Gone?

"Rodney, it's not here." Colonel Sheppard stated as he stood in the center of the ruins they were currently searching.

"Yes, it is." McKay didn't even look up from his laptop, as he answered the colonel.

Teyla spoke up from her position at the other side of the ruins. "We have been here for days, Rodney. Do you not think we would have found it by now?"

"Did you honestly think it would be that easy?" Rodney looked up from his work, this time, and peered around the pillar in front of him.

"Rodney." Sheppard warned him to stay in line.

"No, I'm serious. Do you really think that the Ancients would just leave ZedPMs lying around? This is one of the planets on the list that the other Dr. Weir left us."

"That doesn't mean it hasn't been moved." The colonel was not very optimistic after looking for something, without success, for that long.

"True, but we still have to try."

"We have, Rodney. Besides, where else could the thing be?" The colonel made a sweeping motion with his arms to include the entirety of the ruins. There was a small inner circle, with four pillars, equally spaced around the circle, and a thinner pillar in the center. The circle had a low wall, in which, there were two entrances opposite each other. Colonel Sheppard was standing at the edge of the inner circle, closest to Rodney. There were six larger pillars forming a concentric circle further from the center. Rodney was examining one of the latter. About six feet away from that circle were several slabs of rock sticking out of the ground. They were each about four feet tall, and about five feet wide. Teyla and Ronan were both standing outside the outermost circle, keeping the perimeter secure.

Ronan re-voiced the Colonel's question, "I don't see any place that we haven't looked…where else do you think it could be?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out, isn't it?"

"Pack up your equipment, Rodney, we're going back." The Colonel ordered.

"No, we can't. Not yet."

"Come on, McKay. We're due back today. We already got Dr. Weir to extend our deadline…twice!" Sheppard moved across the circle, away from Rodney, and toward the entrance closest to the gate. Rodney still had not moved by the time that the colonel had reached the center pillar. "Move it, McKay!" Sheppard slapped the pillar as he said it, to intensify his meaning.

"Hang on a second." He looked down at the laptop, genuinely intrigued.

"What?" Sheppard turned around and waited in the middle of the circle, for Rodney's explanation.

"I'm getting a faint energy reading." He stated, while staring quizzically at the device in his hand.

When Rodney didn't continue on his own, John prompted him, by saying, "Is it the ZPM?"

"I don't know." His computer beeped. "I'm picking up low levels of radiation." He pressed a few buttons on his computer, then, continued, "They're climbing rapidly."

"That's it. We're leaving." Sheppard was still inside the inner circle, and Rodney was in the section between the middle circle and the inner circle.

"Fine." The scientist answered as his laptop began beeping rapidly. Suddenly, a blast emanated from the center pillar. John was immediately engulfed, and Rodney was thrown back against one of the outer pillars, causing him to lose consciousness.

"Colonel!" Teyla shouted as she and Ronan rushed into the shattered structure. Several areas within the structure were on fire, including the area in which the colonel had been. Ronan grabbed Rodney and heaved the limp scientist onto his shoulder. Teyla was about to go into the flames to get the colonel, who was, by virtue of standing in the center of the blast, without a doubt dead. Ronan grabbed her by the arm, and tugged her in the direction of the gate, thus bringing her to her senses.

"" "" "" "" ""

Dr. Weir was standing in the control room waiting for Colonel Sheppard's team to return from their recon mission. The gate activated and they received Teyla's IDC.

"Lower the shield." Dr. Weir walked down the stairs into the large room harboring the gate. She became a little bit worried, when she saw the unconscious scientist draped over Ronan's shoulder. She shouted to the man in the control room, "Get a medical team in here!" She grew even more concerned when the Stargate shut off and Colonel Sheppard wasn't with them. "What happened?"

The medical team showed up almost immediately. Ronan laid Rodney on the gurney, and as the scientist was taken to the infirmary, Ronan and Teyla answered Weir's question.

"There was an explosion." Teyla began. She urged herself to continue, "Colonel Sheppard…" Ultimately, she couldn't bring herself to say it, so Ronan had to finish her statement.

