Evan walked through the gate to bright morning sunshine and the hint of dew on the grass. He'd forgotten about the time difference between Sateda and this world, but he had not forgotten the man who met him and Javan on their last visit. Orestes was nowhere in sight now, and three armed men drew a bead on them as they appeared. Instinct took over, and Evan shot one of them between the eyes while Sheppard and Ronon took out the other two. To his credit, McKay never squeaked. Javan gave a sharp order, and five Ataliyans spread out around the gate, establishing a perimeter and temporary gate guard.

The echo of gunfire drew more men from the village. Evan moved along the pathway, every sense on high alert as he watched for movement in the trees. He heard shouts ahead of him, orders being bellowed as the group approached. When he did get a line of sight on the village, he froze.

The entire place had been leveled. Evan blinked back memories of Kiah as a ragtag army surged from everywhere. Their numbers were evenly matched, but Sheppard had chosen his group well. While tired and worn out from forty-eight hours of not knowing the condition of their people, the Satedan strike force easily took out the men guarding the perimeter.

For several moments, Evan reacted as he'd been trained to react. His skills as a soldier had not decreased in the time he'd spent both on Kiah and Sateda. If anything, they'd sharpened after months of training with others and keeping himself on high alert. He heard the shouted directions from both Sheppard and Javan, obeying only those aimed at him.

"Sheppard!" The shout rang out above the fighting, and Evan glanced toward it. His advance came to a screeching halt, as did all of the fighting.

Behind everyone, a huge man who looked uncannily like Orsic had a large gun in his right hand. His left arm was wrapped around Shani's throat, and he'd pressed the muzzle to her temple. He laughed. "Now that I have your attention, you will surrender your weapons."

"Not a chance!" Sheppard shouted back.

Evan stared at Shani, seeing the tear-streaks on her face and the fear in her eyes even from this distance. But she'd seen him and Javan, and her gaze never wavered. She seemed to be trying to tell him something, but, this far away, he couldn't understand it. He hoped he'd get a chance to ask her about it after all of this ended.

oOo

When the first gunshot echoed through the village, Shani had jumped. She'd stayed at Carson's side, intent on shielding him from whatever fight had broken out. In her heart, she knew that her people had come for her. Just a few moments later, her belief was rewarded when she saw Ronon and Sheppard advancing around a corner, followed by a large contingent of men led by Javan, Demir, and Evan.

Shouts and gunfire broke out across the village. Shani huddled over Carson, protecting him as best as she could. She knew that Evan's people would not deliberately harm them, but she could not be so certain about Ondre's people. As if thinking of him summoned him, she felt strong hands close around her waist. She clawed at Carson's body, trying to hang on to him and keep from being taken away. "No! No, no, no, no, no!"

Ondre dragged her upright and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Bite me, and I will kill the doctor and the men who come for you," he whispered into her ear.

Shani nodded at the threat, too afraid he would make it a reality that she believed him right away. After all, she had ample proof that he would carry it out. Tears tracked down her face again, but she was unable to make another sound. Instead, she stayed quiet as he wrapped his arm around her throat and pressed the muzzle of a gun into her temple.

"Sheppard!" Ondre's shout nearly deafened her. Shani clutched at his arm, trying to loosen it so she could breathe better. The fighting around them slowly died down, and she was turned to face the group. Sheppard lowered his P90 suddenly while Javan's face suddenly emptied of all emotion. She knew that to be a precursor of her brother's wrath, and the absolute rage on Demir's face—as well as the rest of her stepsons—made her want to smile. But she didn't linger as one other face caught her attention. Evan stood next to Javan, knees slightly bent and P90 in hand. He looked just as furious, but his gaze met hers. In that moment, Shani tried to tell him that she understood the darkness he'd faced and would do her best to get out of this alive.

Ondre laughed. "Now that I have your attention, you will surrender your weapons."

Sheppard smirked. "Not a chance!"

Shani's eyes found Evan's again, and she again tried to tell him what she felt. Even if she needed time to recover from all of this chaos, she would find a way to survive. He needed her to survive, and she refused to let him down.

Then, she turned to Sheppard. Seeing the colonel lifting his P90, she took a deep breath. She'd never seen those weapons in use, and she had no idea how painful one of those could be. But she trusted Sheppard to take the shot he needed to take.

"Come now, Sheppard!" Ondre yelled. "Surely you don't want to see both of your healers die in the same day."

Sheppard's face stilled, and he raised his weapon. "I'm not dropping my weapon, Ondre. Besides, you'll never see your people again. They were putting Sateda at risk, and we couldn't have that happen."

"They were only trying to survive!" Ondre shouted, his anger making him tremble. The arm holding Shani's neck tightened, and she scrabbled as she tried to breathe. "You're the one who put them in harm's way!"

