John and Carson stood in the middle of the camp grounds, wrists bound behind their backs, ankles chained together. Carson was in bad shape after their escape and recapture. John was doing his best to keep him on his feet.
"Carson, come on, just a few more minutes." He whispered to the other man.
Carson blinked tiredly. "What's goin' on?"
"Look at them." John smiled, although there was nothing to smile about. Carson glanced at the group of guards surrounding the camp commander. They were getting their weapons ready.
"I don't want to die." Carson shot John a pleading look.
"I know." John said solemnly. "But the cycle has to end. It ends with us."
Carson looked eyes with him and John knew he understood. The madness that had begun on Atlantis, it had to end. They were the last ones left. John wasn't that different from them. He had adapted, he had killed that guard in cold blood even while he had begged for his life. And it had been for nothing.
"Are you ready?" John asked Carson.
Carson nodded.
In the distance, the guards raised their weapons.
John took Carson's hand and closed his eyes.
oOo
Elizabeth was sipping from her cup of coffee substitute. She was dead tired. After the call from the Alpha site, frantic activity had broken lose. By the time things had calmed down again, it had been almost time to get up again. Elizabeth had decided to go for an early breakfast in the cafeteria. Her hopes that the fake coffee from M5X-653 would chase away her lingering headache didn't seem to be realised. She sighed. She should have known better than to drink that much the previous night. She didn't think she had been that drunk ever since college.
"Mind if I join you?" A familiar voice asked. Elizabeth looked up and saw a tired looking Carson standing at her table.
"Sure." She nodded. She wasn't in the mood for company, but she hadn't had a chance to talk to Carson since he had returned with Rodney from the Alpha site about an hour ago.
"Dr. Muir finished the cure about two hours ago. She tested it on a sample, and then we administered to Teyla and the major. It took a while to take hold, we already thought it wasn't going to work, but they started to stabilize about twenty minutes ago. The results of the blood tests are still pending, but everything indicates that the Wraith toxin is decaying."
"Are they still in danger?"
"Teyla is going to be all right, but I want to keep her at least as long as her vision is still impaired. I want to exclude the possibility of a neurological injury. Her wounds will need continued monitoring for about two more weeks if no infection develops. She has some muscle damage from a bite wound. This will take longer to heal. Sheppard is just coming around the bend. His response to the medications is improving. I think it has to do with the Wraith toxin. But really we know very little about how it affects the body. Still, I believe it is worth further study. We are bound to run into the Wraith again sometime in the future."
"I understand. I will consider your research proposal. As I said, we need to cut down on the number of projects that are pursuing. We have brought enormous potential here, and there is technology for centuries of research here. But we have made hardly any progress." Elizabeth stated.
"Aren't you a bit hard on the science department? They are faced with technology that is millennia ahead of our own and Rodney is working harder than anyone I know." Carson defended his friend.
"I don't question Rodney's work as a scientist, but I think as a department leader, he might not be…in touch with the people who work for him."
Carson said nothing. He didn't agree with Elizabeth on this one. Rodney might not have the best people skills, but he was good at his job.
When Carson returned from getting himself one of the Athosian apples, Elizabeth's mind was still on Rodney,
"I haven't had had chance to ask you after your return yet, but how is Rodney doing?" She asked.
"Exhausted, dehydrated. Mildly hypothermic. He's had a rough time. He partially tore ligament in his left ankle. He hit his head, but the injury is at least a day old. Once we get him rehydrated and warmed up, he is going to be fine." Carson told her.
Elizabeth smiled with relief.
"It's good to hear that we got him back."
Carson nodded. "I didn't think I'd ever see him again." He paused. "But one thing is strange. Teyla told me that Rodney suffered stabbing wounds and cuts while they were on the planet. There was no sign that he was stabbed or cut." Carson considered.
Elizabeth frowned.
"There are some things that don't make sense." Elizabeth took another sip. "I want this resolved."
oOo
This time, the dream didn't feel at all pleasant. Rodney was in a world of hurt. Layers and layers of sheets were covering him, suffocating him. It was too hot; he couldn't move under the weight of the covers, he could hardly breathe. He struggled to free himself.
Finally, cool air touched his skin. He could breathe again. The effort had exhausted Rodney. All he wanted to do was sleep again. But that was not to be, when a hand landed on his arm. Rodney hadn't even heard the owner of the hand coming.
"Rodney? What were you thinking? We need to keep you warm."
With a soft thud, the blankets landed on top of him again and someone was straightening them out, gently tugging him in.
Rodney tried to protest. "No…'s too hot." He didn't want the blankets back.
"Rodney, can you open your eyes? Just for a minute?"
Rodney didn't understand why anyone would want him to open his eyes when all he wanted to do was go back to sleep.
"I know you are awake, Rodney."
