Hello, Stargate Lovers!

Happy Friday!

The long awaited chapter! Hope you guys love it and Happy Hollidays for everyone.

Gonna give it a few days before posting another one, so people can enjoy this one.

Chapter 30: Original Chapter 0.9

"And then she just sets off, leaving me there... I couldn't stop her." John ended, looking up at Ronon who had been listening to him for the past hour as they waited for Alexandra and Rodney to arrive on the planet after a few setbacks.

"It seems you need to set things right, Sheppard." Ronon said as the gate activated and he stood up. "Talk to her. See if what you feel is the same as hers. She's your friend. But if she's just one more, does it even matter mention it? You need to be sure of what you feel."

"Feel what?"

Both turned to a curious Alexandra placing her own sunglasses on and a Rodney right behind her as the Stargate deactivated.

"My back. I think I need to get checked after this." The pilot quickly recovered from the question.

"Having too much fun, Sheppard?" Alexandra smirked, getting past him, looking around of her surroundings, missing the exasperated look John gave to Ronon. "I must tell you, this looks good."

The landscape was heaven, almost a tropical island kind of dream.

"Told you, you were going to like it." John stared at Alexandra's wonder upon arriving on the new planet.

"You were waiting to say I told you so, weren't you?" She narrowed her eyes at him, before wandering towards the treeline.

"Hey, you're the one avoiding my team, doc."

"Pfft..."

"Are we just going to stand here or are we going to work?" Rodney asked, rolling his eyes for a moment.

"Ronon and I are going to do a perimeter check. You, scientists, have fun."

And so they did.

Rodney went to one side, Alexandra walked around for a hour until she found something.

"Rodney, come in." She called over the coms.

[Yes?]

"I found a cave. Two clics west. There's something in there."

[On my way.]

Alexandra kept walking further into the cave, finding a pillar in the middle, similar to the others she had found with SG-1 back in her galaxy. She started studying it with her tablet at hand.

"Alex?"

"In here! Is Rodney with you?" The scientist didn't even look up at the pilot's voice.

"He's on his way." John appeared from the entrance of the cave and looked around. "Have you figured out what it is?"

"No. But it's emitting some sort of energy."

"Should we even be here?" He stood next to her, apprehensive.

"Maybe you shouldn't." Alexandra poked his arm as she went around him.

"Very funny, ancient lady." He heard her snort and he smiled. Then turned serious. "Listen. About the other night. When you came to my quarters…"

"What about it?" Her eyes kept scanning the column. There were a few markings, similar to the ones in Atlantis, but she couldn't decypher them.

"I wasn't… I was…"

Suddenly a buzzing sound went around them and a light appeared from the device. Alexandra doubled in pain and when the light went straight to her, John came in between, getting the strength of the blast.

When it was all over, Alexandra felt him fall to her side, unconscious, barely breathing.

"Not again... John? C'mon, you idiot." Placing her hand on his chest, she felt for his energy and tried to heal him from whatever had attacked them. "Ronon? McKay?"

[Come in, doc.] This time was Ronon who answered.

"Get medical help! Sheppard's uncouscious."

Flashes of her vision of the future came to her mind.

"How long as she been in there?" Samantha asked Teyla as she got to the infirmary hours later.

"Since they arrived. Dr. Keller tried to give her something to sleep but she refused."

"She feels guilty." The commanding officer said in half a murmur after a moment.

"I don't understand." Teyla looked up at her. "It was not her fault they were attacked."

"She didn't protect him." Samantha looked at the athosian as if she was trying to say something. "I believe you know her better by now." Upon Teyla's nod, Samantha continued. "She's a protector by nature and right now she feels like she failed. And if she's in there instead of studying that machine, then it means something more than failure."

"Even if she doesn't admit it." Teyla looked back at her friends, understanding the Atlantis leader words.

Samantha Carter nodded with a worried sigh.

"Alex?" His unused voice said upon seeing her sitting on a chair by his side.

The scientist smiled softly, her hand finding his, relieved.

"How are you feeling, Colonel?" Keller appeared from her office.

"Great, actually." The doctor started to check him out. "What happened? I only remember a white light coming towards you." His hazel eyes turned to Alexandra.

"The machine turned on. Probably my ancient gene activated it. You went between me and it." She explained.

"Barely remember that." The pilot frowned with a groan.

"You've been out for almost a day, Sheppard." She took her hand from his. "You're such an idiot."

"I saved you. How am I the idiot?" Now, he was confused.

"You just are! Why do you keep doing that?!"

"Dr. O'Neill, please." Jennifer glanced at the two.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Keller." Alexandra took a deep breath, then turned to John once more. "You know I have my shield, Sheppard."

