SORRY FOR THE WAIT!

AN:/ 2 month since poor Illyria's death. Big thanks on reviews from Sherry, Shadows-of-Realms, Mandy, Bubby, and A.

FROZEN OFFWORLD BASE

A large snow vehicle is being driven towards the domed base nearly identical to the Antarctica base when it was in its infant stages. Commander Julian Barrett and Dr. Michaels are conversing over a video link.

"It's a blip. A shadow on the ultrasound. Too deep to tell. You know, maybe a…a dead alien seal. Anyway, we're, uh, we're gonna rule it out and pack up for the season. Another week or two, it'll be dark most of the time, much too cold to work outside. As far as coming back next year, well, you know it's not up to me. The IOA reevaluates our presence here every year. Take it up with them."

Over the monitor, Julian said, "Maybe I can convince them that we should continue. Wwe found the very first evolution of Wriath buried under miles of ice. What the hell were they doing down there?"

"I'm sure coming from you, it'll hold more weight."

"The DNA from the first one we found, the one by the Stargate, died shortly after it was brought back to Area 51. It was used a few times, but nothing conclusive was found. Without any more tests we can't know for certain. It could be as much as 50 million years old."

"What we're certain of is that the "Antarctic plate", as we're calling it, wasn't covered by a glacier back then. It wasn't even at the South Pole of this planet."

"Well, the Wraith didn't necessarily originate there. It could have moved from another planet at any point in time, but that's what we need to try and determine."

"How?"

"There has to be something else down there."

Michaels sighs, frustrated. "I mean we've been here two years running. Since we dug out those two semi-wraith we've found nothing. If this latest lead turns out to be-"

A door opens behind him and two scientist pop their heads in. "Hey Michaels, the thing in the ice-"

"-it's something."

Michaels looks at the two men, surprised, as they smile.

҉

FROZEN OFFWORLD BASE

Colonel John Sheppard, Ronon Dex, Doctor Rodney McKay, and Julian, with Doctor Jennifer Keller, have just arrived at the base. Ronon pauses and looks back at the gate.

"Why's the jumper leaving?"

"Cold's no good for the electronics. It'll be back." John said.

"When?"

As they get under cover, Michaels and the two men approach them.

"Let's ask these folks."

Julian and Michaels shake hands.

"Hi."

"Hi. It's nice to finally meet you, Commander."

"You too. Dr. Michaels, this is Dr. Keller."

Michaels shakes hands with Keller. "Doctor."

"Doctor."

Dr. Michaels introduces her colleagues. "Uh…Doctors Woods and Osbourne."

"Doctor." Keller said.

"Doctor." Woods said.

"Commander." Osbourne said.

"Doctor." Julian said.

"Commander." Woods said.

"Doctor." Keller said.

"All right. That's enough." John said, shaking his head, trying to get rid of a hangover.

"Well, welcome to Antarctic Two, Colonel." Osbourne greeted.

"Thanks. Great to be back…kind of."

"Let's go inside."

They walk from the snow-covered entryway into the body of the building.

"How long is this gonna take?" Ronon asked.

"A few days, maybe more. Why?" Woods asked.

"Long range forecast doesn't look good." Julian smiled.

John, walking slightly ahead of McKay and Fraiser, whispers to Michaels. "Bit of a weather freak."

"He'll love it here." Michaels sarcastically said. They enter the building. Ronon begins to unzip his jacket. "Uh…you might want to leave your coats on. We're keeping the quarantine lab below freezing to maintain the specimen."

"We thought you'd want to see it right away." Woods said.

"Absolutely." Julian smiled.

Michaels begins a brief tour of the base. "As you can see, we're quite well equipped. We have a research lab, observation room, and in here, the quarantine lab."

҉

ANTARCTICA TWO BASE

QUARANTINE LABORATORY

They enter the quarantine lab where a large block of ice is lying on a table. There is something within the ice, a person.

"After digging up those semi-Wraith the first year, we expected to find a lot more a lot faster." Woods said.

They all stand around the table.

"I named her Lucrezia after a Roman matron who committed suicide in public protest against dishonor." Michaels smiled.

"During the Renaissance, darker associations were given to the name through Lucrezia Borgia, sister to Cesare Borgia." McKay said, inspecting the ice closely.

"Mm hmm." John said. "You don't say?"

"How do you know it's a she?" Keller asked.

"Ultrasound."

"You're guessing." Woods rebutted.

"The form appears to be female, although, I admit, it's hard to tell for sure."

"Have you, uh, have you made a guess about her age?" Keller asked.

Michaels tilted her head. "Mm…25 to 35?"

"Give or take several million years." Osbourne said from behind Woods.

John looks up from studying the ice block, surprised. "Several million?"

"That's what the preliminary analysis of the oxygen content in the ice indicates." Woods said, Osbourne nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, but didn't humans evolve on this planet somewhere between 8 and 9 hundred thousand years ago?" Julian asked, referring to the small settlement on a different continent.

"That's what we thought." Michaels said.

Keller looks pleasantly surprised. "Oh, this could be big."

Michaels turned to Julian. "As you said, evidence now points to the Stargate found here predates the glacier."

Julian nods his head in agreement.

"The Wraith found near the Stargate couldn't have been frozen there that long ago." Ronon said.

"Not even close." Michaels said.

"When I was talking to Dr. Jackson, he theorized that when the Gate from the other settlement was buried roughly 2000 years ago that the Wraith managed to open up the "Antarctic Two" Gate." Julian said.