"He was in the middle of the detonation. There was no body to retrieve."

Dr. Weir was taken aback. She tried to find some good news. "Did you at least find the ZPM?"

"No." Teyla responded.

The leader let out an exasperated sigh as she realized just how bad this day had become.

"" "" "" "" ""

Not long after their return, Dr. Weir and the two remaining team members checked in on Rodney, who was still unconscious, in the infirmary. Dr. Becket informed them of his patient's condition.

"He's got a mild concussion, but that's about it. He should be fine."

"" "" "" "" ""

A couple of hours later, Rodney opened his eyes to find himself in the infirmary. He winced as a pain shot through his head. He saw Carson radio Dr. Weir, telling her that the patient was awake. The doctor then left to meet them halfway.

"I don't guess you'll talk to me either." The familiar voice came from beside Rodney's hospital bed.

"John?" He asked, as his eyes met those of his leader. "Why wouldn't I talk to you?"

John leaned forward, intrigued. "Well, nobody else has answered me since we've been back."

"Huh, well that's weird."

"You think?"

Rodney finally took a good look at his commanding officer and noticed that he didn't appear to be injured at all. "Hey, wait a minute," he got John's attention, "Why aren't you injured? You were right in the middle of the blast."

"I have no idea," John answered honestly.

At that moment, Dr. Weir, Carson, Teyla, and Ronan entered the infirmary. "Hey, Rodney. How are you feeling?" Dr. Weir said in a gentle voice.

"Okay, I guess."

"I'm afraid there's a bit of bad news." She took in a deep breath, then continued. "Colonel Sheppard was killed in the explosion."

"That's pretty much what I'm talking about." John interrupted.

Rodney glanced over at Sheppard, then looked back at Weir. "What do you mean? Sheppard's right there." He motioned toward the Colonel.

Weir looked at the empty chair, and stated gently, "Rodney, there's nobody there."

As McKay looked back at Sheppard, Carson suggested, "It's possible that the concussion is causing you to hallucinate."

"I'm not hallucinating!"

"Yeah, he's not crazy," John inputted, "well, this time at least. He's right. I am right here!" John all but shouted, although, nobody but Rodney could hear him.

"He's dead, Rodney." Teyla stated. "We both witnessed it."

"He's not dead, though."

"They're not going to believe you, Rodney. I've been walking all over the base since we got here and no one but you can see me. We need some way to prove it." John stated.

"Good point." Rodney responded to the colonel that nobody could see, then, added, "If we can't prove you're not dead, we could make them prove you are." He then turned to Dr. Weir, and said, "If he's dead then where's his body? Find his body, and I'll believe you. Otherwise, I'm going to believe what I see."

"He's dead. We were there. There is no body. It was destroyed." Ronan stated the facts rather bluntly.

Teyla felt the need to point out the truth a little more gently. "Do you honestly think we would have left him there if there was any chance of retrieving a body?"

Dr. Weir nodded her head in the direction of the door, silently telling the Doctor, and the two team members to convene in the hallway. Sheppard followed the four concerned expedition members out of the room. Dr. Weir addressed both Ronan and Teyla, "If you went back, now that the fire is out…is there any way you could retrieve anything? Bone fragments that we could run DNA tests on? Dog tags? Anything that could convince Rodney? I can understand his need for proof. He's a scientist…nothing is so until it can be proven. And John was probably his best friend. He doesn't want to believe he's dead. If we can show him something…anything…"

"We're not going to find anything." Ronan stated bluntly.

"But, if it will help Rodney, then we will do it." Teyla put a hand on Ronan's shoulder, thus gently asking Ronan to agree with her.

He nodded, and said, "Sure. We'll see what we can do."

Dr. Weir responded to their willingness, "Okay, then. Take Major Lorne's team and search for anything that would prove John is truly dead. Take Zelenka too. Maybe he can figure out why the thing exploded in the first place. But if you start picking up any kind of radiation at any level, you get out of there. I don't want to lose any more people. Get geared up. You leave in a half hour." Both Teyla and Ronan nodded, and went to gather up the people who were going to go on the mission with them. John headed back to the infirmary and took up his place beside Rodney.

