Trust Once Broken

by ssjmsjm

Summary:

Kai Zian's life was ruined by the Wraith. With nothing left she had given up hope of ever finding a life beyond the fight. One day she saves the life of a group who claim to have found the lost city of Atlantis. In exchange for her skills as a mechanic Kai is welcomed into the city. There she begins to build a life of peace unlike anything she has ever known. There is one person on Atlantis however that remains suspicious of her past.

John Sheppard has been a soldier all his life. Over the years he has learned to trust his instincts, and his instincts tell him there's something more to the mysterious mechanic than meets the eye. When danger comes to Atlantis Kai is forced to reveal the secrets of her past to save her new friends. Once that trust is broken however, is it possible to pick up the pieces of the life she has grown to love?

Chapter 1

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The Wraith were everywhere. Her last count revealed six squadrons in just the immediate vicinity. They were not messing around anymore. Shots blasted from the other end of the long, dark corridor and she dropped down behind a half wall for cover, swearing colorfully under her breath. Sometimes it seemed as though they could see in the dark even better than she could. It was a serious disadvantage. She hated being at the disadvantage.

More shots came, and the short brick wall shuddered beneath her back. Kai Zian found herself contemplating the structural integrity of the masonry these people had constructed hundreds if not thousands of years before. All that remained of a once great civilization were the battle scarred ruins she had been using for shelter the last couple of days.

Kai knew better than to stay in one place for more than a few hours, but there had been extenuating circumstances. She had fallen ill and the prospect of shelter, if only within the ruins, was hard to pass up. A rough cough shook her body and she buried her face in her elbow, trying to contain the noise. Wraiths were predators however and their senses were even better than her own. She could almost guarantee they had heard her. Kai lifted the gun and checked the charge. She swore again. She only had a handful of shots left. If she wanted more supplies she would need to engage one of the squads instead of just running.

It would be dangerous. She wasn't one hundred percent and Wraiths were two if not three times stronger than her on a good day. Sometime over the last few weeks she had picked up this illness that she couldn't seem to shake. It frustrated her to know that after all she had been through, all she was capable of and all she had survived in her life it would be illness that would kill her. It would be an anti-climatic end to a life defined by violence and battle.

More shots hit the wall and bits of gravel and mortar rained down around her. She ducked her head beneath her arm to protect herself from the larger chunks. She fired a couple blind shots over the top of the wall to buy herself time to come up with a plan. It was in a strange, detached way that she noted her hands were trembling as she handled her weapons. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten, and even if she managed to steal supplies from the Wraith she knew she wouldn't find any food stores. She was the only thing on their menu.

The hallway lit up with more shots and she was surprised to note their weren't using their stunners anymore, but live ammunition. It hadn't been long ago when their standing orders were to capture her. She wondered at what point they had decided she was too much of a liability to be allowed to keep running.

An explosion shook the ground beneath her combat boots and their firing ceased. There was the sound of running feet and grunts of fighting. Kai peaked around the corner of her cover to see five people in black uniforms engaging the squad of Wraith.

They were hopelessly outnumbered. Even if they managed to kill this squad there were plenty more prowling through the ruins looking for Kai. She glanced back over her shoulder towards the only exit that wouldn't lead her straight into the path of a dart and her potential freedom. There was a chance these idiots could last long enough to buy her time to escape.

She turned to slip back into the shadows.

"There's too many of them Sir!" one of their people cried.

"I can't see!" another yelled desperately.

"Hold!" a strong male voice bellowed through the darkness.

Kai paused and glanced back over her shoulder. If she was smart, she would let these strangers distract the Wraith and slip away to possibly fight another day. Something made her hesitate however. Maybe it was the knowledge that another day wouldn't actually help her. Whatever the illness that was wracking her body was, she wouldn't last much longer on her own.

She turned back to the group and sighed. She was going to do this. Protecting others wasn't in Kai's nature, but what else was she going to do? She was practically dead already. She drew in three deep breaths and launched herself over the wall.

She fired the remaining five shots she had. Three of the five Wraith dropped. She landed in a foreword roll and came up with two knives in her hands. She flipped off two, landing them in the throats of the wraiths she had already shot, ensuring their death. She spun around executing a slightly shaky roundhouse kick to lodge the knife deeper into the throat of the nearest Wraith. Once he dropped she ripped the blade clear and spun to face the other one she had shot.

She miscalculated however, the illness slowed her down more than she realized. She had just finished her rotation when the wraith slammed its fist into the side of her head. She went down hard. She rolled with the movement and her head spun as black spots flickered at the edges of her vision.

It was almost a relief to realize she would go down fighting. She had taken out four and injured a fifth. She hoped between the remaining military men they could handle the rest. Her last act would be one of goodness. No one who had known her in her previous life would ever believe it.

The Wraith grabbed her by her throat with his off hand and slammed her against the wall. The sounds of fighting surrounded them as he leaned in so close she could smell the rotting stench of his breath even through her cowl. His hand grabbed the neck of her jacket and jerked it, slitting the buttons halfway down the front to expose the skin of her neck and upper chest.

"I am told," he growled leaning in. "That your life force will sustain me Ionger -" he lifted his feeding hand poised over her heart. "And be the sweetest I have ever tasted."

"Is that what they tell you?" she asked tightly, fighting to kick free. "I always wondered what made you all dumb enough to keep coming back here," it was becoming more and more difficult to breathe, but she refused to allow him to see fear on her face.

"I win," the wraith whispered.

A gun discharged behind them and the force of the blow threw the wraith into her. The two of them hit the ground with the wraiths prone body pinning Kai to the ground. They were more dense than humans and it's weight was crushing her.

More shots fired around them and when silence fell and authoritative voice called out sharply. "Okay, let's get this thing off of her," the voice sounded far away. The weight of the dead wraith was crushing the breath from her already struggling body.

The body of the wraith shifted and Kai gasped in a deep breath of air. She coughed. Things were hazy again and she was fighting to stay conscious.The men grunted as they rolled the dead wraith off of her. She gasped, rolling onto her stomach as a coughing fit shook her whole body.

Behind her a gun cocked. She rolled over slowly, keeping her hands up where they could see them so they would know she wasn't a threat.

The man standing directly over her with his gun pointing at her chest was a soldier through and through. His dark hair was short and his eyes hard. He lifted his head and looked to his mean. "Set up a perimeter," he barked.

"Schmitt's dead sir," one of his men reported.

"You need to get your men out of here," Kai said through clenched teeth.

"Who are you?" the man barked

"They will be back." She warned. "You and your men should go."

She turned her head so she could keep track of the other men. There were four of them left and everyone was edgy with their hands on their guns. Not a good combination. It didn't look like she would be fighting her way out of this one.

No good deed goes unpunished.

"I don't take advice from people I don't know. I'm Sergeant Bates of the Expedition Atlantis," the commander informed her. "And you are?" he asked staring down the barrel of his gun.

She licked her lips. There was no reason not to give her name, it didn't really matter anymore anyway. "My name is Kai Zian, and you Sergeant Bates need to get your men out of this place as quickly as possible."

Bates glanced from his men back down at the woman laying on the ground with her hands held up. She was small but dressed like a fighter. She wore a headscarf wrapped tightly around her hair, concealing it. It covered the lower half of her face, leaving only black lined grey-blue eyes visible.

It reminded him of the ones worn in the middle east, but this was more simple, like the tactical scarves the Brits wore in the desert. He had cut his teeth in Afghanistan and he knew better than to ask her to remove it, though he would have felt better being able to see her entire face. The scarf itself was black but finely embroidered, and at complete odds with the worn tactical clothing she wore.

"Why is that Kai Zian?" Bates challenged.

Impatience flickered in those icy grey eyes and Sergeant Bates knew in that moment this woman was a fighter. He had seen experienced soldiers with the same look she had. The battle hardened gaze was difficult to disguise. Not to mention the way she had cut through those Wraith was more than impressive for someone of her size.

"If you follow this hall out the back you will be able to swing through the woods and avoid much of the Wraith activity," she advised. Though he could feel her impatience, she never once took her eyes off of his. There was an intensity about her that made him want to squirm.

"Rogers, Eccert, check it out," Bates ordered. His two men nodded briskly and jogged down the hallway and out of sight. He and his remaining man waited patiently for the others to return. He debated the wisdom of letting the woman get to her feet, but she didn't seem put out so he decided to leave her there.

"Why are you here?" Bates asked after a few moments of silence.

The dark brows lifted. "I was left here," she replied. The simple truth she spoke tasted like ash in her mouth.

Bates looked her over more closely. She was wearing combats, all in various shades of black but none of them seemed to match. It was as though the clothing itself had been pieced together over time. Only the scarf she wore appeared to be well taken care of.

"You?" she challenged. It was difficult to tell with the lower half of her face covered but it appeared as though she jutted her chin out in almost a challenge, as though she were daring him to be honest with her.

Bates snorted. "Looking to make friends and establish trade," he replied humorlessly as he glanced down at the bodies of the fallen Wraith.

"I'm afraid commander you have come to the wrong planet."

Bates nodded. "I believe you."

A cough shook Kai's body and she was left gasping on the ground. Bates and his man shifted their weight restlessly. "What's wrong with you?" Bate's asked when it finally subsided.

Kai was panting as she rolled onto her side and spit blood into the dirt. "I would imagine I'm dying."

"Dying?"

"Well I can't be sure, I haven't seen a doctor," Kai's wry reply had Bates shifting his weight uncomfortably.

"Sir," the young man covering their forward position started to say.

"That's enough Private," Bates said scowling.

Kai looked over the military man. "Where did you say you're from?" she asked.

"We didn't," Bates responded with hostility.

"No, you said you were from the Atlantis Expedition," Kai recalled. "Would you happen to have a doctor on your expedition? I would even take access to basic medication?"

"We don't give away what we have for free," was Bates' curt reply.

Bates' men came jogging back into view. "She's right sir," they reported. "The path is clear."

"Not even to someone who just saved your life?" she asked. She wouldn't allow herself the glimmer of hope that pooled in her stomach. She couldn't. There were too many things that could go wrong. This Commander Bates wasn't one who would be easily swayed. But even if she could convince them to take her off world she would stand a better chance then being stuck here like a fish in a barrel.

"I wouldn't go that far," Bates said.

Bates used his gun to gesture her to stand. She rose slowly up onto her knees and one of his men quickly patted her down. He found nothing, which was disappointing for them as a people. Kai had another five knives concealed on her person, but the young Private was careful not to linger too long in places that might be considered inappropriate and he didn't even touch her head scarf.

"Come on," Bates said and Kai climbed to her feet and was pushed ahead of him.

"My pack," she said as they passed the half wall. Bates looked mutinous and like he was going to leave it behind.

"If you aren't going to help me, leaving what little supplies I have left behind will be the same as signing my death warrant. You might as well shoot me right now," she challenged.

Bates exhaled exasperatedly and motioned for one of his men to pick up the overstuffed military pack. The five of them made their way down the hall and out of the building. Kai led the way into the forest. Once they were under sufficient cover Bates stopped them.

Kai leaned against the nearest tree, breathing heavily. She glanced back towards the Sergeant. "You said you were looking for trade. What is it exactly you're after?"

Bates looked her over carefully. "Food," he snapped, making it clear that the woman's too thin frame eliminated her from the possibility of trade. Clearly she didn't have access to food stores.

"Anything else?" she asked undeterred.

"A power source," Bates snapped, his temper was fraying rapidly. He wanted to get his men off of this planet and get home.

Overhead the zip of the Wraith darts made the men flinch and grip their guns more tightly.

Under her scarf a small, devious smile stretched across the face of Kai Zian. "I have something to trade."

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Chapter 2

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"So let me get this straight, we're letting Bates and Zelenka bring home strays now?" Major John Sheppard leaned forward resting his hands against the smooth surface of the conference table. He had just returned from a mission and his blood was still up from the fight that had taken the life of one of his team members and injured another. John Sheppard was the type of man who took the safety of his people seriously, and as the highest ranking military officer on this mission the safety of every single person on the base was his responsibility.

Although Doctor Elizabeth Weir was a civilian, she was the leader of the Atlantis Expedition here in the Pegasus Galaxy. She sat back in her chair and regarded the Major thoughtfully. The Major was a man of principle but he could be impulsive. He was looking a little rough around the edges. His normally slightly disheveled dark hair was sticking up in odd places and his face was smudged with dirt and sweat. He had come straight from the gate up to her office for this meeting. Weir had never before considered the Major intimidating, he had an easy going nature and quick sense of humor that put those around him at ease. Standing before her in full combat gear with his temper snapping in his eyes however she could certainly see how intimidating the man could be.

She bridged her fingers and rested them against her lips as she studied him, waiting him out. When she didn't react to his desire for a fight John pushed back off the table and crossed his arms over his chest. He pressed his lips together determinedly but recognized the calm patience in Weir's eyes.

The two of them had been learning how to share the burden of command that had fallen onto their shoulders. Weir had begun this expedition with her military counterpart Colonel Sumner. She and Sumner had worked together for over a year preparing for this. After his death at the hands of the Wraith she was left with Major Sheppard as the highest ranking military commander.

The Major had only come into the project a week before stepping through the gate. Sumner had fought Weir on his addition, citing Sheppard's checkered military record, but Elizabeth had insisted. Sheppard had the gene as well as the combat experience to make him a real asset on the expedition. She had been right. The Major was an asset. All personnel who had gone into the field with him had nothing but good things to say. He was resourceful in the field, skilled at both combat, tactics, as well as an excellent negotiator with potential traders. His good looks and charming smile certainly helped with the latter. Behind the smiles and jokes however was a serious leader who cared deeply for his people and the success of the expedition.

Currently however, Elizabeth was facing exactly what Sumner had warned her about. Sheppard was idealistic. He could be passionate, headstrong, and didn't always follow the chain of command. Sheppard was staring her down now, that relentless determination glittering in his hazel eyes as he waited for her answer.

Elizabeth knew better then to bother going head to head against him when he was like this. Beside her, Bates was not as savvy in dealing with Sheppard.

Sergeant Bates leaned forward in his seat, his hackles rising. "Excuse me?" he snarled defensively.

Elizabeth sighed, the two of them were alpha males, each believing to have the best interest of the expedition at heart. John was commanding officer, but Bates was head of security for the base. They, as much as Elizabeth and John, needed to learn to work together instead of against each other.

"You heard me Sergeant," John snapped back.

Bates bristled beside Elizabeth and she resisted the urge to send them both to their rooms. "Major," she said, drawing Sheppard's focus onto her.

"Where are they?" John asked without waiting for what Elizabeth wanted.

"She," Elizabeth clarified. "She is in the infirmary."

Tension thrummed through Sheppard's body. The safety of everyone single person on this expedition was his responsibility. He had lost one of his team to the Wraith just that morning and he wasn't willing to risk their home to a stranger.

"The infirmary isn't secure. Are they under guard?" Sheppard snarled.

Bates made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat. "What do you take me for?" He challenged, all pretense of respect for his commanding officer gone in the wake of his temper. He was on hour twenty-six without sleep and he wasn't nearly as in control of his emotions as he should be.

Sheppard crossed his arms over his chest. "A little wet behind the ears actually," John replied glibly to the younger man.

Bates shoved himself to his feet. "Excuse me, sir?" he snarled leaning towards the other man. "You're one to talk about bringing home strays. What about your pet Athosian?" he challenged.

Sheppard's hands closed into fists. This was nothing like the situation with Teyla. She had proven her loyalty and was a useful member of his team. She had been instrumental in setting up trade relations with plenty of settlements.

Weir was good at reading people, but she had a soft heart. Bates hadn't spent enough time in the field to really understand the people of this galaxy. Between the two of them John didn't trust that they had a good handle on who this person was or what kind of a threat they might pose.

Elizabeth shoved herself to her feet before this could escalate any further. "That's enough, both of you," she said warning looking back and forth between the two males. "Bates sit down," she snapped.

Bates looked petulantly back and forth between Weir and Sheppard before slowly lowering himself back into his chair.

Elizabeth exhaled. As headstrong as she knew Sheppard could be, she trusted his temper more than Bates's. She had named Bates head of security early on. The man was competent and shrewd, but Sumner had spouted off too much in front of Bates regarding Sheppard. The man didn't seem to fully respect his superior and it was quickly becoming a problem.

Elizabeth turned to Sheppard. "Major, Sergeant Bates and his team encountered Kai Zian during a firefight with the Wraith on MV1-579. Despite being incredibly ill she aided the team. Following the confrontation they negotiated a trade in exchange for medical care."

Sheppard scowled back and forth between the two people. He stepped forward and flipped through the mission report. "What could she have possibly offered you to think it was a good idea to bring her back here?" Sheppard challenged, narrowing his eyes at Bates.

Elizabeth leaned forward. "I'm the one who approved the negotiation. She offered to receive care in the field and was in fact adamant about not returning with us. Had she not been so ill she collapsed while aiding us, we would have sent Carson through the gate. However, since Sergeant Bates insisted she provide us with her part of the negotiation first, she collapsed before they were able to radio Carson." Elizabeth's feelings regarding Bates' decision to push the ill woman were clear by the Doctor's tone.

"So she's still unconscious?" Major Sheppard asked scowling.

Weir nodded briskly, stiffening at his tone.

"So she has no idea she's here?" he clarified.

The two of them shook their heads. Sheppard exhaled, feeling a brief moment of relief to know it at least wasn't some kind of trap. Time would tell what kind of holy hell this woman might rain down on them, but for the moment everyone was safe. He scanned the mission report while the two sat back in their chairs. His frown deepened as he read on.

"She dismantled a Dart?" he exclaimed lowering the papers.

A triumphant smile spread across Weir's face. "Yes. We weren't able to get all of it, but she got us the power cells and compression coils. Zelenka is working on seeing if there is way to convert their power. I'm hoping to get McKay working on it once he is checked out."

Sheppard nodded numbly as he looked back at the papers in his hand as his tension faded. Even he would have agreed to the trade. Gaining a new form of energy might help them get more of the cities systems up and running. As it was they were operating in minimal power. They had the Athosians and all the members of the expedition crammed into two hallways of quarters in order to conserve power while they worked to clear more of the ancient city.

"Well if that's all, I have other duties to attend to," Bates said agitatedly as he climbed to his feet without being dismissed.

Sheppard waved him off, distracted by the report.

Elizabeth however stood up and stepped in front of the Sergeant. He looked down at her. Elizabeth lifted her chin refusing to allow the military man to think he could intimidate her. "If you ever refer to another member of this expedition or one of our allies in such a disrespectful way again I will have you removed from your post. Do you understand Sergeant?" She growled authoritatively.

Weir's reprimand was sharp, but still calm and clear. Sheppard cut his eyes to Bates. He had intended to sort out his disrespect of Teyla in private. To his surprise Weir took care of it for him perhaps a bit quieter than he had intended but it was effective nonetheless. Bates glanced back and forth between the two leaders before he nodded briskly and excused himself.

Weir turned to go when Sheppard called out to her as one particular point on the mission report caught his eye. "She killed five Wraith herself," he clarified. He lowered the file to the table and looked Elizabeth straight in the eye as a bad feeling went over him. He had fought the Wraith hand to hand himself and he knew how tough those bastards could be. Five would be a stretch even for him.

Elizabeth frowned, her mind already shifting to the next item she needed to focus on. "What was that?"

"According to Bates' mission report this-"

"Kai Zian," Weir supplied. Annoyance coloring her tone that Sheppard couldn't seem to remember their new allies name.

Sheppard nodded and stressed her name. "Kai Zian killed five Wraith that had Bates and his team pinned down."

Elizabeth shook her head. "He must have written it wrong. I believe it was just five Wraith there total. When you meet her you'll understand."

Sheppard nodded slowly thinking he needed to do just that. "Yeah," he agreed standing up. "That must be it."

Elizabeth had picked up her tablet and was scanning over some files. "Where are you off to?" she asked distractedly.

Sheppard rested a hand on his hip and motioned over his shoulder. "Just to get cleaned up. You know, check on McKay. Write up my mission report...catch a shower."

Weir nodded and Sheppard slipped out of the door. Without hesitation he headed straight for the infirmary. His long strides carried him briskly through the complex. As soon as he was alone he touched the comm in his ear. "Ford, Teyla," he called into it.

"Yes sir," Lieutenant Ford cane back quickly.

"Meet me in the infirmary," Sheppard ordered.

"On my way," the kid replied.

"I am already here with Rodney," Teyla responded, her voice was calm as always, but John had gotten to know the Athosian leader well enough to hear the unasked question in her voice. Ford would follow his orders, Teyla wanted to know what was happening. It was one of the reasons he trusted her when he trusted so few.

"I am on my way..." John hesitated. The comm station was specifically set aside for his team's use, but that didn't mean someone else wasn't listening. If Weir thought he wasn't letting this go because he didn't trust her judgement it was going to quickly become an issue between them. "Stay sharp," he allowed himself to add.

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The two armed guards standing outside the door of the infirmary nodded respectfully to Major Sheppard. He stepped into the dimly lit room, it was quiet with only the machines hooked up to their guest beeping quietly. Doctor Beckett had given her a private room. Whether that was for security or because they had brought an unknown illness into the city remained to be seen.

John wasn't sure what he expected, but the woman laying unconscious on the gurney was not it. He remembered Weir saying he would understand how she couldn't have taken out the Wraith when he saw her, but there had been a part of him that hadn't believed her. Now he did.

Kai Zian was much smaller than he expected. A couple inches shorter than Teyla and petite. Teyla was lovely, but she looked like a fighter. This woman was too slight to be anyone's idea of a combatant. Her skin was sallow beneath the fluorescent lights overhead. Dark lashes fanned across pale cheeks that were sprinkled with freckles. She was too thin, her bones and muscle stood out like her skin had been stretched too tight over them.

Kai Zian certainly didn't look like a threat.

She wore a headscarf still. It was loosely draped around her, covering her hair and resting over her shoulders. John had seen many women wear them on his tours in Afghanistan, but never one quite like this. It was black and from a distance seemed plain but up close he could see it was intricately embroidered with a complicated scroll pattern. Given the technological advancement of most of the civilizations he had encountered he couldn't imagine it's worth.

Behind him the door slid open with a hiss and Doctor Carson Beckett stepped in beside him.

"Oh hello Major," he greeted in his cheerful Scottish brogue. He picked up the clipboard from the end of the bed and started flipping through the pages. "Come to inquire after our mysterious guest?"

Sheppard crossed his arms over his chest. "Something like that, yeah," he allowed. His eyes flickered back to the door. Ford was just outside and Teyla was just beyond that, sitting with McKay as he waited for Carson to check his bruised wrist.

"What do we know Doc?" Sheppard asked

"Well, we know she is suffering from one of the most severe cases of pneumonia I have ever seen. It's a wonder she was still on her feet at all given how badly her chest x-rays look."

Sheppard nodded thoughtfully. "Anything else of note?"

Beckett looked down at the clipboard in his hand. "I can tell you that there has been prolonged, systemic trauma in this poor woman's life."

Sheppard turned his eyes back to the sleeping woman.

"She's suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration. It'll be a while before she gets back on her feet. It's a good thing we scooped her up."

"Yeah," Sheppard agreed distractedly. "Good thing. What's with the scarf?" Sheppard asked as he watched Beckett adjust the IV.

Beckett looked down as though he just noticed it. "Some religious significance I believe. Weir just said to keep it with her. She doesn't want to cause offense to our new friend."

"Right," Sheppard agreed. "How long until she wakes up Doc?"

Beckett shrugged. "There's no way of knowing I'm afraid. A day or two maybe? It depends on how well her body responds to the treatments. Physiologically she is similar to us, but not exactly the same. We'll just have to wait and see."

There was an exclamation from the other side of the infirmary.

"If you'll excuse me Major," Beckett said ducking away.

Sheppard stood over the unconscious woman frowning. Teyla stepped silently up beside him.

"How's Rodney?" he asked. He almost felt bad for leaving Teyla to deal with him, but then he heard Rodney begin dressing Carson down for making him wait and John decided he didn't feel that bad.

"Doctor Beckett is looking at him now. I believe he will be fine."

"Good," Sheppard nodded, it looked like Rodney had only bruised his wrist, but it was good to get it checked out before their team was called off world again.

Teyla looked down at the woman on the bed. "Who is this?" she asked in a low tone.

"Someone Bates and Weir brought back," Sheppard replied tightly. "She apparently brought us engine parts from a Wraith dart."

"She's a scientist?" Teyla asked in surprise turning back to the sickly looking woman.

"Or at least one hell of a mechanic," Sheppard quipped running a hand over his face.

"And you do not trust her?" Teyla asked cautiously.

Sheppard shook his head. "I don't know..."

"You should trust your instincts John," Teyla advised

Sheppard took Teyla's arm and led her further away from the bed. "Bates' report stated she took out five Wraith by herself."

Teyla's eyebrows lifted. "Five?" she looked down at the small woman with a new found respect.

"Weir claims he must have misreported. That she's exactly as she appears but-"

Teyla nodded in understanding. "Then we shall keep a close eye on her," Teyla promised.

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Chapter 3

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Kai was groggy as she blinked her eyes open. She was laying in a hospital bed and there was a steady beeping nearby. The last time she had been in a hospital things hadn't gone well for her. The memories were welling up inside of her tearing through her like broken glass. Whatever they had given her made it difficult to think and focus. Memories of the past were dangerously distracting. She tore herself free of them, forcing herself to focus on the present.

Her awareness was coming back faster now and she tensed, rolling herself up to her shaky feet. She swayed, steadying herself on the bed beside her. Adrenaline shot through her system as she recognized how weak she was. She needed to get somewhere safe where she could heal.

"Wait, wait!" a strangely accented voice called loudly from across the room, making Kai flinch. "You're fine. You're safe."

Tubes and wires were connected to her pulling at her like angry hands, making her feel claustrophobic. She had to blink a few times to clear her hazy vision. She looked around in confusion. A tall man with a warm smile suddenly stood before her. He was holding his hands up so she would know he wasn't a threat. But Kai wasn't wearing any of her gear anymore, she was entirely unarmed, and that made everything feel like a threat. She was wearing a loose white hospital gown. Her scarf had been removed from her head and face and was now draped loosely around her shoulders.

"You're safe," he repeated again. "You're in the infirmary. You're very ill," the man's voice was soothing.

Looking around Kai could see that she was in fact in an infirmary, but it was more advanced than any she had ever seen. She remembered then her new friends from Atlantis who had promised her medical help. She had been adamant they not bring her here, but it seemed when she had lost conscious they had gone against her wishes. She had been careful not to ask too many details of their homeworld. She hadn't wanted them to feel like she was a threat. Now she was regretting that decision. Any information about her location would help her assess the severity of her situation. She may have evaded the Wraith, but that didn't mean Atlantis wasn't just as dangerous to someone like her.

"Aye, there you go," Doctor Beckett said as he watched the woman slowly relax. "I know you've been through a lot, but you're safe here. I promise you."

Kai nodded slowly, exaggerating how out of it she was as she quickly assessed her surroundings. There were four possible exits. The most obvious of which was the glass double doors approximately seven yards to her right. There were two uniformed men in position on either side of them. Their uniforms confirmed this was Atlantis. Though the closest, the guards presence would make that exit the most difficult. She wasn't up for a fight just yet.

Finally, she met the man's eyes. His smile was warm and stretched across his entire face. "Would you be willing to sit and let me take a look at you?" he asked, gesturing back to the bed.

Kai nodded slowly. She was still tense, but with no visible threat she knew the best she could do was let the man help her. He was wearing a white lab coat and reminded her of the doctors from her own planet. It was after all what she had bargained for. She frowned as she remembered the bargain she had made. She was fairly certain she had completed dismantling the Wraith with their Doctor Zelenka, but the last hour before she had lost consciousness was foggy at best. Given the Atlantian's had gotten what they wanted she was surprised to have woken up at all. In her world she would have received nothing for her trouble but a bullet in the head.

The Doctor reached up and touched his ear piece. "Doctor Weir," he called into it. "Our guest has woken."

Kai's hearing was sharp enough she was able to hear the leader of Atlantis's reply over the personal comm. "Understood Carson. I'm on my way."

Doctor Beckett stepped over to the bed. "Please," he said gesturing back to the bed.

Kai climbed onto bed willingly. The Doctor began his examination. He listened to her heart and lungs. She disliked being touched but she understood the necessity. The Doctor however was one of the least threatening people she had ever met before. He had a gentle aura around him, he was a true healer at heart. It had been a long time since Kai had met someone like him.

"How long have I been here?" she asked a after a few moments of silence. She didn't want the Doctor to know how tense she was, and forced herself into polite chit chat that normally irritated her.

"Oh, just a couple days love," Beckett replied as he turned to examine the machines around her.

The doors hissed open and Kai jerked towards the sound. Her eyes quickly flitted over the room until they came to land on the IV tree beside her. It was going to be the easiest thing to turn into a weapon if that became necessary.

"It's okay," Beckett soothed stepping up beside her as though his nearness would soothe her. It did exactly the opposite. It only served to remind Kai there were two potential enemies in the room and they had her surrounded.

"Kai," Doctor Weir greeted stepping towards her. "I'm so happy to see you're awake." The leader's smile seemed genuine and Kai forced herself to lock down her muscles. She was not in any immediate danger, she was still very sick, and the best course of action would be to see how this played out. Doctor Weir so far had kept to her word, other than bringing her here.

Kai smiled warmly at the other woman. They had met on The Planet. Sergeant Bates had brought the leader of their expedition in to negotiate their deal. It had been reckless in her mind, bringing someone so important into an unsecured area with Wraith nearby. When she had suggested that Sergeant Bates had nearly bit her head off. The young Sergeant certainly had a lot to learn about strategy.

Given Sergeant Bates attitude she had been surprised to find the leader of Atlantis quite warm. The two had chatted briefly while working out their negotiations. It seemed Doctor Weir was as intrigued to meet Kai as Kai was about the people who had found the lost city.

"Doctor Weir," Kai greeted. "I take it our negotiations did not hold."

Doctor Weir arched a brow.

"The last thing I remember was taking out the last of the compression coils with Doctor Zelenka," Kai explained. "And then you were going to bring your doctor to me," Kai clarified. She needed to find out if she was actually a prisoner here. It was possible the guards at the door were always stationed there, but it didn't seem likely.

Elizabeth smiled down at the small woman. "You collapsed before we could get our Doctor to you. The Wraith overran the area and I'm afraid we had to make a split second decision."

"They saved your life," Doctor Beckett chimed in helpfully from behind Kai.

"I'm very grateful," Kai said quickly.

Doctor Weir smiled. "I know Doctor Beckett has told me it will be a while before you are up to full strength and are capable of being back out on your own. I was wondering if in the mean time you would be willing to consult with Doctor Zelenka on our new power source?"

Kai smiled. "I'd be happy to," she agreed. Every instinct told her to get out of this place. That she was trapped. And yet, she could feel how taxed her body already was after just the brief encounter. Finding a way to make herself useful among these people might allow her enough time to heal before she had to move on.

Doctor Weir must have seen something on her face because her eyes flickered to Beckett. "Well I'll leave you to rest. I'm sure Doctor Zelenka will be thrilled when I tell him you've agreed."

Beckett stepped forward. "Perhaps tell Radek Ms. Zian will need a day or two before she's ready to be badgered with questions."

"Of course," Elizabeth said with a warm smile. She reached out and touched Kai's arm.

Not expecting the sudden motion Kai froze, instinctively bracing for an attack. Elizabeth's smile faltered and she quickly lowered her hand. "I'm so sorry," she said quickly. "Please, rest and feel better."

Beckett and Kai watched Doctor Weir until the doors hissed closed behind her.

"Look," Beckett said in a low voice. "I know it's probably not my place, but I couldn't help noticing some of your reactions. And you..." he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Scars. I don't know what happened to you in the past, but I promise you, you are safe here."

Kai nodded wishing his words could be true. "Thank you Doctor Beckett."

><><

John groaned as he lay flat on his back on the mats in the gym. Teyla  had just executed a perfect throw, sending him over her shoulder and slapping him across the low back with her bantos rod on the way by. The area was throbbing painfully and he allowed himself a few moments to catch his breath.

"You are not your self today Major," Teyla said in the maddeningly calm voice of hers.

"How is this any different from any other day you kick my ass?" John griped, rubbing his low back painfully. It was definitely going to leave a mark.

"You're distracted today," she observed.

"Well, I guess I'm a little off my game," he agreed climbing back to his feet. He moved stiffly for a few steps as he attempted to walk it off. He hadn't had his ass routinely kicked so badly since basic. There was a lot Teyla could teach him and his men.

Teyla moved across the room. She set her rods down and picked up a towel, dabbing at the sweat on her brow. He thought it was nice of her to at least pretend their sparring session had taken something out of her. "Is it still Kai Zian that has you so concerned?"

"Well call me crazy but I don't like the idea of having a stranger roaming our halls when we got families and kids."

"Major Sheppard," Lieutenant Ford's voice crackled over their comms.

"Sheppard here," John responded touching his ear.

"Major," John could hear the young lieutenant's tension even through the comm. "Sir, she's awake."

><><

It seemed the other people on the base weren't able to hear through the double doors that separated her from the rest of the infirmary. They didn't seem to anticipate that she would be able to either and she didn't feel the need to broadcast that fact. It was a serious tactical advantage. She was especially glad for it, when an authoritative looking man stepped up to the guards outside her door.

"Sir," the two men greeted snapping off salutes.

The man nodded to them and stepped up close to the one on the right. "What can you tell me?" he asked tightly. So the guards were stationed there for her.

Their voices were slightly muffled by the door, but Kai could hear the tension in his voice. She let her eyes drift closed as she focused on the sound of their voices.

"Major," the man said. "She woke up about an hour ago. Beckett has been running tests. Weir was down earlier and asked her to consult with Doctor Zelenka once she regains her strength."

"Anything else?" The man asked. She wanted to know if he was looking at her, but she kept her eyes closed. If he thought she was sleeping he was less likely to feel threatened by her presence. Although judging by his tone, it may already be too late for that.

"No sir," the young man reported. "She's been quiet."

She didn't hear any response from the man, but the doors hissed open a second later.

"Ah, back again Major Sheppard," Doctor Beckett greeted from the other room.

"Yeah, I heard our friend had woken up, wanted to come up and introduce myself," his voice was gravely and close to the bed.

"Well, she's been napping on and off for the last few hours. She's still very weak. Perhaps if you came back la-"

Kai opened her eyes. "It's okay, Doctor Beckett," she said in a low voice. "A diversion would be wonderful. I'm going to start going stir crazy in here."She coughed once allowing the pain the movement caused her to show in her eyes to highlight her illness. She wheezed for a moment before leaning back against her pillows and rested her eyes on Major John Sheppard for the first time.

He was almost a foot taller than her. He was wearing combat boots and pants, though he wasn't in formal gear as he wore a simple black t-shirt that hugged a muscular frame. She could see the definition in his chest and arms that told her he was more than just a figure head. The way he moved around the room told her he was a fighter who went into the field. There was a gun strapped in a custom thigh holster on the right side of his body which told her he was more than likely right handed. There was a knife on the outside of the holster, but it was a backup weapon. The handgun was his primary. His face had smile lines but his eyes were hardened from a lifetime of battle. He had unruly dark hair that stuck up in odd places. He crossed his arms over his chest and leveled his gaze on her as he waited for her to finish her inspection of him.

"Aye," Beckett agreed, but he still looked mutinous. "Don't push yourself," and he leveled a severe look at Major Sheppard, completely oblivious to the silent exchange that was happening.

Sheppard held up his hands and flashed the doctor a reassuring smile he didn't feel. It was interesting that the doctor had grown so protective of the strange woman in such a short period of time.

Sheppard turned back to the woman. She was sitting up in bed, her legs crossed pretzel style. It made her look unassuming and young, but there was no mistaking the shrewd gaze that had seemed to look right through him. It only strengthened his resolve that the woman was hiding something. She had appraised him in just a matter of seconds, but it had been done with clinical efficiency. He hadn't missed when her gaze had touched on his gun.

Kai had less than a minute to decide how she was going to play this. She figured her best bet was going to be direct. The Major didn't look like the type of man who would be swayed easily by a pretty smile, nor like he was likely to buy into a helpless damsel act either.

"I'm Major-"

"John Sheppard," Kai finished for him. "Yes, I've heard," she said.

Sheppard nodded.

"I'm Kai Zian," she said extending her hand to him. "Though I'm sure you already know that."

He closed his large hand over her own and despite how weak she appeared he noted her grip was still firm and she stared into his eyes, waiting him out. Finally he let go of her hand and resumed his stance at the end of her bed.

"I'm highest ranking Military officer on the base. As such the safety of everyone here is my responsibility. Therefore I thought it would be good for you and I to become better acquainted if you're going to stick around while you heal up. If you feel up to it I have a few questions."

She nodded Demurely. It was nice of him to ask, but they both knew it was just a formality. "Of course Major."

"Now, care to tell me what was it you were doing on an uninhabited planet crawling with Wraith?"

Kai was surprised with how direct the Major was straight off the bat, but she appreciated it. She had found the other military commander to be fairly easy to manipulate. This one was going to be tougher. It meant he was more capable of defending this base, but it also meant he would be more difficult to fool. The sooner she healed up and got out of here the better.

"I was left there by my people," Kai replied. While she had been caught off guard with having to come up with a story for Weir and Bates, she had perfected her new history laying in bed over the last hour.

"Why?" Sheppard asked.

Kai looked down at her hands. "For the Wraith," she said in a low voice.

"Judging by your gear, it looks like you've been there a while. How have you managed to evade the Wraith that long?"

"Luck mostly," Kai responded honestly. "I kept to the woods and avoided them. It wasn't until the rainy season hit and I got sick that I risked going into the ruin. By that time I knew I was in trouble."

"How long were you there?"

Kai looked down at her hands and instead of telling the lie that was on the tip of her tongue, she found herself telling the painful truth. "I had stopped counting."

John pulled up at that. He had been in his fair share of survival situations, even a POW for a short time in Afghanistan. He knew better than anyone what it meant when someone in that situation stopped counting. He pressed his lips together and nodded, feeling a brief surge of guilt for pushing her.

The haunted look in her grey eyes made the man in him want to stop and leave it there, but the Major needed to ask more questions. He had to be sure. "According to the report, you took out five Wraith that had the squad pinned down. How did you manage that?"

"I don't believe I took all five of them down. I had a good defensive position and fired the shots that remain in my gun. I was able to kill a couple that I had already wounded before I was attacked and Sergeant Bates saved me before the Wraith was able to feed."

Sheppard nodded.

"And you offered the trade of medical care for a Wraith power source?"

"Well, Sergeant Bates told me he was there seeking trade partners. He was after food or a power source. So I made the offer. He contacted Doctor Weir and she came through and we made the deal. She brought Doctor Zelenka to help and we managed to get several of the large fuel cells and compression coils before I passed out. That's the last thing I remember."

John nodded. Her story certainly all made sense, but there was a niggling feeling in the back of his head that he just couldn't shake.

Beckett came in. He was carrying a tray with several bottles for injections. "Sorry to interrupt," he said, though the disapproving look he leveled at the Major said otherwise. "I just have to administer Ms. Zian's medications."

Kai smiled at the man. "Please call me Kai," she said.

"Aye," the doctor agreed with a warm smile.

"Was there anything else you needed to know Major?" Kai asked, blinking up at him innocently as Beckett worked beside her.

"Bugger," Beckett snapped as he carelessly knocked one of the glass bottles from the tray.

Before he could blink Kai's hand lashed out and she caught it in midair. Realizing what she had done Kai immediately released the smooth glass surface, letting it fall to the ground and shattering.

"Blast," she muttered. "I'm sorry Doctor, I thought I could get it," she said quickly trying to cover her mistake. She really was out of it. It had been a sloppy mistake and she was almost afraid to meet the major's eyes again.

Beckett smiled at her. "It's okay lass. You were close," he said nudging her with a smile.

Kai turned back to the Major. His shrews eyes were staring at her. "No, I think I've seen enough," he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes and he left the two of them in the infirmary. 

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Chapter 4

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It was late and Elizabeth was working in her office. Even in a different galaxy there was still paper work. They had been on Atlantis for nearly a month now and it finally felt like things were settling into a rhythm. With the exception of the arrival of Kai Zian two days ago things had been relatively quiet the past week. It was a welcome break from the week prior when an alien entity had attacked the cities power.

A brisk knock at her door startled her. She looked up to see Doctor Zelenka standing outside. His disheveled hair seemed to be standing up more than usual and there was the crease of a frown between his eyes.

"Doctor Zelenka," Elizabeth greeted standing. "Please come in."

The Czech doctor nodded respectfully.

"Please have a seat," Elizabeth said motioning to one of the chairs.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late," Zelenka mumbled as the two of them sat.

Elizabeth closed her laptop, folding her hands over the top of it so Zelenka would know he had her full attention. "It's fine, I was just working, is everything all right?"

"Um, yes yes, I wanted to speak with you," Zelenka muttered in his thick accent.

"Is it about Miss Zian?" Elizabeth asked carefully.

Kai had been working almost exclusively with Radek and so far things seemed to have been going well. Almost everyone who had met Kai had nothing but positive things to say about her. The only exception had been Major Sheppard. That alone made Elizabeth wary. She trusted the Major's instincts and it was odd that the man who seemed capable of getting along with everyone would struggle with the seemingly sweet woman.

"Yes," Zelenka replied.

"How has it been going with her?" Elizabeth prompted when Zelenka didn't immediately begin to explain the reason for his visit.

Zelenka looked surprised by her question but quickly shook it off. "Wonderful. She is quite clever and is very useful with both technological systems and engines. Thus we moved down to the jumper bay today."

Elizabeth smiled indulgently. "Yes, McKay informed me you had not been able to convert the power from the dart fuel cells for our primary systems, but believed you might be able to give us an independent power source for the jumpers."

Informed was such a nice word, and certainly did not accurately describe the stomping fit the head scientist had that afternoon in her office. She couldn't decide if Doctor McKay actually believed it was a poor use of resources or if it simply insulted his ego to not have been brought in on the project.

"Yes," Zelenka confirmed, completely unrepentant for changing the nature of the project without asking permission.

This, Elizabeth found, was without doubt her greatest challenge as leader of Atlantis. She had some of the most brilliant scientists earth had to offer all packed together on one base. None of them played well with others, they seemed to think they didn't need permission for anything, and they were all used to being the smartest person in the room. When she had first taken the position she had believed it was the military side that would give her trouble. At least they understood chain of command and Major Sheppard was an effective Commanding Office who was both well respected and liked by his men.

"We were working in the jumper under the main command control panel for much of the day. We took a short break and Miss Zian sat in the pilots chair-"

Elizabeth knew where this was going even before Zelenka finished his story. "Are you serious?" she breathed, unable to believe there luck. Not only was the young woman comfortable working on the technology but...

Zelenka nodded grimly, shoving his glasses further up his nose. "Yes Doctor Weir, Miss Zian has the ancient gene."

><><

"Wait, let me get this straight. So you threw an apple at Zelenka?" Doctor Rodney McKay asked his voice rising incredulously as he and Major Sheppard made their way down to the mess hall. A small pleased smile crossed his face at his colleagues misfortune.

"Shh," John snapped glancing around the hallway to make sure no one was listening to them. "Yes," John admitted a little sheepishly. "And she snatched it right out of the air."

Rodney paused, glancing towards his friend and team leader in disbelief. "So, you don't believe she is who she says she is because she caught an apple?"

John made a noise of frustration in the back of his throat. He didn't know why he bothered going to McKay with this. "You don't understand. She was facing the complete wrong direction," he grunted.  "Look there was no way she should have caught that. Those type of reflexes-"

Rodney chuckled. "So what you're saying is the apple should have hit Zelenka in the face. That was your plan?"

"Rodney," Sheppard stressed his name, wishing he had never started this conversation. "Never mind."

"I miss all the good experiments," Rodney huffed indignantly.

"Rodney!" Sheppard pulled the scientist's attention back to him.

"Hmm?" Rodney asked.

"She's been here almost two weeks. We magically discover she had the ancient gene and no one thinks it's odd. You've spent time with her now. Did you notice anything strange about her?" Sheppard asked.

Zian had been moving freely about the base for almost a week and a half, and though he had yet to find any evidence she was not what she claimed to be he couldn't shake the feeling of mistrust that was chewing at his gut. 

"Well she's hot," Rodney offered. "I mean could certainly use a few good meals, but-"

Sheppard sighed, regretting bringing this problem to his friend. "What does that have to do with anything?" he griped.

"She claims to be a mechanic and a pilot. Have you ever seen a mechanic or pilot who looked like her?" Rodney asked.

Sheppard sighed, Rodney was starting to make him feel paranoid. "That is hardly scientific evidence that she-"

Rodney snorted indignantly. "It is just as sound as your apple extrapolation my friend," Rodney interrupted vehemently.

Sheppard sighed this wasn't getting anywhere. "So, other than her being hot, you haven't noticed anything suspicious about her?"

McKay shook his head. "Other than the fact that she seems perfectly capable of working with Zelenka without complaint? No. Sorry. She's spent the last week and half in the jumper bay with him."

Sheppard pressed his lips into a grim line. "It's okay pal, maybe I am just being paranoid like Teyla said." He hated to admit that he might be wrong, but there was no denying what he had seen, and what his gut was telling him.

"Teyla called you paranoid?" McKay asked in surprise his foot steps slowing.

"Well, she didn't use those exact words-" Sheppard cut off his words as the two of them stepped into the mess hall.

Sitting almost directly in front of them was Doctor Zelenka and Zian. Zian was typing away fastidiously on a small laptop sitting in front of her while Zelenka was working on his tablet. He watched as Zian's eyes flickered into the reflection on her laptop, checking to see who came through the door. Sheppard flashed her a tight smile so she would know he caught her. She wore the traditional uniform of the other scientists on Atlantis, with the exception of her head scarf.

He turned back to McKay but he had already hurried off to go through the line. John trotted after him, snatching up a tray. He leaned down so he could speak closely to Rodney's ear so they weren't overheard. "She just checked us out in her computer screen."

"Maybe you are a little paranoid," McKay said thoughtfully. He pointed out which dishes he wanted. "Can I get a double helping," the woman rolled her eyes but obliged. He turned back to John. "You know maybe she has a thing for you...or maybe a thing for me," he added hopefully. 

John carried his tray to a table on the far side of the room where he could keep his eyes on Zian and the door. "Rodney, I'm serious."

Rodney held his spoon up in the air in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'll do some digging into her work if it would make you feel better."

"Can you do that?"

Rodney chuckled self importantly. "I'm the Chief Science and Research Officer, when it comes to research and projects even you can't stop me," Rodney said stabbing his spoon towards John's chest. "I mean, y-you could, if it posed a security risk...look that's not the point. I'll take care of it."

Sheppard grunted in appreciation.

"Are you going to eat that?" Rodney asked gesturing to the blue jello cup on Sheppard's tray.

><><

He didn't believe her. Kai could practically feel the distrust rolling off the Major every time they were in the same room together. Everyone else on Atlantis had been welcoming and open with her, but not the Major. She couldn't quite put a finger on what she had done wrong to set him off. She used to be so good at this. Too much time on a deserted planet by herself had made her social skills a little rusty.

The Major had come into their first meeting already suspicious. It was possible Bates had colored the Major's opinion of her. Not to mention her mistake in the infirmary. She had been convinced he and Beckett hadn't seen it, but after what happened earlier that day when Sheppard had come down to the jumper bay she wasn't so sure.

Sheppard claimed he had brought a snack for Zelenka and had carelessly thrown the apple straight at the confused scientists head. Had Kai not caught it she had no doubt Zelenka could have been knocked out or at least had a sizable goose egg. As soon as she had done it however she knew she had messed up again. The Major's eyes had flared in triumph before he apologized to Zelenka and beat a hasty retreat.

It was in Kai's nature to run when things started to take a turn. But she liked it here. She had been working side by side with Doctor Zelenka for a week and a half. She hadn't been in the infirmary a full day before the eager Doctor had appeared with computer in hand ready to run simulations and begin working on the power conversion.

Two days of hard work later it had been Kai to suggest retrofitting it to their own ships. They had moved their work down to the jumper bay and had been there every day since. That's when they discovered she had something they called the ancient gene and much of the technology of the ancient city worked for her. Once they figured that out the two had moved on to other problems the expedition had been having with the ancient Lantian technology. After the first week Beckett had released her from sleeping in the infirmary, claiming she was well enough for just a daily check up.

They had moved her into one of their guest suites. She had never had private chambers as lavish as those. Back home every member of her caste lived in the barracks on the rare occasion they were home. She hadn't given much thought to what she would do after her time in Atlantis, but the distrust on the Major's face made her think she needed to start making those arrangements sooner rather than later.

Lunch with Zelenka was incredibly uncomfortable. She normally enjoyed the quiet meals with the scientist. He spent most of his time working and he didn't put any pressure on her to speak about her past. Today she could feel The Major's eyes boring into the back of her head. She tried to focus on her work, but the attention was making her jittery.

"What's the matter with you?" Zelenka asked after a few moments.

"What? Nothing, I guess I'm not very hungry. I think I'll head back down to the lab."

Zelenka nodded but never looked up at her.

Kai moved to dump her tray. When she turned back, she was still so distracted she smacked into the chest of the person directly behind her. Kai grunted and rocked back on her heels. The person grabbed her shoulders as though to steady her. Kai's hands instinctively whipped up covering those holding her in case she needed to fight.

Somewhere in the recesses of Kai's mind something she hadn't felt in a very long time woke up. It was uncomfortable like a muscle that had fallen asleep. There was a hard nudge and she flinched as though she had been struck.

"Whoa, easy," Major Sheppard's voice sounded in her ear.

Just as quickly as it came the sensation faded. Kai's eyes snapped up to his face in shock. She must have been imagining it. It was the only possible explanation.

Her heart was pounding in her chest as her body coiled so it was ready to defend itself. His hands were large and warm where they completely covered her shoulders. He was larger and stronger than her. She would have to be faster. Her original gear hadn't been returned to her but she had scrounged up two small knives. One was hidden in her combat boot and the other was tucked up her left sleeve. Both would be costly to reach for if it came down to it.

Major Sheppard was only inches away. She had never noticed how expressive his deep set hazel eyes were. Every military commander she had ever known was ice cold, inside and out. John Sheppard was not.

Sheppard's warm hazel eyes looked bewildered for a moment before they began to narrow in suspicion. He seemed to sense that he had spooked her somehow and looked apologetic.

"Sorry," he said slowly lowering his hands. "I didn't mean to startle you." He kept his hands wide and his palms facing her, moving slowly as though she needed reassurance he wasn't a threat.

Kai shook her head. "Not at all Major, it was my fault, I was distracted." It was harder to let go of the old instincts than she realized. Her eyes scanned the rest of the room looking for any possible explanation for what she had felt.

"Something wrong?" He asked following her gaze to scan the rest of the mess hall. The Major noticed her hyper-vigilance almost immediately. It was a common thing in soldiers who had seen too many battlefields.

Kai snapped her attention back to him. "No, just..." Kai cleared her throat and scrubbed her sweaty palms against her thighs. "Thinking about my work," she quickly filled in.

Whatever had caused the sensation in her mind was gone now. Making her question if it had even been there in the first place. The Major had startled her which accounted for her instinct to defend but she couldn't quite figure out why she didn't feel the need to defend herself from him. He had been her main opposition since arriving in Atlantis and somehow he had managed in the space of a few seconds to make himself appear non-threatening. It was a dangerous skill. One she of all people genuinely appreciated for its complexity.

"Right," the major replied. "Your work. I'll let you get back to that," he said flashing her a boyish smile that had her even more off kilter than his sullen glares.

Kai excused herself with a respectful bow of her head, but she nearly tripped over her own feet as she fled from John Sheppard.

><><

John went to the only place he could think of for answers. Doctor Beckett was working in his office.

"Got a minute?" John asked rapping on the door with the backs of his knuckles.

"Major," Beckett greeted him with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I have a few more questions for you about Kai Zian," John said stepping in and closing the door behind him.

Beckett huffed out an agitated sigh. "Look, I don't know what else I can tell you Major-"

John held up his hands. "Look, I know I've been a major pain in the ass."

Beckett rolled his eyes at the poor pun.

"But I just had an interesting run in with Zian and I just want to clarify a couple things you said."

Beckett frowned, leaning forward in his chair. "What kind of run in?"

John waved it off, "I literally just ran into her in the mess hall and I scared her. Bad," John didn't like the thought of scaring someone that bad. In fact, nothing he had done could have accounted for the haunted look in Kai's eyes or her visceral reaction to defend herself.

"When she first got here you said she had suffered some trauma...?"

Beckett sighed. "Well, it's not really for me to say Major. I certainly don't see how it could effect the safety of the base."

"Carson," John shifted to the doctors first name, hoping to appeal to the healer in him. "Look, I just bumped into the women and she was ready to go down fighting. I need a clue here."

Beckett sighed again. "Looking at her x-rays and the scars on her skin, I can say with certainty that whatever happened in her past was a result of continued, long-term trauma or abuse."

John scowled at that. It would certainly account for Kai's reaction. It also made him feel like a huge asshole for being so suspicious of her. "You're sure?"

Beckett's look was sad. "Bones don't lie Major."

><><

Chapter 5

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Thirty-Eight Minutes

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"Doctor Zelenka come in," Kai could hear Weir's voice clearly through Zelenka's personal comm.

The two had been working in Zelenka's lab on maximizing the generators output all day. After the debacle yesterday in the mess hall, Kai was happy to hide away from everyone and focus on work. She knew she was here on borrowed time and she didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself.

The tone in Weir's voice however made her think something serious had happened.

"Yes this is Doctor Zelenka," the scientist responded touching his ear to activate his radio.

Although Kai was sitting three feet away, she could hear Doctor Weir's voice as clearly as though the comm were in her own ear. "Doctor we have an emeregency. Jumper one has become lodged in the stargate with one of it's drivepods still extended. It's aft section has crossed the event horizon. I would like you and several others to meet in the conference room to work this problem."

"Understood,' Zelenka replied.

Kai had already snapped her laptop shut and stood ready to assist in whatever way she could.

Zelenka pushed his glasses back up his nose nervously. "C-Come with me," he stammered turning towards the door.

"But she said-" Kai started to argue.

"Doesn't matter," Zelenka said. He hurried to the transporter and when the doors opened into the jumper bay instead of the gate room, Kai frowned at him. It was very unlike Zelenka to go against orders. It was one of the things she enjoyed most about working with the quiet scientist. He was nothing if not predictable.

"We have less than half an hour before the worm hole closes," was his only explanation. His hands were practically dancing in the air in agitation. "I need one of those down." He said motioning to the jumpers that were still in storage position. "Quickly please," he said his accent thicker with stress.

Quickly understanding Kai climbed up the ladder without further hesitation. She had moved jumpers around the hanger before. Since they discovered she had the gene Zelenka had slowly been introducing her to all different kinds of technology she might encounter in the city. It had been so long since she flew anything, and even just moving their small shuttles around the hanger was better than nothing.

She expertly dropped the jumper into position in the middle of the bay and opened the rear hatch. By the time she shut down the controls Zelenka already had the circuit doors open on both sides and was plugging in his tablet.

"I need you to connect," he muttered tossing another cord towards her.

Kai caught it one handed and plugged in. She set her laptop on the seat below where he was working and dropped down to sit on the ground as he began testing relays.

Her computer was pulled straight into his program. It began mapping the pathways automatically building a schematic from his work.

"Once this is mapped-" Zelenka broke off into a string of what Kai had been told was Czech, his native tongue. After a few moments he refocused and glanced down at her. "Please make sure every pathway is mapped. If we miss a single one-"

"Understood," Kai replied briskly without looking up.

Ten minutes later Doctor Weir stepped through the bay doors. "Doctor Zelenka," she called.

"We're in here!" Kai called loudly enough for the other woman to hear her.

When Doctor Weir stepped into the shuttle Zelenka addresses her without looking up. "Apologies for not attending your briefing Doctor Weir. There is no time."

Kai glanced up at Weir. She wasn't a fan of being on the ground at the other woman's feet, but now wasn't the time to allow herself to be ruled by old instincts. Time was of the essence and she was honesty curious how Weir was going to respond to Zelenka ignoring a direct order. On her home world the offense wouldn't have been tolerated.

Weir looked annoyed but she stayed out of their way. "I don't want to slow you down, but I need to know what you're working on so I can communicate to the team of Jumper One."

Zelenka sighed and muttered in Czech. Kai pushed herself up on her knees. Zelenka's work took longer than hers. Backlogging a couple pathways as they loaded into the schematics wouldn't hurt anything and she could easily catch up. If Zelenka stopped the people in the shuttle lost time.

"We are attempting to retract the drivepods from inside the rear compartment," Kai explained succinctly.

"Anything yet?" Weir demanded authoritatively.

Zelenka looked down at her sharing the annoyance Kai kept off her own face. If they had something they would have already reported their success and certainly wouldn't still be there.

Zelenka shoved his glasses further up his nose. "There's much redundancy in ancient technology. Making it dangerous for them to experiment in this way."

Elizabeth looked confused and before she could open her mouth Kai spoke up again hoping to stop Zelenka from being distracted. "They could accidentally open the rear hatch or turn off life support. Which is why we are attempting to isolate the correct control pathway."

"Understood," Elizabeth nodded to Kai in appreciation. She knew the young woman had been helping Zelenka but she hadn't realized the extent of her expertise. "What can I do to help?"

Zelenka looked up from his work one more time. "Stop talking please."

Instead of being offended Weir nodded briskly and without comment left the shuttle.

Zelenka's program had set up a small clock at the bottom of Kai's screen and the angry red numbers were slipping away from them. Ten minutes went by as she worked fastidiously to input Zelenka's rapid code.

"There!" Zelenka exclaimed excitedly. He jumped off his stool and fumbled for his radio. "Doctor Zelenka to the control room. I think I have something," he tapped loudly against his touch pad. "I have sent the correct control pathway. Get that to Rodney as quickly as possible."

"Understood," Weir's voice came back over the comm.

"So now what?" Kai asked.

"We head back up to the gate room, see if there is anything else we can do. Just because we have the pathway doesn't mean we know the relay. It narrows it down by a factor of perhaps a thousand."

The two of them stepped off the transport just as Weir was speaking. "I'm sorry, what's going on with the Major?" She and Beckett were standing together at the main control station.

"Some sort of bug has attached itself to his neck and seems to be feeding on him similar to a wraith," Lieutenant Fords voice crackled back through.

Zelenka and Kai were passing when Kai hesitated. "An Iratus bug?" she asked frowning at Weir and Beckett.

Beckett's head snapped towards her. "What was that?"

"It sounds like an iratus bug," Kai shirked slightly as the control rooms attention was turned towards them. Zelenka continued to move towards the conference room leaving her with the Doctor.

Doctor Weir moved towards her shoving a radio onto her face. "Ford, you need to answer Kai's questions, she might now something about the bug."

"Lieutenant Ford," Kai spoke tentatively into the radio.

"Kai," he replied briskly. She could hear the stress in the young man's voice.

"The Iratus bug is about the size of two men's hands. It has pinchers that attach to the hosts neck. It's dark blue with an orange underbelly." Kai quickly recalled everything she could remember of the deadly bugs.

Ford exhaled in relief. "Yes ma'am, that sounds like our guy. So how do we get it off of him?"

Kai's face fell and both Beckett and Weir saw her dismay as everyone in the room turned to her for answers. "I don't know." she said honestly. "They were on my planet in caves mostly. They draw energy from their victims...they're fast...They hate salt water. That's how we managed to keep them away. Or cleared out a cave."

"Salt water," she heard Lieutenant Ford mutter.

A few seconds went by and the Major's screams filled the control room. Kai flinched as his pain filled her head. With the comm directly in her ear it was almost painful. She gritted her teeth and took it however knowing it was nothing compared to the pain the Major was in. She heard a crack and something large fell on their end.

"It reacted to the salt water," Ford reported a few moments later. He was panting.

Beckett leaned forward, resting his palms against the control panel. "Did it loosen it's hold on Major Sheppard?"

"Negative, if anything it dug in deeper."

"Please don't do that again," Sheppard's voice was shaking with pain as it came weakly through the comm.

"I won't sir, I'm sorry," Ford replied. "Any other good ideas Kai?" Ford asked tightly.

"No," Kai muttered.

Beckett gave her hand an encouraging squeeze and Kai resisted the urge to pull away from being touched.

With the comm directly in her ear Kai was able to hear some of the smaller sounds coming through the comm that the others seemed unaware of. She could hear them moving in the shuttle and the occasional click from the Iratus bug.

Weir was back to business but Kai could see that hearing the Major's screams had shaken her. "We haven't come up with anything more on this end, but there's still time. Zelenka has the whole team running the relays as we speak. How is Major Sheppard?"

"I'm still here," he called back coughing. "Listen, ah I'd like to say something while I still can."

Weir's eyes widened and turned almost frantically towards Doctor Beckett. "Don't! You're going to get through this."

The Major chuckled humorlessly. "If I was, he wouldn't have let me go."

Weir frowned in confusion. "Who wouldn't have let you go?"

John snorted. "The wraith. I guess he saw me as good as dead because he just walked away so what I wanted to say was-"

"Save your strength John and tell me in person." Weir's voice was strong but Kai could see in the leader's eyes what it cost her. She cared for The Major a great deal. Out of habit Kai quietly filed away that information in case she needed it in the future. Old habits died hard.

Beckett turned to Kai. "Is there anything else you can think of? Anything at all, no matter how innocuous might be helpful."

Kai shook her head in defeat. "The only time I've seen them let go of their host is after it's dead."

Her words had gone over the comm and everyone looked away. There was nothing left they could do to save The Major. Everyone in the room knew it. In less then ten minutes however even that wasn't going to matter.

"Hit me with the defibrillator," John's voice came through the comm strong and sure.

"What?" Weir was incredulous.

Beckett swung his eyes over to Kai, a small smile started pulling at his face as his eyes lit up. "You might just be onto something Major."

"No, that could kill him!" Ford yelled into the ear piece.

Kai flinched and pulled it away from her ear. Beckett frown at her in concern but she ignored it. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to it.

"That's the idea," Sheppard growled back.

"How is that an idea?" Weir demanded, her eyes flashing over to where Beckett and Kai stood together.

Beckett turned back to Weir. "What we're suggesting is fooling the creature into thinking it's prey is dead by stopping the Major's heart. If what Kai says is true, it should let him go."

Through the comm Kai could hear them moving in the shuttle once more. She hear things opening and shifting. "So when the thing lets him go we give him another jolt," Ford said after a moment.

"Aye you can give it a try. If it doesn't work you send him through the event horizon. He'll keep there as good as a deep freeze," Beckett said with a shrug.

There was a long moment as everyone considered the possible ramifications. Kai tightened her grip on the railing in front of her. They were doing all of this off her word. She pinched her eyes shut. She hadn't seen the bugs since she was a child, she only hoped she wasn't miss remembering. The Major's life depended on it.

"John are you sure you want to do this?" Weir asked, her voice rising with tension.

"I want this damn thing off me."

Beckett reached up and changed the station on his radio. "I need a team down to the jumper bay. Prepared for a code blue." He touched it again switching back over. "Lieutenant Ford do you know how to do this?"

There was only a second of grim silence before the young soldiers determined voice came back on. "Yes sir."

Kai could hear muffled movement through the comm. The voices weren't as clear and she wondered if she was hearing them through The Major's comm while the others had switched theirs off.

"Cut his shirt open...Charging to 200."

The high pitched whine of the charging machine filled her ears.

"Move his tags."

Beckett's body was tense beside her. "Place lubrication right on the paddles," Kai nearly jumped with how loud Beckett's voice came right beside her after she had strained to hear even the smallest movement.

Ford clicked his radio back on. "Ready to go. Once the bug falls off, I'll have to kill it. I'll wait for it to charge up again and give him another jolt. McKay, if I can't restart his heart on the first try I'm going to need that bulkhead door open again."

"Done," It was the first thing Kai had heard from Doctor McKay which surprised her. The normally arrogant Doctor was usually quite vocal, but the clock was ticking and even if the others managed to save The Major it would all come down to him. Kai didn't envy the man, it made her grateful for maybe the first time that her caste had always worked alone.

"One of us is going to have to take him through."

"I will," Teyla's voice came through the channel resolute.

There was a pause then, when even Kai couldn't hear anything over the comms. She couldn't imagine what it must be like in the shuttle.

"DO IT!" Sheppard bellowed and she heard the snap as the electricity discharged.

"No pulse." Ford reported his agitation rising. If this didn't work, he had effectively killed his commanding officer.

"IT WON'T COME OFF!" Teyla called desperately.

Beckett drew in a calming breath before he spoke, as though he could calm them from the distance. "Settle, it may take a moment."

"Lietenant," Weir warned.

Then there was nothing again. Kai flinched as gunshots echoed in the radio. She looked around for the base of the radio to turn it down but she didn't know who had given her their earpiece.

Beckett frowned at herSeeming oblivious to what she had heard. "What's happening?" he asked briskly.

Kai's eyes flashed to him. She hadn't told anyone here, if fact she had worked hard to conceal how much stronger her senses seemed to be than anyone else, but the doctor somehow seemed to know anyway. She glanced at him warily, but the determination glittering in his gaze wasn't something she could ignore. She covered the mouthpiece of her comm. She didn't need everyone in the room to hear what she was saying. 

"Gunshots," she whispered. A moment later she heard the faint beeping and then the hard jolt of electricity. "Defibrillator," she reported.  

"Nothing," Ford reported after a tense moment. "Let's get him through."

Beckett's eyes went back to Kai. "They're moving him I think. There's a lot of motion. I think that was the gate-"

"This is Lietenant Ford, the creature has been successfully removed from Major Sheppard but we were unable to revive him. Both he and Teyla are on the other side of the event horizon."

"Thank you Lieutenant," Weir said briskly. She looked down at the laptop in front of her. "Rodney. You have seven minutes."

Kai turned away from Beckett to where Zelenka was working with the other scientists. She pulled out the earpiece and offered it back to Beckett. "I think that's all I can do," she said in a low voice.

Beckett turned off his own radio for a moment before he took the earpiece from her with gentle fingers. "You did a great deal." he told her. "Thank you. You probably saved the Major's life."

Kai frowned at the idea. "The Major isn't out of the woods yet."

"No," Beckett agreed. "But I can handle a code Blue. The Major is one of the strongest men I know. He'll fight for it."

Kai nodded and excused herself quietly to return to Doctor Zelenka's side. Zelenka was working on his tablet. Without looking up he shoved her laptop towards her. "I'm running the command code pathway relay probability for zero-one-four to nine-eight-five-two. Please begin at nine-eight-five-three. See if we can give Rodney any more help."

Kai quickly opened her computer and began running each simulation as quickly as possible. It was unlikely any of them would land on the right one, but if the group of seven continued to run it they just might land on the correct one before McKay either found it himself or ran out of time. Kai was no scientist, but she was painfully aware the odds were not in their favor.

Standing so close to Zelenka Kai was able to hear the continued conversation nearly as well as when she had been wearing the borrowed comm, but she turned her entire focus to running her simulations.

"Don't be so methodical just pick one at random," Weir commanded.

"If I do that I'll run the risk of attempting to activate the same circuit twice and overlapping the work there," McKay's voice was rising with tension with each passing second.

"Just try!"

"I'm telling you-" McKay snarled authoritatively. "Wait!" McKay's voice came through.

Kai missed having the advantage of hearing what else was going on in the shuttle.

"I think I did it! Elizabeth I think the engine pods retracted."

Kai breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone's eyes turned to the stargate. Long seconds passed and nothing happened.

"Then why haven't you shown up?" Weir asked desperately. The clock continued to count down ominously in the bottom corner of Kai's screen.

"She's right, why aren't we moving," Ford's voice was grave and muffled.

Zelenka turned to Kai, his eyes were distant as his thoughts raced.

"Inertia. The drive shut down before we went in the stargate-" Rodney began the complicated explanation but Zelenka snapped his head to Kai.

"We need to get them moving," he said gravely.

Doctor Kavanagh leaned forward, attempting to regain control of the room after Zelenka had taken over. "They should activate the drive pods again for a moment and then-"

Zelenka silenced Doctor Kavanagh with a severe look. Kai tried not to look pleased. She couldn't stand the egotistical scientist.

"And run the risk of not being able to retract them again?" Zelenka asked in disbelief.

Kavanagh grunted. "Well how exactly do you propose they activate the engine to get moving?"

Kai sucked in a breath and turned to Zelenka her eyes wide. "They don't need the engines," she muttered wondering if her idea was just crazy enough to work.

"That's the stupidest thing-" Kavanagh started to rage.

"Shut up please," Zelenka said to Kavanagh and turned to Kai. "Yes?"

Kai sniffed, it were her on the shuttle she wouldn't hesitate to do it, but these were other people's lives. "If they blow the rear hatch they-"

Zelenka pointed at her nodding profusely. He touched his ear piece. "Blow the rear hatch Rodney, it will give you enough thrust to make it across the event horizon."

"That might work," McKay hedged.

Kai wanted to swear at the stubborn man. It was the only option and they were running out of time. The angry red numbers were counting down to zero.

"You go through, I'll blow it," Ford's voice was resolute.

"You can't do that," McKay argued. "You'll get blown into space."

"No, no there's no time to argue, just go."

Zelenka touched his ear piece again. "Hold onto something Lieutenant Ford," he advised calmly.

"Thanks Doc," Ford's voice was gruff and then there was nothing.

It was only seconds but it felt like hours until the nose of the jumper appeared through the gate. It slid slowly into the room on autopilot to the sounds of cheers. Beckett and Weir both ran up the stairs towards the jumper bay as the jumper disappeared through the bay door. 

Zelenka patted Kai on the back and stood.  The other scientists were laughing in relief and started to disburse discussing what they were going to do to unwind for the rest of the day. Kavanagh shot Kai a dirty look before leaving. Zelenka quietly slid his tablet under his arm and moved to the stairs. Kai followed him up into the jumper bay.

The two of them stood against the wall out of everyone's way as they wheeled Lieutenant Ford away with an oxygen mask over his face.

Inside the jumper Kai could hear them working over the Major. She could hear the high pitched whine of the defibrillator and the resounding crack as the electricity entered his body. Finally, the steady hum of his heart monitor changed to intermittent beeps.

"I've got a pulse," Beckett reported. "He's going to be okay."

She could hear everyone's sighs of relief. They all stayed in the shuttle until the gurney came back to wheel the Major away. The other's followed like an honor guard as they wheeled him towards the infirmary. Beckett was calling out orders as he led the procession through the hall.

Weir was the last one to step out of the jumper. The stress of the day and her relief that everyone was okay showed on her face. She seemed surprised to see Kai and Zelenka standing together. She moved over to them.

"Thank you," she told Zelenka, then she turned to Kai. "Both of you. Without your work..." she shook her head as though she didn't even want to consider it. Weir drew in a deep breath and smiled at them both. "Well you have certainly earned the rest of the day off."

Zelenka motioned towards the jumper. "We don't yet know if it was mechanical failure or if the pods were damaged. We have work to do."

Weir shook her head. "That can wait we-"

"With all do respect," Zelenka interrupted briskly. "We have missions running every day, several teams off world who depend on the jumpers...we can't afford to wait. If it was a mechanical failure-"

Weir nodded. "I understand. Thank you." She turned to Kai looking as though she were going to talk her out of it.

"I'm with him," Kai said and she followed Doctor Zelenka to the damaged shuttle.

"I'll run internal diagnostics," he called to her.

"I've got external," Kai responded and the two of them settled in to work in companionable silence.

As she worked Kai realized this might be the first day something she had done had actively saved lives instead of take them. Everyone here had worked together as a team to save their people. It was strangely satisfying to know she had contributed in some way. She could get used to this.

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Chapter 6

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"So she's staying?" John asked warily, peaking open one of his eyes as Elizabeth stepped up next to his bed in the infirmary. He had been stuck in the infirmary for two days now and it had him going stir crazy. He felt fine. Just a little tired. But Beckett had insisted he stay there for observation after they had stopped his heart to get the damn Iratus bug off of him.

Elizabeth smile indulgently. "I was hoping to discuss that with you, and if you agreed, I would like to extend an invitation to Miss Zian to stay here with us. Yes."

John nodded agitatedly. He couldn't say he was surprised. Kai had been here for nearly three weeks now and everyone seemed to like her. Given her help with the latest emergency it made sense to make her a more permanent member of the expedition. 

"I believe that given the fact that Ms. Zian has the gene and is quite an accomplished mechanic she would make an excellent addition here in Atlantis," Weir was speaking in the extra calm way of hers that set John's teeth on edge. She had already made this decision without him, now she was just sticking to the formality of discussing it with him.

"Only one person who has worked with her has filed a complaint-" Elizabeth hedged.

"Oh yeah? Who's that?" John was genuinely interested. Aside from him everyone else seemed dazzled by the beautiful new mechanic.

"Ah, Doctor Kavanagh," Elizabeth reported.

John scoffed. Kavanagh didn't count. The man was a jack ass who could complain about anything. More to the point it would have been more suspicious had Kavanagh said he liked Zian.

John huffed, feeling ridiculous. He wasn't sure why he was hanging onto his distrust of Zian. He didn't know how she had ended up on the comm, but she had and it saved his life. He had also read over the reports and knew she and Zelenka had worked together to discover what Rodney needed to get the drive pods in. Which meant he owed her twice.

"You said it yourself Major. We are cut off out here, we could use some friends. In the very short time we have know her Ms. Zian has done some truly remarkable things with Doctor Zelenka. I have to tell you when things went wrong with the shuttle she was right there working with Zelenka to find a solution. Her knowledge of shuttles and motors is remarkable, especially considering these are not ones from her native planet."

And there it was right there, the thing that bothered John more than an anything. Elizabeth was naming off all the things they knew about Zian, but what she failed to see was how much the things they didn't know out weighted them. There were too many secrets. "Do we even know where her native planet is?"

Weir sucked in a breath. "Major, Doctor Beckett has appraised us both of the...difficult past Miss Zian has and I have made it a point to not force her to discuss it. I've made a decision on this. I believe Ms. Zian will be an asset to the expedition. While not a traditional scientist, she certainly seems to understand a great deal about the technology here and gate technology."

"I-" John started to argue but Weir cut him off.

"I've made arrangements with Carson to release you early so you and I could go speak to her."

John jumped to his feet. "Sold," he said pulling off the heart monitor. The machine started beeping uncontrollably and Beckett marched in scowling at The Major.

"You have to be the worst patient I have ever had the misfortune of treating," Beckett informed John, switching off the angry machine.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks Doc," John called over his shoulder as he turned back to Elizabeth. "Let's go."

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John and Elizabeth were almost to the jumper bay when he glanced back at her. "I thought you said it was her day off."

Elizabeth nodded briskly. "It is, but I was informed she has been in the jumper bay since early this morning."

The doors hissed open. There was no sign of anyone in the bay. John frowned at Elizabeth but led the way inside.

"Kai?" Elizabeth called cautiously.

"Over here," came a muffled response.

They walked towards the voice and found Kai working on the very jumper that had nearly gotten John's team killed. She had the drive pods open and was laying on the ground beneath them with just her legs sticking out. She had a laptop with an array of cords coming out of it that connected to the inside of the jumper sitting next to a Lantian tool box.

"Kai," Elizabeth greeted.

Kai slid out from under the pod. John's eyes widened a little. He hadn't seen her in anything but the Atlantis uniform since she arrived. She wore a mechanics jump suit with the top hanging and arms tied around her slim waist.  A fitted, long sleeve black athletic shirt clung to her curves and flat stomach. John swallowed. He had known she was attractive, but until that very moment had forced himself not to notice. He dragged his eyes up to her face and refused to look anywhere else. There was a swipe of grease across one of her cheek bones, hiding the soft freckles. Her scarf was tied down snuggly around her hair so it would stay out of her way while she worked.

"Hello," Kai greeted in surprise. She hadn't expected to see both leaders of Atlantis. In fact she hadn't expected to see anyone. There were no off-world missions planned and almost all of the scientists including Zelenka were taking the day off.

"I thought it was your day off," Elizabeth said looking around the bay meaningfully.

Kai cleared her throat. She didn't remember anyone saying the day off was mandatory. "It is, but, well I don't sit still well and we still haven't worked out what exactly went wrong with the drive pod."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Elizabeth said wryly, glancing over her shoulder at John. John scowled at her playfully. "'Worst patient ever', that's a direct quote."

John shrugged unapologetically.

"That's right," Kai said turning to the Major. "How are you feeling Major?"

"Better," John said uncomfortably. "Thank you for your help with that."

Kai nodded, looking just as uncomfortable with the Major's gratitude as he was giving it.

Weir noticed and stepped forward, breaking the tension. "Kai, we won't keep you. But we wanted to talk to you about your time here on Atlantis."

Kai swallowed. This was it. She had honestly been allowed to stay longer than she had expected. She had been well for over two weeks now and knew it was just a matter of time before she would have to move on. She had somehow hoped if she just kept busy and made herself useful they would continue to overlook her presence.

The Major crossed his arms over his chest and she could see in his face he wasn't happy about this whole situation. She realized then there was no way this man would have overlooked her presence. She had screwed up too many times in front of him and now he considered her too much of a security risk. It was almost laughable. If they only knew what she was actually capable of. She was being condemned for being a simple mechanic with secrets. If they knew what she was she doubted they would let her go.

"Of course. I've stayed too long," Kai said nodding. She wasn't going to stand there and make Elizabeth say the words. She was a good person and a strong leader and she had shown Kai kindness. "I know you have several planets in your system which are populated. I would be happy with one as technologically advanced as possible," she only had two marketable skills. Her best bet for making a living was finding a planet with engines for her to work on. The other option wasn't as palatable as it used to be.

Weir looked at Kai with shrewd eyes as though she were trying to read the other woman's mind.

"Wouldn't you like to go home?" Sheppard asked helpfully though his eyes were hard. He was testing her again she realized, but why test her if they were kicking her out?

"Not if it were the last planet in the galaxy," Kai replied with absolute certainty.

John crossed his arms over his chest. This was exactly what he was talking about. She was hiding something more than just a messed up family life. John was all too familiar with what that looked like. He had an estranged father and brother back on his own planet. This was something else.

"We aren't asking you to leave Kai. In fact, we would like to formally invite you to stay," Weir said with a welcoming smile, certain of Kai's response.

Kai frowned, looking back and forth between the two leaders. "Stay?" she asked in confusion.

Sheppard studied her reaction carefully. "I mean unless you have somewhere else to be."

Kai met the Major's hard, steady gaze. Weir's face was open and welcoming, but Kai could tell the Major did not want her to stay.

"We would be honored if you agreed to stay with us. We would provide you with quarters of your own, a living stipend. You would be on Doctor Zelenka's team. You would be free to come and go as you please."

"Well," Sheppard interrupted. "Within reason."

Weir turned to cast John a warning look.

He shrugged unapologetically. "You would be held to the same standards of conduct and expectations as everyone else here," he warned.

Kai actually respected the man for being so straight forward. He was a good leader and he had good instincts. It made her more comfortable with the idea of making this a more permanent situation. Had he simply believed her like everyone else she wouldn't have felt as secure. The Major was a competent soldier however, and he was serious about the security of this base and it's peoples safety. She realized in that moment what must actually be bothering the Major. If she agreed she would fall under that protection. She would be one of his people.

The trouble was the lies she had told to get herself here in the first place. Now she had to decide in a moment whether or not she could maintain those. Lying didn't bother her, not as a principle. Lying was simply part of the job. It kept her alive. She had done plenty of operations undercover, but this felt different. There was no overarching goal here, no end game. The cover, the lies, they would be her life now.

In the end it was the prospect of peace that made her say yes. The chance to be something other than what she had been. She had enjoyed the weeks working here with Doctor Zelenka and the other scientists. She liked working on the engines. She enjoyed helping the team so to speak. She didn't know it at the time, but it was that first tiny glimmer of hope that set her fate.

"I would like that very much," Kai said. She looked back and forth between the two leaders. "Thank you," she said and surprised even herself at the depth of her sincerity.

"Well, now that we're all one big happy family," Sheppard said as he frowned at the strange woman. Something had just happened or changed. He couldn't say exactly what it was but it made him uneasy. "I've got work to do." He turned to go.

"Major," Weir called after him. "Beckett hasn't cleared you for active duty until the end of the week."

John huffed indignantly and left the room. Elizabeth and Kai watched as the Major closed the door behind him, perhaps a little harder than necessary. Kai looked back at Weir apologetically.

Weir smiled but there was tension around her eyes. "Everyone is very excited to have you here, but I think it might take the Major a little while," Weir said wearily.

Kai understood his anger perhaps more than anyone. She turned to Elizabeth and gave her a reassuring smile. "I think Doctor Weir, that perhaps you are correct," Kai agreed.

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Suspicion
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Kai had officially been a part of the Atlantis expedition for a week. She had been given personal quarters, free access of all the cities living areas and a comm of her very own. McKay had been the one to bring it to her. Apparently being on Zelenka's team meant she fell under his jurisdiction as Chief Science and Research Officer. He had seen fit to remind her of that fact. The arrogant scientist and her had not hit it off on the right foot and it seemed to deteriorate rapidly. She tried her best to remain quiet and demure but in the end she had been speaking through gritted teeth as she thanked him for his help and he reminded her once more her work was at his convenience. He then graciously informed her he would let her continue to work on her quaint little jumper project for now. Once he was finally gone she custom fit the comm, modifying the volume control so she didn't end up with a blown ear drum every time someone tried to contact her.

She and Zelenka had been putting in extra hours working together in the control room. There was a terminal there that no one seemed to know what it did and they hadn't been able to get powered up. Working in the control room was interesting but distracting. Every time they powered up the gate they had to pause their work for fear they might interfere somehow. It would have taken them half the time without the constant traffic.

She heard the gate power up again and sighed in frustration. She and Zelenka quickly disconnected from the terminal to wait it out. "Maybe if we came back in the middle of the night," she suggested hopefully.

Zelenka smiled good-naturedly. "I think perhaps there might be a reason the ancients didn't fix it themselves," he said wryly.

Kai nodded, stretching her back.

"It's major Sheppard's IDC," one of the technician's reported.

Weir stepped out of her office coming towards the main control panel. "They've only been gone a few hours."

The gate alarm started ringing through the room and Kai resisted the urge to cover her ears.

"Atlantis this is Sheppard, we're coming in hot," the Major's authoritative voice carried over the radio and through the over head speakers of the control room.

"Lower the shield," Weir ordered and marines moved into place, their weapons drawn. Kai moved subtly to place herself between the gate and Doctor Zelenka. She wasn't sure what 'coming in hot' meant to Sheppard. She couldn't imagine Sheppard taking too much of a risk with Atlantis, but she wasn't willing to risk her friends safety. She was far better equipped to handle whatever was coming through that gate.

As soon as the shield dropped wraith stunner blasts began erupting through the room. Teyla, Sheppard, Ford and McKay all ran through the gate. Ford, Sheppard and Teyla swung back around to face the gate, their weapons raised in case they were followed. Kai's hand dropped to the tool belt she wore. Among the pliers and screwdrivers she had slid a slim blade. Her fingers touched it. It wouldn't do much against a wraith warrior if they came through, but at least it was something.

"Raise the shield!" Weir yelled just as one of the stunners hit McKay in the face.

The room erupted into panic. "Medic!" Sheppard yelled.

"I've got a pulse!" someone else yelled.

Zelenka moved past her to stand at the rail and watch the crisis unfold. As soon as the shield was raised once more Kai let go of the knife and allowed herself to relax. In her time on Atlantis so far she had managed to avoid much of the conflict the expedition seemed to encounter. The prospect of a fight had her blood pumping and her hands tingling with excitement.

"Zian?" Zelenka was trying to get her attention but the mechanic's focus was still on the floor below them. "Kai?" he asked uncertainly, touching her arm.

Kai jerked away from the doctor's touch looking up at him in surprise. "Of course I'm so sorry Doctor Zelenka. What were you saying?"

Zelenka smiled. "Not used to the action eh?" he asked. "Me either," he confessed after a moment. "It appears Rodney is fine. Let's get back to work. Don't worry. We won't see much action."

Kai nodded and turned back to the control panel thinking that perhaps that was entirely the problem.

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Chapter 7

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Suspicion Cont.
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"Can you please do that somewhere else?" John asked in disgust as McKay continued to massage his socked foot on top of the conference table. McKay hadn't been out of the infirmary 5 minutes before Weir called the meeting. John would never admit it, but he was glad Rodney had recovered enough to be so annoying. If the Wraith hadn't been using stunners McKay would have been a goner and it would have been his fault. He should have noticed the pattern before Weir, but they had no way of knowing how prevalent the Wraith were in this galaxy.

"My foot is still numb, if you don't mind," McKay whined.  

John flashed him a sarcastic smile. "At least your mouth still works fine."

Ford coughed to hide his laugh. Rodney shot a look at the lieutenant but the young man hide his grin behind his hand.

Bates and Weir stepped into the room together and the atmosphere immediately shifted. "All right, let's get started," Weir said and the doors closed behind them.

The grin fell from Ford's face as he looked around in confusion. "Shouldn't we wait for Teyla?" he asked and his eyes landed on the Major. John didn't have an answer for the kid and looked pointedly at Weir, lifting his brows.

Weir cleared her throat, drawing the rooms attention back to her. Her face was determined but she couldn't quite seem to meet John's eye. "Teyla wasn't invited," she said briskly.

John frowned leaning forward in his chair. "She's a member of my team."

Bates narrowed his eyes at Major Sheppard. "She's also an Athosian sir."

"So? Last time I checked you were from New York. I don't hold that against you."

Bates flashed a glare towards his commanding office. "If we've been compromised, and every indication suggests that we have, it's almost certain that one of them is responsible."

John scoffed. "We're talking about Teyla here." He would be more likely to believe Rodney or Weir herself had betrayed them over Teyla. She was a loyal member of his team and in the three months they had known each other John had learned to trust her. She was good in a fight and a compassionate leader of her people.

"I don't like it either Major," Weir agreed grimly.

John shot Bates an immature look of triumph. "Good, then get her in here so we can-"

"But," Weir cut him off. "The safety of this base and its personnel are my main concern right now, as it should be yours."

Sheppard narrowed his eyes at the Weir's cutting words. It wasn't like her to pin him to the wall like that especially in front of so many people. What was happening had her spooked. It was something that needed to be dealt with, sure, but John would prefer to deal with it his way.

Weir shifted the mission report files in front of her. "The Wraith have shown up on five of the last nine planets your team has visited and given that two of those worlds were unpopulated...you can pretty much assume that they have been made aware by someone on this base."

Rodney leaned back in his chair, a doubtful expression on his face. "If someone on this base is communicating with the wraith then why hasn't Atlantis been attacked?"

John nodded smugly pointing at Rodney. "Good point Rodney," he congratulated.

Rodney looked smug for a moment before he frowned at Sheppard. He wasn't following what it was that was going on here or why Weir and Sheppard seemed to be on different pages. Weir was technically his boss but Sheppard had saved his ass off-world on more than one occasion. Not to mention the collective asses of everyone on the base. Rodney dealt better with things that were quantifiable, so he trusted the Major's instincts on stuff like this.

Bates sighed. "Maybe we should just stop using the Stargate indefinitely."

"We can't do that," Sheppard said dismissively.

"Why not?" Bates demanded.

"Because we need ZPMs to power this place."

Bates scoffed. "They seem to be running fine right now."

Sheppard scowled at the junior officer. "Okay, when the wraith do show up, how do we defend ourselves?"

Rodeny leaned forward as well, sensing where this conversation was going. "For that matter how do we ever get back to earth?"

Weir was growing weary of their bickering "This is the only Stargate in the Pegasus galaxy that can even reach earth, and if it comes to that we are going to use a self destruct before the Wraith take the city."

"Bottom line," Sheppard continued. "We need to use the gate."

Bates sucked in a breath and nodded sharply before looking down at the papers in front of him. He had planned for this eventuality. He was beginning to understand his superior and was able to anticipate his reactions. Major Sheppard was a soldier through and through, but he liked being on the front lines. He reacted to what was in front of him. Bates knew what made him a good soldier didn't make him a good leader. He couldn't make the hard calls. He spent too much time wanting to be liked. Especially by the beautiful Athosian leader. "Then we gotta find out who is responsible ASAP. I suggest we start by confining all non-base personnel to the south side of the complex."

"Are you kidding?" Sheppard asked in disbelief.

"That's the absolute minimum we should do. If Colonel Sumner was still here-"

This had gone on long enough. John shoved himself to his feet, slamming his palms against the table loud enough Weir and Rodney jumped.

"He's not," John's voice rose into the hard tone of command. Generally speaking he was a pretty laid back CO. He didn't see a reason to constantly exert his authority over his men. He felt teams worked better if there was a sense of camaraderie. Bates however, was trying his patience. "I am," John growled. He stared down at the other man waiting until Bates looked away and submitted. There was only room for one alpha in this room, and it wasn't the sergeant.

Bates went very still. He recognized he had pushed Major Sheppard too far. "Yes sir," he responded tightly lowering his eyes to the table top.

Weir leaned forward. "We're not going to start treating anyone like prisoners."

Sheppard snorted humorlessly as he finally tore his gaze away from the other man, "Well that's good."

"That being said, steps should be taken to safeguard the most sensitive areas of this facility. It's only reasonable."

Bates just couldn't help himself. "I recommend No-Go zones start with Stargate operations, the labs, power generation and the jumper bay."

Weir nodded in agreement. "I'd like to interview all the Athosian's we have on base. They've been here three months and I only know a handful by name."

"I can start setting up the interviews," Bates supplied helpfully.

"In the meantime," Weir said turning her attention back to the Major. "All gate travel is suspended until further notice."

John leaned forward his irritation showed in the lines around his mouth. they needed food and supplies, the longer this went on the more trouble they were going to be in.

"Interviews...And what about Zian huh? She's the newest addition," Sheppard challenged, remembering seeing the strange young woman working in the control room just that morning.

"Zian is cleared," Bates reported back as he flipped through his list of names.

"Cleared?" John snapped in surprise. "The hell she is. Just because-"

Bates lowered his papers and laid is palms over the top of them. "I have had Kai Zian under observation since her arrival," he reported.

Sheppard frowned. "You've been spying on her for a month?"

"Monitoring her." Bates responded unapologetically. "Ever since she came here on my recommendation. I take my responsibilities seriously." His implication made it clear what he thought of Sheppard's command.

Sheppard shoved himself to his feet once more.

"Gentlemen." Weir interrupted. "We will be adding Zian to the interview list." She said looking back and forth between the two men. She wondered idly what would happen if she just put them in a room and let them fight it out.  She glanced back and forth and decided she would put her money on Sheppard.

"Good." Sheppard agreed. "I want to be there for that one."

"If we're all in agreement, I think that's it," Weir said. "Dismissed."

The meeting broke up after that. Sheppard spotted Teyla on the stairs leading up to the control room, already the soldiers Bates had left on the stairs had stopped the Athosian leader, refusing to allow her access. Sheppard quickly stepped in, gripping Teyla's arm and leading her away from prying ears so they could discuss what was happening.

Kai was laying on the ground half under the control console while Zelenka stood over her when Bates approached them.

"Zian," he called sharply.

Zelenka didn't bother looking up from his tablet as he tapped away. "Good and then move circuit four-seven-A to site five-nine-seven-H. Hello Sergeant."

"Zian," Bates repeated, this time with more force.

"We are nearly finished," Zelenka assured him.

Kai however recognized the tone in Sergeant Bates' voice and slid out from under the console slowly. "I think I'm done here Doctor Zelenka."

Zelenka looked back and forth between Kai and Sergeant Bates. Bates had his hand resting on the P90 strapped across his chest. Zelenka frowned, stepping between the two of them protectively. "What seems to be the problem, Sergeant?"

"Zian I'm going to need you to step back away from the console," Bates said gruffly.

Kai stepped slowly away from the console. She kept her hands loose at her side and no where near any of the tools in her tool belt. Bates could get a little jumpy at times and she didn't want him to think she was giving him any reason to doubt she was doing as he asked.

"Is there a problem Sergeant Bates?" Kai asked in a low voice.

"What is going on here?" Zelenka demanded. "We are in the middle of a repair, we require another couple hours perhaps," the Czech explained.

"I'm afraid stargate operation is currently a No-Go area for all non-personnel."

"We are working," Zelenka started to argue. "We-"

Kai looked down at her tools and then back to Sergeant Bates. "He means me Doctor Zelenka," she explained gently. "I'm not from earth," she reminded him.

"Just the same she is a member of my team," Doctor Zelenka started to argue.

"Doctor Zelenka," Kai said gently. "It's okay."

Zelenka turned his angry eyes to Sergeant Bates. "I'll be speaking with Doctor Weir about this you can be sure."

"Please do," Bates said gesturing towards Doctor Weir's office.

Kai packed up her things and was swiftly escorted away from the gate room.

"You're to remain on the south side of the complex," Bates informed her.

Kai stopped and turned back to Sergeant Bates. "I have more work to do in the jumper bay."

"Until this threat has been neutralized all non-expedition personnel-"

"Are confined to quarters?" Kai supplied briskly.

Bates nodded grimly. "It is not a punishment. It is simply for the security of everyone on the base."

"I understand Sergeant," Kai said, though inside her heart was pounding in her chest.

"Doctor Weir will be conducting interviews. Once you have passed that, you will be free to return to your work."

Kai nodded respectfully and went to her quarters. She was still a stranger, and in truth always would be, so she was naturally a suspect. They were conducting interviews to find someone with a secret, and she had a big one. Her first instinct was to run, as always, but with the stargate operations suspended there was no way off Atlantis. She was trapped.

><><

It was two days before she was brought in for an interview. By the end of the first day Kai was starting to go stir crazy in her room. The gym was on the other side of the complex and with limited space she wasn't able to run as she had started doing every morning before work. So instead she trained her body. Moving and honing as she hadn't since before the wraith. She ran through all the body weight drills she could in the limited space.

Sweat was dripping down her temples when there was a knock at her door. She stood and quickly snatched up a long sleeved shirt to pull over her sports bra. She waved her hand in front of the door scanner to reveal Sergeant Bates.

Kai nodded her head respectfully. "What can I do for you Sergeant?"

"Doctor Weir is ready for your interview," Bates said motioning to the hallway behind him.

"Great," she said with a smile. She turned back to the room and picked up her scarf off of the bed. She wrapped it around her hair twice and tied it in a low knot low against the base of her skull.

She followed Bates through the hallways. The two walked in silence to the conference room off the side of the control room.

"Kai," Elizabeth greeted. "Please have a seat."

Kai bowed her head respectfully before she took her seat at one end of the table. Opposite her sat Doctor Weir and Major Sheppard. Bates moved to a chair beside Doctor Weir. Elizabeth looked tired, Bates was attentive behind his computer, and the Major looked frustrated.

Kai set her hands in her lap and waited for one of them to begin. She had been interrogated plenty of times before. This would be nothing new.

"So Kai," Weir said in a warm tone. "You've been here for about a month. How are you liking Atlantis?"

Kai's eyes flickered over the other men as though their presence made her nervous. John tightened his jaw. She was acting nervous, keeping her shoulders hunched forward and fidgeting with her hands, but she had scanned the room with the efficiency of a high trained soldier the moment she stepped inside.

"I like it a lot," Kai said. "I enjoy working with Doctor Zelenka and his team."

"You've made yourself quite useful," Weir said.

Bates opened the folder in front of him. "Since you've been here on Atlantis you've been off world twice."

Kai nodded. "Yes," she replied. "Both times with your team."

Bates nodded. "You've also had access to the control room on and off for the last few weeks."

"That's correct, always accompanied by Doctor Zelenka." Kai glanced over all their faces as she spoke. "Like all my work."

"Except for when we found you alone in the jumper bay," John pointed out. He leaned forward in his seat, narrowing his eyes as he watched her reactions.

There was none. Her eyes were dead calm.

"I was just running diagnostics," Kai said resting her hands in her lap. "Trying to figure out what happened to the jumper."

"It was your day off," John said.

Bates perked up as though he were a dog who caught a scent. "Do you frequently go to sensitive areas of the city unaccompanied?"

Elizabeth was scowling as she looked back and forth between the two men in disbelief as they attacked Kai. She opened her mouth to defend Kai but she didn't look frazzled at all by their badgering.

"I was doing my job, you can track every repair and command I implemented if you're concerned," she replied in a low tone, she lifted her eyes to meet the major's intense gaze. "And I was there because I don't enjoy down time."

"I'm sorry Kai, the last two days must have been difficult for you," Weir apologized.

John watched as Kai looked down at her hands and he thought that maybe he was seeing on the first sincere emotions from her since she came here. "It's fine," she replied with a tense smile.

"According to the log you spend most of your free time in the gym," Bates reported looking over his papers.

It was no surprise to Kai to find out her movements had been monitored. Between the cameras and security teams it wouldn't be hard to log her movements. She cocked her head as though she were confused. "I'm sorry, I thought the running track was available for all residents."

"It is," John said shifting his eyes to Bates. He wanted answers as much as the other man, but he was turning this interview into a full on interrogation. If Kai was innocent, which in this case was starting to look more likely, the goal wasn't to scare her.

"Then I'm afraid I don't understand," Kai said innocently.

"You were there alone is my point," Bates responded and Kai frowned.

"Yes, but to my knowledge the gym lacks the necessary equipment to build a sub space communications device."

"Okay. I think that's enough," Elizabeth interrupted. I think everything is fine. Thank you Kai," Doctor Weir said standing. "I know you are anxious to get back to your work. And Doctor Zelenka has been pushing for me to clear you so you can help him with some of the command structure he has found in a couple of the jumpers. You are cleared to return to work, provided you are escorted by Doctor Zelenka or another head of department in the limited access zones."

Kai smiled. "Thank you Doctor Weir," she said and she reached out to shake the other woman's hand.

"We're very happy to have you here with us," Doctor Weir said. "I'm sorry that this was necessary."

"There's no reason to apologize. Security is important." Kai turned to Sergeant Bates. "Thank you Sergeant Bates," she extended her hand.

Bates shook it.

Kai turned to Major Sheppard. The Major was staring at her thoughtfully. She lifted her chin and extended her hand regardless. Sheppard waited the longest possible time that could be considered polite before he took Kai's hand. Her grip was firm and dry and she held his gaze when even Bates couldn't.

"Thank you Major."

><><

John was in a foul mood. The meeting hadn't gone well. An interview with the three of them and somehow they knew nothing more about Kai than they had before. Despite not getting to finish his list of interrogation questions Bates had been smug when Elizabeth cleared Kai without hesitation.

Rationally he knew she was right. Kai had been running from the Wraith for months when they found her. She wasn't likely to be helping them any more than Teyla. They all had reason to hate the Wraith.  

"Sir!" a voice called from behind him.

John glanced over his shoulder to see the young lieutenant trotting to catch up to him. "Ford," he greeted. "What can I do for you?"

Ford was smiling. "I heard they got the sunroof open on the jumper bay," he said eagerly.

"Yep," John replied briskly, his thoughts still on the meeting.

Ford was undeterred. "Also heard you planned to take a jumper out."

"Well, I figure that's what the door on the roof is for," even walking seemed to help dissipate some of John's built up tension from earlier.

"Anyone else call shotgun?" the young man asked with a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

John shrugged casually. "I was just going to drive around the planet, check it out"

"Oh you're just going to check out the planet?" Ford asked. "That's cool then, I got better things to do than cruise around the planet in a space ship," he reasoned.

John turned around on the stairs, a smile stretching across his face as he chuckled at the lieutenants antics. "You're like a kid you know that?"

Ford's smile was radiant. "Yes sir, I even brought along something to eat for the ride." He said holding up a paper bag enticingly.

"What's that?" John asked, he had been resolute to go alone, but he felt himself wavering in the face of the kids enthusiasm.

"How about a nice Turkey sandwich?" Ford tempted.

John shook his head, snorting. "Let's go," he finally agreed and the two of them walked together down to the jumper bay.

When the doors slid open one of the jumpers was hovering in the air above them. It shifted sideways and was set down to park. The flying was precise and smooth. John hadn't seen anyone else in this place able to fly as well as him. It set down with hardly a jolt and the back hatch opened. He and Ford looked at each other before walking around to see Zelenka sitting in the back with his tablet plugged in and Kai behind the controls.

"Systems seem to be holding," Zelenka replied.

"Hey Doc," John called.

Both Zelenka and Kai turned to see the two soldiers.

"Zian," John greeted. "Looks like the Doc didn't waste any time getting you back to work."

Kai nodded. "As I told you, we have a lot to do."

John nodded uncomfortably. "So, I take it Jumper One is still down?" he asked looking over all their diagnostic equipment.

"Yes, Jumper Three is prepped and ready," Kai called to him without taking her eyes off the controls.

John's eyes flashed to Zelenka who hadn't looked up yet. "Okay then, thanks," and the two of them headed to Jumper Three.

When the rear hatch closed Ford leaned forward to peer out the windshield. "She weirds me out," Ford said shaking his head.

"Is that so?" John asked carefully. He was pretty good at not spouting off in front of junior officers and he hadn't thought he had been obvious when it came to his feelings about Kai. Unless Rodney or Teyla had told Ford.

"Yeah, there is something weird about her, I just don't know what it is...don't you think?"

"Well," he said shrugging. "She is a little peculiar."

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Chapter 8

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Poisoning the Well
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After her interview Kai's life had returned to normal. The issue turned to be not a spy, but an ancient transmitter housed in a necklace the Wraith had planted among the Athosians. Teyla had inadvertently been luring them to their missions sites all along. Major Sheppard ended up using it to lay a trap and captured a live Wraith. Kai had been brought the transmitter afterwards for deactivation since she seemed now to be the foremost expert in Wraith tech on Atlantis.

Zelenka had been called in on a new project that week, leaving Kai to continue work on the jumpers. She enjoyed the time by herself. While others might find it lonely it was almost a relief to be able to work without keeping up the pretense of the lie she had told. Other than Major Sheppard taking out the jumper no one came to the jumper bay, and his team had been off world for several days. The only other times she saw anyone was in the mess hall.

She was just cleaning out the air filter in one of the non-operational pods when she heard the doors hiss open.

"Kai?" Weir's voice echoed through the quiet bay.

Kai pulled herself out from under the pod. "I'm up here," she called down from the third level of jumper storage. "I'll be right down," she said moving towards the maintenance ladder.

Weir was waiting for her when she climbed down. "Kai," she greeted briskly. "How are you?"

Kai could tell there was something on Doctor Weir's mind. There would have to be for her to come all the way up here to see her instead of just radioing. Kai scrubbed her greasy hands off on the jumpsuit she wore.

"Well. What can I do for you Doctor Weir?" She asked pleasantly.

"We have received word from the team on Hoff. Doctor Beckett seems to believe this drug is something that is perhaps viable. He has asked that we send equipment to assist the research. It will take two jumpers to move the necessary equipment and man power. Major Sheppard is returning with Jumper Two for the first load. While I'm told Sergeant Markham is gaining proficiency with flying I would like to ask you to pilot the second jumper with Sergeant Bates team to bring the necessary items to Hoff."

Kai nodded. "Of course," she had piloted the jumper on Sergeant Bates last two off-world missions. She had seen only the beginnings and endings of Sergeant Markham's flying lessons with the Major and she was fairly certain it would be better for everyone involved if she flew.

"Good, thank you, We expect Major Sheppard to return within the hour to begin loading the Jumpers." Weir said.

Kai nodded. "I'll go get my gear," she said and headed back to her room. She hung her jumpsuit on the hook and pulled on the charcoal slacks and charcoal and purple jacket they had given her. She pulled her hair back in a low pony tail and tied her scarf around her neck in an intricate knot, tucking the ends inside her jacket. She preferred her own gear but she also recognized it was important to look like she was one of the team, especially going off-world.

When she returned to the jumper bay it was bustling with marines who were finishing loading up the necessary gear. She climbed into Jumper Three. She powered it up and began making final adjustments as the last of the marines climbed aboard.

Sergeant Bates took the co-pilots chair. "We're ready," he reported briskly.

"Jumper Three this is Jumper Two," Sheppard's voice came through her ear piece.

"This is Jumper Three, go ahead Major."

"Everybody buckled up back there?" he asked.

She glanced over her shoulder, noting everyone was seated. "Yes Major," she responded seriously.

"It's just an expression Zian, this is no big deal. Just follow me in, keep a reasonable distance and avoid any fender benders. Okay?"

Kai snorted shaking her head. "Understood Major."

The run took only a couple of hours. The teams were all going to be staying on Hoff for several days with Jumper Two while Kai was sent back to Atlantis with an empty shuttle. Before leaving Major Sheppard had pulled her aside.

"Are you okay heading back by yourself?" he asked, his face serious.

Kai was surprised. She had spent so much time thinking of Major Sheppard as being her opposition, someone who doubted her story and therefore was her enemy. She hadn't realized how entirely he had embraced her as being one of his people until he stood next to her on an alien planet surrounded by strangers. He was looking down at her with concern lining his face. "I can send someone back with you if you don't want to fly alone."

"I'll be fine," she replied briskly, she didn't like the implication that she wasn't able to handle something as simple as a flight home by herself.

Sheppard nodded keeping his eyes on the men who were carrying the supplies into the city and out of sight.

"Major?" She asked when he didn't say anything more.

He seemed to remember she was there. "Right," he said briskly. "Well, we'll phone home when they need a ride," Sheppard said briskly.

"Understood," Kai replied turning back towards her jumper.

"Don't wait up!" John called after her good-naturedly.

A confused frown lined Kai's face but she nodded just the same and headed back to Atlantis.

><><

John found himself back on Atlantis less then ten hours later. He wished it was under better circumstances, but the Hoffan people and Doctor Beckett had one hell of a request and he didn't feel like he could make it over the radio.

"You support this?" Weir asked in disbelief as the two of them crossed the control room towards her office.

John glanced around, but no one appeared to be paying attention to them. There was a reason he had asked to speak to her in private. This wasn't necessarily something everyone might understand. "Look, all we know for certain is that he is going to die. So we might as well make good use of him while he's alive," he reasoned closing the office door behind him.

Elizabeth stared at him as though she had never seen him before. It wasn't the first time he had to bring the hard call to her door, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Not if she stayed in command. "You do understand The Geneva Convention prohibits the use of prisoners for scientific experiments."

John snorted shaking his head. "No offense Doc, but had the Wraith attended The Geneva Convention they would have tried to feed on everyone there." The rules were there for a reason and John by no means believed the end always justified the means, but he was a pragmatist who wasn't afraid to make a tough call. If this drug gave them an advantage over the Wraith he wasn't going to let it slip by because Elizabeth got squeamish.

Elizabeth sat down at her desk. She folded her hands together as she pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "Beckett's report indicates that we have no idea what the long term effect of this drug on humans might be," she hedged, wishing she could buy herself some time to think, to weight the pros and cons of the situation. The Major was inclined to rush into things, she needed time to sit back and consider all the variables.

John made a noise of impatience in his throat. Elizabeth was stalling. "Well, we know damn well what the long term effects of the Wraith culling are, right?"

Weir's eyes narrowed dangerously. "We are talking about putting a human being in the same room as a starving Wraith. And once we start down that road-" she shook her head and shoved herself to her feet so she could pace her office.

John shook his head. "Which road did you think we were headed down when you approved this in the first place?"

"Not this one! At least not this fast," she confessed hanging her head.

Elizabeth had been given this command not just because she was a skilled politician, but because at her heart she was a humanitarian. The powers that be recognized her ability to navigate the pitfalls of operating without the oversight of the government. He respected her for her convictions and her principles, but this was not an opportunity they could afford to lose. Beckett was sure he could make the drug work if given the time and opportunity and they didn't know how much longer the prisoner would last without food. Already there were times when he seemed less lucid.

John rolled his shoulders, letting go of his tension. If Elizabeth thought he was arguing with her she wouldn't hear what he had to say. "Having spent time with the prisoner, I don't pity him," John said unrepentantly. "He's going to die anyway. We don't know how long he'll last. This drug could be useful some day."

"Some day," she replied thoughtfully.

"The point is, we don't get many opportunities like this. You know how obsessed the Hoffans are with this. When they found out we had a live Wraith prisoner..." he could see Weir weakening. At her heart she was a scientist, she understood the potential the drug could have. "He's going to die. I've tried feeding him loads of live stuff. But apparently there's only one item on his menu."

"What about the test subject?" She was running out of arguments. "If the drug fails...we aren't just grabbing anyone off the street," she said resolutely.

John would have never considered that. It showed how little she knew him that she would think his willingness to sacrifice the Wraith meant he was willing to allow an innocent to be used for the test. "The test subject is a terminally ill patient who volunteered," he replied, not letting his frustration show in his voice.

Weir rocked back in her chair and rubbed her face. "These are not exactly the type of decisions I thought I would be making on this expedition."

John shrugged. He stepped back from her desk, taking the pressure off. He leaned back against a pillar, crossing his arms. The ball was entirely in her court. He had said his piece, now it was her decision how to move forward from here.

Elizabeth stood and stared down at the gate as though it magically held all the answers. John thought there was a part of her that had always romanticized the ancients. As though they were some higher, mystical beings who would have had all the answers. In his experience, no one did. People were just people, trying to get by and make the best out of each situation they were presented with.

Elizabeth finally sighed. "Do it," she agreed turning to face John.

John nodded sharply and turned to go.

"John," she called after him.

He looked back at her lifting a brow.

Elizabeth's face hardened with determination. "I want this done right. The transport of the prisoner needs to be as secure as possible. You and Bates, and another team. I also want a second pilot in case you're needed to subdue the prisoner. This has to be done as safely as possible. I'm not willing to risk our people's lives for this. If you can't make it safe, we don't do it"

John nodded again. "Understood ma'am," and he turned to go. He knew exactly who he needed to help make the run back to Hoff.

It was still early on Atlantis, but John found Zian and Doctor Zelenka already at work in one of the power stations. Zian stood at the control panel. The protective glasses covering her face had lights attached at the temples illuminating the mechanism. She moved several wires and sparks erupted. She hissed, cursing in a language John didn't know.

Zelenka stood several feet away working on his tablet. "You know if you would use the gloves as I suggested-" he said stoically without looking up from his screen.

"I'll keep that in mind for next time," she growled back playfully.

She shook her hand as though to ward away the sting from the electricity and then went back to work. Her dark hair was braided over one shoulder and she brushed it away impatiently. She wore the strange scarf today tied low around her hips. It was set at an angle and emphasized her natural curves. John licked his lips and forced his eyes back up. He didn't let his surprise show when he found her grey eyes staring back at him.

"Major," she greeted. Her eyes quickly ran over him, noting he was still in full combat gear. She had received a notification that Jumper Two had returned, as she did any time a Jumper left or arrived in the city, but she was surprised to see the Major back on Atlantis so soon. When they had dropped off so much equipment, Kai had been under the impression they would be on Hoff for several days at least.

"Zian," he greeted. He shifted his weight uncertain where to start.

When he didn't say anything right away Kai returned to her work. She reached down into her tool box and pulled up a pair of pliers.

"What can I do for you Major?" she asked, through gritted teeth as she tugged on the panel. Finally the piece came free. She stared intently at it. She blew on it before turning to the laptop that rested on a crate at her feet. She plugged it into the laptop and her fingers began to fly over the keyboard.

"Initializing,"'she reported to Zelenka.

John arched his brows as he watched them work. "You really seem to have settled in, found a place...adapted to the technology...." He dragged off. It was interesting to watch the two interact. Rodney had been so adamant that Zelenka was impossible to work with, and yet Kai didn't seem to have any trouble at all.

A small smirk crossed Kai's face but she kept her back to the Major so he couldn't see it. He was here to ask her a favor and it was making him uncomfortable. She shouldn't enjoy watching the man squirm quite so much, but after to pressure he had put on her when she first arrived she couldn't resist.

"As I said, the technology is not so different from that of the Lantian technology on my home world. Did you need something in particular Major?" her voice was perfectly calm, reflecting none of what she was thinking or feeling.

Zelenka glanced towards her out of the corner of his eye and she winked at him. The scientist concealed a smile behind his hand and kept working. It had taken a while but when once Kai had settled in Radek had found she had a dry but very quirky sense of humor.

Sheppard pressed his lips together grimly and looked as though he were debating what to say. "Are you aware of our...guest...we have down in the cell?" he asked.

Kai nodded as she realized how serious the situation could be. She had heard rumors they had captured a live Wraith, though she hadn't seen him.

"Well, we are going to transfer Steve to Hoff, and I need a second pilot," Major Sheppard said.

"Steve?" Doctor Zelenka asked, looking up over the top of his glasses for the first time.

"The Wraith," Sheppard replied with a boyish grin.

"The Wraith don't have names in the tradition sense," Kai said by way of explanation, though she couldn't imagine what must have possessed the Major to give him one. It must have irked the Wraith to no end.

Sheppard looked back at her. "This is more than just a supply run. You're not being ordered to do this, it is completely your decision. It could be dangerous," he added.

Kai resisted the urge to snort. One Wraith bound and weak with hunger wasn't a danger, but she kept her expression neutral. "I understand. I assure you Major. I've been around plenty of Wraith."

Sheppard stiffened at her comment but nodded. "Right, well, we leave at 0900."

"I'll be there," she assured him.

Sheppard nodded again and left her and Zelenka. "Bye Zelenka," he called as the doors slid shut behind him.

Radek waved over his shoulder but kept his eyes on his screen. As soon as the Major was gone he looked over at Kai. "Are you sure?" he asked gently.

Kai frowned and was surprised to see concern in Zelenka's eyes. She pulled back uncertain how to respond. Concern wasn't something she was used to seeing from others. It was unheard of on her planet. It was considered weakness.

"You haven't worked with Major Sheppard's team before," Zelenka continued, seeing Kai's confusion. "And from what I have heard this may not be a very pleasant experience."

Kai smiled warmly. "I'll be all right," she promised Zelenka.

Zelenka shoved his glasses up his nose. "This isn't as simple as-"

"I'll be fine, she pressed. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

Zelenka snorted and motioned to the computers. "This isn't going anywhere," he promised. "Good luck my friend."

><><

Chapter 9

><><
Poisoning the Well Cont.
><><

Kai was already in the co-pilots seat when they brought in the Wraith. The team of marines were in position as Ford and Sheppard guided the Wraith into the shuttle. He wore manacles around his wrists and ankles that connected to his waist and neck. She glanced back at him. Exactly how long he had been without food would determine if the chains would be strong enough. They didn't know the wraith like she did.

They sat the Wraith down between two armed marines with Ford and Bates sitting across from him each holding Wraith stunners.

The wraith paused as it spotted Kai already sitting in one of the pilot's chairs. It cocked it's head to the side like a cat who had spotted something interesting. It's nostrils flared and it's eyes locked on her. She could see the desperation in it's features. It was starving and it had picked up on whatever made her people that much more appealing to the Wraith.

John made his way to the front of the ship. He noticed the Wraith's intensity as it stared at Kai and purposefully stepped between them. He expected the woman to be nervous but she was doing a remarkable job holding it together. She had simply turned back to the controls and went about her business. There was tension in her shoulders and he suddenly felt bad for asking her to fly this mission. They still didn't know how long she had been stuck on that planet being hunted by the Wraith and now he had locked her inside a shuttle with one. He needed to get his men trained up on the Jumpers. She was a civilian and this was a more dangerous proposition than he had let on to Weir.

He set his gun down in easy reach as he took his chair. "How we doing Zian?" he asked casually. From what he knew about her he could guarantee she wouldn't show any hint of the nerves she felt.

Kai had the sensors pulled up. "We're ready," she said, "I already ran pre-flight."

"Good," he said. His long fingers moved across the controls with practiced ease. He glanced at Kai out of the corner of his eye. "No reason to be nervous," he said half under his breath so only she could hear him.

She glanced up at him sharply. Something flashed behind her eyes. "I'm not afraid of a Wraith," she replied confidently.

John found himself caught up in the flash of determination in her grey eyes. This was not the side of Kai she showed here on Atlantis. A small smirk tugged up one side of his mouth as he kept his gaze on the controls. "Course not," he replied. "I meant me," he said with a teasing grin.

Kai rolled her eyes and went back to her work. She was sure that charming smile worked on plenty of women but it wasn't going to work on her.

"Jumper Two this is Weir, what's your status?" came over both their headsets.

John reached up and touched his ear wig. "We're nice and cozy in here, ready to depart."

"Be safe Major," her voice was tight with worry.

"That's the plan," was his confident reply.

"Jumper Two," came the voice of the controller. "You are ready to depart."

John drew in a deep breath. "Here goes nothing," he said, suddenly serious. His eyes turned to Kai. "Dial it up."

Kai reached out and glided her fingers over the DHD dialing in the sequence for Hoff. When she glanced back the Wraith was watching her closely. It bared it's teeth at her in a Wraith version of a smile.

"Hey man," Ford growled from across from him, drawing the Wraith's focus back on him. "This isn't supposed to be fun." The young Lieutenant didn't like the attention the Wraith was giving Kai either.

The Wraith shook his head. "What funny little creatures humans are and how careless with your queens. You would risk one of your females for such a venture?" it asked cocking it's head to the side.

"You don't worry about our females," Sheppard growled leveling an angry glare at the Wraith.

The Wraith laughed. "When I escape," he told the Major. "She will be the first I feed on. I can smell her vibrancy from here."

Kai kept her focus back on the controls. It was nothing but words. Posturing between the Major and the Wraith. The Wraith obviously considered Sheppard to be the biggest threat. It was smart. The Major hid his intelligence behind his easy smiles and jokes but the Wraith had seen through that to the powerful soldier beneath. The Wraith was testing Sheppard. Wraith placed high value on their females and he was hoping to get Sheppard to react by threatening who it perceived to be the weakest among them.

The only reason the wraith was focusing on her was because she appeared to be the weakest in the group. This was one of the potential problems with her whole ruse. At times like this it was more dangerous for her to appear nonthreatening. At the same time she was better equipped to handle an attacking Wraith then most, but if she put one down without a gun there would be awkward questions. It was easier to keep her head down and focus on the Jumper.

"Ready Major?" she asked, ignoring the Wraith.

John exhaled and nodded. If Zian could ignore the threats so he could he. Steve was just trying to get him riled up. He was feeling guilty bringing Zian on this mission and it made him tense. He closed the back hatch and lifted off.

Kai had never flown with Sheppard before and she found she enjoyed it. They worked surprisingly well together, though she would never admit it. He was a talented pilot and was incredibly comfortable with the jumper. He set it down on the outskirts of the city. There were two battalions on Hoffan troops waiting for them as well as another team of marines with Teyla and Rodney standing among them. It was a lot of firepower for one Wraith.

Sheppard stood and turned. "Let's get this show on the road," he said. He glanced at Kai but she stood, intending to follow them. He was tempted to offer her the chance to wait in the Jumper, but there was no way to do so without making her appear even weaker in the eyes of the Wraith.

They led they way through the city into a large underground complex. Kai was following behind the large group silently taking in the sights of the city. She had been on Hoff once before for a mission, but it had been dark. Not much had changed since. She also noted that the Wraith was carefully observing as they walked. Even if the drug didn't kill the Wraith he could never leave this planet alive. He had already seen too much.

The Hoffan people led the way into an underground bunker. They brought the Wraith into a large steel cage. Once he was secured the marines all took up their places around the edge of the room. One every ten feet. Kai was lingering in the doorway when Sheppard turned back to her.

"Look, they probably have another room you can hang out in while all of this goes down."

Kai looked up at the Major. Honestly she was curious if the drug would actually work. "I would rather stay with our own people," she confessed. She had surprised the Major, she could see it in his hazel eyes, though no emotions showed on his face. He couldn't afford to let them. He had presented himself as the primary jailer for the Wraith and he couldn't show any weakness.

Teyla marched into the room and approached the major. "They are ready," she reported under her breath.

Kai was nearly positive only she and the Wraith heard her aside from The Major. Teyla stepped aside and ended up next to her. Teyla nodded hello, but didn't speak again.

Kai watched as Sheppard drew in a breath and it was like watching him lock away pieces of himself. He transformed from John Sheppard into nothing but Major Sheppard. His face hardened and his movements became tight and powerful. Kai realized in that moment what in integral part of Sheppard's personality she had never seen because she had never seen him on the battle field before.

He stepped up to the bars, his hazel eyes hard and determined.

"Careful, sir," Ford warned from behind him. Kai wanted to kick the young soldier for undermining the Major's power in front of the Wraith. They understood so little about them. To both the Wraith and her own people expressing concern for a superior showed a lack of confidence in their ability to lead.

The two doctors came in escorting a tired looking man. Kai sniffed and her nose was filled with the scent of his illness. Sheppard stayed in front of them, his shoulders set. The Wraith's nostrils flared and he turned as though just realizing they had come into the room. His eyes locked on the sick man. Suddenly Kai wasn't the weakest looking person in the room.

"This is the sustenance you promised?" The wraith asked, his eyes traveling to John.

"A little change of plans," Sheppard replied grimly. "You tell me something right now, or the dinner party's cancelled."

"What do you want to know?" The Wraith asked tightly, unable to take it's eyes off it's potential meal. If they weren't careful they were going to drive it into a rage.

"How many hive ships have become operational since we awakened the first one?"

A slow smile crossed the Wraith's lips. "All of them Major Sheppard. First, they will travel their own feeding grounds and gather strength. We are a patient race Major. When we have taken our fill and gathered our strength we will join forces and come for you," he snarled dramatically.

One of the marines beside Kai and Teyla stiffened, as the Wraith had intended, but Sheppard didn't blink.

"You have any idea when that will be?" he asked calmly. "Morning? Afternoon?" he asked glibly.

The Wraith groaned in frustration sitting back in his seat. Sheppard's interrogation approach was off beat, but effective.

Sensing he wasn't going to get anything more from the prisoner he turned to the guards. "Open it up."

John drew his gun and stepped back in case the Wraith decided to charge and make a run for it. Knowing Wraith, Kai didn't think that was as likely until after he fed. The ill man stepped towards the door.

Beckett grabbed his arm. "You don't have to do this," he warned.

The man nodded. "I know. I'm ready." He stepped into the cell, and Kai could feel the discomfort of everyone in the room.

The wraith's nostrils flared as though he could smell the man's fear. Kai didn't know if it were possible or not she certainly couldn't smell emotions. As far as she could tell her sense of smell was better than most humans, but not as good as the Wraith.

The man unbottoned his shirt, bearing the top of his narrow chest as the Wraith prowled towards him, a predatory glint in his eyes.

The Wraith bared his teeth. "He is weak," he snarled, his eyes landing on Sheppard.

He brought his feeding hand back and slammed it into the man's chest. There was a moment when the entire room seemed to freeze. The Wraith scowled down at his hand, then he ripped it away. He snarled and paced to the back of his cell, refusing to look at anyone.

The excitement in the room was palpable. They filed out, leaving the marines to guard the cell. John and Teyla followed the others.

"Please, this way," one of the Hoffan's said with a pleased smile. "We have prepared a room for your people." A woman led them down several halls and into a comfortable sitting room. "Let me know if any of you require anything else." She paused, staring hard at Kai, her eyes locked on her scarf. "That's a very interesting scarf."

"Thank you," Kai said suddenly tense. The Hoffan weren't advanced enough to have had any contact with her people she didn't think, and she had completed her mission here undetected all those years ago.

Sheppard glanced towards Kai. "We should be finished up here soon. Once we're done we'll send you back with one of the teams of marines."

Kai nodded moving around the room. The shelves were covered in books. It had been a long time since she had a chance to relax with a good book.

"For now, we just wait for Beckett to tell us what's next."

"Major Sheppard," Kai could hear the Major's comm active with Ford's voice. "You better get down here sir."

"On my way," he promised. "Teyla you're with me. Kai, stay here."

><><

Once the Wraith died Bates began organizing the marines for the trip back. Kai spent most of her time in the guest room with Teyla. She found the other woman to be a relaxing companion. Similar to Zelenka Teyla didn't ask questions about her past and seemed content to spent there time in companionable silence. Kai found a book on the shelf and sat in a chair to begin reading.

John stepped into the room a short time late. Kai set her book down as she and Teyla rose to their feet. "We got problems," he said grimly. "The drug doesn't just shield the victim, it kills the wraith."

Teyla's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Beckett's positive."

"If this has become a weapon against them..." Kai started to say.

"Exactly," John agreed, impressed Kai had caught on so fast. "They'll come here and wipe out everyone on this planet. We have a meeting with the Chancellor in five minutes."

Teyla pushed herself to her feet nodding. John's eyes flickered over to Kai. She held up her hands. "I'm a mechanic," she said simply. "I am not a negotiator. Let me know if there's something wrong with the Jumper and I'm your girl."

John smiled grimly. "Yeah, me either, Bates is wrapping things up then he'll send someone down to get you."

"I'll wait here," Kai agreed, moving back towards her seat. "Let me know if you need me."

><><

John was beyond frustrated. He had hiked back and forth from the jumpers three times already keeping Elizabeth informed on what was happening here. Both he and Weir had been in agreement. It was too dangerous to risk this virus being turned into a biological weapon. The Wraith would never let such an affront go unanswered and the entire planet would pay, as would any world who had contact with them. The poisoning of their food supply was simply not something the Wraith would tolerate.

The Hoffan's were obsessed however and couldn't be swayed. The other shoe had dropped that morning when Beckett realized they had begun inoculating their people the day before without knowing if the drug was even safe. John couldn't say for sure if Beckett's feelings for the Hoffan doctor had gotten them into this mess or not, but it was clear something was going on there. He hadn't mentioned it to Weir, he preferred to handle things like this himself, quietly. Fraternization was dangerous, emotions clouded the issue and divided loyalty. He and Beckett were going to have a very serious talk once they got out of this mess.

These people were willing to risk everything for even a chance to defeat the Wraith. They were fanatical and it wasn't something he was willing to risk with their own people regardless of what the Hoffans did moving forward. He and Elizabeth had been in complete agreement. He was heading back into the city on foot to pack up their people and head home. They were done.

The guard at the mouth of their underground facility saluted him as he passed. He turned to head towards the rooms the Hoffans had given his people since they had been on site for nearly a week now.

"Sir," the guard called after him.

John turned to face him, arching a brow.

"Your people were all called to the hospital," he reported.

A bad feeling went over John. Images of some kind of uncontrollable epidemic went through his head. He had only been gone a couple hours.  He turned and started jogging towards the hospital. When he got there it was pandemonium. Hoffans were everywhere on stretchers, chairs and beds. His people were all working as Beckett called out orders.

The first person he recognized was Kai. She looked exhausted as she hurried from bed to bed, following behind Beckett. Her dark braid was coiled over her shoulder, but a strand of hair had fallen loose into her eyes and she brushed it away in annoyance. 

Teyla was the first to spot him. She hurried over to him. "Major Sheppard," Teyla greeted. "The Doctor's say they began arriving last night and their numbers have been increasing by the hour. We are at well over two hundred. Every single one of them was inoculated."

John took in all the people surrounding them. This was exactly the kind of thing Beckett had warned them against but they had refused to listen. They had done this to their own people.

"Major," Beckett called when he spotted Sheppard.

"I'm on it," he said briskly. "Lieutenant, I need you to run back to the jumpers and radio Weir. Tell her we need a full medical support team on a jumper and inbound asap."

"Roger that," Ford agreed and he ran for the door.

Teyla trailed after Doctor Beckett. He looked around and spotted Kai supporting a man with his arm over her shoulders. He was coughing uncontrollably as she fought to support him. John hurried over and took the man's other arm. Kai looked up at him gratefully.

"Where to?" he asked taking the majority of the heavy man's weight.

"Here," Kai said leading them towards an empty chair.

Once the man was settled they stepped away.

"A chair?" John asked looking around in wonder. He had never seen anything like this outside a battle field triage tent.

"It's all that's left," Kai said gravely as she used her wrist to brush her hair out of her face. She met John's eyes, hers were pained. "They're dying," she confided in a low voice. "Nothing Beckett has tried has been able to stop it."

John shook his head in disgust. "What a waste," he muttered under his breath.

"Yeah," Kai agreed. Death didn't bother Kai. She had done her fair share of delivering it to the unsuspecting, but this was something else. They were sacrificing their own people when something as simple as patience could save them. Pointless death was disgusting to her.

"Please!" a woman's voice shrieked from the door. "Someone help me!"

John and Kai were side by side as they ran for the door. The woman turned to face them, clutching a little boy no more the six years old in her arms. "Please help him," she begged.

John moved to take him but the woman shirked back. Kai wasn't surprised, John looked intimidating. He was in his full combat gear and a stranger. She stepped forward holding her arms out for the small boy. The woman nodded to her in relief and handed over her son. "What's wrong with him?" Kai asked gently.

The little boy was pale and his small body was being rocked by coughs. "I don't know," she said wringing her hands together. "He was just here yesterday, and he was fine."

John's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What exactly was he here for yesterday?"

"The inoculation..." the mother replied.

Kai felt all the blood drain from her face. She turned to take the boy to Beckett. John turned with her so their backs were to the woman.

Kai looked down at the dying boy in her arms. "They gave the inoculation to children," she said in a low voice. She glanced up into the Major's eyes and was surprised to find him only inches away.

He was staring down at the small boy cradled in her arms as rage flooded his features. "I'll be back," he growled.

"Sheppard," Kai called after him on reflex. He turned and she hesitated she was getting involved. She had vowed to herself she wouldn't let herself get involved. Keeping herself apart would keep her safe and make it easier to leave when the time came.

She licked her lips and spoke the words in her heart. "Give him hell," she said knowing the only place the Major could possibly be going was to confront the Chancellor. If she saw the man she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't plant a knife in the bastard's heart.  

"I will," he promised. Kai watched Sheppard storm angrily out of the ward.

She believed him.

><><

They worked overnight in the hospital. No one lived. Kai lost track of the people who died as she held their hands. It was eye opening for her. Until that moment she would have said she couldn't be touched by death. This was different. This wasn't death in combat. This was something else. When she watched that woman hold her son in her arms as he died something inside of Kai had broken.

The Major had stood at her shoulder as Beckett pronounced the boy. The mother had turned with tears in her eyes and proclaimed how proud she was her son had done his part as a loyal Hoffan. Kai felt bile rise in her throat. She took an aggressive step towards the woman and Major Sheppard closed his hand over her arm. She tensed but when she turned to face him his eyes mirrored her own frustration.

He tugged gently on her arm, pulling her back. He released her and reached up to touch the comm in his ear.

"Bates what's your status?" John asked.

"We're all packed up here Major," he reported.

"All right, tell Sergeant Markham and head on home in Jumper Four. The rest of you sit tight, we're headed your way." 

"Understood Major, Bates out."

Sheppard turned back to Kai. "We're getting out of here."  She nodded and followed the Major into the hallway. He touched his ear. "All right guys. We're pulling the plug. Meet in the lobby."

They moved through the tunnels back towards the Jumpers. Kai was exhausted, her muscles sore from hauling the oxygen tanks around the hospital all night. Beckett was trailing behind the others and she fell into step beside him.

"Are you okay?" she found herself asking. The Doctor had been kind to her since her arrival on Atlantis and she could see the weight he carried over what had happened.

"Aye," he replied glumly.

The group turned a corner, heading towards the exit.

"I'm told you are leaving," the Chancellor's voice echoed through the dank tunnels behind them.

Instinctively, Kai's hand dropped to the knife she had conceal against her spine. The others stopped and turned to face the Chancellor. Kai hung back, crossing her arms over her chest. There was nothing this man had to say that she wanted to hear. She just wanted to go home.   

"Yes, we are," Sheppard replied briskly. Kai could tell by his stance that the Major was barely containing his own temper over what had happened here.

"Not that it hasn't been lovely," Rodney replied snarkily.

The Chancellor looked back and forth over their group, though he didn't seem surprised to see their hostility. "I wanted you to see the result of the vote before you left."

Sheppard read the sheet of paper and handed it to Beckett. "Ninety-six percent in favor," Beckett read aloud.

Teyla stepped up, her brown eyes snapping with temper. "Does the vote include all your people?" she demanded.

"Everyone," the chancellor replied and he turned back to Sheppard. "So you see Major, we speak with one voice and we are resolute."

"Yeah," Sheppard growled. "I can see that."

The Chancellor puffed himself up as though Sheppard's comment was some kind of victory. "When next we meet I would like to discuss the best way possible to disseminate the drug on as many worlds as possible," he said importantly.

"We won't be doing that any time soon," Sheppard promised him taking a step towards him.

The Chancellor narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps our victory will change your mind," he growled. It was clear he didn't like being challenged by the Major.

Sheppard looked him up and down as though he were measuring the man. "If and when we ever return, I don't imagine you'll be here," he promised, and then he shook his head in disgust. "I don't imagine anybody else will be either."

Beckett handed back the paper.

"Good luck," Sheppard said and he strode away, leaving the others to follow him. His rage was palpable.

Only Beckett was brave enough to approach Sheppard despite his fowl mood. "Victory at all costs' sound familiar Major?"

"Churchill," Sheppard snapped back.

"Aye," Beckett said gravely. "Never thought I'd disagree."

><><

Chapter 10

><><
Underground
><><

"No, how's that for an answer?" Elizabeth snapped. She looked back and forth between Major Sheppard and Lieutenant Ford in disbelief. She honestly couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"It pithy," Sheppard said shrugging casually. "I'll give you that." He hadn't expected Elizabeth to be excited about the Genii's plan to infiltrate a Wraith ship, but he had expected her to consider it for at least thirty seconds. It was risky, but the potential rewards were worth it.

"I'm sure you already agreed to this," Weir paced anxiously behind Sheppard and Ford as she massaged away the growing migraine. This trade deal with the Genii had started simple, crops for medicine, from there it had gone from bad to worse. Every couple hours Sheppard would step back through the stargate with a new, terrible negotiation.

"Only because we'll get something out of it," Sheppard reasoned calmly.

What he failed to add was Teyla and Rodney's lives were one of the things they would get out of it. The Genii had left them no choice, it was either help them or die, and it had taken a fair amount of smooth talking on his part to convince them they needed his team to help them.

"And we do need allies ma'am," Ford added helpfully. He was doing his best to help his superior office, but when Weir leveled a glare his way he dropped his eyes to the table submissively again.

"Allies?" Weir asked incredulously. "You just said these people were ready to string you up. How can you tell me you trust them?"

"Hey," Sheppard said pulling back. "I don't trust them as far as I can throw them. There's a reason they insisted McKay and Teyla stay there, and it's not just to help them with building their bombs. But we have something they need, and they have something we need. I thought that was what negotiating was all about."

"Oh, well it is," Weir agreed her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Personally though I stop short of offering nuclear weapons."

John frowned. He was normally the sarcastic one. It seemed he was rubbing off on Weir and he didn't like it.

"They were building them anyway," Ford said in a low voice as he stared at his hands. He looked like a kid who had been sent to the principles office.

Weir shot him a look of disbelief. "Oh, well if they were building them anyway lieutenant, why didn't you just say so?" she spun back around on John. "You realize I originally sent you out for food?"

Sheppard flattened his mouth and leaned back to glance at Ford. "I think we can still get that."

"I don't see why not," Ford agreed helpfully.

Elizabeth's anger was dissipating quickly, so John leaned back in his chair, relaxing into the conversation now that he was sure he wasn't going to get chewed out any worse. "We kind of moved past it with the whole atomic bomb thing," he joked lightly, hoping to get her to stop and really consider the possibilities here.

"Okay," Weir said after a moment. "Tell me the truth. Can you pull this off?"

John nodded slowly. "We'll have to watch our backs, but- I wouldn't put my team at risk if I didn't think so."

Elizabeth exhaled. "Okay go," she relented. "and then maybe we'll talk about nuclear bombs," she said with a disgusted shake of her head.

"Ah Elizabeth, there's one more thing," Sheppard called after her.

Weir stopped, sighing. This wasn't going to be good if John had saved it for after the nuclear bombs.

He flashed her that boyish grin he used when he knew he was in trouble. It never worked on her.

"They have a wraith data device that has given us some information regarding the hive, however they haven't been able to unlock all the information and before we go..."

Weir sighed again. "She has to agree to go. I won't order her to do it." She said sharply. "I mean it John, she's on a science team. It is not in her job description to walk into a Wraith hive ship." and she turned and walked away.

John exhaled and climbed to his feet. "I'll talk to Kai, you load up and inform Bates of the plan. We'll meet in the jumper bay in..." John glanced down at his watch trying to decide how long it might take him to talk Kai into coming with them. "Two hours."

Ford nodded and trotted away eagerly.

The conversation with Weir had gone better than he hoped, and though he hated to admit it, she was right about Kai. Kai had been incredibly helpful on several missions lately, but it wasn't her job. Her expertise on Wraith tech and her piloting skills had saved their hides more than a few times.

He hated to admit it, but he had been wrong about her. She was competent and dedicated. She had shown an ability to remain calm when shit hit the fan and she didn't back down when things got hard.

Up until Hoff he would have said she was cold, but he had seen her anger over the little boy there. Watching him die had been tough on all of them, and it made him hesitant to drag her back out into the field so soon. No matter how he looked at it however they needed Kai to take a look at the data drive and there was no way the Genii were going to give it up without a fight.

He found her sitting by herself in the mess hall. There was a tray of barely touched food getting cold in front of her as she read on a tablet. She was wearing the oversized mechanics jumpsuit again and her scarf was wrapped like a turban around her head with one end resting over her shoulder.

"Interesting reading?" He asked standing over her.

Kai jerked her eyes to him, her body coiling with tension. She released as soon as she realized it was the Major.

John recognized he had startled her. "Sorry," he said and he pulled out the chair across from her, sitting down. Whatever had happened in her past had made her reactive and hyper-aware. John would never ask, but it made him mad to know how bad it must have been to condition her the way it had.

"McKay found me some schematics for the jumpers in the database," Kai responded.

The Major was a mystery to her. He had spent so long being suspicious of her, but after their time on Hoff together it was like a switch had flipped and she was one of his people. Now, he was apologizing for startling her and making small talk. Their time in the hospital together secured her place here in his eyes and he hadn't looked back.

"Exciting," he said with a teasing grin. He glanced around them. "Where's Zelenka?"

"If you're looking for him he's on the east pier examining some power conduits."

"I'm not," John said quickly. "It's just rare to see you without him." He reached out and swiped a fry from her abandoned tray.

Kai shrugged and took a sip of her water as she waited for the Major to get to the reason he was here. She had gotten used to his little dance. He was uncomfortable asking her straight out to do things. She imagined it was a combination of her past plus the fact that she wasn't directly under his command. The Major wasn't the type of person who liked asking for help.

He reached for another fry. "No ketchup?" He asked frowning down at her tray.

"Ketchup?" She asked in confusion.

He made a noise in the back of his throat. "You're missing out." He looked around and spotted a bottle on a neighboring table. He dashed over and returned proudly with the bottle of red sauce. He presented it like it was some kind of prize.

"I'm about to change your life," he assured her smugly.

Kai watched him as he shook out the ketchup onto her tray. His hazel eyes were sparkling with humor but she could see the tension in him. Whatever had him here was weighing on him. She could see it in the lines around his mouth and the tension in his broad shoulders.

"Ketchup," he said dipping the fries. "Was the reason fries were invented." He ate his and then snatched up two fries and dipped them before holding them out to her.

Kai snorted despite herself. His smile was infectious. There was something about the Major's ability to put people at ease. She took the fries from him, her fingers brushing his and ate the food.

John was watching her carefully waiting for her reaction. She nodded in approval and reached for more. A wide grin broke across his face as she ate another.

"I knew it," he chuckled. He reached for a fry and Kai swatted his hand away playfully.

A small smile was on her face as she slid the tray towards him. He chuckled and shook his head. "Very kind of you to share."

She ate another bite before she glanced up at him. "Are you going to tell me why you're here?" She asked in a low voice.

She was enjoying her time with the Major far too much. She needed to distance herself and remind herself she wasn't here to make friends. She was here to survive.

John sat back in his chair as he stared at her, the smile falling from his face. The dichotomy of Kai rearing it's ugly head again. She had just moved them suddenly and completely back to business.

"I-" he started to say and stopped. "Have you heard of the Genii?"

Kai's eyes widened and she nodded. "Yes. They are...probably one of the most advanced societies in this quadrant," she said. "They're..." she drug off and pressed her lips into a grim line as she tried to think of how best to describe them.

"So you've had contact with them?" John asked in surprise.

"My people had," Kai replied tightly. This conversation had the potential to take a turn and lead to questions she wasn't prepared to answer. "They're very secretive."

"Understatement," John agreed. "We thought they were simple farmers, turns out it was a ruse they put on for outsiders," John didn't say it, but the fact that Kai's people knew their true face hung in the air between them.

"So McKay and I stumble on their secret underground city and long story short we find out they plan to make nuclear bombs to plant on hibernating Hive ships."

Kai frowned as her thoughts began racing. "Last I heard the Genii were not advanced enough for space travel...that aside, how would they even find the Hives?"

"Funny story, apparently in a battle generations and generations ago they happened to get their hands on the data drive of a Wraith dart."

Kai jerked up in her seat at those words. Her grey eyes widened and John could literally watch as her mind raced with all the possibilities. That one reaction from Kai was enough to tell him the basis of this mission was sound.

"Those are nearly impossible to get your hands on," she said quietly.

"Well they got their hands on one," John reported. "They've managed to rig up a pretty archaic interface and read some of what's on it, but there's a lot of holes in the data. They think they've found a Wraith hive in hibernation and want to go in and use the data drive to access the main data core. They think they will be able to find the location of all the hive ships in this quadrant."

Kai sat back in her seat. "Wow," she said. "That's incredibly-"

"Bold?" John asked.

Kai scoffed. "I was going to say stupid. I hope you didn't-" she started to say but stopped as she saw the look on the major's face. She sighed. "You agreed to go didn't you?"

Sheppard rocked back in his chair and at least had the good graces to look sheepish. "Maybe a little."

Kai made a noise of disgust in the back of her throat. "Did you at least bring me the data drive so I can get the rest of the information off of it?" She realized then the reason for the Major's visit.

"See, that's where we've hit a slight snag. The Genii won't let us leave with the drive...in fact, they wouldn't let us leave with Teyla or McKay until this mission is done."

Kai went very still as she processed the news. She shoved her tray back away from her and leaned forward. "So, they are holding them hostage and coercing you into going along with their ill conceived plan?"

"That about sums it up," Sheppard agreed eating the last of her fries.

"And you need me to..." she sighed. "You want me to see if I can get more data off that drive don't you?" she asked incredulously.

"Had crossed my mind," the Major hedged. "It would make our job a hell of a lot safer. But I need to be honest with you Kai. This isn't a walk in the park and I don't trust these people as far as I can throw them. But if we pull this off we might end up with more information about the Wraith than we could ever dream of, are you willing to do it?"

Kai sighed. There were too many unknowns. The plan was a logistical nightmare.

"Of course I'll do it," she heard herself agreeing.

><><

Kai and Major Sheppard were down in the locker room gearing up. "We made a mistake with the Wraith. I'm not letting you go in there in your civis," Sheppard said seriously. "These people might be our allies but they aren't our friends, and I won't have you walking in there with a target on your back."

"Understood," Kai agreed. She had changed into fitted black pants, a tight black t-shirt, and her own soft black knee high boots. She zipped up the charcoal and black jacket Sheppard had given her and knotted her scarf around her neck inside the jacket so it wouldn't be in her way.

John was digging through a pile of flak vests. He turned and looked her up and down. He sucked in a breath. They had managed to find a military uniform small enough, and it hugged her curves. He tore his eyes away from her and looked back at the vest in his hands.

He grunted. "I don't know if this will help," he muttered holding out the smallest vest he could find. She shrugged it on.

"There's-" he started to say and he gestured towards the laces under her arms. "Can I-?"

Kai lifted her left arm so Sheppard could tighten the laces to make the vest more fitted. Once done he nodded in approval and began gathering her gear. He named it off as he handed it to her and she tucked it away.

He pulled out a handgun. "Standard issue nine mil," he said handing it over.

She slid it into the holster on her belt. She looked at him. "How come you get a thigh holster?" She asked.

John swallowed. "Would you like a thigh holster?" He asked as the image went over him.

Kai forced herself to shrug, as though she had no preference. A mechanic would have no preference, although she did in fact prefer a thigh holster for a side arm. It was a faster draw. She had three of her own knives concealed on her but she was grateful for the standard issue military KA-BAR attached to the belt the Major had given her.

"I think that's everything," John said closing the supply closet and he turned around.

Kai stood in full military gear behind him. It seemed at the same time both strange and entirely natural. She looked badass and hot as hell. He wondered if maybe he had inadvertently just made things worse for them. Now she would be distracting for a completely different reason.

He cleared his throat. "Ready?" He asked.

Kai pressed her lips together. It felt so good to be back in full gear again, natural. It was strange to not have her head and face covered, but being armed and going off planet was a heady release. She loved Atlantis and she enjoyed working on the jumpers and with Doctor Zelenka, but there was a part of her that missed the excitement.

"Lead the way Major," she said as a pleased smirk stretched across her face.

"All right," Sheppard agreed. "Let's go see our friends."

><><

Chapter 11

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Underground Cont.
><><

Sheppard set the jumper down in the middle of an open field. The only structure in sight was a dilapidated barn. Kai had the HUD activated and had been running scans since they came through the star gate.

"I'm picking up low level radiation," she reported.

"Yeah," John agreed flippantly. "That would be the atomic bombs being built beneath our feet."

Kai looked beyond the HUD to see  Teyla and two people in uniform step out of the barn into the sun. They weren't pointing weapons at her but there was authority in their stance and Teyla was unarmed.

"They took your weapons?" Kai asked as the Major decloaked the Jumper.

She was trying to get a sense of what they were walking into. The Major tended to be pretty straight forward and wasn't prone to exaggeration. These people seemed to flip flop back and forth between wanting to be allies and holding them hostage. So there really was no telling what they were walking into.

The people stumbled back, shock on their faces as the shuttle appeared out of thin air before their eyes.

"They had been returned to us when we left," Ford said from behind them. The young lieutenant sounded uneasy as he leaned forward to peer out the windshield.

"What does that mean Major?" Kai asked, allowing her voice to rise slightly with perceived nerves. She knew what it meant, but Kai the mechanic wouldn't. Kai the mechanic would be looking to the Major for answers she already knew. The Major had been suspicious of her before, and she couldn't afford for him to have any doubts especially in front of the Genii.

Their status among these people was varied at best. Teyla waved at the jumper but Kai could read the tension in the other woman's body language. They needed to be careful on this one. It was likely to turn bad at literally any moment.

The major opened the rear hatch and the three of them walked out to meet the group.

Teyla stepped up to make the introductions. "Kai Zian allow me to introduce you to Tyrus and his daughter Sora. They are the ones who recovered some of the data from the Wraith drive."

Kai forced herself to smile and extended her hand. "It's an honor," she said bowing her head respectfully. "I look forward to working with on you."

Sora sniffed. "You're wasting our  time," she growled. "There's nothing more to find, if there was, we would have found it."

She turned on her heel and marched back towards the barn.

Tyrus stepped up to Kai and shook her hand. He smiled indulgently. "Thank you for coming," he said, although he didn't look any happier to see Kai than his daughter was. "This way," he said and he guided the group into the barn.

Kai was curious that so few would be there to meet them, leaving their group with greater numbers. Teyla and Ford were the first down the ladder, followed by Kai and the Major coming last.

As soon as she turned their group was greeted with a dozen Genii soldiers. Kai stiffened at the sight of all the soldiers, the tension rising in her limbs instinctually in case she needed to defend herself. None of them were pointing their weapons, but over half were holding three barreled shotguns.

The Major noticed, and he stepped past her quickly to put himself between her and the others. As he moved around her he brushed his shoulder against hers deliberately. Kai flinched at the contact and looked up at the Major as he slid past her in the small space. His eyes flickered down to hers and though his jaw was tight he dipped it once to let her know it was okay.

Kai was stunned. She had never had someone attempt to reassure her in that way. She disliked being touched but appreciated it was the Majors only way of silently letting her know he was there. It felt strange, like the planet they stood on had suddenly tilted on its axis. She was part of his team and he cared enough to put himself between her and the threat.

Kai scowled as her mind raced trying to process this new possibility in her life. It just didn't seem plausible. She was a stranger still, they knew nothing about her. If they did, the Major would never bother trying to protect her.

"Cowen," Sheppard greeted the man stiffly. Sheppard's stance was wide and though he was resting his hands lightly on his P-90 there was an air of aggression around him. Kai could see Sheppard wasn't happy with their greeting in the tension in his shoulders and the way he casually looked over the group of amassed soldiers.

"Major Sheppard. Nice to have you back," the leader of the Genii said without a hint of sincerity. "I trust your meeting went well," there was mockery in his tone. "How is Doctor Weir?" His tone continued to be patronizing. Cowen was simply unable to comprehend a military man like Sheppard having to ask permission of a woman.

"Oh she's good, sends her best," Sheppard responded jovially with a tight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Despite his stance, Kai was impressed with the Major's ability to ignore the Genii leaders attempt to get a reaction from him.

"It was good of her to make time to deal with such matters," Cowen continued.

Sheppard went very still and cocked his head to the side, his eyes running over all of the soldiers standing in the small hallway. "Something wrong Cowen?" Sheppard asked casually.

"Of course not," Cowen snapped his eyes flickering to where Kai was standing just behind the Majors shoulder. "Shall we proceed?"

"Where's McKay?" Sheppard asked. His eyes flickering to Teyla.

Teyla was able to read the tension easily and stepped forward, placing herself between the two warring alpha males.

"He is working in one of their labs. I was just on my way to check up on him," as usual Teyla's tone was soothing as she worked to keep the peace.

"Good," Sheppard said tightly, "why don't you take Ford with you. You know how much he loves bombs."

Teyla nodded. "Understood Major," she agreed.

Without being asked, four of the Genii guards peeled away to follow Teyla and Ford down one of the dark hallways.

Kai inhaled. She could smell the dank oppressive scent of damp earth and mold, both common in caves, but there was a metallic tang on the back of her tongue like old coins that made her think this structure was generations old. She wasn't afraid of being underground, nor was she claustrophobic, but she didn't like the idea of this small hatch being their only exit point. She very much doubted it was the only way out of the base, but it would be difficult to fight their way out of this if things turned sour.

Cowen stepped forward. He looked Kai up and down. "So this is your Wraith expert?" He asked, glancing towards Sheppard.

John nodded grimly. "This is her, Cowen meet Kai Zian."

Cowen extended his hand. "You're not what I was expecting," he said shaking her hand.

"What were you expecting?" Sheppard asked.

Cowen smiled. "Not someone nearly as beautiful." He said with a practiced smile. The leader of the Genii was clearly used to charming the women around him easily.

Kai forced herself to return the smile but Cowen was holding her hand too long. Her eyes flickered over to Sheppard to see if he noticed. He had. As soon as their eyes met the Major stiffened.

Cowen finally released Kai's hand. "You'll forgive me, but my men need to search your colleague." Cowen spoke to Sheppard as though Kai weren't there and had no say in the matter.

Kai bristled but recognized the power play that was going on between the two leaders. Cowen had failed to get a rise out of the Major over Elizabeth and her leadership, but the Major stepping between the Genii and Kai hadn't gone unnoticed. Now Cowen was trying to use Kai against him.

"Oh course," Kai said with a smile. She turned to the men standing there. She handed her laptop over to Tyrus and held her arms out to her side.

"Heiron," Cowen called sharply.

A young, burly soldier stepped forward. He raked his eyes up and down Kai's body with a pleased smile before he stepped close. Heiron was thorough to say the least. His hands were large and lingered too long in places that made Kai want to plant a knife in the man. She tolerated the search, however when he reached for the zipper on her vest she moved to get there before he did. She wouldn't stand here and be undressed by this soldier.

She felt the Major bristle behind her and recognized this as another power play. Cowen had chosen the soldier to search her deliberately. He slid his hands up under the vest and before she could move his fingers gripped the zipper of her jacket. His eyes were locked on her face as he pulled it down slowly. He was drawing it out on purpose.

John's jaw was starting to ache from clenching his teeth. If they had been this thorough when they searched Teyla it had been when he was in the other room. The kid Cowen had chosen to search Kai was enjoying himself too much. Once he had unzipped her jacket the kid's eyes lit up at the sight of the tight black t-shirt.

He lifted his gaze over her shoulder to meet John's and a smirk stretched across his face. John's hand tightened into a fist as he realized this whole production was for his benefit. The soldier swung her around so she was facing John. He buried his hands in her hair as though he were going to find something there. He ran his fingers along her scalp leaving the dark locks tousled. His large hands slipped down, gliding over her shoulders and coming up inside her jacket under her arms. He ran his hands across her flat stomach as though it were possible for her to hide anything under the tight cotton shirt.

John stiffened but Kai met his gaze levelly. Grey eyes met hazel and the connection between them was almost palpable. An moment of understanding passed between the two of them. This was a test of some kind and if they made a fuss this tenuous peace would dissolve.

The soldiers hands ran up her thighs and settled intimately against her low back. He glided his fingers along her spine and found the knife she had there. Kai stiffened, every instinct she had demanded she fight to keep her blade, but she forced herself to remain still. She stared into the Major's eyes and locked down her body. He was on edge and if she reacted so would he and things would turn badly.

The soldier pulled a knife from along Kai's spine and presented it to Cowen with a smug smile.

Cowen took the knife from his mans hand. He turned it over thoughtfully as he studied the black blade. Cowen stepped up and touched Kai's scarf. "What a lovely scarf," he complimented in a carefully controlled tone. "Such a unique pattern. Quite beautiful for what it is...like you. Mortii." Cowen growled the last word like a curse.

With that one word Kai's stomach dropped and her world was destroyed. She couldn't hide any more.

"Why are you here?" Cowen snarled.

John took a step towards them to put himself between the two. Kai was still holding her hands loose at her side and she gestured subtly for him to hold.

She lifted her chin so she was staring Cowen directly in the eyes.

"I am a mechanic on Atlantis. I also happen to be extremely knowledgeable about Wraith technology, and you, regardless of my beliefs," she added jerking her scarf out of his hands. "Need me to look at that drive before you do something stupid like step onto a Wraith hive ship without all the information."

Cowen ran his tongue over his teeth as he stared down at the knife in his hand. He glanced back at John who was wound tightly, prepared to intervene. "You surprise me Major Sheppard. That the people of Atlantis would choose to consort with one of the Mortii. It's rare to see one of them away from their people. You must have offered it a great deal."

"Well," Sheppard said shrugging casually as though he understood everything they were talking about. "She is one hell of a mechanic," he stressed. He didn't recognize the word Mortii, but he didn't miss Cowen suddenly referring to Kai as an 'it'.

Cowen looked down at the blade in his hands with something close to lust. John has never seen the knife before and he wasn't sure why Cowen was reacting the way he was. The blade was black, it's elegant design reminded him of the subtle scrolling pattern embroidered on her scarf.

"They say there is no greater prize for a warrior in the galaxy than to possess an Instrument's Blade," Cowen leaned into Kai and touched her cheek gently with the flat of her knife.

John bristled. He didn't like the direction this was going. The enthusiastic young soldier's eyes were glittering with excitement as his commanding officer focused on Kai. The man in John wanted to step in immediately. Protecting his people was an instinct buried so deeply inside of him he often struggled between the urge and his duty. The Major however recognized how precarious their position was here. They were deep underground, their group divided, with literally hundreds of armed soldiers between them and the exit. He wouldn't stand by and let it go further than this, but so far nothing had happened.

It helped that Kai didn't look scared. If she had he wasn't sure he would have been able to resist the instinct to step in. Kai was staring Cowen down with an intensity he hadn't seen on her face since she first came. The promise of violence building in the room was coming from her, not Cowen. This was the piece of Kai that had sent his instincts tingling when he first met her. Now he found it reassuring. As she stared Cowen down she didn't look like anyone's idea of a victim.

Kai leaned closer into Cowen her grey eyes were hard. "You didn't earn it. The only reason it is in your hand is because I saw fit to let you take it," she promised him.

Cowen threw back his head and laughed.

Kai was conscious of the fact that the Major was standing a few feet away and no doubt memorizing every piece of the conversation. Her exchange with Cowen will have done nothing but reinforce his doubts about her. If they got out of this her entire life on Atlantis would be forfeit. It made her ill, but she couldn't let her regrets touch her now. She couldn't afford to show any weakness.

"If you're done," Kai said imperiously, somehow managing to look down her nose at the Genii commander despite being the shortest in the room. "I would like to get to my work."

Cowen chuckled, a smirk pulling at one side of his face. "Tyrus," he called and the man appeared. "Take the Mortii to the lab."

John turned to follow. Cowen looked surprised but after what happened John wasn't comfortable leaving Kai alone with these people especially now. He had a lot of questions for Kai, but they could wait until after they survived this. The first was going to be what exactly a Mortii was. He was assuming it was a religion but he wasn't taking anything for granted.

Kai stopped in front of Cowen and held her hand up for the knife. Cowen glided his fingers over the blade once more. "It is beautiful," he commented.

John stepped closer to Kai so he was practically brushing against her. He bumped her lightly with his shoulder again. A gesture so small no one else would see it but it told Kai he was there.

"Deadly too," John added staring at the blade in Cowen's hand.

Cowen's eyes were on Kai however. "I have no doubt Major."

><><

 

Chapter 12

><><
Underground Cont.
><><

John was feeling protective and hadn't moved much more than twenty feet from Kai. He could feel himself hovering, but couldn't quite stop. Kai had been nervous when they were greeted by a dozen armed guards. John didn't blame her, she spent most of her time in the lab, not facing down men with guns. He had done his best to reassure her as subtly as possible, but Cowen had noticed and immediately taken it as a sign of weakness. Cowen had tormented Kai to get a rise out of John and assert his control over their situation. If John thought there was a way they could have gotten out of here he would have backed out of the deal in a heartbeat. There was no way they were going to be able to trust these people.

Kai stood over the table, her fingers flying over her keyboard. The genii had brought them to the lab with the interface. Most of the guards had left Kai and Tyrus to their work, but Cowen had smirked at Major Sheppard as he ordered Heiron to stand guard at the door. The Major was tense and was staying close. Kai ignored the others. She trusted the Major to watch their backs while she focused on her work.

It was almost a shock for her to realize she really did trust the Major to watch her back. She didn't trust anyone as a rule. Her entire existence depended on her ability to lie and manipulate and yet, standing in a room surrounded by potential enemies, she trusted him.

Kai had looked over Sora and Tyrus's interface. She had listened patiently, let them show her what they had done, and then she promptly got started converting the port so she could plug the data drive into her laptop. She stood over a table, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she adapted the program to Wraith data.

She scowled down at her computer screen.

"Anything?" John asked, sliding closer to her.

Kai jumped. She hadn't expected John to still be willing to speak to her after what happened with Cowen. He had surprised her however, leaning against the table as she worked. Cowen had tried to get a rise out of The Major and while Sheppard hadn't responded in the way Cowen had perhaps hoped he had responded when Heiron has searched her. Now, Sheppard was staying closer than he ever had before.

Kai glanced up at him, meeting his hazel eyes over the top of her screen. "Everything." she said with a small, private smile.

"What?" Sora asked in disbelief as she matched up to Kai's side. "That's impossible."

Kai ignored the petulant Genii and spun the screen around so it was facing the Major. "I have pulled up the complete schematic of the hive ship. This dart has all the information on it's home ship. I don't know if it's still there, but at the time..."

John nodded, scrubbing at his face.

"According to this schematic, the data core is in the very center of the ship," Kai reached around and pressed a few keys to highlight where she was talking about. "I don't have any details on the system itself, my guess is it won't be terribly complicated to connect to but..."

"We must bring this information to Cowen immediately," Tyrus said.

Sheppard scowled as the four of them started for the door following Sora. Heiron fell into step behind them deliberately staying close to Kai.

Teyla, Ford and McKay joined them for the meeting. Cowen listened quietly to the additional information Kai had found.

"Excellent," he said nodding. "We'll leave as quickly as possible," he said with a grim smile.

He glanced towards Sheppard. "Your Mortii can stay here. We'll have someone watch it for you. I trust your Doctor McKay can operate the data drive."

McKay opened his mouth to respond but Sheppard cast him a sharp look. He closed his mouth and frowned as he quickly replayed Cowen's words. The way he talked about Kai was the way someone would talk about a dog. McKay frowned. "Kai is much more familiar with Wraith tech." McKay said quickly.

He watched as one of the Genii stared at Kai like she was a toy he wanted. McKay couldn't understand what exactly was going gone, but he didn't miss Sheppard subtly placing himself between the brutish looking soldier and Kai. Sheppard wasn't prone to overprotective displays. Something had happened to make the Major behave this way.

"Fine," Cowen agreed. "We've got to get in and out as fast as possible." Cowen leaned on the table. "I've been studying these plans and I have the fastest route to the Data Core memorized."

"Good," John said brightly. "Then we'll follow your lead," he said. "We'll get McKay and Zian to the core, keep them covered during the breach and download." Sheppard shifted his weight. The roiling tension that had been clinging to him slipped away as he finally had something to do. The Major didn't stand still well, now that there was an objective he was more settled.

"Exit plan?" Ford asked as he studied the plans.

"Same as we came in. You'll stay with the jumper. Guard our exit."

"Yes sir," Ford replied with a nod.

"I should be going with you," Sora demanded impetuously.

"There's a good chance we could end up in a firefight," Ford said.

Cowen smiled proudly. "Sora is a skilled fighter and expert marksman. Still, she must stay here to carry on in case we don't come back."

Ford arched his brows in surprise, but didn't say anything more.

"Tyrus and Heiron will join my strike team," Cowen said with a nod of approval.

A bad feeling went over Kai and her eyes flickered to Sheppard. He met her gaze for a moment before he turned to Cowen. "Whoever you feel is best suited to the mission," he said. "One big happy family." His smile was strained and his eyes flickered back to Kai.

"Of course," Cowen said with a smile. He turned to his men. "Gear up," he ordered.

They all left the table and their team started towards the jumper. Once they were a few feet down the dark hall John grabbed Kai's arm pulling her aside.

"Look, I know this isn't what you agreed to-" he started to say.

"Major, I would rather be on that Wraith ship with you then spend another moment among these people."

Sheppard nodded, he cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at her. "They're treating you like this all because you're a..."

"Mortii," she filled in, the name tasting like ash in her mouth.

"Look, we don't judge people, no matter what they believe. Your religion is your business. You've proven yourself as far as I'm concerned and-"

Heiron stepped into the hall and Sora followed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a passionate kiss.

Both John and Kai grimaced at the same moment.

"No accounting for taste," Kai muttered and John snorted and coughed to cover up his laugh.

He looked down at her, his hazel eyes dancing with laughter. The laughter settled into something more serious. "He won't get near you," he promised, and then he shifted uncomfortably and gestured for Kai to lead the way back to the jumper.

><><

Sheppard flew them through the gate with Kai in the co-pilots seat. Once they cleared the gate and cloaked Cowen stepped up to the controls. "How many of these ships do you have?" he asked looking over the complex controls.

"Just the one," Sheppard lied without hesitation. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Kai but she was entirely focused on flying the ship.

"There," Kai said, as the Hive came up on screen. "Dead ahead."

"Have they awoken?" Cowen asked.

Kai's fingers danced over the controls. "I'm not picking up any signs of activity."

"Same as last time," Sheppard said grimly. "All right here we go Kai, right through the front door."

They set the jumper down in the dart bay and everyone climbed off. Kai drew the nine mil and held it loosely in one hand. She had never been a big one for guns, but she was a good shot when needed. She didn't like that Cowen was holding onto the drive but there was no way to ask for it without appearing as though they were going to double cross them.

Sheppard glanced back at Ford. "Hey, hold the fort. We'll be back as soon as we can."

Ford nodded. "Yes sir, good luck."

They moved through the dark Hive as a group. Sheppard and Teyla were on the lead. Kai and Rodney were in the middle of the group while the three Genii covered their rear. McKay was nervous and swung the light on his P-90 erratically as he jumped at every little noise. The halls were endless and winding, the walls were a woven, living flesh and the stench was over powering. They turned down another hall and it's walls were lined with people in web covered pods.

"Oh god," Rodney whined covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

"These people were cocooned for a later feeding," Kai said cocking her head as she stared down at the bodies. She pitied these people, but she also clinically recognized there was nothing they could do for them without endangering all their lives and risking the success of the mission.

"Some of them may be alive," Teyla said kneeling down beside one.

"We don't have time for this," Cowen growled.

Sheppard glanced over his shoulder at the other leader. "They could be your people for all you know."

Cowen grunted angrily, tightening his grip on his gun.

"Teyla take care of this, we'll meet you back at the ship. Kai, McKay you're with me," Sheppard ordered.

"I'll stay with her," Tyrus offered.

Cowen nodded though he didn't look happy. "Go, we'll meet you back at the ship."

The five of them continued on.

"This is it," Cowen said. He frowned at the sealed door in front of them. "The ships plans I memorized did not include details on how to open this door."

Sheppard stood with his back to it so he could keep his eyes and his gun trained on the two hallways. "If we try and blow it, it's going to make too much noise."

Kai snorted at the soldiers instincts to blow everything up. She stepped up to the door without a word, sliding her gun away. She looked back and forth over both sides of the door. She ran her hand over the walls.

"Do you have your scanner?" she asked Rodney. He ran it up and down the columns she indicated. When it beeped she nodded in thanks. She drew one of her knives so fast that anyone watching would have thought it appeared in her hand. She slit it through the living wall easily. She pried it open to reveal circuits running through what looked like blood cells.

"Kai-" Rodney started to say.

Kai plunged her hand inside without hesitation. It was sticky and a thick substance started running up her arm. She grimaced in disgust. "Almost..." and the doors slid open.

"Bingo!" Rodney said clapping Kai enthusiastically on the back. Kai scrubbed her hands off on her pants.

"I'll cover your six," Sheppard said dropping down into a crouch.

"Heiron," Cowen ordered and the soldier dropped down next to Sheppard.

Kai didn't hesitate. She ran straight through the door into the data core's chamber. Cowen and McKay trailed behind her. She held her hand out to Cowen and he handed her the Data drive. She frowned down at it.

"Where are the cords?" she asked tightly.

"Tyrus said you wouldn't need the cords, that there should be a connection port here," Cowen responded gruffly.

McKay groaned. "Well there's not."

"So fix it Mortii," Cowen snarled at Kai, swinging his gun around so he was pointing it at her chest.

"Hey, hey," McKay snapped. "Just take it easy. We'll figure something out."

Kai stepped up to the terminal and began accessing the ships systems. Her understanding of written Wraith was passable and she began working her way through their systems. "Place it on that console," she instructed McKay. "It should enable a wireless data transfer...provided that drive isn't too old," she added, leveling a look at Cowen.

He narrowed his eyes at her but didn't say anything more.

McKay set it down and stepped back. The screens in front of Kai began to flash as data stream after data stream came and went. "Uploading..." Kai said, tapping her fingers impatiently against the side of the console.

In the distance there was a faint pop of gun fire. Her head snapped around towards the noise. Cowen stared down at her like she had lost her mind. Without thought she reached up and touched the comm in her ear.

"Major, everything all right out there?"

"Y-" the Major's voice started to say but there was another click and he was cut off.

"Major! We've been discovered!" Teyla's voice yelled over their shared comm. In the background Kai could hear gunshots and screaming before it clicked off.

"We gotta get out of here!" Sheppard called. "How much longer?"

"Initializing..." Kai reported. "Done." She called.

Kai reached for the drive but Cowen slid his gun over so it was facing her once more. She stepped back and he snatched it off the port. The three of them ran for the door.

"We've got it," Rodney reported as the three of them met up with Sheppard and Heiron. They ran for the dart bay. They turned a corner and stunner shots erupted all around them.

Sheppard, Cowen and Heiron crouched on either side of the hall and fired back. Rodney yelled as more came from behind them. He fired until his gun jammed and a guard slammed into them.

Kai fired all the shots she had in her small hand gun but it did little to stop the group of Wraith advancing on them. Knowing it would blow her cover completely she drew her Blade and the KA-BAR.

Her secret wasn't worth their lives.

Kai kicked the first wraith back and arced her body as she flashed the knife in her right hand across his throat. The body collapsed lifeless. She didn't hesitate to engaged the next. It tried to reach for her but she ducked easily coming up inside it's guard. She slammed her blade up under it's chin, just beneath the lip of the helmet. The body collapsed away from her just as she was grabbed from behind.

"Kai!" Rodney yelled his voice frantic.

Kai threw all her weight back onto the Wraith and then launched herself forward, flipping the Wraith over her back. It slammed flat on its back at her feet. She slit it's throat. There was motion behind her and she whirled towards it.

She was in a ready crouch with both knives drawn when she came face to face the stormy eyes of John Sheppard. The hall was deathly quiet, Kai's chest was rising and falling as she panted to catch her breath. She could barely hear anything over the pounding of her own racing heartbeat. John was pointing a gun straight at her chest. Kai relaxed the knives in her hands so they weren't pointing at him anymore.

"Ha!" Cowen exclaimed in delight. "No wonder you tolerate a Mortii in your midst. It proved more useful than I could have imagined," he said and he and Heiron led the way down the corridor away from them.

McKay stood frozen where he was looking back and forth between Kai and Sheppard in shock. His mind couldn't process what he had seen Kai do versus Sheppard pointing a gun at someone who was supposed to be one of their people.

Kai hadn't moved a muscle and neither had John. The two were frozen as they stared at one another as though they were seeing each other for the very first time. Sheppard's eyes were hard and cold as he stared down the barrel of his gun at her.

Kai licked her lips nervously. "Major," her voice was low and she held her hands up in front of her, the knives were still naked but they weren't pointed at him.

"What the hell was that?" John growled. He had heard Rodney call out to Kai and had spun around ready to jump in to save her. It turned out Kai didn't need any one to save her.

"I-" she started to say, her eyes flitted over the bodies that lay surrounding her at her feet. There was no saving this. No explanation. No lie she could come up with fast enough to cover what she had done. Sheppard was a fighter and he would have to be blind to not be able to recognize her skill. It was over.

"I-" she began again.

He shook his head angrily. "We don't have time for this," he growled. "Get to the ship," he ordered, motioning for Kai and McKay to go ahead. He wasn't going to let Kai out of his sight until he got answers.

They turned a corner and came on another two Wraith. Before Sheppard could get a shot off Kai did a complicated spin kick that knocked the first Wraith back into the second and threw her knife straight through it's eye socket. Sheppard fired at the remaining Wraith

John looked from the body of the Wraith back to Kai as she ripped her knife out of it's eye socket.

"You are going to owe me some serious answers when we get out of this."

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Chapter 13

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Underground Cont.
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They ran back through the ship to find Teyla and Ford standing at the ready with their guns pointed to cover their escape. The Wraith were coming behind them, and more were waking. McKay didn't hesitate, he ran straight past them into the cloaked jumper.

"Hurry! More are coming!" Teyla yelled before she disappeared into the jumper. Sheppard and Kai were right behind her as Ford covered them until the hatch started to close.

Kai could feel the anger rolling off the Major as she took the co-pilot chair. She pushed it aside as she began began firing up the systems. Hopefully they would all live long enough for him to still be mad at her.

"Where's Tyrus?" Cowen demanded looking around the shuttle.

The Major looked over his shoulder towards Teyla while Kai closed the rear hatch and ran preflight.

"He was struck by a Wraith weapon," Teyla responded hollowly. Kai didn't miss the fact that none of the people Teyla had stayed behind to try and save made it.

"Then he may have only been stunned!" Cowen snarled turning towards the closing hatch door.

"The wraith were upon him," Teyla said desperately. Kai could hear the other woman's guilt in her voice. Teyla was not the type to leave someone behind if there was even a chance they could be saved.

The ship rocked. Sheppard spun his chair back around. "Zian what the hell was that?" he demanded.

"We're taking fire," she reported clinically. "No damage. Appears to be small arms."

"Alright, everybody hang on," John called as the jumper lifted off.

The ship continued to take fire as they made their escape through the stargate. He kept his focus on flying but his mind was racing as he worked to put the pieces together about Kai. Her skills as a fighter paired with all Cowen had said about a Mortii were suddenly painting a very different picture than the mechanic with a traumatic past. He glanced towards her out of the corner of his eye. She was staring straight ahead at the controls, but her back was ridged and her movements stiff as she worked. She knew she had been found out, she looked like someone waiting to face the gallows.

John shook his head and turned his focus back to the mission. Kai would have to wait. Dealing with the Genii was enough for one day. And just because they had made it clear of the Hive ship he wasn't fooling himself into thinking they were done yet. Cowen was seething was rage over their lost man. He paced back and forth in the cargo area while Heiron looked on.

John set the jumper down on the Genii's planet, near the entrance to their facility. Sora was stood out in the open in uniform waiting with two Genii soldiers. The others filed out of the jumper. Kai stood hesitantly and John motioned for her to step ahead of him. He wasn't ready to have her at his back, not after what he had seen her do. If it bothered her, she didn't show it. She lifted her chin and set her jaw as she stepped ahead of him as though it were her idea.

The others had reached Sora when he and Kai stepped out. Sora looked beyond the group back towards the jumper. "Where is my father?" she was demanding.

Heiron stepped up to her. "He did not survive," he told her gravely as he covered her shoulders with his hands.

"How?" Sora demanded. Instead of looking sad, anger flashed in her eyes. "What happened?"

"I think we should find out," Cowen growled. His lifted his eyes to the trees.

Kai moved as Cowen opened his mouth, sensing the trap. "Take aim!" he called at the same moment Kai stepped forward and shoved her Blade up under his neck.

Genii appeared all around them, pointing their weapons at the group. Sheppard swung his P-90 up towards Cowen at the same time Kai leaned into him, pressing her Blade against his skin as hard as she dared without puncturing the skin.

"Lower your Blade Mortii, or your masters will die," Cowen threatened.

"You'll come with me," she threatened.

"Kai," Teyla said after a moment. Confusion shown in the Athosian's eyes. She had never witnessed this side of Kai before.

"Zian," John called sharply. "Stand down," he ordered, though he had no idea if she would actually listen to him. He had seen her fight in the Hive Ship. There was very little controlled about her right now. Her shoulders were heaving with the effort of holding herself still as Genii betrayed them yet again.

Kai knew that if she ever hoped to save her place here she would have to prove her worth to Major Sheppard. She would have to prove that she could listen to him. She jerked back from Cowen, sliding her knife away

Cowen watched with amusement dancing in his eyes. He snorted. "It has a bit of a temper. I thought Instruments were revered for being devoid of emotion," he said.

"Cowen," John warned, the other leader was deliberately trying to instigate Kai now. "I thought we were all just learning how to get along," he said staring down the barrel of his P-90.

Cowen turned to Teyla. "She killed Tyrus."

"No," Teyla denied.

Cowen scoffed. "By leaving him to die, you may just as well have killed him yourself."

Teyla turned to John, her eyes imploring as though he somehow needed convincing of her innocence. "He shot the man we were trying to save."

"It was a mistake to try and save anyone. It jeopardized the mission," Cowen reached into his pocket and lifted out the data drive. "We will keep this intelligence information," he said gravely.

"You're the one making a mistake-" John warned his voice tight.

"And your ship," Cowen interrupted. "And whatever quantities of C-4 you have in your possession."

Teyla scoffed angrily. "That was all you ever intended. To use us."

Cowen arched a brow impassively. "And for your efforts I will spare your lives."

"How generous of you," Kai snapped, her temper flaring.

"I guess the Tava beans are off the table," John said ironically.

"Your weapons," Cowen insisted.

John's jaw tightened. "No, I don't think so."

Cowen looked amused. He gestured around the clearing. "We have the advantage Major."

"Yeah," John agreed, looking around at the men surrounding them. "It certainly looks that way, but I guess I lied too," he said and he reached up and touched his comm. "Jumpers two and three execute."

Behind them two cloaked jumpers appeared. The Genii surrounding them all looked up in awe and fear. Some of them shrunk back, uncertain what to do in the face of such superior technology.

"You didn't really think we only had one ship did you?" John mocked. "Tell your people to get back and nobody gets hurt."

Cowen stared the Major down, refusing to back down.

John refused to break eye contact from the other man's challenge. "Jumper two, prepare to fire on my mark."

"Wait!" Cowen called urgently, realizing the Major wasn't bluffing. "Do you promise to leave?"

John's smile was brittle. "Well, that's the plan," he shrugged. "I guess we'll have to go somewhere else to find our Tava beans, but I think it's only fair we leave with something," John said and he snatched the data drive out of Cowen's hand. He slid it inside his flak vest.

Cowen scowled. "You do not want to make an enemy of the Genii," Cowen warned dangerously.

"You know what, same here," Sheppard promised and they backed towards the jumper.

Once they were on board Sheppard moved towards the controls. Kai moved to follow but Sheppard swung back around to face her. His eyes flashing dangerously. "Uh uh," he said shaking his head. "You sit right there and don't move until I tell you," he ordered pointing to the bench in the cargo section.

Both Teyla and Ford exchanged confused looks.

He jogged towards the controls. He pressed a button. "Jumper two, Jumper three, lead the way," he ordered. He turned on the cloak and lifted off. "McKay take the controls," John ordered standing up.

"What?" Rodney squeaked.

"You'll be fine, Ford'll talk you through it. Just follow the others," John said flippantly stepping back across the bulk head.

Teyla fidgeted beside Kai, she could feel the tension between the two of them. She had seen something in Kai in that clearing that seemed entirely out of character, but the Major's anger seemed extreme for what had happened.

"Close the door," John ordered.

He turned to Teyla, ready to tell her to leave but the Athosian crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't sure what was happening but she wasn't going to leave the Major alone with Kai right now. The woman looked brow beaten and like she was prepared to be yelled at. Teyla respected the Major, but sometimes his military training made him more gruff than he intended. Perhaps Kai had made a tactical mistake, but she didn't deserve to be yelled at for it.

John sighed and shook his head, knowing it was useless to argue with Teyla. The door hissed shut behind him as he stepped into the small aft section and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What is going on Major?" Teyla asked in an overly calm voice as she looked back and forth between Kai and Sheppard.

Kai was still leaning forward with her elbows resting on her knees as she stared down at her hands.

"We ran into some Wraith guards on the ship," John said, knowing he was going to need to offer Teyla some kind of explanation. He could already see the other woman bristling to come to Kai's defense. "She took three down with nothing but that fancy black knife she has."

Teyla went very still, but it had nothing to do with Kai being able to take down three Wraith. "What black knife?" she asked slowly.

John had already turned his attention back to Kai. "I want the truth," John said, resting his hand on his gun at his hip. "You aren't just a mechanic are you?" he asked unnecessarily.

Kai glanced up at him. His stance was aggressive but he was going to give her a chance to explain herself. She straightened.

"I-" she started to say but she stopped.

John cocked his head to the side. "That's what they meant when they called you that, wasn't it? It's not a religion is it?"

"Major," Teyla stressed. "What did they call her?"

"A Mortii," Kai supplied looking down at her hands once more.

Teyla's eyes widened in shock.

"And what exactly does that mean?" Sheppard demanded.

"Death," Kai's voice was soft as she spoke the truth that would get her thrown out of Atlantis.

"She's an assassin," Teyla said in a low voice.

John's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You wanna run that by me again?" he growled.

Teyla turned to fully face the Major. "The Mortii, if that is in fact what she is, are mercenaries, assassins...but I've never met one. I believed them to be stories made up to frighten children."

"What, like eat your peas or an assassin will come and get you in your sleep?" John asked incredulously. He was stressed and when he was stressed his mouth tended to have a mind of it's own. He crossed his arms over his chest and turned back to Kai. "So why the hell are you here? What's in it for you?"

Kai looked back a Teyla before resting her gaze on Major Sheppard. "I needed a way off that planet, your people needed what skills I had, and I-"

"You?" Sheppard pushed, his anger made his tone snappier than usual.

Kai refused to back down in the face of the Major's anger. He had every right to be mad, but she wouldn't shirk away from it. "It gave me a chance at a new life," she said unapologetically.

Teyla's eyes softened for a moment. "How did you come to be stuck on that planet?"

Kai tightened, her eyes flashing with temper. "My people left me there as a tribute to the Wraith. It's how they have kept the Wraith satisfied and from culling our people. Every year one of our best was left on an abandoned planet as a challenge for the Wraith."

"And you all just agreed to this?" Sheppard growled stepping closer to her.

She shook her head, looking at the ground at her feet. "No, we didn't know."

"How could you not know? One of the best and brightest just disappears? Isn't that a little suspicious?" he asked incredulously.

"What my people do, it's dangerous," Kai said. "People die or are imprisoned all the time," she lifted her gaze to meet the Major's hard eyes. "You're a soldier Major, as you know you can't mourn everyone, all you can do is keep moving forward."

John went very still at her words. Her lying to them was unacceptable, but he remembered the haunted look on her face in the hospital. He remembered how she recoiled from being touched like she expected to be struck. And most of all he remembered her anger over the dying boy.

"They hunted you for sport," Teyla filled in quietly.

"I was told they believe my people are considered some kind of prize, that our physiology makes us...better somehow."

"Who told you this?" Sheppard asked, remembering Beckett's comment about her subtle differences. He wished now he had pushed for more information or a full genetic work up. It wasn't a mistake he was going to make again.

Kai lifted her chin defiantly. "The wraith that was about to feed on me when I risked my life saving Sergeant Bates and his team," she snapped back.

Sheppard pressed his lips into a hard line. He didn't like uncertainties, Kai was turning into an even bigger uncertainty.

"I have saved your life Major, as well as the lives of your people. I have fixed your ships, and your base. I at no point asked nor exposed myself to the military side of your expedition. All I have asked for is a new life."

"John," Teyla said reaching out and laying a hand on his gun arm. "She is right. She has done nothing to hurt us Major."

"I'm sorry that the lies became necessary," Kai responded formally.

"I don't like being lied to," John growled, but he took his hand off his gun. "It hurts my feelings," he added sarcastically.

John turned back to the bulkhead door. He pounded on it with his fist. It slid open. He moved towards his seat and Rodney scuttled out of his way. The jumper hadn't moved at all since they stepped back through the door. Jumper 3 was just dialing the gate, and Jumper 2 was no where in sight.

"Zian," Sheppard's voice barked as he sat back at the controls.

"Major?" she responded formally.

"This conversation isn't done. I'll expect a comprehensive evaluation when we make it back to Atlantis."

"Looking forward to it Major," she called back glibly.

Kai exhaled and shook her head as the Major flew them towards the gate. Her fear had been he would leave her behind on the planet with the Genii. Cowen had made it perfectly clear what a prize he considered a Mortii to be.

Teyla noticed Kai's relief. "It's all right," Teyla soothed. She reached out to cover Kai's hand with hers.

Kai stiffened and pulled her hand back as she shook her head. "I don't think it will be Teyla."

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Chapter 14

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It was late, nearly midnight, but Weir was waiting for them in the jumper bay when they arrived back on Atlantis. John hadn't expected any less. It was a serious operation with a lot of man power. Weir wasn't the type of leader to go to bed when her people might be in danger.

"What happened?" she demanded her arms crossed over her chest.

John sighed. "I'll fill you in," he promised. "Let's meet in your office," he said. Which was code between him and Elizabeth that meant they needed to discuss what happened alone. He glanced back at his team. Every one of them looked exhausted. Kai still hadn't moved from the bench. Weir's eyes cut to her, noting Kai hadn't been in the co-pilots chair. John was sure she was curious about that, but he was hoping to buy himself some time before he had to discuss Kai. The Genii threat would be enough for Elizabeth tonight.

"In the mean time," he turned to Kai.

Kai stiffened, as though she expected him to out her right there in front of everyone. She would certainly deserve it. He had spent the better part of a month feeling like he was insane for doubting her. Turns out there had been a good damn reason his instincts were warning him about her.

Instead, he reached into his flak vest and brought out the data device. "Get to work," he ordered slapping it into her hand with a meaningful look. Kai nodded and slowly stood. She scooped up her laptop and slipped past the others to disappear out the back hatch.

Weir nodded. "I'll meet you up there," she agreed briskly and she left the Major alone with his team.

John sighed and turned back to his team. Teyla knew what had happened, Rodney had seen Kai fight the guards, though he wasn't sure how much McKay would have recognized her abilities for what they were. Ford knew something was happening was Kai, but not the specifics. John was going to have to tell them something, he just wasn't sure what yet.

He had mixed feelings about what he had learned. He needed time to think, and he needed to speak with Kai without an audience. He had some difficult questions that he needed answers to. He looked at the others and scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Get some rest guys," he advised. "We'll debrief in the morning."

"Major," Teyla said stepping towards him.

John held up his hand. "In the morning. It's late. Get some shut eye."

Teyla sucked in a breath, "But what about-"

"In the morning," John said with more authority.

It wasn't often John had to assert his authority over his team, but when he did they all knew it was time to sit up and listen. Teyla pressed her lips together but she nodded in understanding. John's gaze moved over to McKay who also agreed. Then there was Ford. He wouldn't outright ask any of them to keep anything from Weir, but he hoped they would give him enough time to speak with her first.

"Understood Major," Ford agreed and he led the way towards the locker room. They filed after him. Once John was alone he exhaled and scrubbed at his face. He was exhausted. He didn't want to have to do this, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until it was resolved. He needed answers.

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The conversation with Elizabeth took the better part of an hour. Most of it would end up in his mission report any way, but it was good to talk it out with her. He ended up apologizing. He had been the one to push for this alliance and it had backfired. In the mean time Bates' team had gone off world and secured a modest but reliable trading partner. He was glad they had even a small amount of food coming in, but it chafed that it hadn't been his team to do it.

He shoved himself to his feet, turning towards the door. "Get some sleep John," she advised.

"Yeah-" he said knowing that wasn't what going to happen.

Weir narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What's going on?" She asked.

John hesitated. Weir, as always, saw straight to the heart of the matter. One of her greatest strengths as a leader was her intuition, there was no point fighting it. "There's something with Zian..." he said running a hand over the back of his neck.

Weir arched her brows. "Something I need to worry about?"

Johns scratched at the back of his neck boyishly. "Not tonight."

Weir narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously but finally nodded. She knew Sheppard well enough to know when he had something on his mind, but it was late and he would come to her when he was ready. Whatever was going on with Kai couldn't be urgent enough for them to stay up any later.

Weir nodded. "Tomorrow then," she agreed.

John stopped by the locker room on his way down to the science labs. He hung up his vest and put his gear away. He ran a hand through his hair. It was already sticking up in strange places and he needed a shower, but first he had to deal with Zian.

He wasn't sure where she would go to work in the middle of the night, but without a better idea he headed down to Zelenka's lab. The doors hissed open. He was a little surprised to find Kai still working. He glanced down at his watch. It was nearly two in the morning.

Kai was sitting at one of the consoles. Her laptop open in front of her. The rhythmic clicking of the keyboard was almost soothing. None of the overhead lights were on, only the glow of the various work stations offered enough light to illuminate her face, the rest was cast in shadows.

Kai had removed the flak vest and jacket, they and the weapons belt he had given her were sitting just inside the door, well out of her reach. The black knife was sheathed in it's spine sheath was also part of the pile. She was down to just the black pants and tight black long sleeved t-shirt. Both of which made it impossible to hide anything. Even her scarf was only draped over the back of her neck and hung loose. She had gone to a lot of effort to make it clear she was unarmed and harmless.

"What do we have?" John asked, stepping past the pile and into the room. He was surprised to find he wasn't mad any more. He was just tired. He wanted to get this sorted out one way or another.

Kai turned her head towards him but hadn't taken her eyes off the screen yet. John had been around McKay working on a project enough to know that he might as well just wait her out. He moved over to the work station and dropped down onto the stool Zelenka normally occupied.

The last weeks he and Kai had grown comfortable around one another. He wouldn't have said they were friends, he didn't think she had any of those and now he knew why, but he had thought they understood one another. Now he realized all of that had been a lie. It bothered him more than it should. The two of them sat in uncomfortable, awkward silence as Kai finished typing.

