Welcome guys to the exciting conclusion of Michael. I really struggled writing this episode for some reason, but have been enjoying the new direction John and Kai are headed, I hope you have too.

Happy Reading!

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Michael Cont.
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"We can't keep him here, it's too dangerous," Weir said grimly as she stood before the gathered group in the conference room for the third time in twenty-four hours. Once again Michael was the topic at hand.

It was late now and everyone was tired. Sheppard and his team, plus Beckett and Doctor Heightmeyer has gathered to make the decision about what to do now that Michael had attacked and killed Sergeant Cole. Michael was currently sleeping off a stunning down in the cell while his fate was being decided. Both Kai and Major Lorne were standing guard personally to ensure everyone's safety.

"Then we take him to the Alpha site. Sedate first so he won't know where it is," Sheppard said without hesitation. He had been thinking long and hard about this and they needed to get Michael out of here before things went from bad to worse.

"And then what?" Ronon asked harshly.

"Continue with the drug treatments," Beckett suggested quickly. It really was their only option at this point. He could feel the tension in the room and was fairly certain the direction Ronon was leaning. He only hoped to convince Elizabeth they had options other than murder.

"Continue?" Ronon spat out in disbelief. They had caught It standing over the body of one of their own. He couldn't believe they were even having this conversation. Sheppard should have let him put It down right there before it could hurt anyone else.

Weir held her hand up placatingly. "Doctor Beckett was about to increase the dosage," she said quickly. "Hopefully that will be effective in eliminating any Wraith impulses."

"Why are we even talking about this? He killed one of our people. We should just kill him now," Ronon growled. He hated that It was still alive and he hated even more that he was stuck in a meeting discussing this and leaving Kai guarding the thing by herself.

There were probably marines around but they wouldn't count against a hungry Wraith and It had already shown interest in her. It was baffling to him that Sheppard could sit here so calm knowing she didn't have any real backup once that thing woke up.

"We can't just kill him Ronon," Doctor Heightmeyer spoke up sternly. "We're the ones who put him in this position." It was surprising to everyone in the room to see the steely resolve in the normally soft spoken doctors face.

"Hold on a minute Doc," Sheppard said holding his hand up before Ronon really lost his temper. "Had we not given him the retrovirus he would still be a wraith and we wouldn't think twice about killing him."

Teyla's quiet simmering temper had finally reached it's limits. She swung on The Colonel, her brown eyes glittering with outrage. "But we did give him the retrovirus, we made him human, now we have the responsibility to treat him as we would any other-"

"HE'S NOT HUMAN!" Ronon roared shoving himself to his feet. "He's a wraith!" He was panting with his barely contained desire to hunt and kill the threat in their territory.

Everyone fell silent. Ronon in a full rage was intimidating and only Sheppard would look him in the eye. He jerked his chin and Ronon dropped back down into his chair with a huff and crossed his massive arms over his chest.

Weir took a grounding breath, she hadn't expected to be so intimidated by Ronon. It made her uncomfortable. She smoothed her hands down her thighs and turned back to face Beckett. "Carson, do you think it's worth continuing with the treatments?" Weir asked gently.

"I don't know," Beckett said honestly looking down at his hands. "I suppose it's worth seeing how he fares with the increased dosage."

"I agree," Weir said decisively. "We've come too far with this to abandon it now," she finished strongly and she turned to Sheppard her gaze inviting him to issue his commands on the next step.

John cleared his throat. "Beckett, grab your gear. We're moving him out of here tonight. My team pack up and be ready to go at..." he dragged off and glanced down at his watch. "Twenty-three hundred. We'll take one squad with us, but the rest are staying here under the direction of Major Lorne..." he didn't have to turn around to know McKay was raising his hand and opening his mouth to speak. "No Rodney, you don't have to come."

McKay nodded clearly satisfied and everyone rose to go about their business. The others left, but Sheppard hung back a moment.

He met Weir's tired gaze. "I want Zian on this mission," he said resolutely.

