Michael

"If anything goes wrong, he's going to beat himself up."

"Nothing's going to go wrong."

Helena's eyebrow arched as her blue eyes burrowed into John's hazel ones. "You can't be certain of that. It looks promising, according to Carson, but if it doesn't turn out exactly the way you all are hoping, Carson will spend a lot of time beating himself up. And you know it."

John looked out at the sea from the balcony of the cafeteria. The star-filled sky reflected off the gentle chop of the ocean. "Yeah."

Helena shook her head. "I really wish Elizabeth hadn't okayed this."

John frowned. "It's necessary."

"Really? How? How is it necessary?"

"Look, Chief, these bastards outnumber us thousands to one. And when I say 'us', I mean human beings in this galaxy. Now, it's only a matter of time before they figure out Atlantis is still here and when they do they're coming back. Then they'll stop at nothing to get to Earth. So if we can turn them into humans then we'll be one step closer to evening the odds."

Helena shook her head. "And what if he's human with the memories of a Wraith? How will that help us?"

John sighed. "I don't know, Helena. I suppose that will give the Wraith something else to feed on."

Helena's eyes widened. John shook his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Nothing's going to go wrong. Beckett says that it's going along as expected."

She sighed. "I'm not so much concerned for this Wraith as I am with Carson. It sounds a bit like 'genetic cleansing' and Carson has a well developed sense of guilt. So if this goes wrong…"

John shook his head. "Nothing's going to go wrong."

Helena sighed again and looked out to the sea. "I hope you're right."

oOo

Helena walked out of the kitchen and saw him sitting at a table. There were two guards near him and Rodney was talking to him. Helena moved to stand at the edge of the service line and watch. Eventually, Rodney moved away.

"Hello, Chief," Rodney smiled, hesitantly, as he approached.

"Rodney."

"I'm glad to see you. I was wondering whatever happened to the blue jello? It was my favorite, but…"

Helena was still watching him.

"Chief?"

"Yes, Rodney, blue jello. We're out. Will requisition more when Daedalus comes back."

"It is kind of weird, seeing him sitting here in the cafeteria, huh?"

Helena took a deep breath. "It's creeping me out. I'm torn between agreeing with Ronon: once a Wraith always a Wraith; and Teyla: feeling sorry for him. I really wish that this had never gotten started."

Rodney sighed. "This could be huge for us, though."

Helena tore her eyes away. "Rodney, I know the reasons why we did it. What happens when he's 'recovered'? He gets put on a team? Sent back to Earth? Released back into the wild? How far has this been thought out?"

Rodney shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know if anyone expected this to come this far."

Helena looked back. "I know."

oOo

Carson opened the door to his quarters to find Helena on the other side.

"I'm not really in the mood for company, love."

Helena nodded. "I figured as much, but I had to check."

Carson smiled, half-heartedly. "You were right. You and Ronon."

She shook her head. "I was unsure, but one could argue that was fear. Ronon has still not gotten past his urge to kill every Wraith that moves. Neither of us were right. I should say none of us were right. But your intentions were good."

Carson frowned. "Perhaps, but it didn't work out the way we'd hoped."

"The best laid plans…you know." She stepped closer to him and put her hand on his chest. "What is important is that, as always, your heart was in the right place."

He smiled down at her and drew her into a hug. "Thank you, my dear."

She hugged him back. "Anytime."