Finally she lifted her grey eyes to meet his gaze. She looked wary and he thought she had good instincts. "A lot of the information is still encrypted," she said scrolling through what she had. "Zelenka was down here earlier and started a program to decrypt the rest, but it will take most of the night. What we have found is that there are 21 Wraith Hive ships in this quadrant of the galaxy alone."

"Twenty-one?" he asked in surprise. The hives were huge, each containing thousands of Wraith. They would be hard pressed to find the fire power to destroy one Hive ship let alone twenty-plus.

Kai nodded she tapped on the key board, a small frown forming between her eyes. She spun the computer around so he could see the screen. He couldn't read Wraith so most of it meant nothing to him. "I can't say for certain, but there's indications there's more elsewhere."

John stiffened. "How many more?" he asked warily.

"I can't tell you for sure," Kai hedged, taking her computer back. "It's not my program. I can only pull the data and read what's there."

John grunted. He was used to dealing with Rodney who was always more than happy to give an answer with absolute confidence. Kai was more cautious. "Ballpark it for me."

Kai frowned and looked back down at the screen, her eyes scanning over the Wraith. "Maybe sixty...or more," she shrugged.

"You can read Wraith?" He asked after a moment.

Kai shrugged. "Some."

John covered his mouth with his hand and sighed as his mind began racing over the possibilities. "That's a lot of ships," he finally said sardonically.

Kai looked up from the screen to scowl at him in surprise.

John blamed his reaction on exhaustion. He shrugged and offered her a boyish smile. "I guess I just prefer to know what I'm up against," he said but his smile slowly faded as the weight of his words settled into the quiet of the room.

Kai met and held his gaze longer than most people could. John preferred things to be black and white, it was why he did so well in the military. He hated that he felt betrayed. That he had let her become one of them in his mind enough for her lies to bother him. He didn't understand it really, the only thing that should bother him about this situation was whether or not she had betrayed their information.

"I guess I can understand that," Kai finally agreed.

A heavy silence hung between them in the dark of the lab. Sheppard sighed. "Where's Zelenka?" he asked. "Is he coming back tonight?" he didn't want them to be interrupted.

"He went to bed," Kai said quietly. She knew what was coming. Well, that wasn't exactly true. The Major never quite behaved in the way she expected. He could imprison her, or throw her out. Either way she knew this was the end of her time here.

John sighed, scrubbing a hand through his hair. He didn't want to do this, the fact that it was necessary made his tone snappier than normal. "Look, you lied to get yourself medic help, I don't blame you for that. Hell I probably would have done the same to survive. But you kept lying. I trusted you. Not just at my back but with our peoples safety."

Kai looked down at her hands, nodding. She had done those things and she wouldn't deny them. There was a painful twist in her chest as his words went over her. He was right of course and despite the misgivings he had when she first arrived he had welcomed her.

"So why the lies?" John asked seriously. "Why not tell us what you were capable of? I saw you on that ship and it was pretty impressive."

Kai glanced over at him. She was surprised they were doing this here. She had expected a conference room, or some sort of interrogation room. She licked her lips. Her brain tripped over all of the ways she could lie, twist things around to her advantage. Anything to salvage what she had here. When she looked at the Major, his eyes were grave but not accusing. He was waiting for her, giving her a chance. She owed him the truth.

She took a deep breath, looked up into his hazel eyes and told the truth. "Every instinct I have is telling me to lie, to deceive, to manipulate to do whatever I have to do to get out of this situation."

John sat back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest as he cocked his head to the side. "Yeah, and then what?"

Kai shrugged. "And then I run." She fought to keep her voice casual, as though the prospect couldn't touch her, but she couldn't help feeling as though the major saw straight through her.

John arched his eyebrows. "And then?"

Kai sighed, hanging her head in defeat. "I keep running, and I never stop."

John's face remained hard and closed. He made sure of that, but he could see the exhaustion in Kai's eyes. It didn't make it any better. It couldn't. She had still lied to them, compromised the safety of the base and every single one of their missions since she had begun working on Atlantis.

"Well in my experience honesty is the best policy," John responded glibly. He paused as he seriously contemplated his next words. He didn't know why, but he wanted to help her. "You tell me the truth right now, we talk to Weir and maybe you don't have to spend the rest of your life running."

Kai snorted in disbelief and scrubbed her hands over her face. "It's all I've ever known until Atlantis..." she said honestly.

When she lowered her hands Sheppard was watching her intently. There was no judgement in his eyes, just an intensity that made her heart beat faster for reasons she couldn't fathom. She recognized she was exhausted and that made her vulnerable. She barely dared to hope someone would actually listen to her.

She drew in a deep breath and nodded. She honestly had nothing to lose. "Why the lies? You heard them, the Mortii are killers and mercenaries. My caste specialized in assassinations. Orders came in and one of us was sent out. We eliminated the target and that was the end of it."

John worked to keep all judgement off his face as he listened to Kai. This was why he wanted to talk to her first. He wasn't sure if Weir could remain impassive in the face of what he was sure was an ugly, bloody history. Nothing short of something horrific could have given Kai the fighting skills he had seen. She reminded him of some of the Spec Ops soldiers he had encountered on the black ops missions he had run in Afghanistan and North Korea. There were some hard questions he was going to have to ask her and he didn't want to ask in front of anyone else. He knew somehow if he showed any reaction to her words she would shut down. She would run and keep running. It felt like an incredible responsibility, and he couldn't help feeling like it should have come down to someone not as inept when it came to emotions.

Kai drew in a breath. "You are the good guys, and last time I checked good guys don't offer people like me a shot at a new life," she looked down at her hands and then back up. "I'm honestly sorry for the lies but I couldn't resist."

John leaned back in his seat. "Couldn't resist what? Infiltrating our defenses? Learning all you could about how to sell us out to the highest bidder?" Sheppard pushed harder than necessary. He didn't want to discourage her from talking, but he needed to see her breaking point. Needed to see what lay under the calm exterior.

Instead of losing her temper a desolate, pained expression crossed her face. "Peace." she said with a ragged breath. "I couldn't resist the chance for peace."

John frowned, her words actually felt like a physical blow. "Peace? I don't-"

"Before I met you, all I had even been exposed to was what my caste taught me. The Mortii are well known in this galaxy commander. And I was one of their best Major Sheppard. Someone like you knows what that means in terms of numbers. My hands are soaked in the blood of the people of this galaxy. I don't expect you to forgive or trust me Major. As you said before-"

John leaned back in his chair as he regarded her. He heard what she was saying, but he knew killers. She wasn't someone who enjoyed the thing she had done and if he didn't stop her now, the guilt was going to eat her alive. "Look, I say a lot of things when I'm upset. The truth of the matter is, Teyla is right. You haven't done anything to hurt us...in fact you've done more than your share to help us. This for example," he said motioning to the drive that lay between them. "You didn't have to agree to come with on this little adventure. You risked not only your life but also exposing your secret. And still you came. Why?" He challenged, lifting his chin slightly.

Kai was wallowing in guilt. But that wouldn't help him figure out if she was safe to stay. He needed to see her actual reactions.

Kai sighed. "Because you asked," she said honestly.

John nodded and shifted his weight in his seat. "Do you even want to stay?" John asked, he motioned to the computer between them. "Knowing this is coming...be honest here. Just you and me."

"I'm not afraid of the Wraith," Kai said, lifting her chin. "And I am done running from them."

John nodded. He had to respect that.

Kai scrubbed at her face. "However, I don't know that I want to stay and have everyone staring at me like I might attack them at any moment," she said shaking her head. "Everything would change."

"Not necessarily for the bad. You could help us," John suggested. "With your skills.." his voice dropped off as a haunted look entered her eyes.

"I can't ever go back to that Major," she said quietly. "My entire life has been violence and blood. I know it's a lot to ask, but I just want to be a mechanic. I would love nothing more than to continue to assist Doctor Zelenka with his projects and help the expedition that way."

The strange urge to protect her stirred in John's chest once again. Only this time there was no target for his feelings. John pressed his lips together in a grim line. "I promise you won't have to ever go back to that. If Weir agrees, you could just stay on Atlantis like you are, as a mechanic. I won't ask you to fight." He paused. "In fact, until things settle down a little I will insist you stay away from the military side of things."

A small smile crossed Kai's face. Being outed in this way made her a major security risk. It would be foolish of the Major to allow her any where near any of their operations, but it was still nice of his to try and make her feel better. "Thank you Major...what are you going to tell Doctor Weir?" she asked gently.

John sat back in his chair and stretched his arms over his head. "The truth, but we will do what we can to keep it on a need to know basis as much as possible. Now, why don't you hit the rack."

Kai froze, scowling at him.

A boyish smile tugged at his face. "Bed, Kai. Go to bed," he over enunciated. "It's late, and if this is only part of the data you'll have a big day tomorrow." John pushed himself to his feet, groaning as he stretched.

The scowl didn't leave Kai's face. "Don't you have more questions?" she asked, her tone making it clear she thought there should be more.

John smirked at her. "I got what I need, and I can assure you, Weir and Bates will cover all the rest."

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Chapter 15

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Kai stood at attention in the hall outside of the conference room. She was surprised to find she was nervous. Inside Weir, Bates, McKay, Teyla and Sheppard were discussing her situation and her potential future. In all her years facing the Mortii Tribunal to be disciplined had never had her this tied up in knots.

That morning Bates had come and found her, notifying her of a 'status evaluation meeting'. She and Bates had never been friends but they had respected one another. That morning he had been colder than usual. She was sure he felt betrayed and knowing Bates he was probably mad her actions would give Major Sheppard the opportunity to say 'I told you so' to the security chief who had stuck his neck out for her. His actions had been far from altruistic, but he had given her a chance.

The door slid open and Major Sheppard of all people stepped out into the hall. "The firing squad is ready for you," he told her sardonically.

Kai stiffened.

"Kidding," John assured her. "Sort of." He glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching him, then stepped out into the hall near her. "Look, just be honest. Elizabeth is fair." John didn't have any idea why he bothered trying to make her feel better. She was the one who had lied to them. He cleared his throat and straightened. "She'll give you a chance to tell your side of the story and then make a decision from there."

Kai nodded briskly. John held out his hand encouraging her to step towards the door. She hesitated right at the threshold. She drew in a deep breath to ground herself and she stepped into the room.

Sheppard stepped in behind Kai, closing the door, and moved around to the head of the table to sit beside Weir.

Kai stood on the opposite side of the table from everyone. There was a chair, but she felt better being on her feet. She clasped her hands behind her back and lifted her chin, waiting for the interrogation to start.

This was her fault, she was under no illusions about that. Part of her felt like she should have run when she had the chance. The truth was she wanted to stay. She had been living a lie, but it was one she had grown to truly enjoy and she wasn't ready to give up on. Even if she had to face what felt like the disciplinary tribunal back home. This was far more unsettling for her however, now she actually had something to lose.

Weir had a file open in front of her and Bates was prepared to take notes on his computer. "Do you have anything you would like to say before we begin?" Elizabeth asked authoritatively.

"Yes ma'am," Kai said stepping up to the table. "I would like to apologize to each and every one of you for the deceit. I wish I could say it wasn't necessary, but my people are taught from birth to conceal what they are. It's how we survive. I'm truly sorry for those of you who feel as though I have betrayed your trust. I promise you, I will answer all of your questions with absolute honesty." Kai was uncomfortable discussing her feelings but she recognized this meeting for what it was, her only shot to stay on Atlantis. "For the first time I feel like my work is making a difference. I hope I have not irreparably damaged my chances of staying here on Atlantis and continuing to work with Doctor Zelenka."

Bates scoffed. "You think after what you did-"

Major Sheppard cleared his throat loudly and lifted his brows at the security chief. Bates quieted immediately and began typing.

"Thank you for your words," Weir said, she looked visibly shaken. Whatever she had expected Kai to say that wasn't it. "Please state your name for the record."

Kai tilted her head in an odd alien way. "I don't have one," she replied as though it didn't bother her at all.

John shifted his weight in his seat.

Kai quickly noticed how uncomfortable her words had made the people in the room. Teyla was looking at her with pity she didn't want or need. She quickly pressed on. "My people aren't given names."

"So who is Kai Zian then?" Bates asked, his voice sharp. He was more upset than any of them. 

"Zian is my caste. I am the Instrument of the Blade Kai, it's the number designation of my knife," she moved slowly, so they wouldn't feel threatened, and pulled the slim black blade from her spine sheath and laid it down in the middle of the table.

Weir's eyes landed on the unique blade and her eyes cut up to the scarf that was wrapped around Kai's head. She noticed the matching patterns immediately.

"My people are called The Mortii," Kai supplied.

"Mortii," Elizabeth repeated frowning.

Kai drew in a breath and the cocked her head to the side so she could watch Doctor Weir's reaction. "It means death in the language of the Lanteans."

Elizabeth knew the language of the ancients better than anyone. She nodded in agreement. "Yes it does, do your people speak Ancient?"

Kai shook her head. "We still have some of their words."

Elizabeth frowned, leaning forward in her seat. "Your people interacted with them?"

The next truth Kai spoke would break the covenant of her people completely. She had a brief moment of hesitation, but they had broken their covenant with her when they left her on that planet to die. An uncharacteristic flash of anger and injustice went through her. "My people are descended from them," she replied calmly.

Elizabeth froze, her brow furrowing. "What do you mean exactly?" Now it was Elizabeth's turn to work to keep the excitement from her voice.

"My people are descended from a small faction of Lanteans that chose to stay behind rather than go through the gate. They disagreed with the decision to abandon the Pegasus Galaxy and chose to remain behind so their...skills...would continue to be available to aid the people of Pegasus when needed."

"I've read Major Sheppard's reports about you. The Genii referred to your people as assassins and mercenaries, hardly an act of benevolence." Bates shot back.

Kai lifted her chin. "I never said it was an act of benevolence. Any one who believes a race as ancient and powerful as the Lanteans were all wise and kind pacifists is dangerously naive," Kai replied bluntly.

Bates tensed and moved like he was going to shove himself to his feet. Major Sheppard shifted his weight in his chair as a warning. Bates sat back, but his eyes were narrowed dangerously.

"So you're saying your people were descendants from warrior ancients?" Teyla asked leaning forward in her seat with interest. She had never heard legends of Ancestors that were also warriors but it made sense. 

"Yes," Kai agreed.

Weir made a small note on the page in front of her. "How did you end up on that planet?"

"The Mortii Grand Council made a deal with the wraith to keep them from culling our planet. No one else knew, but the council would take an Instrument once a year and leave them on a planet for the wraith."

"To hunt?" Weir asked, frowning.

"As an offering," Kai replied coldly. "My people are not as long lived as our Lantean ancestors but we live on average between two hundred and fifty to three hundred years. It makes us...attractive to the Wraith."

John went very still as he thought back. "The Wraith on Hoff..."

Kai nodded. "I was told by the Wraith hunting me that they could smell the difference."

Weir made another note on her paper. "How old are you?" Weir asked.

Kai shrugged. "My people don't count the annual passage of years in the same way humans seem to, but I suspect around ninety years."

"How long were you there?"

Kai shrugged. "I stopped counting."

"Your people-" Weir started to say.

Kai tensed, this was where things had the potential to go very wrong. As she had told Major Sheppard. They were the good guys, and good guys didn't give people like her a chance to live and work side by side with them. 

She cleared her throat and tightened her hands but her voice came out steady. "As Sergeant Bates stated, they are assassins and mercenaries. Available for hire to those that can afford their services."

"So what would stop you from taking the first offer the comes along to betray us?" Bates demanded.

Kai scowled, she opened her mouth to defend herself, but was interrupted by The Major.

"That's enough," Sheppard snapped.

"With all do respect Major, this is exactly the kind of questions we need answers to. She lied to us, I can understand doing that in the moment to get a ride off that hell hole of a planet. Then she was trapped by the lie. I get that too. What I am not willing to accept is sitting here while she tells us she has spent the last ninety years selling her services to the highest bidder. What's to stop her from turning on us if someone comes by with a better deal?"

"Sergeant Bates," Kai said calmly. "If I were planning on betraying you my answers here would be immaterial. I certainly wouldn't fess up to it now."

John shot Kai a look of disbelief. Her answer was certainly not going to get Bates to back off.

"However," she continued, looking away from Sheppard. "All I can tell you is that I value my life here on Atlantis, and wish to be allowed to stay. If I were a prostitute would we be having this conversation?"

Sergeant Bates grunted. "That's not the same thing?"

"No?" Kai asked arching her brows in challenge. "As per the custom of my people and the caste I was born into I learned a skill. The Grand Council would be contacted regarding a job. They would choose one among my caste to go out and complete the job and the council would receive payment. No more, no less. It is nothing more than a skill, one I do not wish to use any longer. All I ask is to be able to stay here and continue my work as a mechanic and assistant to Doctor Zelenka."

"I think the Sergeants point," McKay interrupted. "Is that the problem is that your 'skill' happens to be killing people."

Bates nodded. "Your presence here is a security risk. You're dangerous."

Kai blinked for a moment. "Yes, of course," she agreed.

Bates pulled back, shocked that she had agreed with him.

"But Sergeant," she continued. "So are you, so is Teyla and certainly Major Sheppard is," Kai said jerking her chin towards John.

"That's-" Bates began to argue. 

"Enough all of you," Weir sighed. "You've given us a lot to think about Kai," she said. "You've done a great deal here. You've risked your life to help us, but you've also lied to us."

Kai nodded once curtly. "I understand Doctor Weir."

"I will need time to review what we've discussed here. Given the new information regarding your genetic history, would you be willing to submit to an exam from Doctor Beckett in addition to whatever Major Sheppard has in mind?"

Kai bit her lip. She knew Elizabeth was interested in finding out more about her Lantean ancestors, and it would be the perfect thing to use to try and persuade her to allow her to stay. Doing so however, wouldn't look good. Instead, she found herself nodding in agreement to being poked and prodded by the Doctor. "I'll head down to the infirmary as soon as we're finished," she agreed.

"Fantastic," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"We still need to do a physical evaluation," John said. "Things in the Hive got a little dicey. I would like to evaluate your skills for the report," he said gesturing towards the computer where Bates was typing away fastidiously. "Is there someone in particular you feel sparring against would help us assess your skills?"

This question also felt like a test, there was a small part of her that considered holding back, not showing them all she could do in case she still needed to escape. But she had promised Sheppard she would be honest and if she was caught lying again she stood no chance of being able to stay.

"I'll do it," Sergeant Bates offered a little too quickly.

John opened his mouth to argue but Elizabeth beat him to it. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea," she said glancing towards John.

John nodded his agreement. Bates had been a little too heated in his questioning of Kai and things on the sparring mat could go wrong quickly. 

"I would be happy to spar with Kai," Teyla offered with a warm smile.

"Perfect," John said shoving himself to his feet. "Let's move this party to the gym. Zian has another appointment to get to."

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Kai stood across the mat from Teyla. "You have no reason to be nervous," Teyla assured her. In addition to Sheppard and Bates several marines were in attendance.

Kai's smile was brittle. "My people rarely trained without a crowd. I'm not nervous."

It wasn't nerves as much as annoyance. She had hoped to keep what she had been a secret. She could hardly blame the men however. They had been working out in the gym when two of their commanding officers had come in and set up Teyla and a woman they knew as a mechanic to spar. Even Kai would have been curious. The men were gathered around in a loose semi-circle to watch.

Teyla nodded, a small understanding smile stretching her face. "Have you fought with bantos rods before?" she asked holding out Kai's rods.

Kai shook her head. She twirled the wooden training rods adjusting to their weight. "I'll be fine." Most of her combat training had been done with knives, but she welcomed the challenge of something new.

Teyla bowed to the other woman. It was not something her own people did, but Kai returned the gesture of respect.

Teyla waited for Kai to make the first move. Kai lifted her left rod, feinting, but swung experimentally with the right. Teyla blocked the move easily, but a small smile stretched the other woman's face. She hadn't faced a worthy opponent in quite some time.

"Tey-" John started to say but before he could finish Teyla attacked. She struck with her left, knowing Kai would block and then spun around trying to bring the right into Kai's unprotected left side. Kai brought her knee up, surprising Teyla with her sudden motion. Kai brought both wrists together and struck straight down at the other woman. Teyla was forced to throw herself backwards to avoid the powerful blow. She landed on the mats rolling clear. She rolled to her feet and when she looked back Kai was in a ready crouch.

Before Teyla could attack again Kai pulled her arm back and threw the bantos rod straight at Teyla's face. Teyla stepped to the side, slapping the rod aside with her own rod. It flew towards Sheppard. John ducked his head to avoid being hit. The rod clattered against the floor as the gathered marines scurried out of the way.

Kai charged Teyla as the woman swung her rods. She kicked straight at Teyla's head. Teyla blocked the kick but Kai brought her elbow up and caught the other woman in the shoulder before sending a roundhouse kick towards Teyla's exposed side. Teyla blocked with her two rods and then slammed the handles into Kai's stomach. Even as Kai doubled over in pain she swiped towards Teyla, catching the other woman in the side. The two of them tumbled down onto the mat together. Teyla rolled over and pressed her rod against Kai's throat before the other woman could recover.

"You're fast," Kai observed.

"As are you," Teyla said with a pleased smile.

The two held, each of them gasping for breath as they stared into one another's eyes. A smile lit Kai's face as Teyla climbed off of her. Teyla reached down to offer Kai a hand and Kai took it.

"Well," John said. "That was-"

"Quite impressive," Teyla finished for him. "Thank you Kai," Tyela said bowing her head respectfully.

Kai bowed back. She turned to face Major Sheppard. "Is there anything else you would like to see?"

"No," Sheppard said shaking his head. "I think that was enough."

Kai nodded. She hadn't dared look at Sergeant Bates, but she had heard the quiet clacking of his keyboard as he took notes and she hadn't missed the camera he had set up before the match began.

"Doctor Beckett is waiting for you," Sheppard told her dismissing her to the next round of tests.

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"I've never seen anything like it," Carson reported. He was standing in Elizabeth's office with her and Major Sheppard.

"I thought you had examined her before this," John said leaning back in his seat. It was late and he was tired. It had been a full day. He had finished writing up the report Elizabeth requested on Kai's physical performance. It hadn't taken long to see she was incredibly skilled. The brief fight with Teyla had shown how thorough her people had been in her training. He wished he had marines with the skills the two women had shown.

"I never ran the full battery of tests. I was just treating her for the illness. The point is, her physiology is an 87% match to the Ancient genetic code we have on file. I mean, its no wonder she can work the technology."

"You're saying she's an Ancient?" John asked.

"Not exactly. What I'm telling you is based on her DNA her people must have been extremely careful about outcrossing."

"So they didn't make friends with strangers, so what."

"No Major, you don't understand. You underwent the same testing when they found you have the ATA gene. You are one of the strongest we have ever found and you have only a .3% match to the genetic code. Over the course of ten thousand years this type of purity goes far beyond mere isolationism. It would require careful scientific, reproductive practices to maintain those levels."

Weir nodded, reading over the file Beckett had handed to her. "If she is that close to the Ancients does she have any of their capabilities we should be concerned about?"

"I don't know about concerned, but those physiological changes I noted earlier were just the tip of the iceberg. What she told you about aging was correct. She claims to be 90 but physically she looks 30. Based on the scans and how incredibly healthy she is she could easily live another hundred years or more."

"What about telepathy? Any psychic abilities?" Weir asked turning the page.

Beckett pressed his lips together and lifted his tablet. He pressed several buttons to show a scan of a brain. "This is a normal brain, my brain," he admitted with a wry smile. "This is Kai's," the image changed to a smaller one but it was lit up in several places with splashes of red."

"I'm going out on the limb here and assuming that's not murderous rage showing up in her scans," Sheppard said sarcastically.

"Ah, no. These are the areas typically associated with psychic abilities such as telepathy. Here is a scan from an Ancient." The screen changed and the splashes of red illuminated almost the entire brain. "This is an image from the SG-1 database of the brain of an Ancient about to ascend."

"So...what? She's only a little telepathic?" John asked frowning down at the image.

"She didn't divulge that in our interview," Weir pointed out warily.

"Well, I don't know if it would even be enough for her to know. I wouldn't damn her for it without asking," Beckett advised.

The truth was he liked Kai. Beckett was truly a healer down to his soul and there was something about the woman that made him think she was more broken than she let on. He genuinely wanted to help her. He understood the Major and Weir's concerns. It was their job, but in his opinion Kai needed to stay. She might not know it, but Kai needed them possibly even more then they needed her.

"What else?"

"Her senses; hearing, sight, I don't know about taste, scent or touch, those are more difficult to quantify, but even her reflexes are roughly ten percent higher than an average human."

Beckett had known for a while that Kai could hear better than anyone he had ever met, but he would never have imagined it was because she was so closely related to the Ancients. Though she looked human, physiologically she was quite different. He found it truly fascinating.

"Something else you should know," he said and he shifted uncomfortably. To him the rest of the information wasn't private, but what he was about to say next felt like he was coming close to breaching the Doctor-Patient confidentiality. "I know you didn't ask for it in the report, but I think it's important you know. Whatever she did in the past, I doubt very much it was her idea."

"You can't know that," Weir said in a guarded tone.

"Bones don't lie," Sheppard muttered, remembering the words Beckett had spoken to him when Kai had first arrived.

"Too right," Carson agreed. "There is evidence of systemic, repeated trauma all over her body. The poor girl was tortured and beaten continuously over her life."

"Poor girl?" John asked. "That girl is a ninety year old intergalactic super assassin."

"Aye and none of us can help what we're born into, nor what we do to survive it."

Beckett's words hung in the air for a long time as Sheppard and Weir shared a long look. Neither seemed pleased with what they read in the others gaze.

Weir pressed her lips together and turned to Beckett. "Is that it?" She asked briskly.

"Aye," Beckett agreed.

"Thank you Carson," Weir said without looking up from the report, clearly dismissing him.

Beckett glanced at Major Sheppard and stepped towards the desk. "Elizabeth," he said in a low voice.

Elizabeth lifted her eyes, surprised to find Carson still standing in front of her. "Yes?"

"If Kai is permitted to stay," he said. "I would like to ask if she would mind providing us with samples for research. We could learn a lot from studying her physiology more thoroughly."

"I'll make a note," Weir's words were sharp and Beckett backed slowly out of the room.

"Good night Major," he called as he left.

John turned back to Elizabeth. "So..." he started to say. He was tired and didn't want to have it out over this, but it couldn't wait.

"I'll let you know my decision in the morning."

John's eyebrows rose. It wasn't often Elizabeth asserted her leadership so completely. He could have argued the decision was based on the security threat, but judging by the look on Elizabeth's tired face he knew what her reaction would be.

"I thought maybe you would like to discuss it," John said, pushing gently.

"I already know what you think," Elizabeth said without taking her eyes off the reports in front of her.

"You do?" He asked in disbelief.

"Of course, you want her to stay."

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Chapter 16

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It had been an exhausting day. Kai felt drained both physically and emotionally, but she doubted she would be able to sleep until she heard their verdict. She was tired of being poked and prodded, but before she could take some much needed alone time there was one more thing she had to do.

Kai knocked on the door of the one person she felt she owed an explanation. The one person she was surprised had not been at her interview. Doctor Zelenka opened the door a few moments later. He was in his pajamas and his hair was mussed from sleep. Kai wasn't sure what time it was, but it was late. She felt guilty for waking him, but this couldn't wait until morning.

"Kai," he greeted in surprise, shoving his glasses up his nose. "What's wrong? Are the radios not working?" He asked, baffled why Kai would be at his door in the middle of the night.

"Radek," she said. "I have something I need to speak with you about, may I come in?"

Radek nodded and stepped back, ushering her into the room. "Can I get you some tea?" he asked gesturing to an electric tea kettle half buried beneath papers.

Kai nodded, wringing her hands together. "Tea would be good," she was surprised how nervous she was. The Major made her nervous but it was for other reasons. Radek had been nothing but kind to her, she understood how truly rare that gift was.

Radek quickly began making them each a cup.

His quarters were clean but cluttered. They were the living quarters of someone too busy, with too many projects on his mind to worry about little things like straightening up. The only surface not cluttered with items was a small board covered in wooden pieces. Kai stepped up to it, cocking her head to the side.

"It's called chess. It's a strategy game," Radek explained, stepping up to Kai and holding out a mug with the words University of Cambridge written on the side. "I don't have any lemon or milk I'm afraid," Radek said apologetically, gesturing to the black tea.

Kai wrapped her chilled hands around the warm ceramic mug appreciatively. "It's perfect," she promised him taking a sip of the strong black tea.

He nodded and sipped his own, waiting for her to speak. Kai took another sip of the tea, trying to decide where to start. She owed Radek more than anyone on this base. Not only had he made arrangements with Weir for her to stay in the beginning, but he had welcomed her into his team and given her a place to belong.

She exhaled. "Obviously you know something is going on," she said. "I wanted to be the one to tell you."

Radek listened as Kai told him everything. He was quiet the entire time she spoke, nodding occasionally. When she was done the silence that stretched between them hung heavy in the air. Kai's tea cup was barely warm in her hand, but she forced herself to take a sip as she waited for his reaction.

Radek looked thoughtful for a few moments. When he glanced up at Kai, she was watching him with such concern he smiled kindly trying to reassure her. "To be honest," he said slowly. "I was wondering what it was."

"What, what was?" Kai asked in confusion. She had been so sure he would condemn her and refuse to work with her that this quiet acceptance was all the more nerve wracking.

"You work like you have something to prove," Radek said with a small smile. "I mean most scientists here do. We all have something to prove or someone to compete with in Rodney's case, but you-" he shrugged. 

Kai frowned into her mug of tea.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing. You're a hard worker. I have no complaints...I am assuming what kept you away from the lab today was this?" Raken asked.

Kai nodded. "Doctor Weir, Major Sheppard and Sergeant Bates spent the day interviewing me. Sorry," she added. "Any luck with the Drive?"

Radek's smile was indulgent. "We are continuing to pull data off the drive for you to translate. It will be there tomorrow," he promised.

"Assuming I am," Kai said looking down at her tea. She glanced back up at him. "Sorry," she said, catching herself before she indulged in even more self pity. "I hate waiting."

"You are waiting for Doctor Weir and Major Sheppard to-?"

"Decide if I can stay," Kai finished for him. She downed the rest of her tea. "Look, Radek. You were kind to me and I lied to you-"

Radek shook his head. "I don't care about your past Kai, everyone is entitled to their secrets and their past. You work hard in the lab and you are not easily bullied by McKay. Nothing beyond that matters to me."

The ugly churning in the pit of her stomach that had been there since the hive loosened a small amount. "Thank you Radek," she said setting her empty cup down.

Radek nodded. "I will teach you to play some day," he said gesturing towards the board.

"I'd like that."

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John couldn't sleep. He had been tired sitting in Weirs office, but once she had shooed him away and he had returned to his room he found himself pacing restlessly. Weir was right, somehow, despite everything, he did want Kai to stay. In fact, the more he learned about her the more he thought she could be a useful member of the expedition. He hadn't forgotten his promise to her. She wouldn't have to go on combat missions if she didn't want to, but it was useful to have someone on the science team who could defend themselves if necessary.

After pacing for hours John finally resigned himself to not sleeping. He changed into gym shorts and a t-shirt and headed down to the track. He stepped into the gym and was surprised to see the lights were on. He glanced up towards the track that ran overhead in catwalks. The large room was so empty he could clearly hear the echoing footsteps of someone else running. He had hoped to be alone, but whoever was here this late probably wanted the same thing. He stretched and set off at a slow jog to warm up. He only made it halfway around when none other than Kai Zian herself passed him.

She hesitated when she saw him and the two of them stopped, facing one another awkwardly.

"Can't sleep either?" John asked uncomfortably.

Kai chewed thoughtfully on her lip. "No, I doubt I will until-" she dropped off pressing her lips together.

John nodded uncomfortably.

Kai opened her mouth to say something but stopped. She wanted things to be okay, but she didn't know how to fix things.  She had never had to do this before. Her people accepted deceit was part of life, and certainly part of any given mission. Any time she had finished a mission in the past she had always been able to leave the people she lied to behind. Now she had to not only face them, but admit she was wrong and ask for forgiveness.

"I can let you-" he started to say.

Kai spoke at the same time. "Major I'm-"

They both stopped. John rubbed at the back of his neck while Kai looked down at her hands.

"I just wanted to say..." Kai started "That I'm sorry Major."

"Yeah," John replied. "You said that already."

She sighed. "I know I did. And if I'm allowed to stay I don't know if I'll ever feel like I can stop," she said toeing at the rubber of the track with her athletic shoes. 

John shrugged. "Technically you didn't," he told her, surprising himself in his desire to make her feel better. "We just don't like being lied to."

"I understand that...it's strange. I don't know if I have ever apologized to anyone before this."

John arched his eyebrows.

"My people are a little more...well, they aren't the type to say they're sorry," Kai said with a  small shrug and a shy smile. 

John nodded. "I can understand that..." he dragged off. "Well, Elizabeth will hand down her verdict in the morning."

"And you Major? Have you already handed in your verdict?" she asked.

John nodded. "I did, right away."

Kai nodded. "I suppose that's to be expected." She turned to go her stomach twisting with the realization that it was over.

"Kai," he called after her.

She stopped, her grey eyes were troubled and a small line of stress showed between her eyes. She didn't know why it mattered to her so much that the Major forgave her. She remembered his anger over the people of Hoff, and his desire to protect her and the rest of his team from the Genii. The Major was a good man who cared for his people. 

"The decision is up to Elizabeth, but for what it's worth...my recommendation was for you to stay."

Kai frowned. "Really?" she asked in disbelief. She had been so sure that Major Sheppard would have been the one to push for her to leave.

"Yeah, I mean...you're one hell of a mechanic," he said. "And the way McKay makes it sound Zelenka is impossible to work with so..."

Kai snorted and nodded. "Right," she said chuckling. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, have a good run Major."

Sheppard nodded briskly. "Sleep well Zian," he said and he turned and jogged off down the track.

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Elizabeth was up before dawn. She had been going over the reports late into the night, trying to make her decision. She was surprised Sheppard had decided so quickly, especially after he had been so adamant she was up to something since the beginning. She had a final meeting at 0900 with the senior staff to make the decision, but before that she had two people she wanted to visit.

Doctor Heightmeyer was her first stop. The psychologist was eating breakfast in the mess hall in the early morning light. She smiled but didn't look at all surprised when Elizabeth sat down across from her.

Doctor Heightmeyer took a bite of her yogurt before she spoke. "I reviewed the interview transcripts, mission reports, as well as the videos you sent."

"So," Elizabeth said after a moment. "What is your recommendation?"

"Well, I'm afraid it's not that easy. I wish it was. I feel I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that given the information on her past and her people that every psych 101 student out there would say that she should be a textbook sociopath."

Elizabeth tensed. Something like this was exactly what she was worried about. She needed reassurance that Kai wouldn't betray them.

"However-" Heightmeyer continued. "From what I have read Kai seems genuine in her desire to stay. All the reports show she is loyal and hard working."

"Her knowledge of Wraith technology, the jumpers and skills as a pilot make her incredibly useful," Elizabeth interrupted nodding. These were all things she knew. "But-"

Heightmeyer sat back in her seat. "But," she interjected cutting Elizabeth off before she took control of the conversation. Heightmeyer was used to dealing with the scientists on this expedition and Elizabeth herself was used to being in charge and having all the answers, but she had come to her for a reason. "It is difficult enough rectifying the cultural differences with people from another galaxy, but when you take into account a society like the one she had lived in-"

"Exactly," Elizabeth jumped in, feeling at once justified for her decision.

"Wrong," Heightmeyer said shaking her head.

Elizabeth scowled.

Heightmeyer leaned forward. "For all intents and purposes Kai should have gotten what she needed from us and moved on. Instead, she chose to stay. She worked to find a place to belong and is actively seeking fulfillment from being part of a working team. These all indicate if not a well adjusted individual, then one seeking self betterment."

Elizabeth sighed, cupping her forehead in her hand. she had hoped the psychologist would make her decision easier, but instead she only made things harder.

Heightmeyer smiled gently. "It's a difficult decision to make, but other than hiding a past she is ashamed of, has she actually done anything to make you not trust her?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "It isn't that easy."

"I think it can be," Heightmeyer said taking another bite of her breakfast. Elizabeth was looking for someone to justify her considering throwing Kai out.  Heightmeyer wasn't willing to do that. "I think Kai has suffered a lot of trauma in her past. I think we could show her that it can be another way. We all deal with shame and questions of self-worth. I think Kai deserves a chance."

Elizabeth pinched her lips together but didn't argue. "If Kai stays I would like to have her speak with you regularly. I think it would be important to monitor her status."

"Of course," Heightmeyer agreed with a smile.

Elizabeth climbed to her feet. "Thank you for your help."

Heightmeyer nodded as Elizabeth left her to finish her breakfast.

Elizabeth was no more convinced either way as she made her way down to the science labs. She wasn't sure if he would be working yet, but she wanted to get his opinion before she met with the other senior staff about the situation.

She found Zelenka working in his lab. She hesitated as she stepped across the threshold when she spotted Kai sitting at one of the work stations. It surprised her. They hadn't formally suspended her from working, but she would have expected the woman to wait for their decision before spending more time working on a protect that might not effect her.

Kai looked up when the doors opened, but went right back to work when she realized it was Weir.

"We have not recovered any additional information off the drive Doctor Weir," Zelenka said without looking up  from his laptop. "Kai is translating now. I will send up a report once we know more."

"That's actually not why I'm here Doctor Zelenka," Elizabeth said.

Zelenka lifted his eyes from his screen. "What do you need?"

Weir's eyes flickered over to Kai who was steadfastly studying her laptop. "I was wondering if I could have a moment to speak with you in private."

Kai tensed at Weir's soft spoken request. The only possible thing would be for her to notify Zelenka of her termination. Nothing else made sense.

"No," Zelenka responded, surprising them all.

"Excuse me?" Weir asked.

"Whatever it is you have to ask, you can do so in front of Kai."

"I need to ask you some questions, it would be better-" Weir started to say.

"I can save us all a lot of time," Zelenka said lifting his chin defiantly. "I don't care about her past, what I care about it decrypting this data drive. Now,Kai is the best we have for dealing with Wraith tech and engines on the Jumpers. She is hard working, she shows up early, stays late and has given me no reason not to trust her. That is enough for me."

"And that's it?" Weir asked in disbelief.

Zelenka turned back to his laptop and resumed typing. "That's it," he agreed. "Please excuse me, we have a lot of work to do."

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Elizabeth and John were the first to the staff meeting.

"So?" John asked, turning himself back and forth in the wheely chair. "Made your decision yet?" His tone was light, but he knew how hard this one would be for Elizabeth.

"I thought I had," Elizabeth confessed. She glanced around. They were still waiting for McKay, Bates and Teyla.

"What changed your mind?" He asked.

"Everyone else," Elizabeth said. "You know, of everyone, you surprised me the most John," Elizabeth confessed. "After how adamant you were when she first arrived that she not stay..." she shook her head. "It gave me a lot to think about."

Sheppard shrugged. "You weren't there on Hoff when things went bad in the hospital. Or on that Hive when she saved Rodney's life and put herself between me and the Wraith guards without hesitation...I know what it looks like on paper but situations like that...they show you what a person is really like."

"And you think she should stay," it wasn't a question,

John nodded grimly. "I do."

Elizabeth sighed. "Okay, lets get the others in here and go from there. I hope I don't regret this decision."

John flashed a smile. "Me too."

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Chapter 17

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Home
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The next month was fairly quiet for Kai. Elizabeth had granted her permission to stay with a few stipulations. They were inconvenient, but Kai would have been willing to endure much worse to stay. She wasn't allowed into restricted areas without a senior staff member escorting her. She was to provide Doctor Beckett with samples so he could continue research on the evolution of the Lanteans. She wasn't allowed to be armed beyond her single knife. And perhaps her least favorite was that had to meet with their psychiatrist Doctor Heightmeyer once a week. The woman was nice, but she kept pushing Kai to discuss her past and her feelings. Neither were things Kai wanted to get into.

Kai was working down in the lab with Zelenka when his radio sounded. Kai was on the far side of the room and was making an effort not to listen in. She was finding the humans considered it rude when she answered questions before they asked her directly. She didn't try to eavesdrop it was just something she couldn't control. More than anything it was becoming an exercise in patience for her.

Zelenka walked across the lab to her, even though she would have heard him fine from where he was. "McKay requires some assistance on the current project he and AR-1 are working on," Zelenka told her.

Kai looked up from her laptop. "With what?"

"I'm not clear on all the details but it appears he has found a power source viable enough to dial home. He needs a hand modifying the DHD on the planet."

A small smirk crossed Kai's face. Zelenka was terrified to go off word but the Czech scientist would never admit it. "I would be happy to go off World," she said, closing down the program she was working on.

"I would go, but with McKay already off world-" Radek started to make excuses, but Kai stopped him.

"It would be nice to have a change of scenery," she said with a smile. "I'll be back soon!" she called over her shoulder as she headed down to the locker room to gear up.

McKay was waiting for her at the gate. There was a large pile of equipment resting near his feet and he was tapping his foot impatiently. He looked a little surprised when she stepped out of the hallway. "I thought Zelenka was coming," he said.

Kai glanced over her shoulder and shook her head. "He was in the middle of the project. I volunteered."

McKay sniffed in irritation but didn't argue the point. "Are you ready?" he asked impatiently.

Kai nodded, not letting the man's bluntness bother her. She found him to be arrogant, rude and incredibly insensitive. He bullied people and half the scientists in the lab were afraid of him while the other half loathed him. But he was the best at what he did. The man was a literal genius and she could recognize his social failings for what they were; insecurities.

Major Sheppard was standing off to the side of the gate. He wore his Atlantis uniform shirt casually, it was untucked and the sleeves were rolled up his forearms. Kai always found it interesting that he did that while everyone else adhered to a strict dress code. It was a small thing, but he worked to set himself apart from the other members of the military despite being the commanding officer. Part of her wondered if it was simply a force of habit.

"Excellent," McKay said sharply. "Did Zelenka give you a run down of the mission?"

Kai shook her head. "No, just that you were making changes to a gate that might enable you to contact your home world."

McKay sighed heavily. He never failed to show his disdain for Doctor Zelenka. Kai had often wondered if it was because he felt threatened by him.

"We are going to M5S-224. There is energy being generated in the atmosphere. Consistent energy readings around the gate are powering the wormholes. I believe there's enough to allow for a connection to earth. We are going to disassemble the DHD and reconfigure it for an eight chevron lock."

Kai nodded briskly and picked up three of the cases sitting beside the gate.

"Eight hundred and four years," Major Sheppard drawled lazily. He ran his eyes over Kai. She was dressed in black combat gear including the flak vest, though she had on her own black knee high boots. She wore her scarf wrapped around her head with a single loop coming down to hang loosely around her neck. She looked ready to fight except the only weapon she had was her own knife in her spine sheath. John scowled. McKay had his sidearm but he didn't like the idea of sending the two of them offworld with only one gun between them.

"What?" McKay asked in confusion.

John snapped himself from his train of thought and flashed a teasing smile. "Eight hundred and four years, that's how long it will take for me to come and rescue you both by puddle jumper if you break the gate."

It had occurred to Kai that there was a chance they could become stuck on the planet and she watched the moment of hesitation flash through Rodney's eyes. "Are there ah, extra power bars in there?" he asked gesturing towards the gear Kai was holding.

Sheppard smirked. "There's four days of rations in there, beyond that, you better hope there's something hiding in all that fog that Kai can kill for you both to eat."

"It isn't fog," McKay snapped impatiently, then he hesitated as though thinking over Sheppard's words. "You would come though right?" he asked weakly.

Sheppard snorted. "Of course," he promised sarcastically. Then he hesitated. "Hey Kai, how long do your people live again?"

Kai smiled. "Not that long."

"No rush then," he replied with a teasing smirk. "All right, you two kids have fun, no fighting," he said pointing a stern finger between the two of them. "Remember you manners and-"

"Got it," McKay snapped impatiently, turning away and heading towards the gate with Kai trailing behind.

John strode up the steps to where Elizabeth had been watching their playful exchange.

"Sending her offworld without a gun? I thought you liked her," John said sardonically as he leaned his hands against the top rail.

Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder at him. "It's not a question of liking John, it was the agreement."

"It's a dumb rule. You can't ask the girl to go offworld and then not give her a gun."

Elizabeth bristled. "I didn't ask her, Zelenka did. She agreed knowing the rules. And I will remind you, that girl, as you have pointed out, is a ninety year old 'Intergalactic Super Assassin'. And you personally cleared the planet as safe."

"So I did," John replied acerbically. He didn't like this one bit. It was an unnecessary risk and it put both McKay and Zian's lives on the line.

"She needs to earn our trust before I'm willing to give her back a gun," Elizabeth said calmly.

"What about us earning hers?" John challenged. "Sending her into a potentially dangerous situation unarmed is not a way to make friends," he said and he turned and stalked away.

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Kai and McKay stepped through the gate. She began depositing the cases he needed to work near the DHD and immediately began setting up the work station. The DHD was on a raised stone platform flanked by rough stone pillars. The planet itself was dark, covered in thick mist. The only lights were from the gate and the flashlights each of them had. The light didn't reach far, and was muted by fog. There was no sound, only the hum of the energy passing into the gate. It was eerie for Kai to not be able to hear anything.

"Atlantis this is McKay, we're going to begin work on the DHD."

"You're sure about this Rodney?" Elizabeth asked, her voice fuzzy through the comm.

"Positive, the next time we contact you we'll be delivering the good news," he replied confidently.

"Good luck," Elizabeth said genuinely, though Kai could hear the waver of uncertainty in her voice.

"Back in time for supper," McKay promised and the connection closed, cutting them off from Atlantis.

"Right," McKay said, moving towards the control panel.

He looked over the stuff Kai had already prepared and though he didn't say it, she could tell he was impressed. "Let's get started."

Kai adjusted the lantern they had brought so McKay's light wasn't interrupted.

"Th-thank you," McKay said in confusion, as though he hadn't expected her to be able to anticipate what he needed.

Kai nodded and when he pried open the control panel she was right there reaching to take it from him. Kai's eyes were on the horizon and she was tense. Strange that something as simple as the absence of sound could make her uneasy.

"There's nothing out there," McKay assured her, pulling out the crystals. He handed them to her and she placed them in a padded protective case.

"I hear nothing," she agreed.

"Is that...I mean must be strange," McKay said briskly. "For you, I mean. Carson said your hearing was conservatively ten percent better than ours."

Kai shrugged. "I don't know the difference. It's how all my people are, but I can normally hear so much, it's odd not to hear anything."

"I always wondered. Why didn't you just go home?" he asked.

"You could have asked in the interview," Kai pointed out.

"Everyone else would have thought it was insensitive," he said grunting as he pulled the control panel down where he could access it better.

Kai smiled and chuckled once. This was the part of McKay that Kai actually appreciated. He was completely unapologetic and there was no deceit in him. He wasn't trying to be insulting he just wanted an answer to his question.

"They would have killed me," she said simply even knowing her answer would make him uncomfortable. "Will you want to go home if given the opportunity?"

"Well, what I want is irrelevant," he continued to work as he spoke. "Atlantis can't afford to lose me. I'm their foremost expert in gate theory, wormhole physics and a myriad of other sciences too numerous to mention, but too important to ignore. On the otherhand if anyone is going it should be someone who commands the respect of the SGC and yet has the patience, knowledge and determination to bring them up to speed and find a way to bring the cavalry back here."

"So you're invaluable everywhere?" Kai deadpanned.

McKay froze for a moment, his head cocked to the side as he tried to figure out if Kai had really made a joke. She could literally see the moment when he disregarded the thought and snapped back to work and talking. "Of course it will create a void if I go. But you could all rest assured to know that I'll be on the other side, spearheading the return with reinforcements, fresh supplies and Big Macs for all."

"What's a Big Mac?" Kai asked curiously.

"It's a-" McKay stopped. "Never mind," he said turning back to his work.

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It took them several hours to make the modifications. When they were done they called Atlantis and Major Sheppard and Weir appeared half an hour later both in full gear. Kai and Rodney were sitting on one of the pillars eating power bars.

"Rodney," Weir said with a smile. "Congratulations."

"Let's just see if it works first," he said with a confident smile as he made his way to the DHD.

Kai rolled her eyes and shoved herself to her feet.

Major Sheppard stepped towards her, his eyes on the mist. "Everything good here?" he asked.

She nodded dusting her hands off on her pants. "No problems."

"So," McKay asked. "Are we ready?"

"What's there to be ready for?" Sheppard asked frowning at McKay.

"Well, this is sort of a big moment and I thought we haven't been in contact for some time-" McKay started rambling.

"We're ready," Sheppard interrupted his tirade.

"Go ahead," Weir agreed.

The hum of power was almost overwhelming in Kai's ears after so much silence. She frowned and reached up flinching as a sharp pain exploded across her temples and she staggered sideways. Sheppard reached out, catching her arm so she wouldn't fall. When they touched there was what felt like a hard nudge in Kai's mind. Just like all those weeks ago in the cafeteria.

"You okay?" John asked, frowning down at her in confusion.

In the next second the pain was gone and Kai was standing straight once more facing the gate as it connected.

"I'm-I'm fine," Kai said shaking her head. "I don't know what that was."

John was still scowling as he slowly let go of her arm.

The others hadn't seemed to notice the moment and Kai glanced self consciously towards the Major. That was the second time since coming to Atlantis she had felt a push. She reached up and cupped her forehead. Away from her people it shouldn't be possible.

"Stargate Command, this is Doctor Elizabeth Weir of the Atlantis Expedition. Do you read?" There was no response. "I repeat, this is Doctor Weir. Come in, please."

The voice that came through their radios was warbled and staticy. "This is Sergeant Harriman of Stargate Command. Whoever you are, this better not be a joke."

McKay was chuckling behind them and Elizabeth smiled. "No joke Sergeant. I'm sending my personal IDC for confirmation."

There was a pause as the information was relayed. "Sorry about that Doctor Weir," the same voice came back, more respectful this time. "We are just a little surprised to be hearing from you."

"Understandable," Weir agreed.

"The Iris is open, you're clear to come through."

"Thanks, but we're not ready to risk a one-way trip."

"You don't understand Doctor. Things have changed around here. The Asgard in the process of fitting the Prometheus with engines capable of reaching other galaxies. We were manning a mission to find out what happened to you."

"Is he serious?" McKay asked frowning.

"Are you serious?" Weir repeated.

"Yes ma'am. Come through now, and you could be back in Pegasus inside a month."

"Well," McKay said, making it clear the new information changed everything. "Who's going?"

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It was the fastest military briefing John had ever given, especially given how much information he and Kai ended up covering. He was glad she had come through. He had been hesitant, considering the potential details of her past and the militaries response to that. But as they had discussed on the planet, Kai knew more about the Wraith and Pegasus Galaxy than anyone.

Halfway through the briefing Kai was dismissed to be looked over in the med labs here so she could be cleared to leave the compound. John finished the briefing alone and when it was done General Hammond was out of the door before he had even gotten up out of his chair.

"Ah, General Sir!" Sheppard called, jogging after General Hammond before he could get on the elevator.

Hammond reached out and held the doors for the elevator.

"Thank you sir," Sheppard said, nodding respectfully.

"Major Sheppard," he replied curtly.

"I'm surprised the briefing went as quickly as it did," John said.

"You were very thorough Major."

"Thank you, sir," John said nodding proudly. He was not always used to receiving compliments from his superior officers and there was something strange about it.

"I thought by now you'd be enjoying some well-deserved R and R," Hammond said conversationally.

John frowned. "I was just going to arrange some transportation, sir."

"Consider it taken care of Major, anywhere you'd like."

John was blown away. "That's...very generous."

"You've done your country a great service, son. You deserve it."

John nodded slowly. "Thank you sir," he said feeling a little uncomfortable with the Generals overt display of approval.

The elevator doors opened and John walked towards the infirmary. He pushed open the door and saw Kai sitting on a table with her back to him. She had removed the flak vest and had her scarf draped over her shoulders.

"Well Doc, how's our patient doing?" Sheppard asked in a low voice, knowing Kai would be able to hear him.

"We're all done Major," the Doctor replied looking down at her clipboard. "She's free to go."

"Excellent," John said. He stepped up to the bed. "Ready to get out of this place?"

"They are letting me leave the base?" Kai asked in surprise, glancing back towards the two doctors who had been examining her in confusion.

"That's the word," John said with a pleased smirk, then he hesitated thoughtfully for a moment. Kai had only been in the infirmary for less than an hour. Even Beckett's exam on Atlantis had taken longer and he had access to the Ancient's more advanced scanners.

He shrugged, shaking it off. He wasn't a doctor. "I was just setting up our ride. Ready to see earth?" he asked, excitedly.

Kai stood and reached for the vest.

John reached out to stop her and his hand closed over her wrist. Kai looked down at the contact in surprise and he quickly pulled back. "Ah, you won't need that," he assured her. "Let's go." He paused and cocked his head to the side as he regarded her outfit. It wasn't necessarily wrong, but she wouldn't completely fit in either.

"So where are we going?"

"Well, if we're going to be here a while we should start by getting you a new outfit."

"So we're going to a market?" Kai asked in confusion as the two of them walked through the base together.

"Something like that," John replied with a smirk.

They climbed into the car together and headed off towards a mall. The two of them got out and moved through the crowds of people. Kai was tense, seeming unhappy to be surrounded by so many strangers. John however scowled as he stared at them. There was something off about the crowd, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe it had just been too long since he was in a group of this size. It had happened to him before when he came back from two consecutive tours in Afghanistan. It was sort of reverse culture shock.

He took Kai into the first women's clothing store available. Kai looked over the items and picked out a pair of black leather pants, and a blue button up shirt that was unbuttoned at the neck, hugged her curves and made her normally grey colored eyes look ice blue. Seeing Kai dressed like a human was a shock, he tore his gaze away from her to watch the crowds.

John led her towards the food court. "Here," he said. "You gotta try this." He bought them both Chili dogs and soda and the two of them sat together at a table and ate.

"Thank you Major, for sharing this with me," she said formally. "I didn't anticipate leaving the base."

John nodded. "Well, since you agreed to come along, the least I can do is show you the sights."

The two ate in comfortable silence as Kai watched the other shoppers pass them curiously, but the Major seemed to grow more agitated with each passing minute. When she was finished Kai wiped her mouth clean with a napkin and laid her hands down on the table.

"Is there something wrong Major?" she asked curiously. She wondered briefly if she had committed some kind of societal faux pas that made him uncomfortable. She straightened her shirt self-consciously. The woman in the store had assured her the clothing choices were good ones.

John shook his head. Trying to shake off the uneasy feeling. "Let's get out of here," he said and the two of them walked easily through the crowds back to the front door of the mall where their driver was waiting for them in the black lincoln towncar.

"You seem uneasy," Kai observed as the two of them climbed into the car.

"Eh, its nothing," John promised. "Have you ever heard of Culture Shock?" he asked after a few more minutes.

"Yes, it's a phrase Doctor Heightmeyer is fond of."

"Well, it's common for soldiers returning from the front. I just haven't felt it since my first tour." He shook his head. "Guess it's to be expected after living in another galaxy..."

Kai nodded slowly as she stared out of the window at all the cars going by. "Do you think-" she started to ask but stopped herself.

"What?" John asked.

"If the Wraith had never come to the Pegasus Galaxy, I wonder if more civilizations like this would have grown."

John nodded. "I'm starting to wonder about a few things myself."

"Like what?" Kai asked her tension rising to match the uneasiness she was picking up from the Major.

"Nothing feels wrong to you?" he asked curiously.

Kai went very still, straining her senses. She could hear nothing beyond the inside of the car.

"I don't mean one thing...I mean everything."

"I don't understand," Kai said looking back out the window. "But," she conceded. "This isn't my world."

"You mean country," John said meaningfully jerking his chin towards the driver.

"Right, country," Kai agreed.

John nodded thoughtfully. "Excuse me," he called to the driver. "Ah, could you take us to the Green Moss Park area?"

"Sure thing," the driver agreed automatically.

Kai turned a questioning look to the Major.

John's face was grim. "I think I'll have a better idea of what's bothering me once we get there..."

><><

Chapter 18

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Home Cont.
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The driver parked the car outside a small, but tastefully designed ultra-modern house. John climbed out of the car first. He gathered their bags while Kai trailed along behind. She glanced up and down the street, but there was nothing to see. No one out walking and no other cars. She frowned, wondering if the Major's neighborhood was always this quiet.

John walked up to the garage pad and quickly typed in his four digit code. The garage opened showing a sleek black on black Ducati and a perfectly restored 1969 Corvette Stringray. "Oh yeah," he said smirking proudly. He already couldn't wait to get them out on the road.

He opened the door that led into the house. "Just like I left it," and he led the way inside. He set their bags off to the side and headed deeper into the room.

Kai frowned as she moved around the quiet room. "Are you bonded?" she asked, suddenly realizing there might be someone else in the house. No one had ever mentioned the Major being bonded but he seemed like a private person.

"Bonded?" he asked in confusion.

Kai pressed her lips together. "Mated?" She tried frowning as she tried to remember anyone mentioning the word their culture used.

"Married," John finished for her. "And no, absolutely not."

Kai chuckled. It didn't surprise her to hear that. He didn't seem like the type to settle down. "So all of this space is for you?" she clarified.

"Well, a guy's gotta have a lot of space," John said as he looked over his house. It was perfect in every way. Right down to the framed Johnny Cash poster on the wall. "I bet there's still-" he dragged off moving behind the bar that was set up off the living room. He opened the mini fridge and sure enough there were two beers sitting on the top shelf. "Perfect," he said, though he was frowning thoughtfully. He carried them over to the bar and used an opener to pop the tops.

He held one out to Kai. "Nice and cold," he encouraged when she didn't reach for it at first.

She lifted the glass bottle to her nose. "It's fermented," she observed.

"It's called beer," John said with a smile. He snapped one of the caps across the room.

Kai took a sip, nodded in approval and tilted it back to drink half the bottle. Then she moved around the Major's living space. She dragged her fingers along the top of one of the tables. She wondered about the Major saying there was something wrong here. In some ways she could see the Major in a place like this, but it just didn't feel right.

"Is all of this for recreation?" she asked staring at the pinball machine.

"Yeah," John argeed. "I got just about everything you can imagine, don't I?"

Kai stared into the Major's eyes. "What is it?" she asked, he seemed unsettled again.

"I was just thinking again..." he assured her, forcing a smile. "About Doctor Weir and everyone else back on Atlantis..." he drug off.

Kai nodded in understanding. "I'm sure they're fine."

"Yeah," John agreed stepping up next to the wall of windows beside Kai. "I'm sure you're right. Hey, how's the head?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" Kai asked baffled by the major's sudden change of subject.

"Your head," he said motioning towards her. "Right when Rodney dialed the gate..."

Kai frowned for a moment as though the memory was hazy. "Right," she agreed. "I haven't felt anything like it since."

"Well that's good," he said awkwardly. He wasn't sure why he was so uneasy being alone with Kai. It wasn't like he wasn't used to bringing women to his house, but he wasn't trying to seduce Kai. The two of them had spent no recreational time together before this and he didn't know how to act. Back on the planet it seemed like such an easy answer to bring her with so she could help brief the military. He hadn't considered what it might be like having it be just the two of them for up to a month. He could have left her back at Stargate Command, the look on Kai's face back in the infirmary made it clear she hadn't expected to be cleared to leave the base. But leaving her behind after she volunteered to come all this way felt like using her. He had been sincere with Weir that morning. If they expected her to earn their trust they had to return the favor.

"Here," he said moving towards where he had set down their bags. "I'll show you where you can stay."

He led the way down a short hall and opened a door. "There," he said gesturing inside. "Guest room."

Kai stood beside him in the hall peaking around the doorway. "Are we not going back to the base?" She asked in surprise.

John hesitated for a moment, frowning down at her. The narrow hall forced her to stand close. "You can if you want to, I thought you'd be more comfortable staying here."

Kai blinked up at him, her face remained impassive but her confusion showed in her eyes. "You're inviting me to stay in your home?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean we already kind of did back on Atlantis."

"This is different," Kai said. "This is your personal space and your personal life. That is very different than what you do professionally."

"In case you didn't notice, my work is my life. We're gonna be stuck in military quarters for three weeks on the Prometheus on the way back to Atlantis. You might as well be comfortable now. Bathroom's through there," he pointed across the room to the en suit and then hitched his thumb over his shoulder towards the other closed door. "My rooms across the hall."

Kai simply couldn't fathom why the Major would be so nice to her. "Thank you Major."

The two of them walked back out to the living room.

"Hey," John said after a moment. "Let's get out of here. Have you ever heard of a motorcycle? I've got one in the garage. We can take it out. I'll show you the sights with the wind in your hair," he said with a boyish grin.

Kai found herself returning his smile. His enthusiasm infectious. "You don't want to spend time in your home after being gone so long?" she asked looking around the house in confusion.

"You came all this way, you should see earth, right? Well, it's out there."

"You don't have any friends or family you would like to visit?" she asked. She found it ridiculous to think the major didn't have someone important to him.

"There's an idea," John said snapping his finger, and the very next second the doorbell rang. John's smile faded for only a moment as he moved to the door and opened it. Two large, burly men stood outside it.

"Hey!" they greeted together.

"Mitch, Dex," John said his voice low in disbelief.

"You didn't really think you could pass through town without seeing us, did you Shep?" Dex asked with a wide grin.

Kai frowned at the Major. He stood, blocking the doorway, staring at the two men in utter disbelief.

"So are you going to invite us in or what?" Mitch asked.

"Well, yeah, sure, what the hell," John said, stepping back to allow his old army buddies inside.

The two were chuckling together as they came in. "Hi," one of them said stopping in front of Kai. He raked his eyes up and down her. "I'm Dex," he greeted, winking at her.

"That's enough of that," John called, shoving them both towards the bar. He paused beside Kai, there was a smile on his face, but his eyes were troubled. Kai stepped towards him, into his space so she could speak without being heard.

"Major?" she asked uncertainly.

He snorted and shook his head. "It's fine, they're old buddies of mine," he assured her.

She nodded but didn't believe him. For some reason in that moment she remembered the hard nudge she had felt in her mind earlier in the day. She tried to hold onto the memory of that, what it felt like, but it made her feel inexplicably sad. She jerked away from the memory, blinking back to the present. She shook it off turning her focus back to their new guests and followed the Major back into his living room.

Over the next hour more and more people started showing up . People were moving through the house and outside where they were using his swimming pool. John stood at the windows as he listened to Dex telling Kai yet another war story.

"So our boys were pinned down and hotshot here takes his chopper over the bridge-"

"And we're supposed to follow him," Mitch added.

"Well, there's no way I'm flying a blackhawk over a bridge with enemy tanks on it-"

"Wait," Mitch interrupted again. "With what on it?"

"Tanks," Dex said laughing.

"You're welcome," Mitch replied and the two of them roared with laughter.

Kai was sitting politely in the chair beside John. He stiffened and it was obvious it was an old joke because he tensed and nodded. He took another swig of beer as his two old friends obnoxiously competed for Kai's attention.

"Yeah," John agreed, "that was ah, priceless."

"But ah, we got that special ops team out of there, didn't we Shep?" Dex asked seriously.

"Yes we did," John agreed.

"Tell you what, that was some flying," Mitch said holding his bottle up to John.

The doorbell rang again and John moved towards it. "Well," he said as the door opened. "Look who's in the pizza delivary business," John said with a wry smile.

"No sir," Aiden Ford said peaking around the pile of a dozen pizza boxes. "Just caught the guy on the walk up."

"You know," John said, motioning to the table for Ford to set them down. "I was just thinking about you..." he trailed off scowling. "It looks like we-" he dragged off as a hot blonde in a bikini leaned in to get a piece of pizza. "are having a party."

John scowled as he suddenly started to feel too warm. He stared at Ford, wondering why he was so uncomfortable. Ford moved off to follow the blonde. The only one who seemed aware something was bothering him was Kai. He paced around the outside of the party. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, but Kai met his gaze. Her own concern mirrored his.

"We didn't know what to think-" Dex was already telling another story. "I mean this guy was supposedly one of the most ruthless warlords in all of Afghanistan, and suddenly he just sits down at our table."

Sheppard walked back into the living room, Kai stayed on the edge of the crowd trying to get a sense of what it was that had the Major pacing like a caged animal.

"Sir, you gotta hear this story," Ford said, the bikini clad woman sitting on his lap.

John cocked his head to the side as he stared at them. "Yeah, I was there Lieutenant," John said frowning at Ford.

"Oh yeah, you remember. Turns out he just wants to practice his english. Shep spent half the night talking to this guy."

Kai nodded but was still only half listening to the story. The two men had been vying for her attention all day, but she was paying attention to the Major who was growing increasingly agitated with each passing minute.

"Yeah that was funny," John agreed, taking a long swig from his beer as he finally figured out what it was that was bothering him so much.

"He wouldn't even let you get up to use the bathroom, remember?" Mitch laughed and so did everyone else.

"Yeah," John agreed. "Then two days later, you guys were killed outside Kabul."

Kai's whole body went into lock down. She looked around at the amassed crowd suddenly realizing what Sheppard had. She moved in long strides towards the Major. "What are you saying?" she hissed in a low voice.

John kept his body facing the crowd but turned to look down at Kai who was only inches away. "Their chopper took an RPG when it touched down for a medevac," his eyes were haunted  by the memory as he stared into Kai's. "There was barely enough left to bring back for a military burial."

"What?" Dex demanded.

"You guys have been dead for years. I mean don't get me wrong, it's really nice seeing you. And you too Miss Watson."

"John-" Mitch started to say.

"She was my sixth grade school teacher," John said and he turned to one of the gorgeous woman who had been listening to their war stories in awe. "And I don't even remember your name, but I do know you wouldn't even date me!" And he spun around to face Ford, scowling. "And you're on Atlantis, and can't even work up the courage to ask that girl to have lunch with you!" he yelled pointing at the woman who had been sitting in his lap.

"Shep, maybe we oughta take you to see a doctor," Mitch said.

"Oh really?" John asked, his voice rising with tension.

"Yeah," Dex agreed. "You're acting pretty strange."

John chuckled. "Oh, I'm acting strange? Huh?" he whirled around and snatched the side arm off a man he recognized from basic.

The whole room went quiet as John lifted the gun. Kai frowned. She should have been able to hear more beyond the room, but there was nothing. She stretched her senses and felt that strange nudge once more. This time she didn't let herself get distracted by it.

When the Major moved so did she. She jerked her knife free of it's sheath, turning so the two of them were back to back. John fired the gun and a body hit the floor. Kai wanted to turn, but she kept her eyes on the people at the Major's back. Everyone was panicked and screaming.

"You shot me!" Dex's voice raged through the house.

"You're already dead!" John retorted.

"Sir!" Ford called from his seat, making like he was going to get up. Kai pointed her black blade at the center of his chest and he raised his hands.

"I'm having serious doubts about you too Lieutenant, I wouldn't put them to the test," John warned, turning his gun back to the room. He lifted the bottle of beer to his lips and took a long drink.

"Now," he demanded. "Someone please explain to me what the hell is going on here!" he demanded swinging his gun back and forth across the room.

There was a flash of power. Behind him Kai cried out and everything went black. In the next heartbeat he was standing on the gate ramp back at Stargate Command. He was still holding his hands like he had a gun and a beer, but his hands were empty. He frowned as he looked around. Kai was still standing at his back. She was still wearing the same clothes they had bought, but her knife was gone. McKay was on his left looking confused. John scowled as Doctor Weir and General Hammond appeared in a white mist in front of them.

"What happened?" he demanded.

The General watched unblinking as Weir stepped closer to the rest of the team. "I drew you together from your fractured realities," he explained.

"No, I'm talking about the beer I had," John said looking down at his hands. He scowled at his hands, trying to will the gun and beer back into existence as he had seemed able to do since the beginning.

General Hammond watched him with interest. "Major Sheppard discovered the truth some time ago," the General told the others with mild curiousity in his voice.

"He did?" McKay asked in dismay.

"Yeah," John said with a shrug. "Home for the last eleven months has been a research base in Antarctica, although, I did dream about a bachelor pad like that, but-"

General Hammond interrupted Sheppard's explanation. "Major Sheppard seemed uniquely capable of manipulating his own fabricated reality."

John grunted. "When I think about the scenario's I could have thought up, I'd kick myself."

"The realities you experienced were fabrications of your own minds," he said looking over Doctor Weir and Doctor McKay. General Hammond turned to Kai. "You are not like them. You were resistant to the psychic link."

"Well I'm not exactly human," she said with a grim smile.

"Correct, it made the process...painful. We do apologize for that. You also had no memories of earth to draw from. Major Sheppard's inclination to protect you fostered a link we were able to use to cause you to share in Major Sheppard's illusion."

Kai turned to John. He swung back around to look at her, nodding as though his words made sense. "I thought that was you."

"It is unfortunate that you all became aware so quickly, however you may now create a fabricated reality of your own choosing in which to live out the remainder of your lives."

"What?" Weir demanded.

"That's not going to work for us," John said stepping towards the General.

"I'm afraid the matter is beyond your control."

Weir stood in stunned silence, but John stepped forward aggressively. "Well, we'll find a way to fight you."

"That would be quite impossible Major. Even now you are simply experiencing a shared fabrication. It would be best if you try to make a life for yourselves."

"This isn't life," John snarled. "What do you expect us to do, just pretend?"

"I'm sorry," General Hammond said grimly. "But that's all I can offer," and he turned to go.

"Wait," Weir called after him. "Why would you do this?"

"To protect ourselves," he replied simply.

"From us?" Weir asked in confusion.

"We weren't trying to hurt anyone," Kai said.

General Hammond's eyes traveled to her. "Unlike you, we exist in a non-corporeal form suseptable to the destructive effects of the stargate on our homeworld."

"What destructive effects?" Weir asked.

McKay started snapping as he came down the ramp. "The energy reading we picked up, they were life signs. You were in the mist."

"We are the mist. And every time the gate is activated lives are lost. Over time explorers have come and gone completely unaware of our existence. Sacrifices are made to ensure our secrecy. But when you came back we grew concerned. To learn your intentions we had no choice but to enter your minds. When we discovered what you were about to do, we were forced to take preventative measures."

Weir scowled. "But you just said, you let others come and go. Why not allow us to do the same?"

General Hammond turned so he was fully facing Doctor Weir. "Your desire to return to your homeworld was too strong. The amount of energy required to gate to another galaxy would have killed millions of our kind."

McKay frowned. "So when we dialed the gate-"

"You never dialed the gate. You just imagined you did. You're unconscious even now on the planet's surface."

McKay groaned. "So none of this is real. The cute brunette, of course I should have known. I mean how do you go from 'you're a pig but I like your cat' to 'I missed you'?"

The General was apologetic. "We lacked a sophisticated understanding of your world. As a result the illusions we created from your thoughts were ultimately flawed."

"Well the dead people were a dead give away," John said sarcastically.

"Dead people?" McKay asked frowning. His gaze ran to Kai and back to Sheppard. "What were you doing?"

Weir's forehead was wrinkled with concern as she stepped toward General Hammond. "If you had just told us, I mean maybe we could-"

"Whoa, whoa whoa, wait," McKay called interrupting. "I just realized something. You're saying our unconscious bodies are still on the planet."

"Yes."

McKay's eyes widened in panic. "Yeah well, so we need food, we need water, I mean we need food. Kai and I skipped lunch to keep working, and only had a power bar. How long have we been there?"

"What he's saying," John said stepping forward and holding a hand out to quiet Rodney. "Is that we won't live long in that state."

"Then I suggest you make the most of the time you have left," General Hammond said simply.

"You're killing us in order to save yourselves," Weir said.

"In order to save millions of our kind," Hammond agreed nodding. "I believe you would do the same," he said his gaze landing on Sheppard in particular.

"If we don't make it back in a certain time frame, our people will come looking for us," Kai warned striding down the ramp.

"Others of your kind?" he clarified.

Kai nodded.

"They'll show up, what are you going to do? Kill them too?" Sheppard challenged.

"More will come," Kai promised.

John crossed his arms over his chest. "Sooner or later they'll figure out how to access the gate. Then millions of your kind will die. We don't leave people behind, and if you were really General Hammond you would know that."

Weir immediately jumped in, seeing the strength in their position. "But if you allow us to leave here, we promise we will never return, ever. You will not have to fear us ever again," she said fiercely. "I give you my word."

"How can you make such a promise when you so desire to return home?" Hammond asked, baffled.

John scoffed. "Sure, we'd like to go home. But we aren't willing to kill millions of your kind to do it. You've been in our heads, hell, you're in our heads right now. You should know we mean that."

General Hammond looked over each of them in turn before finally nodding. "I understand," he agreed. They disappeared from the gateroom in a white mist.

><><

They all groaned as they woke up on the planets surface. Kai shoved herself to her feet. Her stomach rolled and her head pounded at the sudden movement but she forced herself to move. Major Sheppard was right beside her, his gun raised and swinging around.

"I don't mean to sound negative," McKay said, groaning. "Because you know, that is so not me, but how do we know this isn't a double fake out? I mean how do we know that this is our reality?"

"This is your reality," the disembodied voice of General Hammond echoed through the mist. "You have my word."

"I'm starving,"
McKay whined. "He's gotta be right."

"I wonder how long we've been out," John asked.

"I need to get the control crystal out of the DHD shouldn't take more than a few minutes," Mckay said moving towards the control panel.

"I'll give you a hand," Kai offered.

"Thank you, for trusting us," Weir called into the mist. She turned to the control panel. "Rodney be careful with that. I want to make sure we can get back home."

"You mean Atlantis," McKay said, grunting as he pulled the control panel open.

"I think that's what she meant," Sheppard replied sardonically.

"How was I supposed to know that she wasn't proposing we pull a double fake and dial earth?"

John groaned. "Forget the double fake out and get the damn crystal. Let's get home."

><><

Chapter 19

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The Storm
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The storm was coming. Every single member of the science teams had been brought together to work out how to generate enough power for the shield so the entire city wouldn't be destroyed by the storm surge. Atlantis was going to take a direct hit from the massive hurricane.

Kai had been working in the conference room for five hours already, but they only had another seven until the storm hit. None of the other teams seemed to be having much luck either. She had been working on a program to see if they could draw power from the jumpers, but so far she hadn't been able to figure out how to convert the energy. She was afraid she wasn't much help beyond that. Her knowledge of the cities systems was limited and no one other than Zelenka stood even a remote chance of keeping up with McKay. She sat back in her chair and scrubbed at her eyes. Her shift had nearly been over when the call came in for them to meet in the conference room and she was exhausted.

Ford and Sheppard strode into the room still wearing their combat gear. "Well," Sheppard said stopping in front of McKay's work station. "We've got a green light from Smeadon and the Manarians. I'm not sure how pleased he'll be if we get stuck there, though."

Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably at the prospect of having to do a full evacuation to an alien planet. Kai was familiar with the Manarians. She had done some work on their planet during their last change of government. They didn't have much for advanced technology, but they were a complex society who would no doubt do what they needed to take care of their own. She personally wasn't inclined to trust them.

Sheppard waited a beat before he cast a look towards McKay. "That's not going to happen, right?"

"No, of course not. We can always gate off to another planet," McKay said distractedly without looking up from his screen.

"Comforting, thank you," Sheppard replied sarcastically as he perched on the edge of McKay's desk to look over the rest of the teams who were hard at work. "Anyone coming up with anything?"

"Well, we're-" McKay started to say.

"Not really no," Zelenka supplied.

Ford cleared his throat. "Are we sure there's no part of the mainland we could go to?"

Teyla and Weir walked in. Kai surpressed her sigh of frustration. She and the rest of the teams were trying to work. Having their meeting in here was just going to slow down the process.

Teyla sat down beside Major Sheppard. "Everywhere we have explored is in the path of the storm. No where is safe. My people are evacuating even now," she explained.

Sheppard frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Still, Ford's right, the mainland is the size of North America. You're telling me the entire continent is going to get hit? Because I'd rather not owe Smeadon any favors."

"If we lose Atlantis we'd be stuck on the mainland with no access to a star gate," Weir pointed out.

"Well, McKay will come up with something," Sheppard said pointedly.

McKay groaned dramatically. "I will try, but despite what you all may think, I'm not Superman."

The whole room went still. Sheppard raised his eyebrows in disbelief as he looked around at the group. "Was anyone seriously thinking that?" he couldn't help but ask.

There were a couple of snickers. The scientists around her shook their heads.

"No sir," Ford responded biting back a laugh.

"Never," Zelenka mumbled.

Kai peaked over the top of her computer screen. "Who is Superman?" she asked.

A wry smile broke across John's face as he spotted Kai. She arched her brow impishly before sinking back down to hide behind her screen.

McKay snarled in disgust and John turned back to him.

"Fine," Rodney growled. "My point is the storm will affect of 70% of the mainland and Atlantis isn't safe either. If you want everyone to live you gate them off-world."

Sheppard nodded grimly and he left the room to begin organizing the military side of things for the evacuation process. He didn't trust Smeadon and he needed to brief Bates on what they might be walking into.

Two hours later the teams were no closer to coming up with a plan. Kai had abandoned the jumper idea and resorted to skimming through the database for any information that might help them deal with the storm surges that would no doubt hit the city. The information on the available pumps and drainage systems were only useful if they survived the storm.

She heard Zelenka's comm and a moment later he stood and faced the room. "They are going to start the evacuation process of the science teams," Zelenka told them. "Please return to your quarters, get what you need and return to the gate room for relocation."

The group stood, but McKay and Zelenka hadn't moved. They planned on continuing to work and so Kai stayed where she was as well.

"You should go too," Zelenka advised her.

"I don't have anything to get," Kai told him. "I'll stay and keep working. I can go through with one of the last groups," she said without looking up.

Zelenka smiled appreciatively at her. "You know, in the Czech Republic we don't have to deal with Hurricanes."

McKay grunted. "We don't have that many in Canada either...once, something called Hazel."

"Interesting," Zelenka said unenthusiastically.

"Not really," McKay argued.

"Not really no."

"We don't have them on my planet either," Kai said.

"Is that so?" McKay asked impatiently.

"Yeah, my planet is very cold. Its snow covered most of the year. Though during our warmer months we have Dangerous lightning storms."

"I was once almost struck by lightning," McKay said proudly.

Kai arched her brow in interest but both men fell silent. They turned towards one another their eyes wide with possibility.

Kai looked up back and forth between them. "What?" she asked.

Zelenka shoved himself to his feet as he and McKay rushed for the door together. Zelenka turned back to her, pointing. "Look up everything you can find in the database about the grounding stations!" he called over his shoulder.

Kai sat back down in front of her screen and began typing rapidly.

><><

John walked with McKay and Weir down to McKay's lab. The city was eerily empty, their footsteps echoing down the corridors. McKay seemed fairly confident in his plan, but they had still evacuated almost everyone off the planet just in case. John didn't like it, but Bates could handle Smeadon and his men.

McKay was just getting around to actually explaining what this great plan of his was. When they stepped through the door however, John hesitated, surprised to find Kai sitting on one of the stools.

"Hey," he said in confusion, looking back and forth between her and McKay. "Zelenka's department was evacuated two hours ago. What are you still doing here?"

Kai opened her mouth to respond but McKay cut her off. "I'll get to that," Rodney promised stepping between John and Kai, forcing John to focus on him so his friend didn't get distracted.

"So," McKay said clapping his hands together. "There are dozens, possibly hundreds of lightning rods placed strategically around the city."

"Wait a second," John interrupted scowling.

"What?" McKay asked frowning.

"Why?" John asked.

"Why, what?" McKay asked in confusion.

"Why are there hundreds of lightning rods placed around the city?" John asked slowly as though McKay were the one who needed to keep up. "Wouldn't the shield protect them against lightning?"

McKay sighed in agitation. "Yes, but running your shield all the time is only good for one thing, draining power."

"Right," Sheppard agreed.

Rodney leveled a glare at Sheppard, convinced the Major was being obtuse on purpose. "You're aware there's a time element to what we're doing here?"

"Yes," John snapped back sarcastically. "It's been brought to my attention."

"Like I was saying," McKay huffed. "There are lightning rods, a lot of them, placed all over the city. Now, as it stands right now all the energy they capture is routed into four main grounding stations. In turn the stations ground all of the energy into the ocean below us."

"So instead of sending all that energy to ground-"

"We use it to power the shield, yes," McKay said nodding.

"How?" Weir asked skeptically.

"By directing it right down the corridors of Atlantis and into the shield generator," McKay finished triumphantly.

"The city can handle that?" Weir asked concern for her city evident in her voice.

"Yes," McKay responded confidently.

"Theoretically," Kai called from the other side of the room.

John turned to look back at Kai. McKay was arrogant enough to think his plans would always work. John was more inclined to trust Kai's mechanical approach to how things worked. He looked skeptically back at McKay. "Like 'Dinosaurs turn into birds' theoretically or 'Theory of Relatively' Theoretically?"

"What?" McKay asked in confusion. "Um...somewhere in between...now Kai here is going to take grounding station one and two. Major you are going to take grounding stations three and four. We don't know if the consoles are one of the things that require the gene to operate. So we're sending you two. Elizabeth and I will return to the control room so I can start working on the subroutines." He looked down at his watch. "We have about four and a half hours until the storm hits and we need them activated as soon as possible," he added, glancing meaningfully towards the door.

Taking the hint Kai climbed to her feet.

John glanced back and forth between her and McKay. "Are these things even close to a transporter?"

"Well..." McKay started to say looking back at the map of the city.

"Where are we?" John asked in disgust.

"We're here, in the tower," McKay pointed to the center of the map.

"And the grounding stations?" Sheppard asked.

Kai stepped up, ducking between the two men. "Here, here, here, and here," she said pointing out the far edges of each pier.

McKay cleared his throat. "They're a brisk walk away," he said.

"And by brisk, you mean far?" Sheppard clarified.

"And by walk," McKay hedged. "I mean run."

"Okay," Sheppard said tightly.

"You can think of it like a race," McKay said brightly, looking back and forth between Kai and Sheppard. When the Major didn't look amused he cleared his throat and looked down at his tablet. "You'll need to radio once you get to your first station.

"Right," John sighed. He turned to Kai. "Let's do it."

John and Kai walked out of the door together.

"So, how'd you end up getting left behind? You draw the short straw or something?"

"Straw?" Kai asked, quirking a brow.

John shook his head. "Never mind."

"I'm the only member of the science team other than Rodney to have the gene," she explained. "The information in the database led us to believe there was a chance the consoles will need to be accessed by someone with it. We didn't want to take a chance."

"Rodney could have done it," Sheppard observed.

Kai shrugged. "He could have..." she dragged off because they both knew it would take McKay at least three times as long as it would take her to get to the stations. "I volunteered."

John looked at Kai for a moment. This was the second potentially dangerous science mission she had volunteered for. He didn't like it. "You know you don't have anything to prove, right?"

Kai snorted in disbelief and shook her head.

"We better get moving," she said, then because things had taken too serious of a turn she turned back to the Major and arched an impish brow. "I'll see you when you get done Major," she said flashing the Major a challenging smile.

A pleased smirk crossed John's face as he watched Kai jog away down the opposite hall. He shook his head and turned to head towards his own power stations.

><><

John had never been in this part of the city. He opened the door to the grounding station and frowned. The horizon was black above the roiling ocean. The wind buffeted against his body, pushing him back. He stepped out onto the observation deck. He had never seen a storm quite like this one.

"Okay," he called into this comm. "I'm here."

"I told you to contact me once you got to the first one Major," McKay admonished.

Sheppard grimaced. "I am at the first one Rodney," he called back loud enough to be heard over the rising wind.

"Oh, sorry," Rodney responded. "According to my scans Kai's already done her first one."

"I have," Kai confirmed. Her voice came through the comm clearly.

"Well good for you," John growled. He hated to lose, even something as stupid as this. He had jogged the whole way out to the pier. To be so far ahead of him she must have sprinted.

"Where are you?" McKay asked.

John growled in irritation. "I'm at the damn grounding station."

"No, not you," McKay replied.

"I'm almost to the second one," Kai continued, he could hear the teasing in her voice.

"Nicely done Kai," Elizabeth congratulated her laughter evident in her voice.

"Glad everyone is having such a good time," Sheppard snapped. "What do I do?"

McKay's chuckling quieted. "There should be a keypad right on the console of the station."

John walked back to the console. He squinted against the wind. "Got it!" he yelled back through the comm.

"Punch in the ancient equivalent of 0-3-1-5-4-7," McKay ordered.

The console hummed to life as soon as John touched it to enter the numbers.

"Is it working?" McKay asked.

The large metal pillar off the observation deck creaked and separated, breaking into two pieces. "Yep!" John called back.

"Got mine!" Kai's chipper reply came through the comm.

"Ah, three down one to go," Rodney was enjoying himself far too much. Sheppard was always so cocky when it came to anything even remotely athletic. It was entertaining for him to be taken down a peg. "They all have the same activation code, so get to the last one Major and we'll meet you in the control room."

"Roger that!" John called, and he took off running

><><

Kia was nearly back to the gate room when Weir's voice came over their comm. "We have wounded coming in," she called.

"That doesn't make sense..." the Major's voice dragged off suspiciously and Kai tended to agree with him. If their people were hurt Bates would never gate them back to the city. It was too risky.

"They said it was wraith related?" The Major asked, his tone still heavy with suspicion.

"We'll ask them ourselves when we get there," Weir promised.

"I'm almost to the gate room too," Kai told them. If there was a problem they were going to need all the help they could get. Only the four of them and two marines were left in the city.

Kai was thirty yards down the corridor from the gate room when she heard the faint pop of gun fire. She froze, straining her senses. There was another pop and she stepped back into a shadowed doorway for cover.

She could hear low voices, but it was difficult to make out what they were saying.

"Secure the room," a man's voice rumbled authoritatively.

"Cover the entrances," a female yelled. There was something familiar about the females voice but she couldn't quite place it.

"What the hell is going on here?" Weir's voice was loud both in Kai's comm and echoing through the hallway.

Kai crept to the next alcove and the next until she could see into the gateroom. She kept to the shadows but the dozen armed men had their attention and their guns on Doctor Weir and Doctor McKay. She immediately recognized the uniforms of the Genii. The Genii had somehow known to send a team when Atlantis was at it weakest. Alarm bells were going off in Kai's mind. There was a traitor on Atlantis. It was the only possible explanation. There were enough soldiers however for it to be an invasion.

"Where is Major Sheppard?" the leader asked reasonably. He was middle aged and had the look of a hardened soldier. Her brief glance over them told her this man was the real threat. "I would like to know the whereabouts of Major Sheppard."

Kai exhaled softly as she realized they hadn't found the Major yet. She needed to get out of here and rendezvous with him so they could come up with some kind of plan.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Weir challenged. Kai was impressed by Weir's ability to maintain her composure even as she stared down the barrel of a gun. Perhaps she had not given Weir the credit she was due. Beside her, McKay was uncharacteristically silent as he held his hands up meekly.

The smile the leader flashed was brittle and made a shiver run down Kai's back. This was not a man she ever wanted to be at the mercy of. "The only thing you need to know Doctor Weir, as of right now, Atlantis is under our control."

><><

Chapter 20

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The Storm Cont
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Kai crept back down hall away from the gate room. If the Genii had control of the gate room there was no way to know if their comms were being monitored. She needed to find Major Sheppard. He was the only one who had also been able to avoid capture.

As soon as she was clear she ran down the hall, intent on putting as much distance between her and the Genii force as possible. She needed to regroup, find supplies and locate the Major. The Major could be anywhere between the north pier and the tower. Knowing what she did about the Major, she was sure he was heading somewhere to get weapons. When they had left the lab he had only his sidearm on his hip. They would have only a small window of opportunity to access the armory before the Genii secured it. She picked up her pace.

She was halfway to the armory when her comm activated and McKay's voice came through. "...if he needs the C4, the medical supplies and the wraith data device then just give it to him. None of that is worth dying for," it sounded like McKay was talking to someone else and his voice had the echo that usually came from when the techs used the communication terminal in the control room.

"Step away from that console," someone's voice snapped over the comm and the connection went dead immediately. She was both surprised and impressed McKay had risked his neck to get that information to her and Sheppard. She might not personally like the man, but she was beginning to understand why Sheppard kept him on AR-1.

Kai hesitated for a moment at the next junction. She needed weapons, but knowing what they were after changed everything. Sheppard would no doubt go to the armory after the C-4. She wanted to go there. Every instinct she had made her want to arm herself to the teeth and start hunting the men who had invaded their home. However, the most useful thing she could do was secure the data drive. She turned towards the science lab.

There was no reason McKay and Weir wouldn't tell them exactly where the drive was. She and Zelenka had already pulled all the data off of it. The drive itself was of no further value to them and had been sitting in storage for weeks. If the Genii wanted it however, she could use it to slow them down and keep their attention on a specific area of the city.

She ran down the hallway and took the stairs two at a time. She wished she had thought to store more knives or even a gun in the lab. She had been working to earn Sheppard and Weir's trust however and so she had gotten rid of all of her hidden weapons. Now she only wore her single blade in the sheath along her spine and had three smaller knives back in her quarters. She cursed herself up and down for being such a fool. Her trainer back at the academy would have killed her himself for allowing herself to become so complacent.

The lab door slid open and she ran inside. She pulled a messenger bag from under one of the work stations. She dumped the contents on the table and filled it instead with her tool kit. It wasn't as good as a gun or more knives, but they were the only weapons she had. She was going to have to think her way out of this one instead of fight. She moved over to their storage wall. She pulled the Wraith data device out of a drawer, adding it to her bag, and snatched up one of the tablets the team had left behind.

She ran out the door less than two minutes after entering. She plugged the tablet into the door's control panel. She wasn't sure how long she had, but she would do as much damage as she possibly could before they got to the lab. Her fingers flew over the tablet as she implemented a lock down protocol on the lab. They would need her personal access code to open the doors. It would hopefully slow them down if they thought the drive was still inside. The code was seventeen digits long and it would take even McKay a while to crack it. She hoped it would buy her and Sheppard time.

She could hear the Genii coming down the hall. She disconnected the tablet and slid it into the bag. She turned and disappeared down the next hallway. If they had already made it to the lab then she needed to avoid the armory and the infirmary which were both closer to the gate room.

The only other place that she knew to have stashed weapons was the jumper bay. Each jumper had a sidearm in the emergency supplies. It would be tricky getting up there, but if she moved fast she could work her way around using secondary corridors avoiding the hallways they would likely be using and she could escape detection.

><><

John was jogging down one of the catwalks down in the maintenance level of the tower. He had just finished hiding the last of the C-4. He didn't know how McKay had managed to get over the comm, but he hoped his friend hadn't gotten himself into too much trouble getting the information to him. It had been quick thinking on McKay's part. John continued to be impressed by how quickly McKay was learning to adapt to these types of situations.

John had geared up in the jumper bay and was carrying as much as he could in the backpack he had found there. There was no telling how long this could go on, but he had been well trained to evade capture as long as possible. He hadn't finished at the last grounding station which made this invasion of theirs finite if the shield wasn't activated. It couldn't be a coincidence that they had come through when Atlantis was operating on a skeleton crew. Bates was going to have a field day with this when he told him he thought they had a Genii spy in their midst.

John's comm activated and he stopped. There was a moment of hesitation while the person on the other end tried to work the radio John had mockingly left in the empty C-4 crate.

"This is Commander Kolya," the commander had a low, gruff voice and he already sounded annoyed with Sheppard.

John smiled. His ability to annoy commanding officers in as little time possible had always been a point of pride for him. It seemed it didn't matter what galaxy they were from.

"Kolya, that's a hard name to pronounce. That a first name?" The military had spent a long time trying to suppress John's natural inclination to be a smart ass. What they had first deemed a weakness of character had grown into a useful tactic when dealing with enemy commanders. Nothing made a strict commander lose his shit faster than someone who seemed disrespectful and cavalier about the chain of command. The banter was useful in both throwing an enemy off their game and buying himself time.

John's voice hardened as he became more serious. "My name is Major John Sheppard, and I have hidden the C-4 where you will never, I repeat never find it. When I get confirmation that the prisoners have been safely released and allowed to gate off Atlantis I will help you find it."

There was another lengthy pause and John waited, knowing the other commander was trying to get a measure of him. First contact was always important. It would set the stage for how smoothly this would all go down. "Your offer is very generous Major," Kolya's tone was measured and carefully controlled.

"Yes it is," Sheppard agreed brightly. There was no reason for this situation to become even more hostile than it already was. If none of his people had been lost when the Genii took the gate Kolya potentially had up to five hostages; McKay, Weir, two marines and Kai. It didn't leave John much power for bargaining. He bet Kai was seriously regretting being so speedy now.

"However," Kolya continued, and John could hear how smug he was in that one word. He cringed as he waited for the other shoe to drop.

"Doctor McKay recently shared with me there is a plan in action to save the city," Kolya informed him.

"He did, did he?" Sheppard asked in surprise. He took back every good thing he had thought about how McKay was handling the situation up in the control room.

He took off jogging again. He needed to stay on the move. If Kolya and his men had convinced McKay to tell them of their plan there was no way of knowing if they had also persuaded him to access the cities internal sensors. If they had, it was going to make his job a whole hell of a lot harder.

"He did," Kolya confirmed, sounding unperturbed. "My understanding is there is one final grounding station that needs to be deactivated. Uncouple the grounding rods at station 3, assist with the reactivation of the shield, and you and your friends can leave here unharmed."

John scowled. "Wait a minute, I thought all you wanted was C4 and a jumper."

"Why raid a city when you can seize it major?" Kolya growled, his resolve burning in his voice. "Atlantis will be ours or the ocean."

John slowed. A raid he could handle, but if they were planning on taking the city he wasn't going to play Into their hand. His mind began racing through all the possibilities but there were just too many variables. He needed more information. He didn't know how many men they had or their locations. He had a life signs detector but it's range was limited. He would have to get uncomfortably close to the control room to find out more and there was no way of distinguishing Genii from his own people.

"You choose," Kolya growled and the comm clicked silent.

John had no intention of playing ball with these bastards, but he did need to take care of the grounding station. Without the shield none of what they did here would matter. The Storm would see to that.

><><

Kai stopped jogging as she listened to Major Sheppard and Commander Kolya's exchange. She didn't know if the Major had done it on purpose to send a message to her, but he had set the radio so their conversation went over all the comms. The Major was headed to the grounding station next. If she were Kolya, despite his assurances, she would send men to capture him. Allowing a man as dangerous as the Major to roam freely during this type of operation was reckless.

She stepped back into a shadowed doorway, pulled the tablet out of the bag and quickly began working. She couldn't access the primary systems from it, but Zelenka managed all of the power and generators on Atlantis. She couldn't cause as much havoc as she would like, but every little bit helped. Any changes she made wouldn't affect the control room, but she could give the Major much needed cover. She turned the city to night mode and turned off the motion activation protocol for the lights. The Major knew the city better than anyone and the dark would give him an advantage.

Her next move was a risk, but she was fairly certain she had heard Kolya shut off his radio. She hoped if she timed it with the lights the Genii, unfamiliar with Atlantis's power systems, would assume it was part of the power loss. She reached down to her radio and clicked it three times for grounding station three. Her fingers itched to do it again, but she couldn't risk it. She wanted the Major to know she was out there too, but she couldn't risk sending a bigger message.

All military groups had a non-verbal communication they could use on radios. She only wished she had taken the time to learn theirs. It was complacent and sloppy of her to assume because she was on a science team she didn't need to know. If she survived this mistake, she would rectify it immediately.

She tucked the tablet back into her bag and pulled her Blade as she ran for grounding station 3. She wasn't sure if she could get there in time to help. She doubted the Major would need it. From what she had seen Sheppard was more than capable of taking care of himself, but it was her best chance at regrouping with him so they could work together.

><><

John was halfway to the grounding station when the lights dimmed to night mode and stopped turning on every time he entered a room. He wasn't complaining, but it was an odd. At first he thought the Storm was taking out the power, but that would have knocked out the lights completely. Then his radio clicked three times and went silent. He hesitated. It wasn't something he had ever heard it do on its own. There was someone helping him and they were trying to send him a message.

He somehow doubted it was McKay. After he had been discovered using the terminal he was sure he was being closely watched. Weir didn't have enough military training to know protocol to maintain radio silence. Which left his marines and Kai. Nothing against his own men, but he hoped for the latter. This was exactly the type of operation her training would be perfect for.

John looked down at his life signs detector as he stepped into the grounding station. There was a team of two coming up slowly behind him from the main hallway. He could easily handle two men, especially if they thought they had the element of surprise. He was about to put the detector down when another single dot appeared on his screen. It was coming from the opposite direction of the others down one of the service hallways not often used even by the expedition.

John squinted down at the tiny, blinking dot, a smirk stretching his lips. There was a good chance Kai hadn't been caught after all.

The first man rushed the door firing his gun towards John. John charged forward, firing a burst from his P-90 straight into the man's heart. The man dropped. The second one stepped out into the doorway and sent a spray of gunfire arching across the room. John threw himself over the control panel, rolling across the rain slick ground to avoid being hit. The control panel took the brunt of the spray.

In the next second the gunfire stopped. He peaked out, looking down the barrel of his P-90 to see the Genii's body drop to the ground. Kai knelt over it and jerked her knife from the corpse. She wiped the bloody blade on his uniform to clean it.

John looked down at the body and then back at her. "I thought that was you," he said waving the life signs detector towards her.

"It's a small Genii strike force. Maybe a dozen men. They have control of the gate room, and they have McKay and Weir hostage," she reported succinctly.

"My marines?" John asked tightly.

Kai looked up at him, his face was completely shut down. He was one hundred percent The Major; assessing the situation and making a plan. He was allowing no room for emotion. Her respect for him doubled as did her belief that the Genii didn't stand a chance against the two of them.

Kai shook her head. "No," she reported. "They were both killed."

John narrowed his eyes in frustration and his lips flattened into a grim line. More of his men senselessly killed so far from home, their families never able to know what they had died for. His movements were jerky and rough as he strode over to the bodies.

Part of him noted how efficiently Kai had killed the soldier. A single knife strike up under his ear into the brain. It was a quick and silent death. The strike was one that took supreme skill.

He stooped down and ripped the Genii communicator off the dead man's wrist. He had to yell to be heard over the rising storm. "Let me tell you what you did wrong here Kolya. A.) You lost two of your men. B.) They damaged the switch before I could separate the grounding rods, which I'm sure you're going to get an earful from McKay for. And C.) You lost all of what little credibility you had with me."

"You killed two of my men?" Kolya's voice was tight with anger.

John went very, very still. "Well I guess we're even," he growled back, no longer bothering to hide his anger over his lost marines.

"I don't like even," Kolya shot back.

"Oh, I'm not finished yet," Sheppard promised him menacingly.

"Neither am I," came Kolya's quick retort. "Say goodbye to Doctor Weir," Kolya's voice was perfectly calm as he spoke.

John stiffened. It was a threat. Tactically, killing Weir made no sense. She was the most valuable hostage he had. "This city has a self destruct button," John growled. "You hurt her and I'll activate it. Nobody will get Atlantis!" he yelled into the communicator.

"Even if it exists, Major, you need at least two senior personnel to activate it and I'm about to take one of them out of the equation."

Kai's eyes widened as she heard a gun cock over the comm.

"Kolya!" John yelled when Kolya didn't respond. "Kolya! I'll give you a ship," Sheppard offered. "I'll fly it out of here for you myself. Kolya!" he yelled when there was no answer, a hint of desperation coloring his voice. The lightning and thunder cracked across the sky behind him.

He stood out on the observation deck, his shoulders heaving in the face of the storm as he waited. If Weir was dead it was his fault. The waves pounded against the walls of the city as the rain soaked him.

The communicator crackled to life. "Major Sheppard, how's this for credibility. Weir is dead."

Instead, of drooping or losing resolve John's shoulders tightened and his muscles contracted like he was going to attack something. He slowly lifted the radio to his mouth. "I'm going to kill you," he promised in a dangerously low voice.

"Maybe...stay out of my way or McKay will join her," Kolya's radio clicked off.

Sheppard stood with his head hung for a moment as he gathered himself. The rain ran down his face and flattened his hair to his head.

"Major!" Kai called impatiently.

He looked up. She stood only a few feet away, the rain soaking her as well. She had slid her knife away and stood with her arms wrapped around herself against the buffeting winds. He nodded and jerked his chin towards the door. The two of them stepped back into the hall, both breathless from the severity of the storm.

John's shoulders were heaving with stress and bottled up anger. He needed to get control of himself, but all he could think of was killing Kolya.  The bastard thought he could come to his city and hurt his people and get away with it. John was about to show the man the error of his ways. Kolya would pay the price, John would make sure of it.

He turned back to Kai, she seemed strangely calm, but then he supposed this would have been just another day at the office for her. "You saw them?" John asked.

Kai unzipped her science team jacket. It was soaked through and now that the lights were down the long sleeve, fitted black shirt she wore beneath it would conceal her better. She nodded once briskly. "Almost walked right into them."

"Glad you didn't," he jerked his chin towards the soldiers. "Thanks for the assist. Was that you on the radio and the lights?"

Kai nodded again as she unknotted her scarf from around her neck.

"Look..." John hesitated as he looked down at Kai. "I know I made you a promise..." he dragged off.

Kai frowned up at him. Water beaded on his skin and dripped down the sides of his face. She could see the pain in his hazel eyes over losing Doctor Weir. He blamed himself, but he wasn't the type to wallow. Instead, she could see his resolve to punish those responsible. She respected that.

"When you decided to stay," he clarified as he swung his back pack onto the floor in front of him. "I made you a promise that I wouldn't ask you to fight." He pulled an extra handgun out of the bag and looked down at it thoughtfully. Part of him wanted to order Kai to the far side of the city to hide. He had already gotten Weir killed and Kai had made it clear she wasn't here for that.

"Isn't that against the rules?" Kai asked. When the Major looked confused she jerked her chin towards the gun.

He made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat but he still hadn't offered it to her. Kai could read the indecision on his face, she just didn't know if it was because he didn't trust her, or if he was trying to protect her.

She snorted impatiently and reached down, taking the gun from him gently. "You don't have to ask Major," she assured him sincerely. Then, because things suddenly felt too serious between them she cleared her throat. "I volunteer," she said with a teasing smile.

He grunted in annoyance.

"Jokes aside Major, I won't sit by while they try and take our home," she said and she checked to make sure there was one in the chamber and in the safety was on. She tucked the gun into the back of her waist band. Then she wrapped her scarf around her head, looping it down so it would conceal the lower part of her face, leaving only her eyes visible.

John would never admit it, but he was glad. Kai was more than capable and he was happy to have her at his back. Also, considering the determined gleam in her eyes he very much doubted she would have listened had he tried to order her to go hide anyway.

"If they're in the control room chances are good they're monitoring our radios and have gotten the sensors up and running. We need to get moving," John said. The two of them jogged away from the pier back into the dark city.

><><

Weir was still alive. She and McKay had been moved into her office. In a move that surprised him possibly even more than her, Rodney had stepped in front of the gun Kolya had pointed at her. Rodney had managed to convince Kolya he would need the both of them to get the shield active.

"Sir," Kolya's science officer, Ladon, called from out in the control room. "I found something."

The science officer had been working at the main control panel since they first arrived. Weir turned to McKay lifting her brows questioningly, but Kolya stepped around to the control panel, looking down at the screen Ladon indicated. He watched for only a moment before he marched back into Weir's office and leveled his gun back in her face.

"Who is with Sheppard?" he snarled.

"What?" Weir asked in shock.

"My men got the internal sensors working and there is someone with Sheppard," Kolya said stabbing his finger back towards the control room. "I'm not going to ask again," Kolya warned cocking the gun menacingly.

"It's-it's no one," McKay stammered. "It's probably just K-"

"Kari," Weir interrupted, shooting McKay a meaningful look. John had noted in his mission report that the Genii recognized Kai as a Mortii and had been extremely interested in her. Weir didn't want to make her vulnerable to them again by advertising who she was.

"Yes Kari, she's just an assistant on the science team," McKay snorted condescendingly. "She's not even my assistant, she's Doctor Zelenka's assistant...a nobody."

"If she's a nobody why is she still here?" Kolya asked keenly. "When everyone else was gated off to safety?"

"She's the only one on the science team other than me who possesses the ancient gene. The control panel required the gene to activate it. Major Sheppard and Ka-Kari were sent out to the grounding station. I thought she had made it through the gate before your people came in. I guess I was wrong," McKay flinched as Kolya shoved his gun into his face scowling at him. "L-look I don't see why you're so concerned. She'll probably just slow him down."

"And yet she's managed to evade capture," he growled.

"More than likely by hiding," Doctor Weir filled in quickly.

"Do you have something to add?" Kolya asked Doctor Weir menacingly.

Weir shook her head. "She's on the science team, McKay is the Chief Science Officer. She reports to him. I don't know much about her," Weir said honestly.

Kolya grunted and moved back out to the control panel. "I want this girl brought here," he ordered his men.

"Look, we know exactly where they are," Ladon said excitedly. He turned to the three men standing over his shoulder. "We're here, take two men, head there. Four levels down. That's Sheppard. There's a girl with him, bring her back, we might need her."

"Yes sir," the soldier snapped off and jogged away to follow orders.

><><

Kai followed behind the Major. He moved silently, from one point of cover to the next. Every time he paused he checked his life-signs detector and moved on to the next. The detector was the only source of light aside from the flashes of lightning. She was both surprised and impressed by how quietly the Major could move give how tall he was. She was also surprised by how well they seemed to move together.

The Major was well trained and he knew Atlantis well, and it showed. He crept around another corner and looked down at the detector. Then glanced back at Kai. He motioned forward, mimicked walking with his two fingers and then raised his finger to his lips. She didn't know exactly what he meant, but she got the gist of it.

They were operating under the assumption that the Genii had the internal sensors working and their movements were being monitored. Also that Weir and McKay would have only fessed up to what they had to about her. That she was a member of the science team. So far the Genii's actions had hinted at just that. If they knew there was a Mortii with the Major they would have sent more men.

There was a quiet, but insistent beeping from the life signs detector and John held up his hand to warn her to stop. Then he held up three fingers. There were three soldiers this time.

He gestured above them towards the rafters and touched his chest. Then he pulled three smoke grenades out of his bag and handed them to her. He motioned down the hallway away from them with two sharp hand signs, indicating speed.

Kai stared at him for a beat. He wanted her to lay the smoke bombs and then run away. He was sending her away from the other soldiers, trying to protect her. The urge to argue and insist on staying and fighting was almost overwhelming. it was stupid to have only one of them face the soldiers. She was not helpless.

She opened her mouth to argue, but stopped, snapping it shut. Sheppard smirked at her like he knew exactly what was going on in her head. It made her want to punch him.

She narrowed her eyes at him as she snatched the smoke grenades from his hands and his smile got wider.

Arguing in the middle of a combat situation was a great way to get people killed. The detector beeped again, this time more insistently and the Major looked down. When he looked up all playfulness was gone from his face. He motioned thirty seconds.

She nodded. It was time to set the trap.

The Major turned away from her and agilely climbed up the exposed pipes. He pulled himself up into the rafters, so he was hanging with his gun pointed directly below him. Kai pulled the pin on the first smoke grenade and set it next to the door. Then she backed across the room. She pulled pin on the second and left it in the middle of the room directly below the Major. Then another as she left, leaving the room in thick cover.

She turned and began jogging away down the hall.

><><

"Okay," Ladon's voice came through the comm to his recon team. "It looks like he's left her in one of the maintenance rooms. Go down another level and turn right. You'll be able to find her." The single dot moving away from the other one was moving fast enough Ladon assumed the Major was jogging. If his men moved fast they could get the girl without ever having to face the Major.

As much as Kolya thought the men should attack, Ladon was convinced the men should do their best to avoid facing the military commander of Atlantis. The man had killed all of their men he had come across so far and Kolya had pushed the man by lying about killing Doctor Weir.

"Are you sure you got those sensor things working right?" One of the men asked nervously.

"Look," Ladon said reassuringly "Whatever he's doing he left her unguarded. Hurry and you'll be able to take her without any problems from him," his voice was soothing, but inside he was grimacing. This strike force was not ready for an operation of this level. Both he and Kolya knew it, but Cowen wouldn't listen.

"We can see the room," One of the men reported. "Doors open, dead ahead."

"Okay," Ladon supplied. "You're clear. He's moving away from her. Go now!" he said, his eyes locked on the screen. The other dot had moved far enough way it disappeared from the main screen. He was entirely focused on the stationary dot in the maintenance room by itself. "She's only twenty feet away, still hiding," he waited, watching his screens. "Five feet," he reported as the team closed in on her.

"There's so much smoke," one of the younger soldiers complained.

"Smoke?" Sora asked in confusion beside him. Ladon waved at her to be quiet. They were almost done.

"You're right on top of her," Ladon told them his voice rising in anticipation.

"Yeah?" the soldier shot back defensively. "I think I would see her if I was."

"Stand by," Ladon said, moving the curser over to another part of the screen. The dot that had been moving away was now headed back towards the group. "Be advised Sheppard is on the move. He's coming back towards you. Do you copy?" He asked and there was an explosion of gun fire through the radio.

Ladon turned to look at Sora, his eyes wide. "Do you see him? Did you find her?" he called loudly, but as he watched the three dots that had represented his people disappeared from the screen.

A moment later the two dots reunited and started moving down the corridor together. Sheppard had tricked them.

Sora turned to Ladon, her dark eyes wide with worry. "Commander," she said activating her radio on her wrist.

"Yes, Sora," Kolya responded, his voice muffled by the ferocity of the Storm.

Sora took a deep breath and delivered the bad news to their commander. "Ladon led three of our men on a reconnaissance mission. It seems Major Sheppard has killed three more of our strike team."

There was a long pause.

"Understood," Kolya's voice was rough with anger. "Radio Chief Cowen. Tell him to send reinforcements. A full company."

><><

Chapter 21

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The Eye
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John led the way through the corridors. He was better outfitted with his P-90 and flak vest so he stayed in front, letting Zian watch their backs. Elizabeth was dead. As hard as he tried to put it out of his mind it was his fault and it was making him more protective of Zian than he probably needed to be.

What he needed to do was keep moving forward and stay focused so he could save as many people as possible. He wasn't the type to let something like this effect him in the moment, it would come to him later, when he was alone. Then he would let himself mourn her.

Zian was following silently behind him. So far she had followed orders, although he hadn't missed the flash of defiance in her eyes when he ordered her out of the line of fire. Despite her feelings, she had done as she was told and followed him as he made his next plan. He hadn't been sure what to expect of the Mortii assassin, but it was clear she understood chain of command and was willing to follow his lead.

"I think they have the internal sensors up," John called back to her. "It's the only way they would have found us so easily."

"Makes sense," Kai agreed. She held the handgun loosely in one hand as they prowled through the hallways.

"Is there some way to shield ourselves from them?"

Kai made a doubtful noise as she glanced over their shoulder to check behind them. "If there is, I don't know how," she confessed. She paused, frowning.

"What?" Sheppard asked.

"I have an idea..." she said.

"A good one?" John asked wryly.

Kai bobbed her head back and forth thoughtfully. "Not really...maybe Fifty-fifty," she allowed.

John snorted. "I'll take those odds."

Kai led the way down to McKay's lab. When they were outside the door she gestured for the Major to open it.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

Kai sighed. "He locks out everyone he considers to be a junior member of the science team so they don't steal his research. They have to have either his, or another senior staff member's permission to enter."

"Seriously?" Sheppard asked.

Kai leveled a look at him.

"Right, don't know why I'm surprised," he said swiping his hand over the controls. The doors slid open and Kai led him to the far side of the lab where one of the generators sat. There was a large sign leaning against the wall above it.

Do Not Touch. Very, Very Dangerous ~McKay

Kai walked up to the generator and cocked her head as she looked down at it. She chewed on the corner of her lip thoughtfully.

"Are you sure we should be messing with this?" John asked.

"Pretty sure," she allowed leaning down over it.

"Pretty sure?!" John's voice rose and she shot him a look, glancing back towards the door. They needed to keep their voices down or the Genii would find them.

Sheppard stabbed his finger at the sign. "McKay seems to think you need to be a whole hell of a lot more sure than 'pretty sure' to touch that thing."

"Well, I'm not McKay!" She snapped impatiently. "He got caught. You're stuck with me. Now, I've helped Zelenka when he's worked on these, but they aren't from this galaxy."

"You're on the science team," Sheppard pointed out.

"I'm their mechanic!" She whisper yelled at him. "I know about Wraith technology. I'm not a scientist! At best when it comes to stuff like this I can hold a flashlight for Zalenka."

"You always look busy! What are you doing on the laptop all the time? Playing solitaire?" Sheppard shot back.

Kai hesitated for a minute, her anger forgotten as she frowned over the unfamiliar term. "What's solitaire?"

John threw his hands up in the air as he groaned.

Kai glanced at him and before she could lose her nerve she lifted the core out of the generator. The lights in the lab went out as the generator powered down. She slipped it into her messenger bag.

"Okay..." John dragged out the word. "Is there a second part of your plan where we get to see?"

"Oh, you can't see in the dark?" she asked innocently. She smirked, knowing the look the Major would have shot her way. She sobered so she could explain. "That generator powers secondary systems in the control room. Now, if we move fast and pull the core out of another one that powers the systems they need...what would you do?"

John froze. "I would send out teams to repair and guard them."

Kai smiled triumphantly. "Exactly."

He scowled. "You counted a dozen men?" He clarified.

Kai nodded. "More or less."

"That's actually a pretty good plan." He admitted begrudgingly.

"Thank you," she said smuggly. "But that's only half of it. Once they've sent me out to repair and guard the generators they will be clear of the control room-"

"And we can get in there and shut down the gate. Make it so they can't bring in any more of their people."

Kai smiled. "Right again."

"Well then," John said with a pleased smile. "Let's haul ass Zian."

><><

Kai pulled two more cores. They were moving down one of the service halls towards a fourth when the detector in the Major's hand beeped.

John looked down at it and swore under his breath. The Genii has only been using the main halls, this one was narrow and had no where to hide. He looked back and forth quickly before he spotted a maintenance hatch. He ran one hand over the control, opening the door and grabbed Zian with the other. He shoved her inside without a word, wedging them both into the tiny space.

She tensed, fighting his hold. She opened her mouth to say something and he clamped his hand over her mouth. He remembered startling her in the mess hall and realized he hadn't scared her then, he had made her think she needed to defend herself. Having her instinctively go for a knife now would seriously ruin his day. The hatch was barely wide enough for his shoulders to fit, and left no room for maneuvering.

"Shh," he whispered bending his head down so his lips were near her ear. He swiped his hand back over the control, the door slid closed plunging them into darkness. He lifted the detector between them and the dim light illuminated their faces.

Temper glittered in Kai's grey eyes and she tried to pull her face away from his hand. She didn't appreciate being man handled by the Major. It had startled her when he shoved her in the closet. She sucked in a breath to say something and he clamped his hand more tightly over her mouth.

"Shh," he whispered more adamantly. He turned the detector to show her two more dots moving towards their location. When she tried to move away again he refused to let her go.

An impish glimmer shone in her eyes and she sank her teeth into his hand.

He groaned in pain, his eyes flashing in surprise. "Ow," he snarled through gritted teeth but he didn't release her.

Kai clamped her hand over his mouth. "Shh," she mocked beneath his hand.

He scowled at her. And a smirk stretched her lips under his hand. He tried to pull back from her, but she pressed into him. Refusing to release him until he let go of her.

They could hear the soldiers moving down the hall right outside the hatch. They both froze. The humor gone, John and Kai stared into each other's eyes from inches away. Their bodies were tight with tension. If their location was discovered they would have to come out prepared to fight. If they opened the hatch Sheppard's back was to the hall, his body shielding Kai. It would be up to her to make the first move or the Major would be vulnerable.

Kai moved her free hand down to reach for the gun at her waist. Their bodies were so close her hand brushed the Majors thigh and she froze. He arched his eyebrows meaningfully and she snatched her hand back away from him. She hadn't realized until that moment how close they were. She sucked in a deep breath and it made their chests brush against each other. Her nose was filled with the major's scent, a unique blend of spices and citrus combined with the sharp bite of the oil from his gun.

Her heart was pounding so loudly in her chest she couldn't hear his. There was a hard, telepathic nudge in the back of her mind and she actually flinched. Her eyes were wide as she looked up into The Major's. He looked down at her in confusion. She felt the muscles in his jaw tighten beneath her hand, the stubble on his cheek scraped her palm. She snatched her hand back and looked away, thankful the dim light made it impossible for the major to see the blush climbing its way up her neck.

John tightened his jaw as he tried hard to not notice how every inch of Kai's body was pressed against his in the small space. He had never seen her like this before. She always seemed so reserved and focused on her work, but with a gun in her hand and surrounded by enemies she was confident and surprisingly funny. The intensity was still there, but it was redirected.

Something startled her and he didn't think it was him. He wanted to ask, but instead of pushing her he slowly lowered his hand, giving her as much room as he could in the tiny space. She had more than earned his trust today, she was entitled to her secrets.

The Genii's voices continued to get louder until they passed. Once their voices quieted he lifted his arm so he could see the detector. Satisfied they were gone John opened the door and backed out. He looked back down at the life signs detector.

"Well, would you look at that," John said, he flashed Kai a smile, pretending the moment of tension in the closet hadn't happened. "Seems they cleared out the control room for us after all. All right, we take the transporter up, I'll cover you while you disable the gate."

Kai was shaking her head before he even finished talking. John scowled playfully at her. "You used to be so agreeable," he teased. "Someone's been a bad influence."

She snorted, but didn't comment. "The fastest way to disable the gate is to have a senior staff member enter a command code to lock them out. I can cover you once you get to the terminal."

John frowned and Kai could see in that moment he was thinking about Weir. She hadn't missed the fact that since Weir died he hadn't allowed her anywhere near the fighting despite her skills. He thought he was protecting her.

"You know," she said conversationally. "I fight pretty good for a girl."

John froze staring down at her. "This has nothing to do with you being a girl," he said defensively. "I have a gi-" he cut himself off, pressing his lips into a grim line. "I have a woman on my team. It has to do with the fact that I'm wearing body armor and you aren't," he said pointing at Kai's chest.

Kai didn't look at all concerned. "My people don't fight with body armor."

"Yeah well, mine do. And in my world the person in the flak vest goes first." John's tone was agitated.

Kai grunted. "I have a gun, I'll cover us. We'll go in as quiet as possible. Get your code in and we get out."

John wasn't happy with the plan, but he nodded. They stepped into the narrow transporter together. Kai drew in a deep breath and focused on the moment when those doors would open. She pulled her scarf up so her face was covered as she was taught. She drew in another breath and her muscles coiled.

The transporter doors hissed open and they charged into the control room. Two Genii soldiers and Sora were standing down in front of the gate greeting five men who had already stepped through. Leaving only one man on the upper deck.

"Reinforcements are arriving now commander," he said into his radio.

"Have them secure Stargate operations and report back to me," Kolya's voice echoed loudly through the room.

"Understoo-" the man started to say.

Kai charged him. She slammed the butt of the gun against the back of his head and he collapsed unconscious before he had even finished speaking. Kai crouched over his body, pointing her gun at the people below. She recognized Sora immediately by the other woman's strawberry curls, that seemed so out of place with her military uniform.

"Secure the area," Sora ordered her men. "If anyone-"

The shield activated and the ugly hiss of the incoming Genii soldiers hitting the shield as they crossed the event horizon rang through the room. The Major had gotten it working after all.

"Shut it off Ladon!" Sora yelled spinning back to face the control room. Her eyes widened when she spotted them. "Stop them!" She ordered and the soldiers charged the stairs.

Kai fired three shots dropping the soldiers to the ground around her with single shots to the head.

"Pretty good shot for a girl," John quipped as he came up beside her. "Time to go," he yelled as the Genii opened fire. He grabbed Kai's arm and the two of them ran across the catwalk to Weir's office. John laid down a spray of fire from his P90 to cover their retreat.

><><

Once they were clear of the control room they moved deeper into the city. Seventeen Genii had come through the gate. Between Kai and John they had killed eight of them, plus the rest of the company John had stopped by raising the shield. The two men teams covering the generators were easy targets while the rest of the Genii were scrambling over the loss of their men and the Stargate.

John and Kai moved through the dark corridors. John pulled out the detector. Straight ahead of them two Genii soldiers were chatting quietly as they stood in the hall outside the lab with the generator. John turned to Zian and gestured for her to take the one on the left while he took the one on the right. She nodded once to show she understood and they crept along the wall, moving silently.

Kai heard the click of the comm activating before the Major did. Her head snapped towards him. He saw the motion out of the corner of his eye and stopped, frowning at Kai. She reached up and touched her ear.

"Major Sheppard I have a proposition for you." Kolya's voice came through strongly a second later.

Sheppard's eyes flickered to Kai and the two of them backtracked, sneaking away from the Genii guards. The Major ran up the stairs to put distance between him and the guards before he spoke. Kai was at his heels.

"Kolya," John responded. "I'm having a hard time keeping up. What's the score again?" John asked innocently.

There was a moment of silence as Kolya composed himself. He didn't rise to John's baiting, but his voice was tense. "My men have informed me not only have you disabled some crucial generators. But you've stolen some key components that make it impossible for them to be restored."

"Yeah, I did that," John agreed brightly.

"There are two flaws in your plan," Kolya observed.

"I'm always open to constructive criticism," John responded without missing a beat.

"One,"Kolya said. "The assumption that I believe you would rather destroy the city than let it fall to us is childish."

John stopped and looked at Kai frowning in mock confusion, a boyish smile lighting his face. "That doesn't sound like me at all."

Kai couldn't help the smirk that tugged at one corner of her mouth.

Once more Kolya showed impressive restraint by not reacting to Sheppard. "Second, if and when I determine Atlantis is unsalvageable. Doctor Weir and McKay become obsolete."

John froze, his face going blank. "Weir is alive?" John asked in shock.

"Doctor McKay was able to make a strong case for keeping her alive."

"Let me talk to her." John ordered.

There was a long pause. The relief on the majors face made Kai uncomfortable. She shifted her weight and kept her eyes on stairs above and below them.

"Sheppard!" Elizabeth had to yell into the communicator to be heard over the raging storm. "We're both here!"

John snorted in relief. "It's good to hear your voice."

"It's good to be heard," Weir called back. There was a long pause. "Is Kari with you? Is she okay?"

John's eyes cut to Kai and they shared a confused look. "Yeah," he responded. "Kari's okay," he promised Weir.

"Good," Weir's voice was tight with tension. "You know when she joined the science team I promised we would look after her. You know how nervous guns make her."

John went very still. Weir was doing what she could to tell him the Genii didn't know who Kai was yet. "She's fine," John promised.

Kolya's voice came back on the radio. "As touching as this all is...we have one hour until the storm hits full force. If the power is not returned to ground station three within the next ten minutes. Dr. Weir dies."

"Again, you mean," John clarified.

Kolya's voice was steady. "Her death will buy you an additional ten minutes at which point Doctor McKay dies. We will the leave with what we can and the city will be destroyed."

"Well that's not enough time," John argued. "It's a big city," he hedged.

"You have your scientist friend to help you," Kolya reasoned. "But if you don't mind destroying Atlantis, please, stay where you are for the next twenty minutes. Starting...now."

The comm clicked off. John and Kai shared a look for exactly two seconds before they bolted back towards the grounding station.

><><

Chapter 22

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The Eye Cont.
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As they rounded the last corner near the lab Kai reached out and grabbed the Major's arm slowing him. He frowned down at her. He couldn't think of anything but getting the core back in place. He had already thought he killed Weir, he couldn't do it again.

Kai's hand closed on his bicep, halting him. She didn't want the Major to think she was arguing with him or questioning his judgement, but she had to speak up. "You know they're not just going to let you walk back in there...So, Trap?" She asked.

John snorted, nodding, "Trap," he agreed.

"They're going to shoot you," she told him confidently.

John nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I think they are," he agreed brightly.

"Okay, so let's make a plan that doesn't involve you getting shot," Kai whispered to him.

John smirked. "Why Zian, if you aren't careful I'm going to think you care..."

"Let's not get carried away," Kai deadpanned.

John chuckled, shaking his head.

Kai and John split up. John moved towards the door with the core in his hand. There wasn't any sign of the Genii guards. They were probably hiding down the hall out of sight. The detector beeped in his pocket. He resisted the urge to look at it to confirm they were coming around behind him.

"Stop!" One of the Genii ordered, his gun cocking behind Sheppard.

John lifted his hands above his head in surrender. "Look. Your boss wanted me to turn this thing back on. So I think we should do what he says."

"Be quiet," the other one growled.

Kai prowled down the hall. Her gun in one hand and her knife in the other. She was just around the corner when she caught sight of the young soldiers. They shifted their weight nervously as they pointed their guns. Kai scowled, they were inexperienced and confronting the Major had them scared. Scared meant reckless and jumpy and both of them had their fingers on the trigger. She would have to be fast.

One of them activated his communicator. "Sora, we have him."

"What about the scientist?" Kai could hear their conversation easily.

"She's not here," the solider reported. "It's just Sheppard."

Sora's voice was angry. "Keep him alive, and watch out for the scientist. She killed three of our men. I'm on my way."

The soldiers relaxed when they heard she was coming. They still held their guns, but they took their fingers off the triggers at least.

"Turn around," the first soldier ordered the Major.

"I don't mean to be a bad prisoner or anything," Sheppard said turning to face the soldiers slowly with his hands above his head. "But Kolya is going to kill one of my people if I don't get this thing turned back on."

"Where's the girl?" The soldier demanded.

John lifted his eyes to see Kai step around the corner. She looked incredibly badass. She was dressed all in black, her scarf was wrapped around her head, and covered the lower part of her face leaving only her steely grey eyes visible. Her eyes were leveled on the soldiers in front of her. She had her gun in one hand and her black blade in the other.

An appreciative smirk stretched across John's face. "She's right behind you," John said casually.

They both flinched swinging their weapons around, but Kai was already in motion. Kai launched herself in the air. She slammed her knife into the base of the man's skull with all of her body weight behind it. As the body collapsed she used it to brace off of as she kicked with both legs, catching the other soldier in the back of the skull with both boots.

It was unnecessarily showy, but after having the Major work so hard to keep her out of the line of fire she felt the irrational need to prove herself. She over-rotated the kick, not anticipating the soldier she was pushing off of collapsing so soon. She missed landing on her feet, but caught herself to land in a crouch between the two bodies.

John let out a low whistle and smirked down at Kai. "Impressive," he said. "For a girl," he teased.

Kai snorted as she stood and put her foot on the body, jerking her Blade free. John turned back to the generator and slid the core back in place. "Is there anything I have to do or will this thing just-"

"It'll-" she started to explain but Kai heard the scruff of a boot and whipped around leveling the gun straight at Lieutenant Ford's heart.

John jumped forward. He had seen Kai really move now and didn't want her to instinctively kill one of their own people by mistake. He wrapped a arm around her waist, jerking her back while shoving her gun down. She jerked in surprise, but when she realized who it was she relaxed in his grip, letting him move around to stand between her and the others.

"What the hell took you so long?" Sheppard barked as Beckett and Teyla appeared behind Lieutenant Ford.

Ford smirked. "Well, you see there's this storm..."

Beckett made an impatient noise and stepped up towards them. "Are you both okay?"

John shrugged casually "I've been better, been worse. My shoulders a little sore, and you should probably take a look at my hand," he said shooting an impish look over his shoulder towards Kai.

"Your hand?" Beckett asked stepping forward, his eyes narrowed in concern.

"Yeah, it's bad...might even have caught rabies..." John said looking down at it.

Kai leveled a dangerous scowl at Sheppard and his eyes shone with amusement.

"Do you want me to take a look at-" Beckett offered.

"He's fine," Kai snapped. She leaned around the corner to grab his pack and her bag where she had left them. She set the down on the table between them.

John was still smiling as the others stepped up to the table. "We deactivated the internal sensors. Do you have any weapons?"

Ford shook his head. "Just this," he said holding up his handgun. The armory was guarded. So what's the plan?"

John pulled another gun out of his bag and handed it to Teyla. "McKay figures he can harness the storms lightning and fire up the shield."

"Just lightning?" Beckett asked.

"SG teams done it before to power the gate," Ford confirmed

"There's a big difference between a Stargate and a-"

Ford stepped aggressively towards Doctor Beckett. "I didn't say you could talk."

Kai leveled a look at the young lieutenant that had him looking down to inspect the gun in his hand instead of meeting her gaze.

Sheppard sighed as he took in the motley crew he had to retake Atlantis. "Once the grounding station is deactivated we need to get to the control room. Once it's deactivated lightning will be free to flow through the conduits that line the hallways. We need to be gone," he said swinging his bag over his shoulder.

"What kind of plan is that?" Beckett asked in horror.

"A Rodney McKay kind of plan," Sheppard responded and he led the way down the hall. The others settled to follow him. "But it's all we got."

"But that leaves us only one place to go." Beckett said his voice rising with stress.

"Where the Genii will also be," Teyla said with a grim nod.

"Anybody left in the hallway is as good as dead," Sheppard said leading the way up the stairs. Ford was right behind him, followed by Teyla. Beckett was behind them and Kai was watching their six.

"Will the young hunters in the jumper bay be safe?" Teyla asked.

"Jumper bay is part of Stargate operations. They'll be protected," Sheppard promised.

"Then maybe that's where we should go," Ford suggested tightly.

"If the shield goes up over the city Weir and McKay become expendable to Kolya. We gotta take the control room first," Sheppard said crouching down to clear around a corner. The detector beeped. He pulled it out and swung around and pointed at Kai. "Zian," he said.

She turned just in time for a pair of soldiers to step around the corner. She kicked out at the temple of one and whipped around, slamming the butt of her gun against the temple of the other. They both dropped.

Ford froze, he was still raising his weapon in the time it took her to take out both guards. His mouth dropped open as he stared back at her.

Sheppard patted him on the shoulder. "Yep," he said and he looked back down at the detector in his hand. "We're clear," he told them and they kept moving.

"You really think he will kill them just because they are of no further use to him?" Teyla asked, her inability to fathom that kind of cruelty evident in her voice.

"No," John said tightly. "He'll kill them to punish me." He stopped once they were close, settling into a crouch with the detector in his hand. "Now, here's the deal. Ford, Kai and I get into position just below the control room stairs. Teyla and Beckett head to the jumper bay."

Teyla lifted her chin defiantly. "I intend to fight along side of you."

"And I intend for you to fight with us, not against me," he said pointedly looking over the group. He wasn't a CO who normally felt the need to exert his control over his team, but they weren't as focused as he needed them to be.

"Once you get in position, lower the ship into the gate room and open the weapons pods. That should create enough distraction for Ford and me to go in. Kai will cover us. We take back the control room, get the shield up, city's saved, Weir and McKay saved...take the rest of the day off."

"Sounds like a plan sir," Ford agreed settling back into the comfortable command structure.

Kai was surprised Sheppard chose to have her on his strike team instead of Teyla. Teyla was a normal member of his team and he trusted her. He, Ford and Teyla were used to fighting together. It didn't make sense, but she wasn't going to argue.

Sheppard nodded once briskly. "Stay on channel Two let's move out."

Teyla and Beckett turned and jogged away down the hall. Once the two were out of earshot Sheppard turned back to Kai and Ford. "Shoot to kill," he ordered, his eyes hard.

Kai nodded as she understood the reason she was on the strike team instead of Teyla. Sheppard was trying to keep Teyla from having to make the tough call. Even in the middle of all this he was still trying to protect his people.

"We're in position," Sheppard said over the radio, there was no response.

"This isn't right," Ford said

"What?" Sheppard asked.

"Teyla and Beckett should have easily made it to the jumper bay first. They should have been waiting for us."

Sheppard's lips pressed into a grim line as he activated his radio. "Teyla what's your position?" No answer. "Teyla?"

The voices in the control room above them were becoming high with tension as the storm bore down on the city.

"We're just not getting enough power to the shield generator!" McKay yelled.

Weir's voice was strong despite the people panicking around her. "Are you really going to sacrifice the lives of all your men on the off-chance this city won't be completely destroyed.

"Open the Stargate!" Kolya yelled. "Start evacuating the remaining men."

"You're making the right decision," Weir told him.

"You're coming with us," Kolya growled.

"What?" Weir asked, bewildered.

"You'll both serve the Genii as payment for what you've done."

The handful Genii soldiers left started down the stairs, evacuating out the gate.

Sheppard grunted. "Change of plan," he said moving along the wall towards the soldiers. "Ford's got McKay, Kai take Weir. I've got Kolya."

"Seriously this is a bad idea!" McKay whined as the Genii shoved him out in front of them. "You saw what happened to my last plan, this is not what-"

Sheppard held up his fingers and counted down from three. As soon as he closed his fist she and Ford charged the group.

Ford fired on the men beside McKay. The two men dropped and he ran out, covering McKay as he ran for cover. John and Kai fired at the soldiers surrounding Weir. Kolya leveled his gun at Weir and Kai had less than a second to either go for her own gun or charge them.

The shot was too risky. Kai took two running strides and knocked Weir out of the way. Weir skidded across the platform and tumbled down the short flight of stairs to safety. The decision to save Weir cost her. The move spun her around the wrong way and Kolya grabbed her roughly.

Kolya slammed the butt of his gun into her ribs in a devastating blow. Kai crumpled forward and Kolya knocked the gun from her hand. He grabbed her shoulders and slammed his knee up into the same spot in her abdomen and the wind was knocked out of her as her ribs crunched painfully in her chest.

Kolya ripped the scarf from her face, throwing it aside as he wrapped a large, meaty fist around her neck and swung her around in front of him as a shield. He pressed his gun against her temple as he dragged her backwards towards the gate.

"You must be their pet Mortii," Kolya growled in her ear. "I've heard all about you. Kai isn't it? I've never heard of a Mortii with a name." He tightened his grip on her neck and lifted her up so her toes where barely on the ground as he dragged her backwards.

Kai stumbled over her feet, bringing her hands up to grip his forearm to release some of the pressure on her neck. She couldn't catch her breath, black spots were dancing at the corners of her vision and as much as she fought his grip only tightened.

"I should have known it wasn't a scientist helping Major Sheppard," Kolya snarled. "You will serve as payment to Cowen for Atlantis's transgressions."

"Kolya!" The Major bellowed, his voice echoing through the Gate room seemed strangely far away to Kai. He sounded enraged but that didn't make sense. She had to stay conscious, she couldn't let herself be taken through the gate.

John prowled forward his gun leveled at Kolya. "You're not going anywhere. I will shoot you if you don't let her go," he promised. He wouldn't let Kai be taken. She had risked her life to save Atlantis she was every bit as important as the rest of their people.

"Are you going to risk the Mortii's life?" Kolya challenged giving Kai a rough jerk to prove his point. Kai's face was red and her eyes were drooping as she fought to stay conscious. Kolya looked down at her as he squeezed her neck tighter.

"I'm not aiming at her," John growled.

Kolya chuckled, wrenching Kai back another step as he dragged her towards the Stargate. "Do you really think you're that good?" He challenged.

Kai met Sheppard's gaze. She nodded once imperceptibly. His eyes flickered with indecision. She unwound the hand she had braced against Kolya's arm and held up three fingers. It immediately became harder to breathe, her lungs were screaming for air, but she forced herself to focus.

When she ticked off her fingers and her hand closed into a fist she pulled her legs up. Kolya's hand gripped tighter around her neck, cutting off all her air, but the sudden weight jerked him sideways. Sheppard didn't hesitate, he took the shot Kai gave him. Kolya jerked, releasing Kai's neck as he cried out in pain. Kai dropped to the ground as he stumbled back across the event horizon and through the Stargate.

Kai lay still on the floor of the gate room.

"Find Teyla and Beckett and make sure that's all of them!" John yelled to Ford as he ran to Kai.

Kai sucked in a breath and coughed, grimacing painfully. She clutched her bruised throat with one hand and pushed up with the other to get to her feet.

John grabbed her arm and pulled her up to her feet. "You okay?" he asked, looking down at her in concern.

Kai nodded, coughing as she fought to catch her breath. Black spots were still edging her vision, but she stumbled after the Major as he pulled her up the stairs towards the control room. He finally let her go when they reached the platform. Weir stepped forward and caught Kai's arm, easily supporting her weight.

John glanced back at Kai in concern, but Ford's voice pulled his attention back to the control room.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Ford yelled.

"I thought I would activate the shield and save the day!" McKay yelled back. "You got something else in mind?"

"Teyla and Beckett are still out there!" Ford argued.

"Tracking system is down," McKay said. "There is a tsunami headed towards the city Lieutenant. In two and a half minutes they are dead."

"Then give them the two minutes!" John yelled as he jogged towards the control panel. He reached up and touched the comm in his ear. "Teyla, Beckett fall back to the control room," he ordered.

"There's no more time!" McKay called grimly. "We either lose them, or we lose the city!"

The doors hissed open Teyla and Sora came in supporting a barely conscious Beckett between them.

"Rodney go!" Weir screamed.

"Going!" McKay responded. He whirled around. "Kai get the-" he started to say.

"On it!" Kai said staggering towards one of the control terminals. She ran her hands over it activating the power conduits while Rodney activated the shield. Kai flinched as the lightning crackled loudly through the city.

"What's happening?" Weir yelled.

"It's working it's just taking a few minutes to build up enough power for the shield to activate. Wait for it!" Rodney yelled.

Everyone stood around tense as the seconds dragged by. The wind howled and rain pounded against the tower.

Kai's knuckles were white as she gripped the terminal, watching the power levels rise.

"Come on," McKay muttered impatiently.

"Now!" Kai yelled and McKay activated the shield.

"Good work Rodney," Weir said, chuckling a little hysterically.

"Did you ever doubt me?" Rodney asked as he sagged forward over the panel in relief.

"Yes," Weir responded brightly. "Several times."

"Oh," Rodney said his face falling.

Sheppard stiffened. "I see you've made a new friend Teyla."

Sora and Teyla looked back and forth at one another. They looked like they had both been beaten to hell. While the others decided what to do with Sora Kai stepped away from the group.

Kai went over to the door and stepped out onto the balcony. She was feeling raw, not just physically but emotionally as well and she needed space to regain her equilibrium. She had allowed so much of herself loose today, it was difficult to fold it back up into the tiny box that was the life of Kai Zian; mechanic and science team member. The others still looked shell shocked after the ordeal, but if she was honest it had been exhilarating. It felt good to allow herself even the stolen moments of freedom. She loved her life here on Atlantis, she didn't ever want to go back to what she had been, but it was difficult to deny the parts of her personality that made her so good. She just needed a few moments and she could pull herself together.

The rain was no longer coming down, it was blocked by the shield. She looked up as she watched the ferocity of the storm. Massive waves that would have otherwise destroyed the city slammed impotently into the sides of the shield.

The door opened and Kai glanced over her shoulder to see the Major step out onto the balcony. The lightning was so frequent it illuminated the sky. She kept her expression perfectly emotionless as she waited to see what he needed. She was still raw and she found it especially difficult to hide from the Major. No matter what she did he seemed to see straight through her.

"This is yours," he said holding her scarf out to her.

Kai smiled appreciatively but she moved too quick as she snatched it out of his hand. She smoothed her hands over the fabric and tucked it into her back pocket.

"How's the neck?" he asked stepping up to the railing next to her.

Kai reached up and gingery touched the hot skin, grimacing.

"Beckett's not doing so well. Pretty bad concussion, so he's resting." John hadn't missed how Kai had withdrawn once the others had regrouped with them. He found he missed her biting sarcasm and teasing. "You're stuck with either me or Ford for field medic," still her face was entirely impassive as she stared at him. It was maddening. There was more to her than this, she was hiding behind that mask again. The tension between them was palpable. "Between you and me I think you surprised the kid today."

"He's never seen a girl fight before?" She asked snorting. And then, because she was hurt and exhausted she was entirely honest with The Major. "I don't like being touched," she confessed. "I would rather it be you," She bit her lip, regretting the words as soon as she uttered them.

John flashed her a boyish grin, working to diffuse the tension and put her at ease. "I'll take that as a compliment," he said lightly.

John stepped closer to her. "Can I-" he said gesturing towards her neck. Kai lifted her chin obligingly. His fingers were warm and gentle as he lifted her chin to look at the damage. Kai swallowed thickly and grimaced at the pain in her throat.

"It's pretty bruised," he said. "But it didn't break the skin. Does it hurt?"

"A little," Kai said with a shrug.

John nodded. "How are those ribs?"

"What?" Kai asked, scowling.

John gave her a droll stare. "The ribs you haven't said anything about, but have to be killing you after what Kolya did," he replied flippantly.

"I'm fine," Kai promised.

"No way," John said. "Let me see."

Kai sighed and lifted the side of her shirt. She grimaced as the movement jostled her ribs even worse, letting go of the fabric.

John reached out and caught the edge of her shirt, lifting it so he could see the damage. He let out a low whistle. "That is an impressive shade of purple," he tried not to let himself notice how warm and smooth her skin was against the backs of his fingers. Despite the deep bruising he could see faint scars that criss crossed her lean torso. "Maybe I should go get Beckett," he said thoughtfully.

Kai took the edge of her shirt and lowered it, her hand brushing against the Majors.

"I'll be fine Major," she promised. "I know what cracked ribs feel like. Once we can turn off the shield I'll get to the infirmary and get them wrapped up as soon as possible."

The Major looked like he was about to argue with her.

"Promise," she said quickly.

He held her gaze another couple seconds before he finally relented. There was another hard telepathic nudge and Kai quickly turned away from the Major to watch the storm through the shield.

"Thank you, for your help today," John said after a moment.

Kai snorted and nodded. "It's been a long day."

"Yes it has," John agreed. He caught himself staring at Kai's upturned face. Each flash of lighting cast different shadows over her smooth skin.

"It's almost pretty," Kai said."You know, now that it isn't almost killing us."

John snorted. "Yeah, almost."

The two of them stood together peacefully on the balcony and watched the storm rage for hours all around them.

><><

Chapter 23

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The Defiant One
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Kai spent the next few weeks as she was healing working in the east pier. It had flooded during the storm and she and Zelenka worked to repair some of the damaged systems so they could beginning pumping the water out of the lower levels. The hope was that once it was clear of water they could get teams in to assess the damage and take inventory of the labs.

Kai found it oddly peaceful working in the abandoned sections of the city. She was forever grateful that despite all that had happened Doctor Zelenka's treatment of her had never wavered. He really was a brilliant scientist who had a knack for being able to focus entirely on the job in front of them, seeming not to care about her past at all. He appreciated her skills with machines and was happy to explain to her what she didn't understand so she could continue to work as his assistant.

They were only halfway through their work on the east pier however when Doctor Zelenka was pulled off the project by Doctor McKay. An ancient Lantian satellite had been discovered orbiting another planet in their solar system. Doctor Zelenka's expertise was needed on the team as they assessed its purpose and value. This was one area where Kai couldn't assist him, and she found herself with free time for perhaps the first time in her life.

She had resumed running in the gym shortly after the Genii's attack. However, with extra time she couldn't help feeling like running just wasn't enough. She had allowed herself to become complacent in Atlantis before and it wasn't a mistake she would make again. Just because she wasn't on the military side of the expedition didn't mean she would never face another military situation. If she wanted to be of help she needed to be prepared for all eventualities.

It was shortly after dawn and Kai found Teyla meditating in the training room. The doors hissed open revealing the Athosian sitting cross-legged in the beam of sunlight that streamed through the large stained glass window.

Teyla looked up and surprise flickered in her kind eyes when she saw Kai fidgeting nervously in the doorway.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," Kai said quickly and turned to go.

"Kai," Teyla called after her. "It is quite all right. I was finished," she said kindly as she stood up in an effortlessly graceful motion. "What can I do for you?" she asked curiously.

Kai pressed her lips together, suddenly feeling self conscious. It wasn't in her nature to ask for help, or bother anyone else. This was dangerously close to asking for a favor.

"Is everything all right?" Teyla asked taking another step closer to her. Kai tensed and Teyla cocked her head to the side as her eyes swept over the smaller woman. She wasn't wearing her science uniform, but rather soft clothes she would normally wear for working out.

"I was hoping to spar this morning..." Teyla said conversationally as she turned away from Kai and walked deeper into the room. She hoped presenting her back to Kai would put the other woman more at her ease. "But it seems Major Sheppard is occupied with his duties today." Teyla could feel how uncomfortable the other woman was, but since Kai hadn't outright refused yet she assumed she was on the right track. "Would you care to join me?" she asked warmly turning back around.

Kai had taken a couple steps into the room, but froze once more, looking around the warmly lit practice room. "I-" she started to say.

Teyla could see the other woman's indecision. Kai was not one to ask for anything. She gave of her time and skills freely, but seemed hesitant to impose anything that could be considered a burden on others. "You would be doing me a favor," Teyla added and she had her.

><><

Teyla and Kai met to spar every day for the next week. The excitement over the abandoned satellite was not something they shared with the rest of the expedition and instead used the time to train.

Kai was not too proud to admit that Teyla was able to best her every one of those days. They were closely matched however and they were not easy victories for the Athosian. Kai was the better knife fighter, but Teyla was nearly as fast as Kai. The Athosian was longer limbed and physically stronger. Her fighting style was an interesting amalgamation her people had developed from different societies they had encountered over the centuries. It was not one fighting style but many, all rolled into a defensive style meant to both surprise and incapacitate their attacker as quickly as possible. It was not as strict nor as limited as the Mortii's training regime Kai had grown up with and somehow the Athosian leader always managed to surprise her with some new move she hadn't used before.

Teyla had introduced the bantos rods into their training the day before and Kai welcomed the new challenge. The two clashed and twisted striking and paring back and forth. It was close enough to knife fighting that Kai presented a real challenge for Teyla and both woman put their full focus and energy into the fight.

Kai arced away from Teyla's strike, throwing herself back, but kicked out at the other woman as she spun away. Teyla slapped her rod against Kai's calf and the blow threw Kai's balance off mid-motion. Kai landed in a crouch, but instead of backing off she rolled forward to attack again. After a week she had realized Teyla's entire strategy was built around defense, while Kai's was offensive. She was learning to use that to her advantage.

The two women were so engrossed they failed to hear the door hiss open.

Kai swept Teyla's legs, but Teyla jumped nimbly out of the way to avoid falling. Once more instead of backing off Kai pushed forward to attack. She pushed up out of her crouch powerfully, both bantos rods held cross ways. She slammed them into Teyla's stomach while Teyla was still mid-jump, knocking her onto her back. Kai rode her body to the floor, keeping one rod across Teyla's midsection and bringing the other up across her neck, pinning her.

"Wow," a voice called from behind them. "That was impressive."

Kai whipped around, both rods raised in defense, but it was only Lieutenant Ford. Teyla threw herself to her feet and laid a hand on Kai's shoulder. She gave Kai's shoulder a gentle squeeze and Kai turned back to face Teyla lowering the rods.

"Well done today," Teyla said warmly. She bowed low at the waist as was her people's custom. "You're learning quickly."

Ford was looking back and forth between the two beautiful women who were at complete odds with one another. There was an air of peace around Teyla when she trained. She wore soft fabrics that left large swaths of caramel skin exposed. When she fought it reminded him of when she meditated. Kai on the otherhand was dressed completely in black. She wore fitted long sleeves and long pants with her scarf wrapped around her hair, leaving little to no skin exposed. She was also more intense, not as in control. It always felt like if you moved at the wrong time, or caught her by surprise she would attack.

"What can I do for you Lieutenant?" Teyla asked putting her rods away and picking up a towel. She dabbed the sweat from the back of her neck as she turned back to face the young soldier who still hadn't taken his eyes off of Kai. His gaze was wary and she moved to step between them, taking his focus off of Kai and back to the situation.

Ford turned to Teyla. "Weir asked that we be on stand by for a rescue mission."

"Rescue?" Teyla asked. "Is the Major all right?"

"As far as we know," Ford said nodding. "They are heading down to the planet to investigate the source of some ancient Wraith distress beacon. Supposedly there's something up with the planets atmosphere that will make it hard to use their radios and since they're fifteen hours away by jumper Weir wanted us to be ready."

"A wraith distress call?" Teyla asked frowning in concern. "Why would they chose to answer a Wraith distress call."

"Well, the planet's in our backyard and the science team with the Major seem to think it was from the battle of Atlantis, so it's thousands of years old."

"You'll need a pilot," Kai said in a quiet voice from the other side of the room. Ford had made it clear by his body language that he was addressing Teyla and Kai had tried to remain unobtrusive while she gathered her things so she wouldn't disturb them.

"I have one," Ford said briskly. He didn't like to be questioned. He was in charge of this mission. "Markham."

Kai turned to face the young soldier, arching a brow. "Markham has only flown a jumper one time. It would be better to have a more experienced pilot accompany him on his first flight off planet."

Ford narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Mortii. She looked unassuming enough standing in front of him, but he had seen her in action against the Genii. "Will you follow orders?" he asked sharply. This was his first solo mission off world and he wasn't going to include anyone who was going to complicate matters. And Ford had found Kai to be a very complicating person to have around.

"I have been trained my entire life to follow orders," Kai responded stiffly.

"From me?" Ford challenged, raising his eyebrows.

A ghost of a smile shone in her eyes before she composed herself. "Of course," she said simply.

"All right then, gear up," he told the women. "Meet in the control room as soon as you're ready."

><><

The team was geared up and had been standing in the control room for less than five minutes when Weir gave them the order to go. Weir had been a ball of nervous energy from the moment they arrived. She was pacing restlessly, her hands constantly in motion.

"They're not even overdue yet," Ford argued impetuously.

Kai glanced sideways at the young Lieutenant. He was a good soldier, but he wasn't experienced enough to be able to read his commanding officer's emotions. Despite not being in the military Weir was in command and it was his responsibility to follow her orders, not argue with her when his CO was off world.

Weir's eyes snapped with temper at being questioned as she spun around to face Ford. "Doesn't matter, call it paranoia, intuition or we can just call it a drill. Either way, I want you to go now."

Teyla nodded, stepping forward to be a mediator between the two. "We can always be called back," she agreed soothingly. "But if they are in trouble-"

"Then every moment counts. Exactly," Weir finished for Teyla and she turned back to face Ford, her chin lifted confidently. "Ford, who is your pilot?"

"Markham, we're letting him get his feet wet, but Kai volunteered to come along to help coach him."

Weir turned to Kai, smiling warmly. "Good," she agreed. "He could use the piloting practice," Weir said. The leader of the expedition had been warmer and far more accepting of Kai after the Mortii had saved her life from Kolya. To Weir, Kai had proven where her loyalties lay when she had risked her life to defend the city.

"And I'm packing enough ordnance to fight a small war," Ford added smugly, bringing Weir's attention back to him.

"Good, let's hope you don't have to use it," Weir said grimly.

"Yes ma'am," he agreed, then he turned to his team, his tone sharp with command. "Let's move out."

><><

"You're doing well Sergeant Markham," Kai congratulated. She was sitting in the co-pilot seat while the young Sergeant gripped the controls so tightly his knuckles were white. There was a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead and his flying had been erratic at best, but Kai recognized it would take time to become comfortable with the controls. The people from earth were not used to piloting space craft as her own people were.

The comm clicked and Weir's voice came over the radio loudly. "Jumper two, this is Atlantis, come in."

Markham flinched and the jumper skittered sideways violently. Kai reached out calmly and steadied the controls, realigning them on their flight path.

"Markham!" Ford snapped, his voice rising with tension. He hadn't been sure, but now he was suddenly very glad he had allowed Kai to join his team for this mission. Markham would have killed them several times over by now without Kai's corrections.

"It's fine Markham," Kai soothed, her eyes flickering over her shoulder to shoot the Lieutenant a disapproving look. Yelling wasn't going to make the Sergeant any more comfortable or relaxed flying the shuttle.

"Is everything okay?" Weir asked uncertainly after a few tense moments.

"Everything's fine Doctor Weir," Teyla spoke up quickly.

"It sounded a little exciting there for a minute," Weir said, her voice tight with tension.

"We're fine," Ford responded gruffly.

"Well, it's been six hours they still haven't checked in."

"It's a good thing we left when we did," Ford said into the radio.

"Be careful Lieutenant," Weir said.

"Yes, Ma'am"

"Gal said something about the radio being a problem on the surface, so hopefully the Jumper's subspace communications are just down," even over the comm Weir didn't sound very convincing.

"We're prepared to do whatever we need to do," Ford responded confidently.

Weir hesitated for a moment as though she were considering her words. "You're on the other side of the solar system Lieutenant. It's going to be your call."

"Yes, ma'am it is," Ford agreed eagerly.

><><

Eight and a half hours later Kai had taken a shift flying and Markham was back behind the controls. The others had taken turns resting on the long flight, but Kai was tense. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something had her gut churning and the closer and closer they got to the planet the more unsettled she became.

It wasn't like her. A mission like this was nothing compared to what she had faced in the past. It was a point of pride that she had always managed to remain composed and confident in the face of any threat. As the planet loomed before them she grimaced, shifting her weight uncomfortably.

"Are you okay?" Teyla asked from just behind her.

Kai glanced back at her nodding. "Yes, I'm fine," she promised, but her fingers came up to touch the center of her chest just over her sternum. She rolled her shoulders and forced herself to focus on what was happening in front of her. She pulled up the HUD and glanced back over her shoulder at the Lieutenant.

"We may be able to make radio contact now," Kai informed him.

Ford reached up and touched his comm. "Major, this is Lieutenant Ford, come in."

There was nothing but static in response.

Ford grunted in annoyance. "Sir, we should be in there inside an hour. Please respond."

"Perhaps we are still too far away," Teyla said.

"No," Kai said frowning. She moved her hands over the controls running a scan on the approaching planet. "More than likely they can't get a signal. The atmosphere is severely ionized," she closed the HUD and pushed herself to her feet.

"Wait-" Markham called urgently.

"You're doing great," She assured the young man. "I just want to see if I can boost the signal." She opened the tool bag she had packed in case they had trouble with one of the jumpers and pulled out her tablet. She lifted down one of the supply boxes and stepped up on it so she could reach the rear command controls. She flipped opened the hatch and plugged the tablet in. She slid her fingers over the model that came up on her screen and then shifted two crystals.

"Try that," she called.

Ford nodded. "Major, this is Lieutenant Ford. Please respond."

The Major's voice crackled through the comm. "Lieutenant, I like your timing," the Major's tone was wry but there was an underlying tension.

That uncomfortable feeling in Kai's chest tightened and she shifted trying to alleviate the pressure. She closed the command control hatch and moved back to her seat. She was just sitting down when gun shots echoed through the comm. Her head snapped towards Ford, she wasn't sure if the human could hear them or not.

All humor gone from his voice the Major snapped. "Get your asses down here! I need serious backup," there was another round of gunfire, this one loud enough for the others to hear. "Who do you have with you?"

As soon as she heard the gunfire Kai switched the controls over to her. Markham flinched in surprise. "Sorry Sargent," Kai said. She pushed the jumper even faster.  "Seems the Major needs us."

"I have Markham, Teyla and Kai, sir." Ford responded, sounding uncertain of his choices as he waited for his superior officer to respond.

"Good," Sheppard said and more gunfire came from his end. "Get your asses down here."

"Sir," Ford said apologetically. "We are still two-zero minutes away at top speed," he glanced back towards the controls, noting Kai had taken over. "Make that one-five minutes away," he quickly corrected.

Sheppard made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat.  "In that case your timing sucks, get here as soon as you can."

Kai was fairly certain she could shave some time off their approach, but she worried it wouldn't be enough. The Major seemed to have a knack for finding trouble wherever he went and she found herself wondering who he had managed to offend this time. From what she had heard the planet was supposed to have been uninhabited aside from the ancient wraith ship.

The HUD activated, responding to her thoughts. She gritted her teeth, angry at herself for allowing her thoughts to stray.

Not willing to admit to the others that she had anything but the utmost control and she simply pretended she had done so on purpose and ran a scan. "I'm picking up only three life signs on the planet," she reported frowning. She glanced back of her shoulder to the Lieutenant. "I thought you said there were four members on their team."

"There were," Ford said grimly.

Kai's jaw tightened. They knew for certain the Major was alive, but there was a good chance the others were dead. It seemed impossible for the Major to need help against only one or two adversaries. He was one of the most impressive soldiers she had ever worked with. It said a great deal about the enemy they would be facing.

"Head straight for them," Ford ordered than he reached up and activated the comm. "Sir, we're picking you up on the HUD."

There were a few long moments of silence and Kai wondered if they were already too late. The feeling in her chest constricted and she pushed the ship even faster.

"Ford," the Major's voice was tense and he was out of breath. "Lock onto the biggest life-sign signal you can see and fire."

Ford looked stunned as he leaned forward to stare at the scan. "Negative Sir, you're too close."

"That's an order Lieutenant, do it!" Sheppard bellowed into the comm.

"Sir we're five minutes out we can-"

"Zian!" Sheppard yelled into the comm. "You better be at the controls. I don't have five minutes!"

"Understood Major," Kai agreed briskly. Something in her chest twisted painfully as she opened the weapons pod and fired a single drone. "Drone away," she reported back.

"McKay run!" Sheppard's voice echoed through the open comm channel.

Everyone in the jumper was silent as they watched on the HUD as the drone sped towards it's target. Two life-sign signals broke off in opposite directions moving away from the target. Kai's eyes flickered to the others, wondering which one represented Doctor McKay and which one was the Major. If she had to guess she assumed the one closest to the target was Sheppard. The drone hit it's target, and the signal disappeared. The twisting in her gut disappeared when she saw both of the other signals were still blinking strongly on the screen.

Kai was the first to recover. "Major," Kai said into the comm. "This is Zian, target has been eliminated."

"Yeah," Sheppard agreed, panting. "It's about damn time too."

"We got here as soon as we could," Teyla said apologetically.

"That's not what I meant Teyla," Sheppard's voice softened slightly as he reassured Teyla. "Thanks for the assist Zian," he said, all business once more.

"You're welcome Major," Kai said uncomfortably.

"Hope you brought your tools Zian," he tiredly. "Looks like that Wraith made a mess of my ship."

Kai slid her hands over the controls. "I did Major. We will be there in a few minutes."

"We can wait," Sheppard assured her.

Kai spotted the other jumper as they came over the horizon. The planet looked like a barren desert. From the air the only visible structures were their jumper and a crashed Wraith cruiser. Kai landed jumper two right next to jumper one. Strangely, Sheppard and McKay were sitting on a rock a few yards away.

Ford was the first out of his chair, hurrying out the rear hatch as soon as Kai opened it. "Are you okay, sir?" he called striding towards the two men.

"Yeah, just this," he said gesturing towards the bloodied bandage wrapped around his arm. "And a few cracked ribs."

"McKay?" Teyla asked stepping towards the scientist. "Are you okay?"

McKay nodded. "I don't suppose you brought any food with you?"

Teyla smiled indulgently and reached into her vest, pulling out a power bar. McKay eagerly dug in as Teyla, Ford and Markham established a perimeter. Kai glanced around curiously. The Major was relaxed so she assumed the threat had passed.

"What happened here sir?"

"Oh you know, the usual," John said flippantly. "Ten thousand year old cannibalistic super-Wraith tried to carjack us."

Kai frowned. "What's a carjack?"

Sheppard grunted when his humor, as usual, went unappreciated by the Mortii.

"The super-wraith tried to steal our jumper and rather than just let him have it," McKay said pointedly. "The Major decided to fight back," McKay grumbled.

"What about Doctor Gal and Doctor Abrams?" Teyla asked, surveying the horizon. "We did not pick them up on the scans."

"They didn't make it," McKay said grimly.

The Major turned to Lieutenant Ford. "Look, why don't you guys take the jumper to the wreck and collect their bodies," Sheppard said briskly. "That'll give Kai time to fix the other jumper and McKay can look around, see if there's anything else useful over there."

"Understood sir," Ford said.

"We're pretty sure he was alone, but stay alert," Sheppard warned.

"We will be careful Major," Teyla promised.

Sheppard glanced towards the horizon. "We only have another couple hours of daylight and it looks like it gets real cold after dark. Don't mess around too long," he warned pointing a finger at McKay.

McKay grunted. "I promise you, I want to get off this planet as badly as you do."

Kai got her tool bag and watched as jumper two lifted off. It was moving fairly smooth, but made an erratic dip before it flew straight towards the wreckage. She wondered if McKay or Markham was flying. She turned back to the Major. He had pushed himself to his feet, but he was moving stiffly like he was hurt. He didn't limp, but he lacked the usual fluidity in his movements.

"They made a mess of my jumper. Think you can put it back together?" he asked as they approached it.

"Sure," Kai agreed nodding. Even from outside she could see the wraith had opened the command control panel. She wrinkled her nose at the pile of wires and crystals that were hanging from it. "I'm sure it'll be no problem," she said striding confidently towards it.

John reached out and caught Kai's arm, pulling her back before she would have hit the shield. "Provided you can disarm the shield."

"Shield?" Kai asked frowning towards the shuttle.

Sheppard nodded exhaustedly. "It's a long story. I think he tied it into his communication thing on his wrist."

"Which-" Kai started to say.

"Which we blew to hell along with the rest of him with that drone," the Major agreed.

"Well..." Kai started, thoughtfully staring at the jumper. She sighed, she wasn't eager to touch the shield. She needed full feeling in her fingers if she was going to work on it. "There's a good chance the shield was disabled once the connection was severed."

"Good chance?" Sheppard asked looking down at the small woman.

Kai shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

Sheppard sighed and stepped forward, reaching towards the shield with one hand. His face screwed up in a grimace as he prepared himself to get shocked.

Kai grabbed the Major's arm, stopping him. "Not like that," she said impatiently. She crouched down and picked up a handful of sand, tossing it in front of them several feet.

"Oh, right," John agreed. "I knew that."

Kai grunted and tossed another handful as they walked closer until the sand landed on the lowered hatch.

"Looks good," she said stepping inside.

Sheppard followed her and started picking up the mess the Wraith had made. He grunted in pain as he bent down and the motion tweaked his ribs.

"You look exhausted," Kai commented, pulling the tablet out of her bag. She took one of the boxes the Major had refilled for a stool and plugged her tablet into the command control system.

"Yeah," he agreed, nodding. He stowed the last box. "How the hell did you get roped into this?" he asked settling back on one of the long benches. It was too short for him to lay flat, so he bent his knees and folded his arms under his head for a pillow.

Kai snorted. "I volunteered," she said glancing down at the Major with an impish gleam in her eyes.

John met Kai's gaze and held it for a long moment. The silence that stretched between them felt significant as the tension between them rose.

The increasingly familiar subconscious bump in the back of her mind distracted Kai from his hazel eyes for a moment and she quickly looked away. There was a slight tremble to her fingers as she got back to work realigning the crystals.

John had made Kai uncomfortable and he regretted it. He never seemed to do the right thing when it came to her. He let his eyes run over Kai. As usual she was wearing her own clothes under the flak vest, her scarf knotted around her neck, but she didn't have the weapons belt that was standard issue for trips off world. He narrowed his eyes as he realized the only weapon on her was her Blade.

"Without a gun?" he asked sharply.

Kai looked up at the Major in surprise. "It's still the rule," she said wryly.

John grunted in agitation, tightening his jaw. "Well, we're going to change the rule. You stepping off that jumper to face a super-wraith with nothing but your knife is unacceptable," he growled.

Kai looked at the Major in surprise. She knew he took his people's safety seriously but she didn't understand his rising anger. "In Weir's defense...we didn't know about the super-wraith."

John grunted, pinching his lips together. This was a serious situation he was going to need to address with Weir once he got back. A sidearm was supposed to be standard issue for all team members going off world. Even the science geeks carried. Sending an assassin didn't help much if they didn't give her any weapons.

He flopped back down and closed his eyes. "Thanks by the way."

"For what?" she asked distractedly. The Wraith had made an impressive mess of the controls and it would take her a while to fix it. She was glad the others had something to do so she didn't have McKay breathing over her shoulder while she worked.

John didn't say anything at first. He stayed silent until Kai looked back at him. "Making the hard call," he said when she finally met his gaze.

Kai nodded, but that same something in her chest tightened. She had nearly killed the Major today. Sheppard seemed to have thought she did the right thing, but she very much doubted Ford or Teyla would agree with him.

"Not everyone can do that," John continued. "Ford's a good kid but he-"

"He looks up to you and respects you," Kai said simply.

John shifted uncomfortably. There were times when it felt like Kai could see straight through him. Her gaze could be so intense he felt like he could get lost in her stormy grey eyes. Her body was stretched as she worked to reach one of the crystals, a small wrinkle of a frown forming between her eyes as she concentrated. John jerked and quickly closed his eyes. He wasn't blind, Kai was a beautiful woman, but there were plenty of beautiful women on the expedition and none of them distracted him the way Kai did. He was exhausted and it was showing. He slung one of his arms over his eyes so he wouldn't be tempted to watch her work.

Kai worked in silence for a few minutes before she spoke up. "It was stupid of you to go after the wraith by yourself," Kai finally said. "He wouldn't have been able to fly the jumper. You should have just left it."

Sheppard dropped his arm from his eyes to look up at her in disbelief. "Really?" he asked her incredulously. "Is that what you would have done?"

Kai just shrugged because she absolutely would have gone after the wraith.

John groaned as he shifted on the narrow bench, his body ached from getting thrown around by the wraith and all of his muscles were tightening up now that he had stopped moving.

"You're probably right," he finally conceded his voice low and gravely as he fought off the call of sleep.

"Get some rest Major," she said, her tone soft. "I'm almost done. The others will be back soon, and we can head home."

He nodded. "Sounds good. Markham and McKay can fly home," he said tiredly. "They can both use the practice," he hesitated for a moment and lowered his hand, his eyes sparkling with humor as he met her grey gaze. "You can have McKay."

><><

Chapter 24

><><
Hot Zone
><><

Teyla moved around the gym. John held a bantos rod in each of his hands adjusting his grip as he tried to surprise her when he attacked. He feinted right and charged her from the left. She stepped to the side elegantly and smacked him on the butt as he sailed past her.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, rubbing his ass painfully. He pulled himself up and turned back to face her an indignant set to his mouth. 

Teyla smirked as John swung back around lifting the rods once more. The Major was a formidable man who did not like to lose, but he also did not easily give up. 

John attacked again, swinging the rods powerfully. An overhead strike followed by one aimed low towards her knee. Teyla blocked agilely, slamming his rod down against the floor and pinning it there. She forced him to stillness, arching a brow challengingly.

John huffed impatiently as Teyla stood. Her skirt flowing around her legs as she paced around the Major. She twirled the rods in a flashy show of her skill meant to pressure him into attacking as she padded barefoot around the mat.

John twirled his own much slower, flashing her a cocky grin. She had tricked him before into launching what she called an emotion based attack. He wouldn't be suckered in again.

He waited until she was close and struck, slamming the rods down powerfully trying to use his strength against her. She deflected each one easily. She caught the rod and slapped his forearm sharply with the other.

John dropped the rod. "Ahh!" he exclaimed as his hand went numb. She whipped around catching the back of his knee, spilling him to the ground as she pulled her rods across his throat.

"You have not been practicing," she chastised.

"Yes I have," John defended as he fought to catch his breath.

"If this was a real fight-" she began to lecture.

John wasn't one of her normal students however and instead of listening serenely he chuckled wryly. "If this were a real fight I would have shot you by now," he responded.

Teyla grunted and released the Major, shoving him away from her. No matter how hard she tried, the Major never quite seemed to take their training seriously. He enjoyed the challenge,but she doubted he would ever fully embrace her people's teachings.

"You know," John said climbing back to his feet. "Now matter how many hours I put into this you're still going to kick my ass."

Teyla chuckled. "It's not for the winning that we practice," she told not for the first time.

"Well then what's the point?"  John asked good naturedly, repeating an old argument.

Teyla smiled indulgently and shook her head as she patted her skin dry.

"You've been pretty busy," John said taking a drink from his water bottle. "Getting lots of practice lately," he added with a smile.

Teyla nodded. "Yes, between the soldiers and Athosians I am keeping quite busy," Teyla replied. In truth on days when they didn't have a mission she spent almost all day in the gym working with the different people from the expedition. All seemed to appreciate the extra training.

"Bates tells me Zian has been sparring with you every morning," John said carefully as he put his towel over the back of his neck.

Teyla went very still as she processed all he was not saying in his casual observation. "I was not aware that would be a problem."

"It's not!" John responded too quickly. "As far as I'm concerned Zian can do as she pleases."

Teyla frowned. "And yet, Sergeant Bates is still monitoring her movements?"

"I-" John started to say. "He-"

Teyla quickly spoke up before he could stammer out an excuse. "Have you considered sparring with Kai?"

John pulled back. "Zian? No why? Why would I do that?" his voice rose slightly at the end.

Teyla kept her face carefully devoid of emotion and shrugged casually, not wanting to make too big of a deal out of it. "Well, your skill levels are fairly evenly matched. And perhaps the time getting to know her better would put you more at ease."

John's mouth hardened into a determined line. "I know her just fine," he said, a little sharper than he intended. "I don't need to get to know her any better," he added, more for his own benefit than Teyla's. If he was honest he had been avoiding Kai over the last few weeks. She made him uncomfortable, and he needed to stay focused.

"Well she has been sparring with me lately. Knowing your skill level and her own I thought..."

"Since when does she feel the need to train?" John asked suspiciously. He didn't agree necessarily with Weir's rules but part of their agreement had been that she would stay away from the military side of things. If something had changed in the last couple of weeks, he needed to know about it.

Teyla's face softened. "Since she healed after what commander Kolya of the Genii did to her."

John's jaw tightened as guilt tore through him. It had been his fault she had gotten hurt. He shouldn't have put her in that position in the first place. He regretted it when any of his people were hurt, and it was strange for him to feel this way about one in particular, especially one who was so well trained. John wasn't one for self reflection, and it took him a while to realize the guilt was because he had asked her to fight the Genii. He just couldn't get the look on her face when she told him she didn't want to go back to that life out of his mind. She had asked for peace and not a month later John had put a gun in her hand.

"I think it's best if we just keep things the way they are..."John said heading towards the door.

Weir's voice came over the PA. "May I have everyone's attention please? We've run into a questionable medical situation and at Doctor Beckett's suggestion we have decided to put the city into a self regulated quarantine. For at least the next couple of hours I need everyone to stay where they are and report anyone moving freely through the halls. I hope you understand. Thank you."

John swung back around to face Teyla, his face pinched with concern. They were stuck here.

><><

Almost all of the science teams were down on the east pier evaluating the damage the storm surge and subsequent flooding had caused. Kai wished she had been able to join them at the time. After all, it had been her and Zelenka who had worked to pump the water out of that section of the city and she was curious about what secrets the ancient city still held. AR-3 however, had come in experiencing problems with the seal on Jumper 3's rear hatch that morning and Kai had stayed behind to get the jumper repaired.

Now, it seemed the science teams had encountered some kind of pathogen and all of Atlantis was in lockdown. Unfortunately, she had been back in one of the storage rooms gathering parts when the doors had sealed shut hours before. Kai did not sit still well and there was nothing to do in the small room. She was in her third round of push-ups when her comm activated.

"Kai," Doctor Weir's voice came over her radio.

"Yes, Doctor Weir?" Kai responded almost too eagerly. She needed to get out of this room. She wasn't claustrophobic, but she was going stir crazy. She didn't even have her tablet or laptop with her.

"As you know, we have a situation. All of the science teams are quarantined on the east side of the city. The Major and McKay have come up with a plan, and the Major could use some help..." Weir dragged off, not quite asking for help and not quite ordering her.

"I'm happy to help Doctor Weir," Kai responded quickly. "But, I'm trapped in Storage Room 8. The doors won't open."

"Roger that Zian," the Major's gruff voice came over the comm. "I'm coming to get you."

"I should warn you," Doctor Weir said. "The plan has the potential to be dangerous."

Kai bristled at the implication, snorting humorlessly. "How long until you're here Major?"

"Ten minutes," came the Major's reply. It sounded like he was jogging. In the background she could hear his short breathing and the sharp slap of his boots against the ground.

"All right Doctor Weir, what is this plan?" she asked.

><><

"You want to do what?" Kai asked the Major in disbelief as the doors hissed open. Under one arm he was carrying a naquadah generator and under the other he had a maroon hazmat suit that matched the one he was wearing.

John's lips flattened impatiently. Aidan only had thirty minutes to live. They had to get moving. Kai wore a mechanics jumpsuit, her hair was covered by her scarf and she had a smudge of grease on one cheek. He tossed her the hazmat suit. "We think that if we detonate-"

"A bomb in the atmosphere," Kai finished for him. "Yeah, I thought I heard that the first time from Weir. I was just clarifying," she said.

"I can't fly the jumper AND overload the generator then shove it out the back hatch. So come on," he said jerking his chin towards the door. "Beckett says you're the only one here basically guaranteed to not be infected, but you'll need that to get through the doors."

Kai frowned as she began stripping out of the over-sized mechanics suit she had been wearing. The Major's eyes widened when she untied the arms from around her narrow waist and began pulling it down her legs. He spun around, his ears burning.

"I'm not naked," Kai said impatiently. Underneath she had been wearing fitted black leggings and her customary long-sleeved black t-shirt. She pulled on the suit, wrinkling her nose when she realized how big it was. "Did Beckett say why I'm safe?" She asked curiously.

"Well because you're not-" John started to respond, turning back to face her. He cut himself off, pinching his lips together as he realized how badly it was going to sound. Kai looked like a little kid in the over-sized suit. They were supposed to be one size fits all, but apparently they hadn't considered someone as small as Kai.

"Human?" Kai finished for him, straightening as she picked up her helmet.

"Well-" he started to argue.

Kai snorted. "No offense taken Major, I'm not," she said simply. "Let's go."

John nodded, carrying the naquadah generator under his arm the two of them jogged towards the jumper bay. Kai struggled in the suit, but they made good time. The two of them boarded Jumper One. John set the generator down on the rear hatch and pulled off his helmet, tossing it on the seat.

"Zian and I are in the jumper," John reported to Weir and McKay.

Kai jerked off the hazmat suit. It was impossible for her to move in the over-sized suit. The arms and legs were inches too long and the gloves were clumsy.

McKay came over the comm. "All right, we have twenty minutes people. One of you is going to have to overload the generator and one of you is going to have to fly the jumper. So...who is the better pilot?"

Kai and John both lifted their eyes, staring one another down. John scowled at her when she didn't immediately back down. She arched one of her eyebrows and her lips twisted into a smirk that made John's stomach do flip flops.

"Oh for Pete's sake," McKay snapped after a moment. "We do not have time for this. Zian I need you on the generator."

Kai tore her eyes from the Major's intense gaze and turned back to the generator as he moved to the controls. The Major lifted off and flew them straight up until they were twenty miles above the city.

"Will the E.M. effect the puddle jumper?" John called back to Kai.

Kai didn't look up from the generator as she initiated to core, powering it up. "It shouldn't," she said. "Lantean technology should be impervious."

John glanced over his shoulder. "Should be?" he asked.

Kai flashed him a mischievous smile. "Should be," she repeated.

He groaned. "What about the shock wave?" he asked.

"That's my concern. Think you can fly fast enough?" Kai couldn't help but tease the Major. There were lines of stress around his mouth and she had the irrational urge to make him smile despite the tense situation they were in.

"I think I can manage," he growled back sarcastically. "Just don't fall out." A few seconds later he activated the radio. "I'm almost in position."

McKay's voice came over the comm. "Once Kai initiates the overload you are only going to have thirty seconds to throw it out of the jumper. Then you need to get as far away from the blast as you can."

John's sarcastic response was biting. "Get as far away from the nuclear explosion as possible, good advice Rodney, thanks."

"You're welcome," McKay responded gruffly, the silence between them stretching with all the things Rodney wanted to say but didn't.

"In position," John called. "Ready back there?"

"Lower the hatch," Kai's voice was tense as she went to work.

"How we doing Zian?" John asked after a moment.

"Overloading...now!" she yelled and she shoved the generator out of the jumper.

John slammed his fist down on the hatch control and threw the jumper forward as fast as possible. If he could break atmosphere they stood a better chance against the shockwave.

Kai ran up and climbed into the co-pilot chair. Her hands moved over the controls. "Shockwave in ten seconds," she told the Major. "I've adjusted the inertial dampeners-" she started to say and the shock wave hit them. It blasted against the hull of the small ship. The ship rocked violently. Instead of fighting it, Sheppard released the controls, letting the ship ride the wave out into space. The light was so bright it exploded painfully behind her eyes. Her hands tightened into fists on the arms of the chair, as she fought to hold herself in place.

When it was done all she could hear was the major's quiet, steady heartbeat as the two of them fought to catch their breath. John turned to look at Kai. "You okay?" he asked, concern showing in his hazel eyes.

"Yeah, you?" she asked, still a little breathless.

"In one piece," he agreed.

Static sounded over the radio and Kai frowned. She leaned forward adjusting the controls and Weir's voice sounded loud and clear through the radio. "Major do you read me?"

"This is Sheppard," John responded. "We cleared the blast. We're returning home."

Weir let out a relieved sigh. "Glad to hear it Major."

"Did it work?" John asked as he turned the jumper around and set a course to Atlantis.

"We're about to find out," Weir said cautiously hopeful.

McKay's voice was sharp with disappointment. "The blast should have been instantaneous, the systems-"

Weir let out a relieved chuckle. "The city is already ahead of you Rodney, you have a green light to return."

Kai exhaled and looked back at the Major. John flashed her a relieved smile. It worked.

><><

"Are you okay?" Weir asked as she met with the Major in her office later that night.

John sat back in his chair. "Just a little nuke, nothing really," he said casually. The truth was, he was exhausted. He wasn't sure why Elizabeth had insisted on a debriefing so late, but he hadn't had the energy to argue.

Weir sat down behind her desk. She folded her hands together. "And Kai?"

John stiffened. "Zian seemed fine," he said a little sharply.

Elizabeth nodded, choosing to ignore the Major's sharp response over Kai alone. "The Naquadah generator plan was very clever. Good work," she congratulated.

John nodded uncomfortably. "Thank you," he couldn't help feeling like there was an elephant in the room. The tension between them stretching uncomfortably. He pushed himself to his feet. "I'm going to bed," he said excusing himself from the room as quickly as possible.

Weir didn't move. "We need to discuss what happened earlier," she said sharply. She didn't want to do this. She regretted that the situation had happened at all. She liked John and she felt they led the expedition well together. But what had happened was inexcusable and if she let it go unanswered, it would happen again.

John swung back around to face her. "Now?" he asked impetuously.

Elizabeth's eyes were hard and her mouth severe. "That can never happen again," she ground out the words firmly but was careful to not sound angry. If she responded with anger a man like John would just get defensive. They needed to come to an understanding.

John sighed and moved back to take the seat across from her. "Look, I'm sorry about-"

Weir cut him off quickly, refusing to give over control of the conversation. "I understand and respect your expertise in military matters Major, and I agree that I should defer to those expertise in such situations."

John scowled. This felt like a trap. "Thank you," he said slowly.

"But you are not the one who decides what is and is not a military situation," she said sharply.

John pressed his lips together impatiently. She just didn't understand. She was a civilian. Elizabeth had a bad habit of getting locked into a decision early on and couldn't always adjust once the action started.

"Now," Elizabeth continued. "Both General O'Neil and Colonel Sumner warned me that you don't respect the proper chain of command. But I went to bat for you anyway."

John's jaw tightened and he leaned forward. "Sometimes I see a situation a little different than you-"

"No," Weir cut him off ruthlessly. "Listen to me John. Now, you endangered yourself and the lives of many others."

John stabbed his finger down on the desk. "Because I thought it was the best action to take, and by the way I saved your ass."

Weir sighed. "I know you did," she agreed. "But you have to trust me."

It was like a kick in the gut. He knew that Elizabeth had pushed to get him on this mission, and it felt like she was questioning his loyalty to her. "I do."

"Do you?" Weir challenged, lift her eyebrows.

"Do you guys have a minute?" McKay asked barging into the room unceremoniously as Beckett trailed behind him uncertainly. "We've been able to spend some quality time with the nano-virus samples."

Beckett looked back and forth between the Major and Doctor Weir. Unlike McKay he had the ability to sense the tension in the room and knew they had interrupted something serious. When Weir gestured for them to continue he stumbled over his words uncomfortably. "From what we can tell, they've all been incapacitated."

"Well that's good news," Weir said briskly.

McKay's face was grim and his arms were crossed over his chest. "Yes, well upon further investigation I think that we can rule out that they were created by the wraith."

Weir tilted her head in confusion.

McKay sighed. "I even had Zian take a look at them just to be sure. It's nothing like Wraith technology either one of us have seen."

John scowled. "If not the wraith?" he asked. "Then who made them?"

"I honestly don't know," McKay admitted begrudgingly. "Whoever they were, let's just hope they're not still around."

"Let's hope," Weir agreed.

John and Elizabeth shared a long look, both of them knowing whoever made the virus would be a formidable enemy. John nodded as he stared into Elizabeth's eyes. He wanted her to know he was with her, and they would face whatever this new threat was together.

><><

Chapter 25

><><
Sanctuary
><><

Kai was in the gym when she received an alert that AR-1 was on their way back to Atlantis. Their Jumper had sustained some damage in an altercation with the Wraith and would be in need of repair. It had been weeks since anything of interest happened around Atlantis. After the outbreak, Weir had pulled all the science teams back from exploring the city until they could repair the sensors in the damaged areas so they wouldn't by surprised by another pathogen. Zelenka had been hard at work on the problem and there was little Kai could do to help him. She had been spending most of her time working in the Jumper Bay.

Kai changed quickly in the locker room, pulling her mechanic's jumpsuit on over her leggings and customary black shirt. She tied the arms around her waist and looped her scarf around her head so it would keep her hair out of her face as she worked.

Major Sheppard, Teyla, McKay and a strange woman were just exiting towards the gate room as she came in. She was absolutely stunning. Although she moved through their jumper bay without hesitation, she wore the simple, soft shift of a primitive culture. The blue fabric clung to her curves and yet flowed around her as she moved.

The strange woman paused for a moment at the top of the stairs, her gaze meeting Kai's. A frown formed above her chocolate colored eyes as the moment stretched between them. The Major said something to the woman and she turned back to him, flashing a radiant smile.

Kai blinked and shook off the strange moment. Lieutenant Ford hung back when he saw her.

"We took fire from two darts," he told her. "It for sure damaged the weapons systems, not sure what else."

Kai nodded, brushing a strand of hair that had slipped free back from her face with the back of her hand. "Sounds good, I'll take a look," she said with a smile, although a dull, pulsing pain had started in her temples.

"McKay tried to fix it, not sure what he did," Ford said apologetically.

"I'll get to work," Kai said pulling her tablet out from under her arm. "I can contact him if I have any questions."

"Thanks Zian," Ford said.

"Who is the visitor?" She couldn't help asking. It was rare for any of the teams to bring back visitors.

Ford turned and when he saw they weren't in earshot he snorted. "Some
Priestess named Chaya. Their planet is protected from the Wraith but she claims her goddess won't allow us to use it as an evac site," Ford rolled his eyes.

"Her goddess?" Kai clarified.

"Athar," Ford rolled his eyes again.

"Can't say I've heard of her," Kai said stepping up toward the jumper. "Why is she here?"

Ford shrugged trailing behind Zian. "The Major thinks he can talk her into it."

Kai stepped into the jumper and plugged her tablet into the rear command controls. She scowled, there was a fair amount of damage. She forced the weapons pod to open and stepped out of the jumper to inspect it. "Do you?" She asked distractedly when the pod didn't open all the way.

"Well, she claims her goddess is pretty set in her decision but he can be convincing."

"Yes, the Major does seem to think he's rather good a charming women," she agreed, she had seen the major use his charming smile to get his way more than once.

She grunted as she jerked the pod open manually. She wrinkled her nose and laid down on the creeper, sliding beneath it to assess the damage.

Ford snorted. "He's pretty good, and she is hot as hell, but she's also crazy pants. There's no way."

Kai slid back out from under the pod and looked up at the young soldier. "Crazy pants?" She asked, arching a brow.

"Yeah, you know, insane...not right in the head..."

Kai nodded and slid back under the pod.

"Well, I better get to the debriefing, thanks Zian!" He called to her over his shoulder as he trotted to catch up to the others.

Kai stared after them frowning. It was odd they had brought someone back with them. She shrugged it off, she had work to do and a beginnings of a serious headache.

><><

"Hold still, just a minute more," Beckett said as Chaya lay beneath the scanner. He imputed the information into his laptop. "Well my dear," Beckett said as the machine powered down. "It seems you are as lovely on the inside as you are on the out," he said with a charming smile.

"You can get up now," Beckett told the beautiful brunette as the computer began analyzing all the information it had just gathered. Weir had requested he be as thorough as possible while being non-invasive. He had only drawn a small amount of blood, otherwise he was left with the Atlantian scanner for much of his data.

Chaya sat up, her skirt flowing around her. "How does this device do what you say it does?" she asked in confusion.

"It creates images of the tissues inside your body," Beckett explained. "And they are, picture perfect," he told her with a reassuring smile.

The priestess looked around the infirmary in wonder. There was almost a child-like innocence to her as she stared at all the machines surrounding them.

"Did you bring these machines back from your world?" Chaya asked.

"Some," Beckett said putting his hands in his pockets. "Others are Atlantian technology that we've figured out how to use and a few...well," he confided. "I haven't the vaguest idea what they do," he chuckled. "Hopefully one day I'll have a chance to meet one and I'll ask them myself."

Chaya looked down at her skirt, fidgeting with the flowing blue fabric. "Do you know what happened to them? The Atlantians I mean," she clarified.

"Well, some returned to Earth after the war with the wraith. That much we know. But we also know that some of them Ascended."

"Ascended?" she asked sitting demurely with her hands in her lap.

Beckett nodded. "To a higher plane, where they exist only as energy. Only recently we've discovered that some stayed on in the Pegasus Galaxy to fight the wraith. Warrior Ancients Teyla called them," he said with a laugh as he shook his head.

Chaya sat forward on the bench with interest. "How do you know this?" she asked intently.

"Well, one of our people, Kai, we sort of took her in after she helped us. It turns out her people, the Mortii, are direct descendants from the 'Warrior Ancients'. She's nearly genetically identical despite thousands of years. It's very exciting."

"Does she-" Chaya started to ask, but the infirmary door hissed open in that moment and John stuck his head in. 

"Are we done?" John asked smiling at Chaya.

Chaya turned back to Beckett. "Are we?"

Becknett turned back to Chaya. "Healthiest patient I've ever had," he said with a warm smile. "Off you go, love."

Chaya touched his arm as she passed him, giving it a warm squeeze. She met John at the door.

"Shall we?" he asked offering her his arm.

She smiled in appreciation and followed John on a tour of Atlantis.

><><

That evening John ran into Teyla as the two of them were leaving the mess hall. Teyla had two bottles of water in hand and John was carrying a large basket.

"Hungry Major?" Teyla asked, glancing meaningfully towards the large parcel of food.

"Well..." John began uncomfortably. His eyes widened, he felt like a teenager getting caught out after curfew. "Ah-Doctor Weir wanted me to make sure Chaya saw everything," John explained to Teyla.

"Everything?" Teyla asked in surprise.

"Well not everything, everything," John admitted shifting the basket to his other hand. "Chaya mentioned she wanted to see the best view of the city at night which I think is the top of the southwest pier, and since it's such a long walk, I thought I would bring alone a few provisions-" he rambled. He wasn't sure why he felt like he had to justify himself to Teyla, but he did.

Teyla suppressed a smile. "Continuing our efforts to secure a treaty," she finished for him.

"Exactly," John said quickly.

"As our ambassador," she teased.

John nodded too many times, resting his hand on his chest. "I am an ambassador and she is a...diplomat."

Teyla nodded knowingly. "On a late-night...picnic?" she clarified.

John's eyes widened guiltily. "Yes," he said slowly.

