Chapter 8: Meanwhile, back at Atlantis

A/N: Ok, the title says it all – a play off of the old westerns. A little McKayWeir ship, a little ShepWeir, trying to figure out whom to pair Kyte with. Carson's both curious and concerned about her, although Major Lorne could be interesting. Any suggestions? Don't worry, I'm working on resolving everything….

Dr. Beckett sighed and tried to ignore the engineering and military types that had been streaming in and out of the infirmary the past 36 or so hours. Dr. McKay had compromised and returned to infirmary, where he had promptly set up shop, barking orders, demanding progress reports, and working on an algorithm to determine the last gate address, or at least better predict the last gate address. Colonel Sheppard was on the mend and was busy giving McKay advice and checking his own set of progress reports from dispatched teams. Carson had ordered both of them to take it easy, but as usual, despite their fear of needles, both the scientist and soldier chose to ignore him. Of course, Carson hadn't been as forceful as he could have been; everyone was concerned. The Colonel keeping his emotions in check for the most part, but concern was clearly etched across Rodney's face. He seemed to end every demand with, "This is Elizabeth we're talking about." Briefly Carson wondered if the physicist blamed Dr. Randall for the current situation, but consoled himself with the thought that as head of the Atlantis expedition, Dr. Weir was a much more visible presence, and for her to be in enemy hands, well that was bad, to put it simply.

He looked at the still figure of Major Andrews, the man had stabilized and survived surgery. In an odd way, the doctor was glad he was still unconscious, since he would have probably been worse than Sheppard and McKay combined, since he seemed to take the young woman's safety and well-being very personally, and would be blaming himself for their current situation. Carson was amazed these feelings hadn't surfaced with the Colonel, but he was probably hiding it well. However, Carson was fully expecting these feeling to evolve into a cold rage, especially when the doctor informed him he was in no shape to go off world. He knew the Colonel wanted nothing more than to play the knight in shining armor and rescue Elizabeth, his damsel in distress. Well, maybe she wouldn't exactly classify herself as a damsel in distress, but if the metaphor fit… He sighed and turned to enter his office to study the latest test results from the major, when he saw Dr. Katie Brown talking to Dr. McKay, nodding and patting his leg.

"Dr. Brown, could I see you a moment? When you're finished of course?" he called.

A few minutes later she was seated in his office, a questioning look on her face.

"How well do you know Dr. Randall? I thought since she was in the botany lab part time, you might have talked. I'm just a little worried about her. I know she kept a lot of secrets and I don't know what this current ordeal will do to her."

"Well, she came to girl's poker night a couple times. Not a bad player -she couldn't always read everyone, but she always seemed to guess what cards were out. I think she joked she was better at blackjack, no need to bluff, just her and the cards,"

"Did she ever open up, talk about herself?" Dr. Beckett had gathered from Dr. Heightmeyer that Kyte had revealed very few personal details.

"Well, after a couple of beers," the botanist shot him a guilty look, "she joked she was a little insecure about where she was on the Atlantis bell curve. She said she was always fighting to prove herself, that she was just as smart and good as everyone else. I know she liked to surf, said you couldn't live in California for ten years without learning, couldn't wait to get her boards and wet suits here. She also had a motorcycle, liked to take it out, middle of the night when she couldn't sleep or was trying to work out a problem. High speeds and hairpin turns she said, walking the razor's edge, she called it. I think that's what she liked about surfing too, trying to control something. "

"Anything else?"

The botanist blushed and paused for a few moments. "Lt. Stafford gave her a hard time for all the running with Ronon and Colonel Sheppard. Wondered if she were interested in either of them. She said she liked running with Ronon, because she liked the silence, no need to talk. She said she thought of the Colonel like an older brother, you know someone to tease and hang out with, She said she couldn't date flyboys, said they always break your heart. Said that with a weird look on her face, I distinctly remember. I think she's interested in you, though, said something about the Scottish accent. I think Major Lorne's sweet on her, but I don't think he'd ever admit it." Dr. Brown's flush deepened. She paused again "I know she missed her family, but when someone asked if she'd go visit her hometown if she could go back to Earth, she said it'd be too hard, the weight of memories. That's all I can remember."

"Thanks, Dr. Brown. That was…informative." Dr Beckett blushed slightly, registering that Dr. Randall was interested in him, despite all that had happened to her. He felt a little more optimistic. He had to look on the bright side, Dr. Randall was a fighter, and surely Dr. Weir had training in kidnapping and coups, with all her diplomatic experience.

His good mood was shattered when he looked up and saw a tired Major Lorne standing before him. "I was going to talk to McKay and the Colonel. We think they we found the planet they originally gated to. Teyla's sure of it. They're gone, obviously, but we did find this," he finished pulling out a plastic bag full of grass and mud. "We found blood, thought you could identify it."

Dr. Beckett was about to snap something about idiotic forensics shows, when he read the concern scrawled across the man's face. "I'll see what I can do," he said, taking the bag and heading after the major into the lab. Major Lorne was still talking to the Colonel and Dr. McKay, when he had his results. He joined them at the far side of the infirmary. "The blood is Dr. Randall's. Judging by the condition of the red blood cells, it's at least 24 hours old.

"Right. Well, we can modify this equation, it should narrow down our potential choices, based on the data we obtained. If they're not there, we can further tighten the parameters, again reducing the number of choices. By the end of this, we should be able to accurately predict the last gate address, or at the most have it down to five addresses or less. Much more efficient searching," he nodded at Zelenka who was busily scribbling notes.

Dr. Beckett wanted to yell at Rodney. Kyte was most likely hurt and who knew what shape Elizabeth was in. The reason they were in this situation was Kyte had insisted on going back to the planet to save him. She might have survived with further medical intervention, but no, she had to return the planet. Brave, but foolish. Just like a lot of the people here. His eyes met the astrophysicist's. "I want them back, too," was all Dr. McKay said.

Lorne nodded, "We'll get them back," he said grimly.

Carson looked out the window. The moon hung heavy in the sky, full and bright. He hoped Dr. Weir and Dr. Randall could find some comfort in it.