"Well, that's because a crevasse was formed. It allowed the wormhole to connect and ultimately create a larger opening." McKay said. "The Wraith were frozen after that."

"But she wasn't." Keller said, making her way towards Michaels.

Michaels nodded. "Much before that."

"So she's not a Wraith." Ronon said.

Keller stepped between Michaels and Julian as Michaels was saying, "Well, whoever this is, she was probably around when the Antarctic Two Gate was first being used."

"We need to take more core samples to determine if she was actually frozen in the same vein." Osbourne said, patting the ice.

Keller fingers a hole in the ice. "Did you do a tissue sample?"

"Mm hmm." Michaels said, leaning over. "I'd like you to have a look."

"Listen." John said, waving his arm. "Could somebody bottom-line this for me?"

"Well, Colonel, we could be looking at evidence that human beings from this galaxy evolved long before we thought they did." Keller said.

"And maybe even originally on this planet." Osbourne added.

"Darwin would be crushed." John said sarcastically

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—OFFICE

John and Ronon walk into a room containing a screen showing the observation lab and an area for clothing. John throws up his hands in frustration.

"Doh!"

"What is it Sheppard?"

"Nothing..." John just sat on the bead and cradled his head.

"Sheppard," Ronon sighed. "You drunk?"

John laughed sheepishly. "Wish I was."

Ronon walked over and knelt beside the bed, getting eye level with him. "Sheppard, I know you're hurting man. This isn't the way. It's been two months-"

"Exactly." John looked up at him. "My wife and kids were taken away by her dead husband. Ronon, come talk to me in a few months."

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—RESEARCH LABORATORY

Dr. Keller is looking into a high-powered microscope. Michaels is sitting next to her. "This is incredible."

"I know. No adipocere."

"What's that?" Julian asked, who was sitting behind them. Another screen shows the ice block in the observation lab.

"It's a residue that forms on dead animal tissue when exposed to moisture." Keller said. She rolls her chair away from the table to face Julian and Michaels. "But that's not the most amazing part. These tissue cells are intact." Keller looks amazed.

"That's what I was hoping you'd say." Michaels leaned back in her chair, smiling. "I thought maybe I was losing my mind."

"I'm sorry…uh, what?" Julian smiled awkwardly and fixed his cap.

"When you freeze live cells, crystals form and ultimately destroy the integrity of the cell. That's why we haven't been able to develop a viable method of human cryogenic preservation." Keller said.

"So…" Julian prompted.

"So…these cells are perfect. They could be from you or me."

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—QUARANTINE LABORATORY

Keller and Michaels are wearing surgical masks and latex gloves. They maneuver an overhanging heat lamp over the block of ice as the others watch in the adjoining observation room. The ice begins to slowly melt. Time goes by as water slowly drips from the block. A monitor in the observation room shows the temperature slowly increase to fifty degrees.

Michaels, speaking into a headset microphone—documenting the procedure, said, "Right hand, right arm and partial head exposed. The clothing appears tailored. Material unknown."

Keller is also speaking into a head-mike. "Peeling back what appears to be the right sleeve covering the face." She slowly removes the cloth with large tweezers, revealing a perfectly preserved female face, still partially frozen into the ice. Her face was heart shaped; she had high, wide cheekbones; wide, artic blue eyes with long lashes. She had high-arching brows that gave her the look of slight surprise and continuous interest; an up-turned nose; full, sensual lips that were slightly open seeming relaxed, even suggestive.

Keller hands Michaels the tweezers. "You got it?"

Michaels folds the cloth away from the face. "Yeah."

"Okay." Keller looks at the woman, amazed. "She is remarkably preserved."

She shines her penlight into one of Lucrezia 's eyes. The pupil reacts to the light. Keller, stunned, flicks off the light and looks at Michaels. Both look shocked. Keller again shines the penlight into the eye and again the pupil reacts. She turns to the observation room window. "I got a cortical response. Julian, I need your help!" Michaels wheels a machine towards the table. "Let's go."

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—OBSERVATION ROOM

John turns to Julian. "What's goin' on?"

"Electroencephalogram. It measures brain-wave activity." He puts on a mask and leaves the observation room.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—QUARANTINE LABORATORY

Lucrezia is being prepared for the EEG, with leads being placed on her head.

"All right, go, Julz." Michaels said.

He switches on the equipment, and immediately one of the lines on the monitor shows wave activity. "Delta waves."

"That's impossible!" Michaels said.

"We've seen stranger."

"We've gotta get her out." Keller said.

Julian turned to John in the observation room "Sir, crank up the heat!" John turns to a panel at his right and rotates the controls. The heat lamps switch on to a high setting. A monitor shows the temperature increasing to 79 degrees. The ice around Lucrezia has mostly melted.

"On three. When you're ready, Ronon." Keller said. Hands move to Lucrezia's shoulder and arm, ready to lift her.

"Okay." Ronon said.

"Okay. One, two, three." Ronon and Julian lift Lucrezia's upper body, Michaels her legs. They move her onto a gurney. "Easy."

Now that she was out of the ice, they could see her more clearly. She had long, copper red hair flowing down to her abdomen. She was tall; lean and athletic by her shape – toned legs, slim waist, and supple breasts. Her fingers were long and slim like she was accustomed to shooting arrows with bows.

Julian moves the heat lamp to over Lucrezia's body. "Okay."

Michaels checks Lucrezia's temperature with an ear thermometer. "Temperature is 73 degrees."

"Good." Keller said, modestly cutting away Lucrezia's clothing. "No sign of frostbite. I assume you don't have bypass?"