Rodney started second guessing himself, "What if you are dead, and I am just hallucinating?"

"Rodney, I'm not dead."

"Well, other than the head injury thing, what explanation is there?"

"I don't know Rodney…you're the scientist. You tell me! What could do this?"

Rodney seemed to contemplate the question. "Possible explanations…uh… "you're a ghost…"

John quickly answered, "No."

"…you really are a hallucination."

"We already ruled that out, Rodney." The scientist's facial expression told John that the man had in no way ruled that out, but McKay continued.

"I'm the one that's dead, and I'm in hell. And my eternal punishment is to have to be the only one to see you…forever!"

"Next theory, Rodney." The colonel said sarcastically.

"The blast didn't actually destroy you, but…uh…maybe you're invisible?"

"They'd still hear me, wouldn't they? Think, Rodney! Have you ever heard of or read about anything that could cause people not to be able to see a still living human being?"

Rodney contemplated, raised his hand as if to suggest something, only to lower it and reject the idea. This happened several times, and John was becoming quite exasperated.

Finally, Rodney's eyes lit up and he practically yelled, "SG1!"

"What?" John didn't follow.

"Twice, in fact. I read their case files. Dr. Jackson one time, and both Colonels Carter and Mitchell the second time….actually, I think it happened to Dr. Jackson again that time too…you know, after thinking about all the case files I read on him, I realized that he seems to stumble into these kinds of unprecedented events with a much higher rate than normal statistics would suggest…I wonder if…"

"Rodney! Focus!"

"Oh, yes, right. They were out of phase! The first time…no one could see or hear Dr. Jackson except his Grandfather. The second time, only Teal'c could see Colonel Mitchell and then only when he was using the Sodan cloaking device…Teal'c that is, not Colonel Mitchell, because if I remember correctly, they couldn't touch anything in this phase either, so the Colonel couldn't have used the Sodan device, and…"

"Rodney…" John's tone was low and somewhat threatening.

"Anyway, if you are out of phase, then how did it happen? And why can I see you?"

"I don't know. You're the scientist." John said defiantly, repeating his former defense. "Anyway, Teyla and Ronon are going back to the planet, with Zelenka, and Major Lorne's team, see if they can shed some light on what happened. I'm gonna go with them."

"Zelenka? I'm a whole lot smarter than he is."

"Let it go, Rodney."

"" "" "" "" ""

When they got back to the planet, Major Lorne's team was looking for a body, and Zelenka was looking for answers. Sheppard saw a large wall that hadn't been there before, but nobody else reacted to it. In fact, they simply walked right through it. But, unlike everything else, Sheppard could touch it. There was a lot of writing on it, so Sheppard was trying to memorize it all, so he could tell Rodney which symbols there were, and get him to translate it later.

"" "" "" "" ""

When they returned to Atlantis, John told Rodney about the wall, and the fact that he could touch it, whereas when he tried to do so with anything else, his hand simply went right through it. That supported Rodney's theory that maybe the colonel really was out of phase.

The two of them went to Dr. Weir's office. "We think the colonel may be out of phase."

" 'Out of phase'?" she repeated doubtingly.

"Yes. Now, when Teyla and Ronan went back to the planet with Major Lorne's team, and Zelenka…"

Dr. Weir cut him off, "I didn't tell you about that."

"I know. Sheppard did. Anyway, Sheppard went with them, and found a wall that had some Ancient writing on it. Now, I think, if I had access to my office, he could tell me what the symbols looked like, and I could translate it, hopefully finding a way to bring him back into phase."

Weir gave him a look that told him that she didn't believe him.

"OK, look, even if I am crazy - which I'm not - what will it hurt if I do some research?"

"Ok, I'll ask Zelenka to keep an eye on your work."

"Zelenka?" Rodney whined.

"Oh, give it a rest, will ya?" Sheppard complained.

