Chapter 5

"It should be right up here!" Rodney's voice rang through the trees, and John muttered a soft curse, which Teyla heard. He winced, then shot her an apologetic look. He usually tried to keep from swearing around a woman, but they'd been walking for almost an hour, and his patience was on its last leg.

"Why don't you shout a little louder, Rodney? I don't think they heard you back at the Jumpers!" He called to his friend.

Rodney seemed unaffected by John's irritated observation. Turning in a slow circle, he watched his data pad for the telltale blip that would show him the device's location. When the beep sounded, he stopped and stared confusedly at it, his eyebrows knitting closely together. "What?" He asked the screen. "That can't be right!"

Suddenly aware of a looming shadow over his right shoulder, Rodney slowly tipped his head up and to the left, to see Ronon staring down at him. As his heart-rate returned to normal, he said in a sing-song voice, "Personal space."

Ronon took a small step backward, just as John and Teyla reached them.

"What's up?" John asked them. "Why'd we stop?"

"Because we're here. We found it," Rodney replied with a sigh.

John was confused. After all his talk about a ZPM, Rodney should be excited. Lifting an eyebrow, he asked, "So where is it?"

"According to this piece of junk –" Rodney held up the data pad " – we're right on top of it."

Everyone automatically looked down at their feet. After a moment of examining the packed dirt under them, Ronon said, "Don't see anything."

Rodney scoffed. "Well, of course not, Conan. It's probably underground, buried in the tunnels that we blew up." He shot John a look that said "nice going".

"Totally unavoidable," John replied, shrugging. "Besides, we had to rescue your sorry behind somehow."

"Yes, well. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my garden shovel. Anyone else have one?"

"Come on, McKay," John warned, and the scientist glared back at him, clearly upset by this turn of events. John couldn't say he didn't understand; they'd come here, against his better judgment, and now, they'd run into a veritable roadblock. Par for the course, it seemed.

"Perhaps there is another way into the cave system?" Teyla asked them, her eyes already scanning the landscape around them.

Latching on to this idea, John looked hopefully at Rodney. All he wanted was to get this mission over with, one way or another.

"Well?" He prompted. Rodney gazed down at his data pad and pressed a few buttons on the screen. After a short pause, he bobbed his head enthusiastically.

"Yes, 2.7 kilometers to the…" he checked the readings again, "east."

"Great." Ronon raised his weapon and started off. The rest of the group followed, John once more taking up the rear. He wondered then how Lorne's men were doing, and decided to check in with them.

He tapped the com in his ear. "Major?"

"Yes, Colonel?"

"Any word from Atlantis?"

Evan looked to Cornell, who had just come out of Jumper Two, where he'd been keeping an eye on subspace communications. Cornell shook his head, and Lorne nodded once in understanding. "Nothing yet. How's it going out there?"

John sighed. "Just a whole lot of walking so far."

"I don't envy you, sir," Lorne chuckled. He'd been going on recon missions for years before he'd joined the Atlantis expedition, and barring a sudden enemy attack, they usually turned out to be fairly tedious.

"Thanks," John remarked a little bitterly. It seemed everyone except him was having a good time. "We think we've found the device, but it's underground. We're heading to a cave about 3 clicks east from the coordinates Rodney gave you. Hopefully, we'll be able to get to the device from there. I'll check back in an hour."

"Understood. Lorne out."

John clicked off and kept his place in the line, alternately watching his team and looking for any exposed roots to avoid tripping over. After a long while, the monotony of the forest, coupled with his recent lack of sleep, began to wear him out. He tried to entertain himself by humming, but his brain was too foggy to think of more than four songs. More than once, he found his eyelids drooping, and he took a few deep breaths of the fresh, woody air to wake him up a little.

The next time he looked up, he saw that the gap between Teyla and the other two men on his team had widened considerably, and he opened his mouth to call for them to slow down. But before he could utter a word, a strange purplish glow enveloped Ronon and Rodney, and then they were both gone.

John rushed to where Teyla stood and pulled her back into the forest. When they had backed up to a distance that he hoped would be safe enough, he tapped his com.

"Lorne, come in!"

Evan stood up from the rock he'd been reclining on, and immediately responded. "I'm here, Colonel."

"We've got a huge problem. Rodney and Ronon just disappeared. I think whatever took those Wraith has them."

"Are you all right, Colonel?"

"Yeah. Just…" he looked at Teyla, whose eyes were wide with fear and confusion. "Pretty freaked out. Look, Rodney had the map with him, and it was a long walk…"

Understanding what John was trying to say, Lorne turned and gestured for his men to gear up as he replied, "We're on our way. We'll keep in radio contact until we've got a visual on you."

