The Last Time I Saw Him

Chapter One

A/N: I'm back with a wee story to give myself some light relief from writing my first novel which has distracted me this past while. I have given myself a bit of a challenge writing this in a different writing style so bear with me please!

Poor Sheppard…he's in a bit of a pickle…

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The last time I remember being totally ignored was earlier this morning when Rodney refused to listen to me when I said I had a funny feeling about the whole meet and greet thing one of my previous teams had set up. He was, of course, more interested in the technology they were promising to share with us and carried on walking with one of the Mayor's men into another room immediately taking no notice of my spidey sense in the least, leaving me seething and alone with the Mayor and a town servant, just a bit more muscular looking than I thought they should look – I was right! Pushed through black wooden doors the minute Rodney was out of sight, I felt a jab in my neck and then nothing until the weirdness started the moment I woke up and was ignored.

Now sitting almost poker straight in my chair opposite Woolsey and watching his worried but attentive face, it struck me that, for the first time, my voice was not going to be heard in amongst the recounting that was going on between my team mates, so I watched the show, unable to do anything else, and let them vent their frustrations and worries towards the single most person I ever knew that could take things on board calmly and orderly: Richard Woolsey.

I crossed my arms, suddenly feeling cold and tired and leaned forward onto the table so it could take my weight and grumbled to myself; I had hoped that the movement could be felt by the others but, frustratingly, no-one seemed to notice, and after I had tried to move various things now, I was not really surprised to see that it also did not give away any signs of my presence; totally invisible and silent.

What the hell! How was I going to get out of this situation?

Ronon suddenly sprung from the wall he had been leaning on and slammed his hands on the table, his dreadlocks whipping forward and his eyes were bright with anger making him look like a wild animal peering through grass.

"Stop all this useless talk…I don't care what that Mayor said, we have to go back … and now."

"Ronon…"

"NOW!" Ronon repeated.

I felt the table move then from his push away from it and back to his usual spot on the wall. I was with his idea, regardless of what the others thought.

I whipped around to look at Woolsey again and then back to Ronon whose fierce gaze I had encountered many times myself and knew that, come what may with Woolsey's next decision, he would try to do what he wanted anyway. A sudden move from Woolsey caught my eye and I watched with raised eyebrows the commander of Atlantis gracefully rise from his chair and match the stance that Ronon had just left and my heart flipped to see these two at odds with each other. I automatically came out of my chair to intervene, but again I felt a hollowness in the pit of my stomach when I realised I had no power to stop this argument – far less move the chair back! I could only watch and let the next outcome unfold as a reluctant and frustrated spectator.

"If you would let me speak Ronon, I WAS going to suggest the same thing but I need to know the full story first! Of course, I am not going to stop you going back there to rescue the Colonel, but it has to be safe for you all to do that, now SIT DOWN."

I watched as Richard raised his voice towards Ronon and was surprised at him for doing that; he was usually quiet and patient, perhaps he had had enough of his presumptions; although I must admit when we had first 'gated back and my team told him there was an emergency and that I was missing, to Richard it may have looked like they had left me behind unknowingly and that he was really only trying to move the rescue mission forward swiftly without interruption.

That also raised the next problem for me; should I go back with them or stay here for when they returned with, hopefully some good news about how to sort out my predicament – laughingly one they had absolutely no idea about as I could not physically tell them - and then the much-needed care of Carson; whose attention I will need soon enough as already I feel slightly nauseous, dizzy and a little tired. All side-effects that mad man said I would feel before I, well …died.

I shook that thought away for now and studied Woolsey's face once more, waiting on the outcome of his decision as my lumbering friend, surprisingly, sat down beside Teyla and watched as she placed a consoling small hand on his forearm and squeezed gently in comfort. I felt a pang of jealousy and strangely, wished for that touch on myself.

This was getting frustrating to say the least! I started pacing beside Ronon and prodded him in his side - and hard too, to carry on speaking and hurry this 'rescue' up, but of course he felt nothing and I stepped back and wondered how could I feel the table and sit down on a chair but no-body felt me touching them? I went back to my chair and wondered that my hand could hold it but not move it – this was getting stranger by the minute.

Richard moved to speak again so I tore myself away from Teyla's haunted look to focus on what he had to say and sat down again in my empty chair.

"Let me reiterate, we will go back, but tell me more; you first Ronon – when was the last time you saw him?"

Ronon shrugged, "He wouldn't touch the artefacts the Mayor held out for him and was starting to get really angry with the way we, or I should say – he, was being treated."

"And was he being treated differently compared to the rest of your team?"

"Bloody right!" I shouted but of course no-body heard me.

"Yes, I think, somehow, they knew about his gene." Ronon said and I focused on what was being said instead of panicking. "They didn't come out with it exactly, but all questions about where we had come from were directed towards Sheppard; fast too, like they couldn't get enough of what he was saying."

"And when did you realise he was missing?" Woolsey asked softly.

Ronon looked over to Teyla and back to Woolsey.

"When we all woke up beside the Stargate and were given our instructions." He said looking slightly embarrassed

"Rodney, you are very quiet. Did they know about your gene too, do you think?"

Yeah, Rodney had been quiet – not like him!

"I was too busy at the control column to see what Sheppard, Ronon and Teyla were up to. Negotiating for food and possible shelter was a waste of my time there. They had some technology that was piquing my interest and if we hadn't woke up at the 'gate with several of the Mayor's men pointing our own weapons at us and wondering where Sheppard was and then being made to leave without him, I would probably be wanting to go back there to check it out – whilst figuring out where John is of course!"

