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Kai paced back and forth across the front of the cell like a caged animal the entire time John was gone. Every single person in that cell was smart enough to stay out of her way. Even Ford hung back at the back of the cell.

Uncharacteristic panic closed like a fist in Kai's chest. They might want to question him now, but humans were nothing more than food to the Wraith. John was the consummate survivor, but even he couldn't take out the entire squad unarmed.

Kai let the connection between John and her open just enough so she could feel he was still alive. She was tempted to try and reach for more but she didn't know fully how to use it and she didn't want to do anything to distract him. Instead she was forced to be content with the small ball of warmth in her chest that told her he was still alive.

It felt like hours to her, but less than thirty minutes later two soldiers led John back to the cell. Kai stood at the front of the cell, her eyes running over him. He didn't look hurt. The only sign that something had happened was that the collar of his jacket had been ripped open.

There was a gentle telepathic bump and she suddenly felt angry with herself for giving in to her emotions. Opening the connection felt like a weakness but she refused to show it. She gripped her hands behind her back and lifted her chin defiantly as she faced the Wraith.

"Get back," one of the Wraith guards growled at Kai.

Kai's hands itched with the desire to kill them but her eyes flickered to John. "Colonel?" Kai asked formally.

John's eyes caught hers and he nodded once telling her silently to stand down. Kai took two measures steps back and one of the guards gestured at a control panel on the wall and the webbing pulled back. He shoved John in with enough force for him to tumble across the ground.

Ronon ducked around Kai and tried to charge the guards but the door dropped back into place and he slammed against it.

"Are you unharmed?" Teyla asked as Kai offered him a hand up, John grunted as he climbed to his feet.

"Yeah," John said.

Kai ran her eyes over John once more to reassure herself that he wasn't hurt. Though his jacket was torn his t-shirt was still intact which meant they hadn't tried to feed.

Ford shoved his way past Ronon so he was standing directly in front of John. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Where'd they take you?"

"A little Q and A with the queen of the hive," John replied flippantly but his thoughts were racing over all he had learned in the short time he had been with the Queen. There was unrest in the hive, the Queen had been agitated and distracted. It was a clear weakness, he just hadn't figured out how to use it to their advantage yet.

"What'd you tell her?" Ford accused as though Sheppard would have somehow divulged their secrets to the Wraith.

John tossed Ford an impatient look. "It was a short conversation, she walked out."

"Why?" he challenged.

"'Maybe she was late for a meeting," John snapped sarcastically as he dropped down onto one of the benches. He was about done with Ford's attitude. They needed to focus and think clearly so they could get themselves out of here not play the blame game.

"No," Teyla interrupted them. She cocked her head to the side and got a faraway look on her face. "There is something else, I sense she was agitated, even angry," she said a little dreamily.

John and Kai shared a confused look. "Why?" John asked knowing he probably wasn't going to like the answer.

Teyla hesitated, lifting her chin towards the ceiling as though she could hear something the rest of them couldn't. "Another hive ship has arrived."

"Are you sure there's another hive?" Kai asked. She understood Teyla's telepathic gifts even less than her own but if she was able to sense the arrival of a hive ship in the system, it meant Teyla's telepathy had grown.

Teyla cocked her head to the side and closed her eyes as she focused. A shudder ran through her body. "I sense it close by."

"Maybe they're planning on culling the planet together," John said hopefully.

Ford pushed himself to his feet and shoved his way towards the front of the cell so he was standing near Teyla. "Or they're gonna fight for it."

"Either way, the planet is only a day away, we don't have much time to stop them." Kanayo said

John grunted in annoyance and pushed himself to his feet, naturally taking control of the situation. "All right, first things first. How to get out. Any luck?"

"None yet," Ronon said casting an annoyed glance towards Ford.

"Don't worry, I'll figure a way out," Ford snapped defensively.

John shook his head. He was getting real sick of the attitude that went along with the enzyme. "I was afraid you were going to say that," he grumbled half under his breath but Kai could hear him perfectly.

