Chap. 21:

Carter is standing in the infirmary intently listening to Keller.

"As you know, for some time now, we've been tracking what appears to be a new sickness in the Pegasus galaxy. We don't know exactly when or where it started, but so far we've encountered it on seven different planets."

"Make that eight. We just came back from 447. They've got it too."

Looking at John and McKay as they walk into the infirmary, "really? The same symptoms?"

"Mmm." McKay answers and looking around the room, locating an alcohol hand-rub dispenser, he squirts some into his hands, rubbing them together, "starts with respiratory difficulty, proceeds rapidly to fatal organ shutdown." and walking over to the others and seeing their expressions as he's still cleaning his hands, "oh, it's disinfectant."

"We just came back from the bio-screen, Rodney. We were wearing Hazmat the whole time, too." John says, looking at him.

"Yes, well, it's better safe than sorry."

Ignoring McKay for the moment, Carter turns to face Keller, "do we have any idea how it's spread?"

"Well, that's the strange part. Most of these planets have no regular contact with each other. But a few of them do have regular contact with other neighboring planets that have been completely unaffected."

"So far." John puts in.

Grimacing, "how bad is this gonna get?" Carter asks.

Returning the grimace, "if I had to make a projection, I'd base it on the evidence from M1R-992. There have been no new cases there for some time, which would seem to indicate the sickness has run its course."

"And?" Carter prompts.

Sighing, Keller finally tells them the real bad news, "it killed thirty percent of the population. If those numbers bear out on the rest of these planets, we're looking at a death toll of about two hundred thousand. That's assuming it doesn't spread any further."

John, McKay and Carter share a look of horror at the figures, "all right Jennifer please keep us up to date." Carter says.

"Of course Colonel."

With that Carter, John and McKay all leave her to her work. Carter heads back to her office, McKay to his and John heads to the ready room to brief the rest of the teams that are heading off world that day.

xxxx

That afternoon McKay finds Teyla sitting alone in the mess hall, her face still full of the memory of her nightmares. He walks up to her holding a small white box dressed with a blue ribbon and putting the box behind his back and holding it with both hands, he faces her. After a moment, she notices him and smiles up at him.

"Rodney. Has Doctor Keller made any progress with her investigation?"

"Unfortunately not, no, but she's still working on it."

Frowning at him standing uncomfortably with his hands behind his back, "what are you hiding?"

"I, um...well, I've been waiting for the right time to give this to you and what with everything that's been going on and all, I, uh...anyway, uh." he stammers, and as he brings the box out and hands it to her, "here you go."

Smiling and taking it from him, "you didn't have to do this, Rodney."

"Well, think of it as a kind of pre-baby present."

As she starts to untie the ribbon, he explains what it is, "back on Earth, there's this company that produces recordings specifically for the fetus. The thinking is that, by listening to the works of, say, a great composer while still in the womb, the baby will be born with a natural predisposition towards musical ability, or in this case science."

He watches her open the box and take out the mp3 player and at the bemused expression she fixes him with, "yeah. I recorded some of my reflections on some of my more ground-breaking accomplishments and theories, just a couple of hours worth."

Smiling at him again, "you should not have gone to so much trouble."

Waving off her comment, "ah, it was no trouble at all."

Watching her put the player back in the box, he notices that she is now deep in thought and that her smile has disappeared, so with a frown, "something wrong?

Looking around and gathering her thoughts for a moment, "uh...I was debating whether or not to tell anyone."

With an, "oh." he pulls up a chair and sits down, "tell anyone what?"

Looking at him, "I believe I had a vision last night."

"A vision?"

"I saw Kanaan, the father of my son. I believe that he was trying to send me a message that he's alive and that I must not abandon the search for him and the rest of my people."

Listening to her speak he struggles to hold a neutral expression on his face and as she finishes, "and this was while you were sleeping?"

"You think it was a dream." she asks

Stammering at the sad look on her face, "well, I...I."

