It took a good week for us all to recuperate and establish a sleeping pattern and routine again. In that time I managed to organise laptops for database use and develop an interesting social life.

One of the junior scientists called Dana Park seemed to have developed a small attachment to me. She was extremely clever but the only thing holding her back was that she said very dippy things sometimes but she became a very good friend. With long blonde hair, olive green eyes and a Texan accent, she was very nice to have around. We jogged, ate and chatted together and established a very nice routine.

Sheppard would often drop in the lab and distract me like the day he almost dipped his fingers in Nitrus Oxide. He knew what it was and I knew what it was but I wasn't sure if he wouldn't actually do something as stupid as that. Other times he seemed to know when I was too busy for lunch and he would drop some in for me. The only problem with this close friendship is rumours started that there was more going on behind the scenes. Luckily I could deny these things unblushingly.

Sheppard had started to take his team out on exploration missions and they'd started with the known addresses in the database and even then it was tricky to know if they were still that way. After all, the database was nearly ten thousand years out of date. Teyla and the Athosians came in very handy for that, giving advice as to where and what planets were best to start.

But one day Weir decided it was time to check out a Wraith planet to try and gain some information. They planned a special mission with Sheppard's team and two other marine's to accompany them. Even though Teyla assured us it was abandoned and non-inhabited, I was still very worried.

'You don't know what's out there' I said as we walked together

'That's why we're going, besides Teyla says it's alright' Sheppard said

'That's why I'm concerned' I shot back

He stopped and stood in front of me in the corridor 'You still don't trust her'

'She doesn't trust me either you know. It's not me who gives her the dirty looks' I snapped

'I thought you said it didn't bother you?' Sheppard stated

'It doesn't, but it's irritating. How am I supposed to work when she's in the lab with you and McKay and she keeps glaring at me through my own office window? I mean geeze!' I shouted

'Look calm down. I'll talk to her if you want?' Sheppard offered

'No, don't bother. It's only going to be a problem if I have to work with her. I just can't understand what I did wrong' I frowned

'Look, this isn't about Teyla anyway, you're just picking on her now' John replied calmly

I stopped and glared at him. Sheppard stood in front of me for a few seconds before gripping my shoulders.

'I have to go. Look, how about we steal some chocolate and find a movie and you can just relax with a beer at my place? No scouring the database for one night' John asked

I smiled and shook my head 'It's not that simple Shep-'

'John' Sheppard cut across me

'Joooohhhn' I dragged his name out unnecessarily and in what I hoped was an annoying fashion but he just smirked.

'Keep up with that and you will definitely have to come to mine tonight' He grinned

'Oh shut up you big flirt' I smacked his arm lightly 'Look we'll see how it goes okay?'

'Fine by me. See you later Marley' He said

I watched him walk off down the corridor before going into my lab. Dana was waiting for me with a laptop. She smiled when I approached.

'Listen, McKay wants us to check out that lap with all the ancient everywhere to see what it's for' She said, handing me the laptop

'Oh yeah, the one in the lower levels?'I asked

'Thats the one' She grinned

I picked up my notepad and glasses before we walked off down the corridor. She chattered along the way, filling the silence easily enough so I didn't have to communicate too much.

'You seem tense, are you alright?' Dana asked suddenly

'What? No I'm fine!' I replied, a little too shrilly

We stepped in the transporter and were in the lower levels. Dana continued pestering.

'It's the Teyla thing again isn't it? That girl had better watch who she glares at, I've half a mind to-'

'No! It's not Teyla, I haven't been around her for a few days now anyway' I said

'Then what is it? Something's bothering you because you're normally more talkative than this' Dana insisted

She looked at me and we continued to walk.

'It's that mission Sheppard's on today isn't it, the one to the Wraith planet?' Dana accused

'No, I-'

'Yes it is! Don't you lie to me Marlene O'Neill' Dana said 'You worried about Shep?'

