A/N: Some more questions get answered. Once again apologies for the delay. RL is kind of busy at the moment. Hope you'll like this part.

With some difficulty, Sheppard dressed himself. He took his time, not only to make sure he was decent, but also to compose himself. It had all happened so quickly. Though he was quite curious, why McKay and his team had showed up so early – the twenty four hours were not nearly over – he wasn't quite sure how to face them.

He sighed and ran a weary hand through his hair. They had saved his skin and he'd lashed out. Teyla had seen him near naked twice in almost as many days. And now she knew what had happened between him and the Rahelian woman. This felt all wrong. Did she think he'd enjoyed it? Probably not, since she'd made sure that Mathar stopped her attack on him. But somehow his actions still felt like betrayal, though Teyla and he had no relationship, or would ever have one.

When he felt, he couldn't stall any longer, Sheppard made the first tentative step. Gingerly, he put weight on his injured leg. It hurt, but he was able to walk. With gritted teeth, he made his way back toward his team. As he brushed the curtain aside, he spotted McKay, Beckett, Teyla and Ronon. They were surrounding Tarhan and Mathar, seemingly engaged in a heated discussion. And his team hadn't come alone. Sheppard spotted a soldier belonging to SGA-6, who was standing at the far side of the room, guarding the door. Yet more people, Sheppard thought, resigned. Just great!

"We should just take the damn ZPM by force," Ronon growled. "It's no use trying to talk sense into them.

Sheppard froze. With a pang of guilt, he realized that inwardly, he agreed. But that was not who he was – or who he wanted to be. Sheppard took a calming breath, trying to swallow down the anger burning inside him.

"That's not how we work, Chewie," Sheppard said quietly.

Four pairs of eyes fixed on him. Sheppard did his best to ignore the chills that were running down his spine as he found himself in the center of attention. He set his jaw firmly, putting on his best poker face.

"About time, Sheppard," McKay grumbled. "We're in kind of a hurry. Wraith ships, remember?"

Sheppard tensed with worry. "Is that the reason you came so early? Are they already closing up on us?"

Strangely enough, McKay's expression turned very smug. "No. I just happened to find out why the chair didn't work properly for you. Thought I could as well save your skinny butt before…" He trailed off, suddenly seeming very uncomfortable with what he'd almost said.

"Really?" Sheppard asked intrigued. "What was wrong with the chair?"

"Nothing." The smug expression on McKay's face reappeared. "It just turns out your gene is too strong!"

"What?" Completely taken by surprise, Sheppard forgot about his injury for a moment and put his full weight on the leg. He winced and almost lost his footing. With a grunt, he steadied himself against another wooden beam. "Too strong?"

Teyla took a step forward, preparing to rush to his side. He shook his head, quietly telling her that he didn't need help.

"Yes, as a matter of fact," McKay turned serious. "And to be completely honest, I couldn't have found the solution without your help. If you hadn't asked the systems of –" He stopped himself in time before he mentioned Atlantis in front of strangers. "Well, let's just say that the system found something interesting in the database. Apparently, the Ancients attached a device to the chair that enables someone with a weak gene to access certain systems they normally wouldn't be able to use."

Sheppard looked at him confused. "That's all very interesting. But how does that explain my problems?"

"Apparently, the device is in danger of overloading when used by someone with a gene as strong as yours," McKay explained. "It wasn't the chair that fought your connection, but the support device. Once I knew what to look for, I was able to spot the readings belonging to the device. From what I gathered, the chair shouldn't have worked for you at all. By pushing the connection, you probably broke the device and that caused your severe discomfort."

Sheppard shook his head, not quite sure what to make of McKay's news. "So, basically you're saying that if you had used the chair instead of me, you'd have had no problem?"

"Other than being invited to take part in a certain ritual, no," McKay replied.

"You've got to be kidding me." Sheppard let out a groan. "So, what are we going to do now? If I understand you correctly, we can offer the Rahelians the gene therapy in exchange for the ZPM."

"Yes," McKay confirmed. "That should work."