Teyla chuckled and then stopped, turning to face him with a serious expression. "I know that as ranking military officer here on Atlantis, that you feel a heavy burden of responsibility..."

John nodded uncomfortably, he wasn't quite sure where Teyla was going with this.

"But you are allowed to have feelings for others," she pointed out, knowing full well the major would be uncomfortable at even the thought of discussing those feelings.

John chuckled nervously. "Oh, no...this is a...ambassadorial, diplomatic... picnic... outing... thing..." he dragged off, shrugging nonchalantly.

"-without having to justify them to any one else." She filled in meaningfully.

John chewed on his lip. Chaya was a beautiful woman who was obviously interested in him. He had spent the day with her, but this felt different.

"If you'd excuse me," Teyla said as she realized how uncomfortable the Major had become. "I'm going to be late to spar with Kai."

"Zian..." John said continuing to nod as his thoughts flickered to the mortii. He scowled as he thought about her. He wasn't sure why he was suddenly so uncomfortable. "Good, good," he dragged off. He cleared his throat and his eyes flickered down the hall towards freedom.

Teyla smiled knowingly. "Good night Major," she called teasingly. "Good luck."

John kept nodding as the other woman walked away. "Right. Good night Teyla..." he said

><><

John and Chaya were sitting out on the blanket he brought on the southwest pier staring up at the stars as they ate their Ambassadorial diplomatic picnic. He had been around plenty of gorgeous women before, but there was something odd about Chaya, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. It should have been a romantic moment, but John had been tense since he ran into Teyla.

"Mmm," she said appreciatively. "This is delicious."

"Well appreciate it while you can, because it's the last one we got," he said with a smile.

"Then I am honored," she said smiling.

John reclined back on his side, trying to force himself to be comfortable. "When McKay finds out he's going to kill me," he joked.

"Athar will save you," Chaya promised with a flirty smile.

"Oh, good," John said, flashing her his most charming smile. There was something off. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it. Here he was, laying out under the stars with a beautiful woman and he just wasn't focused.

Chaya took another bite. "Such wonderous things, I can't imagine doing anything but wanting to eat all the time with such a variety of foods."

"Well, we manage to pull ourselves away somehow..." he dragged off, rubbing at the center of his chest.

Chaya watched him with interest, her eyes narrowing slightly. When he became distracted she quickly changed the subject. "I've been learning much about earth. Doctor Weir got me on one of your information machines."

John arched his brows. "Elizabeth's got you on a computer already, huh?" he asked.

"I am fascinated by your many religions. So many beliefs. So many philosophies."

"Yeah," John agreed noncommittally, popping food into his mouth so he wouldn't have to talk about religion. He wasn't an atheist, he had seen too much to be able to definitively rule anything out, but he had no time for organized religion. In his experience it just gave people another reason to go to war.

"So many contradictory faiths," Chaya continued, seemingly unaware of his discomfort.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a mess," he agreed sitting up. He picked up the jug of Athosian wine. "More?" he asked.

"Yes, please," she said with a smile.

He leaned forward and filled her glass. "We ah, traded for grapes. The Athosian's, Teyla's people, they make this on the mainland."

Chaya stared into John's eyes as she sipped her wine. There was something in the way that she looked at him that reminded him of something. He couldn't quite place it however, and whenever he tried to focus on it his thoughts scattered.

"I wasn't completely truthful with you about something," Chaya confessed. "On Proculis, when I told you that I do not feel lonely...coming here, and being with you...it reminded me of what it was like not to be alone..." she dragged off sadly, looking up at the stars.

The lights from the city illuminated her honey skin and chocolate colored eyes, but John caught his mind wandering to another set of eyes. He pushed himself to his feet, banishing the thought immediately, he couldn't even considering the idea. He refocused on the beautiful woman in front of him and how to get himself out of the situation he had managed to get tangled in.

"You know," he said brushing his hands off on his pants. "It's getting late and it's a long walk back to the tower..."

Chaya's mouth flattened and she looked confused for a split second before she rose elegantly to her feet. "Of course," she said with a demure smile. "Lead the way John."

><><

Kai had finished up in the jumper bay and gone straight back to the gym to meet Teyla. She was exhausted, but all day long the headache had been nagging at her. She had thought sparring would help ease the tension but it had only made it worse. Now she found herself wandering the halls of Atlantis late in the evening. She scrubbed a hand over her eyes. She had hoped a walk would clear her head and allow her to get some sleep, but it didn't seem to be helping. Her favorite spot in the city was the southwest pier, perhaps some fresh air would ease the pain.

"Kai," McKay said in surprise as she stepped around the corner. "What are you doing up so late?" he asked glancing behind her.

"I have a migraine," she said. "Was hoping a walk would clear it up," she said suspiciously. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Oh same, same," he stammered. Kai arched a brow and he grunted. "Just...helping keep and eye on our guest and Major Sheppard."

"Major Sheppard?" Kai asked, not understanding why the military commander needed McKay looking out for him.

He nodded distractedly as the door to the pier hissed open behind them.

Kai turned, frowning at the sight of the beautiful stranger accompanying Major Sheppard. Something shifted in her chest and she scowled. The Major held out his hand, ushering her ahead of him in an over the top show of chivalry.

"I know right?" McKay grumbled stepping up next to her.

"I'm sorry, what?" Kai asked, glancing towards the scientist.

"Well, we both know there's clearly more to her than meets the eye. I mean who is falling for her innocent priestess routine anyway?" He grumbled.

"Priestess?" Kai asked. "From what planet?"

"They call it Proculis," McKay informed her.

"Never heard of it," Kai said and her scowl deepened as she stared at the woman. As though she could sense her presence the woman turned to look at her. The woman's eyes narrowed for a millisecond and she turned back to the Major. She leaned into him, resting her finger tips against his chest. She said something in a low tone and he looked towards Kai and McKay.

Kai's headache was getting worse from her clenching her jaw.

"Quick look busy," McKay said pulling out his tablet and holding it between them. Kai looked down at the screen frowning at the virtual cards and the name written across the top.

"So THAT'S solitaire!" She exclaimed, pointing down at it.

McKay groaned.

"Teaching her to play solitaire McKay?" Sheppard teased as he and Chaya approached. "I knew that's what you science geeks did all day."

"Major," McKay greeted, shifting his tablet under his arm. "Chaya," he said nodding curtly in her direction.

"Chaya was curious about Kai, she wanted to meet her," John said by way of explanation.

Chaya stepped forward offering her hand. "It's wonderful to meet someone from another planet. Doctor Beckett tells me your people are descendants from the Atlantians."

"According to legend," Kai said frowning as she looked back and forth between McKay and the Major. She wasn't sure where the tension between them was coming from. She took Chaya's offered hand and stiffened.

Chaya's eyes were intense as they stared into Kai's. Kai wanted to look away, but she was rooted to the ground. She grimaced, but Sheppard was too busy giving McKay a hard time for either of them to notice.

Kai's heart started thundering in her ears. Instead of the hard telepathic nudge she had experienced recently it felt like a drone exploded behind her eyes and ears. She sucked in a breath as pain radiated from her temples. She would have collapsed to her knees if she weren't locked in place by an invisible force.

Chaya stared at her, looking startled. "You-" she started to say, but John turned back to her.

"Ready to get going?" He asked. "It's getting late, and I'm sure McKay and Zian have a lot of work to get done."

Chaya yanked her hand back as though she had been burned. "Yes, lets," Chaya said quickly turning back to John, and the two of them walked off.

When they were about a hundred feet away the pressure released in Kai's mind. She staggered forward and would have fallen had McKay not caught her arm.

"Are you okay?" He asked in confusion.

Kai was panting as she stared after the two of them. "I think you're right McKay," she grimaced and a small trickle of blood came out of her nose.

McKay's eyes widened. "I think we should get you to the infirmary."

><><

Chapter 26

><><
Sanctuary Cont
><><

"I'm fine McKay," Kai assured Rodney for the hundredth time although she didn't sound too convincing even to her own ears. Her headache had turned into a debilitating migraine and blood was still flowing from her nose. She had wadded up her jacket to try and stop the flow, but it wasn't helping.

"Last time you said that you nearly collapsed," McKay argued. He had Kai's arm over his neck and was supporting her as the two walked slowly towards the infirmary. It was a long walk to the tower from the Southwest pier and he was already huffing and out of breath. "I'm either taking you to the infirmary, or we can call Beckett to send a gurney."

Kai wanted to argue. Her pride demanded she at least walked by herself but the truth was McKay was right. Whatever had happened had her equilibrium completely thrown off, she couldn't balance on her own. She was dizzy and every small movement made the lights streak and her head swim.

"I can call someone else McKay," she said, gritting her teeth against the pain.

"Who's going to come this far out, Captain Kirk?" McKay muttered in disgust. "He's a little busy with our guest."

Kai frowned as she panted against the pain. "Who is Captain Kirk? I haven't met him."

"He's-" McKay started to explain and shook his head. "It's not important. Let's keep moving. We need to get you to Beckett. It could be an aneurysm or concussion or-" Kai sagged unconscious in McKay's arms and it was all he could do not to drop her. He lowered her to the ground and reached up to activate his radio. "This is McKay! I have a medical emergency on the Southwest Pier!"

><><

"Obviously this was Chaya!"

Kai groaned as she came awake to the sound of McKay's raised voice.

Weir's reply was stern. "We don't have any evidence and we can't go around accusing-"

Every small noise was a painful stab in her temples. Stealing herself against the lights Kai's eyes fluttered open. She was laying in a bed in the infirmary. Beckett appeared at her bed side. "Welcome back," he said gently. "How are you feeling?"

Kai grimaced and raised a hand to her temples. "Like someone tried to split my head open from the inside."

McKay made a noise of triumph. "See."

Beckett moved away from the bed obligingly and the lights dimmed.

Weir looked back and forth between Kai and McKay in concern. "Chaya did this to you?" she asked.

It took effort for Kai to lift her head off the pillow and the pressure in her head increased with the motion. "I can't say for sure," Kai said honestly. "I've had a headache all day. It just got worse after our encounter."

"So there's no concrete evidence that it was Chaya who caused this," Beckett defended.

McKay groaned. "Kai said it herself, she shook her hand and she couldn't move! Chaya left and Kai got a bloody nose and passed out. How is this not an attack?!"

"I don't know that it was an attack," Kai said turning to Weir. "It was something...it felt more like..." Kai shook her head. "I don't know, like she was trying to communicate with me maybe. She just kept looking at me like she was waiting for something."

Weir straightened and crossed her arms over her chest. "So you are telepathic?"

"Just..." Kai started to say and grunted as she realized she had once again been caught keeping things from them. "A little," she admitted.

"And you declined to mention it in your briefing," Weir accused.

Kai lifted her chin. She had been with them long enough now she was more confident in her place here. "So did you," she returned.

"Touche," Weir agreed.

Kai grimaced and leaned back against the pillows.

"But you're saying you've psychic abilities?" Beckett clarified. "Like the scans show?"

Kai opened her eyes, squinting against even the dim light. She held up her two fingers close together. "Just a little. I can't actually do anything useful with it."

"Define useful..." Weir said with interest.

Kai shrugged. "According to our histories some Lantians could read minds, move objects, some histories suggest the most powerful of them could predict the future."

"And your people?" Weir asked.

Kai shook her head. "My caste is only taught to defend ourselves from telepathic attack. I can sometimes sense when the Wraith are communicating telepathically, or trying to implant images in another's mind, but I can't do anything about it..."

"So you can sense telepathy?" Beckett asked with interest.

"Worst super power ever," McKay grumbled, but everyone ignored him.

Kai shrugged. "Only sometimes. It isn't something valued nor bred for in my caste. Zian's are prized for physical prowess over mental abilities."

McKay looked disgusted, but Weir had tilted her head in interest. Kai knew the Doctor's fascination with Ancients and in the interest of being one hundred percent honest, she continued. "But there are stories," Kai began, "Rumors about the Outland tribes, the Mortii not tied to the Grand council or The Academy. They are only beholden to the tribunal. They reproduce the natural way-"

"Instead of the unnatural way?" Mckay interrupted frowning in disgust.

Kai turned to him and lifted her chin. She wouldn't apologize to him for her culture. "Instead of artificially, in labs," she corrected. "They choose mates and can become what the stories call Bonded. The Bonded can share a telepathic link."

"Interesting," Beckett said thoughtfully. "And you've never-"

"Bonded?" Kai asked. "No."

"That's a quick reaction," Weir observed.

Kai shrugged. "In my caste taking a mate is forbidden. Attachment of any kind is looked upon as weakness and as I understand it, Bonding requires a deep emotional connection. Absolute trust. Absolute loyalty. Once Bonded it is never ended nor repeated. You Bond for life."

Weir leaned forward intently. "What if they die? Can you pick another?"

"It's my understanding you don't decide to be Bonded. You may choose a mate to spend your life with but that doesn't guarantee a Bond nor would a Bond guarantee a mate I would imagine," Kai replied.

Weir considered all Kai had said. She wanted badly to learn more about the Mortii and the Ancients that had led to the creation of such a culture, but there were more important matters at hand. "So you think Chaya attempted to communicate with you telepathically?" Weir asked after a moment.

Kai shrugged. "I honestly don't know what happened Doctor Weir. I was never very good at telepathy and my caste was not given much instruction. As I told McKay," she said gesturing towards Rodney. "I've had a headache all day. I was out for a walk when she said she wanted to meet me. I shook her hand and I couldn't move, when she left I could move again and then I passed out."

"Well," Beckett said thoughtfully. "You're scans came back clear, but I'm going to have to insist that you be given time to rest," Beckett said stepping forward and looking pointedly at Weir and McKay. "Whatever happened there appears to be no lasting damage," he held out a small container containing four pills. "Take these, they'll help you sleep and alleviate some of the pain. I've adjusted the dose to compensate for your physiology. "

Kai nodded gratefully and swallowed the pills dry.

Weir smiled warmly at Kai. "Try to get some rest," she said laying a comforting hand on the woman's ankle. Kai fought the urge not to stiffen at the contact. Weir was just trying to be reassuring.

"Elizabeth you can't be-" McKay started to rail.

Weir grabbed Rodney's arm and pulled him out of the room. "Rodney," she snapped glancing over his shoulder at Kai.

"It's not going to do any good," he told her. "She can still hear us out here."

Elizabeth sighed and pulled him further down the hall. "Kai needs to rest, but I think we need to get to the bottom of this, don't you?"

><><

Chaya and Sheppard walked into the conference room together. Even though it was the middle of the night Weir and McKay were seated at the table. John stiffened when he saw Bates was standing behind them, his hands clasped behind his back. He was wearing full tactical gear.

John frowned, looking over the three of them. Bates hadn't been out on a mission which meant Weir had asked him to arm himself. "What the hell is going on?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest. Chaya stood at his side, slightly behind him as though he would protect her from the others in the room.

Weir lifted her chin, and John recognized the composed mask she wore when dealing with an opposing leader, but Chaya wasn't their enemy. He really felt like he had been making progress over the course of the day to convince her to change her mind.

"We would like to ask the same thing," Weir said calmly.

Beside her McKay was practically squirming in his seat as he glared at Chaya. McKay had shown nothing but derision toward Chaya since she first showed interest in John back on the planet.

John glanced back at Chaya. Was this some kind of intervention? Nothing had happened between him and the priestess, but the grim looks on everyone's faces made it clear none of them thought that. Despite her obvious feelings and willingness, John had held back. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he had learned to trust his instincts and kept things strictly professional.

"Nothing happened," John said defensively, gesturing back at Chaya.

Weir arched her brows meaningfully but Rodney shoved himself to his feet, sending his chair rolling away behind him. "Oh yeah?" he challenged. "Tell that to Kai."

John froze, his thoughts whirling. "Zian?" he asked in confusion.

"Yes Major, she's laying in the infirmary after a run in with your little friend here," McKay said stabbing a finger towards Chaya.

"What?" John asked, he stepped back, putting distance between them so his back was facing the wall. His eyes flickered to Bates who already had his hand resting on his sidearm.

Weir stood as well. "We aren't accusing anyone of anything. What happened to Kai could have very well been an accident. I'm sorry Chaya we just need to get to the bottom of-"

"For gods sake Elizabeth stop apologizing," McKay groaned. "We know she did something to Kai." McKay said pointedly.

Chaya went very still. She glanced back and forth between all of them uncomfortably.

McKay narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "The question is, what and how?"

"McKay," John snapped sharply. Even if Chaya wasn't exactly what she said she was, they needed to tread carefully. She still controlled whether or not they could use her planet, and if she was powerful enough to do something to Kai then she was dangerous. McKay's bullheaded approach could push her over the edge. His hand moved closer to his gun.

"She's an ancient," Rodney declared suddenly.

John's head snapped around to McKay. "She's what?" he demanded.

Rodney ignored Sheppard and took a step around the table towards Chaya. "I'm right aren't I? The perfect health, the energy weapon, the fact that she has the gene. It's the only logical explanation."

"What in the hell are you talking about?" John asked.

Rodney shook his head, his thoughts racing so fast his mouth had trouble keeping pace. "I'm guessing you're right, Elizabeth, she wasn't actually trying to hurt Kai. You thought Kai was an Ancient, and just wanted to try and talk to one of your own, didn't you?" Rodney demanded.

Chaya looked down at her hands.

"I just don't understand the act," McKay said, his tone more gentle. "I mean you must know we would give just about anything to talk to you, to learn from you. I mean what is it? Were you checking us out?"

Chaya lifted her chin. "I see that in my desire to come to Atlantis I have revealed too much of myself."

"He's right?" Weir and Sheppard asked in unison.

Chaya nodded. "I am what you call an Ancient. And it is also true that I can never offer your people sanctuary.   But you are wrong as to why I came here."

"Why did you come here?" John asked more gently. If she really was an Ancient the amount they could learn from her was incredible. He couldn't believe one was still alive. It had been over ten thousand years since Atlantis fell.

"I have lived in solitude for so long that when the invitation was extended for me to come to Atlantis, I-" she shook her head. "I shouldn't have," she quickly admonished herself. "And then when I heard...but if you would permit me, I wish to take back the damage I've done to your friend."

"You mean Kai?" Weir asked cautiously.

Chaya nodded. "I did not mean to harm her. I heard about her people from Doctor Beckett, and when I saw her, she was so much like my people I believed I could communicate with her, as we did so long ago. I was wrong. I did not realize I damaged her."

Chaya rose to her feet and looked over at them all. "I am sorry for the deception." Then she disappeared in a swirl of light and energy.

John was the first to recover. He whirled around and bolted towards the infirmary. He footsteps pounded loudly down the halls. When he reached the infirmary the doors hissed open. Kai was on her feet, swaying slightly as she struggled for balance. Her back was to the door but he could see the knife in her hand.

"Major," Kai said in a low voice without needing to look. Even through the haze of drugs Beckett had given her she could hear him.

"You will not need that," Chaya said serenely. "I am not here to hurt you. If you will permit me, I would like to heal the damage I wrought." She reached for Kai, but Kai pulled back, tripping over her feet as she tried to get away.

Kai kept her eyes locked on the threat in the room. She immediately felt better having the major standing with her. The sedative Beckett had given her made it difficult to focus. "I don't want her to touch me," Kai said in a low voice and she stumbled.

John stepped up behind her, catching her arm in one hand to steady her as he drew his gun with the other. He wasn't convinced Chaya was his enemy, but he wasn't going to let her anywhere near Kai again either.

"Please," Chaya was saying, holding her hands out as she took another step towards her.

John glanced down at Kai. Her face was pale and pinched with pain. There were dark bags under her eyes. She looked so vulnerable, standing in bare feet as she faced off against the Ancient woman and yet she gripped the knife determinedly and refused to back down. It made something tighten in his chest.

"Don't touch me," Kai warned through gritted teeth, she flinched as she felt a telepathic shift. Instead of the attack she was expecting however, it was the familiar gentle bump.

Chaya stopped moving, she looked back and forth between Kai and John frowning. She opened her mouth to say something, but Beckett stepped into the room behind her.

"I think it best you listen to her lassie," Beckett warned, the Scot puffed himself up threateningly as he glanced towards where the Major was supporting Kai.

"Chaya-" John started to say.

"It's all right," she said nodding sadly. "I've stayed here long enough," she said and she moved to leave the room.

Beckett came forward and took Kai's arm. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Kai nodded. "Yeah," she said. She reached to slide the knife back in place but she missed the sheath. John took it from her with gentle fingers. "I think I need to lay back down," she said.

"I think that's a good idea," Beckett agreed as he helped Kai slip beneath the covers.

John stood back waiting. "Is she okay?" he asked seriously. "She seemed-"

"She's fine," Beckett assured him. "She has three times the amount of sedative in her system it would take to put you down."

John's eyes widened. He turned back towards the door. "I should-"

"Go," Beckett told him. "We'll be fine."

John nodded grimly and ran down the hall after Chaya.

"Chaya wait," John called trotting after her. Chaya paused and turned to face him. "You and your people are the reason we came here in the first place," he said.

"John I-" she started to say and she paused frowning. Her body went rigid and her eyes had a far away look to them. "I can't-" Chaya said, shaking her head suddenly. "I can't," and she collapsed. She would have hit the floor if John hadn't caught her. "No," she said pushing away from him.

"What the hell was that?" John asked.

"They're coming for them," she said her eyes widening in fear. "I should have never left them."

Weir and McKay rounded in the corner, both of them breathing heavily.

John grabbed Chaya's arm, spinning her around to face him. "What's going on," he demanded.

"I'm sorry John," she said and she stepped back away from him, her form shimmered until it was one of pure light and disappeared.

"Doctor Weir! We have gate activation," a voice came through the comms. "We can't shut it down!" Only a second later the voice came back. "The gate has shut itself down."

Weir and John turned to one another, their eyes wide.

"What just happened?" Doctor Weir asked.

"There's only one way to find out," John said, turning towards the jumper bay.

Weir nodded. "Go!"

><><

John came through the gate in time to see a large bolt of energy rise up through space and destroy an entire fleet of Wraith ships. He let out a low whistle. He had a pretty good idea now of who was responsible for the impressive weapon. He set the jumper down near Chaya's remote temple. The entire place seemed deserted. He turned to check upstairs when he heard movement behind him.

He whirled around, his hand landing on his gun. He relaxed only a small amount when he saw her behind him.

"Is it Chaya? Or Athar?" John challenged. "Just curious," he added sardonically.

Chaya stepped towards him but stopped when he tensed. "When I was a mortal I lived here, this was my home. When those of use who you call The Ancients Ascended we were supposed to leave behind us all human ties. Some of us found that difficult."

"So you couldn't stand by and watch your people get wiped out by the Wraith," John filled in for her.

Chaya nodded solemnly. "When their terrible fleet approached I lashed out with my mind and with a single thought destroyed them all. The others of my kind did not approve of such interference of corporeal matters. And so I was exiled. My punishment was the unending protection of this planet."

John scowled at her. "Why pretend to be human at all?" he asked suspiciously.

"So that from time to time I may walk among the people, know them as the good, kind souls they are. For thousands of years I have come and gone from the villages never staying too long nor allowing myself to get attached to anyone. I am permitted to safe guard my people, but my people only. This is my punishment. This is what makes it punishment. I can never give you what you desire. If your people came here for my protection, the others would stop me. Do you understand? I can never help your people." she said turning away from him.

"I'm not willing to walk away that easily, there's so much more we can learn from you."

"I can't John," she said. "The others won't allow it," she said.

"That's just-"

"Their highest law is to never interfere. I am bound by those laws. However much I wish to help you," she said sincerely and she looked down at her hands as though she didn't recognize them. "I did not mean to hurt your friend," she reached out and caught John's hand. She paused and a ghost of a smile crossed her face.

"What?" John asked, frowning at the dreamy smile on Chaya's face.

"You have been so guarded," she said. "Had I not looked into her mind and seen you together I'm not sure I would have seen it myself."

"Seen what?" John asked in confusion.

Chaya smiled at him. "A Bond," she said simply. Then she flashed him a radiant smile and faded in a shimmer of pure light. 

><><

Chapter 27

><><

The Brotherhood

><><

Kai slid out from under the console she and Zelenka were working on as the gate activated. "Off world activation!"

Doctor Weir trotted in from her office. "Is the shield up?" She called.

"Yes ma'am."

There was a paused and then static crackled over the radio. "Atlantis, this is Sheppard."

Elizabeth frowned, AR-1 had been off world for the last two days searching for a ZPM at one of the addresses her past self had provided them. She moved over to the main console activating her radio. "John? This is Weir. You weren't due for a check in for another five hours, what's going on?"

The static distorted the Major's voice but not so badly they couldn't understand him. "We think we're on to something here. It looks like the Ancient priests left some kind of scavenger hunt to find the ZPM. We need all the digging and excavating equipment as well as all the man power we can spare."

"We've got a situation here Major. Nothing too serious, but with Bates off world with a team of marines and the discovery of a new scanning system I don't have a lot of bodies to spare. You can have Kavanagh's team and maybe Kai if Zelenka can spare her."

Weir cut her eyes to where the two were working. Zelenka leaned in to speak quietly with Kai and they both turned to Weir and nodded.

There was a long pause. "I'll take Kai and some shovels. You can keep Kavanagh."

Weir chuckled. "Understood Major. We'll gather the necessary supplies and send her through."

><><

Kai stepped through the gate less than an hour later pushing a cart of excavation equipment ahead of her. When the wormhole closed behind her Major Sheppard and Teyla were waiting. They were both wearing short sleeves and still looked overly warm in their tactical gear. The Major's eyes were covered in his aviator sunglasses.

"Welcome to sunny Sudaria," he said with a smile.

Kai glanced around, there was no evidence of civilization in sight. she had received only the shortest of briefings over what AR-1 was doing on the planet, but she had been eager to spend some time off world. There was only so much she could do when it came to the computer systems of the city and she felt like she was in the way. Here she could at least help.

"I hope you enjoy digging," the Major said wryly.

Kai hoisted the shovels over a shoulder. "Do we need anything else?" She asked.

John shook his head. "Not yet."

"Lead the way Major."

Sheppard flashed a smile and the three of them headed off into the woods.

"So you haven't had any luck locating the ZPM?" Kai asked, glancing over at Teyla.

Teyla shook her head. "The Sudarians call it the treasure of the Quindosim. The Brotherhood of priests left clues behind as to it's location. There are nine stone markers that have been buried in a grid a pattern. McKay and Ford are with the local historian at one of the grid sites now."

The three of them reached the location and the Major roped off the area in their part of the grid. The three of them each took a shovel.

Kai frowned. "So is there a plan...or do we?"

Sheppard snorted. "You now know exactly as much as the two of us. Pick a spot where you feel lucky."

They dug most of the day. Hours later the Major's shovel clanked against something. "Hey check this out," he called. Both Teyla and Kai moved over to see him lifting a small stone box from the dirt. He dusted it off and opened it to reveal a small three inch by three inch flat stone.

"It is one of the sacred stones," Teyla said with a pleased smile.

Sheppard snorted. "More like sacred coaster," he said tucking it away. "All right," he said pulling out a map from one of his vest pockets. "Let's pack it up and move to the next site."

They moved to the next area of the grid. As they walked together Kai sipped from her canteen. It wasn't as hot here as back on her home planet, but it was warmer than she was accustomed to.

"So what is all the excitement Weir was talking about back home?" John asked as he fell into step beside Kai.

Kai held out her canteen to him. He took it gratefully, his fingers brushed against hers as he took it. She tried not to notice and cleared her throat before she spoke. "Zelenka discovered additional scanners we didn't realize we had."

"Exciting," Sheppard snapped sarcastically. "Sorry to pull you away from it." he said handing the canteen back.

Kai chuckled. "Well, there isn't much I can do to help with those systems...plus, I couldn't in good conscience allow Doctor Weir to send you Kavanagh," she teased.

The Major chuckled. "I appreciate the thought."

><><

They worked until dark and Kai, Sheppard and Teyla returned to the ancient monastery. Sheppard led the way into the dimly lit main hall. McKay's team had already returned and Ford was sitting at a long table that was covered in books and papers.

Sheppard stepped up to another small table where McKay and the historian Allina were working. He laid the two stones they had recovered on the table.

"Is this it?" McKay asked, looking up at him.

"Well how many did you get McKay?" Sheppard snapped.

"Never mind," McKay muttered and moved away towards the large tapestry where Allina was standing.

Sheppard turned to join the others at the large table in the center of the room. The Sudarians came in with food. It wasn't anything fancy, but after a day of working in the sun the bread, dried meat, fruit, and wine were some of the best they had tasted. Kai began sifting through the papers in interest. These people had spent time with Ancients and although the pages might not reveal the location of the ZPM there was more that could be learned.

The group ate quietly together, all but Kai watching McKay's oblivious reactions to the beautiful historian's flirting.

"It's like watching Animal Planet," Sheppard said popping a grape in his mouth.

Kai lifted her eyes from the page she had been translating. "What's Animal Planet?" Kai asked in confusion.

Ford started chuckling. They were all exhausted and Sheppard's comment seemed much funnier to the young lieutenant than it actually was. He let out another peel of laughter.

"Never mind," Sheppard said in a low tone.

Kai sighed and went back to her translating.

McKay walked past them a few minutes later. "I'm heading to bed," he said briskly.

Sheppard took a bite of his bread. "Which bed might that be?" he asked with feigned innocence.

McKay hesitated for a minute and turned back to them. "What?" he asked in confusion.

Teyla chuckled behind her hand.

Ford leaned forward. "I think Allina might have a little crush on you Doc," Ford said holding his fingers up close together.

"She does?" McKay asked uncomfortably.

Teyla nodded. "It is very clear to all of us."

"It is?" he asked turning towards Kai.

Kai peered over the top of the page. "Even me," Kai agreed.

Sheppard snorted. "Well, everyone but you apparently."

McKay began fidgeting nervously. "Should I, um...are you sure about this?" he asked turning towards John.

"Yeah," John agreed, he leaned forward and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I'm very sure."

McKay's eyes were wide. "What should I do?" he asked desperately.

Sheppard hesitated and glanced back over his shoulder at McKay. "You don't know what to do?" he asked uncomfortably.

Rodney made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat, at once feeling embarrassed even having this conversation with the four people in front of him. Every one of them was attractive and no doubt had never had problems like this in their lives.

"I know what to do eventually," he said. "I mean, what should I do now? Should I say something tonight?"

John stared at the scientist in disbelief. He had never seen McKay so flustered. Nor had he ever been so sure he was going to see someone blow what was clearly a sure thing. He didn't understand why the hot historian was into McKay, but it was painfully obvious she was.

Teyla grimaced and looked away.

"Tell you what Casanova," he said turning back to McKay. "Wait until tomorrow. You'll be more on your game after you get some rest."

"Oh," McKay said looking a little disappointed. "Right, right. Good answer. Good night," he called a little too loudly and the historian glanced over towards him, a small smile on her face. McKay turned around to go to his cot and bumped into the door frame.

Kai took another sip of her wine to hide her smile. She couldn't imagine a woman being interested in the arrogant scientist. Teyla chuckled as Sheppard shook his head in disbelief.

Ford stretched his arms over his head. "I'm going to head to bed too."

"Myself as well," Teyla agreed following Ford.

John sat up a while and finished his wine. Kai was still reading and he found he was hesitant to go to bed himself. He watched as she poured over the ancient texts with a concentration he had only seen when she was working on Jumpers. The flickering candlelight reflected in her storm-grey eyes as she frowned down at the pages. John drained the last of his cup and stood.

"You good?" John asked clearing his throat. The wine made his limbs loose and heavy. He swallowed.

Kai looked up to see the Major pushing his chair back and rising to his feet. He was staring at her intently. They were both exhausted and she let herself hold his gaze a second longer than she should have. His hazel eyes were tired but there was a softness to his face she didn't often see. He confused her.

Kai nodded and quickly looked back down at the pages in her hands. "Yes, I was just reading their account of their encounters with the Ancients," she said looking down at the crumbling pages. She snorted and shook her head. "I don't know why."

John thought he understood. "Well, your people came from them, sort of makes sense," John said with a casual shrug. It was perfectly normal human behavior. He was about to say as much when he caught himself. Kai wasn't entirely human, and he had inadvertantly thrown that in her face before. He didn't want to hurt her feelings again, but it was a good reminder for himself.

She pulled her scarf off of her head and scrubbed at her hair with her fingers. He had never seen it loose like this before, it fell in soft dark waves all around her. The reflecting candlelight made it look incredibly soft. He quickly clasped his hands behind his back. "Well, get some sleep Zian," he said briskly.

"Of course Major," she agreed getting to her feet and stretching.

It felt intimate following the Major back towards their sleeping area, but it would have been more awkward if she stopped now and drew attention to it. The strange tension between them was already uncomfortable enough.

When they reached the area she saw McKay, For, and Teyla were all fast asleep. There were three cots along the back wall with two palates in the small spaces between them. Given the Sundarian peoples level of technology and wealth it was a generous set up for them to offer strangers.

McKay has taken the cot on the far left and Ford was sprawled on the one in the middle. Teyla was on the floor between the two.

"You take the cot," John said keeping his voice low so they wouldn't wake the others. He pulled down the zipper on his vest. "I've got the floor," he said shrugging it off.

"No Major, please," Kai started to argue. "You're-" she started to whisper but stopped herself.

"What?" He asked. The teasing gleam in his eyes made her chest tighten. She blinked and looked away uncomfortably. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her. She was just thankful the dim light made it impossible for him to see the flush climbing her neck.

"Well your body is more physically advanced..." she pointed out, fighting to keep the laughter from her voice. "Perhaps sleeping on the floor wouldn't-"

"Hey," Sheppard snapped indignantly in a whisper yell. "Are you calling me old?" he challenged crossing his arms over his toned chest.

"I-" she started to explain feeling the heat flush in her face again. .

"You're ninety," John said, then stabbed his finger into his chest. "Thirty-five. You take the cot old lady." John could barely contain his laughter. It had been a long time since he felt like he could joke around so freely with someone. She was so private when everyone else was around, but when they were alone Kai let him see her sense of humor. He liked it more than he should.

Kai chuckled and seeing the defiant set to his chin nodded. She knew better than to argue when the Major had his mind set.

The Major set his P-90 down beside his palate and laid down. He stretched his arms above him, using them to pillow his head. Kai swallowed as his shirt pulled up, leaving an exposed line of skin above his belt.

She turned away from him and shrugged out of her own vest. She laid down and climbed onto the cot self-consciously. Her people never slept this close to one another unless they were mated or family. The Zian certainly never did. Their heightened senses made it nearly impossible to tune out the others noises and get to sleep. As she lay down and stared up at the stone ceiling her own heart was thudding rapidly for some reason. It took a while for her to relax.

"Sleep well Zian," the Majors husky voice came through the darkness as though he could sense her discomfort.

She swallowed. "You too Major."

Eventually she found herself focusing on the sounds of her companions sleeping. Instead of being a distraction she found it strangely comforting to know she wasn't alone in the dark. She could hear the others breathing but only the Major was close enough for her to hear his heartbeat. It was a strong, steady rhythm that began to lull her peacefully to sleep. Just as she was about to drift off, she felt the comforting nudge in her mind and it was enough to push her over the edge into a dreamless sleep.

><><

The next day they were all at the last dig site together. John's team found the eighth stone early in the day and met up with McKay's team. They had been digging all day, but they hadn't found anything. McKay was so flustered he could barely manage to string a sentence together in Allina's presence.

"Major!" Ford called from the other side of the site where he and Kai had been working together all day. After the intensity he had felt between them last night John had been careful to keep his distance from the Mortii.

Sheppard swiped a hand over his forehead smearing sweat and dirt across his skin. "Tell me you found the stone."

Ford looked down, his brow wrinkling in confusion. "Not quite sir, but I think McKay should take a look at this."

It looked like the boxes that held the other stones, but it was much larger; two feet square with a symbol on top. They all worked to brush away the loose dirt so all the etchings were visible.

"It carries the mark of the brotherhood," Allina said excitedly.

"The writings in Ancient," Sheppard said standing. He glanced towards Kai. "Can you read it?"

Kai brushed away some of the remaining dirt. "It's a warning, it says only the Brotherhood of the Fifteen should enter the forbidden chamber of the...Quin-Quindosim?" she stumbled over the word. "I'm not confident about that translation..."

"That's correct," Allina agreed. "But...what chamber?"

Sheppard cocked his head as he stared down at the large stone slab. "You know," he said thoughtfully. "It sort of looks like manhole cover."

"A manhole cover?" McKay asked in disgust.

"Yeah, but you know, more Ancienty," he said with a wry grin.

McKay made a noise of disgust and was about to berate the Major when Kai got down on her knees. "There's a seam here. I think we could move it."

Teyla, Ford and Kai returned to the gate to bring more of the excavation equipment Kai had brought. An hour later they had a hoist tripod set up and were able to move the heavy stone slab. It was nothing but pitch black straight down into a long shaft. Ford pulled two glow sticks out of his vest. He cracked them and threw them down the shaft. They landed about thirty feet below bouncing on what looked like sand covered ground.

McKay looked back and and forth across the group of them. "So, who wants to go first?" When no one spoke up. "Sort of seems like a Sheppard thing, huh?"

The Major grunted but agreed.

Kai was the last to be lowered down. They decided since she was the lightest she would the easiest for Ford to lower alone. Kai stuck her foot in the loop and Ford began lowering her.

"Alright," Sheppard's called from below her. "You've got about another ten feet Ford."

"Roger that," Ford called back and he continued to lower her. Another few feet and the line went slack at the same moment Ford yelled.

Kai braced but two strong hands closed around the outside of her thighs, catching her before she fell more than a foot.

Sheppard grunted as he supported her weight. "Gotcha," he said. Her hands grasped at his to steady herself. "You good?" He asked.

"Yeah," she said a little breathlessly as she tightened her grip on his hands. She was completely dependent on the Major to keep her from falling.

John pulled her tightly against him, and slid her down the front of his body as he lowered her safely to the ground. Her fingers were warm against his where she held onto him. He grit his teeth. This was literally the opposite of keeping his distance. He helped Kai disentangle herself from the rope and looked down at her. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked forcing himself to let her go. She was being strangely quiet, even for Kai.

She nodded. "Fine," she promised.

He looked her over as though reassuring himself she hadn't been injured. "Good," he said nodding. He tilted his chin up. "Ford what the hell?"

The shadow of Lieutenant Ford's head appeared. "Shit, I'm sorry Zian!" he called down.

"I'm okay Ford," she promised. "The Major broke my fall." Kai wiped her sweaty hands on her thighs. She wasn't afraid of heights, but she wasn't a huge fan of falling. She hadn't expected the Major to catch her and she felt uncomfortable over having to be saved by the Major yet again. Although no one else seemed to find the situation odd she couldn't shake the feeling. She needed to put some space between them.

"All right, I'm sorry again. The rope slipped. I'll stay up here and keep an eye on the descender," Ford offered.

Sheppard nodded and took a step away from Kai when he noticed how tense she was. "Stay sharp up there. I'll let you know if anything interesting happens down here."

Kai dusted off her hands and moved into the ancient chamber. There was a large engraving on the main wall in front of a console. McKay and Allina started assembling the stones on the console and were conferring quietly together.

Kai paced around the room with Teyla looking over the walls and engravings for any clues.

"You know," John said stepping towards the two women. "This sort of makes me feel like Indiana Jones."

Kai frowned at yet another reference she didn't understand. "Who is he?"

McKay replied without looking up from the puzzle. "He was a fictional character who studied ancient cultures, usually destroying anything he discovered, and was all in all terrible at his job." McKay shifted the stones once more, frowning.

"Hey," Sheppard said indignantly. "He was not terrible at his job. He fought the Nazi's and always got the girl in the end."

Kai watched as McKay and Allina worked together, their foreheads only inches apart. She smirked and leaned towards the Major and spoke in a low tone. "It would appear Doctor McKay would be this Indiana Jones."

Sheppard turned to follow her gaze and nodded chuckling. "I guess you're right."

"I don't believe it," McKay said suddenly.

John moved over towards him. "What don't you believe?" he asked.

"It's a gate address. A six symbol gate address."

Allina cocked her head. "Yes I see it now," she agreed.

"Do you recognize the address?" Teyla asked.

Both McKay and Allina shook their head.

Sheppard sighed. "So the ninth stone is on another planet."

Kai went very still. She couldn't be sure with the others talking so loudly near her, but she thought she heard voices above them. She strode quickly towards the shaft and cocked her head as she strained her senses.

"Zian?" John asked. He picked up on Kai's discomfort immediately and he took a step towards her, his brow furrowed. All humor was gone as The Major took over. Zian's senses were better than any of theirs and he respected her abilities and instincts.

"I-" she started to say and two gun shots sounded above them. Sheppard jerked his gun up and ran to stand beside Kai below the shaft. He nudged her back a step so she wouldn't be first in the line of fire.

Kai moved willingly, for the sake of not wanting to fight the Major in a combat situation. She could hear their voices clearly now.

"Put the weapon down Lieutenant Ford," a strangely familiar voice called.

"Someone who knows him ," Kai reported tightly as she drew her handgun. "Ordering him to disarm."

"Ford?" Sheppard called loudly.

Kai heard the crack of a blow against flesh and she shook her head. "They hit him I think."

The same voice she had heard called out to them. "Major Sheppard, I'm afraid the Lieutenant has had to step away from a moment."

"Who is that?" McKay asked, his eyes wide with fear.

"It can't be," Sheppard muttered through gritted teeth. His eyes narrowed as he seethed.

"It's-" Kai started to say but Sheppard interrupted her.

"KOLYA!" he bellowed.

><><

Chapter 28

><><

The Brotherhood
(Cont'd)

><><

"Kolya!" Sheppard bellowed angrily.

Kai flinched at the sudden noise near her ear, but the Major's eyes were glued to the top of the shaft.

A moment passed and two Genii appeared in the outline of sunlight. Kolya was one of them. "Surprised?" He asked with a predatory smile as he leveled a gun at Sheppard.

"You're alive," Sheppard growled.

"As far as I can tell. Did you actually think a single bullet to the shoulder would kill me? Your shot was conservative," he said with a smile. "I've often wondered why that is..." he dragged off, his eyes traveled to where Kai was standing a little behind Sheppard. His smile widened as though he had been given a prize.

"What'd you do to Ford?" Sheppard called.

"He's fine," Kolya promised turning his attention back to Sheppard, and he cocked his gun meaningfully.

"Then what do you want?" Sheppard demanded.

"The same as you Major, the lost treasure of the Quindosim."

McKay let out a defeated sigh. John lowered his gun. "What possible use could that be to you?"

"The Daganians have informed us that this ZPM, whatever it might be, is an object of great power, and great power is of use to all people. Especially the Genii."

"Sanir," Allina hissed and she slapped the other woman. McKay pulled back in shock.

Sanir cupped her cheek. "They offered us a great reward Allina-" she started to say.

Allina pulled her hand back to strike again. Teyla moved to intervene, catching Allina's wrist before she could cause more damage.

Above them Kolya chuckled as though the dissent in their group amused him.

Sheppard shook his head in disgust and turned back to his enemy. "They're no use to you Kolya, ZPM's only work on Atlantis," he knew trying to reason with Kolya was useless. The man hated him on a personal level, and the feeling was entirely mutual.

"Perhaps," Kolya agreed. "But I prefer hearing that from a Genii scientist."

Teyla stormed back into view furiously. "We do not have it yet. We have not found the ninth stone." More than anyone the continued hostility of the Genii made her feel immeasurably guilty. She had been the one to introduce the Atlantis Expedition to the Genii in the first place and their betrayal of her trust felt personal.

Kolya snorted as though her temper amused him. "We have an unbelievably large tactical advantage over you," Kolya explained unnecessarily. "Now if you would rather I just cover up the mouth of this chamber and forget about the whole thing, I'm more than willing to consider if for nothing but the opportunity to kill Major Sheppard and his pet."

John stiffened as his eyes cut to Kai, but as usual her face was an expressionless mask. It didn't seem to bother her to be referred to as less than human by the Genii but it enraged him.

"She's right!" McKay called suddenly. "We're closer but we aren't there yet. The ninth stone is hidden on another planet. All we have is the gate address."

Kolya leaned forward, cocking his head. "Doctor McKay, so wonderful to hear your grating voice again. How's the arm?" he mocked.

McKay stepped up so he could glare up the shaft. "Do you want to keep trading barbs? Or do you want to find the ZPM?" he challenged.

Kolya shifted thoughtfully as through he were actually considering the question.

"Look," McKay said tightly. "Lift me out of here and I'll help you find it, but then you let me team go," he bargained. McKay new the chances of Kolya staying true to the deal would be slim, but they had to get at least one of them out of the pit, and he was the one Kolya would consider the least dangerous.

"Shut up McKay," Sheppard hissed in a low whisper.

"What, you got a better idea?" he whispered back.

Sheppard sighed. "No," he confessed, staring up at all the Genii soldiers pointing guns at them. They could easily move out of range but as Kolya had pointed out there was nothing stopping him from closing the chamber and returning in a month to search their corpses.

"Do we have a deal or not?" McKay demanded.

"You and the two local women will be raised out. Along with everyone's weapons and radios," he called loudly. He paused for a moment and stared down at Sheppard. "Major, I know what kind of weaponry to expect from your Mortii. When you disarm It, I had better see all It's knives in the bucket," he said severely.

John bristled but Kolya continued. "The rest of you will remain here. If Doctor McKay finds the ZPM the others will be let go. I give you my word," and he got to his feet and disappeared from view.

Sheppard was scowling unhappily. "Well," he snapped acerbically. "We have his word," he mocked.

"I don't see that we have much choice," McKay muttered. "I'll do what I can," he promised in a low voice as he stepped up to the rope. "I'm coming up!" he called loudly.

><><

Teyla was crouched with Ford as he slowly regained consciousness. The Genii had tied his unconscious body to the rope and lowered him down, none to gently. His head hurt and he was still groggy but he was waking up fast as he realized what kind of danger they were in.

Sheppard and Kai meanwhile searched every stone and crevice for another way out of the chamber.

"This is pointless," Sheppard complained after nearly an hour of searching. "There are no trap doors or hidden passageways."

"There may be more than one way in here Major," Teyla gently disagreed. She helped Ford limp over to where their packs were leaning against the far wall.

Sheppard shook his head. "If you're trying to hide a chamber you don't put a bunch of entrances and exits all over the damn place."

Kai didn't necessarily disagree with the Major but she still kept up her search. She slid her fingers along the edge of another stone. "You'd rather just sit here and wait for them to come back?" she asked sharply.

Sheppard looked at Kai for a moment before he grunted. Kai was right. They needed a plan. He dragged his bag over to the others. "What do you have that we can use? I've got a couple MRE's, some ammo, and some med supplies."

Teyla unzipped her pant leg and pulled a knife out of her ankle sheath.

The Major smiled in approval. "Well, that's a start."

He turned to Kai. Without her tactical vest it didn't look like she had any more knives on her. He was sure her clothes were too tight to hide anything. Besides she had already given up five knives that they had sent up to the Genii, including her Blade. "You don't have-" he started to ask.

Kai flashed him a smirk and reached up under the back of her shirt and produced a knife. He nodded and opened his mouth to say something when she pulled another from her right boot and then yet another out of her left sleeve.

"O-kay," he dragged out the word. John let his eyes run over her once more, shocked she had been able to hide those. He paused for a moment. "Exactly how many knives do you usually carry?" he asked cocking his head to the side.

Kai smirked, "depends on the outfit."

Teyla chuckled behind her.

Ford dug in the top of his bag. "I've got a couple flashbangs, that's about it though," he said pulling two cylinders out and handing them to Sheppard.

"Flashbangs?" Kai asked, they looked a little like grenades with a pin on top, but were the wrong shape.

"They'll stun anyone with their eyes and ears open for about ten seconds," Sheppard explained.

Sheppard frowned looking from the shaft to the back of the chamber. He moved to the far wall and started digging in the dirt.

"What, are you going to dig our way out of here?" Ford asked sarcastically.

"Something like that, Ford give me a hand. Zian, see if you can hear anything useful up there."

"I'll need silence," she told them.

"Roger that," Sheppard said with a brisk nod.

Kai sat just below the shaft and closed her eyes, focusing intently. "There's three guards," she told them in a low voice. She could hear them chatting quietly together and walking around the shafts entrance.

She strained. "They're coming back."

"You're sure?" Sheppard asked.

"I can hear McKay from quite a ways off," she promised him. "His voice is...unmistakable"

Sheppard snorted. "You aren't wrong about that," he agreed. "All right, you guys know the plan," he said turning to Teyla and Ford. They both nodded. He turned back to Kai. "I don't know what those flashbangs will do to you. It's loud enough it will stun a normal-"

"Human," Kai finished for him.

Sheppard exhaled sharply. "Yes, a normal human. So you..."

"Understood Major," she said nodding sharply. She handed two of the three knives to Teyla and Ford. The she turned to Sheppard and held out her last knife.

John frowned down at her in confusion. She and Teyla were better knife fighters then he or Ford.

When the Major hesitated Kai grabbed his wrist and slapped her knife into his palm. "There's a good chance I'm going to be incapacitated along with the Genii. It doesn't make sense to keep weapons I won't be able to use."

John nodded understanding the significance of Kai handing over her knives. She was trusting them to protect her. Not an easy thing for her.

He snapped his fingers and pulled his aviators out of his pocket. He stepped up in front of her and placed them gently on top of her head. "Hopefully those will help," he said. "When it's time, get as far back there as possible, cover your ears and close your eyes." he stared down at her intently, wishing there was more he could do.

"Thank you Major," she said in a low voice, swallowing thickly in the face of his intensity. A gentle bump in her mind distracted her and she quickly looked away.

"Major!" Kolya's voice echoed down the shaft. Sheppard stepped away from Kai and back to the shaft opening.

"Oh hi," Sheppard called with false brightness in his voice. "Found it already?"

Kolya's jaw tightened irritably. "I want you and your team against the far wall with your hands on your heads," he growled. "If I see a hint of a threat I will not hesitate to shoot your companions. Do I make myself clear Major?"

Sheppard flashed an aggressive smile that had too much teeth. "Crystal," he promised and he stepped back to stand between Teyla and Kai.

The Genii came down the shaft with McKay and Allina. Three of the Genii soldiers leveled their weapons on Sheppard and his team. Kolya paced along the front of their line. He ran his eyes over each of them clinically as though he were taking the measure of them.

McKay ignored the men with guns as he and Allina stepped up to the console with the ninth stone. "I just assume we place all nine stones on the pedestal and have someone place their hands on the palm prints and we get the ZPM. The only question is what order do we put the stones in..."

"I think it's pretty straightforward," the Genii scientist, Pronos said impatiently as he stepped up to the console.

"Well, nothings been straightforward yet," McKay snapped irritably as he studied the stones.

Pronos motioned to the stones. "The last one is the only one with grooves that match the center position."

"So?" McKay snapped.

"So it fits snugly into place, complete the pattern and get the ZPM. Why would they continue to play games at this point?" Pronos said wearily.

"I don't think-" McKay started but was interrupted.

"McKay," Kolya snarled, leveling his gun at Teyla. "Quit stalling."

Teyla lifted her chin defiantly in the face of Kolya's gun as though she were daring him to shoot her.

"I'm not stalling, I just-" McKay stammered, swallowing thickly as Kolya threatened a member of his team.

Kolya turned to his men. "Pronos, arrange the stones and get the ZPM please."

Pronos listened to Kolya and as soon as he placed his hands on the palm prints metal cuffs snapped into place. They released him almost immediately, but there were deep burns in the center of each of his palms in the symbol of the brotherhood. Pronos blinked sluggishly and collapsed. The Genii quickly crouched over him.

"He's dead," Kolya said grimly.

Kai cut her eyes over to Sheppard. His eyes were hard and steely. They both knew something like this could send Kolya over the edge. Kai tensed, ready to intervene if he made a move towards any of their people. The Major bumped her shoulder gently with his own as though to reassure her. She glanced towards him, but his eyes were locked on Kolya.

Kolya stalked up to McKay. "You knew this would happen," he accused.

McKay lifted his chin arrogantly. "Yes, yes I did, which was why I was in the middle of telling you as much when you ordered him to activate the pedestal. You killed him," McKay snarled stabbing his finger towards the Genii commander. "Not me."

Kolya stared down at McKay a murderous expression on his face. After a minute he drew in a deep breath. "What's the correct order of the stones then?" he demanded.

"I don't know yet," McKay replied.

Kolya stalked over to where the team was standing in a line. "Well, you'll have four chances to get it right," he said running his eyes over them. He stared down at Kai for a beat too long and Sheppard tensed beside her. As soon as he reacted a pleased smile lit Kolya's face as he turned back to the Major. "You'll go first," he said directly John up towards the pedestal.

John started shifting the stones around, scowling down at the numbers. "Any time you want to-" John said in a low voice to McKay who stood next to him.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," McKay responded.

"We've tried one to nine, how about nine to one," John suggested shifting the stones once more.

"Possibly..." McKay said thoughtfully. "But Pronos was right. The center stone is the only one that locks into place. All the others must move around it. I'm trying to think of a sequence that makes sense with five in the middle."

"Fifteen," Sheppard said. "It's got to have something to do with fifteen, or nine...or five..." he dragged off desperately.

"Shut up, I'm trying to think," McKay snapped impatiently.

"I'm not going to shut up, my life's at stake."

McKay stepped up next to him and moved the stones around again. "Exactly so simmer down and let me save it," McKay said arrogantly.

Sheppard leveled a look of disbelief at McKay. "You ever heard the expression two heads are better than one?" He asked sharply.

McKay snorted. "That's a common misconception."

John looked over to Kolya. "Give me the gun, I'll shoot him myself," he snapped sarcastically.

"This is taking too long, choose and go," Kolya snarled, impatient with their bickering.

"What? You got somewhere you gotta be?" McKay challenged in disbelief. He just needed more time. If he had more time he could think of the answer.

"Choose and go," Kolya ordered. He turned to Kai. "I would start thinking. You're next Mortii."

McKay turned to Sheppard his eyes panicked. "I'm sorry I've got nothing."

"Thanks for the pep talk," John snapped, sharply. He licked his lips as he stared down at the numbers as though he could will them into making sense.

McKay pressed his lips into a hard line. "Look it's nine to one, that's all I can come up with."

"Okay," John said without really agreeing. "Step back," he advised. He cut his eyes to Kai. If she was next the least he could do would be to rule out a sequence so she stood a greater chance of surviving.

Her eyes were haunted as she stared at him.

"I'm sorry," McKay said, drawing John's focus back to him.

"Yeah well, I'm not dead yet," John promised him as he looked back at the stones.

"Yeah..." McKay agreed doubtfully. "Sorry."

"Now, Major," Kolya demanded, turning his gun so it was pointing at Kai's head. "Or I kill your Mortii this time."

Sheppard nodded, knowing his time was up.

There was a long pause. Kai closed her eyes and focused as hard as she could, trying to come up with a sequence of numbers that would make sense. The Major would die if they didn't solve it. He didn't deserve to die this way. The injustice of it sparked a rage in her like she had never felt before. It flushed her skin and her hands tightened into fists.

She had always hated numbers puzzles. They had been required at the Academy to hone their cognitive abilities. She remembered one similar to this. She tried to picture it in her mind.

Just like that it was as though she were staring down at the stones herself, but it wasn't her hands holding them in her mind. And just like that day in the academy the solution came to her. She held the image in her mind and opened her mouth to shout it to the Major.

"I've got it!" John suddenly exclaimed as he began moving the stones around. "The brotherhood of fifteen, the numbers one to nine can be arranged in a three by three grid so they add up to fifteen in every direction."

"You're right!" McKay exclaimed stepping up to the pedestal. "How did you know that?" he asked frowning as Sheppard easily arranged the puzzle.

"Just came to me. I sort of pictured it in my head," he said with a shrug as he rearranged the stones. "I like Sudoku," he added.

"Good luck," Kolya told John wryly. It was difficult to tell which Kolya wanted more; the ZPM or for Sheppard to die.

John nodded and laid his hands against the palm prints.

Kai couldn't breathe as she stared at him, waiting for something to happen. It had been so fast with Pronos, but the seconds dragged on into forever as she stared at his face for some indication they had been wrong.

There was a long moment of silence and then she could hear a faint grinding. One of the circular ornaments on the far wall shot out. Kolya chuckled and walked towards it.

While everyone else was distracted John turned to the team and nodded. Ford and Teyla lifted their feet off the flashbangs.

Kai flipped the Majors sunglasses down and as much as it pained her, she sprinted for the far end of the cavern as far from them as possible. She covered her ears with her palms and closed her eyes, but the concussion of noise was a physical thing. It threw her to the ground and everything went black.

><><

Teyla flipped both her and Kai's knife into the chests of two of the Genii guards. Ford charged the other. Sheppard went straight for Kolya. He jerked the gun out of his hand and punched him across the face. Kolya didn't go down, instead he only staggered sideways away from the blow. He slammed his palm into the Major's forehead. John reeled away, stunned for only a second before he slammed his fist into Kolya's stomach, kicked his knee out from under him and spun around, ripping the P-90 out of his grip. He leveled the gun at Kolya's forehead.

Ford and Teyla secured the other Genii's weapons.

"What the hell just happened?" McKay yelled.

"Kai?" Sheppard called. She didn't respond. He turned to the back of the cavern where she lay in the dirt. He swore under his breath. "Rodney get the ZPM," he ordered.

"It's a small miracle I can still make out shapes," he complained, but he did as he was told.

Sheppard squatted over Kai's prone body. He rolled her over with gentle hands. She shifted but was still out cold. He scooped her up in his arms and moved to the shaft. "All right, we're getting out of here. Ford, Teyla, you go up first. You guys can lift Kai out." He set her down gently, taking extra care to position her head. His actions didn't go unnoticed by Kolya.

John turned back to Kolya as Ford pulled himself up the rope. "I'm going to send a villager round to pick you up in about an hour," he told the Genii.

Kolya shook his head in disbelief. "The smart thing would be to kill me now."

Sheppard's eyes hardened and his muscles coiled as he stalked across the room towards Kolya. He leveled the gun at Kolya's temple.

"Major!" Teyla gasped but Sheppard ignored her.

He pressed the gun tightly against Kolya's temple. "You're right," he agreed. "I'll tell you what. I'm gonna want points for this in the future..." his smile was aggressive. "But if you ever do this again, I will kill you." Sheppard promised ruthlessly. "Deal?" he added with a charming smile.

Kolya leaned forward. "Tell me Major, are you mad because I almost beat you? Or because your Mortii was injured...again?" Kolya chuckled as he saw anger flash in the Major's eyes and knew his suspicions were correct. "You know, Cowen spoke so highly of It's skill, I didn't expect It to be so fragile. Perhaps you should ask for your money back."

John didn't hesitate, he fired the gun into Kolya's upper thigh. Kolya cried out, his body coiling around his injured leg. Sheppard stepped forward and used his boot to force Kolya upright against the wall. He stared down at the Genii commander as he panted in pain.

"Her name is Kai," he spoke slowly and clearly. He looked down at Kolya and reached for the handle of Kai's Blade that was tucked into Kolya's belt. "And I believe this is hers."

"Major," Teyla called to him.

Sheppard turned and strode over to them. Kai was blinking awake. She had shoved herself up onto all fours and was shaking her head. He reached down and caught her arm pulling her to her feet. She swayed and would have gone down if Teyla and Sheppard hadn't caught her.

"We good?" John asked briskly. The violence was still too close for him to be anything but The Major right now.

Kai nodded and groaned. "Let's not use those again," she said in a low voice.

John nodded. "You got it." He agreed. "Ford!" he called up the shaft.

"Yes Major?" Ford called back.

"Let's get the hell out of here."

><><

They were walking slowly back towards the gate. Kai was feeling better as time went on. She had a headache, and it felt like her ears were filled with water, but it was well worth it to get the ZPM McKay was proudly carrying.

"I thought we would never find one of those things," Ford said shaking his head.

"I for one am going to sleep pretty soundly tonight," Sheppard agreed.

"Not me," McKay said as he stared down at it in wonder. "I'm going to be up all night getting every system I can back on-line. Allina!" McKay called jogging to catch up to her. "I don't think I'll ever be able to properly repay you for this."

Allina smiled and turned to face him, her hand dropping to her bag. "You won't have to," she said pulling a gun and aiming it at Rodney's chest. Her people rose up out of the forest surrounding them with guns drawn.

Without hesitation Sheppard and Kai turned their backs to one another. Sheppard pointed Kolya's gun while Kai drew her Blade. Next to them Teyla and Ford had done the same.

"All right," Sheppard called As he stared into the faces of the determined villagers. None of them looked comfortable with the guns in their hands and he didn't want there to be an accident. "All right easy."

"Allina?" McKay asked in shock. "You involved the Genii?"

Allina shook her head. "This has nothing to do with the Genii. I'm a member of the new Brotherhood."

"Then what is this about?" McKay asked in disbelief.

"I am the new master handler. We thank you for helping us find the Portentia, but it must go into hiding again." She said handing the ZPM back to one of her people who quickly whisked it out of sight. "It will be put into hiding on another world and when the Ancestor's return our people will be greatly rewarded."

"Allina you can't believe that!" McKay said moving towards her. The others swung their guns towards them.

"It is time for you to leave." Allina said firmly.

><><

They had only just stepped back through the gate when Weir laid into them for losing the ZPM.

"Did you try to explain?" Weir started to ask.

"We tried," McKay defended. "Believe me, we tried," he emphasized exhaustedly.

"We could have used it," Weir said impatiently as she led the way up the stairs into the control room.

"Of course we could have," John agreed, he was upset about it to, but it wasn't like they handed it over willingly.

He was a little irritated Weir was berating his team so publicly over the failed mission. He was happy to accept responsibility, but it wasn't fair to blame them in front of the entire control room. Both Zian and Ford needed to be checked out by Beckett not be dragged into a debriefing.

"No, you don't understand," Weir resounded tightly. "While you were off world a wraith dart flew over the city."

John's eyes cut to the rest of his team and back to Elizabeth as she stepped up next to Zelenka and Bates. "I'm sorry?" He asked in disbelief.

Weir pressed her lips together.  "We lost a jumper along with Markham and Smith," she reported coolly.

"We what?" he demanded.

"With our only two real pilots off-world we didn't stand much of a chance. Luckily it didn't seem to be here to fight. It scanned us," Weir said crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

John's temper snapped in his eyes as he took a step towards her. As military commander he should have been notified immediately. "We just lost two of my men and a jumper and this is the first time I'm hearing about it?" He growled. He suddenly understood why she seemed so defensive. With him gone she and Bates had run the disastrous military op.

"I tried to reach you," she informed his briskly. "but you've been out of radio contact for twelve hours."

"We were taken prisoner!" he snapped.

Weir ignored him and glanced towards the computer screen in front of Zelenka. "Now, that dart sent a transmission deep into space and then it self destructed before we could get to it."

"Yeah," Radek agreed. "We scanned the area with our deep space sensors and-"

McKay shook his head in disbelief. "I'm sorry," he interrupted unrepentantly. "We have deep space sensors?"

"Yeah," Zelenka said. "It's a long story," he said with a wave of his hand.

Elizabeth sucked in a deep breath to steady herself. "And we found something else...rather unsettling."

"I'm already unsettled," John growled his eyes flickering back and forth between Zelenka and Weir. "Show me," he ordered.

Zelenka moved his computer over to one of the overhead displays. Je connected the two and seconds later three yellow blobs appeared on the screen.

"What are those?" McKay asked, but Kai already knew just based on their basic shape.

"Wraith hive ships," Zelenka said. "Three of them. The system analysis just got back..."

"Right," Sheppard interrupted sharply. "Where are they headed?"

Weir's voice was ominous. "If they maintain direction and speed they'll be over our planet within two weeks."

><><

Chapter 29

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Letters From Pegasus

><><

John was jolted out of the few hours of sleep he had managed to steal by something that sounded like thunder. He jerked up, his hand moving instinctually for the gun on his nightstand. His eyes caught the angry red glow of the alarm clock. It was 4:45 in the morning. Only one person had ever dared wake him up this early, and it usually meant Rodney hadn't been to bed.

The thunderous knocking came again and he groaned. He had been asleep less than three hours. He threw his covers off and shuffled to the door. He passed his hand over the controls.

"McKay I don't-" he was in the middle of saying when the doors hissed open. It wasn't McKay.

"Zian," he said in surprise.

Kai looked up from her tablet and her eyes widened. The Major was standing in front of her in nothing but a pair of athletic shorts. His hair was mussed from sleep. She quickly schooled her expression into the emotionless mask she had mastered over the decades. She forced herself not to notice his wide bare chest and instead locked her eyes on his face.

"Major," she said briskly.

Sheppard quickly crossed his arms over his chest. He had no idea why he suddenly felt so self-conscious. He had never been self-conscious a day in his life. But Kai was literally the last person he expected to be pounding down his door in the middle of the night.

"Zian, what are you doing here?" He asked after a moment. Once the initial shock wore off he realized she was still wearing the same clothes she had been the day before and there were circles under her eyes. She obviously hadn't slept.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," she said quickly. "But It's important. Zelenka and I finished going over the data from the deep space sensors."

"And this couldn't wait until the briefing with Weir in..." he uncrossed his arms so he could look dramatically at his watch. "Two and a half hours?" he asked sardonically.

"No," Kai said simply. "We need your help."

The grim expression on Kai's face had all the humor falling from John's face. "What did you find?" He asked seriously.

Kai pressed her lips together. She hated being the bearer of bad news, but Zelenka needed to keep working on the calculations. Every second counted. "It's what we didn't find Major."

><><

"They don't seem threatening as dots on a screen do they?" Weir observed cocking her head as she stared at the sensor's imaging of the three Wraith hive ships.

Zelenka crossed his arms over his chest. "We've been working all night collecting data from the sensors, but..." he shook his head gravely.

"It isn't enough," Kai spoke up from behind him. Weir's eyes lifted to hers and Kai pressed her lips together. She was strangely nervous bringing her idea to Weir. Her plan was dangerous and she knew she had given the leader of Atlantis plenty of reasons not to trust her.

John caught Kai's eye. It was strange for her to seem so uncertain and he quickly spoke up. "Which is why we need to do recon and see what we're up against first hand."

Weir looked over the group of them, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. It felt a little like they had already formed a plan and were just bringing her in at the end. "How?" Weir asked crossing her arms over her chest.

Zelenka turned back to this laptop. He hit a few buttons and the screen changed to show the Hive's projected trajectory to Atlantis. "Kai and I have been tracking their progress. The Wraith ships go in and out of hyperspace periodically," he shrugged. "We have speculated it is either because their hyperdrive technology is limited, or-"

"Or, they're stopping to feed along the way," John filled in grimly.

Weir glanced over her shoulder at Sheppard. She was used to the scientists stepping all over each other, but she couldn't help feeling like this wasn't the first time the Major had received the information. In fact, for maybe the first time he had beaten her to the briefing that morning. She didn't appreciate feeling managed.

Zelenka nodded. "Exactly. The point is, the pattern is predictable. I can guess with some certainty that they will be making stops here," he said leaning towards the screen. "Here, and here," he pointed out.

Weir narrowed her eyes. "Even so those ships are light years away. How do you expect to reach them by puddle jumper?" she asked looking back and forth between Kai and the Major. The plan was creative, but also risky. Her instincts told her this was their plan, even if they hadn't fessed up to it.

"We fly to a stargate on the route that Zelenka thinks they're going to drop out of hyperspace and we watch them pass by," John said with a casual shrug.

"That's good."

Sheppard smirked. "Well I have my moments," he said smuggly.

"It was Kai's idea," Zelenka filled in quickly. Behind him Kai shifted uncomfortably at the praise.

Weir snorted and nodded, not surprised.

John continued gesturing to the screen. "Well, we just need to decide which planet we should go to."

Teyla rose from her seat. She studied the options carefully before she pointed to the middle one. "I am familiar with the people of this world. Their stargate is in the open and thus accessible by ship."

"It will also give us another run at them if something goes wrong," John agreed nodding. It felt good to have something to do. He didn't sit still well, and the prospect of just sitting and waiting for the Wraith to arrive was unbearable.

"And you think you can remain undetected by the wraith as they go by your position?" Weir asked unconvinced.

John nodded determinedly. "Stealth mode, we activate it before they arrive. We sit tight, run the scans as they go past. They won't even know we're there."

Zelenka stepped forward. "The sensors in the jumpers are already fairly advanced but I've developed a more thorough program to detect all we can in a short burst. The sensors themselves should remain undetected to their own scans."

"Knowledge is power," Weir filled in.

Zelenka nodded. "Exactly. Kai can make the necessary changes, adapting the jumpers systems while they are en route, and run the program," Zelenka said confidently.

Weir's eyes cut to Kai who was standing behind Zelenka. The Mortii had her hands clasped behind her back, her face was grim and her posture rigid. It was the first time Kai had ever looked like a soldier to Elizabeth. She had seen the video of her sparring against Teyla. She had even seen her against the Genii, but somehow Elizabeth still had trouble reconciling that person with the quiet mechanic she had grown to like.

"You're comfortable going?" she asked her.

Kai nodded once briskly.

"Okay," Elizabeth agreed. This was a military situation and if John thought it was necessary that would have been enough. Having the support of Zelenka and Kia however made it absolute in her mind. "Go, get whatever intel you can and get back before Rodney sends his message. I need you here," she told John.

Sheppard nodded. "We won't even stop at the Duty Free," he promised with a tense attempt at humor. He spun around. "Teyla, Zian," he said meeting both their gazes. "Gear up. Meet in the Jumper bay."

><><

The Major was already in the pilots seat when Kai came aboard. She took the seat beside him and started connecting her laptop to the controls. She had felt uncomfortable around him since waking him up that morning and asking for his help. It seemed foolish for something like that to bother her, but she couldn't shake it. Asking for help was not something her people did. It was a sign of weakness to them, and Kai wanted very much to prove that she was strong enough to earn her place on Atlantis.

"How we looking Zian?" He asked after a long moment of silence.

Kai startled a little and looked up briefly before going back to her laptop. "Good."

John nodded. "Well that's good." He couldn't quite place it, but something was off with Kai. It had been since she pounded down his door. At first he thought it was just because she was tired, but now he was wondering if something else was on her mind. She seemed uncertain of herself. It wasn't a side he was used to seeing.

Kai cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Thank you for backing me up on this with Doctor Weir," Kai said in a low voice without turning to face the Major.

John spun his chair around in surprise. "It was the right call."

Kai nodded but kept typing. "I just," she started and stopped. "I know that Doctor Weir respects you. I realize it was ultimately her decision but you being willing to-"

"Zian," John said a little sharply, cutting her off.

Kai turned to face him reluctantly.

"Elizabeth trusts you," he explained unnecessarily. "She would have listened to you even if you hadn't woken me up at the crack of dawn," he added with a wry grin.

Kai pressed her lips together and nodded once, but she didn't look convinced. "I'm sorry about that," she said quickly.

John could sense how uncomfortable she was and he turned back to begin running pre-flight. "Did you get any sleep last night Zian?" he asked.

Kai didn't look up from her laptop. "I don't believe my sleep requirements are the same as your's Major," she said simply. "I volunteered to stay up and help Zelenka process that data."

He grunted. "Course you did," and went back to his work.

Teyla joined them a few moments later. "Are we ready?" she asked, looking back and forth between the Major and Kai.

She spent a great deal of time with both of them and she always found it interesting to see the two of them interact. There were times when they behaved as though they were old friends, joking comfortably together, but it always seemed to catch them off guard. Then they would go back to behaving as they were now, stiff and uncomfortable, like two soldiers working together only for the greater good. They confused her.

Once Teyla was seated John closed the rear hatch and lifted off. He lowered the jumper into the gate room. As they were rotating towards the gate Weir's voice came over the radio.

She stood at the balcony with her arms crossed over her chest. "On the off chance you get the idea to take the Wraith ships on yourself, Major, I am hereby ordering you not to."

"Believe me," John said with a snort. "You don't have to."

"Still..." Elizabeth pressed.

His response was sarcastic. "Don't take on an alien armada single-handedly. Understood."

><><

Kai activated the HUD as soon as they came through the gate. "I'm picking up a fairly large settlement just south of the gate," she reported. "Several hundred lifeforms are being detected."

"Yes," Teyla said leaning forward eagerly. "That is the village."

Sheppard set the jumper down a short walking distance from the village. The three of them stepped out of the jumper. They had a couple hours before the Wraith were due to drop out of hyperspace and Teyla had convinced The Major to stop and warm the people of the possible attack.

"Keep your eyes open," he said lifting his P-90 into his hands.

"I assure you Major," Teyla said resolutely. "These people are friends."

Sheppard cut his eyes over to Kai who nodded once briskly despite Teyla's word. They encountered children as they stepped out of the jumper. They ran up to Teyla laughing and calling out greetings. Despite the warm reception Kai kept her eyes on the trees. Thick forests surrounded the village offering the opportunity for a lot of cover. The Major had his P-90 in hand as he scanned the area as well.

Both Kai and John were tense and wanted to get on to the mission, but Teyla seemed perfectly content to laugh with the children as they led the way towards the village. The kids hung off of Teyla's arms, eager to see her. One young boy ran ahead. "Father!" Kai heard him exclaim. "Teyla's here."

An older man waved enthusiastically as they came over the rise of the hill. "Teyla!" he greeted warmly.

"Orin," she said with a welcoming smile. "It has been many days."

"Too many," Orin agreed as the two pressed their foreheads against one another. "Look at you, you're so different," he said taking in her uniform.

Teyla nodded in agreement but smiled reassuringly to her old friend. "Much has changed since my last visit."

The old man cast a knowing look at the Major, taking in their matching clothes. John shifted uncomfortably but didn't say anything.

Teyla was quick to introduce them. "This is Major John Shepppard," she said, and then she stepped aside so Kai was visible. "And this is Kai Zian," she said. "Kai, Major, this is Orin."

Orin laid a hand over his heart and bowed as John was about to offer to shake his hand. John pulled his hand back at the last minute so he wouldn't cause some kind of offense. Orin turned to Kai and repeated the gesture. When he straightened Kai returned it and Orin's smile was radiant. "It is wonderful to meet friends of Teyla's."Orin turned back to Teyla. "The harvest is still months away."

Teyla's eyes were troubled. She sincerely hoped her fathers old friend believed her. She had not considered the possibility of him not doing so until that very moment. "Yes, I know. We have not come to trade. But to deliver a warning. We have reason to believe the Wraith are on their way."

Orin and the others shifted in shock.

"We don't know that for a fact," Sheppard said quickly, trying to put the people at their ease. "We're about to go and find out."

"Yes," Orin agreed nodding. "It seems they are awakening everywhere."

Teyla reached out and took Orin's hand. "You should tell your people to take precautions in case they do come," she advised.

"I will," Orin agreed. "But you know as well as I do Teyla that the Wraith will track us down wherever we go. There will be no escape."

"What about through the stargate?" Teyla asked.

"The cullings are taking place on many worlds," Orin argued. "None are safe. Even we have taken in refuges," he said resting a comforting hand on the shoulder of one of the small children.

Kai stepped forward. "But not all at once," she said impatiently. "If you have refuges than you know of worlds that have already been culled. You could hide until the threat has past."

"Return to what? What would be left?" Orin challenged. His kindly eyes narrowing.

"Your lives," Kai pointed out.

Orin bristled. "And who are you?" he asked suspiciously. He was staring at the scarf that was wrapped around her head.

John moved as though he were going to put himself between them, but Teyla beat him to it. "A friend," she said firmly as she stepped between them. "If they do come, stay far from the stargate. Take your family to the far treeline and wait for us," she said with authority.

John frozen and swung back around to face her. Teyla-" He said sharply. They were here for a reason. They couldn't risk not getting the information back to Atlantis.

Teyla turned to face the Major. "One family John, that is all I ask," she implored, her wide brown eyes pleading.

The gathered group turned to John expectantly. Kai gritted her teeth. It was unfair of Teyla to put this type of pressure on the Major in front of so many people.

Despite the pressure Sheppard stood his ground and shook his head. "I'm sorry Orin, I can't make that promise."

"It will be the very least we could do," Teyla quickly pushed, turning her back on the Major.

Orin's eyes flickered between the two of them and he settled on Sheppard, waiting for his answer.

John sighed. "If there's time," he finally hedged.

Teyla smiled warmly. "Then we must hurry." She turned to touch her forehead to Orin's and when she turned back Sheppard and Kai had already started walking back towards the jumper.

John was stalking away with long angry strides. He was painfully quiet and Kai could practically feel the tension in the air. Kai had to trot to keep up with his long legs. She understood his anger. It was unfair of Teyla to lay that on him in front of so many people. They had a mission to complete and the lives of everyone on Atlantis hung in the balance.

><><

Chapter 30

><><
Letters From Pegasus Cont.
><><

The silence in the jumper was tense as John fired it up and they waited. Kai was careful not to draw attention to herself or his mood as she activated her controls. She didn't blame him for being upset. Teyla had been out of line. They may have been friends of hers, but undermining the majors command in front of strangers could be dangerous.

As soon as Teyla was in the rear hatch Kai closed it and John lifted off. Once they hit the atmosphere he cloaked the ship. Kai kept her eyes firmly on the controls, and tried not to notice the silence that hung between them. Sheppard and Teyla were normally on the same page, it was strange for them to be at odds with one another.

"This wasn't supposed to be a rescue mission," John finally said after a few moments. Teyla wasn't military so he had always awarded her more freedom than the others under his command, but he couldn't let this kind of thing slide.

Teyla looked up at him. "Orin is a good friend of my father," she said as though that settled the matter.

John nodded. "And I agreed to warn him. Which we did," he pointed out keeping his attention on the controls. He didn't often get mad, he liked to think of himself as a pretty easy going guy, but he didn't appreciate being blind sided especially by someone he considered such a good friend. "You should have talked to me about it first."

Teyla turned to John, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "If someone close to your family, a dear friend, was in danger of being taken by the Wraith, would you have not done the same?"

"Not if it jeopardized the mission." John's voice was sharp and left no room for discussion. This was not a point he could be swayed on. This effected not just their safety, but the safety of every person on Atlantis.

"Kai?" Teyla asked turning to her. She clearly expected Kai to side with her against the Major.

Kai skimmed her hands over the controls as she prepared to run full scans as soon as the ships were within range. "You are not going to like my answer on this one Teyla," Kai said grimly, then because Teyla had been kind to her and was probably the closest she had to a friend she turned to face her. "My entire life has been about the mission," she said honesty.

Teyla stared at Kai but she just couldn't accept her answer. She looked back and forth between the two of the in bewilderment. "But you both have families-"

"Not that I would be willing that sacrificed every one on Atlantis to save," Sheppard said harshly.

Teyla swung back to Kai, her gaze imploring. She respected and trusted both Kai and John. They were both friends and before today she would have said she knew them. Now she wasn't so sure.

"I was grown in a lab along with every other member of my caste. I was literally designed for this," Kai said without looking up. Teyla flinched, but Sheppard was careful not to react. She had detailed her people's reproductive programs to Doctor Beckett. She was sure the Major had read the report at some point.

Righteous anger flowed through Teyla. They were both missing the point and now the Major in particular was just being stubborn. "So in fighting the Wraith we are to give up that which makes us different from them?" She accused.

John's jaw tightened. It wasn't fair for Teyla to keep throwing accusations around, he hadn't missed the way Kai had tensed. Teyla could be as mad as she wanted but she didn't get to throw Kai's past in her face.

"Look, I agreed to stop and pick him up if there was time, but only if there was time." His tone was hard and he left no room for argument.

Kai glanced out of the corner of her eye at The Major. Honestly, the only time she had ever seen him allow any emotions other than humor rule him was when they faced Kolya. Teyla's accusations however bothered him for some reason.

Kai wasn't surprised. Teyla wasn't a soldier. She was a warrior leader for her people, and while she was one of the most capable fighters Kai had seen, Teyla's experiences with having to make the tough calls was limited. In so many ways Teyla was incredibly innocent. She didn't begrudge her friend that.

"I'd like to be saving everyone in the damn galaxy if we could," Sheppard muttered in frustration.

Teyla however wouldn't relent. Kai she could forgive, she was a Mortii, but she expected more from the Major. "One man and his children are not every person."

"I agreed to help if there's time. You can only fight the battles you can win," he snapped defensively.

A long silence stretched between them as John settled the jumper into orbit. "How we doing Zian?" he asked glancing towards her.

Kai rotated her chair and began typing rapidly on her laptop she had plugged directly into the ships sensors. "Detecting a hyperspace window...We are ready." She said, hitting the last key.

Directly in front of them a huge hyperspace window opened. Kai felt her eyes widen, it was the largest she had ever seen, but she didn't hesitate to activate the sensors.

"Whoa," Sheppard muttered. He leaned forward as the first hive jumped into view, followed not only by the other two, but an entire entourage of cruisers and darts. He let out a low whistle. This was so much worse than they thought. One dart had caused havoc in the city and destroyed one of their jumpers. It wouldn't take more than a single one of the nine cruisers he could see to overpower them.

John glanced out of the corner of his eye and caught Kai's gaze. Her face was grim. She understood what this meant. She held his eye until her computer beeped and she swiveled her chair away.

"Receiving data," Kai reported. Their goal was to get as much information from the scanners as possible in the least amount of time to minimize the chance of being detected. Once the scans were complete they could go.

"Done," she reported as the ships glided silently past them.

"Let's get this thing turned around," Sheppard said turning his attention back to the controls.

As soon as they turned they saw hundreds of Darts break off from the armada.

"They are headed towards the planet," Teyla said desperately as she leaned forward in her seat. She gripped the back of Kai's seat so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"We need to get back to the Stargate." Kai said. "We have our information."

"Kai," Teyla admonished. "We could-"

"Take on an alien armada?" John interrupted harshly. Teyla didn't respond. John pushed the Jumper to its max speed, headed straight for the Stargate. They broke atmosphere, and approached the village coming in just above the treeline. The sensors on the HUD were beeping wildly, warning them of the approaching ships coming in behind them.

"I'm sorry Teyla," John said grimly. "Even flying full out we're only just ahead of the armada. I can't risk putting down for Orin or his family."

"I see," Teyla growled tightly from behind them. She hadn't believed John would stop even if they had time. It angered her that he would even bother pretending.

But John wasn't paying attention to Teyla anymore. The darts were closing in on them, fast. There was no way to go through the gate while still in stealth mode so they were going to have to do this on the fly. They would risk detection, but they couldn't wait to get this information back to Atlantis. They had to prepare.

He turned to Kai. "I'll take us out of stealth mode for the pass through. Kai dial the gate."

Kai leaned forward and glided her fingers over the symbols. She was only on the fourth chevron when the ring activated.

"Hang on!" John yelled. "Incoming wormhole," he pulled the jumper up at the last second. They just barely missed the edge of the ring.

Kai swallowed, it had all happened in a matter of seconds. Only the Major's quick reflexes had saved their lives and prevented them from going through the gate to maker knew where. She quickly skimmed her hands over the controls. "Activating stealth mode," she reported.

"Thanks," the Major said quickly and he let out a tight breath. "That was close," he said to no one in particular.

It was closer than either one of them cared to admit. Kai cleared her throat. "The Wraith will sometimes dial in to prevent victims from using the Stargate to escape," she told him.

"So we're stuck here," John grumbled as he turned the Jumper away from the active Stargate.

"We should be perfectly safe in stealth mode," Teyla said tightly behind them.

John glanced at her over his shoulder. "I'm not worried about us, I'm worried about getting the intel on the wraith fleet back to Atlantis."

"They'll keep dialing in through the night at the very least," Kai said grimly. She pulled up the HUD. "The closest Stargate is at least four days away at sub-light. We'll have to wait them out."

"If we wait in the location that I told Orin and his family to meet us, then-" Teyla started to say, her voice carefully casual.

"That's where I'm already headed," John interrupted her. "Kai?"

"I'm not picking anyone up on the scanners yet," she reported. "But there's pandamonium in the village. It's difficult to tell if someone is running towards the rendezvous or just running."

Teyla looked back and forth between the two of them in shock. She couldn't believe how quickly they had switched gears from refusing to even consider helping her friends to scanning for survivors with scarcely a word spoken between them.

It was full dark by the time John set down the Jumper in the open field at the edge of the tree line. It wasn't the place he would have picked for a rendezvous, the line from the village to the Jumper was too open, but it's where Teyla told them meet. He reached under the console and lifted up a pair of binoculars. Kai looked at him and snorted. She pulled up the HUD and magnified. John shot her a look and she lifted her eyebrows innocently. John shook his head and focused his attention on the open field any survivors would have to cross.

"Come on Orin," John said tensely. "Show up."

Teyla was opening staring at him in disbelief.

"What?" John asked defensively, shifting uncomfortably.

"Not long ago you would have blithely left him behind," Teyla accused harshly.

John looked forward out of the view screen. "The situation has changed, he said simply as though that were the end of it.

Teyla shook her head in disbelief. "Earlier today Lieutenant Ford suggested we steal from a community of children."

Kai knew immediately what Teyla's problem was and she knew the arguement was bankrupt before it even began. She just didn't understand. She never had to. Kai could forgive her for that, but found herself getting more and more angry as Teyla continued to push the Major.

John bristled in Ford's defense. "That's because they have a ZPM and we could bring them back."

"Only to face death on Atlantis?" she asked sharply.

John stared into Teyla's face for a long time. Her wide brown eyes were narrowed into accusatory slits. Since he had first met her there had always been something there between them, but he had never moved forward. Staring into her angry brown eyes he realized what it was that made him hold himself back. She would never be able to accept him for who he was, for the decisions his position forced him to make. She was a leader yes, but the very nature of her people, their community and their relationship with Atlantis allowed her the luxury of being idealistic even in the face of the Wraith. He made the tough calls so she would never have to.

"Look, Ford and I are military. We've spent a lot of our lives learning how to survive-"

"I've spent my life surviving the wraith," Teyla interrupted passionately. She was not about to sit here and let the Major talk down to her.

John tensed, his jaw tightening with the effort of keeping his tone level. "Part of that training is knowing who you can save and who you can't."

Teyla scowled at him. "And that decision is your's alone?" She accused.

It was an old argument, one he had fought so many times with his ex-wife. Nancy had never understood that the mission came first either and just like Teyla she had tried to make him feel guilty over and over again. Eventually when the call would come John had learned to slip out of the house to avoid the fight. Eventually she had left, unable to cope with the man John had turned himself into to do the job.

It was like muscle memory as John's voice rose and his temper flared. Teyla was his friend but she didn't get to pass judgement on him. "I said I would wait for your friend if there was time. Now there's time," he scowled at her. "What else do you want from me?"

It felt like an intimate question and Kai tensed in her seat. She wanted to be anywhere but in the middle of this argument that felt so personal.

Teyla stared into John's hard hazel eyes and it felt like a part of her broke as she realized he would never, could never understand. She stared into his face and it was like looking into the face of a stranger. The Major simply ruled too much of John's life.

"Too much I fear," she said her voice breaking.

Kai glanced over at the Major and something in her chest tightened. For an instant he looked so open and vulnerable, she wanted to scream at Teyla for not understanding what she was doing. People like Sheppard made hard calls so others wouldn't have to, and Teyla was damning him for it.

John's eyes flickered to Kai's and they stared at one another. The accusation in Teyla's eyes was missing when he held Kai's gaze. Instead of the steely anger he had expected she gazed back with open understanding. She dipped her chin once, so subtly Teyla wouldn't notice and spun back around to her computer.

John sighed and turned back to the viewer. "It's going to be a long night," he muttered.

As they sat hundreds of darts whizzed around them, their beams activating as they dipped close to the ground. Some fired shots at the building in the town, forcing the inhabitants to run out into the streets to escape the blasts. They ran straight into the waiting beams.

Sheppard's tension grew with each passing minute. Kai could feel it from where she sat, it was like a tangible thing. He coiled tighter and tighter as his body demanded he do something. "This is hard to sit and watch," he said.

"There is nothing we can do," Teyla said hollowly. After her rant she seemed to have simply run out of energy. Her realization that she was never going to get through The Major to the man beneath had taken the fight out of her. In many ways she felt like she was mourning a piece of her friend.

"Oh we could do a lot," he growled, his eyes catching Kai's. He could see the gleam of determination in her stormy gaze. He knew she was itching for a fight, just like he was. "It would just be the last thing we do," he allowed, glancing back towards Teyla.

"We are far outnumbered, and the gate is still inaccessible," Teyla said tightly. Then her face softened as she watched how angry the Major was becoming as he watched the Wraith's destruction. "But," she added gently. "If we save Orin and his family we will have done something."

"Something," John agreed grimly.

As they watched one of the cruisers settled into position over the town. Sheppard leaned forward at the same time Kai magnified the viewer. A large beam activated from the cruiser It resembled the Dart's transport beams but instead of making fast sweeps it was a sustained beam.

"What is that?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

Kai shook her head. "I've never seen anything like it," she said honestly. "I didn't know cruisers could do that," she said leaning forward in her chair. She quickly activated the sensors to begin collecting data.

"I'm going to go check it out," John said climbing to his feet.

Teyla grabbed John's arm desperately. "You may be discovered," she said looking frantically back and forth between the two of them.

"I'll make it a point not to," Sheppard snapped back flippantly. His tone was more harsh than it needed to be, but he was on edge and needed to get out of the Jumper.

"Major-" Teyla started to argue.

"Look, I just want to see what...whatever that is," he said. "Just stay here and wait for Orin and his family show up," he said tightly as he picked up his gun. "Zian?" he called over his shoulder. "You up for a walk?"

"I'm with you," she told him and followed.

As soon as the hatch opened Kai was bombarded with the shrieking and crying of the villagers. If she focused she could pick up on individuals. She fought not to hear them as she followed behind the Major. He pulled out his life signs detector and led the way across the open field into the trees. The two of them prowled along the tree line edging closer towards the village.

Being out in the cool night air with a gun in her hand cleared Kai's head. It was a relief to be free from the tension in the Jumper. She and the Major didn't have to say anything. They moved through the dark forest moving closer to the beam.

The life signs detector let out a low beep. John looked down at the screen. He bit back the curse on the tip of his tongue, five wraith were closing in on them. He whirled around and grabbed for Kai. He moved so fast Kai dropped back into a crouch before her mind processed it was the Major and not an attacker.

John didn't hesitate. He pressed the two of them back into the shadow of a large tree. His hand closed around her wrist to stop her from a pulling a knife and attacking him before she realized it was him.

Kai's hand was on the handle of her Blade when the Major's warm hand wrapped around her wrist. She sucked in a breath, but let it out as the Major shielded her with his body. They were shadowed at the edge of the treeline as a Wraith patrol moved past them. She studied the patrol. It comprised entirely of soldiers carrying large stunners. She looked back up at the Major to see if he wanted to wait them out or fight their way to the village.

John looked back from the Wraith to Kai. He froze as he stared down at her. John was suddenly aware of how close Kai was. He quickly released her wrist. Their chests brushed as they waited for the Wraith to move on towards the city. Once he was sure they had moved away he moved to activate the life signs detector.

Kai could still hear the Wraith, she grabbed his arm, stopping him before it beeped and gave away their position to the wraith. He scowled down at her. She reached up and touched her ear. He nodded and stilled, waiting for her to give the all clear.

Finally the Wraith moved out of earshot and Kai nodded briskly to the Major. He stepped back and they continued to the edge of the village. The two of them crouched side by side behind a half wall, hidden from sight. Even from across the town Kai could hear the energy surging through the beam. Wraith soldiers were dragging people out of the buildings and shoving them into it.

"What do you think?" Sheppard asked, handing the binoculars down to her.

She took them and shook her head. "It looks like a transport beam, similar to those used by the darts," she whispered. "I've never seen one sustained for so long," she looked up. "It appears it's drawing them straight into the cruiser."

Sheppard made a noise of disgust low in his throat. "Seen enough?" he asked.

Kai nodded as a dart whizzed overhead a little too close for comfort.

"All right, let's go." The two of them jogged back towards the jumper. They slipped through the trees when a wraith slammed into Kai. She hit the ground. "Wait!" she called when Sheppard raised his gun. "It'll draw the rest of them." She threw a knife and it buried in the wraith's neck. He staggered but didn't go down. She ran at him and kicked the side of it's head slamming it against the tree. Sheppard scooped up it's stunner and shot the wraith in the chest.

"Thanks," she said.

"You too," Sheppard agreed and they ran the rest of the way to the Jumper.

They were nearly back when Teyla appeared out of thin air. "Major!" she called waving her arm.

Sheppard and Kai jogged up the ramp. "It's pretty ugly out there," he reported, then hesitated as he saw four people he didn't recognize sitting on the benches in the cargo area.

"Is this Orin's family?" he asked.

Teyla looked sheepish. "No."

Sheppard's head snapped back towards her in disbelief.

Teyla had the good graces to look repentant. "They have not seen Orin since the culling began."

"Well the whole village is pretty much wiped out," Sheppard said.

He and Kai moved towards the front of the ship. Kai pulled the viewer back up. "The gate just shut off," she reported to the Major.

Sheppard dropped into his seat." We should be able to dial up and get out of here before the Wraith can do anything about it."

Teyla walked up behind them. "Please Major, give Orin more time."

"Look if he was able to get here, he would be here by now. We've got to get back," John said activating the controls.

Teyla drew in a deep breath, her chin jutted out defiantly. "Then go," she snatched up her gun. "I will stay and search in the daylight, you can return for me later."

Kai tightened her jaw. Teyla was manipulating Sheppard, knowing full well he would never leave one of his own people behind.

"You can't do that," he growled.

"I consider Orin as family Major," she snarled whipping back around to face him. "I'm sorry if you don't know what that means!"

John looked like she had struck him. Then his jaw set and he shoved himself to his feet. "I understand it Teyla," he growled back. "But that's not the point I'm trying-"

"With or without you I am staying." she promised.

Sheppard stared her down. "You won't make it," he said with absolute certainty.

Teyla nodded in agreement, not even bothering to argue with him. "Then I ask that you stay as well."

Kai hated Teyla in that moment. She was using her own life as a bargaining chip to control Sheppard.

"Just a little longer," she added a little more gently. "Allow something good to come of this," she implored taking a step towards the major.

John pressed his lips together. He knew when he was being played. His ex-wife had always known exactly how to guilt him, and so did Teyla. His eyes met Kai's and he stared at her for a few moments as though she would somehow have the answers.

"All right," he finally relented. "We'll give it a little more time."

Teyla sighed in relief and dropped down onto the bench.

"Someone's coming," Kai reported a short time later.

The HUD picked up eight life signs, magnifying in on them as they crossed into the open expanse of the field. Teyla smiled and laughed in relief as she stood and ran for the back of the jumper. She stepped to the bottom of the ramp. "Orin!" she yelled, waving her arm.

John and Kai climbed to their feet and followed wearily behind her. Eight plus the four they already had was approaching the maximum capacity for the jumper.

"Orin!" Teyla called again as she trotted out to meet them.

Sheppard and Kai jogged after her. "How big is this family?" Sheppard asked."

Teyla looked at him. "He must have met up with some others along the way."

"That's going to be a problem," Kai muttered to Sheppard as they met up with the refuges in the middle of the field. Kai prowled in a tight circle around the group as Teyla spoke quietly with them. The darts buzzed over head and Kai could hear movement in the woods.

"I didn't think you would still be here," Orin said warmly as he greeted Teyla.

"We would not have gone without you," Teyla promised.

"We found others along the way," Orin said triumphantly.

"Others?" Sheppard asked in dismay looking over the group.

"And even more, further behind," Orin said proudly.

"How many more?" Sheppard asked sharply.

"Twelve," Orin frowned, not understanding. "Perhaps more."

Kai's head snapped toward the forest behind them a second before a group of another dozen villagers broke the tree line.

"In here!" one of the villagers from the jumper yelled, drawing the line of people straight for the concealed jumper.

"Major-" Kai warned, keeping her eyes on the sky. "The darts are getting closer!" In the next second two darts broke into view above the trees and the beams activated. The groups of running refuges had led the Wraith straight to them.

John swore. "Alright we'll fit as many as we can!" He yelled, ushering the villagers towards their concealed ship. "Run!" 

"Hurry!" Teyla yelled as she turned and ran back towards the jumper, leading them to safety. "Come on!" she called from the bottom of the Jumper.

"Hurry!" The other villagers yelled. 

"Come on!" Teyla encouraged from the shuttle. "Run!" 

Sheppard and Kai ushered the people ahead of them. The dart swung towards them. The beam caught the stragglers. Kai could hear the buzz of the engine all around her as the darts turned around for another pass. 

"Zian! Move your ass!" Sheppard yelled and the two of them sprinted towards the jumper. The dart was right behind them.

"Sheppard!" she yelled as the dart came for them. She and John were too late. They hadn't been fast enough. 

John heard Kai's cry behind him and the buzz of the dart was too close. He shoved the villager next to him onto the ramp. He wrapped an arm around Kai's waist and the two of them fell sideways into the jumper barely avoiding the beam. 

He landed on his back, with her on top of him. They were both panting, there was a fine tremble to her muscles. That had been close. John started to sit up as Kai climbed awkwardly to her feet.

"Thanks Major," she said offering him a hand up. 

"That was close," he said tightly.

There were screams outside as the ones who didn't make it to the jumper were taken by the wraith. The open field made them easy targets. John stood, his eyes locked on those he couldn't save as they were taken. He pulled Kai up beside him, his grip tighter than he intended. He stormed back towards the front of the jumper.

Teyla settled into her seat, looking sheepishly back and forth between Kai and Sheppard. The Major's anger was palpable. 

Kai followed and dropped into the co-pilots seat. She dialed the gate at the same time John lifted the jumper off the ground without either of them having to say a thing.

John sped the Jumper towards the gate.  "Let's get the hell out of here."

><><

"So tell me, how bad is it?" Weir asked, stepping into the conference room. 

John was exhausted, they had been back on Atlantis nearly an hour. He leaned forward and scrubbed at his eyes. "Bad," he said simply looking up into Weir's face. "Each hive acts like a carrier group with cruisers and hundreds of darts escorting it." John looked down and shook his head. "Zian and Zelenka are downloading the sensor data right now."

Teyla stepped up. "I have never witnessed a culling that took so many." The guilt over the ones they hadn't saved was evident in her eyes.

"We were able to save a few," John report tightly. 

"Well that's something," Weir said with a warm smile. She laid a reassuring hand on Teyla's arm. "Get some sleep, both of you," Weir said. 

John trailed after Teyla as they left the conference room. Once they were alone in the hall he spoke up. "That can never happen again." He said firmly.

"What's that Major?" Teyla asked turning back to him. She could sense the anger simmering just below the surface.

"You led some of those people straight to a position where the Wraith were able to take them. You endangered your life, my life, the lives of every single one of those people you were trying to save." 

"And that is something I will have to live with Major," Teyla said.  

"You're damn right you will," he growled angrily. "You compromised the success of the mission for-"

"I also endangered Kai's life." Teyla added sharply.

John scowled. "What the hell does that mean?"

Teyla sighed exhaustedly. "Nothing Major."

><><

Chapter 31

><><
The Gift
><><

Kai was exhausted. She had been up half the night processing the sensor data for the Wraith hive ships. Part of her wanted to go back to bed, but she had made plans to spar with Teyla and after what happened on the planet, she didn't want to break them. Kai wasn't the type to talk about feelings, but it was clear something was going on with the Athosian leader, and clearly the other woman was not going to open up to the Major to discuss it.

Kai turned a corner and nearly bumped into someone heading in the opposite direction. She side stepped just in time to avoid a collision. "Teyla?" she said in surprise.

"Kai," Teyla said. Teyla's skin was covered in a fine layer of sweat, and her face looked tired.

"I thought-" Kai started to say, gesturing behind Teyla towards the gym. "I thought we were sparring today."

Teyla drew in a tight breath. "We were, but I'm afraid I'm not feeling well," she said. "I was supposed to spar with Major Sheppard earlier but..." she shook her head. "He offered to wait for you and take my place today."

"The Major?" Kai asked. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She and Sheppard had been working together a lot lately, but they both avoided spending any time together outside of that. Sparring just the two of them didn't seem like a great idea.

"Yes," Teyla said with a tired smile. She had always been able to sense something between John and Kai, but she was honestly too tired to worry about it today.

"Okay," Kai agreed and turned towards the gym. It wouldn't be difficult to come up with an excuse to not spar with Sheppard. She would just go and tell him she was needed back in the lab. Then Teyla wouldn't feel bad and she could get out of a potentially awkward situation with the Major.

"Ah, Kai," Teyla called after her tentatively.

Kai turned around, lifting her eyebrows expectantly.

"I wanted to apologize, for yesterday. It was not my intention to-"

Kai quickly cut her off. "You don't have to apologize. We made a difference, that's what matters."

Teyla nodded. "Yes but, I fear that in trying to prove a point to Major Sheppard I may have unintentionally brought up painful memories for you."

Kai's jaw tightened. She was not going to discuss this. She considered Teyla a friend, but her past was off limits to everyone. "Not at all." Kai promised and moved to leave. The truth was Kai could care less about Teyla unintentionally bringing up her past, she cared much more about the fact that in questioning the Major's command Teyla had endangered all of their lives.

Teyla stepped in front of her again. "I value your friendship Kai, and I am truly sorry," she said taking Kai's hand.

Kai allowed Teyla to hold her hand for exactly three seconds before she snatched it back. "All is forgiven," she promised quickly.

Teyla nodded and a tired smile crossed her face. "Good. You better get going, The Major is waiting."

John turned to face the doors as they hissed open. Kai stood in the doorway, a backpack over one shoulder. She looked like she was ready to bolt. Teyla's assurances that Kai would rather spar with him than not at all looked to be incorrect. 

"Hi," he greeted, shifting his weight uncomfortably.

"Major," Kai said nodding. "I am-"

"I can-" he started to say at the same time.

They both stopped. Kai looked over the Major's shoulder while he stared down at the mat. John had never been able to figure out how they managed to work so well together in the field, but every time they got home things turned awkward.

"Is Teyla all right?" Kai finally asked.

"Yeah," John responded, quickly seizing on an opportunity to break the uncomfortable silence. "She's just tired..." he broke off. He didn't want to betray Teyla's trust and Kai wouldn't be offended not getting any details. It was one of the things he liked most about her. Or rather something he respected in working with her. Kai didn't pry into things that weren't her business.

"Well, I appreciate you waiting around, but Zelenka could really use my help in the lab, so-" Kai dragged off. She turned to go.

"Zian wait," John called after her.

Kai turned back to face the Major.

"I owe you an apology," he said.

"An apology?" Kai asked, frowning. Other than the strange tension between them, she couldn't think of anything The Major needed to apologize for.

"For what happened on that planet. I let things get out of hand and-"

Kai was already shaking her head. "First of all Major, you at no point forced me to leave the jumper. I assisted knowing full well what the dangers were. And secondly," she paused and allowed herself to meet his gaze. "It isn't you who owed the apology and Teyla already spoke with me."

"She did?" He asked in surprise.

Kia nodded and looked away again. "Yes, when she said that you were waiting to spar with me..." she added.

"Well," John said with a grin. "I volunteered," he teased gently.

A genuine smile crossed Kai's face despite herself as Sheppard threw her own words back at her.

Kai's smile lit her entire face. John swallowed and looked away as he rubbed the back of his neck. Kai was beautiful, there was no denying that, but so were a lot of people. There was no reason it should effect him. Unlike Teyla who sparred in soft, flowing fabric that showed a lot of skin, Kai kept as much skin covered as possible. She wore black leggings and her usual fitted long sleeve black t-shirt, her hair was covered by her scarf that was wrapped tightly around her head.

He cleared his throat. "You weren't coming here to tell Teyla you had to get down to the lab were you?" John asked eyeing Kai's workout clothes.

The smile on Kai's face froze. "No," she said honestly looking down at her hands.

John felt guilty that she was so uncomfortable around him. He valued her skills and all she had done for Atlantis. "Well, lets do this." He said gesturing to the mats behind him. "There's a fight coming up we gotta keep you on your toes," he said with a grin trying to put her at her ease.

Kai followed him to the mats, she set her backpack down and stood across from him.

"Do your people bow or anything?" John asked pulling bantos rods off the rack.

"Nope," Kai said as she flashed him a cheeky grin. She took the end of her scarf and secured it over the lower half of her face, leaving only her eyes exposed. She took the rods from Sheppard.

"Don't go easy on me or anything," John told her. He couldn't see her face, but the corners of her eyes crinkled and he was fairly certain she was smiling at him again. "Teyla never does."

"Same to you Major," she said twirling the rods through her hands. They stood across from each other for a moment. Sheppard nodded once and Kai attacked.

She swung high with the left rod, aiming for his shoulder. He blocked the strike as she brought her right rod towards his midsection. He spun back out of the way and swiped for her legs. Kai jumped into the air. Sheppard wrapped his other arm around her waist mid-jump. He threw her down to her back on the mats. He moved to pin her but she brought her legs up to her chest and slammed her boots into his diaphragm. John grunted as he was throw onto his back with the wind knocked out of him.

Kai rolled in a backwards somersault to her feet. When she straightened the Major was climbing back to his feet. A boyish grin broke across his face as though he was having the time of his life. Kai didn't fight like Teyla. With Teyla it was all about moving meditation and breath control. When she fought Teyla gave the impression of being that much more in control of herself. Kai was different. With Kai, all that control she walked around with every day just went away. She cut loose and John felt like he was really seeing her.

Wearing her cowl, only her black rimmed storm-grey eyes were visible. There was a challenging glint in her gaze as she paced around him like a caged animal. John could feel the pleased smirk stretching his own lips. Teyla wiped the floor with him every day, but it was in a cold clinical way. Teyla was ice, Kai was fire.

He waited until Kai was just about out of reach and slammed one of the rods down towards her with all his strength. She parried but the strength behind the blow was jarring. Her eyes widened as the fluidity of her movements faltered. The strength behind the blow would have cracked bone if it had connected. She spun back out of the way. He was watching the rods in her hands however and she followed with a roundhouse kick.

Instead of kicking him in the head, like she would have with an enemy, she pulled the kick and caught him in the shoulder, sending him sprawling across the mat. She pounced on him, landing on his chest before he had a chance to recover. With her knees on either side of his torso pinning the rods, she shoved her rods crossways over his throat.

A smirk stretched John's face as he looked up at Kai. She was smaller than Teyla, not as strong, but faster. He had seen her in action, but it was even more impressive being on the receiving end. "Best two out of three?" he asked with a grin. His blood with up at the prospect of a challenge. This was the side of her he only saw when they were in the field together.

He and Kai were both still breathless, but neither looked away as they stared into each other's eyes from only inches apart. The tension rising between them was a tangible thing.

Kai opened her mouth, a cheeky response on the tip of her tongue, but Sheppard's radio sounded. "Major?" Weir's voice came through his earpiece going over the two of them like cold water.

John released one of the rods to reach up and touch his earbud. "Yeah, I'm here," John grunted.

"I've called a meeting of all the team leaders to discuss the current status of the Wraith," Weir reported. There was a brief paused before she spoke again. "What exactly is your current status?" She asked curiously.

John snorted and the tension drained from his body. He flopped back against the mat. "I'm in the gym with Zian," John said looking up at Kai guiltily. There was chemistry he felt between them, but it only happened in the heat of the moment. He had let himself be drawn into it again. He looked away.

Kai suddenly realized she was still sitting on top of the Major and had been shamelessly eavesdropping on his conversation. She climbed awkwardly off of his chest to her feet as a blush climbed its way up her neck. She turned away from him and pulled the cowl off the lower half of her face and the cool air against her cheeks helped her think more clearly. She had let herself get distracted and that couldn't happen.

Weir paused for another moment before she spoke again. "Why don't you bring her with you. She may have a few ideas we haven't considered."

"Roger that," John agreed. He climbed to his feet, turning to face Kai. He twirled the rods in his hands. "Looks like that rematch will have to wait for another day," he said, his tone brisk.

"Of course Major," she replied with a compliant nod, although she knew it would never happen. She couldn't let it.

><><

Kai was surprised to hear Weir wanted her to be included in the meeting. She had always thought of herself as an outsider, and the meeting itself was limited to the heads of departments and team leaders. At most she was a part time assistant and mechanic. She wasn't sure what she could contribute but she trailed after the Major toward the conference room nonetheless.

She wasn't sure what to think about what happened in the gym. She still didn't. There were times when she and The Major seemed perfectly at ease with one another, but then it was like a curtain would fall and neither would know what to say to the other. Like now. The awkward tension between them was so thick they both walked as quickly as they could to join to the briefing.

Weir was already standing at the head of the table when they arrived. She and Sheppard stood at the back as she began. "According to Doctor Zelenka's calculations, the Wraith will be here in less than a week. I want options," Weir said briskly as she paced in front of her people.

"You mean besides crying ourselves to sleep?" McKay asked wryly. Then he snorted and shook his head. "Well, not me. I haven't slept in days," he said self-importantly.

Weir crossed her arms over her chest. "And what do you have to show for your sleepless night?" she asked a little more sharply than usual. They were facing a real crisis and she and everyone else didn't have time to deal with Rodney's ego.

McKay sucked in a breath. "Well, since we've got here we've uncovered a number of defensive weapons systems beyond the shield. What-" he started to explain but Zelenka jumped in.

"We think our best option is the control chair," the Czech scientist explained succinctly.

"I was going to say that," McKay huffed indignantly. His lips were pinched together in irritation from being interrupted.

Zelenka snorted. "Yes, but you were taking too long as usual."

Sheppard leaned down so his lips were near Kai's ear. "Are they always like this?" he whispered.

Kai let out a tired sigh and nodded. "Always."

John snorted and straightened. Weir shot him a warning glare and he flashed her a charming smile.

"Yes, but the point is that this may not be our best chance," McKay growled leveling his narrowed eyes on Zelenka.

The Czech scientist crossed his arms over his chest. "Name a better one," he challenged.

"Gentlemen," Weir interrupted sharply.

McKay and Zelenka exchanged a sullen look before McKay finally spoke up, addressing Weir. "Of course, like the shield. Power will be our biggest problem. "

Zelenka jumped in. "We haven't even been able to initialize the chair yet, much less determine whether or not we can meet the power requirements to run it."

"Okay," Weir agreed. "Keep me posted." Then she turned to the military side of the room. "Sergeant Bates, where are we with our Alpha site?"

Bates nodded. "We've completed the ground and aerial security sweep and are ready to begin establishing a base camp. We're just awaiting final inspection from Major Sheppard."

Sheppard nodded briskly. "Right after lunch."

"Good," Weir agreed. "Teyla, are the Athosians preparing for an evacuation."

Teyla's shoulders were tight with tension and she was still on edge. "Yes, but many believe there is no other world that is safe from the Wraith."

Weir pulled back in shock. "They want to stay?" she asked in disbelief.

"As we have heard from our allies, and seen for ourselves," she added leveling a meaningful look at Sheppard. "There are cullings happening all over the galaxy. My people have spent their lives hiding from the Wraith."

Weir drew in a sharp breath. "Yes, well the difference here, being we do intend to destroy the city rather than let it fall into the hands of the Wraith. And if it comes to that anyone left on the mainland will be cut off from the Stargate for good. Now, thanks to Rodney's discovery of the gate's control crystal-"

McKay waved his fingers.

"-we at least know we will be able to take that with us and hopefully use it to access earth again sometime in the future."

Teyla's irritation and tension seemed to grow with each passing moment. Kai glanced towards Sheppard but he seemed equally as confused by it. He shrugged.

"We understand that Doctor Weir," she said tightly.

"I'm sorry I-" Weir started to explain but Teyla cut her off rudely.

"I am merely saying that the people of Athos wish you to know that if we are going to stay and fight, they too will help defend the city of the ancestors."

"That is very honorable," Weir said patiently. "But I-"

"Oh please," Kavanagh interrupted. "We can't possibly consider staying and fighting."

"Well I disagree," Sheppard said, scowling at Kavanagh. "I think it's entirely within the realm of possibility."

Kavanagh scoffed in disbelief. "There are tens of thousands of life sucking aliens in highly advanced space ships on their way here to destroy us," he shot Sheppard an indignant look. "And we have what? Two hundred people? Most of them scientists who have never even fired a gun before."

"Shockingly," McKay spoke up. "For the first time ever I find myself having to agree with Kavanagh."

Sheppard tensed. "All I'm saying is, let's not give up...just yet."

"What's that we were all supposed to remember?" McKay asked, turning to Kai. He grunted in disappointment when he realized she wouldn't get his reference. He lifted his eyes to look beyond her. "Oh yeah, The Alamo." he said dramatically.

Sheppard chuckled once, but he looked like he was ready to kill McKay. "Granted, you all are scientists, no one is considering putting you guys on the front lines," he stopped as his eyes caught Kai and he smirked. She was the only exception. "But," he said turning back to the others. "Science can turn the tide of war. Look at the A-bomb."

Zelenka massaged his temples. "Not exactly our proudest moment," he said.

Weir finally stepped in. "The point of the matter is that the Wraith are not here yet and until that moment I would like everyone to remain focused on what they do best. Like I said off the top, if there are any options, I want them. That's all," she said sharply and she walked out of the room.

Everyone else began disbursing. Bates stepped up and began chatting with Sheppard. Kai turned to leave when Zelenka caught her eye. "McKay and I could use your help with the chair."

"Zelenka," McKay called sharply. "We need to-"

Zelenka cut him off before he could finish. "Yes, yes, I was just-"

"I understand but let's-"

"After you," Zelenka said and Kai followed the two bickering scientists down to the chair room.

><><

Kai and Zelenka had been working in the chair room all day and they were still no closer to finding the energy reserves in the city's power supply to initialize it. McKay had been in and out, usually barking orders and taking control before sweeping out of the room again to go pursue another possible defensive plan.

He was currently standing over where Zelenka and Kai were going over the chair's control crystals. Most of them seemed to be intact but there was one that looked questionable.

Kai heard footsteps coming down the hall before the others. She lifted her head and turned towards the door focusing her senses. She recognized the footsteps and sound of his movements so she wasn't surprised when the door hissed open and the Major stepped into the room. 

"McKay!" Major Sheppard's voice was a sharp call from behind them. "We need to get moving."

McKay grunted as he made some adjustments on his tablet. "In case you haven't noticed Major I'm a little busy."

"We're headed to this planet that Teyla needs to visit," Sheppard continued. "Something to do with The Wraith."

Rodney held a finger up to silence the Major. "I can't leave. I'm instrumental in a number of very important projects right now. Take this one for example," he said gesturing to where Zelenka and Kai were working.

"I can see that," Sheppard said sarcastically. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Look, we don't know what might be there. We might need some sciencing."

"Sciencing?" McKay asked in disgust. "I'm needed here."

"Well-" Zelenka started to say.

Rodney jumped in snapping his fingers in Zelenka's face. "You're right. Take Kai. We were only using her for her body anyway," he said.

John looked back and forth between McKay and and Kai slow blinking in disbelief.

"That's not what I was going to say," Zelenka filled in quickly.

McKay turned to one of his underlings. A small asian woman who moved around the lab like a frightened mouse. "Find Beckett, get him up here. We can use him to activate the chair if need be." The woman squeaked and scurried from the room.

Kai just shook her head, arguing wasn't worth it. And though she would never admit it out loud, McKay was right. They did need him there to work on the chair. She stood and scrubbed her hands off on her jump suit turning to Sheppard.

"Where to Major?"

><><

Sheppard set the Jumper down right on the edge of the village ruins. The sun was setting, and the shadows were getting long. The village itself was fairly basic, most of the structures were made of stone and even in the dim light they could make out blast burns from Wraith weapons.

The group was silent as they moved through what little remained. Kai stepped carefully to avoid the bones and bits of broken pottery that were still visible. It was obvious the Wraith had intended to leave no survivors.

They cleared every building, and every room, working from the front edge of town to the back. The Major stayed close to Teyla while she and Ford prowled through the remains.

The young lieutenant had been surprisingly quiet as they worked. Both she and the Major had life signs detectors but the Major had put his away after the first hour. It was clear no one was here. Kai adjusted the settings and continued to do sweeps for any random energy readings.

As the sun set a storm picked up. Kai could smell the sharp tang of electricity in the air moments before the first crack of lightning split the sky. Ford jumped and then shook his head, embarrassed by his reaction.

He looked up to see Kai gazing at him. "This place is creepy as hell," he said a little sharply. "Even you gotta admit that."

Kai nodded grimly as she toed an empty wooden crate. "It desolate," she agreed. "But I can't hear or smell anything that would indicate recent activity," she admitted. She lifted the detector. "And there are no energy readings."

"Wow, you can smell stuff like that?" Ford asked, clearly impressed.

Kai only nodded as she frowned down at the detector. She moved out of the building back into the main path where they met up with The Major and Teyla.

"Sir, there's nothing here," Ford complained after a few minutes.

"I know," Sheppard agreed, exhaustedly. He kept his voice low so Teyla wouldn't hear him.

Ford swung his flashlight over the dead-end where the edge of the village met the smooth surface of the cliff face. "Well it's dark, shouldn't we be heading back?"

"Just...give her a minute," Sheppard said gesturing to where Teyla was crouched over some broken pottery. She shifted it, cradling a small piece in her hands.

"Sir-" Ford started to argue but Sheppard turned on him with a severe look that had his words dying in his throat.

"Ford," John said. "I need her to put this behind her, get some sleep. We all do. So, whatever it takes"

Kai frowned down at the detector. She walked forward a few steps and back a few as the readings changed. It wasn't much, but it might indicate something that was shielded.

"Zian?" Sheppard called to her.

Her scowl deepened as she moved closer to the cliff face. "There's something here..." she said, moving towards Teyla.

"Really?" Ford asked excitedly.

"I don't know..." she said walking as she stared down at the detector. She moved quicker towards the cliff.

"Zian..." Sheppard called as he trailed after her.

"There's a faint energy signal..." she called over her shoulder. She adjusted the sensitivity of the scanner. "There!" She said triumphantly. "It's getting stronger." They stepped through an archway that looked as though it led to a dead end. "It's coming from here," she said in confusion as she looked up and realized there was nothing but a smooth expanse of rock in front of her.

Sheppard and Teyla stepped forward ahead of her as she adjusted the settings once more. Sheppard pressed his hands against the rock but nothing happened.

Ford stepped up behind her. "There's nothing here."

"I know," Kai agreed in exasperation. "But that's not what the readings are telling me."

"It's solid," Sheppard reported turning back to her.

"Well," Kai said thoughtfully. "There's some kind of strange energy here."

"Strange how?" Sheppard asked stepping up next to her and looking down at the detector in her hand.

A woosh sounded and all three of their heads snapped up in time to see Teyla disappear through the rock face.

Ford's eyes were wide with shock. "How about like that?"

><><

Chapter 32

><><
The Gift Cont.
><><

"Teyla!" John yelled as she disappeared through the rock face. He sprinted towards the rock, his palms slammed against it, and it was just as solid as it had been moments before. "Kai!" he yelled turning back to her, but she was already beside him. 

She ran the scanner of the rock face shaking her head. "Nothing changed," she said exasperatedly.

"Teyla!" Ford yelled, slamming the butt of his gun against the surface.

Their desperation over their missing team member was a tangible thing, and Kai frantically began making adjustments to the scanner. She couldn't help feeling like McKay would have known what to do. 

Suddenly the surface of the rock shimmered and disappeared. Ford tripped over his feet as he scrambled back away from it.

John only flinched, as he raised his gun, ready for whatever might come through. He exhaled a sigh of relief when he saw it was Teyla standing in the doorway. "How'd  you do that?" he asked.

Teyla's eyes were wide with shock. "I do not know. I was just looking for a way out."

Sheppard scowled and stepped around her through the opening. The others trailed behind him.

"It looks like the inside of a Wraith ship," Ford commented, stepping deeper into cave.

Their flashlights shone off the organic walls. Kai sucked in a breath and covered her nose with the back of her hand. What had once been alive was now long dead and rotten. The stench burned her sinuses.

Sheppard glanced back towards her to make sure she was okay. She nodded to him and pulled her scarf across her nose and mouth.

"Yeah," Sheppard agreed, prowling ahead. "But what the hell were they doing here?"

><><

Elizabeth moved quickly down the hall towards Zelenka's main lab. The doors hissed open for her and she stepped inside. The lab was empty except for Kai who was standing over her laptop, still dressed in tactical gear. A scowl lined her face as her hands moved over the keyboard.

She hadn't looked up, but Elizabeth knew she must have heard her. "Kai," she said by way of greeting.

"Doctor Weir," Kai acknowledged without looking away from her screen. 

"Sheppard said you found a Wraith laboratory on that planet?"

Kai nodded thoughtfully. "It looks that way. It appears to have been abandoned for a very long time...Not much of the equipment was useful, but I was able to pull two data storage devices before we left," she said pointing to the two drives that were plugged into her computer.

Weir stepped up next to her. "You think the Wraith were experimenting on the people of that planet?"

"I honestly have no idea. Hopefully there will be some useful information here," she said, then because Weir seemed to think she should have answers, she continued. "I have never heard of the Wraith using humans for experiments."

"Sheppard said the lab was well hidden. Why the need for secrecy? The wraith can take people at will and do whatever they want with them."

Honestly, Kai didn't see how a hundred plus year old lab would help the fight the Wraith in a few days time, but Weir was interested. Her computer beeped. "There we are," she said looking back down at the screen.

Weir moved around the side of the table and stood over Kai's shoulder as Kai began scrolling through the pages and pages of logs.

"This is obviously a language. Does it mean anything to you?" Weir asked.

Kai lifted a brow in surprise. "It's Wraith."

"Wraith?" Weir asked in confusion. "Can you read it?"

Kai nodded slowly. She hadn't realized how little they knew about the Wraith. "Some of it. Fairly slowly," she confessed.

"That would make sense," Weir agreed. ""I'd like to have a good look through this," Weir said frowning down at the screen. "Would you mind helping me with the translation? That is, as long as you don't have anything else that requires your attention."

Kai shook her head. "Zelenka and McKay will contact me when they need my help with the chair."

"Great!" Elizabeth said with a smile and she pulled a stool up to sit next to Kai.

Kai looked around and found a pad of paper. "Can you read Lantian?" she asked.

Elizabeth looked a little sheepish. "Not as well as I should."

Kai nodded unconcerned. "Well, the two are very similar. Just replace this symbol with this one, and realize the Wraith don't use vowels." She said, scratching down a few more notes.

The two worked for several hours together before Doctor Weir decided their findings were significant enough to bring in Doctor Beckett. Kai was a much more efficient translator but Doctor Weir never gave up, the two of them continued to produce more and more data for Beckett throughout the night. It was nearing dawn when the true significance of their findings occurred to them.

Doctor Weir and Doctor Beckett shared a long look before Weir activated her radio. "Teyla, please report to Science Lab 2E."

Despite the early hour Teyla's reply was clear and immediate. "I am on my way Doctor Weir."

Teyla arrived moments later. Kai couldn't help feeling like she was intruding somehow, but Elizabeth had insisted she stay.

"You look like I feel," Teyla commented her eyes running over the three of them. None of them had gotten any sleep and it showed.

Weir nodded taking a sip of yet another cup of coffee. "We've been up all night."

"You wanted to see me?" Teyla asked, her eyes ran over the equipment surrounding Doctor Beckett but her gaze settled on Kai. There were only so many projects that involved the Mortii. This most certainly involved the Wraith.

"You'd better sit down," Beckett said kindly.

Teyla tensed. "What is it?" She asked sensing Weir and Beckett's discomfort.

"Well...we translated most of the first log you brought back and...are you sure you don't want to have a seat?" Weir asked a little desperately.

Teyla's eyes flickered to Kai. The Mortii's expression was perfectly calm and composed. She didn't share the reservations Weir and Beckett did. "The Wraith were conducting experiments on the inhabitants of that planet," Kai filled in easily.

Teyla's eyes widened. "On my ancestors?" she asked

"It was just one wraith actually," Elizabeth filled in quickly. "And he was doing it against the wishes of the other Wraith, which is why he was doing it in secret."

"What was he doing?" Teyla asked. She folded her arms over her chest.

Beckett stiffened. "I think he was trying to make their food source more compatible with their species."

"I don't understand," Teyla said shaking her head.

"It was very easy to miss. In fact I couldn't even make the comparison necessary to isolate the specific strand. We needed Wraith cells, which we got eventually, but then we needed a full mapping of the genetic code contained within those cells. Which wasn't even 50% complete."

Kai watched as Teyla became more and more tense, her frustration with Beckett's long winded explanation was growing with each passing second. Prolonging bad news was not a kindness to anyone.

"Please," Teyla snapped. "Just tell me."

Beckett drew in a steadying breath. "You have some Wraith DNA in your genetic make up," he broke the news as gently as possible.

Teyla was shocked, she looked back and forth between all of them. "I-" she started to say and stopped. Her watch beeped and she looked down at it like she was in a daze. "If you would excuse me, I need to report for duty," and she quickly rushed from the room.

Beckett and Weir shared a long look. "I think I need to go handle this," Weir said apologetically. "Kai? Do you mind continuing to work on the translation?"

Kai shook her head. "Not at all. I'm going to get some breakfast," she said, scooping up her laptop. "I'll let you know when I have more," she promised.

><><

Kai was working at a table in the mess when the chair across from her pulled out. She looked up and was surprised to see Major Sheppard set his breakfast tray down across from her.

"Hi," he greeted.

"Hi," she replied a little stiffly. What had happened in the gym was still fresh in her mind.

"What are you working on?" he asked, pouring hot water into his oatmeal.

"I am working on translating the log from the Wraith lab," she said.

"I thought Weir was doing that," Sheppard said stirring his breakfast.

Kai smiled indulgently. "Well, my Wraith is a little more practiced than hers," she said looking back down at the log.

"So have you been working with her and Beckett?"

"All night," Kai confessed taking a sip of tea.

John looked up at that with a frown. Kai looked tired, but they all did so he hadn't thought much of it. "When was the last time you got any sleep?" he asked a little more sharply than he had intended. Kai didn't always think about herself when it came to stuff like this. She would push herself to the limit and not think twice.

"As I told you Major, I believe my sleep requirements are different from yours." Kai replied narrowing her eyes. The Major was commander in the field, and she had learned to accept that, but she didn't appreciate being told what to do in her personal time.

"Yeah," John agreed oblivious to Kai's annoyance as he took a bite of his breakfast. "but you still normally sleep every night, right?"

"When I deem it necessary," she said carefully.

John Went very still as he watched her. Kai was a tough one to read, she was so closed off with her emotions, but he was fairly certain he was annoying her. A slow smirk stretched across his face and he looked down into his oatmeal bow so she wouldn't see how entertaining he found her. "Maybe you oughta go get some shut eye while you can."

Kai glanced up sharply from her laptop but The Major wasn't even paying attention to her. He was entirely engrossed in his breakfast. She scowled. "I will once I finish with this, Teyla deserves to have all the information possible."

John nodded, and although he wanted to keep teasing her, it wasn't fair when she was doing something truly selfless for Teyla. "So...Teyla's part Wraith, how's that even possible? I mean I understand Biology but..."

"Genetic manipulation," Kai repsonded as she leaned closer to her computer and made an annotation beside a word she was unfamiliar with.

"Well I was assuming they didn't...well you know."

Kai looked up from her work and arched a single eyebrow.

"Never mind," John said quickly. It just sucks for her, cause you know it's not like she's any different, but I can't imagine how she feels..." he dragged off thoughtfully.

Kai stopped abruptly and looked up at the Major. "It truly doesn't bother you that she is not completely human?"

As soon as John heard the click of the keyboard quiet he looked up and met Kai's serious grey eyes. John shrugged and shook his head. "Why should it? She's still Teyla. As far as I'm concerned it's just some test in a lab. I'm not fully human either," he pointed at himself with his spoon. "I have the gene."

Kai nodded, she wasn't sure why, but the Major's answer surprised her. There were times when everything seemed so black and white with him and times when he was startlingly insightful. Kai stared at him for a long moment, holding his gaze. Then she jerked herself out of her thoughts and went back to her work.

John shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I mean. As long as she doesn't start trying to feed on anyone or anything. Do you-" he started to ask, but Kai had frozen. She was scowling down at her laptop, her fingers poised over the keyboard.

"Zian?" he asked.

Kai snapped the laptop shut. "I need to find Doctor Weir," she said shoving her chair out.

"What's going on?" John called after her.

"I know why they quit the experiments!"

><><

Teyla looked back and forth between Weir and Doctor Heightmeyer. "I have never been able to hear the thoughts of the Wraith before," she argued in dismay. Their entire plan was dependent on her being able to do something she had never even heard of before.

"Well," Weir said. "According to the notes all the test subjects who were given the Wraith DNA had the ability."

Doctor Heightmeyer spoke up. "It's possible it's because you've never actually tried before."

"You didn't know you could read Wraith minds, and quite frankly, who would want to?" Weir drew in a breath and glanced towards Doctor Heightmeyer before she continued. "Look Teyla I would not even consider asking you to do this if I didn't think it could potentially provide us with some vital information."

Teyla looked down at her hands. "I just...don't know what to do."

"We have several ideas. Doctor Heightmeyer believes she could use hypnosis to help you overcome the self defense mechanism she believes is blocking your brain from the Wraith...otherwise," Weir said carefully. "Kai's people have some minor telepathic abilities. She was trained when she was young and she believes there might be a chance she could talk you through it."

"Okay," Teyla agreed nodding. "If there is any chance of us discovering some weakness or plan of their's I don't see how I could say no."

Kai was sitting on a gurney beside Major Sheppard while Beckett and Doctor Heightmeyer got Teyla prepared. Weir was pacing anxiously behind them as Doctor Heightmeyer sat on the bed beside Teyla.

"Doctor Beckett is administering a mild sedative. If at any point you simply say 'out' and we will end this," Heightmeyer explain.

Teyla nodded.

Sheppard leaned over towards Kai. "Mango," he said.

"I'm sorry?" she asked turning towards him, a frown on her face.

"Mango, it's my ah-" he shook his head. "You know what, never mind," he said turning back to watch the preparations. "Doctor Weir said you were telepathic," he said carefully. "Sort of forgot to mention that?"

Kai looked down at her hands. "I'm not really. I can't do anything with it. I didn't think-" she stopped and shook her head as she looked back to where Beckett was giving Teyla her IV.

"Can you do anything cool?" he pressed. He had read the report, but if he was honest it bothered him to know that she was still holding back from them. "Read minds? Move things without touching them? Start fires?"

"No," Kai said. "At best I might be able to tell you if someone else is using their telepathy...on me...some of the time..." She dragged off. "I believe the term my trainers used for that particular subject was 'disappointment'."

John cast a look at Kai. "So...not really that helpful then..."

Kai shook her head. "Not really, no."

Doctor Heightmeyer looked over the group. "I believe we are ready. Teyla, are you sure about this?"

Teyla set her lips into a determined line and nodded.

Heightmeyer smiled. "Okay. Just close your eyes, I want you to think about the feeling of sensing the Wraith. I want you to visualize it in your mind."

Several minutes went by. "This isn't working," Teyla grumbled her eyes snapping open.

Doctor Heightmeyer had her lips pursed thoughtfully. Weir turned to Kai.

"Looks like you're up," John said nudging Kai's shoulder with his.

She snorted and jumped down from the gurney. She walked over to Teyla glancing at the others self-consciously. "Back in the academy, they used to tell us the easiest way to access our telepathic power was to associate the need with memory. Ah...close your eyes," she instructed. Teyla did so. "Focus on your breathing, the sound of your heartbeat, the feel of your blood moving through your body."

Teyla's body relaxed as she focused on meditating instead of on the Wraith.

Kai waited until Teyla's heartbeat and breathing leveled out before continuing. "When was the first time you felt the Wraith?"

Teyla's reply was low and sleepy. "The night my father was taken."

"I want you to think back on that day. Think of where you were. Now listen. What do you hear?"

Teyla's eyes rolled up in her head and her forehead lined with concentration. "Noise. Voices, so many voices. Whispering."

Kai leaned forward. "Listen for just one voice. Try to block out all the others."

"I can see," Teyla gasped.

"What can you see?" Kai asked.

"I am on a ship, I am walking."

"She can actually see what's happening?" Sheppard asked behind them.

"If the Wraith can project their thoughts that may include what they are seeing as well," Doctor Heightmeyer agreed in a low tone so she didn't disrupt Teyla's concentration.

"They do not notice me," Teyla continued. "I am walking through the ship. I am in some sort of control room..."

Teyla's voice drifted off and her whole body tensed, arcing backwards against the bed. Heightmeyer and Beckett exchanged a nervous look. Beckett's eyes cut over to Kai who was frowning.

Teyla's whole body became rigid and her eyes snapped open. Kai scowled down at her. There was something off about the way she held herself. Her eyes scanned the room with interest, as though she had never seen it before. She lifted her head off the pillow and a malicious smirk crossed her face. "You're all so pathetic." Teyla growled.

Doctor Heightmeyer scrambled back off the bed.

"Something tells me that's not Teyla talking..." Sheppard said taking a cautious step towards the bed.

"Nothing can stop us," Teyla promised.

"Wake her up," Weir ordered.

Teyla's body jolted, arcing up with the force of the electric current, but she didn't relent. "You are all going to die," she promised.

Beckett hit the button again, but nothing happened. Teyla started to sit up. Kai turned to Beckett's laptop. "Increase the current," she told him.

"If I do we risk-"

"We have to get it out of her," Kai growled reaching past Beckett and adjusting it herself. She hit the button and this time Teyla collapsed bonelessly after.

She slowly blinked her eyes open, looking around. When she saw the tension and fear on the faces of those around her, her own eyes widened. "What happened?"

Beckett immediately started an exam but Weir and Heightmeyer we're hurrying towards the door. Teyla frowned after them in confusion.

"It's okay," Beckett assures her.

John started to follow Elizabeth but paused turning back to Kai. "Zian," John asked looking down at her. "Will you stay with her?"

Kai nodded. "Of course Major."

Kai wasn't sure if the Major was asking because she and Teyla were friends or because in the moment she had proven she was willing to do what was necessary. Perhaps it was a little of both.

Teyla drifted in and out for almost an hour before she woke up. Lieutenant Ford had come down to sit with them. When he arrived Kai considered leaving but Teyla asked her to stay.

"I was close, I was so close. I feel if I just had another chance-"

"Hey," Ford said, leaning towards her. "You know you don't have anything to prove."

Teyla smiled kindly at him but her eyes met Kai. This was something they understood about one another. No matter what happened. They would always feel as though they had something to prove.

"I think this could make a difference. I saw a hologram, I believe it was a map. Maybe even a battle plan."

"We know their battle plan," Ford assured her. "They're coming to wipe us out."

Teyla shook her head as she leaned back against the pillows. "I'm not so sure that is true. They want something from us. They are desperate."

"Really?" Kai asked from behind Ford.

Teyla lifted her eyes to meet Kai's and nodded. "I know, it us surprising. They are confident in their dominance over us, but mainly because there are so many of them, too many to sustain for long. They have all awakened early and there is not enough food to go around." Teyla sighed and leaned back, "It was just a feeling. The voices were hard to separate."

Ford shifted his weight uneasily. "You don't remember one of them speaking through you?"

"No, but I remember the feeling just before it happened. Next time-"

"I don't think Doctor Weir will let there be a next time," Ford interrupted quickly.

Teyla looked mutinous for a moment but then her expression smoothed and she nodded, leaning back against her pillows. "I think I will rest a while longer," she told the Lieutenant.

Ford nodded and excused himself. Kai trailed behind him to the door. Once they were out of earshot she touched his arm. "Please warn Doctor Weir and The Major that Teyla may try again and there's not a lot we can do to stop her."

><><

The others quickly realized that there wasn't much they could do to stop Teyla from contacting the Wraith again and she was determined. They gathered back around her bed an hour later. Kai was standing back between Weir and Sheppard, her arms crossed over her chest. She understood Teyla's desire to do everything she could, but it was a huge risk reconnecting.

"Okay," Doctor Heightmeyer said unnecessarily. "Close your eyes and relax, try to listen for the voices."

Teyla settled into the trance faster than she had before. There were long moments of silence. Her eyelids flickered back and forth as though she were looking at something. She suddenly jolted as though she had been startled.

"Teyla?" Heightmeyer asked in concern.

"Break the connection," Weir ordered urgently.

"It's not working," Beckett reported as he hit the button repeatedly. He increased the voltage but nothing was working.

Teyla began thrashing. "NO!" she yelled.

Beckett jumped to his feet and grabbed her shoulders. "Teyla!"

Teyla's eyes snapped open and she struck out. Her fist connecting with his jaw, knocking him to the ground.

John moved forward to restrain her, but Teyla whipped around, she snatched up the IV stand, and whipped around connecting with his temple. John went to all fours as he fought to stay conscious. She hit him again and John collapsed.

Ford jumped towards her but she slung him away from her into the wall.

Kai kicked towards her head. Teyla slapped her leg away. John was just climbing to his feet when Teyla slammed her hands into Kai's chest knocking her back into the Major. He grunted as he caught her and the two of them fell back into a gurney. He shifted her so it was his back the hit the ground, instead of hers.

Teyla stalked dangerously towards Doctor Weir. She snarled and reached for her when a stun blast hit her from behind. Teyla collapsed revealing Sergeant Bates standing in the doorway, a triumphant gleam in his eyes.

John climbed to his feet and pulled Kai up behind him as Beckett crouched over Teyla checking for damage. Bates looked entirely too pleased with himself as he lowered the stunner.

They got Teyla back on the gurney and waited anxiously for her to regain consciousness. While they waited Beckett looked over Ford and The Major. They were both fine with only a few bruises. He turned to Kai but she waved him off.

Teyla stirred and they all turned to the bed.

"Teyla, are you okay? Can I get you some water?" Beckett asked gently.

"No," Teyla said. "I am very sorry. I really thought I could prevent..."

"It's all right," John assured her. "Everyone is fine."

"We are concerned the Wraith can connect through you at will, though," Doctor Weir said.

"It has never happened before, no, I am sure have to connect to them first," Teyla assured her. Then she turned her focus to Sheppard. "I saw their plans," she told him. "The route their ships are taking to get here."

"That's good," Elizabeth soothed.

"There's more," Teyla interrupted. "They do not just want Atlantis. They know about you."

"What do you mean?" Doctor Weir asked, her eyes narrowing.

Sheppard's face was grim and angry. "Sumner. The female wraith wasn't just feeding on him, she was interrogating him."

"That is why they are all waking up," Teyla agreed. "That is why they are all coming here. They know that Atlantis is the only way to get to a new, rich feeding ground."

John's voice was a growl. "Earth."

><><

Chapter 33

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The Siege Pt. 1
><><

Kai was in the jumper bay, running a last check on the jumper McKay was taking out to the Ancient satellite. It was almost a fifteen hour flight each way and a lot of things could go wrong out there. Miller was a good pilot, but he wasn't as experienced as she would like for a mission like this, but it wasn't her call to make.

"Zian," Kai looked up in surprise as Major Sheppard strode up the ramp.

"Major," she greeted with a nod.

"How's everything looking?" He asked, running his eyes over the read out on the HUD.

"Ready to launch," she said,
closing the display and disengaging from the controls. She swung the chair around and stood, moving to the rear control panel. She unplugged her tablet and was on her tip toes trying to reach it to close.

The Major suppressed his snort and easily closed the panel. "So once they're outta here, what does Zelenka have you running off to next?"

Kai hesitated and turned back to The Major. "Nothing," she said. "He's working on the self destruct program. Not really my area."

"Well," Sheppard said shifting his weight uncomfortably. "My team is heading off-world to take a look at a potential Alpha site."

"A new Alpha site?" Kai asked in confusion, the last she had heard during the briefing the alpha site had already been secured.

Sheppard let out an exhausted sigh. "The old one was tagged by the Wraith."

Kai wrinkled her nose and went back to packing up her equipment.

"Anyway, with McKay going on this mission we're short a science team member, if you're interested..." he dragged off uncomfortably. "Otherwise I can always ask Kavanagh," he added quickly with a wry grin.

Kai chuckled, swinging her bag over her shoulder. "Well, I'd hate to subject you to that," she agreed and the two of them stepped out of the Jumper together.

"Well," Rodney said briskly as they appeared. "Everything ready?"

Kai nodded. "She's all set," she promised.

Grodin and Miller passed them, carrying large supply containers aboard before they settled into their seats. McKay hesitated, looking at the jumper and fidgeting with his hands.

"Well, don't wait up," McKay said briskly as he turned back to The Major.

"Good luck Rodney," John said grimly as he held his hand out to him.

McKay shook it. "It'll be a walk in the park," he said puffing himself up arrogantly. Then he turned and boarded the Jumper.

Kai and Sheppard stood and watched at the roof door opened and the jumper lifted away and out of sight. She could practically feel the tension rolling off The Major. McKay wasn't just his team mate, he was his friend. She could imagine The Major wasn't too happy sending his friend to the other side of the solar system without him.

She turned to him, and opened her mouth to say something reassuring when the familiar hard nudge in the back of her mind distracted her. She frowned for a moment, and glanced at the Major out of the corner of her eye. Was it something he was doing? She shook the thought away. Whatever was happening it had something to do with her and being in the city of the ancestors.

"Miller's a good pilot," Kai said conversationally, trying to cover up her own discomfort.

Miller was one of the pilots she had been training. He was the most experienced after her and the Major.

"What?" John asked turning back to her. Then he realized how worried he must have seemed and he quickly schooled his expression. "Right," he agreed. "Course he is."

Kai followed the Major down to the locker room to gear up. Teyla and Ford were already down there. It was Teyla's first mission back on active duty and the Athosian seemed eager to get back to work. Kai didn't blame her. She knew from experience how hard it could be being cooped up in the infirmary. 

The four of them stepped through the Stargate together. Ford and Sheppard set up a flanking position as they began a sweep of the area around the gate.

"All right, I want to secure a ten klick radius out from the gate. Should take a few hours, stay in radio contact. Last one back is a rotten egg."

Teyla and Kai exchanged confused glances and John let out a sigh. "Never mind," he huffed. "Ford, you're with me."

"Are you challenging us to a speed contest?" Kai asked a glimmer of challenge shining in her eyes.

John frowned at her and she actually smirked at him. "I would have thought you had learned your lesson Major," she teased.

He snorted and shook his head. "Let's move out," he called then he turned back. It was rare of Kai to open up so much in front of others, he didn't want to discourage her. "Last one back has to escort Kavanagh's team next time they go off-world."

Teyla and Kai exchanged a pleased smile and the two took off into the underbrush. They started with a traditional sweep pattern and worked their way out from there.

They had only been in the planet a couple hours when Kai heard something like thunder. She frowned and looked up, but the sky was blue and the sun was still shining. She froze, straining her senses to see if the noise would come again.

"Kai?" Teyla asked cautiously as she noted the Mortii's distraction. Teyla had been around Kai enough to learn to depend on her heightened senses. "What is the matter?"

"I hear..." Kai started to say and then her eyes widened. "Run!" she yelled without ever seeing it. She locked her hand around Teyla's upper arm and the two women bolted back towards the gate. The trees behind them crashed and cracked as something massive gave chase. Every footstep it made sounded like thunder and Kai could feel it in her bones.

"MAJOR!" Teyla yelled into the comm. "Evac. Now!"

They sprinted towards the gate. Ford and Sheppard had beaten them back and were in formation to cover them. Kai didn't look back, she ran straight for the gate. She saw the moment it came into sight behind her. Sheppard's eyes widened for less than half a second before he started shooting.

"Ford! Dial the gate!" he yelled.

Teyla fired a spray from her P-90 over her shoulder, but nothing seemed to deter the creature. Kai risked a glance and cursed. She had never seen a reptile that large in person, only heard legends of them.

"Let's move!" Sheppard yelled as Ford disappeared through the horizon. Teyla went next and Sheppard stayed in position until Kai sprinted past him. Once they were through the three of them laid down cover fire as Major Sheppard ran across the event horizon.

"Activate the shield!" Sheppard yelled as soon as they were clear.

The shield shimmered into place and then flashed as something crashed into it on the other side. Ford leaned forward gasping for breath.

"Everyone okay?" Sheppard asked looking over his team.

"Yes Major," Teyla agreed.

He nodded briskly and turned around just as Sergeant Bates ran up the stairs. "I told you she was a liability, sir!" Bates exclaimed, shoving his finger into Sheppard's chest. "Now, I'm not going to let your personal feelings endanger this facility any longer."

Kai was fairly certain it was Teyla and not her Bates had a problem with this time, but she scowled nonetheless. Teyla had done nothing but sacrifice for Atlantis again and again. It was maddening Bates could not see past his own prejudices to the truth.

"What?" Teyla asked stomping forward.

"Look, I'm not accusing you of doing it intentionally, but the Wraith must be getting information from you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sheppard growled dangerously. "We ran into a...what the hell was that?"

"It may have been an imbatu," Kai said in disbelief.

Everyone glanced towards her and she realized her words meant nothing to them. It must have been what the Major felt like when he so often made references she failed to understand.

"It looked an awful lot like a T-Rex, sir," Ford said immediately stepping forward to diffuse the tension.

"Yeah, an im...im..." the Major tried and gave up. "A T-Rex. Wasn't even a Wraith. So why don't you check those accusations," Sheppard said taking an aggressive step towards Bates.

Weir cleared her throat stepping forward between the two officers. "I take it you don't recommend that planet as an Alpha site?" She asked turning her focus on Major Sheppard.

John shook his head, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It wouldn't be my first choice.  If McKay doesn't get the satelite on-line we're screwed."

"Kai," Weir said turning to her. "You are familiar with many systems in this galaxy, would you be willing to help in the search?"

Kai nodded. "Of course Doctor Weir," she agreed.

Bates turned and left.  Sheppard and Weir were too distracted to notice Teyla slip away to follow him.

"Can you think of any uninhabited planet that might be suitable?" Weir asked.

Kai shook her head. "Honesty I did not have much cause to visit uninhabited planets. Not to mention, when we were sent off-world an Instrument was never allowed to know or dial the gate address. We were only permitted the address to gate home."

John stared at Kai. Every extra piece of her past made him more and more angry over what had been done to her. She had been little more than a slave to those people. They wouldn't even allow their people to know the addresses of other planets as a way to control them.

Weir opened her mouth to say something but Kai went rigid. "Major-" she said and she turned towards the hallway Bates and Teyla had disappeared down. She hurried towards the sound of raising voices.

"Perhaps you are not aware, Sergeant but being accused of serving the Wraith is the greatest insult among my people!" Teyla growled, her voice rising with her temper.

"Oh, I'm aware," Bates yelled back.

Kai turned down the hall just as she heard the slap of flesh. As they came around the corner Bates was just recovering as Teyla pulled back to hit him again.

"What the hell's going on?" John exclaimed. Ford ran past him to restrain Bates as Kai grabbed Teyla's arms, locking them behind her back in a hold.

"I was simply stating an opinion!" Teyla yelled fighting against Kai's grip.

John put himself between the two raging people. He couldn't believe they were doing this right now. The Wraith were coming, they didn't have time for this shit.

"She attacked me!" Bates growled, shoving against Ford in his effort to get at Teyla.

"For good reason!" Teyla exclaimed dragging Kai forward several inches.

Kai tightened her grip on Teyla's wrists, pushing them up into her shoulders. She didn't want to hurt her friend, but Teyla was several inches taller than her and stronger.

John turned on her, his eyes blazing as they finally hit his very last nerve. "Yeah and what reason is that?"

"My guess would be the Wraith!" Bates yelled slamming against Ford.

Sheppard whirled back on him. "Walk away Bates," he warned dangerously. Teyla tried to wrench herself free but Kai's hold was impossible to break and the harder she pulled the more painful it became on her shoulders. She fought, dragging Kai forward another inch and her shoulder slammed into The Major's.

"Sir!"

"WALK AWAY!" Major Sheppard's bellow echoed through the narrow hallway.

Bates pulled back from Ford, his hands coming down to his sides as he disengaged. His face changed into a snarl. "This isn't over!" he said pointing his finger towards Teyla.

"I would be disappointed if it were!" Teyla growled back, but she had relaxed in Kai's arms and Kai slowly let her go as Bates disappeared down the hall.

John whirled back to Teyla. "What the hell are you doing?" He yelled. "You don't go around decking the head of security!"

Teyla actually flinched as John yelled at her. Kai had never heard him raise his voice outside of a combat situation.

"He said-" Teyla started to defend.

"I don't care what he said!" John yelled and his voice lowered. "He says a lot of things. You just stay away from him." he warned.

Teyla's jaw was clenched as she nodded once and stormed away down the other hall.

Kai let out a breath as Sheppard and Ford exchange wary glances. "Good ears Zian," Sheppard told her.

Kai nodded. "It was hard to miss."

He snorted, with his anger completely drained away John just looked exhausted. "Come on guys, we got a lot of work to do, and two less people to do it," he grumbled and led the way back to the conference room.

They each took a laptop and started scrolling through the list of planets in the database. They worked through the night.

Ford ran down to the mess around 2:00 a.m. to get them coffee. John stood and stretched. He glanced towards Kai and saw she had fallen asleep with her head resting on her arm beside her computer. She had hung her tac vest over the back of the chair and looped her scarf loosely around her neck when she had settled in to work. Her dark curls spilled loose over her arm making her look soft. He was glad she was getting some sleep. She hadn't had a full nights rest since their last run in with the Genii. He frowned and rubbed at the center of his chest.

"I was thinking-" Ford started to say as he came back into the room holding two mugs of coffee. He caught himself when he realized Sheppard was distracted and staring at Zian.

John jerked his eyes off of Kai and looked back at the Lieutenant. "Yeah?" He asked a little too sharply. He forced himself to turn away and cross his arms over his chest. He was exhausted, it was the only explanation for his behavior.

Ford suppressed a smile. "Nothing sir," he said, setting the coffee down and retaking his seat. Others may not have seen it, and maybe Sheppard himself hadn't realized it, but it seemed like there was something there. Ford hoped something came of it. As far as he was concerned, Kai was good people, kinda scary sometimes, but loyal and genuinely good. The scary never seemed to bother the Major. Ford liked and respected The Major and thought he deserved to be happy.

They went back to work for another couple hours before the Major's voice woke Kai in the early hours of the morning.

"How about M1K-439?" he asked tiredly.

"Which ones that?" Ford asked.

Kai stretched and sheepishly unlocked her computer. She couldn't believe she had fallen asleep on the job. Glancing around the room however, she wasn't the only one. Only Sheppard and Ford were still awake. Other technicians and science team members were sleeping over their computers as she had been.

"The one with all the waterfalls.'

"Waterfalls? Why don't we just call it Planet Waterfall?" Ford asked making a note on the laptop in front of him.

Sheppard leveled an exhausted look at the enthusiastic young Lieutenant.

"What? I say we should just give them names..." Ford drew off and then shifted uncomfortably in his seat until Sheppard turned back to his computer. "Look, we got a list of five planets here. That should be enough potential Alpha sites to get Stackhouse and his team started-"

The P.A. clicked on overhead. "Major Sheppard we have a situation at generator station one."

John shoved himself to his feet before they had even stopped speaking. He glanced up quickly to Kai who was watching him. "Ford, Zian with me," he called and he jogged out the door.

Kai has shrugged back into her tac vest by the time they approached the generator station. Two marines were standing around it, but she thought she could hear a third. They were five feet away when she picked up the tangy scent of blood in the air.

"What's the problem?" Sheppard asked as he approached the marine in charge.

"It's Bates sir, he's been attacked."

They stepped through the doorway to see Bates laying on the ground. "Get a medical team down here!" Sheppard ordered.

><><

Chapter 34

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The Siege Pt. 1 Cont

><><

Kai, Ford and Sheppard followed Beckett and his team back to the infirmary and waited as they worked on Sergeant Bates.

John paced restlessly as they waited for news. Clearly it had been an attack. On the trip down to the infirmary he had doubled the marines on duty, but they were already operating on a skeleton crew with next to no sleep. He couldn't keep pushing his men and expect them to be ready to fight when the Wraith arrived. He needed to talk to Bates and find out what happened.

Teyla's pretty face, twisted in anger kept replaying itself over and over in his tired mind. He didn't want to even consider that possibility. If she had done this, then he had been wrong about her and she wasn't the person he had thought she was at all. He shouldn't have allowed Bates to leave alone when he was so pissed, he should have had Ford escort him...somewhere.

John sighed and scrubbed at his eyes. There were too many unknowns and blaming himself for all the things he coulda done was not going to fix the problem. He looked up at the others. Ford was sitting in a chair, staring at his hands thoughtfully. Kai stood against the far wall. She hadn't moved since they arrived in the infirmary, settling into the eerily stillness she could do sometimes. He was surprised to find she was watching him. Her expression wasn't exactly sympathy, but maybe understanding...John scowled and rubbed at the center of his chest as he turned and resumed his pacing.

It was nearly an hour before Beckett stepped out to see them. The Doctor looked as exhausted as the rest of them.

"Is he going to be okay? John asked.

Beckett's face was grim. "It's still hard to tell. He's got five broken ribs, a fractured collarbone and the concussion was quite severe."

"When can we talk to him?" John stepped forward, anticipating being let into the room immediately. They needed to get this problem sorted as quickly as possible, they had already wasted too much time.

"We can't," Beckett said apologetically, he led the way towards the Sergeant's bed. "I put him in a medically induced comma until the sub-dermal haematoma can be dealt with. We won't be finding out what happened from him any time soon."

Ford stared down at the unconscious Sergeant as the monitors around him beeped rhythmically. "Teyla and Bates got into it pretty bad yesterday," he said conversationally, glancing towards the Major sheepishly. He knew how close The Major was with Teyla, but there was no denying what happened.

John shook his head before Ford had even finished speaking. "A fist fight and a beating like this are a long drive apart."

Ford stiffened, he didn't appreciate being dismissed so easily. "I understand that sir," He said as respectfully as he could manage. "But they were in a fight and they both were looking to continue it."

John sighed. Regardless of whether or not he believed Teyla did it, Ford was right and other people would quickly come to the same conclusion if they didn't prove otherwise. He nodded, but didn't look convinced as he turned back to Beckett. "Anything pointing to who did this?" 

Kai scowled as she stared down at the Sergeant. He wasn't a large man. He was shorter than the Major, but more muscular. She had seen him fight several times. Unless Teyla had caught him by surprise he wouldn't have gone down easily. The focus of the attacks on his head and shoulders also made her think someone at least his same height. It wasn't that Teyla couldn't have inflicted the injuries, there were just more convenient ways of incapacitating him if she so desired.

Beckett looked down at Bates. "I'm having a forensic exam of both his body and clothing performed right now." He informed the Major.

"Let us know what you find out," John looked to Ford and Kai. "Let's go get Teyla's side of the story," he said wearily.

The three of them walked most of the way in uncomfortable silence. Kai could feel the tension between the two men. It was rare to see Ford stand up to Sheppard and it had both of them off kilter.

They were approaching the residential quarters when Ford at last spoke. "You know how I feel about Teyla," he said briskly. "It's just that I think we need to keep in mind that there's a chance it wasn't her in control."

John hesitated for a moment and cut his eyes over to Kai. "What do you think Zian?"

Kai hesitated. "Me, Major?" she asked scowling.

"Yeah, you're supposed to be telepathic, right?"

Kai shook her head. "Not me, my people," she corrected gently. "And if you read Doctor Beckett's report...we don't have the ability to connect mind to mind in this way. The most complex psychic abilities were lost to the Mortii generations ago. At most some Mortii may protect against psychic attack or form a telepathic connection through a Bond-"

John hesitated for a step, he turned towards Kai frowning as half forgotten words chased themselves around in his mind.

"You have been so guarded," she said. "Had I not looked into her mind and seen you together I'm not sure I would have seen it myself."

"Seen what?" John asked in confusion.

Chaya smiled at him. "A Bond."

"Major?" Kai asked in confusion as John nearly tripped. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Ah never mind," he said shaking away the memory as they approached Teyla's room. "I guess we'll ask her," he said a little too quickly.

Sheppard stepped forward and knocked on Teyla's door. It was just a little after dawn. The door slid open and Teyla looked over the three of them cautiously. "Major?"

"Teyla," he said. "Can we come in?"

Teyla nodded and stepped back into her room. She sat down on the edge of her bed. "What is the matter?" She asked, looking over each of them, as though she could find answers on their faces. "What has happened?"

"Bates was attacked last night, he's in a coma," John supplied grimly.

Teyla's eyes widened in genuine shock. "Is he okay?" She asked first, then she hesitated as she took in the fact that all three of them were wearing full tactical gear. "You do not think I had anything to do with it?"

"Of course not," Sheppard assured her, though his hands were on his hips and his body language was anything but reassuring.

"You and Bates did get into it pretty good last night," Ford pointed out.

Teyla frowned as the young Lieutenant. "You know me Aidan, I never would have taken it that far."

"I know, so let's see if we can't rule it out all together."

Teyla's eyes cut to John who nodded, encouraging her to answer the questions. He had already seen the truth in her eyes when they told her Bates was hurt. Now they just needed an alibi to keep everyone else off her back while they figured out who did it.

"Where were you last night?" Ford asked crossing his arms over his chest. He had grown up watching Law and Order with his Grandma and he knew Sheppard would make a better good cop any day.

"I was here, in my room," Teyla responded looking back and forth between the Major and Ford, she wasn't sure why Ford was behaving so strangely.

"The whole night?" Ford pressed. 

"Yes," Teyla said sharply.

"So there's no way of knowing if you blacked out or not," John said.

Teyla scowled, looking back and forth between her team members. she had thought they of all people would trust her in this. "I have no way of proving it no. But I did not leave the room last night, I am sure."

Both Ford and Sheppard nodded, though neither look entirely convinced convinced.

She sighed tightly. "I did not leave this room," she repeated.

Kai however wasn't paying attention to their exchange. Instead, she was looking around the room with interest. Teyla had decorated the room with warm fabrics and sheer scarves making it feel like the inside of a tent. Everything was beautiful and feminine. However, the glowing blue lights of the door controls stood out starkly against the wall.

"Major," Kai said frowning at the door control.

"Yeah?" He asked turning back to Kai.

"I don't know if it's the same in the residential rooms, but a lot of the security protocols record the opening and closing of doors. I might be able to find out if this door was opened last night," she said thoughtfully.

Weir's voice came of the comm. "Sheppard, Ford please report to my office."

"We're on our way," Sheppard replied. "What do you need to do it?" He asked turning back to Kai.

Kai shrugged. "Just my tablet. I'll grab it and hopefully have an answer inside of an hour."

"Do it, report back to me as soon as you find anything," he nodded to Teyla and he and Ford hurried towards the control room.

Kai fast walked back to the lab. When she came back she knocked on the door before opening it. Teyla's face was shuttered and she still sat on her bed.

"I just need access to your door panel," Kai said awkwardly as she motioned towards the controls.

Teyla nodded but she was staring down at her hands as her fingers tangled together.

Kai worked on the panel for several minutes before Teyla spoke up. "Do you also believe I am capable of this?"

Kai snorted humorlessly but she didn't look up from her tablet. "Of course you're capable."

Teyla was silent for a long moment and when Kai looked up she could see the shock on the other woman's face. Kai made a noise of impatience in the back of her throat. Teyla could be sensitive sometimes and Kai wasn't well practiced in dealing with emotions. If a Mortii had grievously insulted another a combat challenge could be issued. Kai hadn't witnessed any of those, so she assumed a different type of conflict resolution was used.

"It doesn't mean I think you did it," Kai explained. "Honestly, between you and I, I think I'm more likely to lose my temper..."

Teyla didn't argue but she still looked hurt. Emotions were swimming in her dark eyes. "Major Sheppard-" She started to say.

"The Major has to do his job," Kai interrupted impatiently. This was exactly what happened back on that planet with Teyla's friends. She couldn't tell the difference between what the Major had to do and what he wanted to do, and then she blamed him for things he couldn't change.

It made Kai mad because she knew that even though he didn't show it, the Major cared about his friends and it had to bother him. "He isn't afforded the luxury of an opinion," Kai said bluntly. "He has to do things by the book or people will question him. They'll question his ability to do his job. To be..." Kai gestured helplessly as she struggled to find the words to explain. "The Major," she finally said with a shrug. "Who you are and the things you must do...they are not always the same."

Teyla sniffed, shifting uncomfortably. "I have not found that to be true."

Kai turned to face Teyla fully. She met her gaze unrelentingly and unapologetically, although her Storm grey eyes were sad. "Then you are very lucky," Kai told her friend honestly.

Teyla scowled and looked as though she didn't understand. She opened her mouth to say something, but Kai's tablet beeped.

Kai looked down, unsurprised to see that Teyla's door had remained closed through the night. She disconnected the wires and tucked the tablet under her arm. "You're clear," Kai told Teyla honestly. "I'll let the Major know."

"I'm sure he and Lieutenant Ford will be relieved," Teyla replied.

Kai hesitated in the door and turned back to Teyla. "They will be Teyla. Everything they did was to protect you, to prove to the others that you were innocent so you would be able to be on active duty and help in the investigation."

Then Kai turned away and hurried to Weir's office. She was in the control room when she was able to hear their conversation. Weir, Ford and Sheppard were sitting in her office with the door open. She assumed no one else in the control room could hear their conversation.

Ford was speaking. "The whole Wraith connection thing, and her nightmares make me nervous."

"What are we going to do about it?" The Major's voice was sharp with sarcasm. "Stick her in the brig? It's Teyla we're talking about."

Weir was the first to see Kai. "Kai," she greeted as Kai approached the door.

Kai nodded respectfully and the other two looked over their shoulders at her. When Sheppard saw it was her he sprung to his feet.

"Well?" he asked, his eyes flickering to the tablet under her arm. "Did you find anything?"

Kai nodded. "According the control panel the door was not opened. Unless she climbed out the window Teyla is clear."

Sheppard exhaled in relief. "Well that's a relief," he said flopping back into this chair. He scrubbed at his gritty tired eyes.

"Except now we have to figure out who was responsible," Weir pointed out. She wrapped her hands around the warmth of her coffee mug. She was also relieved Teyla had been exonerated. She hadn't wanted to believe the Athosian leader was capable of attacking one of their people, but unlike the Major she was able to see how a situation could have escalated. Teyla was a very skilled fighter and if she had lost her temper anything could have happened.

"So we're back to square one," Ford said grimly.

"Well, we have security footage," Weir said thoughtfully. She turned to Kai. "Are you able to continue to help in the investigation? Or does Zelenka need you back in the lab?"

"I can help," Kai assured her. "Zelenka will contact me if he needs my-"

The slap of running feet sounded out in the control room and Kai turned to see Beckett jogging towards Weir's office. "We have a situation on our hands," he said urgently as he fought to catch his breath.

"What's going on?" Weir asked.

"I've completed the tests, found DNA on Sergeant Bates uniform."

"And it's not Teyla's," John filled in for him.

"No Major," Beckett replied grimly. "I ran the test twice to be certain. It's conclusive. We have a Wraith in the city. "

><><

John's team plus Kai were meeting with Weir, Zelenka and Beckett in the conference room. He had two teams of marines on standby. He initially planned on Stackhouse's team taking the second team of marines to hunt the Wraith but he was still off world checking out the potential Alpha sites. Instead, he would have to divide up his own team.

"Someone tell me how this is possible. How can a Wraith get inside the city?" He asked grimly. 

"They didn't gate in," Ford said.

Kai frowned thoughtfully. "The dart," she said half under her breath.

"What?" Sheppard asked turning around to face the small Mortii.

She pressed her lips together grimly. She was mad at herself for not thinking of it sooner. "The Wraith dart that scanned us. They said it made it's way through the city, scanning the whole thing. As soon as it was done it self destructed."

"So they beamed into the city," Sheppard finished for her.

Kai nodded.

"Can they do that?" Ford asked.

"They beam people up, they have to be able to beam them back down," Kai said with a shrug.

Weir crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't like that their city suddenly didn't feel safe. "So the pilot of the wraith dart scanned us, transmitted information to the hive ships, beamed down here and destroyed his ship."

Zelenka was nodding. "Seems plausible."

"That is precisely the time I began to sense the wraith continually," Teyla agreed.

Sheppard scowled. "No wonder you were having nightmares," he said wryly. 

Weir bristled. "What's he been doing here all this time?"

"Well," Zelenka said thoughtfully. "Bates was attacked near the generator that powers this tower."

Sheppard scowl deepened. "Maybe the Wraith's job is to knock out the power before the hive ship gets here. Leave us dead in the water."

"Or ensure the self destruct plan failed," Kai added.

"Or a combination of both," Ford agreed.

"Exactly," Weir agreed. "We do know for sure that we have a Wraith intruder in the city that we have to track down."

Zelenka stiffened. "I may have an idea." He led the way back out into the control room toward the sensor terminal. "Kai get the-" he started to say but Kai was already carrying the crystals towards him. He nodded his thanks and began reassembling them. "This is a biometric sensor we've had on-line for a month or so. It detects irregularities in biometric rhythm and reports them."

Sheppard frowned down at the console watching as Zelenka and Kai moved in perfect unison without having to say a word to one another. "Wouldn't it have picked up on the Wraith?"

"Well, it requires a lot of power. We've narrowed it's field of focus to scan solely in the gate room, figuring that was the only place the Wraith, or any other alien entity would enter the city from."

The overhead screen activated, small white dots appeared over the top of a schematic of the city.

"Okay, so that was wrong," Sheppard said glibly.

"Yup," Zelenka agreed as he frowned down at the console. "Now, if we can just expand-my god..." Zelenka drew off. "There he is," he said motioning towards the single red dot, blinking in one of the abandoned sections of the city.

"It works like a life-signs detector," Kai explained to the others. "Except it's able to distinguish different species." Glancing up at the screen she could see where their group was standing in the control room. She found it interesting neither she nor Teyla showed up as being different species according the the scanners. 

"That's him?" Sheppard asked stepping up next to her.

"That's him," she confirmed grimly.

Sheppard glanced down at Kai. Her body was tense as she stared up at the screen. He glanced back towards Zelenka. "We can track him in real time?"

"Yes."

Sheppard turned back to the group. "All right. With Stackhouse off-world I need another team leader," he turned Kai. "You in?" he asked. She nodded briskly. "Okay, I want two teams. Ford, you're with me. Teyla, Kai you'll lead the other team of marines. Let's go get him."

><><

Kai and Teyla led the second team of six marines around to the south side of the Wraith's position. The Major's team had taken the more direct north attack position. Team one would be in position before them. Beside her Teyla had her P-90 in her hand. Despite the Major's offer of one of her own, Kai was more comfortable with the handgun and her Blade. 

The comm between them was open "Is he still in place?" The Major's low voice came through.

"Yes, he's still in the same room," Zelenka confirmed. "Hasn't moved since we located him."

"Well, let's hope he's still sleeping. We're gonna breach from different directions. If he tries to get out the other door, take him. Teyla, Zian you in position?"

"Almost," Teyla replied.

"My teams ready," Sheppard replied. "Stand by." 

Over the comm Kai could hear his impatient sigh and the quiet click as he fiddled with his gun. The Major was not a patient person. She increased her speed as a bad feeling went over her. The others behind her followed suit.  

"We're in position," he said after another moment. "We're going now."

"Sheppard wait!" she yelled but he didn't listen. She could hear the men's movement's, their sharp breaths and in the background she heard a wraith stunner firing. She jerked, feeling for a moment as though it had been her that was hit. She took off in a sprint for the Major's position. 

She was well ahead of the marines and Teyla when she spotted the Wraith. He was crouched over the Major. "Nothing will keep us from our new feeding ground," he snarled. He raised his feeding hand, and was about to slam it into the Major's chest. 

Kai emptied her entire clip into the Wraith before it staggered back from the Major. She ran straight for the Wraith. She dropped to her knees and skidded across the floor, slicing across the back of it's knees with her Blade. The Wraith yelled angrily as it collapsed to the floor, it's stunner skittered across the floor away from it. Kai threw herself into a forward roll and snatched up the stunner. The Wraith had pushed itself back to it's feet when she spun back towards it and fired two stun shots into the center of it's chest. The Wraith went down. 

She could hear the running feet of her team as they came into the room. Kai shoved the stunner into her belt and scrambled over to Sheppard. He was laying too still, the Wraith had ripped the top half of his vest and t-shirt open. She was relieved to see the skin was smooth and uninjured. He hadn't fed. She touched him and he jerked and lunged at her. His eyes caught hers and as soon as he realized it was Kai he relaxed back down. 

Kai laid a hand against his chest to steady him. "You're okay Major," she promised him. She felt the gentle nudge in the back of her mind but she was too relieved Sheppard and his men were uninjured she didn't care. 

John's brows drew together in a frown as he fought against the effects of the stunner. He fought to make his muscles work, but it took all of his energy and focus just to keep his eyes half open and stay awake.  

"Your team is safe," Kai assured him as though she could read his mind. "Just relax," she told him. "Beckett's on the way down to look you over, but it looks like you took a stunner to the chest."

John leaned back and let himself rest. "Yeah," he said.

There was a long moment of silence between them. Kai suddenly realized she was still touching the warmth of his chest and she snatched her hand back. "I told you to wait," she told him.

John snorted and groaned as pins and needles erupted through his body. He groaned. "Are you seriously saying I told you so right now?"

A small smirk tugged at the corner of Kai's mouth and John let himself close his eyes, knowing Kai would take care of things. 

"How is he?" Teyla asked urgently as she knelt beside Kai. The Major was unconscious, his head turned towards Kai. 

"He's okay, Ford?" Kai asked. 

"The others are fine," Teyla promised. "I have already reported to Weir and Doctor Beckett is on the way." 

Beckett arrived shortly after and he and his team began lifting the unconscious men onto gurneys and moving them to the infirmary. Teyla stood over them, waiting until the last two, Ford and Sheppard were lifted. 

Teyla turned back to Kai, a troubled expression in her eyes.

"Go with them," Kai encouraged. "I'll escort the prisoner," she said jerking her chin towards the Wraith. The remaining marines had found shackles and were preparing to move him to the brig. 

"Are you certain?" Teyla asked. It had not escaped her notice how close Kai and Sheppard had been when she first arrived. 

"Of course," Kai responded briskly and she turned to the Wraith. "Let's move," she said to the marines.  Two of them grabbed the shackled Wraith's arms and between them they dragged the unconscious prisoner towards the holding cell. 

><><

The Wraith had been awake for nearly an hour. He stood in the center of his cell at attention, his entire focus on Kai who stood just outside the bars staring him down. The marines all moved and shifted their weight nervously, but the two of them were like the eye in the center of a storm. 

The Wraith had sniffed the air once and cocked it's head to the side as though it wasn't quite sure what to make of the small warrior standing in front of it. It had glanced towards the men surrounding the small Queen but they all lacked the quiet power of the one before him. A slow smile stretched his face. He had not believed one of such strength resided in this place. 

The Wraith was studying her. The others behind her shifted a few times and she wondered if he was trying to make them see things, if he was testing her in some way. Wraith psychological tricks had never worked on her or her people. Instead of seeming upset, the Wraith looked amused. 

The doors behind Kai slid open and she heard the distinctive movements of The Major, Ford and Teyla as they stepped into the room. 

"Good to see you on your feet sir," one of the marines said quickly, and Kai knew how uneasy they had been without their commanding officer. She could handle a Wraith, but none of them knew much about her beyond what they had seen.

John nodded to the man and stepped up next to Zian. The small woman seemed to be having a staring contest with the prisoner. "Where we at Zian?" he asked in a low tone. "He said anything yet?" 

Kai shook her head. "Nothing." 

"Why's he smiling?" he asked. 

"I think it's amused it make me see things like the others," she said with a shrug. 

John turned back to the four marines stationed in the room. "Has it been making you see things?" 

They all nodded and he glanced down at Kai. It was good to know the Wraith couldn't implant images in her mind. He wondered if it had something to do with the telepathy she claimed to be so bad at. Shrugging it off he stepped up to the bars. 

"You got a name?" he asked the wraith grimly. 

The smile on the Wraith's face transformed into a snarl and he stared John down. 

"Okay," John said brightly as though it didn't matter one way or another. "We'll go with Bob. Bob, I'm going to need to know what you've been doing here the last two weeks and I'm going to need to know now." 

The Wraith growled low in his throat and John sighed. 

He turned back to Ford who was standing over his shoulder holding a stunner. "I don't think he's in a very talkative mood sir," Ford told him. 

"I need to know what he's been doing and whether he's been transmitting back to the hive ships."

Ford frowned. "Wouldn't we have picked up a transmission?"

"He could have sent a secure message."

Teyla looked over the Major's shoulder towards the Wraith. "Maybe I can try to connect with him," she offered. 

John scowled. "I don't think so."

"If the Alpha site has been compromised we need to know." 

John didn't like it, not one bit, but he had already tried to break a Wraith prisoner. It had taken weeks before he had even blinked. They didn't have time for this. He looked over at Kai. She nodded once, infinitesimally. Of course she agreed with Teyla. "Fine," John sighed. "See what you can do." 

Teyla stepped up to the bars and closed her eyes as she sought the connection. The Wraith stepped up to the bars. "What are you doing human?" it growled in a dangerous tone. 

The Wraith frowned thoughtfully. "You're trying to get inside my mind..." a slow smile crossed the Wraith's face. "Allow me."

Teyla's head snapped back and she cried out. She fell back, gripping her temples as pain exploded through her mind. Kai caught Teyla and the two went down to the floor, Kai cradling Teyla in her lap. 

"Teyla!" John yelled. "Stop him!" 

The cell door slid open and John fired two shots into the Wraith's torso. He flinched forward but didn't go down. It had broken his focus enough for him to let Teyla go. 

"Are you okay?" Kai asked Teyla. 

Teyla nodded as she panted. She pushed herself up as she fought to catch her breath. 

"My wounds will heal," The Wraith promised the Major. 

"Yeah?" John asked dangerously. "For how long?" he fired another five shots into the Wraith. It fell forward onto it's knees, crying out in pain. "I need to know what you've done to this city!" John yelled to be heard over the Wraith's gasps of pain. He shot him two more times and stalked into the cell. He ejected the empty clip and slid a new one in. He cocked his head to the side as he pointed the gun at the Wraith. "Listen Bob," John growled. "I have no problem with killing you whatsoever," he promised. 

The Wraith leaned forward, snarling defiantly. 

"I'm not screwing around Bob!" John bellowed. 

Teyla flinched beside Kai. 

"Did you sabotage this base or not!" when the Wraith didn't answer again John fired another three shots into it's torso. It cried out and fell back to the floor. 

"Those," it panted. "Who feed upon you, will know what you've done to me," the Wraith promised. 

"Yeah?" John challenged taking another aggressive step towards the Wraith. "We'll see." 

"Sir," Ford called, his voice pitchy with his uncertainty. "I think maybe we've gone a bit too far." 

The Wraith's eyes cut to Ford and Kai wanted to curse out the Lieutenant for showing weakness and undermining The Major. 

"I don't think we've gone far enough."

The city-wide announcement system activated, distracting them all. "May I have your attention please?" Doctor Weir's voice came through. "Our plan to stop the Wraith armada has failed. They will make it to Atlantis. Therefore we must begin our evacuation plans. I wish I could tell you all this is a fight we will win, but I can't do that."

The Wraith began chuckling. 

"I wish I could tell you we will find a safe harbor when we leave here. I can't promise you that either. I can tell you this, up to know, you all have accomplished extraordinary things and I believe that even in the face of an uncertain future, as long as we stay together, we will continue to do so. Now, we all have our evacuation duties. So thank you, and I'll see you on the other side."

The comm clicking off was drown out by the horrible, chest rattling laughter of the dying Wraith. "I will tell you this," it finally said. "No matter where you flee, we will find you," it promised. "Just as surely as we will find earth. And when we do...we will feast." 

Kai watched the Major's face as his jaw tightened and resolve settled into his hazel eyes. He stalked forward and fired the last three shots it took to kill the Wraith.  

Ford and Teyla stared at him in shock as he turned back to face the group. "You have your orders," he said grimly as he tucked his sidearm back into it's holster. "We're evacuating." 

><><

Chapter 35

><><
The Siege Pt. 2
><><

Kai was among the first to start the evacuation process. With a lack of pilots, she personally ferried each of the jumpers through the gate to their new site. She would park one in the large field they had designated for them, cloak it and then return through the gate on foot for the next. The process took her all day. They had ten jumpers that were able to fly. Ten she could save. She hated that there were at least that many she was forced to leave behind. She salvaged all the spare parts she could find and loaded the last one with all the repair supplies she could fit. Once it was parked with the others she began the walk back to the Alpha site camp.

She glanced around and then looked down at her watch frowning. The last evacuation group with The Major, Weir, McKay, Zelenka and the others was late. She spotted Stackhouse on the far side of the camp and began making her way over to him.

"Sergeant," she greeted.

He nodded. "Zian."

Over the last few months she had earned the respect of most of the men on the base, but it was still unfamiliar to her and approaching one of them as equals was uncomfortable.

"Any word from Atlantis?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest as they watched everyone work to get settled in their tents.

Stackhouse shook his head. "They're half an hour overdue," he said grimly.

Kai nodded, but she could see the stress on the man's face. Stackhouse was a good man. But in the absence of the other senior members of staff he was in charge, and she could tell the stress was wearing on him.

The gate activated and Kai exhaled in relief as the Major walked through. He looked up and when he spotted them he strode quickly across the field towards them. Kai frowned when no one else came through and the gate deactivated behind him.

"Major," Stackhouse greeted saluting.

"Change of plans," John said briskly. "We received a dial-in from earth. Stargate command got our message and sent reinforcements."

"Reinforcements sir?" Stackhouse asked in confusion. They all knew the fight was hopeless. It didn't matter how many men they had, they were technologically outgunned.

Sheppard nodded once briskly. "They also sent a new commanding officer, Colonel Everett."

Stackhouse frowned, but he was a soldier who knew it wasn't his place to ask questions.

"He has assumed command of Atlantis and is recalling all military personnel and any civilians willing to aid with clean up and support."

Stackhouse nodded.

"I'm leaving it in your hands to get the troops back," John continued. Then he turned to Kai. Stackhouse was on his radio communicating with his team, but John didn't want to be overheard. He didn't want to be seen undermining the new commander so soon after his arrival. He took her arm in his hand and gently led her away from the soldier.

Kai frowned up at him. Kai was studying the Major's face and the set of his shoulders. Something had happened. She hadn't seen him like this before.

"If you don't want to come back to Atlantis-" he began.

Kai frowned. "Why wouldn't I come back?"

John pressed his lips together in a grim line. "This guy," he started. "Weir and I aren't in charge anymore. I can't-" he started to say and then he stopped himself. His eyes were troubled.

Kai felt a gentle nudge and resisted the urge to rub the spot in the center of her chest. "Can't what, Major?" she asked instead.

John pressed his lips together grimly. "I can't protect you from him," he said in a rare moment of absolute honesty.

Kai went very still as she stared up into Sheppard's hazel eyes. His hand was still gripping her arm. "Major," she said gently. "I'll be okay," she promised. She had never had anyone care enough about her to care what she did one way or the other and the Major never behaved this way. She wasn't sure what to make of it.

John looked down at his hand and quickly snatched it back when he realized he was still holding onto her. "Right," he said quickly. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you," he said gravely. "Let's get started getting these jumpers back home, huh?" He asked with a joking smile, breaking the seriousness of the moment.

Kai nodded and followed the Major to the field of the jumpers she had just finished ferrying over. She and The Major began flying them back to Atlantis. It took them a couple hours to get them all back in position in the jumper bay.

She had just set the last one down and was walking out the back hatch when a military man with steel grey hair and an air of command stepped in front of her, purposefully blocking her way.

"You must be Ms. Zian, I am Colonel Everett," he said staring down at her. He ran his eyes over her in a clinical detached sort of way and Kai returned the favor.

Kai cocked her head to the side as she regarded the man. He was older than anyone she had seen on this expedition so far, thickly built but clearly a man who still spent time in the field.

The Major stepped into view over Everett's shoulder and she could practically feel the tension rolling off him.

"Major Sheppard spoke very highly of you in his report," it wasn't a compliment. Instead, it felt a little like Everett was trying to figure out why someone would speak highly of her.

Kai didn't respond, she clasped her hands behind her back and waited. He had some purpose for being here and cornering her in this way. She remembered the Major's warning and suddenly Sheppard's hovering made sense.

"Of course I'm sure you can understand why the early reports of your past would be a little concerning to me."

"In what way Colonel Everett?" Kai responded smoothly. There was a time and a place to come across as intimidating. This was not that time. Instead she bottled it all up inside of her and donned the composed mask she wore when she first arrived. Her small size always helped in coming across as non-threatening.

"You lied not only to Sergeant Bates, but also both commanders of this expedition to worm your way into their good graces. Sergeant Bates detailed the perimeters of you staying, including you remaining separate from military missions and remaining unarmed. So you could understand my concern then when the first time we come face to face you are armed to the teeth," he said in an overly bright voice.

Kai didn't think she was carrying an excessive amount of weapons. The only one from Atlantis was the handgun, but she also didn't think pointing that out would be terribly helpful right now. She reached her handgun and the men behind the Colonel all flinched.  The Colonel however stared her in the eye as Kai ejected the magazine and handed both to the man.

"There," he said smugly. "Isn't that better," he said turning pointedly to look at Major Sheppard.

"Colonel-" John started to argue.

"Major, I believe Miss Zian and I have come to an understanding. She will return to her primary duties here, which I believe is to be our jumper mechanic and when that isn't needed she will assist Doctor Zelenka. Isn't that right Miss Zian?" he asked rhetorically.

Kai nodded curtly. Everett had made his position very clear. She realized what the Major had meant back at the alpha site in that moment. It hadn't been personal at all. She had been here based on the good graces of himself and Doctor Weir. Their protection was gone now.

John stiffened, taking a single step closer to them. It felt a little too much like Everett was bullying her. "She had been a valuable asset in the past in defending Atlantis."

Kai's eyes flickered to the Major. He was struggling to contain his temper and it was going to get him in trouble with his new Commanding Officer. She couldn't let him do that on her account.

"Oh I think we can manage without the help of one little girl," Everett said condescendingly.

Kai knew in that moment he was trying to get as much of a reaction out of her as he was out of the Major. Her eyes flickered towards the Major and she wished she could explain to him what she was seeing. She willed him to stay calm and not lose his temper over this.

Sheppard's gaze suddenly snapped towards hers and he scowled. His hand came up and he rubbed absently at the center of his chest as he frowned at Kai. "Colonel," he said after a moment in a much calmer voice. "I asked that you allow Zian to aid in pilot training. She is the most experienced pilot we have after myself."

"De-nied," Everett said, a little pleased with himself. "I think it's best if Miss Zian stays as far from our military strategy as possible, don't you?" Everett asked, though he wasn't looking for an answer. He turned back to face Kai. "Doctor's McKay and Zelenka are working on the chair, I believe your skills as an assistant could be of use there. Hold a flashlight or something. You know, stay out of the way. Until I decide what to do with you."

"Of course Colonel Everett," Kai responded compliantly.

"Good girl," Everett said with a smile.

The Major's anger once more became a palpable thing and Kai sucked in a breath. It wasn't worth him getting so upset about this.

Everett looked back and forth between them looking entirely entertained. "All right then. Miss Zian, you're dismissed."

Kai scooped up her gear and exited the jumper bay without a backward glance. It had taken all of her control not to punch the new Commander in his pretentious face. She stomped down the hall feeling the need to do something. She was only a few feet down the hall when she heard the slap of the Major's feet against the floor.

"Zian!" he called after her.

She turned back and waited for him to catch up. "Look," he started to say. "That guy-"

"-is commanding officer now. I understand Major," she promised. Did the Major really believe she was so incapable of controlling her temper?

"He's wrong," John said bluntly. He hated how Everett had treated Kai. She had been nothing but loyal to Atlantis. She had sacrificed and bled and fought for it and it rankled him to have to stand by and watch her be treated like she was some kind of threat to them. "What he said..." John drug off and he looked down at the space between them. "You didn't deserve that...if you wanted to go...I could talk the Colonel into letting you gate off the planet."

Kai cocked her head to the side as though the Major's words weren't physically painful. "Do you want me to go?" she asked. It was clear the Colonel did, but his opinion didn't matter to her. Sheppard's did.

"No," John replied too quickly. He couldn't believe Kai would think...he cleared his throat and composed himself. "I just can't guarantee anything right now."

Kai smiled gently. "Major. Atlantis is my home, and it is the home of the only friends I have ever known. I will fight for it...in whatever means I am allowed. I came to be a mechanic and scientist. I am content to be that. So as such I believe it is McKay's job to protect me from our new commanding officer."

John nodded but he couldn't help feeling like he should be able to do more. "I'm sorry for the way he spoke to-"

Kai shook her head cutting him off. "He is no worse than any other commander I have had, I can assure you."

John tightened his jaw. He didn't know all Kai had been put through by the bastards who ran her caste, but he had a pretty good idea. He hated that anything on Atlantis would remind her of that place where she was little more than a slave.

He looked like he wanted to say more but the radio in Kai's ear clicked on. "Kai, would you please join us in the chair room?" Zelenka asked.

"On my way Radek," she promised. She nodded to the Major and hurried down to the chair room.

><><

"Where have you been?" Rodney asked when she walked in the door. The scientist was more agitated than normal and seemed to be looking for a fight. Behind him Zelenka shrugged apologetically.

Kai refused to be riled by McKay. She set her bag down and pulled out her tablet. "I just met the new commander."

McKay made a noise in the back of his throat that might have been sympathy. Or the closest approximation McKay could manage. "A real charmer, huh?"

Kai snorted. "He explained to me in no uncertain terms the U.S. military did not require the help of a little girl, but I could come down here and hold a flashlight for you."

McKay scowled and shook his head, unable to believe they had sent Everett. McKay had heard of him but never met him. So far he was unimpressed. "All right, let's see if we can't get the chair powered up."

Kai sat down and rocked the chair back, closing her eyes as she asked the systems to come online. The chair lit up and for the first time the systems felt like a live wire beneath her hands. It was brimming with power. Every system on Atlantis was at her fingertips.

McKay studied his tablet as the systems synced. "Good," he muttered checking them off. "Good, good...and...oh, no," he muttered. He tapped away loudly on his tablet before he sighed wearily. "Get out of the chair," he said impatiently. He ripped the cord out of his tablet and strode out of the room.

Kai stood and glanced towards Zelenka. "What was that about?" she asked.

Zelenka shrugged. "Let's get a laptop set up to interface with the chair control systems," he said motioning to Kai's computer he had brought down.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather do it?" she teased. "I could hold the flashlight."

Zelenka chuckled good-naturedly at Kai's joke, but it bothered him that the new Commander had disregarded Kai so completely. He would make a point of noting it in his report back to Stargate command if they survived.

><><

Kai was working in the chair room later that evening when she suddenly felt strange. She shifted uncomfortably as she felt a wave of sadness wash over her out of the blue. She frowned as it was almost immediately followed up by feeling defensive and then angry. It was sharp and complete, leaving her breathless. She rubbed at the center of her chest and for some reason her mind went to the Major. She wondered what he was doing in that moment.

An alarm started blaring through the city, and her thoughts were torn back to the controls in front of her. She had managed to interface her laptop with the chair so she would be able to monitor the systems once it was powered up, though they had discovered the chair was down to only a few dozen drones.

The overhead lights went out and the room was illuminated only by the glow of her laptop. She closed her eyes for a moment and if she concentrated hard she could hear the whizzing of darts. The Siege was beginning. The door slid open and her head snapped up to see the Major striding towards the chair.

"Kai," he said frowning at her. He had just been thinking of her. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm your co-pilot," she said gesturing towards her laptop that was set up on the steps beside the chair. "What's going on?" she asked briskly.

"Wave of darts inbound," he said grimly as he practically jumped into the chair. "Fire it up."

"It'll take a minute," she told him, hurrying to the generator. Once it was activated she moved back to her laptop to monitor the power levels.

"We don't have a minute," he responded, rocking the chair back.

"Major, this operates in barely controlled overload. I have to monitor power output so we don't blow up the chair."

"That would be bad," Sheppard said with a wry grin.

"Especially if you're in it," she agreed, her fingers flying over her keyboard.

