The water was up to Daniel's ankles by now. He could hear a voice, calling and begging for help. He listened closer, wading towards the desperate voice, the water swirling higher too fast for comfort. He slowly treaded down a staircase, mind completely focused on not being pushed over by the harsh water. Finally he reached a door and passed his hand by the lock to open it. The water inside waved out, and Daniel was thrown off his feet, submerged by the raging waters. He felt something heavy float over his head and glanced up, realizing only then it had been a few minutes since he had heard the pleas for rescue… and that this all seemed oddly familiar.

After a brief moment of horror and disbelief, fighting down the stinging bile rising up in the back of his throat, Daniel's adrenaline kicked in and he pumped his limbs wildly, trying to push his head above the surface.

"Daniel, there's only one Jumper left. We gotta go."

Jack.

Daniel whipped his head around looking for a way back, only to see the water had carried him in to the room and the door had shut. How, Daniel had no clue. But at least the water was calming down slightly and he could rise to get a breath of air. After doing so, he swam over to the door, passing his hand by the lock.

Nothing happened.

That was when he realized why the poor soul he had been trying to rescue had needed help. Opening the door had resulted in the room losing the quantity of water it had had but it was quickly regaining it…with Daniel stuck inside.

"Jack!" the archeologist called into his radio desperately. "Jack, I'm locked in a room filling up with water…I can't keep my head above the water much longer!"

"Where are you?" Jack asked immediately.

"Northwest section, one of the lower floors," Daniel answered, now having to tip his head all the way back to breathe. "I can't get more specific than that."

"All right," Jack replied. "I'll be there as soon as possible."

Daniel closed his eyes, trying to calm his wildly beating heart and took one last deep breath before allowing himself to sink to the floor.

XxXxX

Jack ran to the Northwest section of the city, barely making it down the stairs without toppling head over heels. He ran as fast as his aging limbs and protesting knees would allow, opening every closed door he passed, pausing slightly each time to check if Daniel was locked in that room. Finally, one of the doors he opened released a wave of water, as well as an archeologist that looked pathetically like a cat dragged out of the water. Jack grabbed him, amazingly keeping both himself and Daniel above the water.

"You okay?" he asked when the water calmed down. Daniel grabbed Jack's shoulder, pushing himself into a standing position.

"Yeah," he chocked, water spluttering from his lips. Jack frowned at him, making sure he was telling the truth before patting his back gently.

"Let's get to the Jumper Bay," he said. "And fast."

XxXxX

"O'Neill, Jackson, you two coming?" John's voice asked in their ears.

"Yeah, we're here," Jack replied.

"Good. We had to lift off as you might be able to tell," Elizabeth told him. Jack peered through the window as he and Daniel hurried down the stairs. The floor of the Jumper Bay was completely covered by over three feet of water, the single Jumper that was left hovering about two feet above that. The water was rising extremely fast, the Jumper rising softly as well. Jack took a few leaping steps through the water and jumped, grabbing the bridge and hoisting himself up. He turned around to see Daniel, water up to his chest by now, looking around, trying to get grips on how the hell he would be able to jump high enough.

"C'mon!" Jack yelled, holding out his hand, the reality of the situation all too clear in the retired general's mind. Daniel took one good look at his friend's outstretched hand and, face set and grim, jumped.

The water swirling around him resisted the archeologist's attempts but his fingers managed to grab the Jumper's bridge. For one slight, brief moment, Daniel felt relief course through him until he realized the tips of his fingers were not going to hold his entire body weight. The seconds slowed as Daniel watched in horror as his fingers slipped and he fell back down into the water, which was now well over his six foot. He sank into the ocean water, absent of panic but full of sorrow: the last conversation Daniel would ever have with Vala would be one of contention.

Suddenly he felt a strong hand clutch his still outstretched arm and time came rushing back. Slowly, his head broke the surface and he saw Jack giving him a tight and wry smile. The Jumper rose quickly now and Daniel felt an aching sensation of relief settle in his stomach when he was dragged completely out of the angry waters.

With a forced surge of energy, Daniel swung his other arm up and was surprised to have it caught by Elizabeth. Together, she and Jack pulled the soaked-through linguist up, into the Jumper. Daniel stood slowly and gave both of them warm, grateful smiles.

"Thanks."

Elizabeth smiled back. "There's no need for thanks," she told him. Jack nodded.

"Let's go," he called to Rodney, driving the Jumper. He and Daniel walked farther into the ship, but Elizabeth stayed where she was, staring down into the surging waters, watching as the past six years of her life were drowned in too little time to give them credit.

"Elizabeth," John called, jolting her out of her reverie. "We gotta close the bridge."

Elizabeth nodded, turning. Her foot slipped on the wet floor and she suddenly fell backwards, out the Jumper and into the reaching waves. John leaped to the edge, trying to grab her.

"Elizabeth!" he bellowed, readying himself to jump in after her. Jack clutched the colonel's arm and John froze, whipping his head around to glare at the older man. Jack met his glare calmly.

"Jumping in will only kill yourself as well," Jack told him lowly. Keeping his grip on John's arm, Jack looked to Rodney over his shoulder. "McKay, take us down."

"Uh…" Rodney said nervously. "I would but…"

"Water is coming from above," Teyla finished for him. Daniel stood suddenly, looking out the window as well. Jack and John looked up to see several tons of water spilling over the opening in the ceiling.

"Aw, shit," Jack breathed. "McKay, get us out of here now!"

Jack leaped in farther to the Jumper, dragging John along with him. Rodney quickly shut the bridge and piloted them out of the city. When they could no longer fell the waves pounding onto the hull of the ship, Jack turned to John. The colonel had sunk to sitting, his eyes lost, only seeing the small image of Elizabeth bobbing in the water, a panicked and pleading expression on her face.

"I'm sorry," Jack told him quietly. John met his gaze, a hard and almost vengeful gleam in his eyes.

"Whatever happened to 'no one gets left behind'?"

Jack sighed. "You know I would've tried to save her myself if it wouldn't have put everyone else's lives in jeopardy."

John glared at him for a second longer before averting his eyes to stare once again at the floor. Jack pursed his lips and stood, glancing slightly at the now-closed bridge.

"Let's go home, McKay," he said, turning to the front of the ship. Rodney was stone still, staring out through the window. Jack frowned when he saw Ronon, Teyla and Daniel had almost the exact same expressions.

"I'll take over," he said gruffly. Still staring, Rodney stood, allowing Jack to pilot the Jumper. Jack took the seat and, curious, glanced to where the doctor had been looking and blanched.

Only the tower of Atlantis was still visible and it was quickly disappearing from view. If one looked closely, one could imagine the small spots in the water were people, unfortunate enough to have not made it to the Jumper Bay, and that the white splashes surrounding them were caused by mad thrashing…as parasites might in one's blood.

Fighting down the horror rising in his eyes and throat, Jack forced his gaze forward.

"There's nothing to be gained by second guessing yourself. You can't remake the past, so look ahead… or risk being left behind."

A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!