"For a time," Beckett chimed in. "My gene therapy does nah affect the germ line. That means that an artificial gene carrier can nah pass the gene on to the next generation."

"I strongly doubt that every natural gene carrier on the base shares the Colonel's attitude toward sexual activities," McKay quipped.

"Rodney, please," Sheppard growled, feeling his face flush. "Could we just skip that particular topic."

"All right, all right," McKay amended.

"What's the meaning of all this?" Tarhan had listened quietly, but now his growing confusion showed in form of a deep frown on his forehead.

"It means that Dr. Beckett here can give your people an injection that will give some of you the means to use the chair. In a couple of days, instead of the years it would take any child of mine to grow up enough to use the chair of the ancestors," Sheppard said. "But this gene can't be inherited by your children. I will ask my men if some of them are willing to have children with your women, so your people will have the gene for generations to come."

"Why didn't you offer this earlier?" Tarhan asked warily.

"We thought that the artificial gene would be too weak to use the chair," Sheppard replied. "None of our people, who only have the artificial gene, can use the technology of the ancestor's very well. But it seems like the ancestors have adjusted your chair in a way that it also works with a weaker version of the gene."

Tarhan didn't seem quite satisfied with the answer. He pursed his lips. "Who guarantees that I can trust you?"

Sheppard grimaced and felt his anger rise once more. He'd been tied up and stabbed, nearly raped, too –and now Tarhan was questioning his trustworthiness? A string of curses wanted to leave his mouth, and he fought hard to bite them back. His leg throbbed badly. He really had no desire to argue with them man. Forcing himself to take calming breath, Sheppard said nothing at all.

Instead, Ronon stepped forward. A low growl emerged from deep within his throat. Up close, he appeared quite intimidating. Though he was just about two inches taller than Tarhan, he managed to tower over him, staring him down until he shrank a little.

"I do," Ronon said. His voice was quiet, but full of conviction. "No matter what you think of him, Sheppard is a good man. I trust him with my life. Until I met him, I was a runner. He freed me. And he'd rather die than betray the trust of anyone." Ronon's jaw was working and his eyes bore into Tarhan. "So, it's your choice, either you trust him and get what you want, or I'll take what we need to fight the Wraith without your permission."

Sheppard let out an exasperated sigh. "Ronon-"

"No, Sheppard, I've had enough of this!" Ronon interrupted him tersely. He grabbed his weapon more tighly, as if there really was the need to appear more intimidating than he already did. "We're wasting our time here."

He turned on his heels, heading out. His whole stance left little doubt that he'd strike down any opponent who dared to defy him. McKay stared after him with a mixture of panic and awe.

"He's not going to…" McKay trailed off, sharing a worried glance with Sheppard. "Is he?"

Sheppard shrugged. "Dunno. He sure seems pissed." He shook his head. "Ronon, stand down"

Instead of replying, Ronon just grunted with anger. But he remained where he was and folded his arms in front of his chest. If looks could have killed, several people in the room would have dropped dead in an instant.

Sheppard rubbed his face in frustration. They were running out of options, if the Rahelians didn't agree on trading for the ZPM. How had this gotten so out of hand? Now he was faced with the decision of either taking what wasn't theirs or abandoning Atlantis. Neither of the two options sat well with him. Though, if forced to choose, he preferred the first option. More memories of being bound to the beam flooded his mind. Being stabbed. Mathar's hands on him. The throbbing in his leg seemed to intensify. As if he needed another reminder. Clenching his hands into fists, he fought to remain calm.

"How long would it take for your gene therapy to work?" he asked Beckett.

"Ye know that it will at least be a day or two. Do we really have that much time?" Beckett replied.

"No, we don't," McKay said impatiently. "Sheppard, we need to do something, and quick!"

Sheppard felt torn. Though he had a hard time forgetting what he'd suffered at Tarhan's hands, he knew that they couldn't risk making more enemies than they already had. Stealing the ZPM went against all his believes. And he knew he wouldn't be able to look at himself in the mirror again, if he now followed any kind of urge for revenge on these people.

