Chapter 2

Rodney paced around Carter's office, one hand at his temple and the other waving wildly around in the air.

"I don't know what happened!" He exclaimed on his fortieth trip past Carter's desk. "One minute, Sheppard was right behind us, and the next…" he paused to throw both hands up, and Carter grimaced at his agitation.

"Rodney, calm down," she said, and was surprised when he actually did. He stopped and flopped down into the chair in front of her desk. Behind him, Teyla and Ronon each stood with their hands folded behind them.

"It's just…" he leaned forward, his palms flat on the desk's surface. "There was a minor power fluctuation as we crossed the event horizon; Atlantis' sensors picked it up, but it doesn't look like enough of a glitch to have done any damage to the gate."

"Run a check anyway. Have you tried to dial the planet yet?"

"No, and I'm not sure we should. At least until we run a scan for Sheppard's signature. If he's stuck in the gate's buffers, and the power overloads or shorts out altogether…"

"Right," Carter agreed, understanding the implication he made. "Let's get moving on this, then. He won't have long if he's trapped in there."

Rodney scowled. "Right, because for the past –" he looked down at his watch " – fifteen hours, we've been sitting on our hands!"

Carter narrowed her eyes at him, a sharp retort on her tongue, but she bit it back. He was just upset, as they all were, and lashing out at anyone in an effort to hide how worried and afraid he was. She could understand that, having experienced the same situation more than a few times. Sheppard was his best friend, one of the select few who, if they didn't understand Rodney's genius, at least understood him and treated him as a person. Sheppard could take Rodney's acerbic wit – and often gave just as well back – without getting offended by it. They might not agree on everything, but they cared about each other like…well, like brothers, Carter thought.

"I'm sorry, Rodney. I know you're doing all you can," she apologized sincerely, and the anger soon drained out of his face.

"That's alright," he replied. "I'm just tired. And hungry. Anyone know if the mess hall is still open?"

Ronon nodded. "There's some stew still down there, and something called 'strawberry shortcake'."

"Ooh. I could go for some of that. Anyone care to join me?"

Carter shook her head, but both Teyla and Ronon agreed. She dismissed the trio, and watched as they left her office, chatting about nothing important. She grinned at that – at least their minds had been taken off of Sheppard for a while.

Now, if they could just get him back.

"I really wish Rodney was here right now," Sheppard grumbled as he slid out from under the DHD and sat up. As he wiped his dirty palms off on his pants, he glanced over at Aiden, who was napping inside the makeshift sling Sheppard had made from a curtain. After he'd fed Aiden the milk he got from Bessie, he'd trekked to the 'gate with the baby carefully tucked in the sling, which he'd then slipped over his neck, effectively binding Aiden to his chest. He'd also grabbed a spare blanket on the way out, which was now tucked carefully under the sleeping baby, so he wouldn't be so close to the cool, damp earth.

He'd tried to take a look at the DHD's control crystals, intending to find out if any were damaged, but he couldn't tell. That was more Rodney's specialty, his mind grumbled, so he gave up on them and went back to simply hoping for rescue instead.

Soon, though, his mind wandered to how he'd found Bessie. Even though he'd long since given up on the idea of God caring about him – or anyone else, for that matter – he still wondered if maybe his prayer had been answered after all. And, if it was, was it God who'd answered, or someone else? He decided he didn't really care; Aiden was fed, and that was all that mattered to him right then.

Well, that, and getting off this damned planet, he amended. It was still so quiet, so empty. Though he had Aiden with him, he'd never felt so alone, so…forgotten. He wondered if maybe his friends took him for dead, if they'd given up trying to find him. Maybe they hadn't even bothered to search for him at all. If that was the case, then he and Aiden would be stuck here forever – or until the cow's milk ran out.

Sheppard shuddered at the thought, and tried to block it out of his mind. Subconsciously, he glanced over at the baby again. He was still asleep, his tiny chest rising and falling with each breath, and Sheppard sighed in relief.

