Happy Reading!
><><
The Lost Boys
><><

"This is ridiculous," McKay grumbled as he brushed aside a long, leaf covered limb and clambered after Sheppard through yet another alien forest.

"Keep complaining about it and we may get there faster," John snarked back at the scientist.

None of them were having fun hiking through the dense underbrush, but McKay's complaining wasn't making the trip any easier. John was already feeling a little winded and he cursed his weakness and pushed his body faster. He wasn't willing to admit to any of them least of all himself that he was struggling to set the pace. It was only his second mission back after the three months it had taken him to recover from the retrovirus. He had been back in the gym for the last month but it had been harder than he wanted to admit. He had only started lightly sparring in the last couple weeks and although he had passed the physical requirements for an off world active team member he was no where near his normal self physically.

"Couldn't we have met these people on a tropical beach planet populated by tall blonde women? Eh?" McKay asked, though in his observation it seemed like the Colonel went in for short, curvy dark haired women these days. Although he would never be brave enough to say anything about it out loud.

"Whoever wants to speak with us obviously values their privacy," Teyla soothed from behind the squabbling friends.

"Yes, well I value my time and this is a waste of it," McKay whined.

"What's a waste of time, is listening to you Rodney. This is the mission," John admonished sharply.

"Yes well, it strikes me that this is a mission better suited to one of the lower echelon teams," McKay grunted as he climbed over a large log.

"Lower echelon?" Ronon asked, his voice rumbling from behind the group.

"He means to say, less important," Teyla filled in.

"We got a tip from one of Teyla's contacts, we're following it up," John said firmly.

"Oh what, this is like the upteenth tip we've followed up in search of a ZPM and none of them have panned out."

"Rodney-" Teyla started to say. She could sense that Sheppard was losing his patience. The team was still working on getting back
in its rhythm after the Colonel's lay-off and McKay, as usual, wasn't helping matters.

McKay huffed, but he wasn't willing to fight with Teyla the same way he squabbled with Sheppard. "I just want to make it clear that every second that I am out of my lab is a second the galaxy goes without another groundbreaking-"

The flash of stunners hit McKay and Teyla first. John whirled as Teyla cried out. His hand dropped to his gun as two shots hit Ronon in the chest. Ronon fought against them and they fired a third time before turning the stunner to him. John lifted his gun at the same
time two shots hit him square in the chest and everything went dark.

><><

John woke up with a pounding headache. He was tied to a chair with a hood over his head. He pulled experimentally at the bonds around his wrists, but they were tight. He kept his body relaxed and leaning forward against them, so they wouldn't know he was awake as he slowly rotated his wrists, trying to see if he could wiggle them loose. There was no such luck. Whoever had tied them knew exactly what they were doing.

He didn't have long to wait before someone jerked the hood off his head. He pulled back, shaking it off. His team was all sitting with him, also tied to chairs lining what looked like a large banquet table sitting in the middle of a cave. There were plates of food and goblets sitting at each of their places. He frowned and glanced around. There were five men standing at attention behind them, but none of them spoke or reacted to their prisoners.

"You guys okay?" John asked as he quickly made note of potential exits. He didn't see any possible weapons if he got free. The men weren't wearing a uniform of any kind, nor did he recognize any of them. Seemed like this whole day was shaping up to be a surprise.

"Oh yeah, fine," McKay grumbled.

Sheppard glanced towards Ronon and Teyla and they both nodded. He looked to the men standing around the table beyond. "Seems like a whole lot of trouble just to get us to dinner," he commented wryly. When no one responded he sniffed. "Not really a talkative bunch are you?" He snarked as he twisted his wrists more obviously this time to see if added leverage would help.

One of the men stepped forward, his eyes locking on Sheppard. "We'll release you from your bindings if you promise not to attack us," he said. He met John's gaze square on, his eyes were hard and defiant as though he were daring Sheppard to do something.

"Sure," Ronon agreed quickly with a dangerous smile.

"Yeah..." John agreed slowly. "We promise," he added as he thought how much he was going to enjoy knocking this guy on his ass for doing this to his team.

There was a bark of familiar laughter behind them. John frowned, tipping his head back towards it as he struggled to place it. Someone came into the room behind John and Ronon slammed up to his feet, easily taking the chair he had been tied to with him. One of the guards grabbed his shoulder and forced him back down one handed. No easy feat with someone of Ronon's size.

