Things had quieted down a little, so Carson allowed himself a brief rest in his office. John's vitals were projected on a monitor in the wall, and they were at least stable. Carson had learned how to take power naps during his training, and the skill was coming in handy now. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a real break, and he knew the others were worried about him.

Carson slipped into an uneasy sleep filled with dreams of failure. Mercell the Hoffan appeared, pleading with him to let his death have some meaning. The subsequent demise of thousands of other people had denied the man his wish. There were also faces of several patients who'd died during his training. He still blamed himself for either not saving them or making fatal mistakes. The last face to appear was that of his grandfather. Carson had been a new physician at the time and not fully comfortable with his diagnostic skills. He hadn't recognized diabetes in his grandfather until the man was found in a diabetic coma. His grandfather had never been quite the same after that and had died soon after.

The dream reached a point where one of his medical school professors was yelling at him to wake up and get with the program, when Carson realized the voice was real. He opened his eyes to find one of the nurses shaking him. "We just got another call from Dr. Grodin, sir. Lieutenant Ford radioed in a medical emergency, no details. A paramedic team went to the scene and they're on their way back now."

"I just had to think it was quiet around here, didn't I." Carson muttered. He stood up quickly enough to make the room spin and put out a hand to steady himself. The nurse gave him a concerned look but said nothing.

The world seemed to slow down as the paramedics rolled a gurney through the infirmary doors, followed by a frantic-looking Aiden Ford. Glancing at Elizabeth sitting next to Major Sheppard's bed, Carson gave her a quick nod. She immediately pulled Ford out of the way and sent him out of the infirmary.

From Ford's presence, Carson knew it had to be Michelle on that gurney. Even so, he was shocked at how sick she'd become so quickly. Her lips had a bluish tinge and there were flecks of dried blood at the corners of her mouth. Her breathing was being assisted with an Ambu-bag.

"Michelle?" he said softly. "Love, open your eyes for me." When she did, he quickly shone a penlight in each. Sluggish. Her gaze was panicked and her breathing becoming increasingly labored. He began listening with a stethoscope, then frowned.

The medics had established IV access en route, so Carson barked an order for IV morphine over his shoulder. As he injected it, he said soothingly, "That should help with the air hunger. It's only the minimum dose." He waited for her to nod faintly, then proceeded to finish his exam. Her lungs sounded terrible, and he could hear stridorous noises on one side. Pretty sure what he would find, Carson ordered a repeat CT scan. Once it was in process, he said to the nurse, "She probably has airway obstruction, so let's get another intubation kit ready. Who's the backup doc tonight?"

"Schwartz, sir."

Good. Steve Schwartz was the one who'd read him the riot act earlier. He was obviously a decisive man and willing to speak plainly. "Page him. Let him know what's going on and tell him to get down here as soon as he can."

The nurse left, and Carson reached up to push unruly hair out of his eyes. At this rate he would soon give Sheppard a run for his money in the mop department. He just hoped nothing further would go wrong that night.

And that's when Major Sheppard coded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elizabeth paced the length of the small waiting room just outside the infirmary. She had been unceremoniously kicked out when Sheppard took a turn for the worse. At first she could hear a flurry of activity, but over the last half hour the sounds had faded. Her imagination was running wild, picturing the worst possible outcomes for both Sheppard and Michelle Donohue.

After another forty-five minutes, Carson walked in to tell her what he could. His voice was clipped as he told her that further effects of the toxin had caused the Major's heart rate to drop to dangerously low levels. They'd reversed it, but Sheppard now had a pacemaker wire to add to the collection of things sticking out of him. "I don't know, Elizabeth. I've never seen anything like this. We're reacting to each crisis, but can't seem to get ahead of this thing."

Carson told Elizabeth that she would not be allowed to return to the infirmary, and then turned away. From the doorway, she watched as he strode to a counter and picked up a small, gray cube. She was in a perfect position to see him screw up his eyes in pain and drop to the floor.

Elizabeth and Dr. Schwartz reached Carson at almost the same time. His eyes were still closed and blood trickled from one nostril. "This keeps getting better and better," Schwartz growled. As the two prepared to move Carson to one of the beds, his eyes suddenly opened, badly startling Elizabeth.

"Paper!" he snapped. "I need a piece of paper!"

Dr. Schwartz's reply was short and to the point, "Are you nuts?"

"Do it! Before I forget what I just learned."

