Chapter 2: We won't be giving him any chances this time

John caught up with us about halfway through lunch. I could tell immediately just from the expression on his face that he was less than impressed with how his morning had gone.

"Doctor Jackson," he greeted Daniel cordially, putting a hand on my shoulder in a silent hello. "I hope Sabina didn't give you too much trouble."

"Nice," I played along with his obvious desire to not talk about it right there and then. "I'll have you know that I was helping Daniel search for a very important Ancient artefact."

"Did you find it?" John asked curiously.

"Well ... no," I admitted, "but I was only looking for an hour or so. Daniel's been searching for it for weeks!"

"Hey - it's been lost for millennia," Daniel explained. "We were hardly going to find it in the first week."

"Do you want to stick around and help some more or get started on our holiday?" John waited for my answer like he didn't know what I'd say.

"Sorry Daniel," I said without remorse, jumping up immediately to stand beside John. "I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding your Ark without me."

"I'm sure," Daniel said wryly. "Enjoy your holiday. You too Colonel."

"We'll try," I smiled happily. "I'll catch up with you before we head back to Atlantis ... unless you're out there you know, doing your thing."

With a wave and a grin I let John lead me out of the commissary. One brief stop to get our gear later and we were out in the crisp fresh air and on our way off the mountain.

oOo

"They said no," I waited until we'd been in the car for a few minutes before speaking. I'd kept silent even when John gave himself driver duty, realising he needed the distraction.

"General Landry didn't discount that the new leader might have some power to authorise a search for Elizabeth," John shot a quick glance at me before turning his eyes back to the road. "That decision is still a couple of weeks away. Woolsey was on base today so I got to speak to him too. He stuck a big pointy needle into the whole new leader deal – said the IOA would insist on approving such a mission. His whole demeanour made it pretty clear there's little chance that'll happen, regardless of who ends up in charge."

"Oh," I waited for something inside to tell me how to feel about that but there was nothing ... just this numbness and a feeling of being in limbo. Were we doomed to have Elizabeth's unknown fate hanging over us forever? "So what now?"

"Now we wait," John said simply. "We wait for the new leader to be appointed – I can pitch a mission plan to them but we both know that probably won't fly. We'll just have to hope an opportunity comes up out on a mission for us to find out what happened to Elizabeth and if there's any way we can still save her."

"You know the more time that goes by the less likely that is right?" I stated the obvious because it still had to be acknowledged.

"I know," John agreed sadly. "It's out of our hands ... I hate that that's the case but there really is nothing we can do about it right now."

"Any idea who the new leader might be?" I asked curiously.

"Landry didn't give anything away," John admitted. "Woolsey either. Probably non-military again although the IOA seem very concerned about the possibility of the Replicators attacking Earth. Hard to say which way they'll go."

"You?" I had been reluctant to mention it but I couldn't kid myself it wasn't a possibility. John had already proven himself in leadership and had more experience with the unique challenges in the Pegasus galaxy than anyone else.

"God I hope not!" John's reaction was immediate and genuine ... my whole demeanour must have broadcast my relief that he wasn't thinking down that track because he looked at me with an unreadable expression. "Why?"

"No particular reason," I launched into a babbling explanation, "and I know it might make going after Elizabeth easier if you were in charge but I don't think I'm really cut out to be the 'behind the scenes' person for someone permanently in charge of a whole city ... not that I wouldn't make the effort if they did put you in charge but I wouldn't be very good at it and I still can't believe I've gotten myself involved with someone in charge at any level since I'm practically allergic to authority figures and I was just thinking ... selfishly ... that it's be good if they didn't put you in charge – but only if you don't want to be in charge because if you do I'd totally support that."

"You done?" John had listened silently, his expression still carefully blank. When I managed to keep my response to a wordless nod he continued. "I'm definitely not aspiring to be in charge but I can't guarantee it won't go that way if they can't find anyone else. Either way you won't need to do anything differently. Frankly the thought of you turning into some kind of Martha Washington figure scares the crap out of me."

I laughed weakly at the image of myself that evoked in my head. "Now you're scaring me too," I quipped. "I don't know where to even begin ... diplomacy, patience ... not to mention the wardrobe," I shuddered dramatically.

"Let's not go there," John agreed. The whole issue of Elizabeth was still there in the background but somehow the conversation had relaxed the atmosphere between us ... it had to be put in the background, there was no other choice. And so we did.

