Last chapter...!!

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GROUNDED - Chapter 8
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"Ready?"

Teyla had two bantos rods in her hands as she faced him from across the gym.

"More than you'll ever know."

Sheppard twirled the sticks in his own hands, loosening up his wrists and arms. Beckett had finally given him permission to start sparring again, and he had tracked Teyla down as soon as he had left the infirmary. His leg was still sore, but had healed rapidly once the foreign invader was gone.

They approached each other, moving into their customary defensive stances, when the door slid open and McKay and Ronon walked in.

"Guys, we're just practicing. We don't need an audience," Sheppard said.

"We're here to make sure our team leader doesn't do something stupid and wind up out of action for even longer than he already has been," McKay said.

"I would not let that happen," Teyla said.

"Just stay out of the way, McKay." Sheppard pointed at him with one of the sticks. "And no comments about how much I suck. Things are still healing, so I'm not exactly going to be 100."

"Keep your concentration on me," Teyla said, shifting to the other side of the room so Sheppard had to put his back to McKay and Ronon in order to face her. They approached each other, bowed, then began to fight.

He let her make the first aggressive move, not so skillfully blocking her, and they both fell quickly into the familiar rhythms of parrying and blocking, attacking and retreating. Sheppard was indeed rusty, and slow, and it was not long before she had knocked him flat on his back on the mat.

Teyla leaned over him. "Colonel, are you -- ?"

"Don't!" Sheppard held up his hand, his finger in her face. "Do not say it. If one more person asks me if I'm ok, I'm going to go postal….! If I'm not fine, I will tell you."

"I'm afraid your previous behavior does not inspire much confidence regarding your truthfulness in such matters."

He rolled his eyes as he climbed to his feet. "Yes, I know but…" He twirled the sticks, settling back into a fighting stance. "Aw, hell, let's just do this, ok..?"

The sparring lasted for about 20 minutes, with Teyla having the upper hand the whole time, even though it was evident to all, including Sheppard, that she was holding back.

Sheppard was panting, sweating heavily, as Teyla brought him to his knees yet again, sticks pressed firmly against his neck, his body bent back against her leg.

She released him, pitching him forward onto his hands and knees, and walked away.

"That is enough for today," she said.

He struggled to his feet. "No, no, keep going."

Teyla shook her head, putting her bantos rods away.

Sheppard turned his attention to Ronon. "Come on, buddy. How about you and me for a while?"

"Sheppard, don't push your luck. Beckett just cleared you," McKay said.

Sheppard tossed his rods into a corner, then went and picked up a wooden practice knife, squaring off again Ronon.

"Beckett won't like it," Ronon said, smiling as he dropped into an unarmed fighting stance, circling around Sheppard.

"Beckett can go screw himself… Just watch the ribs and the head, ok? I really don't need something like that to keep me grounded."

Sheppard came at him with the fake knife, and just like with Teyla, he quickly wound up on his back on the floor with the knife to his own throat. Ronon looked down at him, amused.

"You'll have to do better than that."

"I'm working on it," Sheppard said as Ronon stood up, pulling him up to his feet as well.

They fought again and again, always with the same result, Sheppard sweating and panting while Ronon dealt with him effortlessly, barely breaking a sweat himself.

Sheppard was soon exhausted, but yet still full of pent up anger and frustration. He tossed aside the wooden knife, charging at Ronon, wrestling with him until they both went down. Ronon seemed to sense what he needed, and allowed Sheppard to pound on him, deflecting the blows just enough to avoid serious injury.

"Sheppard, stop it!" McKay yelled. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Leave it, McKay," Ronon grunted as the two men rolled across the floor.

McKay looked to Teyla for support, but even she said, "Give them a few more minutes."

Soon Sheppard could not put up a fight anymore, and Ronon finally pinned him down on his stomach, Sheppard's face pressed hard into the mat, immobilized with his left arm twisted behind his back.

"You done yet…?"

Sheppard struggled to catch his breath. "Yea…" A tired smile appeared on his face. "I really needed that…" He panted again. "Good workout… Thanks, buddy."

