Chapter 3

Teyla stepped through the gate to Atlantis, with Rodney and Ronon following swiftly behind her. Though it was wonderful to see the city again, her heart ached that John had not returned along with them.

Colonel Carter approached as soon as they were through, her expression a portrait of compassion. 'Welcome home,' she said, offering up a sympathetic smile. 'Report to the infirmary. We'll debrief in an hour.'

'I'm not hurt,' Ronon grunted, almost shouldering Sam out of the way as he took off in the opposite direction to the infirmary.

'He is upset,' Teyla explained. 'We all are. I'll make sure he is at the meeting.'

Sam stroked Teyla's arm. 'Thanks, Teyla. I'd appreciate that. I know this is hard on all of you, but anything small detail any of you can give me might help us find John. Now, go get yourselves checked over and I'll see you both soon.'

Sam already knew the vague details of their imprisonment and the fact they hadn't seen Sheppard in days. That much information had been relayed by the personnel at the alpha site while they'd been checked over for any unwanted bugging devices or alien tech that might have been implanted in them. It was standard procedure for anyone passing through the alpha site unscheduled. They couldn't take the risk of sending a compromised expedition member back to Atlantis itself. Ronon, predictably, had been furious at the delay, and had taken quite some placating to go through with the process. Rodney, too, had grumbled, but was more accepting, understanding the need to reduce the threat despite his frustration. Teyla, exhausted by trying to keep her friends in line while wracked with worry herself, had simply allowed them to prod, poke and question her without complaint. She had been determined to do whatever was necessary as quickly as possible so that they could return to the Ancestral city and begin their search.

Teyla watched Sam walk away, noting that her shoulders were slumped lower than usual. The colonel and John had a good working relationship based on friendship and mutual respect. Teyla knew the fact he was missing would hit her hard too, but the city didn't run itself, and Sam had many other things that demanded her attention. Life went on, with or without John Sheppard.

'Can you believe that?' Rodney grumbled as they walked to the infirmary flanked by a couple of medical staff. 'She'll see us in an hour? Why isn't she sending every available team out looking for Sheppard right now?'

'Because we have no idea where to look for him, Rodney. And she cannot risk losing more personnel by rushing blindly into a rescue mission,' Teyla explained, though she knew full-well that Rodney already knew the answer.

Rodney snorted out a huff. 'If she was the one missing, do you think Sheppard would hesitate to get out there looking for her?'

'I do not. But John sometimes makes rash decisions based on emotions and is often lucky to escape with his life. Colonel Carter is more measured in her approach. I do not see that as a failing, just as I appreciate that John's approach is unconventional but often works.'

'She could at least try to look worried. She didn't even mention him,' Rodney griped, casting an irritating and instantly silencing stare at the nurse at his left who was doing her best to suggest he calm down.

Teyla stopped, and a second later Rodney realised she was no longer beside him and turned to look back at her. 'What's up?'

'Colonel Carter has to remain impartial, Rodney. It is a requirement of her position here as commander of your expedition. Do you honestly think she feels nothing about John's disappearance?'

Rodney dropped his gaze to his boots, instantly chastened. 'No…of course not.'

Teyla sighed and tilted her head as she regarded him patiently. 'I know you are frustrated, Rodney, as am I. But you are channelling your anger at the wrong person. Colonel Carter will do everything in her power to find John without putting anyone else in unnecessary danger. I imagine she is already following what few clues we have given of the location of the planet we were held on. We will find him, Rodney. It just may take a little time.'

After a second or two more thought, Rodney nodded. 'You're right. I just…I feel so useless.'

Teyla furrowed her brow and pulled Rodney into an awkward hug which he did not return, not that she had expected he would. 'I understand. I feel the same way.'

'You don't think they killed him, do you?' she heard him say quietly into her shoulder.

'No.' She pushed him back, her hands gripping his upper arms tightly. 'I believe he is out there somewhere waiting for us to find him. Now we should go to the infirmary as Colonel Carter instructed so we can begin to do just that.'

His eyes held her gaze, full of worry, then he gave a sharp nod. 'Let's go.'

They made the rest of the journey in silence, Teyla hoping her assurances were not simply so much wishful thinking.

oooOOOooo

An hour later, they were all sitting in the conference room waiting for Sam to arrive. Teyla had persuaded Ronon to attend despite his furious assertion that they should be out there already looking for Sheppard, not sitting around chatting. It hadn't been easy, but now he sat beside her, simmering like a cooking pot on the verge of boiling over.

