This is one of the first chapters I wrote, so it might not be the best, but I thought... The hell with it, I'll post it anyways. Hope you enjoy. I also haven't had a chance to read the reviews yet, so I'll reply to them in the next chapter.

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(Normal POV)

"Yeah, well, it's been a while." Getting into his car, John tugged down the black suit jacket he was wearing with one hand, and spoke into his phone with the other. "I understand, sir. I'll be back at the SGC in about two hours. I'm just gonna go back to my hotel and get my things." He placed the key into the ignition as he sighed and slouched in his seat. "Yes, sir. Understood, General." With a nod, he grimaced. "I'll be back by then."

Pulling the phone away from his ear, he raised an eyebrow and shrugged before closing the phone and placing it back in his pocket. Turning and looking out the window, John's eyes darkened as he stared at the many stones sticking up from the earth, and the cemetery sign.

"Well, looks like no rest for the wicked. Talk to you later, I guess, Dad." With a frown, he turned on his car and pulled out of the parking space.

It didn't take John long before he hit the highway and managed to make his way safely through to the other side of the city. Hitting the back roads, to save time, he drove down them quietly, until his phone rang.

Pulling out one handed, he glared at the caller ID before tossing his phone on to the passenger seat with a groan. "I'm not dealing with you right now." He muttered, ignoring his brother's persistence. Eventually, the phone went quiet.

Looking over, John grimaced as he stared at it. Turning back to the road, his eyes widened as another car came rocketing from around the corner. "Crap!" He swerved violently to try and avoid it, and heard the wheels squeal and saw the trees coming closer to him. The last thing he thought, before sharp pain and welcoming darkness, was that it would be his luck to crash on a forested back road.

(SGC)

General Landry paced around his office with a frown and paused only long enough to acknowledge Teyla, Rodney and Ronon as they entered the room. After a brief nod, he returned to his pacing, a cell phone being the only thing sitting on the table in front of him.

"General, is there a problem?" Rodney was typing away on his computer tablet. Pausing, himself, he looked around and his expression turned to one of confusion. "And where's the Colonel? I mean, I know he can be a little lazy, but he's not usually the last one here."

"That's why I called you here. You're all aware the Daedalous is due to leave for Atlantis in two hours, right?" They nodded and he sighed. "Colonel Sheppard was due to return five hours ago, but he never did."

"It is not like john to be late."

"No, I know. That's why I called him." Picking up the phone, he promptly put it down again and scrubbed at his face. "There's been no answer. I thought he might have just been late, but…" Shaking his head, he raised an eyebrow and gave them a look.

Frowning, the rest of Team Sheppard exchanged confused and worried glances.

It was Teyla who had the next question. "Can the Daedalus not find him with his transmitter?"

"That's the first thing I thought. I figured the phone just wasn't on and he lost track of time." With a frown, General Landry sat down at the table. "Unfortunately, the Daedalus couldn't get a lock on his transmitter. I now have reason to believe, he may be in danger."

"Well, why not try a trace on his cell phone?" Rodney spoke up with a frown as he sat down. "That should be pretty simple, and we can get the scan done in no time."

"I have people working on that now. The results are due any moment."

"Do you believe John may have been injured?"

"Unless there's some sort of interference with his transmitter, yes, I do."

"Do we have any leads?" Ronon frowned at the cell phone before turning his gaze to Landry.

The General shook his head, just as a marine entered the room and handed him a form. "We might." He nodded to the marine as they left again and turned back to the form. "It looks like they managed to get a signal on his cell phone."

Standing up, he gestured to Rodney to take the report. "I want you guys to find him. Have Caldwell help you and get Dr. Lam to join you." Giving them a look, he nodded. "You'd better hurry. I have a bad feeling about this one."

(Somewhere Else)

Staggering out through the woods. John held his side and winced as he felt the hot blood rolling down over his hand. Taking a deep, carefully breath, he wasn't able to hide the second wince at a sharp pain in his chest. His vision swam and he looked back the way he'd come.

Not smart. I probably should've stayed with the car. Why did I leave it, anyways? He stared at the seemingly endless forest ahead of him as he walked on. Grabbing his pocket, he felt blindly with his free arm, trying to ignore the stinging in his eye as blood from a gash leaked down into it. Fumbling with the contents of his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and held it up.

"Damn. Still no signal." Ok, so that wasn't entirely true. There was a signal, it was just too weak to get far. He put his phone back in his pocket and staggered on more, trying to ignore the pain he was in. He had no idea where he was, but he figured if he kept going in a straight line, he'd find a road or something, sooner or later.

Everything seemed to be going wrong. The cell never gave a stable enough signal to call for help, he was getting weaker and weaker, and he was now really second guessing leaving his car, despite the fact that it was smoking dangerously at the time.