"Anytime," Ronon said, releasing Sheppard and standing up

Sheppard rolled slowly onto his back, completely winded, clothes soaked with sweat, damp hair plastered against his forehead.

McKay walked over, shaking his head. "Carson is going to be pissed."

Sheppard raised his hand, middle finger extended.

McKay grimaced. "Nice… You look like crap."

"But I feel great…" he said, still trying to catch his breath. "I really… really needed that…."

McKay looked down at him, tilting his head. "I don't 'get it'… but… I suppose I understand. I still think you're crazy though."

Sheppard nodded but did not say anything, still lying on the mat.

"You planning on getting up any time soon?"

"Nah… it's comfortable down here." He extended a hand towards Teyla. "Water."

She brought him a bottle, and he promptly drank 3/4 of it, then drizzled the remainder over his head. Then he finally pushed himself up onto his elbows.

Ronon strolled over again, extending his hand down. Sheppard took it, letting Ronon haul him to his feet.

He was smiling as he walked over to his gym bag, with no limp in his stride anymore.

"Great workout. Thanks, both of you," he said to Teyla and Ronon. "Let's do this again, same time tomorrow, all three of us."

They nodded, and he picked up his towel, mopping the sweat off his face and neck.

"Now what I really need is a nice long hot shower."

"No kidding," McKay said, wrinkling his nose as Sheppard passed by him on his way out of the gym.

-----

"I told you that you could spar, not beat yourself senseless," Beckett huffed as he inspected the bruise on Sheppard's jaw.

"Doc, come on. I really needed to blow off some steam… And before you ask, I feel great, and I'm not just saying that. I've told you about every little ache or pain I've had since I last saw you, I'm running again, my arm's back to normal and the leg's been doing really well since you took that thing out. I'm ready to go back on active duty."

"I'm afraid I can't sign off on that just yet, son."

"Carson, I need to get back out there," he said intently. "I need to be with my team. They've been going off-world without me, and that's not right."

"It's just temporary, you'll be back out soon enough."

Sheppard gave a frustrated sigh.

"You don't get it, doc. Teyla and Ronon, I know they can take care of themselves, and I trust Lorne. But it's my team. And McKay… Hell, you know he drives everyone nuts. He drives us nuts too, but I'm… well, I guess I'm used to it. We're used to it. We're the alpha team, and when you spend as much time together as we do, you develop a way of covering each other's backs without even having to think about it. But when you're put on a different team, just a few extra seconds can be crucial when you're under fire. Bottom line, I should be out there with them. …. Look, if you still want to punish me for the quarantine thing, fine. Just find a way to do it that doesn't end up punishing them too in the process."

Beckett's eyes had been focused on the abrasions on Sheppard's knuckles, but his mood softened considerably as he listened.

He took a step back, letting go of Sheppard's hand, looking at him with gentle eyes.

"John, I'm not punishing you, and I'm sorry if it seemed that I was. I was upset because you don't seem to understand that the quarantine protocols exist to protect everyone, including you You talk about taking care of your team -- well, I'm looking after mine, which is all of us in Atlantis. We lose enough people to the bloody Wraith -- we can't be shooting ourselves in the foot here at home.

"This is the second time since we came here that you've violated medical protocols. You were lucky both times that no one else was hurt or died, from the parasite or the nano-virus. You're one of the luckiest lads I've ever met, in fact; I don't know how you manage to survive all the scrapes you get yourself into. But luck runs out eventually, and that's why we have safety procedures."

"Yea, I know. I learned my lesson this time," Sheppard said, lightly rubbing his hand over the scar on his thigh.

Beckett leaned casually against the exam table.

"I do understand though, about Rodney. I worry about him too, I must confess. Major Lorne, he's a good man, aye, no question about that, but… well… Rodney is Rodney, and he can be bloody difficult to deal with," he sighed. "And the truth of it is, John, you're the best at looking after that genius brain of his, and saving him from himself when he gets into trouble off-world."

"You know, I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted, doc."

Beckett smiled, chuckling.

"It's a compliment…. So you see, speaking as Rodney's friend, I can truthfully say I want you back out there with him off-world as soon as possible." He gave Sheppard an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "Just don't tell the man I said all that -- I'll deny every word."

