She was not sure, if she was waiting for Caldwell to come back or not. Atlantis needed the supplies carried by the Daedalus, and she was always glad to hear the latest news about the Earth from people who were coming back from there, but the thought of meeting Colonel Caldwell made her feel creepy. She always suspected that he was an arrogant, superior, shrill fellow in his private life as in his work, but until that ominous evening, it was just a guess. Now she was certain. Though she knew he was an honest, straight, and basically good man, she felt something odd about him. She intensively disliked typically military-style men, and Caldwell was absolutely one of those.

The fact that she spent so many hours thinking of him, of his behavior, made her feel violated.


On the day the Daedalus arrived back at Atlantis, Elizabeth Weir quickly found an alibi for herself, and travelled to the shore to check if Teyla's people were doing well. Sheppard and McKay were surprised and Teyla was too. It was unusual of Weir to do that, especially at the time of the Daedalus-arrival. She was always the first to greet the staff of the ship.

"I guess that something is going on," Teyla told Sheppard when they were on their way to the great passage which led them to the stairs not far from the place where the Daedalus was landing.

"You mean...?" Sheppard's face was blank.

"Have you ever seen Doctor Weir so enthusiastic about visiting my tribe? McKay reminded her that this was the day when the Daedalus was to arrive, and she didn't even care."

"Do you think she is not satisfied with you, and she is testing your job by asking your people?

"Oh, no, no," Teyla shook her head. "This is not about me, I'm sure of that."

Sheppard did not understand, and Teyla did not mention anything else, but her suspicions were justified as she saw the annoyance appearing on Colonel Cadwell's face when he realized that Sheppard was the person who greeted him, and escorted him to the conference room, where they could change their reports.


Elizabeth Weir arrived back at Atlantis late in the evening. She hoped that Sheppard had organized everything for the crew of the Daedalus, and that she would not have to deal with them for a while. Somehow, she felt a strange excitement, when she thought of Colonel Caldwell returning to Atlantis again. This pleasant fever turned into an awkward one as she took another left in the corridor, and caught sight of Caldwell standing next to her office.

"Oh, no," she moaned, tried to turn around and to leave without being seen, but it was already too late.

"Doctor Weir, nice to meet you again," he said with a disgustingly ironical shade in his voice.

"Good evening, Colonel. How was your journey?" she asked, hoping her tone of voice sounded cold enough to make him see that she was not at all interested in his answer.

"Long and boring as usual," He stepped forward. Elizabeth took one step backwards involuntarily.

"Well, it's not good to hear that," she said, "I suppose you should take a rest now with your team. Or do you have something to report to me, in which case, it can wait until tomorrow."

"No, nothing to report." Caldwell went to her with an assertive, supercilious look on his face.

"Oh, okay, then good night to you," she murmured, and wanted to turn around as soon as possible, but he caught her by the arm.

"Where is my welcome present?" he asked derisively, and touched her hair with his other hand. She closed her eyes and wondered if he noticed how loud her heart was beating. He pulled her hair not roughly, but firmly to make her face turn to his.

She felt his light breathe on her lips and opened her eyes in a flash. Caldwell grabbed her shoulders, tugging her to him. She lifted her shaking hands quickly between their bodies, and pushed his muscular chest as hard as she could to keep him away from her far enough so that he could not kiss her.

"Please," she whispered. Her eyes were begging.

"It's about Sheppard, isn't it?" he asked snarling.

"John? No, no, you've misunderstood…" Elizabeth shook her head at first flurried, but then she caught sight of the arrogant, jealous, anger gleaming in his eyes, and she exploded: "Oh my God, how can you be so conceited? Are you even unable to imagine that a woman declines you because of your personality?"

"Hmm... whatever you just say." Caldwell bent over her neck, and bit her so hard that she screamed out loud.

"Stop it." Elizabeth struggled, and wished he had not been so strong, and that he had not been able to pin her to the wall in a way as to ward off her desperate efforts to free herself from his grip.

"I... missed you... so much... and... I... want you..." he moaned between his fierce bites.

"Leave me alone, let me go." Elizabeth began pummeling his chest, though it seemed he could not even feel her hits. His teeth left aching, painful spots on her skin. After a while, she lowered her hands wearily, and pressed her palms to the wall behind her back. She could nearly feel the pulsation of the electricity as the ZPM sent its energy waves all over the city. Caldwell pulled her even closer.

Elizabeth bent her head backwards and gasped, while his body - stiffened by his desire - forced her against the wall so hard that the whole world darkened before her eyes. She was only seeing colors, all kinds of dazzling, shimmering colors, mostly red and green. She sighed softly, "I know that it hurts you too, but if you go on like that, you will destroy both of us."

This sentence made Caldwell freeze. He seemed as if the floor had cracked beneath him, and as if he had fallen into the endless, icy amount of water under Atlantis. He let her free, and turned his head away.

"Yes, you're right. I'm sorry, Doctor Weir." He adjusted his crumpled uniform. "If... if you could excuse me... My journey was long, and I'm tired, and I'm... I'm out of myself."

He didn't even look back at her, he just left.