Hello, all. I apologize for the delay. The father of an old friend of mine died, and I had a bit of trouble coming to terms with that. You know, when you just have to take a little time to re-evaluate your life? Like that. I actually did a bit of writing to get myself through it. It's posted, just because of my little cousin Grasshopper, as 'Life's Dance', if you felt so inclined to read it.

But now for a special note about this particular chapter. You may notice that it has a little different tone than the others later on. This is because about halfway through writing it, my Grasshopper (She wanted to be called Supreme Being of Might, but I vetoed that idea. She's my Grasshopper.) actually asked to contribute the inspiration for the rest of the chapter, Myka. The character is hers, the plot is mine, which formed as I took the character and ran with it. I wanted her to feel included, and it turned out rather interesting. I had other plans for this chapter originally, but I owed my cousin, you know? Anywho, I hope you like it, and I'll update again when I can!

(Oh, and the song? It's from Cinderella. It was my favorite movie as a kid, and since I was already adding in Myka, I figured why the hell not throw in the song?)

Compromising Positions: Chapter 13
A Wish Your Heart Makes

"Honestly, you two. Get a room," General O'Neill bemoaned from the other side of the table, shielding his eyes from them like he was staring at the sun.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, glaring at him and reclaiming her fork from John before he decided to do any serious damage to her lunch. "Yes, because giving John a bite of my cake before I have to leave is obviously going to cause irrevocable trauma," she pointed out sarcastically, scooping up another bite of the dessert and feeding herself this time, as opposed to her military commander, who was perched on the seat beside her.

O'Neill nodded seriously. "It does when I'm not on the receiving end of the cake!"

Across the cafeteria table, Sam rolled her eyes while Teyla nodded her sympathy. Katie Brown, who had also joined them, just looked concerned and offered the General her own untouched slice, which he turned down sullenly with the admission that he was trying to cut down a little on the cake anyways. Ronon, having decided that this meant the slice of cake was up for grabs, slid the plate across the surface of the table and dug in with as close to an expression to happiness as Elizabeth supposed he got, when he was around people other than his team.

Needless to say, after Elizabeth had shared lunch with Sam and O'Neill the first time, it had become a bit of a tradition, and had grown to include many of the senior staff and their close friends as well. It was really very pleasant, but after John had showed up one day and immediately taken the chair at Elizabeth's side, O'Neill had taken one look at them and apparently decided that he should play matchmaker.

Hence the oh-so-subtle 'get a room' comment when Elizabeth had offered a bit of her cake to John. The General's teasing had at first thrown her, but now Elizabeth simply ignored him, as did, apparently, John. She had returned to light duty four days ago upon Carson and Jennifer's approval, able to walk and talk sufficiently again, and was now putting in six hours of work a day, with an hour for lunch smack dab in the middle. (Another of the good doctors' conditions.)

Periodically, Elizabeth attempted to break her curfew and work longer than she was currently allowed, and was repeatedly thwarted. She had even gone so far as to make off with her laptop and a few stacks of unfinished paperwork and hole herself up in an isolated tower of the city once, but Sam had just spent five minutes meddling with one of the control room's consoles when she couldn't find her, and managed to trace the remote access that her laptop was using to connect to the database: a unique signature to her high-clearance computer, if Sam was to be believed. Elizabeth was skeptical, nursing a personal theory that the medical staff had simply had her chipped while she was unconscious so she wouldn't be able to escape.

