By the next morning, things were back to life-as-normal. John had a late morning training session with Teyla after stopping by Elizabeth's office just to check in. "How are you doing?" he asked her as they both stretched out. "I heard about your friend…I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Colonel. Things are…difficult, but it was what Charin wished. I am trying to keep my mind occupied." John nodded.

"I understand that."

They faced off with each other, and Teyla attempted the first offensive blows. John managed to parry a few, but soon felt the sting of her stick when he missed a block. It almost felt like he was moving in slow motion compared to her speed; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep up.

"Should I ask whether or not you have been practicing, Colonel Sheppard?" Teyla asked with a sly grin.

"I swear that I have…at least as much as normal." He took a swing at her, which was easily blocked and followed with a counter attack. It didn't take long before John was on the floor.

After three straight bouts with the same effect, John was beginning to get annoyed. "Okay, I know you're actually this good, but I'm not actually this bad, so what the hell is going on?" he wondered aloud.

"You are not anticipating," Teyla told him.

"I am, just by the time my brain is done anticipating it, it's already in the past." He shook his head, as though to clear it. "I don't know; maybe I'm starting to get that cold that everyone was getting last week."

"If that is the case, perhaps you should visit Dr. Beckett." John frowned.

"That's not really necessary…Where I'm from, guys don't voluntarily go to the doctor, especially not for a little cold. You've gotta have limbs missing or something…multiple limbs missing."

Teyla rolled her eyes. "And your culture still survives?"

"Are you all right, Dr. Weir?" Zelenka asked as he came to the doorway of the city's leader's office. She looked pale and exhausted, but tried to pretend otherwise as she give him a small smile.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired. I think I might have that bug that was going around the city."

"You work too much."

"Did Sheppard send you up here to say that?"

"No. Just my own observation. I came to bring you status report on our progress with the extraction." He handed her a file. "The calculations are going well; we hope to be able to run tests soon."

"Good, thank you."

Zelenka nodded. "I hope that you feel better soon," he told her before leaving. Elizabeth smiled slightly.

"So do I," she murmured, even though he was already gone.

As Kavanagh headed back through the Daedalus on his way to his quarters, he stopped by the engine room and was surprised to see the crowd of people working there.

"Can you check this?" Dr. Novak was asking Zelenka, handing him the tablet PC that she'd been working with. He looked over her work.

"Yes, excellent. We are good to go with this set of calculations," Zelenka told Hermiod.

"What's going on?" Kavanagh asked. All conversation ceased as everyone turned to look at him.

"We are working on calculations for extraction process," Zelenka spoke up.

"Extraction?"

"Of the Goa'uld in Colonel Caldwell."

"Using beaming technology?" Everyone nodded. "Oh…When did this team get put together?"

"As soon as the city was out of danger. I believe you were…otherwise occupied at the time," Zelenka explained a bit smugly. Kavanagh noticed a few scientists and engineers try to hide snickers at that last comment.

"I've been UN-occupied for over a day now."

"The team that has been assembled has things under control," Hermiod evenly told him, although he also looked a little too haughty, in his own way.

"Right," Kavanagh said as he turned away and left the room. He hadn't had any regrets about what he was doing before, but now he just had one – that the effects weren't going to be more widespread.

"I don't see why I have to get scanned," Ronon told John as they had lunch together in the mess hall. "I haven't ever been to your galaxy."

"Well, then, that means you don't have anything to worry about, right?"

Ronon glared. "It's completely unnecessary."

"Everyone in the city is getting tested. Dr. Weir's order, and I agree with it. It's better to be safe than sorry."

"If you say so."

"I do," John replied. Or at least, that's what he meant to reply. Instead, what came out of his mouth was basically gibberish "Blay-deck." Ronon frowned.

"What?" John was pretty confused himself. His attempt to repeat himself also resulted in a few unintelligible syllables.

"Nu-dan-blay-deck."

Ronon got up, his eyes a bit wide. "Come on, you need to see Dr. Beckett."

TBC...