Author's note: Sorry if the chapters seem shorter sometimes, you guys. It just happens that way at times. I'll try to make it up to you!

OOOOOOOOO

Ian was gone a grand total of thirty seconds before Rodney McKay's natural curiosity overcame his nervousness at being alone in a (maybe) abandoned city with absolutely no idea of how to get home. He was in Atlantis, after all – at least, that's what the kid claimed, and everyone else seemed to agree – and that was something. Not to mention he was surrounded by technology he'd never seen before – including what looked like some kind of super computer. That right there was enough to get his fingers itching.

He shoved the rest of the Power bar he'd been eating into his mouth and wiped off his hands, looking down at the keyboard the kid had uncovered. There wasn't any English, of course, but McKay could read some Ancient, and he thought the symbols were tantalizingly familiar in some places. Enough that he was certain he could figure it out. The idea that he might touch the wrong keystroke and set off something bad didn't even cross his mind – although he did recall the kid's command not to touch anything.

"He's not the boss of me," McKay muttered to himself, reaching his hand down to press the closest key.

"Doctor McKay?"

Rodney about jumped out of his skin, and whirled towards the door Ian had left through, his pack sitting right at the entrance so he wouldn't have to tote it around. The door was still closed.

"McKay?" The voice repeated, and this time it sounded a little annoyed.

Rodney realized that it was coming from his radio. Something he wasn't all that used to carrying around, really. Annoyed at being startled, he keyed the mike.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"I couldn't be so lucky," was the immediate comeback, and McKay scowled. Smart-assed little punk.

"What do you want?" he asked, just as annoyed.

"I was just going to remind you that we have radios, so if you get into trouble, or hear anything from SG-4 or the SGC contact me."

"Fine. Did you find what you were looking for yet?"

"I've gone a whole hundred steps."

"Well hurry up. I don't want to be here all day."

"Try not to eat all the supplies."

And the radio went dead.

Punk.

McKay turned his attention back to the console he'd been looking at, and pressed the button he'd been planning on touching before he'd been so rudely interrupted. Nothing happened. Not even a noise to acknowledge he'd touched it. He frowned and pushed it again, a little harder. Still nothing.

"Well, that's great," he muttered. "It's broken."

He pressed the other keys, but none of them worked, either.

"Stupid things…"

It was possible that the power supply was dead, but the lights had come on when they'd entered the room, so he doubted that was the case – unless they were on a different circuit than the computers. Deciding that was possible, he decided to try and find a cord or something, and see if it had come unplugged. Reaching into his pack, he pulled out another Power bar, and unwrapped it as he started uncovering the rest of the consoles. Something had to work. The lights did, after all.

OOOOOOOOOO

The place was pretty much like he'd remembered. Of course, it wasn't the same hallway he'd been in before, but that didn't matter, exactly. The Ancients were just like everyone else when it came to making hallways, meaning they didn't make them different colors or different heights and widths. They were as uniform as the corridors of the SGC, although they were a lot brighter.

He passed a wide window, and couldn't help but stop to look out at the water that was surrounding the city on all sides and above. A large school of fish that looked something like tuna swam past, ignoring Ian completely, but he watched them for several minutes, calculating just how much pressure the city's shields had to be under and how many atmospheres of pressure and tons of water they were holding back. It was incredible – even though he wasn't completely sure how far down they were.

Pulling his mind from the fish and the shields – and the amazing aquarium-like view – he started opening doors as he passed them, hoping one would be an elevator or even better a staircase. Thanks to his downloaded memories, he knew that the lifts would take him all over the city, but the memories didn't include the locations of these, or where each one went or how to get there. Which was a pain in the ass, really, since that would have made things a lot easier for him.

As it was, he ended up getting lucky and finding an elegant staircase heading up at the end of the hallway, and he keyed the radio once more as he reached it.

"Doctor?"

"What?" Came the annoyed reply after a long hesitation that made Ian wonder what was distracting McKay.

"I found a staircase."

"Good for you."

Fucking smart ass.

"I'm not sure if the levels will block the radio signal, so you're on your own if they do."

"What?"

Ian couldn't help but grin at the sudden panic in McKay's voice.

"Just keep your eyes open," he said. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

He did put his hand on the butt of his Glock, though, as he headed up the stairs. You never knew, really. Jack had taught him that.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Sir!"

Hammond and the diplomats looked up, startled, as one of the technicians rushed into the room without warning. The man's face was pale and frightened.

"NORAD's tracking several bogeys, sir," he blurted.

"What?" Hammond lurched to his feet, as did the others, and as a group, they all went out to the command center, where Harriman was sitting in front of a radar screen.

"They look like Goa'uld Death Gliders, sir," he reported, grimly. "They just emerged into the atmosphere above the Atlantic Ocean and are heading towards the European coastline."

"What?" this was from the British Prime Minister – although the other Europeans in the group had all almost said the exact same thing. "Where are they going?"

"Sergeant?"

"We're not sure, yet, sir. We're scrambling fighters out of –" he broke off, listening intently to something being said into the earpiece he was wearing. "Oh my God…"

"What?"

"Reports indicate the Death Gliders are acquiring a target, sir…" He looked over. "In France…"

OOOOOOOOOO

Nathan Brooks was trying to watch the news while at the same time entertain a fussy Jacob O'Neill. The baby had been fed and changed but he was grumpy, and taking it out on Nate. He bounced him gently on his shoulder, then on his leg, and chatted with him about everything he could think of, but nothing was soothing the baby, and Nathan was pretty sure it was simply because Sam wasn't there. He couldn't even imagine how much she was probably missing Jake.

"Don't worry, big guy," he murmured in a gentle voice. "You'll see mommy soon. Really. She's just got to-"

"We interrupt the current coverage to bring you breaking news..."

The announcement brought his attention from Jake over to the TV, and he saw a compound of buildings on fire, with jet-sized alien looking aircraft firing what looked like laser bolts or something at it, with people running and screaming as they tried to escape.

"The aliens have attacked the American Embassy in Paris France," a male voice said, obviously frightened but trying very hard to remain cool and calm like the public expected all their news reports to be. "This amazing and terrifying video was shot only moments before, and as you can see…"

Nathan didn't hear the rest. His grip on Jake tightened just a little as he realized what he'd just heard, and he stared at the screen, his mind suddenly unable to focus on anything and his stomach clenching in agony.

That was where he'd sent Maggie.