The sound of the battle raging outside was overwhelming to her ears even through the walls. She grimaced as the rail guns started. They sounded like thunder and she could feel the vibration through the floor she was sitting on.

"Just get the damn thing working," John said impatiently.

Kai typed the limitations into the chair quickly. "O-kay...you've got power, go!"

The chair lit up and rocked back. Major Sheppard was the only person Kai had seen use the chair who did so with his eyes open. His eyebrows furrowed as he focused, staring at the ceiling above him. The Major's fingers shifting slightly was the only sign of the work he was doing. Kai stared at the screen. As she watched the number of drones being fired and hitting their targets was astounding. He was even more of a natural with the chair than he was piloting a jumper.

"You're down to a dozen drones," Kai reported in a low tone, hoping her voice wouldn't distract him too much. His brow furrowed as he fired the last of them. The guns outside slowly fell silent as the sounds of the darts faded.

John sat up and the chair deactivated. Kai quickly disconnected the power source before it could build up in the generator.

"That's the last of them," she reported unnecessarily. Sheppard would have felt them run out.

"Thanks for your help," John said. "We should get up to the control room, see what the damage is."

Kai agreed and unplugged her tablet, shutting everything down. She tucked her tablet under her arm and the two of them jogged towards the control room together.

><><

Kai and Zelenka were working in the control room on re-establishing the long range, short range and internal sensors that had been knocked out in the skirmish. Without them Atlantis was blind.

"I want the status of those hive ships," Colonel Everett was complaining to McKay as the two of them walked into the room, followed by Weir and Sheppard.

"They're coming! That's their status." McKay yelled, spinning back on the Colonel. "Tomorrow, the day after that...they'll get here. Whether we're here to greet them or not is another matter."

"Rodney," Elizabeth said in a warning voice.

McKay took a deep breath and turned back to the Colonel. "The chair is out of drones, how do we handle the next wave?" He asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm open to suggestions," Everett said opening his hands.

"Oh Really!" McKay raged. First this colonel had come in here and torn everything they had to pieces and now he wanted to play with the team.
Well, McKay wasn't having it.

The room fell silent.

After a moment the Major spoke up. "We target the hive ships," he said.

"With what?" Everett asked incredulously.

"We fly the puddle jumper in stealth mode straight down their throats."

Everett sighed. "You volunteering for a suicide mission?" he mocked.

Sheppard turned to the scientists. "It won't be a suicide mission if McKay and Zelenka can figure out how to remote control the jumpers."

Zelenka's eyes widened in shock and McKay just looked even more pissed off.

"Can you do it?" Everett asked spinning to face the two men.

McKay narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "I knew this was going to happen," he grumbled.

"Is that a fact?" Everett asked, his patience with the egotistic scientist was wearing thin.

"Yes that's a fact," McKay replied, refusing to be intimidated by They new commander. "You show up here with your guns and your brush cuts but when it comes to actually saving the city you turn to the scientists and ask the impossible," McKay snarled spinning dramatically back to his computer.

The whole room seemed to rock back on their heels as McKay openly challenged the new commanding officer. Instead of yelling Everett crossed his arms over his chest. "When was the last time you slept Doctor?" he asked in a calm voice.

Mckay froze. "Shh shh," he said dismissively, waving at the Colonel. "Shut up, I have an idea."

"The chair," Zelenka said in a quiet tone.

"Of course the chair," McKay agreed whirling back to face Zelenka. "The problem is how do we tie in the jumpers systems-"

"Without overloading the generators-" Zelenka agreed nodding.

"—Possibly using the drones in the jumpers themselves as means of propulsion-"

"-While increasing the inertial dampening to maxim."

The two trailed off in an incomplete conversation, understandable only to them.

"They wouldn't be very manuverable, but possibly, possibly," McKay allowed his whole focus on Zelenka as the two men began walking out of the control room.

"Is that a yes?" Colonel Everett called after them.

McKay scowled angrily at being interrupted and turned back to the new commanding officer. "No, it's a possibly."

"I'll take it!" Everett called after them.  "Hey what about my sensors!" He called after them, but they had already walked out of earshot.

Kai slid out from under the console. "I'm finishing up what I can," she informed him.

"Zian," he said in shock.

Sheppard stepped forward prepared to defend the Mortii if necessary.

"How long have you been there?" Everett demanded.

Kai jutted out her chin. "Long enough to need someone to hold a flashlight for me," she said sharply and she slid back under the terminal to finish replacing the fried wires.

Everett didn't have a response and instead turned back to Sheppard. "How much damage can one puddle jumper do?"

"I've got an idea about that too. I think I know where we can get another nuke," he said turning to Elizabeth.

"Major, I don't know how sympathetic the Genii will be to our situation," Weir said cautiously.

"The Genii?" Everett asked looking back and forth between John and Elizabeth.

"They want to test their weapon? Now's their chance," John said grimly. He understood Elizabeth's hesitation. Hell, he had more reason to hate them than she did, but he recognized that the Genii were practical. They would see a good thing when it benefited them.

"Let me pass!" Teyla's voice shouted from down in the gateroom cutting off their conversation. "I need to talk to Doctor Weir!"

John and Elizabeth stepped to the balcony and looked down. John tensed when he saw one of the new marines was physically restraining Teyla.

"Teyla," Elizabeth called. "What's the matter?"

"The Wraith," Teyla said wrenching her arm away from the marine. "They're in the city."

><><

Chapter 36

><><

The control room was busy. Kai was finishing up the last few things she could on the sensor repairs. Below in the gate room Colonel Everett and Major Sheppard were organizing the marines into teams to hunt down the Wraith who had infultrated the city. Kai half listened to the process as she closed the panel and stood, brushing her hands off on her pants.

"Well that should get you short range sensors at least," she told Chuck. "The components for the long range are fried. I'll have to get approval from McKay to harvest spares from the other control room."

Chuck fired up the systems and nodded gratefully. "Short range are back. Something's better than nothing," he said with a smile. "You should grab some sleep while you can," he advised.

"Yeah," Kai agreed non-committally as she packed up her tools. Below them she could hear Sheppard advising Everett on the best way to divide up the teams searching for the Wraith. There was so much that needed to be done, she didn't feel like she could go to bed while everyone else was up working. McKay and Zelenka didn't need her help at the moment, but hunting and eliminating the Wraith in the city was something she could absolutely help with. 

She was standing at the top of the stairs with her tool bag when the doors slid open and Teyla and the Athosians came in. Kai knew Everett had pulled Teyla from active duty when he first arrived, but the Athosian leader had a determined set to her chin. Kai knew her friend well enough to know she was not going to take no for an answer.

"We wish to help," Teyla said as she approached the Everett. Before he could respond she pushed on. "This is quite a large city Colonel, and you could use as many people searching as possible."

Kai strode down the steps towards the group. If Everett accepted Teyla's help, there was a chance he would allow her to join one of the search party's.

Sheppard stepped forward. "She is the one who sensed the Wraith presence in the first place," he pointed out innocently.

Colonel Everett glanced back and forth from Sheppard to Teyla and a smile tugged at his face. "Captain," he called. "Get some weapons for these people."

The captain led the Athosians out of the room towards the armory. Teyla bowed her head respectfully to Everett before joining her people.

Kai came down the stairs behind them. "Colonel," she called. Everett turned and his mouth pressed into a grim line at the sight of her. Undeterred, Kai continued. "I would like to aid in the hunt as well."

"It's not a hunt," Everett commented grimly, all pleasantries lost. "And you and I already talked about how I feel about you having weapons on my base."

Sheppard bristled behind the Colonel. Kai quickly closed the distance to keep Everett's attention on her so he wouldn't notice Sheppard being impertinent over his shoulder. "Then I will join with my Blades and a stunner," she offered. "No live rounds."

Everett was beginning to nod begrudgingly when John stepped forward. "You can't do that. Sending someone out there to go after these guys without a gun might as well be murder."

"Major," she said quickly. "I volunteered." she said, staring into Sheppard's eyes meaningfully.

Instead of backing down John set his chin and glared back at her. He wasn't going to let Everett stick her unarmed with a team she didn't know.

Kai turned her focus back to Everett. "And correct me if I'm wrong Colonel, but you are going to need as many people who have experience against the Wraith out there as possible."

Everett just shook his head. "I don't see what help you would be out there without a gun. You might as well stay here and help the egg heads," he said dismissively as he moved to step around her.

Kai temper was snapping in her eyes as she took a step directly in his path, forcing him to stop and meet her gaze. "I beg your pardon Colonel, but I would welcome the opportunity to show you what I can do with just my knives."

John opened his mouth to say something but caught himself. There was a dangerous glitter to Kai's storm grey eyes that had John wanting to step closer to her. It was this piece of her personality that she kept so carefully locked away and hidden. Her inner fire. A slow smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he watched her. He had seen her like this only a handful of times and he wasn't about to discourage her. "She is pretty impressive sir."

Everett sighed begrudgingly and turned back to Sheppard who quickly schooled his expression. "Fine," Everett snapped. "But if she goes out she is your responsibility. I don't want her out of your sight. If she compromises this mission in anyway it's your ass," he snarled, shoving his finger into Sheppard's chest then he stomped away.

"Understood sir," John called after him cheekily. He slowly turned back to Kai. Her jaw was set and she stared up at him as though she were expecting him to continue to fight her on this. "Go suit up," he told her, jerking his chin towards the locker room.

Kai arched her eyebrows, hardly believing the Major would give in so quickly.

"Unless you're planning on fighting in that jumpsuit," he said glibbly. Then he paused and ran his eyes over her. "Three knives?" he guessed because he knew she wouldn't have been comfortable around the strange marines unarmed.

A smile twisted Kai's lips. "Wouldn't you like to know," she teased and she jogged down to the locker room to get her gear.

><><

Kai, Ford and Sheppard were the smallest team that went out, but by far the most experience. Their small threesome were assigned the entirety of the east pier. Most of which was abandoned and dark and made for the the perfect place for the Wraith to hide.

Sheppard tried to get the Colonel to allow Ford to lead his own team, but the Colonel refused. He claimed it was due to rank, and no matter how much Sheppard argued the Lieutenant's experience the Colonel just pushed back harder. Sheppard was fairly convinced it was personal more than anything, and he knew he and the Colonel would have to have it out if they survived this.

Kai was prowling down a hallway by herself. She had the stunner in her belt and her Blade still in her spine sheath. She chose instead to carry two of the marine's KA-BAR knives in her hands. Their weight was identical, making them easier to fight with them together. She tapped them silently against her pant leg as she walked down the dark, abandoned hallway. According to the life signs detector a Wraith was down here she just wasn't sure exactly where. She tried stretching out her senses. She couldn't quite smell it, there were too many other smells. The pier had flooded at one point and the mustiness was overwhelming.

She came around a corner and she could suddenly hear it's breathing. It must have been one of the warrior drones because it's breath rattled as it inhaled loudly behind its mask. She came around the side of the pillar and struck out at the same time it hit her. She planted a knife in the side of it's neck at the same moment it slammed it's powerful fist into her chest. The blow knocked the wind out of her and sent her flying across the room. She hit the ground hard, and rolled with it as it stalked towards her menacingly.

Sweeps of P-90 fire came from two sides before the Wraith could reach her. Ford and Sheppard stepped out of their hiding places and continued to fire until it hit the ground. Once it was down Lieutenant Ford stood over it and fired several more shots. Once he was sure it was down he jerked Kai's knife out of it's neck.

Sheppard walked to Kai and offered her a hand up. "You okay?" he asked, pulling her to her feet.

She nodded as she worked to catch her breath. "Next time, you can be bait."

John snorted. "I'm not the one that smells good," he said wryly as he pulled the life signs detector out of his vest. "All right, we got another one, this way," he called and the three of them jogged down the dark hallway together.

They were jogging when even the emergency lights went out. The three of them stopped. Kai could still see, but the other two flicked the flashlights on their guns on.

The comms activated. "This is Everett, the Wraith took out one of our generators."

"It's a trap," Ford said unnecessarily.

"Come on!" John yelled, and he turned to run down the nearest flight of stairs. The Colonel and his men had never faced the Wraith before, they had no idea what they were dealing with. "Which generator station powers this section of the city?" he called back to Kai.

"Number three," she replied.

"Teyla's group is closer," Ford supplied.

"Teyla?" John asked.

"We are already on our way Major," she promised.

"Meet you there," John promised.

They were still a minute away when Kai heard the first spurts of gunfire. "I'm hearing weapons," Kai reported.

John reached up and touched his radio. "We are coming in from the east," he called just as they rounded the corner.

The gunfire was echoing in the small hall. The Wraith had somehow flanked Everett and Teyla's people and were firing at them from both sides. The humans were pinned down on a narrow catwalk outside the generator room. There was no way for John's team to fire without risking catching their own people in the crossfire.

"Major!" Kai called without hesitating, he turned just in time to catch the stunner she tossed him. He began firing without question. Kai turned leapt nimbly up onto the railing beside them.

"What are you?" Ford started to ask but half the Wraith turned to shoot at them and he was forced to stumble back behind a pillar.

Kai pulled herself up to the walkway above and ran down until she was over the top of the far group of three Wraith. She tossed she legs over the side and dropped down. She swung through, kicking with both legs and caught the first Wraith in the chest. He stumbled back and he was suddenly clear of the group and a stunner caught him in the chest. She moved on the second Wraith and stabbed straight up under his mask and through his chin. He dropped, thrashing in pain. The third Wraith grabbed for her up she ducked and spun out of the way, slicing at his legs with another of her knives. He turned to follow the motion and she landed a round house kick to its head before it rebounded to reach for her, she flipped off the knife in her right hand and it landed in the Wraith's throat. There was an ugly gurgling noise and she was reached for her next knife when six gunshots echoed behind her. The Wraith's body jerked as Sheppard walked towards it and kept firing. Finally, it went down. He turned and shot the second one before it could recover.

Kai turned to him. "Thanks," she said.

"Well, seemed like the least I could do after you gave me your stunner and all," his words were light but there was an intensity in his eyes that made her think he was upset with her. He pulled the stunner out of his belt and grabbed her hand in his. He slapped the stunner into her palm but held her slim wrist In his grip a moment too long. Kai looked down at her hand and he quickly let go, clearing his throat.

"That should be the last of them," Sheppard reported turned back to Everett who was helping one of his men to his feet. The rest had all been stunned.

Everett looked over the Wraith on the ground and back to Kai and Sheppard. "Impressive," was all he said with a curt nod.

><><

John was physically and mentally exhausted. He needed to sleep but every time he thought about closing his eyes some other crisis popped up. Zelenka and McKay were working on the plan to remote pilot the jumpers and instead of taking the few minutes to rest he found himself headed up to the jumper bay to check on their progress.

Jumper One and Two were both parked in the middle of the large bay with their rear hatches open. John stepped onto the ramp and was surprised to find Kai working on the control panel alone.

"Don't you ever get any sleep Zian?" He teased.

Kai glanced up from her laptop, unsurprised to see the Major. "You're one to talk," she said pointedly.

Sheppard snorted. "I got stunned not too long ago. Slept like a baby."

Kai shook her head and continued to work.

"How we looking?" John asked. The bench on the right side of the jumper was clear and he sat back against the padded seat, groaning as his tired muscles stretched.

"Just finishing up the last of the relays. Zelenka and McKay have the bombs. We're waiting on them," she reported as she looked up from her computer screen and shifted one of the crystals.

John nodded, as he leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. "Do you think this is actually going to work?"

Kai shrugged. "It looks that way," she told him, grunting as she pulled another crystal. She glanced down at Sheppard. His shoulders were sagging forward and his hands were pressed against his eyes. He took so much pressure on himself, he looked exhausted. "Why don't you catch some sleep," she advised, turning back to her work. "I'll wake you if anything exciting happens."

John opened an eye and glanced at Kai. There was a small line of a scowl between her eyes as she focused on her work. He supposed there wasn't much he could do right now and it wouldn't hurt to close his eyes for a little while. He leaned back along the bench and draped his arm over his eyes.

An hour later the bay doors slid open. Kai leaned out of the jumper. Ford and Zelenka were coming in ahead of a group of marines pushing the bombs.

Kai turned back to Sheppard. "Major," she said in a low voice.

John jerked awake. He swiped a hand over his face and shoved himself to his feet. "How long?"

"Less than an hour," Kai told him. 

He nodded and shoved himself back to his feet and headed out the door as Ford and Zelenka came in. Ford started after him in confusion for a moment before he wheeled the first bomb into Jumper One. She and Zelenka got to work, integrating the bombs into the ships controls. 

"Zelenka, Zian, how's?" McKay's voice came over the comms a few minutes later.

"They have delivered the bombs, we're just getting them hooked into the systems now," Kai replied.

The overhead comm activated and Colonel Everett's voice cut off any reply. "Jumper 4 has just informed me the Wraith Hive ships are approaching the planet. Defense teams, to your positions."

Kai and Zelenka exhanged a look and picked up speed as they made the final adjustments. 

The comm was quiet for only a moment before before Elizabeth's voice came over the city-wide radio. "This is Weir, now I know how tired you all are, and how much we've asked of you these past few days. Hopefully the Daedalus will arrive soon. Until then, our fate is in our own hands. If during the course of this battle our mission fails, I will give the evacuation order. We all hope it won't come to that, but if it does, don't hesitate. That is all."

Zelenka connected the last wire. Kai glanced down at the tablet as the power came up. She nodded to him and he touched his comm. "Rodney, everything is in the green on our end," Zelenka reported. "Jumper One is ready to fly."

><><

John was sprinting towards the chair room. "They are sending in another wave, Major we need to go!" Weir's voice yelled through the comm. 

"Thirty seconds!" John promised. The doors slid open and he ran for the chair and leapt into it. 

"The generator's not powering up like it should be," McKay mumbled half to himself. He ran back to his tablet. 

"McKay!" John yelled as the chair refused to power up for him. He tried repeatedly to rock it back, but it was lifeless beneath his fingers. 

"There's something wrong, power levels are dropping! Ralenka!" McKay yelled through the comm. 

"Rodney, nothing is happening!" Radek yelled back.

"Why are there no jumpers in the air!" Elizabeth yelled.

McKay ran back to the generator, but the lights were out. "We must have exhausted the energy output, the generator's dead," McKay said grimly.

Time was running out they could hear the battle rising outside the city once more. John's lips flattened. They were out of time and out of choices. He shoved himself to his feet. "So long Rodney," he called as he ran out the door.

"There's gotta be a way to-" Rodney shoved himself to his feet. "MAJOR!" he yelled after him.

John sprinted through the dark city towards the tower. He reached up and touched the comm. He knew Zelenka and Kai were in the jumper bay. He also knew of everyone she would understand. 

"Zian," he said, activating a private comm.

"Major?" she asked in confusion. 

"I need you to disconnect the remote controls. I need that jumper able to fly in less than two minutes. I'm coming your way," he ordered. 

There was a long pause, and when she responded her voice was tight with tension. "Understood Major."

John was running through the control room when Colonel Everett's voice came over the comm. "Head's up people, they're in the base!" Gunfire was echoing all around them. He could hear the darts outside the tower. Without the drones, they city wouldn't last long. 

"Colonel, we may need to give the order to evacuate!"

"Elizabeth wait," John called as he ran for the stairs. 

"Major!" she yelled. He paused and she held his gaze. It took her only a moment to understand. "You can't!"

His eyes were grave. "I have to, and you know it," he said seriously.

"John," she said desperately, her voice broke with emotion. She could see his resolve burning in his eyes to do whatever it took to protect them. He truly believed this was the only way, and she couldn't argue with him. They were out of options. "Go," she finally agreed.

John nodded and ran for the jumper bay.

"What's the status on that damn jumper?" the Colonel's voice came over the comm.

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment as her emotions roiled through her. She drew in a deep breath so she could be sure her voice was steady. "It's on it's way," she said hollowly. She hung her head forward as tears burned the backs of her eyes. 

Seconds later Radek's urgent voice came through the comm. "Doctor Weir! Major Sheppard is taking the Jumper out!"

"I'm aware of that Doctor Zelenka," she said grimly. "Start prepping Jumper Two."

><><

John ran into the jumper bay. Jumper One was already lit up and waiting. He could hear the quiet hum of the engine even over the sounds of battle outside. He jogged up the ramp. Radek was standing over Kai who was sitting at the controls. Her hands moving lightning fast as she prepped the systems.

"If we just wait for Rodney-" Zelenka was arguing with her.

"I have orders from the Major," Kai responded tightly.The sounds of battle outside the jumper bay doors was defeaning. Kai scowled as the noise echoed through the large metal room.

"Where we at Zian?" he asked coming jogging up the ramp. He skirted around the bomb and tossed his gun on the bench. 

Kai made one final adjustment, resetting the inertial dampners. She stood and turned to face him. "She's ready to fly Major," she promised him. Her entire body felt heavy as she considered what it was he was about to do. 

He nodded grimly.

Zelenka huffed indignantly and jogged down the ramp, touching the comm in his ear. "Doctor Weir-" he started to say but his voice was drown out by the sounds of the battle outside.

Kai and John stood across from one another staring into each other's eyes. It was only seconds but it felt like longer. So much was left unsaid between them. John opened his mouth once, but he didn't know what he would say anyway. 

"Good luck John," she told him, when all other words escaped her. 

John turned back and nodded to her. "You too," he said, letting his eyes run greedily over her face one more time. John climbed into the pilots seat and closed the rear hatch.

Kai stepped back as she watched the jumper take off, feeling like part of her went with it. She didn't understand or have a name for the feelings that tightened in her chest. 

She turned back to Radek. "We have to disable to remote controls in Jumper Two."

"But," Zelenka said. "Who will-"

Kai drew in a deep breath. "I will."

><><

Elizabeth stood in the control room, watching the short range scanner display. The screen was flooded with the small red spots that represented the darts. The two larger red ovals that sat above the city were the hives in orbit. Only one small blue dot moved through the waves of red dots. 

Major Sheppard. 

Elizabeth closed her eyes, wishing there was something more that could be done. Beckett and Rodney ran into the control room behind her. She opened her eyes, forcing her face to remain expressionless. 

"We can't stay here Elizabeth," Beckett said urgently.

"He's right," Rodney agreed. "They're beaming in all over the city. We need to evacuate."

Weir looked at them both grimly and turned back to the sensor screen. "We aren't going anywhere," she said resolutely. "Not yet."

Rodney turned to the screen and his eyes widened in horror as he saw the single blue dot amid the sea of red dots, heading straight for the hive.

Rodney whirled back to face Elizabeth, his eyes snapping angrily. "You let Sheppard fly that Jumper?" he demanded.

Elizabeth met his gaze unrepentantly. She knew this was something McKay would never forgive her for. John was his closest friend. She walked back to the console. "Help me arm the self destruct if this fails."

McKay glared at her as the two of them typed in their codes.

The loud clanging of the self destruct echoed through the city.

><><

"That's it," Kai called back to Zelenka. She stood and turned to face him. "Thank you for everything Radek." she told him, feeling somehow like it wasn't enough.

The Czech scientist enveloped her in a huge hug. He pulled back looking down at her with a fine mist in his eyes. He spoke a few words in czech before clearing his throat. "It has been an honor, my friend."

Kai nodded and settled into the pilots seat. She closed the hatch as she lifted off.

"Control room, this is Doctor Zelenka," Radek's voice was grim as he spoke through the comm. He hit the controls, closing the bay doors behind the jumper and started down the stairs. "Jumper Two is away. Jumper doors secured." 

Radek walked down the stairs into the control room. Everyone looked up at him.

"Kai?" Weir asked.

Radek nodded sadly.

She closed her eyes, feeling the full weight of guilt settle on her for all the times she had doubted the Mortii's loyalty. 

><><

John had activated the cloak and once he was clear of the darts he exhaled. It was smooth flying now until he reached the hives. 

He activated the radio. "Control room, this is Sheppard." 

"We're here John," Elizabeth replied. 

"You know if this works somebody might have to do it again," he fought to keep his tone light, but they all knew what was coming. 

"We understand," Weir responded clinically. "Jumper Two is already in the air."

There was a brief moment of silence. "It's Kai isn't it?" John asked, his voice was tight with barely concealed emotion.

"Yes, John," Elizabeth whispered. 

John closed his eyes, tightening his hands on the controls. Part of him had known it would be her. He hoped it wouldn't. All she had ever wanted was peace. She had come to them, looking for a new life free from the conflict and violence of her past and all they had done was given her another war.

John sighed and activated the radio. "Understood," he said. 

He switched off the main channel over to Jumper Two. "Jumper Two come in," he said. 

"This is Jumper Two," Kai's voice came back calm and strong. 

John closed his eyes for a second before he spoke again. "I know I'm not a super assassin like you, but typically you're supposed to run away from danger." 

Kai snorted. "You're one to talk."

John found himself smiling despite the situation. "What can I say. I like a little excitement in my life." 

"Same here Major...I volunteered," Kai's voice was serious and lacked her usual teasing when she threw their familiar joke back and forth. 

John sighed. Of course she did. "Anyone ever tell you that you have a death wish Zian?" he tried to keep his tone light but it fell flat. He was closing in on the first Hive. 

"Only every commander I ever had." 

John fell silent for a long moment. "The bay doors are open. That's going to be our best bet."

"Understood Major." 

"Kai-" he started to say but stopped. He still couldn't seem to find the words. "Thank you," he finally said, but it felt grossly inadequate. 

"It's been an honor," she replied and he felt something in the center of his chest. He frowned, but his proximity alarm went off. He was out of time. 

He switched the controls back to the open comm.  "They haven't detected my approach. The weapon is armed and ready...I'm going in."

><><

Chapter 37

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Season Two
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The Siege Pt. 3

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Kai flew the Jumper away from the city. It had taken all of her skills as a pilot to avoid the darts that were making a run at the city. She cloaked the jumper immediately knowing no matter how badly she wanted to engage them she had to get clear. Only destroying the Hive ships could end this.

It didn't bother her. She should have died on the planet her people dumped her on for the Wraith. She had been living on borrowed time every day since that day. Weir and Sheppard and Teyla and Zelenka; they had shown her another life and she would forever be appreciative. She was following Sheppard and that combined with knowing everyone back on Atlantis would live was enough.

Her radio activated. "Jumper Two come in," the Major's voice came through. She glanced at the display and saw he was contacting her on a private frequency rather than the one that ran through the control room.

"This is Jumper Two," Kai replied. The only reason she could think he would be contacting her privately was to talk her out of it and she was determined to do this. They had to destroy both Hives.

"I know I'm not a highly trained super assassin like you, but typically you're supposed to run away from danger," Sheppard joked wryly.

Kai snorted, somehow even in this situation he was able to make her laugh. She would never understand how he managed to do that. "You're one to talk."

"What can I say," he said. "I like a little excitement in my life."

"Same here Major..." she told him, and she nearly bit her own tongue when she realized she was flirting with him. Not that it mattered anymore. They would both be dead in less than ten minutes. "I volunteered." She wasn't as good at this as he was, and their old joke fell flat as the reality that this would be the last time she spoke to John Sheppard hit her like a crushing weight.

She could hear him sigh through the comm. "Anyone ever tell you that you have a death wish Zian?" he asked seriously.

Kai forced herself to snort. "Only every commander I ever had," she told him.

There was a long moment of silence when all Kai could hear through the radio was the Major's breathing. According to her screens he was closing in on the first hive. "The bay doors are open," he said and his voice was back to the shrewd tone of The Major. "That's going to be our best bet."

"Understood Major," she fought to keep her tone as business like as possible so he would know she didn't regret it and she wasn't afraid. She didn't want him to feel responsible or guilty. It had been her decision to get in the second jumper.

"Kai-" he started to say but stopped. It was maybe the first time since they met that he called her by her first name. He had always called her by her last name, using it to keep distance between them. There was a long pause before he spoke again. "Thank you." His voice was rough and pained.

Kai didn't know what to say to that. There was so much she felt like she should say but couldn't, or didn't know how. So much she wished she convey to him. She owed him everything. "It's been an honor," her voice was almost a whisper. She closed her eyes and tried to think of all the things she wanted to say and there was that familiar hard nudge in the back of her mind. She reached down and touched the center of her chest. It felt strangely tight and for the first time in as far back as she could remember her eyes burned with unshed tears.

She heard his proximity alarm go off through the comm and it pulled her back to the present.

John Sheppard was out of time.

He switched the controls back to the open comm. "They haven't detected my approach. The weapon is armed and ready...I'm going in."

Kai tightened her grip on the controls as she tracked his progress on the HUD. She watched in agony as the beacon that represented his jumper disappeared inside the larger beacon that was the hive ship. Less than ten seconds later the first Hive exploded in a blinding wave of heat and light. The shock wave tore through several cruisers and blew her jumper off course. The force of it shook the tiny ship so badly she was amazed it didn't sustain damage.

She regained control and reset her systems, double checking her trajectory. Once it was stable she stared down at where her hands gripped the controls.

John was dead.

She leaned forward and closed her eyes as pain like she had never known lacerated her body. It didn't seem possible that he could be gone. He was always so full of life. She drew in a shuddering breath and realized in that moment that feeling in her chest was still there.

She scowled and looked back up at her sensors. The first hive ship had definitely been destroyed.

"Jumper Two come in," a painfully familiar voice came over her private channel.

She froze, her mind racing as she tried to rationalize what she had just seen, what she was hearing and what she knew to be true. She reached down and touched the center of her chest.

"John?" she asked, her voice breaking with emotion.

"It's me," he promised. "Shift course to the heading I'm sending you. You can dock in the F-302 bay. I'll meet you there and explain everything," he promised and the radio cut out.

Kai followed the headings and was shocked when she saw a massive battle ship in front of her. It was smaller than the wraith hives and a design she had never seen before. Large docking bay doors opened as she approached.

"We are lowering the shield. Please dock in bay two," an unfamiliar voice instructed over the radio.

Kai frowned but did as she was told, trusting Sheppard wouldn't lead her into a trap. Assuming that had been Sheppard. Doubt flooded her and she gripped the controls tighter. The Wraith could make people see things. It had never worked on her before, but what if she had been so upset she-

Kai closed her eyes and drew in a steadying breath, forcing herself to focus. Her emotions were all over the place and she needed to lock them back down. She guided the jumper through the bay doors and set it down where they indicated. Once she powered it down she lowered the back hatch. She turned and Sheppard was striding up the ramp towards her.

She stopped hardly able to believe he was in front of her. She was so relieved to see him alive the tightness in her chest was almost unbearable.

He stepped up in front of her, his eyes searching her face as he gazed down at her. His hazel eyes were more intense than she had ever seen them. "Don't ever do that again," he said sternly.

A small, relieved smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Is that an order Major?" she teased. She was so relieved she felt lightheaded and giddy.

He snorted and shook his head as though he couldn't believe she would crack a joke right now. "If it will stop you from ever taking another suicide mission? Yes," he said. Then his eyes softened and the feeling in her chest shifted into something different.

John tilted his head and his brow furrowed as he stared at Kai. "Is that-?" he started to ask and then he shook his head. It was just his imagination.

There was movement behind them and Sheppard jumped back like he had been shocked. "Let's get back to the bridge," he said briskly.

Kai nodded and trailed behind him as he strode out of the bay and through the ship. The ships design was impressive and as they walked the Major explained all about the Asgard's beaming technology that had saved his life and how they planned to use it against the Wraith.

The doors to the bridge slid open and a balding man in a military uniform stepped forward holding his hand out to Kai.

"Colonel Caldwell," he introduced himself.

"Kai Zian," she replied shaking his hand.

"Welcome to the Daedalus Miss Zian."

><><

The control room on Atlantis was painfully silent as they all watched the small blue dot approaching the Hive. Knowing it represented both their salvation and the death of one of their beloved friends made it that much harder.

"Detonation in five, four, three, two, one." McKay did the count down at they watched the small blue dot disappear into the hive. John was perhaps the first true friend he had ever had.

The whole control room went silent as the hive exploded on the screens and disappeared from sight.

"Target has been neutralized," Chuck reported, but no one cheered, no one celebrated. It was a hollow victory that had come at a great cost.

"He did it," Elizabeth said choking up.

"Yeah," McKay agreed. "He did."

"Doctor Weir," Chuck called urgently. "I'm picking up another ship."

"Another Hive ship?" she asked in dismay. They didn't have the means to destroy a third Hive. It seemed they couldn't catch a break.

"Negative, I'm reading IFF."

"Command, this is Sheppard," his voice crackled through the radio.

"John?" Weir asked in disbelief.

"What other Sheppards do you know?" He mocked.

"Oh thank god!" Beckett rejoiced.

McKay was shaking his head as he stared at the sensors display. "No no, it can't be. We saw the Hive ship go up."

Another man's voice came over the comm. "I assure you Doctor McKay that Major Sheppard is alive and well."

"Who is this?" Weir asked suspiciously.

"This is Colonel Steven Caldwell, Commander of the Daedalus. We are ready to assist you."

McKay dropped to sit on the stairs and buried his face in his hands in relief. "Thank you," he muttered. They had done it. Somehow, against all the odds, they had outlasted the Wraith. With Asgard technology one Hive ship should be no problem for the Daedalus.

Elizabeth however remained focused. "We are very glad to hear it Colonel. And I assume we have you to thank for saving Major Sheppard?"

"We were monitoring your transmissions as soon as we came out of hyperspace, but we couldn't beam him in until he decloaked his jumper."

"Didn't take much convincing," Sheppard assured them with a wry chuckle of relief. He had certainly had his fair share of near-death experiences in his life but this one took the cake.

"Doctor McKay?" Caldwell asked.

"Present, yes," Rodney responded climbing back to his feet.

"I trust you'll know what to do with this," Caldwell said as two marines were beamed directly into the city holding a large, protective case.

"Your ZPM sir," the first marine said holding the case out to him almost reverently.

"Rodney," Elizabeth said with a giddy smile. "what do you say we get that shield back up?"

"What say we," McKay said with an excited grin. He looked like a kid on Christmas.

"What about Kai?" Weir asked after a moment.

"Jumper Two is docking as we speak," Caldwell promised.

"Well, we still have Wraith all over the city."

"After we deal with this other Hive ship we will assist you as soon as we can. Caldwell, out," and the radio went dead.

><><

Kai and Sheppard stood side by side staring out the windows of the Daedalus watching the dog fight going on just above the planets atmosphere. The darts and the F-302s were fairly evenly matched and it was tough to watch. Kai could feel the Major's tension as he watched and knew he would rather be in one of the fighters than up here on the bridge.

"Colonel," a female voice came over the loud speaker. "Hermiod is ready and standing by for warhead transport. But I can tell you he is not happy about this."

In addition to beaming Sheppard out of the Jumper just before it blew, he and Caldwell had devised a plan to use the beaming technology to drop a warhead directly inside the Hive. It had apparently taken some doing, but they had managed to convince the single Asgard they had on board to override the lockout protocols.

Caldwell was unmoved by Novak's warning. "I'll take that under advisement," he replied sarcastically. In the brief time Kai had been around the Colonel she found he was a very different kind of leader than the Major. In fact, now that she thought about it she wasn't sure she was a fan of Colonels from earth. The two she had met seemed removed and cold from the people they led.

Caldwell turned back to the technician sitting beside his chair. "Are we in transport range?" he asked briskly.

"Yes, sir," the technician replied.

"Transport warhead when ready," he ordered formally.

"Ready," the woman's voice replied. "Five, Fo-" she began counting. There was a brief pause. "The weapon is away," she said sheepishly.

Kai turned back to the window and watched as the Hive ship exploded. The blast was blinding and she looked away for a moment before turning back. One of the cruisers was caught up in the blast and exploded as well as the others were caught up in the shockwave. Watching the explosion she realized it really was lucky her jumper hadn't been destroyed in the first blast. It had been a careless mistake.

"Novak I need you to prep another warhead for transport, we need to take out those cruisers."

"Colonel, wait," Kai called. As the cruisers regained control of their systems they were changing their trajectory away and shifting away from the planet.

"Sir, cruisers have broken off and are entering hyperspace," the technician confirmed.

"Seeing what we just did to the remaining hive ships I don't blame them," Caldwell acknowledged.

"There's still a lot of darts out there," the Major said stepping up next to Kai. She could practically feel the anxious energy radiating off the Major from being stuck on the ship instead of out there battling the Wraith himself.

"Sir, the Wraith fighters are regrouping," the technician's voice rose with tension.

Caldwell sat back down in his captains chair Looking supremely confident as he activated the overhead comm. "All railgun positions, standby for defensive fire."

"The Daedalus is not the target," Kai said in horror as she watched them diving towards the planet.

The technicians fingers were flying over his sensor displays. "Miss Zian is right sir, the formation is headed towards Atlantis."

Kai and Sheppard darted over to look over his shoulder at the console. The Wraith darts had formed what looked like an arrow and were headed straight for the city.

John swung away from them and activated his comm. "Elizabeth you've got a problem."

"Yeah, we see that Major," Elizabeth replied tightly.

"We're moving to intercept, but I don't think we can get there in time," John told her, his throat tightening as he realized that even after everything they had done the bastards were still going to win.

"Sir," the technician said. "Their approach is ballistic. Their impact velocity will be in excess of 10,000 kilometers per hour."

"Get the damn shield up!" Sheppard snarled but there was no response from Atlantis.

Below them the explosion was so massive they could see it from their position above the planet. Kai and John both flinched as they watched in disbelief. John's hand came up and he caught Kai's elbow but it was as much to steady himself as it was to steady her. They were supposed to have been the ones to sacrifice themselves and now they might be the only survivors.

"Atlantis, this is Sheppard come in," there was no reply, just agonizing silence. He let go of Kai and paced anxiously back and forth across the deck of the Daedalus. His eyes were locked on Kai as he waited for a response.

"Atlantis!" he called sharply into the silence. He met Caldwell's gaze and took a deep breath to steady himself. He couldn't be seen being emotional in front of a superior officer. "Elizabeth, this is Sheppard. I repeat. What is your status?"

Static crackled over the radio before Elizabeth's voice came through. "We're still here," she said. "That's our status."

John exhaled in relief. "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry," Elizabeth said quickly. "What about the Wraith fleet?"

"The remaining cruisers have withdrawn from the battle," Caldwell filled in, quickly assuming command of the situation.

"Thank you Colonel," Weir said diplomatically. "Thank all of you."

"Glad to be of help ma'am. We're going to stay in geosynchronous orbit for the time being. Can we be of any further assistance?" Caldwell offered as he sat back in his command chair.

"We could use some help with the Wraith in the city," Elizabeth said hopefully.

Caldwell smiled indulgently. "I'll send down some people the help with that. Daedalus out." The comm clicked off and he turned back to John and Kai. "Major Sheppard, Miss Zian, I'm sure you're anxious to get back to Atlantis."

"Yes sir," Sheppard agreed. "Thank you."

"We'll beam you down, you can come back for your jumper later," Caldwell told them.

"Let the valet know we'll be back for it. Thanks again for the rescue," John said stepping forward and offering his hand to Caldwell. 

The other man shook it. "Glad we made it in time. General O'Neil would have been pissed to hear I let you sacrifice yourself, no matter how heroically," he added with a chuckle.

Sheppard and Kai were beamed directly into the gate room with a dozen marines from the Daedalus. As soon as they materialized in the middle of the gate room Sheppard turned to the marines. "Secure Stargate operations," he ordered. 

Weir hustled down the steps towards the Major and Kai. Her eyes were locked on John.

"Well I'm home," he called good-naturedly.

She smiled in relief as she approached them and threw her arms around him pulling him into a tight hug. John frowned in confusion, unsure what to make of her welcome. She was trembling slightly and he rested his hand awkwardly against Elizabeth's back. 

Elizabeth pulled back, but kept her grip on John's arms as though she needed the reassurance that he was actually standing in front of her. "Yes you are," she agreed with a smile. "I truly thought-"

"Yeah, yeah, I thought that same thing about you a minute ago. We gotta stop that," he said wryly.

"I'd like that," Weir agreed warmly.

Kai's eyes widened for a moment and she quickly looked away. She had never seen Sheppard or Weir like this together. She turned away so she wasn't intruding on their private moment. She felt foolish for not noticing sooner. Of course, there was something between them, it suddenly made so much sense. They worked so well together. 

It shouldn't bother her. She pressed her lips together and ignored the strange pain in the center of her chest. She wrapped the knowledge around herself like armor, cutting herself off from the feelings she never should have entertained in the first place. She turned and quickly hustled out of the room, leaving them alone. 

John actually flinched at the sudden pain in his chest. He frowned and touched his sternum through his vest, wondering for a second if he was having a heart attack of some kind. 

Weir let go of him like she had burned him. "Are you okay?" she asked urgently. 

The pain was gone as quickly as it came like being stabbed by a white hot knife. In it's wake all that was left was a strange feeling of emptiness, like a piece of him he had never noticed before had been hollowed out and taken. He caught the flash of Kai striding away from him down the hall. 

"John?" Elizabeth asked, bringing his attention back to her. 

He turned to her. "I'm fine," he promised her. 

"Do you need to see Doctor Beckett?" she asked uncertainly.

"No. It's nothing. Just a muscle cramp," he lied, and though she didn't look entirely convinced she took his word without question. "So ah," he said after an awkward moment. "Where are we?"

"Well, most of our sensors are down. But we do know there are at least a handful of Wraith still in the city," she said grimly.

"Still got some work to do then," John said with a nod, happy for the opportunity to have something to do. 

"Before you do anything," Elizabeth said stopping at the base of the steps. "Colonel Everett insists on speaking with you...he's in the infirmary."

John nodded grimly. He was sure he would be in for it after personally changing the plan without orders. He and the Colonel had already been on rocky ground, and he wasn't looking forward to this little chat. But John wasn't one to shirk away from the repercussions of his actions and it certainly wouldn't be the first time he was chewed out by his CO for making the right call.

"We also need to discuss what to do about Ford. Beckett isn't hopeful."

John tightened his jaw. He knew the prognosis wouldn't be good when they had pulled the kid out of the water still attached to the Wraith. But he had hoped that somehow Beckett would be able to come up with some kind of miracle cure. Ford was a good kid and he didn't deserve this. 

><><

It was the middle of the night and despite her exhaustion Kai couldn't sleep. She just kept replaying what had happened over and over in her head. Every time she closed her eyes she watched his ship disappear inside the hive and it exploded before her eyes. In her dreams however her radio never activated, she just kept waiting and waiting. She was left alone surrounded by silence in the cold, dark of space.  

After tossing and turning for over an hour she finally got up and found McKay before he went to bed himself. She got his permission to harvest the parts she needed from the back up control room to repair the rest of the sensors. 

The control room was surprisingly quiet, even Chuck had gone to bed, leaving a technician she didn't know monitoring the sensors. Thankfully the young woman didn't seem interested in talking and Kai was able to work by herself in peace. 

It took her three hours to fix them. McKay or Zelenka probably could have done it faster, but she learned a lot about the ancient systems in the process. Besides, this way they were able to get some sleep. She stood and stretched her tired muscles. She moved over to the console and activated the long range sensors. It took several minutes for the program to reboot itself but when it did it chirped urgently. 

Kai stared up at the display in horror. There was a slight tremble to her hand as she touched her comm. "Doctor Zelenka, Doctor McKay, please report to the control room immediately." 

Zelenka arrived first, but McKay was only a couple of minutes behind him. By that time Kai had already triple checked the data and there was no mistaking what the sensors were telling them. 

McKay groaned as he trudged up the steps. "What is it now?" he grumbled.

"I got the deep space sensors back on-line," Kai replied.

Mckay stepped up to the terminal he looked over the data and his paled. "This-" he started to say but stopped. He quickly rebooted the program, desperate for it to somehow be wrong. 

It wasn't. 

"Oh my god," Radek muttered.

Rodney touched his comm. "Elizabeth, Major Sheppard."

"What is it?" Weir asked.

"You're gonna want to get up to the control room," he replied gravely.

The three of them waited in tense silence for Weir and Sheppard. All the business of the last few days was swallowed up in the gaping truth that there was nothing they could do but wait. 

"Aren't you three supposed to be getting some sleep?" Sheppard asked jogging up the short flight of stairs. Weir was right behind him. 

McKay turned to their two leaders. "I was trying to do just that when someone decided she would rather fix the deep space sensors instead of getting some much needed sleep..."

John turned to Kai. Her pale skin looked sallow and there were dark bags under her eyes. She looked exhausted. Her scarf was tied around her hair and knotted at the base of her skull, serving mainly to keep her hair out of her eyes. 

"Yes, and?" Weir asked impatiently. She needed sleep as much as the rest of them, but she knew it would have to be something big for Kai to call them all here. 

Zelenka exhaled before McKay could get around to answering. "We picked up twelve more Hive ships traveling in hyperspace," he told them grimly. 

"Their course and speed will bring them here in thirty-six hours," McKay finished.

><><

Elizabeth called a meeting of all the senior staff members at dawn. She tried in vain to send Zelenka and McKay to their quarters for the few hours they had, but the two men instead took naps in the conference room while they waited. She finally had to resort to ordering Kai back to her quarters, promising her they would contact her if there was anything she could do. The hard truth of the matter was that there was nothing any of them could do. 

Caldwell paced around the meeting room. "Twelve Hive ships?" he asked in disbelief.

"The cruisers that got away probably called for reinforcements," John said with a groan. They should have done more to stop the bastards from leaving. He had been so relieved to see them retreating in the moment he hadn't paused to consider they would call for help. It had been a stupid and reckless oversight.

"Our research shows there are at least sixty hive ships in this galaxy," McKay filled in. "Who knows how many more could be on the way..."

"At least the shields up and running," Sheppard said.

"That only buys us time."

"I like time," he snapped back.

Mckay settled back in his chair. "Look, the first siege of Atlantis lasted for years. I mean...with only one functioning ZPM we can't expect to hold out that long."

"Can we submerge the city again?" Caldwell asked.

McKay sighed heavily. "Look, its a city, not a yo-yo. I don't even know how they did it the first time."

"How long until they arrive?" Elizabeth asked. She was the only one who seemed calm in the face of this new challenge. The truth was however, it was exhaustion that had her calmly assessing this next attack. 

"A little over a day," Radek told her in a low tone. 

John shoved himself to his feet and paced in front of the screen as frustration raged through him. They couldn't keep up like this. Everyone was exhausted and they kept barely squeaking by on sheer luck and the skin of their teeth. It couldn't go on like this. They needed a new tactic. "You know what, I'm sick of this."

"I'm sorry?" Weir asked in shock. She expected outbursts like this from McKay, but never John. 

John grunted, turning back to her. "I mean sitting around and waiting for them to show up. I say we take the fight to them."

Caldwell shook his head. "We got one ship Major."

"Yeah, one ship with Asgard shielding, an armory full of nukes and beaming technology. That evens the odds a hell of a lot," John was getting excited now. This was exactly what they needed to do. He was sick of the Wraith bringing the fight on their terms. With the Daedalus they could play a little offense. 

"Twelve ships and their escorts," Caldwell said tightly. He had read the Major's file before coming here. The Major was known for being hotheaded and making impulsive decisions that were not always by the book.

"I'm telling you, we gotta send these guys a message. We aren't like the ancients. We aren't just going to sit around and wait. If they don't back off we have the capacity and the will to go kick their asses for a change."

Caldwell cocked his head to the side as he regarded the Major. "How do I fight a ship in hyperspace?" He challenged. He wasn't necessarily opposed to the idea, but he wouldn't endanger his ship or his crew without a solid plan. 

McKay started to snap excitedly. "The Wraith faster than light travel is not as efficient as the Asgard hyper-drive on board the Daedalus. Not only are they slower, they travel in a series of jumps. So if my calculations are correct," he chuckled as the very idea of them being incorrect was ridiculous. "They will make one last stop here," he said pointing on the sensor map. "Fifty light years away before they make the final jump to Atlantis."

Caldwell turned to Elizabeth. "Doctor Weir?" he asked.

Elizabeth studied the sensor map for a moment before turning back to the Colonel. "It will feel good to have them on the defensive for a change."

"All right then," Sheppard said turning back to the room. "Let's do this."

><><

Chapter 38

><><
The Siege Pt. 3 Cont
><><

Kai was sitting in Doctor Weir's office with her and Teyla. Major Sheppard had left on the mission aboard the Daedalus a couple hours ago and now all they could do was wait for news. The three women had gravitated to one another, each unable to stand waiting by themselves. 

"Doesn't twelve Hives seems a bit excessive?" Weir said after a long moment of silence.

"It would be thorough," Kai said, she was leaning forward, resting her elbows against her knees with her hands clasped together. She understood their desire to take the fight to the Wraith, but it was a risky mission. If something went wrong and they lost the Daedalus they would have lost not only their only ship, but also their two most senior military commanders.

"The Wraith are angry, I can feel it," Teyla said. "Word of our success might spread to other worlds. They want us silenced."

"You can sense that?" Weir asked in disbelief.

Teyla nodded. "The Wraith warriors were in such close proximity I-" The door slid open behind them cutting her off. Teyla turned and her eyes widened.

"Excuse me," Lieutenant Ford said stepping into the room.

"Ford," Weir gasped in surprise as she jerked to her feet.

Kai could read the tiny trace of fear in her body language. It didn't make sense. The last Kai had heard Ford was in a coma near death. She rose to her feet and turned. Suddenly Elizabeth's fear made sense.

"I'd like to report for duty ma'am," he said with his hands clasped behind his back.

Kai froze as she studied the Lieutenant standing before them. He wore the soft clothes given to him in the infirmary still, but what was most concerning was that his left eye was completely black and the skin around it was puckered like a Wraith.

"Doctor Beckett released you?" Elizabeth asked, her voice rising slightly with tension as she stepped around the side of her desk.

Kai stepped half in front of the other woman, so her shoulder was blocking Elizabeth from going any closer to Ford. There was something off about the Lieutenant's stance and the way he was holding his body. Tension rippled through his body and Kai's hand dropped to her Blade in her spine sheath instinctively.

"Why wouldn't he?" Ford asked defensively. "I'm fine."

"Doctor Weir," Chuck's voice came over the comm. "I have Major Sheppard on the subspace communicator."

Weir looked back and forth from the Lieutenant to Teyla and Kai. Teyla nodded subtly to Weir, letting her know they would be okay. Weir hurried into the control room.

"Weir here," she said into her radio.

"This is Sheppard...the bottom line is, it didn't work."

"Well," Elizabeth said with false enthusiasm. "At least you gave them something to think about."

Colonel Caldwell's voice came over the comm. "We'll see, I doubt very much if that tactic will work again and the Daedalus has sustained damage."

"It was still the right thing to do," Sheppard said firmly and even over the radio Elizabeth could hear the tension between the two men. "We should make it home before they do," he added.

"I hope so," Weir responded. "We'll keep the porch light on for you." She turned off the comms and then looked around the control room. "Okay, what are our options?"

"Oh let me see, we got slow death, quick death, painful death, cold, lonely death..." McKay drew off.

"Okay," Weir said moving back into her office where Ford, Teyla and Kai were waiting while McKay trailed behind. "You said yourself that the shield would buy us some time at least-" she hesitated when Ford stepped up next to her. There was something about him now, something more than just his eye that was unsettling. There was an intensity about him that hadn't been there before.

"Where do you want me?" he asked respectfully.

The door to her office slid open and Beckett came storming in. "Lieutenant," he demanded striding towards him. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"I'm fine, Doc, really it's cool," he assured Beckett.

"The hell you are," Beckett said shaking his head. "You should be back in bed."

"I feel great," Ford said tightly.

Kai watched as the Lieutenant's whole body coiled like some great cat preparing to pounce.

"Just drop it," he demanded, glaring at Beckett.

"I will not just drop it," Beckett railed. "Not twenty minutes ago you were at death's door. Now I don't care how spry you feel, you need to be under medical supervision."

Ford's jaw tightened dangerously, but he whirled back to Weir. almost too fast to track "I'm good to go," he promised her.

Elizabeth tensed, but she managed to not flinch away from him, recognizing how important it was to keep Ford calm. "I appreciate your enthusiasm Lieutenant, but Doc-"

His face scrunched up in frustration. "Look I'm serious, just let me prove it, just give me something to do."

"I don't think so," Beckett said reaching for the Lieutenant's arm.

Kai was already moving, but Ford, for the first time in their lives, was faster. He whirled around and grabbed Beckett by the throat slamming him against the wall a foot above his head. He held the Doctor like he weighted nothing. "Don't push me around!" Ford bellowed.

Kai leaped forward, her Blade already naked in her hand while her other palm gripped his chin, jerking it up to expose his throat. "Lieutenant," Kai said sharply, pressing the blunt spine of her knife against his neck in warning.

He shifted, tightening his grip on Carson. The doctor struggled feebily in Ford's powerful grip.

Kai pressed the knife up tighter against his neck. "Put him down Lieutenant," she said in a low warning voice that only he would have been able to hear. "I don't want to have to do this."

Ford's face twisted into a snarl as his grip tightened. He was trembling beneath her hand.

"Aidan," Teyla said stepping up to him and closing her hand over his other arm. "He is only trying to help you," she promised in a soothing voice.

Ford's face twisted as though he were fighting some kind of internal battle. He slowly lowered Beckett to the ground, but it took every piece of himself to do so. As soon as he released Beckett Kai let him go. She stepped back and quickly sheathed her Blade.

"I'm sorry Doc," Ford said desperately. "I don't know why..."

"You need to be under medical supervision," Beckett said, clutching at his throat as he fought to breathe.

"He's right Lieutenant," Weir said soothingly as she stepped forward. "We want to know why you are suddenly feeling this way."

Ford's eyes cut to Kai warily. "Okay," he agreed nodding too many times. "I'll go back."

Whatever had made Ford hold himself and move in a certain way was gone now. All that remained was the young Lieutenant and he looked frightened.

"Good," Weir said with a smile. "That's what you should do."

"Yes ma'am," Ford agreed.

"I'll walk with you," Teyla said with a gentle smile and the two left Weir's office.

"Sedate him if you have to," Weir said gravely once the two were out of earshot.

"Aye," Beckett agreed, wincing as he touched the sensitive skin of his neck. He turned to followed Teyla and Ford. Part of him considered asking for Kai to join him, but he didn't want to antagonize Ford any further.

"And Beckett," Weir called after him.

He turned to face her.

"Post a guard," she said.

><><

They didn't have long to wait. The Daedalus landed a couple hours later. Caldwell and Sheppard came up to the control room.

"The Wraith are right behind us," Sheppard reported.

Everyone was gathered in the control room watching the sensors as they waited for the Wraith to come. Kai stood with Teyla off to the side so they were out of the way, but ready in case they were needed.

The proximity alarm sounded. "Hive ships have come out of hyper space," Chuck reported.

McKay's eyes were narrowed as he studied the readings on his laptop. "The shield is holding under the bombardment, but it's under incredible strain."

"How long will it hold?" Weir asked.

McKay made a sound of disbelief in the back of his throat. "Well if they would stop firing at it, it would last almost indefinitely, but under this kind of strain..."

"Are we talking months? Weeks?"

"Days," McKay replied grimly. "At this rate the ZPM will be depleted within days."

Kai swallowed as she watched fear cross the faces of everyone in the control room. This really was it. With the Daedalus out of commission they had no other offensive options. They had somehow fallen into the same trap the Ancients had, doomed to repeat the history of Kai's ancestors.

Teyla stepped forward to discuss some matter with Weir, leaving Kai standing alone. There was nothing she could do. Nothing any of them could do. She suddenly felt claustrophobic. She moved over to the balcony doors and stepped outside. The fresh air and the smell of the ocean steadied her but she was a fighter in her nature. She needed something to fight.

She tilted her face up to study the orange and red flashes that raced across the surface of the shield like lightning.

The door opened and she tightened. She had hoped to have a few moments alone to try and clear her thoughts.

"Kinda pretty," Sheppard's voice came from behind her. She was surprised it was him. If she was honest she had been avoiding him since she witnessed his moment with Weir. Just thinking about it made her uncomfortable.

She glanced back over her shoulder at him. The flashes of light illuminated his face. She could see the lines of stress around his mouth and his eyes. "In a flaming death kind of way," he added sardonically.

John stepped up next to Kai and rested his arms against the railing as the two of the looked up at the light show overhead. He hadn't seen or spoken with Kai since they got back from the Daedalus. Elizabeth had told him how Kai had stepped in to subdue Ford and part of him wanted to check on her himself.

Kai nodded but didn't reply. John couldn't help feeling like there was some unnamed distance between them, but maybe he was just overtired and overthinking things. Things just felt off, and he didn't know how to make it better. Nor did he understand why, when everything seemed to be falling apart anyway he was so distracted by this one thing.

"Seems a little excessive," he said after a long moment of uncomfortable silence stretched between them. "All those Hives for one little city."

Kai glance towards the Major, she could tell he was uncomfortable as well and she wished she knew how to make it better. "Atlantis is the only way to earth. As long as they know we're here, they are going to keep coming," she finally said.

John went still as her words went over him. He turned to her, his brows furrowing.

"Major?" Kai asked uncertainly.

"As long as they know we're here," he repeated in a low voice.

Kai scowled at him. She had no idea what he was talking about. She took a step towards him, but he had already spun back around to face her.

"Zian, you're a genius," he said and impulsively John grabbed Kai's face and planted a kiss on her forehead before spinning around and running out the door.

Kai was dumbfounded for only a moment before she chased after him. She pulled up short just outside the conference room doors.

"As long as they know we're here," the Major was announcing triumphantly to the conference room of all the senior staff.

"Major?" Weir asked in confusion.

"As long as they know we are here they will keep coming," he chanted again. The answer had been right under their noses the entire time. He couldn't believe it had taken so long for him to think of it. It was the obvious strategy.

"Yes..." McKay drew off, frowning.

"What if they thought we were gone?" John challenged the room, his eyes glittering with excitement as he paced in front of the table.

Teyla frowned. "Then there would be no reason for them to stay," she spoke overly slowly as she tried along with the rest of the people in the room to follow the major's line of thinking.

"Exactly," John said triumphantly, stabbing a finger in her direction.

"Exactly what?" McKay asked in dismay.

"We disappear."

Kai stood in the hall outside the doors. She hadn't been invited into the meeting but she wanted to know the Major's plan. With her hearing she could eavesdrop easily enough.

"Destroy the city you mean?" Caldwell asked.

"No, we just make it look like we did."

McKay started snapping excitedly as his eyes widened. "The cloak," he said spinning his chair towards Zelenka.

"Yes," Radek agreed. "Yes. The puddle jumpers are equipped with cloaking technology which renders them invisible to the naked eye and to Wraith scans. If we simply interface one of the cloak generators from the puddle jumpers-"

"I wouldn't say simply," McKay interrupted. "But by interfacing a jumpers stealth mode generator with the cities shield we should be able to render the city invisible."

Caldwell shook his head. "That's all well and good, but I think if the city were to just disappear they might be able to put one and one together."

"Which is why we fake a self destruct," McKay said looking entirely too pleased with himself. "Have the Daedalus beam a nuke right above the cities shield and then detonate it. While their sensors are blinded we cloak the city. When the smoke clears-"

"Nothing but ocean," Weir finished with a smile.

McKay leaned forward eagerly as his mind raced with the new possibilities. "The hard part is that the cloak will for all intents and purposes replace the shield which means once we cloak we will be completely unprotected."

"We'll be completely exposed?" Weir asked in shock.

"Well...yes," Rodney replied sheepishly.

"So if they're not fooled by the ruse..." Caldwell dragged off, scowling at the egotistical scientist. Weir's people took far too many risks for his taste.

"Then they destroy the city," John interrupted. "Which I will remind you is exactly what we were going to do anyway to prevent them from getting it...I say we get as many non-essential personnel on the Daedalus as possible. That way if it doesn't work you guys can break through the lines and outrun them. Just in case..." John added, but the truth was he didn't see how it wouldn't work if McKay could just get the cloak working.

Weir nodded. "How much time do you need?" she asked spinning her chair back to Radek and Rodney.

"A week-" Radek said.

"A couple of hours," McKay interrupted confidently.

Weir smiled. "I'll take the second estimate. Go."

McKay turned to Zelenka in disbelief. "A week? Really? What are you union?"

Zelenka grunted in annoyance and reached up to activate his comm. "Kai, please meet me in the jumper bay."

Kai poked her head around the corner of the door. John snorted, not at all surprised to see her lurking close enough to listen in. "On my way, Doctor," Kai said a little sheepishly.

While Kai headed up the stairs with McKay and Zelenka go get to work. John headed down towards the control room with Weir.

Beckett met them on the stairs. "He's escaped!" he called. The doctor's eyes were wide and he looked a little shocky.

"Who?" John asked scowling.

"Ford, he was able to disarm one of the marines and got away with all the Wraith enzyme I had left," Beckett explained, tripping over his words as he hurried to get the information out.

John activated his radio. "Ford this is Sheppard come in," he ordered. There was no answer. "Ford," he said sharply, then remembering Weir's assessment that agrivating him had made it harder for Ford to focus, John softened his tone. "I need you to come back to the control room buddy, we're all going home," John took the stairs two at a time towards the hallway. "Lieutenant do you copy?" John demanded, finally putting authority behind his tone.

The radio clicked on and John froze. Weir, Teyla and Beckett were just behind him. "You're just afraid of me Major," Ford said his voice sounding thick like he was intoxicated. It must have been the effects of the enzyme. "You're afraid of what I can do now. I'm not listening to you," and the radio clocked off.

"I'm going after him," John said, jogging towards the armory. He was going to need a stunner if he was going to bring Ford in, especially if he had taken more of the enzyme.

"Major, now is not the time!" Weir called after him, but it was no use. John wasn't one to leave his friends behind when they were in trouble. No matter the cost.

><><

It took three hours to get the cloak ready. Kai spent most of the time monitoring the relay controls and power levels on her laptop while Zelenka effected the necessary changes in the control panel itself. It was grueling work and by the end Kai had a pounding migraine from the noise of the bombardment against the shield and Zelenka's hair was standing up wildly from all the times he had run his hands through it.

Kai and Zelenka were in the Jumper while McKay headed up to the control room. For now they left the generator inside the jumper, running the interfacing through the jumpers own power supply, thus not putting more strain on the rapidly diminishing ZPM. If it worked and they decided to make it a fixed feature they would harvest a generator off of one of the broken jumpers.

"Radek?" McKay called over the comm.

"We are ready to go," Zelenka replied. He turned to Kai and nodded. Kai swung the pilots chair back around and activated the stealth mode on the jumper. In theory as long as the jumper stayed powered up all McKay would have to do was activate the relay in the control room when the time was right.

"The bombardment has stopped," Kai told Zelenka. She wasn't sure how well the Czech scientist could hear, but the near constant buzzing of the attack against the shield fell silent. Teyla's part of the plan to convince the Wraith telepathically that they were destroying the city must have worked.

The city wide comm activated. "Attention all personnel," Weir called. "Prepare for detonation flash."

Zelenka quickly closed his laptop and Kai reached over to her's, shutting down the power and closing it and her tablet. Any earth technology would be destroyed if it was still active when the bomb went off.

With the bay doors closed they wouldn't have to worry about the flash of light, but Kai lifted her hands to cover her ears. She flinched as the bomb went off, but slowly lowered her hands from her ears. She nodded to Zelenka. It was done. She quickly fired her laptop back up so she could monitor the power levels. Zelenka was crouched in the back over his own computer keeping an eye on the relays.

"Zelenka, Zian," McKay called. "Switching to cloak...now!"

><><

John pursued Ford through the city. He had a life signs detector in one hand and a wraith stunner over his other shoulder. It was a game of cat and mouse through the dark corridors. Ford was good, but he had never been this good. His boost from the enzyme seemed to stretch beyond just enhanced strength. The only way he could have avoided John so completely was if he heard him coming. Ford led the chase through nearly every abandoned section of the city and John was getting tired of it. The longer Ford was out there with all that enzyme running through his system the greater danger he was in.

John followed the life signs detector and turned down a hallway to see Ford standing openly in front of one of the open transporters. He frowned in confusion, unsure why the Lieutenant would suddenly let himself be caught after running for so many hours.

"I could have shot you a couple times by now," Ford said, pointing his P-90 at Sheppard's chest.

John slowly lowered the stunner so it was pointing at the floor. "Well, I'm glad you didn't," he said flashing a wry smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Ford lowered his gun and John approached him slowly. "Look, why don't you and I go someplace where we can talk?" John suggested in an overly calm voice.

Ford started moving away from the Major, taking one step back for every one the Major took towards him. "You're trying to change me back," he said shaking his head.

John shook his head. "I don't know what's happened to you. I've been off-world. I'm just trying to help you buddy," he said sincerely.

Ford studied him for a long time before he shook his head defeatedly. "No you're not," he said and he turned towards the transporter.

"Oh crap," John muttered and he raised the stunner. He fired it straight into Ford's exposed back.

Ford was completely unaffected. He whirled around to face Sheppard, his eyes narrowed in betrayal. He slammed his fist against the button and the doors slid closed.

Sheppard ran towards the doors, but by the time they reopened the transporter was empty.

><><

Kai was monitoring the power output of the jumper as the cloak continued to run. She stood and watched to make sure the jumper continued to interface properly even without her at the controls. "Everything looks good in here," she called over her shoulder to Radek as he stepped out of the jumper.

"Excellent," he agreed brightly. "I think we-"

There was the impact of flesh against flesh and she heard a body hit the ground. Kai ran out of the jumper to see Ford standing over Radek. Her eyes widened.

"He's not dead," Ford promised her, turning to point a P-90 at her chest. "But the same can't be said about you unless you step out of the way so I can take that jumper."

Whatever had been wrong with the lieutenant in Weir's office was in full control of him now. It May have been Ford's body, but Aidan wasn't at home.

"You can't take this jumper," Kai said firmly.

"Oh can't I?" he growled the challenge and Kai's hand dropped to her low back where it closed around the handle of her Blade. She settled into a crouch. "You'd be killing everyone on this base if you take this one," she told him sincerely. "I won't let you do that."

"Well," Ford said brightly. "I guess I won't take that one," he said and he turned to the one parked beside it.

Kai had no idea what would happen if he activated the gate while the cloak was engaged, but she did know that if he flew the jumper out of the bay and outside the cloak the Wraith would know immediately they were still there. She couldn't let either happen.

Kai was wearing the loose fitting jumpsuit with the arms tied around her waist. Her scarf was knotted around her neck and she had only a handful of knives on her. No gun, no flak vest, no combat boots. She cursed herself up and down for not being in full tactical gear in the middle of a Siege. It was a stupid mistake she might pay for dearly.

With no other options Kai launched herself at Ford's exposed back. He whipped around, almost too fast to track and fired the P-90 in an arc as he turned, but he wasn't quite fast enough. Kai slammed her shoulder into his stomach and took him to the floor, knocking the gun out of his hands. It skittered across the smooth floor away from them. Kai jerked her knife up, aiming for his shoulder. She didn't want to seriously hurt him. She just needed to subdue him.

Unfortunately, Ford didn't seem to share her reservations. He cupped one fist around the other and slammed them together down against her back with all his strength. Kai cried out as she was hit with more force than his frame should have been able to manage. She rolled away from him, knowing with his enhanced strength any blow he landed would be devastating.

He kicked at her and caught her hip with the toe of his boot flipping her onto her back. Kai jerked one of her slim knives out of her sleeve and threw it at him. The blade sank into his shoulder, but he barely reacted. He looked down at the knife as though he didn't believe it was actually there. He pulled it from his flesh and dropped it onto the floor where it clattered loudly against the concrete. He kicked it away from the out of reach.

"Is this the best you've got?" Ford challenged. "A Mortii against one Lieutenant?"

Kai shoved herself to her feet. Her back and hip were aching where he had hit her. "You aren't leaving here," she said resolutely.

Ford chuckled then attacked.

Every second they fought the more comfortable Ford became with his bodies new found strength and how to use it. When the Mortii had first come he had been in awe of her speed and skills when she fought. Now it was like she was moving in slow motion.

Kai had a knife in each hand. She twisted and arced working hard to stay out of reach. She sliced across Ford's forearm and his thigh but nothing slowed him down. She aimed a kick at his chest and he literally caught her foot in mid-kick, stopping all momentum.

He smirked down at her and slammed his fist into her stomach. Kai was lifted off the ground with the power behind the strike and actually felt something in her rib cage give. She hit the ground and gasped as pain radiated through her whole body.

Ford moved to stalk past her but she grabbed his foot and jerked him to the ground. She rolled over on top of him and slammed another of her knives into his left shoulder. He grunted in pain but it wasn't enough. He head butted her and Kai was thrown back, her vision threatening to go dark. She pushed herself up on her hands and knees and reached for her Blade. It was the last knife she had.

"Give it up Kai," Ford demanded. "I don't want to have to kill you," he told her sincerely.

Kai swayed as she stood. She was hurt, badly, and she knew it. But she couldn't let him leave. If she just delayed long enough, Sheppard was hunting Ford, he would come.

Ford cocked his head as he studied her. "You're actually going to make me do it aren't you?" He asked in disbelief. "you know what," he growled, suddenly losing his temper. "Fine," and he pulled a hand gun out of the inside of his vest.

Kai had only a moment to realize she had misjudged him. Then she heard the bang and everything went dark.

><><

Sheppard took the transporter to the gateroom. It was the only logical choice and where Ford could cause the most amount of damage. 

"Where's Ford?" John asked, breathlessly. The gate was activating as he ran into the room.

"I assume that's him in the jumper," McKay snarled.

John ran down the steps as the Jumper lowered into the gate room as soon as the wormhole was established.

"Can they detect that?" Weir yelled.

"I don't know!" McKay yelled back to be heard over the roar of the jumpers engines.

"Shut it down!" Elizabeth ordered.

"I can't! The jumper is in control!"

John stood to the side of the Jumper so he could look in the windshield as he spoke through the comm. "Ford!" he yelled. "Stand down, that's a direct order!" he snarled. He had tried being nice. Now Ford was risking the safety of everyone on Atlantis. He couldn't play nice any more.

Ford stared into his eyes and John didn't recognize the man looking out at him. "You better call a med team to the jumper bay," Ford said emotionlessly. "Kai's gonna need it."

John's eyes widened as he realized Kai would have tried to stop him. She would have done everything in her power to keep him from leaving.

The jumper went through the gate and the wormhole closed behind him.

"I need a medical team to the jumper bay!" Zelenka's distressed yell came over the radio. "Hurry!"

"Beckett!" John called into the comm. Something that may have been fear tightened John's throat.

"I'm en route!" The Scot's accent was made thicker by stress as he was running to the jumper bay. 

John stepped out onto the floor of the gate room, staring after the jumper. He couldn't believe the enthusiastic kid who cared so much could do all this. 

"Where the hell is he going?" He yelled up to the control room.

Weir was glaring down at him. "It won't matter if the Wraith can detect gate activity through the cloak."

They waited in tense silence.

Finally the radio activated. "This is the Daedalus. Our sensors indicate the Wraith fleet is breaking orbit."

"I can confirm that. They're headed for hyperspace," McKay called. "I'm gonna keep the cloak up for a while just to be sure, but I think they bought it," he was almost hysterical with relief.

Weir moved down the stairs to where the Major stood, staring off into space. "The gate address will be in the log," she said soothingly. "There's still a chance-"

"Doesn't matter where he goes. The second he gets wherever he's going he'll ditch the jumper and turn around and dial another address. One we can't trace," John said. He has screwed this one up. He should have been better, faster, then maybe he would have caught Ford and Kai would be hurt.

"How do you know?" Elizabeth asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

John glanced over at her. "Because that's what i trained him to do," he said grimly.

"We'll find him," Weir promised.

"Maybe."

"Hey," Weir said, forcing John to turn and face her. "At least we're still around to try."

"Yeah," John agreed, but he didn't sound convinced.

He turned and walked away to put the stunner away in the armory before heading towards the infirmary to check on Zian.

><><

Chapter 39

><><

John stood over Kai's bed in the infirmary. It was late and most of the lights had been turned down. The Siege was over and almost everyone had gone to bed. For some, it was the first rest they had in days. But Kai was still unconscious and John couldn't quite bring himself to go to his quarters until he was sure she would be all right.

He glanced up as Beckett walked in. "Major," Beckett greeted with a yawn. Beckett had been attending the injured the last couple days without stop. Kai was the last to come in and she had come out of surgery less than an hour ago. He had sent most of his staff to bed, but he wanted to make sure she was entirely stable before allowing himself to rest.

"Hey doc," John said tiredly. "How's she doing?"

Beckett's face was grim. "The damage was extensive. Given Lieutenant Ford's enhanced strength I'm not surprised, but by the nature of the injuries and their severity it's clear our Kai put up one hell of a fight before she was shot."

John crossed his arms over his chest and he swallowed thickly as he thought about what Ford had done. None of them realized how far gone he was until they saw the damage.

Beckett lifted Kai's chart. "Several broken ribs both anterior and posterior. A, frankly, impressive concussion. Perforated lung, a small hairline fracture along the femoral head, and of course the GSW to her left shoulder."

John sighed and scrubbed at his face with his hands. It never should have come to this. She had been working on a jumper. She should have been safe. "She's a fighter," he finally said. Her eyelashes were thick and dark against her pale cheeks, but she didn't look peaceful. There was a small line of tension still between her eyes and he wondered if she was still in pain. "Ford needs help," he added in a low voice. He had failed them both today.

"This was extreme Major," Beckett said in a low voice.

John turned back to Beckett. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying the injuries suggest he beat her once she was down. And the GSW barely missed her heart. It was either luck or extreme skill. Either way...we almost lost her today." Beckett flipped the clip board closed and hung it on the bed. "If you don't need anything else Major, I think I'm going to turn in."

John nodded but he hadn't moved. "Good night," he called after Carson. Then he dropped down into the chair beside the bed and hung his head. All senior staff were set to return to earth in the morning for a full debriefing with the IOA. He didn't know what would happen once he got there. He could be reassigned and never come back. He looked back up at Kai's face. He wasn't ready. Not yet.

This was his fault. If he had stopped Ford before he got to the transporter he never would have had a shot at Kai. He needed to find Ford and he needed to apologize to Kai. Leaving without saying something felt...well he wasn't sure what exactly it was he felt. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. He was exhausted and his thoughts were taking him places he normally refused to allow himself to go.

John leaned back in his chair and yawned. He looked down at his watch. He only had another handful of hours left on Atlantis. This was as good a place as any to spend them. His eyes slowly started to droop and the steady beeping of Kai's heart monitor quickly lulled him to sleep.

><><

Teyla was up early the next morning. She and Zelenka would be in charge of the city while the senior staff was away and she was eager to get started on the clean up. The sooner they could return life to normal, the better for everyone. Her first stop however was to check on Kai. Kai was a hard woman to get close to, but Teyla considered her one of her dearest friends. She stepped into the infirmary and hesitated when she saw the Major fast asleep in the chair beside her bed.

Beckett stood on the other side of the room where he was prepping Doctor Biro to take over while he was gone. The stern woman had come primarily to perform medical research, although she had taken the occasional shift in the infirmary. Now, she would be the senior medical staff member in Beckett's absence and she did not look happy about it.

"Teyla dear," Carson greeted with a warm smile as he gratefully stepped away from Doctor Biro. "Anything I can do for you?"

"Well," she said, trying not to draw too much attention to where the Major was sleeping. "I came to check on Kai before seeing you off."

"Right," Beckett agreed. "Well, she hasn't regained consciousness yet, but there is no reason to doubt she won't soon. She's stable and her vitals are strong. I have a strict recovery regiment Doctor Biro will monitor. But we'll be able to have regular check-ins."

"Excellent" Teyla said with a smile, some of her concern over her friend was alieveated just knowing Doctor Beckett was comfortable leaving. He wasn't the type who would leave when one of his patients needed him. Teyla's eyes cut to the Major. She flickered them back to Carson who followed her gaze.

Beckett cleared his throat and stepped in Teyla's way, blocking her line of sight. Beckett knew probably better than anyone, possibly even the Major himself, how he felt about Kai. He wasn't willing to have it be put on display or let others judge John for caring. "The Major is fine. I was just going to wake him so he would have time to get ready for the trip home."

"Time?" Teyla asked gently. "Was he here all night?"

Beckett stiffened and crossed his arms over his chest as he suddenly felt protective of his friends. "I believe the Major feels responsible for Lieutenant Ford's actions," Beckett said reasonably.

"Yes," Teyla agreed though she didn't sound convinced. Sensing Beckett's concern she flashed him a warm, reassuring smile. "That must be it."

><><

Forty-eight days. John had been away from Atlantis for Forty-eight days and he had been surly every one of them. His first week back on earth had been spent debriefing the military and the IOA. Once that was done he had fully expected to be shown the door, or at least reassigned back to flying a chopper in Antarctica. Things on Atlantis hadn't exactly been done by the book and he had made more than a few mistakes. All of which seemed to have been meticulously cataloged by Sergeant Bates and Doctor Kavanagh. But they didn't fire him. Instead they handed down a surprising promotion.

The IOA loved their games and their hoops. John hated bureaucrats and, much to his fathers eternal chagrin, was piss poor at playing politics. That combined with his mouth and panache for finding trouble had led most people in the military to believe he would never rise above the rank of Captain, despite his skill, ingenuity and intelligence, let alone make Major. Now here he was a freshly minted Lieutenant Colonel with the full backing of the IOA as the Military Commander of Atlantis.  General O'Neill had patted him on the back, told him he had done a bang up job and to get to work hiring his new staff.

John had gone out and celebrated, but his heart hadn't been in it. He wanted to get back to Atlantis as quickly as possible and there was work to be done. With the ZPM Atlantis was now able to handle a greater number of personnel. Weir was nearly doubling the number of scientists which in turn needed to be supported by medical and military staff. All the senior staff members spent the next two weeks conducting interviews and expanding their teams.

Bates wouldn't be returning and it took John almost the full two weeks to find himself a suitable second in command from the list the IOA provided. Most of them were uptight rule followers who would be useless in the field. He finally settled on a Major Lorne. He was an experienced member of the SGC and had logged a lot of time off-world. Once John met him in person it had sealed the deal. The Major had a good sense of humor and asked all the right questions.

The others had spent their last week on earth on personal leave, but John didn't really have anywhere or anyone he wanted to visit. Instead he spent the time picking up some items he wanted to take back with him and hanging around the base. He helped out on a couple SG-1 missions, but his heart wasn't in it.

This wasn't home any more. 

Without a ZPM they were forced to take the Daedalus to get back to Atlantis. On earth they had received daily status reports from Teyla or Doctor Zelenka. The eighteen grueling days on the Daedalus however cut them off from even those. The first part of their journey was easy with no complications and John was going stir crazy. 

It wasn't until they arrived in the Pegasus Galaxy that they finally had something to do. A computer virus took over the ship and they lost several good people. He and Rodney had a close call with a star but they managed to destroy it, saving the Daedalus just in time.

When they finally arrived on Atlantis John was among the first group to be beamed back into the city. They were using the gate room as a landing pad. Weir had already coordinated people in the city to meet the new arrivals and get them settled.

John, Weir, Beckett and McKay all headed up the stairs to the control room together. Teyla stood ready to welcome them home. "Doctor Weir, Doctor McKay, Doctor Beckett, welcome back," she said warmly. Then she turned to John. "And, Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard, congratulations," she said with a genuine smile.

John nodded. "Thank you. Anything happen while we were gone?" he asked.

"There has been no sign of the Wraith. It would appear that they continue to believe that Atlantis has been destroyed. But I understand that your trip was not so happily uneventful."

"No," Weir agreed. "Not exactly."

"Any word from your off world contacts?" John asked, resting his hands on his hips. He had nothing to do on the Daedalus but think about Lieutenant Ford. Locating him was a number one priority as far as he was concerned.

Teyla nodded. "We have received several intelligence reports. However as of yet there is no news of Lieutenant Ford."

"I'd like to read those reports if you don't mind," John replied.

"I thought you might," Teyla said and handed over the extra tablet she had been carrying. "I prepared you this copy."

"Thank you."

Weir stepped away as Chuck approached her with reports that needed her attention.

"I also feel it prudent to tell you that Kai believes she may have some off world contacts who might be of help," Teyla reported. "However, she has not yet been cleared for duty by Doctor Biro."

John's eyes flickered to where Elizabeth was walking away. He didn't want to be overheard. "How's-?" he started to ask.

Teyla seemed to understand immediately. "She is...recovering," Teyla said soothingly. Though her eyes flickered in a way that John knew there was more to it.

Teyla stepped tactfully off to the side and John followed, tipping his head down so she could speak quietly without being overheard. "I believe Doctor Biro will be relieved Doctor Beckett has returned so she may return to her research and not..." Teyla dragged off as though she couldn't think of a nice way to say.

"Have to deal with Zian?" John asked snorting.

Teyla nodded. "Kai has been most impatient to return to work. Doctor Zelenka has insisted on a clean bill of health and Doctor Biro is refusing to give it until Doctor Beckett returns."

"And Zian?" John asked raising an eyebrow.

"She is...well she spends much of her time in the gym."

"Training?" John asked frowning. Teyla nodded. "She should be recovering. It's only been what, a month and a half?"

"She would tell you almost two," Teyla replied and John could tell there had been some tension between the two friends over this.

Another group appeared behind them and John turned towards it. "I will help get the new personnel settled," Teyla offered, lifting her tablet. "Why don't you...get some rest." She suggested although they both knew that wasn't likely to happen.

John shook his head. "I should give Major Lorne a tour myself. Help him get familiar with the city. Show where things are..."

"Like the gym," Teyla said helpfully.

"Right," John dragged out the word.

><><

John saved the gym for the last stop on their tour. Lorne seemed awe struck by the city and he had followed behind the Colonel asking only the occasional intelligent question. The gym doors hissed open and he could hear the contact of someone striking one of the dummies. They had brought a lot of new equipment but it looked like they hadn't gotten around to unpacking any of it yet. He stood just inside the doorway and waited, knowing she had heard him.

"And this is the sparring room," John said unnecessarily. "Down the hall there's some stairs that lead up to the catwalks. It's a mile and half loop."

Lorne nodded but he was watching Kai. John followed his gaze and gave himself permission to watch her. She wore tight black exercise clothes with her scarf around her head, leaving only her face and hands exposed. She moved through a complicated series of strikes. She had short fighting rods in her hands that would simulate knives. She sliced and spun, arcing away from an imaginary enemy.

Lorne looked impressed but John had seen her fight enough to know she wasn't at full speed.  When she tried to bring her knee up for a cross the body strike she flinched. She jerked back, her face pinched with frustration and she threw both rods at the dummy's heart with more force than was strictly necessary. The rods bounced off the dummy and clattered loudly against the floor.

Kai turned to face the two people standing in the door. She had reconized the first as Sheppard even before he had spoken, the second man standing beside him however was a soldier she had never met before. He was younger than Sheppard and shorter, with a thicker build.

"Kai Zian," Sheppard said taking a step forward between them. "This is Major Lorne."

The Major stepped forward and offered his hand, flashing a pleasant smile. "Please call me Evan."

Kai took his hand and shook it. "Kai," she replied.

John looked back and forth between them grinding his teeth. He didn't appreciate Lorne's easy smile. He cleared his throat and Lorne let go of Kai's hand, turning back to his commanding officer. "Well, that about covers it," John said. "It'll probably take a few days to get orientated, but Elizabeth is organizing more tours and I'll be briefing all military personnel at 0800 tomorrow."

Lorne nodded briskly. "Understood Colonel," he said snapping off a salute. He turned back to Kai. "It was a pleasure to meet you Kai," he said with a warm smile and he left the two of them alone.

Kai turned back to the dummy and picked up her training rods. She moved to put them away. "I hear congratulations are appropriate," Kai said without looking at him.

John snorted. "Typically yes."

Kai nodded, sliding the rods away where they went. She wasn't exactly done, but she was strangely uncomfortable around Sheppard now and she didn't exactly know why. They hadn't spoken since the Siege. Their last conversation had been out on the balcony under the shield when he had impulsively kissed her on the forehead and then proceeded to save the day.

"So far I've been unimpressed by the Colonel's I've met from your planet," she said finally turning back to face him.

Sheppard was watching her with a strange intensity to his gaze. Kai shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat.

John noticed immediately that Kai was uncomfortable and felt bad about it. He pressed his lips together, wishing he knew what to say to put her at ease. He needed to apologize to her, he owed her that much, he just didn't know how to get there without just blurting it out. He had practiced this conversation a thousand times in his head back on earth, but standing in front of her was a completely different thing. "I hear you've been taking a run at my title for worst patient ever," he said as casually as possible.

Kai didn't respond, instead she turned to him and lifted a brow. He had something to say, she could practically feel it.

He drew in a breath and what came out of his mouth wasn't what needed to be said. "Teyla said you have some off-world contacts that might be able to help us find Ford."

Kai nodded. "I do, but I have to be able to go off-world to find out," she exhaled tightly and John could tell this had been a major issue while they were gone.

"Tell you what, as soon as Beckett clears you for duty you can tell us all about it," Sheppard replied flashing an infuriating smile.

"As ranking Military Commander couldn't you-" Kai started to say.

"Go see Beckett." John ordered sternly and he left Kai seething behind him in the gym.

><><

Chapter 40

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Kai and Teyla were sitting in the conference room, waiting while Beckett spoke with Sheppard and Weir in private. Kai could hear their conversation if she focused. They would have had to go to a different level for her to not, but she politely pretended she couldn't.

"Well?" John asked, glancing back towards Kai. "Did you clear her?"

Beckett sighed. "Well she passed," he said begrudgingly.

Weir frowned. "Why do you not seem happy about it?"

Beckett looked at their leader and shook his head. "Because I'm honestly not."

"You said she passed," John defended. He was anxious to get in there and make a plan to find Ford. The more time that went by the harder it was going to be to find him. The trail was already nearly two months cold.

"Aye she did," Beckett agreed. "But you have to understand her pain tolerance is incredibly high Colonel. Almost as high as yours."

Weir frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "What exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying Doctor Weir, that I can tell you what the scanners tell me, which is that she is mostly healed, but I can't tell you definitively if she's in any kind of pain. She's determined to go and no test I have administered seems capable of proving she is unfit."

Elizabeth looked torn, but John nodded. He had told Kai she would need to pass Beckett's test to go and she had done just that. He was a man of his word, although he couldn't help feeling like she had cheated the system. He didn't want her hurt, but he had recognized the gleam in her eye. Kai was determined to go.

"We'll take it under advisement," John told Beckett.

"See that you do Colonel," Beckett challenged begrudgingly. The Doctor had come to care for Kai. She had some incredible abilities and he didn't want to see her exploited for what she could do. She wasn't a weapon, she was a woman and he didn't have a problem saying that to anyone who needed to hear it. Even if it was the Colonel.

"Thank you Carson," Weir said giving him a knowing look before she and the Colonel walked into the conference room.

Kai was seated in one of the chairs with her hands folded on the table in front of her. She and Teyla had been sitting together in companionable silence while they waited. Teyla never admitted it, but Kai was fairly certain she knew when Kai was eavesdropping.

"It seems you've passed Beckett's exam with flying colors," Doctor Weir said, arching an eyebrow as she took the seat across from Kai.

Kai nodded, looking unsurprised.

"So," Elizabeth said. "Colonel Sheppard tells me you might have some contacts who could provide information regarding Lieutenant Ford's location."

Kai shifted in her chair. She needed to be clear about what type of place this was going to be, but she needed to do so without entirely scaring Doctor Weir off. It was likely their best chance of finding him. "There's a planet it's...well we might be able to...barter for information."

Elizabeth frowned. Kai was always very deliberate with her choice of language and she had been hesitant over her use of the word barter. "Like establish trade?" She asked. Any contacts from Kai's past would certainly be of questionable moral background. Elizabeth wanted to make sure they had all the facts before they got too far into this.

"This is not the type of place you set up trade," Kai said carefully.

"It's the type of place you go when you need to buy something like Wraith enzyme?" Sheppard asked leaning forward eagerly in his seat.

Kai nodded, peaking up at them through her lashes. "Exactly."

Weir looked back and forth between them. "Look," She said briskly. "I'm not sure how comfortable I am with some kind of black market-"

"It's fine," John responded quickly. He wanted to stop Elizabeth from saying no. Sometimes she could get locked into an answer before they had a chance to get all the information and this sounded like the best chance of finding Ford. "I'll take a team and-"

"It's not that type of place either Colonel" Kai said interrupting him.

"So how do you propose to get the information?" Weir asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kai pressed her lips together. This was the part of the plan that might end up being potentially dangerous. "I am owed by one of the proprietors of one of the...establishments," Kai explained carefully. "I'll go, cash in my favor, gather what information I can and return."

"If this was a place you frequented in your..." Teyla hesitated. "Previous career," she finally found the words. "Isn't there a risk that the leaders of your planet would discover you are still alive?"

Kai pressed her lips together grimly. It was a huge risk. She just hadn't anticipated any of them realizing it. She had never told any of them what would happen if The Grand Council found out she was still alive and hadn't returned. But Teyla always saw more than she let on. The only chance Kai stood was if she moved fast and didn't leave any clue about her affiliation with Atlantis. "I can manage," she promised quickly.

Teyla narrowed her gaze and Sheppard outright scowled at her. "You're not going alone," he said.

"Colonel I-"

"That's final," he growled. John's tone and posture made it clear arguing would do no good.

Weir leaned forward in her chair. "I agree. If you insist a full team is a bad idea then I will respect that, but the Colonel will be accompanying you," she said glancing towards Sheppard.

He nodded grimly. "And back up will be on stand by. Major Lorne's team plus Teyla," John added, knowing the newbies would need someone experienced in the Pegasus.

Kai looked mutinous for a moment but finally nodded. "Agreed."

"Good," Weir said standing. "Go see what you can find out," she closed her folder and stood, heading towards the door.

Kai stood more slowly.

"When should we leave?" Sheppard asked her.

"We have to change," she said firmly. "No evidence of the earth or Atlantis is safe on Lodan...so I don't know if you can..." she dragged of gesturing towards the Colonel's military clothes. She had never seen Sheppard look like anything but a soldier.

Teyla stood. "Lodan?" She asked in a carefully neutral voice. Her mouth tightened but she nodded. "I will assist the Colonel," she promised.

Kai 's eyebrows rose towards her hairline but she didn't comment. "Then I'll see you in the locker room," Kai agreed.

John and Teyla had been in the locker room for less than ten minutes when the door opened. John looked up and froze as Kai stepped into the brightly lit room looking entirely badass. She wore leather pants, knee high leather boots, and a fitted black turtleneck. Her scarf was wrapped around her hair, leaving a cowl loop hanging over one shoulder. She had put more makeup around her eyes than he had ever seen her use. Every one of her knives were visible leaving no doubt that she knew how to use them.

Her outfit hugged her curves, but it hid more skin than it showed. John was no stranger to being around beautiful women. Hell most of them usually came to him before he even bothered. But there was something about Kai, somehow she managed to push every button he had without even trying. He cleared his throat and reminded himself that he was commanding officer here. She was off limits.

Kai stepped into the locker room without looking up. She moved to the weapons rack and selected a belt that hung at an angle low on her hips and strapped a .9 mill into a thigh holster. John swallowed as she strapped another knife around her opposite thigh and one around the outside of one of her boots. When she straightened he looked away so he wouldn't be caught staring.

Kai turned, cocking her head to the side as she stared at the Colonel. "Is that it?" She asked Teyla in concern. Teyla hadn't managed to do much to make John Sheppard look less official. Being The Colonel was such an integral part of his personality it was nearly impossible to separate him from it.

Teyla sighed and shrugged. "Please," she said gesturing to the Colonel.

Kai walked up to him frowning. Teyla had him in his traditional black combats and boots, but she had added leather ties looped around the boots and halfway up his calves. He wore one of his plain black t-shirts which judging by what she had seen him wear was the only option he had that wasn't emblazoned with Atlantis and the U.S. Military. She had also wrapped both his arms from wrist to elbow.

Kai had chosen to wear her traditional Mortii gear, their best hope for the Colonel was to make him look like a bounty hunter. Nothing else would be believable. No Mortii would associate with an official from a known government. They were infamous for moving outside the law.

"Take your shirt off," She instructed.

John pulled back. "What? Why?" he sputtered.

Kai sighed. "Because if we go in there looking like officials or worse, easy marks, we either won't make it to the inn or we'll have to kill so many people along the way it will take all night," she explained as patiently as possible. "Now, please remove your shirt Colonel," she kept her voice as emotionless as possible.

When he hesitated another moment, glancing back and forth between her and Teyla a slow smirk stretched Kai's lips. "We can turn around if you'd prefer," she offered.

Teyla covered her laugh with a cough and John scowled at her. He jerked the t-shirt over his head and held it out to Kai, a defiant set to his chin.

Kai forced herself not to notice the way the Colonel's muscles flexed and moved as he removed his shirt. His chest was a wide expanse of lean muscle interspersed with scars that told the story of his life as a soldier. He had nearly as many scars as she did. He had a light dusting of chest hair and his dog tags rested in the hollow of his sternum over his heart. Unsurprising for someone as fit as he was he had defined six pack and there was another trail of hair that disappeared below his belt. Kai's eyes dropped to the V of muscle visible just above his belt and she forced herself to turn away. She didn't want to be caught staring. The Colonel was good looking, everyone including him knew that. His ego didn't need any help from her. She simply appreciated his level of fitness as a soldier. That was all.

Kai drew a knife as she took the warm material in her hand. She locked her eyes onto the black fabric and sliced off the sleeves. When she was done she looked back up. Sheppard had rested his hands on his hips as he glared at her.

"Hey," he growled. "That one was my favorite."

Kai arched a brow, holding it back out to him. "You have a favorite black t-shirt?"

"Not any more," he grumbled pulling it over his head.

She pulled down a shoulder holster and handed it to him while she picked up one of the older tactical vests and using her knife roughed it up a bit. "Leave it open so they can see the shoulder holster," she told him as he shrugged it on. "As many weapons as you can manage," she encouraged, "But..." she rose up on tip toes and gently removed the radio from his ear.

John went still as Kai's fingers glided whisper light across his ear. She was standing so close he could smell the light scent that reminded him of lavender and the ocean.

"Well?" Kai asked turning to Teyla.

"I suppose it will do..." Teyla said unconvincingly.

Kai nodded thoughtfully without taking her eyes off the Colonel.

"I'm right here you know," he said. "I'm not a piece of meat." He added defensively.

Kai snorted, but Teyla was serious as she turned to Kai. "Are you sure it would not help for me to come?" Teyla asked. "I've heard Lodan can be..." she shook her head.

"Best we go as a couple," Kai said. "It will be strange enough for a Mortii to travel with another. Adding a third will draw too much attention."

Teyla nodded.

"Let's go."

Weir was waiting for them in the gate room. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the sight of Kai and John. They looked rough and dangerous; like they belonged together. Kai's entire movement had changed. She stalked through the gate room with a confidence she didn't normally show on Atlantis. John meanwhile had his usual confident swagger.

Elizabeth swallowed uncomfortably. She didn't like this. She wasn't sure which one she trusted to make sure nothing got out of hand. "Try not to get into too much trouble," Weir warned.

"No promises," John said flashing Elizabeth his most charming smile.

She gave him a warning look and his face fell.

"Major Lorne's team and I will be on stand-by," Teyla reminded them gently.

"You have the address?" Kai asked Teyla.

She nodded and headed up the stairs towards the control room to have Chuck dial the gate.

"Good luck my friends," Teyla called to them warmly.

Elizabeth stepped up next to Teyla and the two of them watched Sheppard and Kai step across the event horizon. Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest. "Why do I feel like this is a bad idea?"

"I am sure Kai and the Colonel can handle any problems they might encounter on that planet," Teyla responded soothingly.

"Yes," Elizabeth agreed. "But can that planet handle them?"

><><

The Stargate opened in the middle of a busy market the likes of which Sheppard hadn't seen in this galaxy. There were spices and food and every where people were selling anything you could imagine from simple farm equipment to weapons technology he had never seen before.

"Just scowl at everyone and try not to get knifed," Kai said wearily as she tucked her cowl across her face. She hated places like this, where the act became so important. While she had initially offered to go alone, she was grateful to have the Colonel at her back. It was so strange, after depending on no one but herself for so long how quickly she had grown accustomed to having someone she trusted at her back.

John glanced towards Kai. With the cowl covering the lower part of her face she seemed to wrap herself even more in her Mortii persona. He had never understood the cowl. It certainly didn't conceal how beautiful she was and it didn't provide any protection. He supposed it provided a certain amount of anonymity but Kai would attract attention no matter where she went.

He followed her, just off her shoulder. Kai moved differently here. Her muscles were coiled, like she was a cat poised to strike. She seemed aware of everything around them, though he didn't know how a place like this wouldn't be overwhelming to her heightened senses.

"How do the Wraith not know about this place?" John asked curiously as they moved past a stall selling weapons and another selling guns followed by one selling what looked like silk scarves.

"They do, but the resident population of Lodan isn't very large. They've culled here several times to my knowledge but it's not a place people live, it's a stop over. The market isn't permanent. If they were to come at even the wrong time of day the market would be empty and it would be a waste of their time."

John nodded as his eyes ran over the crowds surrounding them, he was on high alert as he watched people being pick pocketed and thieves stealing from the stalls. Fights broke out and people immediately stopped to begin taking bets on the winner. People were playing dice at another stall. And further down he actually saw a Wraith haggling with one of the vendors.

"Charming place," he said wrinkling his nose. It smelled like piss and day old vomit.

Kai led the way down the main thoroughfare, keeping to the growing shadows. Anyone who spotted her slipped to the other side of the street, giving her a wide berth. John found it interesting because she was not necessarily that imposing but it did mean they recognized her as a Mortii. He remembered Teyla asking if it would be dangerous if word of her presence got back to her people. Kai had never really answered. If the Mortii had a contact even half blind they would know she was here.

It was full dark when they went through a side door of a ramshackle building. Kai walked up to the bar and people slid away from her. John stepped up beside her confidently and he could feel the room's gaze on them. Now he understood why Kai had been so concerned about their appearance. Looking the part was half the battle in a place like this.

"Do they know you?" John asked, pressing against her, and dipping his chin so his lips were near her ear to ensure only she heard his question.

Kai shook her head. Her eyes ran over the patrons. It was impossible to tell if any of them were listening. She lowered her cowl and took another step closer to the Colonel. She pushed herself up on her toes and her lips hovered just over his ear. "This is how all Mortii are regarded," she whispered. "It doesn't mean someone won't try something. Taking a Blade from a Mortii in combat is considered the greatest honor. Most won't bother, but if someone gets too far into their cups..."

It took every ounce of self control John had to not shiver as Kai's breath fanned his neck. "Cowen," he growled as he remembered the Genii leaders interest in Kai. He turned to face her and suddenly they were only inches apart.

Kai nodded and she could see Sheppard's residual anger over what Cowen had done. It surprised her.

They stared into one another's eyes for a long moment before they both turned away. It was dangerous to be distracted in a place like this, but at least they were selling that they were clearly a couple.

The barkeep glanced towards them and without a word Kai laid coins on the bar. He reached for a bottle and her hand flashed, slamming her black blade against the top of the bar so hard it shook. John hadn't even seen her reach for it she was so fast.

John leaned his back against the bar and cross his arms over his chest keeping his eyes on the room. The bartender reached for another bottle, this one higher up on the shelf. He filled two glasses of the nearly black liquid and slid them towards Kai.

"I need information," Kai said casually.

The barkeep shifted uncomfortably. "I know nothing," he replied, his voice thickly accented. "I just pour drinks."

Kai cocked her head to the side as a brittle smile crossed her face. "Don't try that on me. You owe."

"Are you here to collect?" he asked, his eyes widening fearfully.

A slow smirk crossed Kai's face but it was like nothing John had ever seen before. This was cruel with the promise of violence. "One way or another," Kai promised him.

The man let out a shaky breath. "What do you need?"

"I'm looking for a man-" Kai started.

The barkeep's eyes flashed to Sheppard and he blanched at the possessive gleam he saw on the other man's face. "Seems you got one eh?" the barkeep laughed uncomfortably.

"This one would be looking to buy something he would call Wraith Enzyme..."

The barkeep shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"Everyone knows if the information exists you can find it," Kai continued. "My guess is that there was no enzyme here to be purchased. Once he found that out he would have wanted to know the address to a planet that guaranteed him Wraith...I want to know the address to that planet."

The barkeeps eyes were wide and he began nodding too many times. "Yeah sure, I can do that," he promised.

Kai's smile was a dangerous flash of teeth. "Excellent, we'll wait," she said and she took the two glasses off the bar and led the way towards a small, private table at the back of the room. John didn't miss that the bar keep didn't move to touch Kai's money until they were well out of reach.

They sat at a table in the corner so both of their backs could be against the wall.

"Don't drink that," Kai advised. "It's called Euphor and can be very strong if you aren't used to it," Kai said sliding John's glass towards him.

"So that man owes you a favor?" John asked. He picked up the glass and sniffed it curiously. It didn't smell like alcohol.

Kai turned back to him she frowned when she caught him sniffing the drink. "I saved his life," she told him. "Try it if you like," she relented. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

John smirked at her challenge and took a small sip. It was good, but thick. It coated his tongue, and was sweeter than he expected. It tasted more like juice than any alcohol he had ever had. He arched his brows but stayed focused on their conversation. "I didn't think saving lives was your business at the time."

"It wasn't," Kai agreed taking a small sip of her own drink. "Unlike most Mortii I learned a long time ago that favors are useful and people can't repay them if they're dead."

John nodded. "No they can't," he agreed. Despite all she had shared with them, he still felt like he didn't know the first thing about what her life had been like before Atlantis. Every new hint just deepened the mystery. This was a side of Kai he had never seen before. It went beyond what she was like in combat. When she fought she let go completely, she was all fire. This was cold and calculating. He was glad no one else had come along. He knew how hard Kai worked to fit in and he doubted even Teyla would have understood this side of her personality as being a necessary evil.

They sat in silence for a long while as they waited for the barkeep to return. "So," John said, dragging out the word. "Exactly how hurt are you still?"

Kai glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but didn't respond.

John flashed her a confident smile. She hadn't actually thought she had gotten one over on him had she? "Beckett said you can cheat his tests, which is fine, except I need to know in case this," he said gesturing to the room around them. "Turns south."

Kai snorted and took another drink. "I assure you Con - Sheppard," she corrected herself. "You do not have to worry about me in a bar brawl, no matter what stage of healing I'm in."

John shook his head and stared down at his drink. Kai said it was supposed to be strong, but he didn't feel anything. He took another sip. "Let's avoid brawling if at all possible."

Kai stuck out her bottom lip and pouted playfully at him. "But I've been stuck on Atlantis for almost two months with nothing fun to do..."

John's breath caught in his chest as Kai stared up at him with that teasing glint in her eyes that promised so much more than he could imagine. The flickering candle light caught in her eyes and he wanted to reach out and touch her skin. It was physically painful to force himself to turn away.

"It was my fault," Sheppard said, taking a swig from his cup.

Kai glanced over towards him frowning as she failed to follow his line of thought. "I'm sorry?" she asked in confusion.

"What happened to you...with Ford...I should have stopped him, and I didn't."

Kai stared at Sheppard as the long moment stretched between them. "It wasn't your job to protect me Colonel," she said. She knew how seriously he took the safety of people he considered his. He took so much on his shoulders and she wouldn't let him take this too.

When John looked back at Kai his eyes were open and honest and more tormented than Kai had ever seen them. She had never had anyone look at her the way John did.

"It is my job," he corrected her gently. "And protecting you is part of it."

Kai stared down at the cup in her hands. "I should have been able to stop him."

"Zian-" he started but she shook her head and tipped her cup back, draining the last of it.

Kai could feel the first light tingling sensations in her fingertips that told her the Euphor was taking effect. She took a deep breath and turned back to John. "I guess we both need to find him."

John nodded, knowing neither one of them was going to yield on this point, so there was no point in arguing. He slung back the rest of his drink.

The door opened and they turned together to see the barkeep slip back inside. He caught Kai's eye and nodded meaningfully.

Kai rose to her feet and looked back at the Colonel. "Looks like he's got our planet."

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Chapter 41

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It was nearly midnight when Kai and John stumbled back towards the gate. The barkeep had been true to his word. Ford had come and gotten an address for a Wraith planet. The barkeep had provided the address, poured them each another drink and warned them that the planet had a large Wraith settlement on it. Kai didn't thank the man, but she told him they were square. Kai had wanted to leave immediately, but John talked her into staying and finishing their drinks.

Rationally he knew it was too late at night and they should head back to Atlantis, get some sleep, and go through the proper channels in the morning. But the scrap of paper was burning a hole in his pocket. They were so close to finding Ford he could taste it.

Whatever was in that drink hadn't been alcohol, John hadn't experienced this kind of euphoria since he had his wisdom teeth out and been given morphine. Everything seemed so simple. It made his limbs feel light and loose. Like he could do anything. Control was such a hallmark of his personality that to feel so light and free was exhilarating. There was literally no one else in this solar system he had to worry about. Right now it was just him and Kai.

He turned to Kai a challenging smirk stretching his face. "So what do you think?" He asked waving the piece of paper towards her.

Kai looked up at the Colonel and the moonlight from the twin moons reflected in his eyes making the angles of his handsome face stand out. She licked her lips to reply and his eyes followed the movement.

The intensity rose for a moment between them and his mouth opened for a second like he was going to say something profound. Then he seemed to jolt himself out of it. A boy-ish grin lighting his face. "Come on Kai!" He chastised in a sing-song voice. He took her wrists in his and swung her around playfully.

"Weir said not to get into any trouble," Kai replied studiously, she was fighting to maintain control her her body but she was failing. She could feel the drink working it's way through her. She should have passed, it had been a long time since she had a glass of Euphor. And neither of them had needed the second.

John snorted, and flashed her a boyishly charming smile that normally didn't work on her. But tonight under the twin moons it made her stomach flip flop.

"It's not like you and I couldn't handle it," he said swinging her around again.

Kai let out an uncharacteristic giggle. She had never seen this side of the Colonel before. Despite his sense of humor he was always so serious and in control underneath. The burden of command was something he took very seriously. To see him truly having fun was worth the headache she knew she would have in the morning. But the morning was so far off. It didn't matter as much as she had thought it should.

All that mattered was being in the moment now. She tipped her head back and let him spin her playfully around under the stars. She laughed again because she didn't know when the last time was she had laughed. She stumbled over her feet and expected to fall. But John caught her, pulling her into his arms. She gripped his forearms to steady herself, but his hands were strong and warm against her low back. The carefree joy on his face was infectious and Kai stared up into his eyes. She wanted to freeze this moment in time and bask in the glow.

A single strand of hair slipped free from her scarf and John reached up with gentle fingers and tucked it behind her ear. "I'm not sure there's anything we can't handle," he confided to her seriously.

Kai stared deeply into his eyes as her heart started thundering away in her chest. There were so many reasons why this was wrong and why she should pull away but she couldn't think of a single one of them.

"Have you ever seen the stars like this?" He asked, tipping his chin up to look at the stars overhead. "I haven't," he said. "Not a single one of them is familiar. That's pretty cool, huh?"

Kai's mind was absolutely blank. Things were so easy. They were like two puzzle pieces who's broken edges fit together somehow. She felt the hard nudge in her mind and John went still under her hands. He tipped his chin back down to look at her. His hazel eyes were incredibly intense as he stared down at her.

A ghost of a smile tugged across his face. "Is that you?" He asked in wonder.

Kai froze. His question went over her like ice water. She jerked free of his hands, nearly stumbling over her feet to get away. John frowned in confusion, but immediately let her go. Kai slammed her psychic walls down, cutting herself off from whatever might have been happening.

John scowled and rubbed at the center of his chest like it hurt.

Kai had to get away from him. This couldn't be happening, it was impossible.

"We should get back," she said and she quickly moved to the DHD, she didn't bother waiting for him. Her hands were trembling as she sent her IDC and as soon as they had confirmation from Atlantis she stepped through.

John followed but more sedately. He had no idea what had just happened. Kai's confusing reaction had sobered him and he was frowning when he appeared on the other side of the event horizon in Atlantis. The light feeling of euphoria was gone in the face of all that needed to be done. He gestured for them to cut the connection and raise the shield. He turned, but Kai was already striding down the hall away from him.

"Colonel," Weir and Teyla were waiting at the top of the stairs. "How was your trip?"

John turned back to the women, still feeling completely bewildered over what had just happened. He held up the scrap of paper. "I've got an address. We'll send the MALP in the morning." His voice didn't sound quite right, and he tightened his jaw, locking his body down and forcing it back under tight control.

Elizabeth scowled down at him. "Are you drunk?" She asked in surprise.

His answer was gruff but sounded more like himself. "I'm going to bed."

><><

John hadn't had a hangover this bad since college. His memories from the night before were foggy and felt like they had happened to someone else. He distinctly remembered Kai warning him about drinking the black liquid in his glass, and like an idiot he hadn't listened.

They had gotten the information which was the the most important thing, but something else had happened. He remembered feeling free, and laughing under the stars with Kai but he didn't know what he had said in his drunken stupidity that had made her so mad. The memory was hazy, but nothing he remembered saying should have pissed her off so bad she wouldn't speak to him. The last thing he remembered saying was some nonsensical question that seemed ridiculous now. But John Sheppard had learned a long time ago to never underestimate his ability to say exactly the wrong thing to a woman. Hell, he had had a whole marriage worth of practice.

John walked into the control room, holding a steaming cup of coffee. He had tried to eat breakfast, but even the smell of food had turned his stomach. He hadn't drank that much. His only conclusion was that the black stuff was poison he would never touch again. Sweet, delicious poison.

"Colonel?" Weir must have been speaking to him. He looked up and she and Teyla were staring at him expectantly.

"Are you all right?" Elizabeth asked. "You don't look like you're feeling that well."

He shook it off. "I'm fine," he told her. He took a long drink of coffee and his stomach rolled. He cleared his throat and turned to Chuck. "MALP ready to go?" he asked.

Chuck nodded and activated the gate. They all waited as the MALP went across the event horizon.

"I'm getting audio, video should be up any minute," he reported.

The video came and the screen flickered with interference. At first there was nothing but forest. As the camera rotated they were able to see the DHD and then as it rotated the camera landed on strange piece of technology.

"Is that Wraith?" John asked no one in particular.

"Can you zoom in on that?" Weir asked.

Chuck made the adjustments and the camera zoomed in on the device.

"Have you ever seen something like that?" Weir asked.

"No," John said.

"Nor I," Teyla agreed.

Weir nodded and activated her comm. "McKay, Zelenka, Kai, can you please come up to the control room?"

The two scientists and Kai appeared only a couple moments later.

Kai hesitated at the doorway for just a second. She had avoided both the mess and the gym that morning to make sure she wouldn't run into the Colonel. Her head was pounding from drinking the Euphor, but she couldn't get what happened out of her mind. She just replayed it over and over again. That comforting bump in the back of her mind followed by his smile and him innocently asking if it was her. Like it was nothing. As though the feeling was as familiar to him as it was to her.

She closed her eyes against the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. Her hands balled into fists. It wasn't possible and she was going to do everything in her power to make sure it never happened again. She lifted her chin and quickly strode to the monitor, turning her entire attention to the display.

"Are you seeing any anomalies in the readings?" McKay asked.

Chuck shook his head. "No, none that I can see."

McKay grunted in annoyance and moved to Chuck's terminal. "Move," he ordered, flicking his fingers dismissively at the technician so he could look over the data himself.

Zelenka glanced down at Kai. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

"No," she said. Kai took a step closer to the screen frowning. Kai cocked hers to the side as she studied it. It was some kind of device hooked into the DHD.

"Is it a power conduit?" She asked Zelenka. "Look at the cables..."

McKay stepped up next to her. "It would make the most sense. If you needed to power source and could figure out how to draw from it the gate..." McKay dragged off.

"My source informed us this planet has a large Wraith outpost," Kai filled in quickly.

"Really?" Weir asked, crossing her arms over her chest as so shot a look towards Colonel Sheppard.

"Presumably that would be why Aiden was so interested in it?" Teyla asked. She worked at keep her tone low and soothing as the tension in the room continued to rise.

John nodded. "He wasn't able to buy or barter for Wraith enzyme so he would go where he could be sure to get it."

"And you want us to go there?" McKay asked incredulously.

"Look, we go in a cloaked jumper, quick and quiet. We don't engage, just run a sweep over the planet, no one will be the wiser."

"We don't even know if he's on that planet," McKay argued.

"No, and we won't until we can get the sensor data from it," John replied tightly. His head was still pounding and he didn't have patience to play McKay's games today.

"We don't know what that thing is," Mckay said gesturing to the display screen.

"I agree with Rodney," Weir said. "We don't know what that is. Kai is you are willing I would like you to accompany the team. You have the most experience with Wraith tech."

"That's not necessary-" Sheppard started to say but Kai was already speaking.

"I don't think-" she bit back her response, clasping her hands behind her back.

They both stopped, exchanging a tense glance before turning away.

"Well, I do," Weir snapped, impatiently. She didn't know what had happened on Lodan but they hadn't so much as looked at each other since they came back. Whatever their differences they would have to get over it. "I'm not willing to allow this mission to continue unless we can manage the risks. It is a Wraith inhabited planet, with an unknown piece of Wraith technology in play. It would make sense to bring the expert in Wraith technology, wouldn't you agree?" she turned to Kai. "Are you willing to accompany the team?"

Kai sighed. It was rare Doctor Weir asked this sort of thing from her. In fact, Weir had been very careful to keep Kai as far away from missions as possible. She knew that if she asked to be left out of it Weir wouldn't force her to go, but it was partially her fault Ford had gotten away. If they were going she couldn't let them go alone. "Yes, Doctor Weir."

"Good," Weir said turning to Colonel Sheppard. "It's all decided then."

John pressed his lips together angrily but he didn't say anything. He nodded once and turned to the others. "Meet in the Jumper bay in ten minutes," he turned back to Chuck. "Recall the MALP."

"Maybe it would be a good idea if Major Lorne went with," Weir said helpfully. "He hasn't been off world yet, and a scouting mission would be a good opportunity to gain experience."

John turned back to face Elizabeth. "Sure," he replied sarcastically. "Any one else you want to send with? There's still room in the jumper."

"I think that should do it," Elizabeth replied briskly, her tone making it clear she didn't appreciate the Colonel's sarcasm.

John grunted in annoyance but didn't argue any more as he turned and stalked off towards the locker room.

><><

The flight was miserable. They circled the planet in a grid, running the ships sensors in a constant sweep. It took nearly eight hours and Sheppard and Kai didn't so much as look at each other once the whole time. They kept their chairs turned firmly straight ahead and monitored their individual aspects of the ships systems. McKay seemed oblivious as he studied the data they were bringing in, but Teyla was watching them closely.

The Colonel was uncharacteristically silent, but the new young Major was making up for it by chatting happily with both Teyla and Kai. It was rare for Kai to open up so quickly to someone new, but the young man was funny and self-deprecating. He asked intelligent questions without any of them getting too personal and willingly shared stories about himself and his adventures with the SGC to keep them entertained.

Kai and Teyla were still chuckling over Lorne's last story when McKay cleared his throat, interrupting. "Well, that's the whole planet. Assuming his transponder is still working, it's safe to say there's no sign of him."

Teyla turned back to McKay. "Were there any signs of life at all? Perhaps the Lieutenant removed his transponder."

Rodney shook his head grimly. "None big enough to be human anywhere but near that outpost. If he was here either the Wraith got him, or he already left."

"Damn it," John swore. He raked one of his hands through his hair and turned the Jumper towards the gate. The trail was two months cold, he wasn't sure what he had hoped to find, but now they were back to square one.

As they approached the gate Kai leaned forward to dial the address without John having to ask her. Even with the tension between them, they were able to work together almost effortlessly. She dialed Atlantis, but nothing happened.

Kai frowned and imputed the address once more.

Nothing.

"What are you doing?" John asked, scowling at her.

"It's not working," she hissed.

"You're just not-"

"I'm doing it fine," she interrupted him.

John reached over to do it himself and she jerked her hands back like he was going to burn her. John tightened his jaw but didn't say anything. He wanted this mission to be done. He punched the address but nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" McKay asked behind them. His voice high with tension.

"The DHD isn't working," Kai explained.

John's face was grim as he turned the jumper away from the gate. "It looks like we're stuck here."

><><

They set the jumper down a hundred yards from the gate. Kai pulled up the sensors and immediately began looking for the nearest star gate. "If we can't fix this one, the closest gate in this system, at maximum sub-light is 132 hours away."

"That's-" Teyla started to say.

"Five and a half days," McKay grumbled. "We don't have the supplies for that."

"Well we wouldn't starve to death," John replied. "We would make it."

McKay looked at him in horror. "Let's get out there and see if I can fix this instead. We can always starve later if there's no way to disable it."

"Pretty sure it's that nasty looking ball thing by the gate Doc," Lorne replied standing up and picking up his gun.

McKay grunted impatiently. "Yes I'm sure that's it, but I think it will be a little more complicated than that," he snapped. He turned to Kai. "We ready?"

She nodded, taking her own tablet under one arm. 

John left the jumper cloaked and they fanned out, heading towards the gate. He was on point with the life signs detector in one hand and his P-90 in the other. So far there was no signs of the Wraith, but with the size of the outpost he would be surprised if there weren't patrols moving around. McKay followed closely behind him, his gun in one hand and his tablet under his other arm. Lorne was sticking close to Kai. John gritted his teeth but focused on getting the group safely to the gate.

As soon as they got there McKay sent Kai to plug into the DHD and see what she could find out while he began taking readings from the gate itself and the Wraith device.

"Try dialing by hand," McKay instructed.

Kai was crouched down over her tablet so Teyla stepped up to the DHD and started dialing. As soon as she pushed the last symbol there was a spark of electricity and she jumped back hissing in pain.

"Are you okay?" John asked, moving to her. Teyla was cradling her injured hand against her chest. "Zian, what the hell?"

"I am all right," Teyla assured everyone.

Kai shook her head. "I don't know what happened," she said, her fingers flying over the tablet. "The power was stable but as soon as she tried to activate it there was a spike. It's back to normal now."

McKay hustled over and grabbed her tablet out of her hand. "It's interference from the Wraith device. It's making the gate power unstable...All right according to these readings it looks like they are using this device to siphon power off the gate to a generator only a few clicks to the south."

John was helping Teyla wrap her injured hand. "Great, we take the jumper, blow up the generator and away we go."

"Not so fast Rambo," McKay snarled with a weary sigh. "Not everything can be fixed with bullets. See those changes to the structure where the device is attached?" he asked gesturing to where the wraith had connected their tech to the gate itself. "The physical gate itself is unstable. If we don't disconnect the power at the exact same moment we run the risk of causing a massive power surge through the gate."

"How massive is massive?" John asked, tying off the gauze on Teyla's hand and straightening.

McKay blinked at him. "It's impossible to say."

"Ballpark it for me," John challenged. He needed to know what they were dealing with.

"Well, on the low end probably what happened to Teyla's hand..." McKay said shifting his weight uncomfortably.

"And on the high end?" John pushed, arching his brows.

McKay swallowed and quickly looked back down at the readings. "Hiroshima," he muttered.

John swallowed but nodded. That changed things. Teyla and Kai exchanged confused glances. Neither understood, but the sobering effect McKay's words had on the Colonel was enough for them to grasp the severity of the situation.

"And," McKay continued. "As soon as we disconnect the power that outpost is going to know about it."

"We'll have to be fast then," John replied tightly. He glanced over the group. "Is this disconnecting something I could do by myself?"

McKay shot him a withering look. "Oh sure it's just like unplugging a toaster."

John glared at him but it wasn't worth the fight. He let out a sigh and turned back to the group. "Zian, you and I will take the jumper to the generator. Lorne and Teyla will keep the gate secure while McKay works here. We'll stay on the radios and disconnect there the same time you disconnect the gate. Then you three can dial in immediately and we'll be right behind you."

No one argued. Kai was faster than McKay and it would be the riskier mission.

"Sir," Lorne said stepping forward. "Requesting permission to join you and Kai as backup in case the Wraith come."

John's jaw tightened when Lorne used her first name. The familiarity shouldn't bother him, but it did. "Not necessary," he responded more sharply than he meant to. "Your job is to get McKay and Teyla through the gate as soon as it can be dialed."

"Understood sir," Lorne agreed.

Sheppard and Kai strode to the jumper together. It took less than five minutes to fly to the generator, but the terrain was rough and would have been difficult on foot. John set the cloaked jumper down as Kai pulled up the sensors. "I'm picking up five Wraith life signs around the generator," she reported clinically. "Maybe we should have had Lorne with us."

John scoffed and climbed to his feet, hefting his gun. A fight would be a welcome relief from the frustration and tension of the day. "Think we can't handle it Zian?" he challenged.

It was so close to a fuzzy memory from the night before it distracted Kai for a moment as she remembered standing beneath the stars having him say something very similar. Then she snapped back as the Colonel strode down the back hatch.

They were still concealed by the cloak when Sheppard started shooting. Kai was shocked, she had expected some kind of plan. She pulled her hand gun. It took the entire clip before the first one dropped. She scowled as the Wraith shot towards them. Sparks erupted as they hit the concealed jumper. Sheppard killed two with his P-90 but he had to stop to reload. The Wraith had damaged the cloak and when the jumper appeared the rest charged. Sheppard looked up at the charging Wraith with a calmness Kai didn't feel as he reloaded. Unwilling to wait for them, Kai pulled her blade and another knife and ran out to meet them.

"Zian!" John yelled after her as she bolted past him, running straight into the danger without thought. Now she was between him and the target and he couldn't provide cover. He swore under his breath and ran after her. She had a death wish.

Kai had already slit the throat of the first Wraith and started to fight the second. John fired off a spray of shots into the first, finishing the kill. When he turned again she had launched herself at the second Wraith. She locked her legs around the Wraith's torso, burying her knife into it's chest. She rotated her body and did a complicated throw, rolling them both onto the ground. She moved fast, slamming her Blade up and under the warrior's helmet. The body jerked and went still. Kai pulled her knife free and climbed to her feet.

John stalked angrily towards her. He fired another spray into the body without looking at it. "What the hell was that?" he challenged his eyes snapping with temper as he got in her face.

"Me?" Kai asked in disbelief as she whirled back to face him. She was breathing hard. She had lost more than she realized during the two months of healing. "What was your plan?" Kai asked in astonishment. "To have them charge the jumper? They already damaged the cloak. Or did you want them to damage the generator in the crossfire?"

John scowled at her outburst. "It was a good plan, it worked didn't it?"

Kai spun around and stalked back into the jumper to get her tablet and tool bag. "It was a stupid plan," she snarles as he followed behind her.

John glared at her as he dropped into the pilots seat and powered up the jumper. "Well excuse me," he hollered back over his shoulder sarcastically. "We can't all graduate from Super Galactic assassin school."

Kai made a noise of disgust low in her throat as she spun back around to face him. "Well, you certainly would not have had to graduate. Every first year cadet could have told you that the first step to every plan is to not risk blowing up the star gate!"

"I didn't blow up the star gate!" he yelled defensively.

"You could have!" she snarled and she stalked away down the ramp towards the generator. She was still fuming when she activated the comm. "McKay."

"Yep," came McKay's immediate reply.

"I'm here," Kai said going to work on the generator. There were several secondary components she had to disconnect first.

"I know," McKay replied unapologetically. "The comms have been active the entire time."

Kai went still as she realized their entire had fight had been broadcast straight into Teyla, McKay and Lorne's ears. She sighed, hanging her head as frustration coursed through her. She drew in a deep, centering breath and exhaled. She fought to bring herself back to calm. She was never emotional, emotions made you sloppy. John Sheppard shouldn't be able to rile her up the way he did. "Well, I'm here. I've loosened the power coupling and I'm ready to pull it at your word."

"All right on my mark," McKay called "Three, two, one, mark."

Kai closed her eyes and ripped the organic cords out with all her might. Fluid sprayed everywhere coating her hands and forearms. She grimaced and quickly used her knife to slice through the remaining tendrils that bound the two together. She sliced off the ends of the cords and slammed one of her spare knives into the connection port of the now dead generator, ensuring they wouldn't be getting it up and running any time soon. She snatched up her equipment and ran for the jumper.

"We're in business!" Lorne called through the radio. "Wormhole is established."

"Get through that gate," John replied. He lifted off the jumper as soon as Kai was on the ramp. She hurried to her seat just as a warning alarm sounded.

"Darts!" she called pulling up the HUD. "The cloak is still down."

The jumper rocked as it was struck. "Crap," John muttered through gritted teeth.

"We're taking fire."

"Thanks," John snarled sarcastically. "I hadn't noticed."

"The darts are closing fast," Kai reported grimly as she stared at the read out. The jumper rocked again and another alarm started. "We've lost shields," she warned him. She climbed to her feet and moved to the rear control panel. "I'm going to see if I can reroute some power."

"I got it," John called back, he leaned forward as he twisted and arced the jumper to avoid the fire. He kept the jumper as close to the treetops as he dared. He was a better pilot than the Wraith chasing them and his mental connection to the ship made maneuvering almost instinctive.

Kai hissed as sparks flew from the control panel. The crystals were hot as she shifted them. "You've got 20% shields. But if we take another hit it will deplete them."

"Dialing the gate!" he warned her.

"Any ideas how you're going to avoid fire on the final approach?" Kai asked as she moved back to her seat.

"I'll think of something," Sheppard replied through gritted teeth.

"Two more darts locked onto us!" Kai called, her eyes widening when she realized what was about to happen. "J-" she started to say but the force of the blast too her breath away.

It destroyed their right drive pod and threw them sideways into one of the darts. The much larger Jumper hit the dart with enough force to sling it sideways towards the event horizon. The dart was going to broadside the star gate at full speed.

"John!" Kai yelled, she gripped the arms of her chair knowing there was nothing she could do, but stay out of his way. He was the better pilot.

The dart crashed into the gate, exploding in a massive fireball. John fought to pull up out of the way, but without one drive pod it was too late. The jumper clipped the side of the already unstable gate. A massive secondary explosion immediately enveloped the darts. The Jumper shields saved them from the gates explosion, but were completely depleted when they crashed.

Inside the jumper the force of the explosion was too much for the inertial dampeners and Kai was thrown to the side. She tried to grip her seat with her hands, but she wasn't strong enough. She heard John yell her name just before her head snapped to the side and everything went dark.

><><

McKay, Lorne and Teyla all made it through the gate. They hustled up the stairs so they would be out of the way of the jumper when it came through, but the wormhole closed behind them.

Weir ran to the balcony. "Where are John and Kai?" she asked.

"They were supposed to be right behind us!" Teyla promised.

"They May have the Wraith in their tail so be ready with the shield," Major Lorne warned.

Chuck nodded to show he understood.

"Do you need a Doctor?" Elizabeth asked hurrying to meet them on the stairs. Her eyes were locked on Teyla's wrapped hand.

"It is just a minor burn," Teyla explained. "It will be fine."

They waited for what felt like an enternity. Each of them running over all that could have possibly gone wrong.

"Incoming wormhole!" Chuck yelled.

"IDC?" Weir asked.

"Not yet."

"It's gotta be them," McKay said.

"Wait!" Weir ordered. "Not until we get the IDC. We have to know for sure," she said sternly.

It was that order that saved the control room. The explosion behind the shield was nearly blinding. Teyla and Lorne both stumbled back, shielding their eyes from it. But McKay stood dumbfounded in the middle of the room staring at the inactive star gate.

"What the hell was that?" Weir yelled spinning back to Chuck.

"I don't know," Chuck replied. "The connection was lost."

McKay swung back around to face her, horror etched on his face. "That was the gate just exploding."

><><

Chapter 42

><><

There was smoke everywhere. John coughed as he forced his battered body to move. It had been a rough crash. Not his worst, but close. He was hurt, but with the adrenaline still coursing through his system it was impossible to tell how badly. The jumper was toast. None of the systems were responding to his thoughts and it was tilted at a forty-five degree angle, wedged in between a rock face and trees. Smoke was coming in from under one of the control panels.

His thoughts immediately went to Kai. He fought to get himself free from the wreckage so he could check on her. He craned his neck so he could see her, his gut twisting. Kai had been thrown from her chair. She was on all fours, coughing as smoke started to fill the cabin. He had to get them out of there.

John climbed around the chair, half crawling through the fun house tilt of the shuttle. "Are you hurt?" John wheezed.

"No," Kai coughed.

John frowned, there was a small trail of blood dripping down her temple. He reached out and turned her head with gentle fingers so he could inspect the damage.

"I'm okay," Kai promised trying not to be effected by the warmth of his fingers against her skin.

John nodded, knowing Kai would never fess up to it even if she wasn't. He gripped her arm and pulled her to her feet. She staggered and nearly fell into him. He held onto her as they fought their way towards the back of the jumper.

John hit the button to open the hatch, but nothing happened. "Shit," he muttered. He was exhausted and his thoughts felt sluggish. It took him a second to realize that it probably was either fumes from the smoke or he hit his head. Neither prospect was good.

Kai climbed through the wreck to the rear control panel. It was wedged shut and she had to use her knife to pry it open. It finally dropped open, nearly landing in her lap. There were sparks everywhere and she could smell burning wires.

"We gotta get out of here," John said unnecessarily.

Kai grunted in agreement. "Nice landing," she quipped without looking up from the panel.

John turned to stare at her incredulously. "Seriously? Now? You didn't want to wait until after we escape from the burning jumper?" he asked sarcastically, but truthfully it was reassuring to see she was calm enough to joke. He hadn't expected Kai to panic, but getting out of the jumper would only be the beginning and he was going to need her focused. Unless he missed his mark, the gate was done for, which meant they were stranded on a Wraith world with nothing but each other.

Kai smirked at the Colonel's humor. Sheppard was a great pilot and he was probably the only reason they were still alive, but she wasn't about to tell him that. The man's ego didn't need the help.

She gripped the crystals with her fingers, jerking out the broken ones and throwing them aside so she could re-route any remaining power to the door. "I don't want to miss my chance in case it blows before I can get the door open."

John groaned dramatically. There was nothing he could do to help her, so he turned his attention to digging through the bags and containers of supplies that had scattered all over the tipped jumper. He tossed the most useful ones against the ramp. They would need everything they could save.

"Got it," Kai called triumphantly as the ramp hissed. It only opened a foot and a half before it lodged into the ground.

John motioned Kai out ahead of him, and she crawled through the small space. Instead of following John started shoving bags and containers after her.

"Colonel you need to get out of there, the fire is spreading," Kai kept her voice as low and calm as possible. Wraith senses were better than her own and there was no telling how many had been drawn to the crash.

"We need as much of this gear as we can," he called through gritted teeth.

Kai knew he was right, but it was risky. Any hope of rescue would be days away. Instead of arguing with him about the stupidity of staying in a burning jumper, she started throwing the bags as far away from the crash site as possible. She pulled a life signs detector out of one of the bags. She swore when she saw all the Wraith in the woods around them. She was sure they were drawn to the explosion at the stargate, and their crash was producing huge plumes of black smoke.

When she looked back at the jumper she saw the fire was spreading to the drive pods now. "Colonel if that fire hits the drones or the power core..."

"Got it!" John agreed. Sweat was beading on his skin from the heat of the blaze. He had to lie on his belly to wiggle his way out. When he was finally free of the wreck he saw Kai had already gotten most of the supplies away from the crash site. She was crouched over one of the ordinance containers.

"What?" he started to ask but when he looked down he saw she had activated one of the life signs detectors. There were dozens of white dots in the forest surrounding them. "Shit," he muttered.

Kai nodded and stood holding a grenade. "Exactly," she said.

"We can't let them know we're from Atlantis."  The secret of Atlantis's continued existence was the single most important thing. They needed to protect it at all costs.

"Exactly," Kai said and she flashed a devious smile right before she popped the pin on the grenade. She threw it through the open hatch of the jumper.

John swore and grabbed her. He spun them both around the backside of one of the large trees, pinning her against the trunk as he shielded her body with his. The explosion shook the ground. John glanced back around the side of the tree and whistled. "Power core huh?" he asked, impressed. There was almost nothing recognizable left of the jumper.

Kai nodded. She hated having to destroy one of their jumpers but even she wouldn't have been able to save that one, and they could risk the Wraith getting their hands on the technology.

She gently pulled away from the Colonels grip and started picking up as many of the bags of gear as she could manage. They would have to sort it out later. "We need to get out of here," she reminded him, tossing the life signs detector to him.

John caught it and looked down. The wraith were closing in on the wreck fast. He toss the detector back to her and hoisted the rest of the gear. The two of them disappeared into the forest together.

><><

McKay stood frozen for almost a full minute as he stared at the inactive stargate. His mind was whirling into action, processing all he had seen and playing out every possible scenario in his head. His ability to deeply focus his incredible intellect at times like these was the reason he was so good in the field. He snapped into action then, spinning back to face Weir. "We need a rescue team, now."

"Rodney," Weir hesitated, as she moved towards the inactive gate in shock. "What just happened?"

McKay made a noise of impatience in his throat. "Eleven days," he snarled.

Elizabeth looked startled, uncertain why he was so angry and what his answer meant. "What?" she asked.

"Eleven days is the minimum amount of time it will take for us to get them back to Atlantis if we literally leave right this second. Which means I do not have time to answer you questions until you give approval for us to go after them."

"What about the Daedalus?" Elizabeth asked spinning back to Chuck.

"I already thought of that-" McKay started to say impatiently.

Chuck shook his head speaking over McKay to answer Weir's question. "Just arrived on earth yesterday ma'am."

McKay crossed his arms over his chest. He hated having to explain himself on something like this and in the back of his mind was a clock that was counting down how long it could possibly take them to get to Kai and Sheppard. His friends were in danger and this was slowing them down. "Look, even if they left now it would fourteen days until they got to them..."

"That's not that bad compared-" Elizabeth started to argue but McKay was impatient.

"They don't have the supplies to last fourteen days. They'll be out of food in four assuming they have all the supplies out of the jumper and assuming-"

"They're still alive and uninjured?" Elizabeth asked.

McKay nodded grimly.

"Okay," Elizabeth agreed turning back to Major Lorne. "Let's go get them," she said with forced cheeriness.

McKay spun around to face Lorne snapping his fingers. "Kai made some changes to Jumper 6 making it more compatible for long distance flight. We lost some crew space but it would help."

Lorne stepped forward authoritatively, with Sheppard out he was commanding officer. He turned to McKay. "How many men can fit in the jumper?"

"The changes limit us to six total."

Lorne nodded briskly. "I'll grab two more marines."

"Make sure it's two you like," McKay called back. "It's going to be a long trip," he muttered.

"I am coming," Teyla began to argue.

Lorne shook his head. "With all do respect, you're injured. I don't care how minor it is. We don't know what went down on that planet and with limited personnel available we need to fill those two seats wisely."

Teyla looked mutinous but Weir laid a hand on her shoulder. "Make you choice Major," she said and Lorne nodded, turning to head towards the locker room. "And get your gear." Once Lorne was out of the room Elizabeth turned back to Rodney. "What could have caused that?"

McKay shook his head grimly. There were any number of options and none of them would bode well for the Colonel and Kai. "It looked like two explosions. We won't know until we get there."

"We?" Elizabeth asked in surprise. "You're volunteering for this mission Rodney?"

McKay pressed his lips together. "Well, if there's any chance the gate can be fixed..." he dragged off.

"Could the jumper have survived that explosion?"

McKay's face was grim. "I don't know," he responded honestly.

Elizabeth nodded she could see in McKay's eyes all he wasn't saying. There was a chance John and Kai hadn't survived the explosion at the gate, and an even better chance they were injured on a planet with a large Wraith population. They were two of the most capable people she had ever met, but the odds stacked against them seemed insurmountable. All they would have was each other, and the last time Elizabeth had seen them they were at each other's throats. She knew how difficult Sheppard could be, but Kai was also one of the most stubborn people she had ever met. She hoped for their sake they could move past their differences and work together. Their lives might just depend on it.

She turned back to Rodney. "Bring them home."

><><

Kai and John ran through the forest, trying to put as much distance between them and the wraith as possible. Kai, led the way. The undergrowth was dense, but she found a game trail too narrow for the Wraith.

She followed the life signs detector, moving away from all other life signs. Even after there were none visible she continued to push herself. She was coughing and gasping and her throat was raw from the smoke inhalation, but they needed to find someplace to regroup and figure out what they were going to do next. The light was fading as the sun set and while she had excellent night vision, the Colonel would need to see to keep up this pace through the forest.

"Zian," John called to her. She turned to see he had slowed. She had been following the rock face along the base of the mountain, and he had stopped, peering into a crevice. He dropped the bags, setting them in a large pile. "We need some cover for the night," he said. He clicked the light on his P-90 and turned it into the narrow cave entrance.  "Any life signs?" he asked glancing back towards her.

"None," she said with certainty as she studied the detector.

John slipped into the cave. There was an explosion of bat-like creatures and he flinched back despite himself. His eyes snapped to Kai accusatorially.

She shrugged. "It still says nothing." She said with a straight face. She sank her teeth into her lip so she wouldn't smile at the belligerent expression on his face. She didn't think he would appreciate her being so entertained by the situation.

He grunted and moved into the cave. Kai drew her hand gun and turned her back to the cave entrance. She closed her eyes for a moment and really focused her senses on their surroundings. She could hear nothing beyond the wind blowing through the trees. Their ancient limbs creaked loudly. She could smell rain on the wind, but nothing other than herself and Sheppard.

John popped his head back out only seconds later. "We're clear," he reported. "It's not very deep."

He scooped up an armload of bags and pulled them into the cave. Kai picked up the remaining two. She hesitated as she stared down at one of the yellow containers Sheppard had been carrying. There was a smear of blood across it's smooth surface. She hustled into the cave after him.

"Are you injured?" she asked, scowling at him.

John dropped the bags and glanced back at her. The light was fading fast and he could only just make out her silhouette. He rotated his left arm, and pain flared red hot across his shoulders. He frowned at it and shrugged. "Yeah, something caught my shoulder in the crash," he said dismissively. He knelt down and began digging in one of the cases. He produced a small lantern and clicked it out. He set it against the far wall of the cave only ten feet from the entrance, and turned off the light on his gun, setting it aside.

Kai pulled the black medical backpack towards her. "Let's see," she said grimly. She wasn't very good at healing people, but the amount of blood on the case was concerning. Neither one of them had said it, but they both knew they were in trouble. And if one of them ended up seriously injured it was a week and a half before possible rescue.

Kai stepped towards Sheppard and he looked mutinous before he finally turned his back to her to let her see. Kai gently moved his shoulders, positioning him more in the light. Her eyes widened when she saw how soaked his vest was in blood. She moved the fabric gently and grimaced. "This is really deep."

John nudged the med-pack towards her. "It'll be fine," he grumbled. "Just stitch it up." John had always had a high pain tolerance so the fact that the cut bothered him was a sign of how bad it was. 

"Yep, fine," Kai muttered to herself. "Take your shirt off," she ordered as she opened the pack. Sheppard groaned as he unzipped his flac vest and unbuttoned the long sleeve shirt he wore beneath it.

Kai grabbed the shoulder of his shirt and pulled it down, bearing the ugly cut that stretched along the bottom of his shoulder blade. Blood ran down the smooth planes of muscle of the Colonel's back. Kai swallowed. She wasn't squeamish, but she recognized that she was not qualified to patch him up. 

"It's still bleeding," she told him.

"Yeah," he snapped back sarcastically, his tone slightly edgier than normal. "I got that."

Kai grunted in annoyance. 

"Just grab the kit and sew it up," John badgered her. It wasn't like Kai to hesitate and he couldn't imagine it was the sight of the blood that was throwing her off. 

"Sew?" Kai asked in dismay as she looked down at the supplies in the med-pack. Her own people didn't send packs like that on missions. The understanding was that if you were too injured to return home on your own, you had failed. Kai lifted the thread from the medic pack. She shifted the stuff around trying the find the scissors. Grumbling to herself.

John could feel her hesitation. He knew that if he just made her mad enough he would be able to get her to stab him with the needle and maybe get sewn up. "Look, if you're scared-" he challenged glancing over his shoulder at her. 

Her grey eyes flashed with temper. "Scared?" she growled. 

A slow smirk tugged John's lips. He shouldn't be so entertained by riling her up, but he couldn't seem to help it. "Yeah, I mean clearly you-"

Kai narrowed her gaze at him dangerously. "Do you really think it's a good idea to piss off the person holding the needle?"

"Well I don't know if you get mad enough do you think you'll actually use that thing before I bleed out?" he challenged.

Kai glared down at him. "I hate you," she muttered under her breath and looked closer at his shoulder as she pulled on a pair of surgical gloves. There were a number of old scars that marred the otherwise smooth skin of his back. some were jagged while others looked almost surgical. One had certainly been from a bullet. This one was a clean slice just under the ridge of his shoulder blade. It didn't look like it had damaged the muscle, and she assumed he wouldn't have been able to use the arm if it had.  

"Okay," she muttered as she prepared herself to do this. Unable to find the scissors she pulled out her pocket knife. It clicked open just over John's shoulder.

"So..." he started to say suddenly feeling a little uneasy over his decision to make her mad first.

"Oh no," she snapped back. She threaded the needle. "Don't start with me again," she growled. She slid her knife easily through the thread and closed it with a practiced flick of her wrist. "I've gotta tell you, my people taught me a lot more about putting holes in people than closing them up. We may have hospitals but none of us are trained in field medicine." She pulled out a small spray bottle of disinfectant and sprayed the wound. 

"You'll do great," John assured her through gritted teeth. The disinfectant burned and was cold but he wasn't about to react and scare her away now that they were actually getting somewhere. He forced his body to relax. "I trust you-" he started to say and then she jabbed the needle into his skin.

He hissed in pain, but he didn't flinch. Kai was begrudgingly impressed. She could understand why his people had decided to leave him in charge. He was a hell of a soldier. She tightened her jaw as she forced herself to focus on trying to sew a straight line.

Sheppard held himself perfectly still. After years of injuries and pain he had mastered the ability to hold himself apart from it. His back was on fire, but even as she used one hand to stab the needle through his skin he focused on her other hand that rested against his bare shoulder. Her hands were small, but surprisingly strong. He made himself focus on exactly how her warm skin felt against his. It wasn't a tactic he used with Beckett, but then again Beckett also usually gave him some kind of anesthetic. He was sure there was something in the bag that would have at least knocked him out, but neither one of them could afford to be off there game for even a second. Even now his eyes hadn't left the cave entrance and his P-90 was within easy reach. 

"How's it going back there?" he asked after a few moments. He tried to glance over his shoulder but she tutted at him in annoyance.

"Stop moving," she said with a scowl lining her face.

Sheppard locked himself down again. "Yeah but like are we fifty percent done, seventy-five percent done."

Kai scowled down at the torn skin that was still mostly obscured by blood. "I'm not really sure."

"How can you not be sure?" his voice rising in agitation. 

"Well it's not like I'm an expert seamstress. You're the first thing I've ever sewed," Kai complained. 

Sheppard stiffened. "What, like not even a button?"

"No, not really," she said leaning in closer to focus on the ragged skin. 

"I feel like maybe you should have disclosed this whole I've-never-sewn-anything before we got to this point," John replied sarcastically. 

Despite his tone a fine trembling was starting in his muscles. Kai realized that even though his demeanor had remained casual it was costing the Colonel a great deal to hold himself still for her. Now that she focused on it, she could hear his heart thundering faster than normal. She didn't draw attention to it though. Instead, she made a noise of impatience in the back of her throat and continued to joke with him. "Stop complaining, I'm almost done."

She leaned forward steadying her other hand against his back. She tied the last knot giving it a jerk to make sure it was tight. She pick up her knife.

"Hey, hey maybe use something a little cleaner."

"My knives have been sterilized," she assured him.

"Yeah, but have you killed anyone with it since?"

Kai made a noise of disgust and swiped the blade across his back, severing the thread. The blade was sharp enough he didn't even feel the tug. Kai sprayed the wound once more with the disinfectant. She dug into the med pack and came out with gauze and tape. She covered the injury. She pulled off the gloves and dug around in the pack until she found a pack of saline wipes. 

"Um-" she started to say and John glanced over his shoulder at her, confused by her sudden change. 

"I'm going to clean up the blood," she said a little shyly. 

John nodded knowing he wouldn't be able to do it himself. "Thanks," he replied. 

Kai's hands were hesitant but gentle as she moved to wiped the blood from his skin. He flinched when the cold, wet wipe touched him and she jerked back. 

"Cold," he said apologetically. 

"Oh," she muttered and focused on her hands. She tossed away the wipe and pulled another one. He tensed waiting for her to touch him with it. It was on the tip of her tongue to mock him for it, but instead she closed her hands around it for a moment, warming it before she moved it over his skin. 

John let his head hang forward and closed his eyes. Her hands were soothing and now that she was done exhaustion hit him like a truck. Kai was surprisingly gentle as she cleaned his skin. Her fingers brushed against him and she pulled back like he had burned her. His eyes snapped open and he glanced over his shoulder at her. 

"Done," she said briskly as she moved to collect the garbage. She stuffed it into one of the small biohazard bags and shoved it into the front pocket of the med-pack so they could dispose of it later on Atlantis. 

"Thanks," John said swallowing. 

Kai was more uncomfortable than she wanted to admit and she moved around the small space, putting the med-pack away with the others to keep herself busy. "Well, I don't think you'll die," she deadpanned. 

"Great. Fantastic bedside manner," Sheppard griped. He turned around to face her moving his shoulder. "Not too bad actually," he said rotating the arm. He shrugged his shirt back on and re-buttoned it. By the time he had turned around Kai was back on guard. She had her gun up and was staring out of the cave entrance with the life signs monitor in her hand.

"We're still clear," she reported.

John zipped his flac vest back up, "All right," he said. "It's late. I'll take first watch, why don't you get some sleep." 

><><

Chapter 43

><><

Despite her protests Kai did eventually fall asleep. John sat near the entrance with the P-90 resting in his lap. He hadn't missed that she moved as far away from his as she physically could in the small space. She curled up on her side with her back to him and slept.

Things felt so natural between the two of them, but as soon as they were no longer in danger, Kai put the walls back up. He felt like an idiot for not remembering or understanding what had happened on Lodan. He had done something but he didn't know how to bring it up. Normally when he did something stupid he knew what it was. It bothered him though. He liked his easy friendship with Kai and didn't want to lose that. He felt out of sorts and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He cared about Kai and found her incredibly attractive, but the same could be said for Teyla. They were friends and coworkers and it wasn't a problem. There was no reason things couldn't be that way with Kai.

He huffed and shifted his weight trying to get more comfortable. His shoulder pulled when he moved it but the pain was manageable. It didn't feel like he had damaged the muscle. He popped two antibiotics and some Tylenol he found in the med pack.

They would have to sort through the gear they scavenged in the daylight. He turned off the lantern and settled back into the dark of the cave. Far away he could hear the first rumbling of thunder and outside the cave the wind picked up.

John glanced towards Kai frowning. He pushed himself to his feet and in the dim light pulled an emergency blanket out of one of the packs. Careful not to touch her he draped it over her as she slept. She made a soft noise in the back of her throat and snuggled deeper under the blanket. He settled back down at the cave entrance and watched over her as she slept.

><><

Elizabeth met the team in the Jumper bay as they worked to load enough supplies for them all for up to fourteen days. As she watched the amount of gear they needed it hit her for maybe the first time how truly dangerous this rescue mission would be. What they might encounter on the planet was nothing compared to facing the empty void of space in such a small ship.

She swallowed and turned back to Rodney. He was squatting over his computer bag, double checking he had all the diagnostic tools he might need. He seemed convinced there was a chance the gate was intact and if so that he might be able to get them through it. As much as the man claimed to be an egotistic coward, he never seemed to hesitated when his friends were in trouble. The friendship between McKay and Sheppard was something she hadn't anticipated or understood, but they were friends and despite their constant snipping they truly seemed to care about each other.

"Are you sure about this Rodney?" She asked in a low tone so the marines working around them wouldn't hear.

"Hmm?" McKay responded distractedly. When Weir didn't repeat herself he tore his eyes off his equipment to look up at her. "What?"

"Are you sure? There are other people who can go..." she offered glancing towards the small shuttle.

McKay frowned at her like he didn't understand the question. "I'm sure there are, but none of them are me," he finally settled on saying and he picked up his bag and headed into the jumper. "Shot gun," he called and began to hook his personal laptop into the systems.

Major Lorne stepped up next to Weir. "We're ready to go ma'am," he reported. "Stevens and Walker will be accompanying us. They both have the gene and can help us pilot and Walker is a corpsman," Lorne explained unnecessarily. It was his first solo mission and for some reason he felt the need to justify his choices.

"Good," Weir agreed but she was distracted as she watched Rodney rearrange one of the other men's belongings to make himself more comfortable.

Lorne followed her gaze. "I'll keep an eye on him ma'am," he promised.

Elizabeth turned to face the young Major. "I have no doubt Major," she assured him. "Just.,." Rodney ended up dumping one of the men's bags into the back of the jumper where half its contents spilled. He didn't bother to pick it up. Weir sighed wearily. "Try not to shoot him yourself."

Lorne smiled. "Understood ma'am."

Weir stepped back out of the way as Lorne turned to close the hatch. "Good luck Major," she called "Bring them home."

><><

Kai woke to the quiet but insistent beeping from her watch. She could barely hear it over the pounding of rain outside. She silenced the watch with a frown. She had set it half an hour after the Colonel was supposed to wake her to change shifts. She had anticipated his reluctance to wake her. She rolled onto her back and was surprised to find herself tangled in a blanket. The Colonel must have covered her up after she fell asleep.

When she stood he yawned without taking his eyes off the entrance.

"You were supposed to wake me," she accused moving towards him.

John climbed to his feet. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned again. Even in next to no light Kai could see the soft boy-ish expression on his handsome face. It told her exactly how exhausted he was. "You were sleeping pretty sound, and I wasn't tired yet."

Kai nodded and took his place, leaning up against his pack as he had done. She slid his P-90 and the life signs detector closer so they were in easy reach.

Sheppard picked up the blanket and lay in her spot. It felt strangely intimate for him to sleep where she had. She watched as he wrapped the blanket around himself and flopped down on his side. Only instead of facing away as she had done he was facing towards her. Kai quickly banished the thought as a product of her over tired mind.

She was honestly terrified to even consider the possibility of what she felt on Lodan. It couldn't be real. She had made the decision to put distance between them and so far it seemed to be working fine. She hadn't felt any psychic connection since. Problem solved. She scrubbed at her face and turned back to the entrance to watch the rain. Euphor was extremely potent and she had clearly lost her tolerance for it. That was all it had been. Just the optimistic thoughts of a drugged mind. There was nothing between her and Sheppard. There couldn't be. He wasn't Mortii.

She found her eyes wandering back to him as she watched him fall asleep. Despite her own misgivings over their last trip off world together, there was no one else she would rather be stuck here with. The Colonel was the consummate survivor and as much as she was hesitant to admit it, they made a good team.

><><

Sheppard woke as soon as light began to fill the cave. His eyes snapped open and Kai immediately heard the change in his breathing.

He scrubbed at his face and stood. "So," he said conversationally, "what's for breakfast?"

Kai wrinkled her nose. "I think our only options are MRE's, Powerbars and water," she said standing and stretching.

"All right, I think we should head back to the gate this afternoon and assess the damage," John suggested. There was normally no question that he was in charge in the field. It was the nature of the job. But for some reason he found he was hesitant to order Kai outright. She was just as skilled as he was and he valued her opinion.

John climbed to his feet and moved towards the bags. "We should do an inventory, see what we got. Unfortunately there's no going back to the Jumper for anything we may have left behind," he added meaningfully.

Kai snorted and crouched over the bags. They sorted through everything.

They ended up with a surprising amount of gear. They had the med-pack, 6 MRE's, eight powerbars, three bottles of water, and two packs of water purifying tablets. In addition to the weapons they had on their bodies they had another P-90 with four extra clips, another .9 mm with two extra clips, and three more grenades. There was the lantern and blanket, a small tent and an extra life signs detector. There were several layers of outerwear and flashlights. One of the cases was filled with tools and jumper parts for repairs, which was essentially useless for them but Kai didn't want to leave it behind on this planet if they didn't have to.

They filled a backpack for each of them, dividing up the medical supplies, food and weapons. They repacked all they couldn't carry and tucked it away into the back of the cave. They each took a life signs detector, hoisted their packs and slipped out of the cave.

It was still raining, although the winds had died down around daybreak. It felt further traveling back to the gate, but they went a different way, swinging wide around their crash site which was predictably crawling with Wraith.

If there had been any doubt in Kai's mind that she had done the right thing in destroying the jumper it was laid to rest as she watched their engineers pull apart what was left hunting for scraps. Kai had been thorough and there was nothing left but pieces of charred metal. But it seemed they weren't going to give up until they could be sure.

They took the time to circle around and come at the gate from the opposite direction. The gentle rain would make it too easy for the Wraith to track them back to the cave in the mud.

They avoided the Wraith life signs they saw and crept up towards the gate. John crouched behind a large tree and Kai was right behind him. He reached into his vest and pulled out his binoculars. "Shit," he muttered and he handed them down to Kai. She shifted closer so she could get a clear view and her shoulder brushed against his as she looked towards the gate.

The gate had been damaged. The Naquadah surround was broken, a large chunk of it lay on the ground. There was a group of Wraith working around it and the piece of Wraith equipment. Only a short distance away was the twisted wreck of the three wraith darts.

"Doesn't look like we're getting out that way," he muttered.

One of the Wraith guards stiffened and turned his head slowly in their direction. Kai frowned. She had always wondered how well they could hear. John seemed to have the same thought because he tapped her on the shoulder and the two of them faded back into the growing gloom of the forest.

The two of them worked their way back through the forest. Kai kept her eyes on the sensor but her ears on the forest around them. The rain was making it difficult to hear anything.

They stopped around midday. They sat under an overhang of dense branches although they were already soaked through. John reached into his vest pocket and pulled out one of the powerbars. He broke it in two and handed half to Kai. Neither had eaten anything since the day before and Kai's stomach cramped painfully.

"So," John started conversationally after a few moments. "No gate." Kai had been uncharacteristically quiet all day, and he wasn't sure if it was the situation or something else. He wasn't good at this kind of thing, it was just easier to focus on the mission.

"No gate," Kai agreed, taking another small bite.

"All right," he said nodding, "So, we're one hundred and thirty two hours from the nearest Stargate."

"Five and a half days," she confirmed nodding.

"Right, so the way I figure it we are five and a half days minimum from a rescue, assuming they send one."

"The size of that explosion..." Kai dragged off. "There was an established wormhole. We didn't send the IDC but if they dropped the shield expecting us..."

John pressed his mouth into a grim line. He had considered the possibility that they saw the explosion and assumed he and Kai hadn't survived. He hadn't considered the possibility that there was blow back in the gate room.

"Right..." he dragged off thoughtfully. The new possibility only strengthened his resolve to do something. "If we stretch it we have enough food for both of us for maybe four days...but if we go to that outpost and steal a dart..." he dragged off. "One of us gets beamed up while the other flies to the gate with plenty of food."

Kai scowled as she considered his plan. "Have you ever flown a dart?" She asked.

John shrugged he had flown just about everything there was to fly. "How tough can it be?" he asked rhetorically.

Kai coughed on her power bar. She knew the Colonel was confident but this was a whole new level of ego. "Their systems are quite complicated. I've never flown one, but I do read Wraith."

John shifted his weight. He hadn't considered the possibility of it not being him to fly them out.

"Right, right now our best advantage is that the Wraith believe we died in that crash. We have to hope that they didn't get a chance to radio in a description of the jumper to anyone who would recognize it before you blew it up."

"So if we head in there we risk exposing Atlantis, but if we stay out here and wait for rescue we might starve to death?" Kai clarified sardonically.

"Pretty much," he said grimly.

"Well," Kai said dusting the last of the crumbs off her hands. "I'm not really one to wait around to be rescued," she said with a grim smile.

John nodded appreciatively. That was exactly the answer he had expected. Kai Zian was no damsel in distress content to wait for rescue. It was one of the things he liked most about her.

He handed her the spare P-90 and flashed her a confident smirk. "Let's head towards the outpost, do a little recon. We'll only get one shot at this."

><><

It took the better part of the day and half the night to reach the outpost on foot. In the jumper it hadn't seemed that far, but the vegetation was dense and rocky and the continuing rain made the ground slippery and difficult to navigate.

They found a hiding place with decent cover one hundred yards from the outpost. They took turns monitoring patrols and the doors while the other catnapped. Although they both tried to sleep that night it was nearly impossible in the rain and neither was comfortable having the Wraith so close.

They were both awake at dawn. Kai broke one of her powerbars in half and shared it with him as they watched for several more hours as the details of the outpost become clear.

The outpost appeared to house several dozen Wraith, but it was impossible to know if there were more inside. From what Kai could tell it was some kind of research base, but now that they had lost their power source things were chaotic. She wasn't familiar enough with their tech to know what they could use alternatively for a power source, but it seemed to be taking time to set it up.

She pointed that out to Sheppard, noting that the sooner they made their move the more likely it was key systems like scanners would still be down.

They circled the facility, creeping together silently through the underbrush until they had enough information to make a reasonable plan. By midday the two of them were exhausted, soaked to the bone, and had all the intel they could get from watching. They retreated in the opposite direction deep into the forest. Once they were far enough away that Kai felt comfortable talking in normal tones she tucked her sensor away. They stopped in a small clearing where the branches overhead were thick enough to block most of the rain.

"Well?" She asked. It had literally been hours since the two of them had spoken. The Mortii never worked in pairs and she found it strangely comfortable to have someone she could move with and understand so completely without ever having to say a word.

John scrubbed at his face. "All right, lets rest, eat some food and get some real shut eye today. We'll make a run at it tonight."

Kai hated the idea of opening one of their precious MRE's but neither she nor Sheppard had eaten much and they needed to be at their strongest for this to work. They mixed onto with water and shared it as they sat against the trunk of one of the huge, ancient looking trees.

><><

There were no guards outside the outpost which said a lot about the confidence of the Wraith on the planet. It also meant there wasn't likely to be any immediately inside either. Both John and Kai had P-90's out as they crept towards the doors closest to the dart bay. They hadn't seen many Wraith using those doors, most of them went in and out the doors on the opposite side of the compound nearest the stargate.

The external door slid open. Thick ropy tendrils still clung together as they stretched and pulled apart. Kai wrinkled her nose as the stench hit her. She would never get used to the organic construction of the Wraith's structures. She didn't honestly understand how anything with even remotely powerful senses could stand the smell.

Sheppard led the way and she followed. As soon as they were inside the door slid closed behind them. John started heading towards the bay with single minded focus but Kai hesitated. Somewhere she could hear the quiet hum of circuits. She frowned and took a step towards a brightly lit terminal as a bad feeling went over her.

"Colonel, they have power, the sensors are active!" She whisper yelled to him.

"Let's get the hell out of here," he called. The two of them turned to head back to the entrance. They turned a corner and came face to face with a squad of Wraith.

John and Kai took cover behind the corners and emptied their P-90 clips into the squad. They both reloaded and continued to fire. The last wraith in front of them fell just as two more squads came around behind them.

"Get out of here!" John yelled as stunner blasts fired all around them.

Kai ran for the door. She activated the controls but the door didn't open. "It's jammed!" she called back. Stunner blasts hit the walls around her, she flinched, ducking as low as she could to avoid the fire.

John continued to shoot at the Wraith. "Get that door open or we're lunch!" He dropped to a knee in front of her, blocking her from the stunners as he continued to fire. He dropped another clip and reloaded, painfully aware there was only one more extra clip left.

Kai pulled her blade and slid it through the skin of the wall. She jerked out the veins bearing the wires. The fluid was viscous as it coated her fingers, making it difficult to work. Precious seconds ticked by before the wires sparked and the doors opened.

John covered their escape as Kai managed to force the doors open. Once they were open they ran for it. The forest was dark and they ran through the rain as it pelted down on them. Stunner blasts shot over their shoulders. The two of them dodged and darted through the trees.

John grabbed Kai's arm pulling her to the side just as a stunner blast hit the tree where she had been only seconds before. They hit the base of the mountain and a sheer rock wall rose above them. They turned, heading north. Kai was on the lead when a stunner blast came from ahead of them. The Wraith had managed to circle around and cut them off.

She had to throw herself backwards to avoid the stunner shot. She crashed into Sheppard and the two of them tumbled to the ground. They both dropped their packs and swung their weapons up. The mud was thick and soupy and they stood back to back, each firing at the Wraith closing in on their position.

John used the last P-90 clip and drew his handgun.

"I'm out!" Kai called throwing her now useless handgun aside. There were two Wraith left in front of her. She pulled her knives. Two she could handle. She threw a knife at the first and charged the second.

"Shit," she heard John mutter.

She landed a kick at the chest of the Wraith but the mud made it harder for her gain traction and she lost power. She threw another of her smaller knives into the neck of the Wraith in front of her, but the first one had already recovered. It raised it's stunner and Kai kicked it out of it's hands, sending it skidding out of sight into the bushes. It charged her. She ducked it's strike and the second Wraith was on its feet. She moved towards the second wraith knowing she would have to get the stunner.

She tried to knock it out of it's hand but the Wraith was too powerful. The first knocked her flat and she hit the muddy ground. She threw her legs up, locking them around it's neck and tried to flip it off of her. The second Wraith slammed the point of it's stunner down into her thigh, pinning her to the ground.

She shouted in pain and threw another knife at the second Wraith, this one went straight through it's helmet and it dropped to the ground. As it fell it put weight on the stunner and it it barrel broke off, splintering under it's falling weight the end still embedded in Kai's thigh.

Kai screamed a second time and John felt like a fist gripped in his chest. He had to get to her. He fired a last shot into the last Wraith in front of him. He whipped around to help her. "Kai!" he called.

The Wraith was on top of her, one hand was wrapped around her throat while his feeding hand was poised to strike.

Kai couldn't breathe, and the more she struggled the tighter the Wraith gripped her neck. She could see black spots beginning to dance at the corners of her vision. She had to get out of this. The mud surrounding them seeped into every piece of clothing, soaking her. She fought to lift her arm to get to a knife, but it was like her body was no longer under her control. If she didn't get free he was going to feed on her.

She heard Sheppard call out to her, and she knew she had to help him. There had just been too many of them. She was too tired and too hurt. The urge to close her eyes was so intense she shook with the effort to resist.

The Wraith suddenly went rigid and warm, sticky blood spilled down onto her. The body was suddenly ripped away. His grip, still strong in death, lifted her chest up off the ground before she slammed back down onto the soggy ground.

She groaned in pain and suddenly Sheppard was above her. His hair was plastered to his head and his body blocked the rain from hitting her in the face. She gasped desperately for breath and coughed, a weak hand coming up to grasp her painful throat.

Sheppard leaned closer to her. "Are you all right?" he gasped as he fought to pull in another breath. She tried to nod but she was too weak and barely managed it. Seeming to understand Sheppard dropped to his knees beside her.

"How bad is it?" John asked.

Kai's teeth were chattering. "Bad," she said.

"We gotta get out of here," he said his sharp eyes quickly scanning the clearing around them. There was no telling when more Wraith backup would arrive.

Kai hadn't moved yet, it worried him that she was more injured than he had first thought. Her skin was pale and her eyes were wide and shocky. He leaned towards her and she didn't pull away. Blood and mud covered her face, neck and torso so completely he couldn't tell if or where she might be injured.

He pulled a life signs detector out of his pack. There was a large group of Wraith closing in on them. They had to get out of here.

"We gotta go," he said urgently.

Kai tried to push herself up but collapsed back with a pained sound.

John put the sensor down on Kai's stomach they couldn't afford to wait. "Hold that," he said, then he lifted her arm gently and she grunted in pain, but didn't resist as he wrapped it around the back of his neck. "On three okay," he muttered as much for his own benefit as it was for hers.

She nodded but her teeth were chattering so badly it was difficult to tell.

Gritting his teeth against the pain in his shoulder he slid his arms under her knees and around her back and lifted her as he stood. Her grip on his neck was weak, weaker than he had anticipated. He walked determinedly across the clearing, his entire focus on getting the two of them to safety. He had to find them cover and fast.

John moved as swiftly as possible into the treeline. The forest was crawling with Wraith and it would only be a matter of time before they stumbled on them again. The two of them had somehow managed to take out the entire squad but it wasn't something that was going to happen again. John knew himself well enough to know when he had reached his limits and he was just about there. Kai didn't weigh enough for this walk to be taking so much energy.

John moved through the woods. Despite the dense treetops the rain continued to come down and soak them. Kai began to shiver in his arms and he clenched his teeth. He had to find them some kind of shelter and soon. He walked for another twenty minutes before he spotted a small rock formation. He ducked low to get the two of them under it. It wasn't a cave, but it offered them some protection from the rain at least.

John was careful as he lowered Kai to the ground. She didn't make a sound, but judging by the amount of blood that was now covering them both she was very seriously injured and must have been in an incredible amount of pain.

She sat before him, unmoving as she breathed deeply. Blood and mud still coated her face. Looking around for something remotely clean he pulled her scarf out from under her vest and wiped away the blood with the end of it. She winced as his fingers touched her cheek bone and he snatched back his hands. When he met her eyes it shocked him to find her only inches away.

He swallowed thickly and looked down at the scarf in his hand. He flinched and quickly handed it back to her "I'm sorry if I defiled your religion or something," he muttered. "It's the only thing remotely clean," he added.

Kai chuckled once humorlessly as she leaned her head back against the rock wall with her eyes closed.

"Did I miss something?" he asked, scowling. He hated feeling off kilter and no one seemed to be able to knock off his game quite as much as Kai. He was more worried about her than he wanted to admit.

"It's the furthest thing from clean anything could possibly be," she said between clenched teeth. At the confused look on the Colonel's face she continued. "It isn't for my religion. The Mortii don't have a religion. It marks me as an assassin, nothing more."

John frowned. She was still shivering, her teeth chattering so badly it was difficult for her to form words.

"I always wondered, if you didn't want us to find out what you were, why did you wear it off world where you might be discovered? Why not ditch it along with your old life? You could have settled in as Kai the mechanic and no one would have been the wiser."

Her smile was sad, and it worried him. Kai didn't talk about her feelings or her past. Not like this and certainly not with him.

"It was for myself. So I would never forget what I did. What I had allowed myself to be," she leaned back, her eyes drifting closed and her chin drooping.

"Hey, hey," John said urgently, shaking her shoulder to keep her focused. "You are a member of this expedition, and a member of my team. Anyone who says differently has to answer to me. That includes you."

Kai snorted. "Do you really think you could take me?" she challenged, her voice was still weak, but the glimmer in her eyes reassured him. She was a fighter.

"I think I would stand a pretty good chance right about now," John said turning his focus to the vicious slice across her thigh. He grimaced as he realized there was still a hunk of metal embedded in her flesh.

"Whatever you say John," her voice was weak and he cut his eyes up to her pale face.

She was breathing too rapidly and her face was sallow and pale. Her eyes didn't look as shocky as before, but the fact that she had referred to him by his first name was enough to cause him concern.

"That's Colonel Sheppard to you," he growled back authoritatively.

A weak smile tugged at her lips. "Of course," she replied. "Forgive me Colonel."

John nodded sharply like it mattered and looked back down at her leg. "We have to get this out and bind this," he said. "It's going to need stitches but we lost the packs." He could kick himself for not grabbing one of them. "We're going to have to use the granules to stop the bleeding and then wrap it with something."

With trembling hands Kai passed her scarf to him. "Use that."

He nodded and pulled his knife. He carefully set it against the blood soaked tactical fabric of her combats and slit her pants open wider, exposing her leg.

"This is going to hurt," John warned her, bracing himself as well. He hated field dressing anything, but something like this or setting a bone was the worst for him. He didn't mind hurting the enemy, but he was supposed to protect his own people, not cause them more pain.

"I assure you Colonel, I can handle a little pain."

"It was more for my sake. I didn't want you forgetting who was helping you and hitting me. I'm still pretty," he forced himself to chuckle so she wouldn't see how deeply worried he was about her.

Kai snorted and leaned her head back against the cold rock wall of the cave. She didn't doubt his words, she could feel the swelling and dried blood from where the Wraith had hit her in the face.

"I'll pull it out, clean it," he said pulling the small packet of granules out of his vest. "Once they dry and bond we'll wrap it, hopefully that'll be enough to keep you in one piece until we can get you to Carson."

Her eyes drifted closed as she braced herself in anticipation of the pain.

"Okay on the count of three, here we go," John said, "one, two," and he ripped the metal piece from her flesh.

She cried out and he moved quickly, dumping the granules into the open wound to stop the flow of blood.

Kai hissed in pain, her body jerking forward involuntarily. Removing the metal hurt, but the granules felt like he had just poured acid into her leg.

John caught Kai with a hand on her shoulder as she collapsed forward into him. Her forehead rested against the crook of his neck as she shook from the pain. John clasped both her shoulders firmly, holding her as she rode out the pain. He had seen men twice her size, experienced soldiers, pass out from having a whole pack poured into an open wound. Kai's hands came up and she wrapped them around his forearms, holding him firmly against her. The only indication of the pain she was in was her accelerated breathing and the tension in her muscles.

The tension slowly started to fade from her body and she sagged in his grip. John carefully helped her lean back against the wall. She didn't so much as grimace this time. Her eyes were half closed and he sank his teeth into the inside of his cheek as he watched her.

He didn't know how much blood she had lost or how badly hurt she was. She was exhausted and clearly needed to rest but he wasn't sure if letting her sleep was the best thing. She was shivering slightly but both of them had lost their packs so they had nothing but the wet clothes on their backs.

"You get some rest," he told her gently as he wrapped her scarf around her leg. "I'll keep watch." He settled in next to her, his shoulder brushing hers.

Kai grunted and nodded. She was too exhausted to argue. She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately. John shifted his weight slightly and Kai's head drooped, resting on his shoulder. She made a noise in the back of her throat and moved closer to him in her sleep.

John pressed his lips together grimly. Kai was badly injured enough to be cuddling with him. They had lost all their supplies, all their food, and were down to one hand gun with only one spare clip. They lost the element of surprise, the Wraith were hunting them and they were three days away from any possible rescue from Atlantis.

They were in deep trouble.

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Chapter 44

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Several hours later Kai jerked awake. Her over tired mind tripped over itself as she fought to focus. She was still half asleep when she remembered the potential danger they were in. "We-" she mumbled and then her words were cut off as she caught sight of the Colonel crouching a few feet away. He was still under the shelter, he held a life signs detector in one hand and his handgun in the other. Flashes of lightning illuminated his face and she could see the steely resolve in the hard set of his jaw, but she could also see how exhausted he looked.

He turned at the sound of her voice and his gaze softened. "Hey," he said moving towards her. "How are you feeling?"

Kai frowned at his word choice. "How long was I out?" She finally asked.

John shrugged "Not that long, couple hours."

It didn't make her feel better. It felt like it had only been a couple minutes. She wrapped her arms around her torso as she shivered.

John noticed and glanced out into the forest. "The rain finally quit, but the wind is picking up," he said apologetically.

"Have you rested?" She asked. She subtly shifted her muscles, trying to gauge exactly how hurt she was without letting Sheppard know what she was doing. Her muscles were sore and all followed her commands, but her leg felt like it was on fire.

Johns jaw tightened as did his grip on his gun. "I will later," he allowed as casually as he could manage. He was feeling more protective than he should, and he knew Kai well enough to know she wouldn't appreciate it.

"Can you see anything out there?" she asked jerking her chin towards the dark forest. She could see well enough, but she never quite knew what everyone else saw.

John shook his head and trudged over to drop down next to her. When he noticed her shivering he slid over to sit closer to her. She tensed but didn't pull away.

"Temps going to keep dropping tonight," John said by way of explanation.

Kai didn't say anything, she stared off into the darkness and tried not to let her emotions get the best of her. She shifted a couple inches closer to Sheppard, hoping he wouldn't mind. She held herself rigid, waiting for his reaction but he simply exhaled and tipped his head back to rest against the rock wall.

"Why don't you get some sleep," she suggested. "I can take watch."

He pressed his lips together grimly. "Dawn is only a couple hours away, I wanna try and circle back and see if I can salvage either of our packs."

"Good idea," she agreed.

John froze and turned to look at her with exaggerated shock lining his features. "You must be dying, did you just tell me I had a good idea?"

Kai snorted. "Don't let it go to your head."

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Sheppard's eyes snapped open at dawn. Kai was sitting in exactly the same spot with the gun and the life signs detector in her lap. It worried him that she hadn't moved at all but he didn't want to draw attention to it. In the dim light of dawn he could see the vicious bruising on the pale skin around her neck. Her cheek bone was bruised and swollen as well. His hand tightened into a fist as a swirl of protective rage went through him. Overwhelmed with the need to move he shoved himself to his feet. He pulled his last powerbar out of his vest and handed her half of it. She looked for a moment like she was thinking of arguing, but finally took it.

"All right, if we make decent time back to our packs I figure we can swing wide around the outpost and make it back to the cave before night fall. There's not much gear there but it's better than nothing."

Kai nodded. "Sounds good." She tightened her jaw and forcefully shoved herself to her feet. The muscles in her thigh completely refused to hold her weight and she pitched sideways. John caught her and steadied her.

"Well it doesn't look like you'll be running any marathons," he said grimly.

Kai scowled, focusing on his words rather than the pain that was radiating up and down her left leg. "What's a marathon?"

John snorted. "It's a sporting event, it's where you run really far."

"From what?" She asked as he helped lower her back down to the ground. She hated feeling weak and not being able to walk made her nothing but a liability to him.

"Not from anything, it's like a really long - never mind. The point is that it doesn't look like you'll be coming with me."

"I can't just sit here," she argued.

"Yes, you can," John disagreed. "Keep the gun and the detector. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Kai crossed her arms over her chest and jutted her chin out defiantly. "This is your plan?"

John turned back to face Kai, he scowled when he recognized the determined gleam in her grey eyes. "Yes."

"Going back to the outpost without a weapon?" she challenged. "That's a stupid plan."

"I have a knife," he said testily. He was exhausted and worried about Kai, and as usual she knew exactly how to push his buttons.

"A knife?" she asked in disbelief. "That's not enough. Take the gun."

"I'll be fine," he argued, shoving the gun back towards her. "We may not have all gone to intergalactic super assassin school, but I can handle myself."

Kai grunted and leaned back against the stone wall. He wasn't going to listen to her no matter what she said, she recognized the stubborn set to his jaw.

He nodded to her and turned to go.

"Sheppard," Kai called after him. She couldn't let him go with only the one knife, it was far too dangerous. She reached behind her and pulled her blade.

John frowned down at the sleek black blade in Kai's hand. Her eyes were serious and intense. He knew there was some significance to her offering it to him, he just wished he knew enough about her culture to know what that significance was. Teyla would have known.

When he didn't move to take the knife, she pressed the blade into his palm. "Be safe," she said.

There was a shift in that moment, something passing between them. John frowned as he felt a weight settle in his chest. He looked down at the knife. The handle was perfectly molded to Kai's hand, and too small for him, but he could feel the quality in the weight of the blade.

"What the hell was that? Did you-" he started to ask frowning. "Is your knife...magic?" he asked rubbing the center of his chest.

"Magic?" Kai asked in disbelief. She felt the telepathic push, like someone knocking on the door, but she tightened her jaw against it. She swallowed, giving him her Blade didn't have any significance, he wasn't a Mortii and she wasn't that person anymore. "The Mortii don't believe in such things."

The Colonel scowled at her. "Just checking," he said. Tucking the blade into his belt. "You stay here,  try and rest and I'll be back as soon as I can."

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Kai hated being left behind but she didn't have long to wait. She was just resting her eyes when the detector began beeping. She glancing down at it frowning.  She could see one dot moving quickly straight towards her, a wide fan of other dots were spread out behind it. She lifted the gun and shifted her weight, waiting for the lone life sign to close on her position.

She recognized the sound of The Colonel before she spotted him in the trees. He ran towards her. "We gotta move," John panted. He grabbed Kai's arm, pulling it over his shoulder, and hustled them into the trees. They two of them hurried through the forest. Kai grunted in pain and forced herself to move as quickly as she could manage.

"No supplies?" she panted.

"They tore our bags apart, destroyed everything," John replied grimly. The life signs detector beeped again and Kai looked down at it. John glanced at it and swore. "Sorry about this," he said and in one motion he scooped Kai up in his arms.

"Put me down," she whisper yelled at him but his arms locked tightly around her, holding her against his chest.

"This is faster," he said and he started trotting away from the Wraith.

Kai wanted to fight and argue but he wasn't wrong. He could move faster carrying her than she could on one leg. She was still panting and shaking from the pain. She looped her arms around his neck to make carrying her as easy as possible.

The detector beeped again half an hour later. The Wraith were closing in. The recent rains had made them ridiculously easy to track in the soft mud.

"We can't out run them anymore," he panted.

Kai peered up at him, at once feeling keenly aware of their close proximity. Sheppard's eyes were locked on the forest around them and his jaw tightened. "Hey," she said squeezing her arms tighter around his neck to get his attention. When he met her gaze she could see how tormented he was over this decision. "I was never much of one for running away," she confessed wryly.

John nodded and sighed as he gazed down at her. She felt so small in his arms and her arms were warm where they looped around his neck. He knew how capable she was, and yet he had the almost ferocious need to protect her. "You keep the gun," he told her. he set Kai down and pulled his knife and her Blade. he positioned her half behind a tree and put himself between her and the Wraith who were closing in.

Kai held the handgun in one hand. She had three knives left, one of which was already in her hand. They both knew how poor their odds were but neither was willing to say it out loud. "Here they come," she whispered.

John bumped her gently with his shoulder and Kai felt the corresponding telepathic shift. This time she found it soothing to know she wasn't alone.

As soon as the Wraith came into view she started firing. She shot two until they went down and landed shots into the remaining three. The gun clicked empty and they were done.

She threw the gun away from her and threw her first knife as John engaged the Wraith closest to him. The knife was small and didn't have the same impact as her Blade did. The Wraith stumbled and nearly dropped, but kept coming at her as it's body worked to regenerate.

Kai threw a second knife and the Wraith hit the ground right in front of her. Then the third Wraith was on her. She reached for her last knife, her hands scrambling. The Wraith kicked her in the stomach hard enough to send her flying backwards, she felt something in her chest shift and she cried out. She hit the ground and the wind was knocked out of her. She reached for the last knife, but when she looked up the Wraith leveled its stunner at her chest and fired.

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"Can't sleep either?"

Teyla startled as she turned toward the gym doors to see Doctor Weir standing in the hallway.

"Elizabeth," Teyla greeted warmly. "No, I'm afraid not."

Elizabeth nodded in understanding. She knew how tough it had been on the Athosian leader to be left behind on the rescue mission, especially when Rodney announced he would be joining them. "Me either," Elizabeth confessed stepping into the sparring mat. "Does it help you sleep?" She asked motioning to the bantos rods in Teyla's hands.

Teyla set the rods down. "Not normally, but I'm hopeful."

Elizabeth nodded, fidgeting with her fingers. There were so few people she felt like she could be herself with. Teyla was one of them. Although she was on one of their teams in some ways she was outside the chain of command. She had always valued the Athosians insights as well.

"They'll be all right you know," Teyla said after a moment.

Elizabeth looked up sharply.

"Kai and Colonel Sheppard are two of the strongest people I have ever met. They are both determined survivors."

Elizabeth snorted at Teyla's assessment. "Yes, determined is the word," she agreed. "Let's just hope they don't kill each other before we can rescue them."

Teyla's smile was indulgent, she had seen John and Kai together in the field more than anyone and she knew how well they worked together. "I doubt very much Doctor Weir that you will have to worry about that."

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John had been on the run most of the day. Kai was still unconscious, and he wasn't sure how long it would take for the stunner to wear off. He had finished off the last two Wraith and scooped up the unconscious Kai before more could arrive. His limbs were shaking and he was exhausted, but he wouldn't allow himself to stop. If he stopped they were both dead.

The shadows were lengthening now and he was confident they were almost back to their little cave. He wasn't sure why he felt so strongly about returning there. All his years of training had drilled supplies and familiarity meant survival. Staying as close to the crash site as was safe would make it easier for the rescue team to find them. If they had supplied and Kai wasn't so hurt however, they would disappear into the mountains and put as much distance as possible between them and the outpost.

Overhead the dark clouds rumbled and the wind kicked up. He grunted in agitation. Lightning cracked across the sky and crash of thunder was so loud he felt it beneath his feet. Kai jolted awake in his arms.

"Hey, it's me," he said before she started to fight.

Kai was surrounded by the familiar scent and feel of the Colonel. Somehow without ever having to open her eyes she knew it was him down to the marrow of her bones.

"Colonel," she said, her voice a little breathy as she shook off the last of the stunner. Pins and needles were running through all of her limbs and she gritted her teeth against the unpleasant sensation.

"At this point, I doubt we need to be so formal," he teased glancing down at her.

Kai snorted. "How'd we do?" She asked half jokingly.

John shrugged as best he could with her in his arms. "We kicked their asses," he joked wryly. "They will for sure think twice before they mess with us again."

Kai snorted again but knew she once again owed her life to John Sheppard. She shifted and looped her arms around his neck once more to make it easier for him to carry her.

Overhead thunder rumbled again.

John swore. "I'm going to go out on the limb here and say this is the worst planet ever," and just like that it started to pour.

For some reason, probably exhaustion, Kai found the entire situation ridiculous and she laughed. John looked down at her like she was crazy for a second and then he laughed too. She grimaced as the laughter shifted her ribs but the answering light bump was worth it.

"Put me down," she ordered. "If the Wraith aren't too close I can hobble for a while and give you a break."

John shook his head and droplets of water fell out of his hair to land on her. "No way, this is faster. We gotta get into some shelter," he added as another crack of lightning split the sky.

Kai grunted but knew he was right, now that she was regaining feeling in her limbs she was becoming increasingly aware of exactly how hurt she was. Another ten minutes later and sweat had broken out on her skin and her jaw was set like granite against the pain. Her mind was beginning to feel foggy and she tightened her grip around his neck.

The rain continued to soak them and they both were shivering when Sheppard finally found the small entrance to their little cave. The only up side to all the rain was that it was coming down hard enough it would obscure any of their tracks.

Kai blinked up at him frowning. "Home sweet home," he grunted and he sat back on one of their supply boxes still holding her as he leaned against the rock wall.

"You can put me down," she said weakly.

John snorted humorlessly, trying to lighten the mood. "And give up my first chance at being warm in days? I don't think so," the truth was she was shivering and hadn't stopped. He couldn't risk building a fire so their best bet was to share body heat.

Kai nodded numbly and her head slowly fell to rest against his shoulder, her face tucked into the crook of his neck. She was so tired and his skin felt so warm against her own.

John sat back against the wall and let himself relax. He needed to get sleep so he could keep his strength up. He would need it if he was going to get them out of this. Kai's increasing reliance on him made him more protective than he had ever anticipated. He couldn't pretend he didn't feel what he felt anymore. Being so sure he was going to lose her and holding her in his arms all day made him incredibly certain in fact.

"One of us should keep watch," Kai's lips brushed against the skin of his neck as she spoke and it made his breathing kick up a notch.

"It'll be fine," John told her. "You need to rest. I'll keep an eye open."

Kai tensed and shifted like she was going to argue.

"Hey," John told her, his voice was low and gravely in his chest beneath her ear. "You're safe. Promise."

Kai felt the gentlest of nudges in her mind and she exhaled and nodded as she relaxed against the Colonel's chest. She was too tired to fight how incredibly safe he made her feel.

Kai's body became soft, wrapped around John's. When he was sure she was sleeping he tightened his arms around her waist, drawing her even closer. He tipped his head down to rest against her hair as he too fell asleep.

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Chapter 45

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John woke before dawn. He jerked awake, immediately feeling guilty for sleeping so long. Kai was still wrapped around him, her face tucked into the crook of his neck her warm breath fanning his neck as she slept. As much as he enjoyed the position, he forced his stiff muscles to his feet. He laid Kai down onto the sleeping pallet. He needed to try and find them supplies. He moved slowly so he wouldn't wake her. When he laid her down she grumbled softly in the back of her throat and tried to shift close to him again.

He swallowed thickly as he stared down at her. Despite the bruises and blood she looked so beautiful it made his chest ache. Unable to stop himself he reached up and tucked a strand of wavy hair behind her ear. His fingers glided gently across her skin and she turned into him.

"John," she mumbled his name in her sleep and it was like a kick in the gut. His fingers hovered over her skin for another second and he frowned. Was her skin warmer than it should be? They had both been so cold and wet for so long it seemed odd for her skin to feel warm.

He pulled his hand back and frowned down at her. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully but he had the irrational urge to wake her up and check on her.

He shook it off and turned back to their few remaining supplies. Neither of them had eaten in over twenty-four hours and they hadn't left any food here. There was only one remaining canteen and he set it outside the cave to collect rain run off. He wasn't sure if it was safe to drink, but it was their only option.

John hated waiting, but that was all there was to do. If Atlantis had sent a rescue team the earliest it would arrive would be the following day. Kai woke a few hours later and they sat together and watched the rain.

Kai pushed herself to her feet and grimaced as white hot pain shot through her.

"What?" John asked, he wanted to reach for her to help her, but knew she wouldn't appreciate it.

Kai sat back down on one of the containers. "It's just my leg," she said, waving it off. She was trying not to think too hard about how extensive the muscle damage might be. They had incredible medical technology back on Atlantis, but the clock was ticking.

"Let me take a look," John said moving closer. He knelt down in front of her and carefully unwrapped the scarf. Kai locked her jaw and didn't so much as wince as he pulled the fabric away from the wound. John kept his face perfectly blank as he noted how puffy the bruised skin around the wound looked. He gently laid the backs of his fingers against the skin beside it. "There's some heat and swelling," he told her. "But the scarf looks like it's protected it from the worst of the mud." He was careful to re-wrap it so the cleanest part of the fabric was against the wound.

Kai nodded and leaned her head back against the wall. John handed her the canteen and she took a few small sips.

He grunted in the back of his throat. "You might as well drink it all, we have water as long as it's raining. It's the only upside of this crappy planet."

Kai nodded and obliged him. She was too tired to do anything but agree. All she had done was sleep but it didn't seem to help. Her ribs ached whenever she moved and the pounding in her head hadn't gone away. She leaned forward to hand him the water bottle. Her ribs twinged again and she tightened her jaw against it.

"Ribs?" he asked, frowning at her.

She nodded, pushing herself back. "The Wraith got in a lucky shot."

"Let me see," John said moving towards her. He knew how modest she was but he needed to know how hurt she was. Not that there was much he could do about it. He only hoped Beckett was part of the rescue team.

Kai hesitated for a moment and lifted the side of her shirt. John stepped closer to her and grimaced slightly at the deep purple bruising that overlaid a lighter yellow. He sighed and scratched at the back of his neck. "Did Beckett know you were still healing from the last time you broke your ribs?" he asked, his voice a little more gruff than he intended.

Kai's eyes glittered with temper as she stared down at him. "I passed his tests," she told him.

He grunted and turned back to their few remaining supplies. When they had packed their backpacks they had been forced to leave some of the items from the med pack behind. Unfortunately, it wasn't much, but he pulled an ace bandage out of one of the side pockets and moved back to her.

She scowled at him and he grunted in annoyance. "I'm just going to wrap them until Beckett can get you under a scanner. Don't need you puncturing another lung," he added wryly. "That would really mess up my day."

"Well, I'd hate to mess up your day," she responded tightly. She lifted her shirt and stared hard at the cave wall as she waited for the Colonel to wrap her ribs. She shifted uncomfortably as he inspected the ugly bruising that splashed across her torso. She knew how many scars she had, she was less than the physical ideal her people valued so much and they never failed to point that out. She had the most kills of any active Zian, she had spent a great deal of time training and in the field and it had taken a toll on her body. Her history was carved into her skin and there wasn't much she could do about it.

