The next morning, it seemed as though people knew what was going to happen. A crowd of off-duty personnel gathered in small groups around the Gate room and the operations level. Many hovered near the corridors and in the corners, out of the way but close by. Sound came in whispers only. Most of those waiting were silent. Ronon stood alone in a dim corner at the back of the Gate room. No-one seemed willing to stand too near, and all carefully avoided looking in his direction.

A few minutes before 0900, Col. Caldwell beamed onto the Gate operations deck and headed for Elizabeth Weir's office. They came out almost immediately. Rodney McKay and Carson Beckett followed them. Lt. Ford and Teyla hurried up the stairs from the Gate room floor. They stood at the top of the stairs next to Maj. Lorne, unwilling to go closer. Elizabeth acknowledged them with a small tilt of her head. She stopped in front of the communications console, checked her watch and nodded at the technician sitting there. The young woman pressed a key.

"May I have your attention, please? This is Dr. Weir. I have an announcement." She paused and took a deep breath. "As you probably already know, Lt. Col. John Sheppard went missing on a mission four days ago. After an exhaustive search of the planet where he was last seen, we believe that he is on a Wraith hive ship which took off a little while after he boarded it. We do not know where that hive ship is or its destination. So, it is with great regret that we must assume Col. Sheppard is missing in action. We will be transmitting this information to Stargate Command later this morning. Thank you."

The technician at the communications console touched a control to cut the broadcast. The people gathered on the Gate room floor, the control area and nearby corridors silently turned and left. Within minutes only the personnel on duty, Caldwell, Elizabeth, Ford, McKay, Teyla and Beckett remained. Ford and Teyla began to descend the main stairs.

"Dr. Weir, shall we get ready for our meeting?" Col. Caldwell spoke softly.

She nodded and they turned to go to the conference room, McKay and Beckett following them. At that moment, Elizabeth Weir appreciated the Colonel as a person more than she thought was possible. She knew he did not like John Sheppard, so she was grateful for his sensitivity. Of course he must understand what it felt like to lose a friend and colleague.

Suddenly, the Gate began an off-world activation. Everyone that had moved out of the shadows and corridors began to scramble back.

"Turn on the shield!" McKay yelled as he, Elizabeth, Caldwell and most of the others rushed to the rail. They all saw the glittering shield form. The activation sequence completed and the event horizon appeared behind the shield.

"Do you have any teams off-world?" Caldwell asked.

"Two, twelve personnel altogether." Elizabeth watched the Gate. She was trying not to get excited. "They're not due back today."

McKay turned to the IDC computer, nervously glancing back at the Gate every few moments. "Nothing yet."

They waited long seconds. Elizabeth looked anxiously at McKay. "Anything?"

McKay shook his head then froze. He looked up, disbelief on his face. "It's his! It's Col. Sheppard's IDC! Lower the shield."

There was an intake of breath around the entire room.

"Belay that order!" Col. Caldwell bellowed over the growing murmur around him. The noise died immediately. "We need to confirm it really is him."

"He's right. Open the frequency." Elizabeth pointed to the communications technician again, who quickly touched a few keys then nodded at her. "Who is this, please?"

"Sheppard. Can I come home?" The voice was rough, tired.

"Colonel, you have been missing for four days. We need to know you're who you say you are and that you're alone." Caldwell spoke firmly.

"Where are you, John?" Elizabeth asked. Her heart was pounding.

"M5S…No. P7 somethin'…Not sure." The voice cracked. "'Sorry I didn't call to tell you I'd be late."

"It's him. Open the Gate!" McKay demanded. The assembled crowd turned to look at the people around the Gate control console.

Caldwell nodded and McKay reached over and hit the control. The shield disappeared.

"Come through, John." Elizabeth moved quickly to the stairs as she spoke. McKay rushed to join her. Ford and Teyla were already at the bottom. The Marines around the perimeter still held their weapons at the ready, however.

A few seconds later, a barely recognizable figure staggered through the event horizon. Sheppard was covered in a dark substance that matted his hair and caked on his clothes and skin. He swayed for a moment as the Gate shut down behind him then slowly crumpled to sit on the floor, the P-90 slipping from his fingers.

"Stand down." Ford commanded the Marines guarding the Gate as he and Teyla reached Sheppard. They kneeled next to him. "Sir, are you alright?"

"Oh, my God, what's that smell?" McKay put his hand under his nose as he came closer. "What is that stuff?"

"Does it matter?" Teyla glanced back at him. She reached out to help Sheppard.