Carter turned up a few minutes later, apologising for her tardiness. She asked how they all were again, a simple courtesy since she had most likely already received news that they had been given a clean bill of health. Then she asked them to go over everything they remembered of the three days they had been held prisoner.

They individually told their stories, one after the other, reiterating that their captors had not spoken and had given no clue as to their identities or their motives, and that in all the time they had been in the cell they had not seen any sign of Sheppard.

'I think the fact that they kept you there for three days could be a good sign,' Sam offered up as they finished their verbal reports. 'I suspect they kept you there so you couldn't come back to report the ambush and mount a rescue. There was no other reason to hold onto you if they didn't communicate with you in any way. That means Sheppard could still be alive.'

'Or he was up until the point they released us,' Rodney replied, voicing the dreadful thought Teyla had imagined at exactly the same moment. She watched Ronon's fists clench on the table top beside her. He was a powerful man, not blessed with patience. His anger needed an opportunity to vent itself. She hoped he did not decide this meeting was the place for that.

'Are we studying the DHD of the planet we travelled to the alpha site from?' she asked, trying to change the course of the conversation.

'Radek is out there now with SGA5 collecting 'gate addresses from its memory. That should give us some avenues to investigate,' Sam reported, offering up a tight smile.

'They'll have already moved him,' Ronon grunted. 'They wouldn't risk keeping him there now we're out.'

'Unless they get complacent,' Sam replied. 'They may not appreciate how easily we can collect information and backtrack through a DHD's dialling record.'

'So, we're basing all our hopes on complacency?' Rodney snorted. 'That's not much of a plan.'

'Not all our hopes, Rodney, no,' Sam replied, fixing him with a hard stare. She stopped short of admonishing him, and Teyla suspected she was being lenient because Rodney did not cope well in such stressful situations.

'I hope for John's sake that their arrogance leads them to make such a mistake,' Teyla murmured. The thought of never finding John, never knowing what had become of him, left her with a sense of despair few other things could cause. It felt like she was missing a piece of herself. As she pondered that, Teyla became aware that the Stargate had begun to receive an incoming dialling sequence.

Sam checked her watch. 'That's odd. No one's scheduled back just yet. If you'll excuse me a moment…'

She pushed up from her chair and headed out of the room, leaving Teyla and her teammates looking around at each other. A tiny spark of hope ignited in Teyla's heart.

'You don't think it could be…' Rodney ventured, not finishing his sentence.

'Let's find out.' Ronon was out of his seat and through the door before he even finished speaking. Teyla jumped up to follow him, sensing Rodney close on her heels.

They sprinted down the stairs from Carter's office and across to the control room, gathering behind Chuck as he announced his findings.

'It's the alpha site, Colonel. We're receiving video communications.'

The alpha site? They had only just returned from there themselves a little over an hour ago. It was the place all Atlantis expedition members knew they should 'gate to if delayed and their GDO code was locked out of the system. If no other team was late, that surely could only mean one thing…

'Put it up on screen,' Sam ordered, lifting her gaze to look at the nearest display.

A face came into view, one Teyla recognised as Lieutenant Archer, who had been there to greet them as they'd stepped through the Stargate. 'Atlantis, this is the alpha site. Are you receiving us?'

'We hear you, Lieutenant. What's the problem?' Sam instantly responded.

The lieutenant got straight down to business. 'Thought you might like to know that someone dialled in approximately forty minutes ago, but no one came through. We had to wait for the Stargate to close down before we could communicate with you. We thought you might want to investigate it rather than send a team through ourselves and risk compromising to security of this site.'

The hope that had been rising inside her suddenly dissipated, and Teyla's stomach sank. The Stargate had been open for the full thirty-eight minutes for which it could sustain connection. Why would someone dial up the gate and not travel though? She could think of only one reason. The person or persons dialling in had been incapacitated.

'You did the right thing, Lieutenant. Send through the symbols and we'll check it out,' Carter ordered. 'We'll keep you apprised.'

A set of stargate symbols appeared in Chuck's monitor, and moments later the wormhole shut down.

'It could be Sheppard,' Ronon grunted, body tight and jaw clenched, ready to go. 'We should head through and find out.'

