Elizabeth sat beside John on the pier, her legs swinging casually over the edge as she gazed out across the ocean, a breeze gently lifting her brown locks away from her slender neck and shoulders.

She smiled as she squinted into the rising sun. 'You did good, John. Snatching that ZPM was risky, and then managing to land the city without a single loss of life was nothing short of amazing – you must be very happy.'

John watched her take a sip from her mug of coffee, happy just to share this quiet time with his friend, but for some reason, something felt out of place. He tried to ignore the feeling, putting it down to delayed nerves. He hadn't believed they would all make it out in one piece, in fact, as he tried to remember how they'd got away he had trouble recalling it, as id squinting at the memories through opaque glass.

'I guess so. Crazy thing is I had this nightmare about losing you to the Asurans. I'm happy that wasn't real,' he said softly.

'Oh, you don't get rid of me that easily, John Sheppard,' she joked, nudging her shoulder into his. 'This place is my home now. Wild horses couldn't drag me away, so a few angry Asurans are definitely no match!' She smirked in the playful way she always did, sipping again from the mug of coffee she cradled between both palms.

'It's a beautiful morning,' John commented as the rising sun painted the sky with broad strokes of orange and lilac. A warm breeze ruffled his hair, bringing welcome heat to his cold skin. 'Can't wait to get some time to explore the mainland...although we'll have to look out for those big snakes McKay mentioned.'

'Hmmm, I know what you mean. Being cooped up in the city is all well and good, but it's nice to feel solid ground under your feet now and again,' she mused, tilting her face up to the sun and closing her eyes as its rays caressed her.

John looked down at his boots hanging over the water, still feeling inexplicably uneasy. 'I don't know. I kind of like the city. It feels safe,' he murmured, trying to recall how they both now found themselves sitting out on this pier. It wasn't the usual spot they chose to conduct their conversations. In fact, he didn't think they'd ever been there together before.

Elizabeth looked toward him now, her eyes bright in the increasing light. 'Well, with your genes you have more of a connection to this place than any of us, so I suppose that's only natural.'

'I suppose...'

He looked up to the sky again, enjoying the burgeoning warmth of the morning, the dual moons now fading in the blue sky. There were five moons in total; Sam Carter had told him so...but he couldn't place when and where they'd had that conversation. When he tried to bring it to mind it became more hazy and vague, just as their escape from Asuras did.

A dot in the vast expanse of sky caught his attention; he shielded his eyes against the sunlight and squinted at it, trying to discern its shape.

Elizabeth saw it, too. 'What is it?' she asked, the smile slipping from her face.

'I don't know. I see something up there, but I can't tell what it is.'

'Could it be some type of bird?'

He shook his head. 'I don't think so. It's too big. We should head inside and see what the scanners can pick up.'

Elizabeth caught hold of his wrist, stopping him before he could stand. 'Wait a while, John. If there's anything to worry about, someone will let us know. Let's enjoy the peace and quiet a while longer. It's so rare we get time like this I want to make the most of it.'

John frowned back at her, his nagging feeling of unease growing stronger now. That was a dumb idea; Elizabeth was smarter than to ignore something like this. In the Pegasus Galaxy, even the most innocuous thing could prove life threatening, they'd learned it a dozen times over at least. 'No, I really think we should get inside,' he insisted, trying to pull his arm free.

Her grip on him tightened. 'You don't need to tell anyone, John. It would be better if you didn't.'

He didn't understand what she could possibly mean, and her enduring serenity in the face of potential danger disturbed him. 'Let go, Elizabeth. I have to go to the Control room in case whatever that thing is has evaded our systems somehow.'

'It has. They have the same technologies as the Ancients, after all, so it's easy for them to know how to avoid detection. And they have a lot more ZPMS, although they're minus one now, thanks to you.'

'The Asurans?' he breathed, 'How can they have found us so fast?'

'Because you never really left.'

The deep voice of Oberoth resonated in Sheppard's eardrums, and Elizabeth morphed before his eyes, taking on his bloated form. He thrust his hand into Sheppard's head, forcing a scream from him as he felt his mind turn to pulp...

'GO!'...

Elizabeth's final instruction echoed though Sheppard's aching head again as his eyes snapped open to the sight of acres of blue sky.

'Colonel Sheppard.'

This time, it was Teyla's voice he could hear. He tried to rise, swaying as he straightened up on the end of the pier he'd fallen asleep on, gripping the edge to stop himself toppling forward.

He was alone. No Elizabeth, and no Teyla either.

'Colonel Sheppard...John...please respond.'

With the fog of sleep now clearing from his brain, he realised the voice was coming through his earpiece. 'Teyla, this is Sheppard. What's wrong?'

