Hello everyone! It's been a little while since I updated. Summer is unfortunately an extremely busy time for my job. I just wanted to thank everyone so much for all the encouragement and inquiries about this story. It means so much to me to know that so many people out there love this story and it honestly keeps me writing. Thank you, you are the best readers a girl could ask for.
Kai and John are back!
Happy Reading
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"If John dies, I swear to you here and now the two of you will join him."
Kai's angry words chased themselves around Elizabeth's mind as she tried to reconcile what had just happened. Elizabeth was still slightly in shock. She had never in her time as leader been struck before and Kai's outburst had seemed to come out of nowhere. In all her experience with the Mortii over the last couple years, Kai had always seemed so in control, but now she didn't know what to think.
Elizabeth stood in her office and held an ice pack against her cheek. Pain radiated from the spot and it was already starting to bruise and swell. Carson frowned at her in concern, but her eyes were locked on Kai who was still standing in the control room near the viewing screen where she had been since they had last seen John being fed on by a wraith. Kai had her hands locked around the railing and was leaning forward with her head hanging as she worked on getting herself back under control. McKay was hovering over her shoulder looking uncomfortable but seemed to have made the wise decision to not speak.
"I've never seen her like that," Elizabeth told Carson in a hollow voice. She turned and met Carson's gaze with a frown of confusion.
"Like what, dear?" Carson asked gently.
"She seemed so..." Elizabeth dragged off, unsure how to explain what she had seen in Kai's eyes without sounds melodramatic. "...dangerous," she finally settled on, shrugging her shoulders helplessly.
Ronon pushed himself off the wall where he had been silently leaning near the door. "She is dangerous," he said.
Elizabeth's eyes cut to Ronon in surprise. He had originally been the one to pull Elizabeth away into her office before she could say anything that would set Kai off worse. Teyla had taken Ladon down to the mess for the same reason under the guise of feeding him. No one had been fooled. Elizabeth had been so shocked by being struck she had missed the almost effortless way the two had stepped in and separated them, effectively giving Kai the space she needed.
Ronon would have rather of stayed with Kai, she was the one who needed him, but McKay was a lot less likely to manage Weir into giving Kai time to cool down. Elizabeth was normally so good at reading people. Ronon didn't understand how Elizabeth had missed the icy rage building in Kai. She had seen the tears streaming down Kai's cheeks and assumed she was vulnerable and defeated. Ronon had never seen Kai vulnerable a day in her life, and when it came to John he knew Kai would never accept defeat.
"But she-" Elizabeth started to say and she shook her head again.
"She's a Mortii," Ronon growled. "And your actions endangered and have possibly killed Sheppard. What did you think was going to happen?" He asked stoically.
Carson looked back and forth between them. He had been called in to make sure Elizabeth's cheekbone hadn't been broken from Kai's strike. It was clear it was shock more than pain that had Elizabeth out of sorts. It would bruise a little, but Kai had clearly pulled her strength.
"I didn't-" Elizabeth started to deny.
"You did," Ronon said briskly, leaving no room for argument. He wasn't going to sugarcoat this for Elizabeth he absolutely was going to make her own up to the consequences of her decisions. "And you're lucky she held back the way she did."
"Held back?" Elizabeth challenged. "She struck a superior, she-"
"She can land me on my back half the time we spar. You're standing and your jaw isn't broken," Ronon said coolly. "What else would you call it?" It was clear by his tone that Ronon was no less upset with Weir than Kai over her decision to protect Ladon.
Elizabeth refused to let Ronon see how unnerved she was, she lifted her chin defiantly as she faced down the large Satedan. "John would never have wanted me to-"
"But John isn't here, Kai is. She's who you are dealing with. And if you think for one second that John wouldn't be just as upset if their roles were reversed..." Ronon drug off then he shrugged and shook his head in disgust.
Elizabeth opened her mouth to argue more but Carson laid a gentle but firm hand on her arm. She flinched and turned to lock gazes with him. "Elizabeth," he said gently. "This whole time, you have been doubting Kai's commitment to the Colonel. Do you still doubt her?"
Elizabeth froze for a second as his question went over her. She pressed her lips together in a grim line and slowly shook her head. She handed him back the ice pack and closed her hand over his briefly. "You're right," she said, all the anger draining out of her. "She made it clear how she feels about him."
