Disclaimer: All characters of StarGate and StarGate Atlantis belongs to their respective writers and MGM. This is a work of fan fiction. I just want to play with them for a while.

Missing

Cold.

She was so damned cold and her head and her back hurt like hell. Her hands weren't any better. Susan shivered and rolled over on her side, pulling her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to find at least a little bit of warmth. But even that was torture when she felt the sting of the wound opening up on her back. Warm blood trickled down her back and she bit her lip to try and keep from whimpering.

Her heart started to beat fast and for a moment she felt sheer terror. God, where was she? She closed her eyes. She remembered the attack, remembered the hand on the back of her head and the feel of the knife going into her back. After that she didn't remember a damn thing.

Suddenly her mind went to Sheppard and she had to choke back a sob. She was such a damn idiot! Why the hell hadn't she left him a note telling him where she was going? He was probably still asleep and didn't even know she was gone.

Stop it! She gave herself a mental slap on the side of the head. This wasn't the time to go all to pieces. It was a hell of an effort not to and she had to fight to make herself calm down. Even if she didn't know what time it was or where the hell she was, at least she was still alive. She had to be. She hurt too damn much to be dead.

Maybe, just maybe, If Sheppard were still asleep, maybe Teyla would go and look for him if she didn't show up for their morning meeting. She sighed and shook her head. There were a million things that could happen and her mind wanted to play with everyone of them. But she couldn't let herself get caught up in the what ifs right now. She just hoped that Sheppard coming to look for her once he realized that she was missing, was one of them.

If he didn't she'd just have to find a way to get out of this mess herself. The first thing she had to do was stop acting like a fool. She'd told Sheppard that she wasn't some damsel in distress and she was going to be damned if she'd start acting like one now.

She took a deep breath and slowed her breathing, straining her ears to try and listen. At first there was nothing and then faintly she heard something soft, like the gentle hiss of rain falling. Was that water? She reached out a hand and her fingers brushed over something cold, hard and a little damp.

She jerked back then clenched her fingers and reached out again. It took her a few seconds to realize that the thing under her hand was a wall. She held her hand up to her nose. She could smell the mold on her fingers and under that a faint hint of salt. Where the hell was she?

Well, she wasn't going to find out just laying there. Gritting her teeth against the pain she eased over on her belly and tried to push herself up on her hands and knees. It was agony but somehow she managed to do it.

Breathing hard, she hung her head down and rested for a minute. A faint sound caught her ears and she looked up. By now her eyes had adjusted to the darkness a little and she could make out faint shapes. It looked like she was in some kind of storage room. She shook her head and gave a snort of disgust. Hell, it could have been a damn broom closet and she wouldn't have known the difference.

But that didn't matter now. What mattered was the sound steadily coming toward her. It was muffled but the closer it came, the more she realized it was the sound of foot steps. She listened intently. Two people. They came closer and she started to hear voices. A man and a woman. And they were definitely arguing.

A cold chill ran down her spine when she recognized the voices. Shit. When had those two gotten together? She eased back. Her brain was yelling at her to run, to hide. But how the hell was she supposed to do that when she didn't even know which way to go? And as weak as she was, she wouldn't have gotten very far before they caught up with her.

Her head jerked up at the sound of a sharp, angry retort. It hurt her head, but she strained her ears trying to listen. But it was no use because the words were muffled and she couldn't understand what they were saying. After a few minutes, she heard one set of footsteps move away from the door. She knew the sound of that rapid walk and from the sound of the boot heels clicking loudly on the floor, she knew that Sharon was madder than hell.

“Anything?” John turned around when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. A look of hope crossed his face when he saw who was coming up behind him. Then quickly faded when Lorne frowned and shook his head.

“No, sir.” Lorne told him. He was tired. They'd been searching since the word had gone out that Doctor Walker was missing and they hadn't stopped for a break yet. From the look on his Commander's face it didn't look like they were going to get one anytime soon either.