"I did what I had to do to survive!" Sheppard replied. He seemed to be studying Ondre's actions.

"Liar!"

Shani felt the shift in Ondre's body and squeezed her eyes shut. A single shot rang out, and she was falling.

oOo

Evan listened to the exchange as he inched his way toward Sheppard. He trusted his CO in this situation, knowing that John was a slightly better shot than he was. But he didn't know what Javan would do with his sister in such obvious danger. Behind them, the Ataliyans shifted on their feet, murmurs sweeping through them as Sheppard and Ondre exchanged barbs. Then, Evan saw it happen.

Shani had begun clawing at Ondre's arm, but Ondre shifted his weight. The anger on his face solidified into something almost tangible, and the weapon in his left hand pressed even tighter into her temple. A single shot rang out. Ondre and Shani fell.

The fight that had come to a halt for the hostage negotiations returned in that instant. With Ondre out of the picture, Javan's men waded into the bloodshed. Javan hollered for them to spare a few for information, but Evan didn't listen. He took off running, faster than any other time he'd ever run before now. Shani lay on her side next to Ondre's body, coughing as she struggled to breathe. Blood stained her once-white dress, and dirt and leaves clung to her hair. Ondre, however, stared sightlessly at the sky as he bled out from the single bullet Sheppard had used to take his life.

"Shani!"

"Evan?" She sat up and hugged him before tensing. "Carson!"

"What?" He helped her to her feet and followed her as she stumbled toward a cage at the edge of the village. Inside, Carson Beckett lay unconscious. Cuts and bruises showed exactly how intense the search for information had become. Realizing that Shani's first order of business would be to stabilize the doctor, he hollered for Morales as Javan also rushed over.

"I need a scanner!" The steadiness in Shani's voice showed the level of training that Carson had given her. She wasn't surprised when Morales placed one in her hand a moment later. Evan watched Javan's face as Shani ran the scanner over Carson's body. The Ataliyan leader was both surprised and pleased at his sister's obvious knowledge.

Shani let out a deep breath. "No internal bleeding. Good." She turned to Javan. "I need a stretcher as soon as possible. According to this, he's got a severe concussion and an infection in addition to a few cracked ribs, cuts, and bruises. The sooner we get him back to Sateda, the better his chances."

Javan called for Demir, and the two of them hustled over with the stretcher that Morales had brought with them. By now, the fighting had died down, and the Ataliyans had established a perimeter. Javan looked around the cage in distaste at the conditions in which his sister had been kept, but Evan's focus remained on Shani, on her face and hands and beautiful eyes. She was alive! That was all he needed at this moment.

"On three," Shani instructed, sounding just like Carson. "One. . .two. . .three!" She helped Morales and Demir lift Carson's body onto the stretcher as Evan cursed his inability to focus on anything other than the fact that she was alive. Javan and Demir each grabbed one end of the stretcher while Shani shoved a bag of saline solution into Evan's hands. Evan knew it was among the last of Sateda's medical supplies and held it up as the ragtag group rushed for the gate and safety.

oOo

Calixte hid in the forest and watched the last of the men leave her world. Her lip curled into a hate-filled snarl. Sheppard walked without even a sign that she'd tried to kill him, his ever-vigilant eyes straying over her position. For just a moment, she considered slipping out of her hiding place and finishing him off from behind.

Then, the woman who came through the gate with Sheppard stepped to his side. Small and slender, she wore a purple shirt that accented her curves and allowed one to see her midriff. Her skin was dark, but her hair glinted red in the morning sun. Calixte narrowed her eyes as the woman put a hand on Sheppard's arm, speaking softly to him as they walked through the gate. Just before they disappeared, Sheppard placed his hand firmly and possessively on the woman's back, just above her hip.

Yes, revenge would be sweet right now. But revenge would be even sweeter when Calixte caught up to Sheppard and his woman. She chose to settle back on her haunches and wait for the cover of darkness to make her escape. And, eventually, she would exact every ounce of pain that Sheppard had caused her, only in kind. He had taken her lover from her when he killed Ondre. She would take his woman from him.

oOo

Sateda, with its moist coolness and relative safety, didn't quite settle into Shani's reality right away. It was fully dark by the time they made it back through the gate, but she had a patient to tend. She rushed along with the group through Sateda's streets and into the brightness of the clinic. Someone had kept the lights burning in anticipation of injuries. In the operating room, she looked directly at Morales. "You know how to get him into the bed and hooked up, yes?"

"Yes." Karina began pulling back the sheets.

