For As Long as You're Mine

"So the great adventurer lives."

John Sheppard's eyelids felt terribly heavy, and it took a long moment for him to be able to open them. When he finally accomplished that, he could not focus very well, but he could have been blind and still known who had just spoken so sarcastically.

"Nice to see you too, Rodney," Sheppard muttered. At long last, he could see clearly, and took in the familiar sterile surroundings of the infirmary. His left arm was in a cast and sling, and he was swathed in white sheets. Rodney stood by his bedside, arms crossed over his chest, his jaw slightly sideways---his characteristic "you have some explaining to do" expression on his face. John was confused.

"What?" he demanded, his voice sounding hoarse. He tried to move his shoulders, feeling strangely weak.

"What do you mean, 'what'?" Rodney countered bluntly. Sheppard grimaced.

"How long have I been lying here?"

"Oh, roughly a day," Rodney answered impatiently. Sheppard moved again, and pain jolted down his left side, which nearly made him bite his cheek. Stifling the urge to scream, he eased back onto his pillow and glanced over at Rodney.

"Okay, so enlighten me as to why you're glaring at me like that," John said tightly.

"You don't remember?" Rodney exclaimed. "You don't remember anything?"

"Yeah, I remember," Sheppard said, though at the moment he was bluffing. Everything, including the present moment, seemed very hazy right now.

"Then what happened out there?" Rodney wanted to know, indicating the door, and probably the Gate. That part Sheppard did remember.

"I fell in a hole," John answered simply.

"And...?" Rodney waved a hand, wanting him to go on.

"And it hurt!" John replied crankily. "I think I nearly died."

Rodney threw up his hands and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, for crying out loud. Teyla told us THAT part."

Fog still filled John's brain, but for some reason his stomach tightened at that name. He shot a look at McKay.

"Teyla?" he repeated. Rodney almost had a fit.

"Now he's got amnesia!" Sheppard could tell that McKay was reaching the limits of his exasperation.

"All right, do you want me to tell you what you did?" Rodney pressed closer and looked at him directly. John's eyes narrowed and he turned his head slightly. The fog in his mind was gradually lifting, but he still did not know what Rodney meant, and it made him nervous.

"Okay...shoot," Sheppard allowed.

"You walked through that Gate, bleeding like a stuck pig," Rodney pointed at the door again. "Stood there in front of Teyla and told her you loved her."

John's head slowly came around and he stared at Rodney, feeling all the color drain from his face. Rodney began to nod quickly as he saw John understand.

"Yep, yep, you did that!" He leaned back a little. "I watched you."

John was speechless. He swallowed hard but could think of nothing to say.

"Don't you remember?" Rodney kept on.

"I..." John finally stammered, his gaze unfocusing. "I..I had a dream like that."

"Nope," Rodney shot off. "Real. And then she kissed you."

Recollection shot through John's soul like a beam of sunlight. His mind cleared instantly as the memory of that sensation flashed vividly back to him. But then every muscle tightened.

"Yeah...I remember that part," he muttered, not looking at McKay.

"Well, you must have lost a LOT of blood," Rodney chuckled. "'Cause it looks like you didn't mean to uh...say that. At least not at the moment." He grinned as if in triumph. "But I could always tell that you two were, I mean, that you..." Rodney stopped, then restarted on a different thought. "When were you going to tell me? Or anyone, for that matter?"

"I lost a lot of blood..." John murmured, his heart beginning to pound. Suddenly, it all was rushing back to him in crystal-clear images and painful feelings: the barren, frozen planet, the drones coming up from the ground, his falling down a type of missile silo and getting stabbed by the sharp machine below----Teyla following him, bandaging his wounds, lying beside him all night to keep him from freezing...refusing to leave him...

"I said I loved her, huh?" Sheppard risked a glance up at Rodney. Abruptly, Rodney stopped, as if he had tripped over something.

"Wait, you...you DON'T love her?"

John's brow furrowed as he risked a search inside himself. But all he found there was uncertainty and shadows. Slowly, he shook his head.

"I...No. No, I...I don't know what I was doing."

That was the last straw for Rodney.

"All right, I give up. I OFFICIALLY have no idea what is going on." He shook his head, then pointed at Sheppard. "But you're going to have to figure out what to tell her."

"I think I'd rather shoot myself," Sheppard whispered, suddenly feeling nauseated.

"Hey guys."

Both men jerked to see Ronon leaning his head through the door.

"Hey, Ronon," Sheppard greeted, trying to compose himself. Ronon gave a rare smile.

