Disclaimer: I still own nothing…please don't sue!

And on with the show….

Carson, of course, took the first shift in watching over her. But he was hardly alone. Rodney dozed lightly on a nearby bed while Ronon slowly paced towards the end of the room and back. John just sat in an adjacent chair, fingers steepled while staring intently at Teyla, who lay unmoving on the bed. There had been no change in the past four hours and it was now nearing midnight. As he looked around the room, he noticed the presence of a fourth in the hall outside the room. Lorne stood silently, watching the rise and fall of her chest. Carson had to wonder when he became such good friends with Teyla. It was unexpected, but then again, they had left the pair for six weeks as the highest ranking officials in Atlantis. Granted, Teyla did not have rank, but her presence as negotiator and diplomat to many of the worlds visited by the expedition made her invaluable and a prime second-in-command. There was something her calm demeanor that inspired the same in whomever she talked with. Her presence was soothing and on more than one occasion, she had talked him into taking a much needed break from his work. It was hard to see her in this position of helplessness since she had such a strong persona.

Finally, he had had enough of Ronon's incessant pacing and Rodney's snoring. Even John's gaze was starting to get on his nerves. "All right, people. It's bedtime for you lot. Visiting hours are over. Go on…shoo."

Ronon went over to wake Rodney up and within a few minutes, were out the door. Lorne made room for them to leave but did not make a move himself to go. John continued to sit in his chair, never once faltering as Carson forced the others out.

"Come on, son. You cannae stay here," Carson asserted with John.

"I need to," John quietly replied without turning his head.

"I know she's your friend, but you aren't doing a wee bit of good sitting here."

"Being here is the only thing that's keeping me sane right now. I'd rather be sitting in here than staring at the ceiling in my room." The desperation in his voice was palpable though his eyes never strayed from her prone form.

Carson didn't know what to say to that and remained silent for a few moments before walking towards Maj. Lorne. It was one thing to have the Colonel by her bedside, but to have both military heads needlessly expending themselves was another. He was firm in his resolve and no pleading would sway his decision.

"Major, you cannae stay either."

"I need to be here just in case…"

"In case of what? She's stable and her vitals are strong. Nothing will happen tonight."

"Please…she's been under my watch for the past five weeks..." Maj. Lorne seemed to catch himself after his outburst. He stood with jaw set tight and said nothing more.

"Now why would she have been under your watch? If there's something you're not telling me, I suggest you tell me now. Or else I will be forced to get tha' Colonel…"

Lorne paused before saying, "Nothing. Nothing at all. I merely meant that we've been working together and she's my friend."

"Friend or not, I already have one stubborn ass in tha' seat, and I would rather not deal with two. You're going ta have ta leave. No buts."

Resigning himself to waiting in his room, Lorne cast one last look to the patient before adding, "Call me if anything changes." Turning his head as he made his way towards the hall, he continued, "Oh, and Doctor…"

"Yes?"

There was too much at stake and not enough evidence that the two events were connected. He hesitated before answering, "No. Nothing. Goodnight." Though his gut told him that the problem was more serious than a virus, his mind was hesitant to believe anything else. It just wasn't logical. And the Doc knew what he was doing, whereas he was just a soldier...with a secret not his to tell.

John stared at her face. There was nothing to indicate how sick she'd been earlier. Even her face looked peaceful. He ruminated on her pain-filled glances, on her tension-wracked immobility, and on her desperate cry before her collapse. It all seemed to culminate in that one moment; the crux of the ordeal was his name. He didn't know whether she was calling for his help or blaming him. And now he felt completely responsible for her condition. The rational part of his brain told him there was nothing else he could have done, but rationality flew out the window as soon as he saw the utter stillness of her body.

It had been three hours since the Doc had kicked everyone else out and his constant vigilance was starting to take its toll. His eyes were getting heavy and the steady thrum of instruments was not helping. He had taken to napping in ten minute intervals now that all other personnel were either in bed or in their respective offices. Half an hour ago, he had seen Carson drooling on his data pad, still holding a pen in one hand and an apple in the other. If it had been any other night and he had a camera, he would have taken a couple of shots for posterity. But it was this night and the gravity of the situation was too heavy on his mind.

The infirmary was silent in its echoes. The lights were somewhat dim in this section and all of the hard metals corners and crisp white sheets contrasted heavily with the earthen colors and soft planes of her form. Her chest rose up and down. Slowly but surely, barely there at all. It was disconcerting to say the least.