Admittedly, having John back in the city for the time being had helped with her impatience. He was extremely busy: he and Ronon and Teyla were pushing the rather large shipment of personnel that they had received from Earth through their rigorous trainings so quickly and forcefully that Elizabeth was certain that she had seen one or two of them literally with their eyes crossed from the exhaustion and strain. (Or possibly one of Ronon's blows to the head.) But he was always sure to spend time with her and share at least one meal with her, although more often than not, he timed his visits so that he could make sure she left work on time. Elizabeth had thought she'd never see the day where that man would be in cahoots with Carson, but surprisingly, that day had come. Once, bored, she had gone for a run, wound up out of breath and in pain about halfway around her usual circuit, and had wound up on the receiving end of his tirade as he had shouted at her for being so cavalier with her health, radioed Carson, and then held out his earpiece so that she could hear him shout at her. It had enraged her at the time, and she had pulled no punches in her quite ineffective retaliatory tongue-lashing, but she hadn't been running again, and wouldn't be tempted to do so for a while, especially since she hadn't been able to stay mad at either of them.

Several days later, mere hours away from the scheduled departure of the Daedalus, Elizabeth rather regretted the fact that she had not found some way to spend more time with John, despite the fact that O'Neill teased her enough about it as it was. She could have taken it in good humor, she knew. Pursing her lips, she took a fleeting moment to regret the fact that Pegasus was so demanding of all of their time. But then again, she wouldn't love it any other way.

The scrape of a chair across the floor startled Elizabeth from her reverie, and she realized that not only had the conversation continued on without her, but it had ended, and empty trays were being gathered from the table as the little group prepared to leave. O'Neill was grousing again, about god-knows-what, but Sam was laughing, and Elizabeth was wondering if their relationship was really that easy to spot, or if she was only noticing because she knew what to look for. She suspected the latter. "Come on John," she encouraged, realizing why everyone was getting up to leave. "We've only got an hour until you have to leave on the Daedalus. I'll help you carry your bag to the beaming area."

John appeared amused at this idea. "It's bigger than you are," he pointed out smugly as he obliged and walked with her from the Mess and towards the nearest transporter.

"Yeah, but at least I can lift it," Elizabeth snarked back.

John's expressive hazel eyes widened in mock hurt and he slapped a hand to his chest. "Elizabeth Weir, you wound me!" he cried, allowing her to enter the transporter before him.

"You make it too easy," she informed him with a light laugh.

John jostled her playfully with one arm. "Yeah," he agreed as the flash of light consumed them and deposited them on the other side of the city. The doors swept open, and he casually looped an arm around her shoulders as they walked down the new hall. "But I'll be gone for two whole days while the Daedalus drops a 'gate on the shipyard planet. Figured you'd like to get your kicks in now."

Elizabeth just laughed. "Touché," she replied, feeling the sudden loss of warmth as John removed his arm to swipe his hand across the crystals of his door. He went in, while she leaned against his doorframe as he moved to the duffel slung over his bed and began to quickly check the contents. She watched him, feeling oddly quiet. Atlantis was everything to her, just as she knew it was everything to John. They were important to each other, certainly, but their city was a part of them that neither could deny. Elizabeth couldn't bring herself to regret that John was leaving again, even if only for a short time. It was important to Atlantis, and therefore important to her, that he go. "I will, you know," she told him quietly as he zipped up his bag, filled with a couple spare uniforms and some toiletries, and hoisted it to his shoulder. "Miss you. You'd better come back in one piece."

"When have I not?" he asked. Catching Elizabeth's raised eyebrow, John made a face at her and guided her back to the transporter. "More pieces are better anyways. I've heard all about the girls' poker nights. You'll need something to pay the price of admission and bet against all those illicit M&Ms the Daedalus crew smuggles over."

"Well, I do like M&Ms…"

"…Hey!"

Elizabeth whimpered as John left a burning trail of kisses across her collarbone and hands cradled her weight at the small of her back. Running her hands through his messier-than-normal hair, she brought his face back up to hers and planted a searing kiss on his lips, gasping in delight as he pulled her closer to him. Moving from her lips and devoting more attention elsewhere, John nibbled across her jawline and down her neck, sending thrills shuddering through her where they settled, tingling, at the base of her spine. The sensation brought a shuddering gasp of pleasure to her lips. Thoroughly enjoying herself, Elizabeth ran her hands down the strong planes of his chest, murmuring his name into his cheek before again brushing her lips with his, kissing him with a tenderness that filled her trembling body from head to toe.

