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Atlantis's inhabitants parted, pressing themselves along the corridor walls, shocked at what they saw. Their strong leader, the woman holding Atlantis together was now hanging lifelessly in the Colonel's arms. John held Elizabeth's head close to his chest, hiding the staring eyes that scared him more than any Wraith had in the past years. He was close now, though he never slowed. Carson as promised stood in the doorway, immediately indicating to a bed. John lay her down, grimacing as his sight fell upon Elizabeth's blank eyes.

Carson jumped at the sight of her, so pale. Yet those eyes…

"Beckett, do something!" John said to the frozen doctor.

What the hell was wrong with her? He'd encountered so many new cases in Atlantis; from the physically disfigured survivors of Wraith attacks to the mentally scarred that had lived through their torture. But this; a woman he respected for her strength of mind, her courage, her kindness. Reduced to an almost corpse-like figure, with no obvious explanation. He checked her heart rate; steady but slow. He glanced up; John was pacing back and forward.

"John, I have no idea what's wrong with her. I'm going to have to run some tests. It may take a wee while. Go get something to eat" Carson suggested. "You look almost as pale as Elizabeth"

"What if she wakes up, what if "this" gets worse" he said, looking at Elizabeth miserably.

"Sheppard, if anything happens you'll be the first to know" he reassured him, pointing at the radio on his belt, before disappearing to confer with other members of the medical team.

"Ok" john murmured, bending down to kiss Elizabeth's forehead while Beckett's back was turned.

Once in the corridors of Atlantis again, he received some worried looks. Obviously word had spread of Elizabeth's condition already. Dr. Zelenka was the first to speak to him;

"Sheppard, hold on" he shouted from behind John, jogging to catch him up. "How's Elizabeth?" he asked, concerned.

"Not really sure" John replied,

Go away

"Oh, is she in pain?"

"I really don't know… not sure, she just looks, kinda'… asleep" They carried on walking, Zelenka unsure of what to say. Sheppard was clearly upset.

"Anything else?" John asked tersely.

"No, thank you. I, err, have to help Rodney now…I'm sure she will be fine Colonel"

"Mm" he said, raising his eyebrows as the scientist turned down the opposite corridor, in completely the wrong direction for the science labs. John sighed; it wasn't Zelenka's fault she was in hospital.

Carson was right. Maybe he should eat something. He began to make his way to the cafeteria. Several people glanced at John along the corridor. "What the hell do they want?" he muttered in his head, his fingers clenching. His temper began to rise as he received more glances, people whispered like school kids as he passed them. He was nearly at the hall now, "just let it go" he told himself. "What?" he shouted at a man in combats. The man shrugged nervously, and scuttled away. He scooped up a tray on entering the hall, slamming it on to the metal rail surrounding the kitchen. Taking a turkey sandwich from the shelf, he walked to the furthest table, avoiding eye contact with anyone, wanting to be left alone. John sat, facing away from the rest of the hall, closing his eyes.

He shouldn't' have lashed out at the guy in the corridor. He slowly began to calm down, though his appetite had vanished, replaced with a slightly sick feeling. Resting his head in his hands he took long breaths, trying to shut out the sound of people's lunch time conversations. He swore under his breath at the sound of scraping chairs behind him.

"More people. Great…"

"So, did ya' hear about Weir?" John heard one man say.

"Yeah, Jason mentioned something. What happened?" his friend replied.

"Dunno really, just saw Sheppard running with her. I thought Weir had just finally given in to the man, everyone knows he's got the hots for her!" he laughed

John restrained himself. They hadn't realised he was there. Calm…

"Yeah. Can see why though, I mean, when she starts giving orders, she looks so…"

"Let it go John, they're just mucking around"

"Yeah! I've got a few orders I'd like to try out in her… shit"

John couldn't stand it any longer. Grasping his tray, he spun round smashing the wood in to the side of the guys head.

"If I ever hear you talk about Dr. Weir like that again, ass hole, it's going to be a hell of a lot bigger than a tray!" he threatened, glaring at the now cowering man. He nodded, terrified, blood poring from his nose. The whole hall was silent, everyone was looking at them.

"Sheppard?" Carson spoke from his radio. John, slightly embarrassed at the attention he had attracted, spoke back;

"Yeah?"

"Something you should see"

"I'm on my way" John took one last look around the hall. He should really do something about the crumpled figure on the floor "Come with me Captain" he ordered. He stood, and followed John out of the hall.