Weir was too tired to be able to contain her surprise. This flew directly in the face of her theory that he was overprotective of Kai for personal reasons.

"I thought we discussed keeping Kai away from him for her own safety," Elizabeth reminded him gently. She was honestly exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but she recognized that while this was just beginning of the mission for them. She would be able to get some sleep once they went through the gate. John was taking all of the danger with him.

"We did," John agreed. "But I think we need to know if any of those instincts are resurfacing and Zian will be the fastest way to identify that."

Weir narrowed her gaze. "Are you suggesting using Kai as bait Colonel?" She asked her tone hardening in reproach.

Uncharacteristic anger flared in John's eyes for a second. "I wouldn't put any one in unnecessary danger," he said resolutely. "But she is one of our strongest fighters. I need to leave Lorne here in charge and Sergeant Cole is dead," he said bluntly.

Elizabeth pulled back slightly. She hadn't expected him to take her accusation so personally but she wasn't about to argue. The issue of Michael had everyone's emotions running high.

"It would also be good to have another pilot that can ferry people and supplies back and forth as necessary. Alpha site's gate is a ways from the settlement and I can't keep an eye on him if I'm flying the jumper 24-7."

"I didn't mean to accuse you," Elizabeth said a little more gently. "Of course it makes sense to bring Kai. I will feel better knowing you, Ronon, Teyla and Kai are all there monitoring the situation. I will brief Major Lorne so you can prepare to leave."

John nodded grimly and turned to head to his room to gather his gear. There was no telling how long they would be stuck on that crappy little planet.

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Kai was waiting patiently in front of the cell. Her eyes were glued on Michael behind the barrier. He was pacing back and forth agitatedly, his eyes occasionally raking over her although he hadn't spoke to her directly. Their mutual disdain was almost palpable in the room. Doctor Weir had called Major Lorne almost an hour before, leaving Kai alone with Michael and a handful of marines.

The door hissed open behind her and she heard the steady heartbeats and movement of John and Ronon even before they came into the room. Ronon and John stepped up on either side of her.

She glanced up at John. "What's the plan with him?" she asked. She knew what her suggestion would be, but she didn't make policy here.

John looked down at her and pressed his lips together. He was worried. She felt a nudge inside her mind and she looked up at him in surprise. Whatever John was feeling, his hard expression didn't match it as he stalked up to the cell door. He looked dangerous as he faced Michael. He punched the control and the door hissed open.

Michael whirled around to face him, his expression dangerous. "Colonel!" Michael called almost jovially.

"Time to go," Sheppard said and he jerked up a stunner and shot Michael square in the chest before he could react. Michael's eyes widened for a moment with pure rage before he collapsed.

"Clear!" John called over his shoulder.

A medical team hustled in behind him as he stood over Michael's body, the stunner still aimed at his chest just in case. Beckett crouched beside Michael and shot him in his neck with a heavy sedative. "Okay," he called to the group. "He should be out for the next eight hours at least."

The medical team lifted Michael onto a gurney and began strapping him down. John turned to face Teyla and Ronon. "Get him secured on jumper..." he dragged off, turning to face Kai and lifting his eyebrows expectantly. They hadn't had an opportunity to brief her on the plan and one of the particulars was which jumper they could take on a potentially long term mission.

Kai blinked as she quickly caught up to what was happening. "Jumper three," she filled in.

Sheppard nodded his thanks and turned back to the others. "Jumper three," he repeated. "We leave in half an hour." He stepped up next to Kai and jerked his head towards the door, signaling her to follow him.

Kai glanced towards Ronon who met her gaze with a grim nod and they silently handed off the watch. John noticed but didn't react as he waited for Kai to lead the way out into the hallway. He stepped up beside her and headed towards the apartments.

Once they were out of earshot, John activated the door to the first balcony they came across and the two of them stepped outside. Kai took a deep breath of the cool night air. The tension surrounding Michael had been overwhelming.

John waited for the doors to slide closed before he turned back to Kai. "We're moving Michael to the Alpha site," he said without preamble.

"Okay," Kai said with a nod.