Then, suddenly, another thought came to him, and he kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner. He jumped to his feet, wincing as his ribs protested, and stared at the top of the DHD. When he'd picked out the seven symbols he needed, he pressed them in the correct order, then placed his palm flat against the stone in the middle. The puddle in the center of the 'gate started to form, and he thought he might shout with joy. But just as his hope began to swell, the lit symbols around the 'gate blinked out, and the puddle collapsed on itself.

"Dammit!" He shouted, slamming his fist on the DHD.

Aiden woke at the sudden noise, startled into crying, and Sheppard immediately wanted to punch himself. Everything had been going so well for a while, and now? Now, he felt as if he might go insane.

Sheppard moved to where Aiden lay, his tiny arms and legs flailing angrily, and scooped the baby up into his arms, sling and all.

"Hey, hey," he soothed as he gently jiggled the baby up and down. "Sorry 'bout that, buddy. Pretty stupid of me, I guess."

Aiden soon calmed down, whether from Sheppard's voice or from the motion, the colonel neither knew nor cared, and instead intently watched Sheppard's face.

"Well, looks like we're sunk. Might as well get back to the village."

Aiden waved his hand at Sheppard's chin, catching his fingers on the slight stubble that had grown there, and Sheppard chuckled. "Yeah, I know. Probably look pretty ridiculous, huh?" Put finding a razor on my "to-do" list, he thought.

On the way back, he found bushes absolutely laden with berries of all colors. There was only one way to tell if they were edible or not, and though he wasn't eager to either get horribly sick or die, his intense hunger signaled that his strength would soon begin to give out. Pushing his apprehension aside, he pulled out the bandana he kept in his back pocket, and filled it with berries – a handful of each color. He'd try one of each after he got Aiden settled back in the house; hopefully, none of them would kill him, and at least one would taste good. When they were secured in the bandanna, he started off again, trying not to jostle the baby too much as he walked.

He was almost to the village, when a familiar whining sound rushed overhead. Sheppard instinctively ducked into the bushes, and loosely covered the baby with the blanket he carried. His eyes scanned both the horizon and the ground in front of him, and then he saw what he feared the most. A Wraith dart soared across the evening sky, heading straight for the village. Sheppard had a sudden worried thought – that they were coming for his cow – but he shook his head. That couldn't be right. But what were they there for? For the baby? For him? Had they somehow found out that he was there?

He immediately shoved all questions out of his mind as a Wraith soldier suddenly stepped right in front of his hiding place. As the soldier paced there, Sheppard held his breath and prayed that Aiden would stay quiet. After what seemed like hours, the soldier walked away, and Sheppard finally relaxed a little. He slowly peeled back a corner of the blanket, and was relieved to see that Aiden was asleep again.

Now, he had a problem. His weapons were all in the village, tucked under Aiden's blankets. He would've at least strapped on his sidearm, but he really hadn't expected company. If they wanted dinner, they could've at least called ahead, he muttered to himself. Dinner…that reminded him in an odd, roundabout way of the knife she still carried. It was pretty useless in a fight against soul-sucking space vampires, but it could help if he wanted to set a trap or two. Only problem with that was, where would he put Aiden in the meantime? He wouldn't sleep forever, and he was bound to be hungry soon. From what Sheppard could see, the Wraith weren't leaving any time in the near-future, either.

No, for now, as much as he hated the thought, he'd have to tuck in somewhere. At least until they either left, or a better opportunity to fight came along.

Keeping low, Sheppard slunk through the woods, his eyes searching for a place to hide.

Carter walked into the control room, and though her face was neutral, her feelings anything but. "Any progress, Rodney?"

McKay looked up at her and nodded. "We've determined that Sheppard's signature isn't locked in the buffers."

"Well, that's good news," Carter said, allowing herself a small hopeful grin.