John scowled at the control panel the Wraith had used on the far wall. He glanced down at Kai. "Last time we were on one of these ships you were able to open the door by cutting into the wall near the panel."

Kai looked up, the wall was at least fifteen feet from the cell. "True..." She agreed, dragging off as she slid her hand down to her boot. "You mean with a knife?" She asked holding a small throwing knife up.

"You have a knife?" John asked in disbelief.

Kai flashed him a teasing smile. "Give them one to find and they'll let you keep the rest. Everyone knows that."

"Right, I forgot all about that rule. Must be an old Mortii motto," he replied sardonically.

"Give me that," Ford growled stomping towards Kai.

Ronon stepped into his path. "Try it," he offered, his eyes gleaming as he leaned forward aggressively. Teyla shifted to stand next to Ronon and Kanayo moved towards Ford.

"Boys..." Sheppard called. "Play nice or I'll turn this hive ship right around."

Ronon and Ford continued to stare each other down but Kai ignored them. She flipped off her knife. It landed in the circuit board and the lights went out. The tension in the cell was immediately forgotten as the prospect of escape became a real possibility.

"Now we're getting somewhere," Sheppard praised, turning his attention back to Kai who had been pointedly ignoring the testosterone and enzyme induced posturing.

Kai grunted in annoyance when she missed and Sheppard caught a flash of skin as she pulled a knife out from under her shirt. She pulled her hand back, lining it up to throw again.

"How many of those do you got?" John asked running his eyes over her. She was an expert at hiding knives, but the fitted black t-shirt and combats didn't leave room to hide much.

Kai smirked and lifted her eyebrows. "How many do you see?" she teased gently and was rewarded by a soft bump through their connection.

John shook his head and bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from flirting any more with her. The warm weight in his chest was back. He had noticed it first when he had been taken before the Queen. He knew it was tied to Kai but when he glanced at her the hard, focused expression on her face convinced him now wasn't the time to ask.

Kai threw another knife and the lights further down the hall went out. She made a noise of impatience in the back of her throat.

"I told you you wouldn't be able to get it," Ford growled. "Give me the knife," Ford demanded, he shoved towards Kai and Ronon clamped a hand on Ford's arm to stop him from reaching Kai. Ford whipped around towards him but Ronon refused to backdown.

"You think you can handle a knife better than a Mortii?" Teyla asked stepping between the two men before they came to blows. Ford shook his head and spun away from them, moving to the back of the cell.

Kai threw her third knife and the gate rolled back.

"We're in business," John called, he turned around and froze at the sight of Ford injecting his arm. "Ford what the hell are you doing?"

"That's the last of it," Ford said. He hung his head forward and a shudder ran through his body. When he stood, his movements were more fluid than they had been before.

Kanayo scowled. "What about the rest of us?"

Ford's pupils were blown wide as he turned to look at his last loyal soldier. "You don't need it," Ford said dismissively.

Kanayo scowled at his leader. "You don't know that."

"Keep quiet," John snarled. They all filed out of the cell. Ronon and Kai were on the lead.

John stepped up, blocking Ford from leaving the cell. "We're heading to the dart bay. Stay together, and stay quiet."

Ford bristled at being given an order but he followed the group just the same.

They jogged through the hall together. "Wait," Kai called, she grabbed Ronon's arm, pulling him back as she strained her senses. "They're coming."

A squad of wraith guards appeared around the corner.

"I got it," Ford said charging the guards recklessly. Ronon ran after him and wrestled a stunner away from one guard while the other's neck was broken by Ford. Kai threw the last of her small knives at the fourth guard but it barely slowed him down. She aimed a kick at his helmet but two stunner shots caught her in the chest and everything went black.

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Kai groaned as she started to wake up. She was laying on the floor of a cell. Her limbs were pins and needles as she blinked awake. She tried to shove herself to her hands and knees but it was too soon and she swayed. Warm hands caught her by the shoulder and one encircled her hip.

"You okay?" John's voice rumbled near her ear.

