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Three.
Dr Elizabeth Weir stood on the walkway, leaning against the railing, staring vacantly at the Stargate. She couldn't bring herself to move since Teyla left with a medical team to retrieve Dr McKay and Major Sheppard.

The longer she was in charge of Atlantis, the more she admired General Hammond. For years, he sent soldiers and friends to other worlds, often to their deaths. Some came home safe, some didn't. They had had many near misses since arriving in Atlantis four months ago. It was these times, she wished she had known the General longer, on a personal level so she could draw from his strength and experience. She couldn't think about the future. Some day she would send a team out and they wouldn't return. She prayed this wasn't that day.

The blue chevrons lit and alarms blared at an incoming wormhole. Grodin's voice called from the control console, "It's Lt Ford's IDC."

"Lower the shield," Elizabeth shouted on her way through, jogging down to the gate level.

The four people from Beckett's team came through first with a stretcher between each pair, the nurse between them holding an IV bag in each hand. Carson, Ford and Teyla were next, the latter two keeping worried eyes on the other half of their team.

Elizabeth fell into step with Carson as the party was headed for the medical bay. He briefed her with his initial findings, "...but I need to run a lot more tests."

She nodded but continued to walk with him.

Within the hour, Dr Beckett had his patients stripped, cleaned, reclothed in gowns and partially diagnosed. Lt Ford and Teyla were giving their post-mission check by the nurse and sent to eat and sleep, but Elizabeth stayed, sitting as far out of the way as she could without losing her line of sight on the two men. Major Sheppard had a broken wrist, three broken ribs, a concussion, and was rapidly developing bronchitis. Rodney had slightly irritated lungs and a broken toe that Carson had actually missed in his preliminary because toes were the last thing on his mind. It seemed Major Sheppard's body had shielded him quite well.

At the present moment, Rodney was still unconscious, hooked to an EEG to see what was going on inside his brain. Major Sheppard was positioned belly down on the bed so Carson could stitch the gash in the back of his head. The nurse was just finishing the fiberglass cast on his right hand.

Still sitting across from the beds, Elizabeth was startled from her blank stare when Rodney twitched. She came to his side, not sure if she really saw him move. She gripped his hand, calling to him, "Rodney...Rodney, can you hear me?"

Carson looked up from his job. "Is he waking, Dr Weir?"

She glanced up at him then back to Rodney, watching his features for any sign of consciousness. "I thought I saw him m..." She was interrupted when his hand gripped hers. "Rodney, it's Dr Weir. You're back on Atlantis." She watched his mouth work but no sound came forth.

Rodney's eyes popped open, flitting around unfocused, until locking onto Elizabeth's. He frowned, still trying to speak. Elizabeth could see his lips form words but it was as if the sound was turned off...as if he didn't have a voice.

Raising wide eyes to the doctor, she breathed, "Dr Beckett, I think we have a problem."