"No." Michaels shook her head.

"Okay, let's try, uh, warm saline, one milligram epi, and do a blood gas."

Michaels nods in agreement and moves away from the gurney, as do Keller, Julian and Ronon. John looks on from the observation room.

"You know the medics have a saying down here. You're not dead until you're warm and dead." Michaels said, setting leads on her chest.

"It's because anything below 82 degrees and life signs are often undetectable." Keller said, untangling the wire.

They are preparing to give Lucrezia an EKG. Julian was draping a blanket over her.

"Okay, we've got disorganized electrical activity." Michaels reported.

"I'm intubating. Tilt her head, Commander." Keller instructed. A monitor in the observation room shows Keller inserting the respiration tube guide into Lucrezia's throat. "I'm in…give me the tube. That's it…okay."

As the bag is massaged, the medical monitor bleeps and shows a heartbeat.

"There's a heartbeat." Michaels called out, watching the screen.

"She's bleeding." Ronon said, pointing to her arm. The blanket around Lucrezia's arm is drawn away to show a small, bleeding wound.

"Commander, you take over bagging?" Keller asked.

"Got it." Julian nodded and took over.

Keller beings to bandage the wound.

"PH is 6.9. She's acidotic, but her PO2 is 98." Michaels reported.

Julian looks up at the heart monitor. "Ten beats per minute."

As Keller looks across to the heart monitor, the regular beeping turns continuous and Lucrezia's heartbeat flatlines. Suddenly the monitor flat-lines. "She's in V-fib." She sets up the defibrillator as Michaels walks over to the monitor. "Charging to 200." Keller grabs the paddles and prepares to shock Lucrezia. "And clear…"

"Wait!" Michaels yelled.

The continuous beeping has been replaced by regular beeps. Keller turns to see a heartbeat on the monitor. "Sinus bradycardia."

"30 beats per minute. BP 60 over 40 and rising." Michaels shook her head. "I can't believe this is happening."

Suddenly Lucrezia blinks her eyes. Julian looks at her, amazed. "She's conscious."

Keller looks at Julian, shocked, while John looks on from the observation room.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—QUARANTINE LABORATORY

From Lucrezia's perspective, she could see Keller and Julian, looking down at her, are indistinct. Lucrezia's breathing is loud.

"She's breathing on her own." Keller said, her voice sounding miles away.

As an oxygen mask is removed, Michaels and Ronon appear over her.

"I think we're scaring her." Ronon said. Lucrezia looks around, obviously frightened. There are EEG leads still attached to her head, and a tube down her throat. "It's okay. Hey, it's okay. It's okay. Shhh." He looks up at Keller. "Can we take the tube out?"

Lucrezia flinches away as Ronon lays his hands on the gurney.

"Yeah." Keller moved Ronon out of other way, trading places with him. "It's okay. Julian, give me a hand." Lucrezia is gasping, obviously scared. Keller moves to the head of the gurney to remove the tube from Lucrezia's throat. "Easy…easy…hang on."

Michaels attempts to comfort Lucrezia by rubbing her legs as Keller removes the tube. John, McKay, Osbourne and Woods look on from the observation room.

"Take it easy. It's okay. It's okay." Keller said, trying to calm her patient down. She removes the tube, causing Lucrezia to cough several times, then take deep breaths. "It's okay. There you go." Suddenly, Lucrezia begins fighting, crying out. "Oh, ho, whoa! Michaels, 2.5 milligrams Valium." Michaels moves to inject the drug in the IV line, while Julian, Keller and Ronon hold down Lucrezia. "Easy, nobody's gonna hurt you. It's okay. Okay. Here we go." Lucrezia clams as the drug takes effect. "Here we go. Yeah."

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—RESEARCH LABORATORY

"We didn't do anything, Colonel. She revived herself. It was as if the thawing process just triggered an internal response telling her body to come back to life." Keller said, walking around with her hands in her pockets.

"But not a semi-Wraith, or whatever, right?" John asked. He was sitting down at one of the tables, his elbow propped up and resting his head on his open hand.

"No, Sir."

"All right. Then what are we dealin' with here?"

"Something not humanly possible. Not as far as I know."

"Then she may not be of this world." Julian said.

"As far as we knew up until now, all human life in this galaxy was transplanted from planet to planet because of the Wraith. Now, the odds of a totally alien life form evolving to look exactly like us are…are astronomical." McKay said.

"Actually, if she's as old as we think she is, wouldn't it be us evolving to look like her?" Julian asked.

"True." McKay sighed.

"We really need to check out the site again." Woods said, looking over his shoulder at Osbourne. "At least get another core sample to prove the age of the ice."

"You guys need some help?" John asked.

"We can handle it." Osbourne said, pushing off from the wall.

Michaels enters from the Quarantine Lab as the other two head off, pulling down her mask. "Uh…she's awake again."

"Think I'll try talking to her." Julian said.

"I'll go with." Ronon said. After a moment, John nods in agreement.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—QUARANTINE LABORATORY

Lucrezia is lying on the gurney, looking drowsy and dressed in green medical scrubs. Her arms are restrained at her sides. Ronon and Julian enter, both wearing surgical masks.

"Hey." Julian said. Lucrezia appears scared, moving away slightly on the gurney. Julian lowers his mask a little, looks at Ronon and then removes the mask completely. "It's…uh…Julian."

Julian smiles at her. Ronon also removes his mask. "Ronon" He turned to Julian and asked, "We don't need these restraints anymore, do we?" Ronon removes the restraint on her left wrist as Julian moves around the other side of the gurney. "It's all right. It's better, huh?" Julian removes the restraint from her right wrist. Ronon turned to Julian, "Want to sit her up?"