Noticing that he is having trouble finding words, "I believe it was more than that. It did not feel like a dream." and seeing that he is still unsuccessfully trying to look supportive, "I knew you would doubt me. I should not have said anything."

"Hey, I've been cocooned inside an alien spacecraft. I've had another person living inside me. I've encountered not one, but two different versions of myself, so who am I to judge? If you say it was a vision, then I believe it was a vision."

She smiles at his reassurance and with a "thank you Rodney," she gets up to go. Leaving him to consider the conversation. Not sure what to make of it, he decides to run it past John, as soon as he can.

xxxx

By the time McKay finally finds John, it is already 2340 and John is on his way to the crew quarters.

"Hey, Sheppard, you got a sec?" he asks, as he side steps two scientists that are between them.

Coming to a stop and turning to face his teammate, "yeah, McKay. What's up?"

Finally reaching his side, "were you heading off to bed?"

Starting to walk again, "uh, not really."

Realizing what he means and walking with him, "oh, yeah. Well this will only take a couple of minutes."

Looking over at him, "no problem. What is it?"

"Well, I spoke with Teyla this afternoon, and well..." he trails off, feeling very uncomfortable now that he is actually telling John what she had told him.

"Spit it out McKay."

"She said she had a vision." he blurts out finally.

"A vision?"

Gaining speed, now that he's on a roll, "I seriously doubt it was a vision."

"She had'em before."

"She's had remote contact with the Wraith, never another human. Besides, those Athosians have been missing for, like, what, six months now? D'you really think they're still alive?"

"What do you want me to do, Rodney? Tell her to give up hope?"

"At some point, she may not have a choice."

Grimacing as McKay, walks off and then calling after him, "hey Rodney."

Stopping short and turning around to look at him, "what?"

Walking up to him and frowning, "I agree with you that she might not have a choice, but it's Teyla. So as long as she thinks there's a chance that they're still alive, we look. Okay?"

"Fine." McKay says and storms off to his lab, leaving John standing a few feet away from Lexi's quarters. He swipes the door panel and a few seconds later, Lexi is pulling him into the room, happy that he is there.

xxxx

That night Teyla dreams again of Kanaan. This time he shows her the pendant that she bought for him and after dropping it into her hand he tells her to, "come find me." The next morning with the dream still fresh in her mind, she decides to find John and tell him what happened.

She finds him in the gym, sparring with Lexi. As she watches the two of them she smiles to herself, remembering how not too long ago it was her and John sparring. Rubbing her now very large stomach and seeing Lexi take him down in a rush, she waddles up to the mat.

"John, you know better then to weave left when she comes at you like that."

Looking up at both women standing over him, "Teyla, I can't help it."

Reaching a hand down and helping him stand up, while not taking her eyes off of Teyla, "what's wrong?"

"What makes you think there is something wrong?" Teyla asks, not meeting Lexi or John's eyes.

Walking back over to the women with towels in his hands, "Teyla, don't even try to hide it from her. Besides you, there's no one else I know who can read people better."

Blushing and offering him a warm smile, as he hands her a towel, "thanks, John." and turning to face Teyla again, concern in her voice, "did you have another?"

Looking around the room nervously, "yes I did." and looking at John, "Kanaan told me that I should start looking on the planet where I bought the pendant I gave him. I'd like to go to the market that is there and look for any clues that might be there."

Looking from her to Lexi and back, throwing his and Lexi's towels over to the bench, "Teyla, I can't make any promises, but I'll talk with Colonel Carter and see if we can go."

Knowing that this is as good as she can hope for, and smiling, "thank you John. I will await the Colonel's decision." she says, turning and leaving the gym.

"Do you believe her?" he asks Lexi, as soon as Teyla is out of the room.

Getting into a ready stance again, "yeah, I do. Don't you?" and she doesn't wait for him to respond and tries to land a punch.

Taken aback by the sudden movement, but reacting quickly, he blocks her punch and coming back at her with a punch of his own, "I guess so. It's Teyla."