Seeing it placed by his side, on the bed, John touched her hand.

"I'm sorry, okay? It's... instinct, I guess."

With an exasperated sigh, Alexandra snorted, enjoying the touch for just a moment.

"You just like to be pampered by the nurses."

He shrugged with a smirk and was about to say something when Jennifer interrupted them.

"Are you sure you are feeling okay, Colonel?"

"Yeah. I feel fine, doc. Energized, actually." The pilot turned to the other woman.

"Are you sure?" Alexandra frowned. "Not sore? No dizziness?"

"No. Doc, tell her."

"It's true, Alex. My readings say his vitals are normal. Gonna accelarate the new lab results." Jennifer looked at her. "The earlier tests came back fine. And there is nothing visible for now."

"Alright. If you say so. I'll let Sam know you're awake." Alexandra said, confused. "I'm glad you're awake, John." She offered him a smiled before leaving.

Next morning, Alexandra and Teyla were having breakfast together when John joined them with his own tray, sitting in front of the scientist, a plan in his head.

"I can see you're feeling better, Colonel." Teyla said, rubbing her very pregnant belly with a soothing touch.

"I am." The pilot replied, taking a bite of his apple. His eyes went from the athosian to Alexandra. "Would you like to train with me, O'Neill?"

"Uh, sure. I have a debrief with Sam first. Can we do it in a hour?"

"Of course."

"Are you sure you're up to it, Sheppard?" Alexandra added, teasing him as usual.

"Why don't you call me John?

"Okay… John." Alexandra glanced at Teyla that frowned at his antics. For a moment, she felt for his energy but nothing seemed different. Maybe he was being just extra cheeky today after what happened. She would give him the benefit of the doubt. "But you better check with Keller before, okay? I don't want you falling on your ass while I am actually kicking it."

The pilot leaned forward, not caring if anyone was watching him.

"She is not alluring as you, doc." He said in a deep tone, adding a wink in the end.

That made Alexandra choke on her food and coff.

"Are you feeling alright, Col. Sheppard?" Teyla asked, worried at his strange behaviour.

"Yeah. What's wrong?" Ronon had already joined them and listened that last part.

"Of course. Why do you ask?" John shrugged, leaning back onto the chair.

[Dr. O'Neill. Dr. Zelenka wants to see you in the control room.] Chuck said in Alexandra's coms.

"Duty calls. See you guys later. And, John, go see Keller."

"Will do, Ma'am." He saluted her as she stood.

With a roll of her eyes, the scientist left.

"Perhaps McKay should do an exam on John."

Samantha looked up from her tablet to look at her friend as they ended their debrief.

"Something wrong with him?"

"He's acting strange."

"How strange?" The Atlantis leader frowned, putting the tablet down.

"He was actively flirting with me earlier."

Pensieve, Samantha leaned against her chair.

"That's strange? I thought that was normal for him. Have you considered…" The Colonel chose her words carefully. "He might feel attracted to you?"

Standing up, Alexandra looked at her friend and sighed, walking towards the window, enjoying the sight of the ocean for a moment.

"He doesn't feel attracted to me. He was just… It felt strange. The way he acted and the way he said it. It was not… natural."

"Hm... How about you? Are you feeling something…" Blue eyes were observing her friend carefully.

"No. I'm not feeling anything. I have to go. Make sure he gets checked out by McKay. I'll be at the gym." The scientist barely looked at her friend, leaving Samantha to wonder how much longer Alexandra was going to lie to herself.

"Are you sure you're ready? Keller gave the okay?" Placing her bag down, Alexandra took her jumper off after finding John already at the gym.

Black shirt. Black pants. That was a look that never failed to attract her. However, for a moment she felt his own eyes burning onto her skin. She took a deep breath. She had to be careful of her words and how she acted. Maybe what happened had ignited something in him. But why now? He knew she didn't fall that easily to his flirting. She needed to go back to banter. Banter was good. And safe.

"She did." Hazel eyes went over her body as she placed herself in position in front of him. "You're not afraid, are you?"

"You do remember all of those times I kicked your ass, don't you, Sheppard?" She smirked, trying to keep things light.

"Maybe I'll kick yours now." And he lunged towards her with a smirk of his own.

They fought for a few minutes. At some point, he did a movement that threw her off balance, making her stop as his hands caught her wrists and trapped her close to him.

"You're learning Ancient fighting techniques?" With a frown, Alexandra took a deep breath, keeping her defense stance locked.

