Prologue

She couldn't believe it. She was going to die on her first mission through the Stargate. How could she have been so stupid? She had made a promise to herself before going through the gate that she would be more careful. She had promised her dad, her friends, but more importantly she had promised John. The only man that had understood her and that she had cared for. Of course it would never work between them. They were both Lt. Colonels in the U.S. Air Force and it was forbidden for them to get together, but that didn't stop her from falling in love. Now she wouldn't ever be able to feel his arms around her again. All because of her stupidity that always got in the way.

"Open the damn gate, McKay!" Sheppard yelled as he carried Madison Johnson's lifeless body across the field. The villagers that had greeted them with open arms were now on kill mode and were chasing his team down towards the Stargate. What ever Madison had done to piss off these people must have been pretty bad.

"What happened? What did she do this time? I tried warning you about her Colonel but, as always, you let your personal feelings get in the way!" McKay spat back as he looked behind him at the angry mob making their way towards them.

"Shut up Rodney and open the damn gate, we don't have time to discuss it!" He knew that he was right though. As he looked down at her all he could think of was why he wasn't there to stop her from doing what ever she had done. This relationship had gone too far, too fast. He wished that he didn't feel the way he did but he loved her. Of all the things that he had done over the years, falling in love with her was the dumbest thing he had ever done. Yet he didn't care. All he cared about was getting her through the gate to help.

Once the team reached the Puddle Jumper the villagers were practically on top of them. If it wasn't for Ronan and Teyla, who were firing at them, they would probably be dead by now. McKay was the first one in and he had already started the engines by the time John had set Madison down. He took point as Ronan and Teyla ran in then he quickly shut the door behind them. He could hear the villagers banging on the outside, looking for a weak spot in the hull. Normally he would take the Jumper up slowly with so many people surrounding it, but Madison didn't have time to wait.

As he pulled the Jumper up he could see that half of the villagers were lying on the ground from the blast.

"What did she do?" Ronan asked as he took his seat behind from Sheppard. John didn't know how to respond to him. That was the exact same question he kept asking himself. "I'm not sure." The gate was straight ahead and coming up fast. McKay started to dial the gate when he heard a soft moan coming from the back of the Jumper. When he looked back he saw the Johnson was regaining consciousness. "Colonel Sheppard!" he said and when he had his attention he gestured to where she laid. Without thinking John leapt up and ran to her. This sparked a "What are you doing!" response from McKay but he only half heard him. "Madison? Madison can you hear me?" He didn't know if she had passed out again or if something worse had happened when she opened her eyes to look at him.

"John? What happened to me?" The only thing she could remember was a bright light then hearing his voice. Her last thought before passing out again was that she was glad that she got to see her again, and then everything went black.