"Yes, yes," Rodney replied distractedly. "And if he isn't in the buffers…"

"Then he must still be on the planet," Teyla put in quietly, eliciting another nod from the scientist.

"Any luck dialing the planet's stargate?" Carter asked.

"No, which brings me to our other little 'discovery'." He swiveled his chair around to face her. "The 'gate on the planet was hit by a blast from an energy weapon."

"Wraith stunners?"

Rodney shook his head. "Impossible to tell. All I know is, the 'gate was hit, and the blast was powerful enough to disrupt the wormhole. Must've shut it down right before Sheppard came through."

Carter's eyes widened as she realized what Rodney was getting at. "So Sheppard got stuck on the planet, which by now could be crawling with Wraith."

"Yeah," he said quietly, unable to mask the worry on his face.

"We must go back and find him," Teyla said then, her dark eyes mirroring Rodney's blue ones.

"Yes, yes. We could take a Jumper," Rodney added, his look at Carter one of pleading, or at least as close as he could ever get to it.

Carter bit her bottom lip as she thought for a moment. It would be foolish to send Sheppard's team through the Stargate with no intel of any kind, but on the other hand, Sheppard was the military leader of Atlantis. She knew what the Wraith would do to him if they found him – if it was indeed the Wraith who'd done this – and she couldn't leave him to that fate. But what if the rest of the team stumbled right into a trap…?

"Okay," she said at last, but before Ronon could stalk out of the room, she added, "but be very careful. There's no telling what's down there, or how many of them there are."

Minutes later, as the three friends suited up for their mission, Ronon asked, "You really think Sheppard's still on the planet?"

"We must at least look for him," Teyla replied, as she clipped a P-90 to her tac vest. "If he has been taken, he may have left us a clue as to where they took him."

"Or who 'they' are," Rodney added.

"I'm bettin' on Wraith," Ronon growled, and checked to make sure all his knives were accounted for.

Teyla nodded her agreement, then said, "I just hope he is alright."

Rodney snorted. "This is Sheppard we're talking about. Of course he's alright." But when he turned away from her to slip his handgun into its holster, he breathed in a deep, shaky breath. He hoped he was right, that they wouldn't find him at the bottom of a cliff – or worse, shriveled into a skeleton, his eyes lifeless and…he pushed the thought away. If there was one thing Sheppard had tried to teach him, it was to stay positive.

Still visibly upset, he spun around and said, "Can we get a move on? Time's running out here."

Teyla and Ronon exchanged a knowing look, and then Teyla nodded to Rodney. "We are ready."

"Good," he snapped in reply, before turning to lead the way down to the Gate Room. Ronon went after him, and Teyla took up the rear, silently praying to the Ancestors that they would find Sheppard alive and well.

Night had fallen again, and instead of sitting inside a cozy house, Sheppard was huddled inside a small cave, cradling Aiden against his chest to keep them both warm. He'd fed Aiden about three hours ago with a spare bottle he'd thought enough ahead to stow in the sling, along with two of the cloth diapers he'd made. The bottle was now empty and he had one diaper left, but he knew he'd have to use it very soon. Aiden was awake, but was blessedly calm, and Sheppard was infinitely grateful. Since he'd found this place and hunkered down, two patrols of Wraith soldiers had come very close, almost close enough to hear their raspy breathing, and Sheppard was constantly on edge. He was exhausted, but he forced himself to stay awake, in case another patrol came by.

Sheppard looked down at the soft hair atop the baby's head, so wispy and delicate-looking, and a strange feeling squeezed his heart. He suddenly felt a rush of anger at the Wraith, more hatred than he'd ever experienced before, and he wondered at it. All he wanted to do then was press Aiden even closer to him, to protect him from the savage creatures who wandered the woods all around them. If any of them dared to discover his hiding place, to try and harm the baby snuggled in his arms, he'd fight them until either they were all dead, or he was.

He readjusted the blanket over them then, and Aiden yawned, his brown eyes blinking sleepily.