'Nothing now that I've found you. You were not in your room and I wasn't able to locate you anywhere else. I was worried...We were about to scan for your transmitter.'

He felt guilty for troubling her. Elizabeth's failure to return with them had struck them all hard, but Teyla had been the most visibly shaken by it. She didn't feel the need to hide her feelings the way he, Ronon, or Rodney did. He suspected she felt that if she'd been there helping them on the heist, things might have ended differently. He wondered if that meant she blamed him for asking her to remain behind. No, this was Teyla. She was nothing if not fair. She understood why he'd asked her to remain and take care of Atlantis if they didn't return. He trusted her implicitly, and he hoped she felt the same way.

'I decided to get some fresh air...' he said, still distracted by his nightmare as he scoured the skies, worried there might be something lurking out there.

'Well, Ronon, Rodney, and I are about to take some breakfast and wondered if you would care to join us before we embark on our mission.'

A black dot against the blue distracted Sheppard and set his heart thundering against his ribs, his breathing catching in his throat. Oh, God. They've found us! Thankfully, the gentle flap of wings and an elegant swerve told him it was nothing more than one of the native creatures of this new planet they found themselves on.

'John?'

'Er, yeah,' he replied, only now remembering Teyla had asked him a question. 'I need to shower first, so I'll meet you there in fifteen.'

'Very well. I will let the others know.'

Sheppard stood up and looked at the spot Elizabeth had occupied in his dream. For just a few moments there he had almost believed that she'd made it back with them, and now he felt as if he'd lost her all over again.

Checking the sky one last time, he made his way back inside to freshen up and join his team.

He took the transporter back to the level where his quarters were located, and, after a brisk two-minute walk, he was searching through his drawers for clean underwear socks and trousers. His T-shirt, which he'd only worn for a few hours, still looked clean so he decided it would do for the day.

The warmth of the shower was pleasant on his cold back, still chilled from its time lying on the metal pier. It was hard to believe he'd managed to fall asleep in such an uncomfortable place, but that was how fatigue got you sometimes. He'd slept in some pretty inhospitable surroundings out of necessity in Afghanistan amongst other places, so he knew that only too well. He felt himself begin to sway and steadied himself with a hand against the glass, closing his eyes as he let the water run freely over his face to wash away the lingering tiredness that still tugged at his eyelids. When he opened them again he thought he saw the blurry outline of a mountainous man through the steamed up glass, someone with a silhouette exactly like Oberoth's. He gasped, throwing open the door to the sight of an ancient cell. He hadn't escaped...they were still on Asuras.

Sheppard woke as his head bumped against the glass of the shower wall. He'd fallen asleep and gone straight into a nightmare so believable it took him a few moments to decide whether this was reality or not. He pushed open the shower to check the room beyond. This time it was just his bathroom; he really had momentarily lost consciousness, nothing more. Figuring the shower wasn't helping as much as he'd hoped it would, he jumped out and dried off, dressing quickly and heading back out into the corridor. Maybe coffee and muffins would succeed where the hot water had failed.

When he reached the Mess hall to collect some breakfast, his hair still damp from his ablutions, he spotted Rodney, Ronon, and Teyla sitting at the table he and McKay had occupied in the early hours for their chat. In fact, Rodney was still in the exact same chair...

He grabbed the anticipated meal and joined his friends. 'McKay, please tell me you went to bed last night,' he grunted, pulling out the chair opposite him and dropping into it as if his legs were reluctant to hold him up any longer.

Rodney's dilated pupils met his, but only for a fraction of a second. 'Of course I did. I told you I would, didn't I?' he lied, pushing food around his plate with erratic, aggressive pokes and prods of his cutlery.

He was clearly wired on caffeine, his hands trembling as he lifted his fork to his mouth to shovel in some bacon.

'We have a mission today. I told you to get some rest,' Sheppard replied, proof if Rodney needed it that he didn't believe him.

'I'm good. I just took a couple of pep pills, so that should see me through. Anyway, you're not exactly looking bright eyed and bushy tailed yourself this morning.'

'He's right, Colonel. You do look tired,' Teyla agreed. Ronon just regarded him in silence as he pushed a whole pancake into his mouth and chewed it up.

'Okay, I'll admit, I'm not feeling all that good, but I did at least get some sleep last night.' Not that I'm about to tell you it was out on a pier.

'Perhaps we should postpone the mission until you have both had more rest,' Teyla suggested, her face a picture of concern as she looked between the two of them.

'No!' they both responded in unison, looking at each other in slack-jawed shock.

Sheppard knew why they had both answered that way; it was because they both needed something to occupy them and keep their minds off Elizabeth's plight.

Ronon's eyebrows lifted a shade, but he still made no comment.

