The air smelled of burnt plastic and antiseptic. The strange combination of smells was nauseating her as she approached the site of destruction. The rooms that had been designated as the infirmary of the Ancient City had been hit hard. It was the first time that she personally visited the place where the catastrophe had taken place around twelve hours ago. Having read the reports from the intervening security personnel, she knew what had gone down, but Dr. Weir was still shocked when her eyes fell on the blacked floor and walls, the bent and burnt remnants of beds and the molten drops on the floor that had been a glass window once. The force of the explosion and the fire that had followed in its wake must have been terribly powerful. Elizabeth shuddered as she recalled that she had given her consent to the procedure that had caused the accident. She trusted Carson and Radek and knew they would never endanger anyone. But years in her profession had taught her not to trust anyone and in a corner of her mind, she asked herself whether in their eagerness to help their friend, the two scientists might have underestimated the risks. She tried to push away the suspicions but the thought was already there. She decided to broach the topic with Radek later that day. Carson was in critical condition in the hastily set up make-shift infirmary and Dr. Woods could not yet say for certain whether her colleague would recover.

"If there is anything you have not been telling me, I want to know it now." Elizabeth deliberately spoke harshly. There was no use beating about the bush. From the minute Radek had come into her office, she had known that he was hiding something from her.

Radek looked up. What had she said? He couldn't concentrate. Ever since 'it' had happened in the infirmary, he had been living a nightmare. When he had heard the word explosion, he had immediately thought of the weapon Rodney had built and he had known it all. His mind had made the connections and for the first time ever, he had fully understood how Rodney McKay thought. Normally, this would have made his months at the very least, but in this instance, it made him realize that it was all his fault. He had had the data before, from when he and Beckett had broken in the former office of McKay. But knowing that the device was somehow able to work as he weapon and seeing it all in total clarity were two things. Rodney must have seen it with this clarity when he made the weapon and defeated the Wraith. Rodney would have been able to tell them how dangerous the device was and that any energy charge would turn it into a dangerous weapon. There had been no way to predict John's reaction, but still had he understood quicker, they would never have taken the risk in the first place. Radek's thoughts kept rotating around what he should have done, but didn't while he anxiously waited for news about the people injured in the explosion of the device. The Lieutenant who had tried to intervene would live, so far they already knew. But there was no word yet on the nurse, on John and on Carson.

When Dr. Weir had called him to her office, he had been confused, half expecting accusations. But he didn't know how to respond to what Dr. Weir wanted to hear from him. It didn't help that his brain seemingly refused to co-operate with him.

"Dr. Zelenka. I gave you and Dr. Beckett permission to use any data from Dr. McKay's office in your research. Is there anything you have learned about the alien device that you have not yet mentioned to me. You have not submitted a report on your findings."

"I…I didn't consider it an official project." Radek managed.

"It is now. I would speak to Drs. Beckett and McKay myself but as you now, that is not possible at the moment. Please just answer my question."

Radek pinched the bridge of his nose. His thoughts felt muddled. How had he ever gotten into this? It was all McKay's fault. He had started lying to Weir about the weapon and had refused to write that report. Now he had to tell her and his career was probably over anyways. On top of that he might have killed two people. Radek wanted to cry. There was only one way to get through this. The truth and nothing but the truth. He started at the beginning.

Carson was wrapped in white cotton. Even his head felt like it had been filled with the substance. Everything around him was white. Carson closed his eyes. Keeping them open just for a second was too much effort. Not that there was anything to see anyways. IN no shape to process information, Carson was about the slip back into blissful unconsciousness. Only a irritating, foreign presence in his throat kept him from drifting away. He tried to take a breath and panicked when he found that he couldn't get any air. In full panic mode, he tried to reach for whatever kept him from breathing, but he couldn't move his hands more than a few inches, before he was held back by restraints. Something was tugging at the edge of his consciousness as his heart started to race as he continued to struggle for breath. He was supposed to remember something. The sting of a needle in his arm got his attention briefly and he realized that he wasn't alone. A woman, who looked familiar, was hovering over him, talking to him.

