Thank you for the comments! I really enjoy reading them. I'm glad I came back to finish this, and I am quite honestly going to miss it when it's done! Who doesn't love this bunch! :D

A poignant moment, a much-needed reunion, and a mad dash to save a loved one.

)0(

Chapter 45

Teyla sat on a small hill east of the village that overlooked a break in the forest, giving her a clear view of Lake Parnak and beyond. A cool breeze blew through her hair and whispered in her ears as she watched a cycliamar, one of the more beautiful Caronaa insects, take to the sky from the forest. Its bright-coloured wings were reminiscent of an Earth butterfly, but it was equal in size to an Earth albatross. It bumbled through the sky, heading up and over the forest, disappearing into the trees. Teyla sighed, crossing her legs, tugging down her jacket as the breeze chilled her back.

It felt as if they had been on Caronaa for years, but it had only been almost two weeks. In that short time, she had almost lost those most dear to her, and she thought of them now, while breathing in the sweet fresh air. All of them had suffered to varying degrees, and Teya counted herself lucky that her injuries were mostly faded memory, healed by Eldus's children days before. She was left with an ache that she knew would disappear in time, but the others were not so lucky. At this point, two remained in Monuth Hospital, and there had been little word of their condition since the Jumper returned from Ignothia.

She had only glimpsed John when the Jumper landed, his hurried transfer to the Vipen left no time to interact with him. Lorne had tried to reassure her, but until she saw and spoke to John herself, she would remain concerned. She had merely glimpsed him in his passing, and saw a gaunt tightness to his features that belied Lorne's words. Then he was gone, leaving her with so many unanswered questions.

Ronon irately told anyone who asked that he was fine and perfectly well, but Teyla knew he still endured the effects of his injuries and infection. His shattered arm seemed to be a constant pain for him, as she often saw him cover it with his hand as if it might take the pain away. When he thought no one was looking, he even took the medicine that Carson demanded he take, and Teyla was pleased that, so far, she hadn't had to remind him to take them. But the very act showed her how much he struggled, as it was completely unlike him to entertain medicinal remedies.

And then there was Rodney. She worried about him the most. John was clearly worried too, for his haste to get to Monuth was a clear sign of his concern.

The current outlook for Rodney was bleak. When she had visited with him before, Teyla had been overjoyed to see him awake, breathing for himself, and even conversing with her. But a short time after she and Ronon returned to the village, he took the reaction, and his health deteriorated. Teyla lamented leaving him, feared that should they not find a solution in time, it might have been the last time she would ever see him alive. Her heart ached at the thought they might lose him. As the wind teased her hair, she remembered his face behind the oxygen mask, the crinkle of his eyes as he smiled when she said she was glad to see him. She hoped that memory wouldn't be the last one she'd make with Rodney, though Carson's continuing absence and the lack of information from Monuth were discouraging.

A screech came from the direction of the trees, scattering some of the rare Caronaa birds into flight. They flew overhead and Teyla followed their trail across the blue sky, hearing someone approach from behind. The footsteps got louder as the person came nearer, and Teyla knew by the irregular rhythm that it was Ronon, favouring his bruised right side. He stopped behind her, and she heard him take a deep intake of breath, hold it, then exhale.

"You okay?" he asked in his gruff voice.

"I am fine. I merely wished to rest and relax before the upcoming battle."

"Yeah," he walked forward, hunkered beside her, and pulled at the grass at his feet. "This should be the easy part."

"Of that I'm not so sure. Those ships are powerful, and we have such small ships for the fight."

He nodded, pulling a tuft of grass and shredding it between his fingers. "You know of the drooit beetle?"

"It doesn't sound familiar," she replied. "What is it?"

"They're about the size of your smallest fingernail. Yet when provoked, they fight bugs as big as the ones here, and win. Their size doesn't stop them, it helps them. They are agile, manoeuvrable, strong and determined. So are we," he finished, shaking the grass remains from his fingers.

Teyla smiled, liking the analogy, hoping it would be as easy for them. Another cycliamar took to the sky, followed by at least twenty others. They followed the breeze towards the village, and Teyla sighed again.

"Then I hope we will be like the drooit beetle, win this battle, and bring our people home safe."

They were quiet for a time, relaxing in the sun while contemplating the fight ahead. Ronon eventually sat down beside her, grunting as he did so, then cradled his broken arm. Time passed, the breeze died down, and the sun shone pleasantly upon them. Teyla closed her eyes, lifted her face to the light, and said a prayer to the ancestors. She prayed for Rodney, for John, and for Ronon. She prayed for Lorne, and Teldy, for Stackhouse and all who would take flight within the day. She prayed for a victorious outcome and a safe return. When she finished, she dropped her head and opened her eyes, seeing an approaching Vipen coming in over the horizon.

