A/N: I own nothing and will put them back when I'm done...

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot to me. And I hope this chapter answers some questions.

Dedicated, as always, to my dearest friend and muse.

'She's where?' Carson demanded, spinning to face the very annoyed John.

'In her office, and I tell you, something is definitely not right-'

'Bloody oath it's not,' the doctor replied, practically slamming a file into it's place, 'I told her she was to have the rest of the week off, not go back to that damn tower of hers.' For the first time, John got to see what Carson was like after one of his patients tried to escape.

'I could go and remind her for you,' John offered, aware that something was going on, and if he just asked the right questions he might get answers.

'I don't think so lad.' Carson seemed to be getting control of his temper, and John realised that he mightn't be able to pry information from the man. Sometimes professionalism just got in the way… well, in his way at any rate.

'If it's something that concerns the running of the city-'

'It's not. Like you, she's on a break under medical advice.' Carson didn't smile as he tapped the radio at his ear and paged Weir. 'You better find something to do,' the doctor said to John once his was message delivered, 'because she's not going to want to see you.'

'She reassigned my team without consulting me, I don't want to see her,' John retorted. Carson shook his head.

'Son, you were the one who convinced her that the risks were worth it, that you'd be fine. She kept her side of your deal, stop acting like a bairn because you have to hold up your end.'

'She told you about that?'

'Aye, considering that she had no reason to go to that damn planet, I insisted on an explanation as soon as she was conscious.'

That made John hesitate. 'I was there when she woke up…'

'No, lad, you weren't. And she won't want you here now, so I suggest you get some lunch.'

'Carson, what happened to her?'

'I don't know exactly, but it happened on the planet, and she's put it on the prohibited list.'

'But the natives have a whole heap of stuff you and the medical researchers should see!'

'Aye lad, and if I could go and just get a sample of whatever it was they were feeding her…' Carson shook his head, his eyes showing the first hints of subversive intent.

'You think her allergic reaction was due to the food?' he asked gently.

'It wasn't an allergic reaction that put her into a semi-comatose state, Elizabeth doesn't have allergies, and nothing does that, not even in Pegasus.' Carson was irate. Without realising it, John had touched on the very point that mattered.

'You're saying they drugged her.'

Carson nodded. 'Aye lad, and for what purpose I don't know. But I ran your blood work, and Rodney's and Ronon's, and there were distinct lacks of some elements found in Elizabeth's blood. Since you all ate and drank the same thing, I just can't account for it.' He shook his head. 'And now I won't even be able to get samples to run, because that damned planet is off-limits.' Running a hand over his face, Carson finally got a hold of himself. 'Now, you go amuse yourself, Ronon should be finished with the marines, and Rodney will have made a break for the commissary, or I don't know the man at all.' With a smile to John, the doctor picked up his folder and headed for the door, undoubtedly to await Elizabeth's arrival. John watched him go, his rage held in check by the thinnest strand of common sense that had ever prevailed upon him. He'd thought it was only incredibly bad luck that Elizabeth had gotten so sick on the planet… Now what some of the villagers had said started to make sense. They'd been very tight-lipped about what was going on, hadn't let the team do more than bare minimum first aid checks. And they hadn't been allowed to draw blood. Walking out of the infirmary without smashing something was the hardest thing John had ever had to do, after not searching for Elizabeth's hardcopy file. Things were starting to make sense in a horrible way. He smiled, that same smile that touched his lips when he was planning something. With an expression that cleared hallways, he headed to the mess hall bay, intent on acquiring some assistance for his next mission. Sometimes, Elizabeth made decisions early and couldn't back out of them when she needed to…

0o0o0o0

'What crazy plan do you have in mind now?' Rodney asked as John sat down. Actually, the words were a bit distorted because of the amount of food in the physicist's mouth, but that was the general meaning. John understood simply because he had spent far too much time with the man.

'How's the research going?' John asked, ignoring the question and lifting his turkey sandwich to his lips. There were times when subtly was helpful. Besides, Ronon wasn't there yet and John didn't want to repeat himself.

Rodney shook his head. 'Terrible, the interface won't work properly and there's no way we can get the power frequencies to match. I hate to admit it, but Zalenka was right, it's a waste of time.'

'Really? How much more time did Elizabeth give you to work on it?'

'As long as it takes. Unlike some other leaders, she's actually been really good about it… Although I'm looking forward to an off-world mission. If I have to spend another minute with that paranoid, pony-tailed moron, I could be incited to violence and we all know that never ends well for me.' Rodney crammed more food into his mouth as John blinked at him. He'd known the man had changed since they'd come to Atlantis, but he'd never realised how much… But then again, once the team had found out that instead of a letter home Kavanagh had sent a list of all Elizabeth's perceived transgressions, tempers had certainly been stretched. 'Oh, and how was your visit with Chaya? I know that you missed the big meeting for it, so it must have been important…'

'I was thinking, we should go back to the planet,' John replied, ignoring the last statement as best he could.