„The sedative will kick in any moment and you'll be able to relax and fell much better. Just try not to struggle." she sounded exhausted and a bit desperate. But she was right. Carson felt himself relax and drift closer to sleep within seconds. The obstruction in his throat was still there but he was getting air. The rest didn't matter. His eyes drifted close for a moment. When he opened them again the woman was gone and another woman was there in her place, this one was sitting in a chair next to his bed. She was reading something in a folder. It looked like she had been here for a while. Carson has seen her before. His mind reluctantly supplied the name to the face, Elizabeth. As if she had noticed his eyes on her, Elizabeth looked up and moved closer to him.

„Dr. Woods let me stay for a while, if I don't wear you out too much. You might not remember right now, but there was an explosion in the infirmary. It caused a fire. But Dr. Woods says your going to be back on your feet sooner than you think," She gave him time to process the news. When she only saw a weak frown on his face, she grew concerned; maybe she should have let the mattered rest, even though the doctor had said it was all right to talk to him while he was awake.

Elizabeth's words had sparked no memories. Carson couldn't recall any fire or explosion. In fact, he had no recollection had all of what had caused his current stated. He just hoped that no one else had been injured in the fire that Elizabeth was talking about. It was getting hard to keep his eyes open. Elizabeth seemed to notice and got up. She placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke:

„Don't worry. It's going to be all right. Go to sleep."

He was asleep before Elizabeth had left the room.

The feeling of wetness against his face woke Rodney. At first he thought he was till dreaming. Finally cool and fresh water after the nightmares of the water in the pit. But when he felt his sore muscles and his abused wrist, he was catapulted into reality. The wetness remained. Energized by curiosity he worked himself up into a sitting position, leaning against the wall of the cave. It was hard to see in the dark of the cave, but there was indeed a thin stream of water running back into the cave. His face has been lying in the path of the water. Muddled as his brain was from too much sun and too little food and water, it took him a while to realize that the water must have been from the daily rain. The cave went downward, so logically, the water would flow in and collect somewhere. Maybe even somewhere he could reach. He wasn't very mobile, but if he really put his mind to it, he could move even with his wrists and ankles tied. It would just take a while.

It took even longer than Rodney thought it would. His right leg hurt. A small cut must have gotten infected and although it hadn't hurt much while he had been lying down, it hadn't taken well to the exertion. He had had to take several breaks and had even fallen asleep once. By the time he reached the pool of water, his muscles were trembling from exhaustions and his head ached terribly. He crouched down next to the small lake, trying to control his shaking arms to gather a handful of water.

He didn't care how clean the water was. It was the only water he could get and without it he was going to die within the next thirty-six hours at the best, so he didn't have much of a choice. Rodney greedily gulped down handful after handful of water, the supply big enough allow him not to ration. To late he remembered something Carson had once told them after an involuntarily extended mission to a desert planet.

Take it slowly with the rehydrating.

The next time Carson woke up, the cotton wrapping was gone. He looked around and immediately noticed that he wasn't in the infirmary, but in a small white room, with a bed, a table and a single chair which was occupied by Radek Zelenka balancing his laptop on his knees. He was talking under his breath, mumbling numbers, not having noticed that Carson was awake. Carson felt much better than the last time he was awake. He was still on oxygen, but he is now breathing on his own. Judging by how heavy and numb he felt he would be in a lot of pain if he weren't as drugged as he as. Carson glanced at his bandaged right arm and hand and wondered what happened. He could also feel gauze taped to his chest and faze. It must have been bad. Elizabeth said something about a fire. The memory seems like from a dream and he wondered whether it really happened. Hopefully Radek could tell him what had happened.

„Hey." Carson was taken aback at how bad his voice sounded. It was hoarse and scratchy.

„Oh, I didn't know you were awake. I'm sorry I didn't foresee that the device could be recharge again and …"

„Stop. I have no idea what you are talking about." Carson stopped the apologizing scientist. „I don't know what happened. Elizabeth said something about a fire, an explosion. What really happened? Is anyone else hurt?"

„Where to start?" Radek mumbled more to himself. „The treatment for Major Sheppard, we finished and Dr. Weir approved it."

„Yes, I remember that. We did it. But it didn't work, did it? Is John all right?"