"No!" Sheppard whispered hoarsely, trying to lean away from both Ford and Teyla. His arms began to shake as he tried to steady himself.

"Sir!" Ford protested. "Please."

"Stop, don't touch him." Dr. Beckett ran forward, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. "We don't know what this is. Lieutenant, I have a medical team coming. Please clear the way for them."

Ford stood and started moving people away from the corridor leading toward the infirmary, with the Marines helping him. Beckett kneeled in front of Sheppard. The doctor could see he was losing consciousness. He eased the now limp man to a lying position.

"Well, laddie, where have you been?" Beckett leaned forward and peered at the closing eyes. "And, what have you gotten yourself into?"

A medical team ran up with a gurney. Gloved hands reached out and quickly raised Sheppard onto the gurney. They rushed away, followed closely by McKay, Ford and Teyla. Col. Caldwell and Elizabeth Weir watched them. He shook his head in disbelief as she smiled anxiously.

"Dr. Weir, you sure you don't want to go with them?" Caldwell asked her.

"Yes, but there is nothing I can do. Anyway, Dr. Beckett will stop everyone at the door. He'll let me know Col. Sheppard's condition as soon as he can." She looked up at him as she turned to the stairs. "Shall we get ready?"

Sheppard felt the cool, hard floor reach up and touch him. The quiet voice of the City pulsed through it and into his body. He could close his eyes now. He was home. Other voices and faces swim around him. Hands picked him up. The corridors moved past then bright lights drown out the moving shapes. The hands tugged at him, pulling off clothes. Warm water stung as it washed him clean. Someone whispered sleep, you're home.

The lights and noise drifted away. The hum of the City sang its lullaby, sang him to sleep.

Elizabeth Weir stopped just inside the door of the infirmary. At the far end of the room, she could see the shadow of a figure move behind a screen.

"Like I've told everyone else, Col. Sheppard is asleep. He cannot have visitors until tomorrow at the earliest." Beckett spoke softly, but firmly.

She spoke softly as well. "How is he, Carson?"

The doctor glanced around the edge of the screen. "Oh, Elizabeth, come in. Please come over and sit down, I'll be finished soon."

Dr. Beckett, gloved and gowned sat with his back to the door, working on the sole occupant of his small domain. He did not turn as she approached. She walked quietly around to the other side of the bed and sat on the chair next to it. John Sheppard was considerably cleaner than the last time she saw him. His shoulders and arms were bare. The edges of pads were visible under the edge of the blanket, the leads connected to various monitors.

The top end of the bed was slightly raised, putting him in a half sitting position. His hair was still damp. An oxygen cannula pressed into a bruise on the right side of his face. There was a small bandage just below the hairline. His left arm was propped on a towel covered pillow. Beckett was cleaning several cuts that stretched from the left shoulder to the back of the left hand. The doctor was using a magnifying lens and a strong light to peer closely at the wounds, carefully swabbing each before moving on.

Beckett looked up at Elizabeth. His expression was grim, but softened. "Don't worry, he's just deep asleep. I'm waiting for test results, but I'm fairly certain I know what the Colonel was covered in when he came through the Gate."

"I'm afraid to ask, but what is it?" She already knew, and felt chill inside at the thought.

"Well, I recognized the smell. I believe it's decomposing Wraith flesh, like what was left of the specimen in the lab when that damnable weapon was found here." He frowned as she gasped. "This stuff got into every abrasion and cut. And, as you can see, there are many. Most are fairly superficial, but there are a couple of deep ones. I have to make sure we get it all cleaned out."

"Aren't you going to stitch these?" She indicated the cuts.

Beckett shook his head. "No, a lot of them are already infected. It could just make matters worse to close them up."

Elizabeth gently picked up Sheppard's right hand. An intravenous needle was inserted in the back of the hand, the line leading to two bags, a large one of saline and a small one she recognized as antibiotics. A blood oxygen monitor cuff was clipped to the middle finger. She studied his exposed shoulders and arms. There were more dark bruises and scrapes.

"Is he going to be okay?" She asked the doctor. While one hand cradled Sheppard's hand, she reached up and touched his cheek with the other. She noticed a dry, unnatural warmth.

"Aye, I think so. But, he must have been on top of that device the whole four days he was gone. The load of abnormal protein in his blood is extremely high. Kidney and liver function have been affected." Beckett bent closer over the arm, flushing out a deep, three-inch long cut with a small bottle of sterile solution. "John also has a mild concussion and is quite dehydrated. The concussion is not serious, and normally, I wouldn't be too concerned about the dehydration. We'll just need to keep a close eye on him."

