Two and a half hours later, Kathy seemed to be the only one standing still in a lab filled with flying scientists. The only words they spoke to each other were commands for equipment, or another eye on what they were working on. There was no time for bickering now. The clock was ticking down, and everyone knew it.

Lorne, Reed, Houser, Saint, and O'Meara were running out of time. It wouldn't be long before they were gone.

"Ah!" Jeff exclaimed. His head spun around sharply and he picked her out. "Kathy, come here. I just got the results of the analysis on the water samples brought back from the different planets. Do you recognize any of the contents?"

Kathy came up, looked at the display for a moment, and skimmed through the images of the various chemicals in the water.

"Mineral, mineral," she muttered. "Animal refuse, mineral, organism, mineral, mineral, man these are rich waters… there." She stopped, staring at the screen as though mesmerized. "That's it," she said. "The same chemical, the exact same. You were right, Jeff."

Jeff examined the information derived from the analyzed chemical and nodded. "Well, here we go then."

The haste of the scientists intensified, and Kathy caught only fragments of words spoken so fast they slipped past her ears. Once she thought she heard Jon exclaim, "How can radiation cure this? Are you nuts? What does chemotherapy have to do with it?"

Oh dear. This was not good. God, please, Kathy begged. Please show us the solution, please guide Jon, Jeff and Neal's hands, please help Lorne's team to hold on longer.

She stood in the middle of the room, unmoving in the midst of the flurrying activity around here, fist held against her mouth as she tried not to cry. Yes, as a doctor she had lost dozens of patients; hundreds, in fact, due to her work being in epidemics. But that never, ever made it any easer. All one could do was try to shoulder it and push on, but that didn't by any means mean that she didn't stop and shed tears.

God, You're their Father, Kathy prayed. Every father protects their children. If You take them away now… You know where they'll go. Surely You can't do that! Surely You can't! Her head bowed.

And so she continued, sometimes whispering prayers under her breath, sometimes silently uttering them in her thoughts. But she knew that whatever happened next was not in her hands. The truth of it was that it never was.

Kathy paced back and forth, eyes flicking over the activities of the various scientists around her, never stopping a moment as she prayed.

Her mental clock continued to tick down. Three hours left. Two. One.

As the hours changed to minutes, less than fifty, Kathy felt despair encroach. Her pacing faltered, stopped, and she stood with interlaced fingers pressed against her mouth.

God, no. Can't you… can't you this once... The tears were there, she felt them just behind her eyes. Father, please don't let the Devil take these ones.

Jon Parrish exclaimed loudly and clapped his hands together. "I've got it!" he cried. Tears fell from his eyes as he laughed triumphantly. "I've got it!"

Instantly everyone swarmed upon Parrish and his discovery, and loud laughter and back slaps ensued.

Kathy just stayed where she was, openly weeping as a brilliant smile lit up her face. Thank You, God. Thank You!

Parrish was excitedly explaining his discovery, and Kathy lifted her hand up to her mic.

"John," she said, unable to keep the tremors from her voice. "We've got it." She started sobbing. "We've got the cure!"

Somehow she knew that John was grinning. "Kathy, that's terrific!" he exclaimed. "When can you get it to the infirmary?"

"We're starting to synthesize it now. Someone should be heading to the infirmary in a couple of minutes. How are Major Lorne and Company?"

"They're doing fine, Kathy. Actually, they seemed to have gotten an extra boost of strength. We hadn't expected that after we had to take them off sedation."

Kathy's eyes closed again, and with a dizzy and soaring feeling she thanked her Father once again for His provision. "Good thing," she said. "The sedative would have interfered with the working of the antidote."

"They're coming to right now. Guess I'll tell 'em the news. I'd better go."

Kathy nodded. Then she flung her arms around Jon as both of them wept. They weren't the only ones in the lab with wet faces.

…

Lorne's team made it out by a hairsbreadth, and finally everyone was able to breath. John was still puzzled by the sudden burst of strength the five had had at the very end. It didn't make any sense.

Lorne couldn't figure it out either. "It came out of nowhere, sir," he confessed. "Whatever it was, that strength wasn't my own." When he found out it wasn't from any drug they had given him, Lorne looked even more confused.

"I've had this happen in other close shaves wi' death," Sgt. O'Meara remarked. "There are more times that I should've died and didn't than I can count. And then there are the times when I know it wasn't physically possible for me not to die. Yet I'm still here." He shrugged. "There's a reason I wear a cross wi' my dogtags."

John glanced over at him doubtfully. Sure, he'd grown up a Catholic boy, but he wasn't sure that he had ever really believed any of it. O'Meara certainly did, but those were his own beliefs.