'I always worry, not to mention Aiden too. Both of them are reckless' I said as we walked into the lap

'They'll be fine, they have McKay' Dana said

'Have you seen McKay hold a gun?' I asked

Dana laughed but didn't comment. They walked into the lab and looked around. All down one wall, there was Ancient etched in a chalky like substance. Dana sat down in front of it with a laptop and I got to work jotting it down with my notepad and stuck my glasses onto my face.

Although my ancient was good it still wasn't as fluent as I'd like it to be. About an hour later, both of us had managed to get most of the Ancient down on paper or laptop.

'This is Dr Weir; can Dr's O'Neill, Kavanagh, Zelenka and Grodin please come to the conference room please? As well as Doctor Beckett'

'I have to go Dana, I'll radio you in a bit' I said

It took me a good ten minutes to get to the conference room and I walked in everyone else was waiting. I nodded to Weir and was about to sit down next to Beckett when Kavanagh spoke up.

'Why did it take so long to get here? We all have better things to do than wait around for you to arrive' He spat

I blinked in surprise. I had avoided Kavanagh since the first day when he had flirted to the point of me threatening sexual harassment disciplinaries to make him back off. That had been far different to the hostility he had thrown at me here. Beckett and Weir both opened their mouths to defend me but I cut them off.

'Excuse me for my lateness but unlike everyone else, I've been in the basement so if you'll excuse me I'd rather not have my head bitten off for it taking so long to get back up' I answered coolly.

Kavanagh's face went red but he didn't say anything. Weir eyed him before getting on with the briefing.

It turned out Sheppard's team had been ambushed and one of the drive pods had possibly been damaged in the flight away. It was now wedging the Jumper halfway through the Stargate.

I stood up and went to a laptop straight away. Grodin sat next to me and we went over schematics for Jumpers, trying to find a way for McKay to be able to shut the drive pod manually from the back of the Jumper.

We left Kavanagh to himself. Weir roped in a few more scientists and soon the conference room was buzzing with activity. Weir left to brief other members of staff and then came back.

By that time Grodin and I had gotten a print out for wiring in the Jumpers and we were all poring over them. Beckett was watching us and hanging back.

'Alright, you've all been briefed. We have less than half an hour' She looked around 'Where's Zelenka?'

'He's running simulations in Jumper two' I reported

'Thats good' Weir said

'It would be if we had more time' Kavanagh snapped

My mouth dropped open and Grodin was wearing a snarl similar to the one he had worn the previous week when McKay had been irritating. Weir smiled coolly.

'Lets not admit defeat just yet Dr. There are six people on that ship' She said

Kavanagh looked like he was going to carry on arguing but Beckett interrupted him.

'I'm just a medical doctor here, so forgive me if this is a stupid question. If they just stepped through the event horizon, wouldn't they come through the front part of the ship when the Gate shuts down?' He asked

'The front half won't rematerialise on this side' Kavanagh scoffed

Peter shook his head and looked at Beckett 'The Stargate transmits matter in discrete units. The front half of the ship cannot rematerialise until the whole ship has crossed into the event horizon. The Stargate is essentially waiting for the contiguous components - meaning the Jumper and everyone inside - to enter completely before it can transport them'

Beckett looked at him blankly and then looked between me and Weir. Weir looked at me. If the situation hadn't been so serious I'd have laughed.

'Okay without the technical jargon, he means the gate only sends things through in one peice' I said

'Right, sorry' Beckett said

'I think we can let you off . You are the doc after all' I said before turning back to the charts.

'Unfortunately, the outgoing Stargate won't transmit the matter stream until the demolecularisation is complete. When it shuts down, the entire forward section, along with the men inside, will cease to exist' Grodin said seriously

'What about the others?' Weir asked

'The ship will be severed instantaneously along the event horizon. They'll be exposed to hard vacuum, in twenty nine minutes' Grodin said

A thought struck me 'What if they closed the bulkhead door?' I asked

All the scientist immediately stopped and looked up at me.

