Beckett was not surprised by the group of concerned faces that greeted him as he approached his office. "I thought I told you to come back later."

"Yes, yes, yes. We know what you said." McKay dismissed his comment. "How is he? Does he really know what happened the last three days?"

"Let's go in here." Beckett led them through to an empty room. His office was far too small for five people. Once they were settled on chairs or beds or, in Ronon's case, leaning against a wall, he indicated the data pad in his hand. "I have the first results from the blood work here. So far, everything looks normal."

"What do you mean, so far?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well, there hasn't been enough time to get the DNA results and some of the more complex blood tests back. What I have here, though, agrees with the scan I did on John a little while ago. Except for the concussion, everything looks normal."

"Is the concussion serious?" Teyla asked.

"It isn't severe, but we are keeping a close watch on him. We'll wake him every two hours or so to make sure he remains coherent and there are no complications. I'll run another scan tomorrow, too."

"But what about what he was saying? He knew what happened." McKay said.

Beckett took a deep breath before answering. He'd seen a lot over the last three years, but the events of the last three days were stretching even his experienced mind. "John said he knows everything that happened to Maj. Sheppard."

"Everything?" Elizabeth repeated with a sickening feeling in her stomach.

"Everything, including the fact that he was dying, and how." Beckett could see their discomfort grow. "Beside a severe headache and some nausea, the concussion is causing John some disorientation. Combined with the detailed memories and feelings of someone else with his own set of eyes, so to speak, he's a bit overwhelmed by it."

Teyla asked, "How is he, Carson?"

"As I'm sure you can imagine, it freaked him out for a moment." Beckett gave them a brief, humorless smile. "It must be extremely confusing but, John being who he is, came around pretty quickly."

"When will you know if he'll be alright?"

"When can we see him?"

"What…"

Beckett held up a hand to stop the questions. "Wait, wait. First, I need to wait for all of the DNA to come back before I'll know anything for sure. It's going to take a couple of days. I'm hopeful, though. Apart from the effects of the concussion, John says he has no other symptoms. With the blood work we already have…"

McKay snapped his fingers several times. "Of course. You'd expect him to be sick if any of the damage to his DNA came through as well."

"Yes, Rodney, but I won't know for sure until all of the tests are complete." He rubbed the back of his neck in near exhaustion. "John needs to rest for a while. I want to run more tests later and I don't want him to overdo it until I know he's alright."

Elizabeth was the first to concede. "Of course."

The others nodded in unison, agreeing with her.

Beckett was relieved. "It's late and I think everyone could use some rest. I suggest you all go to bed. As I said, I'll let you know as soon as I have something."

"I don't mind sticking around." Ronon said.

"I won't have anything definitive until the morning." The doctor shook his head. "Go get some sleep. All of you. That's an order."

----------

Sheppard woke with a start. He looked around the darkened room, trying to remember where he was. It felt like someone with a jackhammer was determined to get into…no, out of, his skull. A small light came on in the far corner of the room. He could see now that he was in the infirmary then it all came flooding back.

"Colonel?" A figure approached, blocking the light. "How are you feeling?"

He took a moment to place the voice. "Dr. Cole?"

"Yes, that's right." She moved so that the light fell more on her face and spoke softly. "Do you need anything, Colonel?"

He didn't dare shake his head. Instead, he reached up and pressed shaky fingertips against his right brow, trying to silence the furious little man with the jackhammer. "Uh, water?"

"Sure." The doctor turned the overhead light on low then pressed the button to slowly raise the head of the bed. She half filled a small glass and gave it to him. "Drink slowly."

He sipped the cool liquid, letting it relieve his dry throat and help clear his head. She waited for him to drain the glass.

"Headache?" She asked as she took the glass from him and pulled out a penlight. She quickly examined his eyes to be sure nothing was amiss.

He grimaced at the bright light. "Yeah."

"I can give you some acetaminophen for it." She turned to a nearby table and picked up a small bottle. After shaking two gel coated caplets into a medicine cup, she handed him the cup and a partially refilled glass. "I'm sorry I can't give you anything stronger, but we can't risk it with a concussion."

"I know. Thanks." He swallowed the painkillers and gave her back the glass and cup. He looked at the door and could see the lighting in the next room was also low. "Where's Carson?"

"Asleep, I hope." As they talked, she checked the monitors and IV flow then jotted notes in a data pad.

He blinked at her, trying to follow her answer. "Why? What time is it?"

"It's three in the morning and he's exhausted. Carson's been up far too much of the last few days."

"He has been looking like death warmed over the last couple of days." He thought for a moment then frowned. "God. This is too creepy."

She squeezed his arm gently. "I can't even imagine."

"Neither can I." He said with an edge of sarcasm.

"Okay, I think it's time you got back to sleep."

"Yeah." He responded wearily as she pressed the control to lower the bed again. He carefully turned onto his side, facing the door. Dr. Cole made sure the IV line and monitor leads didn't tangle then turned off the light and went back to her desk.