Pausing, he stopped and sat down on a fallen log. Pulling out his cell phone again, he checked the signal to see that it was stronger, but still not strong enough to dial out for help He looked back the way he'd come, frowning at the trail of blood he'd left behind him. Then he turned and looked around in all directions, only finding forest no matter where he looked.

"Oh, forget this." He grumbled, leaning back against a large boulder behind the log. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and gave meditation a try, to keep his nerves in check. Despite his pain, he managed to relax a considerable amount.

(Back at the Car)

Rodney stared in shock at the ruin. "What did he do, try to play chicken with a tree?!"

The car was wrapped around a massive tree. The hood and engine were completely destroyed with no chance of repair or recovery, and the inside panel was crushed. Signs of blood showed John was obviously injured, and the door had been forced open, footsteps in the mud showing he walked off into the woods.

"And why would he walk into the woods when he's on a street?! It's ridiculous!" walking carefully around the tracks, Rodney paused a moment at the blood drops. "Who knows how bad he's hurt?!"

"We need to stop asking questions and get looking." Colonel Cameron Mitchell stated with a frown, adjusting his tan leather jacket. "And would you put that thing away??" He glared at the scanner Rodney was holding. "We're trying to blend in, here."

"It's easier to find him with this. Look…" He pointed out a single dot some distance away, and a worried frown crossed his face as the dot seemed to fade before coming back. "Oh, that's not good."

"What's not good?"

"That-That fading… Listen, this scanner is really sensitive to the strength of-oh never mind. You'd never understand. It, um… It means he's really weak, ok?!"

"Then we'd better stop talking and get looking. Let's go." Running ahead, Cam left Sam Carter to direct the marines to deal with the wreckage and any major signs of the crash. He led the rest of Team Sheppard into the woods, easily finding John's trail and following it.

"I still don't get why he went into the woods!" Rodney called from the background.

"Maybe he hit his head and wasn't thinking clearly!" Teyla called back as she caught up to Cam. "Perhaps we should call to him, let him know friends are near??"

"It could work! John!"

"Sheppard!" Ronon roared, causing everyone to look at him in shock. "What?" he asked quieter, in confusion.

"Colonel Sheppard!" Teyla called loudly as she found a large smear of blood on a tree trunk. "I believe we are on the right track."

"There!"

Everyone turned at Ronon's cry, and found him standing on a really big boulder. Staring at them a moment with a raised eyebrow, he pointed a ways ahead of them. "I can see him! He's not moving!" He jumped off the rock and ran off ahead, leading the rest of them.

"Whoa! Slow down, Chewie!" Cam was right on his heels. "We-Crap! John!" Sprinting ahead, he tapped his ear piece and pulled out a strap which he quickly attached to John's arm. "This is Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell. We've found John Sheppard. I need emergency teleport to the infirmary, and have Dr. Lam on standby. It looks like Colonel Sheppard's badly injured."

Checking his injuries, Teyla nodded. She saw the bleeding gash on his face, and from the blood flow, as well as his position against the boulder, she was able to determine he was unconscious for some time.

Ordering immediate teleport to the infirmary, Cam stood to the side as the others were beamed up, running back to let Sam know what was up, and praying John would be alright.

(Daedalous Infirmary)

As John came to, he was aware of several people standing over his bed, and how tight and dry his throat felt. He stared up at the faces of his friends and team mates, the members of SG-1, Colonel Caldwell, Generals Landry and O'Neill, and Dr. Lam, who promptly gave him some water to soothe his throat.

"Good to see you're still with us, Colonel." General Landry offered a small smile. "You had us worried for a while there."

"The most significant injuries you had were a pretty severe concussion, no doubt some confusion as a result of it, internal bleeding, a bad gash on you side and going around to where you transmitter was, which is why we couldn't locate you sooner." Dr. Lam was looking over a report before looking to the others. "I'll give you five minutes with him, but I'm recommending at least a week of solid rest, and no heavy duty until his side's healed."

"What happened?" Sam asked, a worried frown on her face.

Swallowing thickly, John frowned and seemed to be wracking his memory. "I was….on my way back, after seeing…my dad." He winced a little. "I took the back roads, trying to save some time. Some…lunatic… They-They just came barreling around the corner of the road, and I tried to avoid them."

"You did a good job of that." Rodney was musing out loud, as usual. "But a not-so-good job of avoiding the tree."

"Thanks." John muttered dryly. "You know, I was kinda hoping it would just move out of the way."

Everyone gave him strange looks.

Mouthing it to himself, he frowned and pursed his lips. "That didn't sound as cool out loud as it did in my head."

Grinning a little, Lam raised her eyebrow and turned to the others. "And that's a cue that he needs to rest. Ok everyone, time to go."

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Hope you like it.

R+R please

Thank you

Tenshi