"I still don't know how I feel about this Rodney."

"Elizabeth, do I need to show you these equations again? My staff has been working on them for the last two months, and he gets them in under a week!"

"It was probably just a fresh pair of eyes, ma'am." John interjected from his game of Risk. Rodney had called her to the infirmary after dinner and had been pitching his idea to her for the last ten minutes.

That afternoon's meeting had been less than productive, partially because Colonel Caldwell had sat in, and most of his ideas involved sending them both through the stargate for further testing. All they'd decided was that the situation was getting worse for both the Colonel and Teyla, but it still wasn't presenting any major health concerns. As for right now they were just experiencing flashes of muscle memory rather than active delusions. Her only concern was that they would start to realize something was wrong, and she believed John already had his suspicions.

Carson's only suggestion had been distracting them, keeping them mentally active and focusing their attention on something other than their degenerating mental state until there was something tangible they could do.

"Come on Elizabeth," Rodney kept pleading, "he did this without any help, including that of our simulators or other scientists, many of whom have engineering degrees in this field!" She looked at the sheaf of paper in front of her again and still couldn't quite believe it. The first half of the pages were longhand mathematical equations, none of which she understood. But the second half were schematics, and those she understood enough to be impressed.

They were page after page of detailed instructions for building a drone. According to Rodney the calculations were spot on, and he'd perfectly designed the drone, right down to the tiniest detail of the Ancient engine. Elizabeth looked up at John, who was contentedly taking the world over from Carson (who'd teamed up with Teyla) and Ronon (who looked particularly perturbed). Judging from the pile of pieces in front of John, there had been a fourth player, hence Rodney's desire to move on to something where John couldn't beat him.

As she stared at the very passive John, the thing that truly surprised her wasn't the calculations, but the art. His drone schematics were a thing of beauty, like a Da Vinci sketchbook. She'd known John for three years, but the more time she spent with this little boy she realized she didn't know him at all. Nowhere in any conversation had he mentioned art, and to draw like this meant some serious study. She knew from the very first day that he had a habit of showing only what parts of himself he wanted you to see, but somewhere along the way she'd assumed thay'd made it past that.

Rodney just kept rambling about all the projects he could put John on, but Elizabeth just ignored him and turned her attention where it belonged. "Elizabeth, are you in there?" He sighed at her start and asked again, "are you going to let him do this or not?"

Since there was no stopping Rodney once he got an idea in his head she just replied, "So long as Carson approves it, Rodney."

"He already has."

"Well then, don't overwork him Rodney, he's not one of your scientists, just smarter than all of them." It was a testament to Rodney's willpower that he withheld his sarcasm at that statement, and just smiled at John.

Now that business was done, Teyla flashed Ronon a wicked grin and in an instant John was over Ronon's shoulder like a sack of potatoes and Teyla was packing up their game. "Hey! I was winning!"

"We know, and now we're bored. We want to play the game we played last night."

Rodney just sighed and muttered something about nonsensical rambling, while Teyla giggled at him. "We're all playing Rodney, it's non-optional."

"I really wish I hadn't taught you that word."

Carson stood and said, "I'll go make the popcorn, and maybe you can stop Rodney from hogging it all, Elizabeth." She looked at him quizzically and Carson smiled back, "You'll be staying to play, of course."

"I'd love to Carson, what are we playing?"

He kept his expression very clear as he insignificantly said, "Spin the bottle."

Carson cleared his throat a few times, before hurriedly muttering, "Gwen. Her name was Gwen. I was fifteen, and we walked home from school together. One day, she surprised me and we kissed outside of her house. She giggled, and didn't speak to me for the next two weeks." Teyla failed at her attempt to stifle her laughter at Carson's first kiss. "Alright, enough of that, I told ye it was a bad story."

"What makes you think that was a bad story, Carson?" choked out Elizabeth through her own laughter. Carson just glared at her, then leaned toward the rolling cart and spun the bottle. Much to Carson's delight, it landed on Elizabeth.