John turned his head to the side, but didn't bother wasting any energy fighting.

"Before we untie them, they have to know they are among friends," a familiar voice called to the room as he approached the table.

A bad feeling went over John and he wasn't surprised when Aidan Ford swaggered out into the room.

"Ford?" he asked.

"You thought I was dead, didn't you Sheppard?" Ford challenged.

John didn't bother trying to hide the shock from his face as he turned to meet Teyla and Rodney's surprised gazes.

"Guys, guys please," Ford said after his men untied everyone. "Eat," he said gesturing to the food on the table. When no one made a move to touch it Ford took a piece and ate it. "See, it's fine. Eat."

Ronon picked up his plate and sniffed at it, but made no move to touch it. John didn't even look at the food. McKay picked up a piece and sampled it. When he found it was good he dug in with abandon. Teyla picked through the vegetables.

"Well men," Ford said addressing the men around him. "This used to be my team. Well, not this one," Ford admitted pointing at Ronon. "But I think he's okay too."

Ronon bared his teeth at Ford and looked like he was fantasizing about the fight they would have.

"What is all this?" John asked.

"Just some local vegetables, sort of an allegator thingy, tastes like steak, try it," Ford encouraged slapping John on the arm.

John scowled at the familiar gesture. He and Ford weren't friends any more. "I'm not talking about the food," he said tightly. "What in the hell is going on?"

"Who are these men?" Teyla challenged. "And why bring us here like this?"

"Whoa," Ford said frowning. "That's a lot of questions."

"Pick one," Ronon growled dangerously.

Ford smirked and turned back to his men. "Pick one? That's good. Where'd you manage to find him Sheppard?"

"Maybe you should start with how you managed to escape being culled by the wraith dart?" McKay suggested, his words were garbled around his mouth full of food.

"I have no idea how long I was in the dart, next thing I know I'm on a Cruiser and I was awake."

"It's the enzyme," McKay supplied taking another large bite of food. "It makes you almost immune to the Wraith stunners so when you were materialized from the dart you were awake as opposed to-"

"As opposed to dead," Ford growled, pacing around the back of the table. "I cut open his enzyme pouch, took my fill and found a way off the ship. You can get around pretty easy on a Wraith ship. They're not used to people making it aboard so there's next to no security."

John frowned as he listened to Ford. There were glimpses of the kid he used to be, but whenever it peaked through it was quickly swallowed up by the ramblings of whatever the enzyme had turned him into. John hated it, he felt guilty over what had happened, he should have done more to help the kid when there was still a chance.
Looking at the man standing before him now, John wasn't sure if there was anything left of Aidan Ford to save.

"Anyway, I walked off with enough enzyme to last me a little while. Found a stargate, dialed the first friendly address I could remember. I told them about the enyme how it makes you stronger, more resilient, more aware. How it would give us a fighting chance against the Wraith. I mean look at me. Look at me! I walked off a Wraith Cruiser. It works!" Ford finished with a laugh.

"Wait a second, all your people here, all your men, they're on the enzyme?" Ronon clarified, looking over the men gathered around them with new found interest. If they were it was certainly going to make fighting their way out of here more difficult.

"Of course," Ford responded brightly. "As our numbers kept growing we needed more and more of the enzyme."

"Aidan," Teyla interrupted. "Do you mean to tell us there are live Wraith here in this cave?"

"That's right," Ford agreed.

Teyla scowled at him. "The Wraith can communicate with each other over distance."

"Not between stars," Ford said, "They'd have to be in this solar system," he turned to Rodney. "You taught me that."

McKay frowned. "Yes well, good for me," he said with his mouth full.

"Besides they can't communicate if they're unconscious!" Ford said with a smile.

"Why'd you jump us?" John asked. He was done with Ford's little song and dance. He just wanted to know what the end game was and be done with it. So far nothing Ford had said accounted for why he took them hostage.

Ford turned back to Sheppard, his face becoming serious. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. It was the only way to get you here."

"Why didn't you just tell us where you were. We would have come," Sheppard promised him.

All the happiness fell from Ford's face and Sheppard had a moment to see the monster that lay within. "Yeah, you and a special ops team," Ford growled.

"No no," John disagreed. He didn't want to push Ford when his mood was so volatile.

