~BACK ON ATLANTIS~
"So Carson…" Elizabeth began as she joined Carson at his table in the mess.
"Uh-oh." Carson muttered.
"Uh-oh what? I'm not that bad am I?" Elizabeth grinned at Carson then continued, "I wanted to ask…"
"She wants to know about Lorne's part in all of this." Radek's voice spoke up from behind her.
Elizabeth jumped "how do you…" she trailed off.
Radek pushed his glasses up his nose with a finger. "You're worrying is give Atlantis the equivalent of an…how do you say…upset stomach." Radek shrugged as he sat down. "Nothing difficult to fix."
"Really, I wasn't aware that she was that sensitive, why didn't we notice this before?" Elizabeth leaned her elbows on the table, finding herself more interested in Radek's answer than she would have expected.
Radek pushed his glasses up his nose again with a single finger. "It is not so much that she is sensitive, more that with Bri and Lilah away she is latching onto anyone she has a connection to, in other words you, me and Carson." Radek gestured to his lover, getting a tender look in exchange. "She's getting lonely with her bonded partners away from her. She can still reach them, she's just going to be extra sensitive until they return."
"What does this mean for us?" Elizabeth asked softly.
"Mostly that we need to be very conscious about how much of our feelings we are projecting to her." Carson said, taking another bite of applesauce.
Radek frowned at the device in his hand, then glanced up at the ceiling as the air vents suddenly turned on again, changing the direction of the airflow in the room. He tossed the device on the table and it stopped glowing as soon as it left his hand.
"Okay" Elizabeth stood to leave, then turned back to Radek and Carson, "Radek, I thought the gene therapy didn't work on you?"
Radek smiled. "It didn't."