Kai squeezed her eyes shut tight as the pounding in her head increased. "Where are the others?" she asked, knowing without having to open her eyes that the others weren't with them. She could only hear two other heartbeats, one she recognized immediately as John's. The second heartbeat was erratic and racing. Kai blinked through the haze of the stunner to see Ford leaning against the wall not looking well. 

John helped Kai sit up and he let out a relieved sigh when her eyes fluttered open. She had been hit by two stunner shots but had been unconscious nearly three times as long as he and Ford. The last couple hours had been stressful watching Ford deteriorate and waiting for Kai to wake. "They took us to separate cells, probably to make it tougher to escape," he explained to her in a low voice.

"This is all your fault," Aidan's voice had a slight tremble to it.

Kai glanced in Ford's direction. He was sitting on the floor near the door, his arms wrapped around himself as though he were cold. Sweat was dripping down his temples and his skin was pale.

"What's done is done lieutenant," John called over his shoulder.

Kai got the impression it wasn't the first time the two had argued about this. Though his tone was calm she could see the muscles in John's jaw were tight.

"No, first you set off the alarm then you led us straight into that squad of Wraith. It's like you're purposefully sabotaging this mission," Aidan accused through chattering teeth.

John shook his head. "You got a lot of issues to work out."

Ford looked away and it was like another person took over. His eyes softened and he rubbed his hands up and down his arms. "Teyla and Ronon went down too quick when they were shot, the enzyme is wearing off."

"How are you feeling?" John asked.

"Bad," Aidan said looking away. "It's happened before when I've run out of the enzyme. It gets pretty ugly. So we need to figure a way out of here."

"Yeah," John agreed. He glanced back at Kai. She was leaning against the wall, slowly flexing her hands and subtly moving her feet as she worked to shake off the last of the stunner. He wanted to tell her to give it time but he knew her well enough to know that would only get him in trouble. "Don't suppose you have any more knives?" He asked her hopefully.

Kai shifted her weight and then shook her head. "Feels like their search was more thorough this time."

John wasn't surprised, but it would make a second escape even harder to manage. "Well, that's their-"

Aidan's whole body suddenly went rigid. He let out a single pained shout and his body dropped to the floor and seized. All of his muscles jerked and he groaned. John jumped across the cell, gripped Ford's shoulder's to hold him still so he wouldn't hurt himself. Kai scrambled after him and pinned Aidan's legs. The force of the seizure nearly threw her across the room a couple of times.

After long, agonizing minutes the seizure ended and Aidan lay unconscious on the floor.

"Shit," John muttered. He glanced down at Kai who had rocked back on her heels. "Guess he wasn't kidding about it being bad." John reached up and checked Aidan's pulse. "Well, he's still breathing."

"The enzyme causes seizures?" Kai asked. John turned back to meet her gaze. "Ronon and Teyla," She said unnecessarily. "They will be going through withdrawals by now."

"Ah, crap," John muttered. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. It pained him to know there was nothing he could do for them, and it was all his fault they were in this stupidly idiotic situation.

The two of them sat and watched over Aidan for another long couple of hours before he woke. He gasped and tried to sit up but his body gave out and he collapsed back against the hard floor.

"How you holding up Lieutenant?" John asked moving to crouch next to him. There was a softness to John's tone that hadn't been there in any of his encounters with Ford since before the enzyme.

They hadn't said it, but both Kai and John knew they were watching Aidan die.

"I'll be fine as soon as I get my hands on more enzyme. Then I'll get us out of here," Aidan promised. He tried to sound confident but there was real fear in his eyes. He knew better than anyone that the withdrawals would kill him.

"We'll do it together. We're a team, right?" John said with forced cheerfulness.

Ford nodded leaning back as he groaned in pain.

John caught him and lowered his shoulders back down to the floor so he didn't hurt himself any more. "Come on kid hang in there don't leave us."

"I'm sorry sir," Aidan panted. "I'm sorry for all of it," his eyes flickered over to where Kai was crouched on his other side. "I never should have used-"

"None of that," John snapped interrupting Aidan. "The missions not over, we still got to figure a way to get out of here, you hear me?" he put on The Colonel's voice.

