Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Stargate Atlantis or it's wonderful characters.

Spoilers: Through Season 5 up to Brainstorm.

14 – Treed

Jennifer was being pulled along after Caleth further and further from the gate. Being discovered by the Wraith obviously spooked the man if the distance they were putting between themselves and the gate was any indication.

After about forty minutes of running Jennifer finally had enough. "We should stop and look at the tracking device in your back."

When he didn't acknowledge her she tried a different tactic to get his attention, "We need to remove the device so more Wraith can't find you, the sooner it is out the safer for both of us."

Caleth stopped and looked at her with out releasing her. "We need to get a little further away," he lamented.

She yanked her arm out of his grasp and pulled her gun on him. "This is far enough, we may never be able to find our way back to the gate if we go any further," Jennifer said with as much authority as she could muster.

Caleth hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded his head and set her bags down.

Jennifer nodded her head back and dug in her bag to find her scanner, "I'm going to first scan your back and see what we're dealing with."

She ran the wand along his head and back, finding the device to be the same as Kiryk's. She'd been dreading this, but had known it was most likely the device he would have when she saw how new he was to the whole "runner" thing. Unlike Ronon, Kiryk and even Aeden, he didn't yet seem to possess the instincts needed to survive being hunted by the Wraith.

"Had you been waiting long on the first planet for us," Jennifer asked. She had a sneaking suspicion he hadn't learned to be cautious yet.

"Yes, I was afraid to go to the next planet; I wanted to be sure you found me."

"Ok, well the device you have in your back is just like the one that was in Kiryk's back. Did he tell you how I deactivated that one?" She asked with curiosity, she was hoping not to have to tell him deactivating it could very well kill him.

"A little," Caleth responded.

"Well, I'll attach a pad in front of the device on your chest and then another pad behind the device on your back. When I press a button on the machine it will send an electrical current between the two pads and overload the device causing it to stop working."

Jennifer looked at Caleth to see if he understood. She found he was nodding his head, "The one problem is that there are risks," he was still nodding his head. "The electrical current could kill you."

Caleth starred at her equipment bags for a few minutes, before looking up at her with a completely calm look on his face. It was the first time she'd looked in his eyes and didn't find sheer panic.

"I can't continue to live like this for long. I'm not cut out for this type of life. I'm surprised I've made it this long. Go ahead and do this and if I don't make it at least the Wraith won't get the pleasure of killing me."

Jennifer understood his dread of living in constant fear until death finally comes. She'd do all she could to help him.

"You'll need to take off your shirt and kneel on the ground," she said as she unpacked equipment from her bag. Jennifer noticed when she looked up that his back didn't have many scars, just those at the insertion point and those scars were still pink.

"How long have you been a runner?"

"The Wraith captured me when they destroyed our village about three cycles ago." Caleth looked over his shoulder at Dr. Keller, "I probably wouldn't have made it many more days if Kiryk hadn't found me."

Jennifer placed the patch upon his chest and motioned for him to lie down. "If there is one thing I've learned living here in the Pegasus Galaxy, Caleth, it's that the human spirit and the will to survive are much stronger then you think."

She patted the patch onto his back, "You may have surprised yourself… ok, ready?"

She watched him tense his back, "Yes."

Jennifer whispered, "Clear," to herself out of habit then pressed the button on the defibrillator. She watched Caleth's body tighten due to the current, while she chanted, "Please don't die, please don't die," over and over in her head.

After a few minutes of jogging to catch up with everyone, Sheppard, Lorne and Teyla found them all stopped.

"What's going on guys?"

"Caleth's tracking device just stopped working," Rodney whined.

"And that's bad news because…," Lorne prompted.

Without trying to hide his annoyance Rodney answered, "Because now it will be harder to find them. We're going to have to rely on Conan and He-man here to locate the Runner and Dr. Keller," he nodded his head in their direction. "Oh look, they picked up the scent," he said wryly as he watched the two men take off through the woods.

Jennifer checked Caleth's vitals and was relieved to find he was breathing and had a pulse. He was unconscious, but in her experience that symptom, when it occurred, didn't last long. Being unconscious could be a godsend at times since being shocked had all sorts of other unpleasant side affects like seizures, numbness, sore muscles, and even fractures.

Jennifer pulled out her scanner and checked for the tracking device and found no trace on her scanner. She hoped she had disabled it before they'd been discovered to be on this planet, wherever this planet was.

The more she thought of it the more worried she became. She wasn't sure where they were or how to get back to the Stargate. They were in such a hurry to get away from the gate and any more potential Wraith surprise visits that she completely lost track of where she was.