Abruptly, he pulled his face away and examined her own, making her shiver with the darkness of his eyes and the intensity of his expression.

"Dr. Weir?" he said curiously. "Dr. Weir, wake up."

"Wha—what?" she hissed, breathless and confused.

He looked at her evenly, cupping her cheek with one rough palm. "Wake up. Dr. Weir!"

With a violent start, Elizabeth's head shot up from her desk, blinking furiously as her eyes adjusted to the light, pulse still racing, and breathing still slightly ragged from the dream. She registered that a female marine was standing next to her. Upon further inspection, Elizabeth recognized none other than Laura Cadman. The woman was grinning widely at her. "Good dream, huh?" she suggested.

Elizabeth was fairly certain that her face had turned the same livid red as her shirt.

"Thought so," the woman chuckled, tucking a stray wisp of hair back into her immaculate braid and brushing off her uniform. When Sam, O'Neill, John, and the Earth recruits had boarded the Daedalus two days earlier to install a 'gate that they had nicked from an uninhabited planet onto the shipyard planet, Laura had taken over let's-babysit-Elizabeth-so-she's-bored-into-insanity duty. As Carson's girlfriend, she was also less corruptible than Sam was, unfortunately, and Elizabeth found it harder to weasel out of conforming to her enforced part-time working hours. A glance at her watch told her that she had slept through more time than she would have liked.

"Damn," she muttered.

Laura laughed again. "Down girl!" she chortled. "No need to get all hot and bothered."

Elizabeth glared at her, still feeling the heat of her embarrassment crawling up her neck, and the explosives expert had the tact to contain her mirth. "Right. Sorry ma'am," she said, smirking. "I won't tell, I promise."

"Cadman…"

"I won't!" she exclaimed as Elizabeth eyed her suspiciously. "I just came to make sure you were ready for the class. Seems it was a good idea. Can't have the kiddos seeing you sleeping on the job!"

Elizabeth almost slammed her head back down onto the desk. "I forgot about the kids," she admitted tiredly. "Thanks, Laura." Children were tedious. Why had she offered to meet with them today?

"I won't mention anything if you don't."

"Right, Laura."

"Look, here comes the zoo."

"They're just children, Laura. Relax."

The woman wrinkled her nose. "That's just what they want you to think," she warned Elizabeth, throwing a distasteful look towards where five children and two adults were carefully stepping into the control room. "Children are deceitful little savages. Have fun. I hope you have all your limbs when you're done."

"Laura," Elizabeth sighed. "I highly doubt that—"

"—savages!"

Giving up, Elizabeth just shook her head at Cadman's antics and got to her feet, quickly brushing out some wrinkles in her shirt and pants and smoothing her curling hair to ensure that she appeared at least somewhat presentable. Her pulse was still racing after her imaginary encounter with John, but there was little she could do about that. Without further ado, she exited her office and made her way through the control room towards where the small group of children were huddled with their two civilian teachers, a plump middle-aged woman and a younger, freckled woman. This was Atlantis's school. Out of the seven Earth children living in the city, only five were school-aged, and they were young at that. Elizabeth knew them all already, having visited their little class a few weeks ago when they had first arrived. Reicher, a quiet, dark-haired boy, was the oldest at eleven years of age. He held by the hand his younger sister, Kayla. She was seven, and they both looked and behaved remarkably similarly, and had very slight Texan accents. None of the other three children were siblings. Anezka, a tiny blonde girl from the Czech republic who didn't speak English very well yet, was ten. Marq, a redheaded little boy from France, was eight years old, but spoke English very well. Lastly, from England came Myka, who was five, and had curly brown ringlets framing her face and large blue eyes.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Weir," they chorused as she approached, looking around with wide eyes.

