I don't own SGA or any of it's characters. Hey there folks! Sorry this took so long, but I had a death in the family and I really didn't feel like writing anything. This is the first time that I actually felt like writing. So I hope you like the chapter. It's not my most inspiring one and it's a lot of exposition, but hey, it'll do. So, enjoy:)

Chapter Twenty-One

"How are they doing Rodney?" Elizabeth asked as she moved up beside the pod which held John.

"They're fine for now. John's vitals have stabilized. And Ronan's… Ronan. He's fine." McKay said.

"How much longer do you think we can keep John in there?" Weir asked.

"It's hard to say for sure, but I say that we have a couple more hours max before there is any real damage. I don't think that it was meant to have someone in there for any extended duration." Rodney said as he pressed a few more keys on his data pad.

"I wonder what's going on in there. How do you think the pods work exactly?"

"I would say that there's a mental aspect to it. He may be dealing with Puren inside his own mind. And if I know Sheppard, he's probably kicking Puren's ass right about now. And Ronan's probably doubled the ass kicking."

"What makes you think that they can fight Puren any better in John's mind than they can in the real world?" Elizabeth asked.

"What can I say, I'm in denial. I can't see them failing at this. I mean come on, it's Sheppard and Ronan. An unbeatable combination don't you think?" Rodney said with his hands on his hips.

"Let's hope so Rodney." Weir said as she looked down at Sheppard. "Let's hope so."

"Sheppard. We can't stay in here forever." Ronan said as he kept watch at the entrance to the infirmary.

"I know that Ronan." John said with frustration evident in his voice, along with a bit of pain. "I'm just trying to catch my breath and think up some strategy. I get this is all in my head and all, but man, I feel beaten down."

"Hmm." Ronan said as he turned to face him and raised his left eyebrow.

"This sucks. I feel old. I wonder how my body is taking this out in the real world. I'd hate to think that anything that happens to me in here happens to me out there too. That would be just too Matrix-esque if you ask me. Welcome to the real world Neo."

Ronan just stared at him with confusion, not getting the pop culture reference. "Is that another Earth saying?"

"Something like that Ronan. Yeah. You know when this is all over and Puren's dead and gone, you're going to have to sit down and watch all three Matrix movies with me. I think you'll like them. There's a lot of kick-ass action in them."

"Okay." Was the only answer that John received before Ronan turned back to face the entrance.

Sheppard shook his head, sighed and then stood up from the chair he was sitting in. He had a lot to teach the Satedan. "So, it's been ten minutes since we ran off from Puren." He said as he looked at his watch and then moved forward to stand beside his companion. "At least I think it's been ten minutes. It could be twenty for all I know. This is my brain we're talking about and time can be a hard concept for me sometimes. Just ask Elizabeth. She has plenty to say on that subject." John crossed his arms in front of him and looked down the hall in front of him.

"Do we have a plan yet?" Ronan asked without taking his eyes from the doorway.

"Let's just say there are ideas percolating in here," He said pointing to his head. "And leave it at that for the moment."

"You're usually a lot quicker at coming up with a plan Sheppard."

"I know. I know. I have a feeling that Puren is partly to blame for that. Things just seem sluggish at the moment. Dammit! I think he's moving a lot quicker through my mind now. He doesn't know what we're doing here but he's going to figure it out eventually. We have to come up with something soon or I'm going to be toast. And I'm sorry, but I like my brain just the way it is thank you very much. I don't need a self involved egomaniac setting up shop in here."

"I say we try and trick him." The Runner said.

John turned to face the man. "In what way?" he asked curiously.

"We make him think that he's taken you over and when the time comes that he's all full of himself and has let down his guard we strike out and kill him."

Sheppard cocked his head and thought about that statement for a moment. "I like it, but how are we supposed to trick him into thinking he's taken me over. He'd have to know that I'm holding out on him."

Ronan grinned. John blinked with wide eyes at the rare occasion of seeing the taciturn man smile. "What?" he said, smiling back.

"I leave your mind for a moment and speak to McKay. Get him to set something up from the outside. Something that Puren has no idea about. Then I come back in, tell you what he's doing and then we set the plan in motion."

John's smile broadened. "You know Ronan. You really are a lot smarter than people give you credit for."

"That was a compliment, right?"

"Definitely. I think you'd almost give McKay a run for his money. But don't tell him I said that. Because that's all I need. Hearing him complain that I must be brain damaged to think that way."

Ronan thought about that for a moment, grunted his agreement and then closed his eyes. Within seconds he had disappeared from view.

"So that's how that works. Cool. And I guess I'll see you shortly Ronan. Thanks for saying goodbye. I'll be waiting here for you as long as Mr. I'm-Better-Than-You doesn't show up wanting another fight." He moved away from the entrance slightly and leaned against the wall. He hoped he didn't have to wait that long for Ronan to get back because he had to admit that he was a little freaked out being in this situation alone. And it didn't matter that all of this was in his mind. He just knew that he couldn't do this alone. And he knew that if this plan didn't work he would probably be dead. 'Dammit!' he thought. 'How the hell do I get myself into these situations?'