Ford shook his head as though he were disappointed in Sheppard's reaction. "I know you think I'm crazy. I brought you all here to show you that you're wrong. I mean do I look crazy? Do I seem out of control?" he asked leaning against the table.

McKay took a bite of the strange meat. "Are we speaking in relative terms, or...?" he dragged off taking another bite. It was surprisingly good.

"Look, Jace here has really fine tuned the enzyme. We know how to administer it now, refine it, hell we've gotten so good we can even lace food with it," Ford said with a smile that reminded them of the cat who caught the canary.

And there it was. John's stomach dropped as he looked back at his team members. Everyone but him had sampled from the plates in front of them.

"Excuse me?" McKay asked, his eyes widening in horror.

"Congratulations, you've just had your first dose," Ford said proudly.

McKay spit the food out of his mouth immediately and began scrubbing his tongue against his palm.

Ford was all too pleased with himself. He was acting as though they had all just shared a good joke. "I've thought long and hard about how to convince you that the enzyme was safe. Convince you that it was the first step so you can convince Weir, convince the military-"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?" McKay screamed shoving himself to his feet.

"Hey, settle down McKay," Ford said sharply, though he took a step back from the sudden intensity of the scientists anger. His eyes flashed to his science assistant Jace, wondering if McKay's dose had been right.

"NO I WILL NOT SETTLE DOWN!" McKay screamed slamming his fist against the table. "I'VE BEEN DRUGGED AGAINST MY WILL YOU LITTLE PUNK!"

"You should not have done this Aidan!" Teyla exclaimed, shoving her plate back away from her.

Ford chuckled. "Hey, be as mad as you want. In a couple days...you'll be thanking me," he playfully slapped John's shoulder and John muscles coiled as he fought against the urge to attack him. "We'll all have a good laugh about this, now eat up." Ford encouraged as he turned to leave the room.

Ronon shot to his feet, charging Ford. One of his men cut Ronon off, leveling his gun in Ronon's face. Ronon froze. John climbed to his feet and motioned for Ronon to back down.

"I'm itchy, I'm itchy!" McKay said worriedly. "This is exactly what happened when I tried pot once in college," he wailed.

John cast McKay an annoyed glance and turned to follow Ford. "Everyone stay put," he ordered, pointing at the chairs. He took two steps after Ford and two more of Ford's men moved to block John's path. John pulled up, but didn't bother looking at the soldiers. His eyes were locked on Ford's back.

"Let him through," Ford called over his shoulder.

John stepped into the room. He was going to have to try a different tactic. The sarcasm and anger didn't seem to be getting through to Ford. "Look," John said taking a step towards the kid. "I know what you're trying to do. I get it, I do, but you're going about it all wrong. Weir isn't going to listen to us if we're all hopped up on the enzyme."

Ford turned to face his old commanding office. "Your food was clean," he said calmly.

John pulled back at that. "What? Why? Why me?" John asked in confusion.

Ford's face was incredibly earnest and John knew in that moment that Ford truly believed in what they were doing. It was a dangerous prospect. "Because you're going to be the witness. You're going to be the one to tell Weir that her most trusted team has taken the enzyme and is better because of it."

John let out a sigh. "Buddy, listen why don't you come back with us. Have Beckett look you over, huh? That's the best proof."

"No," Ford responded sharply, cutting Sheppard off before he could say any more. "I've thought this over. This is the plan."

John stiffened. "Look, I don't know what you're think-"

"You're free to roam around as much as you want. You're all part of the team now," Ford said by way of dismissal and he walked away, leaving Sheppard alone.

><><

The four of them left the cave and investigated the immediate area around Ford's hideout. Unsurprisingly, there were no signs of civilization anywhere. They followed a short path back to the stargate. McKay attempted to activate it and grunted in annoyance when nothing happened. He bent down to look at the controls under the DHD.

"Why aren't these guys watching us?" Ronon asked suspiciously as he glanced around them.

"Ronon's right," Teyla agreed. "They went to a great deal of trouble to get us here, why would they allow us to leave?" she asked keeping her eyes on the forest, which seemed like it would be the easiest place for Ford's men to watch them undetected.

"Just waiting for the other shoe to drop," John said, resting his hands on his hips.

"Oh that little bastard," McKay growled from under the controls.

"And there is goes," John quipped as McKay climbed out from under the DHD.