“Then you're not looking hard enough.” John snapped as he headed out of the control room and turned back down the stairway. “Take a couple of teams and start searching the hallways underneath the city. We'll be close behind.” He turned and looked back at his team and saw Teyla looking at him with a worried frown.

“John...” Teyla glanced at Lorne's face. She could see the dark circles under his eyes, the wear set of his shoulders. “Perhaps you should set up some type of rest system for Major Lorne and the other teams...”

“No.” John cut her short. “I want every team we can spare searching the city.” He looked at Lorne and gave him a hard look. His eyes narrowed and his voice rose angrily. “What the hell are you standing around for? I gave you an order. Now get moving.”

Lorne glanced at her, shrugged slightly, hoisted his weapon and then turned and walked away.

“John-” Teyla tried again.

Sheppard turned on her. “If you are not going to help me than stay the hell out of my way, Teyla.” He turned and glared angrily at Ronan and Rodney standing on the steps behind her. “The same goes for the two of you.”

“John, stop it.” Teyla took a step toward him. “Pushing your men until they drop will not help us find her any sooner.”

“I don't have time to stop it, Teyla.” He snarled at her. “Susan is out there somewhere. She is hurt and probably scared as hell right now.” He would not let himself say dead. “I do not have time to stand around here arguing with you. Now, you can either help me find her or you can stay the fuck out of my way. Make your choice.”

He turned and angrily stalked away. He knew they were watching him. They probably thought he was crazy and right now he was. Crazy with pain. Crazy with fear. And worst of all...

Crazy with guilt.

His hands curled into fists, his fingers digging into his palms. He had thought if he moved her in with him, he could watch her. Protect her. Instead he'd let himself fall asleep at the switch and now she was out there somewhere and he had no damn idea of where he should even look. The city was so big. Jake could have her anywhere.

He knew that he was taking it out on Lorne, too. But damn it...he couldn't help it. Lorne was supposed to have been watching Jake but he had turned his back and let the little bastard slip away. Now, he had Susan and not even the saddest, guiltiest look on Lorne's face was going to let John forgive him for that mistake. How could he forgive Lorne when he couldn't forgive himself for the same damn thing?

John's face twisted into a grimace. Every time he closed his eyes he was back in her old quarters, the glass on the floor...the blood, her blood, staining the sheets where he'd lain with her. He didn't even care if Teyla had seen him go weak, his knees going out from him until he collapsed and lay there too stunned and terrified to even move.

Then the rage had come over him. Bitter and hard as steel. It wrapped around him, digging into his heart and his mind until there was nothing left but a stone cold determination. He was going to find and take back what was his and heaven help the bastard that had taken her away from him. When he caught him, he was going to strangle the son of a bitch with his bare hands.

He was nearly to the door of the closest transporter when he felt something brush his arm. He turned his head slightly and saw that Ronan had caught up with him. Teyla and Rodney were close behind. It was a tight fit but they all managed to fit inside and when the door closed, he pressed his finger to the panel.

When the door opened, he brushed past Teyla. He could feel her eyes watching him and he didn't need to look at her to see the expression on her face. He sighed inwardly. He knew she was right and he felt bad about talking to all of them the way he had, but right now he wasn't worried about hurting their feelings. Once they found Susan...alive...maybe, he would apologize for his behavior.

As they stepped out into the hallway, Rodney pulled the life signs detector from the pocket of his jacket. It came to life in his hand and he studied it intently then looked up at John and shook his head.

“Nobody but us.”

“Damn it.” John turned his head and looked down the hallway. The lights had brightened and he could still see the mark of their foot prints in the dust on the floor. Shit. He must have pressed his finger to the panel out of habit because this was not where he had intended to start their search.

“Someone has been here.” Teyla stepped closer, her dark eyes quickly scanning the surrounding area. “And recently.”

“Two people.” Ronan was on one knee, studying the marks. He looked at John as he stood up. “But from the looks of this dust I'd say it was probably a couple of days ago.” He glanced at Teyla and she nodded.

“I do not think Doctor Walker was one of them.” She looked at John and gave him a knowing look. “She would have been to hurt to walk.”

