All’s Fair in Love and Loathing

by obsessed1

Larrin arrives on Atlantis requesting help to get her people back. Can Sheppard trust her or does she have an ulterior motive? Sheppard centric with Larrin, McKay and team. Complete.

"Well, the swelling has definitely gone down. How's your range of movement now?"

Sheppard pulled his t-shirt back down, his hand reflexively going to his ribs. "Better than it was."

Doctor Keller looked up from her chart. "I can still give you some muscle relaxants. It'll help."

Sheppard shook his head as he eased off the infirmary bed. With his check up over, he edged towards the closed curtain intent on making his escape.

"Colonel, before you go I noticed you didn't complete the questionnaire from your quarterly health screening."

He turned on his heel, schooling his expression to one of confusion.

"You know the one I'm talking about and we have to ask."

He sighed, crossing his arms and then wincing when he knocked his ribs. "I don't know why you have that question on there. Can't we just take it off?"

Keller smiled. "I know it's embarrassing, but it's important that we assess every aspect of your health." To his look of indifference, she tapped the screen. "I'm going to need an answer."

He removed his earpiece. It wasn't possible for anyone to listen in on him, but he wasn't taking any chances.

With a scowl, he gestured for her to continue.

"In the last three months have you had sexual intercourse or engaged in any sexual acts consensual or otherwise."

"No. I have not. Thanks for reminding me."

Keller ticked her checkbox and chuckled. "You're not the only one, Colonel."

He guessed that was kind of reassuring. It shouldn't have mattered. He was the commanding officer and he rarely had the downtime to pursue a relationship, let alone a fling. But still, he wished he had a different answer to that question. Even he had to admit it was starting to get a bit sad now.

Keller motioned that they were now finished and he whipped the curtain open to see McKay standing there, his mouth open in surprise.

Sheppard felt his face flush.

McKay looked between him and Keller before clearing his throat and thrusting a coffee into Sheppard's hand. "Here. For you."

Keller offered a sympathetic smile as he followed McKay out of the infirmary.

They walked in awkward silence.

"So, whose coffee is this really?"

"Zelenka's. I was just bringing it to him when Carter called us."

"Carter called us?" Sheppard realised his earpiece was still in his hand. "About what?"

"I don't know. She requested we head to the 'gateroom."

Sheppard reseated the earpiece and took a sip of Zelenka's drink.

"So, when was the last time you had sex?"

He choked on his coffee. "You heard?"

"I didn't mean to. I was coming to get you because Carter couldn't hail you on the radio."

Sheppard wiped at the wet patch on his t-shirt left by his coffee spray.

"So? When was it?"

"Why? Are you offering?"

"Very funny."

"You're only asking so that you can turn the conversation around to you and Katie and how you can't keep your hands off each other."

Now McKay blushed. "Well no, actually we haven't. I mean, we aren't-"

Sheppard stopped abruptly. "You haven't?"

Okay, so that made him feel a little better about his own lack of action.

"We're still courting. We're taking things slowly."

"Courting? What are you from the 1940's?"

"We want to be sure we're compatible. It's not like you can sleep with someone and then avoid them on Atlantis. Not that I would do that of course."

"How romantic," Sheppard said, entering the transporter.

He leaned against the wall, enjoying McKay's obvious embarrassment.

"You're not going to tell me?"

"No."

"It was Larrin wasn't it? The sexy space pirate? You and her totally fu- oh hello?" McKay jumped, the door opening onto Carter.

The look on McKay's face was priceless and Sheppard was impressed by how swiftly he had curtailed that final word.

Putting all thoughts of his lack of conquests aside, he followed Carter through the 'gateroom. She stopped beside Chuck and it was only then that Sheppard noticed the 'gate was active and in standby mode.

"What's going on?" he asked, balancing his coffee on the console behind him.

"We've received a dial in from Terula."

"Gerrett's team?"

Carter shook her head.

Gerrett's team, consisting of an additional five men, had gone missing on Terula. After they missed their check in, Sheppard and a group of marines had headed through to find them. They'd been caught in a bloody gunfight. He'd lost a marine and been injured in the process. They'd barely escaped, leaving without locating his missing men. That had been four days ago. He'd wanted to go back, but a drone flyover hadn't picked up their life signs and Carter was reluctant to re-engage with the rebels unless they had proof of life.

"Then who?"

Carter's mouth tugged up at the corner. "Larrin."

McKay nudged his arm. He ignored him.

"She's asking to come through."

"Are you sure it's her?"

She gestured to the screen behind him. "We sent a MALP through to be sure."

There she was; hands on her hips as she waited for their decision. Sheppard, realising he was mirroring her pose, dropped his arms to his side.

"Let her through," he said.

He started down the steps as Carter gave the go ahead over the radio, his hand resting on his holster, out of habit. Larrin emerged from the event horizon, not even breaking stride as she stopped inches from him.

"Sheppard."

"Larrin."

"Colonel Carter, Doctor McKay," Larrin said. "I'd almost forgotten your boss was a woman."

"She's not. I mean I'm in charge." To Carter's surprised expression, he quickly amended that to, "Of the military."

Now McKay's mouth was turning up at the corner.

"What do you want anyway?"

"Sheppard." McKay feigned. "Is that any way to talk to a guest?"

Suddenly they were all turned in his direction.

"It's fine," Larrin said. "I'm used to Sheppard being rude."

"Rude?" Sheppard looked to Carter and McKay. "She kidnapped, tortured and stunned me. And last time we met, she left me tied to a chair for the duration of my visit."

"You're still sore about that? You bought a wraith onto my ship."

"And I explained why that was," he countered.

"After the fact," Larrin said. "You don't just-"

"Larrin, Colonel-" Carter said. "Can we get to the part where you need to speak to us?"

"Fine." She cleared her throat, her expression pained before she spoke, "I need your help."

SGASGASGASGASGA

"A few days ago we got intel that some people from Atlantis had been attacked on Terula. Presumed dead."

Sheppard straightened in his seat.

"We decided to check it out. I wanted to-"

"Make sure it wasn't me."

"-see if there was any tech we could scavenge."

"You're all heart." Sheppard leaned back in his chair, wincing as his side twinged. For a moment, he thought he saw a flicker of concern on Larrins face. "Where was the intel from?"

Larrin was drawing circles on the conference room table. "Word gets around. Can I continue?"

Sheppard made an after you motion.

"My crew took a shuttle down to the mainland. We were attacked and they were taken."

Sheppard glanced at Carter.

"Rebels?" she asked, interest piqued.

"Yes. I need help rescuing them."

"How did you get away?" McKay asked.

Sheppard didn't miss the tone of McKays question. He didn't believe her, that much was clear.

"I just did. Are you going to help me get my people back or not?"

"Hang on." Sheppard said. "You need to give us a little more than that."

She glared at him. "Fine. They let me go."

"And why would they do that?"

"Because I told them I could bring them, you."

"Larrin!" Sheppard knew there was a catch. He wondered if there was ever a time she wouldn't be screwing him over.

"I may have mentioned your name and apparently it's not just me you've pissed off recently."

Sheppard turned to Carter again. She wasn't giving anything away with her expression.

"They gave me 24 hours to bring you to them and in return they'll release my people, so come on Sheppard let's go." She stood, cocking her head towards the door.

"You are unbelievable."

She leaned against the table, smiling. "Relax Sheppard. It was the excuse I needed to get out of there. I'm not really going to hand you over unless you're volunteering?." She paused. "What do they want with you anyway?"

"Four days ago some of our people went missing on Terula. When we went to find them, we came up against the rebels there. We lost people on both sides."

"And you didn't find your men?"

"No. We've been back but we didn't pick up any life signs."

"You didn't answer my question, Sheppard. What do they want with you specifically?"

"I have an idea," he said.

At his lack of further disclosure she dropped back into her seat.

"So, you need us how because I'm not just going to hand myself in?" Sheppard asked. "As much as you were hoping I would."

"The rebel that walked me back to the 'gate has agreed to meet me at nightfall. In exchange for safe passage off Terula and a place he can lay low, he'll provide Intel on where my people are within the complex. I'd go alone, but without my crew, I could do with the back up."

"And you trust him?" McKay asked.

"I trust that he wants out. You should've seen the guy. He was scared."

Sheppard tried to read her. She seemed genuine enough, but there was one thing bothering him. Luckily, McKay was thinking the same thing.

"Why didn't he leave with you? He could have left with you and told you what you needed to know."

"I asked him. He didn't want his leader Mefes to get suspicious. He's high up in the ranking and if they noticed he was gone, they'd know something was up."

"And possibly move your people," Sheppard said.

"Larrin we're going to need some details." Carter said. "Where they took you, what you saw. Anything that gives us the upper hand. We'll help you as best we can. But I won't put our people at risk."

"Then just send Sheppard."

Sheppard laughed. He couldn't help it, so sincere she was in her statement.

"We work as a team here." Carter said. She stood. "John, a word?"

Leaving McKay to entertain their guest, Carter waited for the conference room doors to rotate closed before speaking.

"So what do you think? Do you trust her?"

"Not really." Sheppard admitted. "But then I don't see what she'd get out of lying to us."

"Me either. And, if we can help her we might get a lead on where our people are."

"We haven't been able to get a lock on their lifesigns. I'm not hopeful."

"You pick the teams and we'll come up with a plan."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

Sheppard reviewed the mission brief. Larrin had been able to fill in the blanks. As they'd suspected, much like the Genii, the Terulans lived in underground bunkers. She'd been led to believe they were extensive and that she wouldn't find her people without help. The plan was to meet the informant, get as much intel as possible on her people's location and then beat a hasty retreat.

He could feel eyes on him.

"I'm not talking about it," he said knowing what Teyla and Ronon were smirking about.

"She is very beautiful, John. I can see how many men would fall for her beauty."

He watched her over the top of his notes. She knew exactly what she was doing and she was loving every second of it.

"How long's she staying?" Ronon asked. "I don't trust her."

"Me either bud." He closed the file. "She won't be here long. We're waiting for nightfall on Terula so that's-" he checked his watch"-around 0600 hours here."

"You want me to come? I can cancel my thing."

Ronon's thing was scheduled surgery for a torn rotator cuff. He'd been putting it off, but Sheppard beating him in a sparring match last week had finally prompted him to get it seen too.

"Thanks buddy, but you need to get that shoulder sorted."

"It is perfectly normal to be anxious about an operation," Teyla said, stroking her stomach. "I too am anxious about my child's impending birth."

Ronon scowled. "I'm not anxious."

"And less of the impending birth talk," Sheppard told her. "That's a ways off. Right?."

Teyla laughed. "I will try to go into labour at a convenient time."

"I didn't mean-"

Teyla caught his hand. "I know what you meant."

"And I'm not worried about my operation," Ronon repeated.

"Sure," Sheppard teased.

McKay dropped into the seat next to Ronon, his tray clattering on the table noisily.

"I know that look," Sheppard said, turning to see Larrin not far behind with a food tray of her own.

Larrin pulled a chair from another table and was glaring at Sheppard when she sat down. The feeling of being stuck with McKay was obviously mutual. Her knee came to rest against his and he acknowledged it briefly before scooting his chair over a little.

"I take it you've settled into your quarters"

Larrin stabbed her fork into her meatloaf and regarded it much the same way Sheppard had the traveler's food.

"It's a lot nicer than I'm used to," she took an experimental bite of her food and then deciding it was okay, continued eating. "I can't remember the last time I had a proper shower."

Sheppard found himself leaning forward a little. So that's what that was. He could smell a hint of coconut. She regarded him with a small smile and he couldn't help but return it. While she was a pain in the ass, she was easy to be around.

Noticing Teyla and Ronon's matched expression, he slowly leaned away, trying and failing to look indifferent.

"I remember the facilities on your ship being a little basic," Sheppard said.

"That's life on a ship," Larrin said. "We don't get a lot of luxuries."

"That must be difficult," Teyla said.

Turning towards Teyla, Larrin appeared shocked. "You got big," she said, reaching across to touch Teyla's stomach.

Surprised at the sudden intrusion of her personal space, Teyla cast a look to the rest of her team. Larrin sensing her unease, pulled her hand back quickly.

"Sorry," she said, uncharacteristically embarrassed. "My people have strict population controls. We don't see a lot of pregnant women."

"We don't see many here either," Sheppard noted.

"True." Teyla said. "But, I am certain there will be more. Now that we are settled and Atlantis has become home. Perhaps, it will be the same for your people Larrin."

"I'm unable to have children."

Across the table, McKay spluttered.

"It's fine," Larrin said with a dismissive flick of her fork. "I don't want them."

Sheppard saw her look to him for assurance. What the hell did he say to that?

