject.

"Yes, ma'am." He answered in mock deference. They began walking and Sheppard's larger strides soon put him several feet in front of Evie.

"Hey, no fair," she called. "You've got longer legs."

"So walk faster, Shorty," he teased, slowing his pace slightly to allow her to catch up. "Hey, what was with you and Jakof?" he asked after a minute. "You really layed into him when he tried to just talk to you."

Evie looked down. "Yeah… He reminds me of someone…"

"Someone?" Sheppard made a rolling motion with his hands.

"An old boyfriend," she said after a pause. "He even looks like him."

"Bad memories?" Sheppard asked, curious as to what the person from her past could have done to cause her to react to Jakof the way she did.

Evie's jaw tightened and she felt her temper flare; she couldn't believe he was pressing the matter! "Yeah. The jerk played me for six months!" she replied, the hostility evident in her voice. "Is there anything else you want to know about my personal life?" She was aware that she was now raising her voice to someone who outranked her. She quickly dropped her eyes. "Sir, I'm sorry…I just…" she trailed off and continued walking.

After an awkward pause, Sheppard said softly, "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have pressed."

"You're fine," she replied. "I told myself that I had stopped caring years ago, anyway."

Instead of letting an awkward silence set in, Sheppard attempted to change the subject. "Oh yeah, what was it that you and Akerly were laughing about so hysterically earlier?"

"Oh!" Evie began giggling. "Well, you know how JoAnna Beckerdite can be a bit of a blonde sometimes?" Sheppard nodded his head; instead of stupid mistakes being called "blonde moments", they were now referred to as "pulling a JoAnna" on Atlantis. She was a brilliant computer scientist, but wasn't the brightest crayon in the box when it came to other subjects. "Well, Captain Jacobs was telling her about his sister who had gotten married just a week before the Captain had joined the Atlantis mission. He said that his sister was from Milwaukee and that her new husband was from Puerto Rico. Then, completely serious, JoAnna said, 'Wait! Aren't those two countries fighting right now?'" Sheppard laughed in response. Evie and Summer had been nearly rolling on the floor that morning. He hadn't seen her giggle that much since…

"We could make the loser drink hot sauce like last time," Michael suggested, writing the names of the players down on the notepad in front of him.

"We could, but I don't think that Dr. Grodin would enjoy vomiting all over the mess hall again, would you Peter?" Zelenka asked, grinning at the scientist seated next to him.

Peter gave the Czech a wry smile. "Funny, Doctor, but I do believe that your winning streak has come to an end." Zelenka shrugged.

"Is it to be just the six of us this evening?" asked Carson, reaching for Rodney's bag of chips.

"Major Johnson would have been here but he had a date with one of th-- Hey! Those are my special salt-free, low fat chips!" Rodney cried, snatching the bag away from the doctor.

"Aye, and they're bloody disgusting," Carson replied with a frown as he reached for his water bottle. "How can you eat those things?"

"You guys haven't started yet, have you?" Ford asked, entering the room where the other Atlantis men had gathered to see how their lucked fared with the dice.

"You made it just in time," Sheppard said, adding another chair to the table.

"Good," Ford said, sitting down next to the Major. "Because I have the best idea for a penalty." They had stopped playing for money several weeks ago. They now played for laughs, as the loser was forced to do something embarrassing. The men slowly grinned as Ford explained his suggestion.

"That's great," Sheppard said, and the other men quickly agreed.

"Wait, are we doing this to Dr. Weir?" Michael asked, reaching for his soft drink.

"Nope." Ford shook his head and grinned. "Whatever woman the loser runs into first."

"Even better!" Peter declared with an impish grin.

"Alright, gentlemen, we know the wager," Rodney said, shaking the dice in his hand. "Good luck."

XXXXXX

"Well," Michael said, quickly tallying up the scores on the notepad, "Zelenka is still the reigning champion." They were several groans around the table. "Although Rodney was a close second."

"Please tell me I didn't lose for the third week in a row," Peter said, glancing worriedly at the numbers in the hand of the anthropologist beside him.

"No," Michael said, shaking his head. "You came in second to last, with two hundred points more than…Major Sheppard."

Sheppard rolled his eyes and sighed as his coworkers, his friends, laughed in anticipation of what was to come. Ford elbowed his superior teasingly. "C'mon, Major. Let's go find your victim." Rodney quickly put the dice away and the small group stepped out of the room and into the hall, searching for the nearest female.

As it was late, there weren't many people around. Knowing there would be a few geeks working late, they stopped at one of the computer labs, the men ushering Sheppard in first. There was only a handful of people working, and they all appeared to be men. Ford grinned, however, when he saw Evie talking with one of the scientists. "Brooks," he said, pointing to the young lady and pushing Sheppard forward.

"Ford, I really don--"

"Lieutenant?" Ford called.