John uttered a sigh of relief. He'd always known he'd picked the right man for his XO, but now, he was especially glad for it. "Trust me, we're not goin' anywhere."

When the colonel had ended the com link, Evan turned to his men, a grim look on his face. "Okay, guys, this has now become a rescue mission. We're going to find Colonel Sheppard and Teyla first, then coordinate a search for Dr. McKay and Ronon."

His team all nodded their understanding, followed by four shouts of "Yes, sir". Evan took second position, and Ted Foster, the "geek" of the group was on point, leading them to the coordinates on his hand-held scanner. Cornell was behind Lorne, and Paul Medina was slightly behind and beside him. Dennis Gibson, their explosives expert, took up the rear, every now and then turning around to keep an eye on their "six".

As they walked, the mood was subdued, each man contemplating the severity of the situation in which Sheppard's team found themselves in. Evan kept in contact with John periodically, more to keep both the colonel and himself calm than for any proprietary reason. This last time, he'd assured John that his team would be nearing his location within the hour.

"Good to hear, Major. But don't worry too much about me and Teyla. Just keep your eyes out for any sign of Wraith," John said as he shrugged off his jacket and gave it to Teyla, who was trying to hide the fact that she was shivering. He was used to the cold; he'd lived at McMurdo for quite a while prior to joining the expedition, so he could handle the slight chill that swept around them with almost no problem. Teyla took it from him with a nod of gratitude, sliding it on backwards, so that the body heat it had absorbed would be closer to her chest. He grinned at the sight of her, thinking that the way his jacket wrapped around her looked a bit like a straitjacket.

"Will do, Colonel," Lorne replied. As he switched off the com, he looked to Cornell. "You happen to grab a few blankets from the Jumper? It's getting pretty cold out here."

Matt nodded. "Medina's got 'em. And," he added, before Evan could ask, "we grabbed some spare rations, and I've got some hot coffee in my pack."

Evan grinned and started walking again. "Sheppard will appreciate that, I'm sure."

"It's a good thing Doctor McKay has Ronon with him. If they're out in the woods somewhere, he'll know how to start a fire, find some food."

"Key word being 'if'," Evan replied a little grimly. He'd come to understand that just when you expect something to happen one way, in the Pegasus, it usually came out completely backwards.

Refusing to be pessimistic, Matt shrugged and said, "Anyway, I'm sure they're fine."

Lorne looked up at the gaps between the treetops, and saw that their light was fading fast. He hoped Cornell was right, that they were indeed okay. His gut, however, told him differently.

John had found a small thicket that served fairly well as a windbreak, and was now snuggled into it. The temperature had dropped rapidly after his last conversation with Lorne, sending suddenly-frigid breezes across his body. Since Teyla still wore his jacket, he was now only clad in his t-shirt and tac vest, and the gray pants of his uniform.

"What're you doing?" He asked Teyla, who was pacing back and forth nearby, every now and then stamping her feet to keep her blood flowing.

"Keeping watch for Major Lorne," she answered, though her chattering teeth made her sound like she was stuttering.

"Well, stop." When she turned to look at him, puzzled, he explained, "The wind is gonna freeze you solid pretty soon. Just…come and sit down here."

Teyla eyed the makeshift shelter. She really should stay where she was, out in the open where Lorne could see her, but John's hideout looked much more inviting.

"It's warmer," he sang, tempting her, and she finally gave up her watch. As she sat down beside him, he wrapped his arm around her, his hand vigorously rubbing her bicep to warm it. When her shivering had become a little more intermittent, he grinned and said, "See? Told ya."

"Yes, you did."

As they sat there, they chatted about anything they could think of, just to keep each other awake and entertained. The wind continued to howl around them, shaking the tree branches above them so that they sounded like dry bones rattling together. The darkness was thick, the moon's light little more than a subtle glow in the sky. Soon, John convinced Teyla to sit in front of him, his extremely cold hands clasped over her stomach and his warm breath stirring her golden hair. He could feel her shaking intensely, and though his own body shivered as well, he wished there was more he could do to warm her. As it was, all he could do was keep reminding her that Lorne would be there soon, that they'd soon be back in the Jumpers, warm and cozy. Though she could barely move, her body stiff with the cold, she nodded at his comforting words.

Finally, just when John felt as if he couldn't stay awake any longer, they heard hushed voices coming nearer to them. Too cold and tired to stand, they waited until they were sure Lorne could hear them, and then shouted to catch his attention.

Evan's team found them in the thicket, their lips taking on a blue tint and their faces pale. Within moments, John and Teyla found themselves wrapped in layers of blankets; a thin, silver survival blanket first, followed by thicker woolen blankets on top. Evan helped Teyla to her feet first, his expression grim as he took in her uncontrolled shaking, and ordered Medina to start walking her back to the Jumpers immediately. As they started off, he turned back to John, his concern overriding his fatigue.