John leaned in to reach around her, his fingers gentle where he held the end of the wrap against her skin. He could feel the tension thrumming through her body. She was holding her breath, but he didn't know if she was bracing against the possible pain or from him. He wished there was something he could do to put her at ease.

Kai felt a feather light telepathic touch. It was soft and tentative, not at all like the normal bump she felt. She scowled as it distracted her.

"Tell me something you did for fun," John said casually.

"What?" Kai asked as the Colonel's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Well, as long as the Wraith don't find us again all we have to kill is time...I personally enjoy surfing and motorcycles."

Kai turned to him in surprise. It wasn't like the Colonel to discuss his personal life. "I..." she stammered and the telepathic nudge came again, stronger this time. "I...worked on engines with my sire," she finished distractedly. She considered closing her psychic walls, but right now she found it soothing and she was hurt enough to allow for the indulgence. She could always block the connection later.

"Is that where you learned so much about ships?" He asked as he leaned close once more to wrap another loop around her torso. It grated on him that her people used the same terminology his own used to describe breeding livestock, but it didn't seem to bother Kai so he stayed silent.

Kai nodded, gritting her teeth so she wouldn't react to the pain as he pulled the wrap snug. "He wasn't in the Zian caste, wasn't an assassin," she clarified after a beat. "It's rare for a match to be made outside the caste, but my sire had traits they hoped to integrate into the Zian. So much so they bred an entire generation of my damline. Over 20 Zian...none but me survived...they never repeated the match. They were all too small...too weak to survive adolescent training."

John absorbed that before he spoke. "But not you," he said with a touch of pride in his voice.

Kai blushed and looked down at her fingers. "I was reminded every day the cross was considered undesirable, that I wasn't a pure blood Zian...many blamed my independent nature on it," she snorted and shook her head. "It was frowned upon to visit him, but he never turned me away. I spent hours working on ships with him...long into the night. He also taught me to fly better than any training given to the Zian. It saved my life many times..."

Kai hesitated for a moment, wondering at her own willingness to speak of her past. She glanced at the Colonel but he didn't meet her gaze. Instead his whole focus was on wrapping her ribs.

"It wasn't until I was much older that I realized he was not required to work such long hours...he did so..." she paused frowning over how to describe it.

"To spend time with you?" John asked gently.

His voice seemed to snap her out of her thoughts and she looked up at him uncertainly.

"Yes," she agreed. "But Mortii are not like that, they do not have family units. Perhaps in the Outland tribes where mates are Bonded but-"

There was that word again. John hesitated before leaning in to make another pass with the wrap. Chaya had used the word Bonded, but he had never had the courage to ask what it meant.

"In the city within the castes Mortii are grown in labs, the closest to a family unit would be your Generation which becomes your Class when you attend the Academy. And it is competition to be the best of your class in all things..." she frowned and dragged off as the Colonel leaned in to wrap the last loop.

"I don't know why I'm telling you all of this," Kai confessed. Their Doctor Heightmeyer had been trying to get her to open up about her past for the last few months. She had just shared more with the Colonel than he had ever shared with the Doctor.

John tied off the last loop, snugging it down. He was impressed Kai hadn't flinched once, he knew how badly it had to hurt and he hadn't gone easy. He wasn't willing to take the chance on potentially broken ribs.

"Well...we're stuck here, in a life and death situation...who else are you going to talk to?" He asked keeping his tone as light as possible. He never wanted to make her feel self conscious for opening up about her past.

John recognized Kai's willingness to share for the gift it was. He had read the reports from Beckett and Doctor Heightmeyer, every single one had been clinical and efficient. She shared the necessary information required, but she didn't go into detail.

"All done," he said. He reached up to tug her shirt back down and the backs of his fingers brushed hers.

Her gaze snapped to his and for a second it felt like he couldn't breathe. He pulled back and quickly put some distance between them. He was acting like a teenager with a crush. He needed to get his head on straight.

Kai could see she had made the Colonel uncomfortable. She quickly smoothed her shirt back down and shrugged on her vest. Her ribs already felt better being bound. "What's surfing?" She asked after a moment. He had used conversation to get her to relax and open up, she figured turn about was fair play.

Sheppard was standing near the entrance to the cave, studying their remaining life signs detector. There was nothing out in the forest. The storm had concealed them and the gentle, steady rainfall succeeded in wiping away any traces of their trail. If the Wraith were still hunting them, it was in another part of the forest. As much as he hated waiting, staying put was the safest option.

"Well," John said turning back to face her. "It's where you have a board and you ride the waves on an ocean. Do you have anything like that?"

Kai shook her head as she leaned back against the wall. "Most of our planet is a desert."

"I grew up in this big empty house in the 'burbs, but during the summer we would always go to this island. It was called Martha's Vineyard. The people were stuffy, but the beaches were beautiful. My father always thought surfing was a waste of time, but..." John shrugged as he dropped down to sit on the crate of spare jumper parts beside her. "Once we get back to Atlantis, I'll take you. I brought my board from earth, I just haven't been out yet. It's incredible. When you're on the ocean nothing else matters, it's just you and the waves."

Kai smiled as she listened to him. His face relaxed when he talked about surfing, and that boyish grin stretched his features. Just thinking about surfing succeeded in pushing The Colonel back and allowing a little of what made John Sheppard to come forward. It intrigued her, this balance he had found between the two parts of himself that seemed constantly at odds with one another.

"Not finding much down time in the Pegasus Galaxy for surfing?" Kai asked with a teasing smile.

John shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Not really no..." he hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should ask the question that had been bothering him so much.

The smile stilled on his face and he lifted his eyes to meet Kai's. "What happened on Loden?" he asked.

Kai went very still and slammed the psychic connection closed. Sheppard scowled but he didn't say anything. Her face became an expressionless mask as she tucked away all the little parts of herself. She couldn't discuss this with him. She didn't even know it was for sure something that was happening. And besides, she had already resolved to put an end to it if it was.

John shifted uncomfortably and rubbed at the center of his chest. "I know I shouldn't have drunk whatever that black poison was. And I know that you warned me about it and I didn't listen-"

Kai scoffed. "You never listen."

John sucked in a tight breath but decided to let that comment slide. "I also know I was probably an ass, so...sorry."

Guilt flashed through Kai's chest. He didn't need to apologize. He hadn't actually done anything wrong. She pressed her lips together. "You have nothing to apologize for," she assured him quickly. "Neither one of us should have drunk the Euphor, it's extremely potent and...well it was a bad idea. I know better."

John nodded in agreement and looked back out into the forest. He couldn't help feeling like there was more to it than that, but he let it drop. He shifted again, he was hungry but he wasn't sure why he suddenly felt like a huge chasm had just opened in the middle of his chest.

He grabbed their bottle of water and drained it before setting it back outside. They each drank two more bottles before night fell. "Well, if they're coming they should be here tomorrow," John said looking down at the life signs detector once more. There was still nothing. The rain had slowed to a light drizzle.

The two of them laid down to go to sleep. It was still chilly, and they turned their backs to one another but scooted close enough Kai could feel his heat along her back. It was more soothing than she wanted to admit. As she lay in the dark, listening to the gentle rain and the Colonel's heartbeat Kai's mind wandered to the night before when she had slept in his arms. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept so soundly. There was something about him that made her feel incredibly safe, and yet he could infuriate her more than anyone she had ever met. She didn't understand and she wasn't going to figure it out tonight. Her head was starting to ache and she closed her eyes, forcing herself to focus on the steady rhythm of his heart until she drifted off.

It had been a long time since she dreamed of home and the things that had been done to her there. She was in the training room, and she was being attacked from all sides. Instead of the faces of her Class who had actually done the damage she saw the faces of those she had killed. She fought to get away from them, but they were stronger than her, more powerful. They stared at her with hollow, dead eyes as they shrieked their rage. Kai thrashed desperately as she tried to get away, a screamed choking its way out of her throat.

John woke as soon as she moved. It took him a sleepy moment to realize they weren't being attacked but rather Kai was having a nightmare. He grabbed Kai's arms, trying to stop her from thrashing around too much and hurting herself. "Hey, hey," he called. "You're all right."

Kai's eyes snapped open as she bolted upright at the sound of John's voice. Her heart was hammering in her ears so loud it drowned out everything else. In the dark she could just make out his concerned eyes as he crouched over her. She let out a shuddering breath when she realized it had only been a dream. She pulled in a gasp of air and leaned her forehead forward, resting it against John's.

John closed his eyes for a moment and let himself rest against her. She was shaking beneath his hands. He wanted to gather her up in his arms, but he forced himself to hold still. He ran his thumbs back and forth across her arms soothingly.

"You're safe," he found himself saying. She was so close his breath fanned her face. "Promise."

Kai gasped in another breath and nodded. It had felt so real, like she was trapped in that training room being tortured all over again.

"I'm so-" she started to apologize but John shook his head against hers.

"Don't apologize to me," he ordered. He paused then, frowning when he noticed how warm her forehead felt resting against his own. "Are you running a fever?" he pulled back and put the back of his hand against her forehead. "Ah crap," he muttered. "You are for sure running a fever."

Kai drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself as the chill of the predawn air settled into her bones.

"Okay," John said tightly as he watched her. "We gotta come up with another plan."

Kai's teeth were chattering as she arched a brow at him. "What do you have in mind?" She asked.

John shook his head. "I don't know, but we can't just keep waiting. Not if you're getting sick on top of everything else."

Kai snorted. "Falling apart," she joked.

"Yeah, I thought Mortii were supposed to be tough," the words died in his throat when he saw the haunted look cross Kai's face. She laid her cheek against her knees and punched her eyes shut. "Shit," John muttered. "I'm sorry Kai."

She glanced up at him when he spoke her first name. "You're right," she assured him, "they are."

John looked down at his hands and pressed his lips together. He wasn't any good at this. She deserved better than his sloppy attempts. "Was that what you were dreaming of?" He asked, somehow already knowing the answer. What else could give someone like Kai nightmares?

Kai sighed and nodded. She had already told him so much. What was a little more? "In the academy there were training rooms. Each room serves a different purpose. One for knife fighting, one for hand to hand, another for poisons..." she dragged off, closing her eyes in the dark, as though it could somehow shield her from the memories. "There was one room that was used to train us to deal with pain."

John was sick to his stomach as he remembered Beckett talking about how high of a pain tolerance she possessed. Protective, feral rage burned through him. If he ever met the people who had done this to her he was going to tear them apart. He swallowed down all the useless anger. "I'm sorry that happened," he said carefully.

She looked at him in surprise. "Does your military not train you?" She asked.

"Not like that," he responded.

"Well, it was effective and helped me survive."

He didn't know what to say to that so he shifted his weight and stared at her face. Sometimes it was easy to forget how long she had lived in that life. It was so easy to only see the joking mechanic who could take care of herself in a fight, but Kai had been forged in fire and he wouldn't ever forget that.

"Get some shut eye," he advised. "You're getting sick, you're gonna need it. We'll come up with a plan in the morning."

Kai nodded along with the Colonel, she could see him carefully rebuilding his walls around himself just as steadily as she had closed them off psychically. He sat up with his back against the wall and the life signs detector in his hand. Kai lay down beside him. She turned her back to him, but was close enough to feel his heat. It was enough to help lull her back to sleep.

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Chapter 46

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A buzz of static in her ear woke Kai early the next morning. "Sheppard," she called. Her muscles ached and she was freezing as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

John reached down and activated his radio. "This is Sheppard come in."

Only static came back. He strode quickly towards the cave entrance. "This is Sheppard, do you read?"

There was another crackle of static and Major Lorne's voice came over their comms. "Colonel, good to hear your voice. We are two-zero minutes out from the planet. Heard you might need a ride."

John let out a breath of relief as he turned back to face Kai. "If you got room," he joked. "We are about six klicks south of the gate. Should be able to pick us up on the HUD."

Major Lorne snorted. "We're on our way sir."

"Is Beckett with you?" John asked.

"No sir, but Walker is with, he's a corpsman. Are you injured, sir?"

"Not me, Zian," John replied turning back to face Kai. He couldn't be sure, but he thought she might look a little paler than before. He could see a light sheen of sweat on her skin in the dim light.

"Understood,sir. I'll radio when we are on our approach."

"Our rides here," he said turning back to Kai. He couldn't tell if it was relief or hunger that made him so lightheaded. But sitting in this cave for another day watching Kai starve would have driven him insane.

Twenty minutes later Kai turned her head towards the cave entrance. "Here they come." She said.

John believed her, though he couldn't hear a thing. He stepped outside just in time to see the jumper decloak. The ramp hissed as it opened and Major Lorne, McKay, and Corpsman Walker walked down the ramp towards him.

Major Lorne strode to Sheppard. "Colonel," he said with a brisk nod.

"Lorne," John greeted.

"You look like hell," Rodney commented as he looked Sheppard up and down. "Are you sure you're uninjured?" He asked with a frown.

"I'm fine," John responded indignantly, "just been a few days without a shower."

"No kidding," Rodney said looking slightly disgusted.

"Nice of you to come Rodney," John snapped sarcastically.

"Of course," Rodney responded, as usual he was completely unaffected by the Colonel's sarcasm.

John turned to Lorne. "It's good you came when you did, we were running out of weapons."

"Yeah and food," Rodney responded shaking his head in horror.

"That too," John agreed. "Although Zian and I were pretty concerned about the weapons with all the Wraith around. Don't suppose you picked up a pizza on the way?"

"Sorry sir, we were in a bit of a hurry. But we have some mighty tasty MRE's on board."

"Oh well," John said with a shrug. "At this point, anything sounds good." He led the way back into the cave.

Kai had heard the entire conversation. While the colonel had been out she had managed to shove herself to her feet. She was standing against the wall, her fists clenched in a death grip as she fought to regulate her breath. The pain in her ribs was still radiating through her, but it was her leg that had caused black spots to cross her vision. The muscle refused to work and it felt tight.

"All right lets get this crap out of here. I don't wanna leave anything behind for the Wraith to find," John told the others gesturing towards the couple of remaining crates of miscellaneous supplies.

Walker and Lorne immediately grabbed the crates and started back towards the jumper. Rodney waited behind, looking around the small cave curiously. He couldn't imagine anything worse than being forced to hide in this tiny cave and starve to death. It just as easily could have been him in the jumper with Sheppard. Kai and John were two of the toughest people Rodney had ever met and judging by how rough they looked they had barely managed to survive. He realized it was only sheer luck that had left Kai with the Colonel instead of him and he felt something that he supposed may have been guilt over it.

John Had turned his back to Rodney and was focused on Kai. "What do you say we get outta here?" He asked.

She nodded and let out a sigh of relief. She moved to take a step, but the leg wouldn't support her. John reached for her, moving like he was going to carry her again.

She stiffened and he immediately pulled back. "I can walk," she assured him, her eyes flickering once towards McKay. She wasn't going to be carried out of here. She had survived and she wasn't an invalid. She knew the others were friends but there was an old part of her that refused to allow anyone to see weakness. She wondered when and why she had stopped feeling that way about the Colonel.

He took her arm over his shoulder and wrapped the other around her waist. His large hand wrapped completely around her hip as he helped her limp towards the jumper. He was supporting more of her weight that she would care to admit, but he was letting her save face. For which she was eternally grateful.

Corpsman Walker was waiting to take a look at her as Kai sat in one of the rear seats.

John moved towards the front as Lorne started to lift off.

"Any chance that Stargate is still intact?" Lorne asked hopefully. "It was kind of a long trip," he said, his eyes flickering towards McKay.

McKay didn't notice but John snorted. "Sorry," he said with a grim shake of his head. "There's no way."

"What does that mean?" Rodney asked frowning at him.

"It means no way McKay," John replied impatiently. "You think we wouldn't have tried that the first day? This isn't exactly a vacation spot."

"Well I might be able to fix it," Rodney said self-assuredly. "Kai doesn't know everything about-"

"There's a huge chunk missing out of the ring McKay," John growled. He turned back to Lorne. "Let's just get the hell off this planet," he said exhaustedly.

"Yes sir," Lorne agreed.

Kai sat in the back of the jumper resting her head against the wall as she listened to the conversation going on in the forward compartment. Normally, she would have wanted to be part of the decision making, but she was honestly too exhausted. She knew her limits and she was riding the edge right now. She had a half eaten power bar in one hand, but couldn't work up the energy to finish the rest.

Corpsman Walker was a good looking young man she had met only a handful of times. He had come in with the latest batch from Earth, but in his limited time in the Pegasus Galaxy he had proven himself to be calm and capable. He had earned Beckett's respect as a medic which was a good enough for her.

Sheppard walked into the rear compartment as Walker crouched down in front of her to begin his examination. He cut the dirty scarf off her leg and dropped the tattered remains onto the floor. Kai stared at it, wondering how something that had once seemed so important could mean so little.

Walker cocked his head to the side as he studied her leg. "It's looking a little infected. You used the granules?" He asked, when Kai didn't respond right away he looked over his shoulder to the Colonel.

John nodded.

Walker turned back to Kai who was still staring at the scraps of fabric on the ground. She seemed slightly out of it, but some amount of disassociation made sense after the week they had been through. Walker chose to ignore it. She needed sleep badly. "So," he said continuing his examination. "Inside should be fine, I would expect some minor external inflammation given the amount of trauma you described. I'm going clean it up, and here -" He said digging in his bag. He opened several bottles before holding the pills out to her.

Kai looked up at the Corpsman and obediently took the six pills he offered. If Beckett and Sheppard trusted him, she didn't see any reason not to. Walker began rewrapping her leg. It was sore and the skin felt tight and warm. She frowned down at it. The granules really had done an impressive job sealing the injury.

Kai leaned her head back and her lids started to feel heavy. Unable to fight the pull, she slipped into unconsciousness.

John finished eating and frowned as he watched her drop off to sleep uncharacteristically fast. He scowled at Walker. "What did you give her?"

Walker finished tying off the bandage and straightened to face his superior officer unapologetically. "A sedative. You are both exhausted, she needs sleep, and if you don't do the same I'll drug you too...sir," Walker added. He shifted uncomfortably as he wondered if he had just crossed a line. Lorne had quietly warned him the Colonel could be protective of his people.

John looked down at Kai where she slept peacefully for maybe the first time since all this started. "Understood Lieutenant," he said with a grin. He liked Walker.

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Traveling in deep space made it difficult to tell what time it was. Kai found it incredibly disorienting as she did nothing but slept and ate. There was nothing else to do in the back of the jumper. They had been traveling for three days and her head had started to pound. Her leg was hot and the pain felt like fire racing up and down from site of the injury.

The corpsman crouched over her. "How are you feeling?" He asked. It was impossible to hide anything from each other in such a small space and it was clear to everyone that as the days passed Kai was getting worse, not better.

She frowned, cupping her forehead. "I've got a pounding migraine."

Walker frowned and reached into his bag, coming out with a thermometer. He hovered it over her forehead and it beeped immediately. He glanced down at it with a frown.

"Your temperature is 102.7," he said in a tight voice. He glanced up at her. "I know your physiology is slightly different, do you know your baseline?"

Kai shook her head frowning as she tried to remember. "Ninety-eight is normal for a Mortii."

He nodded and turned back to his kit.

"What's going on?" Sheppard asked from his seat in back. He, Lorne and the Lieutenant has been rotating piloting shifts. It was his turn to rest, but Kai didn't look so good and it was making him antsy. She was paler than usual, her skin sallow and sweaty.

"Miss Zian has a temperature..." Walker dragged off as he dug through the bottles he had.

"I guess I wouldn't be that surprised if both of us got sick after being poured on for four days straight," Sheppard said, forcing his voice to remain light even as his instincts prickled. He tried to tell himself he was being paranoid, but there was a nagging sensation in the center of his chest the told him something was wrong.

Walker dug around in his pack and came out with several pills. "These should help keep the fever in check," he told Kai. "Drink that whole bottle of water and get some more rest."

"All I've been doing is sleeping," she grumbled but she threw back the pills and did what the corpsman ordered. She had asked originally to be given a piloting shift but just the thought of interfacing mentally with the controls was too much for her already pounding head. She laid back on the small pallet on the floor and closed her eyes.

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John was piloting when Walker slipped into the forward compartment the next day. He had been at the controls for several hours now, but he found it unsettling to have someone else fly the ship when he was awake and fully capable.

"Sir," Walker said in a low tone. "Zian has gotten worse."

"What the hell do you mean she's gotten worse?" He asked, turning to face the young man.

"Her fever is worse and she is disoriented. I would like to give her an IV to push fluids until we can get her to Doctor Beckett."

"Of course," Sheppard agreed nodding. He wasn't sure why the Corpsman was hesitating.

"Sir, she is a little disoriented-" he continued uncomfortably and John quickly understood.

"How about if I help," John said and stood to follow. "McKay take the controls," he called.

Walker moved to crouch on one side of Kai and he took the other side.

"I only have the one bag sir, and I'm not familiar enough with her species to know if it will help if she's sick, but it's what I would do for a human."

John's lips flattened into a grim line. He didn't like the others viewing Kai as subhuman. She wasn't physiologically the same as them, but they were more alike than different.

"Zian," John said in a low voice. Her hair was damp with sweat and her eyes were closed. Her normally pale skin was sallow in the lights of the jumper. He suddenly realized why Walker looked so concerned. She had taken a bad turn, fast.

She mumbled in her sleep, but didn't wake up. John reached down and lightly touched her arm. "Zian," he said a little more sharply.

Kai jerked awake at the sound of Sheppard's voice. She blinked in confusion when she saw him crouching over her. For a second she couldn't remember if they were still on that planet. There was movement on her other side and she tried to react, she wanted to roll towards Sheppard, to put some space between herself and the unknown, but her body wouldn't cooperate. It was too heavy and hot. She suddenly realized how hot it was in the jumper and it felt like she couldn't breathe.

A hard mental nudge broke her from her thoughts and she blinked up at the Colonel as though she had just noticed him.

"Zian," he said her name as though it were the tenth time he had said it. "Walker is going to give you an IV to try and make you feel better. Don't hit him when he stabs you with the needle," he joked, though the look in his eyes was grave. 

Kai tried to lick her lips but her mouth was dry. She nodded her head but it took more effort than it should. She could hear her own heart racing in her ears. She felt like she had just finished running. She knew she was in trouble, but the look on Sheppard's face made her realize just how sick she was. 

All she felt from the IV was a dim pressure on her arm. She blinked up at the young medic but the lights caught in her eyes and she turned away from them towards Sheppard.

"All right, all set," Walker said looking back at Sheppard with a nod. "I'm going to put some meds in the IV to try and get this fever down, but if I can't-"

"Got it," Sheppard said grimly. He stood and strode back into the forward compartment.

John took the controls, his heart pounding in his chest. He despised feeling powerless, and the only thing he could do for Kai was to get her back to Atlantis as fast as possible. "McKay I need you to get me everything you can."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean give me all the power you can."

"The sublight engines can only go so fast," he said. "If I pump more power through the core-"

"McKay!" John snapped, he turned tormented eyes to Rodney.

Rodney froze for a moment and stared into his friends eyes. He knew in that moment how serious things were with Kai. 

"I'll see what I can do." McKay promised. He pushed himself to his feet and hustled into the rear compartment. Kai was laying unconscious on the floor. Corpsman was sitting beside her watching the IV drop, but there was nothing left for him to do.

McKay opened the rear control hatch and plugged his tablet in. He shifted a few of the crystals around and pushed it closed. He dropped into the seat. "That's the best I can do," he said as he accessed the ships systems. "It might save us a couple hours."

John asked the ship for a little more and when it responded he breathed a sigh of relief.

"But you have to answer to Kai when she sees the mess I made doing that. I'm probably going to burn out the sunlight power capacitors."

"Well, she can yell at me," John agreed. "She's pretty good at that," he added wryly.

John flew the jumper straight through the night. His eyes were gritty and burning but he didn't trust anyone else to push the jumper as hard as it could go. He also couldn't just sit in the back and do nothing, it felt too much like watching Kai die. He didn't know how he knew, but there was a part of him that could practically feel her getting weaker. He scrubbed at his eyes, wondering if he was so exhausted his mind had started playing tricks on him. 

"Colonel!" Walker called. "I can't wake Miss Zian." 

The HUD activated in response to John's racing thoughts. They were still two hours out from the gate. John's eyes snapped over to Rodney. 

McKay's eyes were wide with fear. He knew enough to know that if her fever had gotten bad enough for her to lose consciousness Kai was in real trouble. "I can't give you anything else," he said weakly.  

The remaining two hours felt like agony. Adrenaline was running through John's body and he couldn't be sure, but it felt like the jumper was responding to him. Somehow it managed to go even faster, shaving off precious minutes from their approach. When they were close enough to dial, Rodney activated the DHD.

"Atlantis this is Sheppard, come in," he called through the comms once the wormhole was activated.

A few seconds passed and the radio crackled. "John?" Elizabeth asked. "It's great to hear your voice!"

"Yeah," John agreed briskly ignoring the invitation for small talk. "I need an emergency medical team waiting for us in the jumper bay. They have five minutes."

"Roger that," Elizabeth quickly gave the order than came back over the radio. "Who's hurt?"

"Zian is unconscious. We thought she was sick, she's been running a fever but she didn't wake up today." He forced himself to say the words with clinical efficiency so Elizabeth wouldn't hear the stress of the last few days in his voice. 

"I relayed the information to Beckett," she promised. "I'm patching him through."

"Colonel." The Scot's brisk accent came through clearly over the radio. John could hear him puffing as though he were running. "What's going on?"

"I'm going to patch in Corpsman Walker. He'll be able to explain it." Sheppard said and he turned his full focus to flying them through the gate. He listened as Walker explained everything he knew. 

Beckett grunted and his voice was grim. "Well I won't know for sure; but I'm guessing some kind of major infection from her injury. Could be blood poisoning. Get her here as quickly as possible Colonel."

The gating process had never felt so agonizingly slow to John before. From what he gathered, every second could matter for Kai. As soon as the autopilot kicked in he was out of the seat and moving to the back of the jumper, the others stayed out of his way as he bent down and picked up Kai's unconscious form. Her head rested against his chest and the waves of her hair spilled over his arm. When he had held her on that planet she had felt so strong and full of life, now she felt far too small and vulnerable. That feeling in his chest was growing weaker and as that happened a ball of anxiety grew in his stomach. It felt like a ticking clock. He didn't know if it was actually connected to Kai or not, but his exhausted mind was convinced it was. He wasn't used to feeling powerless and it made it that much harder for him to deal with.   

McKay slapped open the rear hatch and John was striding down it before it was completely lowered. Beckett was waiting with a gurney. John carefully laid Kai down and Beckett rushed her away. 

><><

Elizabeth hurried down the halls towards the infirmary. She hasn't been in the jumper bay when they arrived and the medical team had rushed Kai away. Major Lorne had met her and given her a fast debrief, but she was anxious to check on Kai and John. She had sent Lorne and his team to bed. They could give their reports in the morning. It had been a long ten days for them. 

She slipped through the doors and let out the tension she hadn't realized she'd been holding when she saw John's broad shoulders standing over one of the beds. She glanced to the side where she spotted Teyla and Rodney standing a little behind him. Teyla must have met them here. The Athosian leader's face was drawn with concern and Rodney looked pale and worried. 

She stepped to the side and saw why. Carson was in surgical scrubs and he and two nurses were working over Kai's leg. Elizabeth sucked in a surprised breath. Kai's face was deathly pale and there was blood everywhere. 

The sound of the door made John glance over his shoulder at her before he turned his focus back to the surgery. Elizabeth was surprised by how exhausted the Colonel looked. His face was gaunt with deep bags under his eyes. 

"John," Elizabeth greeted, her relief evident in her tone. "I'm so glad you're all right. How's Zian?" Elizabeth asked briskly.

"If I could just..." Carson drew off as he finished. "Got it," he said triumphantly. He lifted his blood covered hands out of her leg. Clamped between the tweezers was a tiny metal shard. He picked up a scalpel and began cutting away the dead tissue. Every second counted as she continued to bleed freely. Once satisfied he stepped back, pulling down his surgical mask. 

He turned to the nurse beside him. "She needs a transfusion as well as a massive dose of antibiotics to combat the infection. Start stitching up that leg before we lose any more blood, will you dear?"

"Sir," one of the nurses called stepping up beside him holding a clipboard. "Sir, there is no blood type listed and given her physiological differences-"

Uncharacteristically Carson swore. 

"What's the problem?" Weir asked, it was rare for Carson to get upset.

Carson stepped towards Weir and the Colonel peeling off his bloodied gloves. "Do you remember me explaining how she's human but not quite?"

Weir nodded but Sheppard stiffened. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her pale face as they worked over her. The feeling in his chest was barely there anymore, as it faded the almost feral need to do something grew. 

"When she was injured they used the granules to disinfect and seal the wound," his eyes flickered to the Colonel. "As you should have," he added, the look on the colonels face made him feel the need to reassure him he had done the right thing. "The problem was that there was still a shard of the weapon left in her leg. After ten days of being sealed it became a massive infection and she has blood poisoning. I reopened the wound, pulled out the shard and cut away the damaged tissue. But she is very weak and has lost a lot of blood. The problem is we don't happen to have any other Mortii blood on hand..." Carson scrubbed at his face. "She has the gene..." he said thoughtfully. "If we use a universal donor with the gene-"

John stepped forward and was already rolling up his sleeve. "O negative. That's me." He said.

"Just slow down Colonel," Carson said holding up his hand. "Believe it or not you're not the only candidate we have."

"There's not time. I'm right here," John growled impatiently.

Weir looked over at the Colonel sharply. His face was gaunt from lack of sleep but his eyes were hard and determined.

John didn't take his eyes off of Carson. "I'm fine," he added.

Carson shook his head. "No John, you're not. You need rest, and as soon as I'm done with Kai I'm going to be taking a look at that shoulder you haven't bothered to say anything about yet."

John grunted in annoyance.

"Be a dear and fetch Private Rogers," Carson said turning to another of the nurses. She nodded quickly and disappeared out of the door.

"Rogers?" John asked.

"Aye," Carson agreed. "The only other person other than you and I who are Universal Blood Donors as well as being natural carriers of the gene."

"Will that be enough?" Elizabeth asked as she stared down at Kai.

Carson pressed his lips together grimly. "I'll run a compatability test on the sample to make sure she won't have a reaction." 

Carson stepped up to Kai and drew a vial of her blood handing it off to one of the techs. "We need to have that prepped for testing as soon as Rogers gets here." The tech nodded and strode quickly out of the exam room towards the lab. 

"I thought you said there was no time?" John growled impatiently. That feeling in his chest continued to grow weaker and weaker. It had him feeling almost irrationally frantic. He didn't even know what it meant. 

"There's not much," Carson agreed. "But are only other options are you and me. She can hold on a little longer."

"Damnit Doc I'm standing right here."

"You're exhausted. You've unknown injuries you haven't let us look at and haven't eaten anything but powerbars and MRE's for almost two weeks," Carson responded indignantly. "I won't risk one patient for the life of another

John's mouth flattened into an angry line. "I can take it," John growled taking an aggressive step towards Carson.

Weir's eyes widened. John wasn't normally aggressive. In fact, he was one of the most laid back military commanders she had ever worked with. But now his eyes were snapping with temper and his hands were balled into fists. Something had happened on that planet that had the Colonel on edge. 

The tension was broken by the woosh of the sliding door. "Doctor Carson, Private Rogers is still offworld with Sergeant Bates team."

Carson grimaced, muttering under his breath and he started shrugging out of his lab coat.

"Doctor Carson," Weir said sharply. She looked back at John. She understood Carson's hesitation, John looked like hell and they all knew he wouldn't hesitate to risk his life for a member of his team, but he and Kai had barely been on speaking terms before they left. She trusted John to know his limits.

Carson looked back from Weir to John in dismay. Then he swore loud and long, making even John's eyebrows lift.

"Get a sample," he ordered one of the nurses gruffly as he motioned to the Colonel.

"You said we're out of time," John growled.

"Are you Doctor?" Carson challenged. "Have you ever seen someone die from a non-compatible transfusion? Because I have. Kai might die from the blood she's lost and from the infection, but she'd have a chance to fight. She will die from a bad transfusion."

John nodded grimly. The urgency in his body to do something to protect Kai was almost overwhelming. He wasn't a man used to having a lack of control. They had been through too much for her to die now. Not when he could do something. He had himself in lock down. He couldn't let himself give in to the unfamiliar emotions that were racing through him. 

"Run the test," Carson ordered his nurse a second time.

The nurse moved to get a chair for him but John stepped forward holding out his left arm. The nurse glanced nervously towards Carson for confirmation that she should yield to their difficult patient. Carson exhaled and shook his head exhaustedly. The nurse easily found a vein and drew a small vial of blood before moving over to the lab area.

Carson turned to the members of John's team who were sitting silently against the wall. "One of you run down to the mess and get him some food. Orange juice, leafy greens-spinach, as much protein as possible."

Teyla nodded, bowing her head respectfully before she slipped out of the door to follow the doctor's orders. 

"What now?" Weir asked tightly.

Carson pressed his lips together grimly. "We wait for the results. It'll probably twenty minutes or so. I don't suppose you'll let me examine you while we wait?" he asked turning to John.

John glanced towards Carson but didn't both responding.

"Right," Carson muttered. "Nothing to do then but wait."

They all stood around staring down at Kai. John crossed and uncrossed his arms over his chest impatiently. He wasn't good at standing around and even less good at feeling helpless. 

Kai rolled over in her sleep reaching towards the left with her free hand, mumbling John's name under her breath. Carson's eyes rose to his hairline and he glanced back towards Sheppard and Weir. Weir's jaw tightened and she glanced towards John for his reaction. He stood stiff and straight and if she didn't know him better she would have said he didn't hear it. But there was a tightening to his jaw that made her think otherwise. He was also still behaving strangely.

Carson noticed it immediately. Every time someone entered or moved John made subtle shifts to keep his body between Kai and the rest of the room. Carson recognizes the gesture though it wasn't one he would have expected from the Colonel. It said a lot about what the two of them must have endured. The Colonel's protective instincts were still in overdrive despite being home. He was hyper focused and exhausted. He needed rest not to further tax his body.

"Test results are negative," the nurse called back from the opposite end of the room.

John tightened fear spiking through his body. He had failed her.

"Good," Carson called authoritatively. "Let's do this," he said turning to John. When he saw the look of defeat on the Colonel's face he frowned. "Unless you've changed your mind."

"But-" John started to say.

"If the test was positive the transfusion would be non-compatible," Carson clarified, motioning to a chair beside the bed. Carson and his people moved quickly to get everything set up. John's body was exhausted and he hadn't fully felt the depth of it until he sat down. He turned his arm upside down on the chair rest and pliantly let the nurses move and adjust him as necessary. He didn't so much as grimace as they expertly slid the needle into his vein.

They had a harder time with Kai. They kept mumbling things about how low her blood pressure was and it took several tries. John never took his tired, gritty eyes from her face. The only signs of life had been earlier when she had shifted, now she lay prone as they repeatedly stabbed into her arm. He didn't know how, but he could almost feel her fading.

"Got it!" the nurse called triumphantly.

Carson nodded grimly and started the machine hanging on the IV tree between them. John looked down at the blood flowing out of his body and into hers. "Right," Carson said briskly. "This'll take maybe ten minutes."

"That's it?" Sheppard asked turning back to Carson.

Carson grunted. "Legally I'm only allowed to take 350 ml."

"Well the FDA is a little far away just now. How much does she need?"

Carson looked ready to argue. "I'll not take more than a pint," he growled. "Any more than that and you'll be on the floor."

John nodded and leaned back in his chair, relaxing for the first time as he watched the blood run through the clear plastic tubing.

A few minutes later Teyla appeared with a tray.

"Good," Carson said nodding. "Now get eating," he ordered pointing a finger at Sheppard and moved off. 

Sheppard lifted his free hand up in surrender as Teyla set the tray down beside him. "Thanks Teyla," he said gently.

Teyla laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She glanced towards the others in the room but they weren't paying any attention to the two of them. "She's strong Colonel," Teyla assured him quietly.

John tore his gaze away from Kai to nod up at Teyla. She smiled gently at whatever she saw on his face. He cleared his throat and looked away uncomfortably. He picked up the turkey sandwich Teyla had brought him nodding in thanks.

"Knowing Kai as we do, I believe we can all be assured she will not give up now that she home."

John snorted as he finished his sandwich and downed the glass of orange juice. "She hasn't woken up. She doesn't know we aren't still out in the damn Jump," he grumbled. He was starting to feel the effects of giving blood now, and he was glad Carson had insisted he eat something.

Teyla trailed her hand down John's arm and very gently lifted his hand so it covered Kai's. "I believe she knows you are with her," Teyla said and she squeezed Sheppard's hand once before stepping back and leaving him alone. 

John looked down where his hand covered Kai's much smaller one. There was a small pulse in the center of his chest. He pulled his hand back quickly and stared down at her in shock. That really was her, it had to be. He scrubbed at his face. He was too tired to be having these thoughts, none of it made sense. It was impossible. 

"Alright," Carson's voice made him jump. He reached up to the tree between his two patients and turned off the machine. He reached down and slid the IV out of each of their arms, binding their wounds.

"Did it work?" Sheppard asked after a few moments.

Carson looked over the beeping machines nodded. "We've done all we can for her. The rest is up to her," he said. "Now, can I please take a look at you?"

John nodded and stood slowly. His body was weak and sluggish, but he wasn't about to say anything to Carson about it. He let Carson lead him to the next gurney down and begin his examination.

They had done all they could.

><><

Chapter 47

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It was another hour before Beckett was satisfied with Kai's vitals to go to bed himself. He turned to see John, Teyla, Weir and surprisingly McKay still waiting. "She's stable," he promised them. "Now she just needs rest," his eyes cut to the Colonel who looked half asleep on his feet. "I think you should all get some sleep yourselves."

The others turned to go, but John hadn't moved from his place beside the bed. He was staring at the screen of Kai's vitals where they beeped quietly. Every minute that passed since the transfusion the weak pressure in his chest had grown infinitesimally. He didn't know if it was real what it meant, or if it was just his overtired mind playing tricks on him but it felt incredible. He would have been content to stand there all night. He realized in that moment how convinced he had been that he was feeling Kai die over the last few days.

"Colonel," Beckett's voice was gentle as he stepped up next to the other man. Beckett was sure what it was, but there was something between the normally emotionally elusive Colonel and Kai.

John jolted from his thoughts as though he had just noticed Beckett. He scrubbed at his eyes and shook off his thoughts. "Yeah Doc?"

"You should get some rest Colonel," Beckett advised kindly.

John knew Beckett was right, but there was a part of him that didn't want to leave. The feeling was incredible and he knew if he left now there was a chance it wouldn't come back. Something must have shown on his face because Weir stepped up next to him, her eyes narrowed.

"John," she said briskly. "I would like to have a word with you in my office."

John scrubbed at his face once more and followed Weir out of the infirmary. It was harder to leave her behind than it should have been. He wasn't sure why he was suddenly feeling this way. He wasn't emotional, not ever. He needed to get himself together.

Once they were in the privacy of Elizabeth's office she turned back around to face the Colonel. "Do you want to tell me what in the hell happened on the planet?" she asked sharply.

John frowned at her outburst but didn't rise to it, a sure sign of exactly how tired he really was. "I'll get you a mission report in the morn-" he started to say.

Weir stood up. "No, I mean personally. What happened out there between you and Kai?" Elizabeth didn't mean to sound so accusatory, but there was something going on. John wasn't acting like himself.

John pulled back, scowling at Elizabeth. "Nothing," he snapped defensively.

"Really? Because what happened down in that infirmary didn't look like nothing. You ignored medical advice and a direct order."

John scrubbed at his gritty eyes. "It's been a long ten days. She's a member of my team. I may be feeling a bit punchy," he allowed.

"She's not a member of your team," Elizabeth corrected. "And honestly knowing the two of you were alone together for nearly a week- we were taking bets if you would still be alive at the end of it."

John frowned. "We're both highly trained-"

"I meant that you would kill each other. You two were fighting like cats and dogs before you left and then you were stranded alone for nearly a week. What happened out there?" She asked again only this time it was softer, more gentle.

John scrubbed at his face. "Well pretty much the usual. There's nothing like injuries, starving, dehydration and being ruthlessly hunted by the Wraith to forge a friendship."

Weir snorted. There was more to the story, more to the Colonel's gut reaction in the infirmary, but she wouldn't push. He had said he made Kai a promise. John Sheppard took that kind of thing seriously. "Well I'm glad you're both home safe. I don't know who was more beside themselves, Rodney or Zelenka."

John smiled tiredly.

"Go get a shower and some sleep Colonel. You have a big report to write tomorrow."

John sighed. "Yes ma'am," and he turned to head towards his quarters.

The quiet of his room felt odd after being with Kai constantly for the last week and a half. He pulled off his vest and weapons, setting them on his dresser. He frowned when he realized he still had Kai's Blade. He looked down at the elegant black knife. He ran his hands over it as he remembered the strange feeling when he first took it from her. Nothing like that had happened with the knife since. He needed to get it back to her. He set it down on his night stand and moved to the shower, shedding the remains of his tattered uniform.

He was so exhausted and the warm water felt amazing. Whether it was oversight or dumb luck Beckett hadn't taken him off the active duty roster, so it was back to work in the morning. He fell into his bed and slept harder than he had in a long time.

><><

The overhead light was blinding as Kai slowly blinked her eyes awake.

"Hello Kai," Teyla greeted gently.

Kai went to move her hand up to cup her pounding head but it tangled in the IV lines. She lowered her hand and looked back at Teyla. "What happened?"

"You're home. You're safe," Teyla assured her with a warm smile. Teyla turned over her shoulder. "Get Doctor Beckett please!" She called out.

The words home and safe triggered something inside Kai. She jerked fully awake, blinking away the last bits of sleep. Sitting on the stand beside the bed was her Blade resting on a folded piece of dark fabric.

Her eyes widened when she remembered John had been carrying her blade. She fought to sit up. "Where's John?" she asked urgently. Her last memories were of them being on the jumper, but so much could have gone wrong.

Teyla shifted uncomfortably. "The Colonel is-"

Kai reached out with her free hand and grabbed Teyla. "Where is he?" Kai asked almost desperately.

Teyla had never seen this level of emotion from the other woman. She frowned, glancing towards Beckett who had just stepped in the room.

"I'd imagine he's in the middle of a debriefing right now lass," Beckett said soothingly. "He just got back from being off world today. He's doing his job. And your job is to lie here and let me take a look at you."

Beckett quickly went over her vitals and the scans. He seemed pleased with the results. "You've recovered faster than I expected," he said.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"A couple days," Beckett told her. He looked over the data on his tablet. "I'm going to release you, but you are not clear for duty," he warned. "I think you will get more restful sleep in your quarters and that's what you need. Your injury that you and the Colonel sealed developed a massive infection which turned into blood poisoning. We performed surgery and you shouldn't have any long term damage to the muscle. You'll need to continue the antibiotics for several more days, but after surgery and a transfusion from the Colonel you seem to be well on the road to recovery. You also have some cracked ribs, and it appears as though your cheekbone was fractured. Both are healing nicely."

Kai nodded. "Thank you," she said.

Beckett nodded. "Come see me tomorrow afternoon to check in. I'll send a nurse over to remove your IV and get you discharged," he said with a kind smile and he left them alone.

"How are you? Teyla asked, stepping close to Kai's bed.

"I'm fine," Kai said exasperatedly, but she settled back against the pillows. The relief of knowing John was safe nearly made her light headed. Seeing her Blade combined with Teyla's gentle bedside manner had her convinced something had happened to him and now she was embarrassed.

"I thought-" she started to say by way of explanation her eyes flickering to where her knife rested on the dark fabric.

Teyla's eyes were gentle with understanding and she reached out picking up the fabric and the Blade holding it out to Kai. "The Colonel returned your weapon yesterday."

Kai unfolded the fabric to find it was a scarf similar to the one she had lost. It was beautifully crafted midnight blue, so dark it looked black in the dim lights of the infirmary. She held the soft fabric in her hands and looked up at Teyla with questioning eyes.

Teyla shifted uncomfortably. "The Colonel mentioned you lost your scarf..." Teyla said with a small knowing look. "He...found this one when we were off world yesterday."

Kai tightened her grip on the scarf as the nurse pulled her IV. Teyla walked with her back towards the living section. Kai moved slowly and her leg bothered her, but Teyla didn't seem to mind as she updated her on everything that had been happening over the last couple of days. Teyla waited until Kai was inside her quarters before heading back to her own. Kai appreciated her friends concern, but she wanted some time alone.

Kai showered and changed into comfortable leggings and long sleeve t-shirt. She looped the new scarf around her neck. The scent of citrus and spices filled her nose and reminded her of Sheppard. She knew she was supposed to sleep, but she had been sleeping for days. Her stomach grumbled loudly and with nothing better to do she headed through the dark hallways to the mess hall.

She was surprised to find the lights on considering it was nearly midnight. She moved toward the kitchen and frowned as she thought she recognized the movement of the person inside.

"Can't sleep?" Kai called playfully from the doorway.

John was standing over the stove. He was still wearing most of his tactical gear minus his weapons. Based on what Teyla told her he had just recently returned from an off-world mission. "Hey, good to see you up and about," John greeted with a tired smile.

"Yeah, Doctor Beckett cleared me a couple hours ago. Couldn't sleep though, thought I would grab a snack." Kai didn't know why but she suddenly felt incredibly awkward. They had been through hell together. Now, seeing him here like this felt strange and she didn't quite know what to say. She owed him her life

John flashed her an easy smile. "Well, you're in luck. I happen to be making a snack," John said turning back to the stove. "Pull up a seat, if you're really nice to me I might just be persuaded to share." John said gesturing to the counter with the spoon he was using.

A small smile tugged at Kai's face despite herself and just like that John's easy going nature put her at ease. Kai moved into the room and jumped up onto the counter beside the stove. She grunted as it twinged painfully on her leg and ribs, but she didn't let it show on her face.

She turned her attention to the food. "What exactly is it you are trying to make?" Kai asked, frowning into the pot.

"Hey," John said jokingly swinging the spoon at her. "Back up."

Kai leaned back, scrunching up her nose. "I don't think-"

"It's rice," John said defensively. "It's not that hard."

Kai made a noise in the back of her throat and hopped down, landing most of her weight on her good leg. "Move," she said moving towards the stove.

"Hey," John grumbled playfully. "I'm trying to cook here."

"Trying yes," Kai agreed, she bumped her hip playfully into John's. "Move over," she said reaching for the spoon.

"Hey," John exclaimed in mock outrage, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face. These small moments were so rare with Kai

Kai snatched the spoon from his fingers. "Let me," she opened the lid to the pot and sniffed delicately. "What seasonings did you add?" she asked with a small frown of concentration.

"Seasonings?" John asked, hopping up onto her place on the counter.

Kai rolled her eyes and moved into the spice shelf. She scooped out a handful of bottles, sniffing several before adding them. Then she stirred it.

"Are you sure-" John started to ask suspiciously

Kai scowled at him. "This is similar to a dish from my home world. I'm sure."

"I just don't think that-"

Kai leveled a glare at him. "Could you try not arguing with me for five minutes?" she gripped.

"Could you?" he challenged, a small smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth.

Kai scowled again but she enjoyed the banter. The Colonel was quick and funny and it was a relief to know that what happened on the planet hadn't ruined this part of their friendship. She dipped the spoon into the rice and lifted it out. She blew on it before shoving it into Sheppard's mouth.

He coughed and wheezed before chewing. After a moment, he looked surprised. "That's actually pretty good."

"Of course it's good," Kai replied. She stood on tip toes to pull down two bowls and dished them each up a sizable helping. "Come on," she said heading out of the kitchen.

John followed her curiously. She was limping on her bad leg, but she didn't seem bothered. He watched her carefully, but other than the slight limp she was doing a rather impressive job of concealing any pain she might be in. Of course now that he knew where that skill came from it only renewed his anger on her behalf.

Kai moved out of the dining hall and took a transporter down to the bottom of the city. A door opened to a balcony he had never used before. It was low, barely a story above the crashing waves. Kai hopped up on the railing, hanging her feet over the roiling ocean and started eating from her bowl.

John smiled and followed suit

They ate in silence, each tangled in their own thoughts but somehow comforted by the silent presence of the other. It had been a long time since a mission got him so worked up. The truth was he had fallen asleep just fine each night since they got back, but nightmares of being stuck on that planet and watching Kai die over and over had tormented him.

"You come here often?" John asked.

Kai set her bowl aside and drew her legs up to her chest. It pulled at the stitches in her thigh, but it was comforting. She laid her cheek against her knees and inhaled the salty sea air. "I like the ocean. My world was a desert."

John nodded and finished his food. It was peaceful here and he found himself relaxing for the first time in almost two weeks. He took her bowl and his and set it down near the door then returned to stand at the railing beside her.

John glanced towards her. She was softer now than he had ever seen her. The scarf he had gotten her was looped around her neck and it made something strangely possessive tighten in his chest. In a way it marker her as his and he fought back the memories of what it felt like to hold her while she slept.

Kai noticed John's gaze and she fidgeted with her hands nervously under the intensity of his gaze. When his eyes flitted over the scarf her hands touched it. "Thank you," she said, gazing down at the waves. "Teyla said you-"

John stiffened. "Well I-" he interrupted and they both stopped for a moment.

He cleared his throat and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I know you liked your old one, and Walker had to cut it to get it off," he said, looking away awkwardly. He was normally good at this type of thing. He was great at talking to women, but Kai wasn't like anyone he had ever met. She mattered. "I just...I saw that one and thought of you..." he cleared his throat.

Kai was touched. The Colonel wasn't the type of man to buy someone gifts. It was both out of character and incredibly thoughtful. "Thank you," she said quickly reaching up and touching the fabric knowing she would treasure it.

John was staring at the scarf instead of letting himself look into her face. He reached out and his fingers lightly touched the fabric. The feeling in the center of his chest grew. Kai's storm colored eyes were staring at his face but he couldn't let himself look at her. She was so close. He wanted to reach out and touch her like he had on the planet, but now they were back on Atlantis and things were different. They had to be.

Kai felt the hard nudge and knew it was him. Try as she might there was just no denying it. She licked her lips as his fingers touched the soft midnight fabric. She could feel his heat as he stood close. She knew she should slam the psychic link closed between them but she was still feeling raw and allowed herself this one indulgence.

She glanced up at him and saw his jaw tighten as he stared down where his hands were touching the material. His handsome face was drawn and serious and she clenched her hand into a fist to keep herself from tracing the strong line of his jaw with her fingers. They were so close, it would take less than a second to close the distance and kiss him. Her eyes dropped to his lips and then jerked back up to his eyes. He was watching her now and her heart started to thud loudly in her chest.

"Kai-" his voice was low and husky as he stared deeply into her eyes. "I-" he started to say and then he pressed his lips together grimly and his jaw tightened. He didn't pull away physically, but she could feel him pulling back nonetheless as he came to his senses.

There were so many reasons why she couldn't do this. She couldn't allow herself to feel these things for someone she could never be with, and he could never be with someone like her. He was commanding officer here. He was from Earth. He was human and she was Mortii. Chances were the Bond was nothing but her biological clock ticking and him being the closest genetic match due to the ATA gene. No one really knew how it worked, and she refused to allow herself to be controlled by some tribal Mortii telepathic trick. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and instead of slamming the door she closed it incrementally, drawing herself away from the comfort of John.

John frowned as that feeling in his chest faded, but didn't comment on it. Instead he cleared his throat and stepped back, putting much needed distance between them. It felt like he couldn't catch his breath and he turned his attention back out to the waves. Even though she was still standing beside him, it felt like she was miles away.

Kai was too much of a coward to ask if he felt anything once she shut down the connection completely. She felt exhausted, like she had been hollowed out. "I should head to bed," Kai said quietly, feeling like a coward. She knew she wouldn't sleep, but she couldn't stay here either.

"Absolutely, sleep well Zian," John's voice was low and gravely and she hurried through the door without looking back.

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Beckett cleared Kai for part-time work after the first week, but he steadfastly refused to clear her for active duty despite her ability to pass his tests. Kai couldn't be sure, but she thought maybe the good doctor blamed himself somehow for what happened after he cleared her for duty to go to Lodan. She couldn't think of a way to explain to him that none of her injuries were his fault, but if she did she would have repeated it to Colonel Sheppard. Since the evening on the balcony the Colonel had kept his distance, keeping things strictly professional, but she could tell he felt guilty for how long it was taking her to heal from her injuries.

A week and a half after they returned Kai headed down to the gym. She wasn't cleared yet, but she was done with sitting still. She needed to move to clear her head and get her mind off of the Colonel. There was nothing between them, but mutual respect and friendship, and if she kept repeating that to herself she was convinced she might one day believe it.

The door to the sparring room hissed open and she froze when she recognized the wide, black clad shoulders of the Colonel. He was facing the other way doing sit up punches. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder when he heard the door.

"Zian," he greeted, climbing to his feet.

"Colonel," she nodded respectfully. "I was just-"

"Are you-" they stumbled over one another and John shifted his weight restlessly. Sometimes it was so easy to talk to Kai, but lately he couldn't seem to manage even a simple conversation without making a fool of himself.

Kai cleared her throat. "I was looking for Teyla," she explained.

John nodded. "She's over on the mainland for the rest of the week," he said. "Some ceremony for the harvest," he explained.

Kai bit her lip as she fought to contain her disappointment. She couldn't just go back and sit in the lab until Beckett arbitrarily decided enough time had passed.

"Anything I can help you with?" John asked, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"I was just hoping to begin working with her to build strength in my leg," Kai said turning for the door.

"Kai!" John called after her. John wanted to bite his tongue. All the work he had done to put distance between them and keep things professional were going down drain

Kai froze, the Colonel almost never used her first name, she turned to face him arching an eyebrow.

"Look, I'm bad at this," he said quickly. "Things have been weird since the planet and I'm sorry. It's probably my fault," he added. "I'm not Teyla, but if you want someone to work out with. You could spar with me," he offered. "I mean I know you're hurt, but if you promise to go easy on me..." he dragged off flashing her a teasing grin as he fought to fix whatever was broken between them. He couldn't be with her the way he wanted, but that didn't mean they couldn't be friends.

Kai pressed her lips together. She should pass on the Colonel's offer, and maintain the professional distance he had established between them. She meant to say no, but instead when he flashed her that boyish grin she found herself agreeing to work with him.

><><

Chapter 48

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Runner
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Kai stood in the gym in a crouch as John paced around her on the mats. In their limited spare time they had been sparing almost every day for a month since they had been stranded on the planet together. They were fairly evenly matched most days; Kai was faster, but John was stronger.

John charged her first, as usual losing his patience before she did. He swung at her and she ducked easily under his arm, twisting around with her back flat against his chest. She grabbed his off arm aiming to twist it behind him. He followed her motion however instead of letting her gain leverage he pulled back at the last second and kicked at her legs. Kai was half a second too late and had to throw herself across the mats to avoid to Colonel's grip. She rolled and came up in a crouch, a pleased smile on her face.

Kai enjoyed sparing with Teyla, but Teyla was entirely focused and almost cold, it reminded Kai too much of training back in the Academy. John however was fun. All of his good humor and passion showed up on the mat. He was focused but never seemed to take anything too seriously and never lost his temper. It was an interesting change from the people she used to spar with back at home.

Kai studied him, waiting for him to make his next move. She watched his hands and shoulders, waiting for some indication he was about to launch into motion. Instead of immediately attacking again he was watching her as well, waiting. His black t-shirt clung to his muscular chest and his hazel eyes were sparkling with excitement. It was distracting.

John would never admit it, but since Kai had confided in him about her past, he had always been a little careful when he sparred with her. He never wanted to do anything to ever give her a reason to be afraid of him, but that didn't mean he went easy on her. He knew if she ever suspected he wasn't giving one hundred percent every time they stepped on the mats she wouldn't come back. She never gave an inch.

Kai was staring at him, but seemed distracted and John took advantage. He slid across the mats faster than she anticipated. Instead of striking her, however, he wrapped an arm around her waist and moved as though he were going to slam her back down against the mat. He twisted at the last minute, shielding her from the full force of the impact. He pinned her with his forearm sideways across her collarbones rather than her throat.

He and Kai were both fighting to catch their breath, both of their chests moved up and down together. John froze as he stared down at her in surprise He could keep up with her most days, but it was rare for him to pin her. He flashed her a triumphant smile. "Gotcha," he grinned.

Kai was panting as she inwardly cursed herself. She had let herself become distracted and The Colonel had taken full advantage. Her instructors would have been incredibly disappointed in her. She stared up into his eyes from only inches away and he continued to smirk down at her. She scowled at him and coiled her muscles as she prepared to throw him off of her.

His comm activated. "Colonel Sheppard come in," Elizabeth's voice was loud enough for Kai to hear as well.

John's focus shifted for one moment and Kai moved, flipping him off of her. John hit the mat hard and lay beside her. "Ouch," he grumbled and he reached up to activate his comm. "This is Sheppard," he said through a grimace. He turned to face Kai who was crouching beside him. She smirked back at him.

"Gotcha," she mouthed silently.

Kai's eyes were sparkling with challenge. A single strand of long dark hair pulled free from her braid. Her muscles were coiled, ready to strike once more. John tried to maintain his scowl, but he couldn't hold back a smile as he stared up at her.

Elizabeth's voice was tense. "John, you better get up here. Major Lorne has just radioed in from P3M-736. He found a dead Wraith."

John scowled. It was rare he took personal time and he hated it when it was interrupted. "Good for him," he snapped back. "Make sure the kid writes home about it."

There was a pause and Kai could practically feel Weir taking a deep breath and choosing not to rise to the Colonel's biting sarcasm. "The enzyme sack has been removed from its left arm," she explained calmly.

John sat up so fast all the blood rushed out of his head. He blinked a few times as he climbed to his feet, already heading towards the door. "I'm taking my team-"

"I already informed Rodney and Teyla," Weir responded.

"We'll be ready to leave in 30," he said clicking off the comm. His eyes flitted back to Kai who was on her feet now, frowning as she shamelessly eavesdropped on his conversation.

"Ford." she said in a low voice.

John nodded his expression grim.

"Let me know if you need any help." She told him sincerely. Despite being cleared for almost a month the Colonel had yet to assign her to an off world mission. His team was short one person but he hadn't brought up and she didn't push for the spot. She hadn't felt any thing from the telepathic connection since she last closed herself off but she didn't want to risk it.

"Will do," John agreed briskly. He snatched up his backpack and gestured to the room. "Rain check?" He asked. "I mean I did almost beat you this time," despite the seriousness of the situation he couldn't resist teasing Kai.

Kai snorted and shook her head. "In your dreams Colonel," she teased.

John nodded and hurried out the door, his mind already focused on finding Ford.

><><

The mission had been a disaster. Sheppard was back on Atlantis explaining to Weir that not only had they found no evidence of Ford other than a strangers description, but Lorne had lost McKay and Teyla was being held hostage by an unknown solider who with every passing second stood a greater chance of drawing the Wraith down on all of them.

Weir looked unimpressed as she steepled her fingers in front of her mouth. "Let me get this straight. You want to take Doctor Beckett off world to perform surgery on a man who is holding Teyla hostage?" she clarified. The Colonel had come up with some fairly far-fetched plans in the past but this one was over-the-top even for him.

John nodded slowly recognizing how crazy it sounded when she said it like that. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"And you want to send Kai in to assist with surgery? Kai?" She asked again, her eyebrows lifting in disbelief. "The last time I checked she specialized in putting holes into people. Not fixing them."

John grunted. "Look," He said leaning forward. "I can't send in a marine. This guy, he's going to be able to smell military a mile away."

Weir frowned. "Kai isn't exactly unassuming," she pointed out bridging her hands together.

John nodded slowly, sensing Weir's disbelief. "You haven't seen her in the field. She can be when needed."

"Has she been cleared medically?" Weir asked. The plan was ludicrous. They still didn't know for sure it was Lieutenant Ford on the planet.

John pressed his lips together. He squirmed in his chair like a kid in the principles office. "She was cleared three weeks ago."

Elizabeth nodded slowly. It surprised her to hear that John hadn't assigned Kai to any missions when she had been cleared so long ago. She wondered if the fact that Kai had been injured twice recently was making him gun shy about putting her in the field.

John made an impatient sound in the back of his throat. The longer they took here, the longer Teyla was at the mercy of a stranger with a gun. "Look if nothing else, she is small, female and she will be there to back up Beckett if things go sideways." Sensing Elizabeth was wavering he pushed on. "You haven't seen this guy. He's huge, he would never consider Kai a threat. She's the perfect Trojan horse."

Weir sighed and rubbed her temple. "Fine," she agreed. "But only if Beckett and Kai agree."

John shoved himself to his feet and was already moving towards the door. "Great," he called over his shoulder already hurrying towards the infirmary.

><><

"This is a joke right?" Beckett asked after John explained the situation.

"I'm afraid not Doc," John said with a grim shake of his head.

"You want me to go to an alien planet and perform complicated surgery on an armed man holding Teyla hostage. Only instead of getting a real, useful, surgical assistant I will have Kai undercover in case this gentleman decides to attack us?"

"Something like that," John said with a shrug."We're on a clock here doc. The Wraith could show up at any minute."

"Oh, it's getting better all the time," Carson snapped sarcastically. "Have you found Lieutenant Ford yet?"

"No, I haven't told you about McKay yet either. Come on, pack up what you need," Sheppard encouraged moving towards the door. Time was of the essence and he still needed to convince Zian.

Carson sighed and turned back to the shelf. "I don't think an operating room and a bloody army will fit through the gate."

"How about a field kit and a retired intergalactic super assassin?" John offered.

Carson pursed his lips as he jerked his field kit off the shelf. "I guess it'll have to do."

><><

John found Kai in the jumper bay. He quickly started to explain the situation and she agreed before he even finished. "Of course," she said with a nod. "What do you need?"

Kai couldn't help feeling like Ford was unfinished business. It had been her fault he managed to escape Atlantis in that jumper and she welcomed the chance to try and make it right.

John pulled out one of the medics jackets so Kai would match Beckett and held it out to her. She snorted and took it down to the locker room to quickly gear up. She knotted her new scarf around her neck mostly under the jacket.

Beckett was loading the last of his supplies when Kai strode up the ramp and took the empty co-pilots chair beside the Colonel. She was a little surprised to note that Major Lorne was sitting behind the Colonel instead of acting as co-pilot but Sheppard nodded in approval when she sat down beside him.

John started the launch sequence and glanced towards Kai. "Teyla said he's something called a runner. Is that like what happened to you?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head. She had heard legends of runners but never met one in person. "I was left as a sacrifice to the Wraith. A runner is something else all together."

There was a hint of reverence in Kai's voice that had John even more on edge. Teyla hadn't gone into detail about what being a Runner meant, but he had a feeling it was especially badass.

Once they were through the gate Sheppard set down the jumper. He led the way, hiking through the woods. Once they were close he slowed and activated his radio. "Teyla this is Sheppard come in."

Kai could see the lines of stress around the Colonel's eyes and mouth. John was laid back and easy going most of the time, except when it came to his people's safety. He had always seemed especially protective of Teyla, and Kai knew how difficult it must have been for him to leave her behind.

"Go ahead Colonel," her voice came back sounding normal. Kai strained her senses but she couldn't hear anything else in the background of the radio.

"You okay?" Sheppard asked suspiciously.

"Yes, we are fine," she said soothingly.

John's lips pressed into a grim line but he had no choice but to take her at her word. There wasn't much he could do about it. "I'm here with Doctor Beckett and Nurse Zian. They are coming in with their supplies."

There was a brief pause before Teyla's voice came back. "Ronon would like me to remind you that Doctor Beckett and Nurse Zian remain unarmed."

John clicked off the comm and turned back to Beckett and Kai lifting his eyebrows meaningfully.

"I don't have anything," Beckett said unnecessarily.

John hadn't really thought Beckett was going to be the problem out of the two of them. He turned to Kai. Kei exhaled impatiently and pulled her side arm, and blade. She held them out to the Colonel. He arched a brow at her and she made a noise of impatience in the back of her throat and she drew another knife from her boot.

"Any others?" he asked.

"Just two, but he won't find them," she promised him with a gleam of challenge in her eye.

John smirked back at her knowingly but didn't argue. He peaked through the vegetation towards the cave then turned back to Beckett. "For what it's worth, I would never send you in there if I thought that guy was going to hurt you."

"Is that opinion based on some sort of evidence, or is it just a gut feeling that this gentleman isn't dangerous?" Beckett responded briskly.

Sheppard's eyebrows rose innocently. "I didn't say he wasn't dangerous. He could probably kill you in the blink of an eye," John shrugged. "But I don't think he will."

"Well thank you, I feel much better now," Beckett snapped sarcastically as he turned back to the clearing.

John pressed his lips together and turned to Kai. "I'll be right up there," John promised her. He motioned to the ridge along the south side of the clearing and hoisted the sniper rifle he had been carrying.

For her part, Kai didn't look at all concerned. She just nodded as her shrewd eyes took in their surroundings.

"Be safe," he told her.

Kai turned to face him. She could see in his hazel eyes how much he hated sending them in alone. His jaw tightened as he glanced over her shoulder to where Beckett was waiting. He leaned his head in so Beckett wouldn't overhear them. "This guy's tough, watch him." John warned. "If anything smells funny to you, take him out," he said grimly. "Making friends is great, but I'm not willing to risk you," Sheppard cleared his throat when he realized how that sounded. "Any of you," he quickly added.

Kai nodded and flashed him a confident smile. "We'll be okay."

Beckett led the way while Kai trailed behind, carrying two large cases that made her look that much smaller. As soon as Kai caught sight of him there was no doubt in her mind this man was a warrior.

He was taller than the Colonel by several inches, and broader. He wore homemade armor that seemed to be patched together with bits he had collected over time. His hair fell to his shoulders in roping dreadlocks and his skin was smeared with dirt. Most importantly, his hand was absolutely steady as he pointed the gun at Teyla.

"Hello," Beckett greeted nervously. "I don't normally make house calls like this, but then again this isn't really a house is it?"

"What's in the cases?" The man asked, his eyes flitting over the two of them.

Beckett cleared his throat. "Surgical impliments, diagnostic tools and various drugs. Analgesics, antibiotics-"

"What?" he asked, frowning as he motioned Teyla towards them with the gun.

"Ronon," Teyla said formally. "May I introduce Doctor Carson Beckett. Doctor Beckett. This is Specialist Ronon Dex."

As much as Kai wished Teyla hadn't been put in the position to be held hostage she had to admit there probably wasn't anyone else on Atlantis who could have handled the situation better. As usual Teyla was incredibly calm and seemed to have gained the man's trust in the short time they had been together.

"Pleasure," Carson said briskly, moving around him to set up his cases on the large boulders.

Teyla turned to face Kai. "Ronon, this is Nurse Kai Zian."

Ronon Dex turned his considerable focus to Kai. Kai for her part didn't squirm under his intense gaze, but she couldn't help feeling as though he saw straight through her. He looked her up and down. His eyes touching on her hands and shoulders. He was studying the way she moved and carried herself as much as what she was actually doing. Kai could appreciate exactly how good he was. It wasn't luck that had allowed Specialist Ronon Dex to gain the upper hand over Teyla and Sheppard not once but twice.

Ronon nodded to her and Kai nodded back.

Oblivious, Beckett slapped open his surgical case. "I understand that you have some kind of transmitter in your back. Have a seat. Off with your shirt and let's have a look."

Ronon gestured Teyla to move with the gun. She did as she was told. He sat down where Beckett indicated. Ronon looked back and forth between Teyla and Kai. "Little help?" he asked, making it clear he wasn't about to put the gun down.

Kai's eyes flickered for a second to Teyla before she complied. She was posing as a nurse, and even one from an expedition like their's should be a little nervous in the face of a man like Ronon. She lifted off his bandoleer of weapons and her fingers found the laces on the side of his armor under his arm. She unlaced them quickly and lifted it off of him piece by piece until he sat before them shirtless.

His chest was wide and muscular but there were scars across the middle where a Wraith had fed on him. He glanced up at Kai and shifted uncomfortably, looking strangely self-conscious to be sitting in front of them bare chested. Kai quickly looked away, respecting his privacy as much as she was able. She moved around to stand behind him next to Beckett.

Beckett froze as he looked down at Ronon's back. "My god," he muttered. "Tell me you didn't try to cut this thing out yourself."

Ronon stiffened, and Kai noted his hands clenched into fists though his tone remained casual. "Yeah, I tried once with a mirror. Couldn't quite reach. Most of it's from two different Doctors."

Beckett scoffed in disbelief. "No one I know who calls himself a Doctor would do this. Nurse," he said turning to Kai. "Hand me the scanner please dear."

Kai moved the wand over Ronon's back while Beckett studied the screen.

"That ancestor technology?" he asked, his eyes settling on Kai.

"That it is," Beckett said without looking up from the screen. Once satisfied he knew the location he lowered the screen to look at Ronon. "Son, you're gonna have to put that weapon down and lie down."

"Not a chance," Ronon snarled aggressively.

Kai rocked back on her heels at the fast show of temper. Ronon was much stronger than her, and the element of surprise was the only thing that might save her going against such a large opponent with only the two small knives she still had. She wanted to glance over her shoulder to reassure herself that the Colonel was there, but she couldn't risk giving away his position on the ridge. Instead, she tightened her jaw and refused to react to his anger. Sheppard was out there and wouldn't let them down.

Beckett also seemed to have reached his limit for being afraid. He puffed himself up. "Now, you listen to me. I've located the transmitter. It's in the soft tissue next to the second thoracic vertebrae."

"Then cut it out," Ronon replied simply.

"I can't do that with you sitting up like this. And I'm going to have to give you some anesthetic to make you sleep."

Ronon's head snapped around and he leaned forward, his eyes narrowing menacingly at Beckett. "No you're not," he warned.

"Excuse me?" Beckett asked his eyes flickering fearfully from Teyla to Kai.

Teyla quickly intervened before Kai could decide she needed to. "Ronon, you need to trust us," Teyla said in a soothing voice.

"I do," Ronon agreed severely. "That's why they're here and you're still alive. Now get to work Doc," he ordered staring down the barrel of his gun.

Kai started pulling out lights and equipment and began setting them up. Luckily Beckett had given her a quick tutorial so she could appear as though she had done these things before. Ronon's gaze followed every movement she made as she worked around him. She moved slowly, grunted under the weight of some of the equipment and purposefully tripped as she walked around him. But she couldn't help the nagging  suspicion that those intense green eyes saw straight through her act. Kai was good at what she did, it was rare for her to meet her match.

"Okay," Beckett said with a tense sigh. "I'm ready. Look I just want to say this one last time. I don't think this is a very good idea. I'm going to be cutting very close to your spinal column here and if you flinch-"

"I won't flinch," Ronon promised him.

Teyla and Kai exchanged a long look. Neither woman looked surprised by the man's words.

"Okay," Beckett agreed sounding anything but certain. "Here we go."

Kai held the impliments next to Beckett as he made the first incision. True to his word, Ronon didn't so much as move as Beckett began cutting into him with a scalpel.

"I think I got it," Beckett said pulling out the small piece of metal. He put it in the tray. "Kai dear, please make sure that is deactivated."

Kai stepped back as Beckett prepared to stitch Ronon's back up. She doused the metal with a bottle of water clearing the blood away. She picked up the small piece of metal, holding it up to one of the lights. She had never seen a transmitter like this before, but it only took her seconds to find the small power switch and turn it off. The small blinking green lights dimmed.

"Ronon," Teyla called urgently. Kai whipped around to see Teyla and Beckett try to catch the large man as he collapsed forward unconscious.

Kai turned to the ridge and waved to the Colonel. John came trotting into the clearing, his rifle still in hand. He immediately returned Kai's handgun and Blade.

"I've disabled the transmitter," Kai told him as she slid her weapons away. She immediately felt better being armed. The faster they got off this planet the better.

"It may already be too late," Teyla said gravely, voicing Kai's fears.

John grunted in agreement. "We know at least one Wraith tracked Ronon here. I'm going to go look for McKay and Ford."

"Yes," Teyla agreed. "We'll be fine."

"Now that he's passed out cold," Beckett agreed.

Sheppard eyed Ronon, wondering if bringing him back to Atlantis really was a good idea. "I'll pick you up with the jumper just as soon as-"

Gun fire echoed through the forest and they all froze. John hesitated for only a moment before he took off running into the dark forest towards the sound of gunshots.

><><

Chapter 49

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Runner Cont .
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Kai stood in shock for a moment as Colonel Sheppard literally took off into the dead of night running towards the gunfire. She cursed him up and down for his stupidity. She could see fine in the dark forest, but there was no way he would be able to. He was going to get himself killed. She made a move to follow him when their comms activated.

"Colonel Sheppard we got gate activity!" Major Lorne's voice came over the radio. "Three wraith darts just came through."

Kai could hear the whine of the dart engines through the comm and moments later they were overhead. Kai tightened her jaw. Things were falling apart rapidly. The darts would start scanning for life signs and all they would find would be their men. Colonel Sheppard brought her with the keep an eye on Beckett, and as badly as she wanted to chase after Sheppard to watch his back she knew she should stay put rather than leave Teyla alone with Beckett and Ronon.

"We should get back inside," Teyla called as a dart zipped overhead. She turned back to face Beckett and Kai.

The three of them turned to see Ronon was gone, as were his weapons and armor. 

Kai swore and stuck her head into the cave. She could hear his nearly silent movement across the rock and gravel cave floor. He had promised to help them find Ford. He also knew this planet better than any of them and stood the best chance of getting them Ford, finding McKay and helping Sheppard. Not necessarily in that order.

She turned back to Teyla. "Stay with Beckett!" she yelled and she tore off through the cave after Ronon. 

Teyla let out a tired sigh and activated her comm. "Colonel, Ronon's gone. There was a back way out of the cave. Kai is in pursuit," she added grimacing slightly. She knew how badly the Colonel would take it and she hated being the bearer of bad news.

><><

John pushed himself as he ran in the last direction he had heard gun fire. It had been sporadic and undisciplined. It had to be McKay. No marine would discharge his firearm so recklessly. He couldn't miss out on this chance to find McKay and hopefully Ford in the process. McKay had to be shooting at something.

Things were going from bad to worse. Kai was out here on her own chasing after Dex. It wasn't that she couldn't defend herself, he knew better than anyone how good she was, but it was pitch black and too many people were running around with itchy trigger fingers on an alien planet with Wraith buzzing overhead. For most of the marines on the planet this was their first time off world. The laundry list of all the things that could possibly go wrong made his stomach turn.

He didn't want to think about what could happen if Kai found Ford before he did. There was no telling if Ronon would fight with her, or turn on her to escape on his own. Kai had ended up in a coma after her last one-on-one encounter against Ford. Even her injuries on the Wraith planet had technically been in the pursuit of Ford. John's jaw clenched, Ford wasn't her problem and certainly wasn't worth her risking herself again. He never should have brought her here. He should have taken the chance with one of the female marines and left Kai working in the jumper bay. As much as he tried to deny it, she was a distraction, and John Sheppard couldn't afford distractions.

"Get back to the jumper," he snarled as he ran. He changed the channel to the general one. "Everyone fall back to the jumper. That's an order," he waited a beat and then activated it again. "That means you too Zian," he told her, but there was no answer. 

He swore under his breath and pushed himself faster.

><><

When Kai burst out of the other side of the cave into the forest Ronon was waiting for her. He pointed his gun at her chest. She skidded to a stop, her hand dropping towards her own gun.

"Don't," he warned.

Kai froze, with her fingers only inches from her gun.

"I don't remember too many nurses carrying guns," he observed. Although his tone was casual, his muscles were tight with tension and the need for action.

"The Colonel prefers all his people able to protect themselves," Kai replied smoothly. It wasn't a lie but she was skirting around the truth. She wasn't sure yet if Ronon Dex was truly a friend.

Ronon grunted and more shots sounded out in the forest. They both turned towards the noise. Kai heard a loud keening wail that she recognized immediately as McKay.

Ronon heard the gun fire, but not McKay's cries. Kai's eyes flickered to Ronon's gun and then back to his hard, green gaze. "I'm going after my friend," she warned him.

"I gave my word to help find him," Ronon told her.

"HELP ME!" McKay's scream echoed through the trees. This time loud enough for them both to hear.

Kai shared a long look with Ronon for a second before the two of them tore off through the woods towards the yelling. She wasn't comfortable having an armed stranger behind her, but she couldn't stop now. She hesitated at a fork for only a moment, she could hear Ford and McKay's voices to their left. She turned towards it without a word and Ronon followed. 

"You tried to kill me!" Ford screamed irrationally. Ford lifted his gun determinedly, leaning forward in eager anticipation for the kill just as Kai and Ronon broke into the clearing.

McKay was hanging upside down from a snare. "Wait! Wait!" Rodney whined. "You can't kill an unarmed, upside down man!"

Ronon didn't hesitate. He slammed into Ford, taking him to the ground. Kai heard his gun skitter away out of reach. Ronon pinned Ford easily, but Ford locked his legs around the larger man and wrenched him away.

Kai ran in throwing one of her small knives. It buried itself in Ford's side and she aimed a kick for his head. Ford caught her ankle, moving faster than he should have been able to. He gave it a jerk. Wrenching her off her feet easily. Kai slammed onto the forest floor on her back with the wind knocked out of her.

It gave Ronon time to recover. Ford threw himself to his feet just as Ronon charged him. He and Ronon exchanged strikes and blocks so fast it was hard to track. Kai jumped to her feet and drew another knife as she ran towards the fighting men. Ronon was holding his own, but he wasn't as fast as Ford and it was beginning to show.

Kai ran towards Ford's back but he was able to twist and arc holding the two of them off. She swiped at him with her blade at the same time Ronon charged from the other side. Ford jerked back just in time and she opened a line of blood across his cheek bone. Ford pulled a knife and swiped at her. She jumped back just clear of the blade.

Ronon grabbed Ford's arm, jerking it up to the point of breaking. Ford kicked him in the stomach as Kai landed an elbow strike to his temple. He twisted away from the two of them, holding his knife out.

Ronon drew his own blade, a pleased smile on his face. He lifted the blade up and pointed it at Ford with a dangerous smile. Ford charged them both. He kicked at Ronon as Kai rolled forward. She swiped across his thigh with her blade. She felt the knife bite into muscle. Instead of going down he threw one knife at Ronon to distract him.

Ford twisted towards Kai and slammed his fist down with all his power. He was aiming for Kai's temple, but she deflected it and the blow glanced off her shoulder. She grunted in pain and crumpled as her arm went numb. Ford drew another knife. Ronon slashed towards Ford's face with his knife. Their blades clashed and they leaned against them with all their strength.

John charged into the clearing drawn by the sounds of Rodney's continued screaming. At first it was hard to track what was happening. It was a macabre ballet. Ronon and Kai looked like dancers as they fought together against the single opponent. Ford was moving almost too fast to track and it was impressive how fast Kai and Ronon had adapted to each other's fighting style. They were easily able to attack and strike without getting in one another's way. Ford for his part was able to impressively hold them both off.

Ford got in a lucky shot. Slamming his fist into Ronon's jaw, sending the larger man stumbling back, then he kneed Kai in the stomach and threw her at him. Unable to stop her momentum, Kai landed on top of him and they both tumbled across the ground.

Ford bolted for his stunner.

"Lieutenant!" Sheppard yelled, lifting his P-90 now that he had a clear shot.

Ford was crouched over the weapon, his fingers tingling to grab it.

"Don't," John warned. He tightened his grip on his gun as Colonel Caldwell's warning to take the shot if it presented itself ran through his head. But Ford was just a kid, and he needed their help. They didn't leave their people behind.

The buzz of darts directly overhead distracted John. He glanced up to make sure there wasn't one of their transport beams headed their way.

In that second Ford bolted for the trees.

"Ford!" he yelled and took off after him. "Be safe!" he hollered over his shoulder, leaving Kai with Rodney. Ford was so close he could taste it. He wouldn't let him slip through their fingers again.

><><

Ronon climbed to his feet. He moved over to where Kai had just pushed herself up on her elbows. He reached down, offering her a hand up, an aggressive smile on his face. "I knew you weren't a nurse," he said appreciatively.

Kai snorted. "I'll take that as a compliment," she said turning back to McKay.

She drew her Blade and sliced through the rope. Rodney dropped to the ground with a shout. Ronon stepped close to her, and she rocked back on her heels, prepared for an attack. It seemed stupid to suddenly be so aware of his proximity now when they had fought nearly on top of one another just moments before. Instead, his eyes landed on the Blade in her hand. He looked at it and then back to her face. She could see the question in his eyes, but she wasn't going to volunteer any information. Her past was her business and she was working to put it behind her.

She slid the Blade away in her spine sheath and leaned down to offer Rodney a hand up.

"Ouch," he whined. "You know you could have done that more-" he pulled back when he came face to face with Ronon. Kai didn't blame him, the large man was a full foot taller than her and incredibly intimidating. His eyes flickered over to Kai for reassurance. "I mean thanks," he said quickly.

"Come on McKay," she said pulling McKay to his feet. "Sheppard went after Ford alone," she called over her shoulder as she took off running into the trees. Surprisingly, McKay groaned but followed without further complaint. What surprised her even more was that she could hear the nearly silent, but steady footsteps of Ronon following behind them both. She had honestly expected him to make a break for the gate the first chance he got.

She tune out all other noises and instead focused her senses ahead of them. She needed to find Sheppard. It was difficult to hear much over the zipping of the darts. She slowed and nearly came to a halt at a junction of trails. McKay was puffing as he stopped beside her but Ronon was a silent, steady shadow behind them. She strained her hearing for any sign of Ford or Sheppard.

"There," she called pointing to the right. She could just hear Sheppard's voice.

><><

John chased after Ford. "Ford!" he screamed as they broke out of the trees.

Ford stopped and faced him.

"Keep your hands where I can see them" Sheppard warned. The little bit of the fight he had seen had left an impression. Kai was a hell of a fighter, and Ronon was even better. The fact that Ford had managed to hold them both off was impressive. "We want to help you," he told the younger man.

Ford shook his head and John could see he was losing him. Whatever the drug did to him, it had taken over completely. There was nothing left of the overeager kid who had joined their expedition.

John gritted his teeth as Ford reached for his sidearm. John fired into Ford's thigh still not willing to take the killing shot.

Ford flinched but didn't go down. His eyes lit with betrayal and he jerked his gun out of the holster and aimed it at Sheppard's chest.

"You're not getting off this planet." Sheppard warned him. The Wraith darts were buzzing all around them, their beams sweeping the clearing. John tensed, preparing to make a break for the woods if necessary.

"I'll show you!" Ford growled and his eyes flickered to the beam sweeping towards them. "You'll see!" and he ran straight into the transport beam.

John stepped forward in stunned, disbelief. Ford had just willingly given himself up to the Wraith.

Kai broke through the trees just in time to witness their exchange. She jogged up to Sheppard, and stopped just over his shoulder. Sheppard's shoulders were heaving as he stared after the dart as it flew away towards the gate. He swung back around to face them. His gaze touched on McKay, Ronon and finally landed on Kai.

"I'm sorry Colonel," she told him sincerely. She knew that despite the steely set to his jaw he was hurting. Sheppard held himself responsible for Ford. Kai was tempted for the first time in a while to open the connection between them, just once, so he would know he wasn't alone.

"Let's get the hell outta here," he said gruffly.

Kai nodded and quickly banished the thought.

Sheppard turned to face Ronon. "I don't suppose you know the fastest way to the gate?" he asked.

Ronon grunted and nodded, leading them away into the darkness.

Kai waited until McKay turned to follow Ronon and she stepped up next to Sheppard. She lightly bumped him with her shoulder like he often did to her, just to let him know he wasn't alone.

><><

Chapter 50

><><
Duet
><><

It surprised Kai that Ronon Dex chose to go back to Atlantis with them. Sheppard, however could be persuasive and he offered to help the man contact his homeworld. Seven years before when Ronon had been taken from his world his people were at war with the Wraith. The stoic man seemed fairly eager at the chance to return to his home.

Ronon had climbed aboard the Jumper and chosen to sit near Teyla and Kai for the short ride back to Atlantis, keeping his wary gaze on the exhausted group of marines. Weir had been cautiously welcoming and Sheppard had immediately assigned a pair of marines to accompany the large soldier wherever he went. When they tried contacting his homeworld Sateda however, they found the Wraith had leveled the planet. No survivors. Ronon was completely alone in the universe. It was something Kai found she could relate to.

It had been two weeks since Ronon came to Atlantis. Kai walked into the mess hall to see The Colonel sitting at one of the far tables with Ronon. She needed to make an effort to try and reach out to the large Satedan. She knew how hard it could be to fit in around here. She just wasn't very good at making friends. It had never been high on the list of priorities in assassin school.

She was approaching their table when John spoke up. "It's not bad, huh?" he asked gesturing to the food Ronon was shoving into his mouth with his hands.

Ronon glared at him out of the tops of his eyes. "It's fine."

Ronon glanced up to where Kai was standing beside their table with her tray. Her eyes quickly flit over the rest of the room as she tried to decide if it was a good idea to join what might be a private conversation.

"You just going to stand there?" Ronon asked gruffly.

Kai blushed a little and moved to sit next to the Colonel. She glanced back and forth between the two men, but turned her focus to her plate.

John noticed the blush and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "How do you like Atlantis?" he asked.

"It's fine," Ronon replied with a shrug.

John shifted in his seat, trying to decide how to ask what he wanted to ask. "So, have you given any thought to what you want to do once you're done here?" He asked conversationally.

Ronon hesitated for a moment. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No, no, stay as long as you like. I'm just saying, you know your way around, you can take care of yourself in a fight, you hate the Wraith as much as we do..."

Ronon lifted his eyes and leveled an intense glare at Sheppard.

"Okay," John conceded. "Maybe more than we do. The point is, we could use a guy like you around here and you look like you could use a place to stay."

Ronon picked up the pitcher of water and took a long drink. Ronon hesitated and glanced over his shoulder at the two marines who were working very hard not to pay attention to the conversation. Then he glanced at Kai curiously. "I'm not sure I fit in here," he finally settled on saying.

"There's only one way to find out," John encouraged.

"Do I have to decide now, or can I finish eating?" Ronon asked, taking another handful of mashed potatoes.

John smiled. "Take your time." He cut his eyes over to Kai. "How's it going with the dart?"

Kai and Zelenka had been working on the remains of a crashed dart that had beamed McKay and Lieutenant Cadmen aboard while off world on a mission. Zelenka had rematerialized McKay almost immediately, but there hadn't been enough power to beam Cadmen out and McKay was still unconscious. As a result Kai and Zelenka had brought the remains of the dart back to Atlantis and were doing their best to save the Lieutenant's life.

"The transformer that regulates power distribution didn't survive McKay's rematerialization. We're still trying to figure out a way to convert power so we can beam Cadmen out safely," Kai explained.

She spoke to both John and Ronon so the Satedan would feel included in the conversation. Although truth be told neither man looked like they followed what she was talking about.

John nodded, taking another bite of his lunch. "Has McKay woken up yet?"

Kai shook her head. "Not yet."

Kai finished eating with Ronon and Sheppard. Ronon hadn't spoken another word, but he had for sure been listening while John and Kai chatted about the issue with the dart. When she was finished eating Kai excused herself and returned to the lab.

She and Zelenka were working for several hours before the doors hissed open and McKay stomped into the lab. Sheppard, Weir and Beckett hurried in after him. McKay looked over everyone working and marched over to the pieces of the transformer. "Oh nice one," he growled lifting out the charred pieces and dropping them back into the tray.

Zelenka huffed. "We were running out of power. I knew hardly anything about the machine. Who would have thought this could be one of the side effects?" Zelenka asked defensively.

"So instead of waiting to understand what you were doing you just sort of mashed on the keyboard hoping something would happen?" McKay snarled unkindly.

"You're alive aren't you," Kai growled from her work station.

McKay spun around, his temper fixating on Kai. "I thought you were supposed to know about darts! Aren't you our resident expert in Wraith tech!"

"Hey-" John started to say but McKay cut him off.

"He doesn't know how to fix it!" McKay exclaimed suddenly, staring up towards the ceiling.

John and Kai exchanged a confused glance.

"Talking to her," McKay snapped, pointing to his head.

"You can hear her thoughts?" Weir asked curiously. At her heart Elizabeth was a scientist, and what was happening to McKay, though concerning, was fascinating.

"No, not her thoughts thank god. I can hear when she's trying to speak," McKay explained.

Weir turned to Carson. "Are you sure he should be discharged?"

"According to the MRI he's as healthy as he ever was," Carson replied with a shrug.

"Well we can't all be track stars now can we?" McKay exclaimed again. Then he looked to the room. "It was her again."

Kai and Sheppard exchanged a concerned look. John leaned in towards Beckett. "Maybe there's something wrong an MRI wouldn't pick up, if you know what I mean."

McKay scowled at them. "I'm not crazy, I just have another consciousness in my brain."

"So he just looks crazy?" Sheppard asked Carson.

McKay scowled. "I'm sure I do, but only because Doctor Fumbles McStupid and his Supermodel Side kick over there got in way over their head."

"Yes, yes," Zelenka agreed. "I made a mistake trying to save your life. Now, do you want to try to fix it, or do you want to continue to berate me some more?"

"I am perfectly capable of doing both at the same time," McKay promised him.

Kai scowled at McKay and leaned towards Sheppard. "What's a supermodel?"

John leaned back towards her. "That one actually could be taken as a compliment," he muttered.

McKay leveled a glare at the two of them until they fell silent. "Now, I'm assuming you've tried to tie one of our own generators into this thing?"

Zelenka pulled out his tablet to show McKay the simulations they had run. "It's not as simple as that. The trick is having it interface with the Wraith machine in real time.The power fluctuations are huge, if we overshoot it just a little we're screwed," Zelenka explained.

"It's the same reason we haven't been able to harvest their power cells for our own use," Kai added. 

"We could write an interface...interface...interface program to..." McKay dragged off. "Um...here's what I want us to try...we'll take a generator and um...and um...YES WHAT!" he screamed. "Well stop asking stupid questions. I will get you out of here, okay? But just be a good little girlie and keep quiet."

Kai's eyes widened. If she were Cadman she would have killed him.

McKay however wasn't in any danger of slowing down. "And do you have a physics degree? How about mechanical engineering? -"

"Rodney," Weir said in a calm voice.

"YES!" Rodney screamed, then realizing who he had just yelled at, he pulled back, his eyes widening. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked more respectfully.

"Why don't you let Zelenka and Kai handle this," Weir suggested gently.

"I'm fine," Rodney assured her.

"You're not," Weir argued. "And I'd like you to talk to Doctor Heightmeyer."

Rodney shook his head, looking towards Kai and Zelenka as though they would stand up for him. "I think I would be more useful if I..."

"Rodney," Weir said in a warning voice. "I'm not asking."

McKay looked over the group working on the dart but no one came to his defense. "Fine," he growled and he stomped out of the room.

><><

Ronon threw two of the marines across the mat. He paced away from them a dangerous glint in his eye as three more closed in around him. His head hung and his shoulders moved like he was panting, but all it did was lure them in.

He whipped around with his fist, connecting with two of them. He launched himself in the air and slammed down with a powerful punch to the third, knocking him to the mat. Then he turned and grabbed the first by the ankle. Jerking it easily upward so he landed on his back. He punched the second and then turned and grabbed the second and third by the necks and whipped them around in a fancy throw until all three marines lay on the mat panting.

John leaned casually against the dummy trying hard not to look impressed. So far none of his men had lasted more than five minutes against Ronon and Ronon wasn't even sweating yet. "All right," he said with false brightness. "Let's try that again."

"How about you try that again," one of the marines grumbled. "Sir," he added as an after thought.

"Maybe that's enough for today," John agreed with a shrug and a smile. If Ronon continued to perform this well, he had high hopes of being able to convince Weir to let him stay.

><><

McKay was back in the lab, and everybody was tense as he barked orders. He leaned over Zelenka's shoulder as they worked. "All right," McKay called to the room. "Let's give that bad boy a try. Start her slowly and ease her into it," he commanded Kai.

"No, no, no," Zelenka called. "It's not ready, some of these calculations are not right."

McKay snorted egotistically. "Maybe you just don't understand them."

The dart powered up and there was an explosion of sparks. Kai immediately shut down the program as other scientists used fire extinguishers before the fire could spread.

"What the hell happened?" Rodney roared spinning towards Kai.

"I started it up," Kai replied, narrowing her eyes at McKay. He might have everyone else scared, but she would not let him think for even a second he could intimidate her.

"I said slowly!" He snapped, stomping towards her.

Kai pushed herself to her feet, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I was at three percent!"

Zelenka's eyes widened and he quickly skittered between the two. "The power requirements are delicate," he pointed out trying to diffuse the situation. "we should have run more simulations before..."

McKay stiffened and quickly turned away from Kai. "Yes, yes 20/20 hindsight," he told Zelenka.

"You shouldn't be here," Zelenka snarled.

"I'm sorry?" McKay asked severely. His temper rising once more.

Zelenka huffed agitatedly. "I'm telling you, these calculations are wrong! Having two consciousnesses inside of a single brain must be very taxing."

"Listen-" Rodney growled shoving his finger in Zelenka's face.

"You're making mistakes." Zelenka warned him. Then he held up the tablet, to show the calculations. "Leave it to me, before you do more harm than good."

Mckay stared down at the tablet for a beat as he ran over the calculations once more. Then his face pinched in frustration and he stomped out of the room.

><><

John led the way to the firing range. He had seen enough hand to hand to be impressed. Ronon had beat every one of his guys. The only people left to test him against were Teyla and Kai. If Ronon did well on the firing range John felt pretty good about bringing his idea to Elizabeth. Ronon would make a good edition to Atlantis and be damn useful in a fight against the Wraith.

John held out the first gun. "This is a P-90 it's compact, light weight and incredibly..."

Ronon clicked off the safety and fired a burst of rounds into the center of the target.

John arched a brow in appreciation. "Good, that's good," he agreed. "Now, the .9 millimeter, semi-automatic-"

Ronon picked up the small handgun, looked it over and fired off four rounds into the center of the target. Then he ejected the clip and laid it down on the table in front of them.

"That's good too," John agreed, smiling as he stared at the target.

"I prefer this," Ronon said and he drew his own gun and fired a single shot, blowing a perfect hole almost a foot across in the center of the target paper.

Ronon twirled the gun back into his holster. John leaned in to stare down at what was left of the target. "I can see why you would," he agreed.

Ronon left the shooting range with his guards while John headed towards the control room to find Elizabeth. She was distracted and he trailed after her quickly outlining his proposal.

"I'm not sure it's such a good idea," Elizabeth said her lips pinching into a tight line.

"Elizabeth you've got to see this guy in action, he's an incredible shot, none of my guys can beat him in a fight, and he's ex-military," John pointed out.

Elizabeth frowned. She normally trusted The Colonel's instincts about people but this time she just wasn't sure. "Yeah, but not a military on earth."

John sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere with Elizabeth today, he could tell. "The guys got no place else to go."

"You're not just being charitable?"

"No, I'm not, I think he'd make a great addition to my team," John quickly assured her. He was almost giddy at the prospect of having someone so skilled on AR-1.

Elizabeth stopped and turned to face him. The serious expression on her face made him school his own. "We don't really know anything about him," she pointed out.

"What's there to know?" John replied with a shrug.

"Well, anything would be helpful. He's not very forthcoming," Weir said, glancing over her shoulder to the two scientists who were waiting in her office.

"He's been on the run from the Wraith for the past seven years. What did you expect?" John asked. He didn't bother to point out that guys like Ronon weren't a very chatty bunch anyway. He could see he was losing her focus however. "Listen, just talk to the guy. You owe him that at least."

Weir looked ready to argue but Sheppard shot her the pathetic puppy look and she relented. "Okay," she agreed.

><><

John walked into the sparring room the next morning. He pulled up at the sound of fighting. When the doors hissed open he saw Kai and Ronon sparring with bantos rods. Ronon only had one stick and Kai had two.

Kai twirled and fought, pushing herself as fast as she could go. Her hair was wrapped in the scarf John had bought her, but sweat glistened on her skin and made her top cling to her.

Ronon for his part barely looked winded as he paced around her, a predatory gleam in his eyes. He slammed his staff down as hard as he could. Kai flinched under the impact as she blocked and rotated her wrists to lessen the force.

"I thought we were sparring this morning," John called warily. He didn't like the way Ronon fought. The large Satedan was attacking full strength. If he landed one strike he would break bone.

"You were late," Kai replied, she glanced over her shoulder towards Sheppard. It was a mistake. "So Ronon and I-"

Ronon used that moment to strike. He slapped one stick out of her hand with a powerful blow. It clattered loudly against the floor as he moved in knocking the other up and away. He stepped easily inside her guard and wrapped one of his powerful fists around her throat. He bellowed as he lifted her straight in the air and slammed her down against the mat with a bone jarring thud. He crouched over her, his hand clamped around her throat.

John saw red.

He tossed aside his backpack and crossed the mat in two long strides. Without hesitation he jerked his knife free of it's sheath, and laid it against Ronon's throat. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he growled dangerously.

Ronon froze, looking back and forth between the two of them. Then he slapped Sheppard's knife away and climbed to his feet. "I wouldn't have hurt her," he said pacing away across the mats.

John kept his eyes on Ronon and his knife bare in his hand as he fought to rein in the urge to protect her. He reached down with his free hand to pull her up beside him. She climbed to her feet a little unsteadily, clutching her sore throat.

John turned back to Ronon, sliding his knife away. "Sure as hell looked like you were going to," he couldn't keep the anger out of his voice. He was normally so much better at this. He was usually the one to diffuse the tension in a room, but he couldn't help but add fuel to the fire. Kai's safety and everyone's safety for that matter, wasn't something he was willing to compromise on. If Ronon couldn't understand that than maybe Weir was right after all.

Kai watched as Ronon paced away to where his stuff was sitting on a bench. Her eyes flickered back to the Colonel. She had never seen him so mad. His jaw was like granite as he paced an angry line between her and Ronon. Sheppard was normally so laid back, this wasn't a side of him she had experienced before. She could hear the pounding of his heart in his chest and the quick puffs of breath as he worked to get himself back under control while keeping himself between her and Ronon.

Ronon stormed out of the gym, his guards following close behind. Kai glanced over her shoulder as he left.

Once the doors closed Sheppard swung back around to face her. He frowned as his eyes locked on where she held her sore throat. She dropped her hands, hoping to dissipate some of the tension in the room. His scowl deepened and he took a step towards her.

"I'm fine," she told him. She swallowed thickly as he lifted his hand to touch her face.

John's fingers were painfully gentle as he tilted her chin up. His eyes narrowed and his mouth flattened into an angry line when he saw the ugly red mark circling the pale skin of her throat.

She could feel the warmth from his body he was standing so close and she forced herself to look away. "I told him he didn't have to go easy on me," she reasoned. Now that the shock had passed she felt bad for Ronon.

"You gotta be careful what you say to this guy," John snapped pointing after him. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair as his mind replayed all the ways that could have gone wrong.

Kai arched a brow at him. "I need to be careful?" She asked, temper glittering in her eyes. "I had the situation under control."

"There was a lot happening and it didn't look very controlled," John snapped back, his temper rising to meet her own.

Kai narrowed her eyes and took a step towards him. "I'm not the one who pulled a knife on our guest!"

"No, you were just the one who decided to spar at full strength against a stranger!" John snapped sarcastically. "I'm surprised you didn't use knives." John's nerves were shot, his temper was gone and unfortunately it made his tongue vicious.

Kai's eyes widened and John knew he had screwed up and pushed too far. "I'm fully capable of defending myself," Kai hissed.

"Yeah it looked like it," John growled acerbically.

"I didn't ask you to storm in here and save me!" She snapped.

John's eyes narrowed. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he pinched his mouth shut and stormed out of the gym before he said something else he would regret.

><><

Chapter 51

><><
Duet Cont
><><

Kai was so upset she left the gym without finishing her workout. She stomped through the hallways towards her quarters mumbling under her breath about overbearing Colonels. She turned a corner and nearly walked into McKay who seemed to be having an argument with himself.

She hesitated for a moment, glancing around them to make sure there wasn't someone else nearby she has missed. "Are you all right?" she asked slowly.

He seemed startled to see her suddenly standing in front of him. He jumped back than quickly worked to compose himself. "Y-Yes, I'm fine," he said quickly smoothing his hands down his thighs.

She nodded and turned to go. McKay shifted, his whole demeanor changing. His hip popped out and his head tilted sympathetically. "Kai, what's wrong?" he asked, a slightly feminine lilt to his voice.

Kai frowned at him and pulled back slightly. It was one thing to know there were two consciousnesses in McKay's body and another to see it in action. There was no doubt in Kai's mind that Cadman was in charge now. McKay's hand clasped her arm and Kai tried not to stiffen. What would have been a natural action from Cadman was foreign coming from McKay.

"Are you okay? You look upset," Cadman/McKay said in concern. McKays dark brows furrowed as his blue eyes widened sympathetically.

It was for sure not McKay in control.

Kai frowned at them, feeling suddenly incredibly uncomfortable. "I'm fine," she assured them, quickly composing herself. Controlling her emotions had never been a problem before, only Sheppard seemed capable of stirring her up so far past her control.

"Are you guys okay?" Kai asked.

They waved her off with a distinctly feminine flip to their wrist and headed off the opposite way mumbling to themselves.

Kai chewed on her lip and hurried back to her room. It was clear she and Zelenka needed to get this problem solved as quickly as possible. She wanted to stretch, grab a fast shower and return to the lab. She ripped off her sweat soaked long sleeve top then threw it across the room leaving her in a tank top. Her encounter with McKay had cooled her temper, but she needed to clear her mind the rest of the way so she could focus on finding a way to help McKay.

She moved through her stretches. She could already feel her muscles tightening up from where Ronon had slammed her against the mats. She arched down, folding in half at the waist to release the tension in her lower back. Between getting tossed around by Ronon, her shouting match with the Colonel, and work with Zelenka she was holding a lot of tension.

Her door hissed open unexpectedly.

She whipped around in surprise and then pulled up when she spotted Ronon leaning into the doorframe, a powerful hand on either side. His mouth was pulled into a grim line as he stared at her. Kai realized she was only in a tank top and crossed her arms over her chest uncomfortably.

"You weren't in the mess for lunch." He said by way of explanation. If he noticed she was uncomfortable, he gave no indication. His eyes were locked intently on her face, waiting for a reply.

"We've been using mice as test subjects for the Rematerializer. They've been coming out charbroiled. After yesterday I learned the smell was easier to endure on an empty stomach," Kai replied straightening the rest of the way.

Ronon nodded but didn't seem to know what to say. He fidgeted uncomfortably for a few seconds. He peaked at her under his lashes in way that reminded her of a little boy who had gotten in trouble and was embarrassed. "I didn't mean-" he started to say.

"You didn't," she promised quickly. She was already feeling raw after her fight with Sheppard. She didn't want to go into discussing her feelings with Ronon. She felt like of everyone he would understand that and respect it.

He nodded once and that boyish look was gone, replaced by the hardened warrior. "I wanted to apologize," he said in a low, gruff voice.

Kai's eyes flickered to the guards standing behind him. She respected how hard it would be to come and apologize and didn't think he needed an audience. "Come in," Kai invited politely.

He stepped across the threshold and the guard behind him met Kai's gaze. Kai nodded to show she was fine. He looked doubtful and she shot him a determined glare when he moved to follow Ronon. The young man pulled up short and the door started to hiss closed. Just before it shut she saw him reach up and touch his ear piece. She tightened her jaw, he was reporting to the Colonel no doubt.

Ronon stepped into her room and looked around uncomfortably.

"Don't worry about it," she assured him. "It was pretty impressive," she added. Her eyes scanned the room quickly. She wanted to pull something on to cover her arms but she had throw her overshirt in the hamper and her room was neat as a pin.

Ronon grunted. He looked around her room with interest. There wasn't much to see. Her only possessions were her clothes, knives and the scarf Sheppard had bought for her.

"How's your training going?" she asked after a few uncomfortable moments.

"You mean testing?" he asked. He leaned back against her dresser and crossed his powerful arms over his chest.

Kai's lips tugged into a smirk, she had gone through the same experience so she understood.

He noticed her expression and arched a brow. "Am I wrong?"

She shrugged. "The Colonel thinks you might be a good addition to his team. He would want to be certain."

Ronon nodded but didn't look surprised. "Why did you join them?" He asked after a moment.

Kai pressed her lips into a grim line, trying to decide how best to answer. For some inexplicable reason she found herself considering honesty. There was something about Ronon that made her feel like he would accept nothing less and like he would understand. "They were my ride off a planet filled with Wraith," she said. She moved back towards her bed and sat down. "I was sick, wasn't going to make it on my own. So I lied to them and bribed them into bringing me here. I planned on staying until I was better...and then I just kept staying," she said with a shrug. "There were a couple times when I thought they might find out about my past and I probably should have run, but..." she shook her head. "I don't know." She admitted with a bewildered shrug.

Ronon was watching her intently, he tilted his head to the side. "I think you do," he said, his deep voice rumbling.

Kai snorted think Ronon was far more effective at getting people to talk than Doctor Heightmeyer. "For the first time I was helping. I was doing something good. I'm not on Sheppard's team," she clarified, uncertain if anyone had ever explained that to him. "I work with the jumpers and assist one of the lead scientists...as chaotic as it can be around here...it brought me peace for the first time in my life."

The look in Ronon's eyes was so intensely vulnerable for a minute Kai was glad she decided to be honest. Then his expression shuttered once more and he crossed his powerful arms over his chest.

"There's also the fact that Atlantis is the best chance against the Wraith..." Kai dragged off than she peeked back up at him from
under her lashes. "I'm guessing you think that too, or you would have already left."

He smirked and nodded. He paused for a minute and looked around her room once more. His eyes landed on where her Blade was resting on her new midnight blue scarf. "You're a Mortii aren't you?" he asked without looking at her. His words were a low rumble like he knew how intensely personal the question was.

Kai folded her arms over her chest self consciously. "What makes you say that?" she challenged.

He chewed on his lip. "I've seen two of you before...At first I thought you must have just taken the Blade from one, but now that I've gotten to know you, seen you fight..." he dragged off. Then he leveled his intense green eyes at her as he studied her. His eyes touched on the scars that criss crossed her arms.

Kai shifted, her eyes flitting over to a black jacket resting over the back of her chair.

He seemed to notice he had made her uncomfortable and turned back to where the Blade rested on the scarf.

"The legends all said Mortii wear black scarves and always cover their faces..." he dragged off.

"They do." Kai confirmed. She stepped across the room and snatched up the jacket. "I didn't cover up here as much because it made people uncomfortable," she said stabbing her arms into the sleeves and zipping up the jacket. "Mine was damaged off world on a mission and The Colonel found that one to replace it."

Ronon grunted and turned back to face her once she had the jacket on and seemed more settled. "So you and Sheppard..." he dragged off.

"What?" She asked in confusion.

Ronon studied her face for a second and realized she honesty didn't see what he had. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. It wasn't his business. "Nothing," he responded with a shake of his head. He turned to head towards the door. "Sorry again," he repeated. "And sorry I bothered you in your room," he said gesturing vaguely towards her. He of all people understood what it meant to be self conscious of the scars life had left on your body.

"Ronon," Kai called after him. "If you decide to stay...I'd be happy to spar with you again."

A challenging smirk lit his face and he nodded. "I'd enjoy trying my hand against a Mortii."

><><

Weir headed down to the gym later that day. She hadn't spent much time in the sparring room, just the occasional visit to the weight room to keep in shape.

When the door slid open Her eyes widened. Ronon was holding one of the young marines with a knife to his throat. Her hand was halfway to her comm before the marine spoke.

"Awesome," the young man said with an appreciative chuckle. "Thanks dude."

Ronon stepped back nodding twirling the knife he held through his fingers expertly.

"Ronon," Weir called uncomfortably. "Can I have a word?" She inquired, her eyes flickering to the group of young marines who had gathered to learn from the large Satedan.

Ronon handed the knife back to one of the other marines and walked towards Weir, crossing his powerful arms over his chest.

"I understand Colonel Sheppard extended an invitation to you to join his team," Weir said, resisting the urge to squirm under his intense gaze.

"Yeah he did," Ronon deadpanned.

"Well, he was supposed to speak to me about that first," she explained with a small, indulgent smile.

"Okay," Ronon said with a shrug, he wasn't sure what the had to do with him or why the leader of Atlantis was standing in front of him.

"Look, it's not that I don't trust you or value any contributions you have made or will make if you decide to join us, it's just, its a rather big decision..." she dragged  off studying his face carefully as she spoke. It was impossible to get a read on the man. He was somehow even more stoic than Kai could be. "How do you feel?" She finally asked.

He shrugged as though the decision didn't matter to him one way or another. "I'm thinking about it," he said casually.

"Good," she dragged off the word, staring hard at his face. "I'm thinking about it too. So I guess we'll just keep in touch then."

"Okay," he said and he turned back to the room.

"Okay..." Weir dragged off, exhaling.

Ronon pulled another knife from his belt and twirled it through his fingers as he approached the men. "Now, dismembering the feeding arm with two knives..."

Weir left them alone in the gym to talk about dismembering.

><><

Kai and Zelenka worked tirelessly for the rest of the day in the lab. Eventually they were able to get the power current to the right level and rematerialize the pair of mice, but they only lived a couple of minutes.

She and Radek were at the end of what they could do when he was called to the Infirmary. McKay had collapsed. Without any other options Kai began flipping through the database, desperate for anything that might help.

The doors hissed open and Sheppard walked in. He peeked around the console at her looking a little sheepish.

She scowled back at him.

"Look," Sheppard said shifting his weight uncomfortably. "I...owe you an apology. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

Kai blinked at him, surprised he would come down all this way just to apologize.

He seemed to realize she was weakening because he lifted a paper bag. "I brought you a snack as a piece offering."

The smell coming from the bag was a strange combination of buttery and salty. It peaked her curiosity. She grunted in agitation. He always seemed to know what to say to distract her.

"Whats in the bag?" She finally asked begrudgingly.

The triumphant smile that lit his handsome face was just as distracting as the smell. "Popcorn."

Kai snorted at his excitement. "I've never heard of it."

"I know," John said. "You guys don't have it here. I have to ship it in. I keep a stash in my room," he handed over the bag. "For you."

Kai reached in frowning at the lightweight food. She stared down at the handful wondering how this could be good. It certainly didn't look edible.

Beside her Sheppard grunted impatiently. "It isn't poisoned." He stepped up beside her, snatched up a piece and popped it in his mouth.

She studied his face as he seemed to enjoy eating it and tentatively tried a piece. It was airy on her tongue but the butter and saltiness were delicious. She made a noise of appreciation and took another bite.

Sheppard smiled triumphantly and toss a piece in the air and caught it in his mouth. He was certain he had been forgiven.

She shook her head at his boyish antics. "Is he staying?" She asked after a moment, setting the popcorn on the table between them.

John rubbed the back of his neck. "The decision is Elizabeth's," he hedged.

Kai turned to fully face him. "I don't want what happen to effect his ability to stay," she said firmly. "He came to my quarters and apologized."

"He came to your quarters?" The question leaked out before John could stop himself. He wanted to kick himself. He sounded like a jealous boyfriend.

Kai turned unreadable eyes back to him. "Yes, to apologize. Your men already told you that."

Sheppard shook his head. "Security details report directly to Major Lorne."

Kai suddenly felt foolish. She shifted in her chair. She was just as at fault for jumping to conclusions as The Colonel.

"I-" she started to say but the doors hissed open.

McKay rushed in towards her terminal. "Move! Move!" he barked. Kai scrambled back out of the way so fast she tripped over her feet. John caught her around her waist, straightening her.

"What's going on?" John asked.

McKay and Zelenka were already connecting the dart to the gates crystal control modules. Kai and John shared bewildered looks as Weir and Beckett trotted into the room.

"All right, let's do this," McKay said determinedly after only a few minutes of work.

"Just because it works in the simulation doesn't mean-" Radek started to say.

"Look, I would rather not suffer a fatal siezure while you round up more mice for testing. Shall we?" McKay stepped in front of the beam, making minor adjustments. "Don't try to talk me out of this, I might very well listen," he said.

"Hold on McKay," Sheppard said stepping forward. "I thought all the mice died."

"Well, what are we, mice or men?" he asked, flashing his friend a grim smile.

Kai moved to stand in front of her computer to prepare for the test.

"Are you sure about this?" Weir asked.

"Absolutely, yes," McKay agreed. "Just...give me a second," he said and he stepped back. "Well, good luck to us both," he muttered.

"It's ready," Zelenka said.

"Wait," McKay's voice said, but his posture had changed completely and he stalked over to Carson with a sassy sway to his hips. He grabbed the front of Carson's shirt and pressed his lips against his. When he pulled back he smirked up at him seductively. "Just in case this doesn't work," he said with a wink and he strutted back over to stand in front of the beam.

Then McKay took a breath and his eyes widened as his whole posture changed once more. "Just...just...hit it," he said cupping his forehead in his hand in horror.

Zelenka hit the enter key and the beam swept over Mckay.

"I have two life signs," Kai reported from the readout on her monitor. "And power levels are steady."

"Get them out of there!" Sheppard exclaimed.

Zelenka rematerialized them and they both appeared before collapsing unconscious.

><><

Once they got Camden and McKay squared away and resting in the infirmary everyone went their separate ways to rest of the excitement of the past couple of days.

John trotted after Weir as she headed back towards the control room. "Did you get the chance to talk to Ronon?" he called.

Elizabeth stopped and waited for the Colonel to catch up. "Yes I did, chatty fellow isn't he?" She asked as she resumed walking.

"And?" John asked.

Weir stopped for a moment and stared him hard in the face. "Are you sure he would make a good addition?" She asked.

John hesitated for only a second. He kept replaying what had happened with Kai over and over in his head and finally was able to conclude it might have been him overreacting. Though he would never admit that. "Absolutely."

"Well, he would be your responsibility," she hedged.

A pleased smile lit John's face. "I knew you'd say yes."

"I haven't said yes," She said frowning at him indignantly.

"Well, you were about to," Sheppard said defensively.

Elizabeth scowled at him, hating how well he knew her. "Yes," she snapped sarcastically.

A boyish grin stretched John's face. "There you go."

><><

Chapter 52

Notes:

I wanted to thank everyone who has commented and given kudos, you keep me inspired! This particular episode was one of the first I wrote Kai into and I am so excited to finally be here!

><><
Conversion
><><

Kai was in the infirmary. Again. It was beginning to become an uncomfortable habit and the nursing staff had become so accustom to her they were no longer intimidated by her scowls.

"Hold still," the nurse admonished as she treated the burn on Kai's arm.

Kai grunted in annoyance. Had she been working on the jumper alone she wouldn't have even bothered going to the infirmary. But Zelenka had been there when her bicep grazed the hot drive pod and he made a big deal out of it.

The nurse wrapped her upper arm in gauze and told her not to get it wet and to take the rest of the afternoon off, which they both knew Kai wasn't going to do. The burn was entirely superficial, barely second degree, and she was anxious to get back to work. She had almost restored a power core in one of the jumpers they had previously thought was beyond repair. If she and Zelenka could manage that there was a chance of them being able to utilize many others that had been abandoned.

The doors to her left hissed opened and a full medical team rushed Colonel Sheppard in on a stretcher. Kai straightened, her eyes narrowing in concern.

"This really isn't necessary Doc," Sheppard griped. The agitation in his voice made Kai release the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Yes it is," Beckett argued. "You've got a serious laceration on your arm and you've lost a lot of blood."

"Yeah well enjoy the ride Colonel," McKay huffed stomping along beside the gurney. "They're making me walk."

"You've got a splinter Rodney!" Beckett exclaimed.

"Yes," McKay agreed, sitting down on the bed across from John. "A very nasty, painful splinter."

"All right, let's have a look at this," Beckett said, gingerly cutting away the blood soaked bandaged the encircled the Colonel's forearm.

John wasn't paying attention however, instead his eyes zeroed in on Kai, sitting on one of the beds further down. He frowned at seeing her back in the infirmary. His gaze met hers briefly and then fell to the gauze looped around her arm. His eyes met hers again and he arched his brows questioningly.

Kai glanced down at her arm and back at him and shrugged so he would know it was no big deal.

He smirked. Kai could find trouble anywhere.

Beckett grabbed up a swab and dunked it in antiseptic. "This might hurt a wee bit," Carson warned Sheppard though the Colonel was barely paying attention to him.

"Ow! Ow!" Rodney exclaimed as a nurse pulled his splinter.

Sheppard glanced away from
Kai and towards McKay in disbelief. It was just a splinter for Christ sake. "I'm sure it will," he agreed.

"This doesn't sting?" Beckett asked in concern as he cleaned the area.

"No," Sheppard replied casually, still distracted by all the movement around the infirmary.

"I know you have a high threshold for pain but this..." Beckett dragged off with a shake of his head.

"This is what?" Sheppard asked turning to look down at his arm in concern.

"...gone." Beckett muttered in shock.

"What?" Sheppard asked sharply. He rotated his arm to get a better look.

"The feeding mark," Beckett explained blinking in disbelief. "it's completely healed," Beckett muttered half under his breath. Beckett's face shut down and he snapped into motion. He immediately ordered Sheppard be moved into a private exam room.

A nurse ushered the Colonel out of the room while McKay and Kai shared a confused look.

"You're free to go," the nurse told her.

Kai climbed to her feet, still frowning as the doors slid shut behind Sheppard cutting him off from the rest of the exam room. Kai moved over to McKay's gurney. The splinter was out and the nurse was obligingly binding his 'wound'.

"What happened?" She asked in a low tone.

McKay looked up at her. "Oh the usual," he huffed. "Ended up on an alien planet, running through a forest alone chasing after a Wraith infected with Beckett's brilliant Retro-virus," he snapped sarcastically.

McKay winced as the nurse pulled the gauze tight around his finger. "It almost tried to feed on me, then I got a splinter." He said holding his hand up pitifully.

Kai lifted a brow sardonically, "And the Colonel?" She asked jerking her chin towards the closed door.

"Oh right," McKay huffed exhaustedly once he realized she wasn't actually concerned with his ordeal. "Well, he chased after her to try to save her and she attacked him," he waved his hand dismissively. "I'm sure he's fine," he added standing up and moving towards the door.

Kai nodded and trailed slowly behind him, but she couldn't shake the ball of worry that started to grow in her chest. It persisted through the day and made it nearly impossible to focus on her work.

><><

Beckett spent the next hour running Sheppard through every scanner and test he could think of. While he waited for the results to process he pulled vial after vial of blood for testing. He was leaving nothing to chance. As much as he would like to say it was luck and that the Colonel simply hadn't been hurt he was a realist and this was the Pegasus Galaxy. No one was lucky in the Pegasus Galaxy.

"Maybe the wound wasn't that bad," Sheppard said watching as Beckett took yet another vial of blood.

"Then where did all the blood come from?" Beckett challenged, stress made his tone sharper than he intended, but his racing thoughts made it impossible for him to stop and apologize.

"I don't know, maybe it just looked worse than it was," John shrugged. He hated getting stuck in the infirmary. He didn't know exactly what was going on but he knew being moved into his own room wasn't a good sign.

"I don't see any evidence of any cut at all," Carson said tightly as he drew another vial.

"That's weird," Sheppard said thinking back on the encounter with the teenage Wraith who had been transformed by Beckett's retrovirus. "Because it hurt like hell."

"Are you sure the skin was broken?" Carson asked hopefully.

John scrubbed at the back of his neck. It had all happened pretty
fast. They had initially been trying to recapture Ellia. As much as Sheppard hated to admit it she had been different from any Wraith they had encountered. But once she took the retrovirus all
of that went away. Instead of becoming human like she wanted the young woman had devolved into something closer to the Iratus bug. She had been a whole hell of a lot stronger and faster than any Wraith John had fought. "Pretty sure, there was a lot of blood. Maybe it was hers," he said with a shrug.

"It was definately human," Carson said with a shake of his head as he began packing up his equipment. He had everything he needed, now it would just take time to run the tests and get the results back.

"I don't know, maybe it was a nose bleed," Sheppard offered as he climbed to his feet. He picked up his flak vest and headed towards the door.

"Is that supposed to be a joke Colonel?" Beckett asked grimly. It bothered him that the Colonel seemed so cavalier about what had happened.

John stopped and shook his head as he remembered the feral look in the once sweet girl's eyes as she tried to feed on him. "Believe me, this isn't funny."

Carson nodded in approval to see Sheppard was as concerned as he deamed the situation called for. "Give me tonight to run your blood work and analyze it with the data we already have."

"Until then?" John asked shifting his weight restlessly.

Carson shrugged. "Well you're welcome to look over my shoulder..." Carson offered, knowing he would be pulling an all nighter until this mystery was solved. There was something going on and it had his gut churning.

John's face pinched up. "That's tempting..."

Beckett snorted, pleased to see the colonel's sense of humor seemed to be in place. "Just go about your business as usual. I took a lot of blood. Get yourself some food and some rest. I will hopefully have some news in the morning."

John nodded. "Thanks doc," he called and headed out of the infirmary.

><><

John spotted Kai and Ronon eating together when he entered the mess hall. His head started to pound as the sight of Ronon and Kai chatting quietly together made something ugly in his gut twist.

At the table Kai was listening to one of Ronon's stories when a strange feeling hit her. It was like a fast wave of nausea that was gone as quickly as it came. Her jerked upright in her seat as her thoughts went unprompted to Sheppard. She had the sudden and overwhelming urge to return to the infirmary to check on him. Which didn't make sense. He had been fine when she saw him last.

"You okay?" Ronon asked staring down at the small Mortii.

Kai nodded and turned her attention back to her food. "Yeah," she agreed, shaking off the feeling that was rapidly fading. The mess hall was busy with the dinner crowd and they overwhelmed her senses. She didn't notice Sheppard behind her as she turned her attention back to Ronon. His proximity made the brief brush with their connection that much more potent.

John flinched as the errant thought caught him by surprise. It didn't make sense. He was glad the Satedan was settling in and that he seemed to have developed a friendship with Kai. They both tended towards solitude and with their pasts they could probably relate to one another.

Shaking away the strange thought his headache slid away, forgotten as quickly as it had appeared.

He went through the line loading his plate with a second helping.  He hadn't realized how hungry he was until he smelled the food. He added a third helping. He hesitated for a moment thinking he should head to his room, but Ronon caught his eye and jerked his chin at him.

Kai looked momentary surprised to see him. She ran her eyes over him critically and then relief softened her features. A tentative smile crossed her face before she dropped her gaze back to her food.

John swallowed, his fingers gripping his tray as he suddenly felt like he was back in high school faced with the pretty girl. Kai was so beautiful when she smiled at him it made something in his chest tighten. A sudden slice of pain in his temples made him finch and a wave of almost feral possessiveness washed over him. He eyes flashed back towards her face and then he locked them down on his tray, his fingers gripping the plastic so hard his knuckles turned white. He grimaced.

He and Kai weren't together, they couldn't be, and even if they were he had never been the jealous type with any of his past romantic entanglements. The weird feeling didn't make sense. He cared about her, but he wasn't possessive.

Kai rarely allowed herself the freedom to smile at someone and express her emotions. He was glad she was comfortable with him. It was a show of trust. He pinched his eyes shut for a moment and the pounding subsided. Maybe the Doc was right. He needed to eat and get some sleep. His body was exhausted and he felt hollowed out.

He cleared his throat and moved to their table and sat down beside the Satedan across from Kai. He kept his eyes on his plate as he worked to keep his emotions off his face. This wasn't normally a problem for him, but he didn't quite feel normal. He turned down to the food on his tray and his mood lightened immediately. The lines of tension smoothed from his face and shoulders as he relaxed in his chair.

"You good?" Ronon asked gruffly, his eyes raking over Sheppard in confusion.

"No injury," Sheppard reported brightly taking a bite of his steak sandwich. He nearly groaned in satisfaction. He was starving. That was the problem. He had pushed himself too hard again, and he was paying the price. It wasn't the first time and it certainly wouldn't be the last. With that knowledge a strange sense of peace washed over him and he settled into his meal with more focus. He just needed fuel. Kai was entirely forgotten.

Ronon and Kai shared on confused look as the Colonel ate with an enthusiasm normally only matched by McKay. "Beckett kept you in there a long time for there to be nothing wrong with you," Kai observed.

Ronon was scowling. "I saw your arm," he said. "I helped you bind it, there was blood everywhere."

John seemed entirely focused on the meal in front of him. "Guess not," he said with a casual shrug. "Coulda been hers," he added around a mouthful of food.

Ronon's frown deepened into a full scowl. "No, nothing touched her. It took both of us to put her down."

Kai's eyebrows lifted. It was impressive and spoke to how strong the girl must have become for it to have taken the two of them together. Both John and Ronon were capable soldiers.

John shrugged again. "Doc's running all the tests," he said and he dug into his second sandwich. "He said I'm good to go about my business," John said flashing a pleased smile.

Kai glanced up at him from under her lashes. The knot of worry that had been in her chest since seeing him in the infirmary tightened another notch. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something slightly off about The Colonel. She was tempted to open the gate she had shut so firmly between them, even a small bit, just to see.

"So how's the arm?" He asked his tone brighter than normal.

Kai flinched guiltily and pushed aside the thought. Using the telepathic connection that way felt too much like invading his privacy. She glanced down at her arm, although her jacket covered evidence of the injury. "Fine."

"We still on for tomorrow?" He asked flashing her his most charming smile as he finished his food.

"If you're feeling up to it," she agreed the first small lines of a scowl began to form between her eyes.

Oblivious to her change in mood he grinned eagerly as he stood to clear his tray. "You're on," he challenged and he stalked away.

Kai realized in that moment what was bothering her about his attitude. He was expressing more emotion than he usually did which was odd in itself. But despite the possible danger he faced, he didn't seem worried at all.

><><

John had nightmares that night. Over and over it felt like he was being smothered, crushed, or buried alive. He fought to get away from it, but he somehow knew he was sleeping and he wasn't strong enough. He woke up early covered in sweat with his heart pounding in his chest. John didn't often have nightmares and the memory of them was fading behind the pounding in his temples. He grimaced and pinched his eyes shut, willing the feeling to go away. He was surprised when he scrubbed at his eyes and the headache was gone completely. He pushed himself to his feet expecting to feel tired from the poor night of sleep, instead he was incredibly energized. He had expected sore muscles from his run in with Ellia but he felt great.

He took a fast shower. He had a couple hours before he was supposed to meet Kai to spar and he thought a run might be nice. He knew Ronon ran every morning, sometimes he joined him. He headed to the track already the memory of being smothered in his own body forgotten.

John found Ronon stretching and the two of them started around the track. John stretched his legs and easily pulled pushed past the Satedan to set a grueling pace.

They finished the first lap and he glanced back at Ronon as they slowed. John wasn't even winded, in fact he felt like he could do better. "I thought you said you were a runner?" he asked sarcastically.

"That's funny," Ronon said as he gasped to catch his breath. He leaned his hands against the bars. He had been at an all out sprint to try to even keep Sheppard in sight. Sheppard was older than him by several years and Ronon had always set the pace.

"I can usually barely keep up, what's with you?" John asked. He wasn't even breathing hard.

"What's with you?" Ronon accused panting as sweat trickled down his temples.

"Water?" John offered holding his unused bottle of water out to Ronon.

The large Satedan scowled at him and snatched the bottle out of his hand roughly.

John bristled. "Hey sore loser. I don't act like a jerk when you beat me."

Ronon chugged half the bottle. "Yes, you do," he panted.

"Okay," John agreed slowly. "Then we'll go around again," he said casually.

Ronon stared at The Colonel like he was crazy. "Go ahead," he panted.

"Okay grumpy.  I will." Sheppard tore off running back the way they had come. The pounding in his head matched the beats of his heart. It tempted him to push himself even faster, to draw on the strength it offered. He stretched his legs this time enjoying the freedom of moving at full speed. He sprinted four more laps before he realized he was going to be late to meet Kai and jogged to the sparring room.

><><

Kai didn't sleep well. She tossed and turned restlessly all night. The ball of worry that had started in the infirmary continued to grow until it felt difficult to breathe past it. She lay in bed staring at the ceiling and couldn't shake the feeling that something was happening with Sheppard. It was an unnamed instinct she couldn't rationalize but she also couldn't ignore.

Unable to stand it she finally allowed herself to open the connection between them. Whatever the connection was, and whatever is meant didn't matter, she just need to know he was okay so she could get some sleep. But when she tried nothing happened. She concentrated so hard she broke out into a sweat and instead of finding a warm pulse on the other end, her head started to pound. She felt nauseas and dizzy as she tried to force it.

She quit, scowling in defeat. The honest truth was that she didn't know how it came to be in the first place or even what it was. It was foolish of her to think she could control something she didn't understand and closed herself off from so completely. She had never been particularity gifted telepathically and that weakness was showing itself.

It was nearly dawn before the feeling of anxiety faded and it was like she could breathe again. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she dressed and hurried to the sparring room early. She needed to see him, to reassure herself he was all right.

When he wasn't there she started stretching, but fighting against the tension in her body made it difficult to focus. The door hissed open a few minutes later and The Colonel swaggered in with a confident grin on his face.

"Morning," he called flashing her a charming smile.

Kai frowned for a second. She had spent most of the night worrying about him, but he seemed fine. In fact he looked better than fine. There was a bounce in his step and a slight flush to his skin like he had already been working out. He moved across the mats and picked up two rods. Turning around he tossed them at Kai as she climbed to her feet, still scowling. She startled and managed to catch them. He pulled two of his own, swinging them experimentally.

"How are you feeling?" Kai asked hesitantly.

Sheppard turned around to face her, already moving across the mat towards her. "Never better," he promised her. He smiled again and there was something about the glint of challenge in his eyes that made Kai's heart start to pound. He prowled around her an almost predatory set to his shoulders as he rotated his wrists as though testing the rods weight.

"Ready?" he asked eagerly. John felt amazing after his run. Instead of making him more tired he felt energized, like his reserves of strength and energy were limitless. It was a heady feeling and he was eager to try himself against Kai today.

Kai opened her mouth to say yes but he attacked before she could finish. It stunned her for a moment. Sheppard had never done anything like that. He was always so careful when the sparred together. In fact he had just lectured her about sparring with Ronon not two weeks ago.

Sheppard struck out at her and she easily parried, but she grunted at the force behind his strike. She moved to strike at his thigh but he twisted shockingly fast. He shoved her rod up, ducked under her guard and flipped her over his back. She landed hard on her back and the wind was knocked out of her.

Kai scowled as she fought to drag the air back in her lungs. "You've been practicing without me," Kai panted. The two of them were pretty evenly matched normally; while Sheppard was stronger than her he was also usually slower. That didn't seem to be the case today.

"Not really," he said casually. He turned away and uncharacteristically left her laying on the mat.

Kai frowned. Not that she needed it, but Sheppard was normally a more gracious sparring partner and usually offered a hand up if he knocked her on her backside. Instead, he spun the bantos rods in his hands, and with a cocky smirk he tossed one aside.

He turned to face her, tucking one of his arms behind his back. "Had enough?" he goaded when Kai hesitated.

It was in John's nature to tease, one of his greatest attributes was his sense of humor, but it was normally self-deprecating. John had mastered the art of teasing without being unkind. This had a hard edge to it that was not normally there. 

Kai narrowed her eyes, scowling at his overt show of confidence. A lazy, self satisfied smirk pulled at the Colonels face enraging her past noticing the possibility of something being wrong.

Kai threw herself to her feet, landing lightly and twirled her bantos rods.

John smirked and charged her. It was one of his usual moves, one that almost never worked. It was too overt and based entirely on brute strength. The agile assassin was always able to move out of the way in the past. Today however, John was on her in the blink of an eye. Instead of striking her, he shoved her back with a powerful strike, throwing her off balance. Then he charged her, slamming her backwards into the wall. He easily pinned her bantos rods above her head with a hand on one wrist and his own rod locked down against the other of the hers.

Kai grimaced as the wind was knocked out of her again from the strength of the Colonels charge. "That was impressive," Kai said cautiously, her breath was coming in shaky gasps. Their chests were pressed together as they both gasped for air.

Something was different. Kai had been fighting side by side with Sheppard for almost a year now. Unless he had been concealing his skills that entire time something had changed rapidly. Despite the increased power in his attacks she could still feel even more untapped power radiating through his body as he held her easily against the wall. She found it distracting as she tried to stay focused.

John often turned himself over to his instincts in a fight. Years of combat experience had taught him not to overthink, to trust himself and his body. That proved to be his undoing. When he let go to focus on the fight the pounding in his temples that he had been fighting all day unfurled itself like a great sleeping beast. It moved from where it had been building power in the back of his mind to the front.

His own uncertainty regarding his feelings for Kai made the beast's job so much easier as it slithered in, seeking control. Instead of an outright struggle the beast within sought to placate him. It shifted his instincts, prompting his more primal urges to the forefront of his mind.

John leaned into Kai, his body pushing closer towards her. The Beast was salivating. Her scent was all around him. The heat from the fight and their proximity made need stir in his groin. Sweat beaded up on the exposed skin of her throat, and when she swallowed the movement of her throat caught his gaze.

The rest of her smooth skin was covered, hiding the scars that proved she was a survivor, a fighter and most importantly a warrior worthy of them. She was keeping herself closed off, apart and contained and it infuriated the beast.

The problem was both John and the beast enjoyed when a spark of temper lit her eyes. They liked when they had managed to break her normally steely self control to reveal the fire beneath the icy exterior.

He wanted more. They wanted more.

Need, hunger and desire all moved through him leaving a firestorm in its wake. He closed his eyes once and drew in a deep breath as a shudder ran through his body. He could smell and hear so much more and she was so close, overwhelming his senses. Her breath was coming in fast pants and when he smelled her own desire The Beast shoved forward taking full control.

Oblivious to John's internal struggle Kai pushed against his hold once, but it did nothing to move him. Tightening her jaw she bucked her whole body against his experimentally. When his body didn't move Kai swallowed. Her heart started pounding in her throat as she looked up into his intense gaze from only inches away. Something was different about him. The hazel of his eyes gleamed brighter than usual. There was an intensity she had only seen on his face a handful of times and it made her breath catch in her throat.

"You should call me John when we're off the clock," he purred, his voice was lower, almost a growl. He leaned closer into her, drawing in her scent. He hovered just above her skin. There were reasons he should stop, but he couldn't remember a single one of them with her pressing against him. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her, every one of his ever enhancing senses knew that down to the marrow of his bones.

"John," she said his name, but it came out breathy. There was a faint tremble to her muscles but it had nothing to do with fatigue and everything to do with the way he was looking at her. Her eyes flickered instinctively to his lips.

Just hearing her say his name like that was enough for the beast to clench even more control. Something dark and possessive slid behind his eyes. "There you go," his voice dropped an octave and he moved his body against hers. He wanted her to say his name like that all the time. He wanted her to know she was his.

Kai sucked in a surprised breath, but she didn't pull away. Instead she stared into his hazel eyes as though she could read his thoughts. There was desire in her eyes, but also confusion.

In that moment John Sheppard knew something was wrong with him. He could feel it slithering through him like tar. It was trying to take something he treasured. This wasn't him. He cared for Kai, he would never use their training sessions to gain the upper hand and take advantage of her. Especially not after what she told him of her past.

She trusted him.

He fought and struggled against the pressure in his temples, but just like in his dreams he couldn't get away from it. He wasn't strong enough. He had inadvertently given The Beast so much freedom it was impossible to wrestle it back. The Beast leaned his body in closer to Kai, trying to feed John what it thought he wanted to placate him, but it was a mockery of what he truly desired. It was taking something he wanted and turning it ugly and John was stuck watching as The Beast ruined his life.

Kai licked her lips nervously and she looked down at where Sheppard's hands and body were pinning her to the wall. There had always been tension between her and Sheppard but he had never acted on it. He had always been so careful to keep the line of professionalism firmly drawn. What was different about today?

"Should we continue or do you-?" Her voice came out more breathy than she intended but she needed to break the tension before she gave into the urge to kiss his full lips that were twisted in a cocky smirk.

John's hooded eyes dropped to her lips as she spoke and it felt like a physical caress. There was the clatter of him dropping his bantos rod and he raised his hand up to cup the back of her neck. The warm pads of his fingers buried themselves in the hair at the base of her skull. Her breath caught in her throat as he leaned in, his breath fanning her skin. For one agonizing second she thought he was going to pull back, then he kissed her. His lips slid against her's sensually as his body pressed her back into the wall.

Kai dropped the sticks in her hands and her palms came up to rest against his chest. She only had a moment to doubt if this was the right thing, but the feel of John against her was too much. She had wanted him for so long. She sank one of her hands into his hair pulling his mouth closer as she kissed him back. A pleased growl rumbled through John's chest and she arched closer to him. The feel of him surrounding her was too much, she was drowning in sensations.

The Beast brought John's free hand around to lock around Kai's hip to anchor her in place. The little movement was enough for John to break free. The feel of Kai complaint against him, her tugging at his hair and the heat of her palms against his chest were enough of an anchor for John to wrench away control. He couldn't let this go on. He wanted her, god he wanted this so badly, but something was wrong with him.

He wasn't in control.

He forced himself to break the kiss. His eyes were wide as he stared down at Kai's moist, swollen lips. Then he forced them to snap back up to look her in the eyes. They were still pressed together intimately and he couldn't seem to gain control of the rest of his body. It was like it was on lock down.

"I'm not really sure what's happening," John told her honestly as he frowned down at her.

When John pulled back Kai let her hands slide back down so they were both resting against the hard planes of his chest. It took her a moment to catch her own breath and then another to realize his heartbeat wasn't slowing. It was raging inside his chest, thundering four or five times faster than it should.

She looked down where her hand was resting against him in concern. "John?" She asked uncertainly.

"That was interesting," he said looking away from her but he still couldn't force his body to let her go. The Beast wasn't in his mind anymore but it wasn't gone fully. It couldn't take control but it wasn't going to give it to him either.

Kai frowned up at him. The sting of rejection swirled through her for a moment and she moved experimentally to see if he would let her pull away.

As soon as Kai showed any desire to not be touched by him John was able to use that to take full control back. He snapped his hands back away from her tucking them across his chest.

He was gasping for breath now, sweat beading on his forehead as his hands trembled. Regret and concern flashed through his eyes. "Are you okay?" He gasped as he watched her. Whatever was happening, it had ruined everything.

Kai nodded slowly as she studied him. "Colonel," she addressed him formally although she was still fighting to get her own emotions back in check. "I think we need to get you to the infirmary."

She could hear his heartbeat continuing to accelerate. She didn't know how much more the human body could take.

"I think you're right," he agreed with false brightness. He didn't want to scare her any more but he was fighting to keep the pounding in his head from taking control once more.

She stepped towards him to take his arm and help him but he pulled back sharply before they could touch, nearly tripping over his own feet to keep his distance. "I'm okay. I don't need help," he stammered. He could feel the poison slithering through him again. It was taking all of his concentration and strength to fight it. That thing was messing with his instincts again and he needed to get as far away from Kai as possible. He wasn't safe for her to be around.

"Colonel Sheppard," Beckett's voice called through the comm in his ear. "Please report to the infirmary immediately."

"See," John assured her. "They're already expecting me."

Kai watched as he practically fled the gym away from her, when he was gone she ran a hand over her mouth, wondering what was going on. One thing she knew for sure, there was something very wrong with John Sheppard.

><><

Chapter 53

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Conversion Cont.

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The trip to the infirmary was foggy. John was fighting against the building pressure in his head as he staggered through the halls, he could feel the strength running through his body but it wasn't his own, and now he recognized it for the trap it was. He staggered sideways into a wall and nearly went down. 

His senses were out of control. The lights were hurting his eyes and he pinched them shut. He could hear everything, smell everything it was all too overwhelming. He leaned against the cold steel of the wall for less than a minute before he was drowning in the smell of the ocean and lavender. Instinctually, he turned towards it even with his eyes closed he knew it was her. He could hear every puff of air that worked in and out of her lungs and the accelerating rhythm of her heart.  

Gentle but firm hands grabbed one of his arms and pulled it over her shoulders. Her hands were smooth and cool against his sweat damp skin and he leaned towards her. With on arm over her shoulder she held his wrist in one hand and his waist in the other. Her fingers gripped his hipbone as she tugged at him to get him to his feet. 

"Come on John," she said through gritted teeth. 

She was smaller than him and she wouldn't be able to get him to his feet unless he did it. He forced his body to move, to follow her. He trusted her to help him.

Kai was scared. She didn't know what was wrong with John, but he wasn't himself. He flinched from every sound and he leaned heavily against her. She grunted under his weight, but was determined to help get him to the infirmary. What had happened in the sparring room wasn't like him. 

John leaned into Kai. It was taking all of his concentration not to give in to the thing that was growing inside of him. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold it back. It felt like a battering ram against the inside of his skull. The thing inside of him had used his competitive nature to take control and it had used Kai. He couldn't let it do that again. He could feel the intelligence of it. The cunning. Fighting it however took every piece of his concentration and strength. It felt like he had just run a marathon. Every muscle was shaking. 

"Kai-" he started to say her name to warn her, but then collapsed to his knees, half dragging her down with him. 

Kai didn't let go and went down to a knee beside him. John's hands came up to squeeze his temples as though he could force The Beast out of his head. 

Kai didn't have her radio, she cursed herself up and down for leaving it in the gym. She reached down and activated his. She leaned close to him so she could be heard. "Doctor Beckett, there's a medical emergency in hallway 34-g." She reported, fighting to keep her voice steady.

"Kai?" Beckett asked in confusion.

"It's the Colonel, please hurry," and the comm clicked off.

John collapsed towards her and she caught him by his shoulders. His head leaned towards her and she rested her forehead against his. He was trembling beneath her touch and his teeth had started chattering despite the fact that his skin felt feverish. 

"I-I'm sorry," he panted. "I can't-" he struggled to explain to her that he hadn't been able to stop it. 

"It's okay," she whispered, her breath fanning his face. 

He opened his eyes and met her gaze from only inches away. "D-does this mean y-you f-forgive me?" He managed to choke out beyond his chattering teeth.

Kai scowled, not following his train of thought. His expression was tormented as he fought against the pain that seemed to be wracking his body. His heartbeat continued to accelerate. She couldn't imagine what he thought he needed forgiveness for. 

"Colonel," She started to say but stopped. She knew him. What had happened in the sparring room had been entirely out of character. As much as she had enjoyed the kiss, part of her knew he would never had initiated it in that way. Despite what was happening to him he was trying to make sure she was all right. Still protecting her. 

She let herself lean her forehead more firmly against his. "Always," she whispered their lips only inches apart. 

He let out a sigh of relief and leaned into her. There was a moment where it was like a veil was lifted between them. She felt the hard nudge that she knew, knew was him. She had been the one to close herself off before, and she hadn't anticipated how much she missed the feel of him. It was like missing a limb. Uncertain if she was using the connection correctly, she pushed back telepathically, wanting him to know that she was there. 

Instead of the answering warmth she expected, she found something else. 

John's entire body went ramrod stiff. It snapped up to its feet too quickly to track as though he were a puppet and someone had pulled his strings. He stopped shivering and went absolutely still, every muscle was in lock down. He slow blinked down at her for half a second. 

Kai tried to suck in a breath but it was like there was no air in the room. Whatever stood before her now was not John nor was John on the other end of the telepathic connection. Instead it was something dark and cold. She fought to pull back from it, but she wasn't fast enough. She didn't know enough and protecting herself from John didn't come naturally. It cost her. Wave after wave of cold, malicious, cunning hit her as it sought out any weakness it could use to control her as well. She opened her mouth in a silent scream and cupped her temples. She scrambled back away from him. 

The Beast stared down at her through Sheppard's eyes. It had total control of Sheppard's body and it cocked its head as it watched her with cold detachment. There was pounding feet behind them and The Beast whipped around to face the medical staff dropping into a defensive crouch. It was enough of a distraction The Beast lost it's grip on their connection. Kai was able to jerk back, slamming the telepathic door closed between them and suddenly she could breathe again. 

The pain of the connection breaking knocked The Beast to its knees. Its hand flew up to grab the center of its chest and Kai saw for the first time a strange blue scaling forming on the inside of his forearm. It turned John's fever bright eyes back to her. Anger, shock and betrayal all swirled in his gaze as it took an aggressive step towards her.

Seeing the fear flicker through Kai's eyes was enough for John to wrench back control. A shudder ran through his body and suddenly it was John staring down at her. He was sweating and shaking as he stood over Kai who had dropped into a defensive crouch. His heart was thundering in his ears as the pressure started to build in his temples. 

"Colonel," Beckett called as he took a cautious step towards him. 

John collapsed to his knees with his arms wrapped around his torso as his eyes stared desperately into Kai's.

"Help me," he begged.

><><

Elizabeth hurried through the halls towards the infirmary. She had received word from Beckett that his concerns over Colonel Sheppard's condition had proved to be correct. She had already been on the way to the infirmary so Beckett could explain the test results to her and the Colonel when she was notified The Colonel had collapsed. 

The doors hissed open and she hurried in to where Beckett was working over his computer. John was laying down on a gurney a short distance away with his eyes closed. 

"Carson," Elizabeth greeted tightly. "What's going on?" She asked, her eyes flickering back to the Colonel. "How is he?"

Beckett drew in a steadying breath. "He collapsed on his way here. Kai called it in. He's resting now."

Elizabeth looked around the infirmary. "Kai?" she asked in confusion. It didn't seem likely the Mortii would call in a medical emergency and then not stick around to make sure the Colonel was all right. 

"Aye, I ordered her to her quarters to rest, she seemed quite shaken, poor dear," Beckett said grimly. 

Elizabeth frowned at his words and turned to look at John. He appeared to be resting comfortably, but appearances could be deceiving. She couldn't imagine what could have happened to make Kai look shaken. She would use a lot of words to describe Kai, but 'poor dear' wasn't among them. Kai was one of the strongest people she had ever met. 

'It's the retrovirus," Beckett confirmed grimly as he stepped towards Weir. 

Elizabeth swung back around to face Beckett as a bad feeling went through her. 

"All the tests confirm it. I had hoped if he was infected it might break down in his system because he's human," he pressed his lips together and guilt swam in his eyes. "That doesn't seem to be the case."

"You're positive?" Elizabeth asked desperately. 

"Yes, I'm certain," Beckett confirmed. Then he turned, a gentle hand gripping Weir's elbow to turn her away from Sheppard. "In fact, it's beginning to alter his DNA. His strength and senses have already mutated exponentially. If it's allowed to continue he'll devolve into a creature similar to what Ellia became." 

"How long do we have?" Weir asked urgently. She had just finished reading the mission reports over what happened to the Wraith girl. She couldn't accept something like that happening to Colonel Sheppard. 

Beckett shook his head. "I'm not sure exactly." 

"Ballpark," Weir ordered. "Months? Weeks?" 

Beckett couldn't help feeling that this was his fault. He gaze was pained as he spoke the words that had been weighing on him. "Days. We have days."

Weir's eyes flashed with concern and then narrowed as she settled into problem solving mode. "Okay," she agreed. "What's the plan?" she asked authoritatively. 

"I've injected him with a viral inhibitor. It should slow the effects of the retrovirus as far as his cognitive abilities are concerned, but I'm afraid that's it so far. We're exploring the various treatments that may or may not be effective."

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around herself. "No Carson, there's no time to explore. There's gotta be something in the ancient database that can help you find a treatment." 

Beckett drew in a tight breath. He appreciated Elizabeth's concern, but he had already chased McKay out of the infirmary for telling him how to do his job. Elizabeth might be the leader here, but she didn't outrank him standing in the infirmary. "I know that Elizabeth," he said patiently. "I'm doing my best." 

Elizabeth nodded, scrubbing her hands on her thighs. "I'm sorry, I know you are. Of course you are." 

Beckett dropped his voice even lower and leaned towards Elizabeth hoping he wouldn't be overheard. "You should talk to him. He's hiding it very well, but if I was him I would be scared to death."

John lay in the gurney staring up at the ceiling as he processed everything around him. The inhibitor Beckett had given him seemed to be working. He already felt more in control. The near constant pressure against his temples was gone, and it gave him the opportunity to get used to his much more powerful senses. 

There were so many sounds. The buzz of the machinery alone was maddening. Weir and Beckett were trying to keep their voices down, but he could hear conversations happening out in the hallway. Their efforts were a complete waste. He didn't like Beckett implying he was scared. He didn't feel scared at all. John sat up and looked over at them. "How am I doing?" he called grimly.

Elizabeth shared a long look with Carson before moving towards his bed. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped, uncertain how to begin. 

John frowned shifting on his cot. "Anything that has you speechless has me concerned." 

"You're going to be fine," she said unconvincingly as she stepped up next to the gurney. 

John lifted his eyebrows. "Wow, that's dead man talk," he observed. 

"No it isn't," Elizabeth snapped quickly. Her eyes flickered back to Beckett for help, but he had already returned to his research. 

"Have you seen this?" John asked holding out his arm. The strange blue scales had spread from the feeding site and they now covered from his wrist to his elbow. 

Elizabeth's eyes widened when she saw the waxy scaling. "Beckett, is going to figure this one out," she said but she sounded less and less convinced. 

"I think I already have," John told her grimly. You know what I'm starting to feel like?" he paused for a moment, his lips pressed together. "Ford." 

Elizabeth pulled back sharply. "What happened to you is completely different."

John shrugged unconvincingly. "I know. I know," he agreed. "Still. I can feel it. I mean, I can feel it changing me inside like he did."

Weir stopped for a moment and started down at Colonel Sheppard. Over the last two years, despite how reserved he could be she had gotten to know him. He was one of the most loyal, brave men she had ever met and she absolutely trusted him. "I don't think that's even possible," she said honestly. She cleared her throat and looked away from his strangely intense gaze. "Look, you're very worried-"

John interrupted her shaking his head. "But I'm not," he argued. "I know I should be in pain, or at the very least freaked out by this, but I'm not. That freaks me out more than anything."

Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest. "We're going to beat this," she promised him, hoping she sounded more reassuring than she felt. 

"We're going to beat this?" John asked in disbelief. "Beckett will figure this out? You're going to be fine? You really suck at the whole bedside manner thing," he growled sardonically. 

Elizabeth let out a loud sigh. "I know, I'm sorry," she said shaking her head. For the first time since coming here she felt like she could talk to him normally. 

"But I appreciate the effort. Can you do me a favor?" he asked, looking down at his feet for a moment. 

"Of course," she said quickly. 

"Will you check on Kai? I-" John sucked in a breath and stopped pressing his lips together. He didn't want to admit how afraid he was that this thing had ruined their friendship. 

"Kai?" Elizabeth asked in confusion. 

"Yeah, just do me a favor and check on her at some point today," John said, leaning back against the gurney he closed his eyes. 

"I will." Elizabeth promised and she turned towards the door, pleased to have an excuse to leave the infirmary.

><><

Several hours later Elizabeth moved back into her office, reading over Beckett's proposed mission. Major Lourne was going to lead an expedition to retrieve Eratus bug eggs. The medical team seemed to think they might be able to generate a cure using stem cells found in the eggs. Infiltrating the nest of the predatory bugs was going to be a dangerous endeavor, but the Major, Beckett and the other members of the Colonel's team were determined. 

John swaggered into her office, his eyes were hard and glinting as he studied Weir. She looked wary of him and it put him even more on edge. "Look," he snapped motioning over his shoulder. "I made a new friend."

Elizabeth glanced to the marine trailing behind him. "It's only protocol."

His eyes narrowed. "That's your answer for everything," he snapped unkindly. 

Elizabeth ran her eyes over him. There was an aggressive set to his shoulders and his eyes were hard and cruel. He didn't look like himself and it made her nervous. She had seen the Colonel make himself intimidating before, but this was something different. "You look well," she commented her gaze landing on his scale covered hand with its claws, and the scales that were peaking out of the neck of his shirt. 

There was a shift behind his eyes and suddenly he seemed embarrassed. He fumbled as he jammed his infected hand into his pocket so it was out of sight. He shifted his weight and self consciously fiddled with the collar of his shirt.  

Weir immediately felt bad for drawing attention to the changes. If they were frightening to her she couldn't imagine how frightening they were to him. She cleared her throat. "Should you be out of bed?" she asked more gently. 

John rolled his shoulders. "I was going a little crazy down there so they said I could walk around for a bit. Look," he said, his eyes suddenly hardening. "I'm trying to say I want to go on this mission."

Weir wasn't fast enough to contain her surprise. "You said yourself, you are not fit for any off-world activity."

John's jaw tightened. "The inhibitor that Beckett's got me on that's keeping me lucid...they keep having to up the dose," he confessed. He knew what it meant, even if no one was saying to words. He was a dead man walking if they didn't come up with a solution fast. 

"I know, they told me," she said grimly.

"I don't know how much more time I have, but the last thing I want to do is sit on my...mutating hands!" he snarled staring down at the claws on his right hand. "While my team puts their lives on the line trying to find me a cure. I should be with them!" he shouted. 

"No, I'm sorry," Weir shot him down quickly. 

Seeing his show of temper was hurting his case more than helping John fought to compose himself. "What's the worst that can happen? I die?" he challenged. 

"You compromise the lives of everyone else. They have enough things-"

"Wait, wait wait," John snarled talking over her. "Suddenly I'm a liability?" He snarled and took an aggressive step towards her. 

Elizabeth stiffened but refused to back down on this. "Your condition can change rapidly."

Tension thrummed through his body as his muscles contracted and his hands tightened into fists. "I know and I also know I can do this!" 

Elizabeth tightened her jaw even as her eyes flickered to the marine standing over Sheppard's shoulder. "I'm glad you feel that way, but it would be-"

"This is my life we're talking about," he snarled with an angry shake of his head. 

"I know that."

"I'm going on that mission," he growled. 

"No, John you're not."

Uncontrollable rage surged through him. He whirled around and struck out at the glass wall. "Damnit!" he roared. The glass shattered, raining down all over the floor. 

Elizabeth jumped up to knock down the stunner the marine was pointing at John. "It's okay, put it down!" she yelled sharply. 

John froze as he stared down at his clenched fist as though he didn't recognize it. "I'm betting that didn't sell you," John said sardonically. 

Elizabeth eyed him warily. "No, no not really."

"I should go back to the infirmary," John said motioning towards the door. 

"Yes," Elizabeth agreed breathlessly. 

><><

Kai returned to her room. She didn't like having to leave Sheppard, but Beckett had been right. She needed to rest. What had happened when she tried to access the mental connection had worn her out. She could feel a headache building but she didn't want to go to the infirmary. They had to focus on helping Sheppard. 

She took a shower and changed. She tried to lay down and rest but her thoughts kept going to the thing she had felt in her mind where John should have been. Shoving herself to her feet she hurried out of her room. She didn't want to bother them in the infirmary so she headed towards the control room. She was halfway there when she heard McKay and Lorne talking down one of the side hallways about Sheppard. 

She turned and hurried to catch up to them. "Major Lorne," she called. 

He turned. Both he and McKay were wearing their off-world gear and flak vests.

"You're going on a mission for the Colonel?" she asked unnecessarily. She was too anxious to bother pretending she hadn't been eavesdropping on their conversation. 

Lorne nodded. "Yep. Beckett thinks he might be able to come up with a cure."

"I would like to come with," Kai said. "I can help on the mission."

Lorne opened his mouth to respond but Colonel Caldwell marched around the corner. "Just what in the hell is going on here?" Kai turned to face Colonel Caldwell as his eyes narrowed on Major Lorne. Caldwell swung around to glare at her and shoved a finger towards her chest. "You aren't approved for any mission. I just read over your file and correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't have any military clearance what-so-ever." 

Caldwell turned towards Major Lorne. "What mission is this? I haven't seen any off-world requests come in." 

Major Lorne stood at attention. "Doctor Weir approved a mission to retrieve Iratus eggs for a possible cure we-"

"Doctor Weir is not in charge of military operations on this base," Caldwell interrupted stiffly. "Any off world missions have to go through me." 

Major Lorne stiffened, but didn't argue as the Colonel got in his face. 

Kai scowled, she liked Lorne and it bothered her that Caldwell was using his power to intimidate the other man. "Since when? Isn't that Colonel Sheppard's job?" She was anxious about John and that made her snappier than she should have been with Caldwell. 

Caldwell turned his head to glare down at Kai. Kai knew she had overstepped but instead of backing down she lifted her chin defiantly. 

"Last time I checked you are a mechanic and that information isn't your concern," Caldwell replied sharply. 

McKay stepped up next to Kai. "No, but as a senior member of staff it is my concern." He puffed himself up. It was clear Kai wasn't the only one Caldwell was rubbing the wrong way. 

Caldwell turned his head to shoot McKay a disgruntled look. He sighed exasperatedly. "Doctor Weir has asked me to step in while Colonel Sheppard is ill Doctor McKay," Caldwell explained tightly, keeping his entire focus on Rodney and purposefully ignored Kai. "Now, I understand Sheppard was fairly casual about this, but there will be no off world missions without my direct approval." 

"We are going to get the eggs Beckett needs to cure Sheppard," McKay snapped impatiently. "Are you planning on not approving that?" He challenged.

Caldwell looked back and forth between McKay and Lorne and finally nodded. "Fine, I'll let it go this time, but next time I expect a written request on my desk before you go." He turned back to face Kai. "You're still not going," he said severely and he stalked away down the hall.

Kai turned to Major Lorne who shrugged apologetically. "You could try Doctor Weir," he suggested. And he and McKay walked away. 

Kai headed back towards the control room. She stepped into Weir's office, side stepping the broken glass that was spread across the floor. 

"Redecorating?" she asked. 

"You heard?" Weir asked, her hands were still shaking slightly as she straightened the items on her desk for the third time. 

Kai looked down at Doctor Weir's trembling hands and then glanced back over her shoulder at the broken window. 

"He's not himself," Weir said justified, forcing herself to sit. 

"Yes," Kai agreed. "I was sparring with him earlier." She said thoughtfully. 

Weir's eyes widened in alarm. "Are you okay?" She asked, her eyes running over Kai. 

"I'm fine," Kai promised, "but Colonel Sheppard was...different," she finally settled on. She didn't want to go into detail over what had happened. It was too intimate and she had such mixed feelings over it. 

Weir nodded though she was frowning as though she didn't believe her. "Earlier he asked me to check on you."

Kai swallowed. It would have had to have been after he was taken to the infirmary. He was still worried about her even after he collapsed. She didn't know what to do with that. She crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight. 

"He's having a peculiar reaction to the retro virus," Weir explained. "Doctor Beckett says it's transforming him. Taking over his mind and body. When he reached the infirmary his heartbeat was dangerously high. It was taking all his control to fight it. Beckett administered an inhibitor. It's allowed him fairly stable mental control...up to this point," she added shakily. Elizabeth cleated her throat. "He's resting comfortably while Beckett works on finding a cure."

"That's why I'm here," Kai said tightly. 

Elizabeth arched a brow, inviting the other woman to continue. 

Kai cleared her throat and stood up straighter. Weir would never agree to her proposition if she thought Kai needed to be protected. "I understand there is a mission being coordinated to retrieve a cure-"

"Well, the possibility of a cure," Elizabeth corrected. 

Kai nodded sharply. "I asked to be included on the mission, but it seems Colonel Caldwell is now in command of military operations. And he...well, I don't believe he trusts me."

Elizabeth steepled her fingers in front of her mouth. She had already had a run in with Colonel Caldwell earlier that day over sweeping changes he was making to Sheppard's military policies. She wasn't at all surprised to hear he refused to allow Kai on a mission. She pressed her lips together in a grim line. "It is Major Lorne's op," she clarified. 

Kai nodded. 

Elizabeth wasn't sure there was much Kai's presence and particular skill set would add to the mission. Mostly she was fairly certain Kai, similar to herself, just needed something to do to help. "And unfortunately I believe the jumper is full," Weir added.

Kai exhaled as frustration coursed through her. She couldn't get the feeling of that thing taking over him out of her head. She couldn't sit by and do nothing while he struggled against it. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help," Kai said, turning to go.

"Kai wait," Elizabeth called after her. 

Kai turned back around.

"I was going to go check on him and notify him of his team's status. Would you like to join me?" Elizabeth asked as she fidgeted with her hands.

Kai wasn't sure if Elizabeth was wary of seeing Sheppard alone or if she thought Kai needed to be kept busy. Either way, she would happily take the excuse to check on John. 

><><

Kai was surprised to see a guard stationed outside Sheppard's quarters. Elizabeth nodded once to the marine who nodded back. It wasn't one Kai was familiar with and she wondered if this was yet another change Colonel Caldwell had instituted.

Elizabeth swiped her hand over the door controls and they two women stepped into the room together. Kai had only ever been to the Colonel's quarters once before. They were still just as spartan. With only a single piece of art on the wall, his golf clubs and a single photo on the night stand. They were also dark. While Kai could see just fine, Elizabeth reached for the light controls. 

"John?" Elizabeth called into the darkness of the room nervously. She glanced at Kai but the Mortii didn't look concerned. 

Elizabeth reached for the lights. 

"Leave them off." Sheppard ordered sharply. 

Kai turned towards his voice. He didn't sound right. There was something off in his tone that made her wary. Even in the darkness she could see the outline of where he sat on his bed with his back to them. His shoulders were slightly hunched and he didn't look their way. 

Elizabeth hesitated in confusion. "What?" 

"The lights," he clarified, speaking slowly as though she were stupid. "They hurt my eyes." 

Elizabeth subconsciously moved closer to Kai. "I came to practice my bedside manner. How are you?"

John's voice was hard and without emotion and it made Kai's chest tighten. "My body is mutating into a giant bug. How are you?" he asked sarcastically. 

"I came to give you an update," Elizabeth continued on with forced brightness but her fear was almost palpable. Whatever had happened in that office, it was clear to Kai it had made a lasting impression on their leader.

Refusing to admit she was afraid Elizabeth strode purposefully towards John. "Your team is preparing to leave. Major Lourne is leading the team. He's bringing Walker, Stevens, Ronon, Teyla and McKay. They have a plan to locate eggs and then be back here in no time."

"No time," John observed, turning his head to continue to stare at the walls as the women moved around to his side of the bed. "Then what?"

"Honestly I don't know."

John nodded, but he still wouldn't look at them. 

"Hey, are you all right? Do you need me to call someone?"

"Who would you call?" John's voice was a low growl in the back of his throat. 

Kai was locked down telepathically, but her instincts were tingling. There was something very off about John right now.

"Do you need to see a Doctor?" Elizabeth asked, pushing to move around Kai. 

Kai held up her hand, stopping the other woman from getting closer. She was watching him closely. The tension thrumming through his body continued to rise the longer they were in the room.

"I need a bigger security detail," John mumbled, keeping his face averted. 

"Excuse me?" Elizabeth shoved past Kai so she was closer to Sheppard. 

John cleared his throat and tightened his hands into fists. He could feel his new claws dig into his palm. "At least two men, stationed at my door. Sooner rather than later." 

Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief. "What are you talking about?" 

John drew in a deep breath. He could hear and smell Kai, but she hadn't said anything yet. He wondered if she was as scared of him as Elizabeth. Something in his chest twisted painfully at the thought of her fearing him. "Just trust me, you're going to need them," he warned them. Elizabeth could be stubborn, but he trusted Kai to be pragmatic.

Elizabeth took another step towards Sheppard. "Listen John-" 

Kai reached out and caught Elizabeth's arm, stopping her progress. Elizabeth turned to snap at her the same moment John turned to face them. 

"Oh my god," Elizabeth gasped when she saw John's face. She stepped back so fast she stumbled into Kai. Kai moved Elizabeth around behind her so she was the one facing John.

The virus was spreading. One of his eyes was slit and the light green of a wraith. While the other was still his normal warm hazel. Blue scales were climbing up his neck and the underside of his jaw. A few of them had worked their way up one cheek. 

John followed the motion like a cat, then his gaze snapped back to stare into Kai's eyes. Strangely, Kai didn't look afraid at all. Her grey eyes held his without hesitation or fear of what he was becoming. "They need to hurry," he told her, his voice rough with emotion. 

Kai nodded, pressing her lips together as she fought back the desolation she felt. She was losing him. 

"You should be in the infirmary," Elizabeth continued to argue. 

Kai glanced over her shoulder in annoyance. "The infirmary isn't secure," Kai said in a low tone, unable to hide her aggravation. 

John held her gaze with an intensity that wasn't his own. He nodded once briskly and she knew that was why he was here. John would do whatever was necessary to protect the people around him. He would never risk anyone else's safety. 

A pained expression flashed through his hazel eye. "The inhibitor is only keeping my lucid it isn't stopping the retrovirus. I can feel it, slithering around in my head all the time now."

Kai closed her eyes at that. She couldn't imagine what it would be like for someone like John to be painfully aware as this was happening to him. For John to protect and care for the people under his command was so ingrained in him that to feel this thing that could use his body as a weapon take over would be the worst kind of hell. 

"Still-" Elizabeth started. 

John shot to his feet, faster and more powerful than Kai had ever seen him move. "Don't argue with me," he snarled at Elizabeth. 

Kai reached out between them, placing a gentle hand against his chest and all that power stilled. She could feel his heart thudding away nearly out of control beneath her hand. She frowned down at where her hand rested against the warmth of his black t-shirt.

John looked down at Kai's small, delicate wrist, knowing with the virus in his system it would take nothing to snap it. He could feel how delicate the bones were. He closed his eyes and shuddered. He could feel the toxins moving through his blood like poison, stealing away parts of his mind, but he wouldn't hurt Kai. The pounding in his temples was constant now. There was no escaping the pain of The Beast fighting him for control and Kai was so warm and soft. He took a fast step towards her, closing the distance so only centimeters separated them. 

"John," Elizabeth said in a warning voice. 

Kai held up her other hand to stop Elizabeth, but she never looked away from John. "He's not hurting me." 

"I wouldn't," he whispered, his breath fanning her skin. He swallowed. "Never," he promised her in the same low tone. "Kai," he gasped and he ducked his head, almost nuzzling against her neck. Every one of his senses was heightened and it was difficult to focus on anything but her. Images of how soft and pliant she had been in his hands in the training room kept playing over and over in his mind. "You smell-"

"John," she said in a low tone, cutting him off before he could finish. The tone of his voice had changed and even though she couldn't feel it, she knew he was slowly losing control. She needed him to focus.

His body tightened, the predatory fluidity gone from his muscles and he was just John again. He forced his body into lock down so he wouldn't give in to the images the beast inside him was pushing to the forefront of his mind.

"You need to get out of here," his voice was a dangerous purr and his lips grazed her skin as he spoke. He was trying to resist, but her scent to his heightened was too much. She smelled like the ocean and lavender. She shivered sensually beneath the touch of his lips and a spicy scent hit him that made his blood roar through his body. 

Kai could feel the effort it was taking for him to keep control. She wanted to help him so badly, but she didn't know what would happen if she tried to reach for him telepathically again. She reached up and caught his cheek in her hand. The skin was slick and strangely waxy beneath her hand. He turned into her touch, his lips resting against the warmth of her palm.

"John," Kai's voice caught in her throat desperately. 

Hearing Kai's voice so breathy was like a bucket of cold water for John. The Beast was using her again. It was manipulating the two of them to gain control, and John couldn't let it anywhere near her. Suddenly, John was in absolute control. 

"I'm not safe to be around anymore," he warned her. He was desperate for her to understand that he couldn't protect her from himself. His body shuddered with the effort of keeping The Beast at bay. He hung his head in defeat as his breathing kicked up and his heart started to pound as though he had just run a marathon. 

Kai could feel the strain it was taking for John to keep control. He moved painfully slowly as though worried about scaring her until his forehead rested against hers. Kai laid both hands flat against his chest and closed her eyes for a brief moment of comfort. It was distant, like hearing someone call out when you were underwater, but she felt the faintest nudge. 

"There you are," she whispered so low only he would be able to hear her. 

"You can't be here," he told her without opening his eyes and for some reason Kai knew, knew he meant the connection. 

She closed her eyes against the effort it took to lock down the telepathic link once more. When it was done she opened her eyes to see him grimace painfully. 

Behind them Elizabeth moved catching them both by surprise and John was suddenly in motion. He moved inhumanly fast as he twisted around protectively so he was between Kai and Weir. Something like a growl bubbled up from his throat and Elizabeth's eyes widened in fear. 

Kai reached out and touched his forearm to steady him. The thing that was taking over him for some reason seemed to recognize her just fine, but she wasn't sure if Elizabeth would be safe. John looked down at her hand where it touched the waxy, blue scaled skin covering his arm. He ripped his arm from her hand and jumped back from her as though he had been burned. 

He wrapped his arms around himself protectively and John's eyes were tormented as he met Kai's gaze once more. "Get some more men at my door and get the hell out of here." 

Kai tried to take another step towards him. The need to comfort and help him was overwhelming. Elizabeth stepped up beside Kai and grabbed her arm, tugging her towards the door. "Okay John," Elizabeth agreed fearfully. 

John watched the motion, his eyes locked on where Elizabeth was touching Kai. John closed his eyes and shuddered as he fought to control the instincts to protect what was his. 

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Chapter 54

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Conversion Cont.

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Uncertain what to do with herself Kai followed Doctor Weir back to her office. Elizabeth ordered more men to guard the Colonel's door, but neither woman had spoken a word since. The two of them sat in silence, lost in thought as they waited for the off world team to return. 

Elizabeth shuffled through reports while Kai fidgeted restlessly as she waited. She twirled one of her knives through her fingers, rolling it back and forth across her knuckles just to keep moving. She needed to do something, anything to help John, but there was nothing. She was powerless to fight against the disease inside of him and it was killing her. Whatever was happening to him, it was taking him over, hollowing him out from the inside, and it was agonizing to watch. Even since the gym that morning he had lost ground. The scales beginning to climb up his neck were just the physical manifestation of what was happening to him. The inhibitor may have been keeping him lucid, but it was clear to Kai that he was fighting a losing battle. 

Kai had never considered the possibility of losing John. It was strangely naive of her, especially considering her background, but the Colonel had always managed to survive in the past, always skating by with a combination of charm, good humor, and sheer nerve. But this wasn't something he could escape from. This was his body failing him. The injustice of it choked her. 

She heard the chime of Chuck's terminal, slid her knife away, and was striding out into the control room before he could call out. "Incoming Wormhole. Major Lourne's IDC," he informed Doctor Weir. 

Kai was already moving down the stairs two at a time to meet the team when Elizabeth made it into the control room. 

"Drop the shield," Elizabeth said in a low tone, but Kai could hear her from the gate room floor. 

Major Lorne was the first across the threshold. Followed quickly by McKay, Teyla, Beckett and Ronon. No one else followed. Kai looked almost frantically back and forth over their faces for some indication the mission had been a success. Finally her eyes landed on Ronon.

"Where are Walker and Stevens?" Doctor Weir's voice echoed just on the edge of Kai's perception, but her gaze was locked on Ronon. She could see in his eyes that they had failed. The large Satedan stepped up and looked down at her grimly.

"Let's talk in my office," Elizabeth was saying to Doctor Beckett.

"Kai," Teyla's voice was sympathetic as she stepped up next to Ronon. "We-" she started to say and she looked away, unable to admit they had failed Sheppard.

Kai swallowed and locked eyes with Ronon. "Tell me what happened."

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Elizabeth worked to keep her expression blank as Carson explained to her they had failed to bring back the one thing that could possibly save Sheppard. His face was combination of shame and guilt. 

"So what's our next step?" She asked, forcing herself to sound upbeat. She wouldn't add to Carson's guilt. He already blamed himself for what was happening to John. She couldn't imagine how he felt after failing to retrieve the eggs. 

"I don't honestly know," Beckett confessed. "Without the eggs, we're back to square one." He dropped his head in his hands and scrubbed at his face.

"We have to do something." Elizabeth said tightly. "He's barely holding on."

"You've been to see him?" Beckett asked in surprise. Before he had left he was under the impression that the Colonel had placed himself in isolation. He needed to go check on his patient, but he hated to be the bearer of bad news. He didn't know how to tell Sheppard, who had sacrificed so much for everyone here, that they had failed him. 

"Yes, Kai and myself," Weir responded tightly. "And the retrovirus may be keeping him lucid but this is changing him. Faster than we realized."

Beckett leaned forward curiously. "How do you mean?" He asked, the researcher in him couldn't help but be fascinated by what was happening, despite everything. 

Elizabeth glanced out her office window to see if Kai was close. The Mortii was still down in the gate room. Technically it was close enough for her to overhear, but she and Ronon appeared to be in the middle of a very serious conversation. "I noticed something...interesting," Weir said fidgeting with her hands. 

Beckett arched a brow, encouraging her to continue. 

"When I was in the room with the Colonel and Kai I noticed something. The Colonel, he seemed to be...protective of Kai, I mean from me," She clarified. "The way he was behaving. He actually put himself between her and I." 

Beckett frowned. "I don't understand." 

"I don't know if I do either but he seemed to perceive me as a threat he needed to protect her from..." she dragged off shaking her head. 

Beckett pursed his lips. "We know Sheppard is naturally protective of his team. It could be that he's running on instincts. Base level instincts. We have no way of knowing what parts are him versus which parts of this creature are able to push past the inhibitor." 

"So you're saying that because he feels responsible for Kai in this form he's protective of her? That doesn't make any sense and doesn't exactly line up with the way he was behaving...Perhaps it's a mating instinct? John seemed to react to her scent."

"John or the creature?" Beckett asked pointedly. 

"I don't know," Elizabeth said honestly pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "But if it is a mating drive perhaps it has to do with her physiological differences."

Beckett rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well that wouldn't make much sense, would it? If it was just a mating drive then it would be Teyla, wouldn't it? She has Wraith genes and instinctive drive to mate based on scent pheromones is related to the closest genetic match. In reality, Kai being the closest to the Ancients makes her the furthest from the Iratus bug."

Weir nodded, his words made sense but she couldn't shake what she had witnessed in John's room nor the fact that it might in some way help them control John as this was happening. 

Teyla cleared her throat delicately from the doorway. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to intrude." Teyla said in her strangely formal way. 

"No, it's fine," Weir assured her though her eyes flickered back down to the gateroom. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Ronon and Kai were still chatting with Lorne and McKay. She turned back to Teyla, flashing her a reassuring smile. "We were just hypothesizing..."  

"About the Colonel's interest in Kai?" Teyla asked lifting her eyebrows innocently. 

Weir frowned. "I'm sorry what?" She stammered. 

"Well you said that as the retrovirus engages his system the inhibitor will only be able to allow so much of himself to come forward..." Teyla drew off. 

"Hold on," Beckett said holding his hand up. "Are you saying you think Colonel Sheppard has feelings for Kai?" He clarified. Beckett had always suspected, but he hadn't thought anyone else believed the same thing. 

Teyla exhaled, she did not wish to betray what she had seen of her friends in their private moments, but she felt that in this instance perhaps they would find it in their hearts to forgive her. "I believe that recently Colonel Sheppard and Kai went through an extremely traumatic ordeal together. And whatever memories he is able to retain may have something to do with protecting her." 

Weir shook her head. "I think it's more than that. He put himself between me and her-"

Teyla swallowed as another uncomfortable thought stuck her. "Something the could also be interpreted as a Wraith protecting their food source. Ellia killed another Wraith which resulted in Rodney being kept safe, but it was not her intention to then leave him in peace. Kai told us herself something in her physiology makes her people more desirable to the Wraith. It's possible the Colonel's heightened senses were merely picking up on this." 

Weir nodded but she didn't look convinced. "I suppose you're right," she agreed. 

Teyla shrugged. "Either way, perhaps it gives us insight we did not have before."

"It does," Elizabeth agreed. "I don't know what would have happened if I had gone alone. Kai's presence distracted him. It seemed to help him focus."

"Really?" Beckett asked with interest. 

"I wouldn't say that," Kai's voice came from just outside the door. Ronon, McKay, and Lorne trailed behind her all looking dejected.

Elizabeth flinched guiltily to face the other woman. She flashed her a worried smile and turned back to the others gathered in the room. She knew her next words were going to be hard for them to hear, but she didn't see that they had a choice. "Based on the information I have received, I'm not going to approve another mission," Elizabeth told them grimly. "It's just too dangerous."

Kai swallowed thickly as Doctor's Weir's words stole away the last of their hope. Without the eggs there was no cure. Her mind immediately began spinning over all the possible ways she could go after the eggs herself. None of which allowed for any chance of return to Atlantis. She glanced at Ronon and saw his jaw tighten. He didn't like giving up any more than she did. If she could get him alone to talk, she might be able to convince him to help her. 

"It was my call, I'll be the one to tell him." Elizabeth said bravely. 

Kai could see in Weir's face how nervous she was about the prospect of facing John alone. Kai glanced from Weir to Ronon, she could catch up with Ronon later. "I'll go with you," Kai offered. 

Elizabeth smiled in relief. Then she turned back to the others. "Stow your gear and get cleaned up," she told them. 

Kai turned to leave but Ronon caught her arm in his large grip. 

Kai rocked back on her heels but didn't pull away from him. He wasn't hurting her, it had just surprised her. Ronon had never touched her outside of the sparring ring before. 

She looked up into his face and his eyes were grave. "If it's as bad as you say...you should gear up," he told her firmly. 

Kai wanted to argue, to assure him and everyone who was now watching them, that Sheppard would never hurt them, but the truth was that they didn't know how much of him would be left and it was better to be safe than sorry. 

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Two guards were standing at attention outside of John's room. They weren't ones that Kai recognized which made her wonder if they were Colonel Caldwell's men. She didn't like the idea of trigger happy guards who didn't know Sheppard personally. She wouldn't say anything in front of them but she had every intention of bringing it up once she and Doctor Weir were alone. 

One of the guards eyes landed on the knives and the gun strapped to Kai's thigh. She was sure they would be reporting to Colonel Caldwell that she had been moving through the compound armed. 

As they approached the guards exchanged nervous glances. Kai strained her ears but she couldn't hear anything on the other side of the door to account for their tension. And while they disapproved of her being armed they didn't know her well enough for that to be the reason for their unease. 

Doctor Weir stepped towards the control panel and the guards shared a startled look.

"I wouldn't go in there ma'am," the bolder of the two said. 

Kai turned to look at him. It was surprising for him to presume to offer an opinion to Doctor Weir, but it wasn't arrogance that had his face pinched up. He was genuinely afraid of what was on the other side of the door.

"We'll be fine," Doctor Weir assured him and didn't hesitate. She waved her hand over the controls and the two of them stepped in. 

The room was completely dark. So much so that even Kai struggled to see in the blackness. Elizabeth stumbled over a chair and muttered a tense curse. 

There was the whispered sound of movement to Kai's right and she turned towards it. 

"John?" Elizabeth asked, facing the wrong direction. 

Kai didn't say anything. Instead she turned towards him, facing him square on so he could see who she was and that she wasn't holding any weapons. She heard him sniff and he was moving again. She could just make out the motion in the darkness. 

"For goodness sake," Elizabeth muttered again and she reached for the lamp. 

"Elizabeth wait-" Kai started to say, but she had already clicked on the lamp. 

Kai turned in time to see John jerk back as though he had been struck. A sharp growl reached her ears but it may have been too low for Elizabeth to hear. Kai glanced at Elizabeth and when she looked back towards John he was gone. 

"So this is usually when I ask a stupid question...John?" Elizabeth called, frowning into the deep shadows on the other side of the room. 

There was a woosh of air and John appeared behind them. Elizabeth actually flinched, but Kai held her ground unwilling to believe he would actually attack them. His palm shot out and the blow knocked Elizabeth to the ground several feet away. Before he could pull it back Kai grabbed his wrist to stop him. He moved faster than she expected, twisting free easily he grabbed Kai and slammed her against the wall, his lower body pinning her in place. 

"John it's us," Kai said in a perfectly calm voice although her heart was thundering out of control in her chest. He felt even stronger and faster than he had that morning. The blue scales had climbed halfway up his face now. There were ridges and spines marching down the sides of his neck. Both of his eyes were now light green, with a slit pupil like a Wraith. They were losing him. 

He tilted his head to the side in an almost animalistic way as he stared down at her. He seemed confused for a moment. Then he leaned in close to her and dragged his nose along the line of her jaw. A shudder ran through his body. 

"Kai," her name was ragged and he choked over it as he fought for control. 

"John," she said in a warning voice and his whole body went still.

He wanted to pull away to put as much distance between Kai and the beast as possible, but he didn't have full control of his body. He could feel it, sliding through him like tar, surging against his control. Always testing. He was able to pull back enough to stare down the long line of Kai's body. He was relieved to know she was fully armed. "You better be willing to use that," he growled eyeing the gun on her hip.

Kai stiffened, her whole body rebelling at even the idea of using a gun against John. The fact that he was still cognitive enough to warn her meant he was still in control. Her jaw tightened angrily. He did not get to give up. She wouldn't let him. "Don't you dare talk like that, or I'll-"

"You'll what? Kill me?" He challenged, an aggressive smirk pulling his face. The smirk was right, but the predatory gleam in his eyes wasn't. John was losing control. Fast. 

"Promises, promises," he chastised her and there was a sensuality in his husky voice that wasn't quite right. 

John could feel the beast lurking at the edge of his consciousness. He was sweating with the effort it was taking to keep it at bay. He couldn't decide if it wanted Kai or if it was feeding him the instincts to get him to give in and be complacent. Either way it didn't matter. He couldn't let this beast inside of him anywhere near her. 

A fine tremble started in his muscles as he caged her against the wall, his palms pressed flat against the metal paneling and it groaned and dented beneath the strength in his hands. The thought of the amount of damage he could do terrified him. Fear didn't help however, he needed to stay focused. If he lost focus for one second he would lose it all. 

"John," Elizabeth called his name trying to get his attention off Kai. His head snapped towards her, too fast to track. "Our team got back from the mission." 

Elizabeth swallowed nervously but forced herself to keep speaking. Kai wasn't the type to show fear, but there was no way the other woman wasn't terrified. 

John was turning into something from a horror movie and he had her pinned to the wall. The guards had been right. They shouldn't have come and if she could just distract John long enough for Kai to get away they could get out of this room. "The nest was too well protected. They were unable to retrieve the eggs...they tried their b-best-" she stammered. 

"Best?" he asked cutting her off, his brows furrowing as though he was struggling to understand her words. He could feel his focus slipping as the pounding in his temples rose. 

"The bugs attacked," Elizabeth explained. 

"Try again," he snapped without hesitation. The tension in his body was building and building. They hadn't gotten the eggs. They were going to stand by and let this thing take him over. 

"I can't do that," Elizabeth said tightly. 

"Why?" He snapped as white hot rage flooded him. Hadn't he done enough to help them? How could they abandon him so easily?

"John," she said drawing in a deep breath. "I understand-"

"No." he purred in a dangerously low tone. "If you won't, then kill me now," he ordered as he fought against the rage that was burning through him. This wasn't him. This was the beast, trying once again to take him over, whispering to him. He knew they had tried their best, of course they had, but he couldn't be left like this. He wasn't safe. 

Kai felt like she couldn't breathe as his words echoed around in her head. He wanted them to kill him. She stared up into his face unable to process what was happening. Even with the scales he was still John. His jaw looked like granite as he fought against what was happening inside of him. The desolation she felt was physically painful. She couldn't lose him, not to something like this.

He shifted as though he could feel it through their connection and he looked down at her. His head tilted and he shuddered knowing this would be the last time he would feel her like this. "It's not safe," he growled through a clenched jaw. "I don't know how-" he started to say. She had to close herself off from him. 

The thing inside of him moved with a sudden interest at the feeling of his connection with Kai, it surged forward seeking out any sign of weakness so it could gain control. 

"John," her voice was breathy. 

"It's better for both of us this way," he spoke slowly, as though it were difficult to form the words. 

"Don't ask me to do this," Kai said, her voice breaking with emotion. 

John cocked his head as he stared down at her. It was impossible to read what he was thinking through his alien eyes. 

"I won't give that order," Elizabeth said determinedly from behind them. 

Elizabeth's voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard to him and the beast. John's hands flexed against the metal walls and it groaned beneath the power in his hands. 

"John," Elizabeth said, her eyes flashing in warning. He turned towards her, his hands slowly lowering to his sides as his whole focus shifted to the threat in front of him. She was going to keep him alive until he was a danger to them all. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't endanger the people he cared about and loved. His gaze flashed back briefly to Kai. 

"Then try again," he snarled. 

Elizabeth stared him down defiantly and shook her head. 

And just like that. He lost. 

Something alien moved through his eyes. He snapped into motion, grabbing Elizabeth around the throat and slamming her against the wall. She gasped and the scent of her fear flooded his nose. The Beast slammed to the front and John was powerless to stop it. 

"We lost Walker and Stevens, I won't send another team!" Elizabeth gasped as his hand closed around her throat. 

John fought against the thing taking him over but it was like he couldn't breathe. He felt like was drowning, staring up through the water as this thing destroyed his life. He was trapped and suffocating in his own body 

"I won't risk more lives." Weir was saying but she sounded far away. Her words meant nothing to the beast and it tightened its grip.

Kai rushed him from behind. She ducked her shoulder and slammed into his midsection knocking him back. He swung around to face her and it was not John staring at her out of those eerie alien eyes. Before she could attack again it moved faster than she could track. It backhanded her and she hit the ground hard, with the wind knocked out of her. 

The Beast stalked towards the door, swiping its hand over the controls and disappeared from sight. Elizabeth ran to Kai but Kai was already climbing to her feet as she heard the exclamations of shock from the guards. Quickly followed by them hitting the ground unconscious. 

"This is Weir!" Elizabeth yelled into her radio. "We have a security breech, Colonel Sheppard's quarters."

Leaving Weir behind to pick up the pieces Kai tore off after him. 

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Chapter 55

Notes:

Okay, so I know I just posted an update but I got super excited and now there are two! I hope you are enjoying reading this particular John and Kai adventure as much as I am enjoying writing it!

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Conversion Cont.

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Kai ran out the door determined to catch Sheppard, but when she turned the corner he was already gone. Without waiting for Elizabeth she ran for the control room. She had no idea where he would go and their only hope to find him was to get the internal sensors up and running. 

"Rodney," Kai called into her radio as she sprinted through the hallways. 

"McKay here," the prickly scientist replied, irritation coloring his tone. 

"You need to pull up internal sensors and track Sheppard. He escaped and I've already lost him."

"On it," McKay's voice was already hard and focused and she could hear the click of the keyboard through her ear wig.

By the time she and Weir arrived McKay was already working furiously at one of the terminals. Colonel Caldwell was standing over his shoulder. The older man leveled a stormy glare at Kai, but Kai ignored him. Her entire focus was set on finding Sheppard before he did something to hurt himself or someone else. 

Ronon however did notice. The large Satedan shot his own glare at the Colonel and stepped between him and Kai. Ronon's eyes landed on Kai's face and he stiffened. Whatever had happened when Sheppard escaped, there was a large red mark blooming on Kai's face. Ronon shifted his weight restlessly. Sheppard wasn't acting like himself. He had always been super protective of her since Ronon first arrived. It would kill Sheppard to know he had hurt her. They needed to find him before he did anything else he would regret. 

Kai put her hand on the back of Rodney's chair and leaned down so she could clearly see the screen. Her face still stung, but she was fairly certain her cheekbone wasn't broken. 

"Okay, I've got a lock on him," Rodney said, as his fingers flew over the key board. The tracking dot appeared on the overhead screen so everyone in the room could see. 

Caldwell crossed his arms over his chest. "That can't be him, it's moving too fast." 

Kai grunted. "That's him," she said without looking away from the screen. 

Caldwell narrowed his eyes but Weir nodded in agreement. They were the only two who had seen him move in person who wasn't unconscious. 

"All right four teams, surround him and close in. I want him stopped. And gentlemen," he said turning to the team leaders standing around him. "Use whatever force you deem necessary. Move out." 

Kai went still, her eyes widening in shock. She met Elizabeth's gaze and Weir swung around to face the commanders. "You will only use such force, as a last resort," she ordered. 

"That's not Sheppard any more ma'am," Caldwell said coldly. He was scowling at Weir as though she had descended into hysterics instead of the calm order she had given. 

