Disclaimer - I do not own Stargate Atlantis, any of the characters or the events depicted in this story. I only own my character Rayne, her background and family, also anything not privy to the show.

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Enjoy!

Inside of an infirmary isolation room a man in his mid-thirties wakes up with a gasp in a hospital bed. He looks around the room, apparently confused as to where he is. He looks down at his hands, then stares around the room again. There is no-one in sight but he is surrounded by several monitors, most of them turned away from him so he can't see what they are showing.

As Doctor Elizabeth Weir works at her desk, Doctor Carson Beckett reports to her over the radio. "Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth activates her headset radio. "Yes, Carson?"

"He's awake."

The man is now sitting up on the bed. Carson is shining a penlight into his left eye, then flicking it away again, then shining it into his eye again. The doors to the room open and Elizabeth comes in, accompanied by Colonel Sheppard. They walk across to the bed as Carson talks to the man. "Blood pressure's fine, pulse normal. You're bouncing back quite nicely."

"Bouncing back from what?" The man questions.

"Hello, Michael." Elizabeth smiles at him. "D'you remember me?"

Michael looks at her for a moment, then shakes his head. "No."

"I'm Doctor Elizabeth Weir. This is Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard."

"You serve under my command."

Michael looks at him blankly.

"Do you know where you are?" Elizabeth asks.

"I don't even know who I am." He says with a scoff.

"Your name is Lieutenant Michael Kenmore. You're in a private room off the Infirmary here in Atlantis." Michael lifts his head as if he recognizes that last word. "Is that familiar to you?"

"Atlantis. Yeah... I think."

"You're a member of a team that went off-world. You were captured by the Wraith." Sheppard informs him and Michael looks away as if lost in thought.

"I see you remember the Wraith." Carson says noticing the slight change in his patient's behavior.

Michael looks at him. "What did they do to me?"

"We're not quite sure yet." Weir states.

"We sent a rescue team for you but, um, you were wounded during the mission." Sheppard adds.

"You've been unconscious for days now - had us worried sick." Carson says.

"Why can't I remember anything?"

"We don't know yet. Hopefully we'll learn more as we conduct further tests."

"And in the meantime, I can assure you that we will give you the best possible care to help in your recovery." Elizabeth tells him with a smile.

Inside of the observation room above isolation, similar to the one above the operating room that Ladon was in, two Marines are watching a bank of screens. They show several different angles of the Isolation Room below. Elizabeth, John and Carson walk in, go to the window and look down at Michael lying in bed.

Elizabeth sighs, "Keep a close eye on him. Until we know more, we need to proceed with caution." Carson nods his understanding. "This may just be the start of our problems."

Shortly after in the Isolation Room, Carson is standing at Michael's bedside with his back to the bed as he turns the dial on a device that looks a little like a fountain pen. He turns to the bed and Michael looks at the device. "What is that?"

Carson puts the tip of the device on Michael's right arm and presses the plunger. "I'm afraid you have type one diabetes. You require a daily injection of insulin to maintain a normal blood glucose level. You've managed it quite nicely, actually."

Michael looks away, lost in thought.

"Michael, we believe you may be suffering from what's called generalized dissociative amnesia, which usually occurs as a result of significant trauma."

"Trauma caused by the Wraith?"

"We don't know for certain. Hopefully, over time, your memory will return. In the meantime, we'll do our best to help you fill in the gaps - a wee bit at a time so as not to completely overwhelm you."

Michael smiles ruefully. "I'm already completely overwhelmed. How much worse can it get?"

Carson smiles and pats his shoulder, then turns away so that his patient does not see his smile fade.

Teyla Emmagan comes into the observation room and looks at Carson, who is sitting studying a laptop computer. "I heard he was awake."

"Aye. Complete amnesia. Doesn't remember a thing."

Teyla walks over to the window to look down at Michael. Carson stands up and walks over to join her. "May I speak with him?"

"Of course."

Teyla nods, looks down into the room again, then looks at Carson in concern. "You need to rest." Carson nods wearily as she walks back out of the room.

Michael is sitting up on the bed when the door opens and Teyla walks in. An armed guard is standing outside the room. "Hello, Michael." She smiles as she walks over to him. "I am Teyla."

Michael turns to look at her. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

"Yes. You assisted my team on a few missions."

"There's more, though." He looks at her as if trying to work out how he remembers her. "Are... are we friends?"

Teyla offers him a sweet smile, "Yes."

Michael laughs. "That's the best news I've heard all day!"

"How are you feeling?"

"Oh - physically fine, but my mind is completely blank. They said I'm a lieutenant."

Teyla nods, "You have only recently arrived in Atlantis but you have already proven yourself to be one of the finest soldiers in this city."

"Well, if I'm such a fine soldier, how did I get captured by the Wraith?"

"Your team came upon a landed Wraith cruiser and were ambushed. You sacrificed yourself in order to give your teammates time to escape. Quite heroic."

"Were you part of the team that rescued me?"

"Yes."

"Well, then that makes you even more heroic." He smiles at her and she grins back at him in return.

Inside of the conference room Teyla is reporting to Elizabeth, Carson, John and Doctor Kate Heightmeyer, the base's psychologist. "He said I was familiar to him. He asked if we were friends."

"How did you respond?"

"I said we were. After everything he has been through, I thought some positive news could not hurt."

"I think you're right. Stabilization is the first critical stage in his psychological treatment." She turns to Elizabeth. "He's doing quite well so far, but it's important we do what we can to ease his recovery."

"What's the next stage?" Elizabeth asks the doctor.

"Integration into the community…" She says which causes John to grimace. "…followed by relational development."

"How is he doing physically?"

"Excellent. Vitals normal. All he needs is a bit of physical therapy to regain muscle tone and coordination." Carson states in reply to Weir.

"Do you think he's ready to be released?"

"I do."

John objects as he crosses his arms, "I don't think that's such a good idea. We still don't know if there are any residual effects he might be carrying around."