Although Dr. Schwartz still looked like he wanted to page Kate Heightmeyer, he handed over a blank sheet of paper. Carson quickly sketched two molecules. "There. The one on the left's the toxin, and the one on the right should be an antidote. It doesn't look too complex, thank God."

Carson grew annoyed as the two just stood there and looked at him. "What? You read Zalenka's report. The cubes connect the user directly to the medical database. I'm not just pullin' this out of thin air."

"It's not your accuracy or dedication we're questioning," Elizabeth began.

"It's your pigheadedness!" Schwartz broke in. "Look at you. You're practically falling off your feet to begin with, then you go ahead and use the damn cube. I'm not stupid, Carson. I've seen the way it affects you."

"I had nae idea you were keeping tabs on me," Carson said coldly.

"It's not a question of keeping tabs on you! I busted my butt to get on this mission and work with you. I can't do that if you work yourself to death!"

Carson was regretting his earlier enthusiasm about the other physician. "In case you hadn't noticed, son, there are two critically ill patients under my care here!"

"Under our care. You picked good people for the medical staff. Let us prove it."

Elizabeth decided it was time to step in. "He's right. You need to rest for at least 12 hours, if not longer." She picked up the drawing and handed it to Dr. Schwartz. "You already did most of the work. These guys can handle the rest." When Carson still hesitated, she lowered her voice. "I don't want to undermine your authority in front of your staff, but I'll make it an order if I have to. I need you in top shape if any other disasters happen."

Carson couldn't think of a suitable response. He also had the faintest glimmer of an idea that would let him stay useful even while supposedly resting. He feigned resignation, all the while maneuvering so that no one could see him palm the cube. "Fine. Twelve hours and not a bloody minute more!"

Elizabeth folded her arms across her chest. "In your quarters, not your office."

"All right already!" He turned to Schwartz. "You're in charge, laddie. If you need anything..."

Elizabeth interrupted. "I'm sure Dr. Schwartz will have everything under control, but if he needs help he can ask some of the other doctors on call." She put an arm around Carson's shoulder and steered him towards the infirmary door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After not-so-subtly making sure that Carson actually reached his intended destination, Elizabeth walked briskly towards Zelenka's lab. She needed to know if he'd found out anything more about the cubes. Hopefully the man was still awake.

She needn't have worried. The rest of the engineers had left, but Zelenka was still plugging away. When this crisis was over, she was going to speak to all of them, Sheppard included, about setting appropriate limits. But for now she was grateful.

Zelenka looked at her in surprise. "Dr. Weir, what are you doing here this time of night?" Then, realizing that she could ask him the same question, he added, "Not that this is a bad time."

"Radek, have you been able to discover anything more about Carson's cubes? I'm starting to think they're dangerous."

"Dangerous how?"

Elizabeth explained what had been happening. Zelenka frowned. "That does not sound so good." He tapped on his keyboard and pulled up a file. He quickly scrolled down the screen, then swore. "I should have seen this earlier. Something was bothering me. I did not realize from where the cube draws power. Otupený! It draws power directly from the user." He pointed to a graph. "That's what that line indicates. And it fits with what you say happened to Dr. Beckett."

Elizabeth didn't know how, but she suddenly had a sinking feeling that Carson wasn't going to simply stay in his quarters and sleep. With a quick thank-you to Zelenka, she ran out of the lab and pelted back down to the infirmary.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After making sure that no one was around to see him, Carson slipped into the chair room. So far he'd come up with nothing useful for Michelle. But maybe if he used the chair again to boost his capacity, he'd find something he missed earlier. He had never before been able to access information in such minute detail as he had with the molecules. In theory, the chair should make him that much more accurate.

Once again he sat back and felt the chair come to life around him. As he merged his awareness with the city, the door to the room slid open. Elizabeth and a medical team rushed in. "Carson, no!" she yelled.

He closed his eyes and accessed the cube anyway. He realized too late that he'd pushed himself one step too far. He felt his body convulse and dimly heard someone shouting for a crash cart. Then there was nothing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Carson next opened his eyes he was surrounded by darkness. As far as he could tell his eyes were still working, but there was nothing to see. He wasn't sure where he was, and couldn't even feel the surface on which he was lying.

After what seemed like a long time had passed, he noticed a glimmer of light in the distance. Slowly it resolved itself into a blonde woman in a white cloak. He gasped as he realized who it was, someone he'd never thought to see again.

"Perna?"

TBC

Only two more chapters to go, guys!