'Think about it, if they close the bulkhead door it will stay pressurised' I said

'Become like a lifeboat?' Weir asked

'It would leak air like a sieve' Grodin pointed out

'It could buy enough time to send another Jumper' I argued

'And do what!' Kavanagh half shouted at me

'Figure it out' Weir snapped, she turned to me 'Contact Jumper one and advise them'

I nodded and went to go and contact the Jumper. I looked back at Grodin who shrugged and went back to the charts, Kavanagh looked daggers at me and stood with his arms folded like a child. I turned away to go and contact the Jumper.

I pressed the radio buttons and the connection was established.

'Jumper one, this is Atlantis' I said

'Still here' Came McKay's answer

'We recommend closing the bulkhead door' I said

'Oh good thinking!' There was pause 'What else'

'I'm sorry McKay, we're still working on it' I said

'Oh thanks for calling!' Came the sarcastic reply

'McKay, please' I said 'How's Sheppard?'

'He's still with us' McKay answered, slightly more gently this time

'Okay. We'll get back to you. Atlantis out'

I severed the connection and wobbled back to the conference room. Grodin looked at me sympathetically and we carried on working. I began to think Zalenka's idea of simulations was the best but I refused to give up on the people in the Jumper.

When Beckett was called to talk to Sheppard, I had to resist following him. Pained I went back to my work. Grodin went to go and check on Zalenka, that left me with Kavanagh and a few other scientists.

'Why are you bothered about that marine?' He snapped suddenly

'Speak to me like that and you will get nowhere' I hissed back

I heard a deep and pained sigh 'I apologise. Why are you bothered about that marine Marlene?' Kavanagh's voice was sickly sweet and fake I had to hold back a scoff of amusement.

'It's Dr O'Neill to you Kavanagh. And for the record he's a pilot, not a marine' I answered

'Oh for the love of- why can't you give me a straight answer?' He went back to shouting

'Because we're supposed to be figuring out a way to save those people' I snarled

There was a pause 'The Jumper must be damaged'

'I'm aware of that'

'The systems are too advanced for pilot error'

'I know'

'You do realise that this could lead to catastrophic failure when the gate shuts down, or even before then' Kavanagh asked

'I know' I answered tensly

'We should raise the shield' Kavanagh said

I looked at him 'If you activate the shield they'll die if they come through suddenly'

'Hey, we can always lower it if we figure this out'

'They may not have time!' I shouted

'If they don't it could destroy this facility!' Kavanagh thundered

'Well I-' I started to screech before Weir walked in with Grodin and cut me off

'Youre supposed to be working on solutions' She said

I was about to defend myself when Kavanagh quickly interrupted 'We think the Jumper must be damaged for this to have happened in the first place. Ancient systems are too advanced for this to have been pilot error'

'So?' Weir asked nastily

'So depending on the extent of the damage, we can't rule out a catastrophic power feedback in the drive manifold' Kavanagh puffed out his chest importantly

'Without the technobabble if you please' Weir snapped

'Dr Kavanagh was pointing out that there is a very slim chance that with the cockpit controls interrupted and the pod damaged, the main drive could overload. Explode if you will' I said

'Especially if McKay starts nosing around inside the control conduits to retract the drive pod manually. And he will. I know I would' Kavanagh said

'Zalenka is working on simulations, I just came from there' Weir said, trying a reassuring manner.

Kavanagh didn't fall for it 'If there is a catastrophic overload, the full force of the explosion will break up the Jumper, follow the burning fragments through the Stargate like a bomb'

Weir looked at him thoughtfully before turning her attention to me 'And you think the risk of this happening is minimal?'

'Yes Dr Weir' I answered

'And you all agree?' She asked around

I'd forgotten everyone else was there. Grodin had even arrived back at some point during the argument. Everyone was nodding. Weir nodded back.