Elizabeth turns to Kate. "What do you think, Doctor? Is he ready to join the community?"

"A change of scenery could be very beneficial to him."

"Alright, then." She turns back to Carson. "Release him."

John looks away, apparently unhappy with her decision; but more he is worried about what will happen when the two warriors on his team find out that Michael is loose on Atlantis.

Shortly after the meeting Teyla leads Michael, followed by two guards, to a glass door and opens it for him. They go inside, Teyla smiling back at the guards who wait outside. Michael walks into the room and looks around. "These are your quarters."

In the Observation Room, an airman and another guy, possibly a scientist, are watching Michael's quarters on closed circuit TV. The quarters have cameras watching all angles. Colonel Sheppard stands behind the two men, watching the screens intently.

"Does any of this look familiar to you?"

"No." He walks over to a table and picks up a cowboy hat which is lying on it. He looks at Teyla questioningly.

"It is a cowboy hat." She takes the hat from him. "You come from a place called Texas."

Michael shakes his head at her blankly as she hands the hat back to him. "Texas." Teyla nods. "Hmm." He puts the hat down and continues looking around the room. On another table is a framed photograph of a man and woman in their sixties. He picks it up and again looks at Teyla.

"They are your parents."

Michael stares at the photograph for a moment, then looks at Teyla again, obviously not recognizing them.

Doctor Rodney McKay is sitting at a table in the mess hall and has just finished his meal. He stands up as a member of the commissary staff comes over to clear his table. "Ah. Hey, what happened to the, um, to the blue Jell-O?" He points down to his tray where he has left some red Jell-O. "My favorite - all of a sudden it's off the menu. What gives?"

The man shrugs and walks away.

"Thank you!"

An Australian woman in military uniform walks over and takes the seat next to Rodney. He looks round at her and rolls his eyes, then picks up his computer tablet and walks away as she beckons someone to come and join her. Rodney walks a few paces, then hesitates at what he sees in front of him. He takes a deep breath and keeps walking, going over to Michael who is sitting at a table alone and eating while two guards stand nearby.

"Ah. Lieutenant Kenmore."

Michael looks up at him swallowing his bite of food and smiling. "So they tell me. Call me Michael."

"Michael. Right, yes, of course. Michael." He looks at him a little uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry. Um, I'm probably supposed to know you but..."

"Right, right, the amnesia. Yes, of course, I heard." He holds out his right hand. "I'm, uh, Doctor McKay." Michael wipes his hands on his trousers. "Rodney McKay."

"Doctor." Michael says as he stands and takes the offered hand, shaking it. He looks down at Rodney's hand curiously, though it's not clear why - perhaps Rodney doesn't grasp his hand as he was expecting.

As they release hands and Michael sits down again, Rodney speaks. "So, you've been, um, released, I see." He looks at the guard standing opposite Michael.

"Just now, but I have some bodyguards following me around everywhere, and Colonel Sheppard's probably somewhere close by. They wanna keep an eye on me in case I suddenly, um... freak out."

He smiles down at his tray as Rodney laughs falsely. "Yes, freak out, yes." His smile fades. "Well, I don't think you're gonna... you're not gonna... You're fine, aren't you?"

"I think so. I feel fine. I guess time will tell. Hopefully the amnesia won't be permanent." He looks at the screen of the tablet that Rodney is holding. "Wraith materializer schematics?"

"Yes. Yes, I was just, um... just studying them, you know?"

Michael looks puzzled. "How did I know that?"

"Um, one of your team's mission objectives was to, um, infiltrate, um..." He appears to be thinking quickly. "...a Wraith ship and obtain, um..." He looks round to the guard as if for help but the guard is gazing off into the distance and taking no notice of him. "...you know... uh, intelligence."

"And our mission was successful?"

"Yes, very successful."

"Except for getting captured."

"Ah, well, we've, uh, we've all been captured by the Wraith at one point or another, haven't we? It's just, uh, the important thing is that you were rescued, safe and sound."

"Safe, yes. The sound part I'm not so sure of." He smiles.

Rodney chuckles nervously. "Y-Yeah, well... it's... um..." He trails off, desperately trying to think of something to say.

"Well, um, I guess I'd better be going."

"Right. You got it."

Michael stands and walks away, accompanied by his guards. "See ya."

Rodney watches him walk away, then looks down at the computer tablet. All the writing on it is in Wraith.

Teyla is coaching Michael in Athosian hand to hand combat techniques. As she does each move, she tells him what to do. "Defend. Defend. Parry, strike..."

So far he has fended off each punch but now she whirls, her arms moving almost too fast to see, and, fending off his blows, drops to one knee and punches him in one knee. As he cries out in pain, she rises up quickly and, standing on one leg while holding him by the arms, brings her other thigh up and rams it into his stomach. While he is still off balance she spins him around and slams her leg into his chest, knocking him to the floor.

"Ow!"

"It is all about catching your opponent off balance."

Michael gets up onto his knees and looks up at her. "You succeeded!" He gets to his feet, out of breath.

"Now you try."

Michael laughs ruefully. "I can't do that move." He bends over, still trying to catch his breath.

"Oh yes you can."

"You keep saying I'm a good fighter."

"You are. Very good."

Michael shrugs, straightening up. "Alright." He starts to attack her, doing the same moves that she just taught him. Although she fends off each blow, he is obviously starting to get the hang of it and is pleased with himself. "Hey!"

Teyla comes at him. They parry for a few moments, then she does a move which she obviously expected would get through his defense, but he blocks her. He laughs delightedly. Teyla comes at him again. This time as she tries to bring her knee up, he grabs it, stopping the blow, then releases her. She spins and tries to slam her leg across his stomach again but this time Michael is ready, grabs it and uses her momentum to slam her down to the floor on her back. He follows her down, shoving the palm of his hand onto her chest to hold her down. Teyla's eyes widen in fear but Michael doesn't notice.

He laughs in delight, "Woo! Wow, are you alright?! I can't believe I..."

