The camp guards found them about an hour after dawn. They had used trained dogs to search through the forest, not halting their efforts during the night. John and Carson hadn't tried to run. When the guards found them, John thought back at the beautiful sunrise and followed without protests as his wrist were tried behind his back, They were chained together at the ankles and guards armed with automatic weapons led them out of the forest back to the point where they had abandoned the stolen truck.

Just as John had said, the camp guards had followed the tire tracks to the woods. John looked back as he was shoved in the back of the truck taking them back to the camp. He felt strangely clam. He had known that their freedom wasn't going to last and somehow this was better than a slow death at the hands of the elements. He had no illusions that a harsh punishment was waiting for them when they got back to the camp.

Carson was barely conscious as it was. What he had done, he hadn't just done for himself, he had done it for Carson. While it still pained him that he couldn't save Carson in the end, part of him realized that he wasn't the one to blame for Carson's fate. His addiction was killing Carson. Maybe it was his own fault for surrendering to the lure of the drug, maybe it was Elizabeth fault who had left him no other options or maybe it was the Yularans fault who had brought to drug to Atlantis in the first place. It had all started long before John had come along.

John had to face up to it. He hadn't been able to save Rodney, he wasn't able to save Carson and he wouldn't be able to save himself.

The truck they were in stopped and seconds later, one of the guards came around back, yanking them to the ground. They were back at the camp. It was deserted at this hour, the prisoners were already at work. One of the guards marched John and Carson to the middle of the grounds. Carson was only semi-conscious and John had to support him for him to remain upright. John had a bad idea what was coming next, but he wasn't afraid. He was ready for whatever they had in store for them.

oOo

Rodney stepped up to the Gate, suddenly infused with new strength. The legs that had threatened to fail him for the last few hours felt rested and strong again. He walked up to the DHD and started punching in Atlantis' address. He got as far as the fourth chevron when he stopped. Although he still had his GDO, it was likely that his IDC had been deleted, with the Wraith out there, Elizabeth would need to be cautious. Even if the other's had returned as Sheppard had indicated, they had no way of knowing that he was still out there. For all they knew, he was dead. The thought of the others thinking of him was dead chased a shiver down Rodney's spine. They couldn't do that. He thought for a moment, then decided to dial to address of the Alpha site. They had a constant post there keeping an eye out for any Wraith activity. The soldiers there could help him get back to Atlantis.

Rodney punched in the symbols to the Alpha site. The wormhole formed, he took a deep breath and stepped through the event horizon.

oOo

Sergeant Teager and Private Stark were on 'Gate duty. It had been an uneventful night, like all on the Alpha site, but after all they had chosen the Alpha site because it was far away from any hostile.

It was 0302 when the 'Gate activated. Sergeant Teager, who had been dozing off, startled and nearly fell. Private Stark had the presence of mind to get on the radio to call for back up.

"Command, this is Stark, we have an unscheduled activation. Back-up requested."

Stark held his weapon ready, waiting for the Gate to finish dialling; he hoped to god that it wasn't the Wraith.

The blue vortex shimmered into existence and Stark held his breath, gripping his weapon tighter. When the figure stumbled through the Gate, he startled. At first sight he didn't recognize him in the dark, as he fell to the ground, but when Sergeant Teager lowered his weapon and rushed towards the fallen figure he realized that the man on the ground was Atlantis' chief scientist.

Sergeant Teager was crouched next to Dr. McKay.

"Dr. McKay, are you all right?"

The scientist groaned.

"Call a medic." Teager ordered.

oOo

Elizabeth woke up confused. Her head ached furiously. For a moment she didn't know what had woken her, then she noticed her chirping radio.

"This is Dr. Weir." She answered, hoping this better be important.

"Grodin here. We just got a message from the Alpha site. I think you should better come here." Grodin sounded excited.

"I'll be there in five minutes." Elizabeth answered.

Cursing silently, she dressed. She knew that this was her own fault, she had had too much to drink. Damn it all to hell. Glancing into the mirror, she decided that her hair looked dangerously like the major's, but since Grodin has sounded urgent, she went on her way.

A tension lay over the control room and the Gate was engaged when she arrived their shortly after leaving her quarters.

"Peter, what is it?"

"Sergeant Teager from the Alpha site called us. I have him on the radio now." Grodin explained.

"Sergeant?" Elizabeth asked.

"Dr. Weir. I thought we'd call as soon as possible. Ten minutes ago, Dr. McKay came through the Gate."

"Are you sure it is him?"