She ducks out of the way gracefully and with a large grin on her face, "well, if you need help convincing Sam."

As he also ducks out of the way of an impressive blow, he returns her smile realizing that she is offering to deal with her aunt on this one, but knowing that he should be the one to do so, "no I'll talk to her about it."

"Okay." she grits out, before he takes her down and she starts laughing at the look he is fixing her with, "ten for me and eight for you."

Helping her up, "what?" he asks.

Trying to catch her breath from laughing, "oh, well...that's...ten times…I've taken you down and...eight that you've taken me down."

Walking with her out of the gym, "oh, I see. It's a contest now?"

She can tell that she has hit a sore spot, "in all honesty, not really. Being that we actually should be even. But I'm counting me beating you on that run the other day and the other night." she says with a glint in her eye.

Catching the glint, the anger drains out of him, "well I guess that's fair."

She notices that the hallway they are walking in is empty and at that moment they are not in any lines of sight of any of the CCTV cameras, so she quickly grabs his hand and squeezes it to stop him, "John, I know that Sam will probably give the okay, but I still have a bad feeling about the whole Athosian situation, so be careful, okay. And not just you, make sure that all four of you are careful."

Squeezing her hand back and smiling at the fact that she has come to care for everyone on this base as much as he does, "I'll try and keep my promise."

Letting go of his hand and starting to walk again, "good I'm glad."

With that, they continue on to the mess for breakfast. About ten minutes into their meal, Lorne shows up and the three of them eat together. When they finish, John and Lexi head for their respective quarters to shower and change.

xxxx

A couple of hours later, John finds himself in Carter's office, "Teyla's been having ah, visions, about Kanaan handing her a pendant. She says the pendant in her vision is the same one she gave to Kanaan before he disappeared."

"So what's the significance?" she asks

"Well, uh." and grimacing, "I'm not sure."

"Well, what does she want exactly?"

"Well, she bought it from some guy in a village on M2S-181. She wants to go back and check it out."

"It's a peaceful trading settlement. I'd be very surprised if they had anything to do with the disappearance of the Athosians."

"That's what I said, but she still wants to go. She thinks that Kanaan is sending her a message, a clue."

"And what do you think?"

"Doesn't matter. It's Teyla and we owe her one."

Nodding at him, "ok, but we're stretched pretty thin dealing with this plague."

"I'll try and make it quick." and getting up and heading out of her office, he hits his radio, "Ronon, McKay, Teyla gear up, we head off to M2S-181 in half an hour."

"Got it Sheppard." comes Ronon's reply.

"See you in thirty." comes McKay's annoyed voice.

Finally, he hears Teyla's answer, "thank you John."

xxxx

Half an hour later John, Ronon, Teyla and McKay are all on M2S-181 searching for any signs of the Athosians. While they are there, Keller makes a very interesting discovery and shares it with Lexi, who had stopped by to discuss a patient with her and ended up sticking around for a while to help Keller with her research.

"Wow, would you look at that?" she states, anger evident in every syllable.

Looking up from her tablet and meeting Keller's eyes, "what did you find?" Lexi asks.

"Someone is producing this sucker. It's not naturally occurring."

Taking in a deep breath, knowing that this is a huge discovery, "I'll go tell Sam. I was heading that way anyway."

Smiling, "great. I'll keep checking, but from what we've compiled, I believe that this has something to do with the Hoffans."

Ten minutes later walking into Carter's office, "Sam, Jen has some interesting news on the plague."

Getting up from her desk, "great, I'll head down there now." and coming to stand in front of her, "you gonna join me?"

"Oh no. I've got a couple of appointments. But I'll catch up with you later."

"Okay."

They leave the office. Lexi heading down to her office and Carter heading to the infirmary. As Carter walks into the infirmary, she heads straight for Keller, the words leaving her mouth before she comes to a stop, "hey. I hear you have something."

Getting up, "yeah. I've found out what's making these people sick and it's something we've encountered before."