He is cut off as a pair of hands grab him from behind. It's Ronon, who hauls him off Teyla, drags him across the gym floor and with a roar of rage slams him hard against the wall by the throat. "Keep your hands off her!"

Teyla scrambles to her feet. "Ronon! We were sparring as part of his physical therapy. Let him go."

Ronon continues to hold Michael against the wall, half strangling him.

"NOW!" Teyla hollers.

Ronon ignores her, his face mere inches from Michael's, his hand tightening around the man's neck; until his eyes start to drift closed as his oxygen is nearly cut off.

"Ronon!" His head snaps to the right to see Rayne standing in the doorway. "Let him go." Her voice is soft yet commanding, but there is a hint of regret as well.

Ronon, his face contorted in a snarl, releases Michael and walks away without a word.

Michael sighs holding his throat, "I'm sorry."

Kate and Michael are sitting opposite each other in her office, as part of his recovery he was ordered to attend daily therapy sessions. "Ronon is fairly new here in Atlantis. He's still making the adjustment to our way of doing things. He's clashed a few times with some of the personnel, including yourself, and even Colonel Sheppard."

"I'll just have to stay clear of him. Whatever I did to make him angry, he doesn't look like the kind of person you wanna have as an enemy!" His face drops to a frown as another thought enters his mind. "But I am more concerned by Ms. Dawn. Supposedly I was friends with her team, however she has yet to speak even a word to me; and she seems to deliberately avoid being in any vicinity to me. When I do manage to catch her eye, she looks at me with such disgust and no one can seem to tell me why."

Kate sighs, she was hoping to avoid the subject of the Siren as she had no good excuse to tell the man to explain the woman's actions. "Rayne has had the most difficult time adapting to life here. She is Arcadian, a race that lives their lives under the water, so living above it has presented its challenges. Her entire home was destroyed by the Wraith, she is the last living of her kind. Do not take it personally. Give them both time. I'm sure you'll work out your differences, put the past behind you."

"The past - whatever that is. It-it's just so frustrating. I didn't even remember the faces of my own parents."

"They've been informed of your condition. In time we'll send you home to be reunited with them, but for now I think it's best if we hold off."

"So what do you think? Will my memory ever return?"

"We can't be sure. But we'll continue with these sessions, perhaps even try hypnosis."

Michael looks wistful. "I just wanna get back to normal - be like everybody else."

DREAM SEQUENCE. Looking through the eyes of the dreamer, we are walking through a Wraith ship. Other Wraith can be seen.

Michael jerks awake in his bed, gasping for breath. He stares into the room, then breathes out in relief. He gets out of bed and walks over to a small table with a jug of water on it. He pours himself a glass, then turns to face the mirror on the wall. A Wraith stares back at him, roaring.

Michael jerks awake in his bed, gasping for breath. He stares into the room, then breathes out in relief.

Michael and Teyla are sitting in the gym after their sparring session, while his two guards converse in the doorway. "It was so real. I-I know it was a dream but when I saw that face staring back at me ... They did something to me, didn't they - the Wraith, during my capture? They did something to my mind. Maybe- maybe they implanted something into my brain." He looks at Teyla. "What did they do?" Teyla looks apprehensive and Michael urges her. "Tell me."

"We do not know." Is the only answer she gives and Michael looks away. "Listen, many people here have had such dreams. You are not the only one."

"Really?"

Teyla nods in response, "The constant fear of the Wraith attacking and the way they feed on us - it creates a tremendous amount of stress."

"You've had the dream too?"

"Yes. Many times." Teyla tells him and Michael sighs. "And I know how frightening it can be."

As John and Rodney continue to watch Michael on the monitors, Teyla reports her conversation. Elizabeth, Carson, Rayne and Ronon are also in the room. "He's only had the one dream?" Elizabeth queries and Teyla nods in return. "Yes. He believes the Wraith did something to him during his capture."

"Can you do something to help him?" Weir then asks Carson.

"Perhaps I can give him a sedative to help him sleep. Or I could increase his dosage, although I question against it at this time."

"Why? If it's helping, what's wrong with giving him more?"

"Because, Rodney, I specifically calibrated his regimen according to his current physical condition. Any alteration could adversely affect his recovery. I say we remain patient - wait to see if he has any more dreams. If it's merely psychological, then Doctor Heightmeyer should be able to help him through it."

"Why do we not just tell him the truth?" Teyla asks. "I am finding it difficult keeping it from him, and I am beginning to question whether our course of action is the correct one."

"Yes. So am I." Rayne states looking pointedly at John. He knew her stance on this experiment, she was against it from the first moment it was presented.

Michael lies in bed asleep, but he is very restless. He jerks awake gasping just as he did the first time the dream occurred. He looks into the mirror opposite his bed but can only see his own face this time.

"Rayne! Wait up."

The Siren pauses in her steps, turning around she crosses her arms as she faces John. He sighs as he sees her furrowed eyebrows and tight lips drawn into a line. "Look, I know you're angry."

"I am beyond angry John." She states calmly, further emphasizing the amount of rage she was feeling. He knew that the calmer she was, the worse it would be for the person on the receiving end of her fury. "We should not have done this. Every moment he spends here in Atlantis, is another moment longer for him to realize what he truly is; and when that moment comes, I will do whatever is necessary to protect the people I care about."

"I know you will." He replies with his goofy smile that he only reserves for her, reaching up and gently placing his hand on the side of her neck. "And if it comes to that, I won't stop you."

Rayne rolls her eyes at him as her lips curve into a smile. "As long as we understand one another."

"We do. Now let's go get a snack." He chuckles wrapping his arm around her shoulders, steering them towards his room where the two had a secret stash of junk food.

The next morning Michael is standing at the window in Heightmeyer's office gazing out at the city. His face is anguished.

"The dreams are most likely due to post traumatic stress - not at all uncommon in situations like yours. You can see Doctor Beckett after you leave - have him prescribe something for sleep." Kate tells him trying to ease his worries about the dreams.

