Carson Beckett hated putting up tents. No matter how hard he tried the melange of poles, ropes, 'outers' and 'inners' always managed to get the better of him. Today something had clearly gone wrong. According to the instructions the red poles went through the central axis of the tent, and yet he only had blue poles left and he couldn't find the holes to put them through anyway. He sighed and slumped down on his travel bag; give him a paper about gastrin receptors any day.

"You look like you could do with some help, unless you were planning on sleeping under the stars?"

Carson looked up to be greeted by a smiling female face and, without really knowing why, he blushed. "Aye, I have made a bit of a mess of it, as always."

"Do you camp often?" While the voice was not patronising, Carson guessed the question was rhetorical.

"Not as often as I should."

The woman laughed. It was a crisp laugh, a tuneful laugh that whipped through the air like birdsong. It was also a kind laugh and Carson smiled in return. "Here," she said, walking towards his sorry excuse for a tent, "I'll talk you though it, so you'll know what to do next time." And with that she began to dismantle what had taken him over two hours to put up.

Half an hour later Carson had a secure, waterproof tent to sleep. And he had vaguely been able to follow what his expert teacher had been telling him. During the construction the introductions had been made and they were now chatting as if they had been friends for a lifetime. He told her about the trip he had planed; after three months of working almost solidly at Vancouver General hospital he was desperate for some fresh air and hills. He remembered camping as a young boy in Scotland and, although he usually avoided the outdoors like the plague, camping for the weekend had seemed like a good idea, at the time anyway.

"Now it is just a plain stupid idea," he confessed as he chucked his bag in his tent. "I can't even put up a tent properly!"

Elizabeth smiled. "It takes practice," she said to try and make the Scott feel better. "John, my husband, loves to camp. So believe me, I've had my fair share and practice."

"Is your husband with you here?"

"Yes, he's having a beer by our campfire." For a moment she studied the doctor's face. Did she see regret in those blue eyes? She chided herself for seeing things and instead invited Carson to come meet John and have some dinner with them.

That'll be lovely, thank-you," Carson smiled.

"Wasn't this a great idea of mine Lizzie?" John announced as the three finished off their bowls of tinned fruit salad and evaporated milk. The fire was still going strong but he decided to chuck another log on just to make sure. "We hadn't planned on camping," he explained to Carson, who was perched on a log at the two o'clock position, "I just saw the sign that they'll lend you everything you need for $165. Bargain really."

"Aye that's good," Carson agreed. Elizabeth just smiled politely.

"I just love the outdoors," John continued, unaware that his wife and the doctor had exchanged glances. "Nothing better then to camp in Canada!" He paused with a thoughtful look on his face and then suddenly turned to Carson. "What do you do again?"

"I'm a doctor," Carson replied politely.

"Ah yes."

"He specialises in genetics," Elizabeth informed her husband. "He told me when I helped to put up his tent." She shifted on her stool and gave John an annoyed look. He didn't seem to notice as he took another swig from his beer.

"That's cool," he said. "Sounds very impressive, though I never did really understand biology at high school."

Carson laughed. "You either love it or hate it I think." He looked towards Elizabeth. She was watching something intently in the flames. He knew he shouldn't keep looking at her, but he just couldn't seem to help it. The way the firelight turned her pale cheeks rosy and set her sharp eyes dancing. Looking away from Elizabeth his eyes fell on her husband. There was no denying John Sheppard was handsome and certainly a man for the lasses. He was funny, cheeky and brimmed with a confidence that Carson guessed you needed in the armed forces. He could certainly see why women loved Sheppard, and yet more then once that evening he had seen signs that all was not well in the marriage. But that's not my place to interfere, he reminded himself.

"I think I'd best be off to bed now," he said, suddenly wanting to get away from the heat of the fire. "It's late and I need an early start in the morning."

"Sure," John smiled. "Nice to meet you Carson." He offered his hand and Carson took it.

"You too, and thanks for dinner." Turning to Elizabeth he added, "and thanks for putting up…"

"No problem," Elizabeth said abruptly, "no problem at all. Good night Carson." She walked up to him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. She smiled, yet Carson could see that her eyes had lost the sparkle they'd had earlier in the evening. In fact now they were distinctly cold and distant.

Carson was left puzzled as he headed out into the cold darkness towards, what he hoped at least, was his tent. There was something about Elizabeth Weir that he couldn't figure out. Realising he was fully awake and not likely to actually get any sleep, Carson turned off the path and headed for the lake. The sky was clear and thousands of stars covered the sky. The moon was only a few days from being full and the white light shimmered off the still water, illuminating the surrounding forest.

