Author's Note: Okay, had to say it...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! All these great reviews are the reason I keep writing!! Might be a little while for the next chapter (Gakk! I'm stuck!) but not too long, I promise....oh, and thank you so much to Dru for the hilariously funny reviews


I'm not...

I refuse to be...

Damn it...

I am...

Beckett groaned. This was not a complication he needed in his life right now. Very much not a complication he needed. Even if said complication was being incredibly cute right now.

Beckett watched as McKay floundered through the high snowbank surrounding the village, falling on his butt more often than was probably healthy, and cursing all the way. Smiling, and shaking his head, Beckett followed.

He managed to get all the way to the top of the bank before he fell. By that time, McKay was almost to the bottom.

Beckett took a cautious step over the hill - and felt the foot slip. Before he could recover himself, Beckett found himself tumbling down the hill, unable to catch a hold. He had just enough time to call out a frantic 'Rodney, watch out!' before landing right on top of McKay. Of course, in that time, all McKay managed to do was to turn around, so they ended up face-to-face.

For a moment, neither man moved. Finally, Beckett rolled off of McKay, groaning. "Oww.."

McKay stood up. "You're in pain? I'm the one who just became a human cushion..."

The words were more joking than serious, and Beckett chuckled. "No offence, Rodney, but you make a bloody awful cushion."

Beckett hoisted himself to his feet, with a helping hand from McKay.

"Nice landing, guys," Sheppard commented. Beckett glared at him, knocking snow off his clothes.

"Greetings, travellers. What brings you to our small village?"

The speaker, a very old man in what Beckett figured was the Earth equivalent of a T-Shirt and shorts smiled broadly at them. "Did you come through the Portal Ring?"

Sheppard nodded. "Yeah, we did."
Beckett stepped forward as the Major beckoned for him.

"My friend here has a problem, and we would like to ask you if you know of anyway to help him."

The man looked intently at Beckett, who fidgeted uncomfortably. "You have been attacked by a vapour, haven't you?"

Beckett started. "How did you know that?"

"You have the haunted look of one who has been tempted to cross the threshold. You must come with me, quickly."
The man turned around and walked away, obviously intending for the team to follow. After a quick look around, Sheppard nodded, and they all moved forward.

Beckett was a little worried. Threshold? He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. Quickening his step, Beckett caught up with the man. "Excuse me? What threshold are you talking about, exactly?"

The man looked at him, not slowing his pace. "The threshold to the world beyond, of course."

Beckett really hoped the man didn't mean what Beckett thought he meant. He was prevented from asking by their arrival at the man's destination, a large stone building.

The man walked through the open doorway, into a dimly lit hallway.
"You must choose a companion," the man said, looking solemnly at Beckett. "Choose wisely, for it must be someone who can help you fight the vapour's temptations, someone in who you can place all of your trust."

Beckett nodded, and turned around. He didn't even hesitate. As much as he was fond of everyone on this team, there was only one person he would trust his life to right now.

"Rodney."
"Huh?" McKay looked surprised, and for a moment, Beckett was afraid he would refuse. Then, McKay's face set into pure determination, and he stepped forward.

The man nodded. "Very well. Only the pair of you may enter into the room beyond. There, you must pass the test that will befall you. If you pass, the vapour will lose it's power, and will be shed of easily. If you fail..."

"If he fails...?" Rodney asked, his a tinge of fear in his voice.

"If he fails, the vapour will consume him, drag him into the world beyond."
By the way McKay's face paled, Beckett was certain he knew exactly what that meant.

"Go. You do not have much time."

Without a word, Beckett turned, and headed for the impressive wooden door at the end of the hallway. McKay fell into step beside him, also silent.

The door opened without a sound, to reveal an inky blackness that Beckett couldn't see anything in. With a swallow, and a quick glance, the two stepped through the door, into the blackness beyond. The door swung silently shut behind them.

"So, now what?" Rodney asked, after a moment of standing there.

Beckett shrugged before realising McKay couldn't see him. "No idea."
The two men stood there for a moment in the silence. Then, just as Beckett was starting to think that someone had made a total idiot of him, the scene changed.

It was as if someone had turned on a lightbulb - to reveal a lecture auditorium.

"When the guy said we were taking a test, I didn't think he meant it literally," McKay nodded.

Beckett snorted, then looked around. "This looks like my old biology classroom," he said thoughtfully.

"Smart."
Beckett and McKay spun around. The chestnut-haired woman sitting at the desk at the front of the classroom smiled. "Hello, Carson."
Beckett stared. "Professor Taggert? But - but - you're dead!"

Taggert laughed. "Yes, but I'm not the actual Moira Taggert. I am a representation of her form, created to guide you through this test."

"Guide us?" McKay sounded doubtful, and Beckett didn't blame him.

"I'm to tell you what this test will consist of. In order to defeat the vapour, you must both overcome its temptations, and clarify the heart."

"I must what and what?"

Taggert smiled. "I cannot tell you any more, for fear of influencing the end."

Beckett swallowed hard, feeling that the explanation had been no help whatsoever.

"It is time. Go through the door, you will face your first test there."

Beckett nodded, and looked at McKay, who nodded back. Together, the two of them headed for the door of the classroom.

"Oh, and Carson - trust in yourself."

Carson looked back at his former teacher, then nodded, and stepped through the door.