"See, this is what I was afraid of," McKay said with a disgusted shake of his head.

"What'd he do?" John asked.

"He's taken all of the necessary control crystals. Something I showed him how to do on a mission I might add," McKay's voice was rising with stress as he fiddled with some of the wires, but there was nothing he could do.

John nodded. That sounded about par for the course of their day. "Well that's not good."

"Understatement of the year," McKay snapped acerbically.

"Why don't we just take them?" Ronon growled. "All we have to do is get our hands on one stunner and we can take them all."

John grunted noncommittally "That may be, but if we mess it up whatever trust we have been given will disappear."

"You want to make them trust us?" Teyla asked in confusion. It was not one of The Colonel's usual tactics to lay low.

John nodded grimly. "We play is cool, get them to relax, they're bound to make a mistake."

Teyla sucked in a breath. "And in the meantime?"

"We play along?" John hesitated as he looked over his team. They all seemed like they were on edge but he couldn't tell if it was because they had been kidnapped or if it was from the enzyme. "How are you guys feeling?" he asked. He was hesitant to ask them to play along if it meant continuing to take the enzyme.

"I didn't eat that much, I feel fine," Ronon replied.

"Perhaps if we were able to fast, they would not be unable to administer the enzyme," Teyla pointed out.

"I doubt that they would have a problem forcing us..." John dragged off swinging around to see if there was anything he had missed.

McKay popped up from under the DHD. "This thing is useless, and I ate my face off. I can tell you, I can feel it working."

"There's a good possibility that everything you're feeling right now might be psychosomatic," John said distractedly as he looked over the DHD himself.

"Oh is that right professor science?" McKay snarled. "Is that your prediction?"

"Yes it is," John said tightly as he worked to get McKay to stay calm.

"Well let me tell you when they up the dosage the side effects will be very real, and very unpredictable!"

><><

They didn't see Ford again until the next day, when he called them all together and finally explained his plan. "You're going to help us destroy a Wraith Hive ship,"
He said proudly. He flashed them an excited smile as though he expected them to be jumping for joy at the prospect.

When no one reacted Ford grunted in annoyance. He reached behind himself next to monitor and picked up a small, black object.

"One of the added bonuses of killing a bunch of wraith is that every now and then you get your hands on one of these," Ford said holding up a data drive like the one he had once seen Zian work on for the Genii. "Now, thanks to Jace and some of the computers we borrowed from the Genii, we've been able to work out the exact flight path of one of their Hive ships."

"It's deciminating all inhabited worlds in it's path," Jace added helpfully. Ford's scientist shifted uncomfortable under everyone's gaze and turned back to his computer.

"It has to be stopped," Ford said grimly.

Jace's fingers clicked across the keyboard. "Now I've been able to make some calculations and in the next few days it's going to have to take a break from hyperspace. It will stop very near an uninhabited planet that happens to have a stargate."

Ford's right hand man, Kanayo stepped up, crossing his arms over his chest. He had been the overly aggressive one from the day before. "We gate to that planet, get on the Hive ship, plant some C-4 in the dart bay and get out. We could save thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of lives."

"So...?" Ford said turning back to John. Ford didn't know it himself, but even after everything that had happened he was still seeking John's approval.

When John realized he was going to have to actually respond to this insane idea he cleared his throat and straightened. "Wow," he managed to say without sounding too insincere.

"Wow? That's all you have to say?" Ford challenged.

"You heard me," John snarled, refusing to back down when Ford glared at him.

"Let's see if I can couch what Colonel Sheppard means by 'wow' in more simplicit terms," McKay snarked. "That is a terrible plan."

"Rodney," Teyla warned, her eyes flickering over Kanayo and Ford. Both men seemed perhaps more unstable this morning.

"Made all the more terrible by the fact that you think that it is a good plan," McKay continued, ignoring Teyla's warning.

"What's wrong with it?" Ford challenged.

"What's right with it? Let's just for a second give in to wreckless abandon and assume that it would be possible to plant a single charge and have it be large enough to destroy an entire Hive ship."

"We're counting on secondary explosions in the dart bay," Jace added.

"Regardless, the Hive ship will be on a hyperspace pause, yes, but it will not enter the planet's atmosphere, nor will it take up any kind of stable orbit. It will be flying through space which means unless your enzyme allows you to jump a lot higher than you've let on-"

Ford exchanged a smug glance with Jace before he interrupted Mckay's rant. "We have a space ship," he said calmly.