Sheppard balled his hands into even tighter fists. "If you're trying to say what I think you're saying, the answer is no, Rodney. Believe me, I'd hate to leave this galaxy just as much as you do. But if we want to make allies to win this war, we can't just go on and plunder them."

"But-" Rodney tried to argue, when Sheppard interrupted him.

"We won't be taking the ZPM by force, Rodney."

The frown on Ronon's face became deeper by the second. He looked like he was about ready to give about everyone a knock on their head, including Sheppard, to get the matter settled once and for all. But Teyla shook her head ever so slightly. Ronon glared at her, but ultimately relaxed his stance somewhat. With an almost imperceptible nod, Teyla thanked him and stepped forward.

"I, too, can vouch for Colonel Sheppard," she said with all the dignity she could muster. "I am Teyla Emmagan of Athos. Shortly after I first met the Colonel, my people were culled by the Wraith. Myself included." She made a brief pause to let her words sink in. "Though the Colonel did not owe us anything, he risked his life saving my people. Then, he and his people took us in, offered us a home to stay, though they were short on supplies."

That seemed to give Tarhan some pause. His eyes widened slightly.

As Teyla realized that she was making some headway, she pressed on. "Colonel Sheppard and his people are our best chance of defeating the Wraith. They are our only hope of ever freeing ourselves of this terrible enemy. If you do not help us, Tarhan, these people are forced to leave us to our fate."

Tarhan's lips became a tight line. "Are you threatening me?"

"No," Teyla said softly. "I am merely pointing out what is going to happen. You need Colonel Sheppard's help and he needs yours. Without him, you have no hope of ever using the Chair of the Ancestors and you know that. It was you who betrayed his trust, not the other way round. You wounded him and asked something of him that he was not willing to give. And when he declined, you were ready to take what you wanted by force."

Somehow, she managed to keep any anger she might be feeling from her voice. Though she hardly raised her voice, there was a quiet strength about her that commanded everyone's attention.

Her eyes gleamed. "Where I come from that kind of behavior is not considered honorable. But even after everything you put him through, Colonel Sheppard is still willing to trade with you. You would be a very bad leader to your people if you did not take him up on his offer."

Tarhan's resistance crumbled and he swallowed visibly. His gaze drifted back and forth between Teyla and Ronon, as if he had realized just now that, unlike Sheppard, Beckett or McKay, they were Pegasus natives. They all shared the same fate, having suffered from the Wraith their entire lives. Therefore, their word seemed to carry more weight than any of the other's.

Sheppard couldn't exactly blame Tarhan for being wary of any promises. Not with the world they now all lived in. He just needed to remember the Genii and how promising their alliance had looked at first. But it hadn't turned out so well for them. He of all people knew that better than probably anyone else.

Sheppard let out a sigh. "Look, if you decide to help us, you'd be welcome to guard the ZPM until we've made good on our promise to give your people the means to defend themselves."

"Very well." Tarhan gave a brief nod a faint blush tinted his cheeks, indicating that he was beginning to question the wisdom of his decisions. "I believe I must apologize for my behavior, Colonel Sheppard. You see, I was desperate to help my people but –" He paused for a moment. "We will lend you both energy sources for your fight against the Wraith. I will accompany you to guard them until my people once again have the gene. After that, you may keep one of the energy sources to yourself and return the other."

Sheppard felt a surge of relief wash over him. He let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"You have my word that no harm will come to you during your time with us," he vowed.

"Yeah, yeah, that's all very nice." McKay grumbled. He laid a hand on Sheppard's shoulder. "Colonel, I hate to remind you, but we need to get this ZedPM."

Sheppard eyed him with a smirk. "What's the matter, Rodney? Usually it's me telling you to hurry up. Don't worry. I'm coming. Anyone cared to bring a jumper?"

McKay shook his head. "Afraid not. Lorne needs them to evacuate all personell to the Alpha site."

Sheppard grimaced. "Looks like we have to walk then."