'Hold on there, Ronon,' Sam said, trying to cool his enthusiasm. 'I'm not about to send anyone through to an unknown destination until we've sent a MALP through and gathered some information.' She settled a hand on Chuck's shoulder. 'While we get that organised, can you dial up the destinations of the two teams we currently have off-world and check their status?'

'Yes. Ma'am,' he agreed with a sharp nod, beginning to dial up the first planet address.

Sam turned to the rest of them. 'Rodney –'

'On it,' he snapped, hurrying out of the control room, already speaking through his earpiece to the science team and ordering them to start preparing a MALP for deployment.

Sam turned her attention to Teyla and Ronon now. 'You two gear up. As soon as we get the all clear you can travel to whatever planet those symbols dial up and check things out.'

'Yes, Colonel,' Teyla nodded, glad to have something to do to take her mind of the gnawing sense of desolation threatening to consume her. She jogged away to the armoury, as Ronon took his own course to his room where he kept his energy magnum and sword concealed, all the time praying to the ancestors that this wasn't as and as it sounded.

They met up again as they returned to the control room, the MALP entering from the opposite direction with Rodney and a couple of other members of the science team running final checks even as the machine rolled into place in front of the Stargate.

'Dial it up!' Rodney ordered as soon as they got through the door, following the MALP until it came to a standstill a safe distance from the Stargate, while Ronon and Teyla mounted the stairs to the control area. They saw Chuck look to Colonel Carter for instruction. She simply dipped her head to show she agreed with Rodney, and the dialling sequence began.

Only a few moments later, SGA2, headed up by Major Lorne, and a three-man medical team led by Keller also appeared, geared up and ready to move out. Sam had prepared for every eventuality, it seemed.

The wormhole engaged in the usual flash of light and movement, and as soon as it settled, Rodney ordered Miko to send the MALP through while he darted up the steps to join his team to watch the telemetry in real time.

Very slowly, the MALP progressed through and was gradually swallowed up by the rippling event horizon. A few seconds later, they got their first view of the planet at the other end of the connection. The landscape appeared to be clear as Miko sent instructions for the mounted camera to pan around, taking in the view in an almost three-hundred-and-sixty-degree sweep. As the camera began to pan back in the opposite direction, something apparently caught Sam's eye.

'There. Pan down,' she ordered, pointing to something dark in the bottom corner of the monitor. As the camera moved down, it became clear it was a military issue boot, attached to a leg clad in black BDU pants. And the camera kept going, revealing Sheppard collapsed at the bottom of the steps leading up to the Stargate. What little of his face was visible looked as pale as snow.

Teyla gasped, and Ronon sprinted down the stairs and toward the Stargate in a pure gut reaction.

'Ronon, Wait!' Sam yelled after him, but the Satedan leapt through the event horizon before anyone could intervene.

Teyla, shaking with shock, gaped at Sam, loyally waiting for instruction. Apparently knowing she couldn't stop them, Sam looked at Rodney and Teyla and simply said 'I won't order any of you to go through, because we don't know if it's safe…'

'We're ready, Colonel,' Lorne assured her.

'As are we,' Teyla agreed, speaking on behalf of Rodney, who appeared to have lost the capacity to speak for himself.

Sam nodded, and that was all the signal they needed, Lorne and his team taking point, the rest of them following through. As she ran through the horizon, all Teyla could think about was how desperately John must have tried to reach safety. She prayed to the Ancestors that they weren't too late to save him.

Ronon had already rolled John onto his back before they got through the Stargate, Jennifer and her small team taking over as soon as they reached the base of the stairs. Ronon was almost as pale as John himself as he stepped back to give them room, muttering, 'I couldn't find a pulse.'

Teyla staggered to a halt, for a moment unable to breathe. She couldn't move or speak, frozen in place by Ronon's words. No…he couldn't be gone.

Jennifer felt above Sheppard's carotid artery, her expression remaining grave. A quick press at his wrist apparently did nothing to appease her concern, so she pulled out a stethoscope and put it to his chest, moving it every few seconds to a new area.

Teyla watched on in horror, Rodney at her side murmuring, 'Nonononono,' over and over as they watched the young doctor work. This couldn't be happening. A little over three days ago they had set out on a routine mission to check up on some villagers who had been the victims of a Wraith culling six months ago. How had it come to this?