John stiffened, crossing his arms over his chest as a bad feeling went over him. None of these men other than Ford and Jace seemed at all confortable with technology and neither one of them struck him as a pilot.

"Oh really, what's it made out of? Bark?" McKay challenged. The second dose of the enzyme was working much faster through his system and McKay was already struggling to stay focused on the conversation.

"No, it's real McKay. In fact it's the only ship I'd feel comfortable using on a mission like this," Ford's mercurial mood shifted again and he was incredibly serious as he discussed the mission.

John scowled as another bad feeling went over him. Without another word Ford led the way out of the cave. They headed in a direction they hadn't explored yet. There Ford's men pulled back tarps to reveal a dart.

"Okay," John agreed, staring at the parked dart. "Where's you get it?"

"Does it matter?" Ford asked with a pleased smile.

"We haven't had much success flying it. It's gotten a little banged up on the last few landing attempts. It's in need of some repairs," Jace explained.

"And a real pilot," Ford added, his eyes locked on John.

John glanced towards Ford but didn't take his eyes off of the dart. "This is why you brought us here," he growled. It suddenly all made sense.

"It's the reason I've waited until now to contact you, yes," Ford agreed stiffly.

"Assuming this guy can get it working again," Kanayo said slapping McKay on the arm

McKay squirmed and stepped up for the dart. He bent his head as he began inspecting the possible damage.

"He can," Ford agreed without hesitation. "These people are the best at what they do."

When no one seemed overly eager Kayano grunted in annoyance. "Look, you fly it, you take us to the Hive, you drop us off. All we need is time to lay the charge. We're in and out of there before the Wraith have any idea what's going on."

"It's perfect," Ford said excitedly as he met Kanayo's gaze.

McKay pulled back from the damage that had been done to the dart. "It is far from perfect." Mckay's voice was dripping with sarcasm as he masked his fear with anger. "For one, I don't know enough about darts to fix this, not by half."

"Oh really?" Ford challenged.

"Yes really," he snarled. "There's only one person on Atlantis who knows enough about darts to fix this and boo hoo you didn't seem to catch her."

"I can fix that," Ford growled.

John stiffened as McKay mentioned Kai. He remembered all too clearly what Ford had done to her during his escape from Atlantis. He had nearly killed her. John would do whatever he had to in order to keep Kai as far away from Ford as possible.

"Oh really?" McKay challenged and John wanted to tell him to shut up and leave Kai out of this.

"Yes, really." Ford snapped, his maturity level dropping in an instant to match Rodney's.

"Well you've been gone a while, Kai doesn't really do away missions very often."

Ford started to chuckle. "I've been gone a while, but I guarantee you not that much has changed. Colonel Sheppard has gone missing and Weir is going to have to send another team through the gate. Who do you think the first person to step off-world will be?" Ford challenged.

McKay opened his mouth to continue to argue, but the truth was, he couldn't. His eyes cut to Sheppard who was staring at the dart, his jaw like granite. He and Kai had seemed to grow closer after what happened with the retrovirus. Kai had been incredibly attentive while Sheppard was recovering and when he was back they had seemed to become friends. He and Kai worked out in the mornings and she would often join the team for meals. She never said much, but her quiet presence had become fairly routine. Kai and Ronon had also grown close, and he didn't know why, but McKay was fairly certain it wasn't the same thing. At Ford's mere mention of Kai, McKay could see the tension of barely contained violence running up and down Sheppard's body.

Ford was absolutely right. If AR-1 didn't make it back home, Weir would send Lorne's team to investigate, and Kai wouldn't let herself be left behind if the Colonel didn't come back.

Ford was also watching The Colonel appraisingly. It didn't look like anything had changed on his end. Ford turned a smug look back to McKay. "Exactly," Ford said. He turned back to his men, "Kanayo, Brailen. Get back to that planet. The next team will be coming through the gate any moment. Stun only," he advised firmly when he saw Sheppard's hands close into fists. Ford knew he would only be able to push the Colonel so far, and Kai was a sure fire way to push him right over the edge. "I want the small woman that's with them. She'll probably be wearing a scarf around her head. Don't let your guard down," Ford said firmly. "Stun her at least twice before you approach her. She's dangerous."