Larrin thankfully changed the subject. "What are you looking at?"

Shaking off her admission, Sheppard said. "Just making sure we're set for tomorrow."

She leaned towards him, her elbow touching his forearm.

"This is the meeting point. Figure we'll take this route. Should take us about an hour to get there. I'll have men stationed here, here and-"

Larrin smiled. "What?"

Sheppard ignored the hand that had dropped onto his thigh and cleared his throat. "You'll meet the informant alone. I'll hang back here and-"

"What is wrong with you?" McKay asked around a mouthful of food.

Sheppard shook his head and Larrin removed her hand.

"Nothing," he said.

Larrin moved her chair back, apparently done with her food. "Escort me back to my quarters? We can go over the finer details as we walk."

"Sure," he said tucking the folder under his arm.

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

"What aren't you telling me?"

Larrin gave him a sideways glance and bumped his shoulder as they walked the halls to her quarters. "When will you trust me, Sheppard?"

"Past experiences with you have taught me to be cautious."

"I let you go didn't I?"

There was that.

"How did you manage to charm this informant? He really believes he's got a chance of getting out of there?"

"Why? Jealous," she chided. "It was a long walk. We talked. Mefes doesn't treat his men well. There are more seeking to defect, but with eyes everywhere, they're not sure how to go about it."

"And you want to help them."

"No, I want my people back and if I have to play nice, I will."

They arrived at her assigned quarters and he palmed the door. It was entry only. Not that Larrin knew that. She'd find out soon enough in the morning when she tried to leave, or sneak out later to do her own intel.

She stepped inside. "By the way, I nearly kept you. Just for fun."

He groaned. "Goodnight Larrin."

He turned to leave, but felt a tug on his arm and then he was being pulled into her room. The door snicked shut behind him.

"What are you doing?"

She was standing close, her face inches from his with her fingers hooked in his waistband. He placed his hands on her arms and gently nudged her back.

"Come on, Sheppard. Let's just get this out of our system okay?"

"Get what out of our system?"

"You really are clueless."

Her hand was snaking lower and he stopped her. "This isn't happening Larrin-"

She pressed her mouth against his and it took a second for his brain to catch up with what was happening. He resisted for the briefest moment before giving in. But memories of their last kiss had him breaking away to look between them.

"No stunner this time," she said, reaching for him again.

"This is a really bad idea," he told her, between kisses.

"You know, this thing between us-" and she traced her fingers along the length of his arm. "It's distracting me."

"We have a mission tomorrow. You need to focus."

"We both need to focus."

"I mean it."

"So, do I."

He chewed his lip, watching as her hands slipped to the hem of his shirt. And then under it. Warm hands pressed against his chest and then-ow.

She pulled his shirt up, to the deep bruising on his side and carefully touched his ribs. "Looks painful."

"Larrin-"

A cold sweep of air against his stomach signaled her step back and she started to unbutton her shirt.

"You can't tell me you haven't thought about it."

Okay, so maybe he had. For a split second. And then usually he'd take a very long, very cold shower.

"I'm going to bed. So you can either tuck it in your waistband and leave or put it to use." She dared.

The shirt dropped to the floor.

He considered the door. Then he considered the increasingly naked woman in front him. And then he thought about that damn checkbox and how long it had been since he'd been close to someone. He thought about their past interactions, all that sexual tension.

Ah fuck it.

He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for another kiss. While she worked on his pants, he slipped his T-shirt over his head, ignoring the pain in his abused side.

He couldn't help but feel a creeping sense of guilt. What if Atlantis needed him? What if-

Her breasts pushed against his chest and all rational thought deserted him.

He was an adult. He didn't need anyone's permission.

"Sheppard you there?"

He froze.

Larrin was oblivious, nibbling his earlobe. Her hot breath against his ear had whoever was calling for him reduced to background noise.

"Sheppard?"

Larrin pressed against him, head tilted towards his ear. "Can I hear…… McKay?"

Just what everyone wants to hear when they're about to-

Sheppard kicked off his boots and simultaneously flung his earpiece across the room.

"What did he want?"

"Stop talking about Mckay," he told her, walking her backwards.

"What if it's urgent?"

"It's not," he told her.

They tumbled onto the bed, her legs wrapped tightly around his midsection. There was nothing gentle in their actions; this was desperate and efficient. She was right, they'd been engaged in foreplay since the first time they'd met.

At her insistence, he pushed inside her and had to think of puddlejumpers and inventories and case reports as she groaned beneath him. She was beautiful when she wasn't being a complete pain in the ass. Speaking of which, she pinched him! He should have known she'd have some weird kink! At his surprised expression, she grinned and then she was raking her hands down his back. He didn't care if he was bleeding, because it felt so good.

She groaned loudly as he their hands met, splayed out on the bed. He half wondered if they were being too loud, whether his earpiece was on an open channel, but then her fingers were in his hair and he really didn't care if they were broadcasting live to all of Atlantis.

She hooked a leg around his and rolled him so that she could be on top. He cupped her breasts and she ground into him, her eyes closed. From the way she grabbed him it was clear she hadn't had this in a long time either and for a time they remained that way, pace slowed, synchronous, connected… content.

After a time, he rolled her again. Her one hand hand gripped the headboard, her other was wrapped around his forearm, nails digging into the skin.

God it was good to be part of something. Whatever this was. He'd watched everyone else pair off and it was only now, in this moment, he realised how acutely lonely he had felt.

Larrin met his gaze. She gave the briefest of nods.

He pushed deeper, faster, and she was crying out which gave him permission to finally let go. Three hard thrusts and he was groaning too, collapsing on top of her.

"Fuck."

"Your ribs?" She asked breathlessly.

"Yeah," he said, voice muffled by the pillow.

They lay like that for a while, both recovering their breath, the room a mixture of sweat, coconut and gun oil.

"I can focus now," Larrin whispered against his neck.

Sheppard rolled onto his back and thought oh this is what it's like to feel relaxed.

"That was fun." Larrin slipped under the covers. "You can go now."

He glanced over at her.

"What? You thought we'd cuddle?"

Sheppard rolled his eyes as he sat up. Of course.

As he swung his legs over the edge of the bed to retrieve his boxers, he felt the ghost of her hand on his back.

"Larrin-"

She rolled to face him, her lips red and swollen, her hair tangled beyond belief. He thought she might say something, but she turned the lights off and they were plunged into darkness.

He emerged into the hallway pushing his boots on and was just tucking his T-shirt into his pants when McKay rounded the corner.

"Oh hey. What are you doing down here?" he said.

Sheppard swept a hand through his hair, feeling sweat beading his hairline. Remembering his earpiece he set it back in place.

"I was calling you for half an hour." He looked over his shoulder. "Isn't that Larrins-" he paused. "Why were-"

"I just walked her back to her room. Now I'm going to bed." He said without stopping.

"Sheppard!" McKay fell into step with him. He gave him a look that told him he knew exactly what he'd been up to.

"Don't McKay."

"You're lucky I'm the one that caught you!"

"Nothing happened," he lied, realising that his inside out t-shirt had already betrayed him. "And if it had, it wouldn't be anyone's business but mine."

"So, you admit it."

"We have a mission early tomorrow. I suggest you get some rest."

"I don't trust her."

Sheppard continued towards the transporter. He was sweaty and he needed a shower and he didn't need this off McKay right now.

"What if she's lying?"

"McKay, her people are there."

"Yes and I can see you're both very concerned about her people right now."

"Enough. Okay. Just stop."

"I have a bad feeling about this. Something isn't sitting right."

"We have a plan."

"It's a bad plan."

"It's my plan. I've been doing this for a while so why don't you let me handle the military side of things and you handle your side of things."

SGASGASGASGASGA

Back in his room, Sheppard stripped off and took a shower. The hot water made the scratches on his back sting and it forced clarity.

What the hell had he just done? Was he really that lonely, that desperate for intimacy?

He scrubbed at his skin, finding new scratches and bite marks. He smiled as he shook his head. Larrin of all people!

He palmed the water off.

But then, they were two sides of the same coin. She, a solitary leader with little downtime, a loner and unlikely to hold on to a long term relationship. Marriage hadn't worked for him so maybe this was it - snatches of moments with other lonely souls.

But Larrin!

He had the urge to go talk to her and clarify their position. It couldn't happen again. This wasn't going to be their routine every time they met up. One night on Atlantis was one thing but it could be a distraction in the future.

She was right; they'd just needed to get it out of their system. Now they could focus.

He toweled off, hitting the lights as he dropped onto his bed.

Was McKay going to say anything? Larrin? Either one we're hardly tactful and he was suddenly panicked at how this was going to play out.

SGASGASGASGASGA

Sheppard zipped his tac vest as he entered the 'gate room. He glanced towards McKay on the opposite side of the room who was shooting daggers in his direction. He pretended not to see him and clipped his P90 to his vest.

"Colonel?"

Sheppard turned to Carter's voice. "Colonel."

"You're sure about this?"

"As sure as I can be," he admitted.

"I don't want you to take any unnecessary risks. If your gut tells you to get out of there then you do. I won't risk losing any more of our people."

"If the informant is where they're supposed to be then I should be back before lunch," he said.

"I'll be up in the galley," she turned to leave, but paused. "What's up with McKay?"

"Oh you know Rodney. He'll be pissed about something going on in the lab."

"He can stay here. I understand that you want your team with you but-"

"He's tougher than you think and it's better to have him there and not need him than-"

"Need him and not have him. I understand." She stopped again. "Don't tell him I said that."

He watched her ascend the steps and turned to survey the room. Although he and Larrin were going to meet the informant he had assembled a number of teams to act as back up. There'd also be two Jumpers overhead but the area they were meeting the informant would be inaccessible and covered by trees. Larrin had been twitchy about it, she thought they'd be at risk of being discovered, but he assured her that they would be hanging back as a precaution. He'd gone toe to toe with the rebels before and didn't want a repeat performance. Much like McKay, it was better to have them there and not need them, then find himself locked up with Larrin's people.

"Colonel!"

Keller looked out of place among the soldiers. She bumped into Lt. Carraway's back and narrowly avoided his elbow when he turned, ducking slightly as she made her way over to him.

"Doc?"

Keller held up a white packet of tablets. "Muscle relaxants. Take two before you leave and follow up with two more in an hour."

"I don't need them," he said.

"Colonel, I'm told it's a fair hike to the meeting point and you may not feel it now but you will in-"

"Who told you that?" He asked, a little annoyed that she'd come all the way down to the 'gate room just to give him a lecture.

"Colonel Carter told me and she thought you might need them. Apparently you've been guarding your right side a lot which suggested you were still in some discomfort."

He looked up at the galley. Sighed. "It's just bruised."

"Either way, in an hour or so you'll thank me for handing you these and they're non drowsy so-"

"Oh for gods sake," McKay snapped, walking over to them. His voice was loud enough to carry and had everyone looking their way. "Would you stop being so stubborn and just take the pills."

Sheppard glared at him. Thankfully Lorne inserted himself into the conversation.

"MALP has confirmed the immediate vicinity of the 'gate is clear. We're good to go."

Sheppard gave him a nod and took to the stairs to signal his intention to address his men. In the galley above, Carter was also waiting.

Before a mission like this, it was best practice to go over the details again. Though these men were under his command, it was impossible to solidify a relationship with all of them and while he had unequivocal faith in their capabilities as soldiers, it gave him a chance to note personalities and to make sure they were all on the same page.

"The meeting point is around four miles from the 'gate on foot." He said. "The two jumpers will follow and remain cloaked. The rest of you will stay concealed unless I give the order. I repeat. This is a non engagement exercise. We're laying low, extracting intel and leaving."

"And what if it's a trap?"

Larrin threw a look of disapproval McKay's way but this was his mission and he didn't intend to become captive.

"Larrin will be meeting the informant alone. I'll just be there as back up. If it goes to hell, we leave and we regroup." He turned to Carter and at her nod instructed Chuck to dial up.

Larrin met him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Sheppard, there seems to be a lot of running away in this plan of yours."

Readjusting his grip on his P90, he stated, "Larrin, I'm not risking my men for your people. We do this my way or not at all."

"Surely they're going to expect Sheppard. You said yourself that you'd agreed to hand him in."

"McKay!"

McKay held his hands out in placation.

"Remind me why McKay is coming?" Larrin asked.

"Hey!"

"McKay is there for tech support." And then to the scientist, he said. "You stay back and I want you first through the 'gate when we leave. And I'm there as back up. I'll be out of sight."

.

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

They emerged from the gate into perfect stillness. The skies were clear, stars visible. The trees barely moved. It meant that there was nothing to cover the sounds of their enemies, but it also meant they'd have to be quiet on their approach.