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John lay on the floor of his cell, panting. His whole body was radiating pain. He had a high tolerance for pain, but being fed on by a wraith hurt more than he could have possibly imagined. He was shocked he hadn't passed out, he could feel his pulse pounding through his whole body and his muscles ached.
"They called you Sheppard," the voice from the neighboring cell rumbled.
"Yeah, that's my name. Pleased to meet you," John panted. He somehow managed to keep his voice light as he forced himself to breath past the pain. Every cell in his body felt like it had been squeezed and wrung out.
"You are in pain?" His neighbor asked.
"Well, I just got fed on by a wraith, what do you think?" John snarked back. His pain made him less patient than he should have been with the other prisoner. He forced himself to take another deep breath and be patient. He needed to be making friends for a potential alliance, not being an asshole.
"I would not know," the prisoner said calmly, not seeming at all put off by John's less-than-friendly tone.
"Hopefully, you'll never have to find out." John groaned as he pushed himself up to sitting. Pain radiated through his whole body and his muscles struggled to work. "I didn't think anything could hurt that much," he said with a grimace.
"You are still alive," his neighbor said simply.
"Yeah, well I don't know how many years the damn thing took off my life, but I'll tell you this, if Kolya's men hadn't pulled that damn thing off, I'd be dust in a flak jacket."
There was a long pause before his neighbor spoke again. "Do you blame the Wraith or the master?" he asked.
John shrugged. "I'm gonna go with both," he wasn't sure but it seemed like his neighbor had been down here a long time without social interaction. There was something off in the way he spoke and his overly correct grammar.
"There is a difference," his neighbor pointed out. "The Wraith must feed in order to live. For Wraith, hunger burns like a fire."
John frowned as a bad feeling went over him. He pushed himself to his feet as silently as he could and eased his body towards the window to the adjoining cell.
"Tell me Sheppard, if you found yourself burning alive would you settle for just one drop of water or would you take more?" The prisoner asked him.
John stepped up to the window. His neighbor was standing in shadow, but for the first time his silhouette was visible. He was tall with broad shoulders and long, ropey hair.
"Where'd you hear them call me Sheppard?" John asked suspiciously, knowing already he wasn't going to like the answer.
His neighbor moved closer to the window, prowling up to the bars, his entire body bathed in shadows. He stepped into the light, his green tinted skin and yellow eyes gleaming hungrily. "Just before I started to feed."
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Elizabeth called the others to the conference room, and as they began returning to the control room Kai slipped out of the side door and onto the balcony. She was positive she wasn't welcome and the crowding people were too much. She couldn't decide which looks she hated more, the ones who now watched her with wariness that bordered on fear, or the pity. She quickly realized the pity came from those who had already given up on John. They believed he was already lost to them. She couldn't deal with that.
Kai leaned against the railing and locked her eyes on the waves as she closed her eyes. She had gone too far, she knew that, she knew there would be repercussions for striking Elizabeth, but she couldn't find it in herself to be sorry. Had they been on her home planet she would have challenged Elizabeth right then in the ring. When it came to John she would not be forgiving.
Kai pulled her ear piece out and slid it into her pocket. She needed to be alone to clear her mind, think and come up with her own plan. She wasn't going to sit by and do nothing while Elizabeth let John die. She couldn't. Ronon would be an ally, regardless of the danger or consequences of whatever plan she came up with. Teyla and McKay were harder to judge if they would be willing to go against Elizabeth. For John they just might, he had a way of inspiring that kind of loyalty. It was one of the things she had always admired about him.
Kai ground her teeth. With John gone the Bond was a cavernous, empty space in her chest that she couldn't ignore. She was hollowed out, and it felt like she couldn't take a deep enough breath. She was starving to death, but knew it wasn't food she needed. She hung her head and scrubbed at her eyes. It was becoming hard to focus. She needed a plan, a path forward that she could execute.
Behind her, the door slid open. Kai didn't bother turning around. She could smell and hear Elizabeth. She listened as the other woman hesitated before stepping out onto the balcony. Kai had barely hit her, it was little more than a warning strike, but she could hear her hesitation and the way her heartbeat spiked.
"Kai," Elizabeth said her name uncertainly. She cleared her throat uncomfortably but waited.
Kai drew in a steadying breath and turned to face the leader of Atlantis. Elizabeth shifted her weight uncomfortably but pushed on. "We are meeting in the conference room to discuss our next step. I would like for you to join us."
"Would you?" Kai asked, tilting her head.