"Where are we going?" I looked curiously at the scenery passing in a blur outside my window.

"Colorado Springs Airport," John said simply.

"We're getting on a plane that you're not flying?" I looked at him in amazement.

"I don't always have to be the one at the controls," John dismissed, even though we both knew most times that was exactly how he wanted it. "Besides, I checked at Petersen and they didn't have anything I can use for personal purposes on such short notice. When we get there I'll check again just in case something changes in the next half hour."

"Ah - now it becomes clear," I teased. "So where are we going that needs a plane to get us there?"

"It's a surprise," John smiled at my groan of frustration. "Nothing you can say is going to drag it out of me either so you might as well enjoy the ride."

Fine," I grumbled, brain already ticking over as I tried to work out from what John had told me about his life back on Earth the most likely destination. "It's not Antarctica though is it? Because I didn't bring anything nearly warm enough for that."

"No it's not Antarctica," John said in amused exasperation. "And you won't need anything special. Now sit back and relax and let me drive."

oOo

John did all the checking in once we were at the airport, insisting that he wanted to maintain the mystery for as long as possible. Obviously as soon as the pilot did his introductory spiel presumably including the worlds 'welcome to flight blah, blah, blah direct to destination X' I'd know but until then John was determined to have his fun. He was such a kid about it that I found myself enjoying the suspense much more than I usually would.

There was a short delay until we'd get to board so we decided to spend it in the nearest bar ... John went to queue for drinks and I sat back to watch the people go by. The thing that struck me the most was the sheer number of people ... I'd gotten used to our relatively small population on Atlantis and it was a bit nerve racking to see so many strangers parading past. I didn't think much of it when someone sat down at the table behind me because the place was so crowded ... until they spoke.

"Good afternoon Ms Scott," a gravelly male voice said. "No – don't turn around. I have someone close to your Colonel ... if you don't cooperate this will get ... messy and I wouldn't want that."

"What do you want?" I asked, resisting the temptation to look behind me only because I was trying to catch sight of John up at the crowded bar through the mass of people in front of me ... without success.

"Why you of course," gravel voice replied in amusement. "My employer is most interested in meeting you. He asked that I invite you to visit him personally."

"That's a nice offer but I have to decline," I replied casually, glad he couldn't see the knots twisting in my stomach or how fast my heart was beating.

"Perhaps invite was the wrong word," this time the tone was much more menacing. "Please stand up and make your way to the door ... I'll direct you from there."

"No," I tried to sound confident but my voice shook with nerves, something I'm sure my assailant picked up on. I was in a public, crowded place – surely he wouldn't try anything violent if I refused to cooperate?

"Come now," the man leaned in closer to me, making me flinch away as he pressed something into the small of my back. I've never had a gun pointed at me like that before but I still knew straight away what it was, the cold metal of the gun barrel a promise of nothing good. "If you come with us willingly your friend won't be harmed and my employer will return you once his questions have been answered. If you fight us the outcome for you is uncertain but I guarantee Colonel Sheppard won't make it out of here alive. I'm fully aware of his ... skills. We won't be giving him any chances this time."

What would you do if someone threatened the person you love like that? For me it was a no brainer, and not because I didn't trust John to be able to defend himself. But he wasn't invincible ... the place was crowded and although John was never completely off guard it would be easy for someone to get close enough to deliver a lethal blow before he could do anything about it. And I knew these guys meant business.

So I got up and walked to the door, from there following the gravelly instructions given from behind me all the way to the car park. A dark sedan sat waiting, driver already inside. Gravel voice pushed me none too gently into the back seat, getting in after me. Before I could turn to catch my first sight of him I felt a sharp sting in my upper arm ... quickly followed by the sensation of consciousness slipping away.

Author's Note:

Okay, I've been stressing out about this since I started writing this story - how to present my companion piece. I was thinking a completely separate story as I said in my chapter one author's note but I'm worried if it's too confusing people might read things out of order and ruin the story for themselves. My other option is to incorporate it into this story as separate chapters in the appropriate places. My main concern with that approach is that Sabina has always been the "I" behind everything (it's all from her point of view and if she's not there we don't know about it). For The Other Side of the Story John will be the "I" behind everything - switching between the two might be equally confusing!!!

I need help! If you're reviewing this chapter can you let me know what you think?

Author's Note 2:

Next Up? The Other Side of the Story Chapter 1 - unless opinions sway me in the other direction.