Shani turned toward the supply closet and reached for a set of scrubs. She had never before worn them, but she would no longer put Carson's health at risk just because she insisted on wearing a dirty dress. Evan clearly understood what she needed as Javan stared at her with a bewildered expression. Shani made a mental note to speak to her brother about her new life later. Right now, she accepted the tub of water from Evan and closed the door to change clothes and scrub what dirt she could from her body. The cold water was bracing against the long night ahead. At least she no longer needed to worry about Carson having internal injuries.

Back in the operating room, she tightened the drawstring around the waist of the scrub pants and moved to Carson's side. Karina had already removed Carson's ruined clothing and had begun to clean his wounds. Shani picked up another cloth and dipped it into a bowl of warm water that Evan brought her. He gave her elbow a quick squeeze and left, knowing she needed to do this for Carson. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to curl into his arms and allow him to hold her while she let go of the horror she still felt at her ordeal. But that would come later. For now, she would patch up Carson while marveling at the miracle before her eyes. He should have internal injuries and require surgery, but something had watched over him while he endured those beatings at Ondre's hands. Shani would never understand it but always be grateful for it.

It took several hours to get Carson's wounds cleaned, stitched, and bandaged. Shani administered the last precious amount of Sateda's antibiotics, knowing they had just enough for two days. After that, she would need to rely on Carson's strong Scottish temper and stubbornness to get him through it.

Finally, Karina reached across his body and took her wrist. "I'll sit with him. Go get some rest."

Shani nodded and, thinking only of the man who had brought her the water she needed, headed for the front of the clinic. She caught sight of Evan right away, loving how his face lit with a relieved smile as soon as he saw her. Tears already pooled in her eyes as she took two steps in his direction before recognizing the rest of their audience. Javan stood next to Evan, a tired expression on his face, while her four stepsons flanked the two men. She blinked tiredly, wishing they would not make her choose between them and the man she loved.

Then, Javan acted. Rather than moving to her side, he nudged Evan and pointed at Shani. She couldn't stop the grin on her face as Evan headed her way and promptly began to cry the moment his arms closed around her. The last thing she remembered was being moved to the couch so that she could fall into an exhausted slumber on his shoulder.

oOo

Watching Shani come out of that operating room would stay with Evan until the day he died. She wore a pair of Carson's scrubs, the teal fabric setting off her olive-toned skin and dark hair. Even with bits of dirt still clinging to her hair, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

Tonight, however, there was something else in her expression. Normally, those brown eyes sparkled when they caught sight of him, her smile always instant. This time, her eyes glittered with unshed tears. Exhaustion slowed her steps, and she hesitated when she saw Javan and her stepsons. Evan, who had instinctively begun to rush toward her, also froze.

Javan took control of the situation. He didn't say a word, just nudged Evan's shoulder. With that, Evan hurried over to her and wrapped her in his arms. She trembled against him and promptly began to cry.

As he held her, Evan thought about the changes in the last day. Shani would need time to cope with what she'd been through and how she'd been treated. The condition of her dress told its own story, as did the sling she'd made for Carson. She had spent every moment in that cage either sheltering him from further harm or trying to get to him. Evan had no doubt that Shani would have gladly traded places with Carson, and that made her an incredible healer. But it also made his heart clench as he realized just how close he'd come to losing her.

When she finally fell asleep against his shoulder, Evan glanced up to realize that Shani's stepsons had left the clinic. Javan watched from another chair, but the man was nearly asleep where he sat. The stress of nearly losing Shani and Carson would eventually catch up, but Evan was too awake right now. He'd never considered Shani's family situation before, and having met her four stepsons really brought home to him just what he was getting into when he did finally ask Shani to marry him. He wasn't taking on young children needing to be raised. She had four, fully grown stepsons who would do anything to protect her. All but Demir were older than she was, and Evan had felt just a bit taken back by their protective instincts. Once Javan gave them his approval of Evan, however, they'd also treated him with the same respect and deference that they treated Javan.

On his shoulder, Shani drew in a deep breath and let it out, a sure sign that she was fully asleep. Javan stirred in his chair, a lazy grin crossing his face. "You know where she lives?"

"Yeah." Evan grinned as Javan stood.

"Good." Javan returned the grin. "I will leave you to see that she makes it home safely." He moved to the couch and put a hand on Evan's shoulder. "Thank you for bringing her home."

Evan nodded and let the other man leave. He hadn't done much, but he was grateful that Sheppard hadn't grounded him to Sateda. Still, right now wasn't the moment for such thoughts. He gathered Shani in his arms, her exhaustion making it easy to carry her to her house. Inside, he tucked her into bed and started a fire. Then, he dropped into a chair to watch her sleep while absorbing the effects of the day. Between the warmth of the fire and the relief of having her home, he was asleep within moments and slept soundly until she woke late the following morning.

~TBC