Elizabeth sniffed and clasped her hands together, but she refused to look away as Kai held her gaze trapped in her eerie grey eyes. Kai was capable of an alien stillness that reminded Elizabeth that she was not human and exactly how dangerous she could be.
"I think you should be there. I think it's our best chance to come up with a plan to save John," Elizabeth said.
"So now you want to save him?" Kai snapped.
Elizabeth pressed her lips together in a firm line. "I will not be bullied into trading one life for another. By either Kolya or you," she said firmly. "If you would like to help us rescue John then follow me. If not...then you are free to make your own decisions. But I would think seriously about whether you would like a place here if John doesn't make it back."
With that Elizabeth turned and marched into the conference room. Kai sighed, but trailed behind her. When she entered she found McKay, Elizabeth, Teyla and Carson all seated on one side of the table and Ladon was on the other side. Ronon stood just over Ladon's shoulder, leaning against the wall as he sneered down at the Genii leader. Kai moved over to take a place beside Ronon.
"I think you should begin at the beginning," Elizabeth was saying. "Tell us why Kolya is seeking you specifically, and what he hopes to gain from this."
Ladon looked across the table at Weir, his hands neatly folded in front of him. "Of course you would see Kolya only as the monster who tried to take your city from you," Ladon said.
"Kolya also killed several of our people," Weir pointed out.
"He would have killed Doctor Weir as well," Teyla added.
"I won't make excuses for his actions," Ladon said calmly. "or mine during the failed Atlantis mission. We were soldiers under Cowen's orders. But that failure shattered Kolya's stature among the Genii. It forced him from Cowen's inner circle."
"You managed to stay," Elizabeth noted.
Ladon shrugged self importantly. "Cowen had no choice but to keep me. I was his chief Scientist."
"And you just left Kolya out in the cold?" McKay asked.
"That was his choice, not mine. I will admit in what little contact we had before Kolya went underground, he spoke of overthrowing Cowen's corrupt regime, and I was admittedly torn."
"Out of loyalty to Cowen?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.
"Out of the belief that neither man had what it took to lead the Genii into the future."
"So, instead, you, having what it took, overthrew Cowen yourself." McKay snapped.
"Kolya believes I have taken his rightful place as leader of our people," Ladon said.
"No wonder he's pissed," Ronon spoke up gruffly.
"Well obviously he has men loyal to him in your inner circle, hence the codes," Elizabeth pointed out, her voice tight with accusation.
"Well those traitors will be found," Ladon assured them.
"Sounds like you're the traitor to me," Ronon said pushing himself up off the wall to loom over the back of Ladon's chair.
"Must he be here?" Ladon asked cracking his neck uncomfortably, although he never took his eyes off of Doctor Weir.
"The more I hear, the more I'm glad he is," Elizabeth responded with a charming smile.
Ladon drew in a steadying breath. "I could have told you anything. I chose to tell you the truth. If you trade my life for Sheppard not only will you be yielding to blackmail, but you will be planting the seeds of civil war."
"So what? I say we turn him over and let them fight it out," Ronon snapped, his patience beginning to falter.
"We can't do that," McKay said dismissively.
"Why not?" Ronon challenged.
McKay hesitated, his brow furrowing as he tried to think of a reason why they couldn't. "Because...well...can we?" he asked turning to Elizabeth.
"Colonel Sheppard has already ordered us not to," Teyla said in a low tone. Her eyes flickered up to where Kai had stood like a silent statue through the whole exchange. Teyla's heart hurt for Kai and the pain she must be going through.
Elizabeth nodded. "At this point it's not his decision. There is still time for us to find him and launch a rescue mission. Has there been any progress?" she asked turning her attention off of Ladon to McKay.
"We have a list of planets where recent Genii activity has been documented, but we'd have a much higher margin of success if Ladon would be willing to point out firm locations of Genii safe houses and shelters. Maybe even hidden Wraith infested torture chambers," McKay said pointedly.
Kai perked up at that. If there was a way to narrow down the possible planets she had somewhere to start searching regardless of what Elizabeth decided to do.
Elizabeth turned to Ladon and raised an expectant eyebrow.
Ronon and Kai both took a menacing step towards his chair so they were looming over his shoulder. Ladon glanced up at them and his mouth flattened into a grim frown. It was very clear he had no choice in the matter. He nodded his agreement.