'Chaya's? Why? It's not like she can help us, stupid Ascended rules…'

'He meant back to our last mission,' Ronon supplied, appearing suddenly and taking a seat.

'How are the marines?' John asked.

'Slow, and they think their shooting skills are brilliant.' Ronon rolled his eyes.

'Probably couldn't hit the broadside of a barn,' Rodney added in between mouthfuls. 'And why would we go back to that horribly primitive, superstitious place anyway? I mean, they have interesting ideas on population control, and it seems to be more effective than suicide pacts, but it gives me the creeps.'

'Did you figure out how they did it?' Something tugged at the back of John's mind and he tried to grasp it, but it slipped away like silk in the breeze.

'Do I look like an anthropologist? No, I have no idea, I just know that it wasn't part of an advanced culture.'

'Maybe we should go ask them.' It wasn't a question from the Satedan. Ronon had alluded at the time that being part of the Satedan military was different than the Earth one, but wouldn't elaborate. John had a feeling the quietly intense suggestion had a lot to do with the man's past. And John didn't mind. Here was an ally, and between the two of them, they could always carry Rodney into the 'jumper…

'We really should take Carson then,' Rodney said, 'see if he can figure anything out.' The other men stared at him, Ronon even pausing in the consumption of food. John opened his mouth to respond but was silenced. 'What? You think that you or me or Conan here know enough about voodoo to figure it out?'

'You should stop calling him Conan.'

'And you should stop having intimate relations with alien women, but I don't see that happening in the near future.' There was a pause as Rodney shook his head. 'Anyway, if we're going to kidnap Carson, we should get on with it. After all, he goes off duty in about,' Rodney looked at his watch, 'ten minutes, and we'll want to nab him then.' With that, he stood and picked up his half-full tray. The others didn't move, just stared at him as though he had grown an extra head. 'What? I'm not allowed to be concerned about the wellbeing of our esteemed leader?'

'You're not supposed to come up with brilliant plans without the threat of impending doom,' John corrected, getting to his feet.

'If we don't figure this out, he'll never get out of the lab,' Ronon said, shaking his head as he too abandoned his meal.

'And considering who I have to work with, except Zalenka of course, it counts as impending doom. I know we don't have a capital punishment system, but I figure pushing someone through the Stargate so they come out in hard vacuum would probably get me in trouble. Actually,' Rodney said, wandering off a little, 'it might get me commended…' No one really liked Kavanagh, after all…

'How about we just have one plan at a time, what do you say?' John offered, striding towards the exit.

'Sounds good to me,' Ronon muttered, 'too many plans and we'll end up in hard vacuum.' With that, the men walked out, heading for the infirmary. They were the objects of many confused glances, but they ignored them all. Kidnapping the Chief Medical Officer was a much more important consideration than how people looked at them.

0o0o0o0

Elizabeth had retreated from the infirmary well and truly before the trio arrived, and had headed for her room. If there was one thing she couldn't handle, it was an irate Carson. He did so much for them that she couldn't, in clear conscience, put more pressure on him by misbehaving. So she headed for her room, expecting to reach it, and the book she was reading for the twelfth time, in peace. Suddenly, someone came running down the corridor, holding what looked to be an Ancient design tablet. Elizabeth could see the joy on the young woman's face, and although she couldn't remember the scientist's name, she smiled too. When she saw Elizabeth, the young woman holding the tablet skittered to a stop and grinned.

'Oh, Dr. Weir, I've been looking for you all over,' the young woman said, ridiculously excited.

'Really? Has something happened?' Elizabeth asked, expecting the worst.

'Yes, we've found a whole room full of these.' She waved the tablet. 'And since you're the foremost expert on Ancient language, I thought you might want to read it.' The young woman handed the tablet over and pointed to one of the ornate buttons on the side. 'That should turn it on. Oh, I think you're really going to like it.' With a grin and a wave, the young woman was gone, leaving Elizabeth outside her room, holding a tablet that she had no idea about. Shaking her head, Elizabeth palmed open her door and went inside, touching the button and reading over the first few lines that appeared on the screen. The door closed, shutting off the sob that echoed in Elizabeth's room as she translated.

Once upon a time, there was a city that sat on the ocean like a lily on a pond. In that wondrous place lived a little girl and her parents. Her mother was renowned for her skill with words and her father was a mighty warrior. The little girl was very happy, and loved her family very much. Almost as much as they loved her.

Elizabeth slowly sunk to the floor, the tablet slipping from her fingers and landing with a quiet thud. Wrapping her arms around her middle, Elizabeth leant her head on her up-drawn knees and wept. The tablet glowed in the darkness.