Julian and Ronon support Lucrezia's back as they help her into a sitting position. She moans and rolls her sore neck. Julian tapped his throat. "Can you speak?" He repeated. "You speak?"

"Maybe she just doesn't understand us." Ronon said.

"I'd be very surprised if she did, but that doesn't mean we can't communicate, right?" Julian points to himself. "I'm Julian." Lucrezia looks puzzled. "Julian. It's my name."

"Ju…Jul—e–an." Lucrezia she stammered.

"Yeah." Julian smiled.

Lucrezia looks over at Ronon. She tentatively lifts her hand and, lightly with one finger, places it on his chest.

Ronon smiled a little. "Ronon."

She taps his chest. "Ro…Ro-non."

"I guess she can speak." Julian smiled.

Ronon slowly, as to not alarm her, put a finger on her chest. "Do you have a name?" Distracted, Lucrezia raises her right sleeve to look at the bandage on her bicep. "That bothering you?"

"Oh, that's our fault. I'm sorry." Julian said.

Lucrezia looked at him, holding her arm. "S…Sor-ry?"

"Yeah, sorry." Julian said. "It's what you say to somebody when you, uh, cause them pain or sadness or you've done something you feel bad about. We didn't know. Let me have a look?" He slowly reaches his hands toward her arm. "It's okay." He folds up the sleeve and removes the bandage, thumbing the skin. There is no longer a wound on the arm. "That's amazing."

"Am-a-zing." Lucrezia repeated.

"Yes, you are." He smiled.

Lucrezia turned to Ronon. "Am-a-zing."

He smiles and nods in agreement.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—RESEARCH LABORATORY

McKay is sitting at a monitor, the forecast on the screen. "The weather system Barrett was worried about is blowing in more quickly than first predicted."

John turned to his radio. "Woods, Osbourne, this is Sheppard. Come in."

"Yeah, Colonel, I read you." Woods said.

"That storm is headed our way."

"Roger that. We're almost done here. It'll be dark soon anyway." Ronon and Julian enter the lab."Just…be back in a couple of hours. Woods out."

"We didn't learn anything." Ronon said.

"Nothing?" John asked.

"No, no, not even her name." Julian said. "There's obviously a communication barrier. She can speak, but, uh…"

"There's really no telling what the effects of being frozen that long are. Even with her ability to…uh…preserve or heal herself physically, parts of her mind could have been damaged beyond repair." Keller said.

"The wound on her arm is completely gone." Julian said.

"What?" Keller said, her eyebrows shooting up.

"I mean, if we can figure out how she's able to regenerate…" Michaels trailed off.

"Couldn't she be deliberately hiding something?" McKay asked.

"What reason would she have to hide anything?" Julian asked.

"Fear." Ronon said.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—QUARANTINE LABORATORY

Lucrezia is sitting up on the gurney, with Michaels standing next to her. Ronon enters, carrying a tray.

"Thought you might be hungry. Brought you some…uh…food." Lucrezia looks puzzled. He picks up some food from the tray and eats it. "You eat it. It's not very good, but, uh…try it."

Lucrezia takes the tray from Ronon and eats some of the food. She shakes her head and grimaces. She selects a small amount of different food from the tray: mashed potatos and gravy. Lucrezia starts to greedily eat the food.

"I guess if you've been frozen for that many years…" Lucrezia stares at him as she continues eating. Michaels removes her jacket, obviously warm. "You all right, Doc.?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just think we have the heat turned up a little high in here now."

Julian walks in and waves to Lucrezia and smiled at Ronon and Michaels. "Hey, I want to show you something," he pulls out a notebook from under his arm, "…uh…here, look, look." Julian shows Lucrezia a notebook, opened to a page with a drawing of a Stargate. He points to the drawing. "Have you ever seen this? Yes? No?"

Lucrezia slows her eating and looks at the drawing. "Amazing.

Ronon smiles as Julian appears a little frustrated. "We're going to try something else."

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—OBSERVATION ROOM

McKay enters and joins Keller at a terminal. "Look at this."

The monitor shows different brain wave patterns.

"What are they?" McKay asked.

"EEGs Dr. Fraiser took of a girl named Cassandra when she was suffering the effects of Niirti's genetic experiment."

"Yeah, her daughter Cassie. I read the report. She started developing telekinetic abilities."

"Mm hm. These are the ones she took of General O'Neill when he had the knowledge of the Ancient repository downloaded into his brain. Now, I've been comparing them…to Lucrezia's…" Keller brings up another brain wave pattern on the screen.

"Connection?" McKay asked. Keller nods. "Okay, Niirti was trying to create genetically enhanced human beings. And the Ancient device was rewriting General O'Neills memory until the Asgard put a stop to it."

"It was doing more than that. It was activating dormant areas of his brain. Rodney, look, what if there's more than just a coincidental similarity in these patterns? I mean, we're in a whole 'nother galaxy!"

"So you're saying this woman is…?"

"I'm saying that she's another example of an advanced stage in the potential human evolutionary process."

"Leading to what?"

"The Antarctic cod on Earth can live in water so cold, other fish would develop ice crystals in their blood. Now, they've had 40 million years or so to adapt to the change of temperature in the water and they've developed this protein that acts like anti-freeze."

"They're fish."

"Given enough time, evolution can do some pretty amazing things. Look, we know that humans can become much more powerful beings. We've seen it happen with Illyria."