"I just - I can't help thinking there's more to it. Something's not right with me."

"Do you feel sick?"

"No! I mean…" He turns from the window to face her. "…I feel like... I don't know what it is but... it's not right. It's not." He walks past her towards the other chair and sits down. "Everyone around here - I get the feeling like they know something - something they're not telling me."

Kate sits back in her chair, looking worried. Michael points at her triumphantly. "See? That - your expression. I see that a lot around here. People being careful with me, like they're trying to figure out what to say next."

"And you think this means that they're keeping secrets from you?"

"Maybe not deliberately, but yes. I get the feeling they know something about me but aren't telling me. And it's frustrating, because if the Wraith did something to me, I'd really like to know what it is."

Michael, followed as always by his guards, is walking through the corridor when he sees John, Rayne and Ronon approaching; he notices quickly for the first time that Rayne doesn't avoid him, in fact she actually gives him a smile. "Lieutenant." Sheppard greets him.

"Colonel."

"Where you off to?"

"My quarters. Doctor Beckett gave me some pills, help me get some sleep." He takes the bottle of pills out of his pocket and shows them to John. "Thought I'd give 'em a try." He smiles and puts them away again.

Sheppard smiles, "No alcohol or heavy machinery."

Michael looks confused, "Excuse me?"

"Nothin'. Sleep well."

Ronon starts to move off but Michael moves to block his path. "Hey, Ronon. Um, I don't know what happened between us in the past, but if I ever did anything to hurt or upset you, I just wanted to say that..." He holds out his right hand. "...I'm sorry."

Ronon glares at him making no move to accept his hand. "Ronon, shake the man's hand." Sheppard states.

"I don't think so." Michael looks upset but continues to hold his hand out. "He's trying to bury the hatchet. It's not a bad idea, don't you think?"

"I gotta go." He moves to walk past Michael but again Michael blocks his path. "Look, I just wanna know..." Without warning, Ronon punches him hard in the face. Instinctively, Michael punches back at him. Ronon ducks the punch and hits him hard in the stomach.

"Knock it off!"

One of the guards grabs Michael and pushes him against the wall, while Sheppard steps into Ronon's way and holds out his hand to fend him off. The other guard and a Marine who was nearby grab Ronon's arms and pull him back.

"Enough!" Rayne shouts getting in between the men, holding Ronon back with her hand and a fierce glare.

Michael visibly flinches at her voice, however he quickly notices that he is the only one affected and that serves to puzzle him.

Sheppard who had stepped between the two men as well looks at Michael, who is looking at Ronon ready to go to blows again. John then turns and glares at Ronon as the Satedan is pushed back down the hallway by Rayne.

Michael lies restless and unable to sleep. Eventually he sighs and gets out of bed. He walks to the door and opens it, approaching his two guards. "Lieutenant Kenmore. What are you doing up so late?"

"The pills Doctor Beckett gave me aren't working. I'm gonna go to the Infirmary."

"After you." They head off.

Michael walks in as the guards wait in the doorway. He says hello to a passing nurse and walks towards Carson who is sitting with his back to him at a desk at the far end of the room. "Doctor Beckett."

Carson doesn't respond. Michael walks over to him and sees that he is asleep with one hand propping up his head. Unsure whether to wake him or not, Michael looks around. He notices a wall calendar hanging above Carson's desk. It is of "Scenic Scotland" and shows a picture of sheep in a country lane. The month is July 2005 and on one of the days, Carson has written "Dinner with Cadman".

It's not the date that attracts Michael's attention, however. The location of the country lane is given as "Kenmore". Michael reaches out to touch the word, bewildered. He looks round to the guards, who are standing in the doorway chatting to the nurse and taking no notice of him. He turns back to the table and bends down to a laptop computer on the desk. He types, but a message comes up seeking his password. He glances across at Carson to check that he is still asleep, then goes across to a trolley beside the desk which has some DVDs on it. He lifts one up to look at what is written on it, puts it down and picks up a black plastic case containing several more DVDs. He flicks through the case. Each disk is labelled "DAY TEN, DAY FOUR, DAY FIVE" etc. and underneath, "PATIENT #4364". He closes the case and looks at the cover. It is labelled "PATIENT #4364: 1 Lt. Michael Kenmore".

Michael goes back into his room, leaving his guards outside. He walks into the center of the room and looks up at one of the closed circuit cameras on the wall. He walks over to his desk, picks up a laptop computer and walks over to a sofa. Sitting down and opening the computer, he looks across to a small spotlight standing on the floor and pointing towards the sofa. Suspecting that it too might be a camera, he turns to face it and puts the computer down on the sofa so that its screen is facing away from the spotlight.

In the Observation Room, a Marine watches what he is doing. Suspecting that he is up to something, he gets up and leaves the room while the other Marine flicks through all the camera angles trying unsuccessfully to get a good shot of the laptop's screen.

In his room, Michael gets the DVD case out from under his top, unzips it and takes out the disc labelled DAY TWELVE. He feeds it into the computer. He looks up at the spotlight/camera, then watches the computer as the DVD begins to play. It shows a close up of Michael lying unconscious in bed in the Isolation Room. Carson reaches out and adjusts the flow of a drip.

"Delta wave frequencies are at two point nine Hertz."

Elizabeth and John are also in the Isolation Room. "Which means?"

"He may regain consciousness soon."

Michael ejects the disk and exchanges it for the one labelled DAY TEN. This one shows Michael tethered to the bed, screaming and writhing. Carson runs to his bedside, then calls out for something. "Five milligrams!"

Michael stares in shock, then inserts the disk labelled DAY SEVEN. This shows Michael writhing on the bed, desperately trying to pull his hands free of the tethers. He calls out, his voice deeper than normal. "Release me!" He roars and cries out in anguish as Carson tries to calm him.

