As always you rock with the FB. Thank you thank you. And Hugs and hugs to Kodiak for fixing things.

Teyla could not hide her confusion as she watched Doctor Weir walk over to Veesa, shoving down the hand that held a knife before whispering to her. Veesa relented and stepped back.

Elizabeth moved forward to greet Teyla and Ronon, a pleased smile on her face. "I was hoping someone would find me," she offered in greeting.

"You didn't make it easy to find you," Ronon replied, his dark eyes roving over her as if looking for injury.

"All I could do at the time was drop my necklace," Elizabeth stated.

Teyla leaned in to whisper, "Are you not a prisoner?"

Elizabeth sighed, rubbing a hand over her dirt-stained face. "I was at first, but it's a long story and one I'd prefer to tell only once, when we get back to Atlantis."

"We should leave now," Ronon said firmly. "It's going to take us about three days to get back, which means the Wraith will arrive soon after we do."

"The Wraith?" Elizabeth looked stunned. "What are you talking about?"

Teyla grimaced, wishing she did not have to be the bearer of bad news. "Soon after you disappeared it was discovered that three Wraith Hive ships are on their way to Atlantis. They will arrive in about seven days."

Elizabeth paled, one fist pressing against her mouth as if to hold back a scream. Then she pulled herself back together. "I need to have a word with Veesa, then we'll leave."

"They won't try and stop us?" Ronon asked, staring over at the Pyrdian with doubt etched into his features.

"No, they won't stop us," Elizabeth replied with certainty. As if sensing his doubt she stated, "I'll explain everything on the way back to the gate." With that she turned and walked away from them, her stride determined.

Teyla watched her go, uncertain of her own feelings. She was pleased they had found Doctor Weir, but she had her own doubts as to what was before them. It made no sense that Doctor Weir was not a prisoner, yet she had not attempted to return to Atlantis until now. Until they had come for her. Teyla hoped that the explanation she gave them would make sense. That it would settle the unease that weighed heavily upon her. "Can we not make it back sooner than three days?" she asked Ronon.

He shrugged. "You think Doctor Weir can run all the way?" he countered. "We could make it in two if we pace ourselves at a run and don't sleep."

"We must be as rested as we can be when we return," Teyla shot back. "We will be needed."

"Then it will take three days," confirmed Ronon.

Elizabeth returned to them, looking grim. "Let's go," she stated, gesturing for Ronon to lead them.

Teyla nodded for Doctor Weir to go next while she brought up their six. She could not help but turn back for a moment, to see the Pyrdians watching their departure. Teyla turned back towards their destination and she could not shake a bone deep feeling of dread.

OoO

John managed, through sheer determination, to convince Beckett to release him from the infirmary. But he did so with the warning that he was going to be checking up on John throughout the day and that he'd better be happy with what he saw or it was back to the infirmary for him.

So John promised to be good, even to the point of confessing to a slight headache and taking some aspirin under Beckett's watchful eye. He then promised to do nothing more strenuous than sit behind a desk for short periods and spend the rest of the day napping. Okay, so he had crossed his fingers behind his back on that one. He had no intention of napping. But John did go to his room, shower and dress, then stopped off at the mess hall for a turkey sandwich. He managed to eat half of it with a glass of milk - doctor's orders - then he contacted Caldwell and set up the meeting with him and Lorne in Weir's office.

Both were already there when John finally arrived. He entered the room with a grim expression on his face, closed the door behind him then seated himself behind Elizabeth's desk. "Anything I need to know?" John asked, focusing his attention on Lorne. He knew the Major would keep him updated on things that Caldwell might presume weren't necessarily something he needed to be informed of, so when the Major shook his head, John was satisfied that nothing had changed. The status had remained the same. The Wraith were on their way and Elizabeth was still missing.

"We need to plan our strategy," John stated, as he settled himself into the chair with care.

"The Daedalus should be the first wave of attack and defense," Caldwell said firmly.

John nodded at him. He had been thinking the same thing. "Hopefully the shielding will hold and we have a big supply of drones now," he added.

Caldwell was looking less than impressed. "That's not going to be enough and we both know it, Colonel," he drawled.

"Right now it's all we've got," John shot back, not taking offense at Caldwell's tone. It had to gall the man to no end to be answerable to him.

"What about the chair, Sir?" Lorne interjected, eyes locked on John's face. "Aren't Dr. McKay and Zelenka working on getting it to use the new energy source?"