After the weeks of debating among the group it was a relief to work with Kai, who simply accepted his decision and wouldn't debate the morality of the choice. There were things to do and Kai wasn't going to slow them down with pointless questions.

"Permanently, I guess," John added and he ran a hand over his face exhaustedly. "This is turning into a mess," he confided. "I won't order you to come but-"

"Of course I'll come," Kai said quickly, a small frown formed between her eyebrows. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well he-" John started to say and stopped exhaling as he closed his hands into fists. Michael had been putting strain on all of them for the last few weeks and he was no exception. He was feeling particularly protective of Kai.

Kai reached out and laid her hand on John's forearm. John froze and looked down in surprise. Kai tightened her hand. "It doesn't matter," she said. "Every Wraith I meet reacts that way."

"Elizabeth seemed to think I would be putting you in unnecessary danger," John said and Kai could see he was beating himself up over it. There were times when John took too much responsibility on his own shoulders. Kai didn't need him taking her on as well.

She snorted. "I like to think I find danger just fine on my own," she said and she winked up at John.

As she hoped, he smiled, exhaled, and much of the tension left his body.

"I'm coming," she said more firmly. "I'll meet you in the jumper bay," and she slipped back through the doors before John could argue with her.

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The Alpha Site was a small settlement made up of three permanent quonset buildings almost ten miles from the Stargate. The planet was temperate, with large coniferous forests. The small clearing of the base was just large enough for the three buildings and a couple of tents. Not even the jumper would fit in the small area.

They had been at the Alpha Site for almost a full day before Michael woke. Kai hadn't spent much time inside the new makeshift infirmary where he was being kept. Instead she, John and Ronon had worked with the teams to make the site more livable. Teyla on the other hand had been working closely with Doctor Beckett and Michael.

The Alpha planet was beautiful, Kai only wished they were there for another reason. Kai hadn't spent a lot of time on a planet with trees so old and tall. She loved it. She wished she could take time to explore the old growth forest. Ronon had also expressed a desire to hunt if they had any down time, but things with Michael were not likely to be easy.

She, Ronon and John were just carrying back some supplies for Beckett when he stepped out of the medical Quonset to meet them.

"Colonel!" Beckett called in greeting. He moved over to the three of them looking into the crates. "Oh dear, are these the only ones left in the Jumper?"

John shifted the heavy crate in his arms. "No, these were the ones Gonzales said you needed."

Beckett blew out a frustrated sigh. "No, I'm afraid she was mistaken," he glanced over his shoulder towards the medical Quonset. "I should come show you the two I need," Beckett said.

"Or you could get them," Ronon pointed out.

"They would be heavy," Beckett countered innocently. Kai bit back a laugh.

"Right," Ronon sighed dryly.

"All right, all right," John said and he set his crate down beside the storage Quonset. The others followed suit. "Let's go back and get your stuff before we lose the light."

"I don't want to leave with just Teyla inside with Michael," Beckett hedged.

"I'll stay," Kai volunteered.

Both John and Ronon shot her an indignant look for beating them to volunteering to stay. None of them were excited about the prospect of making the several mile hike back to the Jumper. Kai flashed the two a triumphant smile and stepped towards the Quonset.

"Right, let's go gentlemen," Beckett said happily.

Kai snorted as Ronon and John groaned. She watched them walk out of the clearing before turning back to the med Quonset. She nodded to the two guards at the door and stepped inside. Teyla was standing next to the gurney, blocking Kai's view of Michael. Her body was stiff and she was oddly still. Kai listened, but all she could hear were the steady beats of Teyla and Michael's hearts inside.

"Teyla?" Kai asked, frowning. When Teyla didn't respond Kai took another step deeper than into the room. "Teyla," she said more firmly. Something was very wrong, and her hand instinctively dropped to rest on the handle of one of her Blades.

She heard a gun click beside her. "Teyla can't talk right now," a voice growled to her left.

Kai turned just in time to see Michael raise a gun and point it at her head. Kai froze.

