Suzoctchka1 – This is a bit of a lighter chapter, not so much guilt in this one. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Fyd818 – Glad that having Teyla working in a museum worked out well, I was sat there for two hours trying to come up with a career for her so it's good to now I came up with the right one. Good to know the Sparky bits are coming out the way I want them to and sorry for making you cry. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for the review.

Alex – The flashback was my favourite part of the last chapter to right, I figured they were happy once so why not show it a little. Glad John's scene worked out and thanks for the review, I hope you like this chapter.

Mari – Thanks for the review, I wanted to show John's emotional, vulnerable side a little more in this story so good to know that's working. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Whirlwind-2005 – Thank you for the review, I'm glad you like the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- - -

Chapter 5

John sat down at his desk ignoring the stares of his colleagues who by now all knew about Elizabeth. Ronon gave him a wary look before sending the others a look that made them stop staring and get back to work faster than if a mass murderer was on the loose. John gave Ronon a small grateful smile at which the tall man simply shrugged.

It was John's first day back since the accident that had landed Elizabeth in a coma. He had spent the last week either by her bed or moping around their home wishing things were different. She still had not woken up in fact the doctors seemed to think she was getting worse if that was at all possible in her current condition. At least being back at work gave his mind something else to think about.

"How is she?" Ronon asked.

"The same, worse even," John explained quietly, "Dr Beckett is seriously trying to prepare me for the possibility that she isn't going to wake up."

"Elizabeth's a fighter, if anyone can pull through this she can," Ronon told him and John was grateful that the man hadn't tried to offer his sympathies. He'd had more than enough of that over the last week. People were constantly telling him how sorry they were, someone had gone so far as to tell him they were sorry for his loss. It had taken all John's restraint not to lash out at the man, to shout that he hadn't lost her yet.

Teyla hadn't been fairing much better in fact John had been forced to intervene when one of the male nurses at the hospital had started offering her his sympathies and John could swear he had been on the verge of flirting with her. Teyla had looked like she was about to beat the man into a bloody pulp so John had grudgingly thanked the nurse for his condolences and all but dragged Teyla back to Elizabeth's room.

"So what have we got?" John asked trying to distract himself from his current thoughts.

"28 year old woman murdered in her home," Ronon explained "The husband was out of town and arrived back this morning so we need to go speak with him."

"Let's go then," John and Ronon stood up and John could feel the stares of his colleagues once again. He also saw Ronon pin everyone of them with a glare that told them to quit it or there'd be painful consequences.

- - -

Teyla walked into the hospital and headed directly to Elizabeth's room where her friend was still lying motionless in the bed. She took the seat next to the bed and sat in silence for a moment.

"Hey Elizabeth, I managed to get the afternoon off work again, all I had to do was oversee the delivery of a new artefact anyway. They can take care of that without me. John went back to work today, which I think is probably a good thing. I think he was slowly going insane, you know what he's like he could never sit still for more than five minutes at a time."

Teyla continued talking to Elizabeth for almost an hour before Dr Beckett walked into the room.

"Hello Mrs Dex,"

"Dr Beckett," Teyla greeted "And please call me Teyla," she requested, she didn't like people calling her Mrs Dex anymore. It was just a reminder of what she was losing, that she and Ronon were no longer the blissfully happy, married couple they had once been.

"Well then Teyla, how about you call me Carson," he suggested and Teyla smiled and nodded her head. Carson turned back to Elizabeth and began to check her vitals "So Elizabeth, how are we doing today?"

Teyla watched the doctor work as he spoke to Elizabeth asking her questions he knew she couldn't answer. She wasn't sure she could be a doctor or a nurse, she wasn't sure she could handle this part of the job. People in coma's, fatally ill patients, broken families… death.

It was something Teyla had thus far refused to even acknowledge as a possibility for Elizabeth. It was something she still refused to acknowledge, she wasn't ready to face that possibility yet. Both she and John had been asked to consider seeing a councillor and both of them had refused.

Carson finished checking up on Elizabeth and then sat down in the empty chair next to Teyla.

"How are you doing lass?" he asked her and oddly enough Teyla didn't find the question annoying. She had been asked that question a million times over the last week and had been given more than her fair share of sympathy. It annoyed her more each time but for some reason this time it didn't.

"I'm fine, coping, it's just hard seeing her like this, she's always been full of life."

"She may very well be again, don't lose hope,"

Teyla smiled slightly "So is this your way of shrinking me without my knowledge since I refuse to see a councillor?"

"Aye lass, whatever works," Carson told her with a smile as he got up to leave the room. "I am serious though, there's nothing more we can do for her except hope, it's all we have so don't lose it."

Teyla watched as he left the room considering his words. He was right all they could do now was hope that Elizabeth pulled through.

- - -

"Wait I thought you said you were in a casino at the time of the murder?" Ronon questioned.

"Did I, I must have got confused I was actually asleep in my room at the time."

"Did she have any enemies, anyone who might want to hurt her?" John asked.

"Not that I can think, she didn't really talk much about work but she would often come home in a bad mood so maybe there was something going on there."

"Of course, well thank you for your time," John said as they got up to leave. "We'll be in touch."

Ronon and John left the house in silence and neither spoke until they were in the car and on the way back to the station.

"I think he did it," Ronon stated. "He wasn't taking a personal vacation in Vegas that's for sure."

"So the husband did it?"

"That's my opinion," Ronon confirmed.

"Why is it marriages can't just remain happy?" John questioned rhetorically and Ronon shrugged. "So if the husband did it we need to know why."

"We should talk to some of her colleagues at work to see if there was anything going on there," Ronon suggested and John nodded.

"Where did she work?"

"Denny's diner, she was a waitress,"

"Right," John said "I'm sure there's major drama working in a diner."

"Let's find out,"

TBC