"Time to get you back, lass." They'd pulled the infirmary beds together, and were crashed in a circle, passing around the popcorn. Only after severe...coaxing by Ronon, did Rodney agree to sit himself on the bed and join the party, due to his protests that he and John needed to get back to work.

"Alright Elizabeth, where did you learn how to handle a P-90?" This time the giggles came from Rodney. "Ooh, it seems I've chosen something good."

"That's because he was there, Carson." Rodney giggled again.

"A friend of mine taught me how to shoot at about the time I joined the SGC."

Rodney snorted. "If that's how you quantify friend, then we must be bitter enemies Elizabeth."

"The game only works if you're honest, Elizabeth," Carson chided.

"We were only ever just friends, though there are those of our coworkers who chose to believe otherwise. I had someone waiting for me, as did he. We simply had a very amicable relationship." Ronon smirked at that one and Elizabeth interjected, "Not in that way, you dirty bird, we were, and still are, just friends." She spun the bottle before anyone else could make inappropriate commentary in front of the children.

John fidgeted slightly, when the bottle landed on him. It had only landed on him once in two nights of play. Apparently Teyla had wanted to know why John had chosen Lady as a nickname. The response that it seemed appropriately British wasn't clear enough for Teyla, so John had spent much of the previous night recounting the story of Peter Pan, his favorite fairy tale. (The irony of which she was sure Rodney was enjoying immensely, but for the flight or the eternal childhood she couldn't say.)

She had been waiting for this opportunity all night and gave a small cheer in her head and asked, "John, have you drawn anything else, something that I could see?" He froze for a moment, giving Beckett just enough time to glance at this watch and realize that he had wanted the children in bed half an hour ago.

Amidst false protests from Teyla, McKay and Ronon began reassembling the infirmary as Carson slipped the kids in bed. The three men would be there all night, with Carson and Rodney working, and Ronon monitoring while they slept. Judging from the speed that everyone worked, Elizabeth had just unwittingly crossed a line.

Somehow, Carson had been adopted into the tightly knit alpha team, and held with them the strong bond that transcended time and reality. She was friends with all of them, but she didn't have that sense of unity. She knew they would all fight and die for her just as they would for any member of the expedition, but that was out of fealty, not brotherhood.

Elizabeth headed towards the door to leave them in peace when John called, "Dr. Weir?"

She turned and put back on her diplomatic expression. "Yes John?"

He nodded at his backpack near the door and said, "Just because the party ended doesn't mean your question shouldn't be answered." The men looked dumbfounded but she smiled at John and went to look them over in Carson's office, so the light wouldn't bother the children.

The images took her breath away. All of them were simple black and whites, since there weren't any paints or colored pencils roaming around Atlantis for John to work with. She flipped through sketches of the stargate, the ocean, and Atlantis herself.

Carson walked in and sat down opposite Elizabeth. "John grew up in California, his mother was an artist there, she taught the lad about art." Carson sighed and stared at Elizabeth, wishing she would focus her attention on him rather than on those drawings for this moment, but he knew it was futile.

She looked someplace else when she was betraying emotion, and this was going to be one of those moments. "His mother is sick. She has cancer. Apparently this incident is where John's lifelong aversion to hospitals began. The doctors are all lying to him and saying she'll be better, but John knows she won't."

"Carson, I want everyone in my office as soon as they're asleep." She didn't wait for a response, just walked out the door, handing Carson the drawing from the top of the stack.

For all his time in Pegasus, and all his medical training, Carson's stomach still clenched at such a sight. Sumner was old and greying, on his knees before a hive queen. She had her hand over his heart, feeding on him. What surprised Carson was that Sumner wasn't screaming, wasn't in pain. His face was calm, resigned, and his eyes were fixed outside the frame, and on the artist. But that wasn't what troubled Carson.

Somehow, Carson almost shuddered to think how, John had gotten a hold of red. And in intricate detail on the back of the Wraith's hand, was a red bullet hole.