„John is still alive. But I don't think Dr. Woods knows how he really is. I was not there when it happened. I only know from reports. The device exploded and caused a fire in the infirmary. Everyone survived, but you, nurse Morgan, Lieutenant Alley and Major Sheppard were injured."

Carson could tell that Radek was leaving out a lot, but what he had said was enough to deal with for now. He had such high hopes for the treatment and apparently it had been a disaster, resulting and multiple injured people, all of which was his fault.

Radek was probably reading his expression when he put an arm on his shoulder.

„Don't blame yourself Carson. You couldn't have foreseen this. No one is blaming you. Everyone here has been very worried about you."

„But it should have…" Carson lapsed into a violent fit of coughing. Radek shot him a concerned look and started to fumble with his radio. Carson was too busy gasping for air to pay any attention to what Radek was doing. When Dr. Woods was suddenly standing in the room, he was caught be surprise. A glass of water appeared before him and he eagerly took a sip between coughs. The cold liquid immediately eased his throat and the coughing stop long enough to allow him to catch his breath. Dr. Woods handed him the glass again and he took a few more sips, careful not to overdo it and risk getting sick. Assured that he was doing better for the moment, he placed the glass on the table besides the bed and turned to Dr. Woods. Not trusting his voice, he just looked at her, raising his eyebrows, hoping that she got the message.

Dr. Weir sat at her desk flipping through Dr. Woods' report. She was at a loss for words; she didn't even know what to think. After her first visits, she hadn't been done to see Carson again in the infirmary, even though dr. Woods had personally informed her that the chief medical officer was conscious and asking to see her. She wouldn't know what to tell him. She reproached herself greatly for giving him to okay for the procedure. She should have demanded more information and weighed the options more carefully. Now in retrospect, her decision seemed rushed and ill-informed. Dr. Zelenka had already been to see her twice since the disaster in the infirmary, both times to accept responsibility and apologize for the unforeseen escalation of events. He had admitted to not doing a complete analysis of the device and therefore not finding out that an explosion was possible. Elizabeth hadn't believed him and still didn't. She had no idea what the truth was and why Zelenka was lying, but she was sure that he hadn't been sloppy in his research. The only one who really knew all there was to know about the alien device was Rodney, but he was missing off world. The search time had been on the planet for four days now, so far without any result. They had found signs of an altercation. Dropped packs, several poisoned darts, trampled vegetation, but no bodies. That was the only reason they were still looking. Elizabeth had no illusion. Their manpower was limited and the jungle was big. There was a chance they would never find their missing men, even if they were still alive. She could not afford to spend months searching an alien world, she needed the teams back on Atlantis, they continued to need allies and trading partners. And with the weapon Rodney had constructed having been destroyed in the attempt to treat John, they were in need of a new defence system against the Wraith. Elizabeth sighed and straightened her back. Sometimes her job sucked, but what had to be done had to be done. Being in charge wasn't just about making the popular calls. She's give Bates another day, then she needed her military commander back on the mission schedule. If Dr. Zelenka was accepting the responsibility for part of the fiasco in the infirmary, then she was going to take his word for it. According to DR. Woods, Beckett couldn't remember and there was no one else involved. Apparently personnel management in the science department had been seriously misguided. Rodney was a genius all right, but maybe managing people was not his resort after all. Elizabeth put a trip to the science department on her agenda.

"„All right, you heard her. 24 hour, then we are done. I don't like it any more then you do. But she is the boss. Let's make the best of it and see to it that we bring our men home. We owe it to them. Lieutenant Masters, I liked your river theory and think it's worth checking out, you and Captain Sandler will go down along the river, make contact every four hours. Teyla and Dr. Graber, you head back South-West. I knew it's a shot in the dark and the path doesn't look that well travelled, but we have to check it out. Captain Mars and I will go back to the site where we found the backpacks and do a four point search from there. Everyone stay in radio contact. At the first sign of trouble, let us know your position, otherwise, we won't be able to help you. Good luck." Sergeant Jansen ended his speech. Teyla and Dr, Graber headed off in silence. Both walked fast, trying to cover as much territory as possible on their last day of the search. Teyla was disappointed that the rescue effort was being called off so early, but she could understand. As a leader, she too was often faced was though choices and she knew that Atlantis didn't have many resources to squander and that the manpower was needed in the City, Still the loss of Dr. McKay, Sergeant Bates and his team would not only be grieved deeply, but would also be felt in the City. All those individuals had been vital contributions to the life of the City, they would be missing in the framework then. Dr. McKay would be especially missed as a member of the leading staff and the Chief Science Officer on Atlantis.