'Then we take the chance'

Kavanagh sighed and crossed his arms stroppily 'I thought it was important to point out the risk'

'Fine, you did! Now please, worry a little more about their lives and less about your own ass' She paused to look at her watch before glaring back up at him 'Twenty three minutes'

Kavanagh rolled his eyes and looked back down at the charts. I snatched them from him and took them over to Grodin, glaring as I went.

'Oh real mature O'Neill!' He shouted at my back

'Don't you shout at her!' Grodin snarled 'You've had no interest in helping from the start'

Kavanagh looked between us before storming from the room. I put my hand on Grodin's shoulder.

'Thank you' I said gratefully

'He's been giving you trouble from day one, I'm only glad to help' Grodin smiled

I smiled and we got back to work. Not long after we received a message from Zalenka that he thought he'd found something. We gathered in the control room to witness what was happening.

'Transmitting now' Zalenka reported over the radio

I went to the nearest console. With McKay trapped in the actual Jumper and Zalenka down in the Jumper Bay, I realised I was the next one in charge.

'We're recieving' I reported to Weir as the information began to upload

'Jumper one, this is Weir. Dr Zalenka's come up with something' She reported

'Zalenka, why can I never remember that name?' McKay asked

'He's positively identified the control systems on the port side of the Jumper that retract the drive pod. I'm relaying the schematics to your data pad' I said

'Thank you. Now we're getting somewhere!' McKay said excitedly

'What?' Ford's voice came over the radio

'Zelenka's identified the control pathways to the engine pod, which means that's increasing my chances of fixing this from one in a million to one in a thousand, but, uh ... it's something. Elizabeth?' McKay asked uncertainly

'Yes?' She asked sweetly

'I'll only have seven to nine seconds to warn you if I accidentally trigger a catastrophic overload, so ... if I tell you to raise the shield, don't hesitate' He warned

Weir and I connected eyes for a second.

'We're aware of the risk Rodney' I said softly

'Do your best' Weir said equally as gently

There was a noise as Ford activated his radio 'Right, we have everything here. Starting with Iodine'

I went back in the conference room to wait with Grodin and try and come up with something.

There was a pause and a slight trilling before it went silent again.

'Scratch iodine' Came Ford's voice

'What else have you got there?' Beckett asked

'Yeah what else have you got there?' McKay asked 'Any food?'

'Are you kidding?'

'I have less than twenty minutes to save everyone on board and I'm teetering on the brink of a hypoglycaemic reaction so I would say...no!'

There was a rustle and the sound of someone eating 'Thank you'

'Ew McKay! Did no one tell you to not speak with your mouthful?' I asked, grossed out

'Here' Came Teyla's soft voice

'We're trying alcohol now' Ford reported

'Save some for me' Came Sheppard's voice and I sagged in relief and fear.

His voice sounded strained and weak and I realised that Sheppard might not even make the twenty minutes that was left.

'Wrong kind sir' Ford said after a chuckle

'What's the good of that' Sheppard asked sarcastically

There was a pause, more trilling and then it went silent again.

'Not much sir...No reaction to alcohol' Ford reported

There was a rustling over the radio.

'Did the doctor not say to pour salt on the creature?' Teyla asked

'I think that was a metaphor' There was a pause 'But yeah...try everything!'

There was a pause

'Water. Give me water' Ford asked

There was barely even a pause this time before Ford's panicked voice came over the radio

'Sir? Sir. Are you alright? Sir? Major!'

Then the most awful sound I've ever heard aside from Ford screaming over the radio the other week. Sheppard began to scream in agony. I jumped when it started and did the same thing as I did last time. I pulled my radio out.

About ten minutes later Weir put her head around the door.

'Where is your radio?' She asked

I looked at her guiltily 'I took it out'

'Oh, come quick. Sheppard wants you' She said

'Me?' I asked

'Yes you'

I got up and walked to her. Weir took my hand gently and led me through. I was surprised by the contact but I let her lead me into the control room.