"You shut up." Rodney retorted, pointing at the colonel.

Dr. Weir just looked at him, as if that proved that he was crazy.

"Yeah, that really helps your case there, Rodney." John stated sarcastically.

"" "" "" "" ""

Zelenka went into Weir's office. John did as well.

"I'd like to ask you a favor." Dr. Weir said.

"Shoot." He responded.

"Rodney seems to think that Colonel Sheppard is 'out of phase'. He says that the Colonel went off world with you."

"I did." John said, but of course, nobody could hear him.

"He also says that Sheppard found a wall with some ancient writing on it, and seems to think that if I let him have access to his office, he can figure out a way to bring Colonel Sheppard back."

"Do you believe him?" Zelenka inquired.

"I'm not sure, yet. But, it can't hurt to let him try."

"So, where does the favor come in?"

"I want you to keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't do anything that would cause problems. I don't think he would on purpose, but if he is hallucinating, then, he could do something harmful without realizing it."

"Oh…no. I cannot work with him. He is condescending, inconsiderate, and rude." Zelenka complained.

"Please, Radek? We both know that he's going to do it anyway, even if I don't let him. So, I would like to have someone trustworthy to keep an eye on him."

"Fine." He began muttering in Czech as he started out of her office.

"Thank you." She called after him.

"" "" "" "" ""

John met up with Rodney in the mess hall, "Hey, Rodney. Zelenka agreed to keep an eye on you."

"Well, that's just terrific. Let's go celebrate." He responded sarcastically.

"Rodney, we need him to trust you."

"I don't need anybody to trust me."

"We need him to at least not think you're crazy."

"Fine, how are we going to do that?"

"I've got an idea. Just, do you think you could maybe try to be a little less condescending, inconsiderate and rude?"

"Why?"

" 'Cuz Zelenka thinks you're condescending, inconsiderate, and rude."

Rodney glared at him, then said, "whatever."

"Great!" John said enthusiastically.

"" "" "" "" ""

Zelenka met up with Rodney and they went to his office, followed by Colonel Sheppard. Radek sat in a chair across the room. As, the tension in the room grew, Rodney leaned toward Sheppard, and said, quietly, "Now, would probably be a good time for that plan of yours."

"Right. Okay, just say what I say. Umm…Ask him if he found anything on the planet."

"Hey, Radek, did you find anything on the planet?"

"No."

"Ask him if he thinks he would have found anything if he were allowed to stay longer." John said.

"Why?"

"We want to prove that you are not crazy, but we can't do that if he thinks you are talking to yourself."

"Right."

"Just ask him."

"Ummm… do you think you would have found anything if you were allowed to stay longer?"

"I suppose. What do you mean if I was 'allowed' to stay?"

"Tell him that he is just like you in that respect." John continued with his plan.

"Where are you going with this?" Rodney inquired

"Just say it!"

"You are just like me in that respect." He said awkwardly.

"What do you mean?" The Czech looked puzzled.

"Tell him that you didn't want to leave either." Colonel Sheppard continued the line of conversation.

"I didn't want to leave either." Rodney stated.

"I still do not know what you are talking about."

"Say 'yes, you do.'"

"Yes, you do." Rodney stated.

Zelenka was confused.

"Major Lorne's team hadn't found anything." Rodney repeated what John told him to, pausing to let John tell him more. "And after five hours, he told you to pack it up…But you wanted to stay… until you found something useful…and Major Lorne gave you an extra hour…but, at the end of the hour… you still hadn't found anything…and you didn't want to leave…and Ronan told you that you were going back with them… and when you still didn't want to leave… he threatened to shoot you."

"How did you know that?" Radek inquired.

Rodney continued with more of what John told him to say, "And you still didn't want to leave until … Ronan actually pulled out his gun, and pointed it at you… of course, it was set to stun.

"Who told you that?" Zelenka demanded.

"Colonel Sheppard." He stated as he pointed at what seemed to Radek to be absolutely nothing.

"Colonel Sheppard is really out of phase?"