"Sir?" Evie looked up, searching for who had addressed her.

"Could you come here for a moment?" Ford was grinning from ear to ear now, as were the other men.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," she told the young scientist before walking over to the group of smirking men. She gave the ensemble a weird look. "Yes, Aiden?" Realizing that it wasn't a superior officer who had summoned her, she reverted to his first name, as they were fairly good friends.

"Major Sheppard has something to tell you," he informed her with a boyish grin, his eyes glinting mischievously. Evie looked to Sheppard, who just stood there, motionless. "Major?" Ford said, nudging his superior.

Sheppard sighed. This would teach him not to gamble. And with all the scientists watching! He cleared his throat and silently prayed that he could at least stay on-key. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray." His cheeks starting to flush, he looked to Ford, hoping the man had had enough, but the Lieutenant merely grinned and made a rolling motion with his hand, prompting Sheppard to finish. "You'll never know, dear--" his comrades snickered quietly as he attempted to hit the higher note "--how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away." His companions, as well as the other occupants of the room, laughed as they applauded.

Ford clapped Sheppard on the shoulder, "That was great, Major. You'd completely sweep the Atlantis Grammys," he joked.

After recovering from a momentary giggle fit, Evie asked, "Major…do I even want to know?"

Sheppard shook his head. "I think I'm going to leave now," he said, turning to go, the other men slowly exiting the room with the occasional attack of repeat laughter.

"Thanks for the serenade, sir," she teased as she watched him beat a hasty retreat…

"And just what are you smirking about, Colonel?" she asked, drawing him from his daydream.

"Nothing," he answered as they moved into an area of the wood where the trees were closer together. He saw the knuckles flying towards him for only a split second, then he was sprawled on the ground, knocked down by the force of the blow. Evie gasped and nearly tripped over her fallen companion. She looked up at Sheppard's attacker and froze.

Slightly dazed by the sudden blow to his face, Sheppard gingerly sat up, bringing his fingers up to his throbbing nose. When he withdrew them, they were covered in blood. Then he looked up and saw what had stopped Evie dead in her tracks. There were two men wearing hoods hovering over them. One of them had a pistol pointed at Evie's head. The other brute held a large knife with a menacing looking blade.

"What the hell is this?" the thug with the knife snarled. "He was supposed to be alone."

"Well, we can't just leave her here, now can we?" the second man snapped. He swore at Evie before grabbing her arm and twisting it roughly behind her back. Evie cried out in pain and struggled against her assailant. "Don't even think about it, sweetheart, or not only will my buddy here slit your friend's throat, but I'll blow you to kingdom come," he growled. Evie stopped fighting against the man and looked down at Sheppard, frightened.

"Get up," the first man growled, pointing his knife at John.

Glaring at the man, Sheppard slowly stood to his feet. He would have made a grab for his gun a long time ago, but didn't want to risk harm to Evie. When he looked over at her, he could see the fear in her eyes. "What the hell do you want?" he asked his captors, not a hint of panic evident in his voice.

"Shut up. Search 'em," the thug holding Evie ordered. The man with the knife nodded and quickly removed Sheppard's gun, tossing it into a bush several yards away. Then he began to frisk him, checking carefully to make sure the Colonel wasn't carrying any other weapons. He found John's knife and quickly confiscated it, placing it in his pocket. Then he yanked Sheppard's radio rather unceremoniously from his ear and stashed it with his prisoner's blade. Satisfied, he turned and looked Evie slowly up and down. Evie rolled her eyes in disgust.

Quickly seizing her gun, he sent it to join Sheppard's. "Your turn, baby," he sneered lasciviously as he proceeded to search her thoroughly. Very thoroughly. Evie stiffened as the man's hands wandered a little further than necessary.

"Get your hands off her," Sheppard growled, a thread of steel in his voice.

"You, Colonel, are in no position to demand anything," the man scoffed, sliding his hand up Evie's thigh. Evie kicked the man hard in the shin and was rewarded by her captor forcing her arm up higher. She inhaled sharply, but didn't cry out, refusing to give him that satisfaction. Deciding that Evie was free of any extra weapons, the man reluctantly removed his hands from her body, much to Evie's relief. He ripped out her earpiece as well, but threw it to the ground and crushed it under the heel of his boot.

He then walked over to Sheppard and fished a pair of handcuffs from his pocket, cuffing the Colonel's hands tightly behind his back. "Glad I brought an extra set just in case," he muttered to himself as he bound Evie's wrists as well.

The man strode over to stand behind Sheppard, and prodded the Colonel with the tip of his knife. "Walk," he ordered, guiding Sheppard with harsh pokes. John glanced back worriedly at Evie. His abductor jabbed him roughly with his blade. "Don't worry about your girlfriend, just keep moving," he growled. Not wanting to risk harm to Evie, Sheppard did as he was told. They were in trouble. Deep trouble.