Jennifer snatched the stethoscope from her ears and leaned in with her cheek a fraction above Sheppard's mouth. 'I found a weak heartbeat and he's breathing, just barely. We need to move him back to Atlantis and get him stabilized, STAT.'

Teyla finally took a breath. He wasn't dead. There was still hope. Her legs almost gave out, but Ronon seemed to sense it, catching her before she could fall. She clung to him, finding strength in his support. Only now, with the medical team urgently swinging into action, bagging John to keep him oxygenated, did it fully register with her the terrible physical condition John was in. He had been beaten mercilessly, and she doubted the marks she could see on the front of his torso were all the scars he bore.

'Why did they do this to him? We didn't know them…how could they be so cruel?'

'When I find them, they'll regret it,' Ronon promised.

She knew he meant it.

oooOOOooo

Two days later…

A low-level hum thrummed through Sheppard's brain.

Atlantis.

He revelled in his sense of belonging, in the touch and scent of clean, smooth sheets…and the pain-numbing effects of morphine, if he wasn't mistaken. He didn't recall why he needed it, but he allowed himself a few minutes of self-indulgence to enjoy the feeling. Whatever had happened he was home and safe, that was all that mattered.

Except something was nagging at the back of his mind…something important. It was like trying to see through a thick fog. Everything in his memory was shrouded in an impenetrable mist. He mentally groped around, trying to find something he could grasp onto. And then, in an instant, the fog lifted and the memory of the three days of torture came flooding back in with a sudden rush.

His team! He'd left them behind.

He sat up with a start, jerking awake the man slumbering in the chair beside him.

Ronon's boots dropped from the edge of his bed to the floor as he leapt to his feet. 'Sheppard? You alright?'

Sheppard blinked back at him, wondering if he was real or another figment of his sick body and mind. 'Ronon?' he croaked. 'You're here?'

His friend frowned back at him, puzzled. 'Yeah, got here before you.'

Sheppard looked around the room, taking it all in, looking for any signs this wasn't real. 'Teyla? McKay?'

'Catchin' up on some sleep. They've been here all day waiting for you to wake up and Keller told 'em they had to go. Doctor's orders. I didn't listen.'

That made him smile. 'That doesn't sound like you,' he joked, relaxing back against his pillows and feeling a dull pain in his back at the pressure. He guessed he'd moved too quickly, and his body was letting him know that. 'So, you're all okay?'

'Other than the initial fight when we were ambushed, no one laid a finger on us,' Ronon shrugged. 'Can't say the same for you.'

Ronon picked up a glass of water from the table beside Sheppard's bed and held it out to him.

Sheppard shook his head, looking down at his hands, the wrists now wrapped in clean dressings. 'Can't feel much. I'd probably just drop it.'

Ronon obliged by bringing the glass close enough for him to reach the straw and take a few small sips, remembering not to drink too much too soon, just like he'd always been told. This wasn't his first rodeo.

'I'll get Keller,' Ronon told him, setting the glass back down at his bedside.

'Wait…do you know who they were…the ones that took us?' Sheppard asked hopefully, looking for some kind of closure. Or at least some way to make sense of it all.

The Satedan shook his head and gave another faint shrug. 'Thought you might know. They didn't say anything to us. Just kept us locked up, threw in some food and drink now and again, then marched us to the 'gate and dumped us on another planet to find our way home.' Ronon ambled out, leaving Sheppard to his thoughts.

It made no sense. There had to be a point to the violence his kidnappers had put him through, but they'd left him without a clue as to who they were or what their grievance was. If they'd meant to send him a message, it had all been a colossal waste of time. He was no wiser today than he had been the moment they pounced. But then, if they hadn't meant for him to survive…

Jennifer hurried in just a few seconds later, beaming broadly. 'Hey, Colonel. Good to see you awake.'

'How long was I out?' he asked, realising he had no idea how long it had been since he'd dialled the alpha site.

'We picked you up two days ago. Found you collapsed in front of the Stargate on P3L 890. Good thing we got to you when we did.'

'Close call?' he asked.

'Yeah. You wouldn't have wanted it to be any closer,' she told him, checking his vitals. 'How are you feeling?'

'Kind of out of it,' he replied. His brain seemed to be moving just a second slower than his actual head, a delay that was very disconcerting.