"Good to see you alive, Sheppard."

"Yeah, you too. I heard you almost got cut in half," John managed.

Ronon shrugged.

"Been through worse."

Normally, Sheppard would have given him a hard time about that ridiculous claim, but right now he felt nearly sick with nerves.

"Did you hear about the transmission we just got?" Ronon questioned.

"I just woke up," Sheppard reminded him.

"What transmission? Nobody told me anything!" Rodney was upset.

"It's not a big deal," Ronon assured them. "It's just kinda weird."

"Well can we hear it?" John questioned. Ronon shrugged.

"You'll have to read it, actually. The frequency was kind of weak."

"Rodney, sneak me one of those wheelchairs," John whispered, glancing around to make sure Dr. Keller was not within earshot.

"You're not supposed to move!" Rodney protested.

"I'm fine! Now would you bring me the stupid wheelchair?"

"All right, all right," Rodney grumbled, and with Ronon's help, he sneaked a wincing Sheppard out of the infirmary.

"What have we got guys?" Sheppard questioned as he painfully limped up the stairs. They had to leave the wheelchair on the main floor, because there was no lift, but Sheppard insisted that could walk the rest of the way. Zelenka and Elizabeth turned to face them.

"John, you're supposed to be flat on your back!" Elizabeth admonished.

"I'm fine," John assured her.

"You just came out of major surgery," Elizabeth would not relent. "Dr. Keller didn't even let Teyla go until---"

"I said I was fine!" John snapped with more-than-necessary force, but he could not help it. Someone had said that name gain. "Now what's going on?"

Instead of getting angry, Elizabeth stepped back, and he felt himself instantly under the scrutiny of her piercing eyes. He swallowed again, becoming intensely uncomfortable. He wished she would just get angry.

"Well, it's just a short message. It looks like a riddle or something," Zelenka told them hesitatingly, easing into the awkward silence.

"A riddle?"

John froze, his eyes flashing. It was her voice. And the next moment, she spoke his name.

"John? What are you doing here?"

And then she took hold of his arm from behind. It was like he had received an electric shock. At last, he forced himself to turn and look at her. She wore her traditional light-purple civilian clothes that always flattered her figure so gracefully. She bore several cuts and bruises, but, as always, appeared resilient and strongly beautiful. However, this time, open concern shone in her eyes, and a vulnerability that he had scarcely seen there before.

All at once, she terrified him.

"I'm fine," he said again, but his conviction was gone. That was probably why she did not let go of him. Perceiving slight movement, glanced at the others---then his face burned to see the small, knowing smiles that they tried to hide. He wished she would let go.

"Yes---take a look here," Zelenka continued, as if determined to maintain normalcy. He punched a few buttons, and all of them approached the large computer screen at one end of the deck. They stared at the words that blinked to life there, and Elizabeth quietly read them out loud.

"A prince in the guise of an enemy flies

Assail him not for fear of harm

Dead men walk---trust not thine eyes

Thy promised one possesses the longer arm.

Do you remember me, Altellath?"

"Like I said...weird," Ronon rumbled.

"Okay..." John looked at it sideways, trying to make his leaden brain kick back into gear and ignore how close Teyla stood. "So...what does it mean?"

"We're not certain yet, of course," Elizabeth crossed her arms, furrowing her brow at the message. "The signal was weak, and didn't seem to come from any particular planet. Just---

space."

"We're trying to isolate the frequency---it came in with quite a bit of interference," Zelenka informed them. "It took us quite a while to even----"

Teyla sat down hard, almost missing the chair. Startled, John jerked, and the pain made him bite his lip. Teyla had lost all her color, and seemed to see nothing but the computer screen. Elizabeth started toward her.

"Teyla? What's wrong?" Elizabeth searched her face. Teyla dragged her eyes over to meet hers.

"Altellath..." she whispered, as if she could not catch her breath. Her gaze suddenly sharpened and she reached up to catch at John's sleeve. "That message...they---"

Rodney suddenly swore in his most panicked tone. John whipped his head around to see what had happened. The display screen showed him all he needed to know before Rodney had a chance to announce it.

"Hive ships! Three of them! They've just come out of hyperspace and they're heading right at us!"

"How far away?" Elizabeth demanded.

"I would say---really close!" Rodney buried himself in his computer, his eyes wide.

"Cloak the city!" Elizabeth ordered.

"We're being hailed!" Zelenka declared.

"Don't answer!" Rodney shot back. "They're trying to establish our position!"

