(Mis)Leading Information.
John had stopped by and picked Jaida up from Wes and Aidan's and then headed back to Mia's. He had had a long, nasty fight with the IOA on why staying there was a good idea. They thought it was bad considering that Mia's loyalties were seriously questionable right now, but since John had seen proof that Mia was innocent, his doubts had been burned away and he was determined to find her, no matter who he had to step on to get to her. It was Afghanistan all over again, in some ways, and he knew that he was taking a very, very serious risk. Landry had taken John aside and gave him the whole personal-feelings-compromising-everything speech, telling him in no uncertain terms and with very few words that if John fucked this one up, he was never going to recover from the consequences.
John convinced Landry that the only place he could ensure that his personal feelings wouldn't get the best of him would be if he stayed at Mia's. At Cheyenne Mountain John would simply go stir-crazy and being around all the military protocol would eventually cause him to snap. That John recognized that scared him to no end. He had never had so strong of a reaction, not even when he had challenged the orders to leave Holland behind in the middle of the desert behind enemy lines. As John paced Mia's living room with Jaida watching him from where she lay sulking at the front door, he took several deep, calming breaths and scrubbed his hands through his already-unkempt hair.
What he was feeling was guilt, plain and simple, for ever doubting - for even a millisecond - Mia's innocence. He was feeling other things, too, that he was still too terrified to name. He had said the words to Wes not too long ago, and at the time he hadn't really thought about what he was saying. Yes, a part of him loved Mia. But that part of him was still wrapped up in years of distrust and fear. He wasn't even sure if he could really love someone. He cared for his team in much the same way. It was a bond that he could never put into words, and when he had told Teyla that he would do anything, including sacrificing himself, to save any of them, he wasn't lying.
John finally flopped onto the couch, the air whooshing out of his lungs in a huff. Several seconds later, the cold wetness of Jaida's nose poked at the hand that was hanging over the edge. John turned to look at her as he ran his hand over the top of the Lab's head. She got as close as she could to the couch and then rested her chin on John's chest with a tiny whimper.
"I know, girl," he said, petting her absently. "I miss her too. I'll get her back, though. I promise."
They lay there for a while, until John figured he'd be better off sleeping in a bed instead of a couch. Jaida followed him as he went through the motions of getting ready for sleep, and once he was settled on his side of the bed, Jaida jumped up and stretched out next to him for cuddles. John smiled and chuckled softly. He rested his hand on Jaida's back and with her reassuring bulk there next to him, he drifted off.
*
He was out walking Jaida through the park a couple of days later, when he suddenly found himself on-board the Apollo. Jaida was equal parts terrified at the sudden change in scenery, and insanely curious as to where the hell she now was. He didn't have any problems keeping her at his side as he began to make his way to the bridge, but as the shock wore off, she became quite a handful.
"Sorry about the unannounced pick-up," Ellis said, getting up from the command chair as John entered the bridge. "But it was urgent." His eyes glanced over Jaida curiously, but didn't comment.
"How urgent?" John asked, giving up the tug-of-war over Jaida's leash as she went over to Major Marks and began sniffing him out.
Ellis simply pointed at the viewscreen, which now had Landry's face staring back at them instead of the usual view from Earth's orbit. John tugged Jaida back so he could stand in-view of the camera. He glanced down at his sweats, sneakers and hoodie before looking up at Landry slightly bemused. "Apologies for being out of uniform, General," he said.
"No worries, Colonel Sheppard, your current attire may be of use to us. ...That's a gorgeous dog, might I ask who it belongs to?"
John looked down and noted with horror that Jaida was now taking an intense interest in Colonel Ellis. John mentally facepalmed. "Her name's Jaida; she belongs to Mia."
Landry narrowed his eyes in suspicion for a moment, and then smiled tightly. "You'll be beaming down a mile or so away from your target, Colonel. You simply need to knock on the door and show them Mia's picture, then report back your findings."
"Sure thing," John replied. He couldn't help feeling a little anxious to go now, as the first trickle of adrenaline started to hit his system.
Minutes later, much to Jaida's eternal consternation at not being able to fully explore the Apollo and its crew, the pair was back on earth, somewhere along a dirt path in a forested area of the Hamptons. John had waived off the proffered print of Mia's photo and pulled out his wallet to show them he already had one. He took it out now and put it in another pocket before securing said wallet, making sure his firearm was hidden, yet easily accessible and then started to jog lightly along the trail, following the directions that chirruped in the ear-bud nestled close to his eardrum.
Not only were the Apollo's sensors tracking him and Jaida, but the ship had a constant transporter lock on him in case they had to yank him out in a hurry. They guided him to the house, and he buzzed the intercom at the gate. He stated his business of merely wishing to make a neighbourly inquiry about something important, and they let him in. He figured Jaida could sense the change in John, as he made the switch to military-mode without looking like he had done so, since she behaved herself and stayed close. As they neared the front door, it opened, and the man from the surveillance photo stepped outside, dressed in black slacks and a nice shirt. Definite upper-class business casual, but not entirely out of place on an estate in the Hamptons.
