After Michael left, Rodney crawled over to where Carson lay hunched on the floor. The physician's eyes were tightly shut and his eyelashes lay like dark crescents on his pale face. Rodney put a gentle hand on Carson's shoulder, offering what comfort he could, but the other man flinched away from his touch.
Although Carson appeared to be sleeping, it was not a restful sleep. He was restless, flinching from imagined blows, and from behind his tightly shut eyes, tears seeped through and rolled slowly and sadly down his cheeks.
Rodney tried to wake him, unable to sit there and let his friend go through this without trying to help. But every time the scientist tried to intervene, it just seemed to make things worse for Carson. In the end, all Rodney could do was put one of the hard pillows under Carson's head and drape one of the rough blankets over his body. He then sat back and watched as his friend went through a sleeping hell.
The nightmare continued for what seemed like hours. Occasionally, Rodney's head would fall to his chest as sleep threatened to overcome him. But the distressed noises coming from Carson always woke him up again. He felt so helpless in the face of his friend's suffering. But, for once, there was nothing Rodney could actually do.
He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there, guarding Carson. His legs were now numb and didn't feel as if they belonged to his body. His back was sore from sitting in an awkward position. But despite the physical discomfort, he didn't want to move, he didn't want to leave Carson, not even for a moment.
His concentration was so focussed on Carson, that Rodney didn't notice her move. So when Shela's small hand slipped into his, he almost jumped out of his skin.
"Don't do that," he said sharply to the little girl. As he looked down at her, her big eyes filled with tears. "Oh, look, I'm sorry," he continued. "You gave me a fright, okay. Not a good idea. Oh, please don't cry. I don't do tears."
Shela snuffled slightly, then rubbed her face with her sleeve.
"Why is Dr Carson crying?" she asked, watching at Carson with a puzzled look on her face. "Did you say something nasty to him too?"
"Of course not," Rodney replied.
"Then who made him sad?" Shela asked. "Was it that man with the funny eyes?"
"Yes, it was," Rodney replied, hoping she wouldn't ask any more questions. He didn't know how to deal with children and their questions. They frightened him more than even the Wraith did.
Thankfully, for Rodney's sanity, she remained silent. Instead, she curled up beside Carson, and started to stroke his hair, just as she might do with a dog, or a cat. It seemed to soothe him, and his muttering and even his tears seemed to lessen.
But then, just as Rodney started to relax slightly, the door burst open, and two Wraith strode in. One grabbed Carson, dragging him to his feet, and the other grabbed Rodney. Shela sat there, in stunned silence as the two men were bundled out the prison cell, and the door thudded solidly behind them.
oOoOoOo
As they searched for Jinto, John went over in his mind the evidence they had against the Athosian boy. It was evidence that John wasn't happy to find. Jinto had been one of his first friends in the Pegasus Galaxy. He had accepted John in a way that the adults hadn't. They had learned to be wary of strangers, but Jinto still had the openness and acceptance you found in those not bowed down by life's experience.
But the evidence was there. The fact the thefts had started on the mainland didn't immediately point to an Athosian, but it did limit the number of those from Earth who could be considered suspects. Only 20 people from Atlantis had been on the mainland at the time. When the thefts had continued in Atlantis, it had narrowed the search down to the 20 Lanteans and their Athosian counterparts; a group of 20 youngsters who were now on Atlantis to encourage the cross-cultural ties.
The problem for Jinto was that he seemed to have been in the vicinity of a number of the thefts. This fact had only come to light after they had discovered that the control crystal for the 'Gate was missing. As they put their ideas together, they found that Jinto had been around when at least 4 of the thefts had taken place.
So it was with a heavy heart that John went in search of his young Athosian friend. In many ways, he wished that it would prove impossible to find the boy. But in the relatively limited confines of Atlantis, and with the technology at their disposal, John knew it would only be a matter of time before the lad was found.
And sure enough, John eventually caught up with Jinto in the Mess Hall. The boy was sitting eating with a group of other boys about the same age, all wearing Athosian clothing. As John approached, with Ronon on one side, Teyla on the other, he watched the boy carefully, to see if he betrayed any signs of guilt.
The boys were chattering away, the volume rising as they became more animated. But then Jinto caught sight of the three adults approaching. His face fell, and a swift look of fear appeared in his eyes.
"Damn," thought John, when he saw the look. "Maybe he is guilty after all." The colonel had been hoping that the evidence that suggested Jinto had been pointing them in the wrong direction. But the look on the boy's face tended to suggest they were on the right track.