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John paced back and forth, his rage renewing the energy the wraith, the one standing not three feet from him, had taken.
"Your anger will only weaken you," the wraith pointed out unhelpfully.
"I don't think so," John snarled. His rage burned hot through him, it made him want blood.
"You realize he is torturing us both?" the wraith asked calmly.
"Oh yeah?" John challenged, striding towards the bars. "What did he do to you?"
"He stopped me!" the wraith snarled, at last John's sarcasm had managed to push the wraith past his patience. John couldn't help feeling a little bit proud of that. Seemed it didn't matter the species. He could piss anyone out of behaving rationally.
"Really? And how is that torture?" John asked sardonically.
The wraith calmed himself and when he spoke his voice was level once more. "Have you ever known starvation, Sheppard?"
John hesitated as memories surged through him. He had when he had been captured in Afghanistan. He hadn't eaten for almost two weeks. It had been worse than the physical torture they had put him through. Then there was the time he and Kai had been stranded on the Wraith planet. The hunger hadn't been as bad for him as watching Kai starve and knowing there was nothing he was powerless to stop it. The feeling of helplessness still haunted his nightmares.
The wraith noticed his hesitation and continued. "The few years I took from you are barely enough to keep me alive. The strength I gained from you is already fading."
"I don't really give a damn," John growled.
"You pace in your cell cursing that I took years from you. I stand here cursing I was not allowed them all. Each in our own way, we suffer."
John snarled and charged at the bars wrapping his hands around them. "This might come as a surprise to you, but I'm not really in the mood for conversation. So why don't you just do me a favor and shut the hell up!" John roared.
The wraith slammed his metal covered feeding hand against the bars, making John jumped. The wraith smiled sinisterly. "These are your last hours Sheppard. If you wish to spend them in silence, then, so be it."
"No," John argued. "I'm getting out of here. I've got a life to get back to and I'm damn well going back to it."
"You're sure of that," the wraith observed.
"Yeah. I've got friends and they're gonna come for me," John said sitting down with a groan.
"I hope you continue to believe that the next time I feed," the wraith snarled.
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McKay and Ladon remained in the conference room to begin comparing lists. Kai pulled out her laptop and joined in the search. She did as they instructed, but also began compiling her own list. Planets that maybe weren't as likely, but she wasn't willing to rule out.
Outside the conference room. She overheard Beckett pull Elizabeth aside. "Elizabeth, I'm just saying, if you decide in favor of trading for Colonel Sheppard, it would be better to do so before the next feeding. I honestly don't know how many sessions a man can take...even someone as strong as Colonel Sheppard," Beckett added gently.
Kai closed her eyes. It wasn't anything she didn't already know, but hearing Beckett's grave tone made it that much more real.
"We got it," McKay said in a low tone in disbelief. "We got it!" He exclaimed.
"Where?" Kai demanded, but McKay was already moving. He charged out of the conference room waving his tablet. "Doctor Weir!" McKay called. "We've got a match!" he said holding up his tablet triumphantly. "We went through the database. Between our list and Ladon's there's only one potential location that would make sense."
"Go," Elizabeth said forcefully.
Kai didn't hesitate. "I need a team of marines ready in ten minutes," she barked at Elizabeth.
If Elizabeth had a problem with Kai giving the orders she didn't show it. Instead she nodded sharply and reached up to touch her earpiece. Kai whirled back to face McKay, Teyla and Ronon. "Ten minutes," she told them and she turned and ran to the locker room to gear up.
Five minutes later everyone was back in the gate room. Kai double checked the handgun she had strapped to her hip as she waited for the Stargate to activate.
McKay strutted up and down the line of marines. "All right people, let's do this one by the numbers. We get in, we get our man, we get out. Stay sharp and stay alive."
"What are you on about?" Beckett asked scowling at McKay.
Looking sheepish McKay glanced back at the men. "Oh I just thought...just some things Sheppard would say so I-"
"Well said Rodney," Teyla assured him gently.
"Stay behind me," Ronon rumbled and he pulled his gun, switching the setting to kill. His eyes met Kai's and he nodded once to her reassuringly. They would get Sheppard back. The star gate opened and Kai and Ronon stepped through side by side.
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John was strapped to the chair once more. He understood torture, but not the spectacle of this. He hated that Kolya was using his pain to try and influence the people back on Atlantis. He tried not to think too hard about Kai's reaction to the video's. He knew what he would be like if the situation was reversed and he only hoped that Ronon and Teyla were there for her. He doubted Elizabeth would be able to manage her.