"Is this what it was? Cool." John had a boyish smile until the moment his hazel eyes locked on hers and turned to an intense stare that knotted her stomach.

John acted on instinct as he pulled her against his body and crushed his lips onto hers. It was so fast that she had no time to react. However, it ended as fast when her shield pushed him away from her.

"What the hell was that, Sheppard?!" She breathed deeply, confused, her cheeks turning pink.

"I… I don't know…" He was as confused as she was.

In that moment, the door to the gym opened an Evan Lorne entered, stopping upon seeing them.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't know the room was occupied."

"It's fine. We were done anyway, Evan." Alexandra said, going for her bag.

"We are not done." John stated, taking a step towards her.

"Yes, we are." Alexandra walked towards Lorne. "And you should let Keller and McKay check you out before you do anything stupid, Col. Sheppard." She pressed her tone in his title.

"You're not going anywhere, Alexandra." He ordered.

Lorne, who had noticed the tense mood in the room, didn't like the tone John used with his friend and put himself between both of them.

"Perhaps Dr. O'Neill is right, sir. You don't look too well."

John, that was by his bag, pulled his service gun towards the Major.

"Get away from her!"

"Sheppard! What are you doing?" In a second, Alexandra placed herself between the two men.

"Move aside, Alexandra." The pilot gritted his teeth.

"Col. Sheppard, put your gun down." Lorne asked, not sure of what to do. "You are not well."

Looking at him closely now, Alexandra could see the feverish frown, the blood shot eyes that were not there before their training.

"John." The scientist took a step closer. The barrel of his handgun coming closer to her. "Please lower your gun. I'm right here. There's only us." His hands faltered for a moment. Behind her, she felt Ronon beside Lorne. But they were a blur as she started to expand her shield around her and the man in front of her. "Tell me what's wrong?"

"You." His tone came out a pained groan.

"What did I do?" The gun now touched her chest.

"You… you…" His eyes saw her hand touch his. Immediately, he felt weak, falling onto his knees. "What are you doing?" He breathed hard as he looked up at her.

"I'm right here, John. Let go."

"I… can't…"

"I'll catch you. I won't let them hurt you. Please, John." Alexandra's voice faltered. "You don't have to fight them alone."

"It hurts… Alex…" There was pain in his hazel eyes and fire in her brown ones.

"I know. I'm right here. Please."

His hand went to her cheek, catching a stray tear as he fell to the ground, unconscious. And she caught him, just like she had promised.

"How long have you known?!"

"The moment he pulled a gun on me, Rodney!"

"Yelling won't help." Teyla said in an appeasing tone.

The scientists have been yelling at each other for the past hour, most of the times repeating themselves, as Rodney looked over and over into John's previous scans and exams made by the medical team.

"For as many abilities that you have, you didn't saw this coming?"

"How could I have known what that machine was capable of, Rodney?!" Alexandra looked up, tiredly. The lights flickered around them. "My powers are not scanners of the human mind and his energy was the same as ever. I had to look deeper into him and know what to find!" She stood and stepped closer to the other scientist. "But I promise you that I'll get it out of him, Rodney."

At those last words she left the room, leaving Teyla, Ronon and Rodney in silence.

Two days he had been in a coma she had placed him in. Two days with no change from his part and two days of no sleep to make sure the Ancient inside of him didn't took over completely.

What if this was her nightmare? A test? A bargain?

"You should sleep, doc."

Alexandra looked up from where she was sitting in the observation room to see Ronon leaning against the doorframe.

"I'll sleep when I find the solution." She offered him a tired smile.

"You won't do him any good if you're tired." Ronon pulled a chair and sat next to her. "I know Sheppard would say the same."

"He probably would. But even if I wanted to sleep, I couldn't. I'm too angry. Ancients are messing up with my life again and the people I care about."

"He cares about you too, you know?" Ronon glanced at Alexandra that didn't react, even though the satedan could see something in her eyes. "More than he knows. Or maybe he does and he's just… giving you space? I just don't understand why you two won't admit what you feel for each other."

"Ronon, we... that's…"

"The truth. By the way, when you went to his quarters the other night? He was alone."

Glacing at the warrior, Alexandra didn't know what to say, so she just looked at the pilot. And an idea came to her.

"Do you think this is going to work?" Teyla asked watching her friend flex her hands, something flickered between them at some point.

"I need to know who's in there, Teyla."

"How did you come up with this idea?" Rodney was curious as they saw Jennifer Keller get everything ready to wake John.

"Something that John did at the gym."

"What exactly?" The scientist narrowed his eyes.

"It's none of your business, McKay." Ronon said upon seeing Alexandra hesitation.