"Hello Reicher, Anezka, Marq, Kayla, Myka," Elizabeth returned, smiling at them. "Have you been behaving well for Mrs. Brayden and Miss Stackhouse?"

They all nodded solemnly, and Elizabeth couldn't bite back her wide grin. "Excellent," she praised them, before becoming more serious. "Now, do you all remember what Major Lorne taught you all last week, at the shooting range?"

"Ze guns are not toys. We must nezzer touch them," Anezka recited, dark eyes large.

"If we must use a weapon, we must use a stunner," Reicher threw in.

Little Kayla stepped forwards. "If we are ever in danger, we must find a grown-up, and do as they say."

"And don't talk to Dr. McKay unless we bring him food!" Myka and Marq announced in proud unison, their little European accents quite endearing.

Major Lorne had done a good job in teaching them. It was sad really, that it was necessary to teach such young children how and when to fire a gun or a Wraith stunner, but Elizabeth had and still felt that it was a good idea, especially considering just how many weapons were floating around Atlantis. With guns within such easy reach of the children, they needed to know how to act safely around them, and, god forbid Atlantis be invaded, know how to fire them. Elizabeth hoped that it would never come to that, but it was better safe than sorry, and adult civilians had received training as well, albeit more advanced, days after they had arrived.

"Very good!" she praised them with an indulgent smile. "Are you ready to learn about the Control room?"

"Yes!" they squealed, eyes bright with a curiosity that Elizabeth, frankly, admired.

"All right, this way," she instructed with a wide smile, allowing little Myka, who seemed to be fascinated with her whenever they met, to take her hand. As a group, the five children and three adults advanced, so that they were positioned behind most of the working consoles. "This is the Control room," she told them, gesturing to the technicians seated at the consoles in front of them. Chuck even turned around and offered a little wave to their visitors, which only Anezka timidly returned. "It is the heart of the city. Almost every important system can be accessed and operated from here. That includes communications, some of the power distribution, quarantine operations, the shield, and perhaps most importantly, the Stargate," Elizabeth summed up. "Now, who would like to see it up close?"

"Me!" came the resounding reply.

Elizabeth was impressed with the children, she decided. They did not run, or yell, or touch anything that they were not instructed to, and their obvious awe of the Stargate was very great as they approached it.

"Does it hurt? To go through it?" Marq inquired with eyes as wide as saucers when they stopped their advance just next to the great ring.

"No," Elizabeth answered truthfully. "It does feel a little funny though," she admitted. "I'm always cold when it's over."

Kayla, still holding tight to her older brother's hand, summed it up nicely. "Wow," she said.

"Wow, indeed," Elizabeth agreed solemnly. "Now, who would like to see my office? If I'm not mistaken, Lt. Cadman would very much like to meet all of you."

All right. Well, that was a lie. But Elizabeth just couldn't resist the opportunity to see her jailor squirm a bit. She was a terrible human being.

The kids all nodded their agreement and followed Elizabeth to the stairs. She was halfway up when she felt Myka tug on her arm. "What is it, Myka?" she asked, leaning down a little.

The girl's blue eyes were sepulchral as she answered. "Papa said that there was no such thing as aliens," she lisped. "But there is. Papa didn't know that though. He said God made us, and we was all there is. He said we're special, and that's why we go to Heaven if we say our prayers and eat our greens. But… Papa was wrong, and Mummy was right. If Papa was wrong, did Papa still get to go to Heaven, Dr. Weir, when he died? Even though we aren't the only ones there is?"

Elizabeth was certain that, for a few seconds, her heart stopped, and she fought against allowing emotion to color her features. It wouldn't do to cry in front of the child. Instead, Elizabeth knelt to her level and tucked a stray curl behind the girl's ear. The SGC had spent its entire existence fighting to free the human race from false gods, and what with the whole 'we aren't alone in the universe' thing, Elizabeth knew that sorting out personal beliefs and religion hadn't been easy for any of the personnel, including herself. It had to be even harder for a mere child, especially for one so young as Myka, who was too young, really, to understand. Especially one whose religious father had died. "Yes, Myka," Elizabeth finally responded. "I think he did." The girl's shy and relieved smile told her that she had provided the right answer.

