Chapter Thirteen

Rodney had Frung by the throat at this point, and was berating him with endless sarcastic wit. With a thrust of an arm, one of the Wraith reached out and grabbed the dream-Frung from Rodney, spinning the alien being around and forcing it's feeding hand onto his chest. Frung screamed out, writhing in agony.

"No!" Frung begged, "Don't do this! This is killing me!"

"As you have been killing us," said Radek. In a flash he realised he was waking up, the four of them were still strapped to the tables as were three Wraith. Frung was on the floor, still screaming, as he was unable to release himself from his nightmare.

"Rodney," Radek yelled, "Rodney!"

Rodney slowly opened his eyes. "Oh thank God, this is reality," he said, as he looked around himself, "I've never been so glad to be strapped to a lab table." He looked over to Teyla, "Teyla, Teyla, wake up!"

Teyla shook her head gently, "I am here," she said.

"How is Colonel Sheppard?" asked Radek.

"He is better than he was, he is angry," she said.

Radek looked worried.

"Not with you, with the alien and with himself," a smile touched her lips. "Do not worry yourself, Dr Zelenka; your relationship with Dr Weir is your business, not his. I have told him so and I will continue to remind him."

Rodney had been looking around him, "Ah Radek, you still linked to Elizabeth?" he asked.

"I think so, why?" Radek replied.

"Because I think we are in big trouble," said Rodney.

The panels around them were blinking and alarms were beginning to sound.

"Also I don't think Major Lorne is going to be able to rescue us."

"Why?" asked Teyla.

"We're on a ship and from what I can see it's an Ancient ship, like the Aurora."

"Radek, tell Elizabeth quickly; tell her to call Lorne back and to get the Daedalus to search for us," said Sheppard, rousing from his semi-conscious state.

"I don't think I can, I cannot hear her anymore," said Radek. Radek was deeply distressed that he could not connect with Elizabeth. What was going on, what was happening? He thought about their first kiss, the first time they made love, the first time they realized what was happening between them.

Suddenly he found himself back at the border fence in his home country, back when thought he shot Elizabeth. Anger, pain, frustration welled up inside him. Why was he here in this godforsaken place? He called out to Elizabeth but she did not answer.

He saw Frung and on instinct shot his rifle. Suddenly everything around him started to melt. He started choking and realized that he was covered in a jelly and there were broken bits all around him.

He looked around and saw Sheppard, Teyla and McKay all looking somewhat bewildered and groggy and, they all quickly realized, quite naked.

What had happened? Then he heard the voice that he never thought he would hear again.

"Are you guys all right?" It was Major Lorne. He found them and broke open the capsules that had them trapped.

Radek quickly glanced over; wisely Lorne had left the Wraith intact in their capsules. Frung was nowhere to be found.

One of Lorne's team members handed Radek and the others some clothes.

Radek suddenly fell silent. He was feeling a terrible loss. He could not feel Elizabeth anymore, not in the way he just had. They were no longer connected by the jelly substance. He felt tears well up. Fortunately the jelly was also still in his eyes so no one noticed. Radek kept thinking about their feelings –they were so powerful, so wonderful. He wanted them back. He wanted to hold her again. He knew because he felt it - that she really did love him.

As Radek pulled the cold shirt over his head, he blinked hard to stop himself from letting tears spill. He didn't know if it was just the aftermath of the emotional ordeal that they had all been through, or the gaping emptiness he felt without the connection to Elizabeth. He sniffed, trying to concentrate on what was going on around him.

The rest of his team was looking tired and drained, adjusting their ill-fitting spare uniforms. Lorne's team were nervous, as they kept the area secure and made records and scans for the investigation. They glanced around anxiously as if something new and scary might happen any minute.

Lorne was standing alone at one side, his face pale and resolute. Letting his hand drop from his earpiece, he walked over to Radek.

"Dr Zelenka? You feeling OK?"

"As well as can be expected Major. Can we get out of here?"

"I think we need to do that, Doc. I just spoke to Dr Beckett. I think he wants you back on Atlantis pretty much stat..."

Radek felt the blood drain from his extremities. "It's Elizabeth, isn't it?"

Lorne nodded, breaking eye contact with Radek as soon as he dared. Turning around, he clapped his hands once. "OK, people. Listen up; time to go home."