"Are you really sure you want to face whoever is in John's mind? What if he's stronger than you, Alex?" Samantha interjected, worried.

"I'll be fine, Sam." She gave her friend a reassuring smile.

And at that, Alexandra took a deep breath and entered the confinement room.

Jennifer nodded and injected adrenaline into John's body before leaving the room as instructed.

Closing her eyes, she placed a shield around the room and herself in front of his bed, attentive to every detail.

Hazel eyes slowly opened and immediately locked on hers. The feeling of skin on fire was back. And it was not a good one.

"How is it that an Ancient took human form?" It was John's voice but not him.

"It was a choice. But it's not this human choice to have you inside of his body. Who are you?"

"An Ancient. Much like you."

"You are nothing like me."

John smiled, but it wasn't his smile.

"No, you're not. You were born. Mm, he's right. You are beautiful. And strong." His eyes went over her and she wished it would have been John to look at her like that.

"He's in there?"

"He's weak. But yes. He's in here. For now, at least."

Alexandra narrowed her eyes.

"What do you want for you to leave his body?"

"I quite like this body. And you seem to like it as well."

"I prefer the man that it belongs to."

An odd glint appeared in John's eyes.

"So many unresolved feelings... Wants... Desires…"

"What were you doing in that machine?" Alexandra was starting to lose her patience.

"Waiting. For the right person. You came along, with a strong gene nonetheless. I was curious but he got in between."

"You wanted my body?"

"Well…" John smirked. "You have the gene, the powers. A strong aversion to the Ancients. Just like me. Perfect duo. We could be powerful."

"So you want my powers. To what end? Fight them?" Alexandra came around the bed, curious. "Are you sure they are going to let you keep that body? Perhaps I should call on them."

John's face contorted in anger.

"You hate them! And they would destroy this body on sight."

"Let me talk to John, then."

"No!"

"Let. Him. Go!" She held up one of her hands, sparkles going over her fingers.

The man looked at her.

"So sweet, you two… trying to protect each other. It's actually very noble. But it won't work. He's almost gone. Defeated." He sent her a smirk which scared her.

A wave of energy blasted against his chest and both her hands went to his temples when he didn't move.

"You forget one thing. John Sheppard is stronger than you think. And he would never give up his body to an evil Ancient."

"Evil Ancient. I quite like the term." He was pleased even though he winced at the new energy blast.

"And if you went through his memories, you know I dealt with a lot worse than you. And you know that I rather die than to let my friends be controlled by an evil son of a bitch."

"What are you doing?!" The man shouted, trying to take her hands off of him, the cuffs rattling against the bed sides.

"I'm right here, John. Fight him." She focused her shield around them as her brown eyes stared into his hazel ones. "Come back to me."

...Come back to me...

Her voice echoed in his mind and his eyes opened to find her at a distance. A white glow surrounding her.

"That's so sweet." The Ancient's voice came to him and John turned around only to be knocked down to the ground.

...Don't you dare to give up, John Sheppard...

But John was tired of fighting.

"It's actually lovely to watch. A human and an Ancient." A shock wave sent John towards the opposite wall. "I was going to keep her. She does look beautiful, sweet, feisty. I wonder what would happen in a more... intimate moment." The Ancient was mumbling with a thoughtful look that riled John up. "Maybe I can use her first. See if I can change her mind, after all she likes this body…"

A fist connected with the Ancient's form.

"Not a chance, pal. She's mine." John punched the man until he was coffing up blood.

"I got to tell you, Colonel. I should have used her sooner. You energy is going up fast and that means you're fading faster."

...Don't listen to him, John. Please...

"She's not even here. That is just a figment of your mind. She doesn't care about you. Always pushing you away, putting you at a distance."

...Evil little bastards, remember?...

That made John open his eyes and give one final punch to the Ancient, making him disappear as a wave of energy went through his body.

The moment he took a deep breath, his eyes opened to see brown eyes staring down at him.

There was a sound behind her and she turned in time to see a grey ball of light. Raising her hands, she blasted a new wave of energy that disintegrated the ball.

Alexandra fell unconscious to the ground and immediately Keller was entering the room, followed by Ronon that helped put the scientist in a gurney.

"Sheppard? Is that really you?"

"Yeah, McKay. It's me." His eyes followed the medical team as they tended to Alexandra. "What happened?"

"Long story, Colonel." Samantha replied as she entered the room.

"So, I'm free from it? Of him?"

"Apparently so. Your ECG is back to normal now." Jennifer Keller said, now turning to him as she sent her team back to the infirmary. "I'm gonna do more exams to be sure, but as far as I'm concerned you're back to normal."