Ronan's eyes opened and the pod slid out from the wall. He immediately sat up and turned to face the people in the room.

"What are you doing back out here?" Rodney asked before anyone else could. "You're supposed to be helping Sheppard!"

"I am helping Sheppard McKay!" he said and stood up in front of the scientist.

"How could you possibly be helping him from out here? I thought the whole idea was that you were going in for muscle. To help him fight Puren."

"Just let him speak Rodney." Weir said as she moved up beside the Runner, along with Teyla and Carson.

"We came up with a plan. We're going to trick Puren into thinking that he's taken over Sheppard."

"What good will that do from out here?" Rodney broke in before Ronan could finish. The Runner gave a low growl at the man and McKay shut up.

"I came out here to talk to you McKay. To see if you can do anything from out here to help with the deception. We need to make it look real enough that Puren will let down his guard. And when he does we can kill him."

Rodney thought about it for a moment. A long moment.

"Well?" Weir asked. "Is it possible or not?"

"I think it may be. Yes." Rodney said and then turned back to his data pad. "Let me see what I can come up with."

"Be as fast as you can McKay." Ronan said with a frown. "I can't leave Sheppard alone in there for very long or Puren will find him and come after him. I want to be there to help him. And I can't do that until I get your side of the plan."

"Yes. Yes. I'll hurry. Now leave me alone for a minute so I can think."

The group slowly moved away from the scientist and walked over to where Sheppard lay in his pod.

"Do you think this will work?" Elizabeth asked Ronan.

"It better. It's my idea." The man said gruffly and then crossed his arms in front of him.

"Your idea?" she asked surprised. "John must be having a harder time in there than we thought. He's usually pretty quick at coming up with ideas."

"I know. I said the same thing to him. He thinks Puren is partly to blame."

They all sighed and looked at Sheppard. They were all thinking the same thing. 'Is this going to work?'

Sheppard stood near the entrance to the infirmary with his P-90 ready to go in front of him. He knew that none of this was real, per se, but he also knew that he could still get hurt. A lot apparently.

It had felt like Ronan had been gone for a long time. In fact, he really had no concept of time. It was just a gut feeling at this point. He didn't know how much longer he would have to wait or if Puren would show up in the mean time. He really preferred for Ronan to be by his side if that happened. He didn't want to fight the alien alone.

He was getting bored and tired. And there was only so much waiting he could do. Then, as soon as the thought had left his mind he heard familiar voice. Extremely close by. "Colonel John Sheppard. Did you not think that I could find you?"

John jerked and when he turned around Puren was standing not two feet from him. Then he felt a hard blow to his face as Puren threw out his arm and hit him. The Colonel went flying backwards and hit the wall. When he landed on the floor he let out a pained breath and then spit some blood out of his mouth. He lay on his stomach and he pulled his arms slowly underneath him so that he could try and push himself up. It hurt like hell.

"Where did your bodyguard go? Has he left you to fend for yourself? All the better for me Colonel John Sheppard." The form of Aiden ford said to him with a malicious grin on his young face.

"Oh he hasn't gone far you bastard." John said slightly out of breath.

"Then where is he? Hm?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." The pilot said as he began to push himself off of the floor.

"Yes I would. And you're going to tell me." Puren said, moving closer.

"Not bloody likely."

"I can be quite persuasive when I have to be."

"I'm sure you can. But you're not going to find out." Sheppard said as he managed to get to his knees.

Puren came up to stand over the soldier. He reached down and took hold of John's left hand. Then the next thing Sheppard knew, he was feeling white hot pain erupt from his index finger. He yelled out and looked up at the large smile on Aiden's face. Another broken bone he thought around the pain. Another broken bone.

They all turned in a hurry when they heard Sheppard yell out from within the pod. Rodney immediately checked the man's vitals on his data pad.

"What the hell is going on in there?" Elizabeth asked as she ran over to the pod and placed her hand on the glass.

"His EEG just majorly fluctuated. He's in a lot of pain. I couldn't say what happened though." McKay said quickly.

"I need to get in there now." Ronan said angrily. "Puren has to have found him. So do you have anything I can use or not?"

"Give me two more minutes and I will!" Rodney said brusquely.

"He doesn't have two minutes McKay!" Ronan said a little louder.

"Yelling at me isn't going to get it done any faster. Do you want this or not?"

Ronan turned to face Sheppard and tapped his foot impatiently. He hated not being there to help. He had left the man there alone and now he was paying for it. They were both paying for it. He hoped that by the time he did get back in to Sheppard's mind that the man wouldn't be dead.

TBC in Chapter Twenty-Two….

A/N: Well, I hope you liked the chapter. I don't know when the next time is that I will write. Maybe friday night or maybe on the weekend. I will try to write a couple more chapters before I go on vacation. I don't have a computer to use where I'm going, so if I go for another long period of time without submitting anything, don't worry. I'm just on vacation. So TTFN. Later days. :)