'She's here John' Weir called out

'Marley?'

'Yes?' I asked

'I just want to say something while I can-'

I realized he was trying to say good bye to me or something. I couldn't allow it, I wouldn't allow it'

'Don't do this John. You're gonna get through this' I said, my voice rising shrilly

There was a pause 'If I was, he wouldn't have let me go'

'What? Who wouldn't have let you go?' I asked

'The wraith'

He went into a story. He told me how the bug had come to be attached to him and then that a wraith guard had found him and just walked away and left him there.

'I guess he saw me as good as dead, he just walked away so-' The sound of him clearing his throat came through the radio 'what I wanted to say was-'

'Stop it! Don't do this. Please John, tell me when you get back if it's that important!'

'I need to say it now!'

I closed my eyes and I realised Weir was still holding my hand. She was squeezing my hand reassuringly.

'I'm listening' I replied, my voice cracking slightly.

Ford interrupted 'We should send him through the event horizon. If Doctor McKay figures it out in time, we can fix the major up on the other side. If he doesn't, we're all dead anyway'

'No pressure!' McKay's voice shouted in a high pitched fashion

'John would be in suspended animation for the rest of the time' I said

'We can't risk that!' Beckett said sternly

'Why not?' Ford argued

'If the creature reacted that violently to a few drops of water, who knows how it will react to gate travel' Beckett said

'Are you telling me Major Sheppard can't come through the gate with that thing still on him?' Weir asked incredulously

'Hit me with the defibrillator' Sheppard said suddenly

There was a long pause as Weir and I started at each other. Beckett exhaled.

'You might be onto something there Major' He said

'No...no! You said that might kill him' Ford said

'Thats the idea' Sheppard replied

'Am I missing something?' I asked loudly

'I don't understand' Teyla said

For once I had to agree with her.

'Teyla, you said this creature is like a Wraith'

'Yes'

'Then how do you think it would react if, god forbid, Major Sheppard were to die right now?'

There was long pause 'It would stop feeding'

Teyla sounded just as distressed as I felt. I began to shake and Weir pushed me down into a stool.

'How is this an idea?' She asked

'We're suggesting that we fool the creature into thinking its prey is dead by stopping the major's heart. If I'm right, it should let him go' Beckett said

'When the thing lets go, we give him another jolt' Ford said, catching on

'You can give it a try' Beckett said nervously

'If his heart doesn't restart, put him through the event horizon' I said suddenly

'What?' Everyone asked

'He'll be safe in there' I assured them

'Are you sure you want to do this John?' Weir asked

'I want this damn thing off me!' Sheppard said

'Be prepared for a Code Blue in the Jumper Bay. Lieutenant Ford, do you know how to do this?' Beckett asked

'Yes, sir' There was a pause in which we could hear rustling about 'Cut his shirt open'

'What?' Teyla asked, sounding bemused

'Cut his shirt open!' Ford ordered

'Charging to two hundred. Move his tags'

'What?' Teyla asked again

'Move his chains to the side'

'Place the lubrication right on the paddles' Beckett said

'Ready to go' I could hear the machine beeping in the back ground

'Once the bug falls off, I'm going to have to kill it. I'll wait for it to charge up again and I'll give him another jolt. McKay, if we can't restart his heart on the first time, I'm going to need that bulkhead door open again' Ford said, hearing him take charge properly was a relief

'Done' McKay said clearly

'One of us is going to have to get him through'

'I will' Teyla said

There was another pause.

'Do it!' Sheppard shouted suddenly, his voice the strongest I'd heard it

There was a strange noise. Sheppard grunted and then another pause.

'No pulse' Ford reported

My eyes filled with tears and I choked back a sob. Weir squeezed my hand harder and this time I squeezed back.

There was a frantic trilling noise and the sound of Teyla tugging.

'It won't come off!' She said fearfully