"We think that's what it is, anyway. But, he is really here, right now."

"I want to believe you…"

"Do you really think I'm condescending, inconsiderate, and rude?" Rodney wondered without John's prompt.

"Where did you… right. Yes, sometimes. Okay, well most of the time. Did Colonel Sheppard tell you that?"

"Yes. He heard you when you were in Elizabeth's office." He said what Sheppard told him to say.

"Well, then, let's translate the text Colonel Sheppard saw."

"You believe me?"

"Yes, I think I believe you."

"Okay, then. Let's get started." He pulled several translation books off the shelf, opened them, and laid them on the desk. "Okay. Which symbols did you see?" He addressed Colonel Sheppard.

"I don't remember them all."

"Well, just tell me the ones you do remember."

"There was a whole bunch of text on it, most of it was carved, but some of the symbols stuck out past the wall."

"Okay. Do you remember any of them?"

"Um… That one…" he pointed to the book, and Rodney wrote the symbol down. "was the first symbol of the first word."

"" "" "" "" ""

They worked for about a half an hour, Zelenka sitting, watching intently. They had only gotten a total of five words, but, they weren't consecutive, in the writing, and Sheppard wasn't exactly sure that those were even correct.

"We need to go back to the planet, so that we can do this while you are looking at the text." Rodney was getting exasperated.

"Well, I'm trying to remember it." Sheppard complained.

"Well, I don't care if you're trying, or not, because, either way, we're not making much progress!"

Zelenka was kind of enjoying watching Rodney's end of their argument.

"Don't yell at me!" John said defensively.

"I'm not yelling! I'm simply telling you that if you had paid better attention, we would be further along."

"Actually, Rodney, you are sort of yelling." Radek pointed out.

"Don't take his side." Rodney snapped at him.

Zelenka bit his lip to keep from 'taking his side'.

"Wow, he was right." John observed. "You are pretty inconsiderate and rude"

"Yeah, whatever! Look, I'm doing this for you."

"Yeah, and there's the condescending."

"John, if you're not going to pay attention…and stop insulting me… then you can just stay out of phase forever!"

"First of all, you don't mean that…"

"Maybe I do mean it."

"Second of all, I'm trying as hard as I can… And third of all, if you DO leave me out of phase, I guess I'll just have to stay with the only person who can see and hear me. I'll constantly get on your nerves and never let you sleep. I can make your life a living hell."

"You wouldn't."

"Maybe I would."

"Radek, I need you to help me convince Dr. Weir to let me go back to the planet with Sheppard." McKay said desperately.

"Why?"

"Because, he can't remember all of the symbols, and if we can't fix this, then he's going to haunt me forever, and I'll take you down with me."

"Ooh, devious." Sheppard observed.

"I'll see what I can do." Radek stated as the three of them headed toward Elizabeth's office.

"" "" "" "" ""

"I need you to let me go back to the planet," Rodney started in before he even entered the office."

"Rodney," Elizabeth countered, "Why would I let you do that?"

"So Sheppard can tell me what the symbols are, so that I can find a way to fix this problem."

"If Sheppard really is out of phase, why are you the only one that can see him?"

"It's probably because the same radiation that took him out of phase also came in contact with me, but not enough to take me out of phase, too. Just to the point where I can see him."

Weir turned to Radek and asked, "Do you believe him?"

"I do, actually."

"I want to believe you, Rodney, I do. But until there is some evidence pointing to the fact that Colonel Sheppard really is out of phase, I'm afraid I can't let you go back to the planet."

"Tell her that eating two bowls of chocolate pudding, at 3:35 in the morning probably isn't the most healthy of things to do." Sheppard said.

"Oh, so that's where you went last night." Rodney folded his arms and looked at him.

"You can fuss at me later, Rodney, but, I figured that we'd need something to convince her that you're not crazy."

"Well, how's that going to convince her?"

"She was alone in her quarters, at that time."

"Oh."

"Just…Stop talking to yourself, and making yourself look like an idiot, and tell her."