'Yeah, that'll be the morphine,' she explained. 'But, trust me, this feels a lot better than you would without it.'

'I don't doubt that for a second.' He tried to push up against his pillows but couldn't even feel the mattress beneath his hands. Keller stepped in, pulling him forward and rearranging pillows until he was a little more upright.

'Better?'

He nodded. 'Yeah, thanks.'

She stood back and regarded him a moment, as if pondering whether to say what was on her mind. She made the choice to come right out with it. 'Major Lorne and his team found the rest of your clothes on that planet while they were looking for clues. Traced your steps back for a little over three miles. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you to make that journey in the condition you were in, Colonel. That took some guts.'

He shrugged, a little embarrassed by her praise. 'I didn't really have a choice if I wanted to live.'

She chewed her lip, thinking something over again before spouting out, 'The new psychologist arrives on the Daedalus in a couple of weeks. Maybe you should consider making an appointment…you know…just to get things off your chest.'

He tensed but chose to be kind in his response as he knew she meant well. 'I'll consider it.'

'Great.' She perked up instantly now that the awkward exchange was over. 'Now we just have to get you all put back together physically and get you back on your feet.'

'How bad is it?' he asked. While the pain was muted like this, he figured he could handle the truth.

'Well, if you were a car, I'd write you off,' she joked, then cleared her throat as if uncomfortable with her choice of joke. 'Honestly, it'd probably be quickly to list what isn't wrong.'

'Doc…please…'

Her expression slipped into one of sombre agreement, and she nodded, starting over. 'Okay…where to start…Three cracked ribs on your left side, a fractured cheekbone on the right. You've got torn deltoid muscles in both your shoulders. Your wrists are infected, but I cleaned them up and put you on a course of IV antibiotics, so we're bringing that under control now.'

'I can't feel my hands,' he told her, figuring now was the time to mention it.

That information didn't seem to faze her. 'That's understandable. Judging by your injuries I'm guessing you were suspended from your wrists, right?'

He nodded.

'Scans showed some nerve compression, but once the worst of the damage begins to heal, we can try some physical therapy which should help you get the feeling back. But it's going to take time, Colonel. You need to be patient with yourself.'

This young woman had a pretty good measure of him already, he realised. She knew he would try to rush things, so she was warning him not to right from the get-go. 'Ok…good,' he said, just relieved she didn't think the damage was permanent.

'So where was…I? Oh, yeah. I'm not going to even try to list all the various contusions and lacerations I've treated and stitched up, but let's just say your back is a mess and it's going be pretty sore once we take you off the morphine. On top of that, you were severely dehydrated, not surprising considering how hot that planet was, so you're on IV fluids, too. Oh, and then there was the ruptured spleen –'

'Ruptured spleen?' He remembered the intense pain on his left side. That explained it.

'Thankfully it was a small rupture and I could suture it and save the spleen itself. That and a blood transfusion fixed you right up. But it was a close thing. Any worse and I don't think you would have made it.'

'Thanks, Doc. Sounds like you really earned your pay check.'

She grasped his hand, but if she squeezed it he couldn't really tell. 'You're welcome. I'm just glad to see you awake at last.'

The sound of a throat clearing alerted them both to the fact his whole team now hung back in the doorway, a little sleepy looking, but smiling with relief.

'But of course you would wait until 2am to wake up,' Rodney scoffed, trying to look angry. He failed dismally when a grin cracked his face.

'Sorry, Rodney,' Sheppard quipped. 'I kind of lost track of time.'

'You're forgiven,' McKay chirped, pushing his way into the room and dropping into the chair. 'Who needs sleep anyway?'

'It is so good to see you awake,' Teyla gushed, taking hold of his other hand. 'You have had us very worried these past two days.'

'All right, people,' Keller interrupted. 'You can have five minutes. Then I want you all in bed, understood?'

'Won't it be crowded?' Rodney replied, giving her a lopsided smirk.

Her face flushed with colour. 'You know that's not what I meant, Rodney. Five minutes then you have to leave,' she insisted, looking particularly at Ronon as she backed out the door. 'The colonel needs his rest.'

'Rest? He only just woke up,' McKay called back to her.

Teyla and Ronon exchanged a glance and rolled their eyes. 'Shut up, McKay,' Ronon grumbled, punching his arm.