"You heard me," Elizabeth repeated confidently. Kai was thankful for her efforts but she knew that Caldwell's men would do as ordered, especially if they were afraid. 

Ronon and Teyla followed the others out the door. Ronon hesitated. "You coming?" he asked Kai. 

Kai glanced once at Caldwell who looked ready to argue but she stood and strode towards the door. "Yep," she responded before the military commander could order her to stop.  She hesitated in the doorway, turning back to Weir. "I would lock down the Stargate. I don't know how lucid he is, but if he's thinking straight at all he might be trying to go after the eggs himself."

McKay grunted. "Fabulous, which would lead him straight here." He grumbled but his fingers were already dancing across the keyboard to do as Kai asked. 

"Don't worry, I'll find him before that," Kai promised. 

Caldwell made a noise of disbelief in the back of his throat but wisely kept his thoughts to himself. 

Rodney looked up and met the Mortii's gaze. He could see in her eyes how determined she was to save Sheppard. If anyone could do it, she could. He nodded once briskly. 

><><

Ronon, Kai and Teyla were partnered with five other men from Caldwell's ship. She didn't like working with people she didn't know, but they had to find Sheppard as quickly as possible before any of the other teams found him first and starred shooting. 

Kai and Ronon stalked through the halls side by side both on edge. Kai knew that Ronon was just as determined as she was to bring in John safely and she was glad to have him with her. He was their best chance at bringing Sheppard in alive.

They were searching the lower level storage areas when their radios crackled. "Bravo Team you're on deck. Tango is on the floor just below you." 

"You heard the man, down the stairs." the marine started to order them. 

Kai looked up at Ronon and the two exchanged a long look. Ronon dipped his chin and stepped back into a hall, disappearing into the shadows. Kai climbed the railing to her right and hoisted herself up to the floor above them. 

"Ronon! Kai!" Teyla cried as the two of them disappeared. "Where are you going?" 

"Let them go," the lead marine growled shaking his head in disgust. It was well known Colonel Sheppard didn't always run the tightest of ships and himself was not one to follow the chain of command. This was especially clear as his private team failed to follow even basic orders in his absence. Caldwell had expressed concern about the alien members of the team and it was clear it was well founded. 

Teyla looked over her shoulder one last time after the other two and trotted to keep up with the team of marines. They fanned out as they hit the main floor, all five turning to face the room. 

"Stay sharp," Caldwell warned over the radio. "He should be right there with you." 

They looked around, their nerves ratcheting up with every passing minute they couldn't see him. 

"Anyone have a visual?" the lead marine asked through his comm. No one responded.

Kai had a visual. 

She could see Sheppard climbing up the outside grating of the stairwell but she wasn't about to alert the trigger happy marines. When the radio crackled again Sheppard's head swiveled. Kai reached down to the radio on her belt and very slowly turned down the volume. She wasn't sure how enhanced his senses had become. 

"Anyone have a visual?" One of the marines asked tightly. 

A flashlight suddenly landed on him. "Above us!" Teyla exclaimed. 

Kai swore as Sheppard fled, moving with a dexterity the human form should not have possessed. 

The others swung their lights onto him as well and Kai took off running for the main floor, hoping to intercede before it became a full on confrontation. 

Sheppard dropped from the ceiling landing on the group. He slammed his fists through the squad like they were made of paper. Three fell. 

Two more backed up and started firing Wraith stunners at him. He absorbed the energy easily. They threw aside the stunners and reached for their P-90's. Kai pushed herself harder, running down the stairs towards them. She had to stop them before they killed him. 

 Sheppard launched himself at the two men, knocking them out easily. Then he spun to run the opposite way. 

"Colonel!" Teyla yelled but he didn't stop. Sheppard turned to face her but his eyes were unseeing. He started stalking towards her slowly. "Don't make me do this!" Teyla cried desperately lifting her gun with steady hands. 

Kai took the steps two at a time and ran straight for Teyla and John. She ran right past the marines without a second thought and it nearly cost her everything.

 

One of the marines pushed himself up on his elbow and fired a random spray of bullets towards Sheppard. Teyla leapt to the side to safety, but Kai wasn't willing to step aside and let him shoot John. She turned towards the marine, her mouth opening to yell at him to stop, but the marine wasn't watching her. A shadow blocked her view at the same moment the marine started shooting. She flinched as John whirled in front of her. His body jerked as he took the rapid spray of bullets across his back. 

"John!" Kai shouted as fear choked her. 

His body jolted but somehow stayed on its feet. He turned his slitted gaze to meet hers. She sucked in a breath when she realized it wasn't John looking out those bright green eyes. The creature was still in control. She could see the pain in its eyes as it stared down at her. It cocked its head to the side as though it didn't understand why it had protected her. 

She stared hard into its eyes, John was still in there. He still hadn't moved or acted like he was in pain, and there was no blood. But she still felt like she couldn't breathe, she had to know how badly he was injured. She took a step towards him, her fear making her reckless. He took a step closer to her so he was staring straight down at her. It was difficult to read the foreign emotions on John's painfully familiar face but he seemed both confused and curious about her. 

"John," her voice broke over his name though it was so low, only she and Sheppard could hear it. "We need-" she started to say. She didn't know how much he could understand what was happening, but he suddenly stiffened. His eyes hardened into a cold, predatory gleam. It cracked its neck and turned to pursue the marine who had shot him.

Kai's heart was thundering in her chest. She was losing him. The marine ejected the clip and was sliding another one in as two others were pushing to their feet and lifting their P-90's. She had to get him out of here. 

"John!" she shouted his name so loudly everyone in the room flinched. 

The creature turned to face her, indecision shining in it's eyes. Kai met it's gaze and then whirled around and tore off running for the stairs. She stopped halfway up and turned back to face him. The creature had taken a step towards her but the movements from the marines was distracting. They were still scrambling for their guns. 

"John!" Kai yelled his name again and this time she gave him a hard telepathic nudge. Now she had his attention. He took a more committed step towards her, his muscles coiling. 

"Kai, no!" Teyla called a warning but Kai didn't care. John was still in there. There was no reason the creature would have protected her. She had to get him away from the marines and back to Beckett. 

The creature pounced towards her, but Kai was already in motion. She took off up the stairs, hoping the instinct to hunt and chase would be enough. She dodged through the storage room, her feet pounding loudly against the floor. Behind her she could hear him gaining on her. With a final burst of speed she broke through into the hallway where she had left Ronon. She whirled around to face him and the creature hesitated as though it could sense the trap. It cocked it's head to the side and sniffed the air.

"Come on John," she whispered. "I know you're in there somewhere." 

His eyes met hers once more and he took another step closer, his face pinched up in a frown, it's entire focus on Kai. As soon as he took the last step two shots hit him in the back. He collapsed forward, stunned. His body landed heavily on it's back. 

Ronon stalked out of the shadows. He fired one more shot into John's chest just to be sure. "Get the Doc down here, we have him," Ronon radioed back just as Teyla ran into the room.

She looked back and forth between Kai and Ronon and then exhaled when she saw the Colonel unconscious on the floor. 

Ronon looked back at Kai. "You good?" he asked. 

Kai nodded. "Next time you get to be bait." Her words were light but she was shaking. She crouched down beside John and gently rolled his onto his side so she could check his back. She slid her hand under his shirt and ran she trembling hand over the warmth of his back. His skin had a strange waxy texture but there was no blood. Kai laid him back down and hung her head as she let out a shuddering breath. 

Ronon snorted, "I'm not the one that smells good," he quipped, but he could see the tremble in Kai's hands as the small woman crouched next to Sheppard. She was such a fierce little thing so much of the time it was easy to forget how vulnerable she could be. She reminded him of his little sister he had lost on Sateda. 

Footsteps pounded down the hall and the group of marines appeared. They all had their guns out and pointing at Sheppard's unconscious body. The transporter door slid open further down the hall but only Kai's ears were good enough to hear it, and she wasn't paying attention to that. 

"Get back," one of the marines barked at Kai. 

Ronon tensed as Kai very slowly lifted her chin. Her storm grey eyes were narrowed and dangerous as they landed on the one who had spoken. The same one who had shot Sheppard. He tensed, ready to intervene if he needed to. 

"I mean it," the marine barked, his voice sharp with fear. "He could wake up at any minute we have to-"

Kai didn't let him finish, she launched herself out of the crouch over the top of Sheppard. She slammed into the marine, knocked his gun away with one hand and slammed her other forearm across his throat. He brought his other hand up like he was going to hit her and she grabbed the wrist and twisted it around, jamming the arm straight and up into the shoulder joint. If the man fought back at all she was going to destroy his joint. 

"You will do nothing except stay away from him" she growled dangerously. Her heart was thundering in her ears, making it nearly impossible to hear the shouts of the men surrounding them. This was the man who made her think she had lost him.  It didn't matter what happened after this, the overwhelming need to make sure John was safe demanded she take action. 

A gun cocked loudly near her ear and pulled her back to the present, reminding her there were other people around them. Colonel Caldwell's angry voice rang in her ear. "Let him go or I'll put a bullet in you myself," Caldwell warned.

She heard the distinct sound of Ronon's gun powering up and switching from stun to kill. "You'd be dead before the bullet hits her," Ronon warned his voice a dangerous growl.

Weir ran up between them. "Can we all please put down our weapons," she exclaimed. Ronon and Caldwell slowly lowered their guns though they hadn't taken their eyes off one another. Choosing to ignore the testosterone induced posturing Elizabeth turned to Kai. "And the marine," she added meaningfully. 

Kai stared hard into the man's wide, fear-filled eyes. She put more pressure on his throat and leaned in close so her lips were only inches away from his ear. "Do you know who I am?" she asked casually, though she didn't wait for a reply before continuing. "Do you know what I can do? What I used to be?" she drawled. "If you endanger the life of one of mine again-" she warned.

A warm hand closed over her shoulder. She knew it was Ronon and she released the marine. The man stumbled away choking. He would be bruised but he would live to shoot another day.

Ronon turned Kai around and stared down at her. "Are you okay?" His words were a mumbled garble to even Caldwell who was less than a foot away. 

Kai nodded, smoothing her trembling hands over her thighs. She wasn't okay and she needed to get herself back under control. 

Caldwell turned back to Weir his eyes flashing. "Is this the type of team he runs? Their leader's gone for a day and no one can follow orders? I've read the reports about Sheppard but this-"

"He's not gone," Kai growled taking an aggressive step towards Caldwell. "No thanks to your men, who nearly shot me and Teyla. Sheppard took a spray of P-90 gun fire that would have killed me."

Weir sucked in a breath and her eyes dropped to where Sheppard lay on the floor at their feet. There wasn't any evidence of blood. "Is he-?" she started to ask. 

"He's fine," Kai replied. "No thanks to the Colonel's men," she growled, scowling at Caldwell's marines. 

The Colonel narrowed his eyes and took an aggressive step towards her. "You and Sheppard are pretty close, aren't you?" 

Kai froze. The tone in Caldwell's voice made it feel like a dangerous question. Her eyes flickered down to where John lay helpless at their feet. Suddenly, everyone felt like a threat. 

"That's enough," Elizabeth growled sharply as she took control of the room. She stepped between Caldwell and Kai and took Kai's arm. "I'm glad you're okay," she said. "Beckett's on his way and we'll get John safely back to the infirmary. Why don't you, Ronon and Teyla go get something to eat. It will be a while before we have any answers." 

><><

The waiting was the worst part. Kai tried to stay with the others, but she needed time alone. She paced through the halls of Atlantis until she found herself on the east pier. As hard as she tried she couldn't get that moment out of her head. She just kept seeing him get shot over and over again. Unable to wait any longer she headed to the infirmary. She needed to know what was happening. It was the middle of the night and the lights were low. There were guards outside the doors but they didn't do anything to stop her. She was guessing she had Weir to thank for that. Caldwell had made his feelings about her incredibly clear. 

She stepped up next to the bed and sucked in a sharp breath. The blue scaling covered over two thirds of his face now. He looked like he was asleep but there was an IV tree hanging next to him with a steady drip going into one of his veins. She was almost positive they were keeping him drugged. They had strapped him down to the bed. Restraints circled not only his wrists and ankles but also large straps across the tops of his thighs and his shoulders. They were taking no chances. 

She stepped up next to him and very slowly covered his scale covered hand with her own. His skin was feverishly hot beneath her touch. The blue scales themselves felt waxy, but the virus had progressed enough that hard spines lined the backs of his hands and in place of his finger nails were sharp, black claws. Kai laced her fingers with his. An idea had started to form in her head as she walked. She didn't know if she could do it, but she was willing to try. John was still in there, still fighting, and she refused to give up on him. 

It was late but Carson wasn't ready to go to bed yet. He stepped out of his lab and pulled up in surprise when he saw Kai standing beside Sheppard's bed. "Kai dear, what are you doing here?" he asked glancing down at his watch. It was the middle of the night. 

"I-" she started to say, but dragged off looking down at him. She didn't know how to explain so Beckett would understand. 

"Did you come to say goodbye?" Beckett asked gently. "The others were here hours ago." 

Kai flinched at his words. "Goodbye?" she asked as though the word was foreign to her. 

Beckett pinched his lips together grimly as he realized there was a chance Doctor Weir hadn't broken the news to Kai. "Aye. I have him in a medically induced coma. He isn't in any pain, but in twenty-four hours time the damage from the virus will be irreversible."

Kai felt like she couldn't swallow. Tears burned in the backs of her eyes as her throat grew thick with emotion. All she could do was nod. 

Beckett stepped closer to her and frowned when he noticed for the first time the fine sheen of sweat on Kai's hairline. "Kai, are you feeling okay?" he asked. 

Her face was still pinched up from concentrating and her head was pounding. "I'm fine," she assured him too quickly. 

Beckett's eyes flashed from Kai's face down to the Colonel's. "What were you doing?" 

Kai opened her mouth to respond but stopped. She didn't know what to say and she was too tired to lie, especially to Carson. "Nothing, it didn't work," she said pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. 

Carson froze as he glanced back and forth between them. "Kai," he started gently. He needed to ask the question, but he didn't want to frighten her. "You told me the only telepathy your people had was through a Bond...Kai dear, have you Bonded to Colonel Sheppard?"

Kai felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room as Beckett spoke the words outloud. She looked down at her hands. "I don't know," she said honestly. 

"I was wondering-" he started to ask but he was cut off. 

"Doc," Ronon's deep rumble admonished from behind them.

Beckett flinched and spun to see the large Satedan standing in the door. Ronon glanced meaningfully towards Kai and shook his head at Beckett. Beckett seemed to understand and obligingly stepped back. 

Ronon moved to stand behind Kai knowing  she would have heard him. He knew how hard she worked to keep her emotions in check and he laid a large hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. She hung her head and he could feel the tension thrumming through her body. She shuddered as she fought back tears. Ronon grunted and pulled her into a hug. 

"It's okay Little Sister," he said giving her a squeeze as she sniffled. 

Kai was so much smaller than him. It was reassuring to be wrapped up in his large arms, but she couldn't let herself break down. Not yet. Not while there was still a chance. She pulled back and look up at Ronon. "If you and I went ourselves-" she started to say. 

Beckett made a noise in the back of his throat. "It's out of the question Kai. It's too dangerous." 

Kai heard his words, but looked hopefully to Ronon. Of everyone here, the Satedan was most likely to join her on a suicide run. 

Ronon wanted to go, he wanted to do something, anything, but he shook his head grimly there was just no way for them to make it into that cave. He knew how Kai felt about Sheppard, but he wasn't willing to let her endanger herself. John would never forgive him. 

Kai sighed and turned back to the bed. "I can't just stand here while it takes him," Kai said hollowly. "This is going to sound odd, but he doesn't sound like him anymore. His breathing, his heartbeat...even his scent is different."

Carson froze. "What did you just say?" he asked. 

Kai turned back to the doctor frowning. "It's taking him?" 

"No," Carson said shaking his head. "About his scent?" 

"He doesn't smell like him?" she asked frowning in confusion. 

"That's weird," Ronon said.

Beckett pointed at Ronon. "No, no it's not," he said his voice rising in excitement. "Kai's senses by and large are ten percent better than ours..." Beckett frowned up at Ronon. "Well I'm not sure about yours. But her sense of smell is better than all of ours combined, not as strong as the Iratus bug but..." he drew off. He grabbed Kai up in a hug. Kai stiffened, but didn't pull away. "Kai, you're a bloody genius." He released her and reached up to touch his ear. "Doctor Weir, I need to see you in the infirmary right away," Beckett called into his radio. 

Unable to sleep, Elizabeth had been waiting in her office for any news. She arrived in the infirmary less than ten minutes later. "What's going on?" 

Beckett's eyes were shinning with excitement. "I think I have a solution." 

><><

Chapter 56

><><
Conversion Cont.
><><

Beckett called everyone into his office. Beckett, Weir, Teyla, and McKay all gathered around his desk while Kai and Ronon stood towards the back. Kai was anxious to hear more details about Beckett's plan. She would do whatever was necessary to help heal John.

She also hoped however, that Beckett wouldn't tell the others about the possible Bond between her and Sheppard. She had been working hard to pretend it wasn't there, but it was becoming increasingly hard to ignore it. If John survived she didn't know what would happen.

She was terrified of the prospect of having to discuss it with not only him, but also the others when she understood so little about it. From what she understood it was a biological reaction of her people, and not one accepted by the Grand Council or the Academy. In all her decades of service she had personally never met a Bonded pair. Of course, the far more terrifying prospect was that if they lost John it wouldn't matter.

Beckett's face was grim as he addressed the room. "I'm sorry it just came to me. The fact that his mutation has progressed as far as it has maybe his salvation."

Weir crossed her arms over her chest frowning. "Explain that."

"His sweat glads as actually producing trace amounts of the Iratus bug pheromone," Beckett said.

"And?" Weir pushed.

Beckett sighed. "When we were in the cave. Those bugs knew we didn't belong there so they didn't really fancy us getting close to their nest."

McKay perked up, snapping his fingers excitedly. "Whoa whoa whoa I see where you're going with this," McKay interrupted. His mind already spinning through all the possible scenarios. "If we can artificially create the pheromone we might be able to confuse them enough to leave us alone."

"Aye, that would work," Beckett agreed hesitantly.

"Well that's an excellent plan Carson," McKay congratulated, though he sounded vaguely surprised.

"I wish it was," Beckett replied grimly.

"You can't do that in time," Ronon filled in.

Beckett looked apologetically at everyone in the room. "No, it would take days."

"But you said Sheppard only has twenty four hours before the damage the retrovisus causes will be irreparable," Weir said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Aye that's correct."

"Then that's a terrible plan Carson," McKay snapped exasperatedly.

"There's only one person on this base who wouldn't need the artificial pheromone."

"Sheppard?" Weir asked in disbelief.

Beckett knew his idea was a long shot, but he needed Weir to understand it was their only option. "Aye. He could walk right in that cave and those bugs wouldn't pay him any mind."

"I don't know if you've noticed but Colonel Sheppard isn't feeling very well," McKay snapped sarcastically.

Beckett shot Rodney an exasperated look. "He stopped taking the inhibitor, but it was able to keep him lucid."

Kai cleared her throat. "I thought it's effectiveness had worn off," she pointed out. She wanted this plan to work, but she wasn't following Beckett's logic. Sheppard wasn't in control anymore which meant there was a piece she was missing.

"True" Beckett agreed and his eyes cut to Kai. He had always suspected they had feelings for one another, but having that confirmed in the form of the Bond was taking some getting used to. While officially he only needed Doctor Weir's approval he wasn't conformable moving forward unless he could make Kai understand. "I believe if I administer a massive dose it will be enough to keep him clear headed enough to complete the mission before..." he looked down at his hands, unable to stare into those intense storm grey eyes as he said the last words. "...until we lose him completely."

McKay frowned, turning to face Beckett. "Won't giving him that much inhibitor like -"

"Kill him," Kai filled in, her voice hollow. She knew they were losing him, she probably knew that better than anyone. But giving him a massive dose of the drug ensured this was their only shot. He wouldn't survive for them to try again. She quickly clasped her trembling hands behind her back before the others could see and nodded once sharply. This was it.

Beckett exhaled a small sigh of relief before he finished his explanation. "Yes, it's a definite possibility, but even if I knew it would for certain I would be tempted to offer him one last hour of lucidity."

"Do it." Weir agreed. She turned to the others. "Gear up, take him as far as the cave."

Beckett cleared his throat, stopping every one in their tracks. "I don't mean to be indelicate but are we certain that sending Kai with is the best course of action?"

"Yes," Kai and Ronon responded in the same breath without hesitation.

"Kai is familiar with working with both Major Lourne's team as well as Colonel Shepphard's," Weir justified. "And she and Ronon were the ones who managed to-"

Beckett shook his head angrily. "I want us to be honest here. The reason you're sending her is because if things go wrong you're hoping whatever reason the Colonel seems drawn to her will work again," he didn't know why it made him so angry. He personally would feel better having Kai with in case things went wrong. Now that he knew about the Bond however, he suspected it was that more than anything that made The Creature respond to her when no one else could reach him. He didn't like the idea of taking advantage of something so personal to The Colonel.

Weir nodded unapologetically. "Yes, she should be there."

Beckett turned to Kai, he needed to make her understand. "Kai dear," he began, and he saw the quick flash of fear in her eyes that he might betray her confidence. He drew in a deep breath as far as he was concerned that information was protected under Doctor-patient confidentiality. Unless it endangered someone it was their business alone.

"Something in the creature is drawn to you." Beckett said. "We've all seen it. The trouble is we have no way of knowing the nature of its interest and what influence of control the Colonel has been able to sustain in your past encounters."

Kai nodded briskly. "I understand."

"I don't think you do," Beckett said sharply, "There's a huge risk. If it's a predator-prey reaction based on you physiology, once the inhibitor wears off he will try to attack you and feed on you. If he is successful there's a good chance he will infect you as well."

"I understand the risks," she said briskly, but she didn't meet Beckett's eyes. Nothing he could say was going to dissuade her from going on the mission. If this was John's last hour she would be standing at his side. "Are we done here?"

"Aye," Beckett agreed glumly. "We're done."

><><

John groaned as he woke. His temples were pounding hard enough he was surprised his teeth weren't rattling. He felt like he had the worst hang over of his life.  Then he could smell them, hear them, even feel the tiny shifts of air currents shift as they moved around him. His eyes snapped open.

Everyone crowded around his bed flinched. Elizabeth was the fastest to recover. She forced herself to take those last steps back close to his bed. She reached out to touch his arm but pulled back at the sight of the scales. She quickly clasped her hands behind her. "John, John, hey, you're in the infirmary," she said in a soothing tone.

John scowled up at her. The overhead lights were too bright and he squinted painfully. "Did I hurt anyone?" he asked. The last thing he remembered clearly was Elizabeth and Kai coming to see him. Everything else was foggy flashes of him fighting The Beast for control.

"Not seriously," Weir assured him a little too quickly.

He tried to move his hand to cup his pounding head but found he was restrained. He looked down at the cuffs and nodded. "Teyla and Kai..." he squinted his eyes against the light. "Why do I remember them getting shot at?"

"We're fine Colonel," Teyla's soothing voice called to him, from deeper in the room.

John forced himself to open his eyes the rest of the way so he could meet her gaze and make sure she was telling him the truth. The Athosian nodded soothingly. His eyes moved to the smaller woman standing next to her. Kai looked fine, although she was geared up. She wore the scarf he got her wrapped around her head as she did when she went off world and he wondered what he had missed.

John's eyes went back to Weir. "I remember-" he said and he pinched his eyes shut as the pressure started to build in his mind again. That Thing was still inside of him, still fighting to get out.

"Don't try too hard Colonel," Beckett advised. "We need you to stay in the present where you are firmly in control."

John nodded.

"Sorry about the headache," Beckett said as he stepped up to look over The Colonel's vitals. "It's a side effect of the inhibitor."

"Did Ronon shoot me?" John asked frowning as scraps of memory flashed behind his eyes.

"You had it coming," Elizabeth assured him. "We don't have a lot of time. This dose of the inhibitor will only last about an hour. How would you like to go on a mission?"

><><

Elizabeth sent the others ahead to get the rest of their gear so she could have a quiet moment with John. Beckett found John a long cloak to cover the mutation with a large hood to help block the light. John strode silently beside Weir as they made their way to the gateroom. He held himself differently, there was an intensity to him that made Elizabeth uncomfortable, but she fought to hide it. They reached the end of the hall and John hesitated. She glanced towards him and heard him sniff loudly.

"John?" She asked gently turning back to face him.

John went still as he fought to process all the information his senses were giving him. He could smell and hear every single person that was in the gateroom and the control room beyond that. He fought to slow his racing thoughts, knowing it would make it harder to focus on remaining in control. The inhibitor was helping, but he could still feel that thing clawing at the back of his mind, just waiting for it's chance. He caught Kai's scent and his hands tightened into fists. He had already put her through so much, he didn't want to make things any worse. He dropped his head so his eyes were on the floor and made damn sure the hood was hiding his face while he pulled his hands up inside the billowing sleeves.

"John your team is ready to go," Elizabeth said stepping towards him. He tensed, and Weir froze where she was.

"You're sending Kai," John's voice was a low growl, deeper than normal. He didn't sound like himself even to his own ears. "Do you think that's such a good idea?" he asked stiffly.

Weir hesitated and she shifted nervously. "Do you?" She asked.

"No," he replied sharper than he meant. Weir flinched and took a step back away from him. He wanted to pull back and rein in his emotions, but he couldn't. Even with the inhibitor he was right on the edge of control. "Don't send her," his voice was a low growl.

Weir frowned in confusion at The Colonel. He was hiding his face, but she could feel his intensity.

"Please," his voice rasped, low and almost impossible to hear.

Weir hesitated. "Kai and Ronon were the only ones who were able to stop you. I think it's best she accompany the team in case...well, in case," Weir hesitated and cocked her head to the side as she studied him. "Are you concerned about her safety?" she asked with interest.

John grunted recognizing her leading question. She needed to understand how serious this was. "Science experiment when I get back Doc." He said grimly, realizing it didn't matter what he said, Elizabeth had made up her mind to have Kai accompany the team and they didn't have time to argue. "And I'm always worried about my teams safety," he called over his shoulder as he stalked away from her towards the gate.

John let his eyes run briefly over the gathered team. Ronon never took his eyes off of him while his hand rested on the grip of his gun. It was a relief to know the large Satedan wouldn't hesitate to put him down if it came to that. He noted that Ronon had also put himself between him and Kai. It was probably for the best, but it made the possessive instincts The Beast had ignited push to the forefront of his mind. He closed his eyes for a brief moment as he passed them fighting for focus. All that mattered was the mission.

McKay stepped forward. "So good to see you up and-" Rodney dragged off as Sheppard ignored him and stalked past him towards the gate.

Kai stood behind Sheppard. The cloak concealed him completely, the hood was pulled low, hiding his face. "Dial the gate," Kai called and the hood snapped to the side, as he turned towards the sound of her voice.

The gate activated and John strode through, quickly followed by Teyla, McKay and Beckett. Kai glanced back at Weir. "Good luck," Elizabeth called. Kai nodded and she and Ronon followed the others through the gate.

Teyla and Rodney were on the lead as the team moved through the forest of the planet. Beckett was behind him with Kai and Ronon. The forest was overwhelming to his senses and every time he felt his attention stray The Beast surged forward. John found himself focusing on the sound of Kai's breathing and the light, but steady beats of her heart. It helped him. He wondered if this was how Kai heard the world around them. If she could hear his breathing and his heartbeat. It felt strangely intimate.

Teyla and Rodney stopped as they approached a large cave. John cocked his head to the side as he noted the scorch marks on the rock walls near the entrance. He remembered Elizabeth saying they had lost men here.

Kai stepped up close behind him, he could feel her heat even though there was little more than a foot separating them. He moved to take a step towards the darkness. He could smell the Iratus bugs nest and it wasn't safe for her here. The need to keep those bugs as far away from her soft skin was practically choking him.

"Wait," Kai reached out and grabbed John's arm before he stepped into the cave.

John flinched back, jerking his arm out of her hand. "Don't touch me," his voice was a low growl that reminded her of a wraith.

Kai held up her hands as hurt flashed through her eyes, but she never pulled away from him. "I'm sorry," she stammered "I didn't-"

"I don't want you to touch me," he said the words almost under his breath and Kai watched as he pulled his hands back up into the long sleeves of his robe so they were hidden.

Understanding dawned as she thought back to when she had touched him before. At the time The Creature and John had been fighting for control. John was now firmly in the pilots seat and he didn't want her touching the blue scaly skin. It made her hurt for him that he felt the need to pull away from her when he was barely holding himself together. Lifting her chin Kai stepped towards him into his space and forced him to meet her gaze as she stared into his strange alien eyes.

"You are Colonel John Sheppard." She said resolutely. She reached out painfully slowly. The tips of her fingers touched the rough blue scales on his face. She glided her fingers down the line of his cheek bone affectionately as she stared deeply into his eyes so he could see she wasn't afraid of him.

"Kai-" Beckett started moving towards them, but Teyla grabbed his arm and hushed him.

Kai took another step closer to him ignoring the warning growl that rose in his throat. She pushed herself up on her toes and rested her forehead against his. "And don't you forget it," she whispered. She wanted him to know that she still saw him underneath what was happening. Without fully opening herself to the Bond between them, she sent a small nudge towards him.

John closed his eyes as he felt the warmth blossom in his chest for a moment and he knew it was her. It faded slowly, but her warm breath still fanned his face as she leaned into him. He shuddered. With her so near it made it difficult to focus on anything but her warmth and the overwhelming spicy scent that surrounded her. It made him want to bury his face in her neck and lose himself in her.

Unconsciously, his hand came up to rest on her arm to steady her. When he opened his eyes he saw the blue scales and vicious black claws resting against the pale skin of her wrist. He froze as fear choked him, locking down his body. This close it would be so easy for that Thing to take her from him. All it would take was a moment, a second of him losing control and she could be gone.

A low, mournful growl came from deep in his chest. Kai's eyes flickered up to his slitted eyes. He slowly forced himself to let her go.

"John."

She said his name and it made that possessive wave rise up in his chest once more. He wasn't sure if it belonged to him or The Creature. Kai was something they agreed on so completely it was difficult to tell and so he couldn't trust it.

"It can't have you," Kai snarled fiercely and in that moment she let John see exactly how much she cared. How fiercely she would fight for him.

He thought the same thing about The Creature as he pulled away from her and stalked into the cave. It couldn't have her.

><><

Kai paced around the small clearing. This was taking too long. Beeping from Beckett's watch had her whirling towards the sound, a knife slipping into her hand instinctively.

Ronon touched her arm. "Easy little sister," he said with a grim nod. He could see the tension thrumming through her body, but she nodded back.

Beckett cleared his throat apologetically. "That was the alarm I set for how long I thought the inhibitor would last."

"So you're telling me he's in there and there's a chance-?" Rodney started to say, turning fearful eyes towards the cave.

Ronon was the first to make a move towards the entrance, but Kai was right behind him.

"Stop," Teyla called to them. "If the inhibitor has stopped working-"

"Then he's already beyond our help," Rodney added a little desperately. He didn't want to lose two more of his friends today. It would be bad enough losing Sheppard.

Behind them there was an angry snarl and John burst out of the cave in an inhuman move. Ronon tried to block him but John had aimed for the greatest threat. He knocked the Satedan down, sending Ronon's gun skittering away from them into the underbrush.

"Get the canister!" Beckett yelled, his eyes locked on the canister of eggs in The Creatures grip.

The Creature that was no longer John turned it's head towards the noise and Kai used the moment of distraction to attack. She launched herself at it. She and John had been sparring together for weeks and she knew how to use her momentum against his much taller more muscular frame. She wrapped her arms around his waist and flung her body past him, using all of her weight to throw his away from Beckett, Teyla and McKay. He was more dense than John, but the proportions were painfully familiar. She and The Creature went down in a heap. Teyla was there in a second, and snatched the canister from The Creature before the precious eggs could be lost.

"Kai!" Teyla yelled as The Creature pounced towards her.

"Get Beckett and those Eggs to the gate!" Kai yelled to the others. The Creature moved faster than she could track. It grabbed for her and she had no chance of getting away as it lifted her effortlessly. It pressed her against a tree and raised one of it's palms as though it were a wraith about to feed.

Kai's eyes widened in fear. "John!" She yelled, but whatever intelligence had once been in The Creature's eyes was gone now. John was gone.

Ronon rolled to his feet with his gun in the time it took the creature to bear down on Kai. The creature heard the movement behind it and whirled to face the threat. It kept one hand on Kai's torso, pinning her easily to the tree with only one hand as it snarled threateningly at Ronon. It's hand dug painfully into her torso, it's claws ripping through the fabric of her flak vest like it was tissue paper.

Kai met Ronon's gaze and nodded to him, knowing what she was agreeing to. They needed to stop John as quickly as possible and there was no guarantee Ronon would get another clear shot again. She wouldn't let this creature take him from her.

"Sorry Kai," Ronon said, but he didn't hesitate. He fired off three fast stun shots. The creature kept it's grip on Kai the whole time and the blasts of energy went through it's body and into Kai's. Kai went limp after the first shot. It took two more to lay the creature out. As it went down it released Kai and the two fell into a tangled heap on the forest floor.

"Rodney!" Ronon called as he stalked towards Sheppard's body.

Rodney popped his head around the side of the tree. He looked down at the bodies and grimaced. "Three stunner shots," Rodney let out a low whistle. "She is going to be feeling that tomorrow."

Ronon looked down at the shredded fabric of the front of Kai's tactical vest. There were deep grooves in the bullet proof fabric where the creatures claws had dug in. Had she not been wearing it, the creature would have torn her apart. He holstered his gun, bent down and slung John over his shoulder. "Grab Kai," he instructed Rodney.

"What?" Rodney asked bewildered.

"Teyla and Beckett are probably already through the gate. Beckett'll get an anecdote as soon as possible but there's no telling how long this stunner will last on him. We need to get him contained as soon as possible. I can't carry them both. Do you want to leave Kai here with that nest right there?" Ronon challenged.

Rodney moved over to Kai. He grunted dramatically as he picked her up, though she was surprisingly light. Ronon moved quickly through the forest, seemingly unencumbered by the Colonel's unconscious form. Rodney however was more careful. He carried Kai bridle style in his arms and stepped carefully around any rocks and downed trees.

"Come on Rodney!" Ronon called from ahead of them. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to have to take him out again with Kai out of commission."

Rodney nodded and huffed through the undergrowth. He knew Ronon couldn't see him, but he fought to increase his speed. He had been shocked to see what The Creature in control of John's body was capable of. There had been no trace of his friend anywhere in it's alien eyes. The talon marks that had destroyed Kai's vest shook him to his core. Up until now The Creature hadn't done any permanent damage to anyone. Rodney hadn't realized how much the Colonel had still been fighting for control even when they thought he was lost.

Above all it shocked him that The Creature had attacked Kai. Teyla had been right after all. The Creatures only interest in her had been to feed. It had been John keeping her safe somehow buried beneath the primal instincts of The Creature taking over him.

It was one Rodney's worst nightmare to be trapped in his own body, his mind becoming his prison. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like for his friend. He only hoped John was too far gone to have had to witness what The Creature had tried to do to Kai. It would have been torture for John who he knew cared deeply for Kai.

Rodney wasn't great at social interaction, but even he wasn't dense enough to miss the thing between John and Kai. His friend had it bad, and while limited by his duty as commanding officer, it didn't change the depth of Sheppard's feelings.

Rodney tightened his grip on Kai, hugging her to his chest. She wasn't just his team mate. She was precious to his best friend, he would do everything in his power to protect her. He was shocked by how small she felt. Kai always seemed larger than life, her small frame brimming with energy and motion. Now she felt tiny and fragile. Vulnerable.

He stepped out of the forest to see Ronon dialing the DHD one handed, John still slung over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Once dialed the two of them stepped through the gate.

><><

Elizabeth was pleased to see Ronon step through with John safely returned home. Ronon didn't hesitate. He strode purposefully out of the event horizon heading straight for the isolation room where John could be contained. Carson has headed straight for his lab with the precious eggs where he could finish his cure.

Elizabeth wasn't one to allow doubts to cloud her judgement. Once a decision was made, there was no use obsessing over it, one needed to simply move forward with the repercussions. At least that's what she thought until she saw McKay shuffle through the gate a few seconds later with the prone form of Kai draped in his arms.

"Medic!" Elizabeth yelled as a bad feeling went through her.

The emergency personnel rushed into the room with a gurney.

Elizabeth stepped up to Rodney. His face was pale and sweaty with exertion. "Rodney," she said looking down at Kai.

Rodney laid her carefully on the gurney.

"What happened?" The medic asked. He already had a flashlight out and was checking Kai's pupils.

"Ronon had to stun Colonel Sheppard while he was touching her," Rodney explained quickly.

Elizabeth was listening to Rodney's words, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the deep gashes in Kai's combat vest. She reached down and touched them. The bullet proof material was dense and over an inch thick, the claw marks had punctured nearly all the way through.

"Was it a wraith stunner or - ?"

"Ronon's gun," Rodney replied. "Three shots."

The medic let out a low whistle. "Let's get her to the infirmary and through the scanner. We need to monitor her vitals."

A long moment went by but nobody moved.

"Elizabeth," Teyla said sharply.

Elizabeth looked up at the Athosian and then back down realizing she was still touching the grooves in the vest. The whole med team was waiting on her.

"Of course," Elizabeth said taking a step back.

They rushed Kai off to the infirmary with Rodney following. He felt like he had been charged with Kai's safety in a way by Ronon and he wasn't going to let his friends down.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around herself as she stared after them.

"Are you all right?" Teyla asked in a low voice.

Elizabeth turned back to Teyla and shook her head.

Teyla's mouth flattened sympathetically and she took Elizabeth's arm, leading her gently away towards the privacy of the other woman's office.

"I'm fine," Elizabeth said when the door closed behind them. "I just-" she shook her head. "I didn't realize how far gone he was."

Teyla had seen the conversion close up. She hadn't realized until that moment that Elizabeth was clueless over how deeply John had fought for control up until the very end. Regardless, she nodded kindly and waited for the other woman to continue.

"I sent Kai with your team," Elizabeth confessed hollowly.

"It is within your right as leader. Though I assure you, had you tried to stop her you would not have found Kai to be easily dissuaded," Teyla soothed.

Elizabeth shook her head. "John wanted her to stay back, but I pushed. I thought-" she pressed her lips together and covered her mouth with her hand. "He didn't want her there."

"I believe we all thought Kai had the greatest connection to the creature. And in fact she had. She also kept The Colonel calm, however-" Teyla stopped talking when it became clear Elizabeth wasn't listening.

"Did you see what it did to her vest?" Elizabeth asked.

Teyla nodded. Truthfully she had been shocked to see the amount of damage The Creature had inflicted in such a short time. "But Kai was uninjured. Aside from the impressive headache she will no doubt wake up with. I'm sure she would tell you it was worth it for a chance to save The Colonel."

"He didn't want her there," Elizabeth repeated. "He knew," she said shaking her head. "He knew and he was too ashamed to explain because I was pushing. I nearly got Kai killed."

"No," Teyla said with a firm shake of her head. "The Creature tried to kill Kai, but neither Kai nor Ronon let that happen."

Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest as she stared hard out the window at the Stargate.

"Elizabeth," Teyla said gently as she approached the other woman. "Kai is fine. She is one of the most capable warriors I have ever met. I assure you. You have no reason to punish yourself. Kai would say the same thing."

"But would John?" Elizabeth challenged. "I keep thinking that the last thing he asked of me, I denied him."

"It won't be the last," Teyla said firmly.

"I hope you're right," Elizabeth said with a weak smile.

><><

Chapter 57

><><

In Kai's nightmares John was dying. He was screaming in pain and she couldn't get to him. She fought to reach him, but her body was sluggish and wouldn't respond to her commands. He screamed again and she jerked awake, fighting off the last of the stunner. 

She groaned as pins and needles ran through her entire body. Her head started to pound and she flopped back against the pillows as memories of Ronon shooting her returned. Well, not her, The Creature had been holding onto her when Ronon stunned it. 

"Easy, you took one hell of a shot Little Sister," Ronon's deep rumble came from beside her. 

She turned her head, ready with a quip about it being his fault when John's scream came again. It hadn't been a nightmare. It was real. She had never heard him sound like that before. She jerked up and her head swam, but it didn't matter. She stumbled her first step off the bed.

"Easy," Ronon said catching her arm and steadying her. 

"Where-?" she started to ask as her heart thudded in her chest. They had been too late. The Creature was killing him. 

"He's in the isolation room," Ronon said. "He's been awake a couple of hours. The Doc says the reversal process will be painful." 

"Reversal?" Kai repeated as she shook her head in confusion. "So, he's okay," she breathed a sigh of relief and sagged into Ronon, letting him support most of her weight. 

Ronon easily held Kai by her arm. "Beckett says he isn't out of the woods yet, but the drug seems to be working." 

Kai nodded and sat back on the bed. She winced as pain lacerated her abdomen. Frowning, she lifted her black shirt and grimaced down at the ugly dark purple bruising exactly the size and shape of John's hand.

"Your vest did its job," Ronon said trying not to let his concern show. He had been there when the medical team had to cut the ruined tak vest off of her. Beckett had assured the team Kai would only have some bruising, but they had all been worried. Had he broken the skin the chance of infection was huge. 

Kai's releif brought with it a wave of exhaustion she hadn't realized she'd been fighting. She couldn't remember the last time she slept, not really, and being stunned didn't count. Her eyes traveled to the other side of the bed where Rodney was fast asleep in the chair. 

She turned to Ronon raising a questioning brow. 

"He carried you back. Think he was worried," Ronon said as though he himself hadn't been sitting on her other side. The large Satedan shifted his weight uncomfortably, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Kai smiled gently. The scientist may be a little bristly at times, but he truly cared for his friends. "Well I guess I owe him then." 

Ronon chuckled. "Don't look at me like that. I carried Sheppard." 

Kai nodded. She pressed her lips together and peaked up at Ronon from beneath her eyelashes. "I'd like to see him," she said gravely. 

Ronon understood and offered Kai a hand to help her to her feet. She pulled off the monitoring strips and shut down the machines before they could bring the medics running in. They made it almost to the door before Ronon had to wave them off. 

"Do me a favor, don't shoot me again," she grumbled as she moved down the hall on unsteady legs. "How long was I out?" 

"Almost a full day."

"You'd think I would feel more rested," Kai grumbled as her anxiety rose. A lot could happen in a day. 

Ronon led her to the observation area that over looked the isolation room. Once they were through the doors she stepped away from him up to the glass. Weir and Beckett were standing in the corner of the room. They both looked up but didn't say anything as Kai lifted a hand to rest against the cool glass. 

John was ten feet below, strapped to a gurney. There were restraints on his wrists, elbows and biceps. She could see the shredded remains of ones he must have broken through still clinging to his wrists. There was a strap across his chest, his thighs and his calves, as well as restraints around his ankles. His lay prone, looking like he was asleep. 

There was quiet movement behind her and she recognized the sound of Beckett as he approached. "He just fell back unconscious," he said gently. 

"I heard him," Kai said quietly by way of explanation. 

Beckett nodded grimly. "I can't say I'm surprised. It's been a bad one. The bastard doesn't want to let him go." 

Kai let out a shaky breath. "It can't have him," she growled resolutely. 

"Aye," Beckett said with an affectionate smile. "Ya might want to go in and remind the Colonel of that the next time he's awake." 

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Weir said quickly stepping up near Kai. "Perhaps you should return to the infirmary, get checked out and cleared before moving around so much," she said casting a disapproving look at Beckett. 

He cleared his throat but didn't bother to respond. Weir had made it perfectly clear that she wanted Kai under strict observation.

"I've been stunned before, I'm fine," Kai assured Weir, turning back to the window. 

"But the bruising-" Elizabeth started to say. 

Kai reached down and touched her sore stomach. "I'm fine," she assured them and turned back to the window. 

Weir tried several times over the next few hours to convince Kai to go rest or eat. Anything to get the small Mortii to take care of herself, but Kai wouldn't be persuaded. Once Weir finally went to bed, Kai pulled one of the chairs up close to the glass and sat down, drawing her legs up underneath herself. 

She knew she wasn't going to be able to stay here, eventually it would raise too many questions. Her concern clearly went beyond that of a friend or colleague, and she wasn't willing to go down that road. It was the middle of the night however, and the only other person moving around was Carson. She didn't feel like she had to hide from Carson. 

Eventually Kai fell asleep. She wasn't sure who had done it, but she woke several hours later to find a blanket tucked around her. It was still the middle of the night and no one else was around. She stood and moved close to the glass once more. John was awake, his jaw set and he was staring up at the ceiling as his body seized over and over again. She could feel pressure building against the closed Bond like a tension headache. She didn't know how, but she knew without a doubt John was in incredible amounts of pain.

She turned, opening her mouth to call for Beckett. She didn't know how she would explain, but he needed to do something. Before she could say anything Beckett stepped up next to her. "There's nothing I can do for him," Beckett said grimly, anticipating Kai's question.

Kai turned back to the room, pressing her lips together. John's whole body was rigid as his muscles seized. He spasmed against the restraints and they groaned in protest of his strength. 

"Can't you sedate him?" She asked in a low voice.

"I already have. He's fighting it. If I give him any more I'll be risking his life. What he needs is to relax and let the drugs do their job. I sat with him earlier and talking to him seemed to help. Perhaps you'd be willing to give it a go?" Beckett asked hopefully. "I'm beat and frankly could use the break."

Kai closed her eyes and leaned her head against the glass. The small motion caught John's eye and his chin snapped in her direction still inhumanly fast and the telepathic pressure released as though he had suddenly gone away. She frowned, not for the first time, or even the hundredth, wishing she understood more about the connection between them. 

"I'll keep him company," she agreed. 

Beckett nodded with a small, private smile. "Good, why don't you get yourself cleaned up a bit. I got a few more things to attend to before I can leave him."

Kai left the observation room and returned to her own, catching a quick shower. She changed into fresh clothes and went to John's room. It took some doing but she managed to get the door to open. She remembered seeing him reading a book and hoped it would help keep him calm and her awake. She found it sitting on his nightstand. She tucked it under one arm and moved quickly through the dark hallways back to the isolation room. 

Beckett nodded to her encouraging and entered his code to allow her into the Isolation room. John's head snapped towards her as the door hissed open. His face was covered in blue scales and his eyes were still light green and alien, but there was a calmness about him that hadn't been there before. 

Kai sat down in the chair. When she looked back at him, John's eyes were locked on her. Kai lifted the heavy book into her lap. "I know you're already on chapter two," she said briskly. "But since I am unfamiliar with the story you'll just have to cope," she chatted, surprising herself when she realized she was nervous. She glanced back over her shoulder towards the observation room. She didn't like the idea of being on display, but she didn't hear anyone moving around the room above them so she shook it off.

She turned her focus back to John. His strange eyes continued to stare at her, unblinking, as though he couldn't look away. The intensity in his slitted green eyes was unnerving. She wondered if it was John or if the instincts of The Creature were still driving him. She ran her hands over the cover of the book and his eyes followed the motion. 

That pressure slowly began building again in the back of her mind. She wasn't wide open to the connection, but she also hadn't completely closed herself off to him. His body tightened once more and his scale covered hands gripped into fists as the pressure slammed into her. She had never felt pain through their connection before. John's pain tolerance was incredible and the amount it would take for her to feel it this way was terrifying. Beckett had said he needed to be relaxed in order to stop fighting the drugs and allow the sedatives to work. 

She cleared her throat and opened the book. "Book One: 1805 Chapter One. Well Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Buonapartes. But I warn you, if you don't tell me that this means war..."

><><

Elizabeth woke up early so she could check on John's progress before she reported to her office. It was half six when she stepped into the observation room. She frowned as she spotted Beckett standing at the glass. Kai's calm, clear voice was echoing through the room. 

She looked around quickly and realized Beckett must have turned on the audio feed from the room below. "What's that?" Elizabeth asked frowning. 

Beckett glanced towards her and quickly turned down the intercom. "Ah Kai started reading War and Peace last night," Beckett said with a wry grin. "I have't heard it since I was boy. My gran used to read it." 

Elizabeth looked down into the isolation room. "He looks better." 

"Aye, he's calmer than I've seen him," Beckett said with an exhausted smile.

"The sedatives?" Elizabeth asked curiously as she watched the two below. John was laying on the gurney, his head turned towards Kai. Kai was sitting in one of the uncomfortable chairs, her knees drawn up to her chest with the book balancing on them. There was something oddly peaceful about the scene.  

Beckett shook his head. "He has been so calm since I came down early this morning I didn't want to disturb them." 

"Does she need a break?" Elizabeth asked. 

"Perhaps, but I'm certainly not going to be the one to suggest it." 

Weir scowled at Beckett's words. Sheppard's healing process would be a long road and it wouldn't do for them to lay the burden of it all on Kai's shoulders. Now that they knew having someone reading to him soothed him they could all take turns. "Well how far is she in the story?" 

"Chapter 28 I believe. I looked back on the footage. She's been in there the whole time. He hasn't had a single outburst since."

Weir frowned down at the two through the glass. She had suspected there was something about Kai that the creature was drawn to, but now she was wondering if she had gotten it all wrong. Perhaps it had nothing to do with the creature at all. Perhaps it was John and Kai who were drawn to one another. 

><><

The process took weeks, just as Doctor Beckett told Kai. She and the others took turns being with him while they could. Kai took the night shifts, enjoying the quiet peace. It took her a couple days, but eventually she figured out that when she felt the pressure through their connection John was in control. When the pressure would release his control would slip and that thing would fight. It was like it knew it was dying and it was trying to take John out with it.  

The back and forth battle lasted through the first week. When she felt the pressure against the connection she would hold his scale covered hand and read to him. When he lost control however, his screaming was so loud it hurt Kai's ears. He screamed until his throat was raw and then he would collapse unconscious his body weak and covered in sweat. Beckett assured her there was no rhyme or reason to it. All they could do was keep him comfortable and encourage John to keep fighting.

One morning two weeks into the process Kai woke up to find John's warm hazel eyes staring back at her. The scales had been slowly receding back down his face, and now only covered the lower part of his jaw. He still hadn't spoken, but when he watched her it at least felt like John now. There hadn't been any telepathic shifts in days and she barely dared to hope that they were over the worst of it.

The door chimed and she stood. Beckett would take over the morning watch while she went to work. She touched his hand. "I'll be back later," she promised as she always did when she left and for the first time he nodded. He made a move like he was going to open his mouth, but he grimaced in pain and closed his eyes. 

Kai pressed her lips together as she weighed the risks of dropping the last wall between them telepathically. She was fairly certain that thing was gone, or at least gone enough it was no longer a threat. She was curious and she wanted John to know she was there. She sent a gentle nudge his way and his eyes flashed open. He turned his head towards her and his hazel eyes shone with something that may have been hope. She felt the answering warmth that she knew was John, completely free of malicious darkness she had felt before. 

"It's okay," she promised. She was nearly light headed with relief. He was going to make it. "Just rest." 

Beckett removed the restraints the next day. He insisted it was still safer to keep John in isolation, but he wasn't concerned he would hurt himself or others once Kai explained begrudgingly what she had felt. If Beckett thought any of it was strange he didn't say so, and he had honored his word, and not told anyone about the Bond. 

Two nights later Kai woke to the sound of John's deep voice picking up reading where she left off. When she lifted her head he cast her a weak smile. 

"I don't know if I should be concerned or impressed that you made it this far in. I think I missed a few parts," he said with a wry smile. His grimaced slightly and coughed. His throat was dry and talking hurt. Kai was staring at him like she couldn't believe he was there. John's heart thudded out an extra rhythm at the soft look in Kai's eye.

"How are you feeling? She asked leaning towards him. She rested a small hand on the bed near his, but she didn't touch him. She looked exhausted. There were dark circles under her eyes and lines of stress around her mouth. 

"Weak," he responded honestly. "Like I've been hit by a truck and then struck by lightning...and starved. Any way to get a decent meal in here?" he asked. She seemed uncomfortable and he wasn't sure what to do to make it better. 

Kai was suddenly uncomfortable sitting here staring straight into John's intense gaze. It had been weeks of fighting and hoping for him to survive and now that he was awake and staring at her she had no idea what to say to him. "I'll get Beckett," she stammered out. She turned towards the door and nearly tripped over her own feet in her haste to get out of the room. 

John frowned at her but nodded. Beckett came in a few moments later, but Kai didn't return.

><><

It was another two weeks before John saw Kai. She never came back to keep him company even after John was moved to the infirmary. He was assured by Teyla and McKay that the team was doing well and keeping busy. She never mentioned Kai by name but the implication was clear. 

John was sitting in the infirmary for his final check up before he was officially released. The scales were mostly gone aside from the infection site, and his senses had all returned to normal. He had lost a lot of weight and muscle tone over the last month, but his appetite was returning. 

Beckett came in with a handful of papers looking grim. 

"Well Doc, am I free to go?" John asked brightly. The truth was he was losing his mind in here. He had tried reading War and Peace by himself, but found it not as interesting without Kai's softly accented voice reading it to him. 

"Aye," Beckett agreed, but the Doctor looked anything but sure. "Your insomnia is a little concerning but probably not out of the realm of possibility for someone who has had well..."

"Another consciousness in my body?" John asked. 

"Right," Beckett said nodding sharply. "I've prescribed a sedative that might help with that. Beyond that...your DNA results came back one hundred percent clear. Your blood test is negative for any trace of the retrovirus." 

"Well that's great news," John said jumping to his feet exuberant as a kid. 

"Just a moment John," Beckett said. "Will you sit down please?" Beckett asked, gripping the chart in his hand tightly. 

"You're freaking me out Doc," John said warily. He made no move to sit back down on the bed. He had been confined to the damn room for weeks now. He was ready to go. 

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this John...but, we did a full body scan to make sure the retrovirus hadn't disrupted any of your other systems. The amount of drugs that have been flushed through your kidney's has effected those numbers and we're going to continue to monitor that, but..." Beckett drew in a sharp breath and forced himself to say the words. "I'm afraid, there's a very good possibility the conversion has made it so you won't be able to father children. Your DNA may be Wraith and Iratus bug free, but the changes to your physiology, however subtle, are just too great."  

John didn't know what to say. He stared hard at the floor as the news went over him. Honestly he had never given kids much thought, not since his divorce with Nancy. Beckett however was acting like he had just delivered a death sentence. 

"Don't beat yourself up too bad Doc, I'm not really the settle down and have kids type anyway," he assured Beckett glibly. He could see how much Carson was blaming himself for this. It had been his retrovirus and in Carson's mind he was responsible for the lasting damage. "Is that it?" he asked arching his brows. 

Carson nodded, as guilt tore through him. He could see Sheppard distancing himself from the conversation already. It wasn't something he expected to effect the Colonel today or even tomorrow, but ten years from now who knew where they would all be. The Colonel might just be singing a very different tune. "Yeah that's it. I haven't cleared you for active duty yet. I would like to see you rest for another couple weeks ideally. I've made the concession for you to take your R and R on Atlantis provided you show you can handle it." 

"I'll be on my best behavior," John promised with a smirk. 

"See that you do," Beckett said half-heartedly as John slipped out of the infirmary. He shook his head and turned back to his work. "Worst patient ever."

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John headed straight for the gym. Since regaining consciousness or awareness he had had a lot of time to lay in bed and think about things. He'd had the opportunity to apologize to everyone he could think of with the exception of one person. Beckett had seemed to think his memories of his conversion would be hazy, but they were just the opposite. Similar to his senses at the time everything was almost painfully sharp. He remembered every second of it with absolute clarity. 

He waved his hand in front of the scanner to find Kai and Ronon sparring. Ronon had told him he would be sparring with Kai earlier that morning. He didn't say anything about it, but John thought maybe he wasn't the only one who thought Kai was avoiding him. 

Ronon looked towards the door and Kai landed a hard kick to his right shoulder which she followed up with a complicated spin kick. Ronon caught her ankle on the next one and looked down at it in amusement. She scowled at him and launched herself into the air, aiming her other boot for his head. He dropped down just in time to avoid being hit in the face and the two of them crashed to the mats. Kai rolled to her feet faster, she landed on his chest, a short wooden rod pressed against his throat. 

"You got distracted," she complained, keeping her focus one hundred percent glued on Ronon. 

"Guess I did," Ronon agreed gruffly although he didn't sound sorry. 

Kai climbed to her feet and offered the large man a hand up. 

"Hey buddy," Ronon greeted turning to John.

"Hey, sorry if I-" John started to say uncomfortably. He wasn't sure what he expected, but Kai refusing to even look at him was not it. 

Ronon waved him off. "Good to see you out of the infirmary.' 

"Good to be out." 

Kai moved over to the bench and wiped the sweat off of her palms onto a towel. She glanced down at her watch. "I should-" she started to say to no one in particular.

"I gotta run," Ronon interrupted her, already heading towards the door. "Gotta meet Teyla for lunch." 

The door hissed open and Kai was left standing in front of John uncomfortably. She drew in a breath and opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. She was desperate to flee the awkward room, but as she got a closer look at him she knew she couldn't do that to him. As much as he was trying to hide it John was just as uncomfortable as her. He ran a hand over the back of his neck and shifted his weight. It had been a few weeks since she had seen him, and she hadn't seen him out of bed. He had lost a lot of weight. The casual white button down he was wearing seeming too large for him and she could see how sallow his skin was in the bright lights of the gym. The conversion process had taken a lot out of him and seeing him like this was a sharp reminder of how close she had come to losing him. 

"So..." John said after a few moments. He wasn't sure how to start this. He hadn't expected this weirdness between him and Kai. Things were always so effortless between them. "I-" he started and then he stopped. He moved deeper into the room and picked up the short rods Kai had been fighting with. "These are nice," he said swinging them experimentally. 

"Ronon made them for me," Kai said, seizing on a much more comfortable subject. 

John nodded. "They simulate your knives nicely I'll bet." 

Kai nodded in agreement and shifted the strap on her backpack. 

"Look Kai," John finally said turning back to her. "I had a lot of time to lay in that bed and think about things...well, remember things and...I owe you an apology." He said. "Probably more than anyone." 

Kai was already shaking her head. "No, you don't John." 

"Look I was behaving...well I did a lot of things that were pretty out of character..." he dragged off. He couldn't bring himself to apologize for kissing her. He wasn't sorry about that, just the way it happened. "I don't ever want you to feel-"

"I don't," she said quickly and she slowly lifted her eyes to meet his. 

He nodded awkwardly then. "Okay, good. So we're good then?" he hedged hopefully. 

"Of course," she replied briskly. 

John sighed. "Cause it sort of seemed like you were avoiding me." 

"I wasn't avoiding you I was just-"

"Busy?" John supplied helpfully. He didn't want to admit how much her distance had hurt. He remembered all those nights he would come back to himself, unable to speak or move but he could hear her voice. He remembered so clearly the day he had felt her inside his chest. He didn't know exactly what it was that existed between them, but he knew somehow that it was Kai. He also knew that it was gone now. Some time over the last two weeks she had pulled away again, and he didn't know how to get that back. 

"Yes," she pressed her lips together and chewed on the inside of her mouth. 

"I also wanted to thank you," he said before he lost his nerve. 

"Thank me? Whatever for?" 

"After I lost control. I-" John exhaled sharply through his nose. He hated thinking about how close he had come to losing her. It made a protective swell rise in his chest, but he couldn't protect her from himself. "I could have really hurt you. You shouldn't have ever-" 

Kai stepped closer to him and laid a gentle hand on his arm. "No John," she said firmly. "The creature was what tried to hurt me. You were every bit a victim as the rest of us." 

John snorted and shook his head. "That's not what it feels like." 

Kai could see the desolation in his eyes he was trying so hard to hide. The retrovirus had ravaged him body and soul. She wished there was something more she could do to reassure him, to help him put the pieces back together. She had closed off the Bond, refusing to force it on him, but she was so tempted to use it to comfort him now like she had before. The level of intimacy it allowed was almost addictive, but she wouldn't let it control her. 

"Look," John said turning back to Kai. "I gotta say this. I remember everything that thing did, and I did," he sniffed and wiped at his mouth. "I remember when that thing had you pinned in the forest and I remember how-" he stopped then and hung his head shaking it as though he could rid himself of the memories. "I dream about it every night. Beckett says it'll fade eventually but..." He stopped himself and took a deep breath. 

Kai literally watched as John reconstructed his own walls around himself. He closed himself off and pushed himself metaphorically to his feet. She marveled at the strength it took to do that after everything he had been through. 

"Well, I'll let you get back to your day," John said quickly turning to the door to hurry away. He had wanted to make things better, but instead it felt like all he had done was muck things up worse.

"John," Kai called after him. 

He turned to her. She was standing in the soft light of the gym and looked so lovely it made something in his chest actually hurt. He didn't want there to be this thing between them. He just wanted things to go back to the way they were. 

Kai walked towards him. "You said you remembered everything," she said carefully. 

John closed his eyes. She was going to ask him about the kiss. Either he was going to have to explain it to her, or he was going to have to lie and pass it off as the impulses of the creature. He didn't want to do either. "Yeah," he replied and had to clear his throat. 

"I told you something right before you went into the cave," Kai looked at the ground as she spoke and he thought maybe she was just as uncomfortable by this thing between them as he was. 

John nodded. The image of her standing before him, her eyes flashing with a sort of possessive pride wasn't something he would soon forget. She had stared up at him, her chin lifted as though daring him to defy her with her stormy eyes flashing. John stepped towards Kai then. He shouldn't have, he knew that. This thing between them could never be, he was commanding officer here, and he would never put her in that position. They were both trying to re-establish boundaries and figure out how to go forward from here, but there was something broken between them that needed to be fixed. 

John leaned down and pressed his forehead against Kai's. The tightness in his chest loosened when she didn't pull away from him. "You said, it couldn't have me," he said in a husky voice. 

Kai breathed in the scent of John. As soon as the conversion started she thought she would never smell him like this again. Never enjoy the unique blend of citrus and spices. She slowly lifted her hand and placed it over John's heart. She heart it spike in rhythm as her hand lay against the warmth of his chest. She could feel the muscle he had lost. It made her ache for him. 

"It still can't," she told him resolutely. She closed her eyes and just stood there in his warmth. 

When she felt the tension release from him she stepped back. He opened his eyes and swiped a hand over his face. "Yeah." he agreed. 

"What else is wrong?" she asked. When he cast her a look she made a noise in her throat. "I mean besides the obvious."

He shook his head. "I got some bad news today," he confided. "Seems my recovery...well it wasn't without side effects. I didn't think it mattered to me at the time, but...it's just another piece that thing stole from me." 

Kai frowned, her mind trailing after his subtle clues. She scooped them up like breadcrumbs and scowled. "It doesn't get to take any more," she said firmly. 

John nodded, snorting humorlessly. "I'll try to remember that," he promised. 

"Good, have you eaten?" she asked. 

John shook his head. 

"Do you have plans?" Kai added, thinking that perhaps his first day out of the infirmary would be a busy one. 

"I can't begin to tell you how many plans I do not have," John said with a laugh and the two of them walked out of the gym together.

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Chapter 58

Notes:

Hello! Thank you so much for the wonderful comments on the last chapter! I really appreciate it and it inspired me to publish another! I hope you enjoy!

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The Lost Boys

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"This is ridiculous," McKay grumbled as he brushed aside a long, leaf covered limb and clambered after Sheppard through yet another alien forest. 

"Keep complaining about it and we may get there faster," John snarked back at the scientist. 

None of them were having fun hiking through the dense underbrush, but McKay's complaining wasn't making the trip any easier. John was already feeling a little winded and he cursed his weakness and pushed his body faster. He wasn't willing to admit to any of them least of all himself that he was struggling to set the pace. It was only his second mission back after the three months it had taken him to recover from the retrovirus. He had been back in the gym for the last month but it had been harder than he wanted to admit. He had only started lightly sparring in the last couple weeks and although he had passed the physical requirements for an off world active team member he was no where near his normal self physically. 

"Couldn't we have met these people on a tropical beach planet populated by tall blonde women? Eh?" McKay asked, though in his observation it seemed like the Colonel went in for short, curvy dark haired women these days. Although he would never be brave enough to say anything about it out loud. 

"Whoever wants to speak with us obviously values their privacy," Teyla soothed from behind the squabbling friends. 

"Yes, well I value my time and this is a waste of it," McKay whined. 

"What's a waste of time, is listening to you Rodney. This is the mission," John admonished sharply. 

"Yes well, it strikes me that this is a mission better suited to one of the lower echelon teams," McKay grunted as he climbed over a large log. 

"Lower echelon?" Ronon asked, his voice rumbling from behind the group. 

"He means to say, less important," Teyla filled in. 

"We got a tip from one of Teyla's contacts, we're following it up," John said firmly. 

"Oh what, this is like the upteenth tip we've followed up in search of a ZPM and none of them have panned out."

"Rodney-" Teyla started to say. She could sense that Sheppard was losing his patience. The team was still working on getting back in its rhythm after the Colonel's lay-off and McKay, as usual, wasn't helping matters. 

McKay huffed, but he wasn't willing to fight with Teyla the same way he squabbled with Sheppard. "I just want to make it clear that every second that I am out of my lab is a second the galaxy goes without another groundbreaking-" 

The flash of stunners hit McKay and Teyla first. John whirled as Teyla cried out. His hand dropped to his gun as two shots hit Ronon in the chest. Ronon fought against them and they fired a third time before turning the stunner to him. John lifted his gun at the same time two shots hit him square in the chest and everything went dark. 

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John woke up with a pounding headache. He was tied to a chair with a hood over his head. He pulled experimentally at the bonds around his wrists, but they were tight. He kept his body relaxed and leaning forward against them, so they wouldn't know he was awake as he slowly rotated his wrists, trying to see if he could wiggle them loose. There was no such luck. Whoever had tied them knew exactly what they were doing.

He didn't have long to wait before someone jerked the hood off his head. He pulled back, shaking it off. His team was all sitting with him, also tied to chairs lining what looked like a large banquet table sitting in the middle of a cave. There were plates of food and goblets sitting at each of their places. He frowned and glanced around. There were five men standing at attention behind them, but none of them spoke or reacted to their prisoners. 

"You guys okay?" John asked as he quickly made note of potential exits. He didn't see any possible weapons if he got free. The men weren't wearing a uniform of any kind, nor did he recognize any of them. Seemed like this whole day was shaping up to be a surprise.  

"Oh yeah, fine," McKay grumbled. 

Sheppard glanced towards Ronon and Teyla and they both nodded. He looked to the men standing around the table beyond. "Seems like a whole lot of trouble just to get us to dinner," he commented wryly. When no one responded he sniffed. "Not really a talkative bunch are you?" He snarked as he twisted his wrists more obviously this time to see if added leverage would help. 

One of the men stepped forward, his eyes locking on Sheppard. "We'll release you from your bindings if you promise not to attack us," he said. He met John's gaze square on, his eyes were hard and defiant as though he were daring Sheppard to do something. 

"Sure," Ronon agreed quickly with a dangerous smile.

"Yeah..." John agreed slowly. "We promise," he added as he thought how much he was going to enjoy knocking this guy on his ass for doing this to his team. 

There was a bark of familiar laughter behind them. John frowned, tipping his head back towards it as he struggled to place it.  Someone came into the room behind John and Ronon slammed up to his feet, easily taking the chair he had been tied to with him. One of the guards grabbed his shoulder and forced him back down one handed. No easy feat with someone of Ronon's size. 

John turned his head to the side, but didn't bother wasting any energy fighting.

"Before we untie them, they have to know they are among friends," a familiar voice called to the room as he approached the table. 

A bad feeling went over John and he wasn't surprised when Aidan Ford swaggered out into the room. 

"Ford?" he asked. 

"You thought I was dead, didn't you Sheppard?" Ford challenged. 

John didn't bother trying to hide the shock from his face as he turned to meet Teyla and Rodney's surprised gazes. 

"Guys, guys please," Ford said after his men untied everyone. "Eat," he said gesturing to the food on the table. When no one made a move to touch it Ford took a piece and ate it. "See, it's fine. Eat."

Ronon picked up his plate and sniffed at it, but made no move to touch it. John didn't even look at the food. McKay picked up a piece and sampled it. When he found it was good he dug in with abandon. Teyla picked through the vegetables. 

"Well men," Ford said addressing the men around him. "This used to be my team. Well, not this one," Ford admitted pointing at Ronon. "But I think he's okay too."

Ronon bared his teeth at Ford and looked like he was fantasizing about the fight they would have. 

"What is all this?" John asked. 

"Just some local vegetables, sort of an allegator thingy, tastes like steak, try it," Ford encouraged slapping John on the arm. 

John scowled at the familiar gesture. He and Ford weren't friends any more. "I'm not talking about the food," he said tightly. "What in the hell is going on?"

"Who are these men?" Teyla challenged. "And why bring us here like this?"

"Whoa," Ford said frowning. "That's a lot of questions."

"Pick one," Ronon growled dangerously. 

Ford smirked and turned back to his men. "Pick one? That's good. Where'd you manage to find him Sheppard?" 

"Maybe you should start with how you managed to escape being culled by the wraith dart?" McKay suggested, his words were garbled around his mouth full of food.

"I have no idea how long I was in the dart, next thing I know I'm on a Cruiser and I was awake."

"It's the enzyme," McKay supplied taking another large bite of food. "It makes you almost immune to the Wraith stunners so when you were materialized from the dart you were awake as opposed to-"

"As opposed to dead," Ford growled, pacing around the back of the table. "I cut open his enzyme pouch, took my fill and found a way off the ship. You can get around pretty easy on a Wraith ship. They're not used to people making it aboard so there's next to no security." 

John frowned as he listened to Ford. There were glimpses of the kid he used to be, but whenever it peaked through it was quickly swallowed up by the ramblings of whatever the enzyme had turned him into. John hated it, he felt guilty over what had happened, he should have done more to help the kid when there was still a chance.

Looking at the man standing before him now, John wasn't sure if there was anything left of Aidan Ford to save. 

"Anyway, I walked off with enough enzyme to last me a little while. Found a stargate, dialed the first friendly address I could remember. I told them about the enyme how it makes you stronger, more resilient, more aware. How it would give us a fighting chance against the Wraith. I mean look at me. Look at me! I walked off a Wraith Cruiser. It works!" Ford finished with a laugh. 

"Wait a second, all your people here, all your men, they're on the enzyme?" Ronon clarified, looking over the men gathered around them with new found interest. If they were it was certainly going to make fighting their way out of here more difficult. 

"Of course," Ford responded brightly. "As our numbers kept growing we needed more and more of the enzyme."

"Aidan," Teyla interrupted. "Do you mean to tell us there are live Wraith here in this cave?"

"That's right," Ford agreed.

Teyla scowled at him. "The Wraith can communicate with each other over distance."

"Not between stars," Ford said, "They'd have to be in this solar system," he turned to Rodney. "You taught me that." 

McKay frowned. "Yes well, good for me," he said with his mouth full. 

"Besides they can't communicate if they're unconscious!" Ford said with a smile. 

"Why'd you jump us?" John asked. He was done with Ford's little song and dance. He just wanted to know what the end game was and be done with it. So far nothing Ford had said accounted for why he took them hostage. 

Ford turned back to Sheppard, his face becoming serious. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. It was the only way to get you here."

"Why didn't you just tell us where you were. We would have come," Sheppard promised him. 

All the happiness fell from Ford's face and Sheppard had a moment to see the monster that lay within. "Yeah, you and a special ops team," Ford growled. 

"No no," John disagreed. He didn't want to push Ford when his mood was so volatile. 

Ford shook his head as though he were disappointed in Sheppard's reaction. "I know you think I'm crazy. I brought you all here to show you that you're wrong. I mean do I look crazy? Do I seem out of control?" he asked leaning against the table. 

McKay took a bite of the strange meat. "Are we speaking in relative terms, or...?" he dragged off taking another bite. It was surprisingly good.

"Look, Jace here has really fine tuned the enzyme. We know how to administer it now, refine it, hell we've gotten so good we can even lace food with it," Ford said with a smile that reminded them of the cat who caught the canary. 

And there it was. John's stomach dropped as he looked back at his team members. Everyone but him had sampled from the plates in front of them. 

"Excuse me?" McKay asked, his eyes widening in horror. 

"Congratulations, you've just had your first dose," Ford said proudly. 

McKay spit the food out of his mouth immediately and began scrubbing his tongue against his palm. 

Ford was all too pleased with himself. He was acting as though they had all just shared a good joke. "I've thought long and hard about how to convince you that the enzyme was safe. Convince you that it was the first step so you can convince Weir, convince the military-"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?" McKay screamed shoving himself to his feet. 

"Hey, settle down McKay," Ford said sharply, though he took a step back from the sudden intensity of the scientists anger. His eyes flashed to his science assistant Jace, wondering if McKay's dose had been right. 

"NO I WILL NOT SETTLE DOWN!" McKay screamed slamming his fist against the table. "I'VE BEEN DRUGGED AGAINST MY WILL YOU LITTLE PUNK!" 

"You should not have done this Aidan!" Teyla exclaimed, shoving her plate back away from her. 

Ford chuckled. "Hey, be as mad as you want. In a couple days...you'll be thanking me," he playfully slapped John's shoulder and John muscles coiled as he fought against the urge to attack him. "We'll all have a good laugh about this, now eat up." Ford encouraged as he turned to leave the room. 

Ronon shot to his feet, charging Ford. One of his men cut Ronon off, leveling his gun in Ronon's face. Ronon froze. John climbed to his feet and motioned for Ronon to back down. 

"I'm itchy, I'm itchy!" McKay said worriedly. "This is exactly what happened when I tried pot once in college," he wailed. 

John cast McKay an annoyed glance and turned to follow Ford. "Everyone stay put," he ordered, pointing at the chairs. He took two steps after Ford and two more of Ford's men moved to block John's path. John pulled up, but didn't bother looking at the soldiers. His eyes were locked on Ford's back. 

"Let him through," Ford called over his shoulder. 

John stepped into the room. He was going to have to try a different tactic. The sarcasm and anger didn't seem to be getting through to Ford. "Look," John said taking a step towards the kid. "I know what you're trying to do. I get it, I do, but you're going about it all wrong. Weir isn't going to listen to us if we're all hopped up on the enzyme."

Ford turned to face his old commanding office. "Your food was clean," he said calmly.

John pulled back at that. "What? Why? Why me?" John asked in confusion. 

Ford's face was incredibly earnest and John knew in that moment that Ford truly believed in what they were doing. It was a dangerous prospect. "Because you're going to be the witness. You're going to be the one to tell Weir that her most trusted team has taken the enzyme and is better because of it."

John let out a sigh. "Buddy, listen why don't you come back with us. Have Beckett look you over, huh? That's the best proof." 

"No," Ford responded sharply, cutting Sheppard off before he could say any more. "I've thought this over. This is the plan."

John stiffened. "Look, I don't know what you're think-"

"You're free to roam around as much as you want. You're all part of the team now," Ford said by way of dismissal and he walked away, leaving Sheppard alone. 

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The four of them left the cave and investigated the immediate area around Ford's hideout. Unsurprisingly, there were no signs of civilization anywhere. They followed a short path back to the stargate. McKay attempted to activate it and grunted in annoyance when nothing happened. He bent down to look at the controls under the DHD.

"Why aren't these guys watching us?" Ronon asked suspiciously as he glanced around them. 

"Ronon's right," Teyla agreed. "They went to a great deal of trouble to get us here, why would they allow us to leave?" she asked keeping her eyes on the forest, which seemed like it would be the easiest place for Ford's men to watch them undetected. 

"Just waiting for the other shoe to drop," John said, resting his hands on his hips. 

"Oh that little bastard," McKay growled from under the controls. 

"And there is goes," John quipped as McKay climbed out from under the DHD. 

"See, this is what I was afraid of," McKay said with a disgusted shake of his head. 

"What'd he do?" John asked. 

"He's taken all of the necessary control crystals. Something I showed him how to do on a mission I might add," McKay's voice was rising with stress as he fiddled with some of the wires, but there was nothing he could do. 

John nodded. That sounded about par for the course of their day. "Well that's not good."

"Understatement of the year," McKay snapped acerbically. 

"Why don't we just take them?" Ronon growled. "All we have to do is get our hands on one stunner and we can take them all."

John grunted noncommittally "That may be, but if we mess it up whatever trust we have been given will disappear." 

"You want to make them trust us?" Teyla asked in confusion. It was not one of The Colonel's usual tactics to lay low. 

John nodded grimly. "We play is cool, get them to relax, they're bound to make a mistake."

Teyla sucked in a breath. "And in the meantime?"

"We play along?" John hesitated as he looked over his team. They all seemed like they were on edge but he couldn't tell if it was because they had been kidnapped or if it was from the enzyme. "How are you guys feeling?" he asked. He was hesitant to ask them to play along if it meant continuing to take the enzyme. 

"I didn't eat that much, I feel fine," Ronon replied. 

"Perhaps if we were able to fast, they would not be unable to administer the enzyme," Teyla pointed out. 

"I doubt that they would have a problem forcing us..." John dragged off swinging around to see if there was anything he had missed. 

McKay popped up from under the DHD. "This thing is useless, and I ate my face off. I can tell you, I can feel it working." 

"There's a good possibility that everything you're feeling right now might be psychosomatic," John said distractedly as he looked over the DHD himself. 

"Oh is that right professor science?" McKay snarled. "Is that your prediction?" 

"Yes it is," John said tightly as he worked to get McKay to stay calm. 

"Well let me tell you when they up the dosage the side effects will be very real, and very unpredictable!"

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They didn't see Ford again until the next day, when he called them all together and finally explained his plan. "You're going to help us destroy a Wraith Hive ship," He said proudly. He flashed them an excited smile as though he expected them to be jumping for joy at the prospect. 

When no one reacted Ford grunted in annoyance. He reached behind himself next to monitor and picked up a small, black object. 

"One of the added bonuses of killing a bunch of wraith is that every now and then you get your hands on one of these," Ford said holding up a data drive like the one he had once seen Zian work on for the Genii. "Now, thanks to Jace and some of the computers we borrowed from the Genii, we've been able to work out the exact flight path of one of their Hive ships." 

"It's deciminating all inhabited worlds in its path," Jace added helpfully. Ford's scientist shifted uncomfortable under everyone's gaze and turned back to his computer. 

"It has to be stopped," Ford said grimly. 

Jace's fingers clicked across the keyboard. "Now I've been able to make some calculations and in the next few days it's going to have to take a break from hyperspace. It will stop very near an uninhabited planet that happens to have a stargate."

Ford's right hand man, Kanayo stepped up, crossing his arms over his chest. He had been the overly aggressive one from the day before. "We gate to that planet, get on the Hive ship, plant some C-4 in the dart bay and get out. We could save thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of lives." 

"So...?" Ford said turning back to John. Ford didn't know it himself, but even after everything that had happened he was still seeking John's approval. 

When John realized he was going to have to actually respond to this insane idea he cleared his throat and straightened. "Wow," he managed to say without sounding too insincere. 

"Wow? That's all you have to say?" Ford challenged. 

"You heard me," John snarled, refusing to back down when Ford glared at him. 

"Let's see if I can couch what Colonel Sheppard means by 'wow' in more simplicit terms," McKay snarked. "That is a terrible plan."

"Rodney," Teyla warned, her eyes flickering over Kanayo and Ford. Both men seemed perhaps more unstable this morning. 

"Made all the more terrible by the fact that you think that it is a good plan," McKay continued, ignoring Teyla's warning. 

"What's wrong with it?" Ford challenged. 

"What's right with it? Let's just for a second give in to wreckless abandon and assume that it would be possible to plant a single charge and have it be large enough to destroy an entire Hive ship."

"We're counting on secondary explosions in the dart bay," Jace added. 

"Regardless, the Hive ship will be on a hyperspace pause, yes, but it will not enter the planet's atmosphere, nor will it take up any kind of stable orbit. It will be flying through space  which means unless your enzyme allows you to jump a lot higher than you've let on-"

Ford exchanged a smug glance with Jace before he interrupted Mckay's rant. "We have a space ship," he said calmly. 

John stiffened, crossing his arms over his chest as a bad feeling went over him. None of these men other than Ford and Jace seemed at all confortable with technology and neither one of them struck him as a pilot. 

"Oh really, what's it made out of? Bark?" McKay challenged. The second dose of the enzyme was working much faster through his system and McKay was already struggling to stay focused on the conversation. 

"No, it's real McKay. In fact it's the only ship I'd feel comfortable using on a mission like this," Ford's mercurial mood shifted again and he was incredibly serious as he discussed the mission. 

John scowled as another bad feeling went over him. Without another word Ford led the way out of the cave. They headed in a direction they hadn't explored yet. There Ford's men pulled back tarps to reveal a dart. 

"Okay," John agreed, staring at the parked dart. "Where's you get it?" 

"Does it matter?" Ford asked with a pleased smile. 

"We haven't had much success flying it. It's gotten a little banged up on the last few landing attempts. It's in need of some repairs," Jace explained. 

"And a real pilot," Ford added, his eyes locked on John. 

John glanced towards Ford but didn't take his eyes off of the dart. "This is why you brought us here," he growled. It suddenly all made sense. 

"It's the reason I've waited until now to contact you, yes," Ford agreed stiffly. 

"Assuming this guy can get it working again," Kanayo said slapping McKay on the arm

McKay squirmed and stepped up for the dart. He bent his head as he began inspecting the possible damage. 

"He can," Ford agreed without hesitation. "These people are the best at what they do." 

When no one seemed overly eager Kayano grunted in annoyance. "Look, you fly it, you take us to the Hive, you drop us off. All we need is time to lay the charge. We're in and out of there before the Wraith have any idea what's going on." 

"It's perfect," Ford said excitedly as he met Kanayo's gaze. 

McKay pulled back from the damage that had been done to the dart. "It is far from perfect." Mckay's voice was dripping with sarcasm as he masked his fear with anger. "For one, I don't know enough about darts to fix this, not by half."

"Oh really?" Ford challenged.

"Yes really," he snarled. "There's only one person on Atlantis who knows enough about darts to fix this and boo hoo you didn't seem to catch her."

"I can fix that," Ford growled.

John stiffened as McKay mentioned Kai. He remembered all too clearly what Ford had done to her during his escape from Atlantis. He had nearly killed her. John would do whatever he had to in order to keep Kai as far away from Ford as possible. 

"Oh really?" McKay challenged and John wanted to tell him to shut up and leave Kai out of this. 

"Yes, really." Ford snapped, his maturity level dropping in an instant to match Rodney's. 

"Well you've been gone a while, Kai doesn't really do away missions very often." 

Ford started to chuckle. "I've been gone a while, but I guarantee you not that much has changed. Colonel Sheppard has gone missing and Weir is going to have to send another team through the gate. Who do you think the first person to step off-world will be?" Ford challenged.

McKay opened his mouth to continue to argue, but the truth was, he couldn't. His eyes cut to Sheppard who was staring at the dart, his jaw like granite. He and Kai had seemed to grow closer after what happened with the retrovirus. Kai had been incredibly attentive while Sheppard was recovering and when he was back they had seemed to become friends. He and Kai worked out in the mornings and she would often join the team for meals. She never said much, but her quiet presence had become fairly routine. Kai and Ronon had also grown close, and he didn't know why, but McKay was fairly certain it wasn't the same thing. At Ford's mere mention of Kai, McKay could see the tension of barely contained violence running up and down Sheppard's body. 

Ford was absolutely right. If AR-1 didn't make it back home, Weir would send Lorne's team to investigate, and Kai wouldn't let herself be left behind if the Colonel didn't come back.

Ford was also watching The Colonel appraisingly. It didn't look like anything had changed on his end. Ford turned a smug look back to McKay. "Exactly," Ford said. He turned back to his men, "Kanayo, Brailen. Get back to that planet. The next team will be coming through the gate any moment. Stun only," he advised firmly when he saw Sheppard's hands close into fists. Ford knew he would only be able to push the Colonel so far, and Kai was a sure fire way to push him right over the edge. "I want the small woman that's with them. She'll probably be wearing a scarf around her head. Don't let your guard down," Ford said firmly. "Stun her at least twice before you approach her. She's dangerous."

><><

Kai was working in the hanger on one of the jumpers when her radio activated. "Kai this is Lorne. We could use your help in the gateroom immediately."

Kai pushed herself up and scrubbed her hands off on the thighs of her jumpsuit. She reached up and touched her comm. "On the way," she responded, not thinking much of the summons. 

She liked the Major, he was an easy man to get along with. In many ways he reminded her of Sheppard with his unflappable nature and his sharp sense of humor, but he lacked the intensity of the Colonel. Despite her preference for solitude she and Lorne had developed an easy friendship over the last few months, and with both McKay and Zelenka off world it wasn't surprising the Major would choose to call her in for a question over another member of the science team.

When Kai reached the gateroom she found Lorne and Weir speaking quietly together. They looked up as she approached and both wore grim expressions. A bad feeling went over Kai as she glanced around. To her knowledge Sheppard's team and Lorne's teams were supposed to be off world for the next day or so. Lorne's presence and the grim expression on his face made her think something had gone very wrong. 

"Kai," Elizabeth greeted and though she smiled, lines of stress showed around her eyes and mouth. 

"What's going on?" Kai asked looking around. Two of Lorne's men were standing behind their leaders still in full gear. 

"Colonel Sheppard's team is overdue. We haven't had any radio contact. Major Lorne and his team have searched, but it looks like they were possibly taken against their will. Would you be able to get the addresses stored in the DHD's buffer? With McKay missing and Zelenka off world-"

"I'll get my tablet," Kai said and without hesitating she turned to head down to the lab. Worry formed a hard knot in her gut. John hadn't been back on active duty very long and while he certainly passed all the tests the military had asked of him she knew better than anyone that he wasn't himself yet. They had only sparred a handful of times since the retrovirus and it hadn't been the same. 

"Kai," Lorne called after her. 

She turned to face him, lifting a brow. 

"Gear up," he told her grimly. "We don't know what could have happened to them."

She nodded. "I'll be ready to go in ten minutes."  

><><

McKay was apologizing for the hundredth time for dragging Kai into the situation. The second Ford had left them alone again John had whirled on McKay and cussed him out for throwing Kai under the bus. Hell, Rodney had practically dared Ford to kidnap her. 

John's anger had burned itself out quickly when McKay overreacted to his anger and couldn't seem to calm himself down. The drugs appeared to be effecting him more than the others. Now, Rodney was pacing agitatedly, as he continued to apologize, and couldn't seem to be able to stop. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, the drugs are making me stupid. I shouldn't have brought her up and if they capture her it'll be my fault and-"

"Rodney," John cut him off. "Just stop. Lorne's not likely to walk into a trap and Kai will be fine she-"

The door opened and Kanayo came in carrying an unconscious Kai over his shoulder like a sack. 

"She is here," John finished, fighting to keep his voice light even as rage burned through him. 

Kanayo dumped her unceremoniously onto one of the cots. Her head flopped to the side and one of her arms hung over the edge at an awkward angle. 

Teyla and Ronon shot to their feet in their friend's defense, but John was across the room in two long strides, moving faster than them even without the enzyme.

"What the hell did you do?" Sheppard snarled. He grabbed Kanayo and jerked him away from Kai, gripping the other man by his collar. 

Kanayo snorted. "Relax, it was just hit with a stunner. It'll wear off," Kanayo told them and he made of show of brushing aside Sheppard's arms and stepping away, unconcerned. It didn't matter, Kanayo was on the enzyme and John stood no chance against him in a fight. 

McKay stepped over to Kai. "Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be dead," he chanted over and over under his breath as he checked her pulse. He turned back to Sheppard and Teyla and nodded. "She's not dead," he breathed in relief.

Sheppard exhaled a sigh of relief and crouched down beside the cot. He adjusted her arm and neck so she would be more comfortable when she woke up. 

Ford came in behind him. "Move," he ordered.

John straightened and swung around slowly to face the other man. His stomach dropped when he saw the syringe gripped in Ford's hand.

"No," John growled dangerously, "you already have those three on it, you don't need her too,"

Ford snorted but his eyes were hard. "Come on Sheppard, the only thing more impressive than Ronon over there on the enzyme would be a Mortii. Hell, if I can prove its benefits maybe her people will want in on it too. For a small profit of course...just imagine what a Mortii would be capable of on this stuff. She's impressive against the Wraith all on her own, but on this stuff..." he let out a low whistle of appreciation. 

John felt like he had been sucker punched in the gut. "What?" He asked in disbelief. 

Ford snorted again, "I've been around the block a few times now Sheppard. I've met a few and now I actually know what she is. I'm even more impressed that Atlantis got their hands on her now."

"What the hell's the matter with you, she's a person," Sheppard growled. Ford was starting to sound like the Genii. 

"Barely," Ford shot back and he moved to step around Sheppard. 

John stepped in front of him as white hot rage burned through him. He didn't give a shit if Ford was on the enzyme. He was going to knock that smug smile off the kids face. 

Ford looked up at Sheppard. He was tempted to knock his old commanding officer on his ass once and for all, but something stopped him. Instead he jerked his chin to Kanayo to hold Sheppard. 

Kanayo dropped a hand onto Sheppard's shoulder and there was nothing Sheppard could do to get away. 

Ford grinned at Sheppard as he fought to pull away. After a moment he turned back to the cot and slid the needle into Kai's arm. He only had a brief moment of pause to wonder if he had done the right thing. He remembered how formidable the Mortii could be, perhaps giving her the enzyme wasn't the best plan. 

Ford was smiling down at Kai. She would help McKay fix the dart and provided another means of controlling the Colonel. It didn't appear Sheppard was any closer to admitting his feelings for Kai, but it didn't matter. It was obvious to everyone else. 

Ford was still lost in his thoughts when Kai's body jerked. He dropped his gaze and his mouth opened in shock as her body began to thrash and seize. 

"WHAT IN THE HELL DID YOU DO?!" John roared. 

Ford turned to the door. "Jace get in here!" He shouted. 

In that moment of distraction Sheppard had managed to twist away from Kanayo. Ronon jumped forward and slammed Kanayo against the wall to keep him away from John and Kai. 

John dropped to his knees beside the cot and grabbed Kai's shoulders to hold her as her body thrashed uncontrollably. 

Jace ran into the room but Teyla made a move to stop him. 

"Let him through," Ford ordered. "He knows more about the enzyme than anyone."

Teyla turned to John for instruction but the Colonel's full attention was on Kai. She glanced at Ronon who nodded and she let him go. 

Jace ran up to the cot, he frowned down at Kai. "She's reacting the same way Tyson did when he overdosed!"

"How much did you give her?" Ford demanded. If she died, all the good grace he had won with Sheppard died with her. 

"Only half a dose! Same as the others."

"She isn't human you idiot!" McKay sputtered from the corner.

Both Ford and Jace looked up in confusion. 

"She's a Mortii, not human. Physiologically she's very closer to the Ancients than us. Of course she isn't going to react the same way!"

Ford stopped and looked down at Kai's body. She continued to shake and her body seized. John held her flat so she wouldn't hurt herself. "Do something!" John snarled at Jace. "You said you've figured out how to administer it. How do you counter act it?" 

"I-" he stammered "I don't-" He drew off.

"We have to get her to Beckett, now!" John said, turning to face Ford. "Get the control crystals and we can gate her back to Atlantis."

Ford pulled back, a confused frown on his face. For just a moment he was that confused kid again. "I-" he started to say.

"We have to do something!" Teyla urged.

And just like that, Ford shut down. He pulled back into himself and then puffed up importantly. "Either she's strong enough to make it or she isn't." He said decidedly. "Beckett won't change that. Nobody leaves until after the mission." And he stomped out of the room. 

John stared after him, dumbstruck. Ford had just willingly signed Kai's death certificate. His jaw tightened painfully. 

Jace however wasn't ready to give up. He was digging in the small case of bottles he had brought with him. He pulled out another syringe and filled it with a clear liquid. 

John bristled. "What's that?" He asked severely. 

"I can't block the enzyme, but if we sedate her it might make the process less violent while it works its way through her system." Jace explained. 

John nodded begrudgingly. He hated the idea of letting them put any more drugs in her system but he didn't see that they had a choice. Jace expertly slipped the needle into her arm and moments later her muscles relaxed and she lay still. 

Slowly John stepped back as though he didn't trust that she would remain peaceful. "What now?" He asked Jace as the other man began packing up his bottles.

Jace looked up at Sheppard a grim expression on his face. "Now we wait and see if she lives or dies."

 

><><

Chapter 59

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The Lost Boys Cont.

><><

Kai was groggy when she woke up. The last thing she remembered was stepping through the Stargate onto the planet where Sheppard and his team had disappeared. The pins and needles running through her sluggish limbs told her she had been stunned but there was something else, something she couldn't place. She frowned before she had even opened her eyes and she felt a subtle gentle nudge that told her Sheppard was near by.

Kai's eyes fluttered opened and she grimaced when the dim light of a lantern hit her. Pain shot through the backs of her eyes and she pinched them closed. She felt someone shift beside her, and didn't need to open her eyes to know Sheppard was beside her. 

"Kai?" He asked in a low tone. "Shit, here," he said and the light against the backs of her eyes dimmed. "Should be better."

Kai slowly blinked her eyes open. She was laying on a cot in what appeared to be a cave. Sheppard was crouched beside the cot, a frown pinching his face. She breathed a sigh of relief to see him. 

Since the retrovirus they had kept a professional distance between them, but something had changed. Kai hadn't been able to keep the connection between closed as tightly as she used to and every now and then something leaked through like now. She could feel a small warmth that told her he was nearby and if she focused she could feel almost a buzz of irritation. 

"How are you feeling?" John asked, his voice gruff with concern. 

Kai frowned as she considered his question. "A little fuzzy," she said honestly. She shoved herself up onto her elbows and grimaced. Her head felt thick and her thoughts sluggish, not something she normally associated with being stunned. 

She climbed to her feet and froze. Her thoughts may have been sluggish but her body felt fluid and efficient. Powerful. 

"Are you okay?" John asked in concern. 

Kai looked around them in confusion. She spotted the other three members of the team sleeping on cots around them. She turned confused eyes back to John. 

"What in the hell is going on Sheppard?" She demanded.

John exhaled a relieved sigh. Kai didn't look any worse for wear, and if she was feeling well enough to look so annoyed it was a good sign. 

"It's a long story," he said a little wryly. 

Kai frowned and sniffed, her head snapping towards the cave opening. "Was Ford the one who captured your team?"

John snorted. "Okay, maybe not that long of a story."

><><

The next morning Kai, Sheppard and the rest of the team were all brought out into the main area for breakfast. Kai was still feeling the effects of the enzyme they had given her. She felt incredibly powerful as she strode in behind Sheppard. She hasn't been able to sleep any more the night before. Once the last of the sedative had worn off, every one of her nerves started buzzing. It was almost scary how aggressive it made her feel. 

Ford greeted them. "So, did you debrief Kai? Is she ready to get to work?" 

"She's standing right here," Kai snarled taking a step out from behind Sheppard. Her eyes locked on Ford. "And she doesn't appreciate being talked over." 

Ford looked even more wild than the last time she had seen him. His mismatched eyes locked on her and he cracked his neck a slow, predatory smirk crossing his face as he stared down at her. 

Even the small amount of enzyme in Kai's system made it nearly impossible to ignore the urge to attack the threat to her and her people. 

Without thinking John reached down and grabbed Kai's wrist. "Kai," he said in a warning voice. Only instead of backing down her muscles coiled tighter beneath his hand. He glanced down at her sharply. Her eyes were narrowed and locked on Ford like she was ready to attack. He had never seen her like this and it reminded him a little too much of the aggressive gleam he recognized in Ford's eyes.  

Ford looked down at where John had grabbed her wrist and smiled lazily. John let go of her, but the damage had been done as Ford looked back at Kai with a knowing smile. 

"You know Kai," He drawled casually as though they were friends. "You were the first to really notice the change in me. I always took it as sort of a compliment when you put that knife to my throat in Weir's office. Now, I was pretty sure then, but I gotta know. You would have killed me in that office wouldn't you?" he goaded her. 

Kai didn't bother lying. "Without hesitation," she promised him, flashing a smile that had too much teeth. She was pushing the edge, she could feel it but she couldn't seem to stop herself. Her skin felt tight and she was flushed. It was too hot in the cave and it made it difficult to think clearly. 

Ford snorted and something dark moved in his eyes as he leaned towards Kai. "I thought so."

John looked back and forth between them as he tried to quickly think of a way to diffuse the rising tension between them. Ford was deliberately baiting Kai and she didn't seem to be thinking like herself. Neither Teyla nor Ronon had reacted so quickly to the enzyme. Which meant not only could her body not handle it physically, but it was also effecting her mentally as well. 

Ford was watching them intently but instead of continuing to push Kai he decided on a different tactic. He stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest casually. "So what do you think of my plan?" Ford asked Kai. "I mean I feel like I can trust you of all people to be totally honest with me."

Kai could feel the warmth of Sheppard standing just behind her, but she couldn't tear her focus away from the threat. Despite his casual tone, she could see straight through him to what lay simmering beneath the surface. His volatile mood swings were dangerous. He was dangerous. She had fought him twice, and both times he had beaten her. A shudder ran through her body and she closed her hands into fists. She felt like fire was running through her veins. She could beat him now. She was sure of it. 

Behind her, Sheppard shifted and he bumped her shoulder with his. Kai flinched but the contact helped and suddenly she could think again. She didn't look away from Ford however, she couldn't. "I think it's impossible," she snapped.

John's eyes widened and he quickly took a step forward. "Well it was impossible. But," John hastily interrupted. "With you here now it is possible," John said through clenched teeth. 

Kai swung around to face him. "You aren't honestly considering this?" she said, her eyes flaring with challenge. 

John turned so he was fully facing Kai. He stared intently into her eyes, willing her to understand that they needed to play this cool. Ford's people were on edge and Kai seemed to be making them especially twitchy. If he could get into that cockpit the chances of their escape would go up astronomically. "Well, it is on its way to a culling Zian." He said her last name through clenched teeth. Kai was barely hanging on, but he wasn't worried about her attacking him. 

Kai scowled at The Colonel, wondering if they had been lying about him being on the drug. "This plan is insane," she snarled her face just inches from his. Behind them Ford's men shifted restlessly. 

"Maybe not," John disagreed calmly as Kai yelled in his face from inches away. Her stormy eyes were fever bright and she was panting. "We just need you to get the dart in the air," he continued, working to keep his voice soothing. 

"Absolutely out of the question," Kai growled. "I thought you were supposed to be the one here not taking the enzyme," she said stabbing her finger into Sheppard's firm chest. 

Sheppard didn't respond to her anger, his jaw was tight, but his hazel eyes never left hers. Her heart was racing in her ears and her chest rose and fell as she panted. Ford and everyone around them were forgotten as her eyes dropped to his lips. She sucked in a breath and tipped her chin up to face him. 

"Kai-" Sheppard said in warning. She had started trembling and didn't seem to notice. 

Kai stopped just short of touching him. "I'm not doing this," she said almost to herself. She shook her head as she turned and stomped away from the group towards the mouth of the cave.  

"If she isn't going to help than she's a liability," Kanayo said drawing his gun and leveling it at Kai's retreating back. Either Kai didn't hear it or she chose not to react because her stride didn't falter when his gun cocked. 

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute," John yelled putting himself between Kai and the gun. Kanayo hesitated begrudgingly. "Just let me talk to her," John implored, turning to face Ford. "I just need to convince her. She'll listen to me," he promised and he hoped he was right.

Ford stared at him for a long moment before he nodded grimly. "For her sake, I hope so," Ford growled and jerked his chin towards Kai's retreating back. Despite Ford's agreement, the dangerous glint in his eye made it clear to John that he needed to keep Ford as far away from Kai as possible. 

John turned and jogged to catch up. For having such short legs Kai could move surprisingly fast. "Kai wait up!" he called. She was already out of the cave and striding across the large field towards the useless Stargate.

Kai didn't bother looking over her shoulder. She was starting to feel shaky and hollow, but she was overwhelmed with the need to keep moving. "I'm not going to change my mind Sheppard. This plan is a suicide mission."

"Look, a million things could go wrong I know that," John said catching her arm in his grip and pulling her to a stop. "But just-" he exhaled in frustration. "Stop already," he finally ordered sharply. 

Kai did as instructed, but she lifted her chin defiantly and John hated that he used that tone with her. 

"Just listen to me already," he begged. "If you and McKay can fix that dart we might all be able to get out of here. I know it's risky but Ford and his men aren't thinking straight. So I'll insist you're all on the away team, I'll scoop you up and instead of flying up to the Hive, I'll take us through the gate to Atlantis." 

Kai hesitated for a moment as her thoughts raced to catch up. She still felt like she couldn't think straight, but John's plan seemed sound. She frowned up at him. It took her a minute to realize her heart was racing in her ears. She looked down at her hands and was surprised to notice they were shaking. She closed them into fists and they felt like they belonged to someone else.

"Just trust me, okay?" John implored, taking another step towards her. Even knowing he shouldn't, he laid his hand over one of her fists. She flinched in surprise but didn't pull away from him. "We gotta get this shit outta your system so you can start thinking straight." He added with a reassuring smile and he gently tightened his hand around hers. 

Kai closed her eyes and nodded. She breathed in a deep breath and exhaled. "It doesn't feel like you're the one making sense," she told him sincerely. "I think its-" she swallowed thickly. "I think it's wearing off." Then she opened her eyes and found him staring intently down at her. Her whole body was trembling now, her skin felt too tight and he was so close she could feel the heat coming off of him like a furnace. She pinched her eyes shut and swayed as her head swam. 

John grabbed Kai's arm to steady her as he silently curse Ford for being too stupid to realize injecting her with the enzyme might have bad side effects. She let herself droop forward and rested her forehead against his chest. 

John stiffened for a moment and then awkwardly rested his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "I think on this one you're gonna just have to trust me."

Kai tried to nod but it suddenly felt like too much work. "Okay," her voice came out breathy and even though she knew she should pull away her body was starting to feel so heavy. She just wanted to lean into him and go to sleep. She had to swallow twice before she could get out her next words. "I trust you," she promised him.

><><

"So, how'd that go?" Ford asked as John walked into his rooms later that afternoon. It had taken Sheppard longer than Ford would have liked for him to convince Kai. Ford didn't like the idea of having Zian around and the fact that she was Mortii made his men nervous. She was a wild card. 

John exhaled a heavy sigh and dropped to sit beside Ford. McKay seemed to think the enzyme was working its way out of Kai's system. John ended up having to help her back to the cave, but it had still taken a lot of convincing to get her to lay down. Once she had finally drifted off John left Ronon watching over her while she rested while he went to chat with Ford. 

"She'll do it," John said wearily. 

Ford smirked up at him. "I knew you could convince her." 

"But," John added sharply. "We need some conditions." 

Ford frowned. He didn't like the idea of being given orders from his previous commander. He had watched The Colonel negotiate enough times to know that giving him anything he wanted usually ended up disastrous for the other side. "What?"  Ford asked suspiciously. 

"No more enzyme for Kai," John said resolutely. He couldn't watch her go through that again, and he certainly wouldn't stand by and let Ford try. 

Ford shook his head. "Jace-" he started to say. 

"Has been working all day in his lab," John interrupted. "I know and I don't care. All of us are going to be a hell of a lot less agreeable if you try and poison her again."

Ford looked like he wanted to argue but John pressed on. "I don't give a shit how brilliant you think your scientist is. He isn't Beckett and she isn't human Ford."

Ford nodded slowly. He didn't like it, but controlling Kai physically would be easier if she wasn't on the enzyme. As profitable as it would be synthesizing the enzyme for Mortii use, there would always be time enough for that in the future. This mission was what mattered. "What else?"

John exhaled, with his primary concern taken care of he just hoped he was able to convince him of the second. "Dial back McKay's enzyme dose." 

"What? No," Ford snapped without hesitation. 

John hadn't thought it likely, but the more of them thinking clearly the better. "Look, we're under some time constraints here, I'm not saying the enzyme wouldn't help him in the long run but we need him standing still and thinking while he's helping Kai, not running laps because he feels good."

Ford drew in a deep breath, he didn't like it, but losing The Colonel's cooperation wasn't an option. "Ronon and Teyla?" he asked suspiciously. 

"Stick to the plan," John allowed. He hated the idea of continuing to endanger his people with the enzyme, but he couldn't work out another way around it. 

"Okay," Ford nodded, he leaned forward as he fell back into the old rhythm of planning missions with the Colonel. "What else?" 

"Teyla, Ronon, McKay and Kai are all on the strike team." 

Ford shook his head again. "It's not a good mission for McKay. It could get rough in there." 

John leaned back in his chair. This was going to be the hard sell, and if he didn't play it just right there would be no saving it. "And if we suddenly need a door open? Or to access a computer? McKay should be there to do it, that's why he's on my team in the first place." 

Ford suddenly seemed agitated as he shoved himself to his feet. "Is that it?" Ford asked. 

John nodded and Ford offered John his hand. "Let's do this," Ford said with a wild glint in his eye.

John stood and grimly shook hands. "Okay."

><><

By the next morning Kai was feeling like herself again. She and McKay went out to get to work on the dart, but Ford kept the rest of them inside the cave. Teyla and Ronon were forced to continue to take the enzyme and train with Ford's men. Kai worked as quickly as possible, but she hadn't done much work fixing darts as she had dismantling them and she felt the pressure of trying to finish as quickly as possible for Teyla and Ronon's sake. 

Kai was in the cave taking a short break and watching as Teyla and Ronon sparred with Ford's men. They were getting stronger and faster by the hour. Both were still badly beaten. It was impressive considering Teyla and Ronon were two of the best fighters she had faced. As the two of them moved to get up off the mats Ford's men grabbed them, pulling out syringes full of enzyme. 

Kai charged in. "Stop!" she called.

Kanayo whirled around and grabbed Kai's neck. 

Ronon renewed his fight against Ford's men and Teyla shouted loud enough John and Ford charged into the room. John attacked the men moving at his team. He took two hits before he reached for one of the training staffs.

Ford didn't get caught up in the fight however. He went straight to Kanayo. He jerked Kai out of Kanayo's grip as he pulled his gun. Ford jerked her roughly against his chest and pushed his gun against her temple. Kai fought to pull away, but Ford clamped down on her arm even harder. She grunted in pain but refused to show it.

"Hey, hey!" Sheppard exclaimed taking a step towards Ford. "Just hold on!" he said holding his hands up.

Ford snorted and shook his head. "Predictable," he growled with a disappointed shake of his head. "Throw it aside," he said jerking his chin towards the training staff in John's hand. 

John's jaw tightened but he did as he was told. 

"You too," Ford ordered, his eyes landing on Ronon and Teyla. The two of them stilled. "This is what we agreed to wasn't it?" Ford asked looking back and forth from Sheppard to Ronon and Teyla. "Wasn't it?" Ford snarled at the Colonel. When he didn't respond Ford pressed the gun tighter against Kai's temple. Kai squirmed, but couldn't get away. Ford was too strong. 

"Yes," John responded tightly. 

"What was that?" Ford shouted, sounding like a drill sergeant. 

John lifted his chin defiantly. "I said yes," he yelled back. 

Ford threw Kai away from him like she was a doll. She tried to catch herself, but the force was too great and she hit the ground at John's feet. Ford snorted and shook his head. "Get back to work," he ordered and he stomped away. 

><><

Kai and McKay worked late on the dart. Ford had ordered Kanayo to keep watch and Kai hated the feeling of being watched by the brutish soldier who kept leering at them. Kanayo was making McKay progressively more nervous until the normally snarky scientist was practically vibrating in place in distress. 

The dart had extensive damage but they were getting it put back together a little at a time. She was feeling like herself again, but she felt hollowed out and weak from the last of the enzyme, like she had been out the night before drinking. McKay was just starting to show signs of withdrawal and she knew she was only going to get so much more work done before he needed to eat and rest. 

Ford kept John with him while the others worked and trained. John was sitting at the banquet table reading over the plans. Ford was watching him expectantly. John stared at the papers longer than he needed to as he worked out how to answer without calling Ford crazy to his face. 

"It's a good plan," he allowed. 

Ford exhaled a sigh of relief and the smile on his face reminded Sheppard of the kid who had come to Atlantis in the beginning. "Couldn't have done it without you sir," he grinned. 

John grunted as he worked to keep his face neutral. "Glad you trust me enough to bring me here..." he hesitated when he saw a shadow of grief flicker in Ford's eyes; the first real chink in his armor. "What's wrong Aidan?" John asked as Aidan scrubbed at his eyes. 

Aidan lifted his head and he looked like a frightened kid. "I want to go home," he said, his voice breaking with emotion. 

John leaned forward, seizing on the chance to get through to him. "So let's go," John said motion towards the cave entrance. "Give McKay the DHD crystals and I can have you back on earth within the hour." 

Hope flickered in Aidan's eyes for only a moment before his face hardened into that thing again. "No," he said shaking his head. "I have to do this first. I have to prove to them that I can do this." 

John watched as Ford's face became an angry mask. He spoke quickly, trying to backtrack. "You don't have to prove anything to anyone, you-"

Ford shoved himself to his feet, knocking his chair backwards. "If anyone is going to ever take me seriously again we have to do this." 

"Listen, Aiden-" John pushed. 

Ford bent down and picked up his chair. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm having your team brought in for the night." He turned and snapped his fingers at one of his men who had been standing outside the door. "Bring the Colonels people in here, and...and get them dinner," he ordered, but it was clear he was shaken as he staggered a step and disappeared into the cave. 

Teyla and Ronon came in and immediately set upon the food like they hadn't eaten in weeks. 

"Hey guys, how are you?" John asked wryly, but neither of them responded. He scowled at them and opened his mouth to say something more when McKay scuttled into the room ahead of Kanayo. Kanayo followed dragging Kai behind him. His hand was locked around Kai's bicep. Kai wasn't fighting but it didn't seem to discourage Kanayo from his rough treatment. 

Kanayo shoved Kai into the room. The force was too much and Kai stumbled over her feet. She caught herself on the edge of the table and shoved herself back around to face him, but the door slammed shut behind him.

Kai grunted and turned back to the table. Ronon and Teyla had already finished their food and turned to the other plates. 

"Oh that's just perfect," McKay grumbled in disgust as he watched them eat his food. "I'm going to bed," he mumbled tiredly and he stumbled out of the room towards the cots. 

Kai dropped down into the chair beside John. She was too exhausted to even think about eating. 

"How's the dart coming?" John asked, glancing towards Kai.

"Another day or so," she said, yawning beside her hand.

Teyla and Ronon were staring each other down over the table. 

"I think sooner rather than later would be good," John said lightly, though his eyes were serious as he watched his friends. Neither one of them were acting like themselves. Kai picked up on it immediately and was watching them carefully as well. 

"How was your day with Ford?" she asked. 

"Enlightening," John said tiredly. "You know, part of me thinks he brought us here because he knew we'd bring him back home. I think part of him knows what our plan is and he's fine with it..." John drew off as he watched Ronon and Teyla warily. 

The tension between them was rising by the second. Ronon reached over and snatched the last of the food off of Teyla's plate. Teyla shot to her feet, slamming her hands flat against the table. "Give it back!" she snarled, her voice low and guttural, sounding nothing like herself.

"Or what?" Ronon asked with a predatory smile. He shoved her food into his mouth his eyes glinting with challenge. Teyla pulled back and punched him across the face. His head snapped back and when he looked at her there was a dangerous gleam in his eye. 

"Ronon," Kai said warily as she climbed wearily to her feet. 

"Hey," John called, but they were both beyond hearing him. He shoved himself up as well. Neither he, nor Kai were really equipped to make them stop. 

Ronon swiped the blood off his lips with the back of his hand before he glowered at Teyla. She preened at him as though it were the funniest thing she had ever seen. Ronon struck, quicker than a cat. He grabbed Teyla's arm and jerked her over and across the table. He flung her away from him across the floor. 

She came up fighting and the two of them started sparing. 

"Knock it off guys." Sheppard ordered coming around behind them. John moved to stop Ronon while Kai moved towards Teyla. Kai grabbed Teyla's arm. The other woman was much stronger, but Kai twisted her arm behind her back. Teyla tried pulling away but the way Kai was holding her made it so the harder she fought the more she hurt herself.

John moved to stop Ronon before he could charge the girls. Ronon didn't see him coming however, he pulled his hand back to strike Teyla. Ronon backhanded John by accident and he hit the ground, hard. He groaned as lights flashed behind his eyes. Teyla jolted in shock when John hit the ground. Kai let go of Teyla and moved to check on him. 

John let Kai help pull him to his feet. He shifted his jaw, testing to make sure nothing was broken. He shoved himself to his feet angrily. "What in the hell has gotten into you two!" he snarled, then he hesitated. "Oh right." 

Ronon stalked back and forth across the back of the room. "Are we going to talk about this?" his voice rumbled, low and gravely. 

"About what?" John asked, groaning as Kai helped him into one of the chairs. 

Ronon snorted and shook his head. "The enzyme works. No one's saying it but we are all thinking it."

"What?" John asked in disbelief as he looked back and forth between the two of them. Ronon was pacing aggressively and Teyla was practically vibrating with energy. 

"I have noticed an increased amount of strength and speed," Teyla agreed, hopping up and down in place. 

"Ford's right," Ronon said grimly. "Maybe it's worth looking into it and seeing what this stuff can really do." 

Teyla was nodding too many times and she ran her hands up and down her arms. "They delivered our enzyme an hour late yesterday and I felt awful. It frightens me how reliant my body has become on the enzyme always being in my system, I mean what would happen if we suddenly could not receive it?" she asked, her eyes widening as though she suddenly realized it was a very real possibility. 

"The only negative is that you gotta keep taking it," Ronon agreed with a nod. "I'd wanna stay on it," he admitted. 

Behind him, John felt Kai stiffen. John was doing a good job of not noticing how crazy the two of them were acting. "How about you?" he asked turning back to Teyla. 

"The fact that I'm even considering it makes me feel..." Teyla drew off and shook her head. 

Kai's lips flattened into a grim line. "I ah- I need to check on something with the dart," she said vaguely, excusing herself. 

John stared after her for a beat, then he turned back to Teyla and Ronon. "I think you two should get some sleep," he told them. It wasn't exactly an order, but the set of The Colonel's jaw made it clear there was no room for discussion. 

The two moved back towards the cots. Once they were out of sight John set off through the cave after Kai. 

He found her laying on her back half under the dart. She didn't acknowledge him, but he knew she would have heard him. He leaned against the side of the dart and looked up at the alien stars overhead. 

"You know, even you need to sleep at some point," John called casually. 

Kai squirmed out from under the dart and glared up at the Colonel, a wrench still gripped in one of her hands. "I'm fine," she told him.

John crossed his arms over his chest and smirked down at her. "Come on Kai."

She was scowling up at him with that defiant gleam in her eye that drove him nuts. He pushed himself off the dart and stepped up so he was standing over her. He reached down offering her his hand. She blew out an agitated breath and let him pull her to her feet. 

John held onto Kai's hand a moment longer than was necessary. "You can't finish this by yourself, in the dark," John told her reluctantly letting her go.

"I just-" she started to say and stopped. "I was hoping to," she admitted honestly. "The longer I take, the longer they are on the enzyme," she said looking down at the wench in her hand. 

John sighed. "This isn't your responsibility, it's mine," He told her. "You shouldn't have gotten stuck here," he said scrubbing a hand over his burning eyes. 

Kai looked up sharply and for a fleeting moment she could see the weight of The Colonel's responsibilities in John's eyes. He hid it well, but he put so much pressure on himself. 

"McKay has already apologized at least a hundred times," Kai told him. 

John snorted. "It was sort of his fault...Let's head into bed, you and McKay can get back to work first thing once you get some sleep."

Kai wanted to argue, to push the point, but she could see how exhausted John was and knew there was no chance of him going in without her. She tossed her wrench back with the other tools. 

"Okay, John," she agreed and the two of them walked together back towards the cave. 

><><

Chapter 60

><><

Kai and McKay worked non-stop the whole next day to finish the dart. They could have used another day, but Kai wasn't willing to risk their friends any longer on the enzyme. It was late afternoon before they were done and called Ford out to see it. John and the others approached the dart. Mckay was standing on the ladder and Kai was bent over, making some last minute adjustments. John tried not to stare as she straightened, smoothing her hair back from her face. He swallowed thickly as she turned around to face him.

"Ready?" she asked gesturing towards the ladder. 

He nodded and scaled the ladder before settled into the oversized cockpit. McKay scuttled up the ladder next to him, his tablet gripped in one hand.

Rodney leaned into the cockpit and plugged his tablet into some spliced together wires, then set it in the dash in front of Sheppard. "Now, this is probably going to make you a little uneasy, but when the canopy closes it will be perfectly opaque."

John scowled and turned to shoot a look of disbelief at McKay. "Then how am I going to fly this damn thing?"

McKay snapped his fingers excitedly, it was actually one piece of Wraith technology he was impressed by. "The whole thing is one giant HUD and will display everything you need."

John however didn't look nearly as excited as McKay. "Yeah, in Wraith," he snapped sardonically. 

McKay huffed out an impatient breath. "Which is why I was up half the night creating a transcription readout of the controls." McKay hit the power button and the tablet lit up with line after line of command controls. "My tablet here is interfaced with the technology and will transmit a lot of their readouts," he said proudly. 

John still didn't look like he believed McKay. "By a lot you mean all because my wraith's not all that good."

"Enough to get you by," McKay said with a casual shrug. 

"I knew you guys could do it!" Ford said proudly. He was practically preening as though he had somehow helped with this accomplishment. "Right on time too. Kanayo will get everyone suited up," Ford said authoritatively. 

McKay nodded and turned to head back into the group. Ford climbed the ladder and leaned a hip against the ship. "He seems a little nervous." He observed, his eyes flickering from the fidgeting McKay to Kai who stood off to the side looking calm and collected despite the scowl on her face. 

John glanced back at Rodney with a casual shrug. "You know McKay, he'll be fine."

"You know how to dial the DHD on this thing?" Ford asked and it felt like a leading question.

"The address is memorized," John promised as he flicked through several of the controls. 

"Good, good," Ford said nodding. "Listen, I should probably tell you, there's been a slight change of plans..." he dragged off. 

John turned to look at Ford a bad feeling going over him. His eyes flickered to where McKay and Kai were standing with the others.

"Oh yeah?" John asked as casually as he could manage. 

Ford was grinning at him like the cat who caught the canary. "Kanayo!" Ford called.

Kanayo swung his gun around so it was pointing at McKay and Kai. Kai took a fast step in front of McKay, lifting her chin aggressively, daring the man in front of her to shoot them. Ronon went for his sword and all of Ford's men snapped into motion. Each of them pulled their guns and soon all five of them were covered.

"What the hell are you doing?" John asked shoving himself to his feet.

Ford was just as relaxed as he had been before. "McKay's going to stay here while we complete the op. Take him!" Ford ordered and two of his men broke off dragging McKay back towards the cave.

"Wait!" McKay called helplessly, but the enzyme laced soldiers dragged him mercilessly away. 

"That wasn't part of the plan," Sheppard growled.

Ford turned hard, angry eyes on Sheppard. "Neither was you heading back to Atlantis," he snapped. "You didn't really buy the whole 'I wanna go home' speech did you? Huh?" he challenged with a derisive snort. 

Kanayo and his men had already disarmed Ronon and Teyla. He moved to Kai and began pulling knives.

"You always underestimated me Sheppard, you need to stop doing that," Ford advised calmly as he watched Kanayo search Kai with a little more enthusiasm than was necessary. "Complete the mission and McKay lives," he said with a shrug. "Course if you don't...I'll put a bullet in McKay and shoot Kai full of a double dose of enzyme and make you watch her die."

John had kept a lid on his temper the whole time Kanayo searched Kai but he saw red when Ford threatened her again. He shoved himself to his feet, leaning into Ford's space. "We can't complete the mission Ford. It's a bad plan!"

"You said it was a great plan," Ford snapped dismissively as though John were just trying to hurt his feelings. 

John scoffed. "You didn't buy the whole 'It's a great plan' speech did you?" John asked throwing Ford's words back in his face.

Ford's confidence faltered for only a second. "Get this dart in the air and come scoop us up," he ordered, then he paused and turned back to Sheppard. "Oh and the dart DHD will only dial to the planet we're going to and back here. Jace made sure of it," Ford snorted. "Just in case McKay's life isn't enough motivation to get you to do the right thing."

"Aidan, what are you doing?" Teyla asked stopping him.

Ford looked down at Teyla and for just a second his expression softened. "Just making sure you guys are holding up your end of the bargain," he explained like it made perfect sense. He turned to his men. "Give them back their weapons," Ford ordered.

"Are you sure?" Kanayo asked, his eyes cutting to where Kai stood her hands on her hips as she glared daggers at Kanayo. 

Ford looked at Kai and a pleased smile stretched his scared face, as though she were somehow being adorable. "Yes. If we're going to do this we all need to work together," he said as his men handed back the weapons. 

It was almost comical how long it took for Kai to put all of her knives back where they went. John watched her with a sort of pride, but she didn't take her eyes off of Kanayo. If he wasn't careful he was going to end up with a knife in the neck in the back hallway of the hive. 

Ford shook his head as he watched her as well. He glanced at The Colonel, it was impossible to miss Sheppard's admiration for The Mortii. It was good, it was a sure fire way to control both of them despite neither being on the enzyme. "Good luck to us all," Ford called and he stepped clear of the dart.

John's jaw was set like stone as he activated the dart. "Stand by for pickup," he called through the radio. He closed the canopy and lifted off. The dart wasn't as intuitive as the jumpers but by the time he had swung it around for pick up he had a hang of the controls.

This was such a bad idea.

><><

Back on Atlantis Doctor Weir stood in front of Major Lorne in her office. "And you didn't see who attacked you?" Weir asked.

Major Lorne was sitting in an office chair, staring down at his hands in shame and looking very much like a young man sent to the principles office. "No ma'am," his said. His limbs were still prickling from the effects of the stunners. His men had all headed down to the infirmary to be checked out but he had come straight to Weir. 

"And there was no evidence of what happened to Kai?" Weir asked. 

"No ma'am," he said again. "Once we came to we searched the entire area but she was just gone," he shrugged helplessly. "There's a good chance she was taken through the gate."

Weir sat down and scrubbed at her face. Now she had two missing groups of her people and they were no closer to finding any evidence of who took them. 

Lorne glanced up sheepishly at Weir. "Ma'am there's a chance the people who took the Colonel could have taken Zian as well."

Weir scowled in surprise. "Why?" she asked sharply. "What would taking Kai get anyone when they already have the whole of AR-1?"

Lorne hesitated, uncertain quite how to answer. It felt like the elephant in the room and he didn't want to betray The Colonel. Sheppard was the best commanding officer he had ever had. To Lorne's knowledge there wasn't anything inappropriate going on between him and Zian, but it was obvious to anyone with eyes, except apparently Weir, that The Colonel had a thing for the Mortii. Lorne opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to come up with a way of phrasing it. Lucky for him Weir was already moving two or three steps down the line. 

"I want everyone cleared for off world mission helping with the search," Weir said grimly. "We have to assume there's a chance the Kai was taken by someone else. We are not going to leave her behind if there's a chance she's on that planet somewhere. The Daedalus is on its way from earth and will be able to help, but until they get here it is up to us."

Lorne nodded sharply, although he was pretty positive Zian was with The Colonel. If it was someone who knew The Colonel well, they would know Zian was a sure fire way of controlling the Colonel. Assuming of course that they could manage to control Zian. She was a risky hostage all on her own.

Lorne cleared his throat. "Ma'am I know that, but I need you to understand that it is going to take a very long time to search every planet on the list Zelenka pulled. It could take months."

"We can't afford months, Major," Weir snapped in a way that implied he was dismissed. 

Lorne climbed to his feet and nodded his head respectfully as he moved towards the door. "I know that too ma'am."

><><

"This is going to take some getting used to," John muttered as he flew the dart away from the gate. The dart was smaller than the Jumpers and more maneuverable but the cockpit was too large for him, built to accommodate a large Wraith soldier. He also found he missed the telepathic link of the Jumpers.

He flew away from the planet. If he was reading the transcription correctly he was approaching the Hive. Suddenly the screen went dark.

 "Oh come on," he grumbled racking his knuckles against the dash. "And we were getting along so well," he muttered. He was more nervous than he wanted to admit having his people in the stupid computer. He couldn't help thinking about what happened to McKay when he was rematerialized. Too many things could go wrong.

McKay's tablet started beeping and a new line of script appeared:

AUTOPILOT INITIATED

"Autopilot?" he read. "No, no, no." he said and he tried to adjust the flight pattern but the controls weren't responding. He flipped several switches but nothing happened. 

"R2, I need you to turn the autopilot off," he grumbled. "Now!" he ordered. But still nothing happened. "Worth a try," he muttered to himself.

He was stuck watching the approach to the dart bay on the screen. As he came into position the screen beeped again:

REMATERIALIZE CARGO?

 He reached out, his finger hovering over the YES button on the touch screen for only a second. There was no going back now. He heard the zip of the drive and hoped that it had gone according to plan

><><

Kai's stomach rolled. One second she was standing in the sunny field and the next she was standing on a large platform in the dart bay. There were screams as three of Ford's men dropped off the edge.

"Jace!" Ford yelled, making a grab for the falling man, but he missed. Jace screamed as he disappeared from sight. 

Kai sagged forward as the urge to pass out went over her again.

Ronon gripped her arm, steadying her. "Easy Little Sister," his voice rumbled near her ear. 

She pinched her eyes shut and fought to stay on her feet as her stomach rolled. She leaned into Ronon knowing he could easily support her weight, and forced herself to breathe through it. Passing out here was a death sentence. 

"We have to go after them!" Ford snarled desperately, he was still leaning out over the edge staring into the blackness that had swallowed his men. 

"No one would have survived that fall," Teyla said grabbing Ford's arm and dragging him back.

"We have to get out of the open," Ronon said. He wrapped an arm around Kai's waist, his hand tightening around her hip. She looped her arm around his shoulder, but he was so tall it was awkward. 

"What's wrong with her?" Teyla asked in concern. 

"She doesn't have any of the enzyme in her system, it's amazing she isn't unconscious," Kanayo snapped, his voice was tight with agitation as he swept his gun over the area looking for potential threats.

"This way!" Ford called, jogging towards a large door. He was pointedly ignoring the others as rage burned through him. 

"You let her come knowing she might not be awake when we rematerialized?" Teyla asked in shock.

Kanayo shrugged. "Ford said we needed to know how a Mortii responded to the dematerializer, guess it worked out."

Rage twisted Teyla's pretty features but she didn't get a chance to say what she was thinking. 

"Are you guys okay?" John's voice crackled over their comms and Kai focused on that as she breathed through the pins and needles sensation that was radiating through her body.

"No," Ford snapped back as he led the way down a long, dark hall. "We are not okay," he sputtered. "You beamed half of us off the edge of the platform."

There was an audible intake of breath through the comm. "Kai? Teyla? Ronon?" John asked, bracing himself for the news.

"Is that all you care about? You murdered my men," Ford snarled angrily. 

"I've lost all control of the dart, I had to release you blind."

Ford scoffed, it was clear he didn't believe Sheppard. "Maintain radio silence until we lay the charges."

John's voice rose authoritatively. "Negative, we should stay in contact, their ship-"

Ford flipped the switch on the radio, cutting John's voice off before he could finish.

"You should leave that radio on Aidan," Teyla advised calmly. 

Ford whirled on her, his eyes flashing dangerously. He was barely keeping it together. "Don't tell me what to do."

><><

"Ford?" John called into the silent radio. "Ford? Ford!" there was still no response. The punk kid had turned off the comm. "Damnit!" John snapped punching the dash. 

McKay's tablet beeped again and he looked down.

EXIT CRAFT FOR INSPECTION

He groaned. His day couldn't get any worse. "I'd prefer not to," he muttered.

OPENING CANOPY

John groaned as the canopy dematerialized around him, leaving him open to the dart bay. "Oh boy." A set of stairs appeared beside the dart and two Wraith climbed up."Mind checking the oil boys?" he asked flippantly and he fired his P-90 killing them both. An alarm started blaring loudly, echoing through the dart bay around him.

"This is not good," he growled and he swung himself out of the cockpit and raced down the stairs.

He had to find the others.

><><

The alarm was high pitched and the tone helped Kai shake off the last of the darkness threatening to pull her under. She drew her hand gun and the group prowled through the halls. Ronon wasn't supporting her anymore, but he also wasn't letting her get very far from him either. She wasn't back to one hundred percent yet. 

"What's that?" Ford asked looking around. He raised his hands to cover his ears. 

"It's an alarm," Ronon replied stoically. 

"That shouldn't happen," Ford growled.

"No it shouldn't," Ronon agreed.

Ford pulled out his radio clicking it back on. "Sheppard you there?" 

There was no response. 

"Sheppard, respond now," Ford snapped.

When the radio reactivated Kai could hear gunfire from John's end before he answered. "I think I might have set the alarm off, you guys be careful there's probably some guards on the way." She could hear the click of him reloading his P-90. To her knowledge he would only have one more clip.

"Too late," Ronon growled drawing his sword as Kai heard the pounding of running feet coming towards them. "If you want to live, stay behind me," he said stalking around to the front of the group.

The Wraith came in a large group, firing stunners as they went. Kai leaned against the wall and emptied her handgun into the nearest Wraith. Ronon kept his position of protective big brother, standing in front of her as they fired stunner shots. Ronon easily absorbed three shots as he charged the wraith. Kai swore and ran after him. 

She slammed one of her knives up under a helmet and used her knife to swing around and kick another back towards Ronon. He swiped his sword through three of them like they were nothing.

Kanayo and Teyla were fighting back to back, shooting as guards charged them down the halls. Ronon and Kai swung around each other like they were in a dance. Ronon was taking out two to three times as many Wraith as Kai was but even without the enzyme she was holding her own. She twisted and fought, pushing herself to the edge. There was a cry as Kanayo was struck by another stunner and went down. With no one to watch her back, Teyla went down before she even realized what had happened.

"Keep fighting!" Ford bellowed as though they had any choice.

Stunner after stunner erupted around them and Kai knew it was only a matter of time before she was hit. She felt more than heard a concussion grenade somewhere below them and she knew John was in trouble. He was her last thought before she caught a stun blast to the shoulder and went down.

><><

John groaned as he came awake. His whole body ached but his head was resting on something soft. He blinked up to see Kai leaning over him. It took him another second to realize his head was resting in her lap. 

Kai was sitting crosslegged on the floor with John's head resting on her legs. Her hand rested against the warmth of his neck. "Are you all right?" she asked, looking down at him.

John was more comfortable than he should have been. He forced himself to look away from Kai's eyes and look around them. "Are we in a holding cell?" he asked with a frown.

Kai's expression turned grim. "Yes."

"On a hive ship?" he asked. 

"Well..." she dragged off. 

John pushed himself up onto his elbows, leveling an irritated glower at Ford. "Then no, I'm not doing so good."

Ford stomped over to him. "I can't believe you screwed up," he snarled in Sheppard's face. Kai tensed, ready to attack. 

"I did what?" John asked, shoving himself to his feet. His whole body was pins and needles, but he ignored the sensation, refusing to let Ford blame him for this. Kai stood beside him, her hands gripped into fists as she glared up at Ford. 

Ford shoved into John's face. "You set off the alarm, you ruined the mission."

John shoved him back. "The dart went on autopilot the second I got close to the hive. You're lucky I was able to get you out," he snapped. He was sick and tired of Ford's attitude and he wasn't going to put up with it. 

Ford hesitated, looking confused. "Why would it do that?"

John scoffed. "Because that's what Jumpers do when they gate to Atlantis!" John exclaimed.

"Then why didn't you say something?" Ford asked. 

"Why didn't I say something?" John growled dangerously. 

Kai moved closer to Ford, ready to interfere as tensions rose in the cell. 

"You want me to fail, you want me to look bad!" Ford accused.

John narrowed his eyes and took another step closer to Ford. He didn't give a shit if he was full of the enzyme. He was ready to knock the kids head off. "That's right, you snot nosed brat I risked my teams life just to prove you wrong," John snarled shoving his finger into Ford's chest. 

"We got company," Ronon called calmly from the door as a group of Wraith approached the door.

The head Wraith stepped forward. "Move away," he commanded glaring down at Ronon.

"What do you want?" Ronon growled crossing his arms aggressively over his chest.

The Wraith snarled and bared his teeth at Ronon. "The one who flew the ship."

"Why don't you start with me?" Ronon challenged.

The Wraith chuckled and one of his guards stunned Ronon. Ronon dropped to the ground and Kai and Teyla leapt up to go to his defense. The Wraith sniffed the air, and his eyes locked on Kai. His eyes glittered with excitement and he took a step towards her, his hand already extending. "What are you?"

"Wait!" John snapped and everyone stopped. "You want me," John told the Wraith and he stepped forward willingly. "I'm the one who flew the ship."

"No!" Kai yelled jumping forward to stop them. One of the guards backhanded her and she stumbled back. Two guards grabbed Sheppard by the arms and dragged him out of the cell. 

The cell closed behind them and Kai leapt forward grabbing the sickening, flesh bars watching as they dragged John away. 

"It's all right," Ford called from behind her. "There's always a way out."

Kai whirled around to face Ford, rage thundered out a steady rhythm in her ears. Her grey eyes were snapping angrily as she shoved Ford back. "If he dies, you die," She promised.

><><

Chapter 61

Notes:

Hello friends! I have been getting so many amazing comments I wanted to celebrate with another chapter! Thank you for all the support!

><><

Kai paced back and forth across the front of the cell like a caged animal the entire time John was gone. Every single person in that cell was smart enough to stay out of her way. Even Ford hung back at the back of the cell. 

Uncharacteristic panic closed like a fist in Kai's chest. They might want to question him now, but humans were nothing more than food to the Wraith. John was the consummate survivor, but even he couldn't take out the entire squad unarmed. 

Kai let the connection between John and her open just enough so she could feel he was still alive. She was tempted to try and reach for more but she didn't know fully how to use it and she didn't want to do anything to distract him. Instead she was forced to be content with the small ball of warmth in her chest that told her he was still alive. 

It felt like hours to her, but less than thirty minutes later two soldiers led John back to the cell. Kai stood at the front of the cell, her eyes running over him. He didn't look hurt. The only sign that something had happened was that the collar of his jacket had been ripped open. 

There was a gentle telepathic bump and she suddenly felt angry with herself for giving in to her emotions. Opening the connection felt like a weakness but she refused to show it. She gripped her hands behind her back and lifted her chin defiantly as she faced the Wraith. 

"Get back," one of the Wraith guards growled at Kai. 

Kai's hands itched with the desire to kill them but her eyes flickered to John. "Colonel?" Kai asked formally. 

John's eyes caught hers and he nodded once telling her silently to stand down. Kai took two measures steps back and one of the guards gestured at a control panel on the wall and the webbing pulled back. He shoved John in with enough force for him to tumble across the ground. 

Ronon ducked around Kai and tried to charge the guards but the door dropped back into place and he slammed against it.

"Are you unharmed?" Teyla asked as Kai offered him a hand up, John grunted as he climbed to his feet.

"Yeah," John said. 

Kai ran her eyes over John once more to reassure herself that he wasn't hurt. Though his jacket was torn his t-shirt was still intact which meant they hadn't tried to feed.

Ford shoved his way past Ronon so he was standing directly in front of John. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Where'd they take you?"

"A little Q and A with the queen of the hive," John replied flippantly but his thoughts were racing over all he had learned in the short time he had been with the Queen. There was unrest in the hive, the Queen had been agitated and distracted. It was a clear weakness, he just hadn't figured out how to use it to their advantage yet. 

"What'd you tell her?" Ford accused as though Sheppard would have somehow divulged their secrets to the Wraith. 

John tossed Ford an impatient look. "It was a short conversation, she walked out."

"Why?" he challenged.

"'Maybe she was late for a meeting," John snapped sarcastically as he dropped down onto one of the benches. He was about done with Ford's attitude. They needed to focus and think clearly so they could get themselves out of here not play the blame game. 

"No," Teyla interrupted them. She cocked her head to the side and got a faraway look on her face. "There is something else, I sense she was agitated, even angry," she said a little dreamily. 

John and Kai shared a confused look. "Why?" John asked knowing he probably wasn't going to like the answer.

Teyla hesitated, lifting her chin towards the ceiling as though she could hear something the rest of them couldn't. "Another hive ship has arrived."

"Are you sure there's another hive?" Kai asked. She understood Teyla's telepathic gifts even less than her own but if she was able to sense the arrival of a hive ship in the system, it meant Teyla's telepathy had grown.

Teyla cocked her head to the side and closed her eyes as she focused. A shudder ran through her body. "I sense it close by."

"Maybe they're planning on culling the planet together," John said hopefully. 

Ford pushed himself to his feet and shoved his way towards the front of the cell so he was standing near Teyla. "Or they're gonna fight for it."

"Either way, the planet is only a day away, we don't have much time to stop them." Kanayo said 

John grunted in annoyance and pushed himself to his feet, naturally taking control of the situation. "All right, first things first. How to get out. Any luck?"

"None yet," Ronon said casting an annoyed glance towards Ford.

"Don't worry, I'll figure a way out," Ford snapped defensively. 

John shook his head. He was getting real sick of the attitude that went along with the enzyme. "I was afraid you were going to say that," he grumbled half under his breath but Kai could hear him perfectly. 

John scowled at the control panel the Wraith had used on the far wall. He glanced down at Kai. "Last time we were on one of these ships you were able to open the door by cutting into the wall near the panel."

Kai looked up, the wall was at least fifteen feet from the cell. "True..." She agreed, dragging off as she slid her hand down to her boot. "You mean with a knife?" She asked holding a small throwing knife up.

"You have a knife?" John asked in disbelief.

Kai flashed him a teasing smile. "Give them one to find and they'll let you keep the rest. Everyone knows that."

"Right, I forgot all about that rule. Must be an old Mortii motto," he replied sardonically. 

"Give me that," Ford growled stomping towards Kai. 

Ronon stepped into his path. "Try it," he offered, his eyes gleaming as he leaned forward aggressively. Teyla shifted to stand next to Ronon and Kanayo moved towards Ford.

"Boys..." Sheppard called. "Play nice or I'll turn this hive ship right around."

Ronon and Ford continued to stare each other down but Kai ignored them. She flipped off her knife. It landed in the circuit board and the lights went out. The tension in the cell was immediately forgotten as the prospect of escape became a real possibility. 

"Now we're getting somewhere," Sheppard praised, turning his attention back to Kai who had been pointedly ignoring the testosterone and enzyme induced posturing. 

Kai grunted in annoyance when she missed and Sheppard caught a flash of skin as she pulled a knife out from under her shirt. She pulled her hand back, lining it up to throw again. 

"How many of those do you got?" John asked running his eyes over her. She was an expert at hiding knives, but the fitted black t-shirt and combats didn't leave room to hide much. 

Kai smirked and lifted her eyebrows. "How many do you see?" she teased gently and was rewarded by a soft bump through their connection. 

John shook his head and bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from flirting any more with her. The warm weight in his chest was back. He had noticed it first when he had been taken before the Queen. He knew it was tied to Kai but when he glanced at her the hard, focused expression on her face convinced him now wasn't the time to ask. 

Kai threw another knife and the lights further down the hall went out. She made a noise of impatience in the back of her throat. 

"I told you you wouldn't be able to get it," Ford growled. "Give me the knife," Ford demanded, he shoved towards Kai and Ronon clamped a hand on Ford's arm to stop him from reaching Kai. Ford whipped around towards him but Ronon refused to backdown. 

"You think you can handle a knife better than a Mortii?" Teyla asked stepping between the two men before they came to blows. Ford shook his head and spun away from them, moving to the back of the cell. 

Kai threw her third knife and the gate rolled back.

"We're in business," John called, he turned around and froze at the sight of Ford injecting his arm. "Ford what the hell are you doing?"

"That's the last of it," Ford said. He hung his head forward and a shudder ran through his body. When he stood, his movements were more fluid than they had been before. 

Kanayo scowled. "What about the rest of us?"

Ford's pupils were blown wide as he turned to look at his last loyal soldier. "You don't need it," Ford said dismissively. 

Kanayo scowled at his leader. "You don't know that."

"Keep quiet," John snarled. They all filed out of the cell. Ronon and Kai were on the lead. 

John stepped up, blocking Ford from leaving the cell. "We're heading to the dart bay. Stay together, and stay quiet."

Ford bristled at being given an order but he followed the group just the same.

They jogged through the hall together. "Wait," Kai called, she grabbed Ronon's arm, pulling him back as she strained her senses. "They're coming."

A squad of wraith guards appeared around the corner. 

"I got it," Ford said charging the guards recklessly. Ronon ran after him and wrestled a stunner away from one guard while the other's neck was broken by Ford. Kai threw the last of her small knives at the fourth guard but it barely slowed him down. She aimed a kick at his helmet but two stunner shots caught her in the chest and everything went black. 

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Kai groaned as she started to wake up. She was laying on the floor of a cell. Her limbs were pins and needles as she blinked awake. She tried to shove herself to her hands and knees but it was too soon and she swayed. Warm hands caught her by the shoulder and one encircled her hip. 

"You okay?" John's voice rumbled near her ear. 

Kai squeezed her eyes shut tight as the pounding in her head increased. "Where are the others?" she asked, knowing without having to open her eyes that the others weren't with them. She could only hear two other heartbeats, one she recognized immediately as John's. The second heartbeat was erratic and racing. Kai blinked through the haze of the stunner to see Ford leaning against the wall not looking well.  

John helped Kai sit up and he let out a relieved sigh when her eyes fluttered open. She had been hit by two stunner shots but had been unconscious nearly three times as long as he and Ford. The last couple hours had been stressful watching Ford deteriorate and waiting for Kai to wake. "They took us to separate cells, probably to make it tougher to escape," he explained to her in a low voice. 

"This is all your fault," Aidan's voice had a slight tremble to it. 

Kai glanced in Ford's direction. He was sitting on the floor near the door, his arms wrapped around himself as though he were cold. Sweat was dripping down his temples and his skin was pale. 

"What's done is done lieutenant," John called over his shoulder. 

Kai got the impression it wasn't the first time the two had argued about this. Though his tone was calm she could see the muscles in John's jaw were tight. 

"No, first you set off the alarm then you led us straight into that squad of Wraith. It's like you're purposefully sabotaging this mission," Aidan accused through chattering teeth. 

John shook his head. "You got a lot of issues to work out."

Ford looked away and it was like another person took over. His eyes softened and he rubbed his hands up and down his arms. "Teyla and Ronon went down too quick when they were shot, the enzyme is wearing off."

"How are you feeling?" John asked. 

"Bad," Aidan said looking away. "It's happened before when I've run out of the enzyme. It gets pretty ugly. So we need to figure a way out of here."

"Yeah," John agreed. He glanced back at Kai. She was leaning against the wall, slowly flexing her hands and subtly moving her feet as she worked to shake off the last of the stunner. He wanted to tell her to give it time but he knew her well enough to know that would only get him in trouble. "Don't suppose you have any more knives?" He asked her hopefully.

Kai shifted her weight and then shook her head. "Feels like their search was more thorough this time."

John wasn't surprised, but it would make a second escape even harder to manage. "Well, that's their-"

Aidan's whole body suddenly went rigid. He let out a single pained shout and his body dropped to the floor and seized. All of his muscles jerked and he groaned. John jumped across the cell, gripped Ford's shoulder's to hold him still so he wouldn't hurt himself. Kai scrambled after him and pinned Aidan's legs. The force of the seizure nearly threw her across the room a couple of times. 

After long, agonizing minutes the seizure ended and Aidan lay unconscious on the floor. 

"Shit," John muttered. He glanced down at Kai who had rocked back on her heels. "Guess he wasn't kidding about it being bad." John reached up and checked Aidan's pulse. "Well, he's still breathing."

"The enzyme causes seizures?" Kai asked. John turned back to meet her gaze. "Ronon and Teyla," She said unnecessarily. "They will be going through withdrawals by now."

"Ah, crap," John muttered. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. It pained him to know there was nothing he could do for them, and it was all his fault they were in this stupidly idiotic situation. 

The two of them sat and watched over Aidan for another long couple of hours before he woke. He gasped and tried to sit up but his body gave out and he collapsed back against the hard floor. 

"How you holding up Lieutenant?" John asked moving to crouch next to him. There was a softness to John's tone that hadn't been there in any of his encounters with Ford since before the enzyme. 

They hadn't said it, but both Kai and John knew they were watching Aidan die. 

"I'll be fine as soon as I get my hands on more enzyme. Then I'll get us out of here," Aidan promised. He tried to sound confident but there was real fear in his eyes. He knew better than anyone that the withdrawals would kill him. 

"We'll do it together. We're a team, right?" John said with forced cheerfulness. 

Ford nodded leaning back as he groaned in pain. 

John caught him and lowered his shoulders back down to the floor so he didn't hurt himself any more. "Come on kid hang in there don't leave us."

"I'm sorry sir," Aidan panted. "I'm sorry for all of it," his eyes flickered over to where Kai was crouched on his other side. "I never should have used-"

"None of that," John snapped interrupting Aidan. "The missions not over, we still got to figure a way to get out of here, you hear me?" he put on The Colonel's voice. 

"Yes sir," Aidan agreed weakly. He leaned back and his eyes began to flutter closed. 

John lifted worried eyes to meet Kai's and she could see the guilt he carried over Aidan Ford. John took full responsibility for the people under his command. He was convinced he had failed Aidan. 

Kai leaned forward and grabbed Ford's wrist giving it a firm squeeze. His eyes fluttered open in confusion. "Ford, you can make it through this. You need to decide to be strong enough."

Ford chuckled once humorlessly but it broke off into a coughing fit. "I'm no Mortii Zian. Us humans don't get to just decide."

The gate buzzed, startling Kai and John as five guards stalked into the cell. 

"Move away from him," the lead soldier ordered. 

Kai stiffened, her muscles coiling as she prepared to fight. John flickered his eyes to her, trying to convey to her that now wasn't the time. "What are you going to do with him?" John demanded. 

"'Move away," the wraith repeated. 

"He's sick," John argued as two of the Wraith shoved him towards the back of the cell.

"That is why we're taking him."

The guards dragged Ford out, their leader hissed in Sheppard's face before the door reformed. John grabbed the slimy bars in his hands. "Where are you taking him?!" He yelled after them but there was no response. "Damnit," he muttered and turned away, leaning his back against the bars.

Kai didn't know how to reassure John. Chances were good they had taken Ford to feed on him before he could die and prove useless. She hated feeling helpless and talking about feelings wasn't her strong suit so she turned her focus to finding a way out. Without a knife or something to throw she wasn't going to be able to access the panel across the hall but there was still a chance the conduits ran through the cell. Kai moved her hands over the walls, letting her eyes drift closed as she focused. 

"What are you doing?" John asked after a minute. 

"Seeing if I can feel an electrical panel," she said quietly as she moved her hands all around the outer edge of the door. The stench of the living wall was overwhelming to her nose and the texture was rubbery. 

"You can feel that?" John asked in disbelief. 

Kai shrugged. "Don't know, I've never tried to do it on purpose. My senses..."

"I didn't know that included touch," John dragged off as a thousand unnecessary thoughts flashed through his head. 

Kai opened her eyes and turned to face him. "All of them. I can feel that we're still in hyperspace," she dragged off. "Not that that's terribly helpful. But I can't feel any conduits, the vibration from hyperdrive is overwhelming."

John dropped down to sit on the floor. "Well it was a good thought," he said and he leaned his head back against the wall exhaustedly. As though a thought had just occurred to him he opened his eyes. "Do you feel temperatures more potently?"

Kai snorted and dropped down to sit beside him. "I wouldn't know," she said wrapping her arms around herself. "I don't know what it feels like to you, but it's freezing in here for me."

John had a moment of indecision, wondering if he should let himself cross the line with her again before he lifted his arm up in silent invitation. 

Kai stared at him for a beat before he made a noise of impatience in the back of his throat. "Come here," he said, but his tone was almost playful. 

Kai slid across the floor so her thigh rested warmly against his and let him tuck her under his arm. She didn't know how, but he felt like a furnace in the cool of the Hive. 

"Thank you," She said quietly. The answering telepathic bump should have terrified her, but she was exhausted and instead it was comforting. 

"We should try and get some sleep," John said and his whole chest moved her as he yawned. There was still tension in Kai's body, as though her muscles were coiled and ready to spring away from him. He leaned his head back against the wall and forced his body to relax so Kai would. 

It took a few minutes but finally she gave in and laid her cheek against his chest. Her hand came up to rest over his heart as she settled against his chest and she closed her eyes. 

It reminded Sheppard of the nights he had held her on that Wraith planet. He had tried to push the memory out of his mind, tried to force himself to be content with the easy friendship between them. He was C.O. on Atlantis, she was from another galaxy, he didn't do relationships, and she was over twice his age...

The reasons to stay away from Kai was a list a mile long. But with the warm weight back in his chest and her sleeping in his arms he couldn't help feeling like this was exactly right. 

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Chapter 62

Notes:

Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments and encouragement! I really appreciate it!

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It was the absence of sound that woke Kai, though she didn't realize it at first. She was warm and comfortable with the steady rhythm of John's heart beating loudly under her ear. She blinked awake quickly when she realized she was still curled against John's chest, though she didn't pull away. His deep steady breathing told her he was still sleeping and she didn't want to wake him. She doubted he had slept much since they had been taken by Ford and his men. He wasn't the type to rest when his team was in danger. Her cheeks heated when she realized he was actually holding her against him with his arms locked together. It wasn't the first time they had slept together, but the other times she had been injured. This felt different somehow.

There was a heavy metal whirling and John startled awake, his arms tightening around her for a second until he realized they weren't under attack. John slowly let his arms fall and scrubbed a hand over his face. He hadn't slept long, but the combat nap helped. He felt clearer than he had earlier. He looked down at Kai who was blushing furiously as she slid away from him. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing he could come up with was going to make the moment less awkward. He didn't like the awkwardness that was hanging between them, but he didn't know how to make it better and certainly not when they were prisoner aboard a Hive.

"What the hell was that sound?" John asked as the two of them climbed to their feet. "Did we blow a tire?" He joked half-heartedly.

Kai wouldn't look at him as she moved over to the wall. She lifted her small hand and rested it against the wall. The texture reminded her of clammy skin and she wrinkled her nose. "We've dropped out of hyperspace. I can't feel it anymore."

John stepped up to the bars, leaning against them so he could try and look down the hall, but there was no movement. "They must be getting ready for the culling."

"They're coming," Kai warned, her head snapping towards John.

"You sure?" he asked. He couldn't see or hear anyone. When he glanced over his shoulder towards her she shot him an incredulous look.

"Okay, okay," he said holding his hands up in surrender. He took a step back from the bars so he was standing closer to Kai. He knew she wouldn't appreciate him protecting her overtly, but it wasn't an instinct he could easily turn off.

Seconds later the heavy footfalls of the Wraith soldiers were audible even to him. Six Wraith guards appeared outside the bars. It seemed a little over kill to him, but when two hung back, leveling their stunners at him and Kai it was clear the Wraith were taking no chances with the two of them.

The door opened and the first two guards grabbed for Kai. She jerked back instinctually, but before she could attack the lead guard pulled a stunner and pressed it against her face. "I will use this if you don't come quietly."

John admired her fire, but there were too many Wraith for the two of them to fight, especially since they were unarmed. He stepped forward, putting himself between Kai and the guards so the stunner was pressed against his chest. "We'll come quietly," he agreed. Kai was close enough he brushed against her, bumping her lightly with his shoulder. There was an answering pulse in the middle of his chest and it reassured him to know they were on the same page.

The guards grabbed them by the arms and dragged them through the hive. John kept up easily, but Kai's legs were shorter and she stumbled over her feet. The guards picked her up and pulled her along, wrenching her arms painfully. She fought to keep quiet but the one on the left twisted her arm painfully and she whimpered.

John stiffened but he didn't look back. It felt like the guards were baiting them, trying to get them to react somehow and he couldn't let them see her as a weakness. If they knew hurting her would get a reaction from him there was nothing left to keep her safe. The wraith already had them at a disadvantage.

The guards brought them to the throne room. Kai scanned the room, quickly trying to identify possible exits. Kai's guards held her  back by the door while the others shoved Sheppard back towards the main dais. He stumbled over his feet and hit his knees as the queen of the hive stepped from the shadows.

Kai tensed. She had never seen a queen in person before. The other guards were all treating her with a reverence that made Kai wonder if her position was tied into their religion as well. She wore a dress that hugged her curves with long drapping sleeves. Her skin was lighter than most of the wraith she had met before and smoother. Her long hair was silky smooth and she was better groomed. Hygiene seemed higher up the priority list for a queen than the soldiers.

"Shall we talk now?" The queen asked stalking around Sheppard. She let her fingers trail over his shoulders seductively and Kai tensed before she was able to get control of her emotions. The guard holding her clamped down on her arm hard enough for Kai to suck in a breath.

The queen turned to look at her. She cocked her head to the side curiously as she regarded Kai. Kai glared at her and the Queen sniffed the air. The Queen glided across the throne room to Kai. She bent at the waist so she could look Kai in the face. She reached out and picked up a section of Kai's hair and sniffed it. "A Mortii," she said and she closed her eyes as she sniffed again. A slow smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I've been told they taste as good as they smell. That their life force is the most powerful of all species."

The Queen turned back to Sheppard. "You keep interesting company human."

"Yeah well, I have all sorts of meaningful business relationships," Sheppard ground out. He hoped to convince the Queen they were mercenaries. It was the only plausible explanation for why a Mortii would attack a hive with a group of humans.

The Queen whirled back around, her eerie yellow eyes narrowing on Sheppard. "Is that so?"

Sheppard lifted his brows and flashed a cocky smirk. "Yep," he said. "Perhaps you would like to make us a better offer?" he asked as though they were negotiating and he wasn't on his knees with half a dozen stunners pointed at him. "We haven't found anyone who pay as well as the Wraith, isn't that right Kai?" John called, lifting his chin towards Kai. He needed her to understand his plan and fast.

Without missing a beat lifted her chin defiantly. "That's right," she agreed. She stiffened her shoulders as she adopted the air of confidence and indifference the Mortii had trained into her. It appeared Sheppard wanted them to look like powerful allies. She could do that.

The Queen narrowed her eyes dangerously glancing back and forth between Sheppard and Kai.  "You lie," she snarled at Sheppard.

"Okay," John responded calmly as though he didn't care one way or the other. "But tell me this. How else could I get my hands on a dart? And who else could provide me with specific instructions on how to infiltrate your hive and destroy it?" he challenged in that casual way of his.

Kai had always admired his ability to think on his feet. The man was absolutely unflappable under pressure. Rage was building in the Queen's body but John was dead calm.

The Queen broke first. She snarled angrily and clenched her hands into fists. "Of which Queen do you speak?" she demanded.

John allowed a pleased smile to tug his face into a crooked grin. "You gotta have a window on this boat, don't you?" John asked smuggly. "Take a look. The other hive that joined you for the culling," he shrugged. "There's a lot more people to feed on when you don't have to share."

The Queen was in a rage. "I will speak to her of this," she snarled.

John shot her an incredulous look. "You don't really think she would admit to trying to have you killed, do you?"

"Enough!" she screamed and she held her hand beside John's temple. He opened his mouth in a silent scream and his knees buckled as pain exploded behind his eyes. "I shall savor your defiance!" she said pulling her hand back to slam it into his chest.

John felt a sudden hard thud in his chest and his eyes shot to Kai.

When the Queen moved to feed on John Kai saw red. She had to get to him. She tried to leap to her feet but the guards slammed her back to the ground painfully. She kicked out at the one to her left. Catching the joint of his knee just right. He went down, grunting in pain. There was a shot somewhere in the room, and she wondered if they had shot John to make it easier for the Queen to feed. Just as her second guard pulled back to shoot her a red blast caught him in the chest. His body crumpled and the guard on the ground was hit a second later. Kai swung around, immediately recognizing Ronon's gun.

Aidan charged into the room. He fired the gun at two more guards before he threw it to Sheppard. John caught the gun easily and whipped around taking out the last guard. John jogged to Kai, offering her a hand up. Her heart was still thundering in her chest, but when Ford approached them her face was an expressionless mask. He swung a backpack off his shoulder and dug inside. He pulled out a handgun, Kai's blade and her scarf. She gratefully took her weapons.

"How did you get our weapons back?" John asked tucking Ronon's gun into his belt as he took his.

Ford flashed a pleased grin at his former commander. "That was the easy part. Getting some more enzyme? That was hard."

The three of them moved down the halls. John took point with Kai right behind him while Ford watched their six. "You're one tough son of a bitch," John said leading the way down one of the side corridors. Ford stopped at the corner and turned back to face the way they had come.

"What are you doing?" Kai called to him with a frown. They were so close to getting out of there they couldn't stop now. John slowed, turning back to stand beside Kai.

Ford glanced over his shoulder. "Down that hall, 50 meters, turn left. It'll take you to Teyla and Ronon's cell. I'll hold the Wraith back for you."

John shook his head stalking back towards Ford. "No, no, you're coming with us."

Ford pinched his lips together as he stared into John's eyes. "I'll hold the Wraith back boss," he promised, his voice sounding more like the young lieutenant that had come through the gate with Sheppard. "Now go. I'll be okay. "

It went against everything John believed in to leave Ford behind, but they were running out of time. "I'm not going without you Lieutenant," John said firmly.

"John," Aidan said, clamping his hand on John's shoulder. "I'll catch up," he promised. They both flinched as the arm sounded, echoing through the halls. "Now go!" he said shoving them both. He turned and ran back the way they had come.

"Ford!" John yelled after him. "Ah crap," and the two of them ran down the hall Ford had shown them.

They turned the corner to see Ronon and Teyla standing at the front of their cell. Both looked pale, and had dark circles under their eyes but they were on their feet.

"Hey," Ronon greeted, his eyes running over Kai and Sheppard.

John nodded in greeting. "How about we bust you guys out of here?"

"If you don't mind," Ronon replied with a smirk.

John leveled Ronon's gun at the controls and fired. The bars peeled back. He smiled appreciatively down at the gun in his hand. "I gotta get me one of these," he said holding the gun out to Ronon who took it with a grin.

John pulled his hand gun and clicked off the safety.

Kai scanned the rest of the cell. "Where's Kanayo?" she asked with a frown. She didn't like the man, but they weren't about to leave anyone behind.

"Dead," Ronon said unemotionally.

"What about Aidan?" Teyla asked striding out of the cell.

John led the way down the hall. "He was alive the last time we saw him, so we're going to go with that."

"How are we going to get out of here?" Ronon asked.

"I have a plan," John assured them.

With the help of Kai's heightened sense of hearing the four of them made it most of the way to the dart bay without too much trouble. It wasn't until they turned the last corner that they encountered a small squad of soldiers. Teyla and Ronon took cover on one side of the hall, while Kai and John took the other.

Kai crouched down, while John stood over her. For the two of them, fighting together was as easy as breathing. They didn't have to speak, it was like they could read each other's mind. They emptied their guns into the two Wraith on their side. The first stayed down, but the second staggered to his feet and aimed his stunner at them.

Kai tossed her empty gun aside and it clattered against the floor.

"Kai," John called in a warning tone, but his voice was swallowed up by the sound of Teyla and Ronon firing their guns.

Kai ignored John's warning knowing they couldn't risk letting any of the guards get away and call for help. They needed to get out of there. She pulled her Blade and charged the Wraith. John let out another shout drawing the Wraith's attention and just managed to dodge the stunner shot as Kai spun up inside his guard slamming her Blade up under the guard's helmet. As he fell she gripped the knife so his body weight cleared the Blade. She bent down and wiped the Blade clean on his uniform.

"Right, clear" John said coming up behind her. He handed her her discarded gun. She took it and slid it away in her thigh holster.

"Running straight at the wraith a Mortii tactic I'm not aware of?" John asked wryly in a low tone so only she could hear. If they made it out of this one they were going to have to have a serious talk about acceptable risk taking on mission. He shook his head, thinking Kai was going to drive him into an early grave if she didn't get herself killed first. He stepped up to the bay doors, peering inside. There was more activity than there had been when they arrived.

"All right," John said ejecting the empty clip from his gun and sliding a new one home. "I'm going to steal a dart and fly us out of here. You guys stay here until you get my signal."

"Wait, this is your plan?" Kai asked incredulously. She wished she had pushed for more information sooner, but John was normally a master at getting them out of tight places.

John shot her a look of surprise. "Yeah, why?"

Kai stared at him like he was an idiot. "Because it won't be our dart."

"Don't really see how that matters," he said defensively.

"Well it does matter!" She grumbled agitatedly. "It's gonna have to be me flying now."

"Why?" John snapped.

Kai scowled at him, her eyes narrowing as her temper snapped in her storm grey eyes. "You can't read wraith," she spoke slowly, lifting her eyebrows as though he couldn't keep up.

"And you've never flown a dart," he said pointing at her chest.

A stunner shot hit the wall near them. Ronon whirled around and leveled his gun at the wraith, killing it with a single shot. "Can you two fight later? We need to go now!" Ronon snapped, raising his voice to be heard over their bickering.

A blush climbed its way up Kai's neck when she realized they had been bickering in front of Ronon and Teyla. She looked away. John however pressed his lips together in a grim line as he considered the fact that maybe Kai had a point.

"Team work makes the dream work," John muttered and he grabbed Kai's arm and pulled her behind him into the bay.

Kai hesitated when she realized his plan. "But, it's a single man fighter," she argued as he towed her along.

John grunted in agitation as she continued to fight him. "Nope. It's a single Wraith fighter," he corrected.

"There still aren't two seats," she snapped uncomfortably. Sleeping against him had been one thing, sitting on his lap while he piloted a dart was too much of an embarrassment.

"Guess we're gonna get cozy," John replied glibbly. He climbed up the stairs first, dropping down into the cockpit. "Are you going to get in or just stand there all day?" he asked a little sharply. He was trying not to think too hard about the prospect of holding Kai on his lap in such a small space. It wouldn't have been an issue if it was Teyla, so rationally Kai shouldn't be any different.

Kai climbed up the ladder after him, but hesitated just before climbing into the cockpit.

"Come on!" John said, holding his arm up to make room for her. "I don't bite."

Kai's eyes flashed to his and he immediately regretted his choice of words. They were running out of time and he didn't know what to say to her to make her feel better.

She was about to make an excuse and bow out when she felt that familiar gentle nudge. Her eyes snapped up to meet John's hazel gaze and she blew out a breath. She was being ridiculous and letting her emotions rule her. She threw a leg over the side of the ship and lowered herself into the cockpit. John's hands came up and landed on her waist as he guided her down to sit on his lap. The seat reclined more than the ones in the jumpers and Kai was forced to lean back against John's chest so his arms could come around her and access the controls.

John's fingers danced over the dash and Kai had to admire how quickly he picked up flying the dart. The man really was a great pilot, he could fly anything. John swung the dart around towards Teyla and Ronon and hit the red button on the touch screen as he went over them.

"I sure hope that worked," he muttered under his breath.

"It did," Kai confirmed as her eyes scanned the readout. "The data is showing two life signs."

"What else does it say," he asked as he turned the dart towards the bay entrance.

"What?" she asked, startling.

"The HUD? I'm flying blind here," he reminded her wryly. Once again, now that it was just the two of them things felt incredibly natural.

"Right" Kai said and she looked up at all the information. "These are other darts, and these are reading for the amount of space on either side of the dart. I'm guessing some kind of wraith unit of measure. Adjust your heading two zero degrees."

Kai exhaled a sigh of relief when they flew out of the bay. "We're clear of the hive," she reported.

"Great," John said through clenched teeth. His team was safe, but he could leave yet, not with the threat of a culling hanging over the small planet below them. He turned the small dart back towards the Hive, a plan already forming in his head. "Now we just need to save the planet."

John did a few complicated maneuvers to make sure he had a hang of the controls, then he opened fire on the hive.

Kai jerked up, her eyes scanning the readouts. "What are you doing?" She demanded. She was struggling to keep up with the speed of the words as they flashed across the screen. She was going to need to brush up on her Wraith.

"I told you, saving the planet. Don't worry, I've got a plan," he swung the dart around to the other side of the Hive and started firing straight into the dart bay.

Kai's body was tense in front of her and her jaw was clenched. "Is flying straight at the Hive a Lieutenant Colonel tactic I'm not aware of?" She huffed.

John's chest shook as he chuckled behind her and Kai wished she could stay mad at him.

"They are scrambling their darts," Kai warned as another readout flashed by.

"'Bout time," John grumbled and he swung their dart around towards the other Hive. "Let me know when we're in rang," he said.

Kai frowned but let him know as soon as they were close enough to open fire on the other Hive. Seconds later that Hive had scrambled their darts too. Soon he had the Hives opening fire on each other.

John dipped and dodged through the complicated structures of the Hives, firing as he went. He was staring to get the hang of the readout. Not that he could read Wraith, but he understood what it looked like when he got too close to something. Kai stiffened in his arms a number of times, but he tried not to notice. Once the Hives began attacking one another in earnest John turned the dart and began flying away.

"Where are you going?" Kai asked with a frown. "It's not done."

"It will be," John assured her. True to his word, wasn't another five minutes before alarms started beeping. "What's that?" he asked, hoping his theory was correct.

"Our home Hive ship was just destroyed and it took out the second one with it." Another alarm started and more words in Wriath flashed up, these ones in red.

"What in the hell is that?" he asked.

"Proximity alarm, we have an approaching shockwave," Kai reported. "Our inertial dampeners won't be able to compensate. Brace yourself."

The warnings became more and more urgent until it hit them. The ship snapped forward and Kai was thrown towards the controls. She reached out to catch herself, but there really wasn't anything she could grab her arms just weren't long enough to reach anything in the oversized Wraith fighter.

John's arms wrapped around her midsection and pulled her back against his chest. She sucked in a surprised breath but locked her hands around his forearms.

"Hold tight," John warned and his grip on her tightened as the tiny ship was tossed around. When it at last evened out they both froze, as they waited for another wave to come, but nothing did.

John cleared his throat uncomfortably as he let her go and reached for the controls. "Well, another successful escape."

Kai snorted and leaned back against his chest as she exhaled in relief. "If you call that a success," she said wryly.

He stiffened for a moment when Kai leaned into him, but soon relaxed as she exhaled and the tension left her body.

"What do you say we head home?" He asked.

Kai nodded. "Yes please." Kai leaned forward and ran her fingers over the controls. They brushed against John's a few times and it felt like an electric current was running between them. "The neatest Stargate is about ten hours away. I'm setting a course."

"Great," John said with a relieved smile and he turned the dart toward the Stargate. He hated to admit it, but flying with Kai was something he found incredibly relaxing. And now that they were out of danger he found himself enjoying the time just the two of them with no one's judgment hanging over them. He immediately shoved those thoughts away. Nothing had changed and they would be back on Atlantis soon.

John cleared his throat. "Why don't you get some rest first. I'll let you take over once I get tired." John offered.

Kai nodded. There really wasn't much else to do and it would save her from having to come up with conversation. "All right," she agreed. "Just wake me if you need me to read anything," she said gesturing up to the overhead read out.

"Will do." John agreed. "It's not like there's much to see out here anyway."

Kai leaned back a little bit more, forcing her body to relax against his. She had thought sleeping next to him in the cell was intimate but it had nothing on this. She could feel every line of his body against hers. She swallowed thickly as she tipped her head back and rested it on his shoulder. She closed her eyes.

It was a couple hours flight to the gate and John woke Kai as they got closer. He dialed the address of a safe planet and once they were through he rematerialied everyone in the middle of a grassy field. Then he landed the dart. He and Kai climbed out, he reached up and caught the sides of her waist, helping her down. Kai exhaled when John stepped back, giving her space.

Teyla and Ronon approached them. "Is everyone uninjured?" Teyla asked.

"We're good," John agreed with a nod.

"Let's get out of here," Ronon said heading back towards the Gate.

Kai dialed Atlantis, putting in her IDC. Teyla and Ronon stepped across the horizon first but John waited. His eyes moving over the tree line until Kai was standing beside him.

"Good?" He asked.

Kai nodded exhaustedly. "Let's go home."

><><

Chapter 63

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Weir made Kai and all of AR-1 take a whole week off. John had tried to argue that everyone would be back on their feet in a couple days, but Beckett stepped in and claimed they all needed medical leave to ensure the enzyme was out of their systems. John tried to argue that he had never been exposed to the enzyme and in retaliation Beckett threatened to make it two weeks on the basis of exhaustion. John finally, if begrudgingly, recognized when he had been outmaneuvered, accepted the week and gave in. 

After five days however everyone but McKay were climbing the walls. When Kai and Ronon began sparring three times per day John finally stepped in and decided everyone needed a field trip and to blow off some steam. He cleared it first with Weir before he rounded up Teyla and Ronon and sent them to get everyone else. Knowing she would take the most convincing John went to find Kai himself.

John checked her room first but when she wasn't there, the gym or in Zelenka's lab he headed for the jumper bay. He opened the door and wasn't surprised when he saw a pair of shapely legs sticking out from under one of the decommissioned jumpers. He allowed himself a moment to appreciate the view.

"You do know I can hear you right?" Kai called, her voice muffled.

John snorted, not at all embarrassed at being caught. "You do know we still have the rest of the weekend off, right?" John asked wryly. 

Kai slid out from under the jumper a small smile tugging at her face. As usual she wore the jump suit tied off at the waist. The black, long sleeve athletic shirt hugged her body like a second skin and her scarf was tied down snug to her head. She lay on her back with her wrench set laying on her flat stomach. "What's a weekend?"

John made an impatient noise in the back of his throat and forced his eyes to stay glued to her face. He had been letting his mind wander far too much lately when it came to Kai. He was well aware his plan wasn't going to help matters, but he also didn't want to leave Kai out. It was inexplicably important to him that she come with, he just had to figure out the right way to approach the subject to get her to say yes.

John leaned casually against the side of the jumper. "You have two more days off and what are you doing with them?"

Kai motioned towards the jumper meaningfully. "I thought it would be a good opportunity to try some experimental repairs off the clock."

John made a strangled sound in his throat. "That's not a day off Zian." 

Kai continued to stare up at him impassively in the alien way of hers that he found maddening. He wanted the smile back. There was no one here, it was just the two of them and she had shown emotion around him plenty of times. It bothered him when she reverted back to what they had taught her.

"Look," he said, trying a different approach. "Weir has given us leave to take a jumper. The team, minus Rodney, some of the Athosian kids, and some other off-duties  are all headed to this amazing bay for two whole days on the beach. What do you say?"

Kai frowned. She pressed her lips together thoughtfully. It didn't exactly sound like something she would enjoy, but the excitement shining out of Sheppard's eyes was impossible for her to refuse. 

"Come on," John encouraged sensing Kai was wavering. "Back on that Wraith planet I promised I would teach you how to surf. I'm a man of my word."

Kai's face softened, thinking about their time surviving together on the Wraith planet. They had grown close and he had promised to teach her. She remembered the way his face had lit up when he spoke about surfing and the chance to see the side of him not consumed by The Colonel was too tempting to pass up. 

Kai sighed dramatically, setting her tools aside. "Okay," she finally relented. 

A crooked grin stretched across John's face and he pulled her to her feet. "Perfect! Get packed. We leave in 2 hours."

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Twenty minutes later Kai was standing in front of her bed trying to decide what to put in her backpack. She had personally never been to the beach before and she wasn't sure exactly what to bring. She was trying to decide how many knives were necessary for a trip to the beach. 

Her door chimed. "Enter," she called distractedly. 

The door slid open and Teyla entered, a warm smile on her face. "Are you nearly ready my friend?" She asked. She hesitated when she saw Kai standing over a huge inventory of knives laid out on her bed. 

Kai nodded but she hadn't taken her eyes off the pile of knives. 

Teyla stepped over with a frown. "Have I missed something?" She teased gently. 

Teyla was very fond of Kai and had been both surprised and pleased to hear the Mortii would be joining them. Kai had been working to integrate herself into the community but it was slow going and she rarely spent any social time with even John, Ronon or herself outside of the gym or the occasional meal.

"I just want to be prepared," Kai said and she picked up two of the smaller knives sliding them into the folds of her clothes where they immediately disappeared as if by magic. "I've never been to the beach before."

"Well..." Teyla said thoughtfully. "I haven't either, but I don't believe it requires us to be quite so...heavily armed..." she dragged off with a teasing but kind smile.

Kai glanced up at her and snorted. Teyla was wearing a soft two piece outfit the exposed more skin than it covered. The sheer fabric of the skirt flowed around her whimsically. Kai couldn't imagine herself in something so feminine. She smoothed her hands self-consciously down her thighs. She was wearing her leather pants and a long-sleeved black shirt. Her scarf was wound around her head intricately in a more casual style, but that was as feminine as she ever got.

Kai frowned when she noticed Teyla was carrying two bags. 

"Ah," Teyla said when Kai's eyes landed on the bag. "This is for you," She said holding out the smaller of the two bags to Kai.

Kai opened the bag frowning. She pulled out two pieces of clothing. One was a long sleeved rash guard, and the other was a matching pair of boy shorts. Kai frowned down at the items. The fabric was silky, but the bottoms looked like they would barely cover more than underwear.

"They are called a swimsuit," Teyla said with a pleased grin. "It seems some were ordered from earth along with other clothing necessities. I believe this one should suit your preferences?" Teyla asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Is this not the traditional style?" Kai asked looking at the long sleeves appreciatively.

Teyla shook her head and reached into her backpack pulling out small triangles of fabric. "There were several styles to choose from. Your's is the more conservative of the ones ordered."

The material was dark blue, almost black. In fact the color reminded her of the scarf Sheppard had bought her. A small private smile crossed her features. She had a pretty good idea of who had ordered it. Although she couldn't imagine herself wearing it. Kai turned to tuck her new clothing into her own backpack, wondering if it was too late to back out.

Teyla immediately noticed Kai's discomfort. "After I gave that to you the Colonel also wanted me to let you know that so many people have decided to join us that we will require the use of two jumpers, and you're the only other pilot. He said if you decline then the..." an amused smile quirked Teyla's lips. "...Athosian children will not be able to enjoy the wonders of the beach."

Kai scowled, "He said that?" She asked, wondering if Sheppard had somehow known she would want to back out. 

This was somehow turning into a much larger social endeavor than Kai was comfortable with. She normally avoided things like movie night and the large group dinners. She didn't fit in with most people on Atlantis and did her best to avoid them so she wouldn't make them uncomfortable. John however seemed determined to make sure she couldn't back out of this one.

Kai and Teyla walked down to the jumper bay together. It was busier than Kai expected. Filled with Athosians and off duty Atlantis personnel all packing their stuff into the two jumpers. John was directing people into Jumper One with Teyla while Kai stepped over to Jumper Two with Ronon. She was pleased to note that Ronon's gun was still on his hip and she spotted a couple of knives as well. Despite Teyla's words, she wasn't the only one to think being armed was necessary. Ronon took her bag and tucked it up in the cargo netting above them.

Once she got everyone settled in her jumper she moved to the front and sat down in the pilots seat. She started up the jumper and her comm activated. 

"Everyone buckled up?" John's voice came through her ear piece. 

She snorted. "Yeah they are...running over capacity though." 

"Yeah well, I think the jumpers can handle it. We're not even planning on breaking orbit." 

Kai's fingers ran over the controls. She wasn't fully paying attention to the computer. She had just looked over both jumpers that morning. It worried her a little that they were over capacity for people, but John was right, they weren't breaking atmosphere so they shouldn't have to worry about the life support being overwhelmed. "Couldn't find a second pilot, huh?"

John's laugh was rich through the comm and made her insides squirm. "Couldn't have you backing out of the fun now could I?" 

"So you decided to send Teyla to kidnap me?" she teased back as she ran the preflight check. 

"Kidnapping is such an ugly word," John replied flippantly. 

"What word would you use?" she asked. 

"I prefer to think of it as being persuasive," John's voice dipped slightly as he said the word and Kai swallowed. She was just glad his hearing wasn't as good as hers through the comm or he would have heard her breath catch in her throat.

"Black mail," she grumbled fighting to keep face. Ronon glanced towards her with a frown and she shook her head at him. He shrugged and leaned back in his chair, waiting for her. 

John laughed. "You'll thank me. Trust me." The comm pulsed and she recognized the sound of Sheppard switching over to the main channel. "This is jumper one, opening bay doors. The buses are loaded and the kids are ready for their field trip." 

"Copy Jumper One this is Weir. Have a good time Colonel," Weir called back laughing. 

"Roger that Atlantis. See you tomorrow night." 

"Remember your sunscreen," Weir said affectionately. "...and John," Weir hesitated. "Try and stay out of trouble."

John scoffed offendedly. "You say that like we always find trouble." 

"Are you saying you don't?" Weir challenged.

Kai could hear Sheppard's smile as he spoke. "I prefer to think of it as trouble finds us."

><>< 

Kai hated to admit it but John was absolutely right. The beach was gorgeous. When they arrived everyone got the tents set up while the kids ran down towards the water. Kai waited until every one else was done and changed in one of tents wrapping her towel around her waist to hide her pale legs. 

She stepped out onto the beach, staring at the ocean in wonder. The sand was soft beneath her bare feet and the sun was incredibly warm against her skin. There was a warm breeze blowing off the water that tossed her hair around. She closed her eyes and just relished the feel of the sun and the breeze against her skin.

There was a loud peel of laughter and she opened her eyes to see Ronon carrying Teyla towards the water over one shoulder. He tossed her in and she laughed as she came up sputtering. Teyla shook her wet hair out of her face and threw water back at the large Satedan. In some ways Kai felt both incredibly at peace and jealous of her friends ability to let go and play together so freely.

Teyla kicked her legs propelling herself out into deeper water. Several of the kids laughed and joined the adults. Ronon was wearing a pair of soft shorts and he ran out of the water, charging the group of kids. He scooped up two in one arm and dragged them all into the water. 

There was movement behind Kai and she recognized the sound of John. It wasn't just his movement, but also the way he breathed and the rhythm of his heart. She had never spent so much time with someone that she learned those things about them. It felt incredibly intimate in a way.

John stepped up next to her. He had a large board under one arm. Kai let herself glance at him out of the corner of her eye. He was wearing long shorts that went to his knees and was bare chested. His skin was tan and smooth from the time he had spent outside although his arms were darker than his chest. His dog tags tinkled quietly as he bent down to rest the board on the sand at his feet. 

"So," he said conversationally. "You coming in?" he asked, jerking his chin towards the water. 

Kai licked her lips as she stared out at the azure waves. She had spent a great deal of time watching the water from the balconies and windows of Atlantis, but she couldn't imagine moving among the waves. 

"I-" she started to say and she shook her head, suddenly feeling shy. "I think I'll just watch." 

John looked down at Kai. With the sun hitting her dark hair, deep red and mahogany shone within the dark waves. He wanted so badly to touch it. He swiped a hand over his mouth. "Well, if you decide you want to join us..." he dragged off and he flashed her a charming smile. 

Kai sat down on the soft sand and watched as the others played and splashed in the water. They swam for hours, and enjoyed the easy freedom. When the sun started to set Ronon came in and built a fire on the beach near the tents. Teyla returned to the jumper, coming back with a large box of food for everyone to share. 

The sun was going down when Kai looked out at the water. Every one else had come in, but John was sitting on his surf board, staring out at the sunset. The waves were quiet now and the board bobbed peacefully on the swells. There was a part of her that wished she could join him.

"Colonel!" Teyla's voice called across the water. "We are starting to roast the dogs!" She called loudly, pleased with herself. 

John looked back over his shoulder and shook his head. "The hot dogs!" John called back indignantly. "They are hot dogs!" He corrected as he paddled in towards the beach. 

There was laughter from both the Athosians and the Atlantis personnel. 

John noticed Kai was still sitting on the beach by herself. She had taken off the towel finally and sat on it. Her bare legs were pale against the dark blue of her swimsuit and he tried not to stare. 

He climbed out of the water, rivers flowing down his chest and legs as he walked towards her. "Have you been in the water at all?" 

Kai shook her head. 

"Come on," he said holding his hand out to her.

Without thinking Kai took John's offered hand. His long fingers closed around her wrist and she let him pull her to her feet and into the water. Kai slowed and John looked back at her. Droplets of water were clinging to his thick dark eyelashes and hair and there was a hard nudge in Kai's chest. He was somehow so beautiful and yet incredibly masculine at the same time. Kai glanced down at their joined hands and peaked back self consciously at the others. She couldn't help feeling like they were doing something wrong. 

"Kai?" John asked, staring down at her.

Kai turned back to him and with the water all around them it made his hazel eyes seem almost grey, like her own people's.

"I don't swim very well," Kai confessed self consciously. 

John held her wrist in one hand, he hesitated. Kai didn't exactly look afraid, but maybe uncertain of herself. He smoothed his thumb over the soft skin on the inside of her wrist and her eyes flashed back down to where he was holding her. 

Kai resisted the urge to shudder at the small movement, but it felt like electricity was building between them. She felt hyper aware of every movement John made. The water lapped at his waist and it was already almost to mid-chest on her. John balanced his board with one hand. The swells made it bob and move as though it had a mind of it's own. 

His tone was so low tone no one else could hear him. "I won't put you in a bad spot." he promised and when she lifted her gaze to meet his she could not only see but also feel his sincerity burning through the telepathic link. "You'll be safe with me. Trust me," he added and there was a warmth that pulsed along the connection. 

Kai felt something tighten in her chest and she found herself nodding before she twisted her hand in his grip so she was holding his wrist back. She let him gently tug her through the water until she stood right next to him. The cool water swirled all around them, but she was painfully aware of how close he was. 

"Hold on to the board," he instructed her. Then he climbed up effortlessly. Once he was sitting on it, he reached down and pulled her up. John gently guided her so she was sitting in front of him, with her legs on either side in the water. Kai gripped the edges of the board with her fingers. 

John lazily paddled them out into deeper water. The waves were small as the ocean calmed for the evening and the board cut through them easily. Kai was still tense in front of him and he wanted to reach out to her and reassure her. He had wanted to share this peace with her, not scare her. 

John slowly stood up on the board and reached down gripping her hand. Her fingers locked around his and something primal tightened in John's chest. A painful knowledge that they somehow belonged to one another but it could never be the way he wanted between them. 

"It's okay," he promised her again, his voice came out huskier than he wanted but she was so focused on keeping her balance she didn't seem to notice. 

Kai followed his lead and let his guide her until she stood on the board in front of him. His hands touched the sides of her waist gently to steady her until she was sure of her balance. He almost released her, but her hands locked into his forearms, keeping his hands in place.

"Good," he said. "See," and he turned her gently so she was facing the setting sun, over head the double moons had risen. 

Kai looked up at the sky with its splashes of pink and purple and sucked in a surprised breath. She had been so worried about the water she had missed the beauty of it. "John," she said breathlessly. "It's-" she stopped no words she knew could do it justice. 

John's hands still encircled Kai's waist, he should not have done this. He knew that the second he had pulled her into the water, maybe even before. Maybe when he had gotten her that damn swim suit that molded to her body like a second skin. He was doing a piss poor job of keeping his distance and his feelings and actions today had been far beyond professional. But as he looked down at her as she stared at the sunset he couldn't bring himself to regret it. There was such a look of peace about her that he wanted to pull her against him and wrap himself in her tranquility. 

She looked up at him. A broad grin still on her face but her smile stilled when she saw the look in his eyes. He should turn away and crack a joke, like he usually did, but he couldn't. Everything he felt for her was shining out of his eyes and he couldn't seem to stop himself, but somehow she didn't pull away. 

Her hand that gripped his forearm tightened and he made a small noise in the back of his throat. "Kai-" he started to say. But he had allowed himself to be distracted and forgotten one of the most cardinal rules of the ocean. To never take your eyes off the waves.

At that moment a large wave caught the board broadside and flipped the two of them into the darkening water. It was a big enough wave it threw them apart and John lost his grip on Kai. 

John's whole body tightened as fear gripped him. He kicked his way to the surface. He had promised her. He spun around and relief almost made him lightheaded when her dark head pop up sputtering water as she fought to stay afloat. 

He kicked over to her and grabbed her arm, towing her against his chest. He encircled her with his arms and back floated them towards the board. It took him almost a full minute to realize she was laughing, not coughing. He looked down at her, she fit so snuggly against his bare chest he never wanted this moment to end. Her head was tipped back to the darkening sky as the water lapped around them. He cradled her against him and she laughed to the stars. The joy on her face made him chuckle too. It was impossible not to. 

When they caught the board they each gripped the side of the board and laughed together. John was reminded of another night under the stars only this time they weren't drunk and they didn't have that excuse for the morning. Instead it was just them. 

"I-" Kai said still chuckling, "I can't remember the last time I had so much fun," she confessed. 

John smirked at her. In the water they were nose to nose. On the beach the sudden flash of light caught Kai's attention. "The others-" she started to say. When she looked back she could see Ronon adding logs to the roaring bonfire. 

John wanted to tell her that he wished the others weren't here. That he wished they were alone, but he knew what would happen. They would kiss. He would hold her against him and he would never be able to let her go. 

But their lives weren't like that. He was The Colonel first and foremost and above all else he could not fraternize with someone under his command, no matter how badly he wanted to. He would never put her in that position. 

"We should get back," John agreed. Although the words were painful. Kai's confused look flickered with hurt for the briefest of seconds before she assumed absolute control of her emotions, and he hated himself for it. He did that. 

He helped Kai climb onto the board and he kicked them in, keeping as much distance as possible between them. 

When they were in shallow water the two of them stood. Kai glanced back at the setting sun and felt somehow like it was taking the magic of the evening with it. John had firmly drawn the lines back in place and she would respect it, regardless of how she felt. He was commander here, he couldn't consort with just anyone and certainly not with someone who wasn't human. 

No matter what their feelings, she knew it would never work. Still, she wished she had the guts to kiss him, even just once to know what it felt like. She didn't count the kiss when he was under the influence of the retrovirus. She wanted to know what he felt and tasted like for real. 

John carried his board onto the beach, slamming it down into the sand. When he looked back Kai was standing in the shallows, still watching the last of the sun disappear. He turned back to their bags and picked up her towel. He waded out to her. The water lapping at the backs of her knees. Without thinking he wrapped her towel around her shoulders to stop her shivering, she turned to him in surprise and he wished he hadn't done that when what he really wanted was to gather her against his chest.

"We should get back," John said lamely. His heart was thundering in his chest and he knew she must have been able to hear it. Fortunately she was too polite to point out what a fool he had made of himself.

"I'll be right there," Kai promised. She needed a moment to herself. 

John nodded and returned to the fire. He helped the kids roast their hotdogs and handed out the ketchup and mustard. Halfway through dinner Kai slipped out of the shadows fully dressed once more. She dropped down to sit cross legged in the sand beside Ronon. She leaned into the large Satedan who wrapped an easy arm around her and gave her a squeeze. John was happy for their friendship, but jealousy reared its ugly head as he wished somehow he could be that open and comfortable with her. 

It was late when everyone decided to climb into their tents. Both John and Ronon had intended to sleep out under the stars. It surprised John that when Teyla and kids headed into their tent, Kai chose to stay out near the fire. 

Kai gathered a sleeping roll from the pile and moved back towards John and Ronon. She lay her blanket out nearer to John's and he didn't seem bothered despite the tension that had risen between them. She lay on her back and watched the stars as she listened to the comforting sound of John falling asleep. Just before she drifted off she felt a last comforting nudge in her chest. 

><><

Chapter 64

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Kai startled awake. She jerked up, her eyes flying around her as she tried to figure out what had woken her. There was nothing. The twin moons were full, casting warm blue light over the beach. The waves lapped quietly at low tide. The fire was down to smoldering embers. Across it, Ronon was snoring softly. She scowled, it didn't make sense. Something had to have woken her.