"He seems a little warm." Elizabeth moved her hand from Sheppard's cheek to his forehead.

"It's the infection. I'm working on it." The doctor straightened for a moment then reached for a fresh swab and dipped it in the solution he was using to clean the wounds. "I'm just glad John isn't awake for this."

"He wasn't…the Wraith didn't…" She did not know how to ask. She looked at the center of his chest, but the blanket was pulled too high to see if a Wraith had fed off him.

Beckett bent back over the arm. "No, no. The Wraith didn't touch him, at least not to feed."

Elizabeth momentarily closed her eyes in relief. She closed both her hands around Sheppard's. "Carson, did he said anything about what happened?"

Beckett did not pause in swabbing. "Mumbled a few words, but the only thing I could make out was 'home'."

"Home. He's called Atlantis that before." She smiled. "I suppose he's right."

"John has always been very comfortable here, hasn't he? Kind of strange considering he had never even heard of the Stargate before he came to the Antarctic outpost that day. I'll never forget seeing him sit in that chair and it reacting instantly to him. He didn't even know what it was and it worked for him. Quite astonishing, if you think about it." Beckett smiled up at her.

"Yes, astonishing." Elizabeth watched at the sleeping patient for a moment then looked at Beckett. "Should we send him back to the SGC?"

"I thought about that, but there's nothing they can do there that we can't do." He straightened and eased the magnifying glass off his head, laying it on the tray beside him. Then he pulled off his gloves dropped them in a basin with the used swabs. "As long as he remains stable, I'd rather not send him through the Gate. I may reconsider if there is no improvement by morning."

She exhaled in relief. "Okay."

"You don't need to stay, Elizabeth. He won't wake up before tomorrow." Beckett pushed his stool back and began to remove his gown. "I promise to come get you if anything happens."

She did not move. "Carson, I'd like to stay for a while, if it's okay."

"Aye, lass, I guess it will be okay for a while." The doctor smiled and stood up. He picked up the tray with soiled gloves, gown and swabs and walked away.

Hours later Beckett leaned over and touched Elizabeth's shoulder. She slowly stirred, then snapped awake. He put a finger to his lips then crooked his finger at her to follow. She stood up and followed when he turned and walked a few steps away.

"I need to examine him, and it's late. You should go get some real sleep, in your real bed, Elizabeth. I have plenty of people here to keep an eye on the prodigal son." He gently squeezed her arm. "He's stable and will be asleep for hours yet."

She looked from Beckett to Sheppard and nodded. "You'll let me know if there is any change at all?"

"You'll be the first to know." He patted her shoulder. "And, I think you should get a bite to eat. You haven't had anything all day, have you?"

"Yes, Doctor. Thank you, Doctor." Elizabeth said with only a little sarcasm. With one last look at Sheppard, she left.

Beckett gave her a reassuring smile as she walked out. The smile disappeared as he turned back to the bed, pulling a tray of equipment with him. He lowered be head of the bed as he motioned for a nurse to come in. She adjusted the screens to completely block the bed from view. At Beckett's direction, she drew three small vials of blood and a urine sample from the collection bag. Beckett listened to Sheppard's heart and lungs and checked his blood pressure.

"His fever hasn't gone down, Dr. Beckett." The nurse set the electronic thermometer on the tray.

"It's early, Patty. I really didn't expect much of a change yet. Take the blood and urine samples to the lab, please. Tell them to get me the results as quickly as possible."

"Yes, Doctor." She picked up the vials and walked out.

Beckett turned back to Sheppard. He filled a syringe from a vial on the tray and injected the contents into the IV drip line. The doctor then began to check every cut and abrasion. He slowly worked his way down the left arm then pulled the blanket back to look at a burn on the Colonel's right leg. A soft groan made him look up. Sheppard swallowed hard and licked dry lips.

"Water?" Beckett asked as he touched the control to raise the head of the bed a few inches. He reached to pick up a glass from the bedside table then guided the straw to his patient's mouth. "Are you in any pain?"

Sheppard focused on the doctor as he drank a few mouthfuls. Then his eyes slowly closed and he was asleep again. Beckett gently drew the straw from his mouth and set the glass back on the table. After checking the monitor's, Beckett returned to the examination.

"Why didn't you come and get me?" Elizabeth glared at Beckett. They were standing near the infirmary door, talking in low tones.

