Earlier:

Their off-world mission had initially been a bust. There had been no life signs. Nothing. The planet had seemed completely deserted.

It was only when they were leaving did McKay happen to see a spike on his scanner, got all excited and trundled off in the direction of the reading. He would have blithely walked off the edge of a cliff; if Sheppard hadn't grabbed him by his elbow and set him in a safer direction.

They had stumbled across some kind of lab, the lights were off but still there was some ominous reading that Mckay just had to check out. That was always a bad sign.

Sheppard had told him that they could come back tomorrow when it was lighter and he wasn't starving, but McKay wouldn't listen and as usual just brushed him off with an irreverent flick of his hand and a caustic remark.

They had remained in the lab for hours with Mckay idly switching things on and off, hooking his portable laptop up to various consoles and scrolling through his data pad, while they all followed asking what the hell had him so excited. Just before their check-in, Sheppard had finally snapped and told them that it was time to go. He'd walked off expecting the rest of his team to follow but it was just at the moment that McKay decided to activate something.

Sheppard took a step backwards to avoid the plummeting door and found himself stranded on the outside of the lab with Teyla, Ronon and Mckay on the inside.

An hour ago it had been a mild inconvenience, if not a little funny. Now, it was just damn right problematic and Sheppard was facing the very real possibility of going back to the gate. He didn't relish the idea of explaining that he was alone because McKay had managed to get the rest of his team stuck in a room and he couldn't figure out how to get back out. It was laughable really. A genius like McKay being foiled by a door.

"You know, if you don't figure this out within the next hour, I will leave you here," Sheppard chided as he activated his earpiece.

By now it wasn't a false threat. There was a limit to how many times you could pace back and forth in a confined space.

"This isn't my fault!" The tinny reply came over the radio and Sheppard had to smile. Nothing was ever McKay's fault.

"McKay, if you don't get us out of here, I'm going to blast through that door."

Sheppard smiled and wondered if Ronon actually had the right idea. A bit of C4 and they would be out in no time. Just in time for meatloaf and jello.

"You know-"

"No!" McKay replied irritably, "The answer to this problem does not involve blowing things up."

"Ronon, I am sure Doctor McKay will get us out of here."

"Doctor McKay is taking too long."

"Doctor McKay is in the room with you! Look, I enjoy being trapped in a tiny oxygen deprived room as much as the next person, in fact, I did this on purpose because I love to test just how claustrophobic I am."

"You're running out of options," Sheppard said to the door and pressed his hands against it, testing its steely resistance.

"Look, I'll get it opened up; it might just take a while."

"You're going to starve in there."

Okay, he was taunting. He taunted when he was bored.

Sheppard dug into his TAC vest and pulled out a power bar.

"Stop being so melodramat-hey, why? Do you have food?"

"Oh, only a chocolate flavoured power bar," Sheppard pushed the bar back into his vest.

Well, if food wasn't going to motivate McKay, then nothing was.

"How did you get one of the chocolate ones?"

Sheppard rolled his eyes, leaned against the door and dropped his head back with a dull thud.

"I always end up with the citrus ones……..how many times do you have to remind people that you're deathly allergic to something before they get it into their thick-"

"The door, Rodney."

"I'm working as fast as I can."

"Teyla, Ronon, how are you guys doing?"

He could just see it now. Ronon prowling the other side of the door like a caged animal, his fingers flexed over his pulse blaster and wanting nothing more than to blow a hole to freedom and Teyla, patiently watching McKay and trying to dissolve any tension.

"We are fine John," Teyla radiated calm.

"No, we are not!" Ronon did not.

"Everything's-"McKay's voice was cut off and Sheppard saw a burst of light strafe out from under the door that nearly blinded him.

"Rodney?!" Sheppard called out as he used the heel of his hand to rub his dazzled eyes.

There was no answer.

"McKay! What the hell was that?"

He was feeling helpless and all he could do was switch his grip on his P90 and kick the door in frustration.

"McKay! Teyla? Ronon!"

There was a beat and then-

"I'm here."

Sheppard let go of the breath he didn't realise he was holding, "What was that?"

"Nothing. I just……I just shorted something."

"Shorted something? Rodney, what did you do?"

"Why do you always assume it's me?"

"Because it's usually me and as I'm not in there with you I'm going to go with my second guess, which is you!"

"I didn't touch anything in fact-"

"Okay, that's it, stand back." Sheppard had had enough. "I'm going to blow this damn door-"

"Sheppard. I was trying to tell you-"

Sheppard was tearing through his tactical vest and pulling out a wad of C4 when the gate slid upwards and revealed the rest of his team.

"-that I've figured out how to open the door."

