Lena sat at her husband's bedside, wearily. It had been nearly two weeks of waiting, watching, and praying. She had spent all of that time at his side, barely even interacting with her boys. Her heart was heavy each time she looked at his pale face and the tubes that had gradually begun sustaining his life. She had gotten used to sleeping in the chair by his bed, and now, she wasn't even aware of the stiffness that her joints were experiencing.

"How are you doing?"

Lena looked up. "I- I'm fine." She stammered as she turned back away from Janet's concerned eye, as if she was trying to make herself invisible to the doctor's sweeping glance by hiding her eyes.

"Lena…I've been trying not to have to tell you this…"

She looked back up into Janet's pain-stricken face. "What?"

"Nick's gradually doing worse. He's stopped fighting and the bacteria are winning…"

"What?" She asked, no tears springing to her eyes for the simple fact that she had been crying for the last two weeks.

"His fever has been spiking off and on, and his vital signs are all over the place. Lena…" Janet heaved a sigh. "I think you need to call his family and let them know that this is the end."

She swallowed. "Thanks, Janet."

"Lena, I'm not telling you that so that you give up hope…I think he could still pull through this, but…at this point, I'm just trying to make him as comfortable as possible."

"I know…thank you."

Suddenly, they both heard a low moan come from the lips of the man in question. Lena immediately turned and firmly grasped her husband's hand. "I'm here, Darling."

"Mum?" The invalid whimpered.

She looked up at Janet, surprised. The other woman gave her a shrug.

"No, Nick, it's me…"

"Don't leave me…" He cried out.

"Nick, I'm…I'm not leaving!"

"Mum!" He said, squirming in a feverish haze.

"NICK!" Lena cried.

"I didn't mean to! It…It's not my fault!" He said, his muscles seizing up at the beginning of his seizure.

Lena stood, attempting to get out of the way of the medical team, but his hand was still so securely wrapped around her own that she was unable to leave him. She watched in horror as Janet's team hurried to take care of Nick. The pounding in her heart escalated as she wondered if this would be a fatal seizure. If he pulled out of this, she wouldn't wait any more, she would call Raddeus and ask him to bring Marie to Colorado. And her heart nearly stopped when she realized that Cassandra's statement had indeed come back to haunt her.

"Trust me. You'll know when it's time for you to take things into your own hands."

"Nick, please…" She begged, her voice barely above a whisper. "Don't leave me…I'm not going to leave you…So please don't leave me!"

At that moment, the team stood back as Janet announced. "He's stabilizing."

--

He was standing on the plains of Australia, the sun's harsh rays plaguing him with agonizing heat, making him insatiably thirsty. His face felt flushed and his throat felt parched, yet there was no relieving these symptoms.

He looked around him. There was nothing around him, typical of the outskirts, but the area was still too quiet for his tastes. But every now and then, there would be familiar faces that came and visited him.

The most frequent visitor was his wife, Lena. She was there right now, to be precise…but she wasn't the focus of his dream. He was there. The ten year old boy whose untimely end had tormented Nick for twenty years, Thomas Kosovich, stood before him.

"Tommy…"

"Nick."

"What are you doing here?"

"I can't come and visit my big brother?"

He looked at the ground at his feet, sorrowfully. "No, Tommy, you can't."

"Because I'm dead?"

Wordlessly, Nick nodded.

"So, what about Mum? She's not dead."

He stiffened. "What?"

Just then, Lena and Tommy disappeared, and Nick turned in desperation. "Lena!"

"Nicholas?"

He turned back around to face his mother. "Mum?"

"It's me…"

"No…it can't be…"

In the background the sound of a train whistle was heard. "Don't leave me!" He cried as though a small child again.

"I'm sorry, Nicholas…" She said as she disappeared.

He was so distraught that he didn't even notice Lena's return to his side. The tears fell down his face as the train rushed at him. "MUM!"

The train didn't stop, and now it was only seconds away from hitting him. "I didn't mean to! It…It's not my fault!"

He couldn't even remember feeling it hit him, but suddenly, he was on the ground in agonizing pain. "Nick, please…" Lena said, smoothing away the hair at his forehead.

He was starting to see the bright light everyone talked about…but his life hadn't flashed before his eyes…he'd only seen the horrific images of his childhood…

"Don't leave me…I'm not going to leave you…So please don't leave me!" He heard Lena's voice pull him back to reality.

Somehow, it healed a few of the stripes that had been plaguing him. "Lena?" He called, regaining consciousness.

There was no answer, but he could see the tears on her face, and feel the tenderness of her hand in his own hand.

