Sheppard lead the way though the underbrush to the Ancient's ruins. They had almost reached the site and still no response from Ford or McKay over the radio. Teyla had been trying to raise them every ten minutes over the last half hour.

He was just about to start trying to raise them himself when Ford's panicked voice crackled over the radio.

"Major Sheppard, come in...Major Sheppard, respond...Major! Come in."

He keyed his mic. "Don't get you panties in a wad, Ford. We're here," he quipped, struggling to keep the worry out of his tone. He needed Ford focused and alert and not panicking.

There was an audible sigh of relief at the other end. "Good to hear your voice, Major."

"How are things going there, Ford?"

"Not so good, Major. We got attacked by a Wraith. It's dead, I think. Doctor McKay killed it, but not before it landed on him. He's not doing so good."

An icy chill spread through Sheppard. "How bad?"

"I think it stoved in some more of his ribs. Ain't breathing so good."

"The Wraith?"

"It hasn't twitched."

Sheppard huffed. "I guess that explains what the "Devil" in the "Pit" was."

"Lieutenant," Beckett butted in. "Can you give me a quick assessment of Doctor McKay's condition?"

"Pulse is weak and kind of irregular and he's having a hard time breathing."

Beckett frowned and started to ask another question when the ground crumbled out from under his feet. Sheppard and Burns made a grab for him, but hey had to back peddle to keep from falling in themselves.

"Not again," Sheppard groaned.

Carson scrabbled from purchase as the ground gave out from under his feet. He made a grab as the sod and came away with just a handful of dirt. He threw his arms up around his head to protect it from falling debris. Rocks bounced off of him and dirt poured down the collar of his shirt. Abruptly, the he wrenched to a halt, the straps of his backpack cutting painfully into his armpits. He carefully opened his eyes into pitch black darkness. Something had arrested his descent. He groped for the flashlight on his belt and pulled it out, shining it around him.

He was suspended a good three meters above the ground. He carefully looked behind him and found the back board he had been carrying had wedged itself tightly into the opening he had dropped through.

A flicker of light caught his attention out of the corner of his eye and he turned the flashlight back down. It took his brain a moment to register what he saw. A pair of surprised, pain filled eyes stared at him.

"Ford?" he called.

"Doctor Beckett?" the young lieutenant said in disbelief. Blood streaked his dark face and pain pinched his eyes. Rodney was slumped against him, dry blood covering the left side of his pasty white face. A makeshift bandaged was wrapped haphazardly around his head. His chest rose and fell jerkily.

Carson carefully worked to undo the straps on his backpack. "I...um," he gave an experimental tug. "I just thought I would drop in on you boys," he said, finally getting belt latch undo. A spray of gravel trickled down beside him as the backboard slipped a fraction of a centimeter. He held onto the belt a moment before shifting his hands to the straps. His weight shifted abruptly as the belt flew open. The backboard jerked and slid down a few more centimeters before getting wedged again. Carson held his breath and it seemed to settle down. He inched his way out of the straps, hanging on tightly until he was hanging by just his hands. He stretched as far as he could and then let go. He hit the dirt hard and then quickly rolled out of the way as the pack and backboard came crashing down after him. He ducked his head and tensed for it to him as dirt and stones pelted down around his ears.

Nothing. He waited and the worst of the shower seemed over and he peeked his head up. The backpack and backboard lay less than half a meter away from him. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked around for Ford and Rodney.

Ford stared at him the whites of his eyes a stark contrast to his dark face. "Doctor Beckett, are you okay?"

He stood gingerly and dusted himself off. "Nothing seems to be broken," he said jauntily, actively ignoring the twinge in his back and from his left knee.

He extracted his pack and checked it quickly. Nothing seemed to be broken. He limped over to the two men, moving cautiously around the dead Wraith. He knelt down beside Ford and McKay, reaching to check Rodney's pulse. He frowned as he felt the weak, irregular beat under his fingers.

He looked up at Ford and started to ask him how he was, when his radio crackeld.

"Beckett, answer me! Are you there?"

He jumped and then caught his breath, letting it out with a rush. "Yes, Major," he answered. "I'm fine. All in one piece and with Lieutenant Ford and Doctor McKay. We need to get Doctor McKay back to the base as soon as we can."

"We're getting things set up to get a line down to you."

"Good..good," he said absently, starting to examine McKay.

There was a shuffling sound behind them and Ford gasp. Beckett looked at him and then turned to look behind him. "Aw, crap."