His eyes made their way down to her neck and shoulders. The pale blue frock was pulled high against the expanse and shifted ever so slightly with each breath. Down past the rise of her breasts to the gently swell of her abdomen. They roamed across the apex of her legs to her knees and finally to the small feet that lay covered by the blanket. She was so damn small. But she packed one hell of a punch in spite of it. It was all muscle underneath he knew. He had felt that skin and knew the power that lay beneath its deceptive sensuality. He would be lying if he didn't admit to the arousal he felt every time they fought. It sparked and cackled across the distance between their bodies, helped by the slick sweat of excitement.

But now was not the time or the place for such thoughts. He reached over and took her hand between his and gently rubbed, hoping to assure himself of reality. The palms and finger tips were rough from years of fighting and planting. Odd. There was a raised line down the center of her hand. And yes…there. There was another on the back as well. As if something was driven straight through. He brought the hand up close for examination. It was still slightly pink as if recent…oh Hell no. They would have told him…she would have told him. This was a serious injury that did not happen on his watch and he wanted to know how it happened.

He was resolved to read through the reports now, after having left them on his desk. As he stood to run to his room though, her palm twitched. It was small, but the movement enough to halt him in his tracks. He rushed back to take her hand again but everything was quiet and still once more. He waited for several moments before resigning himself to wishful thinking on his part.

There it was again! He wasn't imagining things after all! He walked briskly to a sleeping Carson and shook him violently on the shoulder.

"Doc…Doc! You have to come quick. I think she's waking up! I swear I saw her hand move."

"Wha…What? What's this you're saying? Slow down, son!"

"She moved, Doc! She moved…"

"Well now. That's good….wait, where are you going?"

Sheppard was already half way out the door when Carson noticed his absence. "I want to be there when she wakes up," he said over his shoulder while paused in the door. Within a few moments, he was approaching her bed with a large grin on his face. But that grin slowly faded as he saw what was happening on the bed ahead of him.

Her arms were out, palms up while half-fisted, jerking as if being held down by an unseen force. Her back was arched off of the bed and her legs straight, toes digging into the cushion. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her mouth was pulled tight into a grimace of pain. Small grunts could be heard as her body tensed as if pulled taught. All of the sudden, she fell back down in a boneless heap. But it was not the placidity of unconsciousness. Her eyes could be seen darting beneath the lids in rapid motion and her breath was now coming in shallow gasps.

Carson arrived not long after the Colonel and watched in horrified silence as the events played out before him. As soon as he gathered his wits about him, he rushed to her bedside and started to lightly shake her in an effort to wake her from the nightmare. Instead, the heart monitor started to drop in frequency and her breathing slowed. He couldn't wake her and her body was starting to show signs of shock. There was nothing visibly wrong with her and nothing from her chemistry came back positive for toxins so he could not give her anything. He didn't know what was wrong with her but her body was obviously reacting to something very serious.

After a few terse seconds of waiting, Carson turned to John with the question on his lips. But before he could answer, John was interrupting with, "I don't know what happened. She was fine, then she started twitching and then she was like this!" His hands raised in emphasis.

All of the sudden, it started over again. Her hands moved first, back into the same position, before her fingers started curling. This time though, her mouth was open in a silent scream as her body curved and twisted a few inches off the bed. The veins in her neck standing out in frightening clarity as her heart beat raced to new heights.

Carson immediately yelled, "Hold her down while I get tha sedatives!" And he was gone in a flash to the next room, leaving John alone with her.

He grabbed onto her shoulders and used his forearms to push her down into the bed. Despite his strength and height advantage, she was struggling upwards with surprising power. He had to use brute force to get her somewhat still, the whole time silently begging for her forgiveness for the bruises he knew she would develop.

Carson was back in time for the end of the episode. It had lasted longer than the previous one and looked much more violent judging by the shell-shocked look on Col. Sheppard's face. He administered the strong sedatives to keep her in a deep and dreamless sleep for the next eight hours while he sincerely hoped it lasted that long. Already her monitor was dropping sharply and her breathing evening out into the shallow gasps of earlier. Typically, within a few minutes, it should deepen and her bp should rise to more normal levels. But this was anything but a normal case and one could only assume so much out here in this galaxy. She would be watched now in shifts, and he was on alert for any changes in her condition. Only time could tell now if it she would respond.

TBC

AN: this would have been up earlier had not been giving me trouble. On another note, I really liked one paragraph here...I wonder if you can guess which one it is...winkwink...I will give you a hint: starts with sh and ends with la...