Weird as it was watching Rodney's oafish attempts to flirt with Keller, Sheppard was glad to be back amongst friends. He'd honestly thought he would never see them again during his incarceration. He was glad to have proved himself wrong.

oooOOOooo

Two days after he woke, and finally free of his IV lines, Keller agreed that Sheppard could leave the infirmary for a short while, but only to take lunch with his teammates and enjoy some fresh air. He was strictly forbidden from any activity more strenuous than talking and eating, and she wouldn't take her eyes off him until Ronon arrived to take charge of the wheelchair she'd procured. She was a little young to mother hen him, but she was definitely trying her best.

In the end, she forced Ronon into a promise not to let Sheppard take even a single step while he was with him, which the Satedan solemnly agreed to while giving Sheppard a surreptitious wink. In all honesty, Sheppard had no intention of trying to walk. He was off the morphine now and his ribs ached, as did his shoulders and arms. His back and surgery scar throbbed, and everything else felt heavy and uncomfortable, so minimum movement was definitely the way to go as far as he was concerned.

They entered the mess hall, Ronon immediately steering him out onto the balcony where Rodney and Teyla were holding a table for them with a wonderful view of the ocean. The salty air was refreshing as the doors drew back, a stiff breeze buffeting him as Ronon wheeled him into a space beside Rodney, then went back inside to collect food for them both.

'You're looking better today,' McKay slurred around a mouthful of sandwich.

'Can't keep a good man down,' Sheppard replied, gazing out across the waters. The surface was choppy, and he couldn't help but imagine taking his board out and catching some waves. He was a long way from that though. Keller would have a fit if she knew the thought had even crossed his mind.

'Has Keller said when you'll be back on duty?'

Sheppard slid his gaze Rodney's way and smirked. 'I'm only allowed out of the infirmary for an hour on the understanding I don't leave this chair. I doubt she's ready to sign off on that just yet.'

'Seriously, the lengths you'll go to to get time off,' Rodney goaded, but the twinkle in his eye told Sheppard it was nothing more than a joke. 'There has to be an easier way.'

'Yeah, but where's the fun in that?' Sheppard asked, gaining an amused snort from Ronon as he returned and set a try down on the table in front of him. It held a selection of sandwiches, salad, and fruit, along with a glass of orange juice.

Sheppard looked down at the tray, and then back up at Ronon. 'What, no hot dogs?'

Teyla gave him a patient smile. 'Healthy food to help you heal. When I asked if you could eat with us, Jennifer was quite clear that we should ensure you ate a balanced meal.'

'So, no fries either, huh?' he quipped, grabbing one from Rodney's plate before anyone could stop him. The suddenness of his movement soon had him regretting the joke, especially as he dropped the fry anyway. Damn his numb fingers!

'That's your punishment for disobeying doctor's orders,' McKay jibed.

'Noted,' he grunted, getting a firm grip on an apple and munching down on that instead.

'It is good to see you up an about so soon,' Teyla said earnestly as she picked at her own meal. 'When we saw you on the telemetry from the MALP, I have to admit I feared the worst.'

'Me too,' Rodney muffled around a couple of fries he'd shoved in whole. 'I thought you were a goner for sure.'

'Yeah, well, fatigue and blood loss will do that to you,' he shrugged, wincing.

'Not to mention dehydration,' Teyla added.

'Yeah…not sure how I managed to get dehydrated. Those freaks poured enough water down my throat to last a month,' he grumbled, feeling a little sick at the remembrance of the forced feeding and drinking sessions. Suddenly the meal didn't seem all that appetising.

'They forced you to drink?' Rodney's eyes bulged, wide with shock.

'It wasn't the worst thing they did, Rodney,' Sheppard assured him. He had the scars to prove it.

They hadn't discussed what had happened during the three days he'd been missing. His friends were good like that. He knew they wanted to know, but they didn't push, trusting that he'd share the details when he was ready. He preferred it like that, dropping little snippets out in conversation so that it didn't seem like a laundry list of horror and the memories didn't overwhelm him. It took patience to let him fill in the gaps slowly, but it helped not to have to relive the events blow-by-blow.

'Well, it's a good thing you managed to dial the alpha site before you passed out,' Rodney added, suddenly serious, too. 'We would never have found you in time if you hadn't.'