"Did you say one for me?" Ronon asked quietly.

"Of course I did," she smiled. "I said one for us all."

"Have you heard anything about Sheppard and McKay?"

She shook her head as she swept a lock of hair from her eyes. "No, nothing. But as the Earth people say, no news is good news. I imagine we would already have heard if either took a turn for the worse."

Ronnon nodded, dislodged a small stone from the ground and threw it with frustrated force. They watched it disappear into the grass some meters away. "I hope they're okay," he said softly, the words laced with concern that twisted Teyla's stomach.

Her throat constricted, her eyes smarted, and she paused before she spoke for fear her tears would fall and never stop. "I'm sure Doctor Beckett and the people in the hospital are doing their best to help them both."

Ronon didn't reply and continued to poke at the earth and grass, working through his emotions as he usually did in silence and on his own. Teyla reached for his hand and halted his nervous movements. She was mildly surprised when he took her hand and grasped it tightly, as if it were the only thing keeping him tethered to the ground. She squeezed his hand in return, understanding only too well the emotions welling within him, for they matched her own and choked her silent. She leaned against him, placed her head on his shoulder and watched the Vipen approach.

"We will be fine, Ronon. We will all be fine."

She felt Ronon nod his head and blow out another long, drawn-out breath, laden with profound melancholy. "We'll see."

The Vipen roared overhead, its white hull dazzling them as it passed. As it flew towards the village, the engine noise faded, and Teyla heard another set of footfalls approaching.

"I really hope you guys are out here missing me, or this was a helluva wasted effort. And I'm just about all out of effort these days."

The breath in Teyla's chest caught at the sound of the familiar drawl, and she jumped to her feet to see John Sheppard ambling his way up the hillside. Ronon awkwardly stood up before John reached them, his sadness vanishing like smoke in the wind.

"John!" Teyla cried, tears of happiness brimming in her eyes

"Yeah, yeah, come on, get in here," John replied, lifting his arms and beckoning her towards him. A rare display of intimacy, brought on by how close to death he'd come.

Teyla's feet barely touched the ground as she rushed to him, threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He held her, his arms once again strong, crushing her to his chest. She twisted to look back at Ronon, who approached with a grin on his face. He reached out his left hand, and John caught it while still holding Teyla, then pulled Ronon close. The three stood there, uncaring of how it might appear, while completely at ease now that one had returned from death's door.

"God, it's good to see you guys," John said as they broke apart.

"We are pleased to see you, too," Telya said happily. "I trust that you are feeling better?"

"Well, I'm better than I was. Still got a way to go, but at least I'm no longer… thin."

Ronon chuckled at this and slapped John's shoulder. "Yeah, you looked like a stick."

"Ha bloody ha," John replied with a smirk. "And what about you? I hear you were out of action, too."

"Yeah, Groten snapped my arm, got a claw through the forearm…"

Teyla rolled her eyes as the two men launched into a wound competition, each showing the other their injuries and sharing stories of how they came to be. But the sight of the silver scars on John's chest quietened them both, and John pulled his shirt back down with mild embarrassment. "Yeah, they really did a number on me," he said in reply to their stares.

"But you survived," Ronon said.

"Yeah, I survived," John replied.

Teyla detected and worried about the undercurrent of sadness in his words. Ronon appeared to think similarly as he gawked at John, his mouth opened, his eyes widening. John seemed not to notice their reaction, lost in his thoughts for a brief period. When it appeared he wasn't going to say more, Teyla went to ask the question that placed dread in her heart. But John looked at them, and his green eyes spoke of vast trauma and grief. Teyla's heart clenched, and it felt as if a great chasm had opened in her chest, so deep ran the pain.

"He'll make it," John whispered, unable to maintain eye contact. "He's got to make it."

"Oh, Rodney," Teyla said quietly, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Doc says if we could get him to Ignothia, he would have a chance."

"Then we get him there," Ronon growled.

"It's not that simple," John replied, a slight tremble to his voice. "The infection is attacking his organs. He's going into full system failure."

Ronon turned away and cursed angrily. Teyla stood frozen to the spot, unwilling to take her eyes off John.

"Doc managed to get some… Ignothian water into him. But it just wasn't enough. He… he really tried…"

"Can't they put Rodney in a stasis pod as they did with you?" Teyla asked.

"That was discussed before, but the consensus is he wouldn't make it back out of stasis, that stasis itself would kill him."

The wind picked up again, sending chills through Teyla's body. She pulled her jacket close and wrapped her arms around her torso. It made no difference, and she shivered as much from the cold as from her breaking heart.

"But, I might have an idea," John said, and Teyla saw that John had not yet lost hope. There was a fire in his eyes, a glint that gave her hope. "How do you guys feel about taking on a solo run with me and one of the Vipens?"