"Fine." McKay turned back to Dr. Weir. "Sheppard wants me to tell you that eating two bowls of chocolate pudding at 3:35 in the morning, probably isn't the healthiest of things to do."

"I was alone in my quarters last night." She responded.

Taking in the shocked expression on Elizabeth's face, John decided to sweeten the pot. "Tell her that she could have won her fourth game of Solitaire if she weren't quite so tired that she skipped over the ace of spades."

Rodney repeated this to Elizabeth, who immediate dropped her jaw and looked like she might actually be in danger of passing out."

"Are you really here, John?"

"No." John stated quickly.

Rodney just stared at him, and then said, "John, we took all this time trying to convince her you are here, so, now that she asked if you're here, I'm NOT telling her 'no'."

Radek chuckled and Elizabeth just stared at the blank space at Rodney's side. "That DOES sound like you, John."

John smirked at Rodney, and said, "See? I knew what I was doing."

Elizabeth turned to Rodney, "Take Zelenka. You have 12 hours."

"Thank you."

"You see?" Sheppard said as the three walked out of her office. "I do pay attention, I just can't remember ancient symbols."

"Just shut up."

"Oops, and there's the 'rude' again."

"If I could touch you, I would smack you."

"If you could touch me, I wouldn't have said it," John smirked.

"Rodney," Zelenka started ignoring the ubiquitous arguing, "If the wall is out of phase, like Colonel Sheppard, and you can see him, won't you be able to see the wall?"

"That's actually a good point. I have no clue."

"" "" "" "" ""

When they got back to the planet, they began their walk to the structure. About half-way there, Zelenka tripped and landed in a large bush with purple-ish leaves. He groaned, grumbled and muttered in Czech as he struggled to pull himself out of the bush.

"I don't even need a translator to understand that one." John stated, referring to the cursing-sounding, guttural syllables Radek had just muttered.

"Yeah" Rodney stifled a chuckle as the Czech lost his footing and fell back into the bush. John didn't bother trying to cover his laughter since Zelenka couldn't hear him anyway.

Radek finally managed to climb back out of the bush, and they were back on their way again.

"" "" "" "" ""

Rodney could see the wall, and the writing on it. So he declared that the translation would go a lot faster than he had expected. He couldn't touch it, but Sheppard could. He started trying to decipher the writing on the wall.

"So, what does it say?" Sheppard was impatient.

"Will you give me a minute?"

"Fine." He folded his arms and leaned up against the wall. By that time, Zelenka was vigorously scratching his arms, face and neck.

John chuckled deviously.

"What?" McKay looked at him, then, looking at Zelenka, and chuckled slightly. Zelenka looked up, but didn't stop scratching, when he heard Rodney. McKay quickly whipped his head back to the wall.

"What was that bush he fell in?" John inquired.

"I have no idea." Rodney said in a dismissive tone, that left a silent, implied, 'and I don't really care.'

"Well, it seems to have the same general effect as poison Ivy." He looked over at Zelenka, who was now getting little red spots all over his skin, and added, "Only, maybe a little worse."

"What's your point?" Rodney asked flatly, still translating the text.

"I think that bush was this planet's version of poison ivy."

McKay looked at Radek, who was still vigorously scratching his irritated skin, and added, "…on steroids."

"He looks pretty miserable." John stated, starting to feel sorry for him.

"So? What am I supposed to do about it?"

"How should I know?"

"Would you just stand there, quietly while I finish this?"

"What am I supposed to do while 'standing here, quietly'?"

"I don't know, just shut up and let me work."

"Ok, Mr. Grumpy-pants."

"" "" "" "" ""

"What is taking you so long? You usually are a lot faster than this." Sheppard all but whined.

"It's an obscure dialect, so, it requires more of my concentration."

"Right, right." John stood closer, looking over McKay's shoulder, at the wall.

"Meaning, you go over there…"

" 'Shut up and let you work', right." He went to the corner of the wall and leaned back up against it.

"" "" "" "" ""

"Okay I think I got it."