Sheppard gave instructions to Lorne. One team would guard the 'gate, another would follow them at a distance and take up positions on a ridge overlooking the meeting point. They'd move in small teams so as not to draw attention. He would walk Larrin to a point and then hang back while she met the informant. They'd decided early on that it was best to not advertise his prescience on the planet given the Terulian Leader Mefes wanted him in his capture so for all intents and purposes, the informant would believe her to be solo.

Sheppard gave the signal to move out and they split into teams.

Larrin was uncharacteristically quiet as he followed her lead. She'd set a fast pace and he jogged a little to catch her up.

"Hey," he said, keeping his voice low knowing that his men were following. He cast a look over his shoulder.. "I think we should talk. After this-"

She rolled her eyes. "It's okay Sheppard. I'm not looking for a relationship."

He cleared his throat. Tilted his head.

"It never happened," she said nudging his arm.

"Right."

"And it won't happen again."

And he felt a mixture of disappointment and relief. Regardless of what McKay thought he wasn't the one night stand type and he didn't enter into any intimacy lightly. More than anything, the fear that he would become attached to someone, as he had his team, often prevented him from going all in.

But this, at least according to Larrin, had been a transaction. Clinical, quick and now it was over and never to be repeated.

That consolidated, he mentally moved on.

"So what are the odds of this guy double crossing us?" He asked, aiming his flashlight beam ahead.

"I told you. The guy was scared. He wants out."

"He could've been lying."

"I told him I'd return alone. He's not expecting you and the hundred other guys you've bought for back up so I wouldn't worry."

"It's ten guys, plus the five in each Jumper," he said.

"And McKay," she added.

"And McKay," he amended.

"What's his problem anyway?"

"Who? McKay?"

"He doesn't trust me right?"

"I barely trust you." He said, stepping over an upturned log. "But that's misplaced, right?"

She didn't answer, preoccupied by the sudden narrowing of their path that forced them to walk single file.

"How's your rib?"

He rolled his eyes as he removed his LSD. "It's fine," he said, noting the only moving dots were his team behind them. There was nothing ahead.

The terrain was mostly flat and under the cover of the canopy. More annoying was trying to pick out a path with the single beam of their flashlights. The trees were densely packed and it was clearly a route that wasn't used often because great swaiths of it was blocked by creepers and vines that they either had to hack through or backtrack to find a better way round.

By the time they had left the team on the ridge and were descending to the meeting point, Sheppard was sweating and hurting.

Larrin clamped a hand over his chest to stop him in the tree line and he swore under his breath.

"Sorry," she said, as he breathed in short sharp pants. "You okay or are you going to drop dead on me?"

"I'm fine," he told her, shaking off her arm and moving to scope the landscape ahead of them.

There was a sloping path that led down to what looked like a cliff face.

"This it?"

"This is where he said."

"Not the best position. This is the only way in or out."

He looked up to where the cliff face climbed abruptly. There were rock formations forming a protected enclave. He keyed his radio to check that his men had a good visual. He was relieved when they confirmed they had eyes on the meeting point.

When he got off the radio, Larrin was watching him. "I trust this guy. And I don't trust many people."

"I think you want to trust him. There's a difference."

"What does that mean?"

Sheppard eased into a crouch, his back against the tree. He switched off his flashlight. "Just like I said."

"If he can tell me where my people are and tell me how to get them out then it's worth it."

"How do you know your people are still here? We couldn't get a lock on our people. They could already be-"

She reeled on him then, her face flushed with anger. "You're telling me you wouldn't do the same?"

"I'm here aren't I," he said, readjusting his position to take the strain off his side.

"Here," Larrin said, offering her palm.

In it were two white tablets.

"What's this?"

"Muscle relaxants. I told the doc that I would look after them until you needed them. You need them."

He scowled.

"You need some water?"

"I don't need them." But then he moved and couldn't suppress his hiss of discomfort.

"No, I don't need you seizing up when I need you to be watching my back so stop being a baby and take the pills."

He worked his jaw; she had a point. His side was aching and it was an unwelcome distraction. He reached for his canteen, but she was holding it out to him. When she'd taken it, he had no idea, but he was briefly impressed with her pickpocketing skills.

Accepting defeat, he took the pill and chased it down with the water.

Larrin looked pleased with herself. She took up position next to him, her eyes focused on the path below. Heat was radiating off her from their trek, which was welcome given that it had turned cold.

"You go down, get the Intel and get out."

"I know what I'm doing Sheppard."

"We underestimated these guys before and-"

"As did I," she said. "I wont make the same mistake twice."

"If you think he's pulling a stunt then you get out of there. Use non-lethal force."

"Why?"

"Because if they find him dead then they'll know something's up. If he wakes up not dead, then he'll be embarrassed and hopefully won't disclose that he was about to give away Intel." He gestured to her weapon. "So, set that thing to stun."

A click signalled she had.

Sheppard keyed his radio, keeping his voice low as he informed Lorne that they were in position.

"No activity at the 'gate."

"We're not seeing anything from the ridge just yet."

Sheppard checked his LSD. "Nothing here yet. Radio silence for another ten."

He turned to Larrin and lost his balance for a second. Realising he was holding onto her shoulder, he let go and didn't miss her concerned look.

"Sorry," he said shaking his head.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," he said smiling. "Just lost my footing for a second."

She didn't seem convinced and he could feel her watching him as he faced forward.

"So why does this Mefes guy want you anyway?"

"I killed his brother."

"That'll do it."

"Hazard's of the job," he said.

"You think your men are alive?"

"Honestly? No. You think yours are?"

He turned to look at her. She was clenching and unclenching her jaw.

His LSD beeped suddenly. He took it from his pocket, dropping it in the process, and retrieved it to see a single dot ahead.

"Guess we'll find out," Larrin said standing.

Sheppard reached for his radio. "We have incoming. Stand by. Larrin's going in."

"Okay Sir, we've got visual on the guy. Looks like he's alone."

"Stay alert. Maintain radio silence," he clicked off. "Larrin, ready?"

She nodded, gave him one last look and headed down the path, weapon drawn in front of her.

Sheppard readjusted his grip on his P90 and went to stand, but ended up sliding backwards to sit in the mud. He quickly eased up off the ground, shouldering a nearby tree as he stood hunched for a moment. He was dizzy.

He blinked to clear his vision and aimed his weapon towards the path to where Larrin was waiting.

His arm dropped and along with it his aim. He swiped his free hand across his forehead where sweat was forming.

The informant was holding his hands up in a manner that suggested he was showing he was unarmed. Larrin reholstered her weapon.

Sheppard tried to focus but another debilitating wave of dizziness assaulted him. He leaned heavily against the tree, removing his finger from the trigger given his gun now pointed down at his feet.

Fuck. He shook his head forcefully, hoping to gain clarity, but his stomach somersaulted.

Something was wrong.

He got upright, but he suddenly felt heaviness in his arms and legs. Was it the muscle relaxants? Had Doctor Keller made a mistake and given him the heavy duty strength ones? He quickly pushed that thought aside. She wouldn't have made that error.

He reached for his radio, but his fingers felt disconnected and then he was suddenly on his knees.

The radio in his hand, he managed to push the talk button and get out half a slurred sentence before the radio was ripped from his hand. He heard it land somewhere behind him.

He arched his P90 round to fire, but couldn't get his trigger finger in place. The weapon was unclipped from his vest at the same time his thigh holster became lighter.

He tried to focus.

Larrin was at his side, her hand on his back, and she was pulling him into an upright position.

"Something's wrong," he managed.

Somebody took his other arm and he was being hoisted up.

"Larrin, what's going on?"

She ignored him.

The informant was at his side, talking over his head as if he wasn't there, but the words sounded garbled. He bucked against their grip and when that didn't work tried to dig his toes into the mud to slow them.

They'd see him from the ridge. But they wouldn't be able to get to him in time and he didn't think he'd made that order. He tried to cling to consciousness, but dark spots were creeping into his field of vision.

There was a blue shimmer up ahead and then everything went black.

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

"What just happened?" McKay shouted to Lorne. "What the hell was that?"

Lorne was on his radio. "Do you have eyes on him?"

McKay moved to stand but Lorne pulled him back down. "Is he okay?"

Lorne walked away from him, his hand raised to stall his questions, as he spoke over the radio. McKay twisted his hands together and waited. Sheppard had sounded panicked, even if his words were heavily slurred.

Lorne returned, his expression grim. "They saw Larrin and the informant drag Sheppard inside the bunker."

"What and they did nothing?"

"They didn't have a clear shot. They didn't want to risk hitting the Colonel."

"Okay, so we're going to rescue him, right?"

"He told us to not engage unless he gave the order."

"He wasn't able to give an order by the sounds of it." He glared at Lorne. Honestly, soldiers could be so stupid sometimes. Just because the order wasn't given, it didn't mean they couldn't act. Hell, McKay ignored Sheppard's orders all the time and it had saved him on more that one occasion. "I knew we couldn't trust Larrin."

"We cannot engage. We need to wait."

"Why?"

"Because we don't know what's going on!"

"You heard him! He was trying to tell us something was wrong!"

"Colonel Sheppard wouldn't want us to go in after him unless we had a clear extraction plan. You know that."

McKay did know that and that was precisely why it was so annoying.

"The colonel gave me clear instructions not to engage if anything went south."

"Don't listen to him!"

"I'm not," Lorne snapped back. "He ordered us to leave if he was taken and I'm not doing that. The colonel knew that this was a distinct possibility and we haven't confirmed that Larrin is involved."

"We can't see them! He's not answering radio calls. She helped drag him into the bunker. I'd say she's involved."

"We don't know that. We need to gather more intel first. If she is involved and she went in voluntarily, then she's going to have to come out at some point and we'll be there waiting for her."

"They wanted her to bring Sheppard in."

Lorne rested his hand on McKay's shoulder. "We'll get him back."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

She'd drugged him. It was his first thought as he was unceremoniously dropped to the floor. Thankfully he was still comfortably numb, but he could feel warmth trickle down onto his lip.

He rolled onto his side.

"I played my part," he heard Larrin say somewhere behind him. "Now play yours."

There was the scrape of a chair, the sound of wood giving as someone sat down. "You're free to go."

"And?"

"We'll let you have your ship back."

Sheppard let his head fall to the side and watched Larrin's deceit play out sideways. This had never been about her people. She'd used him to get her ship back. He couldn't help it. He laughed.

"And what about him?" She didn't even look at him, kept her stare levelled somewhere over his head.

The chair creaked again. Sheppard dragged his gaze to focus on the owner of the approaching footsteps. A large man, who Sheppard recognised immediately as Mefes, unholstered his weapon and pushed the barrel into his forehead.

For her credit, Larrin sounded panicked. "You're going to kill him?"

Mefes sucked on his teeth and threw her an irritated look. A look he could sympathise with. "He killed my brother."

"Your brother killed one of my men," Sheppard slurred.

He was rewarded with a kick to his midsection and before he could recover, he was being pulled upright. His vision swam and he blinked a few times to clear it, setting his sights firmly on Larrin.

A dull throb in his side and pins and needles in his hands and legs signalled a return of some feeling. Its timing sucked.

"I should have trusted my gut," he said to no one in particular.

She took a step towards him. It was hard to believe that less than 24 hours ago those eyes had been fixated on him in a different way. Now they transmitted nothing but coldness. "Oh Sheppard, you really should have." Then she turned to his captor. "Mefes he killed your brother. A quick death seems too good for him."

Mefes growing impatient, turned to Larrin. "You can go. This does not concern you."

"What are you doing Lar-"

His head rocked back with the force of a punch. He felt that! His mouth filled with a metallic taste and he spat blood onto the floor. A follow up kick to his stomach had him curled around the pain.

"You can't trust her," he choked out.

Speaking just provoked the guards ire again and a blow to his head had him missing time. Whatever Larrin had said, had Mefes reseating the gun, a standard issue 9mil, into a standard issue calf holster.

"Where are my people?" Sheppard asked on recognising the gear.

"You know Larrin, I think you have a point." He scratched at his beard thoughtfully. "I think I'll keep him around for a while longer."

Mefes gestured to one of the men who had been hanging back. He had a device in his hand that looked like an LSD. He took a step forward and faltered when Larrin spoke.

"It's in the same place as the others," she said. "Right hip."

The man looked to Mefes for confirmation.

"Skip the scan." He said.

"But sir-"

"She knows him."

Before Sheppard could react, a knee was in his back and his cheek was being pressed into the hard concrete.

He felt cold air sweep against his thigh and then blinding pain as someone stabbed him. A stream of expletives escaped him as the knife gouged out his subcutaneous transmitter.