He looked away from her, his jaw tightening slightly. Rodney and Ronan glanced at one another. They could feel the tension between their friends and it was a little unnerving.

“No. She wouldn't.” John gave her a curt nod and turned back toward the door. Then he stopped when something caught his eye. There was another hallway leading away from this one. The times he had been here with Susan, he'd been too preoccupied to notice it before. He took a step forward and as he moved the lights began to brighten.

“Stop.” A hand reached out in front of him. Ronan pushed past him. He knelt down and picked something up from off the floor. Then he snorted and threw the thing away from him where it clattered and disappeared into the shadows. “Trash.” He stood up and wiped his hand on the front of his shirt. “Teyla's right. I don't think they came down here, Sheppard.”

“I thought you wanted to search every part of the city.” Rodney started forward, waving the LSD at Sheppard.

Teyla looked at John and then stepped in front of Rodney. John looked at her and narrowed his eyes when she shot him a look. Damn...what the hell did she know? A chill went up his spine. Sometimes he got the feeling that she could read his mind and this was definitely one of them.

“I agree with Ronan, as well. Someone has been here but not that recently. Perhaps we should turn our attentions to another part of the city.”

“What?” Rodney gave her a puzzled look. “How the hell can you tell anything just by looking at the dust?”

“Because we can.” Ronan growled.

“That's not an explanation-”

Rodney shook his head and John could tell he was about to launch into some long winded speech that he damn sure did not want to hear right now.

“Enough.” He said sharply, ignoring the startled look that Rodney gave him. “We don't have time to stand around and discuss Ronan and Teyla's tracking abilities.” He pointed a finger at Rodney and Teyla. “You two can start searching near the East pier. Chewie and I can take the South. Lorne and his men have already covered the North and are starting on the West. Now, come on. We've only got a few more hours of daylight left and I don't want to lose any of it-”

John was turning toward the door when he heard the sound of Lorne's voice in his ear.

“Sir, I think we found something.” The man sounded tired, worn out and drained.

A chill went down John's spine. “Where are you?” He demanded. “What did you find?”

“Section 24-B.” Lorne replied. “Somebody's been down here, sir. There are drag marks on the floor and something dark that looks like blood.”

“24-B? Where have I heard that before?” John looked at Rodney and tried not to let his fear show on his face at Lorne's mention of blood.

“It's an arm of the city that flooded when the shield failed. It was after we first got here. When we were still under water. We've been sending teams to try and clear it out, get some stuff that wasn't too water damaged cataloged. Haven't been down there in a while so it's still kind of a mess...” Rodney shrugged and decided that, considering the Colonel's present mood, mentioning his allergies right now would not be a good idea. “It's worth a shot.”

For the first time that day John started to feel a little bit of hope. God, if she was there...he swallowed hard as a cold hard knot started to form in his belly. He just prayed that he wasn't too late.

Susan listened. Her heart was pounding under the thin shirt and she was still freezing. She hunkered down, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. Sheppard's jacket was keeping her a little warm but the back of it and her shirt were stiff from where her blood had dried on it.

The palms of her hands were clammy and she clutched her fingers together to try and stop the shaking that was threatening to take her over. It got even worse when the door in front of her slid open and a bright light was suddenly thrust into her face.

She put up her hand, trying to block the light but a hard slap across the face sent her head rocking back against the wall behind her. Her teeth snapped together with a click and for a few minutes all she could see was stars.

A rough hand gripped her wrist. “Get up.”

“What?” She blinked. Her vision was still blurred and all she could see was a dark shape looming over her.

“Have it your way.” The hand jerked and she cried out when she was yanked forward. She tried to pull back but she was too weak and all she could do was let herself be dragged across the dirty floor and through the doorway.

After several horrible, gut wrenching minutes the hand let go of her and she fell back on the floor. She rolled over on her side, drawing in on herself and trying not to think about the awful burning pain in her back. Sweat broke out on her body and she squeezed her eyes shut. God, she wanted to throw up or pass out. Passing out would have been the better option because at least then she wouldn't be feeling like her insides were being yanked out through her ears.