The path the two women followed got more obscured and overgrown as it gentle rose over the following hours. The sun climbed on the horizon, driving up the temperature. When they took a brief rest around lunch time, Dr. Garber spoke: „Do you really think we will find them?" She sounded exhausted and worn. Her face was red and her hair was hanging in her face.

„I don't know. But as long as there is a change that we might find them, we have to try. There are part of our community."

„Sorry, it's just, the jungle is so huge and we have been on our feet for days and we have found nothing. It never seems to end." Dr. Garber suddenly sounded like she was on the verge of crying.

Teyla shot her a sharp look and put a finger to her lips. She had heard something in the distance. Her trained hearing told her that it was not the sound of an animal.

Dr. Graber didn't get the message. She looked hurt. „What did I do now? I'm really sorry. It's my first mission away form the city and I really didn't want to go." She put her head into her hands.

„Be silent. There is someone." Teyla hissed.

There was another crack, closer to them, a rustling of leaves. Teyla got up from the stone she was sitting on an s spun around into the direction the noise was coming from.

The split second she saw the dark figure emerge from between the trees, she pulled the trigger of her P90. In the background, Dr. Garber screamed. Teyla was about, the move towards her fallen enemy, when a sharp sting in her lower chest caught her attention. Dread filled her when her eyes fell in a feathered dart sticking in her vest. By the pain, she could tell that it had penetrated her skin. A wave of cold washed through her. She wanted to call of Dr. Garber, who was a medic after all, but before she could make a sound, she was drowned by another wave of cold and darkness.

Carson was miserable. He was off the painkillers and every breath hurt. He tried to sleep, between the pain and the itching and stinging of the burns hidden beneath the bandages, it was in impossible endeavour. Dr. Woods had satisfied his curiosity in so far, as that she had informed him about his own injuries with the amount of detail that she knew he would want. Although it hadn't make him feel better, knowing what was going on with him, had given him considerable peace of mind, however the events that had led to his injuries were still blotted from his memories. Dr. Woods and his seemingly ever present visitor Radek had been very tight lipped about what exactly had happened in the infirmary. Carson had gathered as much that he had been attempting the experimental treatment on John and that something must have gone wrong, very wrong. The device had blown up, causing injuries to everyone in the infirmary at that time. Luckily there had been no fatalities. That was the maximum of detail that he could get so far. The only other thing Radek had said repeatedly was that it had been his fault, that he had not foreseen that an explosion could happen. Carson's memory on the entire procedure with all its details was not perfectly clear so he said nothing for the moment, but as far as he remembered, there was never supposed to be any transfer of energy to the device, at least not in any amount that would make an explosion possible. But that could wait until later.

„Radek!" Carson whispered, not wanting to strain his voice. Radek sat in the chair some distance away, reading a worn looking copy of a journal. When Carson spoke, he put down his reading material and scooted closer.

„Are you all right?"

„Yes, yes, I'm all right. Any news on John?"

„Dr. Woods is not allowing any visitors. Only Dr. Weir gets updates on his condition. But if there was something new, she would tell people, I think."

Carson was about the reply when the door opened and Kavanaugh strode in. Both he and Radek stared at the unexpected visitor in surprise.

„Radek, you have to hear this. Dr. Weir was just over at the lab and she…"

„Now is not the time." Radek interrupted him. „Whatever it is, it can wait."

„No, you don't understand, it can't wait. I've been promoted to be the new head of the science department." Kavanaugh didn't sound happy in spite of the news. Radek just nodded, while Carson stared at Kavanaugh, taken aback by what he had just heard.

„How, what happened?" He stuttered, I thought you were in charge of the science teams Radek."

„It's all right, Carson. Congratulations Calvin. You should be happy about your promotion." Radek said in an empty voice as he rose from his chair.

