Carson paced nervously, his eyes fixed on the forest. Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon had only been gone a matter of minutes, but the villagers were considering giving chase as well, especially now that Zaddik was dead. Beckett knew Sheppard would do all he could to not hurt Ellia, but the townspeople would kill her on sight. The poor girl. No matter what Ronon said, Carson could see in her eyes she was different. She had injected the retrovirus, his retrovirus, in an attempt to become human, but the results had been devastating. Her iratus bug characteristics were dominating her instead of dissipating. He blamed himself. Oh, he hadn't forced her to take it, but he also hadn't kept it secure. He should have known she was nearby when he explained it to her father. Now Zaddik was dead by her hand, and she was operating on pure animal instinct.

Carson closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He hoped he could make it up to her, heal her. If only Colonel Sheppard could get her back in one piece. The Scot noticed Rodney was also pacing. McKay was tense, the air humming with his anxiety. He stared in the direction his team had taken. Carson suddenly realized that Rodney wanted to be out there with them. He wondered briefly if the Canadian scientist really understood how much he had changed in the past year. He shook himself out of his reverie as one of the villagers approached.

"Don't you think we should go after them?"

"No, I don't. Our people are trained to handle things like this. Try to be patient for just a few more minutes."

Rodney caught Carson's eye and nodded. Then McKay whirled as a twig snapped. Both men scanned the woods carefully. Carson saw something stirring in the brush. Rodney must have seen it as well since he slowly drew his nine millimeter, switched the safety to off and aimed it at the movement. Leaves rustled, and a branch swayed to reveal Teyla Emmagan. Rodney heaved a sigh of relief, but Carson could tell something was wrong with the Athosian woman. She stumbled as she entered the clearing.

"What is it, love?"

Teyla gingerly touched the back of her head, fingers coming away tinged with blood. "Ellia attacked me. I struck my head when I fell. Ronon and Colonel Sheppard are still tracking her."

"Sit down. Let's have a look."

Carson gently treated the abrasion and checked quickly for any other injuries as Rodney knelt beside her. This kept getting worse. A man was dead, and now Teyla was injured.

Gunfire echoed through the forest. Rodney leaped up and took a few steps in the direction of the shots only to stop as the boom of Ronon's weapon followed. Only it wasn't just one shot. The blaster discharged again and again.

Carson wasn't sure how many blasts it took, but he knew Ellia wasn't coming back alive. He closed his eyes and hung his head. How could he have let this happen? He would make up for this somehow, even if it was the last thing he ever did. He would perfect that serum. Ellia's death would not be in vain.

After a few minutes, Ronon and Sheppard appeared. The colonel had a field dressing hastily applied to his right arm. Another injury to add to the list. Carson berated himself under his breath as he neared the two men. McKay reached them first.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"She tried to feed on me."

Carson felt the blood drain from his face. How much worse could this get?

The End.