"Good morning," the gentleman called out as John and Jaida paused at the bottom of the porch steps.
"Good morning," John replied. "I'm sorry to bother you, but it's a little urgent."
"No worries, my friend, what can I do for you?"
"I live on an estate on the other side of the woods there with my sister. She's very sick and requires hourly doses of medication to keep her well; unfortunately, due to a symptom of the disease, she's not quite sane and very prone to wandering off and I'm afraid that she's managed to give us the slip several hours ago. I was wondering if you've seen her." John pulled the photo of Mia out of his pocket and went up two of the steps to hand it to the gentleman, Jaida following dutifully.
"I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone that looks like this," the man said, giving the photo a once-over and then handing it back. As he leaned back down, Jaida took one more step up and tried to sniff at him. She tried to pull forward with a bark as she presumably smelled something she liked, and John tugged her back down as he pocketed the photo and backed up. Jaida barked several more times, before finally whimpering sadly as she followed reluctantly. The amn retreated a few steps.
"Sorry, my dog probably smells overtones of her favourtie spices. It's been happening all morning as we've spekn to people," John covered for Jaida's reaction. "Anyway, thanks for your time," he added. "And if you do happen to see her, please call the authorities. They're already on alert and will know how to contact us."
"Will do. I hope you find her."
John smiled and gave the man a respectful nod before turning to walk back to the gate. Jaida resisted, and turned back with a bark. John paused and gave the leash a tug with a whispered Jaida! Calm down, girl. He crouched quickly to give the dog a brief scratch and a kiss on the forehead. "Let's get out of here and we can save her," he whispered close to Jaida's ear. He stood and continued on to the gate, passing through easily and then heading back down to the clearing where he had beamed in, Jaida sulking and testing his resolve every step of the way with quiet whimpers and soft barks and lots of tugging on the leash and digging her heels in.
Once back onboard the Apollo, John crouched before the Lab again and she immediately nosed him in an attempt to drive him back to the planet so they could go back and get a really good sniff of that guy. John keyed his radio.
"This is Sheppard, I think we might've found our place."
*
Dorian Drayen watched as Lieutenant-Colonel John Sheppard and that damnable Labrador left his property. He was obviously running out of time, and needed to redouble his efforts to get that counter-encryption finished so he could get paid and then dispose the girl. He waited until Sheppard was out of sight before going back inside. It was time to make sure that Mia understood that she could spout time constraints all she wanted, but sooner or later she would be made to understand how much he could truly motivate her and on how little sustenance she could truly work.
John convinced Landry that the only place he could ensure that his personal feelings wouldn't get the best of him would be if he stayed at Mia's. At Cheyenne Mountain John would simply go stir-crazy and being around all the military protocol would eventually cause him to snap. That John recognized that scared him to no end. He had never had so strong of a reaction, not even when he had challenged the orders to leave Holland behind in the middle of the desert behind enemy lines. As John paced Mia's living room with Jaida watching him from where she lay sulking at the front door, he took several deep, calming breaths and scrubbed his hands through his already-unkempt hair.
What he was feeling was guilt, plain and simple, for ever doubting - for even a millisecond - Mia's innocence. He was feeling other things, too, that he was still too terrified to name. He had said the words to Wes not too long ago, and at the time he hadn't really thought about what he was saying. Yes, a part of him loved Mia. But that part of him was still wrapped up in years of distrust and fear. He wasn't even sure if he could really love someone. He cared for his team in much the same way. It was a bond that he could never put into words, and when he had told Teyla that he would do anything, including sacrificing himself, to save any of them, he wasn't lying.
John finally flopped onto the couch, the air whooshing out of his lungs in a huff. Several seconds later, the cold wetness of Jaida's nose poked at the hand that was hanging over the edge. John turned to look at her as he ran his hand over the top of the Lab's head. She got as close as she could to the couch and then rested her chin on John's chest with a tiny whimper.
"I know, girl," he said, petting her absently. "I miss her too. I'll get her back, though. I promise."
They lay there for a while, until John figured he'd be better off sleeping in a bed instead of a couch. Jaida followed him as he went through the motions of getting ready for sleep, and once he was settled on his side of the bed, Jaida jumped up and stretched out next to him for cuddles. John smiled and chuckled softly. He rested his hand on Jaida's back and with her reassuring bulk there next to him, he drifted off.
*
He was out walking Jaida through the park a couple of days later, when he suddenly found himself on-board the Apollo. Jaida was equal parts terrified at the sudden change in scenery, and insanely curious as to where the hell she now was. He didn't have any problems keeping her at his side as he began to make his way to the bridge, but as the shock wore off, she became quite a handful.