"Yes sir," Aidan agreed weakly. He leaned back and his eyes began to flutter closed.

John lifted worried eyes to meet Kai's and she could see the guilt he carried over Aidan Ford. John took full responsibility for the people under his command. He was convinced he had failed Aidan.

Kai leaned forward and grabbed Ford's wrist giving it a firm squeeze. His eyes fluttered open in confusion. "Ford, you can make it through this. You need to decide to be strong enough."

Ford chuckled once humorlessly but it broke off into a coughing fit. "I'm no Mortii Zian. Us humans don't get to just decide."

The gate buzzed, startling Kai and John as five guards stalked into the cell.

"Move away from him," the lead soldier ordered.

Kai stiffened, her muscles coiling as she prepared to fight. John flickered his eyes to her, trying to convey to her that now wasn't the time. "What are you going to do with him?" John demanded.

"'Move away," the wraith repeated.

"He's sick," John argued as two of the Wraith shoved him towards the back of the cell.

"That is why we're taking him."

The guards dragged Ford out, their leader hissed in Sheppard's face before the door reformed. John grabbed the slimy bars in his hands. "Where are you taking him?!" He yelled after them but there was no response. "Damnit," he muttered and turned away, leaning his back against the bars.

Kai didn't know how to reassure John. Chances were good they had taken Ford to feed on him before he could die and prove useless. She hated feeling helpless and talking about feelings wasn't her strong suit so she turned her focus to finding a way out. Without a knife or something to throw she wasn't going to be able to access the panel across the hall but there was still a chance the conduits ran through the cell. Kai moved her hands over the walls, letting her eyes drift closed as she focused.

"What are you doing?" John asked after a minute.

"Seeing if I can feel an electrical panel," she said quietly as she moved her hands all around the outer edge of the door. The stench of the living wall was overwhelming to her nose and the texture was rubbery.

"You can feel that?" John asked in disbelief.

Kai shrugged. "Don't know, I've never tried to do it on purpose. My senses..."

"I didn't know that included touch," John dragged off as a thousand unnecessary thoughts flashed through his head.

Kai opened her eyes and turned to face him. "All of them. I can feel that we're still in hyperspace," she dragged off. "Not that that's terribly helpful. But I can't feel any conduits, the vibration from hyperdrive is overwhelming."

John dropped down to sit on the floor. "Well it was a good thought," he said and he leaned his head back against the wall exhaustedly. As though a thought had just occurred to him he opened his eyes. "Do you feel temperatures more potently?"

Kai snorted and dropped down to sit beside him. "I wouldn't know," she said wrapping her arms around herself. "I don't know what it feels like to you, but it's freezing in here for me."

John had a moment of indecision, wondering if he should let himself cross the line with her again before he lifted his arm up in silent invitation.

Kai stared at him for a beat before he made a noise of impatience in the back of his throat. "Come here," he said, but his tone was almost playful.

Kai slid across the floor so her thigh rested warmly against his and let him tuck her under his arm. She didn't know how, but he felt like a furnace in the cool of the Hive.

"Thank you," She said quietly. The answering telepathic bump should have terrified her, but she was exhausted and instead it was comforting.

"We should try and get some sleep," John said and his whole chest moved her as he yawned. There was still tension in Kai's body, as though her muscles were coiled and ready to spring away from him. He leaned his head back against the wall and forced his body to relax so Kai would.

It took a few minutes but finally she gave in and laid her cheek against his chest. Her hand came up to rest over his heart as she settled against his chest and she closed her eyes.

It reminded Sheppard of the nights he had held her on that Wraith planet. He had tried to push the memory out of his mind, tried to force himself to be content with the easy friendship between them. He was C.O. on Atlantis, she was from another galaxy, he didn't do relationships, and she was over twice his age...

The reasons to stay away from Kai was a list a mile long. But with the warm weight back in his chest and her sleeping in his arms he couldn't help feeling like this was exactly right.

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