Then he was let go, and he lay there, feeling warmth trickle down his thigh.

"And it's like the others?" Mefes asked.

"Yes." One of Mefes said. "Just like the others. Once it's removed it stops working. They'll believe him to be dead."

"Before I go," Larrin said. "I'd like a souvenir."

"This?" Mefes was saying.

"Yes."

Mefes shrugged and handed it over. "It's no use to us."

Larrin was next to him then. Coconut and gun oil. She raked her fingers through his hair and then he heard her retreating footsteps. She'd left. Without him.

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

Larrin waited for the shield to drop.

"Larrin?"

She paused, heart catching in her chest. She turned to Mefes.

"I can't figure you out."

Larrin smiled sweetly, pushing her arms into her breasts to lift them a little. She watched his gaze drop.

"I take your people and you just want your ship."

Larrin reached up to touch his chest, hand resting there while the other found her weapon. "Life without a ship as a Traveler is a death sentence. People are replaceable. My ship isn't."

Mefes watched her carefully, probably waiting to see if she'd crack but she was well practiced in subterfuge and she stood firm.

Mefes nodded. Then added, "You come back here and I'll kill you."

"I don't doubt it." She turned to leave, then stopped. "What are you going to do with Sheppard?"

"You are close?"

"Not really."

"I'm going to give him what he wants. I'm going to let him see his people."

"Really?"

"And as you said, the worst thing for a man like him would to be within grasp of helping them and then being unable to do so. He'll watch as we inflict indescribable pain and suffering on the people he should be protecting and he'll understand what I went through with my brother."

"I am sorry about your brother." Larrin said and walked out of the bunker, resisting the overwhelming urge to break into a sprint. She risked a look over her shoulder and as the shield rippled, she let out a breath.

It was done. She'd left him there. A sick feeling churned her stomach as she walked.

She headed for her ship; it wasn't far but she finally broke into a run, her focus purely on getting to it before Mefes could change his mind. She was expecting that she'd find it stripped of anything remotely useful, but she hoped it was still flyable.

She ascended the hill and could see the canopy ablaze with a thick smoke.

"No!" She shouted, realising the source of the fire.

She pushed forward, thick smoke filling her lungs as she cleared the canopy to see her ship a smouldering wreck. There were men everywhere, stationed around it, waiting to kill her.

She took a step backwards, meaning to fold into the darkness but hear an omnibus click from behind her.

Cursing, she lowered her weapon and turned on her heel.

Surprisingly, it was McKay pointing a weapon at her. "What have you done with Sheppard?"

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

McKay was apoplectic with rage as they emerged on Atlantis. Larrin stopped on the dias as the gate disengaged and Colonel Carter was descending the steps, fast enough for McKay to think that she was going to fall down them.

There were soldiers around the 'gate, all aiming for Larrin. She barely flinched.

"Where's Colonel Sheppard?" Carter demanded. " What have you done with him?"

"He's okay. For now," Larrin said. "But he won't be if we stand around here. Let me explain. It's not what you think."

Carter gestured to the conference room. They frog marched her up the stairs.

Lorne passed McKay on the stairs, updating Carter as they climbed. "I've left men on the planet. They're watching the gate and they'll let us know if anyone leaves."

"Thank you Major," Carter said as they reached the room.

The doors rotated closed. Larrin took a seat, but nobody else joined her. The tension in the room was palpable, but Larrin was frustratingly unfazed.

"My men say they saw you and another person drag the colonel inside."

"Yes. But it's not-"

"Why are we listening to this? We can't trust her," McKay snapped! "There never was an informant. It was a trap from the start."

Carter didn't speak, just waited for him to lose steam and simmer down on his own. She offered him small smile; one that told him she was on his side, not that she would publicly admit that.

"Okay. Larrin explain. And I mean everything."

"My people were taken," she said. "But when they found out that I knew Sheppard, we were separated and they were taken to another location. I don't know where. When they were taking me to a cell to 'talk', we passed through a storage area and I noticed they had Atlantean supplies, weapons, clothing and about a dozen or so of these."

She held out a circular disc. It was blood stained.

"A subcutaneous transmitter," Lorne said, going to pick it up and then obviously thinking better of it.

"Yes."

"And this helps us how?" McKay asked.

Larrin rolled her eyes. "Doctor McKay, how do these work?"

"What? I really don't think this is the time to-."

"Humour me."

For expediency's sake, Carter answered, "They help us locate our people."

"But how do they work?"

"They're implanted under the skin. There's a small needle that detects blood flow and in turn transmits a signal."

"And what happens if somebody were to die."

"They stop working. If there's no blood flow the needle stills and the device becomes inert."

Larrin was staring at them. Waiting for them to connect the dots. Frustrated, she elaborated, "If they were going to kill your people, why bother removing them? They'd stop working regardless. The only reason they would have to remove them is-"

"If they just wanted us to think our people were dead." McKay said.

Carter eased out a chair and sat, her attention purely on Larrin. "You think they're still alive?"

"I know they are and wherever they are, my people are."

McKay reached for the disc. He could have sworn it was still warm to the touch. He dropped it again, fingers tacky with blood.

"How did they even know to look for them? Or that they would stop working if they removed them?"

"I don't know, but they had a scanning device that helped them locate them."

"Clearly for whatever reason, they expect people to come looking," Carter said. "It sounds like they're more organised and formidable than first thought.

"Where did you get this?" McKay asked, already knowing the answer.

"It's Sheppard's"

"So we have no way of tracking him."

"That's where you're wrong. He has another tracking device and I could have tracked it from my ship."

Mckay dropped into a chair.

"He was in on this?" Lorne asked.

"No. Not exactly."

McKay was beyond concealing his weariness. He just wanted a straight answer. "Then how does he have a tracking device that he's not aware of?"

"Let's just say that he was distracted when I gave it to him." She said.

"Distracted," Lorne repeated casting around the table for a clue.

Larrin was looking down at the table. Carter's eyes widened slightly and she tilted her head in a way that told them she was amused.

"Trust me, you don't want to go there." McKay told him with a dismissive wave.

The expression on Lorne's face told him that he'd most certainly gone there already.

"They were going to kill him and I convinced them to move him. They're going to take him to his people. My people. Which means we track him and save all of them."

"Why couldn't you just tell him? Or us. Sheppard would probably have agreed anyway."

"Because I needed him to be angry. I needed my deception to be believable and as he already has such a low opinion of me I figured it wouldn't take much. I didn't want Mefes to have a reason to look for another tracker. The scanner would have picked it up."

"And what if they just kill him?"

"It's a risk I was willing to take to rescue my people but they wont."

"And you can't just track your people the same way?"

"They had their trackers removed too. I needed to get someone on the inside."

"And Sheppard obliged."

"He's a big boy. I'm sure he can take care of himself for a few hours. We just need to wait until he's moved and-"

"And then what?"

"Then we go get them."

McKay eyed the bloody transmitter. "How did you even know about this?"

"Because we removed Sheppards transmitter when he was a guest on my ship. Look, knowing Sheppard-"

"You don't know him." Ronon snapped from the doorway.

They'd been so engrossed that they hadn't noticed him slip in. He approached the table unsteadily.

"Ronon, what are you doing out of bed?" Carter asked.

Ronon was dressed in a backless gown, thankfully wearing scrub pants underneath. A trickle of blood on his hand indicated he'd pulled out his IV line and bolted without consulting anyone.

"Where's Sheppard?"

"Would you sit down before you fall down," McKay said.

"Not until I know what-"

"Ronon!" Keller entered the conference room at a jog, blowing her fringe out of her eyes as she came to stand by the Satedan. "Who told you you could leave the infirmary? You've just had surgery."

Ronon looked contrite at least, but he wasn't budging. His expression was frozen in one of barely restrained anger and McKay could empathise.

"Look," Larrin said, watching as Keller pulled out a chair from Ronon. He sat begrudgingly. "What I do know about Sheppard is that he has an annoying ability to stay alive. I'm counting on him doing that long enough for us to get all of our people out alive."

"Okay, so now what?" Ronon asked, reaching up to stabilise his shoulder.

"Without my ship I can't track him. The plan was, take it into a low orbit and track Sheppards position from there."

"Do you have a tracker?" McKay asked.

"Yes."

"Then I can probably do something with that."

"Fine."

Without hesitation, Larrin took out a knife and jabbed it into her arm. She then dug around the wound and dropped a long thin sliver of metal onto the table.

Keller looked horrified. "Lorne, you got any-"

"On it," Lorne said, removing bandages from his vest.

McKay regarded the bloody piece of metal in front of him. "I could've done it while it was still in you."

"Yeah well now you have it."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

Sheppard sat against the wall, staring at the door that Larrin had not long left through. He still couldn't quite believe that she had deceived him, not after….

He groaned. He'd let their weird sexual tension cloud his thinking and worse, he'd followed through on it. He'd confused intimacy with trust and now he was paying for it.

He had no idea what this Mefes guy had in store for him. He'd been left in a room with nothing more than a noisy air filtration system for company. There were no windows, the ceiling rippled with a blue sheen and floors were smooth and continuous. No vents, no panels to prise away, no technology to meddle with.

He reached up to wipe the blood out of his eyes.

The door creaked open and Mefes entered. He was massive; wearing a too small shirt that buckled under the pressure of the muscles underneath. His hair was slicked back and there was a black tattoo on his neck. Under his right eye was a gnarly looking scar and his eye was slightly opaque suggesting his peripheral vision might be impaired. Something to note and take advantage of later if he got the chance.

Mefes stood over him.

"Your friend gave a compelling reason to keep you alive a little longer."

He crouched down.

"She's no friend," Sheppard told him.

Mefes grinned. "It would appear not."

Sheppard shifted against the wall, his side was agony.

"You took my people." He said.

"This land, this world. It is mine. And they had things that I wanted. Weapons. Technology."

Mefesaa as stood in one fluid motion; his bulky frame much more maneuverable than it looked.

"And then, you came here-"

"To get my property," Sheppard countered.

"And you were hostile." Mefes said. "And you killed many of my men. My brother."

Said brother had tossed a hand grenade at him. Sheppard had been propelled backwards, his weapon on automatic fire. He'd hit him purely by accident. Though it probably would have been intentional eventually.

"The bullet lodged in his stomach. He didn't die straight away. He bled inside, his chest filling with so much liquid that he could not breathe. He was coughing up blood." Mefes fists were clenched. "He could not speak because every time he opened his mouth it filled with more blood. And I saw in his eyes, a fear like no other. Do you know what this is like?"

Sheppard did. But he didn't answer. What difference did it make?

"I will see that image for a long time. You did that. And your friend is right. A quick death is too good for you. You will suffer."

"What exactly do you want with my people?"

"You'll see."

Mefes looked like he was going to leave, but he twisted at the last second and kicked him in the chest, just catching his rib with the toe of his boot. The pain was incredible and the sound of his rib snapping was audible. Unable to draw in breath, Sheppard dropped onto his side.

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

Mckay wasn't surprised to see Ronon again so soon after being frog marched back to the Infirmary. He was wearing a sling and trailing an IV pole. At McKay's look, he just shrugged and took a seat next to his work station.

"You know," McKay said. "Keller is going to kill you if she finds you out of bed again."

"She let me go."

"I'm sure she did," McKay said.

"You done yet?"

McKay shook his head. "No. The Travellers may be low tech, but this…is not."

Carter returned at that point with two coffees. She didn't even acknowledge Ronon's escape. "Any progress?"

"Yes," he said and then to Carter's hopeful look, "I still can't find a way to lock onto Larrin's tracker."

"What's wrong? Don't you just wave a thing over it and it picks it up?"

"Yes Ronon. Normally."

At Ronon's confused expression, Carter elaborated. "Our subcutaneous transmitters emit a single, steady frequency which our Life Signs Detectors are calibrated to locate. This tracker cycles through frequencies, it changes every millisecond and unless you have a device calibrated to cycle through the frequencies in the same way, we can't get a lock on it. Whoever wrote the algorithm for this was very smart."

"So, what does that matter? We only need it to lock on once."

"That's what we thought," McKay said. "But no. It can't find it."

Carter rolled her sleeves up and sat down next to McKay. "We're going to have to map out the cycle on the tracker and then-"

"It's random," McKay said. "That's what I've been trying to do, but there's no set formula."

"Okay, so we write a program that can pick up multi frequencies at the same time."

"Which is going to take time."

"What about Larrin? You asked her?"

"There are no other traveller ships nearby, or at least, not close enough to get to us in time."

"And Larrin doesnt know anything about this technology other than it just works." McKay rubbed at his eyes. He was beyond exhausted. "Her ship. Maybe we can salvage the program from there."