"Finally." John stated as he walked over to Rodney. Zelenka looked up to indicate that he was paying attention, but didn't get up or stop scratching. "You know, he's not gonna have any skin left by the time we get back." John stated as he looked at Radek.

"Yeah, maybe so. Now, can we?" Rodney motioned impatiently toward the wall.

"Right, continue."

"It basically says that the "power source of the great city of Atlantis" is here…"

"That would be the ZPM?" John mostly stated.

"…that it lies in a parallel dimension, and only those from the great city can access it."

"What does that mean? That only an ancient can retrieve it?" The colonel seemed a little disappointed.

"Not necessarily. I think it just means someone with the Ancient gene."

"Like me?"

"Yes, like you. Like me too, but I can't touch the thing! Hey, I wonder if that's why I can see it… not because the radiation lets me see you, but rather, the ancient gene does. "Hmmm…maybe that's what caused your trip to that phase, in the first place, it sensed the gene."

"Um, Rodney," John started, "That's cool, and all, but how do I get back?"

"Well, I would assume that the raised symbols are like buttons in a code, and we just have to punch in the right code."

"Well, what is the code, then?"

"I don't know!"

"So, I should just pick one?"

"No!"

"But some of them look like gate symbols."

"So?"

"So… Should I press.."

"No." Rodney cut him off. "Don't press anything. Let me think."

Sheppard pressed the buttons anyway, and Rodney looked up just in time to see a white light extend from the wall, and engulf the Colonel. When the light receded, Sheppard was no longer in front of the wall.

"John? He looked around frantically. "Sheppard!" He said, mostly to himself, "I told him not to touch anything!"

"What happened?" Zelenka inquired, as he moved toward Rodney and 'the wall'.

"He pressed something, and a light came from the wall, and now, he's not there."

"Is it possible that it took him out of phase, a second time, a different phase?"

"I suppose it's possible." Rodney continued studying the wall, hoping that Sheppard would reappear.

"" "" "" "" ""

Several hours later, with the twelve-hour deadline approaching, Sheppard had still not returned.

"McKay, we've been here for almost twelve hours."

"We need to give him a few more minutes."

They waited some more, Rodney staring at the wall the whole time. Then Zelenka repeated, "Rodney, we need to go."

"Can't we dial back, and ask Dr. Weir for more time? We can't just leave him."

"We've been waiting. And you haven't stopped looking at 'the wall'."

"Well, yeah. I'm trying to find a way to get him back…again."

"Did you find anything?"

"No, but…"

"Then there's nothing you can do, anyway, right?"

"Well…"

"Then, please, let's just go back, and you can try to convince Dr. Weir to let you come back." Radek continued, still scratching the now large round red blotches all over the visible parts of his skin.

Rodney let out a heavy sigh, dreading the need to abandon his friend but finally turned toward the gate, and the two scientists headed back. Not quite five minutes later, the two of them heard a sound, and turned around to face the ruins. Rodney saw a light fading back into the wall, and once the light was gone he no longer saw the wall. But what he did see…was Colonel Sheppard holding the ZPM. John ran to catch up with the two scientists. When he reached them, Rodney inquired, "What exactly did you do?"

"I noticed that the seven symbols needed to dial Atlantis, from here, were on the wall, and you wouldn't listen to me, so I just went with it. Then, I was in a large room, and I couldn't see you or Zelenka, or much of anything for that matter. The room was pitch black. At first, I just wandered around trying to find a way out, but, I must have stepped on a platform of some kind, because the room lit up, kinda like the puddle jumper does. In the middle of the room was a pedestal with the ZPM on it. And I just grabbed it, and the next thing I know, I was back here with you guys."

"Yes, yes, yes. It is good to have you back, and everything," Zelenka stated, "But, we're going to be late, and if it were possible to die of skin irritations, I would probably already be dead. So, if we could pick up this little reunion later…" When the other two began walking again, he continued, "Thank you."

"Wait a second," Sheppard said, while still walking, "You can see me?"

"Yes, Colonel, I can see you." Zelenka stated casually.

