He was never good at people before. That's why he became a geneticist. He liked people, yes, and wanted to help them, but… People made him nervous. He worries that he won't be able to cure them, or that he'll make a mistake, or they won't tell him what he needs to know, and they'll die because he wasn't thorough enough. He thinks it goes back to his days in med school. One of his rotations was in the pediatric oncology ward, and he saw all the children dying and families falling apart. He couldn't deal with it, so he threw himself into research. At least, he hoped, in genetics he'd be able to save some of them. If he worked hard enough he could find cures, and if he was in the lab he wouldn't have to watch people die, wouldn't have to watch their families and friends fall apart. He wouldn't have to listen to his own heart breaking. It was only when he got to Atlantis that he realized—a doctor's job is to piece together everything that breaks.
Ok, guys--this is the last one. My favorite one, too. Tell me what you think!
-Emilie :)