*Disclaimer* - I sadly still do not own Stargate, its character's, or let's be honest anything. I am merely borrowing the characters for entertainment and will return them when I am finished.

A.N. Special thanks to XX-Samantha –XX for agreeing to be beta on this story, wherever it may lead

The wounded man was a sight to behold. Dressed only in hospital scrubs, pilfered from his former caregivers, he hobbled quickly down an abandoned alleyway, mercilessly pounded by the driving, sleet-like rain. Favouring his left side, he struggled along with a speed that contrasted his weakened state, using the towering walls surrounded him as a guide. Continually moving himself forward and distancing the unseen enemies who pursued him.

In a corner of his fractured mind, experience told him that there was another danger, far more insidious than his faceless enemies, lurking, gaining footholds against the weakened man. His blue tinged lips, shaking body, and sluggish limbs all told the signs. In a brief moment of clarity he realised he needed shelter, now. Or everything he had been through was for nothing, he would have failed.

On the other hand all he needed to do was sit down and it could all be over. He would be free, safe, warm, and best of all he could be with her.

"No"

He didn't even realise the words, gravely and rough as they were, had left his mouth. To give up meant dishonouring the dead, ignoring his duty, giving up meant leaving people behind. With renewed energy, the injured man stumbled forward, crashing into the nearest wall as dizziness overwhelmed him. Pushing himself up with his good arm, the man noticed an old doorway out of the corner of his eye. On steadily failing legs he haltingly made his way over and cautiously looked in.

The room was dark, untouched in this generation. There was broken furniture and scattered remnants strewn across the floor, as though the last inhabitant had waited until the very last moment to pack and then found themselves with only seconds to gather the material possessions of their lives. The man barely noticed. What he did notice though; was the slight heat generated by the conduits running through the room, the solid roof and walls keeping out the wind and rain, and the dirty tapestries on the walls which he could pull down to help warm his near frozen body. Shelter and heat meant he still had a fighting chance.

With a weary, shivering sigh the man grabbed the old hangings, wrapped them around his shoulders, and collapsed into the corner with pain filled exhaustion, losing himself to the nightmares which had become his reality.