"Hand off your Blade Mortii," Michael growled.

Kai lifted her hands up in the air. Michael pulled in a deep breath through his nostrils and a shudder ran through his body. "Delicious," he growled. He kept his eyes glued on Kai as he spoke. "Teyla disarm the Mortii," his voice was low and although Kai didn't feel anything there must have been a psychic push behind the command because Teyla stepped up to her obediently. Her expression was completely blank as Teyla did as she was told. She found and removed all of Kai's knives, tossing all of them together in an impressive pile at their feet. When she was done Teyla stepped back and turned to Michael obediently waiting for her next order.

"Secure her hands behind her back with my restraints," Michael ordered.

Teyla took the medical restraints off the gurney and came over to secure them.

"Tightly," Michael snapped and Teyla listened without question.

Kai gritted her teeth, but with Michael pointing a gun in her face there wasn't really much she could do. Initially she had thought she could wait for her chance to escape, but when Teyla cinched down the padded handcuffs she realized she would be lucky to have any feeling left in her fingers in the next ten minutes.

Teyla stepped back to Michael's side and looked up at him placidly. He stared down at her with an intensity that made Kai
uncomfortable. "I'm sorry it has to be this way," he said. He cocked his head to the side and stared at her face a little wistfully. He sighed and without warning slammed the butt of the gun against Teyla's temple. Teyla fell to the ground unconscious.

Kai shifted her weight subtly. Michael's eyes snapped back to her and he narrowed them menacingly. While he was clearly torn when it came to Teyla he seemed very sure that Kai was a threat.

"Move," Michael ordered, shoving Kai towards the door with the gun pressed between her shoulder blades. "You're going to be my ticket onto the first Hive ship we find."

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John was exhausted. It was getting late and he had been up for over twenty-four hours. Even the uncomfortable cots in the barracks sounded appealing at this point. He and Ronon followed Beckett back to the Medic Quonset carrying the crates.

As they neared the door Sheppard frowned. "Where are the guards..." he dragged off.

They hustled through the door.

"Teyla!" Beckett exclaimed. She was unconscious on the ground with a small trickle of blood coming from her temple.

Sheppard's eyes snapped to the gurney where Michael had been secured but he was gone. He dumped the crate on the ground unceremoniously and moved to the gurney. Only one set of restraints were still attached to the metal rail. He swore.

Ronon leaned back in the door. "Found the guards," he called.

"Kai?" John asked.

Ronon shook his head, his eyes were hard and angry. He had tried to warm everyone over and over how dangerous the Wraith could be, and now he had Kai.

John pulled his gun and jogged out to join him. He turned the corner and stopped. The two men who had been guarding the door had been shot and dragged around the side of the building. John's hand tightened on the grip of his gun. If Michael was willing to kill his men so freely there was no telling what had happened to Kai.

Ronon was crouched a few feet away, his eyes on the ground. "Looks like he's headed up the ridge," Ronon said.

"Kai?" John asked again, he was almost afraid of the answer.

Ronon nodded, his face a rage filled mask. "She's with him and on her feet," he said grimly. It was at least something.

John reached up to touch his comm. "Bravo team Michael has escaped, heading north west towards the ridge line. Be advised he has taken Zian hostage. Ronon and I are in pursuit." John turned to Beckett. "Stay with Teyla!" he called.

"This way!" Ronon called, his head lowered as he tracked the two sets of prints through the soft forest dirt. The two men took off in pursuit, both of them worried about Kai.

Ronon slowed a few times but for the first hour was able to follow the tracks at a steady jog. He stopped as the wooded trail split. Ronon knelt down and gently touched the dirt while Sheppard paced around him impatiently, keeping his eyes on the trees. "He's changing directions," Ronon told him grimly. "Their tracks are difficult to follow...he's good," he allowed begrudgingly.

"But you can follow him right," John said, he was trying to be glib, but it came out sharper than he intended. "I mean that's your thing," he added to soften his tone.

Ronon shot John a disgruntled look.