“No time for napping now.” A booted foot pushed against her leg.

She pulled back, trying to keep out of reach.

“I said, get up.” The foot kicked against her harder and she hissed at the pain that shot through her leg.

Slowly, she sat up. Pain lanced through her but she pressed her lips together and managed to push herself up off the floor. She winced and backed up as close to the wall beside the door as she could and leaned back using the wall for support. Her head was swimming and her legs felt like they were made out of rubber but somehow she managed to stay on her feet and not fall over.

The light lowered, casting the space and the face of the figure in front of her into shadows.

She blinked, trying to adjust her sight to the dimness. Slowly, she started to make out some details but not much. She thought she saw some kind of control panel but she couldn't be sure.

“Poor thing. Are you hurt?” He laughed and raised the light slowly so that she could better see his face.

She suddenly felt sick and wiped her hand over her mouth. His face was swollen but there was no way she couldn't recognize that leering grin.

“Jake. I knew it was you, you son of a bitch. Where the hell am I?” Her hands balled into fists and she forgot the pain as a wave of white hot anger rushed through her. She took a staggering step toward him and stopped when he pulled his gun from the belt strapped to his waist and pointed it at her.

“Wouldn't do that if I were you.” He smiled coldly. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

“Or what?” Her breath was coming in short, hard pants but she still managed to sneer at him. “You'll shoot me?”

“Shut up.”

She heard the click of the pistol and she didn't dare move. She forced herself to be calm. Jake wouldn't think twice about using that thing on her once he took what he wanted. She just had to find a way to make sure he didn't get it.

She looked up at him and tried to pretend that she wasn't about to fall on her face. “Put it down, Jake. Don't make it any worse than you already have.”

“I'm not worried about it.” His lips twisted into a nasty grin. “Because once I'm through with you not even Sheppard is gonna want you anymore.”

“Touch me and I'll kill you.” She leaned back against the wall, afraid that her legs were going to give out from under her any minute.

“Don't you mean, Sheppard will kill me?” He rolled his eyes. “Please.”

“How do you think you're going to get away with it? There's no place you can hide and John Sheppard will find you.” She leaned forward slightly. She had hoped that she could plead with some decent side of him but Jake didn't seem to have one.

A sly grin crossed his face. “Your good friend Sharon is taking care of that bastard right now.”

Susan tried to keep her cool. Not let him see just how weak she really was. “Don't you mean your keeper?”

His face darkened. “She's not my keeper.”

“Bull shit.” She took a ragged breath. “I heard her voice. I know she's the one holding your leash. What's the matter, Jake? Did Sheppard scare you so much that you figured you couldn't handle me yourself?”

“I'm not scared of Sheppard and I don't need Sharon to get what I want.” He took a step toward her and she tried to edge away from him but there was nowhere to go.

“Don't touch me.”

He only smiled and reached out his free hand. Slowly, he ran his fingers over her breast. “Think about it, Doc. She's probably in your bed...with your lover. And if I know Sheppard, he's already forgotten all about you. I'll bet he's screwing the hell out of her right now.”

“Sheppard's not that hard up.” She snarled and slapped at his hand but he only laughed.

“He must have been if he was with you.” He reached out to touch her again.

Susan hit at him and was surprised when her feeble attempt knocked the flashlight out of his hand. It rolled across the floor and she dived for it. He kicked at her and she felt his foot graze across her belly but she rolled to the side and missed the force of his blow. She hit the floor hard, biting back a shriek of pain but somehow managing to wrap her fingers around the handle of the flashlight.

Holding on as tight as she could, she brought it up in an arc, hitting him under the chin. He grunted and fell back against the wall. Susan staggered to her feet and darted past him as fast as her weak legs would let her.

But she wasn't fast enough. She was barely past him when she felt his fingers wrap around her ankle. He jerked her back and she fell to her knees. The flash light slipped out of her hand and went rolling across the floor, making crazy shadows on the walls.