Michael inserts the disk labelled DAY ONE. He stares in horror as the disk starts to play and he hears a deep voice roaring. "Arggh! You will die for this! Others will come for me! They will destroy you!"

It's from a high camera shot of the Isolation Room. John and Ronon are holding someone down on the bed but Michael can't see who it is. "Blah, blah, blah." Sheppard says as he pushes back against the person on the bed.

"They have to find us first." Ronon states as the person on the bed roars in rage. "You're gonna need a name. How does Mike sound?" Sheppard then asks comically.

The camera angle changes and shows who is on the bed. It's a Wraith. In his quarters, Michael reaches out and hits the pause button, staring in horror. Just then, Carson and several guards burst in through the door of his quarters. Michael stares at up them, then turns the computer around to show the screen to Carson. Carson stares, appalled that he has found out the truth.

Early the next morning Atlantis is swathed in fog like a scene from Stephen King's The Mist. John and Elizabeth have arrived in Michael's room, where its occupant is on his feet and is staring at them in anguish and fury. "You lied to me. I'm a Wraith."

Elizabeth steps forward with her hand up in a calming gesture. "You were a Wraith, yes. Michael, please..."

"Don't call me that. That's not my name."

"Alright, take it easy." Sheppard warns as he puts his hand on the grip of his holstered pistol.

"If you would let us explain?"

Angrily, "Go ahead. Explain. But no more lies."

"Alright. This is what we know of the Wraith: they evolved from a creature that we call the iratus bug. Now that bug began taking on characteristics of the humans it was feeding on and, over time, became the Wraith that we know now. So Doctor Beckett has developed a drug."

"It's a retrovirus designed to suppress the iratus bug elements of the Wraith genetic code, leaving only the human aspects behind. It took some time to perfect but we finally achieved a viable drug, which we then decided to test." Carson says taking over for Elizabeth.

"The injections? Insulin?"

"Not insulin. I'm sorry. You see, once the retrovirus was administered and the transformation begun, another drug was needed to prevent the Wraith elements from returning. It's actually a combination of drugs which unfortunately require a daily injection."

"So what are you saying, that-that being a Wraith is some kind of disease - something you think you can cure? What gives you the right to do this to me?"

"We're at war." John says sternly stepping forward. "The Wraith will stop at nothing to kill every one of us. And we'll stop at nothing to make sure that doesn't happen."

"You made up everything: my name, the photograph of my parents."

"It was my decision to keep the truth from you." Elizabeth admits.

Angrily, "Why?"

"For a while, we were concerned that if you were told, you may react the way you are now."

"The whole point was to erase any trace of Wraith inside you, not to keep reminding you of it. And trust me, you're a helluva lot better off now than you were before." John states and Michael snorts, but doesn't meet anyone's eyes; John can see the change in his demeanor. "You sense we're telling the truth."

"This whole thing was a bad idea." Ronon says as he leans on the back of Rayne's chair in the conference room, where she sits beside John and Teyla.

"No, it wasn't. The retrovirus works - that much is clear. Just look at the guy." John says, but Ronon only narrows his eyes at him. "If we can figure out how to deploy this as a biological weapon, it's possible that we can hit entire hive ships and turn them into humans."

"That's still a ways off, and I've yet to develop an effective long term dose to keep the Wraith elements suppressed for a lifetime." Carson tells them.

"But the point is, we are getting closer." Elizabeth says.

"You know, you may be able to make him look like a human, talk like a human, but he'll still be a Wraith. Nothing you do will ever change that." Ronon states.

Michael is sitting on the end of his bed, lost in thought when Teyla walks in. "Michael?" He ignores her. "I know you are angry. I am sorry for what you have been put through. But, in time, I think you may come to see this as..."

He interrupts her, "Were you part of the team that captured me?" He finally meets her eyes and Teyla hesitates. Michael looks away, knowing what the answer is as he rubbed his forehead. "You told me before that you and your team rescued me when I was captured by the Wraith. But now I'm starting to realize you did the actual capturing." He looks up at her. "And you have the nerve to tell me you're my friend."

Teyla walks closer. "I would like to be your friend. I would."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"You may not understand this now but making you human... I believe this could make your life better."

He scoffs sarcastically, "Really? Because from what I was told, you made me human in order to make your lives better."

Teyla stares at him, unable to argue against that.

"So tell me then: what makes being human better than being a Wraith?"

"They are evil. They kill us, feed on us, show no mercy, know nothing of compassion..."

"And humans are different?"

"Yes."

"So what you did to me - that was done out of compassion?!"

Again, Teyla cannot answer.

Kate and Michael talk as guards stand outside the open door of her office. "Your feelings of betrayal are understandable, but it's important you talk about them - hopefully come to resolve them."

"With you?"

"Yes. Of course."

"I already tried that once - it didn't work out so well. At least now I know why Rayne looks at me with such hatred, I'd want to kill the thing that destroyed my entire world. But something was cleared up for me, though. Now I know what that strange feeling was, the one that's been... gnawing inside of me. Seems I can't shake those basic Wraith instincts." He turns his head and looks at her. "Hunger, aggression - and now that I know the truth, I feel them even more."

Elizabeth, Carson, John and Teyla are watching Michael in his room. "Doctor Heightmeyer confirmed he believes he's still experiencing Wraith compulsions. Is there anything more you can do to help suppress them?"

"I don't know. It could merely be a psychological manifestation."

"Maybe we should up his dose." John suggests and everybody looks at him. "Yeah, I know you said give it more time, but now that he knows what's going on, things might start going from bad to worse."

"I agree." Elizabeth says.

"He's due for his next injection now. I could go ahead and increase the dosage, monitor him closely."

"Let's just hope he agrees to take it."

"Well, if he doesn't, we'll have to insist." Carson looks at John, startled. "Who knows - maybe another big dose might wipe his memory clean again."

"And then what? We start the lies all over again?" Teyla questions.

Sergeant Cole comes into Michael's room. "They want you in the Infirmary. Time for your injection."