"Where to?"

"Ignothia."

)0(

Minister Harmen had allocated one more Vipen to the cause because John Sheppard didn't give him the option of refusal. He insisted on being taken to Central City, where he met with the minister, explained his plan, and demanded another Vipen. The minister took umbrage at John's demands, asking how he dared make any at all. And then John pulled his trump card, and by the reaction, he might as well have punched Harmen in the face.

"You would do well, Minister, to allow me this courtesy. If you remember correctly, it was your poor judgment that led to the plague getting out of hand and killing as many as it did. I wonder what your people would think if they knew you pulled the funding for a cure, and that was why you came to us begging for help to fix your mess."

Fifteen minutes later, John, Teyla and Ronon were in the Vipen with an Advanced Bio Sentry, heading out to join the fleet. He had every faith that Lorne and the others knew what they were doing and would get the job done if they could. But for now, John and the others were out of the battle and heading into a new one, to save Rodney.

Time was of the essence, and a vital part of the plan would call on John's expert flying skills. Being the best pilot on Atlantis, he knew the nuances of Puddlejumpers and could shadow them perfectly in almost any flying craft. The plan involved a close flight with one of the Jumpers until they were free of the battle and danger. Teldy had been chosen as the buddy pilot of the Jumper; her skills were second only to John's, so they would make the best flying team.

Once free and out of danger, John would take the Vipen to the chasm, where he knew the most bionite-rich waters of the birthing valley flowed. In the rear of the Vipen was an empty stasis pod. The Sentry, piloted by Fimas's second-in-command, would get the pod into the waters, fill it, then return it to the Vipen. Then John would pilot the craft back to Caronaa and straight to Monuth Hospital, where Carson would be waiting for them. If everything went to plan, Rodney would soon be having an extended soak in the open stasis pod, lounging in the water until he was stable enough to move to Ignothia. It all came down to John's piloting skills, getting them there and back again safely. Lorne had said he would attempt to steer the battle from the Stargate approach so that John could swiftly return to Caronaa.

The three peered out of the Vipen viewport at the fleet surrounding them. They hung in the blackness of space before the orbital Stargate, waiting for their turn to enter the gate. It flashed to life moments before, and two Jumpers had already crossed the even horizon with four Vipens. John and Teldy were next, with John coming in below the Jumper, hoping the craft would provide as much cover as possible for the Vipen. Of course, all this depended on the Groten ships not sitting at the Stargate, ready to shoot them down as soon as they came out the other side. That was a catastrophe that John didn't want to think about as he powered the Vipen forward, nose to tail with Teldy's Jumper. They were above Ignothia in seconds and straight into a battlefield.

Someone had managed to get a lucky shot in as one of the Groten ships was already hurtling through the atmosphere, belching smoke and heading to disintegration. John hoped that they followed the plan to try and keep the Groten ships in one piece, and hoped that this ship had proven too dangerous to allow it to survive. John concentrated on keeping the Vipen below the Jumper, flying the craft mere inches below it.

In his side vision, he picked up the arrival of the other Vipen through the Stargate, and heard Ronon exclaim loudly that the Sentries were launching. This was part of the plan to save the ships. The Sentry would launch from the Vipens onto the Groten ships and gain access, overpower the Groten and steal control of the ships. It was hoped that the Jumpers and Vipens would keep the Groten focused away from the Sentries while they took over. But John couldn't think about all of that, he had to keep his wits about him, stay focused on the Jumper and trust that any harm coming their way would be dealt with by one of the other craft.

An explosion rocked both craft as one of the Groten ships fired the silos in their direction. It almost sent the Vipen careening into the Jumper, but John somehow managed to keep it steady and on course. John was aware of a Vipen heading straight for them and ignored it, confident that the pilot was heading over to cover them from further attack. He was in constant communication with Teldy, and though he felt his mind tiring, he kept going, stamping down on his growing exhaustion with an iron will born from the belief he was Rodney's last and only hope.

Moments passed, and the signs and sounds of the battle faded. He received a final message from Teldy and watched the Jumper pull away to join the others in the fight for Ignothia. John carried on, taking the Vipen over the purple mountain and on toward the chasm. Lorne had detailed the map for him, having flown the path for John's own rescue. John followed it to the millimeter, coming down on the chasm within a few minutes.

He landed the Vipen in almost the exact spot Lorne had parked the Jumper the day previously. The Sentry exited the Vipen and, with help from Ronon, maneuvered the stasis pod out onto the grass. John sagged back in the pilot's chair. His head rolled, and thoughts swam, his eyes threatening to close. Teyla climbed up beside him, tapped his cheek to waken him and offered him a drink from his canteen. This was also part of the plan. He knew he was in no real fit state to be out here, flying in the middle of a battle. His resilience was low, he tired far too easily, and exhaustion threatened at every moment. An iron will could only take him so far, so he'd had Carson make him up a canteen full of strong stimulants. Carson was understandably concerned by this, stating that with the changes his body had gone through recently, the last thing he should be doing was placing it under stimulant stress.