"Uh huh, with the help of other powerful beings."

"Yes. We think this woman might predate human evolution on this planet by 50 million years."

"Yeah, but that would put her behind us on the evolutionary timeline, not way ahead."

"Unless…"

"Unless…their evolution isn't the first time it's happened. That's not big, that's huge!"

"Okay, look, it's just a theory and we certainly don't have any hard evidence, yet."

"Yeah, yeah, but if you're right! This woman could be an Ancient!"

"One stage of their development, anyway."

"A living Ancient…" McKay trailed.

"Just, let's not mention this to the Colonel. It's only been a month since…."

The monitor behind Keller is showing the quarantine lab. Michaels has just collapsed to the floor. Julian yells up into the camera, drawing McKay and Keller's attention.

"Dr. Keller!"

McKay and Keller leave the lab and can be seen over the monitor entering the quarantine lab. Lucrezia is standing to the side, hiding behind Ronon, obviously frightened.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—MAKESHIFT INFIRMARY

Keller is tending to Michaels, who is lying on one of the beds. Keller is wearing a surgical mask which she removes as she walks away from the bed. She enters from the infirmary which is immediately next door. John and McKay are sitting at a small table.

"Michaels fainted. She's running a high fever. I need to do more tests." Keller walks over to a small lab table, a few vials of blood in her hands.

"Lucrezia?" John asked.

"She's fine." Keller said. Julian is sitting at a monitor, keeping an eye on Ronon and Lucrezia. "I know what you're thinking."

"And?" John asked.

"It's possible she may be carrying a contagion of some kind."

John grimaces at McKay.

"Wouldn't she be sick, too?" Julian asked.

"There are a number of examples of diseases that have no effect on the carrier, but can still infect others. It may be that her healing abilities are fighting off the infection in her own system without eradicating it completely."

"Should…Ronon still be in there?" Julian asked.

"He wants to be. Chances are, he's already been exposed, it's possible we all have. If this did come from her, we need to know as much as she can tell us."

"The Puddle Jumper is scheduled to pick us up tomorrow." McKay reminded.

"Better call it off." Keller said.

"Ah, they couldn't have flown in this weather anyway." John said, getting up and walking over to a radio.

"Until I know a lot more about what's going on here, we're quarantined." Keller announced.

"Woods, Osbourne, this is Sheppard. Come in."

Only static is heard over the radio. Outside the station, a storm is raging.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—MAKESHIFT INFIRMARY

Michaels is lying on the bed, perspiring and breathing laboriously. Keller is wiping her face. John can be heard on the radio in the next room.

"Osbourne, Woods. This is Sheppard. Come in."

Only more static is heard. Julian enters the infirmary. "How is she?"

"Not good. Fever won't come down, she's not responding to antibiotics. Whatever this is, it's fast."

"Woods and Osbourne still aren't back and they're not responding on the radio."

"If they developed the same symptoms as Michaels, they could be weak, disoriented or even passed out."

"You definitely think this came from Lucrezia?"

"Well, Michaels seems to have been affected first and she was the one working with the tissue sample."

Julian sits on one of the beds in the room.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—ENTRANCEWAY

The doorway opens and Osbourne enters, carrying a case. He stumbles to the ground just inside the doorway.

"Help!"

John and Ronon come running from the complex , followed by McKay and Keller. John kneels down beside Osbourne. Osbourne waves at the case he was carrying. "The core samples."

"Where's Woods?" John asked.

Osbourne is obviously freezing cold and has difficulty breathing. Keller starts removing his headgear. "Got separated…hoping he made his way back here."

"What about the snow cat?"

"Got stuck in a drift."

"It's minus thirty. He won't last for long out there." McKay said.

"He's running a high temperature. Help me get him back to the barracks." Keller said.

John and Ronon help Osbourne to his feet and take him through to the infirmary.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—MAKESHIFT INFIRMARY

John and Ronon lay him on a bed not far from Michaels.

"Rodney, I'm gonna need your help." Keller said.

"Hopefully, Woods activated his EPIRB." He said.

John and Ronon leave as McKay and Keller begin removing Osbourne's outer clothing.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—ENTRANCEWAY

John and Ronon are geared up and read, mounting their own snow mobile. McKay and Julian watch them leave.

"Stay in radio contact." McKay said.

"Roger that." John said into his radio helmet.

John and Ronon drive out. McKay walks over to where Osbourne collapsed and picks up his hat and the case he had been carrying. He and Julian run back into the complex.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—QUARANTINE LABORATORY

Lucrezia is looking out of the window as the outer door to the complex closes. Julian enters the lab, he sighed and rubbed his face, tired. Lucrezia looks at him then looks back out of the window.

"Oh. Dr. Woods is lost." He sat on her bed and Lucrezia slightly turned to him. "Colonel Sheppard and Ronon went out there to find him. Hope they do." Lucrezia slowly walked over to him. "Dr. Michaels and Dr. Osbourne are both…sick. Dr. Keller thinks that we may have been, uh, infected by some disease that you're carrying." Lucrezia moves her head slightly, as though understanding Julian. "Eventually, we're all gonna be very sick. But…you have no idea what I'm talking about, so…"

Lucrezia moves towards Julian, a questioning look on her face. She gestures to herself as though questioning her actions.

"Do you? You can understand me?" Lucrezia nods her head in the affirmative. Julian got up off the bed, excited. "You're a quicker study than I am. So, is there anything at all that you can tell me about this disease you're carrying? Why you're not sick? You don't know? Y-You don't remember anything?" Lucrezia shakes her head. "Do you know how you're able to heal yourself?"