He found a large rock to sit on by the water's edge. The moon continued its steady journey across the sky as the doctor sat enjoying the stillness and occasionally sending a smooth pebble across the lake. He loved the way the ripples dispersed so gently, yet persistently, only to be halted by the shoreline. Carson was a naturally quiet and reserved person. It had been an attempt to broaden his horizons and a strange need to see more then Scotland that had lead him to apply for the exchange program with the Canadian hospital in the first place. And although he was having a brilliant time and learning much more about medicine than he ever thought possible, he had not changed much as a person. He had trouble getting to know new people, particularly women, hence why he was camping on his own. Not that it really bothered him that much. As boy he would wander for hours on his own, until one of his family worried enough to send the dog out looking for him. But now being on his own did bother him, so much that he couldn't skim the pebbles as well as he normally could. Annoyed with himself he chucked a large stone as far as he could out into the lake. It broke the water with a resounding 'plop' sending large ripples across the lake.

"That's about all I manage to achieve when I try and skim stones."

Carson almost fell into the lake as he jumped at the sound of the voice from behind him. "Elizabeth! You scared me! How long have you been standing there?"

Elizabeth walked over and perched herself on a rock next to him. "Long enough to know that that wasn't your best attempt at skimming." She smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry," she said, " I shouldn't creep up on people like that."

Carson just looked at her. Her hair was a mess but her cheeks were beautiful, still pink from the fire despite the pale light from the moon. "What are you doing here?" he said eventually.

She shrugged. "I couldn't sleep so I came for a walk, then I saw someone sitting by the lake and decided to come and investigate." She tucked some hair behind her ear and shifted on her rock. A frown formed on her brow and she suddenly stood up, as if the rock had now become too hot to sit on. "No that's a lie. It's true that I couldn't sleep, but," she folded her arms stiffly and turned to face him, "I came to find you. I know, that's stupid isn't it? I shouldn't be here, I'm sorry, I'll go…"

"No wait!" Carson jumped up and grabbed Elizabeth at the elbows as she tried to disappear back into the forest. She turned and suddenly the two were standing face to face and Carson could smell the smoke in her hair. He let go and stepped back, unsure of why he had just acted as he did.

"You feel it too, don't you?" Elizabeth said softly.

Carson shook he head. "This is madness," he said, "utter madness. You shouldn't be here, this is not right."

Elizabeth sat down beside him and her hand brushed his arm. "I know," she whispered, "I'm…" The word hung in the air like the rising mist from the water. "Unavailable," she said eventually. Carson turned his head and looked straight into her eyes. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was strong, intelligent, full of life and so gentle. Finally he could bear it no longer and he put his hands on her face and kissed her passionately on the mouth. In reply Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him and melted into his embrace. For what seemed like an eternity the pair was lost in each other, not caring about anything else. When eventually they broke apart they could not break from each other's gaze. So much they wanted to say to each other. So many secrets to tell, so many jokes to share. But neither wanted so say the painful truth that shone as brightly as the moon; that there was no way for them to be together. Both knew, without the words being spoken, that they had just one night. After that Carson would move to some other campsite before heading back to the hospital and Elizabeth would go back to her husband. Without saying a single word Carson stood up, still holding Elizabeth's hand, and started to walk towards his tent. Elizabeth suddenly stopped. "No," she said quietly and for a terrible moment Carson wondered whether he had read the signs wrong but then she smiled. "Here," she said, "lets stay here." She smiled again as he took her once more in his arms.

Morning dawned all too quickly. The birds were moving busily though the forest as Carson stirred. Right beside him was a sleeping Elizabeth, barely covered by his jacket that he'd laid across her. He looked around, suddenly worried that someone may be watching, but all he could see was trees. He gently prodded Elizabeth to wake her. She yawned and pulled out a small twig that had embedded itself in her brown hair. Silently they washed in the lake and got dressed, both dreading the moment that was coming like building thunderstorm over the mountains.

"Will I…"Carson began hesitatingly, only to be silenced by Elizabeth's eyes.

"I don't know," she said honestly, "though I hope so." She smiled, though he could see the sadness in her eyes. "I'd best get back to the tent before John wakes up and realises I'm not there."

Carson nodded. Though he had got on well with John last night, he hated him right now. Elizabeth placed her soft hands on his face and looked into his eyes. "Thank-you so much," she said. "You don't know how much I want to stay here, but…" For a moment Carson could not meet her gaze. He knew she was sincere, and yet she was going back to her husband and jealously roared in his chest. But then he reminded himself of the promise they had silently made last night.

"I know," he said finally, "you love him."

Elizabeth looked out over the water and Carson could see tears falling down her cheeks. He gently whipped them away and pulled her into a hug. Elizabeth was almost shaking as she kissed him again before she finally headed off into the forest. Turning back she could hardly control her voice as she whispered, "I will never forget you Carson."

"Nor will I," she heard the Scott say as she broke into a run towards the camp.