"Carson!" Mackay shouted, "You're the doctor! Do something"

Carson turned his head to face Rodney, mouth open.

"I honestly haven't a clue what to do …"

Both looked back at Elizabeth's writhing figure beneath the bed sheets. Her head kept turning from side to side, her eyes shut, fists clenched. Carson lent over and grabbed a flailing hand.

"Elizabeth, it's me, Carson" he began. Stroking her fingers, "Everything's go-. Crap!" Elizabeth suddenly shot upwards, sinking her teeth in to the doctor's hand, though her eyes were still shut. Carson tried to free himself, but she had wrapped her thin hands over his, binding their fingers.

"Rodney!" Carson shouted

Rodney took a moment to responded, but eventually helped, pulling one of Elizabeth's hands away.

She fell back again instantly, almost as quickly as she had risen, once again lifeless on her bed. Two nurses tenderly lifted her pallid arms, strapping them to the bed with white belts encase she woke again. Carson looked down at his hands, blood pouring from Elizabeth's bite marks. Cringing slightly, he ran them under cold water, before bandaging them quickly.

John ran, "Why did you leave her in the first place?" he screamed at himself.

"Hurry up Simmons" he ordered to the man behind him.

"Sorry sir" he replied, still clutching his newly broken nose.

John turned in to the hospital, she was lying there, exactly how he'd left her.

"Carson?" he asked confused. "Crap. What happened?" he asked noticing the blood stained bandages.

"Elizabeth did not exactly react well to human contact" he sighed.

"What did she do?"

"Well, she bit me."

John's eyebrow's raised, "What?" He walked over to Elizabeth's bedside; she looked so quiet, so peaceful. He lent out a hand to brush the hair from her eyes

"No Sheppard!" Rodney said, grabbing his arm before he touched her.

"I'm sorry John, but no contact. We've restrained her, but those belts can often do more harm than good. Last time she attacked me with incredible strength. I hate to think what might happen to her if she tries to break free of 'em now" he said, pointing to the belts.

John nodded, sitting down beside her. Several minutes passed, but no one said anything. Any non essential personnel left the room tactfully, giving their leader some privacy.

"She's working up quite a temperature" Carson said, his face worried. He ran a check on the computer, "Almost 103"

"Excuse me sir" said a small voice from the other end of the room.

John turned away reluctantly from Elizabeth, "Oh, right. Carson, could you attend to that" The doctor walked over,

"What happened laddy? Did you get in a fight?"

"Yeah, something like that" he responded, keeping his voice to a minimum. Carson led him out of the room, leaving John alone with her.

John longed to reach out and stroke her soft skin, to hold her almost skeletal body against his own, to hear that sweet laugh.

No, you could hurt her. Don't risk it.

Hours passed, but John would not leave. Carson checked on her every hour or so, never knowing what to say to comfort John. His eyes never left her until late that evening.

"What's going to happen then" John finally asked

"Well, she appears to be in a sleep-like state at the moment." Carson explained. "All her vital signs are correct, but her breathing is all over the place. One minute steady, the next like she's running a bloody marathon. But I can't begin to understand what's wrong with her until I can touch her without being, well, bitten!" he finished.

"Yeah, she seems to be calming down, I mean, her heart rates basically normal now" John agreed, nodding at the monitor beside her bed.

"Aye, I'll try again in the morning. It's almost midnight Sheppard; you really should get some sleep"

"No, I'm not leaving her…" he answered curtly. Carson raised an eyebrow.

John blushed slightly, "Well, you know, just encase she wakes, might need someone to calm her down."

"Sure thing, well, I still recommend getting some sleep. At this rate you are going to be running Atlantis for a while Colonel"

"Wo, guess I will" he said reluctantly.

"Night Sheppard" Carson smiled; John thanked him, then turned back to Elizabeth.

"Like I'm going to sleep." He told himself. Much to his annoyance, this is exactly what he did.