"Ronon," Elizabeth turned to Ronon and met his gaze directly. "Take Colonel Sheppard down to the chair room. Colonel, prepare to fire drones when I give the command."

"Yes, ma'am," Ronon nodded crisply, and faced Sheppard expectantly. Abruptly, Teyla grabbed John's right arm with a tighter grip than he knew she possessed.

"John, no!" she said through her teeth. "They're not Wraith!" She seemed on the verge of tears, which sent John reeling in further bewilderment. She shook him. "Look at the message---don't you understand? 'A prince in the guise of an enemy flies / Assail him not for fear of harm'! Open a channel! Talk to them!"

John stared at her, frozen.

"What, are you crazy?" Rodney yelped.

"John," Teyla gritted, staring fervently at him. "Please. You have to trust me. Talk to them."

His heart thudding, and hardly knowing what he was doing, John slowly nodded.

"John? Are you sure that---" Elizabeth questioned.

"Teyla says it's okay," he said shortly, in a voice that hardly sounded like his own. "Do

it."

There came a long pause.

"All right---Open a channel," Elizabeth said, reluctance filling her tone. Rodney took a few terrified and disbelieving seconds to obey, but a beep finally resounded through the room. John could not take his eyes from a trembling Teyla.

Suddenly, a rich laugh rang through the room. John righted himself and Teyla came up with him. They all stared at the screen in utter astonishment.

Looking back at them was a very handsome, rugged young man bearing trimmed beard and an elegant silver circlet that rested upon his dark auburn curls. His brown eyes sparkled as he laughed.

"Forgive me for frightening you so badly, Atlantis," he said sincerely, his voice deep and warm. "I knew that the presence of three Hive ships would startle you, but it was only a few minutes ago that I realized you had just received our message."

Teyla let go of John's coat and slowly stepped around him. The young man's smile faded and he stared at her in what appeared to be wonder.

"Prince Faegen?" Teyla breathed.

"Teyla Emmagan," he said, his brown eyes clearing, as if solemnly confirming what had before just been wishful thinking. "I thought you were dead."

"I thought the same of you," Teyla confessed, still not regaining her color.

"Pardon me," Elizabeth asked, taking a step forward. "But who are you and why did you come to us in Wraith Hive ships?"

Prince Faegen regarded her in an easy, reassuring manner.

"I am Prince Faegen. My father is the ruler of the Luthrians. We travel and trade widely, and just came from where the Athosians now reside," he answered evenly. "A few of us came upon them by accident, and were quite overjoyed to be reunited with our old friends."

"You know the Athosians?" Elizabeth was surprised. Prince Faegan nodded.

"Oh, yes. My people and the Athosians have been well-acquainted for many generations. It was from them that we discovered that Teyla had survived the culling of her people several years ago." He returned his gaze to the young woman. A strange, prickling sensation ran up John's spine.

"My people were doubtlessly very happy to see you as well, my prince," Teyla supposed. However, she looked slightly faint. A few weeks ago, he would not have hesitated to step up behind her to support her, but now everything in his gut shouted at him to stay as far away from her as possible.

"They were," Faegan confirmed. "Though I was saddened and disappointed to see how their numbers had dwindled.

"The people of Atlantis are my people now as well," Teyla quickly added, swallowing hard. Prince Faegan smiled understandingly. John's brow furrowed.

"It is as I supposed, then. I am glad to hear it," Faegan said brightly. He then addressed Elizabeth. "If you do not mind, myself and my entourage will beam down in about half an hour to meet you personally, and to discuss one important matter." His eyes flicked over to Teyla again. Elizabeth glanced at the others, but John knew she could not hesitate for long or she might lose influence in the sight of the prince. She nodded.

"We will be waiting for you."

The prince nodded again, and the screen blinked and went dark. Rodney, Zelenka, Elizabeth, Ronon and John's eyes all turned to Teyla.

"Teyla, I would very much appreciate it if you would fill all of us in concerning these Luthrians," Elizabeth suggested, folding her arms again. Teyla took a deep breath and swayed slightly.

"Woah, easy now." Ronon stepped around John and took hold of her and sat her back down on the chair. She looked up at him gratefully, and he did not take his hand from her shoulder. John retreated, his heartbeat still not slowing.

"I am sorry." Teyla brushed a hand across her eyes. "It is a long story, and I do not think I can get through it all before he comes." She lifted her eyes to all of them. "The most important thing you need to know, however...is that Prince Faegan and his people...are immune to the Wraith feeding process. Any Wraith ships they have now---they probably took by force."