Standing, Elizabeth took Myka's hand and quickly rejoined the tour, which was just settling at the top of the stairs. "Now, who can tell me how we make sure only the good guys get through the 'gate?" she asked with forced cheerfulness, looking around at Atlantis's kids. "Reicher."

"The Iris?" he guessed.

"That is correct, especially for the SGC," Elizabeth praised. "Here in Atlantis, we call it the—"

The whirr and clunk of an activated chevron cut into her speech. Behind her, Chuck dutifully announced, "Unscheduled Offworld Activation!"

Automatically tensing up, Elizabeth looked sharply at Mrs. Brayden and Miss Stackhouse, dropping Myka's warm little hand. "Get them into my office and stay there," she instructed in a tone that left no room for argument. The two women nodded, eyes wide, and began to herd their charges across the bridge while Elizabeth made her way into the control room. The 'gate let loose its kawoosh, eliciting a few surprised gasps from the children as the last of them here hurried into the glass office.

"Do we have an IDC, Chuck?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, ma'am," the man told her. "Dr. McKay's, as well as a radio transmission."

"Lower the shield, and put them on speaker." Elizabeth was concerned. The shipyard planet was not due for a check-in for another four hours.

"Atlantis, this is McKay. Have a medical team standing by. There was an equipment malfunction and we have two wounded that require immediate medical attention."

"Consider it done, Dr." Elizabeth told him. She then turned to the man seated at her side. "Chuck?"

"Already on it, Dr. Weir," he told her, tapping a button on his console. "Medical team to the 'gate room, medical team to the 'gate room."

Nodding her appreciation, Elizabeth turned back to her office, where the children and their teachers were huddled, looking rather nervous. She didn't want them to see the wounded coming through the 'gate. No child or civilian should have to see that. Crossing the bridge, Elizabeth stepped into her office. "Mrs. Brayden, Miss Stackhouse, I'm afraid we'll have to cut your visit short. We have some wounded coming in, and I'd rather you—"

Elizabeth was once again cut off, but this time by a heartbreaking wail that startled both students and teachers alike. "Mummy!" came the cry, and Elizabeth was almost bowled over in Myka's rush to get out the door. She managed to catch the little girl around the waist, however, and turned with confusion to the 'gate room floor to see what exactly had upset the child so. The sight that met her scared her so much that she nearly dropped her.

Several people had poured forth from the event horizon, including Rodney and Teyla and Ronan, as well as a few others. What was most concerning about this, however, were the two wounded. One Elizabeth Recognized as Dr. Emily Cunningham, Myka's mother. The other was (Of course, because who else ever got injured?) John. Neither appeared to be in particularly good shape, and were covered in what appeared to be large burns.

"Mummy!" came the plaintive scream from her arms. Elizabeth, startled from her initial shock and horror, instinctively pulled the struggling girl closer to her and onto her hip. She wanted nothing more than to run down to John's side, and she silently thanked her struggling charge for keeping her in check. She would do no good there.

Running a soothing hand down the back of her neck, Elizabeth took a moment to whisper some reassurances to Myka and still her before turning back to her shocked tour group. Marq and Kayla, the youngest, had burst into tears as well, not sure what was going on, other than it was scary, while Reicher and Anezka simply looked grim. "Mrs. Brayden, Miss Stackhouse. We need to leave. Now."

The two women were not about to argue. Quickly and proficiently, they began to shepherd their young charges through the nearest exit, talking loudly to distract them from the chaos in the control room as the medical team, along with Carson, burst onto the scene. Elizabeth followed, now thoroughly entangled with Myka, as the little girl had wrapped her arms and legs around her and buried her curly head into her shoulder. Once she had carried her out of earshot of the control room, however, Elizabeth knew that she had to get back to the crisis.