„Stop! I'm not happy!" Kavanaugh shouted to everyone's surprise. „I want to know what's going on. Everyone knows why MacKay left and it was no shock it anyone that you got his job. But what's going on now? I envied you for the job, but I was enough of a realist to know that Weir would never give the position to me."

„MacKay is not the only one who made mistakes."

„Radek, if you made a mistake, then I have made a mistake as well. If there is anything I need to stand up, tell me." Carson entered the conversation, now genuinely concerned that there was more going on beneath the surface that he had initially thought. With his memory still impaired, he had to rely on what his colleagues told him to judge his actions in matters of the recent past. He desperately needed to get out of bed and back to his office. His notes and personal diary entries would held shed some light on where he had gone wrong.

Rodney had lost all feeling of time. In the darkness of the cave, the passing of the day and night went without notice, the only sign of the time passing at all was the daily swelling of the thin rivulet of water flowing downwards from the mouth of the cave. Rodney was cowering at the border of the small like, most of the time, he was dozing, his thoughts drifting far away from his predicament, reliving happier times. Sometimes, he was back on Earth, in the comfort of his home, classical music floating through the air, lying on the bed with his cat next to him. But most of the time, he was with John. He revisited past missions and times of victory as well as small moments in time that others had probably long forgotten. Smiles, casual touches, jokes, teases. His thoughts swirled around John as he hung on to life down.

Teyla awoke to strange but harmonic music. It was very different to the music of the Atlantians and also different from anything she had ever heard on Athosia. The mixture of bells, pipes and rustling sounds drifted to her from some distance and she gradually came awake. As her senses returned she noticed that she couldn't move. Her wrists were tied to something above her head, while her ankles were tied to the end of the makeshift bed that she was lying on. Looking down on herself, she noticed that she was no longer wearing her uniform, but a brown, long dress.

„Thank God, you're awake." Dr. Graber's voice came from the side. „I wasn't sure whether the poison that was on the dart was going to be harmful. They gave you something after they brought us here, possible a counteragent. How do you feel?"

„I feel all right. Where are we?" Teyla twisted her head to see Dr. Garber sit tied up in a corner of the room.

„Some sort of native village. After you were shot down, more natives came and dragged both of us off to their village. I don't understand their language." She shook her head.

„Where did they take our things?" Teyla questioned.

„I don't know. They took all your things and my weapons, but didn't take my radio. I don't think they know what it is. I already radioed Sergeant Jansen and gave him the details about our situations, as far as I knew them at the time," Dr. Garber explained, seeming much calmer now, than she had seemed earlier in the forest. Teyla wondered how differently humans seemed to react to pressure. Teyla just wanted to ask for the radio and update their commander, when one of the natives strode into the small room where they were being held. Without a word, the native woman cut Teyla lose and escorted her out of the room.

The bright sunlight outside blinded Teyla after she had been in the dim room. The native woman kept a firm grip on her as she walked her across what seemed like the village square. They arrived in front of the largest hut, which was abundantly decorated with flowers and greens. Her escort pushed Teyla down to her knees before she shouted something in her native language. Teyla was tempted to look, but she soon as she raised her head, she received a firm smack on the back of her head. After a lengthy exchange of alien words, she was yanked to her feet. A man in his sixties was standing mere feet from her, raising her chin. Normally Teyla would have fought the gesture, but from the corner of her eyes she notes the sizeable audience and grudgingly went along with what was happening. The man, whom she easily recognized as the Chief of the village, seemed pleased with what he was seeing. Another brief debate later, the woman who had brought Teyla to the Chief's hut left again with the Athosian in tow, this time, a smile of anticipation plastered on her face.

Bates was miserable. God, he hated the jungle. How much further could it be? It had been two days ago when he and Stackhouse had found the trampled path. They had followed it ever since, hoping it would lead them to the Stargate. They had managed to flee the natives when they were attacked days ago, but had then been lost in the maze of trees. Food and water had not been a problem, but finding home had been. It was sheer luck that they had found the path after days of erring around. At least it seemed to be fairly well travelled. At night they had hidden in the underbrush, afraid that they natives that had attacked them at their first encounter would come back. But so far they had been lucky.