Teyla gave them both a knowing look. 'It was just a suggestion. If you really want to go ahead as planned, then, of course, we should.'

'Good,' John muttered, tucking into his breakfast with gusto. His several nights of disjointed sleep and corridor wandering had left him with a voracious appetite, and he didn't want to go on this mission hungry. That would only add to the misery of trying to stay awake. He needed calories to keep him upright.

'So, I was thinking, after this mission, my time might be better spent helping with the repairs to Atlantis. We sustained some serious damage and although we have some good people working on it, I have a much better grasp of this place than anyone else,' Rodney babbled. 'I mean, any of the military teams can carry out these reconnaissance missions, but...'

'But you're the only one capable of getting Atlantis fully functioning?' Sheppard mumbled through his food.

'Well...yes, actually. And I might need your help to re-initialise stuff, so, I need you to stay on base,' he added wagging his finger in Sheppard's direction. 'You can't expect me to sit around waiting for hours on end when there's so much work to be done.'

'Doesn't sound like much fun for me and Teyla,' Ronon pointed out, breaking his silence at last.

'Doesn't sound like much fun for me, either!' Sheppard protested, 'So you get to work on science stuff that get's you all hyped, and we have the pleasure of sitting around watching just in case you need me to touch something.'

'Look we made it here, but systems are crashing as we speak, and until we fix things we're stuck here with no choice but to hope no Wraith or Asurans come calling. And we've never really taken the time to test this city's full potential. This is probably the most time I'll ever have to research the Ancient databases to see if there are any ways of boosting our defences. Personally, I can't think of a better way of spending my time while we're –'

'While we're in hiding from our enemies and desperately trying to find more ZPMs to make us a match for them if they come after us?' Sheppard finished for him.

'No. I was going to say while we can't take any major action because we're waiting for new leadership. Look, when we first came to the Pegasus galaxy, we were supposed to explore and gather as much information about the Ancients as we could. This was never supposed to turn into a war – Elizabeth saw this as a voyage of discovery and I thought it would honour her memory if we spent some time...discovering stuff.'

'We don't know she's dead yet,' Sheppard growled, 'and the first chance I get to launch a rescue mission, I'm out of here.'

'We will all be with you,' Teyla said calmly. 'We all want to see her back as much as you do.'

'No. Apparently, some of us just want to honour her memory...' Sheppard spat, throwing Rodney a dirty look. This questioning of his decisions was wearing pretty thin. He really didn't have the patience to deal with Rodney right now.

McKay rolled his eyes, dropping his cutlery to the table. 'Oh, come on. You know I didn't mean I was giving up on her. I'll be right there with the rest of you when we get clearance to go. But Elizabeth wouldn't want us to put our work here on hold until she gets back.'

'Fine,' Sheppard grunted. 'You stay here and do all the repairs and discovering stuff you're itching to get involved in. Ronon, Teyla, and I can manage reconnaissance without you for a while, 'cos, you know what, I'm pretty sure Elizabeth would agree that stuff's important, too.'

'But –'

'I promise if we see any cool scientific stuff we think would float your boat, we'll bring it back with us,' Sheppard assured him. 'I hate to break this to you, but important as you no doubt are here, you are not completely indispensible out in the field.'

Ronon grinned inanely as he chewed up another pancake. Rodney just stared back at Sheppard, looking distinctly crestfallen. 'How do you know you won't miss something significant?'

'Because, contrary to popular belief, we're not that dumb!' Sheppard snapped.

Rodney picked up his fork and pushed his food around some more. 'I still think I should come with you.'

'Thought there was stuff you wanted to do here,' Ronon rumbled, smirking at him as he popped some fruit into his mouth.

'There is, but Zelenka could do it.'

'You said you were the only one who could do it,' Ronon reminded him.

'Well, if I have to decide between the two things, then my place is obviously with the team,' McKay grouched.

'Obviously,' Ronon repeated, pinning him with one of his unwavering stares.

It suddenly occurred to Sheppard that there might be a very different reason for Rodney trying to keep them there on Atlantis and not wanting the team to go out without him. He'd assumed it was purely his arrogance raising its ugly head as it often did, but he saw through the act now, realising the truth was very different. Rodney was afraid of losing them. First, they'd lost Aidan, then Carson, and now Elizabeth. Their friend was clearly terrified that if he let them out of his sight, he might not see them again. Sensing his friend wouldn't appreciate having the truth exposed in such a public arena, Sheppard kept his eureka moment to himself.

Feeling bad now for giving Rodney a hard time, the colonel kept up the facade by making a joke that it was pointless continuing the argument because Rodney was never wrong. Then he finished up his meal, and arranged to meet them all in the jumper bay in one hour. Hopefully, by then he would be firing on all cylinders and Rodney would be acting more like his usual churlish self.