Leading Carter over to a screen and activating it, "it's a unique protein originally created by the inhabitants of a planet called Hoff. It was designed to interfere with the Wraiths' feeding mechanism, making them immune to the process."

Looking at her, "it also killed the feeding Wraith and half the people who took it."

"That's right."

"So this isn't some contagion that spreads naturally."

"No. This is mass murder."

xxxx

A couple of hours later, John and McKay join Keller and Carter in the conference room having found nothing on the planet they were searching with Teyla. As soon as they returned, Carter called them into this meeting so that Keller could update them on the discovery she made. By the end of the briefing, Carter and John agree that he and McKay need to go back to Hoff to see if there is anything there which can help confirm that the plague is indeed a version of the original Hoffan drug.

While John and McKay are on Hoff, Teyla, who had been meditating in her room, has another vision of Kanaan. Shaken by it, she decides to go tell Carter that she will be going back to M2S-181. Carter acquiesces to her request and even makes sure that she has Major Lorne and his team as an escort.

John and McKay find nothing on Hoff and head back to Atlantis. The two men after walking through the Gate meet up with Ronon and make their way up to the Control room, where they find Carter. They stop at Chuck's console, where Carter is standing. She looks up as they come to a halt in front her, "anything?"

"No. The place is cleared out." John tells her.

McKay, noticing the screen, which has been activated next to them, "is that what I think it is?"

"It's getting to be a familiar sight." Carter says.

"What is it?" Ronon asks.

Carter looks at them, "a Wraith subspace tracking device. It's our old friend."

Realizing who she is talking about, "Todd!" McKay says.

With a small nod, "maybe he wants to talk and maybe he just wants to lead us into an ambush. There is always that possibility."

Sighing and looking at Ronon and McKay, "well, there's only one way to find out." John says.

He and Ronon turn and start to head down to the Gate, "aw, come on! We just got back." McKay says, looking at their backs, frustrated,

"Sorry, Rodney." Carter apologizes.

Turning to head down the stairs as well, "I haven't had lunch yet."

Carter watches him walk away from her for a second, before turning to Chuck, "dial it."

As John, McKay and Ronon head back out to meet with Todd. Major Lorne and Teyla find some interesting information on M2S-181. While they are searching the local market, John, McKay and Ronon meet up with Todd, who wants whatever research Atlantis has on the plague. In return he says he'll give them the name of the person who has been distributing the poison causing the plague. Of course after hearing his deductions they all come to the realization of who is to blame.

They head back to Atlantis and John and McKay, after discarding their off world gear head up to Carter's office to find her in conversation with Keller. The two men take up seats and tell the women what Todd told them and what conclusion it led them to make, about how Michael is to blame for the plague. As they finish the briefing, Lorne's team comes back and informs them that Teyla was captured. John, McKay and Ronon decide to go to Todd for help in finding out where she might be and after waiting for a couple of hours, Todd comes through for them with an address. John, McKay, Ronon and Lorne and his team all gear up and after gating to a planet nearby they get picked up by the Daedalus. They beam down to the planet, John, McKay, and Ronon going one way and Lorne and his team going another. They all engage the guards.

While the teams are battling the guards, Michael's cruiser with Teyla onboard arrives. Of course the Daedalus doesn't know this until John, after interrogating one of the guards in the facility, radios telling them not to destroy the cruiser. Just as the Daedalus is about to try and cripple the cruiser it jumps to hyperspace. Caldwell relays the bad news and John, McKay and Ronon after meeting up with Lorne's team realize that they missed Teyla. However, Lorne makes the observation that the guards were protecting something. John, McKay and Ronon open the door that the last guard they took down was guarding, while Lorne and his men cover them. As they open the door and step inside they stare in disbelief at what they see.

Sitting on a bunk in the cell, Doctor Carson Beckett looks up at the three men as they come in and sighing at the sight of his three friends, "finally. It's about bloody time." and standing up, "what took you so long?"