Rodney gave in and tried to pry his eyes open. It took less effort than the last time he had done so. He blinked a few time to clear his vision, but when the image infolded in front of him, he could see Carson leaning over him.
"That's it. There you go." Carson encouraged him.
"Wouldn't…let sleep." Rodney mumbled.
"You can sleep all you want after I check you over."
Carson handed Rodney a cup of water. Rodney drank, wondering how Carson had known that he was thirsty. Slowly, the cotton wool was fading from his head. He felt utterly weak and tired. The march to the 'Gate came back to him. It had seemed like he had been on his feet for a week, but in reality, it had been less than 48 hours.
"It's enough. If you drink too much too soon, you'll get sick." Carson said and took the cup away from him.
Rodney looked around himself and noticed the IV in his hand. He shot Carson a questioning look.
"It seems like you had quite a rough time." Carson said softly. "You know, we didn't think we'd see you again. Everyone will be very glad to hear that you are alive and well."
Rodney was going to disagree on the word 'well', but he was definitely alive. It creped him out that his team mates would think that he was dead. Hadn't John told them? Rodney wasn't sure he wanted to know.
"What happened to the others?" He asked, hoping that they were alive and back on Atlantis.
"We found them on a planet two days ago. There were some problems, but we came back eventually. It was a bad mission." Carson said, leaving out the details. Strangely Rodney didn't ask for any.
He leaned back on his bed and didn't protest when Carson brought back the thick covers. He wasn't sure whether Rodney was just tired or whether he was preoccupied with something else.
"Did you really think I was dead?" Rodney asked with a combination of morbid fascination and fear.
"Everything looked like it. You were missing on a hostile planet. We didn't know if there was a Stargate. We knew you were injured. I'm sure Elizabeth didn't make the decision lightly. And honestly, I have to say that at the time, I agreed with her." Carson said sadly.
Rodney shook his head. "She just replaced me?" Rodney sounded angry.
Carson put a hand on Rodney's shoulder. "You have too understand, we had to look forward."
"Well, Radek is a good scientist." Rodney said.
"It wasn't Radek." Carson confessed.
"What do you mean? I recommended him for the post." Rodney said. He was confused.
"Dr. Weir appointed Dr. Jamison and Dr. Kavanaugh for joined leadership of the department."
"What?" Rodney couldn't believe it. These two were about the last that he would have appointed to lead the department. They had no sense for true research.
"I think you better to talk Elizabeth about this." Carson said evasively. "You need to rest. She wants to talk to you later about what happened on the planet. There are some things we aren't sure about yet." Carson explained.
Rodney wouldn't be patronized. He felt the exhaustion resulting from the previous days closing in on him, but he needed to get to the bottom of what was going on. Something was going on that he didn't know about.
"Why didn't Elizabeth give the post to Radek? And don't tell me you don't know, because everyone knew that Radek was next in line for the job." Rodney asked determined to find out the answer.
"Radek has gone missing."
oOo
Radek had never been this scared in his life before. The female Wraith stood less than a foot from him, her hands lying on his shoulders. Radek was resigned to die, but he was afraid of what the Wraith was going to do it him until he did.
"You are afraid." The Wraith whispered and pulled him closer. Radek stiffened and didn't answer.
"I told you. You don't have to fear us." The female Wraith put a hand to Radek's forehead. Radek moved back, put she held him firmly with her other hand.
Radek was starting to feel warm. His vision was starting to blur slowly.
"Just relax; it's going to be all right." The Wraith soothed as he struggled against her grip. "Don't fight this."
"Please, let me go." Radek pleaded as his body started to burn.
The Wraith in front him was swirling away into a crazy mix of colours, just before Radek's vision finally began to darken. He tried for a final time to get free, but his body was no longer co-operating. All he could feel was the heat burning away his body.
oOo
"Dr. Zelenka?"
The loud voice made Radek's head hurt.
"Dr. Zelenka? Are you all right?"
What kind of a question was that? His head was about to explode.
"Dr. Zelenka? Can you hear me?"
"Mhm, no." Radek mumbled to shut the voice up.
"Are you hurt?" The voice wasn't giving up.
Radek opened his eyes and closed them again immediately.
"Can you get up?"
Radek pushed himself up with his arms and got to a sitting position without problems. Carefully, he opened his eyes again. The flashlight was on the ground now. Bates was crouched next to him. He looked a bit dishevelled, but otherwise all right.
"Can you get up?" He repeated his question.
"I think so." Radek replied and got to his feet. He felt a bit unsteady, but otherwise he was fine. Especially for a man who had been face to face with Wraith.
"What happened?" Zelenka pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I have no idea. The last think I remember, I was in the cell in the Wraith compound, and then I woke up here. Where did they take you?"
"I'm not sure. There was a Wraith; I don't know what she wanted…" It was all fuzzy in Radek's mind. All he could recall was the magenta haired female Wraith.
TBC