She didn't notice that he stayed awake for a long time. He needed to know and understand all of the memories that were pretending to be his own.

---------

"I'm feeling better. See, I can sit up without puking and even the headache isn't as bad." Sheppard said impatiently. The jackhammer had been replaced by a pickax, so he was being truthful. He was sitting up but moving as little as possible. Any quick movement caused precisely what he was denying, and Beckett knew it.

John, I still don't have enough of the test results to know if everything is…well, that…"

"I'm not falling apart from the inside out. I feel fine, Carson. I just want to talk to Rodney for a while. Nothing more." Sheppard said with determination.

"I want you to take it easy until I know more." Beckett was equally determined.

"Just talk. I'm not going to go run laps or anything. I'll be right here." He exhaled heavily and looked away in exasperation. Half the morning had been spent doing tests. "Look, you've been running tests on me for days. I've been scanned, poked, bled and prodded so much I'm going to…"

Beckett's startled expression stopped him and he suddenly realized just what he'd said. "See what I mean? Carson, I have to talk to Rodney. I need to know what happened."

"Well, I suppose a few minutes wouldn't hurt." The doctor relented. There was something too familiar in his friend's eyes. It took him a moment to remember that he's seen the same haunted expression just two days before, in duplicate hazel eyes. He activated his transceiver. "Dr. McKay, this is Beckett."

"What? What's wrong?" McKay's response was instantaneous, and tinged with fear.

"Nothing. Col. Sheppard wants to talk to you. Can you come to the infirmary, please?"

"Yes, yes, of course. I'll be there in five minutes."

"He'll be here in a few minutes." The momentary smile faded. He pulled over a tall stool and sat next to the bed. "John, you still don't hear anything? You don't hear his thoughts?"

Sheppard shook his head once and regretted the motion. Even that small gesture caused the room to tilt drunkenly. He waited for the feeling to subside before speaking quietly.

"No. No voices. I just have a few extra weeks of someone else's memories running around in my head."

Beckett tried unsuccessfully to understand what that must be like. He finally stopped trying. "I…so you know everything he did during that time? When do the memories start?"

"Right at the point he came through the Gate from Earth. Just like Elizabeth said, it's different. Everything happened differently." He paused for a long time, eyes slightly unfocused in thought. The vaguely haunted expression was still there when he looked back at the doctor. "The shield failed and everyone died. Only Elizabeth, Radek and he got out in the Jumper. It was so fast."

Beckett grimaced inwardly at the interruption when McKay rushed in. He was closely followed by Ronon then Teyla. Each stopped short when they saw Sheppard sitting up and staring at them. McKay stared back, looking him up and down then at Beckett.

"What happened? Is he okay?"

"Nothing happened." Beckett answered.

"I'm fine, Rodney." Sheppard said immediately.

"Well, we don't know…"

"Okay, I'm probably fine." Sheppard amended his response. He looked at them and suddenly felt a little uncertain, but the concern on their faces convinced him. He exhaled heavily. "I just want to talk for a few minutes."

"Oh. Okay." McKay pulled up a chair and sat down.

Sheppard didn't waste time. "Where is he?"

"He's just gone. I checked the buffer on 749 and both Zelenka and I confirmed he never made it to the Gate here. There's no sign of him." McKay squirmed in his chair.

"I don't think he wanted to make it." Ronon's observation surprised them all.

"Ronon, I don't…" Teyla started to admonish him.

He interrupted her. "It's true. He knew he was dying and that Beckett couldn't do anything about it. Sheppard preferred to die doing something."

They all looked at the Colonel, knowing that they were discussing a man who had the same feelings and thoughts as the one who sat in front of them. He was definitely troubled by the turn the discussion had taken.

"Ronon's right. He was kind of hoping he wouldn't make it." Sheppard tried to swallow the tightness that formed in his throat. He was certain he would've felt and done the same thing. He looked a McKay. "How the hell did I get his memories?"

"I'm not sure." The astrophysicist frowned and shrugged. He'd been wrestling with the question since Sheppard first mentioned the Perollinum some time back. "I've been trying to figure out how you knew about the Perollinum when you had that fever. The only thing I can think of is that some part of the other you was transmitted to the Atlantis Gate and sat there until you, the genetic duplicate, came through."

"I thought that we were transmitted as a discreet package." Beckett stated.

"I said I'm not sure, but this is the only thing I can think of right now, so go with me, will you?" McKay glared at him for a moment then turned back to Sheppard. "The Wraith must have hit the Gate just as the Major entered the wormhole. That may have caused a slight leak of his pattern, sending a tiny piece to this Gate. That piece waited in the buffer until you came through from Earth."

"But, what about now?" Sheppard asked. His head was beginning to feel like the man with the jackhammer was setting up shop again.