"Among many other things," John assured him, holding his hands up placatingly. John was good in the woods but even he was turned around by now. He knew Ronon cared about Kai and was worried, but John's gut was tied in ugly knots. Kai could take care of herself, but she wasn't the easiest captive to keep. There was only one reason a Wraith would risk kidnapping her. He swallowed and turned another circle as he waited on Ronon. He hated feeling helpless like this. He needed to keep moving, to do something.

"This way," Ronon called and they turned off the main game trail into the underbrush.

They slowed as they came upon two more bodies. John frowned down at them. That was five of his men who had died at Michael's hand. "These are the SO's that were guarding the gate," he said urgently.

They both froze as they heard the sound of a wormhole being established. "The gate just activated!" John called unnecessarily and the two of them sprinted through the trees towards the gate. They cleared the trees just in time to see Michael forcing Kai across the event horizon.

"Kai!" John called. He slowed, reaching for his gun, but Ronon kept sprinting forward.

Michael swung around, holding Kai in front of him as a human shield. "You're too late Colonel!" Michael called, his voice had already dropped back to the guttural growl of a Wraith.

John pulled his gun, but he didn't have a clear shot. He wouldn't risk Kai. Kai met John's eyes fearlessly as Michael hauled her backwards across the event horizon.

Ronon threw himself towards the gate, but the wormhole closed and he landed on the ground on the other side of the inactive ring with a thud.

"Damnit!" Ronon snarled, slamming his fists against the grass. He could feel his rage gnawing at his insides. He hated Michael more than he had ever hated a single wraith before, and if he hurt Kai it wouldn't matter what Sheppard it Weir said. The bastard would die slow.

"We need to figure out the last address dialed if possible," John muttered staring down at the control panel. Without Kai no one on the planet knew how to do that. He was going to have to bring Rodney in from Atlantis. "We need McKay to figure this out."

"No we don't," Ronon called. "Look," he said holding up a rock with gate symbols carved drawn on it. "A present from Kai."

"That's our girl," John said appreciatively and he immediately began dialing the gate. He didn't know how she managed, but Kai had left them the full gate address of where Michael was taking her.

"Do you recognize the address?"John asked Ronon.

Ronon shook his head grimly and pulled his gun from his hip. The two of them ran through the gate to find it was nearing dusk on the other side. This planet was much colder than the alpha site and John could see his breath as they oriented themselves to the new space. The wormhole closed behind them and John realized belatedly he had broken protocol and not reported where they were headed. There was no going back now, and he wouldn't waste another minute with Kai in Michael's hands military protocol be damned. All that mattered was getting her back.

Ronon pulled a small flashlight out of his belt and began inspecting the ground around the gate. "This way," he called.

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"What is this place?" Kai asked as she looked around the new planet. It wasn't a location she recognized and Michael seemed disoriented as he shoved her ahead of him down a rocky trail.

Michael was becoming more unstable as the minutes passed. She shivered in the cold night air of the new planet, wishing she was wearing her jacket and not just her long sleeve black athletic shirt under her tec vest. The wraith never seemed bothered by the cold but she wasn't sure if he was wraith enough yet to enjoy their resistance. Every passing minute seemed to bring his closer and closer to converting back to one of them.

"It doesn't matter," Michael growled at her.

They moved through the dense woods for a couple hours before Kai could hear the distinct sound of a settlement ahead of them. She slowed and he shoved the gun into her back again.

"Why are you slowing down?"

"How much further do I have to walk?" Kai snapped. She was freezing and exhausted and honestly beginning to wonder if John and Ronon had found the message she left for them.

"We'll rest up ahead."

"No-" she started to say and Michael backhanded her viciously.

Without her hands she couldn't catch herself and she landed hard on her shoulder. Her face throbbed as Michael jerked her to her feet and shoved her ahead of him.

"We're nearly there. Quit fighting or I'll leave your corpse here for the Colonel to find."

They traveled for almost another hour before Kai slowed again. "I can hear Wraith ahead. You're still human and they're just as much your enemy as mine."

"But I'm not human, not anymore," he growled.