Kathy entered into infirmary, walking arm-in-arm with Dr. Keller, with whom she was holding an obviously happy conversation. It only took a glance to tell that those two were the best of friends.

Kathy's head turned and she called out a cheery hello to John and his companions, and now that she was facing him John could see how tired she was.

Kathy and Dr. Keller parted, and Kathy walked over to them. "Hello, boys," she greeted them.

"Hey, Doc." Lt. Houser lifted a hand in greeting, then let it thud down heavily.

"How you guys doing?" Kathy asked them.

Sgt. O'Meara cocked an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you know that already?"

Kathy rolled her eyes. "Yes," she answered. "I've already read your health reports, but I am asking for a self-assessment from you five, how you feel personally."

"We're fine, ma'am," Lorne said.

"See, what did I tell you, Jennifer!" Kathy exclaimed. "Military folks are just so predictable! Sheesh, you could be missing a leg and standing with half your entrails hanging out and you'd still say you were fine."

Lorne and his men cracked guilty smiles. Lt. Saint chuckled.

"Well, we're a little achy, ma'am, if that's what ye want to hear," Sgt. O'Meara said, his eyes sparkling with mischief. That was an encouraging sign to see. John still hadn't figured out how Lorne had gotten an Irishman on his team. Frankly, he thought it was a little unfair.

Kathy nodded encouragingly. "That's more like it," she said. "Hey, if any of you guys want to talk, I'm available. Well, not like that, but… nevermind. Anyway, you can talk with me whenever, and I don't put any of it in a report. So there is a bonus."

Lorne looked at Kathy curiously. "I thought you were a medical doctor, not a shrink," he said.

Kathy shrugged. "I aced all my psychology classes in high school. Actually, it was pretty much the only class I aced."

Lt. Houser cocked his head. "Then why aren't you a shrink?"

"Well, people get really uncomfortable around psychiatrists and the like. Besides, with this job, I impale people and get paid for it."

John lifted an eyebrow and smirked. "Ah, so now your true motives come into the light."

Kathy grinned over at him deliciously. "Don't tell a soul."

"Or… what? I'll be the next one you impale?"

"Fatally." Kathy was unable to restrain a giggle.

The aimless conversation couldn't be pursued since it was interrupted by Colonel Carter's arrival.

"I see you're doing well," she said, looking proudly over her men.

"We're doing fine, ma'am," Lorne replied. "Though the docs don't quite agree."

Carter chuckled. "They never do, do they."

"I don't know," John said. He jerked a thumb over at Kathy. "This one was just talking about impaling people." He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "And getting paid for it."

"John!" Kathy exclaimed, punching him in the arm. "You promised you wouldn't tell! Now I have to kill you all!"

Sgt. O'Meara grinned and leaned over toward Captain Reed. "I like this doctor," he whispered, looking at Kathy with high approval.

Colonel Carter's brow furrowed, and a slightly puzzled smile was on her countenance. "I get the feeling I just walked into the middle of something."

"Yes ma'am," John affirmed. Kathy giggled again, and John was struck by how pretty she looked when her eyes crinkled up like that.

Dr. Keller joined them. John had been wondering when she would. "Well, I'm just glad this worked," she said. "It really was a close one this time."

"You're not the only one," Kathy told her. "Jon is still unexpectedly bursting into tears whenever he thinks about it, and it's been six days now." Seeing John's disgruntled expression, she explained, "Not you, John, the other Jon. Jon Parrish."

John continued to look at her blankly. Kathy sighed. "The dude who's obsessed with flowers?"

Recognition lit up John's face. "Oh! That guy." His brow furrowed. "His name is John?"

"Yep. And that's without an H, by the way."

John stared at her. "How did you know—"

"It's the way you think it. Now how did we get on this detour?"

"I'm not entirely sure, and I don't think it really matters," Colonel Carter decided. "What matters now is that we still have our men. And all in one piece, too."

"And for that we are very grateful, ma'am," Lorne replied.

"But we still don't know who did this," John pointed out grimly. "They could do it again, and pick an even larger bullet to dodge."

Carter nodded in agreement, her expression grave. Everyone looked somber. "It's a big galaxy," Carter said. "Finding them won't be easy."

"Why not let them think our friends here are dead?" Kathy suggested. "That way they might use the same poison and methods again, and we can catch them when they make their next move."

Lorne didn't look like he liked the idea of sitting around and being dead, but Colonel Carter did.

"That's a good idea, Dr. Sanders," she said. "It just might work."