John sighed and resisted the urge to press his fingertips to his temples. His headache was acting up again. " 'Working on' being the key words, Major," he said softly. "We have the weapon we need but no idea how to make it work." Which sucked like a great big sucking thing, John thought to himself. But it was typical of their luck in the Pegasus galaxy. He still had hope that Rodney could get it to work somehow. The only catch being that John knew he had to be in the chair to make it work. Atlantis had told him that much. He had just kind of neglected to tell anyone else. Not with the intention of keeping it a secret, but rather because he knew Rodney had already figured that out.

And right on cue John's radio clicked. He tapped it. "Sheppard here."

Rodney's voice crackled through. "Are you going to laze around all day, Colonel? Or are you going to get down here and sit your ass in the chair so we can get some work done?"

"On my way," John replied, then he clicked off and shot apologetic glances at Caldwell and Lorne. "Do what needs to be done and keep me updated," he instructed. He got a smirk from Caldwell and a "Yes, Sir!" from Lorne. John knew they would do what they had to do for Atlantis and that was all that mattered. He pushed out of the chair and headed for the door. One hand slid into his pocket, fingers curling around Elizabeth's necklace.

John sent a silent prayer for her to come home soon. He hadn't realized how much he would miss her presence. He considered Elizabeth to be far more than his boss. She was a friend. Someone who had considered him worth someone. She had taken a risk in bringing him to Atlantis, even though he was sure she hadn't realized it at the time. Sometimes they butted heads, but John had always respected her. Never more so than when she had worked so hard to secure his position in Atlantis. He hadn't felt he'd earned the job. He'd stepped into it by default and even though he'd managed to keep Atlantis safe, John knew he wasn't the right person for the job, even though being in Atlantis and doing what he did felt like coming home.

On the night after he'd been given his promotion, Elizabeth had come to his room at SGC. She'd brought a bottle of whiskey and told him they needed to talk. They'd talked until five am, by which time she had convinced him that he had earned the job. He had convinced her to accept the fact that he had a lot to learn and he was going to make a lot of mistakes. They had made a toast, agreed to face all their mistakes together, as a team, then they'd gone to breakfast nursing hangovers.

He wanted her back home. Where she belonged. With that thought in mind, John entered the chair room. McKay was on him instantly.

"Sit!" Rodney ordered, gesturing to the chair.

So John sat and the connection was immediate. He felt himself melding with Atlantis and he asked for her help. Peripherally, John was aware of Rodney and Zelenka making excited noises and talking to each other. He assumed that meant that Atlantis had delivered the goods. It was hard for him to concentrate. His headache was back full force, making it feel like his brain was trying to push out of his skull. Breathing was starting to hurt.

To John's surprise, the chair disconnected him. One minute he was a part of her, the next he was sitting upright and practically tumbling onto hands and knees. He found Zelenka there, gripping his arm, keeping him steady.

"Colonel, are you well?" Radek queried, looking concerned.

"Tired," John replied, because he knew he had to look like hell so there was no point in denying it.

Rodney was suddenly there, gaze narrowed as he studied him. "You look like shit. Go get some sleep before Beckett shows up and punishes me for keeping you awake."

John grinned at that, because he knew it was McKay's way of showing he cared. It was appreciated. "Call me if you need me," he instructed Zelenka.

"We will do that," Radek promised, even as he guided John to the door. "Would you like me to come with you?"

"I know the way to my room," John shot back, with what he hoped was a teasing tone. His head felt like it weighed a ton and his vision was becoming a bit blurred. But he knew if he could just get to his room and collapse for about six hours, then he'd be just fine.

Radek was nodding. "Yes yes, you know the way. Question is, can you make it without falling down?"

John winced. He should have known Zelenka missed nothing. "I'll crawl if I have too," he replied, sotto voce.

"I will accompany you," Radek declared. "Rodney and I need coffee anyway." The last was said loudly enough for McKay to hear.

"Coffee and food!" Rodney shouted back, not looking up from his laptop.

Radek rolled his eyes then tightened his grip on John's arm. "Come, we go now."

John didn't argue the point, or the hand on his arm. He was pretty sure he would fall down without it. Which bothered him more than a little. He couldn't afford any weakness right now. The Wraith were too close. As they stumbled along, John wished he could turn back time. He wished he'd never agreed to come here. If he'd stayed on Earth maybe none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have picked up Teyla's necklace, activating the signal that woke up the sleeping Wraith. He wouldn't have shot Colonel Sumner. He wouldn't be feeling the weight of all this responsibility. But John was wise enough to temper his negativity with the cold hard fact that if he hadn't come to Atlantis, he wouldn't have found a place he could call home and mean it.