Kai spun around and in the growing gloom she could see he had fully reverted to Wraith. His skin had the silvery tint to it, his nose slits had returned and his eyes had reverted to the unsettling light green that reminded her all too well of when John had been infected with the retrovirus.

She was really beginning to hate the retrovirus.

They crested a ridge and in the valley below a Wraith cruiser was parked. "This is what I was drawn to." His voice was without doubt wraith now.

"So you brought me back to barter your way on board?" Kai challenged.

"At first. Queen's are naturally distrustful of males from other hives. Mortii's are known for the potency of their life forces. They are tempting to any wraith. And now that I'm at last able to feed again..." he dragged off looking down at his hand in wonder. "I can satiate the temptation I've felt
since I met you."

Michael grabbed her by the vest and jerked her towards him. He drew in a deep breath through his nose as though he were savoring the scent. Then in a lightning fast move he ripped the neck of her shirt under her vest and pulled his hand back.

Three gunshots echoed so loudly she flinched. Michael froze for a moment in confusion before he dropped to the ground.

Kai's chin snapped up to see John and Ronon in the trees. Behind her she could hear the running feet of Wraith soldiers The sound of the gunshots had drawn the other Wraith to their exact position.

Kai ran for John and Ronon. "They're coming," She warned as the first stunner shot hit a tree to her left.

John began firing at them as Ronon grabbed Kai and jerked her back out of the line of fire. John stayed in position to cover their retreat as Ronon quickly cut her hands free.

"Fall back!" John called and they all ran through the darkness of the forest back towards the gate.

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The debriefing went better than John expected. He had fully expected Elizabeth to chew them all out for losing Michael and for breaking protocol. He was guessing the imminent threat of another Wraith attack had her too distracted to chastise him and Ronon. Now that Michael was back with them and his memory was intact it was truly only a matter of time before they attacked again.

John was exhausted but he wanted to check on Kai. Teyla was being kept overnight for observation after being knocked unconscious. Beckett had also looked Kai over on their return and cleared her immediately despite the impressive bruising on one side of her face. John couldn't shake the knowledge that they had almost been too late. A few seconds slower and he could have lost her. He needed to reassure himself that she was all right if he was going to get any sleep.

He found Kai on a balcony overlooking the waves. She was alone, sitting on the top rail dangling her feet over the edge. "Haven't had enough danger for one day?" he teased tiredly.

Kai had heard the door open of course, but didn't turn around until John stepped up beside her. She glanced up at him. There were tired lines under his eyes. She flashed him a teasing smile. "I told you I'm pretty good at finding danger."

John snorted and stepped up next to her resting his hands on the top of the railing.

"Yeah," John agreed and he sounded exhausted again.

Kai turned her body towards him. She could see how much he was beating himself up over what had happened today. It wasn't fair. "You know what happened today wasn't your fault."

John shook his head. "I should have-" he started to say but Kai turned, swinging her legs down so she was standing in front of him.

Kai lifted her chin determinedly and waited until John met her gaze. "It wasn't your fault," she said more firmly. "I chose to be there. Weir chose to keep him alive. Beckett chose to develop the retrovirus after all the havoc it has created in the past. Everyone was part of this. You can't just blame yourself."

John sighed. "You're probably right."

Kai smirked up at him. "I usually am."

John expression turned serious and his warm fingers traced the edge of the dark bruising left on her face from when Michael struck her. "I should have killed him," John said in a low tone.

"I wish I could have," she replied honestly.

John sighed and let his hand drop. He wanted so badly to just pull Kai into his arms and not let her go, but there was so much to do.

"So..." Kai dragged off, wanting to make things better. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say I am not a fan of the retrovirus."

John laughed out loud. He leaned against the railing beside her and looked out over the peaceful ocean. "I'm with you on that one," he agreed.

Kai smiled to herself. She was more pleased than she wanted to admit that she had been able to make him laugh despite all that had happened that day. "Do you think we finish watching Star Wars?"

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I hope you enjoyed the chapter!