'I know…Keller told me it was close,' Sheppard nodded, this time pushing down the recollection of just how hard that journey to the Stargate had been to make. And he almost hadn't made it. He was making a habit of that kind of thing since he'd been posted in Atlantis. It was one habit he would very much like to quit. 'I'm just glad you guys didn't get hurt, too.'

'Makes no sense,' Ronon grunted, and Sheppard could feel his friend's anger brewing even from across the table. 'I even roughed up one of their guys and they still never laid a finger on me. What was it they wanted with you?'

'That's the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question,' Sheppard mused, then spotted the confused look on both Teyla and Ronon's faces. 'It's a game show,' he started to explain, before announcing, 'You know what…it doesn't matter.'

At that point Teyla responded to a voice coming through her earpiece. 'Yes, Colonel. He is here with us in the dining area. Yes…yes, of course. We'll be right there.' A frown puckered Teyla's brow as she turned to Sheppard. 'Colonel Carter has requested that you join her in the control room. Apparently, there is a message for you.'

'A message?' Sheppard repeated. Ronon was already out of the seat and grasping the handles of his wheelchair.

'Better get down there.' The rest of his team rose to go with them. It seemed they were all equally as intrigued as he was.

One trip in a transporter and a short walk for Ronon later, and they had arrived at Carter's side. She greeted them with a smile, one bereft of her usual natural warmth. 'I'm sorry to call you here like this, John, but someone dialled in from off world and they won't speak to anyone but you.'

The event horizon shimmered, casting its brilliant glow on the floor before it. It took on an eerily ominous hue he hadn't noticed before as Sheppard stared into it. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled, his spidey senses telling him he wasn't going to like this call one bit. 'Did they give a name?'

Sam shook her head. 'No, all they said was that they knew they had contacted Atlantis and they wanted to speak to you. They wouldn't answer any questions.'

'Guess we'd better find out what they want then,' he said, taking a deep breath to prepare himself.

'Open the channel,' Carter order Chuck.

He dipped his head to Sheppard to show it was ready.

'This is Colonel Sheppard. Who am I talking to?'

A pause followed, a long few seconds of troubling silence, before a mechanised voice replied, 'I would imagine you know who this is, Sheppard.'

His stomach sank like a stone. If he was honest with himself, he'd known exactly who the message would be from, but hearing the voice made it all the more real. His blood almost froze in his veins at the sound of it.

He gathered himself again to reply. 'Thing is, you hide behind that voice distortion and refuse to give me your name. So, no, I don't know who I'm talking to. I just know you're a coward.'

Another pause…and then quiet laughter.

That hadn't been the response he'd expected. Sheppard cast a confused glance around everyone gathered there. They all looked equally disturbed.

Finally, the voice spoke. 'I see your stay with us has done little to dampen your spirit.'

So that was what beating the crap out of him was supposed to achieve? Spirit dampening?

'Sorry to disappoint you. It takes a lot more than that to shut me up.' His throat was dry, and he hoped he didn't sound as tense as he felt.

'Your knack for survival is impressive,' the voice replied. 'We thought you would be too weak to reach the Stargate, or that one of the indigenous species of wildlife would devour you before you could. But no, here you are. In a way, I'm glad you feel so emboldened. Had I found you cowed and defeated, I might have felt sympathy and considered the price due paid. But since you show no remorse, I promise you will pay for your transgressions.'

Transgressions? What the hell…?

At his side, he felt Sam stiffen and immediately respond. 'My name is Colonel Samantha Carter, commander of this expedition, and I don't appreciate you threaten—'

'I care nothing for who you are,' the voice boomed, static breaking up the words with the power of the assertion. 'You are insignificant.'

Sam's jaw set, and she ground out, 'I think this conversation is o—'

Sheppard held up his hand. 'It's okay, Colonel. Let him have his say.' He addressed the mystery voice again. 'What exactly am I supposed to show remorse for?'

Yet another long pause, as if the owner of the voice was contemplating whether to share that information. Eventually, they made their decision. 'Do you remember a man called Acastus Kolya?'

And now, with those few words, the torture and the three barrelled gun all made sense. He rolled his eyes to the gracefully vaulted ceiling and drawled, 'Name sounds kind of familiar…'

'I would imagine so, since you murdered him.'

