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Conversion Cont.
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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."

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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?"

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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.

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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.

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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.

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So...what did you think? I had so much fun writing this update I truly hope you enjoyed it!