McKay saw his growing discomfort and rushed on. "Well, this time, you were already in the buffer. You were completely intact. It must have just allowed only you and that part of him that you didn't have, his memories after he first came to Atlantis to be transmitted. Kind of like synching a PDA."

Sheppard stared at him. "Rodney, that makes no sense. Gate technology wouldn't support it. Would it?"

"I said I wasn't sure, but it's the only thing I can think of." McKay responded with only a touch of defensiveness. When he continued, even that small tone disappeared. He knew there would probably never be a good enough answer to this. "I have a lot more data now. Once it's analyzed, I may know more."

Beckett saw the little color that had been in his patient's face was quickly draining. He put on his most 'don't even bother trying to argue with me' face. "I think that's enough for now. You can come back later."

"Of course." Teyla made the first move. She smiled warmly at Sheppard and squeezed his arm. "John, we will return as soon as Carson says it is alright."

----------

Twelve hours later, Col. Caldwell walked into Elizabeth's office. He found Beckett and the rest of Sheppard's team talking with her.

"Col. Caldwell." She rose from her chair and indicated a vacant seat. "Welcome back. Thank you for everything you did to help in recovering Col. Sheppard."

He nodded and sat down. "You're welcome. How is he?"

Beckett responded. "He's resting. I've gotten some preliminary test results back. We checked for the mutations we knew about first and, so far, it's normal. As I was saying, his DNA seems to be unaffected by what happened."

"That's great, Carson. Are you sure?" Elizabeth didn't know whether to be relieved or not. The others leaned a little closer, hoping for confirmation.

"His blood chemistry is good so far and the two scans I've done are normal." He held up one hand to prevent a premature celebration. "Please remember this is preliminary. I want to see the rest of the DNA results and run them again on a regular basis for a while to be sure. However, I am cautiously, very cautiously, optimistic."

Elizabeth nodded, understanding his concern. "When will he be released from the infirmary?"

"If all goes well, tomorrow morning. The concussion is still causing some problems, and I just want to keep an eye on him until I get more of the DNA back."

----------

"Well?" Sheppard eyed his doctor with both hope and mild annoyance. He was sitting on edge of his infirmary bed, still dressed in white scrubs. A pile of clean, neatly folded BDUs lay next to him.

Beckett more or less ignored him as he reviewed the new information on the chart. Sheppard was not an ideal patient, not by a very long shot. His inability to sit still and a remarkable capacity to recover quickly from illness or injury made him anxious to escape at the earliest possible moment. If pressed, Beckett might even admit that he had, on occasion, released the Colonel earlier than he might anyone else. Well, except maybe Ronon. Beckett flicked his eyes in the direction of the Satedan, watching as he leaned against the doorframe.

Sheppard exhaled heavily and carefully rubbed the small cut on the side of his head. "Doc?"

"Well…Hmm…" The doctor continued to read for several more seconds. He was fully aware of his patient's impatience, but he was not going to relent this time. This whole situation was unique, completely one of a kind, hopefully never to be repeated. He shuddered inside. It could have ended up so much more horribly than it appeared to have done.

"Carson?" Sheppard frowned at him. When Beckett looked up at him, he raised an eyebrow. "Is everything alright? Can I go?"

Beckett inhaled deeply and held it for a second. He nodded slowly as he exhaled. "I think so."

"Think so?" Both eyebrows went up now.

"John, I told you. It's going to take a little more time to get all the test results, and I want to run them again a couple more times over the next few weeks at least." He glanced down at the data pad. "Your blood chemistry is normal, and the preliminary DNA results look good."

"So, I can go?" Sheppard asked hopefully.

"Yes, you can go." Becket replied, putting his hand up to stop Sheppard sliding off the bed. "Before you do, though, there are some ground rules. There will be no, and I mean no, strenuous exercise until I say so. That means you will not run, jog, spar with anyone, go off-world, play with firearms or any other weapons, or do anything else that you might even remotely think I would consider one of the above. Do you understand?"

"Thanks." Sheppard glared at Ronon when the big man snorted in amusement. He looked back at Beckett. "Am I allowed to walk?"

"Slowly." Beckett stopped him again. "Please remember that any sudden movement will probably make you dizzy for a few more days. If that happens and doesn't pass quickly, or you have any blurred vision, nausea or other symptoms, come back immediately."

"Sure." He tried to get off the bed, but the Doctor stopped him again. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious about this, John. Concussions, and everything else that has happened, are not to be taken lightly."

Sheppard sighed and inclined his head in acknowledgement. "I know, Carson. I'll be careful. I promise."

"Thank you. I want to see you back here later this afternoon. I'll have more test results by then." Beckett stepped back. "For now, you're free to go."

"Thanks, Doc!" Sheppard grinned at him and slowly dropped off the bed. The movement caused the room to spin slightly, driving home Beckett's warning. The expression on Beckett's face indicated that the doctor was not amused his patient apparently ignored it.