Gritting his teeth, he once again put weight on his injured leg. The pain spiked up a notch or two, but Sheppard was determined not to let that stop him. He'd been humiliated enough for one day, he wasn't going to let anyone carry him back to the Ancient ruins. With a sense of trepidation, he remembered that it wasn't just a short walk. The last time, he'd walked that way, it had taken every last of his reserves to make it through.

"John," Beckett said softly.

The doctor's expression was full of worry, but he said no more. Usually, he'd certainly have recommended a gurney, but after everything they'd been through together he knew better than anyone else that Sheppard wouldn't welcome the offer. Instead, he quietly fell in step beside the Colonel and offered his shoulders to lean on for support. On the other side, Teyla did the same. With the help of his friends, Sheppard could walk without putting too much weight on the injured limb.

He gave Teyla and Beckett a smile of gratitude and together, they made the way back to the ancient ruins.

By the time they finally arrived in the chair room, Sheppard was drenched in sweat. He felt like collapsing and was grateful as Teyla and Beckett helped him sit down. He rested his back against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to catch his breath. The world seemed to be spinning about him and the bandage on his leg felt as if it was soaked through already.

"I'd like to have a look at that leg of yers," Beckett said.

"Go ahead, doctor," Sheppard replied with a sigh. He looked up at Teyla. "You and Ronon should guard the entrance, just to be sure."

Teyla smiled at him and gave a brief nod. Then she and Ronon left the chair room to follow his request. A rush of guilt filled Sheppard. He wasn't quite sure he'd sent her out because that was truly necessary. There were enough soldiers out there to guard them. But after everything that had happened, he needed the distance.

He allowed the doctor to slip down his pants, trying to suppress the surge of anxiety that was flooding him. Sheppard knew that Beckett wouldn't subject him to any more humiliation than he absolutely had to. Doing his best to fight his discomfort, Sheppard opened his eyes and made it a point to distract himself by watching McKay do his magic.

Pegasus' resident genius had already set up his laptop and ran some kind of diagnostic. The he studied the chair, walking around it a few times as if he was trying to spot something that was out of place. Sheppard figured that he was looking for the assistant device, but he knew better than to ask McKay while he was busy saving his skin. While he was looking at the ZPMs behind the chair, a frown appeared on his forhead.

He muttered something that Sheppard didn't understand. "It's just as well that I check to chair to see if it's indeed working for me," he said to himself.

"Admit it, you're just giddy to use that chair and have it respond to you, for once," Sheppard quipped.

McKay huffed in annoyance and rolled his eyes at Sheppard. Before the Colonel had the chance to give another witty remark, he flinched as Beckett began to clean his wound again and it hurt. Beads of sweat pooled on his forehead, but he set his jaw firmly to keep from voicing his discomfort.

"I'm merely conducting a scientific experiment," McKay pointed out, somewhat miffed. But the faint blush creeping onto his cheeks told Sheppard that his guess had been spot on.

McKay went around the chair one last time, then he finally sat down, looking much like a child on Christmas Eve as the chair indeed reclined immediately. He closed his eyes, relaxing into the connection. Sheppard couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. It still irked him that he hadn't been able to connect with that chair.

As Beckett hit a particularly sensitive spot, he couldn't stifle a low moan. He squeezed his eyes shut and slowly breathed in and out, willing the pain to subside. Beside him, the doctor muttered an apology. Sheppard waved him off, quietly assuring him that he couldn't have helped hurting him. When the pain finally faded, McKay had returned the chair into an upright positon. He got up and went around the chair to get to the ZPMs.

His expression looked tense when he returned to Beckett and Sheppard. Something didn't seem right.

"What is it, Rodney? Did the chair resist you as well?" Sheppard asked worriedly.

McKay shook his head. "That's not it. The chairs systems were working for me just fine..."

"I sense a 'but' there," Sheppard said warily.