"Myka," she tried, shifting her weight a little. "Myka, sweetie, you have to let go now. Miss Stackhouse will carry you, but I have to go back to work now, and make sure everything is ok."

"No!" the girl sobbed into her shirt as Elizabeth tried to pry her arms from around her neck, only resulting in her holding on tighter.

Miss Stackhouse, seeing her dilemma, tried her best to help, taking Myka around the waist and giving a gentle tug. "Come on, Myka dear," she cajoled in her pleasant voice, which did a lot to hide the fear that was present on her freckled face. "Dr. Weir needs to go back to work, honey. She needs to take care of Colonel Sheppard and your mother, just like you need to go take care of Bananas."

"No!" Myka howled into Elizabeth's shoulder, not budging. "Bananas doesn't need me, Mummy needs me!"

The hysterics were upsetting the other children, at this point, and Myka was going nowhere, fast. Elizabeth, losing patience, gave in. Tapping her earpiece, she decided that she needed to know what was going on. "Chuck? This is Dr. Weir. I need an update. What happened?"

"Equipment malfunction, ma'am, like Rodney said," came Chuck's rather tinny reply into her ear. "Apparently, Dr. Cunningham was running some tests on an object that turned out to be a grenade. I don't know the details, but apparently, there was an accident, and Colonel Sheppard tried to pull Dr. Cunningham out of the way of the blast. They're in the infirmary now."

Elizabeth closed her eyes. "Thank you," she told him brusquely. Myka's death grip was slowly turning uncomfortable. She was a little too big to be carried, at her age. However, Elizabeth could understand. The child had just seen her mother seriously injured, and not in a subtle or pretty way. It had to be pretty traumatic. Elizabeth herself was frantic over John, and of the two, Cunningham had appeared to be more seriously burned. She shared a glance with Miss Stackhouse, who seemed to understand, and backed off to console Marq, who was still sniffling, leaving the leader of Atlantis and the little girl in relative privacy.

"Myka, sweetie?" she asked, bouncing a little to make sure the girl was paying attention. "I'd like to make a deal with you." Her only reply was silence, but Elizabeth hadn't really expected an answer anyways. "If you promise to behave and do as I ask, we can go to see Dr. Beckett together, all right? You won't be able to see your mother, because she has to get better first, but we can ask one of the nice nurses to tell her that you said 'hi'. Can you do that?"

Myka nodded, and Elizabeth sighed with relief. She hadn't been sure that reasoning with the child would work.

"Can Bananas come too?" Myka asked in a small voice that melted Elizabeth's resolve.

"Yes. Where is he?"

"I left him in the classroom."

"Well let's go then," Elizabeth replied. With a nod to Mrs. Brayden, who nodded grimly back, Elizabeth readjusted Myka's weight on her hip and made towards the transporter, the other children behind. She and Myka stepped in alone, however, and Elizabeth assumed that the other children would be returning to either their parents or the childcare services, depending on if their parents were offworld.

One flash of light later, and Elizabeth was striding down a new hallway, towards the room they had set aside for the children's classroom. She didn't bother to hide the worry she was feeling, now, as Myka could not see her face, and no one else was around to do so either.

Come back in one piece. Was that too much to ask? Apparently, it was. Elizabeth just couldn't understand why it was always him. There had to be over sixty people on that planet, working with the replicator ships, and yet the one to get nearly blown to Kingdom Come (all the way from the Pegasus Galaxy, she might add) was John. Not that Elizabeth wished hurt on anybody, but really, she thought it was about time that the poor man caught a break, and somebody else was blown up for a change. Just to shake things up.