Murder seemed an unfair choice of words since Kolya had forced his hand. 'He left me no choice,' Sheppard growled, angry that he was being held responsible for Kolya's bad decisions. 'He came after me and my friends. I killed him in self-defence. If I hadn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation now.'

'It would be better for you if we weren't,' the voice told him. Yet another implied threat.

Sheppard rolled his eyes again, growing as pissed off now as Sam was. Whoever this was, they weren't going to listen to his point of view. 'Well, it's been nice chatting, but if you've said all you need to say –'

'I am not done with you, Colonel Sheppard,' the voice interrupted. Sheppard snapped his mouth shut and listened once again. 'You want to know who I am? My name is also Kolya and it falls on me to hold you accountable for your misdeeds. At a time and place of my choosing, the death of Acastus Kolya will be avenged. But I promise you this, your death will not be as swift as the end you dealt him.'

The communication was suddenly cut, leaving only white noise in its wake. Carter ordered Chuck to close it down.

Sheppard paused, then tried to lighten the mood. 'Sounds reasonable.'

'So…it was the Genii then,' Sam said, turning to face him. 'At least now you know why you were singled out for the special treatment.'

'Rogue Genii. Supporters of Kolya,' Sheppard clarified. 'There was a split when Ladon Radim took power and some followed Kolya instead.'

Sam nodded, already formulating a plan. 'I think Ladon should be the first person we contact. He might have some intel on where we can find these Kolya loyalists. We need to figure out exactly who this new Kolya is and hunt him down before he comes after you.'

He nodded. 'That would be my preference. I'm not sold on the whole idea of a round two.'

Sam planted her hand on his shoulder. The touch was simultaneously uncomfortable and reassuring. 'I'm sorry you had to hear all that, John. I wish there'd been some other way to get them to talk.'

He shrugged. 'They put me through worse during my 'stay'.' A tension headache had started up in his temples and he suddenly realised how drained the whole exchange had left him.

Sam's brow furrowed into a concerned frown, as if he could read his thoughts. 'You should get yourself back to the infirmary. You look exhausted.'

'I will take you,' Teyla immediately offered, taking hold of his wheelchair as she began to push him for the door.

'I didn't even get my lunch,' he grumbled. 'Talk about bad timing.'

'I'll get more food for you,' Teyla promised. 'I might even see if Jennifer will allow a few fries this time.'

'Cool.' Not that it made the whole ominous death threat worthwhile, but he wasn't about to complain.

'So, are we putting in that call to the Genii?' he heard Rodney asked behind them, already pressing for action.

Sam assured him that it would be arranged as soon as possible, and the two of them exited via another door, Rodney all the time firing angry questions obviously fuelled by his fear of the threats levelled at Sheppard. He meant well, but Sheppard couldn't help but think Sam might handle it all a lot more efficiently if McKay gave her time and space to think.

'Sheppard.'

Ronon's voice stopped them both in their progress, and he looked back over his shoulder to see his friend still standing at Chuck's workstation, eyes burning, and fists clenched tight at his sides.

'We'll find them,' Ronon said, matter-of-fact. 'Well stop them.'

Sheppard nodded. 'Yeah…we will.' His emotions knotted in his throat at the thought of how much this was affecting not only him, but his team too. They were doing what they could to help – Teyla's compassion, Rodney's search for answers, and Ronon's fervent promise to protect him. They were each so different in their approach to life but had bonded on a level he'd never thought possible. They weren't just his friends, they were like family to him. And families would do anything for each other. He knew that because he felt the same way about them. At some level he understood that was what was driving this Kolya guy, too.

Unfortunately, their bond alone might not be enough to keep him safe. The Genii were masters at ambush, especially the Kolyas of their kind. This Kolya had misjudged him this time – hadn't figured on just how stubborn he could be when it came to survival – but Sheppard doubted he would make the same mistake twice.

Just like Acastus himself, this Kolya wanted him dead. The desire for revenge was a powerful emotion, one new brewing inside Sheppard as surely as it did in his Genii adversary.

Mercy would not be on the table the next time they met…not for either of them.

The End…

A/N: Or is it? Somehow this turned into a potential teaser for a bigger story. Not what I originally intended, but if anyone's interested I could work on that in the future.

Back to working on my Precious Commodities sequel for now. I hope you all enjoyed this story, brief as it was. Thank you to everyone leaving comments, favouriting and following. It's very much appreciated!