For a moment, the haze around him began clearing up, the heat wasn't so unendurable, and the pain in his soul was manageable.

But just as quickly as the refuge came for him, the heat became stifling again, and his insatiable thirst returned.

"Thirsty." He mumbled.

Lena looked at Janet, who motioned to the water pitcher next to the bed. Lena brought a cup over, filled with water. "Drink this, darling."

For a moment, the sick man opened his eyes and put one hand on the cheek of his wife. "Love you…"

As he did so, he fell back into his feverish sleep.

Lena was torn between falling to pieces as this may very well be the end, or take it as a sign that he may not be as close to the end as she had thought. Either way, it was time for Nick to see his mother again. She wiped the few errant tears from her eyes. "Janet, is there a phone in your office that I can use? I…I need to make an international phone call…"

Janet nodded. "Of course."

"Thank you."

--

A few minutes earlier in New York City, Tony's cell phone rang, interrupting the lesson. "I'm sorry," he apologized to the student as he heard "You and Me" come from his cell phone, the music from his first official waltz with his wife. "It's my wife."

Susan Jacobsen nodded as Tony walked away, answering his phone. "Ria?"

There was a slight sniffle as she choked back a sob. "Tony…"

"What's wrong?" He asked, quickly.

"It's Nick…he contracted a rare, mutant strain of staph bacteria…" She choked on another sob.

"What?" Tony began, his heart pounding in anticipation and his mind swimming with confusion. "I mean…what happened, Ria?"

"I don't think we can do anything else…" She whispered, vulnerably.

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"You can't go to the apartment," she sniffed. "The Real Estate agent is showing it this afternoon, and you don't have clearance to come into the Mountain…"

"So, I'll stop by the O'Neills…it's still the hub of activity, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Meet me there?"

"I…"

"Ria…when you're officially able to clock out, meet me there, okay?"

"But…"

"Ria, I have no doubt that Nick is in the best hands when you're there, but you need to rest too."

She sighed. "All right…I'll be there. Just give me a call when you have a landing time, and I'll pick you up."

"Don't worry about it. I'll just get a cab. But go to the O'Neills' house and get some rest."

She sighed. "Okay."

"Hey, I love you." He said before she had a chance to end the phone call.

"I love you too." She whispered.

--

Tony drove up to the O'Neill house, nearly five hours later. He took a deep breath, almost wondering what he would find upon stepping foot into the house. He got out of the car and walked up the sidewalk to the house. Knocking on the door, he bit his lip. He hoped that Ria had taken his advice and gone over to their house.

The door was opened by Cassandra Fraiser. "Tony!" She said, the weariness in her eyes disappearing for a moment.

"Cassandra! How are you doing?"

She sighed. "In comparison with the rest of the 'family,' pretty darn good."

"I didn't ask for a comparison." Tony said, gently.

"Liam…was on a mission…"

Tony's heart stopped. Had the young man fallen in the line of duty? Had he taken Cassandra's heart with him?

"He's still suffering from severe claustrophobia."

"But he's alive, right?"

She nodded. "But he's…he's different. Very withdrawn, very quiet. Certainly quite a bit more sober."

He laid a hand on her shoulder. "He'll be all right."

She bit her lip as tears moistened her eyes. "I certainly hope so."

"Is my wife here?"

She nodded. "She's asleep in Nick and Lena's room."

Tony nodded. "Mind if I go in?"

"She's YOUR wife." She said, a token teasing gleam in her eye again.

Tony chuckled. "Thanks for side-stepping the question."

"Anytime."

He walked into the bedroom, where Ria lay, sprawled out on the Queen-sized bed. Tony walked over, and lay beside her, running his hands through her hair. She didn't awaken, and in that instant, he realized that this was most likely the first time that she had slept for any substantial amount of time. With his own long travel day, he placed his arms around his wife, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

When they awoke, he thought to himself, they would talk about what was going on, and how he could help.

--

Kinsah stood in the hallway, watching Lena as she sat by Nick's side. He felt concerned for her, but at the same time, he knew it was far beyond that of a normal friend. Sighing, he rubbed his temples. She hadn't eaten in a couple of days and she needed to keep her strength up. Entering the infirmary, he walked over. "Lena? You need to eat something." he said softly, painfully aware that his voice still carried some tinges of Nick's homeland in it.

"I'm fine." She said, wearily, as she ran her hand through her hair, one hand still holding Nick's as she did so.

"You have to get your strength up or Janet will toss you out on your arse."

Stopping dead in her tracks, she turned her head slowly, staring at the younger man.

"What?"

