I don't own SGA or it's characters. I own my story and my bad guy. So here's the next chapter. And wait until you see who Sheppard found in the infirmary. Again, this is a pivotal chapter. A lot happens in this one. So read on and have fun. Ta. :)

Chapter Nineteen

When Colonel Sheppard woke up again he was surprised to see that the lights were back on. Had he imagined the whole thing? Was he still in the infirmary on Atlantis? He slowly reached up and pulled the night vision goggles off of his head and then let his hand drop to the floor beside him. He sighed heavily and for the second time that day he pushed himself up off of the floor. He looked up and realized that he was facing the door to the room.

"Nice to see you awake Sir." Came the all too familiar voice from behind him. He froze for only an instant and then slowly turned around. The pilot found himself staring at the mutated face of Lieutenant Aiden Ford. "Didn't think you'd ever wake up." Ford said with a smirk.

"Ford." Sheppard said as he stood as straight as he could. "How did you get into the city without anyone noticing?"

"Look around you Sir." Aiden said as he raised his arms up and gestured around the room. "It wasn't very hard."

"What did you do to them?" John asked.

"I didn't do anything to them. Atlantis was like this when I got here. I am surprised to see you here though. What, did they leave you behind? That wasn't very nice of them."

Sheppard glared at his former Lieutenant, dressed in his rather Athosian like garb. He did not need this. Especially not from Ford. "Yeah. I guess it looks that way. Why are you here? Trying to get more enzyme from Beckett?"

"Something like that Colonel. But I guess I have the pick of anything I want don't I?" the young man said as he moved closer to the pilot.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you Ford. But I'm still here to defend Atlantis. And I'm not going to let you do anything to her." He said as he reached for his P-90. When he reached down and got air he realized for the first time that he did not have any of his weapons. 'That's just great!' he thought.

"Sorry Sir. I had to take away your weapons. Didn't want you to do anything that you would regret."

"How very noble of you Ford." John said with a slight sneer.

Ford smiled at him and then began to circle him. "I don't see how you, being just one man, will be able to defend all of Atlantis. I mean, I know you're a great fighter, but you're still just one man. And might I add… a weaponless man."

"Thanks for the reminder." Sheppard said as he watched Aiden walk around him.

"Hm. Always the comebacks. The sarcasm. It's a pity that McKay isn't here. We'd just have a fun ol' time with the witty comebacks. Can't you talk seriously for two minutes Sir?"

"Oh, I'm serious Lieutenant." He said with an edge to his voice. "You wait and see just how serious I am."

"That's more like it Sir. That's what I want to hear. So why don't we get out of here and go to the Control Room." He said as he made his way to the door.

"And why would I want to do that Ford?" he asked as he turned to face the man.

"You can stay here if you like. But I'm going to the Control Room." And with that said Aiden left the Colonel standing by himself in the infirmary. A few seconds went by. "Aw crap!" Sheppard said and then raced out of the room after Ford.

When they arrived at the Control Room Aiden headed straight for Weir's office and sat down at her desk, leaning back in the chair and putting his feet up on the desk, crossing them. He placed his hands behind his head. There was a smile plastered on his face. "I knew this was a comfortable chair."

Sheppard stood on the other side of the desk with his arms crossed in front of him. "Why did we come up here Ford? So you could sit in Weir's chair?"

"Do I have to explain everything to you Colonel?" the man said smugly.

"I guess you do Lieutenant." He said with a pissed off tone. "Now are you going to explain what you're doing here or not?"

"I thought it would be self explanatory Sir. But I guess not. I want to come back to Atlantis."

Sheppard just stared at him with his brows furrowed. He thought about that statement for a moment. "Now you want to come back? After all this time and after everything you've done?"

"Yes I do. I feel I can fight the Wraith better from here than from out there. Don't you want me to come back?" he said as he brought his feet down from the desk and sat forward in the chair.

"Not if you're lying to me. No I don't." he said shaking his head.

"I'm not lying to you Sir. I've changed my mind. Isn't that allowed?"

"You know Lieutenant… six months ago I probably would have said yes to you. But I know you're lying to me. So the answer is no. You can't come back. You're considered MIA here as well as back on Earth. And that's the way it's going to stay."

"I thought you would have been a little more understanding Colonel." Aiden said as he stood up.

Sheppard leaned forward and placed the palms of his hands on the desk in front of him. He looked up at the man. "I'm sorry to disappoint you Ford. But you're not going to get me to change my mind. So give it up."

A flicker of hate came across the Lieutenant's face and within an instant he was jumping over the desk, lunging at the Colonel. To his utter surprise, John stepped back and did not have time to get away from the man.

They landed on the floor, Ford on top of Sheppard. Aiden began to hit John and he tried to fight back. He managed to get a hold of Ford's arms but the man just kept on coming. They rolled on the floor trying to hit each other and then Sheppard managed to get the younger man in to a head lock. "What the hell are you doing Ford!" he yelled.

"You never liked me Colonel. Never." Came the raspy, stuttering voice. The man was trying to pry Sheppard's arm away from his throat.

"Here we go again. You know how many times I've had to here that crap come out of your mouth? I'm sick and tired of it. Get a new line Lieutenant." He said with anger.

For those remarks Sheppard received an elbow in the gut. The breath ran out of him and he let go of Ford. The young man stood and turned to face his ex-superior officer. "How can I get a new line Colonel when it's the truth!" he said and lunged for the pilot again. Sheppard managed to get his feet up and fired them at the man's stomach. He pushed the man away from him and Ford stumbled backwards. Then he realized, just a moment too late, that Aiden was falling towards the desk.

He watched in horror as Ford's head cracked on the side of the desk. Then the man fell limply to the floor. Sheppard was on his feet in an instant and ran to Ford's side. He checked his pulse and couldn't find it. His mind was racing. "No! No! No!" He still couldn't find the pulse. "Godammit! You can't be dead!" Tears were starting to flow down his cheeks. He didn't even realize that he had begun to cry. He felt numb inside as he continued to try and revive the Lieutenant. After many failed attempts at CPR he sat crouched on his knees, his hands resting on the prone man's chest. He began to shake his head, then stood up and walked slowly over to the door. He was breathing quite heavily, almost to the point of hyperventilating. He turned and faced the dead Lieutenant. Then his legs gave out from under him and he collapsed to the floor. He sat there numbly, bent over with his face in his hands. And he began to sob.

TBC in Chapter Twenty….

A/N: So were you shocked? Did Ford even enter your minds? What do you think will happen now that Sheppard has killed his friend? A lot of questions, I know. And I've left you all hanging again. But isn't this a great place to end a chapter? Later days folks. :)