"Larrin said it was burned to the ground. I can't imagine we'd get anything of use from it."

"It's worth a try."

"Okay," Carter said. "But you'll need to take Larrin with you."

"What?"

"She can't stay here and her people are there too."

"If we believe that part-"

"Rodney," Carter sighed. "I've had a chance to speak to her again and they gave her the choice of taking her people in return for the colonel. She chose her ship because she knew it could track him and lead everyone out." She raised her hand to stall him. "She went about this is the wrong way, but her heart is kind of in the right place. And it doesn't make it right, but this is where we are now."

"Fine."

"I'm coming," Ronon stated.

"You're not medically cleared."

"Shoulders fine. I'm going."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

Sheppard had passed out again as they were moving him. He'd fought it; wanting to memorise the route that they were taking and where it might be relative to the outside, but every step jarred his side and after a while breathing became difficult.

He had no idea how much time had passed when somebody poked at his side. It wasn't hard, it was surprisingly tentative, but it was enough to stir him. He opened his eyes and immediately closed them to a blinding light and listened to whoever was talking over his head while he tried to control his stomach from rebelling.

"This one is no good for the trials. He's injured." He was rolled and he felt something cold press into his back. "His breathing is decreased on one side." He was gently set down. "And this rib is broken. There could be internal bl-"

"He's not here for the trial. He's here to observe."

"For what purpose?"

"For the purpose I decide as the one running this operation."

"Mefes, he's going to die if we don't do something. He won't be able to observe anything."

Sheppard felt a nudge on his ankle, followed by a swift slap to his face and then Mefes was gripping his cheeks one handed and shaking him. "Time to wake up, colonel."

Sheppard opened his eyes, but he was so tired.

"Give him something to keep him awake."

There was a brief silence and he waited for the doctor to decline, but instead. "I have some stimulants. They'll keep him awake, but they might effect his breathing further."

"I don't care about his comfort. I just don't want him to miss what I bought him here for."

There was a period of inactivity, followed by hurried footsteps and then a sharp stab in the crook of his arm. As he was being hauled to his feet, he felt a sudden rush of adrenaline that had his heart pounding and his head swimming. He was pushed forward, managing to twist at the last second to grab a hand rail and sink to the floor, as the door closed.

There were hands on him and he went to lash out, but came short of punching one of his Lt's in the nose.

"Gerrett?" he said, dropping his fist.

The young man helped him to stand.

They were in a glass box with a metal handrail on all four sides, only interrupted briefly by a sliding glass door. The floors were shiny white and the light was retina piercingly bright. Outside of that there appeared to be a lab, which was stone and mud clad in stark contrast to their environment. There were maybe thirty of them crammed into the box; his men and perhaps Larrins. All were showing signs of malnutrition and had been stripped of their uniforms so most of them were in boxers and tshirt making him feel over dressed for the occasion.

Gerrett was staring at him with a look that was both hopeful and disappointed.

He was about to speak when a loud humming noise sounded and the men walked over to the handrails. Sheppard was wondering why, until he felt himself be yanked to the side, his wrist in a metal bracelet becoming magnetised to the handrail. It left him unable to move.

"You get used to that," Gerrett said, sitting on the floor, his hand raised awkwardly above him.

Sheppard mirrored him, dropping to his knees, surprised to note that he couldn't feel his aching side over the nervous thrum in his body. He looked to his hand which was shaking. Whatever they'd given him was a hell of a stimulant.

"How are you?" Sheppard asked.

"We're tired and hungry. Could use a shower and a private washroom," Gerrett smiled. "Do we have any good news coming our way?"

"Not yet." Sheppard advised. "But we'll get out of here."

"Yeah well, whatever's going to happen needs to happen soon because not all of us are getting out of here alive."

"Why'd you say that?"

Sheppard scanned the rest of the group, noting that a couple of his people were missing.

"What is all this?" he asked, gesturing to the men working away beyond their glass wall.

"From what I can tell it's some kind of research facility and we're the test subjects."

"Test subjects for what exactly?"

"Anything and everything. The doctors turn up from different worlds and in exchange for resources they're allowed carte Blanche on whoever has been unfortunate enough to be captured. Which brings me to how you ended up here."

"Long story," Sheppard said. "We need to get out of here."

"You're telling me. You're not looking too hot yourself. You injured?"

"I'm fine." Sheppard told him.

"Which is code for I'm in a bad way. We're not getting out of here without help."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

McKay shot Larrin another look laden with contempt as they made the trek towards her ship's location. Lorne's men had reported that the ship wasn't being monitored and they hadn't come across anyone on the planet's surface on patrol. He guessed they were well fortified enough within the confines of the complex that they didn't need to go outside all that often. It seemed that they had a number of ships as they'd seen a few pass overhead as they walked.

"If we can get the tracker working, how are we going to get through the shield?"

McKay jerked, surprised by Larrin's question. She had mostly been silent the entire walk.

"I haven't got that far yet. I'm still on the tracking Sheppard part."

Larrin fell into step next to him and he felt Ronon flank his other side. "They have to lower it for you to pass through. Maybe we could-"

"What has Sheppard done to you?" McKay said. He couldn't help it.

Larrin looked taken aback and it was the first time he'd seen emotion twist her features. "Nothing. I like Sheppard."

"You have a funny way of showing it."

"Look, Sheppard and I, we're not too different. We do what we have to to survive. He'll be pissed but he'll understand why I've done what I've done."

"Maybe if you had given him the courtesy of telling him the plan-"

Larrin's mouth twisted. "He would do the same."

"Would he?"

"Yes. If he had a chance to save everyone, not just his people, he would." She said. "I couldn't tell him. I know he would have agreed but…-"

"It had to be believable right? You had to crush him."

Larrin shook her head. "You ask him. When we get him back. You ask him what he would have done had the position been reversed."

"It wasn't reversed. He was in the same position. Mefes had our people too."

Ronon's hand clamped down onto his shoulder signalling enough. But they'd also reached the pathway to Larrin's ship.

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

Sheppard's heart was pounding in his chest. He felt like he'd drank ten cups of coffee. Every now and then he'd get little brain zaps, jerking him into a state of hyper awareness that was equally jarring. Sitting there with adrenaline coursing through his veins, every sound seemed heightened. He stood, stretching legs that needed to run, and felt a distant twinge in his side, a reminder that he was hurt and probably in some trouble.

He watched the movements of the people on the other side of the glass. There were beds set up along one wall, equipment from different worlds all beeping and churning out information. Along with amassing resources, they were accessing some advanced technology and that was never good for those who hadn't earned it.

A thin man with long greasy hair broke from a crowd and approached the door. He nodded for the guard to open it and entered cautiously, scanning along the line of men and women. He finally settled on a young man, not one of his soldiers, and without warning jabbed his arm with a syringe.

"What was that?" Sheppard asked. The man ignored him. "Hey!"

The kid was rubbing his arm and moving to stand. "What did you give me? At least tell me that!"

The greasy man took a step back and just stared reaching for a device from his pocket. He pressed some buttons and then held it out in front of him, focused on the screen.

Mefes was leaning against the open doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

"What was that?"

He didn't look at him when he spoke, "Whatever the doctor here wants to test."

"What the hell does that mean?"

Mefes met his eye line. "I provide a service. Human test subjects don't usually volunteer."

"And in return you get-"

"In return I get whatever I need."

The kid suddenly started to shake. His eyes rolled back and he collapsed, his shoulder dislocating as the metal band held his arm in place.

Sheppard pulled against his own restraints. "Hey!"

Nobody else was moving. Not his own men or the men behind the glass. How many times had they seen this?

"Somebody help him god dammit" he snapped, yanking his arm again and feeling the tiniest of give before being remagnetised .

There was foam coming out of the kids mouth and red angry blotches appearing all over his face. Greasy man pulled out another syringe and injected him again. He waited, feeling for a pulse, making his notes. Then he stood and left, clearly disappointed with the result.

Mefes moved aside to allow two guards to enter. They removed the kid.

As the door slid shut Gerrett looked up from his seated position. "Like I said, some of us aren't getting out of here alive."

Sheppard sagged to his knees, catching Mefes watching from across the glass, smiling.

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

"Dammit!" McKay pulled his hand back from the console he'd just leaned on and sucked his finger.

Every surface was still red hot and the air inside the ship was heavy with smoke and uncomfortably warm. He'd already stripped down to his T-shirt, but sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Here," Lorne said, handing him a pair of gloves.

McKay took them. They had a special coating that meant he could still use his tablet and offered some protection from the heat.

"How's it going?"

"Slowly," McKay admitted. He pulled his hands back from the open console and swore. "And this isn't helping."

"Just be thankful the place isn't still on fire."

Small mercies and all that.

"I've found the backup data bank for the ship's computer. It's just a case of praying it isn't fried to a crisp."

Larrin stalked into the cockpit. "Everything's destroyed. Everything." She elbowed past soldiers to get to McKay. The shuttle accommodated around six men plus the pilot and it was a cramped and disorganised mess. McKay didn't understand how she could be attached to it. It was junk.

"We don't have a fleet of ships at our disposal," she countered. "This ship was useful."

McKay shrugged and got back to work. He guessed they couldn't land their larger ship as easily and he had to admit that the puddle jumpers were useful for landing in tight spots, plus they didn't draw so much attention.

McKay finally connected to the databank. The smell of burning plastic was giving him a headache. But thankfully data started to roll across the screen.

"It works?"

"Hang on," he said.

Larrin crouched next to him. "Well?

"You're as bad as Shep-" he caught himself. "These systems tend to have some built in protection for overheating. Not set on fire to the ship overheating, but I can work with this."

"How long?"

"It's downloading. Once I have this I can set up a program on the jumpers."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

"Stop this!" One of the men shouted, as the man at his feet vomited foul black water.

The smell was overwhelming in the small space. Whatever he'd been given to swallow wasn't having the desired effect because the doctor overseeing him was wearing a look of disappointment.

The man next to him suddenly vomited the same tarry substance.

One of the guards came into the room brandishing some kind of device that looked like a fire extinguisher. He sprayed the air around them and a white powdery substance dropped onto their skin.

"What are you doing?" The doctor snapped.

"Get him out of here," the guard ordered as his friends came in to move the now still man on the floor. "Get a clean up crew in here."

"I wasn't finished."

"You were compromising the rest of the subjects. You know the rules. No infectious diseases unless cleared beforehand."

The doctor squared up to him.

"Doctor," Mefes was stood at the door, a mask positioned snuggly over his large overbite. "If you have special requirements then we can negotiate terms. But only self isolating diseases are allowed in this room."

Sheppard couldn't help it. He laughed at the absurdity of it all.

"You find something amusing colonel?"

Sheppard readjusted his position on the floor and sighed. "I just find hearing you try to uphold some kind of moral compass funny that's all."

Mefes stepped aside as the men were taken from the room. He looked over at Gerrett seated next to Sheppard.

"This one next," he said to the doctor. "You can take him to the isolation chambers and experiment to your hearts content."

Sheppard stood and felt his head spin and a stabbing pain in his side. "Don't do this."

"I've been watching you both. You're friends?"

"No," Sheppard responded quickly. "He's nothing to me. Just one of my soldiers. Take me instead."

"You're not here to be a test subject, you're here to-

"Watch. Yeah, I get that." He said. "But I bet you'd love to see me hurting, right?"

"No colonel. I think we'll take your friend here."

"You son of a bitch," he went to move but remembered the restraint.

"And doctor, get the colonel something to keep him awake. I think he needs a top up."

Sheppard was injected in the arm before he had time to move.

Sheppard yanked at his binding and felt the satisfying release as it became uncoupled for the bar momentarily. Then he was pulled back.

Gerrett wasn't speaking. He was allowing himself to be taken. He'd stepped over the threshold when he reached for the guards gun, one of theirs, and peppered the controls in front of him with bullets.

Everyone ducked in unison and Sheppard realised that he must have hit the console that controlled the magnetic field because his wrist was suddenly free.

He surged forward, but the door slid shut before he could reach it. Gerrett was relieved of the weapon and seconds later the glass door turned crimson as Mefes put a bullet in his head.

"Get the system working!" Mefes shouted.

Sheppard was against the door, steaming up the glass with every breath. He felt the others crowding him, now free from their bonds.

"I will kill you," he said.

"Not a nice feeling is it? Being helpless."

Sheppard fixed him with a glare.

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

McKay was happier to be back on the Jumper. Being on the Travelers heap of junk, just showed how beautifully refined and utilitarian the little ships were. Nothing superfluous, clean lined with emphasis on the clean. He could smell charred ship on his clothes as he entered the air conditioned pod.

