Hello all! I just wanted to say thank you so much! I have been getting some amazing feedback and comments and it seriously keeps me writing. You are amazing readers. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

Happy Reading!

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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.

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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.

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So...what did you think? It was my first original storyline for John and Kai. I hope you enjoyed it! I'm looking forward to the next update - it will follow the plot of Runner! I've been excited for a long time to introduce Kai and Ronon. Any thoughts or requests?