"Patient Zero"

Show: Stargate Atlantis

Genre: General/Angst/Missing Scene

Pairing: A little bit of Sheppard/Teyla

Summary: Missing scenes of "Conversion". After Dr. Beckett realizes that the retrovirus is taking hold, Sheppard is worried that his uninhibited moment with Teyla may have unexpected consequences.

Disclaimer: Sadly, none of the characters belong to me. What I wouldn't give for a little John Sheppard of my very own!

Author's Note: This does contain SPOILERS for "Conversion." I know that this episode hasn't aired in places and that some are a bit behind their Atlantis watching, so you have been properly warned that plot points are evident in this story. Thanks for all of your feedback from the last chapter – it really motivates you to keep writing!

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Chapter Two:

Carson stopped only briefly to check the Atlantis sensors. He was pretty sure that he knew where Teyla was going to be considering it was around lunch-time. When he first entered the dining commons, he couldn't see her anywhere – maybe he had just missed her. He was about to leave and try her quarters next when he suddenly spotted her in the far corner of the room. She was sitting alone at a tiny table next to the balcony, head bowed in a manner that even from his vantage point he could see was an immediate turn-off for approachability.

As he approached her table, Beckett could almost sense the tension and deep thought that she was clearly feeling. There was a ring of empty tables around her own – it was as if she were projecting her brooding emotions like some sort of beacon that silently and firmly told everyone around her in no uncertain terms that she wasn't in the mood to socialize. Beckett stopped a few feet from the edge of the table and waited for her to notice him. As he watched, she picked apathetically at the greens on her plate, clearly having no appetite, and mutilating a particularly bruised tomato-like vegetable with the edge of her fork. Her chin was resting in her palm, and her downcast eyes were dull and glazed with her silent musings. He was almost hesitant to disturb her pensive mood, but he knew that he had come with a critical job to do.

"Teyla?" he said softly, not wanting to startle her.

She flicked her eyes up to him and gave him a weak, apprehensive smile that didn't quite meet her eyes. "Carson. I was just finishing here."

"Well, do you mind if I join you for a few minutes? I'd like to talk to you about something." He waited anxiously as she seemed to teeter on denying him the request until she finally gave a reluctant nod.

Beckett slid into the chair opposite her. "I thought you might like to know that we've finished the preliminary blood work on Colonel Sheppard."

"And?" She almost looked fearful of what he was about to say.

"It doesn't look good. The retrovirus is now actively altering his DNA. I don't know how much time we have until the damage is too advanced to repair, but we've got to find a way to stop it soon," he said wearily.

"What will happen to the Colonel if you cannot find a way?"

"I'm only going on what we observed in Elia, but my guess is he'll change into a creature similar to an Iratus bug, but eventually…I think he'll die."

Beckett was heartbroken as he watched Teyla's reaction to the news. He felt a certain degree of guilt over Sheppard's situation, but he had yet to break the news to the colonel's closest friend – and at that moment he realized that informing family must be the most gut-wrenching duty a doctor could be faced with. He saw her visibly pale, two flushed spots of color suddenly appearing high on her cheekbones as her eyes widened in speechless anguish. She bent her head again, obviously straining to keep her emotions in check. He was about to reach out and take one of her clenched hands when she looked back up at him, her eyes shining brightly with unshed tears.

"I am sorry," she apologized. "It is difficult to accept this news."

"Teyla, you don't have to apologize. Everyone's going to take this hard, and I know that you and Colonel Sheppard are very close. Look, I know that I'm no Dr. Heightmeyer, but if you ever needed anyone to talk to, you can always come to me," he said gently.

"Thank you, Carson. You are a good friend," she whispered, lowering her eyes to her plate where she continued to half-heartedly play with her uneaten food.

He hated having to push her when she was so upset, but he knew that if Sheppard had infected her, she had little time before she also began displaying symptoms. "Teyla, I was talking to Colonel Sheppard a little while ago. He, um…he told me about what happened today while you were sparring."

Her head snapped up, and she stared at him with a paralyzed, frozen look. "I do not know what you mean," she said guardedly.

"He told me about the kiss. He was worried that he may have been a little rough with you and wanted me to make sure you were okay. He didn't hurt you?"

"No, of course not. It only…surprised me. I knew something was wrong, but neither of us understood what was happening until afterward. Is he upset about it? He did not send you here to apologize?" she asked with concern.

"It's actually a bit more complicated than that. Teyla, I don't want to worry you, but I'm not entirely sure how the retrovirus can be contracted. Colonel Sheppard is afraid that he may have infected you when he kissed you."

Teyla's reaction was far less terrified and upset than when he had informed her of Sheppard's prognosis – perhaps she had been dealt so many swift emotional blows during the day that she was becoming gradually numbed. She swallowed and nodded resignedly. "You would like to test me for the retrovirus?"

He nodded. "We need to be sure. I don't know if his mutation was far enough along at the time to pose a threat, but even if the chance of infection was zero, I'd still be tempted to conduct the test. If Colonel Sheppard knows that you're okay, it might help ease his mind a wee bit. He already has to deal with having the retrovirus, and if he knew that he had passed it along to you…I don't think he could ever forgive himself for that."

Teyla looked politely confused. "It would not have been intentional. He would have no reason to blame himself for something out of his control."

"I think you know the colonel better than that. It wouldn't matter whether it happened because of the kiss or whether he injected you on purpose – he'd never recover from that knowledge."

Pushing away the lunch tray, Teyla rose with a determined tilt of her head. "How long will the test take?"

"It shouldn't be more than a few minutes," he said gently. "Teyla…I don't want to scare you, but if it's positive…"

She shook her head and touched his arm (whether to reassure him or herself he wasn't sure). "We shall decide what to do when that happens."

He patted her hand, and she managed to give him a slight smile. Beckett led the way out the doors of the mess hall toward the medical bay where he knew there was a very anxious man impatiently waiting for news.

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Probably one more chapter after this, but I'm not completely sure. Again, don't know when that'll be posted, but hang in there – I'll get around to it if it kills me! That review button is looking mighty tempting, isn't it?