Shepard the Shepard

By inu-yokia-princess

(A/N: Thank you all who reviewed and encouraged me to continue. Now John and Rodney is going to be the main relationship I do plan on a slight Zelenka and Rodney, also I plan to touch on Rodney and Jennifer, however the result will still be McShep. Again I apologize for my horrid grammar mistakes and I hope that you will still enjoy this story despite my inadequate writing. Please read and review.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate Atlantis

Zelenka looked at Rodney for a moment then he looked at "John". "Rodney there is no need for you to make up such things. I understand bringing a earthly animal to Atlantis isn't a normal thing to do and is most likely against regulations, however I can understand." Zelenka told Rodney continuing to scratch the depressed John's ears.

Rodney sighed unable to stop himself. He realized Zelenka was not going to believe him no matter what he said. So Rodney choose to glare at the mousy scientist. "Alright fine, you know what I'm going to find someone else who can help!" with a quick glare Rodney went out of the lab in search of Doctor Keller.

John stared at the retreating back of Rodney and decided as good as being scratched behind the ears was he knew that Rodney was the key to getting back to normal. With his mind made up John ran after his main scientist. He found him just about to enter the medical bay.

Doctor Keller was the only one there at the time John noted realizing it was still extremely early. "Rodney? Awww what a cute dog!" again John was being scratched behind the ears and in a slight heaven.

"No not cute dog. That dog is Sheppard, now I don't know why but I can understand him and I think it has to do with that device that hit him." Rodney began with a sinking feeling that maybe Jennifer wasn't the best first choice with only his word to back himself up.

Jennifer looked up at Rodney for a moment. She noticed how worried he appeared and turned her attention to "Sheppard" he looked like an every day dog to her. How the dog was brought to Atlantis she did not know, but she did know that what Rodney was suggesting no matter how crazy and unthinkable this was Atlantis.

"Yes I know its crazy but crazier things have happened." Rodney thought for a moment and realized as crazy as the last five years had been, he doubted anything this crazy had ever occurred. "Look take a DNA sample and see if any of it matches. After all he can still open doors so he must still have the gene." Rodney ran out of the medical bay without another word, leaving John alone with the good doctor.

Rodney immediately went back to his lab to wait and see the results. As he entered the lab he noticed that Zelenka was giving him a rather strange look. Rodney ignored this the only way he could by getting to work. Which soon enough resulted in an argument with the mousy scientist that seemed to calm Rodney down.

The lunch room was filled with people as everyone began to wake up. One such person was Doctor Jennifer Keller who sat down at the table containing Teyla and Ronon. She had grabbed a fruit salad and some milk that she barley touched. She was waiting on the test to come back and she also had to worry about what she would do if the test came back and it was or wasn't Shepard. "Doctor Keller is everything alright?" Teyla asked concern in her voice.

"Yea, I'm just a bit concerned. Rodney came in this morning and asked me to do a DNA test on a German Shepard, a type of animal on our planet, claiming that he was colonel Sheppard." Jennifer looked at her friends in mild distress, letting the news sink into their skulls she attempted to eat a strawberry from her fruit salad.

"That is strange news indeed." Teyla stated her forehead showing signs of concern. She turned to Ronon to see what his reaction was. She was rewarded with a raised eye brow.

"What McKay's finally lost it?" Ronon didn't seem as afraid as Jennifer or Teyla was to voice what they all were thinking.

"Well I don't know. He hasn't slept much since John was brought back unconscious. He didn't leave John's side for more than an hour. It's possible that the lack of sleep and his stress over what happened is causing him to be delusional." Jennifer stated her theories that she had come up with.

"So what do we do? Rodney is very intelligent and needed member of our team. If he is sick we must help him." Teyla responded now more worried than before. She looked at Ronon to see even he was a little worried. They all had been when Sheppard was hit by that purple beam, though Rodney seemed most affected by it.

"I don't know. Rodney looked as though he was still attempting to convince himself of what he was saying while trying to convince me as well." Just as Jennifer was about to continue she got a page telling her the results had come in. "Well lets see if Rodney is really crazy or not."

With that the three left for Jennifer's lab. When the results came Jennifer looked astonished. "This is an almost exact match to colonel Sheppard." The look on the Doctor's face was priceless. She could barley believe what she was looking at. Rodney was right.

As soon as Rodney heard that he was not going crazy he relaxed for all two seconds before dropping everything and running to the medical bay. "Well it's a bout time." John stated when he saw Rodney run through the door.