Bates wiped his forehead. Although it was past midday and the heat was no longer at its maximum, the combination of huge temperature ad humidity was still oppressive made he air itself seem heavy. The view of the sky was obscured by the canopy, but it was soon time for the daily rain. Bates hated this the most about the jungle climate. With the constant high humidity, their clothes never tried completely. The worst was walking in wet boots day after day.

As if his thoughts had provoked it, at this moment the rain started failing. The raindrops loudly hit the leaves above them.

„Sir, it looks like we might be able to find shelter up there." Stackhouse yelled from behind.

Bates squinted ahead. The heavy rain obscured his vision, but he saw dark rock between the all the green vegetation.

„All right, let's go for it."

Both soldiers broke into a run.

Rodney was woken by voices coming from the far end of the cave. At first he feared that the natives were back and were going to kill him if they didn't find his dead body. He pulled his legs closer and fervently hoped that they would go this far into the cave to come looking for him. But when familiar words came through to him, it became clear that it wasn't the natives in the cave.

„That's creepy. You think it's some kind of cemetery in here?" one voice said.

„Could be. I'm no anthropologist. But to me it looks more like they just dumped the bodies." this voice sounded annoyed and familiar.

Home, this was his chance. If only he could alert them to his presence. They were to far away for him to simply move up to them. Rodney was weak and any movement was slow and painful was his band wrists and ankles. So he tried to shout.

„Hey. Somebody help!"

That's what he wanted to say. But instead of a shout, all he managed was a scratchy whisper. He tried again, outing all his energy into it, getting to his knees.

„Help!" He needed to do this. They had to hear him. They couldn't just walk away and leave him here to die.

The mirror was dull, not nearly as clear as the one's they had on Atlantis. Teyla sceptically eyes herself in the polished metal plate. A horde of local women had descended upon her after her return from the chief's hut. News had spread fast. The local women had gotten out their best dresses and had decorated their hair with flowers. In the dull mirror Teyla could only guess what her hair looked like. It was pinned up somewhere on the top of her head, with white and blue flowers tucked in between the strands of hair, matching the blue dress that she was wearing. She hadn't seen Dr. Garber again since leaving the room she had woken up in and could only hope that as her companion she was being treated well, too.

Once she was all dressed up, Teyla was led outside. The village square was filled with people now, all of them waiting for her and the Chief's family as it appeared. Teyla didn't have any choice, She hoped that Sergeant Jansen and the rest of the team would be there seen before the marriage ceremony or what the local equivalent was turned serious. But her hopes were shattered. The feast came and went with no sign of the Atlantians. Teyla was slightly alarmed when she didn't see Dr. Garber at the meal and made a mental not to check on her later. After the meal was finished and the dished had been carried away. A small procession left the village, led by who Teyla presumed were the Chief's sons. Teyla committed to path to memory as they walked for about an hour through the jungle until they arrived at a small waterfall. Crossing the waterfront, the oldest son of the Chief, stepped behind the waterfall in what must be a cave behind it. After about a minute, he came back, drenched with water, but carrying two small objects wrapped in fabric. Teyla watched him intensely, but her attention was turned back to the commencing ceremony. Once again, she was pushed to her knees as an opening prayer begins. The words are foreign, but the gestures resemble the ceremony she knows from her homeland. But with one marked difference, for her people, both husband and wife have a say in the matter, the wife is not kneeling next to the husband, not saying a word during the entire ceremony. Teyla forced herself to stay calm as hard as it was. She did not easily submit to the will of others, but this was inevitable. They had to wait for the others to come to their rescue or to wait for an opportunity for escape. Until then, they had to play along. Her knees hurt from kneeling on the solid rock when she was finally allowed to get up again. Her now-husband, whose name she doesn't even know, pulls her into a hug and kissed her firmly. Teyla reciprocated without feeling. After he lefts her go, the oldest son hands her the wedding gifts. The two objects he retrieved earlier. Indignities forgotten, Teyla unwrapped them curiously. It's a necklace with an hexagonal pendant of dark grey metal and blue stone and a armband of similar design, the same metal, the same stone. The armband has letters carved in it that Teyla immediately recognized. Letters of the Ancients.