><><

Kai was working in the hanger on one of the jumpers when her radio activated. "Kai this is Lorne. We could use your help in the gateroom immediately."

Kai pushed herself up and scrubbed her hands off on the thighs of her jumpsuit. She reached up and touched her comm. "On the way," she responded, not thinking much of the summons.

She liked the Major, he was an easy man to get along with. In many ways he reminded her of Sheppard with his unflappable nature and his sharp sense of humor, but he lacked the intensity of the Colonel. Despite her preference for solitude she and Lorne had developed an easy friendship over the last few months, and with both McKay and Zelenka off world it wasn't surprising the Major would choose to call her in for a question over another member of the science team.

When Kai reached the gateroom she found Lorne and Weir speaking quietly together. They looked up as she approached and both wore grim expressions. A bad feeling went over Kai as she glanced around. To her knowledge Sheppard's team and Lorne's teams were supposed to be off world for the next day or so. Lorne's presence and the grim expression on his face made her think something had gone very wrong.

"Kai," Elizabeth greeted and though she smiled, lines of stress showed around her eyes and mouth.

"What's going on?" Kai asked looking around. Two of Lorne's men were standing behind their leaders still in full gear.

"Colonel Sheppard's team is overdue. We haven't had any radio contact. Major Lorne and his team have searched, but it looks like they were possibly taken against their will. Would you be able to get the addresses stored in the DHD's buffer? With McKay missing and Zelenka off world-"

"I'll get my tablet," Kai said and without hesitating she turned to head down to the lab. Worry formed a hard knot in her gut. John hadn't been back on active duty very long and while he certainly passed all the tests the military had asked of him she knew better than anyone that he wasn't himself yet. They had only sparred a handful of times since the retrovirus and it hadn't been the same.

"Kai," Lorne called after her.

She turned to face him, lifting a brow.

"Gear up," he told her grimly. "We don't know what could have happened to them."

She nodded. "I'll be ready to go in ten minutes."

><><

McKay was apologizing for the hundredth time for dragging Kai into the situation. The second Ford had left them alone again John had whirled on McKay and cussed him out for throwing Kai under the bus. Hell, Rodney had practically dared Ford to kidnap her.

John's anger had burned itself out quickly when McKay overreacted to his anger and couldn't seem to calm himself down. The drugs appeared to be effecting him more than the others. Now, Rodney was pacing agitatedly, as he continued to apologize, and couldn't seem to be able to stop.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, the drugs are making me stupid. I shouldn't have brought her up and if they capture her it'll be my fault and-"

"Rodney," John cut him off. "Just stop. Lorne's not likely to walk into a trap and Kai will be fine she-"

The door opened and Kanayo came in carrying an unconscious Kai over his shoulder like a sack.

"She is here," John finished, fighting to keep his voice light even as rage burned through him.

Kanayo dumped her unceremoniously onto one of the cots. Her head flopped to the side and one of her arms hung over the edge at an awkward angle.

Teyla and Ronon shot to their feet in their friend's defense, but John was across the room in two long strides, moving faster than them even without the enzyme.

"What the hell did you do?" Sheppard snarled. He grabbed Kanayo and jerked him away from Kai, gripping the other man by his collar.

Kanayo snorted. "Relax, it was just hit with a stunner. It'll wear off," Kanayo told them and he made of show of brushing aside Sheppard's arms and stepping away, unconcerned. It didn't matter, Kanayo was on the enzyme and John stood no chance against him in a fight.

McKay stepped over to Kai. "Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be dead," he chanted over and over under his breath as he checked her pulse. He turned back to Sheppard and Teyla and nodded. "She's not dead," he breathed in relief.

Sheppard exhaled a sigh of relief and crouched down beside the cot. He adjusted her arm and neck so she would be more comfortable when she woke up.

Ford came in behind him. "Move," he ordered.

John straightened and swung around slowly to face the other man. His stomach dropped when he saw the syringe gripped in Ford's hand.

"No," John growled dangerously, "you already have those three on it, you don't need her too,"

Ford snorted but his eyes were hard. "Come on Sheppard, the only thing more impressive than Ronon over there on the enzyme would be a Mortii. Hell, if I can prove it's benefits maybe her people will want in on it too. For a small profit of course...just imagine what a Mortii would be capable of on this stuff. She's impressive against the Wraith all on her own, but on this stuff..." he let out a low whistle of appreciation.