She felt his hands twist into the back of the bloody jacket. He hauled her back, flipping her over, making her cry out when he settled his weight on her. She tried to fight back but she was so weak and he was just too heavy. He grabbed her wrists and forced her arms up over her head. Holding her down he hooked his fingers in the front of her shirt and pulled. The thin fabric ripped and she shivered when she felt the cold air on her skin.

He was breathing hard now. Leaning down he pressed his mouth over hers, forcing his tongue into her mouth and then jerking back when she tried to bite him. Laughing, he slapped her hard then ran his free hand over the front of her bra, making her gasp with pain when he roughly pinched a nipple between his blunt fingers. He pushed down on her and her gut clenched when she felt his erection press against her belly.

“I wish Sheppard were here so he could watch.” He let go of her and reached for the buckle on his belt. “I'd love to see that bastard's face when I make you scream.”

She heard the door behind him open. Dazed, she tried to raise her head, but the sound of the voice from the doorway stopped her cold.

“My God! Do I have to do everything myself? Damn it! I told you to kill the bitch...not play with her!”

Susan's eyes widened. Jake was looking down at her, his hand still on the zipper of his pants. He started to turn his head but suddenly his head was jerked back then he grunted and began to make a strangled noise. Susan put up her hands when something hot sprayed across her face and chest. She choked and swiped her hands across her face, gagging at the coppery taste of his blood on her lips.

Jake's eyes clouded over and she knew he was dead before he fell off of her. He landed on his side, his lifeless eyes staring at her but all she could see from the dim light cast by the flashlight on the floor, was the handle of the knife sticking out of the side of his neck.

“No!” She screamed and scooted back across the floor, doubling over and curling up in pain when her back bumped hard against the wall behind her.

Panic made her heart beat faster. A whimper rose up in her throat and she bit it back. She pushed the hair out of her face and stared at the figure leaning over Jake's body. Slim fingers grasped the handle of the blade and pulled. It came free with a sicking pop and Susan felt the acid rising up in the back of her throat.

She turned her head, leaning against the wall for support and threw up.

“Bitch!” Rough fingers dug into her hair and slammed her head against the wall. “Weak slut...stupid whore. Clean it up!”

“Get your hands off me!” Tears of pain clouded her eyes and she twisted her head, trying to break Sharon's hold on her.

Sharon just laughed and dug her finger's in harder, jerking Susan toward her. She pressed her cheek close, sliding the blade still wet with Jake's blood over Susan's neck. Susan winced, biting her lip when she felt the blade knick her skin.

Sharon's breath was hot on her face. She shook her head, her hair brushing against Susan's face. “I knew I shouldn't have trusted that boy. He was too damn stupid. I should have known he wouldn't have the guts to kill you.” She pressed the knife against Susan's side. “Me...I don't have a problem with it at all.”

“Why are you doing this?” She gasped, trying not to cry out when Sharon jerked her head back. Hot, salty tears welled up and slid down her cheeks, making her chapped lips sting.

“Shut up.” Sharon shoved her back against the wall and stood up. Slowly, she went back to pick up the flashlight. She turned the light on Susan and grimaced. “And cover yourself, you stupid cow. Do you think I want to be looking at you?”

“You're doing this for revenge, aren't you?” Susan wiped her hand across her mouth and glared up at her angrily. Her fingers were shaking but somehow she managed to pull Sheppard's jacket around her and zip it shut. “John told me that he'd taken care of you. I guess you're just returning the favor.”

“Aren't you the smart one?” Sharon smirked, her lips curling into a cold hard smile. Slowly, she began to pace back and forth, raising the light and looking around the room as if she were searching for something.

“Smarter than you think.” Susan panted hard, moving around so that she could better see Sharon's face. “But I want to really know is how did you know where I was? Did you follow us around? Did you sit outside my quarters in the shadows and wait like some big fat spider waiting to pounce?”

Susan had guessed that if there was anything Sharon liked better than getting revenge and chasing after Sheppard, it was talking about herself. If she kept asking questions, maybe it would buy her a little more time and hopefully bring John closer to finding her.