Carson's frown deepened when he closed one of Atlantis' more secret documents, or at least so it appeared. He wasn't out of the infirmary yet, but he was fit enough to get out of bed for a bit. Once he had been sure that he was steady on his legs, his first destination had been John's room. Then he had asked Dr. Woods for the medical report on his condition. When she had refused to give it to him, he had asked Dr. Weir for the report, knowing that she had gotten a copy. Without a word, she had given it to him. Guilt had been written all over her face, when he had dragged himself up to her office. Radek, Elizabeth, everyone was blaming themselves, when he had the feeling that it was all his fault, after all he had it the idea. All he had wanted to do was help John. What he had done was hurt people. It was a painfully familiar scenario. Not for the first time had his good intentions gone dangerously wrong. This time he had not harmed a love, but a good friend. He had read Dr. Woods report twice now, and every word was damning to his ears. John had been alive, happy and responsive to his environment. Maybe Rodney had been right by not getting inv9lved with the treatment. Now, John was lying unmoving in a hospital bed, depending on a respirator. There was little hope, no brain activity was registering. Short of a miracle, nothing could help John now. Although his own memory had started to come back in fragments, he recalled starting the treatment and John suddenly lunging at him. Having seen the bruises on his throat in the mirror had triggered the memory of the near choking, but the details of what had happened afterwards remained murky. He recalled gunshots and had also obtain an incident report from doctor Weir and knew that John had gotten his hands on a gun and had wounded one of his nurse with a gunshot wound to the arms, as well has had fired a shot into the device, causing the explosion and subsequent fire that nearly brought down the entire section. The report mentioned one interesting detail. The nurse, Kylie Morgan was sure that right before aiming at the device, John had said the phrase. „It's time to end it." Carson could neither confirm nor deny this, he had been there, but at the time, a gun had been pointed at him, his attention had been elsewhere. But that would suggest that the treatment would have worked, it least initially. Whoever something must have caused John to destroy his link with the alien device. If he had even been acting with any human ration logic. He had been brain damaged to some extend before and there was only that much they could predict. Not that it mattered anymore. There was no more hope. They were just keeping him alive now.

The scent was so sweet that it was sickening. Dozens of candles were burning in the huge, round room. A sizable 'bed' dominated the space. The bed reminded Teyla of the beds of her youth, when her people had been constantly on the run from the Wraith. It was a palate on the floor, its basis a rough mattress covered by furs and woven sheets. Teyla found all her sense acutely heightened as she watched her husband stride across the room. In a corner, on a a large flat stone stood a covered container that vaguely resembled a carafe. He took off the lid and poured a thick yellow liquid into a mug. He then proceeded to offer to mug to her. Teyla was clearly supposed to drink its contents. She suspected nothing good. Although these people were too primitive too posses the advanced pharmaceuticals that the Atlantians had at their disposal, simple plant extracts could also harbour potent properties. She doubted the Chief would want to poison her, but in drinking the mugs contents, she risked very well being inebriated losing controls of the very tenuous situation. It was her wedding night and she was very certain of what was being expected her of her now. Maybe the Chief interpreted her hesitance as shyness and wanted to help her relax. When she lingered and didn't drink, the Chief took her hand firmly and guided her hand, raising the mug to her lips. Teyla's mind was racing. She could fight the Chief and even without a weapon she was certain to defeat him, but the entire village stood behind him and they were only two against an unknown number of hostiles. It wouldn't work. But the only other option would be the give in and lose control. But it would buy them time until the rest of the team arrived and their chances for a successful escaped increased at least marginally. Among her people, marriage was for life, but the ceremony of this people was not binding, the proper rule of her people had not been observed, the binding vows had not been exchanged, It was meaningless to her. But once she had sex with this man, she would seal their marriage. It was the final of the marriage vows. It had happened that Athosian had had sex before they were married, but always marriage followed sex. So the tradition demanded it. She would be bound by it as well. But she didn't have any choice. She was going to be saving lives, possible hers, Dr. Garber's and those of her team mates.

Teyla drank from the mug. The juice was sweet and taste vaguely like the Atlantian lemon jello.

TBC