Carson fell and fell and fell.
Wind rushed by, flapping his T-shirt and sleep pants, blowing the damp, salty air into his eyes. But he could still see his mother's face before him, beaming with pride and unqualified love.
Carson smiled and fell some more.
He hit feet-first. Pain shot up his legs and spine as though he'd hit concrete instead of water. The air was driven from his lungs in a cloud of bubbles that quickly grew distant as his velocity carried him down. He sank like a stone for a small eternity.
His animal instinct for survival abruptly kicked in and he clawed frantically at the water that surrounded him. Above him, so far above him, he could see the lights of Atlantis and he struggled, lungs burning, to reach the distant surface. His view was suddenly blocked as Mum appeared before him again, glasses gone, her graying hair floating in a nimbus around her smiling face. Help me! he thought, reaching out his hands. She grasped his forearms and for a split second he knew relief.
Her icy grip tightened until it was painful, and she pulled him down. Carson thrashed and struggled but couldn't break free.
Ina's smile was gone, replaced by a fearsome snarl. The color rushed from her face until her skin was waxy white. Her eyes bled from blue to yellow. Slits formed on her cheekbones and her hair changed and grew, coiling serpentine and white around her head.
Carson gasped. Water flooded into his lungs, and the Wraith that had been his mother laughed.
SGA
Precious seconds ticked by while Rodney stood transfixed, gaping in horror at the empty space where his friend had stood an instant before. His mental and physical paralyses broke at the same time, and he slapped his radio even as his feet carried him to the railing. "Command, patch me through to the Daedalus, now!"
He waited impatiently, aware that every beat of his pounding heart was one second less that Carson had to live. Below him the dark waters were utterly still.
"Dr. McKay, this is Hermiod."
"Oh thank God. We have a man overboard off the east side of the city. I need you to scan the water for life signs, now!"
"Scanning," the Asgard replied.
"Come on, come on," Rodney muttered, pacing a tight circle.
"I have him," the alien announced. "I'm beaming him directly to the ship's infirmary."
"I'm on my way," Rodney snapped, turning and hitting the corridor at a dead run. He smacked his radio again. "Elizabeth, this is Rodney."
It took a moment before Weir's groggy voice responded. "Rodney, do you know what time it is?"
"No, and I don't care. I need you to meet me in the Daedalus' sickbay."
"What? Why?"
Rodney stumbled, stopped, and leaned against the wall, pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead. "Carson just tried to kill himself," he said, barely able to say it. "He may have succeeded."