"How long have you been on your own like this?" Beckett asked as she led him to the secondary infirmary.

"Few days," she said. "Feels like it's been a month."

He sighed. "I'm sorry, I was away on the mainland. A few of the Athosians were sick, so I was taking care of them for a few days. I thought something was odd when I radio'd Weir and didn't hear back."

"Communications have been mostly down since the situation got really bad. I cut most of the power a few days ago," she told him.

"If you cut the power, how did the bay doors open?"

She shrugged. "Not all of the power is out. I've noticed that Atlantis has been redirecting some of it to help me out a little."

He raised his eyebrows. "That's very impressive, to have the whole city on your side like that."

She merely nodded, then ushered him into a room half stocked with medical supplies. "I found this yesterday. It's been my safehouse, basically. They shouldn't find us here."

"Alright, then. Let me have a look at that arm and you can tell me how all this started." He set down his medical bag, rummaging through its contents as she pulled herself up onto the examination table.

"Major Lorne's team was attacked by a group of Wraith about a week ago. He was stunned and sent to the infirmary, but while he was there, he regained consciousness and lost control. Started fighting everybody. They put him in isolation, but more cases kept occurring. By the time we finally stopped all off-world activity, it was too late. Too many people were affected, and the number kept growing because of those." She gestured to the bag of stunners on the floor. "They're new, a different make from the ones we've been collecting. Teams would take the stunners off dead Wraith like we normally do, and bring them back here. The ones affected sought them out and began using them on everyone else."

"If they were in isolation, how did it manage to spread to the whole city?" Beckett asked. He looked back at her arm, now free of gauze, and frowned. "Who gave this to you?"

She tried not to wince. "Ronon."

His eyes snapped up, then he began looking over her body in earnest. "You've got bruises around your collar bone. Did someone try to strangle you?"

She swallowed. "I had a few run-ins with Sheppard," she said quietly, as though saying it loudly made it more real.

His mouth was set in a firm line. "You'd best get on with the telling of that story."

"The reason everyone else got affected was largely because of Sheppard. He... Well, you know the colonel. He's always the first response. Went down to corral a group of Marines who'd gotten out of hand and... one of them got lucky. And then we lost him." She winced as Beckett poured disinfectant on her arm, but tried to block the pain and continued. "He hid in the lower levels, and half our equipment stopped working, so he must have gotten to something important. We couldn't pinpoint his location, and no search teams came back the same as they were before. Weir finally sent Teyla and I down, but refused to send Ronon because if he was lost, he'd take everyone else with him."

"I'm surprised he listened," Beckett said.

"He didn't," she replied through gritted teeth. "We were down there for a couple hours when he showed up. We told him to go back, but it was little use. His mind was made up. We encountered Colonel Sheppard, and he got both of them. The only reason I made it out is because I got into a transporter before he could get to me. After that... it was only a matter of time before everyone else went down, too. I broke into the control room early on, just after McKay got communications back online. I gave direction to the Daedalus and SGC to not come anywhere near here until further notice. Then I cut the power, and now we're here."

He looked at her sadly, shaking his head. "You shouldn't have been left alone like that."

"It's not like it was anybody's choice."

"No, it wasn't. But still, I'm boilin' just thinking of what's been going on here." He sighed, and she could see the anger burning underneath. Such a good man, such a gentle soul. "Have you had anymore contact with the others."

"Aside from violent encounters? No. Sheppard tries to talk to me on the radio sometimes, but I don't talk back." She bit her lip, feeling the overwhelming sense of relief wash over her again. "I'm just really glad you're here." Her voice was breaking. Oh, god, she was going to cry again.

"That's right, I'm here now," he said soothingly, wiping a stray tear away. "You're going to be alright. I promise."

She nodded, then suddenly the world went black.

. . .

She woke up with a start, realizing she'd been asleep far too long but still feeling so exhausted. "What happened?" she asked, raising her head slightly.

Beckett, seated at a make-shift desk with a lamp shining on him, turned to look at her. "You collapsed from exhaustion, hunger, blood loss, pain... take your pick. Developed a fever not too long after, but I managed to get it under control." He stood up and walked over to her, his tablet in his hand. "When this is all over, we're going to need to put you on vitamin supplements."

She groaned softly. "Maybe I'd just rather they killed me."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're no good to anyone dead, and they won't kill you anyway. You told me they're just converting everyone."

She frowned, looking at her hands. "Yeah, well, they've decided I'm not worth the trouble."

There was a pause, then, "Oh."

"You should expect the same treatment, Doctor," she said. "You're one of the only people that could possibly reverse this. They're not going to treat you kindly."

"No, you're right," he agreed. "I've already taken the liberty of studying those stunners you took. I've looked at Wraith weapons before, and these have definitely been modified. The technology is a wee bit out of my league, though. This would be a lot easier if Rodney were here."

She tried not to get too angry. "Rodney's not here. He's trying to get the power running again, but good luck to him, because I've taken all the necessary pieces and hidden them."

Beckett frowned. "Right. Well, while you recover, I'll keep looking into this and see if I can find a cure."

"I'm fine now," she said, attempting to sit up.

He put his hand on her chest before she could get very far. "You're a long way from fine, missy. Now, until I see fit, you're going to stay there and let me take care of you. No more trying to take your health into your own hands. I saw how you tried to patch yourself up, so don't even think about arguing with me."

She sank back into the pillows, watching him go back to his desk with some amount of annoyance. "So you just want me to lay around?"

"Not much for you to really do, is there?"

"But what if we're attacked? I need to be ready, not sleeping," she argued.

He turned to look at her. "You said this room was safe."

"No, don't take me at my word. We have no idea when someone will find us."

He shook his head. "The door's locked, love. I stepped out for a moment to check the hallway, and when I came back in, I heard it. The city must really have hope for you."

She paused, then reached up to brush a hand along the wall. "That's my girl," she murmured.