Lucrezia shakes her head again. Julian sighs in frustration.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—RESEARCH LABORATORY

Keller enters from the infirmary. "I'm going to boost the dose of antibiotic, but so far I haven't seen any sign of bacterial growth in the culture." She walks to McKay, who is sitting at a monitor. "If this is a virus, there is nothing else I can do here."

"How much time do they have?" McKay asked.

"Days, hours. I don't know. Michaels' kidneys have started to shut down and that's a bad sign."

"The ice core sample that Osbourne brought back places Lucrezia in the same vein as the Stargate. She's at least three million years old. But if she comes from a race that actually predates the glacier and your theory is correct, she could be a lot older." McKay tilts his head. "She's an Ancient all right. Beauty and everything."

"McKay, come in." John said over the radio.

McKay moves to the two-way radio. "Sheppard, this is McKay."

҉

SNOW-DRIVEN LANDSCAPE

"We've found the abandoned 'cat. We'll continue the search on foot. Visibility is near zero and I keep losing a satellite lock on the tracker." John said into his helmet radio.

Ronon is nearby, pointing a bright flashlight into the snow.

"The cold must be affecting the active antenna on your SatNav."

"We'll keep looking. Sheppard out."

The wind is howling and the snow is swirling all around them. Ronon has to shout loudly.

"Dr. Woods!"

"Dr. Woods!"

"Dr. Woods!"

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—RESEARCH LABORATORY

Keller taps on the window of the quarantine lab and gestures at Julian to join her.

Julian is sitting on a gurney with Lucrezia looking at a notebook. He moves from the gurney into the research lab.

"It's unbelievable." He said.

"What?" Keller asked.

"She understands everything I'm saying. Everything. I told her exactly what's been happening and she seems to…to know that she…she's responsible for it somehow, you know? Like it's her fault."

"She told you that?"

"Not in so many words, no."

"Well, what about something that could help us?"

"Not yet, but, uh, it doesn't mean that her memory won't come back. It's logical that the…the mind would take longer than the body to heal."

"The problem is, Julian, we don't know how much time we have."

"Right." He sighed.

҉

SNOW-DRIVEN LANDSCAPE

Ronon and John are searching.

"Sheppard!" Ronon called out. He gestures to the ground. He and John walk over to find Woods, collapsed in the snow.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—ENTRANCEWAY

John and Ronon enter the complex on the snow cats with Woods being towed behind on a stretcher. Keller and Julian are waiting for them at the entranceway and move towards Woods.

"Let's get him into the lab. On three. One, two, three."

John, Keller and Julian lift Woods from the towing unit.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—QUARANTINE LABORATORY

They place Woods on a gurney in the lab.

"He's in hypothermic shock. We need to get his clothes off." Keller said. Lucrezia stands watching as Keler and the others begin Woods' clothing. "We need to get him wrapped in warm blankets." Ronon places a blanket over Woods as John removes his own head gear. Julian removes Woods' boots. "McKay, I need you to hook him up onto the monitor."

Keller cuts through Woods' clothing as Lucrezia moves around to watch. Julian pulls off a sock to reveal severe frostbite on Woods' foot. He shakes his head. "This can't be good."

McKay turns back to see what Julian is talking about. "Oh, my God." He places EKG leads on Woods' chest as Keller begins to bag him. Julian removes the sock from the other foot, which is in the same frostbitten state. The heart monitor flatlines.

"He's in V-fib. You get the paddles, I'll get the gel." Keller told McKay. Both Julian and Lucrezia are looking on, concerned. "Charge to 200." McKay sets the charge and prepares the paddles, then hands them to Keller. "Okay. Everybody clear!"

As Keller prepares to shock Woods, Lucrezia steps up to the gurney.

"Whoa, whoa, Hey!" John called out to her.

Lucrezia places her left hand on Woods' head.

"No, no, no. Wait. Wait." Julian said, holding his hands out.

"Julian!" Keller yeled.

"Let's see. Let's see what she does."

Lucrezia places her right hand on Woods' stomach. Julian walks around towards Lucrezia who is grimacing and breathing heavily. Suddenly, Woods takes a deep, gulping breath. Julian stands next to Lucrezia as Keller and McKay look on, amazed. McKay looks to Woods' feet, which seem to glow as the signs of frostbite disappear. Keller returns the paddles to their stand as John and Ronon look on, stunned. Woods takes another deep breath, then Lucrezia gasps and collapses and Julian catches her. Keller looks at the heart monitor which is now showing a normal heartbeat.

"His vital signs are back to normal."

Keller checks Woods' pulse as he opens his eyes. She looks across at Julian who is supporting Lucrezia. Julian nods, shocked. McKay again checks Woods' feet, then looks across at John in disbelief.

҉

ANTARCTIC BASE—QUARANTINE LABORATORY

Ronon enters the lab. Lucrezia sits up on the gurney where she has been resting.

"You okay?" He asked. Lucrezia nods her head in the affirmative. "You know what you did?" Lucrezia briefly nods her head. "You know how you did it?" Lucrezia shakes her head. "Can you do it again?"

Lucrezia frowns. "Michaels and Osbourne are in bad shape. If you can't help them…"

Ronon shakes his head. After a moment, Lucrezia nods hers in the affirmative.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—MAKESHIFT INFIRMARY

Keller is sitting on the edge of Michaels' bed, checking her pulse. Ronon and Lucrezia enter the room. Keller covers Michaels up and stands, heading to the doorway to stand with Ronon while Lucrezia kneels down next to the bed. She places her hands on Michaels in the same way as she did with Woods.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—RESEARCH LABORATORY

John, Julian, McKay and Woods are in the lab as Keller, Osbourne, Michaels and Ronon enter.