"Elizabeth, he was awake for only a minute or two. He drank a little water and went right back to sleep. And, he hasn't stirred since." The doctor shrugged. "You wouldn't have even had time to get here."

"How is he doing?" She turned to look at the sleeping figure at the far end of the room.

"Better. I don't think we need worry about sending him back to Earth. The fever is down a little. Not as much as I would like, but I believe we have the infection under control. The blood work we did earlier shows that the levels of the damaged protein are reduced and we are finding the normal protein again. Again, it's not as good as I hoped, but it is going in the right direction. Liver and kidney functions are better, too." Beckett rubbed his neck with one hand. "It's just going to take some time, Elizabeth."

She smiled. "Preferable to the alternative."

"Definitely." Beckett motioned for her to follow. He walked to a table near the door and picked up a small bowl. "We found this in his vest. It was hooked under the left shoulder."

She looked in the bowl and back up at the doctor in shock. A long metallic, claw-like object lay in it. "I thought you said the Wraith didn't touch him."

Beckett shook his head. "Not to feed. There's no evidence to suggest it. I think that this one might have tried to, though. It must have been caught in the vest as he pulled away. It had some of John's skin and blood on it. And, it would explain the cuts down his arm."

Elizabeth shuddered. "My God, that's too close."

"Aye." He set the bowl down on the table and headed for his office.

"Do you mind if I stay for a while?" She held up a data pad. "I promise to read quietly and not get in the way."

The doctor smiled and nodded. "For a little while. Having you here may actually help discourage other visitors. There has been someone in here about every five minutes since last night."

She settled in the chair to read the multitude of reports stored in the data pad. Every thirty minutes, Beckett or one of the other doctors or nurses came in to check monitors, connections and the IV bags. Occasionally, one of them would inject some drug into the IV line. They would enter everything on the data pad that acted as his medical chart. Little was said, but they always gave her their best bedside manner smile.

When they left, she picked up his hand and held it. His long fingers curled in hers, but she felt the heat of the fever diminish. She would watch him for several minutes, looking for signs of movement. When there was none, she would gently lay his hand on the bed and go back to the data pad. Some time later, Elizabeth set the data pad aside and rubbed tired eyes. She turned to look at Sheppard, who had not moved since she arrived. She was startled to see he was awake and watching her.

"Well, hello. And, welcome back." She smiled and squeezed his hand. "Let me get Carson..."

Before she could stand, Beckett appeared by the bed. "Back in the land of the living, I see. Would you like some water?"

Sheppard slowly dragged his eyes from Elizabeth to Beckett and nodded. After swallowing a few mouthfuls, he turned away from the glass.

"Thanks." His voice was a hoarse whisper.

"How are you feeling?" Beckett glanced from one monitor to the next. Elizabeth did not take her eyes off the Colonel's face.

Sheppard carefully cleared his throat. "Like crap. What happened?"

"Don't you remember?" Elizabeth asked gently.

Sheppard looked back at her. He closed his eyes in concentration. "Hive ship and…it's…not sure. Doesn't make sense."

"Carson?" Elizabeth looked up at the Doctor in alarm.

"Don't worry, it'll come back. Now hold still." Beckett pulled a pen-sized flashlight from his packet and quickly examined the Colonel's eyes with it.

"Wait. The others, how…" Fear crossed Sheppard's face and he tried to sit up.

"Stay still. They're all fine." Beckett pushed him back with little effort. "You apparently decided to go for a ride on a Wraith hive ship. You've been missing for four days."

"On a hive ship? Four days. On it?" Sheppard coughed and looked around for the water. He drained the glass Beckett held for him. "I don't know if I want to remember. How did I get back?"

"We don't know. You came back through the Gate yesterday morning. Now, be quiet. I want to listen for a moment. Breath deep." Beckett pulled out his stethoscope and listened to Sheppard's heart and lungs. After a few seconds, he put the stethoscope away and picked up a digital thermometer.

"How am I?"

"Better than you were, laddie. You ought not to be doing that again." The doctor smiled at his patient and then took his temperature.

"I agree, John. You can't do that again." Elizabeth said softly, but firmly. "I thought we had an agreement."

"Don't intend to." He closed his eyes for a long moment. They could see he was already tiring.

"I hope not." She smiled. "I'd hate to imagine who they'd send as your replacement."

Beckett set down the thermometer and picked up Sheppard's chart. "Okay. You need to get some sleep. There's plenty of time to talk later."