Thanks again for the Reviews – it makes writing more fun when you get a response. The medical stuff is an unknown factor to me, so if I've used the wrong terminology, I apologise and hope it doesn't spoil the story. Enjoy!

OoOoO

In the silence that followed the scream, Elizabeth and John exchanged anxious glances. Ronon was the first to react, but John was not far behind him. As they raced along the corridor towards the direction of the scream, John's mind was frantically trying to prepare himself for what they might find. Something about the scream made him certain that it came from Ria. And if that was the case, Carson was almost inevitably involved too.

Ronon arrived at the room first, and he halted in the doorway, a look of horror on his face. John, who was close behind him, looked past him, and saw why. On one side of the room, were Patra and another man, both unconscious, with mangled guns in their hands.

But it was what he saw on the other side of the room that made his heart sink. Carson was slumped across the bench, completely unconscious. Ria was slumped over him. Beside them was a large pool of blood. John couldn't tell whose it was, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

Ronon and John moved aside to let the others in. Elizabeth gasped in horror, and John put out a steadying hand. She leaned into him gratefully. A number of the Kelta ran past them, to tend to the wounded people. They gently lifted Ria off of Carson, and placed her on the bench nearby. Although she was covered in blood, she didn't appear to be wounded herself. The people from Atlantis watched in horror as they turned Carson over. There was a gaping hole in his chest.

"Oh God," Rodney gasped, his face as white as a sheet. Teyla reached out and put an arm round him in comfort.

The Kelta started working on him immediately, placing their hands over his wound in much the same way as Ria had done a few days previously.

"I can't reach him," one of the people said to Telen who was standing beside John.

"Neither can I," the other person, working Carson, said. "It's as if there is a barrier around him."

"Ria?" Telen asked.

"It's possible," the medics said. "Let me test where the barrier originates."

The woman closed her eyes for a moment, then she opened them with a startled look on her face.

"It is Ria," she confirmed. "She's placed a protective barrier round him."

"Can't you just break it?" Telen asked. "You've done that sort of thing many times before."

"That's just it," the woman replied. "The barrier is so strong, that even the combined power of the two of us can't break it."

"Let me help," Telen said. He closed his eyes and linked his mind with the others. It was his turn to look startled.

"I've never encountered anything as powerful as that before," he admitted.

"So it worked," Rodney said a note of awe in his voice.

"Carson's gene therapy?" John asked.

"It must be," Rodney replied. "Don't you see, it made Ria so powerful that they can't break the barrier she's created, even if she is unconscious."

"It is the most like the explanation," Telen admitted. "But unfortunately, it causes us problems just now. None of our medics will be able to treat him."

"Can they still touch him physically?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, of course," Telen confirmed. "The barrier blocks mental contact with the doctor, not physical. But unfortunately, none of our medics have training in dealing with medical issues, other than using their mental abilities."

"There's a doctor on the Daedalus, isn't there, Colonel?" Elizabeth said, turning to Caldwell.

"Yes," he confirmed. "I'll get him here immediately."

OoOoO

An hour later they were sitting round a conference table, picking at the food that had been set before them.

"When is somebody going to tell us something?" Rodney asked for about the hundredth time. No one answered him. Ronon continued his nervous pacing around the table. Elizabeth kept her eyes fixed on the food in front of her that she hadn't eaten. Both John and Teyla were pushing their food round their plates. Nervous tension radiated from all of them.

When the door to the conference room opened, they all jumped. Two of the medics came into the room, and stopped before Telen.

"What have you to report?" he asked them.

"Patra and Simo are both still unconscious. They received a very strong mental punch, and will likely be unconscious for several days. Once they have regained consciousness, they should recover fairly quickly, but they will have a very sore head for quite a few weeks to come." There was a certain amount of relish in his voice at the thought of this.

"They are in prison?" Telen asked.

"Oh, yes," the other man replied. "And they will remain there, until the trial."

"Ria," the other medics said. "Is simply exhausted. From what we can gather, the gene therapy caused dangerous fluctuations in her heart beat, breathing and blood pressure. Dr Beckett was able to bring these under control, and from what we can gather, the therapy has been very successful. However, using her abilities so soon after receiving the therapy, has caused extreme exhaustion. All she needs is time to recover."

"Very good," Telen said.

"And what about Carson?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm sorry," the first medic replied. "We're not sure how he is. Your doctor was still working on him when we left." With that comment, the two medics left, having done very little to relieve the tension in the room.

"I can't just sit here," Rodney explained. "The only voodoo doctor I trust is Carson. And he can hardly treat himself."

"And just what are you planning to do, Rodney?" John asked. "Supervise Carson's treatment yourself?"

"That may not be such a bad idea," Rodney replied.

"Rodney," Elizabeth said soothingly. "Dr Matthews is a very good doctor. Carson said so himself. We're much better here, out of his way. Let him get on with doing his job. Let him give Carson a chance to live."

Just as she finished speaking, the door opened again, and Dr Matthews came in, looking very serious. John's eyes got to Elizabeth's, and saw the worry he was feeling reflected in them.

"Dr Matthews," she said. "Can you tell us how Carson is?"

"It's not good," the doctor replied. "He had a massive hemothorax. He was showing signs of respiratory distress and profound hemorrhagic shock, and breath sounds were significantly diminished on the right side, where the bullet entered. I have operated and he is stable for present, but he is still critical. We can only hope and pray."

"Thank you, Dr Matthews," Elizabeth said softly, trying to stop the tears from spilling over from her eyes, and rolling down her cheek. John reached out a gentle hand and squeezed her shoulder. She turned to him and gave him a grateful smile.