"As sure as we can be without a DNA test." The sergeant replied. "But we haven't been able to talk to him yet. Lieutenant Winters is checking him out, he passed out after he came through the Gate."

"Good. We will have medical assistance ready for you in fifteen minutes. Atlantis out."

Grodin closed the connection.

oOo

Rodney was having the most wonderful dream. He was floating in a warm, soft cloud. He had started to believe that he would never get warm again. Rodney never wanted to wake up again.

"Dr. McKay? Dr. McKay!" A strident voice broke through into his dream world. Rodney tried to turn away, he didn't want to wake up, but the voice was insistent.

"Dr. McKay, can you here me?" The owner of the voice started to shake him.

Rodney groaned. Reality was starting to bleed through. His whole body hurt. Had these people never heard of pain killers? His throat felt parched. Rodney tried to open his eyes. To get them even to half-mast seemed to take an enormous effort.

A blurred figured swam before his eyes.

Rodney tried to ask a question, but only produced a strangled gasp. Still, the person standing in front of him seemed to understand and a cup with a straw appeared in front of him. Rodney eagerly took a sip.

He had never tasted anything this good. He couldn't remember the last time had had anything to drink. Too soon the cup was removed.

The blurry figure moved away. Rodney couldn't see much of his surrounding. Everything seemed dim. It must be night, he thought.

"How are you feeling, Dr. McKay? Are you in any pain?" A voice came from somewhere in the distance.

"It...hurts." Rodney managed.

"Your left ankle is badly swollen. You might have torn a ligament, but we will have to take an x-ray to be sure. As soon as we take you back to Atlantis, we will be able to do that." The voice explained.

Back to Atlantis? Where was he now?

"Where?" Rodney asked.

"You are at the Alpha site. We will take you back to Atlantis as soon as a doctor checks you out."

Rodney frowned and closed his eyes, he was so very tired.

"Stay awake, Dr. McKay." He could feel a hand on his shoulder. "The doctor from Atlantis should be here any minute. You have a bad gash on your forehead; you might have hit your head."

A second voice somewhere in the distance joined the first. Rodney opened his eyes again. He blinked, hoping that his vision would finally clear up. Everything was still a blur.

"Rodney?" The voice was familiar, but the name wouldn't come to mind. Rodney's mind felt sluggish and tired.

"Rodney, can you tell me what's wrong?" Rodney felt a hand on his.

"Hurts." Rodney said and closed his eyes again. He wanted to sleep again.

"Rodney, stay awake, you can sleep again in a few minutes." The voice said gently. Rodney desperately wanted to remember the name belonging to the voice but it wouldn't come to him. His brain simply wouldn't co-operate. Rodney was surprised when he felt tears on his face.

"Oh, Rodney! It's going to be all right. You're going home. You just need to hang on a few more minutes. Can you do that?"

Rodney nodded.

"Can you tell me what hurts?"

"Head...ankle."

"Thought so. It looks like you hit your head. I need you to answer a few questions. Do you know where you are?"

Someone had said this before. Rodney knew it.

"Alpha site. M..."

"It's all right. Do you know who you are?"

"Rodney McKay."

"I never thought I'd see the day you forget to mention your degree." There was a suppressed laugh.

oOo

Radek had dozed off despite the situation. The physical exertion and stress had exhausted him. He startled awake when two Wraith came walking into the room where his and Bates' cells were located. The leading Wraith paused in front of their cells and looked back and forth between Radek and Bates. Radek followed his eyes with barely suppressed fear. He had no doubt that the Wraith would go for them both, it was just a matter of who was going first and Radek was not particularly eager to have the honour. Still, the Wraith's eyes settled on him. The Wraith shot a look back to his henchman. The second Wraith stepped forward and lowered the bars to Radek's cell. Radek didn't resist when the Wraith grabbed him by the arm and dragged him outside. Without another word, the two Wraith led him out of the room. Radek was half dragged, half walked through a row of corridor until the Wraith that had grabbed hold of his upper arm threw him into a room and shut the door behind him.

Radek slowly pushed himself up from the floor and got to his feet. He walked into the middle of the room and looked around. The room was square and was more of a hall than a room.

"Don't be afraid." The high voice made Radek shiver. He whirled around. A clearly female Wraith with magenta hair stood where a second ago had been empty space.

She motioned for him to get closer.

"Don't be afraid. I will not harm you."

She smiled a toothy smile. Radek stayed frozen. When Radek didn't move, the female Wraith moved towards him.

"You can trust me." She put a hand against Radek's check.

Radek didn't move, unsure what to make of her.

"Don't be afraid. I will not feed off you. You are far too valuable for that. You are special."

TBC