“Apparently, you aren't that smart.” Sharon stopped her pacing and looked down at her. She turned the light full into Susan's face and laughed when she winced. “Because you waddled straight into my trap.”

“You're crazy.”

Sharon set the flashlight on it's base on the floor between them. As she paced she moved in and out of the light and Susan saw that she had begun to tap the bloody knife against her thigh. She shrugged slightly, her lips quirking into a nasty smile. “No. I'm just a very patient woman, Doctor Walker. It's not that easy to keep a secret in this city and pretty soon everybody knew that Sheppard had taken you on as his own personal whore.”

Ignoring the barb, Susan wrapped her arms around herself. She was starting to shiver again and not just from the cold. How long had Sharon been watching them? “You stalked us?”

“Not 'us', just you.” Sharon stopped and looked down at her. “I knew that pretty soon the cow would have to come back to the barn. And since this one...” She nudged Jake's body with the toe of her boot. “Was too much of a chicken shit to do what he was told-” She dropped down in a crouch in front of her and tilted her head slightly. “I knew that I'd have to take care of you myself and I didn't care how long I had to wait.”

“John didn't do anything to you.”

“He played me, Suzie Q.” Sharon grimaced and pointed the tip of the blade at her. “He used me...just to make you jealous.” She shook her head. “No one does that to me. And then there was little Jakie...so hot for you and so ready for some revenge of his own. Too bad he was totally useless.”

“Why didn't you just kill me and get it over with then?” Susan edged back. A cold chill came over her and she tried not to look at the puddle of blood spreading under Jake's head. To kill him like that...Sharon wasn't just crazy. She was completely and totally insane.

“What?” Sharon smirked when she saw where she was looking. “And spoil the fun of seeing Sheppard suffer?” Sharon picked up the flashlight, dropped down on one knee in front of her and shoved the light into her face again. “After what he did to me? Did you think that I'd want to give up the chance to see Sheppard running around, searching for his poor little Suzie Q? He's so frantic because he can't find you. He looks like such a poor little lost puppy.”

Susan tried to scoot back more but there was no where to go. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the light, she realized that the room was completely empty except for a table covered with dust. The floor was gritty too and her palms stung when she pressed her hands against it.

Sharon laughed and reached out to drag a sharp fingernail down the side of her cheek. “All for his pathetic little whore. Oh, it's a sight to behold, Suzie Q. You should see him. The poor thing. Running around and driving everyone crazy. Looking, looking, looking and not finding a damn thing.” She sighed and pressed her hand against her chest. “I swear, it's enough to break your heart.”

“You don't have one.” Susan spat at her.

Suddenly, Sharon's expression hardened and her lips curled into a nasty smile. Carefully setting the light down on the floor again, she lifted the blade and pressed it against Susan's breast. The blade dug in and Susan winced at the sharp bite. “Maybe I should just rip your's out and give it to him as a going away present. That way he won't miss his whore so much.”

“Go to hell.” Susan wished that she had the energy to jerk the knife out of Sharon's hand. If she could, she would kill the bitch and not even blink. But she barely even had the strength to stand on her own two feet much less defend herself. Sharon had made sure of that.

“So original.” Slowly, Sharon picked up the flashlight and got to her feet. “No. I've got something a lot better planned for you, Suzie Q.”

Reaching down Sharon gripped her by the arms and jerked her to her feet. She whirled her around toward the door, shoving her out into the hallway when it opened. Sharon grabbed the back of her jacket and jerked her back before she fell. Laughing, Sharon shoved her again, forcing her down the hall in front of her, shining the light just enough to keep from tripping over anything that might be on the gritty floor.

Susan turned her head and looked back at her, a hard knot of hate forming in her chest when she looked in those icy blue eyes so full of spite. “John's going to kill you for this. You know that, don't you?”

“Yes.” Sharon smiled. A cold, hard conniving smile.

“But first, I'm going to make sure that he watches you die.”

As soon as the doors opened, John took off at a dead run toward Section 24-B. Ronan, Teyla and Rodney were right behind him but he barely heard them. One of his men looked up as he approached, waving an arm he directed them toward a walkway where Lorne stood waiting.