"There's no residual energy or two sets of minds anymore." Rodney finished, looking at different screens.

"What about Alex?" He wanted to know more and felt frustrated for not being able to see her.

"She'll be fine. I already gave her the usual vitamins boost and she'll wake up soon enough."

As he heard his friends tell him what actually happened after the blast of light knocked him out, John couldn't believe he had been possessed by an Ancient and that he had done things he had wanted to do and never did.

He couldn't sleep. His mind, his brain felt like someone had played with it. He had felt like this once when the mind of a dying man was transferred to him years before.

However, now, even though he felt tired, his mind didn't as it recalled flashes of the memories from three days before. Especially from the training session.

He kept replaying everything in his head while his feet took him to the labs floor. To her office where light was streaming from the fringes.

John frowned. It had only been a few hours since she had woken up. Her recovery time was faster.

Once he got there, he leaned against the doorframe, watching her by the Ancient computer she had been studying since getting back from Earth.

"Hey! Can't sleep?" Her voice took him out of his reverie and his eyes caught her worried look.

"No. I'm still too…"

"Riled up? Yeah, me too. Look." She pointed to the computer as he approached her. "I found out who the Ancient was. Kal. An Ancient that enjoyed to experiment not only on humans but also on Ancients as well. Apparently, he got caught and the Ancients built that machine to contain him."

"Heavy crime penalty."

"Yep. Not even the chance or choice to descend they gave him." She looked up to stare at John's profile. She felt so relieved upon seeing him up and about. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." His eyes found hers. There was a calmness to them. "Listen, I've been remembering things. I want to apologize for anything I said or done."

"It wasn't you. You have nothing to apologize for, John." The smile she gave him knotted his stomach.

"The… you know…" He pointed between each other.

"Kiss?"

"Yeah… it was…"

"Just a kiss. Don't worry, John. I know it wasn't you."

The pilot frowned. It was so simple. It could be that simple as he recalled Ronon's words. He only had to agree and walk away, since he was willing to do anything to not ruin their friendship again.

"But that's the thing." John's lips started to move before he could think properly as he saw her move around the office.

"What?" Brown eyes found his, confused.

"It was me. I kissed you." The pilot leaned his hands on top of the table between them, his stance serious. "I think I was trying to make you see that something was wrong, that it wasn't me talking to you, that…" It had been for a brief moment, but the feeling of her body against his, her lips on his... As he stared at her now, he knew he wanted more.

"That you wouldn't do something like that in your right mind." Alexandra said, nodding slowly as she understood.

"Yeah." His eyes never left hers. "No... I mean..."

"Well, what is done is done, Sheppard. And it worked, so… No harm done." She shrugged turning her back to him, wishing he would go away. "You should go get some rest now. You sure deserve it."

"Yeah. You're right." He was confused. Why couldn't he just say what he actually meant? "What if I want to do some harm?" The words left before he could stop as his feet took him as far as the exit.

The silence was deep enough for him to hear the soft intake of breath she gave at his words.

"What…?" Alexandra stopped in her tracks, watching him turn around from the exit. There was something in his eyes she couldn't place. "John…"

He didn't gave her any time. Any time to talk, to think, to react. He just walked towards her, his hands found her face and pulled her closer, his lips crashing onto hers.

For a moment, John could feel her resistance but then he acted on instinct as one of his hands found her lower back and pressed her body closer as his lips kept wanting for more.

Alexandra was caught off guard and tried to stop him, but the press of his body, his hands, his lips, everything turned her brain into mush. Her heart was beating faster and she could barely breathe. And all she could think of was that she wanted more.

This kiss was different from the first one. It was slow, intense, with all the time in the world... and the thought of him fading in front of her eyes made her hands pull him closer as he trapped her against the table she had just been working on. But all she could feel was his hands, moving on her, pressing here and there, hot and soft, slowly ascending from her hips to her sides, to her back, to her neck.

His lips pulled away enough for them to breath.

Hazel and brown locked.

"This should have been our first kiss." There was a hint of a smile on John's lips as his thumb touched her red and plump lips. And then he pressed a quick but not less sweet kiss on them before completely moving away from her. "Have a goodnight, doc." And just like that he left.

Alexandra saw him go, feeling her heart pump, her skin in flames, her cheeks hot, her hands tingling from touching him, her body just wanting more of him.

She had half a mind to follow him. But she couldn't. She couldn't continue with that. They couldn't continue with that. If anything she needed to protect him from herself.

Crap. Everything was so confusing.

What had she been thinking?

What had he been thinking?

Ps: Thoughts on this long awaited chapter?