John felt like he had been sucker punched in the gut. "What?" He asked in disbelief.

Ford snorted again, "I've been around the block a few times now Sheppard. I've met a few and now I actually know what she is. I'm even more impressed that Atlantis got their hands on her now."

"What the hell's the matter with you, she's a person," Sheppard growled. Ford was starting to sound like the Genii.

"Barely," Ford shot back and he moved to step around Sheppard.

John stepped in front of him as white hot rage burned through him. He didn't give a shit if Ford was on the enzyme. He was going to knock that smug smile off the kids face.

Ford looked up at Sheppard. He was tempted to knock his old commanding officer on his ass once and for all, but something stopped him. Instead he jerked his chin to Kanayo to hold Sheppard.

Kanayo dropped a hand onto Sheppard's shoulder and there was nothing Sheppard could do to get away.

Ford grinned at Sheppard as he fought to pull away. After a moment he turned back to the cot and slid the needle into Kai's arm. He only had a brief moment of pause to wonder if he had done the right thing. He remembered how formidable the Mortii could be, perhaps giving her the enzyme wasn't the best plan.

Ford was smiling down at Kai. She would help McKay fix the dart and provided another means of controlling the Colonel. It didn't appear Sheppard was any closer to admitting his feelings for Kai, but it didn't matter. It was obvious to everyone else.

Ford was still lost in his thoughts when Kai's body jerked. He dropped his gaze and his mouth opened in shock as her body began to thrash and seize.

"WHAT IN THE HELL DID YOU DO?!" John roared.

Ford turned to the door. "Jace get in here!" He shouted.

In that moment of distraction Sheppard had managed to twist away from Kanayo. Ronon jumped forward and slammed Kanayo against the wall to keep him away from John and Kai.

John dropped to his knees beside the cot and grabbed Kai's shoulders to hold her as her body thrashed uncontrollably.

Jace ran into the room but Teyla made a move to stop him.

"Let him through," Ford ordered. "He knows more about the enzyme than anyone."

Teyla turned to John for instruction but the Colonel's
full attention was on Kai. She glanced at Ronon who nodded and she let him go.

Jace ran up to the cot, he frowned down at Kai. "She's reacting the same way Tyson did when he overdosed!"

"How much did you give her?" Ford demanded. If she died, all the good grace he had won with Sheppard died with her.

"Only half a dose! Same as the others."

"She isn't human you idiot!" McKay sputtered from the corner.

Both Ford and Jace looked up in confusion.

"She's a Mortii, not human. Physiologically she's very closer to the Ancients than us. Of course she isn't going to react the same way!"

Ford stopped and looked down at Kai's body. She continued to shake and her body seized. John held her flat so she wouldn't hurt herself. "Do something!" John snarled at Jace. "You said you've figured out how to administer it. How do you counter act it?"

"I-" he stammered "I don't-" He drew off.

"We have to get her to Beckett, now!" John said, turning to face Ford. "Get the control crystals and we can gate her back to Atlantis."

Ford pulled back, a confused frown on his face. For just a moment he was that confused kid again. "I-" he started to say.

"We have to do something!" Teyla urged.

And just like that, Ford shut down. He pulled back into himself and then puffed up importantly. "Either she's strong enough to make it or she isn't." He said decidedly. "Beckett won't change that. Nobody leaves until after the mission." And he stomped out of the room.

John stared after him, dumbstruck. Ford had just willingly signed Kai's death certificate. His jaw tightened painfully.

Jace however wasn't ready to give up. He was digging in the small case of bottles he had brought with him. He pulled out another syringe and filled it with a clear liquid.

John bristled. "What's that?" He asked severely.

"I can't block the enzyme, but if we sedate her it might make the process less violent while it works it's way through her system." Jace explained.

John nodded begrudgingly. He hated the idea of letting them put any more drugs in her system but he didn't see that they had a choice. Jace expertly slipped the needle into her arm and moments later her muscles relaxed and she lay still.

Slowly John stepped back as though he didn't trust that she would remain peaceful. "What now?" He asked Jace as the other man began packing up his bottles.

Jace looked up at Sheppard a grim expression on his face. "Now we wait and see if she lives or dies."

><><

I hope you enjoyed it!!