"I thought you said this wasn't personal," he growled at Kolya as he checked the bindings himself.
Kolya shrugged with a smirk. "The truth is I would have settled for Doctor McKay, but I wouldn't imagine I would have enjoyed his constant wailing. Beyond that, I doubt there's anyone Weir would be persuaded to make the trade for."
"They're never going to make the trade Kolya," John assured him calmly. "Why don't you just finish this," he said jerking his chin towards the gun on Kolya's hip.
Kolya followed his line of sight and glanced at the gun on his hip. He snorted and turned back to meet John's gaze. "I think you underestimate the sympathetic nature of Dr. Weir."
"Well then you underestimate Elizabeth," John countered, but he had his doubts. Elizabeth was strong, and he was sure his command would hold through the first feeding. He wasn't sure what would happen after this next one. Either with Elizabeth or with himself. How many more years could he afford to lose? How long until he lost himself completely?
"You prefer I storm Atlantis and take Ladon by force?" Kolya asked.
John snorted in disbelief and grinned up at Kolya. "What've you got? Half a dozen men and a starving wraith? Yeah, go right ahead," John encouraged with a smirk.
Kolya's mouth flattened in annoyance. As usual John seemed to know exactly how to get untder Kolya's skin. "One way or the other Ladon is mine. Protecting him was a waste of my time and your life."
John cocked his head to the side. "What did he do to you?"
Kolya's jaw tightened but surprisingly he answered. "I was the one planning on overthrowing Cowen. Ladon disclosed those plans, forcing me underground, then staged a coup of his own. He took what was rightfully mine," Kolya turned to his men. "Bring in the wraith."
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They stepped through the Stargate and Kai hesitated. She closed her eyes and went very still. She heard the wormhole close behind her and the marines moving all around her, but she blocked them out, focusing only on the gaping hole in her chest. She reached for that cavernous pain and pushed, but nothing came back. There was no answering push, no warmth. John wasn't here.
Her eyes fluttered open"He's not here," she reported. She whirled around and stalked back to dial back to Atlantis. This was a waste of time.
McKay looked back at her a frown on his face. "He could be somewhere shielded, where his bio tracker is blocked," he stammered staring down at the life signs scanner in his hand.
"They can't keep him from me," she snapped impatiently. "He is nowhere on this planet," she growled punching in the gate address.
"How would you know? What some kind of assassin voo doo? We can't take the risk that you're wrong," McKay's voice rose as fear choked him. He couldn't have been wrong about this. If he was wrong then he may have just cost Sheppard his life.
"Fine leave a team, let them search but I'm not wrong." She snarled and she swung around to punch in the last symbol of the gate address. She sent her IDC and as soon as the wormhole opened she stormed through into the gate room.
Unsure what else to do McKay followed ranting and yelling. "How do you know? He could still be there! You could be wrong! If you have some kind of tracker I need to see it to make sure they weren't blocking you! We have to be sure!"
Carson, Teyla and Ronon all followed into the gate room, leaving the team of marines behind to search for Sheppard.
"Rodney," Teyla called in a soothing voice, trying to get him to calm down. They were all worried about the colonel, but they couldn't turn on each other.
Kai's fear and impatience got the better of her and she whirled on McKay, not caring who else was listening. "It's right here," she snapped and she tapped her temple.
McKay pulled up with a frown. "What?" He asked in confusion. "Some kind of Cyborg or implant-"
"McKay," Ronon snarled, he understood what Kai was saying and McKay needed to back off.
Rodney swung back around to face Ronon, his face red with fury. "No! I'm not-"
"It's a Bond!" Kai finally shouted to be heard over McKay's ranting.
The team all froze as Kai uttered the words they had all suspected but never confirmed. Carson looked down at his hands, hating that something so private and so personal had just been shared with so many people, all because Rodney didn't know when to back off. Elizabeth froze at the railing as she heard the words she dreaded that would seal Kai and John's ill-fated relationship. It was like all of the air went out of the room and everyone in the gate room and control room above went still as Kai's words rang out in the space.
"It's a Mortii Bond. Believe me when I tell you they can't hide him from me. I can feel him. He is my Bonded."
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I hope you enjoyed the update!
Thank you all for your amazing comments, votes and support! For my fellow Americans, Happy Independence Day! Hope you had a great holiday!