"Colonel?" Radek sounded worried and he shook John a bit. "Are you all right? Should I call Dr. Beckett?"

"What?" John was surprised by the question. "No...why do you ask?"

Radek gestured towards his face. "You have nose bleed."

John touched a fingertip to his face then studied the red wetness that stained his skin. "Shit!" Radek offered him another handkerchief and John accepted it gratefully. "I'm going to owe you a truckload of these things," he commented, even as he pressed it to his nose.

"I have plenty," Radek said quietly. He was watching John with concern. "You have not told Dr. Beckett about nose bleeds." It was more a statement than a question.

"No." John wasn't sure why he couldn't lie to Zelenka, but there it was.

Radek's mouth thinned. "Why not?"

John slumped against the wall, resisting the urge to sigh. He was tired and frustrated and he felt punching something, but he didn't want to take his bad mood out on Zelenka. He knew the guy was just looking out for him. "I can't afford to be out for the count," John confessed. "Beckett would insist on running tests and things. I don't have time for that right now."

"But you will have time later, yes?" Zelenka countered, as he locked eyes with John. "When this is over and Atlantis is safe...you will let Dr. Beckett take care of you."

"Yeah...when Atlantis is safe," John confirmed. Hell, when this was all over he fully intended to take a month long vacation. He never did get one after the Genii incident, when they had invaded Atlantis and he'd been forced to become a one-man strike team. John still had nightmares about that to this day. He could still hear all the bodies that hit the force field, zapped out of existence like flies.

Zelenka reached for John's arm again. "Time for you to rest for a bit," he said firmly.

John didn't argue. He let Zelenka escort him back to his room. Once he was inside and alone again, John headed for the bathroom. He checked the bleeding and thankfully it had stopped. But his headache was still with him so he grabbed the bottle of Aleve and shook out three pills. He swallowed them down with a glass of water then brushed his teeth, stripping out of his clothes and stepping into the shower. Five minutes later he was toweling himself dry and slipping into a t-shirt, boxers and sweat pants. Reaching for the bottle of sleeping pills, John swallowed two then headed for bed. He crawled under the covers and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was wrapped in warm darkness.

OoO

They made camp, but only for a few hours. They ate MRE's then settled around a small fire, hidden within the curved walls of a tiny cave, barely big enough to fit them all. A small opening to the cave allowed them to risk the warming blaze.

Teyla was watching Elizabeth. "You said you would tell us what happened," she prompted.

Elizabeth nodded, shifting to find a comfortable position while trying to ignore her desperate desire for a shower. She could smell how ripe she was. But she needed to focus on other things at the moment. "Long story short, Veesa and the Pyrdians intended to trade me for goods."

"To the others," Ronon interjected.

"Yes, to the others," Elizabeth replied.

Teyla looked concerned. "Did you meet with the others?"

Elizabeth grimaced, remembering big men with sharp pointy weapons. "I met them. They're rather Neanderthal like." At the twin blank expressions glaring at her, Elizabeth explained. "Um...caveman like people. Very simplistic. Didn't talk a lot."

Ronon grunted at that.

Elizabeth chuckled, but sobered instantly. "Anyway, I managed to convince Veesa that I would be more useful as a negotiator. After I managed to get them a better trade agreement with the others, she agreed to let me go. They were planning on escorting me back to the gate in the morning, but then you two showed up."

"We are pleased you were not hurt," Teyla said, her sincerity evident in her tone.

"I'm pretty pleased about that myself," Elizabeth allowed. She shifted again, moving to lie down. She knew they all needed to sleep before they started out again. "How is Colonel Sheppard doing?" she asked. Although she was certain he was taking good care of Atlantis, she was more concerned about him in a physical sense. He hadn't been fully recovered when she'd left.

Ronon answered. "He's worried about you, but doing what has to be done."

Elizabeth was pleased by that answer. That was the Sheppard she knew, the man she could trust to get the job done. No matter what the odds were against him. "If anyone can find a way to beat the Wraith, it will be Sheppard," she stated.

"And Dr. McKay," Teyla added, with a smile.

"Yes." Elizabeth managed a tired smile back. "They make an unbeatable team."

Ronon stoked the fire then said, "Sleep. We leave in three hours."

Elizabeth watched him settle in to keep watch over them. She wanted to argue that he should get some sleep too, but she trusted Ronon to do the right thing as well. Sheppard had picked a good team. So she let her eyes drift shut, letting sleep claim her.