Gee, thanks, pal!

"Dr. Mackay, your input is, as always, based on your own want, but I really need to understand what happened there. Now, tell me; was there a time you remember where they may have guessed about your gene?"

"No…I mean, they might have already known about it for all I know. I was never left alone to have a look at the artefacts myself and they always answered my questions politely enough, but they always acted – well shifty, to say the least. Always looking at one another, always guarding this large black door, now that I come to think of it; never letting me near it; always herding me away from it. Sheppard was talking to the Mayor in that room with the large door when I had my head in the control tower next door and its instrument panel and I knew Teyla and Ronon were outside talking. After that - I don't remember the last time I saw him."

I watched Rodney lower his head and then nervously start tapping away again on his pad and thought about that for a moment – he was possibly right. They had separated us well. Whilst Teyla and Ronon were outside speaking to some town's people, Mayor Tarb'at and his thug had promised to show me something of 'great value' he had excluded to mention to the previous team that had visited them first.

Idiot!

I should have known something was up, but oh no, I had to go and follow them into the room, and now, for all my lack of care and attention, I'm sitting here watching my team and Woolsey decide my fate and utterly unable to do anything about it.

"Teyla?" Woolsey said quietly and I stopped feeling sorry for myself and looked at her, sad to see her look awkward. They had no need to be for goodness sake. Ok, some strange things have happened over the years, but we always come out the other side. Drumming my fingers on the table, albeit silently, I suddenly realised that perhaps this was indeed one of the weirdest scenarios I had found myself in.

"I believe John must be in that room, but why they kept him and returned us with the strange message, I am unsure what to say Richard. I agree with Ronon, we must go back and find him. I did not like the look some of the towns people gave us and when we woke up at the 'gate, it proved to me that they are quite capable of knocking us out without us knowing whenever they want; I do not know how they did it but it is disturbing to say the least."

"About that! I want you all to go and see Dr. Beckett and get checked out and then…" I had to laugh when he held up his pointing finger towards Ronon at the same time the big man's mouth had opened, "…see about going back to the planet.

"I suspect they will not hurt John if they want him for something, but the note suggests they will if we go back to their planet uninvited."

"What does the note say again?"

Yeah, I'd like to know that too!

I watched as Teyla uncurled the piece of paper she had been curling and uncurling for the last few minutes. '"Atlanteans – we have considered your request for trade and have decided not to go ahead with any further negotiations, as we now have no need to see you again. We demand that you leave us now and do not come back. At this stage, we wish you no harm, but we will use force if you do return to our planet and disregard this message."'

I scratched my head in bewilderment. If they didn't want anyone coming back to see them again, why kidnap me? Surely, they would know that my team would come back for me! Why cause my invisibility? And what is the point of having it if it is going to kill me in the end anyway after a short period of time?

Swallowing, I looked towards Woolsey and awaited his further instructions eagerly.

"Why did they not mention the Colonel in the note? Pass it over Teyla please, I want to study it carefully; but Carson first - I insist and then; Rodney, see what you can find in the ancient databases and Teyla and Ronon, I want you to 'gate to some of our allies and see if they have heard of this planet and its people and see if they can help us in any way…"

Woolsey looked up at his open door suddenly and I followed his eyes to see a nervous Amelia looking at him with a startled expression.

"Yes, what had happened?"

"I'm sorry Sir, I have bad news. You asked me to dial up the Mayor's planet and send through a MALP." She sounded so shaky, I was starting to think I knew where this was going.

"I did." Woolsey said, leaning forward in his chair, I suspect he was also on the same wavelength as me.

"The MALP is not responding, Sir. It did managed to send one distorted image and it showed the land around the area looking like it had been in an explosion."

I knew it! Bloody knew it!

"What do you mean? How can it just stop sending?"

"Oh no!" Rodney got up from his chair so fast. "The readings I was taking before everything went blank – they were in flux to say the least, I was looking forward to looking at them in depth. That's why I was excited to go back. Huge power spikes were appearing and they seemed indifferent to them when I pointed it out as if they didn't understand, now I think it had something to do with…well, something bad on the planet."

"No."

"No!" Both Teyla and I shouted out.

"What?" Richard asked of Teyla.

"John? If the explosion, whatever caused it, reached the town – he could have been killed along with the Mayor and residents!"

"Amelia, dial it up again." Richard shouted out, everyone now stood up and away from the table.

"I did…we did…it will not engage the last symbol."

It was then that I felt a pain in my stomach and I doubled up, gasping and holding a shaky hand to my brow with one hand and fisted the other into my stomach until it passed. I remembered before I was knocked out again, back on the planet, that I had felt a very sharp pain in my neck and this device had been inserted into my system. Telling me it would make me ill until death if I did not comply with their one demand, namely - me, sure had got my attention!

I laughed at the time but they said they had a way of me agreeing to their terms – I suspect they meant the invisibility! Unless I stayed with them willingly, I could not get the cure. My invisibility and dwindling health would be enough for me to have gone back there with them immediately if I had been capable of doing that, but that was not an option now– dammit! But why send me back to Atlantis in the first place? Why not just keep me there anyway?

Now my immediate survival was at risk and I realised I had better not follow Ronon and Teyla through the 'gate when they left after their check up in case Rodney came up with something quickly. My team and Woolsey started to leave the room on their various tasks and I realised I had drifted a bit and missed Richard's last words as they were already leaving the room in a hurry. I decided to follow my team to Carson's domain before wondering what to do next.

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TO BE CONTINUED….