One of the soldiers moved out of his way so that he could access the HUD and Lorne took a seat next to him. He knew better than to ask how long it would take to make the necessary adjustments, so he just watched McKay work.

"I've been thinking about the shield," he said, to nobody in particular. Lornes knee at his eye level twisted in his direction, indicating that he was listening. "If they have to drop the shield when anyone enters or leaves, it could account for why we haven't seen many men on the planet surface."

"Hows that?"

"We know the shield encompasses the complex, it's not on individual systems. They have to shut it down everytime someone wants to go outside, which is a good thing." He said to Lornes knee. "It means that if we can find their power source and knock it out, it will likely take the entire shield down."

"And how do we find that?"

"Get the other jumper to do a flyover and look for power readings off the chart. That'll be it," McKay said. "I can calibrate the sensors to find power just as soon as I have calibrated this one."

"Calibrate away," Lorne said, standing.

"Of course, we'll need them to drop their shield to take the power out."

Lorne's knee was replaced by Ronon's leather knee. "You think this is gonna work?"

"Yes."

"Is the shield going to block us finding Sheppard."

"No. It'll just stop us getting to him." He tapped away. "It's going to take a while for this program to upload. I'll go calibrate the other jumper."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

Sheppard blinked dizzily and leaned his shoulder into the wall. He was sweating profusely and he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. On the plus side, he didn't have any pain.

"How are we going to get out of here Sir?"

One of his men looked up from where he was seated, scratching the inside of his arm raw where he'd been injected with something at somepoint. Whatever it had been hadn't done a lot, no violent reaction, it was just a waiting game. Mostly, it just seemed to itch like hell.

Sheppard virtually fell into a crouch, grabbing for the handrail for support. He didn't know what Mefes could hear and he didn't want to give anything away about potential rescues, but he also didn't want to take away the soldiers hope.

"Just hang in there."

"I'm trying."

"Atlantis will send reinforcements. They'll find us."

"They took our transmitters out. I don't know how easy that's going to be."

Sheppard nodded. He was right. Up until a few hours ago, or however long it had been, he'd assumed they were dead. If Atlantis sent a search party through, they'd think the same of him.

"They've suspended their trials until they get us locked down. It buys us some time."

"I've already had a lot of time, sir. It's getting a little old."

"Mefes is in here with a handful of armed guards. Everyone else is here to do research. If we get the opportunity, we could take them."

"So we sit tight."

"We sit tight."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

As McKay walked from one Jumper to the next, a ship passed overhead. He increased his pace. As he took the ramp to the primary Jumper, the other one started to fire up their drive pods, signalling their intent to make a move.

Lorne started to close the hatch. "We all set?"

"Yes. They're able to detect excessive power output now." He dropped onto the back bench.

Lorne spoke into his radio, instructing the other Jumper to start its flyover.

"Did you see that other ship?" McKay asked. "It didn't look like the others."

"It wasn't," Larrin said, coming to sit opposite. "It looked like one of the Marcesh's scout ships. What they'd be doing here so far from their world is a mystery."

"Peaceful people or something we should be concerned about?" Lorne asked.

"I've never had any issues with them."

"Which means they're probably horrible people," McKay noted as he hooked his tablet into the control system. At everyone's look, he shrugged. "Oh I'm sorry. Was that rude?"

Lorne turned back to the HUD and started to ascend. "Let's see where they're heading. Cloaking the ship now."

The Jumper was cramped. There were far too many people onboard and McKays elbow clipped one of the soldiers in the ear as he moved about the cabin. He arrived at the copilot seat where Ronon was lounging and he wasn't about to move.

Lorne was following the other ship at a distance. At the same time the tracker program was scanning the landscape below. The HUD hadn't indicated success yet.

Lorne bought up communications on the speaker. "Sgt. Any big readouts yet?"

"No sir. We're mapping the eastern sector right now. No hits yet."

Lorne grimaced. "Keep me updated."

They followed the ship at a distance for some time.

McKay kept watch of the readouts. Life signs appeared and went. Larrin had been right about the complex being extensive. It stretched on for miles in either direction. He had to appreciate the feat of engineering. It must have taken years to complete.

The ship ahead suddenly stopped, holding its position in the air.

"Do they know we're here?" Ronon asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"No," Lorne said. "At least I don't think so."

"Then what are they doing?"

"Beats me. Looks like they're waiting for something."

The HUD suddenly started to flash and a red dot appeared on the map.

"Oh my god!" McKay said. "It's working!"

Larrin appeared over his shoulder and he didn't even care that she was pressed up close. "Is that Sheppard?"

"Yes. It is!" He said. "It worked. I can't believe it worked."

"That was fast."

"Yes Ronon, let's all complain about the speed at which we've located our teammate."

Ronon glared at him.

"What else can you see?" Lorne asked, focused purely on the sky beyond the HUD.

"A dot, surrounded by other dots."

"How many roughly?" Lorne asked. "We need to know what we're dealing with. Some kind of layout would be good too."

"Yes, Yes…. I'm working on it."

"We've got movement up ahead," Lorne said.

The ship they'd been tailing was beginning to lower. Lorne matched their altitude. The features below were nothing remarkable and had they not known that there was a hidden complex, they wouldn't have given it a second glance. The land was sparse with a few stands of pine trees.

"I don't see-"

The ground started to split open. Two concealed doors created an opening just big enough for the awaiting ship.

There was a blue shimmer in the air as the shield lowered.

"Thats our way in!" McKay said.

"Follow them," Ronon ordered.

"We can't," Lorne said. "We need to get the shield down first."

"It is down," Ronon said.

"Yes, but we still need to get out. With the shield fully operational we could get stuck."

"So," Ronon said.

Lorne seemed to be considering it. As the Jumper started forward, McKay placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I hate to say it, but we need to wait."

Lorne nodded and killed the forward thrusters. The ship ahead disappeared into the awaiting bay, the shield shimmered back on and the doors closed.

Ronon struck the forward console with his fist.

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

Sheppard watched Mefes as he crossed the room. He intercepted a man, flanked by two others and shook his hand. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but the other man dressed in a cream uniform kept glancing over at them.

"New blood," someone uttered.

"Anyone know who these guys are?" Sheppard asked.

There was no answer. He took their joint dissonance as a negative.

Mefes was approaching the door, his new friends in tow. He clicked a button and his voice rang out over an intercom system.

"We're still working on getting the restraint system back online. My men are armed and we have routed a gas to siphon into your holding cell to subdue you, should you decide to be uncooperative. I'm told the after effects of the gas are very unpleasant."

The Man in Cream leaned into Mefes. "What issue?"

"It's taken care of," Mefes said, looking straight at Sheppard. "Eliminated."

The Man In Cream seemed satisfied.

"I'm going to open this door and we're going to enter. There will be no second chances." He stopped before letting go of the intercom. "And we are immune to the effects of the gas. In case you were thinking of trying something."

The door opened and Mefes entered. The Man in Cream followed. He was stooped slightly and was older than Sheppard had initially thought. He glanced down the line of men and women, heading to the far end.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you. I simply want you to place your hand on this device-" he pulled out what looked like a large shiny pebble from his pocket. "And that is all."

He started down the line, presenting the pebble to each person in turn. Someone would touch it, nothing would happen and he would move on. When he reached Sheppard, Mefes stopped him.

"He's not part of the trial."

The Man in Cream scowled. "You said I had access to everyone in this room. He's in the room is he not."

"Everyone except for him."

"I'm really flattered but you can stop fighting over me," Sheppard said.

The Man in Cream smiled. "The terms of our agreement were very clear."

"And I'm making them clearer. I said-"

Before Sheppard could react, the Man in Cream gripped his hand and placed it on the pebble. The reaction was instantaneous, lighting up on contact.

Sheppard pulled his hand back as if he'd just been burned.

Mefes was stood there wide eyed as the Man in Cream pointed at Sheppard.

"I want him."

"He's not for sale," Mefes said, stepping in front of him.

"He has the necessary gene for my experiments. The others are of no use to me." His guards were raising their weapons. Mefes guards did the same.

"He's not for sale."

The Man in Cream's expression soured. His eyes narrowed. He straightened to his full height. "If you don't relinquish this specimen-"

"Hey," Sheppard grumbled.

"-to me then I will spread the word that you cannot be trusted. I know a lot of people. Your operation will be over. No world will trade with you."

Mefes crossed his arms over his chest. "You can only spread the word, if you get out of here alive."

The Man in Cream took a step back.

"What does that thing do? Why's he valuable to you?" He jabbed Sheppard in the side.

It was his first realisation that the stimulant was wearing off because a sharp pain set his teeth on edge and he couldn't help but double over.

"He's damaged."

"He has a gene that allows him to operate the ancient technology. Not many have it. I have searched for years. If I walk away now then I may never get another chance."

Sheppard looked up from where he was doubled up, breathing in short sharp pants.

"Let's talk about it further. You can explain and we can discuss… terms. But you have to know, I'm very attached to him." Mefes glanced over his shoulder.

The Man in Cream regarded him with concern. "He does seem injured. We'll have to factor that in."

"I'll get him something to make him more comfortable," Mefes said ushering them out of the cell.

Sheppard looked up as the doctor advanced with a syringe.

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

"Major Lorne, you there?"

Lorne scrambled to remove his feet from the front console and tapped the communications tile. "We're here."

"We've located an area that has a significant power output. Sending over details now."

Lorne bought the information up on the HUD. He pretended to study the data for a beat, but he had no idea what he was looking at.

"Doctor McKay?"

McKay emerged from the swell of bodies in the rear compartment and this time Ronon vacated the copilot seat so that he could work.

McKay alternated looking at his tablet and the screen. His mouth was set in a thin line; he'd seen that enough times to know it was his deep in concentration don't ask any questions face. He waited and then the line split, and he smiled.

"Thats it. That's their power source." He pointed at the screen. "These terminals branch out and-" At Lorne's expression, he stopped. "Targeted hits, here and here will take them offline."

"Offline?" Ronon asked.

"Yes. Most likely everything unless they have back up generators for lighting and life support."

"Life support?" That was Larrin.

"They're underground. Unless they have air vents in place they'll have a supplementary life support system to circulate the air. It shouldn't effect us."

"Shouldn't?" Lorne echoed. "I don't know about you, but having air is not optional."

"We'll be in and out. Even if we weren't, we'd have hours before things get desperate."

"How do we know they don't have back ups for the shield?"

"Because the power needed to sustain that shield would far outstrip anything a generator could produce. Plus that's why I'm suggesting we target these two areas."

"Okay," Lorne said. "Good work Sgt . Hold your position."

"Yes sir."

Lorne closed communications. "Now we just have the issue of waiting for the shield to drop to take our shot."

"And when it does, the other Jumper won't have a lot of time to take it out." McKay said.

"And we can't know when they'll drop the shield." Lorne agreed.

"Can't we just wait for another ship?" Ronon said.

"We could. That would give us the most time to strike the power source, but there's no way of knowing when or if somebody is going to arrive. That could be hours. Or days."

"Send me in."

Lorne met Larrin's suggestion was surprise. "What?"

"Take me down. I'll go in. When they lower the shield, you make your move."

"That's if they let you in and if they drop the shield long enough to give us time and we'd have no way of finding you if you made it into the facility."

"I can take care of myself. The shield would be down. I'd get out."

"Or you'd get lost or captured and then we'd have to rescue you."

"You would do that?"

"No," McKay said. "I wouldn't. But, you know Sheppard."

"You think he would. Even after-"

"Even after. He's annoyingly loyal like that."

Larrin nodded.

"We'll give it an hour. If an opportunity doesn't present itself in that time, we'll consider your plan."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

Sheppard leaned his arms against the railing and lowered his forehead against the cool metal. His arms were trembling and light spots danced in his vision.

His stomach flipped and leaned over just in time to avoid getting vomit all over his arms. It did however splash onto his boots.

Somebody touched his shoulder.

"Sorry," he said, to whoever it was.

"It's okay." He recognised the voice. It was one of his men. Right now he couldn't remember his name. Matthew. Markus. Manny.

"Marlow," the voice said, guiding him away from his mess and over to the wall.

He dropped onto the ground and rested his head against his knees. He thought he was feeling better, but no, another spasm in his stomach had him breathing deeply. The last thing he wanted was to throw up again.

"What have they given you?" Marlow asked.

Sheppard glanced over. Marlow was one of the marines. He'd only recently joined. "A stimulant."

"Yeah well they've given you too much."

Sheppard huffed out a laugh. "You think?"