She rolled to her other side. She could hear his steady breathing and heartbeat but she felt better when her eyes landed on John. He was sleeping on his side facing her. His face was relaxed and almost boyish in sleep. It was rare to see him as relaxed as he had been all day. She wouldn't have believed it possible had she not seen him on the surf board herself. She felt like for maybe the first time she had seen John without the weight of The Colonel on his shoulders.

The way he looked down at her when they stood together was the most free she had ever seen him allow himself to be. The memory of the way it had felt when he had cradled her against his chest and they floated under the setting sun made heat flush through her body. She had been so sure he was going to kiss her. And she would have let him. 

She pinched her eyes closed, resting the back of her hand over her eyes. It must have been the middle of the night. It was the only time she ever allowed her thoughts and feelings for John Sheppard run rampant. It wasn't something that could ever be and torturing herself over it was useless. She never should have come. They had drawn a strictly professional line in the sand between them and coming here made that line hazy.

She pushed herself to her feet and silently made her way across the sand. She was antsy and her senses were prickling. That combined with the storm of her feelings made the need to move feel urgent. Her heart was thundering in her ears. 

John sniffed and rolled toward her. "Kai?" He whispered, blinking in confusion, his voice was low and husky from sleep.

"It's okay," Kai quickly assured him. She was too raw to be able to have a conversation with him. She didn't have any answers to his questions. Not good ones anyway. The connection between them was wide open and she didn't have the control to close it knowing it would physically hurt him. She just needed space so she could think clearly and figure out what had woken her. 

John shoved himself up on his elbow blinking sleepily at her. His eyes cut from her to the path she seemed to be taking towards the woods. He nodded once, and laid back down assuming she was going off to pee.

Kai exhaled in relief and continued to move in that direction. She was feeling claustrophobic and actually stumbled over her feet as she fought to put distance between them. 

She was on edge and she couldn't quite figure out why. She paced into the dark woods and didn't stop until she found a small clearing where she could be alone. She hesitated as she stepped into the quiet open space. Instead of feeling reassured by the privacy her instincts ratcheted up a notch. She scowled as she paced around the small area, trying to decide what wasn't right. She froze suddenly and listened closely, it took her a second to realize it was the forest itself that didn't sound right. It was too quiet. She swung around in a circle, her hand dropping to rest on the hilt of her Blade. As soon as her hand closed over the handle she was blind sided. 

Her attacker hit her in the stomach in a low tackle trying to take her off her feet. Instinctively she jerked away, throwing herself backward and rolling her head and neck back and away. She felt the air move as the blade barely missed her throat. She landed flat on her back and did a  backward somersault. Landing in a crouch, her Blade naked in her hand. 

Her attacker had already recovered as well. They were crouched five feet away, ready to attack again. Kai sucked in a sharp breath, her shock like a physical blow. Dressed all in black, with their face covered and nothing visible but the Blade in their hand was a Mortii assassin. 

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John tried to fall back asleep, but there was something off. He couldn't quite pick out what it was that had him feeling so anxious all of a sudden. He sat up with a exasperated sigh and froze. Kai's sleeping bag was still empty. He shoved himself to his feet and pulled his sidearm. He wasn't clear why he was so sure something was wrong but his instincts were telling him he needed to find Kai and he didn't often make it a habit of ignoring them. 

He moved into the forest. He didn't even know where he was going or why. He ducked under a branch and froze as he heard movement in a clearing ahead. He pointed his gun and stepped out, freezing as he saw Kai facing off against a black clad attacker. They fought almost silently, moving with almost exactly the same style. Whoever had trained Kai had trained her attacker. They spun away from one another and John scowled, the attackers face was covered in a  scarf exactly like Kai used to wear. The attacker was another Mortii. 

Kai launched herself back at the Mortii before the assassin had a chance to recover. They slashed and kicked at one another moving almost too fast to track. There was a soft thud as Kai missed a block and Kai's knife skittered across the ground away from them. The assassin swung towards her, the knife glittering in the moonlight. Kai dropped herself to the ground and kicked upward, catching the assassin just under their ribs in a move she had learned from John. The Mortii stumbled back with a pained grunt, but pulled their hand back to throw her knife

John fired his gun into the tree next to the attacker and they flinched, swinging around to keep both John and Kai in their line of sight.

John's appearance hadn't been a surprise to Kai. She had heard John's heartbeat as he approached. He prowled out into the clearing, every bit The Colonel. His shoulders were squared and his eyes dangerous as he leveled his gun at the attacker. "Someone care to tell me what in the hell is going on?" He growled.

The Mortii looked back and forth between John and Kai as though they didn't quite know what to make of the situation. 

"The question was put to you Mortii," Kai said, climbing to her feet. 

The Mortii scowled from under their scarf. "Instrument of the Blade Kai of caste Zian," it was a feminine voice dripping with distain as they addressed Kai. "You have betrayed your people. You are charged with treason. The sentence handed down from the Tribunal is death." 

"I betrayed them?" Kai challenged, anger glinting in her eyes as she closed her hands into fists. "They left me on that planet to be eaten by the Wraith," She snarled.

The Instrument narrowed their eyes but no other emotion was evident. "Treason is treason. The 'why' is no matter to me," they said simply and they turned to look at Sheppard.

Kai coiled as The Instrument turned their attention to John. Her blade was still on the ground and she was angry at herself for not packing more weapons on this holiday. If she and John lived through this, it was a mistake she wouldn't make again. 

The Instrument cocked their head at John seeming more curious than threatened, despite the gun pointed at their chest. "I have no quarrel with you human. I will have The Kai and will leave with this Zian. There is no reason for you to die as well. You may go," they said dismissively as though they were granting clemency.

Kai frowned. This Mortii was strangely civil for an Instrument. They seemed an odd choice for the Tribunal to send after her given her kill record. 

"Not going to happen," John said cocking his gun pointedly. "Next bullet won't hit a tree," he promised dangerously. "Kai isn't going anywhere."

The Instrument frowned in confusion, their eyes moving to The Blade on the ground. John was reminded that when Kai came she didn't have a name. The Mortii called her fancy black knife Kai, not her.

The assassin coiled their muscles and made a move towards Kai. John flinched. Kai felt the nudge in her mind and The Instrument froze, pulling up their attack as their eyes widened. The Instrument looked back and forth between them, horror shown in their eyes as they whirled back to face Kai. "You have bonded to this filth?" They spat at her.

"Hey," John snapped indignantly. "I don't know what that means, but I'm pretty sure this filth takes offense!"

Kai scowled. No Zian would have been able to feel a connection in another Mortii. Zian weren't strong enough. They had been bred for their physical prowess not their psychic strength unlike some of the other castes.

"What is your caste?" Kai demanded taking an aggressive step towards the other Instrument. The Mortii only responded to those they respected and if Kai wanted answers she would need to prove to this Mortii that she worthy of them. The assassin unfortunately was the height of most normal Mortii's and it was hard to intimidate someone you were a full seven inches shorter than. 

The Instrument glared down at her with distain, their eyes narrowing. "I am not required to answer your questions. You are an abomination. They should have killed you when they killed the rest of your crop. But for the shame it would have brought your dam for failing to produce, you would have been culled." The Instrument spit on the ground. 

"Hey, hey," John said. "I don't think we need to bring anyone's moms into it. That's hitting a little below the belt don't you think?"

The Instrument turned to shoot John a disgruntled look, and Kai used the opportunity to slide another step closer, her muscles coiling. She would not let John pay for her past. She tried to catch his eye, tried to will him to run away, but John was fully focused on the threat in front of them. He could be so stubborn at times it drove her insane. That stubbornness just might get him killed tonight. 

"You're a Xerxe aren't you?" Kai asked, drawing The Instruments focus back to her. 

The Instrument lifted their chin proudly, but didn't respond. Somewhere out in the woods, Kai picked up the sound of Ronon's heartbeat. 

"Strange they didn't send another Zian..." Kai spoke a little too loudly, hoping her voice would disguise the sound of the Satedan closing in on them. 

"Sending a blunt instrument on such a hunt?" The Xerxe said shaking their head. "Zian are simple, single minded creatures. You have hidden well. No Mortii would think to lower themselves to live among such primitive beings." 

"Hey," John snapped. "...again," he added as an after thought. 

The Instrument's eyes went to John in confusion and John moved like he was going to charge them. The assassin swung their Blade to face John, and Kai used the moment to attack. She charged her and grabbed the Instuments arm, twisting it up and back before they could stab John. The bones shattered, but the assassin didn't make a sound as Kai twisted their arm around. The assassin jerked their knee up and slammed it into Kai's stomach. Kai doubled forward but twisted away at the last second, disarming the assassin. She kicked the assassin in the chest and when they fell to the ground Kai buried The Instrument's own Blade in their heart. 

The Xerxe jerked, looking down at the Blade in shock. Blood trickled out of the corner of their mouth as they looked up at Kai with respect. "You are as good as they say," they admitted and then they bowed their head in respect before coughing once and collapsing.

The body fell away with a heavy thud and Ronon chose that moment to charge into the clearing. He pulled up at the sight of the dead assassin. "Wow," he said lifting his eyebrows impressed. "Looks like I missed all the fun."

Kai looked down at the bloodied Blade in her hand. Once it would have meant the world to her. Taking a Blade from another Mortii in combat was the highest honor one could hope to achieve. Looking down at the dead Xerxe however it just felt like a waste. It made her furious that the Tribunal would waste their people's lives over something as stupid as tracking her down. 

John tucked his gun away and moved across the clearing to pick up Kai's knife she had lost. "Why don't you check the perimeter. Just in case there's another one out there," he called to Ronon. 

"Mortii work alone," Kai mumbled as John approached her. "Mortii fighter's only seat one," she said without taking her eyes off the body. 

"Hey," John called to her. When she didn't move at first John held her Blade out to her. She took it from him and slid both knives away into her belt without looking at at him. "We need to get back and figure out how she got here without tripping our sensors. Atlantis should have been all over this," John said unnecessarily. It bothered him that Kai wouldn't look at him. She had been around plenty of death in her time, so he knew it wasn't the body that had her acting so strange. 

Kai pressed her lips together as she stared down at the body. "The Mortii adapted the Ancient's cloaking technology," she said in a hollow voice. "They've had thousands of years to improve on it. I'm not surprised Atlantis's sensors didn't pick it up." Kai scrubbed a hand over her face. They had found her. And now they were going to tear her life apart. All she wanted was to live in peace, but they had stolen that from her too. She glanced at John and knew what she had to do. 

John caught Kai's eyes but her gaze was entirely emotionless. "Why don't you head back. Wake the others, get them ready to go."

Kai nodded. "Understood Colonel," and she closed herself off from him as she turned and walked back to camp. 

John watched as Kai walked away. He grimaced and rubbed at the pain in the center of his chest. 

"You okay?" Ronon asked with a frown. 

John glanced back at him. "Yeah, course," he said dropping his hand. John waited until he was sure Kai was out of earshot before turning back to Ronon. "What in the hell took you so long?" John asked Ronon disgruntled.

Ronon shrugged. "You two were sneaking off into the woods together. I didn't think you wanted me to crash." 

John stared at him in confusion and Ronon rolled his eyes in exasperation. "At night. You and Kai went off into the woods together at night. I wasn't going to interrupt that." 

John made a strangled sound in the back of his throat. "It's not like that at all," he quickly assured Ronon. "It's never been like that."

"Guess I was wrong," Ronon said with a casual shrug as though he didn't care one way or the other. He looked after Kai. "You think she's going to be okay?"

John shrugged. "I think she's always okay." 

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ronon agreed. He stepped up to the body and prodded it with his toe. "So, Kai killed a real Mortii, huh?"

"Kai is a real Mortii," John said. 

"Yeah but, you know what I mean. They sent someone after her." 

John scrubbed a hand over his face. "Yes they did."

"Well," Ronon said reaching down and grabbing the dead Mortii's leg to drag the body out of the clearing. "They're going to be real sorry they did."

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By the time John and Kai flew the jumpers back and John finished his briefing with Weir it was almost three in the morning and he was exhausted. Weir was understandably concerned with what had happened and agreed they needed to speak with Kai about making changes to the Atlantis sensors so they could pick up the Mortii in the future. John knew that between her and McKay they would be able to figure it out now that they had a Mortii fighter of their very own in the hanger. 

John's eyes were burning and he needed sleep, but instead of heading to bed however, he went in search of Kai. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with her. He struck out looking for her in her quarters and the gym. He finally headed to the jumper bay as a bad feeling went over him. The doors hissed open and he saw Kai bent over the cockpit of the strange new fighter. 

"Couldn't sleep?" John called, although she would have already heard him. 

Kai blew out a sigh and looked over her shoulder at him. "Not while the transponder is still active," she said gesturing towards the fighter. 

John ran his hand along the smooth surface of the ships hull as he approached her. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the fighter. "Can you deactivate it?" he asked conversationally. 

Kai chewed on her lower lip. "Yeah, of course. Just might take me a couple hours. You should head to bed," She suggested quickly, she was anxious to get Sheppard out of the room before he figured out what she was up to. "Instruments always work alone. I doubt they even know where the Xerxe was looking. You won't have to worry about the Mortii again," she assured him moving towards her tool box. 

John side stepped in front of her, forcing her to either look up at him or crash into his chest. "I always worry about a Mortii," he confessed wryly.

Instead of responding to his joke her eyes were tormented as she looked up at him. "John-" she started to say. 

Kai licked her lips and John's eyes followed the motion. Kai was saying goodbye, he could feel it with every piece of himself. He wasn't about to let her go. 

"What did she mean about being Bonded?" He allowed himself to finally ask the question that had been hanging between them for so long. "Is it something to do with the feeling I get from you from time to time?" He asked, resting a hand on his chest. 

Kai froze, her eyes widening as her brain tripped over itself to come up with something to say. She hated lying to John and lying about this felt like betraying herself. She pressed her lips together as adrenaline shot through her. This was it, she was leaving and he was asking her about this now. Kai closed her eyes. 

John made a strangled sound in the back of his throat as he took a step closer to her. "Look, I know we ignore it and pretend like nothing is happening..."

"No," Kai interrupted quickly. "What you feel is..." it physically hurt her to say the next words, but it would be easier for John once she was gone. "It's just you picking up on the psychic abilities of my people, it simply means we share a genetic link. If Beckett were more observant he might feel it too." She lied through her teeth. 

John nodded slowly but he didn't look like he believed her. "So what the Mortii said..." he dragged off. 

"Mortii's lie," Kai said and it was the truest thing she had said all night.

John nodded and the two of them stood in awkward silence together. "So, were you going to say goodbye?" John asked after a minute. 

Kai froze. "What? I-" she started to say, started to scramble to come up with some way to deny it. 

John moved towards her, tilting his head down so he could look in her face. She was dressed in full gear with the scarf he had bought her wrapped around her head. "Seem a little overdressed for doing a little work on a transponder," he pointed out. Then he leaned towards her, so close he could feel he heat coming off her body. Kai tensed and sucked in a surprised breath, John's eyes flickered to her mouth and for just a second she thought he might kiss her. 

Instead, John reached past her into the cockpit of the fighter and lifted out her backpack. He held it up for her to see and raised his eyebrows meaningfully. "Cuz, it sort of looks like maybe you were thinking of flying that ship away and never coming back."

Kai blew out an aggravated sigh. 

John shoved his hands into his pockets. "Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye?" he asked, working to keep his voice level. He couldn't help but feel betrayed somehow that she would leave without telling him. She was just going to go and if he hadn't come looking for her, he would have woken up tomorrow to just find her gone. 

Tears burned the backs of Kai's eyes as she turned away from him. "If I'm gone they won't have any reason to come back. You have all done so much for me, you gave me a life...gave me peace," she said, her voice breaking with emotion. "No one on Atlantis will be hurt because of me. It's for the best," she said resolutely and moved towards the fighter. 

John caught Kai's arm, spinning her around to face him. Kai sucked in a surprised breath as she looked up at him with tormented eyes. John was so close it was difficult to keep the connection between them closed. 

"No it's not," John said simply staring into her stormy grey eyes. 

"John, I-" Kai started to say and John made a split second decision. He wasn't going to let her go, not without a fight. He could tell himself it was for Atlantis, or the team or whatever, but none of that was the truth. He pulled her against his chest and pressed his lips against hers. 

Kai tensed for half a second before she melted into the feel and taste of John. Her hands came up to wrap around his neck and he made a noise low in the back of his throat and deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue along hers. Kai pulled him closer and ran a hand up the back of his neck into his hair. John backed her against the fighter and she was entirely caged by his body. A shiver ran down her spine, and all she could hear, feel and taste was John. The connection between them blew wide open and a warmth opened up in both of their chests. 

John pulled away first. He rested his forehead against hers as they both panted. He ran his hands up and down her arms, reveling in the ability to touch her. He had wanted this for so long. "I can't make you stay. You're free to go whenever you want, and I'll leave the decision up to you," he said in a husky voice and it was actually painful for him to admit. "But we can handle this. Don't go." 

"John-" Kai started to say and her voice broke with all the emotions she was too scared to show. 

John stepped back, dropping his hands to his side and looked down at Kai's beautiful face, knowing this might be the last time he saw it. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes and he swiped them away with his fingers. He leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers once more before pulling back and staring into her eyes intensely. "Trust me," he said simply. And he turned and walked out the door, leaving Kai to her decision. 

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Chapter 65

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Epiphany
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"So, are you leaving us?" Weir's voice cut through the silence of the jumper bay and interrupted Kai's tumbling thoughts. Kai slid out from underneath the Mortii fighter where she had been working to disable the tracking transponder. She was miffed with herself for not hearing the leader of Atlantis's approach, but she recognized she was off her game and entirely distracted.

John had left her alone in the jumper bay nearly an hour ago. No, John had kissed her asked her to trust him and stay, nearly an hour ago. And Kai still didn't know how she felt about it, or what to do. Her plan to fly the fighter with the active transponder away from Atlantis was all well and good on paper, but now it needed to be deactivated while she figured out her next step. The Mortii had found her, she had been so sure leaving was the right answer, but John had messed all of that up.

She should have known before he even set foot in the jumper bay that he wouldn't just let her go. It wasn't in his nature. Honestly, there had been part of her waiting for him, but she never expected him to kiss her. Now that it happened she didn't know how to react.

Even if she stayed there could never be anything between them. She knew that. They were just too different. She was a Mortii from the Pegasus Galaxy. She wasn't even human. Not really. Her past, all she had done...John was military commander of Atlantis. A Lieutenant Colonel of his planet's military. They were just too different. Perhaps in another life they would have been together, but wishing and hoping weren't realities in her life. She let out an exhausted sigh. She was so tired of running, so tired of fighting.

"Kai?" Weir's voice actually surprised her for a second time. She had been so lost in her own thoughts she forgot the other woman was there.

"I-" Kai started to say, but she didn't really have an answer, she looked down at her grease covered hands with a frown. Was she leaving them? "I can," she offered hollowly.

Weir's face was locked into the emotionless mask she often used during tough negotiations. That more than anything told Kai that Weir didn't share John's belief that Atlantis was better with her there. While John could be impulsive, especially when it came to his people, Weir was pragmatic. Kai wasn't human, wasn't actually part of the expedition. Weir would recognize that and want Kai to leave before endangering their mission.

Kai climbed to her feet rubbing the grease onto the legs of the jumpsuit. "The transponder is deactivated," she said. "Atlantis is safe."

"For how long?" Weir asked crossing her arms over her chest. Weir pressed her lips together in a grim line. She had read The Colonel's report. She knew how dangerous the Mortii assassin had been, and what it took for Kai to defeat her. If just one was that dangerous, they couldn't risk a fleet of them.

Kai straightened and locked her hands together behind her back as she had been taught when facing The Tribunal. This danger was on her, and she would accept full responsibility. "Mortii jealously guard their successes and are brutally critical of failures. She would not have reported a hunch until she could present a victory."

"Victory?" Weir asked arching a brow.

Kai's hand moved too fast to track and came up holding her Blade cross ways so Weir could look at the elegant black blade. "She would have sought to return with the Blade Kai."

"Not you?" Weir asked in surprise.

Kai looked down at the glistening black metal. "This Blade is over a thousand years old. I'm merely the Instrument who currently wields it."

Weir blanched at Kai's cold words. She didn't seem bothered at all that her life meant so little to her people. Weir couldn't imagine thinking so little of someone as loyal and skilled as Kai.

Kai pressed on before she lost her nerve. It was important to her that Elizabeth understood. "They already agreed to my death when they left me for the Wraith. As far as they are concerned I am already dead. That matters little to them. What does matter is that it is seen as treason both to have survived and to have settled and revealed our secrets to another race. For that, they will send another Mortii to retrieve my Blade and return it home."

"But not for a while?" Weir clarified.

Kai tightened her jaw for only a second when she realized she had misjudged Elizabeth's interest. Weir cared only for her people's safety. As she should.

"This Mortii would not have risked another getting to me before she did. It will take time for them to figure out she is missing and even longer to find out where she went."

Weir chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "Seems like a big risk..." she dragged off. There were times when she considered Kai a friend and found her easy to talk to, but other times it was crystal clear she was alien. As Kai stared at her through storm grey eyes completely unconcerned that her people viewed her as nothing but a commodity Weir found herself at a loss for words.

"I will leave," Kai said quickly. "Now if you wish," she said gesturing to her full backpack leaning against the wall.

Weir turned and when she saw the pack her eyes widened slightly. "I-" she started to say, shocked to realize Kai had not only planned on leaving but was already packed. She would have thought it would be more difficult for her to leave than that. It seemed as though she had ties here, friendships, but perhaps someone like Kai wasn't capable of those things in the traditional sense.

"I will take the Mortii fighter," Kai continued emotionlessly. "I will reactivate transponder once I am clear of the solar system, and lead the Mortii away." Kai fought to keep her emotions contained. She respected Elizabeth and knew it must have been difficult for the kind hearted leader to throw her out. She was resolute to make this as easy as possible on her.

"I meant," Elizabeth said stepping towards Kai. "It seems risky for our one and only Mortii to leave if there is a chance another may come."

Kai pulled up, surprised by Weir's words. Her look must have given it away because Weir snorted. "We don't leave our own behind," Weir said in a low, fierce voice. She looked around the jumper bay, somewhat surprised to find Kai was alone. "I take it The Colonel has already been up to try and convince you to stay?" She asked.

Kai nodded fighting the blush she could feel climbing towards her cheeks.

Weir seemed completely oblivious. "Well, I don't know how he tried to convince you, but I have to say that I will respect your decision either way. But please know that you are a valued member of the Atlantis family. I only ask that if you decide to leave, you wait twenty four hours before going."

Kai frowned not understanding the time constraint.

"Just to think it over," Weir added. "I don't want you to make an impulsive decision..."

She dragged off when Kai arched a brow and Weir chuckled. "Even you make emotion based decisions from time to time," she teased gently. Then her face stilled. "If you decide to go, you may do so with my blessing and sincerest gratitude for all you've done for us. I do ask before you go that you take tomorrow to help Zelenka adapt our sensors so we will be able to detect the Mortii if they come again."

Kai pressed her lips together and shifted her weight. She was endangering everyone here, every instinct she had told her she should run. That staying was the most selfish thing she could do. She had learned so much from her friends here and the first and foremost was to never act selfishly and to never endanger one another. She couldn't in good conscience stay.

"Please," Elizabeth added after a moment.

Kai nodded, unable to deny Elizabeth this last request because she knew it would be the last. The other woman had done so much for her over the last year. Everyone on Atlantis had welcomed her, befriended her, and given her a place to belong. Peace. It was a debt she could never repay.

"Of course," Kai agreed immediately.

Elizabeth smiled warmly. "Thank you, I'll send Zelenka an email. Let him know you want to start in the morning. Don't stay up too late," Weir called over her shoulder.

"Of course not," Kai called after her. They both knew it was a lie.

Kai stayed up all night working on the sensors. She was resolute now that leaving was the right course of action but she would make sure her friends were safe before she went. Zelenka showed up a little after five a.m. and the two of them began working side by side. She was going to miss the effortless, quiet way they worked together.

A couple of hours later AR-1 came into the bay and headed for jumper 1. Ronon nodded hello as they made their way to the jumper. She looked up from her tablet and caught John's eye from across the bay.

Her heart started pounding in her chest as her mind flashed to the kiss the night before. He was watching her closely as his team loaded up into the shuttle. He nodded to her once but that was the only indication of what had happened the night before. She licked her lips and from across the bay she swore she saw his eyes darken which was quickly followed up by a gentle nudge in her mind. She closed her eyes for a second, savoring what she knew would be the last time she felt the connection between them.

Legend claimed Mortii only Bonded once in their life and Kai knew, knew there would never be another. As much as she fought to deny it, there was a part of her that recognized this thing between them for what it was. She sucked in a grounding breath and when she opened her eyes John had turned to follow his team into the jumper.

Kai looked back down at her tablet. She and Zelenka still had hours of work ahead of them, but she hoped they would finish before AR-1 returned. If she had to face her friends again she wasn't sure how she would be able to leave them.

Inside the jumper, John's jaw was like granite as he turned away from Kai knowing this might be the last time he saw her. According to Weir, Kai had agreed to update their sensors before leaving Atlantis for good. There was nothing more for him to say. He had laid all his cards on the table for her, now he couldn't help doubting whether or not he made a mistake kissing her. If that had put some kind of pressure on her that she was running from. He dropped gruffly into his seat, firing up the jumper with jerky movements as he punched the buttons harder than he needed to. He was such an idiot.

"Gate room, this is Jumper 1 we are ready to roll," his voice was more harsh than he'd intended. It was a routine scouting mission and he couldn't come up with an excuse to delay it, other than his fear that Kai would be gone when he got back. Behind him he heard Ronon and McKay shifting in their seats. He needed to get it together. He glanced at Teyla who was watching him in that eerie way of hers.

"What?" He snapped.

Teyla held up her hands in surrender.

"Copy that Jumper 1 this is Atlantis. Good luck out there."

John flipped the controls off autopilot and flew across the event horizon, leaving Atlantis and Kai behind.

><><

Kai and Zelenka were still working in the jumper bay when a notification of a returning jumper came through her tablet. The tablet beeped in her hands and Kai frowned down at it. The program reported that Jumper One was returning to Atlantis. It didn't make sense. It had only been a couple hours since they left. The jumper lifted up from the gate room on autopilot and parked, but when the back hatch opened only McKay stepped out.

"Kai," he said, his eyes were wide with panic. "I need your help." His gaze landed on Zelenka. "You too," he snapped, pointing at the other scientist. Before either one of them could ask any questions McKay continued. "Okay, every second counts so shut up and listen. Sheppard is trapped in a time dilation field. We need to figure out a way to breach the field which extends over a good portion of the planet."

Zelenka sat up. "Why not use the descent probe. It can be outfitted to one of the jumpers."

McKay snapped in satisfaction. "Get on it. Zian, you're with me." He called and fast walked out the door. He reached up and touched his comm. "Weir, Beckett I need you in my lab in the next five minutes. This is an emergency people."

When they hit the lab McKay's instructions were rapid fire and he made it perfectly clear not a single second could be wasted. Beckett and Weir were only steps behind them, but McKay glared at them like they were purposefully slowing him down.

Kai followed behind Rodney, collecting the additional sensors and conduits they would need to make the internal adaptations to the jumpers sensors for the descent probe.

"So you have no idea if he's injured?" Doctor Beckett clarified. He was still confused about his purpose on the mission and McKay hadn't offered much of an explanation. As usual the arrogant scientist was trapped in his own head five steps ahead of everyone else as he worked to solve the problem. Only Kai seemed calm as she followed behind McKay, collecting bits and pieces as needed.

"The excrutiating pain he was experiencing was a result of the temporal differential," McKay explained as he snatched up coils of wire, shoving them into the hands of a waiting tech. "Get that to Zelenka," he ordered. "Run!" He called when the tech didn't move fast enough.

"And what is that exactly?" Beckett asked, scowling after the poor tech McKay seemed to delight in tormenting.

McKay paused with a huff but when Weir also stepped up for clarification he took the precious seconds to explain. "The-the portal must somehow dampen the extreme tidal forces that would normally occur in the event horizon of a time-dilation field, and we were keeping him from passing through it."

Beckett's face was a mask of confusion as he trailed behind Rodney. "So part of his body was experiencing time at a different pace than the other? Who knows what that could do to him!" He exclaimed in horror.

"I have no idea," Rodney snapped impatiently. "But I suspect he could use a doctor."

"So you don't even know if he's alive?" Weir asked suddenly from the other side of the room.

Kai went cold at Weir's words. It hadn't occurred to her that John might already be dead. McKay seemed so focused on a rescue mission she hadn't considered the possibility.

McKay grunted in annoyance. "The most time efficient approach was to assume that he was alive, but stranded."

"And why not assume he could make his own way back through the portal?" Weir asked.

"Because Colonel Sheppard would have already had hours to try and make it back through the portal in the time I wasted explaining this situation to Conan and Xena," McKay snarled sarcastically. He didn't want to admit it, but he was entirely to blame for Sheppard's current situation. He wanted to fix it as quickly as possible.

"Rodney that's not fair," Beckett admonished.

"No, no I suppose it isn't," McKay agreed, but he didn't seem very sorry. He reached up and touched his comm. "This is McKay. Supplies been loaded aboard yet?"

"Almost there sir, just a few more cases."

"All right, when you're done with that I want you to assist Zelenka in securing the descent probe into the launch compartment," McKay turned off his comm and picked up the bag he had been packing. He tossed it towards Kai who caught it easily with one hand. "Let's move."

The four of them walked rapidly through the halls of Atlantis heading towards the jumper bay. Kai hung back a pace, letting the three make their plan.

"I've loaded everything I can think of..." McKay dragged off thoughtfully.

"Take a minute and be certain. If your theory is correct you won't be able to make many of these trips," Weir said as they moved through the halls at a brisk pace.

"I am painfully aware of that," McKay snapped.

Weir spun on Rodney, her eyes narrowing. "I am reminding you only because based on what you told me it was rushing that got Sheppard in trouble in the first place."

McKay blew out a sigh and looked away as guilt hit him. "This was not his fault, it was mine. I should have looked more closely at the video, the clues were there before he even stepped through. Look, all I can hope to do now is fix this within his lifetime."

"His lifetime?" Beckett asked, shocked. His eyes flickered to where Kai stood behind the group but as usual the mortii's face was a perfect expressionless mask.

McKay nodded. "If it takes a week to ten days to fix this then it won't matter, because he will probably of died of old age."

"Oh my god," Weir muttered as the true depth of what they were facing hit her. It was no wonder McKay had been hustling everyone around them.

"Yeah, hence the rushing," McKay snarled gesturing down the hall as he started fast walking back towards the jumper bay. "Now are you ready?" he asked Beckett. "You don't look ready."

"I'm ready." Beckett promised tightening his grip on his backpack strap. He couldn't think of what else to pack save the whole of the infirmary. They truly didn't know what they were facing.

"I may need to pick up a few more books to help with the translation," Weir said uncertainly. Translating Ancient was not a fast process and with little time to waste she didn't want to delay the group any more than necessary.

"That won't be necessary," McKay assured her quickly. "We're bringing Kai."

Weir turned to look at Kai in shock but McKay didn't miss a beat. "Her ancient is passable and we need a real jumper pilot. I don't trust him," he said gesturing to Beckett. "and I can't fly the damn thing in a straight line."

"Kai you're all right with this?" she asked. "I know you wanted-"

Kai nodded sharply and spoke before Weir could tell the others she was leaving. She didn't want it known. "The Colonel needs help. If I can be of assistance, I will," her tone was a little sharper than she intended but McKay was too distracted to notice and both Beckett and Weir chose to let it slide.

"Gear up," McKay told her.

Kai nodded and turned to head to the locker room.

"And hurry!" he shouted after her, but she had already broken into a run.

><><

Kai piloted them through the space gate and into orbit over the planet.

"There it is," Weir said leaning forward in her seat.

"According to these readings it's not there," McKay said with a frown as he stared down at his laptop.

"Rodney I can see it with my own eyes, it's right inside that crater," Weir said in disbelief.

"It's hard to say whether the ancients actually built it inside the crater or whether the rim formed as a result of the time-dilation field," McKay muttered as his fingers flew over the keyboard.

Weir turned to Kai. "The jumper sensors aren't picking up anything?"

Kai glanced back at the HUD. "Nothing," she reported.

"All right, position us directly above it and stand by," McKay ordered tapping away on his tablet. "Prepare to launch the probe on my mark."

"What is this probe of your's supposed to do?" Weir asked.

"Well, it's supposed to descend slowly into the atmosphere of a gas giant. A chute opens, the probe separates into two components joined by a tether, hundreds of meters long."

"So we should be able to receive telemetry from inside the time-dilation field, while the other half of the probe is still outside?" Weir clarified.

"Right and depending on the variance we might be able to fly right into the field and rescue Sheppard."

"Very clever Rodney," Beckett called from the back, impressed.

"Ah, yes, it is," McKay agreed then he hesitated. "It was actually Zelenka's idea," he added begrudgingly.

Kai snorted but didn't take her eyes off of the planet as they approached. Her flying would have to be precise to get the probe exactly where they wanted it. She would only get one shot at this.

"All right launch the probe on my mark, three two one mark," Kai released the probe exactly as McKay spoke. Rodney's eyes were locked on his tablet. "The probe is about to hit the field...damnit!" McKay exclaimed as an alarm sounded on his tablet.

"What happened?" Weir demanded. It bothered her to be relegated to sitting in the back with no control over the situation, but she recognized Kai and McKay were the most capable in this particular situation. It was surprising how well they worked together considering how abrasive McKay could be.

"Exactly what I was afraid would happen," McKay muttered. "The probe was ripped apart by the tidal forces of the event horizon almost instantly."

"So we can't just fly through it an rescue Colonel Sheppard?" Beckett asked.

"Not unless we want to be ripped apart too," McKay snarled as he tapped away on his tablet.

"Did you receive any telemetry before the probe failed?" Weir asked. If they couldn't fly the jumper in to get Sheppard they were fairly limited on rescue scenarios.

McKay's fingers flew over the tablet. "Actually quite a lot, looks like mostly giberish though...This is going to take me the better part of an hour to go through," he said apologetically.

Kai tightened her jaw in frustration. An hour could be days if not weeks for Sheppard.

><><

Chapter 66

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Epiphany

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"Ha!" McKay sudden outburst made everyone in the jumper startle. He had been working for nearly an hour going over the data, muttering under his breath while the others waited. He spun his chair around to face Weir, a triumphant look on his face. "The telemetry wasn't entirely gibberish. Bring up the HUD," McKay told Kai.

Kai's fingers glided over the controls and the display of the planet appeared.

McKay climbed to his feet and approached the display. "I was able to determine the location of the power source inside the field, here." He said pointing to a spot nearly in the center of the field.

"What good is that?" Beckett asked impatiently, of all of them he had been the most outwardly struggling with the wait. The fact that Sheppard could be hurt somewhere had his shifting restlessly. He hated being off-world but he also didn't trust any of the other doctors with what may have happened to the Colonel going through the time dilation field.

McKay made a noise of impatience in the back of his throat. He didn't like being questioned even if it was by his friend. "Once we know where the generator is, one way or another I should be able to turn it off."

Kai cleared her throat. She normally made it a point to keep her opinion to herself when it came to policy. Especially now, when she was leaving so soon, but she couldn't hold her tongue this time. Every minute that had passed was time slipping away for Sheppard. "Perhaps it should be me," she said in a quiet voice.

They all turned to face her in surprise, but it was Elizabeth who spoke. "Why?" She asked with a frown.

Kai lifted her chin, bracing herself. She was different, it had been a point of contention often during her time on Atlantis, but maybe just this once it could help them. "I age at a different rate than humans-"

Elizabeth flinched when Kai implied she wasn't human. If Kai noticed however, she didn't react. She had been different even among the Mortii, this was nothing new.

"-if there's a chance of being stuck for an extended length of time I will lose the least in relation to total longevity," Kai finished clinically.

Beckett was looking at her with a sort of sad understanding. He more than anyone perhaps understood the most of the differences Kai faced. McKay however, seemed to be seriously considering her offer.

When Weir noticed she shot McKay a disgruntled look and stepped forward, taking command of the operation before McKay let it all get too far out of hand. "We'll go together," Weir said firmly. "As a team."

Kai considered arguing but the determined gleam in Elizabeth's eyes made her reconsider. The leader of Atlantis had made her decision and she wouldn't be easily swayed.

Beckett exhaled a relieved sigh.

McKay shrugged as though it didn't matter to him one way or another. He reached up and touched the comm in his ear. "Teyla, Ronon we're touching down in the jumper. Meet us at the landing site."

"Understood," came Teyla's immediate reply.

Kai obediently lowered the jumper out of orbit and headed towards the planet's surface. She followed Ronon and Teyla's signals on the HUD towards their landing site.

As soon as Kai set down the jumper McKay and Weir were already moving towards the back hatch. Kai opened the hatch and climbed to her feet, picking up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder.

Teyla and Ronon were waiting for them. Teyla and McKay were already hurrying away, speaking urgently. Ronon waited for her to secure the jumper before he stepped up beside her and they hurried to catch up to the others.

"You sure it was three seconds?" McKay asked as they hustled through the woods. He stumbled a little over his feet as he struggled to keep up with Teyla's long strides.

"Yes," Teyla confirmed.

"And there's twelve minutes of video?" McKay asked, breathing heavily already as the group moved through the dense forest.

"Yes," Teyla responded.

McKay hesitated. "All right so it's a ratio of about ah..."

"Two hundred and fifty to one," Kai finished for him distractedly as the gateway came into sight. She frowned at the field, it had an almost mirror like surface. Supposedly they were close to John but she couldn't feel him or their connection at all. It was as though he were in a totally different galaxy. She wished she understood more about their connection so she knew what that meant. She didn't believe he was dead, he couldn't be.

"Just out of curiosity, what does that mean for Colonel Sheppard in terms of days?" Beckett asked, setting his gear down.

"We're already talking months," McKay said grimly.

Kai pressed her lips together as she stepped up to the stone writing on the wall next to the gateway. She smoothed a hand over it, clearing the dirt and vines away from it.

"It's an odd dialect," Kai muttered after a moment. "It's some kind of sanctuary from the wraith. A place the last of the ancients could travel to and ascend without fear of attack."

McKay nodded. "Of course, the ancients could essentially spend entire lifetimes in the field before the Wraith even discovered the place."

"And if they attacked their ships would get torn apart like the probe did," Kai finished.

"So it has remained for 10,000 years," Teyla said in awe as she gazed at the threshold.

"This," Kai said smoothing her fingers over the grooves of the letters. "This is a warning as well as a welcome to anyone who wanted to seek the path to Ascension on their own."

Ronon shifted his weight. "What's the warning?" he asked warily. He was resting his hand on the butt of his gun as though he expected enemies to jump out of the trees at any moment.

Kai swallowed and turned to face him. "Once you cross the threshold, there's no return," she said grimly.

McKay snorted confidently. "That is unless you have the exact location of the power source and the expertise to turn it off." He turned to Ronon. "Hey we may even get a ZPM out of the deal."

"Now you're talking," Ronon said with a grin.

"All right, let's do this," McKay said motioning to the field.

Kai walked through first. She went fast, but the extreme pressure as she passed through left her breathless and shaking on the other side. The cave was dark, but she could see well enough. There was evidence that The Colonel had been there, and there was no sign of the supplies Teyla had put through. She hoped it meant Sheppard had moved on to a more secure location with better resources.

As soon as she was through the connection returned to her in an overwhelming rush. He was alive, although she couldn't tell anything beyond that. She was anxious to get moving, but she knew better than to go off on her own. Once the others were through they would find him.

McKay came through ten minutes later. "Ow!" He exclaimed with a disgruntled frown. He looked up to find Kai pacing restlessly. "How long?" he asked, glancing back at the field behind him.

"Ten minutes or so," Kai replied tightly.

McKay nodded and pulled out his tablet, getting comfortable on a boulder to wait for the others.

It was another ten minutes before Beckett and then Weir came through. "Wow, you were just-" she started to say, motioning behind her.

"Weird huh?" McKay asked. "You might as well get comfortable, it'll take at least another twenty minutes to get Conan and Xena through, and judging by the location of the power source we have a long walk ahead of us."

"We need to see if Sheppard is here," Weir interrupted. "Can you pull up his signal?"

McKay's grunted an affirmative and his fingers began to fly across the tablet. Kai cut her eyes to Beckett and she nodded. He was the only one who knew about the Bond. His eyes widened a little and she could see all the questions he wanted to ask, but he pressed his lips together and they waited.

Teyla appeared a little out of breath, but the most composed out of all of them.

"I think so..." McKay dragged off.

"What do you mean you think so?" Weir asked suspiciously.

"There's some kind of strange interference-"

"I feel something as well," Teyla confirmed. "A powerful psychic presence."

Beckett snuck a glance at Kai, raising his eyebrows. Kai shook her head and shrugged. She had no idea what Teyla was talking about.

As soon as Ronon was through Kai led the way out of the cave. Ronon was beside her but the trail of tracks in the soft sand was easy enough for her to follow without effort.

"Ronon can you tell how long ago he came this way?" Weir asked as they navigated a steep decline away from the cliffs and into an open valley.

"No," Ronon replied gruffly. Once they hit the tall grass of the valley they immediately lost the trail. "Wasn't in the last few days," he replied looking out over the huge field.

"Well," McKay responded briskly. "The power source is this way," he said looking up from his tablet and pointing across the open field.

Technically Weir was in charge of the op, but it was clearly a military situation and she differed to the others. Teyla was happy to follow along as well, which left Ronon and Kai. It was strange, neither one of them said a word but they worked together seamlessly. The two of them took point with McKay right behind them with the map on his tablet. Beckett and Weir walked together with Teyla acting as rear guard.

Kai was painfully aware that if they were attacked they had three people to protect. Ronon was an incredible fighter, but he thought almost entirely offensively. It would be up to her and Teyla to make sure the others were protected.

"You know," McKay said after they had been walking almost an hour. "I was just thinking this entire field, not the field-field," he said gesturing to the open field they were walking across. "But the field must generate it's own day and night cycle as well as its own artificial climate. I mean it's incredible when you think about it-"

"You wanna pick up the pace McKay?" Ronon snapped. The Satedan had become increasingly more agitated as they searched. Kai glanced towards him, wondering if he was picking up something she was missing. Her senses were stronger, but he had good instincts.

"He's waited for months," McKay snapped irritably. "Another half an hour isn't going to kill him."

"We don't know how long it's going to take to find him," Weir soothed from the back. Ronon and McKay both eased back when Elizabeth spoke.

"And besides that I have a date planned with Lieutenant Cadman for tomorrow night," Beckett added.

"Oh no," McKay snapped sarcastically. "so we've only got twelve years in here to-"

Kai held up her fist to stop the group.

"What is it?" McKay asked, his voice rising in fear.

Kai closed her eyes and strained her senses. She stiffened when she heard the roar a second time. She glanced back at the group. None of them seemed to be able to hear it. "It's a creature, roaring," she reported. It came again. "It's coming closer."

"I'm not detecting anything," McKay whispered loudly as his fingers flew over his tablet.

The roar sounded a third time, this time the others flinched. Teyla lifted her gun to her shoulder and began sweeping their flank to ensure the creature wasn't coming up behind them.

"Doesn't mean it isn't there," Ronon growled, his gun was already in his hand. He paced a tight line, his eyes locked on the horizon but he couldn't see it. "Can you see anything?" he asked in a low tone.

Kai shook her head. "No, but I can hear it moving now. It's close."

"I'm sensing something," Teyla called, a frown pinching her face. "something..." she dragged off.

"Maybe we should try another way," Weir said quickly.

The roar was louder now and Kai could feel a subtle vibration in the ground beneath her feet.

"It won't make any difference," Ronon said powering up his gun. "It's stalking us."

"What is stalking us?" McKay asked, his hand gripping his gun tightly. There was a slight tremble to his hand but Kai gave the man a lot of credit for standing toe to toe with them.

"I don't know," Kai said with a shake of her head. "I-"

The air shimmered in front of her suddenly and something well over two feet taller than her appeared.

"It's invisible!" Beckett yelled.

Ronon fired immediately and it swiped at him, sending him flying through the air. He landed in a crumbled heap ten feet away. The others opened up fire but the thing only roared angrily.

Kai pulled both her blades from the X shaped sheath on her low back, twirling them through her fingers. Bullets were doing nothing but enraging it. They couldn't stop it.

"Teyla get them out of here!" She called and she charged it. She swiped and stabbed but it continuously appeared and disappeared just out of reach.

Suddenly, it appeared beside her and slammed a powerful fist into her stomach. The air rushed out of her lungs and she was thrown ten feet through the air before she hit the ground. Her head snapped to the side and she lay there stunned.

More gunfire erupted and she realized Teyla must not have listened. The roaring was cut off sharply and the creature retreated.

"What the hell took you so long?!" a shouting voice cut through the fogginess in Kai's mind. She fought to push herself up, but black clouded her vision and she dropped once more.

"Believe it or not, you were only gone a couple of hours," Weir soothed.

"Try six months," John growled. He was happy to see his team, but they had sure left him to cool his heels while they took their sweet time mounting a rescue mission.

"You don't understand," McKay said quickly. "You've been trapped in a time-dilation field."

"What?" John asked sharply looking over the group.

"What was that bloody thing?" Beckett asked as he helped pull Ronon to his feet.

"I don't know," John replied. "What's a time-dilation field?"

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" Weir asked hopefully.

"No," Teyla replied. "It is still close."

John turned and saw Kai's crumpled form on the ground. He stepped towards her, shocked she was still there. All the months of waiting to be rescued, he was certain she had left them. Left him.

Beckett was helping Teyla get to her feet and he crouched beside Kai. Her hair was covered in her scarf and a small trickle of blood came from the corner of her lips. He rolled her over and she groaned. She slowly blinked her eyes open.

"Hey stranger," he said in a low voice. His blood was still up and he was pissed, but it was impossible to be mad staring down at Kai. "Thought you were leaving?" He said in a low voice.

"Heard you needed rescuing," she teased despite the pounding in her head. There was the familiar hard nudge and John's look softened. She let her eyes run over him. He didn't look injured, though he wore the soft spun clothing of a pre-technological agricultural society. He had grown a beard in the time he had been here, she wasn't sure how she felt about it.

John noticed her attention and a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. Her heart was racing now as she remembered the kiss the night before. Of course for him, it had been six months since they kissed.

The beast roared again and they both snapped towards the sound. "Let's get you on your feet," he said suddenly all business, and he lifted her by her elbow, easily supporting most of her weight. He forgot how small she was. It had been so long.

The beast roared again and it appeared behind them, nearly double its original size.

"You've fought this thing before?" Kai asked, her eyes locked on the shimmering outline of the invisible beast. She adjusted her grip on her knives as she tried to think of a method of attack she hadn't considered. Ronon stepped up to her other side. Truth be told there weren't two other people in the Galaxy she would rather face an invisible monster with.

"Twice," John responded tightly.

"How did you beat it?" Ronon asked.

"Still haven't figured that out yet," he confessed with a wry grin.

"Now would be a good time," Kai said tightly.

"Well, what do you say we just fight it and see how it goes?" John said grimly.

Ronon twirled his sword and tensed as they prepared to charge.

"John," came Weir's worried voice behind them. "Friends of yours?"

Kai heard the approach of the villagers, but she hadn't pulled her focus off of the beast in front of them. Dozens of people in soft spun clothing stepped up to their group. "We have come to stand with you, whatever happens," a man who seemed to be the leader said.

"No," a beautiful woman stepped up next to John. "We have come to fight, and we are not afraid of you," she said glaring at the creature as though it were an ill behaving child. "The beast is of our own creation and it is long past time we sent it away."

The villagers walked together into the field, surrounding the monster. Kai tensed but John caught her arm, stopping her from helping them. They encircled the creature and raised their hands up into the air, palms facing it. The creature roared like it was pain and the air rippled around it one last time before it disappeared.

"That's it?" John asked. "That's all it took?"

The beautiful woman turned back to face John. She smiled at him sort of dreamily. "You were right John, we were afraid. The beast was the final burden we had to shed, manifesed from our own fears. You gave us the courage to face it," she explained as the others around them began to glow. "Come with us," she said holding her hand out to him.

John glanced out of the corner of his eye to where Kai stood between him and Ronon. Kai was covered in dirt and there was a small trail of blood in the corner of her lips, but she was still so beautiful to him. "I'm not ready for that Teer," he said with a shake of his head.

Teer turned and looked at Kai with interest. "I couldn't see it before," she said thoughtfully. "The Sanctuary blocked it somehow. But now I understand what was holding you back all this time." She stepped forward and kissed John on the cheek.

Kai tensed and Ronon grinned down at her. She shot Ronon a scowl and his smile widened.

"I am sorry. I did not realize," Teer said in a low voice that only John and Kai could hear. "She is a warrior...One would need to be to be Bonded to you," she added a little wryly. "She is worthy of your strength and goodness," she said and she bowed her head respectfully.

"Oh," John started to protest. "We're not-" but Teer had already moved on, not needing to hear his excuses.

She stepped back and turned to look at McKay. "There will be no need to destroy the sanctuary Doctor McKay. We will keep the portal open for you until you are gone."

McKay looked at all of the Ascending people around bewilderedly. "Well, at which point the ZPM, which undoubtedly powers this beautiful place will-"

"This sanctuary was left by those who came before us to power this place for those who might seek the path-" Teer explained.

"Yeah but-" McKay began to argue.

Weir shot him a severe look.

"Right, of course," McKay grumbled.

All the others turned into beams of light the shimmered and disappeared. Teer was the last to go. She stared at Sheppard, a sad kind of smile on her face than she too disappeared.

McKay stepped up to Sheppard, completely oblivious to Teer's words about Kai. "What is it with you and Ascended women?"

John shrugged and slid his knife back into his belt.

Weir stepped up next to him and cocked her head to the side. "Well," she said. "The beard is interesting."

"First thing to go when we get home," John said. "Never thought I would see any of you again. Kind of even missed you a little," he added uncomfortably.

Ronon shrugged. "Yeah well, it was only a couple of hours for us so..."

"Ronon," Teyla admonished. Ronon shrugged unapologetically and Kai grinned up at him. "We were all very worried about you," Teyla quickly assured John rolling her eyes at Kai and Ronon's antics.

"Of course we were," Weir agreed. "We're just sorry we didn't get here sooner."

"Let's get out of here," John said and he led the way back to the cave.

><><

By the time every one was back and settled it was late. Kai stepped into the jumper bay to get some work done, but Zelenka had already gone to bed. She stared at the Mortii fighter. The work on the sensors still needed to be done, but it had been almost forty-eight hours since she slept.

She scrubbed a hand over her face and let out a tired sigh. She needed to leave, the longer she stayed the harder it was going to be to go. Things were serious and the danger her friends were in because of her grew with every passing day. She had to get this done.

She moved towards the work bench when the door slid open behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Doctor Beckett.

She exhaled. She wondered how long it was going to be before he came to pay her a visit. She studied her tool belt as he approached and leaned against the work bench.

"John checked out fine," he said casually when she didn't start. "In case you were wondering. No long term effects from the dilation field."

Kai nodded but didn't say anything. She had been curious, but John had seemed fine so she wasn't going to ask. She was leaving, it wasn't her business.

"Does anyone else know?" Beckett finally asked after a long beat of silence.

Kai glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and he blew out an exasperated breath. "You haven't even discussed it with him have you?"

She nodded and picked up her belt, wrapping it around her waist. She wouldn't meet Beckett's eye, she already knew what she would see there.

"Well, you're going to have to discuss it eventually," Carson said gently.

Kai shook her head and finally faced him. "No, I don't."

Carson blew out an exasperated breath and rested his hands on top of his head. He cared very much for Kai, but sometimes he wanted to shake the Mortii stubbornness right out of her.

"Can you feel him all the time?" He asked gently.

"Not all the time. I don't know the range exactly, but so far it appears we have to be on the same planet."

"Interesting," Beckett replied.

"Not really," Kai snapped a little too sharply. "It doesn't matter and I don't want to discuss it anymore."

Beckett looked at her with sympathy but nodded. He knew better than to push Kai any harder. He glanced around the bay and then down at her work belt. "What are you doing here?"

Kai pressed her lips together. She hadn't told anyone else that she was leaving yet and she didn't want to make a big deal of it. "I'm a little behind on some work."

Beckett snort and shook his head. "It'll be there in the morning, go to bed, doctors orders," he said affectionately.

Kai looked like she wanted to argue but she yawned instead.

Carson smiler. "Even you need sleep my dear," he said and he left her alone.

Kai nodded. He was right. The work on the sensors could wait until the morning. One more day wouldn't hurt anything.

><><

Chapter 67

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Grace Under Pressure
><><

Kai was attempting once again to finish up the changes to the sensors. It had become increasingly difficult to find time to work on them. Only Weir and Sheppard knew of her plans to leave and so it was difficult to motivate Zelenka to finish the project in a timely manner. It continued to be bumped back as more urgent projects came up.

Just two days prior there had been a bomb that threatened the safety of everyone on Atlantis. While Zalenka monitored one of the search parties she had begun the arduous task of going through the cities command codes line by line. It took hours but she finally found the line that identified Colonel Caldwell as the perpetrator. Sheppard and Ronon had quickly figured out he was possessed by a Goa'uld. A parasitic alien from Sheppard's galaxy. Kai had never seen anything like it, the parasite had full control over the Colonel's thoughts and actions. Once they were able to expel it they got the codes and saved the city. But once again the sensors were pushed off another day.

When Kai stepped into the Jumper bay that morning it felt like the Mortii fighter was mocking her. It had been five days since the Mortii assassin attacked. The High Council couldn't know of their existence and Atlantis needed a way to protect themselves once she was gone. She needed to keep her friends safe from the Mortii.

McKay and Zelenka had tried to rope her into helping on a repair project with one of the damaged jumpers. It went against everything in her, but she turned them down in lieu of getting the work on the sensors done. She genuinely wanted to help, but she recognized that she would be leaving soon and they needed to be able to keep up the jumpers without her. Every day she was here was another day the Mortii could find her.

They all worked together in the bay for several hours. Kai was beyond frustrated. The new system in the Mortii computers weren't compatible with the Lantean technology in the city and it made it almost impossible to access the ships array. Zelenka and McKay however completed their project well ahead of hers and with a smug wave McKay boarded the jumper for its test flight. Everything was a competition with him.

Kai impatiently brushed a strand of hair back from her face, smudging grease across one cheek. Radek flashed a small smile of acknowledgement her way before heading up to the control room to monitor the flight. Kai slid back under the fighter with an impatient huff. It had only been a little over two years since she worked on Mortii ships, she couldn't believe how fast they had updated the network. She snatched up a wrench and began twisting off the bolts holding the bottom plating in place. If she couldn't access the network array through their systems she would have to do it the old fashion way.

She was almost halfway done when a small alarm began beeping on her tablet. She frowned and pushed herself out from under the fighter. She picked up her tablet as the alarm continued to chirp. She brushed her hair back from her face and tapped in her passcode.

The screen opened to show her Jumper 6 had a malfunction in one of the drive pods. She went cold. Jumper 6 was the one McKay had just taken out for a test flight with one of their newer pilots.

Kai tucked the tablet under her arm and touched her comm. "Radek this is Kai come in please."

"I'm sorry Kai, I can't talk right now," came Radek's uncharacteristically gruff reply and her comm deactivated.

Kai tucked her tablet under her arm and jogged toward the control room a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. When she arrived the whole control room was a flurry of activity. Zalenka was crouched over one of the control terminals.

"Griffin, McKay come in please," Raked said into the comm. Without missing a beat Kai crouched over the laptop sitting open in front of him. She tapped into the program and saw that Jumper 6 had gone down over the ocean. She immediately set the sensors to track their Radio telemetry as soon as they responded so they could locate the downed Jumper. She opened a second window and began to run diagnostics on the data Zalenka had been gathering during their flight to figure out what went wrong.

"Jumper 6 come in please," Zalenka said into the comm again but once more there was no answer. Zalenka stepped out of the control room to inform Doctor Weir and Colonel Sheppard of the situation. If Kai strained she could hear his side of the conversation but she didn't bother. She had work to do and every second mattered for McKay and Griffin.

Kai's fingers flew over the keyboard. She had the location where the Jumper malfunctioned, but the area of ocean it could have crashed into was huge. Kai continued working on figuring out what could have gone wrong. None of the last sensor data however had successfully transferred back to Atlantis. Zalenka returned and took his place at the control terminal. He scrubbed a hand over his face and Kai could see the lines of stress around his eyes. She felt incredibly guilty that she hadn't been helping them on the project. It didn't necessarily mean this wouldn't have happened, but the fact that she hadn't been part of it because she selfishly wanted to leave weighed on her.

"Griffin, McKay," Zalenka said again after a while.

"Yeah," came McKay's strained reply. "We're here."

"McKay thank god!" Radek exclaimed. "I've been trying to get a hold of you for almost half an hour," Radek turned to Kai. "Notify Dr. Weir, we have made contact."

Kai nodded and stepped away, touching her comm. "Doctor Weir, we have them."

"We're on our way," Weir responded.

Kai turned off her comm and turned back to Zalenka. "Are you all right?" he was asking over the radio.

"What the hell happened?" McKay's voice was fuzzy and the transmission cut in and out.

"The jumper you were flying disappeared off our screens and crashed into the ocean," Zalenka reported.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes we're-" McKay dragged off, there was a long pause. "We're under water," he gasped, though it was difficult to tell as the connection continued to come in and out. Kai immediately tried boosting the signal but nothing she did seemed to work.

"Yes you are," Radek confirmed, sharing a concerned look with Kai. McKay seemed distracted and like he was't exactly tracking the conversation.

"How are you going to find us?" McKay asked, his voice rising in concern.

Zalenka cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose. "We've determined the direction of your radio signal but not the range. Kai is working on that as we speak. Now that you are broadcasting it will be much easier to track you."

"How deep are we?" McKay asked, but it didn't sound like he was talking to them over the radio.

"One, two, zero, zero and falling," Griffin supplied, his voice sounded crisp and calm.

"Radek you're going to have to hurry it up," McKay came back urgently. "We're already twelve hundred feet deep and sinking. At a rate of about ah- twenty feet a minute."

"Very impressive," Radek said, he was distracted as he began working his own program to locate them.

"Excuse me?" McKay snapped.

Zalenka still wasn't fully paying attention. Kai glanced towards him, shocked by how poor he was at handling this type of situation. They needed to reassure McKay, not make things worse. She sincerely hoped Weir and Sheppard would arrive soon. "Well, we always theorized that the jumpers could be utilized as submersibles."

"Yes, yes yes yes, I theorized it," McKay snapped his voice once again tight with stress and the first touches of panic.

Zalenka's fingers clicked away on his keyboard as he focused on the problem in front of him. "...but twelve hundred feet that's almost the maximum depth of a nuclear powered submarine."

McKay snorted. "We're not so keen on setting any records right now, so just-"

There was a crack like a gunshot and Kai jumped. Radek looked at her in confusion and she realized he hadn't heard it over the radio.

"What was that?" Kai called into the comm.

"The windshield's giving way to the pressure of the ocean!" McKay yelled.

Kai touched her comm. "Move into the rear compartment, the seal will be able to hold."

"One step ahead of you," McKay snapped and the comm went dead.

Kai and Radek exchanged a concerned look, but waited. Nothing happened. Kai scowled and went back to her laptop and began typing rapidly. "We've lost the radio signal," she said her eyes widening. Her fingers flew across the keys as she tried to back trace it to it's last know location, but there was nothing to trace. She turned to look at Zalenka and shook her head. "I lost them."

Weir and Sheppard came into the control room seconds later. Weir motioned for the two of them to follow her towards her office away from the ears of all the techs working.

"I thought you said life support could sustain them for days," Weir said sharply once Zalenka had explained to her the true gravity of what McKay and Griffin were facing.

Zalena shook his head. "I said life support would most likely support them for days," he corrected. "I had no idea that the ship would sink so quickly or that the cockpit would flood."

"So, that's when you lost contact?" Sheppard asked turning to look at Kai. "Once the cockpit flooded?"

Kai nodded, not quite reaching Sheppard's eyes. She didn't know how to act around him, but now that there was something for them to focus on and work towards things were much easier.

"If they didn't make it to the rear compartment in time..." Weir dragged off.

"I believe they made it," Kai said firmly.

John glanced at her but Kai's eyes were locked on Weir. She had said she was leaving, but here they were in the middle of another emergency and she was there.

"Based on what McKay said right before the radio went dead I believe they made it," Kai corrected. "The radio transmitter is in the front compartment which would have been flooded with water, disabling it."

"Still," Zalenka said cautiously. "They're going to be much harder to locate now that they're no longer broadcasting."

"Then find another way," Sheppard snapped. McKay was his responsibility as well as his friend. He hadn't realized McKay was going up on the test flight and Zalenka's cavalier attitude about the whole thing was grating on him.

"Look," Zalenka said shifting his weight uncomfortably. He wasn't used to dealing with Sheppard in this kind of high stress situation and he shifted back. "Even if we do locate them, our options are limited. They are already deeper than a rescue jumpers windshield can handle."

Kai could feel John bristling.

"I'll handle the rescue," John assured him. "You just worry about finding them. I've already got some ideas."

"All right," Weir agreed. "We're on a clock, let's get back to work."

John turned to Kai. "You're with me," he called to her. She glanced towards Zalenka who nodded. Zalenka and the rest of the team could find them without her. She followed John down to the jumper bay.

><><

"What's all this?" Doctor Weir asked as she poked her head inside one of the jumpers in the jumper bay. A shower of sparks erupted beside her where Kai was working with a small welding torch.

"This is my plan," John said looking up from the tablet a tech was holding out to him and walking over to her.

"Yeah I figured that much, care to elaborate?" Weir asked wryly. The whole place was filled with techs running around.

"Well," Sheppard said turning and pointing to two men working over a large piece of equipment. "Doctors Moore and McNab are here to study the ocean on M8R-169 which happens to be under a thick sheet of ice, so they brought a 1,000 foot cable and a power winch to lower their instruments-"

"Okay," Weir agreed.

"And Edgar over here," John said twisting around and motioning to the man. "Is responsible for the magnetic grapple designed to lower the F-302's into our Jumper bay."

"And you intend to put the two together?" Weir asked raising her eyebrows.

"Like chocolate and peanut butter!" Sheppard replied triumphantly.

Kai lowered her welding goggles and turned her eyes to Weir. "He keeps saying that, can you explain?" she asked dryly.

Weir looked back and forth between the two of them and couldn't help thinking the two of them were a little like that. They were good on their own, but when they worked together they were even better.

Sheppard rolled his eyes at Kai. Kai shrugged and lowered her goggles and went back to work. Weir frowned. The two of them had always worked well together in the past, joking and teasing, but now there was a hard edge. She hoped it wasn't Sheppard putting pressure on Kai to stay. Weir had assured Kai they would support her regardless of her decision and Weir intended to stand by that promise.

"Is the mechanism strong enough to lift a half flooded jumper out of the water?" Weir asked, clearing her throat.

Kai pointed at Weir with her blow torch and a tip of her head as though to congratulate her for asking the right question.

"Not a chance," Sheppard agreed brightly.

Weir opened her mouth to argue but Sheppard continued. "We don't have to," he explained quickly. "We just have to get near enough to the surface so we can get McKay and Griffin out with a cutting team and rescue divers."

Weir nodded. "Good, how long?" she asked turning to Kai.

Kai lowered the goggles once more, her grey eyes slightly pinched with annoyance. "If I don't keep getting interrupted?" she asked cutting her eyes to Sheppard. "...maybe an hour."

Weir nodded and gestured for her to go back to work. She turned back to face John. "You and Rodney have been bugging me for the chance to try out the Jumper as a submersible, but you sure went a hell of a long way to make me say yes."

"Well you still haven't said it yet," Sheppard pointed out.

"I just did."

John nodded and spun away to get back to work. He paused to turned back to Weir. "How close is Zalenka to finding them?"

"I'm going to go ask him right now."

><><

Weir, Kai and John stood in front of the screen in Zalenka's lab less than and hour later. Kai had finished all the adjustments that needed to be made to the jumper and they were as ready as they were going to be. They just needed to know where to look.

"Three miles is a very searchable area," John said with a confident nod as he studied the map Zalenka had laid out before him. "You narrowed it down Radek. You did a good job."

Radek shook his head. His arms were wrapped around himself in the way Kai knew meant he had bad news to deliver. "He's too deep, you're grapples only got 1,000 feet of cable"

"Yeah, we know the jumper should be able to dive at least 1,000, so if he's above 2,000 we should still be able to get him with the grapple." John was pacing again. He was back to the perpetual motion the stress of the rescue had driven him to. His friend was in danger and he didn't sit still very well. Every passing moment was feet Rodney was losing.

"And if he is deeper?" Weir asked carefully, although she already knew the answer.

"He probably is," Radek said. "The area we're searching goes to 6,000"

John raked a hand through his hair. He wasn't going to just give up on McKay. Rodney wouldn't give up on him if the situation was reversed. He just wished McKay was here now, he would have some brilliant, out of the box idea to save the day. Zalenka was good at his job, but he lacked imagination and daring.

John paused as a thought struck him and swung back around to face Kai and Radek. "When the Wraith attacked the city you were able to turn the shield into a cloak..."

Kai froze, her eyes widening and she turned to face John her eyes widening in excitement. "Turn the jumpers cloak into a shield," she said in a low tone.

John nodded, a smile pulling at his face. This was it, he could feel it. They were going to actually pull this one off.

Zalenka shoved his glasses up his nose, his face pinching in concern. "That would hold back the water yes, but it would take significantly more power."

John shrugged. "We'll shut down everything we don't need."

"But it would take hours to reconfigure." Radek argued.

John was nodding. "So you'll take what you need and make the changes down there."

Zalenka froze as he processed the colonel's words. He swung back around to face Sheppard, blanching. "I'm not...I can't even swim!" Radek argued.

"There's not a whole lot of swimming under 1,000 feet of ocean," Sheppard replied dryly.

"I'll go," Kai quickly volunteered. "I can make the configuration in a little over an hour. Give me a few minutes to get my gear."

John nodded to her gratefully and Kai slipped out from the room to gather everything she would need

Radek looked after her sharply but he didn't argue. Going down in that jumper was the scariest thing he could think of, and Zian was talented enough to make the changes to the cloak. He just hoped it was soon enough for Rodney.

><><

John was already sitting in the pilot chair when Kai climbed into the jumper. Kai glanced at him and tucked her gear into the cargo area. This was going to be the most time she had spent alone with him since their kiss. They had both been avoiding one another. The jumper felt small and intimate, but luckily she went to work and had the conversion of the cloak to a shield to distract her.

"All right, we're above the search coordinates," John said hovering the jumper over the roiling waves.

Kai slid the panel closed and walked up to her seat beside Sheppard. "It should transition seamlessly," she assured him, typing on her laptop.

"All right then, here goes nothing." And John lowered them into the water.

The light within the jumper dimmed and the dark blue of the ocean surrounded them.

"Atlantis this is Sheppard come in,"John called.

"We can barely hear you John," Weir's voice was garbled and cut in and out.

"We're going to lose you all together once we get deeper, so now's the time to wish us luck."

"Good luck then," Weir replied grimly although her voice sounded small and faraway.

"We'll contact you as soon as we head back to the surface. Have the divers in Jumper 8 standing by."

"Will do, Weir out."

John turned off the radio and glanced back towards Kai. She was staring intently at her computer. The backlight from her screen illuminated her face despite the dimness of the jumper. Her brow was wrinkled in concentration as she worked.

"What do you think Zian?" John asked with forced brightness. He wasn't sure what to say to her now. They had both been steadfastly avoiding one another since he kissed her. She had told them she was leaving, but here she was, throwing herself into danger to save Rodney.

Kai didn't look up from her laptop where she was typing steadily. "About what?" she asked continuing to work.

"We're under water!" John exclaimed excitedly. "I've always wanted to try this," he confided.

Kai lifted her eyes and stared out the windshield. It really was beautiful and she couldn't help but appreciate John's boy-ish enthusiasm for the adventure of it all. "As long as it's not too much water," she said, unwilling to admit she thought it was as cool as he did.

John snorted, shaking his head as Kai worked harder than usual to keep her expression emotionless. He could see straight through her. "I've leveled out and holding steady at 990 feet. How's it coming?"

"All I'm picking up are sporadic life signs," Kai reported.

John glanced at her. "As in sea monster life signs?" he asked.

Kai didn't bother responding to his question. There was a rumble against the hull of the ship as it adjusted to the pressure. They both froze, staring at the windshield to see if it was going to hold. When nothing happened John cleared his throat uncomfortably. "We're ah, going to need those shields up and running."

Kai nodded, and went back to her laptop. "Yes well, then stop distracting me."

"You were distracting me," John shot back childishly.

Kai scoffed but kept working. Half an hour later she implemented the program. "I think I've got something," Kai said coming up to sit beside John. "Initializing shields." There was a rush and they could see the glow of the shield out in front of them.

"Nice work Zian," John congratulated. He glanced at her, with a teasing glint in his eye. "You know, for a girl," he added wryly. His hands hovered over the controls. "Let's take this baby a little deeper."

"Wait," Kai said reaching for him without looking up from her screen. Her fingers touched his warm skin and she flinched, glancing at him in surprise.

John didn't respond, though her clear discomfort made his jaw tighten. He never should have kissed her.

Kai jumped up and went back to the rear controls. "Wait wait wait," she chanted softly as she scanned the readings. "The shield is draining our power at an alarmingly fast rate."

"Why is that?" John called back at her. He was pissed at himself once again and it made his tone brittle.

"Well..." Kai drew off, her fingers running over the keyboard. "...a cloak draws it's power at a constant rate, a shield draws more power the more it is taxed."

"So..." John said thoughtfully. "Being under several atmosphere's of pressure..."

"Yes, it's continuing to drain power from the shield."

"How much time do we have?" John asked.

"Once we're deeper...an hour tops."

John cleared his throat, their plan hadn't accounted for such a short amount of time to find McKay, and he wasn't willing to risk Kai's life either. "All right, looks like we'll have to search fast. Descending to one thousand."

"The scanners are up and running," Kai reported. "Still nothing but sporadic life signs."

John nodded. Now that there was nothing to do but wait, the tension between them continued to grow. He glanced towards her, but she was steadfastly staring at the readings. Things had always been so easy between them. He hated the tension and hated even more that he didn't know how to fix it.

"It was nice of you to volunteer for this mission," he said conversationally.

Kai glanced up at him. He was making a point not to look at her as he spoke. "Well Zalenka is afraid of the ocean so-"

"I meant because you were trying to finish up your project and leave."

Kai glanced at him as his tone turned brittle. "I couldn't just leave when this was-"

"You couldn't?" John asked his voice sharper than he meant. He scoffed and shook his head. "You do know we can take care of ourselves. You don't owe us any favors."

Kai pulled back. "That's not true," she said in a low tone.

"Yeah well, you have a funny way of showing it," John growled. He was surprised by how angry he was. He had told himself he would accept her decision regardless, but he was having a hard time now that he was facing the prospect of her leaving.

"John I-" Kai started to say. She was shocked by his sudden anger that plowed straight down there connection. It left her breathless.

She had seen John angry at other people before, but never had it Been directed at her. She tightened her jaw, her hands flexing over the controls. She should have just left, she shouldn't have stayed this long. 

"Look," John snapped cutting her off. "If you're going to go you should just go. Hanging it over my-" he stopped, quickly correcting himself. "Peoples heads isn't fair."

Kai froze and stared at him. "I didn't mean-" she started to say, started to try and find a way to apologize, to explain herself to him, but he just shook his head and turned his attention back to the controls.

"Yeah well, you did," he said, just as angry with himself as he was with her. He didn't lose his temper like this often and it shook him to his core that he couldn't seem to get control of his mouth.

Kai turned back to the controls in front of her as his words played over and over in her mind. She wanted to close off the connection between them, but she wouldn't hurt him like that just to protect herself from his feelings. She wasn't used to having to take other people's feelings into account and the fact that she had hurt Sheppard's feelings of all people. She just wanted to do the right thing, but it was impossible to know what that was anymore.

They sat in uncomfortable silence as the jumper continued to descend.

"Colonel," Kai said formally after a few moments. "It could be the shields, could be the depth, but I'm having trouble detecting the jumper...only-"

"Only?" John asked his voice was hard and businesslike.

"Bring up the HUD," Kai requested, keeping her eyes down. John opened it and his eyes widened as it picked up a massive life sign ahead of them.

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's your sea monster. It's at least six to eight times the size of the jumper, so I suggest we keep our distance."

"How are the shields doing?" John asked. Now that they had both said their piece they were working hard to remain focused on the mission in front of them.

Kai tapped on her computer "Only twelve minutes remaining."

"All right, let's check it out," John said, moving the jumper closer to the massive creature.

"Why?" Kai snapped.

John shot her a disgruntled look. "Because it's swimming in circles in the same area which means it might have found something interesting..."

Kai shook her head at his stubbornness but didn't bother arguing. It wouldn't do any good.

"Do you have a better idea?" he challenged, but she didn't.

Kai's computer beeped. John looked back at her. "Jumper!" Kai exclaimed. "I have the jumper! The animal is circling around it."

"Jumper six this is Sheppard, come in."

Kai's stomach dropped. "According to my readings it's dead, no power."

"Alright," John replied grimly. Stealing himself for the fact that his friend's chances of being alive just dropped. Kai actually felt the small moment of despair through their connection and she swallowed hard.

"Let's get a grapple on this thing and go home," he said defeatedly.

Kai shook her head. "It won't work."

"Why's that?"

"It's taken on too much water. Sensors show the rear compartment is partially flooded, the cable won't hold it."

"Well we can try," he shot back. His seething temper rising quickly to the surface.

"It's a matter of physics John," She said as patiently as she could manage. She didn't like being snapped at and her own temper was rising in response.

John turned back to Kai his eyes snapping. "I'm not coming this far without doing something."

Kai looked up at the jumper in front of them with a sigh. She stiffened as a crazy idea struck her. "The shield, I should be able to extend the shield around both of them."

"Do we have enough power?" John asked.

"If we set down to conserve engine power it should just be a simple matter of walking between the two jumpers."

"All right," John agreed. "I'll get us as close as I can."

Kai immediately went to work, typing rapidly to expand the shield. As soon as Sheppard set them down he began powering down the systems they didn't need.

"All right," he said.

Kai nodded and activated the shield. The dimensions weren't precise and it could only hold for so long. "We need to move fast," she advised.

"McKay, Griffin do you copy." John called into the radio. He stood and slapped the controls to open the rear hatch. It lowered and Kai stood up to follow him. She may still be miffed at John but she wasn't going to miss out on the chance to walk on the floor of the Atlantian Ocean.

"McKay, do you copy?" John asked again over the comm.

"Sheppard?" McKay's voice was weak over the radio.

John breathed out a sigh of relief. "Hey buddy I need you to lower your door."

"That's probably a bad idea," McKay said weakly.

John and Kai walked across the ocean floor. Their feet sinking into the soft wet sand. Kai looked down as her feet squished through the sand. She was surprised there was nothing else down here.

"Listen," John said as he approached the other Jumper. "Long story short, Kai converted the cloak into a shield and extended it around your jumper. I'm standing outside right now," John knocked on the rear hatch with his fist.

"What?" McKay asked in disbelief.

"All you have to do is open your door and walk to my jumper," John said.

There was a heavy pause and Kai and John exchanged a concerned look. Nothing was happening.

"McKay what's the hold up? We have to do this sooner rather than later, the shield isn't going to hold forever," John said into his comm.

Kai scowled as no answer came back. There was another couple seconds of silence and McKay's comm clicked on. "Better stand back, I've taken on a lot of water," McKay warned his voice shaky.

Still nothing happened. Kai frowned at John. He shifted his weight restlessly. There was no way to open the rear hatch from the outside. At least not without Kai's tools, which she hadn't thought to bring with.

After a few seconds the door finally opened and water poured out, soaking their shoes. McKay was laying on the soaking floor of the jumper. He was pale and shaking with blood coming from his temple.

"McKay, you all right?" John asked. They both ran to his side and helped him up.

"I will be," he promised.

"Where's Griffin?" John asked looking around the dark cargo area.

"He was in there," McKay said motioning to the forward compartment.

John glanced once more at Kai but neither of them said anything else. "All right let's get you home," John said and he and Kai helped McKay up. They each took one of his arms across their shoulders and made their way back across the ocean floor towards the other jumper. Kai's smaller size made it difficult for them to suspend him between them but they managed.

"No I have to decompress, Carter told me to increase the pressure..." McKay babbled.

"Who did?" Kai asked sharply.

"I did," he covered quickly. "I told myself...I hurt my head," he added weakly.

There was a cry from the sea creature circling above them. McKay flinched. "Oh see ya pal, looks like you don't get to eat me today."

John scoffed. "He's the reason we found you."

"Really?"

"Almost thought we lost you," John said as they set him down in the back of the jumper. Kia found an emergency blanket in the first aid kit and wrapped it around McKay. She returned to her seat and as soon as Sheppard closed the rear hatch she pulled their shield back so it was only encircling their jumper.

"I knew you're think of something," McKay mumbled. "Subconsciously at least."

McKay stood and stepped forward between their seats. He was still shaking and held the blanket around his shoulder. He looked back out towards the abandoned jumper as John began the slow ascension towards the surface.

><><

When John set the jumper down in the Jumper Bay the medical team was already waiting. He lowered the rear hatch and Beckett and his team ran aboard. They whisked Rodney away on a gurney towards the infirmary. As soon as they were gone John stood from his seat. He turned towards Kai but she was steadfastly ignoring him and packing up her equipment.

"Kai-" he started to say.

She stiffened and turned around with her laptop tucked under one arm. "If you'd excuse me Colonel," she said formally. "I have some adjustments to make to the sensors," she said briskly and she hustled out of the Jumper before John could say anything else.

John groaned and hung his head backwards as he blew out a frustrated sigh. He had blown it. He shoved himself to his feet and stalked off to the infirmary to see how McKay was doing. At least there he wasn't going to screw anything else up.

The doors slid open and Beckett greeted John as he stepped into the infirmary.

"How's he doing?" John asked scrubbing a tired hand over his face .

"He's resting. Hypothermic, anemic and a mild concussion, but he will be back to his normal self in a few days."

"So we'll have a few days of peace at least," John joked weakly.

Beckett nodded. He glanced back at the Colonel who was staring down at the unconscious McKay. "Is there something else Colonel?" Beckett asked carefully. John Sheppard wasn't one to discuss his feelings, but Beckett could see there was something weighing on his friends shoulders.

"Can-" John started and he stopped. "Can I ask you a question?"

Beckett stiffened and then glanced around. There was no one left in the infirmary but himself and the nurse on call, but he didn't want them to be overheard if this was a private matter for the Colonel. He ushered John into his office. "What's on your mind Colonel?"

"When I was talking with Kai about her telepathy she said that anyone with the ATA gene had the potential to sort of pick up on it. I guess I was just wondering..." John drew off and blew out a sigh. "Well I guess I was wondering if you had ever noticed anything around her."

Beckett froze and turned to face John. The Colonel had figured out. Beckett pressed his lips together, Kai had confided in him about the Bond and it wasn't his place to say anything about it to the Colonel, but it was obvious he knew there was something.

"No," Beckett said clearing his throat. "I can't say that I have," he said honestly. "What did she say about it?"

John shrugged as casually as he could manage. "She said her people could form a telepathic bond and that anyone with the gene would be able to pick up on it. And you're the next strongest CIA so I thought I would ask."

Beckett steepled his fingers together. "I'm sorry Colonel," Beckett said with a shake of his head. "Is there something we need to be concerned about?" he asked casually.

John blew out a sigh as Beckett confirmed what he had somehow known. More than one person they had encountered had referenced it and if he was honest he had felt it himself. Whatever it was he felt when Kai was around was something that was just theirs. A Bond. And he had screwed it up. As usual. His ex-wife certainly wouldn't have been surprised.

"Ah look, just forget about it," John said with a shake of his head. "It's nothing. I'm just tired."

Beckett nodded. "All right," he agreed. "Though if you find anything else out about it, I would be very much interested in learning more about the Mortii's telepathic capabilities."

John nodded but he had no intention of telling Beckett or Weir about it. He wasn't about to let Kai become a pin cushion again in the name of science. "Let me know when McKay wakes up," he called over his shoulder.

Beckett nodded and waved as the Colonel left the infirmary.

John had one stop to make before he returned to the Jumper Bay. He opened a drawer in his room and lifted out his peace offering. He just hoped it was enough. He slid it into his pocket and hustled through the hallways. It was late, the lights had already shifted to nightmode. When he stepped into the Jumper bay the only lights on were the work lights pointing at the Mortii fighter.

He could only see her legs sticking out from under it. He knew she could hear him so he didn't bother saying anything. He walked over to the fighter and dropped down to sit on the floor. He rested his back against the cool metal of the fighter and sat there for a while, just listening to her quiet movements as she worked.

"I was an asshole," John said in a low tone after a few minutes.

Kai kept working but she slowed. The Colonel was the last person she expected to see tonight. After their discussion in the jumper she had every intention of working straight through until she could leave.

"How much longer?" John asked. His voice lacked its usual confidence.

Kai left the connection between them wide open and she felt a strange shiver of uncertainty. It didn't make sense. The Colonel had been adamant that she was taking too long to leave. Why was he uncertain now?

"A couple hours," she replied. "I'll be gone by morning."

She felt the stab of pain as though it were her own and she actually flinched. She didn't understand. She frowned and slid out from under the fighter so she could see his face.

He was sitting beside where she was working. His face was tired as he stared off into the dark corners of the jumper bay. He glanced down at her and his face softened at the same moment she felt the soft bump through their connection.

She stared into his eyes, letting herself note the way the brown and green swirled together. She didn't know if he felt it the same way she did, but she nodded anyway.

"I have something for you," he said uncomfortably after a few moments.

John reached into his back pocket and lifted out a Reese's. "A peace offering," he said and he held it out to her.

Kai took the brightly wrapped orange bar from his fingers. He nodded and pushed himself to his feet, groaning as he turned to head towards the door.

She pushed herself up on her elbows. "What's this?" She asked, turning the wrapper over in her hands.

John turned back to face her, a small private smile on his face. "Chocolate and peanut butter."

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Chapter 68

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The Tower
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"These people barely have enough food to feed themselves, and as for technology, this about sums it up," McKay complained holding up a scythe and waving it around dramatically.

Teyla exchanged a withering look with Kai before turning back to McKay. "Establishing good relations with our neighbors is more than just trade," she reminded the scientist patiently.

"Yes, but do we have to make friends with every primitive agrarian society in the Pegasus?" McKay whined. He swatted away the flies that were buzzing obnoxiously around his head.

"All right, that's enough," Sheppard said stepping out of the cottage. "They can't all be technologically advanced societies with open minded women," he said cutting off a piece of the fruit he had been eating.

Kai rolled her eyes, sharing a disgruntled look with Teyla. She still didn't know what possessed her to agree to accompany AR-1 on this mission. The ancient database had suggested this particular planet might have technology and she had hoped to find something she could use to finish the changes to the sensors. McKay had offered to look for her, but she needed to do something.

Every day she sat around Atlantis was another day she left her friends in danger. So when Weir announced they would be going to the planet she had flagged she had eagerly volunteered for the mission. Unfortunately, she had first thought it was Major Lourne's team who would be going, but McKay had jumped at the chance to explore the planet and potential technology and Kai found herself roped into going with the Colonel's team.

Things hadn't gotten better between them, if anything they had gotten worse. Everyone but McKay seemed to notice the tension, but both Teyla and Ronon were too polite to ask.

"Greetings," a man said stepping up to their group. "I am Eldred," he introduced himself.

"I'm Sheppard," John said nodding his head in greeting. "This is Ronon, Teyla, McKay and Kai."

Eldred nodded respectfully to each of them. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but it's harvest time and we must prepare our tribute for the tower," he said distractedly. His eyes trailed over them to the woods beyond as though he were afraid of being caught not working.

"The tower?" John asked raising his eyebrows questioningly. He had immediately picked up on the man's unease.

Eldred turned back to him, his face screwed up in confusion. "You must come from a distant land indeed if you have never heard of the tower. I don't know of anyone who is not under it's protection," he said wringing his hands together.

Kai frowned glancing around the sleepy looking village. "Protection from what?" It was John's show so to speak, and she had made a point of staying quiet and following along, but so far she hadn't witnessed anything someone would need protection from on this planet. 

"The wraith," he said as though she were stupid for asking.

Kai nodded and stepped back to stand beside Ronon, leaving the rest of the questioning for Sheppard.

"Is this tower close by?" John asked suspiciously. He was getting a bad vibe off Eldred and he wanted to see what they were dealing with. If this tower could fight the Wraith it would have to have some serious firepower.

"Surely," Eldred agreed. "Come," he led the way out of the village and through the woods. "There," he said pointing across a massive valley.

Sheppard stiffened. "Is it just me or does that look like-"

"The central tower of Atlantis?" Kai finished for him a little breathlessly. She glanced around them, but all that could be seen was forest and undergrowth.

John glanced back at her. "Yeah," he said grimly.

There was vegetation all over it, and no other evidence of further buildings, but it certainly looked like the architecture of Atlantis. Or at least something produced by the Ancients. Kai wondered if this was the civilization that was in the database. It looked ancient and her hope deflated. This trip had been a waste. There was no way these people had access to technology advanced enough to crack to Mortii's network.

She shifted her weight restlessly and Ronon glanced down at her. The Satedan had noticed her impatience with this trip, but wisely hadn't brought it up. Something was going on with Kai, but he wasn't going to bring it up until she was ready to talk about it. She was a private person and talking about it in front of the others was a sure way to piss her off.

"So how exactly does this tower protect your people from the Wraith?" John asked carefully as they walked back into the village. He didn't want to spook Eldred but this was exactly the type of civilization they needed as an ally.

"They have a great weapon that destroys the wraith ships that descend from the sky," Eldred explained leading the way back into the village.

"What kind of a weapon?" McKay asked impatiently. He was practically vibrating with the desire to learn more. He didn't want to hear anything else about the harvest, to him The Tower had clearly been constructed by Ancients and that was all that mattered.

Eldred seemed a little put off by McKay's intensity but he graciously answered the question. "Thousands of bright lights rise up from the ground at the base of the tower. They swarm the ships and destroy them."

Sheppard perked up as Eldred clearly explained drones. "Really?" he asked with interest. "Thousands of bright lights?" he clarified.

"And you have seen this?" Teyla asked.

"I have not seen a Wraith ship," Eldred said. "They have not come for many generations. But there are times when the Lord Protector sees fit to demonstrate this power to his people."

Every one of them but McKay stiffened at his words. It was clear to them the underlying message of the Lord Protectors need to demonstrate his power. Sheppard's voice had taken on the careful tone he often used when he was aggravated. "I would really like to meet this Lord Protector." he said casually.

"That may prove difficult. Only members of the royal court are allowed in the tower," Eldred hedged and it was clear to Kai that the man was afraid of their line of questions.

"Perhaps he would consider making an exception," Teyla prompted gently, also noticing and stepping in before McKay or Sheppard pushed too hard. "Just this once," she added with a reassuring smile.

Eldred looked doubtful. "I'll do what I can," he said and he walked off.

"Thank you," Sheppard called after him.

"You know this weapon he's talking about?" Ronon asked.

Kai had forgotten that Ronon hadn't been with them when they still had the drones. "On Atlantis they are called drones," she explained. "They are used to defend Earth and Atlantis but their supply has dwindled."

"Not only that," McKay interjected. "If these people have working drones it means they also have a working ZPM," he was practically vibrating with excitement now.

"Eldred said the wraith have not come in a long time. Perhaps this technology is no longer operational," Teyla said.

"I'll know more if I can get a little closer and take some readings," McKay said.

Sheppard nodded. "Why don't you get some readings. I'll head back to the jumper for a check in."

Kai stayed in the village with Teyla and Ronon. The three of them sat on old barrels, keeping an eye on the villagers and waiting for the others to return.

Ronon glanced towards her after only a couple of minutes. "So, you want to tell us what's going on with you and Sheppard?" he asked, slicing off a piece of fruit with his knife and taking a bite.

Kai glanced towards Ronon sharply. He was already looking back at his piece of fruit. "Don't bother lying," he said taking another bite. "It's obvious you are at each others throats."

Teyla blew out a breath and shot Ronon a severe look. Ronon only shrugged. "What he means," Teyla soothed. "Is that it is clear there is undo tension between the two of you. Is there anything we can do?"

"No, everything's fine," Kai replied tightly.

"Right..." Ronon dragged off.

"It won't interfere with the mission if that's what you're worried about," Kair replied. She wasn't going to discuss this, not even with her friends. She felt closer to Ronon and Teyla than just about anyone on Atlantis, but they would only try and talk her out of going. She couldn't let them do that. She was already wavering.

"We were not worried about that, I assure you," Teyla soothed. "It's just rare for you and Colonel Sheppard to not...get along," she said.

"Well," Kai replied a little sharper than she intended. "Things change."

"Did something happen between you?" Ronon asked.

Kai pulled back, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "No," she said and that was the end of it. She wasn't about to discuss her personal feelings with them.

"I am sorry if we offended you," Teyla said quickly shooting Ronon another look, like a disapproving mother. He only shrugged. "You're our friend Kai, we only wish to see you happy."

Kai swallowed and looked down at the gun in her hands. She had never had friends before Atlantis, never had anyone who cared for her beyond her abilities and what she could for them. She shouldn't have come, it just made her feel more guilty.

"Hey," Ronon said a minute later, jerking his chin over her shoulder. "Check it out."

Kai turned to see a group of soldiers in uniform step out into the village. They formed a half circle around Eldred. Kai felt bad that their question had brought Eldred to have to face men like this.

She heard John step up behind her. His quiet movement hadn't been heard by the other two who startled a little when he spoke. Who are these guys?" he asked.

"Soldiers from the tower," Ronon replied tightly.

The lead soldier backhanded Eldred sending him crumbling into the dirt. "Whoa whoa whoa," John called, springing into action. The four of them stalked across the village square towards them.

"Take it easy." John said as they approached.

"Who are you?" The leader asked.

"Colonel John Sheppard, who are you?"

"I am Constable of the Lord Protectors guard. And this village scum, dared to defy me. It's clear we're going to have to make an example," he said pulled a whip off his belt.

The four of them drew their weapons as one. "I don't think so," Sheppard growled pointing his handgun at the constables chest.

The other soldiers belatedly noticed their weapons and reached for their own knives.

"Please Colonel," Eldred called from the ground. He pushed himself up on his hands and knees coughing. "It's my fault."

John's voice was cold. "You think I'm going to sit here and let you whip an innocent man? You're sorely mistaken."

"Constable," a man's voice came from behind them. In a smooth move John and Kai shifted so their backs were to one another at the same moment Ronon and Teyla did the same. Ronon and Kai were left staring at the group of soldiers while Teyla and John faced the new comer.

"You may stand down," the man said soothingly. "You are the strangers who requested an audience are you not?" he asked. His accent was purely upper crust and he was well spoken. His clothes were clean and he stood fearlessly among the villagers and soldiers without a weapon. It was clear he was someone with authority.

"That's us," John agreed but his tone was still harsh.

"My name is Otho," the man greeted as he approached the group.

Kai glanced back at Otho to see him lift something off his belt. He held it up for them to see that it was a scanner, not a weapon. He stepped up to Teyla first, running it over her. The scanner made a small noise.

"I have the honor of being chamberlain to the Lord Protecter," he said turning to Ronon. Whatever he was trying to find on the scanner the two of them had come up negative.

"And you would never be allowed in his presence so armed," Otho said turning the scanner to Kai.

"Well," John said casually, though Kai could practically feel his tension. "Guess we'll have to be on our way then."

The scanner beeped brightly. He glanced down at it and looked back at Kai in wonder. He ran the scanner over her again as her grip tightened on the blade in her hand.

"I'm afraid," he said almost in shock. "It's too late for that." Otho turned to the soldiers. "Take this one," he ordered gesturing to Kai.

They swung their weapons around, prepared to fight before letting them take Kai. As if by magic Kai's second Blade appeared in her hand and she rolled them through her fingers as she stared at the constable.

"Please don't resist!" Eldred begged from behind us. "The Lord Protector sees all."

"He does you know," Otho agreed, still holding his scanner. "Though I suppose you'll need a demonstration?" he asked raising a perfectly arched eyebrow. "And here it comes," he said with a smirk.

A single drone slammed into a building in the village. The explosion send firy debree raining into the air. The fire and straw went up immediately. Villagers ran to begin fighting the fire before it could spread to the nearby buildings.

Otho turned back to them. "Now please, turn over your weapons. Some of these people may not survive the next strike," he warned, but it was clear by his tone that he didn't care on way or another if they lived or died.

They all glanced around at the people hiding.

"Colonel," Eldred begged.

"She isn't going anywhere," John growled, taking another step closer to Otho.

Kai looked sharply at him. "I can take care of myself," She assured him stepping forward, though she could feel his simmering anger behind her.

"John?" Teyla asked uncertainly.

John finally nodded and the others lowered their weapons. The constable walked up and took Kai's blades from her. "I'm going to want those back," She told him dangerously.

He laughed and grabbed her arm. His grip was bruising and when she grunted in pain John shoved himself forward. Otho's scanner beeped brightly once more. Otho looked down at it in surprise . He ran it over Sheppard.

"Bring both of them!" he said excitedly.

Kai shot John a disgruntled look, if he could only have stayed level headed then he would have been free to mount a rescue. Now they were both being dragged to the tower. Once they were inside the soldiers stepped back, leaving them standing in the main audience chamber.

John reached up and touched his comm. "This is Sheppard, are you reading me?"

"Colonel!" Teyla exclaimed in relief. "Are you all right?"

"Zian and I are fine. Is McKay with you?"

"I'm here," McKay came back.

"Did you find anything with your scans?" he asked, he was working to keep his voice low so they didn't directly notice that he wasn't just speaking with Kai. While they may have had some technology they hadn't even considered taking their radios.

"As a matter a fact I did. There's definitely an active ZPM but its barely registering so it's hard to say if its depleted or just not active right now."

"Anything else?" John asked turning in a small circle as he took in the whole room. Kai was doing the same beside him, though he noticed she was making a point of keeping space between them.

McKay continued. "The really interesting part, it seems to be coming form under ground. Now when I realized that I started scanning for subterranean structures. The Tower is just the tip of the iceburg, there is a massive structure buried beneath it. Now it's hard to say without a more detailed scan but it may be comparable in size to Atlantis itself."

"That doesn't really surprise me," John said. "I'm in The Tower right now, and I got to say it does kinda look familiar."

The doors opened and John and Kai turned together as a heavy weight old man came in. He was wearing ornate silk clothing and was followed by a group of men and women who followed respectfully. Every one of them was wearing enough expensive clothing to feed that entire village for a year.

Kai's fists tightened at her side as it quickly became apparent to her what it was that was happening here. A beautiful young blonde sat beside the old man and a young man who looked similar enough like her to be her brother stood at his right side.

The old man sat down in what looked like the control chair but they had it set on a raised dias like a throne. He settled himself slowly, taking all the time he wished before he raised his eyes to take in Sheppard and Kai. He studied each of them in turn. His eyes focusing on Sheppard's tac vest and the scarf Kai wore wrapped around her head.

"You there," he called to them imperiously. "Approach."

They glanced towards one another for a second and then stepped forward. "Lietenant Colonel John Sheppard and this-" John began.

"I know who you are." The Lord Protector interrupted. "I saw you in the village."

"You did?" John asked in surprise.

"I see all that I need to see within my domain," he said and he rocked back the chair, activating it. Above them a screen descended from the ceiling and satellite footage of the village appeared. He zoomed in on Teyla, Ronon and McKay who were standing in the village square talking.

"Your friends," he said. "They are concerned about you."

"Well, to be perfectly honest," John said flashing one of his charming smiles. "I'm a little concerned about us too. I mean, we're prisoners here right?"

The Lord Protector sat back up, the chair deactivating. "The show of force was necessary for the villagers. It keeps them form getting ideas, but for the moment I would prefer if you both considered yourselves to be my guests."

The young man cleared his throat. "Father," he said in a simpering tone. "I must object, this man should be punished. He challenged one of our constables." Then he turned his gaze to me. "And this woman-" he started but he was cut off by his father.

"One of our constables?" The Lord Protector asked sharply.

"Forgive me," the young man said with a disingenuous bow. "One of your counstables."

"Lietenant Colonel, Kai Zian, it would be my pleasure that your dine with us this evening," The Lord Protector proclaimed. "We have much to discuss."

John glanced at Kai once but her face was its usual emotionless mask. He looked back at the Lord Protector. He nodded, because what else were they going to do. Despite his use of the word guest it was clear we didn't have the option to leave.

"Please allow my people to show you to your rooms," The Lord Protector said with a dismissive wave of his fingers at the servants lining the back wall.

"Wait no, we'll stay together," John quickly interjected.

"Are you married?" The Lord Protector asked looking back and forth between them as though it were something he had not considered.

"NO!" Kai responded immediately. Her face flushed immediately. She wasn't about to share a room overnight with The Colonel.

John shot her a disgruntled look. Now they would be separated for sure and if they were separated he couldn't protect her. His jaw tightened, but he couldn't argue with her now.

The Lord Protector looked pleased for some reason about the news and glanced at his two children. The servants stepped forward, bowing low to Kai and Sheppard and led them from the throne room. The soldiers trailed behind them as they followed the servants through the halls of the palace.

"This is your room," the maid said curtseying to John. John glanced back at Kai but she wouldn't look at him. He understood he had been an ass, but now wasn't the time. They led her away and his door slid closed behind him before he could see where they took her. He blew out a frustrated breath.

He glanced around the room and flopped back against the ornate pillows and blankets that made the room look like the inside of a tent.

He activated his comm. "Zian, are you still reading me."

"Yes Colonel," she replied briskly. "I'm fine. I'm in the room next to yours."

John blew out a sigh of relief. "McKay you there?"

"Yes, and from what I can tell from these readings the underground structures aren't just roughly the same size and shape as Atlantis, it's identical," Rodney said excitedly.

"Yeah it's pretty much the same way on the inside too, although, it's been redecorated." Sheppard replied.

"If it's a city like Atlantis where are the other towers?" Teyla asked.

"Probably fell a long time ago," McKay supplied. "Maybe they were destroyed in a wraith attack who knows. Look in ten thousand years the whole thing may have been overgrown by the forest."

"Well one things for sure," Sheppard said. "These people are no ancients."

"From what you're saying the Lord Protector must have the gene required to activate the advanced technology," McKay pointed out.

"So it would seem," Sheppard agreed.

"Well are they using any of the other technology?" McKay pushed. He wasn't as ready as the others were to abandon the idea that these people weren't Ancients.

"Not that I can see," Sheppard said. "They turned the control room into a gallery for royal audiences," he said with disgust clear in his tone.

Kai spoke up. "There are some systems that seem to be operational but I believe they are just running on automatic. I believe I might be able to access a control panel if I can get a moment alone and tell you more."

"Don't do anything that will get yourselves in any more trouble," Ronon said in a low tone.

"Are you certain the two of you are in no immediate danger?" Teyla asked, her voice rising slightly in concern.

"I don't think so," Sheppard replied. "They don't have me under guard and they've even given me my own room. Zian?"

"There doesn't appear to be any guard around me either."

"I don't like it," Ronon replied. "I say we call the troops in and get you both out of there."

McKay cleared his throat. "I don't think it would work even if we tried. Between the hologram technology and the drones they'd pick us off pretty easily."

"Look," Sheppard interrupted. "For the moment I don't want anybody to do anything, just keep a low profile."

The door slid open and he turned to it. "Gotta go," he whispered and he deactivated his comm.

Two of the servants who had brought them to their rooms were standing in the doorway. They bowed to John. "Please sir," they said bowing low. "This way."

John nodded and followed. He hesitated when they didn't move to get Kai from her room. "What about-" he started to ask.

"Lady Zian has already been escorted down to dinner," one of them reported, bowing low. They seemed almost frightened of delivering news he might not like.

When John entered the main gallery Kai was already seated at the large banquet table that had been brought in. His eyes locked on hers, but she hadn't looked up when he came in. The room was noisy with chatter but he didn't think it was too loud for her to hear him. The servant showed him to his seat across the table from Kai who was seated next to The Lord Protector's Son.

He sneered down at her. "Kai isn't it?" he greeted.

He rested his hand on the back of her chair and leaned close to her. He watched Kai tense, but she didn't pull away, "I'm sure you know. I'm Tavius," he said with a simpering smile.

Without considering the possible ramifications John snatched up the large goblet of wine in front of his dinner plate and knocked back a few long swigs as he watched Tavius drooling all over Kai.

The feast was disgusting as the servants brought course after course after course out and the lords and ladies of the court gorged themselves on the food that had been taken from the villagers. It made John sick to his stomach watching it. Kai was equally revolted and quietly nibbled on a few cubes of cheese and fresh veggies while Tavius threw himself at her, trying to charm her.

Kai met Sheppard's gaze and shot him a severe glare, her eyes flickering to the goblet of wine in his hand. He realized belatedly he had drank most of it while trying to keep his temper while the young Lord slobbered all over her. John purposefully set down his glass and the beautiful young blonde to his right smiled at him brightly.

"I've never known anyone called Lietenant Colonel before, what does it mean?" The Lord Protector's daughter, Amara, asked leaning into John.

Tavius didn't turn away from Kai when he answered. "It's not his name you simpleton. It's his rank," he said putting extra emphasis on the K. He picked up the tail end of Kai scarf that hung over her shoulder, running his fingers over the midnight colored silk.

Kai went ramrod stiff and John's eyes narrowed.

Amara looked down. "My apologies," she said in a meek voice drawing John's attention to her.

John turned his hard eyes back to Tavius. His gaze landed on where his fingers were still stroking the silk and he fought not to react. Kai reached forward and snatched up her own goblet of wine, taking a long drink from it. Had they been in any other situation he knew she would have thrown the impertinent young man to the floor and kicked his ass. But as it stood she was fighting to keep control.

"It's okay," John said brightly. "I don't usually stand on ceremony anyway, you can call me John," John flinched as someone grabbed his thigh beneath the table.

"All right John," Amara said with a nervous giggle.

"This is such a lovely scarf," Tavius complimented. "Where did you get it?" he asked.

Kai swallowed. She was forcing her entire body into lockdown when all she wanted to do was get out of here. But she could see the Colonel was barely holding it together himself. Sheppard's protective instincts were prickling and she knew that if she reacted at all in a way that made him think she was in danger he was going to start a fight they could not win.

"A very good friend," she said in a low tone, but John heard her.

"Such an interesting style to wear it wrapped around your head like you have no hair," Tavius said, though it was clear he did not approve.

"Everyone's cultures are different," John said his voice had a harder edge to it than he wanted. He didn't like the other man touching the gift he had given Kai.

Tavius turned to look at John his eyes narrowing as he leaned forward, crossing his hands together. "It's obvious with eyes to see that you're a military man, which makes me wonder, why do you question the actions of my fathers soldiers. Do you not agree that discipline is necessary?"

John took another swallow of wine, glad Tavius's attention was on him now and not Kai. "I guess I just don't think whipping people is a good motivator," he said, knowing it was controversial and would prompt conversation. He wanted to glance at Kai to make sure she was okay, but doing so might bring Tavius's attention back to her and he wasn't willing to risk it.

Tavius smiled indulgently. "The villagers are mindless brutes. They understand nothing else."

"Maybe because they've never known anything else," John said his tone harder than he had intended.

The Lord Protector cleared his throat from his place at the end of the table. "I think we can all agree the lives of the villagers can be difficult, but how much more difficult would they be if they fell victim to the wraith?" he challenged.

"You protect them with these lights from the village earlier?" John asked, playing stupid about the drones.

"Yes," The Lord Protector replied.

John forced himself to look impressed. "But where do they come from?" he asked.

Tavius leaned forward into Kai's space once more, leering down at her. "The Lord Protector calls them forth with his mind," he said without looking away from her.

"Yeah," John agreed. "But from where? I mean they rise up from the ground but has anyone ever gone down there to check it out?"

"You mean the catacombs?" Amara squeaked.

"Well, whatever you call them," John agreed.

Amara shook her head, her dainty curls moving around her face. "They're dark and filthy, why would anyone want to go down there?" she asked innocently.

The Lord Protector began wheezing. He leaned forward coughing, knocking his plate to the side. He shoved himself to his feet. "Leave me be!" he cried as his guards rushed to his side. Everyone at the table shot to their feet, their eyes wide with concern over their beloved leader.

"Take him to his chambers!" Otho ordered, appearing out of no where and taking charge of the situation.

John was on his feet in an instant. "What's wrong with him?" he asked stepping up so he was standing beside Otho.

"He'll be all right," Otho assured him. "It's happened before."

Tavius however sat back, and didn't look at all concerned about his father's health. Kai glanced at John who met her gaze steadily. They both agreed that there was something going on here.

Once the meal was done the servants escorted them back to their rooms. Tavius however insisted on escorting Kai personally. He held out his arm gallantly and rather than risk insulting him she rested the tips of her fingers against the silk that covered his forearm. She was thankful John was just behind them. She was willing to tolerate a little flirting at dinner but that was as far as she was willing to go.

The servants stopped at John's door first. He hesitated, his eyes flying to Kai who was still standing with Tavius.

"Good night Lieutenant Colonel," Tavius called flippantly.

John opened his mouth to argue but there was nothing to say. His eyes locked on Kai's. She nodded once so he would know she would be okay and that he didn't need to push the point. He stepped into the room and the door slid shut. He leaned forward, banging his head against the metal.

Kai watched as John stared at her helplessly before moving into his room. It left her alone in the hallway with the prince and two servants. She somehow doubted the prince considered them people and her mind was racing as she tried to figure out a way to get herself out of this situation.

"-so than I asked him if he thought I was a fool. I could tell the difference between silk and satin with my eyes shut," Tavius threw back his head and laughed as though his story was the funniest thing in the word.

Kai forced herself to chuckle as though she were charmed. She decided that brain instead of brawn was going to be the best way to get herself out of this. The prince had been drinking most of the night and she just might be able to steer him away.

"Thank you for escorting me to my rooms, your highness," she said respectfully. "It was very kind of you," she added, although she could tell by the gleam in his eye it had been anything but kind. "It has been so overwhelming," she said, tripping over the word, but he was intoxicated enough he didn't notice. "Seeing your grand...palace," she added. "I am very weary tonight, but look forward to seeing more of it tomorrow. Perhaps you could give me a private tour?" she asked.

The prince looked ready to argue, but the prospect of a chance for future time together seemed to appease him. He smiled down at her. "But of course my lady Kai," he said as though he were charming. "I will have the ladies maids sent up tomorrow to help you dress in a manner so you will fit in here," he added as though he were granting her some great privilege. Before she could react he darted in and kissed her, pressing his sticky, pillowy lips against hers. She tried to jerk back but his hand came up and grabbed her scarf.

He broke the kiss and then tugged the scarf off her head. She scrambled to catch it before it fell to the ground. Her hair spilled free in dark waves around her face. She shook them out of her way angrily and had to take a deep breath before she looked back at the prince so he wouldn't see the murderous expression on her face.

"There, I knew you were beautiful beneath that rag," he said with a charming smile. "Sleep well my lady," and he bowed gallantly, snatching up her empty hand to press a kiss against it. Then he swept off down the hall, no doubt thinking he was wooing her.

Kai opened her door and when it slid shut behind her she leaned back against it breathing out a relieved sigh. Not wanting him to get any ideas she moved to the panel and pulled out one of the crystals, disabling the door until she fixed it. No surprise visitors would be coming through her door overnight.

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John sat on his bed restlessly. It had been impossible to notice the young asshole had followed Kai to her room. He paced agitatedly, wishing once again she hadn't come with on this stupid mission. If she had just stayed behind on Atlantis they wouldn't be in this mess.

Finally unable to stand it he reached up and activated his radio turning it to a private channel between him and Kai. "Zian?" he asked tentatively.

The silence that hung afterward was actually painful. "I'm here," she finally said but she didn't sound like herself.

John closed his eyes resting his forehead against his hands. He wanted to storm next door and check on her himself. "Are you okay?" he asked. In that moment it didn't matter if they were mad at one another, or that she was leaving. All that mattered to him was that she was okay.

"I'm safe," she promised him in a low tone.

He swallowed, unsure what to say now. The relief made him nearly light headed. "Good," he said.

There was another long pause between them. "Good night Colonel," she said.

He felt that warmth in his chest that told him that she was there. Whatever it was from, the Bond or her telepathy, it didn't matter, it reassured him that she was in fact okay. "Good night Kai," he said, his voice low and gravely and he flopped back on his bed, turning off his comm. He felt like such an idiot.

He lay there for twenty minutes, contemplating how exactly they had gotten themselves into this mess when his door slid open. John sat up fast, scowling as Amara walked into his room as though she owned it. In a way he supposed she did.

"Am I disturbing you?" Amara asked innocently. She was wearing what looked like a victorian style dressing gown and her long blonde hair was loose down her back.

"Amara," he said in surprise. "No, ah how's your father?" he asked, wondering what the princess would possibly be doing in his room in the middle of the night.

"He's resting, thank you for your concern," she said with a demure smile.

"Look," John said, "Maybe it would be best if I just came back another day to talk to your father."

"No!" Amara exclaimed. "You can't leave! Please! There's a matter of great importance my father wishes to discuss with you. Perhaps in the morning. If these chambers aren't to your liking..." she dragged off looking around with a small wrinkle of her nose. "Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?" she asked.

"No, no," John responded quickly. "I don't think so," he added, not noticing the seductive look in her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Amara asked reaching for her belt.

John's eyes widened and he grabbed for her hands, stopping her from opening her robe.

"You don't find me pleasing?" She asked offended.

"No no, it's not that it's just that I-"John tried to explain but she grabbed the back of his neck and dragged his lips down towards hers.

He pulled back at the last minute. "Listen Amara, you're great but I-"

She stopped and looked up at him with wide blue eyes. "What you said at dinner, did you mean it?" she asked hopefully.

"What did I say again?" he asked, frozen, unsure how to get himself out of this situation. How did he even get himself into this situation? He didn't think he gave her any signals. At least nothing that would be considered a signal in his own culture.

"About this villagers," she reminded him brightly. "My brother believes it is a sign of weakness, but I know you will make a great ruler one day."

"Ruler?" John asked in shock, taking a measured step away from her and scrubbing his hands through his already disheveled hair. "What are you talking about?"

Amara smiled up at him as though she had just given him the best news of his life. "My father has promised that if you and I marry and produce an heir before my brother and Kai, succession will fall to me!"

"Married?" John asked and he jerked back from her as the words processed in his head. "Wait, what about Kai?!"

><><

Chapter 69

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The Tower Cont
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The next morning Amara was back at John's door and offered to walk with him down to breakfast. She slid her arm through his as he stepped out into the hallway. He glanced towards Kai's door. Amara smiled up at him sweetly. "Don't worry John," she said giving his arm a squeeze. "Tavius was already here to escort Lady Zian down to breakfast."

"Oh," John said with a frown. It bothered him that Kai hadn't radioed to let him know.

"You needn't worry about Lady Zian, Tavius will take good care of her," Amara soothed.

"I'm sure he will," John griped half under his breath, but he politely let Amara lead him down to the banquet hall.

When they got there The Lord Protector was still missing. At the head of the table however, Tavius was sitting in his seat, lording over the court. Kai was seated to his left but he was ignoring her as he laughed with the other ladies of the court who seemed all to happy to have the prince's attention. Otho was standing just behind his chair, his hands clasped behind his back respectfully as he watched the spectacle.

Amara took the seat to the right of Tavius and gestured for John to sit beside her. John couldn't help feeling like they were on the longest blind date ever. He ate some of the fresh fruit and took a swig of tea, wishing they had coffee. He never slept well in the field and there was no telling how long they could be stuck here while they sorted this mess out.

"So," Tavius said turning to his left. "Lady Zian, after breakfast I have made arrangements to give you a private tour of the palace..." he hesitated as he looked her over. "I see you did allow the Lady's maids to help you with your attire," he said condescendingly.

John choked on his tea. Kai for her part kept her face perfectly impassive. "I'm afraid they did not come to my room by the time I was ready to go."

"No matter," Tavius said with a casual flip of his fingers. "Once you adapt to life here in the palace you will realize you no longer need to get up at such obscene hours of the morning."

Kai swallowed a sip of tea. "Yes, 0700 is obscene," she agreed with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

John kicked at her under the table. He connected with her shin but she didn't flinch. Instead she flashed John a charming smile and popped a grape into her mouth. John scowled at her. She needed to watch her mouth or she was going to get them into trouble. Luckily Tavius didn't seem to realize a woman was capable of being sarcastic and it went straight over his head.

"Ah, Lady Zian and I were promised a tour of the history of this place," John said quickly.

Tavius and Amara wrinkled their noses in distaste. "Why would you want to visit Otho's musty archive chamber?" Tavius asked in distaste as he glared down his nose at John. His eyes traveled to Kai. "A lady like yourself needn't bother with such things."

Kai forced a complacent smile on her face as she spoke so she wouldn't throw her cup of hot tea in his face. "If I'm to be Lady of the palace its important to me that I understand the history of it's people and..." she hesitated, she wasn't any better at this game than John. She wished fervently that Elizabeth or Teyla were here, they always seemed to know the right things to say.

"And the history of the Lord Protectors," John filled in. He turned to look over Tavius's shoulder. "Isn't that right Otho?" he asked.

Otho stiffened his eyes widening slightly as John pulled him into their mess. "But of course my lord, my lady," he agreed bowing to each of them in turn.

Once Tavius was finished with his meal everyone was dismissed from the banquet hall. He grabbed Kai's hand and planted a sloppy kiss on the back of it. "Once you are finished with that bore Otho, come find me my lady, there are many other exciting treats in store for you."

Kai felt her skin scrawl but nodded demurely before pulling her hand back. She settled in beside John as they followed Otho down the hall.

"Many exciting treats, aren't you lucky," John muttered half under his breath.

Kai shot him an annoyed look and hip checked him. It caught him by surprise and John actually stumbled sideways. He laughed out loud, looking back at Kai as he straightened. Otho glanced back at them over his shoulder in concern and both Kai and John cleared their throats and forced their faces to look serious.

"You're no better over there," Kai observed in a low tone. "The princess is practically crawling in your lap."

John nodded. "She offered to do more than that."

"What?" Kai asked in surprise, turning to face him. She had forgotten to keep her voice down and Otho looked back at them once more in concern. Kai quickly flashed him a smile and jogged to catch up.

"Something fishy is going on around here," John agreed.

"Because the princess is throwing herself at you?" Kai asked, though her voice was steady, she felt anything but. The princess was beautiful in ways Kai would never be, she was gentle and sweet.

"No, that's not that unusual," John responded flippantly. "But them both acting like its a forgone conclusion..." John dragged off. He shrugged. He didn't like it. They needed answers so they could figure out how to get themselves out of this situation, and Otho was the one who would give them to them.

Once they were inside the Archive chambers Kai closed the door while John stepped up towards Otho who had sat down behind his desk. "We need to talk," John said grimly.

Otho looked back and forth between them in surprise. "Colonel Sheppard, Lady Zian are you saying you did not come here to learn of the historical archive?" he feigned innocence, and it made John tighten his jaw.

John didn't much like playing at politics. It had been the last nail in the coffin of his career that he was so poor at them. It was only his performance on Atlantis that earned his Lieutenant Colonel rank. He was under no illusions that he would ever make it to General. He wasn't good enough at playing the game.

John crossed his arms over his chest. "It seems certain people around here have got certain...ideas about us," John said as delicately as possible.

Otho looked back and forth between them in confusion.

John blew out a frustrated sigh. "Amara came to my room last night," John prompted.

Kai swung around to face John, shock on her face, but he didn't look at her. It was one thing to know the beautiful princess had been flirting with him at meal times, it was quite another to know she had gone to his room. Kai wondered if it was before or after John had checked on her. She crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight as she fought down the ugly jealousy.

Otho cleared his throat. "You must forgive her forward behavior Colonel. She doesn't have much time."

"What's that supposed to mean?" John asked severely. He certainly wasn't interested in Amara in a romantic sense, but he also wasn't going to let something happen to her. She was a nice girl.

Otho crossed his hands on his desk in front of him. "I have many duties, but the greatest of which is as royal genealogist," he gestured to the shelves lining his room. "These scrolls record the blood line of the Lord Protector going back twenty generations. It's my duty to study them in order to determine the best possible match for every member of the royal house so we might maintain the integrity of those lines."

Kai caught on faster than John did. Her own people selectively bred in order to maintain genetic purity. It would make sense that on a world governed by who could use the technology it would be important as well.

"This is necessary because only those of the royal blood can control the throne chair which in turn controls the weapon which protects us from the wraith. But I suspect you know some of this already..." Otho said glancing back and forth between them meaningfully. When neither gave anything away he smiled indulgently. "Most people when they see the throne chair activated for the first time act as if they have seen some kind of magic. But you...you didn't bat an eye."

Kai crossed her arms over her chest. She and Sheppard hadn't reacted at all because they both had logged hours in the control chair. She recognized their mistake now.

When neither one of them said anything Otho continued. "What's more you both have in your blood the gene our royal family has been so selectively bred all these generations. I scanned you shortly after we met, remember? Colonel, Lady Zian, you must understand how important this is to us. Over the generations despite our best efforts the bloodlines have deteriorated. The ability of each new Lord Protector to operate the throne chair is no longer a certainty."

"Well, maybe its time to start thinking about a new system of government," John ground out. His jaw was tight as he began to understand the depth of shit they were in. These people wanted to use him and Kai to breed themselves new rulers.

"You have observed the inequalities of our society and you disapprove," Otho deduced. "I can hardly blame you."

"You didn't seem to have much of a problem with that in the village." Kai accused taking a step towards the desk.

"I must maintain the authority of my position in front of the villagers. It is my duty. But believe me between all of us you both are in a better position to change things. Colonel, the gene in you is stronger than it has been in any member of the royal family in over 300 years...and you," he said turning to Kai. He shook his head in disbelief.

"That's why junior is so interested in her," John said gruffly. He managed to keep his tone level but it wasn't easy watching the perfumed prince chase after her.

"He doesn't know the half of it. I informed The Lord Protector that she bore the gene, but that it was comparable to your numbers Colonel. If any of them even suspected the strength of the gene in her body..." Otho shook his head in distaste. "You would not be considered a guest any more Lady Zian."

John took a protective step towards Kai instinctually. She noticed but didn't react as he shifted so his shoulder was in front of hers, half blocking her from Otho. The threat however, wasn't the mild mannered Chamberlain. He was the least of their problems.

"Why lie for us?" Kai asked. She was grateful he had done so. She had never considered the fact that her position here could turn quite so dangerous. She was capable of getting herself out of the palace as a guest, but if they imprisoned her things would change rapidly.

Otho arched his brows. "Is it not obvious?"

John shot him a disgruntled look. "Let's pretend for a half a minute you're talking to two soldiers who aren't used to playing court politics," John snapped.

Otho nodded indulgently. "You have met Tavius, surely you see that he is not a desirable ruler."

John scowled. "You sent Amara to my room," he accused.

"I didn't have to," Otho said, turning away from them. "She understands the situation perfectly well. Right now Tavius is next in line. But the possibility that his sister might one day bear children with superior genetic make up to him or his progeny, that will always be a threat. If however, Tavius reproduces with Lady Zian, it will cement his and his progeny's place on the throne easily for another twenty generations if not more."

Kai went cold. Tavius's flirting had been off putting before, but it took on a new, much more menacing air now. She and John shared a long look. He shook his head, he wasn't going to let that happen to her. He took another step up to her and she felt the gentle telepathic bump in her mind as he turned back to Otho.

"So if the old man dies..." he dragged off.

"Precisely. And his condition grows worse every day," Otho reported gravely.

John pressed his lips together. They needed to get out of here before that happened or Tavius would be the new ruler and things would get a lot more complicated. "I know of someone who might be able to help with that..."

John quickly explained and Otho agreed, he disappeared to gather his men and make arrangements. Kai turned to Sheppard raising her eyebrows. "Beckett isn't going to like it," she said with a small smile.

><><

Beckett came to the palace five hours later. He went straight to The Lord Protectors Chambers to examine his patient. Sheppard, Kai and Otho stood by, waiting for the consensus. He turned back from the bed. "He's anemic," he reported gravely. "Both his kidney's and liver are failing. But he's not running a temperature so I don't think it's an infection. I'll need to run some more tests."

Kai frowned, she didn't know much about keeping people alive unfortunately, but she could tell by the look on Beckett's face and the persistent rasp in The Lord Protector's chest that things were not looking good.

"I want to talk to him," John said firmly.

Beckett's face hardened. "Right now he needs to rest."

"Carson," John said.

But Beckett was firm. "He's not lucid at all."

"Thank you doctor," Otho said graciously, sensing the tension between the two men.

"All right," Carson said with a nod and he turned back to his patient.

"Colonel, I have been authorized by the Lord Protector to speak with you on his behalf...please come this way," Otho said and he led the Colonel down into the bowels of the city. Leaving Kai with Doctor Beckett.

John knew where they were going even before they stepped into the jumper bay. John looked around, thinking how sad it would make Kai to see the entire bay filled with disused jumpers.

"Do you know what this is?" Otho asked gesturing to a jumper.

"You tell me," Sheppard responded distractedly as he counted exactly how many were here. The spare parts alone they could get out of here would keep the Atlantis fleet in working order for a long time. 

"It's a flying machine, at least it used to be. It ran out of power a long time ago," Otho said grimly. "I know you have some understanding of these things even though you try not to show it. I also know that this place was once home to a much more advanced civilization."

John crossed his arms over his chest but he didn't give any thing away.

"Unfortunately, aside from a few trinkets and useless relics all that is left is the throne chair. And if the bloodline continues to deteriorate that will be taken from us as well," Otho explained gravely.

John drew in a deep breath and looked back at Otho thoughtfully. "What if I told you there was a way around that? A way to protect the planet without having to worry about all these royal bloodlines or any of that crap?"

Otho's eyes lit up in wonder, but there was still an edge of suspicion. He wasn't quite ready to believe yet.

John was making the call without speaking to Elizabeth first, but it was the only way he could think of to get himself and more importantly Kai out of this situation without calling in the troops.

"That's impossible," Otho said shaking his head.

"What if it wasn't?" John asked seriously.

"Such talk is dangerous," Otho said, glancing around them.

John scoffed. "You can't watch everyone all the time. Look I know you serve these people, and if you're right and eventually they lose their ability to control the chair, well at that point what good are they?"

Otho frowned, looking bewildered. "What are you suggesting?"

John paced a line around Otho as he considered his next words carefully. "A drug, gene therapy, you give it to the people in the village and half of them will be able to control the throne chair no problem"

"You're talking about revolution!" Otho exclaimed.

"I'm talking about survival," John growled in a low voice. He wasn't just going to look the other way while these people lived like this. He couldn't. "What's going to happen once the royal family can't protect this planet anymore?"

Otho looked entirely bewildered as his thoughts raced. "And in exchange for this drug? What do you want in return?" Otho demanded.

John reached up and activated his comm. "McKay come in," all that came back was static.

"Rodney," he tried again.

"Say again," McKay called loudly through the comm.

John winced. "I said, have you found anything?"

"I've only just gotten down here," McKay snapped defensively.

"Look, I may have figured out a way to make a deal here. Drones in exchange for the gene therapy. I just need to know how many they have left."

"All right, I'm on it," McKay agreed.

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Kai was sick of the court almost as much as she was sick of Tavius. She had tried hiding with Beckett most of the day, but that only last another couple of hours before she had to make an appearance and her patience was wearing thin. The women kept trying to befriend her so to speak but their backhanded compliments and comments were enough to make her want to start throwing punches. It truly made her appreciate her own people. They may have been vicious, but at least they weren't backstabbers. You faced your enemies eye to eye in the ring.

Amara came over and sat beside her. "How do you find court?" Amara asked in her gentle voice.

Kai turned to look at the princess. Her perfect golden hair hung in ringlets, framing her beautiful face. "I-" Kai started to say.

Amara chuckled gently. "That bad?" she asked

Kai looked away. She was a better liar than this, but she wasn't as good as the ladies of the court. This was a different kind of game. A much more dangerous one. Kai heard John approach and she glanced around, trying to pin point his location. She spotted him up on the balcony looking down over the court. He was leaning his palms against the railing just like he did back at home in the control room.

"You and the Colonel," Amara began, her voice not quite as bright and chipper as it had once been. "You are close?" she asked, a little bitterly.

Kai glanced back at her.

Amara smiled indulgently. "It is not difficult to see he is fond of you," Amara said. "But beware," she warned, her face becoming serious. "If my brother suspects he will have John killed." Then Amara was gone slipping away into the groups of other ladies of the court, laughing and talking about the latest fashions and foods.

Fear made Kai freeze for a second as she stared after Amara. Her eyes flew up to John and then went where Tavius was speaking with other ladies of the courts. Her hands tightened into fists at her sides.

John watched below where Amara spoke with Kai. Whatever she said made Kai stiffen and he felt a strange uneasiness in his chest. John tightened his jaw, wondering if it was his own or if it has something to do with Kai.

He wanted her out of here as soon as possible.

"Colonel Sheppard?" Beckett called coming up behind him. "I've completed my examination of the Lord Protector and the reason he is dying is because he has been poisoned."

"What?" he hissed, turning to face Beckett.

"Aye, my guess is it's been done slowly over the last couple of months, probably in his food. Any idea who would like to see him dead?" Beckett asked.

John's eyes swept over the entire court. There were too many to name. Too much intrigue to wade through. But his eyes landed on Tavius as he swept up to Kai. Tavius took her hand in his and kissed the back of it, flashing what he probably thought was a charming smile. Kai smiled brittley and jerked her hand back as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, I think I have an idea."

><><

John and Beckett went to see Otho. John didn't know who else to trust. Otho was the only one who seemed to genuinely care about the people and what happened to them.

"This is terrible," Otho said pacing a line across his chambers. "I knew Tavius was cruel and vindictive...but to want to murder his own father..."

"Raising children can be very dangerous," John agreed sardonically with a nod. "The key is, we don't let him succeed to the throne. We need to talk to The Lord Protector."

"I'm afraid it's already too late," Otho said gravely. "I received word only moments ago. He's dead."

Beckett's mouth dropped open in shock. "But-" he started to say and he stopped.

"You must leave now," Otho said quickly. "Tavius will arrest Amara and arrest anyone he considers to be consorting with her, and that includes you Colonel."

"What about the villagers?" Beckett asked.

"He'll kill them all," Otho said gravely. "Burn the place to the ground to make an example of them."

"They had nothing to do with what happened!" Beckett cried.

"It doesn't matter. Any defiance must be crushed without mercy to keep it from spreading to the other villages."

Sheppard glanced back at Beckett before he stepped up next to Otho. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tube. "Look, this is the gene therapy we were talking about. You can take it to the people and tell them what it means."

Otho took the injection tube in his hands, turning it over carefully.

"You don't have to be slaves to this royal bloodline anymore," Sheppard said fiercely. "You can stop Tavius."

Otho shook his head. "This may be too late. Tavius will consider this to be treason. He'll fight it, and if the soldiers support him..." he dragged off turning away from Beckett and Sheppard as he slid the tube up his sleeve.

A bell began tolling outside.

"What's that mean?" John asked urgently.

"It means, news of the Lord Protector's death is already spreading. The court is being called to assemble in the throne now. Go now!" Otho implored them. "Before it is too late."

"Colonel," Beckett said taking Sheppard's arm.

Sheppard nodded and followed behind Beckett as the two of them rushed from the room. They needed to find Kai and get out of there. He activated his comm. "Kai you there?" but there was no response. He turned to Beckett. "Head back to the village, I need to get Zian," John told Beckett.

"Right," Beckett agreed and ran for the door.

John hustled through the palace but he couldn't find Kai anywhere. "Amara!" he called when he spotted her.

She turned. "John what are you still doing here?" she asked.

"I'm looking for Zian."

She shook her head. "You have to leave now," she said firmly, trying to shove him the other way.

"I know, but I can't leave without Zian," Sheppard said.

Amara shook her head, "I don't know where she's gone," she replied indecision on her face.

"Look, maybe you should come with me too," John said. "You know what's going to happen if you stay here. I can find a safe place for you to go."

Amara's face softened. "You do care!" she exclaimed. "I knew you did. You'd really take me with you?" she asked latching onto his arm.

"Of course," John said with a distracted nod slowly pulling his arm away from her. "We just need to find Kai and the three of us can get out of here. Can you help me find her?"

"That won't be necessary," A stern voice intoned behind them. John whirled around to see Otho standing with guards at his back. "Tavius has been arrested for the murder of The Lord Protector and Amara is free to do as she likes. Kai is perfectly safe."

"That's great news," John said with a forced smile, but there was something going on. Some instinct of his was prickling and telling him things weren't okay. He shifted, rubbing at the center of his chest. Where in the hell was Kai if she was so safe?

"You really should have left," Otho said. He reached out and put a hand on John's shoulder. "I was prepared to let you walk away. You should have gotten out while you had the chance," he growled.

A soldier came up behind them with a knife to Beckett's throat.

"What the hell is this?" Sheppard snarled.

"I was prepared to let you walk away, but your colleagues in the village forced my hand. They have incited an uprising, which is something as the new Lord Protector just can't allow," Otho snarled.

The soldiers grabbed their arms and dragged them down to the prison. When they threw them inside John looked around to see Tavius lounging on a couch. It was the cushiest jail cell he had ever been in. He grunted in agitation and paced along the walls of the cell.

Otho strutted in moments later. "Wait outside," he ordered the guards.

"I'll have your head for this Chamberlain," Tavius drawled from where he was reclining. "Did you really need to add insult to injury by imprisoning me with these people?"

"We're not the ones who committed murder," Beckett bristled.

"True," Tavius agreed climbing dramatically to his feet. "There is only one murderer in the room. Isn't that right Otho?" he asked. He swung back around to face Beckett and Sheppard. "Oh let me guess, he told you I did it. Do I look like a person who knows anything about poisons or chemicals?" he asked gesturing to himself. "Otho on the other hand is always making elaborate studies of things, topics you and I might find boring but sometimes might turn out to be quite useful."

"You're the one who poisoned the Lord Protector?" Beckett asked in confusion turning to face Otho. He had liked the Chamberlain, genuinely believed Otho wanted to help his people.

"I had no choice," Otho said defensively.

Taviud chuckled bitterly. "Oh you're leaving out the best part. Once I assumed the throne Amara was to be given to Otho as his wife. That all changed of course when Lady Kai walked into the door. Otho thought he was so clever hiding her away, not telling my father of her true potential. But I was smart enough to check her scans myself. With Amara he might rule at her side, but he would never be the Lord Protector."

"That's true," Otho agreed. "Now with the gene therapy I will be the Lord Protector myself and with Kai we will produce a new dynasty. One that will last thousands of years."

"You won't touch her," Sheppard growled.

Otho chuckled. "I can be quite persuasive," he said brightly. "Especially to save her friends lives," Otho said dramatically and he slammed the cell door behind him.

"I really need to stop making house calls," Beckett muttered.

Sheppard turned to Tavius. "Where's Kai?" he demanded.

Tavius arched a brow, unimpressed. John grabbed him and slammed him against the wall. "Where. Is. Kai." he demanded in a dangerous voice.

"Colonel!" Beckett exclaimed.

Tavius was struggling to breath but all John could feel was his rage pounding through his body and the overwhelming need to protect Kai and get them as far away from these people as possible.

Tavius struggled against Sheppard, but he wasn't strong enough to break his grip. "I had her communications device taken from her," he wheezed. "I had her secured in her quarters once my father died."

"Why?" John demanded.

"I was going to threaten to kill you and all your friends if she didn't agree to marry me."

John rolled his eyes and threw Tavius away from him. "Good," he snarled as Tavius rolled across the floor.

"Good?" Beckett asked surprised. "What did I miss?"

"Well, I'm guessing Otho would have kept Kai locked in while he took control before he goes and makes the same offer," John cast a look at Beckett. "It's why we're still alive."

"Okay, so once again, why is that good?" Beckett asked slowly.

John smirked, a strange sense of pride on his face. "Because no one, not even Rodney could lock Kai in one of the rooms of Atlantis."

"But this isn't Atlantis," Beckett pointed out.

"You're right, it's a lot more simple than that," John said with a grin.

><><

Kai crept through the city. She had been out of her room for almost half an hour. She couldn't find Sheppard and Tavius's men had taken her radio. She crept through the hallways down to the cells. As she got closer she could hear Beckett and Sheppard talking. She didn't think it was loud enough for the guards outside the cell to hear them but she couldn't be sure.

There were two guards in the hallway, and she couldn't hear the heartbeats of any others. She launched herself at the first, leaping up into the air to put as much power behind her punch as possible. She caught him in the temple and he fell unconscious.

The other guard shouted and swung around to face her drawing his knife. She smirked at him. She might not be armed, but knife fighting was her forte. She dodged easily as he swung recklessly, backing towards the cells. She dodged four strikes before he lost his patience. He yelled impatiently and charged her. She smirked and spun out of the way at the last second. She shoved his arm up, making the knife useless and kicked as he sailed by, he slammed into the heavy metal bars of the cell.

When she looked up Tavius, Beckett and Sheppard were all staring at her. Tavius with shock, Beckett looked worried and Sheppard was smirking at her with a strange sort of pride on his face. She didn't want to think about it too hard.

"Looks like you boys are in need of a rescue," she said with a smirk as she crouched and pulled the keys off the guards belt.

"Yeah yeah, hurry up!" John called.

"How about a little appreciation," she said unlocking the door.

"You call this a rescue?" he teased in disbelief.

"Colonel," Beckett prompted urgently, reminding the Colonel that time was of the essence if they were going to save Ronon and Teyla.

"Right," Sheppard agreed. "Otho's going to use the throne chair to destroy the village." He stalked out of the cell and hurried to the side table where his and Beckett's radios were stashed.

"McKay come in," John called into the radio. "Rodney come in."

"Sheppard, are you all right?" McKay asked with uncharacteristic concern.

"I'm fine," Sheppard said quickly. "Look I need you to pull the ZPM and cut the power right away or Ronon and Teyla are dead."

"I already know all that," McKay sputtered. "Unfortunately I am cut off from the ZPM."

"There has to be something you can do," Sheppard said.

"I'm working on it!" McKay snapped.

"So work faster!" John ordered. Sometimes all McKay needed was a little pressure.

"All right I think I've got something," Rodney came back. "According to my reading the ZPM is almost depleted if we can activate enough systems simultaneously it might drain power completely thus rendering the drones inert."

"So do it!" John ordered.

"I can't, I don't have access to enough systems that draw that kind of power. I need something really big!"

"The star drive!" Kai called from across the cell where she was eavesdropping on their conversation.

John snapped his head around to face her with a grin and activated the radio. "How about the star drive? The cities just like Atlantis right? A city that was designed to fly."

"You want me to fly the city right up out of the ground?" McKay asked in disbelief.

"No," Sheppard snapped impatiently. Normally McKay was able to follow along a lot faster than this. "You don't have to go anywhere, just charge the engines. That should be the single greatest draw of power you can create."

"That could work," McKay agreed. "There's only one problem."

"What?" Sheppard demanded impatiently.

"This place is pretty unstable, I fire up the engines the vibrations alone could make the whole thing come down on us."

John glanced at Kai and blew out a sigh, closing his eyes. "It's a risk we're going to have to take."

"Firing up main engines," Rodney said warily and the whole place began shaking beneath their feet.

Two more guards ran in. John punched one and Kai kicked the other with a round house to the temple, dropping him to the ground. She was pleased to see it was the man who took her Blades. She crouched over him. "These are mine," she said pulling them from his belt and sliding them into their cross sheath on her low back.

"What about me?" Tavius called running to the cell door.

"Leave him," John called over his shoulder.

Tavius looked ready to argue and Kai smiled at him. He took a step closer to her and she pulled her fist back, punching him across the face with enough force the throw him back. She turned and ran to follow John.

Beckett chuckled and pulled the cell door closed on him. "Sorry wee man," he said with a laugh.

"Let's go," John called again and the three of them ran for the throne room.

They were halfway there when the power shut down in the whole compound. When they came into the throne room Otho was staring down at the chair in disbelief. "You," he cried shoving himself to his feet as John stepped into the middle of the floor. "this is your doing!" he accused. "Seize them!" he cried, turning to the guards.

John shook his head. "You're only Lord Protector if you can control the chair," he said stalking out into the middle of the room. "You said it yourself. It's over." John turned to the rest of the room. "You don't have to bow down to this man or Tavius or anyone else!" John told the people.

Everyone was watching John, the only thing that saved his life was that Kai was still watching Otho. She saw the movement behind John out of the corner of her eye. "John!" she called just as Otho charged him.

John whirled out of the way. Otho swung wildly and Kai stepped in, blocking his forearm and shoving him back. Otho whirled around, his blade aiming for John once more. John grabbed for the knife, jerking it out of his hand. The blade sliced across Otho's skin as John disarmed him.

Otho froze, staring down at the wound while John and Kai faced him in a crouch. Otho chuckled as he looked at his hand. "Tavius was right about one thing," he said grimly. "I do have a fair knowledge of poisons," he said and he gasped and collapsed to the floor.

John looked down at the blade in his hand as he realized one nick could have killed him or Kai. He threw the blade to the ground.

"John you saved us!" Amara cried and she threw her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately.

Kai slipped out of the throne room. She just wanted to leave.

><><

Once they were back, John found Elizabeth on the balcony looking out over the waves. The doors slid open and Elizabeth glanced back at him.

"Got the drones, got a few jumpers, I even got the girl," he said proudly.

Elizabeth's eyes widened a little and her gaze went to the window over John's shoulder where she could see Kai moving through the control room. "You got the girl?" Elizabeth asked in surprise as she watched Kai.

John followed her gaze and saw Kai. He immediately turned back to face the ocean shifting uncomfortably. "I mean I could have got the girl," he said casually. "I turned the princess down," he explained quickly.

"What did you offer them in return for the drones and the jumpers?" Elizabeth asked, changing the subject.

"A supply of medicines and an IDC if they need to reach us. We also offered to help them come up with a new way of running things when the time comes," John said.

"They didn't offer you King?" Elizabeth teased.

John rested his hands on his hips and smirked down at her before walking backwards towards the door. "Turned that down too."

><><

Chapter 70

><><
The Long Goodbye
><><

Kai and Zelenka were just putting the finishing touches on the changes to the sensors. On the next system update the changes would go into effect and Atlantis would be capable of picking up any Mortii ships that entered the quadrant, whether they were cloaked or not. She was finished. It was time to go.

"Doctor Weir," Zelenka said into his radio. "The changes to the sensors are complete."

There was a long pause. "Understood Radek," Weir said and Kai thought perhaps the leader of Atlantis sounded a bit sad.

Now that it was done, Kai was at a loss for what to do with herself. She was just packing away her tools when word came in about new technology AR-1 had brought in from their last mission. McKay put out a request for Zelenka's team to come in to assist on the project. Radek had looked at her expectantly as he turned to head down to the lab assuming she would be joining him on their next project. No one but Weir and Sheppard knew of her plans to leave and she didn't have the heart to break it to Radek now. She was a coward. So, Kai packed up her tools and trailed after him.

She and Zelenka met McKay and Beckett in one of the quarantine labs on the east pier. It seemed they had found what appeared to be an alien pod in orbit around a planet with a single life sign inside and they were determined to revive the occupant. The excitement in the lab was almost a tangible thing.

"Have you seen anything like it?" McKay asked her as soon as she stepped through the door.

It was the size of a life pod but Kai didn't recognize the technology. "No, never," she replied after a minute. She scanned it and tapped on her tablet but nothing she was reading implied there were any sort of defense systems that would hurt anyone who tried to open it.

Sheppard swaggered in the door. He pulled up in surprise when he saw Kai working on the pod. They hadn't spoken since they came back their ordeal in The Tower. Kai had thrown herself into her work and Weir had contacted him as soon as he got back that she had finished the changes to the sensors. Which meant her time was up, and she would be leaving. He had been crabby since, now he didn't know what to think.

He pressed his lips into a grim line and turned his attention to McKay pointedly ignoring Zian. He and Kai had been civil on the mission but the tension between them was still there since he had yelled at her in the jumper about leaving. He didn't regret what he said, but he also didn't know how to make things better. If she was leaving anyway it didn't much matter what she thought of him. It was probably easier for her to be mad at him. 

McKay was too engrossed in his work to notice, but both Beckett and Zelenka picked up on the tension immediately. The two men shared confused looks, but when neither Kai nor Sheppard acknowledged one another they focused on their own work.

Doctor Weir and Colonel Caldwell stepped into the room behind Sheppard. "Doctor Weir," Beckett greeted. His eyes widened in surprise. "Colonel Caldwell, welcome back."

"Thank you Doctor," he looked up and met Sheppard's gaze. "Colonel," he greeted with a nod.

Sheppard nodded back but the tension in the room that had been bubbling between Kai and Sheppard seemed to have shifted into something else now that everyone in the room was watching Caldwell like he might attack someone without notice. This was his first trip back to Atlantis after the incident with the Goa'uld.

"What do we got?" Caldwell asked with interest.

"It's a life pod of some kind," John said crossing his arms over his chest.

"It appears to have been designed for the sole purpose of maintaining a single human life in stasis. This one is a female," Beckett said as he bustled around the pod double checking his readings. His whole focus was one the life inside the pod while Zalenka, Kai and McKay were monitoring the technology.

"There's another one in a decaying orbit, but ah, we could only fit the one in the jumper," John explained.

Weir stepped up next to the pod. "I've already sent Lorne and his team to retrieve the second pod. Ronon and Teyla are with them."

McKay popped up from underneath the pod, his tablet cradled in his arm. "Okay, we're ready to crack her open," he pulled up in surprise when he saw Caldwell. His eyes flickered to Sheppard, who still seemed uncomfortable but wasn't upset by his presence. "Hey," he greeted awkwardly.

"Hello Doctor."

McKay activated the pod and the door slid open to reveal a very old woman. She was wearing what looked like a flight suit.

Beckett checked his instruments. "She's alive, barely...I believe we found her very near the end. All the major organs are shutting down."

"How long was she out there?" Weir asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"There's no way to tell for certain."

Kai was working her way through the pods main computer but couldn't find a date of execution of the pod. Which didn't seem likely. Anyone who would retrieve the pod would need information about what happened. It was a huge design flaw to not have the information available.

"So she could be an ancient," Elizabeth said excitedly.

"Ah, the pod design makes me doubt that," McKay said. "Kai are you finding any information?"

"No...nothing."

McKay stepped up next to her, practically shoving her out of the way. "Let me check," he ordered. Kai quickly stepped aside, nearly tripping to get out of his way. She almost crashed into Sheppard. He reached out to steady her and snatched his hands back at the last moment. They met each others gaze and turned away from each other.

"There's no information here," McKay said, disgruntled.

"As I said," Kai replied with a nod.

Sheppard's eyes flickered to her once more, but he didn't react with his typical smile. He clenched his jaw as he looked back at the pod.

"It's a shame she can't speak with us," Weir said sadly. She took a step closer to the pod so she was standing directly over the woman. "Just imagine what she could tell us about her people and what happened to her," she added taking another step closer.

There was a blast of white light that caught Weir straight in the face. Her whole body went rigid and collapsed back, unconscious.

"Elizabeth!" John called and he and Caldwell caught her before she could hit the floor. They carefully lowered her to the floor.

"We need a medical team stat!" Beckett yelled and jogged over to their side of the pod and began working over Elizabeth.

"What the hell was that?" McKay asked sharply.

Kai frowned, her fingers skittering over her laptop as she re-read the analysis. "Some kind of data burst," she said. "I have no idea where it came from," she said looking up gravely.

The medical team showed up and put Elizabeth on the gurney, wheeling her off towards the medical lab. Everyone followed behind except Kai and Zelenka. There wasn't anything for them to do but figure out what went wrong.

Lorne's team arrived with the second pod a short time later. Kai directed them where to put it and cleared the room. She immediately began getting it hooked up to other sensors so they could monitor it for any more data bursts. When the pod appeared to be dormant she made her way up to the infirmary to check on Weir and find out what McKay wanted to do with it.

She walked around the corner to see McKay and Sheppard talking with their heads near one another. "This is not my fault," McKay said adamantly.

"We were all there, relax," Sheppard assured McKay offhandedly. He glanced up as Kai appeared. He swallowed and cleared his throat straightening. "Zian," he greeted with a brisk nod.

"The other pod is being monitored, so far it has been dormant," she reported.

Sheppard shifted his weight. "I thought you had finished up those sensors," he couldn't help saying. "Why are you working on this project?" he asked, not able to keep the accusatory tone in check.

McKay looked back and forth between them, completely obtuse as to what was going on between them. "Because she finally finished with the sensor project," McKay said as though it were obvious.

Kai cleared her throat, shooting Sheppard a pointed look. "I had the time," she replied tightly. No one else knew she was going and she didn't want Sheppard revealing her secret, not now. There was too much going on.

"Well, no need to do us any favors," Sheppard grumbled.

"It's no trouble," Kai responded through gritted teeth.

McKay frowned and looked back and forth between Kai and Sheppard, not fully understanding why they both seemed so snippy at one another.

"You-" Sheppard began but Beckett cut them off.

"She's coming 'round," Beckett called distracting Sheppard and Kai.

Everyone stepped up to the bed as Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open. She looked at everyone standing around her warily. She sat up slowly and held her body in a strangely rigid posture. Her eyes landed on Kai's scarf which was wrapped around her head and she frowned. Then her eyes flickered to the other people in the room as though she were sizing them up.

"You okay?" John asked with surprising gentleness.

She looked down as though she were concentrating for a second then lifted her chin to meet his gaze with a strange intensity. "Doctor Weir is fine," she intoned.

Sheppard shifted his weight and his whole posture changed. "Doctor Weir doesn't talk about herself in the third person," he said tightly.

"She was simply overcome by the effects of the imprinting," she replied with a clinical detachment that was not like Weir at all.

Caldwell reached up and touched his comm. "Security team to the infirmary."

"That's not necessary Colonel..." She dragged off thoughtfully. "Caldwell," it was like she plucked the information from inside Elizabeth's brain. "She is simply harboring my consciousness," not Weir explained.

"Here we go again!" McKay exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air.

"And you are...?" John dragged off tightly. He didn't like this, not one bit. If she could access the information in Weir's mind there was no telling what this stranger could do.

Not Weir turned to face Sheppard. "I am Phebus," she said her tone still flat. "We are a race of explorers. On our journey home our vessel was attacked."

"By the Wraith?" Caldwell asked suspiciously.

"Yes," she responded quickly. "We were forced to abandon our ship and launch our escape pods. If this has happened to me than I have been adrift for some time and the pod has determined my body is beyond resuscitation."

Beckett pressed his lips together sympathetically as he stepped up next to the gurney. "You're quite correct I'm afraid."

Phebus turned to face Beckett. "Than for all intents and purposes I am already dead."

"I'm sorry," Beckett said.

"So am I," Phebus agreed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," John grumbled. "We're all very sorry. Where's Elizabeth?" he snapped impatiently. 

Phebus smiled at him gently. "She is here also," she assured him reaching up and lightly touching the tips of Weir's fingers to her temple. It was odd to watch her move Weir's body. She didn't move like Weir did and she seemed just as uncertain of how it moved and responded. 

"And I supposed you'd like us to take your word for that?" Caldwell asked sharply.

Phebus raised her eyebrows at his tone but didn't look offended. "Would you like to speak with her?" She asked simply as though they were all children who hadn't considered asking the right questions.

"Yes we would," John agreed.

Phebus bowed her head respectfully and closed her eyes, hanging her head. Weir's body shuddered and she gasped, her eyes snapping open as she collapsed back against the pillows. She raised a hand to her forehead and grimaced looking like Elizabeth once more.

"Doctor Weir?" Caldwell asked in concern.

Beckett moved to Weir's side, catching her arm and steadying her. Elizabeth laid a hand over the top of his, giving it a small squeeze. "It's okay Carson," she promised him in a gentle tone, then she turned to the others. "I'm fine," she assured them.

"Elizabeth," John said cautiously, his eyes flickering over where Elizabeth was still covering Beckett's hand with her own. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but there's another um..."

"I know," Elizabeth quickly assured them. "Her name is Phebus."

"You seem remarkably sanguine about all of this," McKay said with a scowl. He had been significantly less so when he had a second consciousness in his mind.

Kai was watching Beckett however who was staring at Elizabeth in confusion. Her eyes drifted over where their hands were still touching. Beckett seemed as confused as the rest of them. Elizabeth met Kai's eyes and followed her gaze to where her hand was. She quickly pulled it back as though she had just realized she was still touching Carson. It seemed off. Kai frowned, she tried stretching her psychic senses out but the only thing she could feel was Sheppard.

A frowned formed on his face and she pulled back, not wanting to push it if it was going to effect him. She didn't know enough about her abilities to even know if it was something she could feel. She wished Teyla were here, she was better with her own psychic abilities, although hers were based on her wraith blood so there was no telling if they would be any more helpful than Kai's.

"Well, the imprinting," she stumbled over the word. "Will only last a matter of hours." Elizabeth paused for a moment to catch her breath then her eyes widened a little. "The other pod!" she exclaimed. "Phebus urgently desires to be here when we bring the other pod back to Atlantis."

Sheppard shot Kai a fast look, so she wouldn't say anything about the pod. She dipped her chin in understanding and kept her face devoid of emotion. Sheppard crossed his arms over his chest. "Why?" he challenged, not interested in giving this other consciousness anything it wanted until they could be sure of it's intentions.

A small private smile tugged at Elizabeth's mouth. "She believes it's her husband," she said as though it were a little ridiculous, but she wasn't going to argue with the other consciousness in her mind.

"Husband?" Caldwell clarified.

"Yes," Elizabeth agreed in a rush. "She believes he escaped the ship, in fact she's certain of it..." she shivered and blinked in surprise.

"Elizabeth?" Beckett asked gently, his face a mask of concern as he stepped close to the gurney again.

"Ah, the rush of emotion it's ah...overwhelming," she said lifting her shoulders and smiling as though she were experiencing the feelings of love and excitement herself.

"I can imagine," John said uncomfortably, shifting his weight. He didn't like this, not one bit. He knew when Elizabeth decided something like this there was no talking her out of it.

McKay shot him a look. "No, no, you can't."

John pulled back. "No," he agreed. "I can't."

"John, I'd like you to try," Elizabeth said and Kai stiffened looking back and forth between them as she immediately realized what Elizabeth was about to ask.

John wasn't following, he looked back and forth from Elizabeth to Kai who suddenly looked even more pissed off than she had been before.

Elizabeth smiled. "Phebus has a favor she'd like to ask of you," she said with a grin.

John pulled back with a frown but he didn't immediately say no.

><><

Sheppard, Caldwell, McKay and Kai were all back down in the east pier lab standing over the second life pod. Kai was running over the data from the first imprinting over and over again, trying to discern if there was some way to achieve access to the consciousness without Sheppard taking it in himself. She hated that he had agreed, but she couldn't exactly argue with him about it in front of everyone without seeming heartless.

McKay was standing at the terminal, looking at Sheppard and Caldwell as he explained all they had learned. "As I understand it the beam that hit Elizabeth was part of a fail safe feature built into the pod system. As cellular deterioration progressed the pod stored her consciousness in a sort of ah flash memory."

Caldwell frowned. "But why? I mean what good is the technology if the effects are temporary?"

"Black box," Sheppard said suddenly.

"I mean that makes sense," McKay agreed. He turned to Kai. "It's why you couldn't find any information about the pod or what happened. This way even if the occupant doesn't survivor they can still report what happened to their ship in person. Rescue teams could interrogate them even if they were incapable of regaining consciousness."

Caldwell shifted his weight and frowned. "You're talking about a human flight recorder. That's pretty dark."

"A useful thing in times of war," Sheppard said grimly as he stared down at the pod. He wasn't crazy about taking on this other consciousness, but he also wasn't going to volunteer anyone else to do it. Weir felt strongly about it and he wouldn't argue with her over a humanitarian mission like this. So far there had been no military reason not to go through with her plan. It was rare they had missions with happy endings, and if they could give these two explorers one after what the wraith had done to their people he wasn't about to argue about it.

Kai nodded. "It would be more accurate than anything the computer could come up with. And if the people are trained to expect such a thing, it would hardly be jarring."

"It could also be the means for two survivors to say one last goodbye," McKay said with feigned compassion.

Kai shot Sheppard another disgruntled look. She didn't like this idea one bit. She opened her mouth to say something but bit back her words when the door slid open behind them. Beckett pushed Weir in ahead of him in a wheel chair.

"Are you sure she's up to this?" Caldwell asked Beckett grimly. The Colonel had not been so silent about his feelings that this was a bad idea. It was a uselessly reckless act that would unnecessarily take out both the leaders of Atlantis. Although he did respect Sheppard's decision not to allow any of the people under his command to take on the risk themselves.

"Physically she's perfectly fine," Beckett said brightly. "Besides Elizabeth wouldn't take no for an answer."

Elizabeth smiled indulgently. "Well, love is a powerful thing Carson," she said reaching up and touching his hand where is rested on the wheel chair over her shoulder. The movement didn't go unnoticed by Kai once again and she found herself wondering if there was something more than just friendship going on between the leader of Atlantis and their Doctor.

Sheppard scowled. "You're a hopeless romantic, you know that?" he grumbled.

Elizabeth smirked up at him. "Well, you're just as hopeless. Otherwise you wouldn't have agreed," she countered.

Sheppard pressed his lips into a line. He didn't really have anything he could say. Elizabeth cut her eyes to Kai's back and smirked at him. John shifted uncomfortably not liking the direction the conversation had taken.

"I've gone over the respective EEG patterns and I can say with some degree of confidence that this imprinting that Doctor Weir's temporary occupant calls it won't last more than a few hours," Beckett said standing beside Elizabeth.

"You can guarantee that?" Caldwell asked sharply.

"A day at most," Carson assured him soothingly, cutting his eyes over to Weir.

"Well, I'm sold!" McKay said brightly. "Shall we?" he began typing on his tablet. "And..." he dragged off as the pod door slid open to reveal a male in a different style flight suit.

Kai frowned looking back and forth between the two bodies. The flight suits were both different, not just color but also styles.

Beckett checked his readings. "Still alive," he confirmed. "Just as before, life signs even fainter than the first one. If we're going to do this, we have to do it now."

Caldwell turned to Sheppard. "I'd prefer if this alien consciousness weren't armed."

"Right," Sheppard agreed. He pulled his gun and held it out to Kai without thinking about it. She took it and tucked it into the back of her pants than held her hand out for his knife. He looked down at her with a frown.

"Someone in your body could do a lot of damage with a knife," she said emotionless as she raked her eyes up and down his body.

Sheppard bit back a smirk as Kai ran her eyes over him, he grunted and pulled his K-BAR handing it to her. She slid that into her belt as well and stepped back to her station.

"Colonel Sheppard," Beckett said. "You'll have to be in close proximity to the pod for the transfer to happen."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it."

"But you're not moving," Beckett pointed out gently.

Sheppard shifted his weight and his eyes flickered from Kai to Elizabeth. "You know they were husband and wife. Anything could happen."

Elizabeth's head hung and her body shuddered. She drew in a sharp breath and when she raised her head it was clear by her posture that Phebus was back in control. "I promise to be discrete Colonel," she said dryly.

"Well...I guess, I'll see you guys later," Sheppard stammered.

"Have fun," McKay said sarcastically stepping aside so Sheppard could approach the life pod.

Sheppard stepped up next to the pod and the beam of light hit him in the face. He didn't fall however, instead his whole body tensed and he caught himself on the edge of the pod.

Kai felt a wave of pain through their connection that actually made her stagger. She knocked a container off the station she was standing at and Beckett's eyes flew to her for a second. She opened her eyes and stared at John in alarm. Elizabeth never mentioned pain that came with the imprint. For her to feel it through the connection meant it was an incredible amount.

"Give him a moment," Phebus said soothingly as though it were nothing.

John hung his head as his body shuddered and Kai wondered if it was hurting him more because he was fighting it. He stilled and the pain disappeared but so did their connection. In a rush Kai was all of a sudden very alone in her head. She sucked in a surprised breath as Not-John lifted his head and quickly took in the room around him.

"Thalen," Phebus said his name cautiously as she watched him. "It's me," she said and a slow smirk stretched Elizabeth's face.

He looked around once more before he frowned in confusion at her. "Phebus?" he asked, still sounding disoriented.

Kai cupped her forehead. She felt almost nauseated and couldn't quite seem to focus. Beckett was the only one who would have noticed, however everyone's eyes were locked on Sheppard and Weir.

"It's all right these people recovered our pods. We may well be the last of our kind," Phebus stepped around the pod towards Thalen. He tensed, shifting his weight so he was facing her straight on. He flexed his hands as though testing them out. "These generous people have allowed us to be together one last time."

Thalen turned to the room. "You consented to this?" he asked in disgust.

Phebus quickly took a step forward. "One last chance to say goodbye to my husband," she said. Thalen frowned but she crossed the room in two rapid strides and grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulling his lips down and mashing hers against his.

Kai's eyes widened and the whole room fell away as she watched Elizabeth kiss John. Even knowing it wasn't John, she felt a deep swell of possessiveness rising in her belly. Phebus deepened the kiss and he didn't resist. They were both a little breathless when they broke apart. 

"That's not what I expected," he said, still looking a little confused.

"I know this body is different," she said looking down at herself self-consciously. "But I assure you Thalen it's me."

He nodded slowly, a calculating look in John's hazel eyes.

"Is it possible for us to be alone, just for a few minutes?" Phebus asked, but she never took her eyes off of Thalen's.

"No, absolutely not," Caldwell said quickly.

"Oh," Beckett tsked. "Don't be so heartless," he admonished, watching the two of them with a warm smile.

"They are both consenting adults," McKay pointed out.

"No," Kai snapped, her jaw tight. She was starting to feel more like herself again, but she was still breathless.

"That's not what I'm concerned about Doctor," Caldwell told McKay.

"The Colonel's right," Thalen agreed.

"Doctor Weir is in charge of this facility," Phebus said in that strange emotionless tone of hers.

"I'm just saying there should be an armed guard outside the door," Thalen filled in.

"Two guards, one at each door," she corrected raising her eyebrows.

Kai tensed as she looked back and forth between the two of them. Something was happening. Something they were missing. It was impossible to know however when neither Weir nor Sheppard were in control of their own bodies.

"I've already taken that precaution," Caldwell snapped. He was getting more and more tense as this went on. He was maybe the only other person in the room even close to being as uncomfortable with the whole situation as Kai.

"Of course they are," Phebus agreed. In the same moment the two of them whirled away from each other and bolted for their doors.

Thalen punched the guard and took his stunner. Firing shots into the room. He turned, looked Kai straight in the eye. "Kai," he said her name emotionlessly as though reading it off of a list. He cocked his head to the side, running his eyes over her in a cold, clinical way. "Really?" he asked with a shake of his head, he lifted the stunner and pulled the trigger. The stunner shot hit her in the center of the chest and she went down, hard.

"Security to lab three!" Caldwell yelled into his radio and Thalen stunned him next. McKay crawled over to Kai's unconscious body and pulled Sheppard's gun from her belt. He fired blindly towards the door.

"Rodney don't shoot!" Beckett yelled. "That's Colonel Sheppard!"

The shots however scared Thalen off and he ran.

"I'm sorry I-" McKay started to say standing up.

Phebus stalked back in the room and pointed the other stunner at his chest. He raised his hands in the air.

"You two need some very serious marriage counseling," McKay said breathing heavily.

Phebus scowled at him. "He's not my husband you idiot, he's the enemy. Drop your weapon," she ordered.

McKay immediately threw the gun away from him.

"Now radio security and tell them everything is fine."

Beckett charged her, unable to believe he had been fool. "Everything is not fine-" he started and she stunned him in the chest emotionlessly. "Rodney," she said teasingly.

McKay reached up and touched his ear. "Security this is Rodney McKay. Everything is fine, never been better, Colonel Caldwell was kidding when he said what he said he-"

Phebus sighed. "Oh forget it," she grumbled and she fired a shot straight at McKay's chest. She looked over the unconscious group and disappeared out the door, gun in hand.

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Chapter 71

Notes:

This is one of my favorite episodes and one of the first scenes I ever wrote between John and Kai. I hope you are enjoying it!

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The Long Goodbye Cont.

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Kai groaned as she fought her way back to consciousness. Her arms and legs were still tingling but she had to get up. She fought to shove herself to her hands and knees but she swayed dangerously. Caldwell groaned somewhere out of sight. 

She heard footsteps in the doorway and her head snapped up to face their potential attacker. Of the two of them she was more equipped to defend them. It took a Herculean effort to move her hand to rest of the handle of her blade. She had no idea how she was going to pull it. Her fingers felt clumsy and like they belonged to someone else. She had it halfway out of the sheath when she recognized the sounds of Teyla and Ronon. She blew out a relieved sigh and let her hand drop. 

"We have a medical emergency in lab three," Teyla called rushing into the room. 

Large, gentle hands helped pick her up and set her onto her feet like she was a doll. She could hear and smell Ronon but her head was still pounding and she was pinching her eyes shut as she fought to take control of her body. 

"You all right little sister?" he asked, resting his hands on her shoulders until she was able to stand on her own. 

Kai opened her eyes and nodded. "Stunner blast," she groaned flexing her hands to get the feeling back in them.

"Colonel-" Teyla started, reaching for help pull Caldwell to his feet. 

"I'm fine," Caldwell said briskly, taking a wobbly step away from Teyla. 

"What happened?" Ronon asked looking around the room in shock. Both McKay and Beckett were still unconscious on the floor, as were the guards outside each doorway. 

"She was playing us from the beginning," Caldwell ground out. 

"Weir?" Ronon clarified. Kai took a deliberate step away from him. Her legs still felt like jelly and she used the computer terminal to steady herself so she didn't fall right back down on her ass. 

"Sheppard too, it's both of them now." Caldwell reached up and touched his comm. "Control room, patch my radio through the security teams only," he waited a moment before continuing. "This is Caldwell. Both Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Weir are under the influence of alien entities. If at all possible subdue and contain them with non-lethal force."

Ronon stepped towards Caldwell a determined gleam in his eye. "We can track them now, fast." He assured the Colonel. 

"There is a medical team on its way," Teyla said glancing towards Kai, who was still leaning against the terminal for balance. 

Caldwell nodded. "Go," he ordered.

Kai moved to followed by he reached out and caught her arm. "Not you," he said. Kai stiffened her eyes narrowing on where the Colonel was touching her. She didn't like to be touched by strangers and she liked Caldwell even less than that. "Not until you're cleared medically."

"I'm-" she began to argue, her eyes turning to Ronon and Teyla. She didn't want to be left behind not when Sheppard was in danger.

"If you don't obey my orders I will throw you in the brig to make sure you do," Caldwell threatened. 

Kai blew out an angry sigh but turned to Teyla and Ronon and nodded. She would only slow them down right now anyway. The two of them nodded briskly and jogged out of the room, their guns in hand. She at least trusted Ronon and Teyla going after them more than she trusted Caldwell's marines. 

Beckett sat up with a groan and Caldwell moved to help him. Kai waited impatiently while Beckett recovered.  Once he was on his feet he and his medical team quickly looked everyone over. The marines who had been subdued by the man in Sheppard's body, Thalen, had been knocked out instead of just stunned and they were brought to the infirmary. 

Once cleared, Kai followed Caldwell, Beckett, and McKay up to the control room. 

"Report," Caldwell demanded as they descended the stairs. 

"We just lost contact with Major Lorne," Chuck reported grimly. 

Caldwell shook his head. "All right I want all non-essential personnel to return directly to their quarters and remain there until notified. The only people I want moving through the city are my security teams."

"Yes sir," Chuck agreed and he turned back to his terminal to convey the orders. 

"We may be able to track them using the life signs detectors." Mckay suggested. 

"How? They would read as human," Beckett pointed out. "You wouldn't be able to differentiate."

Kai stepped up to the screen lightly tracing her fingers along the halls, following the movements of the teams. "Security teams travel in groups of two and three, they would be the only individual signs traveling through the city." 

Caldwell nodded. "Good." he paused when no one moved. "What are you waiting for?" he demanded. 

McKay shifted his weight and glanced back towards Kai and Beckett as though he were looking for support. "Look I don't want to get all chain of command on you but I am a senior member of this expedition. So with Elizabeth and Colonel Sheppard out of the equation then-"

"I'm in charge," Caldwell snapped his tone brooking no argument. 

McKay flinched a little but Kai was going to back him up if he decided to push the point. McKay was a senior member of the expedition and Caldwell had made it perfectly clear on more than one occasion that he did not like her. 

"No, I don't think that's technically true. I mean you're here what? One week out of six?" McKay challenged.

Caldwell tilted his head as he stared down at McKay. "Could it be Doctor that since I was host to a Goa'uld you don't trust me?" 

"I never said that!" McKay snapped. 

"I am the highest ranking military officer here and this is clearly a military situation. Does that clear thing up for you?" Caldwell asked tightly. 

"Fine." McKay snapped and moved to the sensors terminal. 

"Sir," Chuck called. "I'm picking up some chatter I think you'll want to hear."

"Put it on speaker," Caldwell replied. 

Sheppard's voice came over the loud speaker and Kai sucked in a breath, stepping towards the terminal. "You're the one who likes to run. My ship ran out of fuel before I even had a clean shot," It was his voice, but there was something off about the tone and the way he spoke. It made it clear to Kai it was not John in control. 

"That was my plan, Thalen," Weir's voice came through tight with rage. 

"You didn't have a plan, you just wanted me dead Phoebus," Thalen responded in John's voice. 

"Still do!" Phoebus agreed brightly with more malice than Weir had ever put into her voice.

In the background Kai could hear some shifting and what sounded like a cupboard opening. She closed her eyes and stretched her senses trying to pick up anything more that might be useful to tell where either one of them were located. 

"As a matter of fact I can't wait to see that look of defeat on your face. Just one last time," she added. 

"You mean the look on my face when you rammed my fighter making sure neither one of us could win. That was hatred not defeat Phoebus." 

Kai could hear the humor in Thalen's tone that was similar in a way to John but there was a cruel edge to his words. Kai cut her eyes to Caldwell, remembering how much he had seemed like himself when the Goa'uld had been in control. Had one of them known him a little better they may have noticed the subtle changes in behavior and all of the pain could have been avoided.

"Is that any way to talk to your wife?" Phoebus teased. There was movement and a pause. "Thalen, run all you like. The moment I find you. You die." 

When they stopped talking Chuck turned off the speaker. 

"Well," Beckett said. "They're headed straight for divorce." 

Caldwell nodded, his expression grim. "This confirms the whole thing was a ruse. In fact I doubt we were ever speaking to Doctor Weir." 

"It was a remarkable impression, I'll give her that," McKay said. "The psychic link must give her access to Elizabeth's memories, which means Thalen-"

"Has access to all of Sheppard's," Kai finished for him ominously. If that truly was the case, they were all in trouble. The Colonel was nearly unmatched in tactics and strategy. 

"From the sound of it we have two fighter pilots who don't know that their war is over," Caldwell said leaning against the terminal. 

As badly as Kai had wanted to run out after them, being here for this information had been helpful. They needed to make a plan. "It's much worse than that," she said in a low tone. She looked up as Caldwell turned to her. He raised an eyebrow encouraging her to continue. 

She drew in a breath. "They know everything about this city from the layout to defensive systems, how to access weapons..." she dragged off. "With access to the Colonel's memories, Thalen knows the strengths and weaknesses of every person that we might send after him."

Caldwell turned to face her as though he were seeing her for the very first time. "We just need to find a way to stop them without unduly harming the host," Caldwell said coldly. 

"Unduly?" McKay snapped sarcastically, shoving himself to his feet so he was in Caldwell's face. "What does that mean?" he asked sharply as he looked back and forth between Kai and Caldwell. 

Caldwell stared at them all in turn. "Obviously some force might be necessary," he said grimly and he stalked away from their sullen glares back to Chuck, who would follow his orders without question. "Contact all off world teams and let them know we are going to be suspending all gate activity until further notice. We're going to full alert status," he turned to McKay. "Shut down the gate Doctor McKay."

Rodney blew out a frustrated sigh and turned back to one of the terminals. He sat down and went to work, implementing a lock out protocol that would keep either Phoebus or Thalen from using Weir and Sheppard's knowledge from accessing the gate. 

"I just located one of them near the power room," Kai called from the view screen. The next second the lights went out. Everyone shifted as even the terminals went dark. Only Kai could still see easily in the near blackness of the control room. 

"Are you kidding me!?" McKay exclaimed. 

"What happened?" Beckett asked flicking on a torch he pulled from his belt. 

"The whole city is dark," Kai called. She stepped up to another terminal but everything was dead. 

"Oh tell me you had someone guarding the power room!" McKay demanded exasperatedly spinning on Caldwell in frustration. 

"Two marines from Daedalus," Caldwell snapped, he reached up and touched his radio. "Hutchinson this is Caldwell, report," there was no response. "Where is auxiliary power?" Caldwell asked. 

"Naquada generators aren't kicking in," Chuck reported. 

"They must have damaged the backups," McKay said shoving himself to his feet. There was nothing more they could do here. The control room had been rendered useless. If he had to guess he was assuming it was Sheppard who had done it. It was very much a tactic the Colonel would utilize.

"We've lost everything?" Caldwell asked in disbelief. 

"Shields, communications, long range and biometric sensors," McKay reported standing over Kai's shoulder. He tapped a couple of keys, but nothing happened, they were sitting ducks. 

"So we contact the Daedalus and use their sensors," Caldwell replied. 

"Subspace communications are also out," McKay reported. 

"I need you to get down to the power room Doctor and restore primary systems," Caldwell said.

"I should go along too," Beckett said stepping forward. "Marines could be hurt."

"Exactly," McKay exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air. "Marines may have been injured, we can't go down there." 

"I will send two of my men with you-" Caldwell started to say. "Just in case."

"Well, how do we know that Sheppard isn't down there waiting in ambush?!" McKay exclaimed. Two of Caldwell's men wouldn't mean much against someone with all of Sheppard's skills.

"Because he isn't trying to kill us," Beckett said soothingly. "He's trying to kill Doctor Weir."

"Oh That is so much more comforting!" McKay yelled, he was getting worked up now and nothing was going to soothe him. His friends were in danger and a little part of him was convinced it was his fault. He had helped them do this. He should have stopped them somehow, should have seen this as a possible outcome. What had seemed like a simple humanitarian project had turned into a military nightmare. 

"This is not a discussion!" Caldwell raised his voice to be heard over their bickering. "Let me know the minute you have a damage assessment." 

Rodney stuck his chin out defiantly as he stared down the Colonel. "Fine!" he snarled. "But I want Zian with me," he said pointing at the Mortii on the other side of the room. If anyone could protect him from Sheppard it was her. 

Caldwell looked back and forth between them before he threw his hands up in defeat. "Whatever," Caldwell snapped. He had been working to keep Zian as far away from military missions as possible. He didn't trust her or her past, but if it was the only way to get the power back up, she could certainly handle watching McKay's back, especially if two of his marines were going along as well. "Just get me power Doctor McKay." He swung back around. "Zian you're with McKay. Gear up," he advised glancing down at her civilian clothes.  

Kai stood and slipped quickly down to the locker room. She pulled on her gear. Instead of grabbing one of the P-90's however she took one of the Wraith stunners from the rack in the armory. She had no intention of having live fire anywhere near either Weir or Sheppard. It was going to be hard enough keeping the marines in line. Her best hope was that she would get a shot at one of them with the stunner and they could stop all of this before it spiraled even more out of control. 

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Kai led the way through the dark hallways down to the power room. Beckett and McKay were just behind her with Caldwell's marines watching their six. They didn't run into anyone. While it could have been an ambush Kai didn't think it would be. It felt too obvious. Phoebus and Thalen wanted to stop each other and seemed to be working on keeping everyone on Atlantis out of the way. An ambush wouldn't fit their objective thus far, but she kept her senses strained and McKay had a life signs detector just to make sure. 

Once they got to the power room they found the two marines unconscious on the floor. Beckett dropped to his knees to immediately begin treating them. Kai paced a slow circle around the room, but there was no evidence that either Phoebus or Thalen were nearby. 

McKay stepped over to the controls. He tapped his ear, activating his comm. "Well the good news is that the ZPM is still intact...the control systems seem to have been damaged by some well placed weapons fire..." there was another pause in conversation. "I just got here, I have no idea." Then McKay blew out a frustrated sigh and got back to work muttering to himself. 

Another few minutes passed before city wide comms activated. "Medical team to the south port cargo hold, you have a man down." 

Kai went cold. It was Sheppard's voice. 

Caldwell's voice came over their small groups comms. "Doctor Beckett please report to the south port cargo hold. Zian, you are his escort. Rogers, Barnes, stay with Doctor McKay."

Kai left the two marines with McKay and led Beckett through the city towards the cargo hold. She hustled Beckett through the city as quickly as possible, while still being cautious. Leading their primary Doctor into an ambush wouldn't help any one. She kept her senses sharp, listening for any sign of Weir or Sheppard. 

Phoebus seemed like the more determined of the two, but she was slightly limited being trapped in Doctor Weir's body. While fit, Doctor Weir wasn't a fighter which would limit the pilot to only her own knowledge and tactics. Thalen was a serious concern. John was fit, strong and his abilities would only serve to enhance the other soldiers. 

The doors slid open on the cargo hold and she froze. Ronon was on the ground, his hands covering a bullet wound in his stomach. There was blood everywhere. 

Beckett rushed into the room before she could clear it and she jogged after him, the stunner raised as she swung around, watching the shadows as she strained to listen for any sign there was someone hiding in the dark. She cursed herself for not taking the life signs detector from McKay. They appeared to be alone, but she didn't relax as Beckett worked over Ronon. There were too many small spaces and shadows for someone to hide and ambush them. 

Beckett's medical team arrived a short time later and they got Ronon on the gurney and began hustling him back towards the infirmary. Beckett glanced over his shoulder when Kai didn't immediately follow them out the door. Her focus was still on the room around them. 

"Kai dear," he called to her.

She glanced back at him and then off into the darkness. Torn between her orders from Caldwell and her desire to go after Sheppard. John had just been here, he could still be close. She fervently hoped whatever happened to Sheppard when Thalen took over he wasn't aware of what was going on around him. It would destroy John to know he had shot and seriously injured his friend. 

Beckett checked over his shoulder, but his medical team had already disappeared into the hall and were out of earshot. He turned back to Kai, his gaze serious. "Can you feel him?" he asked. 

Kai swallowed back her natural instinct to protect the Bond by keeping it secret. Beckett had always been nothing but kind to her and was the only person who truly understood the extent of the Bond as much as she did. He was the only one she had ever discussed it with. She shook her head grimly and chewed on her lip as she gazed into the darkness. "Not since the imprint," she confessed.

Beckett could see the weight of that knowledge on Kai's slim shoulders. It could mean any number of things. Kai herself would say she wasn't a very strong telepath, but having him gone completely from their Bond had clearly shaken her. Beckett didn't pretend to understand the depth of the Bond, but he had witnessed how deeply they seemed to care for one another the old fashioned way. It was enough for him, because in his heart Carson Beckett was a bit of a hopeless romantic himself. When he watched them together he saw two broken people who made one another better, even if they were too stubborn to admit it.

Their comms activated interrupting his thoughts. "Doctor Beckett I want an update on your patient as soon as you get him to the infirmary," Caldwell ordered. 

"Aye," Beckett agreed. "Any word on Doctor Weir or Colonel Sheppard?" 

"Teyla was tracking them at the base of the south tower but we've lost contact with her," Caldwell replied. 

Beckett pressed his lips into a grim line. Kai was supposed to stay with him but with Ronon down and Teyla out of contact they didn't have a whole lot of options. It was no secret that Caldwell didn't trust Kai and Beckett knew the Colonel wouldn't use Kai to her full potential over something as stupid as prejudice. 

Beckett switched off his comm and turned to face Kai. "Go get him," he told her resolutely. 

Kai turned to meet Beckett's gaze. She studied the Doctor's face before she nodded. They both knew she would be going against orders, but she stood the best chance of finding Colonel Sheppard. 

"I will," she said in a low tone. She pulled her cowl up so it covered the lower half of her face, turned and melted into the darkness.

Beckett watched in appreciation as Kai literally disappeared from his senses. He chewed on his lower lip, uncertain if he had done the right thing. Weir and Sheppard would both forgive her for disobeying orders, but if they were lost to them, Caldwell would throw Kai out on her heels first chance he got and she would be homeless. He wasn't sure if Kai knew that, or if she had just decided saving Sheppard might be worth it. 

 

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Chapter 72

Notes:

Okay guys, here we go. Kai vs Thalen...

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The Long Goodbye Cont.
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Kai was halfway to the tower when McKay restored the power. She flinched as an alarm began sounding throughout the city and doors began sliding closed as the city went into lockdown. She couldn't imagine why McKay would have instituted a lockdown before they managed to secure Phoebus or Thalen which meant there was a strong possibility it was one of them to institute it.

She ran through the last set of closing doors that led into the tower. She hit the stairs at the base of the tower and charged up them. The alarm made it impossible to hear anything else and she used the opportunity to gain ground. If she couldn't hear any movement, no human would be able to hear her running feet on the stairs.

"Zian, this is Caldwell," her comm activated. "I can't help noticing you are not in the infirmary protecting Doctor Beckett."

Kai stilled, but didn't respond. There was really nothing to say. She had disobeyed a direct order and knew she would be facing punishment for that once this was all over, particularly if they lost Weir and Sheppard. But nothing they would do to her could compare to what the Mortii Tribunal had done in the past, she didn't think they even used torture. Regardless, Sheppard was worth it.

Caldwell cleared his throat and continued. "Weir has put the city under a lock down. I want you to go after Sheppard. You and he are locked in the same section. He's one floor up," he said. It was clear it pained him to ask Kai for help, but at this point Kai was their only option.

Kai continued up the stairs at a run. "I'll contact you as soon as I have him," she agreed. "Zian, out."

Kai was halfway up the next story when she heard Thalen yelling. "Is this what you wanted Phoebus?!" he railed. "Another stalemate? I thought you wanted to finish this?!"

Kai crept onto the floor. She moved into cover as she worked to clear the floor. It was intimidating to be going against someone with all the knowledge and skill of Colonel Sheppard at his fingertips. She had spent a lot of time sparring against him and he knew all of her tactics. There was a shot from the other side of the door she was approaching. She slid to the side and pulled her stunner.

Thalen pried the door open, sticking Sheppard's head and shoulders through to get better leverage on the heavy doors in a risky move Sheppard himself never would have attempted. Kai stepped out from cover and leveled the stunner at his chest. Thalen met her gaze, surprise flickering in John's hazel eyes, but his expression was all wrong. Thalen opened his mouth to say something, but she fired without hesitation, hitting him in the chest. His body collapsed, still trapped between the doors.

Kai stepped towards him, snatching the gun from his hand and tucked it into her belt. She reached up and touched her comm. "This is Kai, I have him."

"Good," Caldwell said, actually sounding surprised by how quickly Kai had found him. "Secure him and stand by for further instructions. The next move is hers."

Kai exhaled. "Understood," she responded.

Kai glanced around, trying to decide how she was going to get the Colonel out of the doors. Using one of the large, decorative vases left behind from the ancients, she managed to wedge the doors open another couple inches. She winced as John's body collapsed forward, hitting the ground with a resounding thud. She grimaced, there was nothing she could have done to soften his landing, she just hoped he hadn't been injured. She grabbed the shoulders of his flak vest and dragged him clear of the doors. She pulled the vase out and the doors snapped closed.

She went back to his body, crouching beside him. Unconscious, with his expression slack, he looked much more like John again. She laid him out and pulled zip ties from her vest securing his wrists and ankles. She stood and pulled her stunner, positioning herself so she could protect him if Phoebus found them.

Kai's comm activated a short time later. "Kai, we've been requested to put the Colonel in front of the nearest security camera."

"Understood." Kai replied. She chewed on her lip thoughtfully. She was pretty sure the nearest camera was down the next corridor. She tucked the stunner into her belt, grabbed the shoulders of his vest and dragged him across the floor. Once he was laying where he would be fully visible she straightened.

The overhead comms activated in the section. "I'm not surprised that you were the only one who managed to catch him," Weir's voice was a sensual purr. "The only one to ever get to John Sheppard."

Kai stared up at the camera with a glare. "What do you want?" she demanded. She refused to rise to the other woman's baiting especially knowing every single person in the control room was listening to their conversation.

Phoebus let out a peel of laughter but didn't bother with a reply. She was having too much fun, and her victory was so close she could taste it. "We're just going to wait until he regains consciousness."

Kai crouched beside Sheppard waiting for the stunner to wear off. When he stirred she pulled her stunner back out of it's holster and aimed it at his chest. She wasn't taking any chances.

He froze looking up at her as though he was surprised to see her. "Kai," he said and a pleased smile lit his face. "Not bad for a girl," he joked. "I suppose you volunteered for this mess too?"

Kai scowled at their old jokes. The words were right, but it felt wrong.

He must have seen her doubt on her face because his expression turned gentle. "It's me," he implored staring up at her, his eyes wide and sincere.

Kai cocked her head, unwilling to trust it. He pushed himself up and reached for her. His hands, though still bound, were gentle as they cupped the side of her face.

"Thank god it was you and not one of Caldwell's marines," he muttered and his fingers locked against the nape of her neck as he tried to pull her down to kiss him.

Kai froze, this wasn't Sheppard. Sheppard had spent the last few weeks being angry with her over her decision to leave. Yes, he had kissed her before, but he would never repeat the gesture when they were in front of a camera with the control room watching. John was more private than that.

Kai pulled back and, hoping she was right, headbutted him. His head snapped back and he lost his balance with his hands still tied. He hit the ground and hissed in pain. He shoved himself back up onto his elbows, and Thalen contorted John's face into a mask of rage.

Kai snorted. "Hello Thalen," she greeted. She leaned towards him. "Don't waste your energy trying to convince me you're John," she said resolutely.

"Don't you see what they're doing?" Thalen exclaimed, still trying to sell the lie. "They're pitting us against each other! You of all people know me!"

Kai reached out telepathically and touched the connection, but there was still nothing on the other side. She was totally alone. She swallowed back the inherent fear that went along with that and forced her face into an expressionless mask. She had originally only thought about John's knowledge of her fighting skills and tactics, it had never occurred to her that Thalen could use John's memories to hurt her on a personal level. She had never allowed herself to be vulnerable in this way before and she couldn't give him anything else he could use to hurt her.

She leaned forward so her face was only inches from his. "You're right, I do know you, and you're not John," she snarled.

"Kai please," he begged her, his eyes widening imploringly.

Kai only had a brief second to doubt herself, to wonder if the imprint had somehow damaged the connection. If maybe she had misjudged somehow. But if that were the case than Sheppard had just tried to kiss her in front of everyone. Not possible. John Sheppard was The Colonel first and foremost. He would never express personal feelings, if there were any, in the middle of an operation.

"Oh please," Phoebus drawled over the comm. "You call that acting?" she teased.

Sheppard's head snapped up to the camera and his whole body went stiff. His eyes hardened as he lifted his chin to stare at the camera. "Phoebus," Thalen growled, dropping the charade. He pushed himself up to his knees as he glared up at the camera.

Kai pulled back, leveling the stunner back at Thalen's chest.

"There's that look of defeat I love," Phoebus growled.

"Wrong again, still hatred," Thalen snapped.

"I guess I'm satisfied with this," Phoebus conceded. "Kai, kill him," she ordered menacingly.

Kai's heart stopped in her throat and she froze, turning to the camera and then back to Thalen on his knees in front of her.

"You don't have to listen to her," Thalen said wryly, and he flashed her the same smirk John used so often.

Bile rose in her throat.

"Kill him now!" Phoebus ordered. "Or I vent Halon fire suppressant into all of the living spaces in Atlantis."

Kai's stomach dropped as her thoughts raced. With trembling fingers she reached up and activated her comm. "Can she do this?" Kai whispered.

She remembered when the Halon had been brought in, Weir had been dead set against it because it was incredibly toxic to humans, but Stargate command had overruled her. Now it seemed Phoebus was using one of Elizabeth's greatest fears against her.

"I believe so," Caldwell replied grimly.

"How many are at risk?" Kai asked, her mind already calculating, but she didn't know enough about the life support systems to know the extent of what Phoebus or even Elizabeth would know how to do.

There was a pause and Kai imagined the flurry of activity going on as someone calculated the numbers for Caldwell. While she waited she stared down into Sheppard's hazel eyes. With Thalen staring back at her from them they didn't have the same effect on her they usually did. It might be his body, but it wasn't John.

"Three quarters of the expedition," Caldwell replied a few moments later.

Kai tightened her jaw. It wouldn't have mattered if it was only three people in danger. If John survived this, he would never forgive her if she sacrificed others to save his life.

She turned back to the camera. "Why are you doing this?" she demanded angrily.

"I have spent my entire life at war with his world. Thousands have died with no hope for victory both sides reduced to a mere handful of fighters. If he really is the last, then in the end my people will have won," Phoebus replied, her voice brittle even over the comms.

"Don't believe her!" Thalen called from behind her.

"Believe me when I say I have absolutely nothing to lose. In a very short time I will feel excruciating pain, this body will convulse and I will cease to exist. That is what is ahead for me. All I can hope for now is to achieve victory for my people."

Kai stared up at the camera so Phoebus would be able to see her sincerity. "Phoebus, your people are dead. They lost or won a war so long ago it doesn't matter."

"It matters to me," Phoebus's voice cracked with emotion and Kai knew there was no rationalizing with her. Phoesbus believed so fervently in her cause she was beyond reason.

She turned back to face Thalen. He was staring up at her through John's hazel eyes. "If you kill me," he growled. "You kill him...He cares for you more than you know." he added quickly. "Should I tell you? I have every single memory, rolling around up here," he said with jerk of his chin.

"Stop," Kai snapped.

"When you fought the Genii together. When you gave him your blade on the The Wraith Planet. You almost died on the Wraith planet, do you want to know how he felt? His terror? What about when that thing took him over? What your scent did to him. You touched his face when he was a monster, is that because you're a monster too?" Thalen spewed poison at her using John's voice. Every single private moment they had shared together was pouring out of his mouth for everyone to hear.

"His guilt over what Ford did to you. The night on the Hive ship..." Thalen dragged off and a suggestive smirk crossed his face. "The beach..." he smiled at her but it had too much teeth. "That's a good one. Even I enjoyed that memory...course that was when it all changed. The night with the Mortii when he came to the-"

"Stop!" Kai snarled.

Thalen laughed cruelly. "He loves you, you know. He's too stubborn to ever admit it. Too busy locking himself away behind this ridiculous mask of The Colonel..." he stopped and cocked his head to the side as he stared up at Kai. "Oh, you didn't know?" he laughed.

"He doesn't," Kai said with absolute certainty, but she could feel tears burning in the backs of her eyes. "You're just trying to save your own skin."

"Of course I am," Thalen agreed. "But are you going to kill the man who loves you?"

Kai's breathing kicked up as denial choked her. She turned back to face the camera. "Please don't make me do this," she said.

"You don't have to!" John's voice shouted behind her, but it wasn't John.

"Shoot him!" Phoebus ordered coldly.

Kai shook her head. "I don't have a gun."

Phoebus scoffed. "Then use your Blade Mortii," she spit out the word. "How much blood have you spilled with that Blade?" she asked rhetorically.

Kai hesitated.

"Draw your Blade Mortii or I will release the gas!" Phoebus shouted into the comms.

With shaking hands Kai tucked the stunner into her belt and pulled one of her Blades. She stared down at the black Blade and back into John's face. Her hand tightened around the handle of the Blade until her knuckles turned white. The unyielding metal bit into her skin. She couldn't do this, her whole body locked down. She wouldn't survive this.