Kathy looked over at her. "Call me Kathy," she said, giving a slight smile. "Everybody does."

Colonel Carter nodded, and John could see that she hadn't missed the offer of friendship. Strange, considering just a week ago Kathy had hated the woman.

"Well, Major," Carter said to Lorne. "It seems that you and your team are going to have a lot of free time on your hands. From now on you won't be going offworld, you won't be mentioned in radio communications, and if any visitors from offworld are here you and your men are to remain out of sight."

Lorne sighed, resigned. "Yes, Colonel. Anything else, ma'am?"

"Yes," Colonel Carter replied. "This is a rare opportunity for you and your men to relax. Take advantage of it."

"Hey, no better time to enjoy life than when ye're dead, eh, sir?" O'Meara joked.

Colonel Carter turned to John. "Our scheduled call to Earth is in ten minutes," she said. "I expect you there, Colonel."

"Bang on the dot, ma'am," John replied.

"Dr. Sanders—sorry, Kathy?"

"Yeah?"

"Meet me in my office after the exchange with Earth."

Kathy nodded. "I'll be there."

Colonel Carter nodded and walked away. Another doctor came up to Dr. Keller, asking her about something or another, and so she left too.

John turned to Kathy. "So," he asked, "how do you like being in on the action?"

"Not a bit," Kathy replied. "But I might as well get used to it."

John couldn't help a smirk. "Well, maybe it would help if you didn't keep coming up with these brilliant ideas."

Kathy gave him an equally saucy smirk in return. "That's why they're called brilliant, John. They shine."

"Then put it under a bushel."

Kathy shook her head with an amused snort and smacked John upside the head. "Amaideach."

Sgt. O'Meara started and laughed. "I didn't know you spoke Gaelic!"

"I'm half Irish, of course I speak Gaelic," Kathy replied.

"Ah!" O'Meara considered Kathy's appearance with a frown. "So, ye're a black-haired Irish, then?"

"Red, actually," Kathy confessed. She tugged at a few locks. "This is dyed."

O'Meara tsked disapprovingly. "For shame."

"I've been meaning to set it back, I just haven't had the time. My mom thinks the black suits me better, since my hair wasn't so much red as it was orange. Very orange."

"Oh, but that's just so attractive in Irish women." O'Meara grinned cheekily.

Kathy looked over at Major Lorne. "He's a shameless flirt, isn't he," she said.

Major Lorne nodded. "Oh yeah."

"I figured."

O'Meara snickered.

Lorne shook his head. "I just can't get over where that burst of strength came from," he admitted, returning to the subject he and John had been on at the beginning. "I know I didn't have anything left in my tank, and you said you didn't give us any drugs…"

"Just call it a miracle, and leave it at that," O'Meara suggested.

"Amen, brother," Kathy said, slapping a high-five. "And you know who comes up with those."

O'Meara nodded, smiling broadly. "Oh, ye bet I do."

Lorne shook his head with an amused smile, and John knew he shared his doubt.

"I know where the strength came from," Kathy said suddenly.

They all turned to look over at her. "You do?" Lorne asked before John did.

Kathy nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I was praying for you."

Everyone blinked. Kathy's wristwatch beeped, and she looked down quickly. "Oh, gotta be somewhere. See you guys later."

She turned and walked off. The men watched her go, wearing matching expressions of puzzlement.

"She didn't…" John started.

"Did she?" Lorne wondered.

"I mean," John stammered. "She couldn't have…"

Sgt. O'Meara smiled, leaning back against his pillow and playing with the simple cross attached to the chain looped around his neck. "Oh, I don't think she did anything," he said. "God was just waiting for someone to ask."

John glanced over at O'Meara and wondered briefly, for the first he had in a long time, if there was some credibility to the faith called Christianity after all.

Nah. Couldn't be.

Could it?

Well, I'm sure you've noticed now that the chapters are titled! I've been meaning to do this for a while, but coming up with titles for something that wasn't titled to begin with is a lot harder than one would think.

Yes, there is a strong Christian perspective in this story. But that doesn't mean only Christians can read it. This is written for everyone to enjoy, not just folks within a certain clique. I hope that's clear.

Sorry that this one is so late. And unfortunately, this will be the last chapter you get from me for a long while. April is Script Writing Frenzy, which is basically NaNoWriMo for films. I haven't done it before, so it's something new to try. The goal is to reach 100 pages of script, so it should be pretty fun. And if April turns out to be as busy as I'm thinking (and hoping, honestly) as I think it'll be, it will certainly be a challenge. Well, that's the best bit, ain't it?

Until we meet again, then.

~Ardna