"Well forgive me for not wanting to be looked at like I was crazy!" Rodney shot back. He was rewarded with the very look he was trying to avoid. "You said you believed me!" Rodney stared desperately.

"We do. It's just that, you're the only one who can apparently understand what the colonel is saying." Teyla soothed. She was a bit shocked to hear the dog that was proven to be her team leader bark and have Rodney respond.

"Yes I don't know why but I can. Now this has to do with that device, we have to go back for it." Rodney suddenly began to pace thinking of a way to collect the device if the Wraith possibly took it when they left.

"Yes the device is most likely responsible but you all barley got out of there with your lives. And you have to go through Woolsey." Jennifer had seen Rodney in a panic before, but this seemed different.

"What has to go through me? I received word that I was needed in the medical." Woolsey cut himself off as he noticed Sheppard for the first time. "Who brought a dog here? That is a violation and the dog must be taken at once." Woolsey looked at John almost longingly for a moment as if tempted to do what almost everyone did when they first saw John pet him.

"This isn't your normal dog Mr. Woolsey." Teyla began unsure on how to tell the man that one of his key colonels was turned into a dog by a device that they had no idea where it was or what it was suppose to do.

"It's Sheppard." Ronon ever the blunt one told him. His face as always gave no sigh of any amusement. The look on Mr. Woolsey's face told everyone that like the rest of them, he didn't want to believe it.

"Ronon is right. The DNA is a complete match to that of Colonel John Sheppard. Though I admit this is very hard to believe, but Rodney can understand him still." Everyone turned to look at Rodney who was standing next to John who looked up at him as well.

John suddenly realized that Rodney was the only one out of everyone that hadn't petted him on first sight. Even Ronon scratched him behind the ears when no one was looking. John wasn't sure why but that bothered him.

"If what you say is true, then we have to find a way to fix this." Mr. Woolsey was still unsure, he had been in command at Atlantis for only a few months and he had heard and read the reports of how crazy things on a Stargate base could get, yet never had he heard of something this bizarre. "How do we fix this?"

"Well I have a theory, but it involves getting that device that hit Sheppard. Now that's either still on the planet if we are lucky, or if the fates choose to hate us as they so often do the Wraith took it and we have no way of knowing where they went or how to get to that place." Rodney responded, he sounded strained as he tried to think of a way to fix this. He knew that if they could just get a hold of that device they could figure this all out.

"So you want me to give you permission to go back to the planet and look for it, when you barley escaped the last time you went there?" Woolsey only sounded shocked by this, by now he was more than use to the idea of his teams going into dangerous places for the sake of saving one of more lives. "You have a go, and you'll have to take him with you as well."

Everyone was shocked that Mr. Woolsey was so willing to let them go, normally he would at least pretend to not want them to, but what shocked them most of all was that John was being allowed to come along in his state. "Thank you Mr. Woolsey." Teyla snapped out of it the fastest and thanked him, she could sense that Mr. Woolsey was worried as well.

"So you think you can handle this?" Ronon asked he looked at John who barked at him in almost a growl. Ronon didn't know what John just said but he knew that it would put a smirk on his face and make him proud to call Sheppard a friend. Ronon stared at Rodney waiting to have what John said translated to him.

"He said, let's just get going." Rodney waited a moment "He also added a growl in for a yes I can I believe." Rodney translated staring at the dog at his side. If anyone had told him yesterday that he would be the only one able to understand Sheppard when he was in dog mode he would have laughed in their faces and said something along the lines of you have some imagination.

Without so much as another word Teyla and Ronon left to get their gear. Rodney looked at Sheppard for a moment and then signaled him to follow. Curiously John followed Rodney wondering what could possibly be going on in the scientist's head.

Within an hour the team was assembling in front of the gate. The only two missing were Rodney and John from the group. Teyla and Ronon shared a look of worry for a moment before looking to watch for them coming. A second team was going with them for back up this time, hopefully however they would not need it.

John and Rodney approached them both in gear. John was in a vest that looked like it was carrying supplies and made just for him. He looked determined as ever his teeth bearing every now and again to show just how ready he was. Rodney stood beside him looking less prepared and more worried about what would await.

The gate burst into life and the teams set out for the planet, each hoping what they were looking for would still be there and not on board a Wraith ship.

(A/N: That's it for this chapter. I'm hoping that I will be able to finish the next chapter by next week and have it uploaded then too. Thanks to all those who reviewed.)