A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! It was a nice surprise to come home from my weekend out of town and have all these reviews waiting. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well.

Chapter 2

Several hours later a weary Carson Beckett emerged from the trauma room where he had been doing his best to keep Lt. Colonel John Sheppard alive. He stopped briefly to chat with Dr. Biro before making his way over to the crowd that had been waiting for news about their military commander. The crowd consisted of the Colonel's team, Major Lorne and Dr. Weir.

"How is he?" Rodney was the first to ask.

"I've got good news and bad news," Carson told the hopeful faces. "The good news is that, for the moment, the Colonel is alive and stable."

"Oh thank God," Dr. Weir sighed.

"The bad news is that that stuff has somehow gotten into his blood stream and it seams to be attacking his lungs. I've got people analyzing it but so far all we know is that it is some kind of toxin. At the moment I have no idea weather it will metabolize, or how to neutralize it. Right now we've got him hooked up to a ventilator but if we don't figure out what to do soon I'm pretty sure this stuff will start attacking other organs."

"Meaning he could still die," Weir stated.

"Yes, meaning there is a chance he could still die."

"Everyone else gets hit with rocks and arrows but trust Sheppard to get hit with a deadly water balloon," Rodney muttered.

"Can we sit with him?" Teyla asked.

"Aye. But only one at a time, five minutes each. He is still critical and my nurses need to be able to care for him with out you lot getting in the way. I need to get down to the lab and figure out what this stuff is.


Forty minutes later Elizabeth Weir was back in her office but she couldn't concentrate on her work. Her mind kept going back to her military commander. He looked so pale and weak hooked up to all those monitors and a ventilator breathing for him. Rodney was right, why did this stuff always happen to John? A deadly water balloon.

Standing up Elizabeth decided to take a walk since she wasn't getting any work done. Several minutes later she found herself at the entrance to Colonel Sheppard's office.

She entered letting her eyes roam around. She didn't come in here often. Most of the time John came to her office or they had meetings in the conference room. When she did see John in here she left him alone because that meant he was finally getting his reports done.

Elizabeth laughed quietly to herself as she remembered the day that she told Sheppard to choose an office. He had whined and complained, and loudly. After a week she told him he had better have an office picked or she would choose one for him. And it would be as far away from the control room as possible. Sitting down at his desk she noticed an envelope sitting on top of his computer. Her curiosity got the better of her and she picked it up, turning it over so she could see who it was to.

'Colonel Benjamin Sheppard' she read. There was no address. She debated weather she should read it or not. No, not right now. She'd keep it safe for him out of site of prying eyes and when he was better he could decide whether he wanted to send it or not.


The next couple weeks were touch and go. Just when they thought the Colonel was getting better something else would pop up. Elizabeth was pretty sure that Beckett had not slept for more than an hour at a time since they got back, trying to find a way to cure the Colonel.

Fifteen days after they had returned Carson entered the briefing room where Elizabeth, Rodney and Major Lorne were meeting with Colonel Caldwell, who had arrived 3 days prior, with a smile on his face.

"Carson?" Elizabeth asked.

"It's working, the anti-toxin we developed. We injected the Colonel with it 2 hours ago and he is showing tremendous improvement for such a short time. His hart is beating regularly and his pressures improving. His colors better, he's responding to stimulus. His lungs are starting to improve as well but we are keeping him on the ventilator a while longer before we start weaning him off of it. We anticipate a full recovery."

"That's wonderful news Carson. Great work," Elizabeth told her CMO. The sentiments were repeated by everyone around the table.

Once Elizabeth was back in her office she opened her top desk Drawer and pulled out the letter she had found in Sheppard's office. "It looks like you'll get a chance to mail this yourself after all," she whispered. She looked at the letter a few more seconds before setting it down on her desk and heading off to the infirmary to see he Military commander. She knew that he wasn't awake yet, but she needed to see for herself that he was improving.


It was another week before Elizabeth realized that Johns letter was missing. John had been off the ventilator, awake and lucid for three days now and she wanted to give it back to him. She couldn't find it anywhere in her office and knew she didn't take it anywhere else. The last time she remembered seeing it was after she found out that John was improving. She had looked at the letter before putting it back in her desk. No, that wasn't right. She had set it on top of her desk before going to see him. Damn. Where did it go?

Finally she went and asked the control room staff if any of them had seen a letter on her desk the week before.

"There were several letters in the pile of papers you had me send back with the Deadalus." Chuck answered.

"This one had no address, just a name."

"Yeah, I remember that letter being in the pile."

"Ah, okay, thanks," Elizabeth turned around and headed back to her office. Crap. She had no idea if John had wanted that letter sent home. Oh well. It was not like she could do anything about it now. May as well go tell John now.


"How are you doing John?" Elizabeth asked as she walked over to him.

"Better and better," He replied. "I'm getting to the point of recovery where I'm bored out of my mind but can't do anything about it."

Elizabeth smiled before turning somber, "John, there is something I need to tell you."

"What is it, what's wrong," John asked as he tried to sit up.

"Oh! It's nothing like that. Everyone is fine and there is nobody on the way to annihilate us at the moment, at least not that I'm aware of."

"Then what?"

"That first day, after Carson kicked us out, I was wandering around and somehow ended up in your office. I saw the letter to you father. I didn't read it!" She quickly assured John as his eyes got big with panic. I took it back to my office though and kept it. I'm not really sure why but I guess I figured if you didn't make it I'd send it for you."

"Uh, thanks, I guess."

"Don't thank me yet. Last time I looked at it was right after Carson told us you were going to make it. I forgot to put it back in my desk before I came to see you and it got picked up with a stack of papers headed back to the SGC."

John looked down at his hands and Elizabeth couldn't see his expression. "John?"

"I don't know whether to thank you or to start planning my revenge," he said. "I wanted to send the letter but I wasn't sure I had the guts to."

"So, I'm thinking you should thank me and forget all about the revenge," Elizabeth offered a small smile. "You've worried me enough the past several weeks anyway.

John just smiled.