"So does that mean you might be willing to sign off on me?" Sheppard asked hopefully.

"Sorry, but no. You won't do Rodney or the rest of your team much good out there if you're not completely healthy." Sheppard's face fell. "We'll talk about this again in a few more days."

"A few more days…" Sheppard muttered. "You say that every time I come in here."

-----

Dr. Weir left her office, walking into the control room and handing an updated copy of the duty roster to Chuck, the gate technician. As she glanced into the gate room below, she noticed someone in front of the stargate.

It was Lt. Colonel Sheppard, dressed in full off-world gear. He was standing alone, checking his P-90.

"How long has he been there?" she asked.

"Five or ten minutes," Chuck replied. "It's about 30 minutes until his team is scheduled to go off-world."

"Someone's impatient," she said with a soft smile.

"Yes, ma'am," Chuck smiled back.

She went back into her office, then came back out ten minutes later, making her way down the main staircase towards Sheppard.

"It's good to see you back here, John."

"Thank you, Elizabeth," he grinned widely, happily rocking forward on the balls of his feet. "It's good to be back."

"I won't take a chance on jinxing things for you by saying this should be an easy mission, because I know how frequently you run into complications. But I'll just remind you that we've had good relations with the Vintaxians so far, and they've agreed to give us 25 extra crates of fruit and vegetables if Rodney can fix their power generator for them."

Sheppard nodded. "We've been there before, and Teyla has a good rapport with the prefect's wife. Baring complications, we should be back within 24 hours."

They discussed the details for a few minutes, then Teyla and Ronon arrived, in full gear as well, and Sheppard's smile brightened even more.

"Good to go?" Ronon and Teyla nodded. "Where's McKay?"

"I am not sure, but he will be here," Teyla said.

And he was… with five minutes to spare.

"I'm here, I'm here," McKay said as he hurried into the gate room and up the stairs to join the other three.

"How kind of you to grace us with your presence, Rodney," Sheppard quipped.

"It's not like you can leave without me, considering I'm going to be doing the actual work."

"I could always get Zelenka."

McKay merely snorted derisively in response.

"Good luck, and be careful," Weir said as she headed back up the stairs.

"We will, Elizabeth. Thank you," Teyla said.

"Everyone set?" Sheppard asked, looking pointedly at McKay.

"Yes, yes, I'm ready," he said as he adjusted his vest and belt.

Up in the control room, Beckett strolled in as Weir walked over to the DHD.

"It's good to see the Colonel back to work -- and to have him off my back," Beckett grinned.

"Mine too," Weir said with a smile. "He's very hard to live with when he's on desk duty."

"Tell me about it," he snorted.

They watched as Sheppard looked over his shoulder, making a circular motion in the air with one hand.

Beckett's brow furrowed as Chuck dialed the DHD. "Why is it that every time they go off-world, I have the nagging feeling I should be getting the infirmary ready for another emergency…?"

"Because Rodney is right. Even on routine missions, John does have a knack for getting into trouble," Weir said, and they both chuckled

The stargate activated, and the wormhole opened up. In front of it, the SGA-1 team was lined up in a row alongside one another.

Sheppard glanced at all of them, and they exchanged a small smile between them.

"So we're trading my valuable time and brain power for --- what? Rabbit food?" McKay asked disdainfully.

"We're trading for valuable supplies. Some of us like fruits and vegetables -- it's not rabbit food," Sheppard said.

"If they really wanted to thank me for my efforts, they'd throw in a case of chocolate bars."

"The Vintaxians don't have chocolate bars."

"And these people are worth saving why…? No culture can call itself truly civilized if they don't have chocolate."

Teyla raised an eyebrow. "The Athosians do not have chocolate either, Dr. McKay."

McKay flushed self-consciously. "Yea, well, uhm," he said, clearing his throat, "you see, that was a joke. You know it was just a joke, right?"

"Are we going or not?" Ronon interrupted, impatient.

"Yes. Yes, we are," Sheppard said.

And with a nod from their team leader, they all stepped forward together in unison into the event horizon, setting off on a new mission together.
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THE END
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Thanks so much for all the reviews and kind words. I hope you've all enjoyed my story. :-)