------------------

Sheppard took point as they ventured back towards the gate. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was an eerie quality to the air as he walked. Something just didn't feel quite right. He had never known a gut feeling to be wrong.

He found his finger tensing on the trigger of his P90. No. It was nothing about their surroundings. He didn't sense anyone lurking in the trees or darts in the air. Anyway, Ronon would have told him if they were being followed and Teyla would have sensed a wraith presence. No. It was something else that concerned him and he didn't want to believe it.

It was his team.

Ever since they had left the confines of the lab they had been……….quiet, especially McKay who hadn't uttered a single word from the time when they set off. It was just weird. McKay always had something to gripe about, "It's too hot,", "How much further?", "Your hair defies gravity! What the hell are you putting in it?".

Sheppard almost missed McKay's ranting diatribe. At least it would have filled the vacuous space of their silence.

He'd figured that their silence was down to exhaustion but not one of them had said a single word and that just weirded Sheppard out.

There was palpable tension in the air that only he seemed to feel. The quiet was killing him. All he could hear was the crunching of gravel underfoot and the wind in the trees and his own heart beat resonating in his ears. Something was wrong. It was too quiet.

Sheppard finally stopped and turned on his heel, "Okay, what?" he spread his arms out and waved them as if an explanation might get tangled in his expressive fingers.

McKay, who was looking distinctly…..different, narrowed his eyes, "What, What?"

Sheppard licked his lips and tried to push down an escalating sense of frustration, "The quiet."

McKay's face remained neutral for a moment, as if he were digesting what Sheppard had said, and then his mouth stretched into a smile and he followed it up with a short sharp laugh.

Sheppard sighed tiredly and felt as if he had just missed the punch line, "What?"

McKay shared a glance with Ronon and Teyla and they too began to laugh.

Sheppard dropped his hands to his sides and wondered what the big joke was.

He could feel 'it', whatever 'it' was, even more now as they shared secretive looks and as Ronon patted McKay on the back. Ronon patting McKay on the back was about as likely as Caldwell and Hermiod eloping.

There was a sense of unease that was unmistakeable. Sheppard surreptitiously looked at the others as they quelled their manic laughter and noticed that all of them seemed to be flushed red and covered in a light sheen of sweat.

Realisation dawned.

"Oh no," Sheppard scrubbed a hand through his hair and took a step back, "You guys are sick."

"I feel just fine," Ronon stated flatly as he crossed his arms.

"Me too," Teyla added.

Sheppard clipped his P90 onto his vest and stalked over to McKay. The hand he went to place on Rodney's forehead was batted away.

"I'm fine," McKay muttered irritably.

Sheppard felt his mouth drop open, Okay, so that was new. McKay was a complete hypochondriac. Admitting he was fine when he plainly wasn't just served to fuel Sheppard's suspicions that something was up.

"Rodney, you're burning up. You're not fine."

McKay wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, "This is from walking."

"Right," Sheppard nodded as he tried to calculate how long it would take them to get back to the gate.

"Maybe you're sick," McKay retorted like a petulant child.

Sheppard snorted loudly, "Yeah, right. Now you're delusional. How did this happen?"

"Sheppard, we are fine," Teyla mollified.

"Okay, guys, we need to pick up our pace and get back to the gate."

He unclipped his P90 and secured it back into a comfortable position, all the while watching his team member's expressions.

"Can you make it?"

More eye rolls, more sarcasm.

"Fine," Sheppard said waving his hand dismissively, "Lets get back, so Carson can take a look at you."

Nobody seemed to be following him.

He sighed again, the burden of command was feeling particularly heavy that day, "Are you coming?"

Ronon nodded and gestured with his hand, "After you."

Sheppard had only taken a few steps when something cracked into the back of his head.
His mind was slow to process what exactly was happening to him and before he knew it, he was crashing down to the mud in a mess of tangled limbs watching helplessly as his P90 skittered off and out of reach.

Stars blinded him and nausea roiled his stomach as he tried to coordinate his movements into some form of attack. He managed to get up onto one elbow and was reaching down for the 9.mil in his calf holster when a familiar large boot crushed into his fingers and ground them down and into the mud.
Sheppard bit his lip, cursed and tried to get his head up to look for the others.
The pressure was released from his hand and he flexed his fingers to find that one was obviously dislocated and was definitely going to hurt like a bitch when his adrenaline wore down.
He was just about to make another escape attempt when he turned and caught a glimpse of what looked to be Ronon smiling sadistically down at him.
Ronon's voice sounded distant when he finally spoke but Sheppard didn't miss the words, "Night Sheppard," before he felt something slam in to the back of his head again.

TBC………………………..