Marlow disappeared and he could hear him talking to someone. It sounded like he was asking for a doctor. Chance would be a fine thing, Sheppard thought as he bobbed his knees up and down. God he hated feeling like this. He'd had a panic attack before but this felt like one on steroids or crack or speed. His heart was clamouring to get out of his chest, he was sweating profusely and the worst part was that the numbing effect of that last injections weren't materialising this time….. every beat of his heart sent a stab of pain through his ribs and stomach.

He needed to get out of there. He managed to stand and propel himself forward to the door where Marlow was asking for help. He planted his palms against the door for balance. And then he started punching it. He was distantly aware of Marlow trying to restrain him, but he kept striking the glass. Eventually it was slippery with his blood, knuckles shredded.

Mefes appeared on the other side of the glass.

"Doctor?" And the doctor that administered the stimulant previously, joined him. "You've given him too much. Or not enough."

"We've never used the stimulant in consecutive doses. We don't know-"

"You don't know?"

"Wraith enzyme isn't an exact science. We know that it has a stimulan-"

Sheppard zoned out on hearing that last part. Wraith enzyme.

The door opened and Mefes reached for his arm. He dragged him across the room and over to one of the beds.

"Fix him," he ordered the doctor.

He put something around his wrist and locked him to the bed.

"I've just sold him. He needs to be in good condition."

Sheppard blinked dizzily and licked his lips. They were salty with sweat. "Thought you wanted me here. To suffer."

"I do. But turns out what they want to do to you is far worse. And they gave me an offer I couldn't refuse."

The doctor said, "I'll need to do a scan. Check for internal injuries. And I can give him a higher dose of the stimulant. I've been giving him the same dose but it may need to be increased to counter these side effects."

"I don't care what you do," Mefes said. "Just have him upright and looking well enough for them to think he's fine. I don't care if he drops dead when they leave the facility."

"Yes sir."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

Ronon was pacing, which was difficult given how many people were in the small space. Lorne was on edge too, nervously cracking his knuckles as they maintained altitude over the ships cargo bay.

"There are twelve people in a cluster here," McKay said, jabbing the screen. "Then four or five here. But this number fluctuates as people come and go. I can map out to the adjoining halls and they don't seem heavily populated."

Lorne studied the readout. "You think the cluster are our people?"

"I can't see why so many lifesigns would be bunched together like that otherwise."

"So, if we can get in we shouldn't see much resistance?"

"I can't say for sure."

Lorne nodded. "It's good enough. Thanks McKay."

McKay flustered, mumbled 'thank you'. It wasn't often he was thanked and it took him by surprise.

"How much longer can we wait?" Ronon asked, looming over McKay's seat. "This is taking too long."

Lorne checked his watch. Then consulted the HUD. "We'll give it another thirty minutes. After that, Larrin's up."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

The doctor removed the scanning machine and the edges of his eyes creased as he reviewed the results. From the twist in his mouth and his equally grim expression, Sheppard got the feeling that the results weren't great.

Not that he cared.

The doctor had given him another injection and this time his whole body was comfortably numb. Rainbow colours swirled at the edges of his vision. He was high. He knew he was.

"You've got some internal bleeding. Looks like your rib has punctured an organ. It's not a fast bleed. I can give you something to slow it, but I can't stop it. Not without an operation." He looked over to where Mefes was talking to the Man in Cream. "And I doubt I'd be allowed the time anyway."

That didn't sound good. What was behind his rib? His heart? No, he'd be dead already. Lung? He could breathe okay. Spleen? Was that one of the ones that was behind the rib?

He let his head roll to the side as the doctor injected something into his arm. He barely felt it. Then he followed it up with a second injection. His heart immediately started racing and the pretty rainbow lights coalesced and the room came into stark focus. He went to sit but the doctor reached for his chest to push him back down.

"The bleeding will slow. I've given you more of the stimulant. It'll take a second to settle in your system, but you should be feeling a little better."

Sheppard lay back and stared at the shimmering blue ceiling. He no longer felt relaxed. He felt on edge. His whole body had a case of restless leg syndrome.

The Man in Cream walked over with Mefes. He examined Sheppard closely. "Is he better?"

"Much better." the doctor said, his voice assured as he carried out the lie. "He was simply dehydrated before. We've given him some fluids and he'll be ready for transport soon."

The Man in Cream didn't look overly convinced, but then he was desperate for somebody with the ancient gene and this was what was available. "I'll get my people to bring down our payment now. We'd initially agreed three, but I think given this man's condition, we'll settle on two."

"Two is better than one," Mefes said. "You drive a hard bargain."

The Man in Cream nodded. "They'll be here shortly. I want this man ready to go by the time they get here."

"Sheppard."

"I'm sorry?"

"My name is John Sheppard."

The Man in Cream smiled. "John Sheppard." Then he leaned in close. "You are nothing but a commodity."

"What world are you from?"

He laughed in response. "Why does that matter?"

"I just want to know so that I can level it when I get out of here."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

"There's another ship," Lorne said. "ETA is two minutes." He tapped the communications tile. "Sgt. We have an incoming ship. Get ready to knock out those shields when I give the word."

"Yes sir."

He glanced over his shoulder. "Everyone else, be prepared to disembark. Once the shields are down, I'm going to strike the cargo doors with a single drone. I don't know what we're going to find in there, but do whatever you need to to get our people out."

"And mine," Larrin said. She unholstered her weapon.

"Nice," Ronon said, holding his blaster up.

"McKay, stay with the ship."

"Ordinarily I wouldn't argue, but you may still need me, especially if they've got our people-"

"And mine!"

"And Larrin's in lock up."

Lorne nodded his agreement. The ship appeared from over their heads, narrowly missing the front section of the puddlejumper. As it started to lower, the blue shimmer indicated the shields were down.

"Now!" Lorne ordered as the ship dropped out of view.

There was an explosion to the east and the ground below them shook. The trees shed their leaves and a crack appeared near the cargo bay entrance.

"It's down," McKay said. "Why aren't you going?"

"They've just been attacked. They're going to have people rushing towards the explosion. We can use that to our advantage as people flush out of the area. And we need to be sure that they don't have a back up system."

"They don't."

"I'm sorry McKay, but we need to wait. I want to be sure that we can leave before we get ourselves trapped in there."

SGASGASGASGASGASGA

The facility shook and with it a cloud of dust fell from the ceiling.

"What just happened?" Mefes shouted into a radio. "Who? Get it fixed it now." he turned to the Man in Cream. "A small issue. We're dealing with it."

"My ship has landed. They're bringing the payment through now."

Sheppards heart dropped as Man in Cream's men rounded the corner. Between them were two wraith.

"Where would you like us to put them?"

"We have a holding cell for them," Mefes said, gesturing towards the back. "They can go in there."

"Very well." Man in Cream nodded.

"We'll get Shep-" His words were cut off as the facility shook again.

Whatever had happened, had happened close.

Mefes was on his radio again as his people suddenly swarmed from the connected rooms.

Behind them, the familiar sight of Atlantian uniforms and the reassuring cadence of automatic fire. The lab technicians and Mefes men were scattering. The Man in Cream produced his own weapon and started firing, hitting one of Mefe's doctors in the process.

"We need to get out of here," Mefes shouted at his men, his attention away from the fight in front of him, but upwards.

Sheppard couldn't tell what had him so concerned. He glanced at the ceiling as he bolted from the room.

Out of the chaos, he saw McKay. He was ducking as he ran over to the containment unit and he was relieved to see him prioritse getting their people free over searching him out.

Another figure emerged from the fray and made a beeline for him. Sheppard edged off the bed and went to lash out, forgetting that this wrist was handcuffed to the bars behind. His hand stalled mid-air.

"Larrin!" he hissed.

"I'm here to save you," she said.

Sheppard looked over her shoulder for confirmation from anywhere that this was the case. She pushed him to the side and shot the handcuff links to free him. He reeled on her, grabbing her by the arm, but now that he had her he wasn't sure what to do and this wasn't the time for it anyway.

"The words you're looking for are thank you."

He let go. Took a step forward and felt his balance go. He shook off her hand and headed over to McKay where he was in the process of ushering their people free. Ronon clapped him on the shoulder as he passed.

"You good?"

"Yeah," Sheppard said. "I think so. Hey, aren't you supposed to be in surgery?"

"Already done." He said guiding their people away from the cell.

"Way to be alive, Sir," Lorne said, handing him a P90 and a handgun.

"Good to see you," Sheppard said. "I thought you'd forgotten about us."

"There's a cargo bay next door, we've got a Jumper waiting."

"Get these people out of here first," Sheppard instructed.

A piece of the ceiling suddenly struck the ground next to them. Then another.

"What the hell's going on?" Sheppard asked.

McKay checked his tablet. Not finding what he was looking for there, he headed over to one of the nearby consoles, pushing a lab tech with his hands in the air out of the way. His shoulders tensed.

"I know that stance," Sheppard said.

"McKay?"

"Oh crap."

"Let's skip the dramatics. What's going on?" sheppard snapped.

"The shield wasn't protecting them from attackers." He turned. "I mean, it had the added bonus of doing that but-"

Another chunk of concrete and dirt smashed down behind them, striking the containment cells. They didn't buckle, but the consequent dust and grit had them coughing and visibility was reduced.

"McKay!" Sheppard warned.

"The shield was keeping the ceiling from falling down."

"What?"

"Over time the earth above has formed a protective seal, which means they can temporarily lower the shield to let people in and out. But we've just blown a massive hole in it. Cracks are forming along the length of the structure."

"Can you get the shield back up?"

"No. We need to get out of here, now!" Mckay said, rushing forward.

Lorne mobilised his men. "Everyone out now. Back to the ship."

Sheppard went to follow, but a wave of dizziness sent him to his knees. His heart was hammering in his chest again and McKay and Larrin held back to help him up.

The delay was just long enough.

As they headed towards the cargo bay, they watched as the ceiling tumbled down in a rain of rocks and mud, blocking their way out.

As more of the ceiling started to collapse they edged back.

"Lorne, we've just lost our way out," McKay said into his radio.

Sheppard couldn't hear what Lorne was saying. He snatched the radio from McKay's vest and depressed the talk button. "Get out of here. We'll find another way out."

McKay snatched it back. "Negative. Get us out now!"

Sheppard took it back and walked away. He could hear Ronon in the background shouting. "Get our people to safety and then come back for us. We'll try to find a way out in the meantime."

"Are you sure? We could blast-"

"No blasting," Sheppard said. "This whole place is a house of cards. Just get everyone else out."

"Affirmative. We'll be as quick as we can."

Sheppard pointed to another corridor with his P90. "This way." He ignored McKay's scowl.

Without waiting, he started moving off, aware that they were straggling, but right now he needed to keep moving. If he stopped, he felt as if his heart was going to jump out of his chest. When he was moving, expending energy, it wasn't as pronounced.

The halls were mostly empty. There were a few people running back and forth and it was the least of their concerns that prisoners had escaped. One soldier even stopped to point out a potential route out of the facility, before charging off ahead. They followed, as cracks in the ceiling followed them.

They reached an intersection, but one path was blocked already. The route up ahead echoed with the sounds of screaming.

Sheppard stopped. "Dammit," he said. "We're just going to get ourselves lost. How do we know we're even moving towards an exit."

"That guy-" McKay started.

"That guy?" Sheppard said, aiming his P90 at the same soldier on the floor. There was a sizeable knot on the side of his head a piece of rock next to him. He must have been hit moments after seeing them.

Sheppard gestured them to move back as a fine dust fell from the ceiling.

"We need a map," Larrin said. "Maybe one of these side rooms have a system we can hack."

"We just passed a room," McKay said, leading them in the direction.

Behind a large metal door, was a room with chairs and tables. It looked like some kind of interrogation space. On the far wall there was a low tech computer that McKay was quick to get to.

"Anything," Sheppard said. "That looks like something." He pointed at the screen.

McKay whipped his head round. "Why is your hand shaking like that?"

Sheppard pulled his hand back and shoved it into his pocket. "It's not."

"It is." he moved closer. "Your pupils are incredibly dilated."

Sheppard attempted to avert his gaze.

"Oh my god, are you high?"

Larrin walked over to him. She reached for his chin and pulled his face towards her. "He's on something. What did they give you?"

"He shouldn't be in charge. He just sent Lorne and the others away."

"Sheppard. What have they given you?"

Sheppard stepped back and out of their scrutiny. "Something to keep me awake. I'm fine." There was a rumble down the hallway and a scream hailed another collapse. "Find us a way out."

"I'm working on it," McKay said, clearly concerned as he turned back to the screen.

Sheppard paced the room.

"I'm just a little wired," he countered. "I'm thinking painfully clear."

Larrin glanced at McKay.

"How did you find me any way? They removed my Sub Cu."