“Down here, sir.” Lorne stepped back and motioned for them to follow him. “We saw it almost as soon as we came down the stairs.”

John felt his heart leap in his chest as he followed Lorne down the steps and into the hallway below. It was cooler down here and the smell of dirt and mold made his nose twitch and left a sour taste in his mouth. He looked up as they neared the botom of the steps and saw two of his men standing patiently, waiting for them.

As they approached, Lorne stepped to the side so that Sheppard could see. John took another step and suddenly felt like the floor had been pulled out from under his feet. He heard movement and looked to see Teyla and Ronan standing to either side of him. They didn't look at him but he knew why they were there.

Kneeling down, he took a deep breath and reached out to examine the reddish brown smears on the floor. He couldn't be sure what they were but deep down he knew that they were blood. Susan's blood.

“They lead off that way.” Lorne lifted his gun and pointed the flash light down the dark hallway. “Looks like she was dragged.”

Sheppard gave him a sharp look and Lorne swallowed, grimaced then took a deep breath.

“Sorry, sir.”

“John...” Teyla laid her hand on his shoulder and he heard the gentle warning in her voice.

John didn't say anything. Slowly, he got to his feet and shaking off her hand, carefully stepped around the stain. For a minute he was silent and then he turned and looked at Lorne.

“Why don't you go and get some rest, Major. You look like you're gonna pass out.”

“I'm fine, sir.” Lorne looked at him steadily. “I'd like to stay if it's alright with you.”

“That wasn't a request, Major. That was an order.”

Without waiting for an answer, John turned and walked away. Anger seethed in him and he knew that he had to get away from the man before he did something that he wasn't going to regret. He knew that Lorne hadn't really realized what he had said but still, it burned John just to hear it.

He waited until he heard Lorne's footsteps fade away before he turned back around. Teyla was giving him a disappointed frown but he ignored her. Hoisting his gun, he pointed back down the hallway.

“Everybody keep sharp. You don't need me telling you to be careful but this guy is nuts. We don't know if she's down here or not but I don't want to take any chance that we miss anything.” He looked at Rodney. “Anything?”

Rodney pulled the LSD from his pocket. He studied it, a frown on his face and then his expression brightened slightly. “Two people. That way.” He pointed to where the drag marks faded into the shadows.

Someone was up ahead. Susan could hear voices. She opened her mouth and started to cry out when she felt Sharon's fingers on the back of her neck.

“Open your god damn mouth and I'll fucking gut you right here.”

Before she could turn, Susan felt the edge of the blade press into her back. Sharon flicked off the flashlight and gripped the back of her jacket. She pushed her up against the wall, forcing her to be still.

“Don't move.” Keeping a grip on the her back, Sharon peered around her. She was listening intently. When the voices came nearer, she shoved Susan down a side corridor and kept pushing her until they rounded a corner. Susan kept trying to look back and was sure that she saw a flash of light when suddenly she was shoved to her knees and Sharon clapped a hand over her mouth.

Her heart hammering hard in her chest, Susan closed her eyes. There was the sound of foot steps now The voices were getting clearer. and she thought that one of them was John's. When they came closer, she knew it.

“Looks like your white knight is coming to try and save you.” Sharon laughed harshly.

A thrill of hope surged through her. She took a deep breath. This was it. It was now or never and she'd be damned if she was going to go down without a fight. She twisted her head and when Sharon released her grip just a tiny bit, Susan bit down on the fleshy part of Sharon's hand until she tasted blood in her mouth.

“Bitch!” Sharon howled and knocked the hilt of the blade against the side of her head.

Susan let go and heard a yell as she fell backwards. Everything started to go black but she took a deep breath and forced herself to hold on. She heard voices, closer now and then foot steps running in their direction.

She tried to sit up but Sharon grabbed the back of her jacket and started to haul her down the narrow hallway. Susan tried to wriggle out of her hold but a swift kick to her back jerked a scream from her throat.

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