This journey has been a hard one. Yet at the same time, it's been the most satisfying experience of my life.

-E-

"How long 'ave you been here, now?" Doctor Beckett asked.

She rotated away from the fixtures mounted on the wall to face Carson. An outbreak of a type of flu had run wild through this village, and the villagers called the Lanteans for medical aid. In a show of trust, Sheppard had assigned her to accompany the Doctor while he ran the rounds and took care of the sick.

"Just over a week," she replied. And what a week it had been. Training with the team, testing for the ATA gene (which she later learned allowed one to use Lantean equipment), learning how to use a P90 (despite the fact that she carried the particle magnum). Sheppard had wanted her to be familiar with their weapons should she ever have to use them. It made sense to her. She already knew how to use the gun, though, as evidenced by her round of perfect shots. What she really needed to learn was how to care for the P90.

The fact that it fired bullets was enough of a difference.

The P90 had an angular-cut sight unlike her particle magnum, which was more like a small rifle. The integral day/night sight was another intriguing ingenuity, and she was already working out a way to get something like that on her gun, because damn if shooting in the dark wasn't a pain in the ass.

"Alright, all finished here, love. Off you go. Tell your mum one tablet every day for three days," he smiled at the small girl and ruffled her hair, before helping her down from the chair. He placed a small bottle in her hands before sending her on her way. "Well, that was the last one, shall we head back? Or do you fancy a stroll?"

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her lips. How was Carson so good at making people do that?

"Carson, do you read?" Doctor Weir's voice sounded in both their ears, and Carson sighed dramatically.

"No stroll, then," he thumbed the comm. "Yes, Doctor Weir? We've just finished up here. Eva and I were gonna hang 'round, make some friends..."

"Sorry Carson, we just received a distress signal authenticated with genii codes. We might need you here in case it's a medical emergency."

"On our way," he raised his eyebrow dramatically. "Work ne'er ends, does it? Grab that case, will ya?"

Eva did as he requested. Soon, all the gear was loaded back into their cases, and they were ready to go. They made hasty goodbyes to leader. Eva noted that Carson only gave them a vague explanation for their hasty departure. Probably wise.

The leader turned towards her and touched his palms together in front of his chest, inclining his head formally, with the fluidity of practiced grace.

Eva gaped, and the leader smiled. "We once dealt with the Surians, long ago. Ata'vai." He bowed his head again.

This time she repeated the ritual goodbye of friends. "Ata'vai."

When she'd been a Runner, no one paid attention to where she was from. They didn't care about anything she brought, aside from the ticking clock that increased the probability of the Wraith arriving with every passing second. Now, they took notice of her, because she was no longer a threat.

The little void in the pit of her stomach resonated with something forlorn. Faded anguish. Echoes of a lost civilization.

They walked back to the ring in silence. One contemplative, the other out of respect. "Can I ask you something, love?" Carson asked as soon as they reached the ring. He began dialing for Atlantis.

"Sure."

He flashed a grin at her. "Was that a Surian goodbye?"

She shuffled uncomfortably. "Yes. Ata'vai means, 'farewell, my friend, until next we meet.' Roughly. It's been shortened over the centuries." She studied him while the ring spun around, dialing. "You speak differently from the others."

"Aye, it's cos I'm Scottish. But most of us are from the same planet: earth. It's not in the Pegasus Galaxy."

"Sheppard told me about it. He also said something about ferris wheels."

Carson laughed, "Aye, he would talk abou' ferris wheels."

The wormhole formed and they stepped through together, lugging the heavy cases with them. She glanced back at the village in the distance. Was she beginning to find her place in the world?

When they returned to Atlantis, the control room was a hub of activity. "Carson!" shouted Weir over the rail from above. The Doctor turned to look up at her, slinging his medical bag over his shoulder. "See what you can do about preparing for potential triage. Sheppard, Rodney, Teyla, and Ronon went to investigate and should be reporting back soon. I want the infirmary on standby."

"When did they leave?" he asked, already heading up the stairs.

"Twenty minutes ago."

Eva took a step towards the control center up above to see what she could do to assist when the ring began spinning behind her.

"Unscheduled off-world activation!"

She spun on her heel, unholstering her gun.

"Is it Sheppard's team?"

"No IDC yet! Wait- IDC confirmed. It's Doctor Mckay!"

The confirmation was punctuated by the man himself careening into Eva. She threw out her arms and spun him around her, sending him on his way. He was quickly followed by Teyla, P90 cradled against her chest. "It was a trap!" she shouted as she skidded to a halt.

Ronon blitzed through next, knocking into Eva. He captured her with his arms, unceremoniously picking her up before gently setting her back on her feet as he came to a stop.

The wormhole closed behind him.

"Where's Sheppard?" she asked.

Ronon's eyes darkened dangerously as he spun around. "Dial the gate!"

"I can't! The address is locked out!" Rodney yelled.

Ronon emanated dangerous energy, his whole body stiffened with tension. If dreads could bristle, his would be doing just that.

She awkwardly reached out a hand and placed it on his arm. She was surprised to notice that it was shaking ever so slightly.

AN: Not related to SGA, but anyone play Skyrim? Play the mounted combat yet? Patch came out Friday to all 360 players, which is awesome! If I would stop running about the country side, shouting at my kinect like the badass Dragonborn I am, I'd have more to say on the subject than, "Woo, go try it!"

Little bit of a time skip here! Starting to get to some main plot stuff :) 'Bout time, yeah?