AN: Okay, so I couldn't stop wondering about why Sheppard's going through all this, and then a super awesome idea hit me. I had to start it right now. Sorry for the cliffhanger-type ending of this chapter, but hopefully I will finish the next chapter today so you won't be left hanging too long!

Chapter 6

For just an instant, Sheppard felt intense cold swirl around him. It was as if he had been plunged into the water in Antarctica, a sharp, stinging cold that took his breath away and made him instantly numb all over. Uttering a loud gasp, he dropped the tablet computer he'd been holding for Rodney. It fell to the floor with a clatter, but luckily did not break.

Rodney himself turned and looked at him then. He had been about to scold the colonel for potentially breaking his expensive equipment, but when he saw the fear in Sheppard's gaze, he quickly stood up and grasped him by the arms.

"John, are you okay?"

As the feeling seeped back into his limbs, Sheppard slowly nodded. "Yeah. I don't know what just happened, there." Looking down, he saw the tablet on the floor and gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry."

"That's...that's okay," Rodney replied, bending down to pick up the tablet himself. "No harm done."

Sheppard just stared at him. On any normal day, Rodney was a bear to work with, and that was when things were going his way. Catching him after something bad had happened was like poking that bear with a thousand watt cattle prod. Right now, in fact, they were supposed to be fixing one of the power relays to the Chair Room, and it was not going well. By all rights, Rodney should have attempted to verbally separate Sheppard's head from the rest of his body – and yet, there he was, acting overly concerned for Sheppard.

"Something's not right."

McKay looked up and frowned. "Hmm?"

"I said, something's not right," Sheppard repeated.

"Well, of course it's not. This relay is completely fried. It's gonna take hours to fix this, even for me."

"No, that's not it."

The physicist huffed. "Okay, John." He dropped his tools and stood up, crossing his arms. "What is it, then?"

For a moment, Sheppard could not put his finger on just what was bothering him. Then, his eyes grew wide and he said, "I can't hear the city."

"Huh?"

"Atlantis. I can usually feel her, here," he said, pointing at the base of his skull. "It's like a hum, or a...single, soft note that's always there." Frowning deeply, he gazed around at the hallway they stood in. "The only times I don't feel it are when we're off-world."

"But we're not off-world now," McKay told him. "You haven't been sleeping well, lately. Maybe you're just too tired to feel it."

Sheppard took a few steps away, still trying to regain the connection to his beloved city. He turned and faced the transporter, willing it to open, but it remained as it was, the door firmly shut.

"Yeah, maybe," he muttered.

Just then, the transporter opened, and a familiar young man stepped off. He walked past the two of them, a wide smile on his tanned face, and Sheppard almost forgot to breathe.

"Ford?" He whispered, watching as the young man's back retreated down the hallway.

"Did you say something?" McKay asked.

"I just saw...Ford just walked past us. You didn't see him?"

"No, but to be honest, right now I wouldn't see a ravenous wolf bolting past us. This relay is being a real pain in the ass."

"But I...Ford was..."

Rodney sighed. "Are you having a seizure or something? I've never heard you so incapable of stringing together a complete thought since that time you stuck your hand on Katie's poison cactus." The shorter man chuckled at the memory. "You were pretty hilarious that day, actually. Kept muttering about feeling sorry for ducks because they couldn't wear shoes."

At the look on Sheppard's face, Rodney sighed again and said, "Yes, Ford walked past. I don't know why that's weird, seeing as how he's been here since day one, but...well, we're talking about you, here, so I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that you've picked now to have a complete psychotic break..."

The feeling of wrongness was now intense, sending chills down Sheppard's whole body. Though he could clearly see Rodney working – and talking – nearby, all he heard was pressing silence around him. The chills grew exponentially stronger, and then the consuming cold was back, paralyzing his legs so that he could not move. The air in his lungs turned to lead, and when he tried to call Rodney's name all he managed was a soft moan.

The cold was suffocating him, he realized then, as darkness began to seep into the edges of his vision. With all his strength, Sheppard lurched toward Rodney, but he fell at least a foot short. He felt the hard floor connect with his head, but before he could wonder if he was bleeding, he was unconscious.

TBC...