"" "" "" "" ""

They continued their trip to the gate in silence, which was suddenly broken by the sound of Dr. Weir's voice coming through the radio. When they didn't report back as scheduled, she dialed the planet to check in on them. "Rodney, come in, please."

"Elizabeth."

"Rodney, please tell me you have some good news." She said anxiously.

"We have some good news."

"We'll all be waiting for you."

"We'll be there within a few minutes, McKay out."

The gate shut down, and Dr. Weir said to the computer tech, "Judging by how Rodney sounded, I think the rest of colonel Sheppard's team will want to be here when they get back. Contact Teyla, Ronan, and Dr. Beckett, and get them to report to the gate room.

"Yes, ma'am." He quickly complied.

Teyla, Ronan, Dr. Beckett, Major Lorne's team, and several other miscellaneous people gathered in anticipation in the gate room.

"What did they find out?" Teyla asked .

"I don't know exactly, yet, but Rodney sounded excited." Dr. Weir replied.

A few minutes later the gate dialed, and Rodney's IDC was received.

"Lower the shield." Weir stated.

The two scientists and the colonel stepped through the gate.

"John!" Teyla shouted with joy as she, and several other people approach the Colonel.

"Good to have you back." Ronan slapped the side of John's arm in a way that made him feel welcomed.

Everyone started talking at the same time, excited to see the colonel, and wondering what had happened.

"It's good to see you alive and well." Dr. Weir stated. When she saw that McKay was holding the ZPM, she asked, "Rodney, what happened?"

"He translated the text, and it said something like, the power source of Atlantis was there and that only someone from the city could retrieve it." John started.

"Meaning someone with the ancient gene." Rodney continued.

"Right. Rodney figured that the raised symbols on the wall were buttons for a code or something. So, while he was deliberating over which symbols to push, I noticed that some of them looked like the symbols needed to gate to Atlantis, and since the text mentioned Atlantis a couple of times, I figured I'd give it a shot."

"And long story short, he got the ZedPM, and was transported back to our dimension." McKay finished.

Dr. Weir scanned the room, and stopped when she saw Zelenka, who was almost completely covered in a thick, bumpy, bright red rash. "What happened to you?"

"He fell in a bush that we think is like poison ivy." John stated.

"Yes. The Poison Ivy From Hell." Zelenka confirmed.

"Ah. Nice description." Sheppard stated.

"Well, if it's like poison ivy, don't go touching anyone for a while, ok?" Major Lorne requested.

"Yes, yes." Radek was miserable.

"I'd suggest you go take a shower, son." Beckett started. "Then report to the infirmary." Zelenka left in the direction of the showers. "And as for you…" The doctor addressed the colonel. "I want you in the infirmary as well."

"I'm fine, Doc." John insisted.

"Need I remind you, Colonel, that up until a few minutes ago you were dead."

"Well, I wasn't technically ever dead, you just all thought I was." He stated mater-of-factly.

"Hey, at least you weren't written off as insane!" McKay inserted.

"John, just go with Carson." Dr. Weir insisted.

"But…" John started to protest, but stopped when Elizabeth gave him a look that said, 'don't bother'.

"" "" "" "" ""

"So, how is he?" Dr. Weir inquired.

"I think that was the most thorough exam I've ever had in my life." John stated.

"He's in perfect health." Carson declared.

"Told you." John teased.

"Yeah, and now you owe your life to me." Rodney declared.

"How do you figure that?" John chuckled.

"Well, without my brilliant insight, we'd be having a memorial service for you right about now." Rodney bragged.

"That would've been interesting to watch." John contemplated.

"Yeah, John, speaking of watching…" Elizabeth started, "Why exactly were you in my room at 3:35 in the morning?"

John turned to Dr. Beckett. "On second thought, maybe I should stay in the infirmary… you know, for observation…Oh, yeah, it's all going dark" he dramatically grabbed his head, "Maybe everyone should clear out. I think I need bedrest."

Elizabeth stared at him for a second, then stated, "I think you need a better way of avoiding my question."

END