Sergeant Cole precedes Michael along the corridor and up some stairs. The other guard follows, but then is relieved by a new guard who takes his place. Ronon falls in behind the group as they ascend the stairs. Michael glances round at the two men following him. When he reaches the top of the stairs, he stops and turns around to face Ronon. "What are you doing?" Cole asks Michael as the man walks down a couple of steps and looks at Ronon. "What do you want from me?"

Ronon smiles unpleasantly. "Just waiting for you to give me a reason to kill you."

Michael nods. "Well I guess I should thank you. You're the only one around here who's been honest with me from the start."

"Lieutenant Kenmore. The Infirmary?"

"You heard him. Better get moving..." Ronon states before adding sarcastically, "...Lieutenant."

Michael looks at him for a moment, then slowly turns to face Cole and the other guard. Without warning, he grabs Cole and hurls him down the stairs into Ronon, then grabs the other guard and slams him face first into the wall. He grabs the guard's pistol out of its holster and tosses him into Ronon and Cole before racing off. Ronon shoves the guard aside, draws his blaster and fires towards Michael as he chases off after him.

Cole checks on his colleague. "This is Sergeant Cole. Kenmore's escaped. Level five, east tower." He draws his Wraith stunner and follows after Ronon and Michael as the other guard struggles to his feet. "Ronon's also in pursuit."

Ronon races down some stairs, looking for Michael. Nearby, Cole and his colleague come down another set of stairs. Cole gestures to his colleague to go in one direction while he heads off in another. He checks around carefully but Michael steps out of dark cover beside him, aiming his pistol at him.

"Drop your weapon."

Cole freezes, not turning to face him. "Just take it easy, Lieutenant."

"Stop calling me that. Drop your weapon."

Cole starts to lower his stunner, then spins and aims his stunner at Michael. Michael fires four quick shots and Cole crashes to the ground. Michael stares in horror at what he has done. He walks over and squats down to Cole, who is lying on the floor staring up at him in agony. Michael puts his hand on one of the gunshot wounds, lifts his hand and looks at the blood, then raises his fingers to his face and smells them.

He stands and turns to walk away, only to find Ronon's blaster pointed at his face. Before Ronon can fire, a Wraith stunner blast hits Michael from behind. Michael convulses and drops to the floor. John races up, grabs Ronon's blaster and looks at the setting before giving him a black look. "I figured you'd forget to set it to stun."

Teyla runs over and squats down to Cole, whose eyes are now closed. "Sergeant Cole." She puts her fingers on his neck searching for a pulse, then looks up at the others. "He is dead."

Michael is standing in the cell with the force-field activated around it.

"We can't keep him here, even locked up. It's too dangerous." Elizabeth says as they watch Michael on a monitor.

"We can take him to the Alpha site." John offers. "We'll sedate him first so he won't know where it is."

"And then what?" Ronon asks rising to his feet.

"Continue with the drug treatments."

Ronon smiles bitterly at Weir. "Continue?"

"You've got to be kidding me? You still think this is a good idea?" Rayne states as she turns her attention to John. "I told you this would happen. Sergeant Cole is dead. Why does his murderer get to live?"

"Doctor Beckett was about to start increasing the dosage." Elizabeth tells them hoping to make the warrior's understand. "Hopefully that will be effective in eliminating any remaining Wraith impulses."

"Why are we even talking about this? He killed one of your people. Your experiment didn't work. We should kill him right now." Ronon snaps in complete agreement with Rayne.

"We can't kill him, Ronon. We're the ones who put him in this position." Kate argues.

"Hold on a minute, Doc." John says holding up his hand. "If we hadn't given him the retrovirus, he'd still be a Wraith. We wouldn't think twice about killing him."

"But we did give him the retrovirus. We made him human. Now we have the responsibility to treat him as we would any other..."

Ronon snaps interrupting Teyla, "He's not human. He's a Wraith."

The others think about it for a moment, then Elizabeth turns to Beckett. "Carson, what do you think? Is it worth continuing with these treatments?"

"I, uh... I don't know. I... suppose it's worth seeing how he fares with the increased dosage."

"I agree. We've come too far with this just to abandon it now."

Both Ronon and Rayne stare at Elizabeth bitterly, while Carson looks anguished.

Michael is pacing slowly around the cell but stops and turns as the door to the Brig opens. Teyla walks in and addresses the two guards. "Would you please step outside?" They nod and leave the room but stand just outside with the door open. Teyla walks over to the cell.

"What's going to happen to me?"

"You will be transported to another planet where we are establishing an off-world base."

Michael speaks quietly, upset. "You want to keep me from learning more about Atlantis. You're afraid that if a Wraith ship comes close enough, I'll communicate with them - tell them you're here." Teyla looks at him, not needing to answer. Michael looks anguished. "I didn't want to kill him. I just wanted to escape, to get out of this place."

"We would like to continue the drug treatments." Michael closes his eyes as Teyla continues. "Doctor Beckett believes that an increased dose would fully suppress any Wraith urges you may still be experiencing." Michael lowers his head. "The alternative is death."

Carson is supervising his team as they carry equipment ready to take off-world. He talks with a German man. "All of this up to the Jumper Bay. The E.E.G., defib, cardiograph. Oh, cross-check the medications on the list I gave you - make certain we're good for at least a week." He stops to talk with Elizabeth as the team carry their gear up the stairs. "We've got a lot of equipment to take with us. From what I understand, the Alpha site's not exactly set up for this kind of work."

"It's not set up for much of anything yet, I'm afraid. Hey, how are you holding up?"

"Oh, I don't know - because of me, a man is dead." Carson quips sarcastically.

"You can't blame yourself for that."

"Elizabeth, I'm the one who developed the retrovirus. I'm the one who pushed for this experiment. Of course I'm to blame."

"And I'm the one who approved it. This was my call, Carson, so if there's any blame to be laid, it starts and ends with me, alright?"

Carson looks away. He clearly doesn't feel any better.