"It's for Rodney," John had replied, and Carson instantly caved to the demand, more aware than anyone what was at stake.

While it didn't have the same effect as the jab to the thigh Carson gave him before he left, the concoction did the trick and John straightened in the seat, pulled his wits together and thanked Teyla. As the Sentry took the pod down to the water, Ronon stood guard at the rear of the Vipen. Overhead came booms and flashes, the battle heating up as they waited.

"Do you truly think this will work?" Teyla asked as she offered him the canteen again.

"We can't go home without him, Teyla," John replied despairingly. "He's my brother."

"And mine," she replied with a soft smile. "So we will take him home, no matter what."

"No matter what," he agreed and watched for the Sentry returning.

As he waited, John thought back a few hours to when he had left Rodney. He hadn't been sure whether to say goodbye for now or goodbye forever, and by the time he had decided, Rodney had already failed and was unconscious. The fever, the nightmares, everything just seemed to stop, and Rodney lay there, still as nothing alive should be. Alarms had screamed, monitors flashed, people ran into the room, and John had been pushed out into the corridor to stand alone. When Carson eventually broke the news, John's heart shattered. He'd lost people in the past, but no one he considered family, not like Rodney. John was estranged from his family, and meetings with his blood brother were laden with guilt and animosity. But with Rodney, it was easy, it was the way it should be with siblings. So of course it hurt him, damn near killed him to hear Rodney was so close to death.

He swallowed hard as he caught sight of the Sentry coming up out of the chasm. Two of its four arms were behind it, grasping the heavy pod on its back. The other two gripped the solid rock and heaved the Advanced Bio from the chasm. The weight of the now-filled pod slowed its progress, and John repeated the words "come on" over and over again as he watched it lumber slowly to the rear of the Vipen.

Ronon jumped into his seat as John took a final swig from the canteen. Teyla made sure he drank all of it, as eager as he was to keep him awake for the return journey. The Sentry pulled the pod into the rear and closed the hatch, and as soon as it clanged shut, John hit the throttle. The Vipen soared into the sky, heading right towards the Stargate. John didn't shift his eyes from the goal, ignoring the noise and sights and flashes around him as he kept the Vipen on a straight path up. A huge jagged piece of red mottled metal came in from the left and narrowly missed colliding with the Vipen, and still John didn't react, trusting the others to keep his path clear.

"Sorry about that," Lorne said over the Vipen com. "Bastard was heading right for you. Path is clear now, good luck, Sir."

John hit the combination to activate the Gate and was over the event horizon just as it completed its cycle. Within seconds, they were above Caronaa, and John immediately put a call out to Monuth for Carson. By the time they landed in front of the hospital, Carson and Rella were at the doors awaiting their arrival.

John's hands trembled as he shut down the engines and opened the rear hatch. His hands slipped from the control panel, and he took a ragged breath as he slumped in the pilot seat, his head lolling uncontrolled to the side. Stimulants provide a temporary boost to strength and energy, but often leave the user more exhausted afterward, which is what John was experiencing: a massive come down from the huge dose. The thought processes he'd employed to make the run to Ignothia, flying so close to Teldy, ignoring things around him when his mind was screaming of the danger, drained his strength completely. He tried his best to keep his eyes open, willed his body to get out of the seat and walk into the hospital. But his energy was spent, his body weak, and he was so tired he could barely even breathe. Unable to move, he could only watch Teyla through his half-shut eyes, and she was speaking to someone, pointing at him, then behind him, orchestrating something.

Moments later, strong arms pushed beneath his and pulled him from the pilot's seat into a wheelchair. He didn't even have the energy to feel angry about the indignity. His head fell forward, its weight tugging his upper body forward until the person pushing the wheelchair held his shoulder and pulled him upright again. The hand stayed there as the person wheeled him along. Through his eyelids, the bright sunlight turned to the dim light of the hospital interior, the usually busy area quiet and subdued. Things started to fade from his mind until he was lifted from the chair and laid flat on a bed some minutes later. A cover was pulled over him as his head was laid on a pillow so soft it felt like nothing but air. As his mind shut down, a warm hand took his, slender fingers closing around his own.

"You did all you could, John," Teyla said gently. "Now, we must wait and trust Carson. Sleep. I will wake you up when there is news."

He tried to reply, but his words disappeared in a haze of lethargy as his eyes finally closed and he was asleep within seconds.

..

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.. OMG feed meh cookies! The Dragon is hungry!