Dr. Keller took in her surroundings and went over her options. She needed to get them both hidden in case any Wraith were on the planet or came to the planet. She quickly found a few bushes that would provide some cover. She dragged Caleth's still unconscious body to the hiding spot and covered most of his body with some of the ground cover in hopes of camouflaging his body. She also hid all of her equipment this same way.

Next she looked around trying to find a vantage point where she might be able to see in advance who was coming their way. Upon finding nothing she decided she would climb one of the trees close to where she hid Caleth and her equipment. She brushed the ground trying to erase any trace they had been there and then climbed up the tree with her weapon to wait.

If they hadn't been found by nightfall she and Caleth would try to move to higher ground and hope that with daylight they might be able to see the stargate in the distance.

She knew Ronon and the teams would come for her as soon as Rodney figured out where they'd gone. Her mind drifted to hours earlier when she and Ronon had finally talked about their relationship. Thinking back over the past several months she marveled at how he manipulated his way into her everyday routine and life with out her even noticing.

Jenn decided it wasn't that she hadn't noticed, but rather she had been afraid to acknowledge it, afraid if she analyzed it she would find it was just her being hopeful. Now she realized that if she had just been brave and had a little more faith in Ronon they could've had this all along. She'd really hurt him. She would carry that with her for a long while.

Jennifer heard a bird take flight while she was dwelling on her stupidity, but it wasn't until the second bird left a nearby tree that Jennifer went on alert. Someone was approaching and it wouldn't be long, she readjusted her grip on her gun as her adrenaline began to spike.

"Do you think they know what they're doing?" Rodney whispered to Lorne as they followed Ronon and Kiryk at a distance.

"It may not seem like it," Lorne grinned, "but when it comes to the Doc, that man has a sixth sense. I think he can feel her." As Lorne looked back at Ronon he saw that he and his sidekick had stopped and were merely inching forward with guns raised. "This might be it," Lorne whispered as he raised his gun and nodded at Lt. Jacobs while swiftly taking up a position closer to the two ex-runners.

They slowly moved over a slight rise in the terrain, and then came to a sudden halt as they heard a small voice call out, "Well, it's about time."

All heads swiftly took in the surrounding area looking for the source of the sarcastic remark.

"You've got to be kidding me…, I'm up here," Jennifer yelled down at the group assembled. "Good thing I wasn't Genii," she grumbled to herself as she began to climb down from the tree. "Or Wraith, or Replicator, or even a wild animal," she huffed under her breath. "Well, don't just stand there, someone help me down," she called out.

Instantly Ronon was at the base of the tree and she allowed her body to fall the remaining few feet.

"There you are," Jennifer grinned up at him while she remained in his arms.

"There I am," he agreed with a smile as he set her on her feet.

"Hate to interrupt here, but… where's Caleth?" Rodney asked while looking around.

Jennifer pointed to a few bushes not far from where Rodney was standing. "I hid him in the bushes there with my equipment."

"You killed him," Rodney asked astonished as he walked over to the bushes followed closely by Kiryk.

"McKay!" Sheppard admonished as he glared at the scientist.

"I didn't mean… I mean… it wouldn't be her fault if… because it is a risky procedure and if he were to have…well, she couldn't be held responsible if…"

Jennifer cut off Rodney's rambling, "No, the electrical shock left him unconscious. Considering some of the other side effects I decided to let his body rest for the time being. If he hadn't regained consciousness by dusk, I would've woken him."

Jennifer looked at Ronon and then Kiryk before speaking, "He was just a baby runner. His scar was still fresh from the insertion of the tracking device. Based on how panicked the man was, I think you found him just in time, Kiryk."

Kiryk looked at Dr. Keller with slight shame in his demeanor, "I'm sorry Jennifer, I never meant to put you in jeopardy." His eyes skittered to Sheppard for a moment before focusing back on Jennifer. "I take it not only are you safe, but no harm came to you."

"No, we were fine, just the one Wraith followed us through." Jennifer looked down at her feet a little self-conscious, "I was a little lost however and unsure how to get back to the gate." She looked around at the teams and Kiryk, "I knew you all would come for me, so I stayed put and waited for rescue."

"Like a good little boy scout," Lorne teased.

"Brownie actually," she laughed.

"Why don't we wake sleeping beauty and then get home." Sheppard turned to Kiryk, "Do you know where you're taking him?"

"Yeah, found a village willing to take him in," Kiryk confirmed, "We're good."

"Ok then," Sheppard nodded, "let's move out, shall we."

A/N: So, only one chapter left to go. Hope everyone has enjoyed the ride. Don't forget to review.