Reaching the door to the classroom, Elizabeth swiped her hand across the crystals and set Myka on her feet. The girl was quiet now, except for a few sniffles, and set off across the room as Elizabeth watched, made somewhat treacherous by the beanbags littering the floor, and stopped by one of the writing desks by the windows. It was decorated by a finger-painting in large, awkward purple letters that said 'Myka'. The other desks also bore nametags of varying legibility. Grabbing a ratty stuffed monkey from where it had been slumped in her seat by one arm, Myka made her way back to where Elizabeth was standing.

"I have Bananas now, Dr. Weir," she informed her, looking up at her with puffy red eyes. "He's very scared for Mummy, but I told him you'd make it better, so he's not so scared now."

Suddenly finding it very hard to swallow, Elizabeth hoisted the girl back up onto her hip, even though she was heavy. It was extremely comforting, in a way, to have the tactile connection with her, although she couldn't imagine why. Perhaps it was because Myka was just as scared as Elizabeth was. "I'm glad Bananas isn't scared anymore," she said softly. "He's a very brave little monkey."

Myka smiled. "Can we go visit Dr. Beckett now?" she asked, her British accent becoming more pronounced now that she was calmer.

"Yes ma'am," Elizabeth responded, giving her a weak smile in return.

The nice thing about being in charge, Elizabeth decided, was that if you walked down a crowded hallway looking rather strange, most people were too afraid of you to comment on it. Such was the case when she walked into the infirmary with a five-year-old wrapped around her torso and a rather sad-looking stuffed monkey smashed onto the opposite side of her head. It was not a very Dr. Weir-like fashion statement.

Seeing that the infirmary was still in a state of controlled chaos, Elizabeth skipped the rather trafficked seating area and strode right into Dr. Beckett's office and deposited Myka onto Carson's chair. The girl, true to her word, didn't protest, but she did stare around her with wide blue eyes and clutched Bananas to her tightly. "Now, Myka, I need you to do something for me, all right?" Elizabeth told her gently.

The girl nodded, and Elizabeth continued. "I need you to sit right here for a little bit," she instructed. "This is Dr. Beckett's office, so you mustn't touch anything, but I won't be gone for long, and you'll be able to see me out of that window. I just need to talk to the Doctor about my friend, ok? Then I'll come right back. Can you do that for me?"

Myka nodded, but her large blue eyes were swimming with tears again.

"Hey," Elizabeth said with a forced smile, tapping the girl's nose. "You also need to help Bananas be brave. Help him so he doesn't get scared."

This time, Myka nodded more determinedly, and Elizabeth's smile became genuine. "Good girl," she told her, touching her cheek in a surprisingly soft gesture before standing. "I'll be right back."

With that, she backed out of Carson's office and went looking for said doctor, whom she found rather quickly. She waited patiently for him to finish giving instructions to his nurses before approaching him. "Carson, how are they?" she asked as he acknowledged her with a tight grip on her forearm. Her fear came rushing back to her at that moment, but Elizabeth trusted her CMO enough that she didn't mind him seeing it.

"Colonel Sheppard will be fine," he informed her. "He suffered only minor burns and a slight concussion. Nothing a little sleep can't fix."

Elizabeth wanted to melt into a puddle, but allowed herself no such thing. "And Dr. Cunningham?"

Immediately, Carson's demeanor changed as he became far more sober. "Dr. Cunningham's injuries are far more serious, Dr. Weir. She suffered some very severe burns. Dr. Keller is still working on her. If she survives, she'll need plastic surgery to return to her normal appearance, and her recovery will not be an easy one."

"If she survives? Carson, I have her five year old daughter sitting in your office right now!" she exclaimed, horrified.

The Scottish doctor too, appeared appalled. "That's a problem."

"Yes. It is," Elizabeth replied tersely. "Keep me posted. I want to know when you know for sure if Cunningham will survive, and I want to know when John will be able to receive visitors."

Carson sent a long glance towards his office. They could both clearly see Myka through the window, huddled in her chair and looking very frightened, but not crying. Carson, however, looked like he might want to cry.

