Rodney opened his eyes slowly, cautiously, almost scared of what he might see. He was chained to a metal stake in the wall of the cave, his hands and feet were bound tightly. For some reason he got the feeling that the cave had been used as a prison before. Looking around slowly he discovered Tollany sitting quietly on one of the ledges at the far side of the cave. Ronon and Teyla were to his right. In front of each of them was a creature unlike anything Rodney had ever seen, even in this strange Galaxy. The creatures seemed to be partly human, partly feline, the two species strangely merging into one fearsome beast. The creatures kept keen watch over their Lantean captives, almost daring them to make a move.

Ronon was oblivious to their feral gaze, wrestling with his chains, muscles bulging as he tried to break free with brute force. The creature in front of him snarled, Ronon snarled back at it. For a moment the beast seemed slightly confused, it made a sound almost like the meow of a cat and turned to look at the other two of its kind in a questioning way. Tollany stood up and walked over to the creature, stroking it soothingly in much the same way she stroked her doca. A germ of a thought took root in Rodney's mind.

"They're the doca!" he exclaimed, a note of almost triumph in his voice.

"Rodney?" Teyla said, looking at him in concern.

"These creatures," Rodney said. "They're the doca Tollany brought to the planet." He glanced at Tollany, a smug look on his face belying the fact he was still very much a prisoner.

"You are correct Dr McKay," the healer replied. "These are my doca. This is their true form. And I would warn you to forget the gentle creatures you have known. In their true state the doca are hunters and killers."

"So are we," Ronon said emphatically.

"Excuse me," Rodney replied. "Scientist over here. I don't do the caveman bit. Some of us have a far more evolved skill set than that." The doca in front of him snarled bearing its fang-like teeth.

"Present company excepted, of course," Rodney added hastily.

"What do you plan to do with us?" Teyla questioned.

"That is up to Dr Weir," Tollany replied. "You are incentive to ensure that our requests are met."

"And what are your requests?" Teyla asked.

"Simple," Tollany replied with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "We wish to leave, along with our offspring and be granted safe passage."

"Of course," Rodney said. "We'll just let you march out of here, with those… overgrown kitties of yours after you've kidnapped us, held us to ransom…and wait a minute…did she say offspring? What offspring?"

Tollany smiled enigmatically and remained silent.

oOoOo

Elizabeth stood watching as John slowly rejoined the waking world. It felt strange to be standing vigil without Carson at her side. The gentle Scot always seemed to be there with words of comfort and a warm, reassuring presence. Beckett had been missing now for over 14 hours, there was no trace of him in the city or no clue as to what had happened.

"Hi," Elizabeth said softly as John's eyes fluttered open.

"Hi, yourself," he offered back to her, with a curl of his lips. His eyes opened wider and Elizabeth could see comprehension returning to them. He looked around the Infirmary, as if looking for someone.

"What, no welcoming committee?" he asked, keeping his voice light. "I thought Carson at least would be here to see how many needles he could stick me with this time."

His attempt at humour fell on sombre ears. Elizabeth tried to smile in response, but her efforts were completely in vain, especially to someone who knew her as well as John did.

"Okay," he said, sitting up slightly in bed. "What's happened while I've been out of it? Don't tell me you've managed to loose Carson?"

"I'm afraid so," Elizabeth said, her lips quirking ironically. "And Cadman, and Rodney, Teyla and Ronon," she admitted ruefully.

"How can you manage to loose something as big as Ronon?" John asked, managing for a moment to make Elizabeth laugh.

"Once I find out myself, I'll let you know," she responded.

"Okay, so I fall ill and the place falls apart?"

"Oh, definitely, Colonel," Elizabeth said, her lips twitching. "We can't manage without you that's for sure."

"What really happened, Elizabeth?" John asked, serious for a moment.

Elizabeth quickly brought him up-to-date with the events that had transpired while he'd been unconscious, his body fighting the virus.

"Did Carson figure out what caused it?" John asked.

"Possibly, he believes it's sexually transmitted," Elizabeth said, regarding him, her eyebrow raised.

"Ah," John said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"I take it from your response that's a possibility," Elizabeth said, trying not to smile.

"Well…" John drawled, trying to think of a way to explain his behaviour.

"You know, Elizabeth," he continued. "Its kinda weird. I not making excuses here, but…well it kinda felt like I didn't have an option to…ya know." He tried to explain, fighting a loosing battle to keep his dignity intact. "I know it doesn't make a lot f sense… but at the time it seemed ok..."

"Dr Weir," Dr Biro's voice interrupted them from behind the curtain.

"Yes," Elizabeth responded as the physician appeared around the curtains.

"I've carried out preliminary examinations of all the patients and they're all responding well to treatment. Carson was right; we think we've found the source of the virus. All of the personnel affected have confirmed having…sexual relations with the new Athosians."

"Thank you, Dr Biro," Elizabeth said smiling at her diplomatic choice of words. The other woman nodded in acknowledgment and went back to her rounds.

"It seems these new friends you brought back turned out not to be so friendly after all," Elizabeth said, looking at John ruefully.

"Or…a little too friendly," John said, returning her look with one of his own.

"I think it's time I had a little chat with our new friends," Elizabeth said. "And find out just what they are up to."

oOoOo

Carson lay sleeping in the corner; at least Laura hoped he was just sleeping. After the convulsions had finished, the Scot had slumped into unconsciousness. Since then he'd remained deathly still, his breathing so shallow Laura had to strain her eyes to see the pitiful rise and fall of his chest. Sweat gleamed on his ashen skin and even with very little medical training, it was obvious to the young woman he was very ill. Cadman was used to doing things, solving problems, and dealing with difficulties. It was frustrating just having to sit there and watch as Carson got worse before her eyes.

Suddenly, the door to their prison burst open. One of the Athosians appeared followed by two creatures Laura had never seen before. She watched them with a frightened sense of fascination as one of them prowled over to Maronna. It said something to her in a tongue she couldn't even begin to recognise, Moronna repling in the same language. The creature nodded and turned towards Carson. It walked over to the physician slumped form and kicked him none too gently.

"Hey!" Laura said, jumping to her feet in protest. She moved quickly over to Carson's side, trying to protect him. The creature swiped at her, its claws unsheathed. Laura jumped back, out of range of its inbuilt weapons drawing the creature with her. As it moved back towards Beckett again Laura dived at it, trying to remember some of the training sessions she'd had with Teyla. The creature was caught off balance, letting out a yelp as it fell to the ground under the weight of the human's attack. But with cat-like agility it was soon on its feet again, ready to attack. Laura placed herself between the creature and the Scot, ready to defend him with everything she had.

Beckett chose that moment to stir, moaning in his unconscious state, perhaps on some level aware of what was happening. The momentary distraction was even for the creature to pounce. It swiped at Cadman, ripping into her arm and sending her flying, crashing into the wall. Up to that point, the second creature had remained still, but it moved now with silken speed, grabbing Carson as its partner, stood watch over the fallen lieutenant.

The attack had knocked the wind out of Laura, momentarily stunning the young woman. Spurred on by adrenalin and desperation she struggled to her feet, only able to make it half way up before she slumped back down again clutching her knee in pain. She must have damaged her knee in the fall.

The creature standing watch over her snarled a grin of triumph and retreated quickly, following its partner who was now carrying Beckett. As she slumped on the floor in defeat, Laura punched the wall in frustration. She'd wanted to protect Carson…it was her job to protect him and the others like him and she'd failed.

"Just you wait, Mr Kitty," she muttered. "Next time you won't be so lucky."