"Guess it worked." McKay said.

"So this is good, right? When she wakes up, she can zap us all?" John said.

"Not necessarily. Healing them really exhausted her." Keller said, walking away. Julian follows Keller to a monitor. They both sit down.

"What is it, Jennifer?" Julian asked, taking her hand.

"It's a blood sample from Lucrezia. I'll know more in a little while." Julian sits in a chair behind Keller whom turns to look at him. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah. What do you think the problem is?"

"Whatever or however she is able to do what she does, it weakens her. More each time. I mean, she's still carrying that virus herself, Julez. I'm afraid there's going to be a point where she puts herself at risk."

Julian rises and pats Keller on the arm. "Good luck."

"Yeah."

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—RESEARCH LABORATORY

Keller enters the lab. "Okay. I can't say for sure, but her white cell count is down significantly."

Ronon is standing against a wall as Julian lounges in a chair, reading. John is lying on a couch. McKay and Michaels are sitting at a monitor.

"White blood cells are a major part of our immune system and…she's still basically human." Keller continued.

John was massaging his forehead. "What does that mean?"

"It means that you, me, McKay and Ronon are all going to get a lot worse over the next day or so. Commander Barrett is an exception; he's naturally immune. And…I don't know what will happen if we let her try to heal all of us."

"She could die." McKay said.

"She could save some of us or all of us, who knows."

"You know, maybe she just needs some time to get her strength back." Michaels said.

"Well, for the moment, none of us are in dire need, so I suggest we get some rest." Keller suggested.

"We'll watch her." Woods said.

"Yeah, it's the least we can do." Osbourne nodded.

"Yeah, I'll run some tests on the three of us and Julian, looking for antibody markers. I mean, hopefully, whatever she did to us means we're now immune to re-infection." Michaels said.

"Okay. And the rest of us will get some sleep. That's an order." Keller pointed.

҉

ANTARCTIC BASE—MAKESHIFT INFIRMARY

Lucrezia is lying on one of the beds. Woods is sitting next to her but appears to be dozing. Suddenly, she wakes and sits up. Woods also wakes.

"Hi." Lucrezia swings her legs off the bed. "Thank you. You saved my life. I have to admit I feel a little guilty, being okay while Colonel Sheppard and the rest of them keep getting sicker."

Lucrezia raises her hands and looks at them. She gently touches one hand with the other, then rises to stand in front of Woods .

"If we could just figure out how-"

Lucrezia caresses Woods' face and he loses consciousness. She leaves the infirmary.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—SLEEPING QUARTERS

McKay and Keller are asleep; McKay on the top bunk, Keller on the bottom. Lucrezia enters and kneels next to Keller. She places her hands on Keller in the same way as with woods and Michaels.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—RESEARCH LABORATORY

"The storm is passing." Obsourne announced.

"Good. Maybe now we'll be able to get a some-what disease control team in here." Michaels said.

'I'm gonna relieve Woods."

"Okay."

Osbourne leaves and enters the infirmary, finding Woods unconscious and no sign of Lucrezia.

"Norm, wake up…Norm…"

Unable to rouse Woods, he leaves.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—SLEEPING QUARTERS

Osbourne enters the room and switches on the lights. McKay and Keller are awake and getting dressed, their backs turned to each other.

"She's missing. Woods is unconscious." Osbourne announced.

All three hurry out of the room.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—STORAGE AREA

Osbourne, Keller and McKay enter. Osbourne points to a door. "Check there."

"Yeah."

As Osbourne goes to another door, Keller and McKay enter a room, followed by Osbourne.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—ROOM

Ronon is bending over an unconscious Lucrezia who is lying on the floor. McKay checks Lucrezia's pulse as Keller goes to John who is lying, unconscious, on a cot.

"It's okay. It's okay." She whispered to him. She checks John's pulse and places her hand on his forehead. "He's burning up."

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—ENTRANCEWAY

A number of people enter wearing biohazard suits and carrying equipment.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—QUARANTINE LABORATORY

John is lying in an enclosed rescue stretcher. He has an oxygen mask over his mouth.

"You're going to be fine, Colonel. I'll see you soon." Keller said. She was wearing a biohazard suit as she closes the lid on the containment stretcher. As John's stretcher is wheeled out, Lucrezia appears, also lying in a containment stretcher. She too is wheeled out.

҉

ANTARCTIC TWO BASE—RESEARCH LABORATORY

Everyone in the complex is wearing a biohazard suit except for Julian, who is holding his.

"Barrett, even though you don't have the disease, you could still carry the virus. We'll all get properly cleared once we get back to Atlantis." McKay said.

Julian nods.

҉

ATLANTIS—INFIRMARY QUARANTINE OBSERVATION ROOM

McKay is sitting in the room when Julian enters.

"Blood pressure's holding 80 over 40. I wanna do a manual and uh, get me the results of his latest bloodwork." Keller's voice was heard in the speaker.

"How's he doing?" Julian asked.

"They're doing everything they can."

"We talked to Earth. They said this might be beyond their help, but they're sending someone anyway."

"His best chance is Lucrezia. She managed to halt the virus completely in the rest of us."

"Why hasn't she been able to stop it in herself?"

