AN: Thanks for all the reviews. This is not my first fanfic, but it's my first Stargate Atlantis fic. Just wanted to clear up any confusion. Anyways, like always, enjoy the story.

Chapter 3

He sat watching her, as she peacefully slept. It was unusual for him to see her relaxed. As the leader of the Atlantis expedition, it was her job to know about everything that was going on at every moment of the day. With all this responsibility, came worry and stress. John frequently noticed the worry or concern on her face. Her whole body seemed to tense up when they were dealing with the Wraith or even when she had to order a team out through the gate. But now as she lay there in front of him, John saw another side of her. It comforted him to see her so peaceful, but at the same time he hated to know she was sick. She seemed so vulnerable, so fragile, that it scared him more than he would like to admit.

A scientist passing at the moment stopped and smiled at the scene in front of him. He saw Colonel Sheppard sitting next to Elizabeth's bed. Worry and concern was present on the Colonel's face. He saw the Colonel put a hand up to his mouth deep in thought. The scientist felt a plague of sadness wash over him. Everyone by now had heard of the virus, and they were deeply concerned about Doctor Weir and the many others who had now fallen sick. As he looked in on them, he felt sorry for Colonel Sheppard. He and some of his friends had noticed the two of them growing closer, and he knew how hard it must be for him to see her deathly sick. He saw Elizabeth stir and decided he shouldn't be spying on the two of them. He looked both ways and hurried on his way to one of the many labs.

"John?" Elizabeth asked sensing his presence.

"I'm here," he said taking her hand in his. "You gave me quite a scare earlier in the training room."

"Sorry," she said weakly.

John squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You have nothing to be sorry for." He decided to change the subject. "How are you feeling? Beckett told me you've been in and out of consciousness a few times."

"I...feel so tired, and weak," she admitted. "If I don't make it….I want you to know-"

John shook his head banishing the though from his mind and determined to erase it out of hers. "Don't even think about that. You'll get better soon. Teyla and I found a medicine book that the Ancients had, and now Teyla, McKay, and The Doc are searching for a cure. Besides, we still have to finish our fight, and you still have to cook me dinner."

That statement earned him a faint smile from her. "That's…only if you win, and I'm not going to let that happen."

"Then as Colonel, I'm ordering you to get better and prove me wrong."

"Always looking for a way to…use…your rank…in a sentence," Elizabeth said smiling. "But, I guess……I'll have to." Her eyes started to slowly close again.

"No...Elizabeth stay with me."

"John, I'm…."

"Beckett!" John yelled franticly for the doctor.

Carson came into the room and quickly checked her vitals. "She slipped back into unconsciousness."

"How…long does she have?" John asked.

Carson looked up at him. "She doesn't have very long."

"Look on the bright side," McKay said, as he came into the room. Teyla followed close behind him.

"There's a bright side?" John asked curiously.

"We found a cure!" Rodney practically shouted.

"That was fast."

Carson shook his head in agreement. "Aye, this book you and Teyla found is amazing."

Rodney looked very pleased with himself and added, "With my expertise knowledge, of the Ancient's writing, and superb finding skills, I was able to-"

"I think your forgetting something," Carson said.

Rodney sighed and rolled his eyes. "With out expertise knowledge and finding skills, the three of us were able to find a cure," he corrected. He opened the dusky book and pointed at a page near the beginning. "This whole section talks about the Wraith DNA Virus. We're talking about symptoms the Ancients experienced, research on the actual virus, and a cure."

"That's great!" John said. They had never seen his so excited.

"There's only one problem."

"I knew this was too easy," John said preparing for the worst.

"We don't have half the ingredients for the cure," Teyla explained.

Carson turned to John. "Without these ingredients, we can't hope to make the cure."

"There must be something we can do."

"My people use many of these items to cure sicknesses," Teyla said.

"Then, you can find them?"

"I know where to get these herbs, but…there's another problem. All of these herbs reside on a planet we have already been too."

"Good, then the inhabitants would want to help us," John said not seeing the problem.

Teyla sighed before looking him in the eye. "Colonel, I don't think the Genii are going to be willing to help us."

To be continued….

AN: Hope you guys like the cliffy at the end. Sorry so short and sorry about grammar mistakes.There is more to come.

-D