McKay chuffed out a laugh as he worked.

"You had another one."

Sheppard looked from one to the other. "What do you mean I have another one? How do I have another tracking device that I'm not aware of."

Larrin smiled. "I gave it to you."

"What? When?"

"When you, we…. were busy."

"Busy doing-" and then he got it. Thank god he was already flushed. "Are you kidding me?"

"I needed somebody on the inside."

He glared at her.

"Can you at least tell McKay that you would have done the same thing if the situation had been reversed?"

"This isn't the time," he snapped. "McKay, you got us a map?"

"We're too central to get close to a way out. The cargo bay was our best route out."

"Which is currently blocked." Larrin said.

"We could maybe take this branch, but it's a long way and the landscape above……. It's a lake so-"

"Odds are people are drowning right now." Sheppard moved to the door. "We need to head the way we came. Back to the lab."

"But it's blocked." McKay said, echoing Larrin's previous statement.

"Maybe we can dig out."

McKay hated going back on himself. It seemed illogical to tread a path that wasn't going to result in success. But, at least they were doing something.

Sheppard was amped up on something and Larrin had descended into an eerie quiet and on top of that, there was the fact that they'd admitted to having relations, awkwardly hanging in the air. On the whole, having the ceiling collapsing around them was a good distraction.

He turned the corner and the lights started to falter. "Looks like their back up generator is about to quit," he said, removing his flashlight from his vest in readiness.

Sheppard did the same. Larrin pressed something on her own particle blaster that had it emitting a brighter red hue.

"That's really-" whatever he was going to say was bodily forced out of him.

His head was connecting with opposite wall and he was slumping to the floor in a cloud of dust.

At first he thought it was an errant chunk of rock, but Sheppard and Larrin were firing their weapons.

"Are you okay?" Sheppard asked, kneeling next to him and barely wiating for a reply for taking off down the hall.

Larrin called after him, telling him to stop, but he'd disappeared from earshot.

"What was that?" Mckay asked, touching his forehead. His fingers came away bloody.

"It was a wraith," Larrin said, helping him to sit up. "Do you think you can stand?"

"A wraith?"

Sheppard jogged back towards them. "Managed to clip him with a bullet, but I couldn't catch up to him." He was panting hard for someone that could run a three miler in his sleep.

"What is a wraith doing here?"

"Two," Sheppard corrected as he helped McKay to his feet.

"Are there any more surprises?"

"Probably." Sheppard said. "Just don't touch anything and you'll be fine." He didn't elaborate and that just made it worse.

SGASGASGASGA

They arrived back at the lab. Amazingly the containment unit was still standing, but everywhere else was covered in debris. McKay remembered at one point there being a lot more space to move around. The beds where they'd rescued Sheppard were now covered under tonnes of earth.

"I guess that answers the question of whether we can get out of here," Larrin said. "It's even more blocked than it was before."

"It's the best access point to the facility. We can wait it out here and they'll be able to get through to us." Sheppard said.

"Or, we wait here and get crushed."

"At least they can locate me," Sheppard said, narrowing his eyes.

Larrin growled in frustration. "I had to give you another one so I could find you. They knew where to look for the other one."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Should I thank you for violating my body without my permission."

Larrin laughed. "Men do it to women all the time."

Sheppard turned away from her, but there wasn't much space to walk away too. "You know," and he pointed an accusing finger at her. "I trusted you. No one else did-"

McKay tried to shrink down when they both looked his way. He couldn't tell what was more awkward; witnessing this argument or getting crushed alive when he had the option to stay safe on the Jumper.

"But I gave you the benefit of the doubt. And you still screwed me over."

"John," she said. It was the first time that McKay had ever heard Larrin use his first name. It looked like it was the first time she'd said to Sheppard too.

He shook his head, angry and possibly hurt, but Sheppard generally didn't admit to that kind of thing.

"Colonel Sheppard."

At the voice, Sheppard sighed, aiming his weapon before he even saw who it was. It was a huge guy with a scar on his eye and one white eyeball. The guy seemed vaguely familiar to McKay.

With him, attached to a chain was a wraith. He was holding out a weapon and had it aimed at Sheppard's centre mass.

"Mefes," Sheppard said. He slowly walked to stand between them.

Ah, that Mefes.

"I'm assuming it was your people that destroyed my lifes work." He noticed Larrin and offered her a wan smile. "And I see the traitor is with you."

Sheppard's arm was shaking. He noticed and held his P90 closer to his body. "What do you want?"

"I want you dead," Mefes said. "But I'd settle for safe passage out of here with my new friend."

"If you think I'm going to let you out of here alive, you're deluded."

Larrin stepped forward. "What do you want with the wraith?"

"People would pay good money to test on him. Think of it as a service. For the greater good."

Sheppard fired three rounds into the Wraith's head. It dropped down by Mefes feet.

Mefes cried out and surged forward, firing at random and unfortunately in the direction of McKay and it was Larrin that pushed him out of the way. Sheppard, distracted by him, didn't get a shot off in time and Mefes slammed him into the floor.

Larrin was straight up.

"Shoot him," McKay told her.

"I can't get off a shot without hitting Sheppard."

"No!" McKay snapped when she switched the weapon to stun. "We need Sheppard awake, please!"

McKay backed up, retrieving his handgun and he watched from the sidelines as Sheppard took a punch to the side of his face.

The floor was vibrating again and McKay watched as a crack formed above them. Dust dripped out like water and small pebbles broke free.

Sheppard had wrapped his legs around Mefes midsection and was twisting him out of his way. He stood, then rammed his shoulder into Mefes stomach, narrowly missing a dump of earth as it pelted down.

"We need to get to shelter!"" McKay warned.

Sheppard, distracted, caught a direct hit to his stomach. He doubled over and just as Mefes was about to punch downwards into the back of his head, Larrin kicked Mefes legs and took him down to the floor.

McKay watched their improvised dance; each taking it in turns to deliver punishing blows to Mefes that had his face a bloody mess.

Sheppard reached for his handgun. Mefes squeezed his hand around his wrist, direct to a pressure point, and the weapon dropped ineffectually to the floor. As Mefes gripped him by the fabric of his T-shirt, Sheppard managed to kick his gun towards McKay. From his annoyed expression, it wasn't what he'd intended.

Sheppard bashed closed fists down onto Mefes forearms, using Mefes knees as leverage to propel himself backwards out of his grip.

Mefes turned, running for his gun and it was Larrin's turn. She jumped onto his back, his throat in a stronghold as she tried to squeeze the life from him. Mefes was on the floor, gasping as Larrin continued to apply pressure.

Sheppard had managed to stand. Surprisingly, he stood off to the side, holding his side and his firearm now that they obviously had the upper hand.

A shard of rock fell in the centre of them, carving a hole into the floor.

"Okay," Sheppard said. "Time to finish this."

He fired a round into Mefes knee and then walked over to Larrin and manhandled her up. She fought against him, kicking out at Mefes as he rolled around the floor in agony.

"In there." He ordered McKay, pushing Larrin into the containment cell.

He turned at the last second, his weapon aimed at Mefes, but Mefes had retrieved his gun and he fired. Sheppard closed the door to the containment cell just in time to see the bullets richochet.

Mefes reached the door. "I have the code," he said, stabbing at the panel. "Now you're trapped."

Sheppard leaned against the glass. "No, you are."

He stepped back and pointedly looked up.

"I'm going to-"

A boulder fell from above. One minute Mefes was there. The next he was gone.

Sheppard turned to face them. He looked as shocked as McKay felt. "That was well-timed."

"I'm never going to stop hearing that squelch sound," Larrin said.

"Oh," McKay said. "That was horrible."

Sheppard suddenly pitched forward and McKay caught him just in time.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm about to have the worst comedown," Sheppard admitted. "Wraith Enzyme."

"What?"

"That's what they were giving me," he said, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes. He waved McKay's hand away. "We'll be safe in here. The glass is reinforced."

"But you're not going to be fine. Let me tell you withdrawal is no fun."

"I know. I watched you go through it." He held his side. "That's not even the worst of it."

SGASGASGASGA

They'd been in the containment cell for hours. They'd watched as ceiling had continued to crumble and now, all that remained was the space they had inhabited. The air was growing thick, which signalled their diminishing air supply but Sheppard was confident that Lorne would have them out before that happened.

They were up there, digging away. The collapse was no longer the issue; the impenetrable box was. Especially as the controls were covered.

McKay shifted beside him. His eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly. Sheppard didn't blame him. There wasn't exactly much else to do.

He'd passed the time by alternating between hot and cold and seeing just how saturated in sweat he could get his uniform. He wrapped his arms around his midsection and curled up against the wall.

He noticed Larrin watching him.

"The question you asked me before," he said, trying to get more comfortable.

"You'd have done the same?"

"No. I wouldn't."

Larrin drew closer to him, put her hand on his knee. "I don't believe it. If you had the chance-"

"If I had the chance I'd put myself in that position over and over again. But I wouldn't have asked you to do the same." He held his side. "You've got to be honest some time Larrin. If you'd asked me…."

She moved to sit next to him. Her back against the glass; he thought he could feel her heart thumping.

"Do you know why we came here?"

"You heard we'd been attacked," Sheppard said. "You were worried about me."

She smiled. "Hardly." Then her tone softened. "We came looking for this place. We'd heard they'd had some success with reversing sterilisation."

Sheppard swallowed thickly. He let that sink in.

"You wanted a…. baby?"

"No. Yes. Maybe. I'd at least like the choice."

"Let me guess. You had nothing to bargain?"

"We never got round to asking. Mefes captured us and then my priorities changed."

He nodded and patted her hand. His way of saying thank you for telling me without saying it. Her tiny nod acknowledgment.

Another spasm in his stomach had him feeling nauseous. He needed to lie down. She moved aside, balling her jacket up under his head as he lay curled up on his side.

For a while, they listened to the sounds of machinery overhead. Muted voices indicated they were nearly there.

She whispered next to his ear. "I do care about you Sheppard."

"I know." He said.

"I just don't know how-"

He patted the hand on his shoulder. Gave it a single squeeze. "That's where we're the same."

SGASGASGASGA

Larrin entered the infirmary on Atlantis, leaving her escorts at the door. She peered around the privacy curtain where Sheppard was sitting up, looking much better. She peered around the corner, realising that McKay was in the chair next to his bed.

She stopped and waited for them to finish their conversation.

"And that's Sheppard bingo," McKay was saying. She had no idea what a bingo was or why Sheppard would be one.

Sheppard looked equally confused. "What?"

A doctor approached from the side and was fiddling with an injection port in the colonel's hand.

"Do you know what's he's talking about?"

The doctor touched his shoulder briefly and nodded. "Yes. I do."

"Rodney."

"Oh it's just something I do whenever you're injured. I have a four by four grid and in every box it's just "I'm fine" over and over again. Now I have a full house."

"Because I said-" Sheppard leaned over to grab the tablet out of McKays hand. His chair edged back with a squeak. McKay laughed and turned to see her; his smile dropping in an instant.

He hadn't forgiven her. She doubted anyone here would trust her again. She got it.

McKay vacated his seat. "I'll see you later."

"Oh Rodney don't get bent out of shape," Sheppard said, noticing her. "Hey," he said.

Larrin crossed the floor, aware that her escorts had followed her. Sheppard waved a hand and they fell back. She sat on the edge of the bed.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine," he said, closing his eyes and cursing. "I mean….. there's no other way to put it. It was a rough night but luckily this stuff worked it out of my system pretty quickly."

"No lingering effects?"

"Just tired." He picked at the covers. "They also fixed my spleen."

"Spleen?"

"I don't know what it is either," he admitted. "Apparently it's important though."

He fidgeted.

"And also while I was out they removed your tracker."

She smiled. "From your-"

"From my-" he said, flushing a little. "Gonna be a little sore when I sit down for a few days." He made the point of shifting on his bed.

"I am sorry. For everything. Next time, I'll tell you before I double cross you."

Sheppard edged down the bed to get more comfortable. "That's all I'm asking. A little heads up."

"I just wanted to check you were still alive before I left."

"You're going?"

"I think it's for the best. For now anyway. There will need to be some repairing of relationships which I acknowledge are wholly my fault."

"Thank you for saying that," he said.

She scooted off the bed and started towards the exit. Sheppard called her name.

"That whole…. thing……" he cleared his throat and looked away, "-with us...that was part of the plan. Right?"

"It was part of the plan." She said. To his little nod, she smiled. "It didn't mean that the plan didn't mean anything though."

There was his little nod again. "Okay." He met her eyes. Grinned. "Just thought I'd check."

"Goodbye Sheppard."

"See you around Larrin."

SGASGASGASGA