She shook her head. She was tired. He didn't sound like Nick. He wasn't acting like Nick. IT was just her imagination. "Nothing. I'd just like to be left alone."

"Right." he said, nodding his head to her respectfully.

She sighed as she closed her eyes, willing herself to get at least a nap while she waited for Nick to get well.

Retreating rapidly, Kinsah shut himself in his quarters and took a seat on his bed. He had to get a grip before he made things really uncomfortable for Lena. Ian, we've got to do something here...

I wish I could tell you what to do. The alien said, matter-of-factly.

I know...maybe we could try modifying my voice slightly or something.

It's not just your voice that's messing with her, Kin.

Then we change everything. Kinsah replied grimly.

I can't guarantee anything, Kin. It's not like I can just make adjustments in your brain and change the very essence of who you and I are!

I know that Ian.

And yet, you're asking me to do the impossible...

You're the almighty Ian!

The Tok'ra sighed. No, Kin, I'm not.

Pulling out a laptop someone loaned him, Kinsah fired up LimeWire, a half baked plan in his head.

What are you doing?

A little research.

On what?

Stuff. Kinsah replied absentmindedly as he began downloading television shows from various countries.

The Tok'ra sighed as he prepared to sleep.

Rockabye Ian, asleep in my brain... Kinsah sang softly in his head.

Keep that up and I think I may have to inflict some kind of torture on you!

Seesh...everybody's a critic.

--

A few hours later, Lena awoke to the pungent smell of borscht under her nose.

"Lunch?" Kinsah offered.

"Kinsah?" She asked, surprised as she tried open her eyes more widely.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"Since you won't eat, Janet allowed me to try something else. You really WILL get tossed out on your arse soon so I figured I would bring lunch to you."

"Okay...but how'd you get borscht?" She asked, confused.

"I made it."

She froze, blinking as she stared at the alien. "YOU made it?"

"Behold the power of Google."

"Fine." She sighed. "I'll eat."

"Finally!"

She took a few bites of the dish, her eyes still focused on her husband's. "You know...Nick hates this stuff." She whispered, softly. "Always said that the smell could raise the dead."

"Yeah...well he has a point. That smell's not exactly a beaut!"

She put the bowl aside, her senses warning her that something wasn't right. "Well...I've got my lunch. Now you can go."

"Are you cheesed off at me?"

"Stop that." She said, her voice becoming a little brusque.

"Okay, okay, I'm doing. Don't have to chuck a spaz over it." Kinsah said, shaking his head as he turned neatly on his heel.

Leaning against the back of her chair, she placed a hand over her eyes.

Reaching his quarters once again, Kinsah watched a load of television shows from New Zealand. The accent was somewhat similar to Australian, but different enough that the ear could detect it. After watching the shows a few times, Kinsah began imitating their speech slowly.

Meanwhile, Janet walked over to Lena. "How are you doing?" She asked, looking over at her.

"Just peachy."

"What's wrong?"

"Kinsah's sounding - and acting - a lot like Nick."

Janet sighed. "Well, whether we like it or not, it's one of the side effects of these kinds of blendings."

"I probably shouldn't have snapped at him." Lena sighed. "It's not like he asked for this."

"But you're right. It's...awkward."

"Oh yeah."

"Why don't I see if I can't run a little interference, okay?"

"That would be great."

"But finish up that food...I understand borscht isn't that great when it's cold."

Lena chuckled softly and ate the soup. It was surprisingly good.

--

Kinsah walked into the infirmary a little while later, hoping that his new accent would make things go a little more smoothly with Lena.

"Hi." He said slowly.

"Hi." She said, softly, trying desperately to give him another chance.

"Was the soup all right? I tried to give it a fair go."

"It was fine. Thank you."

"Good." He said, still speaking somewhat slowly as his tongue had to rearrange itself to accomdate the Kiwi accent he was going for.

"How's Nik'las?"

"He's still a bit knackered from everything that's happened."

"He'll be okay. Kids are resilient."

Kinsah sighed. "When he's not sad, he's brassed off at me."

"Nick, he'll..." She closed her eyes in huniliation as she stopped herself, realizing the implications of what she'd been about to say.

Kinsah eyed her. "Well, I'd better get my a into g, so tata for now."

She didn't answer, looking away.

Rushing out the door, Kinsah silently vowed to never to go back in that room.

Lena allowed a single tear to slip down her cheek as she looked at her husband's lifeless body. Hugging him as she willed him to wake up, she felt his heart beat weakly inside his chest. "Forgive me, Darling. It's just so hard." She whispered, her voice trembling in his ear.

He, of course, was silent.