Michael is sitting on the floor in the corner of the cell. The shield around the cell turns off. Michael scrambles to his feet as the cell door opens and John approaches. "Colonel."

"Time to go."

He raises a Wraith stunner pistol and shoots Michael, who drops to the floor. A medical team runs in with a gurney. Carson runs over to Michael and injects him in the neck. "Clear." A couple of medics pick Michael up and put him on the gurney.

Michael wakes up lying on a bed in a metal hut. "It is alright. You are safe." Michael looks around to see Teyla sitting nearby. "What happened?"

"You were sedated for transport to the Alpha site."

Michael tries to sit up but finds that his hands and feet are tethered to the bed. "Just a precaution." She tells him as he lies back down. "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry."

"I will see about getting you some food." She walks away.

Somewhere nearby, Carson takes a test tube out of a centrifuge. He takes the top off and siphons up some yellow liquid which he squirts into another test tube which already contains some clear liquid.

Teyla wheels over a trolley which has a bowl of vegetable soup on it, together with some M.R.E. bags. Michael looks at the trolley enquiringly. "They call them Meals Ready to Eat. It was all I could gather on short notice. Doctor McKay quite likes them, actually." She smiles awkwardly. Michael tugs at his wrist tethers pointedly, making her realize that he can't feed himself.

"Let me help you." She lifts up the bowl of soup and feeds him a spoonful. As he swallows, she offers him another spoonful but he shakes his head. "It's OK." He says and Teyla puts the bowl down.

"You're different from the others. I noticed it the first time I saw you." He stares at her intently and Teyla stares back. "You're the only person willing to understand." Teyla blinks, unable to look away. "The only one with a truly open mind {mind} {mind}."

His voice echoes in her head. Still gazing at him, Teyla reaches down and undoes the tether around his left wrist. As he reaches across to untie his right hand, Teyla, her eyes still locked on his, moves to the foot of the bed.

"The only one willing to show compassion {compassion} {compassion} {compassion}." Teyla unties his feet. He gets up off the bed as she walks around to his bedside. He puts his hands on her shoulders. "Thank you, Teyla." He spins her around and seizes her around the throat, holding his other hand behind her head so that if she moves, he can snap her neck. She gasps, the mental connection broken. "I knew I could count on you."

Minutes later John and Ronon are racing around the site looking for Teyla and Michael when Carson runs over. "Colonel!"

"What happened?"

"Don't quite know. He somehow managed to get free of his restraints and take Teyla hostage. He forced a security detail outside the Infirmary to drop their weapons or he'd kill her."

"Where'd they go?"

"Up the ridge. Bravo team's on their way."

John and Ronon turn to race off when Carson again calls out to them. "Colonel!" He waits until he has Sheppard's gaze, "Rayne went after them."

Sheppard and Ronon both share a knowing glance before they rush off towards the ridge, the members of Bravo team are already halfway up it.

Somewhere nearby, Michael has Teyla on her knees as he fastens plastic tethers around her wrists behind her back. He pulls her to her feet as he finishes fastening them as he quotes what Teyla said earlier. "Just a precaution." He smirks as Teyla struggles. "I know - you're angry. I lied to you. But you had no right to do this to me. I won't let you experiment on me anymore."

Teyla pulls free of him and turns to face him. He points a pistol at her. "Let's go." Teyla turns and walks off with him in tow.

Further back, Ronon is running ahead of John. He stops and looks at the ground. "He's changing directions. The tracks are difficult to follow." He scans the ground. "He's good."

"But you, uh, can follow them, right? I mean, that's your thing." Ronon turns and looks at him. "Among many other things."

Ronon looks at the ground again. "This way."

Michael is standing at the D.H.D. as Teyla sits on the ground just below him. "What are you doing?"

"We need to leave this planet." Holding a pistol on her, he starts to dial the D.H.D.

"And go where?"

"I don't know." He must be dredging up the memory of an address from somewhere, because he continues to dial. Behind him, Teyla, who is sitting on some large pieces of slate, picks up a small slate behind her back and starts to draw on the rock she's sitting on.

Behind them, Ronon and John come upon a couple of unconscious (or dead?) guards. "These are the guarding the Gate." Sheppard states before he and Ronon race for the Stargate, hearing Rayne's Siren scream followed by gunshots in the distance they push themselves faster.

Rayne runs out of the trees as Michael reaches the end of the sequence, before he can depress the final panel the Siren unleashes her voice on him. Michael screams backing away from the D.H.D. as he attempts to cover his ears; pinching his eyes shut he raises his gun and fires blindly in her direction. Suddenly the pain ceases, just at the same moment he hears Teyla scream out in terror.

"Rayne! No!"

He stands up opening his eyes as he turns around to find the Siren lying on the grass, blood covering the front of her teal shirt. Teyla has moved away from the slate she was sitting on and is on her knees; tears falling from her eyes as she hears Rayne gasping, bloody bubbles coming out of the bullet wound in her throat. He had managed to lodge two bullets into Rayne's chest and neck, the thick red liquid coating her lips as she coughed and sputtered.

Michael finishes the sequence and the Stargate whooshes. Michael runs over, pulls Teyla to her feet and drags her towards the Gate. Ronon and John race out of the trees nearby and run towards them, Ronon firing his blaster at Michael, but he's too far away. Michael and Teyla run into the event horizon. The Gate starts to shut down. Ronon hurls himself towards it but the wormhole disengages. He flies straight through the Gate and crashes to the ground on the other side.

"Dammit!" Sheppard snaps in defeat.

Teyla is preceding Michael, who is still holding his pistol on her. "What is this place?"

Michael looks around, then jerks his head in the direction he wants her to go. "That way."

Ronon is furious as he gets back to his feet, but his anger is quickly displaced with pure fear as he sees Rayne's body lying on the ground. He rushes to her side dropping to his knees, his eyes immediately taking in the massive amount of blood running from her throat, pooling on the ground below her. "Sheppard!"