"The ZPMs are guarded by some kind of force field. I didn't notice that the first time we were here," His expression turned rather sheepish. "Kind of stumbled on that now while I was checking the chair to see if I could find the assisting device. I tried to shut the force field down from the chair, but apparently the device only helps to access certain functions of the chair. Like the weapon's systems. It doesn't allow the user to operate just any system. Which actually makes sense, for once."

"What makes sense?" Sheppard asked. "That the Rahelian's wouldn't be able to change the ZPM in case the one currently powering the chair is depleted."

"Oh, no, they could do that," McKay said. "The other ZPM has its own link to the chair. I could have activated it, if I'd wanted to."

Sheppard didn't like where this was going. "So, you're saying you can't remove the ZPMs?"

McKay heaved a sigh. "Unfortunately, no. But I think you could."

Sheppard's eyes widened. "You think or you know?"

McKay shrugged. "I bet the Ancients would have left some way to remove the ZPMs, if need be."

"Let's hope they did." Sheppard turned his attention to Beckett, who was just dressing his wound again. "Are you finished."

"Almost," the doctor replied. "Do you really fell up to operating the chair again? From what I heard, last time that did nah end up so well for ye, lad."

Sheppard cracked a wry smile. "No, it didn't. But do I have a choice?"

"Not really, no," McKay replied.

"Thanks, Rodney," Sheppard quipped. "That was supposed to be a rhetorical question."

With a sense of trepidation, he watched the doctor wrap a bandage firmly around his thigh. He made extra sure to put enough pressure on the wound to keep him from bleeding. Sheppard gritted his teeth against the pain.

"We're done for now. But as soon as we return, I'm afraid this will need several stiches, " Beckett said almost apologetically.

"That's okay, doc," Sheppard muttered.

He didn't exactly look forward to having to connect with the chair again. But like McKay had said, he didn't have much of a choice. Taking a deep breath to brace himself for what was to come, Sheppard slowly got up. He swayed a little as he tried to get to his feet. Though this time, he wouldn't have to fight against Wraith, he feared that the task wouldn't be any easier than the last time. He was pretty out of it to begin with. Several nights of little sleep, a taxing day and a wound in his upper leg were taking a serious toll on him. He closed his eyes against the dizziness that hit him and steadied himself against the wall. Beckett grabbed his arm to support him.

He was grateful that Teyla and Ronon were outside guarding the Ancient ruin. He wouldn't have wanted her to see him like that. His pride was already in shreds as it was. He let out an inaudible sigh. The dizziness passed eventually and with uneven steps Sheppard closed the short distance between him and the chair. He seriously hoped that this time around it would be more cooperative.

With a grunt, he sat down on the chair and did his best to calm his nervous heart. Taking several deep breaths, he closed his eyes and leaned back. The chair reclined, but once again Sheppard felt it push back. The unpleasant tingling resumed.

"Try not to access the defensive systems and search for some subroutine to shut down the force field," McKay instructed him in his usual overbearing manner.

Sheppard bit back an angry remark. Though McKay had actually operated the chair a few minutes ago, he still knew so little about the systems and how they worked. But it was no use trying to lecture the scientist on the peculiarity of Ancient systems. He did his best to follow the physicist's advice and stay on the surface of the system. When that didn't work, he sank deeper into the connection, once more needing to push his way inside. It was hard work. Sweat was pooling on his forehead, while he frantically searched for a subroutine that might enable him to remove the ZPMs. It was obvious that the Ancients hadn't intended to make that particularly easy.

By the time, he found the switch, he was panting with the effort to maintain the connection. His muscles were hurting from the currents that were running through him.

"Done," he muttered. "You can remove the ZPMs now."

The chair instantly powered down so quickly that Sheppard wasn't quite sure if that was his doing or that of the assistant device. Dizziness hit him with a vengeance. Black spots danced before his eyes.

"How are ye, lad?" Beckett's hand came to rest on his arm.

"Been better," Sheppard whispered.

He felt his vision grey on the edges. A low groan escaped him as he realized that this time he wouldn't win the fight for consciousness. He felt strangely detached and numb. Then everything went black.