Keller answered that over the speaker. "From what I've been able to learn so far the virus ultimately acts like cerebrospinal meningitis by attacking the brain. Despite the physical similarities, Lucrezia's brain chemistry seems to be quite different from ours. I suppose it's possible she's able to trigger an immune response in us that she can't muster in herself once the disease reaches an end stage."

"What are the odds she'll survive?" Julian asked.

Keller shakes her head slightly, negatively. McKay and Julian look at each other. McKay sighs. All three turn to look at John who is lying on a bed.

҉

ATLANTIS—INFIRMARY QUARANTINE

Lucrezia is lying on a bed. A heart monitor beeps in the background. Ronon, wearing a biohazard suit walks up to her bedside. She is wearing a nasal canula. As Ronon approaches, she slowly opens her eyes.

"Hey. Glad to see you're awake." He smiled. "I had a feeling you were gonna make it…Thanks for what you did for me. You didn't have to do that. Not for any of us."

Lucrezia frowns and grimaces in pain.

"Hey, take it easy, huh? Gotta get your strength back. Sheppard still needs your help. More than that, we want you to live…I want you to live."

Lucrezia weakly shakes her head. "Sor-ry."

As Lucrezia loses consciousness, the regular beeping turns continuous and Lucrezia 's heartbeat flatlines.

"Lucrezia!"

Personnel dressed in biohazard suits rush into the room. Ronon is pushed aside as they begin working on Lucrezia. Keller enters.

"She just, uh…" Ronon trailed.

"Bag her." Keller ordered.

"She just…"

"Give me one milligram epi." Keller sets up the defibrillator as Ronon stands behind her. "Charging to 200."

Keller grabs the paddles and prepares to Lucrezia. "Clear! Nothing. Charging to 300. Clear! Come on, come on. Again. Clear!"

Lucrezia heartbeat continues to flatline as Ronon helplessly looks at Keller.

҉

BRIEFING ROOM

McKay and Julian walk up the stairs into the room. Ronon enters the room from the stairs, out of breath.

"Lucrezia's not looking too good. Keller's doing everything she can, but…"

"She may have been on borrowed time from the start." McKay said.

Julian nods in agreement. Just then, an alarm begins to sound.

"Commander Barrett come in!" Keller yelled over the radio.

"This is Barrett. What's going on?"

"It's Lucrezia." Julian looked over at Ronon. "She's missing."

҉

ATLANTIS—INFIRMARY

Julian enters followed by Ronon and McKay. He walked over to Keller. "Missing? I just heard she wasn't doing to good, how is she missing?"

Keller shook her head. "I don't know, Commander. Look, once we stabilized her, I left to do some work-"

"How long were you gone?" Julian asked.

"I-I don't know, maybe a minute or so." She looked over at Lucrezia's empty bed. "Commander, she couldn't have gotten too far."

Julian looked around and nodded. He turned to Ronon. "I want four teams of two searching places around the infirmary-"

"Hey, wait-wait-wait." McKay said. "Since when are you in charge."

Julian glowered at him. "Senior ranking military officer." He turned back to Ronon. "Like the doctor said, she couldn't have gotten too far."

Just then, a nurse rushed in. "Doctor Keller!"

"What is it Jullie?" Keller asked.

"Lucrezia…" Jullie said, catching her breath.

"What about Lucrezia?" Julian asked.

"She…She's with Colonel Sheppard."

"What?" Julian said. He turned to Ronon. "Have two teams to two meet us down there."

They took off as Keller went over to Jullie. "What happened?"

"I don't know, Doctor. One moment we're treating the Colonel, and the next we're outside the room with the doors locked."

"Doctor Keller!" Julian shouted from down the hall.

Keller looked at him then back at her nurse. "You did what you could. Thank you." She grabbed some medical gear and rushed off with Julian.

҉

ATLANTIS—INFIRMARY QUARANTINE

Ronon, Julian, Keller, and a team of Marines are outside the doors. McKay was working on getting them unlocked.

"What's taking so long, McKay?" Ronon growled.

"Look, if this was any other person, I would have these doors open in seconds, but it's not. We're dealing with an Ancient who knows more about the system than I do. SO-"

"Just get them opened!" Julian barked.

"Well maybe if you stopped-" McKay's panel beeped. "Huh, it worked."

"Can we get in?" Keller asked.

"Yeah-"

Before McKay could finish, Ronon and Julian were in the room, but stopped short of the doorway. There he was, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, back from the brink of death. He was kneeling on the ground, holding Lucrezia in his arms.

"Need a medic in here!" He shouted.

Julian called over his shoulder. "Jennifer!"

"On it!" Keller said, rushing in, medical staff not far behind her.

҉

BRIEFING ROOM – NEXT DAY

John, Ronon, Julian, McKay, and Keller were sitting around the table.

"News on Lucrezia?" John asked Keller.

"We managed to get her stabilized after she flatlined. To be perfectly honest, I think she meant saving you, Colonel, to be her last act."

"Well," John awkwardly smiled, "Sorry."

"How is it that you're here?" McKay asked. John raised his eyebrow. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Lucrezia healed you. She should have died, hey, she was practically dead when she saved you."

"Sometimes, McKay," Ronon said, standing up, "You've just go to believe."

Ronon left and Julian smiled. "I think somebody has a crush."

"Oh, really?" McKay said, surprised.

"It's kinda obviouse." Keller smiled.

John cleared his throat and Julian got back on track. "In the meantime, what are we going to do about Lucrezia?"

"SGC?" McKay asked.

"She's in no condition right now to be traveling anywhere." Keller shook her head.

"I have an idea," John smiled. "She joins the team."