John is staring down at the D.H.D. "We need to figure out the last address dialed, if that's even possible. We need to get McKay out here." But his thoughts are cut off as he hears Ronon's panicked yell. His eyes widen as he sees the reason for the Satedan's fear, he runs over kneeling down as he pulls a package of gauze out of his cargo pocket. "Oh my God."

He places the entire packet over Rayne's throat, Ronon holding it down with his hands. John touches his comms radioing for help. "Beckett! I need you at the Stargate, Rayne's been shot, she's losing blood fast. We've got to get her back to Atlantis now or we're gonna lose her!"

"Copy that, Colonel. I'm on my way."

Minutes later Carson arrives at the area, "Oh my good lord." He immediately opens his bag and pulls out a large bandage roll. Kneeling down he instructs Ronon and Sheppard to lift her up, he then wraps the bandage around Rayne's neck temporarily staunching the blood flow. "That's not gonna hold for long, we've got to get her back. Hang on luv."

Ronon stares down into his Queen's eyes as she gurgles, choking on her own blood as she tries to breathe, his heart aching but his blood on fire with anger. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise. Don't you leave me."

He looks down as he feels her hand move, noticing her pointing a trembling finger towards the spot where Teyla had been. "Lo-lo—ca—tion." She manages to gasp out before Carson and a Marine lift her up and disappear through the Stargate which John had opened back to Atlantis.

"We need Rodney to figure this out." John says as the Stargate closes once more.

"No we don't." Ronon announces as he stands in the spot Rayne was pointing to.

"Trust me, he's the only one who can figure this stuff out."

"Look." Ronon holds up the slate that Teyla was drawing on. It shows the address that Michael was dialing. "Rayne knew what Teyla was doing."

John sighs in slight relief, "That's our girls."

"How much further must we walk?" Teyla snaps as they make their way through the low branches of the trees.

"We'll rest up ahead." He leans his head against a tree, sounding either exhausted or in pain.

Teyla walks a few paces away from him, her face tense with concentration as she gazes into the distance. "I am sensing something. There are Wraith nearby."

Michael straightens up as she turns to face him. His skin is pale grey and his pupils are slits. "Yes, there are."

Teyla backs away from him in horror as he raises his pistol and points it at her again. Michael convulses in agony. "It is not too late. We can still go back. Doctor Beckett can give you an injection, take away the pain."

"No! This is how it's supposed to be. I'm returning to what I was." He straightens up and walks towards her. "What I am."

Teyla's tethers have been removed and she is lying on her back on the ground. She wakes up suddenly, sitting up and finding her hands free, she sees a pack lying beside her. She scrambles to her feet and grabs the pack, but quickly finds that there's nothing inside that will be of any use to her. She drops the pack and looks around for Michael. She can't see him, but something else attracts her attention. She looks in horror at the sight of a Wraith hive ship which has landed in the distance. As a Wraith cruiser flies overhead, scores of Wraith are disembarking from the hive ship.

"This is what I was drawn to." His voice is deep and more Wraith-like. Teyla turns to find him standing beside her and gazing at the ship. His transformation is continuing. His face has the facial ridges of a Wraith and the skin is becoming shiny. His hair is whiter and his teeth are longer.

"They are aware of us." She says as Michael turns and looks at her. "They are coming."

"I know. And I will return to them."

"Then we shall be enemies again."

"We never stopped being enemies."

"What will you do with me? Feed on me? Is that why you brought me all this way?"

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the urge." He raises his right hand and looks at the palm. "And now that I'm truly able to feed again..." He turns his palm towards Teyla. There is a slit in the center of it. "...I feel it even more.

Teyla deliberately turns to face him. "Then go ahead."

Michael stares at her, torn between his last remaining human feelings and his Wraith instinct. He slowly stretches out his hand towards her. Teyla stands resolute but afraid as Michael, groaning, struggles to stop himself from continuing to reach towards her. When his hand is mere inches from her chest, he stops and pulls his hand back. Teyla gazes at him hopefully. Then Michael roars, raises his hand high and plunges it towards her.

It never reaches her. A hail of bullets is fired into his back. The cavalry has arrived. Michael crashes to the ground as John races out of the trees, followed by Ronon, who stops and turns as Wraith guards run out of the trees behind him. He fires at them.

"Fall back!" Sheppard yells.

Teyla hurries towards him as he fires his P90 at more guards. Above them on a ridge, even more guards appear. John fires at them as he and Teyla race back into the woods. Ronon follows, turning to fire his blaster at the approaching guards.

Nearby, a male Wraith and some guards reach Michael. The Wraith snarls in the direction of the fleeing humans before bending down to Michael and rolling him over. "He's alive." Two of the guards pick Michael up and carry him away.

Back in Atlantis the group minus Rayne who is in the tank recovering, sit in the conference room talking about the events of the day. "He had completely transformed back into a Wraith?" Elizabeth asks curiously.

"Not completely, but well on his way." Sheppard says.

"His reversion occurred at a much more accelerated rate than we anticipated." Carson admits, disappointed in himself for not anticipating this would happen.

"Unfortunately, his memory of what we did to him remained intact." Teyla mentions.

"I should'a killed him when I had the chance." Ronon states, his eyes cloudy with anger as he envisions Michael shooting his love and himself nearly being too late to save her.

"He's right. We are totally screwed." McKay announces pointing at Ronon in agreement. "Not only has our dear lieutenant rejoined the Wraith, but he's taken with him the knowledge that Atlantis still exists."

"God knows what type of Intel he was able to pick up during his stay." John concurs as he paces the floor.

"They will send another wave of hive ships." Teyla sighs.

Ronon nods as he sits on the desktop. "Probably already on their way."

"And this time, I'm guessing they're not gonna fall for the whole invisibility trick." McKay rattles off, his nerves completely frayed with their new predicament.

Elizabeth nods knowing that all of them were correct. "We need to come up with a new defense plan."

"We're gonna need more fire power." Sheppard states.