"Sorry about the unannounced pick-up," Ellis said, getting up from the command chair as John entered the bridge. "But it was urgent." His eyes glanced over Jaida curiously, but didn't comment.
"How urgent?" John asked, giving up the tug-of-war over Jaida's leash as she went over to Major Marks and began sniffing him out.
Ellis simply pointed at the viewscreen, which now had Landry's face staring back at them instead of the usual view from Earth's orbit. John tugged Jaida back so he could stand in-view of the camera. He glanced down at his sweats, sneakers and hoodie before looking up at Landry slightly bemused. "Apologies for being out of uniform, General," he said.
"No worries, Colonel Sheppard, your current attire may be of use to us. ...That's a gorgeous dog, might I ask who it belongs to?"
John looked down and noted with horror that Jaida was now taking an intense interest in Colonel Ellis. John mentally facepalmed. "Her name's Jaida; she belongs to Mia."
Landry narrowed his eyes in suspicion for a moment, and then smiled tightly. "You'll be beaming down a mile or so away from your target, Colonel. You simply need to knock on the door and show them Mia's picture, then report back your findings."
"Sure thing," John replied. He couldn't help feeling a little anxious to go now, as the first trickle of adrenaline started to hit his system.
Minutes later, much to Jaida's eternal consternation at not being able to fully explore the Apollo and its crew, the pair was back on earth, somewhere along a dirt path in a forested area of the Hamptons. John had waived off the proffered print of Mia's photo and pulled out his wallet to show them he already had one. He took it out now and put it in another pocket before securing said wallet, making sure his firearm was hidden, yet easily accessible and then started to jog lightly along the trail, following the directions that chirruped in the ear-bud nestled close to his eardrum.
Not only were the Apollo's sensors tracking him and Jaida, but the ship had a constant transporter lock on him in case they had to yank him out in a hurry. They guided him to the house, and he buzzed the intercom at the gate. He stated his business of merely wishing to make a neighbourly inquiry about something important, and they let him in. He figured Jaida could sense the change in John, as he made the switch to military-mode without looking like he had done so, since she behaved herself and stayed close. As they neared the front door, it opened, and the man from the surveillance photo stepped outside, dressed in black slacks and a nice shirt. Definite upper-class business casual, but not entirely out of place on an estate in the Hamptons.
"Good morning," the gentleman called out as John and Jaida paused at the bottom of the porch steps.
"Good morning," John replied. "I'm sorry to bother you, but it's a little urgent."
"No worries, my friend, what can I do for you?"
"I live on an estate on the other side of the woods there with my sister. She's very sick and requires hourly doses of medication to keep her well; unfortunately, due to a symptom of the disease, she's not quite sane and very prone to wandering off and I'm afraid that she's managed to give us the slip several hours ago. I was wondering if you've seen her." John pulled the photo of Mia out of his pocket and went up two of the steps to hand it to the gentleman, Jaida following dutifully.
"I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone that looks like this," the man said, giving the photo a once-over and then handing it back. As he leaned back down, Jaida took one more step up and tried to sniff at him. She tried to pull forward with a bark as she presumably smelled something she liked, and John tugged her back down as he pocketed the photo and backed up. Jaida barked several more times, before finally whimpering sadly as she followed reluctantly. The amn retreated a few steps.
"Sorry, my dog probably smells overtones of her favourtie spices. It's been happening all morning as we've spekn to people," John covered for Jaida's reaction. "Anyway, thanks for your time," he added. "And if you do happen to see her, please call the authorities. They're already on alert and will know how to contact us."
"Will do. I hope you find her."
John smiled and gave the man a respectful nod before turning to walk back to the gate. Jaida resisted, and turned back with a bark. John paused and gave the leash a tug with a whispered Jaida! Calm down, girl. He crouched quickly to give the dog a brief scratch and a kiss on the forehead. "Let's get out of here and we can save her," he whispered close to Jaida's ear. He stood and continued on to the gate, passing through easily and then heading back down to the clearing where he had beamed in, Jaida sulking and testing his resolve every step of the way with quiet whimpers and soft barks and lots of tugging on the leash and digging her heels in.
Once back onboard the Apollo, John crouched before the Lab again and she immediately nosed him in an attempt to drive him back to the planet so they could go back and get a really good sniff of that guy. John keyed his radio.
"This is Sheppard, I think we might've found our place."
*
Dorian Drayen watched as Lieutenant-Colonel John Sheppard and that damnable Labrador left his property. He was obviously running out of time, and needed to redouble his efforts to get that counter-encryption finished so he could get paid and then dispose the girl. He waited until Sheppard was out of sight before going back inside. It was time to make sure that Mia understood that she could spout time constraints all she wanted, but sooner or later she would be made to understand how much he could truly motivate her and on how little sustenance she could truly work.