"It's all right, Carson. You and Dr. Keller are doing everything you can," Elizabeth sighed. "I'll look after the girl for now."

The man nodded. "Colonel Sheppard is asleep, right now, but you could go sit with him if you like," he offered, gesturing to a curtained off area in the back of the infirmary.

Elizabeth nodded. "Thanks, Carson." Then, trying to appear as cheerful as possible, she walked back across the infirmary to where Myka was waiting in his office. "Come on, Myka," she called as she entered the room and scooped the girl up into her arms. "Let's go find a place to sit down."

"Ok," the girl acquiesced as Elizabeth began to carry her to where John was resting. "Did… Did Dr. Becket say anything about my Mummy?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes. "He told be that they're doing there very best to make her all better. Dr. Keller is still working on her."

Myka did not reply, and was silent even as Elizabeth pulled a chair towards John's bedside, sat in it, and settled her across her lap. She simply laid her head against her shoulder and fiddled with Bananas' short brown ears. Elizabeth, not sure what to do, didn't break the silence and just rubbed soothing circles onto Myka's back, just as her own mother used to do so long ago. John, at least, appeared to be sleeping peacefully. He looked pretty banged up, but nothing so bad that Elizabeth was concerned. She just needed to be there, with him.

After a while, Elizabeth thought that Myka must be asleep, as she was deadweight in her arms. But quite suddenly, she spoke. "Dr. Weir, do you sing?"

"That depends on the song," Elizabeth told her warily.

Myka heaved a little sigh that Elizabeth could feel rise and fall against her body. "Will you sing to me?" she asked quietly.

Elizabeth didn't have the heart to say no. Lowering her voice so that you'd have to be close to hear it, she settled one of her favorites. Short, simple, geared towards children, and oddly bittersweet, she decided that there wouldn't be any harm in indulging the little girl, even if she wouldn't be caught dead singing under any other circumstances. She wasn't very good, but she hoped that Myka wouldn't mind. "A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you're fast asleep. In dreams you will lose your heartache. Whatever you wish for, you'll keep. Have faith in your dreams, and someday, your rainbow will come shining through. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true."

Elizabeth trailed off, hoping that Myka had fallen asleep. Looking up, she was shocked to see that John had opened his eyes and was watching her silently. The fact that he had probably heard her singing flustered her, and Elizabeth was about to call him out on it when little Myka murmured sleepily, "Please finish the song, Dr. Weir."

And dammit, Elizabeth couldn't say no.

Reluctantly, shooting a poisonous glare at John that promised death if he should ever speak of this to anyone, Elizabeth continued the song. "A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you're feeling small. Alone in the night you whisper, thinking no one can hear you at all. You wake with the morning sunlight, to find fortune that is smiling on you. Don't let your heart be filled with sorrow, for all you know tomorrow, the dream that you wish will come true."

At long last, Elizabeth decided that Myka must be asleep. Her grip on Bananas had loosened and her breathing had evened enough to convince her. Cautiously, she looked up to see John still observing her, a tiny smile on his stubbled face. "Shut up, John. Don't you dare say anything!" she warned in a hissing whisper, feeling herself redden not just with the humiliation of revealing her poor musical skills, but the remembrance of the dream that Cadman had woken her from.

For his part, John seemed unusually docile; although that might have something to do with the pain reliever that Carson had no doubt pumped him full of. "Me?" he murmured innocently. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Elizabeth believed him. He never was cruel with his teasing. After all, a dream was a wish that you made with your heart.

And that is that. Did you like it? Also, I'd like your opinion of Myka. My cousin wanted her to become a bigger part of Elizabeth's, and therefore John's, life, but I told her that I would leave it up to the readers. And so, dear readers, what do you think of Myka? Shall we keep her around a bit longer, or shall she and Bananas go back from whence they came? Up to you. Any suggestions as to how you would like any repeat appearances to go would be appreciated as well, if you do decide that you like her. :)