John always liked his sunglasses; they protected him from the horribly bright suns he had encountered. Better yet, it made him look like a total bad ass. But today, he was discovering a new reason to enjoy his favorite accessory. They allowed him to check out Teyla without anyone being the wiser.

For the better part of an hour, he had been watching her go over different fighting techniques, some more familiar than others. He watched as her hair started slipping out of her ponytail, tendrils of hair caressing her face. She started to get sweatier as the practice continued. Yes, he thought, I am one lucky man.

Just as Teyla was swirling around her young student, the gym doors opened, revealing Sheppard. John could tell that whatever was going on, Sheppard was in a hurry. "I need those," Sheppard said without acknowledging anyone else.

John stood up, confused. "What?"

Sheppard impatiently waved him over to the door. He smiled quickly to Teyla. "I just need to talk to John really quick. Sorry about interrupting." When John approached him, he lowered his voice. "The Kesats agreed to make the trade."

John's eyes widened. "They did?"

Sheppard nodded. "But Elizabeth isn't letting any of us go. I'm sneaking in which is why I'm wearing this," he said, pointing to the hat. "I need my sunglasses though."

John didn't take them off his face. "I think that they are mine as much as they are yours."

Sheppard rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. But I need to go; I'm meeting Ronan in about five minutes."

"Don't you think I should be the one to go? After all, it was the charm of John Sheppard that finally convinced Caspar to trust us."

Sheppard shook his head. "No, I need to be the one to go. Besides," he said, nodding towards Teyla, "you seem a little preoccupied."

John involuntarily broke out in a grin. "Can you blame me? That woman is--"

"Don't have time. Besides, I know what you think about her because I feel the same way. Now, give me the sunglasses," Sheppard said.

"Ok, don't get caught though. Elizabeth will chew my ass out if she finds out that I am covering for you," John warned.

Sheppard flashed a shark's grin. "You know how sneaky I can be. Thanks," he said, putting on the sunglasses.

When John turned to face the students in the room, his black eye now dark purple, they looked at him with a frightened look on their face. One of them turned to Teyla and asked, "Is that what happens when you don't keep up with your daily training?"

Four minutes later, Sheppard ran up to Ronan. "You're late," he said.

"Well, blame John. He took my watch," Sheppard complained.

"Lorne wants you in the middle, helping to carry the supplies. He thinks that you won't be as noticeable there," Ronan explained.

"All right, then let's keep this show on the road," Sheppard said, walking into the gate room.

As expected, Elizabeth was standing at the balcony, looking down at the team. "Major Lorne, I expect radio contact in two hours."

Lorne nodded. "Yes, ma'am." He turned to the Marines and Ronan. "All right, people. Let's get in there and deliver these supplies and get back home." He nodded to Elizabeth.

"Dial the gate," Elizabeth instructed.

Within seconds the familiar wormhole appeared in front of Sheppard. Following the men and women in front of him, he said a quick "thank you" that Elizabeth hadn't discovered his plot. Without a look back, he stepped through the gate.

They had been walking for nearly twenty minutes. Unlike most of the people they had come in contact with, the Kesats' village was not located near the gate, but over three miles away.

About halfway to the village, Ronan walked next to Sheppard. "So what are you going to do if McKay can't figure out that machine?"

Sheppard glared at him through his sunglasses. "It hasn't even been a day. Even geniuses can't perform miracles."

"But still, you must have thought about it," Ronan pushed.

"Yeah, I've thought about it and I don't have an answer for you. SGC will only let this go on for so long before they get involved. Will they keep one Sheppard on base and give other assignments to the other two? I don't know. Because I'll tell you this, I'm not leaving Atlantis without one hell of a fight and I know the other two won't go to Earth willingly either."