"Me too, buddy," Sheppard murmured to the little boy, and as he began to play a number game in his mind to keep himself awake, his stomach rumbled again. Then, he remembered the berries he'd collected earlier, and rummaged around in the sling until he found them. They were all still whole, and he found himself staring uneasily down at them, deciding which color to try first. The red ones sort of resembled the raspberries on Earth, so he went with those. He popped one into his mouth, hesitated again, and then slowly bit into it.

"Not like raspberries," he grumbled as he spat out the bitter remains of the berry, then disposed of the uneaten red berries. He tried a dark purple one next, and found it somewhat palatable. He only ate six of them, however, wisely deciding to wait and see if they had any ill effects on his stomach before eating any more. Tucking the bandanna back into the empty sling, he leaned back against the rock wall of the cave and quietly hummed a song to Aiden, though it was actually more to comfort himself than the baby.

An hour later, he heard rocks sliding down from right above him, and pulled himself back further into the shadows of the cave. Just beyond, in the moonlight that spilled between the thick trees, he could see the pale legs of the Wraith. Three soldiers, he counted, and they were definitely searching for someone or something. One of them actually bent down and inspected the cave's opening, its masked face sweeping back and forth, and Sheppard's fingers slipped over his knife, his every muscle tensed as he waited for it to spot him. It didn't, however, and when the soldiers walked into the distance, the rush of adrenaline he'd felt stayed with him for minutes afterward. Shaking – or was he shivering? He couldn't tell now – he leaned his head against the cool wall and closed his eyes.

That was too close, he told himself. He couldn't hide there any longer – they'd surely find him once it was daylight, and Aiden would be hungry again soon. Besides, what kind of soldier was he, hiding out in a cave? One with a baby to look after, he argued back. Keeping Aiden safe was his top priority right now, and after that was looking for a way off the planet. However much he hated the Wraith, they were at the bottom of his list at the moment.

After much debating with himself, he figured it was time to make a break for the village. He'd try and grab his weapons and some more supplies for Aiden, and then lure the Wraith back into the woods, where he could hopefully pick them off a few at a time.

Sheppard quickly and quietly got Aiden into the sling, then tied it tightly around himself. His knife held securely in his right hand, he inched slowly out of the cave, his eyes scanning the trees for any sign of the Wraith, and then picked his way down into the underbrush, his innate sense of direction pointing him toward the village. Though there were a few tense moments when he was forced to duck behind a fallen log or a large rock to avoid being seen, he managed to make it to the village, and pressed himself on the side of a house. A group of soldiers stood directly in front of "his" house, the tallest of the group pointed toward the forest while the others nodded. Then, all but the one Sheppard assumed was in command left the village, and he knew that this was his chance. He unbound Aiden, who was sleeping again, from his chest and hid him in a thick patch of grass, and slid along the outside of the house. When he came to the corner, he peered around the edge, and saw the Wraith commander standing less than twenty feet from where he stood, with his back turned to him. Slowly, Sheppard stole around the house and easily closed the distance between them. He wrapped his arm around the Wraith's neck, his elbow pinching its windpipe shut, and quickly used his knife to slice its throat open. The Wraith made a low, gurgling sound through its mouth, and then fell dead. Sheppard grabbed its legs and dragged it behind the corrals, then snatched Aiden from his hiding place and rushed into their house, locking the door behind him. He knew it was a useless gesture, as one blast from a stunner would blow a man-sized hole in the wood, but it made him feel better anyway.

Once he'd pulled his supply of weapons from under Aiden's blankets, he felt better still, and risked a glance through the window he'd watched for his friends at. The street was empty, so he slid back down to the floor and hugged Aiden, glad that they were safe, at least for the moment.

That moment sure didn't last long, he mused as a blast from a Wraith stunner blew the window above him to pieces, showering him with sharp slivers of glass.

Continued next chapter...Oh, the suspense! LOL