A/N: So yeah – I know this is short. I've been trying to write a chapter for awhile now… and just realized last night that I needed to do a little timeline research. DUH! I'm such a doofus sometimes. So this little chappie helps set up the time line. Events referred to below occur in SGA Episode 3.7 'Common Ground' and since I've already stated the entirety of SGA1 was out of commission while John was nonfunctional – that means that Episodes 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, and 3.11 don't happen.

Chapter 6

"So John… what triggered your senses?" Blair asked.

It was a reasonable question. In the many sessions between the two Sentinels and their respective guides Jim had told them about his trigger but John had been strangely silent on the matter. Apparently gentle nudge time was over; Blair was going for the full frontal.

"Uh… well…"

"We know whatever it was couldn't have been fun. Almost every case I've come across has been instigated by a severe trauma…"

"Trauma. Yeah." John snorted. "Fine. A couple of months ago I was captured by a splinter group of Genii soldiers. Their leader, Koyla, has a grudge – totally hates my guts. He stuck me in a cell with a Wraith and let it feed off of me as torture. Eventually the Wraith, I named him Todd, and I came to an arrangement. He sucked about 60 years out of me… it was excruciating and I was going to die; I knew it and he knew it. Then he shoved those 60 years back into me… maybe a few more besides. But we got out. I still can't believe that bug kept its word; said they could only give the gift of life to their 'most devout worshippers or their brothers', whatever the hell that's supposed to mean…" John rambled to a stop and took a deep breath. "So, yeah. Trauma."

Xander reached across the couch to rub the back of his partner's neck, massaging the tension away in the silence that followed that disclosure. "You realize that this just proves we were meant to be partners right? I'm constantly getting kidnapped and either almost eaten or sacrificed to something. Plus, I am totally a genius at pissing people off."

John's lip quirked up. "Wonderful. Elizabeth will be so glad to hear that. You, me, and Rodney on the same team? Together we're going to attract some world-sucking-call-of-Cathulu-squid-monster. You realize that right?"

"Well of course I do! This whole thing is just some cosmic prank perpetrated by the Giant Flying Spaghetti Monster. He likes squids, ya know? Made 'em in his own image."

Jim shook his head, eyes wide. "We're all gonna die."