However, as John widened his gaze to take in the whole group, he realised that all the boys had a very similar look on their faces. He realised that, to their adolescent eyes, the three adults must have made a pretty intimidating group.
John was the military leader on Atlantis, and he knew that title like that was impressive to teenage boys. Teyla was the leader of her people, and as such the boys would all look up to her and respect her. And as for Ronon, well he intimidated John at times, and he had caused a grown man to faint with fear, if you could call Kavanagh a grown man.
"Jinto," John said as they approached. "Could we have a word?"
The boy looked anxiously from one adult to another, then nodded. He approached them, leaving the security of his friends.
"Jinto," Teyla said, her voice gentle. "We need your help. One of the crystals in the control room has gone missing. We believe you were working there today?"
The boy nodded, almost as if he was afraid to talk in case he said too much.
"We know that you are very observant," Teyla continued, earning a snort from the straightforward Ronon. "And we were wondering if you saw anything."
Jinto looked awkward for a moment, his eyes on the ground, then looking anywhere other than at the adults.
"I did not see anything unusual," he said at last, not convincing any of them.
But before John could take matters further, he heard Elizabeth's voice through the comm-link.
"John," her voice sounded in his ear. "We've found the crystal, and we've managed to establish a wormhole to the planet again." Her voice was infused with relief tinged with anxiety.
"We're on our way," he replied, nodding at Teyla and Ronon.
"You, young man," he said, turning back to Jinto. "Don't move too far from here. I still want a word with you, later."
Jinto looked at him, with wide eyes, and then nodded.
oOoOoOo
Rodney lost track of where they were being taken. All the corridors looked the same. They could be going round in circles for all he knew.
Carson would be no help, either. The Scot was still trapped in the horrendous, nightmare-world that Michael had created in his mind. He would flinch every so often, as if physical blows were connecting with his body. His moans chilled Rodney's blood as they were filled with despair and pain. Occasionally, a tear would fall from the tightly shut eyes of the physician.
Normally, Rodney thought of sleep as a blessed, if infrequent, relief. But for Carson, this sleep was anything but relief. It was as if all his worst nightmares were rolled into one intense experience.
Also at the back of Rodney's mind, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, was anxiety about Shela. The child had looked so defenceless, sitting there in the prison, left alone. Rodney didn't like to think of the child at the mercy of the life-sucking tendencies of their captors.
Before Rodney could dwell on this further, they obviously reached their destination. The two Wraith stopped in front of a very solid door, and then knocked. Rodney had to stop himself from laughing. There was something incredibly incongruous about Wraith knocking on a door. But he managed to keep his slightly hysterical giggle to himself.
The door swung open, and Michael stood in the doorway, framed by a brilliant light. The light seemed to seep through his body, giving him an almost translucent quality.
"Bring our guests in," he ordered the Wraith.
The room Rodney found himself in was very like Carson's lab back in Atlantis. Whether consciously or not, Michael had re-created somewhere very familiar for Carson to work in.
The Wraith who had been holding Rodney, dragged the scientist over to a bench in the corner and virtually threw him onto it.
"Thanks for nothing," Rodney muttered to himself. His words were obviously loud enough for the Wraith to hear as he turned towards Rodney and hissed at him.
Michael didn't notice any of this little by-play. His attention was focussed solely on Carson. He approached the doctor, examining him as if he were a lab rat taking part in an experiment. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the Wraith holding Carson to release him.
Carson seemed to have been roused from his stupor. His eyes were open, and although he wasn't exactly alert, he at least seemed to be taking in something of his surroundings.
"Well, Dr Beckett," he said, using Carson's name almost like a curse. "How did you enjoy your little nightmare? It only seemed fair since I've been living my own nightmare since you conducted your experiment on me. I wanted to share a little of the pain you have inflicted on me. And now, your pain will become a reality."
The Wraith took Carson's face between his hands, forcing the doctor to look directly into his eyes. "You know what I want from you, Dr Beckett. And you know the consequences if you don't do what I want. The choice is yours. Either you turn us back into Wraith, proper Wraith, not some hybrid you created. Or else, your nightmare will come to life in glorious and vivid detail. Your little friend over there," he continued, motioning to Rodney, "will suffer for each of your failures. Each time you are unsuccessful, it will cost him another decade of his life. And with him, I will not be so generous with our gift of life. Now it is up to you. You can make the choice of whether he lives or whether he dies a slow and agonizing death."