"Was wondering when you were gonna show up," John mumbled, pulling the blankets tighter around him.

"Sorry for the delay, Colonel," Evan replied. "We had to backtrack a little, because of a downed tree."

John managed a grin. "This was a pretty bad idea, huh?"

"I would say so."

"Yeah, well I did say so. Carter's gonna get an earful when we get back."

Cornell stepped forward then, with a cup of steaming coffee in his hands. He handed it to John with an apologetic grin. "Sorry it's not as hot as it used to be. This cold is brutal."

"You're telling me." He took the cup and held it between both hands, letting the heat from the cup warm them. "Thanks."

He downed the cup in three gulps, relishing in the warmth that slid down to his stomach, then slowly began to spread throughout his chest. As he handed the cup back to Cornell, he asked Lorne if there'd been any word from Atlantis, or Rodney.

Evan shook his head. "Not a peep from Atlantis. And we've been trying to get Rodney, but either he can't hear us, or can't respond. Sorry, Colonel."

John nodded. "Maybe it's a good sign. If they're holed up in the caves, radio might not penetrate the rock." He gave a wry smile. "And it's probably warmer in there."

"Well, in either case, we should get you back to the Jumpers to warm up. As soon as day breaks, we'll set out again to find them."

Though it was the best possible plan, given the extreme cold, John still battled with leaving the rest of his team out there somewhere. He'd already left Rodney behind once, and he'd sworn not to do it again. But what good would it do to look for them now, if he froze to death out here?

Finally, he nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

With Cornell under orders to keep the thermos handy, they kept as close to one another as they could and headed back the way they came.

Now safe and warm inside Jumper One, John slept, and for once, he had no nightmares. He woke once, when Evan came in to check on him and Teyla, but the Jumper's heated interior combined with the layers of blankets, making him drowsy and content, and he slipped easily back into sleep within moments. Likewise, Teyla woke and exchanged a few words with Evan, then turned on her side and drifted off again. Evan watched them for a while after, huddled closely together on the Jumper floor, and silently breathed in a sigh of thanks for their safety before leaving them alone again.

Now, he thought as he went to check in with his men, if we could only find Rodney and Ronon in the same relative condition, everything would truly be okay.

As soon as he stepped into Jumper Two, Cornell got his attention, and he went to the forward section, sliding into the passenger's seat.

"I got a hold of Atlantis, and filled them in on the situation. Colonel Carter said to follow through with the plan of finding Dr. McKay and Ronon, and then return to the city as soon as we have them."

"Did she say anything about any Wraith in the area?" Evan asked.

Matt shook his head. "She said nothing's come up on long-range, but they'll continue to scan until we radio that we're on our way back."

"Okay. Let me know if anything changes. I'm gonna catch forty."

"You got it," Matt replied, and Evan stood up and went to the rear of the Jumper. Gibson and Foster were on one of the benches that lined the bulkhead, discussing football, and Medina was on the other, a thick paperback book in his hands.

When he saw Lorne standing there, Medina closed the book around his finger, holding his place. "Need me to move, Major?"

"If it's not too much trouble," Evan said with a grin. "I'm gonna try and get a quick nap in before daylight."

"No trouble," Medina replied with a shrug. He quickly switched to the other side of the Jumper and sat back down, and Evan stretched out on the now-empty bench, his hands folded behind his head. Medina went back to reading his book, though his eyes peeked over the top every now and then to watch his superior. He noticed, with a frown of concern on his tanned face, that Evan must've drifted off almost immediately, and he wondered if the major was pushing himself too hard.

Paul Medina was no spring chicken when it came to the military game. He might not show it often, but he knew a lot about stress, and what it did to a man, any man. He also knew that the times the major seemed the most stressed, the most tired, was when Sheppard's team was in trouble. He supposed that was how it was supposed to be, after all, Sheppard was Lorne's superior; loyalty was something to be honored in every branch of the military. But Paul also knew that if you pushed yourself too hard, you could very well blow out, and he didn't want that to happen to Lorne. His superior was a good leader, a good man, and he doubted if there'd ever be another like him in either galaxy.

Of course, he didn't really blame Sheppard for this latest mess. It wasn't his fault that McKay and Ronon had gotten into trouble, and for that matter, it wasn't McKay's fault, either. But the fact remained, Lorne was wearing himself out, and if he didn't slow down, something bad was going to happen to him.

Paul decided not to bring it up to the major yet. For now, he'd watch and wait. When they figured out who had caused all this, then, and only then, would he get revenge for what they were all going through.

TBC...