Chapter One

Colonel Young sat in his quarters, stewing and twisting his wedding ring on his finger. Emily wanted a divorce. In reality, maybe that shouldn't have surprised him so much. But when it came right down to it, he'd really been convinced that things would get better. Then they just...didn't. Was it his fault? Maybe. Perhaps if he hadn't lost it and became close to nothing (forcing Destiny to intervene), then maybe he wouldn't be here right now. Rather, he wouldn't be sitting in his quarters worrying about his marriage when a) it wasn't even certain if he was going to see earth in his own body again and b) Camille had just radioed him to the gate room.

"What is it?" he asked, standing up.

"There seems to have been an attack on the group you sent to investigate the planet. Some are injured."

"On my way," Young said, instantly going to the door with quick steps.

He found a medical team already in the gateroom. Greer was being loaded onto a stretcher, Scott was holding a patch of gauze to a cut on his head, and James was still lying on her back on the ground. TJ was following the strecher, now being wheeled back down the coridor in the direction of the medical bay, while Lutienent James was being put onto another one. Young followed, getting a report from Scott on the way.

"What happened out there?" he asked.

"I don't know. They looked like the aliens that got to Chloe. Either way, they were there and they had weapons. Guess they didn't like us taking their water."

"How are they?"

Scott considered, pausing for a moment. "I don't know. James, she wasn't moving at all. Greer was talking, but he got hit pretty bad. And TJ..."

"TJ?"

"Hit in the arm, I think."

"Why is she not getting treated?"

"She's the only one who knows how to take care of them," Scott said as if this were the most logical thing ever.

"Great." No, not really.

After facing a shot in the stomache, it seemed like being shot in the arm would be a breeze. No, not really. Especially if you were trying to save someone's life. She couldn't help but notice the puddle of blood that had soaked through her jacket sleeve. She also knew that if she didn't stop to get cleaned up soon, she'd loose too much blood. Thankfully, the other medics were waiting for her orders. If she could get them started on helping Greer and James, then she couldn't bandage her own arm.

"We need to get that bullet out," she said. "Lisa, steralize the tools we need. Kate, get an IV set up over here. And you," she said to someone who's name she couldn't remember at the moment, "You check out James. See what happened to her." TJ suddenly felt very dizzy. She moved to the side and unzipped her jacket, but realized that she was unable to straighen her arm in order to remove it.

"Here," someone said, suddenly appearing beside her. "Let me help you." Gently, Colonel Young helped her out of her jacket. "What do you need?"

"Right now? Uh..." she couldn't think very easily. "I need to get the bullet out. But Greer needs it more. Gauze, i need some gauze and some disinfectant."

"Okay."

TJ sat down on a chair and held her arm, watching as her aids busied themselves with preparations for surgery. Greer was awake, barely, but talking with a slur about the blue aliens. Lutenient James was still out. TJ didn't even know what was wrong with her. She should have checked her more thoroughly, she realized now, but for some reason she'd just forgotten.

Young suddenly appeared at her side, holding a bottle of homemade antiseptic from Grody's still, along with a roll of bandages. "Here," he said.

"Thanks." TJ smiled and took the bottle from him, her hand brushing his ever so slightly. Still, it was enough. She pretended not to notice how quickly he withdrew his hand from her proximity as she poured a bit of the mixture onto a cloth and swabbed her wound. It was quite deep, actually, and stung badly. Now she knew how it felt when she put this stuff on others' wounds.

With a sharp intake of breath, she finished cleaning away all of the blood. Yes, the bullet was probably somewhere in her flesh and needed to be removed, but the others were more important. So she wrapped a bandage around it and let Colonel Young tie it tightly to quench the blood flow.

That done and over, she returned to Greer's side where she was needed to begin operating. She knew where he'd been hit- in the shoulder. However, it hadn't been a clean shot and she could tell already that many ligaments and arteries had been torn and needed repairing. Plus, the bullet wouldn't be easy to find.

"What's wrong with James?" she asked the woman whose name she still couldn't remember. Jane? Amanda?

"I can't find anything, Lutenient. She hasn't been shot, nor stunned."

TJ slipped her hands into her gloves and siezed the forcepts. Her arm twinged in pain, she grimanced, and went to work doing what she knew how to do best.