The comm activated and startled her as Caldwell's voice sounded in her ear. "She has the capability to do what she says," he reported and it shocked her as his voice dropped, softening with something that may have been sympathy. "Kai, I'm not going to tell you what to do."

"I am!" Phoebus snarled impatiently. "Killed him. Kill him now! You don't want to test me. I will kill all of your people! KILL HIM!"

Kai turned back to face Thalen, he stared up at her, John's hazel eyes were narrowed suspiciously in a way she had never seen before. Tears gathered in her eyes for maybe the first time since she was a little girl.

Part of her thought it was better that she couldn't feel him, better that she wouldn't feel his pain as her Blade ended his life. But part of her selfishly wanted to feel him just one more time. She should have known it would always end like this. It shouldn't have surprised her that her past would end up destroying the one good thing she had found. They all had to pay for their sins eventually.

"Sheppard doesn't believe you'll do this," Thalen growled staring at her Blade.

Kai's heart was thundering in her ears, and all she could feel was the cold of the knife in her hand and the hot tears running down her cheeks.

Locked away, trapped deep inside his own mind and body, the sight of Kai's tears had John raging. He was entirely powerless to stop this asshole from hurting her. When the retrovirus had taken over John was smothered until there was nothing left. The imprint was different, it was like John was locked away in a cage, stuck as a passenger watching Thalen ruin his life.

"Kai," he spoke her name in exactly the same way John did and it made something tighten in her chest. He cocked his head. "He's screaming away in here right now. Every part of him. Do you want me to tell you about the first time he knew that he loved you? I could..."

It killed her to know this bastard knew all of their past. Every quiet, private moment between them was his to use to hurt her. "Forgive me John," she whispered, her voice breaking.

"Stab your Blade into his heart," Phoebus ordered.

Kai's hands were shaking.

"So what are you going to do Instrument Zian?" Thalen mocked.

"I'm going to do exactly what John would want me to do," she said twirling the Blade through her fingers as tears trailed down her cheeks.

"How would you know? I'm the one in his head," Thalen said and the predatory look he put on John's face was unrecognizable.

"NOW!" Phoebus screamed.

Kai exhaled and stepped around behind him. There was no way she could do this facing him. She reached out and laid a hand on John's shoulder with her free hand. She was trembling and she felt Thalen tighten, but there was no way for him to fight back.

Kai's comm activated. "Stand down! Zian this is Caldwell, stand down, I repeat stand down! McKay's got it!"

Kai let out a gasping sigh as relief made her light headed. She flung the Blade away from her like it was on fire. It hit the far wall and clattered against the floor. She hung her head, exhaling in relief as she steadied herself with her grip on John's shoulder.

"NO!" Phoebus screamed into the comm, but she didn't matter anymore.

Kai collapsed to her knees and let out a sob of relief.

"This is Caldwell, all security teams, resume your search for Doctor Weir," Caldwell called over the loud speaker.

Kai shoved herself to her feet, scrubbing away her tears. There was still work to be done. She drew the stunner once more and moved to the door.

"Kai!" Thalen called from behind her. "Come on," he said. "You can't leave me like this."

She glared down at him imperiously. Her fury over what he had done was a living thing in her chest. "I won't let her hurt him," she said resolutely.

He flinched like he had been struck and Kai frowned. Thalen scowled. "You don't know how determined she is," he groaned. "You can't let her win," he growled and his jaw tightened. He cried out in pain and collapsed back onto the floor.

"He is going into convulsions," Kai called into her comm. She ran to his side and steadied John so he wouldn't hurt himself.

"Do not release him, no matter what happens," Caldwell ordered.

A long ways off Kai could hear gun fire. The convulsions stopped and John's body relaxed. He exhaled and his eyes fluttered open. "Kai," he said in relief.

She knelt beside him. Resting a hand on his shoulder. "Is that really you?" she asked. She tried to reach for him down the line of their connection.

"You're never going to believe me, so I'm not even going to try," he replied. 

A gun cocked behind her and she froze, her focus had been on their connection instead of paying attention to their surroundings and Phoebus had managed to sneak up on them.

"He's still unconscious," Kai called with her back to Phoebus.

John's eyes flickered to her face and he quickly closed his eyes to play along.

"I'm not really sure how many shots I have left in this thing or I would have shot you already. I said back off!" Phoebus yelled.

Kai slid her hand along John's, the warmth of his skin against hers was reassuring, but she felt nothing else that made her believe it was really him. She slid her stunner into his hand before she stood, raising her hands in surrender and turned to face Phoebus.

"Unconscious or not, I want to see his face." Phoebus growled.

She took another step into the room and Sheppard sat up, firing the stunner at Weir. Weir's body hit the ground and Kai whipped around. She kicked the stunner perfectly, sending it flying out of his hand across the room. He shot her a disgruntled look.

"Are you all right?" Lorne asked as he and his team came into the room just behind Weir.

"Yes," Kai assured him. "Please secure Doctor Weir and bring her down to the infirmary."

"You got it," Lorne agreed, stepping up to Elizabeth's unconscious form.

"How did you know it was me?" Sheppard asked, still sitting on the floor.

Kai dropped down to a knee so her face was only inches from his. "It isn't. But you were going to shoot her either way..." she leaned her head towards Thalen so no one else could overhear. "If you think you can fool me that you're John, then I think you need to review John's memories of me."

"Oh I did," he said with a wicked smile. "And you're absolutely right. You're a killer, you disgust him. There's no way he could ever trust you," he called loud enough for everyone to hear. His words coming out of John's mouth hurt more than they should. She pushed herself to her feet, moving away from him and he chuckled cruelly.

"So tell me," he called after her. "Is the reason you can tell it's not John that Bond thing you keep lying to him about? Oh yeah," Thalen said when he saw the expression on Kai's face. "He asked Beckett about it. Beckett had no idea what he was talking about. Seems your little secret is out. The two Ancients and your Mortii assassin have confirmed it. He knows you've been lying to him."

Kai froze. Lorne looked back and forth between them before quickly focusing a little too hard on securing Doctor Weir. She tightened her jaw, beyond furious that Thalen was spilling their secrets in front of an entire room of marines. She whipped around and punched him in the face. His head snapped back and he crumpled to the ground unconscious.

"Colonel Sheppard will need to go to the infirmary too," Kai called to Lorne before she stalked out of the room.

><><

John groaned as he woke. His head was pounding and the left side of his face was tender.

"Good evening Colonel," Doctor Beckett called brightly as he came into the room. "Are you with us?"

Sheppard scowled as he looked around the room. Doctor Weir was on the gurney beside him; her hands, arms and feet secured with cuffs.

"How are you feeling?" Beckett asked.

"Like..." he drew off as scattered and disjointed memories fought to realign into a timeline in his mind. "Like a very angry Mortii punched me," he said. He reached up to cup the side of his head but his hands were also bound. He frowned down at the cuffs. "Think we could get these off now?" he asked rattling them obnoxiously against the metal.

Beckett raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything. Instead, he turned around and Kai stepped into the room. Her stormy grey eyes were serious as she looked at Sheppard. She closed them briefly and a tremble went down her body, a frown of concentration wrinkling between her eyebrows.

The warmth of their connection opened in Johns chest and he fought to not to let it show on his face how much it meant to him. The fact that she was still willing to touch that connection at all after all Thalen had said was a relief.

Kai opened her eyes and nodded to Beckett. "It's him," she confirmed.

John looked back and forth between them but Kai stepped back out of sight.

"All right," Beckett said brightly. He stepped up and unlocked the cuffs. He looked John over. "Well, I'd like to keep you for observation for another couple hours, but it looks like with the exception of the massive headache from our lovely Kai you came through this just fine. The bullet was just a graze on your arm. I already stitched it up."

"Thank Doc," John said gratefully.

Beckett nodded. "I suggest you get some rest," he glanced back over his shoulder. Kai wasn't visible, but he knew she hadn't left the infirmary yet. He clapped his hands together. "I'm going to go do some work in my office. Just call if you need anything," he said and he hurried from the room.

As soon as Beckett was gone, Kai stepped back into the doorway.

John glanced towards Weir, but she was still unconscious. He raised his gaze to meet hers. "Thank you," he finally said, because he didn't know what else to say.

Kai's eyes rose in surprise.

"For stopping me," he clarified. "He could have done a lot of damage with me..." he stopped and drew in a ragged breath as he rapidly sifted through more memories. "He did a lot of damage," John confessed.

Kai nodded, moving to the end of his bed. She wrapped her arms around her midsection. She didn't know what she was still doing here. She shouldn't be here. She didn't know what to say. "I-" she started but stopped, pressing her lips together.

John watched her. He remembered the tears that had run down her cheeks and he had been powerless to stop it. "Kai-" he started and he stopped. He looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry," he said in a low tone.

Kai looked up at him frowning. "You didn't do anything you need to apologize for."

John looked down at his hands. "I think we both know that isn't true," he said gently. "Thalen said some cruel things to you, and you..." he dragged off and shook his head. His chest was tight with guilt. He should have been able to protect her from this.

"John," Kai said gently. She took another step towards him. Her heart was thundering in her chest with indecision about what to do, but she needed to comfort him. "I chose to go after you. I knew what I was doing."

John pressed his lips together into a line and nodded. "Yeah I suppose you did." He agreed then he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I'm sorry this delayed you again. Seems like things haven't slowed down here in a while."

Kai swallowed she stepped up next to the gurney and looked down at his hands. It had been so strange watching some one else move his body. Before she lost her courage she reached out and took his hand in hers.

John froze, holding himself perfectly still as Kai held his hand in hers. She turned it over staring at it and ran the tips of her fingers over the callouses on his palms.  A shiver went down his spine but he forced himself to hold perfectly still. He couldn't help feeling like if he moved suddenly he would startle her and this moment would be lost like so many had before.

"I'm not leaving," she said her voice barely above a whisper.

John froze, his fingers closing over hers. "Really?" he asked hardly willing to allow himself to believe it.

Kai nodded. Beside them Elizabeth stirred. John turned to look at her. "Elizabeth?" he asked as she stirred once more.

Kai dropped his hand and quickly moved to the door. John turned to look after her. "Kai," he called. She stopped and met his gaze.

John swallowed nervously. "It was on Lodan," he said without explanation. "Under the stars on Lodan."

Kai froze, her heart thundering in her chest as she realized what he was saying.

Elizabeth's eyes blinked open just as the door slid closed behind Kai.

><><

Chapter 73

><><

Kai rushed out of the infirmary. She nearly tripped over her own feet as she fled down the hall putting as much distance between herself and John as possible. She needed space to clear her head and think.

She stopped halfway down the hall and leaned against the wall. Being overwhelmed wasn't something Kai was used to and she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. Her thoughts were tripping over themselves frantically as she fought to make sense of John's words in the infirmary. One of the last things Thalen had said to her, was to ask if she wanted to know the moment when John fell in love with her. It had been a lie, she knew it was a lie. It couldn't be anything else. Love wasn't a possibility in the life of a Mortii, and though she was safe on Atlantis she couldn't allow herself the risk even now.

Kai pinched her eyes shut, she had been so certain Thalen was lying to save himself. Someone like John Sheppard didn't fall in love and certainly not with someone like her. She scrubbed at her face as she tried to figure out what else John could have been referring too if it wasn't to answer Thalen's question.

It was on Lodan, under the stars on Lodan.

Behind her closed eyes she could picture John's earnest expression as he spoke those words, answering some unspoken question. There had been too many emotions to read flickering in his hazel eyes as his fingers tangled with her own.

Lodan had been one of their first times going off world one on one. They had both drank Euphor to maintain their cover despite her better judgement and once they were done the two of them, intoxicated, had walked back to the gate. It was one of the first times Kai had seen John let his guard down, shed the mask of The Colonel, and really be himself. John Sheppard didn't allow himself that kind of freedom in front of anyone on Atlantis. She had appreciated it for the gift that it was then, and every moment since. Far from the prying eyes of Atlantis, they had nearly kissed under the stars of Lodan.

And Thalen had known every detail. It still made her sick just thinking about it.

If she had learned nothing else today, Kai had learned that John made her vulnerable in a way she had never considered. It was a shock to realize exactly how vulnerable she had become. Thalen had simply found that weakness and exploited it. Suddenly, The Tribunal's stance on no attachment made sense. No Mortii could be as vulnerable as she had been today and do their job. Their Bonded would make them too easily controlled, and too easily influenced. Whether John shared her feelings or not it didn't matter, it didn't change what he meant to her.

It was an overwhelming realization and one she needed to come to terms with. After everything that had happened that day she was exhausted, both physically and mentally. She shoved herself away from the wall and strode through the darkened halls. She turned another corner and ran straight into Ronon.

"Hey," he said, resting a large hand on her shoulder to steady her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded turning her head away from him so he couldn't see her expression. She needed to get better control of her emotions. She paused and frowned up at him as she realized Ronon shouldn't be out in the hallway so soon after being shot. "What are you doing out of the infirmary?" she asked.

Ronon flashed a casual grin, but now that she was paying attention she noticed he was holding himself very carefully. "The Doc let me out tonight. Still hurts like a bitch, but Teyla found some Athosian wine to take the edge off, care to join us? We could use it after the day we all had," he said lifting his other hand and wiggling the two bottles.

Kai looked down at the bottles of alcohol and decided it might be just what she needed. "Yeah," she agreed, surprising Ronon. "I could use a drink."

Ronon grinned happily. He liked Kai a lot, but she rarely socialized outside of work or sparring. She looked shaken. If half of the rumors he heard were true about what went down with her when she was taking on Sheppard and Weir, he didn't blame her. He pulled the cork out of the first bottle with his teeth and handed her the bottle. Kai tipped it back, wincing as she took her first sip of Athosian wine and the liquid burned down her throat. He chuckled and led the way out to the east pier.

><><

An empty bottle of Athosian wine sat between Kai and Teyla on the pier. The two of them were laying on their backs staring up at the stars. Kai was pinching her right eye shut so there would only be two moons instead of four.

Ronon was sitting next to her, he had his own bottle gripped in his hand but he wasn't sharing what was left of it. Kai was steadfastly focused on forgetting the trials of the day and had impressively finished most of the shared bottle herself. The wine softened things, made her feel light and like all the things that had happened were far away. Almost like they had happened to someone else.

"So..." Ronon started to say after a few moments of silence. He tipped the bottle back and took a long swig. "Do you think there's something with Weir and Sheppard? You saw that kiss," Ronon pointed out.

Kai froze, her drunken mind racing to put the memories back together. She did remember the kiss.

"Ronon," Teyla admonished, then she hiccuped. "That was Phoebus and Thalen."

Ronon blew out a sigh and shrugged. "I'm just saying-"

"We all know that the Colonel has-" Teyla stopped when Kai pushed herself up on her elbows. "I mean..." She hiccuped again.

An uncharacteristic giggle bubbled up Kai's throat as her muddled mind concluded decisively that Ronon was right. Of course Elizabeth and John together made sense. They were both leaders, both from earth...both human. She giggled again.

"What's so funny?" Ronon asked.

Kai sat all the way up and nearly fell back down. Once she steadied herself she turned to face him. She burst out laughing when she saw his face. How could she have been so wrong?

"You," she said and she giggled again. "You're right," she agreed. She had hazy memories of Sheppard and Weir hugging and being close and she was numb enough that it didn't hurt.

She snatched Ronon's bottle from his hand and tipped it back, draining a sizable portion. "Makes things easier," she said handing the bottle back.

Ronon grumbled under his breath and downed the rest of his wine so he wouldn't have to share it.

Teyla rolled over and looked up at Kai. "Makes what easier?" she asked gently.

"Everything!" Kai said with a shrug. "Less complicated," she concluded with a nod and she shoved herself to her feet. "I," Kai said decisively. "Am going to bed."

The others waved her off and she staggered down the pier towards the city. Kai moved through the dark halls doing her level best to maintain absolute control of her body. It was late and the city was dark and empty, it almost seemed sad. She glided her fingers down the side of the hall to steady herself so she wouldn't trip. She turned a corner and slammed face first into someone, she staggered back. She looked up into the concerned faces of John and Doctor Weir. She huffed our an impatient sigh. Of course they were together.

"Kai," Elizabeth said in surprise. When Kai tripped over her own feet as she fought to straighten herself, Elizabeth's brow furrowed in concern. Kai had always been so controlled and graceful. Elizabeth had never seen the assassin not one hundred percent in control before.

John however figured out what was happening pretty quick. He had seen Kai drunk once before however on Lodan. He swallowed, things had gotten pretty raw between them today and he didn't blame Kai one bit for needing to cut loose a little bit. He hadn't expected to see her again so soon and he honestly wouldn't have known what to say or how to act regardless.

Kai's eyes widened and she looked back and forth between them like a school girl caught out past curfew. "Doctor Weir," Kai said in surprise then she hiccuped. Kai clamped a hand over her mouth guiltily. "You two are out of the infirmary."

"Are you all right Kai?" Doctor Weir asked in concern.

"Fine, Doctor Weir," Kai assured her too quickly. "Just headed off to bed," she said and she moved to walk around the two. She overshot it and bumped into one of the Ancient's entirely pointless large decorative vases. She fought to catch it but missed completely and it tumbled to the ground clattering loudly. She fought to right it but couldn't get it to turn so it could clear the wall. She stepped away casually as though it was supposed to be like that, chances were good they wouldn't notice anyway.  She straightened but had to touch the wall to steady herself. She blew hair out of her face agitatedly as she worked to appear entirely cool and collected. She wasn't going to show any weakness or emotion in front of them.

"Where are you off to?" Weir asked her carefully.

Kai gestured in front of her. "My quarters," she answered and the toe of her boot caught against the vase so it clattered loudly once more.

Elizabeth nodded slowly as she watched in mild fascination as Kai fought to pretend she was sober.

Kai grimaced as the loud noise echoed through the halls, but decided they probably hadn't noticed. Humans didn't hear well anyway.

"Well, good night," Kai said and she did her best to hurry away. She made it five feet before she staggered and had to put her hand back on the wall to manage the corner.

Elizabeth turned back to Sheppard who was looking after Kai with a bemused expression on his face. She stepped over and picked up the large vase, straightening it easily. She turned back to John. "Intergalactic Super Assassin," Elizabeth clarified.

John snorted. "She had a rough day," he defended gently. "She smelled like she got into the Athosian wine...that stuff is wicked. It's enough to take down even the best intergalactic super assassins."

"She smelled like a distillery," Elizabeth said, fighting to maintain a straight face. She couldn't condone members of the expedition moving around the city intoxicated.

"Yeah," John said with a chuckle. "Clearly you have never had Athosian wine. They call it wine but the translations a little off. Really it's more like-"

"Moonshine?" Elizabeth asked, already exhausted by the conversation. It had been a long day, her body was sore from Phoebus's abuse and her temples were still pounding from the imprint.

"Yeah." John confirmed still staring after Kai. He wanted to go check on her, but he couldn't quite figure out a way of excusing himself without it being obvious. Weir hadn't said a word about all she/Phoebus had overheard. Thalen had spilled every detail of his feelings for Kai and he fully expected Elizabeth to confront him about it at some point. They were both tired however and Elizabeth didn't seem interested in broaching the topic.

"And you know this-?" Elizabeth dragged off meaningfully.

John rubbed at the back of his neck guiltily. As military leader he was never really off the clock and therefore shouldn't drink. "You know," he said quickly shifting the subject. "I should probably go check on her-" he said pointing off down the hall.

"Good idea," Elizabeth agreed meaningfully. "Especially since I believe her quarters are that way," Elizabeth said pointing down the hall exactly the opposite direction Kai had turned.

"Right." John agreed and he trotted after Kai.

He was surprised how far ahead of him the drunk woman had gotten. He didn't think he and Weir had been talking that long and Kai certainly wasn't moving very quickly. He turned several corners before he found Kai sitting on the floor under the scanner to one of the rooms. She was sitting cross legged bent studiously over her radio.

"Kai," he said coming around the corner.

She looked up at him and scowled. "Not you," She grumbled. "It could have at least been Ronon."

John was a little taken aback but didn't let her drunken nonsense deter him. He knew she and Ronon were close. "Well, no Ronon in sight, looks like you're stuck with me."

She blew out an aggravated sigh. "You're..." She dragged off, staring down at the radio in her lap. "...complicating," she huffed. She lifted the radio higher and closed one eye as she stared down at it.

"What are you doing?" John asked standing in front of her.

She glared up at him, keeping one eye pinched shut as she stared at him. She held up a hand to shield her eyes from the bright lights that backlit him, "Why are you so tall?" She grumbled and then went back to fiddling with her radio.

John chuckled, he didn't think of himself as being that tall but at 6'2" he was almost a foot taller than her. He sighed and dropped down to sit beside her on the floor under the scanner. With one eye still pinched shut Kai twisted the dials on her radio.

"What are you doing?" John asked after watching her for a few minutes.

Kai picked up her head and stared at him like he was stupid. "I need Radek," she said like it was incredibly obvious and she turned the dial again.

John watched her, wondering if it would help to point out that she wasn't wearing her ear piece.

"What?" She huffed noticing his attention, why didn't he just go back to whatever was happening with him and Weir and leave her alone.

John held up his hands in surrender. "Nothing, hey the heart wants what the heart wants," he said leaning back against the wall to get more comfortable. It seemed like this was going to take some time and honestly he didn't mind. He was still feeling buoyant with the knowledge that Kai wasn't leaving. He hadn't realized how much that had been weighing on him.

Kai scowled at him. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't judge," John promised her and then the son of a bitch winked at her.

She huffed. "No! Not like that!" she snapped. "Rodney wasn't answering."

"Oh, so you wanted to see McKay in the middle of the night," John clarified sardonically.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean the computer isn't working," John was winding her up now on purpose.

John couldn't help the teasing smirk that was crossing his lips. He knew he shouldn't be enjoying himself, but it was so rare Kai let her guard down enough to actually show her irritation with him.

"The computer isn't working?" John asked.

"Yes! The computer isn't working, so I tried Rodney but he isn't answering."

"Well it's the middle of the night, he's probably sleeping-"

Kai leveled a glare at Sheppard and he lifted his hands in surrender as she continued. "So I tried Zalenka but he isn't answering either."

"Well..." John began. "and don't bite my head off, but I think it would help if A.) You were on the right channel," John said reaching down and turning the dial three clicks to the right. "And B.)..." he reached out into the layers of scarf around her neck and carefully lifted out her earpiece, and positioned it back over her ear.

Kai tried not to tremble beneath John's warm, gentle fingers. Even as drunk as she was, she wasn't willing to make a fool of herself in front of him. So far she had remained in complete control. She licked her lips and looked down at the radio nodding. "Good...right."

"So what makes you think the computer is down?" John asked conversationally, hoping to not get yelled at again.

Kai motioned to the scanner above her head. "It's broken. I can't get into my room."

"Ah," John agreed as he worked to keep the grin off his face.

Sensing his disbelief Kai swiped her hand over the scanner. The computer bumped back at her, refusing entry. "See," she said defiantly.

"This isn't your room."

Kai scowled. "Of course it is."

John stared into her grey eyes and lifted his hand above his head. The door hissed open without hesitation. "It's my room."

Kai stared at the open door. "No," she said shaking her head. "Your room is on the other side of the tower from mine."

"Correct. The exact opposite. You took a left instead of a right. My room," he said pointing at his chest.

Kai shoved herself up onto all fours and nearly staggered into the wall. John shot up after her, catching her under the arm. "Easy," John said, but ever determined Kai shoved away from him and staggered through the door.

"Stubborn woman," John muttered and followed her into his room.

><><

The next morning Kai woke to the sound of a shower running. She cocooned herself deeper into her blankets trying to drown out the sound as the pounding in her head increased. The blankets were warm and smelled like clean soap, and citrus with a hint of sandalwood. She froze as she ran over that list again. She added the faint tinge of gun cleaning oil.

John

Slowly, she peaked open her eyes hoping she was wrong. On the table beside the bed was the copy of War and Peace she had read to him when he was transitioning back after the retrovirus. In the corner of the room was a set of clubs in a bag beside the surf board they had used together at the beach. She was in John's room and had no memory of how she had gotten there. She rolled over and froze when she saw her leather pants discarded haphazardly in the middle of the floor. She sucked in a breath and peaked her head under the covers. She was at least dressed, wearing her tank top and a pair of soft athletic shorts that were several sizes too large. Still, for her it was an outrageous amount of skin.

She closed her eyes and tried to will herself out of the situation. She knew she had been drunk last night but she couldn't believe she would be drunk enough to -

She tried to remember but all she could remember was sitting beside John and the feel of his gentle fingers on her face.

The shower turned off and she panicked. She leapt out of the bed. The floor was chilly and her quick movement dumped the covers and pillows onto the floor along with the rest of his bedding that must have been knocked down.

She snatched up her pants and her uniform shirt, ready to bolt for the door when her bra dropped out. She swore and dove for it. No matter what happened, she was not about to suffer the humiliation of leaving her underwear on the Colonel's floor.

She was still crouched down scooping up her bra when the bathroom door swung open. She froze as John stepped out in a cloud of steam. Her eyes widened as she realized he was wearing nothing but a towel. Of course he wouldn't be shy. Why would he be? After all, her pants and underwear were on his floor.

She dragged her eyes up from the towel that hung at an angle on narrow hips up his abs to his wide muscular chest. Water still beaded on his skin. Similar to hers, his skin was a map of his life, scars etched into the smooth surface that somehow added more than they took away.

"Oh, you're awake," he said. "Sorry about that," he added and he quickly stepped into the room towards his dresser.

Water was still trickling in long runs down his back towards the towel. There was a strange pattern of scars across his back that she found herself curious about. Part of her wanted to ask and another part wanted to trace her fingers over them.

Kai forced herself to stop ogling and got to her feet. "Right," Kai said moving towards the door. "Well I-" She stammered.

John turned around to face her with a grip of clothes in one hand. "Sorry again," he said moving towards the bathroom. "The amount you drank last night I didn't think you'd be moving until at least noon. You must have a hell of a metabolism." He moved to close the door behind him. "I'll stay in here while you get dressed," he told her and he closed the door.

Kai was completely out of her depth. What the hell was going on? She sat back on the bed. It didn't feel like anything had happened, but looking around the room the evidence was irrefutable. Why else would she be in John's room, wearing his clothes? Emotions had run high the night before and it wasn't out of the question that with a little Athosian wine her good sense had left her in favor of a little fun. It wasn't like she hadn't thought about it, but she would have hoped to remember something.

"Kai?" Sheppard called through the door.

"Uh, one minute!" Kai called back. So much for dressing and sneaking away. She quickly dressed and started looking around for her boots.

"How about now?" Sheppard called impatiently.

Kai picked up the comforter she had knocked down hoping her boots were under there when she saw a pillow and blanket on the floor beside the bed. The pillow still had an indent from where someone had slept on it.

She was standing there staring down at it when the door opened. "Look I'm sorry but I'm gonna-" John stepped up beside Kai and looked down at the floor where she was staring. "What are you looking at?" He asked, wondering if she was somehow still drunk.

The pillow and blanket made a small pallet beside his bed. "So we didn't-" She dragged off.

"What?" John asked, genuine shock on his face. "No!" John exclaimed.

Kai exhaled in relief and started to pull on her boots. She had been drunk but it would have been disappointing to find out the Colonel was so unremarkable she remembered nothing. From what she knew about him, it didn't seem likely.

"Wait," John said after a moment. "You actually think I would have-" he started to say.

Kai gestured around them. "All evidence points to the contrary."

John's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What, me being some kind of scum bag who wound take advantage of you when you're drunk?" He demanded.

Kai took half a step back. She hadn't expected him to get so mad about this. She narrowed her eyes, her temper rising to match his own. "I woke up in your bed with my clothes on the floor!"

"Which is where you left them after you insisted I find you pajamas AND," John added defiantly. "You used my toothbrush!"

"What was I supposed to think?!"Kai shouted back. She wasn't willing to give an inch on this one. It hadn't been that crazy of a conclusion and she wouldn't stand here and let him yell at her for it.

"How about that I am not only your commanding officer but also your friend! I care about you, you think I would do that?!" John yelled. He hadn't been this worked up since his ex-wife. Only Kai seemed capable of getting under his skin so fast and so completely.

"You don't get to be mad at me for this!" Kai shouted back taking an aggressive step into his space.

"Ditto!" John snapped.

Kai's head was pounding and the yelling wasn't helping. She was outraged and embarrassed and just wanted to curl up and disappear. John had clearly done something nice and now she was yelling at him and didn't know how to stop. She stomped to his door and swung her hand over the scanner. It opened to reveal Weir and Teyla on the other side. "Perfect," she snarled and she stomped around them and down the hall.

Teyla and Elizabeth watched as Kai stormed away down the hall before they turned in tandem to face John.

"What?" He snapped defensively when he saw the meaningful expressions on their faces."Not you two too!" He groaned.

Teyla shook her head.

Weir however pursed her lips. "Something you care to explain Colonel?" She asked pointedly. She was well aware of all Phoebus had witnessed when Thalen had attempted to use John's feelings to manipulate Kai. She had never considered something had actually happened between them, but this...

"Yeah!" John snapped, still too pissed to be rational. "Why everyone I know seems to think I'm some kind of sleaze ball!"

Weir's eyes cut to the hall where Kai had just disappear.

John's temper snapped. "Oh why not?!" He said throwing his arms up in the air.

Teyla cleared her throat delicately prepared to play peacemaker. "Kai was quite intoxicated when she left us last night," Teyla observed conversationally.

"Nothing happened!" Sheppard bellowed.

"Whatever you say," Weir said doubtfully, and she turned away before Sheppard could see the smile on her face. There might be something growing between them, but she believed him if he said nothing happened. He wasn't the type to lie about it to keep out of trouble. He just wasn't that afraid of authority. And she knew without a doubt he would never take advantage of Kai. "I just came to check on you, but you seem fine." Weir said, excusing herself.

Teyla stood impassively before the Colonel, waiting for his temper to cool. It was rare to see him so out of sorts, but he wasn't the most capable of expressing his emotions.

"I didn't do anything," he said defensively.

"I believe you," Teyla promised him.

Ronon came around the corner chewing loudly on an apple. "Hey, what's up with Zian?" He asked jerking his chin back in her direction.

Sheppard made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat. "Not you too," John grumbled shoving past his two team members and disappearing down the hall.

Ronon stared after him impassively. He took another loud bite of apple before turning back to Teyla. "What's up with him?"

"I believe Kai and the Colonel ran into each other last night."

"Really?" Ronon asked with interest.

"We have been adamantly assured nothing unprofessional occurred," Teyla said.

"Damn," Ronon muttered taking another bite before walking away.

><><

Chapter 74

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John spent the rest of his day being irritable. His team figured it out pretty fast and since they weren't going off world they all steered clear of him. He ended up spending the day training some of the new recruits, running them through drills even Ronon would have considered extreme.

"All right, again!" He called and there was a collective groan. His comm activated in his ear. "Colonel Sheppard when you have a moment I would like to meet in my office."

"On my way," he responded. John blew out a frustrated sigh. "All right boys, that's it," he called and the relief in the room was palpable as he stalked towards the doors. He glanced back over his shoulder and they all quickly straightened. He snorted and shook his head as he left the gym.

Elizabeth was sitting behind her desk waiting for him. It wasn't a good sign. It meant whatever she had to discuss was serious. John closed the door behind him and took the seat across from her.

"What can I do for you?" He asked.

Elizabeth studied John's face carefully, trying to gauge his mood. When she had a meeting with Major Lorne earlier to discuss his next mission he had mentioned his concern that Sheppard was pushing the new recruits a little hard. It was unlike Sheppard to be emotional. One of the things she admired most about him was his ability to remain unflappable.

"Major Lorne and I had a conversation today," Elizabeth said, deciding to face the topic head on.

"Anything interesting?" John asked, because he knew that was what he was supposed to do.

"He mentioned that he thought you might be pushing the new recruits harder than usual today."

"Well the Pegasus galaxy is a rough place," John said a little sharper than he meant to. He didn't like the idea of his second in command going around him to tattle to Weir. It wasn't like Lorne. He was normally a straight shooter.

"Anything on your mind lately?" Elizabeth pushed. "Something we should talk about perhaps?"

John shook his head. "Can't think of anything."

"How about what I walked into this morning?" Elizabeth said a little sharply.

John arched his brows. "You didn't walk into anything."

"So a senior member of my staff and our most gifted mechanic yelling at one another in the hallway is nothing?" She asked.

John narrowed his eyes. "We weren't yelling." He growled defensively. He had seen Elizabeth in enough negotiations to know when she was trying to manipulate the situation to go her way and he wasn't going to play the game. "Let's skip the song and dance. Why don't you just ask me what you want to ask me?" John snapped.

Elizabeth arched her eyebrows but obliged. "Did something unprofessional occur between you and Kai last night?"

"No," he responded simply. Elizabeth paused for a beat and he could see her trying to decide if she was going to keep pushing or accept what he said. Either way she didn't look like she believed him.

John kept his face totally neutral. Had she asked the question in a different way she may have gotten the answer she was searching for, he had no intention of lying about it, but he also wasn't going to offer up anything he didn't need to.

Elizabeth bridged her fingers. "Than what is going on between the two of you?"

John hesitated. He honestly didn't know how to answer the question. "Look," he said. "Nothing, okay? Even if there was, she isn't a member of my team, she isn't a member of the United States military and if we are dead honest she isn't really even an employee of this expedition. She and I are friends okay?"

"Friends?" Weir pushed, her tone dripping with disbelief.

John's jaw tightened. He couldn't tell Weir what was going on between him and Kai because he honesty didn't know. Whatever it was however, he was protective of it, and Weir was pushing a little too hard for him to just take it. "Friends," John confirmed. And he used the one card he had left to play. "Just like you and Carson."

Elizabeth actually flinched at his words. Nothing had happened between herself and Carson, but the feelings were there. At least on her side. "I-" she started to stammer. She had been so sure no one had noticed, least of all Colonel Sheppard.

"Exactly," John said with a brisk nod. "Anything else?"

"No, that's it." Elizabeth said quickly, clearly still uncomfortable.

John turned and left the office. He felt a little bad for throwing her feelings about Carson in her face. But he wouldn't stand by and let her destroy whatever there was between him and Kai before it even began. He ran a hand over his eyes. He needed to find Kai.

><><

The search didn't take very long. He checked the gym, the lab and ended up finding her in the mess hall. The mess was nearly empty. She was sitting at a table in the back corner with her head in her hands, an untouched salad sitting in front of her. She probably had one hell of a hangover. He bit back a smile and went through the line. A salad wasn't anyone's idea of a hangover cure.

Five minutes later he set his tray down in front of Kai. "Best hangover cure in two galaxies."

Kai looked up, squinting against the bright fluorescent lights behind him. She turned back to the tray with a frown. "Those are French fries, and...is that a burrito?"

John nodded. "With extra cheese sauce. Trust me," he said with a boyish grin.

Kai was skeptical but reached for a fry. The salt and grease on the fries was somehow the greatest thing she had ever tasted. She ate five more before she finally conceded John was right. The greasy potato slices were in fact calming her stomach. She started in on the burrito and nearly moaned out loud, it tasted so good.

"So am I still in trouble?" John asked, reaching for a fry for himself.

Kai looked up at him. trying to stay mad at John was about as effective as being mad Carson. You just ended up feeling bad for it.

"I wasn't mad at you," Kai said, focusing a little too hard on the food in front of her. "I-" she started to say and stopped, she didn't know how to explain all she felt.

John shifted his weight and under the table his knee rested against hers. Kai flinched, but didn't pull away, her eyes snapped up to meet his. John's gaze was intense for a fleeting second before a smirk broke the moment. "So I'm forgiven?" He pressed teasingly.

Kai blew out a sigh. "Leave the fries," she advised begrudgingly.

John threw his head back and laughed. He rocked back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest watching as she finished the burrito. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn't want Kai mad at him anymore. Laying on the floor last night, while Kai slept in his bed, he had finally allowed himself to feel the relief that she was staying and to truly allow himself to believe it. It changed things, hell, it changed everything.

Kai finished the last of the fries and began packing up her stuff. John returned the tray and snagged a bottle of blue Gatorade. He had never seen Kai drink much aside from water and now alcohol but he offered it to her as they met at the doors. Kai looked down at the bottle in confusion.

"Sugar and electrolytes will help too," he promised waving the bottle at her temptingly. "Not everything is all carbs, grease and cheese sauce."

Kai shifted her messenger bag to her other shoulder and frowned at the bottle in his hand. "That looks like fluid I have added to the shuttles."

John looked down at it thoughtfully. "Kinda does," John agreed. "It will still help."

Kai took the bottle without further argument. She had witnessed enough other members of the expedition drinking it to be curious, and it was clear John was trying to make things right between them.

The truth was, Kai wasn't mad at all. She was mortified. She never lost control that way. She hated the idea that she didn't know what she could have said or done. She could have ruined everything in one stupid moment.

They stepped out into the hallway together and John tucked his hands into his pockets and rocked nervously up onto the balls of his feet. "Where you headed?" He asked.

Kai shrugged. "Zelenka gave me the day off, I was probably going to head up to the jumper bay."

John nodded and chewed on his lip, feeling a little like he was back in high school fumbling over his words in front of the prettiest girl in school. He had always been confident when it came to women, but Kai was different. She saw straight through him every time.

Kai swallowed as she stared at her feet. She was mortified over what had happened and she had to say something about it, but she didn't even know how to bring it up. She never should have lost control like that.

"About last night-" she started.

"Nothing happened!" John blurted out holding his hands up in surrender.

Kai reached out and grabbed his hands pulling them down. John flinched but didn't pull away as her fingers wound around his wrist and fingers.

"I know that," Kai promised him. "I'm sorry for dumping everything on you," she said quickly. She drew in a deep breath for courage and continued. "Thank you for...everything, for...taking care of me..." she clarified and she swallowed nervously as she dragged off worrying her lip in her teeth.

She seemed to realize in that moment that she was still holding onto him. She looked down and saw their joined hands and froze. When she raised her eyes he was staring down at her face just waiting, like he had all the time in the world. The truth was, John had always looked out for her and taken care of her, always been there no matter what.

She licked her lips and stared up at him as her heart pounded in her ears. "I-" she started to say and stopped. This was John, she didn't need to be nervous. Things had always been so simple between them, she just needed to stop overthinking everything.

His hazel eyes were incredibly intense as he stared down at her. The moment stretched between them. When Kai made the decision to stay something had shifted and everything changed. She had made the decision to be selfish and stay, she might as well be as selfish as she wanted. She had nearly lost him again yesterday, this time by her hand. It had shaken her, and she was sick of waiting. She drew in a breath and before she lost her nerve she pulled him towards her.

John let her pull him into her and Kai wound her hands around the back of his neck. She lifted up on her tiptoes and gently pressed her lips against his.

John froze for a second as though he couldn't believe this was happening. Then he dropped his hands to her hips and kissed her back. Kai made a noise low in her throat and John's fingers tightened around her hips, pulling her against him.

Around the corner the door of the mess hall slid open loud enough even John heard it. The two of them jumped back away from each other. John crossed his arms over his chest and Kai started digging in her bag as two scientists walked by talking about their current research project. They wouldn't have fooled anyone but the scientists were so wrapped up in their conversation they didn't notice. As they disappeared around the corner John and Kai looked up at each other.

John smirked, looking maybe a little smug and Kai chuckled, cupping her forehead in her hand. She didn't know what had come over her and didn't know what to say now. She didn't regret it and he certainly didn't look like he had either.

The comm in her ear activated and she flinched as the real world caught up to them. "Kai are you available to come to the gate room for a consultation?" Major Lorne's voice came in her ear.

She cleared her throat and touched her comm. "I'll be there in five minutes." She responded.

When she turned back around John was watching her. "I need to-" she dragged off gesturing down the hall.

"Right, of course," John agreed and he watched as Kai headed off down the hall. He exhaled and scrubbed a hand through his messy hair. "Good going John," he muttered to himself. "Five minutes after telling Weir nothing is going on," he turned headed to the gym. He needed to burn off some energy so he could focus and figure out what in the hell he was going to do.

><><
Coup D'etat
><><

Weir hated to be the bearer of bad news and she knew what this was going to mean for the Colonel. It was just two days after their talk in her office and even though there was nothing unprofessional between them, he still cared for Kai.

She found Sheppard and Teyla sparring in the gym. She could have called him to her office, or notified him over the radios, but that all felt too impersonal. She had to tell him herself. She and Major Lorne had made the call and she would stare him in the eyes when she told him what was happening.

The doors slid open to show John and Teyla pacing around one another on the mats. Teyla saw her and straightened, immediately disengaging from the fight. "Doctor Weir," she greeted, bowing her head respectfully.

"Elizabeth," John said turning around. His smile stilled on his face when he saw her expression. "What happened?" he asked without her having to say anything.

Elizabeth swallowed nervously and tangled her fingers together. "We've lost contact with Major Lourne's team on M1K-177," she reported clinically.

John tossed the bantos rod aside turning to fully face her. He racked his brain to try and remember what Lorne's mission had been. It couldn't have been too risky of one if it wasn't coming to him. "How long ago?" he asked, all business.

"It's been an hour since they were due to check in," she reported.

He nodded not quite following why Elizabeth was so worked up and why she would have come down herself instead of calling it in. "All right, well that's not too bad. Sometimes things happen," he allowed, although they both knew Lorne never missed a check-in. The man was meticulous when it came to running his ops. "Let's send Brown's team in and they-"

Elizabeth cleared her throat and John stopped, looking down at her in confusion. "I thought you might want to check on them yourself," she said. Her eyes flickered to Teyla. Sheppard wasn't getting it and she wondered if perhaps the Athosian had. Teyla was frowning suspiciously, but hadn't quite seemed to grasp what was happening.

"What was the mission?" Teyla asked gently. Elizabeth was behaving oddly for a routine late check in and Teyla could practically feel the nervous energy coming off the other woman.

"Major Lorne's team was there doing a route medicine drop. The villagers alluded to some kind of ancient structure with technology inside..." she dragged off. "It was my suggestion," she quickly confessed but it did little to make her feel better.

A bad feeling went over John. He knew McKay was still on Atlantis. He had seen Radek playing chess in the mess that morning. Which left only one other person Lorne would have thought to ask along to look over the technology.

He locked down his muscles as worry became an ugly pit in his stomach. He hadn't seen Kai since the other day in the hall, he had been assuming she was avoiding him after their kiss. It hadn't occurred to him that she had gone off world.

He reached up and touched his comm. "Ronon, McKay gear up," he told them. "We're leaving in ten." He turned to face Teyla who nodded once sharply and strode quickly out of the room.

Elizabeth was still watching him with a mixture of guilt and concern. "Tell me everything about their mission," he ordered.

><><

By the time AR-1 was geared up and reached the control room a message had come through the Stargate from Doctor Lindsey Novak. Major Lorne's team was in trouble. They were under fire and needed backup.

John led his team across the event horizon without hesitation. It surprised him when all was quiet on the other side of the gate. It was night, the gate was in a small clearing outside of the town.

Doctor Lindsey was waiting for them wringing her hands nervously. "Thank God you're here, this way!" She called and she led the way back towards the town.

"How much further?" John asked as he strode purposefully through the village. The others were actually struggling to keep up and Lindsey was almost jogging beside him. He didn't like how quiet it was. With Lorne and Kai here being attacked it should have looked like a war zone.

"It's just up ahead," Novak told him, breathing hard.

Teyla glanced at the Colonel and then back at Lindsey as she stretched her legs to maintain the pace. She wasn't sure she understood why the Colonel was so upset. She knew he cared about his men and their wellbeing but a response like this was most unlike him.

"When was the last time you had contact with them?" Teyla asked in a soothing voice. The Colonel hadn't asked any other questions. He had absolute target fixation and the rest of them needed to know what they were walking into.

"They came under fire about half an hour before I got to the gate. Ah, the Major told me to head to the gate and radio for backup. I haven't heard from them since," she said, tangling her fingers together.

"They were under fire and you didn't go back to help?" Ronon asked, his disgust with the scientist clear.

"The Major told me to stay by the gate," she defended weakly.

"You did the right thing," Teyla soothed.

They turned the last corner and pulled up as Lindsey stared up at the building in shock. Steam and smoke were still billowing from the burned out windows.

"Oh my god," Lindsey muttered.

"Is that the building you were in?" John asked tightly. He was shutting himself down piece by piece as it became painfully apparent something terrible had happened.

Lindsey turned to him, nodding. Her eyes wide with shock.

McKay looked around in disgust. "Shouldn't there be villagers? Trying to put out the fire?"

Ronon glanced back at the building his gun in his hand. "The fires already out, that's just steam and smoke."

John looked at Teyla and Ronon. He lifted his gun checking the slide to make sure there was a bullet in the chamber. "Let's take a look," he turned to McKay. "You stay here with Lindsey."

"Oh hey sure," McKay snapped his eyes running over the dark buildings surrounding them. The village felt hostile. "Just know that if you hear gunfire it's me olding back our attackers all on my own, huh?"

John ignored him as they approached the building. He didn't have the energy to deal with McKay right now. Not when he was so sure something had gone wrong.

He held his hand against the front door, when it was only warm he opened it. They were hit by a rush of heat but there was still no sign of actual flames. Everything was wet, and the rising steam soaked into their clothes.

"A fire like this would have burned the whole village had someone not dealt with it," Teyla observed. She coughed once as she and Ronon chatted. Sheppard still hadn't spoken. 

"Somebody put it out," Ronon agreed. "They just didn't stick around and talk about it."

The three of them moved up the stairs. As they entered the main room a beam collapsed nearly taking out Ronon. Ronon and Teyla flinched back. "Ah, it's not safe to be up here," Ronon said.

John shot him an incredulous look. "Thanks for that," he snapped sarcastically. He didn't want to endanger anyone else, but he had to know.

John prowled through the room and crouched near the far wall. "I got something," he called to them. He pulled his knife and dug through the wreckage. "Damn it," he muttered .

"What?" Ronon called.

Sheppard lifted a chain free from the body with his knife, holding it up to the light. "Dog tags, These are Lorne's." He said pinching his lips together. "Spread out," he ordered them. "We need to know what happened to the others."

"Who was on this mission?" Teyla asked after a moment.

"Novak obviously. Lorne, Johnson, Markham and Zian," John reported emotionlessly, but even saying her name felt like he had been stabbed in the chest. He knew something was wrong. He couldn't feel...well anything. Whatever that feeling was that he felt sometimes when she was around wasn't here. Which meant she wasn't here.

"I believe I have found another," Teyla called. She crouched beside the body, muttering a prayer for peace over the remains. She recognized what was left of the uniform to be from Atlantis. She lifted the necklace out from under the man's clothing and turned it so she could see the small etched writing. "It is Johnson," she said gravely.

Ronon moved towards the wall and froze. He reached down and grunted as he lifted a burnt out piece of timber. He tossed aside the beam and when it crashed the whole floor shuddered dangerously beneath their feet, but he didn't care.

"What's that?" Teyla asked, coming up behind him with a frown. "The bones of a child? A teenager?" she asked, her voice filled with emotion. She could not imagine what would have possessed these people to hurt one of their own children. Major Lorne would have never allowed such a thing.

Ronon dropped to his knees. "No," he said harshly.

"Then-" Teyla started to say.

John stepped up beside her and his whole body locked down at he stared down at the small skeleton. It had always been startling to him to see the size difference in a male and female skeleton and Kai was small. Had been small. He tried to swallow as his mouth turned to ash.

"It's Kai," John said. His voice was firm and didn't convey any of the emotions that were raging through his body. He turned to the others. "Head back to the jumper and radio to Atlantis to send a team."

Teyla exchanged a worried look with Ronon. She didn't want to leave the Colonel alone right now. His face was an emotionless mask, but she knew how he felt about Kai. Or at least she suspected how he felt, it was impossible to know staring at his cold face.

"Go," John snapped.

Both Ronon and Teyla did as they were told, leaving John standing over the skeleton alone amid the wreckage.

><><

Chapter 75

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Coup D'Etat Cont.
><><

John stood by as the med team loaded the bodies into bags. He hadn't moved from standing over Kai's bones since Teyla and Ronon left to get help. It didn't seem real. She couldn't be gone. Not like this.

Her bones were so small they looked like the bones of a child. He rubbed the spot in the center of his chest where he had felt her in the past. There was nothing left now but an empty, hollow feeling in his chest. He had never been able to feel her when he was off world and it hadn't bothered him before, but it bothered him now to know the feeling would never come back.

The medics zipped up the bag and he followed after it, feeling like a sentinel trailing behind what was left of her. He expected to feel something - anger, rage...but he was just empty.

Teyla and Ronon exchanged concerned looks as they followed Sheppard back towards Atlantis. They were taking Kai and the others home. As they stepped through the Stargate Weir was standing in her office looking down at them. When John made eye contact with her she jerked her chin.

John hesitated, glancing back at the body bag.

We'll take care of her Colonel," Beckett's voice was gentle beside him. John turned to look at the Scot in surprise. Beckett's smile was sad and he laid a kind hand on his shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'll find out what happened," he promised the Colonel.

John climbed the steps to Weir's office feeling like he was moving underwater.

"What happened out there?" Weir asked as soon as he was in the door. She crossed her arms over her chest as she paced through her office.

John cleared his throat, lifting his chin a little higher as he forced himself to relay the facts and not let any of his emotions show. Now wasn't the time to prove Weir right. "Well, according to Novak, Major Lourne and his team were on their weekly run to 177. Things were going along smoothly until our guys were attacked."

"Just like that out of the blue?" Weir asked in shock.

"It seems that way," John agreed, pressing his lips together grimly.

"By who? The villagers?"

"I don't know," John said, shrugging helplessly. "Novak's not a really unseful source of information right now. She's a little shook up. When they started pulling the bodies from the building she started hyperventilating. Beckett gave her a sedative. Hopefully she'll be able to give us more information once she wakes up."

"I recommended Kai for this mission," Weir said in a low voice. She ran a hand through her hair as guilt assailed her. Despite what he might say she knew John cared about Kai, and it was her fault she was dead. She dropped down into her chair and hung her head.

John clasped his hands behind his back, his fingers digging into his wrist. Elizabeth was blaming herself for what happened, and as badly as he wished there was someone to blame he couldn't go along with it. Had he been approached about the problem he probably would have recommended Kai for the job as well. "Major Lorne also requested her presence," John said tightly. "Hell, I probably would have too if I'd been asked."

Weir looked up at him sharply and felt an immediate swell of pity for him. John was always someone who bore the weight of leadership on his own shoulders.

"John-" she began kindly but the Stargate activated behind them.

"Unscheduled offworld activation!" Chuck called from the control room, leaning back in his chair to look into Weir's office.

"What now?" John griped.

The two of them hurried into the control room, exchanging a frown. There were no other teams offworld.

"What have you got?" John asked. In some ways it was a relief to have something to focus on. Anything was better than sitting around and waiting for answers from Beckett.

"No IDC," Chuck reported. "But we are receiving a pretty weak transmission on the VHF band. Audio and video."

"Let's see it," John said and the two of them stepped around to the large view screen.

The video was black and white and not terribly clear, but it was clear enough to recognize the Genii science officer. "Atlantis base, this is Ladon Radim. Are you receiving this transmission?"

John walked closer to the screen, his brow furrowed. "It's one of Kolya's men."

"Yeah, i know who he is," Elizabeth agreed. "We can't answer this though. I need the Genii of all people to believe that Atlantis has been destroyed."

Ladon moves too close to the camera and the picture went fuzzy. "My men have witnessed your teams dialing and returning through the Stargate to Atlantis more than once. Now, from that I can deduce the rumors of your cities demise have been greatly exaggerated."

"Sneaky, I'll give him that," John muttered.

"Your secret is safe as long as you respond to this transmission," Ladon promised.

Weir sighed, exchanging an annoyed look with Sheppard. He had them over a barrel. She looked back over her shoulder to Chuck. "Open a channel," she ordered.

"Atlantis Base this is Ladon Radim-" he began repeating the transmission.

"We hear you," Weir replied tightly. "This is Elizabeth Weir."

Ladon sat back a little from the camera. "Doctor Weir," he greeted triumphantly. "I was beginning to fear the rumors of your destruction were true."

"What do you want?" Weir asked. Her expression was hard and closed. She wasn't in the mood to play games, not today. There were four bodies in the morgue and she wanted answers.

"I have something to trade," Ladon said excitedly.

"Don't think I don't recognize you Ladon," Weir snapped, her voice harsher than usual. "You're a member of Kolya's strike force. You tried to forcibly take this city from us. Why would we want to do business with you?"

Ladon hung his head a moment, nodding along with Weir as she spoke as though he both understood and expected her accusations. "Because I have defected from the Genii.

"Well good luck with that," Elizabeth said dismissively.

"And because I have a zero point module," Ladon said quickly holding it up in front of the camera.

Weir exchanged a shocked look with Sheppard. They both knew how badly they needed the ZPM.

"And I have a tentative truce with the Genii that I'm not very eager to jeapordize," Weir said warily. She was not eager to deal, but it was impossible to turn away from a ZPM.

"The genii got what they wanted, they want no more from you. This is of no use to me, but I know how important these devices are to your continued survival. Now we can discuss this more in person. Lower your shield and allow me safe passage into the city."

"We're not interested Ladon," Weir said, but her voice lacked conviction.

"This is far, far better than the last trade you made with the Genii and you know it. I'm transmitting the gate address to the planet I'm on. You can send a team to search me if you wish. I am unarmed and alone. I will be here for two hours. If I don't hear from you in that time this zero point module will be lost to you forever. The choice is your's." he said ending the transmission.

John scrubbed a hand through his hair in frustration as the screen went dark. Regardless of what had happened the galaxy kept right on turning. This was an impossible decision for them to make. They couldn't trust the Genii, but they also needed the ZPM and they both knew it.

><><

Weir called a meeting. It took half an hour for the rest of John's team to meet him and Weir in the conference room. John sat down at the foot of the table and tried not to notice the worried looks Teyla kept shooting his way. If he let himself stop and think about what had happened he wouldn't be able to do his job. And right now, he needed to do his job.

McKay stood in front of the display, studying the transmission. "A ZPM is a ZPM, who cares where it comes from?"

"We've already got one," Weir pointed out.

"Yes, one." Rodney said.

Ronon rocked back in his chair. "Two's better than one."

McKay shot him a disgruntled look. "And three is better than two. Look, we all know that eventually the wraith are going to discover that we are still here. Having power will give us more options. We might even be able to light up the engines and get the city to fly."

"Really?"  Elizabeth asked, leaning forward in her seat. Now McKay had her attention.

"No," McKay admitted after a moment. "But we still need it."

Weir sighed. "Well, flying city or not I think that we should consider this. He says he's alone and he's willing to be searched," Weir said. "I think it's too important of an opportunity to pass up."

"Wait a minute," John said sitting forward. "We should be dealing with Lorne and his team, find out what happened to them."

Everyone in the room went silent. They exchanged looks but no one was willing to say anything.

Weir nodded, knowing she wasn't going to get Sheppard to focus until they had answers. "Teyla and Ronon will continue with that investigation, and you can join them once you finish up with this."

John leaned back in his seat, it was clear by his face that he didn't want to have anything to do with this, but Weir was being reasonable and if he argued about it he would be the one that looked irrational. "All right," he conceded. "Get a MALP ready with a life signs detector. I'm not sending a team in there blind."

><><

McKay sat at the computer waiting for the data to come back. "I'm getting the readings back from the MALP," he reported. The screen showed the video feedback, and they could see Ladon sitting on a rock by himself. When he saw the MALP he climbed to his feet and approached it.

"I'm only getting one life sign," McKay reported.

"Then so far he's telling the truth," Weir said with a nod.

"So far," Sheppard snapped. He didn't like this one bit. Ladon was slimy and they were wasting their time when they should be out trying to find Kai and Lorne's killer.

Ladon put his hands on his head and knelt down in front of the MALP camera. "As I'm sure your machine has already determined I am unarmed and alone. You can go ahead and send your team to search me."

John glanced over his shoulder. "Go ahead." he called.

"Yes sir," Brown agreed and his team of five went through the gate.

They waited in tense silence until the team returned. Brown stepped through the gate with his hand on Ladon's shoulder. "He's clean sir," Brown reported as John stepped into the middle of the gate room.

John looked Ladon over. "What? No ZPM?" he asked.

"I sent it to another planet for safekeeping. How stupid do you think I am?" Ladon replied.

John smirked. "From what I remember, Kai gave you a pretty good crack on the head last time we met. I guess I was kind of hoping it made you simple." It hurt more than it should to say her name out loud, but John as always hid his emotions behind his humor.

All the humor fled from Ladon's eyes and John knew he had him. It had been almost too easy to shake the Genii scientist.

"No, it didn't," Ladon replied. "But ever since then I've been plagued with headaches."

John flashed an aw shucks smile. "You're just saying that to be nice."

Ladon glanced around. "I don't see your Mortii, I do hope nothing has befallen it."

The smile stilled on John's face and his eyes hardened dangerously. "What do you want for it?" He asked.

Ladon didn't take a step back but he shifted his weight as though Sheppard had surprised him. It was often hard to rectify the smiling man who told jokes to his enemies with the fearsome soldier who had taken out their entire strike force almost single handedly. Kolya had said Sheppard was the best soldier he had ever seen, and that was saying something.

"I'll only talk to Weir," Ladon replied fighting to regain his composure. He wasn't going to get anywhere with a man like Sheppard and he knew it. Sheppard was too suspicious, to ready to believe the worst of their once enemy. He needed to speak with Weir, she was softer, more willing to negotiate.

"Do I make you nervous?" John asked.

"Not at all Major. I'm just not interested in talking to the errand boy," Ladon said smuggly. His imagined power had already gone to his head.

John tipped his head in respect and leaned in. "That's Lieutenant Colonel Errand Boy to you," he corrected.

Ladon nodded impressively but didn't give an inch. He could see Sheppard was on edge and he knew he wouldn't get anywhere trying to negotiate with him.

John jerked his head to Brown to lead Ladon up to the meeting room. He and Weir had already discussed it and decided that Weir would begin the negotiations and have him join them later. They had worked together long enough to know that negotiating wasn't what John did best. He glanced down at his watch. He was guessing he would have at least half an hour if not more before he was needed. He left his men in the control room and strode off down the hall towards the infirmary.

When he got there Beckett had the four bodies laying out on gurneys side by side, each mostly covered with a sheet. The sheet was pulled halfway down from the smallest body. When the doors slid open Beckett looked up and quickly pulled the sheet up, covering it.

Sheppard pressed his lips together and stepped into the dimly lit room. He had been around plenty of bodies, some of them friends, but this was different. If he was honest it was because she had been different. And now it was too late.

He drew in another deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest. "Got anything Doc?"

He couldn't undo everything that hadn't been said between them. He couldn't go back and give himself permission to acknowledge that there was something between them and act on it. Those were things he would regret for the rest of his life. He knew that with absolute certainty. What he could do was go after the people responsible for her death with every part of him. He would tear their lives apart and relish every second of it. It was the only thing left.

"Tell me you found something," John said, hating how desperate he sounded.

Beckett picked up his chart. "It's not them," he told John without preamble.

"What?" John asked in shock. He felt like he had just been hit. How could it not be them? He actually took a step back. "What do you mean?" John felt like he couldn't breathe, he didn't dare allow himself to hope.

"It isn't them," Beckett repeated, leading the way away from the bodies.

"But they were wearing their dog tags," John said. "And Kai-" he dragged off looking back at the body. It was exactly the right size.

He followed Beckett into his office feeling like he was in a daze. Teyla and Ronon were already there waiting. They didn't seem surprised at all to see John.

"I don't know what to tell you, I've run the DNA tests three times now," Beckett responded. "First off all of them are human, so that body is certainly not Kai. And second none of the DNA matches our men's that I have on file."

"So Kia, Lorne and the others could still be alive," Ronon said. He looked almost as relieved as John to hear the news.

Teyla rested her hands on her hips. "When we interviewed Doctor Lindsey, she said she heard Wraith stunners before the fire."

John frowned crossing his arms over his chest. "But this wasn't a Wraith attack," he pointed out. He felt nearly lightheaded to know that Kai could still be alive. It wasn't a guarantee and he was almost afraid to hope, but there was a chance. If they hadn't been killed, she and Lorne were both skilled enough chances were good they had survived.

"So whoever it was wanted us to think they were dead," Ronon finished.

"But who?" Teyla asked with a shake of her head. "And what could they want with Lorne?" She asked. Kai had the disadvantage of being something of a rarity as Mortii outside the protection of her people. But Lorne was just a soldier. It didn't make sense.

"We need to go back and question the villagers," Ronon said tightly. He didn't like the idea of someone taking Kai and the others off world. Whatever the reason it wouldn't be a good one.

John nodded in agreement. He was itching to go with them, but he knew he couldn't leave Weir alone to deal with Ladon. He glanced down at his watch, he needed to get back. "Okay, but regular radio contact." He warned them. Teyla and Ronon nodded in agreement. "Watch your backs," John warned them and he strode back down to the conference room.

When he got there Weir and Ladon were still talking. John stood at attention outside the door.

"John," Weir called when she spotted him. "Why don't you come join us. Ladon and I were just discussing why, here at Atlantis, we don't negotiate with criminals."

John felt for the first time he could actually focus on Ladon and the negotiations.

Ladon turned his head to glance dismissively at Sheppard. "As I said, I was a member of Kolya's strike team. I was just following orders. I harbor no ill will toward you or your people."

"That's nice,"  John snapped sarcastically.

"It's the truth," Ladon replied.

"What do you want for it?" Weir asked severely.

Ladon tilted his head to the side and smiled as though he had finally been asked the question he was waiting for. "I need about a hundred machine guns, a couple dozen grenades and any C4 you have to spare."

"Sounds like you're having a party," John said crossing his arms over his chest. "Explain how us giving you an arsenal is in our best interest?"

Ladon leaned back in his chair. "The real threat are the Genii. Their nuclear weapons are fully operational and it is my belief that they will soon begin using them as a first-strike offensive weapon. Not just against the Wraith but against human populations as well. Now, you give me the arms we need and you never have to worry about them again."

"You're launching a coup," Weir said as understanding dawned.

"Yes, and you're going to help me," Ladon said smugly.

Weir and John exhanged a look.

"Cowen has led the Genii people for too long. It's true he has made the Genii a force to be reckoned with, but the Cowen of the past bears little resemblance to the Cowen who's in power now."

"How so?" Weir asked.

"He's become obsessed with uniting the galaxy under a single ruler."

"And that would be him?" John clarified.

"He thinks its the only chance we have of defeating the Wraith."

"Whether the galaxy likes it or not?" Weir asked.

"Commander Kolya was the only Genii who could stand up to him. Keep him under control. But he's been missing for several months. We suspect Cowen had him murdered."

"But you can't prove it?" Weir asked.

"Not yet," Ladon replied.

John crossed his arms over his chest, his thoughts divided as he heard the stargate activate behind him, knowing Ronon and Teyla were going to investigate where Kai and Lorne might be. Every part of him wanted to be stepping through that Stargate with them. But his place was here. He was the Colonel before everything else, and he had to trust his friends to get to the bottom of this.

"Get to the part where you found the ZPM," he ordered impatiently.

Ladon sat back in his chair. "Kolya spoke about the Brotherhood of the Fifteen. The last mission you encountered him."

"The last mission he tried to kill me. I remember," John said flashing a humorless smile.

"Finding resources for the resistence has been difficult. We have a few rifles, limited ammunition. No where near enough..."

"So you thought if you found a ZPM, we would give you everything you needed," Weir filled in.

"It's very difficult to find trading partners who don't fear the Genii. Cowen has spies all over the galaxy. I figured you would be more than willing to help if we could give you something of value."

"How do we know you're going to be any better than Cowen?" John asked. He had been involved in plenty of coupe operations when he was flying for the black ops. He had never liked them. They made his skin crawl.

"I know you don't trust me," Ladon said sitting forward. He seemed to have realized suddenly that it wasn't Weir he needed to convince, it was Sheppard. "But if Cowen uses atomic weapons to enslave other worlds, then the Genii are no better than the Wraith. Now you can have your ZPM, but you must stop that from happening."

><><

Kai woke up with a pounding headache. She rolled onto her side groaning as she tried to remember what happened. It took exactly two seconds for her to remember they had been under fire and she had been stunned. She could hear someone's heartbeat beside her. She ignored the pain and shoved herself up, raising her hands so she was ready to defend herself.

"Whoa easy!" Lorne said holding his hands up so Kai would know he wasn't a threat.

Kai rocked back onto her heels and exhaled when she realized there wasn't something to fight. She looked around with a frown. She and the other members of the team were inside of a cell. She stood, turning in a small circle. All the other members of the team were up and appeared to have been awake for some time.

"How long was I out?" She asked.

"Hard to tell," Lorne said with a shrug. "It's been a few hours since the rest of us woke up."

Kai nodded and moved towards the cell door. She gripped the bars. "Any idea who locked us up?" she asked. It wasn't the people from the planet they had been on. The composition of the bars was too advanced for their technology.

Lorne shook his head. "No, we haven't seen anyone. They took our uniforms and dog tags though."

Kai frowned as she stared at the lock. There was a chain wrapped around the lock with an extra padlock. They weren't taking any chances. "Is any one hurt?" she asked distractedly as she moved over to the side with the hinges.

"No," Lorne reported. "Just headaches...don't suppose you have some Mortii trick for escaping jail cells..."

Kai nodded as she glided her fingers over the hinges. They were welded together, but they were the weakest point. "Sure," she said nodding to Lorne. "Let's get out of here." She swung around and kicked at the door, slamming her boot right next to the hinge. The metallic boom echoed through the room.

Lorne flinched and looked out of the bars down the hall. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"It's a Mortii trick for getting out of a jail cell," she replied flippantly and kicked again.

"I was honestly hoping for something a little more elegant...and quieter," he said glancing down the hallway again. "You know something that won't bring all of their guards down on us."

"Well," Kai said jumping up and grabbing the bars. "This way we'll know who captured us," she said and she swung back and kicked the hinges with both feet. The noise was even louder than before but the door creaked. Kai pulled back once more and the sound of running feet reached her ears. She quickly kicked again and she felt the door shift beneath her.

A group of five men ran down the hallway towards them. Kai quickly recognized Genii uniforms.

"Back away from the door," the one on the lead ordered.

"Why are we here?" Kai demanded.

"Back away from the door," he ordered again.

Kai lifted her chin defiantly and kicked the door once more. The man drew a wraith stunner from his belt and fired into Kai's chest.

Kai dropped to the ground unconscious. Lorne blew out a frustrated sigh as the Genii soldiers began work to reinforce the door.

><><

Sheppard and Weir watched as John's men escorted Ladon down the stairs back towards the stargate. "You believe him?" John asked once he was out of earshot.

"Well he has a ZPM," Elizabeth responded.

"No, I mean about the other stuff. Evil Cowen?"

"He's lying about something," Elizabeth said crossing her arms over her chest. She could feel it, she just wasn't sure what. "When Cowen handed over two of their atomic weapons it was sort of an olive branch and I would hate to jeapordize what little momentum we have going with that."

"Stick with the devil we know?" John asked. Honestly he didn't see that it mattered either way. The Genii were slippery and just as likely to betray you as talk to you regardless of who was in charge.

"Exactly," Weir said with a sharp nod.

"So, give them the heads up? Tell the Genii he's planning something?"

Weir nodded. "I think so. I'll tell Ladon that we need a bit more time and to set up a way to contact him."

"I left one of our best Special ops guys on the planet when we searched him," John said. "If Ladon goes anywhere my guy will follow him."

Weir looked up at Sheppard impressed. She felt a little guilty for thinking he was too distracted by the Lorne and Kai thing to do his job. "Good thinking."

"That's why they pay me the big bucks," he called over his shoulder flippantly. There was a lot of work to be done.

><><

Chapter 76

><><
Coup D'Etat Cont.
><><

Instead of catching up with Ronon and Teyla to continue the search for Kai and the missing team John found himself traveling through the underground tunnels of the Genii. He and Elizabeth had agreed to warn Cowen, the current leader of the Genii about Ladon's plans. What John hadn't realized was that Elizabeth would pick him and McKay to be the ones to deliver the news.

"You know," McKay said, his voice tight with stress. "I'm not sure you've sufficiently trained me in actual combat. I don't know how much use I'd be in a fight-our-way-out kind of scenario."

John shot McKay a look of disbelief, but the dark tunnels made it impossible for him to see it.  "Well," he said his voice completely serious. "I look at it this way. The Genii have tried to kidnap you on multiple occasions to mine that big old brain of yours, right?"

"Yes..." Rodney dragged off, not sure he was going to like the direction this was going.

"Well," Sheppard said thoughtfully. "If we get into trouble, I'll just trade your life for mine."

"Funny," Mckay snapped.

"Don't worry. I'll mount some sort of rescue mission...eventually," John assured him still managing to keep a straight face. "Assuming you survive all the radiation exposure."

There was movement down the side junctions of the tunnels and John rounded towards the movement, putting himself between their possible attackers and McKay. McKay squeaked in surprise but composed himself as Cowen stepped out of the dark flanked by four soldiers.

"Doctor McKay," Cowen greeted. He turned to Sheppard. "And it's Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard now I hear."

"Somebody's been paying attention," John replied, forcing a pleasant smile on his face.

He hated Cowen. He would never forgive him for the first time they had met and the way he treated Kai. It seemed while the people of this galaxy feared the Mortii for their skills, they also regarded them as somehow less than human. Cowen had treated Kai as little more than a slave who could be won like a prize. John would never forgive him for it, but Elizabeth was right, they needed allies against the wraith. Even if those allies were Genii.

"I'm afraid I don't have much time. But please tell me, what can I do for you?" Cowen pressed impatiently.

John cleared his throat and kept his voice casual. "We were just checking in, saying hi since we really haven't been in contact since the last culling."

"We barely survived the last culling," Cowen said grimly. "I can't help thinking how close to extinction we came as a people. Our former ambitions have been tempered by the real world I'm afraid." He explained, almost sounding sincere. "We've been busy trying to fulfill our people's most basic needs."

"You know," McKay spoke up helpfully. "We could help with that."

"Yeah, with supplies, even manpower," Sheppard offered.

"Why would you do that?" Cowen asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, we probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the nukes you gave us, so we owe you one," John begrudgingly admitted. It was somehow reassuring to see Cowen didn't seem to trust him any more than he trusted Cowen. It felt more sincere. Had Cowen tried to pretend to be friends John would have suspected foul play immediately.

"We are a proud people Sheppard. But we do know how to accept help when we need it..." Cowen said tightly as though it pained him to admit he might need their help. He might ask Elizabeth for aid, but he was sure Cowen would never admit to needing help to John's face.

"On that note," John said rubbing at the back of his neck. "We've been contacted by a Genii named Ladon..."

"Ah," Cowen said with a tired smile. "At last the real reason you're here, what has he been saying?"

John shrugged casually as though they didn't believe it. "Ah, something about conquest of other worlds using your atomic weapons."

Cowen scoffed. "He's been telling the Manarians that I've been slaughtering our own people for food," Cowen told them, he exhaled tiredly. "Laden blames me for Kolya's disappearance. And yes, it's true I never respected nor liked the man, but I had nothing to do with his persumed disappearance. I believe there is no love lost between you and Kolya," Cowen said looking pointedly at Sheppard.

John crossed his arms over his chest but declined to answer. If there was any Genii he hated more than Cowen it was Kolya. Cowen had threatened Kai yes, but Kolya had both used her against John and tried to kill her more than once.

When John didn't answer Cowen shrugged. "Anything Ladon tells you is a lie."

"He's trying to mount a rebellion," McKay said.

"Let him try," Cowen replied confidently. "He commands a couple of dozen men and has no weapons to speak of, believe me the city's plumbing is of more concern to me right now...but still, you didn't have to tell me. Appraising me Ladon's plans was the act of a friend," Cowen admitted begrudgingly.

"Well, if you wanna contact us we have a new number," John said. This was the part of the plan he didn't like, but Elizabeth had insisted on extending the olive branch to include a way for Cowen to contact them.

"I've known for some time that Atlantis survived the Wraith attack Colonel Sheppard. I hope that you'll accept it as an act of good faith that your secret is safe with the Genii."

John nodded and Cowen shook both their hands. "My men will see you to the gate," he offered, gesturing to the guards behind him to lead the way.

They headed back as Cowen disappeared into the dark. John was uneasy. He had never liked or trusted the Genii, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on. He just wasn't sure what.

"Well, that was refreshing," McKay said brightly, as usual he was completely oblivious to Sheppard's mood. "He didn't even try to kill us once."

><><

Kai was stunned twice more before she finally stopped trying to escape. It didn't seem to matter how reasonable Lorne was as he tried to convince her to be patient. She wasn't a sit around and wait to be rescued kind of girl.

They were there for barely a day before the Genii scientists gathered outside the gate. They all had equipment to take blood samples from their prisoners. Kai rolled to her feet, confident in her ability to fight her way out. The soldiers however, had learned, and didn't take any chances. They stunned Kai again before they opened the gate.

When Kai woke the next time she had been handcuffed behind her back and there was a bandage on her arm where they had taken several tubes of blood.

"How are you feeling?" Lorne asked.

Kai made a frustrated sound as she fought to twist her wrists and somehow get free.

"I've already checked those cuffs. They seem fairly tamper proof," he said dropping down to sit beside her. "How many times can you get stunned in a day before I have to start worrying about your brain?" Lorne asked, his tone was light, but there was a small piece of him that was worried.

Kai ignored his question. "Have they said anything about what they want?"

Lorne shook his head. "They took blood samples from us all. Not really sure why."

Kai frowned as she finally stopped long enough to think. She looked over the gathered group of men.

"They took samples from everyone?" She clarified.

Lorne nodded. "A vial from each, but they took a bag from you, you feeling lightheaded at all? They brought us food," he said gesturing to a plate of stale looking bread.

"I'm fine," Kai said firmly. Her head was still pounding and she felt a little dizzy but she honestly couldn't say if it was from continuing to be stunned or them taking so much blood. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. The Genii had taken her uniform jacket, leaving her in just her thin long sleeve t-shirt. Her scarf was also missing, making her feel naked.

Lorne snorted at her stubbornness and turned to pick up one of the blankets the Genii had left for them. He draped it over her shoulders. "Temps dropping," he observed glancing towards the high, bar covered windows. "It's going to get cold tonight," he said and he left Kai alone.

><><

The next morning John and McKay were standing in Elizabeth's office. They had both been up all night. First to report to the Genii and then to follow up with the man he had left to track Ladon.

John took a sip from his cup of coffee. "My special ops guy followed Ladon to MSR-967. Looks like he's occupied a warehouse in a bombed-out abandoned city."

"It was most likely destroyed by the wraith and never reinhabited," McKay reported.

"We did a fly over in a cloaked Jumper and sure enough, there are about 20 lifesigns in the building."

"Well, 20 life signs on the whole planet actually," McKay added.

"So Cowen's intel was accurate?" Weir asked, a little surprised. She didn't want to allow herself to get too excited about the prospect of working with the Genii, things had been rocky before, but many powerful allies were built on rocky starts.

"Yeah it appears that way," McKay agreed.

"So even if those men are highly trained and armed to the teeth-" John started.

"Which most of them probably are not," McKay interrupted.

"They're no match for our guys," Sheppard finished.

"A raid?" Weir asked in shock.

"Hell yes a raid," John said. "If this is their main base of operations, I'm willing to bet the ZPM is there."

"And what, just steal it?" Weir asked in disbelief.

"Well...the brotherhood stole it from us and Laden stole it from the brotherhood, it's not really stealing it's um..." McKay dragged off.

"Recovering." John filled in quickly, knowing full well Elizabeth didn't like operations that fell into the grey area, and this one for sure fell into the grey area. "Look," he said quickly before she could say no. "We tell Ladon we're ready to do business, he needs to send a dozen guys here to help carry back supplies -"

"Along with the ZPM," McKay added excitedly.

John grunted in agreement but kept going. "He won't do that but, sure, we can ask. When they get here we detain them, leaving eight men in the building for only two small strike teams to deal with," he finished. He wanted this wrapped up as quickly as possible and a raid was the best way to do that. Once they had the ZPM he could turn his focus to finding Kai.

"Okay," Elizabeth agreed after a few moments consideration. "It's worth the risk. Go get us a ZPM."

><><

Sheppard had his men in position outside the warehouse, waiting for the word from Elizabeth that they had successfully detained Ladon's people.

"Colonel?" Weir's voice came over the comm.

"Here," John replied. He and his team were outfitted in full combat gear. His P-90 hung from his vest and he had a wraith stunned on one hip and his handgun on the other. He was taking no chances on this one. He wanted it done right and he wanted it done quick.

"You have a go," Weir reported.

"Understood," he said grimly. He turned to his men. "All right, use non-lethal force whereever possible, so the men with stunners take point," he ordered. "That being said, if they engage us, do what you need to do."

He tapped Brown on the shoulder and he led the way. John tossed a smoke grenade through the first window as Brown blew the door. They came in firing stunners as they went. Taking down two men off the bat. That left only six.

"Clear!" John called when all movement cease. "Start doing a room sweep. You three are with me," he called to the men behind him. "We're finding Ladon."

"Did you see how I almost stunned that guy?" McKay asked excitedly. He had to trot to keep up with Sheppard's purposeful strides.

John glanced back at his friend. "I must have missed it," he said.

"Yeah but if he was like, one step to the right I would have stunned him for sure."

"Good for you," John said tightly. There was something wrong. He could feel it in his chest. He just wasn't sure what it was. "Come on."

John led the way deeper into the warehouse. McKay guided him using the life signs detector. They crept closer to the door. McKay paused, holding up one finger. "One tango, middle of the room," he reported.

Sheppard hesitated, staring at him as though he had never seen him before.

"What?" McKay asked suddenly self-conscious. "Isn't that right?"

Sheppard grimaced but nodded. He counted off to five and they came in from both sides. Ladon was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, his foot resting on a box at his feet. He didn't look surprised to see them at all as he cut away a piece of apple and ate it.

"Drop it," Sheppard ordered, gesturing to the small knife in Ladon's hand. Ladon looked down at the knife in surprise as though he hadn't expected Sheppard to care about it. He tossed it to the ground.

"All right," he agreed. "Feel safer?"

"A little bit," John agreed sarcastically. "Is that it?" John asked gesturing to the box. He was itching to get out of here. Something was off and he trusted his instincts enough not to question it.

"It is," Ladon cofirmed.

"Slide it over," John ordered, gesturing with his gun.

Ladon kicked the box across the room. John slid his gun away and crouched over the box to check it.

"Who whoa whoa," McKay called urgently. "It could be booby trapped to blow up in your face!"

Ladon snorted. "Relax Sheppard, I have no interest in killing you."

John hesitated for only a second before he bent down and opened the box, bracing himself for an explosion. Nothing happened. He lifted out the ZPM. It was dark

"It's all yours, one ZPM," Ladon said smuggly.

John dropped the ZPM back into the box and kicked it back towards McKay carelessly. A burned out ZPM was useless to them.

"One that's probably been out of power for about a thousand years," Ladon added brightly.

There was a hiss overheard and gas began filling the room as the doors slid shut behind them. John turned but his men had already started to drop to the ground coughing.

"Oh that's gas," Ladon said as John went to his knees. "Don't worry, it's not going to kill you either."

John fought to stay conscious, but it was impossible to resist and the gas pulled him under.

><><

John blinked awake. It was still light outside so he obviously hasn't been unconscious very long. He was tied to the chair Ladon had been sitting in.

"How do you feel?" Ladon asked.

John flexed his hands against the ropes but they didn't give. "Like I've been gassed," he snapped sardonically. "How come it didn't affect you?" John asked when he remembered Ladon hadn't left the room.

"I was injected with what I just gave you," Ladon said holding up the needle.

John didn't like the idea of being injected with anything from the Genii but he didn't dwell on it. Once he got out of this he would have Beckett run a full blood panel on him and his men. "Where are my men?" John asked when he saw it was only him and Ladon left in the room.

"Oh they'll wake up in an hour or so on their own with a pretty big headache, but they're fine," Ladon promised him. "Just like you."

John tested the ropes more obviously this time to show his agitation. "I'm a lot of things right now, fine isn't one of them."

Ladon smiled as though John had told a joke. "I stumbled across the dead ZPM in our archives. One of our operatives found it hundeds of years ago, didn't what it was, and filed it away. I'm sure he had no idea how valuable it would eventually be."

"That was your plan?" John asked in disgust. "Lure us here, take our weapons, trade us for some more, arm your little rebellion, is that it?"

"Couldn't be more wrong," Ladon said with a smug smile.

"There is no rebellion Colonel," Cowen's voice echoed through the warehouse.

John's head jerked up in surprise and Cowen flashed him a smile that had too much teeth. "Ladon here has only the best interest of the Genii at heart."

John sighed, hanging against the ropes in frustration. God he hated the Genii.

Cowen stepped up holding Sheppard's radio. "I want to talk to Doctor Weir."

"The gate has to be active," Sheppard snarled.

"It already is," Cowen replied, unmoved by the Colonels acerbic attitude.

Ladon turned the top crank on the radio and showed him how to use it.

"Doctor Weir this is Cowen, leader of the Genii."

There was a brief pause before Weir's voice came through. "Where is Colonel Sheppard?"

"He's right here with me," Cowen assured her. "Along with the men you sent to storm this complex Some would view that as an act of war."

"We were just trying to quell your rebellion before it started," Elizabeth defended.

"I think we both knew what your intentions were. And now its time you become aware of mine. I will release your men, but I expect something in return," Cowen negotiated.

"We have twelve of your own, how about a straight trade?" Weir offered, although she didn't sound like she thought he would take her up on it.

"The Genii you've imaged as your potential hostages are terminally ill," Cowen responded. "They volunteered for the mission. They knew they were never coming back the moment they heard of my plan."

"Why are you doing this?" Weir demanded angrily.

"The Genii people need the Atlantean ships you call Jumpers. I believe you have ten of them. You have one hour to bring them all here."

John was surprised Cowen would demand such a high price. He had to know Elizabeth wouldn't negotiate for them, she couldn't. He tried twisting his wrists again to see if the ropes would loosen at all, but they had been thorough.

"And if I don't?" Weir asked.

"We will kill one of your team every fifteen minutes until our demands are met...oh, and we will be starting with Colonel Sheppard," Cowen said turning and leveling his gaze on John, a triumphant gleam in his eye.

After Cowen disconnect he had his soldiers untied Sheppard. John let out a tired sigh. "What do you want with the jumpers?" he asked. There were too many soldiers pointing guns at him to do anything, but they still were taking no chances.

Cowen laughed. "What would I want with invisible space ships that can fly to other worlds and even deliver atomic weapons?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well, since you put it that way. They're never going to deal. You're going to have to kill us," John told him.

Cowen nodded. "Mm hmm," he agreed. "I fully expect to have to kill you."

"Looking forward to it that much huh?" John asked. "Why didn't you just take us hostage when we came to visit?"

"Why take two hostages when you can have a dozen?" Cowen asked rhetorically. "Take him to the cell," Cowen ordered.

Ladon grabbed Sheppard's arm and hauled him to his feet. Sheppard kept his muscles loose and relaxed so Ladon wouldn't feel threatened. He just needed to wait for his moment.

Ladon shoved him ahead of him however and pointed a gun at his back. Sheppard walked slowly through the building, memorizing the layout and taking everything in.

"Even if they give you the jumpers, none of the Genii will be able to fly them," John pointed out.

"Oh no? Why is that?" Ladon asked, he still sounded smug. He made John want to wipe that smile right off his face.

"You know why," John snapped impatiently.

"Well if you're referring to the ancient gene I'm working on a gene that could artificially produce it," Ladon said. "In fact we've been collecting samples..." Ladon dragged off.

"From where?" Sheppard snapped back testily.

They stepped around the corner and Sheppard hesitated for a step as the cell came into view. "Lorne," he said in surprise when he saw the Major standing at the front of the cell near the door.

"Starting to put it all together?" Ladon asked brightly as he unlocked the cell.

"I'm getting there," Sheppard agreed and Ladon shoved him inside.

John stumbled a step but straightened as he turned to look over the others in the cell. "Major, boys," he greeted forcing his tone to stay casual even though his heart was thundering in his chest. She had to be here. His strike team were all there, including McKay, laying on the ground unconscious.

"Colonel," Lorne greeted. The rest of his men were looking over the strike team. He didn't see her.

"Yeah, way to be alive," Sheppard congratulated, but his heart was in his throat as he saw a small mound on the ground in the back corner, covered by a blanket.

"Thanks sir," Lorne replied sardonically. "So, you come to rescue us?"

"Well, up until a moment ago I thought you were dead. But now that I see you speaking, breathing...yeah, thinking about it."

The blanket moved and Kai sat up, flipping the blanket off of her. Her hair was mussed and she had a scowl on her face.

"Well good," Lorne said with a sharp nod. "Let me know if there's anything we can do to help, huh?"

Kai eyes met Sheppards and she struggled to her feet. He frowned when he saw she had her hands secured behind her back.

"Why is-" Sheppard started to ask, but Lorne cut him off.

"She kept attacking them," Lorne said with a heavy sigh. "She was stunned four times the first day we were here." His eyes were exhausted as he stared at Kai with a grumpy look. For someone so small she could certainly make a lot of trouble.

Sheppard snorted, a proud smirk stretching his face despite their situation. "She can be a handful," he said wryly.

"You're telling me," Lorne grunted in a low voice as Kai approached them.

When she reached them Lorne stepped back to give them the illusion of privacy. Kai's eyes ran over Sheppard to make sure he was uninjured.

"Is this your idea of a rescue?" she challenged.

John snorted and shook his head. He was so relieved to she was alive he would take it. For the first time he noticed the feeling of her back in his chest. He had been so distracted by Cowen earlier he hadn't been paying enough attention. He was almost lightheaded with relief and not caring that the men were surrounding them he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. Exhaling away the stress and pain he had been feeling since she went missing.

Kai hadn't realized until that moment that everyone on Atlantis had thought they were dead. She could feel the relief pouring off of John and it actually made something in her own chest tighten. She could see how much it had affected him and it shocked her.

When she had first felt him land on the planet, she had thought he was there to rescue them. Now she realized he was in just as much trouble as they were. She let herself lean against him for a moment, but she was painfully aware of the men in the cell with them. She stepped back quickly, her eyes flickering to the team.

John followed her gaze, but didn't care. He was too relieved to see her. "Are you okay?" he asked, he kept his voice barely above a whisper so only Kai could hear.

She nodded. "Don't suppose you can pick the lock on handcuffs?" she asked weakly.

John stepped into her space and reached behind her, his fingers grazing over the metal manacles that encircles her wrists. "Sorry," he said in a low tone and instead of pulling away he let his forehead rest against hers for a moment.

He would have to be the Colonel in a moment and find a way for them to escape before Elizabeth was forced to open negotiations, but for just this moment he needed to feel her and know that she was alive and safe. She leaned into him as well and he felt that warmth open like a ball of light in the center of his chest.

Content he stepped back and nodded to her. Then he turned to face Lorne and the others. "Right," he said briskly. "What do we know?"

"Nothing really," Kai told him.

"We were ambushed," Lorne said. "Stunned and they took our uniforms and our dog tags."

"My scarf and blades are gone too," Kai agreed.

"They've taken a couple of blood samples from each of us," Lorne reported. He glanced a little warily at Kai. "They took a whole bag from Zian," he reported.

Kai shot him a glare for ratting her out as Sheppard turned a concerned look to her. "You feeling all right?"

Kai nodded. "I'm fine," she assured him.

There was a groan behind them as McKay woke. Sheppard shot her a final look of disapproval but turned to check on McKay.

Fifteen minutes later Kai could hear the Genii soldiers coming back. The keys rattled loudly as the guards opened the door flanking Ladon.

Ladon stepped into the cell. "Times up," he said, pulling his gun front the holster at his waist. He pointed the gun at Sheppard's chest.

Without hesitation Kai lunged for him. Sheppard caught her, dragging her back, and pushing her behind him.

Ladon stared Sheppard in the face, his eyes wary. "Weir says that Doctor Beckett can cure the people we sent through. Is that true?" Ladon asked pointing his gun for emphasis.

John held his hands up so he would look like less of a threat as he approached Ladon. He stepped carefully to make sure Kai was behind him. His protective instincts were running high after everything that had happened. He knew it would annoy her, but he couldn't turn it off right now and he wouldn't pretend otherwise.

"Beckett's the best doctor in two galaxies. If there's a cure, he's got it," he said confidently. He had no idea what the people could have wrong with them, but knowing the Genii it was probably radiation poisoning of some kind. Not all kinds would be curable, but he wasn't about to say that. If Beckett claimed he could, John was going with it.

Ladon turned back to his men. "We're letting them go," he told them. The men nodded without hesitation. The three Genii stepped back allowing Sheppard and the others to come towards the door.

Kai stepped up in front of Ladon. She raised her eyebrows expectantly and dipped her shoulder towards him so he would unlock the cuffs.

Ladon hesitated for a moment. He turned to Sheppard. "Your word your Mortii won't attack my men any more," he demanded.

Sheppard bristled. He hated the Genii's habit of treating Kai as subhuman, but Ladon actually was afraid of her. "She speaks for herself," he said with a smile and a casual shrug.

Ladon's eyes flickered back to Kai. She smiled at him, baring her teeth aggressively. "I think I can manage to control myself," she growled.

Ladon's face paled but he took the keys from his belt and unlocked the cuffs. Kai rubbed at her bruised wrists as the cuffs dropped to the ground at her feet.

"I would like my scarf and my Blades returned to me," she intoned, putting maybe a little more menace in her voice than she needed to.

Ladon turned to one of his men and nodded. "They will be," he promised.

Ladon led the group through the warehouse. "Hidden away in the bottom of this building is a nuclear device," he told them.

"How'd you get your hands on that?" Sheppard asked suspiciously.

"You forget I'm the chief scientist," Ladon said with a pleased smile, "I made it."

"You're gonna start your coup," Mckay said in shock as he hurried to keep up.

Ladon nodded elegantly. "I needed Cowen and his elite guard together in one place. I knew the chance of some puddle jumpers would get him here. Most of my men are waiting for me on our home world. Tonight, the leaderhsip of our people changes hands."

"You were just going to leave us here to be vaporized with the others?" John clarified, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Yes I was," Ladon agreed, unapologetically. "But things have changed, let's go," he said and he led the way out of the warehouse.

Two of Cowen's elite guards came through the door in front of them. When they say all of them free the men free they raised their guns.

"It's all right," Ladon assured them quickly stepping forward between the two groups. "We're just escorting these prisoners."

They lowered their guns obediently and without hesitation two of Ladon's men shot them. Ladon turned to Sheppard. "There's a hidden passage this way, we shouldn't run into any more resistence," Ladon said and he led them out of the warehouse and back to the gate.

McKay dialed Atlantis and led the way back through the gate.

"Ladon come in," the communicator on Ladon's wrist activated as he, Sheppard and Kai waited as the rest of their men crossed the event horizon.

"This is Ladon," he replied.

"What's going on?"Cowen demanded.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this Cowen," Ladon responded. "You have served our people well," he said grimly.

"What have you done?" Cowen called fearfully.

John, Kai and Ladon stepped through the gate. "Shield up!" John called. Just as it was raised there was a bright flash behind them.

Weir met them in the center of the gate room as Ladon handed his weapon over to Kai. "Now please," Ladon said nodding respectfully to Doctor Weir. "I would like to see my sister."

Weir and Ladon left to go to the operating room, leaving Sheppard and Kai standing awkawrdly together in the gate room.

"I probably need to-" John started to say motioning after Elizabeth and Ladon.

"I should probably-" Kai said at the same time.

They both fell silent and John chuckled humorlessly. "Go get checked out by Beckett," he ordered. Temper flared in Kai's eyes but she didn't argue. "I'll see you later," he said and he walked after Weir and Ladon.

><><

John strode into Elizabeth's office a few hours later. It was after dinner and the control room was quiet. "Well the coup was successful. Ladon Radim is the new leader of the Genii," John said sitting a hip on Elizabeth's desk.

"Wow, that was fast," she said in surprise.

"Well, once people found out Cowen and his elite guard were out of the picture, his loyalists laid down their weapons. They're billing it as a bloodless coup, 'cause no one died on their home soil," John explained.

"So a nuclear explosion and the lives of an entire battalion of men doesn't count?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

"Yeah it's all spin," John said with a shrug. "What do you think the fallout's going to be?"

"Well," Elizabeth said thoughtfully. "Historically, most coups end up with the new government being about as bad as the old one."

"I don't know, he seemed pretty grateful we saved his sister," John pointed out. He was exhausted, and he honestly just wanted to get some sleep. He had been up for nearly forty-eight hours and he was anxious to check on Kai after Beckett looked her over.

"There's that," Weir allowed.

"So I say we call it a win."

"Who's spinning now?" Elizabeth teased. She was glad to see Sheppard back to his old self.

"All right, then I say we call it a night," John suggested.

"That we can do," Elizabeth agreed, but she tapped her pen against her computer thoughtfully as she stared after him. She needed to ask him about Kai, but she wasn't sure how to go about it. She hadn't seen any evidence that either one of them had been anything but professional. They weren't the type, but there was something going on between them and it had her worried.

><><

Beckett had given Kai a clean bill of health. There were the obligatory blood tests that wouldn't be back until the following day but he hadn't anticipated any problems and sent her on her way as long as she promised to eat something and get plenty of rest.

By that time it was late in the evening and most of the corridors were dark. She headed down to her lab. She was sitting on her computer when the doors slid open. She didn't have to turn around to know it was Sheppard.

She quickly finished typing up her report about what happened and closed the laptop. She turned on her stool to face him.

John was leaning a hip against her work station with a small bundle under his arm. When she met his gaze he stepped closer to her, unrolling her two Blades from her scarf. "Ladon kept his word," he said in a low tone. He handed her the knives and watched her as she slid them away on her belt.

She reached for her scarf but instead of giving it to her John tangled his fingers with hers and pulled her towards him so she was standing just inches from him. She didn't quite stumble but it didn't mean she was complete thrown off her balance by the intensity in his hazel eyes.

His movements were languid as he lifted her scarf over her head and rested it against the back of her neck. Kai could hear his heartbeat racing in his chest but his hands were moving so slowly it was mesmerizing. He put gentle pressure on the scarf against the back of her neck as he stared down into her eyes. A small frown formed between his eyebrows and Kai had to force herself to stay still, not react and just wait for him. It was difficult watching him struggle and not know how to help.

"I thought-" he started to say and he stopped. He shook his head and then flexed his wrists and used the scarf to pull Kai into his chest. He captured her lips with his and when she kissed his back he dropped a hand to her hip, pulling her body more firmly against his.

Kai brought her hands up and wrapped them around his neck. John's fingers flexed on her hip and she moaned into his mouth. John's lips glided over hers, his tongue tangling with hers. Kai brought her hands up and buried them in his hair. John's fingers shifted on her hips and her shirt lifted slightly. The tips of his fingers grazed the skin on her side and it was like a jolt of electricity went between them.

The connection between them opened a fraction more and Kai gasped as heat ran through her body. It was like she could feel John everywhere. She shuddered in his hands and he pulled his mouth away gasping as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I thought you were gone," he confessed, it was a rare moment of vulnerability for John, but he remembered all too well the regrets he had when he thought he had lost her. There would be complications and this wouldn't be easy but he wouldn't live with regrets when it came to her.

"I'm not that easy to kill," she told him flippantly.

John snorted but she could see how much he had been torn apart in the two days she had been missing. She stepped into the circle of his arms and wrapped her arms around his waist. John exhaled and pulled her into his chest and just let himself hold her. Kai laid her ear against his chest and she let herself relax.

"Have you eaten?" John asked against her hair.

Kai smiled and shook her head as she pulled back to stare up into his eyes.

"Let's get you something to eat," he said and he held out his hand out to her. Kai wound her fingers with his and the two walked side by side down towards the mess hall.

><><

Chapter 77

><><
Michael
><><

John and Kai were in the gym sparring. Over the past two weeks they had sparred with one another every morning. Teyla had joined them the first morning, but after, bowed out, claiming she had other duties to tend to. In reality, the Athosian was giving them the space she sensed they needed. Their relationship had changed somehow, although Teyla couldn't exactly tell how much. They spent a lot of time together but they still seemed very careful of each other. It frustrated her to no end watching them dance around each other. But it wasn't her place and The Colonel and Kai were private people.

There had been a shift in both of them since the Genii captured Kai and John believed her to be dead. They were both braver, more willing to explore this thing between them, but they were taking things slow.

Kai flipped John over her shoulder, but instead of obediently following the trajectory  of the throw he latched onto her arm, dragging them both to the floor in an unceremonious heap of  limbs. Kai often let herself get too caught up in the rules and form of the fighting style she had been taught as a child and John could use that to his advantage.

John tried to swing with his bantos rod, but she kicked it aside and rolled over on top of him, pinning him to the mat. She smirked down at him as she pressed the side of her rod against his neck.

"Yield?" she asked. There was laughter in her eyes and she seemed genuinely happy.

John opened his mouth as though he were going to agree and rolled over in a powerfully fast move. He tangled his legs with hers, and pinned her arms above her head. Both of their chests were rising and falling in tandem as they were pressed together.

Kai froze, staring up at John's face. They had been dancing around one another for two weeks, the sexual tension rising until it was almost unbearable. Kia licked her lips and his eyes followed the motion, the tension between them stretching.

"John-" she said in a low voice, there was a slight tremble in her tone and he dipped his head down and kissed her.

She pushed against his grip on her wrists so she could deepen the kiss, but he pulled back as soon as she pushed against him.

Triumph was still glittering in his eyes as he crouched over her. "I win," he said smugly.

She laughed and for him it was almost as good as kissing her to see her so open and free. She wasn't holding anything back from him.

"Colonel Sheppard," John's comm activated in his ear.

John blew out an aggravated sigh and reached up, touching it. "Sheppard here," he responded a little more impatiently than he needed to.

"Colonel," Beckett's voice came through the radio enough for Kai to easily eavesdrop. "He's awake," he said grimly.

John and Kai shared a look of concern and John reached up to respond once more. "I'm on my way," he promised. He climbed to his feet quickly and offered Kai a hand up. She took it gratefully and his large warm fingers closed around her and he pulled her to her feet easily. The two of them moved over to their gear, and they each pulled out a towel to wipe the sweat away.

"I better go," John said awkwardly as he turned back to her.

This was still new between them and he didn't want to push it. They needed to talk at some point and decide what they were going to do with this. If they decided to move forward they would need to come clean to Weir. He wasn't willing to sneak around. He didn't want her feeling like she was some dirty little secret. John knew himself well enough to know this was serious and he wasn't going to treat it as anything but.

"Do you need me to come with?" Kai asked, her mind already on the patient that was laying in their infirmary. She didn't like it, hadn't been in support of the decision, but then, no body asked her what she thought. Now twelve days later it was too late to go back, but that didn't make the situation any less dangerous.

"I don't think this one needs your particular talents," John said with a teasing smile.

"I have other talents," she said petulantly, crossing her arms over her chest and jutting her chin out defiantly.

"I know," John agreed laughing. "And I don't need any of those ones either...at least not yet," he said with a teasing wink.

She nodded as a blush crept up her neck. "Understood," she said with a smile.

John turned and walked towards the door. He hesitated, turning back to face her. She looked so beautiful with a blush coloring her cheeks. "So ah...dinner..." he said. "Are you, ah going to eat some?" He asked tripping over his words like some high school kid.

"I was planning on it," she agreed with a teasing smile.

"Good, we should ah, do that," he said and his radio activated again.

"Colonel this is Weir, I'm on my way down to the infirmary to see our guest."

"I'm on my way," he agreed and he hurried out of the gym.

Kai turned back to her gear, setting her towel down. They hadn't completed the workout and even though her heart was pounding, she still had time before she was due to report to the science lab with Zelenka. She dropped down onto the mat and started counting off push-ups.

She was just running through her second set of sit ups when the door slid open. She looked up in surprise to see Ronon loitering in the doorway looking agitated.

"Hi," she greeted climbing to her feet and facing him.

His face was uncharacteristically pinched with stress and Kai recognized it had been that way since their guest arrived. "Hey," he growled stepping into the gym.

"Are you meeting Teyla?" Kai asked.

"I was," he said and he blew out a frustrated sigh, "But it woke up and Teyla went down to the infirmary."

Kai nodded not acknowledging the fact that Ronon has referred to the patient as an 'It'. He was clearly not happy with what was going on, and she didn't want to leave her friend alone when he was so upset. Ronon had a temper and he had gotten himself worked up.

"Did you want to spar?" she offered. It had been a long time since she and Ronon had sparred with one another. He and Teyla typically worked together and her time spent with John lately had cut into their time together.

Ronon nodded and stepped out into the middle of the mats. Kai rolled her shoulders and bounced her weight up onto the balls of her feet. John was interesting to spar with because while he was stronger than her, he wasn't necessary faster. Teyla was good because she was as fast but not stronger. Ronon on the other hand was both fast and strong and Kai had to stay absolutely focused just to keep from being struck by him. She had only won one time and Ronon hadn't forgotten the tactic she used. He was an incredible warrior. Kai launched herself at him without warning and it began.

An hour later they were both covered in sweat. Ronon has pinned her probably twenty times but Kai had gotten in some good shots and learned a lot from watching him fight. He was surprisingly graceful for his size, it was one of the things that made him so difficult to face, he could move in ways one didn't always expect. The Satedans must have been an incredible warrior race that clearly rivaled even the Mortii.

Kai wiped the sweat from her temples with her towel. "I would assume the Colonel and Teyla will be busy with our new guest. Did you want to spar again tomorrow?" Kai offered. Ronon wasn't the type to talk about what was bothering him, and she didn't want him to be alone when he was so upset.

Ronon nodded distractedly.

"Same time?" Kai pressed.

"Sure," Ronon agreed with a shrug and they both went their separate ways to work.

><><

John ended up having to cancel their dinner plans in order to deal with the new patient. Neither he nor Teyla were in the mess hall the next morning either. Kai ate alone and went to the gym. She was normally the first person there in the mornings, but Ronon was already working out. Kai stepped out onto the mats and Ronon began sparring almost without warning.

Kai was surprised by the ferocity of his attacks. She dodged and darted, slapping the strikes aside. As upset as he was yesterday, he had only seemed to have gotten worse. Ronon swung with full power towards her face and she just managed to drop out of the way. He came back up and slammed his knee up into her stomach.

Kai gasped and staggered back. Ronon kicked at her and she had to throw herself to the mats to avoid being hit.

"Sorry," he muttered, stepping back so she could climb to her feet.

"Something on your mind?" she asked, breathing hard.

"They've released It from the infirmary," Ronon growled as he twisted to avoid one of Kai's strikes.

"I heard that," she agreed, keeping her voice carefully neutral. She didn't like the idea of the patient walking around either, but she wasn't willing to give away anything that would fuel the fire of Ronon's rage.

"I don't know why they feel the need to take it for walks," he snarled and his next strike was harder than he intended. Kai stumbled back a step. She didn't make a sound but he felt a surge of guilt. He shouldn't be sparring when he was this upset. He stepped back, disengaging, and waved her off.

Kai bent at the waist, resting her hands on her thighs as she fought to catch her breath. She would never admit it but she was glad he didn't want to fight any more. She was exhausted. "How about we go get some lunch," she suggested. "I don't have to report to the lab until this afternoon."

Ronon nodded grimly and followed her out of the gym. They were walking through the hallway together when Ronon hesitated. "I forgot my radio," he muttered. "I'll catch up," and Ronon turned and returned to the gym.

Kai walked slowly through the hall, waiting. She only made it to another junction in the hallway when she heard yelling behind her. She ran back to the gym. The doors slid open and Ronon was holding The Patient off the ground by his throat.

Teyla was standing behind Ronon yelling at him. "Ronon! We were sparring as part of his physical therapy. Let him go, NOW!" Teyla bellowed.

"Ronon," Kai called in a low, warning voice.

The Patient was struggling to breath, fighting to hold himself up on Ronon's wrist to alleviate the pressure on his windpipe. His legs kicked feebly but Ronon's grip only tightened. Teyla was still yelling but Kai walked slowly up to him and laid a calm hand on his trembling bicep.

"Ronon," she said in a quiet voice, her fingers tightening. "Let him go."

Ronon looked down at Kai and grunted low in his throat. He threw The Patient away from him and stormed out of the room. Teyla ran to his side as he coughed rubbing at the bruised skin of his throat.

The patient looked up at Kai gratefully. "Thank you," he gasped. "I didn't think he was going to let me go."

"He wasn't," Kai responded simply. Her face was pinched and she fought to not let her distaste show.

He pushed himself to his feet. "Then I really owe you a thank you," he said, his voice was gravely from his bruised throat. He held his hand out to her. "I'm Michael."

Kai stared at his hand for a long time. She was better at hiding her emotions than Ronon, but it didn't mean she was any happier about being around him. "I know who you are," she said in a low voice.

Teyla stepped up to them, her eyes flicking back and forth between them. "Kai's people do not shake hands," Teyla lied quickly so Michael's feelings wouldn't be hurt. She closed her hand around his wrist and lowered his hand.

Michael looked down at his hand in shock as though appalled he had somehow offended Kai. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"Most of your kind do not know about my people," she said emotionlessly and she nodded to Teyla before leaving the gym.

><><

Kai spent most of her time with Ronon over the next few days. They were both struggling with the idea of Michael moving around the halls. Sheppard was spending most of his time monitoring Michael's whereabouts and Teyla was doing everything in her power to integrate him into the expedition. Ronon, Sheppard and Kai were walking through the halls after a status update meeting when they came face to face with Michael.

"Lieutenant," Sheppard greeted stepping forward. "Where are you off to?" he asked.

"My quarters," Michael said with a sigh. "Doctor Beckett gave me some pills to help me get some sleep," he said holding up the bottle and giving it a shake. "Thought I'd give them a try."

Sheppard nodded. "No alcohol or heavy machinery," he said with a forced smile.

Michael, Ronon and Kai all frowned at his strange statement. Sheppard shook his head in frustration. He was hilarious. "Nothing," he grumbled. "Sleep well."

Ronon moved to step around the group and Michael turned to him. "Hey Ronon, I don't know what happened between us in the past, but if I ever did anything to hurt or upset you, I guess I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," he said holding his hand out.

There was a tense silence as Ronon stared down at Michael.

"Ronon shake the man's hand," Sheppard said.

"I don't think so," Ronon growled.

Sheppard stepped up so he was between the two. "He's trying to bury the hatchet, it's a good idea don't you think?"

Ronon shot Sheppard a withering look. "I gotta go."

Michael stepped deliberately in Ronon's path, holding his hands up. "Look, I just wanna know-" he began and without warning Ronon punched him in the face.

Michael instinctually attacked back, swinging his fist and connecting with Ronon's jaw sending him stumbling a step sideways. The soldiers leapt into the fray and John and Kai put themselves between the two men. Kai shoved Ronon back, looking almost comically ineffective as he glared daggers at Michael over the top of her head.

John was pointing at Michael's chest. "Knock it off," Sheppard snarled at Michael. He turned back to Ronon who was frozen with Kai's hand resting in the center of his chest. "You too," he snapped.

It hadn't escaped his notice that the two of them had been spending a lot of time together lately, or that Ronon had only stopped when Kai asked him to. John swallowed back his distracted thoughts and focused on the issue at hand.

Ronon whirled around and stomped away without another word. Michael pulled against the guards as though he were going to pursue him and Kai whirled on him her eyes glittering dangerously.

Michael's nostrils flared and he froze for a second, looking dazed as he gazed down at Kai. "What-" he started to say and he moved towards her.

The guards jerked him back and it took a moment for him to realize there were other people in the hall. He looked up from Kai to Sheppard in surprise.

John jerked his chin at the guards to lead Michael off to his room. He waited until Michael was out of sight before he took his hand off of his gun. Maybe he was feeling especially protective of her because he hadn't reached for it until Michael made a move towards Kai. He didn't like the way Michael had looked at Kai, it reminded him too much of the way Wraith have looked at her in the past. Like they were wondering what she would taste like.

The two of them exhaled as they watched Michael and the guards disappear.

"This can't go on like this," Kai said in a low voice. For her part she didn't seem upset, but it hadn't escaped John's notice that her fingers were positioned close to her Blade.

"I know," John agreed. But he didn't know what he could do to stop it.

><><

The next morning Doctor Weir called a meeting of all the senior staff. She included all of AR-1, Doctor Heightmeyer, Doctor Beckett, and, much to her surprise, Kai. Ronon and Kai sparred early and walked together to the meeting room. When they stepped through the door Kai spotted Sheppard sitting near the head of the table. Their eyes met and she felt a small nudge. She bit back the desire to smile as she and Ronon sat down side by side. Sheppard's eyes flickered over the two of them before he turned back to face Weir his expression grim.

Weir stood at the head of the table as she waited for everyone to sit down. Kai glanced around at the assembled group and the only conclusion she could come up with was it was concerning Michael. "Thank you all for coming,"Elizabeth said. She turned to Teyla who was seated beside her. "Teyla, can you tell everyone your concerns."

Teyla's face was guarded and she looked down at her hands before she began speaking. "Michael told me this morning that he has been having dreams."

"What kind of dreams?" Doctor Heightmeyer pushed gently. It was clear Teyla wasn't comfortable talking about it, but Heightmeyer's tone was gentle and it was exactly the right kind of encouragement she needed.

"Dreams about the wraith...and feeding," she added.

"He's only had the one dream?" Weir asked turning back to Teyla.

Teyla leaned forward against the table. She felt a little like she was betraying his trust but they all needed to know. "Yes, he believes the Wraith did something to him during his capture," she reported, hating even more that she had perpetuated the lie. How could they expect him to heal and to trust them if they continued to lie?

"It started last night?" Kai asked, thinking of the altercation in the hallway. Michael had mentioned taking sleeping pills, she wondered if that could have effected him in some way.

Weir turned to look at Beckett over her shoulder. "Can you do something to help him?"

Beckett shook his head. "I could give him a stronger sedative to help him sleep..." he dragged off.

"Could the sedative be part of the problem?" Kai asked.

Beckett frowned thoughtfully. "I suppose it's possible. The sedative could be allowing the subconscious to push through. I could increase his dosage although I would caution against it at the moment."

"Why?" McKay asked impatiently. This had little to do with him. He only needed to be present because he was a senior member of the expedition and he had other things to do with his day. "If it's helping why not give him more?"

"Because Rodney, I specifically calibrated his regiment based on his current physical condition. Any alteration could adversely effect his recovery. I say we remain patient, wait to see if he has any more dreams. If it's merely psychological then Doctor Heightmeyer should be able to help him through it," Beckett said nodding his head towards the psychologist.

"What about the smell thing?" Sheppard asked, jerking his chin towards Kai. "That's not psychological," he pointed out.

"He smelled you?" Ronon growled turning to look at Kai.

"He noticed," Kai soothed, sensing the rising tempers in both Ronon and John.

Beckett frowned. "I'm afraid I don't know what to say about that. Could just be left over, a preference," he added turning to look at the Colonel. "You like the smell of popcorn."

John's face flattened. "I eat popcorn," he pointed out. "And popcorn isn't a person."

Beckett nodded. Sheppard had a point, but they couldn't fix it until they knew more. "We're in completely new territory here I'm afraid. The best thing I would suggest is to keep Kai away from him until we are further along in the regiment."

Teyla cleared her throat. "Why do we not just tell him the truth? I'm finding it difficult keeping it from him, and I'm beginning to question whether our course of action is the correct one," she snapped and she spun around and stormed out of the meeting.

Elizabeth sighed exhaustedly. She turned to Beckett. "Let's make the changes," she agreed. Then she turned to Kai. "Perhaps it would be wise for you to give our patient a wide berth."

"Not a problem," Kai confirmed with a nod. She didn't want to be anywhere near him.

"Dismissed," Elizabeth called to the group.

Everyone disbursed but John hung back, waiting to catch Kai. Once the others were gone he trotted after her. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hi," she said.

"So I know things have been really weird lately, but I really would like to try for that dinner date. Tonight?" He asked.

"A date?" Kai asked in surprise. She knew things were changing but she hadn't expected Sheppard to be so forward. She glanced around to make sure no one was nearby to hear their conversation.

John shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, you know," he swallowed thickly as real fear ran through him. Had he just totally blown it? He didn't want to push too hard too fast, but he also didn't want to sit around and miss their chance. "If you want."

Kai looked down, her cheeks heating. "I would," she said, peaking up at him.

A cocky boyish grin flashed across John's face. Although his relief made him nearly light headed. "Good, tonight then."

><><

Chapter 78

><><
Michael Cont.
><><

John was running late. He was supposed to be meeting Kai for dinner literally at that very moment, but he was at least a ten minute walk to the mess hall and the transporters were still down from one of McKay's 'upgrades'. Somehow in the middle of all this crap with Michael McKay had seen fit to break the entire Transporter system.

John was frustrated with himself. It wasn't like he had never been late to dinner with Kai, it was practically a regular occurrence between the two of them. One of them invariably got caught up with something, but this time felt different. They had been trying to have dinner just the two of them for over a week. Things were changing between them but now this felt like the beginning of every other relationship he had ever had. He was running in late from work convinced she was going to be pissed.

He turned the corner to the mess hall and slowed his pace when he saw Kai standing outside the door, chewing on her lip. He braced himself for her anger and approached. Years of being berated for placing work in front of a relationship had conditioned him to expect nothing less. He was the one in the wrong here, and he was prepared to face her anger.

Kai was wearing her usual casual clothes, a long sleeved black shirt and her leather pants, but she had wrapped her scarf in a different way. It seemed softer, more feminine. He wasn't sure if he should compliment it or not. If it had been a hairstyle he would have said something, but her scarf had much more of a cultural importance. John made a mental note to ask Teyla about that the next time he saw her away from Michael.

"Hey, look I'm sorry I'm late, I got caught up-"

"With Michael?" Kai asked, her clear grey eyes were open and curious, without a hint of anger.

John frowned uncertainly, not quite sure how to react. "Yeah, with Michael."

"Everything okay?" Kai asked. "Do you need to go?"

John shook his head. "No, everything should be fine for tonight," he said carefully. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Kai's calm questions. It hadn't been the reaction he anticipated at all.

"Are you okay?" Kai asked after another stretch of long silence. John was acting peculiar. She shifted her weight wondering if he had changed his mind about wanting to have dinner with her, maybe even about wanting to change the nature of their relationship.

Kai ran her hands down her thighs. She hadn't know what to wear tonight. She wasn't like Teyla, she didn't have beautiful, feminine clothes. She normally would have asked Teyla, but she was so distracted by Michael she didn't want to bother her. She also wasn't ready to discuss this with anyone else yet. Then she felt foolish for caring. John had never seemed to care what she looked like in the past, but now she wasn't so sure.

Uncertainty wasn't something Kai was used to dealing with. It was no wonder the Mortii Grand Tribunal forbade bonding and attachment. It was incredibly distracting and had Kai feeling off-kilter.

They were still new to the idea of this and Kai knew enough about policy of the expedition to know this was dangerously close to crossing the line and breaking the rules and what that could mean for John's career. She wasn't naive, she knew what she was; a ninety year old alien assassin from another galaxy, but there was something between them, and as difficult as it could be sometimes, she wasn't willing to give up on it without seeing where it could go.

John sighed. "Yes, I'm great, I just...sort of expected you to be mad because I was late."

Kai shot him a look of disbelief and snorted. "I was late," she confided.

John let out a relieved chuckle. "So business as usual then."

Kai nodded, clasping her hands together. She could feel her self-doubt getting in her own way. She took a deep breath, opened the connection between them as much as she dared and flashed him a knowing smile. "There was a blower on one of the Jumpers that's been out of commission that I was working on. I think it's the only thing keep it from starting up."

"Really?" John asked with interest.

"Yeah, if I can get the system fired up I might be able to figure out what else needs to be repaired and get us another working Jumper."

"Any luck?" he asked leading the way into the mess hall.

Kai shrugged. "We'll see. Even if I can't get this one it's another system I have a better understanding of."

John led the way past the line into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out a small bag and led the way back out of the mess hall.

"Are we not eating?" Kai asked teasingly.

John snorted. "I thought we'd take it out to the east pier," he hesitated for a second and looked back at Kai. "Actually the transporters are down, it'll be a bit of a hike..."

"That's fine," Kai said.

The two of them walked out to pier. They dropped down to sit with their legs hanging over the edge and John set the bag down between them. Kai sat, staring out at the water. The ocean was quiet tonight and the waves lapped gently at the pier twenty feet below them.

Her heart was pounding nervously  which didn't make sense. She and John had eaten together a hundred times. There was no reason to be nervous. Things between them had always been so natural there was no reason it shouldn't be the same now.

"So," John said unpacking the food. "I got everything, but skipped the wine."

"Probably a good idea," Kai agreed with a small snort. Thinking back to her latest exploits with the Athosian wine.

"Just in case I get a call," he said jerking his head back towards the city.

"Right, Michael," Kai said with a nod of her head.

"It's been a crazy few days," John said with an exhausted sigh. "So," he said. "This is a club sandwich," he said holding it out. "Well sort of," he added. "Minus the bacon."

"Bacon?" Kai asked with a frown.

John sighed wearily. "Bacon, only the greatest food the Milky Way has ever produced!"

Kai smiled at his dramatics and took a bite of her sandwich. She nodded. "It's good, even without the bacon," she added teasingly. They ate together in silence for a few minutes, just watching the waves.

"So, how are things going with Michael?" She asked cautiously. "He's been keeping you pretty busy."

John made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. "We're still having trouble with Michael's more basic instincts. Beckett and Heightmeyer are doing all they can, but no one really knows the source of the problem. As you saw," John added bitterly.

Kai nodded. The incident in the hallway wasn't something she would soon forget. It was a sharp reminder that he may look like a human, but he was wraith underneath. "I think the instincts to hunt and feed would not be easily ignored."

John nodded thoughtfully. He knew from first hand experience. "If Michael's instincts are anywhere near what the Iratus bug can produce..." he dragged off.

Kai took a bite of her sandwich. She knew John didn't like talking about what happened to him with the retrovirus. He had told her once that the memories never faded, as Beckett had assumed they would, instead he described them as being in hyper-focus. She didn't blame him for not wanting to relive them, she struggled with it too. She was painfully aware of how close she had come to losing him.

"Look, this is probably going to piss you off and I was kinda hoping to make it at least half an hour into our evening before I did that, but," John began and Kai snorted. "Elizabeth already said it, but just...keep your distance until we can figure this out, okay?"

Kai bristled. She didn't like being told what to do, and it wasn't like she had been actively seeking him out.

"I didn't go looking for him," she said a little defensively. "And I was with you and Ronon."

"I know. I know," John said quickly. Tonight was not going the way he had wanted. He had hoped for a romantic picnic on the pier, instead they were about to start arguing about Michael.

"I can handle one wraith," Kai assured him, her voice a little tight.

"I know you can," John agreed quickly, "I just have a bad feeling about all of this and he noticed you."

Kai arched a brow. "He smelled me and it triggered his instincts to feed," she corrected grimly. She knew she was only helping his case, but she wanted to be clear about what happened in the hall so they could make informed decisions about how to handle him in the future. The safety of everyone on Atlantis was John's responsibility, and she didn't want to sugar coat what had happened and leave him second guessing if he had to make the hard call. She liked Elizabeth, but she wasn't sure the doctor would be able to make the difficult decision on this one.

"Yeah but saying he smelled you makes it sound like you smell bad," John said wryly, although his eyes were still serious.

Kai took another bite of her sandwich while she considered his words instead of just reacting to them. John wasn't the type to ask her to stay out of the line of fire unless he truly meant it. He could be overprotective yes, but it was his job and he had always respected her abilities. She nodded slowly.

Relief flooded his face and it was obvious he had expected her to get angry with him again. Just like earlier. She frowned thoughtfully and took another bite of her sandwich. Whether it was Michael or this thing between them, something clearly had John on the defensive. She didn't like it.

"I don't know how much more away I can stay," she said. "But I have no desire to run into him in any hallways alone and that jumper project will keep me busy for a few days. So unless I see him in the gym or the mess...it's the best I can promise."

John took a sip of his water to hide his relief. He wasn't sure why this thing with Michael had him so twisted up in knots. Maybe he was having some kind of PTSD about his own desire to feed when he was infected with the retrovirus. It had taken every ounce of his own self control to protect her from himself.

"You're usually in the gym with Ronon lately. So that shouldn't be an issue," He observed a little too casually. He swallowed back an ugly feeling in the pit of his stomach that reminded him a little too much of how possessive the creature had been over her.

He should be glad the two of them continued to develop a friendship. They both had a tendency to prefer solitude and seemed to make other members of the expedition uneasy. They had a lot in common. Her spending time with Ronon also meant she was safe from Michael. He just wasn't sure why it bothered him.

Kai nodded. "He's having a tough time with how much time Teyla has been spending with Michael. He doesn't understand why she bothers."

John grunted his own disapproval over the arrangement. "That's something I didn't expect."

Kai pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "She seems to pity him. A human with wraith qualities..." Kai dragged off arching a brow.

John nodded. "I guess you're right," he said dusting off his hands and cleaning up. "But he's a Wraith with human qualities. Big difference."

Kai held up her hands. "I'm not the one you have to convince. I never wanted him here either."

John nodded and breathed out a frustrated sigh. "Well, the night is still young, let's not have Michael ruin all of it, huh?" He asked. He stood up and offered Kai a hand.

She slid her hand into his. He pulled her easily to her feet, but he didn't let go of her hand. Instead he tangled his fingers with hers and stared down at her.

"What else do you have in mind?" She asked a little breathlessly.

A mischievous smirk flashed across John's face and the breath caught in Kai's throat. John had promised himself he would take this slow, but with the stars reflecting in Kai's grey eyes and her lips slightly parted he couldn't help himself. His other hand came up painfully slowly and he tilted her chin up and brushed his lips against hers. She made a noise low in her throat and it was all he could do to force himself to back away. He wanted this so badly he could taste it.

He rested his forehead against hers.

"Something amazing," he promised with a sly smile.

Kai pulled back and arched her brows wondering what he could possibly have in mind that could be better than kissing John under the stars.

"Star Wars," he said and the excitement in his eyes made her laugh out loud.

He led the way back through the quiet hallways towards the projection room. He hoped no one was in it. If it was being used the only other options were to cut the night short or invite her back to his room to watch it on his laptop. Which seemed a little forward. Luckily no one was in the projection room. He and McKay had outfitted it for movie nights and they had moved couches in to make it more comfortable. Kai sat down on the couch in front and folded her legs up under herself.

"What's Star Wars?" She asked.

John took out the DVD and slid it into the drive. "Only the greatest film ever made. It's about this group of people in space, fighting an evil empire..." he dragged off getting it set up.

"So..." Kai dragged off as he stepped away to the far side of the room. "How is this not our lives?"

John snorted as he came over with a bowl of popcorn. He sat down beside Kai, letting himself sit close enough that the long line of their legs touched. He set the bowl between them and rested his arm along the back of the couch. Kai relaxed into it, letting her neck rest against him comfortably.

"Well," he said thoughtfully as the opening prologue started. "There are laser swords."

Kai nodded, looking impressed and turned her attention to the screen, snagging a handful of popcorn. She wasn't typically a fan of the movies they had shown on movie nights, but this one sounded right up her alley.

They were only halfway through the escape from the death star when Kai heard the nearly inaudible click of John's earpiece milliseconds before it activated. She turned to him and he frowned in confusion before Weir's voice came through a second later.

"Colonel Sheppard there is an emergency in Michael's quarters," even through the comm they could both hear the stress in her voice.

John and Kai shoved up from the couch and both took off running. John touched his comm. "Lorne I need a squad to Michael's room armed with stunners," he touched it again. "Ronon, Teyla get Beckett to Michael's room and make sure he has a big tranq with him."

"Understood Colonel," Teyla responded immediately.

They were the first ones through the door. John had his gun but he realized belatedly that Kai only had her blades. He moved to put his shoulder in front of hers. Blades meant she would have to get too close for his liking. Neither one of them was really equipped to diffuse whatever the situation was.

Michael spun around to face them, his face was twisted up in rage in a way that reminded Kai all too clearly that he was a Wraith. His hands closed into fists and his narrowed eyes were full of hate as he watched them. He stiffened when a squad of soldiers appeared with Doctor Weir seconds later.

Doctor Weir quickly stepped to the front of the group, taking control of the situation. "Michael, we need you to calm down," she said in a soothing tone.

"You lied to me," he snarled. "I'm a wraith!"

"You were a wraith," Elizabeth corrected quickly.

"Yes, but Michael please-" Teyla began from behind them.

Kai could hear the steady thunder that she recognized as Ronon's heartbeat, which meant Beckett was here as well. With the crowd in the doorway Michael didn't have an escape, and he was beginning to look like a cornered animal. Kai flexed her hands over the handles of her Blades.

"Don't call me that, it's not my name!" he snarled taking a threatening step forward.

Sheppard stepped up next to Elizabeth, ready to react. "All right, just take it easy," he said but his hand resting on his gun. If Michael rushed them he wouldn't hesitate. This little science experiment had clearly failed.

"If you would let us explain..." Elizabeth drew off soothingly.

Michael threw his hands up in disgust. "Go ahead," he encouraged, but it was clear he was beyond listening. "Explain, but no more lies."

"All right," Elizabeth said with a nod and she licked her lips nervously. "This is what we know of the wraith. They evolved from a creature we know as the Iratus bug. Not that bug began taking on characteristics of the humans it was feeding on and over time became the wraith that we know now. So Doctor Beckett has developed a drug..."

Beckett stepped up next to Elizabeth, lightly touching her forearm to let her know he was there. "It's a retrovirus. Designed to suppress the Iratus bug elements of the wraith genetic code, leaving only the human aspects behind. It took some time to perfect but we finally achieved a viable drug, which we then decided to test."

Michael hung his head. "The injections? The insulin," he said defeatedly as he realized how deeply their deception ran.

"Not insulin, I'm sorry," Beckett said earnestly. "See once the retrovirus was administered and the transformation begun another drug was needed to prevent the wraith elements from returning. It's actually a combination of drugs that unfortunately require a daily injection."

"So what are you saying? That being a wraith is some kind of disease? Something that you think you can cure? What gives you the right to do this to me?" He accused and Elizabeth actually took a step back as though he had struck her.

Kai gritted her teeth. This was going all wrong. The wraith were all about dominance and power. Whether she realized it or not by apologizing and backing away from him Elizabeth was giving him more power and making herself look like prey. She widened her own stance slightly, she wasn't about to look like food to whatever wraith instincts survived the injections.

"We're at war," Sheppard snapped, stepping a forward. He also had noticed Elizabeth's mistake and wasn't about to give up group. "The wraith would stop at nothing to kill every one of us. And we'll stop at nothing to make sure that doesn't happen."

"You made up everything," Michael said defeatedly. "My name...the photograph of my parents..."

"It was my decision to keep the truth from you," Elizabeth said.

"Why?" he snapped angrily.

"For one, because we were concerned you would react the way you are now," Elizabeth responded honestly.

"The whole point was to erase every trace of the wraith inside of you, not keep reminding you of it," Sheppard said. "And trust me, you're a hell of a lot better off now than you were before," he said. "Since we're telling the truth," he added.

Michael's eyes were hard and angry when he turned to look at Sheppard but he nodded and turned back to drop down onto his bed. "I'd like a little time," he requested, hunching his shoulders and making his voice sound small.

"Of course," Elizabeth said quickly.

Kai narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She didn't buy the act for a minute, but it wasn't her place to decide if he was telling the truth.

Elizabeth ushered everyone outside. "Meeting in the conference room, now," she said, her voice tight with stress. "Ronon, Teyla, Beckett, Kai," she listed them all off. She turned to Teyla. "Would you ask Heightmeyer and Rodney to join us please."

Teyla nodded and stepped away from the group as the others started towards the conference room.

John turned to Lorne. "I want two men on this door at all times. If someone needs to take a leak, they wait until someone else comes to relieve them."

Lorne nodded grimly. "Taken care of."

John's hand touched Kai's low back, gently guiding her ahead of him to the conference room. Once they were all gathered together Weir stood up.

"We have a problem," she said grimly. "We need to figure out what to do about Michael now that he has realized he's a wraith."

"I still say it was a bad idea," Ronon said with a shake of his head. "

"No, it wasn't," Sheppard returned sharply. "The retrovirus works just look at the guy. If we can figure out how to deploy this as a biological weapon it's possible we could hit entire hive ships, turn them into humans."

"That's still a ways off, and I have yet to figure out a single dose to suppress the wraith elements for a lifetime." Beckett said looking down at his hands.

"But we are getting closer," Elizabeth said soothingly. She could see Carson blaming himself for what was happening.

Ronon shoved himself to his feet, his eyes snapping with temper. "You know, you may be able to make them look like a human, talk like a human, but they will still be a wraith, nothing you do will ever change that," Ronon growled and he turned and stormed out of the conference room.

Weir blew out a frustrated breath. "Doctor Heightmeyer says he is experiencing Wraith compulsions," Weir said turning to Beckett. "Is there anything that can be done about that?"

Beckett looked exhausted. It had been two weeks since they began the treatment and he hadn't slept much since. "I don't know," he said honestly. "It could merely be a psychological manifestation."

"Maybe we should up his dose. I know you wanted to give it more time, but now things could go from back to worse," Sheppard said.

"I agree," Weir concurred.

"He's due for an injection now," Beckett said climbing to his feet. "I could go ahead and increase the dosage, monitor him closely."

"Let's just hope he agrees to take it," Weir said.

"If he doesn't we'll have to insist," Sheppard snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "Who knows, maybe another big dose will wipe his memory clean again."

Teyla was outraged by the Colonel's words. "And then what?" Teyla asked looking at each of their faces, "We start the lies over again?"

Sheppard blew out a frustrated breath.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Elizabeth said quickly. "Why don't-" she started to say but before she could finish all of their earpieces activated.

"This is Sergeant Cole. Lieutenant Kenmore has escaped, level 5 east tower. Ronon is also in pursuit."

Kai, Sheppard and Teyla shoved back away from the table and ran. Kai was the quickest, and rounded the corner in time to see Ronon had Michael on the ground with his gun pointing at him. She slowed in relief.

John however fired his stunner from behind her. Michael dropped to the ground just as Ronon had been lifting his gun to point at Michael's head.

Kai and Teyla ran up and secured Michael while John reached out and grabbed Ronon's gun, looking at the settings. "I figured you'd forget to set it to stun."

Ronon shrugged unapologetically.

"I've got him," Kai told Teyla. "Check on Cole," she jerked her chin towards the downed sergeant.

"Sargeant Cole," Teyla called, crouching beside him. She lifted her eyes to meet Sheppard's in slow horror as she knew what this would mean for Michael. "He is dead."

><><

Chapter 79

><><
Michael Cont.
><><

"We can't keep him here, it's too dangerous," Weir said grimly as she stood before the gathered group in the conference room for the third time in twenty-four hours. Once again Michael was the topic at hand.

It was late now and everyone was tired. Sheppard and his team, plus Beckett and Doctor Heightmeyer has gathered to make the decision about what to do now that Michael had attacked and killed Sergeant Cole. Michael was currently sleeping off a stunning down in the cell while his fate was being decided. Both Kai and Major Lorne were standing guard personally to ensure everyone's safety.

"Then we take him to the Alpha site. Sedate first so he won't know where it is," Sheppard said without hesitation. He had been thinking long and hard about this and they needed to get Michael out of here before things went from bad to worse.

"And then what?" Ronon asked harshly.

"Continue with the drug treatments," Beckett suggested quickly. It really was their only option at this point. He could feel the tension in the room and was fairly certain the direction Ronon was leaning. He only hoped to convince Elizabeth they had options other than murder.

"Continue?" Ronon spat out in disbelief. They had caught It standing over the body of one of their own. He couldn't believe they were even having this conversation. Sheppard should have let him put It down right there before it could hurt anyone else.

Weir held her hand up placatingly. "Doctor Beckett was about to increase the dosage," she said quickly. "Hopefully that will be effective in eliminating any Wraith impulses."

"Why are we even talking about this? He killed one of our people. We should just kill him now," Ronon growled. He hated that It was still alive and he hated even more that he was stuck in a meeting discussing this and leaving Kai guarding the thing by herself.

There were probably marines around but they wouldn't count against a hungry Wraith and It had already shown interest in her. It was baffling to him that Sheppard could sit here so calm knowing she didn't have any real backup once that thing woke up.

"We can't just kill him Ronon," Doctor Heightmeyer spoke up sternly. "We're the ones who put him in this position." It was surprising to everyone in the room to see the steely resolve in the normally soft spoken doctors face.

"Hold on a minute Doc," Sheppard said holding his hand up before Ronon really lost his temper. "Had we not given him the retrovirus he would still be a wraith and we wouldn't think twice about killing him."

Teyla's quiet simmering temper had finally reached it's limits. She swung on The Colonel, her brown eyes glittering with outrage. "But we did give him the retrovirus, we made him human, now we have the responsibility to treat him as we would any other-"

"HE'S NOT HUMAN!" Ronon roared shoving himself to his feet. "He's a wraith!" He was panting with his barely contained desire to hunt and kill the threat in their territory.

Everyone fell silent. Ronon in a full rage was intimidating and only Sheppard would look him in the eye. He jerked his chin and Ronon dropped back down into his chair with a huff and crossed his massive arms over his chest.

Weir took a grounding breath, she hadn't expected to be so intimidated by Ronon. It made her uncomfortable. She smoothed her hands down her thighs and turned back to face Beckett. "Carson, do you think it's worth continuing with the treatments?" Weir asked gently.

"I don't know," Beckett said honestly looking down at his hands. "I suppose it's worth seeing how he fares with the increased dosage."

"I agree," Weir said decisively. "We've come too far with this to abandon it now," she finished strongly and she turned to Sheppard her gaze inviting him to issue his commands on the next step.

John cleared his throat. "Beckett, grab your gear. We're moving him out of here tonight. My team pack up and be ready to go at..." he dragged off and glanced down at his watch. "Twenty-three hundred. We'll take one squad with us, but the rest are staying here under the direction of Major Lorne..." he didn't have to turn around to know McKay was raising his hand and opening his mouth to speak. "No Rodney, you don't have to come."

McKay nodded clearly satisfied and everyone rose to go about their business. The others left, but Sheppard hung back a moment.

He met Weir's tired gaze. "I want Zian on this mission," he said resolutely.

Weir was too tired to be able to contain her surprise. This flew directly in the face of her theory that he was overprotective of Kai for personal reasons.

"I thought we discussed keeping Kai away from him for her own safety," Elizabeth reminded him gently. She was honestly exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but she recognized that while this was just beginning of the mission for them. She would be able to get some sleep once they went through the gate. John was taking all of the danger with him.

"We did," John agreed. "But I think we need to know if any of those instincts are resurfacing and Zian will be the fastest way to identify that."

Weir narrowed her gaze. "Are you suggesting using Kai as bait Colonel?" She asked her tone hardening in reproach.

Uncharacteristic anger flared in John's eyes for a second. "I wouldn't put any one in unnecessary danger," he said resolutely. "But she is one of our strongest fighters. I need to leave Lorne here in charge and Sergeant Cole is dead," he said bluntly.

Elizabeth pulled back slightly. She hadn't expected him to take her accusation so personally but she wasn't about to argue. The issue of Michael had everyone's emotions running high.

"It would also be good to have another pilot that can ferry people and supplies back and forth as necessary. Alpha site's gate is a ways from the settlement and I can't keep an eye on him if I'm flying the jumper 24-7."

"I didn't mean to accuse you," Elizabeth said a little more gently. "Of course it makes sense to bring Kai. I will feel better knowing you, Ronon, Teyla and Kai are all there monitoring the situation. I will brief Major Lorne so you can prepare to leave."

John nodded grimly and turned to head to his room to gather his gear. There was no telling how long they would be stuck on that crappy little planet.

><><

Kai was waiting patiently in front of the cell. Her eyes were glued on Michael behind the barrier. He was pacing back and forth agitatedly, his eyes occasionally raking over her although he hadn't spoke to her directly. Their mutual disdain was almost palpable in the room. Doctor Weir had called Major Lorne almost an hour before, leaving Kai alone with Michael and a handful of marines.

The door hissed open behind her and she heard the steady heartbeats and movement of John and Ronon even before they came into the room. Ronon and John stepped up on either side of her.

She glanced up at John. "What's the plan with him?" she asked. She knew what her suggestion would be, but she didn't make policy here.

John looked down at her and pressed his lips together. He was worried. She felt a nudge inside her mind and she looked up at him in surprise. Whatever John was feeling, his hard expression didn't match it as he stalked up to the cell door. He looked dangerous as he faced Michael. He punched the control and the door hissed open.

Michael whirled around to face him, his expression dangerous. "Colonel!" Michael called almost jovially.

"Time to go," Sheppard said and he jerked up a stunner and shot Michael square in the chest before he could react. Michael's eyes widened for a moment with pure rage before he collapsed.

"Clear!" John called over his shoulder.

A medical team hustled in behind him as he stood over Michael's body, the stunner still aimed at his chest just in case. Beckett crouched beside Michael and shot him in his neck with a heavy sedative. "Okay," he called to the group. "He should be out for the next eight hours at least."

The medical team lifted Michael onto a gurney and began strapping him down. John turned to face Teyla and Ronon. "Get him secured on jumper..." he dragged off, turning to face Kai and lifting his eyebrows expectantly. They hadn't had an opportunity to brief her on the plan and one of the particulars was which jumper they could take on a potentially long term mission.

Kai blinked as she quickly caught up to what was happening. "Jumper three," she filled in.

Sheppard nodded his thanks and turned back to the others. "Jumper three," he repeated. "We leave in half an hour." He stepped up next to Kai and jerked his head towards the door, signaling her to follow him.

Kai glanced towards Ronon who met her gaze with a grim nod and they silently handed off the watch. John noticed but didn't react as he waited for Kai to lead the way out into the hallway. He stepped up beside her and headed towards the apartments.

Once they were out of earshot, John activated the door to the first balcony they came across and the two of them stepped outside. Kai took a deep breath of the cool night air. The tension surrounding Michael had been overwhelming.

John waited for the doors to slide closed before he turned back to Kai. "We're moving Michael to the Alpha site," he said without preamble.

"Okay," Kai said with a nod.

After the weeks of debating among the group it was a relief to work with Kai, who simply accepted his decision and wouldn't debate the morality of the choice. There were things to do and Kai wasn't going to slow them down with pointless questions.

"Permanently, I guess," John added and he ran a hand over his face exhaustedly. "This is turning into a mess," he confided. "I won't order you to come but-"

"Of course I'll come," Kai said quickly, a small frown formed between her eyebrows. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well he-" John started to say and stopped exhaling as he closed his hands into fists. Michael had been putting strain on all of them for the last few weeks and he was no exception. He was feeling particularly protective of Kai.

Kai reached out and laid her hand on John's forearm. John froze and looked down in surprise. Kai tightened her hand. "It doesn't matter," she said. "Every Wraith I meet reacts that way."

"Elizabeth seemed to think I would be putting you in unnecessary danger," John said and Kai could see he was beating himself up over it. There were times when John took too much responsibility on his own shoulders. Kai didn't need him taking her on as well.

She snorted. "I like to think I find danger just fine on my own," she said and she winked up at John.

As she hoped, he smiled, exhaled, and much of the tension left his body.

"I'm coming," she said more firmly. "I'll meet you in the jumper bay," and she slipped back through the doors before John could argue with her.

><><

The Alpha Site was a small settlement made up of three permanent quonset buildings almost ten miles from the Stargate. The planet was temperate, with large coniferous forests. The small clearing of the base was just large enough for the three buildings and a couple of tents. Not even the jumper would fit in the small area.

They had been at the Alpha Site for almost a full day before Michael woke. Kai hadn't spent much time inside the new makeshift infirmary where he was being kept. Instead she, John and Ronon had worked with the teams to make the site more livable. Teyla on the other hand had been working closely with Doctor Beckett and Michael.

The Alpha planet was beautiful, Kai only wished they were there for another reason. Kai hadn't spent a lot of time on a planet with trees so old and tall. She loved it. She wished she could take time to explore the old growth forest. Ronon had also expressed a desire to hunt if they had any down time, but things with Michael were not likely to be easy.

She, Ronon and John were just carrying back some supplies for Beckett when he stepped out of the medical Quonset to meet them.

"Colonel!" Beckett called in greeting. He moved over to the three of them looking into the crates. "Oh dear, are these the only ones left in the Jumper?"

John shifted the heavy crate in his arms. "No, these were the ones Gonzales said you needed."

Beckett blew out a frustrated sigh. "No, I'm afraid she was mistaken," he glanced over his shoulder towards the medical Quonset. "I should come show you the two I need," Beckett said.

"Or you could get them," Ronon pointed out.

"They would be heavy," Beckett countered innocently. Kai bit back a laugh.

"Right," Ronon sighed dryly.

"All right, all right," John said and he set his crate down beside the storage Quonset. The others followed suit. "Let's go back and get your stuff before we lose the light."

"I don't want to leave with just Teyla inside with Michael," Beckett hedged.

"I'll stay," Kai volunteered.

Both John and Ronon shot her an indignant look for beating them to volunteering to stay. None of them were excited about the prospect of making the several mile hike back to the Jumper. Kai flashed the two a triumphant smile and stepped towards the Quonset.

"Right, let's go gentlemen," Beckett said happily.

Kai snorted as Ronon and John groaned. She watched them walk out of the clearing before turning back to the med Quonset. She nodded to the two guards at the door and stepped inside. Teyla was standing next to the gurney, blocking Kai's view of Michael. Her body was stiff and she was oddly still. Kai listened, but all she could hear were the steady beats of Teyla and Michael's hearts inside.

"Teyla?" Kai asked, frowning. When Teyla didn't respond Kai took another step deeper than into the room. "Teyla," she said more firmly. Something was very wrong, and her hand instinctively dropped to rest on the handle of one of her Blades.

She heard a gun click beside her. "Teyla can't talk right now," a voice growled to her left.

Kai turned just in time to see Michael raise a gun and point it at her head. Kai froze.

"Hand off your Blade Mortii," Michael growled.

Kai lifted her hands up in the air. Michael pulled in a deep breath through his nostrils and a shudder ran through his body. "Delicious," he growled. He kept his eyes glued on Kai as he spoke. "Teyla disarm the Mortii," his voice was low and although Kai didn't feel anything there must have been a psychic push behind the command because Teyla stepped up to her obediently. Her expression was completely blank as Teyla did as she was told. She found and removed all of Kai's knives, tossing all of them together in an impressive pile at their feet. When she was done Teyla stepped back and turned to Michael obediently waiting for her next order.

"Secure her hands behind her back with my restraints," Michael ordered.

Teyla took the medical restraints off the gurney and came over to secure them.

"Tightly," Michael snapped and Teyla listened without question.

Kai gritted her teeth, but with Michael pointing a gun in her face there wasn't really much she could do. Initially she had thought she could wait for her chance to escape, but when Teyla cinched down the padded handcuffs she realized she would be lucky to have any feeling left in her fingers in the next ten minutes.

Teyla stepped back to Michael's side and looked up at him placidly. He stared down at her with an intensity that made Kai
uncomfortable. "I'm sorry it has to be this way," he said. He cocked his head to the side and stared at her face a little wistfully. He sighed and without warning slammed the butt of the gun against Teyla's temple. Teyla fell to the ground unconscious.

Kai shifted her weight subtly. Michael's eyes snapped back to her and he narrowed them menacingly. While he was clearly torn when it came to Teyla he seemed very sure that Kai was a threat.

"Move," Michael ordered, shoving Kai towards the door with the gun pressed between her shoulder blades. "You're going to be my ticket onto the first Hive ship we find."

><><

John was exhausted. It was getting late and he had been up for over twenty-four hours. Even the uncomfortable cots in the barracks sounded appealing at this point. He and Ronon followed Beckett back to the Medic Quonset carrying the crates.

As they neared the door Sheppard frowned. "Where are the guards..." he dragged off.

They hustled through the door.

"Teyla!" Beckett exclaimed. She was unconscious on the ground with a small trickle of blood coming from her temple.

Sheppard's eyes snapped to the gurney where Michael had been secured but he was gone. He dumped the crate on the ground unceremoniously and moved to the gurney. Only one set of restraints were still attached to the metal rail. He swore.

Ronon leaned back in the door. "Found the guards," he called.

"Kai?" John asked.

Ronon shook his head, his eyes were hard and angry. He had tried to warm everyone over and over how dangerous the Wraith could be, and now he had Kai.

John pulled his gun and jogged out to join him. He turned the corner and stopped. The two men who had been guarding the door had been shot and dragged around the side of the building. John's hand tightened on the grip of his gun. If Michael was willing to kill his men so freely there was no telling what had happened to Kai.

Ronon was crouched a few feet away, his eyes on the ground. "Looks like he's headed up the ridge," Ronon said.

"Kai?" John asked again, he was almost afraid of the answer.

Ronon nodded, his face a rage filled mask. "She's with him and on her feet," he said grimly. It was at least something.

John reached up to touch his comm. "Bravo team Michael has escaped, heading north west towards the ridge line. Be advised he has taken Zian hostage. Ronon and I are in pursuit." John turned to Beckett. "Stay with Teyla!" he called.

"This way!" Ronon called, his head lowered as he tracked the two sets of prints through the soft forest dirt. The two men took off in pursuit, both of them worried about Kai.

Ronon slowed a few times but for the first hour was able to follow the tracks at a steady jog. He stopped as the wooded trail split. Ronon knelt down and gently touched the dirt while Sheppard paced around him impatiently, keeping his eyes on the trees. "He's changing directions," Ronon told him grimly. "Their tracks are difficult to follow...he's good," he allowed begrudgingly.

"But you can follow him right," John said, he was trying to be glib, but it came out sharper than he intended. "I mean that's your thing," he added to soften his tone.

Ronon shot John a disgruntled look.

"Among many other things," John assured him, holding his hands up placatingly. John was good in the woods but even he was turned around by now. He knew Ronon cared about Kai and was worried, but John's gut was tied in ugly knots. Kai could take care of herself, but she wasn't the easiest captive to keep. There was only one reason a Wraith would risk kidnapping her. He swallowed and turned another circle as he waited on Ronon. He hated feeling helpless like this. He needed to keep moving, to do something.

"This way," Ronon called and they turned off the main game trail into the underbrush.

They slowed as they came upon two more bodies. John frowned down at them. That was five of his men who had died at Michael's hand. "These are the SO's that were guarding the gate," he said urgently.

They both froze as they heard the sound of a wormhole being established. "The gate just activated!" John called unnecessarily and the two of them sprinted through the trees towards the gate. They cleared the trees just in time to see Michael forcing Kai across the event horizon.

"Kai!" John called. He slowed, reaching for his gun, but Ronon kept sprinting forward.

Michael swung around, holding Kai in front of him as a human shield. "You're too late Colonel!" Michael called, his voice had already dropped back to the guttural growl of a Wraith.

John pulled his gun, but he didn't have a clear shot. He wouldn't risk Kai. Kai met John's eyes fearlessly as Michael hauled her backwards across the event horizon.

Ronon threw himself towards the gate, but the wormhole closed and he landed on the ground on the other side of the inactive ring with a thud.

"Damnit!" Ronon snarled, slamming his fists against the grass. He could feel his rage gnawing at his insides. He hated Michael more than he had ever hated a single wraith before, and if he hurt Kai it wouldn't matter what Sheppard it Weir said. The bastard would die slow.

"We need to figure out the last address dialed if possible," John muttered staring down at the control panel. Without Kai no one on the planet knew how to do that. He was going to have to bring Rodney in from Atlantis. "We need McKay to figure this out."

"No we don't," Ronon called. "Look," he said holding up a rock with gate symbols carved drawn on it. "A present from Kai."

"That's our girl," John said appreciatively and he immediately began dialing the gate. He didn't know how she managed, but Kai had left them the full gate address of where Michael was taking her.

"Do you recognize the address?"John asked Ronon.

Ronon shook his head grimly and pulled his gun from his hip. The two of them ran through the gate to find it was nearing dusk on the other side. This planet was much colder than the alpha site and John could see his breath as they oriented themselves to the new space. The wormhole closed behind them and John realized belatedly he had broken protocol and not reported where they were headed. There was no going back now, and he wouldn't waste another minute with Kai in Michael's hands military protocol be damned. All that mattered was getting her back.

Ronon pulled a small flashlight out of his belt and began inspecting the ground around the gate. "This way," he called.

><><

"What is this place?" Kai asked as she looked around the new planet. It wasn't a location she recognized and Michael seemed disoriented as he shoved her ahead of him down a rocky trail.

Michael was becoming more unstable as the minutes passed. She shivered in the cold night air of the new planet, wishing she was wearing her jacket and not just her long sleeve black athletic shirt under her tec vest. The wraith never seemed bothered by the cold but she wasn't sure if he was wraith enough yet to enjoy their resistance. Every passing minute seemed to bring his closer and closer to converting back to one of them.

"It doesn't matter," Michael growled at her.

They moved through the dense woods for a couple hours before Kai could hear the distinct sound of a settlement ahead of them. She slowed and he shoved the gun into her back again.

"Why are you slowing down?"

"How much further do I have to walk?" Kai snapped. She was freezing and exhausted and honestly beginning to wonder if John and Ronon had found the message she left for them.

"We'll rest up ahead."

"No-" she started to say and Michael backhanded her viciously.

Without her hands she couldn't catch herself and she landed hard on her shoulder. Her face throbbed as Michael jerked her to her feet and shoved her ahead of him.

"We're nearly there. Quit fighting or I'll leave your corpse here for the Colonel to find."

They traveled for almost another hour before Kai slowed again. "I can hear Wraith ahead. You're still human and they're just as much your enemy as mine."

"But I'm not human, not anymore," he growled.

Kai spun around and in the growing gloom she could see he had fully reverted to Wraith. His skin had the silvery tint to it, his nose slits had returned and his eyes had reverted to the unsettling light green that reminded her all too well of when John had been infected with the retrovirus.

She was really beginning to hate the retrovirus.

They crested a ridge and in the valley below a Wraith cruiser was parked. "This is what I was drawn to." His voice was without doubt wraith now.

"So you brought me back to barter your way on board?" Kai challenged.

"At first. Queen's are naturally distrustful of males from other hives. Mortii's are known for the potency of their life forces. They are tempting to any wraith. And now that I'm at last able to feed again..." he dragged off looking down at his hand in wonder. "I can satiate the temptation I've felt since I met you."

Michael grabbed her by the vest and jerked her towards him. He drew in a deep breath through his nose as though he were savoring the scent. Then in a lightning fast move he ripped the neck of her shirt under her vest and pulled his hand back.

Three gunshots echoed so loudly she flinched. Michael froze for a moment in confusion before he dropped to the ground.

Kai's chin snapped up to see John and Ronon in the trees. Behind her she could hear the running feet of Wraith soldiers The sound of the gunshots had drawn the other Wraith to their exact position.

Kai ran for John and Ronon. "They're coming," She warned as the first stunner shot hit a tree to her left.

John began firing at them as Ronon grabbed Kai and jerked her back out of the line of fire. John stayed in position to cover their retreat as Ronon quickly cut her hands free.

"Fall back!" John called and they all ran through the darkness of the forest back towards the gate.

><><

The debriefing went better than John expected. He had fully expected Elizabeth to chew them all out for losing Michael and for breaking protocol. He was guessing the imminent threat of another Wraith attack had her too distracted to chastise him and Ronon. Now that Michael was back with them and his memory was intact it was truly only a matter of time before they attacked again.

John was exhausted but he wanted to check on Kai. Teyla was being kept overnight for observation after being knocked unconscious. Beckett had also looked Kai over on their return and cleared her immediately despite the impressive bruising on one side of her face. John couldn't shake the knowledge that they had almost been too late. A few seconds slower and he could have lost her. He needed to reassure himself that she was all right if he was going to get any sleep.

He found Kai on a balcony overlooking the waves. She was alone, sitting on the top rail dangling her feet over the edge. "Haven't had enough danger for one day?" he teased tiredly.

Kai had heard the door open of course, but didn't turn around until John stepped up beside her. She glanced up at him. There were tired lines under his eyes. She flashed him a teasing smile. "I told you I'm pretty good at finding danger."

John snorted and stepped up next to her resting his hands on the top of the railing.

"Yeah," John agreed and he sounded exhausted again.

Kai turned her body towards him. She could see how much he was beating himself up over what had happened today. It wasn't fair. "You know what happened today wasn't your fault."

John shook his head. "I should have-" he started to say but Kai turned, swinging her legs down so she was standing in front of him.

Kai lifted her chin determinedly and waited until John met her gaze. "It wasn't your fault," she said more firmly. "I chose to be there. Weir chose to keep him alive. Beckett chose to develop the retrovirus after all the havoc it has created in the past. Everyone was part of this. You can't just blame yourself."

John sighed. "You're probably right."

Kai smirked up at him. "I usually am."

John expression turned serious and his warm fingers traced the edge of the dark bruising left on her face from when Michael struck her. "I should have killed him," John said in a low tone.

"I wish I could have," she replied honestly.

John sighed and let his hand drop. He wanted so badly to just pull Kai into his arms and not let her go, but there was so much to do.

"So..." Kai dragged off, wanting to make things better. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say I am not a fan of the retrovirus."

John laughed out loud. He leaned against the railing beside her and looked out over the peaceful ocean. "I'm with you on that one," he agreed.

Kai smiled to herself. She was more pleased than she wanted to admit that she had been able to make him laugh despite all that had happened that day. "Do you think we could finish watching Star Wars?"

><><

Chapter 80

><><

The Inferno

 ><><

"Wait, what did they find?" Kai asked in shock as she turned back to face Zelenka. She was convinced she must have misheard.

"According to Elizabeth they found an Aurora class warship,"

Kai lifted her eyebrows in surprise. The last she had heard John's team had headed to the friendly planet to take a look at their shield generator. The Taranians had sent a message and it was discovered they had been inhabiting an Ancient outpost and using some of the technology despite not fully understanding its function. Both she and Zelenka had been put on standby in case McKay needed more help repairing the Ancient shield generator.

"Why didn't the sensors pick up on it when we first found the Aurora?" Kai asked curiously as she studied the technical readouts McKay had sent through in the last data burst.

"I believe it is damaged," Zelenka replied. "The Taranians seem to be having trouble with their shield generator. I believe Doctor Weir has returned with The Colonel to attempt to negotiate it's repair for the ship."

Kai nodded, thinking about how useful it would be to have the warship the next time they went up against a hive. The Daedalus held its own against the Hives, but an Ancient Warship far outgunned a Hive any day.

It was only hours later when reports came in that it would be more than just fixing a shield generator. AR-1 would be evacuating the Taranians to Atlantis to escape a Supervolcano their misuse of Ancient technology had unleashed. Zelenka and Kai moved into the control room to help facilitate the evacuation from their end the best they could. With Elizabeth, Sheppard, Teyla, McKay and Beckett off world, Zelenka was in charge of Atlantis.

The first round of Taranians came through the gate led by Elizabeth. About fifty of them made it through before the comms activated.

"Atlantis this is McKay raise the shield! I repeat raise the shield!" McKay's voice screamed through the comm.

With lightning fast reflexes Kai's hand slammed down on the control before Chuck could even process the order.

Elizabeth swung her head around as something incredibly strong hit the shield. Everyone facing it flinched as it flared too bright to look at for a moment before they lost the wormhole.

"Why did you raise the shield?" Elizabeth demanded.

"McKay gave the order right before we lost contact," Zelenka explained.

"What is happening?" the Taranian leader demanded.

"I don't know," Elizabeth replied honestly. She ran up the stairs to the control room with him training behind. "Run a gate diagnostic," she ordered, but Kai and Zelanka were already working.

"Power levels were intermittent the last few seconds before it shut off," Kai reported without looking up from her computer.

"They must have terminated the connection from their end," Zelenka said.

"Dial it back," Elizabeth ordered turning to face Chuck.

The technician quickly tapped in the address. "It won't establish a connection," he reported.

Kai's fingers flew across her keyboard as she frowned down at the power readings she was receiving back from the other gate. She wasn't an expert on gate technology by any means, but she certainly knew when things weren't looking good. "Radek," she called.

"Something must have happened to their gate," Zelenka agreed with a nod, reading over her shoulder.

"There's nothing wrong with our gate," the other leader snapped indignantly.

Kai went very still and lifted her head as she became aware of the man as a threat. Her eyes flickered back and forth between the leader and Elizabeth. There was an underlying tension there that she didn't like.

Chuck dialed the gate again but nothing happened.

"You orchestrated this!" the man accused taking an aggressive step towards Elizabeth.

Kai took her hands off her laptop and narrowed her eyes at the man. There were Marines in the room, but everyone was distracted by all the new people being evacuated into the city. Kai was the closest in case things went wrong.

"What?" Elizabeth asked in confusion.

"You lured me here to hold me hostage in exchange for our warship!" He sputtered. In the gate room below some of his people had turned and looked, trying to see what was upsetting their leader.

Kai slowly stood. Zelenka was the only one to notice and wisely took a step back to give her room if necessary.

"I assure you Chancellor Lycus that is not what is happening here," Elizabeth replied sharply. She turned back to them. Her eyes flickered over Kai, where her hand was resting against the handle of her Blade. Elizabeth gave her a subtle shake of her head. Things weren't that serious yet, but she appreciated the Mortii's willingness to come to her aid. "Zelenka, the Daedalus is on it's way back from earth, I want you to contact Colonel Caldwell and divert them to Taranis."

"Right away," Zelenka said with a nod.

Elizabeth turned to Kai. "I want you to find the closest gate and see how long it would take to get there by jumper."

Kai nodded and immediately sat back down to access the database.

Elizabeth turned to Chuck. "I need a Geologist up here."

Chuck nodded.

"We're going to find out what's going on," Elizabeth assured the Chancellor.

"I will not be cut off from my people," the older man growled authoritatively.

"My people are stuck on your planet too Chancellor," Elizabeth reminded him, her tone a little sharper than before. The Chancellor nodded as though he had just remembered the fact, and stepped back so they could get to work.

Doctor Simpson was a geologist who looked over the data they had from the planet about the volcano. He reported that there was no way of telling how long before the Supervolcano erupted, if it hadn't already. He estimated anywhere between an hour and a couple days. He guessed sooner rather than later and strongly advised recalling any teams on the planet. When he began negotiating for the opportunity to watch the eruption from orbit, Elizabeth dismissed him.

The closest stargate Kai located was over two days from the planet which meant there was nothing she could do to help Sheppard and the trapped people. It was unsettling not knowing if the volcano had already erupted. People rotated in and out on their shifts while they waited for The Daedalus to arrive at the planet, but Kai didn't leave the control room.

The longer they went without any contact the more her imagination began to spin out of control. In the moment it hadn't occurred to her that the bright flash against the shield of the stargate could have been the volcano erupting. It might have been the moment John died and she hadn't even realized it. She didn't like this feeling of vulnerability that was so locked into the life of someone else. Her people called it being Bonded but she had never fully understood until she was convinced John was gone. Her mouth was dry as they waited in tense silence for the Daedalus. 

"Atlantis this is The Daedalus. Come in."

Elizabeth exhaled a relieved sigh and gestured for Chuck to open a comm. "This is Atlantis. It's good to hear from you Colonel Caldwell."

"I have made contact with Colonel Sheppard. We have the first wave of regufees on board and are headed to Atlantis."

Kai exhaled a sigh of relief. They were safe.

"How long?" Elizabeth asked.

"Hermès estimates it will take twelve hours round trip. We are looking at four trips for a complete evacuation."

"And Colonel Sheppard and his team?" Elizabeth pushed.

Kai didn't need to hear Caldwell's reply. She already knew Sheppard wouldn't leave until the last Taranian was safe. It wasn't in his nature. The problem was it would at minimum take forty-eight hours until the last group was evacuated. The volcano wasn't likely to last that long.

Kai hadn't realized she had closed her hands into fists. John was the consummate survivor, as were Teyla and Ronon. If anyone was going to get themselves out of the situation it would be the AR-1 team. It was much harder being stuck on Atlantis and powerless to help.

A low, nagging beeping caught Kai's attention. She strode across the room and typed her access code into the long range sensors. The screen lit up and she stared down at it in shock.

She looked over her shoulder. Elizabeth was having a serious negotiation with the Chancellor but this couldn't wait. She waved Zelenka over. He looked at the screen for less than a second before he spun back to Elizabeth.

"Doctor Weir, Doctor Weir, I'm sorry to interrupt but it's important," he called graciously.

Elizabeth came over to the terminal. She process for a few moments before she spoke. "A hive ship," she said in a low tone so no one else in the control room could hear.

"Yes," Zelenka replied. "Headed towards Atlantis."

"How far out?" She asked Kai.

Kai pressed her lips together as she calculated the distance. "Three weeks maybe."

"Just the one?" Elizabeth clarified.

"So far yes."

"So far..." Elizabeth nodded sharply, but lines of stress showed around her mouth. "Please continue to monitor this," Elizabeth said in a low tone. "I want this kept quiet until this is situation with the Taranians is resolved."

Kai nodded once in agreement and began running the calculations to determine the exact amount of time it would take for the Hive ship to arrive.

Another shift came and went and the Daedalus dropped off their load of passengers before heading back to the planet. Kai considered asking Weir to accompany them, but every body on the ship was one less that could be evacuated. The six hours dragged on before the Daedalus contacted them again.

Weir was catching a nap in her office when the transmission came in. Kai walked to the glass door and knocked gently. Elizabeth startled and looked up to meet Kai's tired gaze.

"It's Caldwell," Kai told her.

Elizabeth ran a hand over her gritty eyes. She frowned as she stared at Kai for a moment. "Have you gotten any rest?" She asked pushing herself to her feet.

"I don't need as much sleep as a human," Kai told her and she stepped aside so Weir could lead the way back into the control room. Kai moved back to the terminal on the far side of the room. Elizabeth stepped up next to Chuck.

"Go ahead," she said. Chuck activated the communications and nodded to Weir.

"Colonel this is Weir," she said. "Any word from Colonel Sheppard?"

"Nothing yet, and I don't think we are going to," Caldwell responded his tone brisk.

Elizabeth froze. "What are you saying? They're all dead?" she asked in shock. Beside her Chuck shifted in his seat.

"We don't know," Caldwell responded and his impatience was clear in his voice. "One way or another we can't hail them on the radio because of extreme electrical activity in the ash cloud," he paused for a moment. "We can't even detect their life signs."

Elizabeth blew out a breath as her thoughts raced. "So if you make contact what are your options?"

"Well, Colonel Sheppard could have saved some of the remaining population, but instead he tried to save every single one of them by taking refuge aboard the damaged ancient warship which has pretty much taken any options I might have had out of the equation."

"Stay as long as you can," Elizabeth responded in a low tone. She glanced at Kai who continued to work as though she wasn't overhearing the entire conversation. They both knew however that Sheppard would have done everything he could to save every last person. It was just who he was.

"Hermes says the volcano is about to erupt. We should know for sure by then," Caldwell responded his tone grave.

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "Be advised we have detected a Hive ship headed towards Atlantis."

"Just the one?" Caldwell asked after a moment.

"I'm afraid that's all the good news we have," Elizabeth said and she turned off the comm before Caldwell heard the emotion in her voice. She didn't want to face the Wraith without Colonel Sheppard there. Colonel Caldwell was competent but she didn't trust him in the same way. She let out a shaky breath and when she looked up Kai was watching her from across the control room.

Kai didn't bother to hide the fact that she had overheard the conversation. She turned away from the emotion on Elizabeth's face. Swallowing hard Kai tapped her keyboard. Elizabeth stepped up next to her.

"I'm guessing you heard all of that," Elizabeth said in a low tone.

Kai glanced up at her sheepishly. "It's difficult for me to not hear anything within about two hundred feet of me."

Weir nodded. She was watching Kai carefully for any reactions. She hadn't seen anything to further confirm her suspicions that there was something going on between Kai and the Colonel, and Kai's hard expression wasn't giving anything away. "It must also be difficult to be stuck here while-"

Kai cleared her throat effectively ending the conversation. "I will continue to monitor the Wraith," Kai assured Doctor Weir she and Elizabeth weren't close enough that she felt comfortable discussing her concerns with her.

Elizabeth nodded. "I'm sure the team will be all right."

Kai fought back the scowl that she was tempted to throw at Elizabeth. "If anyone can get out of a tight spot it's McKay and the Colonel."

><><

Even Kai was exhausted by the time they received another transmission. Her eyes were burning from lack of sleep, but she wouldn't return to her quarters until she heard what had happened to the team one way or another.

"Atlantis this is Sheppard."

Elizabeth bolted out of her office and rushed to the controls. "It's good to hear your voice Colonel. "

"Well it's good to be heard," Sheppard laughed.

"Is everyone okay?" Elizabeth asked. "What happened with the Taranian's?" she pushed, glancing up as the Chancellor approached the controls.

"Everyone is one board and accounted for," Sheppard said, sounding a little smug.

"On board?" Elizabeth asked in confusion.

"On your brand new Aurora class warship," John said, and Kai could hear the smile in his voice. "Well...maybe not new, she's a bit of a fixer upper..."

"I look forward to see it," Elizabeth said and her relief was palpable.

"We'll be home soon, don't wait up. Sheppard out."

The comms went dead and Elizabeth smiled at the Chancellor. "The rest of your people are on their way Chancellor," she promised.

He nodded sternly, but it was clear how relieved he was.

"Now, if you would let one of our people show you to a room, you can get some rest before they arrive."

"Thank you, I would appreciate that."

><><

It was another couple hours before the senior staff had gathered in the meeting room to debrief. The ship was in orbit along with the Daedalus. It was the middle of the night, and the city was asleep, but Elizabeth had pushed for the meeting.

John leaned a hip against the table tiredly as he looked over the group. Every one of them looked exhausted. It surprised him when Elizabeth had asked Kai to join them. She stood apart from the group, a little to the back. There were dark bags under her eyes and it was clear she hadn't slept the entire time they had been gone. It was rare for John to see the evidence of her exhaustion on her face.

"So," Elizabeth said looking over the group. "What happened with the volcano?"

McKay cleared his throat. "The explosion was every bit as destructive as I feared. The ash cloud has encircled the entire planet."

"Will the Taranian people ever be able to return home?" Teyla asked

"Not for many years I'm afraid," Beckett told her.

"We found a planet Chancellor Lycus feels is suitable for them," Elizabeth notified the group. "We've already started to relocate them there," she turned to Sheppard. "I would like you and your team to assist them. Just make sure the relocation goes smoothly. In the morning of course," she added quickly.

Sheppard nodded and managed to bite back a yawn. He glanced down at his watch. It was almost four in the morning now.

McKay glanced at Sheppard, already deciding the relocation process was beneath him. "I'll take a repair team back to the Orion, make sure to get the engines fixed."

"Well fix them as quickly as you can Rodney. The Chancellor has graciously allowed us to use the ship in exchange for our help."

"I'm assuming there's still a hive ship on the way?" Caldwell asked glancing towards Zelenka and Kai.

"Yes," Kai agreed. She had her tablet under her arm and had the long range sensors providing constant updates so she could monitor their progress.

"Why only one ship?" Ronon asked suspiciously.

"We don't know, maybe they're just coming to prove we are still here, but if they manage to do that-" Elizabeth dragged off meaningfully.

"Well at least we got the Orion now and the cities supply of drones has been replenished." Caldwell said gruffly. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's enough to put up a hell of a fight," Sheppard agreed.

"Let's not fool ourselves, if they come in full force and there is no reason to believe that they won't this time, then...I'm sorry..."McKay said with a shake of his head.

"It's not going to be enough," Elizabeth agreed and the whole room feel silent. "It's all we've got," she said gravely. She exhaled tiredly. "I am keeping this information on a need to know basis for now. I don't want to incite a panic. Why don't you all get some sleep. We have a lot of work to do."

The group disbursed. John walked slowly to the door, glancing over his shoulder. Kai was speaking in a low tone with Zelenka, her expression grave. He hesitated outside the door and when Kai came out he fell into step beside her. As usual she didn't react when his sudden appearance might have startled someone else. They walked down the halls together in silence until the others were far enough behind them they wouldn't be overheard.

John slowed a step and glanced over his shoulder, but there was no one close by. Kai turned to look up at him with a frown when he moved into her. His hand dropped to her hip as his other hand gripped the back of her neck. He kissed her hard and fast. Kai gasped in surprise but didn't pull away. Instead she locked her hands around the back of his neck as he pushed her back against the wall out of sight of the cameras.

When they were both gasping for breath John pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers. "Hi," he said wryly.

She smiled against his lips. "Hi," she whispered. A small frown formed between her eyes and she pulled back and punched him lightning fast on the shoulder.

John grabbed his shoulder. "Ow, what was that for?"

Kai scowled at him. "The volcano."

John scoffed. "I can't be held responsible for that."

Kai's facial expression was challenging and made it clear she was holding him responsible for allowing her to think he was dead for almost a full day. While on the surface she was joking, there was a small part of Kai that was still coming to terms with what it meant to care for a man like John Sheppard.

"I-" John started to say.

Kai stiffened and turned when she heard footsteps behind them. She took a measured step back, putting even more distance between them as Elizabeth and another woman came around the corner.

"Colonel, Kai," Elizabeth greeted. If she was suspicious it didn't show on her face. "Norina this is Kai Zian, she is our head mechanic here and a member of our science team on Atlantis. Kai, Norina was the chief scientist in Tarania."

Norina held her hand out to Kai in greeting. Kai shook the woman's hand at once feeling self conscious. Norina was one of the most beautiful woman Kai had ever seen. Despite all her people had been through she wore a long sheath dress that hugged her body. Her blonde hair was perfectly coiffed and shone in the low lights of the hall.

"Norina was looking for you Colonel," Weir said pointedly.

Norina flashed a flirty smile at Sheppard and he swallowed. She reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "I didn't get a chance to thank you personally for all you did for my people," she said and she moved another step closer, batting her eyes up at him.

Kai looked back and forth between the gorgeous blonde and Sheppard who was at a complete loss for words and felt a pang in her chest. He was used to having beautiful women like her throwing themselves at him. Her mind flickered back to the beautiful princess in The Tower who had also been blonde. She nodded to Weir and slipped away quickly.

John slowly slid back out of Norina's  reach. McKay had been pursuing the scientist the whole time they had been off world, but John had saved her during a cave in and she had stuck to him like glue since. He had tried to give her the polite brush off but it obviously hadn't worked if she had sought him out. He shot Weir a helpless look but she shrugged as though to say he was on his own.

"Well we're just doing our jobs," he said awkwardly. "If you'll excuse me I need to hit the rack."

He turned just in time to see Kai disappear down the hall. He blew out a frustrated sigh. He couldn't help feeling like he might be in trouble.

><><

Chapter 81

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Allies
><><

It had been a month since the Taranians were evacuated to Atlantis. Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon had gotten them settled on a new planet within the first week, but it hadn't been soon enough for John.

Norina, the beautiful Taranian scientist, had seemingly been trying to earn herself a place on Atlantis through a romantic entanglement with John. He had politely refused her offers of dinner and one on one tours, but she had been relentless in her pursuit. It pissed John off to no end that the woman couldn't take a hint. To make matters worse Rodney, who was actually interested in her, and Kai, who had kept her distance, were both mad at him over it. Once the Taranians were out of their hair however, everyone's attention was focused on the Hive ship that drew closer to Atlantis every day.

"Any more contacts?" Weir's voice came through the comm system of the Orion, the Aurora class warship they had negotiated from the Taranians.

Sheppard was sitting in the captain's chair in the middle of the room, it reminded him of Kirk's chair in the old Star Trek he watched growing up. Captaining the warship was cool, but he would always prefer the feel of a fighter. He looked around at the technicians and scientists moving around the bridge, they were still working on repairs even though today was the day. "Well we're out of sensor range and all that, but whether we are ready to fight is a whole 'nother story."

McKay looked up from his tablet with a scowl. "Getting this ship up and running in under a month was a miracle," he growled defensively.

"Do we start the beautification now or later?" Sheppard sniped back, although he was well aware of how much work it took. It just wasn't in him to take McKay's bad attitude sitting down.

McKay, Zelenka and Kai had been working around the clock on the ship since it arrived back on Atlantis. McKay and Kai had started sleeping on board rather than take the jumper back and forth every day. Which hadn't helped Sheppard with the Norina situation. Their tireless work had paid off as they watched and waited as the single Hive ship slowly bore down on them. Not all of the systems were back, but they had accomplished an impressive amount in just three weeks.

"Rodney," Elizabeth's voice came through the comm. "If the hive opens up on us I want Orion's drones."

John swung around to look at McKay. "Which means we're gonna need the hyper-drive to jump to position," he pointed out helpfully.

McKay shot him a withering glare. "Which means we'll need shields...which means you want everything!"

"I like everything," Sheppard responded glibly. "Can do we do it or not?" he asked, suddenly all business.

"Now don't get up," McKay complained as Sheppard swiveled his chair to follow his movement. "Shields," he called snapping his fingers at the scientist working on them. The man scurried over to him and held up the tablet fearfully.

John rolled his eyes at how McKay had everyone cowering in fear of him.

"Yes..." McKay responded. "Jump to position," he lifted his hand to snap his fingers but quickly remembered it had been Kai working on the hyperdrive. Kai turned to face him lifting her chin and raising an eyebrow as though she were daring him to snap at her. He blanched and walked over to her station respectfully. "Maybe," he hedged. Then he scurried to the next station. "Drones," the female scientist was waiting with the tablet. "Probably not."

"Well it's useless to jump into position if we can't fire," John responded.

McKay shot him a withering look. "You know, let's talk about it for a really long time. That will help for sure," McKay snapped sarcastically.

John cleared his throat and opened the channel back up to Elizabeth. "Rodney is doing everything that is humanly possible to be ready, he-"

"I have a contact," they all could hear Chuck call through the comms. There was a heavy click as they opened the channel between the Orion, Atlantis and The Daedalus who was also just out of sensor range.

There was a long pause.

"Atlantis report," Caldwell demanded, his tone sharp with impatience.

There was another long silence. The tension was heavy inside the Orion. John glanced around at the scientists around him. Only Kai and McKay seemed to stay focused on their work. He was painfully aware that he had precious few people with him who had seen actual combat. If shit hit the fan he might be in trouble if they panicked.

"You could be a little more chatty Elizabeth," John reprimanded gently.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I'm just waiting for them to make their next move."

Another voice, this one a guttural growl came through the open comms. "We know you are there, we mean you no harm, please respond."

"John are you hearing this?" Elizabeth asked, her voice breathy with surprise.

The voice came again. "We mean you no harm...there is no point in hiding Doctor Weir. We mean you no harm, respond."

John blew out an angry sigh. "Is that who I think it is?" he growled.

"He's addressing me by name. I think we can safely assume it's Michael."

John's gaze went to Kai. She nodded once, confirming it was who they suspected. Of everyone on Atlantis she had spent the most time with him as he reverted to Wraith and was the most likely to recognize his voice. John held Kai's gaze. Her jaw was tight and the tension in her body made it clear how she felt about the Wraith who had kidnapped and attacked her.

"You don't actually intend to respond?" Caldwell challenged.

"Why not?" Elizabeth asked.

"Where do you want me to start?" Caldwell asked incredulously.

"I think we can safely say our cover is blown," Elizabeth reasoned.

"I wouldn't jump to that conclusion," Caldwell argued.

"The message is from Michael, Colonel," Elizabeth said pointedly.

Caldwell did little to hide his frustration with the situation. "But they don't know exactly where-"

"Caldwell is right," John interjected, a little amazed he was agreeing with the other Colonel. "Answer them and we guarantee the first shot won't miss." This was where he and Elizabeth often struggled. She was so focused on the diplomat side of things, she hadn't stopped to consider the military.

McKay spoke up unprompted. "I recommend opening a secure channel to the hive via the Daedalus and the Orion. That way they won't be able to triangulate Atlantis's position."

"And we can always turn on the shield," Elizabeth added.

"I believe we have enough combined fire power to take out a single hive if we need to," John agreed, although his voice wasn't one hundred percent. There was always a risk, and he would prefer to not take that risk with everyone's lives for the sake of curiosity.

Elizabeth sighed. "Have you ever heard of a Wraith behaving this way?" Elizabeth asked across the open channel.

"No," Ronon's voice was a deep rumble from beside Elizabeth. It made John feel better to know his friend was with Elizabeth. Ronon didn't always follow the chain of command as well as he should, but because of that he wouldn't hesitate to speak up if he though she was doing something dangerous.

"Right," Elizabeth said, her voice eager. "Let's hear what they have to say."

It took a few minutes for Zelenka and Kai to set up the audio relay while McKay continued to work on getting the Orion's drones ready just in case.

Once it was set, Kai nodded grimly to John. "Okay, all ready here," he said.

Kai stepped up beside him and tapped a few keys on the arm of his chair, making the transmission pass through the open channel on the bridge so they could all hear it. Her hand brushed his arm and John looked up in surprise. It was the closest Kai had been to him in weeks. Her eyes however were glued to the Wraith ship on their view screen.

"Hello Michael," Elizabeth greeted formally.

"Why the long delay?" Michael demanded.

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "We needed to take a few precautions before contacting you. I'm sure you can understand why."

"I said we would not harm you," Michael intoned.

"Well excuse me for not taking you at your word," Elizabeth said, sounding a bit like John. "You wanted to talk, we're listening. Go ahead."

Michael cleared his throat and began what sounded like a well rehearsed speech. "Over two years ago every hive ship in this galaxy woke from hibernation prematurely. We thought a new, rich feeding ground had been discovered. Unfortunately locating your planet and uncovering an effective mean of transportation to get there has proven quite difficult-"

"Well I can't say I'm sad to hear that," Elizabeth interrupted, unable to help herself.

Michael made an inpatient sound in his throat, but continued. "For the first time since the dawn of our race there are too few of your kind to feed the waking Wraith. This has resulted in Civil War. Hives are forming alliances and the strong are attacking the weak."

They could practically hear Elizabeth's smile in her voice. "Which are you?" she challenged.

Michael ignored the question, which was an answer in itself. "Our goals are not dissimilar Doctor Weir."

"You would like to eliminate the Wraith as a threat? I find that hard to believe," Elizabeth responded wryly.

"We would like you to give us Doctor Beckett's retrovirus. If we were able to distribute it among the rival Wraith hives in sufficient quantity this would both render them helpless and provide us with an alternative food source."

A long moment passed as Elizabeth considered his words. "Those wraith would become humans."

"On the surface perhaps, but we both know what lies underneath," he let his ominous words hang in the air. "As a sigh of good faith I'm sending you our jamming codes. This program was established and distributed before the civil war broke out. So we assume all the Hives are still using it. By figuring out how to bypass or disabling this program you would be able to beam your nuclear weapons aboard our ships whenever you so please. We are willing to help you achieve this, if you help us."

"They are sending a data burst," Chuck's voice came over the open comm.

"Download it to a non-networked fire-walled computer," Elizabeth said quickly.

"I'm sure once you recall all the ships you have lying in wait for us you will want to discuss it with your people. We will await your reply...But, should you make an attempt to destroy us, we will alert every wraith in this galaxy that Atlantis is very much intact. I'm sure you wouldn't want that," he added smugly before disconnecting.

><><

Kai was surprised when she too was invited to the meeting to discuss the Wraith's offer. When the Daedalus beamed her, John and McKay back to Atlantis she had turned intending to return to the lab. But John had called her name and gestured for her to follow into the meeting room. There weren't enough chairs, so she chose to stand near the back of the room behind John's chair. She shifted uncomfortably. She was often called into meetings when she had something to do with what was happening, but this only included AR-1, the senior members of the expedition and Colonel Caldwell.

Caldwell lounged back in his chair. "I think it's safe to say that if they were going to attack us they would have done it already. They let us land without incident."

"You're sure they don't know about the Orion?" Elizabeth asked turning to Sheppard.

"I ordered Lorne to park her just outside of sensor range," John said.

"This, this is incredible," McKay said gleefully reading over the program the Wraith had sent on his laptop. "I can't believe they sent it over so freely. I mean if I can figure out how to break through this program- which is, well we know, pretty likely, we could nuke any hive ship we came across." He turned to Kai and snapped at her. "I need your translation program."

Kai nodded, choosing to ignore his rude behavior this time.

"Including Michael's?" Elizabeth asked hopefully.

McKay hedged "Might take a couple of tries the first time..."

"Long enough to tell the rest of the Wraith we're still around," John added.

"If they are really willing to let me run tests on their ship..." McKay dragged off as his fingers flew over his keyboard. "I mean this an amazing opportunity!"

"An amazing opportunity?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief. It wasn't often that McKay was so impressed.

"Well," John said leaning forward in his chair. "This is essentially our idea. We created the retrovirus wanting to do exactly what they are proposing. What's the downside? I mean other than the fact that we'd be working with the Wraith."

"Isn't that enough?" Caldwell challenged.

"It would mean at least something good came out of our experiment with Michael," Beckett chimed in, cutting his eyes to Elizabeth. The two of them seemed to harbor the most guilt over what had been done to Michael.

"I'm not sure we have a choice," Teyla said cautiously. "It appears they have kept our existence a secret, but if we do not help them..."

"There is that," Elizabeth agreed. "Carson I know you've been working on the weaponization of the retrovirus. How close are you?"

Kai frowned. She hadn't been aware of that. She hated the retrovirus with a passion and just wished it would go away. They had been playing with it for too long with no positive results. She glanced at John. She wondered if he realized his shoulders tensed every time it was mentioned. The retrovirus was just too unpredictable.

"We're close," Beckett agreed. "It still needs work, but we're close."

Elizabeth looked over at Sheppard but he seemed in total agreement.

Elizabeth's eyes landed on Kai. The Mortii was standing at attention in the back of the room. Her scarf was wrapped in a fashion she usually reserved for going out on missions or off planet. Elizabeth had always thought it looked more aggressive than the way she usually wore it, and with her arms crossed over her chest and in full gear Kai did look dangerous. Elizabeth hadn't thought to include her in the meeting, but she was glad The Colonel had. Kai usually had a unique perspective on these things.

"Kai," Elizabeth said, surprising everyone. "What do you think?"

Even Kai looked surprised. Caldwell's face flattened into an angry mask that John didn't miss. The other Colonel had never trusted Kai and he had never kept his dislike a secret. John was well aware there had been several former complaints about Kai's status here and he had never forgiven Caldwell for it.

Kai pushed off of the wall and stepped forward. "I think that if this is the full extent of their plan, it sounds acceptable," Kai agreed.

John frowned. "What do you mean?" He asked swiveling his chair to face her.

Kai met his gaze for a moment before turning to the others. "They are Wraith," Kai said simply with a shrug. "We would do well to remain vigilant."

Elizabeth nodded at Kai's steady advide. She turned to Ronon expectantly.

"What?" he asked when everyone was staring at him.

"What do you think?" Elizabeth asked.

"Let's do it," Ronon agreed.

"Really?" She asked in surprise.

"He said it himself, it's our idea," Ronon replied.

"I just thought you of all people..." She dragged off meaningfully.

"Hey if they want our help killing other Wraith that's the one kind of help I'm willing to provide," he said flashing an aggressive smile. He met Kai's gave and winked at her. She rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't honestly say she disagreed.

"Okay," Elizabeth said with a nod. "So, we're going to do this," she said looking over the room. When no one said anything she nodded. "I'll accept the offer and extend the invitation."

Everyone disbursed, there was a lot to do before the Wraith arrived. John trotted down the hallway after Kai. "Kai," he said her name barely above a whisper.

Her shoulders tensed, which meant she had heard him. She slowed and turned to face him. Her face was an expressionless mask as she waited for him.

He scowled. "Are you still mad at me?" he asked exasperatedly.

"No," she replied. "I was never mad at you."

John narrowed his eyes, not really believing her. "Because it seemed like you were avoiding me." He hated that he sounded whiny but he had seen the wink Ronon shot at Kai and his gut was a churning knot of ugly jealousy. He knew they were friends, but things between Kai and himself weren't settled. It seemed like every time they moved forward romantically they took two steps back.

"I wasn't avoiding you, I was working," Kai assured him tightly. She had told John already that she wasn't mad, but that wasn't necessarily true. Norina had been a wake up call. John was used to beautiful women throwing themselves at him. It was a common occurrence and she wasn't willing to be one of the many.

"Conveniently when the Taranians were here," John pointed out crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well that is when we got the ship," Kai growled, her temper fraying. "And I didn't want to get in Norina's way," Kai couldn't help herself. As soon as she said the words she regretted them.

"Ha see!" John said stabbing a finger in her face. "I knew you were pissed."

"I-" kai started to say but footsteps from behind them halted her.

"Is there a problem Colonel?" Colonel Caldwell asked. He was walking down the hall when he came upon Sheppard and Zian and it was obvious there was some kind of disagreement going onto .

"Not at all," John responded. "Just discussing the best use of resources."

"McKay has already requested Kai's help aboard the Daedalus to word on the Wraith jamming codes."

Kai nodded once briskly. "Okay," she agreed and she turned to slip away.

"Just a minute Zian," Caldwell called and he took a few steps forward so he was closer to the Mortii. "While you are on the Daedalus you will follow my orders. I know things can be a bit casual around here but I run a tight ship."

Kai could feel the tension rolling off of John. She was fairly certain it would be in all of their best interest for John to not say whatever he was thinking. She met Caldwell's gaze levely. "Understood," she agreed and she turned to return to her lab to get her supplies.

"One more thing," Caldwell called after her.

Kai stopped and turned back around to face him. It took more effort than it should to keep her expression shuddered. Caldwell reminded her far too much of the men on the Mortii tribunal she had been forced to answer too.

"I don't allow non-military personnel to be armed. That includes your little knives," he said gesturing at the Blades strapped to her low back.

"Now wait a minute-" John started to say.

"With all do respect Colonel," Caldwell said turning to Sheppard. "What you allow on Atlantis is your business. The Daedalus is mine."

"Of course," Kai responded tightly and walked away before she said anything she would regret.

><><

Arrangements were made for the Queen of the Hive to come to Atlantis. Elizabeth wanted a show of strength waiting for her when she landed. John has done everything in his power to convince Elizabeth to leave Kai out of the welcoming committee and have her in the control room out of sight. In the end John and Teyla flanked Elizabeth. Behind them were Caldwell, Ronon and dressed in her full Mortii glory was Kai.

John was tense and he hated feeling distracted but Elizabeth wanted a show of their own power and Kai was part of that. He knew he couldn't hide her away forever but when Michael stepped into the control room along with the chief science officer and the Queen he found himself focusing more on keeping Kai behind him than what was happening in front of him. Michael's gaze flitted over Kai and landed on Teyla.

They approached the group and Elizabeth greeted the Queen. "I'm Doctor Elizabeth Weir, welcome to Atlantis," Elizabeth said. Elizabeth introduced their group and the Queen's eyes landed on Kai for a few seconds longer than John would have liked.

The queen sniffed delicately and a smile stretched her face. "A Mortii away from her people, how interesting," the Queen commented casually.

Elizabeth shifted her weight uncomfortably, unsure how to respond. Colonel Sheppard had been adamant that Kai would be a distraction. Elizabeth had disagreed, believing having a powerful Mortii would make them look strong. Now she wasn't so sure.

"Right this way," Elizabeth said holding her hand out and gesturing for the Queen to lead the way into her office. The negotiations would be between her, Sheppard and the Queen. The other two wraith were left on the gate room with an entire squad of marines and Ronon, Kai and Teyla.

The negotiations went quickly. The Queen was willing to agree to any conditions to make the trade happen. She was determined to get the retrovirus. Once they agreed the scientist would work with Beckett and McKay could take tome to figure out their jamming codes aboard the Daedalus the Queen left. Elizabeth watched through her window as John escorted the wraith back to their ship. She only hoped she wasn't making a mistake.

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